USA > Pennsylvania > Washington County > History of Washington County : from its first settlement to the present time, first under Virginia as Yohogania, Ohio, or Augusta County until 1781, and subsequently under Pennsylvania > Part 2
Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Part 18 | Part 19 | Part 20 | Part 21 | Part 22 | Part 23 | Part 24 | Part 25 | Part 26 | Part 27 | Part 28 | Part 29 | Part 30 | Part 31 | Part 32 | Part 33 | Part 34 | Part 35 | Part 36 | Part 37 | Part 38 | Part 39 | Part 40 | Part 41 | Part 42 | Part 43 | Part 44 | Part 45 | Part 46 | Part 47 | Part 48 | Part 49 | Part 50 | Part 51 | Part 52 | Part 53 | Part 54 | Part 55 | Part 56 | Part 57 | Part 58
George Croghan, Edward Ward, John Stephenson, Isaac Cox, George M'Cormick, Joseph Beckett, John Campbell, Dorsey Pen- tecost, John Connelly, John Gibson, George Vallandigham, Thomas Smallman, William Crawford, and William Goe took the usual oaths to his majesty's person and government, subscribed the abjuration and test oaths, as also the usual one of justices of the peace, justices of the county court in chancery, and justices of the oyer and terminer.
As these oaths are peculiar in their character I shall add them.
Oath of Allegiance .- I, A. B., do sincerely promise and swear that I will be faithful, and bear true allegiance to his majesty King George the Third. So help me God.
14
HISTORY OF WASHINGTON COUNTY.
Oath of Supremacy .- I, C. D., do swear that I from my heart abhor, detest, and abjure as impious and heretical, that damnable doc- trine and position, that princes excommunicated and deprived by the Pope, or any authority of the See of Rome, may be deposed or mur- dered by their subjects, or any other whatsoever. And I do declare, that no foreign prince, person, prelate, State, or potentate, hath or ought to have any jurisdiction, power, superiority, pre-eminence or authority, ecclesiastical or spiritual, within this realm. So help me God.
The Test Oath .- I, E. F., do declare that I do believe there is not any transubstantiation in the Sacrament of the Lord's Supper, or in the elements of bread and wine at or after the consecration thereof, by any person or persons whatever. So help me God.
Oath of Abjuration .- I, G. H., do truly and sincerely acknow- ledge, profess, testify, and declare in my conscience before God and the world, that our Sovereign Lord, King George the Third, is lawful and rightful king of this realm and all other his majesty's domin- ions thereunto belonging.
And I do solemnly and sincerely declare that I do believe in my conscience that the person pretended to be Prince of Wales during the life of the late King James, and since his decease pretending to be and takes upon himself the style and title of King of England, by the name of James the Third, or of Scotland by the name of James the Eighth, or the style and title of King of Great Britain, hath not any right or title whatsoever to the crown of this realm or any other the dominions thereunto belonging, and I do renounce, refuse, and abjure any allegiance or obedience to him.
And I do swear that I will bear faith and true allegiance to his majesty King George the Third, and him will defend to the utmost of my power against all traitorous conspiracies and attempts what- soever, which shall be made against his person, crown, or dignity, and I will do my utmost endeavors to disclose and make known to his majesty and his successors all treason and traitorous conspiracies which I shall know to be against him or any of them.
And I do faithfully promise to the utmost of my power to support, maintain, and defend the succession of the crown against him, the said James, and all other persons whatsoever, which succession (by an act entitled an act for the further limitation of the crown and bet- ter securing the rights and liberties of the subject) is and stands limited to the Princess Sophie, late Electress and Duchess Dowager of Hanover, and the heirs of her body being Protestants-and all these things I do plainly and sincerely acknowledge and swear, ac- cording to these express words by me spoken and according to the plain and common sense and understanding of the same words, with- out any equivocation, mental evasion, or secret reservation what- soever, and I do make this recognition, acknowledgment, abjuration,
15
HISTORY OF WASHINGTON COUNTY.
renunciation, and promise heartily, willingly, and truly upon the true faith of a Christian. So help me God.
After this digression we shall resume our narrative of the district of West Augusta, which, by an act of the General Assembly of Vir- ginia, from and after November 8th, 1776, was divided into three counties, viz: Youghiogheny, Ohio, and Monongalia-to each of which we will refer seriatim.
YOUGHIOGHENY COUNTY.
The boundaries of this county lay to the northward of the fol- lowing lines, and began at the mouth of Cross Creek, running up its several sources to the head thereof; thence southeastwardly to the nearest part of the dividing ridge (which divides the waters of the Ohio from those of the Monongahela) ; thence along the said ridge to the head of Tenmile Creek; thence east to the road leading from Catfish Camp (Washington) to Red Stone Old Fort (Brownsville) ; thence along the said road to the Monongahela River ; thence crossing the river to the said Fort; thence along Dunlap's old road to Braddock's road, and with the same to the meridian of the head fountain of the Potomac (west line of Maryland), shall be called and known by the name of YOUGHIOGHENY COUNTY.
This act defined the qualifications of electors and various essen- tial matters for the future prosperity and government of these new counties. Electors were required to be free white male persons over twenty-one years of age, residing in the county and State one year, and in possession of twenty-five acres of land with a house thereon; claiming an estate for life in the said land in his own right or in the right of his wife.
COURTS AND COURT-HOUSE.
The electors were required to meet on the 8th day of December, 1776, at the house of Andrew Heath, on the Monongahela River, to choose the most convenient place for holding courts for the county of Youghiogheny. Notices for election were to be given by the sheriff, ministers, and rectors in the same manner as for representatives to serve in the General Assembly. The law also provided that if pre- vented holding the election on the day aforesaid, by rain, snow, or rise of waters, the sheriff was authorized to adjourn to that day week, or as often as so prevented.
The electors met at the appointed time and selected the farm of Andrew Heath as the most convenient place. This farm is on the Monongahela River (now Washington County) nearly opposite and a little above Elizabethtown, Alleghany County.
The court directed Thomas Smallman, John Canon, and John Gibson, or any two of them, to provide a house at the public expense for the use of holding the court, and that the sheriff contract with the workmen to put the same in repair.
16
HISTORY OF WASHINGTON COUNTY.
The original records show that the court directed Isaac Cox to contract with some person or persons to build a complete bar and other work in the inside of the court-house to be completed by the next court.
On the 24th of November, 1778, Messrs. Kuykendall and New- all were authorized to contract with some person to junk and daub the court-house, and provide locks and bars for the doors of the gaol, and to build an addition to the eastern end of the court-house and gaol, sixteen feet square, one story high, with good, sufficient logs, a good cobber roof, a good outside chimney, with convenient seats for the court and bar, with a sheriff's box, a good iron pipe stove for the gaol room, and that they have a pair of stocks, whip- ping-post, and pillory erected in the court yard.
The ancient laws of Virginia declared that the court in every county shall cause to be set up near the court house a pillory, pair of stocks, a whipping-post, and a ducking-stool in such place as they shall think convenient, which not being set up within six months after the date of this act, the said court shall be fined five thousand pounds of tobacco.
PUNISHMENTS.
In 1780 Andrew Heath was ordered to have the court-house and gaol repaired and to erect a pillory and stocks. It appears that the price paid for these articles of punishment at this time was two thousand dollars, continental money, to Paul Matthews, the con- tractor, which amount was equivalent to three hundred and seven dollars.
On the 24th of June, 1778, the court ordered Colonel William Crawford and David Shepherd to lay out the prison bounds for the county of Youghiogheny, and make report to the court. This com- mittee subsequently reported the prison bounds to be as follows, viz: Beginning at a large black oak standing easterly from the court- house and marked with six notches, and extending thence south- easterly by a line of marked trees to a white oak near and including the spring ; thence northerly by a line of marked trees, including the house of Panl Matthews, to a white oak ; thence by a line of marked trees to the place of beginning, which prison bounds were approved by the court and ordered to be recorded.
Paul Matthews, whose house was included in the prison bounds, was appointed the gaoler, and for the year 1778 was allowed seventy- five pounds five shillings and tenpence for furnishing prisoners with victuals and finding iron for criminals.
On the 24th of January, 1780, the following curious entry is made in the minutes of the court: Ordered, that Isaac Justice, John Chamberlain, William Bruce, and William Maybell be allowed one hundred and twenty-five pounds of tobacco for seven days' attendance as a guard on a prisoner, and eighty-four dollars each for finding their own provisions, and the sheriff was directed to pay the same.
17
HISTORY OF WASHINGTON COUNTY.
At the same sitting of the court we find that Andrew Heath was directed to have the upper story of the gaol put into order for a jury room.
We have spoken of the corporeal punishments inflicted upon criminals, which consisted of the pillory, the stocks, the whipping- post, and the ducking-stool, each of which I shall describe for the benefit of those who are unacquainted with these relics of barbarism.
The PILLORY is one of the most ancient corporeal punishments in England, France, Germany, and other countries. As early as 1275, by a statute of Edward I., it was enacted that every stretch-neck or pillory should be made of convenient strength, so that execution might be donc upon offenders without peril to their bodies. The pillory consisted of a wooden frame erected on a stool with holes and folding boards for the admission of the head and hands. The heroes of the pillory have not been the worst class of men, for we find that a man by the name of Leighton, for printing his Zion's Plea against Prelacy, was fined £10,000, degraded from the ministry, pilloried, branded, and whipped through the city of London, in 1637, besides having an ear cropped and his nostrils slit. The length of time the criminal stood in and upon the pillory was determined by the judge.
The STOCKS was a simple arrangement for exposing a culprit on a bench, confined by having his ankles made fast in holes under a movable board. Sometimes the stocks and whipping-post were con- nected together, the posts which supported the stocks being made sufficiently high were furnished near the top with iron clasps to fasten round the wrists of the offender and hold him securely during the infliction of the punishment. Sometimes a single post was made to serve both purposes, clasps being provided near the top for the wrists when used as a whipping-post, and similar clasps below for the ankles when used as stocks, in which case the culprit sat on a bench behind the post, so that his legs, when fastened to the post, were in a horizontal position.
On the 23d of February, 1775, Luke Joliff was tried for deserting from the militia with a stand of arms and preventing the Indians from returning prisoners held by them. He was courted at Fort Dunmore (Pittsburg), and sentenced to receive five hundred lashes with a cat-o'-nine-tails on his bare back, well laid on, at such hours . and in such manner as not to endanger life and member.
At a court held in Washington County, June, 1786, Richard Burke was convicted of larceny and sentenced to seventeen lashes at the public whipping-post well laid on, between 4 and 6 o'clock P. M., to restore the goods and pay fine and costs.
For the purpose of restraining evil, men suffered in the stocks, but women in ducking-stools. This punishment was extensively used in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. The following deserip -. tion was given by an intelligent Frenchman in the year 1700 : He says this method of punishing scolding women is funny enough.
2
18
HISTORY OF WASHINGTON COUNTY.
They fasten an armed chair to the end of two strong beams, twelve or fifteen feet long and parallel to each other. The chair hangs upon a sort of axle, on which it plays frecly, so as always to remain in the horizontal position. The scold being well fastened in her chair, the two beams are then placed, as near to the centre as possible, across a post on the water-side, and being lifted up behind, the chair, of course, drops into the cold clement. The ducking is repeated ac- cording to the degree of shrewishness possessed by the patient, and has generally the effect of cooling her immoderate heat, at least for a time.
The ducking-stool for Youghiogheny County was erected at the con- finence of the Ohio and the Monongahela rivers on February 22d, 1775.
We are glad, however, in this enlightened age, that all these varied punishments are done away with, especially the one for the weaker, if not always the gentler sex.
While on the subject of punishments in Youghiogheny County, we may add that many persons were fined from five to twenty shillings for drunkenness, profane swearing, &c., &c., while the sheriff, George McCormick, received one pound, seventeen shillings and sixpence for executing a negro boy on the 28th of November, 1788, belonging to James Decamp.
Previous to the ratification of the report of the surveyors by the legislature of Virginia, October 8th, 1785, Ohio County had been formed from Youghiogheny by the line of Cross Creek. On the settle- ment of the boundary question, that portion of Youghiogheny County lying north of Cross Creek was added to Ohio County, being too small for a separate county ; and the county of Youghiogheny became extinct ; hence Hancock and so much of Brooke as lies north of Cross Creek was the last of the ancient Youghiogheny County.
Other facts connected with Youghiogheny County we shall reserve until we give the boundaries of Ohio and Monongalia Counties, the former of which is intimately connected with Washington County.
OHIO COUNTY.
Ohio County originally constituted a part of the district of West Augusta. Its boundaries, according to the act of Assembly of Octo- ber, 1776, were as follows-that from and after the 8th of November, 1776, all that part of the said district lying within the following lines, to wit, beginning at the mouth of Cross Creek, thence up the same to the head thereof; thence southeastwardly to the nearest part of the ridge which divides the waters of the Ohio from those of Mononga- hela ; thence along the said ridge to the line which divides the coun- ty of Augusta from the said district ; thence with the said boundary to the Ohio ; thence up the same to the beginning, shall be known by the name of Ohio County.
The electors of Ohio County were to meet at the house of Ezekiel
19
HISTORY OF WASHINGTON COUNTY.
Dewit, on the 8th of December, 1776, to choose the most convenient place for holding courts in said county. It is said that for some time the courts of this county were held at Black's Cabin, on the waters of Short Creek, on January 16, 1777, at or near where West Liberty is.
Rev. Dr. Smith says : The first court for the county of Ohio was held at Black's Cabin. There is every reason to believe that this was the first civil court held in the valley of the Mississippi. On the 7th of April, 1777, the court ordered a court-house and jail to be erected. The first attorneys admitted to practise in the court were Philip Pendleton and George Brent, on the 2d November, 1778. Mr. Pendleton was appointed the commonwealth's attorney.
In a work by the Rev. Joseph Smith, D. D., entitled "Old Red- stone," which contains historical sketches of Western Presbyterian- ism-its early ministers, its perilous times, and its first records, we find that the Presbytery of Redstone met on the 25th of October, 1782, at Dunlap Creek, and one minister was appointed as a supply at Ohio court-house. This place, says the Rev. Dr. Smith, was some miles west of the present town of Washington, and was a seat of justice under the government of Virginia, as all Washington County, together with Fayette and Greene and a large portion of Allegheny and Westmoreland counties was claimed by that State and considered a part of Augusta County, Virginia. The records show no other appointment for a supply at this place.
MONONGALIA COUNTY.
This was the third county into which the district of West Au- gusta was divided. It was northward of the county of Augusta, westward of the meridian of the head fountain of the Potomac, and to the eastward of the county of Ohio.
The Monongalia court-house was on the farm of Theophilus Phillips from 1776 to 1782 (now owned by Everhart Bierer), near New Geneva in Fayette County. By an act of the General Assem- bly of Virginia of May, 1783, it declares that by reason of the late extension of Mason and Dixon's line the court-house of Monongalia had fallen within the limits of Pennsylvania, therefore, the house of Zachwell Morgan (the present location of Morgantown, Virginia) should be made the future place of holding courts until a court-house should be erected.
The county lines of Youghiogheny, Ohio, and Monongalia were adjusted in the summer of 1778 by Col. William Crawford, Richard Yeates, Isaac Leet, William Scott, and James McMahon.
COURTS.
The courts of each judicial district were required to administer and dispense justice, establish ferries, confirm roads when reported necessary, bind out orphan children, grant letters of administration,
20
HISTORY OF WASHINGTON COUNTY.
probate wills, appoint subordinate officers, grant tavern licenses, re- cord marks, try crimes and misdemeanors, and perform such duties as would advance the interests of the community.
When the court met at Fort Dunmore, originally Fort Pitt, on the 21st of February, 1775, many questions were presented to them at this and their subsequent sittings, some of which we shall give to gratify the taste of the antiquarian, and as calculated to throw some light on our early history.
ROADS.
Viewers appointed to report a road from Fort Dunmore to Fort Dunfield ; from Gist's to Fort Dunmore and Paul Freeman's on Shir- tee (Chartiers) Creek, by James Devore's ferry. From P. Mountz mill by Arbergus ferry and from thence to CATFISH CAMP (now Washington). This road ran from Mountz mill by way of Beeler's ferry; thence to the east fork of Chartiers' Creek ; thence to Catfish Camp. From Fort Dunmore to Becket's Fort the points were from Becket's Fort to James Wilson's; thence to the Monongahela River ; thence to the head of Sawmill Run; thence to Fort Pitt (Pittsburg); from the court-house to Pentecost's mill on Chartiers' Creek. This road began at the court-house on Andrew Heath's farm; thence to Spencer's Point ; thence near Richardson's school-house ; thence through Gabriel Cox's land ; thence crossing Peters' Creek near to John Cox's ; thence to Joshua Wright's ; thence to William Ste- phenson's ; thence to Thomas Crook's ; thence to said mill. This road confirmed April 24, 1778. From Catfish Camp (Washington) to Pentecost's mill; confirmed May 26, 1778. Overseers were Thomas Ashbrooke and John McDowell. From Froman's mill on Mingo Creek to the road leading from the'conrt-house to Pente- cost's mill, between the plantations of Johnson Wrights and John Johnston. From Fort Dunmore to Dunfields, to join Dunfields on Chartiers' Creek. From old Redstone fort (Brownsville) to Conrad Walker's, foot of Laurel Hill. From Thomas Gist's to Paul Free- man's on Chartiers' Creek. From Redstone old fort (Brownsville) to Chartiers' Creek and to Paul Freeman's. From the mouth of the Youghiogheny River at McKee's ferry to the road from Devore's ferry to Reno's, near Sampson Beaver's and to Freeman's mill. From Fort Dunmore to Charles Brice's on Raccoon Creek. From Dorsey Pentecost's by Peter Barrackman's ferry to Fort Dunmore. From Major William Crawford's to near the forks of Indian Creek. From the foot of Laurel Hill at Conrad Walter's, by William Teagarden's ferry on the Monongahela to the mouth of Wheeling Creek. The points of this road were from the confluenec of Wheeling Creek to the confluence of Tenmile Creek, on the Monongahela River; thenee to Walter's. In the construction of roads the tithables (that is, all persons between the ages of 16 and 45) within three miles of the pro- posed road, were required to work upon the road under supervisors appointed to superintend the making and grading of the same.
21
HISTORY OF WASHINGTON COUNTY.
ORPHAN CHILDREN.
The orphan children were bound out by the court as apprentices. They were required to serve until they arrived at the age of twenty- one ; were instructed in some art; taught to read and write, and arithmetic as far as the rule of three ; given two suits of clothing, and if brought up on a farm, each male also received an axe, maul, nugs, and wedges.
TAVERNS.
Taverns were licensed by the court of Youghiogheny County, and in 1778 we find that the court fixed the following bill of prices for the keepers of taverns. Whiskey by the half pint, two shillings ; whis- key made into toddy, two shillings and sixpence ; beer per quart, two shillings and sixpence; hot breakfast, three shillings ; cold breakfast, two shillings and sixpence ; dinner, four shillings ; supper, three shillings ; lodging with clean sheets, one shilling and sixpence ; stabling with hay and fodder, five shillings ; corn per quart, ninc- pence ; oats per quart, sixpence. But in 1781, when continental money was depreciated, the prices were changed by the court, who ordered tavern keepers to sell at the following rates : For half pint of whiskey, $4; breakfast or supper, $15; dinner, $20; lodging with clean sheets, $3 ; one horse over night, $3; one gallon of corn, $5; one gallon of oats, $4; strong beer per quart, $6. The rates of license were published by the crier of the court, and also set up in the most public places.
CONTINENTAL MONEY.
While upon the subject of finances, as there will be occasion to refer to the continental money, I may add that this money was issued by Congress to carry on the Revolutionary War, for the redemption of which the faith of the colonies was pledged. I therefore give the dates and amounts of issues from a reliable source.
1775, June 22, $2,000,000. Other emissions from this date to 1780, amounting to $200,000,000, had been issued and none re- deemed.
1777, January, paper currency 5 per cent. discount, and in July 25 per cent., but before the end of the year, $3 in paper would not command a silver dollar.
1778, April, $4 in paper to one dollar in coin. September, $5 to one in coin, and December, $6 50 to one dollar in coin.
1779, February, $8 50, May $12, and September $18 to one in coin, and before the close of the year a paper dollar was worth but four cents.
1780, March, one dollar in paper worth 3 cents; May, a dollar worth but two cents, and in December, $74 in paper was worth one dollar in silver.
22
HISTORY OF WASHINGTON COUNTY.
FERRIES.
The court licensed the following persons to establish ferries at different localities within the county of Youghiogheny, from 1775 to 1779.
Henry Heath, on his own plantation on the Monongahela River. William Lynn, on the Monongahela River, from his house to the land of Francis Hall. Michael Cressay, at Redstone, old fort (Browns- ville), to the land of Indian Peter. James Devore, from his house on the Monongahela River, to the mouth of Pigeon Creek. To Samuel Sinclair, who lives in the forks of the Monongahela and Youghiogheny rivers, to have a ferry over each of the rivers. Jacob Bausman, across the Monongahela River, from his house to the town opposite (fort Dunmore). Christopher Carpenter, across the Mo- nongahela River, for the purpose of conveying over the militia men on muster days. William Anderson, on the southeast side of the Monongahela River, to the lands of Andrew Heath. The prices established by the court for ferriage were, fourpence half penny for any head of neat cattle, and the same for a foot person; two shil- lings and sixpence for a man, and the same for a horse.
ATTORNEYS AT LAW.
The lawyers were required to take the abjuration, test, and other oaths to which I have referred. The record gives the following per- sons as having complied therewith during the years 1775 and 1776.
George Brent, Philip Pendleton, George Rootes, David Semple, James Berwick, Andrew Ross, Henry Peyton, John G. Jones, Charles Simms, Samuel Irwin.
SHERIFFS AND DEPUTY SHERIFFS.
During the years 1775 and 1780, John Christian and Joseph Hor- ton, George McCormick, Matthew Ritchie, William Harrison, Benj. Kuykendall, Thomas Smallman, and Edward Ward exercised the office of sheriff, and Patrick McElroy, Francis Worm, David Steel, William Hawkins, Hugh Sterling, John Dossman, John J. Wood, Richard Burns, that of deputy sheriff.
Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.