History of Wayne, Pike, and Monroe counties, Pennsylvania, Part 115

Author: Mathews, Alfred, 1852-1904. 4n
Publication date: 1886
Publisher: Philadelphia : R.T. Peck & Co.
Number of Pages: 1438

USA > Pennsylvania > Monroe County > History of Wayne, Pike, and Monroe counties, Pennsylvania > Part 115
USA > Pennsylvania > Pike County > History of Wayne, Pike, and Monroe counties, Pennsylvania > Part 115
USA > Pennsylvania > Wayne County > History of Wayne, Pike, and Monroe counties, Pennsylvania > Part 115

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).

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WAYNE COUNTY.

pack Eddy, where he spent his last days, living to be seventy. William, the fourth son, entered the Baptist ministry, and preached for many years to the church in Bethany, where he also resided. He afterwards removed to Ohio. Ebenezer, who was the fifth son, died in the prime of life. He owned a farm near that of Solomon. Abner was the youngest in the fam- ily, and he also moved to Ohio, where he died in 1881, in the ninety-second year of his age.

The Purdys had very few neighbors during the early history of the township, and for many years the family comprised nearly all the prom- inent residents. Major John Ansley moved from the Wallenpaupack settlement and located about two miles below Silas Purdy's, where he kept a hotel on the old Lake Country road. His son Mifflin inherited the property. Mif- flin was the victim of an epidemic, very malig- nant in character, that made its appearance in the township in 1831 and caused much alarm. It was at first thought to be cholera, but was afterwards known as camp fever. Brinson, a cousin of Mifflin, was also a victim.

Samuel Hartford appears on the assessment list as a resident of Palmyra, but he lived in Salem, near the township line, and an account of him will be found in the chapter devoted to that township.

Ambrose Buckingham, who came from Say- brook, Conn., in 1825, also settled near the line between Paupack and what is now Lake. He was one of five sisters and brothers, all of whom, with one exception, settled in various parts of Wayne County. In 1827 Mr. Buck- ingham married Miss Mahala Keller, of Salem, and exchanged his farm for one hundred acres in Paupack township. Here he resided for fifty years, and his untiring industry summoned waving fields and blooming orchards from under the shadows of the beeches. He was a keen thinker, had clear judgment and was re- spected by all who knew him as an earnest, honest man. He died in 1877, and was buried in the family plot on the farm. His children were Jane G., the wife of A. G. Smith, of Pau- pack; Olive, who died in 1831; Fidelia, the late wife of A. B. Vandervort, of Newark, N. J. ; Susan, the wife of Major M. Wardell, ;

of Daleville; Jasper ; Eunice S., who married . George Chapman, of Salem ; Adaline M., the wife of Louis Andrews, of New York : Am- brose H. ; and Emma May, the latter an au- thoress, of whom mention is made in the chap- ter on bibliography.

Uriah Williams, a lineal descendant of Roger Williams, lived in Paupack many years ; his wife was a Hewitt, and George Williams, one of their sons, lives on the homestead. John H., another son, lives at Nobletown, and others of his children have removed West.

The following names appcar on one of the first assessment lists made out after the erection of the township :

Easter Ansley.

Hermon N. Kimble.

Jonas Ansley.

Benj. T. Killem.

Oliver Buckingham. John Lonlasher.

Cornelius Berger.

Redford Longstreet.

Peter Ball.

David Lesher.

John Bowman.

M. G. Moch.

A. Buckingham.

John Miller.

Peter Batterson.

Henry McCann.

David Bartron.

Calvin Pellet.

S. James Cole.

Martial Purdy.

George Colling.

Garden Pellet.

John B. Cole.

Calvin Pellet (2d). Nathaniel C. Purdy.

John Siperly.

Russell Daniels.

George Peterson.

Joseph Dunkerly.

Jos. C. Purdy.

Stewart Dunkerly.

S. C. Purdy.

Cortland Daniels.

Jonah Pennell.

George Daniels.

Darius G. Purdy.

Nelson Daniels.

Reuben Purdy.

Chauncey Daniels. David Ellsworth.

Harvey Purdy.

Abbot N. Purdy.

Joseph Fowler.

Reuben R. Purdy.

John B. Fowler.

William Reynolds.

Charles Fowler.

Thomas Riley.

Peter C. Fish.

William Randall.

Richard Foster.

William Shouse.

Henry Gowan.

Franklin Steel.

Andrew Grosse.

Allis Sleezer.

George Groner.

A. G. Smith.

Charles Hall.

Thomas V. Taft.

Oren Hall.

Jacob Tanner.

Ebenezer Huff.

Eli Utt.

William Harris.

David H. Vinny.

Charles Harris.

G. A. Williams.

Leonard Hack. William Wilds.

Robert Hand. George Wilds.

Nathan G. Hand. John Williams.

John Huffman. Charles Woodward.

Jonas R. Sutton.

Amasa L. Woodward.

Isrock Killem.

Samuel Wilder.

Powell C. Killem.

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WAYNE, PIKE AND MONROE COUNTIES, PENNSYLVANIA.

AN INDIAN CAMPING-GROUND .- When the - Purdys first located in Paupack there were many signs of a recent occupation of the coun- try by the red men, and relics were plenty. About one-half mile south of the farm now occupied by Sylvanns Purdy, in a retired place but a few rods from the main road, an even spot, two or three acres in extent, was cleared and made perfectly smooth. On this were found many traces of its having been a flour- ishing Indian village at no very distant date. Flints dressed for arrows, a stone broad-axe, a stone gouge, tomahawks, flint knives and bits of clay pots were scattered around the remains of clay fire-places. In one place it was evident that some of the tribe had carried on the man- · ufacture of arrow-heads, and in the large piles of flint chips were found bits of all colors- varieties that abound only in remote localities. This camping-ground was elevated several feet above the surrounding flat, and ended in an abrupt natural ledge of rock, from under which flowed a large cold spring. A marked trail led to the Wallenpaupack Creek, on the bank of whichi stood a tree which bore the marks of In- dian axes, while on the rocks near by were traced some rude characters, which have since been obliterated by the action of the water. Along the banks of the creek many natural mortars, with stone pestles in them, were found, and a stone pot, carefully worked from some variety of rock, not found in the vicinity, wa; discovered on a ledge at the falls of the Wal- lenpaupack. It was supposed to have been left there by a party of Indians who were known to have made this a temporary abode abont the time that Carter and his family first settled at Wallenpaupack village, before the first pioneers crossed the Cobb Mountain, penetrated the for- ests of the Lackawanna Valley and settled at Wyoming. This statement is based upon the story of an Indian doctor, who was stopping at a tavern in Ithaca, where one of the Purdys also put np for the night. When the latter said lie was from near the Lackawaxen, the old In- dian raised his head and said, "Ugh! me know the Lackawack before you was born." He then told the story of how his tribe had been driven from their hunting-grounds and were traveling

up the river, and how they came to the falls of the Wallenpaupack, where one of the party killed a bear. They stopped to eat a portion of it, and afterward, finding elk and deer plenty in the vicinity, made it a temporary abode, camping on the spot to which reference has al- ready been made. Tradition has it that these were Delawares.

MILLS AND EARLY IMPROVEMENTS .- One of the first requisites of the Paupack pioneers was a saw-mill, and as soon as Silas Purdy had erected his cabin of hewn planks and logs, and had enough land cleared to support his family from the scanty crops it brought forth, he com- menced the construction of the mill. Just what time this was is now unknown, but it is certain that it was before the close of the last century, and probably several years before the erection of Wayne County. The mill stood on a small stream which runs through the farm now occu- pied by Myron Purdy. The first mill was built entirely of hewn timber, and was a spont mill, the water being conducted to the driving- wheel in hollow logs, which were supported on stone piers several rods, until they entered a small head-race. This race was also con- structed chiefly out of hewn plank, and one of them is still shown as a curiosity by Mr. Malen Purdy, from whom many of these details were obtained. This mill was burned down after it had been standing bnt a few years, and was again built on the same general plan; a second time it was destroyed, and it was then rebuilt as a penstock inill ; afterward it was converted into a trunk-mill, with greater capacity for sawing.

As soon as the saw-mill was completed, and good lumber could be obtained, Silas Purdy erected a tavern on his farm. It was on the road leading from the Wallenpaupack settle- ment to Cherry Ridge, a much-traveled route for those days. This house was a pretentious structure for the time, and had its roof sup- ported by high stone chimneys at either end. These are still standing, a credit to the honest architecture of those days. One of them con- tains six fire-places, an oven and a smoke-house, all of them in fair condition.

The next important improvement was the

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WAYNE COUNTY.

erection of a grist-mill on a stream running through the farm now owned by the lieirs of Harvey Purdy. It was built by Silas Purdy and his son Ephraim, and, with the exception of the mill owned by Abel Kimble, in Pike County, was the only one accessible to settlers for miles around. Its single "run " of native conglomerate, taken from the Moosic Moun- tain, were driven by an overshot wheel, and the coarse mcal was only bolted by hand ; neverthe- less the mill was patronized by people from Salem, Cherry Ridge and even Mount Pleasant.

At a later date William Purdy and his sons erected a saw-mill on a small stream which runs through the farm now occupied by B. Dingman. This mill did service for many years, and was subsequently much improved. In 1825 John Tyler built a saw-mill on the out- let of Long Pond, which became the scene of a tragedy. It was there that the owner was found hanging from a rafter one day. After his death the mill passed into other hands, and was one of many that were running in Paupack during the palmy days of the lumber trade. The mill now run by J. S. Ames & Co. was built on a tributary to the Purdy Pond, by Charles Woodward in 1855. There was also a saw-mill built at Hemlock Hollow in 1820; it was converted into a circular mill in 1860, and is still in use.

In 1844 E. Killam built a mill at the ontlet of Long Pond, and ran it for Russell Daniels, and subsequently 'Robertson, Gale & Co. erected a steam mill northwest of it, and near the Lake township line. The later industries of Paupack are few. In 1874 Darius G. Purdy and William Hankins started an establishment for the manufacture of saw and fork handles and umbrella sticks at Purdyville, which, after running a year and a half, was destroyed by fire, and has not since been rebuilt. In 1876 D. G. Purdy erected his grist mill. It has two " run " of stone, operated by three turbine wheels -two thirty inch and one twenty-four inch. It runs chiefly on corn, rye and buckwheat for custom work.

LUMBERING has had a prominent place in the history of Paupack township, and has been the source of great profit. For many years the

supply seemed exhaustless, and much was. wasted, and it is only within a few years that the people seem to have realized that the most available timber has already been felled. It was many years after the first settlement that lumbering was begun with any degree of earn- estness ; meanwhile, farms had been cleared, and the primitive mills had been kept in motion only for the local trade. The means of marketing were poor and indirect. The roads to the Lackawaxen made hauling very bad, and rafting on the Wallenpaupack could not be car- ried on without a second handling of timber at the falls, which did not pay. But in time the forest of magnificent pine attracted the atten- tion of the ship-builders, and as prices went up, the whirr of the saw was heard from every available mill-site. Only the best timber, clear and free from knots, was taken, and when drawn to Paupack Eddy and rafted down the river, it brought from seven and a half to ten dollars a thousand, the latter being considered an extremely good price. The lumber with which to construct the ship-house in the Philadelphia Navy Yard was obtained at Hemlock Hollow, as was also much of the timber used in build- . ing the great ship of that day-the " Pennsyl- vania." The masts, which were ninety feet long and two feet in diameter at the top end, were the largest ever felled in the township, and were drawn to Paupack Eddy by twenty yoke of oxen. These great masts were fur- nished by Enos Goodrich, of Salem. Among the prominent lumbermen of the township were D. Bishop, Russell Daniels, Joseph At- kinson, Rufus Bennett, D. Bingham and M. Tyler. Most of them were residents of the township. Mr. Bishop had a mill on the Middle Creek, near No. 14 Plane, and bought of Killam, Torrey and Woodward. Russell Dan- iels purchased the trunk-mill of William Purdy, and made a number of improvements which in- creased its capacity. For several years Peter Long lived at this mill and did the sawing. From him the mill received the sobriquet of " the Pete Long mill." Moses Tyler's mill has been before referred to. It was in Killam Hollow, near the Tyler Spring. Rufus Bennett did most of his lumbering at Hemlock Hollow, where

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WAYNE, PIKE AND MONROE COUNTIES, PENNSYLVANIA.

Henry Harmon then had a mill. 'Dolph Bing- ham, of Pike County, was also a prominent lumberman in Paupack, and used to camp out at " Abisha Meadow," as the Beach house was called, in remembrance of Abisha Woodward, who first cleared up a place for a cabin there. Leonard Labar, the Shouses, Eli Utt and others, whose names are mentioned in connec- tion with other townships, acquired compe- tencies before the lumber trade in the region suffered diminution.

THE POST-OFFICE .- In the early history of the township the mails were very irregular, and letters for Paupack went sometimes to one place and sometimes to another. It was not unusual for those expecting mail to go to all the adjacent post-offices and make inquiries. After a regular mail route was established between Honesdale and Stirling, as Purdyville was on the road, a post-office was established there with R. R. Purdy as the first postmaster. This was in 1839 and for ten years the mails came regularly once or twice a week. Then the route was changed and the office abandoned, residents of the township having to go to Tafton, Pau- pack Eddy or into Pike County. Much dis- satisfaction was thus occasioned, and in 1857 the office was once more established, with Ab- bot M. Purdy as postmaster. In 1868 Hemlock Hollow was established and A. J. Roloson put in charge, and soon after the other office was abandoned. Mr. Roloson was succeeded by Darius G. Purdy, and he gave place to Mrs. F. M. Purdy, the present incumbent.

Hemlock Hollow has two stores, and until quite recently had a hotel. There is also a mill there, a blacksmith-shop and the other small industries found in a quiet hamlet.

SCHOOLS AND CHURCHES .- The first school in Purdyville stood on the bank of the brook that flows near the residence of Mr. O. M. Flemming. It was a log structure and must have been built early in the present century. The name of the first teacher has been forgot- ten and many of those who sat on the rude slab benches have finished the lesson of life.

The Palmyra Baptist Church owes its exist- ence to the labors of William Purdy, who com- menced preaching in the neighborhood of his

new home soon after he located in Purdyville, in 1792.

In 1800 Rev. Lebbeus Lathrop, of Orange County, N. Y., visited the settlement and baptized Silas Purdy, Jr., Jacob Purdy, Miss Jane Purdy, the wife of William Purdy, Jr., and one other, and in the spring of 1801 Rev. Epaphras Thomp- son, of Mount Pleasant, preached there and baptized Miss Phobe Purdy. In September of that year the Palmyra Baptist Church, consist- ing of fifteen constituent members, was recog- nized by a council convened for the purpose, and at the same time William Purdy was or- dained as pastor of the infant church. Revs. Epaphras Thompson, John Caton, of Brook- field, N. Y., and William Bishop, of the Lacka- wanna Valley, officiated on this interesting occasion. Asa Cobb and Daniel Bowers were soon appointed deacons and the subject of doc- trinc and discipline was taken up. In 1802 the church decided to hold communion with none but Baptist believers, and in the following year resolved that it was the duty of every male member who was the head of a household to hold domestic worship, and that female mem- bers ought to pray in secret. In 1804 it was resolved to hold covenant meetings on the last Saturday of each month.

The church grew and prospered, and in 1807 united with the Abington and Mount Pleasant Churches in forming the Abington Association. In 1810 the report to the association showed that there was a total membership of forty-seven, of which thirty had been added by baptism. From the following year until 1817 it remained almost stationary, but in 1818 it shared with the other churches of the association a great ' revival, and the total membership was increased to sixty-four. In 1824 the pastor died and Mr. George Dobell, a licentiate, was chosen to supply the charge. This he did to the satisfac- tion of all until 1829, when he was ordained a regular pastor, a relation which he sustained until 1840. It was during this period that the " Old School " schism took place, and the dissen- sions were felt in no slight degree in the Pal- myra Church. From 1840 to 1852 the church was destitute of a pastor and stated preaching, but during the time it maintained a feeble ex-

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WAYNE COUNTY.

istence. In the fall of the latter year Rev. L. L. Still began to preach for the congregation and Rev. Henry Curtis gave an occasional ser- mon. Rev. Sanford Leach supplied them a portion of the year 1853, and in the spring the church had a total membership of forty-two. In 1854 Rev. Newell Callender was ordained pastor, and his labors were greatly prospered. In the fall, however, eighteen members were dismissed to form a church at Jonestown, Lake township. From that time the strength of the church gradually decreased, its members uniting with other congregations that grew up in the villages and towns near by. Ill health deprived the congregation of Mr. Callender, and J. M. Ball, a licentiate, was secured as stated supply. After him came Rev. Thomas Grennell, and then Elder Henry Curtis. The last pastor was W. H. Dewell, who served the church until six or seven years ago, when regular service was given up.

The Methodist Episcopal Church was com- menced as a class at Rollisontown, a small lam- let, about fifty years ago, and Nathaniel Rolli- son was the first class-leader. Who the origi- nal members were is not now known, but among them were the following, who are now living : Moses Masters, aged ninety-seven ; James Os- borne, aged seventy eiglit ; Rebecca Rollison, aged seventy-six ; and Polly Bidwell, aged eighty. The first meetings were held at the house of Urial Williams, on what is now known as the Cole farm. About 1844, John Dwight Safford began preaching in the old log school-house that had been built on the Rollison farm ten years before, and from that time the church began to grow until, during the present year, it has near- ly completed a creditable church edifice, and is filling a wide field of usefulness. Among those who have filled the pulpit were the following : Revs. William Reddy, Samuel Griffin, Aaron Gillett, Charles Perkins, William Dean, Thom- as Eilcox, William Silsbce, James B. Cooper, - Blackman, - Cushman, - Barnes, Welcome Smith, George W. Leach, C. V. Ar- nold, Marcus Carrier, J. A. Baldwin, Charles W. Giddings, Charles White, I. T. Walker, J. Madison, Jacob Miller, Gabriel Westfall, Henry Stantly, J. L. Race, W. H. Gavitt, Robert Em-

mett Hall, M. D. Fuller, George T. Price, R. C. Gill, George W. Robinson, C. W. Blake, Sanford Swingle, Stephen Jay, J. Durham, A. B. Eckart, A. J. Van Vleft, D. A. Sanford, Charles Lane Rice, the present incumbent, to whom the writer is indebted for these facts.

The first Sunday-school in connection with this church was conducted in the old log school- house by Hiram Clements, an earnest worker from Salem. He was succeeded by Charles Potter, Joseph Moore, Daniel Brundage, Red- ford Longstreet, A. J. Rollison and George M. Bidwell.

The corner-stone of the new church edifice was laid on June 20th of the present year, and a creditable house of worship is now under roof.

The Free Methodist Church at Hemlock Hol- low was organized about six years ago, by Rev. G. W. Swingle, and already has a large membership and a comfortable house of wor- ship. It is on the circuit with Hollisterville, South Canaan and Jonestown, all four churches having one pastor.

CHAPTER XXVIII.

PRESTON TOWNSHIP.

THIS township, formed of parts of Scott and Mount Pleasant, April 28, 1828, was named in honor of Judge Samuel Preston, of Stockport, first associate judge of Wayne County. It ap- pears from the records that at the formation of the town it was at first proposed to call it Ara- rat ; but as it was taken mostly from Scott, which had been named from Judge David Scott, he deemed it proper to return the com- pliment, and give it the name of the first set- tler of Buckingham, the mother township of both Scott and the new township. The terri- tory thus set off has retained its integrity to the present day, with the exception of the small portion which was incorporated as Wayne bor- ough, in 1853, and is the third largest town- ship in the county. It is bounded on the north by Starrucca borougli and Scott, ou the east by Buckingham, on the south by Mount Pleasant, and on the west by Susquehanna County. The highlands which divide the drainage basins of

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WAYNE, PIKE AND MONROE COUNTIES, PENNSYLVANIA.

the Delaware and Susquehanna Rivers traverse it from north to south, and its topography is broken by picturesque hills and dotted lakelets of uncommon beauty. The larger of these ponds are Shehawken, Como, Twin, Sly, Spruce, Seven Mile, Poyntell, Loug, Big Hickory, Little Hickory, Five Mile, Bonc, Long Spruce, Independence, Wrighter, Coxtown and per- haps some others. All of them are fed by fine springs, and give rise to streams that flow in every direction, furnishing an abundance of water-power, most of which is still unimproved. Most of the ponds were surrounded by fine timber, which could be felled on the banks and floated through the outlets to the mills below, so that the facilities for lumbering have been exceptionally good, and it was, and is still, a leading industry. The Lackawaxen has its lead-waters from Independence and Five Mile Ponds; Wrighter, Coxtown and Long Spruce pour a volume of crystal water into the Star- rucca ; from Shehawken flows the creek of that name, and Poyntell, Little Hickory and Big Hickory form the Big Equinunk. The ponds lie chiefly in deep depressions on the hill-tops, and most of the streams descend rapidly, over rocky beds, broken by many abrupt falls, form- ing natural mill-sites of great value. The lake sources of the streams, moreover, make their flow constant, and the high altitude of the country makes it subject to copious rain-falls, so that an abundant water-power may be stored in these natural reservoirs, and, at slight expense, made always available. Although Ararat and Sugar Loaf Mountains are in the township, and most of the surface is a succession of rolling hills, there are few declivities that interfere with successful cultivation. The soil is fruit- ful, droughts are rare, and good crops of rye, oats, corn and buckwheat are raised, while the potato crop is always reliable and abundant.

EARLY SETTLEMENT .- There were few, if any, settlers in what is now Preston township before the beginning of the present century. The tide of emigration moved slowly, and the first comers were those who penetrated the then dense forest only after the adjacent settlements along the river and in Mount Pleasant, where the earlier pioneers had located had been made.

After the first clearings were made, the growth of the population was comparatively slow, and in 1829,when the first assessment was made by Pe- ter C. Sherman, the total number of taxables was ouly sixty-niue. In 1831 this had fallen to sixty-five. The following names are from that assessment, the earliest now extant :

David Babcock. James Moore.

Widow Bennett. John Martin.

Jesse Corwin.

Eleazer Monroe.

Ira Cargill.

William U. Norton.

Luther Chafee. John Ostrander.

Riley Case. Daniel Rose.

Willet Carr.

James Simpson.

Cushman Bassett.

John Stanton.

Joseph Dow.

Joseph W. Simpson.

Joseph Dow, Jr.

Ebenezer Stanton.

Enos Dow.

Benjamin Sampson.

Elijah Dix.

Henry Sampson.

Franklin Duvall.

John Stephens.

John Dunn.

Peter Spencer.

Matthew Dunn.

Russel Spencer.

Jeremiah Flinn.

Abner Stone.

Thomas Foster.

David Stout.

Milo Frink.

James Simpson.

Francis J. Grelett.

Peter C. Sherman.

Clark Gardenier.

John Starbird.

Rufus Geer.

Williamn Starbird.

Andrew B. Gibson.

Lyman Tiler.

Perry Hine,

Elihu Tallman.

Cyprion Howard.

William Tallman.

George Hall.

Christopher Tallman.

Abraham Haynes.

E. Wilcox.

Benjamin King.

David Wooley.

Silas Kellogg.

James Woodmansee.

Jesse Mapes.

Gideon Woodmansee.

Jirah Mumford.

Squire Whitaker.

James Mumford.

Henry Whitaker.

Joseph Margurat.

Daniel Underwood.

Gideon Woodmansee, whose name appears in the above assessment, came from Connecticut in 1816, accompanied by his brothers, James and Thomas, and all of them settled on the " Stock- port road." Gideon located on the place now belonging to John Randall, in Buckingham township ; he bought property in Preston, how- ever, and was prominently identified with the early history of the township. Mr. Wood- mansee had been a soldier in the Revolution, and had three sons,-James, Thomas and Jere- miah. The first-named inherited the home- stead, and his brothers moved to Michigan. James married Polly Underwood, and his

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History of Wayne, Pike, and Monroe counties, Pennsylvania, Part 115

Author: Mathews, Alfred, 1852-1904. 4n Publication date: 1886 Publisher: Philadelphia : R.T. Peck & Co. Number of Pages: 1438

Author: Mathews, Alfred, 1852-1904. 4n
Publication date: 1886
Publisher: Philadelphia : R.T. Peck & Co.
Number of Pages: 1438