History of Wayne, Pike, and Monroe counties, Pennsylvania, Part 116

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 116
USA > Pennsylvania > Pike County > History of Wayne, Pike, and Monroe counties, Pennsylvania > Part 116
USA > Pennsylvania > Wayne County > History of Wayne, Pike, and Monroe counties, Pennsylvania > Part 116

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.

children were James M., Jedediah, Samuel, Lyman, Horace, Phoebe, who married George Gates ; Susan, the wife of Alvin R. Squire ; Mary J., the wife of Joseph B. Sanford ; Hul- dah, who married W. W. Blasdell, of Jackson, Susquehanna County ; Rhoda, the wife of Jacob Martin ; and Mahala, who married William Kingsbury, of Lake Como.

Rufus Geer, who was a native of Rhode Island, came from that State to Preston about 1816, and settled on the Twin Lakes, on the farm now occupied by W. J. Hemstead. His children were Harry, now of Buckingham ; Rufus, deceased ; Levi, of Orange County, N. Y .; Eldad, of Elk County ; Hiram, of Pres- ton ; Amy, the wife of Stephen P. London ; Mary, who married James Christian ; Jerusha, the, wife of George G. Labar; Lodema, the wife of William McCollough ; Zubie E., the wife of James Cleveland.

Andrew B. Gibson was brought up by a brother of Rufus Geer, who lived in Mount Pleasant township. As soon as he arrived at maturity Mr. Gibson located on the place now occupied by John McGraw, on Equinunk Creek, near the Labar mill. He married a daughter of David Wooley, and had a large family, but only one of them, Mrs. Joseph Fletcher, remains in the township.

John and William Starbird were the sons of John Starbird, of Maine, who moved to Strouds- burg in 1783, and there married Hannah Stroud. His sons moved into what is 110w Preston in March, 1817, and Jolın made his first clearing the following year. He was a justice of the peace for what was then Scott township, and also made the assessment there in 1823. In 1824 he built a saw-mill on She- hawken Creek. He had a family of thirteen children, all of whom grew to man's estate. William Starbird cleared up a farm in 1822, and in 1851 rebuilt the saw-mill his brother had constructed. The mill is now owned by S. T. Whittaker.

David Wooley came from New York City in Mareh, 1817, accompanied by a number of others from the same place, and settled in that part of the township known as " Little York." He had a number of children, among whom

were William and John, who went West; Sarah A., who married Jedediah Woodmansee ; James and Mary Jane, who both reside in Ohio.

James Moore, who was also a settler at " Little York," came about the same time as Mr. Wooley, and located near him, Mr. Moore's oldest daughter married Ezra Spencer, of Mount Pleasant ; and Eliza, another, married Jirah M. Kellogg ; Adeline is the wife of James Lord, and Cornelia married James Gibson, and lives in Illinois.

Elihu Tallman, the father of Esquire C. P. Tallman, of Tallmansville, was a native of Massachusetts. At an early age he was put on board a coasting vessel as cabin-boy and cook, and subsequently learned the trade of shoe- making. He first located in Saratoga, and there married in 1799, and soon after came to Wayne County, and settled in Mount Pleasant. After various vicissitudes he bought out the improvement of Samuel P. Green, on the East Branch, and also a tract of timber at Six Mile Lake (now Lake Como), where he completed a saw-mill, and hauled to Stockport the first raft of pine ever floated there, in 1820. In 1822 he bought a large tract four miles from Starrucca, known as the Krider tract, and was subsequently a prominent lumberman of the township. He had two sons,-William and C. P. The latter bought a large tract where Tallmansville now stands in 1826, built a saw-mill and cleared up a fine farm. He has been for many years a jus- tice of the peace and is a public spirited-citizen. He has been twice married, and his children are as follows : Edwin E., Addison B., Philena J., Darwin W., Eudalia J. (the wife of Addis Moore), Olive L. (the wife of Frederick D. Benedict).

In 1821 Willet Carr, a native of Hancock, N. Y., settled on the place now oceupied by Amos O. Sherwood, at Preston post-office. Mr. Carr was a resident of Preston until about 1837, when he moved to Steuben County, N. Y., taking all the surviving members of his family with him. Green, one of his sons, was buried on the place. The next occupant was David Blowers, who resided there about a year and then went elsewhere.

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WAYNE, PIKE AND MONROE COUNTIES, PENNSYLVANIA.

On the adjoining farm James Simpson, an Englishman, who had recently emigrated, located in 1821, and the place is still in the hands of his descendants. His children were James, Joseph and John, all deceased ; Henry, a resident of Buckingham ; Mary, the wife of William Duvall ; Christina, who married Alber Barrows.

Riley and E. T. Case, two brothers from Gibson, Susquehanna County, came to the township in 1821. Riley located on the farm where Samuel Decker now lives. He married Pollina Whitney, and his children were Charles, Franklin and Emily ; the latter is now married and a resident of Great Bend. E. T. Case married Melila Dow, and their children were Olive (the wife of William Baker), Sophia (who married Ellis Tyler and then Jasper Savery), Phelene (the wife of Luther Carpenter), George, Julia, Virgil, Robert, Horace, Eva (the wife of Charles Cory), and Ella, (the wife of Edson Barrett).

Franklin Duvall was one of the settlers at " Little York," and located where Charles McCabe now lives. He had one son, William F., who lives near Preston post-office. The latter had a large family, some of whom live in Preston and adjacent townships.

Peter C. Sherman was an early settler at Preston Centre, but just when he located there is uncertain. He made the township assess- ment, which has been before referred to, in 1829, and at that time had ten acres of improved land, four hundred and thirty-six acres unim- proved and a house valued at eight dollars. The township and general elections were held on his place for many years. The place after- wards fell into the hands of J. Carr, who dis- posed of it to C. B. Dibble, its present owner.

Luther Chafee located on the farm now occu- pied by C. P. Tallman, Esq., in 1823. He married Rebecca Perkins, and his children were Hervy, Harriet (the wife of Henry Aitteny), Samnel, Joseph and Larcomb. Mr. Chafee sold his farm in 1838 and moved to Ohio.

David Babcock located on a part of the farm now owned by John Clark, in 1823, and re- sided there for some years. He afterward sold

out and removed West, though some of his de- scendants still reside in the township.

Deacon Peter Spencer was one of the earliest settlers and came from Connecticut. He located on the place now occupied by Nathan A. Mon- roe, and married a Miss Russell, of Mount Pleasant. Their children were Ruggles, Sam- uel, Lucretia (the wife of Silas Freeman, of Mount Pleasant), Sarah (who married William Labar, now living with her son, S. W. Labar, in the township).

John Stanton, for whom Stanton Hill was named, came from Connecticut at an early date, and settled on the farm now occupied by Al- pheus Dix. He married Rhoda Tallman, and their children were Samuel ; Betsy, the wife of David Dix ; Mary A., who married Am- brose Payne, and afterwards Martin Ellis ; Henry P .; David ; Sidney ; Maxy, the wife of Jesse Haines ; Eunice, who married Charles Roberts; and John.

John Stephens, who was one of the first to keep a public-house in the town, was an Eng- lishman, and began early on the farm now occu- pied by Stanley H. Hine. The exact date of his settlement cannot be ascertained. The as- sessment of 1829 showed him to have two hun- dred and twenty-five acres of land, much of which was of superior quality, indicating that he had been there some time then. His first license was granted in 1830, and he kept a tav- ern as long as he lived.

Abner Stone was an early settler on the Stockport road, and located just north of Sam- uel Bookings, on the farm now occupied by Henry K. Stone. He had a number of chil- dren, among whom were Albert, of Equinunk ; Hosmer, of Illinois; Henry K .; Sible, who married Nathan Sherwood, and then Thomas Tiner, of Equinunk ; and Lucy, the wife of Byron Freeman, of Mount Pleasant.

Daniel Rose, whose name appears in the assess- ment above quoted, cleared up the farm where George Wainright now lives, and afterwards moved to Pike County, where he is mentioned more fully.

Ira Cargill, who came from Connecticut, started a flourishing settlement on the road leading from the Ochquaga turnpike to Star-

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WAYNE COUNTY.

rucca in 1830. His farm, which was near Rider Pond, is now owned by Jesse Carpenter. Mr. Cargill was a prominent man in his day, and was several times a township officer. He has been dead many years, and left no descend- ants.

Clark Gardner, who was a prominent man in the western part of the township, was of New England origin, and located on the farm now occupied by Robert Tenant some time prior to 1830. He afterwards moved to Mount Pleas- ant township, where his descendants all reside.

Nathan T. Carpenter, a native of Attleboro', Mass., took up the two hundred acre tract that he has since cleared, in 1830. He married Mary Luther, of Swanzy, Mass., and his chil- dren are Theophilus L., of Jackson, Susquehanna County ; Mary, the wife of J. F. Duvall ; Daniel, who was killed in the late war; Han- nah; and Nathan, who resides in Mount Pleas- ant.

Eleazer Monroe moved from Mount Pleasant about 1830, and located on the place now occu- pied by Charles Monroe. He married Cathe- rine Roberts, and his children were Lyman, deceased ; James and Jonathan, who live in Kansas; Mary, the wife of Sheldon Stearns; and Ellen, the wife of Gilbert A. Forbes, of Honesdale.

Joseph Margurat, a native of Switzerland, settled on the place now occupied by one of the Sherwoods, about 1830. He afterwards moved to Sandusky, Ohio, but left a number of de- scendants in Preston township. Mrs. Ezra Ferris is his granddaughter.

George Hall, whose name appears in the above assessment, settled at Lake Como in 1830, where he married a Miss Hill. He died in 1835, and his wife afterwards married a Mr. Barrager, and lived in Buckingham township.

John Martin was a Hessian, who went from Canada to Duchess County, N. Y., and from there emigrated to Wayne County. He had been in the army, and used to say facetiously that he was sent out of camp one day, and for- got to go back. He lived on a number of farms in Preston and adjoining townships. His fam- ily is scattered. Jeremiah lives in Buckingham ; Daniel is a resident of the township; David

was killed in the late war; Stephen lives in Nebraska; Mary is married, and lives in New York, as do several others of his daughters; Julia, one of them, married James C. Menhen- nett, of Lake Como.

David Stout located where A, C. Wilcox now lives, near Twin Lakes. He had one son, David, who now resides with his son-in-law, Peter Harris, of Mount Pleasant ; and a daugh- ter, Lucy, who married Ambrose Wilcox, of the same place.

Merritt Hine came from Massachusetts about 1811, and settled first in Ararat, Susquehanna County. In 1831 he moved to Hine's Corners, on the place now occupied by Philander Hine, and bought most of the land near by, selling it on easy terms, and starting a flourishing settle- ment. He married Catharine Belcher, and had a large family. His children were Julia, the wife of William Knapp; Ira ; Miranda, who married D. M. Benedict; John ; Royal ; Phil- ander; Elena; Lorenzo; Sarah J., the wife of David Thurston; Elizabeth B., who married Daniel Tuthill ; Mary E., who married Sidney P. Tallman, and then a Mr. Enslin ; David J. Merritt Hine was one of the champion hunters of the region, and could boast many thrilling and hair-breadth escapes from wolves and panthers. He was skilled in woodcraft, and frequently went sixty miles to Wilkes- Barre, through the then almost trackless for- ests.

Francis J. Grelett was a Frenchiman, who located on what is now called the George Fail- ing place, about 1831. He was a man of much education and considerable culture, and it was said that he had been an officer in Napoleon's army, and had left France for political reasons. He was one of the early teachers in Honesdale, where he gained quite a reputation as a fine mathematician, though he was somewhat eccen- tric. Alexander, the eldest of his four sons, always lived in Philadelphia ; Joseph resides at Tallmansville; Victor went to Illinois; L. Donot is at Lake Como. Of his daughters, Louise married Thaddeus Campbell ; Ciserine was the wife of Earl Griffin ; and Justine mar- ried and went West.

Colby Chamberlain came from Virginia about

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WAYNE, PIKE AND MONROE COUNTIES, PENNSYLVANIA.

1837, and located on Spruce Pond, where he took up a tract of one hundred and sixteen acres. He married Ardelia Seay, and their children were Harriet, the wife of Abner Pal- mer ; Worcester, who resides on the homestead ; Osmer; William H .; Edgar B .; Jennie, the wife of Jonathan Kellogg ; and Josephine, who mar- ried John Davis.

Silas Kellogg was one of the early settlers of Mount Pleasant, emigrating there from Sara- toga in 1792. He was elected sheriff of the county in 1813, and was a prominent man in the early history of that township, under which a more extended notice of him will be found. He moved into Preston in 1837 and resided there for many years. His sons were Azor and Jirah Kellogg, and Mary, his oldest daughter, was the wife of John K. Woodward, and the mother of the late Warren J. Woodward, and of Jackson K. Woodward, deceased, of Hones- dale.

Amos O. Sherwood came from Fairfield County, Connecticut, about 1837, and first set- tled at Rileyville. In a few years he took up a tract at Preston Centre, and his place has since been well known in the locality. He married Betsy Burr, and his children are Eunice, the wife of Ezra .Seeley, of Connecticut ; Eben B .; Amelia, who married Marcus Moore ; Na- than J .; Elcanor ; D. B .; William H ; and Sally, the wife of Reuben Beech.

.Among those who arrived in the township at a later period were J. B. Sanford, who settled at Little York about 1841 ; George Wainright, who came a year later ; Omar A. Lakin, who was a grandson of Josiah Parks, of rafting fame, and came from Hancock, New York, in 1844 ; and John Tenant, of Luzerne County; and John Van Housan, of Delhi, New York, who located near Rider Pond in 1847 and 1848.

Daniel Underwood removed from Connecti- cut in 1830, and located on the Stockport road, northeast of Amos O. Sherwood. He was a skillful carpenter and builder, and erected tlie Methodist Church in Mount Pleasant. He was the father of a good-sized family, and all of his sons have become prominent men in both town- ship and county. They were Lewis A. Under-

wood, Hon. Nelson F. Underwood, who repre- sented Wayne County in the Legislature of 1880, W. G. Underwood and Preston, who re- moved to Kansas ; the daughters were Lavinia, who married James E. Woodmansee, and lives in Buckingham, and Ann Eliza, the wife of L. E. Howard, of Hancock, New York. Daniel Underwood died in 1873, aged sixty-seven years.

EARLY IMPROVEMENTS .- The first saw-mill built in the township was that already referred to at the outlet of Six Mile Pond, as Lake Como was then called. It had been commenced by Samuel P. Green, who owned a four hun- dred acre tract there, and had met with financial reverses after beginning his improvements. Elihu Tallman made his purchase of the prop- erty in 1819, and at once finished the mill, and the first raft of sawed lumber was hauled to the Stockport banks in time for the spring freshets of the following year. At this time there were no roads running north and south for many miles, except the old Stockport road, which led from the Delaware to Mount Pleas- ant, and this had only the small trees and bushes cut out, and the larger trunks so blazed as to guide the settlers on its course in deep snows. This was connected with the Cochec- ton and Great Bend turnpike by a road east from Union Settlement, in what is now Man- chester, and there were also a few private roads, about half opened. Mr. Tallman's lumber venture proved a good one, and soon others em- barked in the business, some having their lum- ber sawed, and others drawing the logs to the river to be rafted to points down the stream. In 1824 lie built a saw-mill at the outlet of Stanton Pond, on the Krider tract. The mill at Tallmansville was built by C. P. Tallman in 1830, and the same year Peter C. Sherman put up a mill on Coxtown Pond, now owned by Sydney B. Bennett. At this time the circular saw was unknown in Wayne County, and had been but barely experimented with elsewhere, and all of these mills had the old up-and-down saw ; some of them were afterwards converted into circular saw-mills.

At this time there was a road marked out from Starrucca to connect with the Stockport

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WAYNE COUNTY.

road, and in some places the underbrush liad been cut out, aud the timber felled, but not cleared away. It passed within a mile of the Krider tract, which was soon counected with it by a branch road, and followed the general di- rection of the present county road. In the fall of 1823 a road was cut from the Tallman place to Mount Pleasant, and a number of settlers located upon it. As the population increased and became more concentrated, and fallows gave place to fields of grain, the roads were im- proved, schools were established and the township assumed character and a more inviting aspect.

POST-OFFICES .- When the first settlers locat- ed in what is now Preston township there were several post-offices in Wayne County ; the day had gone by when correspondents sent their letters addressed to " Beech Woods," to remain at Wilkes-Barre till called for, and there was a mail route from Wilkes-Barre, by the way of Mount Pleasant to Bethany and Milford, returning through Paupack and Cobb's Gap. The first office established in the present town- ship limits was that at Tallmansville, and Elihu Tallman was the official in charge. He con- tinued to serve, in spite of all the changes of administration, until 1860, when Edwin Tall- man, his son, succeeded him, and has since retained the office. The Preston office was established in 1838, with Daniel Underwood as postmaster, and he, after a few years, gave place to John Stearns. J. F. Duvall and E. R. Leonard also served in turn, before the appoint- ment, in 1880, of Elizabeth Bliss, the present incumbent. Residents of the eastern part of the township first received their mail at Jericho, in Buckingham township, where George Wainright was appointed postmaster in 1858. The office was removed to Lake Como, about 1860, with Lucian Horton in charge. John W. Thrall then took it ; and, in 1867, John Turner, the present postmaster, was appointed. The office has had a daily mail since January, 1878. The office at Lakin was established in 1881, with Miss Addie G. Lakin in charge; that at Hine's Corners in 1879. N. F. Hine was the first postmaster in the latter office, and has been succeeded by L. L. Hine, E. M. Hine and W. H. Chamberlain, the present incumbent. 69

SCHOOLS AND CHURCHES .- In the early history of the township there were no schools between Mount Pleasant and Shehawken, as Hancock was then called, and few of the children had any advantages beyoud those they could obtain when their hard-worked parents had time to give a little iustruction in the veriest rudiments of education. As the settlers grew more numerous, and it was possible to concell- trate a sufficient number of children at one place to hold a school, teachers were hired at private expense. One of these was Truman Wheeler, and Miss Mary Wheeler, presumably his sister, also appears in the early records. In 1824, Elihu Tallman hired Miss Sarah Jane Stoddard to teach four, and part of the time five, children in an old log house on his place. The school was kept by her for three months ; and the next summer the same pupils were under the tuition of Miss Sally Kennedy. Miss Miranda Chittenden and a Mr. Hines followed, and completed a year's instruction, which, on account of the impassable condition of the roads in the winter, had to be extended through nearly two years. Each of these teachers was paid seventy-five cents a week and board, and was entertained first at the house of one subscriber, then at the next, and so on until this portion of her salary was distributed equally amoug the patrons of the school. It is to the credit of tlie township that the first money ever spent on any public improvement was for the erection of a school-house. The following account of this is from a manuscript kindly furnished by C. P. Tallman, Esq .:

" It was in the spring of 1829 or 1830 that a number of us in the neighborhood where I was then living agreed to put up a building, and start a private school, aud after the matter had been well talked up, a meeting was hield, and we fixed upon a site on the east side of my lot, where the road then ran-a spot which is now covered by a thick grove of maples. Some of the neighbors subscribed labor, others matc- rials; I found nails, glass and sash to the amount of four dollars and eighty-four cents, my share of the estimated cost. The building, which was soon erected, was sixtceu by twenty fect, built of sound logs cut near by, and had a stone

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WAYNE, PIKE AND MONROE COUNTIES, PENNSYLVANIA.

chimney at one end, in which was a fire-place that burned four-foot wood. The building was stone clinked and mossed over, so that it was much warmer and more picturesque than many of the settlers' cabins, and presented a very respectable appearance for the times. The door and floor were made of rough hemlock, and the hinges and latch were of our own rude make. The benchies were slabs with sapling legs in them, and the desk boards, fastened to the sides of the house; but everything was substantial, and good as the times afforded. The first teacher engaged was a Miss Watrous, an old and experienced teacher, who gave great satisfaction ; and some of her pupils came several miles in all kinds of weather to profit by her instruction. We paid her a dollar a week, a larger salary than was customary ; but she earned it by her earnestness, patience and faculty for imparting knowledge. Afterward, I do not remember that we ever paid more than seventy-five cents a week for a female teacher, and ten dollars a month for a male instructor."

Franklin Duvall and Daniel Underwood erected a plank school-house near the residence of the latter, and it was probably the next school building put up in the township. Daniel Fletcher taught there first, about 1839. The school-house at Little York was built near the present public school building, in 1845, and was opened by Miss Sally Sanford. After that, schools increased rapidly, and there are now fourteen buildings in the township, with an average value of five hundred dollars apiece.

As early as 1822 an effort was made to hold religious services within the limits of the present township; but the location of the families, their indigent circumstances and various other con- ditions incidental to the primitive character of the settlement were such that all attempts had to be abandoned, and, as one old settler re- cords, " the Sabbaths were very loosely spent." Once in a while the various families were visited by the pioneer ministers of the Baptist and Methodist Churches, and it is possible that within five years after the date just mentioned some gatherings for public worship inay have been held. Meanwhile churches had gained strength in the adjoining townships, and among

their members were some of the early Preston settlers. It was some time after 1825 that John Rain, Primitive Methodist minister, came to Luther Shafer's and began to hold stated meetings, preaching and praying with great fervor, and attracting and interesting many persons. Two were baptized in the creek at Tallmansville, and soon afterward a class of thirteen was organized.

But soon it was discovered that Mr. Rain had not the proper ecclesiastical authority, and he went away, and the class was given up. But the seed had been sown, interest liad been awakened, and it was not long before some of the members of the old class, and some who were members of churches elsewhere, began to long for the class-meetings and the "sweet hour of prayer." This led to the organization of the Tallmansville Methodist Episcopal Church, which took place in 1831, when a flourishing class was formed, with David Wooley as leader. Some of the original mem- bers of this were David Wooley, Jane Wooley, Sarah Ann Wooley, Wm. Wooley, James Wooley, Mary Jane Wooley, Lucretia Tallman, Lucretia Tallman (2d) G. P. Tallman and others of the same family. The first ministers were Revs. Morgan Ruger, George Evans, Samuel Griffin and Samuel B. Yarrington. The church edifice was built in 1866, at a cost of two thousand seven hundred dollars, and has been since improved. The congregation is now in a flourishing condition, and maintains a well-attended Sunday-school.

The Hine's Corners Methodist Episcopal Church was organized as a class in 1849, with D. M. Benedict as the first leader. The con- stituent members were D. M. Benedict and wife, Merritt Hine and wife, Royal Hine and wife, Philander Hine and wife, D. G. Hine, Elvira Hine, Elizabeth Hine, Gilbert Wheeler, Cal- vin Hatch and wife, David Thurston and wife, David Cordner and wife, James Dunn and wife. Others were soon added, and the class became strong enough to engage Rev. N. S. Dewitt as the first pastor. At this time the class belonged to the Lanesboro' charge, and Rev. Nathaniel Sartail, another pastor on that circuit, assisted Mr. Dewitt in a great revival that was an im-

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History of Wayne, Pike, and Monroe counties, Pennsylvania, Part 116

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