History of Wayne, Pike, and Monroe counties, Pennsylvania, Part 120

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 120
USA > Pennsylvania > Pike County > History of Wayne, Pike, and Monroe counties, Pennsylvania > Part 120
USA > Pennsylvania > Wayne County > History of Wayne, Pike, and Monroe counties, Pennsylvania > Part 120

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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township, as will be seen in the general his- tory. Their children were Rebecca P., born 1801, married David Babcock ; Rhoda A., born 1802, married John Stanton; William, born 1804 ; Christopher P., born 1806 ; Maxamilia, born 1808, married Perry Babcock ; Akins, born 1810; Sidney, born 1812; Lucretia A., born 1814, married Alonzo Bennett; Oliver P., born 1817; Minerva H., born November +, 1819, married Robert K. King, as aforesaid. The Tallman family have written that name in very strong characters upon the history of Mount Pleasant and Preston townships, having been, since the first, foremost in progressive works and in religious and educational matters.

The union of Robert K. King and Minerva Tallman has been happy, and the following chil- dren came to gladden their hearth : Anna Z., born July 2, 1840; Ali E., born May 22, 1842, killed at the battle of Petersburg, Va., while bravely upholding the cause of his country, June 18, 1864; Elmer A. and Ellen A., born July 1, 1844; Eunice L., born September 30, 1846 ; Clarence A. F. E. L., born August 12, 1849 ; Hector E., born November 21, 1851 ; Kate I, born March 18, 1854; Lillie Durinda, born April 11, 1857 ; Ada Alice, born June 11, 1860 ; Robert B., born March 19, 1863. Anna Z., married Irvin Starbird, and has borne him Ali King, Alfred Clair and William Robert. Elmer A. married Elmira Labar, who has borne him Nellie, Josephine, Minerva and Benjamin Charles. Ellen A. married Edgar Stearnes, and bore him John K. and Minnie S. After the death of Mr. Stearnes she married Henry Hill, and has borne Leona, Lionel and Pearl. Eunice A. married David H. Cole, bore him Ward R., Susie E. and Elmer D., and died July 8, 1882. Clarence A. F. E. L. married Rosa Fletcher, who has borne him Bert E. and Bird R. (twins, Bird R. since deceased), and Anna E. Hector E. married Eva M. Yale. Kate I. married Stephen L. Callender, and has borne Nelson, Everett, Leroy, Archie, Au- rora and Vida. Lillie Durinda married David H. Cole, and has borne Leonard and an infant son unnamed. Ada Alice married Wesley D. Peck, and has one child, Cora. Robert B. married Mary Temperton.

This large family has been properly raised and well educated, and is a valuable factor in the growth and prosperity of the county. Mr. King for twenty-one years served the people as school director, a large part of the time being president of the board and treasurer, and his influence and example have ever been of the best, well worthy being handed down to poster- ity for their respect and emulation.

CHAPTER XXX.

SCOTT TOWNSHIP.

AT the time this township.was set off from Buckingham, in 1821, it included a portion of what is now Preston ; and diminished as it has been, it is still the fourth township in point of size, and perhaps the most sparsely populated in the county. It is the extreme northern township of Wayne, extends from the Delaware River to the Susquehanna County line, and is bounded on the north by New York State, east by the Delaware River, south by Preston and the borough of Starrucca, and west by Susque- hanna County. Like the township to the south of it, its water-shed is divided, and a portion of its streamlets flow to the Susquehanna, while the greater part lies in the drainage basin of the Delaware. The chief streams are the branches of the Shehawken, Shrawder's Creek and Hemlock Creek. There are also several fine natural ponds, the largest of which are Four Mile and Island Ponds. The topography is much broken, and the country in the centre of the township lies high on the crest of the ridge that divides its two drainage areas. Much of this land is still rough and uncultivated, and there are many fine timber tracts as yet un- touched by the woodman's axe. The south- western and northeastern portions are thinly settled, and the precipitous hills that lead down to the river contain little land that is available for cultivation. Yet there are many good and productive farms in the township, and as good crops as those in any other part of the county attest how fertile are the fields of this barren- looking soil. The altitude and its increased

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northern latitude over other portions of the county give the township a long and bitter winter, and its short season will admit of only the successful cultivation of the more hardy crops. The region is particularly adapted to the culture of Northern fruits, and is also a good sheep-growing and stock-raising country. That it should not be a more thickly populated and a more popular township among the settlers of the present day is a matter of surprise to all who know anything of the advantages it offers by reason of its superior railroad facilities. The Erie Railroad skims its eastern border, and the Jefferson Branch of the Delaware and Hud- son system touches Starrucca. Enterprise, chiefly from New York State, has built up a thriving village in the northern portion, and industries that promise to contribute much to the rapid settlement of the locality are in suc- cessful operation there.

THE EARLY SETTLEMENT .- The first set- tlers in the township came chiefly from other parts of the county, where they had grown to manhood, and had been inured to the hard- ships of pioneer life. There was also a contin- gent from New York State, that crossed the line from the settlements in Delaware County, and a few from other States, who chose this as their first place of residence in Wayne County. At the beginning of the present century the township was all an unbroken wilderness, and a decade of 1800 passes before the first pioneer had penetrated its bleak hills and piny fast- nesses. Even after the first clearings had been made, and a trail through the woods connected the new outpost with the older settlements to the south, the inerease was slow and discourag- ing to those that had made it their future home. Even at this late day, its hilly roads are among the worst in the county, and it is easy to under- stand how, fifty or sixty years ago, the township was isolated and inaccessible. By an assess- ment made by John Starbird, in 1823, two years after the township was set off, it appears that there were only forty-seven taxables, though a large portion of what is now Preston was then included within the limits. There were then only thirty-seven houses, with a total value of two hundred and fifty dollars ; the

seven mills were assessed as worth thirteen hun- dred dollars ; fifty-seven cows, seven hundred and fifty dollars. Many of these forty-seven taxables lived in Preston, and when it was set off, three years later, the list was reduced nearly one-third.

The first settler of whom there is any record was Samuel Alexander, a native of Mendon, Mass., who located first in Deposit, N. Y., and moved from there to the farm now occupied by his descendants, just over the Pennsylvania line, on the Deposit road. He married Mary Car- penter, of Orange County, N. Y., and their children were Josiah, still living at the age of eighty-six ; Elizabeth, the wife of Robert Early, who lived on the Nelson Sampson place ; Elisha, still living on the homestead ; Isaac, who went to Nebraska ; Charles, a resident of Sanford, N. Y .; Abigail, the wife of Zedekiah Gardenier ; Hamilton, who went West ; and Mary, the wife of Elijah Carrier, of Winsor, N. Y.

Peter Coal came from Albany during the War of 1812, and located on the farm now known as the "Courtright Place." His wife was Abigail Homan, the daughter of a Revo- lutionary soldier, and their children were John ; David; William; Sally, the wife of a gentleman named Johnson, and afterward married to a Mr. Fish ; Betsy, who married Joshua Sands ; Polly, the wife of James Lord ; and Narcissa, who married Hiram Kennedy.

Rev. Gershom, or " Priest Williams," as he was popularly known, claimed to be a descend- ant of Lord Townley, and was one of the Wil- liams family of Long Island. He inherited considerable wealth, and at one time owned considerable property in the vicinity of Trinity Church, as well as the largest interest in the only ferry then running between New York City and Brooklyn. Early in his ministerial career he was settled over one of the Brooklyn Churches, and served as pastor for some years. He then moved to New Jersey, from whence he came to Wayne County, and located near Scott Centre, in 1813. He had four sons,- Calvin, Philander, Melanethon and Hervey D. Williams. The latter married and remained on the homestead, and was for years the sur-

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WAYNE, PIKE AND MONROE COUNTIES, PENNSYLVANIA.

veyor of the town. He had four sons,-Abram, Oscar H., George and Charles. There were also two daughters in this generation, both of whom married and moved out of the county. Gershom Williams was a college-bred man, and all of his family were educated, refined and talented people. Mr. Williams was twice mar- ried, and his second wife was the victim of a tragedy referred to further on. His grandson, O. H. Williams, was the first town clerk of whom there is any record.

Uriah Smith came from Long Island about 1814, and settled near Maple Hill, clearing up the farm now occupied by B. F. Tewksbury. His wife was Sally, a daughter of Townsend Weyant, and their children were Eliza, the wife of William Dickey, who went West ; John F., a resident of the township; Lewis, who is in the West ; Michael, who lives near Honesdale ; Julia A., the wife of Adam Englert, a resident of the West ; Harriet, who married William H. Cushman, of Honesdale; Abigail, who also married Mr. Cushman ; and Uriah T., and Wesley T., both of whom are West.

Michael and Townsend Weyant were Long Islanders, who came to Scott about 1814. Mi- chael lived on the place now occupied by Wil- liam Bowen. He had a number of daughters and the sons mentioned above.

John Smith was also from Long Island, and commenced to clear up the farm on which his son, John H. Smith, now lives, in 1815. His wife was Catharine Harrington, and his children were Charity (the wife of Isaac Alexander), Elizabeth (who married Jonas Parker, and moved to Iowa), Anna (deceased), Ezra, John H. and Adeline (the wife of Wesley T. Smith.)

Benajah Jayne, a brother of Dr. Jayne, of Philadelphia, who has attained world-wide no- toriety by his patent medicine ventures, located on Maple Hill about 1816, and cleared up the farm that is still known by his namne. He mar- ried Polly Whitteker, and had six sons and three daughters, all of whom have gone West. Benajah Jayne is now a resident of New York City, and will be remembered as the person who gained much notoriety, just after the Civil War closed, in connection with the custom-house frauds of New York. He was employed by

the government to collect duties on all the goods that had run the custom blockade, and given a large commission. A fortune resulted.

Charles and George Mateer cleared up what is known as the Conant farm, about 1820. Both married daughters of John Whitteker, and went West many years ago.

Whipple Tarbox moved from Jackson, Sus- quehanna County, about 1824, and cleared up the place now owned by his son Harvey. He had seven children,-Parmelia, who married and went West ; Mary, the wife of Lee Sparks ; Loise, who married John F. Smith; Hannah, the wife of Lewis Smith ; Harvey, who lives on the homestead ; and William.

John Dickson is thought to have been the first settler on Shad Pond Creek, and occupied the land where Sherman now stands for a num- ber of years after 1826. Some of his descend- ants still reside in the vicinity.

Orin Burleigh was a native of Connecticut, who cleared up the farm now occupied by O. L. Burleigh, his son, in 1827. His family con- sisted of two sons and three daughters. The former were O. S. and W. B. Burleigh, and the latter were Mary, who married Abram Lord ; Chloe, the wife of Martin Gardenier; and Harriet, who married Samuel Newman.

Erastus Carr, who is still a resident of the township, came from New York State in 1830, and has a large family, which has added to the valuable citizens of the township.

Major Andress came from Hancock in 1837, and located in what is now Sherman. He mar- ried Susan E. Taylor, and was the father of Nancy M. (the wife of Thomas Brown), Ame- lia J. (the wife of Wilber Brown), and William and Everett Andress.

Among the prominent men of the township, and a resident of Sherman, was Dr. Alanson Raymond, who settled on the farm now occu- pied by his son, B. W. Raymond, in 1840. He was both a physician and a lawyer, and prac- ticed both professions. His wife was a sister of Rev. Anderson Reynolds, the first pastor of the Baptist Church, and his family was intelligent and well educated. His sons were Rufus, Ben- jamin, George and John. Ella, one of his daughters, married Daniel Lowe, and the other,

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Elvin Scott. Dr. Raymond's widow is now the wife of A. D. Bird.

William Curtis is a native of England, and moved from Honesdale to Scott township in 1845, locating on the place where he now re- sides. He married Sarah Smith and has a large family, some of whom have gone West.

Abraham W. Ransom, also an Englishman, located first in Mount Pleasant, but afterward on the place now occupied by his son, about 1835. He has three or four married children living in the vicinity.

Barnard Farrell moved from Sullivan County. He was a native of Ireland, and came to this country in 1835, settling first in New York State. He married Ann McKenna, and their children were Catherine, Bernard C. (of Potter County), Patrick H. (to whom the writer is in- debted for much valuable material for this chapter), John A., Ann (the wife of Charles Frazier, of Delaware County, N. Y.), James E. (of Starrucca), Mary E., Joseph and Katie.

Captain David Allen moved from Deposit in 1854, and settled at Sherman. He married Electa Lamareaux, and their ehildren were Catherine (the wife of Willis Watkins), Corde- lia, Darius, Emily (who married Norman Brun- dage) and Martha (the wife of Jacob Garde- nier).

Egbert H. Mills came from Orange County in 1859, and has a large family, all of them residents of Sherman.

THE BELL MURDER .- As has before been stated, the wife of Rev. Gershom Williams was the victim of a tragedy that is memorable in the annals of Wayne County, and created great excitement at the time. It was at nine o'clock on the morning of Sunday, August 1, 1847, that Mrs. Williams, then a lady of about sixty, left her home to meet her Sunday-school class in the school-house a mile and a half away. Her sisters were visiting the house at the time, and were to follow her in the wagon, accompanied by Mr. Williams, an hour later, to attend church in the same building.

The family lived in about the middle of the township, on the Mount Pleasant road, and where the cross-road runs a mile and a half westward and joins the Starrucea road. She

went through a little patch of woods, then passed the house of John Smith, through an- other bit of woods, passed the residence of Lewis Smith, and then on into the deep woods that darkened the road for the last half-mile of her journey. The night before this, a tramp, who pretended to be a cripple, had asked permission to sleep in the barn of George Hen- derson, and the latter, with true hospitality, had taken him into the house. He remained there during the night, and left the next morning, immediately after breakfast, taking the road that led toward Williams'. An hour later he once more emerged from the woods, and went toward Starrucca. Mrs. Williams' class had no teacher that morning. When it was known that she had left her home an hour before and had not been seen since she entered the woods, an alarm was given and the forest was searched for her. Soon the body was discovered beside the road, blackened by the burned logs over which it had been tumbled. Her dress was soiled and torn, and there were deep marks of the murderous fingers that had been pressed into her throat. There were evidences of a bloody struggle, and one of her gloves and a part of her cape were gone.

The tramp was suspected of her violation and murder, and was soon in custody. When he was taken before a justice, he confessed the deed and gave his name as Harris Bell. Al- though excitement ran higli, he escaped lynch- ing, and was taken to the county jail at Hones- dale, where the grand jury found a true bill against him at the September Sessions. He was tried at the December Term, and a great effort was made to save his life on the ground of imbecility. This defense was ably argued by F. M. Crane, William H. Dimmick and Franklin Lusk, while District Attorney R. M. Grennell, Charles S. Minor, Earl Wheeler and Jolin W. Myers appeared for the common- wealth. Bell was found guilty of murder in the first degree, and in spite of strenuous efforts to obtain for him a new trial, was sentenced by Judge William H. Jessup, on February 12, 1848. He was executed at Honesdale, Sep- tember 29, 1848.

INDUSTRIES .- The first saw-mills in the

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township were those of Gershom Williams and Squire Sampson, and must have been built about 1820. In 1828, Joseph Saunders and Jesse Sampson erccted the mill now owned by Captain David Allen, on a tributary to Shad Pond Creek, just below the village of Sherman. It has passed through the hands of many owners, and some years ago was rebuilt by Eg- bert Mills, who also added machinery for cider- making on an extensive scale.

In 1855, H. W. Brandt, Jacob Schlager, Henry Brunig and William Bergmiller started a tannery at the village of Sherman. It was an extensive plant, and did a good business for many years, but finally the competition of the larger establishments in the East was too great, and it was closed about five years ago. In its place, the Scott Chemical Company was organ- ized, and now does an extensive business in the manufacture of acetate of lime, wood alcohol and charcoal. The present members of the. company are H. W. Brandt, S. Schlager, R. Kessler, C. Schlager, W. S. Brandt, W. T. Finch, D. Arneke, J. Schlager.

ROADS AND POST-OFFICES .- The first road built in the township was that leading from Starrucca to Deposit, which was constructed be- fore the township was set off, and the next was the one from Lanesboro', on the Susquehanna River, to Ball's Eddy, or Winterdale, as it is now called.

Rev. Gershom Williams was the first post- master in the township and was appointed when the office at Scott Centre was estab- lished. He was succeeded by his son, Hervey D. Williams, who gave place to Nelson Early, the predecessor of Uriah T. Smith, the present incumbent. The post-office at Sherman was established about sixteen years ago, and Henry Brunig was the first postmaster. His succes- sors were Alanson Raymond, Marinda Ray- mond, Charles Smith, James Surinc and Chas. Greenman, in the order named. The office at Winterdale was established two years ago, and G. H. Sands, the present postmaster, was the first appointee. The Island Pond office dates from 1875; Sidney E. Stanton has held the postmastership since the establishment.

SCHOOLS AND CHURCHES .-- There is no rec-

ord of any school within the township limits before 1826, when a log building for that pur- pose was erected at the foot of Maple Hill, near where Major Andress now lives. The first teacher there was Miss Emily Stiles, who afterward married Ogdon, the son of John Whitteker. The next school was built in 1830. It was a little log building on the farm now owned by Henry Tarbox, and Loise Tarbox, now the wife of Uriah T. Smith, was the first teacher. It is probable that there were some private schools before either of these, but there remains no record of them now, except that one old resident remembers that he heard his father tell how Rev. Gershom Williams used to school his own children, and as many of the neighbors as cared to come in, but this as a labor of love. The same gentleman also con- ducted the first religous services in the town- ship, and prayer-meetings were held regularly at his house for many years. The churches of the township were all of late growth, because of the proximity of the churches of Starrucca and Preston.

The Maple Hill Baptist Church, of Sherman, was organized July 19, 1851, in the old Jayne School-house, and had sixteen constituent members,-Deacon George Reynolds, Deacon Justis J. Jayne, Dovill Reynolds, Newell Rey- nolds, Beniah Jayne, John W. Jayne, Henry D. Jayne, Julia Reynolds, Mary Jayne, Cath- erine Jayne, Rhoda Jayne, Philena Reynolds, Miranda Raymond, Nancy Andress, Abigail Whitmore and Mary Ann Owens. The council of recognition was held August 6th following, and on the succeeding December 18th the church ordained Rev. O. L. Hall its first pas- tor. The succeeding pastors have been Revs. Anderson Reynolds, Elder Francis, Barrick Bunting, W. N. Tower, George Evans, A. J. Adams, William Carr and James Pope, the present pastor. Worship was at first con- ducted in the school-house, but in the summer of 1854 a church edifice was erected for use in common with other evangelical denominations, and was dedicated on the 18th of the October following. There are at present fifty-two com- municants.

The Scott Presbyterian Church was organ-

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ized in 1843, with seven members, and struggled along for a number of years without a regular pastor or stated supply. But the work of min- isters from the churches of townships adjacent bore fruit, and at last the congregation was placed on a firm basis. Worship was conducted in the Baptist Church until 1874, when the present edifice was erected, and was dedicated August 13th. Since that time the congregation

Jacobin troubles in that country, prior to the prominence of Napoleon Buonaparte, many had left their loved "La Belle France " and sought homes in foreign lands. One of these, the uncle of this young man, had established him- self at Martinique, West Indies, and thither the father sent his son, Cornelius. Overtaken by a storm, the ship on which he sailed became a total wreck, and passengers and crew were

David allen

has had a regular pastor, Rev. James M. Phillips, and now has sixty communicants.

BIOGRAPHICAL.

CAPTAIN . DAVID ALLEN.

Just after our Revolutionary War had closed large numbers of foreigners sought the shores of the New World, among them Cornelius Alleine, a native of Brest, France. During the

rescued by a ship destined for Boston, Mass. Reaching that port, strong efforts were made to induce the stalwart young Frenchman to remain and become a citizen of the infant United States, and he concluding to do so, became a resident of Franklin County, Mass., and took up a large farm there. On this place he lived and died, in 1852, aged seventy-six. He mar- ried Susanna, daughter of James Cady, of Wor- cester, Mass., and she bore him eleven children, -six sons and five daughters-and deceased, 1870, aged ninety ycars.

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The subject of our sketchi was the fourth child born in Brookline, Vt. (where the parents made a home for a few years), October 26, 1804.

His boyhood was spent upou the homestead, and his educatiou obtained at the district school. When twenty-one years old he determined to go West to get rich, as he expresses it, and got as far as Deposit, on the Delaware River, and stopped. Commencing lumbering, he rapidly acquired the necessary acquaintance with the grades of timber and its manufactured products, and ere long was enabled to ship his lumber down the Delaware in rafts to the Philadelphia market. For fifty years the fall, winter and spring months were given to his lumber interests, and for that same loug period his summers were devoted to mason building. In this latter de- partmeut much work was done and a large number of solid structures in Deposit and else- where attest the honesty of the workmanship he caused to be done. The handsome De- posit Seminary, which was burned down about the year 1856, was erected by Captaiu Allen, also many others of almost equal value aud ap- pearance. Various town offices were held by him while residiug there, in all of which his great energy aud uprightness were fully showu. Iu 1854 he removed to Scott township, Wayne County, Pa., where he bought a farm of three hundred aud fifty acres and saw-mill establish- meut, which enabled him to manufacture his timber into lumber for the markets. From this place, in 1870, he decided to depart, and the pleasant home which he had built some few years before was prepared for the family, and in this house life has since been happily spent.

1, 1837, died August 3, 1841 ; Mary Cordelia, born August 20, 1841, married Elijah P. Rey- nolds, who had two children,-Allen aud Laura,-and who died April 20, 1876. Mrs. Reynolds uow resides with her father at Sher- man. Emily Augusta, born June 29, 1843, married Dr. Norman Brundage, of Sherman. Martha Amelia, born April 16, 1845, married Jacob Gardinier, and has one son, Clarence. Mrs. Allen died May 11, 1867. Captain Allen, his wife, and nearly the entire family have been for many years prominent and consistent mem- bers of the Presbyterian Church of Sherman, and the influence exerted is always for good, not only in religious, but iu educational matters.

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History of Wayne, Pike, and Monroe counties, Pennsylvania, Part 120

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