History of Wayne, Pike, and Monroe counties, Pennsylvania, Part 59

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 59
USA > Pennsylvania > Pike County > History of Wayne, Pike, and Monroe counties, Pennsylvania > Part 59
USA > Pennsylvania > Wayne County > History of Wayne, Pike, and Monroe counties, Pennsylvania > Part 59

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).

Other creditors of Colonel Seely had, howev- er, in the mean time taken measures to secure their claims against him, and having obtained judgments, had entered them of record in North- ampton County, of which it should be borne in mind the territory of Wayne was theu a part. In March, 1790, the Indian Orchard tract was sold by Sheriff George Groff, of Northampton County, as the property of Jonas Seely, on an execution issued at the instance of Isaac Levan, in the interest of the estate of Governor James Hamilton, deceased, and William More Smith, an attorney of Montgomery County, became the purchaser. But Wilson was not disposed to lose his title without a struggle, and on the 18th of March, 1790, when the sheriff was about to ac- knowledge in open court the deed to Smith, Joseph Thomas, Wilson's attorney, arose and asked for a rule to show cause why, upon James Wilson's paying to the representatives of Ham- ilton's estate his contribntory part of Colonel Scely's debt to said Hamilton, a deed should not be made by the sheriff to the said Wilson, as the best and highest bidder. The court ruled that Mr. Thomas " take nothing by his motion,"

338

WAYNE, PIKE AND MONROE COUNTIES, PENNSYLVANIA.

and, consequently, the 29th of April the deed was acknowledged to Smith, in whom the title to the tract was invested for abont a year.

William Hamilton, of Bush Hill, Philadel- phia (nephew of James), received a deed for the property from Smith on the 14th of April, 1791, the consideration being nine hundred and five dollars lawful money of Pennsylvania, who held it until his death, in 1813, after which Ja- son Torrey became the agent for the lands in Wayne County belonging to his estate.

POST & STONES

POST

BIRCH

BILCH

Ww SCHOONOVER

439A 39P

DYBERRY

SCHOONOVER TRACT

NEST BRANCH

. A

STONES

BOR. OF HONESDALE

JONAS SEELY ING. OREN! TRACT CORNER

BIRCH)

IND. ORCH !. TRACT

POST

INDIAN

SCALE 5 MILES TO THE INCH

ORCHARD

Post

STONE

WWW.PINK

SM. POPLAR

SA.PINE

LACKAWAXEN

STEHE

BIRCH

A-THE SCHOONOVER TRACT. B-THE INDIAN OR- CHARD TRACT, C-THE UNITED TRACTS.

Soon after William Hamilton became pos- sessed of the property clearings began to be inade upon some of the adjoining tracts, and settlers encroached upon his domain. After the erection of Wayne County, in 1798, and especially after the removal of the seat of justice to Bethany, this tract of land lying, as it did, near the county-seat, and along the main road to it from the south, naturally appreciated con- siderably in value. At this time the better por-

tions of it were in possession of half a dozen in- dividuals, either as squatters or under contracts with James Bell, Mr. Hamilton's agent and at- torney. Three years later Bell's authority was revoked, and it became necessary for the parties holding under him to deal directly with the owner, which they did. On the 1st of March, 1810, deeds were acknowledged by William Hamilton for portions of the Indian Orchard tract, to Benjamin Kimble, Walker Kimble, Stephen Kimble, Dan Dimmick, Jonathan Brink and Mordecai Roberts.

He, to the last named man, transferred the site of Honesdale, or rather its southern half, as a portion of a tract of one hundred and fifty-two acres and fifty perches, the con- sideration for which was the modest, though then sufficient, sum of $229.08. The lot was described in the deed as " All that certain tract or piece of land situate on the waters of Lacka- waxen creak, Wayne County, State of Pennsyl- vania, bounded as follows: Beginning at a Hemlock tree, the original northwest corner of the old Indian Orchard tract ; thence north six- ty-six and a half east one hundred and nineteen perches, to a heap of stones; thence south twenty-three and a half east cighty-two and three-quarters perches to a stone ; thence northi sixty-six and a half cast seventy-five and a half perches to a post ; thence south twenty-three and a half east thirty-eight, twenty-four perches to a stone; thence by Stephen Kimble's land south sixty-five and a half west seventy-six perches to a stone; thence south twenty-three and a half cast eighty-three and three-quarters perches to a post ; thence by the said Stephen Kimble's land south sixty-six and a half west seventy-eight perches to the place of beginning, containing 152 acres, 583 perches, with the nsual allowance of six per cent. for roads, being a part of a large tract of land known by the name of Indian Orchard."

Mordecai Roberts, a farmer, between the " Narrows " and the mouth of the Lackawaxen, held the land for twelve years (doing nothing, in the mean time, towards its improvement, except cutting off' some of the heaviest timber) and then sold it to his son, Mordecai Roberts, Jr., of Dyberry township, for the nominal sum of

MERIDIAN

339

WAYNE COUNTY.

one hundred dollars. He, in turn, sold the tract to Samuel Kimble, on June 30, 1823, the consideration being sixteen hundred dollars.

Mr. Kimble bought the property with a view of clearing it up and engaging in farming, and at once set to work chopping, to accomplish that intention. His purchase included all of the land embraced in the present borough limits, below, or south of, a line drawn east and west through the public square and extended a short distance on each side of the borough lines.

In 1825 he had partially cleared a few acres and erected a small plank house at a point on Second Street, as the town is now laid out, and here was residing, in the first house erected upon the site of the now thriving and beautiful town, when the operations of the Delaware and Hud- son Canal Company were begun. The project- ors of that great enterprise were sufficiently far- sighted to anticipate that a town would be built up here, at the western terminus of their canal and the eastern terminus of their contemplated railroad over the mountains, and they were, as a matter of course, anxious to obtain possession of Kimble's land. It being represented to him by the company's agents that the canal basin would be located beyond the limits of his pur- chase, and that the passage of the canal throughi his farm would be very detrimental to his in- terests, and also being advised by some of his friends to sell, he finally, on the 19th of Septem- ber, 1827, conveyed to Maurice Wurts, of Phil- adelphia, all of his land lying west of the Lacka- waxen, comprising " one hundred and seven acres, fifty-nine perches strict measure," Kimble reserv- ing the right to maintain a dam across the river. The consideration was one thousand dollars in cash, a sum which seemed so small when active operations had been begun on the lands he dis- posed of and their true value was foreshown, that Kimble bitterly repented the transaction. On the 15th of October, 1827, Maurice Wurts sold the parcel of land to " the President, Managers and Company of the Delaware and Hudson Canal Company," for the sum of four thousand dollars. By them it was laid out in building lots (except snch portions as they reserved for their own use), and from that company all ti- tles to lots in Honesdale, south of the line here-

tofore referred to, have been accordingly de- rived.

The chain of title to that portion of the town north of the centre of the public square remains to be described. It is much simpler than that pertaining to the southern part.

The Schoonover tract of over four hundred acres was surveyed on a warrant dated the 12th of March, 1803, to William Schoonover, and a patent for it was issued to him on the 27th of January, 1804, in which it was called " Mon- mouth" and described as containing four hundred and thirty-nine aeres and thirty-nine perches.

He was from New Jersey and had settled on the Dyberry flats, about a mile above the con- fluence of the Dyberry Creek and the West Branch, in 1791 or the following year. His occupancy of the place was nndisturbed for about ten years, but finally other persons who had obtained warrants from the commonwealth began to make their surveys and attempted to cffcet his removal on the claim that he was in- fringing on their territory.

Jason Torrey, who was then doing an in- mense amount of surveying, soon discovered that Mr. Schoonover's settlement far antedated the titles of the rival claimants, and advised him to take out a warrant and have the bound- aries of his land definitely fixed and the title secured.

This, after considerable persuasion, he anthor- ized the surveyor to do for him. The consid- eration for this service on the part of Torrey was agreed upon in advance, and was to be one- half of the tract secured. After it had been accomplished and the patent secured the ques- tion came up as to the division of the land. Schoonover naturally desired to retain that por- tion of the patent on which his clearing and house stood, and it was decided that Torrey should have the lower or sonthern portion, but as this part was poorer land than the northern, some of it being rocky and some of it marshy, the line was so run as to allow him about forty acres more than half. The deed for this por- tion of the land was executed by William Schoonover and Susannah, his wife, on the 23d of April, the professional services of the grantee being rated as consideration for the land to the

340

WAYNE, PIKE AND MONROE COUNTIES, PENNSYLVANIA.

amount of five hundred dollars. This deed de- seribed the possession as "a certain tract, or par- cel of land . . . containing two hundred and fifty-nine aeres and twenty-nine perches and al- lowanee of six per cent. for roads, being part of an entire original tract of four hundred and thirty-nine aeres and thirty-nine perches and allowance, surveyed on a warrant to William Schoonover," etc. This included all of the lands now within the borough limits north of a line drawn from east to west through the mid- dle of the public square.

Torrey, who was then living at Bethany, made no attempt to improve the tract for over twenty years, but endeavored several times to sell it, particularly in 1817 to Benjamin Jenkins, who preferred to locate where Prompton now is and pay a greater price than was asked for the Honesdale property. ' Thus Torrey remained in possession until the locality was selected as the terminus of the Delaware and Hudson Canal, and he then platted the northern portion of the village and placed his lots in the market, ultimately realizing from their sale a handsome profit.2

BEGINNING OF THE TOWN .- As soon as it became apparent that the " Forks of Dyberry " was to be the terminus of the canal, operations were begun for the building of a town. It ap- pears that for a time it was Jason Torrey's expectation that the head of the canal would be located upon his land, and that he and the company should co-operate in laying out the town. Indeed, a contract to that effect was entered into between Mr. Bolton, the president of the company, and himself, which only needed ratification by the board of directors. They failed to approve it. The head of the canal was fixed on the lands south of Mr. Tor- rey's, which, as heretofore stated, had been bought by Mr. Wurts and conveyed to the company, and hence each of the parties began separate improvements, and two distinet hamlets

came into existence, which were not merged for many years.

To Mr. Torrey belongs the honor of making the first break in the wild, almost impenetrable rhododendron and cypress thicket which clothed the site of the now thriving borough. The Kimble house, to be sure, was in existence, but that was not erected with a view toward fur- ther improvement. There was none other nearer than Schoonover's, when Stephen Tor- rey, acting for his father, superintended the erection of a boarding-house in the fall of 1826 for the prospective laborers who were to be on the ground the next season. This building, on the point between the West Branch and the Dyberry and about a hundred feet from each, in after-years came to be known as the " Taber- nacle," from the fact that religious services were held within it. It was kept as a boarding-house by William R. MeLaury, who was thus the first person to commenee housekeeping in Hones- dale. (He died at his residence, near the bo- rough, on March 9, 1881.)

The next season (1827) vigorous operations were commenced in the way of elearing, north of the creek, and Jason Torrey surveyed and laid out his portion of the town. Half a mile up the West Branch his son Stephen constructed a dam and built a saw-mill, which was in ope- ration early in 1828, and sawed the lumber for many of the first houses in the new settlement. The Forbes House, now the Wayne County House, was erected and taken possession of by Charles Forbes, and the Foster House was built across the street. I. P. Foster and Jason Tor- rey opened the first store in May, 1827, and were succeeded by Foster and John F. Roe in March of the following year.

The engineers of the canal company surveyed and laid out the portion of the town south of Mr. Torrey's land about the same time that he was engaged in platting the northern part.

From this time on improvements were car- ried forward with something like a rush, for gangs of men were set at work by the canal company, and tradesmen and citizens began to flock to the place. Speaking of a period a little later, the Rev. Henry A. Rowland thus pictures the prosperity which the great work of internal

1 Memoir of Major Jason Torrey, by Rev. David Torrey, D.D., p. 100.

2 The deed history of Honesdale as here given is chiefly derived from a series of articles by Thomas J. Ham, Esq., which appeared in his newspaper, the Wayne County Her- ald, in 1880.

341

WAYNE COUNTY.

improvement brought to the locality and sur- rounding country, --

"The work was completed; coal began to float down the canal towards the sea-coast and a tide of immigration to set back through the same channel into this almost wilderness. Laborers, mechanics and merchants flocked in and established themselves along the line of the public work ; and when those who had gained something from their industry pre- ferred a different life, they purchased wild lands, sub- dued them by the plow and devoted themselves to agricultural pursuits." 1

The settlement was named Honesdale in honor of Philip Hone, first president of the canal company, one of the chief promoters of the enterprise and " the courtliest mayor New York ever saw."

As has been before said, several years elapsed before the two settlements, planted respectively on the lands of Jason Torrey and of the com- pany, grew together. They were commonly termed the "upper town " and the "lower town." The first step toward filling in the gap which separated them was the erection of Cor- nelius Hendricks' residence (where S. G. Cory now lives), on Third Street, that being the first house north of Ninth Street and below the West Branch. This was in 1833. There were then twenty houses, including the " Tabernacle," north of the stream mentioned. About this time the first edifice of the Episcopal Church was erected on the site of the present one by Charles Jameson. Prior to that time the so- ciety worshipped in the upper story of the build- ing still standing on the southeast corner of Main and Sixth Strects. The post-office was then in the building now occupied by John Rehbein, and the postmaster was Thomas T. Hayes, who, although he had office under Jack- son, was a stanch Whig. A mail was brought daily from Rileyville by a two-horse wagon, and tri-weekly from Carbondale.

The merchants of that time (1833) were :- above the bridge, or in the " upper town," Edward Mills, Thomas T. Hayes, Hand, Kirtland, Roc & Co .; and below the bridge were Hastings Frisbie (where the Stanton building now is), Z. H. Russell, Daniel B. Wilcox, Delezene &

Beach, St. John & Perkins, F. R. Marshall, Calvin Earl and Edward Murray, the last three being located along the tow-path of the canal.

THE EARLY RESIDENTS .- The beginning of the town has already been outlined, some of the early settlers being incidentally mentioned, and the following list is, therefore, in some measure, a recapitulation, thoughi most of the names have not heretofore been given. The list shows the order in which taxable residents arrived, fron 1827 to 1831, inclusive,-

1827 .- Daniel Blandin, Charles Forbes, Stephen W. Genung.

1828 .- Alanson Blood, Jacob B. Bidwell, James L. Blackington, John Capron, Isaac P. Foster, Leonard Graves, Thomas T. Hayes, Edward Mills, Hiram Plum, Jolin F. Roe, Zenas Russell, Russell Spencer, Timothy N. Vail, Russell Whitney.

1829 .- Horace Baldwin, Simeon S. Chamberlain, Calvin Earle, Nathaniel B. Eldred, Henry Hering- ton, Stephen Kelly, Martin Kellogg, Solomon Z. Lord, Ebenezer T. Losey, William Moak, John Os- borne, Benjamin Rouse, Mary Stewart (widow), Abra- ham J. Stryker, Stephen Torrey, Daniel B. Wilcox, Joseph B. Walton.

1830 .- Nelson Blood, Levi Bronson, Augustus Brown, Alonzo Bentley, Mortimer Chamberlain, Cal- vin Earle, Hastings Frisby, Ezra Hurlburt, Howell W. Hollister, Charles Jamison, Albert Jamison, Elias J. Kent, Jabez Lovejoy, David M. Mapes, Alexander Murray, Edward Murray, Henry Merwin, Elkanah Patmor, William C. Rose, Thomas L. Reese, Benoni B. Salmon, Christopher R. Smith, Manus Thompson, John Torrey, Abiram Winton, Hoel Wakefield, Al- vah Wheeler.

1831 .- Nathaniel Bartlett, Russell Blowers, Abel Barnes, John Bolts, William J. Cressy, John Callo- way, William Chamberlain, William W. Culver, Henry H. Farnum, Jacob W. Griswold, Ezra Hand, James Hughes, Jonas Hanscomb, Samuel Kellogg, Brooks Levo, Russell F. Lord, James Morris, Chris- topher L. Morris, James Manning, John Maron, Seneca Mayhew, Jacob Moore, Levi T. Prescott, Jeremiah Platt, William Parminter, Charles K. Rob- inson, Julius Richards, George Stratton, Abram A. Stryker, George N. Styles, Silas Stephens, John Tyler, Phineas L. Tyler, Thomas H. R. Tracy, John B. Jervis.

Others speedily followed, and in 1833 the prominent residents of the infant town were as follows :

Rev. James Campbell. R. F. Lord.

Rev. James H. Tyng. S. Z. Lord.

E. Patmorc. 'Z. H. Russell.

D. Tarbox. A. H. Farnham.

1 Rev. Henry A Rowland in Thanksgiving sermon, 1851.

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WAYNE, PIKE AND MONROE COUNTIES, PENNSYLVANIA.

A. W. Brown.

F. W. Farnham.

J. M. Blackington.

A. Wheeler.

R. Taylor.

J. D. Delezene.

F. Mills.

J. H. Perkins.

(. Forbes.

C. Earl.

E. Hurlburt.

P. L. Tyler.

S. W. Gennng.

E. J. Rent.

A. Blood.

Dr. E. F. Losey.

Thos. Ham.

R. Spencer.

S. Stevens.

D. Beers.

J. F. Roe.

Jason Torrey.

J. P. Foster.

John Torrey.

S. Brush.

A. Winton.

D. B. Wilcox.

E. Hand.

G. Farnham.

D. P. Kirtland.

W'm. Orchard.

J. Sanders.

B. D. Beach.

S. North.

D. B. St. John.

I. T. Hayes.

E. R. Marshall.

1. N. Hayes.

E. Murray.

H. B. Hayes.

G. Stratton.

C. Hendrick.

J. Calloway.

A. J. Stryker.

J. B. Walton.

H. Frisbie.

M. A. Bidwell.

J. Morris.

O. Hines.

D. Cory.

Dr. J. Snyder.

W. Moak.

H. Phim.

C. P. Clark.

S. S. Chamberlain.

J. Kelly.

T. W. Vail.

C. K. Robinson.

T. L. Reese.

C. Jameson.

Dr. B. H. Throop.

J. Hanscum.

T. H. R. Tracy.

B. B. Salmon.

Isaac P. Foster, who is set down in the fore- going list as arriving in 1828, really became a resident in the preceding year, but was not upon the tax-list until the year mentioned.

He was destined to become one of the most active business men of the town. He was one of the proprietors (in company with Jason Torrey) of the first store, and, with John F. Roe, opened the second, as heretofore stated. In later years, with Roe, D. P. Kirtland and Ezra Hand, he was a pioneer in the tanning industry, which became an immense one in Wayne County.1 He soon became the sole proprietor of the first tannery and carried it on for many years, as he also did his mercantile honse. He was one of the original members of the Presbyterian Church and one of its most zealous and exemplary adherents, but was forced, when the slavery question assumed definite form, to retire from his office as ruling

elder, because he was an Abolitionist. He lived to see the entire membership of the church, with, perhaps, two or three exceptions, adopt and uphold his views in regard to the wrong of slavery. He assisted in the organization of the first temperance society in Wayne County. He was an agitator on all moral topics, and his zeal in championing his convictions, however un- popular, was fully equaled by his benevolence. Deacon Foster, as he was commonly called, was born in Quogue, in the town of Southamp- ton, Long Island, March 28, 1788. He went to New York in 1810, in quest of employment, and to Montrose in the same year. There he remained until he came to the " Forks of Dy- berry," in 1827. In 1812 he married Miss Mary Howell, who bore him sixteen children, among whom was I. N. Foster, the well-known merchant of Honesdale. Deacon Foster died in the borough on November 18, 1876, in his eighty-ninth year, full of years and full of honor.

Stephen W. Genung also came to the settle- ment in 1827, and was the first blacksmith here. With his brothers, Ira and Lamock, he had settled in what is now Berlin township prior to 1822, and had owned a saw-mill at Genungtown. He spent all of the remainder of his days in Honesdale, and was a much re- spected citizen. He and his eldest son, Ezra, laid out an addition to the town upon the beau- tiful, gently-sloping hill, to the southwest. His other sons were Elisha, Merwin and Amzi. George Genung, station agent of the Delaware and Hudson Railroad, is a son of Ezra.

Alanson Blood, who is mentioned as arriv- ing in 1828, began business as a cabinet-maker with his brother Nelson, who died and was buried at sea in 1837, while on a voyage from New Orleans to New York. In 1829 he built the dwelling-house on Upper Front Street, which he ever after occupied. He was born in Burlington, Otsego County, N. Y., March 26, 1806. October 9, 1830, he married Chloe Stone, who was born in Milford, Otsego County, N. Y., and died here June 10, 1882. He died September 12, 1885, in the eightieth year of his age. His residence here extended over the long period of fifty-seven years.

1 See Chapter VIII.

343

WAYNE COUNTY.

" Mr. Blood was a person of excellent sense, a skillful and reliable workman, and thoroughly upright in all affairs. His success, measured simply by finaneial aceumulations, was not large, and, primarily, because honest himself, he could not believe that all other men were not so. But he built up a character which steadily con- manded universal confidence and esteem.

" Long before his wife died he was touched by paralysis, and thereupon commeneed a certain deeay of his mental as well as his physicial powers. He could not realize that the partner of his life was dead. He imagined that her absence was caused by a visit to distant relatives, and that she would come baek again to bear him company as in former years. At length he failed to recognize even his children and grand- children, but still the eonseiousness that his wife was absent, and the expectation that she would soon return, remained as a comforting halluei- nation. That indistinet and wavering recollec- tion of his beloved wife was the last trace of · memory in him." The late Mrs. Baker was a daughter. Two daughters are living,-Mrs. E. A. Penniman and Miss Mary Blood.

John F. Roe came from Long Island in 1828 and kept store with I. P. Foster in the old Tabernaele building, which stood near the forks of the river. He kept store in the Tabernacle about a year and then moved to a building now used as a dwelling, on the corner of Main and Park Streets, just opposite the Wayne County House. In 1833 he built the house and store where he now lives. He gave up active busi- ness in 1878, but is still living-the oldest resi- dent of the borongh. About ten years after coming here he married Ruth Sayer, of Mon- trose. He has a son, Henry, and two daughters -- Mrs. W. W. Weston and Mrs. H. M. Atherton.

Zenas H. Russell was another arrival of 1828. He came from Madison County, N. Y., where he was born July 2, 1806. Very soon after his arrival he opened a store, and he continued in the mercantile business for many years. On the incorporation of the borough he was elected a member of the Council, and he served in that capacity about half of the time until his death. He was very active in bringing about public improvements. He was elected a director of

the Honesdale Bank in 1836, vice-president in 1856 and president in 1863. Mr. Russell was married, September 17, 1830, to Lucy Ann, daughter of Charles Forbes, the pioneer pro- prietor of the Wayne County House. He died May 15, 1878. His wife is still living. They had three children-Henry Z., Mrs. Robert J. Menner and Mrs. Wm. H. Dimmick.

Stephen Brush came, in 1828, from Fairfield County, Conn., and resided here until his death, in January, 1860, aged sixty-eight years. He united with the Presbyterian Church in 1829 and was chosen ruling elder the following year.

John Kelly, a native of Ireland, arrived in 1828 and went immediately into the service of the Delaware and Hudson Canal Company, in whose employ he remained for thirty-two years. He was afterwards a contractor on the Hones- dale Branch of the Erie Railroad. He was much interested in local affairs and served some time in the Council. He died March 28, 1880, aged eighty-two years. He had three daughters, the wives of Michael, Edward and the late James Brown.

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History of Wayne, Pike, and Monroe counties, Pennsylvania, Part 59

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