USA > Pennsylvania > Crawford County > Our country and its people. A historical and memorial record of Crawford County, Pennsylvania. > Part 53
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teachers in this school. During the winter of 1817-18 a school was kept in a deserted cabin by William Little. The great snow of February 2, 1818, was long remembered by his pupils. In the morning, when they went to school, there was a little'snow on the ground, but a furious storm came up, and during the day it fell like a cloud. At the close of the session, late in the afternoon, it had fallen to a depth of more than three feet, rendering the homeward jour- ney of the younger children extremely difficult and dangerous.
When the public school system was adopted, in 1837, there were five schools. in operation, with a school year of four months' duration. One hun- dred and sixty-four pupils were in attendance. The amount of money received from all sources for school purposes exceeded five hundred dollars. Spelling, reading, writing, grammar, geography, arithmetic and surveying were taught, and the teachers were reported as well qualified to teach. The progress of the scholars was also reported favorably, the chief complaint as to the working's of the system being the difficulty of securing well qualified instructors.
The report for 1837 included, besides what is now Fairfield, East Fair- field and a part of Union. In 1896. with its greatly reduced territory, there were seven schools maintained, with a school year of seven months. One hun- dred and ninety-eight scholars were in attendance, at an average cost to the township of $1. 16 per month for each pupil. More than two thousand dollars was spent during the year for school purposes.
A Presbyterian congregation was organized in the township about 1810, under the direction of Rev. Robert Johnson. Peter Shaw, Thomas Cochran and James Birchfield were early elders, and John Porter, John May. Robert Power, Andrew Gibson and John Fulton were among the first members. About 1811 a hewed log church edifice was erected on an acre of land situated a short distance south of the mouth of Conneaut Outlet. It was built of pinc logs, was floored and ceiled, and had benches made of broad pine boards, and was well equipped for a church in those days. Meetings were held here dur- ing a long series of years, and in 1851 a large new edifice was erected about a mile south of the old church. The lot on which the original church stood was donated by James Herrington, and is now much enlarged, and used as a cemetery. The means for the construction of the second church were bequeathed by Miss Maria Power, who also left a considerable sum for the support of a pastor. Early in its history the congregation was received into the Associate Reformed Church, and later on was merged into the United Pres- byterian. It is now known as the Conneaut United Presbyterian Church.
About 1834 a Seceder congregation was organized, and the next year a church was built. Rev. Matthew Snodgrass was the only pastor, and about 1860 the congregation was disbanded. Across the road from their place of
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worship Mumford's chapel was erected by the Methodists in 1861 at a cost of $1,200. This denomination had held services in the township since 1830.
Trinity German Reformed Church was organized in 1865 by Rev. L. D. Leberman. There were five original members, and a neat frame edifice was soon afterwards built in the western part of the township at a cost of $1.250. Rev. J. Kretszing was the first pastor, the services being conducted in the German language.
A United Brethren Church, which stands near the western line of the township, was erected in 1873, costing $1,200. The society which worships there was organized in 1855 by Rev. J. L. Weaver, with fourteen members. J. M. Chapman, Hiram Powell and Z. R. Powell were early members of this congregation.
CHAPTER X.
GREENWOOD TOWNSHIP.
G I REENWOOD TOWNSHIP lies on the southern boundary of Craw- ford County, a little west of the center, and contains 19,336 acres. Vernon and Union bound it on the north, Union and West Fairfield on the east, Mercer County on the south, and East Fallowfield on the west. It was organized in 1829 from portions of Fallowfield and Fairfield, and lost a small part of its territory at the northeast corner when Union was formed. The soil is a fertile gravelly loam, well adapted to dairying and fruit culture. It is well timbered in parts with beech, maple, pine and hemlock, and its numerous springs of wholesome water constitute it a healthy township.
The greater portion of its northern boundary is formed by Conneaut Out- let. The surface is generally level, but is a little broken in the north- eastern part. Conneaut Marsh, which extends along the north border, is about half a mile wide and from 100 to 200 feet lower in elevation than the general level of the land. A great deal of this has been made tillable by the public excavation of Conneaut Outlet. It is well supplied with springs of pure water, which give rise to numerous small streams threading the land in every direction. Some flow north into Conneaut Outlet, others swell the waters of Little Sandy Creek and Sandy Run, which flow southeast, and all eventually find their way to the waters of the Allegheny. The New York. Pennsylvania and Ohio Railroad traverses the northern part of the town- ship. with a station at Geneva.
With its fresh and verdant fields, well watered and highly cultivated. interspersed with tracts of valuable timber land, the township is well entitled
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to its name of Greenwood. Its fertile soil attracted settlers to this vicinity at a very early date, and Greenwood was soon thickly peopled. Very few years had elapsed in the present century before nearly every tract in what is now the township had one or more settlers, and that they were well satisfied with their choice of a locality is attested by the fact that there were very few removals, most of the pioneer families being still represented in the township. Many of them were of German parentage, and even more were of Scotch-lrish extraction. Large numbers of them had originally settled in Mifflin, Cumber- land and Lycoming Counties, and removed to Greenwood from the Susque- hanna Valley. A Philadelphia Quaker by the name of Field had purchased a large tract of land in Crawford County, and the southern part of Greenwood was embraced in his possessions. He gave to every settler one-half of a tract, or two hundred acres, the only stipulation being that they should fulfill the requirements of residence and improvements necessary to perfect a title. It was in this way that many of the first settlers obtained their farms.
Samuel and Robert Power settled the only two tracts patented by individ- uals. They were brothers, and came from Mifflin County. They first vis- ited Greenwood in 1795, when they selected their future homes, but they did not make a permanent settlement at that time. Robert Power returned in 1800 and built a cabin upon his land, and remained there until his death. Samuel Power remained a bachelor until 1804, when he was married in Mifflin County, and brought his wife to the little cabin already prepared in the wilderness. He followed the occupation of a farmer for a long period. He was a member of the Presbyterian Church, and a Democrat in politics. He removed to Fairfield Township in later life, and died in Union in 1848 at the advanced age of sev- enty-two.
It is generally believed that the settlement of Greenwood commenced soon after the location of the Meads at Meadville, although it seems to be impos- sible to clearly establish the date. Asher and William Williams settled in the southern part of the township, on a tract of 800 acres, and were probably the first to arrive. Abraham Martin came from one of the eastern counties and settled upon a tract of 400 acres in 1794. He remained unmarried, and died in 1820. Samuel Anderson came from Sherman in 1796 and settled upon 400 acres near the center of the township. He accompanied Samuel Power. John Anderson came soon afterwards to the same vicinity, and remained throughout life. At this time Pittsburgh was the nearest market. Richard Custard came in 1797 from the west branch of the Susquehanna and took up a claim in the eastern part of the township. He was a native of Chester County, and soon after his arrival opened the first house of public entertain- ment in the township. It was known as the Black Horse Tavern. and was opened prior to the War of 1812 and continued more than twenty years. It was a welcome and much frequented shelter for the weary wayfarers, and as
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it was located on the State road, which connected Meadville and Pittsburgh, received a generous patronage from the many travelers of that thoroughfare, at that time the most used of any in Crawford County.
Each settler, as he took possession of his land, usually built a small hut as a temporary dwelling, expecting to construct a more elaborate residence after the crops were in and he had cut some logs and peeled some hemlock bark for the roof. The following description has been left us of the contrast between the old cabin and the new log house of one of the early settlers : "The house was a great improvement upon the old camp, where snakes lived in the logs and ran over the floor. The walls of the camp were built of round logs, these were of hewn timber; the chinks between the logs in the camp were big enough to run your arm through and were stuffed with moss and clay, but the timber of the house was hewed to a 'proud' edge, and dove- tailed together at the ends, and was as tight as a churn. The camp had no floor, but this had a floor of hewn timber ; the walls of the camp were but three logs high and had settled by decay, so that you could only stand erect in the middle (and a good part of the middle was taken up by the fire), while this was ten feet high, with a chamber, the floor of which was also laid with hewn timber. The camp had but one room, no window, a hole in the roof for a chimney, no oven, so that the bread was baked in the ashes, covered with an iron pot, or on a stone by the fire, while the pot hung by a chain from a pole laid on two crotches; the house had three rooms below, with partitions of bark, and blankets hung up for doors, a fireplace and oven of stone laid in clay mortar, and a chimney made of sticks of split wood laid cob fashion and plastered inside and out with clay to keep them from catching fire, with a crane to hang the pot on. The roof was covered with hemlock bark, lapped and nailed as shingles are, and perfectly tight; and there were windows with stone shutters, and two with squares of oiled paper instead of glass. As there was a general apprehension of trouble with the Indians, the windows were made small, and the door was of oak timber with iron hinges, and with a wooden latch on the outside; and when the string was pulled in and the bars put up, it would have been no very easy matter to force an entrance. The house being built of such thick stuff, and sheltered by the woods on the north and west, with brush piled up around it, into which the snow drifted in the winter, their great fires rendered it perfectly comfortable in the coldest weather."
Next to the task of building a first cabin in which to shelter his family came the equally important one of felling some trees, and as soon as they were dry enough burning them and thus effecting a small clearing. Then, in the spaces between the stumps, he would plant his first crop, of potatoes, peas and corn, and with their covering of ashes and the newness of the soil they usually flourished. Time spent in hunting interfered seriously with the
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work of clearing the land and raising the crops, yet sometimes the provisions became so scarce that they could have no breakfast until one of them had shot a partridge or caught a fish in the brook. When the crop was ripe they would take the corn to mill. though often they devised means to avoid the labor of going so far. A large rock-maple log would be dug out for a mortar, a pestle contrived of the same material, and fastened by a rope to the limb of a tree. the spring of which helped to lift the pestle. In this manner they pounded the corn until part of it was fine enough for bread, the rest was boiled and eaten with peas and beans. The first year was al- ways the hardest, but as the clearing progressed the crops became more plentiful and life was made easier. And the hardships of pioneer life pro- duced a rugged, healthy race. able to meet and bear whatever privations they might encounter. Children reared in hardship develop early. and those of the hardy frontiersmen were soon able to help in the work of the farm. The original farms were large, so that the head of a family was able to por- tion off a part for each of his sons, and the land thus divided has in many cases descended from generation to generation of the same family to the present day.
The Adams family now living in the northwestern part of the town- ship is descended from Robert Adams, who emigrated from Ireland to Phila- delphia in 1799, and two years later made his way to Greenwood with a yoke of oxen. The greatest good fortune of an early settler was to be possessed of a team of oxen. Without them it was hard to get along, and those who came without them practiced every economy until able to buy a pair. One early settler declares that the acquisition of some oxen was the turning point in his fortune. William Brooks was also a native of Ireland, and in 1798 emigrated to Philadelphia. Later on he moved to South She- nango Township, in company with John Cook and John McDermott, and in 1808 settled in Greenwood. He was a soldier in the War of 1812, and died at Geneva in 1813. James Peterson, originally from New Jersey, came from Fayette County and settled in the eastern part of the township. He died in extreme old age, leaving a numerous posterity.
Thomas Ross came to the township a single man, and like all bachelors at that time had to pay a tax for the privilege of remaining in a state of single blessedness. He built the first distillery, having a still in operation before 1804. Many other settlers had their private stills, some having two, the capacity of a still per week being from twelve to thirty bushels of ryc. Rye was then the only grain used. a bushel yielding three gallons of distilled spirits. Every settler who laid any claim to respectability kept a barrel of whisky in his cabin for the use of his family and the entertainment of visitors. It was then cheap and the copper stills were usually operated throughout the winter months. Enormous quantities were thus produced, and a large part
34
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OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE.
of it was consumed by the residents of the township; that which remained after the home trade had been supplied being sent to Erie and Pittsburg, where it found a ready sale.
The first saw and grist mill in the township was built by John Mc- Michael in 1799, on McMichael's Run. Mellon's mill and several others were afterward built on the same stream. The first grist mill in the eastern part was built by John Peterson some time before 1812. A sawmill was operated in the southern part prior to 1810 by William Williams.
James McEntire taught school near the McMichaels mill in 1807. The McMichaels, Mellons and Adamses attended. Another early school was held in a log cabin near the Custard place by George Catlin. Colvin Hatch, and afterward John Limber, instructed the youth of the northeastern part of the township about 1821. A school was held by Betsy Quigley, from Watson's Run. in a little log school house two miles west of Geneva, in 1817, John Andreas teaching in the same place the following year. In 1837, when the public school system was introduced, there were seven schools in Greenwood Township, attended by two hundred and three scholars. The teachers were reported of good character, with qualifications sufficient to teach a common English school, and the branches taught were spelling, reading, writing, grammar, arithmetic and geography. In 1896 the number of schools had increased to twelve, the number of scholars to three hundred and eight, and the length of the school year from five to seven months. The average cost to the township per month for each scholar was $1.28, the total amount ex- pended for educational purposes for the year being little less than $3,400.
West Greenwood is a postoffice located in the southwestern corner of the township.
Custards is a small hamlet and postoffice located in the northeastern part. It contains several houses, a mill, some shops and two stores. The settlement was commenced by Ezra Peterson, who built the first sawmill here.
The Free Will Baptist church of Greenwood was organized in 1832. with six members, by Rev. George Collins, the first pastor. The first meet- ings were held in private houses and in the school house, until in 1843 a log church was built in the south central part of the township. In 1874 it was replaced by a handsome brick structure, at a cost of $3.500. It has a flour- ishing membership. Jacob H. Bortner, Jacob and Nancy Cook, Caleb and Margaret Newbold, and A. Turner were the original members.
The Greenfield Presbyterian church was organized in 1854, with twenty members. The church building, erected in 1854 in the southwestern part of the township, cost $1.500. Rev. Jamies Coulter supplied the charge for a time, and in 1860 Rev. George Scott was installed as its first pastor. The
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membership is small and weak, and it is long since regular services have been held.
A United Brethren class meets for worship in Peterson's school house, in the eastern part of the township. It was organized about 1868 and con- nected with the Geneva mission. The membership is very small.
BOROUGII OF GENEVA.
The borough of Geneva is situated in the northern part of Greenwood Township, on the line of the New York, Pennsylvania & Ohio Railroad. It was incorporated as a borough in 1872 and the first election was held in March of that year. De Witt Harroun was appointed judge of election, and William Billings and Alfred M. Abbott, inspectors. Jonathan Smock was elected the first Burgess, J. H. Tiffany, Clerk, and James Hood, Constable.
Geneva, which has a population of about four hundred, was originally known as Sutton's Corners. In the spring of 1860 Peter and Sylvester Sutton started the first store, bringing the goods overland from Meadville. Miller Sutton had a blacksmith shop there, and several farmers and laborers were living on the site of the village. The southern part of the village was included in the farms then owned by John Sutton and John Gelvin, while . C. G. Bolster and J. D. Christ owned what is now the northern part. In 1863 the railroad was constructed, and from that time the village has had a steady growth. It now contains stores of various kinds, hotels, shops, factories, a graded school and two churches. Jonathan Christ was the first postmaster, and he was succeeded by John Gelvin, who held the office many years.
The first school was held in a one-story frame building, situated on the southeast corner of Main and Center streets. In 1851 a second one-story frame structure was built, and in 1866 it was replaced by a handsome two- story building. In 1896 it was occupied by two schools, in session during eight months. Eighty scholars were in attendance and over eight hundred dollars were expended by the borough for educational purposes.
A class of the Methodist Episcopal Church used to meet for worship in a school-house about a mile east of Geneva, as early as 1820. A log church was built later on, a little east of the borough, and in 1843 this was replaced by a frame building on the same location. In 1858 the present build- ing was erected in Geneva at a cost of $1,200. Thomas Abbott, Wyram Newton and John Sutton were early members. It was, in the early days, connected with the Salem Circuit of Mercer County, but has since been made part of the Evansburgh Circuit.
T. P. Abbott and wife, J. D. Christ and F. D. Gill organized the United Brethren Church in 1870. The first meeting's were held in the school-house, but John Gelvin having donated a lot in Geneva, a handsome brick meeting
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house was erected there in 1872 at an expense of $3,000. Bishop J. J. Gloss- brenner officiated at the dedicatory services. Its membership, though not large, includes many of the substantial citizens of Geneva and vicinity.
CHAPTER XI.
HAYFIELD TOWNSHIP.
N ASSIGNING names to the townships into which Crawford County was divided, no rule was followed, as is sometimes the case in some of the Western States, but each one was named arbitrarily, as it pleased the court or as the citizens prayed for in their petition. In a few instances the Indian names of the localities were retained; as Shenango. Cussawago and Conneaut. Some were named after men of note, such as Mead, Wayne and Steuben, while in the eastern end such elassic names as Athens, Rome, Troy and Sparta were selected. But in a large number of cases some quality or peculiarity of the land itself gave rise to the name by which it is now known. The very name of Fallowfield speaks for the fertility of its soil; while the names of Vernon, Fairfield and Summerhill are equally indicative of the quali- ties of the land. And so, when, in 1829. a new township was organized from the adjacent parts of Mead, Venango, Cussawago and Sadsbury, containing a section famous for its erops of hay, the name of Hayfield was very appro- priately bestowed upon it. 1
Hayfield is an interior township, lying a little northwest of the center of the county. Its eastern portion is included in the valley of French Creek and is drained by it and the small streams which empty into it. Cussawago Creek flows southwardly through the central part, and its numerous tributaries spread over the northern and central portions. The area of the township is 22.724 acres. The soil of the valleys is a black loam, being gravelly in the higher portions. When the early settlers arrived the entire surface was covered with a heavy growth of timber, hickory, chestnut and oak prevailing on the high land, with considerable white oak in the valleys. Although the soil is naturally productive its fertility has been much increased by the use of fertilizers, and it yields abundant erops. Located as it is near the site of the first settlement in the county, and including a portion of the French Creek Valley, Hayfield Township attracted to its valleys some of the earliest settlers. Several tracts were surveyed within its boundaries by adventurous individuals even before the end of the Indian war had made their occupation possible. Many settlers
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had taken up land before 1800, some by patent, and others by grant from the Holland Land Company, which owned a large part of Hayfield. One hun- dred acres were usually given for fulfilling the conditions of settlement and im- provement, and the settler was expected to purchase an additional fifty or one hundred acres.
To James Dickson belongs the honor of making the first settlement within the limits of what is now Hayfield Township. Born near Dumfries, Scotland, he emigrated to America in 1785. bringing with him his wife and two chil- dren. He landed at Philadelphia, and proceeded from there to Pittsburg, where he secured work and remained until 1793. He was determined to secure a home under the provisions of the act of the Legislature passed the year previous, and for that purpose traveled on foot from Pittsburg to Meadville, and located a tract of 400 acres four miles north of that place, on the west bank of French Creek, in what is now Hayfield Township. He also located 400 acres just south of this for his son Robert, and afterward purchased it. He spent the summer of 1793 in Meadville, where he and William Jones culti- vated a field of corn and potatoes on the island, and in the fall returned to Pittsburg. The next spring he attempted to bring his family and household goods by boat up the Allegheny and French Creek, but the boat capsized, and most of his clothing and household articles were lost. The troubles with the Indians prevented him from going at once to his claim, and for two years he was forced to remain in the block house at Meadville, at one time receiving a severe wound in an engagement with the savages. In 1796, Wayne's victory having put an end to the hostilities, he removed with his family to the farm he had staked out three years before. Here he built a cabin and cleared the land, and made it his permanent home. He resided upon the same farm until his death in 1825, in his seventy-fourth year. Mr. Dickson was an early member of the Meadville Presbyterian Church.
James Dickson, or Scotch Jemmy, as he was more generally known, was the hero of several adventures during the Indian troubles. On one occasion, in 1793 of 1794, he was surprised by a number of Indians in the woods and shot at several times. Turning his face toward them, he leveled his rifle and dared them to come out of the woods like men and give him fair play-crying, in his broad Scotch dialect : "Noo coom on wi' your wee axe." With his rifle thus presented he continued to walk backward until out of reach of their fire, and in that way made his way to the old blockhouse in Meadville.
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