USA > Pennsylvania > The Historical journal : a quarterly record of local history and genealogy devoted principally to Northwestern Pennsylvania > Part 21
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The county early began to attract the attention of land specula- tors, and Mckean's wooded acres were parcelled out in immense tracts to ambitious lumber companies soon after the formation of the county. The first settlements were made along the Allegheny River, and the first settler was Francis King, the agent of the Keating Land Company, who brought a company of workmen and
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founded King's Settlement, now the village of Ceres, in the spring of 1798.
The valley of the Tuna failed to attract the attention of the early settlers until 1826, when Joshua Barnes and Barnabas Pike built a flutter wheel saw mill at State Line. The United States Land Company secured 250,000 acres in the county, and in Decem- ber, 1837, Colonel Levitt C. Little, of New Hampshire, settled on the present site of the city of Bradford. The little village that sprang up under the Colonel's management of the lumber business was named Littleton, in honor of its founder. The first log house was built close to the banks of the creek, at about the point where the old lockup now stands. Colonel Little built a more preten- tions house on the spot which the Berry block now occupies. The pine shingles with which the Colonel's roof was covered were made from the big trees that grew in close proximity to the new house. Under the energetic management of Colonel Little, the village was mapped out into streets, much as they are at present. The first plan of Littleton was drawn by Calvin Leech, a Boston engineer, in 1838. C. D. Webster made another plot of the village in 1840, which shows that provision had been made for a meeting house, a school house, a public park and a system of water works. The meeting house was to be located at the head of Main street, where the St. James Hotel now stands. Main street was likewise known as the Smethport road. while Mechanic street was called for a short distance Mechanic's Row; its extension southward, the Warren road; the northward route across the bridge was called the Olean road. Congress street was a lane that connected Main street with the Corydon road, as Corydon street was then called. The creek had not yet had its harsh-sounding Indian name of Tunangaunt shortened to the more elegant and smooth-flowing Tuna.
Littleton prospered slowly in the manner of primitive lumber towns. Its name was changed to Bradford, and in 1850 a weekly newspaper made its appearance. The railroad came, and lastly, in 1875, the amazing news ran through the Tuna Valley that Crocker had "struck oil" at Tarport. The excitement grew with the in- coming of the oil men, and the transformation from old to modern Bradford was still most wonderful of all.
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SULLIVAN COUNTY'S FIRST PAPER.
T HE Sullivan Review, published at Dushore, states that Christian Mosier, of Colley, recently brought to the office a copy of the first issue of the Sullivan Eagle, which was the first paper ever published in Sullivan County. The copy is dated March 22, 1850, and was issued from an office on the Turnpike, near where B. M. Sylvara now resides, in Dushore. The names of William Lawrence, Jacob Hoffa and John Battin appear as County Commissioners, and those of Richard M. Taylor, Thomas King and Cornelius Cronin as County Auditors ; James Taylor and George Edkin are mentioned as County Treasurers. A. J. Dietrick was clerk for the Commissioners, Henry Metcalf, Mercantile Appraiser, and E. H. Phillips, Sheriff. Among the collectors of county taxes we notice the following names : John W. Martin, Cherry; Daniel Little, Francis Edkin, Shrewsbury; William Rogers, Plunket's Creek, now western portion of the county; William Smith, David-
son. The mercantile business in the county was then represented by the following firms : Ralph Carpenter, C. Cronin, Josiah Jack- son & Sons, Arthur Robinson, Isaac Lippincott & Sons, and Alonzo Potter. There were three distilleries in Cherry Township at that time. The paper is neatly printed and shows much labor. In comparison with county papers of to-day a great dearth of local news is noticed, as there is scarcely an item of home news in the paper. The professional cards of J. Mckinney Heacock, physician and surgeon, and those of A. J. Dietrick and Henry Metcalf, at- torneys, appear. The advertisements are very few in number- we notice the following: Theophilus Schuck, marble yard, Phila- delphia; Franklin Fire Insurance Co., Philadelphia; H. Clark, window blinds, same city. Sullivan and Columbia Counties at that time formed a single Legislative district. The paper was issued every two weeks, subscription price, 75 cents per annum. There is nothing to indicate who were the editors or proprietors, but we are informed that it was published by Messrs. Metcalf, Dietrick & Heacock. The venture was not a success financially, and the paper was discontinued, after an existence of less than six months. The county was then without a paper until some two years after- ward, when the Sullivan County Democrat was established by the late Michael Meylert.
THE HISTORICAL JOURNAL.
Two Dollars per Annum, in Advance. Single Numbers, Twenty Cents.
A monthly publication, devoted entirely to the preservation of scraps of local history in Northwestern Pennsylvania, with reference occasionally to statistics, finance and manufactures.
Address all letters and communications relating to literary matters, subscrip- tion or advertising to
JOHN F. MEGINNESS, Editor and Publisher, WILLIAMSPORT, PA.
WILLIAMSPORT, NOVEMBER, 1887.
MUCH trouble has been experienced in tracing the history of John Adlum, one of the Commissioners associated with Samuel Maclay and Timothy Matlack in making the survey of the West Branch, Sinnemahoning and Allegheny rivers in 1790, but we are pleased to announce that the problem concerning the date of his birth and death has been solved. His only surviving daughter, Mrs. M. C. Barber, of Georgetown, D. C., has been traced, and she reports that her father was born at York, Pa., April 29, 1759, and died at "The Vineyard," near Georgetown, March 1, 1836, in the 77th year of his age. At the age of 54 he married his cousin, Miss Margaret Adlum, daughter of John Adlum, of Frederick, Md. They had two children, Margaret C., now Mrs. Barber, and Anna Maria, afterwards Mrs. H. H. Dent. Their father was a soldier of the Revolution, a Major in the Provisional Army during the administration of the elder Adams, and afterwards a Brigadier General in the militia of Pennsylvania. He was ac- quainted with Dr. Joseph Priestly, of Northumberland, the emi- nent chemist and discoverer of oxygen, and took a deep interest in his philosophical studies. THE HISTORICAL JOURNAL hopes to be able, in some future number, to present a complete biographical sketch of General Adlum.
A PHILADELPHIA magazine, published in 1817, had the following paragraph relative to the freight by wagon over the Allegheny Mountains: "In the course of twelve months of 1817 12,000
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wagons passed the Allegheny Mountains from Philadelphia and Baltimore, each with from four to six horses, carrying from thirty- five to forty hundred weight. The cost of carriage was about $7 per hundred weight, but sometimes as high as $10 from Philadel- phia. The aggregate sum paid for freight exceeded $1,500,000." At the present time, remarks a contemporary, the Pennsylvania Railroad carries, perhaps, as much freight in a single day to and from Pittsburg as was then carried during the entire year. It cost then not less than $140 to move a ton of freight between Philadel- phia and Pittsburg, a distance of 385 miles. According to the re- port of the Pennsylvania Railroad in 1886 the cost of transporting a ton of freight between the two places was $2.87; the cost of transporting a barrel of flour in 1817 was $14, while in 1886 it was only 28 cents. Then every hundred pounds of dry goods cost seven dollars to move between the two cities, while at the present time the price is fourteen cents, or only one-fiftieth of the former sum. Who will say the world has not been progressing during the past half century ?
A RECENT number of the Dushore (Sullivan County ) Gazette gives this curious bit of history: "M. Dupetit-Thouras, called by Americans 'The Admiral,' was wrecked on a voyage in search of the lost navigator, LaPerouse. He was brave and genial. He visited the French colony at Asylum, in Bradford County, and procured a grant of 400 acres of land in the wilderness, and, though he had lost an arm in the service, he began a clearing and built a house. He was killed at the battle of the Nile. A part of his clearing was in this borough and the name is in his honor, being an attempt to anglicize his name. The date of the settle- ment we have been unable to learn."
LOUIS M. NEIFFER, who lives at Lykens, Dauphin County, is the owner of a watch which was made in 1755. It was the property of his grandfather, who was a soldier under Napoleon and fought in the battle of Waterloo. The watch was carried by the elder Neiffer during that battle and has since been handed down from generation to generation. It keeps good time and is valued very highly by its owner. Such relics are rare.
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NEARING THE END OF A CENTURY.
DR. THOMAS LYON now takes rank as the oldest physician in active practice in Williamsport, Pennsylvania. He is a son of Edward Grundy Lyon and Sarah Lyon, of English birth, and was born October 13, 1812, near the borough of Muncy, Lycoming County, Pa. He received his education at the celebrated Milton Academy when the distinguished Rev. Dr. Kirkpatrick was the principal. He studied medicine under the famous Dr. James S. Dougal, of Milton, and graduated at the Jefferson Medical College, Philadel- phia, in 1838. When he located in Williamsport it had less than one thousand inhabitants, and he has followed his profession with- out interruption down to the present day. Dr. Lyon has made surgery a specialty, though his practice is general. He is a mem- ber of the Williamsport Medical Society, of the Lycoming County Medical Society, of the Pennsylvania State Medical Society and the American Medical Association, He has been president of the city and county associations and vice-president of the State Med- ical Society. During the war he was a member of the medical board of examiners for army surgeons. His contributions to med- ical literature have been published in the transactions of the State Medical Society. In 1843 he married Elizabeth R., daughter of Joseph R. Priestly, Esq., of Northumberland, and great-grand- daughter of Dr. Joseph Priestly, the eminent chemist and discov- erer of oxygen. Dr. Lyon, although in the fiftieth year of active practice, is still hale and vigorous and gives promise of many more years of service.
AMONG the many eminent lawyers of Northern Pennsylvania, none have achieved higher distinction at the bar than Joshua Wright Comly, Esq., of Danville. He was born in Philadelphia. November 16, 1810. His father and mother removed to Milton in 1820, where the former died, January 9, 1840, and the latter March 4, 1879. The Comly tomb, in the new cemetery, overlooks the Susquehanna River. They had eight children, six of whom reached maturity, but all are now dead except the subject of this sketch. Joshua W. was reared in the Quaker faith. He attended the Academy of the celebrated Rev. David Kirkpatrick, at Milton, and graduated at Princeton College. In 1827 he commenced the
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study of law with Samuel Hepburn, Esq., at Milton, and was ad- mitted to the bar November 17, 1830, when he was twenty years and one day old. He located at Orwigsburg, February, 1831. In 1833 he was admitted to the Supreme Court and at once entered upon an active and extensive practice. Mr. Comly located at Dan- ville in the fall of 1834, and has continued to reside there up to the present time. In 1851 he was the Whig candidate for Judge of the Supreme Court, but was defeated. He retired from active practice in 1882, on account of impaired hearing and the infirmi- ties of age. His practice was large, not only in Northumberland, but in all the adjoining counties, and he was frequently called to neighboring states to take part in great lawsuits. His knowledge of law was profound and his fame extended far and wide. He now spends most of his time reading literary works and in reviewing the classics. And, although almost 77 years of age, his mind is clear and vigorous, and were it not for his hardness of hearing he would be one of the most entertaining of men to converse with. He is cheerful, social, and a delightful companion.
RIPE SHEAVES GATHERED BY THE REAPER.
AMOS ELLMAKER KAPP, who died at his home near the borough of Northumberland on the evening of September 22d, 1887, was born in Harrisburg, August 27th, 1809, and was 78 years, one month and five days old. He located at Northumberland January 1, 1833, as stage agent for Calder & Wilson, and afterwards be- came associated with them as a stage proprietor. He was identified with the stage coaching business to a large extent, afterwards with the canal packets, and lastly with the Northern Central Railroad. He was probably the last typical representative of the stage coach- ing. days in this part of the State, and he possessed a fund of information relating to that period that was as valuable as it was interesting. Mr. Kapp was a man of remarkable activity for one of his age. He took great pleasure in riding horseback, and sat upon his steed with the ease and dignity which only an experienced .horseman could command. He walked to town from his home, the distance of a mile, with a rapid and steady step, which was envied by many men of not more than half his years; this walk was made
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sometimes two or three times a day. The week previous to his death he attended the Constitutional Centennial and State Fair, at Philadelphia. When he returned home he was very much ex- hausted and soon commenced feeling unwell. After an illness of five days, which partook of a typhoid nature, he quietly passed away. He married Miss Margaret Withington, of Northumber- land, who died several years ago. They had ten children, eight of whom are living.
Mr. Kapp had occupied positions of honor and trust, and had been prominently associated in many responsible projects. He enjoyed an extended acquaintance with all the prominent and dis- tinguished men of the day. One remarkable feature of his history was that he had witnessed the induction of seventeen Governors of Pennsylvania into office. Their names and the years they served are as follows:
William Findlay, 1817 to 1820. Joseph Heister, 1820 to 1823.
John Andrew Shulze, 1823 to 1829, two terms.
George Wolf, 1829 to 1835, two terms. Joseph Ritner, 1835 to 1839.
David R. Porter, 1839 to 1845, two terms.
Francis R. Shunk, 1845 to 1848.
William F. Johnston, 1848 to 1852. William Bigler, 1852 to 1855.
James Pollock, 1855 to 1858. William F. Packer, 1858 to 1861. Andrew G. Curtin, 1861 to 1867, two terms.
John W. Geary, 1867 to 1873, two terms.
John F. Hartranft, 1873 to 1879, two terms. Henry W. Hoyt, 1879 to 1883.
Robert E. Pattison, 1883 to 1887. James A. Beaver, 1887.
It is doubtful if there is any one living who witnessed as many gubernatorial inaugurations. Mr. Kapp was a man of great hos- pitality and was naturally very social in his disposition, these characteristics gathering around him many warm and admiring. friends.
IN the death of David Heinley, Kelly Township, Union County, has lost its oldest resident. He died on the 26th of September, 1887, aged 24 years, 6 months and 16 days. Mr. Heinley was born in Windsor Township, Berks County, March 10th, 1793. In the fall of 1798 he moved to Union Township (now Union County), with his parents, and in May, 1799, they located near Vicksburg. In 1821 he settled near Farmersville, and in 1843 he moved to the house in which he died, a short distance north of Lewisburg.
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TOMBSTONE RECORD.
There is no more interesting cemetery to visit in this part of the State than the one at Sunbury. For a long time Shamokin, as Sunbury was once called, was an outpost of civilization. Hun- dreds of the pioneers and early settlers were laid to rest in this cemetery. A few inscriptions from tombstones are given herewith :
Sacred to the memory of JOHN BALDY, Born Aug. 9th 1783 Died June 22, 1827.
Sacred to the memory of ELIZABETH G. BALDY
Born Dec. 28, 1795 Died Feb. 25, 1850
Mr. Baldy was not quite 44 years of age, but his wife was in her 56th year when she died.
EBENEZER GREENOUGH.
For many years an Honorable Counsellor and Distinguished Member of the Bar. Born December 11, 1783
Died December 25, 1847
SAMUEL AWL. Born March 5, 1773 died January 1, 1842 Aged 68 y, 9 mo & 26 days Mrs MARY M. AWL born March 19th 1776 died August 13th 1823
Samuel Awl was born in Paxtang Township, then Lancaster
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County, and died in Augusta Township, Northumberland County. Mary Maclay, his wife, whom he married April 27, 1795, was a daughter of Hon. William Maclay and Mary McClure Harris. daughter of John Harris, the founder of Harrisburg, and Eliza- beth MeClure, his wife, born April 13, 1750, at Harris' Ferry. Mr. Maclay, her father, was the first United States Senator from Pennsylvania. Samuel Awl and wife were the parents of Dr. Robert Harris Awl, now one of the oldest practicing physicians in Sunbury. Senator Maclay was his maternal grandfather.
On the right of the grave of Samuel Awl lies a small slab bear- ing this inscription :
WILLIAM MACLAY Who departed this life May the 12th 1786 Aged 77 Days.
This infant was the offspring of William and Mary Maclay, and was their eighth child. The ninth, also named William, was born May 5, 1787, and died March 22, 1813, at Harrisburg.
DR. R. H. AWL, of Sunbury, has in his possession a book that once belonged to Dr. William Plunket, who was the first physician in that place. The title page, which is elaborate, starts off as follows: "Synopsis Medicenæe, or a Summary View of the Whole Practice of Physic, &c." The book was published in London in 1747, strongly bound in leather, contains 400 pages, and is still in good condition. On the fly leaves are a prescription and mem- orandums written in Dr. Plunket's own hand. The Doctor died over one hundred years ago and was buried in the cemetery at Sunbury.
THE HISTORICAL JOURNAL now enters on the last half of the first volume. Its success has been greater than was expected, but it should have a larger circulation than it has. Back numbers can still be supplied, but when the present edition is exhausted the work will be out of print. Persons wishing this volume complete are advised to send in their subscriptions without further delay.
Two copies of THE HISTORICAL JOURNAL already go to sub- scribers in England.
Ludwig Derr's Mill, Lewisburg, 1772.
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مياهوفي جيده
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THE HISTORICAL JOURNAL.
A MONTHLY RECORD.
Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1887, by JOHN F. MEGINNESS, in the office of the Librarian of Congress, at Washington.
Vol. 1. DECEMBER, 1887. No. 8.
HUNTINGDON'S CENTENNIAL. 1787-1887.
T HE people of Huntingdon celebrated the first centennial anniversary of the organization of the county on the 20th, 21st, 22d and 23d of September, 1887, in an appropriate manner. There was a large attendance, including the Governor of the Common- wealth, James A. Beaver, and many other distinguished persons. The ceremonies consisted of parades, a balloon ascension and orations. The historical address was delivered by Hon. J. Simpson Africa on the 20th, and it is given in full herewith:
HISTORICAL ADDRESS.
We are permitted by the favor of Divine Providence to assemble on this occasion and celebrate with fitting ceremonials an event in which we all have a common interest-the rounding out of the · first, and the auspicious beginning of the second century of the corporate existence of the county of' Huntingdon .*
After the arrival of William Penn in 1682, his infant province of
*The town of Huntingdon is situated on the north bank of the Juniata, at the mouth of Standing Stone Creek, 2023 miles west of Philadelphia. The Penn- sylvania Railroad passes through the borough, and it is the northern terminus of the Huntingdon and Broad Top Railroad. Huntingdon was settled as early as 1754, and was first known as Standing Stone. It was not regularly laid out as a town until 1767, when Rev. Dr. William Smith, the proprietor at that time and for many years thereafter provost of the University of Pennsylvania, called the town Huntingdon, in honor of Selina, Countess of Huntingdon, in England, a lady of remarkable liberality and piety, who, at the solicitation of Dr. Smith, had made a handsome donation to the funds of the University.
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Pennsylvania was divided into three counties, Chester, Philadelphia and Bucks. Chester included the southern and western parts of the province and from it Lancaster was crected, May 10th, 1720. Cumberland, created by an act of Assembly passed on the 27th day of January, 1750, took from Lancaster all its territory west of the Susquehanna. Out of this extensive area more than thirty counties were afterward formed, and this parting out of territory gave rise to the sobriquet oft quoted in former times, but now almost obsolete, of " Old Mother Cumberland." While this wide region yet remained under the jurisdiction of the authorities of the county of Cumberland, the purchases of land by the Proprie- taries from the Indians on the 6th day of July, 1754, and the 5th day of November, 1768, were made and the tide of immigration streamed into the valley of the Juniata, swelled through the passes of the Alleghenies, and spread over the fertile lands on the waters of the Ohio. Bedford County, formed by the act of March 9th, 1771, curtailed Cumberland's western limits by taking off a slice larger in area than some of the Colonies. Huntingdon, whose formation we now celebrate, was erected from Bedford by the act of the 20th day of September, 1787, and it then included all of the present county, three-fourths of Blair, half of Cambria, all of Clear- field southeast of the West Branch of the Susquehanna, a part of Centre, and a small portion of Mifflin. Four county towns, to wit: Huntingdon, Hollidaysburg, Ebensburg and Clearfield, are within the limits fixed by the act of 1787. Worthy representatives from all of these counties are with us to-day to do honor to Mother Huntingdon on the completion of her one hundredth year.
FORMATION OF TOWNSHIPS.
The first division into townships of the territory comprised within the county of Huntingdon was made by the Cumberland County Court. Ayr and Lack, formed in 1761 or earlier, included the sparse settlements made in the southern end of the county. At July sessions, 1767, Derry was created and included Kishacoquil- las Valley, which, at January sessions, 1770, was erected into the township of Armagh. A portion of Armagh was cut off in the formation of Bedford County. It became a part of Barree and is now included in Brady. At October sessions, 1767, Dublin and Barree were made. The former was bounded on the west by Side-
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ling Hill and the latter included the residue of the county. The Bedford Court, at July sessions, 1773, formed Hopewell out of all that part of Barree lying upon the waters of the Raystown branch of the Juniata. Frankstown received existence at April sessions, 1775. It imbraced all of Blair County, the townships of Morris, Franklin and Warrior's Mark of this county, and a large area now in Cambria, Clearfield and Centre counties. The court records do not contain the date of the formation of the boundaries of Hunting- don, Shirley and Tyrone, but there are evidences of the fact that Huntingdon, taken from Barree, and Shirley from Dublin, were erected about the close of 1779, and Tyrone, taken from Franks- town, during the early part of 1787. At the time of the formation of the county, its present arca was embraced in six of the town- ships named, to wit: Barree, Dublin, Hopewell, Huntingdon, Shirley and Tyrone, and at that date there were three election districts, one consisting of the townships of Barree, Hopewell and Huntingdon, with a polling place at the town of Huntingdon; another including Dublin and Shirley, the inhabitants of which voted at the house of George Cluggage, in Black Log Valley; and another embracing Tyrone and Frankstown, with a voting place at the house of David Lowrey. Out of these six townships new ones have since been created by the Court of Quarter Sessions as fol- lows:
Franklin, from Tyrone, at March sessions, 1789; named in honor of Benjamin Franklin, late president of the Supreme Executive Council.
Springfield, from Shirley, at December sessions, 1790.
Union, from Hopewell, June sessions, 1791.
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