USA > Pennsylvania > Erie County > The history of Erie County, Pennsylvania, from its first settlement > Part 17
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In 1796 Mr. Miles commenced clearing land where Watts- burg now stands, and built, in addition to his dwelling house, a store for provisions, where also a few dry goods were kept to exchange for furs. Wattsburg was laid out by him some
1 The provisions of the party heing procured in Harrisburg, were packed on horses and conveyed to a point near Wattsburg. An incident is related of the Indian steward : "The duties of Messrs. Miles and Watts being very severe, they hired an Indian, who was to act in the capacity of general cook, furnish meat, etc. 'Mr. Indian,' as is natural to the race, in time became remarkably lazy in his endeavors to procure meat, giving, as his excuse, the scarcity of it in the wilderness ; hut the trick was carried too far, and Messrs. Miles and Watts becoming cognizant that he was deceiv- ing them, cut short his allowance of food, which brought 'the native of the forest' to a strict sense of his duty, which he never neglected after- ward."
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thirty years after. Mr. Miles died in Girard township in March, 1846, aged eighty-seven years. "As a pioneer he was hardy, intelligent, and sagacious. Endowed by nature with a mind of uncommon vigor, his talents were early called into action by the settlers, who, for a series of years, gathered around him as the guardian of their interests."
In the year 1796 families named Hurd, McCrea, Wilson, and Findley settled in the neighborhood of Union Mills. Three years ago Union Mills had but 293 inhabitants ; its real and personal property was then valued at $98,217; it is now estimated at $267,380, which is a greater proportional increase than any other town in the county, and may be attributed to the facilities afforded by the railroad, and the transhipment of oil.
For religious privileges it has a Presbyterian church (New School), one Methodist Episcopal church, and one Roman Catholic church. It has two schools.
The Penn Rock Oil Refining Company, Mr. Parsons, mana- ger, procured ground and erected a building, in which it is estimated fifty barrels will be refined daily. Clark, Andrews & Co. have established recently a factory for the manufacture of oil and flour barrels, firkins, etc. In this establishment they expect to manufacture eighty to one hundred oil barrels per day, and twice that number of flour barrels. The whole cost of machinery and buildings will be $4,000. The town has three oil refineries, one steam shingle factory, one for fork and shovel handles, one for wagons and sleighs, one sash, door, and planing mill, one of tin and sheet iron ware, one boot and shoe shop, and one cabinet shop.
Union township abounds in oak, white wood, cherry, second growth of ash, pine, and hemlock timber.
ALBION, Conneaut township, became a borough in 1860, and elected officers in March. In 1861 Perry Kidder was elected burgess. It is an active, thriving town, and in 1860 numbered 443 inhabitants ; has a Methodist Episcopal church, and an academy with two teachers, and about seventy-five pupils in attendance.
Messrs. North and Denis manufacture at this place shovels, forks, hoes, hammers, etc., on quite an extensive scale. The
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power is steam ; the articles are made of steel, manufactured at a branch of the firm in Central New York, whence they are forwarded to this point, where handles are affixed to them for the Western trade, while for the Eastern trade, handles are forwarded to that branch of the concern. The articles are all finished in the best style and defy competition. The number annually manufactured is counted by the hundred thousand.
This enterprise has been long enough prosecuted to acquire stability and permanence, and the management evinces a skill and discretion that augurs well both for the proprietors and the communities in which they are operating. A horse- rake factory in the same vicinity is on quite an extensive scale. It has also a machine shop and oar factory. The Erie Canal and Pittsburg & Erie Railroad pass through the place.
CHERRY HILL, in the same township, has about one hundred inhabitants, a church, one store, and several shops. It has but lately come into existence, but has good prospects, and ambition in abundance.
WELLSBURG is a pleasant little place on the east branch of Conneaut Creek, in Elk Creek township. It has 310 inhab- itants, one Free Baptist church, one Methodist Episcopal church, and a Universalist church, erected in 1855. It has the largest tannery in the county, twelve shops of different kinds, and perhaps a dozen sawmills in the village and vicin- ity. The inhabitants are peaceful, temperate, and industrious.
Quite an unusual excitement prevailed within a few months, on the cleaning of a salt well which had been opened forty years since. An artesian well 300 feet deep three times vio- lently ejected gas, etc., giving indications of oil. The occur- rence brought to the locality many strangers and speculators.
CRANESVILLE is a village very pleasantly located in Elk Creek township. The first settlement was made here in 1796 or '97, by Elihu Crane, Sr., a veteran of the revolution. It has about thirty dwellings, a tavern, and a few stores and shops, one school, and a Methodist Episcopal church, midway between the village and Wellsburg. It is twenty-four miles from Erie and on the canal.
LOCKPORT, in Girard township, is twenty-one miles from Erie on the canal, and so named from having twelve locks in
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the vicinity. It was laid out and settled at the time the Ex- tension Canal was being built. It has a Methodist Episcopal church, a Baptist church, and two public schools, averaging sixty scholars each. An extensive oar factory was built here by Messrs. Page, being 180 feet in length, 60 feet wide, and four stories high, but it is closed at present. It has several stores and shops, a printing office, windmill, small furnace, warehouse, etc., with a population of about 200.
PAGEVILLE is seven miles from Lockport, and has about 100 inhabitants, mostly employed manufacturing oars. Its post office is Platea. This village was built up principally by the enterprise of Mr. E. Page, near the edge of a large, dense forest of heavy ash and oak timber, which he has manufac- tured largely into oars and sent to all parts of Europe as well as the United States.
At LEXINGTON (a few miles south of Girard) the Pennsyl- vania Population Company had a station about 1797, Col. Dunning McNair being the acting agent.
FAIRVIEW, or STURGEONVILLE, is about twelve miles from Erie, being near the Lake Shore Railroad and Pennsylvania Canal. It has three churches, five stores, one carriage factory, one brewery, and several other shops. The inhabitants are mostly German, and are honest, diligent, and happy. It has 423 inhabitants. In 1814 there was but one dwelling where this village stands, which was owned and occupied by Mr. Wm. Sturgeon.
A contest between the Old and New School Presbyterian churches arose in Fairview shortly after the division of the General Assembly. Mr. Wm. Sturgeon died previous to 1837, and bequeathed to the Presbyterian church of Fairview, after the decease of his widow, about fifty acres of land and twenty town lots for church purposes. A burying-ground and school- house upon the premises were to remain undisturbed. Six months after the decease of the widow, the church was to be organized, and a house of worship erected within one year. If these conditions were not complied with, the property was to be a donation to the Presbyterian Board of Publication.
Both branches of the church erected buildings within the stated time. The Court of Common Pleas decided in favor of
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the Old School, and the Supreme Court confirmed the decision. In 1860 the New School removed their building.
MANCHESTER, at the mouth of Walnut Creek, has some fine scenery and a few pleasant residences. There are two paper mills here. The Keystone Mills, R. L. Perkins, pro- prietor, manufactures printing, colored, and manilla paper, and employs six men and four girls. Adelphic Mills, J. C. Perkins, proprietor, manufactures manilla and wrapping paper, and employs four men and one girl.
MCKEAN CORNERS is on the old State line. It has a Metho- dist church and parsonage, twenty or thirty dwellings, etc. 1
WESLEYVILLE has 164 inhabitants, a Methodist church, several shops and stores, and one gristmill.
WEST SPRINGFIELD has a Methodist Episcopal church and a Universalist church, an academy and boarding hall, de- scribed elsewhere. The Lake Shore Railroad passes near.
SPRINGFIELD also has an academy and a Presbyterian church.
BEAVERDAM, in Wayne township, has a Methodist Episco- pal church, a Presbyterian church, and several shops and stores.
At CONCORD STATION, on the Philadelphia and Erie Rail- road, the gristmill known as Hall's lately passed into the hands of Norton & Miller, and has been repaired and re- modeled to equal any in the county. Mr. Bedient erected a large turning and planing mill, and the carding machine of Mr. Reynolds has given place to a large woolen factory. Mr. Barry, late of Chautauqua County, recently erected a large hotel ; and an oil refinery, with a capital of $2,500, is in pro- gress, being directed by Mr. Ensign Baker, an experienced chemist from Fredonia, New York.
CHAPTER XIV.
Biographies of Col. Seth Reed-Rufus S. Reed-Judah Colt-Dr. U. Parsons-Dr. J. C. Wallace-Rev. Robert Reid-Thomas Wilson -P. S. V. Hamot-Capt. D. Dobbins-T. H. Sill-G. Sanford- Judge J. Galbraith.
COLONEL SETH REED was a native of Rhode Island, but at an early day removed to Uxbridge, Massachusetts. By pro- fession he was a physician, and served in the revolutionary army at Bunker Hill with the rank of colonel. About 1790 he removed to Ontario County, New York, where he came in possession, probably by purchase from the Indians, of a very valuable tract of land eighteen miles in extent, known as the " Reed and Ryckman location." This he disposed of, and in 1795 removed with his family to Erie.
In Historical Collections of Pennsylvania we find : "Mr. William Connelly, now of Franklin, came out to Erie in the spring of 1795 with his cousin, Thomas Rees. They saw Col. Reed land-the first white settler1-who came in a bark boat with a quantity of groceries, liquors, and Indian goods. He erected a log cabin, soon after made it a double one, and called it Presqu'ile Hotel, where he entertained traders and travelers on the lake shore." In the "Holland Purchase" we find an extract from Deacon Hinds Chamberlain's journal, being an account of a journey to Waterford in 1795. "On our return from Le Boeuf to Presqu'ile we found there Col. Seth Reed and his family. They had just arrived. James Baggs and Giles Sisson came on with Col. Reed. I remained for a considerable time in his employ."
Col. Reed's wife and sons, Manning and John Charles, came with him ; Rufus Seth a few months after, and George with
1 Mr. William Miles settled on the flats of French Creek, at a point where two or more roads cross, a little northwest of the place where the Stranahans now live, in Concord township, in the month of June, 1795.
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the daughters, Mrs. T. Rees and Mrs. J. Fairbanks, the follow- ing year.
Col. Reed died March 19, 1797, aged fifty-three years. Mrs. Reed (who was Hannah Manning, of Dedham, Mass.) died December 8, 1821, at the age of seventy-three, having lived to see great changes, and to tell those who came after of the trials and hardships of life in the wilderness.
RUFUS SETH REED was the third son of Col. Seth Reed, and was born at Uxbridge, Mass., Oct. 11, 1775. In 1798 he was married to Dolly Oaks, daughter of Jonathan Oaks, Esq., of Palmyra, who died the same year. In 1801 he was married to Agnes Irwin.
Rufus S. Reed was long regarded as the father of the town, his residence here being coeval with its settlement. From the first efforts to dispel the gloom of the surrounding forest to the hour of his death he was a master spirit, conspicuous for his enterprise, perseverance, excellent judgment and penetration, remarkable business talent and success.
As a man, Mr. Reed was kind hearted, entirely free from ostentation, easy of approach, and took delight in a generous action. "Early seeing the advantageous position of the lake country as a theater of enterprise, he was one of the first to lead off and plant the germs of a commerce that under his eye attained a growth which equaled that of one third of the Union. Possessed of a vigorous constitution, with an active mind and body, he earnestly engaged in extensive business undertakings which spread over a wide district of country, and amply repaid him for his enterprise and labor, as evinced by the immense estate he was in possession of at his death .?? To his various commercial, banking, and mercantile employ- ments he added that of farmer, and applied himself with a zest and with his usual success to agriculture.
After a protracted illness, his mind retaining its accustomed clearness to the last, he expired on the first of June, 1846, aged seventy years. Mrs. Reed and his only son and child, Gen. C. M. Reed, still survive.
JUDAH COLT was born at Lyme, Conn., July first, 1761. As his history is identified with that of the western country, a brief sketch and some extracts from his journal will be given.
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Until the age of twenty-three he assisted his father on the farm, and the last three winters taught school in the neigh- boring towns. He then resolved to see something of the world, and took passage in the sloop Betsy for North Carolina. As they were driven off the shore by adverse winds, they landed at the island of Bermuda, disposed of their perishing cargo, and repaired the vessel. They then made the harbor of Ocracock, N. C., and Mr. Colt visited the larger towns and taught school in the vicinity until spring, when he returned home after an absence of over six months. As was the cus- tom, the prayers of the church at home had been offered for his safe return. In the autumn he made a tour to Vermont, taught school in Williamstown, Mass., in the winter, and next engaged himself as a clerk in the dry goods store of Mr. Thomas Shelden, of Lansingburg, N. Y.
When he returned to the parental roof, after an absence of eighteen months, his father made him proposals "such as a kind parent would do," but having seen a better country for obtaining an estate by labor, he excused himself from accept- ing his offer, and returned to Lansingburg to enter the em- ploy of Mr. Nathaniel Gorham, a respectable merchant. Mr. Colt's father dying, he returned and settled his estate, spend- ing the winter there. Finally, after several other tours, in 1789 he, with thirteen persons, with their goods, farming utensils, etc., set out for the Genesee country. At German Flats their wagon broke, and they proceeded from thence on horseback, each traveler carrying his own baggage. Through the scattering Dutch settlements the accommodations were poor. At Fort Schuyler (Utica) they crossed the Mohawk where there were but one or two small log houses ; ten miles west they put up at Mr. Blackman's ; from thence proceeded through the Oneida castle, following a bridle path, and at night encamped on the Canasaraga Flats. Here Mr. Colt's horse failed to keep up with the company, and Mr. E. Curtis agreed to move with him, as his horse could travel. Two days after leaving Utica they reached Onondaga river, and put up at Maj. Danforth's, near the salt spring, which was the only white family they found after leaving Blackman's. (One man resided in Oneida castle named Alburt or Talbut.) At
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Cayuga Lake a family by the name of Richardson resided, who ferried them and their horses over in two canoes lashed together ; ten days from Utica they arrived at Geneva, and put up at Gilbert R. Boney's, Mr. Colt's horse having failed after crossing the outlet of Seneca Lake. After remaining a day or two in Geneva he walked to Canandaigua and took shelter in a cabin occupied by Gen. Israel Chapin, being much fatigued. Provisions were brought in boats from Albany and Schenectady, and there was a great scarcity of the necessaries of life.
Mr. Colt contracted with O. Phelps, Esq., to survey a town- ship situated on the Genesee River, known as No. 11, Honeoye township. On July 1, 1789, he purchased a town lot (forty acres) of O. Phelps, cleared the timber, and afterward erected a dwelling in which he resided for many years. He sowed wheat upon three acres of his lot the same fall, which was the first sown in that part of the country. N. Gorham and others sowed large fields the same season. [Mr. Colt's yielded twenty bushels to the acre. ] In August a treaty was held for the purchase of the Indian lands, attended by the chief, Red Jacket, and 1,700 Indians, including women and children. The payment was made them in cash and merchandise. Rations of bread, meat, and occasionally rum were served out, and they came and went hungry. One hundred head of cattle were killed for them, but of flour there was a scarcity-one barrel made into bread sold for one hundred dollars in silver plate, of which various kinds of Indian ornaments were made. Many horses died distempered during the treaty, and the Indians fed on them freely, and also on the blood and entrails of all the beef slaughtered. While the treaty con- tinued but little else was attended to, and although no serious accident happened between the whites and Indians, there were several narrow escapes in consequence of the Indians making too free use of spirits, and the misconduct of the white people, who were often the aggressors.
The winter following, Mr. Colt spent in Connecticut, his health having become impaired by frequent attacks of fever and ague. In September, 1790, he received the appointment from Gov. Clinton of sheriff of Ontario County; and on the
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third of the same month a court of quarter and general sessions of the peace was held at the dwelling-house of O. Phelps ; Oliver Phelps, Esq., presided as judge, and James Parker and Israel Chapin as assistant justices.
In January, 1792, Mr. Colt was married to Elizabeth Marvin, of Lyme, Connecticut. During the winter of 1794, he con- tinued in Canandaigua for the first time. The inhabitants were under serious apprehensions of an invasion by the Indians in the spring, if nieasures were not taken by the general government to quiet them. Early in the spring, news was brought to I. Chapin, Esq. (Geneva), superintendent of Indian affairs, that Capt. Brant had assembled with his warriors at Buffalo Creek, and was proceeding to Presqu'ile, Pennsylvania, to prevent the survey of the Triangle. To prevent serious consequences, Mr. Chapin repaired to Buffalo Creek, Mr. S. Colt accompanying him as secretary, and Horatio Jones as interpreter. The Indians were assembled, and after consultation, a part of the young men were dis- missed, and a few of the chiefs took passage by water, with the superintendent, secretary, and interpreter, to Presqu'ile. From this they went on foot to Le Boeuf, where was stationed a small command of State troops, under Capt. Ebenezer Denny. On the Indians making their errand known, viz., to see the surveyors and to forbid them running lines, etc., they were informed that they shortly before left the country and had gone down the river. The Indians agreed to return home on assurances being given that the matter should be laid before the President of the United States.
It was agreed to hold a treaty with them the ensuing fall. Timothy Pickering, Esq., was appointed for that purpose, and met them at Canandaigua, in the month of October, when all matters of difference were amicably settled.
In August, 1795, Mr. Colt, accompanied by Mr. Augustus Porter, visited Presqu'ile for the purpose of purchasing land ; and February, 1796, Mr. Colt made a journey to Philadelphia to confirm the purchase of his lands, as well as to make an offer to the Population Company of one dollar per acre for a tract of 30,000 acres in the eastern part of the Triangle. The company declined to sell in so large a body, but appointed Mr.
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Colt their agent, at a salary of $1,500 per year, besides ex- penses for traveling, board, etc. In 1798 the salary was in- creased to $2,500, a clerk furnished, and all reasonable travel- ing expenses paid. May, 1798, Mr. Colt brought his family to Greenfield, where they resided until their removal to Erie in 1802. The history of Erie County, during its first thirty years. in business and society affairs, is closely interwoven with that. of its two most prominent citizens, Judah Colt and R. S. Reed. In October, 1825, Mr. Colt was elected first elder of the First. Presbyterian church, and was distinguished for his piety and benevolence, as well as esteemed and respected in all the vari- ous relations of life.
The evening of October 11, 1832, without the least premoni- tion, Mr. Colt suddenly expired, when seated with his family by the cheerful fireside. Mrs. Colt died March 13, 1834, aged sixty-six years ; they left no children, two sons and a daughter having died in infancy.
USHER PARSONS, M.D., formerly of the United States Navy -the last surviving commissioned officer of Perry's squadron- was a native of York County, Maine. When war was declared with Great Britain in 1812, he was a surgeon's mate on board of the John Adams. The officers and crew volunteered for the lake service and joined Perry at Erie in June, 1813. Dr. Parsons was attached to the flagship Lawrence, and, owing to the illness of the two other medical officers of the squadron, was the only acting surgeon on the bloody and eventful tenth. Respecting his valuable services on that trying occasion, the commodore made most honorable mention in a letter ad- dressed to the Secretary of the Navy.1 Soon after (1814), he was commissioned full surgeon and sailed with the squadron to Mackinaw, and was present at the disastrous attack on that fort by Col. Croghan. Com. Perry was soon after ordered to the command of the frigate Java, and allowed the privilege of selecting his officers, when Dr. Parsons was appointed surgeon.
1 " Of Dr. Usher Parsons, surgeon's mate, I cannot say too much. In consequence of the sickness of Drs. Barton and Horsely, the duty of operating, dressing, and attending nearly a hundred wounded and as many sick, fell on him; and it must be gratifying to you, sir, to know that of the whole number only three have died. I can only say that in the event of my having another command, I should consider myself particu- larly fortunate in having him with me as a surgeon."
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In 1818 he again sailed to the Mediterranean in the Quer- riere, commanded by Com. McDonough, and after one year obtained leave of absence and visited the hospitals and medi- cal schools in France and England. On his return he had charge of the hospital in Charlestown, Mass., for a year or two; afterward he was appointed to a professorship in Dart- mouth College, which he resigned the following year. Since then Dr. Parsons has resided in Providence, Rhode Island, ex- cepting the winter of 1831, when he was Professor in Jefferson Medical College, Philadelphia.
In 1822 he married Mary Jackson Holmes, a sister of Dr. Oliver Wendell Holmes, the celebrated author and littérateur, and daughter of Abiel Holmes, D.D., LL. D., of Cambridge (author of Annals of America). Mrs. Parsons deceased in 1825, leaving one son, Dr. C. W. Parsons, of Providence.
Dr. Usher Parsons resigned his commission in the United States Navy in 1823. He was for some years connected with Brown University as professor of anatomy and surgery. In 1852 he was chosen first vice-president of the National Medi- cal Association. He wrote the Life of Sir William Pepperell, several medical works, Reforms in the Navy, and probably he had a more complete knowledge of Indian traditions and his- tory than any other person.
Dr. Parsons combined not only eminence as a professional man and scholar, but all the virtues and graces of a Christian gentleman. The period he was stationed in Erie, and the arduous duties which then devolved upon him, made a lasting impression, and in its growth and prosperity, and in the friends of those early and exciting times he ever manifested a warm interest.
DR. JOHN CULBERTSON WALLACE, the first resident phy- sician in Erie, was born in Dauphin County, Pennsylvania, February 14, 1771. He was a good classical scholar, and gradu- ated as Doctor of Medicine, at Philadelphia, under Rush and other celebrated medical men. In 1796 he accompanied Gen. Wayne as surgeon in the Indian war ; was stationed at Fort Fayette, Pittsburg, and in 1801 went to Kentucky with Gen. Wilkinson's command. The same year he was married to Miss Margaret Heron, daughter of Capt. James Heron, of the army,
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