USA > Pennsylvania > Erie County > The history of Erie County, Pennsylvania > Part 15
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In June, 1859, the corner-stone of their rich and elaborate structure was laid on the site of the former building. Rev. Dr. Chester, of Buffalo, Rev. C. J. Hutchins, and Rev. D. C. Wright took part in the exercises. Its cost, exclusive of the ground, is estimated at twenty-five thousand dollars, and it is capable of seating nine hundred persons. The organ of this church cost two thousand dollars.
March 17th, 1827, a meeting was held at Mr. Hamot's for the purpose of organizing an Episcopal church. Colonel Thomas Forster was called to the chair, and P. S. V. Hamot
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appointed Secretary. George Miles, G. A. Elliot, Taber Beebe, C. M. Reed, Thos. Forster, Jr., D. C. Barrett, Wm. Kelley, G. Knapp, and J. A. Tracy were elected Vestry- men. Rev. Charles Smith accepted the office of rector, but resigned December eighth. He was succeeded by Rev. B. Hutchins, and afterward by Rev. John W. James. Rev. Bennet Glover was next appointed, July 17th, 1828, and held the office until his death in 1838. St. Paul's Church was erected in 1831.
The First Baptist Church was organized in 1831. July 31st, 1832, at a meeting held at the court-house, Rev. Wm. H. Newman was called to the chair, and O. N. Sage ap- pointed Secretary. The following gentlemen were nomi- nated trustees : E. D. Gunnison, Abijah Frost, O. N. Sage, William Kelly, James Lytle, Warren Foot, (did not serve,) Adonijah Fuller, George Moore, and D. J. Lloyd. The first pastor was Rev. William Newman, and they erected their building in 1833.
In 1838 the Methodist Episcopal denomination erected a frame building on Seventh Street. In 1860 they dedi- cated their new house of worship on the corner of Sassafras and Seventh. This is one of the finest churches in the city. The house and ground cost seventeen thousand dollars. Trustees, J. Hanson, J. S. Sterrett, T. Willis, John Burton, William Sanborn, A. A. Craig, J. W. Ayers, A. Yale, N. Murphy. In 1858 the same denomination completed a house of worship a short distance south of the town, at the cost of four thousand dollars, called the Simpson Church. Messrs. E. Goodrich, Heman Jaynes, and Captain Thos. Wilkins were liberal contributors.
In 1841 the Lutherans built a church. Rev. Mr. Hart- man, pastor.
In 1844 the Universalists organized a church, and in 1845 erected their building. First pastor, Rev. Henry Gifford. Trustees, Henry Cadwell, R. Huston, and Porter Warren. S. H. Kelsey, Collector.
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HISTORY OF ERIE COUNTY.
The first Roman Catholic church erected in Erie was a small frame building on German Street, in 1839. The corner-stone of St. Patrick's, on Fourth Street, was laid in 1850, and about 1858 a dwelling for the bishop and a school- house were erected on the premises. In 1854 the diocese of Erie was created, and the Rev. Joshua Young made bishop.
In 1854 St. Mary's, a German Catholic church, was com- menced, and completed in 1858. This is probably the largest, as it is the most expensive church in the city, its cost having amounted to $28,000. It has two spires 135 feet in height, and is furnished with three bells, one weigh- ing 1991 pounds, another 1085 pounds, and the third 708 pounds. The bells cost $1400, and are remarkable for their clearness of tone; they were consecrated by the Right Rev. J. Young, April 15th, 1860. The church has an organ which cost $1200, the Society of St. Cecilia engaging them- selves in the choir. The Benedictine Fathers have had charge of the congregation since July, 1859, Rev. F. Celestine Engelbrecht, pastor.
Two societies for the propagation of the faith are con- nected with St. Mary's-St. Aloysia's for young men, and the Society of the Blessed Virgin for young ladies-each of which has a library.
The Methodist Germans many years ago erected a com- fortable house of worship near the depot.
About 1850 the German Presbyterians erected a brick church on Peach Street.
In 1854 an Old School Presbyterian church was organized by Rev. William Willson, and immediately after the congrega- tion erected Park Church at a cost of $17,000. First Trus- tees, G. Sanford, Jos. Arbuckle, J. C. Spencer, William C. Curry, I. W. Hart, J. Moore, D. W. Fitch. Treasurer and Secretary, D. W. Fitch. In 1856 Rev. W. M. Blackburn was installed pastor. The first attempt of the General Assem- bly (O. S.) to establish a church in Erie was in 1842, when
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Rev. J. H. Townley was sent as a missionary. In 1853 the Presbytery of Erie made appointments for preaching for several months, having previously named a committee to establish a church when Providence should direct.
In 1847 the Wesleyan Methodist Society (colored) erected their building on Third Street, in Jerusalem, the western part of the town. The founders were H. E. Waters, John Clifford, Amos Burgess, Luman Harris, and William Mes- sick. The African Episcopal Methodists (also colored) formed a society and erected a building soon after.
The Protestant Episcopal church, Rev. Mr. Abercrombie, held services for a few months in 1858, in the Wesleyan church, when it was not otherwise occupied, and organized a Sunday School there. At the same time the Rev. Mr. Bowman, of the same church, held services at the depot.
The first instance of Christian worship after the manner of the Protestant Episcopal church, at Girard, was in June, 1858, in the Methodist Episcopal church, a large audience being in attendance. Rev. John Bowman officiated.
Girard Township has five churches-one Protestant Methodist, three Episcopal Methodist, and one Roman Catholic.
Springfield Township has six churches-two Episcopal Methodist, one New School Presbyterian, one Universalist, one Christian, and one Calvinistic Baptist.
Franklin Township has no church edifice.
Fairview Township has seven church organizations-one Methodist Episcopal, one German Methodist, one Old School Presbyterian, two New School Presbyterian, though but one house of worship, and two German churches, the denomina- tions not known. In this statement is included the churches of Manchester and Fairview or Sturgeonville.
Summit Township has two churches-one Methodist Epis- copal that will accommodate three hundred persons, valued at $850; and one U. Presbyterian, seating four hundred, and valued at $800.
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McKean Township has one Methodist Episcopal church, seating five hundred, and valued at $1500; and a Roman Catholic, seating five hundred, which cost $1300.
Le Bœuf Township has one Methodist Episcopal church, seating three hundred, and valued at $1000; and a second one, seating five hundred, and valued at $1500.
Washington Township has one Christian Communion church, accommodating three hundred, valued at $1200.
Concord Township has one Methodist Episcopal church with two hundred sittings, valued at $1000.
Harbor Creek Township has four churches.
Greene Township has two Methodist Episcopal, and one Presbyterian church.
Northeast Township has three churches-one Presbyte- rian, valued at $1000, seating three hundred; one Methodist Episcopal, valued at $3000, seating three hundred and fifty ; and one Baptist, valued at $3400, that will accommodate four hundred.
Greenfield Township has one Methodist Episcopal church.
Waterford Township has six churches-one Roman Catho- lic, seating three hundred persons, valued at $3000; one Lutheran, seating one hundred and fifty, valued at $300; one Presbyterian, seating two hundred, valued at $450; one Methodist Episcopal, seating two hundred and twenty, valued at $400; another of the same denomination, seating three hundred, valued at $500; one Baptist, seating three hundred, valued at $450.
Amity Township has one Methodist Episcopal church, valued at $800, and which will accommodate two hundred persons.
Venango Township has one Methodist Episcopal church, besides the churches in Wattsburg.
Wayne Township has two churches-a Methodist Epis- copal, valued at $1000, which will accommodate three hun- dred, and a Presbyterian one valued at $800, seating two hundred and fifty persons.
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HISTORY OF ERIE COUNTY.
Union Township has three churches-one Methodist Epis- copal, valued at $1000, with three hundred sittings; one Presbyterian, valued at $1500, with three hundred sittings; and a Roman Catholic, valued at $800, with two hundred sittings.
The census statistics (which include those of the churches) of Mill Creek, Elk Creek, Conneaut, and the West Ward of Erie have not yet been published or filed in the Prothono- tary's office, nor have they been aggregated, excepting in population.
Erie has been favored with revivals of religion at several periods. In 1831 Rev. Mr. Stone held a series of meetings, and more than thirty persons united with the Presbyterian church.
In 1834 Rev. Mr. Orton, a zealous evangelist, held a pro- tracted meeting, and about one hundred persons connected themselves with the different churches.
In 1842 the Rev. Mr. Clark preached for several days in the Presbyterian church-sixty-five persons united with the church at that time. Again, in 1858, more than two hun- dred persons united with the different evangelical churches in Erie.
Rev. O. Parker, an evangelist, labored successfully in the Presbyterian churches of Girard and Edinboro in 1860. At the latter place there were many converts in the Normal school.
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HISTORY OF ERIE COUNTY.
CHAPTER XIII.
Waterford-Edinboro-Northeast-Wattsburg-Girard-Union Mills- Albion-Cherry Hill-Wellsburg-Cranesville-Lockport-Pageville- Lexington-Fairview-Manchester-MeKean Corners-Wesleyville- West Springfield-Springfield-Beaverdam-Coneord Station.
WATERFORD, beautifully situated at old Fort Le Bœuf,* the history of which has been given in a former chapter, is distant fourteen miles southeast of Erie.
In the act for laying ont the towns of Erie, Franklin, Warren, and Waterford, is to be found the following : "Whereas, Andrew Ellicot lately surveyed and laid out a town, within the tract heretofore reserved for the public use at Le Bœuf, near the head of the navigation of French Creek, and the draft and plan of the said town being com- municated by the Governor to the General Assembly, was by them approved : therefore, be it enacted by the authority aforesaid, that the said draft and plan of the town so sur- veyed and laid out by the said Andrew Ellicot, * * * being first recorded in the office of the Secretary of the Common- wealth, and the original thereof deposited in the office of the Surveyor-General, shall be, and the same is hereby, in all
* Old Fort Le Bœuf being inland, was not ranked or fortified as a first-class station ; yet, its being situated on the " head waters" of the Allegheny River, and at the nearest point of water communica- tion between Lake Erie and the river, it was considered of much importance as a trading fort. It afforded protection to traders, hunters, and to many adventurers who passed between Canada and Fort Duquesne and the French possession farther south. The port- age between Presqu'ile and Le Bœuf being only a little more than four leagues, the necessary goods, munitions of war, implements of agriculture, etc., were conveyed over land from the lake, and at Fort Le Bœuf embarked upon radeaux or rafts, to be transported to forts to the south and west along the river.
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respects, accepted, ratified, confirmed, and established, as fully and effectually as if it had been made by virtue of a law previously authorizing a town to be surveyed and laid out at Le Bœuf; * * * and the commissioners hereinbefore directed to be appointed shall also survey five hundred acres of land, adjoining the said last-mentioned town, for out-lots : and the same shall be divided in such manner, and with such streets, lanes, and alleys as the said commissioners shall di- rect, but no out-lot shall contain more than five acres, nor shall the reservation for public uses exceed in the whole ten acres; and the said last-mentioned town shall be called 'Waterford,' and all the streets, lanes, and alleys thereof, and of the out-lots thereto adjoining, shall be and forever remain common highways."
And in section thirteenth, "that it shall be lawful for the Governor, with the consent of the individuals, respectively, to protract the enlistments of such part of the detachment of State troops, or such part as may be in garrison at Fort Le Bœuf, or to enlist as many men as he shall deem neces- sary, not exceeding one hundred and thirty, to protect and assist the commissioners, surveyors, and other attendants intrusted with the execution of the several objects of this act: provided always, nevertheless, that as soon as a fort shall be established at Presqu'ile, and the United States shall have furnished adequate garrisons for the same, and for Fort Le Bœuf, the Governor shall discharge the said de- tachment of State troops, except the party thereof employed in protecting and assisting the commissioners, surveyors, and other attendants as aforesaid, which shall be continued until the objects of this act are accomplished, and no longer."
And section fifteenth, "that in order to defray the ex- penses of making the survey at Fort Le Boeuf, and the vari- ous surveys and sales herein directed, and to maintain the garrison at Fort Le Bœuf, there shall be, and hereby is, ap- propriated the sum of seventeen thousand dollars, to be paid by the Treasurer on the warrants of the Governor."
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HISTORY OF ERIE COUNTY.
When Judge Vincent* settled in Waterford in 1797, he says : "There were no remains of the old French fort excepting the traces on the ground, and these traces were very distinct and visible." Fifteen years after, a cel- lar and a deep well were the only visible remains. Can- non, bullets, etc. have been found occasionally below the . surface, and fragments of human skeletons pervade the soil. From the first settlement to the present time men have, at intervals, been searching for treasures on the sites of Le Bœuf and Presqu'ile, with all the helps afforded by the magnet and mineral-rod. At Le Bœuf, two years ago, a man, digging under the direction of the "Spirits," discovered below the surface a stone wall laid up with mortar, which would probably have a radius of one hundred feet. Within this was the foundation of a blacksmith's forge, or indica- tions of one-as burnt stone, cinders, pieces of iron of all shapes, and of no conceivable use, guns, gun-locks, bayonets, and parts of many implements of war.
Judge Vincent says further, on the same ground, in 1797, stood a stockade fort built by Major Denny in 1794; it was commanded by an officer of the army, Lieutenant Marten, with twelve or fifteen soldiers. The same year (1797) a new fort was built, which is still occupied by a
* Judge John Vincent was born in Newark Township, Essex County, New Jersey, February 4th, 1772. The family were origin- ally from France, where his great-grandfather was born, in 1676. Several of the brothers were residing at West Branch, Pennsylvania, and in Fort Freeland when captured by the Indians ._
Judge Vincent was appointed Associate Judge in 1805. He dis- charged the duties of the office for more than thirty-four years, being absent but twice from the sittings of the court. When he removed to Waterford in 1797, he found in the vicinity Wm. Miles, Captain Pollock, Captain Martin Strong, and Amos Judson; and a strong friendship was engendered by common dangers and priva- tions, and which was interrupted only by death. Judge Vincent was industrious, energetic, and persevering, and lived to enjoy the benefits his industry had accumulated. He died in February, 1860.
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family, though very much dilapidated, and some parts appa- rently ready to fall. This block-house was at one time a storehouse ; in 1813, (after the battle of Lake Erie,) a body of prisoners and wounded men were there quartered; it was next connected with other buildings, the whole being weatherboarded, and a respectable hotel constituted. The main street of the borough running from north to south passes in front of the "Block-house Hotel," and over the same ground which was occupied by the French and first American forts. The whole is now the property of A. M. Judson, Esq.
In the neighborhood of the depot, two miles northeast of the block-house, spikes, bullets, cannon balls, etc. have been found. In another part of the town, a quarter of a mile from the fort, a hillock is called "Washington's Mound," from the fact (as tradition has it) that Washington, when on his mission in 1753, spent a night there.
One of the first appropriations for the northwestern part of the State, in 1791, was £400 for the improvement of French Creek, (besides £400 for the road from Le Bœuf to Presqu'ile ; ) and in 1807 we find five hundred dollars were to be set apart from the sale of town and out lots of the Commonwealth, adjoining Erie, for clearing and improv- ing the navigation of Le Bœuf and French Creeks from Waterford to the south line of the county.
Here it may not be out of place to give a short descrip- tion of French Creek. It was formerly called Venango Creek, or rather, In-nan-ga-eh, and is a beautiful, transpa- rent, and rapid stream. For many miles from its confluence with the Allegheny it is less than one hundred feet in width. At some seasons its waters are navigable to Waterford for boats carrying twenty tons, yet for a few weeks of summer it cannot usually be navigated by any craft larger than a canoe.
Washington, in his journal, calls Le Bœuf Creek the Western Fork, which is correct; but besides this there are
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HISTORY OF ERIE COUNTY.
three others, and these are now particularly so designated. In addition to many small streams, in all directions, proceed- ing northerly from the mouth of French Creek, its most noted contributory waters, all of which have mill privileges and furnished with saw-mills and grist-mills, are Big Sugar Creek, Deer Creek, Little Sugar Creek, the ontlet of Con- . neaut, Cassewago, Woodcock, the outlet of Conneanttee, Mnddy Creek, and Le Bœuf Creek, on which Waterford stands, three or four miles above its union with French Creek.
In the articles on roads and the salt trade Waterford is conspicuous. Salt on its arrival from Erie was deposited in storehouses at the landing to await a freshet. There were four of these large storehouses, being the property of Judge Smith, Judge Vincent, Captain Tracy, and Thomas King. Messrs. Tracy and King did not build until 1815 or 1816. The last load of salt carried down the river to Pittsburg was by Judge Smith, in 1819, the boat containing four hun- dred barrels.
In the days of the salt trade Waterford contained no churches, and the people assembled in the storehouses to hear the word of God. On one occasion when Mr. Mathews was preaching, the freshet reached the point that made it necessary, or at least desirable, to start the boats. The barrels were rolled out and the boats filled in the midst of the service, and the divine prayed for "the success of the boats that were obliged to start on the Lord's day."
The keel boats gave employment to many who seemed to form a peculiar and vigorous class by themselves. An "up- the-river boatman" was quite a different specimen of the genus homo from all others. "He could drink, swear, smoke, and fight in a manner that would quite astonish his degenerate great-grandchildren of these days. The race is nearly extinct."
It was the custom to give the men who went with the boats every tenth barrel for their pay. There was a Dutch-
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man, by the name of Jacob Kitelinger, (as it was pro- nounced,) who said to Judge Smith, on one of his trips, ".Judge, you are an old friend of mine, and, I believe, a good friend. Prove it, by giving me every twelfth barrel. I think I deserve it." The Judge thought about it, and finally, for friendship's sake, agreed to do it. Kitelinger was delighted; and when they reached Pittsburg, worked industriously, setting aside for himself every twelfth barrel. But when he found that the others received ten barrels for every hundred and he only eight, the poor fellow was in despair. The Judge, however, was a man of honor, and gave him his due, but Jacob could never understand it.
Keel-boat fare has been pronounced, even by some epi- cures, the very sweetest, owing, undoubtedly, to the fresh air and a good appetite. A mass composed of flour and water was well kneaded on the top of a barrel-the large loaf then placed on a board before the fire, and when well browned,
the lower side placed in the same position. Some slices of bacon were then roasted on the points of sticks, to complete the variety. Their drink was usually chocolate, with the bacon held over while roasting-some drops of the fat im- parting a richness and flavor to the beverage.
To impel by poles against the current, (as they were obliged to do on their return,) was a most laborious employ- ment-keelmen not unfrequently, at that day, had the side flayed and raw as a poor draught-horse long galled by the harness. "No more going ahead, backward," was the ex- pressive toast of an old boatman, at the Meadville canal celebration; and well did his class appreciate the improve- ment.
On April 8th, 1833, the town of Waterford was erected into a borough, being bounded and limited as follows: be- ginning at a white ash at the northwest corner of the Water- ford reserve, adjoining lands of J. Vincent, Esq., on the north and west; thence east 276 perches along the north side of Circuit Street, adjoining lands of J. Vincent, Esq.,
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and the heirs of A. Himrod, to a post at the northwest cor- ner of G. W. Reed's land ; thence south along the reserve line 159 perches, to a post at the southeast corner of said Recd's land; thence east 69 perches along the southern boundaries of the same and the reserve line to a post; thence south 26 degrees, east 125 perches, along the eastern bound- aries of out-lots numbers 30, 23, 22, 94, and 1, to a post ad- joining land of Amos Judson on the south; thence south 64 degrees, west along the line dividing the out-lots and reserve tracts, 261 perches, to a post at the southwest cor- ner of out-lot number 12; thence north 26 degrees, west 40 perches, along the western boundary of said out-lot to a post on the south side of Water Street; thence south 64 degrees, west 126 perches along the south side of Water Street, to a post on the west side of Circuit Street; and thence north 422 perches along the west side of Circuit Street to the place of beginning.
The first borough officers were elected in 1834. Amos Judson, Burgess; John Boyd, Henry Colt, William Benson, John Tracy, Isaac M. White, Wilson King, Town Council ; Charles C. Boyd, High Constable; B. B. Vincent, Town Clerk and Treasurer; Samuel Hutchins and Daniel Vincent, Overseers of the Poor.
Waterford has a plank-road connecting it with Erie and Meadville, and the Philadelphia and Erie Railroad, which as yet has appeared to be of no advantage to the town.
It has four churches, of the United Presbyterian, New School Presbyterian, Protestant Episcopal, and Methodist Episcopal denominations. The Presbyterian church was organized in 1810, Rev. John Mathews being the first pas- tor, and William Bracken, John Lytle, and Archibald Wat- son the first trustees.
In 1832 the Presbyterians united with the Protestant Episcopal denomination in erecting a church, which now belongs to the latter exclusively. In 1835 they erected their present house of worship.
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HISTORY OF ERIE COUNTY.
The Associate Reformed church (United Presbyterian) was organized in 1816, Rev. Robert Reid being the first pastor. This is much the largest congregation in Water- ford, and, like the same denomination in Erie, composed almost entirely of Irish Protestants. The founders were William Smith, Robert Kincaid, and William Carson. A year or two since they enlarged and improved their building.
The Methodist Society was organized as early as 1814, but did not erect a house of worship until 1854. Rev. Mr. Paddock, first pastor.
A Protestant Episcopal church was organized in 1827, and they erected their building, as mentioned above, in 1832. Rev. Bennet Glover was their first clergyman. Dr. M. B. Bradley, Timothy Judson, Amos Judson, Martin Strong, John Vincent, James Pollock, and John Tracy were the first officers.
Waterford Academy is the oldest institution of the kind in the county, as we have mentioned.
Waterford has eight factories and one banking establish- ment.
The borough officers are William Judson, Burgess; David Boyd, William C. Smith, Sam. C. Stamford, J. L. Cook, J. L. Mckay, Owen McGill, Town Council; J. M. White, Town Clerk and Treasurer.
EDINBORO, in Washington Township, is twenty miles south of Erie, and but two miles from Crawford County. It was incorporated April 3d, 1840, and is the most enterprising interior town in the county. Mr. Culbertson built a mill here about 1800, being one of the first mills erected in the county. Families of the name of Hamilton and Reeder were also among the first settlers. It was formerly called Conneauttee or Little Conneaut, an Anglicized aboriginal word.
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