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Full text of "20th century history of New Castle and Lawrence County, Pennsylvania and representative citizens"

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Gc M. L 

974.801 

L43h 

1265857 

GENEALOGY COLLECTION 



3 1833 01205 1915 



20th CENTURY HISTORY 



NEW CASTLE 



LAWRENCE COU NTY 

PENNSYLVANIA 

AND 

REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 



EDITED AND COMPILED BY 

HON. AARON L. HAZEN 



NEW CASTLE 



History is Philosophy Teaching by Examples' 



Cifl Xi ^0 I PUBLISHED BY 

I U X i, RICHMOND-ARNOLD PUBLISHING CO. 



Geo. Richmond, Pres. C. K. .Arnold, Sec'y and Tr. 

CHICAGO, ILL. 

1908 




12S5357 
PREFACE 



jHE aim of the publishers of this volume and of the author of 

the history has be.en to secure for the historical portion thereof 

ill and accurate data respecting the historj' of the county 

from the time of its early settlement, and to condense it into 

a clear and interesting narrative. All topics and occurrences 

have been included that were essential to this object. Although 

the original purpose was to limit the narrative to the close, of the year 1907, 

it has been found expedient to touch on many matters relating to the current 

year, 1908. 

It is impossible, to enumerate here all those to whom thanks are due for 
assistance rendered and kindly interest taken in this work. "We would, how- 
ever, express our obligations to the local press for various courtesies extended, 
and to Rev. Robert M. Russell, of Westminster College, to whom we are 
indebted for the aiticle on that institution. In the preparation of the his- 
tory reference has been made to, and in some cases extracts taken from, 
standard historical and other works on the different subjects treated of. 

The reviews of resolute and strenuous livas which make up the biograph- 
ical part of this volume, and whose authorship is for the most part inde- 
pendent of that of the history, are admirably calculated to foster local ties, 
to inculcate patriotism, and to emphasize the rewards of industry dominated 
by intelligent purpose. They constitute a most appropriate medium for 
perpetuating personal annals, and will be of incalculable value to the de- 
scendants of those commemorated. These sketches, replete with stirring 
incidents and intense experiences, are flavored with a strong human interest 
that will naturally prove to a large portion of the readers of the l)Ook its 
most attractive feature. In the aggregate of personal memoirs thus collated 
will be found a vivid epitome of the growth of Lawrence County, which 
will fitly supplement the historical statement, for its development is identified 
with that of the men and women to whom it is attributable. 

The publLshers have endeavored to pa.ss over no feature of the work 
.slightingly, but to fittingly supplement the editor's labors by exercising care 
over the minutest details of publication, and thus give to the volume the 



6 PREFACE 

three-fold value of a readable, nan-ative, a useful work of reference, and a 
tasteful ornament to the library. We believe the result has justified the 
care, thus exercised. 

Special prominence has been given to the portraits of representative citi- 
zens which appear throughout the volume, and we believe that they will prove 
not its least interesting feature. We have sought in this department to 
illustrate the different spheres of industrial and professional achievement 
as conspicuously as possible. To all those who have kindly interested them- 
selves in the preparation of this work, and who have voluntarily contributed 
most useful information, or rendered other a.ssi.*tance, we hereby tender our 
grateful acknowledgments. 

THE PUBLISHERS. 

Chicago, October, 1908. 



NOTE 



All the biographical sketches published in this volume were sub- 
mitted to their respective subjects or to the subscribers, from whom 
the facts were primarily obtained, for their approval or correction 
before going to press; and a reasonable time was allowed in each case 
for the return of the typewritten copies. Alost of them were returned 
to us within the time allotted, or before the work was printed, after 
being corrected or revised: and these may be regarded therefore as 
reasonably accurate. 

A few, however, were not returned to us; and, as we have no 
means of knowing whether the}- contain errors or not, we cannot 
vouch for their accuracy. In justice to our readers, and to render 
this work more valuable for reference purposes, we have indicated 
these uncorrected sketches by a small asterisk (*), placed imme 
diately after the name of the subject. They will all be found on 
the last pages of the book. 

THE PUBLISHERS. 



CONTENTS 



CHAPTER I. 

Topography and Geology 21 

Topographical — Geological — A Geological Section— Serai Conglomerate Sandstone — Coal — Petroleum. 

CHAPTER n. 

IxDiAX Nations 27 

Ancient Traditions — French Missions — First English Explorers — The Moravians. 

CHAPTER HI. 

Settlement and Organization of Lawrence County 30 

Its Original Geography — Land Warrants and Land Companies — Early Settlements — Early Customs — 
Organizations of the County — Location Wrangle — Population — First Election — County Officials — First 
Courts — Original Townships — Agricultural. 

CHAPTER IV. 

Transportation 4.5 

Early Roads — New Castle and Wilmington Plank Road — Canal Traffic — Steamboats — Steam Railroads — 
Street Railway System. 

CHAPTER V. 

New Castle — The Village and Borough 50 

Indian Proprietors — First White Settlers — Wild Game — Early Merchants and Millers — First Death — Early 
Justices — First Postoffices — Early Churches — Gillespie's Addition — New Castle in 1813 — Early Bridges — 
Amusements — Pioneer Costume — New Castle Made a Borough — The Town Re-surveyed — Some Notable 
Improvements — First Fire Company — New Castle in 1840 — First Steps Toward Banking — The New 
County — First, Courts — Court-House — New Military Companies — Exports in IS.'iS — Hard Times in 1855 — 
Description of New Castle in 185S — Burgesses ot West New Castle. 

CHAPTER VI. 

New Castle — The City 86 

New Castle Becomes a City — Mayors of New Castle — City Hall — Officers — City Council — Board of Edu- 
cation — Postmasters — Fire Department — Fire Police — City Police Department — Water-works — New Castle 
Gas Compan)- — Neshannock Railroad, Coal and Ore Company — Telephone Systems — Opera House — Cas- 
cade Park — Nurseries and Greenhouses — New Castle Niirsery — Cemeteries — Greenwood Cemetery — • 
Private Burial Grounds — Catholic Cemeteries — Fraternal Orders — Almira Home — Shenango Valley Hos- 
pital — Franciscan Hospital — Holy Family Children's Home — Croton — M. E. Church — Free-will Baptist 
Church — Area and Additions — Situation — Growth of New Castle. 

CHAPTER VIL 

Manufacturers 113 

Grist and Saw Mills — Distilleries and Breweries— Tanneries — Hat ^Manufacture — Linseed Oil — Carding 
Works, etc. — Shenango Iron Works — Aetna Iron Works — Bradley, Reis & Co. — New Castle Manufac- 
turing Co. — Neshannock Iron Co. — Crowther Iron Co. — Elliott-Blair Steel Co. — American Sheet and 
Tin Plate Co. — Pennsylvania Engineering Works — Foundries, Machine Shops, etc. — Lawrence Foundry 
and Machine Shop — New Castle Agricultural Works — New Castle Stamping Co. — Standard Wire Co. — 
New Castle Forge & Bolt Co. — American Car and Ship Hardware ^lanufacturing Co. — Frank C. Douds 
& Co. — New Castle Asphalt Block Co. — New Castle Ice & Storage Co. — Carriage and Wa.gon Manu- 
factune — Furniture — Woolen Manufacture — Paper — Planing Mills — New Castle Box Co. — Gailey 
Fiber Plaster Co.— New Castle Elastic Pulp Plaster Co.— Glass Manufacture— Pottery— Shenango Pot- 
tery Co. — Universal Sanitary "Manufacturing Co. — New Castle Portland Cement Co. — Other Incorporated 
Companies, etc. 



10 CONTENTS 

CHAPTER VIII. 

Banks and Banking 136 

First Bank in New Castle — National Bank of Lawrence County — First National Bank of New Castle- 
People's Savings Bank — Farmers' and Mechanics' Bank — Citizens' National Bank — The Lawrence Sav- 
ings and Trust Company — Home Trust Company — Union National Bank — New Castle Savings and 
Trust Co. 

CH.\PTER IX. 

The Press 142 

Newspapers and Editors of the Past and of the Present. 

CHAPTER X. 

Lawrence County Bench and Bar 148 

Early Courts — Famous Judges — Leading Lawyers. 

CHAPTER XI. 

The Medical Profession 163 

Prominent Physicians of the Past and of the Present. 

CHAPTER XII. 

Education 181 

Public and Parochial Schools — Growth and Present Efficiency — Early Educators — Results Accomplished. 

CHAPTER XIII. 
Military History 192 

The Territory and County in Five Wars. 

CHAPTER XIV. 

Religious Development 205 

First Churches and Pioneer Clergy — General History of Religious Organizations — Churches and Clergy 
of Today. 

CHAPTER XV. 

Townships and Towns 227 

Big Beaver — Little Beaver — Hickory — Mahoning — Neshannock — North Beaver — Perry — Plaingrove — 
Pulaski — Scott — Shenango — Slippery Rock — Taylor— Union — Washington — Wajme — Wilmington. 

REPRESENTATIVE MEN. 



INDEX 



PAGE 

Agnew, Daniel 149 

Agnew, William E 587 

Aiken, Isaiah H 951 

Aiken, Robert K 920 

Aiken, William L 416 

Ailey, Clyde V 830 

Akens, C. H 429 

Alborn, Charles F 397 

Alborn, Frank 'E 397 

Alborn, Henry W 418 

Aley, Robert H 562 

Allison, William M 978 

Amsbury, Don. H 969 

Anderson, Isaac S 692 

Anderson, John 1013 

Andrews, Dr. A 164 

Andrews, Charles H 716 

Andrzejewski, 'Rev. John.... 620 

Armstrong, John 610 

Atkinson, Robert S 921 

Anbel, William H 569 

Ayers, Edwin L 493 

Baer, E. N 158 

Baird, Andrew 398 

Baird, Thomas W 684 

Baldwin, Laf avette 804 

Baldwin, Samuel R 518 

Baldwin. Hon. Samuel R 595 

Barker, Dr. E. M 165 

Barnes, Edward, M. D 172 

Barnes, William 556 

Barr, Herbert E., M. D 958 

Bartle, John 600 

Bauder, William 522 

Beatty, Almatrim 940 

Beck, Jacob J 936 

Beck, William F 606 

Becker, William 456 

Beer, Frederick G 970 

Beisel, Benjamin 998 

Best. Melvin G 752 

Biddle, J. Walter 617 

Biglev, Edmund E 578 

Bittles, E. E 943 

Bittner, John H 158 

Black, Luther A 681 

Blackstone, Frank A 158 

Blackwood. James M., M. D. 176 
Blackwood, Thomas J., M. D. 721 

Blair, F. C 699 

Blair, John A.. M. D 166 

Blair. Robert 'R 486 



BIOGRAPHICAL 

PAGE 

Blank, Charles H 670 

Blatt, Hon. Henry S 456 

Bleakley, Matthew W 626 

Blevins, John C 401 

Blocher, Paul Weirman 888 

Blucher, Jere 434 

Boak, R. G., M. D 168 

Bockius, W. M 564 

Boggs, Jacob R 596 

Book, Alva F 665 

Book, Frank G 972 

Boyd, Wilson M 577 

Brabv, William Henrv 998 

Braden. Josiah 981 

Bradley, Oscar Evans, D. O.. 765 

Breckenridge, Robert S 158 

Bredin, John 148 

Brest. John Parker 851 

Brest, Scott Stanley 643 

Bright, Albert Renfrew 529 

Bright. John M 884 

Eritton, Samuel J. M. D 168 

Broadbent. Brooks 558 

Brock, Richard E 841 

Bronson, John 661 

Brown, Dawson A 927 

Brown. George D 534 

Brown, John C 938 

Brown, Richard T 754 

Brown, Hon. William M 421 

Brownlee, John H 868 

Brua, John P 758 

Bruce. John M 529 

Brugh. Dr. E 165 

Buchanan, John 867 

Buchanan, L. M ... 983 

Buchanan. Samuel M 902 

Burgess. H. W 1002 

Burns, William T 15S 

Buser, Ferdinand 732 

Butler, Joseph R 571 

Bvers. Lawrence 944 

Byler, Rev. Joseph K 966 

Cain. Edward J 992 

Calderwood, William E 721 

Callahan. S. James 528 

Campbell, Howard E., M. D.. 166 

Campbell, John Dodds 741 

Campbell, Ralph M 666 

Campbell, Walter L., M. D.. 173 

Campbell, Prof. W. W., A. B. 436 

Campbell, Willis L 856 



Campbell. Wvatt R 960 

Canevin, Rt. Rev. John F. R. s03 

Carlisle, Thomas J 640 

Carter. Newton B 1006 

Cearfoss, Nelson A 700 

Challis. Joseph S3s 

Chambers, Alexander i::2 

Chambers Qiarles S r.BS 

Chambers. Harry B 6i:i 

Chambers, James A ()65 

Chamliers. Thomas H 1009 

Chapin. Frank B 9S0 

Christie. Silas U 4i)6 

Clark, Mrs. Jane A 522 

Clark, Robert S 504 

Clark, William A.. Jr., INl. D. 952 

Clark, William R 653 

Cleveland, E. E 780 

Coates, H. G 558 

Cobler, John G 639 

Cochran, David H 790 

Cochran, Francis Wilson.... 451 
Cochran, George Arnold.... 984 

Cochran, James 476 

Cole, Andrew C 870 

Cole. William H 883 

Collins. Thomas F., M. D... 173 

Conn, John H 863 

Connellv, Edward F 580 

Cook, Albert M., M. D 168 

Cook, Renwick 408 

Cooper, Edwin S., M. D.... 415 

Cooper, Joseph L., M. D 1004 

Cos,grove, William 816 

Cossitt, Dr. Tames A 164 

Cotton, William 433" 

Cover, B. W 534 

Cover. Edward K 601 

Covert, John W.. M. D.... 173 

Cowden, Dr. A. W 163 

Cowden, Dr. Isaac 164 

Cowden. Joseph P 475 

Cox, John Douglas 470 

Cox. J. R., M. D 174 

Cox, John W 414 

Cox. Lewis C 511 

Cox, Scott 624 

Cox. William 509 

Crabill, William H 662 

Craig. Joseph 538 

Craisr. Percv L 614 

Crawford, Edwin W 649 

Crawford, Louis N 911 



12 



INDEX 



PAGE 

Crawford. Samuel W OS- 
Crawford, William H 963 

Cubbison, W. Wesley 4S0 

Cukerbraum. Morris L 972 

Cnmmings, John W 963 

Cunningham, Benjamin W... 834 

Cunningham, Dr. D 166 

Cunningham, Capt. J. V.... 511 

Cunningham, Oliver P 742 

Cunningham, R. S S93 

Curry, John M 867 

Dambach, George W 637 

Dana, Richard F 159 

Dana, Samuel W 16S 

Davidson, John W 990 

Davidson, Tohn Watson 934 

Davidson, Robert J 931 

Davidson, Samuel S., M. D.. 690 

Davidson, William Wilson.. 789 

Davis, Charles W.. M. D... 854 

Davis, Francis ]M 650 

Davis, Harry H.. M. D 178 

Davis, Robert 579 

Davison, John 783 

Dean. George 464 

Dean, Mollis G.. M. D 172 

Dean. Jesse R.. M. D 172 

De Mita, Rev. Nicholas 565 

De Xormandie. John A 619 

Devennv. F. C 533 

Dice, Rev. John S 695 

Dickey, Thomas F 1010 

Dickson, Joseph, Sr 795 

Dietterle, Andrew 579 

Dinsmore, Edwin H 953 

Dinsmore. Samuel Stewart... 794 

Dombaugh. Charles 594 

Donaldson, John W 974 

Donnan, Edmund A.. M. D.. 171 

Doolev. Rev. Patrick .Movsius 714 

Douglas. Elmer E 629 

Douglass, Samuel John 609 

Douglas. W. Lawrence 983 

Doughertv. William T 460 

Douthitt. Frank H 994 

Duff. Clarence M 861 

Duff. David G 839 

Duff, William J 388 

Dungan. Emmet W 801 

Dungan, Horace R 455 

Dugan, Thomas 853 

Dunlap, Hamilton R 592 

Dunn, Terrv J 8.34 

Dunn. William G 904 

Dunnan, John 425 

DuShanc, J. Smith 1 58 

Eakin, D. V 570 

F.akin. William A 599 

Eckert. Theo William 500 

Eckles. W. George S24 

Eckman. H. Boyd 415 

Eccr. Rev. Francis Joseph... 543 

Elder. Joseph B 668 

Elliott. "Noah W 820 

Elliott. Thomas C 520 



Ellis, James E 709 

Elhvood Lumber Co., The 655 

Elwee, William. Jr., 160 

Emery, Lyle G 492 

Emerv, Samuel P 431 

Emery, Wallace S 793 

Emerv, William E 403 

English, J. M 979 

Euwer, Harry G 750 

Euwer's, J. N., Sons' Sons... 750 

Evans and Williams 533 

Evans, D. E., M. D 532 

Evans, John 668 

Evans. Joseph P 762 

Ewer. J. Alvin 159 

Failor. Andrew 946 

Falls, Thomas W 973 

Falls, Wallace H 159 

Felton, Francis 933 

Fenton, C. W 696 

Ferguson, Rev. R. G., LL.D. 384 

Ferree, Daniel W 584 

Fisher, George W 701 

Fisher, Jacob 928 

Fisher, Robert R. R 408 

FoltE, Samuel 384 

Foreman, James S 478 

Foster. John, M. D 169 

Fox. James Walker 883 

Franche, Rev. Nicholas J.... 971 

Fredrick, Jacob 855 

French, H. G 722 

Frey, Albert C 993 

Fulkerson, J. G 555 

Fullerton, Charles Dale 630 

Fullerton, Milton 967 

Fullerton, William .\ 469 

Fullerton, Willis L 979 

Gageby, Lenora H.. M. D... 169 

Gahring, Leonard 956 

.Gahring. William .A. 957 

Gailev, J. A 679 

Gailev, John W 959 

Gallagher, Rev. Joseph 441 

Gardner, Archie W 158 

Gardner, James A 400 

Gardner, James A Sin 

Gaston, John Somerville 871 

Gaston, L. P 670 

Gealv, Barnev T 1002 

Gebliart, William T 774 

Gelbach, John A 895 

George, James A 893 

Gibson, .\bner W 551 

Gibson, Charles H 402 

Gibson, Clyde 848 

Gibson, G. M 540 

Gibson, George V 957 

Gibson, G. Warren 572 

Gibson, James M 758 

Gib.son, John A 407 

Gimilan, Justus C 1.59 

Gilliland, Robert 159 

Gilmore. William 554 

Gilmore, William T 493 



PAGE 

Gilmore, Wylie Lee 805 

Gleason, J. T 949 

Glover, Carmi L 1001 

Gormlev, Robert 752 

Graham, A. Martin 959 

Graham, Benjamin 679^ 

Graham. Robert 501 

Green, O. H. P 9S2 

Greer, David R 779 

Greer, George 988 

Greer. Josiah 901 

Gregorv, Harrv Knight 157 

Griffiths, J. J..., 6S1 

Grigsbv. H. Worthington. . . 159 

Gross, 'Charles H 913 

Grove, Leech A 159 

Grove. W. H 946 

Guthrie, William G 606 

Guv, Franklin Wheeler, M. D. 724 

Guy. Henry S 659 

Guv, Henrv Wallace 628 

Guv, Philip N 625 

Gwin. .\lbert T 969 

Gwin, Qiarles N 971 

Gwin, Edwin A 837 

Hagertv. J. R 440 

Haggertv, Robert 426 

Haggartv, Robert J 399 

Haid. Augustine 1000 

Hainer. Hon. M. Louis 811 

Haines, John F 735 

Hamill, Wiliam Brown 840 

Hamilton, David 1007 

Hannon, Joseph 472 

Harper, Edwin F. G 159 

Harris, David R.. M. D.... 170 

Harris, William H 863 

Hartsuff, O. J. H 931 

Haus. William C 159 

Hawthorne, Alexander 879 

Hawthorne. Louis Halle 860 

Haves, David Clark 924 

Haves, James 923 

HaVes. Tohn W 922 

Haves. Samuel B 1004 

HaVes. Willis Clark 981 

Hazen. Hon. Aaron Lvle.... 377 

Hazen. Aaron N 702 

Hazen. Enoch J 732 

Hazen. Tohn B 894 

Hazen. Rov W 159 

Heaslev. Benjamin 513 

Heldman. Joseph 380 

Henlev. George S83 

Hennon, A. P 926 

Hennon. George Egner 683 

Hennon. Joseph S 908 

Hennon. William Cicero 667 

Hess. Freeman R 717 

Hettenbaugh, John L 391 

Hieber. Daniel B 9.55 

Hilbert. H. G 618 

Hill. Frank S 1.59 

Hill. Samuel B 1014 

Hoagland, Charles Gearitig. . 692 

Hofmeister. Simon 788 



INDEX 



FAOE 

Holland, J. A 673 

Holt, Enoch T. R 675 

Hoopengardner. Andrew H . . 968 

Hoover, Frank L. A 159 

Hope, Adam M 512 

Hope, John 947 

Hope, Robert M 760 

Hopper. William Henrv 041 

Honk, D. W 963 

Honk, Elisha 885 

Houk, Esli N 441 

Honk, John C 460 

Houk, William H 1012 

Houston, James C 741 

Houston, William 421 

Hove, John C, M. D 167 

Hoyland, Albert A 774 

Hughes, Lyman C 956 

Hugus, W. K 748 

Hull, Charles E 503 

Humphrey, Joseph William.. 037 

Hunt, C.'B., M. D 435 

Hunter, Matthew 676 

Hutchinson, Frank H S02 

Hutchinson, John 842 

Hyde, Alfred C 564 

Igoe, James J 160 

Inboden, Michael 890 

Inboden, William 666 

Iseman. Charles M., M. D... 775 

Jack, Anna M.. M. D 171 

Jackson. A. M 447 

Jackson, D. P., M. D 169 

Jackson, Edwin D.. M. D... 177 

Jackson, John C. Fremont.. 496 

Jackson, Oscar L 160 

Jacobson, Christian 632 

Jameson, David 160 

Jamison, John S 868 

Jamison, Rov M 160 

Jenkins, William T 961 

Johnston, Cecil C 544 

Johnston, Fred C 869 

Johnston. Samuel Delbert.... 804 

Jones, .\rch M 636 

Kanne. George H 730 

Karilier. J. C. F 673 

Keagv, H. W 625 

Keast. David M 160 

Keith, Jacob Correll 845 

Kellv, Michael V 8.54 

Kelso, George K 789 

Kelso, Matthew D 691 

Kelso, William P 531 

Kemm, Edward J 468 

Kepler, George L 618 

Kern, William A 839 

Kerr, A. E 783 

Ketterer, George 1008 

Kifer, Lewis P 782 

Kildoo, Scott 495 

King, James R 760 

Kirker. J. N 570 

Kirkham. Charles L., D. O... 179 



PACK 

Kirkham, John 848 

Kirk, William James 731 

Kissinger, Walter C. M. D.. 167 

Knoll, Louis P., M. D 171 

Knox, Alexander G 996 

Knox, James William 644 

Kuhn, Joseph H 787 

Kurtz, Davis B 160 

Kurtz, Edward T 160 

Kurtz, Lewis T 160 

Kyle, Samuel D 767 

Lakev, Wilmont 653 

Lamb, Edwin E., M. D 178 

Lamb, John B 551 

Lamoree, George W 863 

Leasure, Dr. Daniel 165 

Lee, Charles H., M. D 170 

Lee, William H., M. D 170 

Leech, James B 875 

Lahman, William M 570 

Lentz, Rev. A. P 748 

Leonhardt, Henry "44 

Leslie, Clarence V 767 

Leslie, John N 766 

Leslie, Robert M 436 

Leslie, William V 974 

Liebendorfer, James Cam 586 

Lindlev, Don C, M. D 171 

Linville, Montgomery, M. D.1003 

Locke, Rev. David M 747 

Lockhart, Guv Lerov 995 

Lockhart, John P 840 

Long. Scott D 484 

Louer. John 687 

Love. .\. S 537 

Love. Thomas 826 

Lusk. Hon. Harry J 954 

Lusk. William A 638 

Lutton. Joseph R.. M. D 166 

Mc.\nlis. Hon. James 553 

Mc.\nlis. Thomas 643 

McAnlis. William Wallace... 698 

McBride. George C 663 

McBride. James H 635 

McBride. Rov L 635 

Mc'Carthy, Michael D 862 

McCaslin, Dr. Annie 179 

McCaslin, John S 798 

McCaslin, Wvlie 638 

McChesney. Robert Wilkinson 674 

McClaren, Alexander 603 

McClelland, David 423 

McClelland. John L 160 

McClure, Joseph H 545 

McClvmonds. John Weller... 505 

McComb, Edwin C, M. D... 167 

McComb, Col. Robert B.... 390 

McComb, Walker F 547 

McCommon, Thomas 913 

McConah}', John G 160 

McConahv, William 767 

McConaghy. William G 639 

McConahv, Zenas W 467 

McConnell. James 925 

McConnell. Malcolm 160 



PAGE 

McConnell, Philip 837 

McConnell, Capt. Thomas.... 934 

McCowin, Albert 471 

McCowin, James Allen 633 

McCown, Daniel L 653 

McCracken, Robert W 815 

McCracken. S. L 897 

McCreary, John 1005 

McCrearv, Samuel 997 

McCrearv, S, Clark 525 

McCrear'v, S. E., M. D 169 

McCuUough, William W.... 540 

McCune, Samuel R. W., M. D. 168 

McCurlev, John F 588 

McDowell, C. Fenwick, M. D. 171 

McElwain, William 937 

McFarland, Edwin 439 

McFarlane, Joseph P 623 

McGarv, George W 514 

McGeoVgc, Charles S., M. D. 991 

McGonigle, John .\ 656 

McGuffin. Lawrence L 149 

McKean, William A 902 

McKee. John A 424 

McKee. Dr. John C 166 

McKee. Joseph L. -\1. D 169 

McKee. Robert 860 

McKim. Frank C 806 

McKim, John G 806 

McKim, William James T40 

McKinley, Rufus C 160 

McKinnev. John Charles 639 

T^IcLaren." Uriah C 382 

McLaughrev. Elizabeth. AL D. 171 

McMichael.'Hon. John 160 

McMillin. Tames A 394 

^IcXabb, R. L 561 

^IcXeill. Evan 947 

McOuiston. David E 887 

McOuiston, Philip 688 

McWilliams. J. Edwin 906 

McWilliams. Joseph S 443 

Maher. Rev. Patrick E 491 

Main. John S 611 

Maitland, Perry 649 

Major. Frank Peirce 566 

^'larburger. Lewis 683 

Market, John 950 

Marquis. Capt. ?iIilton S 451 

Marshall. David Morton .593 

Marshall. Ner 768 

Martin. Charles A 473 

Martin. Charles G 952 

iMartin. Cvrus L 709 

Martin. George 583 

Martin. George Alonzo 965 

A'Iart:n, George E 919 

Martin. Harvey E 160 

Martin. James M 935 

Martin, Hon. J. Norman.... 736 

Alartin, John S 610 

Martin, John William 588 

Martin, William H 673 

Martin, William H 938 

Mathenv. Jordan Nve 813 

Matthews, Charles 409 

Mavberrv, Samuel W 605 



INDEX 



PAGE 

Mayberry, William D 592 

Mavne, Charles B 6S9 

Me'alv, George N., M. D 999 

Meha'rd. Charles E 640 

Mehard, George H., M. D... 706 

Mehard, Dr. Thomas 166 

Mehard, William M T05 

Mershimer, Elmer Adam 510 

Mershimer, Jonathan H 604 

Miles. Robert G., M. D 167 

Milholland, C. H 953 

Miller, Charles D 645 

:MiIler, John H 990 

Miller, John R 602 

Miller, Lee W 975 

Miller, M. E 989 

Miller, Robert J 645 

Aliller, Mrs. Sarah J 577 

Miller, Waher E., M. D 656 

Miller, William B Sll 

Miller, William G., M. D... 169 

Miller, William Ord 715 

Miller, William S 417 

Milliken, Isaac F 753 

Mitchell, John F 936 

Mitchell, Samuel W 564 

Moeschberger, Frank 679 

Moffatt, William J 495 

Montgomery, John 907 

Moore, Jesse D., M. D 173 

Moore, W. S 1009 

Morehead, Hugh H 554 

Morehead, Thomas F 554 

Morgan, George C 160 

Morgan, Glynn 627 

Morgan, John L 160 

Morgan, Thomas B 160 

Mornes, Arthur D ,. . 919 

Morris, David S 467 

Morrow, Frank George 563 

Mulcahy, David J 7S4 

Munnell, Howard 978 

Musser, John A 953 

Myers, John B 937 

Myers, Thomas 919 

Neal. Alexander 628 

Neal. James 474 

Nesbit. James 472 

Nesbitt, Robert H 975 

Newell, A. D 833 

Newton, Andrew J 886 

Newton, Isaac 499 

Newton, James H 725 

Norris, Elmer P., M. D 586 

Norris, James C 161 

Norris, Judson C 726 

Norwood, John Davidson.... 491 

Ofifutt. John C 450 

Ohl, Edwin N 831 

O'Shea, Rev. Florence F 488 

Ostermeier, John W 617 

Oursler, John S 614 

Paden, Alonzo S 448 

Paden. James 381 



Paland, Henry A 787 

Palmer, Harvev Lyons 738 

Parker. John 1013 

Parshall, William 393 

Patterson, Frank G 494 

Patterson, George D 478 

Patterson, William 375 

Patterson, WiUiam E 939 

Patterson, William W 972 

Pattison, Watson W 783 

Patton, Robert 718 

Patton, William Edgar 733 

Patton, William H 574 

Pearson, Joseph Kissick 546 

Pearson, Samuel De Graff.. 623 

Peebles, Dr. H. P 166 

Peebles, Dr. J. H. M 165 

Peebles, Robert 696 

Peebles, Thomas 914 

Permar, George M 486 

Perry, E, Hunter, M. D.... 170 

Perry, S. W., M. D 940 

Perschke, Ernest F 948 

Pfeil, Casper 710 

Phillips, Charles A 1010 

Phillips, Elliott H 651 

Phillips, Hon. Elmer 1 485 

Phillips, Lewis O., M. D 170 

Phillips, Wilson Hull 691 

Pitts, John F 729 

Pitzer, John D 665 

Piatt, Lawrence W 572 

Pollock, James K., M. D.... 173 

Pontius, John M 388 

Popino, Dr. Seth 164 

Popp, James M., M. D 172 

Poppino, Mrs. Mary E 611 

Porter, A. L 161 

Porter, Joseph S 939 

Porter, Hon. William Ellis.. 480 

Powell, Benjamin 644 

Preisel, Louis 941 

Prescott. John 392 

Price, Campbell V. 846 

Price, William E 911 

Pyle, David S 499 

Rager, Charles Lester 619 

Randolph, Lawrence S 697 

Rane3% James A 710 

Raney, Robert A 757 

Rankin. Alexander 703 

Reed, Charles A.. M. D.... 405 

Reed, George B 646 

Reed, James E 958 

Reed, James H 429 

Reed, Silas 431 

Reeher, Daniel P 1002 

Reeher. Oresta L 1002 

Reel. John E 741 

Reinholdt, Dr. J. B 164 

Reno. Ellis C 896 

Repman. Levi 716 

Revnolds, A. W 603 

Revnolds, Harrv H 684 

Reynolds. Hon. W. S 158 

Rhodes, James W 158 



PAGE 

Rhodes. Joseph, M. D 178 

^Rice, Joseph S 987 

•Riddle, John 830 

-Riddle, John N 750 

Riddle, Myron 864 

kiddle, Overington 1 794 

_Riddle, Samuel L 743 

Rigbv, Charles C 781 

Rigby, Seth 878 

Riley, Dr. C. K 1.66 

Riley, Matthew Albert 713 

Ripple, James 430 

Robel, Jacob H 833 

Roberts, David 462 

Roberts, John 470 

Robertson, Andrew Kenman. 631 

Robingson, Charles C 834 

Robinson, James 680 

Robinson, Henry M 519 

Robinson, Dr. M. P 166 

Robison, James Presley 977 

Robison, William H..'. 407 

Roelofs, Samuel A 905 

Rogers, Charles E 443 

Rogers, Elmer D., D. O 179 

Rogers, Norman N 922 

Rose, Otis L 448 

Ross, Benjamin Franklin 751 

Ross, Bert J 566 

Ross. M. Luther, M. D 168 

Rowland, Francis A 674 

Runyon, Charles 890 

Russell, Alexander 520 

Russell, John Hunter 089 

Russell, Rev. R. McW., D. D 394 

Sage, Sylvester 479 

Sample, Luther H 917 

Sankey, Brant E.. M. D 546 

Sankey, H. R 526 

Sankey, S. Henderson 6S4 

Saviers, Ralph R 985 

Scanlon, M. J 912 

Scheidemantle, Ferdinand.... 861 

Scott, William James 997 

Sechler, Abraham 389 

Seiler, Guy E..., 855 

Shaffer, James W 557 

Shaffer, John H 383 

Shaffer. Mathias 1006 

Shannon. William A., M. D.. 178 

Sharp, Rev. Joseph V 491 

Sheehy, John Y 1007 

Sheh3', John W 955 

Sherer, Robert M 537 

Sheriff, Joseph P 543 

Shields, Robert 793 

Shimp, John Wesley 715 

Shipler, W. H....'. 476 

Shoaff, Paris, M. D 166 

Showers, John E 846 

Shurlock, William T 942 

Sieg. A. G 425 

Simon, Myron M 731 

Sipe, Harvey William 484 

Slemmons, Samuel Dayton . . 759 

Smiley, Benjamin C 879 



INDEX 



PAGK 

Smiley, William 829 

Smith, Calvin 513 

Smith, I. L 869 

Smith, James F 636 

Smith, James M 957 

Smith, Jesse M 976 

Smith, Ross 669 

Smith, Dr. W. D 166 

Smith, Dr. William 164 

Smith, 'William L., M. D.... 178 

Snare. John W 591 

Snyder, C. L 635 

Somers, J. L 965 

Speer, Robert SS9 

Spencer. Andrew B 967 

Spencer, Whitney B 410 

Spencer, Wilbur W 561 

Stapf, Charles 873 

Steen, William L., M. D 701 

Stevenson, Edwin Stanton . . . 55:2 

Stevenson. J. A 796 

Stevenson. James Campbell.. 612 

Stevenson, James W 806 

Stevenson, Hon. Silas, M. D. 822 

Stevenson, Thomas D 487 

Stevenson, William W 986 

Stewart, .Mvin M 876 

Stewart, James Henrv 810 

Stewart, W. R ". 773 

Stickle. Samuel C 432 

Stiefel. Ralph C 823 

Stoner. J. C 762 

Stoner. Robert 771 

Strealy. Bert 848 

Strohecker, George 841 

Swisher, Eugenio K 949 

Swisher, Francis Marion.... 463 

Swisher, Thomas M 1015 

Swogger. Uavid VV 443 

Syling, David 798 

Syling, Jesse t! 796 

Taggart, James T 932 

Taggart. lohn Smith 381 

Tavlor, Rev. Wm. M., D. D. 463 

Taylor, W. S 975 

Terrill, Charles S 423 

Tliomas. B. J 927 

Thompson, Alfred H 847 

Thompson, Howard J 758 

Thompson, J. L 847 

Thompson, Robert A 776 

Thompson, William Richard. 707 

Thomson. David C 5S5 

Tillia. William G 439 

Tindall, Zachariah 885 



PAGE 

Todd, Hon. Robert A 771 

Todd, William S 401 

Toner, Mark F., M. D 167 

Trainor, Charles E., M. D... 947 

Treser, .\dam 422 

Trunk, Kasper N 821 

Tucker, John D., M. D 170 

Tucker, John H 995 

Twentier, Alexander 632 

Uber, L. M 914 

Uber, William J 158 

Underwood, Edwin M 945 

Urev, Frank Forrest, M. D. . . 708 
Urmson, Allan W., M. D.... 168 

Vance, Norman G 926 

Van Fleet, George W 821 

Van Gorder, Jacob Evans... 772 

Van Gorder, James A 444 

Van Gorder, Joseph 888 

Vanhorn. George H 714 

Veazey, Rev. John H 945 

Wagner, John E. F 802 

Walker, John Y 803 

Walker, Joseph A. B 461 

Wallace, Chester W 158 

Wallace, James G 619 

Wallace, J. Clifford 856 

Wallace, James J., M. D 174 

Wallace, Dr. J. M 165 

Wallace, J. W., M. D 174 

Wallace, M. Louis 788 

Wallace. Robert 461 

Wallace, Robert A., M. D... 174 

Wallace, Dr. R. D 165 

Wallace. Robert L 509 

Wallace. Hon. Wm. D 413 

Wallace, William H 619 

Walter. Joseph T 539 

Walton. William D 417 

Ward. Robert Bennett 903 

Warner, Samuel, M. D 173 

Watson, James M 604 

Watson. Philip J 660 

Wehman, Charles 548 

Weingartner, Fred H 547 

Weingartner, Hon. George T. 506 

Weinschenk, E. P 765 

Weinschenk, William Henry. 722 

Wellhausen. Henry 970 

Welsch. J. Abraham 650 

Weltner. Bernhard 761 

Whan. Robert H 993 

Whippo, James 530 



PAGE 

Whistler, Charles Elliott 790 

White, Ellis 994 

White, H. L 913 

White, Joseph S 1010 

White, R. C. G 501 

White, Samuel A 809 

Whiting, Lawrence 392 

Whiting, William 796 

Wilkinson, John Wesley 502 

Wilkins, H. B 981 

Wilkison, Hamilton A 653 

Williams, J. Frank 587 

Williams, Chalmers W 699 

Williams, T. V, M. D 532 

Wilson, C. C 596 

Wilson, Frank L 1001 

Wilson, Henry R., M. D 167 

Wilson, Joseph Clark 483 

Wilson, George Harvev 877 

Wilson, John M ". 933 

Wilson. Dr. Loyal W 853 

Wilson, Wilson G., M. D.... 173 

Winternitz, Benjamin A 158 

Winternitz, L A., M. D 166 

Withers, Robert T 753 

Witherspoon. Samuel Dobbins 775 
Witherspoon, Thomas D.... 934 

Wolf. Milton J 669 

Wood, James S 477 

Wood, John D., M. D 169 

Woods, A. W 9'62 

Woods, Dr. John 166 

Woods, John B 517 

Woods, Dr. William 164 

Womer, William A.. ]\I. D.. 172 

Workley, E. P 377 

Wright, David 783 

Wright, Dell R .574 

Wright, J. Alexander 985 

Wright, John 921 

Yoho, .\lberf E 773 

Yoho, Edward James 897 

Yoho, Eli E 918 

Yoho. John W 654 

Yoho, William W 579 

Young, Charles H 797 

Young, Floyd 718 

Young, George Sherman.... 599 

Young. James S 725 

Young. John F 859 

Young, Robert M 943 

Young, Thomas S 898 

Zerner, H. Elmore, M. D... 179 
Zimmerman, H. E., M. D 177 



INDEX OF VIEWS 



PAGE 

Almira Home. New Castle 105 

Bethel Church, North Beaver Township 139 

Carnegie Steel Company 123 

Cat Rocks, Cascade Park, New Castle 197 

Center U. P. Church, Shenango Townsliip 361 

Central Public School, Ellwood City 335 

Circle School, Ellwood City 297 

City Building, New Castle 84 

County Jail, New Castle 67 

Court House, New Castle 67 

Dambach Bros.' Building, Ellwood City 335 

Dancing Pavilion, Cascade Park, New Castle 197 

Entrance to Cascade Park, New Castle 197 

First Baptist Church. New Castle 215 

First Christian Church, New Castle 215 

First M. E. Church, New Castle 215 

First Presbyterian Church, Ellwood City 297 

First Presbyterian Church, New Castle 215 

Floral Bridge, Cascade Park, New Castle 197 

Highland Avenue School, New Castle 155 

High School, New Castle 105 

Home Street School, New Castle 155 

Hotel Lawrence, Ellwood City 297 

Interurban Bridge, Ellwood City 335 

Lawrence Savings & Trust Co. Building, New Castle 139 

Masonic Temple. New Castle 105 

Neshannock Presbyterian Church. Ww Wilmington 261 

Park .\venue Engine House. New Castle- 95 

Pearson Street School, "Central," New Castle 155 

Pennsylvania Engineering Works 123 

Post Office. New Castle 67 

Ray Street Engine House, New Castle 95 

Residences — 

Book, Alva, Residence of 664 

Brown, William M., Residence of 37 

Carlisle, Thomas J., Residence of 641 

Cosgrove, William, Residence and Farm Build- 
ings of 817 

Gibson, Mrs. George B.. Residence of 95 

Graham, Benjamin, Residence of 67s 

Greer, George, Residence of 95 



PAGE 

Henderson, M, H.. Residence of 37 

Hennon, Joseph S.. Residence and Farm Build- 
ings of 909 

Hutchinson, John, Residence of 843 

Johnson, George W., Residence of 37 

Lamoree, George W., Residence of 37 

McBride, James H., Residence of 634 

McBride, Roy L.," Residence of 633 

Ohl, E. N., Residence of 37 

Patton, William H.. Residence of 575 

Patton, Mrs. Margaret J., Residence of 719 

Phillips, Hon. Thomas W., Residence of 105 

Rankin, George, Residence of 703 

Riddle, Myron O., Residence of 865 

Stapf, Charles, Residence of . . S73 

Stitzinger, Residence of 37 

Young, John F., Residence of 858 

St. Joseph's Church and Parsonage. New Castle... 105 

St. Mary's School and Church, New Castle 105 

Seventh Ward School, New Castle 155 

Shenango Tin Plate Co 133 

Shenango Valley Hospital, New Castle 67 

Slippery Rock Church 261 

Soldiers' Monument, New Castle 95 

Stiefel Block, Ellwood City 297 

Terrace Avenue School, New Castle 155 

Thaddeus Stevens School, New Castle 155 

Trinity Episcopal Church, New Castle 215 

LTnited Presbyterian Church, Ellwood City 335 

Universal Sanitary Manufacturing Co 123 

W'allace, Hoyt, and Hileman Buildings, New Castle 139 

Washington Street, Looking East 197 

Washington Street, Looking West 197 

Westfield Presbyterian Church, North Beaver 

Township 261 

Westminster College 187 

Science Hall. 

College of Music. 

.Administration Building. 

"The Hillside," Ladies' Dormitory, 

v. M. C. A. Building, New Castle 139 




HON. AARON L. IIAZEN. 



Ristory of Lmnut County 



CHAPTER I 



TOPOGRAPHY AND GEOLOGY 



Topographical — Geological — A Geological Section — Serai Conglomerate Sandstone- 
Coal — Petroleum. 



TOPOGEAPHIC.tL. 

Lawrence County is situated nearly in 
the center of that tier of counties which 
forms the extreme western part of the 
State of Pennsylvania, its western boun- 
dary being the Ohio State line. It is bound- 
ed on the north by Mercer County, on 
the south by Beaver County, on the east by 
Butler County, and on the west by the 
State of Ohio. Its superficial area is about 
360 square miles. The latitude of the court 
house is about 41 degrees north and its 
longitude about 3 degrees and 20 minutes 
west from Washington. Situated in the 
Beaver Valley, it is drained by that stream 
and its numerous branches, among which, 
and the most important, are the Shenango 
and Mahoning Rivers, and the Slippery 
Rock and Neshannock Creeks. There are 
also the Conoquenessing Creek, which flows 
for about four miles through the southern 
part of Wayne Township, empties into the 
Beaver River; Deer Creek, in Pulaski 
Township; Little Neshannock Creek, in 
Wihningion Township; Hettenbaugh Run, 
in Hickory ; Big Run, in Shenango ; 
Taylor's and Jameson's Runs, in Plain- 
grove; Little Beaver Creek, in the town- 



ship of that name, and Hickory Creek, in 
North Beaver. 

Along one side or the other of the She- 
nango, Mahoning and Beaver Rivers, from 
the north and west lines of the county to 
a point near the old town of Moravia, are 
extensive bottoms, but at the point men- 
tioned the hills close in and thence hug 
the river closely for most of the way to 
the southern line of the coimty. Along 
the Mahoning, in the vicinity of Edenburg, 
are found some precipitous bluffs, which 
alford much picturesque scenery; the bot- 
tom lands generally alternating with the 
hills on the opposite side of the river. 
Along the beautiful valley of the Shenango 
the hills are less precipitous, and the land 
is highly cultivated. The lover of fine 
scenery will find his wishes gratified in the 
Neshannock Valley, where it abounds from 
the Mercer County line to New Castle. As 
a former historian has truly written, 
"Broad and fertile bottoms alternate with 
high, steep and, in places, precipitous hills, 
showing perpendicular escarpments of 
rock, overhimg in many localities by a 
dense growth of hemlock, giving the land- 
scape a look of primitive wildness seldom 



22 



HISTOEY OF LAWEENCE COUNTY 



found away from mountainous regions. In 
the neighborhood of New Castle the 
scenery is surpassingly beautiful ; the hills 
generally rising gradually to various ele- 
vations of from 60 to 300 feet, being dis- 
posed in a system of terraces or plateaus, 
forming enchanting sites for residences, 
and giving every variety of view. The 
location of the city is scarcely surpassed 
for pleasing and varied scenery by that 
of any town in the state. The wildest and 
most stupendous views are found along 
the Slippery Eock and Conoquenessing 
Creeks, where Dame Nature has been prod- 
igal of her material and arranged it in 
the grandest and most picturesque man- 
ner. These streams flow through deep and 
narrow gorges walled by perpendicular 
masses of sandstone, over whose loose 
fragments and bowlders they tumble and 
foam in wild and ceaseless confusion. 
Here is magnificent field for the student 
of nature, and a splendid region for the 
summer tourist and pleasure-seeker, and 
it needs but the advent of a railway to 
bring hither thousands from the busy cen- 
ters of trade and population." 

Lawrence County is sub-divided civilly 
into one city, three boroughs and seventeen 
townships. 

The commercial and civil capital is the 
city of New Castle, which is situated very 
near its geographical center. Upon this 
point, a great number of roads converge 
from all the towns and hamlets of the 
county, while several lines of railway trav- 
erse the principal valleys, giving ample 
facilities for travel and commerce with all 
parts of the country. 

GEOLOGICAL. 

Geologically, Lawrence County belongs 
to the region included in the sixth bitumin- 
ous coal basin of Pennsylvania, the coal 
belonging to the Clarion group, which is 
the northwest outcrop of the lower meas- 
ures. The rocks of this region belong to 
the Paleozoic series; that is, the lowest 
sedimentary rocks containing evidences of 



organic life. On the tops of the highest 
hihs is found the ferriferous, or iron-bear- 
ing limestone; but the greater portion of 
this once extensive formation has been de- 
nuded, and carried away to the valley of 
the Mississippi, and thence to the Gulf of 
Mexico, by "the tremendous washings of 
the latter ages of the glacial epoch, the 
subsequent attrition of rains and frost, 
and the cuttings of the streams." In the 
neighborhood of New Castle this formation 
is about seventeen feet in thickness, being 
underlaid with from three to five feet of 
hard bluestone. This limestone contains 
about ninety per cent of carbonate of lime 
and is extensively used for fluxing pur- 
poses in blast furnaces. The bluestone has 
been extensively used in the manufacture 
of hydraulic cement, quarries of it existing 
at New Castle, and in Taylor, North Beav- 
er, Mahoning and Slippery Eock Town- 
ships. 

At New Castle, one mile east of the post- 
office, this formation is immediately under- 
laid by about one foot of coal, of inferior 
quality, mixed with shale. Below the coal 
seam appears the Tionesta sandstone, with 
a thickness of about sixty feet. Below the 
sandstone is a second stratum of coal about 
eighteen inches in thickness, and underly- 
ing this is a stratum of fire clay twelve 
feet in thickness. Sixteen feet below the 
clay is a third stratum of coal, with a 
thickness of about four feet. The distance 
of the upper surface of the Tionesta sand- 
stone above the surface of Neshannock 
Creek, at New Castle, is 240 feet. The 
lowest twenty feet consists of shales. 

A GEOLOGICAL SECTION. 

The following is a section showing the 
stratification on Big Eun, below New 
Castle: 

Tionesta sandstone, about 50 feet. 

Blue shale, with iron ore, 6 feet. 

Coal, 11/2 feet. 

Blue shale (argillaceous), 8 feet. 

Rotten sandstone, 2% feet 

Blue and brown shale, with sandstone, 2% feet. 

Bituminous shale, 2% to 3 feet. 

Mercer limestone, a small amount. 



AND EEPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 



23 



lilue shale, 3 feet. 

Shale and concretions of iron ore, interval of 25 to 
30 feet. 

Section on a creek emptying into the 
Neshannock, two miles above New Castle, 
in Neshannock Township: 

Tionesta sandstone, 50 feet. 
Iron ore, 6 inches. 
Limestone and chert, 2 feet. 
Interval, 8 feet. 
Blue slate, 2 feet. 
Clay, 6 inches. 
Black shale, IV2 feet. 
Light colored shale, 3% feet. 

Light blue shale, with bands of sandstone, 4 feet or 
more. 

Interval, 61/2 feet. 

Mercer limestone, 1% feet. 

Light colored shale, with sandy seams, 5 feet. 

Bituminous coal, 6 to 8 inches. 

Slate, 2 feet. 

Bluish crumbly shale, 2% feet. 

Grayish rotten sandstone, 1% feet. 

Flaggy sandstone, 8 feet. 

Brown shale, 5 to 6 feet. 

Bituminous shale, 1% feet. 

Bluish or gray slaty sandstone, 5 feet. 

Sandstone, 70 feet. 

Section one mile northwest of New 
Castle: 

Tionesta sandstone, 50 feet. 
Coal and bituminous shale, 3 inches. 
Brown and blue shale, 1 to 3 feet. 
Limestone chert (ferruginous), 2 feet. 
Coal, 12 inches. 

Light colored shale, 6 to 8 feet. 
Argillaceous sandstone, 2 feet. 
Light colored shale, 12 to 13 feet. 
Bituminous shale and coal, 4 feet. 
Blue sandy shale, 6 feet. 

Flaggy sandstone (argillaceous at top), 75 feet or 
more. 

Section at the gas well of the Shenango 
Iron Works of Messrs. Reis, Brown & 
Berger, bored in 1874-75: 

Gravel, 15 feet. 

Blue mud and quicksand, 125 feet. 

Slate rock, 3 feet. 

Slate, 61 feet. 

Sand shale, 54 feet. 

Slate rock, 54 feet. Gas. 

Gray sand, 44 feet. 

Slate rock, 26 feet. 

White sand, 78 feet. Salt water. 

Slate rock, 35 feet. 

Red (sand) rock, 70 feet. Gas. 

Slate rock, 151 feet. Gas. 

Gray sand, 43 feet. Gas. ' 

Slate, 70 feet. 

Sand shales (very hard), 30 feet. 

Slate, 75 feet. 

Gray sand, 31 feet. 



Eed rock, 3 feet. 

Slate, 226 feet. 

Hard shales, 21 feet. 

Slate, 155 feet. 

Sand shales, 47 feet. 

Hard slate, 68 feet. 

Gray sand, 50 feet. 

Slate, 154 feet. 

Gray sand, 8 feet. 

Slate, 64 feet. 

Gray sand, 15 feet. 

Slate, 69 feet. 

Gray sand, 17 feet. 

Slate, 103 feet. 

Gray sand, 80 feet. 

Very hard slate, 190 feet. 

Black sand, 10 feet. 

Very hard slate, 30 feet. 

Additional, with about same changes, 525 feet. 

Hard slate at bottom. 

Total, 2,800 feet. 

SEEAL CONGLOMEKATE SANDSTONE. 

The serai conglomerate sandstone passes 
mider the water level above the mouth of 
the Conoquenessing Creek. There is a bed 
of what is supposed to be the MahoniBg 
limestone, at Wampum Hill, about forty- 
two feet above the Beaver Eiver. At the 
mouth of the Conoquenessing, large blocks 
of Tionesta sandstone may be seen lying 
on the surface of the hill, and the same is 
true of Slippery Rock Creek, from its 
mouth up to the bridge at the Mercer Turn- 
pike, where it passes under the water level. 

In general, the rocks on Beaver River 
are not well exposed. The Tionesta sand- 
stone, however, may be seen on both sides 
of the river, from the mouth of the Cono- 
quenessing down towards Brighton, de- 
clining gradually to a lower level, until at 
length it sinks into the bed of the river and 
forms the upper fall above Brighton. "At 
the junction of the Shenango and Mahon- 
ing Rivers the serai conglomerate sand- 
stone is well seen, and also in the immedi- 
ate vicinity of New Castle. In some por- 
tions it is highly argillaceous, but above 
the middle of the bed it is thick-bedded, 
soft, and but little mixed with argillaceous 
bands. Its whole thickness is about 100 
feet. The Tionesta measures average six- 
ty feet, and the upper or Tionesta sand- 
stone, which is more solid in this locality 
than the serai conglomerate, may be esti- 



24 



HISTOEY OF LAWEENCE COUNTY 



mated at about the same thickness. Be- 
neath the main serai conglomerate appears 
a bed of brown shale, containing ore well 
exposed at the west end of the bridge over 
the Shenango River. This ore may be 
properly considered the representative of 
the upper shale ores." 

A very interesting locality to the geolo- 
gist is tiie vicinity of Willie Eoy furnace, 
on Slippery Eock Creek, near the mouth 
of Muddy Creek. Here extensive deposits 
of iron ore have been discovered, situated 
immediately upon the upper surface of the 
ferriferous limestone, which is abundant 
in the vicinity, cropping out along the 
slopes of the hills, especially on or near 
their summits. This ore yields an average 
of 40 per cent of the finest iron, often 
giving 50 per cent. 

According to the State Geological Sur- 
vey, there is, also, "upon the highest hills, 
and located about thirty feet above the 
limestone, a three-foot vein of coal. Be- 
tween the coal and limestone, and next be- 
low the coal, is a stratum of fire clay, and 
underlying the clay are shale and slate." 
This ore was at one time extensively mined 
by the process of "stripping," which de- 
veloped a coarse, gray slate down to with- 
in a short distance of the ore, below which 
appeared a stratum of red slate, underlaid 
by six inches of white clay. Below the 
clay was a stratum of flint, about a foot or 
less in thickness, and under this, lying 
upon the limestone, was found the ore, 
which lay where the stone was open, in 
pockets. Where the rock was close and 
compact, the ore was found moi'e regular- 
ly deposited. The limestone is from ten 
to twelve feet in thickness, and rests upon 
a thirty-foot stratum of shale and slate. 
Below this comes in the Tionesta sand- 
stone, which is exposed in many localities, 
and forms the remarkable and interesting 
fall on Muddy Creek. Immediately under 
the sandstone there is a very extensive 
deposit of what is technically known as 
"blue ore," which is mingled with black 



slate. It is finely exposed near the furnace 
and also at the falls. Beneath this ore- 
vein are alternate shale and slate. 

A second and extensive vein of very 
hard ore may be seen exposed in the bed 
of the creek, a short distance below the 
furnace, at James Allen's old mill. It lies 
about thirty-feet below the "blue ore." 
The limestone vein of ore follows the for- 
mation for forty miles along the creek to 
its junction with the Beaver Eiver. Five 
miles southwest of Willie Eoy furnace is 
the Lawrence furnace, and the same strat- 
ifications are continuous between the two 
points, with similar developments of ore. 
Both the limestone and ore are very abun- 
dant, increasing as they approach the 
Beaver Eiver, the ore being of a very fine 
quality. 

Three miles west of the old Lawrence 
furnace, in Shenango Township, are lo- 
cated the famous "Houk banks," where 
the entire limestone formation gives place 
to an extraordinaiy deposit of iron ore, 
fifteen feet in thickness. Similar forma- 
tions and deposits exist also in Wayne 
Township. 

In Neshannock Township there is an ex- 
tensive deposit of the "blue ore," from 
six to eighteen inches in thickness, under- 
lying the coal lands of the old New Castle 
Bailroad & Mining Company. It occurs 
at a depth of about seventy -five feet be- 
low the workable coal vein. Iron ore has 
also been found in considerable quantities 
in the vicinity of the glass works. 

The quarrying of limestone is now one 
of the leading industries of Lawrence 
County, more than 5,000,000 tons being 
quarried during the year, and more than 
one-third of this production being within 
the limits of the city of New Castle. From 
these quarries about 30,000 tons of clay 
are also taken. A comparatively recent 
report says, ' ' The limestone of New Castle 
and Lawrence County is unexcelled for 
purity, being high in carbonate of lime 
and low in phosphorous, the supply inex- 



AND EEPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 



25 



haustible, and the demand from the lead- 
ing blast furnaces in the country is con- 
stantly increasing." 

COAL. 

This valuable mineral, it is thought, was 
first discovered within the bounds of Law- 
rence County, by John Stockman, in Big 
Beaver Township, about the year 1810. It 
has also been found in various parts of the 
county, most extensively along the Beaver 
River, in Big and North Beaver Town- 
ships. It underlies a large area in Neshan- 
nock Township, and other deposits occur in 
the west part of Union Township. The 
land that is underlaid with coal is poor 
farming land. The coal found in the Beav- 
er Valley proper is Icnown as the "Beaver 
Valley gas coal," from the large amount 
of ilhmiiuating gas which it contains. It 
is also an excellent coking coal. The work- 
able veins are from three to four feet in 
thickness, and are found at various depths 
in different localities. There are many 
miaes in Big Beaver Township and Wam- 
pum is now the only point in the county 
from which coal is shipped. The Beaver 
Valley coals closely resemble those of the 
well known Pittsburg measures, being in 
continuous seams, or nearly so, while the 
deposits in Neshannock and Union Town- 
ships resemble more closely those of the 
celebrated or Sharon block coals, being 
found in basins, or "swamps," as the 
miners and dealers call them, sometimes 
several hundred acres in extent, and again 
only in small "pockets." Near Mercer 
County shafts have been sunk and machin- 
ery installed, but the mines are not being 
worked, perhaps because at present mines 
in Mercer County can be worked more 
profitably. 

In Neshannock Township have been 
found quite extensive deposits of fire-brick 
and potter's clays, which have been util- 
ized in the potteries. Some of the clay 
found within the city's limits is especially 
adapted to the manufacture of the best 



kind of brick, and is extensively utilized. 

At New Bedford are foimd mineral 
springs highly impregnated with iron ; and 
similar springs are also found on the farm 
of the late Jesse E. Moore, in Neshannock 
Township. 

PETROLEUM. 

Petroleum was first discovered in the 
pebble or sand rock deposit, near Titus- 
ville, in Crawford County, by Colonel 
Drake, in 1859. These oil-sands lie in the 
middle Devonian system, thus differing 
from the Canada oil limestone which oc- 
curs in its lowest part. By geologists and 
oil producers petroleiun has been divided 
into two classes — light and heavy oils. The 
former, which constitutes the great bulk 
of the commercial article, is found in the 
eastern portion of the oil-producing re- 
gion of Pennsylvania, in the porous forma- 
tion of the pebble rock; while the heavy 
or "amber" oil is only found in the west- 
ern portion of this territory, and in the 
closer grained and more compact rock. 
This rock, composed of similar materials, 
but varying in texture, produces a crude 
or refined oil, according as it is more or 
less compact in its grain, and dips from 
the west a little towards the southeast, at 
the rate of some fifteen feet per mile. It 
consists of about three-fourths quartz, etc., 
and one-fourth cavity, cleaned out by long 
percolation, and now occupied by water 
and oil. The proportion which the oil 
bears to the water in the bed is not ab- 
solutely known, but in many instances the 
actual yield has exceeded 1,500,000 bar- 
rels per square mile. 

Says Prof. J. P. Lesley: "The oil is 
generally found at a certain level, inde- 
pendent of any strata; it has an oxidized 
tint from the possible accession of atmos- 
pheric air, and when this has occurred to 
any considerable extent, it has transform- 
ed a light into a heavy oil." The Penn- 
sylvania oils are found at depths varying 
from 150 to 1,200 feet below the surface. 



26 



HISTORY OF LAWEENCE COUNTY 



Lawrence County is supposed to lie mostly 
within the heavy oil district, which covers 
an extent of about 1,200 square miles. 

In 1860 there was great excitement in 
the western part of Lawrence County, 
owing to the discovery that oil existed in 
that locality. The first well in the valley 
of the Mahoning was put down by D. W. 
C. Strawbridge, some time in that year, 
about one and a half miles above Eden- 
burg, on the northeast side of the river. 
Oil was found at a depth of about 157 
feet, but it proved to be only the leakage 
from fissured rock. Several hundred bar- 
rels, however, were taken out, when the 
influx of surface water stopped operations. 
Another well, 230 feet deep, was bored on 
the Angns farm, subsequently owned by 
J. McWilliams, and the production reached 
1,000 barrels, when the same difficulty that 
the Strawbridge well had encountered put 
an end to the working. 

The early operators were unfamiliar 
with the peculiar characteristics of the oil- 
bearing rock, and did not have the nec- 
essary mechanical apparatus for obtaining 
the oil. Not until vast sums had been ex- 
pended, and positive knowledge obtained 
by costly practical experience, did they 
discover the right way to proceed. 

Tubing the wells to keep out the sur- 
face water was not at first thought of. 
Notwithstanding the numerous failures, 
hundreds of wells were sunk, and the coun- 
try was covered with derricks. Oil was 
invariably found at about the average 
depth of 300 feet, and always of the same 
variety — the heavy amber, or lubricating 
oil. The oil-bearing sand-rock of this vi- 
cinity has been traced from a little west of 
the Ohio line eastward to the Slippery 
Eock, dipping gradually toward the south- 
east. It is very close-grained, and acts as 
a filter, cleansing the oil of a great share 



of the foreign matter which is found in the 
oils produced on the eastern margin of the 
district. Borings have penetrated it at 
New Castle, on the Big Run, and in the 
Slippery Rock Hills, west of the creek. It 
has an average thickness of about thirty 
feet. 

Operations were carried on in the Ma- 
honing Valley for about four years, and a 
few isolated wells were worked for a num- 
ber of years, or well along into the seven- 
ties, but the surface water gradually com- 
pelled the abandonment of the whole re- 
gion. In the hands of a wealthy corpora- 
tion, with the wells cleaned and plugged, 
a successful business might be inaugu- 
rated, for there is no doubt that the ma- 
terial exists in large quantities, requiring 
only judicious management to develop 
a profitable industry. 

Late in the seventies, at the iron bridge 
on the Slippery Rock, there were three 
wells in one vicinity producing altogether 
twenty-three barrels of fine lubricating oil 
daily. In 1863, Messrs. Smith & Collins 
sunk a well in this vicinity, which yielded 
altogether about 4,000 barrels, when the 
surface water drowned it. 

Lawrence County has extensive mineral 
resources, without counting oil. Her coal 
and iron deposits, her ferriferous lime- 
stone, and her fire clays and inexliaustible 
building stone, are tangible assets that, 
when utilized to their fullest extent, can- 
not fail to make her one of the most pros- 
perous counties of the state. A part of 
this prosperity she is already enjoying, 
but the end is not yet, and with the im- 
proved and more economical methods of 
operation that the future will doubtless 
provide, there will come an expansion of 
wealth and greatness not now conceived 
of, but from which our citizens will all 
profit in greater or less degree. 



CHAPTER 11 



INDIAN NATIONS 



Ancient Traditions — French Missions — First English Explorers — The Moravians. 



ANCIEN.T TRADITIONS. 

The ancient or pre-Mstoric people, gen- 
erally known as the "Mound Builders," 
have left some evidences of their former 
presence in Lawrence County, though they 
are not as numerous as in some other por- 
tions of the state and in some neighbor- 
ing states. The well known mound situated 
near the village of Edenburg, and also 
near the site of the famous Indian village 
of Kush-Kush-Kee, is undoubtedly the 
work of their hands. 

"The traditions of the Lenni-Lenape 
(or Delawares) and Mengwe nations, 
whom the first Europeans found inhabit- 
ing the vast region stretching from the At- 
lantic Ocean and the St. Lawrence Eiver 
to the Mississippi Valley and southward to 
the Carolinas and the Ohio Eiver, point 
unmistakably to this mysterious people, 
who rose and flourished, who built exten- 
sive cities and gigantic fortifications; who 
worked the wonderful copper deposits of 
Lake Superior, and who manufactured mil- 
lions of the elaborate stone implements of 
war and husbandry still found upon the 
hills of the Ohio, the grand prairies of 
the West and the broad savannahs of the 
South. 

"The Indian nations had a tradition 
that their ancestors came from the far 
western wilds of the continent many cen- 
turies ago, and crossing the great river 
Mississippi, which they called Namoesi- 
sipu, or river of fish, fell upon this ancient 



27 



people and after many years of bloody and 
terrific warfare succeeded in driving the 
shattered remnant of the once powerful 
race toward the vast region of the South 
and West. After this great conquest, the 
Lenni-Lenape and the Mengwe, who had 
joined hands against the Allegewi, as the 
conquered people were called, divided the 
country between them ; the Lenape, or Del- 
awares, as they were known by the Eng- 
lish, taking the region lying along the 
Ohio— the famed 'La Belle Riviere' of the 
French, and the Mengwe, the Iroquois, or 
Six Nations, or 'Mingoes' of the French 
and English, choosing the region lying 
around the Great Lakes and on both sides 
of the St. Lawrence Eiver." 

At a subsequent date hostilities broke 
out between those nations, and the Lenape 
were finally subdued by the all-conquering 
Iroquois. The first knowledge obtained 
by white men of this region was due to the 
French traders and explorers, who as early 
as 1616 had penetrated into the wilder- 
ness as far as the west end of Lake Su- 
perior. 

FEENCH MISSIONS. 

French Catholic missionaries had estab- 
lished themselves at various points in the 
vicinity of the northwestern lakes by the 
middle of the seventeenth century, and 
Chevalier De La Salle had journeyed from 
the head of Lake Michigan to the mouth 
of the Mississippi Eiver in 1682. 



HISTORY OF LAWEENCE COUNTY 



There were two routes from Lake Erie 
to the Ohio River— one was by way of Erie 
(Presq' Isle), French Creek, and the Al- 
legheny River; the other was from Presq' 
Isle over the dividing ridge, and down the 
Shenango or Mahoning and Beaver Riv- 
ers. The traders and missionaries prob- 
ably began to visit this region about 1731, 
for the English colonies of Pennsylvania, 
New York and Virginia were complaining 
of their encroachments in that year. The 
Neshannock Creek is said to have been 
named by the Delawares, and the Shenan- 
go bv the Senecas, then the dominant In- 
dian "nation in northwestern Pennsylvania. 
Among the lesser organizations, the Corn- 
planter tribe of the Seneca nation (called 
after one of their chiefs) was the niost 
powerful and numerous one in this region. 
Their principal village was on the Al- 
legheny River. 

FIEST ENGLISH EXPLORERS. 

"The first white man who visited this 
region from the English colonies was 
Christopher Gist, the friend and companion 
of Washington, who went in the interests 
of the Ohio Land Company, on a visit of 
exploration, as far west as the Miami, in 
1750. He did not, however, visit the ter- 
ritory of Lawrence County, but probably, 
passed down the right bank of the Ohio 
River. 

"It is probable that the first white man 
from 'beyond the mountains,' who visited 
the territory now comprised within the 
limits of Lawrence County, was Christian 
Frederick Post, a Moravian missionary, 
who was sent on a peace mission to the 
western Indians, in the year 1758, in ad- 
vance of General Forbes' army, then on its 
way toward Fort Du Quesne. He arrived, 
according to his journal, at Kush-Kush- 
Kee, the Indian capital of King Beaver, 
on the 12th of August. This was twelve 
years previous to the settlement made by 
the Moravian missionaries, Zeisberger and 
Senseman, at what is now Moravia station. 

"Wliether 'King Beaver' was identical 



with the Chief Pack-an-ka, who ruled in 
the valley afterwards, we cannot know, but 
it is at least probable. On the 17th of 
August, a grand council was held. All 
the chiefs and rulers for many miles 
around, were present, and there was also 
a French captain and fifteen men on the 
ground. Among the celebrated kings and 
chiefs present were King Beaver, King 
Shingis, Teedy-Us-Kung, and Delaware 
George, of the Delawares, and there was 
present, also, a party of Shawnese and 
Mingoes." This French detachment may 
have thrown up the fortification at old Mo- 
ravia village in Taylor Township, as a 
protection against the always possible 
treachery of their savage allies. From 
that date, until the spring of 1770, we 
know little of the history of this region. 
Hunters, traders and trappers probably 
visited it, but the savages were the reign- 
ing lords and masters. 

THE MORAVIANS. 

The year 1770 was marked by the advent 
of the Moravians, two missionaries of that 
sect — Zeisberger and Senseman — coming 
into the valley of the Beaver River, in 
April of that year, by invitation of the 
principal chief, Pack-an-ka. These mis- 
sionaries had attempted to establish a mis- 
sion at the mouth of the Tionesta Creek, 
but meeting with discouragements, they 
gladly accepted Pack-an-ka 's offer of land 
and protection, and commenced a settle- 
ment a little west of where the old village 
of Moravia now stands. A few weeks 
later, however, thej^ crossed the river and 
made their permanent settlement on the 
high bluff a little northwest from the pres- 
ent Moravia station on the E. & P. Rail- 
way. This mission flourished for nearly 
three years, after which, in 1773, the mis- 
sionaries removed to a point on the upper 
waters of the Muskingum, in the present 
State of Ohio. Post describes the village 
of Kush-kush-kee as being composed of 
four separate towns, and containing about 
"ninety houses, and 200 able warriors." 



AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 



29 



Pack-an-ka was the head chief, or king, and 
his capital, called New Kas-kas-kunk, was 
located on the ground where New Castle 
now stands. Another town called Old Kas- 
kas-kunk, was located near the mouth of 
the Mahoning River. The principal chief 
and orator, under King Pack-an-ka, was 
called Glik-kik-an. He was afterwards 



converted to Christianity by the Mora- 
vians, and finally perished in the massacre 
at the mission towns in Ohio, in March, 
1782. Though never converted, the king 
remained the steadfast friend of the mis- 
sionaries as long as they continued in the 
Beaver Valley. 



CHAPTER III 



SETTLEMENT AND ORGANIZATION OF LAWRENCE COUNTY 



Its Original Geography — Land Warrants and Land Companies — Early Settlements — 
Early Customs— Organizations of the County — Location Wrangle — Population — 
First Election — County Officials — First Courts — Original Toivnships — Agricul- 
tural. 



ORIGINAL GEOGRAPHY. 

The pedigree (so to speak) of the coun- 
ties covering the territory from which 
Lawrence County was formed, is as fol- 
lows : First, Chester, one pf the original 
counties of the province; second, Lancas- 
ter, formed from part of Chester, May 10, 
1729 ; third, Cumberland, formed from part 
of Lancaster, January 27, 1750; fourth, 
Bedford, formed from part of Cumber- 
land, March 9, 1771 ; fifth, Westmoreland, 
formed from part of Bedford, February 
26, 1773, and, in 1785, a part of the pur- 
chase of 1784 was added ; sixth, Allegheny, 
formed from parts of Westmoreland and 
Washington, September 24, 1788 ; seventh, 
Beaver and Mercer, formed from part of 
Allegheny, March 12, 1800; eighth, Law- 
rence, from parts of Beaver and Mercer, 
April 5, 1849. 

The region covering about twenty coun- 
ties in the northwestern part of Pennsyl- 
vania was purchased from the Six Na- 
tions by the Commonwealth, at the treaty 
of Fort Stanwix (now Rome, N. Y.), in 
October, 1784. 

LAND WARRANTS AND LAND COMPANIES. 

"The lands north and west of the Ohio 
and Allegheny Rivers were surveyed into 
what were known as 'warrant' and 'dona- 
tion' tracts. The former, supposed to con- 



tain an average of 400 acres to each tract, 
and the latter (which were surveyed to ac- 
commodate the soldiers of the Pennsyl- 
vania line, who served during the Revolu- 
tion) into tracts of 200, 250, 300 and 500 
acres. Soldiers' certificates and warrants 
were purchased and speculated in by im- 
mense corporations, 'Population' and 
'Land Companies,' and by individuals. 
Tlie most prominent of these were the 
'Pennsylvania Population Company' and 
the 'Holland Land Company.' Consider- 
able tracts known as 'academy lands,' etc., 
were reserved for the benefit of schools and 
churches. ' ' 

On April 3, 1792, the State Legislature 
passed an act providing that all the lands 
north and west of the Ohio and Allegheny 
Rivers and Conewango Creek, not pre- 
viously resei'\'e<:l for public or charitable 
purposes, should be offered for sale to per- 
sons who would cultivate, improve and 
settle them, at the rate of 7 pounds 
and 10 shillings (about $50) per hundred 
acres, with an allowance of 6 per cent for 
highways. For such as had made actual 
settlements, -it was provided that warrants 
should be issued for tracts of not more than 
400 acres to each settler. The ninth sec- 
tion, however, read: "No warrant or sur- 
vey to be issued or made in pursuance of 
this act, for lands lying north and west of 



AND EEPEESENTATIVE CITIZENS 



31 



the rivers Ohio and Allegheny and Cone- 
wango Creek, shall vest any title in or to 
the lands therein mentioned, unless the 
grantee has, prior to the date of such war- 
rant, made or caused to be made, or shall 
within the space of two years next after 
the date of the sale make or cause to be 
made, an actual settlement thereon, by 
clearing, fencing and cultivating at least 
two acres for eveiy hundred acres con- 
tained in one survey, erecting thereon a 
messuage for the habitation of man, and re- 
siding or causing to reside thereon, for the 
space of five years next following his first 
settling of the same, if he or she shall so 
long live ; and that in default of such actual 
settlement and residence, it shall and may 
be lawful for this commonwealth to issue 
new warrants to other actual settlers for 
the said lands or any part thereof, reciting 
the original warrants, and that actual set- 
tlements and residence have not been made 
in pursuance thereof, and so often as de- 
faults shall be made for the time and in 
the manner aforesaid, which new grants 
shall be made under and subject to all and 
every one of the regulations contained in 
this act. Provided, always, nevertheless, 
that if any such actual settler or grantee, 
in any such original or succeeding warrants 
shall, by force of arms of the enemies of 
the United States, be prevented from such 
actual settlement, or be driven therefrom, 
and shall persist in his endeavor to make 
such actual settlement as aforesaid, then, 
in either case, he and his heirs shall be 
entitled to hold the said lands in the same 
manner as if the actual settlement had been 
made and continued. ' ' 

The first, or one of the first, applicants 
for land under this act was John Nichol- 
son, who applied at the land office for 390 
warrants, to be located in the "Triangle," 
and for 250 warrants, to be located on the 
waters of Beaver Creek, representing in 
all about 200,000 acres. Shortly after, 
however, before completing his purchase, 
he became president of the Pennsylvania 
Population Company, then just formed, of 



which he was made president, and Messrs. 
Cazenove, Irvine, Mead, Leet, Hoge and 
Stewart, being managers. This company, 
whose capital stock was divided into 2,500 
shares, purchased 500,000 acres of land. 
Taking over to this company Nicholson's 
claims they completed the purchase, and, 
in addition, bought 500 more warrants for 
lands in the "Donation" District. "In 
order to induce emigrants to settle on 
their lands, the company proposed to grant 
in fee simple to every settler 150 acres of 
land, if he should comply with the requisi- 
tions of the law imposed upon them ; and 
in that way it was designed that the oc- 
cupant should secure his land, together 
with his implements, and the company 
should secure 250 acres through him. But 
the fact that each actual settler could se- 
cure for himself, by the pajinent of the 
stipulated purchase money, a tract of 400 
acres under the law, prevented, in a great 
measure, the success of the company's 
scheme of monopoly. Settlers, generally, 
indeed, located themselves on lands covered 
by their own warrants, though in some 
cases these infringed upon lands of the 
company. In consequence, suits of eject- 
ment were* instituted against those who had 
encroached upon the lands to which the 
company had an incomplete title, and this 
state of things became a fruitful source of 
litigation for many years." (Surveyor 
General's Eeport— 1865.) 

The Academy Lands were mostly situ- 
ated in the southeastern portion "of the 
county. Benjamin Chew, of Philadelphia, 
the owner of the celebrated "Stone 
House," which lost Washington the bat- 
tle of Germantown, secured a large tract 
of land — some four miles in width, and 
eight or ten miles in length — in the south- 
em portion of what is now Lawrence Coun- 
ty, it being included in the present town- 
ships of Big Beaver, Wayne, Slippery Rock 
and Perry. This land was known "as the 
"Chew Tract," and was mostly surveyed 
into smaller tracts of 400 acres each, each 
settler being allowed one-half for settling. 



32 



HISTORY OF LAWRENCE COUNTY 



In the vicinity of New Castle, the lands, 
which were mostly "donation" tracts, were 
entered upon soldiers' warrants — a portion 
of them by the original holders of the war- 
rants, but probably a majority by parties 
to whom the patents had been sold and 
transferred. There were eight tracts, lo- 
cated prmcipally in what is now Periy 
Township, that were designated on the sur- 
veys as ' ' depreciated lands, ' ' or lands unfit 
for settlement, but it being discovered that 
they included some of the finest lands in 
the countv, they were speedily taken by 
settlers, "it has been thought that these 
lands were so designated by the early sur- 
veyors with the view of preventing or post- 
poning settlement thereon, in order that 
they might have an opportunity of subse- 
quently acquiring them on easy terms. 

EAELY SETTLEMENTS. 

In 1793, soon after the departure of the 
Moravians, the first white settlers ap- 
peared in Mahoning Township. They num- 
bered about forty-five persons, who had 
come from Allegheny City with the inten- 
tion of settling on the north side of the 
Mahoning River. They had one Arthur 
Gardner, a surveyor, with them, upon 
whom they depended to locate the lands 
they were" in search of, but he seems not 
to have been competent, as they passed by 
the lands, and went as far west as the 
present site of Youngstown, Ohio. Here 
many of the party, being discouraged, re- 
turned to Allegheny. About seventeen 
of them, however, returned to Pennsyl- 
vania and settled on both sides of 
the Mahoning. Not long after other 
settlements were made in different 
parts of the county and continued to be 
made for a number of years. New Castle 
was first settled and a town laid out, by 
John Carlisle Stewart and others, in April, 
1798. 

EAKLY CUSTOMS. 

In early days everybody was practiced 
in the art of horsemanship, and many were 



the exciting races and adventures partici- 
pated in by the settlers. On wedding oc- 
casions it was customary for them to 
gather from every direction, sometimes 
from a distance of over twenty miles. 
Occasionally as many as sixty couples were 
present, and the entire number divided 
into two parties, called respectively the 
"bride's company" and the "groom's com- 
pany." Then everybody mounted. The 
"groom's company" took possession of the 
"bottle," which was a necessary article at 
all such gatherings, and both parties had 
a race for it. Altogether they had sport 
enough, and enjoyed it as none but people 
with their limited means of amusement 
could. 

The following description of a "house- 
warming," as it used to be celebrated in 
the days before Lawrence County was set- 
tled, particularly in the times from 1763 
to 1783, is taken from a book published in 
1824, by Rev. Joseph Doddridge. 

"I will proceed to state the usual manner 
of settling a young couple in the world. A 
spot was selected on a piece of land of one 
of the parents, for their habitation. A day 
was appointed, shortly after the marriage, 
for commencing the work of building their 
cabin. The fatigue party consisted of 
choppers, whose business it was to fell the 
trees and cut them off at proper lengths; 
a man with a team for hauling them to the 
place and arranging them, properly as- 
sorted, at the sides and ends of the build- 
ing; and a cai-penter, if such he might be 
called, whose business it was to search the 
woods for a proper tree for making clap- 
boards for the roof. The tree for this pur- 
pose must be straight-grained, and from 
three to four feet in diameter. The boards 
were split four feet long, with a large 
frow, and as wide as the timbers would 
allow. They were used without shaving. 
Another division was employed in getting 
puncheons for the floor of the cabin. This 
was done by splitting trees about eighteen 
inches in diameter, and hewing the faces 
of them with a broad-axe. They were half 



AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 



33 



the length of the floor they were intended 
to make. 

"The materials for the cabin were 
mostly prepared on the first day, and some- 
times the fonndation laid in the evening. 
The second day was allotted for the rais- 
ing. 

"In the morning of the next day the 
neighbors collected for the raising. The 
first thing to be done was the election of 
four corner-men, whose business it was to 
notch and place the logs. The rest of the 
company furnished them with the timbers. 
In the meantime the boards and puncheons 
were collecting for the floor and roof, so 
that by the time the cabin was a few rounds 
high, the sleepers and floor began to be 
laid. The door was made by sawing or 
cutting the logs in one side, so as to make 
an opening about three feet wide. This 
opening was secured by upright pieces of 
timber, about three inches thick, through 
which holes were bored into the ends of 
the logs, for the purpose of pinning them 
fast. A similar opening, but wider, was 
made at the end for the chimney. This 
was built of logs, and made large, to admit 
of a back and jambs of stone. At the 
square, two end-logs projected a foot or 
eighteen inches beyond the wall, to receive 
the butting poles, as they were called, 
against which the first row of clapboards 
was supported. The roof was formed by 
making the end-logs shorter, until a single 
log formed the comb of the roof. On these 
logs the clapboards were placed, the ranges 
of them lapping some distance over those 
next below them, and kept in their places 
by logs placed at proper distances upon 
them. 

' ' The roof, and sometimes the floor, were 
finished on the same day of the raising. 
A third day was commonly spent by a few 
carpenters in leveling off the floor, making 
a clapboard door and a table. This last 
was made of a split-slag, and supported by 
four round logs set in auger-holes. Some 
three legged stools were made in the same 
manner. Some pins stuck in the logs at 



the back of the house supported some clap- 
boards, which seiwed for shelves for the 
table furniture. A single fork, placed with 
its lower end in a hole in the floor, and the 
upper end fastened to a joist, served for 
a bed-stead, by placing a hole in the fork, 
with one end through a crack between the 
logs of the wall. This front pole was 
crossed by a shorter one within the fork, 
with its outer end through another crack. 
From the front pole, through a crack be- 
tween the logs of the end of the house, the 
boards were put on which formed the bot- 
tom of the bed. 

"Sometimes other poles were pinned to 
the fork a little distance above these, for 
the purpose of supporting the front and 
foot of the bed, while the walls were the 
supports of its back and head. A few pegs 
around the walls, for a display of the coats 
of the women and hunting-shirts of the 
men, and two small forks or buck's horns 
fastened to a joist for the rifle and shot- 
pouch, completed the carpenter work. 

"In the meantime the masons were at 
work. With the heart-pieces of timber of 
which the clapboards were made, they made 
billets for chunking up the cracks between 
the logs of the cabin and chimney. A large 
bed of mortar was made for daubing up 
these cracks. A few stones formed the 
back and jambs of the chimney. 

"The cabin being furnished, the cere- 
mony of the house-warming took place be- 
fore the young couple were permitted to 
move into it. The house-warming was a 
dance of a whole night's continuance, made 
up of the relations of the bride and groom, 
and their neighbors. On the day following 
the yoimg couple took possession of their 
new mansion." 

Before fulling mills were extensively es- 
tablished, it was common to have "bees" 
for the fulling of flannel, as for log-rollings 
and raisings. At these gatherings the 
bare-footed young men and women would 
seat themselves in two rows upon the 
puncheon floor, facing each other, so that 
the feet of each of the former would just 



34 



HISTORY OF LAWRENCE COUNTY 



reach those of a fair damsel, the ladies 
being, of course, gallantly accorded seats 
with their backs against the wall. The 
flannel was then well soaked and laid be- 
tween them, and by successive kicks in con- 
cert from each side, the same object was 
accomplished that was afterward gained 
by the more modern inventions. 

Besides these pastimes there were "log 
rollings," "husking bees," etc., and life 
among the pioneers was by no means unen- 
joyable. 

ORGANIZATION OF THE COUNTY. 

The erection of a new county from por- 
tions of Mercer, Beaver and Butler Coun- 
ties began to be agitated as early as 1820, 
and in spite of many failures and discour- 
agements, the agitation was continued until 
the spring of 1849, when the supporters of 
the movement saw their efforts crowned 
with success. The people residing within 
the limits of the proposed new county could 
advance many valid reasons for its crea- 
tion. New Castle was a town of rapidly 
growing business importance, and the con- 
verging point of numerous roads from all 
parts of the surrounding country. The line 
between Beaver and Mercer Counties 
passed through the borough, cutting it in 
twain, and thus a part of its inhabitants 
were compelled to attend the capital of 
Beaver County, and the rest that of Mer- 
cer County, for the transaction of all their 
legal business. A process issued in either 
county against parties living in New Cas- 
tle could be readily avoided by their step- 
ping across the county line. New Castle 
was centrally and conveniently located for 
the business of the region proposed to be 
formed into a new county, and, in the na- 
ture of things, must sooner or later become 
a large and flourishing town. Among the 
prominent advocates of the division were 
Hon. L. L. McGuffin, William Dickson, 
William Moore, John L. Warnock, Joseph 
T. Boyd, James Dickson, Isaac Dickson, 
William Watson, Diskron Watson, Thomas 
Falls, Joseph Kissick, John N. Euwer, Dr. 



Charles T. Whippo and James Cubbison, 
besides many others, inhabitants both of 
the borough and of the surrounding coun- 
try. These interested citizens formed an 
organization, and year after year petitions 
were presented to the Legislature, but for 
a long time without effect. 

This was chiefly due to the determined 
opposition, based on political reasons, with 
which the scheme was met by many adher- 
ents of the 'Whig party in this section. 
They urged against it: First, that the 
counties out of which it was proposed to 
erect the new one were small enough al- 
ready, SECONDLY, that the two counties of 
Mercer and Beayer were strong Whig 
counties, and the townships to be included 
in the new county were the strongest Whig 
townships. By taking them out both the 
before-mentioned counties would become 
Democratic. In other words, the Whigs 
would gain one county and lose two by the 
operation. Consequently, they were op- 
posed to the project for political reasons, 
while the Democrats were naturally as 
much in favor of it. This situation con- 
tinued until about 1840, when the support- 
ers of the measure adopted a new line of 
policy, and began making friends of their 
erstwhile enemies. Party lines were ig- 
nored, and other political issues forgotten 
in discussing the all-absorbing topic. After 
strenuous exertions, the advocates of the 
division at length succeeded in electing 
their candidates to the Legislature, but had 
the mortification of finding them recreant 
to the great interest committed to their 
charge. But the people would not surren- 
der; they adopted as their motto the last 
words of the gallant Lawrence in liis fight 
with the British frigate "Shannon," 
"Don't give up the ship!" and resolved to 
fight on until their object was obtained 
and to name their county in honor of the 
heroic commodore — Lawrence. 

The outlook began to be more promising 
in the fall of 1847, when they succeeded in 
electing David Sankey to the State Senate. 
At the next election for members of the 



. ^.,r-. r-o r-yy 

AND EEPEESENTATIVE CITIZENS 



35 



House they elected three out of the four 
representatives which Mercer and Beaver 
Counties were then entitled to. For Mer- 
cer County, David M. Courtney and Joseph 
Emery were elected, while Beaver County 
elected John Sharp, of Slippery Eock, and 
Dr. William Smith, who lived on the south 
side of the Ohio Eiver, the doctor, of 
coarse, belonging to the opposition. The 
friends of the movement now put forth 
their utmost strength. Petitions bearing 
numerous signatures were forwarded and 
able men selected to bring them to a suc- 
cessful hearing at Harrisburg. Among 
others. Major E. Sankey attended the ses- 
sion of the Legislature, and remained at 
his post until a bill granting the petition 



Though the bill for the division was in- 
troduced in the House of Eepresentatives 
early in the session, no action was taken 
upon it until March, 1849, when it passed 
by a two-thirds vote. A few days later it 
passed the Senate by a vote of twenty-two 
to eight, and on the 20th day of March, 
1849, it was signed by Governor William 
F. Johnston. By the act the new county 
was to be called Lawrence, and the county 
seat was to be located in the borough of 
New Castle. The influence and exertions 
of Senator David Sankey and his co-work- 
ers in the House, David M. Courtney, Jo- 
seph Emery and John Sharp, was largely 
responsible for procuring its passage. 

The following named gentlemen were 
appointed to superintend the running of 
the lines of the new county, and to fix the 
locality for the county buildings: Colonel 
James Potter, Sr., of MilHin County; Hon. 
William F. Packer, of Lycoming County, 
and Hon. William Evans, of Indiana 
County. Mr. Packer failing to meet the 
others on their arrival at New Castle, May 
16, 1849, they appointed Colonel John Pot- 
ter, of Mifflin County, in his place. 

Henry Pearson was selected by the State 
Commissioners as surveyor to run the 
boundary lines, with Lot Watson and Har- 
vey Tidball as chainbearers, and Henry C. 



Falls as axeman. About four weeks were 
occupied in the survey, the party being 
accompanied by the commissioners of 
Beaver and Mercer Counties, as well as by 
sundry individuals. Contrary to a some- 
what generally received opinion, no part of 
Butler County was included in Lawrence. 

The minutes of the survey, as taken from 
the report of the State Commissioners, 
read as follows: "Commencing at a post 
at the corner of Wolfe Creek and Slippery 
Eock Townships, Mercer County; thence 
north forty-two degrees west, with the line 
dividing said townships, three miles and 
312 perches, to a post, the south- 
east corner of Springfield Township; 
thence north eighty-eight and one-fourth 
degrees west, between the townships of 
Springfield and Slippery Eock, five miles 
244 perches, to a white-oak stump, the 
southwest corner of Springfield Township ; 
thence north along the line dividing 
Springfield and Lackawannock (now Wil- 
ming-ton) Townships, three-fourths of a 
mile to a chestnut tree ; thence south eighty- 
nine degrees west, parallel with the south 
line of Mercer County, thirteen miles 210 
perches to a post on the Ohio State line; 
thence south with the said line eighteen 
and three-fourths miles to a post; thence 
north eighty-nine degrees east parallel with 
the north line of Beaver County, eighteen 
miles 252 i^erches to an iron-wood tree, on 
the line between Beaver and Butler Coun- 
ties; thence north two degi'ees west along 
the line of Butler County, nine miles 244 
perches to a post, the corner of Beaver, 
Butler and Mercer Counties; thence north 
thirty-five and three-fourths degrees east 
along the line between Butler and Mercer 
Counties, five miles 310 perches, to the 
place of beginning." 

The area within these lines is about 
equivalent to a square of nineteen miles, 
and would, therefore, contain 361 square 
miles, or 231,040 acres. 

The ground selected by the State Com- 
missioners upon which to locate the coimty 
buildings was situated on the northeast 



36 



HISTORY OF LAWRENCE COUNTY 



comer of Jefferson and Lawrence (now 
Falls) Streets, and was owned by Thomas 
Falls. According to the report of the com- 
missioners, it was 100x160 feet in dimen- 
sions, with the longest diameter east and 
west. The following extract from the re- 
port shows that Mr. Falls agreed to donate 
the land to the coimty: 

"The said Thomas Falls has agreed to convey and 
assure, feee of chakge, to the Commissioners of Law- 
rence County and to their successors forever, the said 
lot of ground; and he further agrees that the streets 
and alleys forming the boundaries of said lot may be 
kept open for public use forever — all upon consideration 
that the public buildings of said county be placed upon 
said lot. 

"(Signed.) William evans, 

"JAMES POTTER, SK., 
"JOHN POTTER." 

LOCATION WRANGLE. 

There had been numerous competing 
sites, and that chosen by the commissioners 
was not satisfactory to eveiybody. During 
the fall and winter of 1849 there was much 
excitement upon this subject. Absurd 
statements, regarding the ground selected, 
were put in circulation, public meetings 
were held, and the matter was warmly dis- 
cussed also in the hotels and business 
places, in the street, and even in the fam- 
ily circle. 

The county commissioners elected in the 
autumn of 1849 were John K. Swisher, 
John Randolph and James Oliver, all of 
whom were in favor of choosing a new lo- 
cation. The movement, headed by R. B. 
McComb, Esq., and the commissioners, was 
prosecuted vigorously. Petitions were for- 
warded to Harrisburg, and subscription 
papers were circulated in favor of several 
different localities. Finally, an Act, sup- 
plementary to the one in March, 1849, 
erecting the new county of Lawrence, was 
passed by the Legislature, and approved 
by the Governor, March 25, 1850, the tenth 
section of which reads as follows : 

"That the commissioners of the county of Lawrence 
shall, as soon after the passage of this act as shall be 
practicable, designate by numbers, and in such other 
manner as they shall think proper, four several sites for 
the location of the county buildings for said county, in 



or within one-fourth of a mile from the borough of 
New Castle, including the site already fixed by the com- 
missioners appointed for that purpose; they shaU also 
procure a book in which to receive subscriptions of 
money, land, labor and materials to aid in defraying the 
expenses of erecting said buildings for each of said 
sites, and shall permit all and every person or persons, 
body politic or corporate, by themselves or their agent, 
to subscribe in either of said books such sum or amount 
of money, land, labor or materials as he, she, or they, 
may think proper for the purpose aforesaid; and it is 
hereby made the duty of said county commissioners to 
give every person or persons, body politic or corporate, 
within said county, every facility vidthin their power to 
make subscriptions as aforesaid, for the space of two 
months from the time of opening said books; and at the 
expiration of said term they shall forthwith determine 
upon which of said sites as aforesaid the said buildings 
shall be erected, and proceed to erect the same in the 
manner directed by law, having due regard to the health- 
fulness of the site, convenience aud interest of the citi- 
zens of said county, and the amount of subscriptions to 
each of said sites; Provided, That before proceeding to 
erect said buildings they shall take such security as in 
their judgment shall be ample to insure the payment of 
the whole amount subscribed to the successful site." 

Section 12: 

"So much of the act to which this is a supplement, 
or any other law, as is hereby altered or supplied, or is 
inconsistent herewith, be and the same is hereby re- 
pealed. Approved the 25th day of March, 1850. 

"WILLIAM P. JOHNSTON." 

The site was selected in accordance with 
the provisions of the above described act, 
the amount of subscriptions being some 
$1,600, and the lots were donated to the 
county by David Crawford, the commis- 
sioners advertised for sealed proposals for 
the erection of the necessary buildings, and 
the contract was let in August, 1850, to 
Messrs. James M. Craig and William Ham- 
ilton, for the smn of $12,004, they being 
the lowest responsible bidders. The work 
was commenced in the fall of that year, 
and the buildings were completed in 1852. 
During the progress of the work the plans, 
both of the court house and jail, were very 
materially changed from the original spe- 
cifications of the commissioners. The elab- 
orate portico of fluted Ionic columns, con- 
structed of gray sandstone, was not con- 
templated in the original design. Material 
alterations were made also inside the build- 
ings, and much extra work was also done 
in grading the grounds, erecting walls, etc., 
which brought the total cost up to about 




RESiDEXCE or oro w . I, \M(tK]:i:, vkw castle. residence of e. n. ohl. new 




KESIDE.NCE OF WILLIAM M. BROWN, NEW CASTLE. II-^IIHMr (>1 (.K( 




RESIDENCE OF if. II m\DTRSO\ NEW ( \slLE I>^ 



KORGE W I()H\MI\ M W ( \-.IIE 



AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 



39 



$32,000. All this extra work was arranged 
for by the commissioners. Labor and ma- 
terial were very cheap in those days, and 
the expenses were much less than would 
be called for by similar improvements at 
the present time. The court house occu- 
pies a fine and commanding position, 
fronting the west, and is elevated some 
sixty feet above low water mark in the 



POPULATION. 

The population of Lawrence County at 
the time of its organization was, by the 
United States census, 21,079, including 132 
colored. The population of New Castle, 
at that time, was 1,614, including 51 col- 
ored. In 1860 the population of the county 
was 22,999, and of New Castle 1,882. In 
1870 the county contained 27,298, and the 
city of New Castle 6,164 inhabitants. In 
1900 the county had a population of about 
57,000. The present estimated population 
of the city is about 40,000. 

The last government census of the 
county, outside of New Castle, showed the 
following population : 

Big Beaver Township 1,488 

Ellwood City 2,243 

Enon Valley 395 

Hickory Township 855 

Little Beaver Township 735 

Mahoning Township 2,617 

Neshannock Township 1,080 

New Wilmington 891 

North Beaver Township 2,215 

Perry Township 847 

Plain Grove Township 655 

Pulaski Township 1,607 

Scott Township 845 

Shenango Township 2,806 

SUppery Rock Township 1,428 

Taylor Township 571 

Union Township 2,055 

Volant 120 

Wampum 816 

Washington Township 480 



Wayne Township 

Wilmington Township 



3,108 
951 



28,808 



FIRST COUNTY ELECTION. 

At the first election, held in the fall of 
1849, the following were the names of the 
coimty officers chosen : Sheriff, David Em- 
ery; prothonotary and clerk of the courts, 
James D. Clarke; treasurer, Joseph Jus- 
tice; register and recorder, James Mc- 
Clane; county commissioners, John K. 
Swisher, James Oliver, John Randolph; 
county auditors, Isaac P. Rose, William 
Work, A. Galloway; coroner, John L. War- 
nock. 

COUNTY OFFICIALS. 

At the time of the organization of the 
county, Hon. John Bredin was president 
judge of the courts, with Hons. Jacob Bear 
and Charles T. ^^ippo, associates. The 
first election for judges was held October 
14, 1851, when Hon. Daniel Agnew, after- 
wards chief justice of the Supreme Court 
of the State, was elected president judge, 
and John Reynolds and James Henry, as- 
sociates. Mr. Henry died, and Jacob Bear 
was elected in 1852. 

In 1856, Hon. Thomas Pomeroy was 
elected associate judge, and in 1857, Sam- 
uel Van Horn. 

In 1861, Hon. Daniel Agnew was re- 
elected president judge, and Joseph Cun- 
ningham, associate. 

In 1863, Judge Agnew was elected to the 
Supreme Court of the State, and Hon. L. 
L. McGuffin was appointed, and in October, 
1864, elected president judge in his place. 

In 1862, James McClane was elected as- 
sociate. 

In 1866, Samuel Taylor, and in 1867, 
Thomas Pomeroy were elected associates. 

In 1871, Samuel Taylor, and in 1872, 
Thomas Pomeroy, were re-elected asso- 
ciates. 

In 1874, Hon. Ebenezer McJunkin was 



40 



HISTORY OF LAWRENCE COUNTY 



elected president judge, and Hon. James 
Bredin, additional law judge. 

In 1876, James P. Aiken was elected as- 
sociate judge. 

In 1878, A. T. McCready was elected as- 
sociate. 

In 1880, James P. Aiken was re-elected 
associate. 

In 1882, Robert Cochran was elected as- 
sociate. 

In 1884, Aaron L. Hazen was elected 
president law judge, and John McMichael, 
additional law judge. 

In 1886, Robert Fulkerson was elected 
associate judge. 

In 1888, 0. H. P. Green was elected as- 
sociate judge. 

The president judges are elected for ten 
years, and the associates for five years. 

The office of additional law judge was 
created by act of Assembly in 1873. 

The following is a list of county officers 
from 1850 to 1908 : 

Sheeiffs. — 1849, David Emery; 1852, 
Andrew B. Allen; 1855, Robert Gailey; 
1858, Silas Stevenson; 1861, Andrew B. Al- 
len ; 1864, Thomas McConnell ; 1867, David 
C. Rhodes; 1870, James Davis; 1873, 
James H. Cooper ; 1876, William B. Miller ; 
1879, Alexander Richardson; 1882, Wil- 
liam L. Davis; 1885, William Q. Warnock; 
1888, Samuel W. Bell; 1891, William 
Douthitt; 1894, William Becker; 1897, 
Charles Matthews ; 1900, James H. Brown ; 
1903, Edwin L. Ayers; 1906, J. W. Wad- 
dington. 

Prothonotaries. — 1849, James D. Clark ; 
1852, James D. Clark (died December 2, 
1854), David M. Kissinger appointed to 
fill term; 1855, Cyrus Clarke (resigned); 
1857, John S. Ponieroy; 1860, John Elder; 
1863, John Elder, re-elected; 1866, Jacob 
Haus; 1869, Samuel K. McGinness; 1872, 
S. C. McCrearv, re-elected in 1875; 1878, 
Andrew Hutton; 1881, David I. Campbell; 
1884, David I. Campbell ; 1887, Joseph H. 
Gilliland; 1890, Joseph H. Gilliland; 1893, 
A. S. Love; 1896, A. S. Love; 1899, R. M. 



Campbell; 1902, R. M. Campbell; 1905, 
Charles H. Andrews. 

County Commissioners. — 1849, John K. 
Swisher, James Oliver, John Randolph; 

1850, John Randolph; 1851, Robert 
Bentley; 1852, William R. Wallace; 
1853, Marmaduke AVilson; 1854, Rob- 
ert Reynolds; 1855, William Carlon; 
1856, William Gaston ; 1857, Isaac P. Cow- 
den ; 1858, Robert Fullerton ; 1859, Thomas 
Cairns; 1860, James Forrest; 1861, John 
Wilson; 1862, William B. Lutton; 1863, 
Jacob Rowland; 1864, Henry H. Emery; 
1865, AVilliam Y. Greer; 1866, Asa Eckles; 
1867, John H. Gormlev; 1868, Alex. Car- 
penter; 1869, Joseph Douthett; 1870, 
James M. Lawrence; 1871, David M. Court- 
ney; 1872, William McClelland; 1873, 
Robert Mehard; 1874, James D. Bryson. 
In 1875, under the new constitution, three 
were elected; James Patterson, for three 
years; James D. Bryson, for two years, 
and Robert Mehard, for one year; 1877, 
Robert Mehard; 1878, James D. Bryson; 
1881, Robert Mehard, Robert P. Pomeroy 
and A. G. Kelso; 1884, James M. Long, 
George B. Gibson and Robert Mehard; 
1887, James M. Long, Alexander Wright 
and Samuel Clark; 1890, James Crawford, 
Robert M. Eckles and Edward Yoho ; 1893, 
Robert M. Eckles, Stewart Thompson and 
William W. Monison ; 1896, W. L. McCon- 
nell, W. Y. Gibson and J. H. Weekly; 1899, 
W. L. McConnell, W. Y. Gibson and Joseph 
M. Wilkison; 1902, James A. McMillan, R. 
L. McNabb and James Flynn ; 1905, James 
A. McMillan, John F. Pitis and Robert H. 
McConahy. 

County Auditors. — 1850, John Elder ; 

1851, John S. Foy; 1852. James C. Brack- 
ey (Mr. Brackey died, and David Sankey 
was appointed in his place) ; 1853, Pearson 
McCreary (died in office) ; 1854, A. Tyler 
and Thomas Pearson ; 1855, William Drake 
and William Nesbit; 1856, Joseph M. 
Burns ; 1857, James R. Miller ; 1858, Isaac 
P. Cowden; 1859, Philo S. Morton; 1860, 
John H. Goi-mlev; 1861, D. S. Robinson 



AND EEPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 



41 



and Joseph R. Sherrard ; 1862, William C. 
Harbison; 1863, E. M. McConnell; 1864, 
David Warnock; 1865, Zebina N. Alien; 

1866, Peter R. Sedgwick; 1867, William M. 
Gibson; 1868, Matthew Stewart; 1869, 
John Jellison; 1870, Peter K. Sedgwick 
and Robert Elder; 1871, John M. Power; 
1872, George Y. Leslie; 1873, Lafayette 
Baldwin; 1874, John M. Power; 1875, La- 
fayette Baldwin, William Weller and 
George B. Gibson; 1878, John M. McKee, 
Lafayette Baldwin, Geo. B. Gibson; 1881, 
John M. McKee, R. :\I. Eckles. Dayid G. 
Ramsey ; 1884, R. M. Eckles. Jesse B. Lock, 
Isaac b. Kirk; 1887, John W. Fulkman, 
James M. Sterling, W. H. Chambers; 1890, 
Thomas F. Shingiedecker, Connelly Mc- 
Conahy; 1893, J. C. Riblet, Edward For- 
rest, Walter Hopper; 1896, Edward For- 
rest. J. C. Riblet, Edward Sergent; 1899, 
J. C. Riblet, E. N. Houk. J. C. Johnston; 
1902. E. N. Houk, James Elder, W. W. 
Eckles; 1905, E. J. Klein, James Elder, 
William McCune. 

County Treasurers. — 1849, Joseph Jus- 
tine; 1851, Archibald Cubbison; 1853, 
James S. Tidball; 1855, James Mitchell; 
1857. Isaac N. Phillips; 1859, Alexander 
Carpenter; 1861, E. I. Agnew; 1863, Mat- 
thew D. Tait; 1865, William H. Shaw; 

1867, Cochran Leslie; 1869, John A. Por- 
ter ; 1871, Isaac Murdock, Jr. ; 1873, Forbes 
Holton; 1875, John Blevins; 1878, W. H. 
H. Shaffer; 1881, James Reynolds; 1884, 
Martin Hartman; 1887, J. W. Clark; 1890, 
R. C. G. White; 1893, J. W. Cunningham; 
1896, J. A. Hainer; 1899, L. C. Cochran; 
1902, J. A. DeNormandy; 1905, Lafayette 
Baldwin. 

Registers and Recorders. — 1849, James 
McClane; 1852, Hugh Moore; 1855, John 
Hoffman ; 1858, John W. Fulkerson ; 1861, 
Robert Boyd; 1864, Sylvester Gaston, re- 
elected in i867 ; 1870, James Crowl ; 1873, 
re-elected (resigned) ; 1873, Isaac Murdock, 
Jr., appointed (died); 1874, William W. 
Officer appointed; 1874, James C. Steven- 



son; 1876, B. C. Rhodes; 1879, B. C. 
Rhodes ; 1883, W. F. Leathers ; 1886, W. F. 
Leathers ; 1889, J. T. Gleason ; 1892, J. T. 
Gleason; 1895, H. P. Shaner; 1898, H. P. 
Shaner; 1901, A. C. Hyde; 1904, A. C. 
Hyde; 1907, W. A. Eakin. 

District Attorneys. — 1849, W. P. Bu- 
chanan, appointed by Governor Johnston; 
1850, James Pollock; 1853, David Craig; 
1856, B. B. Pickett; 1859, John P. Blair; 
1862, Robert Gilliland ; 1865, J. Smith Du 
Shane; 1868, 0. L. Jackson; 1871, Aaron 
L. Hazen; Aaron L. Hazen re-elected in 
1874; 1877, John G. McConahy; 1880, J. 
Scott Irwin; 1882, Malcolm McConnell; 
1885, S. L. McCracken; 1888, A. L. Porter; 
1891, S. P. Emery; 1894, R. K. Aiken; 
1897, W. J. Moffat; 1900, Charles E. Me- 
hard; 1903, J. V. Cunningham; 1906, 
Charles H. Young. 

Coroners.— 1852, J. H. M. Peebles ; 1855, 
Phillip Miller; 1858, Daniel Leasure; 1861, 
Dr. G. W. Coulter (removed from county) ; 
1862, Malachi P. Barker; 1865, Dr. A. M. 
Cowden; 1867, Malachi P. Barker; 1869, 
Malachi P. Barker; 1870, J. B. Reinholdt; 
1873, James Pollock; 1875, David P. Jack- 
son. 

County Surveyor. — Henry Pearson was 
appointed by the State Commissioners to 
survey and mark the original boundaries 
of the county, in 1849. He was elected 
Deputy Surveyor, in 1850, by a vote oT the 
people, and there seems to have been no 
election for surveyor afterwards, until 
1865, when Mr. Pearson was again elected. 
He held the office until his death, about 
1872. There is no record of any surveyor 
for the county since 1865. 

School Superintendent. — This officer is 
elected by the School Directors of the 
county. The following gentlemen have 
tilled the position since the tirst election, 
under an Act of Assembly of May 18, 1854 : 
1854, Thomas Berry; 1857, Thomas Berry; 
1860, Stephen Morrison; 1863, Stephen 
Morrison; 1866, George W. McCracken; 



42 



HISTORY OF LAWRENCE COUNTY 



1869, George W. McCracken; 1872, W. N. 
Aiken; 1875, W. N. Aiken; 1878, W. N. 
Aiken; 1881, D. F. Balph; 1884, D. F. 
Ralph; 1887, J. R. Slierrard; 1890, J. R. 
Sherrard; 1893, James M. Watson; 1896, 
James M. Watson; 1899, Thomas M. Stew- 
art; 1902, Thomas M. Stewart; 1905, R. G. 
Allen; 1908, W. Lee Gilmore. 

Senators. — The State Senators who have 
been elected from Lawrence County are: 
1854, Hon. William M. Francis ; 1858, Hon. 
John Ferguson; 1872, Hon. Samuel Mc- 
Kinley ; 1876, George W. Wright (res. Mer- 
cer County) ; 1880, George W. McCracken; 
1884. Samuel B. McClure (res. Mercer 
County); 1888, Thomas M. Mehard; 1892, 
James S. Fruit (res. Mercer County) ; 
1896, William M. Brown; 1900, J. D. Em- 
ery (res. Mercer County) ; 1904, E. I. Phil- 
lips. 

Representatives. — Thomas Dungan, 
1851 and 1852; John D. Raney, 1853; R. B. 
McComb, 1854, 1855 and 1856; G. P. Shaw, 
1857 and 1858; J. D. Brvson, 1859 and 
1860; John W. Blanchard, 1861 and 1862; 
Isaiah White, 1863 and 1864; Samuel Mc- 
Kinlev, 1865 and 1866 ; William C. Harbi- 
son, 1867; John Edwards, 1868 and 1869; 
David Craig and George W. McCracken, 
in 1870 ; A. P. Moore and Samuel D. Clarke, 
in 1871; A. P. Moore, in 1872; George W. 
McCracken, in 1873; E. S. N. Morgan, in 
1874 and 1875 ; J. Q. Stewart in 1875 and 
1876 ; and E. S. N. Morgan and J. Q. Stew- 
art in 1877 and 1878 ; 1879, William M. Mc- 
Candless and Walter Fullerton; 1880, Ellis 
Morrison and John N. Emery ; 1882, John 
N. Emery and Ellis Morrison ; 1884, Henry 
C. Falls and Silas Stevenson; 1885, Wil- 
liam P. Morrison; 1886, Henry Edwards 
and Silas Stevenson ; 1888, John B. Brown 
and William P. Morrison; 1890, William 
P. Morrison and Alexander M. Phillips; 
1892, H. W. Grigsby and A. L. Martin; 
1894, H. W. Grigsby, A. L. Martin; 1896, 
A. L. ]\Tartin and R. A. Todd ; 1898, James 
McAnlis and R. A. Todd; 1900, Malcolm 
McConnell and James McAnlis ; 1902, R. P. 



Pomeroy and Malcolm McConnell; 1904, 
George F. Weingartner and Walter S. Rey- 
nolds; 1906, George F. Weingartner and 
Walter S. RejTiolds. 

Congressmen. — The Representatives in 
Congress who have been elected from Law- 
rence County: 1860, Hon. John W. Wal- 
lace ; 1872, William McClelland ; 1874, John 
W. Wallace; 1876, William S. Shallenber- 
ger (res. Beaver Countv) ; 1878, William 
S. Shallenberger; 1880,' William S. Shal- 
lenberger; 1882, George V. Lawrence 
(Washington Co.); 1884, Oscar L. Jack- 
son ; 1886, Oscar L. Jackson ; 1888, Charles 
C. Townsend; 1890, E. P. Gillespie (res. 
Mercer Coimty) ; 1892, Thomas W. Phil- 
lips; 1894, Thomas W. Phillips; 1896, 
James J. Davidson; 1897, Joseph B. Sho- 
walter; 1900, Joseph B. Sho waiter; 1902, 
Ernest F. Acheson; 1894, Ernest F. Ache-, 
son; 1906, Ernest F. Acheson. 

Lawrence became a separate Represent- 
ative district in 1871. Under the new con- 
stitution adopted in 1873, it became enti- 
tled to two Representatives in the State 
Legislature. 

FIRST COURTS. 

The first court held in Lawrence County 
convened in the First Methodist Episcopal 
Church in New Castle, on Monday, Janu- 
ary 7, 1850. It was presided over by Hon. 
John Bredin, assisted by Hon. Jacob Bear, 
associated judge. The following are the 
names of the attorneys admitted to prac- 
tice at that term, belonging to Lawrence 
County: Jonathan Ayers, L. L. McGuffin, 
J. K. Boyd, David Craig, Lewis Taylor, W. 
P. Buchanan, D. B. Kurtz, J. Hoffman, D. 
C. Cossitt, John M. Crawford, George W. 
Watson, John N. McGuffin and James Pol- 
lock. Attorneys were also present and ad- 
mitted to practice, from Beaver, Butler, 
Mercer and Indiana Counties. 

In 1877 the county jail that had been in 
use from 1850 was torn down and -a new 
prison erected. A residence for the sheriff 
was built at the same time. 



AND EEPEESENTATIVE CITIZENS 



43 



ORIGINAL TOWNSHIPS. 

At the time of the organization of the 
county it was divided into thirteen civil 
sub-divisions or townships, namely: Pu- 
laski, Wilmington, Slippery Rock, North 
Slippery Eock, Mahoning, Neshannock, 
North Beaver, Big Beaver, Little Beaver, 
Shenango, Wayne, Perry and North Se- 
wickley. Of these Pulaski, Wilmington, 
North Slippery Rock, Mahoning and Nesh- 
annock were formerly a part of Mercer 
County; the remainder were taken from 
Beaver County. 

There have been material changes in the 
names and arrangements of the townships 
since 1850. Taylor Township was created 
from portions of Shenango and North Bea- 
ver, February 19, 1853. On April 13, 1854, 
North Slippery Rock was cut in two, and 
the two townships of Washington and 
Scott were formed from it, the old name 
being abandoned. 

In 1855, February 14th, Plain Grove 
Township (now often written Plaingrove) 
was formed from parts of Washington and 
Scott Townships. Pollock To^\Tiship was 
formed May 28, 1858, from parts of Nesh- 
annock and Shenango Townships. On 
February 25, 1869, it became a part of New 
Castle, which was then erected into a city 
and it now constitutes the third, fourth 
and fifth wards. On February 15, 1859, a 
strip of land three-fourths of a mile wide 
was taken from Plain Grove and added to 
Washington Township, which was further 
enlarged by another strip a half mile wide 
from Scott Township. Union Township 
was formed from portions of Mahoning, 
Neshannock and Taylor Townships, Sep- 
tember 10, 1859. Hickory Township was 
formed in the winter of 1859-60, being 
taken from Neshannock Township. 

AGRICULTURAL. 

The area of Lawrence County is about 
361 square miles, which is equivalent to 
231,040 acres. The climate and soil on the 
higher grounds are well adapted to fruits. 



such as apples and peaches, while a few 
plums and grapes are raised together with 
a considerable quantity of small fruits, ac- 
cording to the demand. The number of 
acres of cleared land is 200,263; timbered 
land, 7,273. 

The value of taxable real estate is $27,- 
707,699; the number of horses taxable, 
6,809; the value of horses taxable, $361,- 
799; the number of cattle taxable, 7,885; 
the value of cattle taxable, $142,075. 

The money at interest amounts to $4,- 
858,032 ; the total valuation for county pur- 
poses, $29,903,653 ; the number of taxables, 
22,642. 

A society called the Lawrence County 
Agricultural and Horticultural Society was 
organized in 1852 and offered premiums to 
the amount of $450. It leased for the term 
of ten years four and a half acres of land 
near the borough of New Castle. It was 
continued for several years, but we have no 
record of it after the year 1857, when its 
total receipts were $670.50. 

Another society, also called the Lawrence 
County Agricultural and Horticultural So- 
ciety, was chartered August 10, 1878, with 
a capital stock of $3,000, and privilege to 
increase the same to $6,000. The first 
board of directors and officers were as fol- 
lows: Henry C. Falls, president; Samuel 
McCleary, vice-president; George W. 
Veach, secretary; Scott D. Long, treas- 
urer; Hiram Watson, N. B. Carter, Alex- 
ander Duff, Robert J. Fulkerson; Benja- 
min Graham, John Davidson, John M. Al- 
len, Alexander M. Phillips, and Philo Cun- 
ningham, directors. The society bought 
property on North Hill, which is still 
known as the Fair Ground property. It 
was then in the country and was bounded 
by Moody Avenue, Wilmington Road, 
Highland Avenue and on the north by the 
Berger farm. It held four annual fairs — 
in 1888, 1889, 1890 and 1891— after which 
the society was dissolved. They offered 
about $4,000 in premiums for races, and 
about $5,500 for other exhibits annually. 



44 HISTORY OF LAWRENCE COUNTY 

The society was not a financial success and face value of $50 each. The first board 

its property was finally disposed of at of directors was George Watson, M. I. 

sheriff's sale. Buchanan, David Tod, I. F. Gearhart, A. 

The Pulaski Fair Association was char- G. King, James S. Wood. This associa- 

tered March 13, 1903, with a capital stock tion gives fairs every year in Pulaski, 
of $10,000, divtded into 200 shares of the 



CHAPTER IV 



TRANSPORTATION 



Early Roads — New Castle and Wilmington Plank Road — Canal Traffic — Steamboats — 
Steam Railroads — Street Railivay System. 



EARLY KOADS. 

At the time of the first white settlements 
in this region the only roads were Indian 
trails, which generally followed the course 
of larger streams, though they occasionally 
deviated from them to follow the "divides" 
or high land between the streams, as was 
the case with the trail leading from Mo- 
ravia to Kush-kush-kee. All the principal 
trails in this region centered at Kush- 
kush-kee, which was for many years the 
most important Indian town in this region, 
being a large village and the capital of 
"King Beaver." A common means of 
locomotion was by canoe navigation on the 
Beaver and its branches, the Mahoning 
and the Shenango. For some years the 
white settlers made use of footpaths 
through the forest, along which they trans- 
ported various goods, including household 
furniture, from Pittsburg on horseback, 
using the pack-saddle. In 1805, or there- 
abouts, the State of Pennsylvania ap- 
pointed "viewers" to lay out and estab- 
lish what are to this day known as the 
"State roads." "One of the earliest of 
these was laid out from the Scrub Grass 
Creek in Venango County, via New Castle, 
to Youngstown, Ohio. It passed through 
New Castle on North Street, which at that 
tnne was the principal thoroughfare of the 
town. The Pittsburg Turnpike was opened 
at an early day, and a road to Mercer was 
among the first running north from New 



Castle. The Beaver River Road was 
opened as early as 1805. It followed the 
river as near as practicable. The oldest 
road between New Castle and Mercer 
passed through Fayett. Another was aft- 
erwards opened via Wilmington." 

XEW CASTLE AND NEW WILMINGTON PLANK 
RO.AD. 

In 1850 a company organized to con- 
struct the above-mentioned road was char- 
tered by the Legislature, its first officers 
being: A. L. Crawford, president; William 
Dickson, secretary and treasurer, and Shu- 
bael W^ilder, G. W. Crawford, John M. 
Crawford, R. H. Peebles, Thomas Falls, 
Joseph Kissick and Frederick Rheinholdt, 
directors. The principal contractors were 
David Emery and John Moorehead. Ac- 
cording to the charter a connection was to 
lie made with New Wilmington, situated 
nine miles north of New Castle, but for 
some reason the road was only con- 
structed as far as the coal banks, in Nesh- 
annock Township, about four miles from 
the city. It was completed and opened to 
the public in 1853. As described by a 
fonuer historian, "Toll gates were erected, 
and Mr. A. Cubbison was appointed the 
first toll-keeper. One track, consisting of 
three-inch oak plank, eight feet in length, 
was laid, the loaded teams coming into 
New Castle, taking the plank, and all teams 
going north using the portion of the grade 



46 



HISTORY OF LAWRENCE COUNTY 



not planked. The road bed was hand- 
somely graded and the track was so perfect 
that a common load for two horses was 
from three to four tons. It was an im- 
mense improvement over the old wagon 
road, and a very large traffic was con- 
stantly passing over it." 

A. L. Crawford, the first president of 
the company, served three years, being suc- 
ceeded in. 1856 by Thomas Falls, who 
served four years. Then Frederick Rhein- 
holdt was president two years, and was fol- 
lowed in 1863 by Henry C. Falls, who held 
the office subsequently until the dissolution 
of the company, in 1872, when the toll 
gates were removed and the charter sur- 
rendered. From 1863 until 1872 the fol- 
lowing persons served as officers of the 
company : Henry C. Falls, president ; Wil- 
liam Patterson, secretary and treasurer; 
R. H. Peebles, G. W. Crawford, R. W. Cun- 
ningham, Shubael Wilder, Joseph Kissick, 
A. L. Crawford and Frederick Rheinholdt, 
directors. These years were both profit- 
able and satisfactory to the stockholders, 
and pleasant to the officers of the company, 
a large amount of business being done and 
high dividends paid. The road was a great 
convenience to the public, especially to the 
owners of coal lands, and to coal dealers, 
and the farming community generally. But 
when the steam railroad came into compe- 
tition in the transportation of coal the 
plank road was forced to succumb. The 
old bed is now used as a turnpike and 
makes the best wagon road in the county. 

CANAL TEArriC. 

The Beaver Division of the Pennsylvania 
Canal was completed to the "Western Re- 
serve Harbor," about five miles above New 
Castle, in November, 1833, and opened for 
business. The Ohio division, called the 
"Cross-Cut" canal, was finished and 
opened for traffic in 1838. From those 
dates down to about 1871, when the canals 
were abandoned for transportation pur- 
poses, a vast amount of business was tran- 
sacted, and the canal system of navigation 



was considered the ideal one for the trans- 
portation of goods and passengers. The 
first canal boats were adapted to both 
freight and passenger business. Later 
"packets," which were constructed ex- 
pressly for the accommodation of the trav- 
eling public, and which ran at a much 
greater rate of speed than the regular 
"liners," were put on by Captain Thomas 
Campbell, Bridgewater. The first of these 
was the "General Mercer," which began 
running in the spring of 1843, between New 
Castle and Bridgewater. Captain Camp- 
bell's packets were followed by another 
line, known as the "New Castle Packet 
Line," which were built for both freight 
and passengers. "The days of the canal 
were busy and jolly ones, and many a vet- 
eran 'captain' won his 'name and fame' 
by patient labor along the slack-water nav- 
igation of the Beaver Valley. But the 
'boatman's horn' is heard no more, and 
the sailorless hulks lie here and there, 
slowly rotting in the sun." 

STEAMBOATS. 

For an inland town New Castle has at 
times put on quite a nautical air. The year 
1840 witnessed the launching of a steam- 
boat, which was built by Doctor Joseph 
Pollock, and put on to run between Pitts- 
burg and New Castle. The boat was ac- 
tually constructed by David Frisbie, a ship 
and steamboat builder from New York 
City, and was launched at the canal basin 
in July of the year mentioned. The doc- 
tor's son, Hiram, and his son-in-law, Cap- 
tain William McMillen, each had an in- 
terest in the new venture. The steamboat 
was christened the "Isaphena," after the 
doctor's daughter, and was put in com- 
mand of Capt. McMillen. It was soon 
found, however, that the new vessel was 
built too sharp at the bow and too deep for 
the waters of the Beaver River, and ac- 
cordingly a new flat-bottomed hull was con- 
structed and her upper works and engine 
were transferred to the new hull in Octo- 
ber, 1840. It was provided with two very 



AND EEPEESENTATIVE CITIZENS 



47 



peculiar wheels constructed from an idea 
of Doctor Pollock's, which operated with- 
out producing any wake, thus avoiding the 
washing of the banks which an ordinary 
steamer produces. The new craft was very 
popular and took all the passenger busi- 
ness, until Messrs. Reed, Parks & Co., who 
were running the packet line, constructed 
two superior vessels fitted up with sleeping 
berths and other conveniences. These boats 
connected with a line of fine steamers at 
Beaver, and the passengers were carried 
between New Castle and Pittsburg without 
delay. The competition of these new pack- 
ets compelled the proprietors of the "Isa- 
phena" to seek other channels for busi- 
ness, and the steamer was accoi'dingly put 
on the Monongahela Eiver, and ran for a 
number of months in 1841 between Pitts- 
burg and Monongahela City. Afterwards 
it was enlarged and improved, and from 
1842 was engaged in the Southern cotton 
trade on the lower Mississippi. 

Dr. Pollock settled on a fann in She- 
nango Township, then in Beaver County, 
in 1826, coming from Williamsport, now 
Monongahela City. From 1835 until his 
death, in 1856, he was a resident of New 
Castle but practiced medicine only among 
a limited few after settling here. He was 
a member of the Legislature in 1831-2, and 
at one time served on the State Equaliza- 
tion Board. He was also superintendent 
of the Beaver division of the canal in 1841- 
42-43. He was remarkable for being an 
earnest and practically lifelong advocate 
of total abstinence at a time when drink- 
ing habits were all too prevalent. It is 
said that he was the only one of his college 
class who did not fill a drunkard's grave. 

STEAM EAILEOADS. 

The first steam railroad within the lim- 
its of Lawrence County was the Ohio and 
Pennsylvania, which ran across one cor- 
ner of the county with a station at Enon 
Valley. It is now a part of the Pittsburg, 
Ft. Wayne & Chicago operated by the 
Pennsylvania Company. 



The next road completed was the New 
Castle &: Beaver Valley railroad, which 
ran from New Castle to Homewood, a sta- 
tion on the Pittsburg, Ft. AVayne & Chi- 
cago. This was completed in 1863. It was 
leased to the Pittsburg, Ft. Wayne & Chi- 
cago railroad and by it to the Pennsylvania 
Company. 

The next road was the Erie & Pittsburg, 
which was completed about the same time 
and ran from New Castle northward to 
Girard on the Lake Shore. Soon after its 
completion it was leased to the Pennsyl- 
vania Comi^any, giving that company a 
continuous line between Pittsburg and 
Erie. 

Some time in the '60 's, soon after the 
completion of the Beaver Valley road, the 
Lawrence Railroad Comi^any was organ- 
ized and built from Lawrence Junction on 
the Beaver Valley to Youngstown up the 
Mahoning River on its south bank. Soon 
after its completion it was leased to the 
Pennsylvania Company. It was opened 
for traffic on January 22, 1867. 

The Beaver Valley and the Erie & Pitts- 
burg railroads formed a continuous line on 
the west side of the Beaver and Shenango 
rivers to Erie. 

In 1872 the New Castle & Franklin Rail- 
road was established. It connected with 
the Beaver Valley road south of New Cas- 
tle on the west side of the Shenango river 
and ran northward through New Castle to 
Mercer and Stoneboro, following Neshan- 
nock Creek. The company was organized 
in 1864 with a stock subscription of $19,- 
250. Survey's were made and a route in 
part adopted. For want of means the en- 
terprise was suspended imtil the spring of 
1872, when the prospects of the road 
brightened and stock subscriptions were 
received amounting to $339,000, which sum 
was spent in grading and bridging. In or- 
der to complete the road $550X)00 in 7 per 
cent bonds were sold. When the road was 
completed the company found itself $200,- 
000 in debt, and in April, 1881, the road 
was sold to Thomas P. Simpson, a con- 



48 



HISTORY OF LAWRENCE COUNTY 



tractor, who was then building the P., N. 
C. & L. E. Railroad. In May of the same 
year the name of the road was changed to 
the New Castle & Oil City Railroad. This 
road finally became a part of the Western 
New York & Pennsylvania Railroad, by 
which it was operated until 1901, when it 
was leased to the Pennsylvania Company. 

The Pittsburg & Lake Erie road was 
the next to be built. It was built in 1877 
from Pittsburg to Youngstown, going up 
the bank of the Beaver River to New Cas- 
tle Junction; thence following the Mahon- 
ing River to Youngstown. At the same 
time a branch into the city of New Castle 
was completed. 

We next have the Pittsburg, Youngstown 
& Chicago Railroad, which ran through 
New Castle Junction parallel with the 
Pittsburg & Lake Erie Railroad to Youngs- 
town. Nearly contemporaneous with the 
completion of this was the building of the 
Pittsburg & Western Railroad from Pitts- 
burg up the Allegheny River and across 
the country to New Castle Junction. This 
and the Pittsburg, Youngstown & Chicago 
formed a new through line from Pittsburg 
to the west. Afterwards both these roads 
became a part of the great B. & 0. system. 
This road enters the county in the south- 
eastern part and runs parallel with the 
Pittsburg & Lake Erie to New Castle Junc- 
tion and to New Castle. 

A road was built from Wilmington Junc- 
tion through New Wilmington to Sharps- 
ville in Mercer County. 

What is called the New Brighton road 
was built from Wampum to New Brighton 
ten or twelve years ago. Immediately upon 
its completion it was leased to the Pennsyl- 
vania Company. 

The New Castle & Shenango Valley Rail- 
road was completed in 1889 from New Cas- 
tle on the east bank of the Shenango River 
northward to Sharon, where it connected 
with the main line of the Erie Railroad, to 
which it was immediately leased. 

The next and last steam railroad to be 
built in Lawrence County was completed 



in 1907 between New Castle and Queen's 
Junction, Pennsylvania. It is an independ- 
ent road and its name is Western Alle- 
gheny Railroad. It starts from East New 
Castle. The stations on this line in Law- 
rence County are: Butler Road, Gibson- 
dale, Princeton, Rose Point and Grant 
City. 

STREET RAILWAY SYSTEM. 

The Mahoning & Shenango Railway & 
Light Company operates the lines of the 
New Castle Electric Street Railway Com- 
pany and the New Castle & Mahoning- 
town Street Railway Company, known as 
the local companies, within the citv; also 
The New Castle & Lowell Railway Com- 
pany, a line extending from New Castle to 
Lowellville in the State of Ohio, where it 
connects with the Mahoning Valley system 
extending to Struthers, Haselton, Youngs- 
town, Niles, Warren and Leavittsburg ; 
and the Sharon & New Castle Street Rail- 
way Company extending from New Castle 
to Hubbard, Ohio, where it connects for 
Youngstown and Sharon with the Youngs- 
town & Sharon Railway Companv. 

The New Castle Electric Street Rail- 
way Company was incorporated Sep- 
tember 28, 1889, and lines were imme- 
diately constructed on Washington 
Street and South Mill Street. The 
New Castle & Mahoningtown Street 
Railway Company was incorporated Aug- 
ust 4, 1896, and a line soon after built from 
Mahoningtown (then a borough) into the 
city. The New Castle Traction Company 
was incorporated January 12, 1897, and 
leased the tracks of the two street railway 
companies and in that and the following 
year extended other lines throughout the 
city. About the same time the land com- 
prising Cascade Park, lying three miles 
from the central part of the city, was pur- 
chased by the company, improved and 
fitted up as a park and the street railway 
lines extended to it. 

In 1902 the New Castle & Lowell Rail- 
way Company was incorporated and its 



AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 



49 



line constructed. About the same time the 
Pennsylvania and Mahoning Valley Rail- 
\ray Company was incoi'ijorated for the 
purpose of operating the two street rail- 
way companies and the interurban com- 
pany as a single system. Subsequently the 
present company, the Mahoning & She- 
nango Railway & Light Company, was in- 
corporated and the lines of all the other 
companies, including the Sharon & New 
Castle Street Railway Company, were 
leased to it. 

The rate of fare is five cents with uni- 
versal transfers within the city. The local 
lines constitute practically a double track 
system throughout the city. 

The officers of the company are: Presi- 
dent, E. N. Sanderson, New York City; 
general manager, M. E. McCaskey, 
Youngstown ; superintendent, W. C. Smith, 
New Castle. 

The power plant of the Mahoning & 
Shenango Valley Railway & Light Com- 
pany was built in 1895 on North Street by 
the New Castle Electric Company. Their 
equipment then was five 150-11. P. Buckeye 
engines, driving three 80-light Wood arc 
machines, two 75-K. W. single-phase alter- 
nations, one 75-K. W. D. C. power gener- 



ator, and two 200-H.P. boilers. Since that 
time the plant has been enlarged by the in- 
stallation of two 250-K. W. engine-driven 
railwaj' generators ; one 300-K. W. engine- 
driven railway generator; two 1,000-K. W. 
Parsons steam turbine; two 75-K. W. en- 
gine-driven exciters ; one 500-K. AY. rail- 
way motor generator set ; one 200-K. W. 
railway motor generator set ; one complete 
Albergen surface condensing plant; five 
250-H. P. water tube boilers. To replace 
two 200-H. P. boilers, one 500-H. P. boiler 
has been installed with all the auxiliary 
machinery for boiler feeding, etc., together 
with all necessary switch equipment for 
handling all the machinery. The latter is 
now five hundred times larger than the 
original switchboard. The plant is installed 
in a brick building 150x95 feet in dimen- 
sions. 

The Pittsburg, Harmony, Butler & New 
Castle Railway Company, an interurban 
line extending from New Castle to Pitts- 
burg, was opened to regular travel July 
23, 1908. This line extends from Pittsburg 
Street in New Castle to Ellwood City, Ze- 
lienople. Harmony and Butler, and will 
soon extend to Pittsburg. The president 
of this company is R. H. Boggs, Pittsburg. 



CHAPTER V 



NEW CASTLE THE VILLAGE AND BOROUGH 



Indian Proprietors — First White Settlers — Wild Game — Early Merchants and Millers 
— First Death — Early Justices — First Postoffices — Early Churches — Gillespie's 
Addition — Netv Castle in 1813 — Early Bridges — Amusements — Pioneer Costume — 
Neiv Castle Made a Borough — The Town Re-surveyed — Some Notable Improve- 
ments — F'irst Fire Company — Netv Castle in 1840 — First Steps Toivard Banking — 
The Netv County — First Courts — Court-House — Netv Military Companies — Ex- 
ports in 1853 — Hard Times in 1855 — Description of Netv Castle in 1858 — Bur- 
gesses of West New Castle. 



INDIAN PEOPEIETOKS. 

Before the advent of the white settlers 
in this region the ground where New Castle 
now stands was occupied by a tribe of the 
Delaware (or Lenape) Indians, ruled over 
by a powerful chief or "king." He was 
called in the native tongue Pack-an-ka, who 
is thought to be identical with the "King 
Beaver" mentioned by some of the white 
adventurers. We thus find him alluded to 
by Christian Frederick Post, in the journal 
which he kept of his adventures among the 
natives in this vicinity in 1758, when he 
was sent on a mission of peace in advance 
of General Forbes' army. 

But though inhabited by the Delawares, 
this region was practically under the dom- 
ination of the Iroquois (Meng-we), or "Six 
Nations," long the formidable rivals of 
the Delawares, and whom De Witt Clinton 
called the "Romans of America." 

The Iroquois possessed an intelligence 
superior to that of most of the Indian 
tribes. This was exemplified in the famous 
league, or confederation, between the five 
tribes of New York — the Onondagas, Sen- 
ecas, Cayugas, Mohawks, and Oneidas 
(long known as the Five Nations), which 



was etfected about the middle of the Fif- 
teenth Century by Hiawatha, a sagacious 
chief of the Onondagas, and the subject of 
Longfellow's poem of that name. Says 
Horatio Hale, in his book entitled "The 
Iroquois Book of Rites " : " The system he 
devised was not to be a loose or transitoiy 
league, but a permanent government. 
While each nation was to retain its own 
council and management of local affairs, 
the general control was to be lodged in a 
federal senate, composed of representa- 
tives to be elected by each nation, holding 
office during good behavior, and acknowl- 
edged as ruling chiefs throughout the 
whole confederacy. Still further and more 
remarkable, the federation was not to be 
a limited one ; it was to be indefinitely ex- 
pansible. The avowed design o*f its pur- 
poser was to abolish tear altogether. That 
this far-sighted and beneficent plan failed 
of its ultimate object was due less to any 
inherent defects than to the fact that the 
said object was too far advanced for the 
comprehension of those for whose benefit 
it was designed. Though retaining its 
governmental value in the regulation of 
tribal affairs, the league was soon per- 



AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 



51 



verted into a means of conquest and ag- 
gression, until the name of Iroquois be- 
came a terror to all the surrounding 
nations. It included, besides the five New 
York tribes above mentioned, some por- 
tions of the Neutral. Nation, and, at a 
later date, the Tuscaroras, who, about 
1712, were driven from North Carolina 
by the British, the confederations after 
this time being known as the "Six Na- 
tions." It was to these tribes that the 
name Iroquois was applied by the early 
French and English settlers. The partic- 
ular tribe who were nominal masters of 
the immediate region comprising north- 
western Pennsylvania, and having their 
council-seat at or near the present city of 
Buffalo, was the Seneca. But various 
tribes and fragments of other nations were 
dwelling in the same locality: Senecas, Del- 
awares, Munseys, Shawnese, etc., etc., liv- 
ing quietly and peaceably together and oc- 
cupying the same hunting and fishing 
grounds in connnon. Two villages of the 
Lenape or Delawares were in this locality : 
one at the mouth of the Mahoning River, 
called Kas-kas-kunk; the other upon the 
site of New Castle, and called New Kas- 
kas-kunk, the latter town being the capital 
of Pack-an-ka. 

FIRST WHITE SETTLERS. 

Early in the season of 1798 John Car- 
lysle Stewart, with two brothers-in-law, 
John and Hugh Wood, and John McWlior- 
ter — all from the neighborhood of New 
Castle, Delaware — together located on thp 
ground where New Castle now stands. 
This portion of the country was mostly sur- 
veyed into what were known as "donation 
lands" (described in the third chapter of 
this work), the line between the original 
counties of Beaver and Mercer being the 
boundary between the first and second 
"donation" districts. South of this line 
was the first, and north of it was the sec- 
ond district. 

A previous description of this territory 
reads as follows: "Commencing at the 



northwest corner of lot No. 88 of these 
lands, the line of survey made an obtuse 
angle to the northeastward across lot 89, 
thence across lot 90 it ran almost exactly 
northeast, and from thence, at the south- 
west corner of lot No. 1953, it ran straight 
east beyond the Neshannock Creek. This 
deviation in the south line of the second 
district (due to imperfect surveying) left 
a strip commencing at a point two miles 
west of New Castle, and widening until it 
reached the Shenango River at a spot a 
little below the bridge on Grant Street. At 
this place the gore was about ninety rods 
in width, and continued the same eastward 
to the present city limits. This gore was 
called a 'vacancy.' There is considerable 
diversity of opinion regarding the amount 
and location of lands purchased by Stew- 
art, but there is no doubt he owned all of 
the 'vacancy' lying between the Shenango 
River and Neshannock Creek, and his pui-- 
chase most probably extended eastward for 
some distance beyond the creek, perhaps 
far enough to cover altogether about 400 
acres. That portion lying west of the She- 
nango River, amounting to 117 acres and 
38 poles, was taken by Cornelius Hendrick- 
son. Lot No. 89, lying a little northwest 
of Sankey's addition to New Castle, was 
taken by Joseph and Samuel Cox; No. 90, 
lying immediately east of Cox, and running 
across the river, was taken by Samuel Mc- 
Cleary; lot No. 1953, lying next east of 
McCleary, Crawford Wliite settled on; lot 
No. 1951, next east of Crawford 'White, was 
taken by Henry Falls. The 'vacancy' oc- 
cupied by Stewart was south of ^Tiite's 
and Falls' land. The original town-plot, 
comprising about fiftv acres, was laid out 
by John Carlysle Stewart, in April, 1798, 
as appears by the records of Mercer 
County. At that date the territory was 
within the limits of Allegheny County, 
which extended northwards to the lake. 

"The plan of the new town was a very 
good one, lying with the cardinal points 
of the compass (or nearly so), and having 
wide, straight streets and an open market- 



52 



HISTORY OF LAWRENCE COUNTY 



place, 440 by 190 feet in the center, since 
curiously called 'the Diamond.' Mercer 
County was erected March 12, 1800, and 
the soiith line of this county was also the 
southern boundary of the town. 

"Stewart and McAATiorter were both 
practical surveyors, but the latter, on ac- 
coimt of having the best instruments, made 
the survey and laid out the new citJ^ When 
the plot was completed it was unanimously 
named Neiv Castle, in honor of the chief 
town of the State from whence they came. 

' ' The town was bounded on the north by 
a line running east and west through the 
center of the blocks lying next north of 
North Street, from the left bank of the 
Shenango River eastward to Apple Alley, 
thence south to the Neshannock Creek; 
thence west along the line afterwards di- 
viding Beaver and Mercer Counties to the 
Shenango River; thence northerly along 
the river to the place of beginning. 

' ' The site of the town was a sort of glade 
or open bottom, destitute of large timbers, 
but covered with a dense growth of grass 
and hazel bushes. Along the Neshannock 
was a thicket of wild plum and crabapple 
trees, and here and there scattered over 
the plot were clumps and clusters of black 
and jack oaks. According to the best au- 
thority we have been able to obtain, a large 
share of the lots in the new town were dis- 
posed of by lottery, most probably at sev- 
eral different times, for when first laid out 
there were not people enough to have made 
it profitable. Lotteries were quite common 
and popular in those days, and even reli- 
gious societies did not scruple to raise 
funds by means of them. ' ' 

John Carlysle Stewart owned the land 
upon which the town was laid out and it is 
probable that he erected the first cabin in 
New Castle. This cabin, built of roimd 
logs, stood near what is now known as the 
Falls spring; and ]\Ir. Stewart was resid- 
ing there as late as 1810, after which he 
seems to have changed his place of abode, 
and, according to some accounts, removed 



to land owned by him on the east side of 
the Neshannock. 

He was of Scotch-Irish descent, and was 
a large, raw-boned man, quite well edu- 
cated, somewhat aristocratic in his man- 
ners, and averse to hard labor. He was 
said to have been born near Philadelphia, 
and to have lived in his younger days near 
New Castle, Delaware. The date of his 
birth is supposed to have been about 1765, 
as a daughter of his, who in the late seven- 
ties was residing in the State of Indiana, 
thought he was about ten years old at the 
breaking out of the Revolutionary War. 
His father, Robert Stewart, was a major 
in the American Army during the war and 
possibly the son, John C, may have lo- 
cated land upon a warrant drawn by the 
elder Stewart for military service. Old 
citizens of New Castle, who were living 
some years ago, claimed that John C. Stew- 
art was the first Justice of the Peace, which 
is not at all improbable. At all events 
there is documentary evidence to prove 
that he was holding the office in 1807. 

Stewart was engaged in various enter- 
prises during his stay in New Castle. He 
was connected with other parties, as early 
as 1803-04, in the erection of a grist and 
saw mill, on the Neshannock, at the Devil's 
Elbow, and about 1810-11, in company with 
one Wilkins, changed his grist mill into 
a forge for the manufacture of iron in 
Western Pennsylvania. It would appear 
that he eventually became badly involved 
financially, and gradually lost all his prop- 
erty in and around New Castle, and was 
even reduced so much as to be forced to 
teach school for a livelihood. It is con- 
ceded that his personal appearance, which, 
as before remarked, was slovenly, and his 
lazy habits, had much to do with his mis- 
fortunes. It is said that he abandoned 
his unsold lots in New Castle and they 
were afterwards sold for taxes. "Wlien he 
sold John Elliott the water-power on the 
Neshannock, about 1800, he probably sold 
with it quite a tract of land. Elliott sold 



AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 



53 



to Vaneman, and he, in turn, perhaps, sold 
to Gillespie, or to Gillespie and Chenowith. 
Gillespie's addition to New Castle was laid 
out in 1811, on lands which were a part 
of the "vacancy" at first purchased by 
Stewart. 

Stewart had one son, named John, and 
four or five daughters, one of whom mar- 
ried while they lived in New Castle. John 
died in Ohio, unmarried, and the girls mar- 
ried and scattered in various directions 
after the removal of the family to Ohio. 
Stewart's wife was a Wood, a sister of 
John and Hugh Wood, before mentioned. 

Joseph Townsend, Jr., came to this vi- 
cinity very soon after Stewart, and built 
a log cabin near where the old Dickson 
tannery was afterwards located. 

Another early comer, William Munnel, 
a blacksmith, put up his cabin on the 
ground now occupied by Shaw & W^adding- 
ton's iron foundiy. It was a long build- 
ing, built of logs, and divided into three 
compartments — a dwelling at one end, a 
horse stable in the middle, and a black- 
smith's shop in the other end. His wife's 
name was Lena Hendrickson, she being a 
daughter of Cornelius Hendrickson, Sr. 
Miinnel was a curious character. He 
claimed to be a Christian and always had 
family worship. But he had a habit of 
profanity, which he ai^parently could not 
overcome, and it is said that, if excited, 
he would stop suddenly in the midst of a 
prayer and curse roundly, and then finish 
his prayer as calmly as if nothing serious 
had happened. 

John Watson, from Penn's Valley, Pa., 
also came some time during 1798, and built 
a cabin across the street, east from Mun- 
nel's. 

Cornelius Hendrickson and Daniel Hen- 
drickson, father and son, built two cabins 
on the west bank of the Shenango, in the 
present township of Union. They also es- 
tablished a ferry over the Shenango at 
what is now the west end of North street. 
Thomas, another son of Cornelius Hen- 



drickson, settled in what is now Taylor 
Township, and his son, Cornelius, Jr., set- 
tled east of New Castle on land purchased 
of Stewart. 

Jesse Du Shane came to Beaver from 
the State of Delaware in 1802. In the fall 
of the same year he settled in New Castle, 
and built a cabin. His wife was Lydia 
Zanes, daughter of Joseph Townsend, Sr. 
The family took up their residence in their 
new home in February, 1803, making the 
journey from Beaver to New Castle in 
a large canoe belonging to David Hendrick- 
son, and being accompanied by Joseph 
Townsend, Sr., and a well known Indian, 
Har-the-gig, who helped to navigate the 
canoe. About the year 1806 Mr. Du Shane 
built a new house of hewed logs, which 
stood on the lot just north of the two-story 
brick building on the northwest corner of 
Washington Street and "the Diamond." 
His lot extended north to the alley. The 
building was about equal to three ordinary 
houses in those days. The same year he 
rented one of the rooms to Joseph T. Boyd, 
who opened a general store, and after- 
wards admitted John Wilson as a partner. 
Jesse Du Shane died in New Castle, Jan- 
uary 1, 1866, at the ripe old age of ninety- 
five years and one month. His wife died 
in 1855, aged eighty-four years. 

In 1803, came Joseph Townsend, Sr., 
a saddjer, with his sons, John and Isaac. 
The two sons learned the hatter's trade 
of Thomas Evans, their brother-in-law, at 
Sharon, Beaver County. "V\lien they be- 
came of age they started the business in 
New Castle, and were the next to open a 
shop after Isaac Jones, who was the first 
hatter, having commenced business about 
1805. The Townsends probably com- 
menced about 1806-08. The old gentleman 
lived in a house which his son, Joseph, 
built for him, for some years. In his old 
age he lived with his other sons until his 
death, which took place about 1825. The 
second daughter of Joseph Townsend, Sal- 
ly, married Thomas Evans, of Sharon, 



54 



HISTORY OF LAWRENCE COUNTY 



Beaver County, aud the third daughter, 
Elizabeth, married William Van Zant 
Smith, who died in Ohio. 

Jared and Robert Irwin, James Rey- 
nolds, Nicholas Vaneman and Benjamin 
and John Elliott, all settled in New Castle 
previous to, or about, 1800. 

Among other very early settlers were 
John Wilson, and two brothers by the name 
of Sampson. There was also Andrew 
Noble, who came to New Castle about ISOO, 
and who was famed far and wide as a 
great hunter. He built a cabin on what 
was later the Falls estate, near the brow 
of the hill. He was the owner of a mon- 
strous long and heavy rifle, carrj^ing thir- 
ty-two balls to the pound. This rifle he 
was aftei-wards obliged to forfeit on a 
debt to Mr. Crawford ^Vliite, who called 
the gun "Andy." It was a fine weapon, 
but carried so heavy a charge that it was 
a rather expensive one to use. As the boys 
said, you couldn't afford to miss your aim 
with it. 

Mr. White, who came from Cumberland 
County, Pa., settled on lot No. 1953 of the 
"Donation Lands," immediately north of 
Stewart's purchase, in 1804. After stay- 
ing in New Castle for about two years, 
he went back to Cumberland County and 
married, in 1806. Returning to New Castle 
he at once entered into the active pur- 
suits of life. During the War of 1812-15, 
he went to Erie — probably in 1813 — as a 
member of Captain Fisher's company, 
raised in and around New Castle. In 1818 
he erected a grist mill and a saw mill (both 
fi'ame buildings) on or near the ground 
where Raney's grist and flour mill now 
stands. John Tidball was the first miller, 
and operated the mill for Mr. Wliite. The 
old gentleman died about the year 1834. 
His wife died in January, 1875, at the great 
age of ninety-seven years. 

John Elliott had the honor of erecting 
the first grist mill in New Castle, which 
he did about the year 1800. It was situ- 
ated on the west bank of the Neshannock 



Creek, near where the Episcopal Church 
now stands. It was built, no doubt, of 
logs, and probably contained one run of 
"Laural Hill" stones. The mill was in 
constant use until October, 1803, when it 
was partially destroyed, but whether by 
fire or flood, tradition saith not — most 
likely bj^ flood. Previous to its erection 
people were obliged to take their grain 
down the Beaver River, in canoes, to Beav- 
er Falls, and bring it back by the same con- 
veyance, or take it on horseback to Allen's 
mill on Slippery Rock Creek, in Wayne 
Township. After the partial destruction of 
his mill, Elliott sold out to Nicholas Vane- 
man, who i-epaired it and put it in opera- 
tion. 

John and Hugh Wood, previously men- 
tioned as the brothers-in-law and compan- 
ions of John C. Stewart, remained in New 
Castle xmtil about 1821 to 1823, when they 
left with Stewart and settled in Holmes 
County, Ohio, at Millersburg, where he 
died. It is said by some authorities that 
Stewart was elected to the Legislature of 
Ohio, and was nominated for a second term 
but was defeated by his shabby appear- 
ance, as he was a man of slovenly habits. 
Others say he was beaten the first time, for 
the same reason, and did not run again. 

John McWhorter, who laid out the town 
for Stewart, soon after returned East. He 
was of a speculative turn, and bought and 
sold lands, and frequently visited West- 
ern Pennsylvania, but eventually died near 
where he came from, in Delaware. 

WILD GAME, ETC. 

Rattlesnakes were very plentiful when 
New Castle was first settled, but these 
pests rapidly disappeared, and for many 
years a rattlesnake has been as great a 
curiosity in New Castle as an African 
lion. 

Large gray wolves were also numerous 
in those daj's, and howled nightly on the 
hills surrounding the town. They came 
careering over the hills and through the 



AND EEPEESENTATIVE CITIZENS 



55 



valleys in ravenous packs, and the unlucky 
sheep or pig that got in their way was 
devoured iu a moment. 

Deer and black bears were also very 
common. The last bear seen in the place 
was killed by Daniel Hendrickson, Joseph 
Townsend and Jesse Du Shane, in 1S04. It 
is said that it weighed 400 pounds. 

EAELY MEECHANTS, MrLLEKS, ETC. 

The first store in New Castle was opened 
by Joseph Townsend, Jr., one of the ener- 
getic and progressive settlers of the place, 
who built a double log cabin on the north- 
west corner of North and Shenango 
Streets, aboiit the year 1800. In this build- 
ing he commenced the mercantile business, 
and also opened a tavern. After a few 
years Townsend sold out his store to one 
Patrick Wilson, who enlarged and im- 
proved the business and conducted it on 
something like true mercantile principles. 
About the time that Townsend sold his 
store he put a small tannery in operation, 
which he soon after sold to William Dick- 
son. In 1803, in company with James Rey- 
nolds (and some accounts say also with 
John Carlysle Stewart), as a partner, he 
built a grist and saw mill at the head of 
the narrows on the Neshannock, which was 
run for a time, and sold to Stewart, or to 
Stewart and Wilkins, who, about 1811, 
changed it to a forge for the manufacture 
of iron. 

Joseph Townsend, Jr., died, it is thought, 
about 1811, much regretted by the citizens, 
as he had greatly helped in the develop- 
ment of the place and was an upright busi- 
ness man. At some period during his busi- 
ness operations, he erected on the south- 
west corner of North and Mercer Streets, 
a log cabin which Arthur Chenowith fa- 
cetiously named "Pokeberry Exchange," 
on accoiant of its peculiar color. Patrick 
Wilson continued the mercantile business 
for some time at Townsend 's old stand, 
but later removed to the "Diamond." 
Townsend 's double log cabin soon after 
caught fire and was consumed. The spot 



was long afterwards known as "The burnt 
cabins." 

North Street was, for a number of years, 
the main business thoroughfare of the 
town, until gradually business shifted to 
the viciaity of the "Diamond," and from 
thence, in course of time, eastward to that 
portion of Washington Street lying be- 
tween the "Diamond" and the Neshan- 
nock bridge. 

Another of the early settlers who de- 
serves mention was John Wilson, who came 
previous to 1803. He was accidentally 
killed on the day that RejTiolds and Town- 
sends' mill was raised, under the follow- 
ing circmnstances : He had been to Thom- 
as Hendrickson 's distillery and was re- 
turning with a cart and yoke of oxen, hav- 
ing, among other things, a barrel of whisky 
in the cart. On the way back, for some 
reason, his oxen became frightened and 
ran away, upsetting the cart and throw- 
ing Mr. Wilson out, and the barrel of 
whisky falling upon him killed him instant- 
ly. He was the father of Captain James 
Wilson, well and favorably known as an 
influential citizen of Lawrence County. 

Cornelius Hendrickson, as before stated, 
settled on the west side of the Shenango 
Eiver, near the present site of the glass 
works. His son, Daniel, lived farther down 
the river. Cornelius Hendrickson made 
claim, in 1798, of all the gore known as 
the "vacancy," lying west of the Shenan- 
go Eiver, which contained over 117 acres 
of land. He had merely squatted on it. 
He appears to have had a sort of certificate 
of pre-emption to something over fifty 
acres of it, issued in 1800. It is probable 
that his son, Oakey Hendrickson, obtained 
possession of one-half of the whole claim, 
for we find that in 1818 George McDowell, 
said to have been a son-in-law of Oakey, 
and Ebenezer Byers, came into possession 
of it and made an equitable division, after- 
wards obtaining a patent for the whole. 
Cornelius Hendrickson was something of 
a practitioner of medicine, and was given, 
by courtesy, the title of "Doctor." His 



56 



HISTORY OF LAWEENCE COUNTY 



remedies were derived largely from among 
the roots and herbs of the country, and 
he is said to have been an excellent nurse. 
He is also credited with some slight knowl- 
edge of surgery. He had a good deal of 
the character of Daniel Boone in his com- 
position, not liking the restraints of civili- 
zation, and when New Castle began to as- 
sume the appearance of a town he quietly 
departed for a newer country in the West. 
He had four sons, Oakey, Daniel, Thomas 
and Cornelius, Jr. Oakey removed about 
1820 to Lancaster County, Pennsylvania. 
Daniel was associated with his father in 
the ferry, which they established on the 
Shenango when they first arrived in New 
Castle. "He seems to have had charge of it 
and operated it for some years. He used 
a "dug-oiit," or large canoe, for ferrying 
passengers and freight, and sometimes 
made trips down the river. Daniel accu- 
mulated some property and undertook to 
enlarge his sphere of usefulness. At one 
time he entered into a contract to construct 
a dam on the Neshannock, on the site of 
the old Elliott- Vaneman dam, but before 
it was completed a sudden flood carried it 
all away and with it a large share of Hen- 
drickson's hard earnings. "He was the 
father of a nimierous family, principally 
daughters, and many of the most respect- 
able families of the communitj^ are con- 
nected with the famous squatter familv of 
1798." 

Thomas Hendrickson settled near the 
present site of Mahoningtown, where he 
operated a primitive distillery, which busi- 
ness was then as legitimate and respect- 
able as any other vocation. It is said that 
he was something of a hunter, and could 
bring in as manjr wolf-scalps for the 
bounty as "any other man." He died in 
Plaingrove Township about 1830. Corne- 
lius Hendrickson, of whom we have little 
knowledge, emigrated with his father to 
Ohio, where they both died at an advanced 
age. 

The second hotel, or, rather, tavern, in 
New Castle was opened in the hewed-log 



building erected by Jesse Du Shane in 1806, 
a little north from Washington Street, in 
the northwest angle of the "Diamond," 
and was called the "New Tavern." Joseph 
T. Boyd kept a store in one room of this 
building. This hostelry had the first regu- 
lar tavern sign ever seen in New Castle. 
It was decorated with seven stars, and 
surmounted with three wooden figures, dex- 
terously turned in imitation of a pint and 
a half-pint bottle, and a gill measure which 
stood beside the bottle. It is said that 
on the day on which this sign was raised 
there was a grand horse-race, free to all 
comers, and the rider who came in last 
treated the crowd. 

Mr. Boyd's business increasing rapidly, 
Mr. Du Shane built for his use another log 
building, west of the corner of Washing- 
ton Street. Here Boyd continued his busi- 
ness until it again outgrew the building 
in which it was located, when he and John 
Wilson formed a partnership and the new 
firm erected a building of logs on the north- 
east corner of the lot now occupied by the 
Disciples' Church, where they opened the 
largest general stock of goods that, up to 
that time, had ever been seen in New 
Castle. No doubt there was great excite- 
ment among the good wives of New Castle 
on the opening day. 

When Nicholas Vaneman purchased the 
grist mill of John Elliott in the fall of 1803 
he also purchased in connection therewith 
100 acres of land lying between New Castle 
and Croton. After he had operated the 
mill for some time, it was jDartially de- 
stroyed by a flood, the dam being almost 
totally destroyed. A few remains of it 
were visible more than fifty years after its 
destruction. 

Previous histories narrate an interest- 
ing and tragic incident in connection with 
Vaneman 's misfortune, which is worth pre- 
serving. The miller whom Vaneman em- 
ployed to run his mill was a man named 
Crane, who was naturally a little anxious 
about the property. Being on the groimd 
on the day when the great ice-flood came 



AND EEPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 



57 



tumbling and rolling down the creek, he 
was standing near the old-fashioned tub- 
wheel, and peering into the mill to see what 
damage had been done, when a sudden rush 
of ice made everything crack around him. 
Eagerly bending forward and pointing 
with his finger toward the impending 
wreck, he exclaimed : ' ' The old mill is all 

gone to h 1 ! " In his excitement he lost 

his balance and fell into the wheel, which 
was in rapid motion, and was killed. His 
body was soon after recovered and laid 
out in one corner of the mill, which, after 
all the apparent danger, was only injured 
to a small extent. After his remains were 
laid out, a watch-dog was placed inside 
as a guard, the mill was locked, and the 
corpse left until the next morning. It is 
said that Vaneman would on no account 
consent to have the dead body in his dwell- 
ing. Crane, it appears, had no I'elatives, 
at least not in this portion of the country, 
and so all that he possessed was buried 
with him. This consisted of the clothes 
he wore, a pocket knife, a pipe and tobacco 
and a few pieces of silver, amounting to 
between $1 and $2. His remains were 
placed in a rough box of oaken boards, and 
buried on the summit of Shaw's hill. There 
was no burial ground at the spot chosen, 
but as the only burial place was on the 
west side of the Shenango, and unap- 
proachable by reason of the flood (there 
being then no bridges over the stream), 
his remains were interred in the most suit- 
able place they could find, under the cir- 
cumstances. The place has no stone to 
mark it, and the locality is known to very 
few ])eople. This incident occurred, prob- 
ably, in 1807. 

' ' About the year 1808 Vaneman sold his 
mill, water-power and land to James Gil- 
lespie, and removed to what is now Wayne 
Township, then in Beaver County, and lo- 
cated about a mile east of Chewton, where 
he built a frame grist and saw mill, and 
put a set of carding machines in his grist 
mill, in addition. The mills were situated 
on a small run that discharges into Beaver 



Biver. The amount of water was quite in- 
significant, Ijut there was a fall of some 
eighteen feet, and, with an overshot wheel, 
equal in diameter to the height of the fall, 
the power was sufficient for his purposes. 
]\lr. Vaneman died on the 2-i:th of April, 
1832. He was of German descent, and was 
born in Washington County, Pennsylvania. 
He was twice married, and was the father 
of sixteen children." 

FIRST DEATH IN NEW CASTLE. 

The first death in New Castle was that 
of the little daughter of William McComb, 
about 1802-03. Her remains were placed 
in a coffin made of oak boards, which were 
fastened together with wooden pins, it be- 
ing before the days of nails. The cofiBn 
was conveyed in John Wilson's ox-cart to 
the first burying ground in the place, ad- 
joining what is now Greenwood Cemetery. 
The first coffin was made by Jesse Du 
Shane. 

The first adult who died in the place was 
probably the same John Wilson whose cart 
transported the remains of Mr. McComb 's 
little girl to their last resting-place. As 
before stated, Mr. Wilson was accidentally 
Idlled by being thrown from his cart on. 
the day Re\Tiolds and Townsend's mill was 
raised, in 1803-04. 

One of the early settlers in New Castle, 
coming about 1805, was John Gormly, a 
shoemaker by profession, described by Mr. 
Penn as a "low, thick-set, middle-aged 
man," who had a very large and muscular 
woman for his wife. He built a cabin of 
I'ound logs on the southeast corner of 
Washington Street and the "Diamond." 
It is related of him that on the day in 
which his cabin was raised, having gone 
where his children were piling and burn- 
ing brush and rubbish, and while engaged 
in giving orders about the work, his wife 
came up behind and lifting him in her 
brawny arms threw him on a brush pile 
and told one of the children to bring some 
fire and they would burn all the trash to- 
gether. 



HISTOEY OF LAWEENCE COUNTY 



Another anecdote illustrates the love of 
practical joking which prevailed among 
the people of those times. On a certain 
day, in the year 1806, Gormly went into 
Crawford White's store on North Street 
to make some purchases; among other 
things, he procured some eggs, and, for 
lack of a better place, put them in his 
hat. Stepping out upon the street with 
the hat upon his head he was approached 
by John Carlysle Stewart, who mashed his 
hat over his eyes, and then suddenly, be- 
fore Gormly could wipe the streaming con- 
tents of the eggs from his face, disappeared 
around the corner. Stewart afterwards 
paid Gormly all damages. 

Prominent men in those days did not 
scruple to borrow wood from a neighbor 
(coal was then unknown), and especially 
if he had it all nicely prepared for the 
fire. It was also customary to watch when- 
ever a neighbor killed a pig, and, if he left 
it out after dark, to go and quietly "bor- 
row" it. Sometimes the stolen property 
was returned, but often the loser never 
saw anything more of it. He took good 
care, however, to revenge himself at the 
first opportunity upon the luckless neigh- 
bor who accidentally left anything ex- 



In addition to those already mentioned, 
another prominent citizen of New Castle 
in early days was John Wilson, a partner 
in the mercantile business with Joseph T. 
Boyd. He must not be confounded with 
the man of the same name who was killed 
aceidentalh^, as before mentioned. It is 
thought that he was in business with Boyd 
for some thirty years; at all events, he 
was long identified with the business of 
New Castle. He was a man of cool and im- 
perturbable temper, very prompt and en- 
ergetic in his business. He expected others 
to be equally prompt with himself and, 
when necessary, he would sue a dozen of 
his debtors at once, as may be seen by 
reference to the old justice "dockets" of 
Arthur Hurry and William Dickson. Not- 
withstanding this, he was kind and chari- 



table to the poor, and accommodated many 
a worthy debtor when in trouble. He was 
successful in his business transactions, and 
acciunulated a handsome property. He 
built the brick building known as the 
"Wilder," on the south side of the "Dia- 
mond," and also the large brick dwelling 
situated on the northwest corner of Wash- 
ington Street and the "Diamond." 

EAKLY JUSTICES. 

As we have before stated, the first jus- 
tice of the peace in New Castle was prob- 
ably John C. Stewart. The second justice 
was Arthur Hurry, an Irishman. He was 
a man of very fair education, but, beyond 
the fact that he served for several years 
as a justice of the peace, we have little 
knowledge of him. 

William Dickson, the father of Isaac and 
John Dickson, was the third justice of the 
peace^ He carried on the business of tan- 
ner for many years in New Castle. 

FIEST POST-OFFICE. 

For several years after the first settle- 
ment of New Castle, the nearest post-office 
was at Fort Mcintosh, on the site of the 
present town of Beaver. The mails were, 
most likely, carried on horseback, as is 
customary in all new countries. The first 
post-office in the little town was established 
in the year 1812, under Mr. Madison's ad- 
ministration, and the first postmaster was 
Joseph T. Boyd. The office was located 
in the new log store built by him and John 
AVilson, on the corner of the lot now oc- 
cupied by the Disciples' Church. Mr. Boyd 
must have been a very popular postmaster, 
for he held the office from that date until 
about 1838, and afterwards for about eight- 
een months. 

EAELY CHUECHES. 

' ' The Presbji:erians were the pioneer re- 
ligious body in New Castle, erecting the 
first church building here about 1804. Pre- 
vious to that date the congregation had 
worshipped in what was called a 'tent,' 



AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 



59 



which consisted of a board shelter for the 
preachers, and logs in front for the people 
to sit upon. Their first church building 
was of round logs, and stood near the 
present residence of Mr. John T. Phillips, 
and not very far from a spring which still 
bubbles from the hillside. Rev. Alexander 
Cook was the first pastor ordained and in- 
stalled, in 1801. The second church build- 
ing, belonging to the Seceders, was built 
about 1814, and stood at what was then 
the head of Beaver Street, though the 
street has since been extended northward, 
passing directly over the ground occupied 
by the church and burial ground. 

"The Methodists were the third congre- 
gation to erect a church building in New 
Castle, which they did about 1815 or 1816, 
on the ground now occupied by St. Jo- 
seph's German Catholic Church, on South 
Jetferson Street. There is some difference 
of opinion regarding the time this church 
was erected. Seth Rigby, a former resi- 
dent of Shenango Township, said he hewed 
the logs for it before he entered the army, 
which he did in 1814. Joseph Justice said 
there was no church erected when he left 
the town in 1815. It is probable that both 
of these gentlemen were right. Mr. Eigby 
might have hewed the logs and they may 
have lain a year or two on the ground be- 
fore the church was erected." 

The town grew very slowly and, conse- 
quently, the price of real estate kept a cor- 
responding pace. In 1806, eight years after 
the place was laid out, it is said the best 
lot in New Castle could have been bought 

for TEN DOLLARS. 

Alexander Boyles, a blacksmith, did 
actually purchase the whole square, bound- 
ed on the west by Beaver Street and on 
the north by North Street, for $10. As late 
as 1825, John Reed sold a lot on Mercer 
Street to Thomas Rigby for $30. 

Gillespie's addition. 
In November, 1811, James Gillespie laid 
out an addition to New Castle, consisting 
of thirty lots, and bounded by Washington 



Street on the south, by East Street on the 
east, by Apple Alley on the west, and ex- 
tending to the foot of the hill on the north. 
This addition was probably on land bought 
of Nicholas Vaneman, and formerly a part 
of John Carlysle Stewart's original pur- 
chase. 

NEW CASTLE IN 1813. 

The following is a list of the more promi- 
nent citizens of New Castle in 1813 : John 
C. Stewart, Joseph T. Boyd, John Wilson, 
Arthur Chenowith, Jesse Du Shane, Rob- 
ert Wallace, John Frazier, Burton Rust, 
Alexander Hawthorne, Michael Carman, 
James Gillespie, William Dickson, Arthur 
Hurry, Samuel McCleaiy, James Dunlap. 
Dr. Alexander Gillfillan, Crawford White, 
David "Wliite, Philip Painter, Alexander 
Boyles, Isaac Jones, James M. Cunning- 
ham, Daniel Hendrickson, Joseph Thorn- 
ton, Samuel Pershall, Arthur G. Long, 
John B. Pearson, John Hull, John Downey, 
Elijah Parr, Jacob Quest, John Gormly 
and William Cox. In the same year Hon. 
James McClane and Joseph Justice also 
settled in New Castle. At that date there 
were four mercantile houses in the place, 
to-wit : One owned by Joseph T. Boyd and 
John Wilson, situated on the northeast 
corner of the lots now occupied by the 
Disciples ' Church ; one belonging to Sam- 
uel Parshall, situated on the north side of 
the same lots; one by Arthur G. Long, 
on the south side of the "Diamond," and 
one by John B. Pearson, situated on the 
east side of Jefferson Street, not far from 
the present site of the United Presbyterian 
Church. 

There were three hotels, or "taverns," 
as they were then called, in New Castle, 
two of them being log buildings. One known 
as the "Pokeberry Exchange," and stood 
on the corner of North and Mercer Streets ; 
another, kept by Arthur Chenowith, was 
in the "Old Stone Comer," on the "Dia- 
mond"; the third, situated in a log build- 
ing, on the subsequent site of Clendenin's 
Block, was kept by Robert Wallace. 



60 



HISTORY OF LAWRENCE COUNTY 



Arthur Clienowith came from Virginia 
to New Castle about the year 1810, he 
bringing with him the first colored man 
ever seen in the place. Mr. Chenowith 
lived, for a short time after he came to 
New Castle, in a log house on the hillside, 
a little distance west of what is now called 
Shaw's Hill. In 1812 he built the "old 
stone corner" on Jefferson Street and the 
"Diamond," in which he subsequently con- 
ducted a hotel until his death, about 1826. 

The trades and occupations of the prin- 
cipal citizens were as follows: William 
Dickson was a tanner; John C. Stewart a 
speculator and manufacturer ; Samuel Mc- 
Cleary a stonemason ; Philip Painter a cab- 
inet-maker; James D. Cunningham a 
shingle-maker; Alexander Boyles and Eli- 
jah Farr, blacksmiths ; John Hull a wheel- 
wright; John Gormly and John Downey, 
shoemakers; Burton Rust a carpenter; 
Isaac Jones a hatter; Joseph Thornton 
a teacher; Arthur Hurry a justice of the 
peace; Crawford AVhite a farmer; J. T. 
Boyd and John Wilson, merchants; Jesse 
Du Shane a coachmaker, and Chenowith, 
Wallace and Hawthorne, "tavern" keep- 
ers. 

Up to 1813 there were only a few log 
cabins in the portion of New Castle lying 
east of Mercer Street. Of these, three or 
four were in the neighborhood of Shaw's 
Hill, and a few more near Vaneman's grist 
mill. East and south of the Neshannock 
there were no buildings except those of 
David '\^^lite and James Squier, who lived 
about half a mile from the "town." 

"In 1813, the steep river bank on the 
west side of the Shenango, along which 
there is now a good public road, sometimes 
called 'the Narrows,' was so rocky and 
precipitous that it was hardly passable 
for pedestrians. A few years later a path 
was made along which horses could pass, 
but it was several years before a wagon- 
road was constructed. 

"It is said that in the same year there 
was only a cow-path running from the 
'Diamond' eastward to the Neshannock, 



winding among wild crab-apple trees and 
hazel brush. 

' ' The number of buildings in New Castle 
at that date did not exceed thirty. These 
were mostly of logs. The first frame build- 
ing in the town was erected about 1808, on 
Mercer Street, a short distance north of 
Washington Street. It was boarded on the 
outside with shaved clapboards. The sec- 
ond frame building was situated near the 
site of R. M. Allen's present residence. 
The buildings were mostly log structures as 
late as 1817. The population in 1813 was 
probably less than 200. 

EAELY BEIDGES. 

The first bi'idge over the Neshannock 
was constructed about 1814, and was on the 
site of the present iron structure at the 
head of Washington Street. It was a 
wooden rustic bridge. 

The first bridge over the Shenango was 
erected in 1815, subscription papers being 
circulated among the citizens of New Castle 
in December, 1814, for the purpose of 
raising funds to build the same, the sum of 
$705 being raised. 'What the total cost of 
the bridge was, we have no means of know- 
ing. It was also a wooden trestle bridge, 
and perhaps cost about the amount of sub- 
scriptions. It was built by a man named 
Kirk. 

In 1812 the town of New Castle had 
gro-n-n to such importance that the gov- 
ernment established a post-office, and the 
Hon. Gideon Granger appointed Robert 
Boyd postmaster, which office he held until 
some time during the administration of 
President Van Buren, or about twenty- 
eight years. He also held the office at a 
subsequent period for aboi;t eighteen 
months. Colonel Boyd, who came from 
the Colony of Delaware, was a man pos- 
sessing many rare and excellent qualities. 
He was particularly noted for his gentle- 
manly manners and great goodness of 
heart, never speaking ill of any one. His 
wife, Martha, was the daughter of Joseph 
Thornton. They had a son, Joseph Thorn- 



AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 



61 



ton, -who was born in Chambersburg, Pa., 
in April, 1781. In his later days Colonel 
Boyd united with the First Presbyterian 
Church, under the care of Dr. D. X. Jun- 
kin. He died in the beginning of March, 
1868, aged nearly eighty-seven years. Be- 
tween the years 1832 and 1838, Colonel 
Boyd was one of the directors of the Penn- 
sylvania and Ohio Canal Company. 

"About the year 1807 David White, a 
brother of Crawford White, from Cumber- 
land County, Pennsjdvania, came to New 
Castle and settled on tract No. 55, lying 
south of the Ime between districts one and 
two of 'Donation Lands.' The tract con- 
tained about 200 acres, and included the 
point of land lying between the Shenango 
River and Neshannock Creek, and adjoin- 
ing John C. Stewart's land. Crawford 
AVhite purchased all the land lying in the 
point between the streams, amounting to 
about thirty acres, of his brothers, about 
1815. He also purchased a strip along the 
east side of the Neshannock, sufficient to 
cover the overflow. 

"On the 17th of July, 1817, a tract, 
lying east of the original town plot, and 
including a strip on the east side of the 
Neshannock, was sold at sheriff's sale for 
debt. It contained twenty-six acres and 
twenty-nine perches, and was probably a 
portion of J. C. Stewart's property. Craw- 
ford ^ATiite and Arthur Chenowith pur- 
chased this property in company, and, 
about 1818, built a brush-dam, a few I'ods 
above where the canal-dam now is. In the 
same year White alone, or in company with 
Chenowith, erected mills on the present 
site of Raney's mill. In 1820 Chenowith 
quit-claimed his interest in all the above 
described lands to White. The considera- 
tion which "White and Chenowith paid for 
the twenty-six acres was $650. Crawford 
Wliite, before his death, sold this prop- 
erty to his son, James D., who rebuilt 
the mills, and laid out an addition to the 
town, south of the original plot between the 
rivers, in 1837. All of James D. White's 
property remaining at his death was sold 



to the Etna Iron Company. The canal- 
dam, when built, flooded the old brush- 
dam. ' ' 

At this date one of the oldest living citi- 
zens of New Castle was Joseph Justice, 
who first came to the town in 1813. His 
father, Jacob Justice, was a Revolutionary 
soldier, who had emigrated from Franklin 
County, Pennsylvania, in 1797, intending 
to settle in what afterwards became Law- 
rence County, but through fear of trouble 
with Indians and from other considera- 
tions, located in Washington County for 
two years, when he again started with his 
family, and finally located in what is now 
North Beaver Township, Lawrence Coun- 
ty, on land which he drew for his services 
in the Revolution, remaining there until his 
death, which occurred in 1829. In 1813, 
Joseph, then eighteen years of age, came 
to New Castle to learn the hatter's trade, 
with Isaac Jones, who had been here for 
some eight or ten years. He worked at 
the trade about two years, when he left 
New Castle, and worked in various places 
as a journeyman, and, finally, located in 
Hookston, Washington County, where he 
carried on the business for about two years. 
In 1819 he again came to New Castle, and 
took up his permanent residence here. He 
carried on the business of a hatter for 
many years, until it became unprofitable, 
when he gave it up. 

He held various offices, and was the third 
burgess after the town became a borough, 
about 1827. At the time of his death he 
had attained an advanced age. 

James Cunningham, familiarly known 
as "Uncle Ji mm y," was quite an early set- 
tler. It is said that he was the first owner 
of a frow, a broad-axe and an auger in 
New Castle. He was a shingle-maker by 
trade. Mr. Cunningham served during the 
War of 1812. He married, in 1813, Miss 
Mary A. Cruise, an orphan girl, a native 
of Delaware, who lived in the family of 
Cornelius Hendrickson. She often assist- 
ed at the ferry kept by Mr. Hendrickson, 
crossing in a "dug-out," which was pro- 



62 



HISTOEY OF LAWRENCE COUNTY 



pelled by an oar, or setting-pole, as occa- 
sion required. She was remarkably skill- 
ful, and often crossed when ice was running 
in the stream to a dangerous extent. The 
newly married couple first lived in a log 
house, which is still standing (weather- 
boarded) on the northwest corner of the 
"Diamond." He afterwards built a log 
cabin of his own on the lot now owned by 
the heirs of Webster Justice. 

Robert Wallace, the grandfather of R. 
W. Clendenin, owned, at a very early 
period in the history of New Castle, nearly 
all of the square between Mercer Street 
and the "Diamond," on the north side of 
Washington Street, where for many years 
he kept a hotel in a structure built of 
logs. It' is said that in the rear of this 
"tavern" there was a large yard, to which 
those who had any personal difficulties to 
settle repaired and stripped to the buff, 
and then and there took satisfaction by 
knocking each other down till one of the 
combatants cried "enough!" when they 
shook hands, took a drink, and parted 
"good friends." This practice was quite 
common in the early days of Western Penn- 
sylvania, as indeed it has been in many 
other sections of the country. 

AMUSEMENTS. 

Though livijig imder pioneer conditions 
during the early days of the existence of 
the place, the people of New Castle were 
not devoid of healthful and rational amuse- 
ments. These consisted of log-rollings, 
raisings, wrestling, leaping, running foot- 
races and throwing stones of various 
weights. The log-rollings consisted of all 
the men and boys within a radius of five 
or ten miles getting together and assist- 
ing a settler in hauling and rolling the 
logs together on a newly-cleared piece of 
ground, for the purpose of burning them. 
Every man carried his own dinner, consist- 
ing, generally, of corn bread, bear meat, 
venison, or wild turkey. After the work 
was accomplished the whole party betook 



themselves to some familiar game, which 
they pursued, until "chore time" admon- 
ished them to start each for his cabin, scat- 
tered here and there at long intervals in 
the forest. Many a thrilling adventure 
with the wild denizens of the forest oc- 
curred to them on their homeward paths, 
when they encountered the prowling bear, 
the fierce and dangerous panther, or a 
pack of more dangerous wolves. At log- 
rollings and raisings, the proprietor fur- 
nished nothing but whiskey, which was then 
considered an indispensable article, with- 
out which no outdoor work could be prop- 
erly done. For the female portion of the 
community there were apple-parings, or 
"bees," qiiiltings, dances in the rude log 
cabins, and corn huskings. 

Frequently a quilting was improvised 
on the same day and at the same 
place when the men were having a log- 
rolling; and, in the evening, after the out- 
door work was finished, a jolly time was 
enjoyed around the big old chimney, where 
an immense fire furnished both heat and 
light at the same time. In those early 
days furniture was not as plentiful or as 
costly at at the present day, and frequently 
it happened that there were more young 
men and maidens than there were chairs 
and seats to accommodate them. On oc- 
casions like these, the young men, in the 
intervals of the dance, gallantly sat them- 
selves down on the chairs and stools and 
took each a yoimg lady on his lap, and 
held her until the next dance was called. 

Besides the above mentioned amuse- 
ments, there were rail-splittings and wood- 
choppings, in which the quantity of sturdy 
timber reduced to rails and cord-wood in 
a day would astonish the men of the pres- 
ent generation. The sports and employ- 
ments of those days were calculated to de- 
velop a hardy, enduring type of men and 
women, and, doubtless, some part of the 
vigor and health enjoyed by the present 
generation is due to the hardy and health- 
ful sports and labor of our pioneer an- 



AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 



63 



cestors. As quoted a previous historian 
of this county: 

"They were a Sturdy, rude race and strong — 

Our grandsires and granddames of old — 
And they conquered the forest with song, 
Though the battle was fierce and long, 
And hardships were many and manifold. 

"Per they worked with the vigor of men 
Who came to this forest-clad land 

To win from each valley and glen — 

Though beaten again and again — 
A home for each heart in the band. 

"And they conquered: The forest is gone long ago; 

The wild beast departed in fear; 
The factories smoke in the valley below, 
And the thunder of trafiic goes to and fro. 

Where the savage once hunted the deer." 

PIONEEE COSTUME. 

Previous to the War of 1812, the settlers 
generally wore hunting-shirts made of 
deer-skin, or some durable kind of cloth. It 
had a large cape covering the shoulders, 
and was usually trimmed with fringe. A 
belt was generally worn around the waist, 
in which were inserted the hunting-lmife 
and tomahawk, for these articles were quite 
as commonly carried by the whites as by 
the Indians. The powder-horn was slung 
aroxmd the shoulder. 

NEW CASTLE MADE A BOSOUGH. 

New Castle was made a borough on the 
25th of March, 1825, some twenty-four 
years before the erection of the county. 
"The petition forwarded to the Legisla- 
ture for the erection of the borough, it 
is claimed, contained not only the names 
of all the legal voters in the place, but also 
those of nearly all the boys. The people 
no doubt acted upon the maxim that 'all 
is fair in war,' and left no stone unturned 
which would assist them in the accomplish- 
ment of their object. The population of 
the new borough is not known with any 
degree of certainty, but it did not exceed 
30(5. The first burgess elected was Rob- 
ert McConahy. John Frazier was second, 
and Joseph Justice third. 

"The merchants at that date, as they 
are remembered by the oldest citizens, 



were Joseph T. Boyd, John Wilson, Sam 
uel McCleary, Alexander McConahy and 
John B. Pearson. The hatters were Isaac 
Jones, James Dunlap, William Cox and 
Joseph Justice. The blacksmiths were 
George Myers, John Reed and David Sei- 
bert. Joseph Emery and Matthew Justice 
were carpenters; Thomas Falls and Will- 
iam Dixon, tanners. Michael Carman was 
a tailor; Nathaniel McElevy a shoemaker; 
James Lutton a saddler ; Eli Rigby a wag- 
on-maker. Mr. McElevy was one of the 
earliest shoemakers in New Castle, hav- 
ing commenced the business as early as 
1810." 

THE TOWN" BE-SURVEYED. 

It having been discovered that the town, 
as originally laid out by J. C. Stewart, 
was very imperfectly plotted, a re-survey 
was ordered by the burgess and council, 
about 1826-7. Three leading citizens— Jo- 
seph Justice, Joseph Emery and Nathaniel 
McElevy — were appointed a committee to 
superintend the survey, which ran all the 
lines over, and established permanent corn- 
ers, as far as practicable. 

David Crawford, a printer, came to New 
Castle, from Mercer, in 1825. His widow 
in after years described the appearance of 
the little borough, at that time, as seen 
from a distance, as that of a large meadow 
dotted here and there with sheep-pens. 
"Mercer looked bad enough," she said, 
"but New Castle looked worse!" In De- 
cember, 1826, Mr. Crawford commenced 
the publication of the first paper in New 
Castle. It was a five-column folio, called 
the New Castle Register. Subscription 
price, $2 per year. It was published in 
a room on the first floor of a log house, 
then standing on or near the present site 
of R. M. Allen's residence. He published 
the paper about two years, when he re- 
turned to Mercer, and remained there until 
about the year 1831, when he, came back 
to New Castle. (See chapter on The 
Press.) 

About 1828 John Wilson, the merchant 



64 



HISTORY OF LAWEENCE COUNTY 



erected the two-story brick building on 
the "Diamond," later Icnown as the 
"Wilder House," and which is said to have 
been the second brick house erected in 
the place. Its erection was considered at 
the time as a striking mark of progress. 

In 1828-9 Joseph T. Du Shane, Esq., 
built the American House, on the corner 
of Washington Street and Apple Alley. 
He then traded the property to his father 
for part money and part land in Beaver 
County. He removed to the land, but re- 
turned in 1829. The old gentleman kept 
the hotel for about two years, when he 
rented it to his son-in-law, Andrew Rob- 
ison, who kept it a year or more, when 
Jesse Du Shane sold the property to An- 
drew Lewis, who continued the business 
very profitably for a number of years, 
when he sold it to David Harlan. It is 
now known as the St. Cloud Hotel. 

In 1831 Joseph Kissick, from Westmore- 
land County, Pennsylvania, came to New 
Castle and in December of that year, 
opened a general store in a small two- 
story frame building, situated on the pres- 
ent site of Wood's block. He afterwards, 
in 1833, removed his stock of goods and 
household furniture to the "Old Fort" 
(see military record), which stood near 
the present site of the First National Bank. 

Dr. Charles T. Wliipp, a native of the 
State of New York, and a civil engineer 
by profession, though having previously 
practiced medicine, also made his first visit 
to New Castle about 1833, coming as prin- 
cipal engineer of the Beaver division of 
the Erie Extension Canal. In 1834 he 
made this city his permanent residence, be- 
ing then about fifty years old. He pur- 
chased a large tract of land near the vil- 
lage of Croton, of Moses Crow, and lived 
on it until the tune of his death, which oc- 
curred about 1855-6. His residence was 
outside the borough, and, hence, he never 
figured in local politics, bi;t he was al- 
ways a prominent man in the community, 
and was connected witli various enter- 
prises. A short time before his death he 



was one of the original incorporators of 
the Bank of New Castle, organized in 1855. 
He was also president of the board of 
trustees of the New Castle Female Semin- 
ary, in 1838. The doctor left quite a large 
amount of property at the time of Ms 
death. He never practiced medicine after 
coming to Western Pennsylvania. 

In 1831 Joseph T. Boyd and John Wil- 
son, his old partner, were trading — Boyd 
in the store, built by Boyd and Wilson, on 
the lot now enclosed around the Disciples' 
Church, and Wilson in the building later 
known as the "Wilder House." 

Other storekeepers were: Robert Mc- 
Conahy, John B. Pearson and Samuel Me- 
Cleary. 

There were four hotels, or "taverns," 
in New Castle at that date; one kept by 
John Shearer, in a two-story frame build- 
ing, afterwards the site of the Leslie 
House ; one by Jesse Du Shane, in what is 
now called the St. Cloud Hotel; one by 
Alexander Hawthorne, called the "Poke- 
berry Exchange, ' ' on the southwest corner 
of Mercer and North Streets, and one by 
Andrew Lewis, in a log cabin building on 
the north side of Washington Street, be- 
tween the "Diamond" and Mercer Street. 
Hotel prices were not extravagant in those 
days — supper, breakfast and lodging was 
"three shillings," or thirty-seven and a 
half cents, and horse feed, "sixpence," or 
six and a quarter cents. 

The physicians at that time were Dr. 
A. M. Cowden and Dr. William Shaw. The 
former lived in a frame dwelling on the 
east side of Mercer Street, and the latter 
lived in a story-and-a-half stone house on 
East Street. 

Prominent among New Castle citizens 
in those days was Thomas Falls, who came 
here with his parents. Henry and Susan 
Falls, in 1804. His father located on the 
tract of "Donation Lands," No. 1951, next 
east and adjoining Crawford Wliite's tract, 
the only other residences at that time be- 
ing the cabins of John Carlysle Stewart, 
the original proprietor of the town ; Joseph 



AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 



65 



Townsend, William Murmel, and probably 
John Watson. Mr. Falls remained with his 
parents until he was of age, when he went 
to Mercer to learn the tanning trade. After 
serving an apprenticeship of three years 
he went to Pittsburg, and worked at his 
trade there one summer. In the autumn 
of 1815, he returned to New Castle on foot, 
with his savings of $76 in his pocket. With 
this limited capital he founded the tannery 
which many years afterwards was the 
property of his son, Thomas Falls. After 
making the vats himself and getting his 
tannery ready for business, he went to 
Mercer on horseback and bought a small 
quantity of leather, which he carried to 
Hillsville and placed in a store to be ex- 
changed for hides. These hides he tanned, 
and thus started a business which grew 
and prospered in his hands. His manufac- 
tured leather was disposed of in his own 
shop. His lampblack and oil were pur- 
chased in Pittsbui'g, to which city he made 
frequent visits on foot. Three years after 
commencing business for himself, during 
a portion of which time he kept "bachel- 
or's hall," he married Miss Sarah Wil- 
son, daughter of Adam Wilson, who re- 
sided near the Neshannock Church, and 
began housekeeping in the old John Car- 
lysle Stewart house. 

Mr. Falls carried on the tanning business 
until 1851, when he resigned it to his son, 
Wilson. In 1831 he built the third brick 
dwelling in New Castle. Thomas Falls 
died October 8, 1865, aged nearly seventy- 
five years. 

In 1831 there were three churches in New 
Castle — the Presbyterian, the Seceder and 
the Methodist. The first was what is now 
kno\\Ti as the "old brewery." It stood 
out of town, surrounded by forest trees. 
The Old Stone Church, on Pittsburg Street, 
was built by the Seceders in 1831. It was 
then quite a long distance from the town 
and stood in the woods. The Methodist 
Church was on the ground now occupied 
by St. Joseph's German Catholic Church, 
and was built about 1816. 



In 1832 New Castle was visited by the 
cholera, but there were only two deaths. 

James D. White laid out a small addition 
to the town in November, of this year. 

SOME KOTABLE IMPROVEMENTS. 

The year 1833 was a memorable one in 
the history of New Castle, several impor- 
tant improvements being then inaugurated. 
Among them was a new bridge over the 
Shenango River on Washington Street. 
The river at this point was originally much 
narrower than at present, and the "bridge 
was only about one-half the length of the 
present beautiful and substantial iron 
structure. The widening of the river was 
occasioned by the great flood in November, 
1835, when in order to save the town from 
impending destruction, the embankment 
was cut on the right bank above the state 
dam, and the accumulated waters were 
sent out with terrific force, tearing away 
a great quantity of land and changing the 
whole appearance of the river at this point. 

The Erie Extension Canal was com- 
pleted from Beaver to New Castle Novem- 
ber, 1833. 

In the same month was launched the 
"Rob Roy," built by Dr. William Shaw— 
a sort of flat boat, decked over, which was 
the first boat launched in New Castle. A 
few hours after the "Rob Roy" was in 
the canal, a second boat, called the 
"Alpha," was launched by James D. 
W^hite. The boats were similar in con- 
struction, being each about forty feet long 
and eight feet wide. There was quite a 
strife as to who should get his boat first 
into the water, but the Doctor won by a 
few hours. It was late in the season when 
these boats were put into the canal, and 
nothing was done until the spring of 1834, 
when the canal business may be said to 
have fairly started. Major E. Sankey pur- 
chased the "Alpha," and ran it regularly 
between Beaver and New Castle for about 
one year. The round trip was frequently 
accomplished "between sun and sun." 

The main business was transporting 



€6 



HISTOEY OF LAWRENCE COUNTY 



produce down the canal to Beaver and 
bringing back merchandise. There were 
some five or six dams built on the Beaver 
Eiver, making slack-water navigation, and 
the channel of the river was largely used 
in this way instead of a separate canal. 
There was one dam on the Neshannock, 
and one on the Shenango, within the bor- 
ough limits of New Castle, and the canal 
passed through the southern part of the 
original town plot, along what is now South 
Street, from one river to the other, a dis- 
tance of something over one-fourth of a 
mile. 

PKOSPEKOUS EEA BEGINS. 

The real prosperity of New Castle dates 
from the year 1834. There was at this 
date only a weekly mail between New 
Castle and Beaver. The route extended 
from Beaver to the old town of Mercer. 
Major E. Sankey was the contractor and 
during the four years succeeding the mails 
became semi-weekly, then tri-weekly, and, 
finally, daily, so that, since 1838, New 
Castle has always had at least one daily 
mail. 

There appear to have been two hotels 
in the town in 1834. These were the Man- 
sion House, kept by John Shearer, and the 
old log ' ' tavern, ' ' belonging to Robert Wal- 
lace, and kept by Andrew Lewis. In 1834 
the old log ]\Iethodist Church was replaced 
by a brick one, but the new church, even 
as late as 1836, was furnished with slab 
seats. 

The physicians were Dr. William Shaw 
and Dr. Andrews, the latter a native of 
Massachusetts. Soon after, Dr. G. Bar- 
low came to New Castle, purchased Dr. 
Andrew's property, married his sister, and 
opened a drug store on the north side of 
the "Diamond," near Jefferson Street. Dr. 
Andrews returned with his family to Mas- 
sachusetts. The "Diamond," in those days, 
was rough and uneven, and overgrown 
with hazel bushes, intersected with paths 
and roadways. On the south side of Wash- 
ington Street, between Mercer Street and 



the Neshannock, there were then only two 
buildings, one a frame, the other of logs. 
The same year Robert Reynolds purchased 
some property on the north side of Pitts- 
burg Street (as it is now called), above 
where Pearson Street intersects it, and es- 
tablished a tannery, which he operated 
from about 1836 to 1871. 

In 1834 James D. White rebuilt his 
father's grist mill and also erected a saw- 
mill. These stood where Raney & Gor- 
don's mill now stands, or very near it. 

On the 19th of May, 1835, there was a 
grand military parade and field drill. Ma- 
jor Joseph Emery being commander-in- 
chief of all the forces. The New Castle 
Guards, commanded by Captain William 
Cox, took a prominent- part. 

On the 10th day of August, 1835, the 
contracts for the construction of the 
' ' Cross-cut Canal, ' ' from Mahoningtown to 
Youngstown, Ohio, were let in New Castle, 
and the town was full of contractors and 
speculators. Major E. Sankey then kept 
the Mansion House, and Anthony Squiers 
was proprietor of what is now the St. 
Cloud Hotel. There were no meat mar- 
kets then in the place, and it was almost 
impossible to get fresh beef, for nobody 
dreamed of killing in the warm weather. 
In order to supply his guests with some- 
thing of a rarity. Major Sankey killed a 
beef the evening before, John C. Tidball 
assisting him. After setting aside suffi- 
cient for his own use, the major endeav- 
ored to sell the remainder, and, failing in 
this, he found it next to impossible to even 
give it away. 

In November, of this year, there occurred 
the great flood, as it is generally called. 
The west end of the canal dam was swept 
away, and the land below, owned and oc- 
cupied at one time by Cornelius and Dan- 
iel Hendrickson, was also carried away 
to a great extent, including the site of D. 
Hendrickson 's dwelling. An island was 
formed where the west end of the old 
bridge stood, necessitating the erection of 
an additional bridge over the enlarged 



AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 



channel, which was built in the year 1837. 
The dam was rebuilt in 1836. In this lat- 
ter year, also, the Ei'ie Extension Canal 
was located and put under contract, from 
New Castle to Erie. 

West New Castle, sometimes called by 
the euphonious name of "Mulleintown," 
was laid out in ]\Iay, 1836, by Ezekiel San- 
key, who had settled in New Castle in 1832, 
when sixteen years of age. It was situated 
on the tract of land known as the "va- 
cancy," lying between the first and sec- 
ond districts of "Donation Lands." Mr. 
Sankey bought the land upon which he 
laid out the town (some fifty acres or 
more) of Ebenezer Byers. The bargain 
was made for it in 1836, but the deed was 
not executed imtil January 13, 1837. It 
was a portion of the old Cornelius Hen- 
drickson claim of 117 acres. 

The New Castle Intelligencer, the second 
newspaper published in New Castle, was 
issued August 18, 1836. 

In 1836 Captain D. S. Stone had a ware- 
house on the canal. Dr. G. Barlow had a 
drug store on the north side of the "Dia- 
mond," west of Jefferson Street. S. W. 
Mitchell was running a cabinet shop, as 
were also J. Emeiy and J. Mitchell, who 
had a shop on the north side of the "Dia- 
mond," east of the "old stone corner." 
William Dickson had a saddlery and har- 
ness shop on the southeast corner of Wash- 
ington Street and the "Diamond." R. W. 
Cunningham & Co. kept a store on the 
northeast corner of the "Diamond," and 
paid cash for wheat. Peter Duff had a 
general store on the south side of the "Dia- 
mond," and Robert Cochran also had a 
store on the south side, near the present 
site of the Fountain Inn. John B. Pear- 
son was ti-ading at the "Old Stone 
Corner." Jacob Quest served as a clerk 
in this store from 1833 to 1840. Mr. Pear- 
son, besides doing a mercantile business, 
also dealt in horses, cattle and hogs. 
Joshua Logan, who was then president of 
the Borough Council, had a shop on the 
northwest corner of Jefferson Street and 



the "Diamond." J. N. Euwer was then 
clerk of the Borough Council. W. B. Os- 
mon, who had been a sea captain, was keep- 
ing a store near the present site of the 
Leslie House. T. R. George had a store 
near the east end of Washington Street. 
William B. Miller had a shoe store on the 
northeast corner of Washington Street and 
Apple Alley, near Anthony Squiers' hotel. 
Wliite McMillen was in the hatting busi- 
ness on Jefferson Street, south of the 
"Diamond." George King had a wagon 
shop on Jefferson Street, south of the 
canal. Dr. W. D. Grier, a new name among 
the physicians, had an office one door east 
of the "stone corner." He also kept a 
drug store, or apothecaiy's shop. In 1836 
there were no buildings of any consequence 
in what is now called West New Castle, 
and none south of the Presbyterian Church 
in the town proper. Joseph T. Boyd was 
postmaster this year. 

FIKST FIEE COMPANY. 

On the 29th of September, this year, at 
a meeting held at the tavern of Andrew 
Lewis, the first fire company was organ- 
ized in New Castle. Joseph T. Boyd was 
elected president, William Dickson, cap- 
tain, and R. W. Cunningham, first lieu- 
tenant. 

In August, 1837, another newspaper 
made its appearance — the Western Sen- 
tinel, a 'Wliig paper. It was a small folio 
with six columns to the page, professed 
Whig principles, and was edited by 0. C. 
Lockhart. It suspended publication in De- 
cember of the following year. During this 
year James D. AVhite laid out an addition 
to New Castle, lying between the two 
rivers, and south of the old county line. 

BEGINKING OF IRON INDUSTRY. 

The history of the iron manufactures 
of New Castle conunences in 1838, the 
original of the Aetna Iron Works being 
erected in that year, by James D. "White. 
Shubael Wilder superintended the con- 
struction of the nail factory, and James H. 



70 



HISTOEY OF LAWEENCE COUNTY 



Brown, late of Youngstown, Ohio, that of 
the rolling-mill. Mr. Wilder was a native 
of Plymouth County, Massachusetts. He 
had emigrated from his native state to Har- 
risburg, Pa., in 1836, where he was en- 
gaged in the erection, or contemplated 
erection, of iron works. At Harrisburg, 
he met James D. TMiite, who induced him 
to accompany him to New Castle, where 
he took charge of the erection of the nail 
factory above mentioned. The iron works 
went into operation in April, 18.39. Mr. 
"White, owing to ill health, went to the 
West Indies, thinking the climate would 
benefit him. He died, however, at St. 
Croix, in Februarv. 1840. 

From December,' 1838, to August, 1839, 
there was no paper published in New 
Castle, but since the 14th of August, 1839, 
the place has never been without a news- 
paper. At the date last mentioned, the 
Mercer and Beaver Democrat was first 
issued. It was a four-page five-column 
sheet, and supported the principles of the 
Whig party. It was at first owned by John 
Speer, and afterwards by John B. Early. 

In 1839, Major E. Sankey commenced 
the erection of the first building of any 
importance in West New Castle. It was a 
large one-stoiy frame building, with 
wooden pillars in front, and is still stand- 
ing on the west side of Front Street. On 
the occasion of the great AMiig mass meet- 
ing, held in New Castle during the presi- 
dential campaign of 1840. the speakers ad- 
dressed the people from the portico of this 
building, which was then not quite com- 
pleted. Wlien it was finished, Mr. Sankey 
occupied it as a family dwelling for eight- 
een years. 

NEW CASTLE IX 1840. 

In 1840 New Castle contained, accord- 
ing to the United States census of that 
year, 611 inhabitants. During this year 
the Erie Extension Canal was completed 
as far north as Greenville, in ]klereer 
County. Among the merchants in New 
Castle in 1840 were William Watson, Thos. 



McCleary, William Moore, Joseph T. Boyd 

and Joseph Eassick. 

The Mercer and Beaver Democrat was 
suspended soon after the presidential elec- 
tion. The first number of the New Castle 
Gazette, a ''iMiig paper, was issued on Fri- 
day, October 8, 1841, by Colonel William 
H. Shaw, who continued its publication 
imtil 1864, a period of twenty-three years. 

The amount of surplus produce shipped 
from New Castle. Pa., from September, 

1840, up to the 15th of June, 1841, as fol- 
lows: Wheat, 71,900 bushels; flour, 9,231 
barrels; bacon, 143,000 pounds; wool, 23,- 
600 pounds; whiskey, 360 barrels. There 
was also shipped, in small quantities by 
the farmers, about 2,000 barrels of flour. 

A directory of New Castle, published in 

1841, shows the following names: 

Alexander, Samuel, carpenter. 

Baker, J., cooper. 

Bell, E., cooper. 

Barlow, G., physician and druggist. 

Barber, W. L., baker. 

Bennett, S., copper, tin and sheet-iron worker. 

Bushnell, Rev. W., Presbyterian clergyman. 

Boyd, J. T., merchant. 

Brown, Joseph, iron roller. 

Bottle, W. H., nail cutter. 

Carpenter, WUliam, justice of the peace. 

Carpenter, Mrs. E. J., milliner. 

Christy, S., Indian King Hotel. 

Clark, William, tanner. 

Clancy, Lewis, blacksmith. 

Crawford & Eitter, saw and flouring mill and woolen 
factory. 

Crawford, J. M. & Co., manufacturers of iron and 
naUs. 

Cunningham, K. W., merchant and foundry owner. 

Craven, B., bricklayer. 

Crips, L. v., boot and shoe maker, 

Cochran, R., merchant. 

Cowden, A. M., physician. 

Cypher, PhiUip, stone mason. 

Cost, John, wagoner. 

Dinsmore, J., wagon maker. 

Dinsmore, William, carpenter. 

Dickson, William, saddler. 

Dickson, J., tanner. 

Dickson, Samuel, fireman. 

Edwards, John, refiner. 

Emery, John B., smith. 

Emery, J., canal contractor. 

Emery, E., canal contractor. 

Evans, WUliam, boot and shoe maker. 

Euwer, S. C. & Co., merchants. 

Farley & White, steam foundry. 

Falls, Thomas, tanner and farmer. 

Fulkerson, J. C, cabinet maker. 

Flinn, Walter, machine smith. 



AND EEPEESENTATIVE CITIZENS 



71 



Falls, Henry, constable. 

Frazier, John, carpenter. 

Gibson, Joseph, stone cutter. 

Graham, John, nail cutter. 

Galbreth, E., gentleman. 

Hadson, G. E., tailor. 

Higgs, Joseph E., puddler. 

Hefifner, S., clerk. 

Hadson, W. G., tailor. 

Hewitt, Eev. J. J., Episcopal clergyman. 

Higgs, Joseph, bloom heater. 

Hogg, William, puddler. 

Higgs, Thomas, puddler. 

Justice, Joseph, hatter. 

Keck, A., clerk. 

Keefer, John, painter. 

Kelly, Silas, blacksmith. 

Kissick, J., merchant. 

Kerr, Samuel, canal supervisor. 

Latimer, James, miller. 

Lewis, A., gentleman. 

Lint, J., carpenter. 

Love, J. B., hatter. 

McConnell, J. E., blacksmith. 

McCIeary, Thomas, cooper. 

McCleary, S., painter. 

McGuffin, R., cabinet maker. 

McMillan, William, canalboat captain. 

Miller, William B., boot and shoe maker. 

McMillen, White, merchant and hatter. 

McConnell, D., blacksmith. 

McGuffin, L. L., attomey-at-law. 

McConahy, J., blacksmith. 

Morehead, John, hatter. 

Mitchell, S. W., cabinet maker. 

Morgan, G. C, tailor. 

Moore, William, merchant. 

Moore, H. S., carpenter. 

Morehead, H. H., plasterer. 

Mitchell, James, chair maker. 

Maxim, Marcus, nail cutter. 

McLaughlin, J., carpenter. 

McMillen, James, hatter. 

McKee, James, carpenter. 

Newton, Chester, sawyer. 

O'Brien, Edward, molder. 

Pearson, J. B., merchant. 

Perry, Elias, drum maker. 

Pollock, J., physician. 

Pollock, S., gunsmith. 

Pearson, Samuel, cooper. 

Poak, Samuel, wagoner. 

Painter, Thomas, cabinet maker. 

Pollock, John, Captain of the canalboat "Citizen." 

Quest, J. S., clerk. 

Eeynolds, J., justice of the peace. 

Bead, J., blacksmith. 

Ehodes, J. H., carpenter. 

Eigby, E., wagon maker. 

Eobison, A., Union Hotel. 

Eubicon, J., cooper. 

Eigby, Thomas, silversmith. 

Eeynolds, William, clerk. 

Eidel, S., canal contractor. 

Eiter, Georsp R., smith. 

Eeynolds, Eobert, tanner. 

Reynolds, W. H., tinner. 

Sankey, E., gentleman. 



Seek, R. A., saddler. 

Shaw, W. H., clerk. 

Swift, Hiram, clerk. 

Steen, John, brick molder. 

Swift, Samuel, chair maker. 

Shaw, W., physician. 

ShoafP, J., carpenter. 

Shaffer, D., butcher. 

Semple, A. C, carpenter. 

Speise, Messimer & Co., merchants. 

Speise, S., carpenter. 

Stewart, R. W., farmer. 

Stone, D. S., Eagle House. 

Swift, S. W., grocer and confectioner. 

Swift, N. P., carpenter. 

Stambaugh, J., cabinet maker. 

Scroggs, cabinet maker. 

Sempel, John, carpenter. 

Tidball, D., Jr., postmaster and tailor. 

Tidball, J., Sr., street commissioner. 

Tidball, J., Jr., carpenter. 

Vegan, John, blacksmith. 

Varce, Rev. D. W., Methodist Episcopal clergyman. 

Wallace, Robert, Red Lion Hotel. 

Watson, William, grocer and druggist. 

Whippo, C. T., physician. 

Wilson, J., merchant. 

Wilson, John, gentleman. 

Williams, Henry, shovel maker. 

Wilder, Shubael, master nailer. 

Watson, James, mason and bricklayer. 

White, Crawford, farmer. 

Wilson, J., chair maker. 

White, Josiah C, merchant. 

Wallace, James, carpenter. 

Young, 0., school teacher. 

Young, Eobert, saddler. 

There were in New Castle thi-ee meet- 
ing-houses — one Seeeder, one Episcopal 
Methodist, one Presbyterian; also an or- 
ganized Protestant Methodist Church and 
three Sabbath-schools. 

There were in New Castle one rolling- 
mill; one nail factory, capable of turning 
out ten tons of iron and three tons of nails 
per day; one flour mill, with four pairs 
of burrs ; one lumber mill, with two saws ; 
also one steam lumber mill in process of 
construction; one woolen manufactory; one 
air foundry; one cupola foundry, driven 
by steam power; eight dry goods stores; 
two groceries; one hardware store; two 
drug shops ; four taverns ; three tanneries ; 
five cooper shops; five cabinet shops; six 
smith shops; one gun shop; one tin and 
copper shop ; two wagon shops ; four tailor 
shops ; four forwarding warehouses ; three 
hatter shops; four shoemaker shops; two 
saddler shops ; one female seminarj^ ; three 



72 



HISTOEY OF LAWRENCE COUNTY 



day schools ; one writing school ; one shovel 
factory; one refinery; six coal banks; an 
abundance of iron ore; one water-power, 
on Neshannock, in New Castle, with twen- 
ty-four feet head and fall. 

There were also four hotels. The "Globe 
Hotel" was kept by Daniel S. Stone, and at 
a later date was called the "Eagle Hotel." 
Still later it was occuped by a Mrs. Shan- 
non, who came from Mercer, and who 
changed its name to the "Washington 
House. ' ' The ' ' Red Lion Hotel ' ' occupied 
'the site of the "Central Hotel," of later 
days, and was substantiall}^ the same 
building. The "Union Hotel," kept by 
Andrew Robinson, is still standing on the 
east side north of Mercer Street, the first 
frame building north from Washington 
Street. In 1843 Robinson was succeeded 
by Samuel Christy, who put up in front of 
the house the sign of the "Indian Chief," 
and called the house the "Indian Chief 
Hotel." For some time prior to 1843 the 
hotel which stood on the site of the later 
"Leslie House" was kept by Samuel 
Christy, and was also called the "Indian 
Chief Hotel." Wlien Mr. Christy moved 
into the "Union Hotel" he took his Indian 
sign and the name of his hotel with him. 
In the spring of 1843 Mr. Leslie took 
charge of the original "Indian Chief Ho- 
tel" and changed its name to the "Man- 
sion House." 

In 1843 Wilson Mitchell was burgess, 
and Thomas Falls president of the Town 
Council. The attorneys in New Castle, at 
that date, appear to have been L. L. Mc- 
Guffin, J. K. Boyd and A. M. Burns. 

The New Castle Democrat, the first Dem- 
ocratic newspaper published here, was is- 
sued by George F. Humes and J. N. Hal- 
lowed, July 13, 1844. It was a four-page 
paper, with five wide cohunns to the page. 
It was published for about one year. On 
July 4, 1844, there was a grand temperance 
convention and soldiers' parade, which was 
largely attended by people from all parts 
of the surrounding coimtry. 

The Erie Extension Canal was com- 



pleted from New Castle to Erie, in Feb- 
ruary, 1845, and boats commenced running 
through its entire length the following 
spring. 

The first account of a musical organiza- 
tion in New Castle appeared in March, 
1845. On the 20th of that month a concert 
was given at the j\L E. Church by the 
Amateur Musical Society. 

About this date the Baltimore & Ohio 
Railway Company were endeavoring to get 
the right of way for their road through 
Pennsylvania. Philadelphia, as a matter 
of course, opposed it, and the people of the 
southern and western portions of the State 
were more or less interested for or against 
it. A great mass meeting was held in New 
Castle on the 28th of March, 1846, attended 
by people from Mercer and Beaver Coun- 
ties, and the feeling was very strongly in 
favor of giving the company the right of 
way. 

The attorneys in New Castle, in 1846, 
were L. L. McGuffin, J. K. Boyd, A. M. 
Burns, G. A. Scroggs and David C. Cossitt. 
James Dickson was justice of the peace and 
had his office in the southeast corner of the 
"Diamond," in William Dickson's saddle, 
shop. 

John and Joseph Douthett, brothers, 
were teaching a select school in the "new 
brick school-house." They called it the 
"New Castle Institute." The New Castle 
Seminary was taught by Mr. and Mrs. Ma- 
son Bartlett. 

The first market in New Castle was held 
in May, 1846. The first market-house was 
built in the summer of 1846. It was of 
brick, 70x30 feet in dimensions, and stood 
near the center of the "Diamond," with 
its west end on a line with the east side of 
Jeiferson Street. The market days were 
Wednesdavs and Saturdavs. 

On the 25th of July, 1846, a public meet- 
ing was held to consider the subject of 
building a new bridge over the Neshan- 
nock, at the east end of Washington 
Street. The first bridge was erected at 
that point in 1814, but whether the struc- 



AND EEPEESENTATIVE CITIZENS 



73 



ture was standing in 1846 we have not 
learned. A new bridge was finally built 
and completed in August, 1847. The arch- 
itect was Joseph Emeiy. 

During the season of 1846, E. W. Cun- 
ningham erected a large cupola foundry, 
with steam engine attached, which was put 
in operation about the 20th of July. Craw- 
ford & Co. built a new nail factory, which 
also went into operation in July. Brown 
& Higgs erected a rolling-mill, which went 
into operation about the same date, and 
the Orizaba Iron Works were erected by 
Joseph H. Brown, Joseph Higgs and Ed- 
ward Thomas. 

Early in September, of this year, the 
annual encampment of the Mercer County 
soldiers was held in New Castle. Among 
the organizations present were the New 
Castle Battalion, the Mt. Jackson and Ma- 
rion Blues, both of Mt. Jackson, the Ma- 
honing Bangers, and the Tamarack Invin- 
cibles, or Donation Guards, commanded by 
Captain James Leslie, formerly by Captain 
Henry Hazen. Music was, in part, fur- 
nished by the New Castle Brass Band. 

During the boating season of 1846 the 
New Castle and Beaver packet, "General 
Mercer," McMillen, master, ran regularly 
between the points named, arriving at New 
Castle every Wednesday, Friday and Sun- 
day morning, at six o'clock, and departing 
at 8 P. M. on the same days. E. W. Cun- 
ningham was the agent at New Castle. 

In 1847 the linseed oil business was very 
promising and Grisnold's mill was so suc- 
cessful that others entered into the busi- 
ness. 

During the year 1847 there was a famine 
in Ireland, and in April the ladies of New 
Castle assembled at the M. E. Church and 
manufactured between 700 and 800 two- 
bushel sacks. These were filled with corn 
by the people of New Castle and vicinity, 
and, altogether, about 1,500 sacks, contain- 
ing 3,000 bushels of com, were forwarded 
to the starving people of Ireland. 



FIRST STEPS TOWARD BANKING. 

The first notice of an application for a 
charter for a bank in New Castle was pub- 
lished in the Democrat, in September, 1839, 
but nothing further was done about the 
matter until July, 1847, when a similar no- 
tice was published. The proposed bank 
was to have a capital of $200,000, but the 
first actual banking business was tran- 
sacted about 1855. 

In August, 1847, the firm of Eichmond 
& Pomeroy were taking dag-uerreotype pic- 
tures, having probably started a gallery 
about this time. 

The New Castle Light Artilleiy made 
its first appearance on Saturday,- August 
21st, Captain G. A. Scroggs, commander. 

On December 6, 1847, Captain Jonathan 
Smith, a native of Virginia and a Eevolu- 
tionary soldier, who had served in the bat- 
tles of Trenton, Princeton, Brandywine, 
Germantown, Monmouth, and Yorktown, 
died at the residence of his son-in-law, Jo- 
seph T. DuShane. He was ninetj-two 
years old and was buried with military 
honors by the New Castle Light Artillery. 

The movement for the organization of a 
new county began to assume something 
like tangible shape at this time, and a 
meeting was held on the 5th of February 
for the purpose of discussing the question 
and taking the necessary steps to accom- 
plish the desired object. The project had 
been advocated for some thirty years and 
never abandoned. 

During the winter of 1847-8 there was 
a society called the "New Castle Liberty 
Association," of which A. M. Burns, Esq., 
and John McConahy were active members. 

About the 1st of May, 1848, the New 
Castle Light Artilleiy paraded the streets, 
headed by a martial band composed of 
"fourteen boys richly dressed." The boys 
had been thoroughly drilled by Major Wil- 
liam W. Taylor and made a fine appear- 
ance. The company was commanded by 
Captain W. C. Eichards. 



74 



HISTORY OF LAWRENCE COUNTY 



On the afternoon of May 6th a violent 
hail storm passed over New Castle, doing 
a large amount of damage. Hail fell meas- 
uring from eleven to twelve inches in cir- 
cumference and weighing from eight to 
sixteen ounces or more. 

On Sunday morning, July 24, 1848, the 
main building of McCormick, Peebles, 
Brown & Co.'s iron works was destroyed 
by fire, involving a loss of some $30,000, 
and throwing a large number of men out 
of employment. The buildings destroyed 
included the rolling-mill and nail factory, 
and a large amount of iron, nails, etc. The 
works were immediately rebuilt. 

In August of this year we find the New 
Castle Female Seminary under the direc- 
tion of Prof. Warren H. Marsh. 

The Croton Glass Works were put in 
operation in September of this year by 
Messrs. Morris and Henderson. 

THE NEW COUNTY. 

March 20, 1849, was a joyful day to the 
people of New Castle, for on that day the 
new county of Lawrence, for which they 
had so long been working, was erected, 
and New Castle became the county seat of 
one of the most compact and thriving coun- 
ties in the commonwealth. New Castle was 
then a town of less than one thousand peo- 
ple, and had but a moiety of its present 
manufactures and commercial business. No 
railroads were then in this part of the 
country. Its only means of communica- 
tion, besides the common country roads of 
those days, was the slow, plodding canal. 
Now all the newspapers of the county are 
here, all the banking houses, and the great 
bulk of the manufactures, and the city is 
the nucleus of a system of railways, wlaich 
give it connection with all parts of the 
countrv. 

On the 22nd of August, 1849, President 
Zachary Taylor and Governor Johnston, 
of Pennsylvania, visited the town on their 
way from Beaver to Mercer, coming up in 
an Erie express packet. They were re- 
ceived with distinguished honors. A pro- 



cession, of which Colonel William Book 
was chief marshal, formed at the lock in 
the following order: 

Committee of Reception, on Horseback. 

Brass Band. 

Martial Band. 

President and Governor, in Open Carriage, 

With Military Escort. 
President's and Governor's Suite, in Car- 
riages. 
New Castle and Beaver Committee, in 
Carriages. 
Citizens. 

The procession moved by the following 
route: From Lock No. 1 to the Neshan- 
nock bridge, thence up East Street, by 
North to Jefferson Street, by Jefferson to 
Washington, and east along Washington 
to the Washington House, situated where 
Knox's grocery store now stands, then 
kept by A. T. McKee. On arriving here a, 
reception speech was made and the Presi- 
dent welcomed to New Castle by David 
Craig, Esq., to which the President replied 
in a brief and appropriate manner. During 
the movement of the procession the artil- 
lery fired the regular salute from Shaw's 
Hiil. The next morning the President and 
Governor visited the rolling mills, blast 
furnaces, etc. The Sophia furnace was the 
first the President had ever seen. At 9 
o'clock A. M. the President gave a recep- 
tion to the ladies of New Castle, at the 
Presbyterian Church. At 12 o 'clock, noon, 
the party departed for Mercer, accompa- 
nied by a committee of escort from New 
Castle. 

On May 26, 1849, a new paper, the Law- 
rence Journal, made its appearance in New 
Castle. James M. Kuester was editor and 
proprietor. In this same year also the As- 
sociate Reformed Presbyterian Church 
was built, on Jefferson Street. It is now 
known as the United Presbyterian Church. 

The first party convention for the nomi- 
nation of coimty officers ever held in New 
Castle was the convention held by the 



AND EEPEESENTATIVE CITIZENS 



75 



Wliigs, on the 14tli of August, 1849, of 
which Thomas Pomeroy was president. 

Saturday, the 1st of September, 1849, 
the day on which the act erecting- the 
county of Lawrence went into effect, was 
celebrated in New Castle by the military 
and various bands, who made a grand pa- 
rade. 

The first telegraph office in New Castle 
was opened in the summer of 1849. Among 
those most instrumental in procuring it 
were the Crawfords and Shubael Wilder. 

This season was remarkable for being 
cold and excessively dry. No less than 
eighty-eight new buildings were erected in 
New Castle this year, mostly of brick. The 
first snow of the season fell on the 30th 
of October. 

A lyceum was in existence in December 
of this year, with Eev. R. A. Browne, D.D., 
E. B. McComb, D. M. Courtney and John 
Eeynolds, Esqs. 

in 1850 the census gave New Castle bor- 
ough a population of 1,563 inhabitants, 
fifty-one of whom were colored. 

THE FIRST COURTS. 

The first Court of Common Pleas held 
in New Castle convened in the M. E. 
Church on Monday, the 7th of January, 
1850, Hon. John Bredin being president 
judge and Jacob Bear, associate. The res- 
ident attorneys of New Castle who were 
sworn in on that day were: Jonathan 
Ayres, L. L. McGuffin, J. K. Boyd, D. 
Craig, D. B. Kurtz, J. Hoffman, D. C. Cos- 
sitt, John M. Crawford, George W. Wat- 
son, J. N. McGufiBn and James Pollock. 
The attendance at this first court was un- 
usually large and the hotels were ci'owded. 

A new telegraph line from Fredonia, 
N. Y., was put in operation to New Castle 
in January, 1850. 

A meeting of the veterans of the War of 
1812 was held on Saturday, March 16, at 
the Associate Eeformed Church. 

The first daily mail was established on 
the 1st of April of this year, between New 
Castle and Poland, Ohio, by way of Eden- 



burg, Hillsville and Lowellville. The con- 
tractor was James Bannon. 

The first county Bible Society mentioned 
was organized on the 9th of April at the 
M. E. Church. Among the members were 
Rev. R. A. Browne, John N. Euwer, Cyrus 
Clarke, David Sankey, Samuel Van Horn, 
Joseph Kissick and Joseph Justice. 

On Wednesday, August 11, 1850, accord- 
ing to a pre-arranged program, about 5,000 
people assembled in Pebble's Grove to hear 
an address from John Allison, Esq., who 
pronounced a eulogy on President Zachary 
Taylor, then recently deceased. The en- 
campment was participated in by all the 
military for many miles around, and lasted 
several days. 

The first Democratic convention in Law- 
rence Countv was held in New Castle, on 
the 20th of July of this year. The Whig 
convention was held on the 5th of August. 

NEW CASTLE IN 1850. 

In 1850 New Castle contained two foun- 
dries, two rolling-mills, three flouring and 
grist-mills, three saw-mills, one window- 
glass factory, one steam edge-tool factory, 
one brewery, three tanneries (one run by 
steam), four hotels, and another large one 
in course of erection. There were six 
churches, one lodge, and one encampment 
of I. 0. 0. F. ; one Masonic Lodge, two di- 
visions of the Sons of Temperance, and 
one Mechanics' Mutual Protection Society. 
There were also two newspapers; the Ga- 
zette, by Shaw & Craig, and the Journal, 
by Kuester & Telford. One hundred new 
buildings were erected during this year. 

In January, 1851, a new line of daily 
coaches was established between Beaver 
and New Castle, by Frederick Haly. They 
were advertised to make the trip in five 
hours. 

COURT HOUSE. 

The title to the lot now occupied by the 
Court House, 300x140 feet in dimensions, 
was made over to the County Commission- 
ers on the 18th of June, 1850. The contract 



76 



HISTORY OF LAWEENCE COUNTY 



for building a court liouse and jail was let 
to Craig & Hamilton. The work was com- 
menced in the fall of 1850, and completed 
in 1852. The stone were quarried near by, 
and when the entire job was tinished the 
total cost, including improvements upon 
the grounds, amounted to the surprisingly 
low sum of $32,000. (See preceding chap- 
ter.) 

An academy seems to have been in oper- 
ation at this time, for we find notices of it 
in 1849, under the charge of William Pear- 
son, and in 1850, of Rev. R. A. Browne. 

The 22nd of June appears to have been 
the day set apart for military drill. In 
July of this year the Lawrence Guards 
were organized, and W. W. Taylor was 
elected captain; S. M. Wise, first lieuten- 
ant ; S. Briggs, second lieutenant ; T. Wait, 
third lieutenant; H. Squiers, ensig-n; C. T. 
Williams, A. Wait, J. A. Ray and Jacob 
Moore, sergeants; R. Andrews and John 
Eay, corporals; James McKean, armorer, 
and S. Briggs, treasurer. 

In 1851 the subject of paving the streets 
began to be agitated and at a meeting of 
the Council, on the 28th of February, it 
was resolved that during the coming sum- 
mer Washing-ton, Jefferson and Mercer 
Streets should be planked. 

About this time also the subject of a 
public cemetery, controlled by a corpora- 
tion, began to be agitated, and a meeting 
was held at the office of the county com- 
missioners, at which Colonel William Book 
was made jDresident and James D. Clarke, 
secretary. Among those who took an active 
interest in the matter were Hon. L. L. Mc- 
Guffin, James Henderson, Jonathan Ayres, 
Joseph Emery, John Reynolds, Frederick 
Seifert, R. W. Clendenin, Joseph Kissick, 
Joseph T. Du Shane, George Robinson, D. 
B. Kurtz and R. B. McComb. 

NEW MILITABY COMPANIES. 

In addition to the two existing compa- 
nies, three juvenile military companies 
were organized about this time, one in New 
Castle proper, another in East New Cas- 



tle, and a third in West New Castle. A 
fierce rivalry sprang up among them, 
which sometimes led to miniature battles, 
and it was found easier to arouse the mili- 
tary spirit than to allay the hot passions 
engendered by the rivalry. 

A public meeting was held some time in 
March, 1851, to consider the question of 
enlarging the limits of the borough. War- 
ren Carpenter was president, and William 
Watson, secretary, while the committee on 
resolutions consisted of Joseph Justice, 
Joseph Emery, S. W. Mitchell, Samuel 
Spiese, Joseph Kissick and William Moore. 
After ample discussion a series of resolu- 
tions was adopted opposed to any exten- 
sion of the limits beyond the Shenango 
River and Neshannock Creek. 

The first railway meeting held in New 
Castle was on the 1st of April, 1851. It 
was called for the purpose of testing the 
public sentiment upon the then proposed 
Erie and Pittsburg Railway. The otificers 
of the meeting were: President, Henry 
Pearson; vice-presidents, R. W. Cunning- 
ham, William Dickson, Joseph Emery and 
Thomas Falls; secretaries, Alexander 
Newell and D. C. Cossitt. The speakers 
were R. B. McComb, Esq., R. W. Cunning- 
ham and Joseph Emery. 

On the night of April 1st the flouring- 
mill owned by Joseph Kissick was de- 
stroyed by fire. It was a three-storj^ brick 
building and stood on the present site of 
Raney & Gordon's mill. The total loss 
was about $13,000. The fire was occasioned 
by some boys fishing with torches under the 
mill. The mill was rebuilt by Mr. Kissick 
the same season. 

The summer of 1851 was one of many 
improvements in New Castle. A new bridge 
was built over the canal, on Mercer Street. 
R. W. Cunningham erected a new foundry 
building. The Union schoolhouse, now the 
Martin Gantz school building, was erected 
at a cost of $7,000. 

A private bank — the first banking insti- 
tution in New Castle — was started this 
year, in May, by Dickson & McCljinonds. 



AND EEPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 



77 



A railway convention was held on the 25th 
of June at which 150 delegates were 
present. 

During the summer of this year an at- 
tempt was made to erect a new borough 
on the east side of the Neshannock, to be 
called East New Castle, but the project 
failed. 

The first "Free Soil" convention was 
held on the 23rd of August, of this year. 

A new bridge, known as the "Black 
Bridge," was constructed over the She- 
nango, a few rods above the mouth of the 
Neshannock, during this season. It has 
since been replaced by a fine and substan- 
tial covered bridge. 

All Agricultural Society was organized 
on the 29th of October, with the following 
officers: President, Thomas Sample; vice- 
presidents, Thomas Wilson, Isaac P. Cow- 
den; secretary, E. B. McComb; treasurer, 
William Blanchard; directors, John K. 
Swisher, William Porter, Thomas Carnes, 
Thomas Pearson, Webster Justice and 
John Simpson. 

The winter of 1851-2 was a severe one; 
labor was scarce, and little money was in 
circulation. To aid the poor and destitute 
a society called "The New Castle Relief 
Society," consisting of the prominent la- 
dies of the place, was organized on the 5th 
of January, 1852, at the Associate Re- 
formed Church. The officers were : Presi- 
dent, Mrs. Mary Browne ; secretaries, Mrs. 
McEle^'y and Mrs. Ten Broeck; treasurer, 
Mrs. Joseph Kissick. 

On January 16th a meeting of the Prot- 
estant pastors of New Castle was held at 
the Presbyterian Church, for the purpose 
of taking steps toward petitioning Con- 
gress to prohibit carrying the mails on 
Sunday. 

On the 4th of February a meeting was 
held at the Cochran House in the interests 
of the Erie and Pittsburg Railroad. Wil- 
liam Dickson was president, and John 
Reynolds, secretary. 

What is thought to have been the first 
strike in the history of New Castle oc- 



curred among the nail-cutters in the em- 
ploy of the Orizaba Iron Works, on the 
16th of February, on account of a reduc- 
tion of wages. 

On April 29th New Castle was visited, it 
is said, by an earthquake shock which was 
quite severe, and continued for about ten 
seconds. 

The new Court House was completed on 
the 28th of June, 1852, at which date the 
first term of court ever held therein com- 
menced. 

The 4th of July, 1852, fell on Sunday, 
and was celebrated on the day following 
with appropriate ceremonies. A Whig 
convention was held in Clow's Hall, and 
a Sunday-school picnic was held in a grove 
near town, while a large party, including 
the New Castle band, made an excursion 
on board a canal-packet, several miles up 
the Slienango, where they spent the day in 
picnicing and dancing. 

The New Castle Female Seminary seems 
to have finished its course about this time, 
as the property was sold at public sale, on 
the 7th of September. The completion of 
the Union School building, now in the First 
Ward, may have had something to do with 
the retirement of the seminary from the 
field. The new school building was com- 
pleted and occiapied on the 4th of October, 
at which time the fall term commenced. 
The teachers were Messrs. Travis & Gantz, 
and the Misses Tovmsend and Porter. The 
Lawrence County Teachers' Institute was 
held for two weeks, commencing on the 
11th of October. This was probably the 
first county institute ever held in New 
Castle. 

The first County Fair was also opened 
on Tuesday, the 19th of October, and con- 
tinued two days. 

The "Mechanics' Institute" was organ- 
ized on the 23d of December. Among the 
prominent gentlemen interested in its or- 
ganization may be mentioned John Dick- 
son, Dr. Leasure, Colonel William Book, 
S. Briggs, David Tidball, J. R. Richard- 
son, R. Craven and John Edwards. A 



78 



HISTORY OF LAWEENCE COUNTY 



meeting of the Institute was held on the 
4th of January, following which the fol- 
lowing officers were elected: President, 
Stillman Briggs ; vice-president, Joseph S. 
T^^lite; secretary, J. Webster Reynolds; 
treasurer. Colonel William Book. 

In Januarj^ 1853, the Lawrence County 
Agricultural Society leased from Joseph S. 
White, for a term of years, four and a half 
acres of land lying on the plateau north of 
the borough, for the purposes of a Fair 
Ground. It was inclosed, and provided 
with suitable and necessary buildings, and 
fairs were held there for several years. 

The borough election, held on the 18th 
of March, resulted in the choice of the fol- 
lowing officers: Burgess, Joseph Kissick; 
councilmen, James S. Tidball, James Mc- 
Gown, Benjamin Emery, E. S. Clow, G. P. 
Robinson; constable, J. B. McKee; school 
directors, D. Leasure, R. W. Clendenin, J. 
N. Fuwer; judge of election, John Mc- 
Elevy ; assessor, A. Riddle ; auditors, Cap- 
tain A. Tyler, D. B. Kurtz, Warren Car- 
penter; overseers of poor, J. W. Cunning- 
ham and Wilson Falls. 

The contract for planking Washington 
Street from the Neshannock to the She- 
nango, with two tracks, each nine feet 
wide, was awarded to Joseph and David 
Emery, at $1,600. The contract for plank- 
ing a portion of Jefferson Street with a 
single track was also awarded to the same 
parties. Greenwood Cemetery was also 
much improved this year. 

A Musical Institute was held in March, 
under the direction of Professor Blakely, 
and on the evening of the 29th of the same 
month a concert was given at the Presby- 
terian Church by 400 pupils of Mr. 
Durston. 

D. Tidball, Jr., was appointed postmas- 
ter some time in April. A plank road was 
constructed during this season between 
New Castle and New Wilmington. Another 
earthquake shock is recorded for the 2nd 
of May, lasting for some 30 seconds. 



EXPORTS IN 1853. 

In 1853 the annual exports comprised 
the following articles shipped from New 
Castle: From the Orizaba Iron Works, 
7,500 tons iron and nails ; from the Cosalo 
Iron Works, 5,000 tons iron and nails ; of 
glass, 700 tons ; oil and oil-cake, 500 tons ; 
32,000 barrels of flour; 100,000 bushels of 
grain; 6,000 tons of fire-brick; 1,000,000 
feet of timber. 

In July of this year the "Ladies' Law- 
rence Coimty Association" was organized. 

At the borough election, March 17, 1854, 
the following officers were elected: Bur- 
gess, William Moore; councilmen, David 
Emery, W^ilson Falls, John S. Pomeroy, 
Webster Justice, William Book ; school di- 
rectors, Joseph Justice, Cyrus Clarke; 
constable, J. B. McKee; judge of election, 
James R. Wallace; inspectors, Thomas D. 
Horner, Alva H. Leslie; assessor, Daniel 
McConnell; auditors, Robert Gilliland, 
Robert Crawford, John Hoffman; over- 
seers of poor, Cyrus Clarke, J. W. Johns- 
ton. 

The Leslie House, containing ninety 
rooms, was finished and furnished ready 
for occupation on the 1st of April. 

On Sunday, the 16th of April, there was 
a heavy snow-storm, which lasted for about 
twenty-four hours. When the storm was 
over there were seven and one-half inches 
of snow on the ground. 

The First Methodist Episcopal Society 
erected a new church edifice during the 
summer and fall of 1854. It was finished 
some time in the winter of 1854-55. 

A grand fair was held in New Castle, 
commencing on October 5, and continuing 
three days. 

On the 5th an election for officers of the 
Lawrence County Agricultural and Horti- 
cultural Society was held, and the follow- 
ing gentlemen were chosen for the .ensuing 
year: President, Thomas Pearson; vice- 
presidents, William Hamilton and Thomas 
Cunningham; treasurer, William McCly- 



AND EEPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 



79 



monds; secretary, J. AVebster Eeynolds; 
managers, William Williams and Phillip 
Growl. 

The summer of 1854 was remarkable for 
the long drouth which prevailed from the 
16th of 5lay to the latter part of August, 
in consequence of which all the crops were 
scanty, and farmers were obliged to fatten 
their hogs on acorns. The drouth affected 
the streams, and the fish in the Shenango 
River died in great numbers during the 
latter part of August. 

On the 12th of November a party of 
fifty-two colored peojDle passed through 
New Castle, on their way from Virginia to 
Mercer, where the}'' had concluded to set- 
tle. They had formerly been slaves and 
had been liberated by the will of their mas- 
ters. Some are still living at and near 
Mercer, where some of them at one time 
owned considerable property. 

H.\HD TIMES IN 1855. 

During the months of January and Feb- 
ruary of 1855 the laboi'ing classes in New 
Castle suffered from scarcity of work. The 
destitution increased to such an extent that 
steps were taken for their temporary re- 
lief. Under the auspices of the Ladies' 
Benevolent Association, free soup dinners 
were furnished the destitute every day for 
several weeks at the house of Eichard 
Craven. 

At the borough election, held on the 16th 
of ]\[areh. the following officers were 
chosen: Burgess, Thomas Pearson; jus- 
tices, James Dickson, George C. Morgan; 
constable, Uriah Cubbison; councilmen, 
David Emery, Wilson Palls, E. C. Cowden, 
J. W. Squier, William C. Hoffman; as- 
sessor, John Horner; assistant assessors, 
William Shaw, B. C. Emery; auditors, B. 
B. Pickett and S. F. Eigby; overseers of 
the poor, J. B. Eeynolds, D. Stewart; 
school directors, Shubael Wilder, Isaac 
Dickson; judge of elections, John E. 
Moore ; inspectors, John Shumaker, James 
Moorhead. 

New Castle seems to have been finan- 



cially in a very healthy condition in 1855, 
for the bonded debt of the borough is 
stated at $2,500, and the total indebtedness 
at $4,206.82. 

In June, this year, there were heavy 
rains. The streams were so swollen that 
navigation on the canal was interrupted 
for several weeks, and, as a consequence, 
flour and provisions became very scarce. 

"The anniversary of the nation's inde- 
pendence was celebrated in grand style. 
At a very early hour the New Castle Light 
Artillery fired a national salute from 
Shaw's Hill, and all the bells in town re- 
sponded merrily. At 10 o'clock A. M. the 
procession formed in the following order: 
The New Castle Band; the Eagle Fire 
Company; teachers and scholars of the 
Union schools; the Lawrence Guards; the 
Einggold Guards, of Princeton, Captain 
Hall, and the Harlansburg Infantry, Gen- 
eral McCune. The exercises were in a 
grove, where addresses were delivered by 
Dr. John W. Wallace and Eev. E. A. 
Browne. The school children had a picnic 
and dinner, and there were patriotic toasts, 
music, and the firing of salutes. After 
the exercises were over, the soldiers 
formed and marched to the Cochran 
House, where about 200 of them, including 
several veterans of the War of 1812, par- 
took of a simiptuous dinner, provided by 
the citizens. The festivities closed with 
a ball at Kossuth Hall, and another at the 
Leslie House, the latter given by the Eagle 
Fire Company." 

The Lawrence Guards celebrated their 
fifth anniversary, on the 20th of July, by a 
parade and drill, and a dance in tlie eve- 
ning. 

A grand military encampment was held 
at New Castle, commencing on the 11th of 
September, of this year. The following 
organizations took part in the exercises: 
Jackson Independent Blues, of Pittsburg, 
Captain Alexander Hays; Darlington Ar- 
tillery, Major W. H. Power; Einggold 
Guards, of Princeton, Captain W. G. Hall ; 
Big Beaver Eiflemen, Lieutenant Miller, 



HISTORY OF LAWRENCE COUNTY 



and the New Castle Light Artillery, Cap- 
tain William H. Shaw. It is veiy probable 
that the Lawrence Guards were also pres- 
ent, though they are not mentioned in the 
newspaper accoimts. A serious accident 
occurred during the festivities. Sei'geant 
Edward Smith, of the artillery, while as- 
sisting in firing a salute, had his right ann 
so badly injured by a premature discharge 
as to necessitate its amputation. 

The winter of 1855-56 was very cold. 
January 12 about twenty inches of snow 
fell, and during this month the mercury 
sank as low as 25 degrees below zero. On 
the 3d of February it indicated 32 degrees 
below, according to accounts, and again, 
on the 10th of March, 20 degrees below. 

On March 3d Robert Patterson's soap 
and candle factory, in West New Castle, 
was destroyed by fire, involving a loss of 
about $1,200. 

At the borough election, held on the 21st 
of March, the following officers were 
elected: Burgess, Stillman Bi'iggs; coun- 
cilmen, R. W. Clendenin, H. J. Lewis, John 
McElevy, John R. Richardson, Robert 
Crawford; constable, Uriah Cubbison; 
school directors. Rev. G. R. McMillen, Dr. 
D. Leasure; overseer of the poor, L. V. 
Crips, Dr. A. T. Davis ; auditor, I. N. Dick- 
son ; assessor, J. B. McKee ; judge of elec- 
tion, Thomas Rigby; inspectors, Samuel 
Spiese and Webster Justice. 

An immense Republican mass conven- 
tion was held in New Castle on the 9th of 
October, 1857, said to have been the largest 
ever held in the place. It appears that 
there were by actual count in the proces- 
sion 3,154 people, 938 horses, 68 cattle, 93 
horsemen, 1,834 flags, banners, etc., 454 
vehicles and seven bands. 

The rolling-mills of the "Orizaba Iron 
Works" were destroyed by fire on the 
night of the 18th of October, involving a 
'loss of from $5,000 to $7,000, partially cov- 
ered by insurance. The mills were soon 
afterwards rebuilt. 

The New Castle Gaslight Company was 
incorporated February 11, 1856, by Dr. 



Charles T. Whippo, Stephen J. Noble, The- 
odore F. Hay, Newell ^\Tiite and Ezekiel 
Sankey. The charter gave the right to sup- 
ply the borough of New Castle with gas for 
illuminating purposes for the ^space of 
twenty years. The business houses on 
AYashington Street and the "Diamond" 
were first lighted on the evening of Decem- 
ber 8, 1856. 

The borough election occuri'ed on the 
25th of March, when the following officers 
were elected: Burgess, Alexander Ross; 
councilmen, John AY. Wallace, James R. 
Shaw, James McElevy, R. W. Clendenin, 
Shubael Wilder; constable, James J. Cook; 
school directors, Joseph Justice, John 
Rejmolds ; assessor, Joseph T. Boyd ; over- 
seers of the poor, L. V. Crips, J. E. McCon- 
nell; judge of elections, AYilliam C. Hoff- 
man; inspectors, Benjamin F. Emery, 
William Devlin ; auditor, Thomas Pearson. 

On the 26th of March, 1857, J. N. Wag- 
onseller, cashier of the Bank of New Cas- 
tle, who had absconded with a large sum 
of money, was brought back to New Castle, 
having been arrested in Philadelphia. He 
had a hearing before George C. Morgan, 
Esq., and was committed for trial in de- 
fault of bail. At the time of his arrest 
$21,500 of New Castle paper was found in 
his carpet-bag. In the course of a few 
weeks he was liberated on bail, and soon 
after left the country. At a meeting of 
the stockliolders, held on the 1st of May, 
the Board was reorganized by the election 
of David Sankey, president", and Cyrus 
Clarke, cashier. R. W. Cunningham was 
elected a director in the place of Wagon- 
seller, and R. W. Stewart in place of Dr. 
Whippo, who had resigned. 

Many improvements were made in New 
Castle during the summer of 1857, among 
which were the building of the Free, now 
the Second Presbyterian Church, the Peo- 
ple's Savings Bank, and a third story on 
the American House, later the Central 
Hotel. 

The Lawrence County jail seems to have 
been singularly unfortunate in holding the 



AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 



81 



prisoners confined witliin its walls. Every 
few weeks a batch would escape, sometimes 
by means of wooden keys, ingeniously con- 
structed, and sometimes by other means. 
In February, 1858, four prisoners escaped, 
and on the 6th of March, two more left for 
parts unknown. 

On the 11th of February, 1858, an ordi- 
nance was passed enlarging the borough 
limits, by extending the lines on the north 
some twenty-tive or thirty perches. 

At the borough election, held on the 19th 
of March, the following officers were 
elected: Burgess, Alexander Ross; coun- 
cil, Dickson Watson and William Griffith, 
for three years, James R. Shaw and John 
Vogan, for two years, John S. Pomeroy 
and Shubael AVilder, one year; school di- 
rectors, William H. Reynolds, Wilson 
Falls; constable, James J. Cook; judge of 
elections, James S. Tidball; inspectors, 
Oliver G. Hazen, James D. Sboaff; over- 
seers of the poor, Thomas Rigby, J. Wes- 
ley Squier; assessor, Joseph T. Boyd; as- 
sistant assessors. Dr. A. M. Cowden and 
Joseph S. White; auditor, R. C. Leslie. 

DESCRIPTION OF NEW CASTLE IN 1858. 

The following description of New Castle, 
written by Hon. John W. Forney, was pub- 
lished in the Philadelphia Press, in June, 

1858: 



"New Castle, the county seat of Lawrence County, is 
situated at the junction of the Shenango and Neshan- 
nock Rivers, three miles above the junction of the She- 
nango and the Mahoning Elvers, constituting the big 
Beaver, which maies its confluence with the Ohio River at 
Beaver, twenty-eight miles below Pittsburg. The Erie 
Canal, from the Ohio River at Beaver to the city of 
Erie, passes up the valley of the Big Beaver and She- 
nango Rivers through the town of New Castle, and the 
Cross-cut Canal, from New Castle to Akron, on the Ohio 
Canal, passes up the valley of the Mahoning, giving a 
connection by canal with the city of Cleveland. The 
population of New Castle is about 7,000.* The manu- 
facture of iron is the principal business, though there 
are numerous other interests, involving much capital 
and the employment of many operatives. There are 

• In this estimate, Mr. Forney undoubtedly Included 
all the outlying suburbs ; but the estimate was much too 
high. The D. S. Census In 1860 gave the borough 1,882, 
which was about one-halt of the whole population of the 

two companies, the 'Cosalo' and the 'Orizaba,' engaged 



in the manufacture of iron. They have all the neces- 
sary furnaces, rolling-mills and nail factories to contain 
within their own operations the taking of the ore, coal 
and limestone from the neighboring hills, and turning 
the raw material into every grade of the manufactured 
article, from railroad iron down to three-penny nails. 
They give employment to over 500 operatives, upon the 
product of whose labor subsist directly at least 3,000 
souls, and indirectly as many more in the town and sur- 
rounding neighborhood. The Orizaba Company have 
not entirely suspended operations at any time during 
the past year, and are at present in full blast. The 
Consalo Company is about making a lease to parties 
that mil soon put the works into operation upon an en- 
larged scale, with a view to rivaling the best m.ills in 
the United States. It is here that the 'Croton' glass, an 
article of window glass largely supplied to the West, is 
manufactured. It is made from the solid rock and is 
said to be equal to any manufactured in the State. 

"There are several large flouring-mills in full success- 
ful operation, two large foundries, machine and engine 
shops, besides many smaller manufactories. 

"The public schools of the borough accommodate 
about 600 pupils in one large three-story brick building, 
which also contains a high school department. Another 
school building is in process of erection in East New 
Castle, lying alongside the old borough, that will ac- 
commodate about 1,000 pupils, that being still less than 
the number to be provided for, and rendering the erec- 
tion of ward schoolhouses necessary in the more distant 
suburbs. 

"The whole community is self-sustaining, the agricul- 
tural productions of the neighborhood being far more 
than suflScient to feed all the operatives who turn the 
minerals into the manufactured articles, as well as the 
whole population besides, and a large surplus of grain 
is shipped East. The Pittsburg & Newcastle Railroad 
will be completed probably by the 4th of July— posi- 
tively in August — and then communication by rail wiU 
be easy in every direction. The Cleveland & Mahoning 
Valley Railroad, completed from Cleveland to Youngs- 
town, within eighteen miles of New Castle, will rapidly 
be pushed on to intersect at New Castle, and it is here 
that the Northwestern Railroad, if it should ever be 
finished, intersects with the Cleveland road. Strong ef- 
forts, with every prospect of success, are being made 
to extend the Pittsburg & New Castle Railroad from 
New Castle north to the city of Erie; and when aU 
these roads are finished— as they will be — four impor- 
tant railroads will center at New Castle. 

"We were not prepared to see a thriving inland city 
of 7,000 inhabitants on our visit some months since to 
the county of Lawrence — a city of broad streets, large 
brick dwellings, noble schoolhouses, comfortable resi- 
dences and immense manufactories. It is beautifully 
located, reminding one of Pittsburg in its abundance 
of coal and iron and in its swarthy complexion. Yet 
it is fresher far than its dusky neighbor. There' is an 
air of health in all natural surroundings. In its ro- 
mantic streams and the lovely valley in which it lies 
embosomed it possesses advantages of which Pittsburg 
cannot boast. 

"In 1806 New Castle contained but twenty houses, 
and in 1840 its population was 611. Now it boasts a 
population of 7,000, and the extraordinary facilities 
shortly to be extended to its enterprising and thriving 
people will lead to such a development of its resources 
as will make it one of the most important towns in the 



HISTORY OF LAWRENCE COUNTY 



state. It is eighteen miles from the town of Mercer and 
is closely connectetl in domestic commerce and in other 
respects with Beaver, Butler, Meadville, Franklin, Erie 
and other western Pennsylvania towns. Lawrence, as 
we have said, was cut out of Mercer and Beaver Coun- 
ties, and both were taken from Allegheny; so, indeed, 
were Crawford, parts of Armstrong, Venango and all 
of Butler and Erie. 

"It may therefore be readily imagined that the char- 
acteristics of the people of this great tier of counties 
are nearly the same. They were together in the early 
struggles of the Revolution; together they struggled 
into prominence; together they rejoiced over the great 
men that made western Pennsylvania at an early day 
the seat of intelligence and enterprise. Pittsburg was 
their capital, and for many years they were controlled 
by its example. But the new era established a new 
order of things. Canals and railroads gave to each 
county an independent existence, though making all more 
dependent upon each other. Competition gave to every 
locality a character of its own and promoted the gen- 
eral prosperity; and New Castle is a proof that the 
change was for the better, however 'considered. It is 
now one of the most flourishing and beautiful towns in 
the Union, and when its railroad connections are com- 
pleted it will take a fresh start in the race for supe- 
riority." 

During the summer of 1858, a double- 
track bridge over the Ne.shannock Creek, 
on Washington Street, was erected at a 
cost of $1,900, a new building was built for 
the Eagle engine on the northwest corner 
of Mill Street and Market Allev, and a 
new Union school building in East New 
Castle. 

Early in August, 1858, a musical asso- 
ciation, called the "Festival Glee Club," 
was organized. 

Pittsburg Street, in East New Castle, 
was illuminated on the evening of Wednes- 
day, the 25th of August, in celebration of 
the great event of laying the Atlantic cable. 
The band furnished music on the joyful 
occasion. 

On the morning of the 19th of October a 
destructive fire occurred in New Castle, 
the total loss being estimated at $5,000. 
Among the sufferers were Andrew Reed, 
William G. Warnock, R. M. Allen, William 
H. RejTiolds, William Dickson, William 
Moore. A. TI. Leslie, Pardee & Fowler and 
Firard and Wickman. Immediately suc- 
ceeding this fire there was a lively appre- 
ciation of the value of a fire organization, 
and steps were taken to prepare for future 
contingencies. The Eagle Engine Com- 



pany was reorganized and a new one 
formed, called the Relief Fire Company. 
During this season (1858) both the rolling- 
mills were idle. 

At the borough election, which took place 
on the 18th of March, 1859, the following 
officers were elected: Burgess, Andrew 
Lewis ; school directors. Dr. Newell White 
and Jacob Wilbur; council, Isaac N. Phil- 
lips and James Moorehead; constable, 
James J. Cook; overseers of the poor, 
Thomas Rigby and S. W. Mitchell; as- 
sessor, Alexander Riddle; judge of elec- 
tions, Samuel Alexander; inspectors, Jo- 
seph B. Reynolds, J. Wesley Squier; au- 
ditor, David Craig. 

The Lawrence County Agricultural and 
Horticultural Society seems to have been 
in a flourishing condition about this time. 
Their fairs were generally well attended 
and profitable. At its annual meeting, in 
the fall of 1859, the following officers were 
elected: President, Dr. D. Leasure; vice 
presidents, Isaac N. Gibson, of Wilming- 
ton, and Joseph Cunningham, of Wayne; 
managers, E. M. McConnell, of Pollock, 
and W. C. Harbison, of Shenango; treas- 
urer, William McClymonds, of Union ; sec- 
retary, David Craig, of New Castle. 

At the borough election, on the 16th of 
March, the following gentlemen were 
elected to the respective offices named: 
Burgess, William Moore; council, Thomas 
Pearson, J. R. Moore; justices, David Tid- 
ball, J. M. Craig; constable, James J. 
Cook; school directors, David Craig, Ed- 
ward Thomas ; overseer of the poor, A. H. 
Leslie; assessor, John L. Warnock; au- 
ditor, Robert Boyd; judge of elections, B. 
C. Emery; inspectors, James R. Shaw, 
John Dickson. 

On May 10th a span of the tow-path 
bridge over the Neshannock Creek, about 
seventy feet long, and forming about one- 
half the total length, fell with "a crash into 
the stream, carrying with it three persons 
and three horses. No lives were lost, how- 
ever, even the animals being saved. 

"Wide Awake" clubs were formed in 



AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 



New Castle early in the Presidential cam- 
paign of this year, and the streets were 
frequently enlivened with torchlight pro- 
cessions and music. 

It was during the season of 1860 that 
the people of the State of Kansas sutfered 
terribly from famine, caused by excessive 
drouth, and, in common with other portions 
of the country, New Castle and vicinity 
i-esponded nobly to the wants of the suf- 
fering people. 

THE WAR PERIOD. 

"The year 1861 opened gloomily to the 
people of the United States. The dark 
and threatening clouds of civil war hung 
heavily in the horizon, the hurried tramp 
of ai-med hosts was heard in the Southern 
portion of the Union, while anxious solici- 
tude shadowed all the hearts of the North- 
ern people. New Castle partook of the 
general feeling, and patriotic meetings 
were held and expression given to the 
Union sentiments of the people. On the 
22d of Februarj^ a meeting of citizens who 
were 'friendly to the Union as it is' was 
called at the Court House. Hon. Thomas 
Pomeroy was called to the chair, and G. C. 
Morgan, Joseph Kissick, Jacob Van Gor- 
der and William Stunkard were chosen as 
vice-presidents, and E. S. Durban, Jacob 
Haus and J. M. Kuester, secretaries. A 
series of resolutions, expressive of great 
devotion to the Union, was passed unani- 
mously, and the meeting was addressed by 
R. B. McComb, Rev. R. A. Browne, Hon. 
D. Agnew, D. Craig and Hon. L. L. Mc- 
Guffin." 

At the borough election, held on the 15th 
of March, the following were the names 
of the officers elected: Burgess, William 
Moore; constable, Thomas F. Sankey; 
council, Thomas Campbell, Burkliardt 
Raiab; school directors, Manassa Henlein, 
William H. RejTiolds; judge of election, 
James R. Wallace; inspectors, Joseph B. 
Reynolds, John W. Cunningham; auditor, 
D. H. Wallace; assessor, James Hender- 
son ; assistant assessors, Thomas Falls, Jo- 



seph Kissick; overseer of the poor, Alex- 
ander Ross. 

On the morning of the 22d of April the 
ladies of East New Castle unfurled the 
national flag over the Court House, with 
their own hands. The occasion was enliv- 
ened by vocal and instrumental music, and 
speeches were made by Lewis Taylor and 
Hon. L. L. McGuffin. On the same day 
the national colors were thrown to the 
breeze from St. Mary's Catholic Church, 
in West New Castle, amid the cheers and 
hurrahs of 2,000 people. Addresses were 
made by Lewis Taylor, D. B. Kurtz, R. B. 
McComb, L. L. McGuffin, D. Craig and Rev. 
J. B. Williams. 

' ' On the 24th of April an immense Union 
meeting was held on the 'Diamond.' Hon. 
Thomas Pomeroy was president, and 
twenty-eight old soldiers of the War of 
1812 were elected vice-presidents. The sec- 
retaries were E. S. Durban and James M. 
Kuester. A series of strong resolutions 
were adopted, and a patriotic song, com- 
posed by J. W. Fulkerson, was sung to the 
famous war-hjmin of France, the Mar- 
seillaise. Addresses were made by Revs. 
D. C. Osborne, R. A. Browne, Samuel Bent- 
ley, Hon. L. L. McGuffin, a Mr. AVeyman, 
of Pittsburg, E. S. Durbank, William M. 
Francis, and Rev. J. B. Williams. 

About this time the Lawrence Guards 
volunteered for three months. They num- 
bered 167 men, and were officered as fol- 
lows: Captain, Dr. Daniel Leasure; first 
lieutenant, Edward O'Brien; second lieu- 
tenant, J. J. Cook; third lieutenant, John 
S. King. They were subsequently divided 
into two companies. 

A number of additional companies were 
soon after raised in and around New Cas- 
tle. Among these were the Gennan 
Guards, composed of Germans; St. Mary's, 
composed of Catholic citizens; the Rifle 
Guards, commanded by Captain R. B. Mc- 
Comb, and the Silver Grays, consisting of 
elderly veterans of the Mexican War. 

The principal feature of the Fourth of 
July, 1861, was a grand military parade, 



84 



HISTOEY OF LAWEENCE COUNTY 



in which the following organizations par- 
ticipated: Washington Guards, Captain 
James McCune; Slippery Rock Guards, 
Captain J. H. Cline; Washington Grays, 
Captain J. H. Rhodes; Union Riflemen, 
Captain P. S. Morton; Wayman Grays, 
Captain John Yoimg; Eastbrook Guards, 
Captain A. Buchanan; Mahoning Guards, 
Captain William Burns; Pulaski Rifles, 
Captain W. C. Oliver; Lawrence Grays, 
Captain J. Davidson; Fayette Union 
Grays, Captain James Blair; Liberty 
Guards, Captain 0. L. Jackson; Union Ca- 
dets, Captain D. M. Cubbison; Zouaves, 
Captain D. H. Wallace. These organiza- 
tions were formed into a regiment, under 
the command of Colonel Samuel Bentley, 
with WilUam H. Shaw as lieutenant-colo- 
nel, and W. P. Randolph as adjutant. A 
neat flag was presented to the Union Ca- 
dets by the ladies of New Castle, Dr. R. A. 
Browne making the presentation speech, 
which was gallantly responded to by Cap- 
tain Cubbison. 

The Weyman Grays were also presented 
with a stand of colors by Miss Harriet K. 
Weyman, daughter of Mr. George Wey- 
man, of Pittsburg, for whom the company 
was named. On the 8th of August the 
Lawrence Guards, who had been out in the 
three months' service, returned to New 
Castle. They had been divided into two 
companies — Company H, commanded by 
Captain Leasure, and Company D, by Cap- 
tain O'Brien. Several companies of "Home 
Guards" met them at the canal landing 
and escorted them to the "Diamond," 
where they were addressed by Rev. D. C. 
Osborne, after which they were dismissed, 
and departed for their several homes. 

On the 12th of August a great storm 
passed over New Castle, doing consider- 
able damage, particularly along the val- 
ley of Big Run. 

On the 14th of October, Frederick Seif- 
fert, of New Castle, was accidentally shot 
and killed in camp, at the city of Washing- 
ton, D. C, being the first man killed from 
this section. 



New Castle furnished her full share of 
men for the army during the Rebellion, 
and her citizens were ever pronipt at their 
country's call for men and means. Among 
those who took a prominent part in the 
ranks of her military men were Colonel 
Daniel Leasure, Colonel Edward O'Brien, 
a hero of the Mexican AVar, Colonel D. H. 
Wallace, Colonel R. B. McComb, and many 
others. Soldiers' aid societies were organ- 
ized by the ladies, concerts were given for 
the benefit of soldiers' wives and orphans, 
and in many ways those who remained at 
home contributed generously to the com- 
fort of those "upon the tented field" and 
in the crowded hospitals at the rear. 

At the borough election, which took place 
on the 21st of March, 1862, the following 
officers were elected: Burgess, William 
Moore ; council, John W. Cunningham, Ben 
C. Emery; constable, Thomas F. Sankey; 
assessor, John Watson; auditor, S. W. 
Dana ; overseer of the poor, S. W. Mitchell; 
school directors, Dr. J. H. M. Peebles, for 
three years; David Tidball, three years; 
James R. Shaw, one year; Cyrus Clarke, 
one year; judge of elections, J. S. Agnew; 
inspectors, Thomas Marshall, Thomas F. 
Jackson. 

A draft was ordered for this section dur- 
ing this year, and Dr. J. H. M. Peebles 
was appointed examining surgeon, and 
Jacob Haus, Esq., draft commissioner. 

On February 5, 1863, an interesting 
party of old people met at the house of 
Joseph T. Boyd, one of the pioneer mer- 
chants of New Castle, who came here and 
opened a store in a log building, belonging 
to Jesse Du Shane, in 1806. Mr. Boyd was 
eighty-two years old at the time of the 
party, and among his gray-headed com- 
peers were Jesse Du Shane, aged eighty- 
nine years; George Pearson, eighty-six; 
Robert McGuffin, eighty-five and Robert 
Wallace, eighty-four. Among other guests 
were E. S. Durban, Esq., Major Shaw and 
Colonel Leasure. 

On Saturday evening, the 28th of March, 
a Union League was formally organized 



AND EEPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 



85 



with the following officers : President, Mar- 
tin Gantz; vice-presidents, William Book, 
George B. Woodworth, Samuel Hamilton, 
0. G. Hazen, James Ray, John Moorhead ; 
recording secretary, William McCljTnonds ; 
corresponding secretary, E. S. Durban; 
treasurer, Joseph Kissick; executive com- 
mittee, D. Craig, John McCartney, R. B. 
McComb, G. W. Miller, Hon. David Sankey 
and Hon. John Ferguson. 

"The year 1863 marks an epoch in the 
history of New Castle. On the 15th of 
June the last tie was laid on the Beaver 
Valley Railway, and a connection formed 
with the Erie and Pittsburg road, giving 
New Castle the advantage of the greatest 
of modern inventions — the railway. The 
Erie and Pittsburg road was in full run- 
ning order about the 15th of July follow- 
ing. The Ashtabula, Youngstown and 
Pittsburg Railway, extending from 
Youngstown, Ohio, to Mahoningtown in 
Lawrence County, was put in operation in 
1864-65, and the'New Castle and Franklin 
road about ISTi. These roads give New 
Castle direct connections with the Western 
Reserve in the great State of Ohio, and 
with the famous oil-regions of Pennsyl- 
vania. 

"The increase of the borough of New 
Castle from 1850 to 1860, as indicated by 
the United States census reports, was com- 
paratively slight, being only 262; but the 
census does not probably show the actual 



increase, it being largely outside the bor- 
ough limits, which comprised only a small 
part of the actual population, to which the 
old borough is only the nucleus." 

New Castle was erected into a borough 
on the 25th of March, 1825. The first bur- 
gess was Robert McConahy; the second 
John Frazier, and the third, Joseph Jus- 
tice. The old records, from 1825 down to 
1852, have been lost or destroyed, and it is 
impossible, therefore, to give the names 
of most of the burgesses during those 
years. The following names, however, ap- 
pear on the records: 



1836. 


Joshua Logan. 


1859. 


A. Lewis. 


1843. 


William Mitehell. 


1860. 


William Moore. 


1848. 


Thomas Sloan. 


1861. 


Nathan Morrill. 


1852. 


J. E. Emery. 


1862 


William Moore. 


1853. 


Joseph Kissick. 


1863. 


Nathan Morrill. 


1854. 


William Moore. 


1864. 


Nathan Morrill. 


1855. 


Thomas Pearson. 


1865. 


David Craig. 


1856. 


Stillman Briggs. 


1866. 


Nathan Morrill. 


1857. 


Alexander Ross. 


1867. 


J. W. Reynolds. 


1858. 


Alexander Boss. 


1868. 


J. W. Reynolds. 



BUBGESSES OF WEST XEW CASTLE BOROUGH. 

1888— William P. Miller. 
1889—1. B. Griffiths. 
1890— James G. Fulkerson. 
1892— James G. Fulkerson. 
1894— Robert W. Douds. 
1897 — William Moncrief. 

Mr. Moncrief was the last burgess before 
the borough was annexed to the city of 
New Castle. 



CHAPTER VI 



NEW CASTLE-THE CITY 



Indian Proprietors — First White Settlers — Wild Game — Early Merchants, Millers, etc. 
— First Death — Early Justices — First Postofftce — Early Churches — Gillespie's Ad- 
dition — Early Bridges — Amusements — Pioneer Costume — Netv Castle Made a Bor- 
ough — The Town Re-surveyed — Some Notable Improvements — Prosperous Era 
Begins — First Fire Company — New Castle in 1840 — First Steps Towards Bank- 
ing — The New County — The First Courts — Netv Castle in 1850 — Court-House — 
New Military Companies — Hard Times in 1855 — Gaslight Company Incorporated 
— A Contemporary Description of New Castle in 1858 — The War Period. 



NEW CASTLE BECOMES A CITY. 

The borough of New Castle was raised 
to the dignity of a city February 25, 1869, 
and divided into two wards, the first ward 
including all of the former Pollock Town- 
ship, and the second the whole of what 
had heretofore been the borough, and con- 
siderable territory from Neshannock 
Township. This enlargement of the limits 
added greatly to the population, the census 
of 1870 giving the new city 6,164 inhabi- 
tants. The first city election was held on 
the third Friday of March. 1869. The first 
mayor was T. B. Morgan; president of 
Select Council, E. W. Cunningham ; presi- 
dent of Common Council, David Craig ; sec- 
retary, John McMichael. 

MAYORS OF NEW CASTLE. 

1869— T. B. Morgan. 
1870— M. B. Welch. 
1871— M. B. Welch. 
1872_William S. Black. 
187.3— Thomas McBride. 
1875— J. E. Eichardson. 
1878— Eobert Cochran. 
1881— Eobert C. McChesney. 
1884— Eobert C. McChesney. 



1887— Eobert C. McChesney. 

1890— John B. Brown. 

1893— Alexander Eichardson. (S. W. 
Smith succeeded Alexander Eichardson in 
the fall of 1894.) 

1896— S. W. Smith. 

1899— C. L. Warnock. 

1902— John C. Jackson. 

1905— M. Louis Hainer. 

1908— Harry J. Lusk. 

By an Act of Assembly, approved May 
23, 1874, New Castle was made a city of 
the third class (which includes cities having 
from 10,000 to 100,000 inhabitants), and 
by order of the Court of Quarter Sessions, 
made December 6, 1876, it was divided into 
four wards. 

CITY HALL. 

The lot on which the City Hall stands — 
68x180 feet in dimensions, and located on 
the northwest corner of Washington and 
East Streets — was purchased of Jesse W. 
Moore for $15,000. The building was com- 
menced in June, 1875. The original con- 
tract price for the construction of the 
building was about $31,000, the contractors 
being Vogan & Preston. Before being 



AND EEPEESENTATIVE CITIZENS 



87 



completed the building was burned — June 
7, 1876. The amount expended up to that 
date was about $24,000, there being no in- 
surance. The building was rebuilt at an 
additional cost of $15,000. It is constructed 
of red pressed brick, with galvanized iron 
trimmings, and is three full stories and 
basement in height. The whole of the first 
floor is occui3ied bj' the mayor's, treas- 
urer's and controller's offices, and the sec- 
ond floor by the two councils, committee- 
rooms, and audience chamber. The base- 
ment is occupied bv the Police Department 
and for storage rooms. The building is 
well adapted to the needs of the enterpris- 
ing city in which it is located. 

The following shows the city government 
for 1907-1908: 



Mayor- — M. Louis Hainer. 

Clerk— A. E. Rhodes. 

Engineer — C. H. Milholland. 

Solicitor — James A. Gardner. 

Treasurer — John McCandless. 

Controller — L. C. Hughes. 

Health Officer— C. C. Homer. 

Poor Director— J. A. Hainer. 

Poor Physician — W. C. Kissinger. 

Poor Warden— J. L. Gold. 

Street Commissioner — J. E. Barteaux. 

Chief of Police — Thomas J. Spiers. 

Chief of Fire Department— F. J. Con- 
nery. 

City Electrician — W. S. Devlin. 

Assessors — W. N. Aiken, Robert McBur- 
ney and G. G. Pearson. 

CITY COUNCIL. 

Select Councilmen — Jas. A. Stevenson, 
J. C. McCreadv, B. L. Lusk, A. R. Shaffer, 
M. L. Cukerbraum, W. E. McKee, W. H. 
Chambers. S. A. "Winternitz, clerk. 

Common Councilmen — C. 0. Davis, Sam- 
uel Warner, T. C. Elliott, R. L. Wallace, 
P. K. Fike. R. H. McCann, L. G. Genkinger, 
W. H. Thomas, J. L. Gorman, C. C. Rigbv, 
John Rae, J. M. Triplett, J. H. Mcllvenny, 
J. C. Raney. 



BOAED OF EDUCATION. 

This board has its regular meetings on 
the first Monday evening of each month in 
the High School Building, and is composed 
of the following officers and members : 

R. C. G. White, president; J. H. Bittner, 
secretary; John McCandless, treasurer; 
Helen L. Moseley, clerk; T. A. Kimes, su- 
perintendent. 

First Ward— W. J. Chain, I. S. Fulker- 
son. 

Second Ward— W. K. Hugus, R. C. G. 
White. 

Third Ward— J. H. Bittner, Chas. G. 
Martin. 

Fourth Ward— W. E. Patterson, J. D. 
Clarke. 

Fifth Ward— Thomas Sadler, J. Blucher. 

Sixth Ward— G. W. Heckart. 

Seventh Ward— S. A. Barnes, R. W. 
Hamilton. 

The city now contains fifteen capacious 
and well appointed school buildings, while 
there are also three parochial schools car- 
ried on by the Roman Catholic Church — 
St. Joseph's, St. Mary's, and St. Mary's 
(Polish). (See chapters on Education and 
Religious Organizations.) 

POSTMASTERS. 

The first citizen to fill the honorable po- 
sition of postmaster in New Castle was 
Joseph Thornton Boyd, who was appointed 
in 1812, under President Madison's admin- 
istration, and continued to fill the office for 
twenty-six consecutive years, up to 1838. 
Following him have been : 

R. W. Stewart, about eighteen months. 

David Tidball, about eight months. 

Joseph T. Boyd, again, about eighteen 
months. 

David Tidball, again, about six months. 

David Schaffer, about three years, dur- 
ing a portion of Tyler's and Polk's admin- 
istrations. 
"William H. Reynolds, a few months. 

William H. Shaw, under Taylor's and 
Fillmore's administrations. 



88 



HISTORY OF LAWEENCE COUNTY 



David Tidball, under Pierce's adminis- 
tration. 

Alexander Xewell, under Buchanan's ad- 
ministration. 

A. H. Leslie, a few months, under Bu- 
chanan. 

David Emery, under Lincoln and 
Johnson, until 1867, when the office was 
taken possession of by a special govern- 
ment agent and correspondent of the New 
York Tribune, appointed by President 
Johnson in May, 1867. This agent occu- 
pied the position until August 5, 1867, when 
David Tidball was api^ointed, and was con- 
tinued to February, 1881. The more re- 
cent incumbents have been: E. I. Agnew, 
1881 to 1885; William Gordon, 1885 to 
1889; J. M. Clark, 1889 to 1893; Geo. B. 
Gibson, 1893 to 1897 ; John S. Brown, 1897 
to 1903 ; John A. McKee, 1903 to the pres- 
ent time. 

riKE DEPAKTMENT. 

It is not known when the first fire com- 
pany was organized in New Castle, but it 
was probably nothing more than a bucket 
company, each member being furnished 
with a leather bucket, with his name, or the 
name of the organization marked thereon, 
which he kept at his house or place of 
business. 

The first fire company in New Castle, 
of which we have any record, was organ- 
ized on the 29th of September, 1836, the 
meeting being held at Andy Lewis ' tavern. 
The following is a complete list of the offi- 
cers chosen: President, J. T. Boyd; vice- 
president, William Cox; secretary, S. C. 
Euwer; treasurer, Thomas Painter; cap- 
tain, William Dickson; lieutenant, W. B. 
Miller; first engineer, R. W. Cunningham; 
second engineer, James Watson, Jr. ; third 
engineer, P. T. Boyd; fourth engineer, J. 
W. Cunningham; axeman, Thomas Hun- 
ter, John ]il. Semple and E. R. Semple. 
How long the company continued in exist- 
ence we cannot say, but there seems to be 
no doubt that it was kept up for many 
years. 



The first fire engine brought to New 
Castle was a small hand-engine, which was 
operated by means of two cranks, one on 
either side of the wheel, which forced the 
water through the hose. Though a very 
imperfect machine, it was regarded with 
considerable pride by the people of New 



Whether the Eagle Fire Company ex- 
isted prior to 1851, we do not know, but as 
the constitution of this company was pub- 
lished for the first time in this year, we 
may, perhaps, safely infer that the com- 
pany was first organized some time about 
this period. 

The following is a list of officers chosen 
by the Eagle Fire Company, in April, 
1851: President, B. B. Pickett; vice-presi- 
dent, S. Dunn; secretary, P. Dunn; assist- 
ant secretary, John R. Richardson; treas- 
urer, William Lutton; captain, P. Miller j 
lieutenants, J. McGown, first; S. Dunn, 
second; engineers, J. R. Richardson, first, 
R. Craven, second; W. R. Madge, thii'd; 
W'. G. Scott, fourth; assistant engineers, 
William Love, William Gaston; hose di- 
rectors, D. Diamond, J. S. King, G. Riddle, 
J. S. Pomeroy, J. R. Emery, William 
Douds; assistant hose directors, D. Craig, 
R. P. Marshall, J. R. Moore, J. Crips, J. A. 
Addis, J. H. Emery, R. Emeiy, J. Pyle, H. 
Stanson, H. Hall, G. V. Boyles, William 
Emery, William Lutton, U. Cubbison ; hose 
engineers, J. B. Du Shane, J. H. Orrj 
ladder men, B. B. Pickett, J. B. McKee, 
G. Moore, R. Wright; hook men, J. B. 
Moore, John H. Spencer; axe men, D, 
Stewart, Sr., S. Bussinger. 

The first engine purchased by the Coun- 
cil, for the Eagle Fire Company, arrived 
at New Castle on Saturday, the 30th of 
August, 1851. The Gazette of that time 
described the new engine as "a beautiful 
piece of mechanism." 

On Saturday, the 4th of September, 1852^ 
there was a grand firemen's parade, which 
was followed by a dinner at the Cochran 
House. 

In February, 1852, a test was made of 



AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 



89 



the engine belonging to the Eagle Com- 
pany. The engine being stationed at the 
canal, the hose was carried to the north 
side of the "Diamond," a distance of 500 
feet, from which point a strong stream was 
thrown over the Gazette Bnilding. At that 
time John R. Moore was president of the 
company, James Moorhead, secretary, and 
John R. Richardson, captain. 

On Tuesday evening, the 26th of Feb- 
ruary, 1856, a supper for the benefit of the 
Eagle Fire Company was given at the 
Leslie House. More than 100 persons, be- 
sides firemen, partook of the luxurious re- 
past. The supper was followed by a dance. 

On Monday evening, the 25th of October, 
1858, a meeting was held at the Eagle En- 
gine House, at which the Eagle Company 
was reorganized, with following officers : 
President, D. Tidball; vice-president, 
Thomas Marshall; secretary, James Dick- 
son; assistant secretary, James M. Craig; 
treasurer, James McGown, and captain. 
John W. Taylor. 

November 2, 1858, a new fire company 
was organized under the name and title of 
' ' The Relief Fire Company. ' ' The follow- 
ing officers were elected to sei've during 
the ensuing year : President, D. S. Morris ; 
vice-president, H. J. Levis; secretary, 
Crawford W. Stewart; assistant secretary. 
Noble Holton; treasurer, 0. G. Hazen; cap- 
tain, John R. Richardson. Notwithstand- 
ing the Girard Insurance Company, of 
Philadelphia, donated to this company the 
sum of $50 towards procuring a new en- 
gine, the latter was never procured, and 
on this account the company ceased to 
exist. 

Although there has been a fire company 
in New Castle known as the Eagle Fire 
Compan}' almost from the year 1836, the 
Eagle Fire Company existing in 1877 may 
be said to date its existence from the 16th 
day of November, 1871, at which time a 
meeting was held at Wliite Hall that re- 
sulted in the organization of a fire com- 
pany. The following is a complete list of 



the officers then elected: Captain, John 
Young; first lieutenant, Thomas Marshall; 
second lieutenant, William P. Morrison; 
first engineer, D. D. Douds ; second engi- 
neer, Henry Hartsuff; first hose director, 
D. M. Cubbisou; second hose director, H. 
AV. Squier. This meeting was presided 
over by Col. D. H. AVallace; John A. Por- 
ter served as secretary. At a meeting held 
on the 3d of February, 1872, a new set of 
officers was elected. What is now known 
as the new constitution of this company 
seems to have gone into operation about 
the 1st qf October, 1873, about the time 
that the Eagle steam fire-engine arrived. 

The first officers under the new constitu- 
tion were: President, Joseph Kissick; 
vice-president, D. H. Wallace; treasurer, 
William PI. Reynolds; secretary, H. E. 
Woodworth ; captain, John Young. At this 
time the Eagle Company contained about 
sixty members, but the number in 1877 
would probably not have exceeded forty. 

For several months the Eagle steam 
fire-engine, though it weighed fifty-three 
hundred pounds, was drawn to fires by 
hand, but in January, 1874, a team of 
horses was purchased bj' the Councils for 
the sum of $500, Frank Miller being made 
driver. 

A hook-and-ladder company was organ- 
ized in the autumn of 1873, which was 
known as the Rescue Hook-and-Ladder 
Company. It had a membership of about 
thirty-five strong, able-bodied young men, 
with Stephen B. Marshall, foreman, but 
the apparatus assigned to them was so 
cumbersome and unwieldy as to make its 
use a matter of considerable difficulty. In 
consequence the company gradually di- 
minished in numbers until at lengih \t was 
disbanded. 

Some time in the spring of 1877 a new 
company was organized in what is known 
as the Fourth Ward. Tliis company con- 
tained about sixty members, all strong 
and vigorous young men, some of whom 
had had experience in fire-fighting. This 



90 



HISTORY OF LAWRENCE COUNTY 



comiDany had cliarge of the hook-and-lad- 
der truck formerly belonging to the old 
Rescue Hook-and-Ladder Company. 

The Neshannock Fire Company, which 
contained about sixty members, was or- 
ganized on the 26th of September, 1873. 
Its original members numbered forty- 
four. 

The company known as the Vigilant Fire 
Company was organized on the 12th of 
December, 1873, at which time it contained 
forty-seven members. At first it was 
called the Amoskeag Fire Company, from 
the fact that there was a purpose on the 
part of its members to procure an Amos- 
keag fire engine. After a time, however, 
this purpose was abandoned, and it was 
resolved to procure a hook-and-ladder 
truck with Babcock Extinguishers. 
The original members of the Amoskeag 
Company were only four in number. These 
were: President, Thomas McBride; vice- 
president, Thomas Marshall ; secretary, A. 
M. Coulter; treasurer, D. M. Cobbison. 

At a meeting held on the 11th of Febru- 
ary, 1874, the company assumed the name 
of the Vigilant Fire Company and adopt- 
ed the motto, "We strive to save." At 
a subsequent meeting held on the 18th of 
March, 1874, the follownig list of officers 
was elected: President, Thomas Marshall; 
vice-president, Thomas McBride; secre- 
tary, L. D. Durban ; treasurer, C. W. Wat- 
son; trustees, George B. Berger, II. W. 
Squier and Milton Love; foreman, D. M. 
Cubbison; first assistant foreman, H. W. 
Squier, second assistant foreman, James 
Hale; captain of axe, M. Hannon; captain 
of extinguishers, W. W. Cubbison; mar- 
shal, William H. Wilson. The hook-and- 
ladder truck, with the extinguishers, ar- 
rived in New Castle in April, 1874. 

The Neshannock and Eagle companies 
disbanded in 1878 on account of troiible 
with the city councils over the sale of their 
team, the privilege of purchasing the same 
being refused by the councils. Frank H. 
Miller, now fire marshal in Cleveland, was 
then driver. At that time the driver was 



the only man permanently employed in the 
department. 

The steamer purchased in 1875, and 
known as "The Eagle," continued in use 
until 1882. 

In 1882 Hollen Hose Company was or- 
ganized. In that year also the establish- 
ment of the present water-works revolu- 
tionized the system of fire-fighting, and 
much of the glory that arose from the rival- 
ry of the different ununited companies de- 
parted. Its loss was more than compen- 
sated for, however, by the better service 
which resulted from the new methods of 
the united department under one supreme 
control. 

About 1891 the Gamewell fire system was 
put into use, and alarm boxes were dis- 
tributed throughout the city. At first, there 
were but twelve, but now there are sixty- 
four, with about thirty-five miles of wire. 
There are now seven stations, and a lot 
has been purchased on Arlington Avenue 
for the eighth, which will be erected in 
the near future. The outlying districts are 
given excellent protection. 

The stations are the following: 

Central Engine House, in East Street, in 
rear of the City Hall, was built in 1881. 
It is the headquarters of the T. W. Phillips 
Hose No. 1, Vigilant Aeriel (65 feet) Hook- 
and-Ladder Truck, and also fire police. Be- 
sides the chief, there are six men stationed 
here, all of whom are full paid. In winter 
— from November 1 to April 1 — three extra 
men are employed for night work. 

W. D. Wallace Hose and Chemical Com- 
pany No. 2 is located on Park Avenue, in 
the Second Ward. It now has two men, 
but in the near future a three-horse hitch 
will be put in there, requiring an additional 
man. 

The Croton Hose and Chemical Company 
No. 3, on Vine Street, has two men. 

The George W. Johnson Hose and Chem- 
ical Company No. 4 is on Ray Street, in the 
Fourth Ward. It now has two men, but 
soon will have similar additions to No. 2. 

Hose and Chemical Company No. 5, on 



AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 



91 



Scioto Street, Fifth Ward, now has a three- 
horse hitch and four men. 

Hose and Chemical Company No. (J, on 
Smitlifield Street, has two men. 

Vandevort Chemical and Hose Company 
No. 7, located at the corner of Cherry and 
Cedar Streets, Seventh Ward, has three 
men. 

The Phillips Hose Company is hose and 
chemical. It has a combination wagon and 
team. 

In addition to the tweny-four full-paid 
men in the department, there are now about 
185 volunteer numbers. New Castle is 
justly proud of its tire department and its 
efficient service. TJie expense for this year 
(1908) not including equipment or build- 
ings is $26,350 ; property valuation, $76,891. 

The Firemen's Relief Association, of 
New Castle, on June 28, 1895, passed an 
act providing that one-half of the net 
amount received from the 2 per cent tax 
paid upon premiums by foreign fire in- 
surance companies be paid to the treasurer 
of each of the boroughs and cities of the 
commonwealth. 

The Firemen's Relief Association, of 
New Castle, was chartered February 23, 
1897. The object of the corporation is 
to provide and maintain a fund from 
legacies, bequests, and other sources for 
the relief, support and burial of those who 
may be crippled or killed or who might 
be prevented from attending to their usual 
occupation or calling on accoimt of chronic 
ailments or permanent injuries caused by 
exposure or accident while attending to 
public fire duty. Any member of the asso- 
ciation in good standing when inca- 
pacitated for his regular employment while 
attending to his duties as fireman is en- 
titled to benefit during the time that the 
Board of Examiners may report him as 
under control. 

If a member is killed in the performance 
of his duty, leaving wife or orphan chil- 
dren under sixteen years of age, or de- 
pendent parent, such shall receive $300. 



The income from the tax above mentioned 
is now about $800 per year. 

The fire captains since 1872 have been 
the following: 

John Young, 1872-76; George C. Hagan, 
1876-78; Joseph Stritmater, 1878-79; Col. 
D. M. Cubbison, 1879-80; Capt. A. S. Love, 
1880-81; W. W. Cubbison, 1881-92; James 
H. Brown. 1892 to January, 1901 ; F. J. J. 
Connery, January. 1901, to present time. 

FIRE POLICE. 

Captain, C. W. Watson ; first lieutenant, 
P. Gaston; second lieutenant, John Linn, 
with a force of twenty-four men. Ap- 
paratus: One steamer of the "Button" 
pattern, costing $3,500; one hand-engine 
of the same pattern ; one hose-carriage and 
four hose-reels, with 3,500 feet of hose; 
two hook-and-ladders and one police truck, 
with necessary apparatus. 

CITY POLICE DEPARTMENT. 

This department consists of twenty-five 
officers and men, the present chief being 
Joseph Gilmore, who has held the office 
since April 1, 1908. The lieutenant is 
James Diskin, while there are two ser- 
geants. 

The department occupies rooms in the 
basement of the city building. The office- 
room is comfortably and neatly fitted up, 
and adjoining are the cells for prisoners, 
consisting of three separate apartments, 
built very strong and lined inside with 
boiler iron, with a heavy open iron grating 
in front along the corridor. They are clean 
and well lighted and ventilated. For base- 
ment rooms these are exceedingly dry and 
comfortable. For a number of years the 
department has had a patrol wagon, but 
there are as yet no patrol boxes. 

WATER-WORKS. 

The present water system of New Castle 
was established in 1882, and gives excel- 
lent service. The water pressure in the 
downtown district runs from 90 to 100 
pounds or over, and is obtained from two 



92 



HISTOEY OF LAWEENCE COUNTY 



large reservoirs, one on the North Side 
and the other on East Hill. Into the reser- 
voir on the North Side the water is pumped 
from the Shenango River, after passing 
through one of the best filters in the coun- 
try; while the water is forced into the 
East Hill reservoir from the mains by a 
first-class pumping station. From near this 
latter reservoir the water is returned to 
the mains from such an elevation as to 
give an excellent pressure in all jDarts of 
the city. The City of New Castle Water 
Company is located at No. 29 North Mill 
Street, D. H. Amsbary being the present 
superintendent. 

NEW CASTLE GAS COMPANY. 

This company was chartered in Febru- 
arv, 1856, the incorporators being Dr. 
Charles T. Whippo, Stephen J. Noble 
Theodore F. Hay, N. White and Ezekiel 
Sankey. The franchise included the right 
to manufacture and supply the borough of 
New Castle with gas for illuminating pur- 
poses for the period of twenty years. Be- 
fore the expiration of the time granted, 
the company became involved, and their 
rights and property were sold by the sher- 
iff. The purchaser under the sale was Jo- 
seph Pennock, of Pittsburg, who was the 
principal creditor. Soon after his purchase 
he sold out to Cyrus Clarke, who disposed 
of a half interest to David Sankey. Mr. 
Sankey went to Harrisburg and procured 
a new act of incorporation, or a re-enact- 
ment of the former charter, with a new set 
of incorporators, including Cyrus Clarke. 
David Sankey, Isaac N. Phillips, and per- 
haps some others. This company sold out 
in 1875 to another company, which oper- 
ated the works under a capital of $50,000. 
In the latter part of 1899 this latter com- 
iianv, with others, was merged into the 
^orit Pitt Gas Company. In March, 1903, 
*he Fort Pitt Gas Company was absorbed 
by the ^fanufacturers' Light & Heat Com- 
pany, of Pittsburg, which now supplies 
New Castle and Ellwood City with natural 
gas for all the ordinary purposes. This 



company owns 248 oil wells and 648 gas 
wells, also owning and controlling under 
lease 448,976.32 acres of gas and oil lands, 
a large proportion of which are yet un- 
developed. The company is officered in 
Pittsburg and the vicinity. The local dis- 
trict embraces New Castle and Lawrence, 
Butler and Mercer Counties, the New 
Castle office being in charge of Joseph T. 
Campbell, formerly agent for the Fort Pitt 
Gas Company. Under his direction the 
local service is maintained in a thoroughly 
efficient and satisfactory manner, which 
makes New Castle an up-to-date city as re- 
gards this imi^ortant utility. 

The introduction of natural gas and the 
electric light proved ruinous to the old gas 
companies. The charter of the Lawrence 
Gas Company, formerly operating in New 
Castle and vicinity, is now owned by the 
Pennsylvania and Mahoning Valley Rail- 
way Company. The gas plant has not been 
operated for some years. The city streets 
nre now lighted by "the New Castle Electric 
Company, which is controlled by the Ma- 
honing & Shenango Railwav & Light Com- 
pany. M. A. Pooler, 5i{. South Mill Street, 
is superintendent. 

NESHANNOCK RAILROAD, COAL AND ORE 
COMPANY. 

This company was originally chartered 
in 1868. The incorporators were D. Craig, 
R. H. Peebles, Joshua Rhodes, A. B. Ber- 
ger, George Pearson and James Rhodes. 
The road was built in 1866 by James 
Rhodes. The first cost was about $100,000, 
which was subsequently increased to $140,- 
000. The company organized with George 
Pearson as president, James Rhodes, sec- 
retary and treasurer, and the balance of 
the incon^orators acting as directors. A 
new charter was obtained in 1872, and 
a new company organized iinder the name 
of the New Castle Railroad and Mining 
Company. The new company purchased 
the interests of the Neshannock Railroad, 
Coal and Ore Company. The road was 
constructed to connect the New Castle Rail- 



AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 



93 



road and Mining Company with the coal 
and iron-producing district in Neshan- 
nock Township, north of New Castle. 

TELEPHOKE SYSTEMS. 

The Central District and Printing Tele- 
graph Company, operating under tlie Bell 
telephone patent, began business in New 
Castle in 1881, with about twenty-five or 
thirty subscribers. They now have about 
3,500 subscribers. They have a modern 
battery equipment and emploj' about thir- 
ty-five exchange operators. 

The American Union Telephone Com- 
pany, an independent company, is the suc- 
cessor of the Citizens' Telephone Com- 
pany: President, David Jameson; treas- 
urer, C. H. Aiken; secretary, "W. Scott 
Paisley. This company started with 110 
subscribers. The business increased to 
such an extent that the members of the 
company who had other interests found it 
inconvenient to give it the required at- 
tention and the business was sold to its 
present owners. The company has about 
1,500 subscribers and employs about nine- 
teen operators. C. P. Mebane is the man- 
ager, with an office on the second floor of 
the Greer Block. 

OPERA-HOrSE. 

The origin of a popular and up-to-date 
place of amusement dates back to March 
12, 1866, when a stock company, under the 
title of the "New Castle Halland Market 
Company" was chartered, with a capital 
of $25,000, and authority to increase to 
$175,000. The original incorporators were 
E. J. Agnew, George Pearson, Jr., George 
Conzette, I. N. Phillips, Paul Butz, Adam 
Treser, George C. Reis, John Davis, Eze- 
kiel Sankey, Joseph Kissick, Christian 
Genkinger, James R. Shaw and A. B. Ber- 
ger. The contract for the erection of the 
buildings was let in May, 1867, to James 
M. Mayne, at $25,000, but additional work 
brought the total expenditures up to 
$38,000. The building was completed in 



the autumn of 1867. It is situated on Mer- 
cer Street, and is sixty-four feet front by 
134 feet deep. It contains on the first floor 
two store rooms. The Opera House oc- 
cupies the upper portion of the building, 
and is finely fitted up with a roomy and 
convenient stage, proscenium boxes, gal- 
lery, etc., and has ample accommodations 
for an audience of 1,000. The best trav- 
eling troupes always visit New Castle, and 
the entertainments given are equal in every 
respect to those of a similar character in 
the large cities. The present owner and 
proprietor is J. F. Genkinger. 

C.A,SCADE PARK. 

This park, which was opened by the 
New Castle Traction Company, is consid- 
ered by many to be the most beautiful 
pleasure resort, fi'om the standpoint of 
natural scenery, in Western Pennsylvania. 
From the site of the terminal depot, up 
the rocky stream to the falls, the scenery 
is vmdoubtedly grander than can be found 
am-where else in this part of the state. 
Across the bridges you stand in awe as you 
contemplate the sublimity of the Cat Rocks 
rising perpendicularly from the bottom of 
the gTilch and crowned by a cosy, rustic 
house. Advancing, you come to such points 
of interest as the boiling spring, the great 
waterfall, and the old dam. These are all 
in the primeval forest, and, with few 
changes, are just as they were when the 
Indians made this their favorite camping 
ground. Many traces of the red men are 
yet to be found in the rude figures on 
the rocks, notably the face of an Indian 
princess carved on a huge bowlder just 
beneath the falls, where tradition says she 
met a horrible death by falling over the 
cliff. The falls are one of the principal 
points of interest — a miniature Niagara. 
On either side the walls of the rocky 
gulch rise perpendicularly. All the amuse- 
ment attractions usually found in such re- 
sorts in these days are jDrovided at the 
park. 



94 



HISTORY OF LAWEENCE COUNTY 



NUESEKIES AND GREENHOUSES. 

The extensive floral business now car- 
ried on by Butz Brothers, on Croton Ave- 
nue, was originated in October, 1851, by- 
Paul Butz, who purchased six acres of land 
then in poor condition for cultivation, and 
on which there was a one and a half story 
frame dwelling, and an old stable. It re- 
quired several years of hard, unremitting 
labor to get the land in passable condi- 
tion for the purposes Mr. Butz had in view. 
The first buildhig erected was a small 
greenhouse, in 1853, for the cultivation of 
plants and flowers. Very little taste had 
been developed, at that day, in the cultiva- 
tion of flowers among the good people of 
New Castle and the adjacent region, and 
the proprietor was obliged at first to keep 
up his establishment, apparently, as much 
for his own gratification as for the ac- 
commodation of the public. Mr. Butz was 
thoroughly acquainted with the cultivation 
of plants and flowers, and also an accom- 
plished landscape gardener, before he be- 
came a citizen of Lawrence County, having 
been employed for upwards of fifteen years 
in some of the largest horticultural estab- 
lishments and botanical gardens of Europe. 
He soon became known, and his sei-\aces 
began to be in demand in the laying out 
and adorning of private grounds in and 
around New Castle. He also introduced 
the first young evergreens and shade trees. 

For several seasons he pursued the busi- 
ness under serious difficulties, due partly 
to climatic conditions, as well as to those 
above mentioned. But during the years 
1855-56 the market for plants and flowers 
greatly improved, and Mr. Butz purchased 
and added to his place four more acres 
of land, which, after getting it in good 
order, he planted in strawberries and peach 
trees. The same year he planted a yoimg 
nursery of evergreens, shade trees and 
shrubs. In 1858 he built an addition to his 
greenhouse, in order to extend the culti- 
vation of plants, and also added about 
20,000 young stock plants to his nursery. 



such as evergreens, small fruits, grapes, 
etc. 

In 1859 a severe frost, on the 5th of 
June, destroyed nearly everything not pro- 
tected by the greenhouses, and just a year 
later, after other greenhouses had been 
added, a heavy storm, accompanied by a 
terrible fall of hail-stones, some of them as 
large as hen's eggs, broke all the glass in 
the greenhouses and hot-beds, and caused 
great damage to all kinds of crops, so that 
the season proved very unprofitable. Other 
seasons were, however, favorable and the 
business began to be profitable. In 1863 
another large greenhouse was erected in 
place of the first one, and in 1864 Mr. 
Butz increased his facilities by the pur- 
chase of seventeen additional acres of land. 
In 1866 about 5,000 square feet of glass 
were added in the way of hot-beds and 
cold-frames for forcing early vegetables. 
By 1867 Mr. Butz's market had extended 
to the neighboring towns of Sharon, Mer- 
cer, Greenville, Beaver Falls, Youngstown 
and others, and has since been maintained 
with a steadily increasing business. 

Additions or improvements continued 
to be made from year to year, particu- 
larly in 1870 and in 1872, with a constant- 
ly increasing business, plants, shrubs and 
trees being shipped to various points of 
Pennsylvania and adjoining states. In 1873 
a large hot-house was erected and 35,000 
stock plants were added to the nursery. 

In 1874 Mr. Butz built two more green- 
houses — one large one for the cultivation 
of tropical plants, such as ferns palms, 
bananas, pineapples, etc., and the other a 
propagating house for plants in general. 
Both these last are heated with improved 
hot water apparatus. During tliis season 
large shipments were made to the South 
and West as far as New Orleans, and even 
to California. Mr. Butz was also engaged 
during the season in laying out many fine 
private grounds, and furnishing them with 
trees and shrubs. 

By 1877 Mr. Butz was gi'owing annually 



AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 



97 



about 6U,UUU plants, suoh as roses, green- 
house, hot-house aud bedding plants, be- 
sides large quantities of evergreens, shade 
trees, ornamental shrubs, grape-vines, etc. 
His shipments were made to various parts 
of the United States and to Canada. 

The magnificent business thus originated 
and carried to a successful issue by Paul 
Butz has since been continued with equal 
or greater prosperity, since his death, by 
his two sons, William T. and Frank P., who 
were for years associated with him. Their 
vast nurseries and greenhouses, located 
at No. 129 Croton Avenue, cover several 
acres and they now have a score of glassT 
covered conservatories. Thej' have a hand- 
some store at No. 11 North Mercer Street, 
and as floral artists their fame extends all 
over the country. At the Pan-American 
Exposition in Buffalo, in 1901, they were 
awarded a gold medal for the superior 
excellence of their exhibit. The business 
is now the most extensive of its kind in 
Western Pennsylvania. 

NEW CASTLE NURSERY. 

This formerly flourishing establishment 
was originated and put in operation by 
D. F. Balph and James F. McConnell, in 
1868. In 1869 a greenhouse was erected, 
for forcing vegetables, other greenhouses 
being subsequently erected. In the spring 
of 1870 J. R. Balph purchased McConnell 's 
interest, and the two brothers began the 
cultivation of flowers, fruit and ornamental 
trees, shrubbery, etc. In 1870 they pur- 
chased twelve acres of land, and in 1873 
D. F. Balph purchased four and a quarter 
additional acres of John Long. Other ex- 
tensive improvements were also made, and 
the firm did a large and prosi^erous busi- 
ness for a number of -years. They subse- 
quently met with financial reverses, and 
were obliged to give up the business. The 
site of their former large establishment is 
now covered with dwellings. 

CEMETERIES. 

There are few cities that have any ad- 
vantage over New Castle with respect to 



the beauty of its cemeteries. The earliest 
public burying-place here was probably the 
old ground adjoining Greenwood Ceme- 
tery on the southeast, and at present en- 
closed within its lines. It was probably 
laid out or opened for burial purposes 
very soon after the county was first set- 
tled — about the year 1800, or soon after. 
The original ground, consisting of about 
a half acre, was purchased l)y Cornelius 
Hendrickson at a very low price. Jesse 
Uu Shane, Jared and Robert Irwin, Frank 
Ward, and perhaps others, bought out Hen- 
drickson afterwards, and opened the 
ground to the public. 

About 1836 about a half acre was pur- 
chased of James D. Wliite and added to 
the original lot. It is said to have been 
re-surveyed and a new fence built some 
time between 1840 and 1845. The Meth- 
odist denomination had a small burying- 
ground on Jefferson Street, which was 
used as early as 1816, but the title was 
not made out until 1820. The "Seceders" 
also had a burying-place at an early date, 
and also a small church, at the north side 
of North Street, and facing Beaver Street, 
which then extended no farther north than 
the limits of the original town plot, as 
laid out by Stewart. Wlien the "Seceders" 
abandoned their church and burial-ground, 
at the head of Beaver Street, they built 
the stone church on Pittsburg Street, and 
laid out a small triangular burial-ground 
adjoining. The old "Seceders" and Meth- 
odist burial-grounds, in the original town, 
have not been used as places of sepulture 
for years. A few of the remains in the 
Methodist ground were taken up and re- 
interred in the new Greenwood Cemetery. 

GREENWOOD CEMETERY. 

A large share of the land upon which 
Greenwood Cemeterj' is located was origi- 
nally owned by Ezekiel Sankey. As nar- 
rated by a former historian, "He and 
Samuel McCleary owned lands adjoining 
and a difficulty arose regarding the boun- 
dary line, ^Ir. Sankey claiming that it was 



HISTORY OF LAWRENCE COUNTY 



a diagonal line, according to the plat of 
survey, and Mr. McClearj' claiming it to be 
an east and west line. The matter was 
finally compromised between them by run- 
ning "an east and west line, which gave Mc- 
Clearv a part of what :\lr. Sankey claimed, 
and also gave Sankey about ten acres off 
the south end of McCleary's lot. This ten 
acres was the nucleus of the present Green- 
wood Cemetery. 

"In the spring of 1852 Ezekiel Sankey 
went to Harrisburg, and procured a charter 
incorporating a cemetery association, with 
James D. Clarke, William McClymonds, 
Jacob S. Quest, Joseph Kissick and E. 
Sankev as incorporators. The act was 
passed May 3, 1852. It authorized the 
purchase of not exceeding twenty-five 
acres. With this charter Mr. Sankey re- 
turned home and sold the ten acres, and 
transferred the charter to James D. 
Clarke, William Dickson and William Mc- 
Clj-monds. These parties at once proceed- 
ed to purchase additional land, and make 
improvements. Mr. McClymonds superin- 
tended the work of laying out the grounds 
and planting the trees and shrubbery. The 
company, however, never organized prop- 
erly, and consequently could not make le- 
gal" titles to the lots. "... An addi- 
tional strip along the south side was sub- 
sequentlv purchased of the Crawford 
brothers", and also a small triangular strip 
along the ravine, at the southeast of Mr. 
Fulkerson. . . . 

"James D. Clarke died on the 2d of De- 
cember, 1854, and his brother, Cyrus, be- 
came administrator for his estate. After 
his death McClymonds continued the busi- 
ness until Mar<?h, 1861. He and Dickson 
were partners in the banking business. 
Some time previous to the latter date, Sam- 
uel D. Clarke, David Sankey, Joseph Dout- 
hitt and Cyrus Clarke associated them- 
selves together and purchased the interest 
of the heirs of James D. Clarke. McCly- 
monds and Dickson became involved, and 
their interest was eventually sold under 
execution, and purchased by David Sankey. 



"The association having now obtained 
possession of the entire pi'operty, and be- 
ing fearful that they could not properly 
or legally organize and do business under 
the old charter, sent David Sankey to Har- 
risburg to procure the passage of a new 
incorporation act, or a re-enactment of the 
old one, which he accomplished, the new 
charter being dated May 1, 1861. Under 
this authority an association was organ- 
ized, with David Sankey as president, Jo- 
seph Douthitt, secretary, and Cyrus 
Clarke, treasurer. At a subsequent elec- 
tion Mr. Clarke was made secretary and 
treasurer. Mr. Sankey continued to fill 
the office of president" until September, 
1875, when he sold his interest to Mr. 
Clarke, and at the same time the entire 
property was transferred to C. B. Lower 
and W. "T. Dougherty. . . . R.W.San- 
key, son of David Sankey, was superin- 
tendent for the greater part of the time 
up to the transfer of the stock, in 1875." 

At the present time the officers of the 
Greenwood Cemetery Company are : C. C. 
Dickson, president; C. L. White, secretary; 
C. C. Sankey, treasurer, and John Rae, su- 
perintendent. This cemetery has a very 
picturesque situation, and contains many 
fine monuments. An immense ravine cuts 
through the southwestern portion, deep- 
ening rapidly as it approaches the river, 
and affording wild and picturesque scenery 
all along the southern border of the ceme- 
tery. The grounds are finely and judici- 
ously laid out, and ornamented with a great 
variety of evergreen and deciduous trees 
and shrubs. 

One of the most beautiful cemeteries in 
New Castle is Oak Park, which was es- 
tablished about fifteen years ago, largely 
through the efforts of P. J. Watson. The 
Oak Park Cemetery Association was in- 
coi-jiorated in 1893. This cemetery lies 
north of New Castle, overlooking the thriv- 
ing city, and commanding an extensive 
view of" river, valley and hills. The art of 
the landscape gardener has been called 
on to enhance its natural beauties, and 



AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 



99 



it now pi'esents a pleasing vista of well 
kept plots and lawns, intersected by wind- 
ing drives and gravelled walks. The ceme- 
tery contains many handsome and costly 
monuments. 

Another beautiful cemetery is Graceland, 
also lying north of the city, and contain- 
ing about 250 acres. It was established in 
19U2 and is conducted by an incorporated 
company, of which the president is now 
Wells B. Clendenin, the other officers being 
J. N. Martin, secretary; H. E. McGoun, 
treasurer. C. L. Harrah is the efficient su- 
perintendent. 

Valley View Cemetery is another ceme- 
tery having a favorable location, it being 
laid out on high grounds in the Seventh 
Ward, overlooking the valley of the Ma- 
honing River. It is owned by a private 
corporation. 

PRIVATE BUKIAL-GEOUNDS. 

At different times there have also been 
several small or private burial grounds, 
that of the Crawford Brothers adjoining 
Greenwood Cemetery on the southeast be- 
ing one of the most picturesque. There 
were formerly -a few abandoned graves 
south of the residence of Joseph S. Wliite, 
on the bank of the ravine, one of which 
bore the inscription, "In memorj' of Han- 
nah Robinson, who departed this life Sep- 
tember 4, 1830, aged thirty-two years." 

CATHOLIC CEMETERIES. 

The first buryiug-ground in the vicinity 
of New Castle, belonging to the Catholics, 
exclusively, was opened in the year 1852, 
on the north side of Washington Street, in 
West New Castle. It consisted of about 
one acre of ground, and was used imtil 
October, 1873. In 1873 a new cemeteiy 
was located on the Crawford Kiefer farm, 
about a mile and a half from the center 
of the city, where the church purchased 
sixty acres of land, devoting a portion to 
cemeterj^ purposes and cultivating the re- 
mainder. The remains were taken from 
the old ground and re-interred in the new. 



The laudable and systematic efforts of the 
Catholics to provide consecrated burial 
places for their own dead have resulted in 
the present beautiful cemeteries of St. 
Mary's and St. Josej^h's, which are a credit 
to those who have been instrumental in 
developing them into their present degree 
of beauty and completeness. The former 
is the earlier of the two cemeteries. It 
has ten acres in use for burial purposes, 
with a quantity of reserved land that will 
be used later. St. Joseph's was estab- 
lished by Rev. F. J. Eger, the first inter- 
ment being on June 16, 1896. This ceme- 
tery contains seven acres, located on the 
extension of the Wilmington Road known 
as the Moore farm. It lies on a gradual 
slope, the rear portion of the land being 
covered by a grove. The cemetery is en- 
closed by a hedge row and laid out with 
gravel walks. There had been 933 inter- 
ments up to October 5, 1908. 

St. Vitus ' Cemetery, located beyond Cas- 
cade Park, in Shenango Township, was es- 
tablished by Rev. Nicholas DeMita in Jan- 
uary, 1906. It contains about four acres, 
and there have been about 300 interments 
here up to the present time. 

FRATERNAL, ORDERS. 

There are at the present time the fol- 
lowing secret societies and fraternal or- 
ganizations located in the city of New 
Castle: 

Mahoning Lodge, No. 243, F. & A. M. 

Lodge of the Craft, No. 433, F. & A. M. 

New Castle Lodge, No. 642, F. & A. M. 

Delta Chapter, No. 170, R. A. M. 

Hiram Council, No. 45, R. & S. M. 

Lawrence Commandery, No. 62, K. T. 

Victoria Lodge, No. 60 (colored), F. & 
A. M. 

Alma Lodge, No. 63 (colored), F. & A. 

Progress Chapter, No. 27 (colored), R. 
A. M. 

Hiram Commanderv, No. 17 (colored) 
K. T. ' ^ h 

Nora Court, No. 4 (colored). 



100 



HISTOEY OF LAWEENCE COUNTY 



Leasine Court. No. 3440, ludependeut 
Order of Foresters. 

New Castle Court, No. 206, Foresters of 
America. 

New Castle Tent, No. 230, K. 0. T. M. 

New Castle Hive, No. 89, L. 0. T. M. 

Shenango Lodge, No. 195, 1. 0. 0. F. 

New Castle Lodge, No. 1118. 1. 0. O. F. 

Lawrence Encampment, No. 86, U. E. 
I. 0. O. F. 

Eachel Lodge, No. 40, D. of E. 

New Castle Lodge, No. 3725, Grand 
United Order of Odd Fellows. 

Melrose Lodge 11. of B., No. 2564, Grand 
United Order of Odd Fellows. 

Western Star Lodge, No. 160, Knights 
of Pythias. 

Fidelis Lodge, No. 460, K. P. 

Eobert Blum Lodge, No. 466, K. P. 

New Castle Lodge, No. 404, K. P. 

Amazon Lodge, No. 336, K. P. 

Uniformed Eank, No. 36, K. P. 

Castle Assembly, No. 19, Pythian Sis- 
ters. 

New Castle Lodge, No. 69, Benevolent 
Protective Order of Elks. 

Shenango Council, No. 180, Order of In- 
dependent Americans. 

Lawrence Castle, No. 494, Knights of 
the Golden Eagle. 

Neshannock Commandery, No. 12, 
Knights of the Golden Eagle. 

Mary Lincoln Temple, K. of G. E. 

New Castle Camp, No. 5269, Modern 
Woodmen of America. 

New Castle Camp, No. 2550, Eoyal 
Neighbors of America. 

Hancock Council, No. 46, Order of 
Americus. 

Star of Wales Lodge, No. 6(1. True Ivor- 
ites of America. 

Penna Council, No. 78, Home Guards of 
America. 

Lawrence Jjodge. Xo. 2231, Knights and 
Ladies of Honor. 

New Castle Aerie. No. 455. Fraternal 
Order of Eagles. 

Eucalyptus Cam]i. No. 6, Woodmen of 
the World. 



Rigel Court, No. 9, Order of Ben Hur. 

Lawrence Ruling, No. 718, Fraternal 
Mystic Circle. 

New Castle Circle, No. 5, Protected 
Home Circle. 

Excelsior Circle, No. 121, Protected 
Home Circle. 

James M. Evans Circle, No. 506, Pro- 
tected Home Circle. 

New Castle Lodge, No. 981, Knights of 
Honor. 

Pemi Council, No. 420, Eoyal Arcanum. 

Earnest Americans, Eoyal Aicanura 

Lawrence Lodge, No. 18 (colored), Elks. 

Germania Lodge, No. 123, Ancient Or- 
der United Workmen. 

Order of Sous of Herman. 

New Castle Division, No. 1, Ancient Or- 
der of Hibernians. 

New Castle Conclave, No. 229, Improved 
Order of Heptasophs. 

Willard Council, No. 46, Daughters of 
America. 

Washington Union Council, No. 43, In- 
dependent Order of Puritans. 

Martha Washington Lodge, No. 24, 
Orangemen. 

Abraham Lincoln Lodge, No. 44, 
Orangemen. 

l.,ily Lodge, No. 76, Orangemen. 

Eoyal Black Preceptory, No. 57, Orange- 
men. 

Young Americans, No. 15, Orangemen. 

New Castle Chapter, No. 971, National 
Protective Legion. 

Gibson Delight, Order of True Eeform- 
ers. 

Loyola Council, No. 551, Young Men's 
Institute. 

New Castle Circle, No. 21, Knights and 
Ladies of the Eed Cross. 

New Castle Branch, No. 59, Catholic Mu- 
tual Benefit Association. 

New Castle Branch, No. 555, Catholic 
Knights of America. 

Branch, No. 70, Knights of St. George 

New Castle Lodge, No. 2. The Path 
finder. 



AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS" 



101 



New Castle Council, No. 'J2. American 
Fraternal Insurance. 

St. Mary's Council. No. oVJ, Knights of 
Columbus. 

Branch, No. 411, of Polish National Al- 
liance, Volunteers of Kosciusko. 

New Castle Post, No. KM). Grand Army 
of the Republic. 

Mead Circle, No. 28, Ladies of the G. 
A. R. 

Encampment No. 9, Union Veteran 
Legion. 

Auxiliary, No. 40, U. V. L. 

0. L. Jackson Camp, No. 249, Sons of 
Veterans. 

New Castle Chapter, Sons of the Ameri- 
can Revolution. 

Col. Daniel Leasure Camp, No. 23, Unit- 
ed Spanish War Veterans. 

ALMIKA HOME. 

The Almira Home for Aged Women, at 
New Castle, Pa., was organized in August, 
1893. The need of an institution of this 
kind had long been felt, but effort to es- 
tablish a home had never got beyond the 
discussion stage, owing to the expense in- 
volved in such an undertaking and to the 
fact that no source of income seemed avail- 
able. The first definite step was taken 
when Mrs. Jennie Gilliland, Mrs. Henrietta 
E. Butler and Mrs. Samuel Gibson re- 
quested Capt. M. S. Marquis to give them 
an abandoned blacksmith shop on Butler 
Avem;e, to be fitted as a home for an aged 
woman. The request was granted, but the 
shop was never converted into a home; 
instead, the small sum of money con- 
tributed for that purpose became the nu- 
cleus of the fund which made the present 
splendid institution possible. At that time 
the work was entirely in the hands of Mrs. 
Butler and ^Mrs. Gibson, who spent the 
winter of 1892-93 in an ahnost continuous 
canvass from hoiise to house and among 
the business men. Finally they aroused 
sufficient interest to justify them in issuing 
a call for a public meeting of citizens, to 
be held in the Y. M. C. A. chapel. Many 



ladies attended, and ]^Irs. 1). S. Morris was 
chosen chairman and Miss Irene Maitland, 
secretary- of the meeting. The object ot 
the gathering was stated by Mrs. Butler to 
be to devise ways and means to secure 
money for the erection, in New Castle, of 
an old ladies' home. At a meeting in Au- 
gust, 1893, Mrs. Butler presented a draft 
of a charter for an association, and an 
organization Avas perfected with the fol- 
lowing officers: Mx-s. Henrietta E. But- 
ler, president; Mrs. E. F. Palmer, vice- 
president; Miss Margaret Young, secre- 
tary, and Mrs. Samuel Gibson, treasurer. 

The present name of the home was 
adopted in honor of Mrs. Almira Martin, 
who had been the first to suggest the in- 
stitution. The following board of trustees 
was elected: Mrs. 0. N. Swisher, Mrs. 
T. J. Blackwood, Mrs. Nellie Dean; Miss 
Irene Maitland, Mrs. Samuel Gibson, Mrs. 
Frank Felton, Mrs. John Blevins, Mrs. 
Frank Davidson, and Mrs. II. E. Butler. 
;\Irs. Butler soon after resigned from the 
presidency and was succeeded by Mrs. D. 
S. Morris. 

The Almira Home is controlled by the 
Almira Home Association, a corporation 
chartered by the Court of Lawrence Coun- 
ty in October, 1894. The management is 
vested in a board of trustees, composed of 
nine members elected annually from each 
of the following counties — Lawrence, "fier- 
cer, Butler, Beaver and Venango. Mem- 
berships and supplies are solicited from 
each of these coimties, from which also 
inmates are received into the home. Per- 
sons admitted to the home as permanent 
inmates must be of good character, above 
sixty years of age, of sound mind, and 
free from contagious or aggravated, in- 
curable diseases; and are subject to cer- 
tain other restrictions, as to length of resi- 
dence within the district before mentioned. 
The entrance fee is $300, to be paid at the 
time of admission into the home. 

The executive committee for Lawrence 
County is at present composed of the fol- 
lowing members: Mrs. Mary A. David- 



102 



HISTORY OF LAWRENCE COUNTY 



son, president; Mrs. A. D. Mornes, vice- 
president; Airs. David Jameson, corre- 
sponding secretary; Mrs. B. F. Butler, re- 
cording secretary; Mrs. Ciiarles Hege, 
treasurer; Mrs. J. B. Love, chairman of 
house committee; Mrs. J. L. Stratton, 
chairman of the committee of religious in- 
struction; Mrs. David Jameson, chairman 
of committee on inmates; Mrs. Mary A. 
Davidson, chairman of committee on real- 
estate, building and investments; Mrs. A. 
D. Mornes, chairman of the committee on 
membership, and Mrs. Adda Davidson. Tiie 
committee superintends the management of 
the home during the interval between board 
meetings, arranges all matters that require 
special and immediate attention and thai 
are not within t^jf, jurisdiction of any 
standing committee. 

The present substantial and commodi- 
ous building was completed in June, 1907, 
was dedicated on the 26th day of that 
month, and occupied the following month. 
It is three stories and a half, with base- 
ment, and contains forty-nine furnished 
rooms, is lighted with gas, and equipped 
with a hot water heating plant and other 
modern conveniences. More than one-half 
of the rooms were furnished by fraternal 
and benevolent societies and individual cit- 
izens. The lot has a frontage of 100 feet 
on Pittsburg Street and 300 feet on Almira 
Street, the total value of the property be- 
ing estimated at $50,000. The list of em- 
ployees comprises a matron, janitor, cook, 
nurse and general helper. At the present 
time there are twenty-four inmates. 

In 1903 the State Legislature of Penn- 
svlvania appropriated $4,000 for building 
purposes and $2,000 for maintenance, and 
the institution now receives aid from the 
state to the extent of $3,600 per annum, 
which sum will doubtless be increased from 
time to time, as the need arises. Besides 
this money and the admission fees, the 
home derives an income from membership 
fees, donations and bequests ; the member- 
ship totals 385, and the income derived 
therefrom amounts to $420. Miss Mary 



Hamilton advanced the money for the first 
pajTuent on the home, without which gen- 
erosity the purchase of the property would 
have been difficult. The present building 
was made possible mainly by legacies of 
Mrs. Elizabeth Hardaker Bolton and Miss 
Sadie Dunlai). If space would permit, 
much more could be told of the elforts 
made and assistance given by many noble 
men and women in the district, which bene- 
fits by this grand and benevolent institu- 
tion. They are the people who typify ideal 
citizenship, and it is such benefactions as 
this which instills in the American breast 
a feeling of patriotism and a pride in the 
country and its people. 

SHENANGO VALLEY HOSPITAL. 

Conceived in necessity, fostered by a 
generous and public-spirited people, in 
whose hearts dwell a tender feeling for 
the suffering, injured and afflicted, this 
grand institution is one in which New 
Castle and Lawrence County take a just 
pride. With the wonderful growth in this 
vicinity of industrial institutions, in which 
lurk dangers to life and limb, which can- 
not be eliminated, it became apparent that 
some steps should be taken for the proper 
care of the injured. It was recognized as 
a problem the people must deal with in con- 
certed action with the employers and the 
medical profession ; and, looking backward, 
it is seen that without the co-operation of 
these forces failure must have resulted. 
Most active spirits in the movement, origi- 
nally, were William Patterson, Thomas W. 
Phillips, A. W. Thompson, and other em- 
ployers of large industrial forces who gave 
freely of their time and means to the 
furtherance of the project, and subsequent- 
ly to the maintenance of the institution. 

As long ago as 1887 efforts were made, 
through Dr. Silas Stevenson and Henry 
Edwards, who represented this district in 
the State Legislature, to get a bill passed 
appropriating funds for a hospital. They 
were unsuccessful and upon returning from 
Harrisburg reported that an appropriation 



AND EEPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 



103 



could not be secured unless the local peo- 
ple would contribute. A charter was pro- 
cured January 19, 1891, and that year the 
Legislature appropriated $10,000 for a 
building and $7,500 for furnishings, on con- 
dition that the citizens of New Castle 
raised $10,000. A. W. Thompson started 
out with a subscription paper, and the fol- 
lowing were among the first and largest 
contributors, of which there have since been 
too many to mention : William Patterson, 
$1,000; Thomas W. Phillips, $1,500; Craw- 
ford Iron & Steel Company, $1,000; New 
Castle Wire Nail Company, $1,000 ; Aetna 
Iron Works, Ltd., $1,000; R. W. Cunning- 
ham, $1,000; G. W. Johnson, $500; Raney 
& Berger Iron Company, $500 ; J. P. With- 
erow, $1,000; William G. Dunn, $100; Mrs. 
A. L. Crawford, $200; Brown, Thompson 
& Co., $100; Stritmater Brothers, $100; Of- 
futt & Co., $100; 0. L. Jackson, $100; 
Knox, Foltz & Co., $175; Lawrence Glass 
Company, $75 ; C. J. Kirk, $100 ; M. S. Mar- 
quis, $250; William Alexander, $100; 
Brown & Hamilton, $100; I. N. Phillips' 
heirs, $200; Dillworth Paper ComiDany, 
$100; D. Jameson, $100; J. N. Fallis, $100, 
and Rev. J. F. Gallagher, $100. In 1894 
the subscription list had reached a total 
of 438 names, and to date approximately 
$40,000 has been contributed to this in- 
stitution by citizens of New Castle. 

In the fall of 1891, about one and a half 
acres of groimd were i^urchased from the 
estate of I. N. Phillips at the corner of 
North Beaver Street and Lincoln Avenue, 
and, during the winter following, plans for 
the building, drawn by Architect C. C. 
Thayer, were adopted. On January 11, 
1892, the following were elected to consti- 
tute the board of directors : Thomas W. 
Phillips, William Patterson, David Dickey, 
L. F. Hoyt, W. E. Reis, M. S. Marquis, 
J. P. H. Cunningham, George B. Berger 
and A. W. Thompson. At a meeting of the 
board on January 23 of the same year, the 
following officers were elected : William 
Patterson, president; David Dickey, vice- 
president ; C. J. Kirk, treasurer, and A. W. 



Thompson, secretary. The following March 
a building committee was appointed to con- 
sist of the following members : E. I. Phil- 
lips, chairman; W. E. Reis, J. P. H. Cun- 
ningham, L. Raney, R. C. Patterson and 
A. W. Thompson. During that mouth the 
contract was let for grading the lot, and 
June 29, 1892, the contract for the build- 
ing, exclusive of heating, excavating and 
concreting, was let to William Barnet, of 
New Castle, for $14,679. The building was 
completed and i-eady for occupancy in 
April, 1893, and a part of the furnishings 
were in it, but as yet it was unoccupied ex- 
cept by a watchman, when on the 8th day 
of that month, at 10:30 p. m., an alarm 
was sounded summoning the people to 
fight the flames which enveloped the mag- 
nificent structure. A valiant fight was 
made, but to no avail, the building being 
almost completely destroyed; it was in- 
sured to the extent of $12,500. To see 
the work of the past years thus undone in 
a few hours was discouraging, but the 
work of clearing away the clebris and re- 
building was started before the embers 
were fairly cold. The new building was 
a reproduction of the old plans, but was 
made more substantial in order to avoid a 
similar catastrophe, by the building of sev- 
eral fire-walls. The accident delayed the 
opening of the hospital until the spring of 
1894. Shortly after, in the interest of the 
institution, a fair and benefit perfomiance 
was given at the opera house, from which 
about $1,200 were received. A "loan en- 
tertainment," at the old Allen Rink, was 
given by the ladies of New Castle, which 
netted the hospital approximately $3,000. 
Early in May, 1894, the institution was 
dedicated, the services in the afternoon be- 
ing followed by a charity ball in the even- 
ing; many notable peojjle were in at- 
tendance, among them being Governor Pat- 
terson. The Masons kindly gave the use 
of their lodge room for the services, and 
William G. Dimn gave the use of his ball- 
room in the same building. 
"When opened, the hospital contained five 



104 



HISTORY OF LAWRENCE COUNTY 



wards, a well equipped operating room, 
seven private rooms, six bathrooms, din- 
ing-room, parlor and an office, and was 
provided with a heating plant and other 
modern equipment. It was not many years 
before the growth of the city rendered the 
hospital too small to accommodate the in- 
creased number of patients who sought 
admission. In 1899, an addition to the 
north wing was built, which more than 
doubled the capacity of two wards and 
added three private rooms, also giving 
better accomnaodation to the nurses. By 
1903 the capacity was again overtaxed and 
it was decided to erect an addition to the 
west wing, which would practically double 
its capacity. These improvements were 
made at a cost of about $43,000, of which 
between .$20,000 and $25,000 was raised 
by local subscription. In 1905 there was 
left an indebtedness of $17,000, and in that 
year the Legislature made an appropria- 
tion of that sum, but the governor reduced 
it to $7,000. There was still left an in- 
debtedness of $10,000, and the sum was 
again appropriated by the Legislature in 
1906, and the appropriation reduced to 
$G,000 by the governor. This leaves a bal- 
ance of $4,000 unpaid, which is the only 
indebtedness of the institution. The report 
on its condition, made December 1, 1907. 
reveals the following interesting facts : 

Total value of property $98,767.62 

Indebtedness 4,000.00 

Income 33,887.61 

Expenses 35,771.21 

In. patients 938 

Gratuitous patients 178 

Partially gratuitous 40 

Average cost of patient per week $13.37 

Average daily number of patients 51 

The hospital now has about two and one- 
half acres fronting on Lincoln Avenue, ex- 
tending from Beaver Street to Shenango 
Street. Since its inception $90,826.68 has 
been received from the state for mainte- 
nance, and $45,000 for building purposes. 
The present income from patients is about 
$12,000 annually, and a like sum is re- 
ceived from the state. The hospital origi- 



nally had a capacity of thirty patients, and 
now accommodates 120. The rooms of the 
institution have been beautifully furnished 
by the societies and benevolent private citi- 
zens of New Castle. The first patient 
entered the hospital November 10, 1893, 
since which time 7,766 patients have been 
treated and cared for. 

The original board of directors lias con- 
tinued to the present time, except for the 
following changes made necessary through 
death or resignation. At the second elec- 
tion, January 9, 1893, John L. Crawford 
was elected to take the place of David Dick- 
ey, resigned; January 8, 1894. Elmer I. 
Phillips was elected to the place of John 
L. Crawford, who had removed from the 
city, and J. N. Fallis succeeded S. M. Mar- 
quis, resigned. A few days later George 
B. Berger was elected to fill the vacancy as 
vice-president, caused by the resignation 
of David Dickey, and E. I. Phillips suc- 
ceeded Mr. Kirk as treasurer. The same 
officers and trustees then served without 
change until the death of William Pat- 
terson in August, 1905, when his son, R. C. 
Patterson, was elected to the presidency. 
Shortly after, D. Jameson was chosen to 
fill the place left vacant by the death of 
George B. Berger. 

It is fitting that we here make mention of 
the unselfish efforts and devotion of the 
late William Patterson to the successful 
operation of this institution. A man of 
national prominence as a financier and one 
of the captains of industry in this country, 
the demands of his own interests on his 
time, were such that to give daily atten- 
tion to the business of the hospital, which 
he did from the time he was elected presi- 
dent at its organization until his demise, 
must have been a great personal sacrifice. 
But his heart was in the work and of all 
his masterly achievements there was none 
in which he took so much pride as in his 
connection with the Shenango Valley Hos- 
pital and the grand work it was accom- 
plishing. 

The staff of the Shenango Valley Hos- 




RESIDENCE OF HON. THOMAS AV. I'lilLL 
NEW CASTLE. 



ALMIRA HOME, NEW CASTLE. 



AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 



pital is c'ouipu.sed of pliysieiaus selected 
by file Lawrence County Medical Society, 
subject to the approval of the Board of 
Trustees. They serve without pay, and to 
them is due a large measure of the suc- 
cess of the institution; the present staff, 
and the quarter of the year to which its 
members are assigned, is as follows : First 
quarter — Drs. T. J. Blackwood, A. M. 
Cook, L. 0. Phillips, H. W. McKee, and 
Samuel W. Perry, assistant; second quar- 
ter — Drs. Harry Wilson, H. E. Zerner, C. 
A. Reed, R. G. Miles, and W. C. Kissinger, 
assistant; third quarter — Drs. J. M. Popp, 
C. F. McDowell, M. Linville, John Foster, 
and John Tucker, assistant; fourth quar- 
ter— Drs. R. A. Wallace, E. C. McComb, 
L. W. Wilson, E. A. Donnan, and A. W. 
Urmson, assistant. Dr. D. C. Lindley is 
the staff specialist on the eye and ear. The 
first sviperintendent was Miss Eliza Nelson, 
who served until March, 1895, when she 
was succeeded by Miss R. F. Johnson, who 
in turn was succeeded by Mrs. Harriet A. 
Cochran in April, 1896. The last named 
has served continuously in that position 
since, and with marked ability. At its 
inception the hospital had a matron, two 
nurses, a cook, a laundress and a janitor. 
The present force consists of the super- 
intendent, a clerk in charge of the office, 
an assistant superintendent, a night super- 
intendent, two internes, twenty-two nurses, 
two orderlies, one laundress with three 
assistants, one cook with two assistants, 
one dietitian and an assistant, a janitor, an 
elevator operator and six maids. 

The Shenango Valley Hospital Training 
School for Nurses was established and 
incorporated in 1896, and at first had a 
two years' course, the change to a three- 
year course being made in 1899. It started 
with an enrolment of two pupils, and now 
has twenty, who have come from various 
parts of the country to avail themselves of 
exceptional advantages. The number of 
graduates is thirty-seven. During the first 
two years the training was by lectures de- 
livered by members of the hospital staff. 



and since then the faculty ha.s been com- 
posed of Drs. R. Cx. Miles, A. W. Urmson, 
W. H. Hay, E. C. McComb, H. W. Mc- 
Kee, John Foster, H. E. Zerner, W. L. 
Campbell, W. C. Kissinger, C. F. McDow- 
ell, together with Mrs. Harriet A. Cochran, 
the superintendent, and her assistant. Miss 
Austa Whitmore, and the resident phy- 
sicians of each year. The executive com- 
mittee of the hospital, consisting of the 
officers and trustees, serves in a similar ca- 
pacity for the training school. 

FRANCISCAN HOSPITAL. 

In November of the present year (1908) 
there will be opened a new hospital, yet 
unnamed, to be conducted by the Francis- 
can sisters of Pittsburg. The hospital is 
to be located in the old Phillips mansion, 
in the Fifth Ward. The grounds of this 
property contain about six acres, bounded 
on the north by Lutton Street, on the east 
by South Mill Street, on the west by South 
Jefferson Street, and on the south by Phil- 
lips Street. The building is three and a 
half stories and basement. When the re- 
pairs and alterations now being done are 
completed the institution will be able to 
take care of from thirty-five to forty pa- 
tients. The improvements are to cost about 
$10,000, and will make the hospital a thor- 
oughly up-to-date institution. While the 
sisters in control and the nurses will be 
members of the Franciscan order, the hos- 
pital will be non-sectarian with respect to 
the admission of patients. Sister Cecelia 
of Butler has been appointed the Mother 
Superior. 

HOLY FAMILY CHILDREN'S HOME. 

This institution was established in New 
Castle September 10, 1903, by Margaret 
L. Henery, who came here as the repre- 
sentative of the Society of the Holy Fam- 
ily, of Cleveland, Ohio. During the first 
six months of its existence the home oc- 
cupied quarters on Lincoln Avenue, being 
then moved to its present location, at the 
corner of Cunningham Lane and East Di- 



108 



HISTOEY OF LAWRENCE COUNTY 



vision Street. Two years ago the property 
was purchased. Tlie society is Roman 
Catholic, but the home. is not under any 
church control and is open to needy chil- 
dren of any denomination. It depends en- 
tirely upon the public benevolence for its 
support and aims to provide the children 
with a home in the real sense of the word. 
There are now twenty children being cared 
for in the institution. 



This place so named from William Crow, 
its first settler who came from Bucks Coun- 
ty, Pennsylvania, about 1826. He was a 
soldier during the War of 1812, and his 
father, Abram Crow, had served in the 
American Army during the Revolution. 
William Crow had the warrant which his 
father had drawn for his services in the 
army, which he located where Croton now 
stands. His two brothers, George and 
Moses, settled at Croton about a year later. 
It is probable that the three brothers di- 
vided between them the land located by 
their father's warrant. The place was for 
a long time called "Crow-town," in honor 
of the first settlers. The name was by 
some means changed to Croton about the 
time the glass works were located there 
in 1847. William Crow died May 12, 1836. 
He granted to Neshannock Township the 
ground on which the Croton School Build- 
ing (now within the limits of New Castle) 
now stands. 

Moses Crow sold his propertj^ lying on' 
the south side of the "Scrub-Grass," alias, 
Harlansburg Road, to Dr. ^^^lippo. Among 
those who had to do with lajang out the 
land into lots were Isaac P. Rose, Samuel 
Pearson, William Becker and E. and P. 
Hoover, the last mentioned making a small 
addition of lots to the place about 1870-71, 
on the east side of Vine Street. 

Among early settlers were Isaac P. Rose, 
James Vogan, Alexander Roderick and 
William Bennett. 

On the erection of the glass works by 
Henderson and Morris in 1847, the 'place 



enlarged its borders, and began to put on 
the airs of a town. The first attempt at 
manufacturing was in the shape of a pot- 
tery for the manufacture of common earth- 
enware, put in operation by Isaac Rose on 
a piece of land purchased of George Crow. 
Mr. Rose carried on the business for sev- 
eral years. There was also at an early 
day a small stoneware manufactory, put 
up by Ferdman Aye, a German, who op- 
erated it for some eight or ten years. 
Bricks were manufactured by William 
Crow, David Shaffer and John Tidball, and 
later by John Hammett and John G. Ray. 
A grocery store was opened by David Em- 
ery as early as 1846. Among the earliest 
physicians were Drs. Searles and Fish. 
Iron ore is quite abundant in the vicinity, 
and stone for building purposes has been 
quite extensively quarried. A description 
of the large nursery and greenhouses of 
the Butz Brothers is given elsewhere in 
the chapter on New Castle. 

The village of Croton, formerly a sub- 
urb of New Castle, now forms a part of the 
city. It is situated on high ground and 
lies northeast from the Courthouse, and 
about a mile distant. There are many 
desirable residence localities in its vicinity, 
and manufacturing and other interests give 
employment to a large number of men. 



METHODIST EPISCOPAL CHURCH. 

About 1847-48 a Methodist class was or- 
ganized in this place, and a church build- 
ing erected about 1850. Since that date a 
very fine church has been constructed. 
Among the prominent members at the date 
of organization were T. P. Bittner, Isaac 
Cline, John Rhodes, J. C. Young, Daniel 
Bittner and James Emery, with their fam- 
ilies. The first pastors (previous to the 
erection of a church building) were Revs. 
Crum and Hubbard. The first preaching 
was in the schoolhouse. The first regular 
pastor in charge was Rev. John Graham, 
who preached for a number of years, and 
dedicated the new church. The records of 
the society for the early years are scat- 



AND BEPBESENTATIVE CITIZENS 



109 



tered or imperfect, so cannot be given in 
detail, but among Mr. Graham's successors 
up to 1877 were Revs. Tliompson, Bennett, 
Merchant, Johnson, Morris, Wick, Ward, 
Darrow and J. C. Rhodes. From 1877 
to 1880 there is no record, but beginning 
with 1880, the pastors were (first of the 
Greenwood Charge, which included Cro- 
ton) : 1880-81, S. K. Paden; 1881-82, C. W. 
Reeves, supply; 1882-84, F. R. Peters; 
1884-85, A. 0. Stone; 1885-86, J. C. Gil- 
lett; 1886-90, C. M. Morse; 1890-95, C. W. 
Foulke; 1895-98, L. W. Elkins; 1898-01, 
W. S. Sheppard; 1901-04, S. A. Smith; 
1904-05, S. L. Mills; 1905, J. L. Stratton, 
who is still pastor. In 1886 the name of 
the church was changed to Shenango M. E. 
Church. In 1893 a negro church was built 
on Croton Avenue, New Castle, at which 
time Croton Churcli became a station and 
the name was changed to Croton Avenue 
M. E. Church, which name it has since 
borne. Probably in 1899 Savannah was 
annexed to Croton Avenue, but this year 
(1908) it has been taken off and Croton 
Avenue is again a station. When it became 
a station there were 120 members, includ- 
ing ten i^robationers ; now there are nearly 
300 members, including probationers, not- 
withstanding the heavy losses the churcli 
has sustained. Croton Avenue is now a 
well organized up-to-date church and has 
a graded, well organized Sabbath school. 
During the past three years the church has 
prospered in every way. Each year of the 
three there has been a revival with a num- 
ber of accessions to the church, with fre- 
quent accessions during the entire period. 
The number of members in the Sabbath 
school (main school), is 312; in Home De- 
partment, 150; in Cradle Roll, 77; grand 
total, 539. 

The church officers : Stewards — W. H. 
Locke, F. H. Rohlf (rec. stewd.), Fred 
Rowland, I. E. George (dist. stewd.), G. 
M. Gibson, A. C. Allen, Mrs. D. T. MeCon- 
ahy, Mrs. John Reitz and Mrs. N. J. Black- 
stone. Trustees — J. S. Campbell, William 
Hunter, W. H. Locke, P. K. Fike, E. E. 



Hilliard, A. L. Burlette, H. 0. Allen, 0. A. 
Rodgers, Rev. C. W. Foulke and T. C. Arm- 
strong. Class leader, with twenty as- 
sistants, I. E. George. Local preacher, I. 
E. George. Sabbath school superinten- 
dent, Mrs. J. L. Stratton. Exhorter, C. L. 
Keagy. 

FREE-WILL BAPTIST CHURCH. 

A society of this denomination was or- 
ganized in Croton, about 1855. Among 
those prominently connected with it were 
Thomas Blake and family, the Carrs, 
James and Douglass Ray, David and 
Joshua Pierce, Almond, John and David 
Miller, and their families. The first 
preacher was Elder William Ray. Among 
those who afterwards officiated were 
Elders Manning, Bumpus, Ring, Morford, 
Har\'ey and Clary. John Kelty was also 
an ordained elder at one time, and preached 
occasionally. In the prosperous days of 
this society the congregation was quite 
large. 

ARE.V AND ADDITIONS. 

The original town plot of New Castle 
was laid out by John Carlysle Stewart, 
in April, 1798. 

James Gillespie made an addition iu 
1811. 

James D. White, two additions in 1832 
and 1837. 

Ezekiel Sankev laid out W^est New 
Castle, 1836. 

Thomas Falls made an addition at an 
early aate. 

John Crawford ^Vliite, an addition in 
1846 or 1847. 

Dr. C. T. "Wliippo, an addition in 1850. 

John T. Phillips, an addition in 1867. 

Henry F. Falls, an addition in 1867. 

David ^Miite, or his heirs, an addition, 
date unknown. 

Phillips and Du Shane, addition to West 
New Castle, 1868. 

And there have been several other addi- 
tions, not all of which, however, have been 
placed upon record. 



110 



HISTORY OF LAWRENCE COUNTY 



The present area within the city limits 
will not vary materially, from ten square 
miles or 6,400 acres, a large proportion 
of which is very thickly settled. 

• SITUATION. 

New Castle is romantically and pic- 
turesquely situated at the confluence of the 
Neshannock Creek and Shenango River. 
Big Run, a considerable stream, also dis- 
charges its waters into the Shenango with- 
in the city limits, and there are a num- 
ber of smaller streams which also traverse 
various portions of its territory. "Along 
the Neshannock Creek the bluffs rise very 
abruptly to the height of a hundred feet 
or more; in places precipitous, and show- 
ing bold and rugged rock escarpments. The 
scenery along the Neshannock is quite wild 
and picturesque, and tlie minor streams 
present some rare and beautiful retreats, 
particularly is this the case upon a small 
creek which discharges into the Neshan- 
nock, near the crossing of the Coal rail- 
road, and also on a small run below Croton 
Village; and there is a picturesque gorge 
or ravine just south of Greenwood Ceme- 
tery. Along the Shenango, from about 
opposite the west end of North Street, to 
a point in the southeastern part of Union 
Township, the hill rises abruptly from the 
stream, and the sandstone crops out in per- 
pendicular cliffs. The bluffs are very bold 
and commanding in the northern part of 
the city, and aiford many fine building 
sites, which have been greatly improved 
by the hand of art. On the east side of 
the Neshannock, from a point near the 
Courthouse, to the southeastern limits of 
the city, the hills rise more gradually, at- 
taining a height of about 300 feet, at the 
distance of about ten miles from the creek. 
The valley of the Shenango, in the north- 
western part is beautiful; skirted on the 
west by a fine level bottom, and on the 
east overhung by wooded heights. South 
of Big Run the hills rise grandly to the 
height of over 300 feet from the Shenango, 



and the valley of Big Run opens a charm- 
ing vista towards the southeast. 

"In the southern part of the city, a 
little north of Big Run, is a curious freak 
of nature, in the form of an oblong hill, 
lying parallel with the valley of the Run, 
rising some fifty feet above the level bot- 
tom, by which it is surrounded. It is the 
property of Hon. Thomas W. Phillips, 
whose residence crowns its summit, em- 
bowered amid the foliage of a few pri- 
meval forest trees, and a most beautiful 
arrangement of deciduous and evergreen 
trees, planted and arranged in the most 
artistic manner. This is one of the very 
finest residence locations in the city. The 
mound itself was undoubtedly formed by 
the action of counter-currents of swift- 
flowing waters, in the days when the vast 
continental glacial system was melting 
away under the rays of the sun. From 
whatever direction New Castle is ap- 
proached, the views are beautiful, always 
excepting the murky atmosphere that per- 
petually overhangs the valley, from its 
smoking factories." 

Including its numerous suburbs, the city 
contains an estimated population of from 
40,000 to 50,000 people. Three lines of rail- 
way center or make connections with New 
Castle — the Erie and Pittsburg, the New 
Castle and Franklin, and the Ashtabula, 
Yoimgstown and Pittsburg. Another, 
called the Pittsburg, New Castle and Erie 
Railway, is in contemplation, with fair 
prospects of being put in operation at an 
early day. 

A large amount of capital, amounting in 
the aggregate to several million dollars, is 
invested in extensive and varied manufac- 
tures, which give the city prominence, the 
principal among which are the various and 
complicated iron industries, the products 
of which, from pig-iron down through all 
the multiform variations of "T" rail, bar 
and sheet-iron, spikes and nails, mill-gear- 
ing, water-wheels, flat, round, plate, band- 
iron and nail-rods, find their market in all 



AND EEPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 



111 



the great centers of trade throngliout the 
land. 

Large quantities of flour and feed, paper 
and sacks, glass, tin plate, pottery, car- 
riages, etc., are also manufactured and ex- 
ported to various points. A very large 
mercantile business is transacted in New 
Castle in the various departments of dry 
goods, groceries, clothing, drugs, paints, 
oils, medicines, jewelry, hardware, crock- 
ery and furniture, the number of business 
houses amounting to several hundred. 

The principal thoroughfares are substan- 
tially paved, and the city has a number of 
fine and substantial bridges. The iron 
bridge on Washington Street, over the 
Shenango, is a splendid and most substan- 
tial structure. Its total leng-th is about 
210 feet and its width fifty feet, with two 
carriage-ways and sidewalks on either side. 
It is built upon the arched truss pvincii^le, 
somewhat modified, and is very firm, ^he 
heaviest traffic making no perceptible vi- 
bration. Another iron bridge spans the 
Shenango at Grant Street. It is about 
the same length as the Washington Street 
bridge, and a solid and satisfactory struc- 
ture. It is similar to the "Howe truss." 
A substantial wooden bridge spans the She- 
nango at the "point," just above the mouth 
of the Nesliannock, constructed upon the 
arched truss principle and covered. On 
the Nesliannock there are three iron 
bridges of the King pattern, built at Cleve- 
land, Ohio, and one wooden foot-bridge, 
the latter opposite the upper portion of the 
"Shenango Iron Works." In addition to 
these there are four railway bridges within 
the city limits ; two over the Shenango and 
two over the Neshannock. 

The water-power within the city is all 
situated on the Neshannock Creek, there 
being three substantial dams upon the 
stream. There was formerly a very fair 
water-power on Big Eun, but a flood swept 
it awav and the dam has not since been re- 
built. ■ 

The city contains thirty-two church edi- 
fices, the most conspicuous being those of 



the Christian denomination, the First Pres- 
byterian, Episcopalian, First Methodist 
and First United Presbyterian. 

There are within the city fourteen school 
buildings, not including the large and flour- 
ishing Catholic denominational school. In 
addition to what has been already de- 
scribed the city contains numerous and 
important manufactories, two flourishing 
commercial colleges, three weekly and two 
daily newspapers, seventeen hotels, two 
gas companies, a company of the National 
Guard (troop cavalry), a fine military 
band, an opera and market house, besides 
several job printing houses, and many fine, 
tasteful and costly residences. There ai-e 
about fifty resident clergymen, sixty-one 
practicing physicians, and about sixty- 
seven attorneys. 

GROWTH OF NEW CASTLE. 

During the ten years from 1890 to 19U0 
New Castle's percentage of growth, ac- 
cording to the United States census de- 
partment, was greater than that of any 
other city in the United States. The pop- 
ulation in 1890 was 11,600; in 1900, 28,- 
329. This growth was due to the fact that 
New Castle lies in a fertile region, en- 
riched with inexhaustible veins of coal and 
limestone, and enjoys exceptional advan- 
tages for manufacturing pig iron as well 
as the finished material. The city is lo- 
cated on five railroad systems — the Pitts- 
burg & Western, the iPittsburg & Lake 
Erie, the Pennsylvania, the Erie, and the 
Buffalo, Rochester & Pittsburg. 

Much of the coal used in manufacture is 
mined in Lawrence County. 

From figures prepared by A. M. North, 
of the Erie Eailroad, a few years ago, but 
the latest available, we quote the follow- 
ing: 

Tonnage of blast furnaces, 1,500,000 tons 
annually. 

Yearly tonnage of limestone quarries 
near the city, 935,000. 

Various coal banks, 400,000. 



112 



HISTORY OF LAWRENCE COUNTY 



Slienango Valley Steel Mill, daily out- 
put, 800 tons; sold or made up here, 250 
tons. 

Iron consiuned daily, 1,000 tons. 

Tonnage of other industrial plants runs 
the total year tonnage up to 3,908,600. 

The men employed to handle this vast 
amount of mineral, which is constantly in- 
creasing, is one cause of New Castle's 
growth. But the factor which has been 
most instrumental in stimulating indus- 
trial enterprise in New Castle is the tin 
plate industry. Its development here has 
been due largely to the enterprise of Geo. 
Greer. In 1892 a company was organized, 
with Geo. Greer, president; Charles Greer, 
secretary, and W. S. Foltz, treasurer, for 
the purpose of erecting a tin plate plant. 
They began in a small way by erecting a 
four-mill plant with a bar mill in connec- 
tion. 

The company met with many discour- 
agements, but as the business became bet- 
ter understood and new machines were in- 
vented the plant enlarged until it contained 
twenty mills. It was then the largest plant 
in the world. Later the company was en- 
larged and another mill, the Slienango, 
was completed, containing thirty mills. 
Thus New Castle has fifty mills, employ- 
ing 3,500 men and paying out $200,000 
monthly in wages. Two thousand three 
himdred tons of black plate are made every 
week when the mills are in operation. 

The Slienango Valley Steel Mill, which 
later became tlie property of the National 
Steel Companv, was established in 1891 
with a capital" of $2,500,000. Its officers 
were: W. E. Reis, president; William Pat- 
terson, vice-president; John Stevenson, 
Jr., general superintendent; James W. 



Reis, superintendent of furnace depart- 
ment. Geo. E. Berger was secretary. 

A blast furnace, having an annual capac- 
ity of 120,000 tons, later liecame a feature 
of the plant. 

The Bessemer steel department, a ca- 
pacity of 30,000 tons of steel billets per 
month, also had a bar mill. The erection 
of the tin and steel mills led to the estab- 
lishment of half a dozen large machine 
shops, and previous to the inauguration of 
these enterprises New Castle was well sup- 
plied with industries, so there is little 
cause for wonder at the phenomenal 
growth of the city during the 1890-1900 
decade. 

The city has brick works that employ 
about 200 men and pay about $8,000 a 
mouth in wages. There is also a paper mill 
at New Castle. The breweries employ 
more than 100 men_ There are also flour 
mills and other industries. 

In the year 1899 over 700 new houses 
were built. 

In four vears the assessed valuation 
jumped from $7,000,000 to $12,000,000. 
The greatest improvement was in the 
southern part of the city. For the in- 
crease in valuation in the suburbs and the 
upbuilding of the same the city has been 
largely indebted to the New Castle. Trac- 
tion Company, which spent over $500,000 
in construction of its lines. 

The assessed valuation of New Castle is 
about $15,000,000. The levy for all pur- 
poses does not in any year exceed 15 mills, 
and residence and business property is as- 
sessed at only from two-thirds to three- 
fourths of its real value. Manufacturing 
property is only nominally valued, it being 
the policy of the city to assist and encour- 
age its industries. 



CHAPTER VII 



MANUFACTURERS 



Grist and Saw Mills — Distilleries and Breweries — Tanneries — Hat Manufacture — Lin- 
seed Oil — Carding Works, etc. — Shenango Iron Works — Aetna Iron Works — Brad- 
ley, Reis S Co. — New Castle Manufacturing Co. — Neshannock Iron Co. — Crowther 
Iron Co. — Elliott-Blair Steel Co. — American Sheet and Tin Plate Co. — Pennsyl- 
vania Engineering Works — Foundries, Machine Shops, etc. — Lawrence Foundry 
and Machine Shop — New Castle Agricultural Works — Neiv Castle Stamping Co. — 
Standard Wire Co. — New Castle Forge <& Bolt Co. — American Car and Ship Hard- 
ivare Manufacturing Co. — Frank C. Douds & Co. — Neiv Castle Asphalt Block Co. 
— New Castle Ice & Storage Co. — Carriage and Wagon Manufacture — Furniture — 
Woolen Manufacture — Paper — Planing Mills — Neiv Castle Box Co. — Gailey Fiber 
Plaster Co. — New Castle Elastic Pxdp Plaster Co. — Glass Manufacture — Pottery — 
Shenango Pottery Co. — Universal Sanitary Manufacturing Co. — Neiv Castle Port- 
land Cement Co. — Other Incorporated Companies, etc. 



It is chiefly to the extraordinary devel- 
opment of her manufacturing industries 
that New Castle owes the great degree of 
prosperity and fame she now enjoys. 
Most of this has been the growth of the 
last twenty-five years. A quarter of a cen- 
tury ago the arc light and electric trolley 
car were unknown, but one street was 
paved and that with cobble, the city was 
poorly lighted, there were no modern office 
buildings or business blocks, but one mod- 
ern church and one schoolhouse of credit- 
able appearance, while the principal manu- 
facturing industries consisted of two small 
rolling-mills, two window glass factories, 
four blast furnaces of minor importance, a 
wire-mill, rod-mill and nail-mill, none of 
which enjoyed more than what would be 
now regarded a very moderate degree of 
prosperity. There were a number of other 
miscellaneous enterprises of comparatively 
small magnitude and importance. Her 
buildings were generally antiquated, her 



newspapers scarcely equal to the average 
country weekly of today, while there were 
no public parks and a very imperfect sew- 
age system. The total population of the 
city at that time (1884) was about 10,000. 
Twenty years later the population of the 
city jumped to 35,000, placing New Castle 
third among the cities of the United States 
in point of increase during that period ; the 
assessed valuation had been trebled ; miles 
of streets were paved ; a complete arc light- 
ing system had been introduced; the city 
perfectly sewered ; eleven new and modern 
school buildings, together with a dozen 
handsome and costly churches, and scores 
of imposing brick and stone business blocks 
had been erected; efficient police and fire 
departments oi-ganized ; while five railway 
trunk lines joined to give New Castle the 
distinction of having the heaviest freight 
traffic of any city of its size in the world. 
Most of this was the direct result of the 
phenomenal increase in the extent and im- 



114 



HISTORY OF LAWRENCE COUNTY 



portance of her mauufacturing interests. 
Today New Castle manufactories compel 
the admiration of the world. She has the 
largest tin plate mills and the largest pro- 
duction of limestone; while the great Car- 
negie steel works, operating four large 
blast furnaces, the Republic Iron and Steel 
Company, and the Elliott-Blair Steel Com- 
pany, form another leading factor in her 
industrial prosperity. In addition to these, 
there are important and flourishing manu- 
factories of window glass, brick, flour, 
enamel ware, paint and varnish, lumber, 
cement, and various products of the coun- 
try, besides other minor industries. 

GBISX AND SAW-MILLS. 

All this vast amount of wealth-producing 
activity along manufacturing lines had a 
humble beginning. The necessities of life 
were the first consideration of the early 
settler. Consequently we find the grist-mill 
standing as the pioneer manufacturing en- 
terprise in this, as well as most other sec- 
tions of the country. Probably the first of 
these mills in the vicinity of New Castle 
was the one erected by John Elliott on 
Neshannoek Creek, at the foot of Shaw's 
Hill. It is said to have been erected about 
the year 1800, and was, no doubt, a prim- 
itive affair. Being partially destroyed 
soon after, it was rebuilt and refitted in 
1803 by Nicholas Vaneman. At that early 
day there was very little grain to grind, 
the first being corn, which, of course, was 
not bolted. When the settlers began to 
raise wheat it became necessary to have a 
bolt, which Vaneman procured and put in 
operation. It seems to have been worked 
by turning a crank by hand, probably be- 
cause there was not sufficient power in the 
rude machinery and wheels to run the 
whole establishment by water. 

In 1803 or 1804 John Carlysle Stewart, 
the original proprietor of the town, in com- 
pany with James Reynolds, and also, pos- 
sibly, Joseph Townsend, built a grist and 
saw-mill at the head of the Narrows on the 
east side of the Neshannoek. These mills 



were run by the above-named firm, or by 
Stewart & Reynolds, until about 1810-11, 
when Reynolds sold out either to Stewart 
or one Wilkins (who became a partner with 
Stewart), and went up the creek about 
three miles farther to Eastbrook, where he 
built another mill. After Reynolds sold 
out, the machinery was taken out and the 
grist-mill transformed into a forge for the 
manufacture of hammered iron, which in- 
dustry, however, after being carried on for 
several years by different parties, was 
abandoned as unprofitable. About 1816 
a portion of the works was carried away 
by flood, and subsequently successive floods 
swept away the last vestige of the first iron 
manufactory in northwestern Pennsylva- 
nia. Previous to the erection of the grist- 
mills before spoken of, all the grain in 
this region was either floated down the 
Beaver River to Beaver Falls in canoes 
and brought back in the same way, or 
taken on horseback to one Allen's mill on 
the Slippery Rock Creek, near the south- 
eastern border of the county. 

"Among the earlier mills in New Castle 
were a grist and saw-mill, erected by Craw- 
ford White, about 1818. They were both 
frame buildings, and stood on or near the 
groimd now occupied by Raney's mill. Mr. 
\Vhite died about 1834, and his oldest son, 
James D., soon after rebuilt the mills. The 
grist-mill was of brick, three stories in 
height. James D. AVliite died in 1840, and 
in 1841 the mills, along with other prop- 
erty, were sold to Crawford Brothers and 
Ritter. In 1844 Joseph Kissick, who had 
settled here from Westmoreland County ia 
1831, purchased the property, and soon 
after raised the upper story from a hip- 
roof to a full store, and improved the mill 
to the amount of $5,500. It was destroyed 
by fire in 1851, and with it 10,000 bushels 
of wheat. Mr. Kissick 's loss was very 
heavy, but he rebuilt the mill the same 
year, and continued the business until 1865, 
when he sold the property to the late I^ean- 
der Rainey, who operated it until 1873, 
when the late William Gordon purchased 



AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 



115 



an interest, and the firm was known as 
Rainey & Gordon. Considerable additions 
and improvements were made by Mr. Rai- 
ney and Gordon, and tbe mill was an ex- 
cellent one and did a large business. It 
contained five run of stone and had a ca- 
pacity for grinding about 350 bushels of 
grain per day. They did both merchant 
and custom work." 

At an early day Joseph T. Boyd and 
John AVilson built a brush dam and 
erected a saw-mill on the site subsequently 
occupied by the dam and mill of Pearson, 
Clapp & Co. They afterwards, about 1845, 
sold to Peebles & McCormick, who made 
preparations to erect iron works. They 
collected considerable material on the 
ground, in the shape of timber, etc., but 
finally went into the business with the Ori- 
zaba Iron Works Company. The property 
was sold to Henry Pearson, who built a 
new dam and grist-mill in 185-1, which he 
operated until 1868, when the mill and 
water-power became the property of his 
sons Bevan and Warner Pearson, and liis 
son-in-law, Capt. J. ]\I. Clapp, who oper- 
ated the mill under the firm name of Pear- 
son, Clapp & Co. This was a fine mill, 
containing four run of stone, and did an 
extensive business in both merchant and 
custom work. 

In 1833 Heniy Pearson built a dam and 
in the following year erected a saw-mill on 
the site subsequently occui^ied by the paper 
mills. This property he operated until 
1868, when he sold to J. Harvey & Co., 
who erected mills for the manufacture of 
paper. 

About 1842 Benjamin White, Henry Wil- 
liams and William Clark erected a build- 
ing at the lower end of Mill Street, near 
the Neshannock pool, on the west side of 
the street. In this building were included 
a grist-mill, with one run of stone; a card- 
ing-mill, with two sets of machinery, trans- 
ferred from the mill sold to the Crawfords, 
previously referred to, and two or three 
turning-lathes, for turning out various de- 
scriptions of wood work. This establish- 



ment was destroyed by fire in the latter 
part of 1844, and never rebuilt. Williams 
went into the employ of Crawfords & Co. 
as engineer in the nail factory, and con- 
tinued until about 1854, when he removed 
to Lawrence, Kansas. 

There have been various eoncei'ns at dif- 
ferent times engaged in the manufacture 
of flour and feed in New Castle, and our 
space will not permit us to give the history 
of all of them. There are now at least 
three establishments of the kind — the Cas- 
cade Roller Mills, of which the Alborn 
brothers are propi-ietors, and of which a 
full account may be found in their bio- 
graphical .sketch published elsewhere in 
this volume; the Shenango Roller Mills, at 
No. 348 E. Cherrj' Street, which are con- 
ducted by Raney & Co.. and that of Mrs. 
E. G. Veach at No. 57 S. Croton Avenue. 
All these are up-to-date establislmients and 
turn out a high quality of product. There 
are also some six or. seven retail dealers in 
flour and feed exclusively, aside from the 
firms engaged in the grocery trade. 

DISTILLERIES, BREWERIES, ETC. 

In the estimation of our pioneer ances- 
tors, whiskey was regarded as one of the 
chief necessaries of life. A grist-mill was 
built as early as 1811 by David ~\^^ute, a 
brother of Crawford White, in the south 
central part of the to«Ti, lying east of the 
Neshannock Creek. It was erected prin- 
cipally for the purpose of grinding grain 
for his distillery, which was erected about 
the same time, the two being run together 
until about 1814 or 1815. 

Crawford Whhe also had a small dis- 
tiller}-, erected about 1810-11, very near 
the residence of the late John T. Phillips. 
He used the water from the spring on Mr. 
White's premises. This distillery was run 
until about 1813. Another distillery was 
owned by William ]\Ioorhead, and"^ built 
about the same time as the others, on his 
farm a mile below New Castle, and now in 
Taylor Township. 

In those days whiskey was almost the 



116 



HISTORY OF LAWRENCE COUNTY 



only commodity which would bring, at all 
times, ready money, and consequently there 
was a large number of small distilleries 
in operation in various parts of the coun- 
try. The whiskey made in the vicinity of 
New Castle was mostly consumed in the 
neighborhood. Its manufacture was con- 
sidered a legitimate and honorable busi- 
ness, and was then perhaps more lucrative 
than any other. At one time there were no 
less than sixteen distilleries in North 
Beaver Township. 

There are now two brewing companies 
in New Castle — the Standard Brewing 
Company and the New Castle Brewing 
Company. 

The Standard Brewing Company, whose 
plant is located at No. 100 Sampson Street, 
was incorporated in 1898, with a capital of 
$300,000. It had its real origin in a con- 
cern established in 1850 by Adam Treser 
and Jacob Genkinger, which, however, was 
not a success. Early- in the nineties the 
plant was purchased by George D. Lamoree 
and Louis Eschallier. The latter retired 
in 1897 and the companv was then incorpo- 
rated with a capital of $100,000. In 1898 
the company was reorganized with a capi- 
tal of $300,000, as above noted, the present 
brewery being built in that year. The out- 
put amounts to about 65,000 barrels per 
year and thirty men are given employment. 
The present officers are as follows: Geo. 
W. Lamoree, president; H. Grotefend, 
vice-president; E. 0. Haun, secretary; M. 
Feuchtwanger, treasurer. 

The New Castle Brewing Company was 
incorporated in 1896 with $75,000 capital. 
It owns a large and thoroughly up-to-date 
brewery on West South Street, opposite 
the covered bridge, and which, with the 
bottling works, covers about two acres of 
ground. The capacity of the brewery is 
about 22,000 barrels aimually. The presi- 
dent of the company is Louis Preisel, Sr., 
W. S. Mears being secretary and treasurer. 

TANNERIES. 

Another early industry was tanning, the 



first establishment of the kind in New Castle 
being started, it is said, by Joseph Town- 
send, Jr., as early as 1805. In 1808 it be- 
came the property of William Dickson, who 
had emigrated from near Chambersburg, 
Pa., and settled in New Castle that year. 
Mr. Dickson operated it until about the 
time of his death, in 1831. His son Isaac 
continued the business until 1866, when it 
had become unin-ofitable, and was aban- 
doned. These works contained twenty-one 
vats, and manufactured annually about 
1,000 pieces of leather of various kinds. In 
1857 Mr. Dickson opened a leather store in 
connection with his tannery, and continued 
it until the tannery was abandoned, when 
he engaged in the hardware business. 

The second tannery in the place was put 
in operation by John Tidball about 1820. 
It stood in what was for a long time known 
as " Reynoldstown, " on the Pittsburg 
road, near the Court House. About 1840 
he sold the property to Robert Reynolds, 
who continued the business until about 
1868-69. 

A third one was put in operation by 
Thomas Falls somewhere between the 
years 1820 and 1825, on a lot lying east of 
Mr. Dickson, near Mercer Street. Mr. 
Falls continued the business until the time 
of his death, about in 1865-66. Subse- 
quently his son, Wilson Falls, continued it 
until about 1870, when it was abandoned. 

William ]\roore established a small tan- 
nery in what is called West New Castle, 
about 1850, and carried it on for a few 
years. 

Robert Patterson established another 
small tannery in South New Castle, about 
1852-53, and operated it until 1873-74, when 
it was discontinued. 

In early times throughout this section 
the tanning business was carried on by nu- 
merous small establishments, located in 
nearly every town and hamlet in the coun- 
try. Sometimes there were four or five in 
operation at the same time in a small town, 
and often the business was to be found 
away from the towns, at cross-roads, or 



AND EEPEESENTATIVE CITIZENS 



117 



upon some faiTQer's premises. At first oak 
bark was used exclusively, but at a later 
period hemlock bark largely took its place, 
though oak was still used to some extent. 
The oak bark was obtained in the neigh- 
borhood of each tannery, but the hemlock 
was brought from Crawford and Erie 
Counties. Hemlock was not much used 
until after the completion of the canal, 
when it was brought down the canal in 
boats. 

HAT MANUFACTURE. 

Isaac Jones was probably the first to 
commence the manufacture of hats in New 
Castle. He opened a shop about the year 
1805 and continued the business until 
1816, when he removed to Somerset 
County, Pa. Eeturning to New Castle in 
1819, he carried on tlie business subse- 
quently until his death. John and Isaac 
Townsend, sons of Joseph Townsend, Sr., 
opened the second hatters' shop about 
1807-8. James Dunlap established himself 
in the business about 1810-11, and contin- 
ued it until near his death, in 1830. Joseph 
Justice, "White McMillen, and perhaps oth- 
ers, learned the trade of Mr. Jones, and 
afterwards carried on business for them- 
selves. Mr. Justice opened a shop in 1819 
and continued the business until LS.^l, when 
he retired. 

William Cox, who learned the trade from 
Joseph Justice, opened a shop about 1825 
and worked at the business some twelve 
or fourteen vears. He died in New Castle 
in the fall of 1876. 

White McMillen commenced Inisiness for 
himself about 1830, on Jefferson Street, 
south of the "Diamond," and continued 
it for about twenty years. About three 
years after quitting the business of manu- 
facturing he opened a hat, cajo and fur 
store. In good times Mr. McMillen em- 
ployed three hands besides himself. The 
market was principally at home, but dur- 
ing the winter months they sometimes man- 
ufactured a stock of wool hats for export 
to Pittsburg and other large towns. 



LINSEED OIL. 

About 1811-42 E. C. and G. 0. Griswold 
established the first oil-mill in New Castle, 
on ground east of Washington Street, near 
the bank of the Neshannock Creek. About 
1850 they sold to Robert Wallace, who con- 
tinued the business for some time. The 
first-named gentlemen took a large share 
of the machinery to Warren, Ohio, where 
they established works. 

Another oil-mill was erected by James 
Hamilton, about 1842-43, on the east side 
of the Neshannock, near R. W. Cimning- 
ham's foundry. James Hamilton and Alex- 
ander Newell operated this mill until about 
1846, when J. N. and S. C. Euwer pur- 
chased a half interest in the concern, and 
at the same time Mr. Newell retired. Busi- 
ness was continued under the firm name of 
Euwer, Hamilton & Co., until about 1856, 
when the firm purchased an interest in a 
mill in Allegheny City and removed most 
of the machinery. Since that date the 
business of manufacturing linseed oil has 
been abandoned in New Castle. 

CAEDING WORKS, ETC. 

About 1837 James D. White erected a 
two-story frame building in the upper 
story of which were two carding machines, 
operated by one Benjamin White, a rela- 
tive. In the lower story Ezra Perry had 
an establishment for the manufacture of 
bass and snare drums. It is said he made 
the best goods in the market, and they were 
sold in various places throughout the 
United States. He carried on the business 
until about 1841. The carding machines 
were also running until about the same 
date. This factory was built on the ground 
subsequently occupied by the keg factory 
of the Aetna Iron AVorks. 

An addition was made to it about 
1838-39, in wliich a manufactory of shov- 
els was carried on for J. D. White, or his 
estate. Some time after "Wliite's death the 
property was sold to the Crawford broth- 
ers, who converted the building into a 



118 



HISTORY OF LAWRENCE COUNTY 



blast house, fur l)lowing a refinery for 
smelting iron. 

SHENANGO IKON WORKS. 

This institution, in former times the es- 
pecial pride of the people of New Castle, 
was established in 1845 by Joseph H. 
Brown, Joseph Higgs and Edward 
Thomas, who formed a co-partnership, for 
the purpose of building a mill for the man- 
ufacture of iron. The ground was pur- 
chased of Isaiah and James White, and 
buildings erected. During the first year 
the company had no boiling furnaces, and 
purchased their "muck bar" of Messrs. 
Crawford & Co., of the "Cosalo" Iron 
Works, later known as the Aetna Iron 
Works. In 1846 Robert H. Peebles and 
Pollard McCormick were added to the com- 
pany and the finn became McCormick, Pee- 
bles, Brown & Co., and the works being 
christened the "Orizaba" Iron Works. The 
new firm immediately added to the works a 
mill for the nuniufacture of merchant bar- 
iron, nails and muck l)ai\ The works were 
successfully carried on until July, 1847, 
when they were entirely destroyed by fire. 
They were rebuilt the same year and a 
nail factory, with twenty-four machines, 
and a keg factory were added. In 1848 
four additional boiling furnaces were put 
in operation and a "Burden squeezer" 
took the place of the trip-hammer. 

In 1850 the firm changed to Peebles & 
Co., and in 1852 Mr. P. McCormick be- 
came the sole proprietor. In 1853 Mr. Mc- 
Cormick erected tlie "Sophia" furnace, 
and operated the entire establishment until 
1855, when the works became the property 
of Knapp, Wilkins & Co., who continued 
tlie business until 1859. During this period 
four additional boiling furnaces and seven 
nail machines were added to the works. 

The establishment was idle from 1859 to 
1863, and the various buildings and ma- 
chinery became more or less injured and 
decayed. The suspension of such ex- 
tensive works caused great depression in 
business and values in and around New 



Castle, and many people removed to other 
localities. During these four years of idle- 
ness many efforts were made to dispose of 
the works, but without effect. The prin- 
cipal reasons operating against a sale were 
the want of facilities for procuring coal, 
which had to be hauled a distance of four 
miles in wagons, and the fact that the only 
means of shipment was by canal, which 
was closed for a considerable portion of 
the year. Finally, in 1863, a sale was ef- 
fected to Messrs. Reis, Richards & Berger, 
who at once rebuilt and enlarged the works 
and changed the name to Shenango Iron 
Works. The rolling-mill was ])ut in oper- 
ation on the 16th of June, 1863; the nail 
factor}' on the 6tli of July, and the furnace 
on the l24th of October. During the next 
year the New Castle and Beaver Valley 
Railway was put in operation, and soon 
after it the Erie and Pittsburg Railway. 
In July, 1864, Mr. Richards retired from 
the firin and Mr. W. H. Brown, of Pitts- 
burg, took his place, the firm then becoming 
Reis, Brown & Berger. In 1864 the com- 
pany purchased the Hanging Rock Iron 
Works, in Ohio, the machinery of which 
was brought to New Castle, and a sheet- 
mill, 113x139 feet, erected, in which the 
sheet-rolls and nail-plate rolls removed 
from the volling-mills were set uj). Three 
extensive fire-bi-ick kilns were also built, 
having the capacity of 50,000 bricks each. 
In the spring of 1865 the firm commenced 
the manufacture of red brick, not only fur- 
nishing for their own use, but for the gen- 
eral market. In 1868 a large and commo- 
dious brick warehouse, for the storage of 
nails and sheet iron, was erected. During 
the season of 1866 Mr. James Rhodes built 
a railway from his extensive coal mines, 
four miles north of New Castle, to the 
mills. In the spring of 1870 a branch rail- 
wa.v was built, connecting the works with 
both the New Castle and Beaver Valley 
and the Erie and Pittsburg railways, and 
in the same year many other improvements 
and additions were made. 

November 6, 1871, the stave factory con- 



AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 



119 



nected with the keg works was destroyei 
by fire, but was immediately relnult. [ii 
the fall of the same year the "Moffatt fur- 
nace" was purchased, enlarged and added 
to the works. The name was changed to 
"Little Pet." 

In 1872 extensive fire-brick works were 
erected, having a capacity of 20,000 bricks 
per week. In this same year, also, the com- 
pany purchased all that part of the canal 
lying between the south line of the city 
and the Neshannock Creek. 

The erection of the " Rosena Furnace," 
22x77 feet, was also commenced about the 
same date, and rapidly pushed to comple- 
tion. It was "blown in" on the 3d of 
June, 1873, and has continued in blast till 
the present time, being now a part of the 
Camegie Steel Company's plant, and the 
only part of tbe old Shenango Iron Works 
that is now in existence. 

In 1874 the old (stone stack) "Sophia 
Furnace" was entirely remodeled and en- 
larged, after having been in blast six years 
upon the same lining. 

In December, 1876, the "Shenango Iron 
Works" occupied about twenty acres of 
ground, located in the Fourth Ward of the 
city of New Castle, and consisting of tbree 
blast-furnaces, with a capacity for pro- 
ducing 50,000 tons of pig-metal per annum ; 
two rolling-mills, with twenty-seven boiling 
and eleven heating furnaces ; five trains of 
rolls; a nail factory, with fifty -five ma- 
chines, and a capacity of 10,000 kegs of 
nails per month; a spike-factory, with 
three machines ; nine steam and three blow- 
ing engines ; eleven hot-blasts ; eight steam- 
pumps ; twenty steam-boilers ; five power, 
and one steam-shears; a stave and keg 
manufactory, with a capacity for making 
300,000 nail-kegs per annum; two fire-brick 
yards, with a capacity of 1,000,000 bricks 
annually, and a red-brick yard, which 
manufactured yearly several million 
bricks. The firm also owned and operated 
about four miles of railway tracks for the 
delivering of stock and the removal of 
products. 



About 700 men were directly employed, 
when the works were in full operation. In- 
directly about 300 more were employed in 
mining coal, iron, limestone, etc., making 
an aggregate of about 1,000 men, and rep- 
resenting a population of at least 3,000 
people deriving their livelihood from the 
Shenango Iron Works. The pay roll of the 
concern frequently reached $45,000 per 
month, without taking into consideration 
the large sums paid out for stock and ma- 
terial of various kinds — coal, iron, lime- 
stone, lumber, etc. Mr. George C. Reis, 
since deceased, had charge of the financial 
department. 

Subsequently the business began to grow 
unprofitable, and after the death of Wil- 
liam H. Brown, who was perhaps its prin- 
cipal and heaviest stockholder, the plant, 
except the Rosena furnace before men- 
tioned, was dismantled and sold. There 
was no insolvency; every creditor was paid, 
the business being closed out simply for 
the reason above mentioned. Its place has 
since been more than filled, in the indus- 
trial life of New Castle, by the extensive 
concerns now in operation. 

AETNA lEON WOKKS. 

In the fall of 1838 a rolling-mill and nail 
factory were built by James D. White, the 
contractors being James H. Brown, late of 
the firm of Brown, Bonnell & Co., of 
Youngstown, Ohio, and Mr. S. AVilder, a 
gentleman formerly extensively connected 
with the manufacturing business of this 
vicinity. The establishment, when com- 
pleted, included one train of rolls run by 
water-power, two heating furnaces and 
eight nail machines. The nail plates were 
rolled from blooms manufactured in Juni- 
ata County, Pa. There were at that date 
no blast furnaces in this region. Mr. "Wliite 
operated these works until the fall of 1839, 
when his failing health led him to visit St. 
Thomas, in the West Indies, but without 
any beneficial results ; he died at St. Croix 
after a short sojourn, and was buried there. 
After his death the works remained idle 



120 



HISTORY OF LAWRENCE COUNTY 



until the autumn of 1840, when Mr. White's 
administrators leased them to Messrs. 
Brown, Higgs & Wilder, who operated 
them for a little more than a j'ear, when 
they were sold to Crawford Brothers & 
Eitter. The new fimi were men of exten- 
sive means, but had little experience in 
practical manufacturing. Messrs. Brown 
& Wilder being experienced in the busi- 
ness, a co-i5artnership was soon after 
formed between them and the late purchas- 
ers, and the tirm became Crawfords & Co. 

This arrangement continued until 1848, 
when Mr. Wilder purchased Brown's in- 
terest, the latter gentleman taking an in- 
terest in the Shenango Iron Works, then 
known as the "Orizaba Iron Works." 
About 1842 the firm had abandoned water- 
power, mostly, and substituted steam, put- 
ting in a fine large engine. In 1846 a new 
nail-factory, of stone and brick, was 
erected, and the number of machines in- 
creased from eight to thirty; and the firm 
also added a bar and guide-mill. About 
the j'ear 1845 a charcoal blast-furnace was 
erected near New Wilmington by Craw- 
ford, Powers & Co. The Crawfords sub- 
sequenth' bought out Powers and put it in 
as stock, and it was operated in connection 
with the works in New Castle. The firm 
also pui-chased the "Mahoning Furnace," 
at Lowellville, Ohio, built bv Wilkinson, 
Wilkes & Co., of Buffalo, N. Y., about 1847. 
It is claimed that this furnace was the first 
to use raw coal for smelting purposes in 
this region. 

In 1850 a chartered stock company was 
formed under the name of the "Cosalo 
Iron Company," of which A. L. Crawford 
was president and William P. Reynolds, 
secretary (afterwards succeeded by James 
Crawford). This firm continued to do 
business until the latter part of 1857, when 
the stock company was dissolved. In 1856 
the company made a contract with the 
Cleveland and Columbus Railway to fur- 
nish 10,000 tons of compound rail, and the 
Lowellville furnace was i)urchased with a 
view to manufacturing the pig-iron for the 



job. "Wliile filling this contract the nail 
business was suspended and the machinery 
was sold to the Sharon Iron Company. 

After the completion of this large con- 
tract the company built thirty new nail ma- 
chines and again commenced the manufac- 
ture of nails, spikes and bar iron, and con- 
tinued the business until about 1858, when, 
as stated before, the stock company was 
dissolved, and the works were purchased 
by the Crawford brothers, including the 
Lowellville furnace. Mr. Wilder took the 
New Wilmington furnace, but it proved un- 
profitable and was abandoned about 1860. 
Mr. Wilder soon after removed to Cleve- 
land, Ohio, where he spent two years, sub- 
sequently returning to New Castle. The 
Crawford brothers continued business until 
1864, when they disposed of the works to 
Dithridge & Co., of Pittsburg, who rechris- 
tened the establishment the "Lawrence 
Iron Works." In 1872 Dithridge & Co. 
sold the works to a firm from Syracuse, 
N. Y., who called them the "Onondaga Iron 
and Nail Works." During their proprie- 
torship several new nail machines, a num- 
ber of trains of rolls and a new engine were 
added, and the factory was also enlarged. 
In March, 1874, the works were leased by 
Kimberly and Carnes, of Sharon, and soon 
after the two comjaanies were consolidated. 

The Aetna furnaces, two in number, were 
erected by the "Lawrence Ii'on Company" 
about 1867. Their capacity was about forty 
tons each per day. They were run by the 
company until 1872, when Mr. Samuel 
Kimberly purchased and oi^erated them 
until the consolidation with the Syracuse 
Company, after which they were run in 
connection with the "Aetna Iron Works." 
They are the only part of the old Aetna 
plant now in operation, being owned and 
operated by the Republic Iron Works. 

The Aetna works consisted of two blast 
furnaces, twenty-one boiling furnaces, five 
heating furnaces, a muck-bar mill, a nail- 
phite mill, a merchant-bar mill, a guide mill 
and fifty-three nail machines with sufficient 
rolls for all sizes of iron and nails. The firm 



AND BEPRESEXTATIVE CITIZENS 



121 



employed in the aggregate, when in full 
rnnning order, about 300 hands. The busi- 
ness was finally abandoned because of im- 
provements and changes in modern manu- 
facturing methods, and is now remembered 
only as among the notable enterprises of 
former days. 

BRADLEY, KEIS & CO. 

In 1873 a stock company, of which R. W. 
Cunningham was president, and William 
Patterson secretary and treasurer, estab- 
lished what was known as the New Castle 
Iron Works. Mr. S. Wilder, a heavy stock- 
holder, superintended the erection of the 
buildings, but did not continue long as a 
partner, disposing of his stock in the fall 
of the same year in which the works were 
erected. In July, 1875, Messrs. Bradley, 
Eeis & Co. purchased the works, and, in 
1876, erected a mill for the manufacture of 
cold-rolled iron. The works consisted of 
one blast furnace, and a plate and sheet- 
iron mill, with three trains of rolls. The 
average j^roduct of the works was about 
twenty tons of muck-bar iron per day, 
which was all manufactured into merchant 
iron on the premises. In 1878 the firm ex- 
perienced financial reverses, but made an 
arrangement with their creditors and con- 
tinued business until 1883, when an ex- 
pensive accident to their furnace threw 
them again into difficulties, and the busi- 
ness was closed out, the works being pur- 
chased by Geo. W. Johnson. 

The following, taken from a past issue 
of a local paper, refers directly to this 
matter: "Bradley, Eeis & Co., iron manu- 
facturers, went into bankruj^tcy on August 
IB, 1878, and badly crippled "the Neslian- 
nock Iron Company, owned by the Eeis 
brothers and Peter L. and German A. Kim- 
berly. The account of the failure from 
which we make this report does not give 
the assets or liabilities of the company. 
The secured creditors were forty-five work- 
men, whose claims ranged from $3 to $45 ; 
treasurer of Lawrence County, $1,400; 
Mrs. Lucinda Taylor, $12,490 ; First Na- 



tional Bank of New Castle, $16,796 ; Patter- 
son 's bank, securities, $60,600, and $12,400 
in notes. The unsecured creditors were 
very numerous. The collapse of the Nesh- 
annock and the Bradley & Eeis Company 
was sorely felt by nearly all our business 
men, who had assisted the manufacturers 
in keeping the works in operation. E'ol- 
lowing the above, George C. Eeis, who had 
indorsed commercial paper to the amount 
of $400,000, also went into bankruptcy, and 
turned over all his property to pay debts, 
but it was not sufficient to meet the de- 
mands. ' ' 

NEW CASTLE MANUFACTURING CO. 

The original of this extensive establish- 
ment was put in operation about the year 
1866 as a Ijolt and nut factory, with An- 
drew B. Berger as president. After a 
short experience, finding the business did 
not come up to their anticipations, the 
works were metamorphosed into a foun- 
dry and machine-shop. A large foundry 
building was erected in 1868, the machine- 
shop was enlarged, and most of the nut 
and bolt machinery taken out, and about 
1871 the change had become complete. 
The works were subsequently enlarged 
from time to time, until they were among 
the most extensive in the country. The 
business was mostly confined to the manu- 
facture of machinery for rolling-mills and 
blast-furnaces. The works had a capacity, 
when in full running order, for the employ- 
ment of about 300 men. 

NESHANNOCK IRON COMPANY. 

This formerly prosperous concern was 
put in operation in 1872 by a company con- 
sisting of George L. Eeis, W. E. Eeis," P. L. 
Kimberly and G. A. Kimberly, for the 
manufacture of pig-iron exclusively. The 
capacity of the works, when in full run- 
ning order, was 18,000 tons per annimi, 
Lake Superior ores being exclusively used. 
This company was disastrously affected by 
the failure of Bradley, Eeis & Co., as pre- 
viously referred to, and subsequently dis- 



122 



HISTORY OP LAWRENCE COUNTY 



continued business. The furnace, com- 
monly known as the "Red Jacket," is now 
owned and operated by the Carnegie Steel 
Company. 

CROWTHEB IRON COMPANY. 

These works were put in operation in 
August, 1873, the buildings being erected 
in June, 1872. The manufacture was con- 
fined to common pig iron and Bessemer 
steel metal. The capacity was about the 
same as that of the Neshannock Iron Com- 
pany, or 18,000 tons per annum. The com- 
pany was imsuccessful and went into bank- 
ruptcy in August, 1878. In the final set- 
tlement of the case the creditors received 
10 per cent of their claims. 

ELLIOTT-BLAIK STEEL COMPANY. 

This company had its origin in 1891, 
when George and Noah "W. Elliott, prac- 
tical steel manufacturers, established in 
New Castle the Elliott Bros.' Cold Rolled 
Steel Plant, the business being continued 
under the name of Elliott Bros, for several 
years. Subsequently, when T. C. Elliott 
became interested in the concern, the ca- 
pacity of the plant was increased, and in 
1898 the present company was formed. 
The company employ 100 men and are en- 
gaged in the manufacture of fine cold rolled 
steel, bicycle, sewing-machine and general 
work, their annual capacity being 7,000 
tons. They have an adequate and well- 
equipped plant at the corner of Taylor and 
Mercer Streets, and are one of the repre- 
sentative manufacturing institutions of the 
city. The president and general manager 
is George D. Blair; N. W. Elliott is gen- 
eral superintendent; George Elliott, super- 
intendent of the rolling department, and T. 
C. Elliott, superintendent of the annealing 
department. 

AMERICAN SHEET AND TIN PLATE COMPANY. 

The establishment of this giant industry 
in New Castle was due in chief measure to 
the enterprise and personal exertions of 
Mr. George Greer, the present district 



manager. The fact that New Castle from 
1890 to 1900 increased in population from 
11,200 to almost 29,000, and subsequently 
to that of a city of 40,000 or more, is 
largely due to its tin industries. The 
growth of this company has been already 
briefly alluded to at the beginning of this 
chapter. The New Castle enterprise had 
its origin in 1892, a company being then 
organized with George Greer, president; 
Charles Greer, secretary, and W. S. Foltz, 
treasurer, for the purpose of erecting a 
tin i^late plant. They first ei'ected a four- 
mill plant with a bar-mill in connection. 
The works were put in operation October 
26, 1893. This company was known as the 
New Castle Steel and Tin Plate Company, 
and the mill was sometimes known as 
■"Greer's Tin Mill," Mr. Greer being the 
leading spirit of the enterprise. In 1897 
the Shenango Mill, which is the largest mill 
of its kind in the world, was erected by cer- 
tain gentlemen representing the Shenango 
Valley Steel Company, namely, William 
Patterson, John Stevenson, W. E. Reis and 
others. 

Before the Shenango Mill was completed 
the New Castle works were purchased by 
the American Tin Plate Company, organ- 
ized in 1898. They took possession imme- 
diately, placing Mr. Greer in charge both 
of the New Castle and Shenango works, 
with instructions to complete the work on 
the latter, effect an organization and put 
the mill in operation. This was accom- 
plished in May, 1899, since which time, 
with the exception of a few brief shut- 
downs for repairs or other reasons, they 
have continued in successful operation. 

In spite of initial discouragements the 
New Castle plant was enlarged until it 
included twenty mills. The Shenango works 
when completed contained thirty mills. 
Thus there are now in New Castle fifty 
mills engaged in this important industry, 
employing an army of 3,500 men, and pay- 
ing out $200,000 monthly in wages. Both 
works are equipped with the latest and 
most improved machinery for the produc- 



AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 



tion of the best quality of tmished tin plate. 
The New Castle works occupy about four- 
teen acres of land, while the Shenango 
works are located on a tract of forty-four 
acres. The storage capacity at both works 
is over 500,000. Two thousand three hun- 
dred tons of black plate are made every 
week when the mills are in operation. Mr. 
Greer has succeeded in building up a very 
superior district organization, keeping in 
close touch with all the superintendents, 
foremen and emj^loyees of the different 
mills, and being acquainted with all tlie 
numerous details of manufacturing, finish- 
ing and shipping, as well as with the state 
of the world's markets with respect to the 
demand for the various brands of tin plate 
A gratifying degree of harmony exists be- 
tween the officials and employees from the 
superintendent down, which has helped to 
attract a superior class of workmen, and 
the two plants taken together are not only 
tlie pride of New Castle, but are among the 
largest and most important institutions of 
the kind in the entire country. 

PENNSYLVANIA ENGINEERING WORKS. 

This extensive concern was incorporated 
in November, 1899, with a capital of $500,- 
000. It is engaged in blast furnace and 
steel plant construction, general machine 
and plate work, the manufacture of ma- 
chinery and castings, boilers, etc., its two 
foimdries having an annual capacity of 
35,000 tons, in addition to which the com- 
pany buys about 2,000 tons of product. 
The capacity of its boiler works is 4,000 
tons, the total annual capacity being 41,000 
tons. When the concern was first estab- 
lished in New Castle it took possession of 
the old James P. Witherow works, which 
were subsequently enlarged to about dou- 
ble their former capacity. It is now one 
of the three or four largest plants in New 
Castle. The machine shop is a steel build- 
ing 82 feet wide by 280 feet long, and the 
entire plant, which is one of the finest of 
its kind in America, covers over six acres. 
The foundry is 350 feet long by 60 feet 



wide. The Engineering works makes a 
feature of heavy castings, their loam cast- 
ings having a high reputation. Another 
specialty is the manufacture of all kinds 
of caustic pots and pans, linings for cinder 
cars, long plungers and cylinders, together 
with bells, hoppers, etc. The iron is sup- 
plied from three cupolas of twenty, eight 
and five tons respectively, and the stock 
yard is large enough to accommodate about 
5,000 tons of pig iron. The boiler shop is 
a steel building, the main part of which 
is 60x300 feet. In it are two 15-ton trav- 
eling cranes, together with a variety of 
other powerful and modern machinery. 
The riveting tower near by has two hy- 
draulic riveters for pipe and ladle work. 
There is also a steel building 73 feet wide 
by 125 feet long, equipped with horizontal 
pimches, where the structural and flanging 
work is done. The forging depart- 
ment is 73 feet wide by 60 feet 
long, and is equipped with two steam 
hammers and ten forge fires, together 
with jib cranes, heating furnaces, etc. 
The boiler plant is located across the 
street from the operating department and 
consists of 500 H. P. of boilers and one 
generator of 150 K. W. capacity and an- 
other of 75 K. W. capacity. Here also are 
located the air compressors which serve 
the pneumatic tools in the boiler shop and 
other departments. The various depart- 
ments are connected by narrow-gauge 
tracks, while spurs from the various trunk 
lines furnish independent shipping facili- 
ties to all. In the engineering department 
some fifteen to twenty skilled engineers 
and draughtsmen are employed. 

The company has done some notable 
work, not only in western Pennsylvania 
and eastern Ohio, but also in many more 
distant points throughout the country. 
They have constructed a number of blast 
furnaces, besides doing a large amount of 
other extensive and important construction 
work of various kinds. The present offi- 
cers of the company are: Edward King, 
president and treasurer; E. N. Ohl, vice- 



126 



HISTOEY OF LAWRENCE COUNTY 



president; C. L. Baldwin, secretary; E. W. 
Bedel, general manager; W. H. Simpler, 
general superintendent; J. K. Furst, en- 
gineer. The office and works are at the 
corner of Jefferson and Nutt Streets. 

FOUNDRIES, MACHINE-SHOPS, ETC. 

E. W. Cunningham, a former New Castle 
merchant, erected a frame building, and 
put an iron-foundry in operation in 1839, 
which was quite an extensive establish- 
ment. A general foundry business was 
transacted, and the works turned out large 
numbers of plows, stoves and a great 
amount of mill-gearing. A machine-shop 
was added in 1847. Mr. Cunningham also 
had a warehouse situated on the slackwater 
of the Neshannock, opposite his foundry, 
where he did a large forwarding, commis- 
sion, freighting and general produce busi- 
ness. The grain business in those days 
was quite extensive, and in the best year 
(about 1841-42), as many as 1,000 bushels 
were received daily and shipped princi- 
pally to Cleveland, Ohio, by canal. The 
firm was E. W. Cunningham up to about 
1844, and from that date to 1853 George 
W. Jackson, of Pittsburg, had an interest, 
under the tirm name of E. W. Cunningham 
& Co. From 1853 to 1865 Mr. Cunningham 
conducted the entire business in his own 
name. In the last-named year several of 
the employees became partners, after 
which the firm was Cunningham & Co. In 
connection with the forwarding business, 
the firm handled large amounts of ground 
plaster. A mill for grinding the raw ma- 
terial, wliich was obtained mostly from 
Canada, was erected by the new firm in 
1844-45, and from that date the plaster was 
purchased in the lump by the cargo at 
Erie, brought to New Castle by canal and 
manufactured liei'e. This business was 
continued for a number of years until the 
steadily diminishing demand for the ma- 
terial caused its abandonment. The part- 
nership was dissolved after Mr. Cunning- 
ham's death and the machine shop disman- 



tled and sold. The real estate is still owned 
by some of the Cunningham heirs. 

LAWRENCE FOUNDRY AND MACHINE SHOP. 

In 1848 a small foundry was started by 
Messrs. Pearson, McConnell & Co., who 
carried on a general business for about 
two years. The firm then became Quest, 
McConnell & Co., who operated the estab- 
lishment until 1855. During their occu- 
pancy a large brick machine-shoj) was 
built. In 1855 the finn again changed to 
Quest, Westerman & Co. This firm car- 
ried on business until 1857, when another 
change took place, and it became Quest, 
Shaw & Co. This firm continued the busi- 
ness for about ten years, when the name 
was changed to Quest & Shaw, who contin- 
ued it until 1872, when the business was 
subsequently continued for some years by 
Shaw, Waddington & Co. The works were 
conveniently located between the old canal 
and the Neshannock Creek. 

NEW CASTLE AGRICULTURAL WORKS. 

An establishment, under the above name, 
was put in operation by a stock company, 
consisting of Luther Woods, the Phillips 
brothers, John Elder and A. B. Smith & 
Son, in 1869-70, the original capital being 
$40,000. The works were located in Union 
Township, opposite the northwest portion 
of New Castle. The entire establishment 
was fitted up with the latest and most ap- 
proved machinery, calculated for an exten- 
sive business. Manufacturing was com- 
menced in the spring of 1870 and carried 
on for about two years, with every prospect 
of ultimate success, when, in the month of 
February, 1872, the entire works and ma- 
chinery were destroyed by fire, entailing a 
loss of about $60,000, on which there was 
an insurance in various companies of $20,- 
000. The firm manufactured mowing and 
reaping machines, and sulky horse-rakes. 
The original capital of the company was 
all absorbed in the buildings and machin- 
eiy, and the loss fell so heavily upon them 



AND EEPEESENTATIVE CITIZENS 



127 



that the works were not rebuilt. Among 
the best machines manufactured by the finn 
was the "Lawrence Mower," invented and 
patented by A. B. Smith, of Rochester, 
Beaver County, Pa. 

NEW CASTLE STAMPING COMPANY. 

This large concern — one of the most im- 
portant in New Castle — is engaged in the 
manufacture of high-grade enamel ware 
and now commands an extensive trade. The 
company was incorporated in 1901 with a 
capital of $200,000. Its president is Mr. 
George L. Patterson, who is also vice-pres- 
ident of the National Bank of Lawrence 
and an active member of the Chamber of 
Commerce. Mr. J. C. Kirk, the vice-pres- 
ident, is also president and manager of the 
New Castle Forge and Bolt Company and 
is prominently connected with the Chamber 
of Commerce and with various local inter- 
ests. Lee M. Raney is secretary and T. F. 
Morehead treasurer — both prominent busi- 
ness men of New Castle, connected with 
various important local enterprises. The 
company has one of the best equipped fac- 
tories in the world, their large plant being 
located at the foot of Swansea Avenue, in 
the Seventh Ward, and occupying six and 
a half acres on the line of the Buffalo, 
Rochester and Pittsburg, Pittsburg & Lake 
Erie, and Pennsylvania systems. It con- 
sists of two large buildings, with a score 
of smaller ones constructed of brick and 
iron. The enamel is made according to 
thoroughly tested German receipts and is 
applied by the most up-to-date American 
methods. About 200 or more skilled work- 
men are employed. This industry, since 
its establishment, has grown to large pro- 
portions, and is now an important factor 
in the sum total of New Castle's industrial 
activities. 

STANDARD WIRE COMPANY. 

The Standard Wire Company, wbose 
works are located at No. 135 South Mill 
Street, was incorporated in 1906, with a 
capital of $300,000. It is engaged in the 



production of steel wire mats, coat hang- 
ers, jumping ropes, pot lifters, carpet and 
upholstery beaters, folding nursery fend- 
ers, elevator enclosure work, bank and of- 
fice railings, etc. The annual capacity of 
the plant is about 150 tons, and sixteen 
nien are employed. The president is Jonas 
Kaufman, with John E. Norris vice-presi- 
dent and manager, and Hugh M. Marquis, 
secretary and treasurer. 

NEW CASTLE FORGE AND BOLT COMPANY. 

The New Castle Forge and Bolt Com- 
pany, with plant at 243 Elm Street, was 
incorporated in 1901, with a capital of 
$75,000. Within less than a year the vol- 
ume of business on hand necessitated an 
increase of capital to $300,000, and it was 
so capitalized in Januarj', 1903, new build- 
ings being then erected and installed with 
the most modern and expensive machinery. 
Included in the plant are one large brick 
and steel building 342x80 feet, one steel 
building 374x60 feet, a chain shop 48x80, 
machine shop 80x30, power plant 84x80, 
and gas producer house 75x25 feet. All the 
departments have switches connecting 
with the Pennsylvania, Buffalo, Rochester 
& Pittsburg R. E. systems. The plant is 
devoted to the manufacture of forgings, 
chains, bolts, nuts, rivets and heavy hard- 
ware, the annual capacity, not counting car 
forgings, being 500,000 pounds. About 150 
men are employed. The officers of the con- 
cern are C. J. Kirk, president and general 
manager; J. F. Donahue, secretary; E. E. 
Whitaker, treasurer, and M. E. McCombs, 
superintendent. 

AMERICAN CAR AND SHIP H.iRDWARE MFG. CO. 

The American Car and Ship Hardware 
Manufacturing Company, brass founders, 
was incorporated in 1901 and is engaged 
in the manufacture of push-buttons, car 
trimmings, trolley work, fuse boxes, ship 
lights, etc., 100 men being employed in the 
works, which are located at the corner of 
Mill and Mechanic Street. C. H. Johnson 
is president of the concern, with Charles 



128 



HISTORY OF LAWEENCE COUNTY 



Matthews, secretary; T. H. Hartman, 
treasurer, and J. W. Patterson, general 
manager. 

FRANK C. DOUDS & CO. 

Frank C. Douds & Co., founders and ma- 
chinists, are engaged in the manufacture 
of iron and brass castings, engines and en- 
gine supplies, boiler injectors, jet pumps, 
etc., the factory being located at No. 214- 
230 South Mill Street. The firm is com- 
posed of Frank C, Smith H. and Ralph A. 
Douds. They employ about fifteen men 
and are doing a good business. 

NEW CASTLE ASPHALT BLOCK COMPANY. 

The New Castle Asphalt Block Company 
is a prosperous concern engaged in the 
manufacture of compressed asphalt blocks 
for street paving and other similar work. 
It has a capacity of 2,500,000 blocks annu- 
ally and gives employment to aboiat fifty 
men. The superintendent is H. E. Warden 
and the office and works are located near 
Big Run bridge. 

NEW CASTLE ICE AND STORAGE COMPANY. 

The New Castle Ice and Cold Storage 
Company, located at No. Ill South Beaver 
Street, was incorporated in 1901. The con- 
cern manufactures 130 tons of artificial ice 
daily, giving emplojTnent to eight men. 
J. D. Drum is superintendent. 

CARRIAGE AND WAGON MANUFACTURE. 

This branch of industry is now repre- 
sented in New Castle by some half dozen 
concerns. About the first establishment of 
the kind was that founded by Pearson & 
Co. in 1868. They first established on She- 
nango Street, near the river, a shop for 
the manufacture of agricultural imple- 
ments, but after a few years, not being suf- 
ficiently successful in that line, they 
changed their business to carriage and 
wagon-making, and so continued until 
June, 1873, when they sold out the busi- 
ness to T. W. Smith, of Mercer, who car- 
ried it on for about two j'ears. On his 



death, which took place soon after, the 
stock and tools were sold to A. R. Har- 
desty. 

Since then various firms have been en- 
gaged in the business, some quite success- 
fully. Those now conducting operations in 
New Castle are L. D. Baughman, at No. 60 
E. South Street; Henry Drescher, 316 N. 
Liberty; C. Gr. Gaston, 20 N. Shenango 
Street; J. B. McClaren, 1 White Street; 
Adam Onstott, 119 S. Cochran, and J. J. 
Sayre, 20 E. South Street. 

FURNITURE. 

Manufacture of furniture was started by 
James Mitchell and Calvin Miller, about 
1869, in the building formerly occupied by 
Euwer's oil works, and continued until the 
fall of 1871, when Miller sold out to Mitch- 
ell. Subsequently Wilson Mitchell, a 
brother of James, took an interest in the 
business, the firm becoming Mitchell & Co., 
which co-partnership continued until the 
fall of 1873, or the beginning of 1874, when 
the brothers dissolved and sold out to 
Samuel Dunn, who took his son into part- 
nership. The firm manufactured all de- 
scriptions of furniture, making a specialty, 
however, of extension and breakfast tables. 
The lumber was purchased principally in 
Lawrence, Crawford and Mercer Counties, 
and consisted of mostly black walnut and 
cherry. 

This industry, like some others that were 
formerly scattered, is now chiefly concen- 
trated in certain cities, like Cincinnati, In- 
dianapolis, Chicago and Grand Rapids, 
Michigan, where all the facilities in the 
way of large capital, cheap and abundant 
material, and a steady market are found 
par excellence. 

WOOLEN MANUFACTURE. 

About 1886 McKarns & Love erected a 
mill in New Castle for the manufacture of 
woolen goods. When first put in operation 
it contained only one set of machinery, but 
a second set was afterwards added. The 
firm carried on the business until 1873, 



AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 



129 



when McKarns sold his interest to Love, 
who took his sons into partnership, and 
continued it under the style of H. Love 
& Sons. 

PAPER MANUFACTURE. 

In 1868 Job and William H. Harvey es- 
tablished a paper mill in a stone building 
on Neshannock Creek, within the present 
limits of the city of New Castle, and en- 
gaged in the manufacture of sack paper. 
Job Harvey operated it one year, when he 
associated, as a partner in the business, 
Mr. Alfred McKarns. A brick factory, 
35x30 feet, was erected in 1876, and de- 
voted to the exclusive manufacture of flour 
sack paper, twelve men being employed. 
The daily production, when the works were 
running, was 1,800 pounds, 3,500 pounds 
of old rope being consumed daily in the 
manufacture. 

The mill was burned in 1883 and was re- 
built in 1885 by the Standard Paper Com- 
pany of New Castle. 

In 1887 the Dilworth Paper Company, of 
Pittsburg, bought the plant and water- 
power privileges from the Standard Com- 
pany and have since conducted the busi- 
ness. The capacity of the mill is now 4,000 
to 16,000 pounds per twenty-four hour day. 
The product is sugar bags, glazed hard- 
ware wrapping paper, and manila papers. 
In May, 1908, the storage shed for raw 
materials was completely destroyed by 
fire, but is now being replaced by a struc- 
ture 45x154 feet. The mill has a battery 
of three boilers of 200 horse-power each; 
a Corliss 300-horse-power engine, and a 
150-horse-power Erie slide valve engine. 
It has also three water wheels. The di- 
rectors and officers of the mill are all Pitts- 
burg people. 

PLANING MILLS AND LUMBER ESTABLISH- 
MENTS. 

The earliest lumber business in New 
Castle was started by Dr. Pollock and his 
son-in-law, Joseph S. White, about 1840. 
The doctor's son, Hiram, afterwards pur- 



chased his father's interest, and in connec- 
tion with Mr. White carried on the busi- 
ness. It subsequently passed through a 
number of different hands, and was contin- 
ued successfully for many years. 

G. W. Crawford & Son also did an ex- 
tensive business in lumber, doors, sash, 
blinds, and all kinds of building material, 
the beginning of this establishment being 
a barrel factory started by Joseph Kissick 
about 1864. Mr. Kissick sold to Richard- 
son & Gorley in October, 1865. This firm 
changed the business to a planing-mill, and 
about three months subsequently Richard- 
son sold out to G. W. Crawford his in- 
terest in the business, which was conducted 
imder the firm name of Gorley & Crawford 
until 1871, when Gorley sold to Crawford, 
who took his son into partnership and the 
firm was afterwards for many years G. W. 
Crawford & Son. About the year 1900 
the business was purchased by G. Jameson 
and H. S. McGown and it is now conducted 
under the style of Jameson & McGown. It 
is now in a flourishing condition. 

The Mahoning Valley Lumber Company 
is one of the most extensive establishments 
of this kind now existing in New Castle. 
The company was incorporated in 1898 
with a capital of $15,000. Its extensive 
plant is located at the corner of Wayne 
Street and Swansea Avenue, occupying 120 
feet frontage and being 208 feet in depth. 
It embraces a large planing-mill, fitted up 
with the most modern machinery and ap- 
pliances. The officers of the concern are 
gentlemen well known throughout business 
and manufacturing circles in this section. 
Mr. G. D. Duff is president and A. E. Kerr 
secretary and manager. 

Another up-to-date concern of this kind 
is the New Castle Lumber & Construction 
Company, whose office, mill and yard are 
located at 55-75 S. Mercer Street. The 
firm gives employment to seventy-five or 
more skilled hands. They manufacture all 
kinds of mill work and every description 
of building material. The company was es- 
tablished about 1894, and is now under the 



130 



HISTORY OF LAWEENCE COUNTY 



control of Andrew Dietterle, Henn- Coo- 
per and J. Cam Liebendorfer. Contracts 
are taken for all kinds of roofing, spouting, 
plastering and the construction of build- 
ings. The firm is a prominent factor in 
the building trade in this vicinity. 

The Shenango Lumber Company also 
stands high in the list of New Castle's im- 
portant industries. Its plant is situated at 
the comer of ^Miite and Neal Streets, the 
present members of the firm being James 
Cunningham, who has been with it for 
about nine years, and H. M. Moore. They 
have a well-equipped planing-mill, handle 
all kinds of lumber, and manufacture 
every description of builders' supplies. 

The Kline Lumber and Construction 
Company was incorporated in 1901 with 
a capital of $15,000. Mr. Harry Kline, the 
president and treasurer of the company, 
is one of New Castle's best known and 
most influential manufacturers. The plant 
of the concern, located at ^\1iite and Neal 
Streets, covers more than three acres, and 
comprises a well-equipped planing-mill, 
store houses and sheds, and ample yard fa- 
cilities connected with the Pennsylvania 
tracks by switches. The company also has 
a branch yard and store at West Pittsburg. 
They handle all kinds of lumber, sewer 
pipe, lime, cement, building tile, slate and 
tin roofing, and builders' supplies gener- 
ally. They are also general contractors 
and builders, plumbers, and roofers. The 
company has had a very successful career 
since its establishment seven years ago. 

The Acme Lumber Company is one of 
the old established concerns in this line of 
business in New Castle. Under its present 
title it was established about seven years 
ago by E. W. Henderson and J. M. Eng- 
lish, they buying out the interests of E. M. 
Hamilton, who for nearly a score of years 
had conducted an extensive and successful 
business at this location. The company 
does a large wholesale and retail trade in 
the handling of coal, lumber and builders' 
supplies. They have an adequate and well 
appointed plant, including a large planing- 



mill. The company is at present composed 
of John M. English, Jesse M. Smith and 
Walter S. Taylor. 

The Lawrence County Lumber Com- 
pany, a large concern, was originally or- 
ganized in 3898, but in 1901 was reorgan- 
ized, the new officers being C. S. Paisley 
president, and J. W. Hays, secretary-treas- 
urer and manager. The company are gen- 
eral contractors and builders, deal in and 
manufacture all kinds of lumber and mill 
work, do slate and tin roofing, and sell hard 
and soft coal, paints, oils, glass, plaster, 
and all kinds of builders' hardware. 

The concern of Wallace Bros, was 
started about 1887, by Mr. W. E. Wallace, 
who erected lumber yards and conducted 
the plant for a number of years. He then 
took into partnership his son, M. Louis 
Wallace, the firm becoming W. E. Wallace 
& Son. In 1900 he retired and the firm be- 
came Wallace Brothers, the members being 
Messrs. Frank W. and M. Louis Wallace. 
The mill and hunber yards of the firm are 
located at the west end of Wabash Avenue, 
and cover about two acres or more. The 
mill is fitted with improved wood-working 
machinery and is connected bj' switch with 
the B. & 0. Railroad. The firm deal in and 
manufacture all kinds of lumber, lath, shin- 
gles and cabinet mantels and all kinds of 
contractors and builders ' supplies. 

Another prominent firm engaged in the 
lumber business is that of McConahy, Mar- 
tin & Co. They are extensive dealers in 
lumber, stone and builders' supplies and 
have been engaged in business under their 
present style about four years, being suc- 
cessors to William McConahy. Their yard 
is located at No. 100 Croton Avenue. 

In addition to the above mentioned 
firms, the R. W. Henderson Lumber and 
Coal Company, composed of Robert W. 
Henderson and M. E. Sewell, carries on a 
prosperous business in lumber and coal at 
167 Grove Street, while there are three 
flourishing wholesale concerns — the Gailey 
Lumber Company, G. G. Stitzinger & Co.. 
and M. A. McLure — engaged in the distri- 



AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 



131 



bution of white pine, Norway spruce, oak, 
poplar, c}T)ress, red cedar and other kinds 
of timber used by the builder, carpenter or 
cabinet-maker. W. H. Cox & Co., located 
in the Wallace Block, are also doing a suc- 
cessful business in hardwood lumber. 

NEW CASTLE BOX COMPAXY. 

The plant of the New Castle Box Com- 
pany, Limited, is located at No. 900 N. 
Cedar Street, on the Pennsjdvania Rail- 
road tracks in the Seventh Ward, covering 
about six and a half acres of ground. This 
concern furnished the boxes in which is 
packed the tin plate made at the American 
Sheet and Tin Plate Company's works. It 
also supplies the lumber and crating for 
the pottery and glass factories at New Cas- 
tle. This is now one of the most flourish- 
ing manufacturing concerns of tlie city. 
The factory has a large capacity and the 
company pay out more than $50,000 a year 
in wages. Mr. H. P. Mcllwraith is the ef- 
ficient manager for the company. 

GAILEY FIBEK PLASTER COMPANY. 

The Gailey Fiber Plaster Company, 
whose plant is located at Nos. 161-16.5 
Grove Street, is one of the important con- 
cerns in this line of business in this section. 
It was organized in 1903 and is composed 
of Messrs. John A. and Robert C. Gailey. 
The plaster manufactured by the company 
is made of wood fibre and is used exten- 
sively by the leading builders and contract- 
ore. The members of the company are well 
known in the business circles of New Castle 
and are thoroughly practical men in their 
line of manufacturing. 

LIMESTONE. 

The extensive quai'ries of limestone in 
the vicinity of New Castle, situated about 
one mile southeast of the Court House, 
were first opened for extensive operations 
in 1866 by Messrs. Green & Marquis, who 
worked them for about two years, when 
the firm changed to Green, Marquis & Co. 
This latter company worked them until 



1873, when the firm name was changed to 
Green, Marquis & Johnson. Later Mar- 
quis purchased Johnson's interest and he 
is the present proprietor. 

This stone is of two varieties : the upper 
fourteen feet, or graj' limestone, is all that 
is considered valuable. Below this stratum 
is one of blue stone, from three to five feet 
in thickness, which sometimes furnishes a 
fair quality of building stone. The work- 
able stone is extensively quarried and is 
used mainly for fluxing purposes in blast- 
furnaces. It averages 90 per cent, car- 
bonate of lime. Lying immediately under 
the limestone is a thin stratum of coal, 
about one foot in thickness. Sixty feet be- 
low this vein of coal is another, averaging 
about eighteen inches in thickness, and be- 
low this is a bed of fire-clay, twelve feet 
thick. Sixteen feet below tlie clay is an- 
other vein of coal, about four feet thick. 
These coal veins are not, howevei*, valuable 
enough to repay the labor of working them 
in this immediate vicinitv. 



LIMESTONE COMPANY. 

The Bessemer Limestone Company, of 
Bessemer. Lawrence County, now has the 
largest crushing plant in western Pennsyl- 
vania or eastern Ohio. They are engaged 
in the production of crushed and screened 
limestone of all sizes for flux, macadam, 
ballast and concreting, daily capacity of 
the concern being 2,500 tons of broken 
stone. The largest branch of the business 
is the shipping of fluxing stone for blast 
furnace use. The main office is in Youngs- 
town, Ohio. 

NEW CASTLE ELASTIC PULP PLASTER COMPANY. 

The New Castle Elastic Pulp Plaster 
Company, whose place of business is at No. 
153 Grove Street, was incorporated in 1900 
with a capital of .$100,000. The concern 
employs eight men and has an annual ca- 
pacity of 3,390 tons. It is in a prosperous 
condition. L. M. Uber is president and 
R. L. McNab, secretary, treasurer and gen- 
eral manager. 



132 



HISTOEY OF LAWRENCE COUNTY 



GLASS MANUFACTURE. 

A small establishment for the manufac- 
ture of glass was p^^t in operation in Sep- 
tember, 1848, by Messrs. Henderson & Mor- 
ris, the works having been commenced in 
the fall of 1847. The original works were 
operated in the primitive way, only one 
furnace being used for melting and blowing 
purposes. They were confined exclusively 
to the manufacture of American window- 
glass. Messrs. Henderson & Morris car- 
ried on the business until July or August, 
1851, doing a prosperous business. The 
sand-rock was obtained on the premises, 
and the clay for manufacturing the melt- 
ing pots was imported from Germany. 

In 1851 a company was organized under 
the name of the "Croton Glass Company." 
The original proprietors were stockholders 
and members of the new company. This 
company continued the business until about 
1860, when it was dissolved, and the works 
were operated in the interest of the New 
Castle Savings Bank (which had purchased 
them), by Crowther, Watson & Co., until 
1863, when Mr. A. Arbogast purchased the 
property. He operated the works until 
1867, when they became the property of 
C. Ihmsen & Sons, of Pittsburg, and the 
business was carried on by this firm until 
July, 1868, when Mr. 0. C. Ihmsen became 
sole proprietor, and continued the business 
until his death, in September, 1869. The 
business was carried on in his name until 
January, 1870, when his brother, C. Ihm- 
sen, Jr., leased the works, and operated 
them until October 28, 1870, when they 
were totally destroyed by fire. They were 
rebuilt in the spring of 1871 by the admin- 
istrators of the Ihmsen estate, and oper- 
ated until August, 1875, by C. Ihmsen, Jr., 
after which they were idle until April 1, 
1876, when they were leased to Mr. Forbes 
Holton. About 900 boxes of finished win- 
dow glass, of all sizes, from 6x8 up to 40x60 
inches, were produced weekly, about eighty 
hands being directly or indirectly em- 
ployed. The plant is not now in operation. 
In March, 1866, a stock company was 



formed for the manufacture of glass, works 
being erected on the west side of the Shen- 
ango Eiver in Union Township. Business 
was commenced in August following, and 
was carried on until the last of December, 
1868, when a large portion, including the 
buildings for flattening, finishing and pack- 
ing, the office, etc., were destroyed by fire. 
Several of the stockholders were opera- 
tives, and difficulties sprang up among the 
interested parties, which eventually caused 
the abandonment of the business. The 
plant passed into other hands and was 
changed and successfully operated for a 
few years. The concern manufactured 
American window glass exclusively, 100 
hands being employed, and about 1,000 
boxes of an excellent quality of glass 
being turned out per day. The works sub- 
sequently went out of operation. 

The glass manufacturing industry is now 
well represented in New Castle by the 
American Window Glass Company, which 
is engaged in operating the Shenaugo and 
Lawrence factories. The concern has an 
annual output of 30,000 boxes of 100 feet of 
glass each. About 400 men are employed in 
the works. 

POTTERY. 

About the year 1862 an establishment for 
the manufacture of stoneware was started 
in New Castle by Messrs. Hill and Harmon. 
It was thus operated for about seven years, 
when William Hill became sole proprietor 
and continued the business until 1882, when 
he closed it out. The principal articles 
manufactured by Mr. Hill were stone crock- 
ery, terra cotta, stone pumps, piping, chim- 
ney-tops and flower-pots. 

NEW CASTLE POTTERY CO. 

The New Castle Pottery Company was 
organized about 1901 and incorporated, 
with D. C. Wallace, president, F. E. Da\ds, 
secretary and treasurer. A plant was 
erected near Grant street and the Erie and 
Pittsburg Railroad and consisted of six 
kilns. The company manufactured vitrified 



AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 



133 



hotel ware and employed several hundred 
men. They got into financial straits, how- 
ever, and the concern went into tlie liands 
of a receiver. Every creditor was paid. The 
l^lant was purchased by a syndicate of the 
original stockholders, but no further steps 
have as yet been taken to reopen it. 

SHENANGO POTTERY COMPANY. 

In 1901 the Shenango China Company 
was incorporated, the stock being taken by 
local cajjitalists. A plant was estalilished 
at Emery Street and the Erie & Pittsburg 
Railroad, having a frontage of 500 feet 
along the railroad and 130 feet in width. 
The company engaged in the manufacture 
of semi-vitreous china, both plain and dec- 
orated, about 150 skilled hands being em- 
ployed. Among those prominently connect- 
ed with the concern as officers or otherwise 
were Eugene N. Baer, W. G. Dunn, Andrew 
Fleckeustein, and D. T. McCarron, the last 
mentioned being entrusted with the active 
management of the business. 

Subsequently, in January, 1905. owing to 
financial embarrassments, a receiver was 
appointed, and in the same year the, com- 
pany was reorganized and incorporated 
under the name of the Shenango Pottery, 
with a capital of $150,000, the officers being 
E. N. Baer, president; Edwin F. Norris, 
vice president; J. E. Whittaker, secretary, 
and E. E. McGill, treasurer. Directors, E. 
N. Baer, E. F. Norris, E. E. McGill, 
Andrew Fleckenstein, M. S. Marquis, and 
W. E. Wallace. The company has since en- 
joyed a prosperous career. They have a 
six-kiln plant with a capacity of $225,000 
worth of plain and decorated vitrified 
china. About four hundred people are 
given employment in the works, and the 
];roduct is shipped to all parts of the coun- 
try. The present officers of the concern are 
]\I. S. Marquis, president. C. C. Robingson, 
vice president, W. E. Wallace, treasurer, 
J. E. Wallace, secretary'; and Andrew 
Fleckenstein, E. E. McGill, E. P. Norris 
and E. I. Phillips, directors. 



UNIVERSAL SANITARY MANUFACTURING COM- 
PANY. 

Another large and important concern is 
the Universal Sanitary Manufacturing 
Company, which was incorporated in 1901, 
with a capital of $100,000, and with the fol- 
lowing officers and directors : C. J. Kirk, 
president; Edward King, vice president; 
J. W. Knox, treasurer; T. F. Morehead, 
secretary ; and James Simpson, Geo. Greer, 
and John Reis, directors. In 1907 R. C. 
Patterson was elected in place of Mr. King 
and at the same time Mr. John H. Clappin 
in the place of Mr. Greer. Its immense 
plant located at New Castle Junction, a 
picture of which may be found on another 
page of this volume, covers more than eight 
acres of ground, and consists of five kilns 
and several buildings, all of which are 
fitted up with the most modern machinery, 
making it one of the best equipped fac- 
tories in the United States. The company 
manufactures a full line of vitreous china, 
closets and lavatories in all styles and 
shapes, together with basins, plumbers' 
earthenware, etc. One hundred people are 
employed, and the product turned out in- 
cludes the very latest patterns, embodying 
all practical improvements, some of the 
sets and pieces being the invention of Mr. 
James Simpson, the highly capable super- 
intendent of the works. The company's 
trade extends to almost every part of the 
United States and Canada. 

NEW CASTLE PORTLAND CEMENT COMPANY. 

This extensive concern was incorporated 
in 1901, with a capital of $800,000, 
and is engaged in the manufacture of fire 
brick, red and paving brick, ground fire 
clay, crushed limestone for flux, concrete 
and ballast. They are also wholesale and 
retail coal dealers. The works have a ca- 
pacity of 2,500 tons of limestone, 500 tons 
of fire clay and 100,000 tons of brick. The 
company's business offices are in the Law- 
rence Savings and Trust Building, while 
they have a yard office at No. 236 South 



134 



HISTOEY OF LAWRENCE COUNTY 



Mill Street. This company is the successor 
to the Marquis Limestone and Clay Com- 
pany, and is doing an extensive and pros- 
perous business. Edwin N. Ohl is presi- 
dent, Charles G-reer, vice-president, and 
Edwin F. Norris, secretary and treasurer. 

OTHEE INCORPORATED COMPANIES. 

The following is a brief mention of some 
of the prominent incorporated companies 
now doing business in New Castle and the 
vicinity, in addition to those of whom 
sketches have been given herein : 

American Co-operative Association, 7 
Pearson Building; incorporated, 1906; cap- 
ital, $500,000. 

Brown & Hamilton Company ; dry goods, 
etc. ; incorporated, 1907 ; capital, $150,000. 

Croton Limestone & Brick Company; S. 
D. Pearson, president; incorporated, 
1902; capital, $30,000. 

Dollar Savings Association (Building 
and Loan); John H. Prescott, president; 
J. P. Cunningham, vice-president; J. Gr. 
Northdurft, secretary; H. L. Alley, treas- 
urer ; incorporated in 1898 ; capital, $6,000,- 
000. 

Frew Furniture Company. J. H. Frew, 
president; Milton Frew, secretary and 
treasurer; No. 79 E. Washington Street; 
incorporated, 1901; capital, $30,000. 

Horton & Whitten Hardware Company; 
117 East Washington Street ; incorporated, 
1900; capital, $30,000. 

Jamestown Veneer Door Company, 79 
East Washington Street; incorporated, 
1902 ; capital, $50,000. 

Charles T. Metzler Company, 205 East 
Washington Street; incorporated, 1905; 
capital, $20,000. 

Neshannock Brick & Tile Company; W. 
S. Mears, president; J. E. Sankey (Vo- 
lant), vice-president; W. S. Rice, secre- 
tary ; J. W. Neff , treasurer ; 71 West Wash- 
ington Street; incorporated, 1905; capital, 
$17,000. 

New Castle Concrete Company; L. G. 
Emery, president; J. M. Gardner, secre- 



tary and treasurer; 1361/2 East Washing- 
ton Street and 56 East Long Avenue; in- 
corporated, 1907; capital, $10,000. 

New Castle Contracting Company, 22 
Dean Block ; A. W. Woods, president ; J. A. 
DeNormandie, secretary; W. Lakey, treas- 
urer; incorporated, 1907; capital, $20,000. 

New Castle & Eastern Railroad Com- 
pany; E. N. Ohl, president; E. F. Norris, 
secretary and treasurer; incorporated, 
1903; capital, $100,000. 

New Castle Notion Company, comer Mill 
and Croton Avenue; W. M. White, presi- 
dent; J. B. Offutt, vice-president; W. H. 
Grove, secretary; R. D. McKinney, treas- 
urer and manager; importers and jobbers 
of notions and manufacturers of overalls, 
shirts and pants ; incorporated, 1901 ; cap- 
ital, $75,000. 

New Castle Paint & Varnish Company; 
George Greer, president; D. H. Amsbary, 
vice-president ; Chester W. Wallace, secre- 
tary, treasurer and manager ; manufactur- 
ers of paints for bridges, roofs, stacks and 
all metal surfaces; also house paints and 
paint specialties; office, 72 Pittsburg 
Street ; factory, Neal Street. 

New Castle Real Estate Company, 201 
East Washington Street; incorporated, 
1903; capital, $100,000. 

Osgood Hardware Company, 22 North 
Mill Street: incorporated, 1906; capital, 
$10,000. 

Shenango Coal Company; Lawrence 
Savings and Trust Building; incorporated, 
1902; capita], $30,000. 

Smith, Hutton & Kirk Company ; whole- 
sale and retail hardware, house furnish- 
ings, buggies, wagons, mine and mill sup- 
plies, plumbing, etc.; J. M. Smith, presi- 
dent and treasurer ; H. M. Kirk, vice-presi- 
dent; J. W. Hutton, secretary; incorpo- 
rated, 1903 ; capital, $55,000. 

Thompson Run Coal Company, 10 West 
Washington Street ; L. S. Hoyt, president ; 
E. H. Douthitt, vice-president ; A. C. Hoyt, 
secretary; capital, $50,000. 

B. U. Young & Company, 54-56 Cunning- 



AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 



135 



liam Street; wholesale green fruits, pro- 
duce, etc. ; incorporated, 1900 ; capital, $20,- 
000. 

There are in all about seventy-five in- 
corporated companies doing business in 
New Castle, besides numerous other busi- 
ness firms and unincorporated companies, 
engaged in the usual lines of commerce 
found in every thriving community. Most 
of them are in a flourishing condition, par- 



taking of and contributing to the general 
business prosperity that New Castle has en- 
joyed in recent years. Limited space pre- 
vents us from mentioning all by name, but 
enough have been here given to epitomize 
the industrial history of the city, and to 
exhibit in sketchy outline its present- 
day manufacturing and commercial impor- 
tance. 



CHAPTER VIII 



BANKS AND BANKING 



First Bank in Neiv Castle — National Bank of Lawrence County — First National Bank 
of New Castle — People's Savings Bank — Farmers' and Mechanics' Bank — Citi- 
zens' National Bank — The Lawrence Savings and Trust Company — Home Trust 
Company — Union National Bank — Neiv Castle Savings and Trust Co. 



In the financial world New Castle holds 
a high position, as might be exiDected of 
a city of its extensive business interests. 
Her bank deposits, loan investments and 
interest-drawing moneys aggregate a total 
which, if divided among the entire popu- 
lation, would mean an average of about 
$277. The per capita circulation of the 
tlnited States is but $35. The banks and 
trust companies of New Castle are among 
the soundest, most substantial and care- 
fully managed of any fiduciary institutions 
in the country. Two of the national banks 
are roll of honor institutions, their sur- 
plus being in excess of their capital stock. 
All are institutions of which New Castle 
is justly proud and in which her citizens 
have the utmost confidence. 

The first banking institution in New 
Castle was a private bank, opened by Will- 
iam Dickson and William McClymonds, 
about 1851. It continued in business until 
December, 1854, when it became so much 
involved as to be obliged to wind up its 
affairs. 

NATIONAL BANK OF LAWRENCE COUNTY. 

Tills institution had its origin in the 
Bank of New Castle, which was organized 
in 1855, the act of incorporation being 
dated March 30th. Tlie original incorpo- 
rators were A. L. Crawford, E. W. Cun- 



ningliam, Joseph Kissick, Thomas Wilson, 
Ezekiel Sankey, William Dickson, John N. 
Euwer, Cyrus Clarke, Charles T. AVhippo, 
L. L. McGruffin, Thomas Falls, James A. 
McClaughey, Hon. John Ferguson, James 
Leslie, and William H. Reynolds. Its nomi- 
nal capital was $150,000. 

After about two years of varying for- 
tunes, this institution suspended. Being 
reorganized under the name of the "Bank 
of Lawrence County," it did business until 
1865, when it took up the state circula- 
tion and organized as the "National Bank 
of Lawrence Countv," with a capital of 
$150,000. Its circulation is now $150,000 ; 
its surplus, $1,000,000. It is doing a suc- 
cessful general banking business. Its pres- 
ent officers are: Edward King, president; 
Charles Matthews, first vice-president ; Ru- 
fus C. Patterson and George L. Patterson, 
vice-presidents; Charles F. Montgomery, 
cashier; John Elder, Jr., assistant cashier. 

A private bank was organized by Dick- 
son, Watson and William Patterson in 
1855. Watson sold out and withdrew in 
1858, and Mr. Patterson conducted the 
business in his own name until about 1872, 
when the name was changed to "Patter- 
son's Bank." 

FARMERS AND MECHANICS' BANK. 

A bank under the above title was organ- 



AND KEPEESENTATIVE CITIZENS 



137 



ized as a stock company about 1858, with 
William Watson as president, I). H. W^al- 
lace as cashier, and Mannaseh Heulein as 
vice-president. When Colonel Wallace en- 
tered the army, in 1861, it was merged into 
a private banking house by William A\'at- 
son, who continued business about four 
years, when it was discontinued. 

FIEST NATIONAL BANK OF NEW CASTLE. 

This bank was organized in 1864, with a 
capital of $150,000. Articles of associa- 
tion were signed October 4, 1864, and the 
following were the original officers : I. N. 
Phillips, president; E. I. Agnew, cashier. 
The surplus fund of the bank is $500,000. 
The circulation is $200,000. 

The record of the First National Bank 
has been one of unbroken success, due to 
prudent, conservative methods, liberal 
dealings and the watchful care exercised 
over the interests of its patrons. Its of- 
ficers are all men of high standing in the 
community and recognized leaders in the 
commercial and financial world. It has 
ever been a great reservoir of monetary 
strength, relieving congestion, restoring 
the currents of business activity, averting 
threatened disaster, and keeping in motion 
the wheels of productive energy. Its pres- 
ent officers are AVilliam S. Foltz, president ; 
George Greer, vice-president; Samuel 
Foltz, cashier. Directors : John W. Knox, 
J. F. Genkinger, E. N. Ohl, J. P. H. Cun- 
ningham, S. W. Cunningham, and C. S. 
Clark. 

people's savings bank. 

This institution was chartered in 1868, 
with a capital of $100,000, and authority 
to increase to $500,000. It never organized 
under the charter. It ceased doing busi- 
ness in 1884. 

The banking house of Foltz & Sons was 
organized September 23, 1873. The officers 
were Samuel Foltz, president ; W. S. Foltz, 
cashier; L. S. Foltz, bookkeeper. The 
senior partner, Samuel Foltz, was also 
president of the First National Bank. The 



firm for some time did a general bank- 
ing business, but is no longer in existence. 
The Citizens' National Bank was incor- 
porated under the national banking laws, 
in 1891, with a capital of $200,000. Its 
first officers were Thomas W. Phillips, 
president; Lewis S. Hoyt, vice-president, 
and David Jameson, cashier. These of- 
ficers, together with the following gentle- 
men, constituted the board of directors : 
Samuel McCreary, J. Norman Martin, Ed- 
ward T. Kurtz, John Sword, Joseph K. 
Pearson, George L. Herr, William W. Eich- 
baum, and George B. Berger. Their pres- 
ent three-story brick building was pur- 
chased at that time and thoroughly remod- 
eled. The bank uses the first floor, while 
the remainder of the building is rented for 
office purposes. The bank has earned and 
paid dividends every year since it was 
started, and now has undivided earnings 
of about $250,000. It is conducted on con- 
servative lines, and during all the years 
of its history has never for a minute been 
under its legal reserve. It has never bor- 
rowed a dollar nor re-discounted a note. 
The statement of the bank for May 14, 
1908, shows, in addition to the capital stock 
of $200,000, a surplus and profits of $236,- 
985.95. The officers are : Thomas W. Phil- 
lips, president; Lewis S. Hoyt, vice-presi- 
dent; David Jameson, cashier; John H. 
Lamb, assistant cashier. Directors : 
Thomas W. Phillips, M. II. Henderson, 
Lewis S. Hoyt, Charles H. Andrews, Sam- 
uel McCreary, .J. P. H. Cunningham, Da- 
vid Jameson, J. Norman Martin, E. N. 
Baer, John H. Preston and Edward T. 
Kurtz. 

LAWKENCE SAVINGS AND TEUST COMPANY. 

The Lawrence Savings and Trust Com- 
pany was incorporated in March, 1901, with 
a capital stock of $300,000, since which 
time it has enjoyed a rapid and steady 
growth. The bank is splendidly equipped 
in every department and is conducted on 
strictly business principles. Its financial 
condition is in the highest degree satis- 



138 



HISTORY OF LAWRENCE COUNTY 



factory. It is a legal depositary for all 
court and trust funds, issues savings books 
and receives deposits in amounts from $1 
up. It has a fine safe deposit vault, with 
fire, burglar and bomb-proof guards 
against loss. The home of the bank is at 
No. 125 East Washington Street, in one 
of the finest structures in Western Penn- 
sylvania, its seven stories being built of 
polished granite, cut stone and red pressed 
brick. Its interior is most beautiful in 
design and finish and it is fitted with every 
modern contrivance for the accommodation 
of customers and the transaction of busi- 
ness. Its officers are G. W. Johnson, presi- 
dent; P. L. Craig and H. M. Henderson, 
vice-presidents; E. E. McGill, secretary 
and treasurer; F. A. Shultz, assistant sec- 
retary. 

HOME TRUST COMPANY. 

The Home Trust Company is one of the 
more recent of Lawrence County's finan- 
cial institutions, as it is also one of the 
most up-to-date. It was iucorpo rated in 
1902, with a paid up capital of $125,000. 
It has in the present year (1908) undivided 
profits of $32,000. Its quarters, at 53 
Pittsburg Street, are fitted up with every 
convenience, while its safes and vaults are 
absolutely fire and burglar-proof. A gen- 
eral banking business is done and it is the 
authorized depositary for estate funds, and 
acts in any trust capacity. The officers of 
the company are men who are prominently 
identified with the commercial and finan- 
cial interests of New Castle, and have 
the full confidence of the business com- 
munity. They are S. M. Marquis, presi- 
dent; R. A. McKinney, secretary, and W. 
S. Grove, treasurer. 

UNION NATIONAL BANK. 

A still younger institution than the one 
just mentioned is the Union National Bank, 
which was organized by W. W. Eichbaum, 
L. M. Buchanan and Ij. M. Weber, and 
opened for business in a rented room on 
South Mill Street, on January 8, 1907. The 



bank's present fine structure of brick and 
terra cotta was completed and opened for 
business November 1, 1907. The building 
and lot are worth about $20,000, including 
the latest equipment. The bank's state- 
ment, issued in May, 1908, showed paid-in 
capital stock, $100,000; undivided profits 
(less expenses and taxes paid), $1,509.10; 
individual deposits, subject to check, $51,- 
796.68. The officers are : W. W. Eichbaum, 
president ; L. M. Buchanan, first vice-presi- 
dent ; Calvin Smith, second vice-president ; 
J. E. Aiken, cashier (succeeded C. F. 
Wlieeler). The directors are: W. W. 
Eichbaum, L. M. Buchanan, Calvin Smith, 
J. E. Aiken, James A. George, Jere 
Blucher, M. L. Cukerbrauni, U. G. Eckles, 
L. M. Uber, W. S. Rejmolds, Samuel Hoff- 
meister, M. L. Wallace, A. W. Reynolds, 
J. W. Neff and L. G. Emery. The original 
board was the same as the present, with 
the exception of Messrs. Hotfmeister and 
Wallace, who became members during the 
present year. 

NEW CASTLE SAVINGS AND TRUST COMPANY. 

This companv was incorporated March 
27, 1903, with a capital stock of $300,000, 
divided into 3,000 shares of $100 each. 
The plan of organization was a popular 
one, the original subscription being limited 
to fifty shares. When the stock had been 
all subscribed for, it was found that there 
were 270 stockholders, citizens of almost 
every township being interested. 

The company purchased the Flecken- 
stein property, at No. 15 East Washington 
Street, remodeled the building and fitted 
up the premises for banking purposes. It 
opened for business on June 1, 1903. Will- 
iam G. Dunn was elected president, and 
J. S. Taylor, secretary and treasurer. With 
its large number of stockholders as a basis, 
the business of the institution increased 
rapidly and at the close of 1906 it had 
more than 3,000 depositors. Its total de- 
posits at this time exceeded $600,000. 

In January, 1907, the State Banking 
Commissioner, on information that $175,- 
000 of coal bonds held by it were not good 



AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 



141 



securi ty, cited the officials to aiDpeai- before 
him to show cause why the company should 
not be declared insolvent, in the meantime 
sending one of his examiners to New 
Castle. At the hearing, the coal bonds 
were shown to be secured by a first 
mortgage on coal property worth at least 
twice the face of the bonds and the solvency 
of the trust company otherwise established, 
but the action of the banking department 



had become known and, to avoid a run by 
depositors, the bank was closed and a re- 
ceiver appointed to wind up its affairs. 
At this writing the depositors have all been 
paid in full and there are sufficient assets 
to give back to the stockholders all their 
money. All parties now concede that it was 
a mistake to close the institution, as it 
was entirelv solvent. 



CHAPTER IX 



THE PRESS 



Newspapers and Editors of the Past and of the Present. 



The early history of journalism in New 
Castle, as in most towns of its size, is 
largely a record of ups and downs, with 
a very liberal proportion of "downs," but 
with the growth of the city during the last 
quarter of a century there has come a cor- 
responding security of foundation for 
newspaper enterprises, in the large in- 
crease in population and in the various 
manufacturing, commercial and social in- 
terests that spring up and are naturally 
evolved from the advancing prosperity of 
any considerable community included with- 
in the limits of civilization. All, or some, 
of these various interests, in some degree, 
enter into the life of each individual in the 
communit}% as forming a part of his daily 
environment ; or, perhaps, in a closer rela- 
tionship, as affording him his means of 
subsistence, and it behooves him, therefore, 
to keep in touch with passing events. The 
daily newspaper is the mirror in which 
one sees reflected all the kaleidescopic pan- 
orama of contemporaneous human life. It 
is the most universally read of all litera- 
ture and the most universally appreciated. 
Each individual finds within its columns 
the latest news on the subject which in- 
terests him the most. The election of a 
president, the discovery of a new comet, or 
the downfall of a pugilistic champion are 
there all recorded with the utmost impar- 
tiality, and generally within an hour or 
two of the actual occurrence. It records 
not only that which is doing or has been 



done, but that which is to be done; and 
one sees foreshadowed within its pages 
many of the things or events to be in the 
near or distant future, from the proposed 
organization of a new fraternal society to 
next spring's fashions in millinery. Truly, 
were all men to be asked what modern 
convenience of life they would surrender 
with the greatest reluctance, not a few 
would reply, "The daily paper." 

It is not our intention in this article to 
enter into a long, detailed history of all 
the newspapers that at one time or an- 
other have flourished in New Castle for a 
longer or briefer period, but simply to give 
an outline sketch of the early growth of 
journalism in the city, with a few words in 
regard to its present status, as exhibited in 
the admirable papers, which, in this first 
decade of the twentieth century, minister 
to the perpetual thirst for information 
characteristic of the up-to-date citizen, here 
as elsewhere. Much, if not all, of the in- 
formation herein given has appeared, at 
different times, in previous histories or in 
the local press, but doubtless it will be 
acceptable to the reader in its i^resent 
form. 

The first paper published in New Castle 
made its debut in the early part of De- 
cember, 1826. The exact date of the first 
number is not known. It was called the 
New Castle Register, and was published 
by David Crawford, who formerly lived in 
Mercer. It was a five-column folio, issued 



AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 



143 



once a week, the subscription price being $2 
a year. Having no column rules, the col- 
umns were separated from each other by 
blank lines nearly a quarter of an inch in 
width. The office of the Register was situ- 
ated near the west end of North Street, on 
the first floor of a log house standing on 
or near the present site of James A. Ste- 
venson's residence. The paper was printed 
on a Ramage press, the woodwork of which 
was made by Joseph Emery. Like other 
presses of the kind, it had a wooden platen 
with metal face. The bed of the press was 
of stone, and is still in existence, serving 
as a hearthstone in a Third AVard dwell- 
ing. The impression was made by turning 
a screw, which required two pulls for every 
impression. When run by a good pressman 
it would print five or six quires an hour. 
No file of this paper is in existence, and 
only here and there can a copy of it be 
found. But as it was almost totally devoid 
of local news, there is little to regret that 
so few copies have been preserved. After 
being published for about two years, it was 
discontinued, and Mr. Crawford left New 
Castle and returned to Mercer, where he 
lived until 1831, when he came back to 
New Castle, bringing his family with him. 
George P. Shaw, a brother to the late Col. 
William H. Shaw, was editor of the Reg- 
ister. 

About eight years after the suspension 
of the Register, a successor appeared in the 
New Castle Intelligencer, which was owned 
by a joint stock company, of which Major 
Ezekiel Sankey and Judge Robert W. Stew- 
art were two of the principal members. It 
was published by John W. Cunningham, 
who resided in New Castle until his death, 
which occurred in December, 1864. 

The editor of the paper was a young 
man named Henry E. Wallace, who came 
here in the summer of 1836 and opened the 
first law office in this place. After the In- 
telligencer suspended, Mr. Wallace went to 
Philadelphia, where he became a promi- 
nent lawyer, and was for many years editor 
of the Legal Intelligencer. Michael Wey- 



and, for many years editor and pro- 
prietor of the Beaver Times, officiated 
in the capacity of "printer's devil" 
in the New Castle Intelligencer office. 
The first number was issued on Au- 
gust 18, 1836. It was a five-column folio 
and was printed on imperial paper. The 
columns were two and three-fourths inches 
wide. The short columns were sixteen and 
three-quarters inches in length and the long 
ones eighteen inches. The first and sec- 
ond pages consisted exclusively of reading 
matter, while the third and fourth pages 
were made up chiefly of advertisements, 
both home and foreign. The head of the 
paper was composed of heavy black-faced 
letters about a half inch in height. The 
office was situated on the northeast corner 
of Washington and Beaver Streets, over 
Thomas McCleary & Co.'s store. After the 
lapse of about two years the publication 
of the Intelligencer was discontinued. 
What became of the press and tj-pe is not 
known, but it is not at all improbable that 
they were both used in printing the West- 
ern Sentinel and the Mercer and Beaver 
Democrat. 

The publication of the Western Sentinel 
was commenced in August, 1837, and dis- 
continued in December, 1838, making the 
period of its existence about sixteen 
months. It was a small four-page paper, 
with six columns to the page, and was 
edited hj 0. C. Lockhart, an elderly gentle- 
man, who afterwards resided on a farm 
near the town of Pulaski, this county. In 
politics it supported the Whig party. 

From December, 1839, to August, of 
1839, there was no paper published here. 
Since the latter date the people of New 
Castle have never known what it is to do 
without a local paper. The first number 
of the Mercer and Beaver Democrat, a five- 
column folio, was published on Wednesday, 
August 14, 1839. Notwithstanding its 
name, it was a "Wliig paper and was pub- 
lished at $2 a year. The advertising rates 
were $1 per square for the first three in- 
sertions and 25 cents for each subsequent 



144 



HISTORY OF LAWRENCE COUNTY 



insertion. The original proprietor of the 
paper was John Speer, who, after dis- 
posing of his interest to John B. Early, re- 
moved to Arkansas. ^Yhen this change of 
proprietors was made we cannot say, but 
it is well known that Mr. Early was pro- 
prietor in September, 1840. 0. C. Lock- 
hart, whom we have already mentioned as 
editor and publisher of the Western Sen- 
tinel, worked as a compositor on the 
Democrat. One of the principal writers 
on the Democrat was "Zip" Allison, who 
formerly lived in Beaver. "Zip" was an 
excellent writer and a young man of su- 
perior ability, but unfortunately he was ad- 
dicted to strong drink. In regard to re- 
ligion he was what is coromonly called a 
"free thinker." The Democrat was dis- 
continued soon after the election of 1840, 
only sixty niunbers having been published. 

We must not omit to relate the singular 
fact that William D. C. Greene, one of the 
editors of the Democrat, after making a 
will and bequeathing his library to George 
D. Prentice, committed suicide by taking 
an overdose of laudanum. He died at the 
Washington House, on Washington Street, 
near Mill. He was a young man of consid- 
erable literary talent, and was unmarried 
at the time of his death. His rash act was 
probably due to intemperance, a vice more 
common in those days even than now. 

The Mercer and Beaver Democrat was 
succeeded by the New Castle Gazette, the 
first number of which appeared on Friday, 
October 15, 1841. It was published by H. 
A. McCullough and William H. Shaw. The 
ofBce was on the northeast corner of Wash- 
ington and Mill Streets. The Gazette was 
a four-page paper, with five wide columns 
to the page, and was published at $2 a 
year. About two months after it was 
started McCullough sold his interest to 
John S. Winter. Shaw & Winter published 
it about one year, when Winter sold his 
interest to Shaw and went home to his 
father, Dr. John AVinter, of Sharon. So 
unprofitable had been their business dur- 
ing the year that it was agreed that Win- 



ter should receive for his year's labor only 
$2, and he should receive that sum from 
his father, who owed a year's subscrip- 
tion to the Gazette. Mr. Shaw published 
the paper until 1845, when he sold his in- 
terest to Alexander Cameron. About the 
beginning of 1845 the Gazette was fur- 
nished with a new head and was changed to 
a six-column paper, without enlarging its 
size. The office from which it was issued 
was then on East Street. The publication 
day was Wednesday. The firm name was 
W. H. Shaw & A. Cameron. In the spring 
of 1846 the firm name was Cameron & Shaw 
and the publication day was Thursday. 
Some time during the summer or autumn 
of 1846 Mr. Cameron sold his interest to 
George P. Shaw, brother to William H. 
Shaw. The finn name then became W. H. 
& G. P. Shaw, and continued so until 1858, 
when George P. Shaw sold his interest to 
his brother and retired from connection 
with the paper. 

On the 23d of August, 1849, the Gazette 
appeared in an entire new dress and en- 
larged to seven columns wide. The new 
head was in length equal to the width of 
five columns. Just prior to the publication 
of this issue the office had been removed 
to Crawford & Co.'s new building on the 
southwest corner of Jefferson Street and 
the "Diamond," over the postoffice and 
telegraph office. 

In 1849 James M. Kuester came here 
from Pittsburg, and during the same year 
began the publication of a Democratic 
paper called the Laivrence Journal, and 
continued to own it until about the year 
1862, then selling it to his son, G. D. 
Kuester, and Joseph Miller. The paper, 
having changed its politics to Republican, 
had a hard time to exist and finally died 
for lack of patronage about 1870. We find 
a mention of it suspending publication Sep- 
tember 1, 1861. 

David Craig, who for a time had been 
associated with the Shaw brothers in pub- 
lishing the Gazette, severed his connection 
in October, 1851. On Julv 1, 1852, the 



AND EEPEESENTATIVE CITIZENS 



145 



Gazette appeared in mourning for the 
death of Henry Clay, all the column rules 
of the second and third pages being turned. 

The summer of 1852 seems to have 
formed the brightest and happiest period 
in the history of local journalism, judging 
from the number of pound cakes and bou- 
quets presented to the editors. 

The first number of the Cosmopolite ap- 
peared on November 25, 1853, H. P. W. 
Bay & Co. being the editors and propri- 
etors. But three numbers were printed. 
The issues were made periodically, as three 
months intervened between the first and 
second number. This paper was super- 
seded by the Coal City Item on January 5, 
1856, with J. Sell Jennings as editor ancl 
proprietor. According to announcement 
in the paper, M. B. Glenn became associate 
editor in June, 1858. The Item was pub- 
lished weekly until early in 1860. The of- 
fice was located in the second story of the 
building on the southeast corner of Wash- 
ington and Mill Streets. George Hender- 
son occupied the first floor as a diy goods 
and general store. In 1860 the stock of the 
Item was taken by Dr. Daniel Leasure, J. 
Sell Jennings, M. B. Speer and William 
M. Hunter, and a new company organized 
to publish the Coal City Chronicle. This 
paper was a semi-weekly and was issued 
from the "Old Stone Corner." In July of 
the same year, Mr. Hunter retired from 
the firm, his intei'est having been bought 
by Oscar 0. Sutherland. In the same 
month J. Sell Jennings sold his interest in 
the concern to J. Walter Vincent, of New 
Wilmington, who remained with the com- 
pany until April, 1861, when the publica- 
tion of the paper was suspended, after the 
entire force of the office had enlisted for 
the war. 

The first cylinder press to be operated 
in this city was brought here by J. M. 
Blanchard in 1853, and was used in print- 
ing the Promulgator, an Abolition paper. 
Some time during the next year Mr. Blan- 
chard sold the paper to William F. Clark, 
of Mercer. He changed the name of the 



publication to the American Freeman. In 
1857 E. S. Durban, who had been pub- 
lishing a Democratic paper in Franklin, 
bought the office from Mr. Clark. He 
changed the name of the paper to the New 
Castle Courant and continued as editor and 
proprietor until about 1876, when the of- 
fice was bought by J. H. Douglass. After 
publishing the paper a few years the latter 
turned the paper over to Mr. Durban, who 
continued in charge of the business until 
early in the eighties, when Corson & Pryor 
bought the office. The Courant and Guar- 
dian, the latter then owned by a stock 
company, were consolidated and issued 
under the name of the C our ant-Guardian. 
The office was afterward sold to a stock 
company, who enlarged and improved the 
plant and continued the publication under 
the name of the Herald until nearly three 
years ago, when the present owner, A. C. 
Dickinson, bought the plant. 

On the 24th of August, 1854, the Gazette 
appeared for the second time in an entire 
new dress. From then imtil 1862 nothing 
worthy of particular notice took place in 
regard to the Gazette. On August 7, 1862, 
it suspended publication in consequence 
of its editor. Col. W. H. Shaw, having 
enter the military service of the United 
States. It was revived on May 18, 1864, 
appearing in a new dress. It was published 
as a Eepnblican paper until about the mid- 
dle of September, being then sold to a Dem- 
ocratic stock company for $1,500. Some 
of the principal stockliolders were David 
S. Morris, D. M. Courtney, Lewis Taylor 
and S. W. Dana. Under this management 
the Gazette was edited bv D. S. Morris until 
William S. Black, of Philadelphia, took 
charge of it in March, 1865. At the time 
that Mr. Morris served as editor Thomas 
J. McCleary had charge of the mechanical 
department. The latter was succeeded by 
his brother, Joseph B., who continued as 
foreman as long as it remained in exist- 
ence. 

The Gazette and Democrat, one of the 
best newspapers ever published in New 



146 



HISTORY OF LAWRENCE COUNTY 



Castle, was forced to suspend publication 
about the middle of September, 1875, be- 
cause the editor, William S. Black, could 
not collect money due him on subscrip- 
tion. 

On the 3d of February, 1855, the Deiv- 
drop, published by 0. 0. Sutherland and 
J. H. Gilliland and printed in the Gazette 
office, made its appearance. It lived but 
three months at the subscription price of 
25 cents. It was intended for a humorous 
publication, but got into trouble on ac- 
coimt of the too free i;se of a business 
man's name, and after the young editors 
had had an experience at court the publica- 
tion suspended. 

Thomp Burton was associated with Mr. 
Black in publishing the Gazette from Jan- 
uary 1, 1867, until the next November. At 
intervals in 1868 and 1869 R. Gregor Mc- 
Gregor had charge of the editorial depart- 
ment, being succeeded by John F. Brown, 
who continued on the Gazette until Julv, 
1872. On July 15, 1872, George W. Penn 
became connected with it as editor, and 
remained in that eapacitj' until it sus- 
pended, on September 10, 1875. We must 
not omit to mention that in the beginning 
of January, 1867, the Gazette appeared 
in an entire new dress, and enlarged one 
column to each page. From this brief 
sketch it can be seen that the Gazette had 
a most eventful existence, being published 
first as a "Whig paper, then a Republican 
paper, and lastly as a Democratic paper. 
It began as a five-column and died as an 
eight-column paper, aged thirty-four years. 

In the latter part of 1867 or early in 1868 
Thomp Burton started a paper called the 
Champion, in a room near the Washing- 
ton Street bridge in the interest of Dan 
Rice, the showman, then a candidate for 
the presidential nomination. Owing to the 
bad health of the editor and the weakness 
of the candidate, the paper ceased to exist 
in a few months. 

In 1867 David Sankey published the 
Journal, and during his ownership of sev- 
eral years wielded considerable power. Mr. 



Sankey was a forcible writer and was care- 
less where the shots hit. 

David Sankey & Co., publishers of the 
Lawrence Journal, suspended the publica- 
tion about the first of June, 1874, because 
the owners were unable to secure a proper 
person to manage the paper. The sub- 
scribers who had paid in advance were 
given the Gazette and Democrat imtil their 
subscription had expired. 

In 1870 Capt. R. G. Dill and William 
Piatt began the publication of the Lawrence 
Guardian. After a few years of successful 
management they sold the paper to Dr. 
J. J. Wallace and G. W. McCracken, who 
continued its publication until it was sold 
to a company of politicians, who owned 
the office when the Guardian and Courant 
consolidated. 

The Signal was first issued on the 15th 
of January, 1875, and suspended February 
4, 1876. William H. Gault was its founder 
and editor. 

The Neic Era, a prohibition paper, was 
started September 21, 1875, by James K. 
Frew, and its editor was James A. Gard- 
ner. The office was afterwards sold to 
Thomp Burton, who began the publication 
of the Paragraph. 

In 1875 George W. Penn and E. C. Stone 
began publishing the Lawrence Paragraph 
in a room in the Henderson Block, and 
continued its publication until 1881, when 
Major AVilliam Gordon bought Mr. Stone's 
interest. The name of the paper was 
changed to the New Castle Democrat, the 
same as it is today. Mr. Gordon, in Sep- 
tember of 1881, sold his interest in tlie 
paper to T. J. McCleary, the present editor 
and publisher. The latter bought Mr. 
Penn's interest in 1883, giving him the full 
control. 

The first number of the Daily Index, a 
paper advocating the temperance cause, 
with William P. Miller and William J. 
Bannan as editors and proprietors, ap- 
peared on May 21, 1879, and existed until 
December 31st of the same year. A weekly 
edition of the same paper was published, 



AND EEPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 147 

the first number of which was issued May ownership of George E. Treadwell and 

19th, and ceased to exist December 8, 1880. William J. Bannan. The Daily City News 

The owners and publishers of the latter was subsequently started and is still issued 

were: T. J. Gleason and William J. Ban- regularly under the management of Fred 

nan. The first issue of the Weekly Neivs L. Rentz, who has been connected with the 

appeared on December 15, 1880, under the paper many years. 



CHAPTER X 



LAWRENCE COUNTY BENCH AND BAR 



Early Courts — Famous Judges — Leading Laivyen 



Lawrence County, erected out of parts 
of Beaver and Butler Counties by act ap- 
proved March 20, 1849, lay within the jur- 
isdiction of the Seventeenth Judicial Dis- 
trict of Pennsylvania, which had been 
formed in 1831, with John Bredin as pre- 
siding judge under appointment by the 
Governor, made April 1, 1831. At the first 
sitting of court in Lawrence County, the 
following attorneys from the county were 
admitted and sworn: Jonathan Ayres, J. 
K. Boyd, David Craig, David C. Cossett, 
John M. Crawford, John Hoffman, James 
W. Johnston, Davis B. Kurtz, L. L. Mc- 
Guffin, John N. McGuffin, James Pollock, 
Lewis Taylor and George W. Watson. Dan- 
iel Ag-new, Thomas Cunningham, B. B. 
Chamberlin, S. P. Fetterman and John R. 
Shannon were admitted from Beaver 
County. John Negley and C. C. Sullivan, 
from Butler County, were admitted, and 
also William Maxell, William M. Stewart, 
William Stevenson and Johnston Pearson, 
of Mercer County. 

The following, regarding the history of 
the judiciary of Lawrence County, is taken 
almost verbatim from a paper read by S. 
W. Dana, now Nestor of the Lawrence 
County Bar, at the celebration of the semi- 
centennial of the holding of the first court 
in the county: 

"Upon the formation of the Seventeenth 
District, John Bredin, of Butler, was ap- 
pointed by Governor George Wolf, presid- 
ing judge, and he was commissioned dur- 



ing good behavior. By the amended consti- 
tution of 1838, his term of office was re- 
duced from good behavior to ten years, and 
his term made to expire on February 27, 
1842. He was re-appointed by Governor 
David R. Porter in 1842, and his term 
would have expired, under the amendment 
of the constitution of 1851, on the 1st day 
of December, 1852. He died suddenly on 
May 21, 1851. 

"It appears by the record of the court 
here that a meeting of this bar was held 
upon the occasion of his death, the minutes 
of which were at the next sitting of the 
court, presented, and after an eloquent 
eulogj^ upon the deceased by L. L. McGuf- 
fin, ordered by the court to be enrolled. It 
is here recorded that the bar united in their 
tribute of affectionate regard for him, who 
had so long and with so distinguished abil- 
ity, presided in the district. The minutes 
further say of him that he had a strong 
discriminating mind, a retentive memory, 
indefatigable industry and unwearied at- 
tention; that he was frank, generous and 
kind, always willing to suffer personal in- 
convenience for the benefit of a friend. ' ' 

At the time Judge Bredin put on the 
robes of his high office, his successor was a 
mere youth, just admitted to the bar of 
Beaver County. He had barely passed his 
majority. He was the son of an eminent 
physician who had long practiced his pro- 
fession in the city of Pittsburg ; was grad- 
uated from the Western University of 



AND REPEESENTATIVE CITIZENS 



149 



Pennsylvania; was a law student under 
Walter Forward, and upon his admission 
to the bar in 1829, entered upon the profes- 
sion at Beaver. This was Daniel Agnew, 
who, twenty-two years afterwards, was ap- 
pointed by Grovernor William F. Johnston 
president in the district in the place of 
John Bredin, deceased. 

"He was elected at the next annual elec- 
tion. At the end of his term in 1861, he 
was re-elected by the unanimous vote of all 
parties. Two years afterwards he was 
elected one of the judges of the Supreme 
Court. For almost thirteen years, from the 
spring of 1851 to December, 1863, he ad- 
ministered the law within his jurisdiction. 
There were no railroads connecting the 
places where the courts were held. He 
passed the long distances from Beaver to 
Butler, and thence to Mercer, and thence to 
New Castle, over the roughest roads, in all 
sorts of weather, riding or driving his own 
horse. He had a physical constitution of 
great vigor and endurance. His mind, nat- 
urally quick and acute, had by long train- 
ing in the law, so mastered its principles, 
and become so familiar with statutes, rules 
and precedents, that the most difficult and 
complicated cases were easily resolved, and 
were presented by him so plainly and clear- 
ly that both parties were satisfied. Rarely 
were appeals taken from his decisions. 

"In February, 1854, he had completed 
with great care the rules of practice for 
the district, and they have been continued, 
with but slight alterations, to the present 
time. When the oldest of us commenced 
practice, many of our clients had been his 
clients, and we know with what confidence 
they relied upon his opinion. The com- 
munity felt the same confidence in his ju- 
dicial sentences. 

"I will not attempt to follow him during 
his career of fifteen years on the Supreme 
bench. It is a part of the judicial history 
of the State. His lucid opinions are con- 
tained in forty-three volumes of the State 
reports, from 46 to 88, inclusive. Tliere 
thev will ever remain, like the fixed stars, 



lighting the way of the generations of our 
profession who come after us. 

"Lawrence L. McGuffin, of the Lawrence 
County Bar, was appointed upon the resig- 
nation of Daniel Agnew by Governor 
Andrew G. Curtin, to fill the vacancy imtil 
next annual election. He was elected in 
1864 and his term would have expired in 
December, 1874, but was prolonged by the 
new constitution of 1873, to the first Mon- 
day of January, 1875. After the judicial 
appointment in April, 1874, providing an 
additional law judge for the Seventeenth 
District, Charles McCandless, of Butler, 
was appointed by Governor J. F. Hartraft 
and held the office, with L. L. McGuffin as 
president judge, until the first Monday of 
January following. 

"At the annual election in 1874, Eb- 
enezer McJunkin and James Bredin, both 
of Butler, were elected, and upon lots cast, 
McJunkin became president judge and 
Bredin additional law judge. James Bredin 
was the son of John Bredin, the first presi- 
dent of the district. In 1884, John Mc- 
Michael and Aaron L. Hazen, both of the 
Lawrence bar, were elected, and, by lot, 
Hazen drew the presidency and McMichael 
the additional judgeship. 

"Judge McMichael died on April 17, 
1892. J. Norman Martin, of the Lawrence 
bar, was appointed to the vacancy by Gov- 
ernor Robert E. Pattison. At the annual 
election of the same year, John M. Greer, 
of Butler, was elected and was commis- 
sioned for a full term, from the first Mon- 
day of January, 1893, an additional law 
judge. 

"By the act of April 28, 1893, making 
Lawrence County a separate district, the 
Fifty-first, Judge Hazen became its pres- 
ident judge, and Judge Greer the president 
judge of Butler County. Judge Hazen con- 
tinued president judge here until the ex- 
piration of his commission on the first 
Monday of Januarj^, 1895, when he was 
succeeded by William D. Wallace. 

"Judge McMichael was admitted hei'e in 
December, 1861, and thence to his eleva- 



150 



HISTORY OF LAWRENCE COUNTY 



tion to the bench received his culture and 
training exclusively within this court, and 
under the influence of this bar. He was 
upon the bench here only seven years ; and 
in this short period, he came to be justly 
regarded as one of the ablest judges in 
this part of the State. 

"Judge McGufQn was a student of John 
D. Pearson, afterwards the distinguished 
judge of the Dauphin County district. He 
was admitted to the bar in 1843, and was 
in practice at New Castle for ten years be- 
fore the new coimty was formed. He was 
one of the most zealous and enthusiastic 
promoters of the project. The day we cele- 
brate, the day of the first court at New 
Castle, what a glorious day it must have 
been to him ! He became the leader of the 
new bar and continued such until his ele- 
vation to the bench. He magnified our pro- 
fession ; he magnified the judicial office. He 
took great pleasure and pride in the suc- 
cess of us all. His ambition to attain suc- 
cess as a lawyer and judge was unbound- 
ed. He would attain to it by industry and 
high endeavor. But long before the end of 
his judicial term, his health began to de- 
cline and he gave us a high example of 
patience and fortitude. Looking back to 
that first court, it would seem to me that 
the most prominent personage there was 
Lawrence L. McGufifin." 

William D. Wallace was succeeded as 
president judge by William Ellis Porter, 
who was selected in November, 1904, and 
is the present incumbent of that high office. 

Below appear a few facts concerning 
many of those who have graced the Law- 
rence County bar: 

Hon. William D. Wallace, attorney-at- 
law of New Castle and formerly judge of 
the Fifty-first Judicial District of Pennsyl- 
vania, was born in New Castle, May 15, 
1857. After graduation from Westminster 
College in 1881, he studied law under the 
direction and in the office of Dana & Long 
at New Castle. It was largely through his 
activity that Lawrence County was set 
aside as a separate judicial district, and as 
recognition of his services in that direc- 



tion he was elected to the judgeship thus 
created, on November 6, 1894. Since leav- 
ing the bench he has engaged in active 
practice in his native city. 

Hon. William Ellis Porter, president 
judge of the Fifty-third Judicial District of 
Pennsylvania, was born in Wilmington 
Township, Mercer County, December 15, 
1867. He graduated from Westminster 
College in 1889, then after teaching two 
years, read law under the preceptorship of 
James A. Gardner and James M. Martin. 
He was admitted to the bar of Lawrence 
County, January 23, 1893, and immediately 
opened an office for practice in New Castle. 
He was secretary of the People's Mutual 
Building and Loan Association of New 
Castle, from 1894 until 1904; member of 
the City Council from the Third Ward, 
from 1900 to 1904, serving two j^ears as 
president of that body; and in November, 
1904, was elected president judge of the 
Fifty-third Judicial District, in which ca- 
pacity he now serves. 

C. W. Fenton, of New Castle, has been 
engaged in the practice of law in this city 
since 1898. He was born in Lawrence 
County in 1870, and received his educa- 
tional training in the public schools of New 
Castle, Slippery Rock State Normal and 
Hiram College, graduating from the last 
named in 1892. He then engaged in teach- 
ing for six years and in the meantime 
prosecuted the study of law; in 1898, he 
was graduated from the law department 
of the Ohio Northern University at xlda, 
Ohio. During the Spanish-American War 
he served one year as a member of Com- 
pany E, Fifteenth P. V. I., with the rank of 
corporal. After his return from the front 
he was admitted to the bar of Lawrence 
County, and became associated in practice 
with Charles H. Young, now prosecuting 
attorney. 

W. K. HuGus has been engaged in the 
practice of law at New Castle since 1896. 
He was born in Venango County, Pennsyl- 
vania, in October, 1868; was graduated 
from Grove City College in 1893, and from 
the law department of the University of 



AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 



151 



Michigau in 1895. He was admitted to the 
bar of Lawrence County the following 
year. 

Chaeles H. Young, prosecuting attorney 
of Lawrence County, was born in Beaver 
Township January 16, 1876. He attended 
the district schools and later engaged as 
an instructor some four years. He read 
law under the tutelage of Judge Martin, of 
New Castle, and attended Slippery Rock 
NoiTnal School, graduating in the law de- 
partment in October, 1897. He was admit- 
ted to the bar in that year, and has since 
been in continuous practice at New Castle 
since, except for the period he sei-ved in 
the army during the Spanish-American 
War. He bore the rank of sergeant. Mr. 
Young has been very active in Republican 
politics. 

S. Jjvmes Call.4han, secretary of the 
Chamber of Commerce of New Castle, has 
been engaged in the practice of law in this 
city since his admission to the bar in April, 
1907. He was born in Lycoming County, 
Pennsylvania, in 1868; was educated in 
Wellsboro High School, Cook Academy 
and Hillsdale College, after which he 
taught school for a time. He acquired a 
knowledge of shorthand and typewriting 
in Pratt's College at Williamsport, after 
which he read law in the office of C. E. 
Sprout, of Williamsport, in the meantime 
acting as general agent for the Connecticut 
Mutual Insurance Company for that dis- 
trict. He continued with that company for 
six years after his removal to New Castle, 
then became general agent for the New 
York Life, a position he now fills. At New 
Castle he continued the study of law under 
the direction of xUtorney McCaslin, and 
was admitted to the bar in 1907. He is a 
member of the Lawrence County Bar Asso- 
ciation. 

A. Maetin Graham has been in practice 
of the law at New Castle since 1897. He 
was born in Washington Township, Law- 
lence County, in 1873, and received his 
education in Volant Academy, Scio Col- 
lege and Mt. Union University. Then, af- 
ter teaching school several years he read 



law under the direction of his uncle, Hon. 
J. Norman Martin, and was admitted to the 
bar in 1897. During the Spanish-Ameri- 
can War he was in the sei'vice as a mem- 
ber of Company B. Sixteenth Regiment, P. 
V. I., and participated in the Porto Rico 
campaign. He is a member of the Law- 
rence County Bar Association ; he has been 
secretary of the Democratic County Com- 
mittee throughout his residence in New 
Castle. 

Capt. J. V. Cunningham, a member of 
the bar of New Castle, and captain of Cav- 
alry Troop F, N. Gr. P., was born in Wayne 
Townshija, Lawrence County, Pennsyl- 
vania. After receiving a thorough classical 
education in different collegiate institu- 
tions, he took a law course at Ohio North- 
ern University of Ada, Ohio, graduating in 
1895 ; he then read law in the office of Dana 
& Long, in New Castle, one year, and in 
1896 was admitted to the bar of Lawrence 
County. He has since engaged in practice 
in this city except for such periods as his 
military duties called him from home. In 
1898 he was elected captain of Company 
B, Sixteenth Regiment, P. V. I., and was 
in command of his company throughout the 
campaign in Porto Rico. In 1899 he was 
appointed by President McKinley as cap- 
tain of Companj^ F, Forty-second Regi- 
ment, U. S. Volunteers, and served in tlae 
Philippine Islands until 1901. He was 
made captain of Troop F, N. G. P., May 
11, 1904. He was elected district attorney 
of Lawrence County, serving from 1903 tQ< 
1906. 

Robert L. Wallace has been engaged in 
the practice of law in New York continu- 
ously since his admission to the bar, De- 
cember 2, 1902. He was born in Pulaski 
Township, Lawrence County, in 1876, and 
received his educational training in the old 
seminary at Poland, Ohio, and Grove City 
College, from which he was graduated in 
1899. He then taught one year in Griers- 
ville Academy, and a like period in Enon 
Valley High School, after which he read 
law under the preceptorship of Judge Mar- 
tin of New Castle. He is at present Repub- 



152 



HISTORY OF LAWRENCE COUNTY 



lican nominee for the State Legislature. 

Wylie McCaslin lias been in practice in 
New Castle for a period of fourteen years. 
He was born in Scott Township, Lawrence 
County, in 1869; was graduated from 
GroveCity College in 1892; read law imder 
the direction of Hon. J. Norman Martin, 
and was admitted to the bar in 1894. He 
is a member of the Lawrence County Bar 
Association. 

Hon. J. Norman Martin, a prominent 
member of the bar of Lawrence County, 
was born at Neshannock Palls, Lawrence 
County, Pennsylvania, October 30, 1859. 
After graduation from Westminster Col- 
lege in 1881, he went west to Leavenworth, 
Kansas, and there read law in the office of 
Hon. Lucius Baker, a member of the Unit- 
ed States Senate. On account of ill health, 
he returned East and continued his legal 
studies while also tilling the chair of mathe- 
matics in the McElaine Institute. He com- 
pleted his legal prej^aration in the office of 
D. B. and E. T. Kurtz, of New Castle, and 
was admitted to the bar in 1863. He was 
then for three years senior member of the 
firm of Martin & McCracken, since which 
time he has practiced alone. He was ap- 
pointed to the bench in 1892, to till the 
vacancy caused by the death of Judge John 
McMichael. He served as a member of the 
City Council from 1885 to 1889, and of the 
Select Council from 1890 to 1892. _ He was 
a stockholder in the first electric light com- 
pany of the city, and is a director of the 
Citizens' National Bank and of the Na- 
tional Bank of Lawrence County. 

Scott D. Long has been engaged in the 
practice of his profession in New Castle 
continuously since 1869. He was bom on a 
farm near iSTew Castle Pebruary 27, 1847, 
and received his educational training in the 
public schools of this city and in the State 
Normal School. He read law in an office in 
New Castle and was admitted to the bar in 
May, 1869. Pie formed a partnershiiJ with 
Mr. S. W. Dana, which continued until 
1907, and was recognized as one of the 
strongest law firms in this section of the 
State. Mr. Long is now practicing alone 



and maintains offices at No. 36 North Hill 
street. 

S. L. McCracken has been a resident of 
New Castle since 1881. He was born in 
Mercer County, Pennsylvania, in 1856, and 
received his intellectual training in the 
school at Edinburg, and in Grove City Col- 
lege. He engaged in teaching for sevei'al 
years in Lawrence and Mercer Counties, 
then read law in the office of D. B. & E. P. 
Kurtz, of New Castle. After his admis- 
sion to the bar in September, 1883, he en- 
gaged in practice as a partner to J. Nor- 
man Martin, with whom he continued un- 
til 1886. He was in the fall of 1885 elected 
to the office of district attorney of Law- 
rence County, in which capacity he served 
one term. He is an active member of the 
Lawrence County Bar Association. 

William J. Moffatt, whose law offices 
are in the Lawrence Savings and Trust 
Building, New Castle, was born in Hickory 
Township, Lawrence County, Pennsyl- 
vania, January 18, 1867, but was practical- 
ly reared in New Castle, where he attended 
the graded and high schools. He attended 
Wooster University for a time, then stud- 
ied law in the office of Dana & Long; he 
was admitted to the bar in March, 1894, 
and has been in active practice in New Cas- 
tle since. He was elected to a three-year 
term as City Controller in Pebruary, 1896, 
but in January, 1898, resigned that office 
to enter upon the duties of district attor- 
ney, having been elected as such on the 
Republican ticket in 1897. At the expira- 
tion of one term he resumed private prac- 
tice. He is a member and vice-president 
of the Lawrence County Bar Association. 

William Wilbert Stevenson, a member 
of the bar of Lawrence County, with office 
in the Dean Building, at New Castle, was 
born in Scott Township, Lawrence County, 
July 25, 1867. His early education was ob- 
tained in the Old Port schoolhouse, and 
supplemented by courses in Rose Point 
Academy, Slippery Rock State Normal 
School, and Grove City College. He began 
teaching in 1889, and continued that pro- 
fession a number of years. He read law 



AND EEPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 



153 



under the preceptorsliip of H. K. Gregory, 
and in July, 1900, was admitted to the bar 
of the county. He has since been in active 
practice. 

J. M. Martin, who has been in practice in 
New Castle for a period of forty-one years, 
was born in Lawrence County in 1843. He 
attended Witherspoon Institute at Butler 
and the State Normal School at Edinboro, 
after which he taught school one term. In 
November, 1861, he enlisted in Company 
E, Fifty-seventh Eegiment, P. V. I., and 
during his service of three years was with 
the Army of the Potomac. He was taken 
jarisoner at Fredericksburg, but was pa- 
roled after one month of imprisonment. In 
1866 he entered the Ohio State and Union 
Law College, and was graduated in 1867, 
being admitted to the bar in September 
following. He has been in continuous prac- 
tice in New Castle since. Mr. Martin is a 
member of the Lawrence County Bar As- 
sociation. 

Clyde Gibson, attorney-at-law of New 
Castle, was born in Wilmington Township, 
Lawrence Coimty, Pennsylvania; was 
graduated from Westminster College in 
1902, and then attended lectures in the law 
department of the University of Pennsyl- 
vania one year. He continued his prejiara- 
tion for his profession under the preceptor- 
ship of Judge Hazen, and was admitted to 
the bar on July 2, 1906. He has since prac- 
ticed in New Castle and has an office in the 
Lawrence Savings and Trust Building. He 
is a member of the Lawrence County Bar 
Association. 

Hon. William M. Brown, formerly lieu- 
tenant-governor of Pennsylvania, and for 
some years a prominent member of the 
State Senate, is a lawyer by training and 
engaged in practice dui'ing earlier years, 
but since his retirement from public life 
has given his time largely to electric rail- 
road contracting. He was born at Green- 
ville, Mercer County, Pennsylvania, in 
1850. He read law under Judge John Mc- 
Michael, and after his admission to the bar 
in 1876, engaged in practice. He was elect- 
ed to the State Senate in 1896, and in 1902 



to the office of lieutenant-governor. Mr. 
Brown is a director of the Lawrence Sav- 
ings & Trust Company of New Castle. 

Edwin M. Underwood, attorney-at-law 
and referee in bankruptcy at New Castle, 
was born in the eastern part of the State 
of North Carolina, in 1868 ; he was educat- 
ed in the schools of his native State, and 
at Swarthmore College, of which he is a 
graduate. He was admitted to the bar in 
Pennsylvania in 1893, and in Ohio in 1894. 
Since 1900 he has filled the office of referee 
in bankrutcy. Mr. Underwood is a mem- 
ber of the Lawrence County Bar Associa- 
tion. 

James A. Chambers, who has been in 
practice at New Castle since 1903, is a 
member of the firm of Akens, Wilkison, 
Lockhart & Chambers. He was born in 
Lawrence County in 1877; was graduated 
from Westminster College in 1900, and 
then prepared himself for his profession 
in the office of Judge A. L. Hazen. He was 
admitted to the bar in 1903, and, for a few 
months retained his desk in the office of 
Judge Hazen, then accepted the office of 
secretary of the Chamber of Commerce, the 
duties of which he discharged in connec- 
tion with his practice for one year. He 
subseciuently was associated with Mr. W. 
Moffatt for two years, at the end of which 
time he became a member of the firm of 
which he is now a member. He is a mem- 
ber of the Lawrence County Bar Associa- 
tion. 

C. H. Akens, senior member of the law 
firm of Akens, Wilkison, Lockhart & 
Chambers, was born in Crawford County, 
Pennsylvania, in September, 1855; was 
graduated from the State Normal at Edin- 
burg in 1880 ; read law under B. A. Winter- 
nitz and John G. McConahy, and was ad- 
mitted to the bar on May 4, 1884. He en- 
gaged in practice at New Castle and con- 
tinued alone until April, 1907, when he 
formed his present connection. He is a 
member of the Lawrence County Bar As- 
sociation. 

H. A. Wilkison, of the well known firm 
of Akens, Wilkison, Lockhart & Chambers, 



154 



HISTORY OF LAWRENCE COUNTY 



was born iu Shenango Township, Law- 
rence County, Pennsylvania, in 1872. He 
attended Volant Academy and SliiDpery 
Rock State Normal School, and subse- 
quently entered upon the study of law in 
the office of his uncle, C. H. Akens. He was 
admitted to the bar in March, 1898, and 
has since engaged in practice. 

Robert K. Aiken, who has been in prac- 
tice at New Castle since 1891, was born at 
Portersville, Butler County, Pennsylvania. 
After graduation from Westminster Col- 
lege he read law in the office of Mr. D. S. 
Morris, and was admitted to the bar in 
1891. He was elected district attorney in 
1894, and served efficiently as such for 
three years. He was a member of the 
Select Council of New Castle from 1898 to 
1902, and in 1906 was the candidate of his 
party for member of Congress. He is a 
member of the Lawrence County and Penn- 
sylvania State Bar Associations. 

Chakles E. Mehard, with office at No. 9 
in the Dean Block, has been in the practice 
of law in New Castle since December, 1893, 
at which time he was admitted to the bar. 
He was born in New Wilmington, Law- 
rence County, May 30, 1868; was graduat- 
ed from Westminster College, from which 
he received the degree of A. B. in 1889, and 
read law in New Castle. In January, 1901, 
he was elected district attorney and served 
as such three years. 

John P. Lockhakt, of the prominent 
law firm of Akens, Wilkison, Lockhart & 
Chambers, was born in Hickory Township, 
Lawrence County, Pennsylvania, in 1877; 
he attended an academy at Alliance three 
years and Westminster College four years, 
graduating from the latter in 1899. He 
read law under the direction of Judge 
Hazen at New Castle, and was admitted to 
the bar on September 1, 1902. He prac- 
ticed alone until April, 1907, when the firm 
of which he is now a member was formed. 
He is a member of the Lawrence County 
Bar Association. 

L. M. Uber was admitted to the bar of 
Lawrence County August 16, 1895, and has 
since engaged in practice at New Castle, 



being now member of the firm of Uber & 
McKinley. He was born in Mercer Coun- 
ty, Ohio, in 1870; was graduated from 
Grove City College, and then studied law 
in the office of Judge J. N. Martin. He prac- 
ticed alone until 1907, when he formed a 
partnership with Rufus Cole McKinley and 
W. J. Uber. He is a director and stock- 
holder in the Standard Wire Company and 
the Union National Bank. 

Thomas F. Dickey, a member of the firm 
of Gregory & Dickey, with offices in the 
Lawrence Savings and Trust Building, in. 
New Castle, was born in this city, Novem- 
ber 6, 1877. He was graduated from the 
New Castle High School in 1897, and dur- 
ing the two years following attended the 
law department of the University of Penn- 
sylvania. He finished his studies with At- 
torney Gregory, and was admitted to the 
bar in January, 1902. He then formed a 
partnership with Harry K. Gregory, un- 
der the name and style of Gregory & 
Dickey. He is a member of the Lawrence 
County Bar Association. 

Clyde V. Ailey', of the Lawrence County 
bar, has been in practice in New Castle 
since December, 1901, at which time he was 
admitted to the bar. He was born in Big 
Beaver Township, Lawrence County, in 
1874, and in 1899 was graduated from 
Grove City College. He read law in the 
office of Col. 0. L. Jackson. He is a mem- 
ber of the Lawrence County Bar Associa- 
tion. 

Charles G. Martin, whose entire profes- 
sional career thus far has been spent in 
New Castle, was born in North Beaver 
Township, Lawrence County, in 1867. He 
attended Grove City College, and Ohio 
Northern University, from which he grad- 
uated in 1890, and then read law under At- 
torneys Winternitz and McConahy. He was 
admitted to the bar in 1895, and is a mem- 
ber of the Lawrence County Bar Associa- 
tion. 

Samuel P. Emery, who has been in the 
practice of law in New Castle for nearly a 
score of years, was born in this city Sep- 
tember 30, 1864. He was graduated from 




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AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 



157 



Geneva College at Beaver Falls in 1887, 
then read law with the firm of Dana and 
Long. He was admitted to the bar in June, 
1889, and has since been in active practice. 
He served one term of three years as dis- 
trict attorney, and has also served the city 
as a member of the council. 

James A. Gardner, city attorney of New 
Castle, was born in Butler County, Penn- 
sylvania, just across the Lawrence County 
line. He enlisted July 21, 1861, as a pri- 
vate in Battery B., First Regiment of Ar- 
tillery, Pennsylvania Reserve Volunteer 
Corps, known as Cooper's Battery. He 
served with distinction until June 9, 1865, 
when he was mustered out with the rank of 
first lieutenant. Upon his return from the 
front, he engaged in mercantile Ijusiness 
at Princeton, Pa., six years, and in the 
meantime served as justice of the peace. In 
1871 he entered the study of law under 
Judge John McMichael and J. M. Martin at 
New Castle, and was admitted to the bar in 
1876. He was elected city attornev in 1883, 
and was re-elected in 1884, 1885,' in 1896, 
and at every succeeding election since the 
last date mentioned. He served eight years 
on the school board, and was president of 
that body four years. 

David S. Mokeis has been engaged in the 
practice of law since 1854, and has achieved 
success also in various branches of busi- 
ness. He was born at Meadville, Craw- 
ford County, Pennsylvania, in 1824; was 
graduated from Allegheny College in 1845, 
and was then variously engaged iintil he 
entered the legal profession. In 1847 he 
organized the Croton glass manufacturing 
business at New Castle, the first plant of 
the kind in the city. 

Joseph William Humphrey, of the Law- 
rence County bar, has been in practice in 
Ellwood City since 1896; he was born in 
Butler County, Pennsylvania, July 31, 
1868. He was graduated from Grove City 
College in 1893, after which he was in- 
structor in the Butler High School one 
year. He then entered upon the study of 
law in the office of John Marshall at Butler, 
and in the spring of 1896 was admitted 



to the bar in Butler and Lawrence Coun- 
ties. He located at Ellwood City in that 
year. 

Hon. Elmer I. Phillips, president of the 
New Castle Dollar Bank, is a member of 
the bar of Lawrence County. He was born 
in this city in 1861, and in 1884 was grad- 
uated from the university at Butler, Ind. 
He returned to New Castle, and in 1885 
was admitted to the bar; he practiced here 
for some ten years. In 1896 he was elect- 
ed to the State Senate from the district 
then made up of Lawrence and Butler 
Counties and served one term. He was for 
some years an official of the Norris Glass 
Company, and in 1897 became secretary 
and general sales agent of the American 
Glass Company; in 1899 he became identi- 
fied with the American Window Glass Com- 
pany, in the same capacity. He is a mem- 
ber of the board of directors of the Law- 
rence Savings & Trust Company. 

CoL. Robert B. McComb, wlio died at 
Sandy Lake, Pa., September 22, 1907, in 
his eighty-seventh year, was a distin- 
guished member of the bar of Lawrence 
County, to which he was admitted in 1853. 
He was in that year elected to the State 
Legislature, and re-elected in 1855 and in 
1856. In 1862 he went to the front as 
colonel of the Fourteenth Regiment, Penn- 
sylvania Volunteer Infantry, and later was 
commissioned colonel of "the Fifty-fifth 
Regiment. He was a personal friend of 
Governor Pollock, and served as a member 
of his staff. 

Harry Knight Gregory, ]\r. A., of the 
law firm of Gregory & Dickey, New Castle, 
was born December 4, 1865, in Selimsgrove, 
Snyder County, Pennsylvania. He was edu- 
cated in the public schools and at Mission- 
ary Institute, Selimsgrove. He subse- 
quently obtained his M. A. degree from 
Muhlenburg College at Allentown, Pa. He 
then taught school in Selimsgrove and at 
Rouse's Point, N. Y. He read law in the 
office of A. C. Sampson & Son. of Selims- 
grove and completed his legal studies in 
the office of Charles P. Ulrich, of that place. 
He was admitted to the Snvder Countv 



158 



HISTOEY OF LAWRENCE COUNTY 



bar in September, 1892, and to the bar of 
Lawrence County, upon the motion of D. B. 
Kurtz, in December, 1892. Mr. Gregory 
practiced his profession alone until Jan- 
uary, 1892, when he formed his present 
partnership with Thomas AV. Dickey, which 
has proved a winning combination of legal 
talent. He is a member of the Lawrence 
County Bar Association, of which he has 
sei'ved as president. 

Archie AV. Gakdnek, county solicitor of 
Lawrence County, was born in Slippery 
Rock Township, of that county, August 6, 
1861 ; he was educated in the public schools 
and at Grove City College, after which he 
read law with the firm of Martin & Gard- 
ner, being admitted to the bar November 
10, 1890. He was citv solicitor of New 
Castle one term, 1894-1896, and in 1902 was 
elected county solicitor, being now on his 
second term. 

Hon. W. S. Reynolds, who has served 
two terms in tlie Pennsylvania State Legis- 
lature and is at the present time Repub- 
lican nominee for that office, was born in 
Lawrence County, and received his educa- 
tional training in Grove City College. He 
was admitted to the bar on September 8, 
1896. 

James W. Rhodes, a native of Lawrence 
County, was admitted to the bar here on 
October 3, 1904. 

William J. TJber, of the firm of Uber & 
McKinley, at New Castle, was admitted to 
the bar of Lawrence County on Jiily 10, 
1907. 

Benjamin A. Winternitz was born in 
New Castle, and after completing the pre- 
scribed course in the public schools at- 
tended a commercial college in Pittsburg. 
He read law with Hon. John McMichael, 
and was admitted to practice January 10, 
1873. 

Chester W. Wallace was admitted to 
the bar of Lawrence County on December 
19, 1892. 

Hon. George T. Weingartner, one of the 
best representatives Lawrence County has 
ever had in the State Legislature, is a 
native of tlie county. He read law with 



Robert K. Aiken and was admitted to the 
bar here March 15, 1899. He served two 
terms in the State Legislature, and was 
nominated for the State Senate by the Re- 
publican party in 1908. 

Robert S. Breckenridge, deceased, who 
practiced before the courts of Lawrence 
County some years, was educated in the 
common schools of Shenango Township, 
Lawrence County, and in Beaver Academy. 
He was admitted to the bar on February 
10, 1868. 

Frank A. Blackstone, who was ad- 
mitted to the Lawrence bar on June 18, 
1883, was a native of Mercer County, Penn- 
sylvania. He was graduated from West- 
minster College, and read law imder the 
preceptorship of Oscar L. Jackson, of New 
Castle. 

AViLLiAM T. Burns was admitted to the 
bar of Lawrence County June 18, 1883, 
and engaged in practice in New Castle for 
a time. 

E. N. Baer, a member of the Lawrence 
County bar, was born in Edinburg, Law- 
rence County, and received his professional 
training in the law department of the Uni- 
versity of Michigan. He was admitted to 
the bar in 1885, and is a member of the 
Lawrence County Bar Association. 

John H. Bittner, who was admitted to 
the bar of the county on June 8, 1897, was 
educated at Volant, receiving a common 
school and academic education. 

J. Smith DuShane, who is now retired 
from the practice of law, was a merhber of 
the One Hundredth Regiment, Pennsyl- 
vania Volunteer Infantiy, during the Civil 
War, and was seriously wounded at James 
Island, S. C. After his admission to the 
bar of the county, he served one term as 
district attorney. 

Samuel W. Dana, Nestor of the bar of 
Lawrence County and a man who has at- 
tained high distinction in the profession, 
was born in the state of Massachusetts. 
He graduated from Harvard University 
with the class of 1847, and read law with 
Hon. Samuel P. Johnston, of Warren. Pa. 
He was admitted to the bar on September 



AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 



159 



5, 1853, and immediately after formed a 
partnership with Maj. James W. Jolmstou. 
The firm of Johnston & Dana continued 
until 1862, when tlie senior member of the 
firm was appointed pajonaster in the 
United States Arm5^ Mr. Dana then con- 
tinued alone imtil he became associated 
with Mr. Scott D. Long, under the firm 
name of Dana & Long, a firm which en- 
joyed an enviable prestige throughout this 
part of Pennsylvania. The partnership 
was dissolved in 1907, and Mr. Dana 
formed a partnership with his son, Richard 
Falls Dana. 

Richard Falls Dana, son of Samuel W. 
Dana, with whom he is associated in prac- 
tice, was born in the city of New Castle. 
After completing his common school edu- 
cation, he entered Harvard University, of 
which he is a graduate. With his father, 
he formed the firm of Dana & Dana in 
1907. 

J. Alvin Ewek, deceased, was born in 
what is now Lawrence County, and was 
graduated from Jefferson College with the 
class of 1854. He read law with Hon. John 
McMichael, and was admitted to the bar 
of Lawrence County on September 12, 
1865. 

Samuel Plummek Emery, of the Law- 
rence bar, was born in Lawrence County, 
and received his education in Geneva Col- 
lege at Beaver Falls. He was admitted 
to the bar Jime 3, 1889, and served one 
term as district attorney of Lawrence 
County. 

Wallace H. Falls, of New Castle, was 
born in Lawrence County, and received a 
preliminary education in the schools of this 
city. He attended Lafayette College, after 
which he took up the study of law under 
Hon. John McMichael. He was admitted 
to the bar on August 4, 1879. 

Robert Gilliland, a native of Lawrence 
County, was admitted to the bar and en- 
gaged in practice here several years prior 
to the Civil War. 

A. W. Gardner, a member of the Law- 
rence bar and a practitioner at New Castle, 
was born in Lawrence County. 



H. WoRTHiNGTON GsiGSBY, who repre- 
sented Lawrence County one term in the 
State Legislature of Pennsylvania, died in 
Colorado. He was bom in Lawrence Coun- 
ty, educated in the public schools and Beth- 
any College, in West Virginia. He was 
admitted to the bar of Lawrence County 
March 3, 1897. 

Leech A. Grove, an attorney, located at 
EUwood Citv, was admitted to the bar Jan- 
uary 2, 1900. 

Justus Clyde Gilfillan, an attorney of 
New Castle, is a native of Lawrence Coun- 
tv and was admitted to the bar February 
25, 1907. 

Hon. Aaron L. H.\zen, formerly judge 
of the Fifty-first Judicial District of Penn- 
sylvania, was born in Shenango Township, 
of what is now Lawrence County; he re- 
ceived his education in the district schools, 
the public schools of New Castle, Beaver 
Academy and Jefferson College, gradu- 
ating from that institution in 1861. He 
was admitted to tlie bar Seiatember 12, 
1865. He was elected and served two 
terms as district attorney of Lawrence 
Covmty, one tei'm as city solicitor, and was 
president judge for ten years, having been 
elected to that office in 1884. 

Frank S. Hill, who is not now in prac- 
tice, was admitted to the bar of the county 
July 6, 1887. He is a native of Lawrence 
County. 

Frank L. A. Hoover, a native of Law- 
rence County, was admitted to the bar on 
March 18, 1894. 

William C. Haus, deceased, was a native 
of Lawrence County, and was admitted to 
practice June 15, 1874. 

Edwin F. G. Harper, a native of Butler, 
Pa., was admitted to the Lawrence bar in 
1897. 

Roy Watson Hazen, of the law fii*m of 
Hazen & Jamison, at New Castle, was born 
in Bradford County, Pennsylvania, but has 
spent most of his life thus far in Lawrence 
County. He is a graduate of Allegheny 
College at Meadville, and read law under 
Aaron L. Hazen. He was admitted to the 
bar July 10, 1907. 



160 



HISTORY OF LAWRENCE COUNTY 



Roy Mills Jamison, of the firm of Hazen 
& Jamison, was born in Lawrence County, 
Pensylvania, and was there admitted to the 
bar on July 10, 1907. 

James Joseph Igoe, a native of Law- 
rence County, received a common school 
education, then read law under D. B. Kurtz. 
He was admitted to practice on September 

6, 1899. 

OscAK L. Jackson, a lawyer of promi- 
nence at New Castle, was reared in what 
is now Lawrence County; he is a man of 
educational attainments, and has been a 
member of the Lawrence bar since Decem- 
ber, 1866. 

David Jameson, cashier of the Citizens' 
National Bank of New Castle, was admitted 
to the bar of Lawrence County November 

7, 1883, and engaged in practice for a time. 
Edward T. Kurtz was admitted to the 

bar of Lawrence County in May, 1865, and 
for a number of years was in partnership 
with his brother, Davis B. Kurtz. He be- 
came one of the leading members of the bar 
here. 

Davis B. Kurtz, for many years re- 
garded as Nestor of the Lawrence County 
bar and one of the most prominent men 
of the profession in this part of Pennsyl- 
vania, was admitted January 7, 1850, the 
first day court was held in Lawrence Coun- 
ty. He was identified on one side or the 
other in much of the important litigation 
in the courts here, in his day. 

Lewis Taylor Kurtz, deceased, was born 
in New Castle, and was a son of Davis 
B. Kurtz; he was educated in the public 
schools and the University of New York. 
He read law with his father, and after ad- 
mission to the bar, September 16, 1886, 
formed a partnership with him. They were 
associated in practice, and with a high 
degree of success, until the death of Lewis 
T. Kurtz, who was then in the prime of 
life. 

David M. Keast, who was admitted to 
the bar of Lawrence Coimty January 22, 
1891, was born in Lawrence County. 

Thomas B. Morgan, deceased, was born 
in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, and 



was engaged in practice in the courts of 
Lawrence County for many years. 

George C. Morgan, deceased, was a son 
of Thomas B. Morgan, and was admitted to 
practice in Lawrence County January 19, 
1891. He was a native of New Castle. 

John Law Morgan, deceased, also a na- 
tive of New Castle and a son of Thomas 
B. Morgan, was admitted to the bar May 
4, 1891. 

Harvey E. Mabtin was admitted to prac- 
tice in Lawrence County December 7, 1898. 

Hon. John McMichael, deceased, was 
elected to the bench in the Seventeenth 
Judicial District in 1884, and commis- 
sioned additional law judge. He served 
with characteristic ability imtil his death 
in April, 1892. Judge McMichael was born 
in Crawford County, Pennsylvania, and 
was educated at Westminster College at 
New Wilmington. He read law with H. A. 
Richmond, of Meadville, and was admitted 
to the bar of Lawi-ence County December 
18, 1861. 

John G. McConahy, deceased, was a na- 
tive of Lawrence County, and was admit- 
ted to the bar on September 18, 1872. 

Malcolm McConnell, deceased, who 
ranked among the foremost practitioners 
at the bar of Lawrence County, was reared 
in the county and educated in the common 
schools. He read law with his uncle, R. 
B. McComb, and was admitted to the bar 
December 14, 1874. He served one term 
as district attorney of Lawrence County, 
and represented his district two terms m 
the Pennsylvania Legislature. 

John L. McClelland, who is now em- 
ployed in Panama, on work connected with 
the Panama Canal, was born in Lawrence 
County ; read law with Col. R. B. McComb, 
and was admitted to the bar September 27, 
1883. 

RuFus Cole McKinley, of the firm of 
Uber & McKinley, at New Castle, was edu- 
cated in Westminster College, and was 
admitted to the bar on July 1, 1894. 

William Elwee, Jr., was born in New 
Wilmington, Lawrence County, and was 
admitted to the bar September 4, 1905. 



AND EEPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 



161 



James C. Norkis, a native of Lawrence 
County, was educated in the public schools 
of New Castle, after which he read law 
and was admitted to practice March 4, 
1895. He has made rapid advancement in 
the profession. 

A. L. Porter, a native of Lawrence 
County, was admitted to the bar January 

22, 1885, and served one term as district 
attorney of the county. 

NAMES OF THOSE PERSONS WHO HAVE BEEN 

ADMITTED TO THE BAR OF LAWRENCE 

COUNTY PENNSYLVANIA. 

Agnew, Hon. Daniel, January 7, 1850; 
Avres, Jonathan, January 7, 1850; Akens, 
C. H., April 15, 1884; Aiken, Robert K., 
September 7, 1891 ; Allsworth, B. W., Sep- 
tember, 1874; Ailey, Clyde V., December 

23, 1901; Bovd, J. K., January 7, 1850; 
Blair, Hon. John P., 1858; Blackstone, 
Frank A.; Brown, William M., January 
18, 1883; Breckenridge, Robert S., Febru- 
ary, 1868; Buchanan, William P.; Bates, 
Arthur L., June 14, 1900; Brown, F. N., 
October 13, 1888; Baer, E. N., September 
16, 1888 ; Butler, J. T., 1875 ; Bitner, John 
H., June 8, 1897 ; Burnes, W. T. ; Cossitt, D. 
C, January 7, 1850 ; Chamberlain, Hon. B. 
B., January 7, 1850; Craig, Hon. David, 
January 7, 1850; Crawford, John M., Jan- 
uary 7, 1850; Cunningham, Hon. Thomas., 
January 7, 1850; Cunningham, S. W., Sep- 
tember, 1875 ; Cunningham, J. V., January 
9, 1897 ; Chambers, James A., 1893 ; Coch- 
ran, W. W. ; Dana, Samuel W., September 

5, 1853; DuShane, J. Smith, September, 
1864; Drake, Homer C; Dana, Richard F., 
June 9, 1897 ; Dickey, Thomas W., January 

6, 1902; Davis, Charles R., January 17, 
1902; Dalzell, Hon. John; Ewer, J. Alvin, 
September 12, 1865; Emery, Samuel P., 
June 3, 1889 ; Elliott, James G. ; Fetterman, 
N. L., January 7, 1855; Foltz, Samuel, 
1872; Falls, Wallace H., August 4, 1879; 
Fenton, Clifford W., July 1, 1889; Gilli- 
land, Robert, January 7, 1850; Gardner, 
James A., December 16, 1876; Gordon, 
Quincy A., April 24, 1889 ; Gardner, A. W., 
November 10, 1890; Graham, A. Martin, 



September 10, 1899; Gregory, H. K., March 
3, 1897 ; Grove, Leach A., January 2, 1900 ; 
Gardner, John M., July 1, 1899; Garfield, 
Hon. James A. ; Hoffman, John, January 
7, 1850 ; Hazen, Hon. Aaron L., September 
12, 1865; Harbison, Albert W.; Hegdenk, 
Hon. Charles ; Henry, Maj. Thomas ; Hole- 
stine, Samuel, January 7, 1850; Haus, W. 
C, June 15, 1874; Humphrey, Joseph W., 
June 3, 1896; Hugus, W. K., April 6, 1896; 
Harper, E. F. G., March 6, 1896; Hoover, 
Frank A., March 19, 1894; Igo, James J., 
September 6, 1899; Johnston, Maj. James 
W., January 7, 1850; Jackson, Col. Oscar 
L., 1866; Jamison, David, November 7, 
1883; Jones, Hon. Asa W., February 24, 
1897; Kurtz, Davis B., January 7, 1850; 
Kissinger, D. M., 1869; Kurtz, E. T., May, 
1865; Kurtz, Lewis T., September 16, 
.1886; Keast, David N., January 22, 1891; 
Kinston, Gilbert D., 1870; Lee, Hon. J. W. ; 
Long, Scott D., May 7, 1869; Lowrv, Porter 
W., May 7, 1891; Love, W. H., November 
17, 1894; Lockhart, John P., September 1, 
1902; Maxwell, Col. William, January 7, 
1850 ; Morgan, Hon. Thomas B., 1856 ; Mar- 
tin, James M., September 11, 1867; Mor- 
ris, David S. ; Morrison, Hon. Ellis ; Mar- 
tin, Hon. J. Norman, September 27, 1883; 
Morgan, George C, January 19, 1891; 
Morgan, John Law, May 4, 1891 ; Mehard, 
Charles E., December 13, 1893; Motfatt, 
William J., March 12, 1894; Marshall, 
Hon. Thomas M. ; Markwood, Robert, 1875 ; 
Martin, Charles G., March 4, 1893; Miller, 
Hon. Samuel ; Muse, George W., December 
9, 1897; Martin, Harry E., December 7, 
1898; McGuffin, Hon. L. L., January 7, 
1850; McGuffin, John; McMichael, Hon. 
John, December 18, 1861; McGlathery, 
Hon. Milo ; McClain, George B., 1884 ; Me- 
Kinley, J. W., September 27, 1883; Mc- 
Clelland, John L., September 27, 1883; 
MeCrackin, L. S., September 27, 1883 ; Mc- 
Kean, H. W., December 30, 1884; McClel- 
land, W. B., July 2, 1886 ; McCaslin, Wvlie, 
November 17, 1894; McComb, Hon. Rob- 
ert B., February 15, 1853 ; McConnell, Hon. 
Malcom, December 14, 1874; McConahy, 
John G., September 18, 1872; McElrath, 



162 



HISTORY OF LAWRENCE COUNTY 



A. H., September 15, 1899; McCandless, 
Hon. Charles; McDennott, Hon. Arcus; 
Negley, Hon. John H., January 7, 1850; 
Norris, James C, March 4, 1899; Nelson, 
John W., December 6, 1897; Pollack, 
James, January 7, 1850; Pearson, Johns- 
ton, January 7,"' 1850; Pickett, B. B., 1850; 
Phillips, Hon. E. E., Noyember 10, 1886; 
Porter, A. L., January 22, 1885; Porter, 
W. E., January 23, 1893; Richmond, Hon. 
A. B. ; Reis, James W., September 3, 1888 ; 
Reynolds, Hon. W. S., September 8, 1896 ; 
Sanderson, Col. Thomas W. ; Stewart, Hon. 
William, January 7, 1850 ; Steyenson, Will- 
iam, January 7, 1850; Sword, James M., 
September 16, 1886; Sulliyan Hon. C. C, 
January 7, 1852; Shannon, Hon. John R. ; 
Stranahan, James A. ; Tayloi-, Lewis, Jan- 
uary 7, 1850; Treadwell, George E., 1869; 
Uber, L. M., August 12, 1895 ; Underwood, 
E. M. June 4, 1884; AVilson, Samuel B., 
January 7, 1850 ; Watson, George W., Jan- 
uary 7, 1850; Winternitz, Benjamin A., 
January 10, 1873; Wallace, J. K., 1872; 
Wallace, Cliester W. ; Wallace, Hon. Will- 
iam D., September 25, 1882 ; Wliitta, James 
P., Noyember 11, 1890; Wasson, H. G., 
January 25, 1892; Williams, Hon. A. W., 
December 9, 1892; Wilkison, W. A., June 
3, 1898; Wintergartner, Hon. George T., 
March 15, 1899; Wigand, Edwin S., Decem- 
ber 9, 1899; Wallace, Robert S., December 
1, 1902 ; White, J. G., 1878 ; Young, Charles 
H., July 1, 1899. 

Besides the lawyers of whom mention 
has already been made, there were others 
who flourished for a longer or shorter 
period in New Castle preyious to the or- 
ganization of the county, or soon after, 
and of whom it is imnecessary to make 
special or extended mention. The first 
to practice in New Castle was George P. 



Shaw, who was for a time engaged in the 
publication of a newspaper in association 
with Da\dd Crawford. This was about 
1826 or 1827. He was followed soon after 
by others, many of whom remained here 
but a short time and then removed to other 
localities, while some among them, after 
practicing law a while, took up other oc- 
cupations. Most of them have long since 
passed away, and they are remembered 
now only by a few of the older members 
of the bar. 

Among the more prominent members 
were Jonathan Ayres and Lewis Taylor, 
who were associated in practice from 1850, 
under the style of Ayres & Taylor, and 
who were able and successful lawyers; J. 
Naff McGuffin, admitted in 1847, who was 
associated with his brother, L. L. McGuf- 
fin; Dayid Craig, who came to New Castle 
in 1849, who was elected district attorney, 
and was twice elected to the Legislature, 
and who died in 1873, while serving as a 
delegate to the Constitutional Convention; 
Davis B. Kurtz, who came to New Castle 
in 1849, in which year he was admitted to 
the bar in Union County, and who enjoyed 
a long and honorable career at the Law- 
rence County bar; Samuel Holstein, who 
was admitted to the bar of Lawrence 
County at its organization, having pre- 
viously been a member of the Mercer bar ; 
Samuel W. Dana, a native of Massachu- 
setts, who came to New Castle in the early 
fifties and practiced in partnership with 
J. W. Johnston and afterwards with 
Scott D. Long; George E. Treadwell, who 
came to New Castle in 1869 and established 
a good reputation ; and Samuel Foltz, who 
commenced practice here in 1872 in part- 
nership with George Treadwell. 



CHAPTER XI 



THE MEDICAL PROFESSION 



Prominent Pltysicians of the Past and of the Present. 



The first to practice the healing art in 
New Castle was Cornelius Hendrickson, 
who settled here about 1798 or 1799. He 
was not a regular physician, but was al- 
ways known as Dr. Hendrickson. He dealt 
in herbs and simples, and doubtless in the 
absence of any higher medical authority 
accomplished much good by his superior 
knowledge of domestic remedies. 

'rue first regular practitioner of medi 
cine who settled in New Castle and, we 
believe, in Lawrence County, who prac- 
ticed medicine as a means of a livelihood 
and to whom the title of M. D. was due, 
was Dr. John Dickey, who practiced here 
successfully until the War of 1812, when 
he entered the army and died in the serv- 
ice in the year 1813. 

His immediate successor was Dr. Alex- 
ander Gilfillan, a native of Ireland, who 
settled in New Castle in 1813. Before com- 
ing here he was a surgeon in the United 
States regular army. After practicing 
his profession here for about two years he 
was accidentally drowned while seining in 
the Neshaunock Creek, June 17, 1815. 

Soon after we hear of a Dr. Quimby, 
who was followed by a Dr. Stevenson and 
Dr. Cribble, none of whom, however, re 
mained here for more than a short time, 
departing for other and more promising 
fields. 

One of the earliest and at the same time 
one of the most successful physicians of 
the county was Dr. \Yilliam H. Shaw. He 
was born in Troy, N. Y., in 1790. He re- 



ceived a regular collegiate education, and 
choosing medicine as a profession, gradu- 
ated in the city of New York. He took 
part in the War of 1812, first as a volun- 
teer, subsequently as a surgeon. He first 
settled in Jamestown, N. Y., but left there 
finally with the intention of locating at 
some eligible point in the West or South- 
west. His library he shij^jDed by boat, in- 
tending to intercept it at some point on 
the Ohio Eiver, while he came overland. 
Upon arriving at New Castle he put up at 
a tavern kept by Alexander Hawthorne. 
He then had no intention of settling in 
New Castle, but, on account of high water 
in the streams, he was compelled to stop, 
as he thought for only a few days, but the 
fact becoming known that he was a physi- 
cian, his services were requested in sev- 
eral cases, and it finally resulted in his 
making New Castle a place of permanent 
residence. He never heard afterwards of 
his library which he had shipped by boat. 
Dk. a. W. Cowden was one of the early 
practitioners of the county, and a very 
successful one. He settled in New Castle 
in the year 1829, and followed his profes- 
sion in this vicinity until 1865, when he re- 
moved to Princeton, where he died Decem- 
ber 6, 1875. Dr. Cowden was not a regular 
graduate of medicine, but he was a close 
observer of disease, and an excellent diag- 
nostician, rivaling many who had the su- 
perior advantage of an early medical edu- 
cation. As a man, he was genial and whole- 
souled; always cheerful, always affable, 



164 



HISTORY OF LAWRENCE COUNTY 



but with these qualities somewhat sullied 
with his jealousy of new doctors, or "new 
f angled" ideas of medicine. Unfortunate- 
ly, like many physicians, especially those 
of the earlier days, he was a poor collector, 
and after practicing arduously for more 
than forty years, was little better off, 
financially, than when he commenced his 
career; for in those times a load of refuse 
hay or straw was considered sufficient to 
pay for a whole year's "doctoring." 

De. Pollock settled about four miles 
south of New Castle, in 1826. He was born 
in the year 1788, and finished his collegiate 
course in 1808. In 1810 he commenced 
the practice of medicine in Washington 
County, near Monongahela City. Dr. Pol- 
lock was known, not only for his medical 
abilities, but was recognized as one of the 
leading men in the western part of the 
state, and was a frequent contributor to 
various periodicals, on many questions 
that were of interest to the public. Many 
of his articles are used as historical data 
to this day. He died on the 6th of Octo- 
ber, 1856. 

About the year 1830, De. James A. Cos- 
siTT settled in New Castle, having come 
here from Mercer. After remaining here 
a few years, he again changed his loca- 
tion, removing to the state of Illinois. He 
remained there about two years, and re- 
turned to New Castle, in which place he 
settled permanently, and followed his pro- 
fession until within a few years of his 
death, which occurred in 1875. Dr. Cossitt 
was born in Hartford, Conn., in the year 
1795. He served in the War of 1812 as 
assistant surgeon, settling afterwards in 
Mercer. The doctor was a perfect model 
of a true gentleman of the "old school," 
polite, affable, and courteous in the ex- 
treme, but tempered with a great deal of 
dignity. He had a high opinion of the 
honor pertaining to the profession, and 
of the code of ethics which should govern 
professional brethren. 

De. A. Andeews, settled in New Castle in 
1834. He practiced here for some years, 
when he finally removed to Mahoningtown, 



where he shortly afterwards died. He was 
known as a zealous churchman, and left 
the greater part of his property to the 
Episcopal Church in this city. He was 
followed by De. Baelow, who opened a 
drug store in connection with his practice. 

De. William Woods practiced in Pulaski 
at an early date, and successfully through 
a long period of years, and enjoyed, in a 
marked degree, the confidence of the com- 
munity in which he resided. He died in 
1862. 

De. Isaac Cowden practiced for many 
years in New Wilmington; in fact, the 
name of Cowden may be called a medical 
one in this and adjoining counties, and has 
furnished more physicians, if we except 
the name of Cunningham, who afterwards 
removed to New Brighton, Beaver County. 

De. Seth Popino, a student of Dr. Cow- 
den's, graduated at Cleveland, and settled 
in New Wilmington, where he remained 
practicing his profession successfully until 
his death, which occurred during the win- 
ter of 1875-6. He was universally respect- 
ed, apart from his medical abilities, as a 
man of honor, and his word was known lit- 
erally to be as good as his bond. He was 
always to be found at his post, rarely ab- 
senting himself, even for a day, from the 
duties of his profession. 

De. William Smith removed from 
Beaver County to the lower part of Law- 
rence County in 1853, and settled near 
Moravia. He at one time represented the 
former county in the State Legislature. He 
soon enjoyed all the advantages and dis- 
advantages of a large country practice, and 
rode extensively all over the lower part of 
the county. He changed his location to 
Enon Valley in 1872, but shortly after- 
wards his health began to give way, and 
he died in the latter place, July 5, 1873. 
Dr. Smith was a man universally liked and 
respected for his many good qualities and 
his genial, whole-souled manner. 

De. J. B. Reinholdt was born in Law- 
rence County in the year 1837. He gradu- 
ated from Jefferson College, Philadelphia, 
in the year 1862. He immediately entered 



AND EEPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 



165 



the army as voliinteei" surgeon, and re- 
mained until the close of the rebellion. He 
then settled in Muscatine, Iowa ; but in 
1868 returned to his native county and re- 
sumed the practice of his profession. He 
practiced with honor, and attained success 
chiefly as a surgeon, but his health failing, 
he took a trip to Minnesota, in the hope 
that a complete change of climate would 
etfect a cure, but returned in the fall with 
his health still impaired, and wholly unfit 
to resume the practice of his profession, 
and, in spite of all medical treatment, con- 
tinued to fail until death came to his re- 
lief. He died March 31, 1873, at the early 
age of thirty-six years. 

Db. Wilcox practiced for some years in 
Mount Jackson. His health giving way 
under the arduous duties of his profession, 
he opened a drug store in New Castle, but 
shortly afterwards removed to California. 

De. Gemmil, a contemporary with Doc- 
tors Shaw, Cowdeu, Woods and Cossitt, 
practiced most successfully in New Castle 
for a long period of years, and rode from 
one end of the county to the other, being 
at the same time in the drug business. He 
afterwards removed to Cincinnati, but re- 
turned in a few years. After practicing 
in this part of the coimty for some time, 
he became interested in the oil business in 
Slippery Eock, and, it is said, met with 
some success, long after the business had 
been given up by everybody else as a fail- 
ure. 

Dr. Daniel Leasuke graduated at Jef- 
ferson Medical College in 1846. He set- 
tled in New Castle in 1849, and practiced 
in the city successfully until the breaking 
out of the rebellion, when he organized two 
military companies in the vicinity. He 
was shortly afterwards i^romoted to a 
colonelcy, and served with distinction dur- 
ing the entire war, at the close of which he 
was breveted brigadier-general. He then 
practiced a few years in this city, remov- 
ing, in 1870, to Allegheny City. 

De. J. H. M. Peebles graduated at Jef- 
ferson College in 1850, and immediately 



afterwards settled in New Castle. He soon 
took a front rank among the physicians of 
the county, and practiced successfully until 
1860, when he removed to Cleveland, Ohio, 
remaining there but a short time. He re- 
turned to New Castle and resumed the 
practice of his profession in the latter 
place. During the war he was appointed 
examining surgeon of the county, and in 
1877 was president of the Select Council 
of the city. 

De. J. M. Wallace graduated at Jeffer- 
son Medical College in 1846. He practiced 
a few years in Darlington, Beaver County, 
but settled in New Castle in 1850. He was 
elected to Congress in 1860, and took part 
in that Congress which directed the move- 
ments of the war. After serving his term, 
he was appointed paymaster, which posi- 
tion he held until 1865, when he returned 
to New Castle and resumed the duties of 
his profession. In 1874 he was re-elected 
to Congress. 

Dk. James J. Wallace graduated at Jef- 
ferson Medical College in 1851, and the 
same year settled in New Castle, where he 
met with marked success. He was a great 
favorite throughout the rural districts, his 
practice extending over the whole county. 

De. E. D. Wallace graduated in the 
Cleveland Medical College in the year 
1853, after which he joined the tide of 
emigration westward and settled in Cali- 
fornia. He returned to the East in 1856, 
and settled in New Castle the same year. 

De. E. M. Barker graduated at the 
Cleveland Medical College, and subse- 
quently attended a course of lectures at 
the University of Pennsylvania. He set- 
tled in New Wilmington in 1859, and prac- 
ticed his profession there until 1861, when 
he returned to New Castle. 

De. ]\Iitchletree practiced for a series 
of years in Edenburg, and had a large and 
successful business in that part of the 
county. 

De. E. Brugh graduated at the Univer- 
sity of Pennsylvania in 1851, and for a 
short time was resident physician to the 



166 



HISTORY OF LAWRENCE COUNTY 



Philadelphia Hospital. He practiced for 
a while in Steubenville, Ohio, but located 
in Wilmington in 1861. 

De. John Woods, a graduate of the 
Cleveland Medical College, first settled in 
Greenfield, Mercer County, but subse- 
quently located in New Wilmington. Re- 
maining there a short time, he returned to 
New Castle (and, after practicing here for 
some years, again settled in New Wilming- 
ton. 

De. Silas Stevenson practiced for some 
years in Bedford, locating there upon the 
departure of Dr. Alex. McClure. 

De. C. K. Riley settled in Pulaski in 
1861, at the earnest solicitation of Dr. 
William Woods, whose health at that time 
was failing. He was appointed contract 
surgeon during the rebellion, but having 
to abandon the ser\dce on account of ill 
health, he again settled in Pulaski. 

De. D. Cunningham, a graduate of Jef- 
ferson Medical College, after serving as 
assistant surgeon in the army during the 
Civil War, settled in Wurtemburg, where 
he continued in the successful practice of 
his profession for a number of years. 

Dr. Thomas Mehaed, a graduate of 
Cleveland Medical College, settled in 
Wampum in the early seventies. He took 
a prominent rank among the physicians in 
the county and succeeded to an extensive 
practice. 

De. Hall practiced for a number of 
years in Harlansburg, carrying on a drug 
store in connection with his profession. 

De. M. p. Robinson, a graduate of Jef- 
ferson Medical College, first settled in the 
northern part of the county, but in a short 
time moved to Mahoningtown, where he 
soon gained the confidence of the commu- 
nity and established himself in a good 
practice. 

De. John C. McKee graduated at Miami 
Medical College in 1873. He located in 
Princeton, where he rapidly became 
known as a successful physician. 

Dr. H. p. Peebles, also a graduate of 
Miami College, in 1873, settled in New 



Castle and practiced for some time with 
his father. Dr. J. H. M. Peebles. 

De. David P. Jackson graduated at 
Miami Medical College in 1871 and in the 
same year settled in New Castle. He was 
a specialist in ophthalmology. 

De. W. D. Smith, a graduate of Jeffer- 
son Medical College, settled in Eastbrook 
in 1876, where he established himself in a 
large practice. 

I. A. WiNTEENiTz, M. D., now deceased, 
was born in New Castle in 1860. He was 
a member of the class of 1882 of Miami 
Medical College, in Cincinnati, and there- 
after practiced in New Castle until 1888. 
He at that time went West to Hoxie, Kan., 
and is now deceased. 

Howard E. Campbell, M. D., formerly a 
practicing physician of New Castle, was 
born in Lawrence County in 1858. He 
graduated from the medical department 
of the University of New York in 1890, 
and located in practice at New Castle. He 
left this city in 1895. 

John A. Blaie, M. D., who is now living 
in retirement near Greenville, was born 
in Mercer County, Pennsylvania, in 1855; 
attended Edinboro Normal School and 
Jefferson Medical College, from which he 
graduated in 1890. He located in New 
Castle in 1891, and was a specialist on the 
eye and ear. 

Arthur Poster, M. D., formerly a prac- 
titioner of New Castle, was born in 1868, 
and was educated at Grove City College; 
he graduated from the Toledo Medical 
College in 1890, and during 1891 was in 
practice at New Castle for a few months. 
He is not now in practice. 

Frederick G. Feeshkoen, M. D., a grad- 
uate of the Western University of Penn- 
sylvania, was located at New Castle a short 
time, then moved to Pittsburg. 

Paeis Shoaff, M. D., a graduate of 
Western Pennsvlvania Medical College in 
1892, practiced "^ from that date until 1894 
in New Castle, then moved to ]\Iahoning- 
town, where he subsequently died. 

Joseph R. Lutton, M. D., began prac- 



AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 



167 



tice in New Castle in 1896, remained about 
one year, then located at Rose Point, where 
he still continues. 

IMaek F. Toner, M. D., was born in 
Westmoreland County in 1867, graduated 
from Jefferson Medical College in 1893, 
and then practiced a few years in New 
Castle. lie is now deceased. 

We have thus sketched briefly above the 
records of some of the more prominent 
among the early physicians in New Castle 
and the county generally. There were a 
number of others, both of the regular and 
homeopathic schools, who practiced for 
a longer or shorter period, but of whom 
we have been unable to obtain a reliable 
account. As they have mostly passed away 
or have removed to other localities, we 
shall devote the remainder of this chap- 
ter to sketches of physicians now practic- 
ing in the city or county. 

Edwin C. McComb, M. D., was born in 
Alliance, Ohio, September 3, 1870, and 
was two years old when his parents moved 
to New Castle. He was educated in the 
public schools and at Grove City College, 
after which he taught for five years in the 
public schools of Lawrence County. In 
the meantime he read medicine under Dr. 
R. A. Wallace, of New Castle, and in 1898 
was graduated from the medical depart- 
ment of Western Reserve University. He 
was resident physician of the Shenango 
Valley Hospital one year, since which time 
he has engaged in general practice. He 
is a member of the medical staff of that 
institution at the present time. He belongs 
to the Lawrence County Medical Society, 
the State Medical Society, and the Ameri- 
can Medical Association. 

AValter C. Kissinger, M. D., of New 
Castle, was born in that city October 13, 
1879, and was reared in Sharon, Pa., where 
he attended the high school and Hall In- 
stitute. After graduating from Jefferson 
Medical College in 1903 he was resident 
physician of the Shenango Valley Hos- 
pital one year, then engaged in general 
practice in New Castle. He is a member 



of the Lawrence County Medical Society, 
the State Medical Society, and the Ameri- 
can Medical Association. 

John Charles Hoye, M. D., who has 
been in practice at New Castle since 1901. 
He was born in Venango County, Pennsyl- 
vania, November 28, 1863; was educated 
in the public schools and Grove City Col- 
lege. He read medicine under the direc- 
tion of Dr. A. A. Cunningham, who at that 
time was located at Volant, but is now of 
Denver, Colo. He was graduated from 
the medical department of Western Re- 
serve University of Cleveland, and first 
engaged in practice in West Middlesex. 
Four years later he located at Volant and 
there practiced nine years, coming to New 
Castle June 15, 1901. He engaged in gen- 
eral practice until the summer of 1908, 
then pursued post-graduate courses in the 
New York Polyclinic and the New York 
Post-Graduate College. He makes a spe- 
cialty of diseases of children and skin dis- 
eases. He is a member of the Lawrence 
County Medical Society, the State Medical 
Society, and the American Medical Asso- 
ciation. 

Henry Reed Wilson, M. D., of New Cas- 
tle, was born in New Wilmington, Pa., 
March 4, 1852, and received an educational 
training in the public schools and at W^est- 
minster College. He read medicine under 
Dr. M. P. Barker, of New Castle, and in 
1873 received his degree from Miami Med- 
ical College, of Cincinnati, Ohio. He lo- 
cated at Porterville, Butler County, where 
he resided for a period of twenty-eight 
years, but was not in practice during the 
last year and a half of that time. In 1901 
he began practice in New Castle, and spe- 
cializes on diseases of the stomach. He is 
a member of the Lawrence County Medical 
Society, the State Medical Society, and the 
American Medical Association. 

Robert G. Miles, M. D., has been en- 
gaged in practice in New Castle since 1895, 
in which year he was graduated from Jef- 
ferson Medical College. He came from 
Clearfield County, Pennsylvania. He is a 



168 



HISTORY OF LAWRENCE COUNTY 



member of the Lawrence County Medical 
Society and the New Castle Physicians' 
Club. 

Samuel R. W. McCune, M. D., of New 
Castle, was born in Wilkinsburg, Pa., July 
8, 1875, and there received a preliminary 
education in the public schools. He then 
attended Geneva College at Beaver Falls, 
after which he read medicine under Dr. Jo- 
seph Z. Dickson, a leading surgeon of 
Pittsburg, continuing with him for eight 
years. He attended the medical depart 
ment of the Western University of Penn- 
sylvania two years and a like period in 
Jefferson Medical College, graduating 
from that institution in 1906. During va- 
cations he spent much time in Pasavant 
Hospital in Pittsburg. He began practice 
in New Castle in November, 1906, and has 
made a specialty of surgery. He is a mem- 
ber of the Lawrence County Medical So- 
ciety and the State Medical Society. 

M. LuTHEE Ross, Ph. J3., M. D., was born 
in Newburg, N. Y., February 7, 1869 ; was 
graduated from Bucknell University in 
1899, and from the medical department of 
the University of Pennsylvania in 1902. 
He was interne in St. Francis Hospital at 
Jersey City for six months, then located in 
practice at Kaylor, Armstrong County, 
Pa. In August, 1907, he moved to New 
Castle, where he has since been in prac- 
tice. He is a member of the Lawrence 
County Medical Society. 

Samuel John Britton, M. D., special- 
ist on skin diseases, has been a resident of 
New Castle since 1896. He was born in 
Darlington, Beaver County, Pa., Novem- 
ber 19, 1850; was educated in Darlington 
Academy, and after leaving that institu- 
tion read medicine with Dr. W. H. Grim, 
of Beaver Falls, three years. He was 
graduated in 1875 from the medical de- 
partment of Western Reserve at Cleve- 
land. He engaged in practice at Moravia, 
Pa., for twenty years, then in 1896 moved 
to New Castle. 

R. G. BoAK, M. D., of New Castle, was 
born in Slippery Rock Township, Law- 
rence County, Pennsylvania, March 16, 



1865, and received his educational training 
in the public schools and Edinboro State 
Normal School. After graduating from 
that institution he engaged in teaching for 
seven years. He read medicine under Dr. 
Charles Hunt, of Princeton, and attended 
Baltimore Medical College one year, and 
the medical department of the University 
of Pennsylvania two years, graduating 
from the last named in 1896. The follow- 
ing year he pursued a post-graduate 
course in gynecology and surgery at the 
Philadelphia Polyclinic. He practiced his 
profession at Eastbrook until 1900, then 
removed to New Castle. He is a member 
of the Lawrence County Medical Society, 
the State Medical Society, and the Amer- 
ican Medical Association. 

Albert ]\Iereitt Cook, M. D., was born 
in Jamestown, N. Y., September 15, 1854. 
After finishing his high school course he 
attended Cornell University at Ithaca, 
N. Y. He taught school for a time and 
during 1876 and 1877 engaged in the drug 
business at Jamestown. He read medicine 
under Dr. William Whitney, of that place, 
and also under Dr. Whippo, of New Castle. 
He graduated from the University of Buf- 
falo in 1880, and from Bellevue Hospital 
Medical College in 1883. He engaged in 
practice in New Castle immediately there- 
after, and has since continued there in 
general practice. He is a member of the 
Lawrence County Medical Society and of 
the State Medical Society. 

Allan W. Urmson, M. D., of New Cas- 
tle, was born in Sharon, Pa., January 16, 
1871, and was in infancy when his parents 
moved to New Castle. He attended the 
public schools and Washington and Jeffer- 
son College, after which he read medicine 
under Dr. E. A. Donnan. He was gradu- 
ated from Jefferson Medical College in 
1897, then for one year was resident physi- 
cian of the Shenango Valley Hospital. He 
then turned his attention to general prac- 
tice, at which he has since continued. He 
is local surgeon for the Carnegie Steel 
Works. He is a member of the Baltimore 
&• Ohio Railroad Surgeons' Society, the 



AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 



169 



Erie Railroad Surgeons' Society, the 
Army and Navy Surgeons' Society, and 
of the American Medical Association. 

D. P. Jackson, M. D., an eye and ear spe- 
cialist, who moved from New Castle to 
New Jersey in 1892, was born in Lawrence 
County in 1852. He practiced in this city 
continuously from his graduation from 
medical college in 1874 until his departure. 

Joseph I. McKee, M. D., a native of 
Lawrence County, was graduated from 
Miami Medical College in 1876, and twice 
within a few years located in New Castle 
and engaged in practice, then moved to 
Penn, Westmoreland County, Pa. 

S^ E. McCre.\by, M. D., who graduated 
from Miami Medical College in 1880, en- 
gaged in practice in New Castle for seven 
years, then went West. 

John D. Wood, M. D., the oldest prac- 
ticing physician in New Castle, was born 
in Franklin, Pa., and received an educa- 
tional training in the public schools and in 
Allegheny College. He read medicine for 
two years under Dr. John W. Wallace, of 
New Castle, and attended Cleveland Medi- 
cal College and the University of Penn- 
sylvania. He has engaged in continuous 
practice in New Castle since 1868. He 
was one of the founders of the Lawrence 
County j\Iedieal Society, of which he served 
as secretary off and on for about sixteen 
years. He also was president of that body 
one year. 

William Gkey Miller, M. D., specialist 
on the eye, ear, nose and throat at New 
Castle, was born in this city December 25, 
1873. After completing the prescribed 
course in the high school, he read medicine 
under Dr. E. A. Donnau, and attended the 
medical department of Western University 
of Pennsylvania, from which he was grad- 
uated in 1898. He was then resident phy- 
sician at the Shenango Valley Hospital one 
year, and took a post-graduate course at 
Johns Hopkins University in 1899. He also 
completed a post-graduate course in Lon- 
don Royal Ophthalmic Hospital and at 
Westminster Ophthalmic Hospital, receiv- 
ing a certificate from each institution. He 



spent a year at study in these schools in 
London, and four mouths in the University 
of Vienna, where he pursued a course on 
the ear, followed by three months in the 
Wiedener Ear Hospital in Vienna. Dr. 
Miller was assistant surgeon of the Four- 
teenth Regiment, Pennsylvania Volunteer 
Infantry, during the Spanish-American 
War, and after six months of service was 
mustered out with the rank of major sur- 
geon, In 1899, he went into the United 
States Army as captain assistant surgeon 
and served six years in the Philippines, 
leaving the army with the rank of captain. 
He is a member of the Lawrence County 
Medical Society, the State Medical Soci- 
ety, the American Medical Association, and 
the Association of Military Surgeons of 
the LTnited States. He opened an office 
for practice in New Castle, Ap-ril 1, 1908. 
John Foster, M. D., of New Castle, was 
born at Rossville, Pa., December 13, 1872; 
attended the public schools of Venango 
County, New Castle High School, and the 
medical department of the Western Uni- 
versity of Pennsylvania, graduating in 

1894. He has practiced in New Castle 
throughout his professional career. He is 
a member of the Lawrence County Medical 
Society, the American Medical Association 
and the Physicians' Club of New Castle. 
He is on the surgical staff of Shenango 
Valley Hospital. 

Harry AV. McKee, A. M., M. D., of New 
Castle, was born May 16, 1862; attended 
the public schools, Washington and Jeffer- 
son College, and Jefferson Medical Col- 
lege, graduating from the last named in- 
stitution in 1887. He pursued a post-grad- 
uate course in New York Polyclinic in 

1895, and in the Post-Graduate College of 
New York City, in 1898. He first prac- 
ticed in Glenshaw, Allegheny County, 
where he continued until 1898, then lo- 
cated in New Castle. He is on the staff of 
surgeons of the Shenango Valley Hospital. 
He belongs to the Lawrence County Medi- 
cal Society. 

Lenora Hamilton G.4.geby, M. D., of New 
Castle, was born in Johnstown. Pa.; at- 



170 



HISTORY OF LAWEENCE COUNTY 



tended New Castle High School and then 
the Women's Medical College of Pennsyl- 
vania, at Philadelphia, graduating there- 
from in 1901. She pursued a post-grad- 
uate course in the New England Hospital 
at Boston, then opened an office for prac- 
tice in New Castle, making a specialty of 
diseases of women and children. She is a 
member of the Lawrence County Medical 
Society and the American Medical Asso- 
ciation. 

E. Hunter Perky, M. D., of New Castle, 
was born in Townville, Crawford County, 
Pennsylvania, March 20, 1878; attended 
the public schools, LeBouf Academy, at 
Waterford, Pa., and Allegheny College. He 
read medicine under Dr. T. C. Whitney, of 
Frewsburg, N. Y., and was graduated from 
the Medico-Chirurgical College of Phila- 
delphia, in 1902. He practiced one year 
at McKean, Pa., four years at Salisbury, 
Somerset County, and, in December, 1906, 
began practice in New Castle, where he has 
since continued. He is a member of the 
Physicians' Club of New Castle, the Law- 
rence County Medical Society, the State 
Medical Society and the American Medical 
Association. 

Lewis 0. Phillips, M. D., has been en- 
gaged in practice in New Castle since 1891. 
He was born at Edinburg, Lawrence Coun- 
ty, in 1862 ; attended the public schools and 
Butler University at Irvington, Ind. He 
read medicine under Dr. M. Linville, of 
New Castle, and attended the Jefferson 
Medical College, from which he was grad- 
uated with the class of 1885. He located 
in New Castle in 1891, and has since been 
in practice here. 

David R. Harris, M. D., of New Castle, 
was born in Dowlais, South Wales, in 1854, 
and was eight years old when brought by 
his parents to America. He was educated 
in the public schools of Pittsburg and 
Western University of Pennsylvania. He 
began his preparation for the profession 
under Dr. J. H. Buffum, of Pittsburg, and 
continued his studies in the Hahnemann 
Medical College of Philadelphia, from 
which he was graduated March 11, 1878. 



He came to New Castle in July of that 
year, and has practiced here since. He is 
a member of the Lawrence County Medical 
Society, the State Homeopathic Medical 
Society and the American Institute of 
Homeopathy. 

W^iLLiAM H. Lee, M. D., of New Castle, 
was born in Addison, Somerset County, 
Pennsylvania, March 8, 1862, and is a son 
of Dr. Charles H. Lee, of New Castle ; after 
completing a preliminary educational 
training in the public schools and Taren- 
tum Academy, he read medicine under his 
father and attended Hahnemann Medical 
College of Chicago, from which he grad- 
uated in 1886. He practiced in New Castle 
several years, then pursued a post-grad- 
uate course on the eye, eai', nose and 
throat in the Hospital Ophthalmic College, 
of New York, graduating therefrom in 
1891. In 1894 he completed a course on the 
eye, ear, nose and throat in the New York 
Post-Graduate College. In his practice he 
specializes on these branches. 

Charles H. Lee, M. D., who has been 
in practice in New Castle since 1880, was 
born in Allegheny City, Pa., May 31, 1840; 
was educated in the public schools and in 
a private school in his natal city ; then read 
medicine under Dr. John Cooper, of Al- 
legheny. He was graduated from the 
Hahnemann Medical College in 1864, then 
for one year was resident physician of the 
Pittsburg Homeopathic Hospital. He went 
from there to Tarentum, where he re- 
mained ten years, being out of practice 
one year; then spent one year in Butler 
prior to coming to New Castle. He com- 
pleted a post-graduate course on diseases 
of the chest, nose and throat in the New 
York Post-Graduate College. 

John D. Tucker, M. D., of New Castle, 
was born in Beaver County, Pennsylvania, 
August 14, 1873, and was young when 
brought by his parents to New Castle. He 
was educated in the high school, and took 
his medical course in Jefferson Medical 
College, from which he graduated in 1900. 
He was for a time house physician of the 
Shenango Valley Hospital. He is a mem- 



AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 



171 



ber of the Lawrence Countv Medical So- 
ciety, the State Medical Society, the Amer- 
ican Medical Association and tlie Physi- 
cians' Club of New Castle. 

Anna M. Jack, M. E., M. D., has been 
in the practice of her profession in New 
Castle since 1899. She was born in Alex- 
andria, Westmoreland County, Pa., and re- 
ceived an educational training in the public 
schools, and in the Indiana State Normal 
School, from which she was graduated in 
1890 with the degree of M. E. She engaged 
in teaching two years, then entered the 
Woman's Medical College of Pennsylvania, 
at Philadelphia, graduating in 1897. She 
did post-graduate work at Johns Hopkins 
University. She practiced one year in 
Wilkinsburg, then in 1899 located in New 
Castle. She is a member of the Lawrence 
County Medical Society and the State Med- 
ical Society. 

C. Fenwick McDowell, M. D., of New 
Castle, was born in Shenango County, 
Pennsylvania, February 14, 1874 ; was edu- 
cated in the public schools and Grove City 
College. After teaching in the schools for 
two or three years he entered the medical 
department of the University of Michigan, 
from which he was graduated in 1899. He 
served one year as resident physician at 
Shenango Valley Hospital, and has since 
been in jjractice at New Castle. He is a 
member of the Physicians' Club, the Law- 
rence County Medical Society, the State 
Medical Society and the American Medical 
Association. 

Don C. Lindley, M. D., eye, ear, nose 
and throat specialist, of New Castle, was 
born in Washington County, Pennsylvania, 
April 23, 1876; he was graduated in the 
grade and high schools, and the California 
State Normal School. He read medicine 
under Dr. E. H. Cary, of Prosperity, Pa., 
and was graduated from Jefferson Medi- 
cal College in 1901. He pursued a post- 
graduate course in the same institution on 
the ej'e, ear, nose and throat, and also in 
the Philadelphia Polyclinic, from which he 
graduated in 1903. He, in the meantime, 
had been engaged in general practice at 



New Wilmington for two years, and in 
1904 located in New Castle. He is a mem- 
ber of the Lawrence Medical Society, the 
State Medical Society and the American 
Medical Association. 

Edmund Akthur Donnan, A. M., M. D., 
has been in active practice in New Castle 
since 1881. He was born in Hickory, Wash- 
ington County, Pa., February 22, 1858; 
he attended Jefferson Academy at Canons- 
burg and the high school at Washington, 
after which he entered Washington and 
Jetferson College. He was graduated with 
the degree of A. B., in 1877, and several 
years later that institution conferred upon 
him the degree of A. M. He read medi- 
cine in Pittsburg, with a cousin, Dr. Ing. 
Donnan, and was graduated from Jeffer- 
son Medical College in 1880. He was visit- 
ing surgeon for the Charity Hospital in 
Philadelphia six months, then in 1881 lo- 
cated in New Castle, where he has since 
continued. He is a member of the Law- 
rence County Medical Society, and the 
Pennsylvania State Medical Society. 

Louis P. Knoll, Ph. G-., M. D., a spe- 
cialist on the eye, ear, nose and throat, 
who is engaged in practice in New Castle, 
was born in Buffalo, N. Y., March 7, 1877. 
After graduating from Buffalo High 
School, he took a two years' course in bi- 
ology in the University of Maryland. He 
read medicine mider his brother. Dr. John 
G. W. Knoll, of Buffalo, and was grad- 
uated from the University of Maryland 
School of Medicine in 1904. He spent six 
months in the German Deaconess' Hos- 
pital, at Buffalo, then moved to New Castle, 
where he has since continued. The degree 
of Ph. G. was received by him from the 
University of the State of New York. Dur- 
ing the Spanish-American War, he enlist- 
ed as hospital steward, and was fii-st as- 
signed to the Norfolk Naval Hospital, and 
later to the Monitor Puritan, and the Gun- 
boat Mangrove. He is a member of the 
Lawrence County Medical Society, the 
State ]\Iedical Society and the American 
Aledical Association. 

Elizabeth McLaughrey, A. B., M. D., 



172 



HISTORY OF LAWRENCE COUNTY 



of New Castle, was hbvn in New Wilming- 
ton, Pa., and received a classical educa- 
tion in Westminster College, from which 
she graduated in 1887. After teaching 
three years in the high school at Braddock, 
Pa., she entered the Woman's Medical Col- 
lege of Pennsylvania, located at Philadel- 
phia, and was graduated in 189-1. She 
spent one year at the New England Hos- 
pital in Boston, then located in New Castle 
in 1895. She has taken two post-graduate 
courses at Johns Hopkins University, in 
gjTiecology and diseases of children; spent 
two months in Great Ormond St. Hospital, 
London, on diseases of children, and a like 
period on gA-neeology and obstetrics in Al- 
geminen Krankenhause, at Vienna. She 
is a member of the Lawrence County Medi- 
cal Societv and the State Medical Society. 

HoLLis G. Deax, M. D., of New Castle, 
was bom in Mercer County, Pennsylvania, 
June 23, 1865; was educated in McElwain 
Institute in New Lebanon, and then read 
medicine under Dr. J. M. Douds, of Mer- 
cer. He graduated from the Chicago Ho- 
meopathic College in 1891, then engaged in 
practice at Franklin, Pa., and in Oil City, 
until his removal to New Castle some seven 
years later. He took post-graduate work 
in New York Post-Graduate School and 
Hospital, in 1907, especially on diseases of 
the stomach. He is a member of the Penn- 
sylvania State Homeopathic Medical Soci- 
ety, the American Institute of Homeop- 
athy, the Lawrence C-ounty Medical Soci- 
ety and the American Medical Association. 

Jesse R. De.\n, M. D., has been in prac- 
tice in New Castle since 1894. He was 
born near Portersville, in Butler County, 
September 24, 1871; was educated in the 
public schools and Grove City College, and 
attended the medical department of West- 
ern University of Pennsylvania, from 
which he was graduated in 1894. For 
nearly a year he was in attendance at St. 
Thomas Hospital, London, tlien located in 
New Castle. He is a member of the Law- 
rence County Medical Society, the State 
Medical Society, the American Medical As- 



sociation and the Phvsicians' Club of New 
Castle. 

Edward Baenes, M. D., specialist on 
chronic diseases, at New Castle, was born 
in Sandy Lake, Mercer County, Pa.. No- 
vember 30, 1856 ; was educated in the com- 
mon schools and Edinboro State Normal 
School, and read medicine under Drs. M. 
R. Boyd and J. R. Borland, of Franklin. 
He graduated from the Eclectic Medical 
College of Indianapolis, in 1882, and first 
located for practice in Westmoreland 
County. He was in ill health for about 
fifteen years and did little practice. In 
1899 he located in New Castle and as a 
specialist has since been in active prac- 
tice. He is a member of the Pennsyl- 
vania Eclectic Medical Association and the 
Eclectic National Medical Association. In 
1889 he pursued a post-graduate course 
in the New York Post-Graduate School. 
He has served as a member of the Com- 
mon Council of New Castle, and, in 1903, 
was city physician. He is a member of the 
staiT of the Shenango Vallev Hospital. 

James M. Popp, M. D., of New Castle, 
was born in Allegheny City February 11, 
1863; was educated in the public schools, 
and read medicine under Dr. Charles Clif- 
ford, of Braddock, Pa. He was graduated 
from tlie medical department of Western 
University of Pennsylvania, March 25, 
1897, then took an additional year of post- 
graduate work in that institution. He was 
then for a time interne in the Western 
Pennsylvania Hospital, and in 1898 located 
in New Castle. He is a member of the 
Physicians' Club, of the Lawrence County 
Medical Society, the State Medical Society 
and the American Medical Association. He 
has specialized somewhat in surgery. 

William Alexander Womer, A. B., 
M. D., became established in practice in 
New Castle in 1905. He was born at Mer- 
cer, Pa., February 26, 1881; attended the 
public schools and ]\lcElwain Institute at 
New Lebanon, and in 1896 was graduated 
from the academic department and in 
music, at Allegheny College, from whioh 



AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 



173 



he was graduated in 19(10. with tlie degree 
of A. B. Jhiring tliis time he was for a year 
principal of the commercial department, 
and during the last year was assistant to 
the professor of biology. He graduated 
from the medical department of Western 
University of Pennsylvania in 1905, and be- 
gan practice in New Castle. He is a mem- 
ber of the Physicians' Club of New Castle, 
the Lawrence ^ledical Society, of which he 
is secretary; the State Medical Society and 
the x\merican Medical Association. He is 
author of a volume entitled, "(Jennan for 
Physicians." 

WiLMAM Gilbert Wilson. M. U., has 
been in practice in New Castle since 1893. 
He was born in Wilmington Township, 
Lawrence County, January 27, 1850, and 
attended the public schools and West- 
minster College. He then engaged in 
teaching for eight years in the public 
schools of Lawrence and Mercer Counties, 
and in the meantime read medicine under 
Dr. A. C. Pettitt, of New Wilmington. He 
attended Cleveland Medical College one 
term, then the Cincinnati College of Medi- 
cine and SuT'gery, from which he was grad- 
uated in 1876. July 19, 1876, he opened 
an office for practice at Pulaski, where he 
continued until his removal to New Castle, 
May, 1893. He is a member of the Law- 
rence County Medical Society. 

James K. Pollock, M. D., was born in 
New "Castle April 19, 1845, and was edu- 
cated in the public schools. He read medi- 
cine under the direction of Dr. M. P. Bark- 
er and was graduated from Miami Medical 
College of Cincinnati in 1873. He has prac- 
ticed in New Castle continuously since that 
time. He is a member of the Lawrence 
County Medical Society and the American 
]\Iedical Association. 

Walter Lowrie Campbell, B. S., M. D., 
of New Castle, was born in Moniteau, But- 
ler County, March 4, 1876, and was edu- 
cated in Grove City High School and Grove 
City College, graduating from the latter 
in 1900. He graduated from Jefferson 
Medical College in 1903, and after prac- 
ticing two years in Mobile, located in New 



Castle on April 1, 1905. He is a member 
of the Physicians' Club of New Castle, the 
Lawrence County Medical Society, the 
State Medical Societv and the American 
Medical Association. " 

Samuel Wak.xki;, M. D., of New Castle, 
was born at West Newton, Pa., March 27, 
1876; was educated in the public schools 
and a commercial college. He was grad- 
uated from Cleveland Homeopathic Medi- 
cal College in 1899, doing hospital work 
during the last two years of his college 
course. He has practiced in New Castle 
since that time. 

Thomas F. Collins, A. B., M. D., was 
born at Volant, Lawrence County, Pa., Feb- 
ruary 14, 1878; graduated from Volant 
College, and in 1904 from the Eclectic Med- 
ical College of Cincinnati. He practiced at 
Jackson Center for less than a year, then 
in Volant three years, and, in March, 1908, 
located in New Castle. He is a member 
of the Alumnal Association of the Eclectic 
Medical Institute of Cincinnati. 

John W. Covert, M. D., of New Castle, 
was born at Covert Station, Lawrence 
County, July 18, 1837, and is a son of Dr. 
William Covert, who was a native of Law- 
rence County and practiced in that and 
Mercer Counties for many years, living 
near Edinburg. John W. Covert was edu- 
cated in the high school at New Lebanon, 
and read medicine under Dr. S. A. Boyn- 
ton, of Cleveland, Ohio. He graduated from 
the Cleveland Homeopathic Medical Col- 
lege in 1879, and immediately after located 
in New Castle. During the Civil War he 
served one year in the One Hundredth 
(Roundhead) Regiment, Pennsylvania Vol- 
unteer Infantry, and two vears in Battery 
H., Third Light Artillery of Pennsyl- 
vania. 

Jesse D. Moore, A. B., M. D., who has 
been in active practice of his profession in 
New Castle since 1885, making a specialty 
of the eye, was born in Neshannock Town- 
ship, Lawrence County, July 2, 1859. He 
was educated in the district schools, the 
public schools of New Castle and what was 
known as "the one studv" school, after- 



174 



HISTORY OF LAWRENCE COUNTY 



wards called New Castle College, and m 
Westminster College, from which he grad- 
uated in 1882. He read medicine under 
Dr. R. D. Wallace, and attended the medi- 
cal department of the University of the 
Citv of New York, graduating in the sprmg 
of 1885. He has since done post-graduate 
work in the New York Polyclinic, and the 
University of New York. He is medical 
inspector for Lawrence County, chief clinic 
of the dispensary for tuberculosis for the 
Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, and is a 
member of the International Congress on 
Tuberculosis. He is a member of the Law- 
rence County Medical Society and has 
served as delegate to the State Medical So- 
cietv. 

Robert A. Wallace, M. D., was born m 
New Castle July 29, 1855, and is a son 
of Dr. James J. Wallace, now deceased. 
He was educated in the public schools and 
read medicine under his father. He was 
graduated from Miami .Sledical College of 
Cincinnati, in 1877, and was thereafter as- 
sociated in practice with his father until 
the latter 's death in 1887; since that time 
he has practiced alone. He is a member 
of the Lawrence County Medical Society, 
the State Medical Society and the Ameri- 
can Medical Association. 

James J. Wallace, M. D., who was one 
of the original members of the Lawrence 
County Medical Society and for many 
years a practitioner of New Castle, was 
born in Beaver Coimty, Pennsylvania, Sep- 
tember 29, 1824, and died December 19, 
1887. He was educated at Darlington 
Academy and Meadville College, and read 
medicine with Dr. Frazier, of Darlington. 
He also read for a time with his brother. 
Dr. John AV. Wallace, and then entered 
Jefferson Medical College, from wliich he 
was graduated in 1850. He immediately 
after began ])ractiee in New Castle, where 
he continued without interrui^tion until his 
death. 

J. W. Wallace, M. D., one of the early 
physicians and surgeons in New Castle, 
was bom in Beaver County, in 1817, and 
died in 1889. He was graduated from the 



old Darlington Academy, and aftenvard 
served as an instructor there. In the mean- 
time, he prosecuted the study of medicine 
with Dr. Frazier, a man of advanced ideas, 
far ahead of his time. Dr. Wallace grad- 
uated from Jefferson College in 1848, and 
in that year began practice in New Castle. 
He was twice a member of Congress from 
his district and one of the foremost men of 
his day. He was a member of the old Law- 
rence Count}' Medical Society. 

J. R. Cox, M. D., coroner of Lawrence 
County, began the practice of his profes- 
sion in New Castle in 1898. He was born 
in Pulaski Township, Lawrence County, 
Pennsylvania, received his early educa- 
tional training in the district schools and 
Grove City College, and his professional 
training in the Cleveland Medical College, 
from which he was graduated in 1896. 
After practicing two years at Edinburg, 
he removed to New Castle, where he has 
since continued. He has served iive years 
as coroner of Lawrence County. Dr. Cox is 
a member of the Lawrence County Medical 
Society. 

Elmer Patterson Norris, M. D., with 
offices in the Henderson Block, at New Cas- 
tle, has been engaged in practice in that 
city since 1902. He was born in New Cas- 
tle October 28, 1871, attended the public 
schools and Edinburg State Normal 
School, and in 1892 matriculated in Jeffer- 
son Medical College, at Philadelphia; he 
graduated from that institution in 1856, 
having also, in the meantime, pursued spe- 
cial courses under Drs. Kyle and DaCosta, 
eminent specialists connected with St. 
Agnes', Lockley and Jefferson Hospitals. 
He spent one year in hospital work in 
Philadelphia prior to engaging in private 
practice. Dr. Norris was located in prac- 
tice at Hillsville three years, then in 1902 
moved to New Castle. 

Brant E. San key, M. D., of New Castle, 
was born in Pittsburg, Pa., iu 1873, and 
was educated in the public schools of New 
Castle, whither his parents had moved 
when he was young. He entered Cleveland 
Medical College, and after his graduation 



AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 



175 



with the class of 1895, began practice iu 
New Castle. He is affiliated with the Law- 
rence County Medical Society, the Physi- 
cians' Club, the State Homeopathic Med- 
ical Society and the American Institute of 
Homeopathy. 

Wai^ter E. Millek, M. D., who, in addi- 
tion to the practice of medicine in New 
Castle is proprietor of the Avenue Hotel, 
was born in that city in 1871. After com- 
pleting the prescribed course in the public 
schools he attended Oberlin College for 
two years. He attended medical lectures 
at the Western University of Pennsylva- 
nia and was graduated in 1894. He has 
since practiced in his natal city. He is a 
member of the Lawrence County Medical 
Society. 

D. E. Evans, M. D., a member of the 
firm of Evans & "Williams, medical prac- 
titioners of New Castle, was born in Wales 
in 1852 and was about sixteen years of 
age when he became a resident of this 
country. He attended the College of Phy- 
sicians and Surgeons at Baltimore, Md., 
and received his degree from Baltimore 
University in 1892. He located in practice 
in Luzerne County, Pennsylvania, where 
he continued until 1899, in which year he 
became associated with Dr. T. V. Williams 
in New Castle. 

_ T. V. W^iLLiAMS, M. D., of the medical 
firm of Evans & Williams, was born in 
Wales, where he received a preliminary 
education and began preparation for the 
medical profession. He came to the Unit- 
ed States in his twenty-eighth year, and 
completed his j^rofessional training in the 
College of Physicians and Surgeons at 
Baltimore, graduating in 1892. Prior to 
locating in New Castle he practiced for 
some time at Antioch, Pa. 

S. W. Perry, M. D., of New Castle, was 
born in that city in 1874, and there re- 
ceived his early schooling. He began the 
study of medicine under a preceptor and 
subsequently entered the medical depart- 
ment of the University of Michigan. He 
later entered Washington and Jefferson 
College and was graduated in 1899, imme- 



diately thereafter engaging in practice in 
New Castle. He is a member of the Physi- 
cians' Club, the Lawrence County Medical 
Society, the State Medical Society, and the 
American Medical Association. 

Loyal, Wilbur Wilson, M. D., of New 
Castle, was born in Beaver Township, 
Lawrence County, Pennsylvania, March 
25, 1866. He attended the public schools 
and pursued a special course in Latin and 
Greek under Professor Roup, of the West- 
ern University of Pennsylvania. He sub- 
sequently attended the medical depart- 
ment of that institution and was gradu- 
ated in 1891. Some years later, in 1898, 
he took a course in the Post-Graduate Col- 
lege of New York City. Dr. Wilson was 
an interne at St. Francis Hospital, Pitts- 
burg, in 1891, and later in the same j-ear 
began practice at Wampum, Lawrence 
County; he continued there until Febru- 
ary, 1898, then located at Alahoningtown, 
where he practiced until 1904, the year in 
wliich he moved to New Castle. 

Chaeles a. Reed, M. D., with office at 
No. 26 North Mercer Street, New Castle, 
was born in Shenango Townshii?, Law- 
rence County, Pennsylvania, September 
18, 1858. He attended the district schools 
of his native township, and subsequently 
the New Castle High School and Edinboro 
Academy. He read medicine several years 
prior to entering ^liami Medical College 
at Cincinnati in 1882, from which institu- 
tion he was graduated in 1885. He served 
as resident physician in Western Pennsyl- 
vania Hospital at Pittsburg for a short 
time, then, in July, 1886, began practice at 
New Castle, where he has been located 
continuously since. 

Montgomery Linville, M. D., who has 
been continuously engaged in the practice 
of medicine in New Castle since 1873, was 
born in Washington Countv, Pennsylvania, 
March 9, 1854. He graduated from Beth- 
any College in West Virginia, and subse- 
quently from Jefferson Medical College, 
Philadelphia, in 1873, being then nineteen 
years of age. He shortly thereafter em- 
barked in practice in New Castle. He is a 



176 



HISTORY OF LAWRENCE COUNTY 



member of the Lawrence County Medical 
Society, State Association of Physicians 
and Surgeons and the National Associa- 
tion of Railway Surgeons. 

Edwin S. Coopek, M. D., whose residence 
and office are located at No. 74 North Mill 
Street, New Castle, was born in Taylor 
Township, Lawrence County, Pennsylva- 
nia, January 3, 1872. He attended the pub- 
lic schools of New Castle and Grove City 
College. In 1892 he entered upon the 
study of medicine under the direction of 
his brother. Dr. Joseph L. Cooper, now 
deceased, and subsequently attended West- 
ern Pennsylvania Medical College, from 
which he was graduated March 25, 1896. 
He then practiced in partnersliip with his 
brother in New Castle until the latter 's 
death, since which time he has continued 
alone. He is a member of the Lawrence 
County Medical Society, the State Medical 
Society and other fraternal organizations. 

Thomas J. Blackwood, M. D., has been 
engaged in the practice of his profession 
in New Castle for a period of more than 
thirty-four years. He was born in Slip 
pery Rock Township, Lawrence County, 
Pennsylvania, January 13, 1844; he at- 
tended the district schools and Beaver 
Academy at Beaver Falls, after which he 
entered Jefferson Medical College of Phil- 
adelphia. He was graduated from that in- 
stitution in 1866, and thereafter practiced 
in Butler County imtil his removal to New 
Castle in 1873. 

James M. Blackwood, M. D., of New 
Castle, is engaged in practice in associa- 
tion with his father. Dr. Thomas J. Black- 
wood. He is a graduate of Beaver Falls 
College and Jefferson Medical College of 
Philadelphia. 

Feakklin Wheeler Guy, M. D., of Ma- 
honingtowu, was born in Chewton, Law- 
rence County, Pa., July 28, 1870. His edu- 
cational training was received in the dis- 
trict schools of Lawrence, Morgan (Ohio) 
and Beaver Counties, and in the Beaver 
Falls High School. After his graduation 
from the last named school in 1889 he en- 
gaged in teaching for seven years in 



Beaver and Lawrence Counties. In 1902 
he matriculated in the medical department 
of the Western University of Pennsylva- 
nia and was graduated in 1906. He has 
since practiced in Mahoningtown. He is 
a member of the Lawrence County Medi- 
cal Society. 

William L. Steen, M. D., is located in 
practice at Mahoningtown and maintains 
offices in the Postoffice Block. He was born 
in Clarion County, Pennsylvania, AprU 
21, 1874, and received his early schooling 
in the graded and high schools of New 
Castle. After leaving the latter he was for 
seven years postal clerk on the Pennsyl- 
vania Railroad. In the meantime he had 
begun preparation for the medical profes- 
sion, and in 1901 he entered the medicdl 
department of the Western University of 
Pennsylvania, from which he graduated in 
1905. He is a member of Lawrence County 
Medical Society. 

Frank Forrest Ubey, M. D., of Mahon- 
ingtown, with office at No. 208 North Lib- 
erty Street, was born at Sandy Lake, Mer- 
cer County, Pa., August 16, 1872. He at- 
tended the district schools, McElaine In- 
stitute at New Lebanon, and Slippery, Rock 
Normal School, after which he engaged in 
teaching for five years. In 1894 he entered 
the drug business at Wampiun and con- 
tinued at various points in Northwestern 
Pennsylvania at different times, becoming 
a licensed pharmacist. In September, 
1896, he entered the medical department 
of the Western University of Pennsylva- 
nia and was graduated in 1900 ; he then en- 
gaged in hospital work in Shenaugo Valley 
one year, and June 1, 1901, began practice 
at Wampum, where he was located until 
his removal to Mahoningtown. Prior to 
1906 he was for some time a partner in a 
drug store at Wampum. He is a member 
of the Lawrence County Medical Society, 
the State IMedical Society and the Ameri- 
can Medical Association. 

Charles W. Davis, M. D., of ]\Iahoning- 
town, was born in Shenango Township, 
Lawrence County, Pennsylvania, Septem- 
ber 29, 1866, and has been engaged in prac- 



AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 



17^ 



tice in this village since 1895. He was 
reared on a farm and attended the district 
schools, and subsequently the State Nor- 
mal at Edinburg four years, graduating 
therefrom in 1890 ; in the meantime he had 
taught school winter terms, and continued 
two years after graduation. In 1892 he 
entered Western Pennsylvania Medical 
College, from which institution he received 
his degree in 1895. He pursued a post- 
graduate course at the New York Poly 
clinic in New York City. His only field 
of practice has been at Mahoningtowu. 
He is a member of the Lawrence County 
Medical Society. 

Edwin D. Jackson, M. D., whose office 
is at No. 207 North Cedar Street, has been 
engaged in practice in Mahoningtown since 
June 15, 1904. He was born in Wayne 
Township, Lawrence County, July 3, 1874, 
and in his younger days attended the pub- 
lie schools of Chewton. He attended Grove 
City College five terms and also Slippery 
Rock Normal, after which he took up the 
study of medicine. He graduated from 
the medical department of Western Uni- 
versity of Pennsylvania in May, 1889. He 
was successively engaged in practice at 
Allenport, Washington County, in Fayette 
County, in Edinburg, Lawrence County, 
and at West Pittsburg, prior to his resi- 
dence in Mahoningtown. He is a member 
of Lawrence County Medical Society and 
State Medical Society. 

H. E. Zimmerman, M. D., has been in the 
practice of his profession at Mt. Jackson, 
Lawrence County, since 1865. He was born 
in Lehigh County, Pennsylvania, June 11, 
1831 ; he attended Greenville Academy and 
studied medicine under the direction of 
Dr. F. H. Judd, of Greenville. He began 
practice July 13, 1854, near Fredonia, 
Mercer County; moved to Clarksville in 
the fall of the same year ; in 1858 moved to 
Middletown, Mahoning County, Ohio; 
June 1, 1862, located at Mt. Jackson; in 
March, 1863, returned to Clarksville, and 
in 1865 returned to Mt. Jackson, where 
he has been located continuouslj' since. 

Hon. Silas Stevenson, M. D., who has 



been in practice at EUwood City since 
1891, was formerly a representative from 
Lawrence County in the Pennsylvania Leg- 
islature. He was born in this county Feb- 
ruary 18, 1845 ; was a soldier in Company 
K, 100th Regiment, Pennsylvania Volun- 
teer Infantry, during the Civil War; in 
1865 entered Western Reserve Medical 
College at Cleveland, and was graduated 
from that institution March 4, 1868. On 
April 15, 1868, he began practice at New 
Bedford and continued until 1891; in the 
meantime he served as postmaster, from 
1872 until 1884; was elected to the Legis- 
lature in 1884 and re-elected in 1886. He 
has been a member of the Pension Board 
at New Castle since 1889, except for the 
four years of Cleveland's second adminis- 
tration. He is a member of the council of 
the borough of Ellwood City. 

Samuel S. Davidson, M. D., of Ellwood 
City, was born at Wampum, Big Beaver 
Township, Lawrence County, November 
23, 1859 ; was educated at Western Univer- 
sity of Pennsylvania and Jefferson Medi- 
cal College. After graduation from the 
latter in 1882 he spent two years in medi- 
cal studies and scientific investigations in 
the hospitals of London, Vienna and Ber- 
lin. Upon his return to America he began 
practice at Mercer, Pa., and continued for 
twelve years, five years of which he was 
in charge of the State Hospital. He has 
been located at Ellwood City some six 
years. Dr. Davidson is a member of the 
American Medical Association and the 
Pennsylvania State Medical Society. 

Charles M. Iseman, M. D., a practi- 
tioner of Ellwood City since 1895, was 
born near Freeport, Armstrong County, 
Pa., December 4, 1868. He attended Free- 
port Academy and Tell College at Green- 
ville, Mercer County, from which he re- 
ceived the degree of A. B. in 1891 ; West- 
ern Reserve Medical College at Cleveland, 
and Western Pennsylvania Medical Col- 
lege at Pittsburg, from which he received 
the degree of M. D. in 1894. He practiced 
in Armstrong County fifteen months, then 
moved to Ellwood City, where he has since 



178 



HISTORY OF LAWRENCE COUNTY 



resided. He is a member of the Beaver 
County Medical Society, Pennsylvania 
State Medical Society and the American 
Medical Association. 

Oscar Evans Br.u)Ley, M. D., who is en- 
gaged in the practice of osteopathy at Ell- 
wood City, was born at Memphis, Scot- 
land County, Mo., August 30, 1874; at- 
tended State Normal at Kirksville, Mo.; 
the American School of Osteopathy at 
Kirksville, and pursued a post-graduate 
course in osteopathy at St. Louis in 1903. 
He first practiced at Macomb, 111., and in 
October, 1906, located at Ellwood City. 

William A. Shannon, M. D., of Ell- 
wood City, was born in Mercer, Mercer 
County, in 1863; was graduated from 
Grove City College with the degree of 
A. B. in 1888, and from Jefferson Medical 
College in 1892. He has practiced in Ell- 
wood City since 1893. 

Edwin E. Lamb, M. D., of Ellwood City, 
was born in Worth Township, Mercer 
County, Pennsylvania, September 30, 1869. 
He attended McElaine Institute at Leb- 
anon, Grove City College and the Cleve- 
land Homeopathic Medical College, from 
which he was graduated in 1897. He has 
been located at Ellwood City throughout 
his professional career. 

Joseph Rhodes, M. D., of Chewton, was 
born in that village, Wayne Township, 
Lawrence County, Pennsylvania, April 23, 
1848. He attended New Sewickley Acad- 
emy and Muhlenberg College, and in 1871 
entered Belleview Hospital Medical Col- 
lege, from which he graduated in 1874 ; he 
has since practiced in Chewton. 

C. B. Hunt, M. D., of Rose Point, Slip- 
pery Rock Township, was born in Law- 
rence County, March 20, 1867 ; he attended 
Sunbury Academy and Grove City Col- 
lege,, the Baltimore Medical College, the 
Medico-Chirurgical College of Philadel 
phia, the Post-Graduate College of New 
York, and pursued a special course on the 
eye in the New York New Polyclinic. He 
engaged in practice at Princeton, Law- 
rence County, four years, then for three 
years represented an opticianal firm as 



commercial traveler. In 1901 he located 
at Rose Point. 

Charles S. McGeorge, M. D., of Enon 
Valley, was born in Darlington Township, 
Beaver County, Pennsylvania, May 5, 
1875. He attended Slippery Rock College, 
and later the medical department of West 
ern University of Pennsylvania, from 
which he was graduated in 1900. He en- 
gaged in practice at Mars, Butler County, 
until November, 1906, since which time he 
nas been located at Enon. 

George H. Mehard, M. D., who has been 
in practice at Wampum since 1891, was 
born at Wurtemburg, Wayne Township, 
September 22, 1857. He was graduated 
from Washington and Jefferson College at 
W^ashington, Pa., in 1879; from Western 
Reserve Medical College in 1881, and from 
Jefferson Medical College in 1882. He 
engaged at practice in Wurtemburg nine 
years, then in 1891 located at Wampum, 
where he now lives. 

Harry H. Davis, M. D., of Wampum, was 
born on a farm near New Castle May 31, 
1871 ; he attended the Moravia public 
schools and the State Normal at Edinburg, 
after which he engaged in teaching four 
years. He was graduated from the medi- 
cal department of Western University of 
Pennsylvania in 1895, but prior to that 
time had pursued the study of medicine 
under the preceptorship of Dr. Joseph 
Cooper, of New Castle. He engaged in 
practice in Warren County for six years, 
then located at Wampum. 

William L. Smith, M. D., who has been 
a resident of New Wilmington since 1880, 
was born in New Bedford, Pa., January 
10, 1846. After completing a course in 
Westminster College he studied medicine 
at Jefferson Medical College at Philadel- 
phia, graduating in 1875. He engaged in 
practice at East Brook four years, then 
located at New Wilmington in 1880. 

Charles E. Trainor, M. D., New Wil- 
mington, was born at Vicksburg, Miss., 
June 18, 1876 ; he attended private schools 
in Vicksburg, the high school at New Wil- 
mington, and obtained his education in 



AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 



179 



medical science in Jefferson Medical Col- 
lege, from which he graduated in 1902. He 
was successful in a competitive examina- 
tion which entitled him to a position as 
interne in the ]\letliodist Hospital in Phila- 
delphia, whicli institution he served for 
thirteen months. He then returned to New 
Wilmington, where he has since been in 
practice. 

William A. Claek, Jr., M. D., of New 
Wilmington, was born at (xreat Belt, in 
Butler County, Pa., April 3, 1879. His 
education was obtained in the public 
schools and under private instructors. He 
came into possession of an electric light 
plant at New Wilmington, which had been 
installed by his father, and operated that 
up until the time he entered Western Re- 
serve College at Cleveland, when he sold 
out. He had previously pursued a prepar- 
atory course at Westminster College, 
After one year at Western Reserve he en- 
tered Jefferson Medical College and at- 
tended one year, then took a special course 
of study on diseases of the stomach at Chi- 
cago University. He engaged in practice 
at Volant, Pa., two years, then located at 
New Wilmington. 

Heebeet E. Baek, M. D., has engaged in 
practice at New Wilmington during his en- 
tire professional career. He was born at 
Gujoanwalla, India, December 4, 1871. 
He is a graduate of Westminster College, 
took a special course in Johns Hopkins 
University at Baltimore, and was gradu- 
ated in medicine at the Jefferson Medical 
College at Philadelphia. His practice has 
been solely at New Wilmington. 

Samuel Wesley Perry, M. 1)., was born 
in New Castle May 10, 1874, and was edu- 
cated in the high school of the city. He 
read medicine under Dr. Montgomery Lin- 
ville, attended the medical department of 
the University of Michigan two years and 
the Jefferson Medical College two years, 
graduating from the last named in 1899. 
He was resident physician of Shenango 
Valley Hospital one year, and then em- 
barked in practice. He is a member of the 
Physicians' Club of New Castle, Lawrence 



County Medical Society, the State Medical 
Society and the American Medical Asso- 
ciation. He is at present on the surgical 
staff of the Shenango Valley Hospital. 

II. Elmore Zerner, M. D., who has been 
a resident of New Castle since 1893, was 
born in Johnstow^i, Pa., July 19, 1872; he 
was taken by his parents to Braddock, Pa., 
in 1875, and there received his education 
in the common and high schools. He grad- 
uated from the medical department of the 
Western University of Pennsylvania in 
1899, and during the last year was in the 
Reinmau Maternity Hospital and Free Dis- 
pensary, a privilege accorded to the ten 
students having the highest marks. He 
engaged in practice in New Castle after 
graduation, to which city he had moved in 
January, 1893. He is a member of the 
Physicians' Club of New Castle, of which 
he was one of the organizers; the Law- 
rence Coimty Medical Society, the State 
Medical Society and the American Medical 
Association. 

Charles L. Kirkham, D. 0., was born in 
Rushville, 111., January 6, 1872; was edu- 
cated in the public schools of Gem City and 
the State Normal School at Galesburg. He 
was graduated from the American School 
of Osteopathy, at Kirksville, Mo., in 1902, 
and located in October of that year. About 
eight months later he went to Niagara 
Falls, where he remained about two years; 
then, in Januarv, 1906, returned to New 
Castle. 

Elmer D. Rogers, D. 0., of New Castle, 
was born in Brooklyn, Iowa, July 14, 1861, 
attended the high school of his native town, 
and later the American School of Osteop- 
athy, at Kirksville, Mo., graduating there- 
from in 1903. He has practiced in New 
Castle since that date. He is a member 
of the AVestern Pennsylvania Osteopathic 
Association, and the American Osteopathic 
Association. 

Dr. Annie McCaslin, osteopath, at New 
Castle, was born in Armstrong County, 
Pennsylvania, and educated in the com- 
mon schools and Slate Lick Academy. She 
took up the profession of nursing, and later 



180 



HISTORY OF LAWEENCE COUNTY 



entered the American School of Oste- 
opathy, at Kirksville, Mo., from which she 
graduated in 1906. She has since prac- 
ticed in New Castle. She is a member of 
the Western Pennsylvania Osteopathic As- 
sociation and the American Osteopathic 
Association. 

The Lawrence County Medical Society 
was first organized in New Castle on April 
19, 1868 (or 1869), and the following of- 
ficers were elected : E. D. Wallace, presi- 



dent ; Silas Stevenson, vice-president ; John 
D. Wood, secretary, and H. P. Peebles, 
treasurer. This body passed from ex- 
istence in 1876, and thereafter there was 
no medical society imtil 1886. In the lat- 
ter year, through the activity of Drs. M. 
Linville and E. A. Wallace, a new organiza- 
tion was effected, and the present Law- 
rence County Medical Society came into 
being, with Dr. J. W. Wallace as its presi- 
dent. 



CHAPTER XII 



EDUCATION 



Puhlic and Parochial Scltools- 



-Groivlh and Present Efftciency — Early Educators — 
Residts Accomplished. 



There is no one thing which .so reflects 
the cliaracter of a community, the progres- 
sive tendency and the ambitions of its 
citizens, as tlie efficiency of the school sys- 
tem. Men who are willing to assume the 
burdens of increased taxation, in order that 
their children be given greater educational 
advantages than they themselves had been 
favored with, are a most desirable tj'pe, 
and where such a condition is met with, 
the community is always found to be in 
an advanced state of progress, socially, 
morally and in the realms of business. The 
pioneers of the territory now embraced 
within Lawrence County, in tlie early days, 
recognized it as a duty to educate the chil- 
dren, and saw to the establishment of 
schools of the rude type, characteristic of 
that period. From that day to this, the 
schools here have been maintained at a 
high standard, and have been unexcelled 
by those of any other county in the state. 

The first school was opened in New 
Castle about the year of 1804, in a log 
building, about 18x18 feet in dimensions, 
standing above what is now North Street, 
at a little distance west of the spring at the 
foot of Shaw's Hill. It was heated by 
means of an old-fashioned fireplace, which 
was supplied with "back-logs" and "fore- 
stick" by the large boys who attended the 
school. In the winter time, when it was 
necessary to keep the door shut, the room 
must have been anything but comfortable 
and inviting. It was rather dimly lighted. 



owing to the fact that the windows, instead 
of being made of glass, were of greased 
paper, through which but few rays of sun- 
shine could struggle. The long benches on 
which the pupils sat while conning their 
lessons were made by splitting small logs 
in two, and then taking the halves, smooth- 
ing the flat side of each of them with an 
axe, and attaching legs to the round side. 
The first schoolmaster in the little town 
was Robert Dickey, and other of the early 
instructors were, successively : John Dick- 
ey, Richard Shearer, Joseph Thornton, Al- 
exander Duncan, Miss Sarah DeWolf (the 
first lady teacher in the city), and Matthew 
Calvin. 

In 1851 the Union schoolhouse, which is 
now in service as the Martin Gantz school, 
and is in very good condition, was erected 
at a cost of $7,000. If the same structure 
was built, the cost would be at least ten 
times as much, if erected under the existing 
conditions. The architect was J. U. Borr, 
who made the plans and superintended 
the construction, for $50. The builders 
n-ere Richard Craven and Samuel T. Sippy. 
The directors at that time were William 
Watson, James W. Jolmston, Alexander L. 
Crawford, William Book, J. N. Euwer and 
Jacob S. Quest. 

In 1854 the office of county superin- 
tendent of schools was created by act of 
legislature, and Thomas Berry was elected 
first superintendent of schools in Lawrence 
County. In his report, dated November 



HISTORY OF LAWRENCE COUNTY 



182 

18, 1855, occurs a paragraph^ with regard 
to the New Castle schools, which we quote : 

"New Castle. This district has one school divided 
into seven grades, taught five months; 48o scholars; 
average attendance, 404. Two male and seven female 
teachers. Average salary of males, $57 per month; 
females, $21.42. Cost of teaching each pupil per 
month, .55V> cents. The school and school buildings are 
in excellent condition. All the branches of a thorough 
English education are taught and taught right. It is 
probable that no public school in the State west of 
Pittsburg affords equal facilities for receiving a good 
education. A regular course in this school would be a 
good preparation for entering college, or after having 
graduated at college, a course of instruction here m 
orthography, reading, geography and English gramniar 
might not be amiss, especially for such as wish to be- 
come teachers of common schools. Although the taxes 
are higher in this than in any other district in the 
countv, the people do not complain. They seem to 
be aware that good schools, instead of impoverishing 
a district, greatly increase its prosperity, wealth and- 
happiness. ' ' 

New Castle takes pride in her public 
schools; the most advanced methods are 
employed in teaching, and, while school- 
room results are intangible, they have been 
most satisfactory. Fourteen buildings, all 
large and convenient and nearly all mag- 
nificent modern structures, are so scattered 
about the city as to place all parts of the 
various districts within easy reach of a 
school. The cost of the various buildings 
follows: Highland Avenue, $45,000; Lin- 
coln and Garfield, $40,000; Thaddeus Ste- 
vens, $40,000; Terrace Avenue, $40,848; 
West New Castle, $38,000; High School, 
$30,000; High School Annex, $16,621; Law- 
rence, $25,566 ; Mahoning, $18,000 ; Central, 
$20,000 ; Oak Street, $31,249 ; Croton, $24,- 
944, and Martin Gantz, $28,000. The total 
amounts to $398,228. Ten of the buildings 
have been erected since 1880, and all the 
newer buildings are of pressed brick and 
stone, and are provided with modern heat- 
ing and ventilating apparatus. The sani- 
tation could not easily be improved. The 
Board of School Controllers consists of 
the following well known citizens, from the 
wards designated: First Ward, Archie 
Gordon and W. J. Chain; Second Ward, 
G. G. Stitzinger and R. C. G. Wliite; Third 
Ward, A. E. Kerr and Charles G. Martin; 
Fourth Ward, W. G. Carlon and T. W. 



Johns ; Fifth Ward, Thomas Edwards and 
Thomas Sadler; Sixth Ward, George W. 
Heckart and C. N. Lockhart, and Seventh 
Ward, S. A. Barnes and R. W. Hamilton. 
The offieers of the board are : G. G. Stitz- 
inger, president; W. J. Chain, secretary; 
Charles C. Duff, treasurer, and Miss Helen 
L. Moseley, librarian and clerk. Mr. T. A. 
Kimes has been superintendent of New 
Castle schools since 1905. The following 
interesting facts concerning the schools of 
the city for the year 1907-08 are here 
given: * Total number of pupils, 5,323; to- 
tal numljer of teachers, 154 ; length of term, 
nine months; school levy, eight mills; to- 
tal amount of taxes levied, $141,608.16; 
state appropriations for June, 1908, $21,- 
503.74; total expenditures, $206,396.67. 

More than 100 schoolhouses have been 
erected in Lawrence County during the 
past thirty years. The State Legislature, 
by act of 1895, made it possible for any 
district that established a high school to 
receive an appropriation from the state 
according to the grade of school estab- 
lished. Schools of the first grade, having 
a four-year course, would receive $800; of 
the second grade, having a three-year 
course, $600, and of the third grade, having 
a two-year course, $400. In 1907 the act 
was so" changed that the appropriations be 
distributed on the following basis: one- 
third on course of study, one-third on num- 
ber of teachers employed, and one-third 
on number of pupils enrolled in the school. 
Since the act of 1895, the high schools have 
been established in five townships, with 
the following grades: First grade. North 
Beaver Township; second grade. Hickory, 
Scott and Sli]i])ery Rock Townships, and 
third grade, Pulaski Township. Ellwood 
City has a first grade high school, and 
C. W. Cubbison is superintendent of the 
borough schools. New Wilmington and the 
boroughs of Enon Valley have established 
second grade high schools. 

Following are the names of the county 
superintendents since the establishment of 
that office, together with the dui'ation of 
their service: Thomas Berry, 1854-1860; 



AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 



183 



Stephen Morrison, 1860-1866; George W. 
McCraeken, 1866-1869; W. N. Aiken, 1869- 
1878; D. F. Balph, 1878-1884; J. R. Sher- 
rard, 1884-1890; J. M. Watson, 1890-1896; 
Thomas M. Stewart, 1896-1902; R. G. Al- 
len, 1902-1907; W. Lee Gilmore was ap- 
pointed June 1, 1907, and was elected for 
three years, his terra beginning .lune 1, 
1908. 

The following extract from the report 
of Coimty Superintendent W. Lee Gilmore 
for the year 1907-]9()8, which will be pub- 
lished in the 1908 report of the Superin- 
tendent of Public Instruction of Pennsyl- 
vania will be of interest: "I believe the 
year just closed has been one of success 
and profit to the schools. The interest 
manifested by patrons, directors and teach- 
ers has been of the nature which shows per- 
fect harmony existing among all educa- 
tional workers. The recent minimum sal- 
ary law, which increases the pay of the 
teachers, has had a tendency to bring older 
and better teachers l^ack into tlie service. 
I believe the teaching force in Lawrence 
County shows a decided improvement this 
year over what it has previously been. The 
faithfulness to duty and desire for im- 
provement are pleasing indications of ad- 
vancement. 

"During the past year there were in the 
county eighty-three teachers holding pro- 
visional certificates, sixty-eight holding 
professional certificates, eighteen holding 
permanent certificates, twenty-six normal 
graduates, forty-five having no previous 
experience, and sixty-five who had taught 
five or more years. There are 195 teach- 
ers in the county presiding over school 
rooms. 

"The fifty-fifth annual teachers' insti- 
tute was held in the First Baptist Church, 
New Castle, Pa., October 7-11, 1907. Of a 
total of 348 teachers in the city and coun- 
ty, 344 were enrolled at the institute. 

"The township high schools showed 
marked improvement during the past year, 
the results lieing highly commended," and 
reflecting much credit upon those who had 
their management in charge." 



TOWNSHIP STATISTICS. 

The following statistics exhibit in brief 
form the present status of the schools in 
the different townships and boroughs : 

Big Beaveb. — Number of schools, 8; 
nmnber of teachers, 8 ; average niunber of 
months taught, 7; niunber of pupils, 324; 
nmnber of mills on the dollar levied, 3% ; 
amount levied for school purposes, 
$2,113.68; amount received from state ap- 
propriation, $1,247.94; amount paid teach- 
ers, $2,561; for school supplies and text 
books, $171.35; total expenditures, $3,- 
411.59; estimated value of school prop- 
eray, $7,000. 

Little Beaver — Number of schools, 6; 
average number of months taught, 7 ; num- 
ber of teachers, 6 ; number of pupils, 121 ; 
number of mills on the dollar levied, 4; 
amount levied for school purposes, 
$1,585.75; amount received from state ap- 
propriation, $621.02; amount paid teach- 
ers, $1,885; for school supplies and text 
books, $261.03; total expenditures, $3,- 
302.24 ; estimated value of school property, 
$6,000. 

North Beaver — Nimiber of schools, 16; 
average number of months taught, 7 ; num- 
ber of teachers, 17 ; niunber of pupils, 373 ; 
number of mills on the dollar levied, 31/0; 
amount levied for school purposes, $4,- 
996.13 ; amount received from state appro- 
priation, $2,432.16; amount paid teachers, 
$5,910 ; for school supplies and text books, 
$377.34; total expenditures, $7,902.57; esti- 
mated value of school property, $15,000. 

Chewton (Independent) — Number of 
schools, 3; average number of months 
taught, 7; number of teachers, 3; number 
of pupils, 159 ; nmnber of mills on the dol- 
lar levied, 6 ; amount levied for school pur- 
poses, $1,033.76; amount received from 
state appropriation, $619.22; amount paid 
teachers, $1,010; for school supplies and 
text books, $172.02 ; total expenditures, $1,- 
498.12 ; estimated value of school property. 
$3,000. 

Ellwood City Borough — Number of 
schools, 2; average number of months 
taught, 9 ; number of teachers, 16 ; number 



184 



HISTORY OF LAWRENCE COUNTY 



of pupils, 590 ; number of mills on the dol- 
lar levied, 91/2; amount levied for school 
purposes, $18,173.32; amount received 
from state appropriation, $2,151.70; 
amount paid teachers, $10,302.06; for 
school supplies and text books, $982.17; 
total expenditures, $18,806.05; estimated 
value of school property, $70,000. 

Enon Valley Bobough — Number of 
schools, 3; average nmnber of months 
taught, 7; nmnber of teachers, 3; number 
of pupils, 90 ; number of mills on the dollar 
levied, 9; amount levied for school pur- 
poses, $1,209.83; amount received from 
state appropriation, $382.10 ; amount paid 
teachers, $1,220; for school supplies and 
text books, $72.07 ; total expenditures, $1,- 
693.19 ; estimated value of school property, 
$3,000. 

Hazel Dell — Number of schools, 5 ; av- 
erage number of months taught, 7 ; number 
of teachers, 5 ; number of pupils, 210 ; num- 
ber of mills on the dollar levied, 8; amount 
levied for school purposes, $1,317.45; 
amount received from state appropriation, 
$671.78 ; amount paid teachers, $1,565 ; for 
school supplies and text books, $275.27; 
total expenditures, $2,915.39; estimated 
value of school property, $4,500. 

HicKOEY — Number of schools, 7; aver- 
age number of months taught, 7; number 
of teachers, 7 ; number of pupils, 169 ; num- 
ber of mills on the dollar levied, 21/2; 
amount levied for school purposes, $1,- 
765.97 ; amount received from state appro- 
priation, $1,074.90; amount paid teachers, 
$2,448 ; for school supplies and text books, 
$153.75; total expenditures, $3,452.23 ; esti- 
mated value of school property, $6,000. 

IVIahoning — Number of schools, 14; av- 
erage number of months taught, 7; num- 
ber of teachers, 14; number of pupils, 445; 
number of mills on the dollar levied, 31/0 ; 
amount levied for school purposes, $4,- 
312.27 ; amount received from state appro- 
priation, $2,049.80; amount paid teachers, 
$4,520 ; for school supplies and text books, 
$301.77 ; total expenditures, $6,657.91 ; esti- 
mated value of school property, $14,000. 

Neshannock — Number of schools, 7; av- 



erage number of months taught, 7 ; number 
of teachers, 7 ; number of pupils, 338 ; num- 
ber of mills on the dollar levied, 3 ; amount 
levied for school purposes, $1,814.21; 
amount received from state appropriation, 
$995.82 ; amount paid teachers, $2,310 ; for 
school supplies and text books, $482.94; 
total expenditures, $4,078.61; estimated 
value of school property, $7,000. 

New Wilmington — Number of schools, 
4; average number of months taught, 8; 
number of teachers, 5; number of pupils, 
161 ; number of mills on the dollar levied, 
6; amount levied for school purposes, $1,- 
783.66 ; amount received from state appro- 
priation, $6,250.20; amount paid teachers, 
$1,970.16; for school supplies and text 
books, $252.16; total expenditures, $2,- 
757.58 ; estimated value of school property, 
$5,000. 

Plain Geove — Number of schools, 7 ; av- 
erage number of months taught, 7 ; number 
of teachers, 7 ; number of pupils, 156 ; num- 
ber of mills on the dollar levied, 5 ; amount 
levied for school purposes, $1,723.47; 
amount received from state appropriation, 
$708.74 ; amount paid teachers, $2,310 ; for 
school supplies and text books, $179.47; 
total expenditures, $3,008.59; estimated 
value of school property, $7,000. 

Perey — Number of schools, 5; average 
number of months taught, 7; number of 
teachers, 5 ; number of pupils, 128 ; number 
of mills on the dollar levied, 5; amount 
levied for school purposes, $1,145.09; 
amount received from state appropriation, 
$647.14; amount paid teachers, $1,364.50; 
for school supplies and text books, $64.44 ; 
total expenditures, $2,139.28; estimated 
value of school property, $3,750. 

Pulaski — Number of schools, 12; aver- 
age number of months taught, 7; number 
of teachers, 12; number of pupils, 261; 
number of mills on the dollar levied, 3; 
amount leaded for school purposes, $2,- 
863.06 ; amount received from state appro- 
priation, $1,794.30; amount paid teachers, 
$4,182 ; for school supplies and text books, 
$285.04 ; total expenditures, $5,319.13 ; esti- 
mated value of school property, $12,000. 



AND EEPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 



185 



Scott — Number of schools, 8; average 
mimbei" of months taught, 7 ; number ol 
teachers, 8 ; number of pupils, 145 ; number 
of mills on the dollar levied, 41/2 ; amount 
levied for school purposes, $1,952.17; 
amount received from state appropriation, 
$1,154.98; amount paid teachers, $2,572; 
for school supplies and text books, $224.19 ; 
total expenditures, $3,407.94; estimated 
value of school property, $6,500. 

Shenango — Number of schools, 17; av- 
erage number of months taught, 7; num- 
ber of teachers, 17 ; number of pupils, 395 ; 
number of mills on the dollar levied, 7; 
amount levied for school purposes, $5,- 
112.63 ; amount received from state appro- 
priation, $1,939.16; amount paid teachers, 
$5,624 ; for school supplies and text books. 
$299.27 ; total expenditures, $8,315.81 ; esti- 
mated value of school property, $20,000. 

Slippery Rock — Number of schools, 11 ; 
average number of months taught, 7 ; num- 
ber of teachers, 11; number of pupils, 310; 
number of mills on the dollar levied, 6; 
amount levied for school purposes, $3,- 
975.82 ; amount received from state appro- 
priation, $1,590.54; amount paid teachers, 
$3,453 ; for school supplies and text books, 
$418.92 ; total expenditures, $7,398.55 ; esti- 
mated value of school property, $15,700. 

South New Castle Borough — Number 
of schools, 3; average number of months 
taught, 8 ; number of teachers, 3 ; number 
of pupils, 150 ; niunber of mills on the dol- 
lar leaded, 24; amount levied for school 
purposes, $1,698.96 ; amount received from 
state appropriation, $539.88; amount paid 
teachers, $1,307.50; for school purposes 
and text books, $109.46 ; total expenditures, 
$2,364.79; estimated value of school prop- 
erty, $9,000. 

Taylor — Number of schools, 3; average 
number of months taught, 7; number of 
teachers, 3 ; number of pupils, 113 ; number 
of mills on the dollar levied, 8; amount 
levied for school purposes, $3,585.06; 
amount received from state appropriation, 
$575.08; amount paid teachers. $1,076; for 
school supplies and text books, $208.15; 



;total expenditures, $11,197.39; estimated 
value of school property, $18,000. 

Union — Number of schools, 9; average 
uimiber of months taught, 8; number of 
teachers, 9; number of pupils, 261; num- 
ber of mills on the dollar levied, 31/2; 
amount levied for school purposes, $2,- 
417.88 ; amount received from state appro- 
priation, $1,530.60; amount paid teachers, 
$3,540 ; for school supplies and text books, 
$502.46 ; total expenditures, $4,894.03 ; esti- 
mated value of school property, $20,000. 

Volant — Number of schools, 1 ; average 
number of months taught, 7; number of 
teachers, 1 ; number of pupils, 44 ; number 
of mills on the dollar levied, 51/2 ; amount 
levied for school purposes, $300.51 ; amount 
received from state appropriation, $164.92 ; 
amount paid teachers, $360 ; for school sup- 
plies and text books, $51; total expendi- 
tures, $486.64; school property rented. 

Wampum — Niunber of schools, 4; aver- 
age nmnber of months taught, 8 ; number 
of teachers, 4; number of pupils, 176; num- 
ber of mills on the dollar le\ded, 6; amount 
levied for school purposes, $1,614.95; 
amount received from state appropriation, 
$654.10; amount paid teachers, $1,788; for 
school supplies and text books, $165.63; 
total expenditures, $2,421.30; estimated 
value of school property, $4,000. 

Washington Township — Number of 
schools, 5; average number of months 
taught, 7; number of teachers, 5; number 
of pupils, 102; number of mills on the dol- 
lar levied, 4i^ ; amount le\'ied for school 
purposes, $1,482.24 ; amount received from 
state appropriation, $540.30; amount paid 
teachers, $1,520; for school supplies and 
text books, $134.82 ; total expenditures, $2, 
067.59 ; estimated value of school property, 
$5,000. 

Wayne — Number of schools, 9; average 
number of months taught, 7; number of 
teachers, 9; number of pupils, 276; number 
of mills on the dollar levied, 6; amount 
levied for school purposes, $2,720.95; 
amount received from state appropriation, 
$1,307.76; amount paid teachers, $2,750; 



186 



HISTOEY OF LAWRENCE COUNTY 



for school supplies aud text books, $457.15 ; 
total expenditures, $3,825.31; estimated 
value of school property, $10,000. 

Wilmington — Number of schools, 7 ; av- 
erage number of mouths taught, 7 ; number 
of teachers, 7 ; number of pupils, 179 ; num- 
ber of mills on the dollar levied, 2%; 
amount levied for school purposes, $1,- 
664.12 ; amount received from state appro- 
priation, $920.84; amount paid teachers, 
$2,240 ; for school supplies and text books, 
$143; total expenditures, $3,187.44; esti- 
mated value of school property, $10,500. 

WuKTEMBXTEG (Independent) — Number 
of schools, 2; average number of months 
taught, 7; number of teachers, 2; number 
of pupils, 94; number of mills on the dol- 
lar levied, 6 ; amount levied for school pur- 
poses, $517.47 ; amount received from state 
appropriation, $328.40 ; amount paid teach- 
ers, $650; for school supplies and text 
books, $8 ; total expenditures, $828.57 ; esti- 
mated school property, $1,600. 

PAROCHIAL SCHOOLS. 

Probably no better parochial schools, in 
point of thoroughness of instruction and 
efficiency in training, can be found in the 
State, than those of New Castle. The first 
Catholic school in Lawrence County 'was 
opened in a frame church in West New 
Castle by Rev. Father Hays in 1871. In 
1872, the school was removed to the old 
Cunningham Block, near the Diamond, and 
in 1875 an elegant three-story brick school 
was built at a cost of $8,000. It is tasteful 
in design, thoroughly furnished and 
equipped, and compares favorably with the 
other schools of the city. The attendance 
in the new building was at first about 200 
children, taught by the Sisters of St. Mary, 
and now the capacity of the building is 
taxed, the enrollment being 440. The cost 
of instructing these children is about 
$4,000 a year, this sum being raised by tri- 
ennial collections taken in the church. In 
1879, Rev. Father Gallagher was appointed 
pastor and became director of the school. 
Eev. Father F. F. O'Shea looks after the 
welfare of the institution at the present 



time. In addition to the usual common 
school branches, the following subjects are 
taught: Bookkeeping, algebra, telegraphy, 
typewriting, shorthand, Latin, and vocal 
and instrumental music. The girls are also 
taught fine needle work. The German lan- 
guage is employed largely in the school 
work, but English is by no means neg- 
lected. 

St. Joseph's Parochial School, which is 
under the care of Rev. Father F. J. Eger, 
was Oldened in March, 1889, in the lecture 
hall of the church, with an attendance of 
more than fifty children, under the man- 
agement of Miss M. V. Kankowsky; she 
taught with success, though the school was 
growing I'apidly, until Father Eger di- 
vided the school into two rooms, in Janu- 
ary, 1890, and placed them in charge of 
the Sisters of the Divine Providence. After 
the beginning of the institution, school was 
held in Fleckenstein's Hall until the new. 
church building was completed ; the rooms 
now occupied in the building are large and 
comfortable, and there is an attendance of 
about 130 children. ' 

St. Vitus Parochial School, of St. Vitus' 
Roman Catholic Church, was started by 
Rev. Nichola DeJMita, the pastor who now 
has charge of it. It is conducted at the 
present in the basement of the church, by 
the Missionary Franciscan Sisters of the 
Immaculate Conception of Rome, Italy. 
About 260 pupils cover the work of the pri- 
mary and grammar grades, and both Eng- 
lish and Italian languages are used in the 
school work. There are four instructors 
in the school. 

St. Mary's Polish Parochial School was 
started in September, 1905, by Rev. John 
Andrzejewski, in what was the old parson- 
age. A lay teacher is in charge and there 
is an attendance of about sixty pupils. The 
school is located on the corner of Oakland 
and Maple streets. 

WESTMINSTER COLLEGE. 

Foundation — Presidents — Faculty — Rela- 
tion to Lawrence County. 
Westminster College came into existence 



AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 



189 



in 1852. To the Rev. George C. Viuceut, 
D. D., then a pastor in Mercer, and in 
charge of an academy there, the credit of 
projecting it is given; the equal honor may 
be given to Rev. I). H. A. McLean, D. D., 
then a pastor in Greenville, and also in 
charge of a local academy, and to William 
H. Dickey, Esq., an Elder in Greenville 
congregation, on whom rested the burden 
of securing funds for the new enterprise. 

The project was brought before the As- 
sociate Presbytery of Shenango at its 
meeting in New "Wilmington early in the 
year 1852, and approved. When a charter 
was secured April 27, 1852, it provided for 
a Board of Trustees composed of twelve 
persons, to be chosen by the Associate 
Presbyteries of Ohio and Shenango, six by 
each Presbytery. In 1859 the Board was 
enlarged, and the appointment of its twen- 
ty-four members was committed to the 
First Synod of the West of the United 
Presbyterian Church, which came into ex- 
istence the previous year. In 1872 the 
Synod of Pittsburgh became associated 
with the First Synod of the West in the 
oversight of the College, it being arranged 
that twelve members of the Board should 
be appointed by each synod. Within re- 
cent years the Alumni have been given 
representation in the Board by eight mem- 
bers additional, and the Board itself has 
been given power to add eight more, mak- 
ing now a total membership of forty in the 
Board of Control. 

LOCATION. 

The location of the college was competed 
for by several towns and villages, Mercer, 
Green\dlle, New Bedford, New Wilming- 
ton and others. The prompt action of A. 
P. Moore, Esq., in offering $1,500 and five 
acres of ground as a site for the college, 
won the victory for New W^ilmington. Al- 
though the effort has several times been 
made to change the location of the college, 
it has always settled back on the old foun- 
dations, and may be regarded as firmly 
and finally established where it first start- 
ed on its useful career. 



Within the last two years the plant has 
been enlarged by the purchase of 200 acres 
of land, thus affording room for expansion, 
as the needs and resources of the college 
may warrant. A trolley line will ere long 
connect the college community with New 
Castle, the county seat, and each will gain 
much from the other by means of the bet- 
ter facilities for travel thus afforded. 
Beautiful for situation, central to the vast 
and growing population that stretches be- 
tween V irginia and the Lakes, separated 
from the bustle of commercial and indus- 
trial life, within easy reach of the world 
without, and with the physical basis for 
unbounded growth, the location is an ideal 
one for a seat of learning. 

BUILDINGS. 

The first building, cimipleted in 1856, 
was burned to the ground on February 3, 
1861. A new one was built and occupied in 
the fall of 1862. This, the present Admin- 
istration Building, having been changed 
somewhat in 1884, and completely renewed 
within and enlarged by an important ad- 
dition in 1907, is now admirably adapted 
for college work. 

"The Hillside," a dormitory for girls, is 
situated south of the village, and has a fine 
view of the valley below and the hills in the 
distance. It was first occupied in January, 
1885, and in 1907 was added to on all sides, 
transformed and adorned, so that it is now 
one of the most attractive and commodious 
homes for young women to be found in 
any college conununity. 

The Mary Thompson Science Hall was 
built in 1894 and the W. A. Clark Chem- 
ical Laboratory in 1896. The former was 
erected by Prof. S. R. Thompson and his 
wife in memory of a beloved daughter, and 
the latter was secured through the gener- 
osity of General Clark. The scientific 
equipment of the college is adequate to all 
the demands of a modern institution. 

In 1908 "The College of Music" came 
into special prominence in the erection of a 
new building, containing thirty-six rooms 
for concert, studio and practice purposes. 



190 



HISTORY OF LAWRENCE COUNTY 



The building is unexcelled in arrangement 
and conveniences. The equijiment of this 
department is always maintained at the 
highest point of efficiency, nothing but high 
grade instruments being used, and these 
always having the- merit of newness. 

Three other buildings of the college plant 
are worthy of notice. The Home of the 
President, originally occupied by A. P. 
Moore, Esq., the first benefactor of the col- 
lege, is a spacious building fitted with all 
modern improvements and admirably 
adapted as a social center of college life. 
Two cottages, adjacent to the Hillside 
Dormitory, are adapted to rooming pur- 
poses for young women who in all other 
respects share the dormitory life. The 
programme of progress embraces the erec- 
tion of new college buildings upon the hill, 
and the laying out of the gi'ounds for col- 
lege settlement in accordance with the elab- 
orate plans prepared by Olmsted Broth- 
ers, Brookline, Mass., thus permitting the 
present plant to meet the needs of an en- 
larging Preparatory School with commer- 
cial and agricultural features. The grow- 
ing interest in New Wilmington as a cen- 
ter for summer conferences also demands 
the erection of a commodious auditorium. 

THE PRESIDENTS. 

The first president of the college was the 
Rev. James Patterson, D. D., his term of 
service being from 1854 to 1866. The sec- 
ond was the Rev. Robert Audley Brown, 
D. D., who served from 1867 to 1870. The 
third was the Rev. E. T. Jeffers, D. D., who 
served from 1872 to 1883. The fourth was 
the Rev. R. G. Ferguson, D. D., LL. D., who 
served from 1884 to 1906. fhe term of the 
fifth president, the Rev. R M. Russell, D. 
D., LL. D., began in June 1906. During 
the year 1883-84 the Rev. J K. McClurkin, 
D. D., then professor of Greek, was acting 
president. 

THE FACULTY. 

The faculty has always included in its 
number able, earnest and scholarly men 



and women. A few names of those who 
have passed away will support the above 
assertion: Prof. W. A. Mehard, D. D. ; 
Prof. J. B. Cummings, Ph. D.; Prof. An- 
drew M. Black, A. M.; Prof. John Edgar, 
A. M., D. D. ; Prof. S. R. Thompson, Ph. D. ; 
Prof. John Mitchell, A. M.; Prof. Oella J. 
Patterson, A. M. 

At the period now noted the faculty con- 
sists of the following professors and in- 
structors : 

Robert McWatty Russell, D. D., LL. D., 
President and Professor of Christian 
Evidences. 
Robert Gracey Ferguson, D. D., LL. D., 
Professor of Biblical Literature and 
Ethics. 
John James McElree, A. M., 

Professor of Latin. 
Charles Freeman, Ph. D., 

Dean and Professor of Chemistry. 
John Abram Shott, A. M., 

Professor of Phj'sics and Department 
Instructor in Psychology and Educa- 
tion. 
James Oscar Campbell, A. M., D. D., 
Professor of History and Political 
Science. 
James McAllister Shaffer, A. M., 

Professor of Mathematics. 
William Templeton Hewetson, A. M., 

Professor of English. 
James Dwerelle Barr, A. M., 

Professor of Greek. 
Anna Heyberger, A. M., 

Professor of German and French. 
William W. Troup, A. M., 

Associate Professor of Latin and Greek. 
Sara A. Pratt, A. B., Dean of Women. 
Benjamin William Bridgman, A. M., 
Associate Professor of Physics and 
Mathematics. 
Owen ^y. Mills, A. M., 

Professor of Biology and Geology. 
Elizabeth Lawrence Randall, B. 0., 

Professor of Oratory. 
Alta Aileen Robinson, A. M., 

Assistant Professor of English 



AND EEPEESENTATIVE CITIZENS 



191 



Bertlie Miiller, 

Assistant Professor of Freiu'li and Ger- 
man. 
Mabel ]\[cCoy Henderson, A. jM., 

Instructor in English. 
Bess Stnart, A. B., Instructor in Greek. 
William Wilson Campbell, A. ^\., 

Director of Music, Pianoforte and Vocal 
Culture. 
Nona Yantis, B.^ S., 

Instructor in Pianoforte and Harmony. 
Edward French Hearn, 

Instructor in Pianoforte. 
Mona Downs, 

Instructor in Vocal Culture and En- 
semble. 
Lucie M. Manley, Director of Art. 
J. H. Veazey, A. M., 

Registrar and Local Treasurer. 
Isabel B. Stuart, 

President's Secretary and Assistant 
Registrar. 
William Templeton Hewetson, A. M., 

Librarian. 
Mabel McCoy Henderson, A. M., 
Bess Stuart, A. B., 

Assistant Librarians. 

KELATION TO LAWRENCE COUNTY. 

Westminster has done much for Law- 
rence County. Its influence has reached 
to all its parts from which its patrons have 



come. Many of its graduates, and many 
more who have taken partial courses, have 
raised the standard of intelligence and 
morality in the community in which they 
reside. It has prepared many for positions 
of usefulness in education, law and medi- 
cine, as well as in the ministrj'. It has sent 
W. A. Aiken into the superintendency of 
public schools, George W. McCracken and 
others into the editor's chair, R. K. Aiken 
and others into the district attorney's of- 
fice, scores into the practice of law. Four 
judges of the County Court have been 
graduates of Westminster, the Hon. John 
McMichael, class of 1857; the Hon. J. Nor- 
man Martin, class of 1881; the Hon. Will- 
iam D. Wallace, class of 1881, and the Hon. 
William E. Porter, class of 1889. 

Westminster, though under the special 
care of the United Presbyterian Church, is 
pre-eminently the college of Lawrence 
County. Her doors are open to students 
of all varieties of religious belief, or to 
those who have none. Her policy is liberal, 
aiming to furnish education along all lines 
for professional and practical life, yet 
striving to have the whole college influence 
permeated with Christian morality, so that 
her students may be trained not only for 
the "making of a living but for the making 
of a life. ' ' The citizens of Lawrence Coun- 
ty should make Westminster the object of 
their hearty benefieence. 



CHAPTER XIII 



MILITARY HISTORY 



The Territory and Couniy in Five Wars. 



War has its glories, and, no less, its 
tragedies ; its surviving heroes and its mar- 
tyrs. The history of the city of New Cas- 
tle and of Lawrence County teems with the 
names of men who went forth valiantly to 
fight their country's battles in the cause of 
right and justice, some to return as heroes 
with records of distinction in service, oth- 
ers to give their lives in the cause they 
espoused. The pioneer history records the 
coming of not a few brave men who had 
seen service in the Colonial Army during 
the Eevolution, and to whom many of the 
citizens of today trace their lineage. By 
the time of the second war with England, 
that territory now comprising Lawrence 
County had made rapid strides in its de- 
velopment, and was populated by a hardy 
class whose patriotism carried many to the 
front. Others were drafted into the serv- 
ice. Two companies were raised in the vi- 
cinity of New Castle, one captained by 
John Fisher and the other by James Ham- 
ilton, and were rendezvoused at Mercer. 
The service of the men from this commun- 
ity was in various companies and brigades, 
and their course during the war can not be 
followed. Some were called to Erie at dif- 
ferent periods during the war, a number of 
them going as often as three times. A por- 
tion of them were with General Cook's Bri- 
gade, which went from Pittsburg in the fall 
of 1812, and joined General Harrison's 
Army on the Sandusky and Miami Rivers, 
in Ohio. During this struggle, the people 
along the frontier were in constant fear of 



invasion by the British and Indians, and 
numerous block houses were erected as 
places of refuge in case of attack; one of 
them was built, in 1813, in the city of New 
Castle, between Mercer Street and Apple 
Alley, on the north side of Washington 
Street. It was a very substantial stnicture, 
constructed of logs, and stood for many 
years. 

Believing that in time of peace we should 
prepare for war, there have at various 
periods in the history of the community 
been military organizations in which the 
citizens were trained and drilled in militarj' 
tactics. About the year 1820 there was a 
battalion of five uniformed companies in 
the vicinity of New Castle, each company 
with a distinctive style of dress. James 
Cubbison was captain of the Pumpkintown 
Wliite Coats, so called from the color of 
their coats, which were of white flannel; 
Captain James Rigby commanded a rifle 
company from the neighborhood of Mt. 
Jackson ; the New Castle Guards were com- 
manded by Capt. Nathaniel McElevy; the 
Parkstown Company, northwest of New 
Castle, was commanded by Capt. Andrew 
Robinson; a company in the neighborhood 
of East Brook was commanded by Capt. 
John Budd, and Capt. William Young com- 
manded a company iip the Shenango, north 
of New Castle. In 1821. Capt. James Wil- 
son commanded a company in Shenango 
Township. It was the custom for these 
various companies, for some years, to meet 
annually and participate in dress parade, 



AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 



193 



drills and sham battles. These were sceues 
of great jollification, feasting and drinking, 
being regarded as a gala day and attended 
by the people from far and near. 

No companies were organized in Law- 
rence County for service in the war with 
Mexico, but quite a few are known to have 
served in companies organized elsewhere. 

It was in the War of the Rebellion the 
citizens of Lawrence County made a record 
which shines with the greatest lustre. With 
a population far less than many of the 
other counties of the State, it sent from the 
various walks of life some 4,000 in enlisted 
and drafted men, of whom nearly five hun- 
dred never lived to survive the war. Others 
returned maimed and injured and illy pre- 
pared to take up life's battles in the busi- 
ness world, but proud to have rendered 
their country a service in the hour of its 
greatest need. 

Within a few hours after the arrival of 
news concerning the capture of Fort Sum- 
ter by the Confederates, a company of 
young men was recruited in New Castle, 
and shortly went by canal to Pittsburg, 
where the Twelfth Regiment was being re- 
cruited. The New Castle men were organ- 
ized into two companies, F and H, with 
Capt. Edward O'Brien in command of the 
former and Capt. Daniel Leasure in com- 
mand of the latter. Leaving Pittsburg 
April 24:, 1861, the Twelfth Regiment ar- 
riA^ed in Harrisburg the next day, were re- 
viewed by Governor Curtin and mustered 
into the United States service. They went 
into camp immediately at Camp Scott, near 
York, Pa., and were drilled for several 
weeks. May 19 the regiment was clothed 
and given accoutrements, and on May 25 
was ordered to move and take possession 
of the Baltimore & Harrisburg Railway, 
from the State line to the city of Baltimore, 
which it did, maintaining headquarters at 
Cockeysville. The regiment was mustered 
out of service at Harrisburg, August 5, 
1861, its work having been performed with- 
out strife or bloodshed. Many of the men 
of Company F and Company H afterward 
re-entered the army, Captain Leasure go- 



ing out as colonel of the famous lOOtli, or 
Roimdhead, Regiment, and Captain 
O'Brien becoming colonel of the 134th 
Regiment of Pennsylvania. 

Company K, of the Thirty-ninth Regi- 
ment (Tenth Reserves), was partially from 
Lawrence County and was recruited for the 
three years' service, the organization being 
effected late in June, 1861. The regiment 
was mustered in at Harrisburg July 21, 
1861, and went by rail to Baltimore, thence 
to Washington; it was finally assigned to 
the Third Brigade, and on" October 10, 
1861, moved into Virginia and took po.si- 
tion in line with the army. Their first en- 
gagement took place December 10. with 
the entire brigade in action, and was a vic- 
tory. About the middle of June, 1862, they 
were ordered to the Peninsula to re-enforce 
McClellan, and June 26, 1862, participated 
in the battle of Mechanicsville. It after- 
wards engaged in the battles of Gaines' 
^lill, White Oak Swamp, Bull Run (second 
battle). South Mountain, Antietam, Fred- 
erickslnirg, Gettysburg, New Hope Church 
and the Wilderness. Those who survived 
the stirring action through which they had 
been were mustered out at Pittsburg June 
11, 1864, many of them re-enlisting as vet- 
erans. 

Battery B, Forty-third Regiment, First 
Artillery, of Pennsylvania, joined the 
Pennsylvania Reserves at Tenallytown, 
August 14, 1861, and was assigned to the 
First Brigade. It was in the thickest of 
the fight in many of the most important 
battles of the war, namely at Mechanics- 
ville, Bull Run (second battle). South 
Mountain. Antietam, Fredericksburg, Get- 
tysburg, the Wilderness, Spottsylvania 
Courthouse and Cold Harbor. Many of 
the men had re-enlisted at the expiration 
of their service, others returned home, and 
in all during the four years there were 334 
men connected with Battery B. In that 
time, 11,200 roimds of ammunition were 
expended. The batterv was mustered out 
at Harrisburg June 9, 1865. 

Company A of the Seventy-sixth Regi- 
ment was recruited in Lawrence Countv, 



HISTORY OF LAWRENCE COUNTY 



194 

and Company G, of that regiment, in Law- 
rence and Westmoreland counties. The 
regiment was organized for three years' 
service in August, 1861, with D. H. Wallace, 
of New Castle, as lieutenant-colonel. No- 
vember 18, 1861, at Camp Cameron, at 
Harrisburg, it received its colors from the 
Governor, and the following day proceeded 
to Fortress Monroe. On the 8th of Decem- 
ber they arrived at Hilton Head, South 
Carolina, where it was armed and equipped 
and assigned to General Wright's brigade. 
A part of the regiment participated in the 
taking of Fort Pulaski at the mouth of the 
Savannah River, Company A and Com- 
pany F being left at Hilton Head. June 
16, 1862, they made an attack on the city 
of Charleston, but were repulsed. October 
22, 1862, they formed a part of an expedi- 
tion to sever communication between 
Charleston and Savannah, by destroying 
the bridges across the Pocotaligo, and in 
this undertaking the Seventy-sixth Regi- 
ment lost seventy-five officers and men in 
killed and wounded. July 10, 1863, an at- 
tack was made on Fort Wagner, and on 
the day following the Seventy-sixth partici- 
pated in a charge on the fort in the face of 
a withering fire; they were repulsed with 
terrible losses. The number of killed and 
wounded from this regiment alone totaled 
187, of whom fifty-three were killed. An- 
other assault was made on the fort on the 
18th of July, in which the Seventy-sixth 
lost seventeen in killed and wounded. In 
May, 1864, the Tenth corps was attached 
to the Army of the James in Virginia; 
early in that month they forced the Con- 
federates back from the Weldon Railroad 
to Drury's Bluff, and in this action the 
Seventy-sixth sustained a loss of sixty-five 
in killed and wounded. They sustained a 
heavy loss in a three days' battle at Cold 
Harbor. June 23, 1864, they proceeded to 
Petersburg, where they performed picket 
duty on the front line of works ; they later 
were in engagements at Chapin's Fanii and 
Hather's Run, and on January 6, 1865, 
joined an expedition against Fort Fisher, 
in North Carolina, which was surrendered 



on January 15. They next took Wilming- 
ton and Raleigh, at the latter place being 
detached for provost-guard duty. They 
were mustered out at Raleigh on July 18, 
1865, and paid off at Harrisburg, Pa., on 
July 23, when they disbanded. 

The One Hundredth Regiment of Penn- 
sylvania, which is known in history as the 
Roundhead Regiment (so called because 
the territory from which it was recruited 
was settled by the Covenanters who had 
followed Cromwell), had more Lawrence 
County men enrolled in its ranks than any 
other regiment. It was recruited by Capt. 
Daniel Leasure, whom we have previously 
mentioned in connection with the Twelfth 
Regiment, by authority of the Secretary of 
War, under date of August 6, 1861. Com- 
panies B, E, F, H, I and K were recruited 
in Lawrence County, and on September 2, 
1861, the regiment, consisting of twelve 
companies, proceeded to Washington and 
encamped at Kalorama Heights. Upon 
organization, Daniel Leasure was commis- 
sioned colonel of the regiment. The regi- 
ment was brigaded October 7, 1861, with 
the Eighth Michigan and the Fiftieth Penn- 
sylvania, with Colonel Leasure as ranking 
officer in command. It joined the command 
of Gen. W. T. Sherman, at Annapolis, 
destined for the coast of South Carolina. 
On request of Colonel Leasure to the Sec- 
retary of War, the Seventy-ninth New 
York was assigned to his brigade, and on 
October 12, 1861, Gen. Isaac I. Stevens was 
assigned to its command. October 19 they 
set sail for Fortress Monroe, thence under 
sealed orders for Port Royal Entrance; 
they arrived on November 5, and on the 
7th the gunboats advanced to the attack on 
Forts Walker and Beauregard, driving the 
enemy from the works. The troops were 
landed and .took possession of the forts, 
and Hilton Head and Lady's Island. For- 
tifications were erected, and General Stev- 
ens' brigade was here stationed for one 
month, then proceeded further inland to 
the town of Beaufort. General Hunter, 
who had relieved General Sherman in this 
department, undertook the reduction of 



AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 



195 



Charleston. With this object iu view, on 
June 1, 1862, General Stevens moved with 
his brigade through Stony Inlet to James 
Island, took possession of the village of 
Legareville and moved into the interior of 
the island. They erected forts and per- 
formed guard duty, and during their stay 
were under almost constant fire from the 
enemy's forts. June 16, they made an at- 
tack on Tower Fort, near Secessionville, 
which was heid by a large force and com- 
manded the approaches to Charleston by 
the James Island causeway. The attack 
was repelled with heavy losses, and the 
operations against Charleston were sus- 
pended. July 4 the brigade returned to 
Hilton Head, and on July 13 to Beaufort, 
thence on the Merrimac, which was on a 
trial trip, to Virginia, going into camp at 
Newport News. It participated in the sec- 
ond battle of Bull Run, August 29 and 30, 
and fought gloriously, but at an awful sac- 
rifice of lives. On the second day they fell 
back before overwhelming numbers to Cen- 
terville, and on September 1 took part in 
a hotly contested battle at Chantilly, in 
which the Union Army triumphed. 

The One Hmidredth Regiment partici- 
pated in the battle of South Mountain, Sep- 
tember 14th, but having lost nearly all its 
line ofScers was not engaged actively at 
Antietam on September 17th, being held 
in reserve. Colonel Leasure, who had his 
horse shot from under him on the second 
day at Bull Run, and had himself been se- 
verely wounded, returned from the hospi- 
tal to the front in October, and was sent by 
General Burnside to bring up the absentees 
and convalescents of the Ninth Corps, as- 
sembled in camp near Washington. About 
4,000 were thus added to the strength of 
the corps, 200 of whom were members of 
the One Hundredth Pennsylvania. During 
the progress of the battle of Fredericks- 
burg, December 13, 1862, this regiment, 
with its division, was held in reserve, and 
on December 15th was deployed as skir- 
mishers to cover the retreat of General 
Sumner's forces. In June, 1863, the Ninth 
Corps was ordered to the support of Gen- 



eral Grant at Vicksburg, and was there 
placed to guard the fords of the Big Black 
River, remaining imtil the surrender of 
Pemberton, July 4th. After the fall of 
Vicksburg it was with Sherman's Army 
on the expedition against Jackson. They 
were then sent to East Tennessee, going 
by boat to Cairo, thence by rail to Cincin- 
nati, thence to Camp Nelson, in Kentucky. 
Owing to the ravages of disease, due to 
poor water in the south, hot weather and 
hardships, their ranks were greatly de- 
pleted when they left Camp Nelson on Sep- 
tember 25th, fully one-fourth of the One 
Hundredth Regiment being left in hospi- 
tals. The regiment got into action about 
Knoxville, and on January 1, 1864, not- 
withstanding their hardships and priva- 
tions, the entire regiment, with the excep- 
tion of twenty-seven, re-enlisted for a sec- 
ond term of three years. They returned 
home on veteran furlough, and on March 
8th rendezvoused at Camp Copeland, near 
Pittsburg, with a sufficient number of re- 
cri;its to raise the regiment to a strength 
of 977 men. It proceeded to Annapolis, 
where it was brigaded with the Twenty- 
first Massachusetts and Third Maryland, 
forming the Second Brigade, First Divi- 
sion, with Colonel Leasure in command. 
They participated in the battle of the Wil- 
derness, at Spottsylvania Court House, 
North Anna River, Cold Harbor, a series 
of battles before Petersburg, in the en- 
gagement along the Weldon Railroad, Pop- 
lar Springs Church, Hatcher's Run, Fort 
Steadman, and the final assault upon Pe- 
tersburg. The regiment was mustered out 
at Washington, D. C, July 24, 1865. 

Company D, of the One Hundred and 
First Regiment of Pennsylvania, was 
largely from Lawrence County, and with 
the regiment participated in the battles of 
Williamsburg, Virginia; Fair Oaks, where 
fully one-third of their number were killed 
or wounded ; White Oak Swamp ; Kinston, 
North Carolina ; and in numerous sorties 
about Newbern and Plymouth. At the last 
named place the entire regiment, except 
tnose absent on furlough or detached duty, 



196 



HISTORY OF LAWRENCE COUNTY 



was cajjlured, and marched under a strong 
guard to Tarboro. They were from there 
conveyed by rail to Andersonville, where 
the enlisted men were incarcerated, the 
officers being taken to Macon and held. All 
of the officers of the regiment at one time 
or another made escape, some of them mak- 
ing the Union lines, and others, less for- 
tunate, being recaptured. They were 
moved from Macon to Savannah, then suc- 
cessively to Charleston and Charlotte, be- 
ing finally exchanged at Wilmington, in 
March, 1865. Most of the enlisted men 
were taken from Andersonville, some to 
Millin and others to Savannah, where a 
limited number were exchanged. All were 
exchanged in the spring of 1865 at Wil- 
mington, North Carolina, except those left 
at Andersonville, they being sent north 
afterwards, hj way of the Mississippi. The 
regiment was mustered out of service at 
Newbern, North Carolina, June 25, 1865. 
The number of deaths in the regiment dur- 
ing its imprisonment, and the enfeebled 
condition of the survivors, was appalling. 

Company D, of the One Hundred and 
Ninth Regiment of Pennsylvania, was re- 
cruited in Lawrence County, in December, 
1861, and was commanded by Capt. John 
Young, Jr., of New Castle. It was under 
General Banks in the operations about 
Harper's Ferry, took part in the battle of 
Cedar Mountain, and was on hand at An- 
tietam, although not actively engaged. 
After taking part in the battles of Chan- 
cellorsville and Gettysburg, it was sent 
with the Eleventh and Twelfth Corps, un- 
der General Hooker, to the relief of Rose- 
crans at Chattanooga. It was with Sher- 
man's Army through the Atlanta cam- 
paign, participating in the engagements 
around Resaca, Dallas, Lost Mountain and 
Kenesaw Mountain. It accompanied the 
army in its march to the sea, arriving in 
Savannah December 21, 1864. It later was 
in action at Averysboro, Bentonville and 
Goldsboro, and after the surrender of 
Johnston, March 26, 1865, made its way 
northward with Sherman's army to Wash- 



ington, where it was mustered out on the 
19th of July. 

Companies A, B, D, and H, of the One 
Hundred and Thirty-Fourth Regiment of 
Pennsylvania, in compliance with a call is- 
sued in July, 1862, by Governor Curtin, for 
troops for nine months' service, were 
raised in Lawrence County, and Com- 
pany I of the same regiment was raised in 
Lawrence and Beaver Counties. It ren- 
dezvoused at Camp Curtin and was or- 
dered away before its organization was 
effected. It moved on to AVashington Au- 
gust 20, 1862, and was attached to a pro- 
visional corps commanded by General Ca- 
sey at Arlington Heights. There the or- 
ganization was effected with Matthew S. 
Quay as Colonel, and Edward O'Brien of 
Lawrence C'ounty, as Lieutenant-Colonel. 
It was brigaded with the Ninety-First, One 
Hundred and Twenty-Sixth and One Hun- 
dred and Twenty-Ninth Pennsylvania regi- 
ments, and the brigade placed in command 
of General E. B. Tyler. They got into 
stirring action in the last struggle of the 
battle of Fredericksburg, and in the brief 
space in which they were in the conflict lost 
fourteen killed, 106 wounded and sixteen 
missing. In this engagement, in addition 
to facing the tire of the enemy in front, 
they had the misfortune of being fired 
upon from the rear. In the spring of 1863, 
the brigade participated in the movement 
against Lee, which ended with the defeat 
at Chancellorsville, in which Colonel 
O'Brien and his men made a brave stand 
imtil their ammunition gave out. After 
this battle, the regiment was shortly mus- 
tered out at Havrisburg, May 26, 1863, its 
term of enlistment having expired. 

The One Hundred and Fifty-Ninth Regi- 
ment of Pennsylvania (Fourteenth Cav- 
alry) contained many men from Lawrence 
County, scattered through its various com- 
panies. It was organized at Pittsburg, 
and equipped at Hagerstown, Maryland. 
It performed picket-duty for some time at 
Charlestown, West Virginia, during the 
winter of 1862-1863; and for several 




\'l KOfKP, TASCADE PARK. 

VIEWS IX NEW CASTLE AND \'1C1N1TY. 



AND EEPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 



199 



months during 1863 did duty in Western 
Mrginia, being attached to the command 
of General Averell. After the battle of 
Gettysburg, the regiment, which had been 
transferred to Maryland, crossed into Vir- 
ginia, and took up the pursuit of Lee, be- 
ing actively engaged with Averell's com- 
mand in the vicinity of the Potomac, at 
Falling Waters, about Manchester, and 
White Sulphur Springs. It was in the 
movements in Western and Southern Vir- 
ginia during the winter of 1863-1864, fight- 
ing at Droop Moimtain and destroying the 
Virginia and Tennessee railway and sup- 
plies of the rebel army to the extent of 
more than $3,000,000. During these raids 
the Fourteenth Cavalry lost about fifty 
men in killed, wounded and missing. It 
continued with Averill's command in their 
raid through West Virginia and lost many 
in killed and wounded, particularly at Core 
Gap. It participated in General Huster's 
operations on the James River, and was 
with him when Early, with an entire corps 
from Lee's Army, eomiielled him to retreat 
toward the Ohio River. The march was 
a severe one and a number of the men died 
of hunger. From Parkersburg, it returned 
by rail to Martinsburg. July 20th, Averell 
attacked Early at Winchester and defeated 
him, but on the 24th the fortunes of war 
were reversed when the entire command of 
Early attacked the conmiands of Crook and 
Averell. The commands fell back to the 
Potomac, contesting every inch of ground, 
and finally withdrew to Hagerstown, 
Maryland. The enemy under McCausland, 
burned the town of Chambersburg, Penn- 
sylvania, and was followed by Averell 
from that town to Moorfield, on the Po- 
tomac. Averell 's command there defeated 
the combined forces of McCausland, John- 
son, Gilmore and McNeill, with heavy loss, 
and in this engagement the Fourteenth 
Cavalry lost ten killed and twenty-five 
wounded. The regiment was afterward in 
all the engagements with Sheridan, which 
resulted in the destruction of Early's 
Army. They participated with the divi- 
sion under General Powell at Front Royal, 



when McCausland was made to retreat, 
with the loss of his guns and supply trains. 
During the winter of 1864-1865, they were 
in engagements at Millwood, and at Ash- 
by 's Gap, and April 18, 1865, was present 
at the surrender of General Moseby. April 
29, it moved on to Washington and partici- 
pated in the grand review in May, and in 
June was ordered to Kansas. They were 
mustered out at Fort Leavenworth, Au- 
gust 24, 1865, and returned to Pittsburg, 
where they disbanded. 

Company A, known as the "Pollock 
Guards, ' ' of the Fourteenth Regiment, was 
organized in East New Castle, then Pol- 
lock township, and was captained by A. L. 
Hazen. At the time Lee threatened Penn- 
sylvania, the company tendered its serv- 
ices to Governor Curtin in defense of the 
State, which were accepted September 15, 
1862. They arrived in Harrisburg on the 
16th, and on that day the Fourteenth Regi- 
ment was organized with R. B. McComb, a 
private in the Pollock Guards, as Colonel, 
and Forbes Holton, of the same company, 
as Adjutant. They were ordered on to 
Chambersburg, and as the battle of Antie- 
tam was then in progress, it was their be- 
lief they were to be rushed forward to par- 
ticipate in that engagement. They crossed 
the line from Chambersburg while the men 
were asleep, and when they awoke to find 
themselves beyond the line they emitted 
cheer after cheer. They arrived in Ha- 
gersto-«T3, Maryland, on the 17th, the regi- 
ment was formed and moved out about 
four miles on the Sharpsburg road, where 
it encamped and remained until the follow- 
ing day. It was ordered out on the Wil- 
liamsburg road, and on Sunday ordered 
back to Green Castle. They remained in 
camp several days, then returned to Har- 
risburg and were discharged. The day 
after the battle of Antietam they had been 
within two miles of Lee's lines, in advance 
of any of the other emergency regiments 
of Pennsylvania, and were disappointed at 
not being able to get into action. 

In June, 1863, when Governor Curtin 
called out the volunteer militia of the 



200 



HISTORY OF LAWRENCE COUNTY 



State, three companies from Lawrence 
Comity responded. They were the one un- 
der Capt. Joseph Moorhead, the Wilming- 
ton Company under Capt. G. C. Vincent, 
a professor of AVestminster College, and 
one under Capt. T. G. Christy. They ar- 
rived in Pittsburg on July 1, 1863, and the 
first night slept in the woods at Camp 
Howe. July 4th, the Fifty- Fifth Regiment, 
Pennsylvania Volunteer JMilitia, was or- 
ganized with R. B. McComb as Colonel, and 
included these three companies. They went 
into camp near Homewood Station on the 
Pennsylvania Railroad, and upon receipt 
of a dispatch from the Secretary of War 
asking for volunteers to go to Western 
Virginia, the Fifty-Fifth Regiment was 
the first to volunteer, and immediately re- 
ceived orders to jiroceed to Parkersburg 
and report to General Kelly. July 11, the 
regiment started and arrived at Parkers- 
burg on the 13th, when Colonel McComb 
took command of the post, which was the 
most important in West Virginia, it being 
the point where supplies were collected 
and distributed. A dispatch was received 
from General Burnside, notifying them of 
the approach of Morgan and 3,000 raiders. 
Colonel McComb ordered all steamboats 
and other craft removed from the Ohio 
side of the river, and took every precau- 
tion to prevent Morgan from effecting a 
crossing near Parkersburg. He sent Cap- 
tain Moorhead, with Company A, down 
the river to reconnoitre. July 18th, Colonel 
Wallace arrived from General Kelly's 
headquarters, with four guns, and at the 
same time 400 discharged prisoners ar- 
rived under Major Showalter. On the 19th, 
Colonel Wallace moved down the river 
with the whole force to intercept Morgan 
and prevent his crossing the river. On the 
following day the attempt was made at 
Point Pleasant, but repulsed by the Con- 
nesteag, a gunboat. Morgan, believing es- 
cape impossible, proposed capitulation; 
Basil Duke was sent to arrange the terms 
of surrender, and while he was so doing, 
Morgan and 400 men made their escape up 
the Muskingum. Duke and 1,400 men sur- 



rendered. The Fifty-B'ifth Regiment re- 
mained in camp at Parkersburg until the 
expiration of their term of service. 

A part of a comjDany of cavalry was 
raised in New Castle by Capt. R. W. Stew- 
art, and went to Cleveland, where he 
united with the Second Ohio Cavalry. 

Company E, of the One Hundred and 
Ninety-Third Regiment of Pennsylvania, 
was raised in and around New Castle for 
the one hundred days' service, and was 
captained by John C. Euwer. The regi- 
ment was organized at Pittsburg on the 
19th of July, and proceeded to Baltimore, 
where it encamped with Colonel Nagle's 
brigade. August 10, Company B was de- 
tached for provost duty at Wilmington, 
Delaware, and the remaining companies 
were stationed at the bridges on the Phila- 
delphia, Wilmington and Baltimore Rail- 
road, with headquarters at Havre-de- 
Grace. Colonel Clark, three weeks later, 
with Companies A, F, D and I, moved to 
Wilmington and assumed command of the 
post and district. The regiment was mus- 
tered out at the close of its term of service, 
but many of the men re-entered the service. 

There were many Lawrence County men 
in the Two Hundred and Fifth Regiment, 
Fifth Artillery, of Pennsylvania, scattered 
through its various companies. It was re- 
cruited in August, 1864, and rendezvoused 
at Camp Reynolds, near Pittsburg, where 
it was organized on September 10th. It 
was soon ordered to Wasliington and as- 
signed to the fortifications north of the 
city. September 28, 1864, it was sent out 
to cover the construction trains engaged 
in opening the Manassas Gap Railroad, the 
government proposing to make this the 
line of supply for Sheridan's Army in the 
Shenandoah Valley. The First battalion, 
imder command of Major Morton, was at- 
tacked at Salem, on October 8, by Moseby 
with a superior force of cavalry and artil- 
lery, and retired to Rectortown in good or- 
der, there joining the other battalions un- 
der Lieutenant-Colonel Browne. By sharp 
maneuvering, Moseby was defeated in all 
his plans. After the battle of Cedar Creek, 



AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 



201 



the regiment was again stationed in the 
forts north of Washington for a short time, 
then returned to Virginia, where the win- 
ter was spent in building blockhouses and 
stockades, and in drill and picket duty. In 
the spring of 1865, expeditions repaired to 
the Bull Eim battle ground, to inter the 
dead who had lain on the ground from the 
time of the second battle there, fought in 
August, 1863. Nearly 2,000 were buried, 
and monuments erected over them. The 
regiment was mustered out at Pittsburg, 
June 20, 1865. 

The Two Hundred and Twelfth Regi- 
ment, Sixth Artillery, of Pennsylvania, 
also contained many men in its ranks who 
had their residence in Lawrence County. 
It was organized at Camp Reynolds, near 
Pittsburg, September 15, 1864, with 
Charles Barnes as Colonel, and two days 
later was ordered to Washington and as- 
signed to the Second brigade of DeRussy's 
division, which was garrisoning the de- 
fenses of the capital. September 29th, the 
regiment was detached and ordered to 
duty in guarding the Orange and Alexan- 
dria Railway between Alexandria and 
Manassas, with headquarters at Fairfax 
Court House. In November, the regiment 
returned to Washington and stationed at 
Forts Marcy, Ward, Craig, Reno, Albany, 
Lyon and others. Here it was drilled for 
heavy artillery service, and remained dur- 
ing the winter. June 13, 1865, it was mus- 
tered out at Fort Ethan Allen, and on 
June 17th disbanded at Camp Reynolds. 

Company H, of the Seventy-Seventh 
Regiment, captained by Paul F. Rohrback- 
er, was recruited from Lawrence and 
Beaver Counties, and joined its regiment 
in East Tennessee, March 13, 1865. The 
regiment had gone out in August, 1861, but 
contained no Lawrence County men until 
Company H was recruited. April 25, 1865, 
the regiment returned to Nashville and 
was assigned to the First Brigade, First 
Division of the Fourth Corps, with Colonel 
Rose in command of the brigade. The regi- 
ment with others was ordered to Texas, 
and arrived at Indianola, in that state. 



July 27 ; from there they marched to Green 
Lake, then ten days later to Camp Stanley, 
on the Guadaloupe River, four miles above 
Victoria. There it remained until October 
1st, then moved into Victoria. December 
5, 1865, orders were received to return 
home. Breaking camp, they marched a 
distance of fifty miles to Indianola, where 
it embarked for PMladelphia. They ar- 
rived in that city January 16, 1866, and 
were there mustered out of service. 

SPANISH-AMERICAN WAR. 

The Spanish-American War witnessed 
the going to the front of many young men 
from Lawrence County, most of them from 
New Castle. They were imbued with the 
same spirit of patriotism and loyalty to 
the country that characterized the fathers 
of many of them in the great battles of 
the Rebellion. Company B, of the Six- 
teenth Regiment, Pennsylvania Volunteer 
Infantry, was made up almost exclusively 
of sons of veterans of the Civil War. Be- 
fore war with Spain was declared, Oscar 
L. Jackson Camp, No. 249, Sons of Veter- 
ans, Division of Pennsylvania, volunteered 
its services to the State, and to the Federal 
Government on April 9, 1898. This organ- 
ization was the nucleus of Company B, of 
the Sixteenth Pennsylvania. 

The Sixteenth Regiment, National 
Guards of Pennsylvania, was composed of 
eight companies, located in the counties of 
Erie, McKean, Venango, Elk, Warren and 
Crawford. On order of the Governor, it 
went to Mt. Gretna, Pa., arriving April 28, 
1898, and was there reviewed by him on 
^lay 3. The officers and men were imme- 
diately given an opportunity to enlist, and 
every man present responded affimiatively. 
May 10, the regiment was mustered into the 
United States service as the Sixteenth Reg- 
iment, Pennsylvania Volunteer Infantry, 
and on the 15th of that month proceeded 
to Chickamauga; arriving there on the 
17th, it was assigned to the Third Brigade, 
First Division, First Army Corps. July 
2, 1898, Lieutenant-Colonei Richards was 
ordered to Pennsylvania to recruit four ad- 



202 



HISTORY OP LAWRENCE COUNTY 



ditional companies to form the Third Bat- 
talion of the regiment ; they were recruited 
as follows: Company B at New Castle, 
Company G at Kittaning, Company L at 
Punxsiitawuey, and Company M at Jean- 
nette. The Third Battalion did not reach 
the regiment until October 11, 1898. July 
21, 1898, it went forward to Chickamauga, 
and on the 25th orders were received to re- 
port at the railroad station at Rossville, 
eight miles distant, on the following morn- 
ing. They there boarded a train for New- 
port News, Virginia, whither they arrived 
on the morning of the 27th. They received 
orders from Brigadier General Grant to 
embark on the steamship Rio Grande, but 
orders were later received delaying the 
movement. In the meantime, General 
Grant embarked, leaving orders that the 
detachment of the Sixteenth Pennsylvania 
was to embark the day following. Instead 
of going to Porto Rico, as contemplated, 
they were ordered to Camp Meade, Penn- 
svlvania, to which point thev moved, Au- 
gust 18, 1898. On September 13 they left 
Camp Meade for New York City, and in 
the evening of the following day embarked 
on the steamship Obdaur for Ponce, where 
they arrived at 8 o'clock A. M. on the 22d. 
They were detained on board until Sunday, 
September 25, then went into camp about 
six miles from Ponce. October 10 they re- 
ceived orders to return with their regiment 
to the United States. The Third Battalion 
joined the Sixteenth Regiment at Playa de 
Ponce, on October 11, and that day sailed 
for home, arriving in New York City Oc- 
tober 17. Thev were mustered out of serv- 
ice December 28, 1898. A roster of Com- 
pany B is here given: Capt. Joseph V. 
Cunningham, First Lieutenant William 
Hamilton Dunlap, Second Lieutenant 
James W. Cook, First Sergeant Charles N. 
Clark, Quartermaster Sergeant Edward 
M. Bryant, Sergeants Charles H. Young, 
James R. A. Pattison, Frank G. Dunlap 
and Clarence E. Brown ; Corporals Mahlon 
S. Clark, Frank II. Strohecker, William 
Rogers, Frank S. Nessle, Jr., Lee C. Fish- 
er, Frank J. Andrews, Rufus W. Bell. 



Frank A. Zinn, Charles L. Daniels, Patrick 
J. Muldoon, Roy F. Sippy and Alfred 
Williams; Musicians Fred S. Emery and 
John A. Seifert; artificer, John W. Allen; 
wagoner, Daniel F. McCall; clerk, Charles 
Clark; Privates Truman D. Allen, John C. 
Ault, Charles H. Baldwin, Charles E. Bart- 
ley, Curtis V. Brown, Edward H. Burke, 
Garve M. Burke, Charles E. Christy, James 
G. Crum, Frederick W. Davidson, William 
F. Dickson, Thomas Doyle, Homer C. 
Drake, Charles H. Durant, David J. Eich- 
inger, Edward W. Filer, George E. Ford, 
Max A. Geiger, John F. Genkinger, George 
T. Gilmore, Archie M. Graham, John F. 
Greer, Lee Guildoo, Albert B. Haid, John 
M. Hannon, W^illiam E. Harman, Oscar J. 
Hall, Howard C. Harper, John C. Hennon, 
James H. Hoover, Louis M. Holt, Matthew 
J. Howard, Joseph G. Hunter, Lewis R. 
Jay, Frederick H. Kay, James M. Kincaid, 
Alioert F. Leathers, Andrew B. Mallory, 
Erasmus H. Martin, David A. McBride, 
Harry E. McCaskey, John S. McCay, Eb- 
enezer B. McDonough, John J. McDowell, 
Matthew J. McMahon, Roj- W. Mershimer, 
Edwin L. Mitchell, Clinton K. Myers, 
George W. Patterson. Frank W. Reed, 
Henry J. Scott, Theudius C. Scott, George 
H. Shallenberger, John B. Shelar, Matthew 
H. Shelly, Charles A. Snyder, Henry 
Spahn, Thomas A. Spence, Harvey F. 
Steinbrink, Bert E. Stevenson, Lawrence 
W. Stevenson, Herbert C. Stockman, John 
A. Stimkard, Elmer J. Suber, Robert W. 
Taggart, James B. Taylor, Harry L. Tel- 
mosse, Percy Tetlow, William C. Thomp- 
son, George E. Tobey, Frederick G. Urm- 
son, John E. Urmson, James W. Vance, Jo- 
seph A. VanGorder, Charles R. Walker, 
John S. Walters, Lewis C. Warnock, Will- 
iam E. mite, Harry E. Williams, Robert 
L. Wylie, Charles Henry Young, Floyd 
W. Young and Charles E. Zerner. 

The Fifteenth Regiment of Pennsylvania 
National Guards was composed of eight 
companies from the counties of Erie, Craw- 
ford, Clarion. Butler and Mercer, and scat- 
tered through these companies were many 
from New Castle. The regiment reported 



AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 



203 



at Mt. (Iretua, Pa., April 28, 1898, was re- 
viewed by the Governor on May 3, and im- 
mediately after given an opportunity to 
volunteer. The various companies were 
recruited to seventy-tive enlisted men, and 
on May 10 Companies A, B, C, G and K 
were mustered into United States service, 
followed on the 11th by Companies D, E 
and F, and Regimental Headquarters. It 
was mustered in as the Fifteenth Regiment, 
Pennsylvania Volunteer Infantry, with a 
total strength of thirty-six officers and 605 
enlisted men. It remained at ^It. Gretna 
until June 11, when it proceeded to stations 
at Sheridan Point, Va., and Fort Washing- 
ton, Md. Regimental Headquarters and 
Companies A, B, D, F, G and K arrived 
at Sheridan Point on June 12, and the same 
day Companies C and E arrived at Fort 
Washington. June 23, Companies A and 
G were transferred to Fort Washington. 
Company E was assigned to the care, pres- 
ervation and drill of Emplacement C, hav- 
ing two 10-ineh gims on disappearing car- 
riages to handle ; Company C was assigned 
to the 10-inch Barbette gun and the water 
battery, one 15-inch M. L. S. B. smooth 
bore. The men of the entire command con- 
tinued regular infantry, company and bat- 
talion drills. September 9, 1898, the regi- 
ment went to Camp George G. Meade, in 
Pennsylvania, and arrived in Middletown 
on the 10th, being there assigned to the 
First Brigade, Second Division, Second 
Army Corps. September 17, the regiment 
was ordered on provost duty at the camp, 
and was relieved on October 2. It partici- 
pated in the Peace Jubilee Celebration in 
Philadelphia on October 27, 1898, and was 
finally mustered out on January 31, 1899, 
at Athens, Ga. The following is a list of 
those from Lawrence County who served 
in the Fifteenth Regiment, and the com- 
panies to which they belonged : Harry D. 
Baldwin, Company A; John D. Barrett, 
Company G; George Beveridge, Company 
F; Adam Black, Company D; Harry H. 
Boston, Company E ; Archie K. Campbell, 
Company B ; David F. Campbell, Company 
B; George Davies, Company D; Robert S. 



Davis, Company K; Wallace Earl, Com- 
pany G; Harry E. Eckelbergen, Company 
D; Thomas Evans, Company K; Clifford 
W. Fenton, Company E; DeWeese For- 
rest, Company F; Cowden D. Hetrick, 
Company A; Abner D. Hood, Company C; 
Norman McL. Hunter, Company K; Ed- 
ward M. Kerr, Company C; Fergus F. 
Knowles, Company D ; John T. McDonald, 
Company F; Michael L. McDonald, Com- 
pany A; John T. McHenry, Company C; 
Robert J. McMullen, Company F; John 
Meredith, Company K; John Mulcahy, 
Company D; Lorenzo G. Nail, hospital 
steward of the First Regiment; George A. 
Rae, Company E; Walter S. Reynold, 
Company E; James Robinson, Company 
G ; Charles E. Sankey, Company E ; Calvin 

A. Shaffer, Company G ; Edward Shatzer, 
Company G ; Frank J. Smith, Company G ; 
Sheridan W. Smith, Company C; George 
Sperry, Company G; Edward F. Thomas, 
Company E ; John E. Thompson, Company 
A; Milton S. Tyler, Company E; Walter 

B. Tyler, Company E; Daniel Waters, 
Company G; Earl JE. Williams, Company 
D, and Thomas L. Woodling, Company G. 
There may have been others in the regi- 
ment from Lawrence County; if so their 
names were not ascertainable. 

Of those who saw service in the Philip- 
pines, we find the names of James Robin- 
son, of New Castle, who was a member of 
the Fourteenth Regiment, Pennsylvania 
Volunteer Infantry; George Muse, an at- 
torney of New Castle, and Creighton Lo- 
gan, members of the Tenth Pennsylvania 
Volunteer Infantry, and James B. Taylor, 
who went to the Philippines as member of 
the Forty-second U. S. V. I., and is now 
lieutenant in an artillery corps, U. S. A., 
stationed in New York Harbor. 

Those from New Castle, whose names we 
could secure, who served in the Fourth 
Heavy Artillery during the Spanish-Amer- 
ican War, are as follows : Charles W. John- 
son, James J. Dugan, W. E. Jones, James 
A. Miguel, Nathan C. Patton, Fred D. Rea- 
her, William Watt, George E. AUard, John 
Graham, C. H. Lusk, Ira S. Rudolph, Mar- 



204 



HISTORY OF LAWRENCE COUNTY 



tin E. Reno, Harry Cassady, R. B. Barrett, 
Robert McComb Kerr, H. G. Walker, Van 
Horn, Charles Black, Charles Watt, 
Charles 0. Stevenson, J. W. McWilliams 
and Ed. Neal. 

The city of New Castle, at the present 
time, is possessed of a military company 
in which the people take a just pride, 
Troop F, Pennsylvania Cavalry, National 



Guards. It is officered as follows: J. V. 
Cunningham, Captain; Thomas Arm- 
strong, First Lieutenant ; William H. Dun- 
lap, Second Lieutenant; Ralph M. Camp- 
bell, Lieutenant Quartermaster; Allen W. 
Urmson, Lieutenant Surgeon. A hall is 
rented at No. 107 East Washington street 
for an armory. 



CHAPTER XIV 



RELIGIOUS DEVELOPMENT 



Fir.it Churches and Pioneer Clergy — General Histori/ of UeUgious Organizations. 
Churches and Clergy of Today. 



One hundred and forty-one years ago 
there came to the Indian town of Gosch- 
gosch-kunk, at the mouth of the Tionesta 
Creek, where it debouches into the Alle- 
gheny River, in what is now Forest 
County, Pennsylvania, a solitary German, 
a minister of the Gospel in the Unit as Fra- 
trum church, usually called Moravians. 
Accompanied by two converted Indians, he 
had set out from the Cliristian Indian town 
of I'riedenshutten. on the north branch of 
the Susquehanna, which stood near to the 
present town of AVyalusing.. Traversing 
the unbroken and dense forests of North- 
ern Pennsylvania and Southern New York 
on foot, with but a single pack-horse to 
carry their baggage, after many dangers 
and liardships they arrived at Gosch-gosch- 
kimk, at the mouth of the Tionesta, on the 
16th day of October, 1767. The village 
was only two years old, having been 
founded after the close of Pontiac's war. 

Soon after, the missionary was joined by 
his wife, and by John Senseman and his 
wife, and a band of Christian Indians from 
the Susquehanna, and they attemjited to 
establish a mission at that point. 

The results were not altogether satisfac- 
tory; owing to the opposition of the na- 
tives, the poorness of the land, and other 
causes, they made but few converts, and a 
change of location soon became necessary. 
They accordingly moved across the Alle- 
River and built a mission town in 



what is now the heart of the Oil Creek oil 
region. The oil was sought for even then, 
both by the missionaries and Indians, who 
made use of it for medicinal purposes. 

Soon after this the way of the mission- 
aries was made smoother by the conver- 
sion of Glik-kik-an, the principal sub-chief 
and counsellor of the Delawares, or Lenni 
Lenapi — a man noted for his eloquence, 
and ju-eviously for his opposition to the 
missionaries. Subsequently receiving an 
invitation from Pack-an-ke, the principal 
<'liie:, to settle on the banks of the Beaver, 
on a tract of land that should be reserved 
for tlie use of the mission, Zeisberger, the 
missionary, after obtaining the consent of 
the Moravian Board at Bethlehem, ac- 
cepted it, and the migration was effected 
as soon as the necessary arrangements 
could be made. 

Before they left the oil region the Lord 
cheered them with some fruits of their toil. 
Early in Deceinber, 1769, the first Protes- 
tant baptism in the valley of the Allegheny 
took place at Lawunakhanneck. Luke and 
Paulina were then baptized, and Alemani 
at Cliristmas; and in the beginning of 1770 
several other converts were added. 

On their way x\\) the Beaver they arrived 
at an Indian town on the west bank of the 
rivei-. a little north of where Newport now 
stands. Here they found a community of 
Indian women, all single, and pledged 
never to marry — an uncloistered nunnery. 



206 



HISTORY OF LAWRENCE COUNTY 



Though few similar iustauees, we believe, 
have been recorded, if any, it is hardly sur- 
prising, upon reflection, that such commu- 
nities should have existed here and there, 
in view of the degradation and unallevi- 
ated drudgery that is the lot of married 
women in most savage or half-civilized 
communities. 

After proceeding a little farther up, they 
made an encampment and sent an embassy 
to Pack-an-ke, whose capital then stood on 
or near the present site of New Castle< 
They found the Indians making prepara- 
tion's to celebrate a great feast, but on re- 
ceiving a statement of tlie religious prin- 
ciples of his visitors, Pack-an-ke. though 
it was contrary to Indian etiquette that vis- 
itors should retire without taking part in 
the feast, refused to detain them, but dis- 
missed them with his promise of protec- 
tion, thus setting an example of religious 
toleration that has not always been exhib- 
ited by those who profess the mild and 
beneficent doctrines of Christianity. King 
Pack-an-ke, however, reproached Glik- 
kik-an with having embraced the doctrines 
of the Christian teachers. The sub-chief 
perished a few years later in the wanton 
and bloody massacre of Moravian Indians 
perpetrated by the expedition under the 
command of Col. David Williams. 

White traders had early introduced 
whiskey among the pagan Indians and the 
curse of intemperance grew rapidly among 
them. Thus early in the history of the 
county atrocities were committed that 
sprung solely from the rum traffic and from 
that day down to the present atrocities 
from the same cause have never ceased in 
our beloved valley. 

PRESBYTERIANISM. 

Western Pennsylvania was largely set- 
tled by the Scotch-Irish, who were adher- 
ents of the Presbyterian faith. Thus the 
oldest organizations in the county belong 
to the two prominent branches of this sect 
—the Old School and the United Presby- 
terian, both of which were introduced 



about the year 1800. Their earliest church 
organizations were (Presbyterian), Hope- 
well and Neshannock, in 1800; Slippery 
Rock in 1801-2, and New Castle (called 
Lower Neshannock) and Westfield in 1803. 
The earliest United Presbyterian churches 
(theu kiKiwu as .Associate or "Seceder" 
and Assdcintc b't'lnniUMl), were the Deer 
Creek, about l^tlll, and the one known as 
Mahoning Church, about 1799 or 1800, and 
in New Castle about 1808. 

Among the first ministers of the gospel 
who visited this region was Thomas Edgar 
Hughes, who settled at Greersburg, now 
called Darlington. He was the first settled 
pastoi' noi-th of the Ohio. He was of Welsh 
an(■(■^try and a native of Pennsylvania, 
born in York County, in 1769. Licensed 
by the Presbytery of Ohio (now Pittsburg) 
in 1798, he was ordained and installed over 
the churches of New Salem and Mount 
Pleasant, August 28, 1796. 

Another noteworthy pastor was the Rev. 
William Wick, who came soon after Mr. 
Hughes. Born on Long Island, New York, 
in 1768, he removed to Washington County, 
Pennsylvania, in 1790. He studied theol- 
ogy at Dr. McMillan's log cabin college, 
was licensed August 28, 1799, and was in- . 
stalled over the congregations at Neshan- 
nock and Hopewell, September 3, 1800. He 
afterwards served the congregation of 
Youngstown, his labors being largely 
blessed. His death took place in March, 

The Rev. Samuel Tait was another early 
minister in this section. He was a native 
of Shippensburg, Pa., was converted under 
the influence of a conversation with the 
Rev. Elisha MeCurdy, studied under Dr. 
Meridian, and was licensed in June, 1800. 
In the same year he was ordained over 
Cool Spring and Upper Salem. In 1806 he 
relincpiished this charge and organized a 
congregation at Mercer, in the pastorate 
of which he continued until his death in 
June, 18-tl. 

Rev. William Wood, a native of York 
County, studied at Cannonsburg Academy 



AND EEPEESEXTATIVE CITIZENS 



207 



aud at Dr. MoMillau's log semiuaiy. He 
was licensed October 29, 1801, aud was in- 
stalled over the congregations of Plain 
Grove and Center, November 3, 1802. He 
was afterwards — from 1816 — pastor of 
Nesiiannoek and Hopewell, where he la- 
bored eleven years. He died at Utica, Ohio, 
in July, 1839. 

Among other prominent pastors, whose 
labors here or in this vicinity form a part 
of the history of the denomination, were 
the Rev. Joseph Badger, Joseph Stockton, 
Robert Lee, James Satterheld, William 
AVylie, John, James and Abraham Boyd, 
Robert Johnston and Timothy Alden, to 
whom this brief mention only can here be 
made. 

FIRST PEESBYTEEIAN CHUBCH. 

The First Presbyterian Church was orig- 
inalh' known as the Lower Neshanuock. 
The exact date of its organization is not 
known, but it was probably about 1801. In 
the following years it was reported as able, 
in connection with Slippery Rock, to sup- 
port a pastor. Its first pastor was the 
Rev. Alexander Cook, who was installed 
in June, 1803. He had been licensed in 
1802, and commissioned as a missionary 
to the Indians, with whom he had labored 
for a few months near Sandusky, in com- 
pany with Joseph Patterson ; but not meet- 
ing with a favorable reception, they had 
returned. He was followed by the Rev. 
Robert Sample, who was ordained over 
the congregations of New Castle and Slip- 
pery Rock, April 10, 1811. He served the 
church at New Castle twenty-seven years, 
and that of Slippery Rock twenty-four 
years. At the time of his accession to the 
pastoral office Crawford White was clerk 
of the session, the other ruling elders be- 
ing William Moorehead, Joseph Pollock, 
William Raney, James McKee and Samuel 
Wilson. 

]\Ir. Sample's successor was Rev. Wells 
Bushnell, who had been a missionary to 
the Wea Indians in Kansas, then a remote 
post, which he had been obliged to leave 



on account of failing health. He was in- 
stalled in the church at New Castle in 
April, 1839, and labored there for fifteen 
years and a half. Toward the close of his 
pastorate troubles arose in the congrega- 
tion owing to the dissatisfaction of some 
of the brethren with the attitude of the 
General Assembly on the subject of slav- 
ery, and a part of the membership with- 
drew and organized Ww Free Church, one 
of the cairu'si r,,ii,o iv-atious of which af- 
terwards bcraiiH' the .Second Church. With 
this organization Mr. Bushnell united and 
was afterwards pastor of its eliurches at 
Mt. Jackson and New Bedford, until the 
close of his earthly labors, July 16, 1863. 
He was succeeded by Rev. Elliott E. Swift, 
who was installed September 27, 185-i, and 
who continued in charge until February, 
1861, when he was called to the co-pastor- 
ate of the First Church at Allegheny. He 
was succeeded by Rev. Joseph S. Grimes, 
a native of Ohio, and, it is believed, a grad- 
uate of Franklin College, who was in- 
stalled July 9, 1861, and who was pastor 
until September 27, 1865. He was a man 
of earnestness and ability, and his labors 
were attended with valuable results. He 
was i)astor, however, during the troublous 
times of the Civil War, aud the dissensions 
which then arose among the congregation 
resulted finally in his resignation. In May, 
1866, he was followed by the Rev. David 
X. Juukin, who was not installed, how- 
ever, until the 13th of September. The 
church has since enjoyed a prosperous ex- 
istence, and under subse(|nent pastors has 
taken a leading iiart in })r(>niotiug the king- 
dom of God and His righteousness. 

SECOND PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH. 

This church was organized as the "Free 
Presbyterian Church of New Castle," on 
the 15th day of February, 1851. In the 
P^ree Church organization, it was connect- 
ed with the Presbytery of Mahoning and 
the S>Tiod of Cincinnati. The Free Pres- 
byterian Church owed its origin to the agi- 
tation of the slavery question. As the Re- 



208 



HISTORY OF LAWEENCE COUNTY 



publican party was a political, so the Free 
Clmrcli was a religious protest against the 
iniquities of American slavery. As the 
early records of the church plainly indi- 
cate, there was no little dissatisfaction 
among the Presbyterians of New Castle 
with the decision of the Assembly of 1845, 
"that slave-holding is no bar to commun- 
ion. ' ' But when President Fillmore signed 
the Fugitive Slave Bill, in September, 
1850, the attitude of Church and State to- 
wards the slave-holding power seemed no 
longer tolerable. Opposition to slavery 
was greatly intensified. Action was imme- 
diately taken looking to the organization 
of a Free Church in New Castle, which ob- 
ject was accomplished only a few months 
after the Fugitive Slave Bill became a law. 
Twenty-nine persons united in the organ- 
ization. 

The growth of the church was quite 
moderate for the two and one-half years 
following the organization. 

Preaching services were held at irreg- 
ular times and in different places. In Feb- 
ruary, 1854, Eev. A. B. Bradford accepted 
a call to this church, and his relations with 
it continued (with the exception of one 
year, during which he was United States 
consul in China), until the summer of 
1867. During his ministration a commo- 
dious church edifice was erected, and the 
membership increased to near two hun- 
dred. The last important act of Mr. Brad- 
ford's administration was the withdrawal 
of the congregation from the Free Church 
organization, and its union with the New 
School branch of the Presbyterian Church. 

Immediately after his resignation, the 
congregation extended a call to Rev. W. T. 
Wylie, of the Covenant Church of New 
Castle, organized by Rev. Josiah Hutch- 
man, in 1847, expecting him to bring his 
congregation with him. This expectation 
was realized, and Mr. Wylie remained pas- 
tor of the united congregations until Sep- 
tember, 1869. In 1871 Rev. B. M. Kerr 
accepted a call to this church, and was in- 
stalled June 14 of that year. Mr. Kerr's 



pastorate was brief, but during his admin- 
istration this church passed through an- 
other change of ecclesiastical relation in 
the union of the "Old" and "New School" 
bodies. Thus, inside of twenty-five years, 
the original members of this church had 
come back where they started from, and 
that without change in their principles on 
the subject for which they went out from 
the "Old Style" church. In the abolition 
of slavery their principles had been justi- 
fied before the world. 

Mr. Kerr resigned his charge at the end 
of one year and six months, leaving a mem- 
bership of about two hundred. In about 
one year from the date of his resignation, 
Rev. M. H. Calkins was installed, in July, 
1873. Under subsequent pastors this 
church continued in earnest Christian 
work and has taken a prominent place 
among the religious organizations of the 
city. 

THE UNITED PRESBYTERIAN (POEMEELY ASSO- 
CIATE reformed) CONGREGATION, 
OF NEW CASTLE. 

The history of the United Presbyterian 
Church includes, in the first instance, a 
union so early as 1782, and during the 
Revolutionary War, of certain Presbyte- 
rians in the United States, intensely loyal, 
who had belonged to two distinct offshoots 
from the Established Church of Scotland, 
the one being the Associate or "Seceder," 
and the other the Reformed Presbyterian 
or "Covenanter," both of which bodies 
had resisted governmental intrusions in 
their native land in their church affairs, 
and therefore refused to remain in "the 
establishment." The body formed in the 
United States in 1782 took both names, 
and became the "Associate Reformed 
Church," but failed to embrace the whole 
of either church. The more general, if not 
absolute, union was, however, affected by 
the formation of the United Presbyterian 
Church in 1858, including almost the en- 
tire forces of the Associate and Associate 
Reformed churches. 



AND BEPEESENTATIVE CITIZENS 



209 



At first, and foi- years, the hamlet of 
New Castle was itself only an inconsider- 
able part, ecclesiatically, of the territory 
of the Associate Reformed Church of She- 
nango. No Associate Reformed congi-ega- 
tion was organized in New Castle till 1849, 
when the town had become a manufactur- 
ing center, included a population of 2,500 
persons, and was soon to be erected into 
a county-seat. The Presbyterian, Asso- 
ciate and Methodist churches had, how- 
ever, long occupied the place, and, more 
lately, the Reformed Presbyterian and 
Baptist. The Associate Reformed people 
had an occasional sermon from the pastor 
of Shenango, or from passing ministers, 
on Sabbath or week-day evenings. 

In 1814 or 1815 Rev. James Galloway 
preached in the house of Dr. Alexander 
Gillfillan, on Jefferson Street, and admin- 
istered baptism in the family of John 
Frazier, justice of the peace. Both these 
citizens were members of Shenango 
Church. 

In 1823-4, during a space of six months, 
Rev. James Ferguson, pastor at Harmony 
and Center, took in New Castle as a 
preaching-station for a small portion of 
his time, but at the end of this period his 
pastorate and service ended, and no fur- 
ther regular jDreaching was had until Rev. 
J. M. Galloway was settled, in 1837, in She- 
nango Church as his sole charge. New 
Castle was once more made a preaching 
station for a part of the time. By cour- 
tesy of the Associate Congregation the 
stone church was temporarily granted Mr. 
Galloway and his people ; and, so encourag- 
ing were the prospects of forming a con- 
gregation, that Joseph Kissick and Ezekiel 
Sankey purchased for its use a lot of three 
acres, lying between the residence of R. M. 
Allen and^he Shenango, the consideration 
for the three acres being $300. But Mr. 
Galloway resig-ned his charge and removed 
in August, 18^38. The project was aban- 
doned and the land returned to the former 
owner. 

Rev. Thomas Mehard, pastor of She- 



nango, Eastbrook and Beulah, located in 
the borough in 1844, but his time was as 
yet too fully occupied for him to assume 
any new labors, and he suddenly died, July 
16, 1845, before any new work was attempt- 
ed at this point. Rev. Robert A. Browne 
succeeded him in Shenango and Eastbrook, 
taking up his residence at New Castle. Un- 
der his ministry, within a few years, three 
new organizations were formed inside his 
pastoral charge — one in New Castle in 
1849, one about the same time in New Wil- 
mington, and, two years later, one at the 
Harbor. 

In December, 1848, when there were as 
yet but twelve members in the town belong- 
ing to Mr. Browne's charge, a si;bscription 
was started by which the sum of $832 was 
raised on the spot for the erection of a 
church. A few days before the same per- 
sons had subscribed $600 to buy the lot 
h-ing on the east side of Jefferson Street, 
180 feet north of the public square. The 
first stone was laid in the following May 
in the presence only of the pastor and el- 
der. The building was a plain brick, 50 
by 65 feet, with a basement containing a 
lecture room and three smaller rooms. The 
first cost of the church in 1849-50 was 
$4,609, but it was worth much more, Mr. 
Kissick 's judicious supervision being of 
great, value, and the work being well done 
by the contractors. Of the amount men- 
tioned, needed to be paid before the infant 
congregation had an unincumbered title to 
their property, more than one-half was 
contributed by Mr. Kissick. His object was 
to have a jilace of worship convenient for 
his old age, for himself and others. The 
other devoted men and women who shared 
in the service deseiwe remembrance by 
those who come after, but none more than 
Joseph Kissick and Margaret Kissick, his 
wife. 

The Presbytery of the Lakes granted an 
organization for the congregation, and the 
appointment was carried into effect on 
Christmas Day, 1849, thirty-two members 
being enrolled. Joseph Kissick and James 



210 



HISTORY OF LAWRENCE COUNTY 



D. Brysou were elected elders. James Gil- 
liland, Thomas Alford and Samuel F. 
Cooke were elected elders April 17 follow- 
ing. Mr. Gilliland declined to serve. Mr. 
Cooke soon removed and afterwai'ds Mr. 
Alford, both to Illinois. These were the 
elders who served at the first communion. 

Early in 1850 the new congregation ex- 
tended a call to the Rev. Robert A. Browne, 
who began his formal pastorate April 1, 
from which time he was released from the 
charge of Eastbrook entire, one fourtli 
only of his time being given to Sheuango, 
while New Castle engaged him for one- 
half, but really received from the first 
three-fourths of the pastoral service. In 
April, 1857, the arrangement with She- 
nango ceased, and all Mr. Browne's time 
was given to New Castle. 

In the eleventh year of his pastorate he 
obtained a temporary leave of absence 
from his congregation, during which time 
he was for twenty-eight months chaplain 
of the One Hundredth or "Round Head" 
Regiment, Pennsylvania Volunteers. From 
this service, he returned, partly disabled 
by disease, January, 1864. In the sessions 
of 1866-67 he was a member of the Penn- 
sylvania Senate. Except during his brief 
visits home, the congregation was at these 
periods served by supplies, engaged by the 
pastor and session. In September, 1867, 
Mr. Browne resigned the charge of the con- 
gregation and became president of West- 
minster College. He was succeeded as pas- 
tor by Rev. John W. Bain, who was in- 
stalled November 16, 1868. Mr. Bain had 
graduated at Westminster ten years be- 
fore this, and had been ordained pastor of 
the United Presl)yterian Church at Can- 
Qonsburgh, in September, 1861, but at the 
time of his call to New Castle, and for a 
year or two previous, liad been pastor of 
the United Presbyterian Church of Sidney, 
Ohio. He resigned the charge of New Cas- 
tle April 15, 1873. Shortly after his re- 
lease from New Castle the congregation 
made out a new call for Mr. Browne, who 
was then engaged in pastoral work in 



Titusville. The call was accepted and on 
the 1st of November, 1873, Mr. Browne en- 
tered anew upon the charge of the New 
Castle congregation. Pie subsequently re- 
mained in the pastorate until his death in 
1902. Rev. James M. Ferguson was or- 
dained and installed June 24, 1902, and will 
continue as pastor until November 1, 1908. 
The present church stiiicture was dedi- 
cated June 29, 1902. The church member- 
ship numbers 375. The officers of the 
church are at present as follows : Pastor, 
Rev. James M. Ferguson; elders, George 
A. Carutliers, Samuel Hanna, J. Frank 
Edgar, Frank Geiger, George W. Hart- 
man (clerk), S. C. McCreary, Samuel D. 
Robinson and M. E. Miller; board of trus- 
tees, J. Lee McFate, president ; George 
Loudon, Clyde Lockhart, J. Fred W^ar- 
rock, John Moore and W. J. Ewing; offi- 
cers of the Sabbath-school, J. Clyde Gil- 
fillan, superintendent; Miss Hattie Smith, 
secretary. 

THIRD I^XITED PRE-iBVTERIAX CHURCH. 

Tlie Third United Presliyterian Church 
was organized July 13, 1899, l)y a commis- 
sion appointed by Beacon A'alley Presby- 
tery, and held its first meetings in a store 
room on Lathrop Street. There were six- 
teen charter members received August 8, 
1899, and W. R. McCIaren, H. L. Palmer 
and W. J. Kildoo were elected trustees. 
W. S. Taylor was api)ointed treasurer. On 
February 8, 1900, the first building was 
dedicated. On accoimt of rajud growth an 
auditorium was built in 1906, seating about 
400. The Rev. T. L. Rose canvassed the 
field and after the organization became its 
first ijastor, and so continued until his 
death, which occurred October 7, 1905. 

On December 7th of the same year J. 
Elmer Campbell was called and began 
work on the first Sabbath of January, 
190('. and is the present pastor. The con- 
gregation now numbers about 420 mem- 
bers, with a Sabbath school of almost 300. 
It has the largest "W. M. S." in the Pres- 
bytery, with Mrs. J. Elmer Campbell as 



AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 



I'll 



president, aud the "Y. P. C. U." is second 
in numbers in the Beaver Valley Presby- 
tery. 

There are four adult Bible classes fully 
organized, and the A\'ednesday evening 
prayer-meeting is one of the largest in the 
city. During the last ecclesiastical year 
153 persons were received into member- 
ship, and the future is bright for great 
work for the Master aud his cause. The 
present session consists of W. J. Kildoo, 
clerk- Major L. C. Brinton, AVilliam E. 
Reed. A. L. Black, Thomas J. Gordon and 
A. M. McConaghey. 

FOURTH PEESBYTEEIAX CHURCH. 

This church, situated at the corner of 
South Jefferson and Chartes Streets, was 
organized on the 14th of October, 1902. 
The committee of the Shenaugo Presby- 
terv to organize was Rev. H. S. Jordan, 
D. b.. Rev. H. C. Foster, Rev. M. W. Keith, 
P. J. Watson and J. L. Welch. The first 
elders were A. E. Yoho, James Yoho and 
J. A. McCay. The first trustees, Ralph 
Swisher, William Yoho and Sidney j\rcC'ay. 
The first treasurer was Mrs. Agues Ever- 
ett ; the first secretary, Mrs. Ida McCreary. 

The organization was made possible by 
the labors of W. G. McConuell, of Lees- 
burg, Pa. During the spring of 1902 a 
Conuuittee of Presbvtery, composed of Dr. 
H. S. Jordan, Rev. M. W. Keith and Rev. 
H. C. Foster, appointed to look over the 
field, secured the ser-vdces of W. G. McCon- 
nell. who had completed one year's work 
in tiie Western Theological Seminary at 
Alleghenv, Pa. Taking charge of the work 
on the 2ist day of May, 1902, he laljored 
under the appointment of Presbytery for 
three months. The nucleus from which the 
church grew was a small Sunday school 
conducted in the Gaston school house in 
Shenango Township. Here Mr. McConnell 
preached each Sunday afternoon at the 
conclusion of the Sunday school until his 
commission from Presbvtery expired on 
the 21st dav of August, 1902. 



Conscious of the needs of the many boys 
and girls who had never heard of the Gos- 
pel, of the men and women who had no 
church home, those most interested shoul- 
dered their responsibility and engaged .Mr. 
McConnell 's service for an indefinite pe- 
riod, assuming the responsibility of his sal- 
ary. At the September meeting of Pres- 
bytery these petitioned for an organiza- 
tion. The petition wa-s received by Pres- 
byteiy with favorable action. A conunit- 
tee composed of Dr. H. S. Jordan, Rev. 
H. C. Foster, Rev. M. W. Keith, J. L. 
Welch and P. J . Watson met for organiza- 
tion October U, 1902, at 8 P. M. At the 
conclusion of a sermon by Dr. Jordan the 
church was organized with the following 
members: Mr. John A. McCav, Mrs. Mary 
E. .AlcCay, Mr. Albert E. Yoho, Mrs. Ida 
Yoho, Mrs. Agnes Everett, Mrs. Alice 
Bluciier, Mr. Sidney McCay, Mrs. Nannie 
McCay, :\Irs. Martha (histon, Mr. James 
Yoho, Airs. Christina Yoho, Mrs. Ella Ab- 
lett. Having no regularly appointed place 
of worship the next step was to secure a 
place of worship. At a congregational 
meeting held November 10, 1902, plans 
were ado])ted for a new building and the 
conuuittee in "harge instructed to proceed 
with the work. A new place of worship 
was dedicated to the service of God on Oc- 
tober IS, 1903, at a cost of $7,367, not in- 
cluding the work of the congregation. At 
the close of his Avork in the seminary Rev. 
W. G. McComiell, who had labored among 
this people for two years while a student 
in the seminary, received a unanimous call 
to l)ecome the pastor of this church. The 
call was accepted and he continues to be 
the pastor of this ])eople. In the six years 
of its organization the church has in- 
creased in membership to 135, with an en- 
rollment in the Sunday school of 210. On 
the l-lfh of October, 1906, a mortgage on 
the i)roperty was burned and the church 
cleared of all its indebtedness. The ])res- 
ent elders are: A. E. Yoho, James Yoho, 
D. M.-Bell aud A. R. Kerr. 



HISTORY OF LAWRENCE COUNTY 



KEFORMED PRESBYTERIAX CHURCH. 

As early as 1825 a little band of "So- 
ciety People," or "Covenanters," met in 
houses in the vicinity of New Castle. In 
1834 the Rev. James Blackwood became 
their pastor or spiritual overseer in con- 
nection with the pastoi'ate of neighboring 
similar organizations. 

In 1852, shortly after the death of the 
Rev. Mr. Blackwood, the Rev. Thomas 
Hanna became their pastor and continued 
so for nine years. In 1863 the Rev. J. Cal- 
vin Smith jjecame their pastor. In 1871, 
while under the pastoral care of Mr. Smith, 
they were organized into a separate con- 
gregation — January 9, 1871. The member- 
ship then was forty-one. 

The Rev. S. J. Crowe, now D. D., was in- 
stalled the first pastor of the new and in- 
dependent organization — the first organi- 
zation as a church or congregation — in 
1872 and resigned in 1881. Rev. J. M. 
Wylie, now IJ. D., was installed in 1883, 
and resigned in 1887. He began with a 
membership o]' 101 and left 109. Rev. W. 
R. Laird was installed in 1888 and left in 

1892, leaving a membership of 131. Rev. 
J. S. Martin was ordained and installed in 

1893, and is still pastor, with a member- 
ship of 220. The present Sabbath attend- 
ance is 200. 

Present officers : Elders — Robert Speer, 
T. J. Blackwood, M. W. Leslie, William 
McClelland, T. E. Smith, J. R. Speer and 
0. C. Orr. Deacons— William Allen, I. C. 
Allen. Samuel Saklem, 1). A. Bvers, R. T. 
Galbraith, R. I. Orr. W. C. McCawn, 
Thomas Pattison, Mrs. D. C. Pattison, Mrs. 
J. R. Speer. 

In 1900 a new $25,000 church building 
was erected, having a seating capacity of 
400. The congregation is in good working 
order, with a junior and a senior "Y. P. S. 
C. E.," a Jimior and a Senior Ladies' Mis- 
sionary Society, and a Men's Christian 
Organization. 

METHODIST EPISCOPAL. 
(Taken in part from an article by Hon. David Sankey.) 



' ' Methodism was planted, so to speak, in 
this section of country, as it has been in 
every rural district on this continent, by 
pioneer settlers. Its first appearance in 
the Erie Conference was in Mercer 
County, in the Leach settlement, in 1798. 
A class was formed there by two local 
preachers, Thomas McClelland and Jacob 
Gurwell, both natives of Ireland, of such 
persons as had come to that neighborhood 
and brought letters of membership with 
them. A settlement had been commenced 
there two years before by Robert R. Rob- 
erts (the father of Methodism in this part 
of Pennsylvania), and others. These local 
preachers labored in word and doctrine, in 
the rude log-cabins, in groves, and wher- 
ever a little group could be collected to- 
gether. Soon after the formation of the 
class in the summer of 1798, a second class 
was formed, a little south of the first (of 
which R. R. Roberts was leader). Thomas 
McClelland was a member of the class first 
formed, and Jacob Gurwell of the second, 
which latter was joined by John Leach, Sr., 
and wife, who arrived in that settlement 
in 1802. The two local preachers named 
above took the entire watch-care of these 
classes and supplied them regularly with 
preaching for several years before the reg- 
ular itinerant preachers reached them. 

"In 1800 the Baltimore Conference ap- 
pointed Rev. P. B. Davis to the Shenango 
circuit; he did not, however, embrace the 
classes in the Roberts neighborhood within 
his circuit, but left them still under the 
care of the two local ijreachers residing in 
the ])lace. There were eight annual con- 
ferences held in the year 1800, but there 
were no fixed boundary lines between them, 
and each ju'eacher being at liberty to do so, 
attached himself to the Conference most 
convenient to his work. 

"In 1801 the Baltimore Conference ap- 
pointed Thornton Fleming to the Pittsburg 
district, and Joseph Shaw to Shenango 
Circuit. Asa Shinn was appointed to the 
Sheiiango Circuit in 1802. He will be re- 
membered as a leader in the secession 



AXl; RKPRESEXTATIVE CITIZF.XS 



213 



movemeut from the M. E. Clmicli, out of 
whicli grew the Protestant Methodist 
Church, in 1828. George Askin was ap- 
pointed in 1803, Joseph Hall in 1804, and 
E. K. Roberts in 1805. The latter, by per- 
mission of his elder, exchanged circuits 
with David West, in charge of the Erie Cir- 
cuit, for the reason that the appointments 
immediately around the old log cabin built 
liy Mr. Roberts in 1796, and into which he 
had taken his family and goods, were con- 
nected with the Erie Conference. Mr. Rob- 
erts had made arrangements to erect a 
grist-mill the next year near his rustic log 
farm-house, and it was on this account that 
he was this year sent to the Shenaugo Cir- 
cuit. In 1806 James Reed was on the She- 
naugo Circuit. In 1807 James Watt and 
Thomas Church were in charge. In 1808 
James Cliarles. In 1809 Jacob Do well and 
Eli Towne. In 1810 James Watt was ap- 
pointed, he being the first preacher who 
extended his labors thus far south on this 
(nrcuit, where the first class was formed by 
him that year." 

"This country, as far north as Lake 
Erie, was embraced in the Baltimore Con- 
ference. A district of country, bounded on 
the east by the Allegheny ^lountains, on 
the south by the Greenbrier Mcnintains of 
Mrginia, on tlie west by the limits of the 
wliite settlements in what is now the State 
of Ohio, and on the north by Lake Erie, 
constituted the Monongahela District." 

In 1804 William Richards, a member and 
licensed eshorter of the M. E. Church, 
moved liis family from Center County, 
Pennsylvania, and settled them on a farm 
near "King's Chapel," some three miles 
north of New Castle, and commenced hold- 
ing religious meetings in his own house, 
where, soon after, a class was formed com- 
posed of William Richards and wife, Rob- 
ert Simonton and wife, Arthur Chenowith 
and wife, Mary Ray, Rachel Fisher, John 
Burns and wife, Michael Carman and wife, 
William Underwood and wife, Robert Wal- 
lace and wife, Philip Painter and wife, and 
Rebecca Carroll. This is believed to have 



been the first Methodist class organized in 
the neighborhood of New Castle. William 
Richards was its first leader. At that time 
there were but two circuits in what is now 
the Erie Conference — Erie and Shenango 
— the former with a membership of 349, 
and the latter with 206 — making a total of 
555. The first class organized within the 
territory comprising the present Erie Con- 
ference was the one already mentioned at 
the Roberts or Leach settlement, in Mercer 
County, by Jacob Gurwell and Thomas Mc- 
Clelland, in 1798, of which Robert R. Rob- 
erts was the class-leader. The itinerant 
ministers wer*^ first introduced here in 
1800. 

The Pittsburg district of the Baltimore 
Conference thou embraced the settled por- 
tions of West Virginia and what are now 
the Pittsburg and Erie Conferences; and 
the Ei'ie and Shenango Circuits embraced 
all the country west of the Allegheny River 
and from the Chio to Lake Erie. 

There was but one quarterly meeting 
held on the Shenango Circuit in 1801, at 
which Robert R. Roberts was licensed as 
an exhorter, and the next year the Quar- 
terly Conference gave him a license to 
preach, and he was received on trial by the 
Baltimore Conference, which convened in 
Baltimore April 1, 1802. From 1800 to 
1816 the amiual salary of a traveling- 
preacher was $80 and traveling expenses, 
and the annual allowance of the wife $80; 
each child, until seventeen years of age, an 
annual allowance of $16 ; those from seven 
to fourteen years, $24; and no support 
from the Church in any other way. In 1802 
the membership on the Shenango Circuit 
was sixty-five. No trace can be found of 
an organized Methodist society in New 
Castle prior to 1810. In that year Jacob 
Gruber was appointed presiding elder in 
the Monongahela District, and James Watt 
the preacher on the Shenango Circuit, who 
during that year formed the first class in 
New Castle, the members of which were 
Michael Carman and wife, John Bevins 
and wife, James Squier and wife, and 



21-t 



HISTORY OF LAAVEENCE COUNTY 



XaiKv Wallace, with Michael Carman as 
leader. At that time there was not a Meth- 
odist meeting-house in the territory em- 
braced by the Erie Conference, except a 
small one built of round logs and covered 
with clap-boards, called "Bruch's Meeting- 
ing-house," in West Springfield Township, 
Erie County. 

The time when the first ^Methodist meet- 
ing-house was built cannot now be ascer- 
tained with certainty, but it is lielieved to 
have been in 1815 or 1816. 

New Castle was made a preaching ap- 
pointment on the Shenango circuit in 1810, 
by Rev. James Watt, the preacher on the 
circuit, and who organized the first class, 
as before mentioned. 

In 1811, Abel Robison was appointed to 
Shenango circuit by the Baltimore Confer- 
ence, at its session March 20, 1811. Jacob 
Gruber was presiding elder. 

In 1812 the districts were changed, and 
this section of country was embraced in 
the Ohio District (named after the Ohio 
River), Jacob Young presiding elder, and 
William Knox appointed to Shenango Cir- 
cuit, in which Xew Castle was an appoint- 
ment. 

The General Conference, which met in 
May of that year, transferred the Ohio 
District to the Ohio Conference with its 
incumbents. 

In 1817 the Shenango Circuit was divid- 
ed between the Erie and Beaver Circuits, 
and the name no more appears in the Min- 
utes of the Conference. The Minutes do 
not show whether the New Castle appoint- 
ment was on the Erie or Beaver Circuit 
from LS17 to 1821, in which latter year the 
New Castle Circuit was formed. 

In May, 1824, the General Conference, 
which met at Baltimore, formed the Pitts- 
burgh Conference out of portions of Balti- 
more, Ohio and Genesee Conferences. 

In 1832 the Meadville District was 
formed, and Zerah H. Gaston appointed 
presiding elder and D. C. Richie and Ahab 
Keller to New Castle Circuit. In 1833 Al- 
fred Brunson was elder in the Meadville 



District, and Thomas Thompson sent to 
New Castle. (At the session of 1833 of 
the Pittsburg Conference the Allegheny 
College was placed iinder the control of 
the Conference, and opened in September 
of that year). 

In 1834 the Warren District was formed, 
and Wilder B. Mack appointed elder, and 
R. B. Gardner, and one to be supplied, to 
New Castle. In 1835 the Ravenna District 
was formed, and William Stevens appoint- 
ed presiding elder, and William Carroll 
and Thomas Thompson preachers on the 
New Castle Circuit. 

The General Conference, at its session 
in Cincinnati, in 1836, formed the Erie 
Conference, which held its first session in 
Meadville, Augugt 17, 1836. The session 
was composed of fifty-five members, of 
which Joseph S. Barris was appointed pre- 
siding elder on the Meadville District, and 
E. B. Hill and Thomas Graham to the New 
Castle Circuit. 

In 1840 Warren District embraced New 
Castle Circuit, with Hiram Kinsley pre- 
siding elder, and T. Stubbs and D. W. 
Vorce on the New Castle Circuit. 

We have been unable to obtain a com- 
plete historical sketch of the First M. E. 
Church. The society now has a fine edi- 
fice, at the corner of Jefferson and North 
Streets, and is one of the active religious 
organizations of the city. The present 
pastor is Rev. E. E. Higley. 

GRACE M. E. CHURCH. 

Grace M. E. Church of New Castle was 
organized in December, 1899, by Rev. A. 0. 
Stone of the Erie Conference, who was 
assigned to this work by Rev. J. C. Scho- 
field, who was at that time presiding elder 
by the New Castle District. During the 
first three years of its existence services 
were held in a small building rented from 
the Welch Congregational Church. During 
his pastorate a lot was purchased at the 
corner of Reynolds and Agnew Streets. 

Rev. Stone was succeeded by the Rev. 
C. AV. Foulke, in September, ' 1900, who 




11 


^^^^/^ 


a 


^^ 



AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 



217 



served the church one year. In the autumn 
of 1902 Rev. J. C. A. Borland was appoint- 
ed pastor. During his pastorate the pres- 
ent church was completed and dedicated, 
the dedication services being held on Feb- 
ruary 8, 1903. The church — a substantial 
buff brick structure containing an audi- 
torium, lecture room, parlor and class 
rooms — was erected at a cost of $15,000. 
Mr. Borland continued as pastor for three 
years, when he was succeeded by Rev. H. 
M. Burns, who also sei"\'ed three years, 
closing his pastorate in September, 1908. 
when G. S. W. Phillips took charge. The 
present membership of the church is 135, 
with a Sabbath-school enrollment of 150. 
The officers for 1908 are as follows : 

Trustees : Thomas A. Long, H. W. Cas- 
tle, W. T. Etter, L. M. Buchanan, H. T. 
Thompson, C. F. Shoenfeld, Dr. E. H. 
Perry. 

Stewards: Dr. W. A. Womer, William 
Lang, J. F. Greer, Charles Fletcher, J. C. 
Pherson, George Pearson, ]\Irs. L. V. Car- 
son, Mrs. J. H. Nelson. 

Class .leaders: J. H. Reed, Thomas 
Francis, John McGaughey, J. H. Nelson, 
Mrs. T. A. Long. Sunday-school superin- 
tendent, Thomas Francis. Ef)worth 
League president, Scott Greer. Ladies' 
Aid president, Mrs. C. T. Schoenfeld. 

MAHONING M. E. SEVENTH WARD CHURCH. 

This church was organized in 1867, the 
first pastor being J. H. Bennett, who served 
two years. Succeeding pastors have been 
as follows : D. A. Cowell, two years ; B. 
F. Johnson, one year; J. H. Crawford, 
three years; Richard Baer, John Crum, 
W. S. Shepherd, John Eckels, two years; 
J. K. Mendenhall, two years ; J. C. Rhodes, 
five years; J. M. Foster, two years; F. R. 
Peters, five years; C. AV. Foulke, three 
years ; J. F. Black, four years ; T. W. Doug- 
las, two years; J. B. Espy, one-half year 
(died suddenlv while serving the church, 
April 23, 1907); R. N. Merrill, one and 
one-half years. 

The present membership of the church 



is 375 ; membership of Sabbath-school, 250. 
Trustees, J. Y. Sheehy, S. A. Barnes, 

F. Patterson, F. F. Smith, Charles Art- 
man, Joseph Clark, Joseph Gilmore; stew- 
ards, Roy Miller, Mrs. John Waddell, Mrs. 
P. F. Smith, Mrs. Sadie Smith, E. H. 
Grace, John Loner, I. R. Zahniser, Mrs. C. 
H. Thompson, ,J. H. Kelly; superintendent 
of Sunday-school, I. R. Zahniser. The 
building now in use was erected in 1894. 

PRIMITIVE METHODIST CHURCH. 

The Primitive Methodist began in this 
city about forty-one years ago with a few 
members. When the church was organ- 
ized there were only about six members. 
A small church was erected at a cost of 
$1,300. During the erection of the church 
the services were held in the home of Mr. 
William Nightengale, and the members 
were Thomas Kimberly, Henry Blues. 
William Blues, Charles Boals, Samuel Si- 
mon and Bryan Teech. A Sabbath-school 
was organized and the work started out. 
The church was built on the corner of 
South Jefferson Street. It was a two-story 
structure and built of brick. It was consid- 
ered one of the best two-story structures 
in the city at that time. The congregation 
worshiped in this bviilding for many years 
and then decided to erect another new and 
beautiful church, which was done in the 
year 1901. From the little frame build- 
ing the church has advanced until they 
have one of the prettiest church structures 
in the city. 

The pastors have been as follows: Rev. 
Thomas Dodds, Rev. B. Barar, Rev. T. 
Bateman, Rev. R. Forthgill, Rev. C. R. 
Roscamp, Rev. S. Penglase, Rev. G. Lees, 
Rev. H. J. Buckingham, Rev. G. J. Jeffries, 
Rev. R. W. Wilson, Rev. W. Bently, Rev. 

G. J. Jeffries (second term). The present 
membership is 275; Sabbath-school, 200. 
The officers are : Rev. Jeffries, pastor ; T. 
Kimberly, D. Pitzer, T. Morseley, B. Dy- 
son, C. Ashton, W. Reck, A. Sands, J. Bath 
and D. Williams. 



218 



IIISTUEY OF LAWEENCE COUNTY 



BAPTIST CHURCHES. 

The first resident Baptist in this town 
was Mary Craven, of New Jersey, wlio, at 
an advanced age, "came," as she said, "to 
visit her son and to bnild a Baptist church 
in New Castle." In a short time William 
and Ann Book, members of the Zion 
Church, Butler County, removed to this 
place, and these were soon aided by Ed- 
ward Griswold, Giles 0. Griswold, and 
Maria Griswold, of Connecticut, who had 
emigrated to Ohio. A prayer-meeting was 
commenced, and here prayer was offered 
to God for the outpouring of the Spirit and 
for success iu their efforts to build up a 
Baptist church. These six were afterwards 
joined by John C. Davis and Jane, his wife, 
of Philadelphia. The prayer-meetings were 
first held in an old log-house iu which Rich- 
ard Craven then resided. This house was 
on North Street, a few doors west of East, 
and it is worthy of remark that the meet- 
ing-house, located at the comer of North 
and East Streets, is but one-half a square 
from the place where the first prayer- 
meeting was held. The first sermons were 
preached by Eees Davis and John Winter, 
and these ministers were followed by Will- 
iam B. Barris and George I. Miles. The 
church was constituted November 27, 1843. 
Eees Davis and John Winter, invited by 
those about to organize, were present. 
They numbered seven at their organiza- 
tion. Their first meetings for the preach- 
ing of the Gospel were held in vacated 
shops and "upper-rooms," and occasion- 
ally in other houses of worship. When the 
Protestant Methodist house was built, the 
Baptists furnished a small capital, and af- 
ter this used at times that building. They 
had a claim on that house until 1848, at 
which time A. G. Kirk removed to the place 
and preached in a school-house on North 
Street. During the summer of 1848 their 
house of worship was begun, and dedicated 
the fourth Sabbath of February, 1849. 

The first religious interest was in a 
series of meetings held by George I. Miles. 
The church being revived and strengthened 



by the addition of converts, then called Ed- 
ward Miles as their pastor for one-half his 
time. He remained as pastor from 1845 
until 1847, residing at Freeport, Pa. In 
1848 A. G. Kirk was called as the first resi- 
dent pastor; he remained eleven years. In 
1859 Jesse B. Williams became pastor; 
he remained three years. D. W. C. 
Hervey was their nest pastor, who 
remained three years. Since that time 
William Cowden, Samuel Williams, Will- 
iam Leet and George G. Craft and others 
have been pastors. Intervals between the 
resignation of one pastor and the settle- 
ment of another were filled by A. G. Kirk 
in 1863 and 1875, and by John Parker in 
1868. 

Since those days the denomination has 
made good progress and there are now 
five Baptist churches in New Castle, name- 
ly: First Baptist Church, corner of East 
and North Streets, Eev. John Snape, pas- 
tor; Second Baptist Church, 258 West 
Falls, Eev. A. M. Patterson, pastor; Em- 
manuel Baptist Church, corner of Jeffer- 
son and Reynolds Streets, Eev. W. J. John, 
pastor; Union Baptist Church, 71 West 
Lawrence, Eev. Pleasant Tucker, pastor; 
Himgarian German Baptist Mission, 600 
Moravia. John Leber, pastor. 

CATHOLIC CHURCHES. 

About 1831-32 Catholic priests began to 
visit New Castle, where they ministered to 
the wants of a few scattered families. One 
of the first Catholics in the county was 
probably a Mr. Doran, who was buried 
near Bedford before 1810. Nicholas 
Brian, another adherent of the Catholic 
faith, was also in the county at an early 
date. It is said that he came to America 
with Lafayette during the Eevolutionary 
War. The date of his settlement in the 
county is not known. James Mooney lived 
about one mile north of Mount Jackson and 
the old man Brian used to attend mass at 
Mr. Mooney 's whenever a priest visited 
the vicinity. 

Lawrence O'Connor, who lived on the 



AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 



219 



Malioniug- in Union Towushij), had four 
sons and six daughters baptized by Father 
Rafferty, during one of his visits to this 
region. A colored man named "William 
Arms, who lived in Union Townshiii, a 
mile above Mahoningtown, had all his chil- 
dren baptized by Father Gibhs al)(Uit 1840. 
Among the sponsors were James Moouey, 
Walter Flinn and Charles Kelly. The par- 
ents of AVilliam Arms always attended 
mass as opportunity afforded at Mrs. 
O'Brien's. They were formerly slaves of 
Charles Carroll, of Carrollton, Md., who 
manumitted them before his death. When 
the canal was put under contract from Bea- 
ver to New Castle, there was naturally a 
great increase in the Catholic population 
of Lawrence County, more particularly in 
and around New Castle. 

The following are the names of the 
priests who ^dsited New Castle and vicin- 
ity in early days, with the dates of such 
visits, so far as known: Rev. Father Raf- 
fertv in 1834, or perhaps a few years ear- 
lier; Father Garland about 1837; Father 
Gibbs, 1810; Father McCullough, 1813; 
Father Reed, 1845; Father Garvev, 1854; 
Father O'Farrell, 1856; Father Farren, 
I860; Father Welch, 1862; Father Carua- 
han, 1863. 

ST. Mary's catholic church. 
The Catholics erected their first church 
in New Castle in 1852. It was a frame 
church located west of the town, and was 
erected by Father Reid, one of the pioneer 
priests. Father Reid was succeeded in 
1854 by Rev. Peter McGarvey, who was 
the first resident pastor. In June, 1855, 
the latter was succeeded by Rev. Thomas 
O'Farrell, who continued to minister to 
the congregation and missions until Aug- 
ust, 1859. He was followed by Rev. Jt>hn 
C. Farren, and after the latter 's witli- 
drawal, in 1862, the congregation was vis- 
ited monthly by Rev. Thomas Walsh, of 
Brady's Bend,' Armstrong County. The 
next resident pastor was Rev. James Cane- 
vin, and it was during his incumbency that. 



on account of the development of the iron 
industries of this section and the conse- 
quent settlement here of laborers from 
other points, many of whom were Catho- 
lics, a new church was found to be an abso- 
lute necessity. Accordingly Father Cane- 
vin purchased a lot situated on the corner 
of Beaver and North Streets, and began 
the erection of a church which was com- 
pleted in 1871. It is a brick structure, 110 
feet in length by 45 feet in width ; it has a 
well proportioned tower in the center in 
front and is of a modified Gothic style of 
architecture. 

Father Canevin was succeeded by 
Father Hayes, who in April, 1871, opened 
a school, and in the following mouth pur- 
chased a large frame building for a pas- 
toral residence. The affairs of the church 
and parish went on thenceforward in a 
prosperous manner until the panic of 1873 
affected the iron industries of New Castle, 
and many of the employees of the great 
works were forced to seek employment in 
other sections. This threw many unex- 
pected burdens on the members of St. 
Mary's, but under the guidance of wise 
priests the congregation weathered all 
storms. 

Father Hayes was succeeded on Feb- 
ruary 8, 1879, by Rev. Joseph Gallagher, 
who served faithfully and well until his 
death, which took place August 11, 1906. 
On October 31, 1907, Rev. Florence F. 
O-'Shea was appointed rector of St. Mary's 
and took charge on the 15th of November 
following. 

The first Catholic school in New Castle 
was opened by the sisters from the Sisters 
of Mary Orphan School near New Bedford, 
in the frame church in West New Castle, 
about 1871. In 1876 the present school 
building was erected. During 1907 Father 
O'Shea built additions to the school build- 
ing, which was necessitated by the lai-ge 
number of students, there being at present 
475 on the roll. The school is under the 
charge of eight sisters of the order of Sis- 
ters of St. Joseph, and their convent ad- 



220 



HISTOEY OF LAWRENCE COUNTY 



joins the pastoral residence on North and 
Beaver Streets. The work of the school 
includes, in addition to the subjects taught 
in the primary grades of the public 
schools, a complete course in stenography, 
tjqsewriting, bookkeeping and two years of 
instruction in Latin. Father O'Shea has 
under his spiritual care 550 families, com- 
prising 3,000 souls. 

ST. Joseph's church. 
For many years St. Mary's Church was 
the only Catholic place of worship in New 
Castle. With the city's increase of popu- 
lation there was a corresponding influx of 
Catholics from other points, and the ac- 
commodations afforded by the old church 
were discovered to be totally inadequate. 
The German Catholics in particular began 
an agitation for the erection of a new 
church. After giving the matter careful 
consideration. Bishop Phelan approved of 
the plan, and selected Father Francis J. 
Eger, formerly assistant priest of the Ger- 
man Catholic Church at Allegheny City, to 
take charge of the organization. After 
looking over the groimd. Father Phelan 
purchased for the sum of $4,000 the First 
Methodist Episcopal Church property. 
Under his direction the building was put in 
order and was dedicated December, 1888, 
by Bishop Phelan. Services were estab- 
lished, a school was founded, and the little 
congregation had made a fair start, with 
plan under consideration for further im- 
provements, when, on April 29, 1892, the 
church was totally destroyed by tire. This 
discouraging circumstance, however, was 
not sufficient to dampen the ardor of 
Father Eger and the congregation under 
his spiritual guidance, but rather inspired 
them to greater efforts. Immediate action 
was taken towards the erection of a new 
building, and after a large amount of ener- 
getic labor on his part and theirs, it became 
an accomplished fact, and it now stands as 
one of the handsomest church edifices in 
the city. It has a seating capacity for 600 
people. The interior is tinished in Wiscon- 



sin oak, the altars, the choir loft and con- 
fessionals are of beautiful architecture and 
tine finish, while a subdued light falls softly 
upon the worshipi^ers through the beauti- 
ful stained glass windows, which represent 
the offerings of piety and self-sacrifice on 
the part of members of the congregation 
and of the Sunday-school. The church is 
also provided with a fine pipe organ, said 
to be the largest in this section of the state. 
The school attached to St. Joseph's is 
under the charge of three sisters of the 
order of Divine Providence, and they have 
160 pupils, 125 of these being residents. 

ST. Vitus' chuech. 
This church, which provides for the spir- 
itual wants of the Italian citizens of New 
Castle, is under the charge of Rev. Nicho- 
las DeMita, and was dedicated August 15, 
1907, by Bishop Reges. • It is a fine brick 
structure and was erected at a cost of $70,- 
000, the corner stone being laid August 15, 
1906. School accommodations are provided 
in the basement for 400 pupils, under sis- 
ters of a Catholic order, and the church has 
a seating ca]ia(ity ol' 7()(). It is of a taste- 
ful style of aicliitccture and finish, and is 
an ornament to the city. The pastor, Rev. 
Father DeMita, is a native of Italy, and 
was educated to the priesthood in his na- 
tive land, whei-e he first assumed the duties 
of the pastoral office. After coming to 
America he located in Pittsbui-g, where he 
organized the Italian mission, which he 
conducted for eighteen months, showing 
courage in braving the threats of a certain 
class of his countrymen who were opposed 
to anytlung like moral or religious re- 
straint. He originated the Catholic Anti- 
Black Hand Society, which now has a mem- 
bership of 300 or more, including many 
prominent Italian citizens. Father l^eMita 
was appointed pastor of St. Vitus in Sep- 
tember, 1905, and now has 400 families 
rmder his spiritual direction. 

ST. maey's polish catholic chuech. 
This church, which has been established 



AND REPEESENTATIVE CITIZENS 



221 



a few years, is situated on Maple Street 
and is now under the care of the Rev. John 
Andrzejewski, who has had charge of the 
parish since 1905, liaving under his care 
250 families or about 1,100 souls. In con- 
nection with the church there is a prosper- 
ing parish school, which has an enrollment 
of sixty pupils. Father Andrzejewski was 
born in ]Milwaukee of Polish parents. He 
was ordained to the priesthood liy Hi shop 
Ireland, at St. Paul University, and ln'fore 
coming to New Castle was assistant pastor 
of Butler parish, in Butler County, Penn- 
sylvania. 

GEEMAN LUTHERAN. 

The first society of this denomination in 
New Castle was organized by Rev. C. 
Brown on the 28th of August, 'l818, with 
twenty-seven members. Mr. Brown was 
located at Beaver and preached the first 
Lutheran sermon in New Castle on the 
10th of September of the same year. The 
first services of the congregation were held 
in the "West schoolhouse. The first church 
officers were elected October 8, 1848, and 
installed November 5th following. The first 
celebration of the Lord's Supper in the 
German language was on the 5th of No- 
vember, 1848. 

On the 1st of January, 1849, a constitu- 
tion was adopted, and on the same day 
Rev. C. Brown was elected as pastor for 
the ensuing year. On the 28th of January, 
1849, a Sabbath school was organized and 
superintending officers appointed. The first 
meeting of the Church Council was held 
on the 29th of January, 1849. The first 
meeting of the congregation was held De- 
cember 2.3, 1849, to take action iipon the 
resignation of Rev. C. Brown. At the 
meeting of the Church Council on the 22d 
of ]\Iarch, 1851, it was resolved to build a 
church, the dimensions of which should be 
40 feet in length, 30 feet in width, and 18 
feet in height. The second pastor next fol- 
lowing Mr. Brown was Rev. H. Manz. Fol^ 
lowing him was Rev. H. C. Kahler, who 
continued until 1857. At a meeting of the 



congregation, held on the 15th of February, 
1857, Rev. W. (irobel was elected as pas- 
tor ; and by the same authority, at a meet- 
ing held on the first of March, it was re- 
solved that divine service should be held 
every alternate Sabbath at 10:30 o'clock 
in the forenoon and 3 o'clock in the after- 
noon. At a meeting on the 28th of Feb- 
ruary, 1858, it was resolved that the pas- 
tor's salary should be $250 for the year, to 
be paid Cjuarterly, and that every person 
on becoming a member shall pay an initia- 
tion fee of three dollars. Those who are 
already members and have paid nothing 
toward the pastor's salary shall harve their 
names stricken from the church rolls. At 
a congregation meeting held on the 3d of 
April, 1859, Rev. F. Zimmerman was 
elected pastor for the ensuing year. 

At a meeting held on the 24th of Feb- 
ruary, 1861, it was resolved that the pastor 
should live in New Castle, and that he 
should receive a salary of $300 per annum. 
Rev. J. H. C. Schierenbeck succeeded Mr. 
Zimmerman. On the 5th of May, Messrs. 
A. Treser, C. Reiber and J. Merkel were 
constituted a committee to purchase a 
dwelling for the pastor. In the spring of 
1867 Rev. C. Jaekel succeeded Mr. Schier- 
enbeck as ijastor, and filled the office ac- 
ceptably until May 26, 1875, when he re- 
signed. 

At a church meeting held August 4, 1867, 
it was resolved to permit the pastor to hold 
divine service at the "Bethlehem" church, 
in Wurtemburg, every fourth Sunday. 

At a meeting of the Church Council, Jan- 
uary 10, 1869, it was resolved that the pas- 
tor should baptize no child of parents who 
pay nothing for the support of the church 
in New Castle, or who do not contribute 
towards the salary of the jiastor. 

At a meeting of the congregation, No- 
vember 6, 1870, it was ordered that the pas- 
tor should liold ser^^ces alternately in New 
Castle and Corry, Erie County, Pennsyl- 
vania, the latter as a missionary station; 
and his salary was fixed at $300 per an- 
num. 



HISTORY OF LAWRENCE COUNTY 



On the liith of September, 1871, this ar- 
rangement was modified, and the pastor 
was relieved from holding services at 
Corry, and gave his whole time to New 
Castle. 

After the resignation of Rev. Mr. Jaekel, 
the congregation was without a pastor 
until October 1, 1875, when Rev. J. Fritz 
was elected for three years, in accordance 
with the provisions of the constitution. 

The further history of this church has 
not been furnished us, but we append a 
brief account of other Lutheran churches, 
now active in the religious work of New 
Castle. 

BETHANY LUTHERAN CHUECH. 

The Rev. S. T. Nicholas, missionary su- 
perintendent of the Pittsburg Synod, Gr. S., 
canvassed New Castle in the summer of 
1904 and effected the organization of this 
church, which was accomplished on De- 
cember 4 of that year, with thirty-one char- 
ter members. The Rev. L. P. Young be- 
came the first pastor, his service extending 
to July 1, 1906. The membership, after 
i-unning up to fifty-four, fluctuated and on 
account of heavy removals and losses was 
reduced to twenty-five in November, 1906. 
C. Gr. Leatherman began work November 
15, 1906, and has continued to date as the 
pastor. The membership of the church is 
now forty-two, with a Sunday-school en- 
rollment of forty. A new church building 
is just being completed, to be dedicated 
early in November (1908). The edifice is 
of buff brick, with a seating capacity of 
200, and cost, with lot, $6,000. The pres- 
ent officers of the church are: Pastor, 
Rev. C. G. Leatherman; elders, John C. 
Sontag and J. C. Overmoyer; deacons, 
Jacob Sontag and C.M.Wilson; trustees, 
Scott Heasley and W. C. Burchfield. 

ST. John's evangelical, lxjtheran. 

On the twenty-third day of June, 1895, 

eleven Lutherans assembled in the Y. M. 

C. A. Chapel, and at 11 a. m.. Rev. N. 

Schaffer, then of Greenville, Pa., conduct- 



ed services. This was the beginning of 
what developed into the present St. John's 
Evangelical Lutheran Church. Until the 
following spring the Rev. Schaffer con- 
ducted services once every fortnight. On 
June 17, 1896, Rev. J. H. Miller having 
been called, took charge of the mission and 
preached to the congregation for the first 
time June 21, 1896. On June 21, 1908, the 
congregation observed the thirteenth anni- 
versary of the congregation and the twelfth 
anniversary of the Rev. J. H. Miller, Ph. 
D., the first and only called pastor in the 
history of St. John's congregation. The 
congregation has a membership of 250, and 
the Sunday-school has enrolled 200 mem- 
bers. The church is located on North 
Street and Neshannock Avenue, the prop- 
erty being valued at $20,000, with a small 
indebtedness. The congregation is noted 
for its liberality and activity in all lines 
of benevolence. Officers : Rev. J. H. Mil- 
ler, Ph. D., pastor; deacons, A. W. Alls- 
house, George Miles, F. J. Rowle, Henry 
Eisie, Harrison Ziegler and Frank Alborn. 

SWEDISH LUTHERAN ZION CHURCH. 

The above named congi-egation was or- 
ganized on the 27th day of February, 1894, 
and its present church building on Craw- 
ford Avenue was erected the following 
year. Owing mainly to the fact that the 
Swedish population of the city is compara- 
tively small, the membership from the 
start was necessarily very small and is so 
yet. At present there are only something 
over forty communicant members and 
about an equal number of children, mak- 
ing the total number about eighty. 

This church has never had a resident 
pastor, but its pulpit has been supplied by 
pastors or theological students from the 
nearest sister church at Youngstown, 
Ohio. Services are held only every other 
Sunday, but the little Sunday school, which 
has been maintained most of the time, 
meets every Sabbath. There are two ladies' 
societies and a Yoimg People's Society, all 
working in the interest of the church. • Fi- 



AXn REPRESENTATIVE CTTIZEXS 



223 



nancially the t'lmioli is iu a very good eou- 
dition, there being uo iueumlirauce ou the 
church propert}'; the running expenses are 
met regularly and without difficulty. 

The present officers are as follows : Dea- 
cons, Messrs. N. J. Carlson, Cleas Nelson 
and P. J. Nelson; trustees, ^Messrs. Chris- 
topher Nelson, Beruhard Svenson and H. 
J. Bengtson; secretary, Carl ■]. Carlson; 
cashier, Beruhard Svenson; collector, Da- 
vid Nelson; organist, Miss Jennie Benson; 
pastor, John A. Johansson. The follow- 
ing pastors, all of them residing at 
Youngstown, Ohio, have given part of their 
service to this cliurch : A. G. Olson, ISD-t- 
97; Edward Stark, 1900-04; Axel C. An- 
derson, 1905-06; J. A. Johansson, 1907—. 

TRINITY EPISCOPAL CHURCH. 

The first Protestant Episcopal services 
were held in New Castle in IS-l-o, at the 
liome of Dr. A. Andrews, who had settled 
here in 1834, by the Rev. Dr. White, of 
Butler. The parish was organized in 1848, 
on Easter Monday, the Eev. Richard Smith 
being the first rector. The first vestry- 
men were: J. M. Crawford, Jouathan 
Ayres, Esq., Hon. L. L. McGuffin, G. A. 
Scroggs, Esq., J. Hamilton, Dv. A. An- 
drews, George Sloan, J. H. Brown and \V. 
P. Reynolds. The Rev. Mr. Smith was an 
earnest worker and hrmted up all the Epis- 
copal families in Lawrence County and 
brought many others into the church. Old 
Trinity Clrarch on Neshaunock Avenue 
was built in 1856, the corner stone being 
laid by Bishop Potter. The present hand- 
some churcli building was erected in 1902. 
and is the onlv stone church in the city. 
Of all the rectors of Trinity Church there 
are onlv five now living, namelv: The Rev. 
W. S. Havward. the Rev. J. D."Herron, the 
Rev. H. H. Barber, the Rev. C. W. Tyler, 
Ph. D., and the present rector, the Rev. J. 
E. Reilly, D. D. The present membership 
of the church is 800; Simday-schools, 250. 
The parish maintains a flourishing mission 
in the south end of the city, known as St. 
Andrew's Mission. 



THE P.\RK CHURCH (UISCIPLES OF CHRISt). 

The congregation of the Disciples in New 
Castle was organized in 1855 with twenty- 
four members. Thej' first met with the 
Covenanter Church. Afterwai-ds they 
built a house 18x28 feet on a lot donated by 
Seth Rigby, ou North Street, where the 
residence of Dr. McLaughrey now stands. 
The little house was afterwards moved to 
Elm Street and is now used as a tenement. 
Sulisequently they occupied \\'hite Hall un- 
til the present house was built. 

The old minutes show that ou entering 
White Hall a new organization was deter- 
mined uiion on Deceml)er 10. 1864, at a 
meeting- attended l»y twenty-four members, 
presided over l)y Alex. C. .McKeever and 
served as clerk by J. B. Xicklin, the fol- 
lowing officers were chosen: As elders, E. 
I. Agnew and Thomas W. Pliillips; as dea- 
cons, Charles M. Pliillii)s. W. C. Harman 
and J. B. Nicklin. An adequate church 
building was needed, and through the gen- 
erosity of the Phillips Brothers the pres- 
ent structure was erected. On the 14th of 
February. 1868, it was formally opened by 
the late Isaac Errett, editor of the Chris- 
tian Si an (lard. The first pastor was B. J. 
Pinkerton, of Kentucky, who remained one 
year. He was succeeded in September, 
1871, bv William F. Cowden, who served 
until May, 1881. I. A. Thayer was called 
and took charge July 1, 1881, i-emaining 
until October 1, 1887, when he resigned to 
take the pastorate at Worcester, ]Mass. On 
September 1, 1888, Frank Talmage was 
called to the pulpit, which he occupied un- 
til November 30, 1889. On the 1st of May, 
1890, I. A. Thayer was recalled and con- 
tinued to serve the church till January, 
1900. He was succeeded by Earl Wilfley, 
who served four years. Next came W. L, 
Fisher, who remained three years. The 
present pastor, C. S. Brooks, came in Sep- 
tember. 1907. The present membership of 
the church is 1,040; that of the Sunday- 
school, 400. 

The needs of South New Castle led the 
church to establish a mission in that part 



224 



HISTOEY OF LAAVEENCE COUNTY 



of the city, and on October 12, 1891, a lot 
^^as purchased and preparations made for 
building. On January 12, 1892, the house 
having been simply inclosed, a Sunday- 
school was organized. On the following 
July, W. H. Hanna was employed as as- 
sistant pastor with the Long Avenue Mis- 
sion as his special work. He remaiaed un- 
til September, 1893, when he resigned to 
take the pastorate at Carnegie, Pa. 

CENTRAL CHEISTIAN CHUECH. 

The Central Christian Church was or- 
ganized first as a mission Sunday-school 
of the First Christian Church, in 1894. In 
1896 the church was organized and I. H. 
Durfee was called to be the first minister. 
His pastorate extended over a period of 
seven years. He was succeeded by W. D. 
Trumbull, who ministered to the congre- 
gation for two years. He was succeeded 
by P. M. Biddle, who remained pastor for 
three years. The present minister, A. H. 
Jordan, began his work May 1, 1908. The 
church has a membership of 350 and a 
Sunday-school of more than two himdred 
average attendance. The present officers 
are: Elders, Thomas Sadler, T. L. Lewis, 
K. E. Smith ; deacons, A. W. Bauman, John 
Spoyde, J. W. Walls, John Bo^Tiham, 
Charles Walls, M. H. Eichards, Thomas 
Johns, C. P. Smith, A. Kildoo and C. E. 
Sturdevant; clerk, A. W. Bauman; treas- 
urer, Mrs. Samuel Perry. 

YOUXG men's christian ASSOCIATION. 

"The Young Men's Christian Associa- 
tion is the strongest Christian club in the 
world. Its membership now numbers a 
half million and is distrilnited among thir- 
ty-four nations. From its very inception 
it has stood for one thing — the all-around 
development of man — mind, spirit, body." 
— Views and I)ifuvmatlon, Y. M. C. A. 

There were two unsuccessful attempts 
to establish a branch of the "Y. M. C. A." 
in New Castle, the organization going to 
pieces each time for lack of interest and 
support. A meeting was finally held in 



what is now the Central Presbyterian 
Church by the then state secretary of the 
"Y. M. C. A.," a Mr. Taggart, now de- 
ceased, and Messrs. Orr and Jennings from 
the Pittsburg "Y. M. C. A.," and an or- 
ganization effected. Ira D. Sankey, the 
world famous gospel singer and evangelist, 
was present at that meeting. He bought 
the lot now occupied by the Association 
with the intention of erecting a building 
suited to its needs. In 1885 he built the 
present three-story and basement building 
at a cost of $40,000, Mr. Sankey realizing 
the money from the sale of his "Gospel 
HjTims." It comprises a well appointed 
gjTnnasium, bath-rooms, and library, be- 
sides the usual class, club, and reception 
rooms, all well and handsomely furnished. 
There is a night school carried on in con- 
nection with the work, classes being held 
in mathematics, arithmetic, reading, writ- 
ing and spelling, mechanical drawing, 
stenography and bookkeeping, English for 
foreign-speaking men, German, and ele- 
mentary physics and chemistry. The li- 
lirary contains about eighteen hundred well 
selected volumes, and in connection there- 
with there is a pleasant and cozy reading 
room. In addition to the regular classes 
for Bible study, there are practical talks 
and lectures on various subjects at spe- 
cially announced dates. A debating club 
also is now being organized, as well as an 
Association orchestra. Other branches of 
the society's work include an information 
bureau, a boarding-house register, for the 
benefit of young men coming to the city as 
strangers, a committee for the visitation 
of the sick, etc. There is also a ladies' 
auxiliary, whose work is of inestimable 
value to the institution. 

YOUNG WOMEN 's CHRISTIAN ASSOCIATION. 

This institution during its short exist- 
ence in New Castle has accomplished much 
for the welfare of the young women of the 
community. It had its inception in the 
minds of some of the city's benevolent and 
public-spirited women, who relentlessly 



AND REPEESENTATIVE CITIZENS 



225 



pushed lOrtii their plans and saw them de- 
velop into a thriving organization, in 
which the people take a great pride. The 
prime movers in the project, originally, 
were Mrs. I. B. Griffith and Miss May 
AVhite, and among those who soon became 
active in the work were Mrs. George Greer, 
Mrs. Charles Greer and Mrs. C. H. John- 
son. 

The first public step taken was a meeting 
held in the Coliseum, October IS, 1907, 
when a temporary organization was ef- 
fected with the following officers : ]\Iis8 
Carrie L. Jeftery, president; Mrs. T. A. 
Kimes, secretary, and Mrs. I. B. Griffith, 
treasurer. At this meeting 220 pledged 
themselves to become members. At a later 
meeting a constitution was adopted and a 
board of directors elected with the fol- 
lowing personnel : Mrs. I. B. Griffith, ]klrs. 
J. C. Norris, Mrs. E. A. Donnan, Mrs. A. 
M. Leohner, Mrs. George Greer, Mrs. E. I. 
Phillips, Mrs. J. D. F. Newell, Mrs. Ed- 
ward Ward, Dr. Elizabeth McLaughrv, 
Mrs. J. 0. Eoberts, Mrs. AV. J. Eroe, :\[rs. 
Charles G. Long, Miss May White, Mrs. J. 
S. Martin, and Miss Carrie L. Jeffery. 
One-third of these officers were to retire 
each year, and their places filled by elec- 
tion. The first permanent officers were: 
Mrs. J. S. Martin, president; Mrs. I. B. 
Griffith, first vice-president; ]^Irs. George 
Greer, second vice-president ; Mrs. J. C. 
Norris, third vice-president; Dr. Elizabeth 
McLaughry, fourth vice-president; ]^Iiss 
Carrie L. Jeffery, secretary, and Mrs. A. 
M. Leohner, treasurer. Their term of of- 
fice ran until May, 1908, when at the regu- 
lar annual meeting the present officers 
were elected, namely: Mrs. I. B. Griffith, 
president; Mrs. George Greer, first vice- 
president; Mrs. J. S. ^fartin, second vice- 
president; Mrs. J. C. Norris, third vice- 
president ; Mrs. E. A. Donnan, fourth vice- 
president; Miss Carrie L. Jeffery, secre- 
tary, and Dr. Elizabeth McLaughry, treas- 
urer. At that meeting Mrs. George Ingham 
was elected to the Board of Directors to 
succeed Mrs. J. Q. Roberts, who had re- 



signed, and Mrs. Annie Robinson was 
elected to succeed Mrs. Eroe. The original- 
Board of Trustees included such well 
known citizens and business men of New 
Castle as follows : Percy L. Craig, A. C. 
Dickinson, J. J. Dean, George Greer, ^I. S. 
Marquis, J. G. Nothdurff, T. W. Phillips, 
G. G. Stitzinger and P. J. AVatson. 

The maintenance of the association de- 
pends upon such donations as are received 
and its membership fees, it now having 
an enrollment of 1,200 members. During 
the winter of 1907-1908, the Board of Di- 
rectors resolved itself into a committee of 
finance, with three additional members, 
each member to secure ten ladies who 
would agree to collect $10.00 each; it was 
the aim to collect $1,500 to be used in fur- 
nishing the rooms. Miss Grace L. Erhardt 
was elected secretary of the association 
on November 25, 1907, assuming charge 
on January 1, 1908 ; Miss Christine Amoss 
was elected manager of the cafetera, Feb- 
ruary 27, 1908, and Miss Grace Erby has 
been elected to take charge of the g}Tn- 
nasium, which will open in the fall of 1908, 
and in which the German and Swedish 
gymnastic systems will be employed. In 
April, 1908, the present rooms of the asso- 
ciation, on the second floor of the Wood 
Block, on North Mill Street, were opened 
with a reception which taxed the capacity 
of the rooms. Many of the ladies and the 
business firms of the city contributed lib- 
erally towards the furnishing of the quar- 
ters. The cafetera has been self-suj^port- 
ing ever since it was started. A splendid 
reading room has been provided and is 
furnished by the State Library, with a 
traveling library of fifty volumes, ten cur- 
rent magazines subscribed for by the as- 
sociation, and about the same number do- 
nated by individuals. The educational 
course consists of classes in French, Ger- 
man, Italian, Higher English, English for 
foreign girls and Bible study. There are 
prospective classes in sewing, millinery 
and home nursing. There is a four years' 
course outlined, and diplomas will be given 



226 



HISTORY OF LAWRENCE COUNTY 



those who complete it. The object of the 
association is to give j'oung women an op- 
portunity to round out their characters, re- 
ligiously, educationally and socially, and 
to provide the proper physical training. 

In closing the chapter on Religious De- 
velopment it is proper to state that such 
omissions as may be noticed therein by the 
reader are due to our not receiving solic- 



ited information in time to be used before 
the chapter went to press. Enough infor- 
mation has been given, however, to serve 
as a fairly accurate sketch of the religious 
history of the city, and to show that New 
Castle is not behind in the work of uphold- 
ing those influences that have to do with 
developing the moral and spiritual nature 
of man. 



CHAPTER XV 



TOWNSHIPS AND TOWNS 



Big Beaver — Little Beaver — Hickory — Mahoning — Neshannock — North Beaver - 
Perry — Plaingrove — Pulaski — Scott — Shenango — Slippery Rock — Taylor - 
Union — Washington — Wayne — Wilmington. 



Big Beaver was one of the origiual town- 
ships of Lawrence County. It lias an area 
of about ten thousand acres, being one of 
the smaller townships of the county. Big- 
Beaver River forms its eastern boundary 
and receives numerous small branches, 
which have their sources in the township. 
The Erie & Pittsburg and the Pittsburg 
& Lake Erie Railways traverse the town- 
ship in a north and south direction, keep- 
ing close along the river. The Pittsburg, 
Fort Wayne & Chicago Railway crosses 
the southwest corner, and besides these 
are numerous tracks running to the lime- 
stone quarries and coal banks in the east- 
ern part of the township. The township 
contains the villages of Newport and Clin- 
ton, and the borough of Wampum, which 
latter was incorporated on the 19th of 
February, 1876. Wampum and Clinton 
contain a large proportion of miners and 
men who work in the limestone quarries 
and coal mines. 

EARLY SETTLEMENT. 

The first settlers were John and Robert 
Davidson, who left Ireland in the year 
1791, and came to America, landing at 
Philadelphia. Robert went to Cincinnati, 
Ohio, where he bought some property, and 
afterwards returned east to Pittsburg. In 
the early part of the year 1796, the two 
men came to the spot where Wampum now 



stands, and settled a two-hundred acre 
tract. Their mother, with four other sons, 
left Ireland in 1793, and for three years 
after landing in the United States staid in 
the eastern part of Pennsylvania. In 
March, 1796, they came to Lawi'ence Coun- 
ty. The land in the vicinity of where they 
settled was surveyed into tracts of 200 
acres each, and any person locating on one 
of these tracts was entitled to one-half for 
settling, and by paying $100 could get the 
other hundred acres. Thomas Davidson 
came out a year or two after the rest ar- 
rived. The seven boys were John, Isaac, 
Robert, Charles, James, Andrew and 
Thomas. They settled from one hundred 
to three hundred acres each, along the Big 
Beaver River, and part of the farms are 
still occupied by their descendants. Their 
lands extended into what is now Beaver 
County, the farm of James Davidson 
reaching a short distance across the line. 

Robert Davidson was, for a short time, 
agent for Benjamin Chew, who controlled 
a large quantity of land in Big Beaver, 
Wa^iTie, Shenango, Perry and Slippery 
Rock Townships. He was also the first 
postmaster when the office of Wampum 
(called Irish Ripj^le Postoffice, from the 
rapids in the river) was established. 

The farm of John Davidson, Esq., was 
probably settled, about 1798 or 1800, by 
John Somei'ville, and included 200 acres. 



HISTORY OF LAWRENCE COUNTY 



Andrew Davidson traded his 100 acres to 
Somerville for the farm. The first house 
built on the place was a small log cabin, 
which stood in an orchard on the east side 
of the road, opposite John Davidson's 
residence. John Somerville, who settled 
this farm, was cousin to the John Somer- 
ville who afterwards became a ^lethodist 
preacher. To distinguish them apart, 
when mentioning them, they were nick- 
named "Big" and "Little" John. 

James Davidson was married to Eliza- 
beth Somerville about 1805, and his was 
the first marriage in the Davidson family 
after they settled. 

Alexander Wright came, soon after 
1800, and purchased 100 acres south of the 
Somerville or Andrew Davidson farm. 
This tract was Population Company's land 
and extended north to the Chew land. 
Jesse Lightner bought the hundred acres 
next east of Wright's and running to the 
river. 

Most of the Davidsons became extensive 
landholders, it being among the best in the 
township, and afterwards valuable owing 
to. its location on a well-traveled highway 
and the coal it contains. 

A tract of land was surveyed in pursu- 
ance of a warrant issued April 14, 1792, 
and granted by the Commonwealth to 
Charles Massey. The Pennsylvania Popu- 
lation Company became possessed of this 
tract, among others which they held in the 
county, and it was transferred to the 
Farmers' and Mechanics' Bank by Will- 
iam Griffith and wife, and John B. Wallace 
and wife, December 1, 1818. William 
Grimshaw was the banking company's at- 
torney and sold it to David Crawford, 
September 19, 1833. From him it was pur- 
chased by James Cochran. 

On the dissolution of the Pennsylvania 
Population Comjiany many of the lands 
in the neighborhood became the property 
of William Griffith and John B. Wallace, 
The title was vested in Griffith, in trust 
for an undivided moiety for Wallace. 
Maurice and William Wurtz, of Philadel- 



phia, also had a claim, and their attorney 
was H. J. Huidekoi^er, who sold a portion 
of the land to James Davidson. The first 
improvements on the place now or lately 
owned by Mr. Cochran, which includes 
portions of the Davidson and Crawford 
land, were made by a squatter, who staid 
only a short time on the fann. Mr. Craw- 
ford was, however, the first actual settler. 

David and Robert Ramsey came, orig- 
inally, from Ireland, with their father, who 
settled first near the site of Youngstown, 
Ohio, some time previous to 1812. They 
afterwards removed to Little Beaver 
Township. 

William Whan came from Westmore- 
land County, Pennsylvania, about 1808-9, 
with his wife and two children — a son and 
a daughter — and settled 200 acres. 

Samuel Naugle came about 1800 and 
settled near the site of the village of New- 
port. 

Robert Paden came to the township 
about 1800 and settled in the northwest 
part, where members of the family still 
reside. 

James McCandless was an early settler 
in the same neighborhood, but, possibly, 
came after Mr. Paden. 

James Patterson came from County Ar- 
magh, Ireland, and in 1822 located on a 
farm subsequently owned by his son, Rob- 
ert Patterson. The tract originally in- 
cluded 400 acres, and was patented by 
George^ Leslie, in 1795 or 1796. The place 
occupiexl by Robert Patterson was first im- 
proved by William McKim, about 1832. 

The New Castle & Darlington Railway 
was intended to intersect the Pittsburg, 
Fort Wayne & Chicago road at New Gal- 
ilee, Beaver County, and, about 1858-59, 
was graded from New Castle to within a 
mile and a half or two miles of that point. 
Owing to the fact that much of the grad- 
ing was paid for in calico, the road was 
called the "Calico road." It was, how- 
ever, never completed. 

The Beaver Valley Railway was opened 
for travel in the fall o'f 1863, and now 



AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 



2:29 



forms a part of the Erie & Pittsburg Rail- 
way. It was built from New Castle to 
Homewood, Beaver County, where it con- 
nected with the Pittsburg, Fort Wayne & 
Chicago Railway, and, for four or five 
miles out from New Castle used the old 
grade of the New Castle & Darlington 
Railway. 

The Beaver and New Castle wagon road 
was laid out by the State, being surveyed 
about 1801. It was sixty-six feet wide, and 
was called the State road. In 1839 it was 
re-surveyed and the route graded tlirough. 

MHiITAEY. 

Among the early settlers of Big Beaver 
who served in the War of 1812 were the 
following : 

Andrew Davidson, who came in 1796; 
was out a short time at Erie. 

David Ramsey went to Erie from 
Yonugstown, Ohio, where he was living at 
the time. He afterwards removed to Little 
Beaver Township, Lawrence County, 
Pennsylvania. 

John Whan was married in the fall or 
winter of 1813, and was out two months 
at Erie immediately afterwards. He 
served in Capt. Wilson Kildoo's company. 

James Paden went to Erie, and prob- 
ably his brother Hugh, also. The Padens 
lived in the western part of the township. 

Militia organizations were kept up after 
the war was over, and held regular drills 
and musters under the militia law of the 
State. The annual review days were 
looked upon as grand holidays; whisky 
flowed in unlimited quantities, and the 
song and merry shout resounded on every 
such occasion. 

During the War of the Rebellion, Big 
Beaver was represented by many a gal- 
lant son who fought in the ranks of the 
Union army. More on this subject may 
be found in the chapter devoted to the 
military history of the county. 

SCHOOLS. 

The first school in what is now Big Bea- 



ver Township was kept in a vacated log 
cabin, which stood on the Balder farm, just 
in the edge of the present county line. 
Richard Johnston was the teacher. The 
first building erected s]iccially for school 
pi;rposes stood ahdiii twenty rods north 
of where the Methodist Church at Clinton 
now stands. It was built of very large, 
round logs, about the year 1820. A "one- 
eyed, cross old man," named Robert 
Creighton, first taught in it. Before this 
schoolhouse was Ijuilt, Creighton taught in 
JauiLs J Davidson's old log weaving shop, 
the loom having been removed to make 
room. Just below the old log schoolhouse 
was a s^Dring, where the pupils went to 
drink. 

MANUFACTUEEES. 

In 1876 an establishment was built on 
the hill just south of the limits of Wam- 
pum borough, for the manufacture of ce- 
ment, the company being known as the 
Wampum Cement and Lime Company. 
The article manufactured is said to be 
superior to any other cement known. It 
took the first prize at the Centennial Ex- 
position at Philadelphia. The man em- 
ployed to make it was a German, named 
William Pucall. The company was organ- 
ized about 1869-70, as the "Wampum Min- 
ing and Manufacturing Company." The 
principal ingredients used in the manu- 
factui'e of this cement are limestone and 
blue clay. The limestone is quarried in 
the hill above the works, and the clay is 
taken out in the valley below. In the proc- 
ess of making, the limestone is first ground 
to flour and bolted, after which it is mixed 
in certain proportions with the clay and 
put into a "dry-kiln" and dried. It is then 
]3aked in another kiln and finally crushed, 
ground and bolted, when it becomes ready 
for use. 

WAMPUM BOEOUGH. 

This borough was first settled by two 
brothers, Robert and John Davidson, who 
came from Ireland, in 1791, landing at 



230 



HISTORY OF LAWEENCE COUNTY 



Philadelphia. Eobert first went to Cin- 
cinnati, where he purchased property; he 
subsequently returned to Pittsburg, and 
thence he aiid his brother John proceeded 
to the tract covering the site of Wampum 
Borough, in ^ilarcli, 1796. Their mother, 
with the rest of the family, left Ireland in 
1793, and remained in the eastern part of 
Pennsylvania until her sons had made a 
settlement at Wampum, when they joined 
them. Thomas Davidson, a half brother, 
joined the settlement a year or two later. 
They settled on a two hundred-acre tract, 
of which they received half for settling, 
and afterwards purchased the balance for 
$100. The family consisted of seven sons, 
all of whom settled in the vicinity, along 
the Beaver River. Robert Davidson erect- 
ed a grist-mill on the site of the mill after- 
wards owned by Edward Key, about the 
year 1830. It was run by water from 
springs, and contained two run of stone. 
Mr. Davidson died in 18-16. His heirs ran 
the mill about four years, or until 1850, 
when it came into possession of Captain 
Archibald Reed. It afterwards passed 
through several other hands and was at 
different times enlarged and improved. 

The people of the borough of Wampum 
are extensively engaged in mining and 
manufacturing. 

BL.^i^T FURNACE. 

The first furnace was built in 1856 by 
Porter R. Friend & Co., of Pittsburg, who 
operated it for a number of years, but the 
business was so unprofitable that the prop- 
erty was finally sold at assignee's sale, 
Aug-ust 1, 1866. Samuel Kimberly pur- 
chased the establishment on behalf of the 
"Eagle Iron Company," of Cleveland, 
Ohio, though the latter company never 
really owned it. The name was changed 
to "Wampum Furnace Company." Its 
capacity was about twenty tons of metal, 
daily, or about seven thousand tons per 
annum. 

The works were employed in the manu- 
facture of pig-iron exclusively, using Lake 



Superior ores mostly. A small proportion 
of the red limestone ore found in She- 
nango and Wayne Townships was used in 
connection with the red ores. The com- 
pany owned, in connection with their fur- 
nace, extensive coal and limestone depos- 
its. The amount of coal taken out of their 
mines being annually from 40,000 to 50,000 
tons. The capital invested in the furnace 
property, in coal mines, stone quarries, 
cars, coal-chutes, etc., was fully $250,000. 
This business was discontinued and the 
works dismantled many years ago. 

The coal business at W^ampum is quite 
extensive. The firm of Davidson, Green & 
Co. formerly handled annually from thirty 
to forty thousand tons. Captain 0. H. P. 
Green, of this firm, claimect to have been 
the first man to export the Beaver Valley 
gas coal to Erie, which was in 1852. The 
captain invested several thousand dollars 
in the business, in which he continued some 
two years by himself, when he took in, as 
partners, Abner C. Fenton and Henry 
Manning, of Youngstown, Ohio. In 1854, 
he sold his interest in the business to Jona- 
than Warner, of Youngstown, Ohio. Cap- 
tain Green had commenced industrial life 
as a common laborer when fifteen years of 
age, near Greenville, Mercer County. 
"\Mien the canal was completed, he had 
gone into the boating business, in which he 
continued imtil he engaged in coal-mining 
and shipping. After he sold out his inter- 
est in the coal business, he returned to his 
old occupation on the canal. In partner- 
ship with Captain M. S. ]\Iarquis, he 
owned and operated as many as twelve 
boats at one time. In 1857 he removed to 
the vicinity of Edenburg, where he pur- 
chased at various times several farms, on 
one. of which is situated the famous pre- 
historic mound, near the site of the old 
Indian town of Kush-kush-kee. (See his- 
tory of Mahoning Township.) He contin- 
ued to do business on the canal until about 
1869. In 1867 Capt. Green removed to 
New Castle. 

In addition to the coal business at this 



AND EEPKE8EXTATIVE C'lTIZEXS 



231 



point, there has been a considerable trade 
carried on in quarrying and burning lime- 
stone. Large quantities of cement are also 
manufactured from the lower stratum of 
limestone, familiarly known as the "blue- 
stone." The coal of this valley is bitumi- 
nous, and has excellent coke and gas-pro- 
ducing qaulities. 

Wampum was erected into a borough by 
the Court of Quarter Sessions, February 
19,1876. Edward Kay was the first burgess. 
The first post-office was established at 
AYampiun about 1832, by the name of 
"Irish Ei^jple," so called from the rapids 
in the Beaver Eiver. It was moved back 
and forth between Wampum and Newport 
until about the year 1868, when the people 
of the former place had the name changed 
to "Wampum," since which it has re- 
mained there. The name "Wampum" is 
said to have been derived from a tribe of 
Indians who formerly dwelt there, and 
who wore the wampum belt. The town is 
picturesquely situated on the Beaver 
River, nine miles below New Castle. 

The American Cement Tile Manufactur- 
ing Company is a prosperous concern en- 
gaged in the manufacture of a fine grade 
of tile without wire reinforcement. They 
are practically without competition in 
their line of business. The president of the 
company is Isadore Meyers; vice-presi- 
dent, Joseph Freimd; superintendent, 
James H. Stewart. The plant covers about 
twelve acres of ground, the main building 
being 565x65 feet, and there are about 
sixty people employed. 

A successful milling business was estab- 
lished in Wampum in 1883, by John J. Mil- 
ler and Jacob Pitts. They purchased a mill 
near the railroad and started the milling 
enterprise which has since developed into 
the Wampum Milling Company. The part- 
nership lasted until 1900, when Mr. :Miller 
died. The property and business are now 
owned and conducted successfully by Mrs. 
Sarah J. Miller and her sons— Charles W. 
and William J. 

Wampum has two comfortable hostel ries 



which offer shelter to the passing trav- 
eler : 

The Arlington Hotel was purchased by 
its present proprietor, Kasper N. Trunk, 
of its former proprietor, James Stewart, 
in Ma}', 1902, and is Ijeing conducted by 
him with success. 

The Wampum Hotel is conducted by 
John H. Conn, who i)urchased it of Charles 
Stapf in March, 1907. Mr. Stapf had been 
its proprietor for about eighteen years, its 
former owner having been Jacob Hyle. 

The Wampum Hardware Company is a 
thriving concern of its kind, carrying a 
large stock of general hardware and explo- 
sives for mming purposes. Besides its 
main store building it has a storage room 
across the street and another in the vicin- 
ity of the railroad tracks. The business 
was purchased in February, 1905, by F. M. 
Davis & Brother, Dr. Charles Davis, who 
are carrying it on very successfully. 

The firm of Miles & Aley are also en- 
in the hardware business here. 

A general store is carried on by Frank 
P. Mapr, while David M. Marshall is en- 
gaged in business as funeral director and 
furniture dealer. 

William W. Yoho carries on a black- 
smith shop. 

The financial needs of the borough and 
the vicinity are accommodated by the First 
National Bank. 

The first meeting to organize this bank 
was held December 29, 1902, and the bank 
was organized March 10, 1903, with the 
following officers : W. H. Marshall, presi- 
dent ; W. II. Braby, vice president ; W. H. 
Grove, cashier; directors — W. H. Mar- 
shall, W. H. Brabv, S. P. Major, Joseph 
Stiglitz, F. M. Davis, Geo. H. Mehard. W. 
H. Grove, J. H. Stewart, W. H. Phillips, 
F. M. Withrow, M. S. Marquis, T. D. Wil- 
son, and Joseph Freund. The capital stock 
was placed at $25,000. W. H. Grove acted 
as cashier until November 1, 1906, when 
C. C. Johnston succeeded him and still 
holds office. The joresident and vice-presi- 
dent are still the same. Tlie hank is located 



232 



HISTOEY OF LAWEENCE COUNTY 



on Main street, the intention, however, be- 
ing to build a modern bank structure on 
property owned by the bank just across 
the street. In January, 1907, H. E. Mar- 
shall, son of the president, was elected as- 
sistant cashier, which position he stUl 
holds. 

A fine school building was erected in 
1877. The borough has several religious 
societies. 

There are two convenient hotels, and the 
usual stores of various kinds, blacksmith 
shops, wagon shop, etc. 

Of secret orders, there are a lodge of 
Odd Fellows, one lodge of the Ancient Or- 
der of United Workmen, one lodge Order 
of United American Mechanics, and one 
grange Patrons of Husbandry. 

The Beaver River at this point is 
spanned bv a fine iron bridge built bv T. 
B. White & Sons, of Beaver Falls. It is 
about four hundred feet in length, and cost 
some $30,000. 

The Pittsburg and Erie and Pittsburg 
and Lake Erie railways pass through the 
l^lace. A narrow-gauge railway connects 
Wampum with the iron ore beds, in Wayne 
and Sheuango Townships, extending a dis- 
tance of about four miles. This was built 
to facilitate the shipment of ore to various 
points in Pennsylvania and Ohio. 

METHODIST EPISCOPAL CHUECH. 

The Methodist Episcopal Church of 
Wampum was organized May 15, 1871, 
with six members, who formed a class. 
William Thompson organized a Sabbath- 
school in 1869, with about ten scholars, 
which number was soon increased to twen- 
ty-two. The Rev. J. E. Johnston was the 
first pastor and preached for about six 
months. He was succeeded in 1872 by the 
Rev. N. Morris, and he by the Rev. J. E. 
Johnston, who continued for two years. 
Subsequent pastors were Rev. C. F. Ed- 
monds, Rev. George H. Brown, and Rev. 
John Perry. 

A churcii was erected in 1871 at a cost 
of about $4,000, of which :\Ir. Edward Kev 



contributed about $3,000. Of the present 
membership a portion resides in Chewton, 
on the opposite side of the river. The so- 
ciety supports a Sabbath-school with some 
ten or more officers and teachers, and six- 
ty-five or seventy scholars. The school has 
a well selected library. 

UA^ITED PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH. 

The United Presbyterians of Wampmn 
asked the Beaver Valley Presbyterians to 
grant an organization at Wampum. 

Accordingly, permission having been ob- 
tained, about the latter part of August, 
1875, a lot was selected on Beaver Street, 
and on the second Sabbath of November 
following, there was preaching in the new 
house. The building is of brick, 40 by 60 
feet in size and of a capacity to comfort- 
ably seat 300 people. The total cost was 
$3,i40. 

On the 7th of October, 1875, the session 
appointed by the Beaver Valley Presby- 
tery to organize a congregation at Wam- 
pum, met at the house of W. H. Wither- 
spoon. 

The members present were : Rev. J. I. 
Frazier (Moderator), Robert Mehard, A. 
M. Barbout and A. D. Gilliland. A sermon 
was delivered by Rev. J. I. Frazier, from 
Matthew 16-18, after which the following 
persons presented certificates of member- 
ship: Mrs. Margaret Davidson, William 
McMillen, Mrs. Eleanor McMillen, W. H. 
Witherspoon, Mrs. Christine Witherspoon, 
W. W. Davidson, Mrs. Nancy Davidson, 
Mr. Asa Eckles, Mrs. Elizabeth Eckles, 
Alice Minor, Mrs. Mary Whan, Miss Bell 
Whan, Mrs. Matilda Davidson, William 
Witherspoon, Mrs. Emily Witherspoon. 
An election for elders, by ballot, was then 
held, resulting in the choice of Asa Eckles 
and William Witherspoon. 

On the 1st of July, 1876, an invitation 
was extended to Rev. J. J. Imbrie, to be- 
come pastor of this congregation, which 
was accepted, and Mr. Imbrie took charge 
and subsequently labored with a good de- 
gree of success. The congregation at this 



AND BEPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 



233 



(vritiug (January, 1908) numbers one hun- 
dred persons. 

WAMPUM PRESBYTEEIAN CHURCH. 

Tlie Newport church was moved to 
Wampum in 1889, and from that time it 
was called the Wampimi Presbyterian 
Church. Eev. George S. Rice was the pas- 
tor of the church here for a few months 
after it was dedicated, resigning some time 
late in 1889. He was pastor for several 
years at Newport. Eev. J. C. Pickens was 
installed pastor on December 23, 1890, and 
remained until February. 1902, when he re- 
signed. Rev. B. J. Long was installed and 
ordained pastor in May, 1902, and re- 
mained until December, 1906. He was suc- 
ceeded by the present pastor, Edgar R. 
Tait, who was installed December 17, 1907. 
The elders of the church are Thomas Wil- 
son, Abner Gibson. D. M. Marshall, C. M. 
Kirkbrige. John ^Marshall, Edward Coch 
ran and Dr. H. H. Davis. 

C. M. Kirkbrige is the superintendent 
of Sabbath-school and has been for seven 
years. The church has a membership of 
160; the Sabbath-school of 175. The 
church was united under one pastorate 
with Moravia Presb^-terian Church until 
December, 1907, when, having become self- 
supporting, they called the present pastor. 

VILLAGE OF NEWPORT. 

The tract of land upon which the village 
of Newport now stands was settled about 
the year 1800 by Conrad Coon, who came, 
with his wife and three children, from 
Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, and lo- 
cated on the place. 

John Coon laid out forty acres of land 
in 1833. A number of small log houses 
were built soon afterwards, James Morri- 
son probabh" erecting the first one. 

James Morrison and John Naugle built 
the first frame houses, in the upper part 
of town, near the bank of the river. 

The first general store was opened in 
a frame building by Cyrus Szvers, very 



soon after the town was laid out. Samuel 
Smith opened the second store. A store 
owned bv Joseph Aley was burned down 
in 1876.' 

Aaron Reed opened the first blacksmith 
shop. He finally removed to Wampum 
and started a shop there. Joshua Pierce 
built the first wagon shop. Mr. Pierce 
died, and Edward Yoho afterward opened 
one. His was the second one in the place, 
William McClosky opened a tailor shop, 
which he carried on for a number of years. 

The Newport Presbyterian Church was 
organized in 184(1 or 1847 by Rev. Samuel 
Henderson, who became its first pastor. 
The church was mainly organized through 
the efforts of Benoni Wilkinson, who lived 
on a farm just west of town. Starting 
with thirty members, the congregation in 
a comparatively short time increased to 
about eighty. The first meetings were 
held in a large house which was built by 
John Jackson, and afterward left vacant 
by him. A portion of the time meetings 
were held in the school-house. The pres- 
ent commodious frame church was built 
about 1848, on land donated for that pur- 
pose by Robert Davidson. A Sabbath- 
school has been held in connection with the 
Newport Church from the time it was or- 
ganized, and generally has a large attend- 
ance. Its first superintendent was David 
S. Pollock. 

The postoffice was originally established 
at Wampum, and took its name "Irish 
Ripple," from the rapids in the Beaver 
River at that place, and the nationality of 
the settlers who located there. The office 
was established through the efforts of Ben- 
jamin Chew, Jr., of Philadelphia, who was 
out attending to his business in the neigh- 
borhood, and at that time there was no 
postofiice nearer than New Castle, nine 
miles away. The first postmaster was Rob- 
ert Davidson, about 1832-34. The office 
was afterward removed to Newport, where 
it was kept until 1856, when it was again 
taken to AVampum. From that time it went 



234 



HISTORY OF LAWRENCE COUNTY 



back and forth between the two places un- 
til the name was changed to Wampum, and 
the office located permanently at that 
place. After this Newjaort petitioned for 
an office, and finally secured one, giving 
it the old name of "Irisb Ripple." 

COAL, LIMESTONE, ETC. 

Limestone is abundant in the township, 
and besides that manufactured into ce- 
ment, large quantities are quarried for use 
at the iron furnaces in different places. 

Sandstone is also quarried in various 
places. It was formerly worked quite ex- 
tensively at and below Thompson's Sid- 
ing, just above Rock Point Station. 

Coal was discovered in the township by 
John Stockman, a blacksmith, as early as 
1810. Stockman settled in what is now 
Beaver County in 1804. In partnership 
with an Irishman named McMuUen, he 
had a blacksmith sho^j a mile and a half 
south of the present line between Lawrence 
and Beaver Counties. Previous to his dis- 
covery of coal, they had used charcoal for 
fuel. After discovering the coal, Mr. 
Stockman dug along the hill and took of 
the outcrop only, carrying it down on a 
horse in a sack. This discovery was made 
in "Possum Hollow," on the James Dav- 
idson farm, just within the present limits 
of Lawrence County. Coal has since been 
worked extensively in the township, the 
principal mines being in the vicinity of 
Clinton. 

CLINTON. 

This village was laid out by James Dav- 
idson about 1829-30, his house being the 
first one in the place. 

A crockery manufactory was established 
by Sanger & Nesbit, and afterward became 
the property of Andrew Davidson. It was 
only carried on for two years. There was 
also a store and a blacksmith shop. 

A Methodist Episcopal Church was or- 
ganized about 1823-24, by Rev. John Som- 
erville, an itinerant preacher, who became 



its first pastor, locating afterward in the 
neighborhood. Some of the original mem- 
bers of this church were Mrs. James Dav- 
idson, Andrew Davidson and wife, John 
Davidson and wife, and Charles Wilson 
and wife. At the time the church was 
organized, it was a missionary station 
called the "Beaver Creek Mission." and 
afterward changed to the Petersburg, 
Ohio, circuit, and subsecpiently to the Enon 
Valley circuit. Mr. Somerville preached 
until the age of disability obliged him to 
stop, and afterward frequently substituted 
for the regular pastors. ^leetings were at 
first held in Mr. Somerville 's, and possibly, 
in Robert Davidson's house, also often in 
barns and groves during warm weather. 
The frame church now standing was built 
about 1834, on land taken from the James 
Davidson farm. The graveyard was laid 
out about the same time and at the same 
place. When the Enon Valley circuit was 
established two ministers were placed in 
charge. Afterward some of the appoint- 
ments were discontinued and but one min- 
ister appointed. A Sabbath-school was or- 
ganized about the time the church was 
built, by Rev. J. K. Miller, with John Som- 
erville as first superintendent. 

The Clinton Coal Company was organ- 
ized and a track commenced in 1865, and 
in 1866 mining was begun on an extensive 
scale. In one year this company took out 
37,000 tons of coal, which was principally 
purchased by the Pennsylvania Railway 
Company. 

Scott, Tait & Co. commenced mining on 
a large scale in "Possum Hollow" in 1853, 
having previously begun work in 1851, in 
"Beaver Hollow." They built a tram road 
from their mine to the river, where the 
coal was loaded into canal boats and ship- 
ped. William Fruit, the Reeds of Erie, 
and others afterward bought the "Possum 
Hollow" mine and worked it for some 
time, finally disposing of it to John Wil- 
son. Wilson in turn sold to Wilson, Lee 
& Co. It afterwards came into the pos- 
session of Lee & Co., or Lee & Patterson. 



AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 



235 



LITTLE BEAVER TOWNSHIP. 

This township, one of the thirteen orig- 
inal townships of Lawrence County, has 
an area of about 11,400 acres, and is one 
of the most prosperous in the county. The 
soil is well adapted to agriculture, being 
fertile and productive, while the mineral 
resources of the township are extensive 
and valuable. There are numerous streams 
at¥ording abimdant water-power, the prin- 
cipal of which are the Little Beaver Creek, 
with the branch joining it just above old 
Enon Village, and Beaver Dam Run, which 
flows through the northeastern portion of 
the township, and joins the Little Beaver 
near the line of Big Beaver Township- 
The power on the Little Beaver is quite 
extensive, and mills were built upon it very 
soon after the first settlements. 

Little Beaver Township was originally 
timbered with a magnificent growth of oak, 
hickory, maple, poplar, and various kinds 
of valuable forest trees. Much of it has 
been destroyed, and seemingly in a wan- 
ton and careless manner, as if the sup- 
ply were supposed to be inexhaustible. The 
need of it is now felt in many portions, 
although the township still contains a fair 
acreage of timber, at present most valu- 
able to its inhabitants. 

The stream called Beaver Dam Run was 
so named because the beavers had built 
dams across it. These animals were plenti- 
ful when the first settlements were made, 
and the Indians and whites trapped large 
numliers of them, but they soon disap- 
peared before the advance of the settlers. 

Little Beaver contains the two villages 
of Enon Valley (old and new) and the old 
town of Newburg. During the days of 
stage-coach travel. Old Enon and New- 
burg were thriving villages, but owing to 
the changes wrought by steam have not 
fulfilled their earlv promise. 

The Pittsburg, Fort Wayne and Chicago 
Railway, formerly the Ohio and Pennsyl- 
vania Railway, was completed to Enon 
Valley about 1850-51. and is now the great 
transportation line of the country. 



EARLY SETTLEMENTS. 

The Pennsylvania Population Company 
early got possession of the land in this 
township, and each settler was entitled to 
one-half the tract upon which he settled, 
free of cost. 

The first actual settlement by whites in 
the township was made early in 1796, by a 
company of men who had been out the 
year previous and made improvements. 
Some of them now have descendants liv- 
ing on the old homesteads. They chose 
the finest sites in the township, generally 
in the valley of the Little Beaver Creek. 
They called themselves the "Settlers of 
'96." Among the men forming this com- 
pany were John and Samuel Sprott, John 
Beer, James McCowin and William Rob- 
ison, and possibly Phillip Aughenbaugh, 
Andrew ^loore and others, in all about 
twelve or fifteen men. 

The Sprotts were from Allegheny Coun- 
ty, Pennsylvania.' Samuel Sprott settled 
on a farm in the northwest part of the 
township, where some of his descendants 
are yet living. John Sprott settled on the 
farm where Robert and Thomas Sprott 
now, or recently, lived, on the 17th day of 
February, 1796. Mr. Sprott brought his 
wife with him, and their son Robert was 
born on the place on the 18th of July, 
1796, he being the first white child born in 
the township. He lived on the old farm all 
his life, and was never farther away from 
home than Pittsburg. John Sprott was a 
military officer of western Pennsylvania 
during the Indian troubles after the Rev- 
olution. His principal duty was to supply 
the different military stations on the Ohio, 
from Logstown down, with men. At the 
first militia muster at which he ever 
served, he was elected major, and after- 
wards lieutenant-colonel, and served until 
he was beyond the regulation military age. 
He died in the fall of 1839, aged seventy- 
nine vears and ten months. 

"In 1798 Mr. Sprott built a grist-mill on 
his place on Little Beaver Creek. This 
was the first mill in the township, and 



236 



HISTORY OF LAWRENCE COUNTY 



was a structure of round logs and con- 
tained one run of stone. He procured a 
number of pine boards on Brady's Run, 
several miles away, and with them made 
a bolting-chest. Mr. Sprott was not able 
to keep up his dam, and the old mill was 
run but a comparatively short time. It 
has long been torn away. While it was 
running, the principal grain ground in 
it was corn, and people came all the way 
from Rochester, Beaver County, to this 
mill. After it was abandoned, no other 
was ever built upon the site and nothing 
now remains of it." 

John and Samuel Sprott reared each a 
family of twelve children. John and Sam- 
uel were old hunters, and had hunted all 
over the county some ten years before they 
settled in it. They kept up their excur- 
sions, which extended into Ohio also, un- 
til the Indian troubles broke out, and Gen- 
eral Anthony Waviie went through with 
his army. Wild turkeys were so thick they 
could kill them with clubs, and deer were 
also extremely plentiful. Of the latter, 
John Sprott killed as many as sixty dur- 
ing one autumn hunt. 

John Beer, another of the "settlers of 
'96," settled on the farm adjoining John 
Sprott 's on the north, and lived and died 
upon it. 

William Robison, one of the same party, 
settled in the eastern part of the town- 
ship. 

David Clark, John Savers, James Stev- 
enson and Robert Johnston came to the 
township about 1797-98. John Wilson 
came in 1796, and settled in the neighbor- 
hood on the farm later owned by John 
Taylor. 

Pliillip Aughenbaugh came from West- 
moreland County, Pennsylvania, and in 
the spring of 1796 settled on the farm 
where his son George subsequently resid- 
ed. He brought with him his wife and five 
children — three boys and two girls. He 
reared eleven children altogether. The 
birth of the first child born after the fam- 
ily settled took place in the latter part of 



the year 1797. None of the children born 
after they settled lived to maturity, except 
the youngest, Mary Ann, who was born in 
March, 1805. Mr. Aughenbaugh died in 
1844, aged eighty-four years. His wife 
had died a number of years previously. 

Thomas and Joseph Smith were among 
the early settlers of the township, and lo- 
cated in the northeastern portion. 

"The settlers passed through many ex- 
citing adventures, and had many hair- 
breadth escapes from the wild beasts of 
the forest, but no instance is given of any 
person ever losing his life by them. The 
greatest pests were the gray wolves, which 
roamed in packs through the woods, and 
ever and anon made descents on the sheep 
folds and pig pens of the settlers and de- 
prived them of their woolly and porcine in- 
habitants, without the least scruple. Close 
watch was kept over the children, lest they 
might fall a prey to their ravenous appe- 
tites; and it was also necessary for the 
men themselves to keep their rifles in or- 
der, and always with them, carrying them 
even to church." 

John Marshall, originally from Ireland, 
came from Washington County, Pennsyl- 
vania, in 1796 or 1797, with his wife and 
one son, to Little Beaver Township, and 
settled north of the old village of Enon 
Valley. He died about 1853 or 1854, aged 
eighty-seven or eighty-eight years. George 
]\IeKean came about 1800, and settled 
on a farm a mile southwest of old 
Enon Valley, where his son, Porter, 
subsequently resided. David McCarter 
and Patrick Wallace also came early. 
James Marshall came out in 1818, and 
located on the farm subsequently oc- 
cupied by William Porter. He bought the 
land of James Stevenson, who had set- 
tled it in 1797-98. Mr. Marshall's daugh- 
ter was afterward married to William Por- 
ter, who came from Ireland and located 
on the place in 1824. William Madden 
came from Columbia County, Pennsyl- 
vania, about 1815. Thomas Silliman came 
about 1820, and settled in the eastern part 



AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 



of it, where numbers of the Silliman fam- 
ih' are yet living 

Rattlesnakes were so numerous in early 
days that the settlers were obliged to wear 
leggings, in order to protect their limbs 
from their fangs. Frequently large num- 
bers of them were killed in one locality in 
a single day. Their hiding places were 
among the loose rocks, and in getting out 
stone for chimnej^s, or working among the 
rocks in any way, the hideous and dan- 
gerous reptiles were very often found. 

Charles Long came from Rockbridge 
County, Virginia, about 1804-05, bringing 
two children with him, to a place in Co- 
lumbiana County, Ohio. A child was bom 
somewhere in the mountain while Mr 
Long was on his way wdth his family, and 
his wife was left behind, he subsequently 
going back after her. He had been here 
about 1801-02, and entered the land on 
which he settled, paying two dollars per 
acre, and purchasing an entire section. His 
son, Charles, lived on a portion of the old 
farm. The farm now, or recently, owned 
by Israel Long, in Little Beaver, was pur- 
chased by his father, of the Pennsylvania 
Population Company's agent, Enoch Mar- 
vin, that is, one hundred acres of it. The 
other hundred Mr. Long purchased of a 
man named Andrew Johnston, who had 
probably settled it. The location is ex- 
ceedingly fine, being on a gradually slop- 
ing hill, and commanding a fine view of the 
territory around, in every direction, ex- 
cept toward the west, where a belt of tim- 
ber along the State line shuts it off. Mr. 
Long improved the place into a fine prop- 
erty. 

Ezekiel Creighton came from the Valley 
of Turtle Creek, in Allegheny County, 
Pennsylvania, about 1810 and located on 
the property later owned by Mr. Wurtzel. 
He served three months as a volunteer 
during the ^Miisky Insurrection of 1794. 
, Robert Andrews, Charles Rainey and 
William Miller were early settlers in the 
township. Miller settled on a liranch of 
the Little Beaver, and built a mill. An- 



drews had a farm north of the one settled 
by Samuel Sprott. Rainey 's farm was 
next north of Andrews' and Miller's next 
north of Rainey 's. These were all in the 
northwestern part of the township. 

"James McCowin came originally from 
Maryland and located in Washington 
County, Pennsylvania. In 1795 he was out 
with the Sprotts and others, making im- 
provements on claims, and in 179G he came 
again, this time bringing his family, con- 
sisting of his wife and two children. In 
the first place he stopped below Darling- 
ton, Beaver County, where he stayed a 
year or two, and then came to the farm in 
Little Beaver Township, Lawrence Coun- 
ty — the old homestead now being owned 
by his descendants. The old house, built 
on the place in 1795, stood at the west end 
of William McCowin 's present residence. 
It was a hewed-log structure, two stories 
high, originally roofed with clapboards, 
which afterwards gave place to shingles. 
This was the first house on the place. Mr. 
McCowin had four hundred acres in his 
farm, located a mile east of the present 
station of Enon Valley. He was the father 
of eleven children." 

A man named Williams, popularly 
known as "Onion" Williams, built a grist 
mill on the Little Beaver Creek, near the 
old village of Eno.n Valley, about 1801-2. 
It was a log mill, had two run of stone, 
and was the second mill in the township. 
Some time afterward a man named 
Woodrut¥ built a grist mill on the same 
stream, some distance east of Enon Val- 
ley, and Jacob Shoop built one about a 
mile east of town, also on the Little Bea- 
ver. Nothmg is left of any of these old 
mills. 

Samuel Andrews came ori.ginally from 
Ireland, and settled first in Center Coun- 
ty, Pennsylvania, where he lived some 
thirty years. About 1820 he came to Bea- 
ver County, and located on a farm about 
two miles from Enon Valley, Lawrence 
County, lately owned by Arthur Bradford, 
and still within the limits of Beaver Coun- 



238 



HISTORY OF LAWEENCE COUNTY 



ty. His son, John, married Elizabeth Har- 
nit in 1822. Her father, Samuel Hamit, 
was the first settler on the ground where 
Enon Valley Station now stands. 

SCHOOLS. 

A schoolhouse was built of round logs, 
in the year 1800, on the piece of land sub- 
sequently owned by John Scott. John 
Boyles was probably the first teacher. 
Other log-cabin schoolhouses were erected 
in the neighborhood, and used until 1834, 
when the free school law was passed, and 
new buildings erected. 

A schoolhouse of roimd logs was built 
in the southwest part of the township as 
early as 1807-08, Joshua Hartshorn being 
probably the first teacher. "Master and 
pupils all played ball, the old-fashioned 
game, in which, in order to put a person 
out who was running bases, he must be 
"patched" or struck, with the ball while 
between bases. In those days buckskin 
pants were worn, and they retained the 
marks made by the ball for some time. 
Some of them were fairly mottled by the 
numerous 'patches' they had received, and 
a person whose buckskins showed the least 
number of spots was considered the best 
player. It took an active person to dodge 
the ball, for they were all practical in the 
art of throwing, and seldom missed their 
mark. They were not particular, either, 
about 'sending the ball in' slowly." 

The number of schools in Little Beaver 
Township in 1908 was six, with an enroll- 
ment of 121 pupils. The total expenditures 
for the year for school purposes were 
$3,302.24, of which $1,885 was paid to 
eight teachers, for an average term of 
seven months taught. 

NEWBURG. 

The pioneer settler in this place was 
Bryce McGeehan, who came to the town- 
ship about 1798-99, and occupied the tract 
which was afterward the farm of John 
Sampson. In 1799 Mr. McCreehan planted a 
few apple trees, which Major Edward 



Wright had given him. Major Wright set- 
tled in iSTorth Beaver Township. Mr. Mc- 
Geehan was a prominent man among the 
early settlers. He took an active part in 
organizing the Bethel United Presbyterian 
Church, of North Beaver Township, and 
was one of its first elders. 

Mr. McGeehan 's son, James, laid out a 
few lots and called the place McGeehans- 
burg, but it was afterwai'ds changed to 
Newburg, which name it still retains. This 
town was on the old stage route, and was 
at one time a lively place, but its glory has 
long departed. "The long band of iron 
which connects the East with the West, 
and passes through the southern portion 
of the township, proved a deadly enemy to 
stage coach travel, and with the decline 
of the stage line, Newburg saw her sun set, 
and her bright future flicker and go out in 
darkness, and transfer itself to the rising 
station of Enon Valley. Where erst the 
crack of the driver's lash resounded, and 
the merry notes of the horn were heard, 
are seen no more the well-filled coaches, 
spanking teams, and the bustle attendant 
upon the 'arrivals' and 'departures' and 
'changes' which were so common fifty or 
more years ago." 

James Mountain, who had the only shoe 
shop in 1877, came with his uncle, David 
Eitchie, to the neighborhood about 1820. 
His father went out from Allegheny Coun- 
ty during the War of 1812, and died while 
in the service. 

William Murphy, John Powell and 
others have carried on blacksmith shops at 
different periods. 

In the fall of 1855 a postofifice, called 
"Marvin," was established here, the first 
postmaster being Joseph S. Williams. At 
present there is no postoffice at the place. 

Newburg is located in the northern por- 
tion of the township, in the midst of a fine 
farming country, and all around it are ex- 
cellent improvements. "The land is high 
and rolling, and the country around af- 
fords a beautiful panoramic spectacle, 
with its hills and vallevs, neat residences 



AXl) R?]PKESEXTATIVE CITIZENS 



239 



and comfortable outbuildiugs, tiue groves, 
silver streams, and well-kept fields, and in 
the summer season must be ti'uly a pleas- 
ing picture to look upon. Western Penn- 
sj'lvania is remarkable for beautiful sce- 
nery, and Little Beaver Township, though 
possessing little of the rugged outline 
found in other parts of the country, still 
has its beautiful peculiarities in every sec- 
tion." 

EN ox V.U.LEY (OLD TOWN). 

This village was laid out into lots in 
1838 by Enoch Marvin, who was the agent 
of the Pennsylvania Population Comapny. 
Mr. Mars'in had cousideral)le property in 
the neighborhood, including the site of the 
village and the farm lately owned by 
Thomas G. Dalzell. The brick house on 
Mr. Dalzell 's place was built by Marvin, 
who died there in 1840. 

Just north of the village the two 
branches of Little Beaver Creek unite, and 
from this circumstance the town is said to 
derive its name. Josiah M. C. Caskey 
named the place, the name interpreted 
meaning the "Valley of Many Waters." 
There are other versions as to the origin 
of the name, but this is the most plausible. 
The first lot was purchased by John Mar- 
tin, who built a frame house upon it. 

Mr. Marvin sold the lots in order to in- 
duce mechanics to settle at the place. He 
furnished the necessary logs to be used in 
building, and Robert Sprott sawed them 
into lumber at his mill, and thus the vil- 
lage was gradually built up. 

The first store was opened by the Taylor 
brothers, before there was anj-'village, and 
John S. McCoy built the next one, which 
is still standing. William P. Alcorn had 
a store in the same building after McCoy 
had left it. 

John Growl was the first blacksmith. 
Philip N. Guy, a native of Wayne Town- 
ship, is now conducting a blacksmith shop 
here, and is very popular. James A. Mc- 
Cowin, also of an old county family, is 
successfully engaged in this business. Sam- 



uel King, David Smith and others former- 
ly had wagon shops, while Robert Moore 
owned the first shoe shop. John Roof kept 
the first tailor shop, and Frank McLean 
and others worked at the business also. 
John Martin had a cabinet shop at an 
early day. Harness and saddle shops have 
also been carried on, William Imboden be- 
ing now engaged in that business here. 
His brother, ^lichael Imlioden, is now pro- 
prietor of a shoe store on ^lain Street, and 
also of a large general store on Vine 
Street. Andrew K. Robertson also keeps 
a good general store. His parents were 
natives of Scotland. Another prosperous 
general store is kept bv ]\IcNees & W^olf 
(Elmer E. McNees and Milton J. Wolf), 
they purchasing the business from N. S. 
Nicely. Barney T. Gealy has a lumber 
yard and planing mill and is doing a pros- 
l)erous business. He purchased the plant 
in ]893. The American Hotel is a popular 
hostelrv, kept bv H. G. Gilbert, who pur- 
chased "it of Philip Fisher in 1903. Under 
his callable management it has largely in- 
creased its prestige. The Mt. Air Elgin 
Butter Company is a prosperous concern 
turning out 400 pounds of butter per day. 
Emmet W. Dungan is manager. The Enon 
^'alley Teleplione Company, of which 0. I 
Iiiddh- is president and manager, fui-- 
nished good local service in this now im- 
portant branch of public utilities. Mr. 
Riddle lias been at the head of the con- 
cern since it was organized in 1906. 

A postofifice was established here in 1830, 
before the town was laid out, J. M. C. 
Caskey being the first postmaster. This 
office was established on the old stage line 
between Beaver, Pa., and Cleveland, Ohio, 
running through Petersburg and Youngs- 
town. Old Enon was a changing-station 
on the line, and was well known to travel- 
ers over it. Previous to the War of 1812 
this was made a postal route, and the mail 
was carried over it on horseback until the 
stage line went into operation. At that 
time the nearest postoffice was at Darling- 
ton, Beaver County, five miles away. In 



240 



HISTORY OF LAWRENCE COUNTY 



order to accommodate the settlers about 
Enon, John Beer made a bos and set it 
upon a post near his house, and made ar- 
rangements with the postmaster at Dar- 
lington to have the carrier drop the mail 
into it for the families living in the neigh- 
borhood, and that was done, thus saving 
a five-mile trip to the postoffice. 

The Little Beaver Presbyterian Church 
was organized about 1834-35, and a brick 
edifice built, which has since been torn 
down. The members had previously held 
meetings in connection with the congrega- 
tion at Darlington, which was organized at 
a very early day. A frame church was 
built in the summer of 1873. The ground 
on whicli the old church stood was donated 
by Enoch Marvin, and that occupied by 
the cemetery was given by John Beer, 
Esq., whose wife was the first person 
buried in it, her death occurring in the fall 
of 1797. The first regular pastor who had 
charge of this congregation was Rev. Rob- 
until nearly the time of his death, which 
occurred about 1869-70. The next pastor 
was Rev. Mr. Miller, who stayed three or 
four years. After him came the Rev. Rob- 
ert S. Morton. 

Li July, 1873, a portion of the congre- 
gation went to Enon Valley Station and 
organized a church there. Since the Little 
Beaver church was organized, a Sabbath- 
school has been kept up most of the time 
during the summers. 

ENON VALLEY (nEW TOWn). 

This place was first settled by Samuel 
Harnit, who came from near McKeesport, 
ui Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, first 
to what is now Beaver County, and in 1800 
to the site of Enon, where he took up one 
himdred acres of Population land. Mr. 
Harnit brought his wife and three children 
— two sons and one daughter — with him. 
He built a log house, which stood on the 
site of the present town hall. Two chil- 
ert Dilworth, who continued to minister 
dren were born in the family after they 
came to the township— a daughter, Eliza- 



beth, January 21, 1802, and a son, Samuel, 
Februaiy 9,* 1804. A grandson of Mrs, 
Harnit, also named Samuel, went to Illi- 
nois, and was for a number of years ward- 
en of the State penitentiary at Joliet. His 
brother, Joseph, went also to that State, 
and engaged in the practice of medicine. 
Elizabeth Harnit was married to Jolm An- 
drews, and they took up their residence 
at Enon. Mr. Harnit was killed in 1804 
by the caving in of a coal bank at which 
he was in the habit of procuring coal. He 
was a blacksmith, and built a shop near his 
house, which stood until the town plat was 
surveyed. 

The first blacksmitli in the new town 
was Patrick Morgan, who worked in a shop 
which stood on Henry Wolf's property. 
David Smith built a house, and in one end 
of it had the first wagon shop in the place. 
Before the town was laid out, the only 
houses standing on the land were Samuel 
Harnit 's old log house, then occupied by 
his widow, Mrs. Barbara Harnit, a frame 
house close by, occupied by her son, Na- 
thaniel Harnit, and a frame house occu- 
pied by Samuel Harnit, the latter build- 
ing on the south side of the railroad track. 

The first house after the town was laid 
out was built by John Spear, in one part 
of which he opened afterward the second 
store in the place. 

The Pittsburg, Fort Wajme and Chicago 
Railway was finished to Enon about the 
fali of 1851, and during that fall and the 
ensuing spring the station building, the St. 
Lawrence Hotel, and Ramage & McQuis- 
ton's store — the first one in the town — 
were built. 

Samuel Harnit and William McGeorge 
owned the land on which the town plat was 
laid out, and Mr. Harnit sold a quantity of 
it to H. P. Mueller, who laid out the first 
lots, probably the next summer after the 
road was built. 

R. C. Moore built and opened the first 
shoe shop. William McKean was prob- 
ably the first tailor. 

H. P. Mueller built a sawmill about 



AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 



241 



1853 on the south side of the track, and 
operated it until 1855, when it was burned 
down. 

A distillery was built about 1858-59, and 
run by Joseph Worley. The building is 
yet standing, but the machinery has long 
since been sold and removed. 

A planing-mill was started by David 
Preston & Bro., about 1870, and a saw- 
mill, built by the same parties, about 1869. 
A steam grist mill was built by Miller & 
AVIiitmire. Among the industrial activi- 
ties are the round-house and repair shops 
for the eastern division and branches of 
the P., Ft. W. & C. Railway, which employ 
about twenty or more hands. 

A brickj^ard was worked at one tune 
near the Preston sawmill, bv AVilson, 
Herr & Co. 

The population of the place is about 500, 
including a large proportion of Germans. 

For some years after the place was laid 
out, a brick schoolhouse, which stood be- 
tween the two towns, was attended by pu- 
pils from both. In 1857-58, the frame build- 
ing occupied by William Reed & Co. for a 
store-room, was built for a schoolhouse, 
and used for a number of years. A brick, 
two-story schoolhouse was built about 
1870, and, owing to the increasing nimiber 
of pupils, became inadequate for the pur- 
pose for which it was designed. There are 
now three schools in the borough, and the 
niunber of school children in attendance 
in 1908 was ninety. There were three 
teachers employed, at a cost of $1,220, and 
the amount expended for school purposes 
was $1,693.19. The average number of 
months taught is seven. 

About a year after the town was laid 
out, the postoffice was removed to it from 
the old town, and John Spear appointed 
the first postmaster. 

The first physician in the place was Dr. 
A. P. Dutcher, who lived between the two 
towns. Dr. McPherson afterward had an 
office in the new town, and lived where Dr. 
Dutcher had resided. Other members of 
the profession have since practiced here. 



Enon Lodge No. 916, I. 0. O. F., was or- 
ganized November 9, 1875, with a member- 
siiip of twenty-seven, which has since 
largely increased. The first officers were : 
John 0. Caskey, N. G. ; John Sloan, V. G. ; 
R. P. McCurley, secretary; E. Herwig, 
treasurer. The lodge room is in the large 
building in the north part of the town, in 
which are located the town hall and two 
store rooms. 

The Christian Church of Enon was com- 
pleted March 11, 1873, and dedicated the 
22nd of the same month. An organization 
of this society was completed as early as 
1831, with William McCready, Ephraim 
Phillips, Euphemia Nicely, Nathaniel Har- 
nit, John McCready, John Taylor and Jo- 
siah M. C. Caskey, as members. Rev. Mr. 
Van Horn preached to them about that 
time, also Rev. Mr. Applegate and others. 
A few years later the society disbanded, 
and had no organization subsequently un- 
til 1859, when a reorganization was effect- 
ed by Rev. Mr. Winfield. He was followed 
by Rev. William Hillock, and next came 
the Rev. John Phillips, who stayed two or 
three years. Since then, Revs. Ephraim 
Phillips, S. B. Teegarden, and others, have 
liad charge. Rev. J. M. David was the first 
pastor after the church was built. 

Enon Presbyterian Church was organ- 
ized . about the 1st of July, 1873, with 
eighty-one members. It was formed from 
a portion of the Little Beaver congrega- 
tion at old Enon Valley. Rev. D. H. Lav- 
erty was installed as its first pastor, in 
August, 1874. A Sabbath-school was or- 
ganized in March, 1874; its first superin- 
tendent was Captain E. L. Gillespie. The 
church, a neat, commodious frame build- 
ing, was erected in 1873. In December of 
that year a 750-pound Meneeley liell was 
placed in the belfry. 

The Methodist Episcopal Church at 
Enon was organized in 1857-58, with about 
forty members. Before this meetings had 
been held in the schoolhouse, which stood 
between the two towns. The church was 
built before an organization was com- 



HISTORY OF LAWRENCE OOITNTY 



pleted, and Rev. Samuel Krause (or 
Crouse) preached occasionally to them. 
The tirst pastor after the church was built 
was Rev. William H. Tibbals. A Sabbath- 
school has been kept up since the organi- 
zation of the church. Its tirst superin- 
tendent was probably George Adams. 

HICKORY TOWNSHIP 
This township, formerly a part of Mer- 
cer County, was erected from the eastern 
part of Neshannock Township during the 
winter of 1859-60. It comprises an area 
of about 9,800 acres, and is rich in both 
agricultural and mineral resources. It is 
watered by the Big Neshannock Creek and 
its tributaries, on all of which there is ex- 
tensive water power. The principal branch 
of the Neshannock in the township is East 
Brook, or what was formely known as Hut- 
tebaugh or Hettenbaugh Run. On this 
stream there are a number of dams, lo- 
cated within a comparatively short dis- 
tance of each other. 

The surface of the township is more or 
less hilly and broken, owing to the many 
streams which flow through it, and the 
summits of the highest hills or ridges are 
probably 300 feet above the Neshannock 
Creek. The creek forms the boundary be- 
tween the townships of Hickory and Nes- 
hannock. The New Castle and Franklin 
Railway, now operated by the Pennsyl- 
vania Company, passes along the left bank 
of the creek, until it reaches East Brook 
Station, where it crosses to the other bank. 
"Along the creek is found some most ro- 
mantic scenery. In places the channel is 
narrowed down to a rocky gorge, with pre- 
cipitous overhanging piles oi sandstone 
frowning upon the valley, their sides and 
summits covered with a dense growth of 
hemlock, and an occasional gloomy-look- 
ing ravine, affording greater solemnity 
and loneliness, which is hardly surpassed 
in its effect am^where. The rock is sand- 
stone, and generally piled up in thin and 
broken strata, caused by some mighty up- 
heaval, although in a few localities the 



strata are thicker and afford very good 
building stone. They rest usually on a 
lower stratum of shale, or slaty fragments, 
approaching the coal measures. 

"Springs are numerous and constant; 
timber is abundant; desirable building 
sites are found in almost every locality ; the 
lover of the beautiful in nature can have, 
his most exquisite taste gratified; the 
manufacturer finds every facility for pro- 
moting his business in its various 
branches; the health of the commimity is 
excellent ; schools and churches of the laest 
character serve to immense advantage in 
furthering the social, moral and intellect- 
ual standing of an already prosperous and 
refined people; numerous and costly im- 
provements evince the taste and refine- 
ment of the inhabitants ; the student of ge- 
ology and history finds his research amply 
rewarded; and, taking into consideration 
these manifold advantages, with others we 
have not space to mention, the to\vnship 
may be classed as one of the first in the 
county. 

Coal of an excellent quality has been 
found in the townshijj, but the vein is quite 
thin, and on that account chiefly, not much 
worked. Some, however, is mined for local 
use, and a considerable quantity has been 
taken to New Castle, the glassworks at 
Croton formerly making use of it. This 
was obtained from a bank just outside the 
city limits on the Harlansburg road. 

Iron ore of a good quality has been 
found in paying quantities along the Ne- 
shannock Creek, but the same disadvan- 
tages attend its development which are 
met with in opening the coal veins, or at 
least some of them. It lies generally close 
to the surface, and in taking it out the land 
is broken to a greater or less extent, ren- 
dering it unfit for agricultural purposes. 
On account of these drawbacks, compara- 
tively little has been done toward bring- 
ing out in full the resources of the town- 
ship in this line. 

The township contains the village of 
Eastbrook, and the station of the same 



AND HKPKESENTATIVE CITIZENS 



243 



name ou the New Castle aud Frauklin 
Eailwaj'. The railwaj' was completed in 
1874, and affords ample facilities for ship- 
ping the products of the neighborhood, 
both agricultural and mineral. 

In a few localities limestone is (quarried, 
but is not of sufficiently good quality to be 
used as a building stone. A lime kiln was 
put in operation a munber of years ago, 
a short distance from the city limits of 
New Castle, on the Harlansburg road. The 
stone has a bluish cast, and is by no means 
equal to that found in greater quantities 
in other portions of the United States. It 
has been used for fluxing j)urposes in blast 
furnaces. 

Sandstone is found largely throughout 
the township, and is utilized for building- 
purposes, and also ground up and used 
in the manufacture of window glass. The 
sandstone deposit forms the principal geo- 
logic foundation of Hickory Township. 

The first coal-bank opened in the vicin- 
ity was worked about 1830. A coal-bank 
was opened on the Harlansburg road, by 
Michael Eyan in 1870, on land belonging 
to Anthony Henderson. The vein aver- 
aged about two feet in thickness, and was 
largely used by the Croton Glass Works. 

A considerable number of persons have 
been engaged in the business, and a few 
banks have been worked out. The coal 
veins increase in thickness as they trend 
northward, and reach the maximum thick- 
ness somewhere in the neighborhood of 
Stoneboro, Mercer County. They also dip 
to the south on about the same grade as 
the beds of the different streams. 

E.tRLY SETTLEMENTS. 

In the year 1798, Eobert Gormley, an 
immigrant from Ireland, settled on the 
fann now owned by John H. Gormley. He 
had first worked for a while east of the 
mountains. Wliile in the eastern part of 
the State, he witnessed a transaction be- 
tween a Eevolutionary soldier and a per- 
son to whom the soldier sold a tract of 
land, donated him by the State for his 



services during the war. The price paid 
for the land was a quart of whisky, the 
hero of Eevolutionary fields considering 
that worth more than the land, which he 
said was ' ' somewhere out West, but didn 't 
know exactl_Y where." The tract thus 
cheaply disposed of embraced 500 acres. 

Mr. Gormley also purchased 500 acres, 
which was divided among his brothers, 
John and Thomas, who had followed him 
from Ireland, William Patton, and him- 
self — making 120 acres each. The price 
paid was fifty cents per acre. Schoolhouse 
No. 5 is located on a part of the tract. Mr. 
Gormley built a hewed log house, 20 by 22 
feet, in 1804, and it was considered a very 
remarkablv fine house for the time. It 
stood until the fall of 1869. 

Eobert Gormley was married in 1807-08, 
to Sarah Hammond, of Washington Coun- 
ty, and John Gormley married her sister, 
Elizabeth. The first birth in the Gormley 
family was probably that of Martha, 
daughter of John Gormley, about 1809. 
The first deaths were also in that family, 
two sons and a daughter dving during the 
year 1822. 

The first road through the neighborhood 
was what is known as the Harlansburg 
road. Previous to its being laid out, the 
only highways were zig-zag paths through 
the woods, following the best route they 
could around hills and across streams — 
the latter always being forded. Grain 
was carried to mill on pack-saddles, and 
Mr. Gormley often "packed" corn from 
Beavertown, where he paid a dollar a 
bushel for it. AVheat could not be raised 
to any extent for some time, on account of 
the great nmnber of squirrels, deer, 
"groimd hogs," and other animals which 
came into the fields and destroyed the 
crops. 

Deer were so tame that they would come 
into a wheat field in broad daylight, and 
had to be repeatedly driven off. Wild tur- 
keys were also exceedingly plentiful, and 
in the fall of the year created sad havoc 
among the fields of buckwheat. 



244 



HISTORY OF LAWRENCE COUNTY 



Agrioultui-e was carried on according 
to somewhat primitive metliods. Tlie first 
metal plow in tlie neighborhood was owned 
by Francis Irvin (or Irwin), and Robert 
Gormley had the second one. The plows 
in use before these had wooden mould- 
boards, and a paddle was carried to clean 
the plow at the end of every furrow. The 
harrows also had wooden teeth, and both 
plows and harrows were rude and clumsy 
affairs, compared with the vastly im- 
proved implements of the present, al- 
though they answered their purpose and 
their owners were content, knowing of no 
better ones. 

Robert Gormley died March 26, 1858, at 
the ripe old age of eighty-six years, and 
sleeps by the side of Sarah, his wife, in 
the old Neshannock graveyard, his wife 
having died on the 18th of June, 1853, at 
the age of sixty-five years. Though six- 
teen years her husband's junior', she made 
him a loving and exemplary wife for 
forty-four years. John Gormley died De- 
cember 27, 1848, aged seventy-nine years, 
and his wife, Elizabeth, followed him 
March 27, 1858, aged seventy-four. 

William Patton was originally from Ire- 
land, and settled first in Center County, 
Pennsylvania. From there he came to 
Lawrence (then Mercer) County, and set- 
tled on a portion of the Robert Gormley 
tract. When he came from Center County, 
he had a horse and an ox harnessed to- 
gether to haul his goods. Mr. Patton and 
the Gomileys afterward donated ten acres 
each to Thomas Speer, in order to get him 
to settle near them. Mr. Speer was from 
South Carolina, and came to Hickory 
Township about 1805-6. He lived to a 
very old age, and died within a few years 
past. 

"Some time during the year 1802 Sam- 
uel McCreary came from the Buffalo Val- 
ley, in Union County, in the eastern part 
of the State, and located on the east side 
of Neshannock Creek, about two miles 
northwest of the present village of East- 
brook. He was the first settler on the 



place, and made the first improvements. 
He built a round log house, and lived in it 
with his wife and one child, Enoch Mc- 
Creary, who was but two years of age 
when his father came to the county. Mr. 
McCreary 's brother, Thomas, accompa- 
nied him, and they each took up a tract of 
one hundred acres. Shortly after their 
settlement Thomas McCreary died, and 
his was consequently one of the first 
deaths in the neighborhood. Samuel ^Ic- 
Crearv was out several times to Erie dur- 
ing tlie War of 1812-15. He eventually 
became the owner of some 600 acres of land 
in the vicinity of the place where he set- 
tled, chiefly lying along the Neshannock 
Creek. He died shortly before the break- 
ing out of the Southern rebellion. The 
McCrearys were originally from Ireland, 
emigrating from that country at some pe- 
riod subsequent to the War for Independ- 
ence between the American Colonies and 
Great Britain. He was the father of ten 
children. The first birth in his family 
after he came to Lawrence County was 
that of his daughter, Betsey, about 1804. 
In 1806, another daughter, Sarah, was 
born, and in 1808, a son, Thomas. 

Robert Simonton, who lived for a num- 
ber of years in Hickory Township, settled 
originally on the Shenango River, in Ne- 
shannock Township. He was out during 
the War of 1812, and went to Erie. He 
died about 1853-54, at an advanced age. 
John C. Wallace, also a soldier of 1812, 
having served as captain of militia at that 
time, was an early settler in the southeast 
part of Hickory Township. 
' Jacob Baker settled near Mr. AVallaee, 
in the southeast part of Hickory Town- 
ship, and was a soldier of 1814. He lived 
in the county in the neighborhood of fifty 
years, a part of which time he resided in 
New Castle. 

Abel McDowell came from Westmore- 
land County early, and lived for several 
years with his uncle, Thomas Fisher. He 
afterwards located in the northwest part 
of Hickory Township. 



AND REPEESENTATIVE CITIZENS 



245 



About 1812-15, George Hinkson came 
from Chester County, and located in 
AVashington County, where he stayed un- 
til about 1817, when he removed to Bel- 
mont County, Ohio. There he lived for 
eleven years, or until 1828, when he again 
packed up his worldly goods and came 
back to the Keystone State, this time lo- 
cating in Hickory Township, on a 500-aci"e 
tract, later owned by his son, Aaron Hink- 
son, and others. 

All the lands in the township are "do- 
nation lands," and the fact that the terri- 
tory was not settled imtil a comparatively 
late day is attributable to that circum- 
stance. But few of the original patentees 
ever located in the county, and the land 
at that time was deemed too far away to 
be reached. It was not, however, until the 
completion of the Erie Extension Canal 
that the growth of any part of the western 
portion of the State became marked; but 
since that time the development has stead- 
ily and generally gone forward. 

Samuel Casteel, a veteran of the second 
war with Great Britain, came from Alle- 
gheny County in 1816, and located near the 
Neshannock Creek, southeast of the pres- 
ent Eastbrook Station. By his industry 
and frugality he amassed considerable 
property, and when over eighty years of 
age. the sound of martial music, or the 
strains produced by a more pretentious 
band of l^rass instruments, would awaken 
the old military fire within him, and recall 
to his mind the scenes and incidents dur- 
ing the strife of more than sixty years be- 
fore. 

Thomas Glass, John McKnight and John 
Stunkard came from near Pittsburg in the 
year 1825, and purchased a 500-aere tract. 
The McKnights and Stunkards still reside 
on the old homestead. These persons were 
the first actual settlers on the tract, al- 
though two or three squatters had been 
there before them. One of these squat- 
ters was a roving character named Chair, 
who did little else than hunt. 



CHURCHES. 

The Covenanters or Reformed Presby- 
terians organized about 1818, and held 
their first meeting in William Patton's 
barn. Eev. William Gibson presided at 
the organization, and also took charge of 
the congregation as its first pastor. After 
the first meeting in the barn, they held 
"tent meetings" in a rude structure made 
of corner posts and roof, and fit only for 
warm weather worship. The "tent" was 
put up principally for the use of the min- 
ister, while the congregation occupied log 
seats in front of it. Their first church was 
a rude log building, about 22 by 24 feet in 
dimensions, and covered with a shingle 
roof, being about the first roof of the kind 
in the neighborhood. 

About 1833 a frame church was com- 
menced near the site of the old one, and 
finished some two years later. This build- 
ing was l)urned down in April, 1867. A 
))uil(ling committee was at one appointed, 
and work was immediately begun on a new 
structure — the fine brick church now 
standing. Just one year from the day the 
old church was burned, or April 14, 1868, 
the first sermon in the new building was 
preached by Rev. Mr. Martin. In the fall 
of 1868 or 1869, owing to considerable 
trouble having been previously experi- 
enced in, securing preachers, the church 
changed to a United Presbyterian congre- 
gation. 

TJie Associate Presbyterians built a 
church east of Eastbrook, aboiat 1840-41. 
The building, a roomy frame structure, is 
still standing. The denomination is now 
United Presbyterian. The fiist pastor was 
Rev. William A. Mehard, and the second 
Rev. R. Audley Browne. The building oc- 
cupies a pleasant situation in a grove, on 
the hill which rises on the south side of 
Hettenbaugh Run, or Eastbrook. 

A Methodist Episcopal society was or- 
ganized in 1847, and meetings held in 
schoolhouse "number two," a mile north- 
west of Eastbrook. It is not definitely 



246 



HISTORY OP LAWEENCE COUNTY 



known how many members there were in 
the original congregation. On the 17th of 
March, 1851, an acre and fourteen perches 
of ground were purchased of Eobert Rea 
and wife, and the frame church erected, 
which is still standing. The trustees, at 
that time (1851), were Samuel Black, Cor- 
nelius Miller, Robert Rea, Enoch Mc- 
Creary and William Rea. A graveyard 
occupies a portion of the ground pur- 
chased. 



About 1815-16 a round log schoolhouse 
was built near the south line of what is 
now Hickory Township, on the road run- 
ning south from Neshannock United Pres- 
byterian Church. A hewed log schoolhouse 
was put up in the corner of the graveyard, 
near the old Neshannock Church, about 
1828-29. This was the only hewed log 
schoolhouse in this part of the country, 
and the first teaclier was a man named 
John Tidball. 

There are at present seven schools in 
the township. The total value of school 
property for 1908 is about $6,000. The 
number of pupils enrolled for 1908 was 
169. The total expenditure for school pur- 
poses in 1908 was $3,452.23, of which 
amount $2,448 was paid to seven teachers. 

For many years subsequent to the set- 
tlement of the township there were no 
grist-mills erected, and the nearest one in 
the early times was to the south, in the 
present Shenango Township. 

About 1825 Henry Reynolds built a 
grist-mill on Hettenbaugh Run, a mile east 
of the village of Eastbrook, and operated 
it until 1837, when he sold out to William 
Adams and went West. This mill was the 
first one erected within the present limits 
of the township, and became very popular, 
the work done being excellent. The supply 
of water in the run is usually large enough 
so that no inconvenience is experienced 
with a low stage. It is fed almost entirely 
by springs. 

The "Eastbrook Mills" were built orig- 



inally by John Fisher, in 1836, and rebuilt 
in 1859. The mill is a fine, large building, 
containing three run of stone. 

About 1816-17 Thomas and John Fisher 
built a sawmill near the site of the grist- 
mill. Two have since been erected at the 
same place, the last one is still standing, 
though imused and much dilapidated. 

A woolen mill was built east of East- 
brook about 1830-32, by Lot Moffatt, who 
sold out in the spring of 1837 to Joseph 
Burnley & Company. These parties oper- 
ated it until about 1840, when they in turn 
sold to James Glover. Glover died and the 
mill became the property of his daughter, 
Mrs. J. B. Hardaker, and it was after- 
wards carried on for some time by Mr. 
Hardaker, though doing but a small busi- 
ness. 

About 1872 John Hickson built a shop 
on the south branch of Eastbrook (Hetten- 
baugh Run) for the manufactui'e of prun- 
ing shears, using an engine which had been 
used since 1861 in a saw-mill on the same 
site. 

VILLAGE or EASTBEOOK. 

About 1816-17 some members of the 
Reynolds family put a man named Buck- 
master as a tenant on the tract of land near 
where Eastbrook now stands in order to 
hold their claim. Thomas Fisher, having 
an eye on the same tract, kept a close 
watcii, and when Buekmaster left it for a 
time he put a man on the place and kept 
him there till he became entitled to the 
land by settler's right. Buekmaster after- 
wards settled elsewhere and the Reyn- 
oldses also. 

A man named Terry was a very early 
settler in the neighborhood, and located on 
the farm now owned by John McCreary, 
northwest of Eastbrook. A part of the 
tract is owned by James Patton. 

John Fisher was a soldier of the War of 
1812, and came from the Lie-onier Valley 
in Westmoreland County. He settled the 
tract, including the site of Eastbrook, 
about 1819; this was the third tract he had 



ANP KEPKESENTATIVP] CITIZENS 



247 



located upon, tlie lirst being in 1809. His 
brother, Thomas Fisher, came afterwards. 

Thomas Fisher (the first) came to the 
county in 1802, and located in the present 
limits of Neshaunock Township, on the 
Shenango Eiver, where he put up a carding 
machine, said to have been the first one in 
the State west of the Alleghenies. About 
1817 Thomas and John Fisher built a 
woolen-mill in Eastbrook, above the site of 
their saw-mill. 

John McCartney also built a woolen-mill 
about 1850, and operated it for some time. 
It was afterwards bought by David Stew- 
art, and still later by James Craig. The 
mill was in operation the greater portion 
of the time, for many years, and its capac- 
ity was often taxed to the utmost to supply 
the demand for the products, but little if 
any manufacturing is now done tbere. The 
manufactures were stocking yarn, woolen 
blankets and liarred flannel. 

The saw-mills built along the brook since 
the country was settled have been almost 
without number, and we have merel}' men- 
tioned the first ones and not taken the trou- 
ble to hunt up all of them. Many of the old 
frames are yet standing. 

The first store at Eastbrook was kept by 
John Fisher, aliout 18;)5-(i. It was a gen- 
eral store and still stands at the west end 
of the bridge. Another store the same 
class was opened in 1838 by T. H. Harrah, 
who afterward built another, which he and 
J. B. Hardaker operated together. James 
McFarlane & Co. also kept a store for a 
year and a half or two years subsequent to 
1844, the firm afterward being changed to 
Dickey & McFarlane. McFarlane finally 
removed to Morris, Grundy County, Illi- 
nois, and Hardaker & Harrah continued 
the business. Hardaker & Simonton were 
in it from 1852 to 1856. In the spring of 
1860 John Waddington went into the firm, 
which was known for a time thereafter as 
J. B. Hardaker & Co., then it was again 
changed to John Waddington & Co. 

The first postoffice was established in 
1837, the petition being circulated by John 



Waddington. The candidates for the posi- 
tion of postmaster were T. H. Harrah and 
John Fisher; the latter was the successful 
man. after Harrah had done most of the 
work to get the office established. However, 
Harrah afterwards had his ambition satis- 
fied, and obtained the office after its af- 
fairs had been administered by Fisher and 
Alexander Carpenter. 

The first shoe-shop was opened by Oliver 
Bascom, about 1840; after him Carson 
Campbell had a shop; Samuel Douglas 
opened one about 1841-3. 

The first blacksmith-shop was ojiened bv 
Phillip Crowl, in 1832. He has had quite a 
number of successors. 

John McNickel had the fii-st wagon shop 
in 1840, and it afterwards became the pi'op- 
erty of his son, John M. McXickel. 

The village and postoffice take their name 
from the stream which flows through the 
place. The stream was named by Thomas 
Fisher (the first), the spot on its banks 
upon which he located being just five miles 
directly east of the place where he first set- 
fled on the Shenango. 

The first schoolhou.se in the village was 
built in the neighborhood of 1825. 

"About 1843 a volunteer rifle company, 
known as the 'Eastbrook Rangers,' was 
organized, and drill was kept uji for seven 
years. . The officers were : Captain, Andrew 
Buchanan; first lieutenant, Alexander Car- 
penter; second lieutenant, John Staton; 
orderly sergeant, William McConahy. The 
company numbered about 100 members and 
was uniformed with white pants, blue coats 
and red sash, and a hat trimmed with cord 
and green feather. They were armed with 
common rifles, in the use of which they 
were very exjiert. The officers held com- 
missions from the Governor of the State. 

"Another company was partially organ- 
ized in 1860, just before the rebellion broke 
out, but when the war came on they consoli- 
dated with a small company from Prince- 
ton, in Slijipery Rock Township, and the 
two were mustered in as Company F, of the 
100th (Roundhead) Regiment, which after- 



248 



HISTORY OF LAWRENCE COUNTY 



ward saw much hard service in the Caro- 
linas, A^irginia and elsewhere." 

EASTBROOK STATION. 

This place was established at the comple- 
tion of the New Castle and Franklin Rail- 
way. Thomas Walton opened a grocery 
store soon after and a number of dwellings 
were erected, a short sidetrack laid, and a 
tine iron and wooden truss wagon-bridge 
built across Neshannock Creek, wliich 
stream here makes an extensive and beau- 
tiful bend, receiving just east of the sta- 
tion the waters of East Brook or Hetten- 
baugh Run. 

"Part of an extensive colony of German 
Mennonites, or Amisli, occupies a consider- 
able portion of the north and west part of 
the township, the remainder of them being 
in Wilmington, Neshannock and Pulaski 
townships. They came principally from 
]\fiSlin County, Pennsylvania, and have 
schools, and a church of their own, the 
church building being in Wilmington 
Township. They are a quiet, industrious 
class of people, keep their farms in good 
order, and but two or three of the original 
families have left the township since they 
came into it." 

MAHONING TOWNSHIP. 

Mahoning is one of the original town- 
ships of Lawrence County. It was erected 
when the territory was within the limits 
of Mercer County, some time between the 
third Monday of November, 1805, and the 
third Monday of February, 1806. It orig- 
inally comprised a part of the old Pyma- 
tuning township, erected in February, 
1804, when the first court was held in Mer- 
cer County. 

The Mahoning, from which the township 
derives its name, and numerous smaller 
streams, afford abundant water facilities, 
and are noted for their beautiful scenery. 
The surface of the township is mostly a 
table-land, only those portions along the 
streams being broken to any considerable 
degree. The soil is rich and productive, 



and the improvements throughout the 
township are of a high order. 

The townshi]) has an area of about twen- 
ty-six square miles, or 16,640 acres. The 
old bed of the Cross-cut Canal lies along 
the foot of the hills, on the north side of 
the river, and on the south side is built the 
Ashtabula, Youngstown and Pittsburg rail- 
way, operated by the Pennsylvania Com- 
pany; and on the north side is built the 
Pittsburg and Eastern Railway, operated 
by the Baltimore and Ohio Railway, and 
also the Pittsburg and Lake Erie Railway. 

Coal exists throughout the township, and 
compares favorably in quality with that 
mined in other parts of the county. 

Iron ore also exists in some places, but 
has never been worked to a great extent. 

Limestone has been quarried in a num- 
ber of localities, -and shipped principally 
to the furnaces at Youngstown, Ohio. It 
is also manufactured into lime in a few 
places. Along the south side of the Ma- 
honing, at Hillsville Station and vicinity, 
large quantities of the stone have been 
quarried. 

EARLY SETTLEMENT OF THE TOWNSHIP. 

The first actual white settlers, after the 
Moravians brought their families into 
what is now Lawrence County, located in 
Mahoning Township, as early as 1793. In 
June of that year a party of about forty- 
five persons left Allegheny City and 
started for the valley of the Mahoning, in- 
tending to settle on the north side of the 
river, accompanied by a surveyor named 
xVrthur (iardner. They came down the 
Ohio to the mouth of the Beaver, and then 
proceeded up tliat stream on the east side. 
Somewhere about the mouth of Conoquen- 
essing Creek stood a block house, garri- 
soned by a small company of men com- 
manded by a lieutenant. Here they were 
cautioned against Indians, who were 
prowling around, but they proceeded on 
their way and, happily, were not molested. 
About where the city of New Castle now 
stands they forded the Shenango and went 



AND EEPKESENTATIVE CITIZENS 



249 



to the westward. In some iiianiier they 
passed the State line, and brought up on 
the spot where Youngstown, Ohio, now 
stands. At this time many of the ])arty 
became dissatisfied and returned to Alle- 
glieny. Tlie rest, some seventeen in num- 
ber, fame back into Pennsylvania and 
finally settled farms on both sides of the 
Mahoning, instead of adhering to the plan 
of settling on the north side only. 

Among those forming this party were 
Francis ^IcFarland, James, John and 
George McWilliams, John Small, Henry 
Robinson, Alexander McCoy, P]dward 
Wright and Arthur Gardner; the latter 
was the surveyor and probably made no 
claim. They all settled (except Gardner) 
in what is now Mahoning Townshi}) In 
1793 they made "deadening," built cabins, 
planted apple and peach seeds, and made 
other arrangements necessary for their 
future comfort. x\fter completing their 
improvements they returned to Pittsburg, 
and in 1794 most of them l)rought out their 
families. Francis ^IcP'arland afterward 
removed to what is now Pulaski Township, 
and located on the farm where his son, 
J. C. McFarland, now or recently lived. 

Michael Book was possibly one of the 
men who came out in 1793, together with 
his brother, George. The two settled a 
400-acre tract, now partially owned by 
Michael Book's son, Jacob. They came 
from Washington county, Pa., where 
Michael was married shortly before leav- 
ing. He brought his wife out with him, 
and in 1798 or '99 their iirst child, Mar- 
garet, was boi-n. 

William Rowland came from Beaver 
County, Pennsylvania, and located on the 
farm afterwards owned bv his son, J. K. 
Rowland, about the 1st of April, 1829. He 
made the first improvements on the place, 
and also built a saw-mill on Coffee Run. 
Mr. Rowland carried on the saw-mill lousi- 
ness for a number of years. Coffee Run 
was so named from the fact that the fam- 
ilies who settled along it were great coffee- 
drinkers. 



William Morrison was born in Ireland in 
17(il, and came to America in 1777. He 
located afterwards in Washington County, 
Pennsylvania, and in 1796 came with his 
wife and several children to what is now 
Mahoning Township, Lawrence County, 
and settled on a 400-acre tract belonging 
to Judge Alexander Wright, getting 100 
acres for settling. Some years ago the 
homestead was owned by James Morrison, 
and Patterson and Alexander Wright. 
Another son, Hugh, was probably born on 
the 2)lace after his joarents settled. Soon 
after he came Mr. Morrison planted an or- 
chard of apple, peach and pear trees. Mrs. 
Morrison, whose maiden name was Sherer, 
had two brothers killed by the Indians 
while living in Washington County. Her 
father was taken prisoner by the Indians 
and taken to Sandusky, Ohio. 

Alexander Wright came originally from 
Ireland. About 1794-6 he came from 
Washington County, Pennsylvania, where 
he had been living, with his wife and five 
children, to what is now Mahoning Town- 
ship, and purchased several tracts of land, 
which is equal to any within its limits. 
Mr. Wright died in 1838, aged ninety-two 
years. Numbers of the family occupy 
farms in the neighborhood where their 
grandfather settled. 

Samuel McBride came originally from 
Ireland and settled in Washington Coun- 
ty, Pennsylvania. He possibly visited Law- 
rence County with the party who came in 
1793, but probably not until about 1796. 
He brought his wife and six children with 
him, and settled some six hundred acres. 

Joseph Ashton came to the township 
previous to the War of 1812, and settled 
on the farm lying just above Edenburg, 
now, or a few years ago, owned bv the heirs 
of James Park. The farm is situated on 
both sides of the river. Mr. Ashton came 
from ^lanchester, Allegheny Coimty, Penn- 
sylvania, now a part of Pittsburg. 

Andrew Patterson came early to the 
township and settled near the present site 
of the town of Hillsville. 



250 



HISTORY OF LAWRENCE COUNTY 



About the year 1806 John McComb, then 
twenty-six years old. from Washington 
County, Pennsylvania, settled one mile 
above Edenburg, where he lived for some 
ten years, afterwards removing to a farm 
in Union Township, one mile below Eden- 
burg, on which he resided until his death 
in November, 1866. 

Arney Biddle came from near Salem 
City, N. J., in June, 1806, with his wife and 
three boys. He settled on the south side 
of the Mahoning, about a mile northwest 
of the present town of Edenburg, and af- 
terwards bought laud south of Edenburg. 
He reared a family of twelve children, six 
of whom were living in 1876. His father 
was killed at the battle of Brandywine, 
September 11, 1777. ^Mr. Biddle die'd Au- 
gust 22, 1825, aged sixty-three years; his 
wife died October 10, 1869, at the age of 
ninety-eight. 

AViJliam Park and family (three sons — 
John, James and William), from Berkley 
Coimty, Vii-ginia, settled in the fall of 
1800 at "Parkstown," in what is now 
Union Township. The Parks afterwards 
became prominent men in the neighbor- 
hood of Edenburg. 

Joseph Brown came with the Parks and 
settled with them at Parkstown.' but after- 
wards removed to Mahoning Township, 
and rented the old Ashton farm about 
1816-17. He later removed to the Martin 
farm, on the north side of the river, where 
he lived four or live years, and again re- 
moved to the farm in Pulaski Township, 
now owned by Messrs. Miller and Pej'ton. 
He finally came back to Mahoning Town- 
ship. 

Tn 1823, William Brown, who had 
learned the mason's trade with Joshua 
Chenowith, at Parkstown, went to Cumber- 
land County and commenced business for 
himself. In 1832 he was married in Cum- 
berland County to Miss Latsa Davidson, 
daughter of George Davidson, of Moimt 
Rock Spring, who was elder of the Pres- 
byterian Church at Carlisle for some thir- 
ty years. After Mr. Brown was married 



he came back to Lawrence County and re- 
sided here imtil his death. We have not 
the date of that event, but he was living in 
1876. His farm originally contained 375 
acres. 

Among the other early settlers of Ma- 
honing Township were the following: 
William McFate and George Kelso came 
from Washington County, Pennsylvania, 
about 1801-2. Thomas Matthews settled 
about 1800. The Whitings— John, Adam 
and the Doctor, came as early as 1800, and 
possibly earlier. 

John Onstott and Alexander Thompson 
also settled early. These persons was on 
the north side of Mahoning River princi- 
pally, and most of them have descendants 
yet living in the township. 



The tirst school in the township was kept 
near Quakertown, on the north side of the 
Mahoning. 

Subsequent to this, about 1806-7, a 
school-house was built near the present 
site of the Mahoning United Presbyterian 
Churcii. The first teacher was a man 
named Ramsey. Probably other school- 
houses were built in the township, and 
schools were taught at an early day, also, 
where the villages of Edenburg, Hillsville 
and Quakertown now stand. 

The nimiber of schools in the township, 
in 1908, was fourteen, with an enrollment 
of 445 pupils. Fourteen teachers are em- 
ployed, to whom is paid the sum of $2,- 
049.80 annually. The average number of 
months taught is seven. 

The school-buildings of the township are 
all substantial, warm and commodious. 
The schools themselves are well conducted, 
and reflect credit on the enterprise of the 
citizens and managers. The bulk of the 
attendance is, of course, at Edenburg and 
Hillsville. 

The Cross-cut Canal was finished in the 
summer of 1838. The canal was aban- 
doned between Youngstown and the mouth 
of the Mahoning in 1872. The portion 



AND KEPRE8EXTATIVE C'lTIZEXS 



251 



above Youngstowu had beeu aliandoned 
some time before. The old bridges are 
fallen down or taken away. The power on 
the canal was utilized for manufacturing 
purposes, but after it was abandoned the 
mills became useless and were also aban- 
doned or removed. 

A large frame grist-mill was built on 
the canal, three-fourths of a mile above 
Edenburg, in 1843, by James and John 
Raney, but was not operated after the 
canal was abandoned. 

John Angel built a grist-mill about 1825, 
on a small run which empties into the Ma- 
honing, one-and-a-half miles above Eden- 
burg. He also had a distillery a short dis- 
tance above, on the same side of the river. 
William Walters afterwards owned the 
mill. 

A grist-mill was built at a very early 
day by some of the McWilliams family, 
near the mouth of Coffee Run. After 1837 
it was abandoned. 

TOWN OF EDENBUEG. 

The first settler on the land where Eden- 
burg now stands was probably Jacob Cre- 
mer. He sold the land to James Park. 
Crawford White laid out the town in Au- 
gust, 1824, and sold the lots at auction. 

There has been some dispute over the 
name of the town, and we give both stories 
as to its origin as they are told. One is 
that William McFate, who bought the first 
lot in the place, had the privilege, for so 
doing, of naming the town, and called it 
"Edinburg," after his native city in Scot- 
land. The other is that it was named 
"Edenburg" by Mr. 'NMiite, when he laid 
it out, owing to its fancied resemblance to 
the "Garden of Eden," with its rich soil 
and beautiful location. The latter is by 
far the most pi'obable reason, and was no 
doubt the origin of the name, as the man 
who laid it out would be most apt to give 
it a name. Therefore, we write it "Eden- 
burg," although the other form is in fre- 
quent use to this day. 

James Park lived in a log house which 



stood just back of the spot occupied by 
the brick house owned some years ago by 
Hiram Park. In 1825 his brother, John 
Park, built a brick house on the spot later 
occupied by that of Hiram Park. This 
was afterwards torn away and the present 
residence erected. 

John Park went to Illinois, resided for 
some time in Chicago, and finally died at 
Joliet, Ills., near which city he was living 
on a farm. 

In 1849 Mr. Park's son-in-law, James 
Raney, purchased the grist-mill erected by 
him on the Mahoning about 1831. He built 
a dam. also a saw-mill. The grist-mill con- 
tained three run of stone. Mr. Raney 
built a warehouse on the canal, and also 
erected two dwellings. In 1852 he sold the 
whole property to Samuel and Matthew 
Park, and it aftei-wards passed through 
various hands and for many years did a 
large custom business. 

Thomas Covert opened the first store in 
the place. It stood near the corner of the 
"Diamond," and was a frame building, 
part of it being occupied by him as a 
dwelling. He afterwards built a fine brick 
residence, with a store in one part, and 
for a time owned a foundry in the village. 
This building and the old one were burned 
down and the foundry long ago abandoned. 

John Park started the first shoe-shop, 
working in the brick house which he built 
in 1825. He afterwards moved several 
times, and finally erected a large building, 
80x30 feet, on the main street, in which he 
carried on quite an extensive business. 
John Welch was the first blacksmith. 

Gr. McMullen probably kept the first ho- 
tel. Like most of the early hotels, its prin- 
cipal soui'ce of profit was from its bar. 

James Park started the first broom-fac- 
tory. The business has since been carried 
on by Jolm D. Raney, William Hoover and 
others. Mr. Hoover's father, John Hoov- 
er, came from Franklin County, Pennsyl- 
vania, in 1817, and located a little south- 
west of what is now Edenburg. He lived 
there until 1868, when he removed to San- 



252 



HISTORY OF LAWRENCE COUNTY 



dusky County, Ohio, where he afterwards 
died. 

The first school in Edenburg was taught 
by John Davis, in the Methodist Episcopal 
Church, about 1830. Before that the near- 
est schools were at Mount Jackson, "Hill 
Town," and other places, several miles 
away. 

A post-office was established here about 
1840. The first postmaster was Samuel 
Richards. Dr. Cotton held it nest, and 
Arney Biddle third. Mr. Biddle had op- 
ened a general store in the village, and 
when he was appointed (April 2, 1844) he 
kept the post-office in his store. 

A few oil wells were formerly worked 
along the river on both sides, but never 
proved verj^ profitable. 

THE METHODIST EPISCOPAl, CHl'RCH 

of Edenburg was organized about 1822, 
and their first church, a brick edifice, built 
in 1826. This building was afterwards 
abandoned and torn down, and the present 
neat edifice erected. During the past year 
some $1,500 have been expended in repairs 
and the church now is one of the finest in 
the neighborhood. The first Methodist 
class was composed of Henry Zuver and 
Peggy, his wife, and his daughters, Nancy, 
Katy and Betsey. Phillip Lamb and Han- 
nah, his wife, William and John Lamb, his 
sons, and Maria and Susan, his daughters ; 
Jane Biddle (wife of Arney Biddle), John 
Hoover and Polly, his wife, and "Mother" 
Warner. 

One of the first preachers was Bilious 
0. Plympton, who traveled the circuit and 
preached only four or five times a year in 
a place. A man named Luccock also 
preached to them early, and was a prom- 
inent man among the Methodists. 

A Sabbath-school was organized about 
1825, and has been kept up most of the 
time since. 

The following have held the pastorate 
of this church since 1877 : Nathan Morris, 
1877-1878; D. W. Wampler, 1878-1880; J. 
K. Mendenhall, 1880-1882; J. L. Mechlin, 
1882-1885; R. A. Buzza, 1885-1890; S. E. 



Winger, 1890-1892; Washington Hollister, 
1892-1893; W. A. Merriam, who came in 
1893 and died during the same year ; S. L. 
Mills, who finished the year 1893; H. H. 
Bair, 1894-1896; M. B. Rilev, 1896-1900; 
A. C. Locke, 1900-1905, and R. W. Skinner, 
the present pastor. The church member- 
ship is now about 154, and the Sabbath- 
school abovit 150. The official members are 
Z. T. Robinson, William Laudis, C. S. Mc- 
Cullough, S. C. Wagoner, Holland Shaffer, 
Wayne Lamm, F. S. Webb, Charles Rob- 
inson, Joseph Baskline, B. W. Cover, S. 0. 
Cover, D. M. Hoffmaster and Myron 
Simon. 

"In the vicinity have been picked up 
gun-flints, oxydized bullets, flattened and 
battered; old gun-locks and grm-barrels, 
bayonets, etc., which would seem to indi- 
cate that severe fighting occurred here at 
some period. Many bones have also been 
found. Near the town was a burial 
ground, containing among other relics an 
interesting mound, originally some fifty 
feet in circiunference, and about six feet 
high. This mound was examined some 
years since and found to contain several 
layers of human skeletons. Flag-stones 
were placed in regular order around the 
bodies, and the whole covered with earth. 
Near by were quite a large number of 
bodies buried separately. Large numbers 
of flint chips and arrow-heads have been 
picked up in the vicinity. The location of 
the village was on the south side of the 
Mahoning, the principal part being below 
the present village of Edenburg and close 
to the river." 

Christian Frederick Post, the Moravian 
missionary, who visited this region in 
1758, in advance of Forbes' army, says 
the town contained at that time ninety 
houses and 200 able warriors. Post per- 
suaded the principal chief, Pak-au-ke, or 
King Beaver, to visit the "Forks," now 
Pittsburg, where a great conference was 
held on the ground where Allegheny City 
now stands. Twelve years later, in 1770, 
at the request of Pak-an-ke, the Moravians 



AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 



253 



removed from their settlement at Lan- 
uunak-hamiuk, on the Allegheny River, 
and settled on the Big- Beaver, five miles 
below New Castle, near the present site of 
Moravia Station. Further reference to 
their labors may be found in tlie chapter 
on Religious Development. 

OLD INDIAN VILLAGE OF KUSH-KUSH-KKE. 

Some authorities have located this vil- 
lage at the mouth of the Mahoning, on the 
Big Beaver, and others still farther down, 
between that and Moravia. But the evi- 
dence points strongly to the site of Eden- 
burg, as the location of this once famous 
Indian town. It is at least certain there 
was a village where Edenburg stands, 
which was divided into two parts, one a 
short distance farther up the river than 
the other, and in the memory of the "old- 
est inhabitants," the Indians who lived 
here were called " Kush-kush-kians. " Lo- 
cal residents can still remember when the 
old war-post stood near the village of 
Edenburg, or in the edge of it, with the 
marks of the tomahawks still upon it, look- 
ing almost as fi'esh as when the Indians 
first circled around it and performed their 
grotesque war-dances. 

The Indians did not all leave their beau- 
tiful home until some time after the coun- 
tiy was settled by the whites, and the won- 
der is not great, because Kush-kush-kee, 
with its beautiful valley and silvery 
stream, together with the "hills piled on 
hills," and the grand old forest, had long 
been their abiding place. 

HILLSVILLE. 

A man named Donot was probably the 
first settler on the ground where Hillsville 
now stands. He sold the land to Peter or 
Abraham Hoover, and finally it became the 
property of John Hill, who laid out the 
town. October 15, 1824, and called it Hills- 
burgh, which name has since been changed 
1)y use or otherwise to Hillsville. It is 
generally called "Hill Town." Mr. Hill 
was a tailor and kept the first tailor shop 
in the i^lace. 



The first house built on the new town 
plat was put up by one McGowan. It was 
a frame building and stood at the cross- 
roads in the southern part of the town. 
McGowan kept a store in his house, it be- 
ing the first one in town. A man named 
Moss kept the second one in the same 
house. 

Some time before the town was laid out, 
a log schoolhouse was built half a mile 
south. The first blacksmith shop in the 
place was started by Christopher Rummel. 
The first wagon shop was opened by 
George Sell, about 1830-32. David Stev- 
ens was the first shoemaker. 

A post-office was established soon after 
the town was laid out, and David Stevens 
was probably the first postmaster. After 
him came James Caldwell, David Mc- 
Bride, David McCreary, AVilliam Duff, 
William Mitchell, Chauncey Meeker, Ja- 
cob Burke and others. William Gilmore 
is at the present time postmaster and lead- 
ing general merchant. 

The Methodist Ej^iscopal Societj" organ- 
ized originally about 1820, and a church 
was built of logs about the time the town 
was laid out (1824). It stood on a lot 
given by John Zuver. The first preacher 
was probably Rev. Bilious 0. Plympton, 
who preached also at Edenburg. About 
1855, meetings under the old organization 
were suspended. May 19, 1867, a new 
class was organized by Rev. J. F. Hill, 
then in charge of the Mount Jackson cir- 
cuit. A frame church was built in 1869. 

Hillsville is situated in the midst of a 
comparatively level country, covered with 
fine improvements, and populated by a 
wealthy, intelligent and progressive class 
of people. Around it are extensive quar- 
ries of limestone, which is and has been 
extensively used in smelting. There are 
three limestone companies in operation at 
Hillsville, namely: Gilmore & Johnson; 
Union Limestone Company, and the Lake 
Erie Limestone Company. George W 
Van Fleet, of New Bedford, is secretary 
of the two last mentioned. Clarence M. 



254 



HISTORY OF LAWRENCE COUNTY 



Duff is local superintendent of the Union 
Limestone Company. 

Hillsville has alwaj's been noted for the 
enterprise of its citizens and is equal in 
that respect to any town of its size in the 
country. The timber around has been 
nearly all cut away, however, and the want 
of it will at no distant day be felt. 

The Zoar Baptist Church of Hillsville, 
in Mahoning Township, was organized 
January 17, 1842, with thirteen members, 
as follows: John Faddis, Isaac Faddis, 
Sarah Faddis, Hannah Faddis, William 
Henderson, Sarah Henderson, Isabel Ir- 
win, Rachel S. Kincaid, William Williams, 
Benjamin Williams, Mary Williams, Ed- 
ward Wright, Abagail Wright. 

Its first pastor was Rev. Rees Davis, 
who commenced his labors in 1842 and 
served until 1851, being succeeded by Rev. 
D. C. Clouse. From its organization, in 
1842, the congregation worshiped for some 
three years in various places— in private 
houses, at one time in a barn, at another 
in a wagon shop, in a schoolhouse, and in 
an old church near Hillsville, as oppor- 
tunity afforded or convenience dictated. In 
1845 the society erected a church edifice 
at a cost of about two thousand dollars. 
The church has had an interesting history 
under its various pastors and has done its 
full share in the development of the 
county. 

The Harbor United Presb>i;erian 
Church was organized either in 1851 or 
1852, probably 1852, in the fall, by Rev. 
R. A. Browne, D. D. The original congre- 
gation had in the neighborhood of forty 
members. A frame building was erected 
in 1854, on ground obtained from John Mc- 
Fate, who gave a lease for twenty-five 
years. His heirs renewed the lease in 1876, 
to last as long as the land shall be used 
for church purposes. A part of the lot is 
occupied by the graveyard. The first reg- 
ular pastor was Rev. William G. Reed, 
who was installed about 1853, previous to 
the erection of the church, and preached 
in the schoolhouse until the church was 



built. His pastorate continued for several 
years, and, after he left the church was 
supplied by A. M. Black, of New Wilming- 
ton, and others. Rev. T. W. Winter was 
installed as second pastor about 1860, and 
remained till near the close of the war. 
Subsequently the church was supplied by 
various pastors. 

The Christian Church was organized by 
Rev. Abraham Sanders some time between 
1828 and 1832. Their first meetings were 
held in John Park's house at Edenburg. 
A frame church on the hill north of Eden- 
burg was built in 1850-51, principally 
through the efforts of John D. Raney and 
David Stanley. After Rev. Mr. Sanders 
left, a minister named John Henry came 
from Youngstown, Ohio, and ijreached; 
also another one named Flick. Among the 
early pastors were Revs. Thomas Mun- 
nell, Finney, Applegate, Perky and others. 
The original congregation was made up of 
the Stanleys, Raneys, Parks, Baldwins, 
Carpenters, and others, and numbered 
from thirty to forty people altogether. 

MAHONING UNITED PRESBYTERIAN CONGREGA- 
TION— 1799-1876. 

This congregation, with their church, lo- 
cated about two miles northeast of Lowell, 
Ohio, and in Mahoning Township, Law- 
rence County, Pennsylvania, was organ- 
ized about 1799 — certainly not later than 
1800. The settlements out of which it 
sprung were made in the year 1893, and 
soon after. They were composed of both 
branches (Associate and Associate Re- 
formed) of the Bible Psalmody Presby- 
terians. For a number of years prior to 
the organization of the congregation, pray- 
er meetings were held from house to house 
throughout the community. The first ser- 
mon preached in the boimds of the congre- 
gation by an Associate minister was de- 
livered on the old Captain Thompson 
farm. 

On the day fixed for the Presbyterian 
family to meet and organize and call a 
pastor, the Associates, mustering their 



AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 



forces from a greater distance than did 
their Associate Eeforuied bretliren, and 
therefore outnumbering them, it was or- 
ganized an Associate congregation, and an 
Associate minister was called. However, 
in or about the year 1808, the Associate 
members removed their place of worship 
to the present site of Deer Creek United 
Presbyterian Church, near New Bedford, 
Pa., when the Associate Reformed mem- 
bers took possession of Mahoning Church, 
and held it until the union of the two 
branches in 1858, since which time it has 
stood in the ranks of the United Presby- 
terians. 

Rev. W. T. McConnell served as pastor 
of Alahouing United Presbyterian Church 
from 1873 to 1883; Rev. A. P. Hutchinson, 
1885 to 1892 ; Rev. J. W. Birnley, 1893 to 
1899, and Rev. M. B. Patterson from 1901 
to the present time. The present member- 
ship of the church is ninety-seven; of the 
Sabbath-school, 102; Young People's 
Christian Union, thirty-two; Ladies' Mis- 
sionary Society, fourteen, and Junior ilis- 
sionary Society, about twenty. The church 
elders' are: J. B. Moore, W. H. McCall 
and T. J. Carlisle. James J. Lowiy, who 
died a short time ago, was an elder in the 
church for about forty years. 

QUAKERTOWN. 

The first settler on the ground where 
Quaker town now stands was probably 
Septimus Cadwallader, who came from 
near Brownsville, Pa., somewhere in the 
neighborhood of 1800, possibly not until 
1804. He settled on a 400-acre tract, and 
built a frame house very near where the 
present stone house stands on the old 
place, at the foot of the hill, on the bank 
of the river. Mr. Cadwallader had worked 
at the milling business at his old home, and 
when he arrived in Mahoning Township he 
built a grist-mill on the Mahoning, a short 
distance north of his house. The mill was 
a frame structure, and was afterward 
moved away from the river and set on the 
stream which he called "Falling Spring" 



run, near the falls now known as Quaker- 
town Falls. After moving the mill he put 
in a carding machine, which he operated 
for some time. Mr. Cadwallader, Ben- 
jamin Sharpless and Talbot Townsend, all 
three of wliom settled here, were Quakers, 
and from this circumstance the place be- 
came known as Quakertown. Mr. Sharp- 
less came in 1808, and Mr. Townsend prob- 
ably shortly before. 

John Shearer was also one tif the early 
comers, and had a fulling-mill on the brow 
of the hill, on the run, and afterwards 
moved it to another location a little south- 
east. Mr. Cadwallader had a linseed-oil 
mill, and some other parties built a grist- 
mill on the run at the foot of the hill, and 
Mr. Cadwallader probably built a saw-mill 
also. An old grist-mill is now standing 
at the top of the hill, probably built by 
Cadwallader and his son-in-law. Sharp- 
less. It is now abandoned and falling to 
pieces, as are all the others. The wheel 
in this is twenty-eight feet in diameter. A 
mile up the stream one or two other grist- 
mills and saw-mills were built. 

Mr. Cadwallader 's son, Septimus, Jr., 
built a tannery early, and about 1830 an- 
other one was started by Mifflin Cadwalla- 
der, who, after running it a year or two, 
took in George W. Jackson, of Pittsburg, 
as a partner. These are the only tanneries 
ever located in the place. Nothing is now 
left of any of the mills or tanneries, ex- 
cei^t, in a few instances, old decaying 
frames. 

A bridge was built across the Mahoning, 
nearly opposite the Cadwallader stone- 
house, about 1832, but it had too many 
piers, and the ice gorged and carried it 
away the next winter. 



In the War of 1812 the following resi- 
dents of Mahoning Township served: 
Stewart, Alexander Wright, out three 
months at Erie; John, and probably David 
and Nathaniel McBride; John was taken 
sick on the way to Erie, and was obliged 



256 



HISTORY OF LAWRENCE COUNTY 



to return ; Joseph Asliton served as major. 
Joseph Brown was Adjutant of Militia be- 
fore the war, and, during it, went to Erie, 
as did also Joseph Cadwallader. 

A volunteer ritie company was organized 
at Edenburg, about 1838-9. Alexander 
Miller, Thomas Covert and John D. Raney 
served at different times as captains of 
the company, which had at one time in the 
neighborhood of one hundred members. 
The imiform was white pants, red sash, 
red and white plume. They were armed 
with common rifles. 

Another rifle company was organized at 
Hillsville, and drilled under the militia 
law of the State for several years ; was or- 
ganized about 1835 to 1840. 

During the rebellion Mahoning Town- 
ship furnished her share of troops for the 
grand army which marched to the "sunny 
South," and left so many of its members 
in death's embrace, on gory fields where 
they fought and fell, that the Union they 
loved might remain unbroken. 

NESHANNOCK TOWNSHIP. 
This township forms a part of what was 
one of the original townships of Mercer 
County, of the same name, in 1805. The 
territory at that time included at least 
three of the present townships in both Mer- 
cer and Lawrence Counties, embracing 
over one hundred square miles. It was 
one of the thirteen original townships of 
Lawrence County, and then included the 
whole of Hickory Township, with portions 
of Union and Pollock Townships, the latter 
now included in the city of New Castle. 
The present township includes an area of 
about eighteen square miles, or 11,520 
acres. It is bounded on the north by Wil- 
mington and Pulaski Townships; on the 
west by Pulaski, ^lalioniiig and Union; on 
the east by Hickory Township, and on the 
south by the city of New Castle and Union 
Township. It is comparatively level in the 
central and northern portions, but more 
broken and abrupt as it approaches the 
Shenango and Neshannock Rivers. There 



are no streams of much magnitude. On 
the west side of the township are Fisher's 
and Caiiqi ruus, and on the east are two 
small creeks flowing into the Neshannock. 
There are considerable bottom-lands on the 
Shenango and Neshannock Rivers, which 
are rich and productive. Numerous 
springs abound in all parts of the town- 
ship, and the water is excellent. Of miner- 
als it has a large share. The greater por- 
tion of the township is underlaid with coal, 
which has been extensively mined in the 
central portions, particularly. in the neigh- 
borhood of Coal Centre. Fisher's Run 
rises in the coal region, and its waters are 
colored red l)y oxydes from its source to its 
mouth. 

Potter's clay abounds, and on the Wat- 
son property a pottery was successfully 
worked for many years. Sandstone is 
very abundant along the valleys of the two 
rivers, and a stratum of limestone is found 
in the southern portion of the township. 
Iron ore is also abundant. Brick clay is 
found in many places. The workable coal 
lies about fifty feet below the surface, and 
is about four feet in thickness. The north- 
ern margin of the coal lies under a stratum 
of slate rock about twenty feet thick, while 
the south end of the basin underlies a 
stratum of sandstone of about the same 
thickness. 

A second stratum of coal lies about sixty 
feet below the first, and has a thickness of 
some three feet. This has been worked 
very little. Lying between the two is a 
very pure vein of coal, but only about 
eighteen inches in thickness. 

The limestone formation lies at about 
the same elevation as the coal. A thin 
stratiun of this stone at the bottom under- 
lies the iron ore. 

The coal lies in a nearly horizontal posi- 
tion with a slight declination to the south- 
west. The bottom of the workable vein is 
somewhat undulating. A narrow-gauge 
railway for the transportation of coal runs 
from New Castle into the center of this 
township. The township also produces 



AND EEPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 



257 



the iron kuowu as '"blue ore," the vein 
being from six to eighteen inches in thick- 
ness. 

There is line water-power up the Neshan- 
'nock at Jordan's mills, perhaps the best on 
that stream. There are no towns or vil- 
lages of any considerable importance, with 
the exception of the mining town of Coal 
Centre, of which notice will be found on 
another page. 

The improvements are generally good, 
and there are some very fine residences. 
Two of the main roads from New Castle 
to ]\Iercer pass through this township ; one 
by way of the Old Sheuango Church and 
New Wilmington, and the other a mile and 
a half east, passing through the village of 
Fayetteville, in Wilmington township. The 
last mentioned was the first one o])ened, 
and was traveled extensively until the 
other was opened, which, being somewhat 
shorter, took off much of the travel. 

EARLY SETTLERS. 

One of the first settlers in Neshannock 
Township was Thomas Fisher, who came 
from Westmoi'eland County, according to 
the statements of Eev. Thomas Greer, in 
November, 1798, in company with David 
Riley, a young man then living with Fisher. 
Each man had a gun and an axe, and a 
couple of dogs accompanied them. They 
encamped the first night in the present 
Lawrence County, at a point about four 
miles above where New Castle now stands, 
on Camp Run, near the Shenango River. 
They constructed a cabin of poles, and 
built a fire outside, using the cabin to sleep 
in, for fear of the wolves, which were so 
plenty thej^ were obliged to take their dogs 
inside to save them from destruction by 
the ravenous beasts. It would appear that 
after selecting lands in the neighborhood, 
Fisher and Riley returned to Westmore- 
land County, where they staid over winter, 
and in the spring of 1799 removed to the 
valley of the Shenango. They came by 
way of the Youhiogheny, Monongahela and 
Ohio Rivers, and thence up the Beaver 



River in canoes, bringing a few effects with 
them. Mr. Fisher was married, but had 
no children. A young woman by the name 
of Rebecca Carroll lived with the family, 
and came with them. ^Ir. Fisher also had 
a sister, who either came at the same time 
or some time afterwards, and remained 
with them until her death. Mr. Fisher 
Ijurchased several farms in the vicinity, 
and improved them more or less, raising 
several croj^s without fencing. He brought 
along quite a number of fruit trees, which 
he planted. The Indians were quite plenty 
in those days, but were peaceable and dis- 
turbed no one. About 1808 or 1810 Mr. 
Fisher sold his property on "Camp Run," 
where he first settled, to Rev. William 
Young, and purchased land about three 
miles above New Castle, on a small stream 
now known as "Fisher's Run," and 
erected a saw-mill, and afterwards a grist- 
mill, about forty rods from the Shenango 
River, at the place where the "Harbor" 
road crosses tlie run. The exact date of 
the building of these mills is not known, 
but it was somewhere from 1806 to 1810. 

Some years after their settlement Mr. 
Fisher and his wife started on a journey to 
visit friends in Westmoreland county, and 
Mrs. Fisher died suddenly on the road. 
They were alone, and Mr. Fisher "waked" 
the cori^se in a waste-house by the road- 
side all night. After his wife's death two 
nieces kept house for him. Their names 
were McDowell. He lived on this place 
until his death, which occurred February 
28, 1848, at the age of eighty-four years. 
He was found dead in his bed and was 
buried in the little cemetery at King's 
Chapel. He was a very pleasant and af- 
fable man, and a general favorite in the 
community. Before his death he gave 
David Riley and Rebecca Carroll, the lat- 
ter of whom afterwards married Samuel 
Farrer, each one hundred acres of land. 

John Fisher, a nephew of Thomas, was 
born at Ligouier, Westmoreland County, 
Pennsylvania, in 1788. In 1809 he removed 
to what is now Lawrence Countv. He took 



258 



HTSTORY OF LAWRENCE COUNTY 



cliai-ge of his miele's saw-mill, aud oper- 
ated'it for some years. His son, Thomas 
Fisher, the 3d, named for his grand-uncle, 
was born at the mills in 1809,' a short time 
after he came. Mr. Fisher was a practical 
surveyor, and had set his compass and 
planted his "Jacob's staff" in all parts of 
Lawrence County. John Fisher raised a 
company and took it to the field during the 
war of '1812-15. About the year 1817 he 
and his uncle Thomas erected" a fuliug and 
carding-mill at Eastbrook, now in Hickory 
Township, on the "Hettenbaugh Eun," 
which was operated until about 1827. Cap- 
tain John Fisher lived at Eastbrook until 
his death in 1841. 

The Pearsons were early settlers in this 
township. The family is a very extensive 
one, and were originally Quakers, who 
came over from England with the cele- 
brated William Penn in 1682. John Pear- 
son, grandfather of James, Thomas, 
Charles, Johnson and Geoi'ge Pearson, to- 
gether with his son George made a visit to 
the West in the fall of 1803, coming all the 
way from Darby, seven miles from Phila- 
delphia, in Delaware County, where they 
resided, on horseback, through Washing- 
ton, Beaver aud Mercer Counties, and re- 
turning by way of Pittsburg. The old gen- 
tleman purchased altogether, in what is 
now Neshannoek Township, about one 
thousand acres of land. It was most prob- 
ably during this visit that the old gentle- 
man donated about two acres of land for 
church and burial purposes where the 
United Presbyterian Church stands. He 
granted the land upon conditions that it 
should be well kept and substantially 
fenced. The old gentleman never resided 
in Ivawrence County, but made frequent 
visits to his lands, which included the coal 
lands on the Peebles' farm aud a two-hun- 
dred-acre tract some two miles farther 
north, where Bevan Pearson first settled 
about 1804. The latter afterwards re- 
moved to Mercer, where he held several of- 
fices in the new county. George Pearson 
afterwards settled on two hundred acres 



of his father's land. He soon afterwards 
purchased a tract containing one hundred 
acres of one McClaren, and soon after pur- 
chased another tract of the same amount 
of another McClaren. The McClarens 
were from Ireland, and settled here at an 
early day. 

Subsequently, George Pearson left this 
section and lived in Charleston, S. C, for 
several years. After his return he mar- 
ried Miss Sarah Reynolds, daughter of 
James Reynolds, who was also a Quaker. 
It is customary among these people to pub- 
lish the intentions of a couple wishing to 
marry in the "meeting" for some time 
previous to the marriage. In this instance 
there was no Quaker "meeting" within 
many miles, and the only roads were bridle 
paths, and so the young couple made a 
virtue of necessity and employed Ezekiel 
Sankey, Esq., father of Ezekiel and Daniel 
Sankey, to perform the ceremony, without 
waiting for preliminaries, and the neces- 
sary arrangements were soon made and 
the "twain were made one flesh" at the 
house of Jesse Du Shane, in New Castle. 
This was about the year 1810. The 
Quakers in the eastern part of the State, 
hearing of this violation of their rules, sent 
a depnitation to the new settlement to per- 
suade them that they had done a great 
wrong, and must confess before "meet- 
ing" and have the ceremony performed a 
second time, according to Quaker usage. 
But the young people concluded they had 
committed no great fault and so refused to 
comply. They were accordingly solemnly 
read out of the society. 

Mr. Pearson lived on his farm in this 
township until about 1855, when he came 
to New Castle, where he afterwards died 
at the age of ninety-three years. He was 
a soldier in the War of 1812, and was out 
in Captain John Junkin's Company — 
"Mercer Blues" — who were with Harrison 
on the ]\raumee and Sandusky Rivers. 
After his return he was twice called out to 
Erie. It is not known whether he held a 
commission or not, but it is probable. He 



AND REPRESEXTATIVE ('ITIZEXS 



159 



weut ouee as a substitute for his l)i-other 
Thomas. He afterward received a laud- 
warrant for his ser\aces, which he located 
in Hancock County, Illinois. 

Marinus King and his familj', from 
Bellefonte, Centre County, Pennsylvania, 
settled in the Fisher neighborhood about 
1803. "King's Chapel" was named in his 
honor, he being one of the prominent mem- 
bers. He raised a family of seven sous 
and two daughters. 

David Eiley, heretofore spoken of, lived 
with Thomas Fisher until 1807, when he 
married Sarah Bichards, and improved the 
farm adjoining Fisher's. 

Mr. Riley raised two children — a son 
and daughter. The latter afterwards be- 
came the wife of Rev. Thomas Green. Mr. 
Riley died September 18, 1870, aged eighty- 
five years, and Mrs. Riley on the 20th of 
February, 1872. aged ninety-one years. 
They had lived together sixty-three years. 
In their old age they were taken care of by 
their son-in-law, Mr. Greer. 

Samuel Ferver came to this location 
from Beaver Falls in 1806. He was a mill- 
wright by trade, and erected one or both 
of Thomas Fisher's mills. He married Re- 
liecca Carroll in 1808, and lived on the 
farm adjoining those of David Riley and 
Thomas Fisher until his death, March 15, 
1862. His wife was a member of the 
Methodist Episcopal Church for over tifty 
years. They raised a family of seven 
children — six boys and a girl. Rev. Wil- 
liam Young came at an early day, probably 
about 1806-7. He was a native of Irelaucl, 
and came from Centre County to this town- 
ship. He was a great preacher of the 
Methodist Episcopal Church, a man of 
talent and a very acceptable minister 
among the people. He died in 1829, aged 
seventy-four years. Robert McGeary, 
from ^''irginia. settled in the township 
about 1803, and remained until his death, 
at the age of ninety- two years. He left a 
large and respectable family. 

Lot and William Watson, brothers, came 



from Centre County. Pennsylvania, and 
settled in this townshij) about 1806-08, ou 
lots numbers 1804 and 1855. William built 
the large stone house about 1810-12, and 
Lot put up a good brick residence some 
years later upon his farm adjoining on the 
south. For some years after their arrival 
they lived in log cabins. They were both 
out in the War of 1812. Lot Watson, sou 
of ^\"illiam, held a State appointment on 
the Philadeli)]iia and Columl;)ia Railwav in 
1856. Both the AVatsons raised large and 
respectable families. William Richards, 
before mentioned, came, according to Mr. 
Green, in 1802, from Centre County, Penn- 
sylvania, with his family, consisting of his 
wife and seven children, three sons and 
four daughters, and two sons-in-law, and 
located in the King's Chapel neighborhood, 
wjiere the family settled near each other. 

Mr. Richards was a Revolutionary sol- 
dier, and an exhorter in the Methodist 
Episcopal Chui-cli. He was a large and 
commanding-looking man, and possessed 
of more than ordinary talent. lie died in 
1839. His wife survived him only a short 
time. They are lioth buried in the King's 
Chapel cemetery. His son-in-law, Robert 
Simouton, came with him and lived in the 
township some twentj' years, when he re- 
moved to Xeshannock Falls, now in Wil- 
mington Townshi]), or near there, where 
he lived until his death, at the age of about 
eighty years. He raised a family of live 
children. 

John Rea, another son-in-law of Mi-. 
Richards, who also came with him, was a 
blacksmith by trade, and settled in the 
neighborhood, where he reared the ])re- 
mium family of twenty children, nd died 
at the age of eighty years. 

Hance Greer, father of Rev. Thomas and 
John Greer, came originally from County 
Fermanagh, Ireland, to America in 180-1, 
and first settled at Noblestown, Allegheny 
County, about twelve miles from Pittsburg, 
on Chartier's Creek. In 1810 he removed 
to Sewicklev Bottom, where he resided 



260 



HISTORY OF LAWRENCE COUNTY 



until 1826, when he again removed to 
Zelieuople, Butler County, Pennsylvania, 
where he died in 18-t8. 

Jolm Greer, his second son, settled in 
Neshannock Township in the fall of 1821, 
with his wife and two children. He built a 
house and moved into it in March, 1822. 

Mr. Greer, being a man of good ability 
and an energetic business man, acquired a 
handsome property. He was quite a prom- 
inent member of the Methodist Episcopal 
Church, and he filled the office of steward 
at King's Chajiel for many years. He 
lived with his son, William Y. Greer, a 
well-known citizen and business man. His 
daughter, Mrs. William Ferver, lived near 
him. She raised a family of six children, 
four sons and two daughters. 

Thomas Greer, the youngest son, came 
in 1830, and settled on a small farm near 
his brother. He was a blacksmith by trade, 
and a man of energy and great industry, 
and very successful in acquiring property. 
His children, three daughters and one son, 
settled around him. He held several po- 
sitions of honor and trust in the Methodist 
Episcopal Church — was one of the early 
class leaders, and was local preacher for 
twenty-seven years. 

Frederick Rheinholt, from Germany, 
settled in the township in 1828. He was a 
shrewd son of the "Fatherland" and ac- 
cumulated propertv with the proverbial 
thrift of tlie Teuton. He died March 30, 
1874, aged seventy-four years. He raised 
a family of three sons and five daughters. 

James Stackhouse and family, accom- 
panied by his son-in-law, Andrus Chapin 
and wife, settled in the township in 1834. 
They were all members of the Methodist 
p]piscopal Church. Mr. Stackhouse died 
in 1868, affed ninety-five years. His wife 
died a short time before. They, like many 
other of the early settlers, are buried at 
King's Chapel. Mr. Chapin died Septem- 
ber 24, 1870, aged sixty-six years. He was 
twice married, and reared a large family 
of children. William Hunt settled in 1830, 
bringing his aged mother with him. He 



raised a family of four sons and two 
daughters, and gathered a handsome prop- 
erty around him. He died in 1851, and is 
buried at King's Chapel. His family were 
members of the Methodist Episcopal 
Church. 

Ebenezer Donaldson settled in the town- 
ship in March, 1819, just after the "big 
snow" of that winter (1818-19). His 
cousin, Isaac Donaldson, came some time 
i:)revious to the War of 1812 and was out 
at Erie during that war. Both the Don- 
aldsons were from Westmoreland County, 
Pennsylvania. 

Robert Reynolds, from near Hagers- 
town, Md., came to what is now Taylor 
Township, Lawrence county, in 1804, and 
located near what is now Lawrence Junc- 
tion, where he remained about one year, 
when he removed to Neshannock Township, 
and settled on the Neshannock Creek, about 
four miles above New Castle, in 1805. He 
bought a claim of 200 acres. Some time 
previous to 181 1 he purchased the 200-acre 
tract where the village of Eastbrook now 
is, and about 1813 sold it to Thomas Fisher, 
1st. He served in the War of 1812, most 
})robably in Captain John Fisher's com 
pany. He returned from the army in 
feeble health. About 1819 he purchased a 
farm on the old county line, two miles east 
of New Castle, and removed his family to 
it. Here he died in 1873, at the age of 
ninety years, surviving his wife about five 
years. This couple reared twelve children 
— eight sons and four daughters. When 
Mr. Reynolds left the old place in Neshan- 
nock Township he rented it for a few years, 
and then his sons, John F. and William F., 
purchased it, paying the old gentleman 
$10 per acre for it. John F. Reynolds 
built a "still-house" about 1824, and car- 
ried on the business for six or seven years. 
He afterwards, about 1835, sold his inter- 
est in the property to his brother, and re- 
moved to New Castle, and engaged in the 
business of tanning with his brother Rob- 
ert, but after a short partnership, finding 
it less profitable than he anticipated, he 



AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 



263 



sold to Robert and purchased a farm of 
ninety-four acres, then in Shenango Town- 
ship, afterwards in Pollock Township, and 
now in the Fifth Ward of the city of New 
Castle. Joseph B. always lived in New 
Castle, where he held the office of Justice 
of the Peace. He died several years ago. 
Isaac lived on his father's place, east of 
New Castle, until his death. Michael, the 
twin brother of Joseph, also lived in New 
Castle until his death. Peter studied medi- 
cine and practiced on the eastern shore of 
Maryland. The sisters, Nancy, Mary, Ann 
and Christy Ann, are all dead. 

John Moore, from near New Castle, in 
the State of Delaware, settled on a portion 
of tract No. 1859 about the year 1804. He 
had a wife and two children at the time of 
Ms settlement. Altogether he raised a 
family of seven children — three sons and 
four daughters. John Moore was a Revo- 
lutionary soldier in the American army. 
He was a drummer, and had a brother in 
the service who was a fifer. Their father 
was also an officer in the army, and served 
through the war. The sons received war- 
rants for their service, and John sold his 
warrant and located his brother's on the 
land where he settled. He lived on the 
place until his death, August 15, 1842. He 
went with Captain John Fisher's company 
to Erie during the War of 1812, and re- 
ceived a land warrant of one hundred and 
sixty acres for his services. The land 
where he located in 1804 was a fine tract, 
gently sloping towards the southwest, well 
timbered, and having a great number of 
copious springs in various parts of it. 

Alexander Hawthorne purchased the 
tract No. 1825, next north of Mr. Moore, 
about 1805-6. He lived for some years at 
New Castle, but built a house and barn on 
the land and put on a tenant. Some years 
later he removed to his farm and lived 
upon it until his death, in 1864. 

David Adams settled on tract No. 1852, 
about 1825. He had purchased the tract 
some time before, and leased it to one Rob- 
ert Sankey. Adams sold and removed to 



the neighborhood of Petersburg, Ohio, 
somewhere between 1835 and 1840. 

Martin Hardin, from the Eastern Shore, 
Maryland, settled on tract No. 1836, about 
1811-12, and made the first improvements, 
though he never owned the land. One S. 
R. Smith was the owner, and he allowed 
Hardin to cultivate it and make what he 
could, provided he kept ujj repairs and 
paid the taxes. Hardin was industrious 
and succeeded in accumulating tlie where- 
with to purchase a farm, to which he re- 
moved, and remained upon it until his 
death. 

John Maitland, from east of the moun- 
tains, came into the townshii) at an early 
day, and leased or rented land for several 
years. He finally bought tract No. 1870, 
which had been occupied by one "Billy" 
Hosier, a sort of squatter for a number of 
years. "Billy" had put up a cabin and 
' ' destroyed considerable timber. ' ' Mait- 
land moved upon the tract about 1830, and 
remained there until his death, about 1865. 

Henry Falls purchased the two tracts, 
Nos. 1854 and 1855, at a very early daie, 
and afterwards, about 1806-8, sold them 
to the Watson brothers, William and Lot, 
the latter 1854 and William 1855. 

John Young settled on tract No. 1863 
as early as 1810. The east half of this 
tract was owned by Dr. William Shaw, of 
New Castle. Young sold out afterwards 
and removed to Hickory Township. 

James Mitchell, from Franklin Coimty, 
Pennsylvania, settled with his family in 
this township about one mile north of. the 
old Associate Reformed Church, in 1806. 
He had three sons, William, Peter and 
Thomas. William was married before he 
came here. Both the old gentleman and 
his son, William, died soon after they set- 
tled. The old gentleman i^urchased a farm 
for each of his sons, and they settled near 
him. Peter, the second son, was married 
about 1815 to Sarah Wilson, daughter of 
Samuel Wilson, who settled near .New 
Wilmington, about 1806. Peter lived on 
his place imtil his death, in 1843. He was 



264 



HISTOEY OF LAWEExNCE COUNTY 



a prominent member of the United Pres- 
byterian Church, and filled several town- 
ship offices. He had four sons, James, 
Wilson, William and John. 

Thomas, third son of James, lived and 
died on a farm in the township, where his 
family still reside. James (the old gentle- 
man) owned and operated a distillery 
when he lived in Franklin Coimty, and 
wagoned his liquor to Baltimore, where he 
sold it for gold. Traveling was sometimes 
dangerous in those days, and lie took the 
precaution to bore an auger hole in his 
wagon-axle, into which he put his gold, 
and then j^lugged up the hole. 

John Pomeroy, father of the late Judge 
Pomeroy, from Derry Township, West- 
moreland Countv, settled in the township 
in 1815. 

The McGearys, McCrearys, and Gibsons 
were all early settlers. 

William, the oldest son of James 
Mitchell, had three sons, Wilson, James 
and Joseph. Wilson and James lived in 
New Castle. Joseph died on the old farm 
about 1870. Wilson and James are also 
death 

Peter Mitchell built his second house of 
hewed logs about 1826. It had the first, 
or one of the first, shingle roofs in the 
township. All others were made of clap- 
boards. 

EARLY MILLS. 

James Reynolds, who had been connect- 
ed with Joseph Townsend in the erection 
of a grist-mill at the Narrows, on the Ne- 
shannock, as early as 1803, sold his in- 
terest to John Carlyle Stewart, about 1811, 
and removed to the place now occupied by 
Jordan's mill, on the Neshannock Creek, 
where he purchased a tract of 200 acres, 
covering the water power, it being a part 
of Donation tracts Nos. 1897 and 1898—- 
patented by the State, October 18, 1786, to 
John Sullivan, a soldier of the Revolution- 
ary army, who assigned his patent to Rich- 
ard North, in September, 1795. North 
deeded to James RejTiolds, March 31, 1812. 



At this point, which is probably the finest 
water power on the creek, Reynolds erect- 
ed a grist and saw-mill. The gearing was 
mostly of wood. The grist-mill contained 
two run of stone, made from material 
found in the vicinity. The bolt was a primi- 
tive affair, and was turned by hand by 
means of a crank. The mill was driven by 
a large breast-wheel. 

Mr. Reynolds carried on the milling 
business until his death, which took place 
about 1831-32. His heirs, by different 
deeds dated from 1833 to 1839, transferred 
the property to Frederick Zeigler, who 
tore away the old grist-mill and built a 
new one, still standing. He also built the 
large stone house on the hill, now, or late- 
ly, owned by George RejTiolds. The new 
grist-mill contained three run of burrs. 
In addition to his other work, Zeigler built 
a distillery, which was in operation a good 
many years, in connection with the grist 
mill. The business was finally abandoned 
about 1855-56. Zeigler sold the property, 
September 3, 1850, to William F. Rejm- 
olds, who built a new dam and tore down 
and rebnilt the saw-mill in 1857. In May, 
1868, he sold to John G. and Peter Reyn- 
olds the mills and water power and forty- 
four acres of land. These parties deeded 
the property to James Robinson, Ajjril 3, 
1871. This transfer probably included 
about seven acres of land, and the total 
consideration was about $5,200. Henry 
Jordan purchased the property of Robin- 
son, May 1, 1875. Mr. Jordan rebuilt the 
dam in a most substantial manner, and 
made extensive alterations and improve- 
ments in the grist and saw-mills at an ex- 
pense of over $2,000. The mill is now one 
of the best in the country, and has long 
done a good business in both merchant and 
custom work. 

The New Castle & Franklin Railway 
crosses the creek at this place (where the 
company has a station), on a truss bridge 
constructed of wood and iron, and the 
creek is also spanned by a fine iron road- 
bridge near the mills. The creek flows here 



AND E:EPRP:SENTATIVE CITIZEXS 



265 



iu a deep, licurow gorge worn through the 
rock, whose precipitous cliffs are over- 
liung by a dense growth of hemlock and 
other trees, making a most picturesque and 
enchanting locality. 

Johnston AVatsou, sou of AVilliam Wat- 
son, started a potteiy on his farm near the 
United Presbj'ferian Church about 1825, 
before his marriage. He had learned the 
potter's trade of one White in Mercer 
County, and had also worked at the busi- 
ness in Beaver County. The clay was 
found on Isaac Gibson's place. The "slip 
clay" was brought from near Pulaski. 

A coal mine was opened on Thomas 
Falls' land as early as 1845. Several other 
mines have been worked out in this vicin- 
ity. 

A small mining town called Coal Center 
sprung up around the shafts of the New 
Castle Railroad & Mining Company. It 
has one or more churches, a justice of the 
peace, two or three groceries, several 
blacksmith and wagon shops, and some 
fifty or sixty dwellings. 

SCHOOLS. 

Some of the earliest .schools in the town- 
ship were taught on the Watson and Baker 
farms, most probably in the dwellings, 
from 1812 to 1815. The first teacher was 
Miss Sarah De Wolf, who taught in many 
parts of the country, and was very popu- 
lar, if we may judge from her record. Miss 
Tidball was also one of the earliest teach- 
ers. A school was afterwards opened in 
an empty house on the King fai-m, now 
owned by Thomas Greer. This was taught 
by John Galbreath, in the years 1816-17-19. 
A man named Andrews succeeded Gal- 
breath, and taught in the vears 1820, 1821 
and 1822. 

A school building was erected on the 
Barker fann, about forty rods east of 
King's Chapel, where a school was taught 
by Samuel Richards in the years 1823, 
1824 and 1825. This building was unfor- 
tunately burned, but the people soon man- 
aged to build another, in which James 



Watson taught in lS2(i, and John Maitland 
in 1827. Mrs. Mary I\Iaitland taught a 
select school for young ladies, where they 
learned needle work in addition to other 
things. She was a very successful teacher. 
About 1829-30, the school building near by 
was moved upon the church lot at King's 
Chapel, where one Gilles]»ic taught in 1831 
and 1332. In 1833 and 1834 William Lock- 
hart was the teacher, and .lohn .Mitchell 
also taught. A school was taught in the 
Pomeroy neighborhood about 1820, by 
Thomas Gillespie, whom the scholars of 
those days remember as a terrible fellow 
with the rod. One Holloway and Robert 
Madge were also early teachers. About 
1810-12 a log school-house was built in the 
eastern part of the township, near where 
John Graham now lives. The first teacher 
was a man named Stoops. 

At this time (1908) there are seven 
schools in the township, all good, substan- 
tial buildings of brick and stone, costing 
an average of $1,000 each. The total num- 
ber of scholars is 338. Total expenditures, 
$4,078.61. 

king's chapel. 

The Methodist Episcopal Society, known 
as "King's Chapel," claims the honor of 
having been the first organization of this 
denomination iu T^awreuce Country. In 
1802 William Ki.'liards came with his fam- 
ily from Center County, Pennsylvania, ac- 
comjianied by John Rea and Robert Si- 
monton, his son-in-law, and their wives, 
and settled in the neighborhood of "King's 
Chapel." Mr. Richards was a soldier in 
the American army during the Revolu- 
tionary War. At the close of the war he 
had engaged in the iron business at Belle- 
fonte. He had been licensed as an exhor- 
ter in the church previous to settlement in 
what is now the county of Lawrence, and 
soon after his settlement commenced hold- 
ing religious meetings in his own house. 

At that time Rev. Asa Shinn was the 
preacher on Shenango circuit, and often 
l)reached in Mr. Richard's cabin. In 1803, 



266 



HISTORY OF LAWRENCE COUNTY 



George Askin was on the circuit, and un- 
der liis superintendence a class was 
formed in the Richards neighborhood, con- 
sisting of William Richards and wife, Mary 
Rea, Robert Simonton and wife, Rachel 
Fisher, Rebecca Carroll (afterwards Mrs. 
Ferver), and Mrs. Warner. Several per- 
sons from Edenburg joined the class, and, 
according to Hon. David Sankey, several 
others from New Castle. A class was soon 
after formed by Mr. Richards at New Cas- 
tle, and meetings were held alternately at 
that place and at King's Chapel. The first 
of these meetings were held in New Castle 
about 1810. The following are the names 
of those constituting the class in New Cas- 
tle, according to Rev. Thomas Greer : Ar- 
thur Chenowith and wife, John Bevin and 
wife, William Underwood and wife, Rob- 
ert Wallace and wife, and Phillip Painter 
and wife. Soon after they were joined by 
Michael Carman and wife, and Mr. Car- 
man was appointed leader. 

Marinus King and family, from Center 
County, settled at King's Chapel in 1804, 
and joined the class. The meetings were 
held both at the house of Richards and of 
Mr. King, in 1806 and 1807. 

William Young and family joined the 
settlement at an early day and united with 
the church. Mr. Young was also a licensed 
preacher and a man of more than ordinary 
talents. Others came to the settlement, and 
soon quite a large community were gath- 
ered here. The meetings were now held at 
three places — Rev. Young's, Richards' and 
King's. 

In 1821 Jolm Greer and wife joined the 
settlement, from Sewiekley, Allegheny 
County. Mr. Greer had married a daugh- 
ter of Rev. William Young. He was ap- 
pointed steward soon after his arrival, and 
his house was made a preaching station 
alternately with the first three mentioned. 
Some time afterwards a small building 
was erected on the ground where King's 
Chapel now stands, which was used both 
for church and school purposes. 

Thomas Greer and wife came to this lo- 



cality from Zelienople, Butler County, in 
1830. They had certificates from the 
church at that place, and were received into 
the church at their new home. Mr. Greer 
was soon after appointed class-leader and 
exhorter, which he held with great success 
until 1852, when he was licensed as a local 
preacher. He also held the office of or- 
dained local elder for some years. 

In 1835 a new and neat frame church 
was erected in the place of the old one, 
30x40 feet in size, which was occupied until 
1856. During this period of twenty-one 
years the church experienced a revival of 
religion every year, with one or two ex- 
ceptions. During the first session of the 
Erie Conference, Rev. Bishop Hamlin 
preached at King's Chapel. The session 
was held in New Castle, and Major Eze- 
kiel Sankey brought the Bishop out in a 
two-horse carriage, accompanied by quite 
a number of the brethren from New Castle. 

A large number were added to the 
church during the period between 1835 and 
1856, and the house became too small to 
accommodate the wants of the society. In 
1856 the frame church was removed, and a 
brick structure erected in its stead, 40x50 
in dimensions. It was in this house that 
Ira D. Sankey, the famous Gospel singer, 
recently deceased, made a public confes- 
sion of the Christian religion, and united' 
with the society. Mr. Sankey was con- 
verted under the labors of Rev. J. T. 
Boyles. 

The congregation of King's Chapel re- 
placed the church which had been built in 
1856, at a cost of $3,000, with a new one, 
more commodious and modern, in 1899, 
containing an audience room and an apart- 
ment for Sabbath School at a cost of about 
$5,000. The names of the pastors since 
1877 are as follows: Nathaniel Morris, 
J. K. Mendenhall, D. W. Wampler, J. L. 
Mechlin, C. M. Morse, C. AV. Foulk, H. H. 
Blair, Frederic Fair, S. L. Mills, J. C. A. 
Borland, H. W. Hunter, F. R. Yates and 
A. B. Smith, the present pastor. The 
names of the church officers at present are : 



AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 



267 



Trustees, W. McQuiston, Frauk B. Chapin, 
George Greer, F. W. Hutchinson, Andrew 
McKay, Harry Green, David B. Reynolds, 
Miller Kegrise and David R. Greer; stew- 
ards. J. R. Shearer, Harry Green, Eugene 
Robinson, William McQuiston and I). R. 
Greer. James R. Shearer is superintend- 
ent of the Sabbath School, which has about 
sixty members. The number of church 
members is about 120. 

A Methodist Episcopal church was built 
about 188-1: or 1885, in what is usually 
called Coal Center, on the eastern border 
of the township, and Rev. A. B. Smith is 
pastor of this as well as King's Chapel. 
The Free Methodist Church, in the center 
of the township, was built about 1891 or 
1892, and of this Rev. J. Grill is pastor. 

PEIMITryE METHODIST CHURCH. 

The Primitive Methodists first began to 
have meetings at Coal Centre about 1866. 
The first local preachers were "William 
Borle, Henry Blews, Edward Blews, Jr., 
and Samuel Simon. The original society 
consisted, of about ten members. Rev. 
Thomas Dodd was the first itinerant who 
preached here, about 1870. He staid only 
a short time. The second itinerant 
preacher was Benjamin Barrar, who staid 
with the society for two years, when he 
was succeeded by Rev. Thomas Bateman, 
who preached at Coal Centre once a month. 
The society at one time numbered as high 
as twenty members, but hard times and the 
consequent removal of some of the people 
to other localities reduced it to a very small 
number. There is now no organization in 
the township, the former members attend- 
ing at New Castle. 

SHENANGO CHURCH (UNITED PRESBYTERIAN). 

The history of Shenango congregation 
was for about a quarter of a century the 
history of almost the entire Associate Re- 
formed Presbyterian Church in the boun- 
daries of what is now Lawrence County. 
To most of the churches of this denomina- 



tion Shenango stood in the relation of a 
mother church. 

The white frame-house of worship stands 
three and a quarter miles north of New 
Castle, on the road to Mercer via New 
Wilmington. Around it stand primeval 
oaks, and behind it slumber many of the 
dead that once worshiped witliin its walls. 
The lot was donated for church and burial 
purposes by John Pearson, of the Society 
of Friends, who had obtained titles among 
the earliest to a large tract of land lying 
between Shenango and Neshaunock Creeks. 

Of those who organized Shenango 
Church and constituted its early member- 
ship none, perhaps, settled in the wilder- 
ness earlier than 1805-6. The names of 
James ^litchell, Hugh Braham, John Cud 
ningham. William S. Rankin (afterwards 
of Mercer), Jean Sankey (wife of Ezekiel 
Sankey, and grandmother of Ira D. San- 
key, Mr. D. L. Moody's celebrated evan- 
gelistic co-laborer), George Kelso, Dr. Al- 
exander Gillfillan (settled in New Castle in 
1813), Robert McGeary, Mrs. Jane Cubbi- 
son, wife of James Cubbison, with others, 
seem to have settled in 1806, or soon after, 
and to have been from the first supporters, 
and then, or soon after, communicants in 
the new organization. An occasional min- 
ister of the Monongahela Presbytery, from 
the neighborhood of Fort Pitt, as the new 
borough of Pittsburg was still called 
throughout the country, rode through these 
and other opening settlements in North- 
west Pennsylvania, giving them an occa- 
sional Sabbath's or week-day's preaching. 
Among these were Rev. John Riddell, 
D. D., and Rev. Mungo Dick, who were 
men of great ability and learning. But it 
was not till 1811 that this community of 
Associated Reform people received a pas- 
tor, and then his labors were divided 
equally with Mercer and Mahoning congre- 
gations. How long before this date the con- 
gregation was regularly organized, is not 
known. Their first pastor, James Galloway, 
first preached to them and other new sta- 



HISTORY OF LAWBENCE COUNTY 



tions in the Northwest, in the summer of 

1810. His first records extant show that in 
1813 the session consisted of Hugh Bra- 
ham, John Cunningham and "William S. 
Eanldn; but James Mitchell, who died in 
1812, had been an elder in Franklin Coun- 
ty before his arrival, in 1806, and was from 
the first, an earnest friend of the Shenango 
enterprise. The next record of the elder- 
ship shows that in 1821, Rev. J. L. Dinwid- 
dle, ordained as elders, Peter Mitchell, son 
of James Mitchell, and Walter Oliver, who 
had immigrated some years before to She- 
nango Valley. 

James Galloway, the first pastor, and the 
earliest Associate Reformed minister set- 
tled in Northwestern Pennsylvania, was 
born August 4th, 1786. His family removed 
that year from Big. Cove, Bedford County, 
to Mount Pleasant, Westmoreland County. 
He was born in the latter place. He had 
graduated at JetTerson College in 1805, had 
entered for a legal course in Greensburg, 
but, upon the death of his legal preceptor, 
had placed hiitiself as a candidate for the 
ministry under the Monongahela Presby- 
tery, and afterwards had enjoyed the ex- 
cellent training for four years of that dis- 
tinguished theologian and pulpit orator, 
John M. Mason, D. D., in the Associate Re- 
formed Seminary in New York City. Ho 
was licensed to preach, June 28th, 1810. He 
was eminently social in his qualities, of 
lively wit, of tender sensibilities; in the 
pulpit earnest, grave and edifying. His 
visit to the new settlements was most ac- 
ceptable. December 17th, a call was made 
out for him by the three congregations of 
Mercer, Shenango and Mahoning. The 
Presbj'tery placed it in his hands February, 

1811. An appointment was made for his 
ordination and installation for April 10th, 
in the Shenango settlement. There was as 
yet no church The preaching had mostly 
been conducted hitherto in Peter Mitchell's 
house or barn, which was already crowded 
with people, many of the audience being 
from Mercer, fourteen miles north, and 
Mahoning, thirteen miles west. Thus was 



ordained the first of a long line of pastors 
in the Associate Reformed Church of this 
region, and placed officially by the Pres- 
bytery over their people in what now com- 
prises territorially the two entire counties 
of Mercer and Lawrence. 

Under Mr. Galloway's ministry, the lot 
donated by John Pearson was occupied by 
a small, log building, put up by the sturdy 
settlers in the spring of 1812, and first 
used for worship before it was yet floored. 
On this ground, in that year, the Lord's 
Supper was first dispensed. The corners of 
this log building were four large boulders, 
which can still be seen just north of the 
present church. When the latter was erect- 
ed the logs were removed to the northeast 
corner of the lot, and did hmnbler service 
for years as a schoolhouse, which at last 
fell in disuse and decay. 

Mr. Galloway had hard service in so ex- 
tensive a charge. He had to fill his ap- 
pointments often by crossing the Neshan- 
nock, Shenango and other streams when 
they were swollen with rains ; and not un- 
frequently did his horse swim the Shen- 
ango, while his master, seated in a canoe, 
held the bridle-reins. A deep-seated cold 
followed his preaching in wet clothes upon 
one occasion after such exposure. He 
never got well, though he continued his 
labors for months while gradually growing 
worse, till, in April, 1818, he resigned his 
charge. The 21st of May he died. His 
home had been in Mercer, and there he 
lies buried. His wife was Agnes Junkin, 
whose father, Joseph Junkin, was one of 
the earliest members of his Mercer congre- 
gation. They were married March 12, 1812, 
by his brother-in-law, Rev. George Buchan- 
an, Associate Reformed pastor in Steuben- 
ville, Ohio. They had three sons, two of 
whom survived him, and one of whom, 
nineteen years later, succeeded him in the 
pastorate of Shenango. Mrs. Buchanan 
and Mrs. Galloway were sisters of Dr. D. 
X. Junkin, once pastor of the First Pres- 
byterian Church of New Castle. 

The second pastor. Rev. James L. Din- 



AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 



269 



widdie, D. D., was ordained and installed 
over the Sheuango and Mercer congrega- 
tions, at Mercer, November 22, 1820. He 
was born in Adams Count}', February 23, 
1796, and had pursued his college studies, 
but without being graduated, at Washing- 
ton College. After Dr. Matthew Brown, 
President of Washington, became presi- 
dent of Jefferson College, the board of the 
latter conferred the honorary degree of 
A. B. upon him, and at a later date the de- 
gree of D. D. These honors were well be- 
stowed. He was one of the most tinished 
scholars of his church. He was a man of 
brilliant mind, of perfect address socially, 
and in the pulpit eloquent. It was a sad 
day in Shenango Church when, after a 
ministry of thirteen and a half years, he 
preached his last sermon, preparatory to 
the acceptance of a call in Philadelphia 
(Sixth Presbyterian Church). This Phila- 
delphia charge he resigned seven years af- 
terwards, rejoined the Presbytery in 
which he was ordained, and became pastor 
of the Second Associate Reformed Church, 
of Pittsburg, and professor of Biblical Lit- 
erature and Sacred Criticism in the Theo- 
logical Seminary, Allegheny. His pastorate 
in Pittsburg, after a term of two years, 
was relinquished in April, 1844. to devote 
himself more entirely to his professorship, 
to which he had been elected September 13, 
1843. In the midst of liis labors, when he 
was just fifty years of age, he was struck 
with paralysis of the brain, February, 
1848. He never recovered his splendid 
powers. He died in Baltimore suddenly, 
from a second stroke, January 11, 1849. 

Mr. Galloway's pastorate in Shenango 
ended in 1818, and Mr. Dinwiddle's in 
1834. Important changes had meanwhile 
taken place in the northwest. The country 
had greatly developed and the churches 
had gained by this growth. The Associate 
Reformed Church as well as the others had 
made decided progress. A pastor had been 
settled in Erie, in 1812— Rev. Robert Reed, 
— who died in that city after a pastorate of 
thirty-two years. 



In Butler, Rev. Isaiah Niblock, D. D., 
had commenced in 1819 a long pastorate of 
forty-five years. In 1820 two congregations 
were formed on the borders of Shenango : 
one at Mount Jackson, five miles southwest 
of New Castle ; thef other at Slippery Rock, 
now called Center, five miles southeast. At 
Center and Harmony, a pastor was settled 
— Rev. James Ferguson — and an arrange- 
ment was made for him to preach part of 
his time in New Castle, but his pastorate 
only lasted from September, 1823, to April, 
1824. Rev. David Norwood was afterwards 
settled as pastor over Center, Mount Jack- 
son and Mahoning. He resigned his charge, 
October 16, 1833. In Crawford County, 
Rev. S. F. Smith had been settled as pastor, 
in 1828, over the congregations of Sugar 
Creek and Crooked Creek, a relation which 
continued till his death, March 10, 1846. 

Out of these five pastorates, with sev- 
eral other congregations (the whole num- 
ber being fourteen), a new Presbytery was 
formed. It was constituted in Mercer on 
the first Wednesday of January, 1829, 
called the Presbytery of the Lakes, and 
territorially occupied six counties. Of all 
the original congregations in these bounds 
not one has been the mother-church of so 
many new congregations as Shenango. Up 
till the union of 1858, seven congregations 
had been formed on its borders or within 
its original territory. In addition to Cen- 
ter and Mount Jackson, already mentioned, 
in the year 1840, Eastbrook was organized 
to accommodate those members who lived 
across the Neshannock, and in the same 
year was also formed the Deer Creek or 
Beulah congregation, west of the Shenan- 
go, from which locality attendance at She- 
nango Church had become very difficult, 
owing to the fact that the completion of 
the Erie Extension canal had, by means 
of the dam at New Castle, made a pool 
or level extending for seven miles up the 
stream, that destroyed all the original 
fords for this distance. 

Later, namely, 1849-51, during the pas- 
torate of Rev. R. A. Browne, D. D., three 



270 



HISTORY OF LAWRENCE COUNTY 



more congregations — New Castle, New Wil- 
mington and the Harbor, — were also struck 
off from Sheuango, as will be seen further 
on in this article. And so far had the 
church grown in these six counties of the 
northwest that in 1852 an act of Synod pro- 
vided for the erection of two more new 
Presbyteries, called the Presbyteries of 
Lawrence and Butler. The Presbytery of 
Lawrence was organized in New Castle, in 
the Associate Reformed Church, on Jeffer- 
son Street, April 20, 185.3. Rev. John Neil, 
pastor of Mount Jackson and Center, 
preached the opening sermon from Heb. 
xiii, 17, and constituted the Presbytery 
with prayer. Mr. Neil was elected mod- 
erator, and Mr. Browne, clerk. Three other 
ministers, with these, constituted the Pres- 
bytery, namely: Robert William Oliver, 
pastor of Beulah and Bethel (Mercer Coun- 
ty) ; William A. Mehard, pastor of East- 
brook and New Wilmington, and John P. 
Chambers, without charge. The Presby- 
tery included thirteen congregations, four 
of which, however, were located outside of 
the city. At the union of 1858 the Law- 
rence Presbytery was merged into the 
L^nited Presbj'teriau Presbytery of Mer- 
cer; and still later, Sheuango and all the 
congregations south of that latitude to the 
Ohio River, were merged again in a new 
Presbytery called Beaver Valley, wliich 
was erected November 7, 1871. 

This episode gives a brief view of the 
history of Sheuango Church in its sur- 
roundings and relations. What remains 
to add has reference to its own special 
history. From the resignation of Rev. 
James L. Dinwiddle, 1834, till 1841, with 
the exception of one brief pastorate of a 
year and a half — that of Rev. John Mason 
Galloway — the congregation of Sheuango 
was a vacancy, its pulpit filled only by 
sup])lies from the Presbytery of the Lakes. 

Rev. Mr. Galloway was succeeded by 
Rev. Thomas Mehard, who was ordained 
and installed June 30, 1841, in Shenango, 
Eastbrook and Beulah, the two latter, as 
already stated, having been organized the 



pre\ious year. Beulah was first known 
as Deer Creek. Some years later the con- 
gregation decided to change their place of 
worship to West Middlesex, three miles 
distant; but a portion of the members re- 
mained to worship in the old building, and 
are now the Reformed Presbyterian Con- 
gregation of Beulah. Mr. Mehard was a 
graduate of the Western University, Pitts- 
burg, and of the Associate Reformed Theo- 
logical Seminary, Allegheny. He was genial 
in his disposition, agreeable in his address, 
and pleasing and edifying in the pulpit. 
His ministry was full of labors and fruits, 
with large promise of future usefulness, 
when, suddenly, at the close of his fourth 
year of pastoral duty, he was called away 
by death. The stroke startled the entire 
community as well as his congregations 
and his wife, who was left with two infant 
daughters to mourn his loss. He died at 
his home in New Castle July 16, 1845, at 
the age of twenty-nine years. 

The fifth pastor of Shenango, succeed- 
ing Mr. Mehard a year after his death, 
was Robert Audley IBrowne. Mr. Browne 
was born in Steubenville, Ohio, December 
3, 1821 ; was graduated at the Westei-n Uni- 
versity, 1839, and the Associate Reformed 
Seminary, Allegheny, 1843; licensed by the 
Monongahela Presbytery in his twenty-first 
year, and ordained without charge by the 
same Presbytery, December 31, 1844. He 
was at that time stated supply in the Sec- 
ond Reformed, now Third United Presby- 
terian Church, of Pittsburg. He visited 
the congregations of Eastbrook and She- 
nango in July, 1846; was at once called, 
and was settled over these congregations 
in September following. He was pastor 
of Eastbrook three and a half years, and 
of Shenango over thirteen years, demitting 
tliat congregation to the Presbytery, Jan- 
uary 9, 1859. The last ten of these years 
his pastoral charge included the congre- 
gation of New Castle, in which he still 
continued to be pastor, and in which, after 
an interval of absence, he remained pastor 
until his death. When he entered on his 



AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 



271 



pastoral work in this part of what was 
then Mercer County, it was evident that 
the growth of population and change of 
its business centers had left the Associ- 
ate Reformed Church without organiza- 
tions at several desirable points. Of these, 
New Castle, a growing town, was the most 
important. An organization was etTected 
here by order of the Presbytery (Lakes), 
December 25, 1849. The same winter one 
was similarly formed in New Wilmington. 
By these organizations the session of She- 
nango was reduced to two elders, and its 
membershii) diminished from over 100 to 
forty-nine. From one-half of their pas- 
tor's time they were able to retain him 
only for one-fourth. They were still fur- 
ther weakened, about 1874-75, later by the 
organization of the Harbor congregation, 
four miles distant, on the other side of the 
Shenango pool or slackwater, though in 
general their number dm-ing the years be- 
fore 1859 ranged at about tifty communi- 
cants. 

Tlie union of the Associate and Associ- 
ate Reformed Presbyterian Churches 
agreed upon in 1858, occurred during Mr. 
Browne's pastorate. It brought Shenan- 
go into closer relations with a number of 
Associate congregations in this region, 
though it added but little strength to the 
membership. 

The sixth pastor was Rev. William Find- 
ley, D. D., born in Mercer, and reared 
under tlie ministry of Rev. James Gallo- 
way and Rev. James L. Dinwiddle. He 
was a graduate of Jefferson College and' 
of the Associate Reformed Seminary, Al- 
legheny; was licensed by the Lakes Pres- 
bytery May 16, 1832, and, after visiting 
the churches in South Carolina and else- 
where, was ordained by the same Presby- 
tery, and installed pastor over "White Oak 
Spring and Prospect congregations in But- 
ler County, at White Oak Spring Church, 
May 25, 1837. In 1857 he became Profes- 
sor of Latin Literature in Westminster 
College, and resigned his charge and re- 
moved to New Wilmington. In 1867 he 



was transferred to the office of general 
agent of the college. This office he re- 
signed in 1871, and after supplying the 
churches by Presbyterial appointment for 
some years settled, in 1876, at Chesley, 
Ontario, where a new and active congrega- 
tion in the United Presbyterian Presbytery 
in Samford erected for him a church and 
parsonage. He was in vigorous use of 
his powers, clear and forcible as a thinker 
and reasoner, and strong as an expounder 
of the Scriptures. 

During his term as professor in West- 
minster College, he held for over six years, 
conjointly, the pastorate of Shenango con- 
gregation, namelv, from July, 1859, till 
April, 1866. 

He was followed in the pastorate by 
Rev. R. T. McCrea, a student of West- 
minster College, from Blacklick Station, 
Indiana County, Pa., who graduated from 
the college in 1868, and from the United 
Presbyterian Seminary, AUeghen}-, in 
1866. He was ordained by the United Pres- 
byterian Presbytery of Mercer, at She- 
nango Church, and installed pastor of She- 
nango and Lebanon congregation Novem- 
ber 9, 1869. He i-esided near his Lebanon 
Church, Worth, fiercer County. August 
26, 1873, he resigned his Shenango congre- 
gation, and afterwards Lebanon also, and 
was subsequently laboring in the ministry 
in Iowa. He was a young man in the 
vigor of his powers. During his pastorate 
of four years, the roll of Shenango was 
increased to seventj' members. 

In July, 1875, the congregation secured 
and retained for some time in connection 
with the Harbor, the services of Rev. A. 
Y. Houston. Mr. Houston was a man of 
experience, prudence and iidelity. He was 
ordained and installed in his first pastor- 
ate, that of Peter's Creek, Allegheny 
County, February 17, 1858. After that he 
was pastor successively of the United con- 
gregations of Palestine and Clarkson,Ohio, 
and of Rygate, Vt. He was succeeded at 
Shenango by Rev. J. J. Imbrie in 1880, 
Rev, R. A. Brown in 1885, Rev. R. W. Mc- 



272 



HISTOEY OF LAWEENCE COUNTY 



Granahan in 1892, Eev. J. W. Brinley in 
1900, Rev. W. V. Grove in 1904, and Eev. 
L. S. Clark in 1907. 

The history of the first church edifice 
has already been given. The second was 
built in 1826, in the midst of Mr. Diawid- 
die's ministry. The contract, as illustra- 
tive of the hardships of the times and the 
scarcity of money, provided that the build- 
er for enclosing and flooring the house, 42 
by 53 feet square, was to receive in pay- 
ment "good and sufficient subscription 
lists" to the amount of $518, and that, in- 
stead of cash, wheat at 66 2-3 cents per 
bushel, and other products of the country 
at proportionate rates, should be a legal 
tender. This building, thus contracted and 
paid for, had its pulpit located in front, 
between the doors, a style of church archi- 
tecture preferred by Mr. Dinwiddle, but 
not always by his hearers, who, if they en- 
tered late, were thus forced to face all who 
were in their seats before them. This was 
afterward changed, however, and the seats 
were faced about. The contract for build- 
ing did not include the pews, and there- 
fore, at the opening for service, families 
provided their own seats according to their 
preferences as to style and material, and 
without regard to uniformity, which made 
the interior present an odd appearance 
until one became accustomed to it. In 
one case the head of a household, who had 
located his seat well up toward the pulpit, 
and furnished it with legs too long for con- 
venient range of vision to those who sat 
behind him, afforded some amusement to 
his fellow-worshipers by his change of 
countenance when he entered the meeting- 
house one JSabbath morning and found his 
seat had been lowered to a level with its 
neighbors. To many, near and far, who 
have worshiped there in the quiet Sab- 
baths of more than half a century, pleas- 
ant and sacred memories cluster around 
the old church. 

NOETH BEAVEE TOWNSHIP. 
This is the largest subdivision of Law- 



rence County, and was one of its original 
townships. In area it is about 26,800 acres. 
The surface is varied, being in places 
much broken by hills and ravines, and in 
others approaching nearer to a level. The 
latter is the case in the southern and west- 
em poi'tions. For agricultural purposes 
the township is not excelled in Lawrence 
County. The finest varieties of fruit are 
also grown, and the crop is nearly always 
a certainty. Numerous streams abound, 
affording the necessary water facilities, 
and on some of them there is excellent 
power. The principal streams are the Ma- 
honing and Beaver Rivers and Hickory 
Creek. 

The northeast corner of the township is 
crossed by the old Lawrence Railway, now 
the Ashtabula, Youngstown and Pittsburg 
division of the Pennsylvania Railway. 
The Beaver Valley division of the Erie 
and Pittsburg Railway crosses the Mahon- 
ing near its mouth, and follows the valley 
of the Beaver River the remaining dis- 
tance across the township. The only sta- 
tion on this road in North Beaver is Mo- 
ravia, where a small village has sprung 
up since the road was built. The most im- 
portant village in the township is Mount 
Jackson, and, aside from these two, the 
inhabitants are almost exclusively en- 
gaged in agricultural pursuits. 

EAELY SETTLEKS. 

Asa Adams came from Washington 
County, Pennsylvania, some time previous 
to the War of 1812, and settled a mile from 
the State line, in the western part of the 
township. 

Major Edward Wright came from Alle- 
gheny County, Pennsylvania, in the spring 
of 1797, and settled on the farm now or 
was lately owned by his grandson, William 
Williams. He was originally from New 
Jersey, and while living there, before he 
was married, he had bought the 200-acre 
tract on which he afterward settled, for a 
horse, bridle and saddle, and was soundly 
berrated by his mother for so doing. The 



AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 



273 



investment, however, proved to be a good 
one, and the farm is now among the best 
in western Pennsylvania. Major Wright 
built the fourth house that was erected 
within the limits of North Beaver Town- 
ship. It was 16 by 18 feet in dimensions, 
was built of roimd logs, and was located 
near a spring just west of Mr. Williams' 
residence. It had a common bed-spread or 
quilt hung up for a door, and a hole left in 
one corner of the roof through which the 
smoke could pass. He died on this farm 
May 7, 1849, at the age of eighty years. 

Major Wright brought to the township 
the first apple trees that were set out with- 
in it. He hauled forty-live of them from 
Washington County in 1799, on a "slide 
car," made of poles. He set out forty of 
the trees on his own place, gave two of 
them to a neighbor (Jonathan Leslie, aft- 
erwards a Presbyterian minister), two 
miles west, and three to Bryce McGeehan, 
living near what is now Newburg, in Little 
Beaver Township. Mr. Wright's only 
child, Sarah, was married to John Will- 
iams, in September, 1805, a few months 
before she was fifteen years old. Mr. Will- 
iams came from near the Warm Springs, 
in Vii'ginia, and settled on a farm which 
his father, Thomas Williams had bought 
for him some time before, and which lay 
a mile west of the Wright place. After his 
marriage he lived for some time with his 
father-in-law. Major Wright. He moved 
to his own farm in the spring of 1812. His 
brother, Thomas, settled, in 1802, on a 
farm northeast of Wright's and h^ing 
partly in Mahoning Township. Thomas 
Williams, Sr., never settled in the county. 
The farms all along the old county line, 
now the boundary between North Beaver 
and Mahoning Townships, lie partly on 
each side of the line. 

Thomas Cloud settled on the farm later 
owned by Matthew Davidson, and built 
one of the first four houses in the town- 
ship. 

Walter Clarke came to the farm after- 
wards owned by Joseph and Sarah McCol- 



lum, on the 20th day of October, 1802. He 
came from near what is now Lewisburg, 
Snyder County, Pennsylvania, with two 
unmarried daughters, and others of his 
children and grandchildren, and his son- 
in-law. He bought 450 acres of land, and 
divided it among them. His son, John, 
was married, and had two children; and 
one daugliter was also married and had 
two children. Her husband's name was 
Benjamin Wells. There were also two or- 
phan grandchildren, and thus the party 
was quite large. John Clarke's son, Sam- 
uel D. Clarke, lived on a part of the old 
farm, west of Mount Jackson. The por- 
tion later owned by the McCoUum estate 
became the property of Walter Clarke's 
granddaughter, Eunice Shearer, who was 
married to William Adair. Ephraim Phil- 
lips owned it next, and Mr. McCollum's 
wife was one of Mr. Phillips' daughters, 
and the place became her share of the 
propertv. It is familiarlv known as the 
"Old Phillips farm." 

In 1803 John Clarke left his father's 
house and settled for himself on the por- 
tion of the 450 acres now or recently owned 
by his son, Samuel D. Clarke. 

One of Walter Clarke's daughters mar- 
ried John Nesbit, who was the first set- 
tler on the land now occupied by the vil- 
lage of Mount Jackson, and who laid out 
the town. 

William Woods settled just west of 
Mount Jackson in 1801. He came from 
Ireland with his brother in 1798, and first 
located in Westmoreland Coimty. He was 
married in 1801, after he came to North 
Beaver, to ]\Iiss Elizabeth Davidson, who 
was living with her relatives where the 
borougl^ of Wampum now stands. Mr. 
Woods' son, William, born in 1808, lived 
near Westfield Presbyterian Church, 
southwest of Mount Jackson. He held the 
rank of major in the "cornstalk" militia 
of the township. William Woods, Sr., built 
a carding mill on his place on Hickory 
Creek (at that time called Sugar Creek, 
owing to the great number of "sugar 



274 



HISTORY OF LAWRENCE COUNTY 



trees" which grew along it), in 1813; a 
fulling mill in 1817, and a distillery in 
1821. The carding machine and fulling 
mill were run imtil about 1840. 

James Kiddoo was an early settler east 
of Moimt Jackson. He owned a distillery 
on Hickoiy Creek, and also had a small 
mill for grinding the grain he used. 

William ^JcCord came originally from 
Ireland, and, after the Revolution, settled 
in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania. About 
1805-6 he came to what is now North Bea- 
ver Township, and settled on a 250-aere 
tract of "donation land." 

Francis Nesbit came, with his family, in 
1802, and 'settled on Hickory Creek, south 
of Mount Jackson. The family consisted 
of his wife, five sons, and two daughters. 
The sons were John, Francis, William, 
James and Allen ; and the daughters, Eliz- 
abeth and Anna. They came from Cum- 
berland County, Pennsylvania, although 
the Nesbits were originally from Scotland. 

William Espy, who married Elizabeth 
Nesbit, settled in 1801. His son, Thomas 
Espy, afterward went to North Carolina, 
and died there. A daughter of his after- 
ward married Governor Vance, of that 
State. Wiliam Espy liad made arrange- 
ments to build a milf, and Mr. Nesbit, who 
had also been out in 1801, brought out the 
mill gearing with him in 1802, and he and 
Espy built the mill. They located on Do- 
nation tract, number 1786, supposed to 
contain 400 acres, but a survey showed 
that it contained over 500. Mr. Nesbit sold 
his interest in the mill to Espv, and took 
all but 100 acres of the land. "Mr. Nesbit 
died in September. 1802, and was the first 
person ever buried in the cemetery at 
Westfield Presbyterian Church. A man 
named Charles Clarke was the second per- 
son buried in it. He was killed while help- 
ing John Hunter raise a "still-house" in 
1805, near the church. Francis Nesbit di- 
vided his land up among his sons before 
he died. His wife died in 1823. Allen 
Nesbit, the youngest, bom in 1796, was 
given the old homestead. He finallv be- 



came a physician of the botanic or Thomp- 
sonian school, and got his medical educa- 
tion principally from his sister's library. 
She married a Presbyterian preacher, who 
afterward died. Dr. Nesbit, in later life, 
lived with his grandchildren, on the old 
place. John Nesbit, the eldest son of Fran- 
cis, died in 1869, and left his share of the 
place to his son, James, who afterward 
sold it and went to Missouri. 

Francis Nesbit, Jr., died on the farm, in 
1816. William Nesbit lived on his place 
until his death, which occurred in 1847. 
During his life he was a prominent man. 
He was a Presbj'terian elder, a justice of 
the peace for a long time, and afterward 
one of the associate judges of Beaver 
Covmty. 

After William Espy became sole pro- 
prietor of the grist mill mentioned, he trad- 
ed it for a farm, about 1806, to a man 
named Wylie. who owned it about four 
years, and traded it to a man named James 
Boyes. Boyes kept it some eight years, 
and sold it finally to Elder John Edgar, 
from Westmoreland County, who had pre- 
viously started a distillery near West- 
field Church. Edgar also put a still in op- 
eration, in connection with the mill, and 
was at one time collector of the excise 
tax. He sent a large lot of whisky to Erie, 
Pa., for sale, and finally shipped it on a 
vessel to Canada. The vessel was lost, 
and Edgar was broken up in consequence, 
and sold out by the sheriff — the whole 
property (100 acres of land, the mill, dis- 
tillerv and all) being purchased by James 
Wallace for $800. 

The Nesbit family, as before stated, 
came originally from Scotland. They were 
followers of John Knox, and, like other 
dissenters, suffered persecution from the 
English Clmrch. ' Portions of the old fam- 
ilies went to Belfast, Ireland. John Nes- 
bit, the father of Francis, was born in Rox- 
burghshire, in 1702, and came to Philadel- 
phia, previous to the American Revolu- 
tion, finally settling in Cumberland Coun- 
ty. 



AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 



275 



Francis Nesbit had four brothers — John, 
James, Allen and William — and all served 
more or less during the Revolutionary 
War, in the American army. 

"At the time when the Nesbits came 
here, there were but two houses (log ones) 
in Darlington, one of them a tavern partly 
chinked and daubed. There was then but 
one house between Darlington and Mount 
Jackson, and not a dozen families in the 
bounds of what is now North Beaver, and 
a part of them were ' squatters, ' who soon 
moved away. But during the next two 
or three years twenty or thirty families 
came in, principally from Cumberland 
County. 

"The load of 'moving' which the Nes- 
bits brought with them consisted princi- 
pally of the iron and other fixings for a 
grist and sawmill, a barrel of salt, and one 
of flour, two sets of china cups and saucers, 
two sets of pewter plates, two pewter 
dishes and a pewter mush-basin, a cedar 
churn and a tub. In affectionate memory 
of the olden time, they brought with them 
a singularly-built arm chair, that had been 
brought from Scotland about seventy 
years before. They soon began to build 
mills, having to give $18 per barrel for 
flour, at Beaver Falls, twenty cents for 
meat, and $1.25 per gallon for the whisky, 
that seems to have been one of the things 
indispensable at that day, and that was 
furnished to the hands with the regularity 
of the bread and meat. 

"A bill of fare for breakfast then em- 
braced bread, butter and coffee, a small 
allowance of pork and of presei-ved wild 
plums or crab apples, pone or Johnny 
cake, milk, butter, and perhaps a wild tur- 
key, or leg of venison, or chunk of bear's 
meat, or a roasted raccoon, for dinner; 
and corn meal mush, out of that pewter 
Ijasin. with Initter and milk, for supiier. 

"Then there were no meeting houses, 
no preaching, and no graveyard. Francis 
Nesbit died six or seven months after he 
came to the county, and was buried in the 
then woods, where the Westfield graveyard 



now is. Perhaps this was the first funeral 
in the township. Near that spot a small 
log meeting house was soon built, and in it 
there was occasional preaching. 

"The appearance of the country was 
truly beautiful. The rich, loamy appear- 
ance of the soil, the density of the forests 
and thickets, the wonderful multiplicity, 
variety and gorgeousness of the blossoms 
and flowers, the exhilarating perfume they 
sent forth, the continual singing of the 
birds, the chattering of the many squir- 
rels, the beautiful plumage of the vast 
flocks of turkeys, and the nimble skipping 
of the deer and fox, produced a sublimity 
and a grandeur far beyond anything we 
have now in the cleared fields and mead- 
ows into which these forests have been 
transformed. 

"Ere long came the vast profusion of 
wild fruits. Leading the van came the 
service-berry, growing luxuriantly on bot- 
toms, flats and hills, and on the shelving 
banks small bushes bending to the ground 
with their loads of fruit. Men, birds and 
animals were fully supplied, and a great 
many left. Then the strawberrj-, plum, 
huckleberry, haw, cherry and grape, each 
added its share to the richness that nature 
afforded, together with the vast amounts 
of delicious nuts. The woods aboimded in 
native (crab) apple, said by the Econo- 
mites to be the best fruit for wine on this 
continent." 

There was a wonderful variety of me- 
dicinal herbs, many of whose virtues in 
curing disease were not well known, neither 
are they now appreciated as they ought 
to be. Then, in thick and broad patches, 
with its beautiful flower of every con- 
ceivable color, and moccasin shape, stood 
the admirable CypripecVmm Puhescens of 
Linnaeus, known to the people then by the 
name of "ladies' slipper," and by the In- 
dians "moccasin flower." There, too, was 
the Verticillati (golden seal), with Vir- 
ginia snake-root, ginseng, and many others 
of greater or less medicinal value. 

For a few years the settlers in the 



276 



HISTORY OF LAWRENCE COUNTY 



northern part of Beaver County were prin- 
cipally from Eastern Pennsylvania, and 
some from Allegheny and Washington 
Counties, mostly of Scotch and Irish ex- 
traction. 

Soon, however, people came in from Vir- 
ginia, Maryland, Delaware, New Jersey, 
and from different countries of Europe, 
most of whom were respectable, while 
some were ignorant and degraded, and not 
calculated to improve society. 

In 1802 there were twenty-four families 
li^^ng in the township, and the first town- 
ship election was held that year. 

Among those who came to North Beaver 
in 1801 were William Barnet, Robert Lusk, 
William Espy, William Mercy, Nicholas 
Bryant, Leonard Dobbins, William Woods, 
Joseph Pollock, John Dunnon, James Ap- 
plegate, Samuel Semple, John Clelland, 
James McKinley, Joseph Jackson and Will- 
iam Ritchie. Of these, the last five fam- 
ilies were Finns, and were all related to 
each other. They formed a kind of clan, 
and came out together. Jackson was a 
stone mason, and built chimneys, and Sem- 
ple carried a case of lancets and did bleed- 
ing for the settlers whenever his services 
were called for. 

All the tragical deaths which have oc- 
curred in the township were purely acci- 
dental, and not a murder has ever been 
committed within its limits — the whites 
coming after the Indians were mostly gone. 

A distillery was built by Lawrence Dob- 
bins in 1801, in the northeast corner of 
the township. As early as 1817 there were 
upward of a dozen distilleries in the town- 
ship. Nothing in that business has been 
done for more than eighty years, and for 
nearly that length of time there has been 
no place for selling liquor in the limits 
of the township. 

In 1876 there was a population of 
2,500, with 750 church members and four 
congregations and thirteen schools. 

"\^'illiam Carson came from Virginia in 
the fall of 1799, and stayed that winter 
in Allegheny Couhty, Pennsylvania. In 



the spring of 1800 he brought his family, 
consisting of his wife and ten children, to 
the farm in North Beaver Township, now 
owned by John Alexander. He had liired 
a hand in Pittsburg to help him, and they 
built a cabin and made other improve- 
ments. The youngest child, James, was 
born after they came out, in 1802. 

James Bowles came in 1796, and settled 
on the Beaver River, on what was after- 
ward known as the Zeigler farm. He left 
the country previous to the War of 1812. 

Joseph Pollock came to the township 
in 1800, and located on one of two farms 
near where Westfleld Presbyterian Church 
now stands. He afterwards moved across 
the Beaver River into what is now Tay- 
lor Township. When he removed from 
North Beaver, he cut his own road through 
the woods, and the track he made was 
afterwards called "Pollock's road." 

John Dunnon settled the tract next 
south of the old Pollock (Wood's) place, 
in 1801. 

John Coleman settled on a tract south 
of Mount Jackson, in 1801 or 1802. His 
land laid next north of a tract settled by 
John Patterson. Mr. Coleman lived to be 
about 100 years old, and was buried "with 
the honors of war" in the United F'res- 
byterian graveyard at Mount Jackson. He 
had been in one or two skirmishes in the 
Revolutionary War, and had taken the no- 
tion that he must be buried with the honors 
of war, and accordingly his whim was grat- 
ified. 

But two men settled in North Beaver 
Township on land they had served for in 
the Revolution. They were Jacob Justice 
and Jeremiah Bannon, the latter settled 
on a place in the northeast part of the 
township. 

The Justice family was originally from 
Wurtemburg, Germany, from which coun- 
try John Justice came to America, at some 
period prior to the American Revolution, 
and settled probably in Franklin County, . 
Pennsylvania. Jacob Justice was one of .six 
brothers, sons of John Justice. He was 



AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 



277 



born in Eranklin County, in 1757. He 
enlisted in the Sixth Pennsylvania Bat- 
talion of the Continental Line on January 
20, 1776 (he being then nineteen years of 
age), and served until the close of the 
war with England. After the independence 
of the Colonies was established, he re- 
turned to his home in Franklin County 
and lemained there until 1797, when he re- 
moved West, with the intention of set- 
tling in what is now Lawrence County ; but 
on account of Indian troubles he stopped in 
Washington County for about two years, 
and in 1799 carried out his original design, 
and settled in the southeastern part of 
North Beaver Township, on land which he 
drew for liis services as a Revolutionary 
soldier. His family consisted of his wife 
and seven cliildren, six sons and one daugh- 
ter — James, John, Joseph, George, Mat- 
thew, Scott and Eliza. 

James Justice married Esther Hopper, 
a daughter of Robert Hopper, who came 
to North Beaver Township fi-om Ireland 
in 1797. Mr. Justice died in 1815, leav- 
ing a wife and three daughters, Margaret, 
Elizabeth and Esther. His wife, although 
but twenty-eight years old at the time of 
his death, remained true to his memory 
until her demise in 1870, having been a 
widow fifty-five years. 

In 1813 Joseph Justice went to the new 
town of New Castle, and became promi- 
nently identified with the early history of 
that place. 

George Justice married a Miss Douglass, 
and, with his wife, went West, where he 
lived to a ripe old age. Scott Justice, the 
youngest son, met his death by being kicked 
by a horse. 

Jacob Justice lived on his farm in North 
Beaver Township until his death, which oc- 
curred in April, 1829, he being seventy-two 
years old. He was buried in the grave- 
yard of the Westfield Presbyterian Church. 

Nicholas Bryant, who came to the town- 
ship in 1801, settled on a farm in the north- 
western part now owned by the heirs of 
Alexander Steele. Mr. Bryant's son, 



Stephen, is said to have been the first white 
child ever born in North Beaver Town- 
ship. 

Robert, James and Ebenezer McGowan 
(sometimes spelled McGoun) came about 
1806-08, and Robert and James bought a 
200-acre tract of land northeast of the pres- 
ent site of Mount Jackson. Ebenezer lo- 
cated on a farm still farther north, lying 
partly in what is now Mahoning Town- 
ship, at that time in Mercer County. 

Nathaniel "Wliite came from Washington 
County, Pennsylvania, about 1804^07, and 
settled on the farm now owned by his 
grandson, James White, who lives on the 
old homestead. Mr. White had nine chil- 
dren in his family altogether, of whom two 
are yet living — Samuel and Elizabeth, the 
latter in Ohio. He originally settled 200 
acres. 

Richard Shearer settled early in the 
northwestern part of the township. The 
^Maittenbergers also came early and lo- 
cated in the western part. Hugh McKib- 
ben came about 1805-06, and purchased 
several hundred acres of land in the south- 
western part of the township. He was 
quite an old man when he settled, and di- 
vided his farm up among his children. 
James Davidson was also among the early 
settlers. He located on a farm which had 
been frequented so much by wild pigeons 
that it had been styled "pigeon roost." 

The Pitts family came early, and Will- 
iam, Jacob and John bought 479 acres of 
land. 

William McWatty came about 1824-25, 
and located on land in the western part of 
the township, purchasing it of James Al- 
corn. One of the McWattys, Rev. Robert, 
n-as pastor of the Second United Presby- 
terian Church, at Mercer County, in 1876. 

Elijah Lower came from Center Coimty, 
Pennsylvania, about 1822-23, and located 
on a farm west of the Martin farm. Mr. 
I>ower bought the land of a man named 
Painter, who had had some improvements 
made upon it. The first man on the farm 
was a squatter, one Shuman, who had no 



278 



HISTORY OF LAWRENCE COUNTY 



title. Elijah Lower was born in Philadel- 
phia, and lived to be a little more than 
100 years of age. 

Hugh Martin came from the Buffalo Val- 
ley, in Union County, Pennsylvania, to 
North Beaver Township, in 1829, and lo- 
cated on the farm later owned by David 
and Catherine Martin, his children. He 
had visited the country in 1805. After 
he settled, he lived on the place until his 
death, which occurred about 1865, when 
he had reached the age of eighty-two years. 
The first actual settler on the farm was 
William ]\IcCrearv, who came in the neigh- 
borhood of 1810. ' 

Samuel Poak r-ame about 1804, and set- 
tled on the farm subsequently owned by 
Robert Brewster. He afterwards owned 
several hundred acres of land in the vi- 
cinity. He came from Lancaster County, 
Pennsylvania, and brought with him his 
sister, his wife and two children (twins), a 
boy and a girl. Thirteen children were 
born altogether. Robert Brewster's house 
stands a few rods northeast of where Mr. 
Poak's old dwelling stood. Mr. Poak had 
the first title, and was the first actual 
settler, although a squatter had been on 
the place and built a small shanty, which 
was standing when Mr. Poak came. 

Henry Weon owned a tavern on what is 
now called the Mount Jackson (or Pitzer's) 
Hill. This place seems to have been largely 
patronized. 

Dr. Alexander Gillfillan was born in Ire- 
land in 1784. His grandfather Gillfillan 
was one of the many driven from Scot- 
land by religious persecution. The doc-" 
tor's father, James Gillfillan, came to 
America with three sons and two brothers, 
Alexander and Thomas, and settled in Al- 
legheny County, Pennsylvania, in 1788. Al- 
exander Gillfillan, Sr., remained there, and 
Thomas went South. James moved to Mer- 
cer County. Afterward, Alexander Gill- 
fillan, Jr., went back to Allegheny County, 
to his imcle Alexander's, and while living 
there received his education under Dr. 
Peter Mowry, of Pittsburg. Dr. Gillfillan 



began to practice in Franklin, Venango 
County, Pa., and in 1812 came to New 
Castle, being the second regular physician 
who located at that place. The doctor be- 
came a popular man, and was very success- 
ful in his profession. When quite young 
he united with the Associate Reformed 
Presbyterian Church. He purchased the 
lot in New Castle upon which the First 
United Presbyterian Church now stands, 
and lived upon it during his life in that 
place. October 21, 1813, he was married 
to Elizabeth Patterson, of North Beaver 
Township, and their first child, a son, 
James Harvey Gillfillan, was born August 
3, 1814. The child only lived three months, 
dying of croup. December 2, 1815, a 
daughter was born. She married Samuel 
R. Vance, of North Beaver. 

Her oldest daughter became the wife 
of Robert Brewster, living east of Mount 
Jackson. The second daughter was mar- 
ried to Rev. J. D. Brownlee, September 4, 
1866, and died Mavcli 21, 1873, of pneu- 
monia, leaving three children, two boys 
and a girl. The third daughter married 
J. E. Nevin, of Allegheny City. Two of 
Mrs. Vance's children, both girls, died dur- 
ing one summer with diphtheria. 

Dr. Gillfillan went out as surgeon to 
Black Rock, during the War of 1812. A 
fever broke out among the soldiers, which 
was known as the "Black Rock Fever," 
and proved fatal in almost every case, 
imtil Dr. Gillfillan, by hard study night 
and day, discovered a cure and a prevent- 
ive. He furnished the prescription to all 
the leading surgeons in the army, without 
receiving any comjiensation therefor. Many 
of the men who had contracted the dis- 
ease in the army took it home, and their 
families were attacked with it also. Hear- 
ing of Dr. Gillfillan 's great success in the 
treatment of it, they sent for him "from 
far and near." 

Dr. Gillfillan was drowned in the Neshan- 
nock Creek, at New Castle, just below 
Raney's mill, June 17, 1815, while helping 
haul a fishing seine. A number of the lead- 



AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 



279 



ing men in tlie place were also in the 
party. The late Joseph Justice nearly 
lost his life on the same occasion, while 
endeavoring to rescue the doctor. His 
death was deeply mourned by all who knew 
him, and those who were then living and 
were acquainted with him fondly cherished 
his memory. His widow, in 1821, was mar- 
ried to Benjamin Blackburn, who lived in 
Ohio, and the couple lived together fifty- 
four years. Mr. Blackburn died in 1875. 
His widow lived to be almost ninety years 
of age. In her life she had seen seven 
generations in the family. 

John Patterson, a wheelwright by trade, 
came to the township in 1801, and settled 
south of what is now Mount Jackson, on 
the farm now owned by the heirs of the 
late Major James Patterson. One of his 
daughters, Elizabeth, as before mentioned, 
married Dr. Gillfillan. Mr. Patterson, 
after some time, put up a blacksmith shop. 
No coal was then known, but finally a bank 
was discovered near Lindsay Robinson's 
place, and not knowing there was coal in 
his own neighborhood, Mr. Patterson took 
a bag and went after coal to that bank, 
bringing it home on horseback. 

The first chimney he built was of logs, 
and only extended a few feet from the 
ground. Nearby the coal bank was a sand- 
stone quarry, and there Mr. Patterson pro- 
cured stone, and hired a man named 
Thompson to build a second chimney for 
him. 

The first table the Patterson family had 
was an old chest, which was used for some 
time, and finally "Sir. Patterson procured 
a couple of walnut boards, and with them 
made a table. He also made some chairs, 
some of which were in use not many years 
ago. Their first floor was simply the con- 
venient one of earth, and their bedstead 
made of split chestnut timber, with feet 
in. Finally, a puncheon floor was laid, a 
table and a cupboard manufactured, and 
other improvements made as fast as he 
could get to them. 



Robert Brewster came originally from 
Ireland and settled in Washington County, 
Pennsylvania, where he was married. In 
the neighborhood of 1800, he came to what 
is now Little Beaver Township, Lawrence 
County, and stayed there until about 
1806-08, when he removed to North Beav- 
er, and located on 100 acres of land which 
he bought. When Mr. Brewster was ' ' com- 
ing through the wilderness," he slept on 
the frosty ground, and exposed himself to 
such a degree that he contracted rheu- 
matism which was finally the cause of his 
death. He died October 22, 1850, in his 
eightieth year. 

The farm now, or formerly, owned by 
S. R. Vance was originally improved by 
Caleb Jones, who had squatted on it, think- 
ing it was a vacant tract, which it finally 
proved not to be. Jones had a grist mill 
on the place, which he built previous to 
1812, and operated for a number of years, 
doing a large business. The mill was a 
log structure. Before Jones found out that 
he was not on a vacant tract (which was 
not till the summer of 1838) he had made 
arrangements to build another mill, and 
had commenced to tunnel the point of the 
hill, intending to put a mill-race through. 
The tunnel would have been some ten or 
fifteen rods long, and he would have had 
a powerful fall of nearly eighty feet. He 
was obliged, however, to quit the place, as 
an owner had been found. Mr. Vance pur- 
chased a portion of the tract in 1839, in- 
cluding the mill site. He took the ma- 
chinery out of the mill and put in a set of 
cards, and operated the carding-mill for 
about seven years. 

Mr. Vance's grandfather, Robert Vance, 
was a major in the Revolutionary Army, 
and served seven years. He at one time 
raised a company during the Revolution, 
and from their uniform they were called 
"Bucktails." From that circumstance it 
is said that the Pennsylvania regiment 
known as the "Bucktails" during the re- 
bellion, took its name. Robert Vance set- 



•280 



HISTORY OF LAWRENCE COUNTY 



tied in Allegheny Countj^ after the revolu- 
tion, probably about 1790, and was from 
the Shenandoah Valley, in Virginia. 

Major Vance's son, David Vance, was 
one of the notable rivermen of early times, 
and operated a keel-boat line between Pitts- 
burg and "Limestone" — now Maysville, 
Kj'. — making occasional trips to Cincin- 
nati, Louis\'ille, New Orleans and other 
points on the rivers. His cousin, Aaron 
Hart, was his jjartner in business. Hart's 
brother, John Hart, of New Jersey, was 
one of the signers of the Declaration of In- 
dependence. Major Robert Vance com- 
manded a battery at the battle of Brandy- 
wine, September 11, 1777. 

Robert Hopper, a weaver, and his wife, 
Margaret (Watson) Hopper, with a large 
family of children, came from County 
Down, Ireland, about 1790, and settled in 
Westmoreland County. About 1797-98 they 
moved to Hickory Creek, near Mount Jack- 
son, North Beaver Township, and began 
clearing 200 acres of virgin forest land. 
He built as his residence a double log 
house, with a chimney in the middle, which 
structure stood for years as a landmark. 

He reared a large family, all of whom 
were bom in Ireland with the exception of 
the two youngest. Of his children, Esther 
became the wife of James Justice, son of 
Jacob Justice, who settled near Moravia; 
Martha married George Leslie, and Jane, 
the third daughter, was the wife of Sam- 
uel D. Clarke; John married Anne Hamil- 
ton, and James married Maria Wilson. 
The last named, James, was proprietor of 
a general store at Pulaski, Lawrence 
County. About 1835-36 he started East 
to buy goods for his store, and was never 
again heard of. It was supposed he had 
met with foul play, as he carried money. 

James Fullerton came from Cumber- 
land County, Pennsylvania, with his wife 
and a colored girl, in the spring of 1801, 
and settled the farm whei-e his son, the 
later Robert Fullerton, lived imtil his 
death. Mr. Fullerton had been here in 
1800, and built a cabin. The first child 



born in the family was a daughter, Mary, 
whose birth occurred in the latter part of 
the year 1801. In 1802, Mr. and Mrs. Ful- 
lerton went horseback across the moun- 
tains on a visit, and the jaunt was so hard 
on the babe, which they carried with them, 
that it did not grow any for a year or 
more, and was always delicate afterward. 

John Sterrett bought seven acres of land 
of James Fullerton, about 1812-15, and 
started a tannery, but never made it profit- 
able. Several others tried it, with a like 
result, until 1834, when Mr. Fullerton 's 
son, Robert, took it, and, with the excep- 
tion of the time from about 1859 to 1865, 
ran it successfully until his death. 

John and George Douglass came not 
long after Mr. Fullerton, and settled on a 
farm north of him. John Douglass after- 
ward went to Petersburg, Mahoning Coun- 
ty, Ohio, and opened a tavern. James 
Hope settled south of the Fullerton farm 
about 1799 or 1800. 

COAL, IKON OKE, LIMESTONE. 

These mineral products, with fire clay, 
and oil, are found in the township, also 
occasional floating quantities of galena or 
lead ore. The latter does not abound in 
large quantities, so far as discovered. Coal 
has also been found and worked to some 
extent. The iron ore is found in several 
veins, and of three ditferent qualities — 
the red, blue and honeycomb. Petroleum 
is known to exist, in greater or less quan- 
tities, in the Hickory Creek region. 

Previous to the time roads were cut 
through, the only paths were trails through 
the forest, or tracks along which the trees 
were blazed so the people might not lose 
their way. These were especially the kind 
the children had to follow in going to and 
coming from school, sometimes two or 
three miles away. 

EAELY EOADS. 

The oldest road in the townshiiD which 
was put through by white people — the New 
Castle and Beaver road, commonly called 



AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 



281 



the "Beaver road" — was opened as early 
as 1800, and ran along the bottom lands on 
the west side of the river. 

What is known as the "Small's Ferry- 
road" was laid out very early, and was the 
first one in that part of the township. It 
was opened by Major Edward Wright, 
Bryce McGeehan and others of the people 
then living, and crossed the Mahoning 
River at Small's Feriy, which gave it its 
name. This was previous to the War of 
1812. People passing between Youngs- 
town and Beavertown traveled the road, 
which was very crooked, and laid to ac- 
commodate the settlers along the route. 



SCHOOLS. 

A log schoolhouse was built in 1802 or 
1803, just across the line in Ohio, opposite 
the southwest corner of what is now Ma- 
honing Township. A Methodist preacher 
named Ross taught in it. On the same 
ground a second house, also of logs, was 
built about 1818, and afterward another 
one, which was a frame building, and used 
until about 1840, when the location was 
abandoned for school purposes. 

A log schoolhouse was built on the Als- 
worth tract, the land now owned by Mrs. 
Hannah, about 1805-6. The first teacher 
was James Leslie. 

In 1802 a log schoolhouse was built in 
the Mount Jackson neighborhood, near the 
site of the Westfield Church. Bears were 
so thick that some of the families would 
not allow their children to attend after the 
first week, for fear some prowling beast 
might come upon them. 

A schoolhouse was built on John Pat- 
terson's place about 1805-6, also of logs. 
Peter Boss, who boarded with Mr. Patter- 
son, was the first teacher. 

About 1810-12 a schoolhouse was built 
of round logs on what was some years ago 
the Daniel Davidson property. The build- 
ing was erected by the McCrearys, who be- 
fore this had schools in their own houses. 
McCreary had a still house near by, and 
during intermissions the teachers in the 



old schoolhouse were accustomed to go to 
the still and take their regular drams, a 
custom which happily does not prevail 
nowadays. 

Another schoolhouse was built of hewed 
logs in the same vicinity, and taught by 
James White. It was heated by a "ten- 
plate stove," one of the first in the vi- 
cinity. 

A log schoolhouse was built about 1806- 
7, near the Bethel United Presbyterian 
Church, and was probably used afterward 
as a "session house" by the Bethel con- 
gregation. 

Another log schoolhouse was built on 
the farm then owned by John and Archi- 
bald Stewart, and afterwards by Robert 
Fullerton. This was built about 1804-5, 
and a man named Hassan taught in it. 

In 1908 there were sixteen schools in the 
township, with an enrollment of 373, and 
seventeen instructors were employed, at a 
cost of $5,910. The total expenditure for 
school purposes was $7,902.57. The av- 
erage number of months taught is seven. 

Westfield Pi"esbyterian Church is lo- 
cated in North Beaver Township, one 
mile and a half west of ]\Iount Jackson. It 
is the oldest church in the township. It 
was organized in the spring of 1803, by 
a committee of the Presbytery of Erie. 
At its organization it consisted of twenty- 
two members, including thirteen families. 
The forming of a church in this commu- 
nit}' was first ' ' talked over at a log-rolling, 
or the raising of a log house." The ground 
upon which the church building now stands 
was donated for church and burial pur- 
poses in the year 1802, bv Messrs. Charles 
and Walter Clark. 

HOUSES OF WOESHn>. 

There had been erected on this ground, 
and near the same spot, no less than six 
different houses or places of worship. The 
first was a round-log cabin, 20 bv 24 feet. 
The fathers built this in the year 1803-4. 
It was covered with clapboards, had 
puncheons for floor and seats, and was 



282 



HISTORY OF LAWRENCE COUNTY 



without either fireplace or stove. Before 
long the log church was too contracted to 
hold the congregation. This led the peo- 
ple at an early date to ei'ect what was 
called "The Tent." This was a structure 
constructed of lumber, sufficiently large 
to protect the ministers from the sun and 
storms, while the congregation sat on logs 
under the trees. 

In 1817 or 1818 steps were taken toward 
the building of a frame church. This 
house was not finished until 1823. Its di- 
mensions were 36 by 40 feet. It was heated 
with a ten-plate stove, and was quite com- 
fortable in its arrangements, for that day. 
Money was exceedingly scarce about this 
time, and all the subscriptions for com- 
pleting the house were either so many feet 
of boards, so many bushels of wheat, corn 
or rye, or so many gallons of whisky. 

The congregation increased, the frame 
building was soon too small to contain the 
worshipers. In the year 1829 it was re- 
solved to build a new and more commodi- 
ous house. After three years of toil and 
difficulties and drawbacks, a large brick 
church, 45 by 70 feet, was completed. This 
was at that time considered one of the 
finest houses of worship in this section of 
the country. But after thirty years it be- 
came somewhat dilapidated. 

In 1862 a frame church of more modern 
style was erected. This church was dedi- 
cated the 8th of January, 1863, and on the 
8th of January, 1872, just one year to the 
day, after the burning of the former house, 
and just ten years, to the day, after its 
dedication, the present house was dedi- 
cated to the worship and service of the 
living God. Its dimensions are 45 by 85 
feet. It is a frame building, and finished 
inside with natural woods. It is Gothic 
in architecture, has stained glass windows, 
and is lieated by furnaces. It has a spire 
and Meneely bell, contains two vestibules, 
and a lecture and session room. It is bet- 
ter arranged, more commodious, and much 
more handsome than any of its numerous 
predecessors. 



The first pastor of the Westfield Pres- 
byterian Church was the Rev. Nicholas 
Pittinger. He labored in this church one- 
half of his time, from October 24, 1804, 
until September 13, 1805. The Rev. James 
Wright, the second pastor, began his la- 
bors, for half the time, June 26, 1816. In 
1831 he gave up Poland congregation, his 
other charge, and gave Westfield all his 
time. His health failing, he resigned Jan- 
uary 12, 1842, after a pastorate of nearly 
twentv-six vears. His death took place 
in the" following year— March 30, 1843. The 
next pastor was the Rev. Algernon Syd- 
ney McMastei-. His pastorate continued 
from April 12, 1843, until November 9, 
1854. The Rev. Thomas B. Scott was pas- 
tor from September 8,. 1857, until June 19, 
1860. He is at present preaching near 
Galesburg, 111. The fifth pastor was 
the Rev. William M. Taylor. He was or- 
dained and installed by the Presbytery of 
Beaver (now Shenango) June 12, 1861. 
His was the longest pastorate, he continu- 
ing in charge until his death, January 1, 
1903, at an advanced age. He was fol- 
lowed by the Rev. Albert Joseph McCart- 
ney, who served until the present pastor. 
Rev. Robert E. Porter, assumed the duties 
of the pastorate in the present year, 1908. 

The present roll of session (1908) con- 
sists of A. M. Hope, James Nesbit, Elihu 
Ruthrauff (clerk), R. N. Gibson, John B. 
Woods, J. R, Miller, William H. Martin, 
William J. Duff and Laurence Nesbit. 

Board of deacons: Milton Fullerton, 
James Adams, George W. Gibson, William 
H. Wilev, James Hayes, William A. 
Clarke, William H. Gilmore, Charles R. 
Sherer, Gilbert A. ^NlcCreary. 

During the pastorate of Rev. Albert 
Joseph ^IcCartney Westfield congregation 
celebrated the one hundredth anniversary 
of the founding of their church. At this 
celebration, a memorial tablet to the mem- 
ory of the Rev. William M. Taylor was 
unveiled. 

The church has also grown in her benev- 
olent contribution and spiritual activities. 



AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 



283 



The pastor is liberally supported, and 
hundreds of dollars are given each year 
to aid in various missionary operations. 
Besides a flourishing Sunday-school, there 
are at present connected with the church, 
a Young Men's Christian Association, a 
Young People's Christian Endeavor So- 
ciety, and Ladies' Missionary Society, and 
eight regular prayer meetings. 

BETHEL COKGREGATION UNITED PRESBYTE- 
RIAN CHURCH. 

The congregation of Bethel was organ- 
ized by Charities Presbytery under the 
name of Little Beaver in the year 1798. 
There is no record of the number of mem- 
bers when organized. The people were 
mostly of Scotch-Irish descent. The eld- 
ers chosen at the time of organization were 
Thomas Hogg, Boyce McGeelian and 
Charles Morrow. Their successors in the 
session were William Miller, Nathaniel 
Hamill, Samuel Hopper, Robert Ramsey 
and Thomas Dungan, these persons being 
probably chosen and ordained at ditferent 
times in the progress of the church Will- 
iam Miller subsequently — about 1823 or 
1824 — joined the Associate Reformed 
Church of Mt. Jackson (now United Pres- 
byterian) at its organization. In 1848 we 
find that Robert Ramsey was enjoined to 
stop keeping tavern, in accordance with a 
minute on the church records which states 
that "No church member can keep a tav- 
ern or public house consistent with his pro- 
fession and his duties to God." Subse- 
quently we find the word "Removed" 
marked against his name. Thomas Dun- 
gan was one of the leading spirits in the 
session in those early days. He was active 
and benevolent beyond his means, and in 
his old age he had lost none of his en- 
thusiasm, and his heart was wholly de- 
voted to his Master's service. His death 
is recorded July 10, 1873. It will be un- 
necessary to enter into a detailed history 
of the session and it would be impossible 
to do so as for thirty-six years there were 
no records. We find the names of Robert 



Sherer, Robert Galley and David Forbes 
as ordained in 1844. Elder Galley subse- 
quently united with the New Castle con- 
gregation. In 1852, Joseph Hope, David 
Ramsey and Samuel Mayne were chosen 
elders ; William H. Leslie and James Bres- 
ter, in 1857; Duncan McGeehan, AVilliam 
F. Davidson and William Carson in 1861. 

The first pastor of Bethel Congregation, 
then Little Beaver, was Rev. James Dun- 
can, who was a prominent member of the 
Associate Presbytery of Ohio, and who 
was moderator at the organization of 
Charities Presbytery in 1801. He was re- 
leased in 1804 and was succeeded by Rev. 
David Imbrie, who was installed Septem- 
ber 3, 1806, his charge including Little Bea- 
ver, Brush Run and Big Beaver. His pas- 
torate in these two first named charges 
lasted for thirty-six years and was produc- 
tive of a goodly harvest of souls. He died 
suddenly on June 13, 1842. 

It was not until two years later that Mr. 
Imbrie 's successor, Rev. John W. Harsha, 
assumed the duties of the pastorate. He 
resigned the charge in 1852 to teach in 
Westminster College, but there overstudy 
brought on nervous prostration and re- 
duced him to the condition of a helpless 
invalid. In April, 1855, Rev. Samuel Alex- 
ander accepted a call from Little Bethel 
and Avas ordained and installed pastor Au- 
gust 21 of that year. He was a man of 
decided convictions and vigorous mind and 
a good teacher, but was not at all times in 
full accord with all the members of the 
congregation. Owing to this lack of agree- 
ment he was not fully sustained and the 
work consequently was not carried on in a 
thorough and hearty spirit. He resigned 
February 20, 1872, the congregation, in 
spite of accessions, being then much dimin- 
ished in numbers. He died in 1895 after 
seven years' lingering illness. 

The congregation was vacant two years 
when a call was moderated September 29, 
1873, for Mr. J. S. Dice, a licentiate, of 
Mercer Presbytery, which he accepted at 
New Galilee. February 17, 1874. Mr. Dice 



284 



HISTORY OF LAWRENCE COUNTY 



has remained the faithful and capable pas- 
tor of Little Bethel up to the present time. 
An interesting sketch of his life may be 
found in the biographical portion of this 
work. The present membership of the 
church (1908) is forty-six families, 145 
members. Robert S. Clark, W. P. Kelso 
and William McCalla are the ruling elders. 
The trustees are Albert J. Gwin, William 
E. Patterson and George L. Stewart. The 
superintendent of the Sabbath-school is 
Fred W. Dixon ; Grace Paden is secretary ; 
Thomas Cover, treasurer. The school 
membership is seventy-five. 

MOUNT JACKSON. 

This village was laid out by John Nesbit, 
on his share of the old farm, about 1815. 
It was named in honor of General Andrew 
Jackson, who had, on the 8th of January 
of that year, gained a signal victory over 
the British troops under General Packen- 
ham, at New Orleans, in which battle the 
British leader was killed. The first house 
on the town plat was built by William 
Henry, who had been living on Hickory 
Creek, west of the place where Dr. Allen 
Nesbit afterwards lived. When the town 
was laid out, he removed to it, built a 
house, and opened a store in it. 

George Eccles began blacksmithing soon 
aftetuard, and was the first blacksmith in 
the village. Joseph Hughes probably had 
the first wagon shop, and Robert McCand- 
less opened the next one. 

Benjamin Wells started the shoemaking 
business, and Samuel Lane (a descendant 
of the Finns, who, in company with the 
Swedes, settled in Delaware in 1638) came 
at nearly the same time. Lane was a tall, 
slim man, and exceedingly polite. 

The second house in town was built by 
Matthew A. Calvin, who opened a tavern 
there. He was a lame man and had been 
teaching school previous to this, in New 
Castle. After keeping the tavern for about 
twenty years, he removed to Mercer Coun- 
ty, where he had a son who was a physi- 
cian. 



' ' All the early taverns kept bars ; and a 
well known gentleman, who at one time 
had a tavern in the place, agreed to sign 
the pledge, and quit selling liquor at his 
house, if the people would buy the stock 
he had on hand, and pay him for it. This 
they did, and emptied the liquor out on the 
snow, and tried to burn it. It was fire- 
proof, however, and the boys who were 
fond of their sups came and ate the snow 
to get the whisky out of it." 

Robert Tait came to Mount Jackson 
about 1831 and in 1835 opened a tavern; 
he also carried on the hatting business. 
Before he came, William Miller had a shop 
also, and worked at the hatting business, 
but finally discontinued it. Mr. Tait car- 
ried it on a number of years, making sev- 
eral varieties of hats, from fur to silk. 
Journeymen hatters were always kept at 
work. For one year David McConahy 
worked at the business with Mr. Tait. 

Mr. Tait's father, Samuel Tait, came 
from Ireland, and in 1809 or 1810 located 
on the farm now owned by Joseph Dick- 
son. Mr. Tait was the first settler on the 
place. 

A postoffice was established at Mount 
Jackson about 1817, with William Henry 
as the first postmaster. Before the office 
was established it was necessary to go to 
New Castle, five miles distant, for mail. 
Mount Jackson was laid out purposely to 
secure a postoffice. John Ferguson held 
the office of postmaster after Henry. 

The first physician in the place was. a 
mineral doctor named Robert Smith. Fol- 
lowing him came Dr. Robert McClelland, 
also a mineral doctor. Dr. McClelland was 
an old schoolmate of Dr. Allen Nesbit, and 
was persuaded by him to come to the place. 
Dr. Nesbit began practicing on the Botanic 
or Thompsoniau system, while Dr. Mc- 
Clelland was at the place, and kept up his 
practice until about 1865. 

Thomas Ferguson, a brother of John 
Ferguson, came from Steubenville about 
1828-30 and conducted a shoe shop until 
1885. 



AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 



285 



About 1822 John Justice built the first 
lannery iu the vicinity, it being located 
about a mile south of the town. He after- 
ward removed to Ohio. Another tannery 
was built about 1832 by William Alcorn. 

A log schoolhouse was built about 
1815-16, where Louis Etter's wagon shop 
formerly stood, and was the first one in 
the town. The ground was reserved by 
John Nesbit for school purposes when he 
laid out the town. 

In 1875 John L. Camblin built a plan- 
ing mill a short distance east of town. 

Mount Jackson is located on the summit 
of one of the highest hills in the neighbor- 
hood, having a steep descent on the west 
and south towards Hickory Creek, and 
stretching oft' on a comparative plane to- 
wards the east and north. The place con- 
tains several stores, and has some neat 
and cosy residences and a substantial 
school building. Until the present two- 
story school building was constructed, the 
house originally erected by the members 
of the Free Presbyterian Church was used 
as a school building and was located at the 
forks of the road where the John ^McGin- 
ness residence has since been built. 

The United Presbyterian Church, at 
Mount Jackson, was organized about the 
year 1820 or 1822 by a number of persons 
who had elsewhere been members or ad- 
herents of what was then called the "As- 
sociate Reformed Presbyterian Church of 
North America." These persons occasion- 
ally secured the services of itinerant min- 
isters, who would preach a day or two 
at a time in a barn or private house to 
those who were disposed to attend. From 
such small beginnings, in the course of 
two or three years, a congregation of per- 
haps twenty-five members was organized. 
About 1825 the services of a missionary — 
one John Norwood — recently from Ireland, 
were secured for one-third of his time. 
After serving for one year in this capacity, 
lie was settled as permanent pastor for 
one-third of his time. There were then 
about thirty or tliirty-five members, among 



them being the Millers, Chambers, Kyles, 
Hammils, Davidsons, Alcorns and Black- 
burns. 

During the summer of 1825 the first 
church building was erected. It was a 
frame structure. Mr. Norwood resigned 
his charge in 1833, and for four years 
subsequently the congregation was without 
a pastor. In October, 1837, John Neil, 
a young man from Washington County, 
Pennsylvania, who had just finished his 
theological studies, became pastor and re- 
mained until 1860. Under his pastoral 
care the congregation increased from thir- 
ty-five members to 140, and became able to 
support a pastor for his whole time. 

In 1857 a new frame church building, 40 
by 50, was erected at a cost of between 
by 50 feet, was erected at a cost of between 
$2,000 or $3,000. In the year 1858, at the 
consummation of the union between the As- 
sociate and Associate Reformed Presby- 
terian Churches, this congregation, in com- 
mon with all others in the Associate Re- 
formed Church, became a United Presby- 
terian Church. 

After Mr. Neil gave up the charge, the 
congregation was without a pastor for over 
a year, when the Rev. Cyrus Cummins 
became pastor, and for eight years faith- 
fully performed the duties devolving upon 
him. He then resigned, and was followed, 
after an interval of about one year, by 
the Rev. Hugh R. McClelland, who took 
charge of the congregation in October, 
1870. He has been followed by other pas- 
tors, and although the congregation has 
suffered much at different times from 
death and removals it has increased in 
numbers and good works. The church edi- 
fice is located half a mile south of the cal- 
lage, on the south side of Hickory Creek. 

The Free Presbyterian Church was or- 
ganized in 1846 by the members of the 
Presbyterian Church at Westfield. The 
new organization numbered about fifty 
members in full communion. The Civil 
War which followed the secession of the 
Southern States, having resulted in the 



HISTORY OF LAWEENCE COUNTY 



abolition of slavery, and the action of the 
general assemblies of the Presbyterian 
Church, which met in 1864, 1865 and 1866, 
having, in some measure, removed the 
causes of the separation, the members of 
the Free Church almost unanimously re- 
solved to dissolve their organization and 
unite with other sister churches. The 
above resolution was adopted in June, 
1866, after having maintained their organi- 
zation for nearly twenty years. Nearly all 
the members went back to the church from 
which they had separated. 

Methodist Episcopal Church. — The 
pioneer Methodist, at Mount Jackson, was 
Jacob Bear, who came from Northumber- 
land County, Pennsylvania, with his fam- 
ily in 1825. Mr. Bear was born in the Buf- 
falo Valley, in Union County. Through 
Mr. Bear's efforts, a class was organized 
at Mount Jackson about 1838, by Eev. Ru- 
fus Parker. Previous to its organization 
meetings were held as early as 1828 at Mr. 
Bear's house. Mr. Bear was one of the 
first associate judges of Lawrence County, 
the other being Charles T. Whippo. When 
the Methodist class was organized, its first 
leader was Richard M. Bear, and William 
Marrs was the second. The class was or- 
ganized some three or four years before 
the church was built. A Sabbath- school 
was organized early, and has been kept up 
most of the time since. 

The church, a frame building, was erect- 
ed about 1842, on land purchased from 
John Nesbit, who laid out the town. Tt has 
since been repaired and remodeled, and is 
yet standing. 

MORAVIA. 

This ])]ace is the site of the old Moravian 
missions, founded in 1770, and originally 
located on the broad bottomland on the 
east side of the river. It is said that when 
the missionaries and their converts were 
coming up the Beaver they passed, near 
where Newport now stands, a village of 
Indian maidens who were all single, and 
pledged never to marry. The village was 



moved from the east to the west side of 
the river, because the former locality was 
too low and unhealthy. The western town 
stood a short distance north of the pres- 
ent Moravia station, and there the Mora- 
vians stayed until 1773, when they removed 
to the Tuscarawas Valley, in Ohio. Long 
after the Christian Indians had left the 
locality, and after subsequent Indian 
troubles, the region was again settled by 
whites, and this time permanently. 

About 1798 William Forbes settled just 
below the present village, and soon after 
built a grist mill and a sawmill on the 
Beaver River. The dam was nearly half 
a mile above the mill, and the construction 
of it and the digging of the mill-race must 
have required an immense amount of labor. 
Mr. Forbes held the office of justice of the 
peace and died some time before the War 
of 1812. 

James Alsworth came from Franklin 
County, Pennsylvania, in November, 1804, 
with his wife and six children. Three chil- 
dren were born in the family after they ar- 
rived. The youngest of the six children 
who came with their parents was William 
Alsworth. James Alsworth settled a 200- 
acre tract and made the first improvements 
upon it. 

The village of Moravia was laid out by 
David W. 1). Freeman, about 1863-64, soon 
after the New Castle and Beaver Railway 
was ojiened for travel. 

The town has a fine location on the hill 
above the river, commanding a view both 
up and down the stream and across the 
fertile "bottoms" on the eastern shore. 
The Erie & Pittsburg Railway affords 
shipping and traveling facilities, and the 
town, though yet small, has a wide future 
before it, in which to become equal in im- 
portance to its sister towns in the coimty. 

PERRY TOWNSHIP. 
This was one of the thirteen original 
townships of Lawrence County, its posi- 
tion being the southeast corner, on the east 
side of Slippery Rock Creek. Owing to 



AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 



287 



the creek being the boimdary line, the 
township is somewhat triangular in shape. 

The surface is generally uneven, the hills 
rising to a height of several hundred feet 
above the waters of the Slippery Rock, and 
the 'Valleys between them are usually nar- 
row. 

The soil is generally fertile, and the 
different grains and fruits which tiie coun- 
try produces are here grown in profusion. 

The township is watered by numerous 
streams, most of which are branches of 
Slipper}' Rock Creek. The most impor- 
tant of the smaller streams is Camp Run, 
which flows in a southerly direction 
through the eastern portion of the town- 
ship, and enters the Conoquenessing 
Creek in Franklin Township, Beaver Coun- 
ty, Pennsylvania. The stream affords con- 
siderable ])ower. It takes its name from 
the fact that the settlers along it had a 
great many "sugar camps," the "sugar 
trees" standing very thick in the valley. 
Hickory timber was also plenty, and the 
name "Hickory Run" would have been 
just as applicable. 

Along all the streams are rugged and 
precipitous banks, and in many i)laces the 
scenery partakes of a wildness and gran- 
deur beyond description. "Along Slip- 
pery Rock Creek the frowning bluffs rise 
to a height of 400 feet, their sides covered 
with huge fragmentary masses of sand- 
rock and a dense growth of hemlock. 
Away down below, the waters of the stream 
rush impetuously over a rock bed. and oc- 
casionally foam and dash down a steep and 
narrow rapid, or tumble with angry com- 
motion over a low ledge, each particular 
drop of water seemingly furiously strug- 
gling with its might to become first among 
its sisters whirling onward to the sea. In 
every spot along the Slippery Rock the 
scenery is delightful, and it is by no means 
necessary for the inhabitants of the land 
to go beyond its banks to find a grand cul- 
mination of nature's beauties. The gray 
old sandstone, with its mossy surface, oc- 
casionally shelving and forming a gloomy 



recess underneath, the ragged fragments, 
piled in reckless confusion, the somber 
hemlocks and humbler, though not less 
beautiful, laurel, the occasional dripping 
brooklets, their waters falling carelessly 
over the rocky banks, the larger stream, 
with its swift rushing waters dashing mad- 
ly down the deep and narrow gorge, com- 
bined, make a picture worthy the pencil 
or brush of the artist, and one that, once 
seen and appreciated, is not easily for- 
gotten. ' ' 

Much of the territory along Slippery 
Rock Creek was leased by oil companies, 
and a number of wells bored, the result 
not always realizing expectations, how- 
ever. 

An Armstrong iron bridge, manufac- 
tured at New Brighton, Beaver Comity, 
Pennsylvania, was built across the creek, 
at the wells, about 1870, and is a strong, 
substantial structure. 

Coal abounds throughout the township, 
and except where the vein approaches 
Slippery Rock Creek, is of an exceedingly 
fine quality. The upper vein averages 
about four feet in thickness, except as it 
approaches the creek, where it becomes 
thinner. It has been worked in a number 
of places to good advantage. 

Iron ore is also found, in quality very 
rich. Below the upper coal vein is a vein 
of fire clay, averaging some three feet in 
thickness, and below that both bog and 
kidney ore are found. 

Limestone also abounds, but owing to its 
lying next the iron, and being more or les3 
impregnated with and gradually merged 
into it, is worth but little for burning, and 
is valueless for building purposes. 

A large proportion of the lands in Per- 
ry Township are in what was known orig- 
inally as the "Chew district." Benjamin 
Chew, of Philadelphia, had secured a tract 
of land in the southern part of what is 
now Lawrence County, including portions 
of Big Beaver, Waj-ne, Shenango, Slip- 
pery Rock and Perry Townships. It was 
surveyed into 400-acre tracts, and each 



HISTORY OF LAWEENCE COUNTY 



settler on a tract was entitled to half for 
settling. The balance was sold at a small 
price and in quantities to suit purchasers. 
The Chew tract was four or five roiles in 
width and some eight or ten miles in 
length. 

When the territory in western Penn- 
sylvania was first surveyed, a body con- 
sisting of eight tracts of 400 acres each — 
two tracts north and south, and four east 
and west — was put down on the survey- 
or's map as "depreciated lands," or lands 
not fit for settling. These became known 
as the "eight tracts," a narae they still 
retain, and were located principally in the 
northern part of what is now Perry Town- 
ship. As these lands are equal, if not su- 
perior, to any in the township, it is pos- 
sible that the surveyors, with an instinc- 
tive knowledge of their future value, re- 
ported them in the manner they did in or- 
der to deceive settlers, and some time set- 
tle on or speculate in the tracts themselves. 
But if such were their designs they were 
speedily fn.;strated when the settlers be- 
gan to come in and choose those tracts 
first of all. It is a fact that the earliest 
settlements in the township were made on 
these same "depreciated lands," and some 
of the best improvements today are in this 
locality. 

EAKLY SETTLEMEKTS AND SETTLEES. 

About the year 1796 Matthew Murray 
settled on Tract Number Four, 200 acres, 
and was the first settler on the place. Mr. 
Murray came from Maryland, with his 
wife and seven children. Five children 
were born after he made his settlement, 
the first one, Thomas, very soon after they 
came, said to have been the first white 
child born on Slippery Eock Creek. Mr. 
Murray served in the Eevolution, and was 
in the Light Horse under "Light Horse 
Harry Lee." Two of Mr. Murray's sons, 
Matthew and William, were out at Black 
Eock during the War of 1812, and two 
others, James and John, were with Gen- 
eral Harrison, at Fort Meigs and vicinity. 



Matthew Murray, Sr., died in 1827; his 
wife died in 1812 or 1813. 

During the years 1797 and 1798 a num- 
ber of settlers came in, and after that the 
filling up of the township proceeded mor'e 
rapidly. 

James Stewart, Robert Young, William 
Scott, Thomas and Marvin Christy, and 
Eobert Stewart, came during the two years 
above mentioned, and settled in the same 
neighborhood. The Christeys and Eobert 
Stewart settled just across in Butler Coun- 
ty, and the others in what is now Perry 
Township, Lawrence County. 

James Stewart came in 1798. He was 
originally from what was then Adams 
County, Pennsylvania, and for a while 
stopped in the valley of Pigeon Creek, 
Washington County. When he came to 
Lawrence County he located on a farm in 
the northern part of Perry Township. Mr. 
Stewart was a tall, athletic man, and could 
stand and jump over "anything he could 
lay his chin over." His father, Matthew 
Stewart, had served in the Eevolutionary 
War, and though not as tall as his son, 
was fully as active and very quick. James 
Stewart's daughter, Joanna, born April 
24, 1801, was the wife of William Gealey, 
Sr., who lived in Plain Grove Township, 
Lawrence County. 

Eobert Yoimg was from Ireland, and he 
and William Scott made a settlement on 
the same tract. For a long time there was 
considerable strife between them as to 
which one the tract belonged to. They 
finally settled the dispute by dividing it, 
and afterwards lived amicably as neigh- 
bors. Young had made improvements near 
the center of the tract, and when the divi- 
sion was made, Scott took a strip off each 
side in order to allow Young to keep his 
improvements. 

William Scott's oldest son, John, served 
in the War of 1812. 

A peddler, named John Fulton, came in 
1797, and settled on the east side of Slip- 
pery Eock Creek, at the spot where the 
stream is crossed by what is known a;s 



AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 



289 



"Harris' Ford." Fiilton was in some way 
connected with the Harris faniilj-, from 
whom the ford derives its name. 

James Stewart, a different personage 
from the man already mentioned, came 
from Peter's Creek Valley, Allegheny 
County, Pennsylvania, and settled on the 
farm recently owned by Andrew Powell, 
in 1796 or 1797. He came with his father 
and mother. His father, John Stewart, 
served in the Continental Army during the 
Revolutionary War, and fought in the bat- 
tle of Brandywine, September 11, 1777. 
James Stewart was not married wjien he 
came with his parents, but some time pre- 
vious to the War of 1812, he married 
Nancy Morrison, whose parents lived on 
Camp Run. John Stewart lived a num- 
ber of years after the settlement, and died 
aged over seventy years. James Stewart 
served as captain in the War of 1812. He 
was a great hunter, and took extreme de- 
light in the sports of the chase. He had 
a rifle which he called "Old Danger," 
which carried a ball weighing nearly an 
ounce. 

A man named Hawkins was the original 
settler of the farm afterwards owned by 
Andrew Elliott, and later by William Cur- 
ry, of Pittsburg. Hawkins must have been 
out previous to the year 1800. He made 
the first improvements on the place, sold 
it to Elliott, and left the eountrv before 
1812. Mr. Elliott located on the place the 
2nd day of May, 1807, and in 1812 taught 
school in a log schoolhouse which was 
built on his place. The original tract, as 
settled by Hawkins, consisted of 200 acres. 

Among the first settlers in the southern 
portion of the township were Charles 
Dobbs, William Morton, and others, who 
located along the line at present dividing 
the two counties of Beaver and Lawrence. 

Job Randolph settled on Camp Run 
about 1805. He was at that time a young 
man, and was married after he came to 
the township. He, with his parents, when 
but eight years of age, came from near 
Princeton, N. J., the family settling first 



in Washington County, Pennsylvania, and 
afterwards removing to Beaver, now Law- 
rence County. His son, John Randolph, 
laid out the town of Princeton, naming it 
after the old dwelling place of the family. 
John Randolph was one of the first com- 
missioners of Lawrence Coimty. 

Some time previous to the War of 1812- 
15, probably about 1810, Amos Pyle came 
with his family from Peter's Creek Val- 
ley, Allegheny Coimty, Pennsylvania. The 
family consisted of himself, his wife and 
six children, and four more children were 
born after his settlement, making ten in 
all. Mr. Pyle had been here about 1807-8, 
and made some improvements on the place, 
and also built a sawmill on Camp Run. 
After he brought his family, he built a log 
grist mill on the run, on the site of the mill 
then owned by Caleb Pyle. Mr. Pyle's 
brother. Caleb Pyle, Sr., came with him, 
and served as a lieutenant in the War of 
1812. The Pyles were originally from 
England, and settled first in Chester Coun- 
ty, Pennsylvania. Amos Pyle's wife was 
an eye-witness of the battle of Bunker 
Hill, and her father, William Wright, was 
in the ranks of the Americans that day, 
fighting manfully for "Liberty and Inde- 
pendence. ' ' 

Edward White came early to the town- 
ship, and settled on a -iOO-acre tract. White 
built a couple of small cabins and a barn, 
all of logs, on the tract, and then left it. 
A colored man, named Ca'sar Mercy, then 
got a man named Sturgeon, living in Pitts- 
burg, to go and make further and better 
improvements. White returned and tried 
to hold the place by virtue of the improve- 
ments he had made, but Mercy's (or Stur- 
geon's) improvements were superior, and 
Wliite had no show for at least a part of 
the tract. 

In 1825 John Weller purchased 200 
acres of Mrs. Sturgeon, and located on 
the land. The balance of the 400-acre tract 
is now, or was formerlj^ owned by George 
H. Magee, William Weller, James Bran- 
don and J. H. Mitchell. 



290 



HISTORY OF LAWRENCE COUNTY 



George H. Magee, owning a part of this 
tract, came to the township about 1837, 
and purchased 200 acres of Robert Aiken, 
locating and residing upon it until his 
death. He had previously lived on the 
Conoquenessing Creek, in Butler County. 

Robert Aiken came from the Youghio- 
gheny Valley, seven miles above McKees- 
port, in April, 1804, bringing four children 
with him. Purchasing land of Edward 
White, he located upon it, near where the 
present residence of George H. Magee 
stands. Mr. Aiken raised four children 
after he came to the township, viz. : Rob- 
ert, Margaret, Jolm and Eliza Jane. The 
other children were Ann, born in 1798, at 
the old home on the "Yough"; James, 
Andrew and William. Mrs. Aiken died in 
1835, aged sixty-six years, and Mr. Aiken 
in 1850, at the age of eighty. 

Jacob Van Gorder came from New Jer- 
sey about 1806, and settled on Slippery 
Rock Creek. He built a sawmill some time 
after he came, and some time between 
1845 and 1850 erected a grist mill, which 
was later operated by his sons. 

Elias Van Gorder, brother to Jacob, 
came in 1808, and settled on a farm owned 
by Smith, Collins & Co., a Philadelphia 
oil firm. He brought three or four chil- 
dren with him. He went to Erie in Cap- 
tain Kildoo 's company, during the War of 
1812, and died there. This company was 
raised in the neighborhood, and had mem- 
bers from Perry, Slippery Rock, Wayne, 
and other townships, and probably some 
from Butler County. 

ROADS. 

The first road in the township was one 
which was intended to run through old 
Harmony Y'illage, in Butler County. Its 
route was from the spot where the iron 
bridge at the oil well now stands, through 
to the old Freeman farm, at the Butler 
County line, thence on to Harmony. It 
was cut through Perry Township to the 
county line, but was never met from the 



other side, and consequently was never fin- 
ished. Trade went in those days almost 
exclusively to Harmony, and when a road 
was opened it was well traveled, but finally 
business took a start in New Castle, and 
was pushed so briskly that Harmony lost 
much of its custom, which went to New 
Castle, and the old road grew up to brush. 
A petition was afterwards circulated for a 
State road, which was finally viewed from 
New Castle to Zelienople, Butler Coimty, 
and partially cut through, on a part of 
the same track the old road followed. 

Another State road was located on near- 
ly the same line, varying a little from it 
in some places, but a petition was gotten 
up, and the road annulled and vacated, 
and a road laid running from the oil works 
down along the hollow, up the hill past the 
site of the old Covenanter Church, and on 
to Zelienople. 

The Wurtemberg and Portersville State 
road was laid out about the time the coun- 
ty of Lawrence was created, 1849-50. 

Matthew Stewart built a grist mill on 
the "run" which flowed through his farm, 
very early, and a road was laid south and 
southwest from it, probably intended to go 
through to Beaver town. Part of the road 
is still in the "Eight Tract settlement." 
The old mill contained one run of stone, 
and succumbed to the ravages of time 
years ago. 

MILITARY RECORD. 

The earlj'^ comers to the township had 
among their number several veterans of 
the Revolution — those who fought to keep 
alive the spark of that liberty which had 
been so boldly asserted as the rightful 
possession of the colonists — and their chil- 
dren roused themselves to action, and pre- 
served the honor of their country and the 
fame of their sires when the English ag- 
gressions brought on the struggle of 1812- 
15. 

After that war was over and peace once 
more "spread her wings 'neath the banner 



AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 



291 



of stars," militia organizations and volun- 
teer rifle companies were kept up for sev- 
eral years. 

About 1820 a rifle company called the 
"Rifle Hornets," or "Hornet Rifles," was 
organized under the law which exempted 
the members from further military duty 
after a continuous service of seven years. 
The company had a membership of from 
forty to fifty men, anned with common 
rifles, each furnishing his own uniform 
and arms. The uniform was a blue capote, 
or frock, with red facings and white fringe, 
red sash, citizen's hat with white plume, 
and white pants. Alexander Morrison and 
J. H. Van Gorder were at one time officers 
of this company, the former ranking as 
captain and the latter as second-lieuten- 
ant. The company was made up of men 
from the immediate vicinity. 

During the "War of the Rebellion, the 
township was largely represented. In this 
war of a nation's children — a war between 
brothers — many who entered the service 
from Perry were maimed for life, and 
others await today the final trump from 
the grassy graves on Southern fields, when 
they shall gather once more with the dear 
ones who mourn them. 

SCHOOLS. 

In the fall of 1805 a sehoolhouse was 
built of round logs just across the line in 
Beaver County, on land owned by Will- 
iam Thomi^son. Tliis was the first school- 
house in the neighborhood, but, owing to 
some dispute, it was burned down before 
it was ever occupied. 

Another one was built immediately on 
the same site, also of round logs, and 
stood for a number of years. The first 
teacher was John Ker (or Kerr), who was 
living on the Sturgeon place with his 
mother, and owned no land. He was of 
Irish descent, and was not very popular, 
though a good-hearted man. Owing to 
the scarcity of teachers he was welcomed, 
however. His greatest fault was gross 
mi spronunciation. 



A sehoolhouse was built, about 1812, 
on land then owned by Andrew Elliott, 
who was the first teacher in the building. 
The settlers in the neighborhood had two 
sites picked out for the location of the 
sehoolhouse, and it was agreed among them 
that the one that had the most pupils sub- 
scribed should be the place to build it. 
Robert Aiken settled the matter when it 
came his turn to subscribe, by putting 
down five pupils for the Elliott location, 
and there the sehoolhouse was built. The 
children who attended this school were 
dressed in blue linsev, and were familiarlv 
called the "Eight-tracts Blues." Mr. 
Aiken was as good as his word, and sent 
five children. 

Some time previous to the year 1808 a 
house was built on land owned by Samuel 
McElwain. It was built for a dwelling, 
and used for school purposes, about 
1809-10. The first teacher was an Irish- 
man named Samuel Sterrett. School was 
only kept in this building two or three 
terms. 

At an early date a sehoolhouse was built 
on the west side of Camp Run, in the south- 
ern part of the township. A man named 
John Hines was probably the first teacher. 

Another one was built of logs on the old 
Robert White farm. This was later, about 
1825-26. James H. Van Gorder taught in 
it six months, and others taught both be- 
fore and after him. It was used until 
18.34, when the law establishing free 
schools was passed, and it was abandoned. 

After the school law came in force, 
schoolhouses were built twenty feet square, 
the first one being north of the old James 
]\Iorton farm. Teachers at that time were 
scarce, and but few of them were com- 
petent, and people hired what they could 
get, from sheer necessity. 

The second sehoolhouse, under the school 
law, was built about 1836-37, on the State 
road leading from Wurtemburg to Por- 
tersville, about two and one-half miles 
from Wurtemburg. It was built "on the 



292 



HISTORY OF LAWRENCE COUNTY 



bounds of the road," and no land was 
leased or bought upon which to erect it. 

The next one was built on the Armstrong 
fai*m, but was moved to a more central 
location, on the Andrew Elliott land, where 
the present schoolhouse stands. The house 
is now known as the "Elliott schoolhouse." 

Another was built on the southeast side 
of the creek, at "W'urtemburg, one on Camp 
Run, and another in the northeastern part 
of the township. 

In 1908 there are five schools in the 
township, with the same number of teach- 
ers, and an enrollment of 128 pupils. Total 
expenditures, $2,139.28; estimated value 
of school property, $3,750. 

CHURCHES. 

Mountville United Presbyterian Church 
was organized as an Associate or Seceder 
Church, in 1808 or 1810, probably by Rev. 
McClintock, who had preached in the neigh- 
borhood as early as 1798. After this, As- 
sociate Reformed preachers occasionally 
held forth in the neighborhood also, and 
the early meetings were held at private 
houses— at Mv. Young's, Mr. Scott's and 
other places, and, during warm weather, 
in barns. Anioug the founders of the As- 
sociate congregation were Robert Young, 
William Scott, Thomas Christy, Robert 
Ai-ken, John Frew, Job Randolph, James 
Stewart and James Vance, who were all 
pioneers in the settlement of the neighbor- 
hood. 

About 1810 a small church was built 
of round logs, on land subsequently owned 
by Daniel Thomas, which was the farm 
next adjoining the John Fulton place. 

The log church was used until 1822, when 
a frame church was erected. A more com- 
modious edifice was erected in 1840, on 
the hill west of the residence of James 
Aiken. The ground was donated by Rob- 
ert Aiken, and included four acres. Addi- 
tional ground for burial purposes was sub- 
sequently purchased by the society. 

The first settled pastor was Rev. Alex- 
ander Murray, who preached as early as 



1809, but was probably not settled until 
a later date. Rev. Mr. McClintock pos- 
sibly preached a few times in the old log 
church, as an assistant to Mr. Murray. 
The latter preached to the congregation 
until 1845, when he died, in the thirty-sev- 
enth year of his ministry. He was buried 
in the present graveyard. 

After Mr. Murray died, the church was 
sup])lied by different ministers, until Rev. 
Joseph McClintock was settled, which was 
in 1847-48. He stayed nine years, and 
after him came Rev. Andrew Irons, who 
became unable to preach soon after he was 
settled, through failing health. Mr. Irons 
came in the spring or summer of 1857, and 
after his health failed had the church sup- 
plied for a while out of his own wages. 
He died near the close of December, 1863. 

Rev. John Donaldson was the next pas- 
tor; he came in June, 1865, and ceased 
his labors with the congregation in 1869. 
After this the church was supplied until 
the summer of 1874, when Rev. John Pat- 
terson was called, under whose charge the 
church flourished. Rev. J. J. Ralston be- 
came i^astor in 1889, and served with great 
devotion for seventeen years, when he re- 
signed, June 26, 1906. This congregation 
has now been without a regular pastor for 
more than a year. The church has sixty- 
five members and the Sabbath-school an 
enrollment of sixty-eight. The church was 
named "Mountville," by Rev. Alexander 
Murray, soon after it was built. It had 
pre\dously been known as the "Eight 
Tracts Church." 

About 1840 a Covenanter, or Reformed 
Presbyterian Church was built, the first 
pastor of which was probably Rev. Thomas 
Guthrie. In 1859 this congregation re- 
moved to Wurtemburg, in Wayne Town- 
ship, and organized as a United Presby- 
terian Society, wliich is still continued. 

Part of the village of Wurtemburg lies 
in Perry Township, and the postofBce has, 
at different times, been kept on this side 
also, but is now in that portion of the vil- 
lage which lies in Wayne Township. Some 



AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 



293 



fine residences and one store are located 
in "South Wurtemburg." 

The bluff on the south side of Slippery 
Rock Creek, at the bend opposite Wurtem- 
burg, is 390 feet high, and very steep. 

PLAINGROVE TOWNSHIP. 

There was in each of the original coun- 
ties of Beaver and Mercer, a township 
called Slippery Rock. These two town- 
ships adjoined each other, and as long as 
they were in separate counties they were 
known by the county in which each was 
located. On the division of Mercer and 
Beaver counties, and the creation there- 
from of Lawrence County, these two town- 
ships were brought together in the same 
county. To distinguish them apart one 
was called Slippery Rock and the other 
North Slippery Rock. But, finally. North 
Slippery Rock was divided east and west 
through the center, on the 13th day of 
April, 1854, and two new townships formed 
from it, North Slippery Rock no longer 
being retained as the name of the town- 
ship or any part of it. The new organiza- 
tions were called Washington and Scott, 
the former being the northern half of the 
old township and the latter the southern. 
This order was maintained until Febru- 
ary 14, 1855, when the eastern portions 
of Washington and Scott were erected into 
a new township called Plain Grove, or, as it 
is now generally written, Plaingrove. On 
the 15th of February, 1859, Washington 
Township was enlarged by the addition of 
a strip three-fourths of a mile in width 
taken from Scott, leaving the three town- 
ships in the shai^e they now are. This 
was from territory originally in the county 
of Mercer. Old Slippery Rock (or North 
Slippery Rock) township was erected some 
time between the third Monday of Novem- 
ber, 1805, and the third Monday of Feb- 
ruary, 1806. 

The surface of Plaingrove is less broken 
than most of those in Lawrence County. 
The soil is generally fertile and produc- 
tive. The area of the township is about 



11,800 acres. The improvements in many 
parts are excellent, and as an agricultural 
township Plaingrove is not beliind any in 
the county in most respects. It is well 
watered and possesses a considerable 
amount of timber. 

Two streams of some size head near the 
northern boundary of the township and 
flow in a southerly course, discharging 
their waters into Slippery Rock Creek. 
These streams are Taylor's and Jamison's 
runs. The power on each has been utilized, 
and since a very early date mills have been 
operated on their banks. Each has a num- 
ber of small tributaries. 

Originally there extended through near- 
ly the center of the township, east and 
west, a strip of pine timber, reaching 
across into both Mercer and Butler Coim- 
ties. This strip was about a quarter of 
a mile wide, and at one time contained 
some valuable timber, but it has been 
largely culled out. The strip is not con- 
tinuous, as in places narrow belts of land, 
covered with other varieties of timber, 
cross it. There were in Plaingrove Town- 
ship several hundred acres of this timber 
originally. 

The coal resources of Plaingrove are ex- 
tensive, and in nimaerous places mines are, 
or have been, worked. The first banks in 
the township were opened in the neighbor- 
hood of the year 1840. The oldest banks 
were those opened by John and Isaac Low- 
ry and Joseph Totten. The thickness of 
the veins in the township will average 
about three feet, the coal being of a good 
quality. 

In 1860 a niunber of test-wells were 
bored for oil in the township, owing to 
the strong excitement raised by the dis- 
covery of oil in great quantities in the 
newly opened oil regions of Butler and 
Venango Counties. On the farm of W. H. 
H. Miles a well was put down about 125 
feet, passing through fine beds of coal at 
the depths of thirty, sixty and ninety feet. 
The excitement in the main oil regions 
tended largely toward stopping the work 



294 



HISTORY OF LAWRENCE COUNTY 



in this part of Lawrence County, and it 
was finalh' abandoned altogether. An- 
other well was bored on the farm of Jo- 
seph ]\Ioore, just in the edge of Butler 
County. Mr. Moore's residence was in 
Lawrence County. This was also aban- 
doned. In both the Miles and Moore wells 
a fine stream of water was tapped. 

Iron ore is also found in the township, 
and generally of a fair quality. Along 
Slippery Rock Creek the "blue ore" 
abounds, but it is much harder to work 
than the "red ore," and does not pay 
as well ; consequently, it is not much used. 

About 1853-55 the'"Myra Furnace" was 
built by Emery & Culbertson, and operated 
by those parties until 1870. Mr. Culbert- 
son died just before the institution broke 
up. Of itself it was a paying establish- 
ment, but the proprietors became interest- 
ed in numerous other furnaces, and, owing 
to the heavy strain, were obliged to close 
up their business. The ore they used was 
taken out in the immediate vicinity, to- 
gether with the other necessary articles 
for their use, limestone and coal. The ore 
was of the red quality, generally easily 
worked. Most of it could be shoveled up 
readily, wliile with some of it the use of 
the pick and blast became necessary. 

Of the land in Plaingrove, as well as in 
other parts of the county, much was not 
patented for several years after it was set- 
tled, and other tracts were never patented, 
and were finally sold for taxes. In many 
cases the original surveys were produc- 
tive of considerable litigation on account 
of inaccuracies in description. 

Among the early patents are the fol- 
lowing : 

The farm now, or formerly, owned by 
J. M. Lawrence, Esq., was patented by 
Benjamin Pearson, January 31, 1806, in 
pursuance of a warrant issued in 1805. 
The original tract was called "Hope," and 
consisted of 400 acres. It was probably 
settled by Mr. Pearson. 

On the 18th of December, 1818, a patent 
was issued to William George for 258 



acres, including the place more recently 
occupied by David George. 

John Gealey's patent was granted Oc- 
tober 6, 1810; warrant issued May 31, 
1806. The amount of land was 394 acres 
and sixty-four perches, and was patented 
as "Gay Lodge," and described as lying 
in "Slippery Rock Township, Mercer 
County," which it then was, the township 
having been erected about the beginning of 
that year. 

Michael Brown's patent was dated 
March 23, 1807. The land described is lo- 
cated partly in Plaingrove Township and 
partly in Washington. 

A patent for 392 acres was granted to 
Joshua Miles, April 29, 1812. 

James, Thomas, John and Robert Mc- 
Coinmon were granted a patent April 18, 
1815, to 407 acres and 131 perches. The 
survey was made November 15, 1815. 

A patent was issued to Marmaduke 
Jamison on the 13th of April, 1814. The 
land has since passed through various 
hands. 

Samuel Allen and James Blair received 
a patent dated October 2, 1818. 

James George and Martha Newell — pat- 
ent dated Julv 16, 1807; warrant issued 
April 8, 1805.' 

John Offutt bought 165 acres of Ben- 
jamin Pearson, the deed being dated May 
31,1806. 

Hugh McKee received a patent for 397 
acres on the 21st of March, 1809. 

These are but a portion of earlier is- 
siies of patents, as far as we have been 
able to obtain them, and in almost every 
case the settlement was made a number 
of years before the patent was given. 

SETTLEMENT. 

Some time in the summer of 1798 Adam 
McCracken, who was originally from Ire- 
land, settled on the farm more recently 
owned by Alexander ]\IcCracken. He set- 
tled 400 acres, getting half for settling. 

Henry Hagan came the same fall, and 
made a small clearing, and Infill a cabin 



AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 



295 



on the adjoining 400-acre tract. The fol- 
lowing year (1799) he brought his family, 
having gone back after them when he had 
completed his improvements. Air. Ilagan 
had seven children. His son, John, was 
the oldest; of his daughters, Rachel was 
liorn in Chester Count}', Pennsylvania, in 
April, 1787, and Margaret in Allegheny, 
in June, 1799. Her father had moved 
from Chester County, and lived a year 
there before coming to Lawrence. He was 
originally from Ireland. In 1818 Rachel 
Hagan was married to James McCracken, 
and lived to be over ninety vears of age. 
A son of Mr. Hagan died in 1805 or 1806. 
His name was Henry. Mr. Hagen himself 
died in 1840, and his wife in 1843. For a 
year or two after these families came, they 
had all their provisions to "pack" from 
Pittsburg. A mill was not long after put 
up by Jonathan Harlan, where the village 
of Harlansburg now stands, and after this 
the settlers were not obliged to go as far. 
A few other families were living in the 
neighborhood, who had come out in 1798, 
the year previous to the Hagan settlement, 
consequently, neighbors were compara- 
tively plenty. 

Among those who settled in the immedi- 
ate neighborhood was James McCommon 
(sometimes spelled McCalmot). He was 
born in Scotland, and when young went to 
Ireland. From Ireland he emigrated to 
Carlisle, Cumberland County, Pennsyl- 
vania, thence to Westmoreland County, 
and finally, in 1798, came to what is now 
Plaingrove Township, Lawrence County, 
and settled on a 400-acre tract. The fam- 
ily, when he settled, consisted of himself, 
wife and seven children. Mr. McCommon 
died about 1804-6. He planted an orchard 
about 1800, and the orchards of the Hagan, 
McCracken, Wallace and other farms in 
the neighborhood were planted about the 
same time. 

Another neighbor was George Rogers, 
who came from County Armagh, Ireland, 
about 1790, and settled first in Washing- 
ton County, Pennsylvania. About 1798 he 



came to Plaingrove Township, and located 
on a farm now owned by David Blair and 
others, Mr. Blair occupying the old home- 
stead. Mr. Rogers' son, William, married 
a girl named Hathaway (!), living near 
Harlansburg, and in 1800 George W. Rog- 
ers was born on the old place. Betsey 
Rogers, a sister to William, was married 
to Alexander McCracken, and her husband 
afterwards — about 1800 or 1801 — went to 
Alabama, and died on his way back. His 
wife died soon after she learned of his 
death, and hers was one of the first deaths 
in the neighborhood, the first being that of 
a child of James Denniston, and the second 
that of Henry Hagan, Jr., before men- 
tioned. At that time there was no grave- 
yard, and the bodies were interred in a 
field belonging to Mr. Denniston, now in 
the limits of Mercer County. This land 
has ever since been used for burial pur- 
poses. It is but a short distance across in 
Mercer County, near the property owned 
by John Stephenson. 

Andrew Denniston located in the north- 
west part of what is now Plaingrove Town- 
ship, about the time the other families 
came to the neighborhood, in 1798-9. Some 
of the same name were among the first set- 
tlers in what is now Springfield Township, 
Mercer County. 

After the Rogers family came, they 
"packed" flour from Westmoreland Coun- 
ty for some time, probably ceasing to do 
so after Harlan's mill was built. Wlien 
this family settled, the children were gen- 
erallj' grown, and some of them were mar- 
ried. 

Charles Blair and Samuel Allen settled 
in the same neighborhood with those al- 
readv mentioned, the two coming together 
in 1799. 

Michael Brown, William and Andrew 
Wallace and John Green also came early. 
None of them are now in the township. 

The Wallaces settled a tract adjoining 
the Hagan farm, and Browm and Green 
were a mile to the south of them, adjoining 
each other. 



296 



HISTORY OF LAWRENCE COUNTY 



Andrew Wallace died and left his prop- 
erty to his brother, William, who sold the 
whole tract in 1811 to James Burns. 

James Burns was bom near Florence 
Court, County Fermanagh, Ireland, June 
5, 1778, and about June, 1794-95, he emi- 
grated to America, and settled in Carlisle, 
Cumberland County, Pennsylvania. He 
stayed there a few years, and in 1803 came 
to Brownsville, Fayette County, where he 
lived three years and a half, and after- 
wards removed to a farm on "Ginger 
Hill," near Bentleysville, Washington 
County. In 1810 he was married to Mary 
Morrow, of Washington County, and in 
April, 1812, he came with his wife and one 
child, Thomas H. Burns, to the Wallace 
farm, which he had purchased the year 
previous. He brought his family and 
goods on the backs of three horses. Mrs. 
Biirns rode one horse, carrying her child 
on her knee. Eight children were born in 
the family, four boys and four girls, seven 
of whom lived to a ripe old age. Mr. 
Burns lived on the old place until 1864, 
when he died, in his eighty-seventh year. 

The orchard on the hill east of Alexan- 
der McCracken's house was planted in the 
neighborhood of 1800, and bears evidence 
of having withstood the blasts of more 
than a centurj^. 

The farm of 100 acres, now or lately 
owned by Alexander McCracken, was 
owned by his father, Thomas McCracken, 
a son of Adam McCracken, and a soldier 
of the War of 1812. Its location is in a 
fine portion of the township, as are indeed 
all that were settled in the neighborhood, 
the settlers evincing good judgment in se- 
lecting this locality wherein to build their 
homes. 

Jonathan Williams came about 1798. 
He was from Chester County, Penn- 
sylvania, and came about the same time 
with the Glenns and Cunninghams, who 
settled in the same neighborhood, partially 
in the present county of Mercer. The Cun- 
ninghams located where the present town 
of Grove City, Mercer County, stands, and 



built a grist and sawmill on Wolf Creek, 
at that place, some of the family after- 
wards laying out the town of Grove City. 
The farm Mr. Williams settled consisted 
of 200 acres. 

William Elliott, a surveyor and civil en- 
gineer, came from the neighborhood of 
East Liberty, of the "Bullock Pens," near 
Pittsburg, about 1793-94, and surveyed 
land which he was interested in as a " land 
jobber." He had control of several thou- 
sand acres in different localities, lying 
largely in what are now Lawrence and 
Butler Counties. In 1799, soon after he 
was married, he made a settlement on land 
lying partly in each of these counties. In 
this immediate vicinity he had eight or 
nine hundred acres. He kept "bachelor's 
hall" for a while, and finallv went back 
after his wife. About 1803-4 he built a 
log grist mill on the site of the frame mill 
later owned by his son, the late J. P. El- 
liott. In the old mill Mr. Elliott had a 
bolting chest, and did considerable work 
for that time. The present mill was built 
by J. P. Elliott in 1844, and stands on the 
site of the old one on Jamison's Run, very 
near its junction with Slippery Rock 
Creek. 

Jamison's Run was so named from a 
man who settled early on its banks. James 
P. Elliott was born February 4, 1800, and 
his was the first birth in the southern part 
of the township, and possibly throughout 
its entire extent. William Elliott died in 
1813, aged thirty-eight years. 

Robert Jamison came originally from 
Ireland, and on his arrival in Pennsyl- 
vania located on Kiskeminetas Creek, 
where he stayed for some time, and finally 
came on and procured land of William El- 
liott, settling on a 400-acre tract, of which 
he received half for so doing. Jamison 
sold the property to Archibald Armstrong, 
who came in 1825, but did not locate on the 
place before 1831. 

About the year 1800, William George 
came to the township. He was originally 
from Ireland, and, when he first arrived. 



AND REPEESENTATIVE CITIZENS 



299 



lived with Ms bi'other, James George, 
near North Liberty, Mercer County. Soon 
afterwards he went to work on the farm 
now or lately owned by J. P. Elliott, and 
also stayed part of the time about Harris- 
ville, Butler County. About 1805 or ISOG 
he was married to Phoebe Sawyer, who ar- 
rived before him, and was living at Will- 
iam Elliott's. Soon after his marriage he 
settled the farm now owned by his chil- 
dren, David, Mary and Eleanor, the place 
being called Georgetown. In 1833-34 he 
built a log house on that place, and in 1835 
erected a log grist mill, containing a pair 
of burrs and a pair of "coimtry stone" 
(two run of stone). The wheel, gearing, 
and nearly everything about the mill were 
made of wood. 

About the year 1798, James Eamsey 
came from the Chartier's Valley, in Wash- 
ington County, Pennsylvania, and settled 
on the farm now owned by John Lowry. 
The tract originally contained something 
over 300 acres. He built a log cabin on 
the place and made other improvements. 
The cabin was burned soon after his mar- 
riage, which occurred in 1801, to Sarah 
Taylor. Mr. Ramsey's father settled in 
Beaver County, and never located in Law- 
rence. He may possibly have been a 
soldier during the Revolution, but the fact 
it not known positively. James Ramsey's 
first child, a daughter named Avis, was 
born in 1802. 

About 1795-96, Thomas Taylor came 
from the Ligonier Valley, in Westmore- 
land County, Pennsylvania, and settled on 
the farm now owned by Joseph Totteu, his 
cabin standing on the hill just across from 
the present location of Mr. Totten's resi- 
dence. Mr. Taylor's daughter, Sarah, 
who came with him, is said to have been 
the first white woman who ever crossed 
Slippery Rock Creek. 

In the month of November, 1798, John 
Gealey came with his family from Wash- 
ington County, Pennsylvania, where they 
lived on the bank of Peter's Creek. At 
the time Mr. Gealey settled, his family con- 



sisted of his wife and eight children, but 
only part of them came with him. He had 
been out in 1797, and made improvements, 
bringing with him his daughter, Margaret, 
who did the cooking for him while he was 
busy getting the place in shape to receive 
his familv. After finishing their work for 
that fall,"they went back, and in 1798 Mr. 
Gealey again came out, bringing with him 
this time his oldest daughter and his son, 
William, the latter about six years old at 
the time. Mr. Gealey left his children 
alone in the wilderness for a while, and 
went back after his wife and the rest of 
his family. The two children had not seen 
their mother for about a year, and when 
she came, in 1799, the meeting between 
her and her children can better be im- 
agined than described. The children who 
came with their mother in 1799 were Ren- 
wick and Sarah. Mr. Gealey and his son, 
Harry, each settled a 400-acre tract. In 
1800 the oldest son, James Gealey, was 
married to ]\Iary ^I. Smith, who was living 
with Charles Blair, in the northern part of 
the township. As before stated, Blair set- 
tled in 1799, in companv with Samuel 
Allen. 

TMien ]\[r. Gealey first came, in 1797, he 
raised a log cabin, made a small clearing, 
and raised some corn. He brought his 
goods with him in a wagon, which was 
probably the first one in the townsliip. A 
road had to be cut ahead in order to get 
the wagon through, and they advanced but 
slowly. The old homestead subsequently 
came into possession of the youngest son, 
Renwick Gealey. William Gealey lived to 
be over eighty-five years old. His wife, 
Joanna, was a daughter of James Stewart, 
who settled in 1798 in what is now Perry 
Township, coming from what was then 
Adams County, Pennsylvania. His father, 
Matthew Stewart, had served in the Revo- 
lution. The Gealey family descended from 
James Gealey, who came from Ireland 
when a young man, probably about 1745. 
The land which John Gealey settled was 
settled under Elliott & Denniston, "land 



300 



HISTORY OF LAWRENCE COUNTY 



jobbers," Mr. Gealey, although having 
served in the Revolution, not choosing to 
settle on "donation" land. 

John Gealey 's wife was Mary Renwick, 
a descendant of James Renwick, of Scot- 
land. Her brother, William Renwick, 
died at Black Rock, N. Y., while serving 
as a soldier in the War of 1812. The Geal- 
eys oceuiay excellent farms, and the family 
has become numerous in the neighborhood 
where John Gealey first settled. 

James McCuue came about 1800 to 1802, 
from what was then Huntingdon, now Blair 
County, and partially improved a farm 
now owned by James C. Shaw. About 1810 
he removed to the farm later owned by his 
son, David McCune, Esq., purchasing it 
from Hugh Hamilton, the original settler. 
The first farm upon which he located he 
purchased at $2 per acre, from Robert 
Cochran, a ' ' land jobber, ' ' who owned con- 
siderable land in the neighborhood, and 
had settled about 1795-96, just east of 
Plaingrove. 

James McCune was captain of the mi- 
litia in old Slippery Rock Township, when 
it was in Mercer County, and was out twice 
at Erie during the War of 1812-15. 

The country south of Plaingrove Church 
was originally a plain, with no timber upon 
it larger than scrubby brush, and when 
Mr. McCune first came he drove his wagon 
through it withoi;t paying any attention 
to the best way, as the path was equally 
good anywhere. 

Hugh McKee came from Ireland in the 
year 1788, and afterwards, about 1796-98, 
came to what is now Plaingrove Township, 
and settled. His patent, bearing date of 
March 21, 1809, calls for 397 acres. 

Most of the lands in the township are 
"warrant lands," and were extensively 
operated in by "land jobbers." 

On Taylor's Run, above where William 
Gealey now lives, there was formerly a 
beaver dam, and both beaver and otter 
were quite plentiful. The Indians came 
all the way from their villages in Mercer 
County to trap them, and the noted Indian 



Harth-e-gig, with his squaw and three or 
four dogs, wintered occasionally in a su- 
gar camp near by. 

Nathan Offutt had a sawmill early, and 
Robert Ramsey another one still earlier. 

The orchard of Esquire David McCune 's 
place was planted by his father, James 
McCune, about the time he came to the 
farm (1810), and the trees, or a few of 
them, are yet standing. 

A store house was built near Plaingrove 
Church about 1832-33, by H. Bovard. It 
was a two-story frame building, contain- 
ing a general stock, such as is usually 
foimd in country stores. Mr. Bovard con- 
tinued the business until the spring of 
1868, when A. McKinney assumed control. 

A postoffice was established at Plain- 
grove some time during the stay of Mr. Bo- 
vard, who was the first ]>ostniaster. Dur- 
ing Buchanan's administration it was re- 
moved to the crossroads, one mile north, 
and kept by Alexander McBride, who came 
from Harlansburg, and had a store for 
about a year at the corners. The office 
was afterwards transferred to Mr. Bovard, 
and, with the exception of McBride 's short 
occupation of it, Mr. Bovard held it from 
the first until Mr". McKinney took it, in 
1868. The office is named Plaingrove. 

MILITARY EECORD. 

Eevolutionary War. — John Gealey, who 
came to the township first in 1797, had 
served with his brother, William, during 
the Revolution. 

The father of James Ramsey located in 
Beaver County, and had possibly been a 
soldier of the Revolution, but those of 
his descendants now living in the township 
are not certain of the fact. 

War of 1812-15. — Those who served in 
this war from Plaingrove were quite nu- 
merous. They generally went to Erie. 

Among the names we find James, John 
and Thomas McCommon, who came to the 
township with their father, James McCom- 
mon, in 1798. Thomas and James Mc- 
Cracken came with their father, Adam Mc- 



AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 



301 



Cracken, the same year with the McCom- 
mons, and also served in the war. 

James Burns, who came in 1811, was 
out in Captain Denniston's company of the 
One Hundred and Thirty-fourth Regiment, 
commanded hy Lieutenant-Colonel Thomas 
Hosack a part of the time. James Ram- 
sey was out as second lieutenant and went 
to' Erie. 

James, Henry, John, William and Ren- 
wick Gealey were out, all but Renwick in 
Captain James Denniston's company of 
the One Hundred and Thirty-fourth. Ren- 
wick was in Captain James Robiijson's 
company of the same regiment. They all 
went to Erie, but never saw any hard fight- 
ing. Mr. Gealey says the British sMp 
"Queen Charlotte" came up within range 
and fired on the batteries which the United 
States troops were supporting, but with- 
out doing much damage. The batteries re- 
turned the fire, and four men were seen to 
fall on the British vessel, which quickly 
stood out of range. This was while the 
troops were worldng the American vessels 
over the bar. 

William Renwick, a brother of John 
Gealey 's wife, died at Black Rock during 
the service. 

James McCune was out twice to Erie, 
and after the war served as militia cap- 
tain. 

Militia organizations and volunteer rifle 
companies were kept up for many years 
after the war. 

War of the Rebellion. — Plaingrove, as 
well as her sister townships, arose to meet 
the call for troops after Port Smuter was 
fired upon, and sons of the veterans of 
1812, and grandsons of Revolutionary 
heroes, came, in their turn, to do battle for 
freedom's cause and, like Arnold Winkel-