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THE
EARLY AND LATER
WITH
AUTHENTIC FACTS IN REGARD
TO ITS
DEVELOPMENT IN WESTERN PENNSYLVANIA,
The Oil Fields of Europe and America. Gas Wells. Spiritual Wells. Oil Well Shafts. Petroleum Products.
Oil Companies. Pipe Line Statistics. Early Modes of Transportation. Flowing Wells of 1861,
to 1864. Pit Hole in 1865. The Lubricating Oil District, &c. Also, Statistics of Product,
Export, and Consumption, with prices of Oil from 1859, to 1872, &c., &c.
THE PARKERS' AND BUTLER COUNTY OIL FIELDS.
ALSO, LIFE SKETCHES OF
PIONEER AND PROMINENT OPERATORS,
WITH THE
REFINING CAPACITY OF THE UNITED STATES.
BY J. T.
PHILADELPHIA:
JAS. B. RODGERS CO., PRINTERS, 52 & 54 NORTH SIXTH ST.
1873.
Entered according to Act of Congress, on the 2gth day of September, 1873, by
J. T. HENRY, Titusville, Pa.
In the Office of the Librarian of Congress, at Washington.
eilicatanr,
TO
WILLIAM H. ABBOTT,
In submitting to a discerning, yet indulgent public, this volume, relating
to the History of Petroleum, with Life Sketches, of many of the prominent
men in the Pennsylvania Oil Region, identified therewith, I beg to associate
with my unpretending labors, your own honored name, known and acknowledged
as that of an enterprising business man, a public-spirited citizen, a high-
toned Christian gentleman. Your characteristic reserve, I know, would prompt
you to shrink from such conspicuous mention ; but the public voice pronounces
you one of the worthiest members of the community, and I cannot deny
myself the privilege of paying this dedicatory tribute to one who has sustained
my enterprise with never-failing sympathy and encouragement.
J. T. HENRY.
398686
PREFACE.
IN the preparation of this work, the end and aim has been, to
supply some needed historical data of the discovery of PETEOLEUM
OIL, in Western Pennsylvania, West Virginia, Ohio, and at other
points in the United States and Canadas. The Pennsylvania Oil
Region is by far the largest field, and produces eight-tenths of all
the Petroleum, now so largely entering into the commerce of- the
commonwealth, and of the nation, and has surely come to be an in-
dispensable benefaction to millions of households, in every civilized
nation upon the globe. To the early and later developments in
this section, therefore, this work is mainly devoted. While this
portion of its pages is deemed to be full and complete, and, we may
add, reliably so, a sufficiently elaborate account of other Oil Fields
upon this continent, and throughout the old world are -given, and
from the best sources attainable. In this respect no pains have
been spared to render it complete and authentic in all the details
treated of.
i
The STATISTICAL pages of the work, though not e T .aborate, are
regarded as full enough for the purposes of an intelligent under-
standing of the magnitude of the industry. Such as we give, are
known to be accurate. The Refining capacity of the more import-
ant refining centres of the United States, except Boston, Mass., and
Cleveland, Ohio, may be relied upon as authentic.
6 PREFACE.
The BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES, which make up so important a
part of the work, are from among the representative men of the
Region, and they furnish, individually and collectively, very
many interesting and valuable facts, with reference to develop-
ments, early and late, in the Oil Region of Pennsylvania, never
before given to the public in an authentic form.
And here we may as well refer to the fact that no " sketches "
are given of operators at Petroleum Centre, Columbia, Tarr Farm,
Rouseville, Oil City, President, and but one at Franklin. As
" brevity is the soul of wit," we may add the neglect is not ours.
While we have, in the list of biographies given, made a fair
showing of the representative men of the Oil Region of Western
Pennsylvania, we have not exhausted this portion of our subject.
There are scores of men connected, in one way and another, with
this great mining industry, whose history, and whose developments
as producers, would add interest to our effort, and lustre to their
names, but we have been unable, in many cases, to obtain per-
mission thus to do justice to them. We may do tips in future edi-
tions of the work.
Our acknowledgments are due to JAMES MCCARTY, of Oil
City, and to Mr. RICHARD LINX, formerly of The Petroleum
Monthly, for valuable aid in the preparation of the work, and to
Mr. CARBUTT, of Philadelphia, for the beautiful photographic il-
lustrations that accompany its pages, especially in the department
of Biographies, and to JAS. B. RODGERS Co., for the superior ex-
cellence of the mechanical and typographical part of the work.
TITUSVILLE, October 20th, 1873.
CONTENTS.
CHAPTER I.
EARLY NOTES OF PETROLEUM PETROLEUM SPRINGS 9
Gas and Salt Wells , >!
Fossil Oil 05
Reflections 27
CHAPTER II.
THE DISCOVERY OF THE VALUE OF PETROLEUM 29
Prof. Silliman's Paper on the Subject 3.?
Properties of Distilled Oils 44
Use for Gas-making 45
Use of Naphtha for Illumination 49
Photometric Experiments : 51
CHAPTER III.
EARLY AND INTERESTING FACTS.
Petroleum as a Medicinal Agent KIER'S announcement in 1849 50
The First Developments at Titusville 60
CHAPTER IV.
REAL ESTATE TRANSACTIONS ON OIL CREEK 69
Organization of the Pennsylvania Rock Oil Company 70
CHAPTER V.
COMMENCEMENT OF DEVELOPMENTS ON OIL CREEK 81
Col. E. L. DRAKE connects himself with the Enterprise 86
Completion of the "Drake Well," 94
CHAPTER VI.
CONTINUANCE OF DEVELOPMENTS ALONG OIL CREEK 95
The Second Well put down "The Burnsdall" 95
General Review of Early Operations <j6
The ''South Improvement Company" 110
GENERAL SUMMARY.
THE OIL FIELDS OF AMERICA.
West Virginia and Ohio 113
Prof. Lesley's Report 116
Prof. W. F. Roberts' Report 118
Kentucky and Tennessee 121
Oil Region of Indiana .' 125
Oil Region of California 127
THE CANADA OIL FIELDS.
First Discovery in Enniskillen *v 129
Shaw and his First Operations .\ 130
Subsequent Developments in Canada \.. 132
FOREIGN OIL FIELDS.
South America Peru, Ecuador, Bolivia, Chili West India Islands The Car-
pathian Oil Field Burmah Punjaub, India China Japan Alsace Hanover-
Italy New Zealand Nova Scotia Caucasian Oil Region Scientific Experi-
mentsShale Oil Business of Europe % 140-179
GEOLOGICAL.
The Oil Fields of Pennsylvania, &c., 181
Theories in regard to Petroleum 182
HISTORICAL DATA,
Petroleum Products S. DANA HATES I 86
7
CONTENTS.
GAS WELLS, Ac.
Pennsylvania, Ohio, New York, Kentucky, 200
Remarkable Gas Well at Fairview, Pa., 206
Newton Gas Well at Titusville, 208
Gas Walls at East Sandy 210
Phenomena of Oil Wells 211
Salt Water in Wells 214
Locating Wells by Spirit Influence 215
Phenomena with an explanation 218
Cost of Wells 219
Oil Shafts and Deep Wells 222
EARLY FLOWING WELLS.
From 1860 to 1865 224
Pit Hole in 1865 235
First Flowing Well and Oldest Well in the Region 241
VARIETIES OF PETROLEUM.
The Franklin Lubricating Oil Region 244
Drilling Oil Wells 248
HISTORY OF THE TORPEDO.
The Patent, and First Experiments 251
Results in First Thirty-eight Wells 252
OIL WELL RECORDS.
Wells at Brady's Bend, &c 255
Tabular Statement of "Sands," &c 255
OIL COMPANIES
The Economite Society 260
Sage Run Oil Field 265
The Reno Oil Company 267
The Octave Oil Company 270
The Colorado Oil District 272
The Columbia Oil Company 275
The Oil Market from 1859 to 1872 277
Oil Brokerage, &c 279
OIL PIPE LINES.
Their Extent in the Pennsylvania Oil Region 283
The Lower District Lines 284
Early and Later Modes of Transportation 286
THE LOWER OIL FIELDS.
St. Petersburg, Foxburg, Parker's, and Butler County 201
Principal Producers, and the Modoc District, 296
The Fourth Sand Rock 304
STATISTICAL INFORMATION, ,. 305
Exports from New York 311 ; all other ports 312
Number of Wells drilling at various dates, 314
STATISTICS OF REFINING. "The Creek," ,. 315
New York and vicinity 316 ; Cleveland 317; Pittsburgh 318 ; Philadelphia 318:
Baltimore 319 ; Erie 320; all others 321.
BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES.
Col. E. L. Drake 323; Cant. A. B. Funk 331 ; Henry R. Rouse 335; George H. Bissell 346:
Charles Hyde 351 ; William H. Abbott 360; Orange Noble 375; Dr. F. B, Brewer 393;
John Fertig 397; John W. Hammond 403; Fertig <fe Hammond 412; Dr. W. B Ro-
berts 417 ; Samuel Q. Brown 426; J. L. Grandin 431 ; Adnah Neyhart 440 ; E. B. Gran-
din 457; S. D. Karns 4(59; C. D. Angell 482; A. D. Atkinson 494; John L. McKinney
503; Frank W. Andrews 512; Henry Harley 526; Col. R. B. Allen 535; Col. E. A L
Roberts 540 ; Marcus Brownson 546 ; John C. Bryan 556 ; George H. Dimick 565 ; Geo
H. Nesbitt 573; William D. Robinson 579; James S. McCray 582.
CITIES AND TOWNS 587
THE LOWER OIL FIELDS 593
EARLY AND LATER
HISTORY OF PETROLEUM.
CHAPTER I.
EARLY NOTES OF PETROLEUM. PETROLEUM SPRINGS.
T17HILE the history of Petroleum in America prior to
developments brought about by artesian boring,
will probably be accounted of little practical value, it is
apprehended that a work of this sort overlooking it would
be incomplete.
In Europe and Asia it has been an object of some com-
mercial value for centuries, and there is good reason to
believe that it has been known and used since the earliest
ages of the world.
It is impossible to go back to the time when petroleum
was first discovered. From its frequent occurrence in the
form of springs in many parts of the world, it is evident
that it has always been known certainly more than four
thousand years.
Layard and Botta, in their discoveries at Nineveh, ad-
duce positive evidence that the inhabitants of this ancient
city had knowledge of the existence and use of petroleum.
In building the city, an asphal tic mortar ("slime" accord-
ing to the Old Testament,) was employed, the asphalt for
which was a partially evaporated petroleum. That used
at Babylon was obtained from the Springs of Is, on the
Euphrates, which, at a later date, attracted the attention
of Alexander, of Trajan, and of Julian ; they, even to this
day, supply the neighboring villages with oil.
9
10 c\ I ! i ' i ,V - : "- * ; mfeoJEto OF PETROLEUM.
Herodotus, 500 years before Christ, spoke of the oil
wells of Zante ; and Pliny and Dioscorides described the
oil of Agrigenturn, which was used in lamps under the
name of " Sicilian Oil."
The wells of Amiano, on the banks of the Taro, were
formerly used for lighting the City of Genoa.*
There is reason to believe that at some former period in
the history of the American continent, the existence and
uses of petroleum had been better understood than they
were for some centuries before the recent artesian devel-
opments. The numerous pits, until recently, and perhaps
even still to be seen along the valley of Oil Creek, cribbed
with roughly hewn timber, but nearly hidden by the rub-
bish of ages, indicate a development comparatively exten-
sive. Trees were found growing in the centre of some of
these pits, which, we are told, on the evidence of the con-
centric circles in the wood, were shown to be the growth
of centuries. Many circumstances concur in referring
these excavations to a period of time, and to a race of
people, who occupied the country prior to the advent of
those aborigines, found here by our Latin or Saxon ances-
tors. They were probably the work of that mysterious
people who left the traces of their rude civilization in the
copper mines about Lake Superior and the mounds of the
South-West.
When we consider how easily, partially nomadic races,
of which they probably were, degenerate, and how sud-
denly they are sometimes extinguished, this disposition of
the matter seems plausible; but as all that is more within
the sphere of the arcbaBologist than the historian of a mo-
dern industry, we have passed it by without research.
There is a tradition in Yenango Co., Pa., that the oil
springs on Oil Creek formed a part of the religious cere-
* In the body of this work we devote a number of chapters to foreign oil fields.
EARLY NOTES OF PETROLEUM PETROLEUM SPRINGS. 11
mony of the Seneea Indians, who formerly lived on these
wild hills. The Aborigines dipped it from their wells and
mixed it with their war-paint, which is said to have given
them a hideous appearance, varnishing their faces, as it
were, and enabled them to retain the paint for a long
time, and to keep their skin entirely impervious to water.
The uses of this oil for their religious worship is spoken
of by the French commander of Fort Duquesne, in the
year 1750. " I would desire," writes the commandant to
his Excellency, General Montcalm, " to assure you that
this is a most delightful land. Some of the most astonish-
ing natural wonders have been discovered by our people."
" While descending the Allegany, fifteen leagues below
the mouth of the Connewango, and three above the Ve-
nango, we were invited by the chief of the Senecas to at-
tend a religious ceremony of his tribe. We landed, and
drew up our canoes on a point where a small stream en-
tered the river. The tribe appeared unusually solemn.
We marched up the stream about half a league, where the
company, a large band it appeared, had arrived some days
before us. Gigantic hills begirt us on every side. The
scene was really sublime. The great chief then recited
the conquests and heroism of their ancestors. The surface
of the stream was covered with a thick scum, which,
upon applying a torch at a given signal, burst into a
complete conflagration. At the sight of the flames, the
Indians gave forth the triumphant shout that made the
hills and valleys re-echo again. Here, then, is revived
the ancient fire-worship of the East; here, then, are the
children of the Sun." Tracing the course of the French
commander down the Allegany river on our present maps,
we find the spring spoken of, as evidently upon Oil Creek,
and on marching half a league above that stream we will
probably reach Rouseville, where Cherry Run flows into
Oil Creek. The " gigantic hills " are still here, and the
12 HISTORY OF PETROLEUM.
"thick scum" which the Indians gathered, and which
careful, prudent men, now guard against conflagration,
flows into peaceable tanks, and, instead of lighting up the
wilderness for exhibitions of uncouth savages, sends joy
and comfort into thousands of distant homes.
Later again we find a most interesting account of a
Petroleum Spring in the southwestern part of the state
of New York in the "American Journal of Science" for
1833, written by Prof. Silliman, Sr., a man who rendered
early and valuable services to the cause of scientific
investigation in this country. As it contains some inter-
esting reflections on the origin of petroleum, nothing bet-
ter can be done than to give it in full :
Notice of a Fountain of Petroleum called the OIL SPRING.
" The Oil Spring, as it is called, is situated in the west-
ern part of the County of Allegany, in the State of New
York. This county is the third from Lake Erie on the
south line of the State, the counties of Cattaraugus and
Chautauqua lying west, and forming the southwestern ter-
mination of the State of New York. The Spring is very
near the line which divides Allegany and Cattaraugus.
Being in the county of Allegany, I was indebted to
the kindness of a friend, who on the 6th of September
took me from Angelica to the Spring. After crossing the
Genesee River, our ride was to the town of Friendship,
six miles ; then to Cuba, eight miles ; and thence into
the township of Hinsdale, three and a half miles, making
seventeen and a half miles from Belvidere, the country-seat
of Philip Church, Esq., and twenty-one miles from Angelica
village. The place will be found without difficulty by
taking a guide at Hicks' tavern, which is on the corner
of the road to Cuba where it is intersected by the road to
Warsaw, two miles west of Cuba.
The last half mile is in the forest: a road is cut, for
EARLY NOTES OF PETROLEUM PETROLEUM SPRINGS. 13
the greater part of the way, through the woods ; but the
path becomes finally an obscure foot-track in which a
stranger without a guide might easily lose his way, or at
least fail of finding the object of his search. The country
is rather mountainous; but the road running between the
ridges is very good, and leads through a cultivated region
rich in soil and picturesque in scenery. Its geological
character is the same with that which is known to prevail
in this western region ; a silicious sandstone, with shale,
and in some places limestone is the immediate basis of
the country. The sandstone and shale (the limestone I
did not see) lie in nearly horizontal strata. The sand-
stone is usually of a light gray color, and both it and the
shale abound with entrocites, encrinites, corallines, tere-
bratula, and other reliquse characteristic of the secondary
or transition formation. The Oil Spring or fountain rises
in the midst of a marshy ground. It is a muddy and
dirty pool of about eighteen feet in diameter, and is nearly
circular in form.
There is no outlet above ground, no stream flowing from
it; and it is of course a stagnant water, with no other cir-
culation than that which springs from the changes of
temperature and from the gas and petroleum that are
constantly rising on the surface of the pool.
The water is covered with a thin layer of petroleum or
mineral oil, giving it a foul appearance as if coated with
dirty molasses, having a yellowish-brown color. Every
part of the water was covered by this film, but it had
nowhere the iridescence which I recollect to have observed
at St. Catharine's well, a petroleum fountain near Edin-
burgh in Scotland. There the water was pellucid, and the
hues produced by the oil were brilliant, giving the whole
a beautiful appearance. The difference is, however, easily
accounted for. St. Catharine's well is a lively, flowing
fountain, and the quantity of petroleum is only sufficient
14 HISTORY OF PETROLEUM.
to cover it partially, while there is nothing to soil the
stream; in the present instance, the stagnation of the
water, the comparative abundance of the petroleum and
the mixture of leaves and sticks and other productions
of a dense forest preclude any beautiful features. There
are, however, upon this water here and there spots of
what seems to be a purer petroleum probably recently
risen, which is free from mixture, and which has a bright
brownish-yellow appearance lively and sparkling.
"Were the fountain covered entirely with this purer pro-
duction, it would be beautiful.
We were informed that when the fountain is frozen,
there are always some air holes left open, and that in
these the petroleum collects in unusual abundance and
purity, having distinctly the beautiful appearance which
has just been mentioned as now occurring here and there
upon the water. The cause of this is easily understood.
The petroleum being protected by the ice from the impu-
rities which at other times fall into it, escapes contamina-
tion, and being directed to the air holes both by its light-
ness and by the gas which mixes with it collects there
in greater quantity and purity. All the sticks and leaves,
and the ground itself around the fountain, are rendered
more or less adhesive by the petroleum.
They collect the petroleum by skimming it like cream
from a milk-pan. For this purpose they use a broad, flat
board, made thin at one edge like a knife. It is moved
flat upon and just under the surface of the water, and is
soon covered by a coating of petroleum which is so thick
and adhesive that it does not fall off, but is removed by
scraping the instrument upon the lip of a cup. It has
then a very foul appearance like very dirty tar or mo-
lasses ; but it is purified by heating it, and straining it
while hot through flannel or other woolen stuff. It is
used by the people of the vicinity for sprains and rheu-
EARLY NOTES OF PETROLEUM PETROLEUM SPRINGS. 15
matism and for sores upon their horses. It is not mono-
polized by any one, but is carried away freely by all who
care to collect it, and for this purpose the spring is fre-
quently visited. I could not ascertain how much is
annually obtained. But the quantity is considerable.
It is said to rise more abundantly in hot weather than in
cold. Gas is constantly escaping through the water, and
appears in bubbles upon its surface. It becomes much
more abundant, and rises in large volumes whenever the
mud at the bottom is stirred by a pole. We had no
means of collecting or of firing it ; but there can be no
doubt that it is the carburetted hydrogen probably of
the lighter kind, but rendered heavier and more odorous
by holding a large portion of the petroleum in solution.
Whenever it is examined we should expect, of course, to
find carbonic acid gas mingled with it, and not improbably
ozate or nitrogen. We could not learn that any one had
attempted to fire the gas as it rises, or to kindle the film
of petroleum upon the water. We were told that an
intoxicated Indian had fallen into the pool and been
drowned many years ago, but that his body had never
been recovered. The story may be true, and if true, it
would be a curious inquiry whether the antiseptic proper-
ties of petroleum so well exemplified in the Egyptian mum-
mies may not have preserved his body from putrefaction. (
The history of this spring is not distinctly known.
The Indians were well acquainted with it, and a square
mile around it is still reserved for the Senecas. As to
the geological origin of the spring, it can scarcely admit
of a doubt that it rises from beds of bituminous coal below.
At what depth we know not, but probably far down.
The formation is doubtless connected with the bituminous
coal of the neighboring counties of Pennsylvania and of
the west rather than with the anthracite beds of the cen-
tral parts of Pennsylvania.
16 HISTORY OF PETROLEUM.
A Branch of the Oil Creek (not the same with Oil
Creek in Venango Co., Pa. ED.) which flows into the
Allegany River, a principal tributary of the Ohio, passes
near this spring, and we crossed the rivulet in going to it.
There we had the pleasure of seeing water that was on its
way to New Orleans and the Gulf of Mexico. We had
just passed the Genesee which flows into Lake Ontario,
and is thus seeking the Atlantic through the St. Law-
rence, and a little to the east, rise waters which flow to
the Susquehanna and the Chesapeake Bay; and thus this
elevated land, said to be one thousand four hundred feet
above the ocean level, is a grand rain shed for the supply
of rivers, seeking their exit through very remote and
opposite parts of the continent.
I cannot learn that any considerable part of the large
quantity of petroleum used in the Eastern states under
the name of Seneca Oil comes from the spring now de-
scribed. I am assured that its source is about one hundred
miles from Pittsburgh on the Oil Creek, which empties into
the Allegany River, in the township and county of Ve-
nango. It exists there in great abundance, and rises in
purity to the surface of the water. By dams enclosing
certain parts of the river or creek it is prevented from
flowing away, and is absorbed in blankets from which it
is wrung. Although I have this statement from an eye-'
witness, (he mentions in a footline that this eye-witness
was a stage driver at Rochester ED.), still it would be an
interesting service, claiming a grateful acknowledgment,
if some gentleman in the vicinity of the petroleum, or at
Pittsburgh would furnish an account of it for this or some
similar journal. And as there are numerous springs of
this mineral oil in various regions of the West and South-
West, connected especially with the saline and bituminous
coal formations, it would promote the cause of science if
notices of any of them were forwarded for publication.
EARLY NOTES OF PETROLEUM PETROLEUM SPRINGS. 17
The petroleum sold in the Eastern states under the
name of Seneca Oil is of a dark brown color, between that
of tar and molasses ; and its degree of consistency is not
dissimilar according to temperature. Its odor is strong,
and too well known to need description. I have fre-
quently distilled it in a glass retort, and the naphtha
which collects in the receiver is of a light straw color, and
much lighter, more odorous and inflammable than petro-
leum. In the first distillation a little water usually rests
in the receiver at the bottom of the naphtha. From this
it is easily decanted, and a second distillation prepares it
perfectly for preserving potassium and sodium, the object
which led me to distil it. And these metals I have kept
under it, as others have done for years. Eventually they
acquire some oxygen from or through the naphtha, and
the exterior portion of the metal returns slowly to the con-
dition of alkali more rapidly if the stopper is not tight.
The petroleum remaining from distillation is thick like
pitch. If the distillation has been pushed far the . resi-
duum will flow only languidly into the retort, and in cold
weather it becomes a soft solid, resembling much the mul-
tha or mineral pitch. The famous lake of multha and pe-
troleum in the island of Trinidad is well known. I have
specimens from that place in all the conditions between
fluid petroleum and firm pitch. It is unnecessary to re-
peat that the English use it on their ships of war as a sub-
stitute for tar and pitch, and that the bituminous mass in
the natural lake, which covers several square miles, is suf-
ficiently tenacious to support a man during the colder part
of the year, but at the opposite season is too soft to sustain
any considerable weight.
In alluding to the probable connection with bituminous
coal of the oil spring named at the head of this notice, I
did not mean to imply that petroleum and other bitumi-
nous substances necessarily prove that there is coal beneath,
2
IS HISTORY OF PETROLEUM.
for it has been ascertained that bitumen exists in a limited
degree in many minerals, as appears from some of the
phenomena of volcanoes, and was proved experimentally
by the late Hon. George Knox, in an extensive series of
researches published in the philosophical transactions of
London.
As regards the probability of finding coal the opinion
should be thus modified : If the country on whose waters,
or in whose rocks petroleum or other varieties of bitumen
appear, is such a one as in its geological structure is con-
sistent with the usual associations of coal, then the exist-
ence of bitumen, especially if it be abundant, and. more
especially if the rocks themselves are impregnated with
it, affords a strong presumption in favor of the existence
of coal beneath. Such is the fact in this part of the State
of New York. The shale at Genesee is highly bitumi-
nous, and burns readily, with abundant flame. I cannot
answer for the rocks in the immediate vicinity of the Oil
Spring, as they are not in view.
The people have dug a few feet for coal at the distance
of a few yards from the spring; the excavation is too
shallow to decide anything except that petroleum rose in
this place also as at the spring, thus proving that the
bituminous impregnation is not peculiar to that spot.
If these remarks should excite any interest in the
minds of landed proprietors in that vicinity, I would ven-
ture to suggest to them that it would not be wise without
some more evidence to proceed to sink shafts, for they
would be very expensive and might be fruitless. It
would be much wiser to bore, which would enable them
at a comparatively moderate expense to ascertain the
existence, depth and thickness of the coal should it exist.
But even this should not be done without a previous dili-
gent examination of water courses, banks, precipices, exca-
vations for wells, cellars, roads, &c., which might perhaps
EARLY NOTES OF PETROLEUM PETROLEUM SPRINGS. 19
materially aid the inquiry. The well-known existence of
bituminous coal beds at the distance of a few miles in
Pennsylvania renders it highly probable that they may
pass under this region, but perhaps at too great a depth
to admit of profitable extraction ; for the abundance of
coal in other parts of Pennsylvania and the west, the
magnitude and easy accessibleness of the beds and the
excellence of the coal will long render it impossible that
thin beds in other parts of the country, especially if lying
deep in the ground, should be wrought without ruinous
expenditure. It is worthy of remark that the cattle
drink freely of the waters of the oil springs a fact that
we should hardly expect since they are so foul, and since
there is abundance of pure water near, and also because
we should expect that the petroleum would render the
water very disgusting to animals. Perhaps they may
find in this something of the reputed virtues of tar-water.
I could not learn that the birds ever light upon or near
the spring. The mephitic gases might perhaps make it a
real avernus to them."
For such as take a lively interest in discovering the
origin and learning the history of Petroleum, we can hardly
think of a paper more useful than the above. In the first
place, the writer was one of the ablest scientists of our
country in his day, and had manifestly looked into the
subject before, and in whose educated mind the phenome-
non was referred to natural and plausible, if not true,
causes. Then the evidence of what was known on the
subject of its existence in the country previous to the
development, which cannot fail to interest the reader, is
not liable to the suspicion of invention which clings to
some of the more modern publications, even when written
over professional titles.
The readiness with which the eminent author connects
its origin with bituminous coal, if it answered no better
20 HISTOEY OF PETROLEUM.
purpose, would serve to disembarrass some would-be scho-
larly individuals who are inclined to deny that they ever
held the same opinion in a cruder form, because it is not
the theory prevailing among the practical oil operators
of the day, who indeed, as far as we can judge, for the
most part persistently refuse to entertain any theory at
all. No doubt they will hasten to take back all their
denials when they find their first and very natural suppo-
sitions shared by such respectable authority.
Indeed, though the theories of the origin of Petroleum
are numerous and all of them liable to some apparently
insuperable objections, we think the one indicated by Prof.
Silliman in the above paper is the one, with some modifi-
cations, which still obtains among the best minds that
have given the matter consideration. Formerly it was
held to be a distillation of bituminous strata at high tem-
peratures, and the work, we believe, of a very inconsidera-
ble period of time ; whereas now it is thought to be a result
of heat applied at a very low temperature, but for infinite
ages. The first theory supposed the production to have
ceased completely with the cause which produced it;
while the second favors the belief that it is being slowly
but constantly generated in the carboniferous formations.
In the manufacture from bituminous coal of kerosene oil,
a substance much resembling petroleum, there is a consi-
derable amount of gas given off that does not condense,
which, supposing the petroleum to be the result on simi-
lar constitutions of subterranean distillation, accounts for
the gas which invariably accompanies it, though the pro-
duction of gas does not surely indicate the production of
oil, as would probably be the case if the distillation took
place at a very low temperature. The village of Fredonia,
Chautauqua Co., N. Y., near the shores of Lake Erie, was
lighted by natural carburetted-hydrogen gas in the year
1828, which was supposed to be the production of bitumi-
EARLY NOTES OF PETROLEUM GAS AND SALT WELLS. 21
nous coal beneath, but instrumental surveys have we
believe, since shown, that there is no coal beneath, and
all borings for oil in that vicinity have proved fruitless,
though they have been prosecuted to a great depth. The
supply of gas was more than sufficient to light the town,
though the hole bored in the fetid limestone rock in the
edge of the small stream in which the gas was first noticed
to escape, was only an inch and a half in diameter. Great
quantities of gas escaped within a few miles and further
up the same stream. It would be interesting to know
what connection these have with petroleum, or whether
or not they have been affected by the enormous discharge
of gas, which has gone on for years now in the oil region
of Pennsylvania. It is not likely; but we are unable to
say. While their composition is the same, it is not pro-
bable that their sources are identical.
In a paper communicated to the " American Journal of
Science," for July, 1833, on " The Saliferous Rock Forma-
tion in the Valley of the Ohio;' by Dr. S. P. Hildreth, of
Marietta, touching incidentally on the subject of Carburet-
ted-Hydrogen Gas and Petroleum, he says: "All salt
wells afford more or less of this interesting gas, an agent
intimately concerned in the free rise of the water, and uni-
versally present where salt water is found. Indeed so
strong is the evidence afforded by the rising of this gas to
the surface of the existence of the salt rock below, that
many wells are sunk on this evidence alone. It is with-
out doubt a product of the saliferous formation as it rises
in many wells without any appearance of petroleum,
which latter product is probably generated by bituminous
coal, and in all wells, from a depth far below where coal
has been discovered in sufficient quantity to furnish such
an immense and constant supply as is continually rushing
from the earth in these saliferous regions. In many wells,
salt water and inflammable gas rise in company with a
22 HISTORY OP PETROLEUM.
steady uniform flow. In others, the gas rises at intervals
of ten or twelve hours, or perhaps as many days, in vast
quantity, and with overwhelming force, throwing the water
from the well to the height of fifty or one hundred feet in
the air, and again retiring within the bowels of the earth
to acquire fresh power for a new effort. This phenome-
non is called " blowing," and is very troublesome and
vexatious to the manufacturer. The explosion is some-
times so powerful as to cause the copper tube which lines
the upper part of the well to collapse, and to entirely mis-
place and derange the fixtures about it. By constant use
this difficulty is sometimes overcome by the exhaustion
of the gas, and in others the wells have been abandoned
as hopeless of amendment.
A well on the Muskingum, ten miles above McConnels-
ville, at six hundred feet in depth, afforded such an im-
mense quantity of gas, and in such a constant stream,
that while they were boring, it several times took fire
from the friction of the iron on the poles against the sides
of the wall, or from the scintillations from the auger,
driving the workmen away, and communicating the flame
to the shed which covered the works. It spread itself
along the surface of the earth, and ignited several com-
bustible bodies at the distance of several rods. It became
so troublesome and difficult to extinguish whenever ignited,
being in this respect a little like the Greek fire so cele-
brated by Gibbon, that from this cause only the well has
been abandoned. In the days of superstition and igno-
rance this would doubtless have been attributed to the
anger of the genius who presided over the spot, and thus
protected it from the unhallowed approaches of man.
At A. P. Stone's well, on the opposite side of the river,
a little below McConnelsville, the gas rises in small regular
puffs or discharges, averaging one for every minute or two,
causing the water to. flow in jets from the spout as it falls
EARLY NOTES OP PETROLEUM GAS AND SALT WELLS. 23
into a large cistern below. The water rises in the head
through a bored log to the height of twenty-five feet above
the surface of the earth. Through a hole in the top of a
small receiver or cup, the gas rises in a constant stream,
and when a candle or torch is applied, kindles into a
beautiful flame, burning steadily until extinguished by
closing the hole affording in the stillness and darkness
of midnight a striking and interesting phenomenon. It
is supposed that this well alone furnishes sufficient gas,
if properly applied, to light the town very handsomely.
No petroleum rises with it, and very little in any of the
other wells of this locality. The quantity of gas in dif-
ferent wells varies very considerably; all, however, afford
sufficient to keep the water in constant agitation over the
mouth of the well. The supply of water depends very
much on the quantity of gas discharged. A few miles
above Charleston, on the Big Kanawha, great quantities
of the carburetted hydrogen are slowly emitted through
the earth. A tract of several rods in extent, near the
river bank, is so charged with it that on making shallow
cavities in the sand, and applying a fire-brand, it immedi-
ately becomes ignited, and burns with a steady flame for
an indefinite period, or until extinguished by covering it
with sand. The boatmen, a rude but jolly race, often
amuse themselves by tracing a circle in the sand around
some one of the company unacquainted with the mystery,
and applying fire, a flame immediately springs up as if by
magic around the astonished wight, which being entirely
confined to the circle traced, adds much to his terror, and
increases the delight of his boisterous companions. In a
short time the sand beneath the burning gas becomes red
hot. The neighboring women sometimes make use of it
to boil their water when washing clothes on the bank of
the river, and boatmen occasionally cook their food in the
same easy and cheap manner. This spot would afford a
24 HISTORY OF PETROLEUM.
fine site for the. temple of the fire-worshippers of ancient
Persia. In low stages of the water, gas and oil are seen
oozing from the bed of the river at various points. On
the Little Muskingum River, a few miles from Marietta,
this gas is discharged in many places often through a
pool or sink-hole filled with water in which case it is
called a burning spring. Petroleum is often found rising
from the earth near the spring. Throughout the whole
saliferous region, so far as I have any knowledge, on pe-
netrating the salt rock a greater or less quantity of car-
buretted-hydrogen gas is discharged through the opening;
in some places accompanied by petroleum, and in others
without this co-existent production."
Continuing, he says of
Petroleum or Fossil Oil:
Since the first settlement of the country west of the
Apallachian range, the hunters and early pioneers have
been acquainted with this oil. Rising in a hidden and
mysterious manner from the bowels of the earth, it soon
arrested their attention, and acquired great value in the
eyes of these simple sons of the forest. Like some mira-
culous gift from Heaven, it was thought to be a sovereign
remedy for nearly all the diseases common to those pri-
meval days ; and from its success in rheumatism, burns,
coughs, sprains, &c., was justly entitled to all its celebrity.
It acquired the name of Seneca Oil that by which it is
generally known from having first been found in the
vicinity of Seneca Lake, New York. From its being
found in limited quantities, and its great and extensive
demand, a small vial of it would sell for forty or fifty
cents. It is at this time in general use among the inha-
bitants of the country for saddle bruises and that com-
plaint called the scratches in horses. It seems to be
peculiarly adapted to the flesh of horses, and cures many
EARLY NOTES OF PETROLEUM FOSSIL OIL. 25
of their ailments with wonderful certainty and celerity.
Flies and other insects have a natural antipathy to its
effluvia, and it is used with much effect in preventing the
deposit of eggs by the " blowing fly " in the wounds of
domestic animals during the summer months. In neigh-
borhoods where it is abundant it is burned in lamps in
place of spermaceti oil, affording a brilliant light, but fill-
ing the room with its own peculiar odor. By filtering it
through charcoal much of this empyreumatic smell is de-
stroyed, and the oil greatly improved in quality and ap-
pearance. It is also well adapted to prevent friction in
machinery ; for, being free of gluten, so common to animal
and vegetable oils, it preserves the parts to which it is
applied for a long time in free motion. Where a heavy
vertical shaft runs in a socket it is preferable to all or any
other articles. This oil rises in greater or less abundance
in most of the salt wells on the Kanawha, and collecting
as it rises in the head on the top of the water, is removed
from time to time with a ladle, and put by for sale or use.
The greater abundance of stone coal in this locality, than
in that of the Muskingum, gives it a decided advantage in
the elaboration of petroleum. On the latter river the wells
afford but little oil, and that only during the time the pro-
cess of boring is going on. It ceases soon after the wells are
completed, and yet all of them abound more or less in gas.
A well on Duck Creek, about thirty miles north of Ma-
rietta, owned by Mr. McKee, furnishes the greatest quan-
tity of any in this region. It was dug in the year 1814,
and is four hundred and seventy-five feet in depth. Salt
water was reached at one hundred and eighty-five feet,
but not in sufficient quantity. However, no more water
was found below this depth. The rocks passed were simi-
lar to those on the Muskingum River, above the flint stra-
tum, or like those between the flint and salt deposits at
McConnelsville. A bed of coal two yards in thickness
26 HISTORY OF PETROLEUM.
was found at the depth of one hundred feet, and gas at
one hundred and forty-four feet, or forty-one feet above
the salt rock. The hills are sandstone, based on lime, one
hundred and fifty or two hundred feet in height, with
abundant beds of stone coal near their feet. The oil from
this well is discharged periodically, at intervals of from
two to four days, and from three to six hours duration at
each period. Great quantities of gas accompany the dis-
charges of oil, which for the first few years amounted to
from thirty to sixty gallons at each eruption. The dis-
charges at this time, are less frequent and diminished in
amount, affording only about a barrel per week, which is
worth xit the well from fifty to seventy-five cents a gallon.
A few years ago, when oil was most abundant, a large
quantity had been collected in a cistern holding thirty or
forty barrels. At night some one engaged about the
works approached the well-head with a lighted candle.
The gas instantly became ignited, and communicated
the flames to the contents of the cistern, which, giving
way, suffered the oil to be discharged down a short decli-
vity into the creek, where the water passes with a rapid
current close to the well. The oil still contined to burn
most furiously, and spreading itself along the surface of
the stream for half a mile in extent, shot its flames to the
tops of the highest trees, exhibiting the novel and perhaps
never-before witnessed spectacle of a river actually on
fire."
Here we find Petroleum obtained more than thirty
years before its final development, yet attended with all
the accidents, and presenting all the phenomena that
characterize its production in Pennsylvania. These are
not accounts open to the suspicion of exaggeration. They
were written and published more than a generation before
the philosophy of Petroleum broke upon the understanding
of man. Here we find it repeatedly forced upon his atten-
EARLY NOTES OF PETROLEUM REFLECTIONS. 27
tion in the very way it was finally developed, and still
the idea of artesian boring was never designedly applied
to the production of Petroleum till at last suggested, as is
often the case with great ideas, by a most trivial occur-
rence.
Here was a well bored for salt to the depth of six or
eight hundred feet to the average depth of Petroleum
wells in Pennsylvania producing scarcely anything but
Petroleum, every well in the region throwing up more or
less of the oil, and yet it seems never to have occurred
to any one that if bored for expressly, it could be found
in paying quantities.
What a comment on the narrowness of a mind pre-
occupied ! How have we overlooked all the great truths
of philosophy, until at last they secured a sprouting place
in some mind unprejudiced by practice and unbiased by
theory. And then we call it inspiration, when the germ
that has fallen in good ground, and sprouted, and blos-
somed, and borne fruit, has proved to be such a very
wonderful little seed, and one that all saw, and none com-
prehended, when it was lying exposed in the stony places.
And then we wonder we had not comprehended it before,
especially as it was easier to comprehend it the simple,
little idea than to shut it out from our understanding as
the thing quite incomprehensible.
Its value as a lubricator was indisputably established ;
its medicinal properties were appreciated; very little
stood in the way of its adaptation to purposes of illumi-
nating, and so much of even that objection was removed
by the simple process of filtering through charcoal on
which process a patent has since been obtained that in
the light of present events, it is impossible to understand
how its importance could have been overlooked, could
have failed to suggest, if not the philosophy of its exist-
ence in the earth, the manner in which it is held among
28 HISTORY OF PETROLEUM.
the rocks, at least the hope of making a fortune by deve-
loping it after the manner of raising brine.
Even twenty years later we find Mr. Kier of Pittsburgh,
profitably engaged in bottling and selling it as a great
natural panacea ; consuming in this way regularly about
three barrels a day, obtained from his father's salt well at
Tarentum, a few miles above Pittsburgh, on the Alle-
gany River, labelling his bottles to the effect that this
most wonderful remedy was obtained four hundred feet
below the surface of the earth distilling it, even, so that
nearly every objection to it as an illuminator in the crude
state was removed, and yet pocketing the returns without
giving a thought to its origin or extent.
"With Mr. Kier naturally enough the consideration was
to utilize what he had, to make the most of it, rather
than by research and development to bring forth that
which would have been in every sense a drug in the mar-
ket. He grasped one idea its utility, and suggested the
next its development.
Thus link by link, was forged slowly, the chain of events
which united thought and action, effecting what is known
as the "" discovery" of Petroleum.
THE DISCOVERY OP THE VALUE OF PETROLEUM. 29
CHAPTER II.
THE DISCOVERY OF THE VALUE OF PETROLEUM.
reader will hardly need to be informed that the
circumstances' related in the last chapter were not
what led to the discovery of the. economic value of Pe-
troleum. There can hardly be said to be any merit in
witnessing and describing circumstances purely accidental
in their occurrence, when to do so effects no impression
useful to the cause of human progress. However acci-
dental, the events referred to must be allowed to have
been very suggestive; but inasmuch as they did not
suggest anything of practical importance to the very in-
telligent gentlemen who beheld them, it would seem to
increase our obligations to the person who finally did
grasp the simple idea of the philosophy of Petroleum,
and that without any knowledge of the circumstances
mentioned. But it must be conceded that, in their cases,
a most important incentive was wanting the article had
no certain market, no determinate value. The fact that
it sold for fifty and twenty-five cents a gallon proves
nothing. It sold for that in 1859, but the first day's
productions of the first well "broke the market." There
was no demand for it, because its uses were unknown
or at least not definitely understood. If any one thinks
that a larger and more constant supply would have earlier
brought about a knowledge of its importance (had that
supply been accidentally obtained, and had its continu-
ance been altogether conjectural,) let him reflect how
comparatively slow was its introduction to general use,
30 HISTORY OF PETROLEUM.
even when the supply was so large that its cost was
merely nominal, and its continuance an established fact.
No ! The world was not yet ready for it. And though
the long course of scientific research in other directions,
which prepared for its final reception, has escaped public
attention, it is easy to show that the way was not pre-
pared in a moment ; but it is difficult, looking back from
the light of the present, to excuse a stupidity which cannot
now be understood, because it has been out-grown.
No science has been more active, progressive, and use-
ful in the last forty years than Chemistry. But its
strides have been as silent as they have been rapid ; and
though as a science it has almost grown up within the
age of living men, and while it has done more, perhaps,
than all other sciences to enable us to understand physi-
cal relations, there are still plenty of intelligent people
who know no more of it than the name. It is mainly to
this science that we owe those elaborate experimental re-
searches which demonstrated the practical utility of Pe-
troleum to the domestic comforts of refined civilization.
About the year 1830 a German chemist named Reichen-
bach, while experimenting with the bitumen found in
wood, discovered a white, tasteless, inodorous, waxy sub-
stance which he called Paraffine, because of its antipathy
to unite with other substances. Like Selligne of France,
Reichenbach had devoted much attention to the produc-
tion of illuminating oils from the coals and bituminous
shales in his own country, as well as various other por-
tions of the Continent of Europe, and like him experi-
mented for years without producing anything of value.
The small quantity of paraffine obtained, was hoarded
as a curiosity of the laboratory, and for many years, it is
said, was the only bit of that substance in existence. It
does not appear that Reichenbach himself at the time,
clearly understood the chemical change by which it was
THE DISCOVERY OF THE VALUE OF PETROLEUM. 31
produced, but his researches were continued, and together
with Selligne's and several others, his name now appears
as the inventor or discover of kerosene, or coal oil. It
seems likely that either of them is entitled to all he
claims, for they appear to have worked separately; and
aside from the meagre details of their progress given to
the scientific journals of the day, to have known little
of each other's experiments.
It is true, no vast credit can attach to the invention or
discovery on account of originality, for the way was very
clearly pointed out by facts already known. But its im-
portance can hardly be over-estimated. The refining in-
fluence we might say the civilizing influence of a good
cheap illuminator, could easily be shown if this were the
place for an extended essay on the subject.
The introduction of gas in the cities of Asia and
Europe, furnish statistics on the subject most interesting
from the political, as well as the humanitarian point of
view. But the want of an illuminator for the habita-
tions of the poor, and for such places as could not be
economically lighted with gas was manifest, and in obedi-
ence to a common want we find it invented almost simul-
taneously in three countries England, France and Ger-
many occupying the same plane in civilization. Such
coincidences frequently occur; but it is a remarkable fact
that they never occur unless the invention has become a
manifest necessity to the comfort of the society, and the
progress of the civilization which the inventors have en-
joyed.
Reichenbach's ounce or two of Parafnne was preserved
for many years as a great curiosity to his scientific friends.
A small quantity of it was also discovered by Selligne, a
few years later ; but it was reserved for Mr. James Young
of Scotland to complete the value of the discovery by
showing how to produce it at will, and in quantity, and
32 HISTORY OF PETROLEUM.
by utilizing it to the comforts of mankind. In 1850 he
procured a patent in England for the manufacture of
"paraffine oil, or oil containing paraffine, and paraffine
from bituminous coals." Some years later a similar patent
was issued to him by the government of the United States.
Before this oil had been manufactured from bituminous
shales and coals on a small scale in France by Selligne,
we think in Germany, and in the Austrian Empire.
Even on the American Continent, Dr. Abraham Gesner
manufactured oil from coal as early as 1846, and exhibited
the same in the course of his lectures in the British Pro-
vinces. Uniting himself with capitalists, Mr. Young
promptly began the manufacture of paraffine oil on a large
scale. No lamp had yet been invented in which it would
burn without a most offensive smoke, and while the hea-
viest of this manufacture was used for lubricating machi-
nery, the lightest was reduced to paraffine wax, manufac-
tured into candles, and sold as spermaceti, to which it
bears a striking resemblance. It is a product obtained
by destructive distillation of the oil that is, one sub-
stance is destroyed before the other is produced. The
change which takes place is purely chemical, and not me-
chanical, as it would be if the paraffine was separated
from the oil by which it was merely held in solution. Mr.
Young's process consists in breaking the coals into pieces
about the size of a hen's egg, which are then distilled in
the common gas retort, with worm pipes and the ordinary-
refrigerators of stills, the water in them being kept at a
temperature of about 55 Fahr., by a stream of cold water
entering the worm cistern. The retort is kept at a low
red heat, and heated up gradually. The product is an
oil containing the paraffine.
The crude oil is put into a cistern, and steam heat
applied up to about 156. This separates some of the
impurities, and the oil is run off into another vessel, leaving
THE DISCOVERY OF THE VALUE OF PETROLEUM. 33
the impurities behind. The oil is then distilled in an iron
still, with a worm pipe and refrigerator, the water in the
latter being kept at 55 Fahr. The oil thus distilled is then
agitated with 10 per cent, of sulphuric acid for an hour.
It is then allowed to settle twelve hours, when it is drawn
off from the acid and impurities into an iron vessel, where
it is again agitated with a solution of caustic soda of spe-
cific gravity 1.300. Six hours are again allowed for the
alkali and impurities to settle when the oil is again drawn
off and distilled with half its bulk of water, which is run
into the still from time to time to supply the quantity
distilled off. The light oil comes over with the steam,
and is employed for illumination. The oil left in the still
is carefully separated from all water, and put into a leaden
vessel, and then agitated with two per cent, of sulphuric
acid. It is then allowed to settle twenty-four hours.
This oil is then run into another vessel, and for every
one hundred gallons there are added twenty-eight pounds
of chalk ground up with water into a paste. The oil and
chalk are agitated together until the oil is freed of acid.
After it has remained a week at rest, it is used for lubri-
cating machinery, and may be mixed with animal or
vegetable oils for that purpose.
To obtain the Paraffine the oil containing it is brought
down to a temperature of 30 Fah., when paraffine will
crystallize and separate itself from the oil ; or it may be
filtered and finally submitted to pressure. Again it is
agitated with its bulk of sulphuric acid, and the opera-
tion repeated until the acid ceases to be colored by the
paraffine, which is kept melted during the operation."
Mr. Gerker's method, differed from this not very ma-
terially, but had for its object not the production of paraf-
fine, and therefore the similarity of the treatment ceased
just where the production of paraffine began.
His purpose was merely to procure an illuminating oil,
3
34 HISTORY OF PETROLEUM.
which he called " Kerosene," a name almost identical in
its meaning with " Paraffine oil." The patents granted
him by our government, known as the " Kerosene
Patents," were sold to the North American Kerosene
Gas light Company of New York, which in 1854 began
the manufacture of Kerosene oil at their works on New-
town Creek, Long Island, New York. Its introduction
was discouragingly slow. The refining process was not
thoroughly understood, and nothing had then been found
to overcome the odor which was most offensive. Men
interested in the manufacture of camphene, and burning
fluids of all sorts spread the belief that it was very ex-
plosive. But the beauty of its light commended it in
spite of the odor and the fear of explosion, though in fact
when first manufactured it was no more explosive than
ordinary sperm oil. One great apparent need was a
lamp which would burn it without a smoke, and admit
of its being moved around, which could not be done when
it was burned in the camphene lamp. This difficulty was
afterwards remedied by the introduction of the Vienna
burner by Mr. Austin.
Mr. Young's patents specified a paraffine oil from
" coals." The great profit of the business induced many
to embark in the manufacture of the oil, and he soon
found that his patent-right was being invaded both in this
country and England. Proceedings were instituted at
once to compel the payment of a royalty of three cents
per gallon, and also for damages by infraction of the
patent-right. In most cases these were strenuously re-
sisted; the defendants in many cases claim that their oils
were not from coals, but from bituminous shales and as-
phaltum. These gave the proprietors of the lands with
whom for the most part sharp bargains had been driven,
a pretext for checking the despoliation of their property,
under contracts for, the removal of coal, and Mr. Young
THE DISCOVERY OF THE VALUE OF PETROLEUM. 35
in common with many of the other English manufacturers
found himself involved in litigation that threatened to
prove interminable, and was only settled at last by com-
promise. One of the best effects of these costly suits was
a most exhaustive scrutiny into all the varieties of coals
and bitumens, by the best scientific authorities in all
countries, and though in a few instances carboniferous
deposits, which were clearly shown to be asphalts or of
that nature, by their solution in benzine and naphtha,
were pronounced "coals" by ignorant jurors, it has not
affected the value of those researches to the industries of
the world, nor changed the opinions of educated men.
Mr. Young's patent, after having been the source of a
princely fortune, expired in England in 1864, and four
years later in the United States, but it had brought him
no revenue from this country since the discovery of
Petroleum in Pennsylvania.
Before that event took place, however, a market was
being prepared for it on the continent of Europe, by the
manufacture on* an extensive scale of oils from coals,
schists and bituminous shales.
In Germany, on the Rhine, and in various parts of
France and Switzerland, large manufactories were erected,
and it soon became not a luxury of life, but a necessity.
And in the Empire of Austria, in some of the Northern
provinces of which it was extensively manufactured, a
lamp had been invented in which the oil burned with a
beautiful clear flame, and without smoke. The light
could also be carried about indifferently without ex-
tinguishing. Here was the great desideratum at last, the
greatest obstacle overcome. This lamp was promptly in-
troduced into the United States. Our government has
issued innumerable patents for alterations in this lamp,
but not more than half a dozen have really been any
improvement on the first one brought here, and many of
36 HISTOUY OF PETROLEUM.
them are greatly inferior. The quality of our light of
course has been greatly improved, but it is less the result
of any improvement in the lamp, than a more perfect
method of refining the oil.
When Mr. Young began the manufacture of mineral
oil, the success of his efforts sent consternation into some
branches of industry on this side of the Atlantic.
The great manufacturers of animal oils along our East-
ern seaboard were first to take the alarm. For years they
had almost monopolized the whale fisheries, and large
amounts of capital were invested in the production of the
smaller fish oils and lard oil. They saw in his success
the breaking down of their monopoly, the destruction of
their trade; and determined to preserve their importance,
they commenced manufacturing mineral oils themselves.
Casting about for the means of self-preservation, they very
soon discovered that our own country afforded even greater
facilities for the production of these commodities than
either Great Britain or any other part of Europe.
Our bituminous coal measures, were found to be the
most extensive and accessible in the world. Upon exam-
ination, valuable oil-producing shales were discovered.
Mines could be obtained on the most reasonable terms ;
could often be purchased in fee for a few dollars per acre.
Everything was favorable, and it seemed as if our prestige
in oil was not only to be maintained, but vastly increased.
The great difficulty was the cost of labor, which was
four times as great as in England, and nearly six times
greater than in Germany, where much of the work was
done by women. This, to be sure, was in some measure,
compensated by the difference in the cost of lands ; but it
was a compensation which must soon have been overcome.
Eastern capitalists invested largely in the coal lands
of Virginia, Kentucky and Missouri, and to obviate the
expense of transporting the coal by rail, began the erec-
tion of oil works at the mines.
THE DISCOVERY OF THE VALUE OF PETROLEUM. 37
Near Boston, Mass., Saml. Downer had erected works on
a most extensive scale, which cost about half a million dol-
lars, while at Portland he had other works put up at an
expense of $250,000 for the manufacture of oil from im-
ported coal; and they continued to increase, till at the
time oil was struck, there were not less than fifty or sixty
of these establishments in the United States, one of which
was in Portland, one in New Bedford, four in Boston, one
in Hartford, five in the environs of New York, eight or
ten in western Pennsylvania, twenty-five in Ohio, eight
in Virginia, six in Kentucky, and one in St. Louis.
Many, if not most, of these were of small capacity, how-
ever, and the greater part of them were not more than
fairly started when the discovery of petroleum prostrated
the whole business, and threatened its projectors with
overwhelming loss, from which they were happily rescued
by converting their oil factories into refineries, which was
done with very little trouble.
While the object of this chapter has been to show the
gradual steps by which the economic value of petroleum
was discovered, or rather demonstrated, and while the
reader will, we presume, believe with us, that had its
value not been thus conclusively determined, and had not
the way for its reception at home and abroad been opened
by the previous extensive introduction of coal oil both as
a lubricator and an illuminator, its development must
have been indefinitely delayed ; for it was a belief in its
identity for practical purposes with coal oil that
prompted the series of investigations which resulted in
its most wonderful development.
The event which finally determined its economic value,
which proved its identities with, and differences from,
coal oil, which showed that while for many purposes it
was about the same for most purposes it was superior,
was the exhaustive analysis procured and paid for by
38 HISTORY OF PETROLEUM.
George H. Bissel and others, the report of which is
appended by permission of Professor Silliman to this
chapter rather than place it in the chronological order to
be observed throughout this work :
MESSRS. EVELETH, BISSELL & REED,
Gentlemen,
I herewith offer you the results of my somewhat ex-
tended researches upon the Rock Oil, or Petroleum, from
Venango County, Pennsylvania, which you have re-
quested me to examine with reference to its value for
economical purposes.
Numerous localities, well known in different parts of
the world, furnish an oily fluid exuding from the surface
of the earth, sometimes alone in " tar springs," as they
are called in the western United States ; frequently it is
found floating upon the surface of water in a thin film,
with rainbow colors, or in dark globules, that may, by
mechanical means, be separated from the fluid on which
it swims.
In some places wells are sunk for the purpose of ac-
cumulating the product in a situation convenient for col-
lection by pumping the water out. The oil exudes on
the shores of lakes and lagoons, or rises from springs
beneath the beds of rivers. Such are the springs of
Baku, in Persia, and the wells of Amiano, in the duchy
of Parma, in Italy. The usual geological position of the
rocks furnishing this natural product, is in the coal mea-
sures but it is by no means confined to this group of
rocks, since it has been found in deposits much more
recent, and also in those that are older but in whatever
deposits it may occur, it is uniformly regarded as a pro-
duct of vegetable decomposition. Whether this decom-
position has been effected by fermentation only, or by the
THE DISCOVERY OF THE VALUE OF PETROLEUM. 39
aid of an elevated temperature, and distilled by heated
vapor, is perhaps hardly settled.
It is interesting, however, in this connection to re-
member, that the distillation, at an elevated tempera-
ture, of certain black bituminous shales in England and
France, has furnished large quantities of an oil having
many points of resemblance with Naphtha, the name
given to this colorless oil, which is the usual product of
distilling Petroleum. The very high boiling point of
most of the products of the distillation of the Rock Oil
from Yenango County, Pa., would seem to indicate that
it was a pyrogenic (fire-produced) product.
Bitumen, Asphaltum, Mineral Pitch, Chapapote, &c.,
&c., are names variously given to the more or less hard,
black resinous substance which is produced usually from
the exposure of Petroleum to the air, and is found either
with or without the fluid Naphtha or Petroleum. The
most remarkable examples of the occurrence of these
substances, so intimately connected with the history of
Rock Oil, are the Lake Asphaltites of the Dead Sea, so
memorable in history, the well-known Bitumen Lake of
Trinidad, and the deposits of mineral pitch or Chapapote
in Cuba. In one of the provinces of India, vast quanti-
ties of Petroleum are annually produced, the chief con-
sumption being local, for fuel and lights, but a portion is
also exported to Europe for the production of Naphtha.
In the United States, many points on the Ohio and its
tributaries, are noted as producing this oil ; nearly all of
them within the coal measures. A detailed history of
these various localities can be found recorded in books of
science, and their repetition here would be out of place.
General Character of the Crude Product.
The crude oil, as it is gathered on your lands, has a
dark brown color, which, by reflected light, is greenish or
40 HISTORY OF PETROLEUM.
bluish. It is thick even in warm weather about as
thick as thin molasses. In very cold weather it is some-
what more stiff, but can always be poured from a bottle
even at 15 below zero. Its odor is strong and peculiar,
and recalls to those who are familiar with it, the smell
of Bitumen and Naphtha. Exposed for a long time to
the air, it does not thicken or form a skin on its surface,
and, in no sense, can it be called a drying oil. The
density of the crude oil is .882, water being 1*000. It
boils only at a very high temperature, and yet it begins
to give off a vapor at a temperature not greatly above
that of boiling water. It takes fire with some difficulty,
and burns with an abundant smoky flame. It stains
paper with the appearance of ordinary fat oils, and feels
smooth and greasy between the fingers. It is frequently
used in its crude state to lubricate coarse machinery. In
chemical characters, it is entirely unlike the fat oils.
Most of these characters are common to Petroleum from
various places. In one important respect, however, the
product of your lands differs from that obtained in other
situations, that is, it does not, by continued exposure to
the air, become hard and resinous like mineral pitch or
bitumen. I have been informed by those who have
visited the locality, that on the surface of the earth above
the springs which furnish your oil, there is no crust or
deposit of this sort such as I have seen in other situations
where Petroleum or mineral tar is flowing. This differ-
ence will be seen to be of considerable importance, as it
is understood and represented that this product exists
in great abundance upon your property, that it can be
gathered wherever a well is sunk in the soil, over a great
number of acres, and that it is unfailing in its yield from
year to year. The question naturally arises, of what
value is it in the arts, and for what uses can it be em-
ployed ? These researches answer these inquiries.
THE DISCOVERY OF THE VALUE OP PETROLEUM. 41
Examination of the Oil.
To determine what products might be obtained in the
oil, a portion of it was submitted to fractional distilla-
tion.* The temperature of the fluid was constantly
regulated by a thermometer, the heat being applied first
by a water bath, and then by a bath of linseed oil. This
experiment was founded upon the belief that the crude
product contained several distinct oils, having different
boiling points. The quantity of material used in this
experiment, was 304 grammes. The thermometer indi-
cated the degrees of the Centigrade scale, but, for con-
venience, the corresponding degrees of Fahrenheit's scale
are added. The water bath failed to distil any portion
of the oil at 100 C. (=212Fah.) only a small quantity
of acid water came over. An oil bath, linseed oil, was
then substituted, and the temperature was regularly
raised by slow degrees until distillation commenced.
From that point the heat was successively raised by
stages of ten degrees, allowing full time at each stage for
complete distillation of all that would rise at that tem-
perature before advancing to the next stage. The results
of this tedious process are given in the annexed table
304 Grammes of crude oil, submitted to fractional dis-
tillation, gave :
Temperature Quantity.
1st Prod, at 100 .=213 Fah. (acid water,) 5 Cms.
2d
3d
4 th,
5th
6th
7th
8th
at 140 C. to 150 .=284 to 302 Fah. 26
at 150 C. to 1 60 C.=30z to 320 Fah. 29
at 160 C. to 170 .=320 to 388 Fah. 38
at 170 C.to 180 .=338 to 367 Fah. 17
at 1 80 C. to 200 C.=356 to 392 Fah. 16
at 200 C. to 220 C.=392 to 428 Fah. 17
at 220 C. to 270 .=428 to 518 Fah. 12
Whole quantity distilled by this method . . 160
Leaving residue in the retort .... 144
Original quantity, ..... 304
* Fractional distillation is a process intended to separate various products in mixture,
and having unlike boiling points, by keeping the mixture contained in an alembic at
regulated successive stages of temperature as long as there is any distillate at a given
point, and then raising the heat to another degree, Ac.
42 HISTORY OF PETROLEUM.
Product No 1, as above remarked, was almost entirely
water, with a few drops of colorless oil, having an odor
similar to the original fluid, but less intense.
Product No. 2 was an oil perfectly colorless, very thin
and limpid, and having an exceedingly persistent odor,
similar to the crude oil, but less intense.
Product No. 3 was tinged slightly yellow, perfectly
transparent, and apparently as limpid as the 2d product,
with the same odor.
Product No. 4 was more decidedly yellowish than the
last, but was in no other respect distinguishable from it.
Product No. 5 was more highly colored, thicker in con-
sistence, and had a decided empyreumatic odor.
Product No. 6. This and the two subsequent products
were each more highly colored and denser than the pre-
ceding. The last product had the color and consistency
of honey, and the odor was less penetrating than that of
the preceding oils. The mass of crude product remaining
in the retort (equal 47.4 per cent.,) was a dark, thick,
resinous-looking varnish, which was so stiff when cold,
that it could be inverted without spilling. This showed
no disposition to harden or skin over by exposure to the
air. The distillation was arrested at this point in glass,
by our having reached the limit of temperature for a bath
of linseed oil. The density of the several products of this
distillation, shows a progressive increase, thus :
No. 2, density,
No. 3
No. 4
No. 5 ,
No. 6
No. 7
No. 8
733
75 2
.766
.776
.800
.848
854
To form an idea of the comparative density of these
several products, it may be well to state, that Sulphuric
Ether, which is one* of the lightest fluids known, has a
THE DISCOVERY OF THE VALUE OP PETROLEUM. 43
density of .736, and Alcohol, when absolutely pure,
.800.
The boiling points of these several fluids present some
anomalies, but are usually progressive, thus, No. 2 gave
signs of boiling at 115 C. (=239 Pah.) and boiled vigor-
ously and remained constant at 225 C. to 228 C.,
(=437 to 442 Fah.) No. 3 began to boil 120, (=248
Fah.,) rose to 270 (=518 Fah.,) where it remained con-
stant. No. 4 began to vaporize at 140, (=284 Fah.,)
rose to 290, (=554 Fah.,) where it remained constant.
On a second heating the temperature continued to rise,
and passed 305, (=581 Fah.) No. 5 gave appearance
of boiling at 160, (=320 Fah.,) boiling more vigorously
as the heat was raised, and was still rising at 308,
(=581 Fah.) No. 6 commenced boiling at 135, (=275
Fah.), boiled violently at 160, (=320 Fah.,) and con-
tinued rising above the range of the mercurial thermome-
ter. No. 7 commenced ebullition at the same temperature
as No. 6, and rose to 305, (=581 Fah.,) where the ebul-
lition was not very active. Much time was consumed in
obtaining these results. We infer from them that the
Rock Oil is a mixture of numerous compounds, all having
essentially the same chemical constitution, but differing in
density and boiling points, and capable of separation from
each other, by a well-regulated heat.
The uncertainty of the boiling points indicates that the
products obtained at the temperatures named above, were
still mixtures of others, and the question forces itself upon
us, whether these several oils are to be regarded as educts
(i. e., bodies previously existing, and simply separated in
the process of distillation,) or whether they are not rather
produced by the heat and chemical change in the process
of distillation. The continued application of an elevated
temperature alone is sufficient to effect changes in the
constitution of many organic products, evolving new
bodies not before existing in the original substance.
44 HISTORY OF PETROLEUM.
Properties of the Distilled Oils.
Exposed to the severest cold of the past winter, all the
oils obtained in this distillation remained fluid. Only the
last two or three appeared at all stiffened by a cold of 15
below zero, while the first three or four products of dis-
tillation retained a perfect degree of fluidity. Exposed to
air, as I have said, they suffer no change. The chemical
examination of these oils showed that they were all com-
posed of Carbon and Hydrogen, and probably have these
elements in the same numerical relation. When first dis-
tilled, they all had an acid reaction, due to the presence
of a small quantity of free sulphuric acid, derived from the
crude oil. This was entirely removed by a weak alka-
line water, and even by boiling on pure water. Clean
copper remained untarnished in the oil which had thus
been prepared, showing its fitness for lubrication, so far
as absence of corrosive quality is concerned. The oils
contain no oxygen, as is clearly shown by the fact that
clean potassium remains bright in them. Strong Sul-
phuric Acid decomposes and destroys the oil entirely.
Nitric Acid changes it to a yellow, oily fluid, similar to
the changes produced by Nitric Acid on other oils. Hy-
drochloric, Chromic and Acetic Acids, do not affect it.
Litharge and other metallic oxyds do not change it, or
convert it in any degree to a drying oil. Potassium re-
mains in it unaffected, even at a high temperature. Hy-
drates of Potash, Soda, and Lime, are also without action
upon it. Ohloride of Calcium and many other salts mani-
fest an equal indifference to it. Distilled with Bleaching
Powders (chloride of lime) and water, in the manner of
producing chloroform, the oil is changed into a product
having an odor and taste resembling chloroform. Ex-
posed for many days in an open vessel, at a regulated
heat below 212, the oil gradually rises in vapor, as may
THE DISCOVERY OF THE VALUE OF PETROLEUM. 45
be seen by its staining the paper used to cover the vessel
from dust, and also by its sensible diminution. Six or
eight fluid ounces, exposed in this -manner in a metallic
vessel for six weeks or more, the he^at never exceeding
200, gradully and slowly diminished, grew yellow, and
finally left a small residue of dark brown lustrous-looking
resin, or pitchy substance, which in the cold was hard
and brittle. The samples of oil employed were very
nearly colorless. This is remarkable when we remember
that the temperature of the distillation was above 500
Fah. The oil is nearly insoluble in pure alcohol, not
more than 4 or 5 per centum being dissolved by this
agent. In ether the oil dissolves completely, and on
gentle heating is left unchanged by the evaporization of
the ether. India Rubber is dissolved by the distilled oil
to a pasty mass, forming a thick black fluid which, after
a short time, deposits the india rubber. It dissolved a
little amber, but only sufficient to color the oil red. It
also dissolves a small portion of copal in its natural state,
but after roasting, the copal dissolves in it as it does in
other oils.
Use for Gas Making.
The Crude Oil was tried as a means of illumination.
For this purpose, a weighed quantity was decomposed, by
passing it through a wrought iron retort filled with car-
bon, and ignited to full redness. The products of this
decomposition were received in a suitable apparatus. It
produced nearly pure carburetted hydrogen gas, the
most highly illuminating of all the carbon gases. In fact,
the oil may be regarded as chemically identical with
illuminating gas in a liquid form. The gas produced
equalled ten cubic feet to the pound of oil. It burned
with an intense flame, smoking in the ordinary gas jet, but
furnishing the most perfect flame with the Argand burner.
46 HISTORY OF PETROLEUM.
These experiments were not prosecuted further, because
it was assumed that other products, now known and in
use, for gas making, might be employed at less expense
for this purpose, than your oil. Nevertheless, this branch
of inquiry may be worthy of further attention.
Distillation at a higher Temperature..
The results of the distillation at a regulated tempera-
ture in glass led us to believe, that in a metallic vessel,
capable of enduring a high degree of heat, we might
obtain a much larger proportion of valuable products. A
copper still, holding five or six gallons, was therefore pro-
vided, and furnished with an opening, through which a
thermometer could be introduced into the interior of the
vessel. Fourteen imperial quarts (or, by weight, 560
ounces) of the crude product were placed in this vessel,
and the heat raised rapidly to about 280 C. (=536
Fah.), somewhat higher than the last temperature reached
in the first distillation. At this high temperature, the
distillation was somewhat rapid, and the product was
easily condensed without a worm. The product of the
first stage was 130 ounces (or over 28 per cent.), of a
very light-colored thin oil, having a density of .792.
This product was also acid, and, as before, the acid was
easily removed by boiling with fresh water. The tem-
perature was now raised to somewhat above 300 C.
(572 Fah.), and 123 ounces more distilled, of a more
viscid and yellowish oil, having a density of .865. This
accounts for over 43 per cent, of the whole quantity taken.
The temperature being raised now above the boiling point
of mercury, was continued at that until 170 ounces, or
over 31 per cent., of a dark brown oil had been distilled,
having a strong empyreumatic odor. Upon standing still
for some time, a dark blackMi sediment was seen to settle
from this portion, and on boiling it with water, the
THE DISCOVERY OF THE VALUE OF PETROLEUM. 47
unpleasant odor was in a great degree removed, and the
fluid became more light-colored and perfectly bright.
(It was on a sample of this that the photometric experi-
ments were made.) The next portion, distilled at about
700 Fah., gave but about 17 ounces, and this product
was both lighter in color and more fluid than the last.
It now became necessary to employ dry hickory wood as
a fuel, to obtain flame and sufficient heat to drive over
any further portions of the residue remaining in the
alembic.
It will be seen that we have already accounted for over
75 per cent, of the whole quantity taken. There was a
loss on the whole process of about 10 per cent., made up,
in part, of a coaly residue that remained in the alembic,
and partly of the unavoidable loss resulting from the
necessity of removing the oil twice from the alembic,
during the process of distillation, in order to change the
arrangements of the thermometer, and provide means of
measuring a heat higher than that originally contem-
plated.
About 15 per cent, of a very thick, dark oil completed
this experiment. This last product, which came off
slowly at about 750 Fah., is thicker and darker than the
original oil, and when cold is filled with a dense mass of
pearly crystals. These are Paraffine, a peculiar product
of the destructive distillation of many bodies in the organic
kingdom. This substance may be separated, and obtained
as a white body, resembling fine spermaceti, and from it
beautiful candles have been made. The oil in which the
crystals float is of a very dark color, and by reflected
light is blackish green, like the original crude product.
Although it distills at so high a temperature, it boils at a
point not very different from the denser products of the
first distillation. The Pafaffine, with which this portion
of the oil abounds, does not exist ready-formed in the ori-
48 HISTORY OF PETROLEUM.
ginal crude product ; but it is a result of the high tem-
perature employed in the process of distillation, by which
the elements are newly arranged.
I am not prepared to say, without further investigation,
that it would be desirable for the Company to manufac-
ture this product in a pure state, fit for producing candles
(a somewhat elaborate chemical process) ; but I may add
that, should it be desirable to do so, the quantity of this
substance produced may probably be very largely increased
by means which it is now unnecessary to mention.
Paraffine derives its name from the unalterable nature
of the substance, under the most powerful chemical agents.
It is white, in brilliant scales of a greasy lustre ; it melts
at about 116, and boils at over 700 Fah.; it dissolves
in boiling alcohol and ether, and burns in the air with a
brilliant flame. Associated with Paraffine are portions
of a very volatile oil, Eupione, which boils at a lower tem-
perature, and by its presence renders the boiling point of
the mixture difficult to determine. I consider this point
worthy of further examination than I have been able at
present to give it, i. e. whether the last third, and possi-
bly the last half, of the Petroleum, may not be advanta-
geously so treated as to produce from it the largest amount
of Paraffine which it is able to produce.
The result of this graduated distillation, at a high tem-
perature, is that we have obtained over 90 per cent, of
the whole crude product in a series of oils, having valua-
ble properties, although not all equally fitted for illumina-
tion and lubrication.
A second distillation of a portion of the product which
came over in the latter stages of the process, (a portion dis-
tilled at about 650 Fah., and having a high color), gave
us a thin oil of density about .750, of light yellow color
and faint odor.
It is safe to add that, by the original distillation, about
THE DISCOVERY OF THE VALUE OF PETROLEUM. 49
50 per cent, of the crude oil is obtained in a state fit for
use as an illuminator without further preparation than
simple clarification by boiling a short time with water.
Distillation by high Steam.
Bearing in mind that by aid of high steam, at an ele-
vated temperature, many distillations in the arts are
effected which cannot be so well accomplished by dry
heat, I thought to apply this method in case of the pre-
sent research. Instances of this mode of distillation are
in the new process for Stearine candles, and in the prepa-
ration of Rosin Oil. I accordingly arranged my retort in
such a manner that I could admit a jet of high steam into
the boiler, and almost at the bottom of the contained
Petroleum. I was, however, unable to command a jet
of steam above 275 to 290 Fah., arid, although this pro-
duced abundant distillation, it did not effect a separation
of the several products, and the fluid distilled had much
the same appearance as the Petroleum itself, thick and
turbid. As this trial was made late in the investigation,
I have been unable to give it a satisfactory issue, chiefly
for want of steam of a proper temperature. But I sug-
gest, for the consideration of the Company, the propriety
of availing themselves of the experience already existing
on this subject, and particularly among those who are
concerned in the distillation of Rosin Oil a product
having many analogies with Petroleum in respect to its
manufacture.
Use of the Naphtha for Illumination.
Many fruitless experiments have been made in the
course of this investigation which it is needless to recount.
I will, therefore, only state those results which are of
value.
1. I have found that the only lamp in which this oil
can be successfully burned, is the Camphene lamp, or one
4
50 HISTORY OF PETROLEUM.
having a button to form the flame, and an external cone
to direct the current of air, as is now usual in all lamps
designed to burn either Camphene, Rosin Oil, Sylvic Oil,
or any other similar product.
2. As the distilled products of Petroleum are nearly or
quite insoluble in alcohol, burning fluid (i. e., a solution
of the oil in alcohol) cannot be manufactured from it.
3. As a consequence, the oil cannot be burned in a
hand lamp, since, with an unprotected wick, it smokes
badly. Neither can it be burned in a Carcel's mechanical
lamp, because a portion of the oil being more volatile
than the rest, rises in vapor on the elevated wick required
in that lamp, and so causes it to smoke.
I have found all the products of distillation from the
copper still capable of burning well in the Camphene
lamp, except the last third or fourth part (i. e., that por-
tion which came off at 700 Fah. and rising, and which
was thick with the crystals of Paraffine). Freed from,
acidity by boiling on water, the oils of this distillation
burned for twelve hours without injuriously coating the
wick, and without smoke. The wick may be elevated
considerably above the level required for Camphene, with-
out any danger of smoking, and the oil shows no signs of
crusting the wick tubes with a coating of Rosin, such as
happens in the case of Camphene, and occasions so much
inconvenience. The light from the rectified Naphtha is
pure and white without odor. The rate of consumption
is less than half that of Camphene, or Rosin Oil. The
Imperial pint, of 20 fluid ounces, was the one employed
a gallon contains 160 such ounces. A Camphene lamp,
with a wick one inch thick, consumed of rectified Naph-
tha in one hour II ounces of fluid. A Carcel's mechani-
cal lamp of J inch wick, consumed of best Sperm Oil, per
hour 2 ounces. A "Diamond Light" lamp, with " Sylvic
Oil," and a wick 1J inch diameter consumed, per hour,
4 ounces.
THE DISCOVERY OF THE VALUE OF PETROLEUM. 51
I have submitted the lamp burning Petroleum to the
inspection of the most experienced lampists who were ac-
cessible to me, and their testimony was, that the lamp
burning this fluid gave as much light as any which they
had seen, that the oil spent more economically, and the
uniformity of the light was greater than in Camphene,
burning for twelve hours without a sensible diminution,
and without smoke. I was, however, anxious to test the
amount of light given, more accurately than could be done
by a comparison of opinions. With your approbation
I proceeded therefore to have constructed a, photometer, or
apparatus for the measurement of light, upon an improved
plan. Messrs. Grunow, scientific artists of this city,
undertook to construct this apparatus, and have done so
to my entire satisfaction. This apparatus I shall describe
elsewhere its results only are interesting here. By its
means I have brought the Petroleum light into rigid com-
parison with the most important means of artificial il-
lumination. Let us briefly recapitulate the results of
these
Photometric Experiments.
The unit adopted for comparison of intensities of il-
lumination is Judd's Patent Sixes Sperm Candle.
The Sperm Oil used was from Edward Mott Robinson,
of New Bedford the best winter Sperm remaining fluid
at 32 Fah. The Colza Oil and Carcel's lamps were
furnished by Dardonville, lampist, Broadway, New York.
The Gas used was that of the New Haven Gas Light Co.,
made from best Newcastle coal, and of fair average
quality.
The distance between the standard candle, and the il-
luminator sought to be determined, was constantly 150
inches the Photometer traversed the graduated bar in
such a manner as to read, at any point where equality of
52 HISTORY OF PETROLEUM.
illumination was produced, the ratio between the two
lights. I quote only single examples of the average
results, and with as little detail as possible, but I should
state that the operation of the Photometer was so satis-
factory that we obtained constantly the same figures
when operating in the same way, evening after evening,
and the sensitiveness of the instrument was such that a
difference of one half inch in its position was immediately
detected in the comparative illumination of the two equal
discs of light in the dark chamber. This is, I believe, a
degree of accuracy not before obtained by a Photometer.
Table of illuminating power of various artificial lights
compared with Judd's patent candles as a unit.
Source of Light. Ratio to Candle. I.
Gas burning in Scotch fish-tail tips, 4 feet to the hour I 15.4
i< ^ a ..1:7 c "
" " Cornelius " " 6 " " 1:6.3
" " English Argand burner 10 " " I : 16.
Rock Oil, burning in I inch wick Camphene Lamp, consuming I 3-4
ounces of fluid to the hour 1:8 I
Carcel's Mechanical Lamp, burning best Sperm Oil, 2 ounces of fluid to
the hour, wick 7-8 of an inch. I : 7.5
Carcel's " " " " " " Colza Oil, 1:7.5
Camphene Lamp, (same size as Rock Oil above,) burning best Camphene,
4 fluid ounces per hour I : II.
" Diamond Light " by " Sylvic Oil," in I 1-2 inch wick, 4 ounces per
hour I :8.l
From this table it will be seen that the Rock Oil Lamp
was somewhat superior in illuminating power to Carcel's
Lamp of the same size, burning the most costly of all
oils. It was also equal to the a Diamond Light " from a
lamp of one half greater power, and consequently is su-
perior to it in the same ratio in lamps of equal power.
The camphene lamp appears to be about one-fifth superior
to it, but, on the other hand, the Rock Oil surpasses the
Camphene by more than one half in economy of consump-
tion, (i. e. y it does not consume one half so much fluid by
measure), and it burns more constantly. Compared with
THE DISCOVERY OF THE VALUE OP PETROLEUM. 53
the Sylvic Oil and the Sperm, the Rock Oil gave on the
ground glass diaphragm, the whitest disc of illumination,
while in turn the Camphene was whiter than the Rock
Oil light. By the use of screens of different colored glass,
all inequalities of color were compensated in the use of
the photometer, so that the intensity of light could be
more accurately compared. Compared with Gas, the
Rock Oil gave more light than any burner used except
the costly Argand consuming ten feet of gas per hour. To
compare the cost of these several fluids with each other,
we know the price of the several articles, and this varies
very much in different places. Thus, gas in New Haven
costs $4 per 1,000 feet, and in New York $3.50 per 1,000,
in Philadelphia $2.00 per 1,000 and in Boston about the
same amount.
Such Sperm Oil as was used costs $2.50 per gallon, the
Colza about $2, the Sylvic Oil 50 cents, and the Camphene
68 cents no price has been fixed upon for the rectified
Rock Oil.
I cannot refrain from expressing my satisfaction at the
results of these photometric experiments, since they have
given the Oil of your Company a much higher value as
an illuminator than I had dared to hope.
Use of the Rock Oil as a Lubricator for Machinery.
A portion of the rectified oil was sent to Boston to be
tested upon a trial apparatus there, but I regret to say
that the results have not been communicated to me yet.
As this oil does not gum or become acid or rancid by ex-
posure, it possesses in that, as well as in its wonderful re-
sistance to extreme cold, important qualities for a lubri-
cator.
Conclusion.
In conclusion, gentlemen, it appears to me that there
is much ground for encouragement in the belief that your
54 HISTORY OF PETROLEUM.
Company have in their possession a raw material from
which, by simple and not expensive process, they may
manufacture very valuable products.
It is worthy of note that my experiments prove that
nearly the whole of the raw product may be manufactured
without waste, and this solely by a well directed process
which is in practice one of the most simple of all chemi-
cal processes.
There are suggestions of a practical nature, as to the
economy of your manufacture, when you are ready to
begin operations, which I shall be happy to make, should
the company require it meanwhile, I remain, gentle-
men,
Your obedient servant,
B. SILLIMAN, JR.,
Professor of Chemistry in Yale College.
NEW HAVEN, APRIL 16, 1855.
FiARTiY AND INTEEESTING FACTS. 55
CHAPTER III.
EARLY AND INTERESTING FACTS.
WE now approach that interesting period in the his-
tory of Petroleum in America, which witnessed the
first movement toward a practical development of its
astounding resources.
The reader who has carefully scanned the report to
Mr. Bissell and others, submitted in the last chapter, will
have observed that, however it may have been with him-
self, the existence of Petroleum was not a novelty to
scientific minds.
While he will perceive with admiration, the complete-
ness and comprehensiveness with which every phase of
the subject was examined, and reflect with astonishment
upon the manner in which every mode of treatment was
foreshadowed, it cannot fail to strike the reader as re-
markable, that notwithstanding the value of this product
to our country, has been about nine hundred millions
of dollars ; notwithstanding, (thirteen years have elapsed
since the first well was sunk) and the total number of
wells since sunk to obtain it must reach twenty thousand,
its origin has not yet been absolutely determined. Indeed
very little more is known than was conjectured by the
rash pioneers, who only just failed of achieving the de-
velopment nearly a generation earlier, in the valleys of
the Ohio and Kanawha. We shall follow up the history
of that development, which has since proved to be of so
great importance to the prosperity of the country, and the
comfort and convenience of mankind.
Bearing in mind the frequent appearance of Petroleum
56 HISTORY OF PETROLEUM.
in the salt wells of the Kanawha valley in Virginia, and
along the valley of the Ohio near the mouth of the Mus-
kingum, the reader will not be surprised to hear of its
appearance in the salt wells of Tarentum, on the Al-
legany river, twenty miles above Pittsburgh, Pa. But
its appearance at this place was singular, in so far that
instead of appearing where the wells were first sunk,
many of them were successfully pumped for brine for a
long time before the manifestations of oil disturbed opera-
tions. Mr. Kier, who together with his father was a large
owner in these salt works, states that one well on the
left bank of the river, after having been pumped con-
stantly for twenty years without a show of Petroleum,
passed to new owners, who rigged it with a new engine of
greater power, and in a few days it began to yield four or
five barrels per day.
The wells on the other side of the river owned by S. M.
Kier and his father, had for years previous yielded a small
quantity of Petroleum, which being suffered to waste for
a long time, spread itself over the surface of the old canal,
and became accidentally ignited, when it came so near
causing the destruction of a large amount of property, as
well as endangering human life, that it was afterwards
poured upon the ground.
About the year 1849, Mr. Kier, Jr., conceived the
thought of putting it up in bottles and selling it as a
specific remedy for all the ills of life. He opened an es-
tablishment in Pittsburgh, where it was put up in half
pint bottles, which were wrapped in the following descrip-
tive sheet, and sold for a half dollar apiece :
KIER'S
PETROLEUM, OB ROCK OIL, CELEBRATED FOR ITS WONDERFUL CURATIVE POWERS.
A NATURAL REMEDY ! PROCURED FROM A WELL IN ALLEGANY Co., PA.,
FOUR HUNDRED FEET BELOW THE EARTH'S SURFACE. PUT UP AND SOLD BY
SAMUEL M. KIER, 363 LIBERTY STREET, PITTSBURGH, PENN'A.
EARLY AND INTERESTING FACTS. 57
The healthful balm, from Nature's secret spring,
The bloom of health and life, to man will bring ;
As from her depths the magic liquid flows,
To calm our sufferings, and assuage our woes.
THE PETEOLEUM HAS BEEN FULLY TESTED ! It was placed before the public as
a REMEDY OF WONDERFUL EFFICACY. Every one not acquainted with its virtues,
doubted its healing properties. The cry of humbug was raised against it. It had
some friends those that were cured through its wonderful agency. These spoke out
in its favor. The lame, through its instrumentality were made to walk the blind,
to see. Those who had suffered for years under the torturing pains of RHEUMATISM,
GOUT AND NEURALGIA, were restored to health and usefulness. Several who were
blind, have been made to see, the evidence of which will be placed before you. If you
still have doubts, go and ask those who have been cured ! Some of them live in our
midst, and can answer for themselves. In writing about a medicine, we are aware
that we should write TRUTH that we should make no statements that cannot be
proved. We have the witnesses : crowds of them, who will testify in terms stronger
than we can write them, to the efficacy of this remedy ; who will testify that the Pe-
troleum has done for them what no medicine ever could before : cases that were pro-
nounced hopeless, and beyond the reach of remedial means; cases abandoned by
Physicians of unquestionable celebrity, have been made to exclaim, " THIS IS THE
MOST WONDERFUL REMEDY YET DISCOVERED !" We will lay before you the cer-
tificates of some of the most remarkable cases : to give them all, would require more
space than would be allowed by this circular. Since the introduction of the Petro-
leum, many Physicians have been convinced of its efficacy, and now recommend it in
their practice ; and we have no doubt that it will stand at the head of the list of
valuable Remedies. If the Physicians do not recommend it the people will have it
of themselves ; for its transcendent power to heal WILL and MUST become known and
appreciated; when the voices of the cured speak out; when the cures themselves stand
out in bold relief, and when he who for years has suffered with the tortures and
pangs of an immedicable legion, that has been shortening his days and hastening him
" to the narrow house appointed for all the living," when he speaks out in its praise,
who will doubt it ? The Petroleum is a Natural Remedy ; it is put up as it flows
from the bosom of the earth, without anything being added to or taken from it.
It gets its ingredients from the beds of substances which it passes over in its secret
channel. They are blended together in such a form as to defy all human competition.
The Petroleum, in this respect, is like Mineral Water, whose virtues in most chronic
diseases, are acknowledged, not only by Physicians, but by the community at large.
These singular fluids flowing out of the earth, impregnated with medicinal substances
of different properties, and holding them in such complete solution as to require the
aid of Chemistry in order to detect them, bear ample proof to the fact that they are
compounded by the master hand of Nature, for the alleviation of human suffering
and disease. If Petroleum is medicine at all, it is a good one, for Nature never half
does her work; and that it is a medicine of unequalled power we have the most abun-
dant testimony. It will be used when many of the new remedies now in vogue will
have been forgotten forever. It will continue to be used and applied as a Remedy
as long as man continues to be afflicted with disease. That it will cure every disease
to which we are liable, we do not pretend ; but that it will cure a great many diseases
hitherto incurable, is a fact which is proven by the evidence in its favor. Its dis-
covery is a new era in medicine, and will inure to the health and happiness of man.
All of which was followed by about a hundred testi-
58 HISTORY OF PETROLEUM.
monials of wonderful cures of hopelessly incurable dis-
eases.
In fact, after the manner of patent medicines in our own
day, it was declared perfectly capable of doing or undoing
whatsoever anybody could wish done or undone. It was
trundled around the country by agents who traveled in
vehicles decorated in gilt, with pictures of the good Sa-
maritan ministering to a sufferer, writhing in inhuman
contortions under a palm tree.
Although the oil cost him next to nothing, as it was
obtained from his own wells which were pumped for salt,
and for a long time he could not dispose of even the whole
of the two or three barrels a day produced, yet the ex-
pense of introducing it as a medicine in this way con-
sumed the profits. As the stuff, however, possessed
considerable medicinal virtue, the demand continued to
increase until quite a valuable trade was established,
when he withdrew his agents and furnished it exclusively
through the drug stores.
This at first left quite a quantity on hand, for his sales
sensibly fell off for a while, after the agents were with-
drawn in 1852, and having previously burned the crude
oils at the wells, it occurred to him that he might utilize
this surplus if he could Only devise some way of render-
ing it less offensive, in the way of smoke and odor.
The most obvious suggestion was to distil it. This he
accomplished by fitting a caldron kettle with a cover and
a worm. The first result was a dark distillate, little
better than the crude itself; but after he learned to manage
his fires so as not to send it over too rapidly, he produced
by twice distilling, an article about the color of clear cider,
which, like all distillates, had an odor infinitely more
offensive than the crude Petroleum, and as he knew noth-
ing of treating it with acids, as is done at the present
time as indeed was extensively done very shortly after
EARLY AND INTERESTING FACTS. 59
that time with coal oil he seemed to be progressing very
slowly toward the production of an illuminator.
After some improvement on the camphene lamp, how-
ever, he perceived with joy that his distillate would
burn without smoking, provided the flame was kept low
enough and the lamp left perfectly quiet. From this rude
beginning, he went on improving both the quality of his
fluid and the adaptability of his lamp, thus manufacturing
and selling for a dollar and a half a gallon all the Petro-
leum he could not dispose of as a medicine, for burning,
till at last by the introduction of the " Virna burner" and
the treatment of his distillate with acids he had brought
the matter nearly to its present state of perfection, when
the first Petroleum well in Venango County broke his
monopoly, and put an end to the manufacture of coal oil
in the United States.
Up to the time when his first attempts to utilize Petro-
leum for a burning fluid, a very little of which had been
collected on Oil Creek by absorption in blankets, from
which it was wrung, amounting in all perhaps to a couple
of barrels per month, the principal part of which was
gathered from a spring which bubbled up in the middle
of the creek on the M'Clintock Farm, three miles above
Oil City.
Many writers have given very exaggerated accounts of
the quantity of oil exuding from these springs, and con-
vey to the reader the impression that the surface of the
creek was an unbroken sheet of Petroleum, while the
truth is, only in high water, when the freshets brought
down that which had collected in the bays, was it at all
noticeable.
The spring next in importance was near the northern
line of the county on the lands of Brewer, Watson & Co.
It was beside this spring the first artesian well was sunk
for Petroleum, and this also seems to have been the prin-
60 HISTORY OF PETROLEUM.
cipal scene of development in early times, for here are
still to be traced many pits, cribbed with roughly hewn
timbers preserved beneath the accumulation of centuries.
The first written document looking to a mechanical
development is the following between J. D. Angier, still a
resident of Titusville, and the firm of Brewer, Watson &
Co., consisting of Ebenezer Brewer and James Rynd, of
Pittsburgh, and Jonathan Watson, Rexford Pierce and
Elijah Newberry of Titusville, associated in an extensive
lumbering business on Oil Creek :
The Agreement.
"Agreed this fourth day of July, A. D. 1853, with J.
D. Angier of Cherrytree Township, in the county of
Venango, Pa., that he shall repair up and keep in order
the old oil spring on land in said Cherrytree Township,
or dig and make new springs, and the expenses to be
deducted out of the proceeds of the oil, and the balance,
if any, to be equally divided, the one half to J. D. Angier
and the other half to Brewer, Watson & Co., for the full
term of five years from this date. If profitable."
f BREWER, WATSON & Co.
\ J. D. ANGIER.
Following out the spirit of his agreement, Mr. Angier
proceeded at once to erect some slight works for collect-
ing the oil. A few rude trenches were dug, centering in
a common basin from which the water was raised by a
pump, connected with the saw mill of Brewer, Watson &
Co., into a series of broad shallow troughs, shelving off to
the ground. Where the water passed from each trough
into the next, was rigged an ingenious little skimmer ad- *
justed just under the surface of the water, so as to col-
lect the oil.
The water passing under was again agitated by the fall
EARLY AND INTERESTING FACTS. 61
which favored a further separation of the oil, which was
collected as before by the skimmer at the end of the
trough. In this manner three or four gallons a day were
collected, and even as high as six gallons, where the
ground had been recently agitated by digging, but the ex-
pense consumed the profit, and after a few months, the
experiment was suffered to drop.
Mr. Angier describes a remarkable phenomenon ob-
served in this method of obtaining Petroleum. While
digging in the gravelly clay, three or four feet beneath
the surface, the workmen frequently struck "pockets" of
oil often containing a quart.
In the summer of the year 1854, Dr. F. B. Brewer,
whose father was at the head of the firm of Brewer, Wat-
son & Co., visited relatives at Hanover, New Hampshire,
and carried a bottle of Petroleum to Professor Crosby, of
Dartmouth College, where he had graduated some ten
years before.
A few weeks later George H. Bissell, a native of the
town and a graduate of the same College, but then prac-
ticing law in New York city, while on a visit to his
mother called to spend an evening with his old tutor,
Prof. Crosby, and was shown the Petroleum, upon the
wonderful properties of which the Professor expatiated
with great enthusiasm.
Coal oil was then just being introduced in the eastern
states for illuminating and lubricating, and the similarity
of the products, naturally suggested the question why
Petroleum might not be used for the same purpose. Of
Mr. Kier's attempts in that direction, nothing was of
course known. They were upon too limited a scale to
attract attention. The only doubt was as to the supply ;
and that was of course a serious doubt.
Coal oil was selling for a dollar a gallon, and from the
glowing description, which had been given of the spring
62 HISTORY OF PETROLEUM.
by Dr. Brewer, it seemed reasonable to hope that many
thousand gallons might be collected annually.
Professor Crosby had a son, who was ready for any en-
terprise that promised a chance of making money. He
seems to have been persuaded from the first, that the oil
spring was a humbug, but he had the penetration to see
that it was a humbug of the "taking " sort ; and dilating
on the representations of Dr. Brewer, he induced Mr.
Bissell, on certain conditions to pay the expenses of a
trip to Titusville, for the purpose of inspecting the spring.
The most obvious method of handling such a piece of
property for the purpose of making money, was to throw
it into a joint-stock company.
If he brought back a favorable report of the spring,
Mr. Bissell pledged himself to organize the company and
launch the enterprise on the New York stock market.
Mr. Bissell authorized him to propose to the firm of
Brewer, Watson & Co., the formation of a joint-stock
company, with a capital stock of $250,000, divided into
ten thousand shares of twenty-five dollars each Brewer,
Watson & Co., to receive one fifth of the whole stock ;
and five thousand dollars for the tract containing the oil
spring, to be paid out of the first money realized from the
sale of treasury stock, which was also to be one fifth of
the whole. Mr. Crosby was to take one fifth, and assume
one fifth of the expense of getting up the company, while
the other two fifths were to remunerate Mr. Bissell, and
his associate in Law, Mr. Eveleth, for the trouble of or-
ganization.
To this Dr. Brewer, as the agent of Brewer, Watson &
Co., replied in the following letter, a copy of which has
been preserved and is furnished by Dr. Brewer :
GENTLEMEN,
We have received through Mr. A. H. Crosby, your
EAELY AND INTERESTING FACTS. 63
proposals to put in market in a joint-stock company, cer-
tain springs yielding a peculiar oil surpassing in value
any other oil now in use for burning, for lubricating
machinery, and as a medicinal agent.
The springs yielding this oil, are situated on Oil Creek
in Venango county, near the corner of Warren and Craw-
ford counties, and cover a large surface of territory.
The yield is abundant, and is believed to be inexhausti-
ble. We have some simple machinery constructed at an
expense of, say two hundred dollars, that yields on an
average to each spring worked three gallons per day, re-
quiring perhaps one day in a week the attention of one
man, which when estimated with regard to the percent-
age, will show as follows :
Capital invested $200, int., at 10 per cent.. ..$20
Two months of run $20 per month 40
Total. $60
The cost of raising 1.095 gallons of oil, worth here
seventy-five cents per gallon, making $821.25. Deduct-
ing expenses $60 leaves $761.25.
Now this is only one spring, and worked very imper-
fectly, but actually paying an interest on $10,000.
I make these figures as they are, and have been when-
ever the spring has been worked, and this is no fancy
thing for a stock, but an exceedingly large paying stock,
and one that with proper machinery would afford a much
larger percentage.
Now your proposition, as far as it goes, is satisfactory ;
but it does not go far enough to guarantee to us a certain
quid pro quo for what we have paying us now. And in
asking us who will represent only one fifth of the com-
pany to furnish the actual capital gratuitously, to the
other four fifths, for what we expect to realize OR one
64 HISTORY OF PETROLEUM.
fifth, is not perhaps asking too much, but it would in our
opinion be granting too much.
There are other parties in Pittsburgh who were very so-
licitous to put the thing in market a year ago by purchas-
ing our interest, but we prefer the plan you suggest if you
will warrant us a certain amount for our premises ; and
we will propose as follows : Pay to Brewer, Watson & Co.
$5,000, to be reimbursed to the stock company from the
first sale of stock, or as you may deem proper in any way,
and we will assign or deed to the company, the right to go
on and erect such machinery as the company may think
proper, to procure oil on a certain one hundred acres of
land known here aS the Willard Farm, and embracing
most of the oil territory as yet discovered, and further, all
springs on our other lands adjoining, not interfering with
our lumbering and farming interests.
This will give us an equivalent, or partially so, for what
we furnish the company ; and we wish the company to pay
from the sale of stock its current expenses, whatever they
may be, and by sale of stock to provide for a dividend, if
thought best such stock to have preference over all other
except for the reimbursement of the purchase money.
The other stock should be sold as you propose. These, gen-
tlemen, are our views, hastily thrown together. If the
general outlines meet your favor the minutia can be ar-
ranged with you in New York."
After spending a few weeks with Dr. Brewer, Mr. Crosby
hurried back to Hanover to report, but finding that Mr.
Bissell had returned to New York he forwarded the letter,
of which the above is a copy, to Mr. Eveleth, who was in
Maine, and apparently not comprehending its terms he
hastened after Mr. Bissell, and reported his proposition ac-
cepted. Mr. Bissell announced himself satisfied, and at
once began the preliminary arrangement for organizing the
EARLY AND INTERESTING FACTS. 65
company. In a gush of innocent satisfaction with the
success of his negotiations Mr. Crosby telegraphed to Dr.
Brewer that his proposition was accepted. He returned
again to New Hampshire, and a few days later he wrote
the following :
HANOVER, N. H., September 11, 1854.
MY DEAR DOCTOR,
I intended to have written you again before leaving the
city, but as I was very busy, and as the main question
was settled by my telegram of the Monday previous, I
concluded to wait until my return home.
I cannot now tell you exactly when we shall be ready to
meet you in New York, but will write next Monday again,
and shall then be able to tell you when you had better
start.
The oil I suppose you can take with you to Erie, and
ship it so that it will be in New York nearly as soon as
you are, and that will be in sufficient season to offer it for
exhibition, as we shall then have circulars, stock-books,
and everything else ready to issue to a gullible public."
But this gulling of the public, is not an enterprise of
unmitigated interest with men who have everything to
gain, and Eveleth & Bissell having considerable to lose,
objected to this scheme in so far that ten days later this
embryo broker, curbing his wild ambition to surge into
the stock exchange, and get up a panic with his " fancy,"
writes Dr. Brewer to the effect that after a " long talk "
with Eveleth and Bissell it was decided to " put the thing
through by daylight."
Thus vanished his bright dream of oil spring " fancy"
at a premium of five hundred per cent., and his enthusi-
asm thenceforward continued to wane.
Shortly afterward, l)r. Brewer, empowered as the attor-
5
66 HISTOKY OF PETROLEUM.
ney of the lumbering firm, visited New York city to ratify
the terms of sale and contract, but the letter which Crosby
had forwarded to Mr. Eveleth having been lost in the
mails, the result was a general misunderstanding.
Eveleth & Bissell suspecting that Crosby had intention-
ally deceived them which was surely not the case now
refused to credit his statements as to the value of the
springs, dismissed Dr. Brewer, and peremptorily dropped
the whole matter. But they had already incurred obli-
gations to the extent of several hundred dollars for seals,
certificates of stock, stock books, etc. On the eve of his
departure for Titus ville, they sent a line to his hotel, say-
ing they would reconsider the matter, and inviting him
to call. He did so, and an arrangement was effected on
substantially the same basis as before proposed; but
Crosby, who was unable to meet his portion of the
expenses, was left entirely out of the bargain. The agree-
ment to sell ratified, for their better information, it was
decided that one of them should visit the locality at once,
and examine the spring, and bring away a draft from
which a map could be made.
The oil which had been sent on to Mr. Bissell was dis-
tributed for examination among several prominent chem-
ists, and a week or two later he wrote the following letter,
which may convey some idea of what it cost, both in time
and money, to bring about the organization of the com-
pany and to procure the analysis of the Petroleum, which
must be regarded as the most important step in all these
negotiations, if we accept only the birth of the great fact
which made development possible. Messrs. Eveleth &
Bissell were young men, and though possessed of consi-
derable means, did not rank among the "heavy" of New
York, and the whole expense of the organization and the
analysis was advanced by them in one of the most strin-
gent seasons that has ever marked the financial history
EARLY AND INTERESTING FACTS. 67
of our country. It was done, too, at a sacrifice of personal
convenience, which could only have been prompted by an
earnest faith in the ultimate success of their enterprise
but the letter:
NEW YORK, Nov. 6, 1854.
F. B. BREWER, ESQ. :
Dear Sir: We have had to encounter many obsta-
cles in the way of organizing our joint-stock company,
and shall be unable to get out our papers at the time ori-
ginally proposed.
Mr. Eveleth will go on at the earliest possible period,
and will then be prepared to arrange everything to our
mutual satisfaction. I do not think, however, that it will
be possible for Mr. Eveleth to arrive in Titusville before
the 18th or 20th inst.
We have obtained our stock-books, certificates of stock,
signs, &c., &c., and have done everything to insure success
when we fairly get under way. We have forwarded seve-
ral gallons of the oil to Mr. Atwood of Boston, an eminent
chemist, and his report of the qualities of the oil and the
uses to which it may be applied are very favorable. Pro-
fessor Silliman of Yale College is giving it a thorough
analysis, and he informs us that so far as he has yet tested
it, he is of opinion that it contains a large proportion of
benzole and naphtha, and that it will be found more valu-
able for purposes of application to the arts than as a me-
dicinal, burning or lubricating fluid.
Our* expense of a thorough analysis will be very heavy;
but we think the money will be well spent. We send
you a proof-sheet of our certificate of stock. The book
will be printed of course on bank-note paper.
Let us hear from you at your earliest convenience, and
believe us, Very truly yours,
EVELETH & BISSELL.
68 HISTORY OF PETROLEUM.
The whole cost of the analysis, including the photome-
trical comparison, for which a new and improved instru-
ment was especially provided, was between eleven and
twelve hundred dollars, every cent of which was advanced
by these young men.
The above letter is the first that bears the seal of The
Pennsylvania Eock Oil Company; but as the company
came not into legal existence till nearly two months later,
it was probably applied in obedience to a whim, or per-
haps to give their correspondent an idea of its impression.
KEAL ESTATE TRANSACTIONS ON OIL CREEK. 69
CHAPTER IV.
REAL ESTATE TRANSACTIONS ON OIL CREEK.
rPHE first deed from Brewer, Watson & Co., bears date
four days later, and conveyed in fee simple to George H.
Bissell and Jonathan G. Eveleth, of New York city, one
hundred and five acres of land in Cherrytree Township,
Venango county, Pennsylvania, embracing the island at
the junction of Pine Creek and Oil Creek, on which a
part of the works of the lumbering firm were situated. It
was on this island that Mr. Angier's trenches were dug,
and the first artesian well bored for Petroleum five years
afterwards. The consideration for the property mentioned
in the deed was twenty-five thousand dollars, though the
real consideration was but five thousand. It was thought
that if the consideration should appear to be such an in-
significant fraction of the capital stock it would be more
difficult to dispose of the shares, and therefore, as is
usually done in the formation of joint stock companies,
the land was put in at a figure far above its cost. The
deed, though dated on the 10th of November, was not
formally executed till the first of January following, for
the reason that Messrs. Eveleth and Bissell had opened
negotiations with a party of gentlemen in New Haven,
under whose notice the matter had been brought by Prof.
Silliman, who evinced an inclination to subscribe for a
large portion of the stock, and in case they did, it was
proposed to place one or more of their number on the
board of directors, and have the property conveyed
directly from Brewer, Watson and Co., to The Pennsyl-
vania Rock Oil Company. But this failing, Eveleth and
Bissell gave their joint and several notes for the purchase
70 HISTOEY OP PETROLEUM.
money, save five hundred dollars paid in cash, and on the
first day of January the deed was executed by the mem-
bers of the firm living in Titusville, and four days after-
wards by the remaining members in Pittsburgh. It was
asserted in a paper on this subject which appeared in the
Atlantic Monthly y for 1869, that Dr. Brewer never received
pay for his land, which is quite untrue ; for though Dr.
Brewer never had anything to do with the land except in
the capacity of agent for his father and the other mem-
bers of the firm, the notes he received were certainly
paid for; they were all found cancelled, and with pay-
ment indorsed, among papers submitted by Mr. Bissell.
This may seem a matter of trifling interest in the history
of the vast industry born of these transactions, but as
well as being a piece of personal injustice, it is a palpable
absurdity, for Mr. Bissell afterwards acquired, and per-
haps still retains, an immense amount of property in the
county, that would have been liable for those debts.
On the 30th of December, 1854, the folio wing certificate
of incorporation was filed, as by law required, with the
Recorder of the city of New York, and also at Albany
with the Secretary of State :
( " Certificate of Incorporation of the
\ Pennsylvania Rock Oil Company.
f STATE OF NEW YORK,
( CITY AND COUNTY OF NEW YORK, ss.
Be it known that we, the undersigned, do hereby
associate ourselves as a body politic and corporate, pur-
suant to the N. Y. Revised Statutes, 4th edition, vol. 1st,
Chap. 18th, Art. 2d, and also Laws of New York, 1853,
chap. 333, in relation to the formation and management,
powers and responsibilities of corporations.
And the following are the articles of our agreement
and association :
REAL ESTATE TRANSACTIONS ON OIL CREEK. 71
AKT. 1. The na,me of the corporation sJiall be the Penn-
sylvania Rock Oil Company.
ART. 2. The objects for which said Company is formed,
are to raise, procure, manufacture and sell Rock Oil.
ART. 3. The capital stock of the said Company shall be
two hundred and fifty thousand dollars, and shall be
divided into ten thousand shares of twenty-five dollars
each.
ART. 4. The business of said Company shall Commence
on the 1st day of January, 1855, and continue fifty years,
ART. 5. The business of said Company shall be under
the management of seven trustees, and the board of trus-
tees for the first year shall consist of the following persons,
viz :
George H. Bissell, of New York; J. G. Eveleth, of New
York ; Franklin Reed, of New York ; Francis B. Brewer,
of Titusville, Pennsylvania ; Anson Sheldon, of New Ha-
ven, Connecticut ; James H. Salisbury, of New York ; and
Dexter A. Hawkins, of New York.
ART. 6. The principal place of business shall be in the
city and county and State of New York.
In witness whereof we have hereunto set our hands and
affixed our seals, this thirtieth day of December, Anno
Domini, one thousand eight hundred and fifty-four.'*
Here follow the signatures of the above-mentioned seven
trustees, of whom, all but Dr. "Brewer, who represented the
stock of Brewer, Watson & Co., were mere lay-figures, oc-
cupying positions it was necessary for appearance' sake,
that some one should fill. Not more than one of them at
most, represented stock held in his own right, stock for
which he had paid.
On the 16th of January 1855, Eveleth Bissell conveyed
to the Trustees*of The Pennsylvania Rock Oil Company
all their right and title to the lands, but the deed fortu-
nately was not recorded, and the estate continued ostensi-
72 HISTORY OF PETROLEUM.
bly in them till* the following autumn, when it was con-
veyed to other parties for the benefit of the new Pennsyl-
vania Rock. Oil Company.
After the organization of the Company in January, an
effort was made to get the stock taken at some price, but the
great stringency in the money market, not less than the un-
usual character of the enterprise, placed the stock in the
ever dangerous category of " fancies," and prevented its
being taken to any great extent in the city of New York.
Yet every effort was made ; and even Crosby, then en-
gaged as a reporter on one of the newspapers of the city,
became again an agent in the enterprise. He received a
few shares in acknowledgment of former services, and a
few more to engage some influence he was supposed to pos-
sess by having at all times the ear of the public ; but no
sooner had he got his couple of hundred shares transferred
to his own name on the books of the Company, than, fig-
uratively speaking, he dropped the ear of the public
which had never been a profitable ear to him and gave
his exclusive attention to the disposal of his own stock.
Selling stock may be pleasant enough when one has
stocks that sell, but unfortunately for his hopes, Mr.
Crosby's were not of that sort.
With him, as with others, the times were hard in fact,
as is usually the case with such jovial characters, the
times were especially hard in- his case. He was desperate,
but his desperation instead of quickening his wits seemed
rather to cloud them; and Dr. Brewer, who frequently
passed back and forth from Titusville to New York, and
who was cognizant of most of their transactions and diffi-
culties, relates how one day it happened to be a day when
the desperation of Mr. Crosby's prospects had sunk his
mercurial temperament to the very lowest notch he
chanced to learn that Messrs. Eveleth and Bissell were
about concluding a sale of several hundred shares of stock
REAL ESTATE TRANSACTIONS ON OIL CREEK. 73
to a Connecticut gentleman at two dollars and-a-half per
share; and regarding the knowledge in the light of a
special providence a plank that would save him from
being engulfed in a sea -of troubles he reached out and
grasped it ; in other words he sought an interview with
their client, and offered him the remnant of his own stock
at fifty cents per share. The result was what any one
might have foreseen what Mr. Crosby himself could not
have failed to foresee, only that he was blinded by despera-
tion the man knowing neither of the parties and suspect-
ing a swindle, refused to take the stock from either, and
peremptorily dropped the transaction.
The consternation of Messrs. Eveleth and Bissell, who
had now expended seven or eight thousand dollars,
without receiving a cent, and had calculated on this sale
to help them out with their own obligations when they
learned of the failure of the transaction, and the aggra-
vating circumstances by which that failure was brought
about, may possibly be imagined but cannot be described.
But as it was useless to offer stock for sale, while Mr.
Crosby had any to sell, they found it expedient to buy for
themselves, the little remnant of stock he found it im-
possible to sell to any one else, and he readily parted
with it for such a meagre sum, as enabled him to reach the
paternal roof at Hanover ! And thus forever subsided,
that luminary to whom it pleased the writer of the paper
in the Atlantic, to gushingly ascribe the development of
Petroleum !
The enterprise continued to hang fire. True it is, that
neither of the partners was able to give his exclusive at-
tention to its management. Their legal business claimed
their attention, and so far there was nothing in prospect
for the stock company, to encourage the thought of giving
up a thrifty legal business, to assume the more active
management thereof. But they engaged the services of
74 HISTORY OF PETROLEUM.
Mr. Sheldon, a superannuated minister from Connecticut,
and kept him to fan the little flame of interest, mani-
fested by a circle of gentlemen in New Haven, who
eagerly watched the progress of Professor Silliman's
analysis. To say that he was not earnest in his work,
would be doing him injustice. He was enthusiastic. He
bought several hundred shares himself, for which he gave
a note that he had about as reasonable a hope of paying,
as the immortal Micawber, when he negotiated his paper
at the Canterbury Inn, and then, poor man, he became
not only an enthusiast but a fanatic.
Some two thousand shares were transferred to him to
sell, and the lowest price fixed. Dreaming the same fond
dreams of sudden riches that have ever been the fatality
of oil stocks, he fell frantically to work. The following
letter from him will throw some light on the way they
were obliged to dicker in the disposal of the stock :
NEW HAVEN, April llth, 1855.
My Dear Sir,
Professor Silliman has not yet completed his pho-
tometrical examination of the Rock oil, in comparison
with other burning fluids ; but will probably wind up his
analysis in all, this week.
The experiments last evening were favorable, and are
to be renewed again this evening, and continued until
the work is done.
The oil will not work well in the Carrol Mechanical
Lamp, but burns finely in the camphene lamps, and will
be tested in those now in general use. The value of the
oil depends mostly on its properties as a burning fluid.
In this respect the analysis, in its results, has been
highly satisfactory. Several gentlemen here have signi-
fied a desire to take some of the oil stocks, and pay for
the same in town lots, but I have not as yet been able to
REAL ESTATE TRANSACTIONS ON OIL CREEK. 75
satisfy my own mind as to their value and hence have
not closed any negotiations.
This difficulty in disposing of stock was not occasioned
more by the complete prostration of the money market
than by the laws of the State of New York, which bore
heavily on such enterprises by rendering the shareholder
in a joint-stock company liable for its debts to the extent
of the par value of the stock he owned.
During the preceding year such enormous frauds had
been perpetrated by taking advantage of this law, that it
was even difficult to give away stocks of just as good cha-
racter as theirs. It was not considered the safest invest-
ment in the world for a man having no means of knowing
the financial condition of a company, except by tedious
investigations, which it was not possible for every one to
make, to take shares at two dollars whose par value was
twenty-five, when, for aught they knew, they might be
called upon any day by decree of court to pay the whole
twenty-five to the company's creditors.
With the opening of Spring, however, the partners took
the matter more actively in hand. About the middle of
April, Professor Silliman's report was handed in, and after
being printed, was distributed wherever it was desired to
obtain notice for the enterprise. On the llth of May,
writing from New Haven, their agent says:
" Silliman's report is now generally in the hands of the
monied men of this place, and the impression it has crea-
ted is decidedly favorable to the P. R. 0. Company. But
with the present state of feeling existing here in reference
to joint-stock companies formed under the laws of the
State of New York, and doing their business in the City
of New York, I do not think that any great amount of
stock will be taken by capitalists in this city.
The history of the New York and New Haven Railroad,
and also the Western Empire Company, is still remem-
76 HISTORY OF PETROLEUM.
bered with sorrow. Many had been ruined by the frauds
committed by these companies, so that by them many
others had sustained losses."
Under the circumstances, it is not at all strange that
monied men should be cautious.
Some of the most prominent business men here have
signified a desire to take stock in the Company, provided
it be reorganized under the laws of Connecticut, and New
Haven made the place of its business operations. In this
state the property of the stockholder is not liable for the
debts of the Company." * * * *
From the above we may obtain a view of the situation
and the difficulties that trammeled them. To begin with,
they were not rich; and the cost of the land, and the
expense of the analysis including the photometrical
comparison about twelve hundred dollars together with
all the innumerable smaller expenses of organization, had
absorbed the greater part of their available means. The
previous Fall they had employed Mr. Angier to take
charge of the spring, and run the rude machinery for
pumping which he had himself invented and erected, and
now when the spring opened, he was engaged to resume
operations, while they hastened to do that which they
saw must plainly be done before they could succeed to
organize a new company under the laws of Connecticut.
This accomplished, a number of men promised to subscribe
liberally for the stock.
Therefore a new company was formed in New Haven
with a nominal capital of three hundred thousand dollars,
and preparations made to take the property of the old com-
pany at twenty-four thousand dollars, and raise by imme-
diate assessment a sufficient sum to undertake the devel-
opment of the property by trenching on a large scale.
The deed to the first company had never been recorded,
and it was thought the simplest course, to call in all the
THE PENNSYLVANIA HOCK OIL COMPANY. 77
stock on every matter, since they owned the most of it
themselves, and the rest was held principally by their
agent, who, poor man, rejoiced at the thought of cancelling
his obligations by returning it and thus after extin-
guishing the former corporation, make the deed directly
to the new company.
When everything was ready for the transfer, Mr. Bis-
sell had occasion to visit Titusville, where he was de-
tained over Sunday.
A drizzling rain prevented his walking out. While
lounging in the parlor of the once miserable little inn of
the hamlet, he chanced to pick up a copy of the Penn-
sylvania Statutes, used by the Justice of the Peace, who
held court in the room, and therein, to his amazement, he
saw re-enacted the old English statutes of mortmain, de-
vised and enacted three hundred years before, to check
the absorption of the landed property of the realm, by
ecclesiastical institutions too easily manipulated by the
encroaching power at Rome.
The statutes there framed for a wise and beneficent
purpose were here perverted so as to render forfeit to the
state of Pennsylvania, the lands of any corporation or-
ganized beyond its borders!
He hastened at once to apprise the new company of
this fortunate discovery, and on the 20th of September,
1855, executed a deed to Asahel Pierpont and William A.
Ives, of New Haven, who gave a bond for the value of
the property and promptly leased it for ninety-nine years,
to the new company legally formed two days before, by
the publication of the following articles of association :
ARTICLES OF ASSOCIATION
OF THE PENNSYLVANIA ROCK OIL COMPANY.
Be it known that we the subscribers, do hereby asso-
ciate ourselves as a body politic, and corporate, pursuant
78 HISTORY OF PETROLEUM.
to the provisions of Title 3d, Chapter 14th, of the Statute
laws of the state of Connecticut, entitled " Of Joint-stock
Corporations," and the act in addition thereto, and in al-
teration thereof, and the following are the articles of our
agreement and association.
ART. 1. The name of the corporation shall be the
Pennsylvania Rock Oil Company.
ART. 2. The capital stock of said corporation, shall
be three hundred thousand dollars, and the said capital
stock shall be divided into twelve thousand shares of
twenty-five dollars each.
ART. 3. The purposes for which the said corporation
is established, are the following, viz : to raise, procure,
manufacture and sell Rock Oil, coal, paints, salt or any
mineral or natural productions which may be found in
any springs or mines, or on any lands that may come
into the possession of said company by deed or lease,
and generally to perform all acts and transact any busi-
ness incidental to or that may be necessary in the prose-
cution of said business.
ART. 4. The statute aforesaid entitled "Of joint-
stock companies," is hereby particularly referred to, and
made part of these articles : and the corporation hereby
established, and organized under and pursuant to the
said statute shall have the powers, and shall proceed ac-
cording to the regulations described, and specified in said
statute.
ART. 5. Each subscriber to these articles, agrees to
take the number of shares annexed to his name of the
capital stock of said corporation, each share to be twenty-
five dollars as aforesaid.
ART. 6. The said corporation is established and located
in the city of New Haven, county of New Haven and
state of Connecticut.
THE PENNSYLVANIA KOCK OIL COMPANY. 79
SUBSCRIBERS' NAMES. No . of Shares<
George H. Bissell , 2OO
J- G. Eveleth .....!.'..'."!!! 1200
Asahel Pierpont Iooo
Prof. B. Silliman, Jr ...I.!...!!".! 200
Henry L. Pierpont 2OO
James M. Townsend COQ
John Hannah je o
Ebenezer Brewer Ioo
William A. Ives 1000
Brewer, Watson & Co 1200
Edwin B. Bowditch 500
Eveleth& Bissell 4690
12,000
By order of the Board of Directors.
New Haven, September 1 8, 1855.
It will thus be seen that Eveleth and Bissell retained a
controlling interest in the affairs of the new company.
There were, indeed, in the published articles of association,
a number of other names on the list, among them Shel-
don's ; but they never took their stock, and it was retained
by the partners. The consideration for the land was
$24,000, and though retaining so much of the stock them-
selves they had now about received the amount of their
expenditure, and felt inclined to hold it and wait the re-
sult of further development of the property.
A small fund was raised for the treasury, and Mr. Pier-
pont, an eminent mechanic, was sent out tp examine the
spring with a view to. the improvement of Mr. Angier's
machinery. It was, however, though rude, perfectly
adapted to that mode of development, and no other had
been yet thought of.
Mr. Pierpont would have resumed more extensive ope-
rations, but the inharmony that forever afterwards charac-
terized the management of this company had already be-
gun to manifest itself, and it was found impossible to raise '
more money for the treasury.
While Mr. Bissell and his partner held a majority of the
80 HISTORY OF PETROLEUM.
shares they were crippled by the by-laws to which they
had subscribed, and which provided that a majority of the
board of directors should be chosen from the New Haven
stock-holders. The one thousand shares that Mr. Ives had
taken were paid for in local securities that were 'after-
wards proven to be worthless at the time, and out of the
vituperative charges that followed this discovery, sprang
the spirit of dissension that always thereafter divided their
counsels and circumscribed their usefulness.
In a letter to Mr. Bissell in October, Dr. Brewer, speak-
ing of a new trench, says: "Mr. Angier took six gallons
from it, though it had been gathered the day before," and
in a postscript to the same letter he adds, " As I have no
interest in the matter only the wish to see it go on to per-
fection, of course I can have no object in magnifying its
resources,, but from fifty to one hundred gallons per day
may be had by the judicious expenditure of five hundred
dollars." But the five hundred dollars were not forth-
coming. Even Mr. Angier's services were dispensed with.
COMMENCEMENT OF DEVELOPMENTS ON OIL. CKEEK. 81
CHAPTER V.
COMMENCEMENT OF DEVELOPMENTS ON OIL CREEK.
ORE-OCCUPIED by a course of specious reasoning, it is
-- wonderful how completely the human mind may ignore
the inductive logic of facts. It is a lamentable, and ap-
parently, an incurable frailty which more than all other
human infirmities, retards the progress of knowledge.
It is the fault of an ancient system of speculative phi-
losophy which accepted the plausible as conclusive
which, taking anything for granted, rejected that as ex-
ceptional to the law which could not be warped to the
support of its theory a philosophy which, while it
encouraged reflection, forbade experiment, and thus left
much uncertain, that might have been rendered positive
by the simple turning over of a chip a philosophy which
received its death blow from Bacon, the experimentalist,
and Franklin, his follower. But enough of its dreamy
essence still lingers to tone the wild, progressive spirit
of the age.
Without bringing into question here the plausibility or
correctness of that theory which referred the origin of
Petroleum to coal, can we help but express our wonder at
the perversity of those minds, which, preoccupied with
such a conclusion, steadfastly overlooked the fact, that in
every important case to which they could refer, it had
been found very far beneath the coal measures?
While clinging to and reiterating a theory that was
perfectly indisputable, namely : that the oil was forced
to the surface by the expansibility of the gas with which
it is invariably accompanied, they overlooked the fact
82 HISTORY OF PETROLEUM.
that the same gas should have prevented its ever settling
to such a depth should have forced it to the surface
when it was first expressed from the carboniferous stra-
tum instead of forcing it downward through impervious
underlayers.
With infinitesimal modifications the " coal theory " is
the one that has mostly obtained none are without some
insuperable objections ; and, considering the organic
nature of the fluid, it is in many respects exceedingly
plausible.
But the day may come when Geology will discover or
invent a "period of Petroleum plants," which, after
revising her nomenclature a little, she can fix somewhere
anterior to the " period of coal plants," and simplify the
theories of the origin of Petroleum, which are now too
numerous and ponderous to be mentioned.
Although a perusal of the report of the State Survey
would have shown them that the last traces of the coal
fields of Northwestern Pennsylvania faded out in a thin
stratum at the tops of the highest hills a few miles
farther down the creek, and that, geologically speaking,
they were a great many feet below the coal measures,
still the inhabitants of an insulated hamlet like Titus ville,
numbering less than three hundred souls, and offering
no facilities for extended investigations, were quite ex-
cusable for clinging to the supposition that the hills which
rose abruptly on either side of the little island on which
their famous oil spring was located, were filled with a
highly bituminous coal from which the Petroleum slowly
leaked into the valley of the Creek, and coming in contact
with water, was forced by specific gravity to the surface.
In the light of present events, this may seem sufficiently
absurd, but it was not without an appearance of great
plausibility to even reflecting minds in that day.
But a new day was dawning a day which witnessed
COMMENCEMENT OF DEVELOPMENTS ON OIL CHEEK. 83
the birth of an idea that gave a new direction to human
thought, and developed an industry which will forever
mark an era in the progress of the world.
It was the idea of obtaining Petroleum by means of
artesian wells. It was a simple thought, but significant
a thought which, as Professor Silliman remarked, was
the one of all others most naturally suggested by the
various phenomena that had attended the discoveries of
Petroleum in the salines of the Muskingum and Kanawha,
described in a former chapter of this work the first idea
that should have been suggested to a mind cognizant of
all these circumstances; and yet, though himself editor-in-
chief of the periodical in which the circumstances were
described, he very candidly confessed, that throughout
the five months he was prosecuting the analysis, the
thought of artesian boring, never once occurred to him.
And yet of all in any way connected with these first
transactions, he was the only one of whom we had a per-
fectly reasonable right to expect such an idea; but Profes-
sor Silliman's interest in the matter terminated with the
conclusion of his elaborate analysis, for though he perfectly
comprehended its value, he never expected to see it
obtained in any great quantity, and the two hundred
shares of stock he held were given him in order to make
him president of the company, and thus secure the pres-
tige of a name renowned in science.
The idea came from, another quarter, and was suggested
by an incident as trifling as that which disclosed the law
of gravitation. While seeking shelter beneath the awning
of a Broadway drug-store, one scorching day in the sum-
mer of 1856, Mr. Bissell's eye fell upon a remarkable
show-bill lying beside a bottle of Kier's Petroleum in the
window. (See copy of this label on opposite page).
His attention was arrested by the singularity of display-
ing a four-hundred-dollar bank-note in such a place; but a
84 HISTOEY OF PETROLEUM.
closer look disclosed to him the fact that it was only an
advertisement of a substance in which he was deeply
interested. He stepped in and requested permission to
examine it. The druggist took it from the window, and
having plenty of them, told him to keep it. For a mo-
ment he scanned it, scrutinizing the derricks and remark-
ing the depth from which the oil was drawn, till instantly,
like an inspiration it flashed upon him, that this was the
way their lands must be developed -by artesian wells. It
seems a very simple thought, but how astounding have been
its results. It has added more than a thousand million
of dollars to the material wealth of our country, and its
history is only just begun. Already it makes, after wheat
and cotton, our most valuable commodity of export, and
throughout the world, must furnish the means of subsis-
tence to more than half a million of people. Its influences
upon civilization are incalculable. Yet all this by the
birth of a new idea. Thus, step by step the world im-
proves, moving on toward knowledge.
The idea was simple at first it may almost seem to
have been self-evident, but reflect that the mind which
grasped it must also have taken in a better conception of
the philosophy of the existence of Petroleum than had any
other mind before.
It is not unlikely that the mind of this man may have
been prepared for the reception of such an idea, by long
reflection. It is quite likely that Newton had seen many
an apple fall before the one that gave him an idea, and it
is just as unlikely that he would have ever drawn the
conclusion from the incident if the necessity of the law of
gravitation had not previously occurred to his mind.
When Mr. Bissell disclosed his theory to his partner
that gentleman embraced it with enthusiasm, and they
promptly canvassed the practicability of putting it to the
test.
COMMENCEMENT OF DEVELOPMENTS ON OIL CREEK. 85
Their first notion was to attempt the experiment them-
selves, but even if they could induce the company to help
them in their scheme they reflected that such a step would
necessitate the loss of their legal business, and even if it
should prove successful, which was all an uncertainty,
they never dreamed of flowing wells that would make
them millionaires in a day.
In this dilemma they imparted their convictions to Mr.
Havens, of the firm of Ly man & Havens real estate brokers
on Wall street, N. Y. a man who had been largely iden-
tified with the construction of the first railroads in West-
ern Pennsylvania, and he was so favorably impressed with
the theory that he signified a desire to take part in the
enterprise himself, and after a few days reflection, offered
them five hundred dollars to secure him a lease of the
property from The Pennsylvania Rock Oil Company.
But that was a company very much inclined to thwart
any plan proposed by the New York stock-holders, and
though several of the New Haven parties, prominent
among whom was Mr. Pierpont, readily accepted the new
idea, they having faith if the expression may be pardoned
and though after much delay the lease was finally
granted, it was not till Mr. Havens had been overwhelmed
in financial embarrassments which prevented his going
on with the contract.
By the terms of the contract he was to pay the Com-
pany twelve cents per gallon for all oil raised for fifteen
years, and a year was given him to begin operations.
When Eveleth and Bissell conveyed their title to The
Pennsylvania Rock Oil Company, they reserved to the
lumbering firm, the use of the mill race and the right of
way over the property, in consideration for which the Oil
Company received a lease to take "oil, salt, or paint" from
all other lands of the firm in Venango county for a term
of ninety-nine years.
86 HISTORY OF PETROLEUM.
But the wives of the members of the firm had not joined
in the power of attorney by which the agent conveyed the
lease, and would be entitled to dower in the event of the
death of .their husbands.
The idea of artesian boring was too fascinating to be for-
gotten. It grew reasonable, upon reflection. It was sus-
tained by all the phenomena of Petroleum. It was
encouraged by every written account. It grew into such
favor with the New Haven stockholders that they formed
a scheme to monopolize its value.
Before the year allowed for Havens to begin operations
had nearly expired, Mr. Townsend, then President of the
Company, in lieu of Professor Silliman resigned, em-
ployed Mr. E. L. Drake, whom, in the darker days of its
prospects he had cajoled into purchasing two hundred dol-
lars' worth of his own stock for the ostensible purpose of
going to Titusville, to rectify the oversight mentioned in
the lease, though the real object was not less to have him
inspect the locality with a view to what followed, while it
might be done at the expense of the Company.
That this was their plan of operation, will be perfectly
plain to any one who follows the progress of the cunning
development of their scheme.
First, and foremost the legal hitch might just as easily
have been fixed up, by sending the documents by mail ;
for it was merely an oversight, and the women had no
objections to signing. Then Mr. Drake, though an in-
telligent gentleman, was the last one to choose for the per-
formance of legal business, as no occupation of his life
had prepared him for such duty ; besides in order to give
a pompous turn to the transaction in the eyes of the
backwoodsmen, the legal documents, together with several
letters were mailed to "Colonel E. L. Drake, care of Brewer,
Watson & Co.," before ever the man left New Haven.
The title was the pure invention of Mr. Townsend,
COMMENCEMENT OF DEVELOPMENTS ON OIL CREEK. 87
who generously acknowledges his plus fraudum, and in
the oil region and elsewhere, he has ever since been
known as Colonel Drake. On his way to Titusville,
he stopped to examine the salt borings at % Syracuse,
New York, and about the middle of December, 1857,
was trundled into the little village of lumbermen, on
the wagon that brought the mail from Erie, Pennsyl-
vania. Prepared as they had been for his coming, he
was received with ostentatious hospitality.
Finishing that part of the legal business, which could
be accomplished in Titusville, he spent a few days ex-
amining the various indications of oil on the lands, and
then proceeded to Pittsburgh, to add the signatures of Mrs.
Brewer and Mrs. Rynd, to the instrument of conveyance,
and after visiting the wells at Tarentum, the picture of
which on Mr. Kier's advertisement had suggested the
idea of boring for oil, he hurried back to New Haven, en-
thusiastic to conclude the scheme. On the 30th of De-
cember, the three New Haven directors, constituting a
majority, executed a lease to Edwin E.Bowditch and E. L.
Drake, by the terms of which, they were to pay the
Pennsylvania Eock Oil Company, only Jive and a half
cents a gallon royalty for the oil raised for fifteen years.
At the annual meeting of the directors, eight days
later, this lease was brought up, and notwithstanding
the protest of the two other directors, George H. Bis-
sell and Jonathan Watson, representing a trifle over
two-thirds of the whole stock, it was ostentatiously
ratified. The thing however was so palpably unjust
that Mr. Bissell and Mr. Watson withdrew, protesting,
from the council. Perceiving that they had overdone the
matter, and might possibly lose all if they persisted, they
at once changed the consideration to one-eighth, in kind,
of all the "oil, salt or paint" .produced, and determined
to defy every protest against this. The deed was at once
88 HISTORY OF PETROLEUM.
sent to Franklin and recorded. But refusing to concur
in terms more favorable than those granted in Havens'
lease, Mr. Bissell threatened to restrain despoliation of
the property by injunction, if they attempted operations.
Their position was quite untenable. They knew it, and
rather than undergo the scrutiny of a legal investigation,
and being determined not to let the prize slip from their
fingers, they yielded. A supplemental lease was recorded,
making the terms the same as in Havens' lease, but ex-
tending the time to forty-five years. To this Bissell and
Watson cheerfully agreed.
On the 23d of March they formed themselves into an
association under the title of "The Seneca Oil Company."
They had the grace to shun publicity, and the publication of
the articles of association, required by law, was effected in
an obscure little weekly, published in one of the villages
of New Haven county.
The basis of their association was the lease. Mr.
Drake appeared as the principal stockholder; but no
stock was ever issued.
It was in effect only a partnership, the members of
which sought protection against each other under the
laws for joint-stock companies. From the little influence
he possessed in the management of their affairs, it is evi-
dent that Drake could have furnished but little of the
capital. He was not in a situation to do so. For eight
or ten years previous he had been a conductor on the New
York and New Haven railroad, at a salary of seventy-five
dollars per month, and the little he had been able to save
from such a pittance, had been swept away by an unlucky
investment the year before.
He was engaged at a thousand dollars a year, and
about May, 1, 1858, arrived in Titusville with his family.
He had been provided by the company with a fund of
a thousand dollars on which to begin operations.
COMMENCEMENT OF DEVELOPMENTS ON OIL CEEEK. 89
His first step after getting settled was to start up the
old works abandoned by The Pennsylvania Rock Oil Com-
pany, and then he cast about for a practical artesian
driller to sink a well.
On the 2d of July, 1858, he writes :
" Here I am digging along yet in search of oil and
other valuables. The month of May was a hard one,
and the first eleven days of June, but since then we have
had dry weather, so that I have got the start of the water,
and am now gathering about ten gallons of oil per day r
at the same time sinking a well for the purpose of taking
what oil there is on the island.
I have found some difficulty in getting a borer. All
were engaged on jobs that will last until fall. Yesterday
Dr. Brewer wrote me that he could get one for me at
Allegany, who will bore and tube for three dollars per
foot, which is the best offer I have had. I wrote the
Doctor to send him along at once. Yesterday I set some
men to opening a new spring, so that things begin to look
greasy."
In justice to his partners, it is due to say that Mr.
Drake was ^well supplied with money. In the oil
region there has been a general belief to the con-
trary, but this is entirely without foundation. In his
private affairs possibly, he was embarrassed, but in his
last quarterly statement to the company before striking
the oil, he reported a fund of two hundred and eighty
dollars on hand.
On the 16th of August, '58, he writes as follows:
"I received on Saturday at Erie, Aug. 14th, a pack-
age containing $472.67, from the Treasurer of the Seneca
Oil Company, and gave the Express Company my re-
ceipt.
" I shipped two barrels of oil to Mr. Pierpont at New
Haven, as he said he could make a market for it.
90 HISTORY OF PETROLEUM.
"In sinking our well last week, we struck a large vein
of oil, but the same thrust of the spade opened a vein of
water that drove the men out of the well, and I shall not
try to dig by hand any more, as lam satisfied that boring
is the cheapest. I should have had my borer here,
but I wrote him on the 1st, I was riot ready, as I did not
know that you could raise the money, but money we
must have if we make anything. I have abandoned the
idea of boring and pumping by water, as I could not have
the exclusive right to the power, but must be subject to
the sawyer, the turner, and the blacksmith, so that after
consulting the best salt and oil men at Tarentum, I have
contracted for an engine to be ready for boring by the
first of September.
" I have got out the timber for my pump-house, and am
having it framed to-day. We shall get it up this week. I
sha.ll send in a statement of my stewardship on the first
of September, but if in the mean time the Company should
feel too poor to furnish a thousand dollars more by the
10th of September, please let me know at once. Money
is very scarce here. The lumbermen could not sell their
lumber for cash this summer, and the people all depend
upon the lumber trade."
The Company did not send him the thousand dollars as
soon as the 10th of September; his engine was not ready;
and when he finally was prepared to start, the driller had
taken another job and operations were suspended for the
winter. In February '59, Drake went to Tarentum and en-
gaged a driller to come up in April. But April came and
no driller appeared. The man having been able to get a
better job nearer home, affected to believe that Drake was
crazy a monomaniac on the subject of Petroleum. It
afforded him the simplest exit from his contract.
When Drake went down to look after him, Mr. Kier
recommended him to engage William Smith and his two
COMMENCEMENT OF DEVELOPMENTS ON OIL CREEK. 91
sons who had done a great deal of work on his salt wells.
About the middle of June, provided with a complete set
of tools from Mr. Kier's shop, " Uncle Billy Smith" and
his two sons arrived in Titus ville.
Aggravating delays followed. In artesian boring it is
necessary to begin on the rock to drill. This had been
previously done by digging a common well-hole, and crib-
bing it up with timber. When the rock is within a few
feet of the surface it is still the cheapest and easiest
method, but in some localities to do so would be practi-
cally impossible. They started to dig a hole, but it so
persistently caved in and filled with water when they got
a few feet below the surface, that Drake determined to give
it up, and try an experiment that had suggested itself to
his mind. This was the driving of an iron tube through
the quicksands and clay to the rock. If this is exclusively
his own invention, which is probable, it is a pity he did not
procure a patent on it. The royalty would have afforded
.him at least a competency, though the driving pipe is not
so much in use now as formerly.
The operators in the oil region have had the benefit of
his invention without any return, unless indeed we except
the good feeling which prompted them to send him a
present of $4,200, when they heard he was sick and in
need.
The pipe was successfully driven to the rock thirty-six
feet and about the middle of August the drill was started.
The drillers averaged about three feet a day, making
slight indications all the way down.
Saturday afternoon, August 28th, 1859, as Mr. Smith
and his boys were about to quit for the day, the drill dropped
into one of those crevices, common alike in oil and salt
borings, a distance of about six inches, making the total
depth of the whole well 69 \ feet. They withdrew the tools,
and all went home till Monday morning. On Sunday after-
92 HISTORY OF PETROLEUM.
noon, however, " Uncle Billy " went down to the well to
recon noiter, and peering in could see a fluid within eight or
ten feet of the surface. He plugged one end of a bit of a tin
rain-water spout, and let it down with a string. He drew
it up filled with Petroleum.
That night the news reached the village, and Drake,
when he came down the next morning, bright and early,
found the old man and his boys proudly guarding the spot,
with several barrels of Petroleum standing about.
The pump was at once adjusted, and the well com-
menced producing at the rate of about twenty-five barrels
a day. The news spread like lightning. The village was
wild with excitement; the country people round about
came pouring down to see the wonderful well.
Mr. Watson jumped on a horse and 'hurried straight-
way to secure a lease of the spring on the M'Clintock
farm, near the mouth of the creek. Mr. Bissell, who had
made arrangements to be informed of the result by tele-
graph, bought up all the Pennsylvania Rock Oil stock, it
was possible to get hold of, even securing much of that
owned in New Haven, and four days afterward was at
the well. His views of the matter had ever been the
broadest, as his transactions had been the boldest.
While others were seeking for surface indications before
leasing, he rushed forward, and secured farm after farm
down the creek and along the Allegany, where there were
no surface indications whatever. The result has proven
the wisdom of his conclusions. Drake unfortunately took
a narrower view of the matter. He pumped his well in
the complacent conviction, that he had tapped the mine !
He was probably led into this supposition by what seemed
to him the remarkable incident of having struck a crevice.
No money was paid on most of the leases at first taken ;
a royalty of an eighth or a quarter, only being reserved
by the easy old farmers who owned the land, and without
COMMENCEMENT OP DEVELOPMENTS ON OIL CREEK. 93
a cent he might have secured any quantity of territory.
He was repeatedly advised to do so, by shrewd men
who were themselves laying the foundation of fabulous
fortunes; but it was his fatal misfortune to disregard that
advice. "When several other wells had been struck, and
his eyes were opened to his mistake, it was too late the
golden opportunity had fled.
The well fell off slowly till toward the end of the year,
it produced only about fifteen barrels per day. It was
never purnped at all on Sundays, and averaging the pro-
duction at twenty barrels per day an average probably
much too high and granting a hundred and five work-
ing days shows the production for the year 1859, to have
been twenty-one hundred barrels. But there were many
days in succession when it was not pumped. At one
time Mr. Smith, approached one of the tanks with a
light when the gas caught fire, and the derrick, pump-
house, oil vats and all were completely consumed, and it
was nearly a week before operations could be resumed.
Probably two thousand barrels even would be twenty-
five per cent, above the actual production of tho four
months of that year, and yet the production is generally
quoted at 82,000 barrels. *
The second well was promptly started by Barnsdal,
Meade and Rouse, and at the depth of eighty feet, in
November it was pumped for two or three days, but
yielded in all less than five barrels of oil, till it was sunk
to about one hundred and sixty feet, when in February
1860, it was again started, and produced from forty to fifty
barrels per day. The third well was sunk by Mr. Angier
for Brewer, Watson & Co., in the spring of '60 on the M'Clin-
tock farm, and oil was struck about the middle of Decem-
ber following, but both these last wells had been put down
without the aid of an engine " stamped down with a spring
pole" they called it and after pumping by hand one day
94 HISTORY OF PETROLEUM.
at the third well, producing twelve barrels of oil, so
much water came up, that operations were suspended till
an engine could be got down from Erie and set up, which
was not till the middle of January. Considering every-
thing, the difficulty of disposing of the oil was much less
than might have been expected. Kier contracted to take
part of it at fifty-six cents per gallon, and the rest was
disposed of through Scheifflin Brothers of New York.
And here ends the history of Petroleum developments on
Oil Creek prior to the year 1860.
NOTE. It is claimed by Peter Wilson and R. D. Fletcher, of Titusville, that the Com-
pany refused aid to Drake during the drilling of the well, and that they assisted him by
indorsing notes, enabling him to raise money, and thus supply the " sinews of war,"
when the work might have been abandoned.
DEVELOPMENTS ALONG OIL CREEK. 95
CHAPTER VI.
DEVELOPMENTS ALONG OIL CREEK.
A FTER oil was struck on the island in Oil Creek, at
-* the junction of Pine, the development spread rapidly
thence to its mouth, where now is situated the thriving
town of Oil City, containing about eight thousand inhabi-
tants, and fast growing into a solid, business centre.
With one stride, indeed, the whole territory was vir-
tually thrown open to development, for the very day that
Drake's well began to pump. Brewer, Watson and Co.
leased the Hamilton M'Clintock Farm, below Rouseville,
where the " surface indications " were even better than on
their own tract, which had passed entirely from their
control to The Pennsylvania Rock Oil Company.
Here they immediately began to sink a well the third
one ever sunk for oil and all the intermediate territory
for sixteen miles along the narrow valley of Oil Creek
was soon taken up.
At first, it is true, speculators looked for " surface indi-
cations" "pebble rock," oil springs," &c. and leased only
where they were found; but when a few older or better in-
formed minds took the initiative, others followed, and a few
months' experience proved that there was no reliance to
be placed in " surface indications," and that good wells
were as likely to be obtained half a mile away, as beneath
the most productive natural spring.
The second well, on the Watson flats, below Titus-
ville, was begun within a few days after the com-
pletion of the first, by Messrs. Barnsdall, Meade, Ab-
bott and Rouse. It was situated a little above, and
96 HISTORY OF PETROLEUM.
almost within stone throw of the first, and though it was
tested in November, 1859, it had to be sunk deeper, and
was not finally completed until February of the following
year. Like the third, sunk by Mr. Angier, for Brewer,
Watson and Co., on the M'Clintock farm, this was also
put down by means of a spring pole ; and indeed the same
is true of several hundred of the first wells drilled along
the Creek ; nor was the system entirely abandoned before
1865, and to strong men, whose means were limited, it
afforded a ready mode of development that answered a
good purpose in opening up " shallow " territory ; but it
was a means totally inadequate when they began to sink
wells below four or five hundred feet.
In February, Captain Funk and also Messrs. Phillips &
Co., began operations on the Upper McElhenny Farm,
about a mile-and-a-half above Petroleum Centre. On this
farm in June, 1861, the first-flowing well was struck. In
more than one respect the well may be considered remark-
able it : being the FIRST drilled to the THIRD sand rock.
This was the "Fountain Well "on the upper McElhenny
or Funk Farm. To the astonishment of all the drillers in
the neighborhood it commenced flowing at the rate of 300
barrels a day. Such a prodigal supply of oil upset all cal-
culations, and it was confidently predicted that the supply
would soon stop. It was an " Oil Creek humbug," and
those who had direct interest in the property in the well
looked day after day to see the stream stop. But like the
old woman who sat down by the river-side to let the water
run itself out, that she might cross dry-shod, they waited
in vain. The oil continued flowing with little variation
for fifteen months, and then stopped (See chapter on
early-flowing wells.)
Long before the Fountain Well had given out, the won-
der in regard to it was overshadowed by a new sensation.
On the Tarr Farm, the "Phillips Well" burst forth with a
DEVELOPMENTS ALONG OIL CREEK. 97
stream of three thousand barrels daily ! Not to be out-
done by the territory down the Creek, the Empire "Well,
in the immediate vicinity of the Fountain Well, suddenly
burst forth with its three thousand barrels daily, figures
which subsequent flowing wells vainly endeavored to equal.
Kier & Co., of Pittsburgh, began to develop the J. W.
McClintock Farm, on which the village of Petroleum Centre
now stands. Hibbard & Co. began on the John McClintock
Farm, Henry R. Eouse, S. Q. Brown, John Mitchell, and
others, on the Buchanan Farms; Crossley & Fletcher on the
Stoeppel Farm all before the first of February, 1860.
"The Crossley" was the third well completed; and upon the
flats below Titusville and up the valley of Pine Creek as
far as Enterprise, there were not less than twenty compa-
nies and individuals preparing to put down wells as soon
as the spring opened.
The number of farms between the island on which oil
was first struck and the mouth of Oil Creek, a distance of
between sixteen and eighteen miles, was forty-three, and
though most of the statistics of the early operations are
now hopelessly lost, from the few preserved we are able to
glean the following :
The Island tract, embracing one hundred and five acres,
originally owned by Brewer, Watson & Company, was
transferred to George H. Bissell and Jonathan G. Eveleth,
of New York, in 1854, and by them put into a joint stock
company called The Pennsylvania Rock Oil Company. In
1858 the property was leased to The Seneca Oil Company,
which put down the first well.
The lease ran for forty-five years, and as the decline in
the price of oil made it ruinous to pay the royalty of
twelve and a half cents per gallon, The Pennsylvania
Rock Oil Company came to an agreement by which The
Seneca Oil Company took a small portion of the land in
fee, and gave up the lease in the summer of 1860.
7
98 HISTORY OF PETROLEUM.
After this was accomplished George H. Bissell purchased
the interest of The Pennsylvania Rock Oil Company, of
which he was himself principal shareholder, for fifty thou-
sand dollars, and that portion of the tract was thereafter
known as the Bissell Farm.
Mr. Bissell at once began actively to develop the farm,
putting down ten or twelve wells, six of which were pro-
ductive, and yielded for some time eighty barrels per day,
which was much better than any other territory in the
immediate vicinity. The farm a few years later was sold
to the Original Petroleum Company.
Next below this is the Griffin Farm, located on both
sides of Oil Creek, and containing the ruins of several
derricks. The property was pretty well developed after
passing into the hands of the New York and Pennsylvania
Petroleum Company, and below this is the Crossley Farm,
on the east side of the creek, which, though well devel-
oped, was never very productive territory ; and this again
is followed by the second Bissell Farm, owned by George
H. Bissell & Co., which, like all the rest of the territory
which came under the management of this energetic man,
was thoroughly and successfully developed.
Below the second Bissell Farm are the two Stackpole
Farms, partly covered by one of the large dams used in
the production of pond-freshets.
The upper Stackpole Farm passed into the possession of
the Northern Light Oil Company, and Brewer, Watson &
Co. ; the lower one contains ten wells and two abandoned
refineries. Then follows the Pott Farm, on which there
have been no producing wells, and next below is the
Shreve Farm, owned by the Great Western Consolidated
Oil Company, but like the farm above, it has not been pro-
ductive territory.
The Shreve farm is followed by the J. Stackpole Farm,
which came into the hands of Brewer, Watson and Co.,
DEVELOPMENTS ALONG THE CEEEK. 99
and was well developed by sub-lessees, but without re-
markable success.
The Flemming Farm, next below, owned by Mrs.
Fleraraing, was found to be, if not entirely unproductive,
at least unremunerative territory, and is now without any
evidences of development.
The same may be said of Henderson Farm, which is just
below it.
The Jones Farm, which is next in order, though
thoroughly tested by sinking nearly twenty wells, was
never proved productive territory, yet from surface in-
dications it was as promising as any farm along the
Creek.
The second Flemming Farm, a little more than four
miles below Titusville, is next after the Jones Farm, and
the beginning of better territory. The flats on this farm
were thoroughly tested, and several good wells obtained ;
one, a flowing well, was successfully operated for some
time, when the owner, hoping the more completely to
shut off the surface water and increase the flow of oil,
drew up the tubing to change the locality of the seed-bag ;
but after re-arrangirig it, from some unaccountable cause,
the well not only ceased to flow, but never again pro-
duced oil.
The Miller Farm, now a station on the Oil Creek R. R,
and formerly the scene of great enterprise on the part of
the Pit Hole and Miller Farm Transportation Company,
is the first below the Second Flemming Farm on the
Creek.
Though formerly excellent territory, having a great
number of good flowing and pumping wells, it now pro-
duces little or no oil, and owing to the improvements in
the manner of transporting oil by rail, the labor of three
or four men sufficing to fill a whole train of the modern
tank cars in a few hours, and the fact that many of the
100 HISTORY OF PETROLEUM.
refineries once operated here, are now abandoned, the en-
terprise that once marked the place has almost entirely
subsided.
Its capacity of iron tankage is nearly two hundred and
fifty thousand barrels, being, except Oil City, the largest
pipe line station in the region.
From the Miller Farm to the mouth of the creek at Oil
City, the territory has been incomparably the best ever
discovered, producing up to 1868, probably two thirds of
all the oil ever brought to the surface.
The Shaffer Farm, which is next, though containing
but little more than fifty acres, was formerly one of the
moderate producing farms on the Creek. This farm, though
in the year 1864, containing less than a half dozen build-
ings, was for a time the terminus of the Oil Creek Rail-
road, and immediately became a shipping station of great
importance, for the oil was then shipped in barrels, and
not less than fifteen hundred teams were employed in
hauling it to the cars from the well, and, together with their
drivers, and other auxiliaries, these supported the innu-
merable stables, 'hotels and eating-houses, that sprang up
in a night like mushrooms. Though at one time the
village on Shaffer Farm, numbered over two thousand in-
habitants, there is hardly a house now remaining to
mark the scene of former activity.
When the road was extended, the buildings were taken
down and removed to the next station.
The Sanney Farm, which is the first after Shaffer,
though not unproductive, has not been remunerative ter-
ritory; and though once the seat of a number oi small
refineries, is now completely abandoned ; and the same
may be said of the Gregg farm which follows.
The Beaty Farm just below, lying at the mouth of
Hemlock Kun, has done better, and once contained a
number of good wells, several of which were up the run.
DEVELOPMENTS ALONG TflE CREEK. 101
The Farrel Farm, though containing but thirty-six
acres, has been probably the most remunerative bit of
country property of its size in the whole oil regions. Its
original owner was James Farrel, but a part of his in-
terest was sold to the Commonwealth Oil Company. It
is situated on Bull Run, and the East side of Oil Creek.
The renowned Noble and Delamater well, which flowed
three thousand barrels of oil a day when first struck,
commenced in 1863, and continued to flow till 1865, and
is estimated to have produced upwards of three million
dollars worth of oil ; and another well the Craft, on the
same farm, produced over one hundred thousand barrels.
Besides these there were several other good wells on
the tract, but most of them are now producing little or
nothing. Opposite this, on the other side of the creek, is
the Foster farm, rendered scarcely less famous by the
great Sherman well, which began flowing in 1862, at the
rate of two thousand barrels per day, and for nearly two
years is said to have averaged nine hundred barrels per
day. It commenced to flow in May 1862, and ceased in
February 1864 ; but for a long time afterward, it was
successfully pumped. On the other side of the creek again,
bounded by both the Foster and Farrel farm, lies the
Caldwell farm.
The famous well of the same name, struck on this farm
in the spring of 1863, being found to have a subterranean
connection, with the Noble and Delamater well, the
owners of the later offered to buy it, and it was sold with
an acre and a half of land for the sum of $145.000. (See
sketch of Orange Noble.)
The upper McElhenny Farm, which is next below
these, was one of the first to be thoroughly developed,
and has always been one of the best producers. A great
number of wells were sunk on this farm, in the years 1860,
1861 and 1862, and though none of them were large
enough to be remarkable, nearly all were remunerative.
102 JafSTORY^ OF PETROLEUM.
The Espy Farm adjoining, is remarkable for the old
Buckeye well, and has proved valuable territory. The
flats on this farm, were developed among the earliest, but
the up-lands tested several years later, were very produc-
tive.
The Benninghoff Farm, which lies between the two
McElhenny Farms on the creek, at the mouth of Pioneer
Kun, was at one time remarkable for the great number
of its flowing wells.
Most of the wells on this tract flowed, when first
struck, and though none of them were large, all were
lasting, and the territory very sure.
A number of joint-stock companies, were chartered
to work leases on this farm, for it was brought into market
at the period of the great excitement.
The lower McElhenny Farm, situated on both sides of
Oil Creek below the Benninghoff Farm, was one of the
earliest developed, and for many years continued to be
one of the most productive.
It was purchased, like the Upper McElhenny Farm, of
the original owner, by Hasson and M' Bride, and L. Halde-
man & Co.
The most remarkable wells on this farm were the Em-
pire and Crocker ; the former of which started off at two
thousand five hundred barrels a day, and after yielding an
average of two thousand barrels a day for nearly four
months, finally dropped off to three hundred, and then
ceased altogether. Among the other best wells on the
farm were the Burtis and the Davis.
The Boyd Farm, next below this, has singularly
enough proved very poor territory, though it is entirely
surrounded by that which is exceptionally good. It was
at one time the seat of several small refineries, all of
which have been abandoned.
The Stevenson Farm in this vicinity, but not reaching
DEVELOPMENTS ALONG THE CEEEK. 103
to the Creek, was developed in 1865, and proved to be
valuable territory, though possessing no remarkable fea-
tures.
The James S. McCray Farm has been so exhaustively de-
scribed in another part of this work, that we pass it here
to notice the J. W. McClintock Farm, on which the once
flourishing city of Petroleum Centre is situated.
The farm contains two hundred and seven acres, and
was leased in November, 1836, by George H. Bissell and
Co., and in the following February put into a joint stock
Company, called the Central Petroleum Company of New
York.
It embraces, besides the land on which the ' town is
situated, the circular ravine to the left, called Wild-Cat
Hollow ; nearly every square rod of which has been per-
forated with a well hole. Not less than a hundred and
fifty wells have been drilled on this territory, and nearly
eighty per cent, of the whole number have been remune-
rative; and this was undoubtedly until the opening up of
the Parker's Landing field, which has been for the most
part very sure territory the best showing made by any
farm in the region.
The remarkable results shown by this farm are un-
doubtedly due quite as much to the excellency of . its
management, as to the superiority of the territory, and
stands a bright example of the result of the judicious and
economical management of an oil farm. Instead of giving
out leases at random, to parties willing to pay a large
bonus for the sake of getting leases on which to found
speculative joint stock companies, and then in all proba-
bility having enriched themselves by the sale of stock,
neglect the development of the land instead of pursuing
this course, so common in the oil region, they only gave
leases to actual operators, and at a uniform royalty of one
half the oil.
104 HISTORY OF PETROLEUM.
In 1865 a bonus of one hundred thousand dollars and
"one half the oil" was offered for ten leases on the farm,
but promptly refused, and the result proved the wisdom
of the decision, for while the owners may not have
realized more than this, they have retained the unre-
stricted control of their -property.
Three million dollars worth of oil, or more, must have
been taken from this territory, and the revenue from
ground-rent, for building, must at one time have been very
great. The village retains of its former population only
about fifteen hundred, and as the farm is now exhausted,
beyond the hope of another excitement, must continue
to decay:
Scarcely less decided was the success that attended the
development of the Hyde and Egbert Farm, on the other
side of the creek along the foot of the McCray hill. It
was purchased in 1859, of the original owner, Davidson,
and soon after tested with fair results, but it was not
until 1863 that the flowing wells, which rendered this
territory the subject of such wild speculation, were struck.
The Maple Shade, and the renowned and singular
Coquette well are the most remarkable in the history of
this farm.
The first operations here were the least successful, and
thus it came to be looked upon as doubtful territory for
some time.
The Hayes farm below the Hyde, and Egbert is
situated on both sides of the creek, and though pretty
well developed, and always with fair success, it has never
been so well managed as many of the farms by which it is
surrounded.
On this farm was attempted the experiment of digging
a shaft five feet by seventeen, to the oil-bearing rock
known as the " third sand." The enterprise was under-
taken by the Petroleum Shaft and Mining Company, and
DEVELOPMENTS ALONG THE CREEK. 105
the shaft was commenced in the rear of the Maple Shade,
near the line of the Hyde and Egbert farm. Though
unfortunately for the cause of science, the gas would
have rendered the enterprise impracticable, it was aban-
doned for want of means, when down less than a third
of the distance.
The Story Farm, better known as the Columbia Farm,
lies directly below the Hayes. It was bought in 1859,
by Pittsburgh parties, for thirty thousand dollars, and some
other contingent benefit, and shortly afterward, put into
the Columbia Oil Company, which has ever since owned
and managed it. It has been, all in all, the best man-
aged piece of oil territory in the region, and is still
paying large dividends. The sale has been the subject
of much litigation, and the Story family lately obtained
a judgment for about $20,000 against the property.
George H. Bissell, had determined to buy the farm, and
was willing to pay all the owner asked; but the old lady
refused to sign the conveyance.
Seeing that it would be for his interest to buy the wife's
good-will, he returned, decided to offer her a fair sum for
her contingent interest the bargain as far as the old
gentleman was concerned, was considered by both parties
as made but the agent of the others had been a few
hours ahead, and having the documents all ready for
signing, induced the woman to concur in the sale of a
property, that has been worth at least five millions of
dollars, by the promise of a new silk dress ! To any one
wishing a thorough knowledge of the profits, and risks
of the oil business, when judiciously and economically
managed, no better insight is afforded than by the study
of the exhaustive annual reports of this most excellent
company.
Next below, and on the opposite side of the creek, is
106 HISTORY OF PETROLEUM.
the Tar farm, one of the very best on the creek, and re-
nowned for the Phillips and the Woodford wells, the first
of which, when struck, is said to have produced 3,000 bar-
rels per day, and the latter 1,000 barrels per day, though
in both cases it is probable the figures are too high.
They were situated within two rods of each other, and
the subterranean connection between their sources of sup-
ply, was so manifest that when the "Woodford" pumped,
the only remedy left the "Phillips" was to draw the tubing
and let the surface water down to shut off the oil from
both.
Enormous sums were offered by both owners, but as
either had it completely in his power to render the
property of the other worthless, neither was willing to
settle until both wells were nearly ruined by the surface
water, and the consequence has been that many smaller
wells than either, have yielded as much oil as both.
These famous wells are located on the bank of the creek
to the left (going down) of the railroad bridge, and still
pumping, they are a subject of interest to travelers, who
view them from the car windows.
THE BLOOD FARM was one of the earliest to be developed,
and therein may be said to have been its misfortune, for
in 1861, and 1862, when oil was almost valueless, often
selling, in bulk, as low as ten cents per barrel, and not un-
frequently suffered to run to waste as utterly worthless,
this farm produced more than all of the oil region to-
gether, and before the time of speculation and high prices
was exhausted, or nearly so, there were a great number
of good wells, many of them flowing, and one that flowed
twenty-five hundred barrels per day. Below this, at the
mouth of Cherry Tree Run, is the RYND FARM, which,
though now producing comparatively little, was once good
territory. Not less than a dozen different companies had
interests in this farm, and the whole flat has been perfo-
DEVELOPMENTS ALONG THE CHEEK. 107
rated with holes, though it was rather uncertain territory.
The Widow McClintock's or Steele Farm, next below, has
also been good territory. The farm was the property of
the widow McClintock, who was herself burned to death
in 1863, while lighting the fire with oil, and left the farm,
together with all the accumulated money of two years'
production to her adopted son, John Steele. It has since
passed from his possession, and is now in the hands of a
company. Its production at present is very small.
The John McClintock Farm, below this, at the mouth of
Cherry Kun, commenced producing in 1860, and like those
immediately above it, produced at a time when oil was
worth least.
The number of wells sunk on this tract cannot now be
ascertained, but must have been very great. Though but
few of them were large enough to be singular, nearly all
were remunerative.
There were also several refineries on the farm at one
time, which are now abandoned.
The Buchanan Farm^ situated on either side of Cherry
Run, being mostly upland, neither of them were thor-
oughly developed until the speculative fever of 1864 and
'65 brought them into the market as the basis of the for-
mation of joint-stock companies, but the narrow flats along
Oil Creek had previously been tested with considerable
success.
The village of Rouseville, still a flourishing town, with
a population of nearly three thousand, is situated partly on
both of these farms.
Though both farms have been quite productive, and
have had several large wells, the percentage of dry holes
has been very great.
There were several smaller refineries on both those farms,
and the number of stock companies was beyond all belief.
The Ham. McClintock Farm, containing three hundred
108 HISTORY OF PETROLEUM.
and fifty acres is situated at McClintock's Station on the
Oil Creek Kailroad, and lies on both sides of the stream.
It is one of the first farms that came into the market as
oil territory being in fact the second for here were
found the surface indications which for the first year or
two were thought by most operators necessary to warrant
the sinking of a well.
For some years before the idea of adopting artesian
boring in the development of Petroleum had dawned upon
the world, the owner, Hamilton M'Clintock, had collected
oil from a spring that bubbled up in the middle of the
creek, and around which he built a crib in order to pre-
vent the oil from being borne away on the current of the
water. By occasionally skimming the pool inside this
crib, and sometimes agitating the ground with a pick or
crowbar to the depth of a few inches, he collected several
barrels in the course of a year without giving himself
much trouble, and it was all disposed of with some profit
to the surrounding farmers, and was sent to Pittsburgh by
the lumbermen in the spring of the year. But though
fifty barrels might have been annually collected, it is
doubtful reports to the contrary notwithstanding if
ever more than five actually were. The third well to
produce oil on the creek was sunk in this crib for Brewer,
Watson and Co., by J. D. Angier. The town, which took
its name from the farm, and which was once a brisk, little
place, has been nearly obliterated.
The Clapp Farm, purchased of the original owner in
1859, by George H. Bissell and Arnold Plummer, was
thereafter at once thoroughly developed, and though there
was a large percentage of dry holes, the number of pay-
ing wells was also very great, and the fact that Mr. Bis-
sel was at the same time conducting the largest barrel
factory in the oil region, enabled him often to ship
his oil to market when others either sold it to speculators
DEVELOPMENTS ALONG OIL CREEK. 109
for ten cents a barrel, or let it run to waste because they
could not afford to pay two, and two and a half dollars
apiece for barrels to ship it in.
The total daily product of all the wells in June, 1860,
was estimated at 200 barrels. By September, 1861, the
daily production had reached 700 barrels, and then com-
menced the flowing well period, with an addition to the
production of six or seven thousand barrels a day. The
thing was monstrous, and could not be endured ! The
price fell to twenty cents a barrel, then to fifteen, and then
to ten ! Coopers would sell barrels for cash only, and re-
fused to take their pay in oil, or in drafts on oil ship-
ments. Soon it was impossible to obtain barrels on any
terms, for all the coopers in the surrounding country could
not make them as fast as the Empire well could fill them.
Small-producing wells were forced to cease operations,
and scores became disheartened and abandoned their
wells. The production during the early part of 1863
was scarcely half that of the beginning of 1862, and that
of 1864 was still less. In May, 1865, the production had
declined to less than 4,000 barrels per day.
In the winter of 1864, and 1865, the "United States
well," at Pit Hole, was struck, and flowed, as estimated,
January 7, 1865, 650 barrels per day. By this well
came the famous Pit Hole excitement, which must ever
stand prominent in the history of the Oil Region of
Pennsylvania. Pit Hole City was commenced May 24, 1865,
and soon the town contained a population estimated at
8,000. (See the history of flowing wells.)
At one time Pit Hole City had fifty hotels; several of
them were palatial in size, and truly gorgeous in their
equipment. The cost of the Chase House, was over
$80,000; the cost of the Morey and Bonta Houses, equally
as large. It had miles of streets, lined with buildings,
including banking-offices, school-houses, churches, an
110 HISTORY OF PETROLEUM.
opera house, and other appendages of a first-class modern
city.
Soon the production of oil at this point decreased to a
mere nominal figure ; fire swept away whole streets of
the town ; the signs of decay were evident. A general
collapse took place, and piece by piece Pit Hole City was
carted away and it is now but a mere " settlement " of a
few hundred inhabitants.
Commencing at Titusville in 1859, the tide of develop-
ment swept over the valley of Oil Creek, and along the
Allegany river, above and below Oil City, for a consider-
able distance, then Cherry Run in 1864 ; then came
Pit Hole Creek. Benninghoff and Pioneer Run the Woods
and Stevenson farms, on Oil Creek, in like succession, in
1865 and 1866. Tidioute and Triumph Hill, in 1867,
and in the latter part of the same year came Shamburgh.
In 1868 the Pleasantville oil field furnished the chief
centre of excitement.
A lull now took place, to be followed by the develop-
ments on the McCray Hill, at Petroleum Centre, and on
the Shaw farm near Rouseville, Foster farm and East
Hickory Centre, and then the great " down the river," or
lower oil field loomed up to become the principal centre of
production at the present time. (See chapter on lower
oil field.)
"THE SOUTHERN IMPROVEMENT COMPANY."
During 1872, unparalleled excitement prevailed in the
petroleum business. This year witnessed- the formation
and collapse of the most formidable speculative combi-
nation ever formed for the purpose of controlling the
markets and production of petroleum.
Early in the year " a. ring " of railway officials arxd re-
finers, incorporated by the Legislature of Pennsylvania, and
termed "The Southern Improvement Company," entered
DEVELOPMENTS ON OIL CREEK. Ill
the field. This company possessed extraordinary powers by
virtue of their charter, and forthwith made contracts with the
principal railway companies, .under which they were to re-
ceive enormous rebates. An advance of one hundred per cent.
on all freight charges- on crude and refined, was the result
of this combination.
The storm of opposition which " The Southern Improve-
ment Company" met with from the producers, forced it to
dissolve, and its charter was abrogated.
Subsequently, about four-fifths of the refiners of the
United States organized themselves into an association for
the purpose of forcing a margin between crude and re-
fined. The producers, in order to protect themselves
against the exactions of the refiners, formed an " Agency'
and a " Union," which embraced, probably, three-fourths
of all the producers. The control of the production of
Pennsylvania, and of the markets of the world, was given
to the " Union," but after one or two vain attempts to
regulate them, the producers came to the conclusion that
it could not be done without the aid of the refiners. So a
coalition was effected with the refiners. The contract
between the two interests was a singular instrument. The
producers agreed to stop a certain portion of the drilling and
pumping wells, and the refiners agreed to keep the price
of refined in New York from falling below twenty-seven
cents per gallon, and take immediately 200,000 barrels of
crude from the " Union " at twenty-five cents above the
then market price. Neither of the contracting parties
carried out their engagements, and the coalition was not
long-lived.
Thus we have briefly sketched the discovery and de-
velopment of this great industry to the present day. The
discovery of Petroleum must be placed in the front rank
of the important events of the present century, and no
one doubts but it will give light to coming generations
112 HISTORY OF PETROLEUM.
and to nations yet unborn. By the accident of its dis-
covery it was found that the Creator had placed beneath
the crust of the earth, a reservoir of oil, giving as brilliant
a light as any discovered substance. We have not at-
tempted to picture the scenes of excitement of the early
days of the business the anxious drillers, the smiling,
wealthy fortunates, the downcast, ruined unfortunates,
the busy teams conveying the barreled liquid to the
water, the oil-begrimed and mud-besmeared boats, the
eager barterer and the earnest seller. The scenes of to-
day but mirror those of the days of the commeticement
of petroleum mining.
THE OIL FIELDS OF AMERICA. 113
THE OIL FIELDS OF AMERICA.
WEST VIRGINIA AND OHIO.
IT is almost impossible to describe or rather define the limits of
what is called the oil region of West Virginia. Streams which
empty into the Ohio river, as far as fifty miles above Marietta,
afford the usual surface indications of oil. One hundred and fifty
miles below Marietta, the Ohio river touches the northeast corner
of Kentucky, and, on the streams which empty into the Ohio at
this point, oil is said to abound, and to have been discovered in
paying quantities. From Fishing Creek, which empties into the
Ohio, fifty miles above Marietta, there is a country running back
from ten to thirty miles from both banks of the Ohio, that affords
surface indications. Of course the existence of oil throughout all
this vast region is doubtful.
On the Ohio side of the river are the counties of Washington,
Athens, Morgan and Noble, in which oil has been drilled for and
found. On the Virginia side, there are eight counties, Tyler,
Calhoun, Roane, Jackson, Kanawha, Wood, Wirt, Richie, and
Pleasants, in which oil has been found. These twelve counties
embrace a territory which extends away from Marietta in every
direction, and whose extent is from thirty-five to sixty miles.
Great excitement prevailed on the discovery of oil in this region in
1860, and was followed by speculations in land and the formation
of oil companies. As a specimen of the producing character of
this oil territory in the early days of the business, we may instance
the Dutton well, on Duck Creek, Ohio, which was struck in 1 860,
8
HISTORY OF PETROLEUM.
at a depth of fifty feet, and averaged, it is said, from seventy to one
hundred barrels per day for a considerable time. Another, called
the Steel well, on Duck Creek, produced some five hundred barrels
per day for some weeks, and in 1865 was producing five barrels
per day. This well was drilled to a depth of one hundred feet.
In the Summer of 1864, a well called the Dixon, was sunk eight
hundred feet, when it commenced flowing at the rate of thirty bar-
rels per day. The Bull Creek region, on the Virginia side, had in
1865, some forty or fifty wells, the largest of which yielded sixty
barrels per day.
In 1860, when the excitement was at its height, a crisis occurred.
The price of petroleum suddenly went down, until the barrels, as
they came from the hands of the cooper, were of more value than
the oil that filled them. Two causes led to this the world had
not learned the uses of petroleum, and the early surface-wells,
threw forth so many barrels of oil that the supply was larger than
the demand, and the market became overstocked. This disheart-
ened capitalists, and lands fell. Then came the war. Virginia
seceded, and the line of the Ohio became contested ground. Mc-
Clellan crossed, but his forces were too busy with the Baltimore and
Ohio railroad to think of protecting the oil-hunters, then swarming
along the Kanawha. Although there was no organized army of
Confederates in Western Virginia, there was nevertheless a body
of guerillas who were constantly harassing the country. The result
was a panic. In a week the whole party left. The derrick stood
in the field over the half-drilled well, the oil gushed up and over-
spread the ground, the houses were torn down for camp-fires, and
the whole enterprise perished. As soon as the turmoil of war
ceased the drill was again set in motion, and operations have con-
tinued with singularly uniform success up to the present time. The
present centre of the oil-producing region of West Virginia is Vol-
cano, formerly called White Oak, which consists of two narrow
belts of land, only a few rods wide, running parallel with each other
a a distanced &bout a stone's throw apart. Their direction the
THE OIL FIELDS OP AMERICA. 115
longest way is north, 10 east and south, 10 west. Here, within a dis-
tance of six miles in length by one mile in width, is embraced the whole
of the West Virginia heavy oil-producing territory. Within this nar-
row limit is produced all the heavy lubricating oils known as the
Globe, Peninsular, Grant, Hillsdale, Mount Farm, White Oak, Gales
Fork, Volcanic, &c., which have become so well known in this
country and in Europe. In one respect the geological formation
here is remarkable. Upon either edge of these oil belts the rock,
upon the surface, stands at an angle of about 80 to 90, and is
precisely similar in character to the rock found in the surrounding
territory at a distance of six hundred feet below the surface. While
the lower stratum of rock entirely surrounds the oil belt, it is miss-
ing under it, or rather, instead of lying six hundred feet below the
surface, it here appears at the surface. The conclusion is irresistible
that this belt rock once formed part and parcel of the lower stra-
tum, and that at some period by some convulsion of nature it has been
forced to the surface. We suppose it is to this circumstance that Vol-
cano is indebted for its name. It is somewhat limited in numbers
and territory, yet its productions aid not a little in making up the
aggregate of the material wealth of the nation. There are at pre-
sent quite a number of new wells being put down, both for heavy
and light oils. The heavy oil is found at a depth of about 600
feet, while for the lighter oils it is necessary to go down to a sand
rock 1200 feet below the surface. The wells yield, on an average,
about three barrels per day.
The territory known as the Glantz tract, and owned by the Oil
Run Petroleum Company at Volcano, is considered one of the best
producing tracts in West Virginia. From twenty-three wells,
during 1872, this company had an average production of 3,750
barrels per month, of all gravities ranging from 29 to 35. The
oldest well on the tract, the Moore well No. 1, produced alone
7,735 barrels of 35 gravity. The second well struck, the Shafer
and Stein Well/has produced 2,748 barrels of oil, 29 gravity,
A recent writer at the Ohio oil field, and particularly of the
116 HISTOEY OF PETROLEUM.
Cow Run region, says : For the encouragement of oil producers,
and men interested in the production of oil in Ohio, and more
especially to show that Pennsylvania is not the only oil-producing
territory, I present you the following figures and data of a two acre
lease, situated at Cow Run, Washington Co., Ohio. Grecian Bend
Company's Well, No. 1, struck oil in April, 1869, at a depth of
300 feet, and produced 966 barrels until January 1, 1870. Well
No. 2 struck oil December 25, 1869, at a depth of 700 feet, and
produced 21,985 barrels until January 1, 1870. Well No. 3 struck
oil June, 1870, at a depth of 400 feet, and produced 1134 barrels
until January 1, 1871. Besides this, the Company have paid the
Transportation Company over 500 barrels charged for evaporation.
This is the production of only one company. The School House
Company have produced and sold, the past year, over $60,000
worth of oil. And Perkin's, Harvey & Co.'s wells have produced
and sold, to August 1, 1870, $212,566.33 worth of oil. This is
the production of only three companies, out of a host of good com-
panies located at Cow Run.
The West Virginia and Ohio oil fields are justly celebrated for
the production of lubricating oil, which is held in great estimation
in England and on the continent of Europe.
The combined production of Ohio and West Virginia for 1872,
was estimated at 320,000 barrels.
Tn connection with our sketch of the Oil Region of West Vir-
ginia and Ohio, we would offer some facts in relation to the discovery
of what has been termed Crystallized Petroleum. In noticing it
we simply give the reports of two eminent scientific men Prof.
Lesley and Prof. W. F. Roberts.
Professor Lesley's Report.
The following report is taken from the printed proceedings of
the American Philosophical Society :
Professor J. P. Lesley communicated a notice of a remarkable
coal mine or asphalt vein, cutting the horizontal coal measures of
Ritchie county, West Virginia.
THE OIL FIELDS OF AMERICA. 117
Mr. Lesley said, that through the kindness of R. H. Gratz, Esq ,
of Philadelphia, a descriptive letter and a map had been submitted
to him, which exhibited geological facts of more than ordinary
interest to those who are studying the origin of the rock oil deposits
of the "West.
The curious points of the case require careful investigation, but
there seems to be no good reason to doubt the essential correctness
of the statement.
The coal-beds of West Virginia pass horizontally through the
prong-like ridges from valley to valley. Some of these ridges run
as narrow on top and as regular as railroad embankments, for threo
or four miles, and in nearly straight lines, between equally straight
vales terminating bowl-shaped against some cross ridge.
It is across such vales and dividing ridges, that the asphaltum
vein of Ritchie county makes a straight course, "two thousand
three hundred and twenty-three feet long, as at first measured, but
since then traced in both directions still further, so that now it is
known to extend more than two-thirds of a mile." Explorations
beyond this line have failed to find it. Its outcrop, four feet ten
inches thick, was discovered crossing a ravine fifty feet wide at the
bottom, and rising on each side with slopes of nearly forty-five
degrees. On one of these hill-sides at a height of ninety feet, the
outcrop showed the same thickness, but at a height of one hundred
and eighty-five feet, it was found to be but two feet six inches
thick. It is not certain that this diminution is in a vertical direc-
tion ; it may be lateral ; for the slope between the ninety and the
hundred and eighty-five feet levels is more gradual, especially upon
the western side.
In the bottom of the ravine, a vertical shaft was sunk to a depth
of thirty-four feet upon the vein, which continued uniformly four
feet ten inches thick, the asphaltum being filled in pure and clear,
without . the least admixture of earthy or foreign ingredients, be-
tween the smooth and almost perfectly vertical walls of yellowish-
greenish sandstone, lying in horizontal layers, through which this
118
HISTOEY OF PETKOLEUM.
gash or fault was once no doubt an open fissure, communicating
with some reservoir of coal oil which still, it may be, lies beneath
it undisturbed. The most interesting part of the phenomenon for
structural geologists is this gash.
The substance which fills this gash-fault in the coal measures of
Northwestern Virginia, resembles the glossiest, fattest caking coals,
and has a decidedly prismatic structure; breaks up into pencils,
with flat, lustrous faces and sharp edges, but the faces not set at
any fixed angles to each other, so that the effect upon the eye is
rather that of a fibrous than of a prismatic structure. At the same
time there is not the slightest appearance of layers, but the aspect
of complete uniformity or homogeneity. Pieces are taken out, it
seems, a foot in diameter ; and that portion of one of these pieces
which I have, shows a plain face on one side, as if it had encoun-
tered one of the walls, and is covered with a delicate film of a dead
black substance like charcoal dust, which is probably the dust of
the vein substance itself.
Pieces lying at the surface of the ground are said to yield as
much oil as specimens taken out six or eight feet down. By the
ordinary dry distillation the substance is reported to yield as much
oil as the Albert coal. By a different process, the first and only
trial, at which six hundred pounds in one charge were used, forty-
four and a half gallons of superior oil were obtained. Retorts are
now upon the ground.
Geological and Mineralogical Report of Prof. W. F. Roberts.
McFarland's Run is a noted locality in the great oil formation of
West Virginia. A vertical crevice filled with crystallized or soli-
dified petroleum in a direct line, is found crossing the deep-cut
gorges of small streams and rising to the summits of the ridges
bounding them.
In the month of June last I made a special visit to this part of
the country for the express purpose of making a full and particular
examination of this phenomenon, if I may so term it, in geology.
THE OIL FIELDS OF AMEEICA. 119
I travelled from Cairo station on the Parkersburg branch of the Bal-
timore and Ohio Railroad, over a road then in progress of grading
by the Ritchie Coal Oil Company for a branch railroad to connect
their property containing this solidified petroleum deposit with the
main road, and during this journey, I could not detect anything
remarkable or different in the general geological structure of the
country to that shown in some of the other oil-producing sections
in the West Virginia " oil belts," with the exception of an opening
made on the line of the road on the Ritchie Coal Oil Company's
lands near McFarland's Run, where there is a vein of a peculiar
substance, resembling somewhat some of the most glossy kinds of
bituminous coal. Having secured specimens, I continued round
the point of the hill, and entered a deep-cut gorge formed by a
small run, a branch of McFarland's, and at about half the distance
from the head of the run, I reached a shaft sunk "upon the line of
a fissure, or crevice in the strata, in this peculiar kind of substance,
of the same quality and characteristics of the specimen taken from
the place above referred to. This crevice is a vertical one, four
feet four inches wide, and the strata adjoining it on both sides is
horizontal, a common micaceous sandstone, in their plys of a yel-
lowish-green color, of the carboniferous formation.
The shaft I was informed was sunk thirty-four feet, and the cre-
vice continued of the same width downward. It was perfectly
filled with solidified petroleum. The course of the dyke or open-
ing in the horizontal coal strata run in a course S. 75J W. and to
N. 75J E. which I traced in both directions. I traced the open-
ing which had been made in the line of this crevice up the steep-
sided ridges and over their summits, and I found from the specimens
visibje at the several shafts that the solidified or crystallized petro-
leum rose to the surface, or nearly so, in all places. The west hill
bounding the ravine where the dyke crossed over, I judged to be
about three hundred feet above the level of the ravine where the
deep pit was sunk. The east hill-side is about two hundred feet
above the favine. Developments of shafting have been made pro-
120 HISTORY OF PETROLEUM.
ving the continuation of this petroleum-filled crevice in solidified
form more than one mile in a direct line, and bounded by a flat or
horizontal formation of shales and sandstones of the middle car-
boniferous series, similar in all respects to other ridges in oil-pro-
ducing sections in West Virginia. The walls of the crevice are
perfectly smooth and regular, and exceedingly well defined.
The crystallized petroleum has a fibrous structure. It is very
glossy in appearance, of the color of the purest specimens of richest
and fattest bituminous gas coal. It melts under heat readily and
runs like pitch. This peculiar mineral has been wrongly called
" asphaltum." Its fracture, lustre, and general appearance are al-
together foreign to the Albert coal, or to any other mineral of that
class. By experiments made upon this crystallized petroleum, it
has yielded from one hundred and forty to one hundred and sixty-
nine gallons of oil to the ton.
Developments will prove the continuation of the crevice filled
with the same material the crystallized petroleum into and
through the properties I am reporting upon, and in consequence of
its embracing within their boundary lines two deep-cut valleys and
high ridges intervening, an immense quantity can be mined above
water level, and one cannot put an estimate too high upon this pro-
perty, containing as it does, this valuable mineral substance,
How deep this solidified material may continue down beneath
the level of the valleys is not determined. The crevice may get
much wider, and still be filled with this solid petroleum. One
thing is however certain, that it has its source from some immense
subterranean lake or large opening in the strata of the lower mea-
sures of liquid petroleum. The numerous gas and oil springs
closely contiguous and ranging with this dyke show that there are
beneath the surface large cavities filled with oil.
At the junction of the streams which meet in the southern part
of this tract is excellent boring territory, room enough for a large
number of oil wells. The geological structure of the strata shows
great disturbance underneath the surface, and here may be seen the
THE OIL FIELDS OF AMERICA. 121
pure oil oozing out from the joints of the rocks, and gas springs
bubbling up on the surface of the water, throwing off oil in rain-
bow-colored tints. The nature of the formation, the geological
structure of the strata and the contour of the surface, as well as
other indications, show that this tract of land is located in an ex-
ceedingly rich petroleum section of country, where proper develop-
ments should be prosecuted without delay. One thing more may
with propriety be mentioned, that this solidified petroleum in all
places where it has been shafted upon is free from any deleterious
foreign substance. It is as pure as oil generally is found in the
best oil-producing localities of West Virginia.
A few years ago thirty-two barrels of this mineral were sent
north, and all of it was retorted, a large portion being put through
on a commercial scale in the city of Brooklyn, and resulted as fol-
lows:
YIELD OF ONE TON.
Illuminating Gas, 7000 feet, @ $2.00 $14.00
140 Gallons Oil, @ .60 84.00
17 Bushels Coke, @ .12 2.0
100.04
The analysis of Professor R. Ogden Doremus gives the following
result :
100 PARTS MINERAL DRIED AT 212 FAH.
Ash, 2.15
Hydrogen, 8.45
Carbon, 75-9 6
Oxygen, 12.75
Nitrogen, 69
KENTUCKY AND TENNESSEE.
Along Boyd's Creek, Barren County, Ky., three miles from
Glasgow, are the best oil wells of this state. Glasgow is a town
of three thousand inhabitants, situated on a branch of the Louis-
ville and Nashville Railroad, and one hundred miles from Louis-
122
HISTORY OF PETROLEUM.
ville, and eighty from Nashville, Tennessee. At the present time
there are fifteen wells in operation, producing oil. The Armell
wells in this district are drilled to the depth of 130 feet, three of
which are flowing about three barrels each per day. Two of these
wells have flowed for six years, and at one time produced 400 bar-
rels per day. Chess, Corley & Co., oil refiners at Louisville, who
own a large scope of territory in this section, have, met with good
success as oil operators, having thus realized a large fortune.
Their Well No. 1 is producing 35 barrels per day. At first it
produced 70, and has now been pumping three years. A Pitts-
burgh Company own some land here, on which they have put
down a number of wells, producing on the average 3 J barrels per
day.
The pioneer oil men of this region are Messrs. Chess, Corley &
Co. and Messrs. Graham & Thomas. Bothihese firms commenced
operations early in 1865.
During 1865 and 1866 considerable interest was manifest on
Boyd's Creek, and many wells were put down, all of which pumped
or flowed more or less oil. With the increased production, the
price fell from $1.50 to 25 cents per barrel, at the wells. The oil
was 40 gravity, and tainted with sulphur. With the limited
knowledge of refining at that time, it was difficult to deodorize it.
Operators became discouraged, and the territory fell at once.
Some wells, within a few days of completion, were abandoned, and
the oil adventurers went back to their various homes, many dis-
couraged, others hopeful that when oil would become scarce, and
science overcome the deodorizing difficulty, all would again be
prosperous. In 1869 active operations again commenced, and
with improvements in the refining process, the prices rose from
25 cents to $2.00 per barrel.
There was quite an excitement in 1867 near Burks ville, Cum-
berland county, Kentucky, which was occasioned by the striking
of the Crocus well at a depth of 300 feet, which flowed 300 barrels
heavy oil per day, after discharging salt water for three months,
THE OIL FIELDS OF AMERICA. 123
but this promising field was abandoned by reason of the extreme
cost and difficulty of shipment and consequent low price of oil.
There is one well in this section, which is only 80 feet in depth,
and has flowed six dollar lubricating oil, for the last six years.
The oil from this well is teamed 40 miles to the river, and shipped
down the Cumberland to Nashville, Tennessee. Navigation on
the river is only open five months in the year. In Cumberland
county, on one of the tributaries of the Cumberland river, a well
exists which was put down to a depth of 400 feet, and has flowed
about 60 barrels per day into the stream, for upwards of four years.
The oil from this well is quite black, very heavy, and of a rank
smell. Along Scrub, Indian and Greasy creeks, on the Cumber-
land river, there are many oil springs, which produce from one to
five barrels per day of surface oil. These wells or pits are dug
down to the blue clay to the bed rock. Cumberland county is the
foot of the mountain range, and is hilly and rocky. Burksville,
the county seat, is connected with a railroad by a forty mile stage
route.
Near Bowling Green, Ky., a well was sunk to the depth of 80
feet, which produced oil in considerable quantities, for over twelve
months. The owner built a small refinery for the manufacture of
his own production. This was the only well drilled in this section.
Within a few miles of the Mammoth Cave, near Green river,
there are several oil springs. The surface rock here is so impreg-
nated with oil and gas, that a match will ignite them. At Boston
station there is a gas well, some 90 feet in depth, which produces
a considerable quantity of gas.
There is little doubt but the north-western part of Kentucky is
rich in coal and oil. We know that one well was drilled in Hen-
derson county, near the] Ohio river, which passed through a four-
foot vein of coal, at twelve feet from the surface; and another six-
foot vein, at 50 feet from the surface, and at 450 feet a small well
of the best lubricating oil ever produced was discovered.
It is the opinion of practical oil men who have visited Kentucky,
124
HISTOEY OF PETROLEUM.
that the best oil lands have not yet been touched, and that all
that is required to make this rich mineral State prosperous, is capi-
tal and energy.
Little is known of the producing capabilities of Tennessee, but
it bears the evidence of being an important field of enterprise for
the production of oil. At White Bluff, Dixon county, thirty miles
west of Nashville, there is a small green oil well of the same char-
acter and quality as that of Butler county, Pennsylvania. This
well is 500 feet in depth.
Mr. Eugene Scott, of Karns City, Butler Co., Penna., informs
us that he visited the wells on Boyd's creek, late in the fall
of 1872. He says, "I was astonished to learn that in this enlight-
ened age of petroleum mining, the people here knew so little about
the business. The derricks were only 30 to 45 feet in height;
some with one bull wheel, and some with two. The whole rig is
of white wood. *.***** They dressed their bits in the
shape of a wedge, and reamers, why, they are beyond description.
Drilling is only done in the day time, and it is usual to take six
weeks to get down 150 feet. The seed-bag is put on the tubing,
which is frequently drawn in testing. The oil-bearing rock is a
kind of shell and sand-rock mixed, and of a white color. The
stream (Boyd's creek) had been tested for three miles north and
south, and finding the best wells in the centre of the line of tests,
and that the hills had not been operated on, I concluded that the
belt crossed the creek, and ran parallel with the Pennsylvania belt,
therefore I took a large lease southwest of the best producing well
on the creek, and at the depth of 250 feet struck 28 feet of loose
sand, full of oil and salt water. Two miles northeast of this, and
on a line with the best wells on the creek, my partner drilled a well
with a Pennsylvania oil rig, and in six days reached the sand-rock,
but there was little oil ; the well produced only one barrel per day."
" It is usual when a well is dug in this country, to pump it for a
fe\v days, and then tube with three-quarter inch pipe, and let it
flow then remove the machinery, and drill another well. The
THE OIL FIELDS OF AMERICA. 125
bed rock of the Barren County oil field is white limestone, which
in the valley is about eight feet from the surface. The surface
rocks are usually flat, and so porous that water will run through
them readily.
We are furnished by the gentleman above named with the fol-
lowing well record :
30 feet, white limestone ;
40 " shale;
60 " limestone ;
20 " oil-bearing rock, a kind of shell and sand rock, mixed,
and of a white color.
OIL REGION OF INDIANA/
In the western part of Crawford County, Ind., there is an oil re-
gion that has never been properly tested by that only sure test
" the drill." The surface indications of oil extend five miles in
width by over ten miles in length, and consist of a tar spring,
oil springs, and oil rock, of several varieties and in great abun-
dance. The tar spring has been known ever since the county was
settled, and is nine miles from Leavenworth; it is about half way
up a large hill which is probably one hundred and fifty feet high ;
it flows after each heavy rain, and in the course of a year throws
out tons of tar or asphaltum. It is between the Otter fork and the
West fork of Little Blue ; the nearest well to it is the Dexter well,
which is two miles distant. The oil springs are found on Otter
fork, and West fork, and on hollows tributary to them, there are
quite a number of them from which small quantities of oil can be col-
lected. The oil rock is found in great abundance. At one place
on Otter fork, the bed-rock of the creek is a soft, black sandstone,
and contains over thirty per cent, of oil If a piece of it is put into
a fire it blazes like a candle, and will continue to burn till it loses
one-third of its weight. In the vicinity of the Dexter well on the
HISTORY OF PETROLEUM.
West fork, the oil rock is in great abundance, and in almost every
hollow and their name is legion in all that locality, rock more
or less impregnated with oil may be found.
The Wells. In 1861 a well was sunk to the depth of ninety-
seven feet, by a man named Custerman. He obtained no show of
oil, and never pumped the well. The war caused him to stop work,
and he has never been heard of in that locality since. In 1863-4
several wells were sunk three on the west fork. The Dexter well
is 580 feet deep, and has a fine show of oil ; it rises constantly in
the conductor; a quart can be taken off every morning. It is a
lubricating oil of good quality. It now belongs to the Dexter Oil
and Salt Company, and they intend to sink it deeper and pump it
this year. .The Clark well, located three miles below, is 640 feet
deep ; found no oil ; a little gas and saltish water. The well has
been left open and is filled with sediment. The Eaton Sulphur
Well, three miles further down the creek, is only 275 feet deep ;
flows white sulphur water. It is becoming a great resort for invalids.
These are all the wells that have ever been sunk on the West
fork. On the Otter fork, there have been five wells sunk. A
small show of oil was found in two of them. The Golden Salt
well is one of them, and is over 1,000 feet deep. It is a good salt
well. Two of the other wells are 700 feet deep. All of these
wells are below the indications. No well has ever been sunk on
either creek above the indications except the one mentioned.
The Geological Position. The locality is in the sandstone which
underlies the great Indiana coal field ; the first strata below is the
carboniferous limestone, which is about 800 feet thick"; the next
strata is known as the knob sandstone, and is about 400 feet thick ;
the next is a black shale or slate, 100 feet thick, and is the last
strata through which they passed at Terre Haute, in sinking their
well, which is the only successful oil well yet sunk in the State.
It is 1,625 feet deep.
" The Crawford County Petroleum and Mining Company " are
now sinking a well at Leavenworth. It is to be sunk through the
THE OIL FIELDS OF AMERICA. 127
black slate penetrated at Terre Haute, which will be a depth of
about 1,300 feet.
The marked difference in the geological formation in the Indiana
region and those of Pennsylvania and West Virginia is in the
limestone, and consequently wells will have to be deeper here to
reach the main source of the oil, which lies below it. While the
thick strata of limestone will make it expensive to sink wells, it is
a good evidence that the oil exists in abundant quantities, or it
would not rise so far through it and make so great and extensive
surface show.
The Louisville, New Albany and St. Louis Railway passes
through the center of Crawford County.
CALIFORNIA.
The discovery of petroleum in California adds another to the al-
ready widely varied products of that State. It has been known
for a long time that deposits of petroleum existed near the coast,
but as yet the production of this oil has been unimportant. The
Learning Petroleum Company, recently organized in San Fran-
cisco, has fairly commenced operations, with results which augur
abundant success. The crude oil is found in the mountains of the
San Fernando District, thirty-five miles north-west from Los An-
geles, from which point there is railroad communication of thirty-
one miles with the Port of San Pedro. The cost of transportation
from the mines is 2} cents the gallon, and the cost of refining 2
cents per gallon for small quantities, and 1 \ cents for large lots.
Up to the present time several shipments of crude oil have been
received at San Francisco, aggregating some hundreds of barrels,
which have found immediate purchasers at remunerative rates. The
Gas Companies are prepared to take and use not less than 1,000
barrels per day, and the district owned by the company is suffi-
ciently extensive and prolific to warrant the delivery of that or
128
HISTORY OF PETROLEUM.
even a greater amount, so soon as the requisites can be obtained to
furnish suitable works. These shipments have, so far, been the
products of natural springs from which the oil was dipped with
buckets ; one spring is now producing two barrels per day ; but
when a system of scientific operations shall have been introduced,
the yield will be greatly augmented. It is the opinion of capable
gentlemen who have carefully examined the mines, that they are
of sufficient capacity to furnish nearly all the oil required for con-
sumption on the Pacific coast.
THE OIL FIELDS OF CANADA. 129
THE OIL FIELDS OF CANADA.
THE CANADA OIL REGIONS.
THE first discovery of Petroleum oil in Canada was made in the
township of Enniskillen, in the County of Lamberton, in the
extreme western section of the province of Ontario.
Among the settlers on the almost barren and unproductive soil
of this section of the county, was a lean, swaggy Down -Easter
named Shaw, who had emigrated thither from the State of Massa-
chusetts about the year 1836. Shaw is represented as being luck-
less, thriftless, and poverty-stricken to the last degree. He had
ever been considered a visionary, a schemer of impracticable pro-
jects, and many were the undertakings which he broached to his
friends and neighbors, only to be laughed at. In the years 1855-
6, he set the seal to his reputation as a demented visionary, by his
vain endeavors to get up a stock company for the purpose of boring
down through the swamps, with a view to extracting from the
bowels of the earth a substance which he averred existed there in
exhaustless quantities. He waxed eloquent on this theme, and
declared his conviction that beneath the barren marshes, a source
of untold wealth lay hidden. By these and similar wild represen-
tations, Mr. Shaw ere long came to be regarded as a lunatic. He
was wondered at by some, abused by others, and laughed at for a
fool by all.
9
130
HISTORY OF PETROLEUM.
It must be premised that ever since the original settlement of
Enniskillen, a dark, oily substance had been observed by the set-
tlers floating on the surface of the water in the creeks and swamps.
Good water was not to be had. No matter how deep the wells
were dug, the water was brackish and ill-smelling, and in some
localities totally unfit for use : while a surface of black, oily slime,
frequently arose an inch thick, as cream rises on new milk. Here
and there, in the forest, the ground consisted of a gummy, odcrife-
rous, tar-colored mud, of the consistence of putty. These places
were known by the name of " gum-beds/ 7 and in two or three
instances were of considerable extent. At the present day such
" surface indications " as these would reveal the secret to the most
casual observer ; but to the primitive, untutored minds of the then
residents of the township they failed to convey any other impres-
sion than that their lines had not fallen in very pleasant places.
Finding it impossible to arouse any enthusiasm, or get up any
agitation on the subject, Shaw quietly subsided into his normal
condition of mental torpidity; in which condition he remained
until the summer of the year 1857, when he was seized by another
of his intermittent attacks of enterprise, and this time he deter-
mined to commence operations on his own account. He inaugu-
rated proceedings by digging an ordinary well, as if for water, in a
hollow about a hundred yards from his dwelling. He worked
away at intervals for some days without attracting any notice, and
without assistance from any one. Finally, he was one day aroused
while eating his dinner by a loud explosion, accompanied by what
seemed to be the shock of an earthquake. Upon running out to
ascertain the nature of the disturbance, he perceived a huge foun-
tain of what seemed to be black mud bursting with great violence
from the hole where he had been digging. The " mud " emitted
a very offensive smell. The "jet," when he first cast eyes upon it,
was, as nearly as he could judge, about a foot in diameter, and it
every moment increased in volume, frequently shooting high up
into the air. As a -necessary consequence, the ground was soon
THE OIL FIELDS OF CANADA. 131
flooded, and had not his dwelling been built on an elevation, con-
siderably higher than the mouth of the well, it would have been
partially submerged.
Upon examination, the substance thus ejected proved to be crude
petroleum. The well continued to flow, with occasional brief ces-
sations, for upwards of sixty-seven hours, and this in a large and
swift stream, which poured into the adjoining creek, and the con-
tents were thus carried away and lost. The neighbors for miles
around came and lent their assistance ; but of course, owing to the
want of tanks and barrels, only a very inconsiderable quantity
could be preserved.
The neighboring proprietors followed Mr. Shaw's example, and
leased portions of their lands to the highest bidders. In an incon-
ceivably short space of time, enterprising operators from all parts
of Canada and the adjoining republic began to pour in. The needy
denizens of the Enniskillen swamps began to realize the fact that
their slimy morasses might be confidently counted on to yield a
revenue such as could never be hoped for from the richest and best
cultivated agricultural soil in America. Land changed hands
rapidly, and from one thousand to two thousand five hundred dol-
lars an acre was paid for territory which, previous to the great dis-
covery, could hardly have been given away. The more common
method resorted to, however, was not to transfer the fee-simple of
the lands, but to grant " oil-leases " thereof, whereby the lessee
acquired the exclusive right to operate for oil upon the land for a
specified number of years, in consideration of which privilege, a
certain sum of money usually several hundreds of dollars per
acre was paid down to the lessor, who, by the terms of the instru-
ment, was further to receive a percentage generally one-third
of the oil produced; called a "royalty." Stores, taverns and
dwelling-houses sprang up all around with marvellous Celerity,
forming a village, to which the name of Oil Springs was given.
Postal and telegraphic communication was sKortly afterwards
granted, passable roads were constructed, connecting the region
132
HISTORY OF PETROLEUM.
with civilization, and for some time all went merry as a marriage
bell. The supply of oil was supposed to be almost inexhaustible ;
but it was soon found necessary to spend much more time, and to
incur much greater expense, than Shaw and his immediate succes-
sors had been compelled to do. In other words, the wells would
not flow, but had to be pumped, and it became necessary not only
to sink a surface- well down to the rock, but to bore, by means of
the drill, through the rock, until the vein was reached ; whereupon
oil was said to be " struck." Frequently a vein of water, instead
of oil, would be struck, which had to be exhausted before opera-
tions could be proceeded with, and this sometimes occasioned great
delay. Meanwhile, Mr. Shaw was regarded as a public 'benefactor,
and received as great credit as if he had discovered the philosopher's
stone. He found himself in the possession of enormous wealth,
arising partly from the lease of his lands, and the royalties there-
from ; but chiefly from the product of his wells, the first of which
continued to yield from three hundred to six hundred barrels daily.
The market fluctuated considerably ; but oil seldom brought less
than six dollars per barrel at the well, and was generally much
higher. For two days it reached the enormous figure of sixteen
dollars and twenty-five cents.
Mr. Shaw, through injudicious speculation, spent all his splendid
fortune. He came to the Pennsylvania Oil Region in 1868, and
was employed as a common day-laborer at Titusville, up to 1870,
at which place he died broken-hearted and quite unknown.
About thirty miles to the south-east of Oil Springs, near the
village of Bothwell, another large vein of oil was struck, and ere
long, a busy community sprang up there, scores of wells were put
down, and fortunes made and lost. Oil was soon after discovered
five miles north of Oil Springs, to which place was given the sug-
gestive name of Petrolia.
In the year 1864, Oil Springs contained a population of more
than three thousand inhabitants, several spacious and well-conducted
hotels, and at least a dozen or more places of entertainment, which
THE OIL FIELDS OF CANADA. 133
could lay no claim to remarkable distinction. It moreover contained
two private banking-houses, a Board of Trade, a printing-office
and weekly newspaper, and two hundred and forty-seven wells, all
in active operation, yielding a large number of barrels per diem,
and more were being put down. Money was plentiful, and gam-
bling was practised on a scale which, for Canada, might well be
pronounced gigantic. Every night, Sunday night not excepted,
was consecrated to the unholy rites of "poker" and " euchre."
Dancing assemblies were formed, tri-weekly fandangoes were held,
and the whole place presented the appearance of a California in
miniature. But the end was not very far distant. Already the
deposit had indicated tolerably palpable symptoms of exhaustion.
The Shaw well, after having yielded a sum total of thirty thousand
barrels and this in addition to the immense quantity which was
lost as already described suddenly collapsed, and refused to yield
another drop. The Twenty Friends well, which was second only
in importance to Shaw's, followed the example of its predecessor ;
and a gradual falling off was perceptible throughout the entire
district. Towards the end of the year, Hendrick's well revived
the hopes of the operators somewhat by a daily yield of seven hun-
dred barrels for about a week ; but in the course of a fortnight
these seven hundred barrels were reduced to from thirty to forty,
and shortly afterwards to fifteen. Operators could no longer count
with certainty upon striking a vein of oil wherever they chose to
bore, and many wells had to be abandoned as a dry holes." Many
even of the yielding wells did not produce oil in paying quantities.
About this time, charlatans professing to be endowed with the
mystery of the "Divining Rod" made their appearance on the
scene ; and, though laughed at and condemned by nine-tenths of the
operators, they contrived to realize something more than a good
livelihood out of the other tenth. Success generally followed their
predictions, even when dry holes were becoming alarmingly numer-
ous in the district ; but, of course, the secret lay in their former
extensive experience of surface indications in Pennsylvania. They
134
HISTORY OF PETROLEUM.
could form something more than a plausible guess as to where oil
was to be found, but their science gave them no information as to
the quantity; and the wells sunk by their directions generally ex-
hausted themselves in a day or two from the time the vein was
struck.
Though Western Pennsylvania has produced numerous flowing
wells of wonderful capacity, there is no quarter of the world where
the production attained such prodigious dimensions, as in 1862, on
Black Creek, in the township of Enniskillen. The first flowing
well was struck there on January 11, 1862, and before October not
less than thirty-five wells had commenced to drain a store-house,
which provident nature had occupied untold thousands of years in
filling for the uses not for the amusement of man. There was
no use for the oil at that time. The price had fallen to ten cents
per barrel. The unsophisticated settlers of that wild and wooded
region seemed inspired by an infatuation. Without an object save
the gratification of their curiosity at the unwonted sight of a com-
bustible fluid pouring out of the bosom of the earth, they seemed
to vie with each other in plying their hastily and rudely erected
"spring poles" to work the drill, that was almost sure to burst at
a depth of a hundred feet, into a prison of petroleum. Some of
these wells flowed three hundred, and six hundred barrels per day.
Others flowed a thousand, two thousand, and three thousand bar-
rels per day. Three flowed, severally, six thousand barrels per
day ; and the "Black and Matthewson " well flowed seven thousand
five hundred barrels per day. Three years later that oil would
have brought ten dollars per barrel in gold. Now, its escape was
the mere pastime of full-grown boys. It floated on the waters of
Black Creek to the depth of six inches, and formed a. film on the
surface of Lake Erie. At length the stream of oil became ignited,
and the column of flame raged down the winding of the creek in a
style of such fearful grandeur as to admonish the Canadian squatter
of the danger, no less than the inutility of his oleaginous pastimes.
From detailed determinations, Professor Winchell says, " I have
THE OIL FIELDS OF CANADA. 135
ascertained that, during the spring and summer of 1862, not less
than five million barrels of oil floated off on the water of Black
Creek a national fortune totally wasted."
The extent of the field is very great if we include every place
where oil is found. Reckoning in that way, a district of two hun-
dred square miles would not more than cover it. Most of these
places, however, present only oozings from limestone rocks, such
as occur in various other places in the world unconnected with
qualities of any practical value.
The region of value, as developed by actual borings to this time,
and the existence of the proper rock, is confined to the western
part of the Dominion, and extends from near Lake Erie to Lake
Huron, and from the St. Clair river eastward seventy-five miles or
more ; thus being about fifty miles north and south by, say, one
hundred east and west. Its outside lines are somewhat irregular,
but such is the general range of it. The part of practical value is,
thus far, limited to the " Carniferous Limestone " (so-called from
containing nodules of flint resembling a harp), and which is mostly
confined to the southern part of Canada.
Within this range Petrolia, Bothwell and Oil Springs have pro-
duced nearly all the oil. The latter had the largest wells, though
the former now produces more than nine-tenths of present amount.
Petrolia is about sixteen miles southeast of the outlet of Lake Hu-
ron ; Oil Springs seven miles south of that, and Bothwell, about
thirty-five miles from that.
The surface of the country above described is nearly level, except
where the ground descends to the bed of streams, and being largely
covered with a dense forest of hard-wood trees, is often wet and
muddy, and, in a rainy season, would wonderfully help a traveller
to appreciate the "slough of despond." Time, muscle and money
will however cure this, and while the. timber now keeps out the
drying process of the sun, it is furnishing most valuable fuel for
the oil wells.
Western Canada has no coal. The land descends gently to
136 HISTORY OP PETROLEUM.
the southwest, and the general dip of all the rock formations is
westerly.
In drilling, the first thing found is a yellow clay, and sometimes
sandy soil, five to fifteen feet deep. Next, a compact blue clay of even
consistency and appearance, from 50 to 100 feet deep. This rests
on a thin shell of limestone, resembling a stalactite formation, which
seems to have been crystalized out of the water as it drained from
the clay into the next bed below, which is composed of gravel from
two to eight feet thick.
Next comes a slate rock (called Hamilton shale), usually fifteen
feet thick, in the region of good wells, and thinning out to nothing
eastward. The surface wells, formerly so productive, were found in
this gravel, held down by the clay and thin limestone ; and when,
in digging, the pick broke through this thin shell, the oil and gas
would rush up so rapidly the laborer would often be compelled
literally to flee for his life.
Next below the shale lies the carniferous limestone already re-
ferred to, the upper layer of which is about forty feet thick. This
alternates with thirty to fifty feet of slate; then comes about forty
feet more of limestone, then a similar amount of slate again, and
then (being now at the depth of about 250 feet from the surface),
is again found the limestone, which continues 250 feet more, making
a total of about 500 feet. All the oil is found within that range,
being regularly in veins in the limestone, and the deeper veins
usually the larger. All the rocks below the clay are more or less
saturated with it.
Next below the oil-bearing limestone, is a stratum of hard blue
limestone, averaging four feet thick, and immediately underneath
that a vein of salt water apparently inexhaustible.
At this point commences, with few exceptions in the oil regions,
what is called the Onondaga salt group, which is a formation of
unknown thickness, and in which is found the salt of Syracuse,
N. Y., and also of Goderich on Lake Huron, at a depth of 1,100
feet. It has been penetrated five hundred feet in several places
near Petrolia without producing a barrel of oil.
THE OIL FIELDS OF CANADA. 137
To prevent mistake we ought to say that the salt of Western
Virginia is taken from quite another formation, lying geologically
much higher, and coming very near the coal, being the "conglome-
rate" of the coal measures.
In some places, as near Oil Springs, the upper strata seem thin-
ner/and the lower thicker, thus bringing the oil-bearing part nearer
the surface, giving rise to large surface wells, and also to the gum-
beds there, which resemble the residuum after the oil has evapo-
rated, or been drawn off, leaving a black deposit like asphalt cover-
ing, in one or two instances, a hundred acres.
The oil-baring limestone varies from a close compact structure
to quite open, and these characteristics are presented often in bands
or belts, and the best wells are expected where the rock is most
open. In all its parts it is largely composed of marine shells and
other fossils peculiar to that geological horizon. This seems to
have strengthened the theory of the animal origin of the oil.
The thought is quite romantic perhaps poetic that the little
animals which occupied these shells ages before men appeared, un-
willing to be of no use in the future, built up the rocks out of
the ruins of their dwellings, and then, by some subtle chemistry,
allowed their substance to be converted into oil to fill them, and
thus, with true charity, even "gave their bodies to be burned."
Other facts, however, point to other causes of the oil, at least in a
majority of cases.
The rocks of Canada, it will be seen, differ widely from those of
Yenango county, Pa., these being almost exclusively limestone, and
others sandstone, alternating with slate.
The odor of the oil is rather unpleasant, and this arises from the
sulphur and other substances often found in limestone. Sulphuric
acid occurs occasionally in the water, corroding tools and tubing,
and sulphuret of iron is found in the rock. Its decompositions and
recompositions are taken up by the oil. An English deodorizing
process, called Allen's, is now effectually used. The gravity of the
oil varies from 33 to 43 Beaume. Refining produces about 80
138 HISTORY OF PETROLEUM.
per cent, of illuminating fluid, with less benzine and more tar than
Pennsylvania oil. The color of the crude is dark green, shading into
black. Very little paraffine is deposited in pumping, and benzine
in wells is rarely used. Casing six inches in diameter is put down
to 280 feet, or say 30 feet into the hard limestone, which shuts off
fresh water and prevents the soft shale rock from caving. Tank-
age of the oil is accomplished in part by the use of wooden tanks,
but mostly by making use of the blue clay above described. It is
found to be almost impervious to water and quite so to oil. Ex-
cavations are made in it from ten to twenty feet in diameter, and
sometimes seventy-five feet in depth. Curbing is usfcd to prevent
the possibility of caving. The top of the excavation is planked
and covered with earth. Here is stored the oil, both crude and re-
fined, free from waste and safe from danger until wanted, when it is
pumped out, sometimes by engines and sometimes by spring-holes.
This blue clay, which the farmers in some parts of Northern Ohio
and elsewhere regard with exceeding dislike, is here one of the
best friends of the oil-producer.
Exhaustion of the oil is not to be anticipated for several genera-
tions. Enough is produced for the present wants of the Dominion,
and as Canada develops and her population increases upon the sur-
face, the .regions below will respond to their wants. Nature does
not display all her treasures at once, but opens one storehouse after
another as man's needs may require.
Glaciers, it is quite evident, once moved over that country, for
whenever excavations are made down to the solid rock, scratches
and grooves are found, varying from mere lines to the size of fif-
teen inches, and nearly all running in a uniform course of north-
east to south-west. They dip up under Lake Erie and appear
along its southern shore, w r here they have been seen often, even larger
than any found in Canada. Icebergs have also floated over the
same sections, and evidences of both are abundant from New Eng-
land to the Mississippi and beyond, and from Lake Superior nearly
to the Southern states. -
THE OIL, FIELDS OF CANADA. 139
By these and similar means were many of the Pennsylvania
hills torn down and valleys formed, and from these sources came
most of the soil, gravel and boulders scattered along the Oil Creek
country. Their home was in the North. It seems wonderful that,
in all the tumults, earthquakes and upheavals of the past, nothing
has been permitted to disturb the oil, though it has been left com-
paratively near the surface and easily accessible to man.
HISTORY OF PETROLEUM.
FOREIGN OIL FIELDS.
SOUTH AMERICAN OIL FIELDS.
Much attention has of late been directed to this field. Peru,
Ecuador, Bolivia and Chili, offer inducements to speculators in
search for oil, but only in the two first-named countries are the
prospects of such a character as to attract foreign capital for the
present. The existence of oil in Peru and Ecuador has been known
as far back as the tradition of these countries reached, but to a cer-
tainty it has been made- use of for at least two hundred and fifty
years, by the Spaniards (the first conquerors of the Peruvian em-
pire, which included Ecuador,) for making pitch. The oil was
collected in a manner similar to that employed by the Seneca In-
dians, to obtain the petroleum of Oil Creek ; viz : shallow pits were
dug, and the oil which collected, was skimmed from the surface,
and was then allowed to evaporate under the heat of a tropical sun
till it became of a thick, glutinous consistence, when it was removed
and boiled down to a hard pitch. This pitch was used for coating
the inside of earthenware, and particularly Aguardienti or liquor
jars. The Spanish government long held a monopoly of this trade,
which yielded an annual profit of $35,000. That portion of the
South American oil field lying in the neighborhood of the town of
Payta, on the river Achira, was purchased by a Mr. Lama in the
year 1830, who worked the mines or pits after the primitive mode.
In 1868, a Mr. Blanchard C. Dean in prospecting along the coast,
discovered the works of the Lamas, and proposed a partnership
FOREIGN OIL FIELDS. 141
agreement with them, and a joint prosecution of the work. They
refused. He then " denounced " * a mine according to the old
Spanish mining laws, which resulted in a law-suit. Mr. Rollin
Thorne, a resident of Lima, assisted Blanchard in the litigation
and won the suit, and possession of the land, which in extent is
thirty-one miles in length and six in width.
Within the past year the courts of Peru have decided that
petroleum is not denounceable. Happily for the Messrs. Thorne,
who obtained their best oil territory by this means, the Peruvian
law will not allow a decision already made to be affected by any
subsequent one.
The Peruvian Oil Field is a belt on the west coast of South Ame-
rica, running along the thirtieth parallel of longitude, between Point
Aguja on the south, (or needle point) and the town of Tumbez, on
the north, and about seven degrees south of the equator. The
known distance is about two hundred and fifty-one miles, running
north and south along the Pacific coast, and about one hundred
and fifty miles inland to the. Andes. It is a singular coincidence
that the oil belt corresponds with the Oil Region of Pennsylvania,
as both are intersected by the 80th degree of longitude. The topo-
graphical structure of the Peruvian territory is broken and moun-
tainous, and has evidently been subjected to volcanic action. It is also
worthy of note that the mountain range of the Andes to the east, con-
* The proceeding is this. Any person who may have discovered a mine or vein of
any metals, or as the Peruvian mining laws say, juices of the earth, can present him-
self before the Mining Tribunal and demand possession of said vein. The discoverer
or claimant is called the denouncer. The Tribunal then awards him the possession
of a piece of ground containing the vein, two hundred yards long and of the same
width. Within ninety days he is obliged to commence work. He must dig a pit at
least ten feet deep, by the same in length and width. When this is completed his next
duty is to publish in the nearest daily papers, for thirty days in succession, calling
and asking if there be any person, or persons, who can show a better right to the dis-
covery. Within these thirty days, he must also post handbills in the village nearest
the mine, and within the jurisdiction of the mining tribunal making his award, bear-
ing the same import.
If no opposition is made or sustained, then the Tribunal decrees the ownership and
title in the " denouncer," and that the former owner of the ground shall receive from
the denouncer payment therefor at a price reckoned without the added value of the
mine.
142 HISTORY OF PETROLEUM.
tains large deposits of anthracite coal, and that this coal deposit is
about the same distance from the oil field of Peru as our Allegany
anthracite deposit is from the Pennsylvania Oil Region. A coating
of sand about eight inches thick covers the entire surface of the
Peruvian oil field. A fossiliferous deposit of marine remains is
found on the surrounding hills, from 250 to 300 feet above the
level of the sea. The same deposits are also found on the bottom
lands, which proves that this part of the continent has at some period
of time been covered by the sea, The oil belt appears to belong to
the tertiary formation. The outcroppings of sand-rock are to be
met with everywhere, as we find them in Pennsylvania. Shale
exists below the top coating of sand, and is completely saturated
with oil ; which, to say the least, is a good surface indication. The
shale varies from thirty to forty feet in thickness. These strata of
shale are interlined with thin lamina of bluish grey sand-rock, of
a fine texture. The first sand-rock is to be found at a depth of
from 130 to 132 feet, and is from five to ten feet thick. The
second sand-rock is found at 300 feet, and the third has not yet
been reached, as no well has been sunk to a greater depth than 350
feet.
In 1871, Messrs. Rollin, Thorne & Co. commenced drilling with
a common pod-auger; three wells were drilled and oil was found in
very considerable quantities at very shallow depths, viz., 226, 56
and 38 feet. Other wells followed with good results. In July,
of last year, a new well was commenced at Point Pavinas and
drilled to a depth of 351 feet, or 51 feet in the second sand, through
which the tools have never yet penetrated. No crevice was per-
ceptible to the driller, as a volume of gas and oil at this depth was
suddenly ejected from the well, compelling the abandonment of the
drilling. The well was finally tubed, and both valves and sucker-
rods put in, to diminish the flow, which was calculated at 1,000
barrels per day. The well is now flowing 250 barrels per day
with the lower valve in. From all the wells struck on this territory
great volumes of gas continually issue. The gravity of the oil is
FOREIGN OIL FIELDS. 143
from 40 to 50 degrees Beaume. In color it is a little darker than
Pennsylvania oil, and it has the same odor as an oil of the same
gravity. It yields from 70 to 75 per cent, of 110 fire-test kerosene
when refined, and is a superior article.
A contract has been entered into with Messrs. K. Thorne & Co. by
an Anglo-Peruvian firm for two hundred barrels crude oil per day at
$5 gold, extending over a long period. This firm is now building
a refinery of two hundred barrels capacity at the point of operation.
In the year 1864, Messrs. G. H. Bissell and James Bishop, of
the city of New York, leased of Don Diego Lama, his estate of
Prancora, consisting of 4,500,000 acres. A company called the
Peruvian Oil Company was formed, with capital of $5,000,000.
Operations were soon commenced by the company, on the northern
portion of the tract at Zorritos, twenty miles south of the Tumbez
river, immediately on the coast.
This company has put down a number of wells, with good suc-
cess. In the early part of 1868, the company struck a well which
produced 300 barrels per day for nearly a year, when it caved in,
and the production ceased. The company refine their own oil, and
find a ready market for this product on the Pacific Coast, Austra-
lia, and New Zealand. The President of the company is Mr. Geo.
H. Bissell.
In one well on the company's lands, the following is the order
in which the rocks were found :
Soapstone and slate,
Sandrock and slate,
Conglomerate limestone,
Hydrate of iron, or reddle,
Cretaceous sandstone,
Carboniferous slate,
Gravel-pebble, in which the oil was found.
Oil was met at 18 feet.
144
HISTORY OF PETROLEUM.
ECUADOE.
The oil fields of Santa Elena, in the Republic of Ecuador, is
spoken of in the following terms by Raymond De Peiger, Engineer
and Geologist to the Government of Ecuador, in his report to the
President of the Republic. He says : " Petroleum is to be found
in the country in very large quantities. On a surface of about
four square leagues from the sulphureous spring of San Vicente to
the sea shore, wells have been sunk, and the bituminous matter
obtained in a liquid state. Its consistence is not the same in the
different wells. In some of them it is fluid, like whale oil; in
others, it has the consistence of butter at ordinary temperature. At
the surface, or upper part of many wells, it can be seen in hard
compact masses, which probably have been formed by the evapora-
tion of the liquid. This oil has a dark-brownish color, which gets
darker with the greater consistence of the oil. In one place where
it oozes from the bed of a dried stream, the bituminous matter has
a greenish color.
"Its smell is not disagreeable, which is generally the case with
many of the American, and especially the Canadian oils. As the
inhabitants have neither the knowledge nor the implements re-
quired, the works are very rude. Pits from ten to twelve feet deep
are dug into the sand till clay is reached, and when the oil, which
oozes from all sides, has filled them, it is dipped out.
" Near the wells are primitive furnaces, built with sun-dried clay,
on which are open iron boilers. The bituminous matter is thrown
into these vases and cooked until all the volatile products disap-
pear, and leave a thick pitch.
"In * * * Santa Elena it is not admissible to suppose that pe-
troleum has been formed in the upper sandy deposits. Its presence
there can only be explained by the escape of the bituminous matter
from the fissures in which it was contained. ***** "Y\r e mav
then safely admit that, although large quantities of oil are to be
found in the sand, it is only the mere waste of the real springs.
FOREIGN OIL FIELDS. 145
Deeper sinking will, without any doubt, be very profitable, and
yield immense proportions of petroleum.
" Their proximity to the sea is another advantage of these mines.
AVhile great difficulties have been encountered in the United States
for the conveyance of the oil to the seaboard, here it may be con-
ducted at very small expense, from the wells to the port of Santa
Elena, by means of pipes, if the crude oil is exported.
" Although I should think that it would be more profitable to
refine at the place of production, the advantage expressed remains
the same.
" By this extent, by the enormous quantities of petroleum that
they contain, and by the short distance which lies between them
and the sea, these mines have a real value. Intelligent capitalists
will promptly appreciate it, and works will soon be established.*
" By building refineries at Santa Elena, enough kerosene might
be produced for the use of the country, and for the markets of the
neighboring republics."
What has been said of the topography and geology of the Peru-
vian field applies with equal force to that of Santa Elena. The
climate of this region, though situated almost directly under the
equator, is mild and salubrious, owing to the elevation of the coun-
try and its proximity to the Pacific, the cool breezes of the ocean
exercising a favorable influence on the temperature. In the coldest
season it is never below 50, and in the hottest never above 85.
These discoveries and these developments are destined to exercise
a potent influence on the future of the trade of Peru and Ecuador.
A powerful competition will be offered to Pennsylvania in the
markets of Europe, Australia, and New Zealand, while in the Ke-
publics of Central and South America it can result in nothing less
than entire exclusion.
* Since the above report was published, the Government of Ecuador leased the
entire oil region of Santa Elena to Mr. Richard Linn, of Titusville, for a long terra
of years, with most valuable concessions. We understand thai an association of capi-
talists are now preparing to operate under Mr. Linn's lease. The amount of territory
covered by this lease is 70 miles in length, and 70 in breadth.
10
146 HISTORY OF PETROLEUM.
WEST INDIA ISLANDS.
CUBA.
In the early history of Cuba it is recorded that Havana was ori-
ginally named by the early visitors and settlers Carine " for
there we careened our ships, and we pitched them with the natural
tar which we found lying in abundance on the shores of the beau-
tiful bay." Petroleum springs are in number near Havana, rising
from fissures in the serpentine rocks at Guanabacoa, and have been
known for two centuries. " Allan's Manual of Mineralogy " says
the whole of Cuba is impregnated with bituminous matter to a
surprising degree, in cells and cavities in the rocks. The Esaai
Politique sur I 7 Isle de Cuba : " Petroleum leaks out in some, indeed
in numberless places in this delightful island, from amidst the fis-
sures of the serpentine, and perhaps has deeply-seated sources. We
are acquainted with abundant springs of petroleum between Hol-
quin and Mayari, in the eastern end of the island, and also possess
notices in the direction of Santiago de Cuba."
SANTO DOMINGO.
On a stream called " El Aguatediondo," or stinking water, three
miles north of the town of Azua, this spring makes its appearance
as a stagnant, torpid pool, exuding slowly through a heavy gravel
deposit. A very small area in the vicinity is covered with deposits
of pitch ; for half a mile down the bed of a rain-water stream, the
gravel or sand, as the case may be, is more or less cemented by an
impure pitch, sometimes plastic, oftener hardened to asphaltum.
The pools of the spring and neighboring excavations contain a
dirty water rendered brown by contact with the oil, and on the
surface is a thin scum of petroleum dark brownish-green to reflected
light, and a reddish-brown by transmitted light. An attempt was
made during the oil excitement of 1865 to bore here ; the usual
tools were taken to the spot, but the undertaking was eventually
abandoned. In the driving pipe yet remaining at the mouth of
the well, may be observed an accumulation of oil, through which
FOREIGN OIL FIELDS. , 147
gas bubbles up. At the distance of a few yards from this well are
several jets of gas. Over the whole area there is not a single
blade of grass or any other vegetable.
BARBADOES.
An American gentleman in business on this island in 1864
visited the oil regions of Pennsylvania, and from his observations
became convinced that a like article had been noticed by him oozing
out of the rocks and lying on the surface of the ground on some of
the plantations of this island, but being engaged in business de-
manding his entire attention, he made no efforts to test the facts in
regard to it. During the year 1871, a firm on the island quietly
commenced to secure it by sinking shafts and curbing as they went
down ; it was soon found that they shipped considerable oil, and
that it was very valuable for lubricating purposes, netting them
thirty dollars per barrel on the island. These facts coming to the
knowledge of other parties, a company was formed and a favorable
spot secured on a plantation having abundant surface indications.
This company determined to take advantage of the modern Penn-
sylvania mode of obtaining oil by drilling and pumping. An ex-
perienced driller was engaged in Pennsylvania, who was furnished
with a full rig boiler, engine tools and wood work, and was dis-
patched to the island. In a letter dated the 2d of March the
driller says: "We have drilled 168 feet, but the rock is soft soap-
stone, and not hard enough to prevent ' caving/ so we had to
abandon the well. "We then moved the rig from the ravine to
higher ground." After the abandonment of this well it was found
that it had filled up seventy-five feet with oil. The second well,
for some cause unknown to us ; has also been abandoned.
TRINIDAD.
In the island of Trinidad, three-fourths of a mile back from the
coast, is a lake called the Tar Lake, a mile and a-half in circumfer-
ence, apparently filled with impure petroleum and asphaltum. The
latter, more or less charged in its numerous cavities with liquid bi-
148 HISTORY OF PETROLEUM.
tumen, forms a crust around the margin of the lake, and in the
centre the materials appear to be in a liquid boiling condition. The
varieties contain more or less oil, and methods have been devised
for extracting this ; but the chief useful application of the material
seems to be for coating the timbers of ships to protect them from
decay. By the patented process of Messrs. Atwood, of New York,
the crude tar of that locality, having been twice subjected to dis-
tillation and treated with sulphuric acid and afterward with an
alkali, is then further purified by the use of permanganate of soda
or of potash. Being again distilled it yields an oil of specific
gravity 0.900, which is fluid at 32 Fahr.
THE CARPATHIAN PETROLEUM BELT.
The existence of rock oil springs and wells in Galicia, Moldavia
and Wallachia, outside, or along the north, north-east and east foot
hills of the chain of Alps which surrounds Hungary on the side
of Russia, has been known for some years. In 1859 the Austrian
geologist, M. Foetterle, wrote of them in the Year-book of the K.
K. Geological Institute. In 1866 Hochstetter and Prosepny pub-
lished further observations in the same Annual ; and licinsky, in
the Berg-ung-Hutten-wesen Zeitung, No. 36-37. In No. 39-41,
1866, Prosepny gave another account of them ; as Cotta did also
in the East Austrian Review. Ellenberger in 1867 added some-
thing in the Annual K. K. G. R., and M. Coquand inserted his
Memoir in the xxiv. vol. Bulletin of the French Geological
Society.
We have now, however, a completer resume of all that is known
on the subject from the pen of M. Emile Heurteau, Engineer of
Mines, in the recently issued 3d part of the xix. vol. of the Annals
of the Paris School of Mines, with a map of the Krosno-Dukla
districts and sections of the petroleum-bearing rocks. He says that
FOREIGN OIL FIELDS. 149
in 1869 he visited most of the points where oil was actually sought
or obtained, but that the work was conducted by the proprietors
of the land, no records of borings were kept, and scarcely any traces
of what had been done were left to view.
The mountain range, in this part of it, runs north-west and
south-east, and falls oif gently to the great Miocene Tertiary plains
of Galicia and Moldavia, in a series of parallel anticlinal and syn-
clinal undulations, which are visible in the sections made by all
the descending valleys and ravines. The mountain mass consists
of cretaceous rocks and outcropping on the south-west flank,
covered by Eocene Tertiary sandstones and clay-slate formations,
almost vertical or a little overturned, so as to plunge south-west-
wardly, and rarely fossiliferous.
On these Carpathian rocks lie the Miocene Tertiaries, the lowest
of which, outcropping all along the foot-hills, are the two thin beds
of saliferous clay-slates which furnish the salines of the region.
The salt mines of Wielisk and Bochnia, the gypsum masses of
Podgorze, and the sulphur deposit in the gypseous marls of Schos-
zowice, are all in the Miocene.
Everywhere along the range of the salt-bearing rocks is a black-
ish clay, marl bed, more or less bituminous, of muddy consistency,
strongly impregnated with salt, either crystallized in large grains
imbedded in the mass, or condensed into -large lenticular beds of
impure rock salt ; or irregularly distributed. The whole saliferous
formation is traversed by contorted beds of anhydrite gypsum
alternating with beds of salt-clay, more or less pure. All stand
vertical or plunge steeply south, growing less deep the further
down they are followed, puzzling the observer with the appearance
of passing underneath the older steeply south-dipping rocks of the
mountain range. Heavy coverings of loss help the deception. It
is of course necessary to suppose a long fault, the north-east country
having settled down and curled the edges of its rock formation
completely over. This fault is the key to the subject of the me-
moir.
150
HISTORY OF PETROLEUM.
On the Galician side, the oil belt, though extending for 200
miles, is explored at three principal centres : New Saudac, on the
west ; Dukla, Krosno and Sanock, in the middle ; and Borslau, in
the east, where the " mineral wax," ozokerit occurs in great abun-
dance.
From time immemorial the peasants of Bobrka, on the banks
of the Jasolka, between Dukla and Krosno, have noticed oil oozing
from joints of the sandstone rocks, and standing, especially in dry
seasons, on the little pools of water ; they collect it to grease their
wagons, and fire it off on festival occasions. In 1860 M. Lucka-
silwitch, hearing of the American petroleum wells, experimented
with his own in the laboratory, and then commenced work on M.
Klobassa's lands, but with very poor success. In 1861, he trans-
ferred his search to a place farther east, and struck oil in a bore 50
feet deep, which yielded 16,000 pounds daily. His second well
yielded 600 bbls. Wells multiplied, until in 1870 the yield
amounted to $70,000 per annum, giving a profit of $50,000.
Seventy-seven wells are ranged along the axis of a sharp anticlinal,
one-third of a mile long, none being more than 80 feet off the
straight line, and the oil from all flows through a pipe to a common
reservoir. Some of the wells are 350 feet deep ; but no law of
depth has been obtained. Shafts 7 feet square are sunk about 70
or 80 feet to the sandstone, and bore-holes are continued from this
downward. Gunpowder is used in shafting, and strong ventilating
fans blow out the gases. Lights are forbidden, and accidents are
few. The boring is very rude, being done by four hands without
machinery.
On reaching the oil stratum a great quantity of carbonic acid gas
mixed with hydro-carbons escapes from the well, followed by the
oil, which rises to the surface of the water, filling the shaft. A
small " Jewish " hand-pump is used to draw off the water and oil
into barrels, from which the water is allowed to escape by gravity.
It is evident that the oil is kept down, by the weight of water, and
must be relieved of this load before it will rise in any quantities.
FOREIGN OIL FIELDS.
151
Some wells yield per day 3,000 kilogrammes, others 600, 302 down
to 80, and some mere traces of oil. The author gives interesting
details of the lawless behaviour of the various wells of the group,
with diagrams showing their relative situations and relations to the
anticlinal axis, and confesses that no trace of a method of explana-
tion has been obtained. The oil is always mixed with water, some-
times fresh, ordinarily saline. Between the two petroleum horizons
the water is always salt. The following table shows the authenti-
cated and official statistics of all the oil which has been transported
and conveyed by the Carl Ludwig & Kaiser Ferdinand (Nord-
Bahn) Railroads for eight successive years from the oil regions.
YEAR.
Oil conveyed and
transported by
two roads.
Into Austrian pro-
vinces and Prus-
sia.
Consumed in the
towns and cities
in Galicia.
American oil con-
sumed in Gali-
cia.
1862
cwt.
32,295
67,336
113,099
133,356
166,349
155,589
147,251
81,398
cwt.
26,725
53,796
91,672
117,043
146,802
139,059
134,535
72,701
cwt.
5,570
13,560
21,427
16,313
19,547
16,530
12,716
8,697
cwt.
787
238
114
1,552
395
297
1863
1864
1865
1866
1867
1868 . ...
1869
The above table will give some idea of the resources of the Ga-
lician portion of the Carpathian oil field, as it exhibits how many
years the product of this field has been in the market.
A recent traveller says of the Wallachian portion of the Carpa-
thian oil belt that " there is no country in the old world which has
been so plainly proved to be a land flowing with petroleum." Asso-
ciated capital has been brought to bear on its extraction and ex-
port, but strange enough, the mechanical appliances by which suc-
cess has been achieved in western Pennsylvania have been but to a
very limited extent introduced into Wallachia. The Romanian
petroleum companies, situated on the same end of the Carpathian
152 HISTORY OF PETROLEUM.
belt have been contented to adopt the primitive mode of collection
in use with the peasantry, by making excavations into the earth,
into which the oil saturating the strata flows. This plan of opera-
tions is not conducive to profitable commercial working on a large
scale, but should attention be given to deep boring on the plan
adopted in the oil region of Pennsylvania, there is every prospect
of success.
In the course of this chapter mention has been made of " Ozo-
kerit," a mineral wax or solidified petroleum. We consider the
matter of so much interest that we give a brief account of this sin-
gular product of the field now under notice :
" Ozokerit " is a " mineral wax," and in the raw or native state
is of a yellowish color, of light specific gravity and somewhat
fibrous in its structure. It will not burn of itself, but will readily
melt on a light being applied to it. . On being roughly wrapped
around a central wick, even in its native state, it is easily and
readily consumed. In fact, a rude candle can be made of the raw
material and a cotton wick. It is found principally in Austria,
Moldavia, the Caucasus, and near the Caspian Sea, where it is ob-
tained in great quantities, being largely used in those countries for
illuminating purposes. It was discovered about two years since by
a Russian military officer, who communicated the fact to a Mr. Gus-
tav Siemssen, who has introduced it into England. In the prem-
ises where the candles are made, the native ozokerit is found in two
conditions in the one as dug from the earth, and in the other as
roughly melted down for convenience of storage in transit. In
the latter condition it forms a dark-colored mass, and is packed in
barrels, the native or unmelted ozokerit being sent over in canvas
bags. From the store, the crude material is conveyed into the
melting-tanks, holding from two to three tons each, where it
is melted down by means of a steam coil. From these tanks,
which are situated in a gallery some fifteen feet above the ground
level, the ozokerit is run off by gravitation to a series of stills
placed outside the main building, and holding from two to three
FOREIGN OIL FIELDS. 153
tons each, into which it is distilled over, partly by steam, and
partly by bottom heat. The dirt and bottoms from the crude ozo-
kerit are run off from the melting-tanks into another set of tanks
beneath them, where they are remelted, the finer products being
afterward distilled over, The ozokerit comes from the stills in the
form of an oily distillate, which is run from the condensers into
molds and allowed to cool. This gives a deep yellowish wax-like
substance of a spongy nature, the pores being filled with oil, which
exudes under a slight pressure. These cakes are packed between
oil-skins and canvas cloths, and are placed in hydraulic presses, of
which there are three of large capacity. The pressed cake after
removal is put into reheating tanks and again melted down, and is
pumped from these tanks by a steam pump into the acidifier, where
it is treated with sulphuric acid. These acidifiers are steam jack-
eted, and are fitted with revolving agitators, by which the ozokerit
and acid are agitated for a certain time, after which the mixture is
allowed to settle. After settling, the purified ozokerit is drawn off
from the lower part of the acidifiers the acid remaining on the
top and run into vessels which are heated by bottom heat. This
is the final heating, and from these vessels the fine stuff is drawn
off into molds, the result being a hard white wax, the melting point
of which is 140, that of paraffine wax being only 128. These
blocks are sent to Messrs. Field's works at Lambeth, London,
England, and from them the well-known ozokerit candles are
made. There are several by-products, the chief of which is a very
clear, colorless oil, and of very high illuminating power.
154 HISTORY OF PETROLEUM.
BURMAH.
The petroleum business in Burmah has long been in operation,
the oil being used by the natives for heating purposes, for preserv-
ing wood, and also as a medicine. Thousands of wells have been
excavated, and after working them so long as profitable, they were
left and new ones dug out. Dry holes are as frequent as in Western
Pennsylvania, broken-down operators as numerous, and lucky ones,
who have succeeded in making their first million, just as few.
The possession of the royalties of Burmese oil lands are still so
valuable as to be deemed the most desirable gifts the sovereign of
that country can bestow upon chosen favorites. Not only this, but
English capital is largely invested there, and large quantities of the
oil find a ready market in Europe.
The following interesting account of the wells of that distant
country is taken from the journal of John Crawford, Esq., F. R. S.,
F. L. G., and ambassador of the Governor-General of India, to the
Court of Ava, 1826. Though this report is of old date, it applies
with equal truth to the present state of the business.
"At three in the afternoon, our whole party proceeded to the
celebrated petroleum wells. Those which we visited cannot be
further than three miles from the village, for we walked to them in
forty minutes. The wells altogether occupy a space of about six-
teen square miles. The country here is a series of sand hills and
ravines, the latter torrents after a fall of rain, as we now experienced,
and the former covered with a very thin soil, or altogether bare.
The trees, which were more numerous than we looked for, did not
rise above twenty feet in height. The surface gave no indication,
that we could detect, of the existence of petroleum. On the spot
which we reached, were eight or ten wells, and we examined one
of the best. The shaft was of a square form, and its dimensions
about four feet to a side. It was formed by sinking a frame of
wood composed of the mimosa catechu, which affords a double
timber. Our conductor, a son of the Myosugi of the village, in-
FOREIGN OIL FIELDS. 155
formed us that the wells were commonly from one hundred and
forty to one hundred and sixty cubits deep, and their greatest depth
in any case, two hundred. He informed us that the one we were
examining was the private property of his father that it was con-
sidered very productive, and that its exact depth was 140 cubits.
We measured it with a good lead line, and ascertained is depth to
be 210 feet; thus corresponding exactly with the reports of our
conductor, a matter which we did not look for, considering the
extraordinary carelessness of the Burmans in all matters of this de-
scription. A pot of oil being taken up, and a good thermometer
being plunged into it, indicated a temperature of 99 degrees. That
of the air when we left the ship, an hour before, was 82 degrees.
We looked into one or two of the wells, and could discern the bot-
tom. The liquid seemed as if boiling, but whether from the emis-
sion of gaseous fluids or simply from the escape of oil itself from
the ground, we had no means of determining. The formation when
the wells were sunk, consisted of good, loose sandstone and blue
clay. When the well is dug to a considerable extent, the laborers
informed us that brown coal was occasionally found. Unfortu-
nately we could obtain no specimens of this mineral on the spot, but
I afterward obtained some in the village. The petroleum itself,
when taken out of the well, is of a thin watery consistence, but this,
by keeping, and in the cold weather it coagulates. Its color at all
times, is a dirty green, and not much unlike that of stagnant water.
It has a pungent, aromatic odor, offensive to most people. The
wells are worked by the simplest contrivance imaginable. There
is over each well, a cross beam, supported by two rude stancheons.
At the center of the cross beam, and embracing it, is a hollow
revolving cylinder, with a channel to receive a drag rope, to which
is suspended a common earthen pot, that is let down into the well,
and brought up full by the assistance of two persons pulling the
rope down an inclined plane by the side of the well. The contents
of the pot are deposited for the time in a cistern. Two persons are
employed in receiving the oil, making the whole number of persons
156 HISTORY OF PETROLEUM.
engaged on each well only four. The oil is carried to the village
on posts in carts, drawn by a pair of bullocks, each cart conveying
from 10 to 14 pots of ten viss each, or from 265 to 371 pounds
avoirdupois of the commodity. The proprietors store the oil in their
houses, and then vend it to the exporters. The price varies, ac-
cording to the demand, from four ticals of flowered silver to six ticals
per 1,000 viss; which is from five pence to seven pence halfpenny
per 100. The carriage of so bulky a commodity, and the breakage
to Which pots are so liable, enhances the price in the most distant
parts to which the article is transported, to 50 ticals per 1,000 viss*
Sesamun oil will cost at the same place not less than 300 ticals for
an equal weight, but it lasts longer, gives a better light, and is more
agreeable than the petroleum, which in burning, emits an immense
quantity of black smoke, which soils every object near it. The
cheapness, however, of this article is so great, that it must be con-
sidered as conducing much to the comfort and convenience of the
Burmans. Petroleum is used by the Burmans for the purpose of
burning in lamps and smearing timber to protect it against insects,
especially the white ant, which will not approach it. It is said
that about two-thirds of it is used for burning, and that its con-
sumption is universal until its price reaches that of Sesamun oil,
the only other oil which is used in the country for burning. Its
consumption, therefore, is universal, wherever there is water car-
riage to convey it that is, in all the country watered by the
Krowaddy, its tributary streams and its branches. It includes
Bassien, but excludes Martaban, Tavoy and Mergui, Aracan, Tongo
and all the northern and southern tributary States. The quantity
exported to foreign ports is a mere trifle, not worth noticing. It is
considered that a consumption of thirty viss per annum for each
family of five and a half persons is a moderate average. If it were
practical, therefore, to ascertain the real quantity produced at the
wells, we should be possessed of the means of making a tolerable
estimate of the inhabitants who make use of this commodity, con-
sisting of the largest part of the population of the Kingdom. Of
FOREIGN OIL FIELDS. 157
the actual produce of the wells we received accounts not easily re-
concilable to each other. The daily produce of the wells was stated
according to quality to vary from 35 to 500, the average giving
about 235 viss. The number of wells was sometimes as low as 50,
and sometimes as high as 400. The average made about 200, and
considering that they are spread over 16 square miles, as well as
that the oil is well-known to be a very general article of consump-
tion throughout the country, I do not think the number exagge-
rated. This estimate will make the consumers of petroleum for
burning amount to 2,066,721. In the narrative of one of my pre-
decessors, Captain Cox, the number of wells is given as high as
520, and the average daily produce of each well is reckoned at 300
viss, w^hich makes the whole amount produced 56,940,000."
We here give extracts in reference to Petroleum from the Narra-
tive of Major Michael Symes, of the English Army, who was sent
by the Governor-General of India as Embassador to the Court of
Ava, in 1765 (published by Bulmer and Co., in London, in 1800),
who says at page 261 : After passing various sands and villages,
we got to Yaynangheoum or Earth Oil (Petroleum) Creek, about
two hours past noon. "We were informed, that the celebrated wells
of Petroleum, which supply the whole empire and many parts of
India with that useful product, were five miles to the east of this
place. The mouth of the creek was crowded with large boats,
waiting to receive a lading of oil, and immense pyramids of earthen
jars were raised within and around the village ; disposed in the
same manner as shot and shells are piled in an arsenal. This is
inhabited only by potters, who carry on an extensive manufactory,
and find full employment. The smell of the oil is extremely offen-
sive. We saw several thousand jars filled with it, ranged along
the bank ; some of these were continually breaking, and the con-
tents, mingling with the sand, formed a very filthy consistence.
Mr. Wood had the curiosity to walk to the wells ; but, though I
had felt the same desire, I thought it prudent to postpone visiting
them until my return, when I was likely to have more leisure, and
to be less the object of^)bservation.
158 HISTORY OF PETROLEUM.
PAGE 441. We rode until two o'clock, at which hour we
reached Yaynangheoum, or Petroleum Creek, of Benangyun. The
oil drawers stated to us, that in cleaning out old wells, accidents
sometimes happened from the fire-damps ; and they pointed out a
particular well at which two men had lost their lives from this cause.
PAGE 178. The celebrated Petroleum wells aflbrd, as I ascer-
tained at Ava, a revenue to the king, or his officers. The wells
are private property, and belong hereditarily to about thirty- two
individuals. A duty of five parts in one hundred is levied on the
Petroleum as it comes from the wells, and the amount realized on
it is said to be 25,000 ticals per annum. No less than 20,000 of
this goes to contractors, collectors, or public officers, and the share
of the State, or 5,000, was assigned during our visit as a pension
of one of the Queens.
PAGE 206. The Petroleum wells of Renangyorong have been
already described in the Journal. From the more accurate infor-
mation, which I obtained at Ava, it appears that the produce of
these may be estimated at the highest, in round numbers, at 22,-
000,000 of viss, each of three and sixty-five one-hundredth pounds
avoirdupois. This estimate is formed from the report of the Myo.
Thugyi, who rents the. tax on the wells, which is five in a hundred.
His annual collection is 25,000 ticals, and he estimated, or conjec-
tured, that he lost by smuggling 8,000, making the total 33,000.
The value of the whole produce, therefore, is 660,000 ticals. The
value of the oil on the spot is reckoned at three ticals per 100 viss,
and consequently its amount will be as above stated.
PAGE 238. I should observe, that Petroleum is universally
used, wherever the navigation of the Irrawaddy and^ Ryendwen,
with their tributary streams, will allow of its being conveyed, and
that it is also carried to a place already noticed in our journey up
the river. Dr. Buchanan partook of an early dinner with me, and
when the sun had descended so low as to be no longer inconve-
nient, we mounted our horses to visit the celebrated wells that
produce the oil, an article of universal use throughout the Empire.
FOREIGN OIL FIELDS. 159
PAGE 442. The evening being far advanced, we met but few
carts; those we did observe were drawn by a pair of oxen,
and of a length disproportionate to the breadth, to allow space
for earthen pots that contained the oil. It was a matter of sur-
prise to us, how they could convey such brittle ware with any
degree of safety over so rugged a road. Each pot was packed in a
separate basket and laid in straw, notwithstanding which precau-
tion, the ground, all the way, was strewn with broken fragments
of the vessels, and wet with oil, for no care can prevent the fracture
of some in every journey. As we approached the pits, which were
more distent than we had imagined, the country became less un-
even, and the soil produced herbage. It was nearly dark when
we reached them, and the laborers had retired from work. There
seemed to be a great many pits within a small compass. Walking
to the nearest, we found the aperture about four feet square, and
the sides lined, as far as we could see down, with timber ; the oil is
drawn up in an iron pot, fastened to a rope passed over a wooden
cylinder, which revolves on an axis, supported by two upright
posts. When the pot is filled, two men take hold of the rope by
the end, and run down a declivity, which is cut in the ground, to a
distance, equivalent to the depth of the well. Thus, when they
reach the end of the track, the pot is raised to its proper elevation ;
the contents, water and oil, together, are then discharged into a
cistern, and the water is afterwards drawn through a hole in the
bottom. Our guide, an active, intelligent fellow, went to a neigh-
boring house, and procured a well-rope, by means of which we
were enabled to measure the depth, and ascertained it to be thirty-
seven fathoms ; but of the quantity of the oil at the bottom we
could not judge. The owner of the rope, who followed our guide,
affirmed that when a pit yielded as much as came up to the waist
of a man, it was deemed tolerably productive ; if it reached his neck,
it was abundant ; but that which rose no higher than the knee, was
accounted indifferent. When a well is exhausted, they restore the
160
HISTORY OF PETROLEUM.
spring by cutting deeper in the rock, which is extremely hard in
those places where the oil is produced. The government farms out
the ground which supplies this useful commodity, and it is again
let to adventurers, who dig wells at their own hazard, by which
they sometimes gain and often lose, as the labor and expense of
digging are considerable. The oil is sold on the spot for a mere
trifle I think 200 or 300 pots for a tackal, or half a crown. The
principal charge is incurred by the transportation and purchase of
vessels. We had but half gratified our curiosity, when it grew
dark, and our guide urged us not to remain any longer, as the road
was said to be infested with tigers, that prowled about at night
among the rocky, uninhabited ways through which we had to pass.
We followed his advice, and returned with greater risk, as I
thought, of breaking our necks from the badness of the road, than
of being devoured by wild beasts. At ten o'clock we reached our
boats without any misadventure."
PUNJAB, INDIA.
The Public Works Department of the Government of India a
few years since engaged a gentleman from Pennsylvania, Benjamin
Smith Lyman, Esq., to report on the commercial value of the oil
lands of the Punjab. Mr. Lyrnan reports as follows :
The Punjab oil region is in the corner between Cashmere and
Cabul, and lies wholly between north latitude 32 31 ', and ,33
47', and east longitude (from Greenwich) 71 18', and 73 5' ; a
nearly square space about a hundred miles long east and west, by
ninety miles wide, north and south.
Just inside the north-east corner of this square is Eawul Pindee,
the largest town of the region, with about twenty thousand inhabi-
tants; just inside the south-east corner is Pind Dadun Khan, a
town of about twelve thousand inhabitants ; and just inside the
FOREIGN OIL FIELDS. 161
south-west corner is the ancient uninhabited ruin of a walled town,
now called Kafir Kot. Just within the north-west edge of the re-
gion, and less than twenty miles from its eastern edge, stands the
little village of Shah kee Dheree, on the site of the ancient capital
Taxila, where the King Taxiles hospitably entertained Alexander
the Great. The small town of Attok, where Alexander crossed the
Indus into India, is only ten miles north of the middle of the north-
ern edge of the square. The famous Muneekyala Tope, built by
King Kanishka, about the Christian Era, to mark the spot where
Booddha in compassion gave his own flesh to satisfy the hunger of
a starving tiger, stands a little outside the square, fifteen miles
south-east of Eawul Pindee.
The river Indus enters the square about the middle of the north-
ern edge, and leaves it at the south-west corner. The Jhelum
river (the " fabulosus Hydaspes " of the ancients), one of the five
rivers that gives its name to the Punjab, flows across the south-east
corner, past Pind Dadun Khan, south-westerly toward the Indus.
The center of the region is drained by the Sohan, which rises near
Rawul Pindee, and flows west, south-west to the Indus.
The region lies, then, mostly between the Indus and Jhelum, in
what is called the Sind Sagur Doab (two rivers), and it is mainly
in the mountainous or hilly part (Kohistan) of the Doab. The oil
has been bored for at Gunda, and at first fifty gallons of it a day
were pumped from the well ; but the yield, of course, grew quickly
less (like the ordinates of a parabola), and after the whole amount
had reached two thousand gallons (about five months) the daily
yield was less than ten gallons. In the region, oil flows also at
five other places from natural springs, from a gill to three quarts a
day, and there are traces of it at yet two other places, making
eight in all. Asphalt, or dried oil, is found in small quantities at
four of these places, and at four other places at two in notable
quantities. At most of the asphalt places there are traces of rock
tar or asphalt melted in the heat of the sun ; and at one of them
(Aluggud) as much as one hundred gallons. Besides these dozen
11
162 HISTORY OF PETROLEUM.
places where oil or asphalt is found there are half a dozen places
where there are small traces of one or the other, enough to attract
notice in the minute examination of the country by its inhabitants.
About half of all the places are in the north-eastern corner of the
region ; about half toward the south-western corner, and one or two
in the north-western corner toward the middle.
The Aluggud oil (now dried to asphalt) seems to have come from
rocks of carboniferous age, to judge by their fossils, though other
things would rather show that they were of later age. If they
are carboniferous, then the nummulitic rocks are wanting above
them, and have thinned completely away from a thickness of 2,000
feet only thirty miles distant. This oil is also the only case of oil
outside of the older tertiary rocks anywhere in the whole region.
All the other oil springs or shows of oil in the southern part of
the region are on the northern side of the Salt Range and in the
nummulitic lime rock, or close above it. The northern ones are
either in the nummulitic lime rock of the Choor Hills, the same
probably as that of the Salt Range ; or in the Gunda rocks (chiefly
sand rocks) that lie south of them, also accompanied by nummulites.
In every case the oil seems to come from a deposit of very small
horizontal extent, sometimes only a few feet, seldom as much as a
few hundred yards ; only in one case, that of the Chhota Kutta
and Burra Kutta oil springs, near Jaba, does the deposit seem to
extend as much as half a mile. Here, too, the oil comes from a
thickness of about a hundred feet, and the natural springs yield at-
one place as much as three quarts a day. At all the other places
the oil comes from a much smaller thickness of rock, from forty
feet at Aluggud and twenty at Gunda and Punnoba downward.
Scarcely do any two oil springs come from the same bed of rock.
The oil is dark green in color, and so heavy as to mark 25 of
Beaume's scale, or even less. The Gunda oil has been burned a
little by the natives with a simple wick, resting on the side of an
open dish ; but the Punnoba oil is more inflammable, and needs a
special tube for the wick, though the main opening of the dish or
FOKEIGN OIL FIELDS. 163
lamp may stay uncovered. The oil, generally, however, has been
little used for burning, except at Punnoba ; but has been sought for
as a cure for the sore backs of camels. The asphalt was highly
prized forty years ago by the natives as medicine, especially for
broken bones. It was carried far and wide, and was called " negro's
fat/' because it was believed to have dripped from the brain of a
negro who had been hung up by the heels before a slow fire.
It is perhaps needless to say that there is nothing whatever in
the mode of occurrence of the Punjab oil, to uphold the chimerical
belief that rock-oil ever passes by distillation, emanation, or other-
wise, from one set of rocks to another ; that it originates in any dif-
ferent rocks from those in which it is found ; and nothing to show
that it has been formed by any other method than the very natural
and sufficient one of the slow decomposition of organic matter, de-
posited along with the other materials of the rock. Neither is
there anything to show that the oil has been driven up by the up-
ward pressure of water from the lower parts of a bed of rock
through its pores to a higher part of the same bed ; on the contrary,
as the rocks near most of the oil springs dip pretty steeply, if such
an action of water were possible, all the oil would long ago have
been altogether forced out of the rock at the outcrop. Indeed, such
an idea is quite inconsistent with the fact that even a slight amount
of oiliness in the pores of a body is a complete bar to the entrance
of water ; much less could water (without soap) scour the oil from
one mass of rock and make it flow into another mass filled with
moisture. If oil wells are more numerous in some regions along
the tops of rock saddles, the reason is clear, that the oil-bearing
bed lies too deep for boring conveniently elsewhere.
Wild hopes have sometimes been entertained that a large amount
of oil might, by boring near the oil springs, be struck in some ca-
vity below the oil-bearing bed ; but it is safe to say that they are
not justified by anything whatever, either in the Punjab or in any
other part of the world either in the practical experience of oil
boring or in the general laws of physics.
164 HISTORY OF PETROLEUM.
CHINA.
Late accounts from. China report immense oil fields, some of
which are worked to a limited extent. The Chinese may justly
claim to be the first to drill for oil, as for hundreds of years they
have regularly bored their wells, and that to a very great depth.
The celebrated traveller, Abbe Hue, discovered the existence of
petroleum in many parts of the Empire. In describing the wells,
he states, that many are drilled to a depth of 1,500 to 2,000 feet,
the drilling being done very laboriously by a tube six inches in
diameter.
A Catholic missionary who was engaged in the province of Slo-
Tchouch in 1833 a territory which is celebrated for its fine wells,
gives some very interesting particulars about the petroleum busi-
ness in the Celestial Empire. After describing a burning well,
and the method of quenching it, by turning the waters of a small
lake upon the flames, the missionary states, that when the mouths
of these wells are closed, the gas is conveyed to any place where it is
needed through hollowed bamboos, and used for lighting the towns
and villages. He also describes how in a province about 200
leagues from Canton the gas is used in the great salt mines for fuel.
The gas is conducted under the boilers by bamboos from the well.
These are tipped with earthenware, which keeps the bamboo from
burning when the gas is ignited. So great is the quantity of gas
produced that all the flame cannot be utilized, but much of it is
allowed to escape to the surface of the earth by means of chimneys.
JAPAN.
A very extensive and valuable oil field exists in this country.
Oil is found at shallow depths by sinking pits. An English Com-
pany recently purchased the necessary tools and machinery to com-
mence developments. This Company took out with them a driller
and refiner from the Pennsylvania Oil Kegion. From accounts
received of this field, we conclude it is of a very promising cha-
racter.
FOREIGN OIL FIELDS. 165
ALSACE.
The value of Alsace to Germany, and the Consequent extent of
the loss to France, commercially considered, are alike enhanced by
the probable development of a considerable petroleum industry in
that celebrated province.
Oil works on a small scale, already exist in the valley of the
Rhine, near the village of Schwatwiller, within and near the
borders of the forest of Hagenau. A thick alluvial deposit has
first to be penetrated, beneath which are alternating strata of in-
durated clay, and micaceous sandstone, with seams of compacted
sand. These last named seams, contain the petroleum, and are
found at a depth of two hundred or two hundred and fifty feet.
Indications of the presence of petroleum are observable in various
parts of the forest, and bitumen is found and worked in the adjacent
country. Borings to test the presence of the petroliferous sand,
have been multiplied to some extent, and in all cases with satis-
factory results. The mode of working very much resembles that
of a colliery. We believe that at present there are only two oil
pits existing, and one of these is of a very recent date. The pits
are sunk in the ordinary way, and the seams of sand are worked
by galleries, in a manner similar to that of getting coal. As the
workmen cut their way through the compacted sand, the oil oozes
out of it, running down the wall, of the gallery on to the floor,
where it accumulates in shallow wells dug for the purpose. From
these wells the crude petroleum is conveyed to the surface. But
the process of draining does not remove all the oil, and the sand
itself is accordingly taken to the surface, to be distilled in retorts.
The crude oil which oozes from the sides of the gallery, and that,
which is distilled from the sand, are subsequently rectified by a
further distillatory process, and the product is understood to be in
no degree inferior to Pennsylvania refined petroleum. In working
the existing pits, it is a singular fact that no water is found. Of
the extent to which the petroliferous sand prevails, it would be
166 HISTORY OF PETROLEUM.
premature at present to judge, but there seems no reason to doubt
its presence over a considerable range of territory.
HANOYEK.
Experiments have been made in regard to the well-ascertained
deposits in different localities in Hanover, and borings have been
prosecuted in the neighborhood of Helde, with the object of de-
termining the extent and thickness of a remarkable layer of chalk,
occurring at the depth of about one hundred and twenty feet, and
saturated with petroleum. Several years ago this chalk deposit
was examined to a depth of four hundred feet, and the first one
hundred and fifty feet were extremely rich in petroleum, and
various amounts were yielded as the drillings descended. It would
appear that in consequence of the inefficiency of the apparatus,
the engineer was unable to penetrate any deeper than four hundred
feet, at the point pure petroleum was found. At present the
borings are to be conducted more vigorously, and are to be carried
down to a depth of one thousand feet, with a bore of the diameter
of seventeen inches.
ITALY.
From time immemorial the inhabitants of Rivanazzano, a small
place a short distance from the town of Voghera in the former
kingdom of Sardinia, have been in the habit of using mechanically
a certain fluid which issues in small rills from the Madonna del
Monte, as well as of burning it as a light in their dwellings. At
the top of this mountain there are traces of an extinct volcano, and
some short time since wells were sunk at its foot, and their con-
tents subjected to chemical analysis, the result of which was that
petroleum of an excellent quality was found to be present in con-
siderable quantities. The explorers then came to the conclusion
that abundant subterranean reservoirs of this mineral oil must ne-
FOREIGN OIL FIELDS. 167
cessarily exist at no great distance from the scene of their opera-
tions, and they determined to trace the above mentioned rills to
their sources.
Excavations were accordingly commenced on the borders of the
pleasant slopes of Nazzano, about twelve kilometres from Voghera.
At a depth of about fteen metres a considerable issue of gas took
place, and when thirty metres had been reached, salt-water strongly
impregnated with petroleum was met with, a circumstance which
the explorers remembered as always occurring in the oil springs of
Pennsylvania. Following up the excavations, loud explosions of
gas took place at a depth of ninety metres, and large volumes of
salt water mixed with petroleum issued from a stratum of sand-
stone rock which was there met with. Pumps, on the principle
of those used in America, under similar circumstances, were then
introduced, and an abundant supply of petroleum obtained. Ulti-
mately, a concession of this valuable property was granted by the
Italian government to the explorers, as a reward for their exertions.
The petroleum thus obtained has now been refined, and found
to yield a valuable lubricating oil, and one well adapted for mixing
up paints and varnishes, while the oil for burning gives a very bril-
liant white light, and has been found remarkably free from the
offensive odors usually existing in mineral oils. Our contemporary
adds that the result of these explorations has created quite a
sensation, and that it is to be hoped that capital will not be want-
ing fully to develop discoveries which have been pronounced by
eminent engineers, geologists and chemists, to be most promising
in a commercial, as well as important in a national point of view.
" At Salso the Marchese della Rosa," says an American gentle-
man traveling in Italy, " took me to see the place where he is
boring for oil. The country has very much the appearance of
that around Oil City, Pennsylvania. The Marchese said, that one
could not stick a cane into the ground" without finding traces of
oil. The work has now been carried down about one thousand
feet, but not in paying quantities.
168
HISTORY OF PETROLEUM.
NEW ZEALAND.
IN the vicinity of Taranaki there is an exhalation of gas, and
bubbles of bituminous matter, have been observed since the earliest
days of the settlement, at about half a mile from high water mark,
between the main-land and Moturoa, the highest of the Sugar
Loaf Islands; and, according to Dieffenbach, "was whimsically
attributed by the Maoris to the decomposition of an atua, or spirit,
who was drowned there."
It was not, however, until November, 1869, that any attempt
appears to have been made to search for this oil, by boring or sink-
ing wells on land, and as these experiments have to a certain de-
gree proved successful, much attention has been recently attracted
to this natural production.
Two companies were formed to test the oil lands of this island.
The Taranaki Company drilled two wells, and the Alpha Oil
Company one well. Dr. James Hector, in his abstract report on
the progress of the geological survey of New Zealand, says, close to
the main Sugar Loaf, and to the foot of the cliffs is the Taranaki
Company's bore, No. 1, which has been sunk with much trouble
to a depth of 300 feet. The derrick stands at ten feet above high
water ; and for some time the water level in the bore, maintained
by this level, but after a time it sunk suddenly to 32 feet, which
would appear to indicate the existence of subterranean channels,
communicating with chambers where there is less than the external
atmospheric pressure, owing, perhaps, to the condensation of oil va-
pors. At 254 feet a patch of grey, ferruginous tufa was passed
through, charged with oil, which was the only result. In this bore
some patches of hard basaltic rock were encountered, but in the
whole there was no decided change in the character of the agglo-
merate.
Taranaki Company's bore, No. 2, is on the island on the north
headland, and is commenced on a shelf above the water level.
The bore was, in October, sunk to a depth of 145 feet, being 10
FOREIGN OIL FIELDS. 169
feet in the sand-stone, 95 feet in the agglomerate breccia, 30 feet in
the consolidated tufa, and a few feet more in the agglomerate again.
A few oil patches have been passed through, but no appreciable
quantity has been obtained.
The third bore is that of the Alpha Company, which is situated
a short distance from the north headland.
At 10 feet above high water, and close to the boulder-covered
shore, into a high sandy cliff, a shaft was sunk for 60 feet into the
agglomerate, from the sides of which, at 44 feet from the surface,
oil was found to ooze.
This shaft was continued by a bore hole to a depth of 180 feet,
oil being got at 80 feet, and again at the extreme depth.
When allowed to stand at rest, a considerable quantity of oil
collected on the surface of the water in the well, * * *
accompanied by the escape of gas. The oil was pumped into a
tub along with the water. Recently, the well has been pumped
more regularly, and yields, I am informed by the directors, about
two barrels per week.''
The general results of the chemical examination of the oil ob-
tained from these wells are given as follows : One hundred parts
of crude oil, as obtained from the wells, having a specific gravity
of .963, give-
Distilled oil of specific gravity 874 .02
" " " " 893 .10
" " " " 917 .08
" " " 941 .60
Solid bitumen 06.1
Fixed carbon 12.4
Ash 01.5
100.00
The presence of petroleum has been reported in other parts of
New Zealand.
We understand that recent developments promise success. During
the summer of the present year a complete set of the most approved
Pennsylvania drilling tools were sent out to be used at this oil
field.
HISTORY OF PETROLEUM.
NOVA SCOTIA.
Attention has been attracted to the existence of surface-oil oozing
from the sand rock exposed on the shore of Lake Anslie. A Com-
pany has been formed at Halifax, and are now operating under
the superintendence of Mr. William Harrington. Two wells have
been drilled to a depth of 800 feet, in which the tools were lost ; a
third was commenced of which we have had no report. The drill
has revealed the existence of three sand rocks. The second well
struck oil at 758 feet. Oil was produced from this well in such
abundance as to give reasonable evidence of the existence of oil in
paying quantities. The oil taken from the well was of unusually
high gravity, and almost destitute of odor.
The oil field is distant from* Halifax some 200 miles, and is near
a fine harbor on the coast, which we understand is now connected
by rail with Halifax.
CAUCASIAN OIL EEGION.
The petroleum deposits of the region of the Caucasus are very
remarkable. For many centuries the springs have been known,
and the oil has been collected by skimming. On the eastern shores
of the Caspian Sea, twenty thousand such wells, all of them quite
shallow, existed in 1868. The wells are described as being often
close to each other, and the opening of a new one, it is ascertained,
does not affect the productiveness of another near it. One sunk in
1863, by the side of another, which for centuries had produced
three thousand five hundred pounds per day, yielded forty thou-
sand pounds per day, without affecting in the least the first. The
American method has lately been introduced, and flowing wells
have burst forth from a depth of two hundred and fifty feet, which
have, until controlled, sent up a jet from 40 to 60 feet high. It is
calculated that nineteen million pounds are annually produced in
FOREIGN OIL FIELDS. 171
the Caucasus region. The present oil-producing region is 25
miles in length, and about half a mile in width. The oil is found
in a porous argillaceous sand-stone belonging to the tertiary period.
In the vicinity are hills of volcanic rocks, through which heavier
sorts of petroleum flow out. It has been observed that from the
central portion of the tract the oil is as pure as if refined, and by
its faint yellow tint resembles Sauterne wine. That obtained near
the sides of the tract is darker, changing to a yellowish green, then
reddish brown, and finally to Asphaltum.
The oil is largely introduced into Persia, and over large districts
no other material is used for producing artificial light. The fol-
lowing article by M. Sainte-Claire-Deville upon the properties of
Caucasian petroleums will be found of much interest :
On the Physical Properties and the Calorific Power of some
petroleums of the Russian Empire. By M. Sainte-Claire-Deville,
Corresponding Member of the Academy of Sciences of St. Peters-
burg. Read April 21, 1871.
Rear Admiral Likhatchof desiring to know, in the interest of
the transport trade on the Caspian sea, the value and composition
of the petroleum oils of Bakou, sent to me samples of these ma-
terials. I have made a very attentive examination of them, per-
suaded that one day the employment of mineral oils as a combusti-
ble will be general in all countries where nature furnishes them
abundantly to a regular and well organized exploitation.
Petroleums receive divers applications which necessitate a know-
ledge of certain of their properties and composition. These special
properties and the result of their analysis will be the object of
this memoir.
1st. The investigation of volatility. Petroleums are employed in
considerable quantities for lighting purposes. Lamp oils, to use
an expression established in France (les huiles lampantes), ought
at the same time to be very fluid in order to mount easily into the
wick, and little volatile in order not to be too dangerous in their
management. The more fluid these oils are, the more volatile are
172 HISTORY OF PETKflLEUM.
they, and the lower their, density. When they distil, as they do
in America on a large scale, petroleum of low density, they only
devote to the manufacture of lamp oils the intermediate products
whose points of ebullition are above 150 and below 250 or 280.
Those portions which go above 300 in the retorting possess a
viscosity which make them useless for lamps, and puts them in
demand for the fabrication of lubricating matters, or for fuel. To
handle a. petroleum oil, one must know exactly the number which
represents the quantity of these volatile matters between 150 and
300. This number indicates the proportion of lamp oils which
can be extracted from the natural product.
All that which does not pass in the distillation below 280
should be considered as properly furnishing the lubricating oils,
or to be employed without danger as a combustible of perfect
quality. As to the volatile portions below 150, they are com-
posed of gaseous substances, such as hydrure of butyline, or of
matters possessing at ordinary temperatures strong volatility. These
are the substances which cause such frequent accidents since the
development of a commerce in petroleums on so grand a scale.
The table which I am about to give, and which contains numer-
ous figures relative to the volatility of the Caucasian oils, enables
them to distinguish at once those which are dangerous, those which
furnish lamp oils, and finally the parts of these oils which may be
employed for heating purposes.
It will suffice for this to state for each of them the quantities of
materials volatilized below 150, between 150 and 300, and
those which have resisted this temperature.
M. Likhatehof has sent me three specimens of oils, or products
of the works at Bakou. On submitting them to distillation, the
following results are obtained :
No. I. Raw Naphtha, from the Balchany Wells.
Volatile matters at 100 l.o per cent.
" 160 5.0 "
" " 180 9.3 "
" " 200 14.0 "
FOREIGN OIL FIELDS. 173
Volatile
matters at
220
1 5. 3 per cent.
260
29.0
"
280
37-0 "
30<>
41-3 "
No.
2. Residue from distillation of the Bakou Works.
M
tt
240
I.O "
"
u
260
2.3 "
"
tt
280
4-3 "
"
tt
300
7.7
M
?. 3. Black oil from the Weyser Works, Bakou.
"
"
200
2.3
"
K
240
"
"
260
14.0 "
"
tt
280
22.3
"
(t
300
33-7 "
Numbers 1 and 3 give a certain quantity of lamp oil, and
number 2 can only serve as a combustible or lubricating substance.
The specimens from another source, but which have been col-
lected at Bakou itself, and of which M. Likhatchof has sent me
great quantities, have given the following results :
NO. 4. LIGHT OIL.
Volatile parts at 140 2.7 per cent.
" " 160 7.0 "
" 180 13.3 "
" " 220 19.0 "
" " 240. 23.3
" " 260 29.3 "
" " 280 36.7 "
" 300 75.3 "
NO. $. VISCOUS OIL.
Volatile parts at 200 l.o per cent.
" " 220 , 1.3 "
2 4 3-7
" " 260 I.O "
" " 280 6.0 "
300 9.7 "
These materials are those which have served to determine the
calorific power which will be given further on.
174 HISTORY OF PETROLEUM.
2d. Density and co-efficients of dilatation. I have had many
times occasion to note the dangers which arise during the trans-
portation of petroleums from their considerable dilatability. When
a building is filled with barrels containing petroleum, a large
empty space must be left in order to avoid their explosion ; the
volume of which space can be calculated from tables now to be
cited, constructed with reference to the changes of temperature to
which the material may be exposed on its voyage or during its stay
in the ports and warehouses of commerce.
I have taken the density at and at 50 of the petroleum oils
of Bakou, and have calculated with these numbers their co-effi-
cients of dilatation. Supposing the oil to be exposed during its
voyage to a change of temperature of 50, which is prudent to
admit, the value of the space which must be left empty in the
vessel is found by means of the following formula : v + k -j- 50 ; v
being the volume of the vessel, and k being the co-efficient of dila-
tation given below :
No. i. Density at o 0.882, raw naphtha from the Balchany wells.
at 50 0.8473.
Co-efficient of dilatation ...0.000781.
No. 2. Density at o o 928, residue of distillation from Bakou works.
at 50 0.888
Co-efficient of dilatation ... 0.00091.
No. 3. Density at o 0897, black oil from Weyser works of Bakou.
at 50 7.865.
Co-efficient of dilatation 0.000737.
No. 4. Density at o 0.884, light oil of Bakou.
at 50 0.854.
Co-efficient of dilatation *. 0.000724.
No. 5. Density at o 0.938, heavy oil of Bakou.
at 50 0.907.
Co-efficient of dilatation 0.000681.
3d. Elementary composition. The elementary analysis of petro-
leum serves principally to calculate the theoretical calorific power
of these minerals. In default of direct determination, you can
admit that the quantity of heat given by the combustion of the
compound is the sum of the quantities of heat of the combustion
FOREIGN OIL FIELDS. 175
of the elements, and calculate thus the calorific power of these hy-
dro-carbons. The number thus found for petroleums is always a
maximum that experience never permits us to reach, doubtless
because carbon and hydrogen in combining disengage heat, and
.naturally this disengaged heat is no longer present in the com-
pound. But, as M. Macquorn Rankine has very judiciously re-
marked, you obtain by this calculation an approximate number,
which, wholly inexact as it is, may be a guide in the comparison
of values, as combustible of divers mineral oils. Here are the
results which I have obtained by analyzing the petroleums of
Bakou. I designate them by the numbers which have already
served me to specify them in the preceding chapters.
No. I. Hydrogen 12.5
Carbon 87.4
Oxygen o.i
100.
No. 2. Hydrogen 11.7
Carbon 87.1
Oxygen 1.2
100.
No. 3. Hydrogen 12-0
Carbon 86.5
Oxygen 1.5
100.
No. 4. Hydrogen 13.6
Carbon 86.3
Oxygen o.i
100.
No. 5. Hydrogen , 12.3
Carbon 86.6
Oxygen i.i
100.
To compute with these results the heat of combustion, deduct
from the number of hydrogen one-eighth of the oxygen found, mul-
tiply this difference by 344.62, multiply the number of the carbon
by 80.8, and get the sum of the two products thus obtained.
176 HISTORY OF PETROLEUM.
Thus calculated, the following table gives the theoretical heat of
combustion of the Bakou oils :
No. * 11,370 units of caloric.
2 11,000 " "
3 11,060 " "
4 11,660 " "
5 u,aoo " "
4th. Calorific power or heat of combustion. I have determined
already the calorific power of petroleums by proceedings which
have been described in the reports rendered by the Academy of
Sciences of France (see volume Ixviii., page 349). No longer
having at my disposal the apparatus which has served for these
experiments, I have had recourse to a method which seems to me
to give also very good results, and which has the advantage of pos-
sible application whenever you have a steam-engine whose boiler
is heated by mineral oils.
I have shown that the heavy oil of gas works has a very nearly
constant composition, and furnishes with truly remarkable regu-
larity the same quantity of heat when it is burned in a calorimeter
rightly arranged. Under these conditions heavy oil at 0, a density
of 1.044, furnishes by kilogram 12&.77 of vapor, and produces in
burning 8,916 units of caloric. These numbers being definitely
fixed (see reports rendered, vol. Ixvi., page 450), it is evident that a
sufficiently exact relation could be obtained by burning successively
representative heavy oil under the boiler of a steam-engine pro-
ducing a known work, and then the oil to be experimented on
doing also the same work, and burning the same quantity of matter.
The quantities of water vaporized by the combustibles will be very
nearly in proportion to their calorific powers. As you know the
number for the heavy oil, a simple proportion enables you to
determine the heat of the combustion of the mineral oil taken ex-
perimentally.
I operated upon an engine with a Belleville boiler of eight-horse
power. I maintained constant, for less than a tenth of an atmos-
FOREIGN OIL FIELDS. 177
phere nearly, the pressure in the boiler, while the engine was con-
densing in a large iron reservoir of forty cubic meters, air at a
constant pressure of two atmospheres three-quarters.
The air brought in by pumps escaped by a cock whose opening
was conveniently arranged so that the engine doing a constant
work the pressure in the reservoir remained itself absolutely in-
variable. Under the conditions which I have just mentioned, you
can measure exactly the quantity of water volatilized in the boiler,
the quantities of oil consumed to produce the constant work of the
engine, and when you have made the two determinations suc-
cessively for the heavy gas, oil serving as representative and the oil
taken as experiment, you have given all that is necessary to calcu-
late the calorific power of this last.
1st. Bakou oil, specimen sent by M. Likhatchof, and arrived in
a sheet-iron box carefully closed, fluid oil and already studied
above under No. 4.
Here are the results of its comparison with heavy oil :
Heavy oil has given
Pressure of the engine ....................................................... 3#-8.
Pressure of the air in the reservoir ........................................ 2 #-75
Temperature of the feed water ..... . ...................................... 26
Volatilized water ............................................................... i6ik.
Oil consumed ................................................................... 18^.23
Oil No. 4 has given-
Pressure of the steam .................................... .-... ................. 30.8
Pressure of the air in the reservoir.... .................................... 20.75
Temperature of the feed water ............................................. 26.
Volatilized water
Weight of the oil burned
From this is deduced :
1st. Calorific power of oil No. 4, 11,460 cal. Quantity of vapor
produced at an ordinary pressure, and without work, by 1 kilogram
of oil, 16&.4.
2d. Bakou oil, specimen sent by M. Likhatchof, and arrived in
a shee5ron box carefully closed, oil very viscous, and already ex-
amined above under No. 5.
12
178 HISTORY OF PETROLEUM.
This oil, to flow easily in the pipes of conduit, requires that it
should be put under a pressure of about 4 decimeters of mercury.
To burn well an oil so little volatile, you must give to the vertical
grating of my preparations (see their descriptions in the reports
rendered, vol. Ixviii., page 349), a little more height than for the
fluid oils, and so dispose it (or such a disposition) that the air arrive
a little more easily at the bottom than at the top of the grate, where
the access of the air should be a little narrower.
Oil No. 5 has given
Vaporized water ............................................... . .................. 126^.6
Oil consumed ........ ,
From this is deduced :
Calorific power of oil No. 5 ............................................. 10,800 cal.
Quantity of vapor produced without work and at ordinary pres-
sure by I kilogram of oil .......... , .............................
If you compare these calorific powers with those which were
theoretically deduced from their composition, you find :
Observed power. Calculated power. Diff.
Oil No. 4 ........................... 11,460 cal. 11,660 cal. 200
OilNo.5 ............... ........... io,8oocal. 11,200 cal. 400
If you admit that this difference which is in mean some 300
units of heat, between the real calorific power and the calculated
calorific power, is the same for all the Bakou oils, you find for the
specimens of the materials sent me by M. Likhatchof, which bears
the numbers 1, 2, 3, and of which too small a quantity were sent
me to make the experiment possible, the following results :
Real power. Calculated power.
No. I ......................... ................ 11,070 cal. n,37ocal.
2 ......... ................................. jo,7oo cal. 11,000 cal.
3 .......................................... 10,760 cal. n,o6ocal.
All these determinations are infected by a very slight cause of
error, proceeding from the manner in which the calculations are
established. But they demonstrate nevertheless that the oils of
Bakou, compared to the American and European oils which I have
examined previously, hold the first rank from the considerable
value of their calorific power.
FOKEIGN OIL FIELDS. 179
THE SHALE OIL BUSINESS OF EUROPE, ETC.
Scotland holds the first place in the manufacture of shale oil. It
is estimated that 800,000 tons of shale are annually put into the
retorts of the various Scotch oil works. The probable yield of
crude oil from this source is reckoned at 25,000,000 gallons. To
obtain this result, and also for the distillation of the crude, about
500,000 tons of fuel must be used. The principal product from
the crude is burning oil, of which 300,000 to 350,000 barrels may
be taken as the annual yield. Of lubricating oil, the demand for
which appears to be increasing, there is produced about 9,800 tons.
Also paramne wax of which the bulk is made into beautiful, semi-
transparent candles, and the commonest of it is used in the manu-
facture of lucifer matches say 5,800 tons. To these figures may
be added some 2,300 tons of sulphate of ammonia, and several
thousand barrels of coal oil spirit. The probable commercial value
of these products is estimated at $1,260,000. All told, there are
about fifty shale oil works in Scotland. Russia is advancing in
this department of industry ; probably the largest works of the
kind in the world are to be found at Riazan. Works are now being
erected at Taganroy of a very extensive character for the manufac-
ture of shale oil. From experiments made with this coal-shale the
result is said to have been satisfactory in the very highest degree.
As regards the mineral, recent explorations have led to the dis-
covery that there are apparently inexhaustible coal mines in Khar-
loff and Taganroy, and from these oil can be produced in ex-
tremely large quantities. This mineral is pronounced to be, some
of it, anthracite, and some " half anthracite," while another quality
of it is called " smolisteongle," or steam coal.
In France and Germany quite a number of these works exist, and
are in working order. Of their number and capacity, we are una-
ble to get reliable (statistics.
Shale oil works are to be found in England, Spain, at Constan-
tinople, in Italy, Bohemia and Australia, in which latter the works
180 HISTORY OF PETROLEUM.
are very extensive. Under the present mode of retorting the shale
gives a yield of 150 gallons of crude to the ton. This gives a net
return of 50 per cent., or 75 gallons of clear illuminating oil.
This company (New South Wales Shale and Oil Company) manu-
factures about 20,000 barrels per annum.
We understand that there is one company in Ireland who extract
oil from the peat deposits, so plentiful in that country. Previous
to the discovery of petroleum a large number of coal-oil works ex-
isted in the United States ; at present there is but one, that of
Henry R. Foote, at New Galilee, forty miles from Pittsburgh.
Drilling an Oil Well.
INSIDE VIEW OF A DERRICK.
GEOLOGICAL. 181
GEOLOGICAL.
THE OIL FIELDS OF PENNSYLVANIA, ETC.
THE geology of the oil country is a subject upon which many
theories have been wrecked. In dealing with it we purpose to
present in this chapter a few quotations from the best authorities
we can find upon the subject, and we would here acknowledge our
indebtedness to that excellent little work of Henry E. Wrigley,
Esq., C. E.*
It is well known that the Allegany mountains divide the United
States geologically as well as geographically ; that east of them lie
the transition, the primitive and alluvial formations, and west of
them the great secondary formation, or formation by deposition
from water. This secondary formation extends across the conti-
nent, from the Alleganies to points far west of the Mississippi.
Whether the great valley, drained by the Mississippi, was once
swept over by an ocean, of which the great lakes are but the
remaining puddles, is not an object of immediate interest. That
the Alleganies formed the shore or beach of some such body of
water, and that along its edge were strewed animal and vegetable
.remains, it is undoubtedly safe to assume.
The presence of carbon, as the base of oil, shows that these
deposits were either animal or vegetable, it being the base of the
* Practical Memoranda for the Use of Refiners, Producers and Shippers of Petro^
leum. Cleveland, 1872.
182
HISTORY OF PETROLEUM:.
animal and vegetable world, as silica is likewise of the mineral
world.
Of course, the drill does not reach these deposits. They lie per-
haps almost uniformly under the edge of this formation, at a depth
of from 30 to 40,000 feet. The heat at this depth, although only
a matter of estimate, is doubtless very great, as we know that be-
tween 150 and 2000 feet in depth, there is an increase of 30 P .
It would seem, then, that these deposits of animal or vegetable
matter are volatilized and thrown off into the upper rocks, and
condensed there, by the lower temperature, into liquid oil.
Into what rock the gas will enter, will depend upon the charac-
ter of the rock. A close slate or sandstone will resist it ; but
wherever it finds a crevice or an open porous rock, it will force its
way into it, and will condense there.
Consequently the rock itself is the guide of the driller in search-
ing for oil, and the location of the oil producing spots, resolves itself
into the existence of this porous sand rock.
All the oil-producing spots that have been found in this section
of the United States are included in a belt of twenty miles in width,
stretching from Western New York to Tennessee, in a line paral-
lel with the Alleganies, and lying about fifty miles to the west of
them. The producing spots themselves are in area but the small-
est specks upon this belt, and are scattered over it in such an indis-
criminate manner, that it is impossible to trace any connection
between them, or, rather, to deduce the position of one producing
spot from others, with any degree of satisfaction. It is equally
impossible to trace any connection between these spots and the
water-shed or river-drainage of the country.
A matter which will somewhat affect the question of production
at the south end of the belt is the dip of the sand rock deeper into
the earth as it goes south. Although this is, in a great measure,
counteracted by the general slope of the water-shed of the country
in that direction, it will still average, as near as can be ascertained
by leveling and drilling, about thirty inches to the mile. Professor
GEOLOGICAL. 183
Silliman says, that " Petroleum is uniformly regarded as a product
of vegetable decomposition."
Professor Dana says : " Petroleum is a bituminous liquid result-
ing from the decomposition of marine or land plants (mainly the
latter), and perhaps also of some non-nitrogenous animal tissues."
Professor Denton says : " It is a coral oil, not formed from the
bodies of the coral polyps, as some have supposed, but secreted by
them from the impure waters, principally, though not exclusively,
of the Devonian times."
Professor Winchell says: "Crude petroleum is not a product
of definite composition. It seems to be a varying mixture of seve-
ral hydro-carbons, some of which, as naphtha, volatilize with rapid-
ity when exposed to the atmosphere ; others, as kerosene, slowly ;
while others, as bitumen, are nearly fixed. It contains also vary-
ing quantities of aluminous matter and other impurities.
Petrolejum occurs in stratified rocks of all ages, from the Lauren-
tian to the recent. It has even been observed in some rocks of a gran-
itic structure. The mere presence of petroleum in a formation is far
from being evidence that it exists in large quantities. Observation
has shown that it does not exist in large quantities in any formation
except under certain intelligible conditions. Its presence in small
quantities is to be expected.
It is an opinion almost universal among geologists that petroleum
has been produced from organic remains. Hence long before the
discovery of the eozoon in Laurentian rocks, it had been inferred
that organic life existed upon our planet during the accumulation
of these rocks, because, among other reasons, they afford con-
spicuous quantities of petroleum. Geologists are somewhat divided
in opinion as to whether animal or, vegetable organisms have
afforded most of th native oil. Little dissent exists, however,
from the doctrine that most of the oil occupying the pores and
pockets of fossiliferous limestone has been derived from animal
bodies, while that saturating shales, and arising from shales, has
had a vegetable origin. As the oil of commerce is probably de-
184 HISTORY OF PETKOLEUM.
rived from the latter course, it appears that we are to regard our
commercial oil as a vegetable product."
Professor Winchell closes his article on the geological phenomena
of petroleum* by presenting a synopsis of oil regions, and the
formation tributary to their supplies.
I. The black shales of the Cincinnati group afford oil which ac-
cumulates in the fissured shaly limestones of the same group, and
supplies the Burkesville region of Southern Kentucky, and Mani-
toulin Island, in Lake Huron.
II. The Marcellus shale affords most of the petroleum which
accumulates in the fissured shaly limestones of the Hamilton group,
and thus supplies the Ontario oil region, locally divided into the
Bothwell district, the Oil Springs district, and the Petrolea district.
The Marcellus shale affords also a large portion of the oil which
accumulates in the drift gravel of the Ontario region.
III. The Genesee shale, with perhaps some contributions from
the Marcellus shale, affords oil which accumulates in cavities and
fissures within itself in some of the Glasgow region of Southern
Kentucky. It affords also the oil which accumulates in the sand-
stones of the Portage and Chemung group, in North-western Penn-
sylvania and contiguous parts of Ohio. It affords also the oil
which accumulates in the sandstones of the Waverly (Marshall)
group, in Central Ohio. It affords also that which accumulates in
the mountain limestone of the Glasgow region of Kentucky and
contiguous parts of Tennessee, as also some of that which is found
in the drift gravel of the Ontario region.
IV. The shaly coals of the false coal measures, aided, perhaps,
by the Genesee and Marcellus shales, seem to afford the oil which
assembles in the coal conglomerate, as worked in South-western
Pennsylvania, West Virginia, Southern Ohio, and the contiguous,
but comparatively barren, regions, of Paint Creek, in Kentucky.
V. The coal measures may perhaps be regarded as affording a
* Sketches of Creation. Alex. Winchell, LL. D.
GEOLOGICAL. 185
questionable amount of oil, which may have been found within the
limits of the coal measures in the West Virginia and neighbor-
ing regions.
From this exhibit, it appears that the principal supplies of pe-
troleum, east of the Rocky Mountains, have been generated in four
different formations, accumulated in nine different formations, and
worked in nine different districts. The sandstone beds in which
the Pennsylvania oil is found, belong to the Chemung group of the
Devonian formation. It is so called from the Chemung river, in
the State of New York, where it is well exhibited.
186 HISTORY OF PETEOLEUM.
HISTORICAL DATA.
MANUFACTURE OF PETROLEUM PRODUCTS.
Communicated to the Society of Arts, Massachusetts Institute of
Technology, March 14th, 1872, by S. DANA HAYES, State
Assay er and CJiemist for Massachusetts , etc., etc.
BY referring to any authentic shipping-list, the number of thou-
sand gallons of crude and refined petroleum sent away from the
United States every day and week may be ascertained ; and very lit-
tle search in this direction develops statistics that are surprising to
persons previously unfamiliar with them. As, for example, the
total value of the crude and refined petroleum exported last year
(1871,) estimated at a low average value of twenty-five cents per
gallon, amounts to nearly thirty -five millions of dollars, in one year.
And it is especially notable that a considerable proportion of this
material is classed as " refined," and consists of products manufac-
tured from the crude petroleum of the wells before shipment. There
is certainly no other article of commerce ^exhibiting similar statis-
tics of production and manufacture among the industries of this
country.
The object of this memoir is to briefly sketch the history and
present condition of the manufacture of petroleum a manufacture
which is of great importance, and which, after the diligent study
given to it, and under skillful management, yields products supe-
rior to those obtained in Europe, and elsewhere, from the same
crude material.
The literature on this subject is at ^present exceedingly meager,
HISTORICAL DATA. 187
and generally in short articles, not always trustworthy, distributed
through many journals and publications of different kinds ; and
very little correct history can be compiled from any records, ex-
cepting those of the Patent Office. But as the industry itself is
not, at most, more than eighteen years old, we find, in the experi-
ence of practical chemists and manufacturers, a fund of very valua-
ble and interesting information relating directly to the subject.
Having had uncommon opportunities for making myself familiar
with the manufacture of petroleum products, after careful investiga-
tion, and in the correspondence of others, I find it generally ac-
knowledged that to Mr. Joshua Merrill, manufacturing chemist of
the Downer Kerosene Oil Company, of Boston, more than to any
one else, belongs the honor of bringing this manufacture to its pre-
sent advanced state ; and, as an account of his labors and discoveries
in this connection would provide a nearly complete history of the
art, I take pleasure in recording some of them in this form.
COUP OIL. The first coal-oil made for sale in this country, was
produced at the works of the United States Chemical Manufactur-
ing Company, in Waltham, Mass., by Messrs. Philbrick and At-
wood, early in the year 1852. It was made, in connection with
picric acid, benzole, and other products, from coal-tar ; and was
named by Luther Atwood, the inventor, " Coup Oil," after the
coup d'etat of Louis Napoleon, which had taken place a few months
before.
This was a lubricating oil for machinery, of which a hundred
and seventy-five thousand gallons were made. It was used by
many of the largest factories and railroads, and at that time was so
highly esteemed, that Messrs-. Atwood and Merrill were employed
to make and sell it in Glasgow, Scotland, for Messrs. George Mil-
ler & Company, in 1855 and 1856. But if compared with a neu-
tral hydro-carbon lubricating oil of the present day, it would be
considered entirely unmerchantable, on account of its very offensive
odor and other comparatively poor qualities.
EARLY EXPERIMENTS. In 1856 Mr. Samuel Downer who
188 HISTORY OF PETROLEUM.
had previously been a successful sperm and whale-oil merchant,
erected buildings in South Boston, and employed Mr. Merrill to
manufacture hydro-carbon oils for lubricating purposes especially
and a great many experiments were tried there, on a manufacturing
scale, with different forms of apparatus; and to determine the
most suitable crude material from which to make these oils.
About four hundred tons of Trinidad bitumen, and one hundred
tons of Cuban " chapapote," were consumed, and converted into
lubricating and burning oils, during these early experiments. The
experience gained in this way, and the many difficulties then over-
come, proved of great service in the latter operations at these
works.
THE FIRST ILLUMINATING OIL. Light coal-oil products ap-
pear to have been used by individuals in this country, for illumi-
nating purposes previous to this time ; but upon the introduction
of the Knapp and Dietz lamps, which were originally designed for
burning resin and other oils, it was found that some of the light
hydro-carbons obtained from these West Indian bitumens burned
freely in them, yielding a bright and beautiful light as compared
with that from the animal oil lamps and candles previously in
common use. This was an important advance, and inaugurated
the general burning of these hydro-carbons in lamps in this part of
the country ; the first illuminating oil having been made by Mr.
Merrill, from Trinidad bitumen, in 1856.
ALBERTITE PRODUCTS. In the spring of 1857, the first at-
tempts to use the Albert coal, from Hillsboro', New Brunswick, as
a source of lubricating and illuminating hydro-carbon oils, were
made at South Boston. But the condensing apparatus, which had
been used when distilling other coals and bitumens, was found to
be unsuitable for this new material, as a black asphaltum-like sub-
stance passed bodily over-out of the retorts, and often closed the
cool pipes of these condensers. This difficulty was only overcome
after six months spent in experimenting by Mr. Merrill, who then
invented an atmospheric condenser, which, being constructed of
HISTOEICAL DATA. 189
large hollow disks, allowed this tarry distillate to' pass through,
with the more liquid hydro-carbons, from, which it was separated af-
terward. With this improved apparatus, the Albertite proved
such a valuable material, that, in the fall of 1857, six retorts, each
having a capacity for twelve hundred pounds of coal, were erected
in the open air, with the new condensers attached, and together
yielded about three hundred and sixty gallons of crude coal-oil in
twenty-four hours. Twelve more retorts were soon added to these
six, out of doors. After Mr. Downer had made contracts with the
Albert Mining Company for a regular supply of their mineral,
thirty retorts were erected in a substantial brick building ; and
these were followed by twenty more, the first eighteen having been
worn out and removed. These fifty retorts were used for more
than four years, and produced at the rate of nine hundred thousand
gallons of crude, or six hundred and fifty thousand gallons of re-
fined oils each year quantities very much larger than were antici-
pated when the first experiments were made, in 1856.
A very large part of the products from this Albertite mineral
were hydro-carbons used for lubricating purpose ; and their acknow-
ledged excellence was entirely due to the untiring labor and skill
of the manufacturing chemist. It is almost impossible for persons
unfamiliar with the distillations of this mineral to realize at the
present time, when similar processes are in common operation, how
many obstacles there were to success in these early days. Many of
the best forms of steam-distilling, and other apparatus now in use,
were employed and perfected then.
" CRACKING." One observation made by Mr. Merrill during
the manufacture of Albertite products became of such practical and
scientific importance in after years, that it is worthy of special
description here.
The light or "thin." products, afterwards used as illuminators,
were for a long time unmerchantable, and the production of them
was undesirable ; but it was observed that every time the crude
coal-oils, or the heavy lubricating oils made from them, were dis-
HISTORY OF PETROLEUM.
tilled, these thin, light-colored hydro-carbons were invariably pro-
duced at first by the distillation, although the oils in the apparatus
had been previously fractioned with great care.
This caused so much loss of material, that every endeavor was
made to prevent it ; such as surrounding the upper part of the stills
with heated flues, and covering their tops with sand, or other poor
conductors of heat. But these efforts to prevent the decomposition
only served to demonstrate that any distillation of these hydro-car-
bons is necessarily destructive, and that the light distillates were
produced by condensation of vapors in the upper part of the distil-
ling apparatus, which falling back into the body of the heated fluid,
to be again raised in vapor, were thus decomposed, with the depo-
sition of carbon, into lighter and thinner hydro-carbons. Further
experiments showed that these hydro-carbons could be so easily
decomposed, that the continuous production of light distillates,
having a specific gravity of about .818 (42 degrees Beaume) was
effected from hydro-carbon oils having a specific gravity of .880
(30 degrees Beaume) in an apparatus holding a thousand gallons,
by properly regulating the heat applied ; the other products being
only uncondensed gases, and deposited carbon left in the apparatus
at the end of the distillation. These light distillates became valua-
ble for use in lamps some time afterward, and the manufacturer's
difficulty was thus removed; but the unstable nature of these
hydro-carbons, and the ease with which they may be " cracked/'
was practically demonstrated when endeavoring to overcome an
annoyance.
KEROSELENE. Any account of the Albertite products would
be incomplete without mention of the lightest naphtha obtained
from it, which was known as " keroselene." This was made by
Mr. Merrill in 1857, just after the first successful distillation of the
New Brunswick mineral ; and it was used in considerable quanti-
ties for supplying carburetted air or automatic gas machines, which
would have been useless at that time without this material. It
was obtained in a crude condition by carefully refrigerating the
HISTOEICAL DATA. 191
waste gases as they passed from the outlets of condensers attached
to the stills and retorts ; this crude material, after agitation with
sulphuric acid, was redistilled by steam heat ; and the exceedingly
volatile keroselene, having a specific gravity of only .634, and
which boiled at 85 degrees Fahrenheit, was manufactured in this
way.
Mr. Merrill first noticed the anaesthetic effects of keroselene upon
a laborer engaged in cleaning a tank or cistern which had contained
it, at the works; and afterwards experimented further with it
upon rats and mice. This discovery of its anesthetic properties
was recorded in the medical and surgical journals of that time, and
many interesting results were obtained with it by different mem-
bers of the medical profession.
PETROLEUM. I have been unable to find any record of the dis-
tillation of American petroleum, taken from the wells, in a large
way ; although it was investigated, and the distillates obtained in
the laboratory were burned experimentally, quite early. But
Pennsylvania petroleum was not, probably, made into illuminating
oil, for sale, before the fall of 1858 ; although there were fifteen
establishments using petroleum exclusively, in the United States,
by the fall of 1860.
During the years 1858 and 1859, several hundred barrels of
petroleum were brought to Mr. Merrill from surface wells ; and,
on one occasion, a considerable quantity was sent to him for distil-
lation from the famous Tarentum well in Pennsylvania. And
afterward the heavy paraffine oils and residuary products from
"Western establishments, which were considered valueless there,
were manufactured into lubricating and illuminating hydro-carbon
oils at the works in South Boston. As the supply from flowing
wells increased, the use of Albertite, as a source of fluid hydro-
carbons, gradually diminished; although it was not abandoned
until 1865.
After the trying experiences of former years, no difficulty was
encountered in converting crude petroleum into naphthas, burning
192 HISTORY OP PETROLEUM.
oil (called kerosene or "wax-oil" a patent trade-mark name),
lubricating oil and paraffine, similar to those made from coals and
bitumens. Petroleum breaks up into thin hydro-carbons, by dis-
tillation, even more readily than the Albertite products ; and when
large demands are made for burning oil, the distilling apparatus is
operated slowly, or modified in form, so that the condensed vapors
of the petroleum, or heavy oils, obtained from it are repeatedly
heated by being returned into the body of the still; and in this
way the yield of the lighter hydro-carbons may be increased at
will, the whole contents of the still being converted into burning
oil when desirable. This principle is applied to the immensely
large wrought-iron stills, holding two thousand barrels, or eighty
thousand gallons each, that are now frequently used; they are
placed over a number of small fire-places, with the top and upper
part of the stills exposed to the outside atmosphere, for the purpose
of condensing and returning heavy vapors in the stills.
Petroleum yields, by distillation, nine distinct commercial pro-
ducts.
Name. Specific Gravity. Beaume Scale. Boiling Poi
Righolene , &2C 6c F
Gasolene
....665..
85
...120 "
C. Naphtha
....706..
> 70
...I90 "
B. Naphtha
....724..
67
...228 "
A. Naphtha
....742..
65
...300 "
Kerosene Oil
... 804..
45
...350 "
Mineral Sperm Oil
847..
36
...425 "
Neutral Lubricating Oil.
883.
29
'575 "
Paraffine...,
,...848(?
U.
Four of these products are especially interesting and valuable :
the first is Righolene. It nearly corresponds to the keroselene of
the Albertite products, and is an extremely volatile hydro-carbon,
used for producing local anaesthesia, by its rapid evaporation,
during short surgical operations. In 1866, Mr. Merrill was re-
quested to make the most volatile fluid he could produce from
petroleum, by Dr. Henry J. Bigelow, the eminent surgeon of
Boston. This was done by redistilling gasolene, which was the
HISTORICAL DATA. 193
very lightest petroleum naphtha, by steam heat, and condensing
the first distillate by the aid of ice and salt. In this way, ten per
cent, of the gasolene was converted into the lightest of all known
fluids,* which was named righolene by Dr. Bigelow. Its specific
gravity is only .625, and it boils at 65 degrees Fahrenheit. The
evaporation of this fluid is so rapid at common temperatures, that
it will depress the mercury in a Fahrenheit thermometer to nine-
teen degrees below zero, in twenty seconds. Several hundred
gallons of righolene have been consumed for surgical purposes.
We pass next to the neutral heavy lubricating oil. At the works
in South Boston, the production of lubricating oils has always
been a specialty, but with petroleum there came a scarcity of heavy
and dense crude materials from which to make these oils ; fortu-
nately, however, other manufacturers of petroleum, finding the il-
luminating oil and light products more profitable, have been glad
to dispose of their heavy residuum at these works ; and the defi-
ciency of material has been supplied from this source.
The lubricating or paraffine oils were always characterized by
offensive odors and tastes, so that a person brought in contact with
them became at once aware of their origin ; and the desideratum
with manufacturing chemists, from the earliest days of this in-
dustry, has been the production of dense neutral oils, or oils free
from these offensive objections. Much time and study have been
devoted to experiments having this object in view ; and shallow
stills, stills with double heads, repeated distillations, different pro-
cesses of purification by chemical agents, and many other means,
have been tried without success. But partly as the result of an
accident, Mr. Joshua Merrill succeeded in making neutral oils in
November, 1867.
Distillation had fairly commenced, from a still heated in the
usual manner, by a direct fire underneath, and charged with nine
hundred gallons of mixed heavy and light oils that had been pre-
* Cymogen is a still lighter and more volatile product of petroleum. Its gravity i
0.590=110 B. Its boiling point 32 F. [EDS,]
13
194 HISTORY OF PETROLEUM.
viously distilled, and which were too heavy for illuminating, and
too light for lubricating purposes, when it was found that the con-
denser had partially closed from some accidental cause ; and this,
by the consequent pressure, soon caused leakage at joints about the
bottom of the still, over the fire. Continued distillation increased
the leakage, so that it was necessary to withdraw the fire gradually
from under the still ; although the distillation was continued for
some time in an attempt to empty the apparatus by operating very
slowly. "When the fire was removed, and after distillation ceased,
two hundred and fifty gallons of light hydro-carbons, had passed
over through the condenser. The next day, the oil left in the still,
having cooled sufficiently, was removed; and Mr. Merrill was'sur-
prised to find it different from anything that he had ever seen
before. It had a bright yellow color ; was clear, very nearly odor-
less, neutral and dense. Further experiments showed this result
to have been obtained by the removal of all light odorous hydro-car-
bons without decomposing either the distillate or the oils remaining
in the still, and that this had been accomplished by the moderate
fire employed, and its gradual withdrawal.
This mode of operating was immediately applied to other dis-
tillations ; and, after two months spent in determining the best
mode of procedure, Mr. Merrill obtained letters patent for his
valuable discovery, from which extracts will be made in a descrip-
tion of the present improved processes of manufacturing petroleum
products, at the end of this memoir. This discovery consisted,
first, in determining that the odor and taste of the heavy distilled
oils arise from the presence in them of light and odorous hydro-
carbons, formed during the previous and necessarily destructive
distillations ; and that when these are removed by distilling in a
suitable apparatus, with the application of only sufficient heat to
remove them, withoutjlecomposing or cracking the oils in the still,
the latter are left nearly odorless. And, secondly, in perfecting
the means for .effecting this removal of the odorous bodies. The
introduction ,of ateam from an open pipe to the body of the ap-
HISTORICAL DATA. 195
paratus during this distillation, aids greatly in effecting the separa-
tion, as it lifts the light vapors out mechanically into the con-
denser ; and it also serves to regulate the heat employed for dis-
tillation.
Thus, by extraordinary means, true fractional distillation of the
heavy mixed oils is effected ; and Mr. Merrill says : " I believe it
is impossible to prevent the cracking or decomposition of these hy-
dro-carbon oils, except by keeping them in the still, at temperatures
below their boiling points/'
Many hundred thousand gallons of this neutral heavy hydro-
carbon oil, which has frequently perplexed the most expert judges
and dealers in oils, have been made by Mr. Merrill. It is almost
odorless and tasteless, and cannot be easily distinguished when
mixed with one-fifth part of its volume of the best bleached
animal, sperm or other fat oil, as an examination of this specimen
will assure you. No better estimate of its valuable qualities can
be given than the statement that, in the year 1871, fifty thou-
sand gallons of this oil were sent to England alone, where it
was used for lubricating spindles, oiling wood and other pur-
poses. Another important substance obtained from petroleum is
PABAFFINE. This was one of the very first products made at the
works in South Boston, in the early days : and it is interesting to
know, that while Cuban chapapote bitumen yielded paraffine by
distillation, and Albertite gave large quantities of it, the Trinidad
bitumen never afforded any of this crystalline mineral wax. Mr.
Merrill began to make paraffine from Pennsylvania petroleum in
1859, and since then has, at times, made the enormous quantity of
fifty thousand pounds (or twenty-five tons), in one month. It is
a product of destructive distillation of this petroleum, and does not
exist already formed in the crude oil.
This substance is used principally in candles, also for rendering
textile fabrics water-proof, and for many other purposes ; as one
maker of friction-matches in New York has used one hundred
196 HISTORY OF PETROLEUM.
thousand pounds, and a manufacturer of chewing-gum in Maine
seventy thousand pounds, of paraffine in one year.
MINERAL SPERM-OIL. The fourth product to which I wish
to draw your attention is mineral sperm-oil. This is a burning
heavy oil made from petroleum ; and its valuable properties as a
safe illuminating agent are such as to render this product one of
very great importance. The following statement of its discovery
and characters is given in Mr. Joshua Merrill's own words :
" In the summer of 1869, in connection with Mr. Rufus S. Mer-
rill, I made an important discovery relating to burning the heavy
or paraffine oils in lamps, for illuminating purposes. Mr. R. S.
Merrill is a skillful mechanic, who has devoted himself for several,
years to perfecting the construction of lamps and burners for hydro-
carbon oils. While experimenting upon an apparatus for burning
paraffine wax, with a view to increase the light from this beautiful
substance over that obtained from common candles the only form
in which paraffine is burned he one day put some lubricating oil
into the lamp, instead of the paraffine wax, and we were both much
surprised at the good qualities of the light yielded by it. But,
after examining some days, we found this heavy oil to be impracti-
cable as an illuminating material in its present form, and that some
modification would be necessary. It occurred to me, that if this
heavy paraffine oil was passed through a partially destructive dis-
tillation, cracking it enough to lessen its viscidity, but not enough
to render it volatile, its increased mobility would cause it to ascend
the wicks freely, and yet preserve its character as a fixed oil.
" After many trials, I obtained the product now called ' mineral
sperm-oil/ which is sufficiently thin to fill the wicks perfectly; but
it is so far from being a volatile oil that it is comparatively inodor-
ous, and will not take fire at any temperature below 300 degrees
Fahrenheit, or nearly a Jiundred degrees hotter than boiling water.
Flames of considerable size, such as a large ball of wicking-yarn,
saturated with oil, and ignited, when plunged beneath the surface
of this oil, previously heated to the temperature of boiling water,
HISTORICAL DATA. 197
are extinguished at once. It burns freely in the German student
lamps, and with great brilliancy from the ' Dual ' burner."
The manufacture of this oil is patented in this country and in
Great Britain ; and Mr. Merrill estimates the quantity that may
be made as at least one-quarter of the whole production of petro-
leum, or about one hundred and sixty thousand gallons of mineral
sperm-oil every day a quantity more than twice that of the whale
and sperm oils obtained in the best days of the whale fishery of this
country.
The present time, when government authorities and scientific
men are so generally cautioning against the "dangers of kerosene,"
and just as French savans have discovered that certain heavy
petroleum oils may be burned in lamps,* seems peculiarly oppor-
tune for the introduction of this product of American skill and
invention namely, a hydro-carbon, or mixture of hydro-carbons,
which seems to fulfil all the requirements of an oU to be burned in
lamps, yielding a steady, brilliant and safe light. And practical
indications of its appreciation may be found in the manufacturer's
announcement, that the demands for this mineral sperm-oil is
steadily increasing. It is used on ocean steamers plying between
the United States and Europe, and also on several railroads.
MANUFACTURE OF PETROLEUM PRODUCTS. It only remains
for me to give you a brief outline of the manufacture of petroleum
products, as conducted at a well-managed establishment in this
vicinity.
The crude petroleum is received here from the "West in round
wooden tanks, one or two of which occupy a railway carriage, as
you have undoubtedly observed them on the neighboring railroad ;
and these are sometimes emptied into bulk-boats, when the works
are more easily approached by water. The petroleum is pumped
out and underground into the iron reservoir tanks that closely re-
semble gasometers, where any sand and water that may be present
are deposited and removed. The crude oil, drawn from these
* Comptes Eendu's de 1'Acad. des Sciences, July, 1871
198 HISTORY OF PETROLEUM.
reservoirs, is first pumped into large wrought-iron stills or upright
cylinders, incased in wood to prevent loss of heat, which hold about
twelve thousand gallons each. These are the naphtha stills, in
which the petroleum is heated by steam alone ; the distillates being
collected by condensers, consisting of iron pipes surrounded with
cold water. Only the naphthas, or about fifteen per cent, of the
crude oil, are distilled from these large stills ; but the four kinds
(gasolene, A, B and C naphtha) are collected in different recepta-
cles. Bigholene, as stated before, is made by a second distillation
of gasolene.
The steamed crude oil remaining in the naphtha stills is pumped
from them into smaller stills heated by direct fires underneath, and
holding about a thousand gallons each ; the whole contents of these
are distilled over and condensed, excepting that which passes into
the air as uncondensable gas, and the separated carbon. This is the
first complete distillation, and it is eminently destructive ; the pro-
ducts being separated, by densities, into three grades No. 1, crude
burning oil ; No. 2, intermediate oils ; and No. 3, crude lubricating
oil. Each of these is redistilled by itself in apparatus of the same
size and construction as that used for the first distillation, and they
all break up again into lighter, intermediate and heavy oils. No. 1
is thoroughly agitated with sulphuric acid and caustic soda success-
ively, by revolving stirrers in large tanks, before its second distilla-
tion ; and it then yields from the still, eighty per cent, of its volume
of finished kerosene and mineral sperm, and nearly twenty per
cent, of denser oil. No. 2 is redistilled before treatment with acid
and alkali; it yields crude lubricating oil principally. No. 3, the
crude lubricating oil, requires more careful manipulation than
either of the others. It is first agitated with sulphuric acid, and
then distilled with caustic soda present in the still, the product
being mostly dense parafnne oil. This is placed in wooden barrels,
in ice-houses, where it remains for from seven to ten days ; and du-
ring this time the paraifine wax crystallizes, so that the masses re-
tain the form of the barrels when they are removed. It is now
HISTORICAL DATA. 199
put into bags made of strong cloth, which are arranged one above
another, with sheets of iron between them ; and, when submitted to
heavy pressure, it yields crude scale-paraffine wax remaining in the
bags, and heavy oil is pressed out. The crude paraffine is refined
by repeated solution in naphtha, recrystallizing and pressing until it
is perfectly white and pure, ready for sale. The heavy oil is treated
by the patent deodorizing process. It is placed in stills heated by
fires underneath ; and the temperature is slowly and gradually
raised, until from twenty to thirty per cent, of the contents of the 4
apparatus is distilled over ; it is then allowed to cool in the stills,
and when removed, is ready for sale. The hydro-carbons that pass
over to the condensers during this process have very offensive
odors ; but the oil remaining in the stills, if the operation has been
properly conducted, is free from the characteristic odor of paraifine
oil, and has only a slight odor, similar to that #f fat oil. Live
steam is generally used in the body of the oil during this operation,
and the distillation is effected at as low a temperature as possible.
The very last distillates that are obtained from all the destruc-
tive distillation made at the works are highly colored, and known
technically as " cokings ;" these -are accumulated and distilled by
themselves, yielding crude lubricating oil principally. After every
distillation of petroleum, or the products obtained from it, consid-
erable masses of separated carbon are obtained as residuum ; and,
as caustic soda is frequently used in the apparatus, it remains in
this coke ; this is saved, however, by burning the carbon in a pro-
perly-constructed fire-place ; and the ashes lixiviated yield the soda
as carbonate. The sulphuric acid that has been agitated with the
oils, known technically as " sludge," is carefully saved, and gene-
rally sold to makers of biphosphate of lime fertilizers, although some
of it has been successfully reconverted into commercial oil of vit-
riol by an ingenious process that I need not detain you to describe.
I have thus hastily reviewed the history and modus operandi of
an important manufacture, in the belief that some parts of this me-
moir are new and of general interest.
200 HISTORY OF PETROLEUM.
GAS WELLS.
PENNSYLVANIA, OHIO, NEW YOEK, KENTUCKY.
CARBU RETTED hydrogen is the chief component of the gas
which escapes from the earth in wells and springs in many locali-
ties. It is evolved in the working of coal mines, and constitutes
" fire damp." It is also a constant associate of petroleum, and al-
ways issues in greater or less quantity from oil wells. It is given
off, too, in the decomposition of recent vegetable matter, and may
be seen bubbling up through the water of all pools in which plants
are decaying. When it escapes from the earth it may be generally
traced to beds of bituminous matter, such as coal, lignite, carbona-
ceous shale, asphalt, oil, etc. From these substances it may be
obtained by artificial distillation, and is evolved by the spontaneous
decomposition which all organic substances suffer on exposure.
As carburetted hydrogen produces a brilliant light in combus-
tion, it is largely manufactured and used for the illumination of
cities and residences. So extensively is it employed for this pur-
pose that it may he regarded as an indispensable element in our
modern civilization. It is not strange, then, that efforts have been
made to utilize the immense quantities of gas which flow from
wells and springs in so many different countries. The Chinese
have for hundreds of years used for lighting and heating, the gas
which emanates from the earth in several provinces of their coun-
try. In the United States the gas which issues from the salt wells
of the Kanawha Valley has been for many years employed as a
fuel in the evaporation of the brine.
GAS WELLS. 201
Of course the oil wells of Pennsylvania produce gas, and often
in very great abundance, and it occasionally occurs, that wells
drilled for the purpose of obtaining oil, produced only gas. On
newly developed territory the sight to be witnessed at night in the
many illuminations from this natural gas, is truly grand, causing
the heavens to be lighted up, and the earth to be spread abroad with
a brightness equal to the best artificial illumination of any modern
city. To the reflecting observer the sight will prompt him to look
from " nature up to nature's God."
The village of Fredonia, in western New York, has for more
than forty years been fully or partially lighted by gas which issues
from springs at that place. In the borings made for oil in the va-
rious oil districts of the Western States, the gas which has been
produced so abundantly has been regarded as a useless, frequently
inconvenient and dangerous product. Within a year or two past,
however, this gas has been utilized in numerous localities^ and al-
ready a large number of wells have been bored for the express
purpose of obtaining it. In some cases these gas wells have been
highly productive, furnishing an abundance of material for heating
and lighting in its most convenient and manageable form, so that
this deserves to be reckoned as one of the important elements in the
mineral resources of our country. As this method of procuring
carburetted hydrogen gas forms a new industry, and one which
will probably assume considerable importance, a few words in re-
ference to its present condition and prospects may not be without
interest to the public. We therefore extract from our notes a few
facts in regard to some of the most interesting of our gas-producing
districts. On the Upper Cumberland, in Kentucky, gas accumu-
lates in such quantities beneath the sheets of Lower Silurian lime-
stone, that many hundred tons of rock and earth are sometimes
blown out with great violence. These explosions have received the
local name of " gas volcanoes." In Ohio, gas escapes from nearly
all the wells bored for oil in the oil-producing districts. Of these,
two bored by Peter Neff) Esq., near Kenyon College, in Knox
202
HISTORY OF PETROLEUM.
county, present some remarkable features. These wells were boivj
in 1866, at the same geological horizon as that which furnishes the
oil on Oil Creek, Pa. At the depth of about 600 feet, in each
well, a fissure was struck from which gas issued in such volume
as to throw out the boring tools, and form a jet of water more than
100 feet in height. One of these wells has been tubed so as to ex-
clude the water, and gas has continued for five years to escape from
it in such quantity as to produce, as it rushes through a two and-a-
half-inch pipe, a sound that may be heard a considerable distance.
When ignited, the gas forms a jet of flame three feet in diameter
and fifteen feet long. The other well, which has never been tubed,
constantly ejects, at intervals of one minute the water that fills it.
It thus forms an intermittent fountain, one hundred and twenty
feet in height. The derrick set over this well has a height of sixty
feet. In winter it becomes encased in ice, and forms a huge trans-
lucent chimney, through which at regular intervals of one minute,
a mingled current of gas and water rushes to twice its height. By
cutting through this chimney at its base and igniting the gas in a
paroxysm, it affords a magnificent spectacle a fountain of water
and fire which brilliantly illuminates the ice chimney. No accu-
rate measurement has been made of the gas escaping from these
wells, but it is estimated to be sufficient to light a large city.
At West Bloomfield, N. Y., is another gas well, not unlike those
described. This is bored to the depth of five hundred feet, reach-
ing down to the vicinity of the Marcellus bituminous shales. From
some measurements made by Prof. Wurtz, it appears that about
fifteen cubic feet of gas escaped from this well every second. It is
proposed to utilize this large amount of valuable combustible by
conducting it through pipes to Rochester, a distance of twenty miles.
At Erie, Pa., there are now twenty-five wells in successful opera-
tion, most of which have been bored for the special purpose of
obtaining gas.
FIRST. H. Jarecki & Co. (Petroleum Brass Works) have two
GAS WELLS. 203
wells ; the first bored for oil in 1854, 1,200 feet deep. No oil was
obtained, but brackish water and an abundant supply of gas.
At Conneaut and Painesville, Ohio, wells have been bored for
gas with entire success, and others are being bored, in these locali-
ties, and at many points farther west.
Of two of the Painesville wells, a few notes may be of interest
to the residents of the lake shore. First, is the well of Gen. Case-
ment on the east side of the town. This well is 700 feet deep, and
passed through the following materials :
One Drift, clay and gravel, 40 feet.
Two Erie shale, " soapstone rock," 648 feet.
Three Huron shale, very black and bituminous, with strong
smell of oil, 12 feet.
Gas was found in the Erie shale. The supply is abundant, and
is used for all domestic purposes in Gen. Casement's house. The
pressure of the gas was tried ; but at 27 pounds per square inch
part of the apparatus failed.
SECOND. Well at the Erie Seminary, 725 feet deep at the time
of observation. Strata passed through
One Clay and sand, 23 feet.
Two Erie shales, alternations of sandy and argillaceous gray
and green shales, 687 feet.
Three Huron shale, black and bituminous, 15 feet.
The gas was found in the fissures or crevices of the " soapstone
rock." In the seminary well four such fissures were found. The
first gas was obtained at 300 feet.
Another well at the seminary is of similar character. The sup-
ply of gas from both wells is insufficient to light and heat the
building. If collected in .a gasometer, it would at least supply all
the light required.
In the vicinity of Cleveland, as in many other localities in the
eastern half of the state, gas and oil springs are frequently met
with, and many wells have been bored for one or the other of these
useful articles. Here, as elsewhere, there are two marked lines of
204
HISTORY OF PETROLEUM.
gas and oil springs, connected with the outcrops of the two sheets
of bituminous shale which underlie the surface. First, the Cleve-
land shale of Lower Carboniferous age, which crops out along the
base of the hills that bound the "Cuyahoga Valley. This bitumi-
nous shale is from thirty to sixty feet in thickness, and is the source
of the oil of the East Cleveland and Kingsbury quarries, the noted
gas spring at the brick-yard beyond East Cleveland, etc. The oil
of Mecca and Liverpool is derived from the Cleveland shale.
Second, the Huron or Great Black Shale, which passes beneath
Cleveland, and rising westward comes to the surface in Huron and
Erie -counties, and forms a broad belt of outcrop, thence to the
Ohio river. The Huron shale has a thickness of 300 to 400 feet,
mostly black and highly bituminous, and is the source from which
the gas of the Neff wells and the well on the lake shore, and the
oil of Oil Creek are derived. In the valley of the Cuyahoga, in
both Cuyahoga and Summit counties, a large number of wells were
bored for oil some years since. Most of these yielded both gas and
oil, but neither in large quantity. From a similar well in the val-
ley of Rocky river a copious flow of gas has continued to escape
for several years. Of the wells recently bored in this vicinity, a
brief notice may perhaps be of interest to the people of Cleveland.
First, well at mouth of Kingsbury run, bored by the Standard Oil
Company for water. The depth of this well is 1,005 feet. The
well head is about ten feet above the river. Before reaching the
rock, 238 feet of clay, with partings of sand and gravel, were passed
through. The rock penetrated was gray and black shale. Some
water and gas flow from this well, but neither in large quantity.
Second, well bored by the gas company, at the gas works near
the mouth of the river, well head about fifteen feet above the lake.
This well is 835 feet deep. The rock was reached at 116 feet, the
overlaying material being mainly blue clay, with sheets of quick-
sand and gravel. The rock passed through consisted of alternations
of gray and black shale. Gas was obtained at several points, but
not in remunerative quantity.
GAS WELLS. 205
Third, well bored by Captain Spaulding between Cleveland and
Rocky river. This well -began about 100 feet above the lake. At
the date .of my visitation, it had been sunk to the depth of 715 feet.
It passed through,
1. Sand and clay, 12 feet.
2. Erie shale, gray argillaceous shale, with bands of sandstone,
400 feet.
3. Black shale, with thinner bands of gray Huron shale, 303
feet. In this well gas was obtained at several horizons, and the
quantity is sufficient to light a number of houses.
In the city of Erie there are some thirty gas- wells. These wells
are for the most part drilled to a depth of from 500 to 700 feet.
The shale is here reached at the depth of from 30 to 40 feet, and
extends below any depth yet reached by the drill, and is com-
posed of alternate gray, and black layers or veins the gas being
found only in the latter. The gas from a portion of the wells here
furnishes fuel to three steam flour mills, the city water works, an
oil refinery, two machine shops, a car manufactory, and four or five
other steam works. The City Gas Company also have a well, and
use a mixture of natural and manufactured gas for the use of the city.
At Buffalo, N. Y., a well was sunk to a depth of 640 feet, when
a large vein of gas was struck. The volume of uprising gas showed
a presence of 130 pounds to the inch. This gas is of remarkable
purity.
At Cumberland, Maryland, a company started what they in-
tended to be an oil well. Gas was struck, and soon afterwards was
accidentally set on fire, and continued to burn for a period of two
years. A Mr. Haworth, having heard of the burning well, went
to Cumberland, tested the quality of the gas, and was satisfied that
he could put in operation a scheme or plan of his own, for the
manufacture of carbon from the gas. The well was leased, and a
patent obtained for the manufacture of carbon from the gas. Mr.
Haworth has now in operation 660 burners, each burner consuming
eight cubic feet of gas per hour. The gas is allowed to burn
206
HISTORY OF PETROLEUM.
against soapstone plates, on which the carbon is deposited in the
shape of soot.
The carbon is used for the manufacture of ink, and these works,
we believe, are the only ones of the kind in the country.
Some six miles east of Crab Orchard, in Lincoln county, Ky.,
there is a spring known as the "Burning Well/ 7 situated at the
very base of the Cumberland mountains, on the banks of a small
stream called Dix river. The water in this well is in a constant
state of ebullition, and regularly, every day, between four and five
o'clock in the afternoon, overflows. A large quantity of gas is
liberated, said to be carburetted hydrogen gas, to which a light
being applied, a flame, sometimes ten or fifteen feet in height,
results. The only peculiar feature of this well is the diurnal and
infallibly regular overflow.
REMARKABLE GAS WELL AT FAIRVIEW, PA.
. In June, 1872, a well was drilled about two miles from Fair-
view, Butler County, Penna., to a depth of 1335 feet, for oil, and
was abandoned on account of the strong flow of gas and. salt water ;
so great was the flow of gas that the boiler had to be removed to a
distance of twenty-five rods. After the well was abandoned some
two months, the pressure of gas became so strong that it forced the
water entirely out of the hole, and in the autumn of the same year
a company was formed to utilize the gas, which was done by bring-
ing it through a3J-inchcasing to Fairview, a.nd thence to Petrolia,
three miles from Fairview. The gas is used to light- the streets
and heat residences and offices in both places. The pressure, as in-
dicated on a steam gauge, is 80 pounds. This well has an escape
through a 6-inch pipe, and the noise of the escaping gas, can be
heard readily for a distance of two miles.
A correspondent of the Titusville Herald under date of Septem-
GAS WELLS. 207
ber 3 r 1873, gives the following graphic account of this remarkable
gas well :
" The roar of the escaping fluid was equal to the sound of Nia-
gara, and the iron tools that had penetrated 1335 feet of solid rock
were raised, and tossed in the hole with as much ease as a skiff is
rocked upon the surface of an angry ocean ; so strong was the gas-
giant that one man might have helped the tools out of the well
without the aid of an engine. A man might throw a one hundred
pound rock into the escaping column, and it would be thrown with
ease tp the height of forty or fifty feet in the" air ; an ordinary club
might be launched into the upward stream, and it would be toyed
with as a fountain jet toys with a marble. It would raise a club
seventy-five or eighty feet in the air, and when it would begin to
descend it would be elevated again until it would escape the centre
of the current, and then return to- the ground. The voice of this
giant can be heard for five miles distinctly, and it sounds like the
approach of a train of cars on the railroad, or like the sound of a
brake when letting down tools into a 1500 foot well. In the hole
is a little salt water, just enough to make the gas appear like blue
smoke. The water, under the force of the gas, is formed into a
mist, and on approaching the well, appears like a column of smoke
rising out of the valley, but ' woe be unto him ' who touches a
match in this giant's face, for his breath is explosive, and would,
when lit, make heat enough to melt iron.
" For a few weeks this well blew, and howled, and whistled,
making night hideous and day tedious with its ceaseless 'yells/
until the arms of science opened to receive the wasting fuel. A
twenty-horse power boiler was stationed near the well and con-
nected to receive it ; to the boiler was connected a three-and-a-half
inch tubing, which was laid for seven miles to Fairview, Petrolia,
Karns City, and Argyle ; to this seven miles of pipe are attached
forty pumping and 'drilling wells, eight pump stations and different
pipe lines, two hundred gas burners, and forty cook stoves, all of
which burn the gas from this well. But they do not use it all. The
208 HISTORY OF PETROLEUM.
well is only a five-and-a-half inch hole, but the waste pipe is a
five and five-eighth inch casing, which fairly rings with the pressure
of the escaping waste gas."
NEWTON GAS WELL, NEAE TITUSVILLE, PA.
Nearly all wells producing oil, yield small amounts of gas,
which is often found in quantities large enough to make it availa-
ble as fuel for boiler fires ; but wells, producing large quantities of
gas unaccompanied by oil, are comparatively rare. We have in-
stanced a few in different parts of the country, and would here
make mention of one quite famous well of this sort, at the mouth
of East Sandy Creek, hereafter described, and another at Stewart's
Run, both in the Pennsylvania Oil Region. But the most re-
markable gas^well yet discovered is the Newton well on the A. H.
Nelson farm, five and one-fourth miles northeast of Titusville.
This well is the second one drilled in this vicinity, the first sunk
in the fall of 1871, proved a dry hole. The usual strata of rock
found in this region, were passed through in drilling, and there
was no indication of oil, and but slight signs of gas, during the
process of boring.
This well is drilled to the depth of seven hundred and eighty-
six feet, and was finished on the llth of May, 1872. A few
minutes after the pump was set in motion the flow of gas com-
menced throwing up the fluid as fast as a two and a-half inch outlet
would allow it. Soon the water was exhausted and the gas rushed
out with a deafening noise, and with terrible force. The well was
at this time tubed only to the second sand-rock, a depth of seven
hundred and five feet. The casing was now lowered below the
second, and the tubing to the third sand-rocl^ and pumping re-
sumed, with about the same pressure from the third sand-rock, as
from the second, but showing a difference in the quality of the
GAS WELLS. 209
gas, it being much purer and of higher illuminating power. On
the 24th of June, the casing was removed and placed above the
first sand-rock, leaving all the gas veins open below the casing. A
sand-pump was then run down a few times for the purpose of ex-
hausting the water, and agitating the well, so as to permit the gas
to flow the more freely.- On putting down the sand pump for the
fourth time, the gas again rushed up, carrying the sand pump and
line with it, faster than steam power could be made to draw it out;
and for several minutes the well discharged a column of water to
a height of at least one hundred feet, making a splendid sight, and
a noise which is , said to have been heard for a distance of ten
miles.
As soon as possible the gas was divided into seven two-inch jets,
one of which was sufficient to run the engine, the gauge showing a
pressure of 75 Ibs. to the square inch. Calculations, as accurate as
it is possible to make, showed a total pressure of not far from 350
Ibs. to the square inch, and a flow of more than 500,000 cubic feet of
gas per day. Each day the volume of gas seemed to increase and
then occurred to some capitalists, the feasibility of carrying the gas
to Titusville to supply the many manufacturing firms and private
families with it. as fuel, and to this end the well was purchased by
Henry Hinckley, Esq., of Titusville, who had the product of the
well measured, which revealed the fact tHat it was producing over
four million cubic feet per day ! On the first day of August, 1872,
the gas was conveyed through a two-inch pipe to the city of Titus-
ville. This two-inch pipe was found, after a short time, inade-
quate for the demand, and a line of 3 J-inch pipe was laid down, and
now supplies two hundred and fifty firms and private families with
gas, for heating and lighting purposes.
Of the many striking features of the Pennsylvania oil region,
Gas City, Cranberry township, "Venango County, is one of the
most remarkable. It is called Gas City because of the large amount
of gas flowing from its wells, of which there are some thirty pro-
ducing oil. The town has about forty houses, composed principally
14
210 HISTORY OF PETROLEUM.
of hardware stores, groceries, restaurants, &c., and these are all
heated and lighted by gas from one well. Each well has gas
enough to make steam for its engine, and to light the engine-house
and each engine-house uses for light as much gas as would sup-
ply a large hotel, and wastes more than would supply a town of five
thousand inhabitants. At each well there is pipe run from the
boring to some distance, through which the waste gas is burned at
an elevation of fifteen to twenty feet.
GAS WELLS AT EAST SANDY.
There is a remarkable gas well at East Sandy, in the Pennsylva-
nia oil region, which was struck in the spring of 1869. It caught
fire, and resisted all efforts to extinguish it, and it burned for a little
more than a year, lighting up the surrounding country for 'a great
distance. The rush of gas and flame, roaring like a cataract, could
be heard for miles. After partial exhaustion, the gas was conveyed
in pipes in some instances upwards of half a mile, for use on both
drilling and pumping wells. The amount of gas produced daily
by the well is not known, having never been tested, but some idea
of it may be gathered from the fact that it has supplied gas to 20
pumping and drilling wells at one time. In some instances this gas
was utilized directly into the engine, like steam as a motive power,
the steam-gauge indicating a pressure of 80 to 90 Ibs. to the inch.
The presence of large quantities of gas in the Pennsylvania oil
region usually indicates the presence of an abundance of oil in the
neighborhood. East Sandy offering such inducements, oil men,
prominent among whom we may mention F. W. Andrews, of Titus-
ville, commenced active operations. Success was not so great as
expected, jet quite a number of good paying wells were found.
GAS WELLS. 211
THE PHENOMENA OF OIL WELLS.
As every human being has his own set of features, tone of voice,
and the like, so each individual well has its characteristics, whether
it be a flowing or pumping well. All differ in regard to the flow of
water, gas and petroleum. In one the flow of oil will be continuous
and uniform, day and night, not ranging more from week to week
than a spring-brook. In others the flow will be intermittent, but
with precise regularity as to time; others again flow at irregular
intervals.
It is recorded of "The Coquet Well" Hyde and Egbert
farm that she emitted a succession of sounds as loud and as sharp
as the exhaust of a small steam-engine, occurring in tolerable order
every ten seconds, in such a manner as 1, 2, 3, 4; 1, 2, 3; 1, 2, 3,
4 ; and sometimes two or three coming off together by an extra-
ordinary effort. "The Wild Cat " and "Yankee Wells" remained
silent for forty and twenty minutes respectively, and then began to
foam and flow, the oil coming off at first only in drops, but increas-
ing by degrees, until it belched forth with terrifying force and
power. These discharges then decreased in violence, and finally
fell off entirely, after the lapse of from five to eight minutes. Each
escape of liquid was accompanied by a sharp report, heard at the
distance of a hundred yards or more. Some wells have remained
quiescent for twenty-one or twenty-two hours in the day, and then
have broken forth in one continuous flow, or a succession of belch-
ings, for two or three hours. A few wells have run for six hours,
and then subsided or distributed their favors over twelve hours in
the twenty-four. " The Dunn Well," on the Watson flats, pro-
duced freely from morning till midday; then the supply diminished
or stopped altogether, for the rest of the day, the pump bringing
little but salt water. In the case of pumping- wells, with each
revolution of the band-wheel, (all things being in working order,)
a discharge of oil, or salt water, or both, takes place.
It is not difficult to account for the phenomena of flowing wells.
212
HISTORY OF PETROLEUM.
Gas seems to be the life-blood of these remarkable wells. Pro-
fessor Winchell, in an article on gas- wells, intelligently disposes of
the question, which we here append:
" The escape of oil at the surface of a well is caused sometimes
by mere hydrostatic pressure, as water rises in a common artesian
well. More frequently, perhaps, the oil is forced up by the elastic
reaction of confined gases. An open cavity, or a porous portion
of rock, bounded on all sides by impervious walls which consti-
tutes a virtual cavity may be partly filled with oil, while gases
occupy the higher portions of the cavity. Such a cavity, whether
actual or virtual, may possess any form or extent, or may consist
of a number of cavities connected by narrow passages or mere fis-
sures. In nearly all cases, more or less gas accompanies the oil,
and subsists under a
very high degree of
pressure. The pres-
sure in such cases is
not the hydrostatic
pressure of water, but
a consequence of the
continual generation
of gas and oil long
after the cavity had
been filled. If the
boring happens to pe-
netrate the higher por-
FIG. i. FIG. 2.
tion of such a cavity, (Fig. 1), the gas at once rushes forth
with greater or less violence and persistence. As soon, how-
ever, as the tension is relieved, the escape ceases. No oil will be
obtained in such a case without applying suction, since there is no
hydrostatic pressure exerted from behind, and the reaction of the gas
tends rather to confine the oil in the lowest ramifications of the
cavity.
" Suppose, however, on boring a hole for oil, we happen to pene-
GAS WELLS. 213
trate some of the lower portions of the cavity occupied by the oil.
The elastic pressure of the confined gas above will at once force
the oil up, and produce a spouting or blowing well. The flow
must necessarily subside by degrees as the confined gas, by the
escape of the oil, acquires more space for its accommodation. It
may continue, however, until the cavity is exhausted of its oil, after
which pumping will be of no avail. If the confined gas attains its
equilibrium before the oil has been completely forced from the cavity,
it is evident that the remainder must be obtained by pumping.
" Intermittent wells appear to act in some cases precisely after
the manner of intermittent springs. More frequently, however, it
is manifest that the combined action of gas and oil produces the
phenomenon. In boring a well, suppose a stream of gas is struck
over one hundred feet from the surface of the rock, and a small
stream of oil twenty feet below the gas. The entrance of oil fills
twenty feet of the hole, and begins to submerge the fissure at which
the gas is escaping. The gas forces its way through the oil with a
sputtering sound, bubble after bubble rising to the surface. As
the oil ascends, the gas makes louder and louder complaints, till,
finally, summoning all its accumulated energies, it hoists the super-
incumbent column of oil to the surface, and pours it out in a few
seconds' duration. The flow then ceases, and the same operation
begins to be repeated. After a minute or more, renewed grumbling
and sputtering, the pent up-gas again relieves itself, and thus the
work continues. The same result would ensue if oil and gas found
entrance at the same fissure, or even if the gas were admitted at
any distance beneath the entrance of a small supply of oil."
In evidence of the truth of Professor Winchell's conclusions, we
may instance a case in point. On the main street of Kouseville,
Venango Co., Pa., is the site of an old well, drilled some ten years
ago, which was pumped, and long since abandoned; it is now
covered with earth, and hidden from view. This well, with the
regularity of time, flows oil and gas once a month. The cause is
obvious : evidently the gas accumulates, carrying with it oil, forcing
itself through the resisting earth.
214 HISTORY OF PETROLEUM.
SALT WATER IN WELLS.
In the course of this work we have had occasion to mention the
existence of salt water in oil wells. It is safe to say that in all oil
wells salt water is to be found. But whence this salt, which, in
the form of brine, gushes upward from depths of one hundred feet
to the greatest depths to which wells have been drilled ? Above
the first sand-rock, the water is invariably fresh ; between the first
and second, it is expected to be such ; below that stratum, it is cer-
tainly expected to be brackish or briny. As a rule, the surface
water does not go down through the second sand rock, or the brine
force itself above it, until an artificial opening exists, the excep-
tions being so few in either case as to establish the general princi-
ple here laid down. Besides, it is well known that water, in pass-
ing through sand or clay, is apt rather to part with impurities than
take others up. Wright, in his work, says :
" The only satisfactory explanation of the existence of these salt
springs is that the strata in which they abound, at one period in
the world's history, formed part of the ocean-bed. This may have
consisted of lime-stones, sand-stones, or conglomerates, all saturated
with brine, and reposing on what had been beds of clay which con-
tained carbonaceous ingredients ; while the process of baking this
clay into shales filled it with cracks and seams, that have since
become so many veins, filled with salt water or petroleum expressed
from the rocks subsequently formed; the whole being upheaved
to their present elevation. But who shall fill up the picture of
those ages, of which this is scarcely an outline ?
The relationship between brine and petroleum is intimate ; yet
they are not invariably found together. Where oil is obtained in
the second sand-rock, it has sometimes happened that the show of
salt was scarcely perceptible in or above the oil vein. By sinking
a few feet deeper, however, the brine would flow up so profusely
as to completely monopolize the tube and choke off the more
desirable product. At Tidioute, the alliance is so intimate that it
LOCATION OF WELLS BY SPIRIT INFLUENCE. 215
has come to be considered a maxim : " No salt, no oil." We have
stated, that brine is found in all wells ; but it is not always found
in large producing wells, when at their best, the appearance of salt
water in good producing wells is generally a precursor of a decreased
production. As to the why or wherefore of this connection, our
superficial philosophy must place its finger on the lip, and be
modestly silent for the present.
LOCATION OF WELLS BY SPIKIT INFLUENCE.
The story related of the locating of the first well (by spiritualistic
agency) called the Harmonical, No. 1 , on the Porter farm, at Plea-
santville, which led to the extensive developments in the Plea-
santville district in .1868, is stoutly affirmed by the party who
claims to have been the instrument selected for locating it. As a
matter of history we give an account of the location as recorded at
the time. Mr. James, the spiritualist, in company with a number
of gentlemen, was on his way to examine some property a few miles
south of Pleasantville. Seated in a buggy with a companion, they
had proceeded but a little distance when Mr. James became violently
influenced by what is termed his attending spirit-guide. This in-
visible power increased till, Paul-like, he hardly knew whether he
was " in the body or out." The control soon becoming absolute,
he was taken over the fence into a lot on the east side of the road,
moving rapidly, and his companions following. Nearly uncon-
scious, the locomotion seemed to him like being hurriedly forced
over a fence. Proceeding towards the south side, then back and
near the north end of the field, he moved more cautiously, as though
tracing some lode or vein. Reaching a certain locality, he was
thrown heavily upon the ground, and making a mark with his fin-
ger, thrust a penny some inches into the earth. He then fell upon
his bosom stiff, and apparently lifeless. His eyes were closed, his
face pale, the pulse feeble, and the limbs rigid as in death.
216
HISTORY OF PETEOLEUM.
In this condition, he was given to understand that they were then
upon a superior oil-producing territory, extending many miles in a
certain direction, that directly under their feet, were floating
streams of oil that if opened would yield rich supplies. This was
the spot the precise location of " Harmonical Well, No. 1" which
was struck in February, 1868, and produced upwards of 100 barrels
per day. The striking of this well created great activity in oil devel-
opments in the district, and thus commenced the famous Pleasant-
ville excitement of 1868. Mr. James has located many wells in the
oil region by <( spiritual guidance," many of which proved good pro-
ducing wells. He became prominent as an enterprising and success-
ful operator. Recently, however, he has located a well on the Cla-
rion River, claiming the same manifestations as related in regard to
the Pleasantville well. This well is now sunk to the depth of 1600
feet, and no sand and no oil, but drilling still continues. There are
many operators in whose minds are yet fresh the implicit confidence
placed in " Oil Wizards," and their power to successfully locate
wells ; indeed, they are to be found at the present time, and still a
few of our oil men employ " Hazel-twig " manipulators to mark
the spot to drill upon. That they were skillful, at least so far as
manipulating the divining rod or "dowsing rod" as it was some-
times called to the satisfaction of their employers and their own
emolument, there can be no doubt, and that they have now almost
become extinct is equally true. Still the system or practice has yet
its defenders, and it seems not without some shadow of consistency.
In 1826, a book was published by Count de Tristam, which gives
a general history of its use and many details, which are curious as
well as interesting. The French call it " Baguette Divinatoire ;"
and M. Chevreuil, in 1854, published a book combating the ob-
jections raised to it as a deception, and ascribing its action to philo-
sophic causes.
The divining rod is a forked stick of either hazel or peach, held
by the extremity of each prong of the fork in a peculiar way the
palms of the hands being upward, and the prong in either hand
LOCATION OF WELLS BY SPIRIT INFLUENCE. 217
.
crossing the palm and being held by the thumb and tips of the fin-
gers. The wizard then walks over the country he is to try, and as he
approaches the greatest body of oil in the immediate neighborhood,
the thick end or handle of the fork turns down in spite of all the
efforts of the holder to the contrary. There is no doubt that,
owing to the way in which it is held, it has, when once it begins to
move, a mechanical tendency to turn, and this increased at the will
of the holder, and in such a way as to remain undiscovered by even
a close observer.
Wells have been located and by some diviners, with wonderful
success, but whether through good luck or actual philosophy is a
question not easily disposed of. It has been used with marked
success in Europe, in discovering mineral lodes or deposits ; and
even as late as 1863, we read of a French ecclesiastic making a hand-
some income by its use in discovering veins of water.
A case stilt later 1869 is quoted, in which what is called the
Chiverton lode was discovered by its aid, this in Cornwall, Eng-
land. In the central counties of Pennsylvania, a well is seldom
dug without first calling in the " water wizard," and making him
" smett" as they term the process over the ground where water is
wanted. This same water wizard is generally shrewd, and allows
the rod to turn down where water will be most convenient, and
then announces the depth at which it should be found, giving as
nearly as possible the same depth as of other wells in the vicinity,
with due allowance for surface irregularity, and the prophecy
seldom fails.
Some of the best oil wells on Pit Hole were located by the use of
this instrument, and this fact is often quoted by its defenders, but
of course finds little sympathy with the incredulous.
218 HISTORY OF PETROLEUM.
A PHENOMENON WITH AN EXPLANATION.
At Pit Hole, in the early part of 1866, a singular phenomenon
manifested itself. A fire occurred at the United States Hotel ; the
water used to extinguish it was procured from an adjacent well,
but after a time it was observed that the supposed water was only
adding fuel to the flame, and on examination it was found that the
well from which the water was obtained, was covered with oil some
inches in thickness ; in fact, the oil was running into it. On further
examination, other wells were found in like condition. Great ex-
citement followed ; many thousands visited the locality, and large
prices were offered for them. It was not confined to the wells alone.
Two or three springs in the vicinity of the water wells mentioned,
were found to be covered with oil. Nature, it would seem, had
become weary of the drilling and pumping process of obtaining oil,
and poured out her treasures of her own accord
The first well in which oil was discovered, was only sixteen feet
in depth, and from it over fifty barrels of oil were taken with a
common pump. The second well was twenty-three feet in depth;
from this well were obtained over one hundred barrels of oil. These
wells produced at the rate of five to twenty barrels per day, when
operated. From the spring near them, the owners dipped several
barrels per day. Some parties sank wells to a moderate depth, and
in cases obtained oil. One of these, only a few feet from the first-
named, struck a crevice in the surface rock, at a depth of twelve
feet, from which poured a fine stream of oil. The yield from these
wells was of brief duration, and many who had wildly speculated
in leases lost heavily. These wells were located about 150 feet
above the level of the creek, on the second bench or table land,
half a mile from the "creek, where producing wells were located.
The wild theories of the wise and learned, and the speculative, too,
were soon after wiped away, a solution of the mystery, and its
explanation being conclusive. JThe Pit Hole* and Miller farm pipe
COST OF WELLS. 219
line had burst during the cold weather of the winter of 1866, at a
point in the neighborhood of these wells, and some thousands of
barrels of oil were lost. The oil taken from the wells described,
was the product of this misfortune to the Pipe Line Company !
COST OF WELLS.
LIFE OF WELLS AND COST OF PRODUCING OIL PEE BARREL.
The cost of putting down oil wells has varied through all the
years of the history of the business, and also varies with the locality
and facilities for the work. In the early years of this industry
many and frequent were the mishaps, the losing of tools, and other
vexatious accidents, the results of inexperience, which often termi-
nated in the abandonment of the work o drilling. Experience
and the improved facilities offered by many valuable inventions
have almost entirely obviated the difficulties with which the early
operators had to contend. Most wells at the present time are cased,
with pipe six to six and a half inches in diameter, to a depth suffi-
cient to shut off the fresh water. Previous to entering the oil-bear-
ing rock, a six to eight inch hole is drilled down to this point, and
then " seed-bagged." This device prevents the fresh water from
falling below the lower end of the casing. The drilling now pro-
ceeds with a reduced bore of about five and a half to six inches in
diameter, to the required depth, after which two-inch tubing is let
down to or below the oil rock, and pumping is commenced at once.
The power of engines used varies from ten to twelve horse-power
being the maximum. The cost of these is in accordance with the
contingencies above mentioned. Wells range from five hundred
to sixteen hundred feet in depth, and the entire expense for
rigs, machinery, and drilling, averages from $3,000 to $8,500 for
each well.
These figures cover the average cost of shallow and deep wells,
220
HISTORY OF PETROLEUM.
without tankage. In some cases, however, they are put down
cheaper, and in others, where accidents occur, such as caving in,
tools, sticking, etc., they cost more money.
The time required for completing a well, ready for pumping,
ranges from twenty-five to one hundred days.
From the reports issued by the Petroleum Producers' Associa-
tion, 1871, we deduce the following interesting items in regard to
the completion, abandonment and resumption of wells, and from
these facts learn the average life of a well and the length of time
required to drill one.
The facts given are as follows :
Date.
1871.
Wells
Drilling.
Wells
Completed.
Wells
Abandoned.
Wells
Resumed.
Number of
Wells
Producing.
132
90
83
14
2897
February
173
57
63
31
3036
240
64
69
9
2921
April
279
87
56
24
2994
Mav...
356
99
30
29
3087
303
154
55
8
3177
July
329
147
54
39
3280
330
112
88
29
3369
September
October
439
486
128
182
69
78
38
28
3466
3606
November
477
154
83
15
3692
December
394
191
131
21
3775
Total...
3938
1465
859
285
39.300
From which we deduce that 859 minus 285, the net number of
wells abandoned during the year, was 574, or an average of 47.8
per month : the average number of wells producing was one-twelfth
of 39,300, or 3,275 ; and the time necessary for all to become aban-
doned would be 3,275, divided by 47.8, or 68 J months, or twice the
average life of a well. Wells, therefore, (including all "dry holes "
of which any record is had,) average to produce oil for 34 J months.
COST OF WELLS. 221
The average time required to drill the 1,465 wells completed
during the year is as many months as the number completed is
contained in the total number reported as being drilled at the close
of each month, or 3,938 divided by 1,465, equal to 2.69 months,
equal to 81 days nearly; the extremes are, however, wide apart.
It would be interesting to ascertain, if possible, the average cost
of all wells drilled, including the dry holes, and adding the cost of
pumping to determine the average cost of each barrel of oil pro-
duced ; an exact account it will be quite impossible to arrive at, but
a close approximation is reached by the following method :
We divide the cost of a well into three parts ; one a constant
quantity, viz., the cost of labor and fuel expended in drilling the
wells, for which $26 is a fair average daily expense, or for the
81 days $2,106. This for the 1,465 completed will amount to
$3,085,290. Another part is the cost of the engine, boiler, rig,
&c., necessary for each well ; this is fully $3,000 for each successful
well ; but in the case of dry holes other wells can probably be put
down with the same material for $1,000 each. To determine the
total expenditure for this item it is necessary to ascertain the pro-
portion of the dry holes to the successful wells ; this proportion we
learn from the experience of several of the most extensive oper-
ators, is five of every thirteen wells drilled, or 540 dry and 925
successful wells drilled in 1871, or an aggregate expense for en-
gines, boilers and rigs of $3,315,000.
A third portion of the expense is that for tubing, rods, pumps,
tanks and et ceteras necessary to work the well : this may be fairly
estimated at $1,000 per well, or an aggregate of $925,000.
To reach the * cost of the oil produced, we must add to this cost
of the new wells, the expense of pumping those that have produced ;
this expense may be fairly averaged at $6.50 per day, or an aggre-
gate for the 3,275 wells, of $7,982,812.
This makes a total expenditure for the year 1871, of $15,308,102,
to produce 5,755,057 barrels of oil, or an average of $2.66 per
barrel.
HISTORY OF PETROLEUM.
OIL SHAFTS AND DEEP WELLS.
Many, in the early history of oil developments entertained the
idea of sinking shafts so as to obtain oil in vast quantity, and then,
as it were, to tap the fountain at its head. Instances are recorded
of such shafts being sunk to the depth of from two hundred to
five hundred feet, in Burmah, which have yielded large quantities
of oil for hundreds of years. In these Burmese shaft-wells, the
mode of lifting the oil is not remarkably skillful, the entire w T ork
being accomplished by buckets. When it is necessary to clear the
shafts, men are let down by means of ropes, and they often die from
the effects of the gas. Life, however, is cheap in that country ;
and there is no difficulty in keeping the wells clear at moderate
cost.
The first oil shaft sunk in this country, was near Tarentum, in
Allegany County, about twenty miles above Pittsburgh, which was
finished in the latter part of 1859. The third sand rock in this
locality is found at a depth not much less than two thousand feet,
and as the shaft was sunk to a depth of only one hundred and
sixty feet, it is needless to say that little or no oil was obtained. The
salt wells of that section, which usually penetrate to a great depth,
have always yielded more or less oil mixed with salt water.
On the south side of the Allegany river, opposite Tidioute, is a
shaft, sunk in 1865 by the New Yprk Enterprise and Mining Com-
pany. The aim of the company was to penetrate, if possible, the
third sand rock, .and then tunnel into it. The Tidioute shaft is the
only one in this country which has penetrated the third sand rock.
The shaft is twelve by eight feet in width, and a hundred and
sixty feet deep. Upon striking the oil rock, holes were drilled
at various angles, and quite a large amount of rock was removed
and brought to the surface. The men worked in " towers " of eight
hours each, and the shaft was kept supplied with fresh air by
means of a powerful air blast. At the end of one of the towers the
men came up to the surface, the engine was for some reason stopped,
OIL SHAFTS AND DEEP WELLS. 223
and the gas accumulated. The two gangs of men were seated
on the curbings round the edge of the shaft, and Mr. Hart, the
foreman, occupied a position on a plank directly over the mouth
of the pit. As a preliminary to descending, one of the men
dropped a lighted taper into the shaft, which was instantly followed
by a powerful explosion. The men were thrown violently back
from the curbing, and as soon as they recovered from the shock,
they found that Mr. Hart had disappeared into the pit below.
The body of Mr. Hart was found in a shockingly mangled con-
dition, having been tossed from beam to beam on its way to the
bottom. His death, more than anything else, put a stop to the
operations, at least no work was ever done after that.
A second shaft well was put down at Tidioute, about the date
of the one described above. We have, however, been unable to
obtain reliable data in regard to it.
Another shaft was sunk near the Hyde and Egbert farm, below
Petroleum Centre. Work was suspended on reaching one hundred
and sixty feet, owing to the large flow of gas, and the great cost of
the undertaking.
In November, 1865, Mr. Jonathan Watson, of Titus ville, con-
ceived the idea of drilling a well beyond the third sand rock, in
hope of reaching a fourth sand. Drilling on this well was prose-
cuted for upwards of two years without reaching a fourth sand rock.
This well was cased with three and a quarter inch casing, to its full
depth of two thousand one hundred and thirty feet, and pumped,
but without any show of oil. This enterprise cost Mr. Watson
upward of twenty-five thousand dollars.
Probably the deepest boring in the world, is to be found at
Sperenberg, in Lusatia, Germany, at the salt region of that place,
where a depth of four thousand feet has been attained.
224
HISTORY OF PETROLEUM.
EARLY FLOWING WELLS,
FROM 1861 TO 1864.
FOSTER FARM.
THE SHERMAN WELL. In May, 1862, there was but one pro-
ducing well on the Foster farm, and that was called " The Sher-
man Well/ 7 and that was struck in March of the year first-named.
She started off at 1,000 to 1,300 barrels, and was for some montlfe
the largest well "on the Creek." "The Sherman Well" continued
to flow until February 1864, gradually diminishing. Her daily
product as a pumping well was quite large, and she held out for
two or three years.
" The Sherman well " lease was the property of Mr. J. W. Sher-
man, now a resident of Cleveland, Ohio. He came to the oil region
in the early days of petroleum, in somewhat straightened circum-
stances. He had some means, but not enough, as the -sequel proves,
to complete his first well. He obtained a lease upon the Foster
farm, below Shaffer, on the Creek, and commenced the work of
drilling a well. Passing over the trials and embarrassments en-
countered in getting ready to drill, he finally began his enterprise,
employing " spring pole power. In the " first sand " he had a
" good show " of oil, but long before he reached the " second sand
rock," his money gave out, and he was compelled to shut down.
The " spring pole " had become powerless to work the drill effect-
ively, and a horse or steam-power was indispensable. Mr. Sher-
man waited for something to turn up, by which he could obtain
EAELY FLOWING WELLS. 225
either a steam engine or a horse. After many days of waiting, an
interest in the well was disposed of " for an old horse," and the
work proceeded. Two or three weeks of horse-power drilling, and
the labor became too heavy for " OLD PETE." Another one-six-
teenth was sold to two gentlemen who owned a small steam engine,
and work was again resumed. Coal was an expensive item, and
it could not be had without the " ready cash," and not one of the
owners could muster enough to buy a single ton ! Another halt !
A week's delay and another interest was forced upon a reluctant
purchaser, for " $80 in cash and a shot gun." Just before the last
dollar of this money had been expended, the drill penetrated " a
crevice," and the " Sherman " commenced to flow at the rate of
1,000 barrels per day! The fortunes of the plucky lessees were
made they had " struck ile," indeed. " The Sherman " con-
tinued to flow for two or three years, finally coming down to a
pumping well. It is safe to say, the product of this well enriched
its owners in fabulous degree, for its total receipt for oil sold is
estimated at $1,700,000 !
Soon after "the Sherman'* began to flow, a dozen or more wells
were drilled upon this farm, but they were mainly non-productive.
Mr. Frederick Crocker put down one well on the farm, which he
pumped two months steadily, when she started off at the rate of five
hundred barrels daily. The " Crocker well " had a short career,
however. The surrounding wells let down the surface water and
soon drowned her out. She produced for a year or more, and was
then abandoned.
LOWER McELHENNY FARM.
This farm was purchased by Capt.A. B. Funk, in the fall of
1859, of David McElhenny, the original proprietor, for $1,500
McElhenny reserving one-quarter of the oil. In the spring of 1860,
the work of development began, and the first well drilled was
named "The Fountain." It was put down with spring-pole
15
226 HISTORY OF PETROLEUM.
power, to the depth of 260 feet. To reach this depth required
months of labor, running into the winter and spring of 1861.
During the early months of the latter year, the ".spring-pole " pro-
cess was abandoned, and a small locomotive boiler and a stationary
engine were obtained, and with this the drilling was completed. At
this early day, few, if any wells, were drilled below the " second
sand rock/' obtained generally at about 160 feet. Capt. Funk was
inclined to abandon this well at 260 feet depth 100 feet below the
only oil-bearing rock yet discovered. His son, A. P. Funk, then
and afterwards in charge of operations upon the farm, determined
to sink it still deeper, persuaded that another oil rock could be
found.
The well was completed in May, 1861 the drill having reached
the " third sand," and perforated it to the depth of sixty feet be-
fore the slightest evidences of gas or oil were visible. Its entire
depth was 460 feet, and the top of the " pebble rock " or " third
sand" was struck at 400 feet depth. When the oil vein was
reached, the drilling tools were " hammering away " at the bottom
of the well, and the first intimation the drillers had of the presence
of oil was the gradual rising of a foam, under which was a volume
of water, bubbling and rushing over the top of the drilling-pipe.
This continued for some moments, the column of water, mixed
with oil, steadily rising to the height of eight or ten feet above
the drilling-pipe, when it seemed to explode, and the oil followed
in immense volume, rising to the altitude of the derrick and above it.
This was the first well put down to the " third sand rock " in
the Pennsylvania Oil Region. It was, as before remarked, .named
the " Fountain Well," and produced (flowing) 300 barrels per day
for about six months, and then stopped short instantly, it is said,
and never afterwards produced a barrel of oil. It was agreed upon
all hands that the well was destroyed by paraffine, for the lead
pipe from it to the tanks two hundred feet distant was completely
filled up with it to such solidity that a sucker rod could not be
driven through it with a sledge hammer. Only thirty feet of
EARLY FLOWING WELLS. 227
tubing was ever used in the well, and the hole doubtless presented
the same appearance as to obstructions as did the lead pipe. The
verdict therefore, was, " The Fountain Well " was destroyed by pa-
raffine.
"The Empire Well/ 7 same farm, was put down by Bennett &
Hatch, lessees, and was completed about the 20th of September,
1861. " The Empire" had the same sands and the same depth of
" third sand " as that found in " The Fountain Well." When
struck, she started off at 2,500 barrels ! Six weeks after she began
to " flow," 2,200 barrels was her regular daily product ! She flowed
nearly eight months, gradually falling off to about 1,200 barrels,
when in May, 1862, she, like her predecessor, "'The Fountain,"
stopped as suddenly and as mysteriously as did her consort, but not
with the same fatality as to future profit. "The Empire" was soon
afterwards cleaned out, and the pump applied to her, and for some
months she produced 600 barrels per day, and then fell off, and for
eight or nine months gave out about 300 barrels per day.
There is one incident connected with the history of " The Em-
pire Well " which will bear repetition. While in the height of her
" flow," one month's product of the well was sold to Bradley &
Son, of Cleveland, Ohio, for five hundred dollars ! Not less than
100,000 barrels of oil poured out of her during this thirty days'
transfer, for which her owners realized not more than five cents per
barrel !
The " Lower McElhenny farm " was among the most prolific of
" flowing well " localities on " the Creek." After the " Fountain"
and " Empire " wells were struck, the farm became rapidly studded
with derricks, engine houses, and all the paraphanalia of an oil-
producing locality. " The Davis and Wheelock Well," was struck
in the fall of 1862, and 'daily poured out 1,500 barrels. "The
Densmore Well, No. 1," struck about the same time, flowed 600
barrels per day. No. 2, same party and name, 400 barrels per
day; and No. 3, same owners, about 500 barrels per day. These
latter wells were all struck about the same time in the fall of
228 HISTORY OF PETEOLEUM.
1862, and were all put down upon a two-acre lease. "The
Crocker Well " was struck about the same date, and flowed 1,000 bar-
rels daily. This well was owned by Mr. FRED. CROCKER, of Titus-
ville since one of the prominent producers of the region, and now
as anxious, and as industrious and determined to obtain good pay-
ing wells, as he was in 1861 thought he could hold the oil in the
well, for better prices, as well as to save tankage expenses, and
resolved to "plug it" below "the second sand-rock." His fur-
ther object was to control the flow of oil to suit his convenience !
In the " plug " was an inch-and-a-half hole, to permit the oil to
escape into the tubing above ; and upon the top of the tubing was
placed a stop-cock of like dimensions. The idea was to turn off or
on, the flow of oil at any moment, and thus secure a car, or a boat-
load at pleasure ! The contrivance worked well for a single day !
But shutting down for the night, to remain idle for eight or ten
hours, was fatal to it. The following morning, upon opening the
stop-cock, little or no oil came from her. The " plug " was subse-
quently driven to the bottom of the well, for it could not be with-
drawn, and the well became a " pumper " of thirty to fifty barrels
per day, and finally after a brief life was abandoned.
To these noted "flowers" of "The Lower McElhenny farm,"
may be added "The Hibbard Well," struck in March 1863, and
started off at 400 barrels. " The American Well," struck about
the same time, and flowed 500 barrels. " The Canfield Well,"
struck in the summer of 1863, and flowed 400 barrels.
During the fall, winter and spring of 1862 and '63, the daily
product of the Lower McElhenny farm, was between five and six
thousand barrels. Oil was sold from this farm, during the years
just mentioned, as low as 10 cents per barrel; the average price,
however, l>eing 25 cents per barrel, the purchaser furnishing his
own barrels. In the spring of 1864, better prices were realized;
oil being sold from the tanks on the farm at $5.00 per barrel.
EABLY FLOWING WELLS. 229
THE ESPY FARM.
This farm, adjoining the Lower McElhenny, had some noted
flowing wells, in the early days of petroleum development. " The
Buckeye Well" was one of the most famous. She was completed
in September, 1861, and flowed 1,000 barrels per day; while there
were other good-producing wells upon this farm, they were small,
compared to those upon the McElhenny farm. " The Buckeye "
was a famous producer. The tanks to receive her oil, were set up
on the hills above her, two hundred feet, and for a year the oil was
forced through a lead pipe into these tanks from the well !
HYDE AND EGBERT FARM.
PETROLEUM CENTRE.
Dr. A. G. EGBERT, now an enterprising and wealthy resident
of Franklin, Pa., purchased, or contracted to purchase the Davidson
farm, of its owner and occupant, in 1860. Later, Mr. Davidson
died, and some difficulty was experienced in obtaining a clear title
to the property. Without further detail, we may add that all was
cleared up, and in 1862, CHARLES HYDE, of Hydetown, became a
purchaser of one-half the property from Dr. EGBERT, who, mean-
time, had effected a settlement with the widow Davidson, agreeing
to pay her $2,625 " and one-twelfth of the oil," for a deed of the
farm. This sum, $2,625, Mr. Hyde paid to Dr. Egbert for one-
half his purchase from Mrs. Davidson.
Prior to this sale to Mr. Hyde, or in the spring of 1861, a well
had been drilled \ipon the property. This was called " The Hollis-
ter Well," and when struck, "the oil flowed in great volume,"
flooding everything about the derrick. The lessees had contracted
to deliver to the land-owners, their "one-half royalty," in barrels.
Barrels could not be obtained in sufficient quantities, at any price,
230
HISTORY OF PETROLEUM.
and $3.50 to $4.00 was demanded for all that could be procured.
Oil was selling at 25 to 30 cents per barrel. The drillers, therefore,
abandoned their enterprise, and the well was never tested ! It
continued to flow for some days, the oil running upon the ground.
The lessees could not afford to barrel that portion going to the land
proprietors, for it would cost them more than the entire product was
worth !
" The Jersey Well " was one of the famous " flowers " of the
Hyde & Egbert farmland was the property of a company of Jersey-
men, and was struck in the spring of 1863. It produced from
the start 350 barrels per day, and this product was maintained
with little variation for quite nine months.
"The Maple -Shade Well" working interest was the property of
an organized company, " The Maple Shade Oil Company," and was
struck August 5th, 1863. Its product was 800 barrels per day,
and continued at this standard for eight or ten months. It was a
steady flower, and brought* its owners a large amount of wealth.
Dr. A. G. Egbert informs the writer that during its life its aggre-
gate net earnings and clear profits were more than $1,500,000 J
" The Coquet Well," Hyde & Egbert farm, was struck in the
spring of 1864. An account of this well will be found in the bio-
graphical sketch of Mr. E. B. Grandin, and we omit its repetition
here. " The Coquet " was pumped for ten or twelve days, when,
upon drawing the sucker rods, in order to relieve her of an exces-
sive quantity of gas, she began to flow largely, and for a few days
produced 1,000 to 1,200 barrels. She finally settled down at 800
barrels, and continued for many months at this standard.
CHERRY RUN OR RYND FARM.
THE HEED WELLS.
THE original "Reed Well" was struck on the 18th of July
1864, and flowed 280 to 300 barrels per day. The lease upon
EARLY FLOWING WELLS. 231
which this well was located consisted of one acre of land, and upon
this small tract the lessees put down four wells, all proving abun-
dantly productive. Mr. William Reed was the original lessee, and
before he succeeded in getting down the first well" the Reed"
he was joined by one or two parties, " with a little money." After
the well was down to a proper depth, it had every appearance of
" a dry hole." Several days were spent in pumping and testing it,
when she began to flow at the rate of 300 barrels, and continued
to produce largely for two or three years. The other three wells
upon this lease added to the product considerably, and in the end
netted handsome fortunes to the owners. One-quarter of the " land
interest," belonging to Mr. Cresswell, who came into the enterprise
plethoric with a lack of greenbacks, was sold soon after the first
well was struck for $280,000, to the Mingo Oil Company, of Phila-
delphia, Mr. C. having previously realized from the product of the
well $30,000! Mr. Reed, after realizing $75,000 from the sale of
oil from the well, disposed of his one-half interest in the property
to Bishop, Bissell & Co., for $200,000. Mr. Frazer, who owned
one-quarter of the property, and who had received from sales of
oil from the well, more than $100,000, subsequently disposed
of his interest, to other parties, for $100,000 ! This in round
numbers makes a total of $785,000 realized by the original pro-
prietors, "for the working interest" of "The Reed well and
lease," and all within " ninety days from the commencement of ope-
rations." The purchasers made money from their investment, for
these four wells continued to produce largely, two or three years
after they passed out of the hands of the original owners. Multi-
ply $785,000 by two, and we have $1,570,000 as the grand total
realized by the lessees, and subsequent purchasers. Add to this
princely sum the amount received by the " land interest," and it is
safe to estimate the profits of this one oil operation at $2,000,000,
and this is only " one of the many " having like fabulous history.
232
HISTORY OF PETROLEUM.
TARE FARM.
THE PHILLIPS WELL (No. 2), Tarr Farm, was struck on the
14th of November 1861, and commenced to flow at the rate of
3,000 barrels per day ! Oil at this date was sold as low as fifteen,
and even ten cents per barrel. Thousands of barrels of the pro-
duct of this well, for want of barrels worth then at the well 3.50
to $4.00 each ran off into Oil Creek, or were allowed to waste in
various ways. In December, one month after " the Phillips" began
to flow, she produced by actual measurement three thousand nine
hundred and forty barrels in twenty-four hours ! She finally set-
tled down to 2,500 to 3 ; 000 barrels, and maintained this standard
for months. The owners of interests in this marvellous well were
accustomed to take their portion of the product by the hour ! A
rude trough, made of six-inch boards, was constructed from " the
Creek " to the tanks, and as boats could be obtained, and sales
made, the oil was " let on," and run, two, three, five, or more
"HOURS" in each owner's interest.* If the boats, barges, barrels
or tanks supplied as fast as possible filled up before the expira-
tion of the party's allotted time, the. oil ran into " the Creek," or
upon the ground, and was thus wasted and lost.
Samuel Downer, Esq., later the proprietor of the Downer Oil
"Works at Corry, was one day standing at the discharge end of the
leading trough, which had half an hour before been thrown from a
flat boat just filled. The oil was running into the Creek in a
volume as large as the trough would hold. " See here/' said Mr.
Downer, " don't you know you are wasting a hundred barrels an
hour here?" "Yes," said the interested party addressed, "but
what am I to do with it? You won't give five cents a barrel for
it ; and I can stand a loss of five dollars an hour rather than let
you have it at that price !" Mr. Downer passed on up the Creek.
The lessees of this portion of the Tarr farm had obligated them-
* See Frontispiece.
EAELY FLOWING WELLS. 233
selves to give " one half the oil, and deliver it to the land-owners
in barrels !" For a few weeks after the well was struck, the flow
was stopped by means of a stop-cock. The question of barrels was
finally adjusted, and the flow began again, as above stated, in De-
cember 1861. The product of this well is variously estimated;
some put it as high as 750,000 barrels, and others at 1,000,000
barrels. "The Phillips" flowed for a year or more, her product
lessening, when the pump was applied, and she produced largely
for twelve years, and was shut down as late as May, 1873, when
her product was from seven to ten barrels per day.
Dur&g the "Stock Company epidemic" in 1864-5, all but the
land interest of this well was stocked at a fabulous sum one or
two million dollars ! While she had vigorous life and marvellous
product, oil was sold from her immense wooden tanks as low as
five cents per barrel, and as high as $13 per barrel !
The Phillips was 491 feet deep, and had 60 feet of oil rock.
THE CRESCENT WELL, Tarr farm, was drilled by JS". S. WOOD-
FORD during the summer of 1861, with a spring pole, and to the
" First Sand." This was the first well put down upon the Tarr
farm. She flowed thirteen months and twenty days, averaging 300
barrels per day, and " shut oif in an instant," and never afterwards
produced a barrel of oil. In 1871 efforts were made to resuscitate
"the Crescent," but without avail. The well was cleaned out,
drilled deeper, and pumped for several weeks ; but it was a dry
hole ! t)uring the life of this well, oil was sold at such low rates,
that while there was little or no expense attending its running,
beyond tankage, not a dollar of profit or dividend was ever realized
by any one of its owners. She, however, paid for herself, but
the land-owners claim to have lost money in outlays to save their
portion of the product.
" The Woodford Well," tarr farm, was put down by N. S.
WOODFORD, in the winter of 1861. This well was located within a
few rods of " the Phillips," and soon after she began to produce
two thousand barrels per day the water flooded " the Phillips,"
234
HISTORY OF PETROLEUM.
and materially affected her flow. When these wells became
"pumpers/' neither would give out oil unless both were in motion.
When the "Woodford" shut down, the "Phillips" produced only
water, and vice versa. A compromise was subsequently effected by
which both wells were to be operated at one and the same time, and
each to have one-third of the product of the other well.
There were several large flowing wells upon the Tarr farm
during the early developments there, from 1861, to 1863-4.
"Phillips No. 1.," struck in June 1861, flowed two hundred
barrels per day. " Elephant No. 1.," completed in December,
1861, was a bountiful producer, six hundred barrels pfer day.
" The Union," struck in April, 1862, measured out three hundred
barrels per day. "The Eagle," started off, August 1862, at 100
barrels, and later, August and September, 1864, " The Cornwall,"
and " Sterling," each produced one hundred and twenty barrels
per day.
The great flowing wells of the Tarr ?arm, in 1861 and 1862,
were closely followed by others, at various points on " the creek."
" The Van Syckel Well," on the widow McClintock farm, yielded
one thousand five hundred barrels per day. "The Brawley Well,"
on the Buchanan farm, one thousand barrels per day. " The Blood
Well," Blood farm, one thousand barrels per day. " The Noble
Well," Parrel farm, two thousand five hundred barrels per day,
and others which we have already mentioned in more detail, in
this connection.
EARLY FLOWING WELLS, 235
PIT HOLE IN 1865.
In January, 1865, the famous " United States or Frazer Well,"
was struck, on the Thos. Holmden farm, in a ravine on Pit Hole
Creek, six or eight miles from its mouth, and almost as many miles
from any other developments. " This intelligence," we quote an
author, " who was himself of the moving mass," naturally created
some excitement in the restless world of Oildom ; but the spring
floods of that memorable year, as well as the attractions to enter-
prising operators afforded by more accessible localities, for several
months prevented extensive developments in the direction of the
new discovery. Indeed, the " town " could boast of only two
buildings by the end of May, although the production of the
United States Well had steadily increased, and was then fully eight
hundred barrels a day. However, the beginning of June wit-
nessed the striking of the " Grant Well," a " spouter " of twelve
hundred barrels magnitude, and forthwith commenced the rush for
the inviting hills and dales of Pit Hole, which resulted in the rise
of a city in some respects the most wonderful the world has ever seen.
Capitalists eager to invest their greenbacks, thronged in thousands
to the spot. Labor and board commanded exorbitant rates ; every
purchasable farm for miles around was immediately bought at a
fabulous price ; hundreds of wells were begun with the least
delay possible. New strikes continually intensified the excitement.
Speculators roamed far and wide in quest of a source of wealth
that promised to outvie the golden treasures of California. The
value of oil lands was reckoned by millions ; small interests in
single wells brought hundreds of thousands of dollars. New
York, Boston, Philadelphia, Chicago, and numberless other lesser
centres, measured purses in the insane strife for territory. Money
circulated like waste paper, and for weeks the scene recalled the
wildest fictions of the South-Sea Bubble or Law's Mississippi
Scheme !
236
HISTORY OF PETROLEUM.
Everything conspired to favor the growth of the " city." The
close of the war had left the country flooded with an inflated cur-
rency, besides throwing many thousands of energetic men upon
their own resources, and hundreds of these flocked to the latest
Oil-Dorado, which presented manifold inducements alike to the
venturesome spirit, the active speculator, the unscrupulous stock-
jobber, the needy laborer, the reckless adventurer, and the dis-
honest trickster.
Some time previously the Holmden farm had been purchased for
$25,000, by Prather & Duncan, who surveyed the greatest portion
into building lots, that found ready sale at figures varying from
three hundred dollars to fifteen thousand, which latter sum was
actually paid for the site of the Danforth House. Before the end
of September the improved Chicago boasted a population variously
estimated at from twelve to sixteen thousand, including the daily
average of transient visitors. The post-office required seven clerks,
and transacted a volume of business that ranked it third in the
State, Philadelphia and Pittsburgh alone surpassing it. Hotels,
theatres, saloons, public halls, and places of general resort could be
counted by the score. A fire department was organized ; stores
and dwellings sprang into existence as if by enchantment ; a rail-
way to Reno was projected and completed almost the entire distance,
and the unpoetic name of Pit Hole became familiar to every news-
paper reader throughout the civilized world. Incredulous for-
eigners, unaccustomed to the "suddenness" of Americans, with
unfeigned astonishment, learned that in the brief space of three
short months, a dense forest had been transformed into a bustling
city, possessing nearly all the conveniences and appliances of old-
established towns a city, the wondrous story of whose dazzling
rise and unexampled fall sounds even now like the weird romance
of ancient fable. What a rich field for a graphic sketch of fortunes
lost and won in an hour, of strange vicissitudes and extraordinary
reverses, of feverish excitement and unhealthy speculation, does the
history of Pit Hole offer to some later Scott or Dickens.
EARLY FLOWING WELLS. 237
But, alas ! the youthful city was destined to decline as rapidly as
it had risen. In October the production of the wells fell off
largely ; the laying of pipe-lines to Titusville and Oleopolis forced
hundreds of teamsters to seek employment elsewhere ; two destruc-
tive fires helped to accelerate the final disaster, and January dawned
upon a comparatively deserted city, with scarcely anything more
than long rows of empty buildings to indicate its former greatness
and short-lived prosperity.
Many of the finest structures have since been removed to other
places ; not a vestige of the first wells is to be seen ; the few hotels
and stores that yet remain open, are no more crowded with liberal
patrons. Occasionally a traveller finds his way to the spot, possibly
impelled by an irresistible desire to behold again the scene of his
disappointed hopes and buried greenbacks. Of the once busy city,
the unused engine houses and derricks, the unoccupied tenements
and unfrequented by-ways, are too often the only traces that still
remain, silent, forsaken and alone, " to point a moral or adorn a
tale!"
We add a single projected transaction of the Pit Hole furor in
1 865, as an index to scores of others of like, or very like mammoth
proportions.
In July, 1865, Mr. GEORGE J. SHERMAN, HENRY E. PICKET
and BRIAN PHILPOT, then residing at Titusville, contracted with
Messrs. Prather & Duncan, the owners, for the purchase of the
Thomas Holmden farm, at Pit Hole, for $1,300,000 ! The farm
contained about two hundred acres of land, and at the date of this
contract, July 24th, 1865, was producing 3,500 barrels of oil per
day, and had one hundred wells going down, at half royalty, and
was besides part and parcel of the " city plot " of Pit Hole, upon
which were building leases, netting $60,000 per annum. Dwell-
ings, shops, stores and hotels were begun and completed every day.
The contract spoken of, was for the purchase of this farm, just as it
was, and thirty days were stipulated as the time in which to make
the first payment of $300,000 !
238
HISTORY OF PETROLEUM.
Mr. Sherman proceeded to New York city with his contract,
survey, statistics, &c., to interest parties there in the scheme. A
few days subsequent to his arrival in New York, he secured pur-
chasers of his contract from Prather & Duncan, at $1,600,000 ! The
preliminaries were all settled upon, and a committee of the pur-
chasers was selected to visit Pit Hole, to make examinations and
ascertain if the property was up to its representations. On the
very day the committee were to leave New York for the oil region,
the great Ketchum forgeries were announced, and as many of the
gentlemen interested in this tf Pit Hole oil scheme," were victims
of Ketch urn's rascality, the journey was abandoned, and subse-
quently the whole thing fell through !
In this dilemma, Mr. Sherman telegraphed to Mr. H. H. Honore,
a wealthy gentleman at Chicago, giving him an outline of the pro-
perty he had for sale, and urged him to meet him at Titusville in
FIVE DAYS, prepared to close up the transaction. Mr. Honore,
and a party of Chicago capitalists, made good Mr. Sherman's ap-
pointment, and after going over the property, reopened negotiations
with Duncan & Prather, who, in lieu of the $400,000, cash, stipu-
lated as the first payment, agreed to take that amount in real estate,
situated in Chicago. To this end Duncan & Prather were to visit
Chicago, examine the real estate, which was to be priced by dis-
interested parties and close up the sale. Delays followed Messrs.
Duncan & Prather were a week or more in reaching Chicago, and
once there, they hesitated, and finally declined to receive real estate
in Chicago as payment for their property. Among the many valu-
able properties offered was Honore's block, adjoining the Tremont
House at $175,000 since valued at $350,000 !
The contract for the sale of the Holmden property had been re-
newed and the time extended two weeks! This extension had
only about five days' life and a Sunday intervened ! Messrs.
Duncan & Prather had left for St. Louis, intending to return home
on the following Tuesday. Judge Beckwith, the attorney for the
Sherman party, advised a tender of the first payment, $400,000, in
EAKLY FLOWING WELLS. 239
greenbacks ! This was late Saturday evening. On the Tuesday
following, the $400,000 had been obtained, and Mr. Sherman,
Joshua A. Ellis, President Second National Bank, Chicago, John
G. La Moyne, and Mr. Honore, started for Titusville, with their
treasure for a legal tender ! The contract required that the first
payment should be " made upon the Holmden Farm ! " The
party had reached Titusville with their valuables in safety. Pit
Hole was twelve miles distant, and the country was just then in-
fested by highwaymen of the meaner sort. Each of the gentle-
men named provided himself with a pocket-pistol, and mounting
horses the $400,000 equally divided between them they set out
for Pit Hole. " It was the last day in the afternoon," and late at
that, when the party reached Prather & Duncan's banking office.
They ejitered, made known the object of their coming, and there-
upon laid upon the bank's counter, in full view of Messrs. Prather
& Duncan, $400,000 as a legal-tender for the first payment as re-
quired by the contract !
The tender was declined ! Messrs. Prather & Duncan claimed
that the life of the contract expired with the setting sun, of that
very day, and they would listen to no further negotiations ! Suit
was soon after commenced in the United States District Court at
Pittsburgh, which finally terminated in a compromise, by which
the Honore party obtained title to seven-eighths of the Holmden
farm property.
Soon after the tender was made, Mr. Samuel J. Walker, of Chi-
cago, now one of the largest real estate operators in the west, be-
came interested in the transaction, and he is now the owner of the
seven-eighths interest in the Holmden farm, as also of the Copeland
farm adjoining. The sum paid for the seven-eighths interest in
the Holmden farm is not known to the writer of this.
Pit Hole, however, developed a great many flowing wells, a few
of which we make brief mention of hereafter.
240 HISTORY OF PETROLEUM.
THE^UNITED STATES WELL."
This well was located on the Thomas Holmden farm, and was
the property of the United States Oil Company, struck on the 7th
of January, 1865. The well flowed at the rate of 650 barrels at
the start, and continued to flow, gradually falling off for quite ten
months. The well ceased to flow November 10, 1865. The same
farm developed other great producers. Among the most noted
wereHhe "Twin Wells" 800 barrels per day. "No. 54," 800
barrels per day. " The Grant well," 450 barrels per day. " The
Eureka well," 800 barrels per day. None of these, however,
" held up " their product beyond six to ten months. The daily
product of the Holmden farm for some time during the season of
1865, was 3,685 barrels per day.
Upon the Hooker farm, adjoining the Holmden, were several
large " flowers," during the summer of 1865. Among the most noted
were the J. R. Johnson, " No. 110," which spouted out 800 bar-
rels per day; "No. 15," the property of Pratt & Suniner, which
produced 400 barrels daily, and "No. 108," 400 barrels a day.
Nos. 18 and 147, each 200 barrels daily. The daily product of
the Rooker farm for several mouths was 2,230 barrels. Leases of
one acre upon this farm were sold as high as $3,000 and one-half
the oil !
" The Homestead well," at Pit Hole, located upon the Hyner
farm, was among the "great flowers" of 1865, in this prolific ter-
ritory. This well started off at 500 barrels daily. " The Ar-
ietta " flowed 250 barrels per day, and " The Stevenson, No. 2,"
produced 175 barrels per day. But these wells, as " flowers,"
lasted only about three months.
" The Burtiss Well " was struck late in the summer of 1865. It
was located on the Copeland farm, Pit Hole, and flowed from the
start, and for months after, quite 800 barrels per day. Besides
" the Burtiss," there were upon this farm three other flowing wells.
" The Rice Well" gave out 300 barrels a day; "No. 1," 150 bar-
. fcABLY PLOWING WELLS. 241
rels per day, and the " Clara Well " ran up to 300 barrels per day
for nearly four months.
FIRST FLOWING WELL.
The first " flowing well " at least, the first we have any know-
ledge of in the oil regions of Pennsylvania, was obtained in the
summer of 1860, upon the Archie Buchanan farm, near Rou Seville.
It was called the " Curtis well," and was a little less than 200 feet
deep. No tubing was then used, and only partial efforts were
made to save the oil. The surface water was allowed to run into
the well; and after a short season of flowing, "the Curtis" ceased
to be.
OLDEST PRODUCING WELL IN THE REGION.
Near to the track of the Oil Creek and Allegany Valley Railroad
at Rouseville, Venango Co., Pa., on the Buchanan farm, is situated
the oldest well of the region, having now produced oil for a period
of nearly fourteen years. This well was put down by Messrs.
Rouse and Mitchel, the pioneer operators on the Buchanan farm.
It was drilled only to the first sand, and pumped for several
months at the rate of eight barrels per day, when it was sold to a
Mr. Porter, who put it down to the third sand, and obtained a
production of three hundred barrels per day, which lasted for seve-
ral months, when it again declined. The well occasionally changed
ownership, until in 1865, it passed through the hands of the Sheriff,
into possession of the First National Oil Company, and was dis-
posed of by them to Gould and Stowell. For some years, it pro-
duced from 4 to 6 barrels per day, up to the latter end of 1872.
At present, it is producing some two barrels per day. It is unques-
tionably the oldest producing well in the region, and dates back to
the earliest period of the oil operations following the success of the
Drake well. This well, though of small average production, has
produced upwards of a quarter million dollars' worth of oil !
16
242 HISTORY OF PETROLEUM.
EXTENT OF THE OIL REGION.
The area of a rectangle which will embrace all the territory of
the Pennsylvania Oil Region, from which oil has yet been obtained
is about 2,000 square miles ; but the whole number of acres which
have yet produced oil does not exceed 6,500, equal to ten square
miles, or a two-hundredth part of what is known as the oil region.
PRODUCTION AN ESTIMATE.
The region produced during the year 1872, 6,539,000 barrels.
This amount of oil would fill 79,150 cars, making a train 446
miles in length. It is estimated that the total production previous
to 1871 was about 33,500,000 barrels, or a total up to January 1st,
1873, of 45,789,000 barrels. This quantity of oil would fill 540,-
548 cars, making a train nearly 3,507 miles in length.
VARIETIES OF PETROLEUM. 243
VARIETIES OF PETROLEUM.
PENNSYLVANIA OILS. QUALITY AND VARIETY.
THE oil found in the Pennsylvania Oil Region is, for the most
part, of a greenish color, and by some considered of a rather
unpleasant odor. The specific gravity ranges from .820 to .782,
or from proof 40 to proof 48 Beaume. The oil yields by distilla-
tion from seventy to eighty-five per cent, of illuminating oil, which,
when properly manufactured, should not vaporize and inflame
under a temperature of 110 to 116 Fahrenheit.
Of lubricating oil produced in the Franklin district, the specific
gravity varies from .880 to .860, or from proof 28 to 32 Beaume.
The Oil of Pennsylvania varies somewhat in color in the differ-
ent districts and in the different sand rocks. The black oil district
of Pleasantville, is so called from the fact that the oil is of a dark,
inky, greenish color. This district extends from a little north-east
of Pleasantville to the Story farm on Oil Creek, taking a north-
east and south-west direction, and is in extent, so far as developed,
about twelve miles in length and half a mile wide.
It is claimed by oil men that the rock in which the black oil is
found is not the regular oil-producing sand rock ; they term it a
stray rock, as green oil is found in a lower sand on the same land.
On the eastern portion, or upon the lands of the Shamburg and
Cherry Run Petroleum Companies, is the dividing line between
the green oil and the black. The line is defined sharply, as if by
a plummet. The rock in which the black oil is found is nominally
thinner than the green oil sand rock.
The cause of this coloring of the oil is reasonably attributed to
the metallic composition of the sand rock, it being largely impreg-
nated with oxide of iron. In the Modoc and Millerstown districts
244
HISTORY OF PETROLEUM.
the oil is of an amber color, with a very slight greenish tinge. As
before stated, oil differs in color and, to a slight extent, in gravity
in the different sand-rocks, which, we think, can be fairly accounted
for by the presence of iron in the composition of the rocks.
THE FRANKLIN LUBRICATING OIL DISTRICT.
The Franklin lubricating oil district, lies in and around the city
of Franklin, and is made up, for the most part, by the territory
lying between and including Patchen Run, and Two Mile Run.
The line or belt of the most important developments, is about one
hundred rods wide, and so far as developed, two miles in length,
and includes the following farms : Hyde and Blakely farm, Geo.
P. Smith farm, McCalmont tract, Lamberton, Galloway, Dr. Fee,
and Fee, Kunkle & Go's. farm.
Soon after the striking the Drake well, Mr. Evans, a blacksmith
by trade, sank a well on the lot on which he resided, within the
Borough limits. The well was put down at first for the purpose of
obtaining water, and at the depth of seventeen feet, a vein of water
/was struck, which soon became covered with a thick scum of
oil, so as to render the water almost unfit for use. On learning
that Drake had obtained oil by drilling into the sand rock, he
concluded to do likewise. Not having the means to procure the
necessary implements, to carry his resolution into effect, he was
obliged to seek for assistance, but for some time his efforts were in
vain. Finally a merchant in Franklin, who became enlisted in
the enterprise, sold him iron on credit, and he manufactured the
tools himself. He then erected a derrick, and, by means of a
spring-pole, bored the well to the depth of seventy-two feet, when
he struck a heavy vein of oil. He then put down the tubing, and
commenced pumping by hand, with a common pump, at the rate
of twenty barrels per day, and which he readily sold for thirty
THE FRANKLIN LUBRICATING OIL DISTRICT. 245
dollars per barrel. The success of the well occasioned considera-
ble excitement. A writer at the time says, " The town almost in-
voluntarily poured forth its inhabitants to witness the natural curi-
osity. The attendants at court (which was then in session) went
into a "committee of the whole," on the state of the oleaginous
condition of the country, and adjourned to the Evans well. At-
torneys, jurymen, and witnesses who were concerned in the various
cases then pending in the Court of Common Pleas, suddenly
became a self-constituted judicial tribunal to decide upon the merits
of this uncommon cause of public excitement."'
Mr. Evans, having raised in a few days, money sufficient to
enable him to purchase an engine, he commenced pumping by
steam-power. The yield of the well was variously estimated at
from sixty to two hundred barrels in twenty-four hours. He was
offered fifty thousand dollars for an undivided half-interest in his
well, and refused the offer, as his income then was probably not
less than two thousand dollars per day.
This well has earned the fame of giving occasion for the famous
saying : " Dad's struck ile." The story is vouched for as true,
and runs as follows : Mr. Evans had a daughter, who was courted
by a young man living near by, and the course of their love ran
smoothly enough, until the ill-starred day when the damsel's father
reached the " third sand," and success in his well. On the even-
ing of this day, the swain, not dreaming of anything less pleasant,
than moonlight and love, called on his sweetheart, and was met
coldly at the door, and promptly informed, that he needn't trouble
himself to come there any more, for " Dad has struck ile !"
The quality of the oil obtained in this district, is not the com-
mon illuminating oil, but lubricating oil of nearly the best quality,
being little inferior to the best West Virginia oil, which is twenty-
eight degrees gravity, while that of Franklin ranges from 30 to
32, and is now taking the lead in the markets of the world, as
a lubricator.
At the present time, the production is estimated at 900 barrels
246 HISTORY OF PETROLEUM.
per day. The largest production having been reached in the early
part of the present year, amounting to 1,250 barrels per day, which
was caused by the striking of a number of large wells on the
Galloway farm, one of which produced 150 barrels per day. The
number of wells now pumping, will reach about 150, many of which
produced between forty and fifty barrels each, per day. Not a few
of the wells, included in the above estimate, have been in operation
from three to ten years, quite a number of which produce a very
small quantity of oil, but such wells are only pumped " by heads "
once, twice or three times a day.
That part of the Lubricating District, on Two-Mile Run, a
large portion of which was recently purchased by W. S. Mc-
Mullen, produces oil of 28 to 30 gravity, equal to the best
West Virginia oil. The gentleman referred to, is now making-
preparations to refine the oil produced on his own territory.
The depth of the wells in this district averages from 260 to 700
feet. The oil-bearing sand rock is from 50 to 80 feet in thickness,
being an open pebbly rock.
The manufacture or refining of lubricating oils, has for years
been an important industry at Franklin. " The Eclipse Lubricating
Oil Works," are located here, and when fully completed will be the
most extensive of its kind in the world, and will have a capacity
of 1,000 barrels per day. At the present time the company have a
capacity of about 450 barrels, and generally keep the concern
run up to this point. A ready market is found for the oils in
England, Prussia, Austria and Russia. The company are now
making arrangements for supplying the governments of Prussia
and Russia for use on railroads, arsenals, navy, and other .public
works. Oils were exhibited by the company at the Vienna Ex-
position, and were awarded a First Medal and Certificate for
Lubricating Oils made from Petroleum. We ought here to ob-
serve that the mode of refining adopted at these works is under
patent, granted to H. W. C. Tweddle, the general manager of the
company, which latter own the patents and use them exclusively.
THE FRANKLIN LUBRICATING OIL DISTRICT. 247
An interesting feature of this company is, that the President,
Directors and stockholders control the eight-tenths of the whole
production. The stockholders are thus at the same time pro-
ducers and refiners.
The manufacture of railroad axle oils is made a speciality.
Capital stock of the company is $200,000. The following are
a list of the company's officers :
A. G. EGBERT, President,
CHAS. W. MACKEY, Vice-President,
H. "W. C. TWEDDLE, Genl. Manager,
W. H. HOWARD, Secretary,
W. M. N. HAYES, Treasurer,
Hon. JOHN S. MCALMONT, Solicitor.
The second refinery of importance at Franklin is "The GALENA
LUBRICATING OIL WORKS. V This company has a capacity of 600
barrels per week, and they are well and favorably known for the
excellent character of their oils. They have a quick market for
their products in the east, as well as in the western states.
There are a number of smaller establishments at Oil City
and Franklin, of which it is not necessary to give an extended
notice.
248
HISTORY OF PETROLEUM*.
DEILLING OIL WELLS.
EARLY AND LATER METHODS OF DEVELOPMENT.
In another part of this work we have made mention of the fact
that the mode of operating or mining petroleum was borrowed from
the plan adopted by salt miners in other parts of the country. To
a great extent, the system of boring deep wells had been perfected
long before the discovery of petroleum, so that the early operator
had all the necessary appliances with which successfully to demon-
strate the existence of oil in the rocks underneath the surface of the
earth ; had it not been for the knowledge of the plan of artesian
boring, it is not unlikely, that the discovery of this most valuable
article would have been indefinitely postponed.
Thus we see that the drilling tools and other mining apparatus
used by salt miners, but in a more modified and simple form, fur-
nished all that was requisite for testing and obtaining the rich
deposits of oil that had lain hidden and almost unknown for so
many years.
For some years operators were content with very shallow depths ;
indeed it was not necessary to go deeper, or take higher ground for
sinking wells, as the few hundred feet to which they went gave as
much oil as the markets, or the necessities of the demand required.
Various kinds of power were employed. The most primitive and
most laborious, was that of the "spring-pole," which has been
described as follows :
"The spring-pole consisted of a green sapling, some forty feet in
length and ten inches in diameter, with the butt end made fast in
the ground, or attached to an upright pole. A second post, ten or
fifteen feet from the butt, acted as a fulcrum, while the pole passed
over the well, and about ten -feet above it. The boring implements
were attached to this pole, and the "power" adjusted near its
smaller extremities. This was applied by the strength of two men
throwing jtheir weight upon the pole. Sometimes a small wooden
DRILLING OIL WELLS. 249
staging, four feet square, was hinged by one of its sides to the der-
rick, and the other side suspended to the pole. In this case the
two men stood on the staging, and brought down the pole by throw-
ing their weight on the side next to the derrick. In either case
the spring of the pole brought up the implements, while the down-
ward motion of the pole permitted the stroke. The general term
for this method of drilling a well, was "jigging it down," from
its resemblance to the dance, so styled.
" Kicking down a well," another process used in the early days
of the business, which was done at the expense of a great deal of
human muscle. A short, elastic pole, ash or hickory, ten or fifteen
feet in length, was arranged over the well, working over a fulcrum,
to the end of which was attached stirrups, in which two or three
men, each placed a foot, and by a kind of kicking process brought
down the pole, and produced the motion necessary to work the bit.
By this process the strokes were rapid.
Horse- power was used, of different patterns, suitable for one
horse, and sometimes for two or three. They resembled in their
general features the horse-power of a threshing-machine, the horses
walking around the centre, and over a dumbling-shaft, that gave
the necessary perpendicular motion. Water-power was used in
many instances, at very trifling cost to the operator.
Stearn-power next came into general use, which greatly reduced
the labor and facilitated the work of the miners. Year by year,
we might almost say, day by day improvements have been made on
all things used in mining petroleum. The derrick has grown from
30 feet to 64, and even to 80 and 90 feet in height. Formerly it
was built of rough poles, or hewn timber, the bottom being 10 to
12 feet square; the poles, four in number, being erected at each
corner, converging toward each other, forming a square at the top,
of two and a half feet, with girths and braces at suitable distances,
to make the structure substantial. Derricks are now made of
sawed boards, two inches thick and eight inches wide, the edges being
spiked together, forming a half square, on each corner of the foun-
250
HISTORY OF PETROLEUM.
dation, which is usually from 16 to 18 feet square. With the
increased depth of boring, the derrick has grown stronger and
higher, and in the same ratio the drilling tools have grown in
weight from 150 pounds to 2,000 pounds! Formerly it was no
unusual thing for the driller to take his set of tools in his hands
and start out to look for a job now it requires one and oftentimes
two teams to haul the tools to the point of operation.
The pumping apparatus, valves, rods and the like, have been
much improved during late years. And many devices, invaluable
to the operator, have been brought into use. We would instance
the process of " casing," which is now always used in wells, and
obviates the necessity of breaking the seed-bag in drawing tubing.
By the use of casing the well is never allowed to flood with fresh
water, which flooding, experience has demonstrated to be of great
injury to wells.
Early wells had a bore of four inches. At present the usual
bore is from six to eight inches in diameter.
By the many improvements in the mode of drilling and pumping,
the business of operating in oil has been shorn of nearly all its
drawbacks. The industry is now reduced to a legitimate basis,
and though it is said that more lose money, than make by it, we
are convinced that no other enterprise in the country can show a
less percentage of failures, and few can exhibit so many substantial
successes,
Ill*
Before Explosion.
After Explosion.
THE EGBERTS TORPEDO.
TOBPEDOES. 251
TORPEDOES.
THEIE HISTORY AND POSITIVE VALUE.
" THE HISTORY OF PETROLEUM" would be singularly incomplete
without mention of the Roberts Torpedo, for to this remarkable in-
vention may be attributed, more than to any other agency, the success
which has attended its prosecution. "We propose, therefore, to pre-
sent, as concisely as possible, a history of this invention, from its
inception to the present time.
In 1862, Col. E. A. L. Roberts, then an officer in the volunteer
service, and with his regiment in the Army of the Potomac, in front
of Fredericksburg, conceived the idea of exploding torpedoes in
oil wells, for the purpose of increasing the production. He made
drawings of his invention, and in November, 1864, made applica-
tion for letters patent. In the fall of the same year he constructed
six torpedoes, and on the 2d of January, 1865, he visited Titus-
ville to make his first experiment. Col. Roberts' theory was re-
ceived with general disfavor, and no one desired to test its practica-
bility at the risk, it was supposed, of damaging a well. On the
21st of January, however, Col. R. persuaded Capt. Mills to permit
him to operate on the Ladies' Well, on Watson Flats, near Titus-
ville. Two torpedoes were exploded in this well, when it com-
menced to flow oil and paraffine. Great excitement of course fol-
lowed this successful experiment, and brought the torpedo into gen-
eral notice. The result was published in the papers of the oil re-
gion, and five or six applications for patenting the same invention
were immediately filed at Washington. Several suits for interfer-
ence were commenced, which lasted over two years, and decisions in
all cases were rendered declaring Col. Roberts the original inventor.
Notwithstanding the success of the first experiment, operators
252
HISTORY OF PETROLEUM.
were still very skeptical as to the practical advantages of torpedoes,
and it was not till the fall of 1865, that they would permit the in-
ventor to operate in their wells to any extent, from fear that the ex-
plosion would fill them with rock and destroy their productiveness.
In December, 1866, however, Col. R. exploded a torpedo in
what was known as the " Woodin "Well," on the Blood farm This
w^ll was a "dry hole," never having produced any oil. The re-
sult of the operation secured a production of twenty barrels per
day, and in the following month, January, 1867, a second torpedo
was exploded, which brought up the production to eighty barrels.
This established for the torpedo, beyond question, all that Col.
Roberts had claimed, and immediately the demand for them be-
came general throughout the region. "We present below a tabular
statement of the result of the first THIRTY-EIGHT wells torpedoed :
THE RESULTS OF THE TORPEDO.
NAME AND LOCATION OF WELLS.
Increase Pumping &
Bills. Flowing.
Woodin Well, Blood Farm ......................................... ............................
Two Wells for Mr. Archer, Tarr farm ........................................................
Tarr Homestead, No. 1 ..................................... ..........................................
Tarr Homestead, No. 2 .............................................................................
Monitor Well, No. 2 ..................................................................................
Vogan ......................................................................................................
Keystone Well ...... ......... ........................................................................
Sherman Homestead Well ........................................................................
Manhattan Well, Story Farm ....................................................................
Clara Well, Pit Hole, no increase, but made the Andy Johnson well flow
Burnett Well, Tarr Farm ......................................... .-. ...............................
Gardner's Well, Pioneer Run. ...................................................................
A. Aldrich, Tip Top Well, Tarr Farm .........................................................
Smith Well, Tarr Farm ............................................................................
Hawkin's Well, Petroleum Centre ............................................................
Anderson Well, Petroleum Centre ............................................................
Monitor, Well No. 1,. Tarr Farm. Two Torpedoes ....................................
Mahaffy Well, Petroleum Centre .............................................................
Ennis Well, Cherry Run.... .......................................................................
Hunter Well, Story Farm .......................... ..............................................
Hamburgh Oil Co., Story Farm .................................................................
Morse Well, Blood Farm ...........................................................................
Woodin Well, Blood Farm (second time) ..................................................
No. 8 Well, John Rynd Farm ...................................................................
Hyde Well, Story Farm ...........................................................................
Mitchell Well Cherry Run ................................................... . ..................
Parker Well, No. 1, Tarr Farm ..................................................................
Bakery Well, No. 1, Tarr Farm .................................................................
Columbia Oil Co., Story Farm ...................................................................
Refinery Well, Blood Farm ......................................... : ............................
Tarr Reserve Well, Tarr Fajm .................................................................
Blanchard Well. Blood Farm ...........................................................
Catskill Well, Cherry Run ................................... ......................
Duff Well, Tarr Farm .................................................... ........................
Mahaffy, No. 2, Petroleum Centre .................................................... . .........
Hays' Well, Petroleum Centre ..................................................................
Bnggs & Severence Well, Church Run .....................................................
Anderson Well, Petroleum Centre (second time) ......................................
No. 272 Well, Petroleum Centre (second time) ............. ............................
80
60
60
65
35
30
185
60
75
150
65
8
35
10
20
90
10
4
35
20
30
30
30
75
35
10-
125
200
10
10
35
30
15
90
10
30
40
125
200
Pumping
Pumping
Flowing
Flowing
Pumping
Pumping
Flowing
Pumping
Flowing
Pumping
Flowing
Pumping
Pumping
Flowing
Pumping
Pumping
Pumping
Pumping
Pumping
Pumping
Pumping
Pumping
Pumping
Flowing
Pumping
Pumping
Flowing
Flowing
Pumping
Pumping
Pumping
Pumping
Pumping
Flowing
Pumping
Pumping
Pumping
Pumping
Pumping
TORPEDOES. 253
In 1865, immediately after operating on the Ladies' Well, a com-
pany was organized in New York for the purpose of prosecuting
the business, with the following officers :
President, WILLIAM S. FOGG, 24 Fulton Street.
Vice-President, JAMES W. SIMONTON, 145 Broadway.
Secretary, W. B. ROBERTS, 47 Bond Street.
Treasurer, ERASTUS TITUS, 283 Washington Street.
Counsel, HON. GILBERT DEAN, 74 and 76 Wall Street
Superintendent, COL. E. A. L. ROBERTS, Titusville, Pa.
TRUSTEES : Walter B. Roberts, Wm. H. Dwinelle, M. D., A.
G. Trask, Erastus Titus, Gilbert Dean, Wm. S. Fogg, Erastus
Titus, Jr., Wm. H. Akin, James W. Simonton, Wm. H. Chap-
man, E. A. L. Roberts.
About the time the Woodin Well was struck (1866,) the wells of
the region had materially decreased, and but little oil was pro-
duced. There was a general apprehension that the territory had been
drained and would soon be quite exhausted, unless new belts were
discovered. But the application of torpedoes immediately effected
a revolution, and during the summer of 1867, the wells on Oil
Creek were increased several thousand barrels. Immediately there-
after Col. ROBERTS introduced nitro-glycerme as an explosive for
his torpedoes, and established a manufactory near Titusville, and
during the last year (1872,) some twenty-five tons qf this compound
were used for this purpose alone.
. The developments of Tidioute, Shamburg and other districts fol-
lowed the operations of 1866, and the employment of torpedoes
continued with the same striking success. And it may be safely
stated that up to the present time nearly one-third of the oil pro-
duction has been dependent upon the use of this invention.
In the summer of 1866, infringements commenced by different
parties throughout the oil region, and suits were instituted by Col.
R. against the parties and injunctions granted. In 1868, the Reed
254 HISTORY OF PETROLEUM.
Torpedo Company was organized, with several oil operators at
its head, for the purpose of infringing and breaking down the
Roberts patent. Suits were commenced by Col. R. against all
parties and carried to a final hearing before Judge Grier of Phila-
delphia, and decisions given in favor of Roberts, and judgments
rendered to the amount of about $10,000. Numerous other suits
were commenced and final judgment rendered, among which was
one against James Dickey, which was tried before Justices Strong
and McKennan in Washington, in January, 1871. An elaborate
opinion was rendered in this* case in favor of Roberts. The case
was regarded with great interest in the oil region, from the
magnitude of the considerations involved, and the newspaper
controversies upon the subject. Since the great Rubber suits, no
patent-suit has elicited more general attention, involved so im-
portant considerations, or its termination more anxiously awaited.
The sum of $50,000 had been subscribed among the producers,
for the purpose of breaking down the Roberts Patent, and such
a result was looked for with entire confidence. Few cases have
ever enlisted higher professional ability, or been more earnestly
contested. Messrs. Bakewell and Christy, of Pittsburgh, and
George Harding of Philadelphia, conducted the case for Roberts,
and Messrs. Kellar and Blake, of Ne^r York, were employed by
the oil producing interest, for the defence. The decision was
rendered in May, 1871, and was in favor of Roberts. It was
made the occasion of a very elaborate and exhaustive opinion,
which, as a matter of course, was received with general disap-
probation on the part of the producers, and occasioned great dis-
appointment.
Very many suits have since been brought for infringements,
and over $100,000 have been expended by the inventor in pro-
tecting his legal rights. Thus far the Courts have uniformly
sustained the Roberts patent.
OIL, WELL RECORDS.
255
OIL WELL RECORDS.
THE OIL WELLS AT BRADY'S BEND, LOWER DIST.
BY PROF. LESLEY.
ORIGINAL information on practical subjects is always useful, and
we therefore register the following table and notes of thirteen oil
wells sunk near the Brady's Bend Iron Works. These are situated
on the Allegany River, at a remarkable oxbow curve of the river
just above the mouth of the Red Bank, a few miles below that of
the Clarion, and sixty-nine miles above Pittsburgh. Parker's
Landing, a great oil centre now, is thirteen miles higher up than
the iron works ; Foster, another oil centre, is forty-eight miles
above the works; Franklin, Jifty-four miles; and Oil City, sixty-
one miles.
Height of well
Depth below
mouth above
Eng. No.
Depth of
well.
river, high-
est water
First yield in
barrels per
Present yield per
day.
datum.
mark.
day.
1... 96 feet
1,400
1 bbl.
2. ..232
1,111
1,268
5-fbbls.
no sand rock.
3... 97.62
1,262
1,113
1 bbl.
4... 97.69
1,105
1,264
7 bbls.
abandoned.
5... 100.31
1,290
1,105
5i bbls.
2 bbls.
6...300.48
1,414
1,090
9 bbls.
4 bbls.
7...437.41
1,345
1,077
840 bbls.
8 bbls.
8...379.18
1,065
1,066
4ibbls.
150 to 200 bbls.
9...101.38
1,300
1,066
Ibbl.
34-bbls.
10...330.27
1,200
1,070
abandoned.
11...111.13
12...216.50
1,212
1,402
1,189
l,095i
12 bbls.
powerful gas blow
13 bbls.
13...426.38
1,076
3 bbls.
2 bbls.
256 HISTORY OF PETROLEUM.
From the above table, it a'ppears that all the oil-producing wells
mentioned in it get their supply from one stratum lying in an un-
disturbed and horizontal position, varying in their actual depths
below a fixed datum level from 1,113 to 1,066 feet, a difference of
only forty-seven feet. This difference is due to three causes, viz :
1. The different depths in the oil-bearing stratum penetrated by
the bottom boring of the wells ; 2. The slight inequalities in the
upper surface of the stratum ; 3. And chiefly to a general slight
dip of the rocks, both from the north-west and from the south-east,
in toward the centre line or axis of the trough or basin which here
crosses the Allegany River in its northeast-southwest course ; and
also to a still slighter and almost insensible decline of the axis of
the basin itself south-westward.
The table also confirms what was proven years ago, long before
the fact was acknowledged by oil men, namely, that it makes no
difference whether a well is started in a valley bottom or on the
hill-tops provided it goes down to the uniform and nearly horizon-
tal oil-bearing sand rock. For some of these wells have their
mouths at elevations more than 300 feet greater than others. Some
on the river bank, and others high up at the heads of side ravines.
The great No. 8 well was commenced at an elevation of (379
96=) 283 feet higher than those on the river bank, which yield
only from one to three barrels per day.
The following table shows the thickness of the third sand rock
where it was passed entirely through :
No. 2. No sand rock found and no oil.
No. 4. Sand rock, twenty-six feet ; hard fine white sand.
No. 5. Sand rock, twenty-seven feet ; fine pebbles.
No. 6. Sand rock, sixteen feet ; with slate partings.
No. 7. Sand rock, twenty-seven feet ; pebbles pretty coarse.
No. 8. Sand rock^ very coarse and open.
No. 9. Sand rock ? pebble very fine and close, very little gas.
No. 10. Sand rock? ten feet; pebbles pretty fine, except in
one thin streak.
OIL WELL RECORDS. 257
No. 11. No sand-rock, no oil, but great gas blow, doubtless
from a fissure.
No. 12. Sand rock, seventeen feet, all pebbles; steady flow of
oil.
No. 13. Sand rock, thirteen feet; coarse open pebbles; and a
fair amount of gas.
No. 14. Sand rock, thirteen feet; large coarse pebbles; r fair
amount of gas.
Other noteworthy facts are as follows :
No. 1 well, on the river bank, one-half mile above the rolling-
mill, begun March, 1865, finished 1866.*
No. 2 well, at the mouth of Cove Run, May, 1866 June, 1870.
No. 3 well, on the river above the mill, commenced August,
1868 pumping in September, 1872, one barrel a day.
No. 4 well, on the river above the mill, May, 1869 March,
1870. Cost $10,405. Record of strata given below.
No. 5 well, on the run above the mill, June, 1869 April, 1870.
At 931 feet struck so powerful a gas vein, that the bore hole was
deluged with water and abandoned for four months. In June,
1871, a three-quart nitro-glycerine torpedo was exploded without
increasing the production of oil. The pebble-rock was almost as
fine as sea sand.
No. 6 well, on Queenstown Run; August, 1870 April 5, 1871;
drilled with the water cased out; all the previous wells were
drilled in water; casing commenced at 357 feet; not much gas.
No. 7 well, on Queenstown Run ; August 7, 1870 March 1,
1871 ; water cased at 512 feet; some gas at 1,050 ; commenced
pumping about nine barrels a day, and has produced up to Sep-
tember, 1872, 4,133 barrels.
No. 8 well, on Queenstown Run ; June 26, 1871 September
22, 1871 ; water cased out ; first show of oil September 22, and
* The " Engineers' Datum " is an assumed level, 100 feet lower than a mark on the
Brady's Bend Iron Company's warehouse, showing the extreme height reached by
the flood of March 17, 1865.
17
258 HISTORY OF PETROLEUM.
began to fill up very slowly. At 12.35 A. M., September 23,
struck a vein of gas and oil which spouted over the top of the der-
rick, and was fired by the night lamp hung in the derrick, burning
the rigging down. The spouts occurred every two minutes. At
9 A. M., the fire was extinguished and the oil began to fill the tank
at the rate of thirty-five barrels an hour, but gradually calmed
down to about sixty barrels a day during the first month, and Oc-
tober 22, ceased to flow. Tubing and sucker rods were then put
in, and it began to flow again at the rate of 150 barrels a day.
This well has been cleaned out many times to keep her in good
running order. Immediately after any one such cleaning she pro-
duces from seventy to ninety barrels a day, and gradually falls off
to about twenty to twenty-five, when it is understood that she
again needs cleaning. In fifty weeks she has produced 9,505 bar-
rels. There is not much gas except when flowing.
No. 9 well, on the river opposite Catfish ; June 24, 1871 Octo-
ber 24, 1871 ; water cased out; cost $5,750.
No. 10 well, on Lower Campbell Tract; July 10, 1871 May
22, 1872; water cased out. After passing through third sand at
1,300 feet, put in a four-quart torpedo, which seemed to have very
little effect. Sand-pumped for two days afterward, and found that
she filled up with less than a barrel of oil per day, and therefore
concluded it was useless to tube her. Not much gas at any time.
No. 11 well, on river half mile below the mill; August 24,
1871 June 24, 1872 ; water cased out at 437 feet. Struck very
heavy vein of gas at 858 feet.
The gas from this well, by calculation, would supply fuel to run
the rolling-mill and machine shop boilers, being therefore equal to
100 tons of coal per week.
The pressure of gas would sometimes lift the tools twenty or
thirty feet in the hol&, tools weighing 1,700 pounds and rope 300
pounds. The flow of gas is enormous and continuous.
No. 12 well, on Queenstown Run; December 9, 1871 April
12, 1872 ; water cased out at 394 feet. Struck heavy vein of gas
OtL WELL RECORDS.
259
February 2, at 725 feet, which caused a flow of water until March
1, when casing was put in and the water stopped off.
Struck oil at the top of third sand April 4, at 1,183 feet, the
rock being nearly all good pebble-rock ; after passing through it
(1,200 feet) drilled twelve feet into slate for a pocket ; tubed well
April 12; commenced pumping twelve barrels a day, and the well
is now doing thirteen barrels. Much gas all the time. Cost
$6,557.
*
WELL RECORDS IN DIFFERENT PARTS OF THE OIL REGION.
. Name of Well.
Farm.
Township.
County.
"1
Q
ISt
Sand
at
Thickness.
2d
Sand
at
I
3d
band
at
I
X
4th
band
at
Thickness.
5th
Sand
at
A & G W Oil Co
Oil Creek
64.2
573
557
446
64
Cadwallader & Warner
C G Emery
Southwest,
Warren
613
462
6Yl"Creek7
Venango
474
465
844
844
t- 2 6
238
362"
E. Baum
William Wood
Baum,
Zuver,
if
534
M
628""
475
757
452
21
2<
37
699
772
23
797
799
H Davies
J Watson
Perry,
Armstr'g
900
400
400
u
Murphy & McKenny...
J Watson
Hall,
Ball,
Poor,
Bennehoff,
Egbert, .
Skinner,
Weed,
g
587
77
834
...
E. Poor & Co
Custer & Lowers
Dr Egbert
708
3'
i<5
824""
711
482
Cornplanter
Oil Creek,
Southwest,
Cornplanter
Oil Creek,
Venango
Crawford
Warren,
Venango
564
79 i
704
722
596
652
8 74
823
614
267
364""
387
605
597
22
19
14
20
764
6^9
369
546
558
779
32
13
15
671
418
596
693
794
u
J Watson
B D Benson
Whitman & Doubleday
F G Irving
241
33
27
325
485
McClintock,
Blood,
40
i :::
Col Roberts
...
472
Reno Oil Co
Sugar Creek
Southwest,
Venango
Warren
882
522
482
560
767
579
477
I 91
632
660
811
H Joy & Co
221
463""
2 75
208
2OO'
247
i
44
JI
T 4
5
sfi
342
10
469
19
Fee & Emery
Watson, Williams & Co.
A R Williams
Carp'ter Lot
Barnsdall,
372
672
429
542
342
333
500
435
469
8
35
55
59
509
688
364""
607
635
55
Redfield & Co
7
20
489'"
24
7 o6
W Barber
Cornplanter
Venango
W H Marsden
Kinney,
Withrop,
T. King
C D Angell
RockTand"'
Venango
tW Brice
47
79 i
. T. Ridgway
E. Haines
T. Chattels
Watson & Steele
McMullen,
Benedict,
N. Star Co.,
Terrill
586
495
667
7Q 6
..
35
)26
620
763
648
n >
1 6
^7
23
12
1 6
775
..!....
R. W. Throwbley
Linn, Pinkerton, & Co.
Hess & Tarbell
Shaw,
McClintock,
Shoup,
Cornplanter
Richland,
Venango
Clarion,
789
675
1,048
497
360
73 2
43
$8
614
505
835
NOTE The sands, thickness, depth of wells, &c., in the Lower Oil Fields, will be found in the
chapter devoted to a description of the Butler County and Parker's Landing District.
260 HISTORY OF PETROLEUM.
OIL COMPANIES.
A FEW SPECIALLY MENTIONED,
THE HARMONY OR ECONOMITE SOCIETY.
IT was not the intention to give special notice of the existence of
individual associations and companies. We, however, make excep-
tions in a few instances. We do so because these present interesting
and peculiar features.
In the case of the Economite Society their history is of marked
interest to the public, because of their strange organization, their
singular history, and their great success as oil operators. For the
information herewith given we are indebted to their present Super-
intendent, Mr. William Merkle, to whom we tender our acknow-
ledgments for his courtesy.
The Harmony Society was founded near the beginning of the
present century, by George Rapp, and a colony of emigrants from
Wiirtemberg, numbering over one hundred families. They be-
longed to that class of devout people in Germany, to whom, in the
previous century, had been given in reproach, the name of Pietists.
Dissatisfied with the state of religion in the established Lutheran
church, they gave themselves to the more diligent private study of
the Scriptures (a practice which they still retain), and to the edifi-
cation of each other in social assemblages for conference and prayer.
Two men arose among them, who by their force of character, be-
came leaders. These were Michael Hahn and George Rapp. They
OIL COMPANIES. 261
were earnest, zealous men, who magnified their office by gathering
together on the Sabbath, the people who sympathized with them,
and administering to them words of instruction and encouragement.
Hahn had commenced the work of preaching at an earlier period
than Rapp. He was a man of more literary culture, and made
use of the press in the work of reformation. He was an humble
farmer, with limitecLeducation, but he was a man of deep religious
spirit, and great force of character. Feeling himself 'constrained to
proclaim to others the religious convictions which filled his own
heart, he soon gathered around him a number of followers, of
kindred views. The work grew gradually until several hundreds
looked to him as their leader. These movements excited the oppo-
sition of their more worldly neighbors, and especially of the clergy,
whose ministrations they neglected. Hahn and his adherents,
under the name of Pietists, still retained their connection with
the established churches, giving at least occasional attendance on
the ordinances as then administered. Like the first Methodists
in England, they hoped to bring about a reformation within the
church itself. They thus escaped in great measure the persecu-
tions which arose against Rapp and his followers, who refused to
attend upon the ministrations of the regular clergy. They were
called Separatists, and although demeaning themselves as quiet,
orderly citizens, and paying their dues both to church and state,
they became objects of odium, and were denounced to the civil
authorities by the offended clergy. They were persecuted with
fines and imprisonment, and their appeals for redress were in vain.
After long endurance, and after having made an ineffectual ap-
plication to their own government for permission to form a settle-
ment by themselves, they determined to emigrate. In the year
1803, George Rapp visited this country, in search of a location
suitable for a colony. He purchased a large tract of land near
Zelienople, in Butler county, Pennsylvania, and in the autumn of
the ensuing year three ship-loads of colonists arrived.
Before they left ' Germany they had embraced some peculiar
262
HISTORY OF PETROLEUM.
views of religion and social economy, to which, they were led, as
they supposed, by their careful study of the New Testament.
They had generally adopted the Millenarian theory of the per-
sonal and pre-millenarian advent of Christ, which they regarded
as near at hand. They were also disposed to follow the example
of the primitive Christians, in having all things in common. It
was not, however, for some years later that this practice became a
law among them. Soon after their settlement in this country
marriage was prohibited, celibacy being strictly adhered to by
members of the Society, for now, upward of fifty years.
The Society, for some reason, changed their location, having
purchased lands in the Valley of the Wabash, in Posey County,
Indiana, disposing of their property in Pennsylvania at a great
sacrifice. After a residence often years on the Wabash, they again
determined to change their location, finding the country unhealthy,
and their neighbors ignorant, vicious, and turbulent. It is said
unpleasant collisions occurred between them and the peacefully
disposed Harmonists. These circumstances induced them to think
of returning to Pennsylvania.
In 1825, they made a purchase of their present lands in Beaver
County, Pennsylvania, on the Ohio river, about eighteen miles
from Pittsburgh. They built a steamboat, and removed in detach-
ments to their new and final place of settlement. Here they
founded a town, to which they gave the name of ECONOMY, and
from this circumstance, the popular name of the Society is de-
rived.
A few years prior to the discovery of oil, the Economists' Society
came into possession of a large tract of land, some six thousand six
hundred acres, opposite Tidioute, in Warren County, Pennsylvania.
This land was originally purchased as a lumber enterprise, for the
supply of their own wants, and to meet the extensive demand for
timber at their mills in Economy. This tract has since proved to
be valuable oil territory, as is now well known. When oil was
first discovered, it was a great and unexpected addition to the value
OIL COMPANIES. 263
of their lands, and they generously intrusted the management of it
to the former proprietor, with such share of the profits as enabled
him to retrieve his shattered fortune, and place his family in inde-
pendent circumstances. They then took the whole business into
their own hands.
In the early part of the summer of 1860, oil was found imme-
diately below the river tract belonging to the Society, which created
great excitement, and many persons sought to purchase or lease the
land from them, but fortunately for them a law-suit was then pend-
ing for the possession of this tract, which prevented leasing or sales.
In September of the same year they took actual possession of this
tract, located five different wells upon it, made contracts for drilling
them, and engaged workmen for the vigorous development of the
property.
The first two wells drilled were entire failures. The third had
a pretty good show of oil, but finally proved to be nearly worth-
less, after three months' hard labor, and the expenditure of a large
amount of money. The prospect of success now looked gloomy,
but they hoped and worked on, and unexpectedly, at the depth of
99J feet, the drill struck a large crevice, and sank some eight or
ten inches, and in a few moments large quantities of oil and water
were thrown high above the derrick in a continuous stream. This
well flowed steadily for six months, gradually decreasing in
production, then stopped and flowed periodically, and at the end of
nine months ceased to flow, and afterwards was pumped for a number
of years. Immediately after the striking of the flowing well, a
new well was struck near to it, which at first produced but little
oil, but after some time proved a good well, and continued to pro-
duce for eight years.
During the spring of 1861, 'eight wells were finished, four of
which were failures, and four of them good shallow wells of not
more than one hundred and fifty feet in depth.
In March, 1862, the society had four good producing wells ; had
erected a number of buildings, made roads, constructed wharves a
264 HISTORY OF PETROLEUM.
cooper shop ; with a stock of several thousand barrels to send
their oil to market ; a blacksmith shop, carpenter shop, and all the
necessary tools.
The history of the society's operations for the years following, up
to 1868, is varied, meeting like all other operations, with successes
and reverses, but still maintaining their position against all the
drawbacks incident to the business.
In 1868, the society met with marked success, having sold dur-
ing the year upwards of one hundred thousand barrels of oil, and
in 1869, over seventy-five thousand barrels. They are now drilling
their seventy-sixth well, having at the present time fourteen pro-
ducing wells, yielding a little over one hundred barrels per day,
which the Trustees have leased for a short term, to their superin-
tendent, Mr. Merkle, and Mr. A. R. Moore.
From the records of their drillings, we find that the wells vary
in depth from ninety-nine and a half feet, to five hundred and
seventy-eight feet, and the oil-bearing sand rock from twelve to
fifty-five feet in thickness. Their largest well was two hundred
and fifty barrels per day.
It is something remarkable that the Economites never pumped
their wells on Sunday. They declare that their wells do not suffer
thereby, though of like character to that of their neighbors, being
subject to water, which is presumed to injure wells by standing on
the oil-bearing rock. We dare say the fact of the Econornite
wells being so long-lived is an argument in favor of their practice
of cessation of pumping on Sunday.
In a few instances the Trustees have leased small portions of
their oil territories, and in all such cases they have made binding,
it being in the lease, not to pump on the Sabbath ; their operators
say that they have never known their wells injured by cessation of
pumping on Sunday.
The society is represented in all its business matters by two
trustees, one of whom formerly took especial care of their oil inter-
ests ; we refer to Mr. R. L. Baker, now deceased, who was ably
OIL COMPANIES. 265
assisted by Mr. Jacob Henrici. Since Mr. Baker's death Mr.
John Lenz has been selected by the society to fill his place.
There are no members of the Economite Society on their Tidioute
property ; the business is conducted by their agents, under the
supervision of the trustees, who make frequent visits of inspection.
We ought not omit to mention that most of the land of the
Tidioute property is valuable as timber land, on which the society
has now two large saw mills in full blast.
Of the society's 6,600 acres, not more than 200 acres have been
developed. The balance is supposed to be good oil territory.
The Economites are very few in number now; year by year
death is thinning them out. Their adoption of celibacy, as a mat-
ter of course, will in a few years put an end to their existence.
What is to become of their vast property ? At present it is not
known that they have made any provision for its disposal after
their extinction. They expect, even yet, that the Lord will come
in his glory before they are all gone.
SAGE RUN OIL FIELD.
The oil territory at the head of Sage Run, 2 J miles south of Oil
City, has of late proved valuable. The first strike was made early
in the summer of .1869, which produced 40 barrels daily, located
on the Schwartz farm, and owned by the McGrew Bros, of Pitts-
burgh. Land owners would not lease or sell on reasonable terms,
and the excitement consequent upon the strike died out.
Prominent among the operators here is a widow-lady, Mrs.
Sands, who, with a keen eye to future advantage, had several
months before the McGrew strike, purchased a tract of some 200
acres, situated on the turnpike road, near the Schwartz farm ; this
land, she bought at a nominal rate of eight or ten dollars per
acre, from a Philadelphia Company. Mrs. Sands has now put
266
HISTORY OF PETROLEUM.
down seven wells. Her No. 1 was struck in September, 1870, and
is said to have produced 60 barrels per day, gradually falling off,
till at the present time, it is producing some three barrels. The two
following wells put down by this enterprising lady were moderately
successful. In the beginning of October, 1872, Mrs. Sands struck
her No. 4 flowing well, which attracted much attention. For days
this well " spouted " not less than 500 barrels daily ; it gradually
declined by filling up with sand and mud, and ceased to flow early
in November. At present this well is producing 12 barrels per
day.
A few rods south of the Sands property is the first Green well,
owned by the Green Bros, and Mead Bros. It began pumping at
the rate of 30 barrels per day in November, 1872, and is still pro-
ducing at the rate of five barrels per day. The second Green well
was struck, 29th of January, 1873, and started up at the rate of
400 barrels per day, and then held out at the rate of 200 barrels
for two months, when it decreased, and at 60 barrels it ceased to flow
when pumping commenced, and at the time of our visit (August)
it was producing 50 barrels per day.
A few rods south of the wells just described, is situated the Bly
and Main well, which was struck July 12th of the present year,
and continues to flow, starting up at 300 barrels, and now doing
200 barrels. This well, like many of its kind, flows intermittingly,
sending forth the oil with a tremendous rush every ten minutes, or
thereabouts.
The territory hereabouts is from 1000 to 1045 feet in depth, the
oil-bearing sand rock varying from 18 to 20 feet in thickness.
OIL COMPANIES. 267
THE RENO OIL COMPANY.
The Reno Oil Company, now owners and operators, of what is
known as the Reno district, was formed in 1867. The tract of
land owned by this company comprises quite one thousand two
hundred acres. The district lies on the north side of the Allegany
river, extending back up the hill-side for about a mile, and so far
as developed has proved valuable oil-producing territory.
The president of the present organization, is C. V. Culver, who
was first identified with the oil region, as part owner of some
wells upon the Clapp farm, early in 1861 he being at that time
connected with the Citizens 7 Bank at Logan, Ohio. Gifted with a
clear and far-seeing mind, he saw the opening which this region
presented, and acted upon it at once, as in May of the above year
he came to Meadville, and purchased the charter of the Bank of
Crawford county, which was at that time in bad repute. He re-
deemed the old issue of notes, and established the bank on a sound
basis. Comprehending fully, that for the development of the oil
region a large amount of capital was needed, he conceived the finan-
cial scheme of organizing a chain of offices and banks throughout
the district. He first opened an office of discount and deposit,
at Franklin, in May, 1861. In October of the same year, he
founded the Venango Bank, at Franklin, which institution after-
ward proved such a disastrous failure. The advent of this bank
was followed by the opening of the Petroleum Bank at Titusville,
and another of discount and deposit, at Oil City; and to accommodate
Eastern capitalists who had invested in the oil region, he opened a
house in Philadelphia, under the name of Culver, Brooke and Co.,
and in New York city, a banking-office under the style of Culver,
Penn & Co. Although these offices facilitated the business of his
country banks, they were not enough, and accordingly in the spring
of 1864, he organized the Third National Bank of New York.
With all these banks, he was not able to do the business which
crowded upon him, and to meet the demands, he organized the
HISTORY OF PETROLEUM.
first National Bank at Cony, the First National Bank at Titus-
ville, the Second National Bank at Erie, and the Tradesmen's Na-
tional Bank at Pittsburgh, thus completing the circle.
Mr. Culver organized the Yenango Oil Transportation Com-
pany, for handling and storing oil, which company owned some of
the finest store-houses and docks in New York city.
With the disasters of 1865-6, came the downfall of Culver, and
the mighty fabric which his genius had reared, and with his fall
came the ruin of thousands who had placed their savings under
his care. We pass over this point with the suggestion generally
received now, that the times, and not the man, contributed to the
destruction of his grand scheme. Had the result been different,
Mr. Culver might at this day have been a Petroleum king. As it
is, he is generally acknowledged to be a gentleman of rare business
qualifications, industrious, plucky, and sure to work out his finan-
cial salvation.
Mr. Culver was elected to Congress in 1865, in recognition of his
great efforts to advance the interest of the Oil Region.
The Reno Oil Company was organized in the . interest of the
creditors of Culver, Penn & Co., and by judicious management
and the good fortune of the company they have paid a number of
dividends to the creditors.
The first well, known as No. 18, was struck on the 27th of May,
1870. It started off at the rate of one hundred and fifty barrels
per day, and created quite an excitement at the time. It soon fell
off, however, and after a time a torpedo was put in, which brought
it back to its original production, when it caught fire and burned
up the derrick.
The company have now some forty wells producing. No. 51
was finished early in 1872, and when completed did only fifteen
barrels. It gradually increased, fluctuating from time to time, was
torpedoed, and then commenced to flow two hundred barrels per
day, and continued at this rate for a considerable time.
So far the company have found very few dry holes ; in fact, only
OIL COMPANIES. 269
three during the present year. A number of the wells are small,
but as there is plenty of gas to run them, they are made to pay
by pumping them " by heads." The engine houses are models of
neatness, with their cleanly swept floors and well kept boilers and
engines. The oil from the wells is running into a large 10,000-
barrel tank, from which it is pumped to the loading rack, as re-
quired.
Very little coal is used on any part of the farm, thereby saving
an immense amount of cost, and making the profits of the company
proportionately greater.
The sand found in the best wells is coarse and white, with large
pebbles that look like bits of polished marble. It, however, changes
its character somewhat in different localities. The oil in the wells
near the river bank was reached at a depth of from 500 to 550 feet.
Further back, No. 51, the elevation of the hill required about 200
feet more of drilling. This oil is taken to the New York and Cleve-
land markets, that to the latter place being shipped over the James-
town and Franklin railroad, the remainder by the way of Meadville
to New York. The prices and the freight are the same as those of
Oil City, and the oil is in good demand on account of its quality
and gravity, which varies from 43 to 47 degrees. The company
have refused to lease any of their lands, reserving the entire develop-
ment for themselves. No leases have been given at any time, with
the exception of a few granted a number of years ago, before the
creation of the present company. The wells on these leases are
pumped by heads only, none of them being large enough to pay for
more time and attention.
Quite a small village has sprung up upon the territory. The
population numbers about 500 100 of whom are on the pay roll
of the company, the remainder being generally the families of
these. One rule rigidly enforced is that no liquor shall be sold in
the place, and none drank by the men in the employ of the com-
pany, either when otf or off duty, instant dismissal being the pen-
alty for drinking even a glass of ale. The consequence of this is
270 HISTORY OF PETROLEUM.
that perfect peace and quiet prevails, and the men are always able
to attend to their work, in proof of which the company have never
had a boiler burned since they began operations.
The officers of the company are an extremely gentlemanly and
obliging set of men, always ready to afford information, or oppor-
tunities for inspection of the wells and machinery, to visitors. Their
office is pleasantly located at the lower end of the village, and has
from the windows fine views of the scenery both up and down the
river.
Conducted as it has been, the past of this company has been a
success, and under the same efficient management there is no reason
to expect a change from this in the future.
THE OCTAVE OIL COMPANY.
" The Octave Oil Company " was organized at Titusville in July,
1871, and consisted of an association of eight members, the major-
ity of whom were members of the Mendelssohn Society of that city
all musically inclined suggesting the title of the company
" OCTAVE." The association was formed for the purpose of pro-
ducing, refining and transporting oil, and commenced with a capital
stock of $80,000. The Octave territory is situated two miles
north of Titusville, and embraces about nine hundred acres of land,
including the Purtill and Hyde farms, which are owned in fee, also
a large tract of leased territory on the Fleming, Pierce and Lamb
farms, all on the west side of Oil Creek. On the east side, the
company own one hundred acres in fee and one hundred and eighty-
three acres by lease, on the Young and Noble farms. This terri-
tory stretches in a north-easterly and south-westerly direction, and
from actual developments fully demonstrates " the belt theory." It
is singular, however, that the Octave district is the only one of the
many prolific tracts in the vicinity of Titusvilfe which thoroughly
proves the correctness of the belt theory.
OIL COMPANIES. 271
The company have drilled twenty-one wells, the larger portion
of which have proved good paying wells. One of them produced
200 barrels daily for a considerable time, and continues to produce
largely, though struck in November, 72. The depth of the oil-
bearing strata varies from 460 to 900 feet, and the thickness of the
rock, from forty-five to seventy-five feet. Nearly all the rock is
white and coarse. Operations can be carried on upon this territory
with much greater economy than on territory situated at great dis-
tances from the manufacturing centres. The cost of wells averages
from 3,000 to $4,000 each.
The company possess peculiar facilities for economically conduct-
ing their business, as they pipe, transport and refine their own
oil, and sell their refined product to the exporter or the home
dealer. The Octave Pipe Line is fifteen miles in length, with all its
connections, and furnishes cheap transportation to the oil farms in
the neighborhood of their operations. The refinery of this company
is situated at Titusville, and has a still capacity, daily, of 606 barrels.
This company have extended their operations to the great lower
oil fields, having purchased 318 acres of the celebrated McCly-
monds farm at KarnsCity, Butler County. On this farm they have
built one of the largest oil tanks yet constructed, it having a capacity
of 22,000 barrels. The business plan of this Company may be
considered unique, as they produce, transport, refine and sell their
own oil and that of their neighbors, thus saving many profits for
their own pockets, and though the title of the association was at
firs* suggestive and appropriate enough, yet we think they have
earned for themselves the title of "Model" Oil Company. The
present officers of the Company are as follows :
M. STEWART, President.
J. E. BLAKE, Yice-President.
D. O. WICKHAM, Secretary.
O. G. EMERY, Treasurer.
D. EMERY, ^
L. EMERY, JR., f"
272 HISTORY OF PETROLEUM.
COLOEADO OIL DISTKICT.
This territory, comprising what is now known as Colorado, is
located on Pine Creek, in the south-west corner of Warren County,
and in the town of South West eight miles north-east of Titus-
ville, or midway between Tidioute and Titusville. The extent of
this territory may be stated, as at present developed, at about one
mile up and down the course of Pine Creek, or lying near to that
stream embraced within a tract of 800 acres of land. The land
was originally owned by the Holland Land Company. The title
to four hundred acres of this tract, and first tested, we trace from
the Holland Land Company, through several parties, until it
reaches the possession of William and Benjamin McGee, who pur-
chased it for lumbering purposes, years before the discovery of
oil in this part of the State of Pennsylvania. About the date of
the discovery of oil on the Watson flats, by Col. Drake, GODFREY
HILL, of Pittsburgh, purchased these 400 acres for oil and lumber-
ing purposes. In the fall of 1860, Mr. HILL put down the first
well drilled upon the tract. This " test well " was very near what
has since been demonstrated as the "Colorado Belt." He found the
" third sand rock," and it was pronounced good. From it came a
very little oil, but not in paying quantities. He soon after began
a second and third well, but abandoned both before they were half
down. This territory lay in its comparatively undeveloped state,
until the fall and winter of 1869 and 70 the original purchaser,
GODFREY HILL, having meantime died.
The remaining 400 acres, of which we have made mention, was
purchased in 1860, by HENRY R. ROUSE, whose tragic death by
burning occurred at a well he was interested in, on the Buchanan
farm, for lumbering purposes. Just prior to Mr. ROUSE'S death,
he executed a will, by which, after certain bequests (see his will else-
where), he devised the remainder of his estate to the County of War-
ren, to be expended in equal parts, for the benefit of the poor of the
county and the improvement of the highways within its boundaries.
OIL COMPANIES.
273
This property, after an equitable administration, was purchased by
MYRON WATERS, of Warren, Pa.
In the spring of 1865, T. C. JOY, of Titusville, purchased Mr.
WATERS' interest in this property, paying in round numbers
$60,000 for it. In the course of the summer of the same year, Mr.
JOY sold the north half of his purchase to " The Enterprise Oil
and Lumber Company," represented by B. D. Benson & Co., of
Enterprise, Pa. Soon after this sale, Mr. JOY began and com-
pleted his first well upon the south half of his purchase. This well
exhibited a dark gray sand rock, but no oil. The following spring
and summer, B. D. Benson & Co., put down a single well upon
the tract purchased from Mr. JOY, called the " Metter well." This
was also a "dry hole!" Little or nothing was done in drilling
wells for a year or more thereafter. In 1867, a a JOINT WELL"
was put down upon the east and west line of this tract Mr.
JOY and B. D. BENSON & Co. owning equal interests. This well
produced about two barrels per day, but was soon after abandoned,
as non-paying.
Shortly after this last development, the improvement in product
and quality of sand rock, encouraged a number of Shamburg oper-
ators to try it once more. They sank the fifth well on the
" Joy tract," and this was a dry hole !
In December, 1869, a "developing company" was organized,
composed of F. W. AMES, Dr. W. B. ROBERTS, L. B. SILLIMAN,
T. C. JOY and A. K. MURRAY of Titusville, and B. D. BENSON
& Co., of Enterprise, and GRAHAM & HORTON, of Middletown,
N. Y. In all previous developments a comparatively inferior
" third sand " rock had been found, of forty to fifty feet in depth.
This company was therefore organized to make still further
searches for the " golden stream " confident the territory would
fifrnish it. The company drilled TWO wells, and both were dry !
This concluded the operations of the " Developing Company," and
soon after all its parties withdrew from the temporarily organized
association, leaving Mr. JOY, and B. D. BENSON & Co., sole owners
and operators.
18
274
HISTORY OF PETROLEUM.
Meantime, or in 1870, HENRY HILL, a son and heir of GOD-
FREY HILL, put down the second well upon the first 400 acres,
previously mentioned. This well made a promising " show," but
it failed to produce in remunerative quantities less than three
barrels per day. It demonstrated, however, that oil existed there
in some abundance, and that this last well was very near the de-
posits. The first good sand rock was found in this well.
Soon after this, B. McKinney and others secured a ten acre
lease, and put down the third well upon the " Hill Tract/ 7 which
produced ten barrels per day.
At this time the title to the property, was in dispute and in
litigation. Terms of adjustment were, however, agreed upon, and
out of the compromise, for such it was, "The Colorado Oil Com-
pany " sprang composed of the following gentlemen :
T. C. Joy, F. AY. Andrews, B. D. Benson, Marcus Brownson,
R. E. Hopkins, David McKelvey.
In November, 1871, this company completed the fourth well on
the first four hundred acres, or "Hill Tract," and within forty rods
of the first well, put down by Mr. HILL in 1860. This proved to
be a success. The well produced, after being torpedoed, one hun-
dred and fifty barrels per day. This established the character of the
Colorado Oil District, beyond cavil or doubt. The territory has
been rapidly developed, since, and up to the date of this record,
January, 1873, "The Colorado Oil Company," has put down
eighteen wells, seventeen of which have been remuneratively pro-
ductive a few largely so.
During the two years' operation of this company, over 80,000
barrels of oil have been taken from their wells, and the line of
development demonstrates that the " Colorado Belt " extends over
both the " Joy" and the Hill Tract," alike.
Messrs. D. B. Benson & Co., have developed other and larger
tracts in the Colorado districts, and their operations began about
the date of those above mentioned. We have not been able to
obtain the information required, and therefore omit further men-
tion of the Colorado district.
OIL COMPANIES. 275
THE COLUMBIA OIL COMPANY.
This company was chartered by the Pennsylvania Legislature,
May 1, 1861, with a capital of $250,000, divided into 10,000
shares of $25 each.
It commenced operations on the Story Farm, on Oil Creek,
about seven miles from its mouth. During the year 1861, its pro-
duction of oil was 20,800 barrels ; in 1862 it had increased to
89,602 barrels. Its first dividend was declared July 8, 1863, but
little over two years from the date of its charter, and was for thirty
per cent, on its capital stock. This was followed on the 12th of
August, by a second for 25 per cent. ; another for the same amount
September 9th, and still another on the 14th of October for 50 per
cent. making in all dividends to the amount of 130 per cent, on
the capital stock within two and one-half years of the formation of
the company.
In 1864, its production increased to 141,508 barrels. During
the first six months of this year, it declared four more dividends
amounting to 160 per cent, on its capital stock. At this time its
capital was increased to $2,500,000, and it at once declared a divi-
dend of 5 per cent, on this increased capital, and before the close
of the year, five more making in the aggregate 25 per cent.
From that date to the close of the ysar 1871, its production of 'oil
has been remarkably uniform; the minimum amount being 110,-
655 barrels in 1867, and the maximum 142,034 barrels in 1871.
The whole amount of oil produced by the company during the
ten years of its operations is 1,715,972 barrels, and the whole
amount of its dividends $2,342,600, or 401 per cent, on its capital
stock ; and yet after ten years of active development, but a small
part of its land has been touched, and the part where developments
have been made is capable of receiving as many more wells as have
been already sunk upon it ; and although the fortunate owners of
its stock have already received a princely return for their invest-
276 HISTORY OF PETROLEUM.
ment, there is no reason to doubt that these dividends can be main-
tained, or even increased, almost at pleasure, for years to come.
The history of this company, as we have endeavored to give it, is
one of figures, not words ; but from these figures, some idea can be
formed of the vast wealth still lying hidden in the crevices of the
rock, only needing the hand of skill and the direction of prudent
managers to bring it into the service of man. Touch the point of
a pencil ever so 1 lightly upon a map of the oil region, and a larger
proportion of the territory which is known to be oil-producing, is
covered, than the whole property of this company. Touch a pencil
again upon a map representing the land of this company, and the
spot covered by the mark may represent the developed portion of
the land, and from this speck of ground, eight millions of dollars'
worth of oil has been sold !
OIL WELL RECORDS. 277
THE OIL MARKET FROM 1859 TO 1872.
Petroleum mining may be said to have commenced as a business
in 1860. The demand previous to this was of a very limited char-
acter ; yet the oil from the Drake Well commanded an average
of 50 cents per gallon during 1859. In July, 1860, the price at
the wells had declined to seven cents per gallon. In October it
was ten cents per gallon, and from this time it continued to advance
slowly to January 1st, 1861, when it was sold at 25 cents per gal-
lon, and remained at this price till March 1st. A few days after-
wards sales were made at 15 cents per gallon, and on the 18th of
March it was ten cents per gallon. In June, 1861, the flowing
well period commenced, and the production was suddenly increased
from about 150 barrels daily, in February, to some three thousand
barrels daily, in September, and more than 6,000 barrels daily, in
December of the same year. The sudden and immense increase of
production had now almost destroyed its value, as consumption
was as yet very small. Thousands of barrels were allowed to run
to waste for want of barrels and a market. In the summer the
price had declined to five cents per gallon, and in August and Sep-
tember sales were made at fifty, twenty-five and thirty cents per
barrel, when in July the price had receded to ten cents per barrel.
Prices again took an upward turn, and sales were made during
October, November and December at 35 to 40 cents per barrel ;
then again the price is quoted in January, 1862, at $2 per barrel.
The spring of 1862 was signalized by a much larger production,
and the price of oil went down to 40 cents per barrel. Excessive
cheapness forced consumption, both in this country and abroad,
with unparalleled rapidity, so that in the latter months of 1862,
there occurred a large but spasmodic rise in the value of petroleum.
The unremunerative price which had for some time prevailed
checked production, causing all small wells to be abandoned. This
state of the market continued, merging into a more even upward
graduation of values through the year 1864, when crude oil sold
278
HISTORY OF PETROLEUM.
at one time as high as $13.50 per barrel, at the wells. The fol-
lowing list of prices we take from the books of a firm engaged in
the purchase of oil at Titusville, from 1860 to 1865.
December 7th, 1860,
" 24, "
January 4, 1861,
" 10, "
" 16, " .
April 18, "
July 22, "
August 12, "
November 17, 1862,
Oil at Titusville,
23 cents per gallon.
23 " "
25 " "
26 " "
26 " "
On the Creek,
At Titusville,
On the Creek,
At Shaffer Station,
$2.25 per barrel.
$2.25 "
$5.50 "
$2.50 "
$2.00 "
$3.00 "
$5.00 "
$8.50 "
$9.50 "
$12.50
February 18, 1863,
March 27, "
April 10, 1864,
June 7,
August, "
Sept. 1,
Sept. 26, " " " $8.00 "
The above quotation includes hauling from the wells to the place
of delivery. The average price per barrel of crude on Oil Creek
for the years named are as follows :
1862
1863
1864
1865
$1.15 currency.
3.25 "
8.13
6.71 "
In the Columbia Oil Company's Eleventh Annual Report, the
average prices for the years named are given as follows :
1866 . . . $3.78
1867 ^ . 2.54
1868 . . . 3.95
1869 . . . 5.48
1870 3.82
OIL BROKERAGE. 279
OIL BROKERAGE ITS COMMENCEMENT, &c.
BY ARNOLD BURGESS.
To a visitor in the oil regions, not the least interesting as well
as surprising feature is the brokerage business. A stranger to the
section and the trade, calling at the exchange, seeing the number
of brokers and dealers engaged, and these augmented on the
arrival of every train, the constant coming and going of telegraph
messages, and listening to the terms used, finds himself in a new
world, where thousands on thousands of dollars' worth of property
changes hands with an indifference and ease which astonishes and
bewilders him.
In 1868, brokerage was started by a few individuals, and for some
time was chiefly confined to buying for refineries in Pittsburgh,
Philadelphia and Baltimore. In most cases the brokers were paid
by the buyers a commission of ten cents per barrel, and this was
sometimes increased by an additional five cents per barrel by the
seller. At the outset the business was a matter of experiment,
but soon the attention of other parties was attracted thereto. New
men entered the ranks, and the whole thing was placed on a legiti-
mate basis by the formation of brokers' boards in the cities where
the heaviest trade was carried on, and the establishment of regular
rates of brokerage.
In 1869, Erie "cornered" the market, and by the large transac-
tions in crude on the creek, influenced the refined markets of New
York and Cleveland, thus bringing them in, as extensive buyers
and opening these important points also to the brokers. Since
that time, with each succeeding year they have assumed a more
important position in commercial circles, till now all over the
country, wherever oil is produced or shipped, either crude or re-
fined, the greater part of the transactions are executed by brokers.
A broker's business consists of buying and selling "spot,"
" regular " and " future " oil. As these are expressions which
will convey to the uninitiated no idea of the particular trade
280 HISTOEY OF PETROLEUM.
named, a few words may be appropriately given in explanation :
" Spot " is the term used when the oil is to be moved and paid for
immediately ; " regular " is where the buyer is allowed ten days
in which to put in his cars and take out the oil. These are parol
contracts and without writings, the broker acting under orders
from his principal, whom he names to the other party, and he
being often the only witness to the trade; but in the case of
" futures," this is not the custom, as the fulfillment of these takes
place at the expiration of the agreed time. A written contract is
drawn by the broker and signed by him as such. This is accepted
by both parties, and is equally binding, the one agreeing to sell
and the other to take a certain quantity of oil within a certain
period of time, at a price named in the contract, which also speci-
fies that the party, in whose favor the contract be drawn, shall
give to the other ten days' notice, within which he will move the
oil. Regular future contracts are buyers' and sellers 1 options. In
the first, the buyer has a right to demand the oil at any time he
sees fit; and by the last, the seller can put it in whenever he
chooses, all within the time as named in the contract. By these
contracts the buyer is also bound to take the oil or pay, or take a
difference in money according as the trade has proved in his
favor or against him, and this difference is that between the con-
tract price and the regular market rate on the last of the ten
notice days.
I have spoken of these as regular contracts, because there is a
species of contract by which the amount of difference is named and
limited at the start. These are called " puts " and " calls."
A " put " is where one party agrees to give a certain sum of
money to be paid at once for the privilege of delivering a
named quantity of oil at a price also named, within an agreed time.
A " call " is when the money is paid for the right to call on the
other to deliver the oil. In these cases the prices of the " put " or
called oil is generally higher than the rate of regular contracts for
ihe .same time. This is because it is a one-sided affair since
OIL BROKERAGE. 281
under no circumstances can the acceptor of the offer get more than
the amount bid, while if the market goes against him, he is obliged
to settle the difference at what may prove a heavy loss.
In all regular contracts the seller pays the brokerage ; but in
these irregular trades there is yet no established custom as to which
of the parties it is due from. In New York the commission is
three cents per barrel ; in Gil City and on the Creek it is two-and-
one-half cents. There is, however, one obstacle in this business to'
which brokerage in other commodities is not liable. I refer to the
fact that in all futures the broker has to wait for the fulfillment of
the contract ere he can collect his commission, and if either party
fails, he loses his pay. By this he is actually made to insure the
solvency of both parties to the amount of his brokerage, which is
a manifest injustice. His business ought to end with the issue and
acceptance of the contract, and though it is customary for brokers
to attend to the taking or delivery of oil for their principals, they
get no additional pay for this extra work.
In a business like this, the market is liable to great and sudden
fluctuations. A combination is often formed to lower or raise the
price of oil, and this is especially the case as the time approaches
when a number of contracts mature. The bulls and bears are
then rampant, and the talk is all of the " long " and " short "
order. The close of the first, and last half of the year, is generally
marked by some such struggle, and the brokers buy and sell thou-
sands of barrels of " paper " oil, to effect settlements of the six
months 7 contracts that are coming due.
Brokers are, by the nature of their business, very closely con-
nected. Each has his correspondent " on the Creek " and elsewhere,
with whom he shares the brokerage arising from the purchases or
sales made through their joint exertions ; and it often happens that
each broker is obliged to call in the oil of another, till the commis-
sion is so divided and sub-divided that it will hardly pay the tele-
graph bills of the different parties. In fact, brokerage, is a hard-
worked and poorly-paid profession, and yet there is an excitement
282
HISTORY OF PETROLEUM.
about it that forms a great attraction. The men are a jolly, jovial
set, free and generous with their money and kind offices, and as
their's^is a business where much is of necessity left to their honor,
each man takes a pride in keeping his word on an equal footing
with his bond.
Efforts are constantly being made to place brokerage upon a still
higher and more responsible footing. During 1871, by the exer-
tions of prominent men identified with the trade, regular exchanges
were established both in Titusville and Oil City. The members
of these are bound by the most rigid laws of equitable trade, and
by a wise arrangement of arbitration committees, very much liti-
gation is avoided. Within these halls of exchange, all possible
aids to business are gathered.
Every facility is offered by telegraphic communication with both
home and foreign markets for a thorough and accurate knowledge
of the condition of affairs. Membership is not limited to brokers ;
but dealers, producers and consumers are admitted to the benefits
thereof, and meet on the same footing. By such an arrangement,
the best interests of all are consulted, buyers and sellers are brought
together, and the brokers, through whom this is effected, take their
rightful position before the world as a useful and honorable body
of men.
OIL PIPE LINES. 283
OIL PIPE LINES.
EXTENT IN THE PENNSYLVANIA OIL EEGION.
THE iron pipe lines for the conveyance of oil from the wells to
railway shipping points play an important part in the transportation
of the article. The difficulties experienced in conveying oil by
teams in the early years of the petroleum discoveries and develop-
ments suggested the idea of using wrought-iron pipes for the pur-
pose. Mr. Samuel Van Syckel, of Titusville, was, we believe, the
first to reduce the idea to practice. The first pipe line, four miles
in length, was put down by him in 1865, and extended from Pit
Hole to the railway, at Miller's Farm. Like many other innova-
tions, the idea was received with doubts and misgivings at first, but
after a variety of changing fortunes, it at length worked its way into
public favor, and was pronounced a success. From this small be-
ginning has arisen a whole net-work of pipe lines, covering the
entire oil-producing territory and introducing an entirely new sys-
tem of transportation.
Soon after the completion of the Van Syckel line from Pit Hole
to Miller Farm, Mr. Henry Harley had a line in successful opera-
tion from Benninghoff Hun to Shaffer Farm, on the Oil Creek
railroad. A fuller account of both these lines of pipe, is given in
the sketches of Messrs. Abbott and Harley, and to these we refer
the reader. Suffice it to say here, that " The Pennsylvania Trans-
portation Company " own and operate nearly five hundred miles of
pipe line in the upper oil region.
Messrs. Vandergrift and Foreman, of Oil City, are extensively
284 HISTORY OF PETROLEUM.
interested in pipe line enterprises, and own and operate several in
the upper as well as the lower oil field. They have one line from
Pit Hole to Paxton, 10 miles ; one from Fagundas to Trunkey-
ville, 10 miles ; one from the Shaw farm to Oil City, 4J miles ;
one from Sandy to Oil City, 11 J miles, and one from the Miller
farm to Oil City, in one direction, and to Franklin in the opposite
direction, 7 miles.
" The Rochester and Oleopolis Transportation Company," of
Oil City, have a line from Oleopolis to Oil City six miles com-
posed of six-inch pipe. This line and its capacity was found to be
necessary during the great product of 1865 at Pit Hole five to
six thousand barrels per day.
Grandin Bros. & Neyhart own and operate extensive lines of
pipe at Tidioute, Fagundas, and elsewhere in that vicinity.
Mr. Payne and Mr. Martin, of Petroleum Centre, are each ope-
rating a number of short lines for the convenience of producers in
that locality.
The Cherrytree pipe line was one of the earliest constructed.
It runs from Kane City to the Rynd Farm, is 15 miles in length,
and is owned by John Wallace & Co., of Rouseville.
THE LOWER DISTRICT PIPE LINES.
The following is a very complete estimate of the Pipe Lines of
the Lower Oil Field, comprising nine different lines, all of them
gathering in the oil to places of shipment on the Allegany Valley
Railroad. The extent and ramification of these lines is surprising,
and testifies to the importance of the transactions in that direction.
The Emlenton Pipe Line is 50 miles in length, carrying the oil
from Upper Turkey^Run.
The Antwerp Pipe Line runs from Upper Turkey Run, and
points adjacent, and is about 50 miles in length.
The Mutual Pipe Company's lines, consist of nine different
OIL PIPE LINES. 285
branches, running from the following points : Upper and Lower
Turkey Run, Clarion District, St. Petersburg!], Antwerp City,
and points as far as Beaver Creek, and is 100 miles in length.
The Grant Pipe Line runs from the Grant farm on the west
side of the Allegany, coming out at Parker's Landing, and is 20
miles in extent.
The Union Pipe Line runs from the Bear Creek District, Sheak-
ley, Argyle, Petrolia, Karns City, Millerstown and Modoc City,
and is in all, 125 miles in length.
The Cleveland Pipe Line Co. (S. D. Karns, owner,) runs from
Karns City and Greece City, and is 40 miles in length.
The Fairview Pipe Line, owned by Vandergrift and Foreman of
Oil City, runs from Sheakley, Petrolia, Greece City, Millerstown
and Modoc. Total length, 125 miles.
Relief Pipe Line runs from Story Farm and Armstrong Kun,
and is some 12 miles in extent.
The Butler Pipe Line runs from Greece City, Modoc, Millers-
town, and intervening points, to the Butler Branch Railway, and is
sixty miles in length.
With the lines now in operation, in course of construction, and
those surveyed, soon to be commenced, the Oil Region of Pennsyl-
vania will soon have upwards of 2,000 miles of pipe lines for the
transportation of oil !
. There are a few gravity pipe lines ; but generally the oil is forced
through the lines by pumping. The capacity of each line is about
1,500 barrels in every twenty-four hours. In some districts, the
lines are run up to their capacity, while in others they do not
exceed half that amount. The present cost of the pipe used is
about 30 cents per foot ; and the average cost of the lines, including
pipes, tanks, pumps and boilers, is about $1,500 per mile. A
large share of the production is purchased at the wells by the com-
panies, and then transported on their own account. Many of the
large producers, however, prefer marketing their own oil, and em-
ploy the pipe companies to transport it to the railway. The charge
286
HISTOEY OF PETROLEUM.
varies from 20 to 30 cents per barrel, according to distance. In
such cases, the oil is usually pumped into the company's tanks, and
from these, 42 gallons are delivered for each 43 gallons received
at the well the one gallon per barrel being deducted for wastage.
The pipe lines are increasing with the development of new pro-
ducing territory, and are proving a source of great benefit to the
producers, as well as of profit to the companies.
EAELY AND LATER MODES OF TRANSPORTATION
The early operator had many difficulties to* contend with in the
transportation of his oil to market, as the only mode of land-
carriage consisted in hauling the oil from the wells to Titusville,
Oil City, or other shipping points. The roads were bad, and when
much used and in wet weather, they then became almost impassa-
ble. The author of Petrolia, writing on this subject, says :
"Oil Creek mud" attained a fame in the earlier and subsequent
years, that will be fresh in the memory of those who saw and were
compelled to wade through it. Teamsters and horse-men swore
both loud and deep at it. Newspaper correspondents exhausted all
their adjectives, epithets, and expletives in essaying to give a faint
description of its demerits. "Weary pedestrian pilgrims, like Bun-
yan's Christian, were inclined to part with their knapsacks after a
brief experience; ministers of the Gospel and devoted laymen,
earnestly desired sustaining grace while urging their weary beasts
over and through it. Mud, deep, and indescribably disgusting,
covered all the main and by-roads in wet weather, while the streets
of the towns composing the chief shipping points, had the appear-
ance of liquid lakes or lanes of mud."
The difficulties of moving the thousands of barrels of oil which
it was necessary to transport, can be better imagined than de-
scribed. It was indeed a huge task, and many were the mishaps
OIL PIPE LINES. 287
attendant upon the rough and swearing teamsters, as was evidenced
to any one passing along the line of roads leading to a large ship-
ping point, as the way was literally strewn with broken wagons,
dead horses, oil barrels, filled and empty. Some one conceived the
idea of conveying the oil down Oil Creek to the Allegany in flat
boats, to hold the oil in barrels or bulk, and the employment of
pond-freshets to float the boats, when laden with oil. Flat-bottom
boats were procured from the upper Allegany, and from all points
where they were built. Arrangements were made with the mill-
owners at the head- waters of Oil Creek, for the use of their surplus
water at stated intervals. The boats were towed up the creek by
horses not by a tow-path, but through the stream to the various
points of loading, and when laden they were floated off upon a
pond-freshet. The amount of oil brought down upon one of these
pond-freshets averaged from 15,000 to 20,000 barrels the largest
quantity ever brought out of " the creek " upon a single freshet,
would not exceed 40,000 barrels. The oil was transferred at the
Oil wharves at Oil City to a larger and better class of boats, and
floated down the Allegany to Pittsburgh.
At one time over 1,000 boats were employed on the creek and
river, and in addition to these there were some thirty steamers, pas-
senger and tow-boats engaged in the same traffic. This oil float
furnished employment to about 4,000 men.
Collisions and "jams" were of common occurrence; a boat
would by some mismanagement get aground, and thus swing
round, by the force of the stream, when it filled with water and
sunk. Against this obstacle the advancing boats dashed with
great force, the weaker ones becoming splintered from the concus-
sion, the stronger ones being wedged fast, in the order in which
they came, and thus formed what is familiarly known on Oil Creek
as "a jam." During the freshet of May, 1864, a "jam" occurred
at Oil City, which resulted in the loss of from 20,000 to 30,000
barrels of oil.
The magnitude of the oil business, soon attracted the attention
288 HISTORY OF PETROLEUM.
of railroads running near the Oil Region. The Atlantic and Great
Western Railway, first built a branch road from their main line,
at Meadville, to Franklin, thus opening an avenue of traffic
to New York, Philadelphia and Cleveland. About this time,
1861-2, the Oil Creek road was projected and built from Corry to
Titusville, thus connecting with the Philadelphia and Erie Rail-
road. The Oil Creek road was gradually extended down the
valley of Oil Creek, to Shaffer farm. In the winter of 1865 and
1866, the Atlantic and Great Western, extended their branch road,
from Franklin to Oil City. We need not here occupy the reader's
attention with a particular account of railroad developments in the
Oil Region. It is sufficient to say, that the country has ample ac-
commodation in this respect at the present moment.
With the advent of railroads, the mode of doing business was
revolutionized. Car tanks were brought into use, each car being
mounted with two wooden tanks, having a capacity of about forty
barrels each, and by the aid of pipe lines, were filled upon the rail-
road track with great ease, and at much less expense, compared
with the old system. The wooden car tanks, have latterly given
way to the iron cylinder-shaped single tank, which holds about the
same amount of oil, as the two wooden tanks. These are used for
transporting both crude and refined oils. A great many railroad
companies own iron car tanks for the transit of oil. There are, on
all the railroads that handle petroleum, about 2500 iron bulk cars,
of an average capacity of eighty-five barrels to a car, giving a
tankage capacity now on wheels of 212,500 barrels. Cars that
carry oil in barrels are not included in this aggregate.
The expense of hauling by team, was an important and expen-
sive item, and helped to reduce the gross price of oil. During
the spring and summer of 1862, the price paid for hauling or
teaming oil, from the flowing wells on the lower McElhenny farm,
to Oil City and Titusville was, from half a dollar to a dollar and
a half per barrel. Later in the fall of that year, three dollars to
three dollars and fifty, and even four dollars per barrel was paid,
OIL PIPE LINES. 289
for hauling from the Empire well (McElhenny farm) to Titusville.
We have it from a reliable gentleman, BARNEY BOSCH, now a
prominent citizen of Titusville, that he had in his employment, a
teamster for a period of nine weeks during which time, this " oil
forwarder " drew only money sufficient for the necessities of life and
horse feed! The man slept in his wagon or under it, seldom
washed, and during the nine weeks, never changed a single article
of clothing. At the expiration of his nine weeks' services, he
"thought he'd go home for a clean shirt, &c.," and called upon
Mr. Bosch for a settlement. The amount standing to his credit
was nineteen hundred dollars 1
19
A Scene iu the Lower Oil Field.
OPERATING WELLS BY GAS-LTGHT.
THE LOWER OIL FIELD. 291
THE LOWER OIL FIELD.
ST. PETERSBURG, FOXBURGH, PARKER'S LANDING,
AND BUTLER COUNTY, PA.
IN the year 1860, Thomas McConnell, W. D. Robinson, Smith
K. Campbell, and Col. J. B. Findlay, of Kittanning, purchased
two acres of land on the west bank of the Allegany river, about
ninety rods north of Tom's Run, from Elisha Robinson, Sen., and
organized the "Foxburgh Oil Company/' consisting of sixteen
shares, and commenced putting down a well, which reached a depth
of 460 feet, when an accident occurred to obstruct operations
for a few days. In the interval the war broke out, and the excite-
ment incident thereto, stopped all further work on the premises,
and the well was abandoned.
Subsequently the same parties purchased 100 acres, known as
the Tom's Run Tract, from Mr. Robinson, for which they paid $50
per acre. In 1865, the Company sold about thirty acres of this
purchase to a number of gentlemen in Philadelphia, for the sum of
$20,000. On these 30 acres the " Clarion and Allegany River
Oil Company" put down their first well, which struck oil in Oc-
tober, 1865, the first to produce in that locality.*
Many were the scoffs and jeers and insulting remarks made
* Operations, during 1863-4, had been commenced and were successfully prosecuted
on the Clarion River , near the Allegany, above Parker's Landing, by a Philadelphia
Company or Companies, and the developments they made established the character
of the surrounding country for oil purposes.
292
HISTORY OF PETROLEUM.
about these first operators. They were held up to ridicule by men
of means, as well as by others, and were euphoniously called "crazy/'
having " oil on the brain/' etc. The followers of these pioneers
are now, however, numerous.
It is remarkable that the well of 1860, was put down on territory
which has since proved dry ; and had it then been finished would
have undoubtedly been a failure, and possibly prevented all future
development in this region. But it was not to be so. It was
abandoned for a period of four years before the " Allegany and
Clarion River " well, had been commenced, and which, proving a
success, gave this field to the world at a time when Venango was
rapidly declining in product.
The Pennsylvania Oil Region is divided into two grand divisions,
termed the Upper and Lower region, or the Creek region, and
River or Parker's Landing region. The tendency for operations
has of late moved towards this lower division of the Oil field.
Here, the great bulk of the present production is obtained, and
here are to be found the leading men of this great industry. From
the first developments in this section, operations have been con-
ducted on the theory of a belt, or series of belts.
In 1868, some wells were struck at Lawrenceburg, situate on the
hill, just above Parker's Landing. A well-known operator, Mr.
Marcus Brownson, of Titusville/acting on data the result of actual
operations, projected a line or belt from this point north, 22 degrees
east, and south 22 degrees west, in breadth about five miles, and in
length as now developed, about 35 miles, and venturesome operators
soon opened up a belt, the end of which has not yet been reached in
either direction. Many were stimulated to " Wildcat," and it was
found that north-east of this, which may be termed the central
belt, is one extending up the Clarion river, out through Turkey
Run, in Clarion County. Southward it passes a little to the west
of Millerstown, Butler County. To the westward of the eastern,
or central belt, is another, extending and developed from the Russel
farm, opposite Antwerp, in Clarion County, to a point abreast
THE LOWER OIL FIELDS. 293
of Lawrenceburg on the east, with the Robinson, Black and Grant
farms, which may be termed the western belt. Then, there is a
break in the development in this middle belt of some three miles,
until the Stonehouse property is reached on the west^line. This
belt will pass not less than five miles to the left, or east of the
borough of Butler, Butler County. Between the central and east
belts the distance is about one mile ; between the central and west
belt about three miles. The eastern belt is of the greatest impor-
tance ; in fact, the middle belt appears to run into it, after they
cross Bear Creek, east of Lawrenceburg. (We ought here to say
that many operators differ in their opinions, from this last sug-
gestion.) Actual developments north-east of Lawrenceburg show
that this eastern belt runs through Parker's Landing, Foxburgh, St.
Petersburg, Antwerp, etc. Below, and just . across Bear Creek, are
the Say, and the Stonehouse farms. Then follow, lying end to end,
the Fletcher and Campbell farms; the Martin and Hutchinson,
the Gibson and Turner farms ; the Robert Campbell and Marcus
Brownson farms; the Mayville tract; the James Campbell and Ward
farms ; the Canada Oil Company and A. L. Campbell and Wilson
farms; the Blaney and Dougherty farms at Petrolia City; the
McClymonds, Wilson and Bank farms ; the J. B. Campbell and
Adams farms ; the Story and Riddle farms at Karns City ; and last,
the Moore and Hepler farms, now known as the Angell Oil Com-
pany's tract, which consists of two hundred and seventy acres, and
lying in the Millerstown belt. From Bear Creek to the Angell
tract, the distance is about ten miles, and the average width four
miles, giving an area of forty square miles developed or in process
of development.
Prominent among the first wells of this region, and perhaps we
should say the belt just described, was the noted one on the Mc-
Clymonds' Farm, at the date of its completion, one mile and a-half
in advance of other developments. It was drilled some fourteen
hundred feet, fifty feet deeper than the wells thereabouts, and the
owner, fearing the rock had run out, sold it as a dry hole to More-
294 HISTORY OF PETROLEUM.
head, Tack and Preston, \vho purchased it solely on the strength of
their belief in the existence of belts. Three hours after they had
purchased it the drill entered the sand, and before the well could
be tubed seven hundred barrels of oil .flowed out of it ! Their suc-
cess encouraged others, and the intervening territory was rapidly
developed. A town called Karns City, a compliment to Mr. S.
D. Karns, a well-known operator, was soon built up.
The success at Karns City greatly emboldened operators, and the
line of the western belt was then projected .in the direction of But-
ler, seven miles out. Several wells 'were started on the Jamieson
Farm, in the latter part of last year. Four of them produced two
hundred barrels per day for a considerable time. This point has
since been called Greece City, and now has a population of 4,000
to 5,000. This is the largest jump ever taken, there being some
four or five miles of undeveloped territory in the rear. On the
Angell Oil Company's territory, lying on the line of the central or
eastern belts, successful strikes have but recently been made, and
thus all the territory near or between it and Fairview, a distance
of some two miles, has been opened.
The St. Petersburg district, upon the east side of the Allegany
River (it may be said to be from one to eight miles from it, and its
limit has not yet been reached) is north-east of the Butler oil field.
The general direction of the belt, like that just described, is north-
east and south-west. Developments in this district were com-
menced in the summer of 1869, and the first well was struck in
September of that year. This was the " Mead Well," south of the
Clarion River and near its mouth. Soon after the Elephant "Well,
near the first named was struck. Parties then began to extend de-
velopments north of the river, and in October following, a well
was struck there, and operations continued on up the Allegany, to,
where Foxburgh now stands. The wells on this portion of the new
field were not extraordinarily large. The pioneer who pushed de-
velopments back from the Allegany to St. Petersburgh, was Marcus
Hulings, who struck the Hulings' or " Antwerp "Well/' in Novem-
THE LOWER OIL FIELDS. 295
her, 1871. This well started up at the rate of 100 barrels per day,
and maintained this production for some time. It is still produc-
ing oil, and pumps about seven barrels per day. Within two
weeks after the Hulings' well was struck, twenty-five wells were
commenced on the J. J. Ashbaugh and Dan Bitz farms, in and
around the borough of St. Petersburg. The farms between the Al-
legany River and -St. Petersburg were soon taken up by active ope-
rators, and derricks were rapidly reared all along the line. These
farms are the Frederick Rupert, Whitting, Shoup, Collins, Foust
and Keating. Then commenced the building up of St. Petersburg,
which is now one of the important villages of the lower oil field.
Early in the spring of 1872, building went on rapidly, (it had pre-
viously been a farming settlement and centre,) as there* was a large
influx of population. Houses were put up at the rate of twenty-five
per day. Shortly afterwards it was incorporated as a borough. The
distance from the Allegany to St. Petersburg is two miles. A
quarter of a mile beyond St. Petersburg stands the village of Ant-
werp. St. Petersburg contains a population of 2,500 to 3,000.
The thickness of the oil-bearing rock in this district is twenty-
five feet nine inches. The average depth of the well is 975 feet.
The deepest is the Fountain Well, which is 1241 feet. The shal-
lowest, the Antwerp or Hulings' Well, which is 790 feet. These
two wells are half a mile apart.
The lower oil field proper, is varied and beautiful in scenery.
The land is rolling, fertile and fairly cultivated. The homes of
the old settlers bear the marks of peace and plenty. The hills and
valleys contain rich deposits of coal, and their -Jbowels, rivers of
oil. "
Recent developments have centred at points lying between and
including Petrolia and Fairview on the north, and Millerstown on
the south, and Karns City on the east, and Greece City on the
west, all in Butler Co., Pa., which comprise the best producing oil
territory of late years. At no period in the history of petroleum
developments has there existed such a large number of flowing
296 HISTORY OF PETROLEUM.
wells as are to be found at the present writing, and at no time has
there been so large a production of oil.
The country has been chiefly developed by combinations of indi-
viduals, some ventures being divided into sixteenths. The most
prominent gentlemen engaged in developing this territory are S.
D. Karns, C. D. Angell, Parker, Thompson & Co., Lambing Bro-
thers, Campbell Bros., Fisher Brothers, Tack Brothers, Moorhead
and Ripley, Robert Leckey, H. W. Scott, F. F. A. Wilson, Mar-
cus Brownson, Dimick, Nesbitt & Co., Jno. Preston, Jno. L. and J
C. McKinney,and Jno. H. j Gailey,Vandergrift& Foreman, Phillips
Bros., H. L. Taylor, Jno. Satterfield, Tarbell & E^ess, and others
not known to the writer.
THE MODOC DISTRICT.
Having in the early part of this chapter noted the lines of devel-
opment, and marked its progress, we will now proceed to chronicle
the more recent developments with a brief sketch of the progress
of the work.
We have already made mention of the striking of the Troutman
well, on the Troutman farm, in that portion of this oil field, known
as the Modoc City district. This famous well, which began flow-
ing enormous quantities of oil on the 23d of March, 1873, is situ-
ated on a tract of land of some fifty-five acres, upon which a French-
man named Troutman settled some four years since. A party of
capitalists, known as " The Hope Oil Company," purchased the land
about one year ago. This well created great excitement among
operators, and soon extensive operations were commenced in the
neighborhood. The amount of oil produced for the first few days
is variously estimated at from 800 to 1,000 barrels per day. From
the 23d of March to the 10th of September of the present year ;
1873, this well produced, according to the Pipe Line Co.'s receipts,
THE LOWER OIL FIELDS. 297
85,413 T Vff barrels ! Add to this 3,000 barrels, lost for want of
tankage the first few days of its production. The production
on the 10th of September was 308 barrels,* after flowing five months
and seventeen days ! " The TROUTMAN" is 1,440 feet in depth, and
was sunk as a test well, the success of which soon attracted opera-
tors to the locality. Surveys were made, and leases given out. The
following shows the results thus far of this wonderful territory :
The Troutman Well, Troutman farm, struck 23d of March, BBLS.
1873, now producing daily, . . . 308
Capt. Grace Well, John Starr farm, struck in July, '73,
now producing daily, . .' . . 300
Boyer Well, John Starr farm, struck in July, '73, now
producing daily, ..... 300
Capt. Grace No. 2, John Starr farm, struck in July, '73,
now producing daily, .... 300
Percy & Beck Well, John Starr farm, struck in July, '73,
now producing daily, . . . . 250
Brawley Well, Jerry Starr farm, struck in July, '73, now
producing, ..... 300
Captain Jack Well, Harper farm, struck in July, '73, now
producing daily, . . . . . 200
Dean Well, Harper Farm, struck in August, '73, now pro-
ducing daily, ..... 300
Modoc Well, Troutman farm, owned by Hope Oil Co.,
struck in August, '73, now producing daily, . 300
W. W. Thompson Well, Morrow farm, struck in August,
'73, now producing daily, .... 500
Seep Well, McClurg farm, struck in August, '73, now pro-
ducing daily, ..... 350
Fleming Well, No. 1, Kalston farm, struck in Sept. 6th, 73,
at first produced at the rate of 700 barrels, and is now
producing daily, ..... 500
* The production, as reported above, is the actual flow of the well on Sept. 13th,
1873.
298 HISTORY OF PETROLEUM.
Fleming, No. 2, Ralston farm, struck Sept. 6th, 1873, BBLS.
flowed at the same rate as No. 1, and is now doing daily, 500
Tip Top Well on the Troutman farm, started up at 700
on Sept. 7th, '73, and is now producing daily, 500
Phillips and Vanansdall well on the Harper farm, struck
1st Sept. '73, and started at 500 barrels, is now doing daily, 300
Phillips well on the Sutton farm, struck on the 1st Sept.
'73, commenced at 500 barrels and is now doing, 300
Miller well, on the Troutman farm, struck Sept. 3, '73,
commenced at 500, and is now doing daily, 350
Gordon well, on the McClelland farm, struck 28th Au-
gust, '73, commenced at 350, and is now doing, 200
Columbia well, on the Columbia Oil Co.'s tract, struck
7th Sept., '73, commenced at 350, and is now producing
daily, 225
The Markham and Jock well, struck llth Sept., '73, and
producing, 500
Capt. Grace well, No. 3, on the Starr farm, was finished
on the 4th Sept., '73, the well filled with salt water,
which was cased off and pumping commenced, which is
now producing daily, 150
These wells are all situated in "THE MODOC DISTRICT,"
and all, with one exception the Grace well, No. 3 are flowing,
making a grand total daily production of 7,033 barrels !
The Gas well, on the Banks' farm in the district, is supposed by
many to have a greater flow than the famous Newton gas well,
near Titusville. It was struck about the 5th of August, and a
volume of gas has ever since been pouring forth, with a noise like
" the rush of mighty waters." An attempt was made to lower the
tools into this well, but the tremendous force of gas forced them
out of the hole !
There are about seventy-five wells going down in this district,
principally on the Troutman, Ralston, Starr, Sutton, Harper,
Grover, McClurg, and Brown farms, embracing an area of one
THE LOWER OIL FIELDS. 299
thousand acres. All these wells flow through the casing, not
one of them having been tubed. No sooner do the tools strike the
sand rock than the oil spouts forth. A contrivance on the top of
the casing having been provided, the oil is allowed to flow undis-
turbed.
The depth of the wells in this district average 1500 feet. The
oil-bearing sand rock is from twelve to fifteen feet in thickness, be-
ing pebbly and porous.
The Starr farm is now owned by Phillips Bros., of Parker's
Landing, Pa., having been recently purchased by them for the sum
of $100,000
GREECE CITY DISTRICT.
The first well struck in the Greece city district was the Morrison
well, on the 24th August, 1872, on the Jameson farm, which
flowed at the rate of 250 barrels per day for four months. It then
gradually fell off and is now producing 40 barrels per day. S. D.
Karns struck the next well, " The Dogley," on the 25th Decem-
ber, 1872. This well is situated half a mile below the Morrison
well. It flowed liberally for several weeks, and is now pumped,
producing in moderate quantities. A third well was put down by
the same gentleman, with what result we could not ascertain. The
fourth well, owned by John Preston, was struck on the 12th Janu-
ary, 1873, and began flowing at the rate of 130 barrels per day,
and is at present (Sept. 1873,) yielding oil in paying quantities.
Numbers of others followed in close succession during the latter part
of February, and through March and April. Some of these started
off very largely ; a fair percentage never yielded above twenty-five
barrels per day, while all fell off materially after the first "spurt."
The greatest number of wells producing at this point at any time
did not exceed thirty-five. The largest daily production never
300 HISTORY OF PETROLEUM.
stood above 1200 barrels daily, and this occurred during the
months of February, March, April and May of the present year.
At present the production is about 300 barrels per day. No new
wells are going down here.
MILLERSTOWN DISTRICT.
The first well struck in the Millerstown district, was the Shreve
well, on the Stewart farm, in March of this year, which produced
at the start 150 barrels per day, and is now doing 125 barrels per
day. Next came the Dr. James well, on the Barnhart farm,
which was struck in May, and started off at 150 barrels, and is
now doing 130 barrels per day.
The Lambing well followed, and produced 100 barrels per day,
and is now doing fifty barrels. This well produced a large amount
of gas, and is situated on the Barnhart farm.
The Howe and Clark well, on the McDermot farm, next fol-
lowed, and produced at the rate of 125 barrels, and continues to
produce 75 barrels per day.
The Green well, on the Johnston farm, never penetrated the
third sand. About the 1st of August, the Wolf well commenced
flowing at 150 barrels per day. It is situated on the Barnhart
farm, and continues to produce at the above rate.
The Carlien and Mosier well, on the McDermot farm, began at
the rate of 150 barrels on the 21st of August, and continues about
the same rate. The Preston well, on the McKinney Bros. &
Gaily tract, was struck on the 10th of August, and on striking the
oil rock was burned down. It is now pumping at the rate of 100
barrels per day.
The Parsons well, on the McKinney Bros. & Gailey tract, was
struck on the 1st of September,, and flowed at the start, 250 barrels
per day, and is now flowing 200 barrels.
THE LOWER OIL FIELDS.
301
Dr. J. McMichael or Salsbuiy well, on the McDermot farm,
started at 125, and is now doing 75 barrels per day.
The Farquar well, on the Farquar farm, one mile south-east of
Millerstown, was struck on the 20th of August, and is now flow-
ing 250 barrels per day.
The Salsbury well, No. 2, owned by Dr. McMichael, was struck
on the 1st of September, and started at the rate of 300 barrels per
day, continuing to do about the same rate.
The Dubenspeck well, on the Dubenspeck farm, adjoining the
McDermot farm, struck on the 1st of September, 1873, and flowed
300 barrels per day. No perceptible reduction in the produce is
noticeable at the present writing.
A new well on the Abidiah Barnhart farm, was struck on the
10th of September, 1873, and is flowing 100 barrels.
The Kepler well, on the Kepler farm, struck on the 10th of
September, 1873, is flowing 200 barrels per day.
The Hulings well, on the Barnhart farm, is in the sand, and
flowing in large quantities. (Sept. 11.)
The Shidemantle well, on the Dubenspeck farm, began flowing
(llth Sept. 1873) at the rate of 250 barrels per day
PETKOLIA DISTRICT.
The first wells in the Petrolia district, were put down by Messrs.
Dimick, Nesbitt & Co., in November and December, 1871, on the
Sheakley farms, which attracted considerable attention from opera-
tors. These wells proved quite remunerative, but it was not till
April of 1872, th^it the first great strike was made at Petrolia,
then a rural district. Early in April, 1872, Dimick, Nesbitt &
Co., finished the " Fanny Jane Well," which yielded liberally for
a considerable time. This successful venture was attended with
the usual result, and forthwith began a regular rush for the latest
Oil-Dorado.
302
HISTORY OF PETROLEUM.
The Blaney Farm was purchased by Fisher Bros, for $60,000,
and other tracts in the vicinity were either bought at extravagant
prices or leased at high rates ; houses multiplied rapidly, and ere
long the infant settlement presented all the bustle and activity
characteristic of new oil towns. Large numbers of wells on the
Blaney, Wilson, Jamieson and neighboring farms produced in
abundance. The wells on the farms above named are but short-
lived, as with few exceptions they declined materially within a
short period, gradually falling off, many of these ceasing to yield in
paying quantities six months after their completion.
At present a large number of these wells are shut down in con-
sequence of the low price of oil. At present there are only some
five wells going down in this section. No new strikes of conse-
quence to be recorded within the last few months.
KARNS CITY DISTRICT.
The success attending the operations at Petrolia induced opera-
tors to extend developments further south, and in May, of 1872,
the Cooper Bros, began on the McClymonds Farm. This property
is situated on a branch of Bear Creek, Fairview township, one
mile and a-half from Petrolia, and the same distance from Fairview.
In June the Coopers fearing it destined to be a failure, disposed of
a well partly down to S. D. Karns, who drilled a few feet deeper
and struck a hundred barrel well. The next was completed by
the Coopers, and for several weeks this well flowed 200 barrels a
day. Other wells soon followed, on the J. B. ^Campbell, Story,
Riddell and Kincaid farms. On the 9th of January the famous
Salsbury Well, on the J. B. Campbell farm, began to flow at the
rate of over five hundred barrels per day. This point became at
once the centre of developments, and soon the nucleus of a town
was built, which, as before mentioned in an early part of this chap-
THE LOWER OIL FIELDS. 303
ter, was named after S. D. Karns, and called Karns City. At
present operations are at a stand-still, only five wells drilling in
this section and forty-three wells producing ; operators rushing to
newer and for the present more productive fields. We ought here
to remark that a fourth s&nd has been reached in two wells near
Karns City with good results, which discovery is likely to give
rise to the deepening of all the small wells on the line of develop-
ment in the neighborhood of Karns City and Petrolia. The opin-
ion of operators in regard to these two wells differ. Some believe
that no oil exists in the fourth sand, while others are of opinion
that the reckoning in these two wells is correct.
Passing through Karns City, one and a half miles to the south,
is the Moore, Hepler and Myers farms. The first well struck in
this section, was on the 31st of January of the present year, which
flowed some 200 barrels per day. Another was struck soon after-
wards, which proved a good well. Mr. C. D. Angell, the owner
of the Moore & Hepler farms, has now five producing wells, doing
500 barrels per day, and five new wells going down.
A new town has sprung up, on this property, called in honor of
the owner, ANGELICA. Extensive operations are in progress at
Fairview and Angelica.
Having now taken a cursory glance, at the present state of de-
velopments, and given the initial operations at different points of
interest, we will bring this chapter to a close.
The importance of this lower oil field, must be evident to all
conversant with the history of its steady development ; but we
would here say that with this rapid progress of developments, a
large and very extensive scope of territory has been left behind
untouched and undeveloped. Oil men pushed ahead, only desiring
to make great conquests in the way of flowing wells. That
portion of the field which has been left in the rear, has only been
skimmed, but will most assuredly be once again opened up, and
again become the scene of fortunes made and fortunes lost.
At the present moment there are in this lower oil field no less
304 HISTORY OF PETROLEUM.
than twenty-eight flowing wells, producing daily the enormous
sum total of 8,833 barrels, giving an average production to each
well, of 31 5 barrels !
DISCOVERY OF THE FOURTH SAND-ROCK.
We have already mentioned, briefly, the discovery of a FOURTH
SAND, or oil rock, in the vicinity of Karns City. It was first
found by Mr. CHARLES STEWART, a native of Butler County. He
purchased an abandoned well on the Scott farm, near Karns City,
and after a month's vain effort to make it pay as a pumping well,
resolved to sink it deeper. He began this labor about the middle
of June last, and after nearly eight weeks' drilling in daylight,
struck the first flowing well in the fourth sand ! This well is
known as the Banks' or Stewart well, and averages four hundred
barrels daily. The entire oil community, including the shrewdest
operators, scouted the idea of this being the " fourth sand," and
claimed that the well had not originally been drilled deep enough.
Messrs. Tack & Morehead, however, on the adjoining farm, com-
menced to drill one of their abandoned wells, known as the Mc-
Cleer No. 1, about four weeks ago, and struck the fourth sand on
the 15th September, with a good show of oil. They continued to
drill until the 18th of September, when the well commenced flow-
ing at the rate of 700 barrels per day ! The most experienced
operators claim that the fourth sand is only prolific at these points,
where a spur branches out from the main belt, and this is evidently
the spur of the Modoc belt. This theory will be very fully
studied within the next sixty or ninety days, as there is a determi-
nation on the part of everybody owning an abandoned or non-
paying well to try it.
The " FOURTH SAND," thus far developed, is from 65 to 75 feet
below the " third sandy" and is of excellent quality.
STATISTICAL, LNFOEMATIOK.
305
STATISTICAL INFORMATION.
PRODUCTION.
The following shows the average DAILY product of the Penn-
sylvania oil region district in 1867, during the months indicated.
No reliable monthly reports were published prior to this date :
1867.
September.
October...,
. . 9>6o
November 9,800
December 10,400
MONTHS.
1868.
1869.
1870.
1871.
1872.
January bbls.
8.700
IO IQ2
1 2 634.
TC 4.77
1 6 286
February
March
9,200
8,621
9967
9,80 I
11,917
12.38?
14,391
13 41:7
17,012
ic co6
April , ....
8,^37
,<->y
1 1 ,067
12,074.
I3,3o8
1 6 308
8,700
IO.I S3
14,161;
13,087
l8 341
10,102
11,334
I4,8l7
14,806
17,740
July
10,603
11,697
l6,Q6q
I7,26l
18,151?
August
II.oSl
I2.IC7
17,777
18,161
18 816
September
October
",033
10,133
12,645
I3,O7I
19,489
20,158
17,648
16068
16,561
14 3OQ
November
December
10,276
9,737
13,317
12,844
18,012
15,214
16,651
16,703
23,275
22,054
The total production in 1872 was 6,539,103 barrels of forty-
three gallons, a daily average for the year of 17,925 barrels against
15,800 barrels in 1871, showing a daily average increase in 1872
of 2,115 barrels, and a total increase of 671,975. The daily ave-
rage in 1870 was 15,350 barrels, in 1869, 11,560 barrels, and in
1868, 10,180 barrels. The average in 1865 was between 6,000
and 7,000 barrels daily.
20
HISTORY OP PETROLEUM.
The annexed table gives the production of Pennsylvania oil re-
gion each year since 1859:
BBLS.
Production in 1859 * 87,000
" 1860 500,000
" 1861 2,118,000
" " 1862.... 3,056,000
" 1863 2,631,000
" 1864 2,116,000
" 1865 2,497,000
" 1866 3,597,ooo
" J 867 3,347,000
*' 1868 3,715,000
" " 1869 4,215,000
" 1870 5,659,000
" " 1871 5,795,ooo
" " 1872 6,539,000
Total bbls 45,840,000
* In all published statements of the product of Petroleum for 1859, this is the amount given. It is
palpably wrong. Col. Drake's well was struck in August, 1859, anc ^ produced not more than ten or
twelve barrels per day. And this was the first well in the Pennsylvania Oil Region. The second pro-
ducing well was stiuck in February, 1860 the Barnsdall well fifty barrels per day. It is question-
able, therefore, if the entire product of 1859 would reach 3,000 barrels.
PRODUCT OF AMERICA FOR THE YEARS GIVEN.
The production of America in 1872, and previous years compare
as below :
BBLS.
Total product Pennsylvania Oil Region in 1872 6,539,000
" " of West Virginia, Ohio and Kentucky Oil Regions in 1872 .. 325,000
" " " Canada in 1872 530,000
BBLS.
Total product of America in 1872 7,394,000
" " 1871 6,638,000
1870 6,535,000
" " 1869 4,917,000
1868 3,965,000
The daily average product in America in 1872 was 20,271 bar-
rels against 18,100 barrels in 1871, and 17,900 barrels in 1870.
In Canada the yield is estimated at 530,000 barrels for the year.
At one time there was a production there of more than 2,000
barrels daily. In West Virginia and Ohio the product is given at
325,000 barrels.
STATISTICAL INFORMATION.
307
AVERAGE PRICES.
The following were the average monthly prices of Crude on the
Creek of barrels of 43 gallons and of Crude and Refined per
gallon in New York for 1872 and 1871 :
MONTHS.
CRUDE IN BULK.
REFINED.
STANDARD WHITE.
IN BARRELS.
NAPHTHA.
IN BARRELS.
Highest and
Lowest.
Average
Price.
Highest and
Lowest.
Average
Price.
Highest and
Lowest.
Average
Price.
Crude
On Creek.
I2fg & 13^
11% ((fy 13
13.11
13.01
13.06
22 @ 23
21 % (0), 22%
23.29
22.22
22.58
2 @I 3
I I2#
@ II
@ 12
12.44
11.66
10.28
10.39
$4-05
3-55
3-95
4.10
3-25
4-25
4-50
3-62^
February
March
April
May
June
July
n/4 I2 ^
13 @ 14%
i3# @ H l /2
ii @ 13
13-34
12.92
12.33
11.88
11.71
13-74
14.10
12.08
22% 2 4
22 @ 23
22 l /% (fl) 23^
23^ (a), 24 l /2
24% (a), 26%
26% 2 7/^
23-52
23.04
22.37
22.55
24.17
25-97
27-15
*26.OO
2 (0), l8
6 @ 18
4% i6 i
17% 20
17% @ 19%
15-25
1 7-5
14-75
14.86
16.14
18.94
18.42
17.07
September
October
November
December
12.89
14.81
IO.OI
3-75
4.00
" 1871 ...
* Nominally
Monthly average of prices of Crude and Refined, at New York,
for the years 1871, 1870, 1869, 1868, 1867, 1866 and 1865 :
YEARS.
CRUDE.
REFINED.
STANDARD.
WHITE.
NAPHTHA.
BULK.
BARRELS.
BARRELS.
BARRELS.
l8?I
14.04
13-93
18.25
14.40
12.17
18.09
18.45
23.25
19.66
J7-43
25.78
38.37
24.24
26.35
32.73
29.52
28.41
42.45
58.87
IO.OI
9.83
10.33
18.91
23-75
37-84
5-37
1870
1869...
1868
1867
1866
1865
THE CONSUMPTION OF THE WORLD.
The total consumption of crude in 1872 was 6,663,000 barrels,
an increase over the previous year's consumption of 662,000 bar-
rels, or eleven per cent. The rate of increase in consumption in
1871 over 1870, was over two anil one-half per cent, greater than
the rate of increase in 1872 over 1871. Among the causes that
led to the falling off in the rate of increase in 1872, was the in-
creased manufacture of shale oils, and the prices demanded by the
refiners of Petroleum in America.
308
HISTORY OF PETROLEUM.
The following table shows the consumption throughout the world
in 1872 :
Production, 1872, bbls
Stock Jan. I, 1872, bbls
Stock Jan. I, 1873, bbls
Deduct increase Jan. I, 1873,
Deduct losses by fire, &c., in 1873.
Total consumption 1872, bbls. crude.
Consumption in 1871, bbls
Increase in 1872, or about ten and
eight-tenths per cent
3,269,000
3,849,000
580,000
150,000
7,394,000
730,000
6,664,000
6,002,000
662,000
The average daily consumption in 1872, was nearly 18,500 bbls.
PETROLEUM TRADE OF PITTSBURGH.
We give below the statistics of the petroleum trade of Pittsburgh
for the last fourteen years. The figures do not include lubricating
oils, the quantitv and value of which it would be impossible to as-
certain.
The following are the receipts of crude oil from 1859 to 1872,
inclusive :
BBLS. BBLS.
l866 1,253,326
1867 727,494
1868 1,061,227
1869 1,028,902
1870 1,050,810
1871 1,149,493
1872 I,l86,50I
1859
i860 I7,l6l
1861 94,102
1862 171,774
1863 175, 181
1864 208,744
1865 630,246
Total barrels 8,746,756
RECEIPTS AT PHILADELPHIA FROM 1865 TO 1872.
The following are the receipts of Petroleum by railroad, at Phi-
ladelphia, for the past seven years :
BBLS.
1872 1,165,613
1871 1,329,250
1870 1,476,564
1869 7. .". i,049,5 l6
1868 1,064,702
1867 970,798
1866 -, 743,504
1865 640,019
STATISTICAL, INFORMATION. 309
EXPORTS OF REFINED OIL FOR PAST EIGHT YEARS.
BBLS.
1865 298,111
1866 424,848
1867 498,226
1868 724,991
BBLS.
1869 59M75
1870 811,158
1871 733,943
1872 743> 6l
THE PETROLEUM TRADE.
PRODUCTION, CONSUMPTION, AND EXPORT FOR 1871 AND 1872. VALUES, DECREASES, &C.
The following interesting and reliable statistics we gather from
" The Trade and Commerce Keports " of 1871 and 1872 :
1872. 1871.
Barrels. Barrels.
The total production of Pennsylvania oil region equaled... 6,839,103 5 5 795,ooo
West Virginia, Ohio, and Kentucky. ... 325,000 401,000
Canada 530,000 442,000
7,694,103 6,638,000
DAILY AVERAGE PRODUCTION:
Pennsylvania 17,917 15,800
Daily average of America 20,271 18,100
Exports from the United States of Crude and refined 150, 385,869 155,674,74!
Some 4,688,922 gallons less than preceding year.
1872. 1871.
Consumption of the world equaled 6,644,000 6,002,000
An increase of about 108.10 per cent. The daily consumption estimated at
18,500 barrels against 18,000 barrels in 1871.
Stock in America January i, 1873, 2,316,000 barrels, against 1,600,000 in 1872.
World's stock January I, 1873, 3,849,000 barrels. Stock of the world has
more than doubled in three years.
The value of production of Pennsylvania, West Virginia, Ohio, Kentucky, and
Canada equals $28,516,250, against $30,570,500 in 1871.
1871. 1872.
Value of the world's consumption $27,009,000 $24,990,000
Value of daily consumption 73,8oo 69,395
Value of world's stock, December 31 14,710,500 14,433,730
Value of United States stock, Dec. 31 7,155,000 6,903,550
Value of exports of crude, refined, and Naphtha.... $38,077,501 24 $33,174,182 52
World's value amount on hand Jan. i, 1872, and
consumed in 1871 $41,719,50000
On hand Jan. I, 1873, an ^ consumed in 1872 30,423,75000
Decrease in value of refined exports 5,294,978 23
" crude 113,22589
" naphtha 278,43362
310 HISTORY OF PETROLEUM.
Crude oil and naphtha show a gain in exports of $391,659,51, and
refined, which should have been the greater, fell off $4,903,318.72.
DECREASE IN VALUE OF PRODUCTION, CONSUMPTION, STOCK AND EXPORTS :
Increase in value of production $2,054,250 oo
" World's consumption 2,019,00000
" ' Daily consumption 4,^5
" < World's stock 276,75000
" < United States 251,45000
" ' Exports 4,903,31872
Value of world s consumption during the year, and stock in hand
Jan. I, 1871 41,719,50000
Do. 1872 39,423,75000
Decrease in value .., $2,295,750 oo
VALUE OF EXPORTS FROM THE UNITED STATES DURING THE YEAR AND
STOCK ON HAND :
Jan. i, 1871. Jan. I, 1872.
Value of exports 38,077,501 24 33,174,182 52
stock 7,155,000 oo 6,903,550 oo
Total $45,232,501 24 $40,077,732 52
Decrease of exports and stock 1872 under 1871... 5,154,768 72
The production, consumption, and stock in hand were greater
than the preceding year, but the value was less. The exports of
crude and naphtha -were increased ; but the refined oil decreased in
commercial value, and shows a large falling off.
The falling off in most cases occurred among the largest con-
sumers of American petroleum in Europe heretofore.
The facts show that refined oils sent upon the markets of the
world of late years have been of poor quality and dangerous, and
the public have been seeking other illuminators, and putting up
with some inconvenience to be safe. This has stimulated the ma-
nufacture of coal oil, from the cheap and almost exhaustless shales
of Wales and Scotland, and the increase has been unparalleled in
the last few years'; all the abandoned works of 1865, have been re-
built, with new improvements and new machinery.
The future consumption must govern the demand of this article
as in all commercial products, and must meet the wants of con-
sumers both in quality and price. This, we are glad to know,
will be the results of the petroleum trade in the future. Several
of our State Legislatures, Pennsylvania among the number, have
enacted laws requiring a manufactured article of refined oil at suph
fire test as to render it absolutely non-explosive.
STATISTICAL INFOKMATION.
311
EXPORTS FROM THE PORT OF NEW YORK FROM 1868 TO 1872.
GALLONS.
1872.
GALLONS.
1871.
GALLONS.
1870.
GALLONS.
1869.
GALLONS.
1868.
1,388,419
1,372,263
1,866,538
1,457,628
I,836,6 7 5
2,047,118
877,667
872,118
1,291,200
947,3"
Glasgow &c
Bristol -
556,261
65,814
1,021,079
414,322
392,919
248,132
83,"9
551,649
410,605
184,070
JJ U H
Falmouth, E., &c
367,233
92,210
Cork &c
3,141,436
5,328,811
4,689,283
2,648,865
2,272,534
Havre -
4,139,619
1,399,830
2,832,134
2,549,793
1,417,851
2,508,468
309,522
108,743
288,231
455,677
118,772
4,275,096
2,410,308
2,925,413
3,269,600
149,450
Cette
226,300
850,886
852,292
229,828
Dunkirk
762,369
557,639
831,398
428,306
346,650
369,501
184,600
78,539
Nantes and Rouen
6,489,132
11,822,83!
678,914
5,776,354
1,897,546
783,702
3,433,9S
397,799
5,644,478
143,864
294,229
873,889
3,858,708
4,747,i67
12,356,572
9,977,114
10,162,399
8,202,931
11,374,282
7,052,177
8,578,026
Tj "
5,866,532
6,987,302
4,456,226
5,305,299
4,333,982
2,115,838
2,458,557
ifySPZS
T> a ff . *J
Stockholm & Gottenberg
5,997,362
216,047
5,650,978
7,227,273
216,942
2,645,677
4,163,320
I ,523,3 8 7
150,028
2,537,o86
4,594,363
Lubec &c
186,260
1,177,776
2 ,967,345
73,32i
169,023
9 8 5,25o
472,201
608,487
50,760
786,685
7,397,^6
71,690
870,113
3,i59,M2
2,601,290
1,463,882
411,660
140,729
187,365
1,492,905
2,233,671
592,9! 5
457,29
97,242
767,999
894,422
121,540
189,148
287,500
6lO,IIO
1,101,049
135,500
571,462
7,982,173
210,759
379>9 12
2,515,926
2,816,655
1,045,376
228,394
451,582
18,234
1,508,240
2,136,551
935,207
451,610
138,570
810,596
341,572
374,671
118,492
Copenhagen, Elsinore, &c
100,230
490,520
Syria &c .
168,220
Venice
1,068,555
35,000
.774,723
8,023,509
74,590
520,945
1,425,261
2,131,130
1,684,482
9",532
310,302
61,230
738,218
1,385,671
1,138,408
1,353,03
200,000
169,990
1,318,328
436,058
66,038
530,029
2,774,547
362,708
1,064,943
1,774,223
1,4*3,743
748,494
380,581
518,260
470,929
4,289,017
251,704
1,032,209
2,229,928
900,161
398,873
223,000
43,*94
16,461
603,012
417,210
199,163
120,300
Tarragona and Alicante
Gibraltar and Malta
Trieste
Al ^ ii ' F
L^bon r a '
194,812
16,353
602,180
1,498,682
330,221
207,180
P T 1 c\
Bilboa, Seville and Vigo
Palma Spain &c
China and East Indies
Africa
169,980
1,794,993
99,272
1,633,663
30,200
619,649
43,680
139,280
835,299
169,541
1,144,378
101,000
109,120
193,990
142,780
9,027
36,106
24,560
959,959
37,5oo
224,526
804,390
155,576
988,955
169,200
91,000
168,000
233,956
4,220
40,700
Sydne'y, N. S. W
Brazil
433,6i4
2,713,409
382,542
1,850,051
828,573
529,779
270,750
233,490
12,462
50,897
337,28o
1,036,943
559>8o9
1,534,751
374,950
534,o5o
266,160
181,629
8,072
37,i5o
11,322
489,227
34,930
10,596
277,517
19,823
88,701
40,399
17,916
76,620
98,509
93,346
231,080
1,364,294
243,022
1,566,547
396,403
4i7,58o
174,884
305,673
5,049
79,543
8,235
586,492
38,598
10,058
Cuba
Cisalpine Republic
Chili .
p eru
British Honduras
397,693
69,969
27,121
298,997
54,221
16,473
236,805
47,215
12,255
Br N Am Colonies
Dutch West Indies
48,061
14,600
19,377
15,465
132,764
110,478
103,379
30,267
86,600
ftj654
8, 7 ?
<5&,z5i
78,186
46,934
3,000
40,698
73,138
xfi,678
1,858
77,266
60,312
36,492
17,463
7 8 ? $
2,848
57,9"
64,219
34,228
French West Indies .
Hayti
Porto Rico
Total
90,027,726
94,955,850
87,667,299
65,933,690
52,803,20*:
312
HISTORY OF PETROLEUM.
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New York g
Boston
Philadelphia
Baltimore
Portland
Cleveland
New Bedford
Total g
Equal to bbls. of 40 gal
S
^
H
STATISTICAL INFORMATION. 313 f
EXPORT FOE 1873,
The figures upon the opposite page fairly represent the rapid
increase in the consumption of the article abroad. It will be noted
that the export of 1872 was more than double that of 1867.
The following table of the quantity shipped from leading ports,
from January 1 to June 1, 1873, will show how greatly the foreign
demand has augmented within a few months. The table is com-
piled from the issue of the New York Commercial and Shipping
List, reliable authority on all matters pertaining to shipments
or imports to or from the United States. The exhibit is as follows :
FROM JANUARY 1st TO JUNE 1st, 1873.
GALLONS.
From New York. 46,224,596
" Boston 987,368
" Philadelphia 22,437,417
" Baltimore 1,221,438
Total exports from United States 70,870,819
In addition to the above, the exports from New York alone ag-
gregated nearly three million gallons during the first three days of
June, an increase of over twenty-seven million gallons since the
first of January as compared with the same months of 1872. The
coal famine in England is rapidly undermining the prejudices ex-
isting against kerosene as an illuminator, and the petroleum trade
with that country is fast acquiring vast proportions as the result.
Thus Liverpool imported 255,708 gallons last year, up to the first
of June, against 1,150,877 this season; London, 353,433, against
1,741,551 ; Bristol, 136,534, against 781,852; and other ports in
like proportion. The exports to Ireland have more than doubled ;
those to France quadrupled, and the demand from Germany and
Belgium and other European countries is enormously increased.
These facts and figures are at once interesting and suggestive,
indicating, as they do, in unmistakable terms, an enhanced value
of petroleum at no distant date. With so great an enlargement of
the foreign demand, a production certainly no greater than the
markets of the world require, the chances of its application in im-
314
HISTORY OF PETROLEUM.
mense quantities to new purposes, and the continuous increase of
home consumption, it is difficult to believe oil will not advance in
price till it reaches a figure at which the average operator will be
able to carry on his business, if not at a large profit, at least without
positive loss, as has been the case in too many instances during the
depression of the last few months.
NUMBER OF WELLS DRILLING AT VARIOUS DATES.
No reports have been made up since December, 1872, upon this
subject, and we are left to conjecture as to the number of wells
drilled from January 1st, 1873, to July 1st, 1873. A fair estimate
would be about 225 to 25*0 during the first six months of 1873.
MONTHS.
1872
1871
1870
1869
1868
1867
January
304.
167
364.
378
182
February
360
173
388
34.1
JCQ
March . . .
31"?
I ^Q
2QC
334.
I 60
April
3O2
231
A-}-)
2Q2
IQ3
May
&**
<?-?6
24.7
4.12
312
217
Tune
3QI
306
463
3 1 -*
34 "?
2C7
July ...
?Cq
386
340
3O C
2OQ
August
-2Q2
5 C-3
3IQ
3IO
327
September .
07 *
-7QI
364.
3O6
O iw/
31^
331
October . .
4.26
2(X
J*J
331
Jo*-
37O
November
3C4
d.8l
* 5
206
360
4.-JC
2CC
December
OJT-
318
490
191
J"U
346
4OI
2 3 2
STATISTICS OF REFINING.
315
STATISTICS OF REFINING.
REFINING CAPACITY OF THE UNITED STATES.
Statement showing the Refineries in the Oil Region of Pennsyl-
vania, with their respective daily Still Capacity, for Crude :
NAME.
LOCATION.
DAILY CAPACITY.
BBLS. OF 43 GALS.
Porter, Moreland & Co.,
Titusville, . . .
1,213
Bennett, Warner & Co.,
'856
Octave Refining Co., .
(t
606
Pickering, Chambers & Co.
512
Easterly & Davis, . .
tt
496
R. M. & J. W. Jackson,
<(
288
M. N. Allen, ....
((
251
Decker & Co., . . .
<t
190
A. H. Lee, ....
<(
185
J. A. Scott, ....
<(
139
Cadam & Donohue, . .
<(
68
John Johnson & Co., .
Miller Farm, . . .
308
Du^lev & Co., . . .
t(
250
A. RoWilliams, . . .
((
243
Z. Chandler, ....
Gregg Switch, . . .
187
H. De Zebala, . - .
Pioneer, . . .
127
Patterson Refinery, . .
Petroleum Centre,
292
Hermann, Cornell & Co.,
a
198
Bartlett & Newton, . .
te
47
Doe & Frazer,
Rousville. . .
117
Producers Oil Works, .
d
100
Levi Kerr, ....
Tarr Farm, . . .
227
Imperial Refining Co., .
Oil City, ' ...
1,385
Standard Oil Co., . .
ft
418
Economy Refining Co.,
ft
321
Solar Oil Works, . . .
Oleopolis, . . .
171
L. D. Galligan, . . .
Tidioute, . . .
36
Total daily still capacity,
9,231
316
HISTORY OF PETROLEUM.
KEFINING CAPACITY OF NEW YORK.
Statement showing the daily refining capacity for the city of New
York and vicinity. Furnished by Peter Schmid :
WORKS AND LOCATION.
Kings Co. Oil Works,
Newtown Creek,
Green Point, L. I.,
Pratt's Oil Works,
Brooklyn, E. D
Empire Oil Works,
Hunter's Point,
East River,
L. I. City,
Queens Co Oil Works,
Newtown Creek,
Long Island City,
Franklin Oil Works,
Newtown Creek,
Brooklyn, E. D.,
Olophine Oil Co.,
Greenpoint, L. I
Brooklyn Oil Works,
Greenpoint,
Brooklyn, ED
Central Oil Works,
66th St., N. Eiver
Hudson Eiver Oil Works,
Bull's Ferry, N. J...
Locust Hill Oil Works,
Newtown Creek,
Long Island City
Union Oil Works,
Brooklyn, E. D
Washington Oil Works,
Newtown Creek,
Brooklyn, E. D....
Wallabout Oil Works,
Brooklyn, E. D
Vesta Oil Works,
Gowanus Creek,
Brooklyn,
Peerless Works,
Brooklyn, S. D.,
Foot of 25th St
Long Island Oil Works,
Long Island City....
OWNED OR RUN BY.
Sloan & Fleming,
159 Front St., N. Y...
Chas. Pratt & Co.,
108 Fulton St., N. Y.
R. W. Burke,
181 Pearl St.,
New York..
Olophine Oil Co.,
322 Broadway, N. Y
Wm. A. Byers,
181 Pearl St., N. Y
Lombard, Ayres & Co.
58 Pine St., N. Y
I. H. Wickes,
120 Maiden Lane, N.Y...
I. Donald & Co.,
124 Maiden Lane, N.Y. . .
T. Meyer,
126 Maiden Lane, N.Y...
Thomas McGoey,
143 Maiden Lane, N.Y...
S. Jenney & Son,
Kent Av., foot of Rush St.,
Brooklyn, E. D
W. & G. F. Gregory,
125 Maiden Lane,
New York
Greo. Sommer I.,
Jersey City,
Cor. Warren & 1st St...
Denslow & Bush,
128 Maiden Lane,
New York
Long Island Oil Co ,
140 Pearl St., N. Y
Total daily Capacity Bbls
DAILY CAPACITY.
BBLS. OF 43 GALLS.
1,700
1,500
1,500
1,000
600
600
400
140
105
215
280
200
175
175
1,200
9,790
STATISTICS OF REFINING,
317
EEFINING CAPACITY OF CLEVELAND.
Statement showing the Refining Capacity of Cleveland, Ohio, and
vicinity :
NAME OF OWNER.
LOCATION.
NUMBER BBLS. CRUDE.
DAILY CAPACITY.
Standard Oil Company, . .
Hanna, Chapin & Co., . . .
.. Cleveland, ..
a
10,000 Estimated.*
732, 40 Gall, to Bbl
Scofield, Squire & Teagle,
Bishop & Heisel,
tt
675, 42 " "
300, " " "
W. H. Doan,
t(
^\jy
825, " " "
Corrigan & Co.,
<t
^y
200, " "
* The Standard Oil Company has a Capacity, it is said, of over 10,000 barrels per day. We
estimate it, therefore, at this amount. The balance of the statement .is given by the parties
named, and may be relied upon.
318
HISTORY OF PETROLEUM.
REFINING CAPACITY OF PITTSBURGH.
Statement showing the daily refining capacity in Pittsburgh and
vicinity :
NAME OF REFINERY.
OWNERS.
CAPACITY PER DAT.
Central,*
Central Refining Co.,
1 165
Penn, ......
H. S. A. Stewart,
Standard Oil Co.,
130
650
Iron City,
Vesta,
H. S. A. Stewart,
R. S. Waring, . . .
75
335
Nat'l. Ref. & Storing Co.,
Keystone,
Nat'l. Ref. & Storing Co.,
P. W^isenberger, .
330
65
Petrol ite,
Wormsen, Myers & Co.,
130
Braun & Wagner,
260
Lily, .
Brooks, Ballantine & Co.
100
Citizens' Co., ....
Riverside,
Citizens' Oil Co., . .
Elkins, Bly & Co., .
400
110
Fairview,
Alonold Hertz,
110
L. Irwin & Co , .
330
Crystal,
Livingston Bros., .
200
Brilliant, . . .
Lochart, Frew & Co.,
670
Model, ......
Model Refining Co., .
260
Liberty,
Star, . . . . . .
J. A. McKee & Sons,
Ralston & Wiring,
200
130
Empire,
D. P. Reighard, . .
60
Nonpareil,
Warden & Oxenerd, .
80
Hutchison,
Hutchison Oil Ref. Co.,
200
.
6,090
* These works are in course of completion, and will have a capacity as stated. This company
has absorbed eight refineries or firms.
STATISTICS OF REFINING. 319
REFINING CAPACITY OF PHILADELPHIA.
Statement showing the Refineries in Philadelphia and vicinity, with
their respective daily Still Capacity :
NAME OF WORKS AND
LOCATION.
OWNED OR RUN BY.
DAILY CAPACITY.
BBL8. OF 43 GALS.
Atlantic, ")
Point Breeze . . j
Point Breeze, 1
Point Breeze . . J
Franklin,
Gibson Point . . .
Phoenix,
Gibson Point .
Warden, Frew & Co., .
Stewart, Matthews & Co ,
J. L. Stewart, . . .
M. Lloyd . ...
665
266
200
133
Harkness,
Gibson Point . . .
Monumental, ")
Hestonville . . . \
Belmont, 1
Hestonville . . . }
Reliance,
Hestonville . . .
Excelsior,
Hestonville
N.W. Harkness, . .
Taber, Harbut & Co., .
W. L. Elkins, . . .
W. D. Heston, . . .
W. King .
100
100
165
100
100
Greenwich Refinery,
Greenwich . . .
Stephen Carr,
City .
Greenwich Oil Co., . .
Stephen Carr
100
66
Victoria,
City
Carson & Conlin, . .
66
2,061
REFINING CAPACITY OF BALTIMORE, MD.
Statement showing the Refineries of Baltimore, Md. with their
respective daily Still Capacity:
NAME OF OWNERS.
NAME OF REFINERY.
DAILY CAPACITY.
BBLS. OF 43 GALS.
Merritt, Jones & Co., . .
Sylvia C Hunt, . . .
Robert Read, ....
Brown Hamill & Co*
Janton,
Monumental, ....
Baltimore, ....
650
90
30
35
C West & Sons . . .
133
Newbold & Son .
Belvidere,
60
Carswell & Son, . . .
Christopher & Co., . . .
Rising Sun, ....
Patapsco,
40
60
1,098
320
HISTORY OF PETROLEUM.
REFINING CAPACITY OF ERIE, PA.
Statement showing the Refineries of Erie, Pa., with their respective
daily Still Capacity. Furnished by M. B. Parsons :
NAME OF OWNERS.
LOCATION.
DAILY CAPACITY.
BBLS. OF 43 GALS.
Ira G. Hatch, . .
Brown Bros., . .
O. C. Thayer & Co.,
Wallace & Vaughn,
M. V. Dawson, . .
I. W. Watkins,
Near Phila. &
on 10th S
Sixth Street,
Mill Creek,
Mill Creek,
Mill Creek,
Mill Creek,
E
t,
rie
R.R.
305
430
155
' 160
98
20
1,168
BOSTON, MASS.
The Refining Capacity of Boston, Mass., and vicinity, is esti-
mated at 3,500 barrels per day. We have been unable to obtain
the names of fhe Refineries or their proprietors, although making
every effort to do so.
BUFFALO, N. Y.
THE STAR OIL WORKS, owned and operated by Thayer & Rid-
dell, No. 385 Hamburg St., Buffalo, has a Still Capacity of nearly
two hundred barrels per day.
Dudley & Co., Buffalo, have a refining Still Capacity of 251
barrels per day. A portion of this labor is done at Miller Farm,
on Oil Creek, before it is shipped to them at Buffalo.
STATISTICS OP REFINING. 321
PORTLAND, ME.
PORTLAND OIL WORKS.
Portland has one refinery, originally built and used for the
manufacture of Coal Oil, with a capacity for working ten thousand
tons of coal annually. It was one of the best and most perfect Coal
Oil works in the United States, and was among the most extensive.
It was the last to give up the manufacture of Coal Oil.
The Still Capacity of these works is 350 barrels Crude daily.
WM. ATWOOD, Sup't.
JAMESTOWN, N. Y.
MARVIN & CO. OIL WORKS.
This is a small refining locality, the works being owned by
Messrs. Marvin & Co. Their Still Capacity is about 50 barrels
per day.
BINGHAMTON, N. Y.
Binghamton has a small refinery, the Capacity of which we have
been unable to obtain. It is said to be not more than fifty barrels
per day.
21
THE ORIGINAL "DRAKE WELL."
This was the first Artesian well drilled in the Pennsylvania Oil Region. It was located upon the Watson
Flats, below Titusville. and was 09 feet f> inches in depth struck August 2Sth, 1859 and produced twelve barrels
nf Oil per day.
SKETCHES.
PIONEER AND PROMINENT OPERATORS.
COL. E. L. DRAKE.
THE subject of this memoir, whose useful life will leave the
mark of its individuality upon the events of the nineteenth cen-
tury, was born on the 29th of March, 1819, at Greenville, Green
County, New York. His parents were poor, but respectable and
intelligent people, and earned their living by farming. EDWIN L.
was the eldest of two sons their only children. The brother died
in the far West about the time Mr. DRAKE'S name was heralded to
the world in connection with the first oil well. When the oldest
of their sons was about eight years of age, the parents removed to
the vicinity of Castleton, Vermont, where they gave their children
the benefit of the old-time, New England common-school educa-
tion no mean advantage.
Passing an uneventful childhood, there was, perhaps, but a single
incident so indicative of his future useful career as to leave any im-
pression on his own mind, or to be worthy of remark in a sketch
of his life, and that incident was a dream. It is, of course, only
singular in so far that with the superstitious, it is capable of pro-
phetic interpretation ; but one can hardly be said to have had any
childhood who has not had strange dreams. It was a day-dream
not a waking dream, however. He sat upon the wide old porch
323
324 HISTORY OF PETROLEUM.
that shaded the entrance to their plain abode. The autumn sun
shone down upon his head ; and the autumn breezes, heavy with
the fragrance of the fields, lulled him to sleep, and sleeping he
dreamt. With his brother in fancy he raked the dry stubbles
of the wheat field. Together they tugged and toiled, and after
infinite labor they had raked a great stack of straw into a corner,
nearly half a mile from the house. Then for a bon-fire ! While
his smaller brother watched with gleeful anticipation, EDWIN
touched a match to the pile. They watched it a moment in ec-
stacies but their mirth was turned to horror when, their stack
consumed, the ground continued to blaze and burn ! They exerted
all their strength to quench it, but in vain. The devouring flames
rose higher and higher. The fire burned deeper and wider. It
followed their receding footsteps ; and now, completely terrified,
they turned and fled to their mother. When they reached the
house, EDWIN, breathless and guilty, buried his face in her lap and
confessed the deed. She led him gently to the door, and after
watching the flames a moment, she said calmly, and without re-
proach : " My son, you have set the world on fire !"
Nearly thirty years later these words of his mother were recalled
by the burning of his oil tanks a few weeks after the first well be-
gan to produce. When the tanks burst, and the creeping flames
spread over the surface of the creek, he may possibly have enter-
tained a momentary suspicion that his mother's words were about
to be fulfilled. The incident recalled the dream.
At the age of nineteen he left home to seek his fortune which
meant to go West. Like the majority of emigrants in that lati-
tude, his ultimate destination was Michigan, where he had an uncle
living. At Buffalo, however, he obtained a situation as night
clerk on the steamer Wisconsin, plying between that port and De-
troit, where he remained until the season closed, when he went to
his uncle's, near Ann Arbor, and worked on a farm for about
a year.
He then procured a situation as a clerk in a hotel at Tecumseh.
COL. E. L. DRAKE. 325
This was a type of the western hotel of the day, and around the
hospitable log fire upon the broad hearth, it is not unlikely that
DRAKE caught that droll and happy faculty of story-telling which
has ever since been among the genial characteristics of his manner.
In this situation he remained two years, acquiring something of
that western "push" which was not developed until brought out
by the difficulties which beset his labors years later on Oil Creek.
After leaving Tecumseh he returned to visit his parents in Ver-
mont, and was persuaded to remain in the East.
He next went to New Haven, Connecticut, where he served three
years as clerk in a dry-goods store. They were three uneventful
years, and in the hope of bettering his prospects he gave up his
situation, and obtained a position in one of the retail dry-goods
stores on Broadway, New York. While here he married a young
woman, whose home was in Springfield, Mass., and soon afterwards
falling into a lingering sickness, it became advisable to seek country-
air, and they went to Springfield. While there Mr. DRAKE was
offered the position of Express Agent on the Boston and Albany
Railroad, at a salary of fifty dollars a month, which he accepted,
and held the position till 1849, when he resigned it to accept the
office of Conductor on the New York and New Haven Railroad,
then just opened, which he held nearly ten years, with entire satis-
faction to the superior officers of that corporation, and only resigned
it to take charge of the developments on Oil Creek in Pennsylva-
nia, as described in the opening chapters of this work.
The position he held on the railroad gave him the opportunity
of forming an extensive acquaintance, which his inclinations
prompted him to improve. In 1854 his wife died, leaving him
one child, two others having already died ; and he broke up the
comfortable little home he had provided in New Haven, and went
to boarding.
It was about this time that he made the acquaintance of Jas. M.
Townsend, a banker in New Haven, into whose society he was
thrown at the Tontine Hotel, where, at the time, both made their
326
HISTORY OF PETROLEUM.
home. A few years afterward, when the prospects of the Pennsyl-
vania Rock Oil Company were under a shadow, Mr. Townsend,
who, amidst the allurements of social intercourse, kept an eye upon
business, induced his friend DRAKE to invest a little balance of
two hundred dollars which he had in bank, in stock of that cor-
poration, and sold him a part of five hundred shares, which he
himself held. This was the beginning of his connection with the
business which has rendered his name famous. About the first
of the year 1857, he married Laura Dow, of New Haven, a young
woman of most excellent character, who has ever been to him a
friend and guide in prosperity, and a staff and a light in the gloomy
days of adversity and want. During the summer of 1857, Mr.
DRAKE was compelled by debilitating illness to give up work on
the railroad for a couple of months ; but at the same time he was
not prostrated, and having at least an " inquiring " interest in the
Pennsylvania Rock Oil Company, he began to investigate its pros-
pects, and the subject of Petroleum generally. He had leisure for
conversation with the directors, of whom his friend Townsend was
one, and also president of the board.
The new idea of developing the property by artesian wells had
been suggested some time before, and found in Mr. Asahel Pier-
pont, an intelligent and persistent advocate. Business complica-
tions forbade the thought of his going to attend to a matter so far
away from home, and perhaps the growing dissensions of the com-
pany discouraged the hope of efficient action in a legitimate way.
The board of directors consisted of five members, three of whom
were residents of New Haven, as required by the by-laws adopted,
and though representing only a third of the whole stock of the com-
pany, they controlled the management of its aifairs. From what
followed all of which has been minutely described in the opening
chapters of this book it is indisputably clear that the New Haven
stockholders were determined to secure to themselves the advan-
tages of this new idea.
In December of the year 1857, Mr. Townsend, then president
COL. E. L. DRAKE. 327
of the board of directors, engaged Mr. DRAKE to proceed to Ye-
nango County, as has been previously stated. He finished his
business and returned, enthusiastic to embark in the enterprise
which they had projected.
On the last of the month, the New Haven members of the board
a majority and a quorum met and executed a lease of the lands
to Mr. Bowditch one of the largest New Haven stockholders-
and Mr. DRAKE, the terms of which were remarkably advantageous
to the lessees, but which it was found necessary to change before
the other members would permit them to go on.
When all was satisfactorily arranged with the old company, a
new corporation was formed called " The Seneca Oil Company," of
which Mr. DRAKE was the nominal president, and in which he ap-
peared as the principal stockholder.
In the published articles of association the stock was subscribed
as follows :
SHARES.
W. A. Ivis, 2680
E. L. Drake, 8926
J. F. Marshall, 394
But of the 8926 shares which were in his name, DRAKE, according
to a previous understanding, transferred all but 656 to the other
members of "The Pennsylvania Rock Oil Company," and it then
stood as follows :
Asahel Pierpont, 3334
James M. Townsend, ..... 2785
William A. Ivis, 2680
Edwin E. Bowditch, 1630
E.L.Drake, 656
Henry L. Pierpont, 521
J. F. Marshall, 394
Total, .... 12,000
328 HISTORY OF PETROLEUM.
This comprised all the New Haven members of The Pennsylvania
Rock Oil Company, of which the largest stockholders in the new
company, Pierpont, Townsend and Ives, were directors.
In the following spring Mr. DRAKE set out for Titusville with
his little family, and until a house was prepared boarded at the
American Hotel. Himself, wife, and two children and a horse,
were boarded for six dollars and-a-half per week, where a few
years later they would only have been entertained for about twice
that amount per day.
Shortly after arriving he bought a tract of twenty-five acres of
land in Titusville, of Jonathan Watson, through the centre of
which Drake Street now runs.
He unfortunately sold this in 1863, realizing about ten thousand
dollars by the bargain.* It was shortly afterwards sold for ninety
thousand dollars, and must now be worth not less than treble that
amount.
Nothing perhaps better indicates the condition of the little vil-
lage, than the fact that a few weeks after his arrival, being in want
of a couple of picks and spades, he found there were none to be
had short of Meadville or Erie. Though his life at the well was
crowded with incidents, they were incidents now too common to be
any longer interesting.
After oil was struck there was some difficulty in obtaining
a market for it a difficulty which indeed continued to increase,
until in a couple of years' time, it was for a season nearly impossi-
ble to sell at any price. There was no room for delay, and relying
upon his integrity to shield him from the imputation of improper
motives, naturally counting something on his services to the com-
pany and his own interest in that company's welfare, he hastened
at once to Pittsburgh and contracted to furnish about a third of the
oil to S. M. Kier, and, arranged hastily with Mr. Geo. M. Mowbray
for the disposal of the rest on commission.
In 1860, Mr. Bissell proposed a division of the lands in lieu of the
* See the Sketch of Dr. Atkinson fora detail of this transaction.
COL. E. L. DRAKE. 329
twelve cents per gallon, royalty, and the Seneca Company thus ob-
tained in fee simple one-third of the island which DRAKE after-
wards sold for them, for enough to clear them of all indebtedness,
though it is doubtful if they made a dime by the whole transac-
tion. Indeed they declare they did not.
In 1860, Drake was elected Justice of the Peace for Titus ville,
an office worth about three thousand a year at that time, when
every man was rushing to sell or buy leases, the documents for
which he mostly drew and acknowledged. At the same time he
bought oil for Shiefflin Bros., of New York, and thus increased his
income to about five thousand a year.
In 1863, he sold his property, and left the oil region forever,
taking with him between fifteen and twenty thousand dollars, and
united himself with some "Wall street broker, in oil stocks. It was
a very unfortunate, not to say short-sighted move, for a man with
his total ignorance of the manipulation of stocks and with so lim-
ited a capital.
His little fortune was soon engulfed. His health, already im-
paired by his labors on the Creek, gave way, and his noble wife
now cast about to secure the future. She removed the family to a
cheap and quiet abode in Vermont, and hoarded to the last the
little she had been able to save from the wreck.
But his illness lingered and his strength failed, and his physician
advised him, if possible, to seek the sea air. A friend kindly
offered the use of a cottage on the Highlands-of-Never-Sink, near
Long Branch, New Jersey, and thither they removed. But their
funds were now exhausted, and their misery began indeed.
His disease was most agonizing; neuralgic affection of the spine,
which constantly threatened paralysis of the lower limbs. He
needed constant care, and his wife, surrounded by a family of four
helpless children, attempted to keep them in bread by her needle.
Sewing she could obtain in plenty, when she could tear herself
from other absolute duties, to go after it, tramping through wet
meadows, and chill and choking sea-fogs that roll in on that
330 HISTORY OF PETROLEUM.
dreary point. But with all her noble and uncomplaining effort
to keep them in bread without begging, she found it impossible.
Medicines were out of the question, and with the greatest difficulty
she got together the price of his^fare to New York and back
eighty cents and he struggled up to the city to get a situation for
his eldest son among some of his old acquaintances. Before return-
ing in the afternoon he was met and recognized in the street by
Mr. Z. Martin of Titusville, who noticed his wretched appearance,
and drew from him the story of their misery.
. Mr. Martin, after providing him with a warm dinner, of which
he stood sorely in need (for above the money to pay his fare he had
not enough to pay for a cup of coffee, and he was weak from hun-
ger), gave him twenty dollars, and cheered ' him with the hope of
raising a fund for him in the oil region. No sooner was his dis-
tress made known, than with a generosity for which they have ever
been famed, the citizens of Titus ville, with some aid from indi-
viduals throughout the region, raised four thousand two hundred
dollars for his relief; which wisely enough was committed to the
management of Mrs. Drake, who has frugally hoarded it, and yet
continued to meet a part of the family expenses with the wages of
her needle.
In 1870, on the advice of his physician, she removed her invalid
husband and three smallest children, to Bethlehem, near Allen-
town, in this State, where they are still living, beloved and respected
by a large circle of friends who have gathered about them.
In conclusion, we have the pleasure to record the fact that the
Legislature of Pennsylvania, at its session in 1873, deemed it pro-
per to pass a law which grants to Col. DRAKE a pension of fifteen
hundred dollars a year during life, or that of his wife. This is
not charity, but simple justice.
Wooin.ur.TtTpi'. A. P. It. P. Co., IMiihi
CAPT. A. B. FUNK
CAPT. A. B. FUNK. 331
CAPT. A. B. FUNK Deceased.
TITUSVILLE, PA.
AMONG the many noted, and successful pioneer operators, in the
Pennsylvania Oil Region, Capt. A. B. FUNK, merits distinction
and prominence. He was a man of superior intellectual acquire-
ments and yet a fair type of the hardy settlers of the wilds of that
portion of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. When the oil
developments at Titusville became a reality, Capt. FUNK was
among the first to enter into the new enterprise, lending to it the
whole force of his character and ample wealth. We regret we have
not the data at hand for a completed history of his eventful life; for
few men, active as he was, in the earlier years of the development
of petroleum in the Pennsylvania oil fields, deserve so generous a
remembrance. Such facts as we have, however, we make use of,
more for the purposes of a tribute to his memory, than a detailed
sketch of his life.
Capt. A. B. FUNK was a native of West Newton, Westmoreland
County, Pa., born in 1811, and grew to man's estate in his native
town. His earlier years were devoted to commercial pursuits, in
which he earned for himself an enviable character for integrity,
and an unblemished repute for uprightness and honesty. Later in
life he engaged extensively in the lumber trade on the Youghiogheny
River building and running small steamers upon its waters and
here, we infer, he obtained his title of " Captain."
In the spring of 1848, he had superintending charge of the con-
struction of a lock and dam, known as "the Upper Lock and
Dam," on the Youghiogheny Slackwater Improvement. During
the same summer he began the construction of a large side-wheel
steamer, intended for the Youghiogheny river trade. This vessel,
called " THE FARMER," he completed in 1850, but when launched,
332 HISTORY OF PETROLEUM.
she proved to be of too heavy draft, and he was compelled to run
her on the Ohio and Mississippi rivers. The management and
care of this steamboat enterprise required his almost constant atten-
tion, and necessarily, he was, during the season of navigation at
least, away from his home in West Newton. But the enterprise
was abundantly successful, and he continued his connection with it,
until the fall of 1851, when he disposed of his vessel, having pre-
viously determined to purchase timber lands in Western Pennsyl-
vania, and engage in the manufacture of lumber. In pur-
suance of this predetermined, and we may add, well considered
enterprise, he soon after the sale of his steamer, in 1851, purchased
of Judge Warner, of Allegheny City, a large tract of timbered
lands, located in Deerfield Township, Warren County, Pa. In
March, 1852, with his family, he removed to his new home, then
in the wilds of this portion of the commonwealth, and entered in-
dustriously upon the work before him. He continued his lumber-
ing operations until the spring and summer of 1859 meantime
largely increasing his capital and his products as well. When oil
was discovered at Titusville, in 1859, he was among the largest
lumber manufacturers of that region, and his enterprise has been
abundantly successful.
In the fall of 1859, Capt. FUNK purchased from the original
proprietor, David McElhenny, his farm of less than one hundred
acres, paying him $1,500 for it McElhenny reserving one
quarter of the oil ! In the spring of 1860, the first well, " The
Fountain Well," was commenced upon the property, "spring pole "
power being used, until a depth of 260 feet had been attained. It
was late in the fall of 1860, and winter and spring of 1861, when
the " spring hole " was abandoned, and a small boiler and engine,
procured to complete the drilling. "The Fountain Well," was
completed in May 186L, and started oif at 300 barrels per day !
THIS WAS THE FIRST WELL IN THE PENNSYLVANIA OlL REGION,
DRILLED TO THE THIRD SAND ROCK !
The development of this farm, always known as " The Lower
CAPT. A. B. FUNK. 333
McElhenny," was rapidly prosecuted by Capt. FUNK, and by
lessees, under him, and it is needless to say it was among the most
bountiful producers of that early day. Its wonderful product
during Capt. FUNK'S ownership, and the handsome sum received for
the property in 1864, netted a princely fortune to its owner. Very
many of the lessees and operators realized large fortunes from their
investments, and retired to more inviting homes.
Early in 1864, Capt. FUNK sold his oil lands and property, in-
cluding the lower McElhenny farm, to " The McElhenny Oil
Company," for $100,000 ! This, after realizing from it, in profits,
during his four years' ownership, more " hundreds of thousands of
dollars," than we care to mention. The sale of this property
practically terminated his career as an oil producer. During
1863, he disposed of his lumber-lands, steam-mills, &c., in Deer-
field Township, and had removed to Titusville, Pa., where he sub-
sequently built a substantial residence, which he lived in until his
death, and which his widow still owns and occupies.
The later years of Capt. FUNK'S life were spent in doing good.
He was ever a noble-hearted, generous man ; always ready to aid
those who deserved it. We might give many instances of his lib-
erality and generosity to individuals and to communities, but we
must content ourselves with a rehearsal of only a few.
At " Steam Mills," Deerfield township, where Capt. FUNK first
settled in 1852, are monuments of his liberality and enterprise that
speak volumes for the goodness and kindness of his heart. In
1861, he built a substantial church edifice, paying every dollar of
its cost himself. Did his neighbors supply timber, lumber, stone,
or labor, he insisted upon the payment of their bills, and would
allow no one to be called upon for assistance to complete it. This
church, when it was ready for use, with five acres of land surround-
ing it, he presented by warranty deed, to the Methodist Episcopal
Society of Deerfield, and it is held and occupied by them to this
day. Later, he built a school-house, in the same locality, and
supplied it with an extensive library these two bounties cost him
334 HISTORY OP PETROLEUM.
in all, not less than $10,000. Nor did he confine his generosity
in this respect to his immediate neighborhood. He gave bountifully
to churches and public schools about him, and seemed always
anxious so to do.
During the winter of 1859, Hon. JNO. FERTIG, now Mayor of
Titusville, and a producer of prominence, was employed to teach
the district school in Capt. FUNK'S locality. The District paid
him "$18 per month and board." Capt. FUNK generously added
$18 per month more, and towards spring presented Mr. FERTIG
a sizeable lease upon the Lower McElhenny Farm, upon which that
gentleman, in 1861, put down a well, the product and profit from
which became the basis of his subsequent success and later ample
wealth.
Capt. FUNK died on the 2d day of August, 1864, universally
mourned by all who knew him. His record was that of a good
man. He was kind and generous to the poor, liberal in aid of his
less fortunate neighbors and friends, and ever ready to assist those
struggling with adversity and misfortune. But above, and beyond
all, he was AN HONEST MAN true to his destiny, true to his fel-
lows, true to himself, and faithful and devoted to his family. His
religious convictions were the results of a life-time of eventful ex-
periences, and these were "a shield and buckler" to him in his dying
hour. He passed away quietly and peacefully, beloved and
lamented by a large circle of devoted friends and bereaved relatives
and kinsmen, in the fifty-third year of his age.
Woodlmvvtvpe. A. P. R. !'. Co.. I'hvl
HENRY R. ROUSE.
HENRY R. BOUSE. 335
HENRY R. R.OUSE, Deceased.
ENTERPRISE, WAR11EN CO., PA.
THE tragic death of this gentleman, which occurred at an oil well
he was part owner of, upon the Jno. Buchanan farm, at Rouseville,
in 1861, has lent an interest to his short career in the oil region at
once remarkable and melancholy. The likeness herewith given of
him was taken some years previous to his death, but those who
knew him while he lived will recognize its truthfulness.
HENRY R. ROUSE was a native of Westfield, Chautauqua
County, New York, where he was born, on the 24th day of Au-
gust, 1824. Very little is known of his earlier years, beyond the
fact that he was kept at school until he was twelve years of age.
Thence he was sent two terms to the select school at Jamestown,
N. Y. Returning to "Westfield, he entered the academy there,
and continued his studies a year or two, and before he attained his
majority commenced to read law, in the office of a Mr. Dixon,
then, as now, a practicing attorney of note in Westfield. He re-
mained here preparing himself for his chosen profession, two years.
Laying this aside temporarily, he engaged in teaching a district
school in the town of Ripley, in the same county, for one winter.
At the close of his school he received $100 for his services, and
seemed at this time to have changed his determination. It is said
a slight impediment in his speech absolutely overcome when he
became interested determined him to abandon the law as a profes-
sion. He did not return to his law studies, but in company with
a friend, named Brigham, resolved to go into mercantile and lum-
ber pursuits in the wilds of western Pennsylvania. Procuring a
number of letters of recommendation from friends at Westfield,
336 HISTORY OF PETROLEUM.
with his friend Brigham, and $100 in cash, he proceeded to the
city of New York and purchased a considerable stock of dry goods,
groceries, &c., and in a few months after, we find him located at
Enterprise, Warren Co., Pa., five miles from Titusville, in the full
tide of success as a busy, industrious merchant and lumber dealer.
This was about the year 18445. He was not then far from
twenty years of age. He continued in the lumber and mercantile
trade for a few years, when he disposed of his store and goods and
gave his undivided attention to his large lumber enterprises. He
prospered beyond his sanguine hopes, and was known as a clear-
headed, comprehensive and successful lumber man.
In the fall of 1858, he was nominated by the republican party
of Warren County for representative in the General Assembly, and
was elected by a flattering majority serving in the legislatures of
1859, and 1860 for he was re-elected in 1859. His career in
this responsible position was marked by the same vigor, industry
and integrity as had characterized him in the conduct of his pri-
vate affairs. He was incorruptible in his legislative action, and
supported or opposed every measure presented to him upon his own
convictions of right. He attained prominence among the leading
members of the legislature of that period, and was known and ac-
knowledged by all, as an honest man, a high-toned gentleman, and
an incorruptible law-maker.
His election was opposed by Mr. Jonathan Watson, of Titus-
ville, with considerable bitterness and effect. After the session had
closed, Mr. Watson met Mr. ROUSE, and proffered him his friend-
ship, desiring to have the " old score " obliterated. " I can forget
and forgive all but one thing," said Mr. ROUSE. "What's that?"
said Mr. Watson. " Your story during the election," said ROUSE,
with a knowing wink to the bystanders "that I was a crazy
spiritualist ! I'll never forgive you that, if I find that you set ike
story in motion ! "
The rumor was in circulation, we are told, but Mr. Watson was
not responsible for its currency, and the old score was cleared oif,
HENRY R. ROUSE. 337
and Mr. Watson was ever afterwards a warm personal friend and
admirer of HENRY R. ROUSE.
When in 1859 and '60, the oil excitement burst upon the quiet
of " the Creek," and the country adjacent, Mr. ROUSE was yet an
extensive land owner and lumberman at Enterprise. He was not
long in taking the inspiration of the hour, and with his partners, Sam.
Q. Brown and John Mitchel, of Franklin, Pa., in September, 1859,
secured leases of the two Buchanan farms at Rouseville. In October
following he had completed one well upon the Barnsdall farm near
Titusville ; and another upon one of the Buchanan farms, near
Rouseville. This was the commencement of his career as an oil
producer. Fully convinced of the value of the discovery, he, with
his partners before named, began a general investment in oil
lands, and as the result proved, were soon the owners of large
tracts of the best oil territory then, or years later, developed.
Wealth poured in upon him in fabulous volume; and as yet,
the territory he was interested in, was but partially developed. His
connection with the early developments of oil in western Penn-
sylvania began late in 1859, and terminated with his terrible death
on the 17th of April, 1861 about eighteen months in all. During
this brief period he had established a character for energy, industry
and boldness in his operations, that won for him universal admira-
tion and general prominence. It has been remarked by one who
knew him well, that had he lived, "he would have been a giant or
a bankrupt in the oil business." With him, however, as with Car-
dinal Richelieu, there was " no such word as fail." Daring his brief
career as an oil operator and producer he had laid foundations of a
great fortune, and up to the day of his death his accumulations
continued to increase with wonderful rapidity.
The facts and detailed circumstances attending his death, we ob-
tain mainly, from Mr. GEO. H. DIMICK, at that time his confi-
dential clerk and cashier, and a relative of the family. We give
them mainly in Mr. DIMICK'S own language :
"Just after supper on the evening of April 17th, 1861, Mr.
22
338 HISTORY OF PETROLEUM.
ROUSE, Mr. PERRY, Mr. BUEL and myself and others were in the
sitting-room of Anthony's Hotel, (now Cherry Run Hotel,) discus-
sing the fall of Fort Sumter, (the nearest railroad point at that
time being Union Mills and Garland, and news from the outside
world requiring from two to three days to reach us,) when a laborer
on the fatal well hurried into the room to say that a monstrous vein
of oil had been struck and barrels were wanted to preserve it.
All ran to the well with the exception of myself, and I not seeing
the man who attended to the distribution of barrels, started in the
opposite direction for teams to haul the necessary packages. I had
completed my errand and was on a full run for the well with less
than twenty rods to make, . when an explosion occurred which
nearly took me from my feet. On the instant an acre of ground with
two wells and their tankage, a barn and a large number of barrels
of oil were in flames, and from the circumference of this circle of
fire could be seen the unfortunate lookers-on of a. moment before,
rushing out, enveloped in a sheet of flame which extended far above
their heads, and which was fed by the oil thrown upon their cloth-
ing by the explosion. Scenes followed each other, and occurred
simultaneously, beggaring both description and imagination. One
poor wretch struggled out of the fire, believing himself to be in the
hands of the evil one. His charred and naked figure was speedily
placed in a blanket, and he was borne from the place. He lamented
his supposed arrival in , in piercing tones of agony, which
proceeded from lips burned to a cinder, and hence powerless to give
proper accent to his language. He bemoaned his own fate, and call-
ing the names of various friends warned them of his own terrible
punishment. Death ensued in four hours.
Above the well and against the foot of the hill had been rolled
two long tiers of barrels. One of the victims it would seem had
been standing on these barrels near the well when the explosion
occurred ; for I first discovered him running over them away from
the well. He had hardly reached the outer edge of the field of fire,
when coming to a vacant space in the tier of barrels from which
HENEY B. ROUSE. 339
two or three had been taken, he fell into the vacancy, and there
uttering heart-rending shrieks, burned to death with scarcely a
dozen feet of impassable heated air between him and his friends.
So numerous were the victims of this fire and so conspicuous, as
they rushed out, enveloped in flame, that it would not be exaggera-
tion to compare them to a rapid succession of shots from an im-
mense Roman candle.
Before speaking of ROUSE, a word about the well. It had pro-
duced oil for some time from the first sand rock, but failing there,
was being drilled deeper in search of another oil-bearing formation.
Its location was near the upper line of the John Buchanan farm on
flie east side of Oil Creek, and back at the junction of the bottom
land^with a steep hill. A few rods up the hill, and a little south
of the well -issued a spring, which had formed a small ravine in
running down, and created something of a swamp at the bottom
and around the well. The well must have commenced flowing (as
measurements of other later wells would prove,) at the rate of three
thousand barrels per day, and although but eighteen or twenty
minutes of flowing preceded the explosion yet the little swamp
was covered deep with oil, excepting several small elevations on
which the astonished spectators were standing when the shock oc-
curred. Had this catastrophe happened even ten minutes later it is
.safe to say its victims would have been quadrupled ; for word of the
strike had spread with the rapidity of thought, and hundreds were
running in breathless anxiety to behold it.
Mr. ROUSE standing probably within twenty feet of the well and
among the very nearest of the spectators did not lose possession of
his mind for an instant. He remembered the ravine, and dashed
toward it. In the breast-pocket of his coat was a book containing
valuable papers, and in the pocket of his pantaloons a wallet con-
taining a large sum of money. These he jerked from their places
and threw far outside of the fire, where they were afterwards found
in safety. He had accomplished but half a dozen steps when he
stumbled and fell, still being within the circuit of fire. He buried
340 HISTORY OF PETROLEUM.
his face in the mud to prevent inhalation of the flames ; then recov-
ering himself bounded again up the ravine, falling a second time
completely exhausted at a point where two men barely endured the
heat long enough to seize and drag him forth. He was taken to a
shanty near by, placed upon the bed of a workman, and gasped
through five hours of excruciating agony before death gave relief.
His body from the top of his head down the back and legs to the
knees was burned to a crisp. The front of his person being less
exposed was less seriously injured, but the face and feet were the
only portions so far escaping, as to remain in any degree natural.
The former was partially protected by the ground when he fell,
and the latter by high-topped boots. Of his clothing, which was
very heavy, but a handful of shreds remained.
ROUSE during the period of consciousness, which lasted up to
within an hour of his death, maintained a coolness of manner most
astonishing, and neither by word or action betrayed his terrible
bodily suffering. With the precision and unconcern of a man with-
out a care he dictated a will concise in terms and correct in lan-
guage, and this, too, while being obliged to have water given him
with a spoon not only at the end, but in the middle of every sen-
tence. The bulk of his estate was bequeathed in trust to the Com-
missioners of Warren Co., one half of the proceeds to be applied to
the improvement of the public roads. The proceeds of the other
half for the benefit of the poor. Suitable bequests were made to
all his relatives, and some of his intimate friends also found them-
selves remembered. We publish herewith a copy of this remarka-
ble Will, certified by the E-egister of Warren county.
LAST WILL AND TESTAMENT OF HENRY R. ROUSE.
IN THE NAME OF GOD, AMEN :
I, HENRY R. ROUSE, being as I believe near my last moments, but sound in
mind, do make this my last Will and Testament.
1st. My Executors to be George H. Dimick, Samuel D. Rouse and Samuel Q.
Brown.
2d. I bequeath to my father, Samuel D. Rouse, Five Hundred Dollars per year,
during his lifetime.
HENRY R. ROUSE. 341
3d. Rouse & Mitchell hold the notes of A. Skinner and Allen Wright for Twenty-
five hundred dollars. My half I bequeath to them ; they are having hard enough
times, without having to pay the notes.
4th. All the Lessees of Rouse & Mitchell, and Rouse, Mitchell & Brown, I want to
have their leases at one-half the oil, and I bequeath to them all of my share of said
rents over the one-half the product of the wells as now stipulated to be paid in their
respective leases.
5th. I bequeath to George H. Dimick Two Thousand Dollars, for the use of him-
self and his mother, to be paid out the residue when my estate is settled up.
6th. To John Mitchell I bequeath my black mare.
7th. I have the Sheriff's Deed of the Store and Dwelling House occupied by Thos.
Morean. I bequeath said property to his two youngest children, Eva and Maggie.
Their father to have the use of it until they come of age.
8th. I bequeath the residue of my estate, after making some other bequests, to the
Commissioners of Warren -County, the interest of it to be expended on the roads of
said County, after I make some other bequests.
9th. I have a little namesake, Harry Rouse, in East Granby, Connecticut. I be-
qifeath to him Five hundred dollars. I cannot think of his name. His mother is the
daughter of Joel C. Rouse ; his name is Harry Rouse Victs.
10th. David H. Taylor, I bequeath to him Five hundred dollars.
12th. I bequeath to my aunt, Clara C. Hart, Five hundred dollars.
13th. I bequeath to Miron Waters, Five hundred dollars, to be paid when my es-
tate is settled up.
14th. I also bequeath Five hundred dollars to my hired boy, Miron Dunham, to
be paid when my estate is settled up.
15th. I wish to change the object of the bequest contained in No. 8, so as to give
the benefit of one-half of it to the poor of Warren County. It is given in trust to
the County Commissioners for that purpose.
16th. To Almedia Arnold I bequeath Two Hundred dollars.
17th. To Joel C. Rouse, of Saratoga, N. Y.,I bequeath Three hundred dollars.
ISth. I bequeath to Mrs. Morean, wife of Thomas Morean, Three hundred dollars.
19th. Two gentlemen carried me out of the fire. I bequeath them each one hun-
dred dollars.
20th. Let my funeral be without display. No funeral sermon to be preached.
Bury me by the side of my mother at Westfield.
21st. I have a beautiful picture, an engraving, in Herstfield's store, at Pittsburgh.
I bequeath it to William Hirst, of Meadville.
22d. I bequeath my library to my father.
23d. I bequeath my wardrobe to Mrs. Thomas Morean.
I have nothing more to add at present. I authorize all who are here present to
witness the foregoing as my last Will and Testament.
In testimony that the foregoing is the last Will and Testament of HENRY R.
ROUSE, and at his request, we the undersigned hereby sign the same in his presence,
in Cornplanter Township, Venango County, this seventeenth day of April, A. D. one
thousand eight hundred and sixty-one.
his N. F. JONES,
HENKY R. H ROUSE. ALLEN WRIGHT,
mark. Physician in attendance, S. S. CHRISTY,
Z. MARTIN,
W. B. WILLIAMS,
W. H. KlNTER.
342 HISTORY OF PETROLEUM.
ROUSE was a man of peculiar religious views ; while entertain-
ing exalted ideas of the Creator and Ruler of the universe, he yet
deprecated the popular forms of worship. Fear of the present or
of the life to come had no place in his heart. After the completion
of his will and but little more than an hour this side of the grave,
a preacher friend standing in the little group watching his fading
life, desired to administer religious consolation. Mr. ROUSE re-
plied : " My account is already made up. If I am a debtor, it
would be cowardly to ask for credits now. I do not wish to dis-
cuss the matter."
The well burned three days before it could be extinguished,
which was finally done by smothering it with manure and earth.
Its appearance wMle burning was grand. From the driving
pipe, six inches in diameter, to the height of sixty or seventy feet
arose a solid column of oil and gas burning brilliantly. Above
this hovered an immense cloud of black smoke, which would seize
sections of the ascending flames, and rolling over and over, first ex-
posing to the view cloud, and then flame, would rise a hundred feet
higher before the flame would fade out. From the main column
below, millions of individual drops of oil would shoot off at an
angle and then turning the arc of a circle drop burning to the
ground, presenting all the hues of the rainbow making a scene like
enchantment. The whole accompanied by a roar hardly inferior
to that made by Niagara Falls.
Of the little group of eight sitting in the hotel at the time word
of the well was brought, Mr. Dimick was the only one escaping in-
jury, and ROUSE was the only one burned to death.
The disaster, although so mournful, was not wholly destitute of
ridiculous incidents. One woman' in an agony of fear, rushed
nearly across Oil Creek through water waist-deep, ere she realized
the situation ; and a man of strong religious convictions, climbed one
hundred and fifty feet of the hill in rear of the well, before he could
understand that it was not the day of judgment which ne was
making such good time in getting away from.
HENRY R. ROUSE. 343
The evening of the fire was damp and murky, and the gas,
issuing from the well crept along the ground like fog in a valley.
All fires in the immediate neighborhood had been extinguished,
and ignition undoubtedly occurred from a boiler eight or ten rods
distant. The amount of gas escaping from the well, and the con-
dition of the atmosphere, made explosion almost a certainty, and it
is believed that fire anywhere within a distance of thirty or forty
rods up or down the bottom land, would sooner or later have been
reached with a result much more terrible.
Rumor has often charged Mr. ROUSE with smoking a cigar
which caused the explosion. This we know to be false, from his
own statement of the direction from which the explosion originated,
and the extreme care which he invariably took in banishing cigars
and pipes from the immediate vicinity of the wells.
Nineteen persons lost their lives by this fire, as follows:
Henry R. Rouse, Enterprise, Pa. ; W. S. Skinner, Wattsburg,
Pa. ; James Walker, Butler Co., Pa. ; George Hayes, Chautauqua
Co., N. Y. ; Albert Gardner, Pontiac, Mich. ; Judson Mason, New
York State; G. W. Bentley, Harlansburg, Pa,; and Philander
Stevens, Chautauqua Co., N. Y. Badly burned: Levi Walker,
Butler County, Pa. ; S. Houston Walker, Pittsburgh, Pa. ; John
Resiling, Chautauqua County, N. Y. ; Easton (fatally;) White-
son, Oneida County, N. Y. ; Constant Burnell, Erie County, Pa. ;
James Perry, Utica, N. Y. ; (fatally :) Smith Cushing, Sherman,
JN". Y. ; Thomas Page, Mercer Co., Pa. ; J. G. Stratton, Crawford
Co., Pa. ; James Smith, Yenango Co., Pa. ; James Johnson, Mer-
cer Co., Pa. ; Archibald Montgomery, Venango Co., Pa. ; Willis
Benedict, Warren County, Pa. ; Lockwood, Michigan ; Au-
gustus Cummings, orphan boy, fatally ; Buel, Utica, N. Y. ;
Jos. Floyd, Utica, N. Y. ; (fatally ;) J. A. Kent, Chautauqua Co.,
N. Y. ; John Glass, Butler Co., Pa. ; Geo. Glass, Henry Chase,
Mr. Burly and a few others slightly burned. In all nineteen per-
sons lost their lives, and eight or ten were disfigured or maimed
for life.
344 HISTORY OF PETROLEUM.
Thus perished HENRY R. ROUSE, by a fearful disaster which
swept from the habitations of men, nineteen human beings, half of
them without note or warning, and almost in a twinkling of an eye.
The explosion was instantaneous, and death to a majority of its vic-
tims was sudden and painless. The large number who surviveckthe
catastrophe, and who yet live, bear the marks of the terrible con-
flagration about their persons.
HENRY R. ROUSE was a little more than 38 years of age when
this fatal accident came upon him. From a feeling tribute to his
memory, written by a kinsman, and published in the Warren (Pa.)
Mail, of May 4, 1861, we transcribe the following truthful esti-
mate of his leading characteristics :
" Mr. ROUSE was distinguished for many noble traits of char-
acter. Foremost among these were energy and decision. He was
rather small in stature, and of light frame, but the energy of his
will, carried him forward to the accomplishment of his object,
through difficulties and over obstacles that would have deterred
common men. To this he owed his success in life. He never
knew fear. To resolve was to execute, and his business capacities
were of the brightest order. He was emphatically the architect of
his own fortune. He was a man of a noble public spirit. There
was no enterprise by which the public were to be benefited, the re-
sources of the region developed, facility of intercourse increased, in
which he was not interested. He spent much time, labor and
money opening and improving roads, constructing bridges, and
helping on every work which tended to develop the wealth of the
new region about him. How dear to him was the accomplishment
of these is evident from his will, which appropriated one-half of
his property, after the payment of legacies, to the construction and
improvement of roads and bridges in Warren County.
He was a man of much literary taste and culture, and a great
reader. The impulse which he received in this direction in ' his
academical course was never lost. He kept himself informed of
HENRY R. HOUSE. 345
the affairs of the nation, and had collected a large library of stan-
dard works in history and general literature.
He was a man of warm impulses and strong personal attachments.
He loved his friends with his whole heart, and never forgot them ;
and he greatly enjoyed friendly and social intercourse with them.
Having no family of his own, he was continually showing kind-
nesses to families and children of his neighbors, making them pre-
sents, taking them to ride ; and he surprised a number of his little
friends by legacies in his will. Many of his early friends were
thus remembered ; and to each of the persons who picked him up,
when insensible, and carried him to a place of safety, he gave a
legacy of $100.
To the poor he was proverbially liberal, dispensing his favors
with a lavish hand. Many are the anecdotes current of his timely
and sympathizing aid. He never forgot that he himself was once poor,
and he had a strong sympathy for indigent merit, and always lent
with an open hand to its encouragement; and in his will he showed
the liberality of his heart by giving one-half of his princely fortune
for the support of the poor of Warren County. He was loved by
all who knew him ; and in his death Warren County lost a most
valuable and public-spirited citizen, his fellow-townsmen an ener-
getic and liberal-minded business man, the cause of virtue and
sound morals a firm supporter, and the poor a sympathizing and
most helpful friend."
346 HISTORY OF PETROLEUM.
GEORGE H. BISSELL.
NEW YORK CITY.
AMONG the earliest of the early pioneers of the Western Penn-
sylvania Oil Region, GEORGE H. BISSELL, of New York city,
must take a leading and a prominent place. We show clearly in suc-
ceding sketches and by historical data, that petroleum was gathered
upon the Watson Flats near Titusville, and at McClintockville,
just above Oil City, as early as 1840, and so on down to 1856-7-8
and '59. It however remained to Mr. BISSELL to give force and
effect, and final triumph in developing this world-renowned bene-
faction.
The facts, as we give them below, are obtained from reliable
data, and are given without fear of contradiction. But first of Mr.
BISSELL'S early history.
GEORGE H. BISSELL was born at Hanover, New Hampshire.
He is descended from a family of Norman-French origin, which
came from Somersetshire, England. His mother came of Belgic
and Holland descent. One of his ancestors was the first settler at
Windsor, Connecticut, in 1628. The late Governor Clark Bissell,
of Connecticut, and Governor William H. Bissell, of Illinois, were
relatives.
About the age of twelve years his father died, and GEORGE was
thrown upon his own resources for support. He has gained educa-
tion and fortune, bnt never by the aid of a dollar from any one.
While at school and college he supported himself by teaching and
writing for magazines and papers. In the business struggle, it has
been his own energy and talents which have won the victory.
Some two years were spent at the Military School at Norwich,
Vermont; another period at Kimball Union Academy, at Meriden,
tt-oodburjtvpe. A. V. \i. P. Co., I'hila.
GEORGE H. BISSELL.
GEORGE H. BISSELL. . 347
New Hampshire, and he was graduated at Dartmouth College in
1845. For about two months he held the professorship of the
Greek and Latin languages at the University at Norwich, but re-
signed on account of the inadequate salary.
Going to Washington, D. C., he was employed during the winter
of 1845-6, as correspondent of the Richmond Whig. In the spring
of 1846 he went to Cuba, and thence to New Orleans, where he
became connected with the editorial department of the New Orleans
Delta. For several years thereafter he contributed largely to the
columns of the different papers of that city.
In 1846, on the organization of the High School, Mr. BISSELL
was elected its first Principal, over many competitors. Subse-
quently he was chosen Superintendent of the Public Schools in
New Orleans. His remarkable administrative ability, and high
qualifications as a scholar, were of great service in his onerous
position. The schools reached a discipline and prosperity before
unknown. Amid the pressure of official and editorial duties, he
still found opportunity to study law and several of the modern lan-
guages. In the summeriof 1853 -impaired health compelled him
to come to the North.
It was during this year that Mr. BISSELL'S attention was first
called to Petroleum. He saw, at the office of Professor Crosby, of
Dartmouth College, a bottle of petroleum, given Professor Crosby
by Doctor Brewer, of Titusville, Pennsylvania, found upon his
(Doctor Brewer's) land on Oil Creek. He became greatly inter-
ested in the product, and, about six months after, sent to Titusville,
Mr. J. G. Eveleth, who was then, and had been previously, his
partner in other business. They bought together, what were then
thought to be the principal oil-lands of Pennsylvania. The lands
were in extent one hundred acres in* fee simple, and one hundred
and twelve acres on lease for ninety-nine years, on Oil Creek, about
two and a half miles below Titusville, for which they paid five
thousand dollars. In 1854 they organized "The Pennsylvania
Rock Oil Company/' which was the first petroleum company in
the United States.
148
HISTORY OF PETROLEUM.
This Company was organized under the laws of New York, with
a nominal capital of $500,000, most of the stock being owned and
retained by Messrs. EVELETH and BISSE L, who were its officers.
The Company proceeded to develop the lands by trenching them,
and raising the surface oil and water into vats. The supply was
very limited, amounting to perhaps, a few barrels in the course of
a season, which was sold at one dollar and fifty cents per gallon, to
parties who retailed it for medicinal purposes. In the spring of 1855,
Professor Sillimaa, of Yale College, was employed to analyze the
oil, and Messrs. BISSELL and EVELETH furnished him with all
useful apparatus for his experiments, and paid the entire cost of the
analysis. Professor Silliman's report, published in the fall of
1855, attracted attention in New Haven, and led to the reorganiza-
tion of the Pennsylvania Rock Oil Company, with that gentleman
as President.
The work of trenching the lands was continued until 1858,
when the question of boring an artesian well was discussed, and
advocated strongly by Mr. BISSELL, it having been suggested by
the fact that Mr. Kier of Pittsburgh h%d obtained a small quan-
tity of oil from one of his salt wells near Pittsburgh, at a depth of
about 400 feet.
The New York and New Haven stockholders were not har-
monious, and finally, after much discussion and difficulty, a contract
was concluded between the Pennsylvania Rock Oil Company and
some of its members, by which the latter agreed to lease the lands
for a term of years, and pay the parent Company a royalty of 12
cents a gallon on all oil raised. They then organized in New
Haven a new Company, based on the lease aforesaid, and employed
one of their number, Mr. E. L. Drake, as Superintendent, and fur-
nished him with the necessary capital. He proceeded to Titusville,
and after many delays and obstacles, on the 28th day of August,
1859, the first vein of oil was struck, and the first petroleum ob-
tained from an artesian well drilled on Oil Creek, Venango county,
Penna., and this was accomplished under the auspices of " The
GEORGE H. BISSELL.
349
Seneca Oil Company," lessees of "The Pennsylvania Rock Oil
Company," the organization of which, and the first purchase and
development of oil lands under it, were mainly due to GEORGE H.
BISSELL.
Soon after the completion of the "Drake well," Mr. BISSELL
and Mr. EVELETH began the purchase of large tracts of oil lands
along "The Creek," investing between two and three hundred
thousand dollars in the enterprise. Thenceforward they engaged
in the production of the oil by drilling wells at various points on
"The Creek," at Franklin, Petroleum Centre, &c., doubling and
quadrupling their investments in munificent pecuniary returns.
We have not the details of all the operations of these pioneer ope-
rators, and it is perhaps, needless that we give 'them. It is enough
to know that GEORGE H. BISSELL'S name is identified promi-
nently, and, we may add, honorably so, with all the early struggles
and later triumphs in connection with this great national blessing,
and that his name and fame is "a household word " among oil men
from end to end of the continent.
From 1859 to 1863, Mr. BIS&ELL was a resident of the oil region,
his home being at Franklin, "V^nango county. He erected a large
barrel factory at Franklin, and continued this industry for some
years. In 1866, he established a banking-house at Petroleum Cen-
tre, which has withstood the vicissitudes and disasters of the oil
region from year to year, and is to-day regarded as one of the
soundest and most substantial banking institutions in the oil coun-
try. Mr. BISSELL still continues his connection with it, and this
fact is a sufficient guarantee of its stability and unquestioned sound-
ness.
In 1863, Mr. BISSELL removed to the city of New York. In
1864, he represented the oil dealers of Pennsylvania, and the Petro-
leum Board of New York, at Washington. He made a powerful
and effectual argument before the Committee on Ways and Means
in opposition to the tax on the crude material, which would have
proved ruinous.
350 HISTORY OF PETHOLEUM.
In addition to conducting an immense petroleum business, he
was at one time carrying on three banking institutions, building a
railroad in the oil country, and was president and director of va-
rious companies in New York. With a majority of these he is still
actively connected. He has recently been prominent in the organiza-
tion of the New York Loan and Indemnity Company. He is also
President of the Peruvian Petroleum Company and of the Peruvian
Refining Company. These companies supply most of the petro-
leum used on the Pacific coast of South America, and have made
large shipments to Australia, England, and other countries.
Mr. BISSELL was admitted to the bar of New York in 1855 to
practice in the United States Courts in 1857, and to the bar of
Pennsylvania in 1861. He was married in 1855, to Miss Ophie
Louise Griffen, of New York city, who died suddenly in the spring
of 1867. He has been a liberal donor to various institutions.
Dartmouth College is indebted to him for a gymnasium which cost
twenty-four thousand dollars.
Mr. BISSELL has an erect, well-proportioned figure, an active
step, and an intellectual head and face. His head is long, towering
to a round, high brow, while the o%her features are not less signifi-
cant of mental force and the purest character. His eyes are sharp,
and look forth with much directness. The mouth is closed, having
the expression of decision and energy, which are the leading char-
acteristics of the man. The peer of his contemporaries in the
walks of business, he is endowed with scholarly accomplishments
which fit him for any of the most exalted positions of life. Friendly
and honorable in social intercourse, he is, also, one who is to be
admired for the successful application of varied and brilliant talents
in all other relations with his fellow-men. A man of fine mental
accomplishments and of commanding business talents, he has dis-
tinguished himself in many widely different fields of effort, and his
life affords events of much popular interest.
Woo-lburvtvpe. A. P. R. P. Co.. 1'hihi.
CHARLES HYDE.
CHARLES HYDE. 351
CHAKLES HYDE.
PLAINFIELD, NEW JERSEY.
AMONG the number of successful pioneer oil producers, the sub-
ject of the following sketch is perhaps one of the most notable. His
successes were not in all respects the results of "good luck" either,
but were rather the offspring of judicious in vestments. coupled with
clear-headed business tact. With his good fortune, he united in
himself a sagacity and discernment that led him, .as wealth poured
in upon him, to gather up his accumulations and hold them for
other profitable ventures ; the sketch we give herewith will war-
rant us in these preliminary suggestions, and without further re-
mark we proceed.
CHARLES HYDE is a native of the town of Eagle, Allegany
County, New York, and was born on the 27th day of February,
1822. The place of his birth was known as Hydeville, his father
being one of the early settlers of that locality. The town or village
is now known as Eagle Village, and is a point of considerable note
in Allegany County, N. Y. Charles is the third of a family of
four children three sons and one daughter. At the age of eleven,
his father removed to Nunda Valley, then in the same county, but
now a thriving town in the county of Wyoming. In 1837, or when
CHARLES had attained the age of fifteen, the family removed to
Western Pennsylvania, settling upon a partially cleared up farm,
two miles south of Titus ville, Pa. This farm adjoined the Stackpole
farm, and has lately been developed into valuable oil territory, by
the " Octave Oil Company " a history of which we give elsewhere
in these pages. The price paid for the property by Mr. Hyde, Sen.,
was $3.33 per acre.
Charles was schooled winters and assisted his father the balance
of the time, until he was nineteen years of age. At twenty, in com-
352
HISTORY OF PETROLEUM.
pany with his father and two brothers, "W. C., and E. B. Hyde,
he purchased a small tract of twenty-five acres of land near Centre-
ville, Crawford County, Pa., and in connection with the grocery
and hardware trade, engaged to a limited extent in the manufacture
of salts and saleratus, from ashes gathered or brought to their place
of business. The firm was known as E. Hyde & Sons. Three
years were spent in this enterprise, the business steadily increasing,
demanding greater facilities and larger capital. Success in a
marked degree followed these ventures, and industry and frugality
characterized all the operations of this firm of father and sons. To
their other interests they added the manufacture of lumber, which
was run out of Oil Creek into the Allegany Kiver, and thence to
Pittsburgh. At the end of three years successful business,
CHARLES purchased his father's and brothers' interests, and thence-
forward assumed its entire responsibility. Soon after he became
sole proprietor, his ashery burned, and he abandoned the idea of
rebuilding it, and resolved to confine himself exclusively to the
manufacture of lumber. The " Hydetown Mills," were at this date
the property of JOHN TITUS, who had become hopelessly involved
in debt, and was soon after compelled to compromise with his cre-
ditors. Mr. Hyde, Sen., who was one of Mr. Titus 7 largest cre-
titors, finally purchased the property upon a fair valuation, paying
Mr. Titus the difference, over and above his indebtedness. Soon
after the conclusion of this transaction, CHARLES again entered
into co-partnership with his father and brothers, and removed to
"Titus Mills/ 7 assuming charge of the property and business.
This was in 1846, and from this time on "Titus Mills/ 7 was succeed-
ed by " Hydetown/ 7 and by this name has the little village since been
known now come to be a point of considerable importance, and
^boasting a thrifty growth, with many handsome residences, which
villages of greater pretensions might point to with pride.
This last partnership continued for two years, and was measura-
bly successful. At its termination the father purchasing the
interest of the sons CHARLES spent a month or more, in exploring
CHARLES HYDE. 353
the great lumbering regions of the Clarion river, traversing the
country for a hundred miles or more, on foot. He, however, re-
turned to Hydetown, and the following year purchased the Hyde-
town Mills in which he had retained a small interest and at
once entered largely into the manufacture of lumber. This property
he still owns and operates, and it is a source of considerable revenue
to him. The property has meanwhile, however, been much im-
proved, the capacity of the mills greatly increased, and the facili-
ties for manufacturing materially added to. To his lumber business,
he united soon after his purchase of the property, a large mercantile
trade, all which he successfully conducted for many years, and
altogether he may be set down as a well-to-do merchant-lumber-
man, long before the oil excitements of 1859-'60, and later, came
to the knowledge of the residents of that locality, or startled the
public mind from end to end of the country.
As early as 1840-'41, Mr. HYDE knew of the existence, and in
quantities, too, of petroleum oil below Titusville. With his father,
he had many times visited these " oil springs," to procure supplies
for lighting their mills and other purposes. Their mode of obtain-
ing it was by digging trenches, or excavating from four to six feet in
depth and diameter, into which the oil would run upon the surface
of the water in such quantities, that with cloths, they were enabled
to gather and " wring out " pails full of the odorous fluid. This
was also true of the McClintock farm near Rouseville. Mr. HYDE,
from 1840, down to 1858-9, frequently visited the McClintock
farm, and purchased barrels of petroleum, which was taken thence
to Titusville and elsewhere, and sold at $1.00 per gallon, for illu-
minating and for medicinal purposes.
When in 1859, the old "Drake Well" was commenced, Mr.
HYDE was still a resident of Hydetown, driving his lumber and
mercantile interests, as only he knew how to drive them. Col.
Drake became a customer of his, in a small way, purchasing some
of his supplies, small tools, shovels, etc., at his establishment in
Hydetown. He was not, therefore, an uninterested observer of this
23
354
HISTORY OF PETROLEUM.
new enterprise. Col. Drake visited Mr. HYDE often, and thus he
was enabled to keep himself thoroughly informed in regard to the
progress of events. When later in the summer of 1859, the well
was down and pumping ten to twelve barrels of "Seneca oil,
worth one dollar a gallon," Mr. HYDE did not craze himself over
the event, as many of his neighbors and acquaintances did. An
additional demand was made upon his well-filled lumber yards at
Hydetown, for derricks, engine houses, dwellings, tank lumber,
etc., etc., and these he supplied as promptly as he was able to, and
during the fall and winter and spring of 1859, and '60, his business
was amply remunerative, and he was satisfied with its profits, and
its rapid increase.
During the winter or early spring months of 1860, however,
Mr. HYDE was invited by his friend, SAMUEL GRANDIN, of Ti-
dioute, to become a share-owner in " The Tidioute and Warren
Oil Company," then about organizing at that point. He left
his home a day or two after receiving Mr. GRANDIN'S invitation,
and proceeded to Tidioute, where, after a careful canvass of the
matter, he became a purchaser of one share of this property, paying
$1,000 for it. The property was divided into ten shares of $ 1,000
each. This was his first investment in oil territory.
[A fuller detail of " The Tidioute and Warren Oil Company,"
will be found in the sketch of Mr. J. L. GRANDIN, and we omit
further mention of it here.]
The development of this property followed early in the spring
of 1860. The spring freshets came, and upon them, Mr. Hyde
started with his stock of lumber for Pittsburgh. A day or two
after reaching the Allegany river, he was overtaken by a raftsman
from above Tidioute. Mr. HYDE inquired of him, in regard to
the oil prospects in that locality, and especially in reference to
developments upon -" the Tidioute and Warren Oil Company's "
lands. "They've got a big well up there," said the raftsman, "and
upon that very farm, too !" " Have they?" said Mr. HYDE, " I
own one-tenth of that property !" " Do you?" was the reply.
CHARLES HYDE. 355
<( Then you'd better jump from that raft and go straight home !
You've no business running lumber for a living, if -you own an
interest in that property. Your fortune is made I"
The information thus given, proved to be reliable, for the first
well sank upon this property, produced forty barrels per day.
This Mr. HYDE learned after he reached Pittsburgh, with his
lumber, whither he went, and where he remained superintending
the sale and delivery of his stock, until all was disposed of.
During the winter of 1860, " the Hydetown Oil Company "
was organized, Mr. HYDE subscribing for two shares. The Com-
pany had leased the McClintock farm, from Brewer, Watson &
Co. at an advance of royalty, to the latter Company. The Company
Mr. Hyde being the lessee and developer commenced opera-
tions upon the property early in 1860, completing his first well
to the depth of 280 feet during the summer of that year. A
small steam engine was used to drill the well, and the oil they ob-
tained, was " second sand rock " product. When struck, the well
began to flow largely 150 barrels and continued to produce for
nearly a year.
Oil, at this date, was a " drug in the markets." One dollar per
barrel was paid for it, in the spring and summer of 1860, but later
in the season, large quantities were sold at thirty, twenty, ten, and
even five cents per barrel, " at the wells !" The McClintock farm
development as well as the Tidioute investment, were of course
non-paying, and Mr. HYDE realized little or nothing from either,
during 1860, or 1861.
About the date of these briefly referred to oil operations, Mr.
HYDE turned his attention to individual ventures. He obtained a
half acre lease upon the Clapp farm, adjoining the McClintock
farm, and during the summer of 1860, drilled two wells upon it.
One of these, at the date mentioned, was the deepest well drilled
on "the Creek" if we except one put down by Jonathan Watson,
Esq., in 1865, to the depth of 2130 feet, at the base of the hill,
where Spring Brook comes into the city of Titusville, a detailed
356 HISTORY OF PETROLEUM.
statement of which is given elsewhere and one other drilled on
the Watson flats, in 1864, to the depth of 1,200 feet. One of Mr.
HYDE'S wells, was put down to the depth of 982 feet, and the
other was 675 feet deep. We have no record of these wells, save
that given from recollection by Mr. HYDE. No other "sands" were
discovered below the " third," however, and this was found at the
depth of 456 feet. " Second " and "third sand 5 ' oil, was found,
but not in paying quantities, and both wells were shortly after
abandoned.
The " Hyde Town Well," continued to flow nearly up to its
first year's product, through the winter of 1861, and spring of
1862, and better prices were realized for oil in the Pittsburgh
market. Mr. HYDE had, in the meantime, engaged quite exten-
sively in the purchase and shipment of the staple, in flat-boats,
barges, barrels, &c., to that point. Upon one of his return trips
from Pittsburgh, in the spring of 1862, he met Dr. A. G. Egbert,
then operating in. a limited way, upon the widow Davidson farm,
at Petroleum Centre. Dr. E., held a contract for the purchase of
this property, and in the course of the interview offered to dispose
of one half his interest, upon what he termed " the ground floor."
The offer was accepted by Mr. HYDE, and upon the following day,
the transaction was completed, and the widow Davidson farm
passed into the hands of Hyde & Egbert, and by this name it has
been known ever since. The fabulous product of this farm, gave
it a world-wide notoriety, and brought untold wealth to its fortu-
nate owners. Mr. HYDE paid Dr. Egbert, $2,625 for one half his
interest in this farm, which was in fee, with a reservation of one-
twelfth of the oil to the original owner, as royalty.
On and after this purchase by Mr. HYDE, we may safely assume,
he began his career as one of the largest producers of " the Creek."
He spent much of ^his time upon the farm, superintending its
development, and having a general care of the valuable interest he
had acquired. In rapid succession, after developments began in
1862, and in 1863, many large wells were obtained, among them,
CHAKLES HYDE. 357
"The Jersey Well," "The Maple Shade," and other smaller
" flowers," the product of which aggregated, in cash receipts, many
thousands of dollars per day. Later, in 1865, " The Coquet Well,"
and half a dozen others of less product, went far toward doubling
and quadrupling his income of previous years. During the years
1864, and 1865, there were TWENTY-THREE FLOWING WELLS
upon the Hyde and Egbert farm, which altogether comprised only
about forty acres of land, and one-half the product of these
" flowers," and nearly as many good pumping wells, went to swell
the immense income of the fortunate owners.
Details of the development of this wonderful mine of wealth, we
know would be interesting to the general reader, but we have
scarcely room for them, or time to devote to their rehearsal. Very
many facts connected with the history of the Hyde and Egbert
farm property, are given in other chapters of this work, and we
leave this portion of Mr. HYDE'S personal history, with the single
remark, that more than $3,000,000 was gathered into the coffers
of the lucky, and we may add, always industrious and enterprising
proprietors. Mr. HYDE still holds his original interest in this
property, and it brings him in a small monthly revenue.
" The Second National Bank of Titusville," was organized on
the llth of February, 1865, with' a capital of $100,000. Mr. HYDE
was the principal mover in the enterprise, and became a subscriber
to its stock to the amount of $57,000. At its organization he was
unanimously elected President, a position he has been annually re-
elected to fill ever since.
In January, 1866, the capital of the bank was increased
$100,000, without an increase of circulation. In December, 1867,
the charter of "The First National Bank of Titusville," was pur-
chased, with the privilege of its circulation. This institution had
a capital of $100,000. On the 1st of September, 1871, the bank
purchased $100,000 of the capital stock of " The First National
Bank of Meadville," and thereupon increased its capital to
$300,000.
358 HISTORY OP PETROLEUM.
In all these additions to the capital stock of " The Second Na-
tional Bank of Titusville," Mr. HYDE has maintained his position
as its largest stock subscriber, and he is to-day the owner of about
$170,000 of its capital. "The Second National Bank of Titus-
ville," is one of the successful, as it is the most substantial banking
institution in the oil region, or indeed in Western Pennsylvania. In
addition to the large ownership of stock of the bank named above,
Mr. HYDE has on deposit with the Treasurer of the United States,
$300,000 in government bonds, his own personal property, left
there as additional security to bill holders and creditors of the in-
stitution, of any and every character should it be required.
In 1869, Mr. HYDE became largely interested in real estate in-
vestments at Plainfield, New Jersey, and removed thither with his
family, in that year, in order to give to the enterprise his undivided
attention. Since his residence at Plainfield, he has added exten-
sively to his landed property, and has now under the highest state
of cultivation, three or four hundred acres of the very finest lands
in the State of New Jersey. Under his skillful hand these have
been made to " blossom like the rose." The close proximity of
this large body of land to the city of Plainfield, for it lays just out-
side the city limits, may give the reader some idea of its great value.
Upon this property Mr. HYDE has a very fine private residence,
with commodious out-buildings, carriage-houses, etc., not lavishly
expensive structures, but substantial, and in entire keeping with his
good taste, and ample for his wants. It is safe to say Mr. HYDE
would refuse $350,000 for this property alone. The city of Plain-
field has a population of quite 12,000, is admirably situated, and
elaborately laid out. It is a city of very many magnificent private
residences, owned and occupied by merchants, manufacturers, and
professional men, as well, doing business in the city of New York,
Brooklyn, Jersey City, etc. Mr. HYDE'S residence, and grounds
surrounding it, very elaborately laid out, containing shrubbery,
flower gardens, walks, boating pond, fountain, etc., are all within the
city limits. But the larger portion of his property, contiguous to
CHARLES HYDE. 359
his residence, spreads out as far as the eye can reach, and embraces
about 400 acres of beautifully located lands, which are mainly used
now for agricultural purposes. When, four years since, Mr. HYDE
came into possession of this splendid property, the lands were
exhausted, and nearly valueless for farming uses. His thorough
knowledge of the art of agriculture here found ample scope for
practice. The soil has been greatly enriched, and to-day, every
acre of it is as productive as it ever was.
The management of this property absorbs the time and attention
of the enterprising owner. It is soon to become an addition to the
city of Plainfield, and already streets are laid out, and partially
graded through its ample boundaries. When it is put into market,
the income from it will reach a fabulous sum.
CHAELES HYDE is a man of deeds, and not of words. Of modest
deportment and reticent manner, he is, nevertheless, a gentleman
of solid worth, and has excellencies of character, that brighten and
become more and more prominent and evident as acquaintance
and association familiarize one to him. One of his chief charac-
teristics is the thorough knowledge he has of his own business
affairs, and the scrupulous exactness with which he devotes his
personal attention to them. Educated in the practice of a rigid
economy, he maintains the same careful, judicious conduct of his
business affairs that have characterized him from his youth up.
Waste and extravagance have no apologist in CHARLES HYDE.
He lives temperately, walks humbly, and deals justly by all. He
pays dollar for dollar of his indebtedness, and pays it promptly and
cheerfully. Plain of speecn, and plain of manner and dress, he
seems at home in the drawing-room, in the counting-room, or in
the harvest field. Honor, honesty, and unblemished integrity are
his, by a life of practical devotion to the observance of these vir-
tues. He is just in the vigor of his manhood and the years of his
usefulness, and to all appearances, has before him a lengthened
lease of life, which we doubt not will be marked by good deeds,
sure to bring happiness and a green old age.
360 HISTORY OF PETROLEUM.
WILLIAM H. ABBOTT.
TITUSVILLE, PENNA.
WILLIAM HAWKINS ABBOTT, is a New Englander by birth
born in the town of Middlebury, New Haven County, Connecticut,
on the 27th day of October, 1814, and is the eldest son of a family
of twelve children, six sons and six daughters. His father was an
industrious, thrifty Connecticut farmer, and from him, young AB-
BOTT, as he grew to boyhood, and merged into manhood, imbibed
and practiced those- rare virtues of integrity, sobriety and honesty,
that have been his shield through life. During his early years he
had the advantages of a good common school education, embracing
these from three to four months of the year ; the remaining months
were devoted to the interests of his father in the conduct of the
farm. He continued in the discharge of these duties until he was
eighteen years old, when, with the approval of his father, he entered
the mercantile establishment of Gen. Hemmihgway, at Water-
town, Litchfield County, Conn., as a salesman and clerk. He re-
mained in this position seven years, or until the spring of 1844,
challenging from first to last the confidence of his employer, and the
public as well, for industry, unquestioned honesty and excellences
of both head and heart.
At the age of twenty-five he caught what was then known as the
" Western Fever," and removed to Newton Falls, Trumbull Co.,
Ohio, where he soon after entered the employ of Bronson & War-
ren, then largely engaged in the general mercantile business. This
position he held for one year, when the firm dissolved by the with-
drawal of Mr. Warren^ and the substitution of Mr. ABBOTT. The
firm of Bronson & Abbott continued another year, and then dis-
solved, both the partners continuing business separately. A
year subsequent, Mr. ABBOTT purchased the stock and business of
Wood bui yt\tK- A. 1*. It. P. Co.. Phila
WILLIAM H. ABBOTT.
WILT JAM H. ABBOTT. 361
his former partner, and the real estate of Bronson & Warren, and
continued the enterprise from that date, 1848, upon his own ac-
count, until 1862.
Of course, during these eighteen years of mercantile life, there
were fluctuations in trade, "ups and downs" with business-men,
sudden changes in values, bank panics, bank failures, " wild cat "
schemes for defrauding the public, many of them bountiful successes,
but amidst all these, and above and beyond them all, Mr. ABBOTT
maintained an unblemished credit, always paying one hundred
cents upon the dollar of his indebtedness.
Few merchants of fifteen to twenty years' 'standing, but have at
one time or another encountered the embarrassments and dis-
couragements incident to " hard times," " no trade," " no money,"
no public or private confidence. All these were the experience of
Mr. ABBOTT in the conduct of his large and yearly increasing busi-
ness, but he surmounted them all,, and maintained for himself an
unsullied repute for reliability in all his engagements, promptness
in all his obligations, and integrity of an unimpeachable character
in his intercourse with all.
Early in February, 1860, Mr. ABBOTT resolved to visit the oil
region of western Pennsylvania, partly from curiosity, but mainly
as a matter of business. He reached Titusville on the 8th of Fe-
bruary, 1860, and remained only a portion of two days. He visited
the only oil well then in existence "The COLONEL DRAKE"
which had been producing small quantities of petroleum for some
months, and at a glance saw, that here was a field for his enterprise
and business tact, and that in all probability untold wealth coursed
through the rocks beneath him. With his accustomed promptness,
he purchased one half of the one-quarter interest WILLIAM BARNS-
DALL owned in the James Parker farm, upon which a well was
then going down, including the "Crossley well" and lease, to-
gether with a like interest in one hundred acres leased by Mr.
BARNSDALL, at Shreve Rock, all lying a short distance below
Titusville. For these three one-eighths, in three different tracts, he
362 HISTORY OF PETROLEUM.
paid $10,000, and immediately set out for his home in Ohio. Two
days after reaching Newton Falls, he received information that a
fifty-barrel well had been struck on the Parker farm lease !
This well was known far and near as "The Barnsdall Well/'
and was the second struck the "Colonel Drake," completed in
August, 1859, being the first. This, like the "Drake well," was
put down with a " spring pole," and was one hundred and twelve
feet deep, and produced about fifty barrels per day, of first sand-
rock oil.
Soon after receiving this news, Mr. ABBOTT returned to Titusville,
and thence proceeded to New York, with a view to making a mar-
ket for the product of this second well. Mr. BOON MEADE, one
of the owners of the well and lease, accompanied him. Mr. Henry
R. Rouse, afterward burned on the Buchanan farm, held an inter-
est in this lease.
Mr. ABBOTT while in New York made the acquaintance of Mr.
George M. Mowbray, then as now, a chemist of rare acquirements,
and through him, obtained an introduction to the extensive Drug
and chemical house of Shefflin, Bros. To this firm he sold 200
barrels of oil at 35 cents per gallon, delivered in New York. This
may be said to be the beginning of the oil trade with New York
city, which has since grown into such enormous proportions, re-
quiring millions of barrels to supply the demand for both foreign
and domestic consumption.
This oil Mr. ABBOTT subsequently shipped to New York in old
oil barrels, turpentine barrels, molasses barrels, whiskey barrels,
a few new barrels, and indeed every conceivable kind of barrel
or cask that promised to hold its oily contents. The result of this
shipment proved the almost utter worthlessness of packages of this
character for oil shipments, for upon reaching their destination,
there was scarcely a barrel but had leaked and wasted from
one-quarter to one-third its original contents. While the own-
ers and shippers made "a good sale," they were "handsomely
short " on delivery ; and yet, the balances, when closed up, were
WILLIAM H. ABBOTT. 363
largely in their favor. One thing, however, had been accom-
plished a market for the sale of petroleum oil and this, to a
man of Mr. ABBOTT'S enterprise, was an ample return for the vexa-
tions and losses attending the first effort to bring this great staple
to the notice of commerce and commercial men.
Of the experiments subsequently made by and through Shefflin
Bros., to utilize petroleum and make it serve some other and bet-
ter purpose than that to which it had theretofore been applied, we
will not stop here to detail. Suffice it to say, that the experiments
made by these gentlemen demonstrated its entire adaptation to illu-
minating purposes. Of course, other experiments had proven this
fact, prior to this, but we think it fair to assume that the tests and
chemical appliances of Shefflin Bros., practically settled the question
of refining petroleum oil as an illuminator, and gave to the world
light as cheap as daylight. What a change has all this wrought !
To-day, refined petroleum illuminates more households and domes-
tic hearths upon this, and the continent of Europe, and wherever
civilization extends, than all other modes combined.
To make this first shipment to Shefflin Bros., Mr. ABBOTT and
his partners purchased the necessary barrels, in and about Titus-
ville, " teamed " them to the " Barnsdall well," filled, and thence
sent them across the country by wagon-loads, to Union, on the
Atlantic & Great "Western Railway a distance of twenty-two
miles. The cost of this mode of transportation varied, depending
wholly upon the condition of the roads. When " wheeling " was
good, 75 cents per barrel was the ruling price from Titus ville to
Union. When the roads were "heavy" $1 and $1.25 was paid
bringing the average to about $1 per barrel. The Railway charges
to New York were $1.56 per barrel, making the total per barrel,
when laid down in New York, not far from $4. Had the pack-
ages held their contents safely, this first large shipment must have
proved very profitable, netting the owners a clear margin of $2,000
to $2,250^ after deducting all expenses. As it was they realized a
handsome sum, and were far from being discouraged with their
first venture.
364 HISTORY OF PETROLEUM.
Very many of the subsequent shipments of oil to the sea board
by Mr. ABBOTT, as well as others in 1861, and '62 were not a
source of profit. Barrels that at first could be purchased for 60
and 70 cents each, were now worth $1.50 and $1.60, and they were
very scarce at that price. Mr. ABBOTT bought old barrels, how-
ever, at these new prices, sent them by teams to the old "Empire
Well," on the Funk Farm then the largest producing well on
the creek, where they were filled at 25 cents per barrel, and re-
turned in like manner to Titusville. The price paid for this team-
ing was 50 cents per barrel, the round trip. Arrived at Titusville
every barrel was re-inspected, hoops tightened, bungs replaced or
re-driven, and then reloaded and hauled to Union, at an additional
cost of 75 cents per barrel. The general depot for this trans-ship-
ment at Titusville, was upon the grounds now occupied by the
residences of Col. Pitcher and Dr. Barr, on Washington street. N
We have said these subsequent shipments were often a source of
expense to their enterprising projectors. Mr. ABBOTT tells us of
two instances ; a large quantity shipped to New York, about this
date, when sold and accounted for, involved him in an absolute loss
of $1 per barrel, which he paid to close the account, and this after
furnishing the oil and barrels gratis!
In the fall of 1860, Mr. ABBOTT, having associated with him Mr.
James Parker and Mr. William Barnsdall, commenced the erection
of the first Refinery built in the oil regions. Work upon this new
enterprise was begun on the 6th of November, 1860, and on the
22d day of January following a little over two months and a
half the fires were lit, and the refining of oil commenced in Titus-
ville. The cost of this establishment, with subsequent improve-
ments, was $15,000. Mr. ABBOTT continued his connection with
the enterprise for nearly three years, with moderate profits, the
prices of oil fluctuating, so remarkably as to render any anticipation
of margins upon the manufacture of refined, extremely doubtful,
and oftentimes hazardous. The first lot of crude a few hundred
barrels run through their new works, cost $10 per barrel, and
WILLIAM H. ABBOTT. 865
before this was put upon the market, and realized from, crude oil
could be bought at $2 and $2.50 per barrel. Of course the prices
of refined did not at all times sympathize with the fickleness of the
" crude market," and so a fair profit was ordinarily realized upon
the'manufactured article.
Mr. ABBOTT had the burden of the labor to perform in the erec-
tion of this refinery, and indeed, its superintendence and manage-
ment after its completion, and during the three years of his joint
ownership. The boilers, and other apparatus and machinery,
were purchased at Pittsburgh, and thence shipped " by river " to
Franklin and Oil City. Here they were "dumped" upon the
shore af low-water, and lay in that condition until the streams
were filled from bank to bank, by the fall rains, and when with
men and teams they sought to raise them from their watery bed,
almost entirely submerged, it was found to be an almost impossible
task. Two teams, with a full complement of men, made the jour-
ney from Titusville to Franklin, charged with the duty of raising
these boilers from the water and transporting them to their desti-
nation. They came, they saw, and returned as empty as they
came ! Subsequently, Mr. ABBOTT personally superintended the
work, and they were brought out, loaded, and in four days from
the time of starting were on the ground in Titusville, where they
were put to the uses intended. In this manner all, or nearly all
the machinery for this new undertaking was brought to Titusville.
We have given this detailed account of the first refining enter-
prise in the oil region, to enable the general reader to form some
idea of the obstacles and embarrassments men of enterprise were
forced to contend with in the early years of the discovery of Petro-
leum. This of Mr. ABBOTT'S was only an index to others, bearing
upon the business interests of the region. In 1860- ? 61, and even
into 1862, nearly everything making up the machinery of an oil
well engines, boilers, drilling tools, cables, &c., &c., had to be
transported by wagon, from the railway stations at Corry, Union,
Meadville, &c., twenty and twenty-five miles, and over roads that
366 HISTORY OF PETROLEUM.
at times were absolutely appalling to " man and beast." After oil
began to be produced in large quantities, there was a great dearth
of barrels for transporting it from the wells to the railroad stations,
and thence to market. To meet this demand, in part at least, Mr.
ABBOTT contracted for the manufacture of large quantities of barrels
in Ohio, and in many instances sent them by wagons, eighty to ninety
miles, across the country to Titusville. The manufacture of this
indispensable article was, however, soon after extensively carried
on in Titusville, Mr. ABBOTT furnishing a large amount of capital
for this purpose.
In the fall of 1862, Mr. ABBOTT added another branch to his
already extensive business interests a depot for the sale of coal.
He laid down in Titusville the first car load brought there, him-
self being consignor, consignee, and retail dealer. This large
supply, for such it was for that day and the locality, was sold off in
small lots of 50 to 200 pounds, to such as were willing to try the
experiment of its use, and on the whole Mr. ABBOTT regarded the
speculation as " tolerably remunerative." He continued the busi-
ness thus begun, gradually increasing his capital, and enlarging his
boundaries. In October, 1865, he leased for 30 years a large tract
of coal lands, partially developed, at Greenville, Mercer County,
Pa., and continues to this day to mine and ship great quantities into
the oil region and elsewhere.
Of the fluctuations in the price of crude oil, in 1860-'61-'62, we
may as well speak here, and to say they were remarkable, is hardly
sufficient to give the reader a clear comprehension of this branch
of the subject they were wonderful and must have been attended
by losses of thousands and thousands of dollars, which no one
positively profited by. In January and February, 1860, as we
have before stated, Mr. ABBOTT paid $10 a barrel for "crude,"
delivered at their refinery and holders did not care to sell at
these figures ! By the middle of March and April following, oil
was delivered at the same refinery at $1.25 per barrel ! In Octo-
ber, 1862, Howe & Nyce purchased, barreled, and had stored upon
WILLIAM H. ABBOTT. 367
the first platform, erected at Titusville, on the Oil Creek railway,
500 barrels of crude oil. This oil Mr. ABBOTT purchased at
$2.62J, including packages, and with a guarantee that every bar-
rel contained 42 gallons. Shortly after, this lot was put upon the
market and sold for $3 and $3.50 per barrel. In January and
February following, oil was sold from the same platform by Mr.
ABBOTT at $12.50 and $14 per barrel, and before the middle of
March following, the same lot for it had not been moved was
sold at $8 per barrel, and thirty days after, the market price at
Titusville was $3 per barrel ! These transactions involved large
amounts of money. The oil bought and sold was usually in round
lots of 1,000 to 5,000, and even 10,000 barrels, and destined to
eastern markets. "While, therefore, the original producer often-
times received fabulous prices, the purchasers were generally the
victims. At the time these extravagant figures were being realized
by producers, a few, one at least, known to the writer of this sketch,
was dealing out one hundred barrels per day, at 40 cents per barrel !
When the great flowing wells on the Funk farm " lower
McEllhenney" were struck, the old "Empire," producing 3000
barrels per day, and the " Fountain well," pouring out 400 barrels,
Mr. Funk, senior, contracted to deliver to Mr. Chas. A. Dean, of
Cleveland, Ohio, one hundred barrels of oil per day for five years,
at 40 cents per barrel ! This contract was actually entered into,
and the letter of it lived up to by Mr. Funk through two years of
its existence! But the contractor became greedy. He was not
satisfied with ordinary barrels of 40 to 42 gallons capacity, but
would furnish casks and tierces, and almost hogsheads, holding
fifty, sixty, and as high as sixty-five gallons, and demanded to have
these filled and counted as barrels ! To this extraordinary crafti-
ness Mr. A. P. Funk, then in charge of his father's affairs, mildly
objected, and finally flatly refused to submit. The contractor ap-
plied to the courts for relief, and the courts in turn declared the
contract forfeited!
Mr, ABBOTT became interested in the development of oil and oil
368 HISTORY OF PETROLEUM.
lands, early in 1860. From that time until the present, more than
twelve years, this connection has been constant and always promi-
nent, both as a producer, a refiner, and a buyer and seller of oil. In
the spring of 1863, he purchased from S. S. Fertig, Esq., a one-
eighth " free" interest in the famous " Noble Well," then producing
2,500 barrels per day, and paid for it the princely sum of $27,500 !
Many of Mr. ABBOTT'S friends regarded the amount paid as exor-
bitant, but it proved to be one of the best oil investments of his life.
He realized his money thrice over, and never regarded the specula-
tion as at all hazardous or doubtful. The owners of the " Noble
Well," soon after Mr. ABBOTT purchased his interest, determined
to buy out the " Caldwell Well," located a short distance from their
own, fearing it would injure the flow of the "Noble Well." They did
purchase it, paying for it the extraordinary sum of $145,000 ! The
well was producing, when they came in possession of it, about 400
barrels per day. Mr. ABBOTT, as did the other owners, paid cheer-
fully his one-eighth of the sum required to purchase the " Caldwell
Well," and deemed it a bargain at that. The owners of the "Cald-
well Well," had they held their property forty-eight hours longer,
would have been paid as cheerfully $200,000 !
In June, 1867, Mr. ABBOTT formed a co-partnership in Pipe
Line interests, and the general transaction of the oil trade, with
Mr. Henry Harley, who had just completed his Pipe Line from
Benninghoff Run to Shaffer Farm. Mr. ABBOTT had, previous to
this date, purchased the Pipe Line from Pit Hole to Miller Farm,
and was operating it successfully. The consolidation of these two
Pipe Lines was, thenceforward, a substantial success in every way
Mr. ABBOTT'S judicious management contributing largely to this
result. From that day to this he has been identified with this en-
terprise, giving to it his large experience and comprehensive busi-
ness tact, which have, gone far to render it not only remunerative
to its stock owners, but a source of incalculable convenience to oil
producers, as well as shippers and refiners, and all others interested,
near or remote, in this great staple. Out of this first pipe line en-
WILLIAM H. ABBOTT. 369
terprise has grown up many others, in various parts of the oil re-
gion, from Parker's Landing, St. Petersburg, and the lower river
country, up to, and including Titusville and points contiguous to it.
The history of this first Pipe line is given so fully in the sketch of
Mr. Henry Harley, elsewhere in these pages, that we deem further
reference to it, in this connection, as only a repetition. Suffice it to
say, " The Pennsylvania Transportation Co." now represents a ca-
pital invested of nearly $2,000,000, it has over 400 miles of pipe,
stretching its iron lengths at every point where it may be required,
from Titusville, Miller and Shaffer Farms, Petroleum Centre and
Gregg's Switch, over the mountains to Shamburg, Red Hot, Plea-
santville, Trunkeyville, Fagundas, Triumph, Tidioute, Colorado,
and Enterprise, including a delivery at Siverly and Oil City. It
has, besides, immense platforms and conveniences for railway deli-
very at all stations on the Oil Creek and Allegany River Rail
Road, where connections are made, and maintains tankage capacity,
at various points, of quite 300,000 barrels. This vast interest has
been brought to its present magnitude and its conceded remune-
rative basis by and through the rare ability and wise foresight of
Mr. ABBOTT and his partner, Mr. HARLEY.
In the Summer of 1865, "The Titusville and Pit-Hole Plank
Road Company " was organized, and its construction soon after
entered upon. It was completed in the winter of 1866. Mr.
ABBOTT, Colonel F. W. Ames, Col. Oliver Keese, and S. Q.
Brown, of Pleasantville, were its projectors, furnishing from sixty
to eighty per cent, of the capital required for its completion. It was
an important work to the region traversed, and went far toward
opening the .country to oil development, lying between Titusville,
Pleasantville and the then great oildorado of the oil region Pit
Hole. It cost $200,000, and more than two-thirds of this sum was
advanced by the gentleman we have named.
Union and Titusville Railroad Company.
"The Oil Creek and Titusville Mining and Transportation
Company/' was granted a charter in April, 1865, authorizing the
24
370 HISTORY OF PETROLEUM.
construction of a railroad from Titusville to Union. James Sill,
E. H. Chase, Jno. W. Douglass, H. C. Rogers, Charles Burnham,
Joseph Sill, A. C. Bloomfield, and James D. Smith were appointed
commissioners, under the act of incorporation, " to open books, re-
ceive subscriptions, and organize a company to construct a railway
from and to the points named." The capital stock of the company
was fixed at $500,000. In April, 1866, a supplemental act was
passed by the legislature authorizing the directors to reduce the
capital stock to such amount as they deemed proper. On the 17th
of April, 1866, at a meeting of the directors, held at Union, the
corporate name of the company was changed to "The Union and
Titusville Railroad Company." In June 1867, the Company mort-
gaged its property, real and personal, to secure $150,000 of bonds
to be used in its construction. Subsequently, in 1868, there being
default in the payment of interest upon these bonds, the trustees
named in the mortgage, by due course, sold the property of the
company, its privileges and franchises, at public sale, at the office of
Jay Cooke & Co., Philadelphia, to E. Cooper and J. C. Frisbee,
and executed to them a deed of the entire property. What amount
of money had been expended upon this work to this date, is not
fully known. Certain it is that the new organization availed them-
selves of but a small portion of what had been done. In the con-
dition here indicated, Mr. ABBOTT found the enterprise in 1870,
and comprehending its great importance to the city of Titusville,
and the oil fields adjacent, resolved upon its immediate building.
He associated with himself a few gentlemen of known enterprise,
and on the 2d day of July, 1870, a meeting of the stockholders
was held at the McHenry House, Meadville, and upon a full con-
sultation, it was determined to go on with the work. The follow-
ing board of directors was thereupon elected :
W. H. ABBOTT,^ Jno. Fertig, D. H. Cady, P. H. Stranahan,
W. R. Davenport, Henry Harley and J. S. Casement. Mr. AB-
BOTT was subsequently elected President, and I). T. Casement
Secretary and Treasurer.
WILLIAM H. ABBOTT. 371
Subscription books were promptly opened, based upon the pledge
that Titusville should take $250,000, and the balance, sufficient to
complete the work, was to be subscribed by the Casement Brothers,
the contractors. Upon this basis the contract was let to the Case-
ment Brothers, and work was begun in August, 1870. The sub-
scriptions to the capital stock by citizens of Titusville fell far short
of Mr. ABBOTT'S anticipations, but rather than the enterprise
should fail, Messrs. ABBOTT & HARLEY, in addition to their al-
ready large pledge of $50,000, subscribed $66,000 more, making
in all $116,000, to this important work. All this was the labor of
but a few days, for within one month after Mr. ABBOTT had identi-
fied himself with the enterprise, the contracts were let and work
actually begun. Thenceforward, the construction of this important
road was prosecuted with great rapidity, and on the 28th of Fe-
bruary (1871,) following, it was opened, and the first train of cars
passed over it, bearing freight and passengers.
Mr. ABBOTT'S connection with, the undertaking, illustrates as
completely as anything we could assert, his character as a business
man. He entered upon the enterprise with no such word as fail
within hailing distance of him. When the public interest flagged,
he put the whole weight of his personal and financial character
upon it, and it went through to completion. It was the first en-
terprise of this nature, Mr. ABBOTT had identified himself promi-
nently with, and he resolved it should not fail, even if it involved
the last dollar of his means.
The road opened in February, 1871, but its progress was not
marked with that measure of success so confidently anticipated. Its
rival route, the Oil Creek and A. V. R. Road, competed for both
freight and passengers, and many of the heavy freighting houses of
Titusville, renewed their contracts with the latter road, at reduced
rates. The result is easily foretold the Union and Titusville road
did not receive the traffic it had a right to anticipate, if not absolutely
claim. This state of things continued through the spring and sum-
mer of '71, and in September, the majority of the stock and bond-
372 HISTORY OF PETROLEUM.
holders of the road entered into negotiations for a transfer of the en-
tire work to the Oil Creek and Allegany Eiver Rail Road. This
consummation Mr. ABBOTT opposed from the start, and continued
his opposition, with all the power and resources at his command,
to the last. At a meeting of the directors, at which a large majority
of the stock and bonds were represented, the proposition was carried
over Mr. ABBOTT'S voice and vote. From the commencement he
had devoted all his energies and time to this work without " fee or
reward." He proposed to continue his services without emolu-
ment, if the road was retained by its then owners, and give to it
all the ability he possessed to render it a success financially. But
all to no purpose. The contract was consummated, and the road
passed into the hands of the O. C. & A. V. R. R., under a lease,
having reservations protecting the interests of the business men of
Titusville. When Mr. ABBOTT connected himself with this enter-
prise the Oil Creek Road were charging 17 a car, for freight to
Corry, and 60 cents per barrel for oil. Immediately thereafter
this rate was reduced to 15 per car and 30 cents per barrel, and
just before the completion of the road the price per car, was reduced
to 10. The same liberal policy as to coal and all other freights
was granted by this rival route, the advantages of which are still
realized by citizens of Titusville and the country adjacent.
Notwithstanding this plain statement, every word of which can
be verified by incontestable proof, there are those who assume to
believe that Mr. ABBOTT transferred his interest in this railway
undertaking at a considerable profit upon his investment ! The
writer of this knows whereof he speaks, and asserts without fear of
contradiction, that the balance was largely against Mr. ABBOTT,
amounting to many thousands of dollars. Even this loss did not
shake his confidence in the ultimate success of the road. His proposal
to add to his alreadyjieavy liability to the interest, coupled with an
offer to discharge the duties of chief executive officer of the corpo-
ration, gratis, until success was attained, is proof of his devotion
to its interests, and positive evidence of his entire confidence in its
WILLIAM II. ABBOTT. 373
ultimate value as an investment, both for himself and associates,
and to the city of his adoption.
A man of the prominence of WILLIAM H. ABBOTT, identified
with almost every public enterprise that has engaged the attention
of the men of the oil region during the last ten or twelve years,
affords an almost exhaustless field of interesting facts for a sketch,
of the character of which this work is in part made up. We have
given enough we apprehend of the leading incidents of his history
to indicate the true character and real worth of the man. Indeed,
it seems to be labor lost to assert that he is a man above reproach,
and without spot or blemish, either as a public or private citizen.
In all his relations he is exemplary, acting always upon his con-
victions, based upon a broad and comprehensive view of life, its
duties and its responsibilities. His generosity and liberality are
known of all men. An instance of this will suffice. A year or
two since at a Sabbath School celebration of St. James' Episcopal
Church, of which Mr. A. is a consistent communicant, and has oc-
cupied the position of Senior Warden for many years the necessity
for a mission branch of the church, to be located in another part
of the city of Titusville, was brought to his attention. The lot had
been partly secured. Mr. A., with his accustomed promptness,
said " Secure your lot, and I will build your chapel at my own
expense, and. upon the plan you have submitted ! " The lot was
purchased, and Mr. ABBOTT immediately began and completed the
church edifice at a cost of about $4,000. Soon after, Bishop Ker-
foot visited Titusville, and the little mission church was dedicated
with due solemnity, and is to-day an important auxiliary in the
work of educating the young in its immediate locality up to a cor-
rect standard of Christian duty and Christian responsibility.
Mr. ABBOTT is a man of quick perceptions and rapidity of
thought and action. With him it is "yes" or "no," and this
promptly and without apparent reflection and yet he thinks pro-
foundly. His "yes" has cost him thousands and thousands of
dollars, and his " no " has been but a slight source of revenue to
374 HISTORY OF PETROLEUM.
him ! A good man, ever cultivating and acting from the noblest
impulses, he is doubtless often imposed upon ; but he never permits
the opportunity to escape to give bountifully to charitable objects
appealing to him. Honorable in the fullest and broadest sense
of the word, he has little charity for those whose practices do not
come up to this standard. Proverbially he is a man of enlarged
liberality, and gives with an open hand, and with none other than
a desire to do good. As a man of business he is prompt, thorough
and reliable under all circumstances. As a financier he is far-see-
ing and rarely mistaken in his convictions. As President of the
Citizens' Bank of Titusville, he is estimated at his real worth, for
he has given to that institution very much of the success and finan-
cial solidity that has marked its history in the nearly three years
of its existence. As a citizen he is foremost in all enterprises cal-
culated to add to the growth and prosperity of the city of his home.
As a neighbor he is obliging generosity and kindness characteriz-
ing his intercourse with all. In his domestic life he is a model of
indulgence and excellence, and in all his worldly intercourse a pat-
tern and example for the young about him, as well as those of ma-
turer years.
Few communities can boast better men than WILLIAM H. AB-
BOTT. His daily life illustrates his worth and illumines his path-
way in his declining years. Universally respected, he bears about
him those real elements of an unblemished manhood, sure to be ho-
nored and beloved as age and infirmity creep upon him. Let us
hope he may be spared many years of health and vigor, and be enabled
to fill up the measure of his usefulness, reaching the fate of us all,
". like a shock of corn fully ripe," ripe in those manly virtues
now so bountifully possessed ripe in the practice of the nobler
emotions of the human heart ripe in the assurance of a well-spent
life ripe in " the Christian's hope of a blessed immortality."
WToodbunrtvpe. A. P. K. P. Co.. Phil:
ORANGE NOBLE.
CHANGE NOBLE. 375
ORANGE NOBLE.
ERIE, PA.
ORANGE NOBLE is a native of the State of New York, born in
Whitehall, Washington County, on the 27th day of April, 1817.
He was the eldest of a family of seven children, five daughters and
two sons v His father was a farmer of limited means, but of thrifty
and industrious habits. He owned a small farm in that part of the
State of New York, and cultivated it with industry and frugality,
rearing a large family from its products. ORANGE was the
eldest of the children, and at an early age became an important
aid to his father in the cultivation of the farm. There were no
schools within ten miles of the homestead, and so the advantages
of even a common education were denied him, if we except a few
months of schooling in each year after he was ten years old
until he attained the age of fifteen. At this age he conceived the
idea of becoming a cattle dealer, and importuned his father from
time to time to aid him in his enterprise. The father discouraged
the undertaking as best he could, pointing to many of his neighbors
who had spent their lives in that business, and who were yet poor !
This made little impression upon young ORANGE, who could see
only success and profit in the business. Finally the father forbid his
mentioning the subject in his presence again ! But young NOBLE
abated nothing of his determination to get into the traffic as soon
as opportunity offered and it presented itself soon after. Visiting
a neighbor a few days subsequent to this command of the father,
he was shown a very attractive animal a two year old heifer and
at once resolved to purchase her if he could make terms. The
price was agreed upon, and young NOBLE said he would take her
376
HISTORY OF PETROLEUM.
if he could have thirty days' time. "Yes/' said the owner, "you
can have her, and pay for her when you are able ! " The animal
was driven home, and, within the time named, doubled, and the
two were sold at a liberal profit, and the original obligation
promptly discharged. This was his first venture in his new busi-
ness, but it was sufficient to satisfy him that there was money to be
made at it.
During the same and the following summer he purchased, on
credit, a considerable number of sheep and cattle, and drove them
into pasture at home or near there, and sold them off in the fall at
fair advances and profit. The following year he borrowed $600
for ninety days, and at the end of eighty-two days had purchased
and sold his stock, paid his loan, and counted his profits at $75 !
This business of buying and selling cattle and sheep, he continued
until he was twenty-one, clearing every year from $150 to $250,
not meeting with any serious losses. These profits, whatever they
were, he cheerfully handed over to his father, to be used in the
support of the family.
The fall before reaching his majority he determined to attend, for
a single term, the North Granville Academy, located in his native
county, and this resolution he carried out, doing chores during the
winter for his board. This may be said to constitute all or nearly all
of his educational advantages. He had, however, applied himself
with so much industry and zeal to his studies, that when the term
closed, he felt he had set out anew in life. He had acquired a gene-
ral knowledge of the common branches of an education, especially
of mathematics, English grammar, &c., and was partially satisfied.
The following summer, having become of age, he re-engaged
in the business of buying and selling cattle, and counted his profits
at the close of the fall trade at $500 ; and here, we may add, that
he continued in the business of purchasing and marketing cattle
for nearly fifteen years after he came to man's estate, and with uni-
form, though moderate success.
In January, 1841, then in his twenty-third year, he married,
ORANGE NOBLE. 377
and soon after leased a farm, and began his career as an agricul-
turist, in connection with his cattle traffic. Two years later he
purchased a small farm, agreeing to pay $2,200 for it. The terms
of payment were somewhat remarkable. There was a small sum
paid down, and the balance was to be liquidated in annual install-
ments, running twenty-five years ! Mr. NOBLE, however, did not
avail himself of all the liberality extended to him, but gradually
lessened his indebtedness, and before the close of the FIFTH year
had paid the last dollar of his bond, and received his deed.
He continued to live upon this farm to which he added by pur-
chase 60 acres until the fall of 1851, when he sold it at an ad-
vance from the price originally paid, having determined to remove
into western Pennsylvania. After the sale of his farm,, for which
he received about one-half cash in hand, and the sale of his stock,
crops, &c., he was enabled to count his worldly wealth in ready
capital, at $5,000.
During his fourteen years' business operations, he had been a re-
gular depositor and patron of the old " BANK OF WHITEHALL,"
always one of the most substantial banking institutions of the
State of New York. His loans and discounts had not been large,
but they were regular, and he had never permitted a note made by
himself to go to protest. He paid promptly, and the officers of
the bank were always ready to take his notes, even when others of
more reputed wealth were denied. A single fact will serve to il-
lustrate the estimate put upon him by " THE WHITEHALL BANK."
When he came to draw the balance due him from the bank, prepa-
ratory to his removal West, the officers paid him $3,500 in a new
issue just then being signed, and every note was made payable to
"ORANGE NOBLE, OR BEARER." This was a distinction few cus-
tomers of a bank had awarded them, but Mr. NOBLE had it ex-
tended to him, and at the same time the gratulations and commen-
dations of the officers of the bank.
In the regular transaction of his business through the country, .
it was his custom to give checks upon the BANK of WHITEHALL
378 HISTORY OF PETROLEUM.
for his purchases. These checks ordinarily, would not reach the
bank until after his own return home. There were occasions, how-
ever, when the checks preceded him, and not unfrequently his ac-
count was overdrawn, $500 to $1,000, and once or twice $2,000.
But the bank paid them as freely as if he had $50,000 on deposit !
In the Spring of 1852, Mr. NOBLE removed with his family to
Randolph, Crawford County, Peuna. Soon after reaching his
destination, he purchased two or three farms, in all four hundred
acres of land, and settled down to its cultivation, adding the old
business of his earlier years, the buying and selling of cattle. He
purchased mainly young stock of the better sort, and raised them
for teaming and farming purposes. He furnished better cattle thaa
could be found elsewhere in the region of his residence, and always
commanded higher prices, because of their excellence and superiority
in all respects.
In the Spring of 1855, he entered into co-partnership in the gen-
eral mercantile trade, with Hon. GEO. B. DELEMATER, the late
State Senator from the Crawford district, then a resident of Townville.
He was at this time engaged in the manufacture of " Shooks" for
the eastern markets, and had built extensively for the conveniences
of his increased and increasing business. In the Spring of 1856,
the "shook" manufactory was added to the mercantile enterprise,
and the capacity of the former largely increased. At times during
the following three, four and five years of this mechanical enter-
prise they employed from sixty to eighty men, in the manufacture
of "shooks," and after the discovery of oil, in making barrels for
that trade. The firm continued their mercantile and manufactur-
ing operations up to the fall of 1863, some months after the famous
"Noble well" was struck.
The assertion is often made, that when Mr. NOBLE, and his
partner Mr. DELEMATER, commenced their oil developments, or
rather when they struck the " Noble well," both were poor, and
were largely in debt. This is very far from the truth. Their
business connection had been successful in every direction. They
ORANGE NOBLE. 379
had by their industry and a careful conduct of their affairs, accumu-
lated a handsome property, and owed no man a dollar, they could
not liquidate at sight. When they began their operations in 1859-
60, in the oil region, the firm was worth in round numbers $50,000.
It is proper to state this fact here, and now, that assertions to the
contrary may be set at rest.
In October, 1859, or within a few weeks of the striking of the
" Drake well," Mr. NOBLE, in company with Mr. Delemater, and
Mr. L. L. Lamb, visited Titusville with no other purpose than to
see for themselves the wonderful phenomena of " pumping oil out
of the ground." A neighbor of Mr. NOBLE'S, who had visited the
well, was rehearsing its remarkable operations " pumping water
and Seneca oil in large quantities," and descanting upon the
"visitation," rather forcibly. "You tell that story very well; one
would think you believed it yourself!" said Mr. NOBLE, after
listening to a rehearsal of the facts. " And they are facts," said
the informant. " I was there and saw it with my own eyes!" But
Mr. NOBLE could hardly credit the statement, and he did not.
Subsequently, he talked privately with this man, who had seen the
strange phenomena, and was more than half induced to give his
statement credence. He resolved to see it for himself, and a few
days after the interview referred to, Mr. NOBLE, Mr. Delemater,
and Mr. Lamb, set out from Townville, twelve miles distant from
Titusville, to visit this "well in the rocks," which was reported to
be sending forth " Seneca oil " in fabulous quantities. All these
gentlemen were disbelievers in the report that had sent them upon
this journey of inspection. Mr. NOBLE looked upon it as an utterly
impossible thing; a sort of half fact and half hoax, which only a
visit would dispel or confirm. The party reached the "Drake
well," late in the day, in October, 1859, and were convinced, as
well as confounded. The idea of pumping so valuable a commo-
dity as " Seneca oil," an article of rare medicinal value, from the
ground, struck them with amazement. There it was, however,
and the fact could not be gainsaid. They remained about the well
380 HISTORY OF PETROLEUM.
for some hours, and when finally they set out for home, little else
was talked of but this wonderful development.
Before reaching their homes they had practically organized an
Oil Company, to which Mr. NOBLE and Mr. Delemater each con-
tributed $3,000, and Mr. Lamb $2,000. Mr. NOBLE was deputed
to return without delay to "the Creek," and secure leases, and
make arrangements for putting down one or more wells. In pur-
suance of this hurriedly organized effort, Mr. NOBLE went to
Titusville, and secured his first lease, upon the Staekpole farm,
below the "Drake well." His next lease was upon the Jones
farm, in the vicinity of Miller Farm. Derricks were erected, and
in the spring of 1 860, a well was drilled with a spring-pole upon
each of these farms. Both were dry holes ! Later in the summer
of 1860, he secured a lease of seven acres on the Tarr farm, and
in 1861 he held a lease of small dimensions on the Hamilton
McClintock farm. The Tarr farm lease was developed in 1861.
" The Crescent " well was among the first put down, and its history
is a peculiar one. It started off at three to four hundred barrels,
and flowed steadily at this rate for nearly ten months, and stopped
in an hour, and has never since produced a barrel of oil ! Efforts
were made in 1871 to resuscitate it, but without avail. It was
" rimmed out," and re-tubed, and after a month's pumping, was
abandoned as a dry hole. During the life of the " Crescent well,"
in 1861, oil was selling at ten and fifteen cents per barrel, and while
it produced largely, it never paid a dollar of profit to its owners !
Three wells were put down on the Hamilton McClintock lease,
in 1861-2, two of which produced ten or twelve barrels each per
day, and the third was dry!
History of the "Noble Well! 1
In the spring of 1860, Mr. NOBLE secured for himself and part-
ners Messrs. Delemater and Lamb a lease of sixteen acres on
the Farrel farm, half a mile above what is now known as Pioneer.
For this lease he paid $600 bonus, " spot cash," and one-fourth of
ORANGE NOBLE. 381
the oil. He bound himself and associates to proceed without de-
lay interpreted to mean twenty to thirty days to drill a well
1 34 feet deep. This done his lease was held to be valid for twenty
years, whether oil was found at that depth or not. In pursuance
of this contract he set immediately about the work. A derrick was
erected, a " spring pole " hung, and the labor of drilling began.
It required days and weeks, running into months, to put down a
well to this depth with a "spring pole," but the work was finally
accomplished Mr. NOBLE personally superintending the entire
labor. It was done by " days' work," hiring men from time to
time to replace those who had " worn themselves out " in the ex-
hausting labors required of them.
The well reached the required depth 134 feet late in the fall of
1860, and no oil, and not even "a show" of the coveted article
was visible, or had been found from its commencement. Mr. NO-
BLE was the master spirit of the enterprise, and his judgment and
determination was law to the balance of the owners. He resolved
to abandon the well for the present, at least, and develop some one
or more of his many other leases. This he did without unneces-
sary delay, and nothing was done upon the property, in the way
of developments, until the spring of 1863. Meantime a "third
sand rock" had been found at various points on "the Creek"
from which oil was being produced in large quantities.
The contract for drilling this abandoned well of 1860, was let to
SAM'L S. FERTIG, of Titusville, since become one of the successful
oil producers of the region. He employed for the purpose of sink-
ing the well, a small eight or ten horse-power boiler and engine,
and with the opening of spring in 1863 in April, or perhaps ear-
lier he began the work of putting the well down to the " third
sand." As a part of his payments for the labor, Mr. NOBLE as-
signed to him a ONE-SIXTEENTH working interest. The well was
drilled rapidly, but after reaching the oil rock, at 452 feet from
the surface, Mr. Fertig found one or two "crevices," of ten to
twelve inches depth, as he judged by the dropping of the drilling-
382 HISTORY OP PETROLEUM.
tool. The last "crevice" of ten or twelve inches depth alarmed
him, lest he might get his tools fast, and believing he was deep
enough in the " sand rock," and prompted by his fears for the
safety of his tools, he " shut down " for consultation and further
orders. Mr. NOBLE was absent at this juncture of affairs, and did
not learn of Mr. Fertig's action for a day or two. "When he re-
turned he found everything at a stand-still, and the contractor
quite determined to stop where he was, and test the well !
Some time before the well was down, Mr. NOBLE, who had
from the commencement in 1860, and so on to the second renewal
of operations, sole control of all matters pertaining to it, determined
to tube it, when completed, with the best artesian tubing. To ob-
tain this he visited the various manufactories at Cleveland and
Pittsburgh, and at last, where he least expected to find it in the lat-
ter city, his eye fell upon a few lengths of the desired article, lying
in front of a small establishment, in the rear of the St. Charles
Hotel. He was not long in ascertaining its " author and finisher,"
a large establishment in Philadelphia. He ordered six hundred
feet shipped at once, and contracted with the Pittsburgh party to
take it on its arrival there, mount each joint with brass thimbles,
and at the same time manufacture for him a peculiar discharge
pipe, which was to cap the tubing, having four stop cocks to facili-
tate the conveyance of the oil to any desired point. This done he
hastened back to the well to await its arrival.
Time and space will not permit a detail of the delays attending
the transit of this tubing to its destination. It was " switched off"
at Ravenna, Ohio, and lay there a week or two, and was delayed
in all about twenty days at various points. It finally reached
Cony, and here Mr. NOBLE obtained permission from Dr. STREE-
TER, a director of the road, to have it transferred to a freight car,
and this attached to a passenger train nearly ready to start for Titus-
ville. The $10 slipped into the palm of the " train dispatcher"
was an amazing help, in the matter of facilitating this unusual
manner of transporting large quantities of freight I
ORANGE NOBLE.
383
The tubing reached its destination in a day or two after its ship-
ment from Corry, and was in the well and ready for operation by
3 o'clock on the 27th day of May, 1863. The well had been stand-
ing open for a week or ten days, the surface water, and water veins
below pouring into it in great volume. It had not filled up, but
the roar of the " falling waters " was almost deafening. Where
the water ran to, as the hole did not fill up, the reader can "guess "
as well as we can.
After a few hours delay the well was ready "to start up." Mr.
NOBLE gave orders to Mr. FERTIG, to "start her slowly and pump
steadily." This done he repaired to an eating-house near by, as he
says, "to get a bite of something to eat." He had but partially fin-
ished his lunch, when a lad at the door remarked, " That well throws
water, bully !" Mr. NOBLE heard the remark, but paid no atten-
tion to it, until it was thrice repeated ; then turning his eye toward
the door he saw the " Noble well" spouting oil and water far above
the derrick and trees about it ! Mr. NOBLE describes the scene
most graphically. It was about 4 o'clock, and the expectation was,
that it would require pumping some hours before the golden stream
would show itself. But it came within twenty minutes after the
pump started. The well puffed and blowed, and roared, and the
earth about it fairly trembled with agitation. No one dared to ap-
proach it, even within the circuit of the falling spray of oil and
water. The little ravine near the derrick soon filled up with the
great volume of oil rattling and foaming through the two-and-a-
half inch tubing. Something must be done to control the dis-
charge and save the oil. Mr. NOBLE offered $50 each, to any three
men who would enter the derrick and attach his ingenious device
for conducting the oil into tanks. The men stripped to the buff,
and entered the derrick. The spray, oil and water completely hid
them from view, and nearly drowned them before they could ac-
complish their task. At the end of an hour, or a little less, they
had made the connection and returned to the outer world. For
their service Mr. NOBLE gave them $200.
384 HISTORY OP PETROLEUM.
The flow of the well being now un'der control, tanks became a
vital necessity. One, of seven hundred barrel capacity had been pro-
vided, but this was filled in an incredibly short space of time ! Soon
after the oil began to flow into the tank, Mr. NOBLE despatched
men on horseback, down "the Creek" to advise boatmen, that they
could have all the oil they wanted at $2 per barrel. And about the
hour the 700-barrel tank was full, boats began to arrive from be-
low, and by midnight enough were abreast of the well to take the
oil as fast as it could be conveyed to them. The following day
more came, and by noon " oil boats" lay in " the Creek" for twenty
rods above and below the well, filling the stream from bank to
bank.
This was a temporary relief only. Mr. NOBLE immediately
employed all the men he could find to assist in supplying tanks.
Fifty men were at work the day following "the great strike,"
clearing away, and putting together immense tanks made of wood
and having capacity of from eight hundred to twelve hundred bar-
rels. Within fifty feet of the " Noble well," stood an empty tank
with a capacity of three thousand barrels. None of the owners
could be found, but Mr. NOBLE stretched his lead pipes into it,
and it was full in less than twenty-four hours after! Other
tanks, wholly empty, were within a hundred feet of the " Noble
well;" and these were pressed into the service and filled. By
the time all these tanks were running over full, the boats loaded
and dispatched, Mr. NOBLE had an ample supply of his own,
ready for use.
We have been thus particular in our detailed account of this well,
because of the almost romance with which it was surrounded, and
that seemed to mark its history from its commencement and this
even is not its history complete. The well from the start, flowed
between 2500 and 3000 barrels daily, and continued at this stand-
ard for many months. During its second year, its product gradu-
ally fell off, and in the later months of its second year's life in 1865,
it produced four to eight hundred barrels a day. The first month's
ORANGE XOBLE. 385
shipments and sales from its product, were 61,300 barrels, and
there were still left in the tanks 15,000 barrels. The loss 'from
waste, leakage, want of tankage, &c., &c., was large, and altogether
it is safe to say that during the first months of its existence, its pro-
duct was not less than 3000 barrels per day. When it began to
flow, oil was selling at the wells at $4 per barrel. To save as much
of it as possible, Mr. NOBLE sold it by the boat load, and with little
regard to the size of the boat, at $2 per barrel. While the product
was at its height, oil was sold at $6, $7, $8, and even $10 and
$13 per barrel, from their great tanks, bringing in return a volume
of greenbacks, which went to enrich the fortunate owners and land
proprietors. It has come to be a proverb almost, that "The Noble
well " earned more money for its owners, than any well ever struck
in the oil regions. And it may be added, that every dollar it
earned was scrupulously accounted for, and paid over to the rightful
owner.
Mr. NOBLE superintended the work of putting down the well,
and determined, when it began to produce in such immense volume,
that every interest should have its full share of the profits and
he rigidly adhered to this determination, as long as he had control
of it. When it subsequently passed into the hands of a stock com-
pany he surrendered his charge, conscious that no interest, however
small, and there were many who held interests, drawing only one
barrel in one hundred and seventeen had. suffered a loss of a
dollar.
"The Caldwell well" was located a short distance from the
" Noble Well," and had been producing from 400 to 500 barrels
per day for a month before the " Noble " was struck. After the
" Noble well " was down and pouring out its 3000 barrels daily,
Mr. NOBLE became interested in the effect it would be likely to
produce upon his near neighbors, of "the Caldwell." He fre-
quently met the superintendent, Mr. Brown, and always inquired
if he "discovered any change in the product of their well?"
" No," was the reply, for several days. But the change not long
25
386 HISTORY OF PETROLEUM.
after this was apparent. "The Caldwell" was surely lessening,
day by day, in its product, and Mr. Brown became solicitous for
the interests of his company, owners and employers. He made
known his fears to Mr. NOBLE, who had from the first been anti-
cipating this very result. He had several interviews with Mr.
Brown, who at first intimated and subsequently fairly demanded
one-quarter of the product of the " Noble well " as remuneration
for the loss to " The Caldwell." The " Noble " was producing at
this time ten days to two weeks after it was struck 3,000 barrels
a day. Mr. Brown would be satisfied with one-quarter of the pro-
duct, and deemed this a fair equivalent for the loss his well was
sustaining ! Mr. NOBLE, although not legally bound to pay a sin-
gle dollar to the owners of the " Caldwell well," yet acknowledged
a moral obligation to reimburse them. The Noble well had been
located and drilled 134 feet three years before the Caldwell well
had been projected, and when it was down, and it was absolutely
known that it was drawing the oil from his neighbors, there was
no legal obligation resting upon him to make good their loss.
Nevertheless, he felt it his duty, to in part at least, make good their
deficiency. There was still another fear in regard to the "Cald-
well well." The owners threatened to draw their tubing and let
the water down into the " Noble well," and thus destroy both, in
all probability. To avoid this threatened contingency, as well as
to deal justly, Mr. NOBLE cheerfully entered into the negotiations
we hereafter detail. Mr. Brown was advised to call together his
co-partners, at a subsequent day, with a view to some sort of settle-
ment. This meeting was soon after held, and Mr. NOBLE asked
them to consider the whole question at issue, and submit two pro-
positions one for the sale of their property, and the other, the
amount of oil they would be satisfied with, from the Noble well.
They first demanded, one-quarter of the product of the Noble well!
The Caldwell had never produced more than 650 barrels per day,
even before the "Noble well" was struck, and now they required
seven or eight hundred barrels to make good, not their absolute
ORANGE NOBLE. 387
loss, but a prospective injury to their well. (" The CaMwell " was
at this time flowing about 350 barrels.) The proposition to sell
their property had also been considered, and they had agreed to
offer it to Mr. NOBLE for $150,000.
A second council was held, but they adhered to the first demand
one-quarter of the product of the NOBLE well, but had concluded
to take $145,000 for their lease, well and property. "When do
you want this money?" inquired Mr. NOBLE. "To-day," said
Mr. Brown. " That's a good deal of cash to raise in so short a
time," answered Mr. NOBLE, "and I am not able to do it. I will
tell you what I'll do. I will buy your property at the sum you
name, and will pay you to-day $37,500. Fifteen days from to-day
I will pay you $40,000 more. Thirty days from to-day I will pay
you $40,000 more, and the balance, $28/500, I will pay on or
before the end of forty-five days from to-day." This liberal propo-
sition was finally accepted, and the Caldwell well passed into the
control and ownership of the Noble Well Company. It continued
to produce two or three hundred barrels a day for a few weeks, but
in less than one month it "dried up," and never afterwards pro-
duced a barrel of oil !
The negotiations and final purchase of this property were all the
work of Mr. NOBLE, and were begun and concluded without the
knowledge and consent of his associates, if we except W. H. Abbott,
Woods & Wright, J. W. Hammond, Esq., and one or two of the
land owners the Messrs. Farrel who had purchased small work-
ing interests. Mr. NOBLE conceded a moral obligation to make
good, or to a degree repair the loss of his neighbors, but it is mo-
rally certain that no court or jury would ever have awarded the
fabulous sum he consented to pay to make them whole. He, how-
ever, determined to deal justly and honorably with all, and if he
erred in his conclusions the error should be against himself. When
afterwards his action was submitted to his associates, it was heartily
and unqualifiedly approved.
This large sum of money, $145,000, was afterwards paid before
388 HISTORY OF PETROLEUM.
it became due ; and every dollar of it was earned and realized from
the product of the Noble Well, and within the forty-five days of its
maturity !
It is to be regretted that no reliable data can be found now of
the immense sums of money this well earned for its owners. The
entire product of the we'll was, according to the books of shipment
and sales, 480,000 barrels. It is safe to say, that $2,800,000 is a
fair estimate of its fabulous profits. Of this princely sum, one-quar-
ter was paid to the land interest, owned by James, John and
Nelson Parrel, now residing at Titusville, and an only sister, Miss
Sadie Parrel, since Mrs. W. B. Sterritt, of Titusville. The re-
maining three-quarters were fairly and equitably divided according
to the interest owned, among the ten or twelve fortunate possessors.
Original Owners of the Noble Well.
Orange Noble and Geo. B. Delemater owned one-half the work-
ing interest. One-sixteenth of their interest was in 18 63, assigned
to S. S. Pertig, who subsequently sold it to W. H. Abbott, of Titus-
ville, for 12,500. L. L. Lamb, W. H. Noble, Salmon Noble,
father of Orange Noble, Charles Delemater, Thomas Delemater, G.
T. Churchill, James Hall, Eev. L. Keed, L. H. Hall, and Kollin
Thompson these last ten owned, altogether, a little less than a
one-quarter interest, which, when divided, gave each one barrel of
every 117 barrels the well produced. Even this small fractional
interest gave to each from sixteen to twenty-two barrels per day.
After the well was down and producing 3000 barrels daily, Mr.
W. H. Abbott purchased the one-sixteenth interest, owned by Mr.
Fertig, who, while drilling the well, purchased a sixteenth land
interest from Jno. Parrel, at a nominal price. This he also sold to
Mr. Abbott for $14,500. Jno. W. Hammond, Esq., of Erie, Pa.,
purchased an interest^ after the well was struck, as did also "Woods
& Wright, of Petroleum Centre.
There is one fact connected with the history of "The Noble
well " which we venture to give here as entirely new to most of
ORANGE NOBLE. 389
the readers of the present day. Ten days, or perhaps two weeks
before the well was down, a gentleman called upon Mr. NOBLE,
and after much circuitous conversation, asked, "What will you
take for your interest in this well, Mr. NOBLE?" Mr. N. dis-
claimed any desire to sell. "Will you take $10,000?" said the
stranger. "Oh, you don't want to pay that amount of money for
an uncertain piece of property," replied Mr. NOBLE. But the
stranger was in earnest. He offered $10,000, and subsequently
$20,000, and $50,000, and finally $100,000 was tendered for the
Noble and Delemater one-half interest . in the well ! Mr. NOBLE
declined all, not because he deemed the well worth more than that
sum of money, but because he had determined to see it down and
tested before he parted with another fraction of his interest. The
wisdom of his resolute action was fully realized in the subse-
quent history of the well, for he received as his part of the profits
from its product, nearly if not quite $800,000 !
The subsequent history of the Noble well may be briefly stated.
During the spring of 1864, "The Noble & Delemater Oil Com-
pany" was organized, the interests of Mr. NOBLE and Mr. De-
lemater in the well, forming the basis of its capital stock, which
was fixed at $500,000. Of this sum Messrs. NOBLE & Delemater
held $200,000 in shares, the par value of which was $10 per share.
The well was still producing 500 to 800 barrels daily, and con-
tinued to do this for some months after the organization of the
stock company. Several monthly dividends were declared, and
everything seemed to be going on promisingly. Of course with
the organization of the stock company, the control of the well
passed from the hands of Mr. NOBLE, to that of the company.
During the early months of 1865, the well still flowing 300 to 400
barrels, the Superintendent and President of the Company deemed
it necessary to take out the tubing and clean out the well. This
was very earnestly opposed by Mr. NOBLE, who seems to have had
well-grounded fears in regard to the proceeding. His opposition
delayed the determinations of these gentlemen for a few weeks, and
390 HISTORY OF PETROLEUM.
meantime Mr. NOBLE sold, as did also Mr. Delemater, every share
of their stock at a little more than its par value. Later in the
spring of 1865, the tubing was taken out, the well thoroughly
cleaned, and again put into operation. But the life of the grand
old flower had fled ! With the exception of a few barrels of oil
pumped for a day or two after "starting up," it came to a dead
stand, and was shortly after abandoned as a dry hole !
In April, 1864, Mr. NOBLE removed from Townville to Erie,
Pa., where he had already purchased a very handsome residence
and grounds. The dwelling is situated in the Yv T estern portion of
the city, upon a slight eminence, overlooking the city, harbor and
lake. Mr. NOBLE has expended a large amount of money in fur-
nishing his home, and in embellishing the ample grounds about it.
Everything is substantial, luxurious and attractive.
In January, 1865, "The Keystone National Bank " of Erie,
Pa., was organized with a capital of $150,000 Mr. NOBLE sub-
scribing $75,000 to its stock. At the first meeting for the election
of officers, Mr. NOBLE was elected its President, and has been an-
nually re-elected to this responsible position, since. THE KEY-
STONE NATIONAL BANK of Erie, Pa., is one of the best managed
and most substantial institutions of its character, in the Common-
wealth of Pennsylvania. Among its directors are the ablest men
of the growing city of Erie, who give character, thrift and success to
financial operations of this magnitude. Before leaving this portion
of Mr. NOBLE'S history, it is not deemed inappropriate to say, that
the capital stock of the Keystone National Bank has been increasd
to $280,000, and this within a year after its organization.
In April, 1868, Mr. NOBLE was made the candidate of his party
for the responsible office of Mayor, and was elected by a large ma-
jority. He was re-elected to serve a second term, and pending an
amendment of the City's Charter, he held over one term, and was
re-elected the third time without opposition. During his four
years' administration many valuable and much needed city improve-
ments were inaugurated, and carried through to completion. Among
OEANGE NOBLE. 391
these we may name Erie's splendid system of water works, costing
$800,000. The water is taken from the lake, given an elevation
of two hundred feet, and thence distributed to every part of the city,
through immense mains and in exhaustless quantities. These water-
works are after the pattern of the city of Chicago, and may well be
the pride and boast of the good people of the city of Erie.
A thorough and elaborate system of sewerage was also adopted
and put into operation during Mr. NOBLE'S term of office. To
this should be added the adoption of a general street paving policy,
inaugurated and carried into successful operation during his admin-
istration.
Mr. NOBLE is largely identified with many of the industrial and
financial enterprises of the city of Erie. He was made the Presi-
dent of The Alps Insurance Company, upon its organization in
1871, and has been twice re-elected to this position.
Upon its organization in 1869, he was elected and has been re-
elected since to the Presidency of the Erie City Passenger Railway
Company, and is among its largest stockholders.
He is a director of " The Second National Bank of Erie," and is
also a director of " The Erie Dime Savings Bank," an institution
of steady growth and solidity. He is also a large stockholder and
a director of the Foxburg and St. Petersburg Savings Bank, in
Clarion County. In 1866, Mr. NOBLE erected the " Noble Block,"
a magnificent brick and stone structure, four stories high, and cov-
ering nearly half a square at the corner of State and Eighth Streets.
This improvement, for it is one of the finest blocks in the city, cost
him in the neighborhood of $140,000. He was the projector,
builder and one-half owner of the first elevator built in the city
of Erie. He is also half owner of " The Bay State Iron Works,"
one of the successful industries of Erie, in which he has invested
$50,000. He is besides the owner of a one-quarter interest in the
extensive blast furnace of Rawle, Noble & Co.. in which he has
invested $60,000.
In 1872, he added to his other enterprises "The Erie Paper
392 HISTORY OF PETROLEUM,
Mill/' for the manufacture of paper from wood and other mate-
rial. This undertaking, at first an experiment, has now come to be
a positive success, and to it Mr. NOBLE has contributed of his am-
ple means to make it so, its entire capital nearly $70,000.
It will be hardly expected that we should make mention of all
the enterprises with which Mr. NOBLE has identified himself during
his ten years' residence in the city of Erie. It is due to him to
say, however, that whatever promised growth and prosperity to the
city of his residence has met his warm approval and co-operation.
Mr. NOBLE is a gentleman of quiet deportment and simple
tastes and habits. He is not proud, nor can he be said to be a
handsome man. There is however a cordiality always about him
that renders him attractive and agreeable to all who make his ac-
quaintance. He is a rigidly upright, honest and honorable man,
of unimpeachable integrity and real private worth. In business
circles he is recognized as a gentleman of liberal views and clear
conceptions, enterprising, and generously so, with the ample means
at his control. He is a man of even temper, amounting to amia-
bility. He is cool in judgment and candid in the expression of his
opinions. There may be, and possibly is, a little self-will in his
general character, but this is guided and governed by a matured
experience that always controls his action. There is no deception '
in the man. He is frank in his friendships and as steadfast and
true as. the needle to the pole. Integrity of character, devotion to
his friends, and a readiness to serve them at a personal inconve-
nience, if need be, make up the personal worth and comprehend
the general outline of his character.
Although practically retired from the oil trade, he is still the
possessor of large tracts of oil lands located in the vicinity of
Tidioute. These he leases upon liberal terms, as opportunity
offers. His extensive^and extending business cares absorb much
of his time and attention. But he is blessed with a vigorous con-
stitution and robust health, and bids fair to live to a ripe old age
to enjoy the fruits of his industry and deserved success.
DR. F. B. BREWER.
DB. F. B. BREWER. 393
DR. F. B. BREWER.
WESTFIELD, N. Y.
FRANCIS B. BREWER was born in Keene, N. H., October 20th,
1820. His father, Ebenezer Brewer, Esq., moved in 1822, to
Mclndoe's Falls, Vermont, and there carried on an extensive mer-
cantile and lumbering business until the year 1840, when he and
his associates in business purchased several thousand acres of land
on Oil Creek, and continued there their mercantile and lumbering
operations.
The subject of this sketch is a graduate of Dartmouth College,
class of 1843. He continued his professional studies in the medi-
cal department of the same institution, and. completed them in the
Jefferson Medical School, of Philadelphia. He began the practice of
medicine in Barnet, Vermont. Soon after the establishment of the
lumbering business on Oil Creek, at Titusville, he had heard with
interest the accounts of a natural bituminous oil which was found
in that immediate vicinity and along the valley of Oil Creek, and
in conversation with persons who had returned from that region he
learned that it was highly esteemed as a domestic remedy of great
efficacy in several diseases, such as rheumatism, neuralgia and af-
fections of the throat. In the year 1848, or 1849, he procured seve-
ral gallons of the oil and used it with marked success in his prac-
tice. The product became an interesting study, and excited his
surprise that an article so easily procured and so intrinsically valu-
able should be so entirely neglected.
In looking at the history of Petroleum he learned that it was
found in many portions of the world, and in the East, was to some
extent utilized, and entered into the commercial statistics of the
countries which produced it.
In the fall of 1850, Dr. BREWER made a journey to western
394 HISTORY OF PETROLEUM.
Pennsylvania, and while at Titusville, where the firm of Brewer,
Watson & Co. were operating largely in lumber, he visited and
examined the original oil spring a few rods below what was known
as the " Upper Mill," and just south of the line dividing Yenango
and Crawford counties, and on the spot where the Drake Well was
subsequently developed. After visiting the timber lands of the
company, and their several mills, and conversing with Mr. Jona-
than Watson, who was the active partner then at Titusville, Dr.
BREWER determined to accept the propositions of the firm and be-
come a partner in the business.
Although the development of the Petroleum Springs, was often
discussed, nothing was really done in the matter for two or three
years. In the fall of 1852, Dr. BREWER took a quantity of the
oil to Hanover, N. H., and submitted it, for chemical analysis, to
Prof. O. P. Hubbard, of Dartmouth College. He was assured by
Prof. Hubbard that the product was a very valuable one, but that
oil would not be found in quantities sufficient for commercial pur-
poses. The first proposition Dr. BREWER gladly admitted to be
true ; the second, however, he felt sure was made at a venture, and
did not accord with his own conclusions, based on a careful explo-
ration of the territory and confirmed by abundant surface indica-
tions throughout the entire valley of Oil Creek. Specimens of the
oil were left with Prof. Dixie Crosby, of Hanover, and were there
seen by individuals, who, after several years, became interested in
the oil business.
In the summer of 1854, A. H. Crosby, Esq., son of Dr. Dixie
Crosby, visited Titusville at the request of Dr. Brewer, and as the
result of this visit, a proposition was made which was the first real
step toward the great end now accomplished, of good and cheap
light for all the world. There was formed in New York City, a
Joint-Stock Co., called " The Pennsylvania Eock Oil Company,"
to the organization and working, of which Dr. Brewer gave much
time and attention. On a subsequent visit to New Haven, he was
introduced, to Col. E. L. Drake, who remarked that he had been
DE. F. B. BEEWEE. 395
solicited to take stock in an oil company, and wished Dr. BEEWEE to
give him some information on the subject, which was cheerfully
done. The stock was purchased, and Col. Drake some years after,
moved to Titusville, and developed the first oil well ever bored or
drilled in the rock.
From this time till 1864, Dr. BEEWEE gave most of his time to
the oil business. The firm of Brewer, Watson & Co., owning
large tracts of land, and leasing many farms, required the active
labors of all their partners.
In 18G4, the company sold most of their territory, and Dr.
BEEWEE, who had removed to Westfield, Chautauqua Co., New
York, organized the " First National Bank," in that village,
of which he has always been the president. He is also proprietor
of a large manufacturing establishment, called the " Westfield
Lock Works."
During the rebellion, Dr. BEEWEB received the appointment of
Special State Agent, with rank as Major, and spent much time in
visiting the soldiers of New York, looking after their welfare, and
supplying their wants when sick, and suffering in the camps and
hospitals, and on the field throughout the Eastern and Southern
Divisions of the army.
In the year 1867, the doctor made the tour of Europe, and
during this time, he carefully examined into the progress made in
the refining business, and the comparative merits of the several
processes used by the European manufacturers of refined oil, as com-
pared with the American methods of accomplishing the same
results. The samples exhibited at the Paris exposition, were
numerous, but the merit belonged to the American Kefiners as
was clearly demonstrated by the purity of the oil, and the brilliancy
of the light.
Dr. BEEWEE, has still some free interests in the oil regions, and
occasionally visits Titusville, and the valley of Oil Creek, where
he is most cordially welcomed by the old residents of the country
as well as by numerous gentlemen, who have known him only
396 HISTORY OF PETROLEUM.
through business operations. He enjoys the confidence of the
people among whom he now resides, as is evinced by his occupy-
ing the position of Chairman of the County Board of Supervisors,
and Member of Assembly from the First District of Chautauqua
County.
Dr. BREWER is a gentleman of solid worth, and we may add,
of solid wealth, as well. A man of superior education and rare
literary culture, he is fitted for almost any position he may
aspire to. Of robust physique, excellent presence, and attractive
manner, he wins, and merits distinction in whatever circle he may
move. He is enterprising with his large means, liberal in his
views of public affairs, and thoroughly honest and honorable in all
his private and public relations. He acts from his convictions
always, never doing violence to his own sense of right and wrong.
He has due respect for the opinions of others, and is proverbially
reserved in the expression of his own. He is eminently a man of
the people, and is universally respected for his integrity and purity
of character.
JOHN FERTIG
JOHN FEKTIG. 397
JOHN FERTIG.
TITUSVILLE, PA.
THE subject of the following sketch may be classed among the
most active and successful business men of the oil region, distin-
guished alike for integrity and reliability, and possessing those rare
qualifications of head and heart, sure to work out success in almost
any undertaking.
JOHN FERTIG, " is native and to the manor born." He comes
of humble parentage. His father was one of the early settlers of
Venango County, taking up a small farm near what is now known
as Gas City, in 1833-4. Here he reared a large family, JOHN, be-
ing the third, of twelve children, six sons and six daughters. JOHN
was born on the 17th day of March, 1837. His boyhood was
spent under the parental roof. As soon as his age would permit,
he was sent to the nearest school in the neighborhood, a mile or
more from his father's house. The struggles and privations of the
early settlers of this part of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania,
were fully realized by all whose lot was cast in the almost track-
less wilderness which then, and for years afterward, surrounded
them. Without entering into a detailed statement of these, we
may say that luxuries of any and every name and nature, were de-
nied them, if we except a peaceful home ! They were miles and
miles from civilization, and a market for their products. The
pretentious settlements, " where stores and shops abound," could
only be reached by paths, and roads picked through the forests,
and over the rugge(J mountains, and bridgeless streams intervening.
Schools and school-houses, were " few and far between," and these
were of limited duration and of very ordinary character, so far as
teachers were concerned.
398
HISTORY OF PETROLEUM.
It was under adverse circumstances like these, faintly pictured,
that young FERTIG grew almost to manhood working with his
father upon the little farm, that at best, afforded but a bare subsist-
ence to a large family, and attending a district school two or three
months in each year, until he was sixteen years old. At this age
he "hired out" to a farmer near by, at $8 per month, for one year.
His wages were cheerfully handed over to his father to assist in the
maintenance of the family, and young FERTIG faithfully worked
out his contract.
At the age of seventeen, he gathered together his entire fortune,
amounting to about $5 in cash, and with his scanty supply of
clothing packed in a primitive valise, he set out for the great lumber-
ing regions of the Susquehanna River, more than one hundred and
fifty miles from his home. He performed this journey on foot and
alone, reaching his destination late in the fall of 1855. Here he
sought and obtained employment as "a sawyer" in one of the ex-
tensive lumbering establishments of that section. He remained
here through the winter and spring of 1855-6, and when the early
floods came, he "rafted" his way homeward.
He was now nineteen years old. He had seen something of the
world, and began to feel the need of an education. Thus far in
life his opportunities in this direction, had been few, and to him,
lamentably so. He resolved to educate himself, and straightway
went about the task before him securing books and whatever he
needed to attain this desired end. How well he succeeded, may be
understood when we state, that a year later we find him in charge
of a district school, in the vicinity of Neilltown, and subsequently
at Steam Mills, in the neighborhood of West Hickory. The little
red school-house, on the right of the road from Titusville, to
Fagundas and Tidioute, half a mile east of Steam Mills, yet
remains, and here JOHN FERTIG, taught " reading, writing, cypher-
ing, syntax and grammar," as also the higher branches of a com-
mon school coarse. He taught four years during the winter, four
months of each -year, his wages averaging $20 per month. This
JOHN FERTIQ.
399
sum aggregated $80 for his winter services, and constituted the
entire fund at his command for the expenses of clothing, board and
tuition during the remaining eight months of the year, if we
except twenty-five or thirty dollars, earned in " haying and harvest-
ing." During this four years of effort, to secure for himself an
education, he attended an academic institution, located at Neill-
town, Warren County, Pa., which offered very many advantages.
Joseph A. Neil, Esq., a lawyer of prominence, now residing at
Titusville, was, during some of the terms of this Academy attended
by Mr. FERTIG, a teacher in, or a professor of the Institution.
Mr. FERTIG, spent the winter of 1859-60, in charge of "Deer-
field District school No. 8," at Steam Mills, and this was the last of
his teaching. He received for his services from the District, $18
per month and board. To this amount, Captain A. B. Funk,
then a large lumber manufacturer and dealer at that place, and a
man of proverbial benevolence and good deeds, added a like
amount, from his own purse. With this addition to his ready
means, Mr. FERTIG hoped to complete his higher course of
studies, and looked forward to this consummation, with earnest
solicitude. During the fall and winter of 1859-60, however, the
oil developments of Col. DRAKE, had been attracting public at-
tention, and it would be strange indeed, if young men of Mr.
FERTIG'S temperament and ambition, did not catch the inspiration
of the hour. He visited the old " Drake Well," and subsequently,
the " Barnsdall Well " in the same vicinity and as soon, almost
as we can write it, the earlier aspirations of his youth, were laid
aside, and he determined to have an oil well ! He was . without
capital, save his winter's salary, but he had health, two hands and
a will, and determination ample for the emergency. He obtained
from his friend, Capt. A. B. FUNK, a sub-lease of five acres, on
the upper McElhenny farm, then wholly undeveloped territory.
The farm at this date had been purchased by Capt. Funk, and he
was drilling the first hole upon it the old " Fountain Well."
In this, his first oil well enterprise, Mr. FERTIG had two partners.
400
HISTORY OF PETROLEUM.
Mr. David Beatty, then of "West Hickory, and since a successful
operator in that locality, and now a wealthy citizen of Warren,
Pa., was one of these, and Michael Gorman, then a small farmer
near Steam Mills, and since become a wealthy oil-man, and removed
to Ohio, was the other. The well was put under way, as soon as
possible after the spring floods had subsided. The drilling was
done with a spring pole, by contract, and to pay his part of the ex-
pense of putting down the well, Mr. FERTIG hired to the contractor
at one dollar a day ! This engagement, however, lasted only three
or four days, for Mr. FERTIG, found he was " kicking " two to five
feet per day, for which the contractor received $2 per foot,
one-third of which was chargeable to his own account and he was
only receiving $1 per day, for his services !
Three or four months were used up in drilling this well down to
the depth at which oil was found on the Watson flats 175 to 200
feet. At the depth this well was drilled, 200 feet, no signs of oil
were visible ! A whole summer gone, and the little all Mr. FER-
TIG could call his own at the commencement, had long since been
exhausted !
The well was abandoned and the territory condemned ! Mr.
FERTIG, who had by his three or four days 7 services upon his own
well, learned enough of the " art " to warrant him in embarking in
the business of drilling wells, supplied himself with a set of tools,
and contracted to put down two or more wells at Walnut Bend, on
the Allegany River, above Oil City. The receipts from these were
sufficient to pay up his " assessments " on the " Fertig Well," on the
Upper McElhenny. Meantime Capt. Funk, who had been at work
upon " The Fountain Well/ 7 during the same summer, and who,
upon reaching a depth of 200 feet, resolved to go deeper, assuming
from " the surface indications " that " oil must be there, somewhere
this side of China ! " After the " spring pole " upon Capt. Funk's
well gave out, a horse-power was substituted, and subsequently a
small steam engine was employed to complete it to the depth of 500
feet. This was the "Fountain Well," and started off, " flowing" at
JOHN FERTTG.
401
300 barrels per day. Soon after this well was struck Mr. FERTIG re-
sumed operations upon his abandoned lease of the year previous
I860 an d without detailing the trials and vexations that attended
this, as all others of the early developments of that day, we may
simply add, that when the well reached the third sand it com-
menced to " flow " at the rate of 300 barrels per day !
This was in the spring of 1861, and here we leave Mr. FERTIG
in the possession and enjoyment of his good fortune, to bring up a
sketch of the life of his partner, Jno. "W. Hammond, Esq., of Erie,
Pa., who shortly after, purchased an interest in this well, then and
afterwards known as the " Fertig Well." This done, we shall
trace the progress of the firm of Fertig & Hammond through the
twelve years of its existence.
Mr. FERTIG is of unassuming manners and attractive address.
A thorough business man, he is rarely excited, but is always
" pushing " whatever demands his attention. Self-poised and self-
possessed, he wins the good opinions of all with whom he comes in
contact, by a manly straight-forwardness always indicative of the
true gentleman. Scrupulously honorable, there is an air of manli-
ness about him at once noticeable and attractive. Socially he is
a man to cultivate. In private life he is above reproach, and in all
his intercourse with his fellow-citizens he maintains an unblemished
reputation. , Always exhibiting a careful regard -of the opinions of
others, he does not obtrude his own offensively upon any. He is,
however, a man of decided convictions, and acts upon them without
fear or favor. In business, commercial or mercantile circles, he
takes high rank, not more for his uniform reliability and prompt-
ness than for his efficiency, candor and acknowledged practical
views of whatever engrosses his mind.
He cultivates a liberal estimate of men, and is generous in his
dealings with all. Enterprises calculated to add to the growth
and enhance the importance of the city of his adoption, have his
ready approval with both purse and effort. It cannot be said, that
he is prodigal in the use of his ample means, and yet he gives
26
402 HISTORY OF PETROLEUM.
bountifully to charities, whether of a private or public character.
He is, above and beyond all, a gentleman of high moral tone,
modest in his deportment, frugal in all his business affairs, and
temperate in all things.
In the acquisition of his large fortune, he has paid dollar for
dollar of his indebtedness, and no man can say he has been wronged
by him. His investments have been successes, perhaps beyond the
common lot of men. But his possessions are the fruit of his own
industry and his rigid attention to his own affairs. This has
brought him to be among the largest property owners of the City
of Titusville, and has made him one of her prominent, enterprising
citizens. In this connection we may add, he is the owner of the
" Fertig block," one of the substantial business structures of the
city, located at the corners of Spring, Martin and Diamond Streets.
He is half owner of the large flouring mill on Franklin Street, in
the same city, and has recently built for his own use, a very elegant
residence at the " East End/' on Main Street. He is besides the
possessor of valuable building lots, located, many of them, in the
heart of the city, which, as the city expands, will become a mine
of wealth to him.
In April, 1873, Mr. FERTIG became -the nominee of his party,
(Democratic,) for the office of Mayor a distinction he neither
sought nor declined. His opponent was the then Mayor in office,
Dr. "W. B. ROBERTS, one of the representative and popular men
of the Republican party, and the contest was a sharp and decisive
one. Mr. FERTIG was successful, his majority being nearly 500
the largest ever given to any candidate whose election had been
contested.
Woodburytype. A. P. H. P. Co., Philsi.
JOHN W. HAMMOND.
JOHN W. HAMMOND. 403
JOHN W. HAMMOND.
ERIE, PA.
Mr. HAMMOND is a native of Carthage, Jefferson County, New
York, where he was born on the 6th day of May, 1829. He was
the ninth of a family of twelve children seven sons and five
daughters. "When he was but seven years old, his father, a civil
engineer and surveyor, died, leaving a large family, not in affluent
circumstances, to the sole care of his mother. Young HAMMOND
at this early age seems to have had a realizing sense of his respon-
sibilities, and the necessity for self-reliance and self-support, for
soon after the death of his father he sought and obtained employ-
ment as a clerk, in one of the mercantile establishments of his
native town, receiving for his services $5 a month, and boarding
himself. He was at this time nine years old, and his opportunities
for securing an education had been very limited. He had attended
school, however, and had learned to read. Beyond this his acquire-
ments were quite limited. As opportunity offered, he employed
his leisure hours in learning to write, and in obtaining a knowledge
of arithmetic, grammar, etc. He attended school during the win-
ter months until he was seventeen, and continued his clerkship the
remainder of the year, his salary having been advanced to $8 per
month and board. At the age of seventeen he left his home in
Carthage, and with less than five dollars in money in his pocket,
and a scanty wardrobe, packed in a hand valise, made by Mr.
ALEXANDER MORSE, then a young mechanic of Carthage, but now a
resident of Titusville, and an oil producer of prominence, he made
his way by stage to Utica, New York, in the spring of 1847.
With the letters of recommendation he held, from his former
employers and many prominent citizens, he sought and found
404 HISTORY OF PETROLEUM.
employment in the wholesale grocery establishment of Mr. Caleb
Watkins, one of the largest in the city of Utica. He remained
with this house two years, steadily advancing in the confidence of
his employer, and assuming more and more of the responsibilities
of the increasing business.
During the fall and winter of 1848, and ? 49, the country from
the ocean to the far western rivers, was in a feverish excitement
caused by the great gold discoveries in the lately acquired territory
of California. Companies were organizing in various parts of the
country, destined in the early spring of 1849, for the golden shores
of this new Eldorado. Young HAMMOND, then nearly twenty
years of age, caught the " golden fever," and without great ado,
made his arrangements to " get there " as soon as possible. In
March, 1849, he left Utica, and proceeded by way of Buffalo,
Pittsburgh, and Cincinnati to St. Louis, where he completed his
outfit, and joined one of the many emigrating parties leaving for
Fort Independence, the great plains, and the Pacific slopes. The
experience of this company, numbering more than one hundred
and fifty persons, has its counterpart in the scores and hundreds
that followed it, for but few had preceded them and so we omit
mention of any of the numerous incidents or accidents that came
and passed, as they made their way across the great sand plains,
mountains, rivers and chasms, making up the 3,000 miles they
were compelled to traverse to reach their journey's end.
The company reached the mining regions of Nevada City, in the
early days of September, having been nearly four months in cross-
ing the plains. They were in good spirits, and in the enjoyment
of general good health. They commenced at once their mining
operations, " panning" for gold, and with ordinary success. At
the end of six weeks, their supplies getting low, young HAMMOND
was delegated to proceed to Sacramento for a new stock. He exe-
cuted his charge faithfully, and 'returned to the camp in due time.
The late fall rains had begun, and winter was at hand. Fearing
its rigors, Mr. HAMMOND and his brother, Dr. C. B. HAMMOND,
JOHN W. HAMMOND. 405
of Titusville, Pa., whom, we should have before said, accompa-
nied him from the outset resolved to return to Sacramento, to
remain until the opening of spring to prosecute their mining opera-
tions. While here they erected a building, and let it for mercantile
purposes occupying a portion for the conveniences of their own
business, that of the sale and transit of provisions and supplies to
the mining regions, near the head-waters of the Uba river.
In the spring of 1850, they returned to the mining regions of the
American river, their party consisting of but four persons. Soon
after reaching their destination they resolved to change the current
or course of the river, the better to enable- them to prosecute their
searches for the precious metal in the bed of the stream. This was
a great undertaking for four men ; but having settled upon its
necessity, they were not long in determining to accomplish it.
Four months of labor, such as few men can endure, saw the com-
pletion of their undertaking, and the old bed of the river, bare
before them. They had worked sixteen hours a day, most of the
time, in two and three feet of water, sleeping at night in swung
hammocks, and subsisting upon food not over-abundantly nutri-
tious but their work was accomplished, and they looked forward
to a rich harvest of golden sands and nuggets, from the great river
bed now spread out befere them. But disappointment lurks
everywhere. After days of toil, "panning out" the mud, and
sand of the old river bed, they found " neither gold nor precious
stones," in paying quantities, but only the gravel, sand, and the
debris of the mountains, which were yearly cleared out by the
floods and replaced by melting ice and snow from their sides and
summits.
Late in August of the same year 1850 the mining enterprise
upon the American River was abandoned, and the party divided,
one going one way, and another another. Young HAMMOND
resolved to go to Sacramento. He owned a mule, had a small
amount of money about $100 and so he started down the Nevada
Mountains to Sacramento, now acknowledged to be one of the
406 HISTORY OF PETEOLEUM.
most beautiful and enterprising cities of the Golden State, and since
made the Capital of California. When he reached Sacramento,
the cholera was raging with fearful fatality. A day or two spent
in examining the situation, convinced him of one great need to the
stricken city and its suffering populace. It was ice ! Promptly
he set about supplying this important article. He purchased an
additional mule, bought a heavy wagon, and set out for the snow-
capped mountains of the Sierras 80 miles distant. Here he cut
great glaciers of ice from the mountain gorges ; and loading them
upon his wagon a ton or more he hastened back to the pestilent
city. "When he reached Sacramento, nearly half his cargo had
melted away under a hot August sun. But he had ten or twelve
hundred pounds left ; and this he sold in an incredible short time
at one dollar per pound ! Besides his large profits over $1, 000
he had made himself a benefactor, and all classes of people thanked
aye, blessed him for his enterprise and foresight.
This undertaking, and its wonderful results, set the whole town
in a furious excitement. It was a bran new business, and large
numbers quickly engaged in it. The prices of horses and mules
advanced in a very few days, 25 to 30 per cent., and long trains of
teams and wagons were daily seen making their way across the
valley of the Sacramento River, to the perpetual snow and ice
regions of the Sierra Nevada Mountains. Mr. HAMMOND, after
closing out his stock of ice, was offered an almost fabulous price for
his team and wagon, to which was to be added correct information as
to the sources of his ice supply. He accepted the terms of sale,
and quit the business $1,500 richer than when he entered the
afflicted city. The ice traffic was subsequently overdone, and the
commodity was sold before the season was over, at 6 cents per
pound both at Sacramento and San Francisco, and points interme-
diate along the Sacramento river.
The ice enterprise disposed o'f, Mr. HAMMOND went largely into
the traffic in horses and mules. He leased a tract of land just out-
side the city limits, on the great emigrant route of travel, and as
JOHN W. HAMMOND. 407
they came out of the Nevada Mountains, their teams weary, worn-
out and foot-sore, he purchased them at low figures, put them in
condition for market, and re-sold them at a handsome profit. He
continued in this business two or three months, or as long as it
"paid," meanwhile, he made money. Late in October, he re-
solved to make his way down the coast to San Francisco, and
thence, by sea, to New York and his home.
Arriving at San Francisco without incident or accident, he soon
after engaged passage in a merchant sailing vessel, that had been
re-fitted and re^painted, and pressed into the passenger business,
now grown to enormous proportions, both upon the Pacific and
Atlantic sides of the Isthmus.* The vessel, "THE TALMA,"
sailed upon the advertised day, down the magnificent bay of San
Francisco, out through the Golden Gate, into the broad expanse of
the Pacific Ocean. For days and days they "beat against the
winds," and made little progress. They ran before the wind two
or three days at a time, passing Honolulu and the Sandwich Islands,
but were making no less " the waste of waters " between them and
their destination the Isthmus. Discontent and bitter complaint
were heard upon every hand. They should have made the voyage
in ten to twelve days. They had been " bounding about upon the
deep," for nearly thirty days ! Mutterings of disappointment were
becoming more and more audible. To add to their calamity, the
ship's provisions were nearly exhausted, and their fresh water sup-
ply had given out ! Cholera had broken out, and numbers had
died. The ship's officers would give no satisfactory replies to the
reasonable inquiries of those who approached them for information.
* He remained at San Francisco five or six days, waiting for the vessel to sail.
Meantime, he was upon the look out for his brother, Dr. C. B. HAMMOND, whom he
had left in the mountains two or three months before, and had not since seen. The
sequel shows that the Doctor had arrived at San Francisco about the time his brother
reached there, and had engaged passage in the steamer for Panama, and that the ves-
sel he sailed in lay alongside the merchantman at the same dock, and that they passed
and re-passed each other daily in their visits to their respective ships, and did not
meet ! The Doctor reached home in due time, and John W. had an overland passage
through Mexico and up the Mississippi River, to reach the same port, which we
detail hereafter.
408 HISTORY OF PETROLEUM.
The passengers counselled together. They resolved upon a despe-
rate expedient for their release from the perils that confronted them
a seizure of the officers and crew with a view to compel them to
steer for the nearest port ! They promptly executed their purpose,
and after securing the captain and his officers, and extorting from
one of their number a promise to accede to the wishes of their cap-
tors, they were released, and the ship headed for the port of Acu-
pulco, on the coast of Mexico. They landed there after a drifting
voyage of 44 days from San Francisco, in the rotten old hulk in
which they had been induced to take passage. The vessel was
there seized by the proper authority, and after a thorough examina-
tion, was condemned as unseaworthy, and sold at auction for the
benefit of whom it concerned.
From this point, seventeen of the passengers, among them Mr.
HAMMOND, after securing horses and suitable outfits, guns, pistols,
bowie-knives and ammunition, proceeded across the Mexican do-
main, taking in the City of Mexico in their route, to Vera Cruz.
The country, as ever, was infested with Guerilla bands, ready to rob
and murder any and all who chanced to fall into their hands espe-
cially Americans towards whom the people of Mexico generally
cherished very little respect or admiration, the results of the war
their own insolence had brought upon them. The party, how-
ever reached Vera Cruz in safety, and found the steamer Alabama
ready to sail for New Orleans. Engaging passages, a few days
later they landed in the Crescent City. Mr. HAMMOND shortly
after left for his home in northern New York, which he reached in
due time, having been absent about two years. Upon counting up
the profits of his trip he found a balance in hand of a little moie
thap $5,000.
In the spring of 1851 he commenced business upon his own ac-
count in the city of New York, mainly dealing, in a wholesale way,
in foreign and domestic fruits, to which he added a general com-
mission business. He continued in this lucrative trade for many
years, establishing for himself an excellent repute as a merchant
JOHN W. HAMMOND. 409
and successful tradesman of undoubted credit. He built up an
extensive and profitable business, his customers and patrons being
located and resident in almost every State in the Union. "While
enjoying this deserved prosperity, in 1857, he married the grand-
daughter of his first employer, at Utica, N. Y., Mr. Caleb Wat-
kins.
In the winter of 1860, and '61, he visited the Oil Regions, more
from motives of curiosity than a desire for investment. He had
heard much of the wonderful wealth of this region of country, and
determined to see it for himself. He had meantime disposed of
his business in New York City, and counted his gains and re^
sources at $35,000 to $40,000. The civil war was impending, and
he feared the consequences upon trade and commerce generally, and
so gave up his lucrative trade, reserving the privilege of re-pur-
chasing, at the end of twelve months. It was at this particular
juncture of his own affairs, and the threatened national calamity, that
he came into the Oil Region as we have before said, with no in-
tention either to invest or in any manner engage in this new devel-
opment of nature's great riches. Once here, however, he could
not resist the temptatiota to interest himself in the then developing
wealth of the locality. He secured a lease of Mr. John Watson, on
the flats below Titusville, and shortly after contracted for the drill-
ing of four wells.
Returning to New York, he awaited anxiously reports of the pro-
gress of his enterprise. He could get no word from his contractors,
and becoming impatient, he returned and superintended the work
himself. He put down three wells, abandoning the fourth. This
was in the spring of 1861. When the wells started up they
pumped from twelve to fourteen barrels each, per day, and these
were regarded as first-class producers ! Oil was selling at $ 10 per
barrel when these wells were struck, and this price was realized for
some weeks after. Three months later, however, it had a drag-
ging sale, at $1.50 per barrel ! This was in consequence of
the great flowing wells of Capt. Funk, and others on the lower
410 HISTORY OF PETROLEUM.
McElhenny Farm, two or three of which were producing largely,
and the oil from, these was selling at the wells at 25, 50 and 75 cents
per barrel !
Mr. HAMMOND was not long in .determining upon his future field
of operations. His pumping wells on the Watson Flats had ceased
to be remunerative. He therefore resolved to go into the " flowing
well region." Prior to this time, and while oil was selling at 10
per barrel, some gentlemen at Dunkirk, N. Y., had begun the
erection of a refinery, and Mr. HAMMOND secured the contract for
supplying it with crude for refining. The terms of this contract were
somewhat remarkable, and we deem them of sufficient interest to re-
hearse in this connection. The chemist employed by this refining
enterprise had, from his experiments, made himself and associates
believe he could realize 90 per cent, of refined oil from one hun-
dred barrels of crude ! He had demonstrated, as he alleged, that
this result was easily and practically attainable. With this scien-
tific (?) assurance before them, the proprietors contracted with Mr.
HAMMOND, for one year's supply of crude, which they bound them-
selves to manufacture into refined oil, giving Mr. HAMMOND nearly
one half, or 45 barrels of every 100 distilled ! It is needless to add
that Mr. HAMMOND had by far the best of the bargain.
In pursuance of this contract, Mr. HAMMOND, who had pre-
viously met Mr. John Fertig, then the owner of a large flowing
well on the Upper McElhenny Farm, entered into a written agree-
ment with him, to furnish the larger part of the oil contracted to this
Dunkirk refinery, at $1.25 per barrel, at the well! The contract
with the Dunkirk parties was subsequently greatly modified, and
finally wholly surrendered by Mr. HAMMOND, after realizing a
large profit. And this involved the cancelling of the contract with
Mr. Fertig, which resulted in the purchase by Mr. HAMMOND of
an interest owned by that gentleman in the old "Fertig Well" and
lease on the Upper McElhenny Farm, and the organizing of the
firm of Fertig & Hammond, a sketch of which is given herewith.
Mr. HAMMOND, is a gentleman of rare business comprehension,
JOHN W. HAMMOND. 411
and superior executive ability. His whole career, thus far, bears
us out in this judgment of his character. His life has been a
clearly eventful one, but he has been equal to every emergency.
He is a studious man, of deep reflection, and rapid in his move-
ments when his mark is set. He comprehends readily, and this
done his work is more than half accomplished. In business
circles, Mr. HAMMOND is known as an eminently practical and
careful man. His investments are made after a thorough and
rigid examination as to probable results, and hence it is, that suc-
cess has, in the main, followed close upon all his financial transac-
tions. In the city of his residence, he is identified with whatever
adds to her growth and prosperity, devoting of his ample means,
liberal sums to this end. In private life, he is universally es-
teemed for his social excellences, and for the warmth and stead-
fastness of his friendships and attachments.
As before remarked, he has a comprehensive mind, and executive
ability, rarely found in men of his peculiar mould. Upright,
honorable and free from conventionalisms of every character,
whereby deception is fostered, he deals squarely and fairly with all
men, and matters presented to him. An old proverb says, that
" punctuality is the politeness of kings." Mr. HAMMOND illus-
trates -the truth of this province of royalty, by a punctuality in all
his engagements, that might be imitated with profit by others.
A man of generous impulses, he gives of his abundance to all
worthy charities and to the needy poor about him. He is yet in
middle life, possesses a rugged constitution and unimpaired health,
and bids fair, even with his great activity of brain, to live to a
good old age, to enjoy the fruits of a thus far, profitable and well-
spent life.
412
HISTORY OF PETROLEUM.
FERTIG & HAMMOND.
THE firm of FERTIG & HAMMOND was formed, or rather terms
of co-partnership were entered into, soon after Mr. HAMMOND
purchased an interest in the FERTIG well and lease, in the spring of
1861. The terms of this partnership were simple, and' yet amply
comprehensive for the men who made it. Only " HONOR AND
HONESTY, THE ONE TO THE OTHER." Upon this really substantial
foundation, they began their operations, purchasing interests, sink-
ing wells, producing and refining oil, &c., &c.
During the years, 1862-3, they added four new wells to the
" Fertig Well," on the same lease. These were all excellent pro-
ducers, and helped to swell the cash balances of the thrifty and in-
dustrious owners and operators.
In the fall of 1861, the firm built a refinery at Erie, Pa. The
material, stills, &c., for this enterprise, had been ordered for, and
shipped direct to, Titusville. Reaching Erie, the then nearest
Railway station to the oil fields, it was deemed to be an impossible
task to remove it across the country to its destination, and Mr.
HAMMOND promptly resolved to put it into operation at Erie. He
set about the task before him, and in 21 days from its commence-
ment, the refinery was in running order, and a few days subsequent,
a car load of Crude Oil was refined, and shipped to an eastern con-
signee. The firm subsequently owned and operated another refinery
at Erie, transporting their crude oil from their wells on the Fertig
lease, on the Upper McElhenny farm.
In the spring of 1864, they put down one well on the widow
McClintock farm, which produced for a long time, between 600
and 700 barrels per day. Jno. W. Steele, since so famous as an
" oil prince," was at this time the owner of this farm, and was on
and after this time, in receipt of the fabulous sums of money so
generously paid, and so recklessly wasted. In 1863, the firm
purchased the Young farm near Titusville, consisting of 106 acres,
paying $2,800 for it. In the oil land speculations of the following
FERTIG & HAMMOND. 413
year, they sold it for $30,000 ! Two years thereafter, they re-
possessed themselves of it, at a Sheriff's sale, for $3,000 about
its value for farming purposes !
In 1864, they purchased 22 acres, of Custer and Drake's addi-
tion to Titusville. This purchase embraced what is now known as
Drake street, both sides, and extending Eastward to the West bounds
of lots on Kerr St., and Westerly to Martin St. The tract had
been surveyed into city lots, and was soon after offered for sale.
The rapid growth of this chief city of the Oil Regions, following
the revulsions of 1864-5, doubled and quadrupled the value of
these lots, and the profits upon this transaction alone, were very
large. The last of this property, was disposed of in 1872. Before
closing this part of the history of the operations of this firm, we may
state, without fear of contradiction, that at least one-tenth of all the
titles to city property in Titusville, bear the signatures in convey-
ance, of JOHN FERTIG, and JNO. W. HAMMOND.
In the summer of 1864, they made sales of their interest in the
Fertig lease, and five wells, together with the Hammond Well on
the widow McClintock Farm, and some others scattered along
"The Creek," receiving therefor $220,000 in cash, and a consider-
able amount of the stock of " The Hammond Oil Co.," which was
soon after organized with a capital of $500,000. Several hand-
some dividends were made upon the earnings of this company, and
its stock at one time was quoted above par.
At the close of the war, in 1865, the firm having disposed of
many of their valuable oil interests, their active operations lapsed,
but did not cease altogether. Mr. HAMMOND removed to Utica,
N. Y., where he purchased a handsome residence and lands ad-
joining, which he afterwards divided into city lots, disposing of
sufficient to make his investment a source of considerable profit.
Mr. FERTIG removed to Painsville, Ohio, still making Titusville
his business head-quarters. Both, however, were occasionally in
the region buying, selling and giving attention to their remaining
interests and property.
414 HISTORY OF PETROLEUM.
During the memorable years of 1865-6 memorable for the dis-
asters and revulsions that were experienced by all the enterprises of
the oil region Messrs. FERTIG & HAMMOND put down in vari-
ous localities, or were interested in their drilling, including Church
Run, Hyde Town, Pit Hole, Sweitzer Farm, Dawson Centre and
elsewhere, forty-five wells, without obtaining a single barrel of oil
from either! Here was an expenditure of nearly or quite $100,-
000, and no return, save the establishment of the fact that the ter-
ritory they had tested was barren and dry of petroleum deposits.
During the spring and early summer of 1867, they put down the
" Maple Shade Well," at Pleasantville, which proved to be one of
the best in that rich district. Other successful investments followed
this, throughout the years 1867-8-9 and '70, which required the
attention of one or both members of the firm, and in 1870, Mr.
FERTIG again took up his residence in Titusville. Mr. HAMMOND
in 1870, visited Europe in search of health and recreation, and soon
after his return home, or in 1870, removed from Utica, N. Y., to
Erie, Pa., where he now resides.
In 1869, they purchased the Dutchess Farm, at Parker's Land-
ing. Jno. L. McKinney, of Titusville, was subsequently admitted as
an equal partner in this purchase, and shortly after a small portion of
it was sold for development. It proved to be superior oil property,
and the development opened up an entirely new field of explora-
tions. In the spring of 1870, they put down the first well upon
what is now known as the flourishing borough of Foxburgh, and
later we find them leasing, purchasing and developing territory
in the St. Petersburg District, far beyond the circuit occupied by
others, and with uniform success.
" The Keystone National Bank," and " The Erie Dime Savings
Bank," at Erie, Pa., were organized in 1868, and Mr. HAMMOND
and Mr. FERTIG became interested in both as stockholders, and
both were subsequently elected directors of each of these institu-
tions, and are now holding these responsible positions.
In 1871, they established "The Foxburgh Savings Bank," with a
FERTIG & HAMMOND. 415
capital of $100,000. Mr. HAMMOND was. elected President, and
Mr. FERTIG, Yice-President these gentlemen owning a majority
of the stock. The St. Petersburg Savings Bank is a branch of the
Foxburgh institution, and both are upon a solid basis, and are
known and acknowledged to be among the most substantial in the
Oil Region.
Of course we are unable to give a complete detail of all the ex-
tensive and extended operations of these gentlemen as oil produ-
cers, nor can we, in this connection, mention but a moiety of their
multitude of financial operations. They are emphatically men of
business. They are to-day the owners and lessees of more than
four thousand acres of valuable oil tracts, located all along the Al-
legany and its tributaries, from Parker's Landing to Tidioute and
Titus ville, which under their skillful control must bring them, in
years to come, wealth untold.
We said at the commencement of this brief sketch of the career
of this firm, that the basis of their co-partnership was " honor and
honesty, the one te the other." When they concluded to go on
together, both agreed to this proposition " When either deceives or
attempts to defraud the other, the partnership ends" This was the
beginning and the end of stipulations between them. No others
have ever been entered into, and to this day twelve years since
the firm had an existence no WRITTEN terms of co-partnership
have been made, and none exist. Their business transactions have
from year to year largely increased, involving at times, thousands
and thousands of dollars in capital and credit, and yet no man can
say the firm of FERTIG & HAMMOND has not promptly met and
discharged every obligation it has assumed. And this is also true
of each, in his individual operations. This has been, and is the
character they have established for themselves, and maintained
through a series of years, as marked and remarkable for their
changing hues of depression and success, as for the wonderful profit
and prosperity brought to their doors. During their twelve years
of co-partnership, no word of rebuke, censure, or complaint has
416 HISTORY OF PETROLEUM.
passed between them each in turn approving the operations of the
other, where the firm's interest has been involved, or in any man-
ner affected. Of course they have made some losing ventures;
but the losses, whatever they may have been, have been mutually
borne, and as cheerfully so as they have divided their large gains.
They have maintained an unsullied and an unquestioned credit,
from the outset of their business connection, by promptly meeting
all their engagements, and discharging all their liabilities at matu-
rity. In the conduct of their extensive, and steadily augmenting
financial operations, involving hundreds of thousands of dollars,
with individuals, with corporations, with banks, with merchants
and manufacturers, they have never yet been under protest ! A
record like this is something to boast of, and is of itself, capital in
any community, or for any enterprise, and we question if the annals
of many commercial circles, near or remote, afford a parallel to the
facts here briefly alluded to.
Wrwvihnrvtype. A. P. R.P. Co., Phila.
DR. W. B. ROBERTS.
DR. W. B. ROBERTS.
DR. W. B. EOBEETS.
TITUSVILLE, PA.
WALTER BROOKS EGBERTS was born in Moreau, Saratoga
County, New York, on the 15th day of May, 1823. His early
years were spent under the paternal roof, his winters at a district
school, and his summers in labors upon the farm. At the age of
seventeen he accepted a clerkship in a banking office in the city of
Albany, N. Y. He held this position but a few months, however,
severe illness compelling him to return to his father's house, where
he remained until his health was fully restored.
In the summer of 1841, he entered the Academy at Evans'
Mills, in Jefferson County, New York, with the determination to
qualify himself as a teacher. A few months later we find him in
charge of a district school, in the town of Northumberland, in his
native county, at a salary of $11 per month. His success in this
responsible calling was marked and gratifying, not alone to young
EGBERTS, but to all who knew him. The following four winters
were devoted to school teaching, and the summer vacations to the
study of Mathematics at the Glens' Falls Academy, and of Medicine,
with -Dr. Sheldon, of Glens' Falls, N. Y. Two years of subsequent
study of medicine, and he turned his attention to the Dental pro-
fession, acquiring a thorough knowledge of this science in all its deli-
cate and important branches.
During the summer of 1845, with an ample outfit for the practice
of his new art, he traveled through New Hampshire, a few months,
visiting Meredith, New Hampton, Holderness, &c., winning golden
opinions for skill and superior knowledge of his profession. Clos-
ing up his business affairs in New Hampshire, he returned to
Poughkeepsie, N. Y., to establish himself permanently in the busi-
27
418 HISTORY OF PETROLEUM.
ness of Dentistry. Here misfortune overtook him, for he was
seized with a violent illness typhoid fever and for nearly five
months his life hung as if by a hair. Although among strangers,
he yet found friends, who, through all the weary days, weeks and
months of his helplessness, " stuck to him closer than a brother,"
emblazoning indelibly, upon his memory, remembrances of their
kindness and devotion. Passing the relapses of his serious illness,
hemorrhage of the lungs, &c., he finally regained his health and
strength sufficient to return to his professional labors, and in 1849,
he opened a Dental office in connection with Dr. C. H. ROBERTS,
at Poughkeepsie, N. Y. Less than a year's confinement to practice,
which grew rapidly upon his hands, brought on an attack of
hemorrhage of the lungs, and he promptly determined upon a sea
voyage for the benefit of his declining health. In February, 1850,
he sailed for the West Indies, spending a month or more upon the
Island of Cuba, then a great resort for invalids of a pulmonary
character. Returning home by way of New Orleans, Cincinnati
and Washington city in the late summer months of 1850, he soon
after disposed of his interest in the Poughkeepsie Dental enterprise,
and continued the practice of his profession in many of the princi-
pal towns of Dutchess County, taking healthful out-door exercise,
and employing such other means as were at his disposal, for
strengthening and developing a rugged manhood, since vouch-
safed to him.
In 1853, Dr. ROBERTS, with a view to entering into mercantile
pursuits, visited Nicaragua, Central America, and after a careful
survey and examination of the country, its products, &c., decided
to engage in the purchase and shipment of deer skins and cattle
liides. Returning home, a company was shortly after organized,
under the firm name of Churchill, Roberts, Mills & Co., of which
he was one of the principal partners and business managers. The
partnership formed, agents were dispatched to Grenada, with ample
means for the purchase and shipment of the commodities which
formed the .basis of this new commercial enterprise. In .a very
DR. W. B. ROBERTS.
419
short time a large and lucrative business was established and an
unbounded credit given the firm. Its drafts, letters of credit, &c.,
were termed " gilt-edged," and were preferred, and commanded a
readier sale in commercial circles than any house in Central America.
After the successful establishment of this Nicaragua enterprise,
he again turned his attention to his profession, and in connection
with his brother, Col. E. A. L. Roberts, opened an elegant, sump-
tuously furnished and appointed Dental office in New York City.
A year later he purchased the interest of his brother, and located
himself in Bond street, in the same city, where he continued his
practice until some time in 1868.
The position Dr. ROBERTS held in the Dental profession was
always marked and prominent. He received the First Medal
awarded by the American Institute, for the best artificial teeth, a
distinction which at once placed him in the front rank of men of
the Science of Dentistry. He was during this period, Editor and
Proprietor of THE NEW YORK DENTAL, JOURNAL, a publication
devoted to Dental Science and interests, and continued his editorial
connection with it about four years, its columns from month to
month, containing from his pen, many of the most practical and
useful articles upon dentistry ever published. He was one of the
leading spirits in the organization and establishment of the New
York Dental College, and is at present one of its trustees.
The internal feuds of Central America, had grown into a fearful
civil war, destroying values, and deranging business of every char-
"acter. The new firm found it necessary to close their commercial
relations with that country,, and to this end Dr. ROBERTS revisited
Nicaragua. After months of hardship, endured in traversing*
swamps, mule paths and unbroken jungle fields with hair-breadth
escapes from bullets, banditti and yellow fever, he succeeded in
reaching the camp of the insurgents, accomplished the object of his
mission, and returned home, with the ills incident to that climate
fastened upon him, and these clung to 'him, resisting all medical
appliances, for nearly a year.
420 HISTORY OF PETROLEUM.
In the early spring of 1863, Dr. EGBERTS was appointed by
Rev. Dr. Bellows, President of the National Sanitary Commission,
an agent, to visit Gen. Hunter's Division, then having its head-
quarters at Beaufort, South Carolina, to examine into the condi-
tion, sanitary and otherwise of that portion of the Union Army.
To complete this duty, required a month's time, and upon his re-
turn, his report was published in full in THE NEW YORK DENTAL
JOURNAL, and widely copied and commended, throughout the
Northern States. It contained a detailed account of his visits to
the various camps of our soldiers, and was exhaustive in practical
suggestions for the amelioration of their condition in all regards.
In the Spring of 1864, he was induced to subscribe to the stock
of an oil company, scores of which were at this time " beating
about" for patrons. This "investment" proved like many others
of its co temporaries, to be a permanent one. Dr. ROBERTS, upon
visiting the Oil Region, soon after this venture, found his large
tract of oil territory located miles away from developments, and
where none but speculators in oil stock companies would think of
looking for oil wells. This investment remains unproductive, and
is likely to remain so, " as long as grass grows and water runs."
His visit, however, he turned to good account, for he made a
thorough examination of the then producing regions of "the
Creek," and settled into the conviction that wealth untold coursed
through the rocks beneath, and that with capital, business tact and
mechanical skill it could be brought forth. On his return to New
York City, he sought to enlist his brother, E. A. L. Roberts, in
his plans for developing, by tendering him the superintendency of
^ome wells he had resolved to put down. Col. R. declined the
position, but suggested, that he had an enterprise of far more value,
and if the Doctor would furnish the necessary capital to test his
torpedo, he would assign him a half interest. A theoretical exami-
nation convinced Dr. R. that not only was the torpedo of vital im-
portance to the uses intended, but he saw a mine of wealth in it,
and promptly accepted the proposition of his brother, Col. Rob-
DE. W. B. EGBERTS. 421
erts, and entered heartily into his plans for testing its practica-
bility.
In January, 1865, Col. ROBERTS went to Titus ville, having pre-
viously made six torpedoes, to test their power and efficiency.
Meantime, application for a patent had been made. The experi-
ments were, in all respects, successful; and not only the utility,
but the necessity for blasting oil wells to increase their production,
was established. This accomplished, the Torpedo became a fixed
fact, and a rich harvest awaited the enterprising discoverer. But
this was not to be had without an effort. Others sought to super-
sede the ROBERTS' discovery, and filch from them the rewards of
their genius and enterprise. Half a dozen applications were filed
in the Patent Office at Washington for torpedoes for like uses, and
the claims of the contestants were two years in traversing the
various departments of the patent boards, and finally taken to the
United States District Court, before Judge Carter, where the pri-
ority of invention was awarded to ROBERTS, as had been the result
in all preceding examinations, to reach that point. Dr. ROBERTS
had the management of all these litigations, acting as attorney for
the patentee, and at the end of two years found himself " master
of the situation." The patent was issued to his brother, and upon
counting the cost of the whole effort, it was found to be less than
is ordinarily paid now to an attorney as " a retainer " in an impor-
tant suit.
In the spring of 1865, he organized THE ROBERTS PETROLEUM
TORPEDO COMPANY. In 1866, he was elected its Secretary, and
in 1867 its President, which responsible position he now holds.
In the fall of 1866, he was elected to the Common Council of
the City of New York, for two years, and served his constituents
faithfully and well. Although a pronounced Republican, and a
candidate in a strong Democratic district, he was elected by a hand-
some majority. In a political minority in the Board of Council-
men, he yet very soon after becoming a member of it, assumed a
prominent position among his colleagues, and before the public.
422 HISTORY OF PETROLEUM.
In the Council of 1867-8, he was the recognized leader of the Re-
publican minority, and in the winter of 1868, was the candidate of
his party for President of that body, the vote standing 13 Demo-
crats to 11 Republicans.
In the summer of 1867, he visited Europe in quest of health
and recreation. He visited various portions of France, Switzer-
land, Austria, Prussia, Holland, Belgium, England, Ireland, &c.
In 1868, he removed to Titus ville, surrendering his lucrative prac-
tice in New York, that he might give his undivided attention to
his growing interests in the oil region. The torpedo infringements
were assuming proportions, and Dr. ROBERTS reluctantly entered
upon the defence of his rights and franchises in that direction, and
after months and months of labor, and the expenditure of a hand-
some fortune, success crowned his efforts, the courts sustaining the
Torpedo patent at every stage of the proceedings.
During his residence in Titusville he has, with a liberality rarely
exhibited, expended thousands of dollars in the erection of substan-
tial and elegant business blocks, which have gone far to make the
city of his residence the pride of its people and the emporium of
the oil regions.
In March, 1872, he became the candidate of his fellow-citizens
for Mayor ; and though opposed by one of the strongest men of
the opposition, a.fter a hotly contested canvass, he was elected by a
large majority.
When the " South Improvement Company " threatened the pros-
perity and very life of the oil-producing interest, Dr. ROBERTS
was the first to raise his voice against it, and penned the first call
for a public meeting. In all the subsequent struggles with this
towering monopoly, he was- foremost and persistent in his efforts to
strangle it, even before it had a being. At the first meeting of
producers, held at the Opera House, in Titusville, to devise mea-
sures to thwart the schemes, of this company, Dr. ROBERTS was a
leading spirit, and by his wise counsel and determined voice, did
much to crush the monster monopoly. To his energy and charac-
DK. W. B. EGBERTS. 423
teristic enterprise is largely due the present flattering prospects for
the early completion of the Buffalo & Titusville Railroad. When
this subject was presented to him, he did not hesitate to embrace
the earliest opportunity to give it his powerful aid by becoming a
subscriber to its capital stock in the princely sum of $50,000.
When subsequently an organization was perfected, he was unani-
mously chosen President of the Corporation.
On the 1st of January, 18.72, he, in company with his brother,
E. A. L. Roberts, and John Potter, Esq., of Meadville, L. B.
Silliman, of Titusville, organized a banking firm at Titusville,
under the name of ROBERTS & Co., BANKERS, Mr. JNO. PORTER,
Cashier. It is among the most substantial monied institutions of
the oil regions, and indeed of the State of Pennsylvania with an
ample capital, an unlimited credit, unquestioned public confidence
and a business ability of the highest order, this, like all the enter-
prises Dr. ROBERTS puts his mind and efforts upon, is to be a
bountiful success.
The ancestors of this branch of the ROBERTS family, were dis-
tinguished both in the diplomacy and in the sterner realities of war.
The great-grandfather on the maternal side, Andre Everard Van
Braam, was the second embassador of the Dutch East India Com-
pany to the Court of Pekin, China, and in this capacity perfected
the treaty with the Chinese government, that enabled the Holland-
ers to hold and control the trade of that peculiar people so many
years, to the exclusion of all other nations. He was also the pub-
lisher of one of the first books in the English and French lan-
guages,, detailing the habits, customs and peculiarities of that won-
derful people.
The great-grandfather on the paternal side was a distinguished
officer in the Revolutionary War. He was a native of Wales,
England, and at one period an officer in the British Army. When
the mother country resolved to subdue her rebellious colonists in
America, Col. Owen Roberts was a citizen of Charleston, South
Carolina, and patriotically espoused the cause of his adopted coun-
424 HISTORY OF PETROLEUM.
try. He was, however, tendered his commission in His Majesty's
service, which he promptly and indignantly declined, defiantly re-
turning as his answer, his assurances of devotion to the laud of his
adoption, and an avowal of his determination to " stand by her for-
tunes, come weal or come woe." When hostilities began, he was
commissioned a Colonel of the 4th South Carolina Artillery, and was
subsequently killed at the battle of Stono, while gallantly leading
his command in an effort to prevent the landing of British troops
at that point. Mortally wounded by a cannon ball through one
of his lower limbs, he was carried from the field and placed under
the shade of a tree and out of the range of the battle, still raging.
His son, Richard Brooks Roberts, grandfather of the subject of
this sketch, learning of the terrible disaster to his father, hastened
to his side. (See Alexander Garden's Anecdotes of the Revolution.)
His father, observing the emotions of his son, said : " Take this
sword, which has never been tarnished by dishonor, and never
sheathe it while the liberties of your country are in danger. Accept
my last blessing, and return to your duty." A short time after he
breathed his last, upon the spot where his comrades had placed
him. His son, Richard B. Roberts, was a youth, scarcely eighteen
years of age, holding a captain's commission in his father's regi-
ment. He faithfully and patriotically lived up to his father's
dying injunctions, remaining in the service of his country until the
close of the revolutionary struggle, and after, and was commis-
sioned a Major in the regular army by General Washington. He
died at the early age of 37, leaving three sons, the eldest of whom
was Lucius Qnintius Cincinnatus Roberts, father of Dr. W. B.,
and Col. E. A. L. Roberts. This name was given him in honor
of the Cincinnati Society, of which he was a distinguished member,
and to the privileges of which, his eldest son attained, upon his
father's death.
Dr. ROBERTS is a man of marked characteristics, mentally as
well as physically. In person he is about six feet in height, with
a well knit, powerful frame, capable of enduring any physical effort
DR. W. B. ROBERTS. 425
he may undertake. Rarely, and we may add difficult to arouse, he
seems always to be of an even temper, and absolutely free from
mental excitement. He is, however, a profound thinker, and
never discharges a subject that at any time engrosses his attention,
without fully comprehending it, in all its points and bearings.
Having done this he is riveted, so to speak, to his convictions and
conclusions, and will defend both with consummate skill and de-
termination. When thoroughly awakened upon any matter of
personal or public concern, he does not hesitate to give the whole
weight of his personal and intellectual power to the issue before
him, and seldom with doubtful results.
In his private intercourse he is sociable and companionable,
drawing men to him as if by magic, and retaining their friendship
and confidence ever after. In business circles he is known for his
reliability, and for the sacredness which he attaches to his promises
and pledges. Notwithstanding the vast wealth he represents, he is
a plain liver, unostentatious in his intercourse with his fellow-citi-
zens, and frugal and temperate in all his daily walk and life. In
all public enterprises promising advantage and prosperity to the
city of his residence, he is foremost with voice and means to secure
the coveted prize. He is generous and confiding toward personal
friends, kind and benevolent to the poor, giving with a willing
and bountiful hand to relieve those who have claims upon the
charity of their more fortunate fellows. Dr. ROBERTS is not the
man to shirk any responsibility that may fairly be put upon him,
and when he sees his way clear and he never moves till this is
reached he advances with resolute step. In business circles he is
recognized for reliability and undoubted sagacity. In council he is
cool, but never timid, and generally carries those who consult with
him over to his own convictions.
He is in the prime of life, and in the height of his prosperity
and usefulness. If life and health are spared him he is destined
to fill an important place in the public esteem, confidence and ser-
vice.
426 HISTORY OF PETROLEUM.
SAMUEL Q. BROWN.*
PLEASAJSTVILLE, PA.
No other modern enterprise, so plainly as the development of
Petroleum, has demonstrated the fact, that endowed as he is,, with
the highest faculties bestowed upon the creations of an Almighty
God, man still needs opportunity, before, with all his reason, with
all his cultivation, with all his wonderful capabilities, he can
achieve that success which will leave the impress of his career upon
the world, the state, or the community in any degree upon the
generation in which he has lived, or the generations that follow.
Not overlooking the importance of preparation, or the value of
experience, this is so palpably the truth, that none but a very -suc-
cessful man would ever deny it ; and even a very successful man
would only deny it in so far, as to claim that himself, had created
the opportunity.
Men who succeed are prone to believe in themselves ; men who
fail are sure to believe in Fate. The wisest probably believe in
neither. But it is very natural that a successful man should seek to
enhance the merit of his success by overrating the difficulties sur-
mounted ; and it is equally natural for the unsuccessful man to
excuse his failure by attributing it to a power beyond his control.
The many instances in which the plain sons of Yenango County,
not unlettered always, but certainly uneducated in the management
of any but the scantiest finances, seized the opportunity of " that
tide in the affairs of men which, taken at its flood, leads on to for-
tune," would seem to_. encourage a belief in the theory of " mute,
inglorious Miltons ;" for who can doubt that without the opportu-
nity afforded by the development of Petroleum, they must have
* No Photograph furnished.
SAMUEL Q. BROWN. 427
lived and died, not useless perhaps, but certainly obscure ; whereas
taking advantage of opportunity, many have developed into the
most extensive, intelligent and successful financiers the commercial
history of the country can boast. Prominent among these stands
the man whose history it is the purpose of this imperfect sketch to
record.
SAMUEL Q. BROWN was born at Pleasantville, "Venango Co. Pa.,
on the 19th of September, 1835. His parents had formerly lived in
the City of New York, where his father was at one time engaged
in commercial pursuits. But being a man of sensitive religious
convictions, and believing that a family of children would be less
exposed to temptation, and could be more easily reared in the fear
of the Lord, in the country, he determined to remove thither, and,
together with a number of other families of some means, employed
an agent to come to what was then (1833,) the "West," and, after
careful inspection, select a location for the little colony.
The agent looked upon Crawford County as offering, in the great-
est degree, the advantages required ; but, instead of locating the
farms together, he selected them several miles apart, and fixed
upon a spot for Mr. BROWN in the howling wilderness several miles
above Titusville.
Leaving his wife to come on with the household effects and *a
stock of merchandise for it was his intention to unite with his
farming, the business of a small country store by way of the Erie
Canal, then the great thoroughfare to the West, Mr. BROWN has-
tened across the country, via Harrisburg, to prepare in advance,
the home for her reception.
When he came to view the land, he was so disappointed and
disgusted with the selection of the agent that he went at once to
Pleasantville, where there were already several thrifty settlers, and
established a home.
When his wife joined him, they found the prospect so unpromis-
ing, that they determined to return to New York, as soon as their
stock of merchandize could be disposed of, and for more than half
428
HISTORY OF PETROLEUM.
a year, left the most of their household goods packed, prepared to
return at the earliest possible moment. But to sell the merchandize,
he had to let the goods go on credit, and before he could make
collections the family became so attached to the place, and the
hearty hospitality which always characterizes new settlements, that
they were willing to remain, and two years after their arrival the
subject of this memoir was born.
He obtained a good common-school education, and was even
prepared for a classical course in Allegany College, at Meadville,
then in a very prosperous condition, and having some four hundred
students ; but he only completed the freshman year, for feeling ill
from exposure, he lingered in a critical condition for several years,
which prevented the renewal of his studies, and after final recovery,
which was not till he had nearly attained his majority, he gave up
the notion of a collegiate education, and after a preparatory com-
mercial course at Duff's college, in Pittsburgh, he joined his father
in the management of the store in Pleasantville.
For the place and time, his educational advantages were excep-
tional. Both parents had taken great interest in the cultivation of
his mind, and his natural aptitude for study was evinced by the
remarkable fact, that at the age of thirteen he entered college.
- There was very little of incident in his life up to the year 1859 ;
nothing at all, but the careful management of a very small country
store, to fit him for that brilliant financial career, which afterward
distinguished him among the remarkably brilliant and active set of
men, brought out in that eventful period of history.
A few weeks after the discovery of petroleum, in 1859, Mr.
BROWN, in connection with Messrs. Mitchell and Rouse, obtained
control of the Buchanan farm at Rouseville, which soon, under their
management, became one of the best producing farms on the Creek.
In the year 1864, after having thoroughly developed this farm by
the sinking of nearly a hundred wells by lessees, and producing
great quantities of oil, Mr. BROWN put the property into the " Bu-
chanan Farm Oil Company," with a capital stock of four million
dollars, realizing by the transaction himself one million dollars.
SAMUEL Q. BROWN. 429
He at once established a broker's office in Philadelphia, and the
following year one in New York, and dealt extensively and suc-
cessfully in oil stocks (after which people were at that time crazy ;)
travelling by night from one city to the other, and devoting alter-
nate days to the business of each office.
Among other companies organized by Mr. BROWN, was "The
Titus Oil Company/' He also put the Rynd Farm into a stock
company, in connection with several other owners of the property.
Among the most useful acts -of his career was obtaining the
charter of the Farmers' Railroad along Oil Creek, which, owing
to the opposition of Senator Scott, he was unable for several years
to accomplish. The original charter was granted for a horse-power
railroad, and after it had been extended to the employment of
steam-power, Mr. BROWN disposed of the charter to Messrs. Bis-
sell, Bishop and others, who constructed the Oil Creek Railroad.
In 1862, the first pipe line was chartered by him in connection
with others, but its purpose was only to con-duct the oil from the
wells along the Creek to Oil City, and thus obviate the expensive
and disastrous system of pond-freshet conveyance by which great
quantities of oil were lost.
The joints employed, however, were such a poor affair that on ac-
count of leakage the enterprise was abandoned, and Mr. BROWN
afterwards sold out to a gentleman who carried the matter to per-
fection and covered the region with a net-work of pipes to conduct
the oil to the principal shipping and storing points.
In 1866, Mr. BROWN became partner in a large mercantile house
in New York, continuing his connection with the wholesale and
retail branch at Pleasantville, for the Oil Region.
A few months later, he married Miss Lamb, of his native vil-
lage, an estimable woman whom he had known from childhood.
Shortly afterwards/ he was taken down with hemorrhage of the
lungs, which prostrated him for the rest of the summer, and kept
him for weeks at the very point of death.
But, though a delicate person in appearance, and though all at-
430 HISTORY OF PETROLEUM.
tention to a naturally fragile physique, had been overlooked in the
absorbing enterprises of the last few years of his life, the spark of
vitality that still remained, proved sufficient to recuperate him, and
in the winter of 1867-68, he travelled in the Southern States, by
which he was so benefited that, when the excitement following the
discovery of oil at Pleasantville commenced, he was able to return,
and take an active part in the development of his own territory, of
which he held several hundred acres in the vicinity, that proved
to be among the best in that field.
By this happy turn of affairs, the large fortune he had already
acquired, was greatly increased, and Mr. BROWN stands now among
the richest men in the oil region.
His religious convictions are very decided, and though a " suc-
cessful man," his success has never lessened his reliance on the
directing care of Providence. Though a Presbyterian himself,
he still has encouraged the establishment of every other denomi-
nation, in his village, by liberal donations, and the Christian
hospitality that so beautifully distinguishes his own charming
home, is by no means restricted to so narrow a sphere. He is
still in the prime of life only thirty-seven and the busy life
through which he has already passed, will probably be crowned by
many years of even more extended usefulness.
Mr. BROWN opened a banking establishment at Pleasantville, in
company with Mr. Mitchell which, on a dissolution, was carried
on under the firm of S. Q. Brown & ; this firm was during
the present year superceded by a stock company, called the " Plea-
santville Banking Co.," with the subject of our sketch as President.
Mr. Brown is the senior partner of the extensive mercantile house
of Brown Bros., of Pleasantville.
Woodburyt.M*. A. P. R. P. Co.. Phila.
J. L. GRANDIN
J. L. GRAND1N.
J. L. GRANDIK
TIDIOUTE, PA.
IN preparing the biographical sketches which accompany and
form so important a part of this work, it has been the aim of the
author to select for special reference gentlemen prominently identi-
fied, first and last, with the production of Petroleum in Western
Pennsylvania, and known as successful operators, or those who
stand in the front rank, in one or another branch of the develop-
ment of this wonderful phenomena and gift of nature. The ma-
jority of these, have been individual cases, whose various and
varied enterprises have been briefly detailed, the better to enable
the reader to comprehend the magnitude of the subject we are
elaborating, and thus to realize, in some degree at least, the vast
amount of labor and capital involved in its successful conduct.
From the earliest days of the petroleum discoveries in western
Pennsylvania, " the GRANDINS " at Tidioute have been advanced
and advancing producers and operators, largely successful and al-
ways reliable and representative men of the Oil Kegion.
SAMUEL GRANDIN, the father of the three brothers GRANDIN,
was a pioneer in Western Pennsylvania, having removed to Alle-
gany Township (near Pleasantville), Venango County, from New
Jersey, in 1822. His early ambition was to own lands. The old
Grandin farm, within a mile of Pleasantville, which Mr. G. took
up in 1822, and subsequently cleared, and successfully cultivated
for many years, affords the best proof we can adduce of his
industry and ability to overcome embarrassments and discour-
agements inseparably connected with early settlements in a new
country, and that country almost a wilderness. During nearly
half a century's residence in Venango and Warren Counties, Mr.
432 HISTORY OF PETROLEUM.
GRANDIN has maintained a high character for integrity and scru-
pulous honesty, and in the conduct of his large business interests,
has commanded the confidence and retained the esteem of all who
know him. In earlier years, his enterprise led him into heavy
lumber operations ; and these continued and increased with his
mercantile, mechanical and lumbering operations, and always gave
him a prominence and prestige, as success crowded upon him, few
men in Western Pennsylvania have attained. Mr. GRANDIN, Sr.,
now over seventy-three years of age, is yet hale and vigorous.
Some twelve years since he withdrew from active pursuits,
not perhaps because of his age, but that his sons, three
in number, whom he had reared and educated with care,
might assume the greater portion of the responsibilities he had
spent the best part of his own life in gathering upon himself.
This brief reference to the father of the GRANDIN brothers is
made, because it seemed to be eminently due to him, as also to the
sons, who succeeded to his responsibilities and large business cares,
quadrupling them all, and who, with so much fidelity and tact,
have maintained the credit and unsullied repute he established for
himself through more than thirty years of active life.
JOHN LIVINGSTON GRANDIN was born in Venango County,
Penn., near the village of Pleasantville, on the 20th day of Decem-
ber, 1836. He is the eldest of three sons living, an elder brother
having been accidentally drowned, at Tidioute, twenty odd years
ago. In 1 839, the family removed from Pleasantville to Tidioute,
where Mr. GRANDIN, Sen., had acquired by purchase, "large tracts
of timber lands, and here they have continued to reside for a third
of a century. The subject of this sketch, here grew into boyhood,
having the advantages of a Common School education. Later he
was sent to the Academy at "Warren, Pa., and subsequently to the
Jamestown, N. Y., Union Institute, and at the age of eighteen,
he entered Allegany College, at Meadville, Pa., and remained here,
pursuing mathematics, and the higher branches of a classical
education. When he connected himself with Allegany College, his
J. L. GRANDIN. 433
determination was to take to the law as a profession. A few
months' observation, however, among his fellow-students and class-
mates convinced him that his success in life did not depend upon
his becoming a lawyer. Of the class graduating, the year young
GRANDIN left College, very many had fixed upon the profession
of the law as a life calling. He estimated that not more than one-
third of these could succeed, and contrasting his own chances of
success with the small fraction of his class-mates, he determined to
abandon his earlier resolves, and seek success in other and less
crowded fields.
He left college in 1857, and returned to Tidioute, and engaged
in business with his father, then largely interested in mercantile
and lumbering enterprises. He readily acquired a full knowledge
of his father's business, and later, assumed almost entire control of
it, and was generally recognized as its responsible head. This posi-
tion he has continued to occupy to this day, and has always been
regarded as the master spirit of very many of the great financial,
commercial and business operations of the successors of SAMUEL
GRANDIN.
When in 1859, the oil developments of Col. Drake, upon the
"Watson Flats, became known, J. L. GRANDIN was the first to in-
augurate measures for its production at Tidioute. He had known
of the existence of an oil spring on Gordon Run, one of the tribu-
taries of the Allegany river, at that point, from which oil had in
years past, been gathered in small quantities. Within a day or two
after the Drake well was struck, and while Col. Robinson, then a
resident of Titusville, was rehearsing the particulars of the wonder-
ful success which had attended Col. Drake's efforts, to a listening
group in his father's store, young GRANDIN saddled his horse,
and within an hour, was pressing negotiations for the purchase
of thirty acres of the Campbell farm, upon which the oil spring
was located. The terms of sale were agreed upon 30 acres at $10
per acre a payment made, and Mr. GRANDIN returned to Tidioute.
28
434 HISTORY OF PETROLEUM.
Later, upon the same day, he visited the spring, had it thoroughly
cleaned out, and immediately the oil began to rise to the surface,
in small globules, and before leaving it, a pint bottle of the green
fluid was obtained.
On the morning following his purchase and explorations about
the spring, Mr. GRANDIN visited Mr. H. H. DENNIS, an old
favorite of the Grandin family, and a man of superior mechanical
ingenuity, still residing at Tidioute, then living at Dennis' Mills, near
what is now known as New London. He hurriedly disclosed to him
his plans, the purchase of the oil spring, and its flattering " surface
indications." The Drake well and its remarkable product, eight
barrels per day, and selling at the well for 75 cents per gallon !
this and much more was discussed, and finally Mr. G. made known
the object of his visit. " I think," said Mr. GRANDIN, "we can find
oil in paying quantities on Gordon Run. The old oil spring gives
strong proofs of its abundance there and I have determined to
put down a well, right in the centre of the spring ! I have come
to see if you can provide the tools and put down the well ?"
" Well," said Mr. Dennis, after a moment's hesitation, " I think,
by jolly, I can do it, if anybody can !" A bargain was struck at
once, and a contract entered into between the parties, and the
following day a derrick, consisting of four twenty-feet scantling*
was erected a spring pole procured, and everything necessary for
a commencement of the work of drilling, put at the disposal of Mr.
Dennis as rapidly as possible. The spring hole was excavated to
the rock bottom, the drilling tool " swung," and all accomplished
that could be, before the setting of the sun on the THIRD day after
Mr. GRANDIN'S purchase !
As this was the FIRST well started at Tidioute, and probably
the very next commenced after Col. Drake's well was completed,
in the oil region, we have deemed its history of sufficient import-
ance and interest, to give a detailed statement of its inception,
manner of drilling, and the incidents attending its progress and ul-
timate failure.
J. L. GBANDIN. 435
Mr. Dennis, though a mechanic of remarkable skill and rare
genius, had never seen an oil well, nor indeed had he ever turned
his attention to rock drilling, in any regard even to rock blasting,
but he at once comprehended the undertaking, and set about sup-
plying himself with the necessary implements for the work before
him. He had seen the old style " churn drill," used for blasting,
and procuring a bar of inch and a quarter iron, three feet in
length, he soon fashioned it to his needs. One end was flattened
to form a cutting bit, two and a half inches in breadth, this being
the diameter of the hole to be drilled. In the upper end of this
iron bar or bit, he made a socket into which, as the work pro-
ceeded, he put an inch bar of round iron, tapered to fit the socket,
and fastened by means of a key, and this riveted, and made per-
fectly straight and solidly fast. These continued additions, consti-
tuted his drilling tools, drilling jars, auger stem, &c., &c. When
it became necessary, as it did ordinarily twice or thrice a day, to
remove the drill, or bit, to sharpen or repair it, the rivet or key
had to be cut off, and the drill removed, and thus every succeeding
bit and he afterwards made several was operated.
In this manner, and with this rude outfit, the first well was
drilled at Tidioute, and as before remarked the SECOND well in
this region was begun. Of course the process of drilling was
slow, and had to be done with great care. The first break in the
drill-point half an inch or more being taken off was deemed
fatal to the enterprise. Mr. Dennis, however, tried the 'blunting
of the point of his drilling tool, and pounding away for a day or
two, finally drove the " offender " into the walls of the well.
Thus, one after another of the innumerable obstacles encountered,
were overcome, and the well drilled down to the depth of 134
feet! It was begun in the month of August, 1859, and spite of
embarrassments and hindrances, more easily imagined than de-
scribed, was completed to the depth stated, in the last days of
October of the same year, or a little more than eight weeks from
its commencement. During the progress of drilling, no "show"
436 HISTORY OF PETROLEUM.
of oil or gas had been visible, but the depth was deemed ample for
oil purposes. The Drake Well, was sixty-nine feet six inches
deep, and this was double the depth of this first test well, and
was regarded as sufficiently deep for all practical purposes.
Mr. GRANDIN, immediately ordered from a Pittsburgh manu-
factory, copper tubing for the well, giving its dimensions, depth,
<&c., as also a pump of sufficient capacity and power to draw the
fluid from its great depth. The manufacturers replied, that they
made no tubing of the size required, and informed Mr. GRANDIN,
that his well-hole was too small by nearly one half! That it must
be four inches in diameter, in order that tubing, and a pump of
sufficient power be used to make it practicable and successful !
Here, indeed, was time, money and effort expended for naught.
The well had been put down upon the best information attainable,
and to appearances was valueless because of its size ! Mr. GRANDIN,
accompanied by Mr. Dennis, had visited the Drake Well, while
drilling their own, purposely to obtain information to enable them
to proceed correctly, and to learn how to remove broken bits and
rock cuttings from their well, and such other facts as would aid
them in accomplishing the end in view. When they reached the
Drake Well, all was boarded up tight, and the entrances barred,
bolted and locked ! Col. Drake himself was absent, and the won-
derful " wonder," was in charge of a German fellow-citizen, who
denied all access to the inner courts of the derrick, and refused
utterly to give any information upon the subject ! Of course
Messrs. GRANDIN and DENNIS, returned to their own enterprise,
as wise as they went to Col. Drake's well, and the following day
Mr. Dennis called upon Mr. GRANDIN, and detailed to him his
plan for enlarging the dimensions of the hole. He wanted a bar
of iron two inches in diameter, and from six to eight feet in length.
But where to get such a ponderous piece of metal, was the next
suggestion. No hardware establishment in all that section of the
country, kept iron bars of this character, and it was questionable
if it could be had short of Pittsburgh. During the same day,
J. L. GRANDIN. 437
however, Mr. Dennis' eye fell upon "just what he wanted !" It
was a discarded axle, used upon a tram- railway, running out of
Gordon Run, used to transport lumber to the Allegany river! " It
was just the thing needed I" It was six feet in length, two inches
in diameter, made of wrought iron, and would weigh nearly one
hundred pounds. This was quickly transformed into the desired
shape, a block of steel run through the bar, welded and riveted,
four inches from one end, and the steel on either side of the bar, was
flattened to a cutting edge, two inches in breadth. To the other
end he attached an inch and an eighth cable, and fastened this to
his spring pole, and thus began the work of enlarging the well
hole. For a sand pump, he used while drilling the two and a
half inch well, three feet of an inch and, a half copper pipe, cut
from a boiler water pipe, used at a neighboring saw-mill, fastening
a leather valve at or near the lower end, so as to securely hold
whatever entered it. This sand pump he continued to use success-
fully, until the enlargement was completed !
Of course it was the labor of days and weeks, running into
months, to " rim out " this hole, with their home-made tool, but it
was ultimately accomplished!. During the fall and winter of 1859,
and '60, Mr. Dennis toiled on, some days, " rimming out " six
inches and others as many as two feet per day. As- he proceeded
he discovered the necessity for "jars" in his drilling apparatus,
and so constructed "a pair" to meet the demand. He made of
inch and a quarter bar iron, two links, similar to the links of a log
chain two feet in length and attached these to his " car-axle "
drill and cable, and this constituted his drilling jars ! Mr. Dennis
admits, cleverly, that the principle he adopted for "drill jars,"
has been enlarged as well as improved !
But the saddest part of the story of this second well, drilled for
oil in the Western Pennsylvania oil fields, and which we have given
with such particular detail, and for a purpose that the reader will not
fail to detect, remains to be told. When the " rimming out " to
the bottom of the first well had been completed, and the " car-
438 HISTOEY OF PETROLEUM.
axle " drill, had been run down for the last time, "just to make sure
that the work was finished/' it in some unaccountable and inexpli-
cable manner became fastened to the rocks below, and " never saw
day-light again ! " Days and days were spent in the vain effort to
release it, but all to no purpose. Mr. Dennis constructed a rude
torpedo out of the remaining portion of his copper boiler feed pipe,
and charged this with blasting powder. After some experiments
with a fuse, as to the time required to reach the top of his drill-
ing tools, he made one or two efforts to explode it, and finally ac-
complished his purpose. The explosion was sensibly felt upon the
surface, for Mr. Dennis says " the ground trembled like an earth-
quake under his feet!" The explosion was effected, doubtless,
nearer the surface than he intended or anticipated. But the effect
of this " first torpedo exploded in an oil well," was a failure to re-
lease the embedded tools. Other expedients were resorted to, but
all to no purpose. Each succeeding effort only served to put it be-
yond the mechanical skill of Mr. Dennis to recover the lost imple-
ments, and they were finally abandoned. What a curiosity that
rude drilling tool would be now, and what a contrast would be dis-
cernible in them and those in use at the present day !
We may as well state here that while other wells followed this
first one upon Gordon Run one as late as 1865, no oil has ever
been brought to the surface in that locality. The oil spring, which
first induced Mr. GRANDIN to purchase it and the land surround-
ing it, is still in existence, and the gravel two feet from the surface
is thoroughly impregnated with heavy petroleum. It is supposed
the oil is forced up through the rocks from Dennis Run, half a
mile distant, and finds an exit in this spring.
Before the completion of this well, or perhaps we should say be-
fore its abandonment, during the winter and spring of 1860, Mr.
GRANDIN secured leases upon the river flats, on lands belonging to
" The Tidioute and Warren Oil Company." These leases were
sub-let to other parties, and in the early spring and summer of
that year, two wells were put down, one of which produced eight
J. L. GRANDIN. 439
barre T s and the other forty barrels daily. Mr. GRANDIN retained a
" free interest " in the property leased, and was thus made a party
to the profits without great outlay. The wells were shallow, not
being in any case, we believe, during the development of 1860, and
'61, more than 125 to 150 feet in depth.
During the summer and fall of 1 860, developments had extended
across and down the river from Tidioute a mile or more. Mr.
GRANDIN leased a number of farms in the direction indicated, put
down a good many wells himself, and sub-leased to other parties
upon various terms, but the developments were without marked
success. Little or no oil was discovered, and the consequence was
an innumerable number of "dry holes" rewarded the industry
and enterprise of the explorers. Efforts to discover the producing
oil-rock were continued by Mr. GRANDIN, with unabated zeal
through 1860, '61, '62 and '63, and with moderate success. Du-
ring these early years of the petroleum excitement, and while
known as a prominent producer, he became largely interested in the
purchase, sale and shipment of oil to the sea-board.
In 1863, Mr. GRANDIN, partly as a speculative operation, but
mainly to introduce refined petroleum to western dealers and con-
sumers, shipped 130 barrels of oil, refined, at Irvineton, Pa., upon
shares, to Chicago, and went thither himself to attend to its sale.
He found much difficulty in interesting dealers in its traffic. Their
prejudices, the results of a total lack of knowledge of this new il-
luminating agent, would admit of no arguments, or proofs, or sug-
gestions. They " had a coal oil that gave ample light," and they
would not touch the new material. Mr. GRANDIN did, however,
finally succeed in interesting one or two dealers in its sale but the
speculation was not a flattering one, financially. But it served to
introduce the new " illuminating fluid " to the people of the west,
and later, opened up one of the best markets on the continent for
the sale of refined oil.
The first oil-producing well put down at Tidioute was struck in
the fall of 1860. It was located upon the river-flat below Tidioute,
440 HISTORY OF PETROLEUM.
and was drilled by Messrs. KING & FERRIS, then both residents
of Titusville. The land upon which it was situated belonged to
W. W. WALLACE, of Pittsburgh, and in 1860, was purchased by
" THE TIDIOUTE AND WARREN OIL COMPANY/' This was, pro-
bably, the first oil company organized at Tidioute, if not in the Oil
Region, and its proprietorship is worthy of preservation in these
pages. There were ten shares of the stock at 1,000 each, and the
following gentlemen were its original owners :
Samuel Grandin, . . . Tidioute.
Brewer, Watson & Co., . . Titusville.
Charles Hyde, .... Hydetown.
Robert Brown, .... Milltown.
W. T. Neill, .... Neilltown.
E. T. F. Vallentine, . . . Warren.
L. L. Lowry, ....
C. B. Curtis, .... "
L. D. Wetmore .... "
The Company purchased the "undivided one-half" of the Wal-
lace farm property, which consisted of about 500 acres of land, and
leased the other half at "an eighth royalty." The investment
proved to be a very profitable one, the shareholders receiving large
sums as dividends. In 1865, Mr. GRANDIN became interested by
purchase, in this valuable property, and was soon after elected
Treasurer of the Company, and one of the Executive Committee.
He had been identified and indirectly connected with the
purchase and development of this property from the first, repre-
senting his father's interest, but became a purchaser of a portion of
its stock himself, as we have stated. He holds the position of Trea-
surer and Manager at this writing, directing its affairs almost
exclusively, the remaining members of the Committee being resi-
dents of Pittsburgh and Warren, and rarely at Tidioute. As evi-
dence of the success with which Mr. G. has developed this property,
we may add, that during his eight years 1 supervision of it, he has
paid over to its stockholders more than $1,200,000, in dividends!
J. L. GRANDIN. 441
This is quite $150,000 per annum as profits upon an investment
of only $10,000 made in 1860 !
In 1866, Mr. GRANDIN became interested with Pierce & Ney-
hart in the purchase, sale and development of oil lands, building
of iron tankage, and the general traffic incident to the oil trade.
Later the firm added the shipment of oil to the sea-board, and else-
where to their extensive operations. Few firms or individuals in
the oil region have been as large buyers and shippers, as Pierce &
Neyhart, and Mr. Adnah Neyhart, who succeeded Pierce & Neyhart.
Buying upon a falling market as readily as upon an advancing one,
their ample capital permitted the purchase of large quantities of oil
which they were enabled to hold at various points, and ship as
required. Mr. GRANDIN retired from this firm in 1868, after two
years of successful operation, and Messrs. Pierce & Neyhart suc-
ceeded to the shipping traffic.
In 1866, the first Pipe Line was put into successful operation
upon Dennis Run. It was owned by J. L. GRANDIN, Pierce &
Neyhart, Fisher*Bros., and C. "W. Ellis. It extended from the
river, through Dennis Run to the " New York and Dennis Run
Oil Company V lauds, below Triumph. This line was in 1867,
sold to the " New York and Dennis Run Oil Co.," and passed into
their control at that date.
Another Pipe Line was laid in 1867, and by the same parties,
with M. G. Gushing and James Parshall, added to their number.
The pipe used for this second enterprise was three inch, the first
being but two inch capacity. In 1870, the Fagundas developments
startled the oil region from end to end. Prior to these extraordi-
nary productions, or in the fall and winter of 1869, J. L. GRANDIN,
with his brothers E. B. and W. J., and the brothers Neyhart, pur-
chased the undivided one-half interest in the David Beaty farm, on
Hickory Creek, and adjoining the Fagundas farm on the west, for
$91,000. The following year, 1870, Messrs. J. L. & E. B. GRAN-
DIN, A. Neyhart and David Beaty purchased one-half of the Hirarn
Scott farm at Fagundas, paying for it, with developments within a
stone's throw of its boundaries, $5,000.
\
442 HISTORY OF PETROLEUM.
Shortly after this transaction, the same parties, in conjunction
with Fisher Bros., purchased five-sixths of the Fagundas Farm,
John Fagundas retaining a one-sixth interest. For this the parties
paid $100,000 ! Subsequently Mr. A. Neyhart purchased one-half
of John Fagundas 7 one-sixth interest, for which he paid $25,000 !
During the same summer, and after developments began to prove
the great value of property at Fagundas, the GRANDINS and Ney-
hart, and David Beaty, leased ten acres of the afterwards widely-
known Wilkins Farm five of which they re-leased to James
McNair. Upon the remaining five acres they sank three w r ells,
one of which, " The McQuade Well," produced from the start, 400
barrels a day ! This was by far the largest well obtained upon
the Fagundas belt, and brought to its fortunate owners a large
amount of solid profit. Besides these returns, here briefly referred
to, these gentlemen possessed valuable interests at various points in
this new field, all which, or nearly all, added to the volume of
wealth literally pouring into their coffers. At this writing, May,
1873, they are owners of nearly 100 producing w^fls, scattered over
the Fagundas, Scott, Wilkins, Beaty, and contiguous Farms, the
aggregate production of which is not less than 500 barrels per day.
In closing this brief mention of the Fagundas operations, we
may add, by way of a summary statement, that -in the purchase
and development of the property above referred to, more than
$600,000 have been expended upon the Fagundas and Beaty Farms
alone ! Of course the " right side " of the ledger will exhibit a
"stretch of numerals" largely in excess of even these fabulous
expenditures.
During the summer of 1868, J. L. & E. B. GRANDLY, Fisher
Bros., and Adnah Neyhart, purchased the remaining interests in
the Tidioute Pipe Line these gentlemen being from the first its
largest stockholders : and in 1869, with David Beaty and Jahu
Hunter added to their number, began and completed a Pipe Line
from Fagundas to Trunkeyville, a station on the O. C. and A. R. R.
R., a mile and a half from the Fagundas oil field.
J. L. GBANDIN. 443
These lines of pipe were successfully operated through 1869-
'70 and '71, at which date "The Pennsylvania Transportation
Company," the most extensive Pipe Line incorporation in the oil
region, became interested in them. Messrs. Grandins & Ney-
hart are now equal owners with this Company in the Pipe-lines
from Fagundas to Trunkeyville, and from Fagundas to Tidioute,
and from Fagundas to Titusville. They also own, in connection
with the same Company, one-half of the Pipe-line running
from Triumph to Tidioute, which, with its extensions, reaches
to all the producing territory lying between Colorado and
Tidioute.
The storage or Iron tankage belonging to Grandins & Ney-
hart, and David Beaty, who is also part owner with these gen-
tlemen in some portions of their tank investments, is larger than
that of any private firm or individual in the oil regions. At Par-
ker's Landing, J. L. & E. B. GBANDIN, and Messrs. Neyhart and
David Beaty, have a tankage capacity of 36,000 barrels. The
tankage at Tidioute, owned by J. L. & E. B. Grandin, and Adnah
Neyhart, amounts to 75,000 barrels. Upon the Beaty Farm, the
same parties, with Mr. Beaty, have tankage for 18,000 barrels,
and 11,000 barrels of tank capacity is owned by the same parties
at Miller Farm, on Oil Creek. These gentlemen are now erecting at
Titusville for the conveniences of their own private business, a
tankage capacity of 18,000 barrels. Here are nearly 160,000 bar-
rels of storage capacity owned and controlled by the enterprise of
these gentlemen, and it is but truth to say they have " no room to
spare." Their production and purchase of oil, month in and month
out, test the capacity of all the storage they have at their disposal.
As with their ample means, Grandins & Neyhart are enabled to con-
duct this branch of their business upon a thoroughly successful
basis, and at the same time keep their large capital actively, employed.
They are large buyers at all times, but specially so upon a depressed
market. It is no uncommon fact for Grandins & Neyhart to pur-
444 HISTORY OF PETROLEUM.
chase and carry over to a higher market 150,000 barrels
of oil.*
In December, 1865, Wadsworth, Baum & Co., opened a private
banking- office at Tidioute. In February following, (1866,) J. L.
GRANDIN associated himself with Dr. Baum, one of the original
partners of Wadsworth, Baum & Co., and purchased the interests
of the remaining partners, and thenceforward the enterprise was
known as " Grandin & Baum's Bank." In February, 1870, after
four years of financial success, this banking firm was succeeded by
J. L. & W. J. Grandin, and these brothers have since conducted
the banking business solely upon their own account and responsi-
bility, under the firm name of Grandin Brothers. The institution
is wholly a private enterprise, owned and managed exclusively by
these two gentlemen, both of whom, it is needless to add, command
the confidence of the public, and take rank among the leading and
substantial bankers of the oil region and Western Pennsylvania.
The amount of capital required to conduct their extensive banking
transactions is not named, nor does it seem necessary that it should
be. Whenever required, their resources will supply every demand
made upon them. Their deposits are very large, and their line of
discounts are probably equal with any other banking institution in
the oil region.
JOHN LIVINGSTON GRANDIN is a gentleman of large business
calibre and experience. In commercial as in financial circles he is
regarded as amply comprehensive and reliable beyond doubt or
question. He is self-possessed under whatever burden his large
business affairs and engagements impose, and never seems disiairbed
or deprived of his equanimity, either by reverses or successes. He
is prompt, energetic, and thorough, grappling large transac-
tions, involving thousands of dollars of outlay, as he would the
ordinary operations of every-day life. He is not what the world
* Since the above was written, an addition of 75,000 barrels tankage capacity has
been added a portion of it in the Parker's District a 20,000 barrel tank on the
Jamestown road, below Oil City, and another at Titusville of like dimensions.
J. L. GRANDIN. 445
terms a bold operator, for that expression oftentimes involves
suspicion of recklessness. But he is a clear-headed, far-seeing,
sound financial thinker, and accepts and adopts his own convictions
and theories, and acts upon them without special regard to the im-
pressions of others. He has an active temperament, with a well
balanced brain and a thoroughly cultured mind. He thinks and
moves not alone for himself, but for others, and is therefore among
that class of commercial and financial head- workers, whose opinion
and judgment upon all important subjects of this character will
always be sought after, and heeded.
In private life he is a man of rare personal worth and high-toned
moral excellencies. Dignified even to reserve, he is nevertheless
cordial and companionable toward all with whom he comes into
contact. Limited, perhaps to a degree, in his closer friendships, he
is yet generously frank and zealously devoted to those so fortunate
as to win his confidence and merit his esteem. In business circles
he is irreproachably honorable and scrupulously upright. His
integrity is absolutely unassailable, for he has ever regarded his
word as his bond, and his bond is always quotable at par.
Such men as JOHN LIVINGSTON GRANDIN, and the firms with
which his name is so prominently identified, and has been during
the past eight or ten years, give character and stability to the com-
mercial and monetary affairs of the Oil Region, and in closing
this brief resume of his own, and his associates' connection with this
important branch of our national wealth and resources, we may be
permitted the hope, that both he and they, may yet celebrate other
triumphs and still greater successes than those already carried to
their credit, which have given him and them, such flattering com-
mendation, and public and private renown. Such men deserve
success, and the popular voice is ever an approving one when they
attain it.
446 HISTORY OF PETROLEUM.
ADNAH NEYHAKT.
TIDIOUTE, PENNA.
A POLISHED and, we may add, a piquant, American author has
said, that " few virtues are more popular, more fascinating, and
unfortunately, more rare, than pluck !" Not " pluck " of that
blind, spasmodic, impulsive character usually misnamed under this
head, but of a steady, quiet, invincible and persistent quality
founded on neither ignorance nor miscalculation r spur red on neither
by emulation, nor conceit, following out, through clearly foreseen
and fully comprehended dangers, a well denned and thoroughly
good purpose. Men thus endowed have elements of greatness
about them that sooner or later will crop out, and in the end
demand and obtain success in whatever field they may choose to
labor. " Pluck," or courage under whatever disaster, is a virtue
beneficent solely through its own intrinsic quality. In whatever
cause displayed, it is ever a noble and an ennobling trait of human
character. No eminent man, in whatever station he be found in
the learned professions, in mechanics or arts, in financial circles, or
in the commercial world, has attained distinction without it.
Wherever it is discovered, it is applauded, for there are few who
do not sympathize with and pay it homage.
There are now and always have been, since its discovery,
"plucky" men, identified with the development of petroleum oil
in western Pennsylvania men of unconquerable will, invincible
determination, and unabated zeal and industry men, who under
whatever adversity or disaster, have resolved, come what may,
to attain success. Among this class of men, deserving recognition
and a place in the memory of the reader of these pages, we place
the subject of the following sketch, ADNAH NEYHART of Tidioute.
ADNAH NEYHART.
ADNAH NEYHART. 447
Mr. NEYHAET, is a native of Tompkins County, New York,
born in the town of Lansing, a few miles from its chief business
centre, Ithica, on the 20th of December, 1836. ADNAH, is the
eldest of three children, two sons and a daughter. His father was
a carpenter and builder, in moderate circumstances, but he early
determined to give his children all the educational advantages at
his disposal. ADNAH was kept at the district school, from six to
eight months of each year, until he was twelve or fourteen years
of age, when he was sent to reside with Rev. C. H. A. Bulkley,
a Dutch Reformed clergyman, resident in an adjoining town.
Here he remained four years : pursuing the higher branches of
study, in the -public school of the vicinity. At the end of this
time he went to reside with Mr. B. G. Ferris, where he remained
a year, pursuing his studies and still, another year spent in like
manner, in the, family of Mr. D. T. Wood, both of his. native
county.
About this time he had not yet attained his majority he was
offered a situation in the large mercantile establishment of J. W.
& J. Quigg, at Ithica, and accepted it, entering their employ-
ment in 1853. The house did an extensive business in general
merchandizing, and the purchase of produce. Here young NEY-
HART obtained a pretty thorough knowledge of the trade he was
engaged in indeed all his early business experience was obtained
while in their employ. Leaving this firm in 1857, he determined
to go into trade upon his own account. His cash capital amounted
to $200. He secured a partner with about the same amount of
means, and with him proceeded to New York this just after the
great panic of that year, 1857, and purchased a large stock of
groceries UPON CREDIT. We may add here, that it was the
letters of introduction MR. NEYHART presented, and not his finan-
cial ability that enabled him to obtain all the goods "on time/ 7
that he desired. This business engagement was maintained for
about one year. It proved to be a sure, but by far, too slow a
mode of making money to Mr. NEYHART, who had at this early
448 HISTORY OP PETROLEUM.
day imbibed and cultivated a speculative turn, in business affairs,
and could hardly endure the retail trade of a " corner grocery
store " for the gratification of his ambition. It was not the desire
to become rich, that prompted him to give up this mercantile en-
terprise, but rather in the hope, that some more important business
engagement, with larger transactions, and more of them, would be
presented to him. This retail grocery enterprise we should say
here, was a considerable success to the firm, but in the sale and
transfer to his partner, Mr. NEYHART was, in the end, the loser
of nearly all he had invested. This misfortune, for the time at
least changed his business determinations, for he soon after entered
the large dry goods establishment of Mr. S. H. Winton, in the
same city, as a general salesman. He at once won the esteem and
'confidence of his employer, who was not long in discovering in his
new employee, an especial adaptation to business, as well as his
clear, cool judgment, in all matters pertaining to his mer-
cantile trade. Mr. NEYHART remained in this establishment,
growing in the esteem of his employer, and the public, for about a
year, when Mr. Winton disposed of his business to other parties,
with whom Mr. NEYHART remained still another year.
This was early in the fall of 1861. With the accumulations of
his two years engagement with Mr. "Winton, and his successors, he
determined to try his fortunes as a speculator in one of the staples of
that portion of south-western New York. Butter was at this time
almost unsalable. Its quotable market value was very low. But
Mr. NEYHART saw "money in it," and promptly took the risks
of its purchase in large quantities. His capital was limited, but
the banks gave him generous accommodations, and very soon his
profits began to be tangible and substantial.
Later in the conduct of this enterprise, when the staple he dealt
in became more abundant, and his capital inadequate to the demands
made upon it, Mr. S. H. WINTON, his old employer, with ample
means, joined him in his operations. To their butter purchases,
which were largely increased under the new firm, was added the
ADNAH NEYHART. 449
buying and shipping of dried apples, now come to be an important
article in the list of Army supplies. This business association was
continued, and with much profit, until the fall of 1864, just as the
rebellion began to wane and give signs of failure. Values were
becoming fitful and varying, the finances of the country fluctuated
and were unsettled, and commercial transactions had little of per-
manence, and were fraught with disaster and loss indeed all
business ventures, the country over, presented an uninviting as-
pect. Messrs. Winton & Neyhart determined to surrender their
heretofore profitable enterprise, which they did before the fall busi-
ness commenced, and the partnership affairs were gradually wound
up, and the business discontinued.
While this was being accomplished, Mr. NEYHART, partly from
motives of curiosity, and partly as a speculative out-look, visited
the oil regions, arriving at Oil City early in the fall of 1864.
During his stay of two weeks, he made thorough examinations of
the oil-producing localities, noting the details of operating wells,
leases, etc., etc. He became fairly interested in this great industry,
and resolved to give it his immediate attention and effort. Upon
his return to Ithica, he, with other gentlemen of his acquaintance,
formed an association or partnership, with a cash capital of $25,000,
upon which to commence operations in the new Oil-dorado Mr.
NEYHART receiving and accepting the appointment of Supervising
Agent. This completed, Mr. N. returned to Oil City, and there-
upon began his operations. His first investment covered a few
leases on Cherry Eun, above Rouseville, then one of the largest
producing points on "the Creek." Leases in this locality com-
manded a large " bonus," and invariably " one-half the oil/' but the
few Mr. NEYHART secured, could have been disposed of soon after
he obtained them at a fabulous advance, but the association, whose
agent he was, decided to hold and operate them in their own behalf,
and to this end the capital of the Company was doubled, and the
purchase and sale of oil lands added to the original determination.
Everything promised well, and large returns were anticipated by
29
450 HISTORY OF PETROLEUM
oil men throughout the region indeed prosperity was upon every-
hand. In 1865, memorable for its devastating floods, its beggarly-
prices of oil, and the consequent prostration of this great industry,
leaving in place of thrift and marvellous gains, destruction, rain,
and bankruptcy, Mr. NEYHART'S enterprises met the fate of
others. The leased lands and oil-well properties of the association,
whose agent he was, proved to be, in the main, valueless, and to
add to the general disaster that met him at every turn, the Com-
pany was in debt, nearly, "if not quite $30,000 !" The home
office declined perhaps neglected, is the better word to respond
to Mr. NEYHART'S appeals for renewed assistance, to enable him
to liquidate some pressing demands, and after a few days of in-
effectual effort in this direction, he decided to assume the entire
responsibility himself! Calling upon his creditors, one after
another, he sought their best terms of adjustment, at the same time
assuring them, if they " pushed things," he would be unable to
discharge even a fraction of their just claims but if allowed to
manage his embarrassed affairs in his own way, every dollar of the
indebtedness would be scrupulously paid. Whatever Mr. NEY-
HART required was conceded by the creditors, and the sequel shows
how thoroughly and faithfully he accomplished his ends. Every
penny of the Association's liabilities were subsequently paid by
him, amounting in all, principal and interest, to more than $30,000 !
While these burdens were resting so heavily upon Mr. NEY-
HART, and he was straining every nerve to relieve himself from
them by payment, he made the acquaintance of Mr. Joshua Pierce
of Philadelphia and together they joined their experiences money
they had none! This partnership began in 1866. The first ope-
rations under this new connection were successful one a lease and
well upon "The Tidioute and Warren Oil Company's " lands at
Tidioute, and another upon the " New York and Allegany Oil
Company's " lands, on Dennis Run. This may be said to be the
commencement of Mr. NEYH ART'S career as a successful oil pro-
ducer and operator, and thenceforward new investments and addi-
ADNAH NEYHART. 451
tional oil enterprises were entered upon. Later in the summer of
1866, the firm purchased a small tract of oil land at Triumph,
which proved to be productive, but, unfortunately for the owners,
about the date of the completion of their wells upon this property,
the price of oil had so far declined as to render its production un-
remunerative. During the season of 1866, oil was sold at the wells
as low as $1.1 2 J to $1.30. Messrs. Pierce & Ney hart's daily pro-
duct was quite large, and deciding not to sell at the losing prices
offered, they began the erection of great iron tanks among the
first put up at Tidioute in which to store their own product, dis-
continuing at the same time their developing enterprises, regarding
that part of their business, as almost, if not quite a failure.
The firm determined early in 1867, to engage in the shipment
of oil to Philadelphia, Baltimore, and other points, and to this
end Mr. Pierce returned to the former city, and after a careful ex-
amination of the whole ground and a thorough study of the details
of the undertaking, resolved to enter into it Mr. Pierce to remain
at Philadelphia to receive and dispose of the oil, and Mr. NEY-
HART to remain in the oil region purchasing and having charge of
shipments from all points. This traffic was continued, steadily
increasing in magnitude and importance, and requiring constantly
augmenting capital, until the fall of 1869. A few months sub-
sequent to the establishment of this shipping enterprise, additional
capital being requisite to its successful conduct, Mr. J. L. Grandin
became a silent partner with Messrs. Pierce & Neyhart, contribut-
ing sufficient of his ample means, to warrant its enterprising pro-
jectors against possible loss. In the fall of 1869, in consequence
of the continual, oftentimes petty, and not unfrequently, insur-
mountable obstacles at the disposition of chartered transportation
companies, which were constantly thrown in their way, Messrs.
PIERCE & NEYHART resolved to surrender this portion of their
enterprises, and this they did as promptly as possible, and the part-
nership was dissolved.
Before leaving this point in our sketch of Mr. NEYHART, some-
452 HISTORY OF PETROLEUM.
thing is due to his partner, Mr. Pierce, and justly so. He is still a
resident of Philadelphia, though wholly withdrawn from business
connections with petroleum in any of its varied branches. But
while he was connected with it, and in whatever relation, he main-
tained a high character for business excellencies and unsullied per-
sonal worth. He retired a few years ago with a competency, ac-
quired by industry and the faithful discharge of every obligation.
A man of sterling integrity and rare personal attractions, he is a
man among a thousand to be admired and commended for his suc-
cess.
Mr. NEYHART did not long remain idle. He immediately turned
his attention exclusively to developing new oil fields, and during
1869, 70, and '71, became, with Grandin Brothers, and David
Beaty, one of the largest producers in the Hickory, Fagundas and
Tidioute districts. Early in 1869, he began negotiations for the
purchase of a one-half interest in the Beaty farm; at Hickory, ad-
joining the Fagundas farm on the west. Developments in this
vicinity had unmistakably indicated this and contiguous farms as
oil territory, and Mr. IS"., as before remarked, commenced negotia-
tions for the purchase of all he could obtain of the Beaty farm.
Terms were finally agreed upon, and the transfer promptly made,
and Messrs. J. L., E. B. and "W. J. Grandin, with Mr. NEYHART
and his brother Alpheus, became one-half owners in fee, of the
David Beatty farm. When this transaction was finally consummated,
all the parties were at home, the brothers J. L. and E. B. Grandin
having returned from their California tour, but Mr. NEYHART, with
the assent and concurrence of his associates, conducted the negotia-
tions generally, and closed the transaction. This may be said to
be true of the subsequent negotiations and purchase of five-sixths
of the Fagundas farm, together with the lease upon the Wilkins
farm.
For the one-half interest in the Beaty farm $91,000 was paid.
For five-sixths of the Fagundas farm, purchased soon after the
Beaty farm transaction, $100,000 was paid. When in 1869, to 70,
ADNAH NEYHART. 453
developments indicated the great value of the Fagundas farm
property, Mr. NEYHART purchased one-half of the one-sixth interest
reserved by Jno. Faguudas at the first sale, paying $25,000 for it.
This latter purchase, he made upon his own account, and holding
it for only a few months, disposed of it to Pittsburgh parties for
$50,000.
Having been largely instrumental in securing these very valu-
able oil properties, in conjunction with Mr. E. B. Grandin, he as-
sumed the greater part of the responsibility of developing and
rendering them, as they most assuredly have been, a source of vast
wealth to the owners. Later in the history of this prolific oil-pro-
ducing locality, Mr. NEYHART gave over the care and control of the
property into the hands of Mr. E. B. Grandin, having previously
determined to re-engage in the purchase and shipment of oil to the
sea board.
In June, 1871, Mr. NEYHART became again largely interested in
oil shipments, principally to New York City.
Throughout the season of 1871, purchases and shipments stea-
dily increased, involving a large amount of capital at times re-
quiring three, four and five hundred thousand dollars. During
the closing months of 1871, purchases and shipments aggregated
90,000 barrels per month. The average of shipments per month
from all points in the region are about 450,000 barrels. Mr. NEY-
HART, may therefore at this date, be regarded as the buyer and
shipper to the sea-board, of nearly, if not quite one-quarter of the
product of the entire oil region of Western Pennsylvania. His own
ample capital, with that of his partnership connection in other oil
enterprises, promptly at his command when required, afford him fa-
cilities in this direction e.njoyed or within reach of few engaged in
like transactions.
For the year 1872, negotiations were in progress for the trans-
portation by rail of 100,000 barrels or more of crude and refined
oil, per month. The threatened " South Improvement Company "
monopoly, which alarmed the region during the last months of that
454 HISTORY OF PETROLEUM.
year, to a considerable extent paralyzed this contemplated enter-
prise, but Mr. NEYHART continued his purchases and shipments,
amounting in the aggregate to more than 100,000 barrels per
month, and requiring the employment of quite half a million of
dollars, and the handling of 1,500,000 barrels of crude and refined
oil per annum. In the present depressed state of the oil market,
one-half the amount of capital required in 1871, and '72, is ample
for the successful conduct of this important commercial enterprise.
With oil at $4 and $5 per barrel when shall we see this pros-
perity again ? $400,000 to $600,000, and even a larger sum, is
often required to meet the demands of this purchasing and shipping
traffic.
In the fall of 1871, from over-taxed energies of both body and
mind, Mr. NEYHART'S health failed him, and since that date,
while he has had a general oversight and control of his great busi-
ness concerns, he has yet practically withdrawn from its immediate
direction and supervision. In the early months of 1872, he estab-
lished a commission house in the city of New York for the sale of
refined oil, placing Mr. John D. Archibold, formerly of Titusville,
in full charge. His crude oil sales, in the same city, are made
through the usual brokerage channels, Mr. Henry C. Ohlen hold-
ing the position of principal broker in the crude oil department.
This entire shipping enterprise is under the sole responsibility
and guidance of Mr. NEYHART, and is wholly independent of other
partnership interests held by him with the Grandin Brothers. He
has an equal interest with these gentlemen in their pipe-line invest-
ments, as well as their great iron tankage capacity, scattered over
the region, from Parker's Landing to Titusville and Tidioute.
He is also an equal owner with these gentlemen in nearly all their
extensive oil land properties, located at various points throughout
the oil fields of Western Pennsylvania.
The firm of Grandins & Neyhart was organized in 1868. Since
that date Mr. NEYHART has partaken largely of its marvellous
successes, and been prominently identified with all its more impor-
ADNAH NEYHART. 455
tant transactions. We need not remark upon the universally con-
ceded financial solidity of this association of capitalists and business
men, so thoroughly recognized throughout the oil region, and
wherever they may be known. Suffice it to say, their contracts
are greenbacks to any amount they may name, and their word is
their bond to be kept to the letter. In this firm, ADNAH NEY-
HART stands without blot or blemish, the soul of honor, and the
representative of that class of American business men, distinguished
alike for superior attainments in commercial circles, and for the
possession of that unconquerable will and determination to succeed
facetiously termed " pluck," and which, sooner or later, hews its
own way to power, and in ninety-nine cases out of a hundred,
achieves the success it so richly deserves.
In person, Mr. NEYHART is tall, well-proportioned, and in per-
fect -health has a commanding presence, and at all times a dignified
manner. In his intercourse with all, he manifests a reserve which
may often be mistaken for austerity or a domineering spirit.
Nothing is further from his composition. He is a man of thought
and reflective inclinations, yet possessing rare social excellencies,
of plain, unassuming manners, and simple, unaffected tastes. These
prominent characteristics are liable to be attributed to other than
their true sources, and thus the true gold of his manhood be mis-
understood and misapprehended. In matters of business, Mr.
NEYHART says just what he means, and in as few words as will
convey his real intent. There is no guile or deceptive traits in his
character. Integrity and personal worth are his in an abundant
degree. He is sternly honest and rigidly upright in all his life,
both private and public. As a business man, he ranks among the
leading, successful operators of the Oil Region, and is recognized
wherever he is known as a comprehensive, clear-sighted financier,
a cool, well-poised man of business, capable, mentally, of working
out to successful results any mercantile, commercial or financial
problem that may engage his mind or command his energies.
For a year or more, Mr. NEYHAET has been compelled to with-
456 HISTOEY OF PETROLEUM.
draw from the immediate control of his large business affairs,
because of impaired health. In the fall of 1872, he sought, by
travel and release from business cares, to re-invigorate his over-
taxed body and brain. He spent the winter of 1872-3, in traver-
sing the great plains lying west of the Missouri river, to the Rocky
Mountains, and into the pure air of Colorado. Thence he went
through New Mexico and Texas to Florida and. the southern states,
returning to his home at Tidioute in the -early part of June last,
much improved, and with strong hopes of an ultimate restoration
to his old-time vigor and health.
Woodbiirylype. A. P. K.P. Co.. Ph
E. B. GRANDIN,
E. B. GRANDIN. 457
E. B. GKANDIN.
TIDIOUTE, PENJSTA.
SUCCESS in life, is said to be a passport to popular favor. This
is especially true, where success has been attained through indi-
vidual effort, and without the aid or assistance of influential friends
or wealthy relatives. Men do become rich and great, at one and
the same stroke of fortune at least this seems to be the public es-
timate in innumerable instances and we would fain believe the
public voice is not always at fault. But the man, who, through
years of practical industry, and zealous attention to his business
affairs, acquires a competency, and at the same time builds up and
rigidly maintains for himself, a character for integrity and unsul-
lied honesty, not only wins, but deserves the plaudits and com-
mendations of his fellows. Among this class of leading men in
the Oil Region of Western Pennsylvania, we place the subject of
the following sketch.
ELIJAH BISHOP GRANDIN, is a native of Tidioute, Warren Co.,
Pa., where he was born on the 23d day of November, 1840. He
is the youngest son of SAMUEL GRANDIN, Esq., of Tidioute, and
brother of J. Livingston Grandin, a sketch of whom immediately
precedes this.
As soon as his age would permit, young GRANDIN was sent to
school, and kept there, summer and winter, without much inter-
ruption, until he was fifteen years old. At this age, with the as-
sent and approval of his father and family, he left his home, and
entered the mercantile establishment of S. J. Goodrich, at Warren,
Pa., as a general clerk. This was in the early spring of 1856. A
year's labor with Mr. Goodrich, gave him a tolerable knowledge of
the business, and at the same time won for him the approbation of his
458 HISTORY OF PETROLEUM.
employer, for industry and strict integrity, and the good opinions
of all who knew him. At the end of a year's engagement with
Mr. Goodrich, that gentleman disposed of his establishment, and
retired from business, and young GRANDIN returned to his home
at Tidioute, and during the winter of 1856, and '57, he attended
school. In the spring of 1857, he again sought employment as a
clerk, and obtained such a position, including that of book-keeper,
in the mercantile establishment of Mr. Charles Hyde, at Hyde-
town, Pa., then one of the largest lumber manufacturers and mer-
chants in that part of Western Pennsylvania. A temporary change
in Mr. Hyde's mercantile operations, occurred a few months later,
and young GRANDIN was permitted to relinquish his position a
short time, and he returned to Tidioute. A respite of three or
four months, and he again entered the employ of Mr. Hyde, now
assuming the position of confidential clerk, cashier and accountant.
From the first, he had won the confidence and esteem of Mr.
Hyde, who in turn, committed to his care and control, the most
important business interests of his large establishment, lumbering
as well as mercantile. This confidential relationship continued for
many years, Mr. GRANDIN very generally superintending his
steadily increasing business aifairs, and financial operations selling
goods from the store, buying timber for his mills, and ordinarily
having a secondary charge of his large manufacturing and mercan-
tile concerns holding at the same time the closer relationship of
cashier and confidential clerk.
It was during the later years of this business engagement, that
the oil excitements, and developments of 1859, '60, '61, and '62,
were inaugurated. Young GRANDIN, still held his responsible po-
sition, and when in 1860, and '61, Mr. Hyde began his career as
an oil producer and oil land operator, and gave his personal atten-
tion to these interests,, it was part of young GRANDIN'S duty to
look after and have an accountant's care of these enhancing re-
sponsibilities. The better to accomplish this increased labor, a
division of his time and labors became necessary, alternating
E. B. GRANDIN. 459
between Hydetown and "the Creek." When Mr. Hyde began
the drilling of wells, upon " The Hydetown Oil Company's " lands
below Rouseville, young GRANDIN became a limited subscriber to
its capital stock, and thenceforward, had a personal interest in
the enterprise. This, with another small venture in development
elsewhere upon the same farm, comprised his first oil investments,
and they were successful. The interest he had purchased in " The
Hydetown Oil Company," he sold before the first well was down,
for $900 nearly all profit receiving in payment therefor, three
horses valued at $500, and $400 in cash.
At this date Mr. GRANDIN was known along " the Creek," and
among the crowds of oil operators, daily increasing, as the agent
and confidential adviser of Mr. Hyde, and was constantly ap-
proached by interested parties having oil lands, leases, etc., to dis-
pose of, and thus the principal, who was regarded as among the
substantial capitalists, and monied men of the region, was fre-
quently appealed to through his agent (Mr. GRANDIN,) to purchase
or lease this or that interest, first as matter of profit, though mainly
we dare say, to assist his less fortunately provided neighbors and
co-operators, in their oil enterprises. Very man^ good investments
were thus made, a few of which Mr. GRANDIN became limitedly
interested in. Some of these subsequently added to his gains, but
the larger portion of the property held by him, and his associates,
has never been developed.
In the early months of 1862, Mr. Hyde purchased from Dr. A.
G. Egbert a one-half interest in the Widow Davidson farm, at
Petroleum Centre. His oil land investments and operations now
absorbed nearly all his time, and required his undivided attention.
Mr. GRANDIN had been, and was at this date, his faithful, invaluable
" right hand man," so to speak, and in order to show his apprecia-
tion of his services, and at the same time lessen his own cares and
responsibilities, he offered Mr. GRANDIN an interest in the mer-
cantile establishment at Hydetown, which was subsequently ac-
cepted upon the generous terms proposed. The trade and traffic
460 HISTORY OF PETROLEUM.
of this mercantile enterprise had doubled, and quadrupled under
Mr. GRANDIN'S supervision, and at the date of this co-partnership
(1862 ; ) greater facilities were required and additional room de-
manded for the transaction of their constantly increasing trade. A
new and more commodious structure was erected to accommodate
the business of the new firm, and their stock of goods and wares
materially added to. Besides this latter responsibility, Mr. GRAN-
DIN still had the care and supervision of Mr. Hyde's daily aug-
menting oil interests and investments among the most important
of which was the Widow Davidson or as it is now known, the
Hyde and Egbert farm purchase.
At this early day in the history of petroleum, there was little
system or order in the conduct of the great oil well interests. The
oil was produced and tanked sales made, the money received, and
the amount divided among the fortunate owners of interests, with-
out delay. This, in conjunction with Dr. A. G. Egbert, was Mr.
GRANDIN'S portion of the labor see to the product of each well,
sell and deliver the oil on hand, and receive pay for it and as
soon as practicable thereafter, pay over the proceeds to the rightful
owners.
The mercantile firm of Hyde, Grandin & Co., (William C. Hyde,
now Vice-President of the Second National Bank of Titusville,
being also a member of the firm,) was dissolved at the expiration
of one year's successful operations, Mr. GRANDIN purchasing the
interests of the remaining partners, and thenceforward until 1865,
he conducted the enterprise upon his own account. Under his pro-
prietorship and individual control, and we may add because of his
rare business tact, prosperity, deserved and positive, was vouch-
safed to him.
In 1865, one-half this mercantile enterprise was re-sold to Mr.
Charles Hyde, and the firm of Hyde & Grandin, continued the
business until 1869, or '70, when the stock was transferred to Mr.
E. D. Fleteher, of Titusville, and thereafter the establishment at
Hydetown ceased to exist.
E. B. GRANDIN. 461
During Mr. GRANDIN'S sole ownership and direction of the Hyde-
town mercantile enterprise, from 1862, to 1865, he became quite
extensively interested in and identified with the oil developments
of "the Creek." In the spring of 1863, he purchased a one-
eighth interest in " The Keystone lease," located upon the Hyde
& Egbert farm, and during the same summer two wells were
drilled on this property one of which produced from the start 50
to 60 barrels per day. The interest he held in this lease was dis-
posed of before the second well was down, for^ $9,000 this sum
being nearly all " clear profit." Prior to this transaction Mr. G.
had purchased interests and secured leases upon territory at or near
the junction of Pine Creek with Oil Creek, below Titus ville, and
these also, from prompt sales, proved to be sources of considerable
profit.
This may be said to be true of very many of his subsequent
ventures. He acquired interests in leases at various points along
" the Creek, (and yet undeveloped,) but he made it a point to dis-
pose of his property thus held whenever he could do so at a fair
advance. This policy, uniformly practiced in all his early opera-
tions in oil property, enables him to assert that he suffered no
loss upon any lease or on well interests held by him. Soon after
Messrs. Hyde & Egbert obtained possession of the Davidson farm,
they gave leases to parties applying for them, usually at one-half
royalty. This continued only a short time, however, for the pro-
.perty began to develop and produce largely and leases were
finally declined altogether, the owners preferring to operate it them-
selves. In the spring of 1864, because of personal considerations,
doubtless, Mr. GRANDIN, A. C. Kepler, William C. Hyde and
Titus Kidgeway obtained a small lease upon the farm, a little
removed from developments already made. This lease comprised
about one acre of land, and was located upon the western bounda-
. ries of the Hyde & Egbert farm, and a few rods from Oil Creek.
The lessees contracted to give the land owners a royalty of three-
quarters of the oil I The usual royalty at this date, at all points
462 HISTORY OF PETROLEUM.
on " the Creek," was one-half. It is safe to add that no lease before
or since made, gave so large a royalty to the land owners.
The well was located by Mr. Kepler, and by him named " The
Coquet/' and soon after the work of drilling began. One-half the
"working interest" in this well was owned jointly by Mr. GRAN-
DIN and Mr. Kepler, and the other half of a like interest, was held
by "VV. C. Hyde and Mr. Ridgeway. Each of these " half work-
ing interests " drew one-eighth of the oil, and the other six-eighths
went to the land proprietors ! A few days before the well was
" struck," or completed, Messrs. Hyde & Ridgeway sold their half
of the "working interest," for $10,000! This interest, after
changing hands once or twice, finally became the property of Dr.
M. C. Egbert, a brother of the original purchaser of the farm, who
had meantime become the possessor by purchase of a one-sixth in-
terest in fee, of the entire property. At the date of the sale by
Messrs. Hyde and Kidgeway, GRANDIN and Kepler were offered
the same sum for their interest, and declined it. The well was
subsequently completed, and was pumped ten or twelve days, pro-
ducing daily two or three hundred barrels. The flow of gas inter-
fered materially with its operations, and it was determined to draw
the sucker rods. This done, the well commenced to flow, and for
the first few days its product was variously estimated at 1,000 to
1200 barrels. It finally settled down to 800 barrels, and at this
rate it produced for many months. Immediately after " the Co-
quet" began to produce in such bountiful quantities, Messrs.
GRANDIN & KEPLER were offered large sums of money for their
one-half working interest. The price they finally put upon it, was
$150,000! Three months after, and while the well was gushing
forth its eight hundred barrel stream, they disposed of it to Mr.
Frank Allen, of New York City, the consideration being $145,-
000, or $75,500 for each one-sixteenth of the product of the well !
During Messrs. GRANDIN & KEPLER'S ownership of the interest,
the prices of oil ranged at a high figure, and the first 10,000 bar-
rels sold from the " Coquet," brought $9.00 per barrel, or $90,000
in round greenback numbers !
E. B. GRANDIN. 463
We have given this detailed history of "The Coquet Well/'
and Mr. GRANDIN'S connection with it, first because of the romantic
interest attaching to it, and its marvellous product, as also the great
wealth it brought to its owners ; and second, because it may be
regarded as the basis upon which Mr. GRANDIN laid the foundations
of his later fortunes and present wealth. From this single invest-
ment, which at the commencement involved an outlay of $2,000
to $3,000, he realized from the sale of his portion of the product
of the well, during his three or four months ownership of it, not
less than $10,000. Add to this the sum received for the interest
when sold $72,500, and we have a total of $82,500, all but $2,500
of which may be regarded as profit ! While fortune was thus
showering its gifts upon him, he was the possessor of many other
paying ventures, nearly all of which brought him large and remu-
nerative gains. At the date of these transactions 1864, and '65,
Mr. GRANDIN was scarcely twenty-four years of age, and yet by
his energy, careful business ventures and successful operations in
oil lands, leases and oil well interests, he had accumulated a hand-
some fortune, all without special aid or assistance from relatives or
friends. His ^father, having ample means, upon several occasions
offered to aid him in his enterprises, but he determined to stand or
fall upon his own efforts, and accomplished his aims most successfully.
After the sale of the " Coquet Well " interest, Mr. GRANDIN
resolved to dispose of his oil properties and interests, of whatever
name and nature, as rapidly as possible, and did so, as far as he
was able to.
He still held and gave such attention to his mercantile interests
at Hydetown, as they required at his hands. The business had
steadily increased, and his profits as a sequence, yearly grew apace.
This co-partnership, as before remarked, terminated in 1870, when
the stock was sold to other parties, and the establishment closed.
With the exception of this mercantile enterprise, Mr. GRANDIN
had little else to engage his attention for a year or more, save the
remaining unsold interests of his earlier operations, and later in-
464 HISTORY OF PETROLEUM.
vestments made at West Pit Hole, and elsewhere, in other producing
localities.
In 1867, Mr. GRAXDIN again became a permanent resident of
Tidioute, his ample means husbanded for immediate use. His first
operations here, some months later, indicate his well-defined plans
for the future. He commenced by purchasing a one-quarter inter-
est in what was then and is now known as the " Valley Tank."
Later during the same season, he largely increased his tankage
investments, and as occasion offered, bought oil upon a " low mar-
ket," and carried it over for better prices. There has not been a
year since 1862, or '63, that the difference in prices of this great
staple has not varied from one to three dollars per barrel, during
each year. Not unfrequently prices have fluctuated to even wider
points ; but the general average, we believe, has been about one
dollar per barrel, in favor of the buyer and holder for better rates.
Mr. G. steadily enlarged this branch of his petroleum operations,
from year to year, subsequently merging his business interests and
investments in this direction, with those of his brother, J. L. Gran-
din, and his brother-in-law, Adnah Neyhart, who are now co-part-
ners in portions of the extensive tankage owned by^Grandins* and
Neyhart, at Tidioute and vicinity, at Parker's Landing and Brady's
Bend, at Miller Farm, on Oil Creek, and at Titusville. At
times during every year since 1868, it has been no uncommon
occurrence for Mr. GRANDIN and the firm of which he is a mem-
ber, to have in store more than a hundred thousand barrels of oil,
purchased upon a depressed market and this over and above their
own large production, which averaged in 1869, '70, quite fifteen
hundred barrels daily, and is at this date fully five hundred barrels
per day.
A single statistical statement, and we leave this branch of our
subject. The tankage capacity owned by the Messrs. Grandins (J.
L. & E. B.) and Mr. Neyhart is in the neighborhood of 75,000
barrels, of which E. B. GRANDIN, is one-third owner. In addition
to this, the brothers Grandin, Adnah Neyhart and David Beaty
E. B. GRANDIN. 465
own a tankage capacity, located at Parker's Landing and elsewhere
in the region, of 85,000 barrels, of which E. B. GRANDIN is one-
quarter owner.*
In 1867, Mr. GRANDIN purchased one-half the OIL INTEREST in
the Royal Scott farm at Fagundas. This was a year or more prior
to developments in that locality. This property he held until
the " Venture Well " was struck in 1868, and then disposed of
three-fourths of his purchase to Fisher Bros, and others, reserving
a one-quarter ownership and interest to himself. This property
proved to be abundantly productive, and the interest reserved in it
at the commencement of developments, is still held by Mr. GRAN-
DIN, and is a source of considerable revenue to him. While ope-
rations were in progress upon this farm in 1869-' 70, Mr. G.
obtained a lease upon it, and put down several wells upon his own
account, all of which proved to be largely remunerative.
This imperfect sketch of Mr. GRANDIN'S early and later opera-
tions as an oil producer, with an enlarged and increasing traffic in
lands, leases, product, etc., has been necessarily void of detail. To
follow up and particularize even a fraction of his very many ven-
tures and investments, would require time and space we could
hardly devote to it. It is, however, but " the vindication of the
truth of history" to say, that from the beginning of his oil enter-
prises in 1860, (long before reaching his majority,) he has been
prominently identified with this -great national benefaction, and is
to-day regarded as one of its leading influential men. The firm of
Grandins & Neyhart, of which Mr. E. B. GRANDIN is a member,
has a representative character, co-extensive with the history of
petroleum itself. The enterprises of these gentlemen, the steady
and liberal employment of their large capital in seeking new fields
for development, place them in the front rank of oil producers in
* Mr. GRANDIN is equal owner in the Beaty farm, and holds a like interest in the
Fagundas farm with his brothers, J. L. and W. J. Grandin, and Mr. A. Neyhart.
There are other oil interests held by the firm, unnecessary to mention here, in which
Mr. G. is an equal owner with the remaining partners.
30
466 HISTORY OF PETROLEUM.
Western Pennsylvania. Nearly all their developing operations of
later years have been inaugurated by lease or purchase, in the name
of one or other of the partners, and subsequently by a sale to each
of the remaining partners. Thus have their interests harmonized,
and all things have worked together for good. There are and have
been, of course, individual ownerships of valuable leases and oil
lands held by one or all the partners, at various dates during their
associated operations. This is true of some recent purchases of Mr.
E. B. GRANDIX. He holds by late investments, interests he deems
to be valuable, and has determined to develop them himself. But
very many of the larger and more important and lucrative under-
takings of the firm of Grandins & Neyhart, have in later years thus
had their inception one of the parties has purchased or leased
tracts of land for oil development, and the firm has immediately
assumed the transaction and executed the contract to the letter.
This mode and manner of conducting and augmenting their ex-
tended and constantly extending business operations, has given
them a prominence as producers, buyers and sellers of petroleum,
second to no firm or association of capitalists in the Pennsylvania
Oil region.
Mr. GRANDIN is the owner, independent of his associates, of
considerable oil property of undoubted value, which it is his de-
termination to operate and develop in the future as his own enter-
prise. He is besides part owner in the extensive oil pipe lines of
the firm of Grandins & Neyhart, a detailed statement of which will
be found in the sketch of Mr. J. L. Grandin, in the preceding
pages.
We have thus imperfectly sketched the career of ELIJAH
BISHOP GRANDIN, who began life as a merchant's clerk, and who
with the early discoveries of petroleum, and while yet a minor,
had earned for himself an enviable position as a successful oil pro-
ducer and operator. All this he accomplished by his own personal
efforts. There are those who may charge this flattering record,
and its attendant successes, to " good luck." Very much of it may
E. B. GRAKDIN. 4G7
be ascribed to this, but the major part of it, is due to superior
business sagacity and clear-headed financial discernment. That he
has deserved his success, none will dispute or question, and deserv-
ing and attaining ought always, as in this instance, to go hand in
hand.
In person, Mr. GKANDIN is below the medium height and
size, but he is a man of compact build, of nervous-lymphatic tem-
perament, of active, well developed brain, and substantial physical
power. Much of this is due to his temperate, unexceptionable
habits of life. Quick in perception, his conclusions are arrived at
without circumlocution, and his movements are rapid, and his aims
high. He evidently enjoys the making of money, more than he
does its hoarding after it is acquired. Yet he has a just estimate
of its value, and disposes of it wisely and well. In his private
relations as well as in his associations with neighbors and friends,
he is genial and full of good-nature, with enough of the milk of
human kindness to prompt him to aid the deserving, encourage
the unfortunate, and lighten the burdens of the needy. In all
respects, he may be said to be a generous man, liberal, without os-
tentation with his ample means, in every good work. Instances
of his generosity bountifully dealt out to young tradesmen, and
deserving industrious mechanics of his native town, and elsewhere
in the oil region, are not wanting in proof of this trait of his cha-
racter, many of which are rehearsed by the recipients of his favors,
with gratitude and grateful remembrances.
As a business man, he ranks among the best, as he is unques-
tionably among the most successful, in the oil region. He is ac-
tive, comprehensive, energetic, and always reliable. Honorable in
the fullest sense of the word, he requires neither seals nor bonds to
hold him to his engagements. His word once given, if involving
even the expenditure of thousands of dollars on his part, is as
faithfully adhered to and executed as if bound by forfeitures of dou-
ble the sum of the original transaction. He is, in short, a thorough-
ly earnest and honest man, one whom the people of all grades of
468 HISTORY OF PETROLEUM.
society regard as above the trickery and the sharpness of mere
" money making," honoring at all times, and illustrating in every-
day life, not only the outward appearance and manners, but the gen-
uine traits and kindly feelings of a true gentleman. He is yet a young
man scarcely thirty-three years of age in the full vigor of man-
hood and usefulness. His past experiences and triumphs for
such his career has been are but indexes to other successes and
more important achievements. To such a future we confidently
commit him, assured that he will not alone maintain his unblem-
ished repute for integrity, probity, and high personal and commer-
cial honor, now so happily united to rare business talent, and
private worth, but that he will add to his renown in these regards,
as the years roll by, and age, with its attendant and increasing re-
sponsibilities, creeps upon him.
Woodhurytype. A. P. K.P. Co., Philt
S. D. KARNS.
S. D, KARNS. 4G9
STEPHEN DUNCAN KARNS.
PARKER'S LANDING, PA.
MR. KARNS is a native of the State of Pennsylvania, born in the
county of Allegheny, some twenty miles above the city of Pittsburgh,
on the Allegheny River, in what is known as the Salt Well Region.
His ancestors were of Irish extraction, and emigrated to this coun-
try early in the last century. They came to Pittsburgh, and shortly
after took up a large tract of land on the banks of the Allegheny
River, and began to clear it up for agricultural purposes. Years
after their settlement there, salt was discovered, and the lands in the
vicinity were pretty generally given over to this new development
the father of the subject of this sketch entering largely into the en-
terprise. It was here S. DUNCAN KARNS was born, on the 21st
day of September, 1843. He was the eldest of three sons. As
soon as he attained a suitable age he was sent to school, and kept
there steadily until he reached the age of fourteen years. He then
entered the Turtle Creek Academy, located near Pittsburgh, and
remained two years in that institution. Subsequently he spent
some months as a student in the " Iron City Commercial College,"
at Pittsburgh, and when in his sixteenth year, he graduated at
" Duff's Commercial College," in the same city. This briefly given
record constituted all his educational advantages.
In the spring of 1859, then in his sixteenth year, he resolved to
see the " western country," and set out with a party bound for
Colorado and the Rocky Mountain silver region. This trip, which
seems to have been undertaken more as an adventure than for
profit, occupied six months of his time, but he returned to his
home, with broader views of life and its responsibilities, and a bet-
470 HISTORY OF PETROLEUM.
ter comprehension of the extent and almost limitless western boun-
daries of his native land.
Soon after his return from his western trip, or early in 1860-61,
he was sent by his father to superintend his interests in West Vir-
ginia, where he had leased for salt, and other mineral deposits, the
subsequently widely known Rathbone Farm, consisting of 800
acres of land. Upon this farm a salt well had been drilled years
before, but it did not prove to be especially valuable or productive.
Young KARNS was dispatched to this farm, and well, with instruc-
tions to test the old salt development for oil. The well was cleaned
out, tubed, and the pump set in motion. For a few days the pros-
pect was anything but promising. A little oil was from time to
time visible upon the large volume of salt water the well afforded,
but when the water had been exhausted the oil began to come in
goodly quantity. The well for months after produced 40 barrels
of petroleum oil per day ! This may be said to have been the
commencement of oil developments in West Virginia, and to Mr.
Karns, Sen., and to the subject of this sketch, may be awarded the
credit of its development. This was in the fall, and winter, and
spring of 1860 and '61.
During the winter and spring months of 1861, civil war was
threatening and impending at various points in the nation. South
Carolina was the first to precipitate it, and inaugurate the strife
which filled the land with armed men, and the tramp of great
armies upon either side. When Sumter had been fired upon,
young KARNS, then scarcely seventeen years old, hastened .away
from West Virginia, then the home of outspoken treason and un-
checked rebellion, back to his father's house, and soon after entered
the service of his country, as a private in Company C, 9th Penn-
sylvania Reserve Volunteers. These were three years' volunteers.
The Regiment was promptly marched to the front, and early in
1862, participated in the battle of Drainsville, and in the following
spring, as part and parcel of the " Army of the Potomac," under
, was in the Peninsula Campaign, and the advance
8. D. KARNS. 471
upon Richmond. The Regiment had its full share of the seven
days' retreat, and the battles of that terrible campaign, from Me-
chanicsville to Malvern Hill, and Harrison's Landing. Not long
after these disasters, young KARNS, who had distinguished himself
for bravery and gallant conduct in these fearful battles for the
Union, was mustered out for promotion, by order of the Secretary
of War, and upon recommendation of the Colonel of his Regiment,
he was soon after commissioned a Second Lieutenant in Company I,
123d Regiment, Pennsylvania Volunteers, and subsequently was
engaged in the battle of Fredericksburg, where he was wounded
slightly. In this battle, the Captain of his company was seriously
wounded, and the First Lieutenant killed ; of the rank and file of the
command, forty-three of eighty men were killed and wounded. Lieut.
KARNS was soon after promoted to a First Lieutenancy, and the
Captain remaining away, in consequence of his wounds, Lieut.
KARNS was in command, and led his Company in the battles of
Antietam and Chancellorville, and retained this position until his
term of service ended, when he was mustered out, and honorably
discharged. He remained at Washington for a short time, in ex-
pectation of further promotion, but it came too slow for him, and
in the spring of 1864, he returned to his home, and assumed control
of his father's business, continuing in the discharge of his duties for
two years.
In the spring of 1866, then in his twenty-third year, he deter-
mined to visit the oil region, with a view to embarking in the
business as a producer. He went to Parker's Landing, and shortly
after secured his first lease upon the Fullerton Parker farm, lying
on the river above and within the present limits of the borough of
Parker's Landing. The lease consisted of one acre of land, for
which he paid a bonus of $1,000, and " one-quarter of the oil."
The well he put down himself, taking his regular " tower," and
superintending the work generally. Wells in the immediate
vicinity found rock-bottom for driving pipe, at about fifteen feet.
He first excavated twenty-eight feet. It was almost an irnpossi-
472 HISTORY OF PETROLEUM.
bility to find men who would risk themselves in the labor of exca-
vation, the earth being of a sort of quick-sand, or loam and rock
together, which constantly caved in, rendering it extremely' hazard-
ous to operate. Indeed, once when the excavation had been nearly
completed, Mr. KARNS, who did most of the work himself, left for
dinner, and during his absence the banks caved in, and the hole
filled to within a few feet of the surface. The " Conductor hole "
was again cleaned out by Mr. K., and the pipe driven fourteen feet
in addition to the twenty-eight feet of excavation. All this labor
accomplished, ordinarily, in a few days, required six weeks of
valuable time before the drilling began !
The well was completed in September following. The oil rock
was found at the same depth as that in neighboring wells ; but as
a matter of experiment, and to settle the question of other and lower
sand rocks, Mr. KARNS put it down to the depth of 1,065 feet
250 feet below any well before or since drilled in the immediate
vicinity of Parker's Landing No additional sand rock was found,
and the well was thereupon " tubed and tested." After pumping
three days, it commenced to produce less than a barrel of oil per
day. The pumping continued on through the fall and winter,
gradually increasing, and at the end of three months' active opera-
tions the product was about three barrels per day. In the spring
of 1867, the oil from the well was sold at $2.40 per barrel, leaving
the plucky proprietor largely indebted for expenses of the fall and
winter's operations. Far from discouragement, and with no idea
of abandoning his enterprise, as he was earnestly advised to do
upon all hands, he redoubled his efforts, and from April, 1867,
up to late in the summer of 1868, he "steadily clung to his task/'
the well meantime, gradually increasing its product up to eight, ten
and twelve barrels per day. Oil during these twelve to sixteen
months was sold at more remunerative prices, and the return from
the well was a source of revenue and profit. Later, the product les-
sened, and in the fall of 1869, it was a good day's work to pump
one barrel from her. At this juncture it was torpedoed, and the
8. D. KARNS. 473
product immediately increased to twenty-seven barrels per day !
continuing at this standard for five or six months, when it began
to fall off, and steadily went the wrong way, until it reached four
barrels and a half, which is the product of the well at this writing
-March, 1873.
During the life of this first well, named "Karns' Well, No. 1,"
it has realized to its enterprising owners, by judicious management
and care, over $30,000 in profits !
We have been particular in our detailed account of this well,
because it illustrates, better than any language we can employ, the
determined character of the gentleman whose sketch we are endea-
voring to write. Not one man in one hundred, would have re-
garded this well as worth more than a month's effort. Mr. KARNS,
however, persuaded himself that the well could be made to pay by
steady pumping, and the correctness of his impressions was fully
realized in the subsequent history of its product and large profit.
In the summer of 1868, Mr. KARNS leased from the land own-
ers, an abandoned well, belonging to, or put down by " The Miles
Oil Co., of N. Y." some time in 1866. The first operators sup-
posed they had reached the "third sand," or oil rock, and had
given it up as a "dry hole." Mr. KARNS, full in the faith that
the rock was still below, leased the property from the original land
owners, and put the drill through the third sand, and from the
start it produced twenty-four barrels per day ! This well had been
abandoned more than eighteen months. It was located south of,
or below Parker's Landing, nearly a mile from other developments.
When Mr. K. avowed his determination to resuscitate it, his
neighbors and cotemporaries fairly jeered at him. Every means
was resorted to, to dissuade him from his purpose, but without
avail. Regardless of the universally expressed opinion that it was
dry territory, he began his enterprise, cleaned out the old well, put
in the drill, ran it down and through the oil rock, and had a " good
show." Those who had watched the undertaking began to expe-
rience a change of opinion ! When subsequently the well was
474 HISTORY OF PETROLEUM,
tubed and tested, and proved to be one of the best of the locality,
they were generous enough to applaud Mr. KARNS for his perse-
verance. This well continued to produce in paying quantities up
to the spring of 1871, but the development had a still more impor-
tant significance. It settled the question of oil deposits below
Parker's Landing, and went far toward encouraging the develop-
ment of the extensive oil fields soon after undertaken at Lawrence-
burg, and Bear Creek, and later at Petrolia, Fair view, Millerstown,
Karns City, Greece City, &c.
In the spring of 1869, Mr. KARNS secured four additional leases,
of limited boundaries, upon the Fullerton Parker Farm, at Par-
ker's Landing, and drilled a single well upon each, during that
summer. All these wells were successful, averaging for many
months at least 20 barrels each.
During the same season he leased the Farran Farm, lying south
of Lawrenceburg, and containing fifty acres. For this lease he
paid a bonus of $2,800, and " one-eighth of the oil." He put
down during the summer of 1869, two wells upon this property,
one of which produced eight barrels per day, and the other one
barrel every twenty-four hours ! The larger portion of this farm
he subsequently leased to other parties at a quarter royalty giving
him a one-eighth free interest. He has upon this farm four pay-
ing wells of his own, and has one-eighth royalty in six: or eight
others. This farm was for a long time very productive, paying to
all interested about $9,000 per month.
Developments upon the Farran Farm and upon Bear Creek, still
beyond, and which were prosecuted during the same year by others,
had demonstrated to Mr. KARNS the existence of deposits still in
advance of those already discovered. A thorough believer in the
" Belt Theory," he caused two lines to be run south and west,
one of which terminated upon the Esquire Campbell farm, and the
other upon the Stonehouse farm, two miles or more in advance of
any operations. One of these lines he denominated the " Middle
Belt," and the other the " Western Belt." Having secured his
8. L. KARNS. 475
lines, he promptly set about the work of obtaining leases, He at
once leased thirty acres of the Esquire Campbell farm, upon his
own account, and in company with Mr. C. P. Badger of Parker's
Landing, obtained a lease of the entire Stonehouse farm, consisting
of 240 acres. Both these tracts were leased at an "Eighth"
royalty.
During the following spring and summer, 1870, he put down
one well on the Campbell farm, which from the start produced
thirty barrels per day. Another well, drilled during the same
season upon the Stonehouse farm, started off at fifty barrels per
day ! Soon after the Campbell farm well was struck, he sold the
lease and property to Keese, Perry & Co., of Titusville, for
$20,000.
A one-third interest in the Stonehouse farm lease, owned jointly
by Mr. KARNS and Mr. Badger, was, after the first well was down
and producing fifty barrels per day, sold to Rev. J. D. Norton, of
Brooklyn, N. Y., at $30,000. This was in the fall of 1870. In
1871, Mr. KARNS purchased the one-third interest owned by Mr.
Badger, which gave him two-thirds of this very productive prop-
erty for such it has proved to be. In March, 1873, there were
six producing wells upon this farm, belonging to the original les-
sees, netting two hundred and thirty barrels per day! Upon the
same farm are SEVEN other wells, upon leases at a " quarter-roy-
alty " one-eighth free to Messrs. Karns and Norton all of which
are producing in abundance. The two wells first mentioned in this
connection, were two good Pennsylvania miles in advance of other
developments, when they were struck, and remained " at the front,"
until the summer of 1871.
In the spring of 1871, Mr. KARNS in connection with Gibson &
Brown, of Parker's Landing, purchased the Fronsinger Farm, lying
directly south of the Esquire Campbell Farm, containing 80 acres.
The cost of this farm was $22,000. The purchasers leased it at
" a quarter-royalty," and it has been pretty thoroughly developed,
and was producing in March and April last, over 400 barrels per
day !
476 HISTORY OF PETROLEUM.
These large interests occupied Mr. KARNS' time and attention
during 1870- ? 71, and into 1872, so entirely that he had little in-
clination to advance with the advancing developments then and
since looming up with such wonderful results, still beyond his own
field of operations. But he did not lose sight of the new Oil-
dorado ! In the spring of 1872, the Cooper Bros, had commenced
a well on the McClymonds Farm two miles in advance of other
operations. At the date of Mr. KARNS' visit to this well in May,
1872, the drill had penetrated about 1,390 feet without finding the
third sand, and the Cooper Bros, were well nigh disheartened.
They believed their well would prove a failure, and were half-
inclined to abandon it. Mr. KARNS, who had watched the pro-
gress of the work, after a careful survey of the country, and the
nearest developments, settled into the conviction that the oil-bear-
ing rock was yet below the drill. He generously offered Cooper
Bros. $8,500 for one-half their well and lease, and they accepted !
The condition of their enterprise, it is safe to say, made them easy
victims to Mr. KARNS' liberal offer. Two days after this purchase
the well was down 1,400 feet, and flowing through the casing at
the rate of 100 barrels per day. The product of this well for the
first ten months of its life, foots up over 20,000 barrels, and thero
are little signs of decrease.
Upon the conclusion of negotiations for this property, and before
the well was struck, Mr. KARNS purchased one-quarter, in fee, of
the McClymonds Farm consisting of 200 acres paying for it
$25,000. Four months later this farm was producing 1,000 barrels
of oil daily, with only a partial development !
At the same time Mr. K. purchased a lease of the Riddle Farm,
lying south of the McClymonds tract containing 200 acres for
which he paid the fabulous sum of $40,000 and one-eighth of the
oil ! During the summer of 1872, he put down three wells upon
this farm one of which started off at 200 barrels, another at 100,
and the last, 80 barrels per day !
Three other wells upon this farm two leased at one-quarter,
8. D. KARXS. 477
and one at three-eighths royalty, brings its daily production up to
750 barrels. Eight leases at one-quarter, and one at three-eighths
royalty, are now in process of development, and when completed,
will doubtless double the product of this farm, for it is pronounced
by experienced operators to be the best oil territory yet developed
in the Parker's Landing District. Very many leases have been
disposed of upon this farm, and in every instance save one, a bonus
of $1,000 has been paid for every jive acres in addition to a roy-
alty of one-quarter of the oil !
Mr. Karns did not stop here. At the date of the above transac-
tions, in conjunction with M. S. Adams, of Lawrenceburg, a
lease was taken of the John B. Campbell farm, adjoining the
property before mentioned, and containing 130 acres at an eighth
royalty. This farm has since been leased at a quarter royalty, and
is being rapidly developed, and proves to be very productive. At
this writing March, 1873, there are SEVEN wells upon the farm,
producing in the aggregate, 800 barrels a day ! Among these
seven, are the famous " Salisbury," and " Grace " wells, each aver-
aging 200 barrels per day !
Upon the heels of all these briefly mentioned transactions, Mr.
K. purchased the Forcht farm, containing 100 acres, and adjoining
the Story farm. This property he is developing himself, and
within a few rods " The Thompson Well/' which has produced for
months past, 150 barrels per day.
Besides these, soon after the " Jameson Well," near what is now
known as Greece City, was struck. Mr. KARNS, purchased two
half acre plots in the immediate vicinity of this development, and
put down a single well upon each, one of which started oif at 120
barrels, and the other at 100 barrels. These have been producing
without diminution for some months, and promise to hold out for
months to come. Three months' product from these two wells is
10,000 barrels.
Karns City, is located upon a branch of Bear Creek, in Fair-
view Township, and is eligibly situated upon the Riddle &
478 HISTORY OF PETROLEUM.
McClymonds farms lands owned and leased by Mr. KARNS, and
contained in March, 1873, a population of quite 2,000 souls, and
this a growth of less than six months. Before the discovery of
oil in June, 1872, the spot now covered with a thrifty, enterpris-
ing oil town, was devoted to agricultural purposes.
Upon the McClymonds farm was the old homestead, and a
dilapidated saw-mill, and all else was the quiet of a far removed
farming region. To-day the busy hum of industry is heard upon
every hand. Mercantile establishments have multiplied. Hotels
have sprung up as if by magic, and a city of real pretensions, with
all the conveniences, if not the luxuries, of older settlements, are
at command. Banks, Insurance offices, telegraph stations, Pipe
Lines, and whatever makes up a " live town," are visible, and may
be enjoyed by all who visit Karns City.
Upon the site of Karns City, building leases have been disposed
of by Mr. K., the income from which, is already $2,500 to $3,000
annually.
This necessarily brief and rapid resume, of Mr. KARNS' oil
operations, is sufficient to warrant the assertion that he is among
the most prominent, if indeed, he be not the leading oil producer
of the entire region of Western Pennsylvania. He is the pos-
sessor, by lease, or by purchase, of large tracts of the best oil pro-
ducing lands yet developed in the new territory, lately discovered
in Butler County, and this is as yet, only partially tested. How
much of wealth in petroleum, still courses beneath the surface
of his possessions, time must determine. It is safe to anticipate
for him, however, enough in this, world's wealth to satisfy all or-
dinary demands.
Mr. KARNS, has not confined his enterprise to the production of
petroleum oil alone. His ample means have been used in various
ways for the benefit of his neighbors and fellow-citizens. In the
fall of 1868, he laid the first pipe line from Parker's Landing to
the railway, on the opposite side of the river. This was for the
convenience of only FOUR wells, then producing at that point
s. D. KARATS. 479
two of which he owned. Though not an expensive enterprise, for the
line was less than half a mile in length, yet he constructed it,
entirely at his own expense. Months after its completion and suc-
cessful operation, and when the production began to increase suf-
ficiently to warrant it, Mr. Fullerton Parker, joined Mr. K., and
the facilities were largely increased. During the summer of 1869,
Parker, Thompson & Co., opened another line as a competitor to
the KARNS & PARKER line. After a year or more of rivalry and
competition, the two were united under the name of " The Union
Pipe Line," and the conveniences of the line again, largely added
'to. In January, 1872, Mr. K., sold his interest in The Union
Pipe Line," for $25,000.
In the fall of 1871, "The Exchange Bank of Parker's Land-
ing," was organized, with a capital of $140,000, of which Mr.
KARNS is one-quarter owner. At the first meeting of the direc-
tors he was, with entire unanimity, elected its President, and
was re-elected at the succeeding annual meeting in 1872. The
bank is organized under the law of the commonwealth of
Pennsylvania, each stockholder being individually liable.
" The Exchange Bank " has been in existence less than two years,
and it already takes rank among the most substantial and success-
ful banking institutions of the Oil Region. Among its stockhold-
ers and Board of Directors are many of the solid men of the Parker
oil field men who give character, credit and confidence to what-
ever bears their endorsement. The following gentlemen make up
the present Board of Directors :
S. D. KARNS, Fullerton Parker, Wm. C. Mobley, R. B. Allen,
James Fowler, Peter tlutchison, Wm. McKelvy, Jacob H. Walters,
Capt. J. T. Stockdale.
" The Parker's Landing Bridge Company " was organized in* the
spring of 1872, with a capital of $100,000. To this important
local enterprise and great public need, Mr. KARNS generously
subscribed $55,000. Upon the organization of the Company
he was elected President of the Board of Directors, a position
480 HISTORY OF PETROLEUM.
he fills with rare ability, and to the complete satisfaction of stock-
holders, directors, and the public, so much convenienced by its con-
struction. The bridge is a wrought iron structure, having four spans
of 200 feet each, and is one of the finest specimens of mechanical
solidity, strength and beauty to be found in the State of Pennsyl-
vania. Its cost was a little more than $100,000. It was manufac-
tured and erected by " The Canton Iron Bridge Company/ 7 of
Canton, Ohio, and is an imperishable monument to the skill and
superiority of American mechanics. To appearances, it is as solid
and immovable as the everlasting hills overlooking it, from both
sides of the river.
In 1872, Mr. K. purchased a farm of 100 acres, 25 miles
above Pittsburgh, situate on the banks of the Allegany River, and
upon both sides of the Allegany Valley Railroad. Upon this farm
he is erecting an elegant residence for his own use, which, completed,
will cost him $35,000. The farm is located in the bend of the river,
with a beautiful slope descending to the water, and commands a
view of the river for miles above and below. The residence when
ready for occupancy will be the finest country-seat west of the Al-
legany Mountains.
Mr. KARNS is a man of slight build, of nervous temperament,
and of prepossessing appearance. Easy in his manners, he is al-
ways self-poised and self-possessed. In his intercourse with all he
is frank, manly and cordial. He could not disguise his generous
nature by any effort he might make. Just what he is may be
learned by any and all who come within the circle of his acquaint-
ance and friendship. As a business man he is without blemish.
His word is his bond, and either is good for any amount he may
name. He is a man of inflexible integrity and acknowledged personal
worth. Generosity, in its largest sense, is his ruling characteristic.
Those who know him, best, admire him most. He is enterprising,
bold in adventure, and rapid in the execution of whatever he may
undertake. Conscious of his own power, he is restive under re-
straint, and would sooner carry any enterprise alone at whatever
S. D. KARNS. 481
cost, than be hampered by the hesitation of the timid, or be held
in check by the doubting. In all things he is an emphatic man.
It is " yes," or " no," with him, and as promptly as the most im-
patient could wish. In no regard does he lack boldness of charac-
acter, and he has originality and discrimination largely developed.
He is a man sure to be remarked and felt in any assemblage of
men. To be comprehensive, we may say of him without fear of
offence or contradiction, that with a goodly element of pride, he is
a man of firmness amounting to combativeness, and is at all times
dignified and determined. To these characteristics may be added
a tenacity of purpose rarely excelled, and " a will of his own," of
which he is seldom bereft or deprived.
These have been the foundations of his great success in life, and
as they are prominent elements in the character of the man, it is
easy to prophesy a successful future for him. Yet in the prime of
life, blessed with good health, a vigorous constitution, and a mind
disciplined to a clear comprehension of all enterprises commanding
his attention, it is surely his province to leave upon the great in-
dustry now engaging his large means, a name and fame at once
honorable and enduring.
31
482 HISTORY OF PETROLEUM.
C. D. ANGELL.
FOREST VI LLE, N. Y.
CYBUS D. ANGELL is a native of the town of Hanover, Chau-
tauqua County, New York, where he was born on the 24th day of
April, 1826. Until he attained the age of sixteen, he attended
the district and select school of his native town, He had, how-
ever, applied himself with so mnch industry to his studies that
when, at the age of seventeen, he entered the academy at Fredonia,
N. Y., he was so far advanced in the rudiments of an education,
that he maintained his place among the leading classes of that most
excellent institution, and from first to last sustained an enviable
character for studiousness and application, as well as rectitude in
all his intercourse with his superiors and fellow-students. Leaving
the Fredonia Academy, after two years of attendance, he entered
the Genesee Wesleyan Seminary, at Lima, N. Y., when, upon at-
taining his majority, he found himself qualified to "go out into the
world and work his own way to success."
Returning to his home in Chautauqua County, he was soon after
selected by his fellow-citizens for the important position .of School
Commissioner. This office he held until 1856, giving to its ad-
ministration, abilities rarely possessed by officials of this character,
and yet indispensable to their success in the delicate and responsi-
ble duties imposed upon them. Young ANGELL comprehended
this fully, and in the discharge of his arduous task had but one
ambition the elevating of the standard of common schools in his
native county. In this he was abundantly successful. Many of
the reforms he inaugurated are still continued, and the county of
Chautauqua may be said to possess to-day the very best system of
common schools to be found in western New York.
Woodburvt vpo. A . V. R. P. Co., Phila.
C. D. ANGELL.
C. D. ANGELL. 483
In the fall of 1856, Mr. ANGELL entered largely into mercantile
pursuits, at Forestville, Chautauqua Co., N. Y. Here, as in all
other business connections, he maintained a high character for in-
tegrity, moral worth and unsullied fame. As "a country mer-
chant" his credit was unquestioned at home and abroad. His
neighbors and fellow-citizens knew him for his high character and
personal worth, and his creditors, in whatever part of the country,
estimated him at his true value for probity, honor and inflexible
honesty. As an instance of his real character, we beg to mention
that in 1856, through the treachery of friends, he lost heavily in
some business transactions, forcing him to compromise with his cre-
ditors. Subsequently he recovered his financial standing, and paid
every dollar of his liabilities, principal and interest, accepting from
no one of his creditors an abatement of one jot or tittle of their
just demands.
In the spring of 1867, Mr. ANGELL, almost empty-handed,
came into the oil regions, first effecting a loan of $1,000 from a
'personal friend. This sum he invested in the purchase of an in-
terest in the Central Petroleum Company's property at Petroleum
Centre. The venture proved to be a considerable success, and with
his profits he began his career as a producer.
Prior to his disasters of 1866, in connection with capitalists of
Buffalo, among whom were Wm. G. Fargo, Esq., S. O. Barnum,
Esq., and some twenty others, he had purchased Belle Island, a
small tract of land in the Allegany River, twenty-five miles be-
low Oil City, and soon after the " Belle Island Petroleum Com-
pany" was organized. His interest in this property, with all else
he had, went into the hands of his creditors at the time of his fail-
ure. In 1867, he repossessed himself of it, as before stated, by
paying every dollar of his indebtedness, and at once took measures
for its development. He became the lessee of the Company's pro-
perty, and in the early part of 1867, drilled three wells upon the
Island. These proved to be very productive, all three averaging
about 100 barrels each, per day. This product continued for two
484 HISTORY OF PETROLEUM.
or three years, and during this period Mr. ANGELL paid to the
Company as net profit upon their investment of $200,000, 358 per
cent !
While engaged in these developments, Mr. ANGELL gave much
thought to, and critical examinations of a comparatively new theory
in regard to the existence of petroleum in " belts " or deposits.
Of course this theory had been mooted by operators who had pre-
ceded Mr. ANGELL, but no effort had ever been made to demon-
strate its correctness or falsity. From careful observation, how-
ever, he came to reject the idea that oil wells could be located by
chance. Following up these convictions, he settled into the belief
that petroleum deposits could be found in " belts," or courses, and
to this theory he confined his examinations and experiments, and
finally, by absolute tests, established its truth beyond question or
doubt. In his researches he determined upon the course of two
" belt," running in a north-easterly and south-westerly direction.
The one from Scrub Grass, on the Allegany River, to Petroleum
Centre, on Oil Creek and the other from the St. Petersburg dis-'
trict, through Parker's Landing to Bear Creek and Butler County.
There are those who have that implicit confidence in this latter
"belt," now known as the " ANGELL BELT," thus far, extending
by actual developments more than thirty miles in length, and from
three to five miles in width, that they regard it as not altogether
improbable that it may be followed into the oil producing regions
of western Tennessee, a distance of hundreds of miles ! The sur-
vey of these two lines was intrusted to engineers, Mr. A. usually
accompanying them in person and after months of thorough, un-
remitting labor, he completed his examinations and resolved upon his
future. During the surveys of the first line, his convictions became
so deep-seated as to the correctness of his theory, that he purchased
nearly all the lands, lying along his lines of survey, and at other
points, within the boundaries of his " belt," from Foster Station to
Scrub Grass, a distance of about five miles. The result of all this
toil, expense and solicitude was most flattering, for, of the great
C. D. ANGELL. 485
number of wells put down upon these "belts/' at least 95 per cent,
have been successful, and many of them of large production, yield-
ing abundant profit to their enterprising owners.
As early as 1868-9, he began seriously his investigations of his
belt theory. At this time he had few advocates and fewer be-
lievers. He sought by argument and persuasion to interest scores
of operators in the development of his property, but he could find
none who had "the faith of a grain of mustard seed" in his " vi-
sionary notions," as some termed them. Subsequently, however,
Messrs. Prentice & Whitney, upon the upper, or " Foster belt/'
and Messrs. B. B. Campbell, James M. and John A. Lambing,
upon the lower, or " Parker's belt," adopted the theory of Mr. Ax-
GELL, and entered heartily into a practical demonstration of their
soundness and value. While the great mass of oil producers " on
the river " and elsewhere throughout the producing regions scouted
the belief that a continuous line of oil producing rock existed any-
where within the oil circuit of western Pennsylvania, these gentle-
men quietly proceeded with their investigations and developments,
and, as the sequel shows, their efforts were crowned with an abun-
dant financial as well as scientific success.
There could be no " chance " or " luck " about these practical
developments upon Mr. ANGELL/S " belt theory." They were in-
deed substantial demonstrations of a sound system of reasoning on
the part of their enterprising projector, and future operators will
owe it to Mr. A., that he has established beyond contradiction or
doubt, that petroleum oil lies in courses of more or less length and
breadth, and that with proper efforts to discover these belts, the
business of oil producing will be reduced to a basis involving
fewer risks than in a crop of wheat or a stock of merchandise.
This subject of oil in " belts " or courses, has been so exhaustively
discussed and so elaborately presented to the public by the able
editor of the Oil City Derrick, C. E. BISHOP, Esq., in a commu-
nication to the New York Tribune, that we deem proper to re-print
it, and have obtained permission of Mr. Bishop to make such use of it :
486 HISTORY OF PETROLEUM.
To THE EDITOR o? THE NEW YORK TRIBUNE:
No his-tory of success or failure in the search for oil can be utterly
disinterested ; and if the sagacious reader should infer from the following
description of facts that somebody has oil-lands for sale, he must also admit
that, even in the face of such a hypothesis, the facts are of too general value
to be confined to an interested few. The history of oil developments in this
country has been a chronicle of reckless risks and blind speculation. No
systematic, intelligent efforts have been made to detect the sources of petro-
leum; hence the balance in dollars and cents is against Petroleum in its
account with Trade. Science has contributed little, almost nothing, to the
practical ends of the business. It is a matter of surprise that these wonder-
ful manifestations of nature's workings have received so little attention from
scientists, compared with their merits and their needs. Still more a matter
of surprise is it that Trade has so neglected their investigation ; while it has
systematized the oil-traffic above ground wonderfully. The financial depart-
ments of the business are also perfectly organized. An oil-broker can
actually handle and transfer a thousand barrels of oil as easily as he could
a thousand dollars in money, depositing and checking against the former
precisely as the latter. At Oil City, Titusville, and other centers there have
been organized Boards of Trade, or Petroleum Exchanges, which keep their
members and the trade at large well informed of all that concerns the
business above ground. Yet none of these organizations have made any
effort to collect information, analyze" experiences, and make even general
deductions which would offer the driller the net results of all experiments,
and thus reduce the tremendous chances against his success. If every driller
had kept such a record as he might, and*concerted intelligent efforts had
been made to collate these records, the lines of subterranean wealth could
be traced on the surface with a very considerable degree of accuracy. The
result would be the saving of millions of dollars annually wasted in blind
probing for oil deposits, and the reduction of the business to as safe a basis
as in any pursuit. Strange that nothing like a Bureau of Oil Mining exists
to this day !
Such investigation as has been made has been empirical in character.
The science of oil development can hardly be said to exist, though recent
indications show that it is gestating vigorously. The business of oil devel-
opment owes what progress it has made to the gain-inspired efforts of
practical, unscientific men. The country cannot present a body of men
better fitted for practical achievement than the business men of Oildom.
Next to the wonderful natural phenomena of this region, the observing
spectator will be impressed with the unflaging enterprise of its men. They
highly personify that quickness of perception and fertility of resources which
Yankees sum up in the word "cuteness." The average "oil man" is a
practical engineer, a consummate financier, and a scientist by intuition and
experiment. It is this class of men who have made all the discoveries and
originated all the theories of any value yet announced as to the origin,
location, and probable future of oil deposits. And they are the ones who
C. D. ANGELL. 487
will have to construct the new science of oil mining. That such a science
is possible nay, that its truth is near at hand I propose to show by
detailing the experiments of an operator.
Preliminary to the narration, a few well-established facts in oil phenomena
should perhaps be laid before the general reader. (1.) Operators and scien-
tists are pretty well agreed on the conclusion that oil exists both in reservoirs
or basins of considerable area, and in belts or channels of considerable
extent, Whether the two forms of territory have any connection; the dis-
tinctions between them; the continuity of the belts; these are unsettled
problems. The facts I am about to relate may tend toward their solution.
The basins were first discovered, and, it is probable, have been in a large
measure exhausted. It was they that supplied the leviathan spouting wells
of former days (1860-'65). Such lakes were fopnd at Pit Hole, Tarr Farm,
and other points. (2.) Present developments are on extended lines that
constitute belts of oil territory; they indicate currents, or stagnant channels,
or elongated basins of oil. The ablest thought of the petroleum world
is now turned toward discovering the location, direction, and extent of
these belts. (3.) Because the first oil was found on the margin of Oil
Creek, it was supposed the subterranean oil-courses corresponded in some
degree with the external water-courses. Because of this impression, traces
of which still exist in the minds of oil men, and because the streams offered
the best, sometimes the only means of transit in this rough country, the
majority of drillers have chosen locations on streams. Nearly the entire
water front of this section is perforated with wells. It is safe to say that
not one in twenty of these wells, to-day, by production, vindicates the theory
on which their locations were selected. (4.) The oil-bearing rock is the
third stratum of sand-rock in order of downward progress. The sand- rock
is a conglomerate of flinty pebbles and sandstone. The pebbles in the thirJ,
or oil-bearing sand-rock, are of varying degrees of hardness and whiteness,
these variations always indicating unerringly the richness of the rock in oU
product. The first triturations of the drill brought up from the " third
sand" are eagerly scanned by the operator as an index of his success. A
handful of "third sand" is the horoscope of the new well. Old drillers can
read the value of a well in these specimens. A good geologist might, I pre-
sume, collect specimens which drillers and oil companies are now-a-days
more in the habit of preserving than formerly, together with the records
and information drillers could give, and, by their aid, trace oil lines with
some degree of certainty.
This is just what one man, though not a scientist, did accomplish. This
brings us to our story, to comprehend which the reader will need to bear in
mind the general facts above given. About three years ago Mr. Cyrus D.
Angell of Forestville, N. Y., embarked on the petroleum sea. He enjoyed
a large degree of luck for it was that more than any thing else that gave his
first ventures success. He soon commenced studying the problem that agi-
tates all shrewd " greasers," viz., the location of the oil belt. He began to
collect data bearing on this problem, and to study them by day and night.
He conceived and assumed as real this postulate: Exactly corresponding
488 HISTORY OF PETROLEUM.
geological data, or two or more points of oil development, are proof of a
continuous belt between those points. Or, conversely, an oil belt will
manifest the same characteristics everywhere. Taking a series of facts
regarding paying wells in one locality, he imagined that, if he could find
exactly the same series of facts manifest in another paying locality, he would
have two bearings on the same oil belt ; and at any place between these two
points he could be certain of the same practical results as had followed
drilling at the extremes, viz., oil in paying quantities.
The data for which he must find duplicates were these: (1.) The depth
from the surface to the different sand rocks. (2.) Distance between the
upper surfaces of the different sand- rocks. (3.) Thickness of the sand-rocks.
(4.) Quantity and quality of the oil indications (called "shows,") found in
the second sand. (5.)Color and gravity of the oil produced by the third sand.
(6.) Texture and temper of the third sand. I have named these indications
in the order of their importance as a basis of general opinion as to territory
of course he would look first and most anxiously for those last named, but
as these are all fixed scientific data, it is probable that, for purposes of com-
paring different wells, all are equally important and decisive. It will be
noticed that none of these points of inquiry relate to the more superficial and
demonstrative manifestations ; they are mainly geological, permanent facts.
Mr. Angell started with the data pertaining to his own wells on Belle
Island a little strip of land in the Allegany Eiver just below Scrubgrass
Station, on the Allegany Valley Railway, and about 25 miles, by the river,
below Oil City. On this island, and also on the river bank above (north of)
it, was a small but rich oil field ; two thick clusters of wells here had for
some years been producing. Making himself master of the whole subterra-
nean history of this development, as told by the log-books of the drillers,
the specimens of sand and other rocks, and his own observation while making
wells on Belle Island, he turned his steps to other developed territory in
search of duplicate "picture in the rocks." Proceeding up the river, the
most producing territory he found was at Foster Station, nine miles, by river
from Belle Island. Here, on a little area of about 25 acres, rich wells have
been for some years pumping, and probably millions of dollars' worth of oil
have been taken out. At Foster he heard a driller's tale that was an echo
to the one he had learned at Scrubgrass. The depth of drill at the first sand,
the texture and color of the third sand, the color and gravity of the oil, and
the other data, were remarkably identical at these two points, five miles
apart by air line. More than this, Mr. Angell was struck with the fact that
tliis similarity of order, composition and thickness, was not confined to the
sand-rocks, but marked also the intervening and overlying strata. The wells
at both points were in all respects fac-similes each of the other.
As another evidence, Mr. A. computed the depth of drill at the two points
to the upper surface of the third sand. Measuring at the surface of the
river, and deducting atToster for the natural descent of the river between
the two points, he discovered that the upper surface of the third sand is on
a dead water level at the two points. On his postulate that similarity of
rocks indicated identity of belt, he now had two known quantities of his
C. D. ANGELL.. 489
problem. Its solution was still a delicate operation. He knew the belt
must be a narrow one, because at the points where the river crossed it
(Scrubgrass and Foster) the territory had been by actual development shown
to be small ; the derricks at these points are huddled as closely together as
the necessary operations will admit. On so narrow a belt it would be easy
to lose the trail ; an error of one degree in the compass would lead olf the
belt in a few rods of progress.
Mr. A. now employed a civil engineer, and for many months was engaged
in running numerous lines between Scrubgrass and Foster. Without detail-
ing all the laborious process and study by which he fixed the line, suffice it
to say that he finally settled on a line which passed midway between the
extremes of development at the two points (Scrubgrass and Foster). In the
course of his research, Mr. A. developed another collateral theory, which
materially aided him, and if it holds good on all belts is very important.
That is : As you digress from the central line of a belt, either way, the third
sand grows thinner and the supply of oil less, both finally running out when
the limits of the belt laterally have been reached ; the nearer the central
line the better the territory. This shelving of the rock is from beneath, the
upper surface of the third sand being level. This theory was demonstrated
by the record of the wells on the belt. He found that running his line mid-
way between the extremes of the development it traversed the derricks of the
best wells struck. He was further confirmed in this idea by the fact that
his central line between Scrubgrass and Foster passed at one side the cele-
brated Burning Well, on a bend of the river. This well, several years ago,
struck an immense gas vein ; the tools stuck in the well, the gas took fire,
and for seven years was not extinguished. The owners abandoned it. Its
location on the edge of what he supposed to be the best width, its failure to
produce oil in paying qualities was encouraging.
Having now found the axis of the belt, it was easy to determine its direc-
tion the most important point of all. The compass indicated the belt to lie
north-east. To confirm all his tests, and " make assurance doubly sure," he
now projected his central line on north 16 degrees east beyond Foster and
across the mountains until he again crossed the tortuous Allegany, four
miles from Foster. There was a development on Porter Island, it being the
next development above Foster ; all " dry holes " between these and Foster.
The line left this island several rods at one side, and it is poor paying ter-
ritory. This fact, and the exact similarity of its data with those collected
below were good confirmation of the two theories mentioned. Continuing
his line over the mountains five miles further, he again debouched on the
river at Reno (two miles below Oil City). Here, to his surprise and satis-
faction, his lines crossed the best wells on that territory, and the "testimony
of the rocks " was identical with that of Scrubgrass, Foster, and Porter Is-
land. Following his now sure line, he found himself walking through the
heart of the rich oil fields of Charley Run, Wood Farm, and Petroleum
Center. Thus he had traced his belt for twenty miles across the country,
crossing the Allegany five times, traversing every paying development on
that river, and landing in the centre of the greatest oil basin in the world.
He was content, and kept his own counsel.
490 HISTORY OF PETROLEUM.
Mr. ANGELL had now spent a year and a-half of time and several thousand
dollars in developing his theory. He could see the strip of oil rock 1,000
feet beneath him as satisfactorily to himself as if all the overlaying strata
had been stripped off and the third sand laid bare to his fleshly optics. He
proceeded at leisure to gather the fruits of his labor and genius for it was
scarcely less than genius that guided him. I say "at his leisure," for no
other operator suspected his great discovery. After considerable shrewd
negotiation he managed to secure from every property owner on the belt
between Scrubgrass and Foster, a lease on liberal terms to them as to roy-
alty, &c., but including an option clause for the purchase of the land, in fee,
at any time within a year at a stated price. He made similar contracts for
several hundred acres on the belt north of Foster, also. Before long he, of
course, took his option, and in a short time owned all the territory between
Scrubgrass and Foster. This was all he could pay for and manage, and the
rest of the leases were sufftred to lapse. He had now invested $60,000 on
faith in his new theory.
The first well was bored one and-a-half miles back from the river, and
from all previous development. It found the third-sand rock and oil at the
depth of 1,110 feet, and yielded 71 barrels, and is still producing at that rate.
The rest of the grand achievement is soon told. .Mr. ANGELL, in connec-
tion with his partner, Mr. Prentice (a veteran "greaser.") has on his terri-
tory at present 16 producing wells, ranging in yield from 12 to 400 barrels.
The last strike, made three days since, is " a spouter." It threw oil 150 feet
high, took fire, and burned up everything destructible around it. When
brought under control, it recorded 400 barrels per day. There has been but
a single failure to strike oil in paying quantities by them, and that was an
experimental well to test the width of the belt. Every acre of land could be
leased by ANGELL & PRENTICE to other parties for $1,000 to $5,000 bonus
and one-half royalty, the usual royalty being from a sixteenth to a quarter.
They, however, grant no leases ; they run no risks in sinking wells. They
are now putting down 16 more wells for themselves, with a certainty of re-
sults which they would not give any one a dollar to insure. Mr. ANGELL
can now set his foot down on the spot that will yield oil "to a dead cer-
tainty." Nay, he can tell within a few barrels what a well will do in any
spot on the belt, proportioned to its nearness to the central line. Looking
across this city of derricks, they " line " almost like a row of shade-trees,
and mark to the spectator's eye the limits of the belt with wonderful distinct-
ness, though not any more clearly than Mr. ANGELL saw them by his clair-
voyant perception before a blow had been struck, or a " Sampson post " set on
this spot.
The belt is less than thirty rods wide ; the profitable part of it not half
that width. It can be seen, therefore, how easy it is, or was, for a man to
mi;<s it while prospecting all oildom for a place to " set in " or, in petroleum
phrase, " wild-catting." His chances were about as 15 square rods are to
the whole area of oil country.
Of course, the triumph of this new development created a furore. This
soon spent itself. The fever had nothing to work on. The discoverer owned
C. D. ANGELL. 491
all the territory, and none was " for sale or to let." Considerable fishing for
the belt further north (between Foster and Eeno) was done. One of these
"wild-cat " parties blundered upon a blaze upon a tree, and, assuming that
it was ANGELL'S center line, took a lease and sunk a well. They were upon
one of his experimental lines and not on the center ; hence, they found only
a thin third-sand and a small yield three barrels. They abandoned this
well and moved 40 rods further south, which direction, being at an acute
angle with ANGELL'S line (S, 16 W.), brought them within 12 feet of the
center of his belt. There, on the 28th of March, they struck a 100 barrel
well, which has as yet shown no falling off from that figure. This is called
the Milton Well, and is two miles from Eeno. A new oil town has since
grown up at this point. With a satirical humor for which the nomenclature
of Oildom is noted, it is called " Driftwood " it is 400 feet above high
water on the Allegany 1 The traffic growing up in consequence of the de-
velopment of this portion of the belt open to operators has caused the erec-
tion of a new station on the Allegany Valley Eailway, called Prentice,
after Mr. ANGELI/S partner. It is five miles from Oil City.
It would seem that Mr. AISTGELL'S successful research tends to establish
the following principles in oil development: (1.) That oil lies in belts of
more or less unbroken continuity; the latter feature having to be established
by tests in each case, and constituting one of the unavoidable contingencies
of belt development. (2.) That the general direction of ihese belts is N. E.
and S. W. (3.) That different belts may and probably will differ in char-
acteristics from each other; but the same belt is uniform in its leading
physical features throughout. (4.) That these belts do not deviate from a
direct line ; at least it is not safe to count on deflections or crooks in making
investments. (5.) That the under surface of the third-sand rock slopes up-
ward each way from its center, and therefore the value of a well will depend
upon its nearness to the central line of the belt. (6.) That the upper surface
of the third sand rock is absolutely level throughout the belt. Mountains
are superadded to it. Therefore there can be no current of oil in the belt,
as some have supposed might be the case. (7.) That superficial water-
courses have no relation to the oil courses or belts. Therefore territory on a
river is worth no more than that on a mountain top, other things being
equal, except that the drill starts a little nearer the third sand. (8.) That
it is possible to detect an oil belt and stake it out on the surface with a de-
gree of accuracy sufficient for safe business investments? (9.) That when
proper efforts shall be made to discover these belts, the whole business of oil
production (so called) will be reduced to a basis in which there will be fewer
risks than in a crop of wheat, a sea voyage or a stock of goods. (Some of
these principles are well sustained by the experience of operators generally.)
Mr. ANGELL'S success must result indeed it has already resulted in
turning the thoughts of practical men to the study of the theory of oil belts.
This may end in the establishment of the whole business on just such a sure
basis as I have indicated. This would make a saving of millions of dollars
annually to the producing interest, and inure to the direct benefit of millions
of consumers of kerosene. It is. certain that with the risks and expenses
492 ' HISTORY OF PETROLEUM.
hitherto attached to oil production, prices cannot remain where they are.
Therefore, all who use petroleum oil are concerned to have the risks and
expenses reduced. In case the results named flow from Mr. ANGELL'S
research, he will, while securing a princely fortune to himself, have become
a benefactor to his fellows. I believe, as does every practical man who has
learned of Mr. ANGELL'S achievements, that it and the theory on which it
was based are destined to mark an epoch in the history of petroleum. It is
certain, whatever the results, that both the nature and manner of his dis-
covery of the great oil belt stamp him as a remarkable man at least as re-
markable among oil men, and that means much to any one who knowa the
class. *************
Already the minds of considerate oil men are reaching out to solve the
question whether the oil manifestations of this continent have a common
origin ; whether there is not a connecting belt running from West Virginia
to Canada.
JAMESTOWN, N. Y., May 26th, 1871.
Of Mr. ASTGELL'S record as a producer, very little has been said
in this brief sketch of his connection with the oil region of western
Pennsylvania. That he is among the leading and prominent ope-
rators of the region, we need not affirm. His enterprise and his
unflagging industry are known of all men. His developments at
Scrub Grass and on the Foster and Scrub Grass belts, won for him
a notoriety he may well be proud of. His late operations in the
lower oil fields at Fairview, Greece City, and upon the Moore and
Hepler farms, territory he leased in the early months of the pre-
sent year, fix his status as one of the successful as well as one of the
most indefatigable operators in that section. He is now midsum-
mer '73 in the daily receipt of five hundred to one thousand bar-
rels of oil per day, and this product, it is fair to assume, will be
largely increased as his developments proceed.
In his native county, Mr. ANGELL is held in high esteem by all
classes of his fellow-citizens, not alone for the possession, but for
the daily practice of those manly virtues which are the crowning
glory of all good men. In no sense an office-seeker, he has not
escaped the observation, nor been freed from the importunities of
his political friends to permit the use of his name for responsible
trusts. In the canvass of 1871, he was named by a large body of
C. D. ANGELL. 493
his fellow-citizens for the office of State Senator from his senatorial
district, partly as a compromise candidate, between the rival fac-
tions, but generally because he was regarded, upon all hands, as
the most unexceptionable man for the distinguished position. He
was, however, not nominated, "the factions" warring to the bitter
end but we doubt not we reflect the sentiments of a very large
majority of the partizans of each of these belligerents, when we say
that the PEOPLE and not Mr. ANGELL, were immeasurably the
losers by his absence from the Senate of the State of New York.
The writer of this brief sketch of CYRUS D. ANGELL has known
him personally for many years, and in common with a wide circle
of friends, and an extended public acquaintance, recognizes him as
a gentleman of pure motives, and clear, conscientious impulses. As
a man of business he is sagacious, energetic, and reliable. If em-
barrassments come upon him he will double and quadruple his
efforts to surmount them. He has intelligence of a high order,
coupled with an integrity of character, stainless and blameless be-
fore the world. In his intercourse with men of whatever station
in life, he is always truthful and irreproachable. He is dignified,
and yet a man of marked sociability and cordiality. Modest in
his demeanor, he has always about him the demeanor of the true
gentleman, and from this standard never lowers himself. Where he
is best known he is most appreciated as a man, a neighbor and a
public-spirited citizen. He is in the prime of life, and the very
heyday of his vigor and usefulness. With health guaranteed to
him, that indomitable perseverance that has characterized him
through life, will be sure to carve out for him a name and a place
among the noted men of the oil regions at once distinguished and
enviable.
494 HISTORY OF PETROLEUM.
A. D. ATKINSON.
NEW BRUNSWICK, N. J.
ASHER D. ATKINSON is a Pennsylvanian by birth, born in the
city of Philadelphia, on the 30th day of September, 1821. When
he was seven years of age his father removed to the city of New
York, where he engaged in the retail drug and medicine business.
Here young ATKINSON grew up and was educated. While from
early childhood he had more or less to do with the drug store his
father conducted, it was not until he was sixteen years old that he
entered the establishment as a clerk, and gave his undivided attention
to it. From his earliest remembrances, he was called " Doctor/'
but he did not entitle himself to the distinction even if he did then
until after he reached his majority. He commenced the study of
medicine at the age of eighteen, and continued some months after
he was twenty-one but he did not complete his preliminary pre-
parations. It is questionable, therefore, if he be, even now, enti-
tled to the affix of M. D." to his name, for he abandoned all
idea of adopting medicine as a profession soon after attaining his
majority, from an early and later cherished aversion to it. He
acquired, however, a commendable proficiency in surgery, and a
thorough knowledge of anatomy, ere he gave up his studies, and
these have been serviceable to him upon many occasions, but he
has never practiced medicine outside his own family circle.
He continued his connection with the drug and medicine traffic,
in conjunction with his father, until 1861, when he surrendered it
to enter into the just-then developing petroleum enterprises of the
Western Pennsylvania oil region.
In the spring of 1861, Dr. ATKINSON visited Titusville for the
first time. His father-in-law, Mr. John Barnsdall, had preceded
Wooilbury t> pp. A. V. R. P. Co., Phil
ASHER D. ATKINSON.
A. D. ATKINSON. 495
him some months to look after interests he had acquired by pur-
chase in 1860, and with whom Dr. ATKINSON had associated him-
self as a partner.* Their first leases were upon the Parker Farm
flats, near Titusville, and these were in course of development
when Dr. A. reached there, in 1861. Here let us retrace our steps
to show just how Dr. ATKINSON became interested in the develop-
ment of Petroleum.
During the summer of 1860, Mr. William Barnsdall, who re-
sided then, and now, at Titusville, visited Dr. ATKINSON, in New
York City, taking with him specimens of the oil obtained from
" the Drake " and " the Barnsdall Wells." During his visit, the
subject of Petroleum was fully discussed its development, value,
extent, and in fact every conceivable phase of it was elaborately
examined. Dr. ATKINSON became deeply interested in the sub-
ject, and made several experiments with the small specimens before
him, and finally " determined to put some money in it." He sub-
sequently joined Mr. John Barnsdall in his purchase of interests,
and, as before stated, in the spring of 1861, disposed of his drug
and medicine business, and practically removed to Titusville to
give his attention wholly to this new enterprise.
Great activity in drilling wells, leasing lands, and buying oil
tracts, were visible upon every hand at the date of Dr. ATKINSON'S
arrival at Titusville. The developments were as yet confined to
the Parker Farm and the Watson Flats, though operators had ven-
tured still further down " the Creek " as far as Rouseville, and
below. The daily product of the wells at and near Titusville was
limited to a few hundred barrels, and the price was uniformly $10
per barrel. Later in the summer and fall of 1861, the great flowing
wells of the lower McElhenny Farm were struck, and in a few days
thereafter oil sold for twenty-five and even ten cents per barrel !
* Mr. John Barnsdall was among the early operators of 1860, upon the Watson and
Parker flats, below Titusville. He died in that city in 1863, universally regretted
and respected. He was a man of worth and integrity, and lent to the early develop-
ment of petroleum a vigor and enterprise that won for him distinction and general
prominence.
496 HISTORY OF PETEOLEUM.
The scores, and perhaps we should say hundreds of operators
upon the Watson Flats, the Parker Farm, and other tracts in the
immediate vicinity, found their small wells of five, ten and twenty
barrels daily product, almost valueless, and the territory next to
worthless for paying oil wells and they were generally abandoned
for the " flowing well region," further down the Creek.
Dr. ATKINSON was among the first to go,- His.first investment was
upon the Foster Farm, below Shaffer Farm. Joel "W. Sherman
had leased a single acre upon this farm, and was busily engaged in
"kicking down" the Sherman "Well. Mr. John Barnsdall had
met Mr. Sherman at Titusville soon after the " Fountain Well,"
lower McElhenny Farm, had been struck, and subsequently pur-
chased a " one-quarter working interest," in his Foster Farm
lease, paying him $250 for it the purchasers to pay one-quarter
of the cost of putting down the well. Long before this well was
completed, Mr. Sherman's patience became exhausted, as did his
working capital. He was ready, nay anxious, " to abandon the
whole thing," upon very liberal conditions. He, over and over
again, offered to sell his interest one-half the working interest
for $500, and $400, and even $300 ! Mr. Barnsdall would reason
with him, encourage him to " push ahead," and offered to loan him
the amount he demanded for his interest, if he required it, to be
repaid when the well "was completed.
In giving these incidental facts connected with the history of
"The Sherman Well," it is not intended to question the industry
or the determination of Mr. Sherman. His was only the case of
scores and scores who became disheartened, and were willing to give
up their enterprise if they could realize money enough to get to
their homes !
" The Sherman Well " was finally completed on the 10th day of
March, 1862, and immediately started off at a product of 1,000
barrels per day ! She continued to flow, gradually lessening in
volume for about twenty-two months, and was thenceforward
pumped until exhausted in 1865. As a pumping well, the Sher-
A. D. ATKINSON. 497
man netted her owners between $57,000 and $58,000. While her
producing life held out, oil was sold from her great wooden tanks
as low as fifteen cents per barrel, and as high as eleven dollars per
barrel !
During the same summer, (1862,) and upon the same farm, the
" Barnsdall Well " was struck, and flowed 100 barrels per day.
Barnsdall & Atkinson owned one-third of the land interest of this
well, and all the working interest. Having thus begun in 1862,
the development of their own leases, they followed it up, and in
1863, they completed a well on the Fleming farm, adjoining the
Miller farm, on the north and west. This well flowed from the
commencement, 300 barrels per day. On the very day the Flem-
ing farm well was struck, Dr. ATKINSON completed a fifty barrel
pumping well, on the bluff, in the rear of the Sherman Well. Both
these wells, we may add, were struck, and in operation the day
previous to the striking of the famous " Noble Well," on the ad-
joining farm.
During the summer of 1862, Mr. Barnsdall, for the firm,
contracted to deliver at their wells, over 50,000 barrels of oil,
at prices ranging between thirty-five and sixty cents per barrel.
While this contract was in force, and only about two-thirds of the
oil had been delivered, Mr. Barnsdall died, and Dr. ATKINSON,
though not legally bound to do so, fulfilled the agreement to the
letter delivering the oil at "the Sherman," "the Barnsdall" and
Atkinson wells, and this, too, when $4 and $6 per barrel could
have been realized for it ! But the great loss sustained by this
single transaction was subsequently fully atoned for. The money
realized from this sale of oil, was re-invested in lands in the vicinity,
and from their later development, Dr. ATKINSON laid the founda-
tion of his present ample fortune.
In 1864, Dr. A. purchased the John Fleming Farm, located on
the high lands, in the Shamburg district two or three miles north
and east of Miller farm station. For this property he paid $20,000.
"A refusal," for the purchase of this farm had been obtained by
32
498 HISTORY OF PETROLEUM.
Dr. Potter, of Tidioute, at 5,000. Dr. ATKINSON expected to
buy it for that sum, but upon "interviewing" Dr. Potter, he
learned his error, and thereupon offered him $20,000 for his
chance to purchase a clear profit of $15,000 ! This generous
offer, for such it was at that time, the territory being three miles
from " the Creek," and as far from any developments, was accepted,
the whole amount paid down, upon the execution of the deed from
Fleming, and the title to it passed to Dr. ATKINSON. We may add
here, that the Doctor still owns and operates this farm, and that
its product, though limited, yields a goodly monthly income.
From and after the purchase of this property, in 1864, Dr. AT-
KINSON, to a considerable extent, withdrew from the oil business,
removing to Brooklyn, N. Y., with his family, and taking up his
residence there though occasionally returning to "the Creek" to
look after his yet profitable oil interests.
In the early spring of 1867, Dr. ATKINSON began the develop-
ment of the Fleming, or Atkinson farm although a derrick and
engine-house, boiler and engine, had been put upon the property in
1865. In July, 1867, however, the first well was completed and
operated, and we may add, demonstrated the value of the farm
for oil purposes. This first well a pumping one produced
seventy barrels per day. In December following, on Christmas
day, the second well was completed, and this was a "flower"
of four hundred barrels per day! About the 1st of January,
following, the third well was struck, and this "New Year's gift"
flowed from the start three hundred barrels per day!
During the summer of 1868, developments were continued with-
out interruption, and with uniform success. "The Atkinson farm,"
became famous for its productive wells, and it was rapidly devel-
oped during 1868,-69, and '70. About thirty wells in all were
drilled upon the farm, averaging in depth, 952 feet, and all or
nearly all were profitable oil producers many of them largely so.
During the summer of 1868, a well was struck upon the farm
which had this peculiarity. The first FOUR days she flowed eleven
A. D. ATKINSON.
hundred barrels of oil, each day making FORTY-FOUR hundred
barrels during her flowing life. Ever after, the well was known,
as "4. 11.44!"
The purchase and development of this farm was a source of
great profit to Dr. ATKINSON. During the years 1868, and '69,
the average daily product of the " Atkinson farm" was fully 2,500
barrels per day. Oil sold readily for from $2.50 to $6.50 per bar-
rel during these years making the average price during the pro-
ducing life of the property $3.50 to $4.00 per barrel. Dr. AT-
KINSON owned the farm, and paid no "royalty to the land" and
while he had much of it leased to, and developed by others, an
average of one-half the oil produced from all sources, was turned
over to him. We have no correct statement of the total product
of oil from this prolific farm, but the amount realized IN CASH,
to all interests, exceeds $1,600,000!
A. H. CHENEY and who among the early operators " on the
Creek," from Titusville to Oil City, does not remember rollicking,
always happy " Lon. Cheney " and JAMES MOORE were the first
Superintendents of the Atkinson farm, to whom Dr. A. gave, "out
and out," various interests from which each realized largely. Both
are since deceased, and both left considerable means to surviving
relatives. F. E. Hammond is the present Superintendent a posi-
tion he has held since 1869.
We have stated, that soon after the purchase of the Atkinson
farm in 1864, Dr. ATKINSON suspended further operations until
1867. He removed with his family from Titusville, to Brooklyn,
N. Y., in 1865, and soon after engaged in real estate operations
there. Among his purchases, was one hundred acres of land
located at various points surrounding the City of Brooklyn. This
investment was made for his children, and this he will retain for
their sole benefit.
In 1868, Dr. ATKINSON purchased a summer residence at New
Brunswick, N. J., and here free from the turmoil of a great city,
his summers have since been passed. This purchase included a
500 HISTORY OF PETROLEUM.
tract of land lying within the city limits, and containing ninety-
four acres of land. For this property, he paid $25,000. Subse-
quently, in 1869, or 1870, he disposed of all but TEN acres of this
tract of land, realizing from the sale, sufficient to pay the original
cos t $25,000 and, at the same time, provide for the erection and
completion of one of the finest private residences in the City of
New Brunswick, or in the County of Middlesex, in which the
city is situated. We may add, that this elegant residence has cost
him not far from $50,000 nearly all of which, with the ten acres
reserved from the original purchase, may be set down as clear pro-
fit ! Since the completion of his residence, he has become a per-
manent resident of New Brunswick.
Dr. ATKINSON, while he retains his interests in the Oil Region,
may yet be regarded as practically withdrawn from active partici-
pation in the later developments. He, however, makes annual
visits to his old tramping grounds, and cultivates a lively interest
in all that pertains to the good of its people and the growth and
prosperity of the industry. In later years, he has become promi-
nently identified with real estate transactions in Brooklyn, N. Y.,
at New Brunswick, and upon the Raritan River, in New Jersey.
In all these, he has been successful, and largely so ; and so real
estate operations, involving large capital, absorb much of his time
and large means.
In 1847-'8, Dr. ATKINSON resided nearly a year in the south,
principally at New Orleans. Since the war, with the exception of
last year, he has passed his winters in the southern portion of the
Union, and during these annual journeys, has visited every legisla-
tive assembly in the South.
"The Fashion Plantation," near New Orleans, and once the
property of Gen. Dick Taylor, son of President Z. Taylor, was
confiscated by the Government just after the close of the war. An
acquaintance of Dr. ATKINSON'S purchased the property, and,
requiring money to pay for it, he applied to Dr. A. for a loan of
$20,000. The loan was granted, the doctor securing himself by
A. D. ATKINSON. 501
bond and mortgage. This he held a year or two, and was finally
enabled to realize upon his investment, suffering only a moderate
loss!
In 1853, Dr. ATKINSON married Miss EMMA BARNSDALL,
daughter of Mr. JOHN BARNSDALL, then a resident of the City of
New York, and a brother of WILLIAM and JOSEPH BARNSDALL,
of Titusville, Pa. This marriage relation doubtless furnishes the
motive and incentive to Dr. ATKINSON'S subsequent prominent
and successful connection with the development of Petroleum in
Western Pennsylvania, Mr. BARNSDALL, the father-in-law, being
a large owner in the second well struck in the Oil Region, upon
the Watson flats below Titusville.
Personally, Dr. ATKINSON is a man of many excellencies, and
marked private worth. Large-hearted, so to speak, he is generous
to a fault. Attractive in manner, he is always companionable, and
sure and unvarying in his friendships and attachments. A single
instance will illustrate his generosity and liberality. Col. E. L.
Drake had, in 1860, or 1861, purchased a tract of land lying in the
then village of Titusville, consisting of twenty-six acres. He paid
a nominal sum for it $2,000 to $3,000 giving a mortgage for
the amount unpaid.* In 1863, this mortgage became due, and the
holder pressed Col. Drake for its payment. The property had
meantime quadrupled in value. Col. Drake had applied to several
personal friends to aid him in his embarrassment, but had obtained
no relief. Some one suggested that he make his application to- Dr.
ATKINSON. " But I don't know Dr. ATKINSON !" said Col. Drake.
" That'll make no difference," said his friend ; " the doctor will
help you out, I know." Col. Drake presented the Vnatter to Dr.
ATKINSON, giving him a full detail of his threatened disaster. The
property was offered to Dr. A. for $10,000. " I will give you
$12,000 for it," said Dr. ATKINSON, "and I will hold it subject to
* This property has since become part and parcel of the City of Titusville, and is
worth to-day, half a million dollars. It is that part of the city lying east of Martin
Street.
502 HISTORY OF PETROLEUM.
your future efforts to dispose of it at a still further advance." The
doctor added: " If at any time during the next twelve months, you
can sell it for more than $12,000, you may have all the profits!"
The sale was made, and Col. Drake was saved from impending
bankruptcy, and by a total stranger. The property was subse-
quently sold, and within the time named by Dr. ATKINSON, for
$16,000; but neither Col. Drake, nor Dr. ATKINSON profited by the
advance. The individual who purchased the property from Dr.
ATKINSON, of whom a deed had been obtained for $12,000, with
the understanding that all over that amount, obtained for it, should
go to Col. Drake, neglected to make good his verbal agreement to
do so, and retained the $4,000 profit as his own ! But the trans-
action, so far as Dr. ATKINSON was connected with it, did honor
to his generosity and liberality.
Dr. ATKINSON is in middle life, the picture of health, and seems
to enjoy the very personification of an unbroken constitutional vigor.
He is just what he seems to be at first acquaintance, a plain, sub-
stantial, good man, without guile, ostentation, or modern "airs."
A man of clear conceptions, and rapid comprehensive grasp, he
has business qualifications of a high order. Honor, honesty and
integrity of character, make up his private worth, and endear him to
all who know him. In his domestic relations he is indulgent and
devoted his little family circle being his " Heaven upon Earth."
As a citizen he is enterprising; liberal, and cordial with all. As a
neighbor he is obliging, and full of those little attentions and accom-
modations so generally appreciated, and we may add, indispensable
in all communities. As a friend he is cordial, devoted and steadfast.
Such men mase the world better for their living in it and this is
the estimate we put upon Dr. A. D. ATKINSON, coupled with the
hope that he may live many, many years, to enjoy the bounties now
surrounding him, among the least of which, in our judgment, is
the ample fortune he has amassed by his own industry.
Wmidbiii-Tlype A. P. R. P. Co., Phil*
JOHN L. McKINNEY.
JOHN L. McKiNNEY. 5Q3
JOHN L. McKiNNEY.
TITUSVILLE, PA.
JOHN L. McKiNNEY was born at Pittsfield, Warren Co., Pa.,
on the 21st day of June, 1842, of thrifty, industrious, well to do
parentage, and is the second son of a family of seven sons and one
daughter. He had the advantages of an excellent district school
education until he attained the age of 15 from the age of 12, aiding
his father in the conduct of his lumbering and farming inter-
ests, as he was enabled to do, during the school vacations of the
summer months. At sixteen he assumed almost entire charge of
his father's books and accounts, involving considerable amounts
of property which was constantly changing in value, location,
<fec. ; often superintending the sales of lumber, farm products,
and whatever else made up the bulk of his father's business.
All this responsibility young McKiNNEY discharged with fidelity
and an ability rarely exhibited in one of his years and experience.
He remained with his father in this responsible position three
years, when at the age of nineteen, he resolved to grapple the world
in his own behalf.
The discovery of Petroleum oil, near Titusville, and at other
points on Oil Creek, had already attracted the attention of the pub-
lic, and thither young McKiNNEY bent his steps. His father
strongly opposed this new enterprise on the part of his son not
yet come to man's estate but visions of wealth, and a desire to
" strike a blow for himself/' outweighed all else, and in the sum-
mer and fall of 1861, we find him at Franklin, Pa., with less than
$500 cash capital, looking for an opportunity to invest. He was
not long in search of a " a good thing," as he deemed it. His
504 HISTORY OF PETROLEUM.
first venture was upon a lease and well, located on the Allegheny
River, south of Franklin. Here he risked a large portion of his
cash capital, drawing upon his father for much of the lumber and
timber needed in the erection of a derrick, engine house, &c.
This well was a failure made so through the bad management
of the parties engaged in its drilling and subsequent testing, and
young McKixxEY's loss was total.
This first investment proved to be disastrous, but Mr. McKiN-
NEY, with a wise foresight, had partially provided against such a
contingency. He had invested in one or two "interests" on "Oil
Creek/' both which proved to be successful, and left him sound
financially.
In the spring of 1862, he purchased an undivided one-third
interest in a well and lease on the Jno. McClintock farm, near
Rouseville. At the date of this purchase, the well was down about
125 feet, and had been drilled thus far with a "spring-pole." This
process was continued to the depth of 300 feet, and then a " horse-
power' 7 was substituted, which exhausted itself at 400 feet, and a
steam engine was found to be indispensable. With this steam
power, the well was drilled to the depth of 512 feet, and at once
began to flow, at the rate of 500 barrels per day ! The well con-
tinued to flow for nearly two years, gradually lessening in product,
but yielding to its fortunate owners, thousands and thousands of
dollars in profits.
The history of this well, and Mr. McKiNNEY's connection with
it, may be set down as the history of very many others of the earlier
developments " on the Creek," and may not be without interest to
the general reader. After the purchase of his one-third interest in
this lease, he gave to its development all his individual effort, and
every dollar of money he was able to command. He worked his
regular " tower," " kicking the pole," and followed the business of
"a driller," with all the industry and devotion of an interested
owner. "Weeks, had run into months, in labors upon this well,
and yet all was in doubt. Hope alone kept the operators to their
JOHN L. McKINNEY. 505
task. It might, nay, many prophesied it would be a "dry hole"
a summer's work -lost, to say nothing of the ready cash required
" to prosecute with due diligence." But the sturdy industry of the
owners did not flag. They labored night and day, surmounting
obstacle after obstacle, and embarrassment after embarrassment,
looking confidently at times, and doubtfully at others, upon the
results of their sacrifices. After the steam-power had been applied,
Mr. McKlNNEY improved the opportunity to visit his home in
Warren County, little anticipating that during his absence " not
to exceed two weeks," the well would be down, and a golden
stream gushing from its mouth, destined to enrich every man own-
ing interests in it. But this consummation was realized. Mr.
McKiNNEY heard of his good fortune a few days after the well was
struck, and immediately set out across the country to Rouseville,
then called "Cherry Run." When he reached the vicinity of the
well, he ascertained that his partner had sold the entire property
for a good round sum, taking no account of HIS interest!
When Mr. McKiNNEY purchased his share in the property, he
drew his own contract for the sale, and upon its execution, laid it
away among his papers, neglecting to have it filed in the Protho-
notary's office at Franklin. The parties purchasing from his part-
ner, had made a thorough search, and found no record invalidating
his claim to ownership, and, thereupon, closed the trade, paid the
consideration, and were actually in possession of the property, when
Mr. McKiNNEY returned ! Here was indeed a threatened calamity.
What to do, or whither to turn for relief, was the absorbing question
with young McKiNNEY who, while yet a minor, possessed the
will and determination of a full-grown man. He promptly noti-
fied the purchasers of his ownership of an undivided one-third in-
terest, and his willingness to take care of his portion of the product
of the well. They in turn refused to acknowledge his rights, insist-
ing upon their own, by absolute purchase. While these interviews
were transpiring, Mr. McKiNNEY had recourse to his contract, and
found the " six months recording clause" still in life ! About two
506 HISTORY OF PETROLEUM.
days were left him, to put his claim on file. He was not long in
reaching Franklin, when upon consulting Mr. C. HEIDRICK, one
of the able attorneys of Franklin County, he ascertained that his in-
terest was safe and that his ownership in the well, was beyond cavil
or doubt.
The purchasers from Mr. McKiNNEY's partner, upon presen-
tation of his incontestable proofs, acknowledged his claim, and very
shortly after paid him a large sum for his interest. The property,
however, was worth, or proved to be worth, during the life of the
well, fifty times the money Mr. McKiNNEY received for it. The
purchasers realized handsome fortunes from its product, some of
whom are to-day rolling in the wealth it brought them.
After disposing of his interest in this property, he made good
use of the little store he had acquired, buying interests in some ten
or twelve other leases on Cherry Run and elsewhere, and pushing
developments as rapidly as possible. The " Baker well," which
produced one hundred barrels per day, was the first struck, in which
he was interested. Others, many of them without name, but abund-
ant in product, followed, and Mr. McKiNNEY was really upon the
flood-tide of success. The celebrated " Mountain (or Phipps) well,"
which produced three hundred barrels per day, was among his ac-
quisitions. These continued successes ran through 1862 3 4, and
'65, when he began the sale of his interests, here and there, having
determined to change somewhat the character of his operations. He
disposed of many of these at fabulous prices, receiving in payment
considerable sums of money, and larger amounts in certificates of
stock in various oil companies, then "as plenty as the leaves of the
forest " many of which never reached the stock boards of eastern
monied centres. A few were "not worth the paper they were
printed upon;" but a fair fraction proved to be valuable. In all^
Mr. McKiNNEY realized in cash and stocks, more than $500,000
for his oil interests. While his stocks had a nominal value, it is
safe to say he left the oil region $200,000 richer than when he
risked his all in 1861.
JOHN L. McKiNNEY. 507
In 1864, still retaining several small interests in his early invest-
ments, Mr. McKiNNEY, in connection with Mr. Wm. C. Duncan,
of Pittsburgh, and Mr. George Work, of Philadelphia, and others,
visited the then developing oil belts of Green Co., Pa., and leased
large tracts of land along Duncard Creek. This leased land was
afterwards sold to other parties, the original lessees realizing a con-
siderable profit. In 1864-5, Mr. McKiNNEY took up his residence
in Philadelphia, still holding a business relationship with the oil
regions occasionally visiting the scenes of his early successes, pur-
chasing interests here and there, and steadily adding to his worldly
possessions. During the spring and summer of 1866 ? he purchased
interests in several leases and wells on Benninghoff Hun, and sub-
sequently, consolidating various other productive and valuable oil
properties, among which was an oil farm, owned by him in fee,
"The Benninghoff Mutual Petroleum Company" was organized,
and Mr. McKiNNEY was elected its vice-president. This organi-
zation was upon a substantial basis, having valuable property and
some of the very best producing wells " on the Creek " upon which
to pay dividends. It did for a time pay very largely, but " the
crash of 1866 and 1867," swept away values, obliterated oil compa-
nies, and " gobbled up " oil producers and their labor of years,
leaving the oil region, if not a desert of industries, at least a section
almost wholly given over to bankruptcy and ruin.
In addition to his oil traffic, Mr. McKiNNEY dealt largely as
a general Stock Broker, and in the disasters of '66 and '67 he
found himself deeply involved. The accumulations of his ear-
lier years, seemingly ample for a life-time, were rapidly exhausted,
and he, left as empty-handed as when, six years before, he made his
first venture in the oil fields of western Pennsylvania. But this
"complete ruin" did not discourage or dishearten him. He re-
solved to " try again," and to begin as before, " at the top of the
ground," and work out of his financial embarrassments. He re-
turned to the region in 1868, and took some leases at Pleasantville,
just then the point of attraction for good producing wells. Here
he met with moderate success, and in a few months began to see
508 HISTORY OF PETROLEUM.
clear sky and mended fortunes. His industry and devotion to his
affairs soon placed him upon comparatively independent ground,
and marked out his future.
He remained at Pleasantville until June, 1869, when an oppor-
tunity offering, he disposed of his interests at a fair profit, and re-
solved to enter the new oil fields at Parker's Landing. Admoni-
tion and friendly advice, and in some instances strong protests were
indulged in by disinterested friends against this " suicidal enter-
prise," as nearly every one termed it. Mr. McKiNNEY had, how-
ever, "put his hand to the plow/ 7 and would not turn back.
Late in the summer of 1869, he made some leases and purchases
at Parker's Landing, and completed two wells, one of which was a
kinsman of the "dry hole" race, and the other produced from four
to six barrels per day. The cost of wells at Parker's Landing was
nearly double that of other oil districts, and these first investments
were not " strong arguments " in favor of Mr. McKiNNEY's enter-
prise in fixing upon this district as the point of his future opera-
tions. He, however, did not falter or abate one jot of his confidence
in the ultimate success of his now redoubled efforts. He made
more and larger leases, and commenced the drilling of numerous
wells, in that since wonderfully developing region.
Early in the spring of 1871, success began to crowd upon him,
and through that year, and up to this time August 1st, 1873
scarcely anything he has consented to identify himself with, but
has served to swell his bank account, and add to his repute as a
successful oil producer.
While conducting his large oil business, he managed an agency
for the sale of Gibbs, Russell & Co.'s engines, boilers, well tools,
&c., and during this connection, which was incidental rather than
actual and positive, he sold not far from $500,000 worth of this
great establishment's work, and suffered a loss from " bad debts,"
of less than $500!
In the spring of 1872, Mr. McKiNNEY, in connection with R.
H. Sterritt, purchased the one-third interest Jno. T. Russell owned
JOHN L. McKINNEY. 509
in Gibbs, Russell & Co.'s Novelty Iron works, at Titusville, and at
Nunda, N. Y., paying therefor a princely sum. While he is not
prominently active in the conduct of this mammoth industry, his
sound judgment is uniformly sought by the remaining members of
the firm. An enterprise of this magnitude, involving so large a
capital, certainly requires the best business talent to be commanded,
and Mr. McKiNNEY is in all respects, up to the requirements of
the responsibility imposed upon him. It is needless to add that
the present firm of Gibbs, Sterritt & Co., is among the most success-
ful in the oil regions, or in Western Pennsylvania.
When in the fall of 1872, " The South Improvement Company"
began to foreshadow its objects and aims, Mr. McKiNNEY stood,
with the large body of producers, opposing its schemes, as the effort
of a monopoly, to gather into its embrace the producing interests
of the oil region. He weighed carefully, every new phase of this
all-important and all-absorbing movement, and gave to each and
all its later developments, an unbiased examination. When the
region "rose as one man," to oppose and bitterly denounce " The
South Improvement Company," he held aloof, and was unwilling
to join in the universal clamor not that he abandoned, or in the
least became lukewarm in the interests of producers, but that he
deemed a calmer judgment than was manifested, indispensable to
an adjustment of all questions at issue. With the subsequent ac-
tion of "The Producers' Congress," and its efforts to control or
monopolize the product, shipment and sales of oil, Mr. McKiNNEY
had little to do, and less confidence in as a means of relief. He
regarded the proposed " plan of operations " as unsubstantial and
wanting in the essential elements of probable financial and com-
mercial success. The later history of these transactions, shows
how clearly he comprehended "the situation," for the results were
a full warrant for his judicious action from beginning to end. He
was, however, among the first to suggest ways and means to arrest
what was generally regarded as an impending calamity. He urged
first, a suspension of the drilling of wells for six months; and sub-
510 niSTORY OF PETROLEUM.
sequently, the shutting down of all pumping and drilling wells for
thirty days. The first despatch that passed over the wires from
Parker's Landing to other oil centers', electrifying the entire region,
advising and demanding this last great sacrifice at the hands of
producers, was dictated, if not actually written by Mr. McKlNNEY,
and signed by the firm of which he was the head McKiNNEY &
NESBITT. Having dealt this blow, he earnestly followed up his
convictions with unremitting labors to unite the Parker's Landing
district in the movement, and in ten days thereafter, saw the fruits
of his efforts in more than 4,500 wells shut down for thirty days!
In the early months of 1873, Mr. McKiNNEY, with his brother,
J. C. McKiriney, who for a year past has been his sole partner, pur-
chased the two Hemphill farms, and the Barnhart farm, at Mil-
lerstown, now the great oil field of the Parker's, or lower district,
consisting of about 250 acres. For this property they paid 70,-
000. Subsequently Mr. JOHN H. GAILEY, of Parker's Landing,
became a purchaser from the McKiNNEY brothers, of an interest
in these oil lands, and they are now being developed under the
firm name of McKiNNEY BROS. & GAILEY.
Mr. McKiNNEY, besides the business connections heretofore
named, and his manufacturing interests, atTitusville and Corry, Pa.,
and atNunda, N. Y., as a partner of Gibbs, Sterritt & Co., is a stock-
holder and director in two of the soundest banking institutions in
the lower oil region The Parker's Savings Bank, at Parker's
Landing, and The Millerstown Savings Bank, at Millerstown, But-
ler Co., Pa.
"We may be permitted to mention here, what should have been
stated before, that Mr. McKiNNEY on the 14th of February, 1866,
married Miss IDA D. FORD, of Pittsfield, Penna., a lady of such
womanly and motherly excellencies and attractions as are sure to
adorn the home circle, and become a jewel in the crown of her hus-
band's triumphs and worldly renown.
Mr. McKiNNEY has the elements of a successful business man
largely developed. He possesses a well balanced mind, is a con-
JOHN L. McKINNEY. 511
staiit "worker/ 7 and a thorough, earnest " thinker " upon all mat-
ters pertaining to his business affairs. "While there is nothing
penurious or small in his dealings with men, he yet goes to the
bottom of every proposition engaging his attention or challenging
his favor. Details and their bearing upon results, are carefully
examined, and rarely with faulty conclusions. In his intercourse
with business men he is reserved yet positive, and always influen-
tial. His opinions are grounded upon a substantial basis, and he
is never without ample language to render them intelligible. A
man of positive convictions, he possesses the ability to defend his
opinions and carry men with him. In his relationships to the
world he is frank, zealous, open-hearted, in the strongest acceptation
of these terms. Possessing the characteristics of the true gentle-
man, he bears about him the dignity of a true manhood. In private
life he is companionable and sociable, beyond the power of appre-
ciation until wholly and really known. Retiring in manner, and
reticent in hab'its, he rarely obtrudes himself upon others. Cordial
and -confiding in his friendships and attachments, his estimate of
men is at once prompt, and usually correct.
In business circles Mr. McKlNNEY takes rank among the first.
He is reliable, and prompt under all circumstances. His industry
and devotion to his private affairs, and his consequent success, is
known of all men, and hence it is that his obligations are regarded
everywhere as "first-class" and "gilt-edged." He is at this writ-
ing a few months past his thirtieth birthday, and it is no stretch of
probability to say, that a most prosperous future is opening to him,
and that he will advance to it with the same realizing sense of his per-
sonal power, responsibility and duty, that has characterized him
thus far through a life of remarkable activity and conceded useful-
ness and excellence.
512 HISTORY OF PETROLEUM.
FRANK W. ANDREWS.
TITUSVILLE, PENNA.
THERE are few prominent men now living in the oil region of
Western Pennsylvania, who, identifying themselves with the early
development of that great staple, petroleum, have not carved out
for themselves a history in many regards remarkable. When
the discovery was made, great numbers came, saw, and strived
manfully to conquer, but after a brief career, dropped out of the
ranks and were heard of no more. Many came, it is true, and in
a few weeks or months, by sheer " luck," gathered up their one,
two, three and five hundred thousand dollar fortunes, and aban-
doned the field to others. But the men who have made the oil
region of Western Pennsylvania, and have been made by this
wonderful phenomena of nature, are those who began early, and
have remained through ten or twelve years of adversity and pros-
perity, to enjoy the fruits of their industry in a final triumph over
all obstacles and embarrassments. Among this class of men, the
subject of the following sketch has a deserved distinction, creditable
alike to his industry, his will and his determination.
FRANK W. ANDREWS is a native of the Green Mountain State,
born in the town of Vernon, Windham County, Vermont, on the
30th day of May, 1838. In May, 1840, his father, a successful
farmer, removed with his family to Ohio, and settled in Geauga
County, engaging extensively in stock-growing and the cultivation
of a large farm. Here young ANDREWS grew to manhood, work-
ing upon the farm summers, and attending a district school winters,
acquiring a tolerable common school education. When nineteen
years old, he assumed the role of a teacher in a district school in
the vicinity of his father's residence, and acquitted himself with
Wood bury type. A. P. R. P. Co.. Phila.
F. W. ANDREWS.
PRANK W. ANDREWS. 513
credit. Subsequently he attended Hiram College, at Hiram, Ohio.
At the age of twenty he determined to commence the battle of life,
singly and alone, and with about $75 in money, he made his way
west and south, arriving at Cairo, 111., undecided as to a southern
or western destination. While at Cairo, he fell in with a couple
of gentlemen, who were publishers or owners of a map of the
"Great West, and the States of the Union/' together with a book
entitled "The History of the United States and Territories." He
was tendered an agency for the sale of these publications, his field
of operations embracing Southern Illinois and the State of Missouri.
For each book or map sold, he was to receive one dollar. He en-
tered at once upon his enterprise, and for a time his expectations
were fully realized. It was, however, a business he was scarcely
adapted to, and we next hear of him as a school teacher, in a small
provincial town, in the State of Missouri. He applied for the
position, and after passing a creditable examination as to qualifica-
tion, was questioned by the commissioners upon various points of
school policy, and among others was asked if he kept a "loud" or
a " silent " school. Young ANDREWS was extremely anxious to
put in a correct answer to this interrogatory, and after a hesitancy
of a few seconds, believing he comprehended the situation, he
promptly answered, a a silent school, of course." This did not meet
the approval of the learned commissioners, whom traditionary prac-
tice had impressed with the efficiency and desirability of schools
of the "loud" sort. They intimated to the young pedagogue that
" he wouldn't do !" Young ANDREWS, however, resorted to diplo-
macy, and suggested that he would accept the position upon a
week's trial, at the end of which time, if his " school policy " did
not meet the approval of the commissioners, and scholars as well,
he would resign his charge. Upon these terms he commenced his
labors. Among the attendants were many young men and young
ladies his senior in years, but not in acquirements. His thorough
discipline, his superior ability as a teacher, his self-control and per-
fect reserve, together with his industry and devotion to his duties,
33
514 HISTORY OF PETEOLEUM.
won for him a respect and admiration on the part of parents and
students, never before extended to a teacher in that locality. Of
course he was retained ; Mr. A. maintaining his reserve, and pre-
serving a dignity, so to speak, that challenged the respect of his
scholars and commanded the approbation of the commissioners and
patrons of the school. He continued his charge of this school for
five months, and when he left, he bore away with him the confidence
and good will of scholars, commissioners and the community gen-
erally. Had he consented to remain, as he was urged to do, his
salary would have been $50 instead of $40 per month.
Soon after the close of his school in the spring of 1859, Mr. AN-
DREWS, full of the spirit of adventure, and a commendable determi-
nation to hew his own way to fortune, resolved to join the throngs
just then gathering upon our western borders, bound for the lately
discovered gold and silver mining regions of Colorado and Pike's
Peak. Securing the co-operation of three or four friends and ac-
quaintances of like ambition, they promptly began the preparation
of an outfit. They purchased four yoke of cattle, a heavy emigrant
wagon, which they loaded down with provisions, clothing, etc., for
a lengthened expedition, and in a few days were upon their weari-
some journey across the plains to the new Eldorado, where it was
said gold in abundant quantities could be had for the picking up,
and where untold wealth in other precious metals awaited the per-
sistent and industrious pioneer.
As the little band of adventurers travelled " westward ho ! " their
company rapidly increased, and long before one-third their journey
had been accomplished, they numbered over one hundred persons,
all destined for Pike's Peak and the golden mountains of that far
off country. Day after day they met large and small parties, who
had turned back, discouraged and heart-sick of gold hunting. They
told fearful tales of suffering and disappointment, which sadly de-
moralized the ranks of Mr. ANDREWS' party, and as a consequence,
two, three, five and ten of their number from time to time " gave
out," and joined those who were " homeward bound." The result
FRANK W. ANDREWS. 515
was disastrous. The " faint-hearted " increased with alarming ra-
pidity, and there were only thirty left of the first one hundred re-
cruited ! At last a majority of these " struck, and would go no fur-
ther ! " There was one, however, who had resolved to " stick."
Mr. ANDREWS had set out for Pike's Peak, and if life and health
were spared him, he " would go through if he went alone ! " Turn-
ing back with the rest, for he could not release his teams or their
load, he travelled a portion of one day toward home, when he en-
countered another party, bound for Pike's Peak, and he gladly
joined in this new expedition, and turned his face once more toward
the west.
We shall not follow this band of resolute men in their toilsome
journey across the plains to the point of destination. Suffice it to
say, they were a little more than three months in accomplishing
their journey, encountering all the vicissitudes, trials, accidents and
incidents of an emigrating party upon the great plains lying west
of the Missouri River, and east of the Rocky Mountains. Their
numbers, as in the first instance, were largely augmented, until
their rolls showed 125 persons. Daily as they toiled and travelled
on toward the setting sun, they passed returning parties who had
" seen enough and knew enough of Pike's Peak to satisfy them !"
and had turned their faces homeward. They had become disheart-
ened, and had resolved to return to civilization. All told the
same tale of disappointment, disaster, and misfortune. This did
not, however, appal the brave men who made up this second expe-
dition with which MR. ANDREWS had cast his lot. They deter-
mined to see the end of their journey.
In June following, this company entered the city of Denver,
Colorado, one hundred and twenty-five to one hundred and thirty
strong. A few days spent here in replenishing their reduced out-
fit, and in recuperating their wasted strength, and they were again
on the road over the mountains to the gold diggings of Pike's
Peak. Reaching finally their destination, prospecting began in
earnest, and for the purposes of brevity in this mining venture, we
516 HISTORY OF PETROLEUM.
may add, that startling success did not follow in the track of any
one or more of Mr. ANDREWS' party. Many who had come to
regard the expedition as a failure, joined in the numerous parties
making up and returning to the States, while others abandoned the
mines and betook themselves to employment in the mining towns
of the region. The result of all this " thinning of the ranks " was
just TWO of the original or subsequently recruited mining party,
and MR. ANDREWS was ONE of these two, and Capt. BARNES, a
hardy old California miner, was the other. Mr. ANDREWS deter-
mined to remain. He had suffered too much of privation and
hardship to surrender upon so slight an experience in " gold hunt-
ing." He had come too many hundred miles, and had sacrificed
too many of the comforts of life to entertain the idea of abandoning
all upon so slender a pretext. "With his sole remaining companion,
he took up his line of march to the rich placers of Clear Creek
operating at the " Spanish diggins' ;" and here their prospecting
and mining operations were really begun. The first day's return
to MR. ANDREWS was " washings " of the pure metal 'amounting
to $16 1 Claims were "staked out" at various points, and labor
expended on each sufficient to make good their rights as discoverers.
Early in August, however, Mr. ANDREWS was stricken down with
fever, and for a long time his life was despaired of.
During his illness he sold a few of his claims, receiving in
exchange some personal property and a small amount of money.
He owned other and more valuable mining interests, which he
retained, having determined to develop them the following season.
He recovered his health and strength slowly, and after a con-
finement of nearly two months, fearing the rigors of a winter in
the mountains snow to the depth of eighteen to twenty inches
having already fallen and this in October he determined to
close up his affairs and return to the East. He began his journey
eastward soon after, and reaching the Platte Kiver at Denver, he
constructed a skiff or small boat, intending to follow its course to
its junction with the Missouri, six hundred miles away. For some
'FKANK w. ANDREWS. 517
days he made satisfactory progress, but the farther he went, the
more shallow and unnavigable the water, became, and long before
he had made one-half his journey, he was compelled to take to the
dry land ! Briefly, he reached the mouth of the Platte River, late
in the fall of 1859, and soon after bent his steps toward St. Joe,
Missouri, where he arrived in the month of November. % Remain-
ing here a few days, he sought and obtained employment as a
teacher, and entered upon his trust, determined with the means
thus realized, to return to his mining interests at South Pass as
soon as spring opened.
The winter passed, and the $150 the amount received for his
three months' services in teaching in hand, he began to gather up
his outfit for a second expedition. Before its consummation, how-
ever, ill health compelled him to change his determinations, and
he returned to Ohio. This was in the early spring of 1860. He
reached home in due time, and turned his attention to the supervi-
sion and conduct of his father's business. In January, 1862, he
married Batpih L., eldest daughter of Anson Reed, Esq., of New-
bury, Ohio, a very estimable lady.
Late in the fall of 1863, he resolved to visit the Oil Region of
"Western Pennsylvania, and during the winter of 1863-4, we find
him engaged in the lucrative business of " hauling oil," from Tarr
Farm, to Oil City and Franklin, and oftentimes to Titusville, em-
ploying several teams for this purpose, and when " the Creek " ad-
mitted, " boating " the same commodity to the two former points.
This " means of livelihood " he followed into the fall months of
1864, when he determined, having accumulated, as he believed,
means sufficient for the undertaking, to try his fortunes in operat-
ing. He secured leases on Cherry Tree Run, then undeveloped
territory, and put down four dry holes ! As a commencement,
this result was far from flattering to his zeal and industry. But
he did not weaken in his faith, or slacken in his resolve to succeed.
In the spring of 1865, he put down a single well on the McClin-
tock farm, and later in the same year, drilled three on Pit Hole
Creek, all which were like his first four, dry !
518 HISTOKY OF PETROLEUM.
The Pit Hole excitement was about looming up, and thither Mr.
ANDREWS went, full of resolution, quickened and intensified by
his previous failures. On the day of his arrival there he secured five
half-acre leases, agreeing to pay a bonus of $4,000 for each, " and
one-half the oil." He paid $250 down upon each of the five leases
$1,250 and bound himself to pay the balance of the sum due
$18,750 in 60 days thereafter! After completing these con-
tracts, his "cash account" was about balanced! He, however,
contracted for drilling the first well, Mr. W. W. Thompson, of Ti-
tusville, since so famous as a successful oil operator, being the con-
tractor. Mr. Thompson purchased a small interest, to apply on the
drilling account, and immediately commenced the work of sinking
the well. Of the remaining interests in the first venture, Mr. AN-
DREWS disposed of sufficient to pay the cost of putting it down, re-
taining the balance. He continued to sell interests in the remain-
ing four leases at excellent prices, and in six weeks from the date
of his contract, sales had been made sufficient to pay off all his in-
debtedness and leave him a handsome margin ! To this good for-
tune, was added the new well Mr. Thompson had meanwhile com-
pleted, and it was flowing 400 barrels per day !
During the same summer, with other parties he purchased a re-
serve of 3 \ acres of the Hooker farm, in the Pit Hole basin, paying
$75,000 for it. This property was prolific of good wells, and
among them was the famous " Fisher well," which flowed from
the start, one thousand barrels per day.
Soon after securing the four half acre leases, above-mentioned,
Mr. Andrews purchased one acre of the Ball farm, one of the large
producing tracts of Pit Hole, and for this " bit of land " he paid
$5,000, $1,000 down and the balance in monthly payments of
$1,000 each ! Before the second payment became due, or within
thirty days after the purchase, he sold the fee of this single acre of
land to Hopewell, Parker & McLaughlin, for $6,000, reserving
one-eighth of the oil !
Pit Hole continued its wonderful developments, and as a sequence,
FRANK W. ANDREWS. 519
the value of leases, lands and farms, went to fabulous prices. The
"Hyner farm" may be taken as a fair record of all the surround-
ing territory. Mr. ANDREWS met the owner, Mr, Hyner, one
evening, while the excitement was at simple " fever heat."
"What will you take for your farm?" asked Mr. Andrews.
Mr. Hyner hesitated a moment, and replied : " Fifty thousand
dollars cash \" " I will take it," said Mr. ANDREWS, " and here
are $500 to make the contract binding!" "Never mind that,"
said Mr. Hyner, " you come down in the morning, and make the
papers !" The morning came, and Mr. ANDREWS was promptly on
hand but Mr. Hyner didn't seem to be as eager as the night before
he talked less, and appeared to be in deep study ! The papers
were being prepared, and as they approached completion, Mr.
Hyner wandered a little way off, and beckoned to Mr. ANDREWS.
" I told you fifty thousand dollars cash would buy my farm, didn't
I ?" said Mr. H. " Yes," replied Mr. ANDREWS, " and the papers
are nearly ready." " Well," said Mr. Hyner, " I meant fifty thou-
sand dollars in gold!" This was a stunner to the enterprising
purchaser. Gold was then selling at $2.15, and the new proviso
made a difference Mr. ANDREWS had not calculated upon ! Another
negotiation was entered upon, based upon $100,000 in green-backs,
and a ten days' refusal of the farm at these figures $500 forfeit !
Later, Mr. Hyner, claiming he could not make a perfect title,
" bought " out of this contract, by refunding the $500 paid for the
refusal for ten days, and gave Mr. ANDREWS a lease upon any part
of the farm he might select, within sixty days thereafter. This
farm was afterwards divided into halves or thirds, and sold, Mr.
Hyner realizing $175,000 to $200,000 from the sales.
Mr. ANDREWS' Pit Hole ventures continued to grow more and
more remunerative, and he steadily enlarged his operations. At
one time he could have disposed of all his interests there, at a clear
profit of $250,000 ! He added new engines and boilers, erected
new derricks and engine-houses, and rapidly increased his leases
and liabilities. Some months later, when " the bottom went out of
520 HISTORY OF PETROLEUM.
the Pit Hole basin," Mr. A. was left like scores of others in that
once attractive locality, with considerable Pit Hole City property,
numberless oil well rigs, boilers and engines, tools, tubing, casing,
&c., upon his hands, with a scant stock of oil, and less money !
His embarrassments might have disheartened and crushed out a less
determined man. Indeed large numbers theretofore successful ope-
rators at Pit Hole and elsewhere, did actually "give up the ship,"
and returned to their homes " in the States," with cash and bank
accounts either badly shattered, or showing balances upon the
wrong side. Mr. ANDREWS, however, saw in his disaster only
greater inducements for effort. He returned to "the creek" and
secured territory on Pioneer Run this and th 
