Full text of "History of Huntingdon County, in the state of Pennsylvania : from the earliest times to the centennial anniversary of American independence, July 4, 1876"

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HISTORY

HUNTINGDON COUNTY,

IN THE

STATE OF PENNSYLVANIA,

FROM THE EARLIEST TIMES TO THE CENTENNIAL ANNI-
VERSARY OF AMERICAN INDEPENDENCE,
JULY 4, 1876.

MILTON SCOTT LYTLE.

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LANCASTER, PA.:
y/ILLIAM H. ROY, Publisher,
1376. fc,

Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1876, by

MILTON SCOTT LYTLE,
In the Office of the Librarian of Congress at Washington.

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FEARSOL A GEIST, PRINTERS,
LANCASTER, PA.

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PREFACE.

The first suggestion of the preparation of local histories at the close
of the first century of our national existence that came to the atten-
tion of the author of this work was made some four or five months
before the opening of the Centennial Exposition at Philadelphia.
The purport of that suggestion was that such histories he sketches
of the progress of towns and villages, to be delivered before assem-
blages of their citizens, respectively, on the then approaching anni-
versary. With a view to enlarging upon this idea, the author wrote
a communication to the Philadelphia Press, which was also published
in a number of other newspapers, recommending the preparation
of histories of counties, and that they embrace sketches of sub-
divisions and minor localities. Shortly afterwards, action upon the
subject was taken by Congress, and the following joint resolution
was adopted by the Senate and House of Eepresentatives, and ap-
proved by the President on the 13th of March last :

" Be it resolved, etc., That it be and is hereby recommended by the
Senate and House of Representatives to the people of the several
States, that they assemble in their several counties or towns on the
approaching Centennial anniversary of our national independence,
and that they cause to have delivered on such day an historical
sketch of such county or town from its formation, and that a copy of
said sketch be filed in print or manuscript in the clerk's office of said
county and an additional copy in print or manuscript be filed in the

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IV PREFACE.

office of the Librarian of Congress, to the intent that a complete
record may be thus obtained of the progress of our institutions dur- 1
ing the first centennial of their existence." ^

This resolution was promulgated in proclamations of the Governor
of Pennsylvania and the President of the United States, by the
former on the 21st day of April, and by the latter on the 25th day of
May, following its adoption. After reciting the resolution, the pro-
clamations were as follows :

GOVERNOR'S PROCLAMATION.

"Now, therefore, I, John F. Hartranft, Governor as aforesaid, do

hereby favorably commend this resolution to the people and authori-
ties of the various cities, counties and towns of this Commonwealth,

with the request that wherever the observance of the incoming anni-
versary of our National Independence will permit, provision may be
made to comply with the recommendation contained therein, so that
these historical sketches may be made to embrace all information and
statistics that can be obtained in relation to the first century of our
existence as a Commonwealth."

PRESIDENT'S PROCLAMATION.

" And whereas, It is deemed proper that such recommendation be
brought to the notice and knowledge of the people of the United
States ; now, therefore, I, Ulysses S. Grant, President of the United
States, do hereby declare and make known the same in hope that
the object of such resolution may meet the approval of the people of
the United States, and that proper steps may be taken to carry the
same into effect."

Although the histories of counties were thus in contemplation, the
plan proposed was not a large one. The material of a historical
character that could be condensed into a fourth of July address or

PREFACE. V

oration would necessarily be brief and unsatisfactory. It could in-
clude but a few of the most important outlines, and only such facts
as in all probability had already been put into a shape to insure their
preservation. That these histories could be made complete only by
the adoption of a much more extensive plan, is apparent from the fact
that this work has grown into a volume more pretentious in size than
the author designed it to be in any other respect. In fact, to prevent
its proportions from becoming too great, he was compelled to omit
much that he originally intended it should contain. The annals of
townships and boroughs, which he at first thought of giving in full,
he has been obliged to shape according to the space that could be
allowed to them. When it is remembered that there are in the
county twenty-five townships and twelve boroughs, it will be seen
that a sketch of each to the extent of eight or ten pages, would have
filled this book, to the exclusion of the general history of the county,
which, in the opinion of the author, at least, is of more importance.
The sketches of a few of the townships may be regarded as sufficiently
thorough. These were prepared before it was discovered that equal
space could not be given to all of them.

As the author desired to act upon the suggestion he has mentioned,
especially after it was given an official shape by the action of Con-
gress and the proclamations of the Governor and President, and as
he was unwilling to confine himself to the meagre limits proposed
by them, he has reconciled his own ideas as nearly as possible with
theirs, and has produced this volume, which he hopes will reach a
larger public than could any history prepared and delivered in strict
accordance with the plan contemplated by the resolution.

It is impossible for the author to specify the many persons to whom
he is under obligations for courtesies and assistance in his researches

VI PREFACE.

for the material for this work. There are some, however, from
Whom In- has received favors that deserve to be especially acknowl-
edged. Several of these have been mentioned in the chapters for
which they contributed information, while to the others he must here
express his thanks. To Mr. 15. F. Hippie he is indebted for a sketch
of Cromwell township, to Hon. David Clarkson for a sketch of Trough
Creek valley, to J. L. McEvaine, esq., for a sketch of Jackson town-
ship, to Dr. J. II. Wintrodefora sketch of Penn, to Robert McDivitt,
esq., for a sketch of Oneida, to Dr. J. A. Shade for a sketch of
Dublin, and to Samuel McVitty, esq., for a sketch of Shirley.

lie is also largely indebted to all the editors and publishers of
newspapers in the county. Their uniform courtesy and readiness
to aid him whenever required, led him to believe that they appreci-
ated the work in which he was engaged and encouraged him to per-
severe in its completion. The editorial profession, to be successfully
pursued, requires, perhaps, a higher intelligence than any other, and
the approval of the gentlemen connected with it has a peculiar signi-
ficance. Those who have assisted him most are Messrs. J. R. Dur-
borrowand J. A. Nash, of the Journal, Prof. A. L. Guss, of the
' be, 8. E. Fleming, esq., of the Monitor, Messrs. Hugh Lindsay
and Frank Willoughby, of the J. X . and Col. J. M. Bowman,

of the Mourn Union Times.

Saving endeavored to keep in view three of the purposes
for which history should he written : first, to interest the general
reader, second, to present tacts and statistics for information and
reference, and third, to preserve a record of the past, so that the
scenes and the actors may not be forgotten, the author presents this
work, hoping that he has not failed in any of these objects ; that it
will be received by the public in the same generous spirit manifested

PEEFACE. Vll

toward him during its preparation, that it will grow in value as time
recedes, and that the few copies that may outlive the second century
of American independence may be sought after by our descendants,,
and may form the basis of a new and enlarged history of that portion
of this free and enlightened people for whom Huntingdon county is

to be a home and an abiding place.

M. S. L.
Huntingdon, Pa., Oct. 19th, 1876.

CONTENTS.

PAOB.

CHAPTER 1 17

Aborigines of Huntingdon County— Doubts Concerning Them— First White Vis-
itors— Iudian Traders— Their Character — The Old Indian War-Path.

CHAPTER II 20

Conrad Weiser — His Journey to the Ohio — William Franklin — George Croghan —
Andrew Montour — Black Log — The Standing Stone — John Harris's State-
ment — Its Location— Meaning of Inscriptions upon it— Second stone erected
by the Whites.

CHAPTER III 28

A Popular Error — The story of Captain Jack — Its Unreliability— Jack's Nar-
rows — Origin of the Name — Murder of Armstrong, Smith and Arnold— Shick-
alamy's Statement — The search for and finding of the Bodies — Monument to
Jack Armstrong.

CHAPTER IV 35

AggressionBupon Unpurchased Lands— First Settlers in Huntingdon County —
Measures taken to Expel Them — Burning of their Dwellings — Aughwick —
Burnt Cabins — Discontent of the Indians— Ineffectual Work.

CHAPTER V 40

Treaty and purchase at Albany in 1754— Description of Lands Conveyed by the
Six Nations — Consequences which Followed — A Turning Point — The Six
Nations— Their Sovereignty — History — Residence — Character — TheDelawares
— Their Subjection to the Six Nations — The Shawuees — Imperious Assertion
of Authority — An Acknowledgment by the Delawares — Fatal Revenge.

CHAPTER VI 45

Aughwick— Croghan — His Reasons for Settling There—Surrender of Fort Neces-
sity — Indians Come to Aughwick— Are Furnished with Supplies by Croghan —
Drunkenness — Temperance Measures — Weiser 's Conference with the Indians
— Charges Against Croghan and the Answers to Them — Braddock's Com-
plaints — Death of the Half King — Consolation from Croghan — Indian Desire
for Presents — Monacatootha.

CHAPTER VII 55

Fortification of Aughwick — Croghan's Views — Postponement of the Project —
Movement against the French — Braddock's Expedition— Appeal to the
Indians — Croghan in Command of those from Aughwick — Deserters — Thanks
of Couucil — Speech of Scarroyady — Indians leave Aughwick— Change in
Cr jghan's Relations to the Government — No Longer in Charge of Indian
Affairs.

X CONTENTS.

PAGE.

CHAPTER VIII, 61

Revival of the Project of Fortifying Aughwick— Condition of the Frontier Settle-
ments— Keaeons why they were Unprotected— Conflict between the Governor
and the Assembly— Croghan Commissioned as a Captain and Ordered to Erect
Stockades -Where they were to be Built — Fort Shirley— Captain Croghan
Recruits men to Garrison the Forts — Difliculties Concerning His Accounts
— Resigns his Commission and Leaves Fort Shirley.

CHAPTER IX 66

Commissary General of Musters Visits and Pays Troops at Fort Shirley-Letter
from Captain Mercer— Recruiting at Carlisle— Strength of Garrison at Fort
Shirley— Condition of his Company — Arms, Accoutrements, Provisions and
Pay — Capture and Burning of Fort Granville— Preparations for an Attack
en Fort Shirley- -Colonel Armstrong's Expedition Against Kittamjing-Ren-
dezvous at Fort Shirley- -Surprise and Rout of the Indians-Killing of Captain
Jacobs, the Indian Chief— Captain Mercer Wounded and Missing— He Rejoins
His Company — Evacuation of Fort Shirley.

CHAPTER X

Situation on the Frontiers after 1754— Warrants Granted in 1755— In 1762— Hugh
Crawford's Improvement— Revival of Purchases— Dangers From and Depre-
dations by the Indians— The Town of Huntingdon-Its Founder, Dr. William
Smith— Selina, Countess of Huntingdon.

CHAPTER XI 74

Huntingdon at the Beginning of the Revolutionary War— The McMurtries—
Fort Standing Stone— Tories— Colonel Piper Exceeds his Authority— General
Roberdeau at Huntingdon -His Letter— Tory Expedition to Kittanning— Its
Result— Death of Weston and Dispersion of his Men.

CHAPTER XII 82

177s to 17S2— Cumberland County Militia sent to the Frontier— Difficulty of
Obtaining Arms— Colonel Broadhead's Regiment Ordered tc Standing Stone-
Captain Thomas Clugage's Company— At Fort Roberdeau— Charges Against
Captain Clugage— His Reply to Them— Militia of Lancaster and York Called
out for Service in Bedford and Westmoreland— Their Failure to Respond—
Colonel Martin's Letter to Council— Assistance from Cumberland County-
Huntingdon a Depot for Sun lies— Division of County into Military Districts
—Colonel George Ashman— His Report to President Reed— His Anxiety For
the Safety of the Country— Surrender of Lord Cornwailis— General Carlton
Supersedes Sir Henry Clinton— Peace.

CHAPTER XIII 9!

Division of Pennsylvania into Counties— Philadelphia, Bucks and Chester-
Lancaster— Cumberland — Bedford— Huntingdon — County Si at— Townships
then within the County— Election Districts— First Incumbents of County
Offices— Court Houses— Jails— Running and Ascertaining County Lines —
Difficulties with Mifflin County— Erection of new Counties— Centre — Cambria
—Blair.

CHAPTER XIV 101

A Tempest in Politics— Adoption of the Constitution of the United States-
Opposition to it in Huntingdon County— General William McAlevy— His
Political Influence— Armed Interference with the Public Officers in the Per-
formance of their Duties— Turbulent Interruption of the Courts— Arrests and
Rescues— Muster of Col. Cannon's Battalion— Assault and Battery upon
Benjamin Elliott— The Military retires from the Field— More Arrests— De-
struction of Warrants and Indictment— Obliteration of the Records of the
Court of Quarter Sessions— Secretion of Smith and Flight of Henderson-
Action of Supreme Executive Council— Further Violence— McAlevy and the
Mob— The Storm Subsides.

CONTENTS. XI

PAGE.

CHAPTER XV 110

Close of the Eighteenth Century — Peace and Plenty — Prosperity and Improve-
ment — Navigation of the Juniata and Raystowu Branch— Of the Little Juniata
and Standing Stone Creek — First Iron Works— Bedford Furnace — Barree
Forge — Huntingdon Furnace— First Ark on the Susquehanna and Juniata —
First Newspaper— Establishment of the Post Office at Huntingdon.

CHAPTER XVI 116

Newspapers of the Past — Huntingdon Gazette — Literary Museum — Republican
Advocate — Huntingdon Courier — Huntingdon Messenger — Standing Stone
Banner — Shirleysburg Herald — The Union — Broad Top Miner— Workingmen's
Advocate — Young America — The American and the Republican.

CHAPTER XVII 124

Newspapers of the Present — The Journal— A. W. Benedict — Theo. H. Cremer —
James Clark — J. Sewell Stewart — J. R. Durborrow — The Globe — William
Lewis — A. L. Guss — The Monitor— Destruction of the Office by the Soldiers —
S. E. Fleming — M. M. McNeil — The Local News — Hugh Lindsay — Mount
Union Times — The Herald — The Leader — The Pilgrim — The Young Disciple.

CHAPTER XVIII 137

Enterprises of the Past — Post-Riders— Arks— Pack-Horses— Juniata Mail Stage
— Weekly — Daily — Time From Philadelphia to Huntingdon and Pittsburg —
Mail Route to Chambersburg— Turnpikes — Incorporation of the Huntingdon,
Cambria and Indiana — Huntingdon and Lewistown — Pennsylvania Canal —
Legislation Under which it was Constructed — Preliminary Surveys — Opened
for Navigation— Public Enthusiasm — Sale to the Pennsylvania Railroad Com-
pany — Abandoned West of Huntingdon.

CHAPTER XIX 147

Railroads — Philipsburg and Juniata— Huntingdon and Chambersburg— Hun-
tingdon and Hollidaysburg — Pennsylvania — Huntingdon and Broad Top
Mountain — Drake's Ferry and East Broad Top — East Broad Top Railroad and
Coal Company — Lewisburg, Centre and Spruce Creek — Telegraphs.

CHAPTER XX 157

Organization of First Agricultural Society — Its Objects and Manner of Advancing
Them — Present Agricultural Society — Organization— First Officers — Incorpo-
ration — Dates Upon which Fairs have been Held — Premiums and Expenses —
Present Officers— Statistics of Agriculture and Manufactures.

CHAPTER XXI 1G3

Coal and Iron — Early Knowledge of the Existence of Coal on Broad Top —
Attempt to Create a Market for' It— Beginning of the Coal Trade — Annual
Production — Detailed Statement of the Business for 1875 — Coke — Juniata
Charcoal Iron — Furnaces and Forges by which it was Made.

CHAPTER XXII 168

Education — Number of Schools in the County — Average Number of Months
Taught — Number of Children in Attendance — Teachers — Classification —
Branches Taught — School Buildings — Primitive School House — Recent Archi-
tecture — Heating of School Rooms — Furniture and Apparatus — Teacher's
Institutes — County Superintendency — Salary — List of Persons who have Held
the Office— Receipts and Expenditures for School Purposes — Illiteracy —
Number of Persons who cannot Read or Write.

Xll CONTENTS.

PAGE.

CHAPTER XXIII. . . 178

Private Schools — Shirleysburg Academy and 8eminary — Milnwood Academy —
Cassvillc Seminary — Soldiers' Orphan School — Huntingdon Academy — Moun-
tain Seminary — Churches.

CHAPTER XXIV 182

Population and Wealth — Steady and Gratifying Increase — Progress from 1790 to
1870 — Whites, Free Colored and Slaves — Foreigners — Countries from which
they Came and number from Each — Distribution of Population — White and
Colored, Native and Foreign — Value of Real and Personal Property — Compar-
ison with Other Counties — Area and Taxation.

CHAPTER XXV 185

The Great Rebellion — Resolutions Adopted before its Commencement — Series of
Meetings at Huntingdon in April, 1861, and Proceedings Thereat — Departure
of the First Company for Harrisburg — Enthusiasm of the People— Display of
the National Colors in all Parts of the County — Supplying Soldiers with Re.
freshments — Suldiers' Aid Societies — Number of Men Furnished by the
County during the War — Commissioned Officers, with their Rank Commands,
Etc. — Militia — Emergency Men — Decoration of Soldiers' Graves — Memorial
Association.

CHAPTER XXVI 200

Supreme Executive Council — Members from Huntingdon County — Col. John
Cannon — Benjamin Elliott — Numerous Public Positions Filled by the Latter
— His Descendants.

CHARTER XXVII 202

David Rittenhouse Porter — Leading Events in his Life before becoming a Citi-
zen of Huntingdon County — Clerk and Manager at Barree Forge — Engaged
in the Manufacture of Iron on Spruce Creek — His Failure — Elected County
Auditor — Member of Legislature — Appointed Prothonotary — Register of
Wills and Recorder of Deeds — Elected State Senator — Governor in 1S3S and
1S41 — Vote in Huntingdon County — Retires to Private Life— Dea.h.

CHAPTER XXVIII 207

Hon. John Scott — His Education— Admission to the Bar — Appointed Deputy
Attorney-General — Elected a Representative in the Legislature — Supports
the Government in the Suppression of the Rebellion, and Advocates the
Re-election of Lincoln in 1S64 — Elected United States Senator — His Public
Services — Committees of which he was a Member — Part taken by Him in
Legislation — Appointed General Counsel for Pennsylvania Company and
removes to Pittsburg.

CHAPTERXXIX 214

Representatives in Congress — First Election — Apportionments — Districts to
which Huntingdon County has Belonged — Names of Representatives and
Years of their Election — Hon. R. Milton Speer— Sketch of His Life.

CHAPTER XXX 217

President Judges — Appointments Previous to 1S51— Elections in that Year and
Subsequently — Hon. George Taylor — His Death — Proceedings at Meetings of
Members of the Bar— Sketch of His Life— Associate Judges— Prosecuting At-
torneys and District Attorneys.

CHAPTER XXXI 225

Senatorial Districts Fixed by Constitution of 1790 — Septennial Apportionments
and the Districts to which Huntingdon County has Belonged — Senators
Elected Since 1790 — Representatives in Legislature — Members Elected Since
the Erection of the County.

CONTENTS. Xlll

KAGE

CHAPTER XXXII 229

Constitutional Conventions— 1776— Benjamin Elliott — 1790 — Andrew Henderson
— 1838— Delegates From the County and Senatorial District— 1873 — Dr. John
M'Culloch and John M. Bailey.

CHAPTER XXXITI 232

County O -Beers— Sheriffs — Prothonotaries, Clerks of Courts of Common Pleas,
etc.— Registers, Recorders, and Clerks of the Orphans' Court — County
Treasurers — County Commissioners — Directors of the Poor — County Surveyors
— Jury Commissioners.

CHAPTER XXXIV 238

Huntingdon — Old Deed of Conveyance — Incorporation as a Borough — Extensions
of Borough Limits — Additions to the Plan of the Town — J. Edgar Thomson's
Survey — Miller, Wharton and Anderson's Addition — Manufacturing Estab-
lishments—Planing Mill and Furniture Factory — Shoe Factory and Tannery
— Car Works and Machine Shops— Broom and Brush Factory — Pilgrim Publi-
cation Building— Number of Buildings Erected — Census — Opening and Ex-
tension of Streets — Change in Street Nomenclature — Numbering of Buildings
and Lots — Division of the Borough into Wards — Fire Department — Engine
House — Gas — School Buildings and Schools — Churches and Pastors.

CHAPTER XXXV , 262

Townships — Divisions and Sub-Divisions — Erected from Tyrone — From Hun-
tingdon — From Barree — From Hopewell— From Shirley — From Dublin —
Townships formed Since the Erection of the County, in the Order of Their
Ages — Barree — Hopewell.

CHAPTER XXXVI 265

Dublin Township — The Shadow of Death — Early Settlers — Alexander Blair —
Manufactories — Development of Mineral Wealth — Shade Gap — Incorporation
as a Borough — Churches, etc.

CHAPTER XXXVII 272

Shirley Township — Early Settlers — Mills— Stores — Drake's Ferry — Clintonville
Santa Fe — Mount Union — Iron Ores of the Southern Part of the County —
Improvements in Mount Union and Vicinity — Jet d'Eau and Hotel des
1 n valides — Shirleysburg.

CHAPTER XXXVIII 279

Franklin Township — Agricultural and Mineral Wealth — Iron Works— Post
Offices— Springfield Towuship — First Settlers— Their Character — Early
Schools and Churches — Public Improvements — Causes that have Retarded
the Development of the Resources of the Township.

CHAPTER XXXIX 283

Union Township— Trough Creek, Smith's and Hare's Valleys— The Streams
— The Tory Hare— Mapleton— Morris Township — Water Street — Spruce
Creek or Graysport — Union Furnace.

CHAPTER XL 293

West Township— Shaver's Creek Valley— Anderson's Fort— Escape of Jane
Muguire — Petersburg — Warrior's Mark Township — Origin of the Name —
Bitmingham — Its Foundation, Growth and Decline.

CHAPTER XLI 299

Tell— Henderson— Porter— Walker.

XIV CONTENTS.

PAGE.

CHAPTER XI. II 302

Cromwell Township — Indian Remains — George Irvin — Early Settlements —
Furnaces— Bedford— Rockhill— Winchester — Rockhill Iron and Coal Com-
pany — Their Improvements — Starting of the New Furnace — The Clugage
Family — Black Log — Orbisonia.

CHAPTER XLIII 314

Tod Township — Union— Trough Creek Valley — Cass— Salisbury, or Chilcoats-
towu — Cassville — Hon. David Clarkson.

CHAPTER XLIV 319

Jackson Township — Joseph Jackson — General William McAlevy — His Method
of Immigration — McAlevy's Fort — 3chools and Churches — Greenwood Fur-
nace — Mitchell's Furnace — Stone Creek and McAlevy's Fort Railroad— Clay
Township — Brady — Mill Creek — Sand Quarries.

CHAPTER XEV 322

Penn Township — Soil — Ores — Early Settlers — Villages — Marklesburg — Grant-
ville — Grafton — Religious Denominations — Reformed— Lutheran— Methodist
Episcopal— German Baptist — Mennonite — Churches — Mills — Soldiers of the
Union Army.

CHAPTER XLVI . . . , 333

Oneida Township — Nathan Gorsuch — Jacob White — Other Early Settlers — Im-
provements and Productions — William Foster — Boat Building — Juniata Town-
ship — Soil— Timber — Carbon Township— Its Chief Industry — Lincoln Town-
ship — James Entriken — Coffee Run.

CHAPTER XLVII 338

Centennial Anniversary of American Independence — Observance of the Day — At
Warrior's Mark — Birmingham — Dudley — Orbisonia — Mount Union — Hunting-
don — Display of Flags and Decoration of Buildings — Procession — Oration by
Dr. J. H. Wintrode — Balloon Ascension — Close of the Century.

ILLUSTRATIONS.

The Juniata, Frontispiece.

Jack's Narrows, Facing page 28

Cassville Seminary, " " 178

Hon. John Scott, " "206

Spruce Creek Tunnel, " "286

Below Mill Creek, " "321

Explanation. Some copies of this work will be found not to contain the
portrait of Hon. John Scott, which appears in the above list of illustrations.
It is deemed necessary to explain this omission. The engravings were arranged
for early in the last summer and were to be furnished early in the month of
July. At that time a portion of them was received. The balance have since
been repeatedly promised by the owner of the plate, but after waiting for them
until the latest possible moment, we are obliged to publish the work without
them.

ERRAT/V.

Page 19, for Governeur Morris read Governor Morris.

" 21, at beginning of last paragraph, for 1758 read 1748.
" 112, for 1780 read 1785.

" 130, line 16th from the bottom, for 1871 read 1873.
" 160, for Peter Stryder read Peter Stryker.
" " for David Auxandt read David Aurandt.
" " for Hon. James Given read Hon. James Qwin.
" 100, for Conser read Conser.
" 201, for Henry Miller read Jacob Miller.
" 227, for members of Assembly from 1817 to 1830, inclu-
sive, see next page.

History of Huntingdon County.

CHAPTER I.

ABORIGINES OF HUNTINGDON COUNTY — DOUBTS CONCERNING THEM— FIRST
WHITE VISITORS — INDIAN TRADERS— THEIR CHARACTER — THE OLD INDIAN
WAR-PATH.

But little is known concerning the Aborigines of Hunt-
ingdon county previous to the settlement of the whites among
them. Of course, such knowledge could be gathered only
from the traditions of the Indians themselves, few of which
have been retained by us, the scenes upon the savage stage
having vanished with the actors. Even the names of the
various tribes that may have lived here have passed into
oblivion. It is true that some facts in relation to the native
inhabitants of Standing Stone have been preserved, but of
so meagre a character that it is uncertain to what nation they
belonged. Writers on this subject state that they are sup-
posed to have been Oneidas, but after giving the matter as
thorough an examination as the limited data at hand affords,
I am inclined to the contrary opinion, if, indeed, it is suffi-
ciently free from obscurity and doubt to admit of an opinion
at all. The supposition to which I refer is founded upon a
theory, that the name Oneida signifies, in our language,
"Standing Stone," and that the Oneida Indians of New York
were of Southern origin. But some authorities, in contra-
diction to this theory, have given the name a different inter-
pretation ; and as to their emigration it must have taken
place, if at all, many years before white visitors came to the
ancient village on the Juniata. On the capture of New
York from the Butch in 1664, the Five Nations, of which
the Oneidas were one, were living in that State and entered

into an alliance with the English. If the entire Oneida
B

18 HISTORY OF HUNTINGDON COUNTY.

cation had regarded the stone, as they are said to have done,
with "superstitious veneration," and had believed that if it
should be taken away from them they would be dispersed,
they certainly would not have gone to a distant country
leaving it behind them. By surmising that only a portion
of them went to New York, one or more of their tribes re-
maining here, we but add to the uncertainty and by no means
reconcile the conjectures on the one hand with the well-at-
tested facts on the other.

Of the white men who first came within the limits of the
county, we know almost as little as we do of the Indians,
They were probably traders whose avocation led them to
make journeys between the East and the Ohio river. That
persons engaged in that business did make such journeys
before the earliest record we have of them, is evinced by
many circumstances. In a letter written by George Croghan,
who resided on the Susquehanna river, about five miles west
of Harris' Ferry, now Ilarrisburg, he mentions a trader who
had just arrived from the Ohio, and gives other intelligence
from which it may be inferred that the making of such trips
was not then an uncommon occurrence. In fact, Croghan
himself is mentioned as "a considerable trader," as early as
June, 1747. He was well acquainted with the Indian coun-
try, and with the best roads to the Ohio, and was selected to
convoy the expedition which we shall presently describe as
of especial interest in the history of the county.

The traders did not belong to that class of persons who
reduce to writing the events of their daily lives. It does
not appear that anything transpired with them which they
deemed worthy of remembrance. They did not penetrate
the new country in the spirit of explorers, seeking discove-
ries of value to the world and benefit to themselves. Even
a passage of hundreds of miles through an unbroken forest
made no impression on their unappreciative senses. Intent
upon traffic, they transported their wares on pack-horses
from one end of the province to the other, with a view to
profitable commerce with the Indians, whose innocence of
mercantile transactions, at that early day, rendered them an

HISTORY OF HUNTINGDON COUNTY. 19

easy prey to cupidity and avarice. In later years, when,
with the utmost vigilance, it was impossible to prevent the
French on the Ohio from obtaining information which the
interests of the English required they should not possess, it
was said of these traders by Governeur Morris, that they were
"mostly a low sort of people, generally too ignorant to be
employed as spies, but not at all too virtuous." lie was
speaking of George Croghan when he made this remark, but
rather excepted him from the sweeping assertion. As we
become more familiar with the life and character of the lat-
ter, as developed in his connection with the affairs of this
county, from the time of which we write until 1756, we will
be better able to judge wherein he differed from his fellow-
traders. It is not strange that men of the qualities ascribed
to them by Governeur Morris, should have perpetuated so
little concerning themselves and should be so soon for-
gotten.

The route taken by these commercial travelers of the
olden time, was along the old Indian war-path, coming from
the eastward through the Tuscarora Valley, Shade Gap,
Black Log, Aughwick, Woodcock Valley, Hartslog Valley,
Water Street, Frankstown, Hollidaysburg, and crossing the
Allegheny mountains at or near Kittanning Point. It was
this trail that gave Huntingdon county its early importance.
It was the great highway between the east and the west,
and continued to be so for many years. The traders, the
agents of the government, and the pioneers, as they moved
westward, followed it. In 1754, when there was a pressing
necessity for military operations against the French on the
Ohio, and the ways and means of moving troops and con-
veying supplies were under consideration, there was no-
other road to the Ohio than this path, which a Governeur Mor-
ris described as " only a horseway through the woods and
over mountains, not passable with any carriage." Travel
was not diverted from this route until 1755, when the road
was made to enable Braddock and his army to march
against Fort DuQuesne.

CHAPTER II.

conrad weiser — his joubneyto the ohio — william fraxklix — george
crogiiax — andrew montour — black log — the standing stone— john
Harris's statement — its location — meaning of inscriptions upon it
— second stone erected by the whites.

Conrad Weiser, the first white visitor to the soil of Hun-
tingdon county from whom any account has come down to us,
was, during the last thirty years of his life, associated with
many of the leading events in the history of the province.
He was born in Germany in 1696, and came to America in
1710. At the age of fourteen he went among the Mohawk
Indians, one of the Six Nations, for the purpose of learning
their language, and was afterwards engaged as an interpre-
ter between the Germans and Indians in the neighborhood
of his home in New York. In 1729 he came to Pennsyl-
vania. His profound knowledge of the Indian character
and intimate acquaintance with their language secured for
him the appointment of Indian interpreter, in which capa-
city he entered the service of the government, making his
residence at Heidelberg, in Lancaster, now Berks, county.
He seems to have spent but little of his time at home, his
public duties requiring him almost constantly elsewhere.
They called him frequently to the most distant parts of the
province and sometimes out ot it, to the frontiers on the
Susquehanna and Juniata, to conferences with the Six Na-
tions at Onondaga, in New York, and wherever business was
to be transacted between the provincial authorities and the
natives. "He was highly esteemed by both English and
Indians as a person of integrity, skill and ability in divers
important trusts which had been committed to him by both
parties for a long series of years."

Weiser's journey to the Ohio was projected in March,
1748. The instructions by which he was to be governed in
the mission upon which he was sent, were drawn up in that
month, but when on the point of departure he was sum-

HISTORY OF HUNTINGDON" COUNTY. 21

moned before the Provincial Council at Philadelphia on busi-
ness connected with Indian affairs, and the delivery of his
instructions was delayed until the following July. George
Croghan had been in readiness in the former month to ac-
company him with about twenty horses, and carry goods to
the Indians. On learning of Weiser's detention, he set out
himself, made the trip, and returned in time to join the lat-
ter and his party in their journey later in the summer.

After various other delays, occuring from March until
July, Weiser started from Heidelberg on the 11th of Au-
gust, 17-18. He regarded the expedition as perilous, and un-
dertook it with reluctance ; and had not the business with
which he was entrusted been highly important, he would
have declined going. His fears were expressed in a letter
to Kichard Peters, dated at " Tuscarora Path, August 15th,
1748," in which he says, "I may be obliged to pay the debt
of human nature before I get home." But he escaped the
dangers of the wilderness and the savage, both in going and
returning, and lived afterwards, in honor and usefulness,
until 1760.

In 1758, the rivalry which for years had existed between
the English and the French to secure the friendship and al-
liance oi the Indians, was becoming more intense. It con-
tinued to increase until its ultimate and inevitable result
was reached — a war, in which a conspicuous part was played
in Huntingdon county. Weiser was directed to proceed to
the Ohio for the purpose of distributing valuable presents
to the Indians, and to remind them of the liberality of the
government in providing for their necessities on many for-
mer occasions. He was to ascertain their number, situation,
disposition, strength and influence, and to obtain from them
intelligence as to the designs and operations of the French.
The English were in constant dread of incurring the enmity
of the Indians, and yet it could be avoided only by frequent
and expensive presents, amounting to little less than pur-
chases of their friendship. They accepted bribes without any
hesitancy, being proud to receive them and regarding them
as concessions to their own importance.

22 HISTORY OF HUNTINGDON COUNTY.

As to the number and names of the persons who were with
him, he gives us no information, excepting that contained
in his letter to Secretary Peters, to which there was a post-
script, saying that ''Mr. Franklin's son is very well, as is all
the rest of my companions." This was Benjamin Franklin's
son William. He had delivered to Weiser his instructions
from the government and also a proclamation, the nature of
which will soon be explained. At a subsequent period he
made himself useful in assisting to obtain transportation for
Braddock's army. Had he possessed the qualities which
rendered his father so distinguished, he would have left a full
account of his trip through the wilds of Pennsylvania, more
in detail than Weiser's, and would thus have perpetuated
his name among the people of Huntingdon county, at least.

But we are not without the means of ascertaining some of
the other persons composing the party. George Croghan, a
man of somewhat erratic temperament and varied fortunes,
of whom we have already heard, was one of them. As his
life and character will occupy a considerable part of suc-
ceeding chapters, I desire now to more fully introduce him
to the reader. He was an Irishman by birth, and came to
Pennsylvania about the year 1742. Assuming the occupa-
tion of a trader and learning the language of the Shawnees
and Dela wares, if not of other Indian nations, he manifested
a willingness, in addition to his business pursuits, to perform
services for and to make himself useful to the government.
In 1749 he was licensed as an Indian trader, but he had pro-
bably been previously engaged in that vocation without a
license, or under a former one.

Another of the party was Andrew Montour, an interpreter,
who had resided " between the branches of the Ohio and
Lake Erie." He was recommended to the Council by Weiser
as " faithful, knowing and prudent," and was financially re-
warded for bringing information concerning the Indians in
the Northwest.

There were also white men in charge of the train of pack
horses, but of them we hear only incidentally. That there
were Indians along is highly probable. The journey was

HISTORY OF HUNTINGDON COUNTY. 23

not new to them. They had a well- worn path over which
the dusky warriors, for centuries, perhaps, had traveled to
and fro, before civilization began its encroachments. And
a few days before Weiser started, there were Indians from
the Ohio, at Lancaster, who, we have reason to believe, re-
turned with him.

From Weiser's journal, in which he noted briefly the
places between which they traveled each day, and the dis-
tances, we find that on the 15th and 16th they remained at
Tuscarora Path, on " account of the men coming back sick }
and some other affairs hindering" them. There seems to be
a contradiction in the statements of his letter and journal in
regard to the health of those who were with him, but this is
easily explained by the fact that the entry in the latter was
not made until the 16th, and the former was written on the
15th, before the men came back.

After leaving Tuscarora Path, we are entirely dependent
upon Weiser's journal for their movements. On the 17th
they "crossed the Tuscarora Hill and came tp the sleeping
place called Black Log, twenty miles." This was their en-
trance into Huntingdon county. But white men had been
here before. That inference is irresistible. They were not
traveling through an entirely unknown country. The places
where they stopped at night had names, and names, too,
that had been given them by the Anglo-Saxon race. No
one will ever tell how long Black Log had been a "sleeping
place."

On the 18th they deviated from the Indian war-path and
"came within two miles of the Standing Stone, twenty-four
miles." Whether they came to it the next day does not ap-
pear, but there is published in the Pennsylvania Archives
an extract from Weiser's journal, in which the distance from
Black Log to Standing Stone is stated to be twenty-six miles,
and from this entry we may conclude that they traveled be-
tween the two places.

The distance traveled on the 19th was twelve miles.
They were obliged to dry their clothing that afternoon on
account of a great rain the previous day. We cannot tell

24 HISTORY OF HUNTINGDON COUNTY.

where this occurred, but it was in the direction of Franks-
town, where they arrived on the 20th. As they were then
beyond the present limits of the county, I will pursue them
no further.

Evidently Conrad Weiser did not write for posterity. lie
had no anticipation that his records would outlive the tem-
porary purpose for which he made them, nor did he
foresee that they would be of any interest to others than
himself and those to whom it was his duty, on his return,
to render a report of the manner in which he had obeyed
their commands. His life was spent among savages, among
men whose knowledge of the past was entirely traditionary,
who looked forward to no condition for their descendants
different from their own, and who, when they passed from
earth, left scarcely a trace of their existence. He did not
realize that as a race they were rapidly approaching disso-
lution, that they were to disappear before intelligence and
civilization, that their forests were to be felled, their hunt-
ing grounds turned into smiling pastures and fields of waving
grain, and that populous towns were to occupy the sites of
their villages of wigwams. On that summer day in 1748, as
he stood at the confluence of Standing Stone creek and the
Juniata river, could he have scanned with the eye of prophecy
the one hundred and twenty-eight years that have since
elapsed, he would have attached more importance to things
as they were then, not because they were worth preserving,
or because that which was to take their place was not supe-
rior, but for the reason that even he, we may believe, would
not have been willing that the affairs of tribes and nations
should perish from the earth.

He did not tell us who were the inhabitants of Standing
Stone, nor, indeed, whether there were any inhabitants here
at all. He gave no explanation of the name or description
of the stone. That was reserved for subsequent visitors, but
none of them have done so as fully as we could desire. We
find a statement of the dimensions of the stone in an "ac-
count of the road to Log's Town, on the Allegheny river,
taken by John Harris in 1754.'' As he mentions other

HISTORY OF HUNTINGDON COUNTY. 25

places in the county, lying principally along the old Indian
path, I will extract a portion of his account, beginning at
" Tuscaroraw :"

" To the Cove Spring," 10 miles.

" To the Shadow of Death," 8 miles.

" To the Black Log," 3 miles.

At the last named place the road forked towards Rays-
town and Frankstown, and continuing on the road to the
former, he gives first the distances to "Allegheny" and
Logstown by that route.

"Now beginning at the Black Log, Franks Town Road,
to Aughwhick, 6 miles.

" To Jack Armstrong's Narrows, so called from his being
there murdered, 8 miles,

" To the Standing Stone (about 14 ft. high 6 inches square,)
10 miles.

" At each of these places we cross the Juniata.

" To the next and last crossing of the Juniata, 8 miles.

" To Water Street (branch of Juniata,) 10 miles.

"To the Big Lick, 10 miles.

" To Frank's (Stephen's) Town, 5 miles."

John Harris barely saved the existence of the stone from
being doubted ; but that it stood here, fourteen feet in height
and six inches square being established, we may accept the
statements of others as to its exact location. There is a dif-
ference in these statements, however, some placing it on the
right bank of Stone Creek, near its mouth, and others fur-
ther west, on the banks of the Juniata, near the foot of
Second street in the borough of Huntingdon. The
most reliable information now available, in regard to
its position, was obtained by J. Simpson Africa, esq.,
from some of the earliest residents of the place, who have
since passed away. Jacob Miller, who came here in 1791,
James Simpson, who had a personal knowledge of nearly
all of the old citizens of the county, and who came in 1793,
and Daniel Africa, who was born here in 1794, all located
it west of Second street, near the river. Since it stood there
the surroundings have been completely changed, buildings

26 HISTORY OF HUNTINGDON COUNTY.

having been erected, and a macadamized road, a canal, and
a railroad, made upon the ground, or in its immediate vicin-
ity, giving it entirely new features.

The Indians had engraved on this stone, in hieroglyphics,
some records or ideas they desired to preserve. We do not
know the shapes of these characters, whether they were fig-
ures of men, of animals, or of inanimate things, and perhaps
their meaning was never known to the whites. There is no
foundation for the belief that they were cabalistic, as they
were no doubt well understood by the Indians themselves.
They may have been the chronicles of the tribe, " of its
mighty deeds, its prowess in battle, and its skill in the
chase ; " or a code of laws, of morals, or of religion ; or re-
presentations of natural phenomena, of the movements of the
sun, moon and stars ; or the creations of their superstitions
and fears. The Indians fancied the stone to possess great
virtues, that if taken away from them they would be dis-
persed, and that while it remained among them their pros-
perity was secure. When they fled before the aggressive
white man in 1754 or '55, it was destroyed or taken away
with them. The dwellings of the intruders were erected near
the deserted Indian village, a fort was built, and the settle-
ment took the name of Standing Stone.

The whites, after the departure of the Indians, placed
another stone on the site of the old one. This was done,
we would suppose, more through a spirit of imitation than
for any useful purpose. How nearly the second stone, at
the time of its erection, was similar to the original, cannot
now be ascertained. In 1776 it was about eight feet high,
and had upon it the names of Surveyor General John Lu-
kens, with the date of 1768, of Charles Lukens, assistant to
the surveyor general, and of Thomas Smith, brother of the
founder of the town of Huntingdon, and afterwads deputy
surveyor general and supreme judge. It was removed from
its former position and placed in front of the old court
house, in the centre of Third street, at the South line of
Penn. After standing there many years it was wantonly
destroyed, but several pieces of it have been preserved, one

HISTORY OF HUNTINGDON COUNTY. 27

of them having been built into the foundation of the dwel-
ling house at the northeast corner of Third and Penn streets,
and another being in the possession of one of the citizens of
the town.

CHAPTER III.

A POPULAR ERROR — THE STORY OF CAPTAIN JACK — ITS UNRELIABILITY —
JACK'S NARROWS — ORIGIN OK THE NAME — MURDER OF ARMSTRONG, SMITH
AND ARNOLD — SHICKALAMY's STATEMENT— THE SEARCH FOR AND FIND-
ING OF THE BODIES — MONUMENT TO JACK ARMSTRONG.

John Harris, from whom I have quoted the distances from
place to place through Huntingdon county, deserves to be
inscribed on the list of those who have written history with-
out knowing it. In addition to his statement concerning
the Standing Stone, he has given us another fact of perhaps
not less importance, and one which has been almost ob-
scured by the traditions of more than a century. It is not
always a pleasant task to dispel the illusions that underlie
the romances of a people, and which, to them, have passed
beyond the confines of uncertainty and entered into their
most sanguine and unquestioned beliefs. But the simple
truth recorded by John Harris will not permit us to rear
any other historical structure than that which rests upon
it as a corner stone.

There has long been a popular error in regard to the ori-
gin of the name of those narrows through which the Juniata
passes immediately below Mapleton. What is the story
that has been repeated at many firesides during the last two
or three generations, of the redoubtable, or, rather, doubt-
able, hero ot that place, the very picturesqueness of which
is sufficient to invest with an air of probability any fable
that may be told the credulous ? It is said that about one
hundred and twenty -five years ago, and subsequently, there
flourished in that neighborhood a mysterious individual of
swarthy complexion and herculean proportions, whose name
and history were known to none but himself; that he was
supposed by some to be a half-breed and by others a quad-
roon, but that he was probably a white man ; that he built
a cabin near a spring, and sought there a solitude and a re-
pose, unbroken except by the society of his family ; that he

HISTOEY OF HUNTINGDON COUNTY. 29

was a harmless man, raising bis hand against none but the
beasts and fishes over which dominion had been given him,
and engaging in no other pursuit than hunting and fishing.

But, if we are to believe the story, the place he had se-
lected was an unsafe retreat for one of his peaceful disposi-
tion and habits. After a short absence from his cabin, on a
certain occasion, he returned to find it burned and his fam-
ily murdered. At once he became a changed man, taking a
solemn vow to devote the rest of his life to the destruction
of the savages. So relentlessly did he carry out his pur-
pose, that he made himself a terror to the race that had in-
curred his enmity, and gained the expressive names of
"Black Rifle," "Black Hunter," "Wild Hunter of the Juni-
ata," and others, which might have served as the titles of
the most improbable tales of adventure. But he is best
known in the traditions of the locality as Captain Jack.

His bitter and unceasing warfare against the Indians, we
are told, was beneficial to the white settlers in affording
them protection. The latter formed a company of scouts
or rangers, and placed themselves under his command, styl-
ing themselves "Captain Jack's Hunters," and fighting the
Indians in their own way and with their own weapons.
Their commander's exploits, if they could be correctly de-
scribed, would perhaps be a proper subject for history, but
so much has been written concerning them that is purely
fictitious, that it is impossible to separate the false from the
true.

The error to which I have alluded as existing in the pub-
lic mind, that Captain Jack impressed his name upon the
narrows I have mentioned, and the surrounding works of
nature, has found expression in the writings of an author
, from whom I will quote : "The present generation, how-
ever, knows little about the wild hunter. Still, though he
sleeps the sleep that knows no waking, and no human being
who ever saw him is above the sod now, the towering
mountain, a hundred miles in length, bearing his name, will
stand as an indestructible monument to his memory until
time shall be no more." It is because so little is known

30 HISTORY OF HUNTINGDON COUNTY.

about him, because his name and color are matters of doubt,
that we must receive everything that has been said of him
as unreliable.

And there is still better evidence to throw doubt around
him. According to John Harris, who was cotemporary
with Captain Jack, the narrows took their name from an en-
tirely different person. He mentions them as "Jack Arm-
strong's narrows, so called from his being there murdered."
As Armstrong was oftener called Jack than anything else,
it is not strange that the name of the place where he met
his death should also be abbreviated, and that it should
afterwards be extended to the mountain through which the
river has forced its passage, and to the spring which bursts
from the mountain side. Harris's memorandum serves, too,
to locate the scene of the massacre of Armstrong and his
party. He fixes it at eight miles from Aughwick and ten
miles from Standing Stone.

It was one of the earliest events that occurred within
what is now Huntingdon county. Besides Armstrong, his
two servant-men, James Smith and Woodward Arnold were
murdered. An account of the occurrence was given by
Shickalamy, a converted chief and a steadfast friend of the
whites, from which I make the following extract :

" That Musemeelin owing some skins to John Armstrong'
the said Armstrong seized a horse of the said Musemeelin
and a rifle-gun; the gun was taken by James Smith, de-
ceased. Sometime last winter Musemeelin met Armstrong
on the river Juniata, and paid all but twenty shillings, for
which he offered a neck-belt in pawn to Armstrong, and de-
manded his horse, and Armstrong refused it, and would not
deliver up the horse, but enlarged the debt, as his usual
custom was ; and after some quarrel the Indian went away
in great anger, without his horse, to his hunting cabin.
Sometime after this, Armstrong, Avith his two companions,
on their way to Ohio, passed by the said Musemeelfn's hunt-
ing cabin, his wife only being at home. She demanded the
horse of Armstrong, because he was her proper goods, but
did not get him. Armstrong had by this time sold or lent

HISTORY OF HUNTINGDON COUNTY. 31

the horse to James Berry. After Musemeelin came from
hunting, his wife told him that Armstrong was gone by, and
that she demanded the horse from him, but did not get him;
and, as is thought, pressed him to pursue and take revenge
of Armstrong. The third day, in the morning, after Arm-
strong was gone by, Musemeelin said to the two young men
that hunted with him, ' come, let us go toward the Great
Hills to hunt bears ;' accordingly they went all three in com-
pany. After they had gone a good way, Musemeelin, who
was foremost, was told by the two young men that they
were out of their course. ' Come you along,' said Musemee-
lin ; and they accordingly followed him till they came to
the path that leads to Ohio. Then Musemeelin told them
he had a good mind to go and fetch his horse back from
Armstrong, and desired the two young men to come along.
Accordingly they went. It was then almost night, and they
traveled till next morning. Musemeelin said, ' Now they
are not far off. We will make ourselves black ; then they
will be frightened, and will deliver up the horse immedi-
ately ; and I will tell Jack that if he don't give me the horse,
I will kill him;' and when he said so, he laughed. The
young men thought he joked, as he used to do. They did
not blacken themselves, but he did. When the sun was
above the trees, or about an hour high, they all came to the
fire, where they found James Smith sitting; and they also
sat down. Musemeelin asked where Jack was. Smith told
him that he was gone to clear the road a little. Musemeelin
said he wanted to speak with him, and went that way, and
after he had gone a little distance from the fire, he said
something, and looked back laughing, but, he having a
thick throat, and his speech being very bad, and their talk-
ing with Smith hindering them from understanding what
he said, they did not mind him. They being hungry, Smith
told them to kill some turtles, of which there were plenty,

I and they would make some bread by and-bye, and would all
eat together. While they were talking, they heard a gun go
off not far off, at which Woodward Arnold was killed, as

I they learned afterwards. Soon after, Musemeelin came back

32 HISTORY OF HUNTINGDON" COUNTY.

and said, ' Why did you not kill that white man, according
as I bid you ? I have laid the other two down.' At this
they were surprised, and one of the young men, commonly
called Jimmy, ran away to the river-side. Musemeelin said
to the other, ' How will you do to kill Catawbas, if you can-
not kill white men?' You cowards! I'll show you how you
must do;' and then taking up the English axe that lay there,
he struck it three times into Smith's head before he died.
Smith never stirred. Then he told the young Indian to call
the other, but he was so terrified he could not call. Mu-
semeelin then went and fetched him, and said that two of the
white men were killed, he must now go and kill the third ;
then each of them would have killed one. But neither of
them dared venture to talk anything about it. Then he
pressed them to go along with him ; he went foremost.
Then one of the young men told the other as they went
along, ' My friend, don't you kill any of the white people,
let him do what he will; I have not killed Smith ; he has
done it himself ; we have no need to do such a barbarous
thing.' Musemeelin being then a good way before them, in
a hurry, they soon saw John Armstrong sitting on a log.
Musemeelin spoke to him and said, 'Where is my horse?'
Armstrong made answer and said, ' He will come by-and-by;
you shall have him.' 'I want him now,' said Musemeelin.
Armstrong answered, ' You shall have him. Come, let us
go to the fire,' (which was at some distance from the place
where Armstrong sat), and let us talk and smoke together.'
'Go along, then,' said Musemeelin. 'I am coming,' said
Armstrong, ' do you go before, Musemeelin ; do you go fore-
most.' Armstrong looked then like a dead man, and went
toward the fire, and was immediately shot in the back by
Musemeelin, and fell. Musemeelin then took his hatchet
and struck it into Armstrong's head and said, ' Give me my
horse, I tell you.' By this time one of the young men had
fled again that had gone away before, but he returned in a
short time. Musemeelin then told the young men they must
not offer to discover or tell a word about what had been

HISTORY OF HUNTINGDON COUNTY. 33

done for their lives, but they must help to bury Jack, and
the other two were to be thrown into the river."

Shickalamy also relates, with great minuteness, the dispo-
sition that was made by Musemeelin, of Armstrong's goods,
the latter having been a trader, on his way to the Ohio, the
discovery that the murder had been committed, the efforts
taken to arrest the guilty parties, and their delivery to the
whites. There is no statement as to whether Musemeelin
was tried, convicted or punished.

As soon as it was suspected that Armstrong, Smith and
Arnold had been murdered, a party, consisting of Alexan-
der Armstrong, Thomas McKee, Francis Ellis, John Flors-
ter, William Baskins, James Berry, John Watt, James
Armstrong, David Denny, and eight Indians, went in search
of the traders. Before they had proceeded very far, three
of the Indians deserted. The white men and the remaining
five Indians went to the last supposed sleeping-place of
Armstrong and his men, and there dispersed themselves to
find the corpses. At a short distance from the sleeping place,
was found a white-oak tree with three notches on it, and
near it a shoulder bone, which was supposed to be Arm-
strong's. The white men of the party say in their desposi-
tion, that this bone was handed around to the five Indians,
and that when it was placed in the hands of the one who
was suspected of having committed the murder, ' his nose
gushed out with blood, and he directly handed it to an-
other.' " But they were mistaken in the supposition that the
bone was part of the remains of Armstrong, for it was not
found at the place where Armstrong had been killed, and
besides, according to Schickalamy's statement, he had been
buried by Musemeelin and the two other Indians. From
thence they followed the course of the creek toward the
"Narrows of the Juniata," but before reaching the river the
five Indians had also disappeared. The first corpse found,
that of James Smith, had been attacked by bald eagles and
other fowls, and it was the presence of these birds that at-
tracted attention to it. About a quarter of a mile from Smith,
they found the body of Woodward Arnold lying on a rock,.
c

34 HISTORY OF HUNTINGDON COUNTY.

The next morning, they say in their report, they went back to
the corpses, which were "barbarously and inhumanly mur-
dered by very gashed, deep cuts on their heads, with a toma-
hawk, or such like weapon, which had sunk into their skulls
and brains, and in one of the corpses there appeared a hole
in his skull near the cut, which was supposed to be with a
tomahawk, which hole these deponents do believe to be a
bullet hole."

In the light of these facts, much of the grandiloquence
concerning Captain Jack sinks into insignificance. It is Jack
Armstrong who, at the base of the towering mountain,
"sleeps the sleep that knows no waking." It is to his name
and memory that the everlasting pile, thrown up by nature, is
an indestructible monument. Let the oft-repeated and gen-
erally accepted fable be forgotten.

CHAPTER IV.

AGGRESSIONS UPON UNPURCHASED LANDS — FIRST SETTLERS IN HUNTINGDON
COUNTY— MEASURES TAKEN TO EXPEL THEM — BURNING OP THEIR DWELL-
INGS — AUGHWICK — BURNT CABINS — DISCONTENT OF THE INDIANS — INEF-
FECTUAL WORK.

The presence of traders and interpreters on the frontier
was but temporary. Their visits were transient. From the
Tuscarora to the Tussey mountains was but a two days'
journey, and. previous to 1749 there could have been noth-
ing in the nature of private or public business to detain the
traveler between them. No white men were to be met with,
excepting those who were hurrying across these hills and
valleys to and from the Ohio. All the lands north and west
of the Kittatinny or Blue Ridge, belonged to the Indians,
and had not been invaded west of the Tuscarora. But sturdy
adventurers soon followed with the intention of remaining
permanently. We cannot ascertain whether it was in 1748
or '49 that they crossed that mountain. If it was not in the
former year, it was quite early in the latter. They had
reached Tuscarora Path before Conrad Weiser was there,,
for part of his mission was in connection with these intru-
sions on the Indian lands. lie was the bearer of a procla-
mation from the government warning the "squatters" to re-
move, and was accompanied to that place by the sheriff and
magistrates of the county, who had come with him for the
purpose of ejecting the settlers. In his letter to Secretary
Peters, he reported the situation of affairs there and the
partial execution of his instructions by having the procla-
mation read. Scarroyady, the chief who subseqaently suc-
ceeded the Half King at Aughwick, had been assured that
the "people would be turned off." When Weiser informed
the Indians at Tuscarora of the measures that were to be-
taken, they requested that two certain families might be
permitted to stay, claiming the right to give such liberty to
those whom they desired should remain. The settlers, al-

36 HISTORY OF HUNTINGDON COUNTY.

though not ready to comply with the requirements of the
government at that time, expressed a willingness to go off
the next spring, and Weiser consented to postpone their com-
pulsory removal until his return from Ohio. They were suf-
fered to remain, however, without interference, much longer
than that, and in all probability would never have been dis-
turbed by the authorities had not the complaints and pressure
of the Indians become so great that they could not go unheed-
ed. But the proclamation of the government and the oppo-
sition of the Indians did not deter these trespassers. Instead
of leaving in 1748, they advanced still further westward upon
the unpurchased lands. Weiser, who was looking after them
again the next year, found them within the present limits
of Huntingdon county. In the spring of 1749, as early as
the month of April, more than thirty families had settled
west of the Kittatinny, and more were coming daily, some
of them to the head waters of the Juniata, along the path
that led to Ohio In February, 1750, according to the state-
ment of Governor Hamilton, they had reached the foot of
the Allegheny mountains.

The Six Nations and the Delawares joined in complaints
against these aggressions. The representatives of the
former said that the council at Onondaga had the matter
exceedingly at heart, demanded the expulsion of the people
from their settlements, and suggested that two or three
faithful persons be placed west of the Blue Hills, with com-
missions from the Governor, empowering them to imme-
diately remove ever/ one who might presume to settle in
that region, until the Six Nations should consent to sell
the lands.

To prevent a breach between the province and the In-
dians, it became necessary to take decisive action. The
power of the government had to be exerted to dispossess the
intruding occupants. Richard Peters and Conrad Weiser
were ordered to give information against them to the proper
magistrates, and in the month of May, 1750, the under-
sheriff and justices of the newly established county of Cum-
berland went to enforce the commands of the proclamation

HISTORY OF HUNTINGDON COUNTY. 37

which had been disobeyed. Their operations were fully re-
ported by Secretary Peters to the Governor in the following
July. Destruction and conflagration were spread from the
Juniata, within twenty miles of its mouth and ten miles of
the Blue Hills, through the valley of Sherman's Creek, Tus-
carora Valley, Aughwick and the Coves. The reasoning by
which they justified the burning of dwellings was as follows :

" The Cabbin being quite empty, I took Possession
thereof for the Proprietaries, and then a conference was held
what should be done with the empty Cabbins, and, after a
great Deliberation, all agreed that if some cabins were not
destroyed they would tempt the Trespassers to return again,
or encourage others to come there should these Trespassers
go away, and so what was doing would signify nothing,
since the Possession of them at such a Distance from the In-
habitants could not be kept for the Proprietaries ; and
Mr. Weiser also giving it as his firm Opinion, that if all the
Cabbins were left standing the Indians would conceive such
a contemptible Opinion of the Government that they would
come themselves in the Winter, murder the People, and set
the Houses on fire. On these conditions the Cabbin, by my
Order, was burnt by the Under-Sheriff and Company."*

At Aughwick, (now Shirleysburg) Peter Falconer, Nicho-
las DeLong, Samuel Perry and John Charleton were con-
victed on the view of the magistrates, entered into recogni-
zances for their appearance at the next county court at Ship-
pensburg, and gave bonds to remove with their families,
servants, cattle and effects. Charleton's cabin was burned,
and another in the course of erection, consisting of only a
few logs piled and fastened together, was set on fire.

One of the places where this destruction occurred, near
the line between Huntingdon and Fulton counties, is called
Burnt Cabins, a name it will probably retain until the his-
tory of these events becomes as obscure as the history of
the savage race.

The protection of all lands from encroachment that had

^Secretary Peters' Report.

38 HISTORY OF HUNTINGDON COUNTY.

not been bought by the proprietaries from the Indians, was
a part of the policy instituted at the founding of the prov-
ince, a policy which secured harmony and good feeling be-
tween the whites and natives as long as it was not interfered
with by extraneous influences, but the success of which was
coming to an end. The driving back of the daring and
courageous men who had established their households in
the forests of central Pennsylvania, did not restore satisfac-
tion aud contentment to the Indian. He began to think
that his interests lay in another direction than in an alliance
with the English. For years he had had intercourse with
the French, who had fortified themselves on the Ohio, and
was gradually yielding to their persuasions, allurements and
blandishments. He pretended for a time to waver between
the French and the English, accepting from the latter the
presen' s given him for the purpose of drawing him back to
their side, and when he had almost exhausted the provincial
resources, went over completely to the enemy. Five years
after the white men's habitations had been burned, at his so-
licitation, he went over the same ground, with fire, and
tomahawk, and scalping-knife, filled the heavens with flame
and smoke, and mingled the blood of his victims with the
ashes of their dwellings.

The government of the province is, perhaps, not to be
blamed for the work done by the Cumberland county magis-
trates. They were but keeping the public faith. They
might have perceived, however, that an estrangement had
alread}' taken place on the part of the Indians, that was be-
yond their power to remove.

In another respect the work was ineffectual. The lands
were open to new intrusions. In fact, some of the first set-
tlers were not molested during Richard Peters' incursion,
and many who had been ejected returned, accompanied or
followed by others. The country was inviting, there was a
desire for new homes, and the spirit of adventure was
abroad. But underlying all of these, there may have been
a scheme to acquire the land and dispossess the Indians, a
design to bring about a change of ownership, and to precipi-

HISTORY OF HUNTINGDON COUNTY. 39

tate a struggle for that purpose. The proprietaries, also,
must have had an anxiety to extinguish the Indian title.
They could not call the province their own till that was
done, and, besides, their obligations to protect the rights of
the Indians imposed upon them greater burdens, and in-
volved them in more difficulties than they would have to
bear should the title become vested in them. The time for
a new purchase had arrived.

CIIAPTEE Y.

TREATY AND PURCHASE AT ALBANY IN" 1754 — DESCRIPTION OF LANDS CON-
VEYED BY THE SIX NATIONS — CONSEQUENCES WHICH FOLLOWED — A TURN-
ING POINT — THE SIX NATIONS — THEIR SOVEREIGNTY — HISTORY— RESI-
DENCE — CHARACTER— THE DELAWARE.'- — THEIR SUBJECTION TO THE SIX
NATIONS — THE SHAWNEES— IMPERIOUS ASSERTION OF AUTHORITY — AN
ACKNOWLEDGMENT BY THE DELA WARES— FATAL REVENGE.

Huntingdon county is within the purchase made from the
Six Nations, at Albany, X. Y., on the sixth day of July, 1751.
The deed bearing that date, executed by sachems or chiefs of
each of the nations belonging to that confederacy, conveyed
to Thomas and Richard Penn, ; 'all the lands lying within
the said province of Pennsylvania, bounded and limited as
follows, namely, beginning at the Kittochtinny or Blue
Hills, on the west branch of the Susquehanna river, and
thence by the said, a mile above the mouth of a certain
creek called Kayarondinhagh ; thence northwest and by
west as far as the said province of Pennsylvania extends, to
its western lines and boundaries; thence along the said
western line to the south line or boundary of said province;
thence by the said south line or boundary to the south side
of said Kittochtinny hills ; thence by the south side of said
hills to the place of beginning."

I have explained the troubles that preceded this purchase,
and the circumstances that rendered the transaction neces-
sary in order to avert an impending storm, and will now re-
late the fearful consequences, the resentment evinced by the
savages towards the whites by which it was followed.

The spirit of amity manifested by the founders of the
province in their intercourse with the Indians, established a
peace and friendship that were uninterrupted for a period of
seventy years. It is true that for a short time before the
treaty of Albany, the fidelity of the latter could be retained
only by the utmost exertions on the part of the govern-
ment. That treaty was the turning point in the relations be-
tween the province and the natives, and why it was so will

HISTORY OF HUNTINGDON COUNTY. 41

appear more intelligibly by detailing a portion of Indian
history, and giving some illustrations of Indian character
and diplomacy. There arose from these, complications and
embarrassments which it was impossible for the government
to avoid, and which led to eventful times within our borders.
Indian policy and statesmanship were in some respects sim-
ilar to those of civilized people.

The Six Nations, although not the occupants of the soil of
Pennsylvania, claimed to be the owners of it, and out of this
fact grew the importance of their connection with our early
annals. They excerised jurisdiction over a very great ex-
tent of territory, their sovereignty extending from the nor-
thern limits of the State of New York to the borders of Car-
olina. They had been warriors and conquerors, but at what
period of time they reduced so many of the inhabitants of
North America to subjugation is shrouded in impenetrable
obscurity. This, as well as all the rest of their history be-
fore their acquaintance with Europeans, is involved in the
darkness of antiquity. It is said that their first residence
was in the region about Montreal, and that the superior
strength of the Adirondacks, or Algonquins, as they were
called by the French, drove them to the south side of the
Mohawk river and Lake Ontario, where they were found
when the country was taken possession of by the whites.
Toward the close of these disputes, which continued for a
great number of years, the confederates gained advantages
over the Adirondacks, and struck terror into all the Indians.

Their residence was in the State of New York, between
the forty-second and forty-third degrees of north latitude,
occupying the country from the New England States to Lake
Erie, and from Lake Ontario to the headwaters of the Alle-
gheny, Susquehanna and Delaware. They were at first known
as the Five Nations, and then consisted of the Mohawks,
Onondagas, Cayugas, Oneidas andSenecas. The sixth was
added in 1712, by the union with them of the Tuscaroras, a
nation that had been expelled from North Carolina and Vir-
ginia. They were called Confederates, by the English, Min-
goes, by the Delawares, and Iroquois, by the French.

42 HISTORY OF HUNTIXGDON COUNTY.

They thought themselves superior to the rest of mankind,
and carefully inculcated this belief into the minds of their
children, and impressed it upon the neighboring savages.
Their courage made them terrible to, and compelled the most
submissive obedience from, all other nations. They were a
powerful combination, realizing, as did their white succes-
sors in the ownership of the soil, that in union there is
strength.

The Indians dwelling in Pennsylvania, and who were
known as the Delawares among the whites, called them-
selves the Lenni Lenapes, or the original people. It seems
that they were justly entitled to this appellation, as it was
conceded by surrounding tribes, not belonging to this nation,
that thev were the oldest residents of the region. There
were three principal divisions of them, each occupying a par-
ticular part of the province, and many tribes, the names
of some of which, but probably of a comparatively small
number, have been preserved. "We have very full and sat-
isfactory descriptions prepared by early writers, from per-
sonal observation, of their persons, habits and dress, their
amusements and employments, their dwellings, domestic cus-
toms and modes of life, their marriages, births and burials,
their virtues and vices, their language, government and relig-
ion, their methods of making and conducting war and conclud-
ing peace, but no historical fact has come from the general
gloom that surrounds the time when they were the sole in-
habitants of the country, except that they were in subjec-
tion to the Six Nations.

The Shawnese also dwelt in considerable numbers in
Huntingdon county, but were not natives of the province.
They had formerly resided near the Spanish possessions in
the South, and were almost constantly at war with their
neighbors. To avoid extermination, they asked the privi-
lege of placing themselves under the protection of the Eng-
lish and Five Nations, which request was granted them by
treaty in 1701. They settled on the Susquehanna, and spread
themselves along its tributaries and over the adjoining coun-
try. A new residence was afterwards assigned to them on

HISTORY OF HUNTINGDON COUNTY. 43

the Ohio, but many of them remained in the central part
of the province, or traveled backwards and forwards be-
tween the two rivers.

The sway of the Six Nations over the other Indians was so
absolute, that the latter occupied the lands by sufferance. An
idea of the imperious manner in which they sometimes asserted
their authority may be obtained from Canassetego's speech
to the Delawares, from which the following are extracts :

" We conquered you ; we made women of you ; you
know you are women, and can no more sell lands than
women ; nor is it fit you should have the power of selling
lands, since you would abuse it. The land that you claim
is gone through your guts ; you have been furnished with
clothes, meat and drink, by the goods paid you for it, and
now you want it again, like children as you are." " But we
find you none of our blood ; you act a dishonest part, not
only in this, but in other matters ; your ears are ever open
to slanderous reports about your brethren. For all these
reasons, we charge you to remove instantly ; we donH give you
liberty to think about it" " Dorit deliberate, but remove away,
and take this belt of wampum."

It displeased the Delawares very much to be called
women, and they usually gave some other explanation for
it than their subjugation to the Six Nations. On one occa-
sion, however, they acknowledged the real origin of the
title. At a conference held at Aughwick, in September,
1754, before they had heard of the purchase at Albany, one
of their speakers addressed the Six Nations :

"I still remember the time when you first conquered us
and made women of us, and told us that you took us under
your protection, and that we must not meddle with wars,
but stay in the house and mind council affairs. We have
hitherto followed your directions, and lived very easy under
your protection, and no high wind did blow to make us un-
easy ; but now things seem to take another turn, and a high
wind is rising. We desire you, therefore, to have your eyes
open and be watchful over us, your cousins, as you have
always been heretofore."

44 HISTORY OF HUNTINGDON COUNTY.

This abject condition of the Delawares prevented them
from questioning the validity of the sale of 1754. But they
complained that the lands had been sold from under their
feet. They had sufficient reason to be dissatisfied. In 1750 the
white settlers had been driven from these same lands at the
instance of the Six Nations, who then said that they had
given the river Juniata to their cousins, the Delawares, and
their brethren, the Shawnese, as a hunting ground. Their
generosity to their cousins and brethren could not withstand
the temptation of the paltry sum of four hundred pounds,
the price received for the land.

The Delawares sought a bloody and fatal revenge. They
joined the French, laid waste the settlements on the frontiers,
and marked their path with fire and desolation.

CHAPTER VI.

AUGHWICK — CROGHAN — HIS REASONS FOR SETTLING THERE — SURRENDER OF
FORT NECESSITY — INDIANS COME TO AUGHWICK — ARE FURNISHED WITH
SUPPLIES BY CROGHAN — DRUNKENNESS — TEMPERANCE MEASURES — WEIS-
ER'S CONFERENCE WITH THE INDIANS — CHARGES AGAINST CROGHAN AND '
THE ANSWERS TO THEM — BRADDOCK's COMPLAINTS — DEATH OF THE
HALF KING — CONSOLATION FROM CROGHAN — INDIAN DESIRE FUR PRES-
ENTS — MON ACATOOTH A .

During the French and Indian war which followed, the
centre of events in connection therewith, so far as they
transpired in Huntingdon county, was at Aughwick. We
have found it one of the principal points in the previous
history of the county. It was on the path to Ohio, and was
visited by the first white man who traveled to that remote
region, and was the place from which the settlers were
driven in 1750.

George Croghan had been there at a very early day,
probably in 1747, certainly in 1748, with Conrad Weiser,
and again, in 1750, with Richard Peters. To him it had
become familiar, and, for reasons which will soon appear, he
established himself there and became its master spirit. The
history of Aughwick and of Croghan are identical during
the years 1754, '55, and part of '56.

Aughwick was not originally an Indian town, as is gen-
erally supposed, but was a settlement of whites to which the
Indians came after Croghan had made it his residence, the
time of their coming being clearly shown by official records.
It is, therefore, difficult, if not impossible, to give any reli-
able information concerning the origin of the name. There
is no certainty that it belongs to any of the Indian lan-
guages; the probability is just as gieat that it is derived
from one of the European tongues. The first settlers there,
as in nearly all other parts of Huntingdon county, were
Scotch-Irish, and many of the traders, among whom was
Croghan, were of Irish birth. They could furnish a name
or the town which they may have proposed founding, with-

46 HISTORY OF HUNTINGDON COUNTY.

out resort to any other vocabulary than their own. Augh-
wick is said to resemble in sound two Irish words, which
mean literally "swift-running steed." But whoever gave it
the name, has not handed down to us his reasons for doiug
so, and we will not enter further into the field of conjecture,
which is so fertile and yet so fruitless.

In early times the orthography of the name was almost
as various as were the hands by which it was written. The
earliest mention ot it is in llichard Peters' report, where it
is spelled "Aucquick." Croghan at first wrote it "Au-
ghick ;" afterwards, " Aughick Old Town," and finally
" Aucquick Old Town." There seems to have been no uni-
formity about it until more modern times. Custom has set-
tled the spelling and pronunciation.

It is doubtful whether all the cabins were burned at Augh-
wick by the sheriff and magistrates of Cumberland county.
From Peters' report we learn that four families were requir-
ed to remove from there, yet only two cabins were destroy-
ed, and one of these was not completed. It may be that
Croghan came back to occupy one of the houses that had
been allowed to remain. However that may be, he was re-
siding there in January, 175-4.

He had not been successful in his business as a trader.
The risks incident to it had gone against him. His goods
had been seized by the French. lie had sold to the In-
dians, and had failed to collect the debts due from them.
The same spirit of liberality which led him to trust them,
also made him profuse in his gifts, so that he gained great
influence with them and brought himself to bankruptcy.
He preferred Aughwick to a debtor's prison.

Soon after his settlement there, he put himself into com-
munication with the provincial authorities, giving them infor-
mation of the movements and operations of the French and
the disposition and inclination of the Indians, continuing his
visits to the Ohio in the interests of the province. While
making the best of his opportunities, he lamented the disad-
vantages he labored under from being an absconding debtor.
The following is one of his many expressions of regret :

HISTORY OF HUNTINGDON COUNTY. 47

"From ye Misfortunes I have had in Tread, which obliges
me to keep at a Greatt distance, I have itt nott in my power
to forward Intelegance so soon as I could wish, however, if
itt be thought worth Notice, I will acquaint the Govern-
ment with anything I can find outt that will tend to ye hurt
of my King & Country, for certainly ye Indians are only
amussing ye Government, while they are privey, if not as-
sisting to ye Murders done."

The well-taught school-boys of to-day may be amused at
Croghan's orthography, but we can find many similar spe-
cimens among the writings of governors and others high in
authority at that time.

It was not long until Aughwick acquired other impor-
tance than that attached to it as the residence of Croghan.
On the 3d of July, 1754, Washington, who was then a col-
onel in command of Virginia troops, surrendered Fort Ne-
cessity to the French. There had been with him a number
of Indians who were not satisfied with his manner of con-
ducting the campaign. They removed their families to a
place of safety before the engagement began, because Wash-
ington would not listen to their counsel, but compelled them
to fight according to his plan, and after his defeat they went
with their wives and families to Aughwick. Among them
was Tanacharrisson, or the Half King, a Seneca chief, Scar-
royady, an Oneida chief, and others belonging to the Six
Nations. In the beginning of August some Delaware and
Shawnese Indians also came, and there were soon after-
wards other arrivals, swelling the number to more than
two hundred men, women and children.

Croghan furnished them with subsistence, purchasing meat
and flour for that purpose, and applied to the government
for reimbursement. As there seemed to have been some
suspicions in regard to his integrity, and a reluctance about
placing public money in his hands, Conrad Weiser was sent
there, under instructions from Governor Hamilton, to confer
with him and the Indians, and to disburse three hundred
pounds for their support. He repaid the expenses that Cro-
ghan had incurred, left a sufficient sum with him to pur-

48 HISTORY OF HUNTINGDON COUNTY.

chase five hundred bushels of wheat, and laid up supplies
for future use. The country at that time must have been
considerably developed, as there was no difficulty in obtain-
ing the necessaries for the maintenance of this large number
of people. There were about twenty cabins in the vicinity
of Croghan's house, in which the Indians lived, and more
further off, some at a distance of three miles. Croghan had
land under cultivation producing good crops. He had between
twenty-five and thirty acres of corn, from which his servants
brought every day, while Weiser was ihere, four or five ba2s
of roasting ears. The Indians had not much regard for the
rights of their benefactor, for there was "not an hour in the
day"' but that some of them stole and destroyed not only his
corn, but his butter, milk, squashes and pumpkins. Weiser
advised Croghan to make reasonable charges for the pro-
duce taken, to have its value certified by three credible men,
that he might be paid for it. He also recommended that Cro-
ghan be trusted to buy and distribute provisions, or that
some other person be kept there to make the distribution.
But no change was made in the administration of affairs,
Croghan remaining there and proving himself worthy of
confidence.

The traders were in the habit of furnishing liquor to the
Indians, and those at Aughwick were supplied with it soon
after the arrival, by Lewis Montour, a brother of Andrew's
He sold it to them at very high prices, and pretended that
his wife, "an ugly squaw," did it. The liquor was kept in the
woods, about a mile from Croghan's house, where the In-
dians would exchange any articles they had, even their cloth-
ing, for it, and come back drunk and naked. An efiort was
made to prevent this traffic, but that was very difficult, as
they would buy and drink whenever they could obtain it.
The Half King and Scarro} 7 ady were as much addicted to the
vice as the members of the tribes over which they ruled,
both of them beinsr intoxicated while Weiser was there.
Governor Hamilton had directed that persons taking liquor
to Aughwick should be punished, and that the casks should
be staved in. Croghan became a temperance reformer, ban-<

HISTORY OF HUNTINGDON COUNTY. 49

ished it entirely from his house, and endeavored to restrain
the excesses of the Indians. The means he adopted to ac-
complish the latter purpose may afford a suggestion to mod-
ern "crusaders." His method is expressed in the following
letter:

"Dec'r ye 23d, 1754.
May itt Plese your Honour.

I am Oblig'd to advertise the Inhabitance of Cumberland
County in yr honour's Name, nott to barter or Sell Spiretus
Liquors to the Indians or to any person to bring amongst
them, to prevent ye Indians from Spending thire Cloase,
tho' I am oblig'd to give them a Cag Now & then my self
for a frolick, but that is Atended with no Expence to ye
Government nor no bad Consequences to ye Indians as I Do
itt butt oust a month, I hope your honour will approve this.
Proceeding, as I have Don it to prevent ill consequences
atendiug ye Indians if they should be kept always infleam'd
with Liquors.

I am yr honour's most
Humble and Obedient
Servant,

Geo. Croghan.

P. S. This Dos nott go by Express.

The sale was not confined to the traders. Some of the
magistrates of the county, forgetting their official duty, en-
gaged in the business. Mr. Smith, one of the justices, was
at Aughwick during Weiser's visit, to collect money for li-
quor sent by him. " He is an old hypocrite," says Weiser \
" he told me that the Governor ought not to suffer any strong
liquor to come to Aughwick. I asked him if he would have
the Governor to come up with his Sword and Pistol to pre-
vent it. No, said he. Well, then, says I, there is no other
way for the Governor than to break You all and put others
in Commission that are no Whiskey Traders, and will exer-
cise their authority."

Weiser was at Aughwick from the 3d until the 8th of
September, holding daily conferences with the Indians.
Speeches were made by Wabadikisy, alias " Little Johnny,"

50 HISTORY OF HUNTINGDON COUNTY.

a Shawnese, and by Dishickamy and the Beaver, Dela-
wares, to whom Weiser replied. The whites present at the
several meetings, besides Weiser and his son, were Andrew
Montour, George Croghan, Peter Sheffer, Hugh Crawford,
Thomas Simpson and John Owen.

After many exchanges of compliments and wampum,
"Weiser informed the Delawares and the Shawnese of the
purchase of the land at Albany. They were not well pleased
at first, because of the great extent of the tract released to
the Penns. But such explanations were offered them as re-
stored satisfaction. These Indians, living on the gratuities
of the Government, were under the influence of the whites,
and remained faithful to the English interests. This was
the peculiarity of their situation. They separated themselves
from their own people, from the tribes and nations to which
they belonged, and some of them fought against their blood
and kindred.

For this course on their part, much credit is due to Cro-
ghan, and it refutes some of the aspersions to which he was
subjected. Charges of a serious character were made
against him by Governor Sharpe, of Maryland. It w r as as-
serted that he was a Poman Catholic, and was suspected of
being in sympathy with the French ; that a person by the
name of Campbell, a Catholic, resided at his house, and had
visited the French fort and communicated with the enemy ;
that Croghan had opened a letter, of great importance, from
Captain Stobo to Col. Innes, and had taken a copy of it ;
and that he had kept the money sent him for the payment
of the Indian who carried the letter, and gave instead a small
quantity of goods of inferior value.

Governor Hamilton, in answer to these charges, did not
express entire confidence in Croghan's integrity and fidelity,
but said that, while it might be necessary to keep a watch-
ful eye on him, he hoped the facts would not turn out to be
material, and that they would not affect his faithfulness to
the trust reposed in him, which at that time was very con.
siderable and important. lie said further that he had no
one to inquire of as to the truth of the allegations of Gov-

HISTORY OF HUNTINGDON COUNTY. 51

ernor Sharpe but Mr. Peters, who gave the assurance that
Croghan had never been deemed a Eoman Catholic, although
his education had been in Dublin and his religious profes-
sion was not known to him. The letter had been opened
because the Indians insisted upon it, desiring to know its
contents, and Croghan consented to satisfy their curiosity.
It was an indiscretion for which he afterwards blamed him-
self exceedingly, but it was neither perfidious nor criminal.
His subsequent conduct furnishes a complete refutation of
any suspicion against his loyalty.

Croghan was likely to be held responsible for any disaf-
fection that might be discovered among the residents of, or
that might occur at Aughwick. This was so in the case of
Campbell, who was " one of the lowest sort of Indian trad-
ers," but with whom Croghan had no connection. He was
not the only one there who was justly regarded with dis-
trust. General Braddock, while at Winchester, Virginia, on
his march to Pennsylvania, complained that an open trade
was carried on with the French from Eaystown and Augh-
wick, by the Indians in alliance with them; that they re-
ceived ammunition and other supplies by these means, and
all the intelligence they desired. There was no doubt a
great deal of truth in this. Much of the news received by
the English from the Ohio was brought by the Indians, who,
when they returned to the French, would just as readily
impart all they had heard at Aughwick and further east.
Yet Croghan was as powerless to prevent this as he was to
prevent their drunkenness.

He was highly sensitive to these reflections against his
character. They interfered with the proper discharge of his
duties. It was an instance, of which there have been many
in human experience, of hesitation to claim all that he was
entitled to, through fear that his motives would be impugned
or his honesty questioned. How often have men who have
been financially unfortunate, sacrificed their rights in an
effort, and often a vain one, to regain a lost reputation! The
money left with him by Weiser was soon exhausted, and he
was relying, from what had been told him, upon the receipt

52 HISTORY OF HUNTINGDON COUNTY.

of further advances. But the winter came, and with it a
disappointment of his expectations. He was not furnished
with the means of providing subsistence for the people who
were depending upon him. Bad as his credit was, he was
obliged to buy to the amount of forty-two pounds, giving
his note therefor, and trusting to the Government to lift his
paper when due. These purchases were made for some
Indians who were about leaving Aughwick. He was not
willing that they should go away dissatisfied. He says: "I
Chose Rather to venter, Supose I Shuld pay itt My Self,
then send ye heads of that Nation home Displeas'd att this
time. I hope his honour will Excuse my forwardness in
this as I Realy Don itt for ye good of ye Government."
There seems to have been no other motive for incurring
this debt than the one he assigns. It was an act of disin-
terested patriotism. If he had not been true to his " King
and country," he could have taken all those Indians over to
the French with less trouble than he was at in preventing
them from going, and his recompense, pecuniarily, would
have been liberal.

Even when in pressing need of supplies, he did not insist
on the Government sending him money. He represented to
them the wants of the Indians, but evidently for the interests
of the province and not of himself. " I thought my Press,
ing things," said he, " wold Lock as if I wanted to make a
hand for my Self out of the publick money, which I a Sure
you wold be ye Last thing I wold Do for a Livlihood, Lett
me be Ever so much Distres " To avoid the great respon-
sibility thrust upon him, he several times determined to
leave the place, or at least to assign the care of the Indians
to some other person. He proposed that, if his services
should be thought of any value to the public, he would
remain there all winter and assist any person that might be
appointed to take his place, but he did not desire to have
the handling of any of the money for fear of reflections.

It must have been gratifying to him to find that there
were some who entertained a favorable opinion of him. In
October, 1754, Governor Hamilton retired from office and

HISTORY OF HUNTINGDON COUNTY. 53

Eobert Hunter Morris succeeded him. Soon after the acces-
sion of the latter, he wrote to Croghan that he was glad the
province had a man among the Indians at that critical time
whom they could so much depend upon. It was from
Eichard Peters that Governor Morris obtained his good
opinion of him. Peters had known him long and intimately,
and gave him a well-merited endorsement.

About the time he was so fortunate as to be given the
confidence of the chief executive officer of the province, an
event occurred which made some change of affairs at Augh-
wick. The Half King died on the 6th day of October,
1754. The most complete account we have of this event is
contained in a letter from John Harris to Richard Peters,
dated October 29, 1754, as follows :

" On the first of this Instant, Monacatootha and Several
Others, the Chiefs of the Six Nations, came to my house
and brought the Half King and his Family along with them,
who were in general in very low Condition, particularly
himself, who died in a few days, after which I asked Mona-
catootha and others where they chussed to bury him and in
what Manner, or if they wanted anything Necessary for his
funeral ; their Answer was that they looked upon him to be
like one of our Selves, and as he died among us we might
bury him as we thought proper ; that if he was buried well
it would be very good, which I did much to their satisfac-
tion. Immediately after Monacatootha and the Chiefs Set of
for Aughwick, leaving the Half King's family and Relations
under my care, saying that in some short time there should
some horses and Iudians come down for them, w'ch they
have not yet done. I shall continue to give his Family
necessary Provisions till they remove, & I should be satis-
fied how soon that might be."

The loss of the Half King was much lamented by the
Indians. Croghan offered them some consolation, as appears
from a reference to the event in a letter to Governor Morris:

" Yesterday I was favored with yr honour's Leter and
Instructions to ye Indians hear, all of which I deliver'd this
Morning in ye Presents of yr honour's Messenger, and Like-

54 HISTORY OF HUNTINGDON COUNTY.

wise Deliver'd a Small present in yr honour's name to Con-
dole with them on ye death of the Half King, and to Wipe
ye Tears from there Eyes to ye a mount of £20.10."

Facetious as this announcement may seem, I do not think
that Croghan intended to speak lightly of the Half King's
death. The Indians had acquired such an inordinate desire
for presents, and had become so accustomed to receiving
them upon all occasions, that they looked for them even in
their griefs and bereavements ; and in stating that the pres-
ents had been given, Croghan but adopted the figurative
language of the Indians themselves. In their speeches at
treaties and conferences, and in their most serious moments,
they frequently used similar expressions, and to "wipe off
the tears," or to "wipe the dust out of the eyes," was not to
be literally understood.

Monacatootha, who is mentioned by John Harris as hav-
ing arrived at his house with the Half King, is the same
chief whom I have heretofore spoken of under the name of
Scarroyady. It was not unusual for an Indian to have so
many names that it was difficult to preserve his identity.
Scarroyady succeeded the Half King in the control of the
Indians at Aughwick.

CHAPTER VII.

FORTIFICATION OF AUGHWICK — CROGHAN'S VIEWS — POSTPONEMENT OF THE
PROJECT — MOVEMENT AGAINST THE FRENCH — BRADDOCK's EXPEDITION —
APPEAL TO THE INDIANS — CROGHAN IN COMMAVI) OF THOSE FROM AUGH-
WICK — DESERTERS—THANKS OF COUNCIL — SPEECH OF SCARROYADY —
INDIANS LEAVE AUGHWICK — CHANGE IN CROGHAN'S RELATIONS TO THE
GOVERNMENT — NO LONGER IN CHARGE OF INDIAN AFFAIRS.

In the Autumn of 175-1 the attitude of the French to-
wards the frontiers was threatening. It was doubtful
whether the place to which the fortunes of war had brought
the Indians would afford them security. They could not
defend themselves against the allied French and Indians, and
could only look to the government for protection. They
desired that a stockade fort be built at Aughwick ; while the
Assembly at Philadelphia were considering the propriety Of
removing them to the mouth of the Juniata. At this junc-
ture, Croghan was asked his opinion. Richard Peters, who
seems to have anticipated what his views would be, insisted
that he should express them freely, and suggested to him
some arguments in favor of the fortification of Aughwick,
and put to him the direct inquiry whether it was not abso-
lutely necessary for the settlers in Cumberland county to
have a place of security west of the Blue Hills and on this
side of the Allegheny, and whether there could be a more
proper place than Aughwick.

Croghan wrote to Governor Morris and to Peters on the
same day, December 23d. He opposed the removal of the
Indians and favored the building of a fort. He had con-
sulted the Indians, and said they would be well pleased to
remove, but Scarroyady, who had gone to Onondaga, had
directed that not one of them should go away during his
absence. "As to removing the Indians to the Mouth of
Juniata," he said, " I think it a very improper place, for
this reason : it is settled with a set of White Men that make
their Living by trading with the Indians that is settled on

56 HISTORY OF HUNTINGDON COUNTY.

the River Susquehanna and sells them little else but Spirits,
so that it would be impossible to keep these Indians from
spending all their Clothing and then they would be forever
teasing your Honor for Goods. Indeed it is my Opinion
that were they to live in any part of the Inhabitance it
would be attended with bad Consequences, as there is no
keeping them from being inflamed with Liquor if they can
get at it, cost what it will, besides it is dangerous for fear
of their getting Sickness, then they would say the White
People killed them, and while they stay here they are a
Defense to the Back Inhabitants, which I think lays very
open to the Enemy, and I think if the Government intends
to build any Fortification for the Security of the back In-
habitants, that this place or somewhere hereabouts is the
properest place."

But as no conclusion could be arrived at until the return
of Scarroyady, the matter seems to have been postponed,
and perhaps indefinitely, for we hear nothing more of it for
nearly a year.

The attention of Croghan was soon called from the de-
fense of Aughwick to the aggressive movements then on
foot against the French stronghold. General Braddock
arrived from England in February, 1755, to take cammand
of the British forces in America. A council of war was
held at his camp at Alexandria, Virginia, on the 1-ith of
April, in that year, at which Governor Morris and the Gov-
ernors of Massachusetts, New York, Maryland and Virginia
were present. Braddock there delivered a letter to Gover-
nor Morris desiring him to inform the Indians in Pennsyl-
vania of his arrival, and that he was then on his march with
a body of the King's troops to remove the French from the
Ohio. This letter was laid before the Provincial Council,
by whom it was determined that large quantities of wam-
pum made into strings and belts, should be sent to Croghan,
and that he should be pressed to notify the Shawnees, Del-
awares, Twightwees, Wyandottes, and all the Indians on the
Lakes, of Braddock's march, and invite them to join the
General, and that Scarroyady, then at Aughwick, and the

HISTORY OF HUNTINGDON" COUNTY. 57

Indian called the Belt of Wampum, should be consulted in
regard to the cooperation of the Indians with the army.

Governor Morris sent the wampum and a copy of Brad-
dock's letter to Croghan, and directed him to convene at
Aughwick as many Indians of the Six Nations, Delawares,
Shawnees, Twightwees, and "Wyandottes, as possible, and to
deliver to them the belts and strings, and to entreat them
immediately to join the General on his march. He was also
to send belts and strings to the Indians that were more re-
mote, and to request them to place themselves under Brad-
dock's orders.

The receipt of the Governor's message was acknowledged
by Croghan on the first of May. He had laid it before the
Indians at Aughwick that morning, upon whom, he said, it
had the desired effect ; that on the following morning all of
them, excepting the women and children, would go with him
to the camp ; that he had dispatched messengers to all the
tribes that could be found this side of the French fort, to
meet him there, and had also sent for the Indians at the
Susquehanna. He expressed a desire that the women and
children too, should leave Aughwick, as he had no expecta-
tion that the Assembly would make him any further allow-
ances for their support ; and that, as he would be with the
army all summer, some provision ought to be made for
those that remained. He was ready to perform any duty
that might be required of him, and had not nearly all of the
Indians proved recreant, he might have rendered great ser-
vices, but could not have changed the result of that dis-
astrous campaign.

The appeal to the Indians to take part in the expedition
was not very successful. The number who joined it was
small. None came from the Lakes, the Ohio or the Susque-
hanna. Croghan went with those he had at Aughwick, includ*
ing the women and children, whom he had intended should
remain behind. Braddock wrote to Governor Morris that
he had between forty and fifty Indians from the frontiers
of the province, and that he had taken Croghan and Montour
into service. Richard Peters, who had been at the camp,

58 HISTORY OF HUNTINGDON COUNTY.

reported to the Council that he found Scarroyady, Andrew
Montour, and about forty Indians from Aughwick there,
with their wives and families ; that they were extremely
dissatisfied at not being consulted with by the General, and
frequently got into high quarrels ; that the General had
issued orders that the Indian women should not be admitted
into camp, and irjsisted that they should be sent home. On
the 20th of May, Croghan reported to the Governor, from
Fort Cumberland, that he had about fifty men with him, and
that he expected twenty more in a few days ; that on the
next day the women and children would start on their return
to Aughwick; that after their arrival, there would be about
one hundred and twenty there, and made some suggestions
concerning their maintenance during the war.

But the pride of the sanguine Croghan, as well as that of
the arrogant Braddock, was destined to be laid low. When
the army reached the Little Meadow, there were but seven
Indians with it. All the rest had gone from Fort Cumber-
land to Aughwick with the women and children. Croghan,
still hopeful, was expecting their return, and that he would
be reinforced by forty or fifty more. But while so nearly
deserted, his connection with the expedition was not entirely
fruitless. We are told "that Sir John St. Clair had discov-
ered, by the help of Mr. Croghan and his seven Indians, a
party of between two and three hundred French Indians,
and pursued them and drove them quite off; then they pro-
ceeded in cutting the road toward the Ohio."

I am convinced by several coincidences, that these seven
Indians were engaged in the battle at Braddock's defeat. In
the following August, some of the Six Nations and Wyan-
dottes, met the Provincial Council at Philadelphia, and
among other speeches made was the following :

"Brethren of the Six Nations: You that are now here, to
wit, Scarroyady, Cashuwayon, Froson, Kahuktodon, Atsche-
chokatha, Kashwughdaniunto Dyaquario: You fought
under General Braddock and behaved with spirit and valor
during the engagement ; we should be wanting to ourselves
not to make you our hearty acknowledgments for your

HISTORY OF HUNTINGDON" COUNTY. 59

fidelity and assistance. We see you consider yourselves as
our flesh and blood, and fight for us as if we were your own
kindred. By this belt we return you our hearty thanks."

It has been said that the part taken by Croghan in the
battle could not be ascertained ; but that he was in com-
mand of the Indians to whom the thanks of the Council
were afterwards given, is altogether plausible. And if such a
conclusion be correct, then the only men furnished to Brad-
dock's army from Pennsylvania went from Huntingdon
county.

However much we may censure, for their want of valor,
those Indians who deserted, we must certainly accord them
praise for their discretion. They possessed more of the
latter than Braddock himself. There may have been some
reason in their disaffection. Scarroyady assigned a cause
for it. In an address to the Provincial Council he said : "It is
now well known to you how unhappily we have been defeated
by the French near Minongelo (Monongahela). We must
let you know that it was the pride and ignorance of that
great General that came from England. He is now dead I
but he was a bad man when he was alive; he looked upon
us as dogs, and would never hear anything what was said to
him. We often endeavored to advise him and to tell him
the danger he was in with his soldiers ; but he never ap-
peared pleased with us, and that was the reason that a great
many of our warriors would not be under his command."

The Indians who had returned to Aughwick did not long
remain there. Twenty-five of them arrived at John Harris',
at Paxton, early in the summer, and at that time more were
on the road to the same place. Scarroyady never resided
at Aughwick after Braddock's defeat. In August we find
him in Philadelphia, and before the 9th of September,
within two months after the battle, he had gone up the
Susquehanna river to settle at Shamokin. Of course the
departure of the Indians changed Croghan's relations to the
Government. His communications to the governor ceased-
He no longer asked timidly for supplies, for compensation for
his services, or for reimbursement for necessary expenditures.

60 HISTORY OF HUNTINGDON COUNTY.

In October, 1755, he wrote: "glad am I that I have no hand
in Indian affairs at this critical time, where no fault can be
thrown on my shoulders."

CHAPTER VIII.

REVIVAL OF THE PROJECT OF FORTIFYING AUGHWICK — CONDITION OF THE

FRONTIER SETTLEMENTS— REASONS WHY THEY WERE UNPROTECTED

CONFLICT BETWEEN THE GOVERNOR AND THE ASSEMBLY — CROGHAN

COMMISSIONED AS A CAPTAIN AND ORDERED TO ERECT STOCKADES

WHERE THEY WERE TO BE BUILT — FORT SHIRLEY — CAPTAIN CROGHAN
RECRUITS MEN TO GARRISON THE FORTS — DIFFICULTIES CONCERNING HIS
ACCOUNTS — RESIGNS HIS COMMISSION AND LEAVES FORT SHIRLEY.

Croghan now revived the project of fortifying Aughwick,
■which had been under consideration during the latter part
of the previous year, but being out of the service of the
Government, he looked for no assistance from that source.
A regard for the safety of himself and other residents of
that exposed region, led him to undertake the work with
such help as he could obtain in the neighborhood. On the
9th of October, 1755, he wrote to a friend in Shippensburg,
that he hoped to finish his stockade by the middle of the
next week, and requested the loan of six guns, with powder,
and twenty pounds of lead, promising to return them in
about fifteen days, when he would get arms and ammuni-
tion from the mouth of the "Conegochege."

At that time the frontier settlements were exposed to ex-
treme danger. Consternation and alarm had spread through-
out the entire country west of the Susquehanna, and those
settlers who could escape the fury of the savages were flee-
ing precipitately from their homes. The towns of Carlisle,
York and Lancaster were daily filled with the refugees.
But few remained, except those who paid with their lives
and scalps for their temerity. At Aughwick, however
Croghan had made his position sufficiently strong to prevent
an attack. In the east there was great anxiety for his
safety, and many rumors as to his fate. Scarroyady came
down from Shamokin to Harris' Ferry, inquired after him>
and on being informed that he was fortified at Aughwick,
sent him advice to remove, or he would be killed. Gov-

62 HISTORY OF HUNTINGDON COUNTY.

ernor Morris wrote to the Governor of Virginia, on the 2d
of November, that "By letters of ye 29th and 30th of last
month I am informed that the People of Aughwick &
Juniata are cut off, and among others George Croghan."
From intelligence then in the possession of the Governor, it
is certain that no inhabitants remained on the Juniata.
Croghan's situation is stated in a letter written by himself
on the 12th of November: "I have butt a Stockade fortt at
Aughwick, and have about forty men with me there, butt
how long I shall be able to keep itt, I really can't tell."

The reasons for this unprotected and defenceless condition
of the frontiers affords one of the most interesting chapters
in the history of Pennsylvania. It was on account of a
conflict between the legislative and executive branches of
the government, a conflict which was the direct result of
causes operating from the foundation of the province. The
successors of William Penn in the proprietaryship were not
Quakers, and their appointments to office and administration
of the government were without regard, or rather in antago-
nism, to the peaceful principles of tl.eir ancestor. But the
Quakers still had sufficient political power to retain their
ascendency in the Assembly. They tied the mouth of the
public purse with more than a gordian knot. They voted
neither supplies nor money, nor would they grant any au-
thority whatever, for many years, for the enlistment of men
and the forming of a militia. The complaints of Governor
Morris were constant against the Assembly for adhering to
a policy that prevented them from saving the lives of their
citizens, and were made to the British government, to the
Penns, to the Governors of the neighboring provinces, and
to the Assembly itself. So completely was he deprived of
military power, that not a man was furnished to Braddock
from Pennsylvania, except Croghan and his few Indians.
The teams for the transportation of baggage and supplies for
the army were hired in York and Cumberland counties by
Benjamin Franklin, on his own responsibility, and the Gov-
ernor gathered a store of provisions at Shippensburg without
legislative aid. The people were divided into parties upon

HISTORY OF HUNTINGDON COUNTY. 63

this issue. Petitions from them were numerous, asking pro-
tection on the one hand and opposing any warlike measures
on the other. When, at length, the Assembly passed a mili-
tia law, they did so without abandoning any of their religious
scruples. Its character may be inferred from its title: "An
Act for the better ordering and regulating such as are willing
and desirous to be United for Military Purposes within this
Province." It provided for the organization of a military
force, but did not compel any body to join it. The whole
spirit of the law is expressed in its opening sentence:
"Whereas, this Province was settled by (and a majority of
the Assemblies have ever since been) of the people called
Quakers, who, tho' they do not as the World is now circum-
stanced, condemn the Use of Arms in others, yet are prin-
cipled against bearing Arms themselves." The complaints
against the act were as loud and frequent as those that were
made before its passage, particularly on the part of Governor
Morris, but he was compelled to make the best out of the
only legislation he could obtain.

Immediately after its enactment a plan was devised for the
defence of the frontiers. Five hundred men were to be taken
into service, half of whom were to be stationed on the east
and the other half on the west side of the Susquehanna'
George Croghan was given a captain's commission, three or
four of which were issued, under the new law, previous to
December 18th, 1755, and his may have been the first. He
was directed to superintend the erection of fortifications west
of that river. The places for three stockades were to be
selected by him, "one back of Patterson's, one upon Kisha-
coquillas, and one near Sideling Hill," each to be fifty feet
square, with blockhouses on two corners and barracks within
capable of accommodating fifty men. He was also to employ
an overseer at each place, who was to receive not exceeding
one dollar per day, and workmen, who were to be allowed
at the rate of six dollars per month "and provisions." All
the circumstances seemed to point to Aughwick as the place
for one of these forts. Its defense had occupied the attention
of the government a year before, and the necessity for its pro -

64: HISTORY OF HUNTINGDON COUNTY.

tection had greatly increased. Croghan had built a stockade
at his own expense and labor, and the selection of the sites
for the new ones was to a great extent under his control.
It was natural that he should prefer the strengthening of the
one he had built. And probably nothing more was required.
He had been secure during the most dangerous times, and
with a garrison, under military discipline, was ready to defy
any force that could be brought against him.

The original idea of erecting three stockades of the same
size and construction was not strictly adhered to. There
were four built, one twelve miles from the Susquehanna,
called Pomfret Castle, one at the mouth of the Kisacoquillas,
called Fort Granville, one at Aughwick, called Fort Shirley,
and one at the Sugar Cabins, called Fort Lyttleton. Gov-
ernor Morris was upon the frontiers in the months of Decem-
ber, 1755, and January, 1756, visiting this line of fortifica-
tions. On his return, he arrived in Philadelphia on the 28th
of the latter month, all the forts west of the Susquehanna
having been completed, named and garrisoned before he left
them. He placed at each seventy-five men and ordered them
to range the woods in both directions towards the other forts.

He was highly gratified with these defences, writing to
Governor Sharpe, of Maryland, Governor Dinwiddie, of
Virginia, Colonel Washington and General Shirley, concern-
ing them. In his letter to the latter, he described them at
some length, and says in reference to Fort Shirley:

"About twenty miles northward of Fort Lytellton, at a
place called Aughwick, another fort is Erected, somewhat
larger than Fort Lytellton, which I have taken the Liberty
to Honour with the name of Fort Shirley. This stands near
the great Path used by the Indians and Indian Traders to and
from the Ohio, and consequently the easiest way of access
for the Indians into the settlements of this Province."

The author of this work is indebted to Samuel McVitty,
Esq., formerly of Shirleysburg, now of Clay township, this
county, for information in relation to the position of Fort
Shirley, with reference to the natural surroundings in its
immediate vicinity. The site of the fort has been frequently

HISTORY OF HUNTINGDON COUNTY. 65

pointed out to him by those who had seen it, and by Isaac
Morgan, who claims to have forted in it in his boyhood days.
It was a log fort of considerable strength and size, standing
on the edge of the plateau, south of the Fort Run and west
of the road entering Shirleysburg from Mount Union
Aughwick was situated about half-way between the fort and
Aughwick creek, where the depot of the East Broad Top
railroad now stands. Mr. McVitty spent many of his youth-
ful hours in gathering arrow-heads, stone tomahawks, beads
and musket balls from this historic ground.

Captain Croghan, in addition to his duties as superintend-
ent of the erection of these works, was entrusted with the
recruiting of men to garrison them. This he did very ex-
peditiously. No so<™er were the barracks completed than
the companies were ready to enter them. The province had
obtained an officer who at once acquired a reputation for
promptness. But these speedy enlistments were attended
with a want of economy that was not gratifying to those
who had the disposal of the public funds. Disputes arose
between him and the Commissioners concerning his accounts,
and he became dissatisfied with the manner in which they
were adjusted. In fact, he had always thought himself illy
recompensed for his services and expenditures at Aughwick.

He continued in command of Fort Shirley, and of one of
the companies raised by him, until the latter part of March,
1756, three months after the fort was built. There were
issued to him during that time, two hundred tomahawks, one
swivel, twenty-nine small arms, and two hundred and forty
blankets. He had also some arms belonging to himself,
which were retained and receipted for by his successor in
command, Captain Hugh Mercer.

Croghan may have had other reasons for leaving Fort
Shirley than the difficulties about his accounts. The causes
which had brought him there and which had probably in-
duced him to remain, were removed. The Assembly passed
an act exempting him from arrest for ten years. As he could
then face his creditors without fear, he resigned his commis-
sion and went to New York.
E

CHAPTER IX.

commissary general of musters visits and pays troops at fort shirley
— letter from captain mercer — recruiting at carlisle — strength
of garrison at fort shirley — condition of his company — arms, ac-
coutrements, provisions and pay — capture and burning of fort
granville — preparations for an attack on fort shirley — colonel
Armstrong's expedition against kittanning — rendezvous at fort
shirley — surprise and rout of the indians— killing of captain-
jacobs, the indian chief — captain mercer wounded and hissing —
he rejoins his company — evacuation of fort shirley.

About the time Captain Mercer assumed command of Port
Shirley, Captain Elisha Salter was appointed Commissary
General of Musters, and ordered to inspect and pay all the
companies in Cumberland county. He performed this duty,
visiting the forts on the frontiers. His presence at Fort Shir-
ley is referred to by Captain Mercer in a letter to Governor
Morris, written from Carlisle, on the 18th day of April,
1756. Captain Mercer had gone to that place to recruit men
for his company. It is gratifying to have from him a de-
scription of the situation of affairs at the fort, of the difficul-
ties connected with the provincial service, and of the defi-
ciencies in pay, arms, equipments and rations. The following
is his letter in full:

"Honoured Sir: The Commissary General of the Musters,
with your Honour's Instructions to review and Pay off the
Garrison att Fort Shirley, arrived in a very lucky time, when
the greater part of our Men were about to abandon the Fort
for want of Pay. It was with great difficulty I could prevent
their doing so for three weeks before, that is ever since the time
of enlistment had been expired. I am sorry to observe that
numbers of our best men have declined the Service, and re-
duced me to the necessity of recruiting anew, thro' diffidence
with regard to their pay, and I have been obliged to engage
that even such as left us when paid off, should have the same
allowance as formerly for their Overplus time, depending
upon my being reimbursed, as without such ingagement it

HISTORY OF HUNTINGDON COUNTY. 67

was impossible to prevent the fort from falling into the
Enemy's hands. I am now about filling up my Company to
Sixty Men, agreeable to your Orders, and have drawn upon
the Commissionaries for £30 for this purpose. A Garrison
of thirty Men are now att Fort Shirley, engaged to remain
there till the first of May, by which time I am in hopes of
compleating the Company, and shall immediately thereupon
repair thither. It is to be feared that Our Communication
with the Settlement will soon be cut off, unless a greater
force is Ordered for the Garrison. As Your Honour is sen-
sible that I can send no detachment to escort provisions,
equal in force to parties of the enemy, who have lately made
attempts upon our frontiers, and considering how short of
Provisions we have hitherto been kept, the Loss of One
Party upon this duty must reduce us to the last necessity.

" Mr. Hugh Crawford is upon the Return of Leutenant,
and Mr. Thos. Smallman, who acted before as Commissary
in the Fort, as Ensign to my Company. It will be a particu-
lar obligation laid upon me to have an exchange of Mr.
James Hays for Leutenant and Mr. Smallman continued.
And Perhaps Mr. Crawford would be satisfied to fill Mr.
Hays' place, with Captain Paterson, as members of that
Company are of his Acquaintance. I have given Mr.Croghan
a Eeceipt for what Arms and other necessary Articles be-
longing to him are att Fort Shirley, a copy of which, together
with my Journall and General Return, shall be sent by Cap-
tain Salter, and find it impossible to Arm my Men or com-
pleat what yet remains of our Outworks without them. The
Guns are preferable to those belonging to the Government,
and I hope will be purchased for our Use.

" Captain Salter will inform your Honour how unfitt the
Arms in General are for Use, even after being righted by a
Gunsmith, whose Account is very Considerable; besides, we
have no Cartridge Boxes, nor any convenient pouches for
Powder and Lead, so that in complying with Your Instructions
of giving a Detail of what is wanting for the Company, I may
mention in General, Arms and Accoutrements, besides
Orders to the Commissary for a large Supply of Provisions

68 HISTORY OF HUNTINGDON COUNTY.

att Once, And regular pay Once a Month; it will put me to
extream difficulty if the Commissionaries do not think proper
to remit me Money to pay my Men by the first of May. I
have wrote them to this purpose, and beg Your Honour
will enable me to fulfill my engagements with the Company,
without which I can hope for very little Satisfaction in serv-
ing the publick.

"The trust your Honour has been pleased to repose in me
in giving me the Command of Fort Shirley, calls for my
warm Acknowledgements, and cannot fail of engaging my
utmost attention and zeal in the execution of your Orders."

In July, 1756, the Indians from Kittanning, under their
chiefs, Shingas and Jacobs, captured and burned Fort Gran-
ville, killing and making prisoners of the garrison. Later
in the season they prepared for new incursions against the
frontiers and an attack on Fort Shirlev. Governor Morris
determined that they should not have the opportunity of
striking the first blow. He concerted an expedition against
them to be commanded by Col. John Armstrong, who was
to have under him the companies of Captain Hamilton, Cap-
tain Mercer, Captain Ward and Captain Patterson. These
were the forces that garrisoned the fortifications west of the
Susquehanna. They were to rendezvous at Fort Shirley, which
they accordingly did, and marched from there on the 30th
of August, in that year. Col. Armstrong was successful in
surprising the Indians at Kittanning at daybreak on the
morning of the 8th of September, in completely routing them,
destroying their town of thirty houses, and in killing Captain
Jacobs, the chief, who had declared that he could take any fort
that would burn, andthat he would make peace with the Eng-
lish when they would learn him to make gunpowder. Captain
Mercer was wounded in the arm early in the engagement and
became separated from the main body of the troops. When
the latter arrived at Fort Littleton, on their return from Kit-
tanning, he had not rejoined them. The losses in his com-
pany were seven killed, one wounded and nine missing.
Among the latter was himself.

Captain Jacobs, at the time of his disaster, was upon the

HISTORY OF HUNTINGDON COUNTY. 69

eve of setting out to take Fort Shirley. On that day two
bateaux of Frenchmen and a party of Delawares and other
Indians were to have joined him at Kittanning, and to have
started with him the next morning.

Captain Mercer had not been captured by the Indians. In
the following November he assumed command of his com-
pany at Shippensburg, although his wound had not healed.

Before the starting of the expedition to Kittanning, Col.
Armstrong had recommended the evacuation of Fort Shirley.
He considered it not easily defensible and that there was
danger of the supply of water being cut off from it, as the
stream ran at the foot of a high bank, eastward of the fort.
" I am of opinion," said he, "from its remote situation, that
it can't serve the Country in the present circumstances, and
if attacked, I doubt will be taken if not strongly Garrisoned,
but (extremities excepted) I cannot evacuate this without
your Honour's Orders. Lyttelton, Shippensburg and Car-
lisle (the two last not finished) are the only Forts now built
that will, in my Opinion, be Serviceable to the Publick."

On the 15th day of October, 1756, the Governor announced
to the Council at Philadelphia, that Fort Shirley had been
evacuated by his order. This was not done because the
dangers against which it was intended to guard had passed
away, but because they had increased to such an extent that
it could no longer be relied upon as a protection. The
enemy had become more powerful.

CHAPTER X.

situation on the frontiers after 1754 — warrants granted in 1755 —
in 1762 — hugh Crawford's improvement— revival of purchases —
dangers from and depredations by the indians — the town of
huntingdon — its founder, dr. william smith— selina, countess of
huntingdon.

The complications which had arisen in Indian affairs had
a direct tendency to retard, or, in fact, to prevent for a long
time, the consummation of the purposes for which the pur-
chase at Albany had been made. In 1750 the settlers re-
ceived no violence from the Indians themselves, the latter
making their complaints and efforts to regain possession of
their lands through the provincial government. After 175-i
it was at the risk of life that a white man presumed to take
up his residence within the purchased territory, unless he
was also within such a distance of the fortifications that he
could take refuge in them at the approach of danger. The
evacuation of Fort Shirley, in 1756, removed the only pro-
tection that had existed within our present county. Even
previous to that event, but few warrants had been taken out
for lands, and there were fewer actual settlers.

The "Land Lien Docket "for Huntingdon county, con-
tains the record of but two office rights granted before 1762.
They are both dated in 1755, the first on the 3d of February
to Barnabas Barnes, for a tract in Tell township, and the other
on the 25th of June, to Anthony Thompson, lor a tract on
Little Aughwick. J. Simpson Africa, esq., Deputy Sec-
retary of Internal Affairs, at Harrisburg, a citizen of the
county, who is more familiar with our land titles than any other
person, knows of but four tracts warranted during the time
I have mentioned. They are: I. One including the upper
end of Smithfield, the whole of Bryan's farm, and some ad-
jacent land in Walker township. II. The farm on the north-
east side of the Juniata river, above Warrior's Ridge station.
III. That upon which Alexandria now stands ; and IV. One

HISTORY OF HUNTINGDON COUNTY. 71

on the Juniata below Alexandria. These were all warranted
in 1755. Thej are probably patented, and therefore do
not appear on the Land Lien Docket.

It was in this same year that Hugh Crawford made an
improvement, as he claimed, where Huntingdon now stands.
He conveyed to George Croghan, by deed, dated at Fort Pitt,
June 1st, 1760, "a tract of 400 acres, on the north side of the
Baystown Branch of the Juniata, known by the name of the
Standing Stone, including my improvement thereon, from
the mouth of the Standing Stone Creek to the crossing up
the Creek, and to the upward point of a small island." The
grantee in this conveyance is the same George Croghan who
was such a conspicuous figure at Aughwick. At the date
of the deed he was a resident at Fort Pitt.

For a period of seven years after 1755, the region west of
the Tuscarora mountain remained in almost primitive seren-
ity. During all that time there seems to have been no de-
mand whatever for the lands. The Indians had succeeded,
for the time being, in making them valueless to the proprie-
taries, by increasing the dangers of frontier life to such an
extent that no man was willing to encounter them. This
state of affairs continued until 1762, when there was a re-
vival of the desire to acquire titles. In that and the follow-
in year, many warrants were issued from and returns of
surveys made to the Land Office. These were principally
located along the streams and in the valleys, the earliest
purchasers, of course, selecting the most fertile lands. But
these were not all taken up for actual settlement. A large pro-
portion of the warrantees were eastern men, many of them
residents of the cities, whose only object was speculation.

This era was also brought to an end. Dangers from the
Indians again increased. Early in the summer of 1763
depredations were committed on the frontiers, some of them
near Pedford, the alarm from which extended throughout
the country, and occasioned the removal of the settlers from
the Juniata and its tributaries. Col. Armstrong, who was
then in command of the militia west of the Blue Hills, wrote
to Governor Penn, in December, of that year:

72 HISTORY OF HUNTINGDON COUNTY.

"The People drove off by the Enemy from the North side
of the Mountains, forms the Frontier, as they are mix'd with
the settlers on the south side, where of consequence the
motions of the ranging party are required; at the same time
those who were driven from their habitations have some part
of their effects yet behind, and their crops stack'd in the
"field thro' the different valleys, at a considerable distance
beyond the mountains. To these distressed people we must
afford Covering partys as often as they request them, or will
Convene in small Bodys in order to thrash Out and Carry
over Grain wherewith to Supply their Familys; this last men-
tioned Service, necessary as it is, greatly obstructs the uni-
form course of patroling behind the Inhabitants, that other-
wise might be performed."

Col. Armstrong does not designate the localities in which
the danger and alarm were the greatest, but the same situa-
tion seems to have existed throughout the entire region
known as the frontiers.

This check to the rush of speculation and the progress of
settlement and improvement, continued until 1766. In that
year and the one succeeding it, a great many applications
were made, warrants issued and surveys returned. By the
close of 1767, all the good lands in the valleys and river bot-
toms had been taken up.

It was in the latter year that the town of Huntingdon was
laid out. Its founder was William Smith, D.D., an Episcopal
clergyman, and a gentleman of learning and ability. While
Provost of the University of Pennsylvania, to which position
he was elected in 1755, he made a trip to England for the
purpose of soliciting funds in aid of that institution, and re- i
ceived a liberal donation from the Countess of Huntingdon,
in honor of whom he named the town. It is proper that we
should know something of the life and character of this es-
timable lady.

Selina Shirley was born August 24th, 1707. She and her
two sisters, one of whom was older and the other younger
than herself, were the daughters and heiresses of Washington
Shirley, second Earl of Ferrars. At the age of twenty-one

HISTORY OF HUNTINGDON" COUNTY. 73

she married Theophilus Hastings, ninth Earl of Huntingdon,
a nobleman distinguished for his piety, from whom she took
the title by which she is known in history. The deaths of
four of her children at early ages, and of her husband in
1746, made a deep impression upon her mind and intensified
her religious predilections. She adopted the doctrines of
and attached herself to the Calvinistic Methodists, of whom
George Whitefield, who, with Wesley, was, effecting a great
revival, was the founder and leader. She was so zealous in
advancing the principles she had espoused, and her wealth
enabled her to exert such a vast influence, that a branch of
Whitefield's followers became known as " The Countess of
Huntingdon's Connection." She made that eminent preacher
one of her chaplains, and he, in return, appointed her by
will, sole proprietrix of his possessions in the province of
Georgia, America, where she organized a mission. In her
own country she built chapels, maintained ministers, and,
for the education of the latter, and with the assistance of
other persons of opulence, many of whom were members of
her own family, established a college at Trevacca, in South
Wales. For the support of this institution she made liberal
contributions during her lifetime, and at her death created a
trust. She provided in like manner for her chapels. The
college was removed after her demise, to Cheshunt, in Herts,
where it still exists. She also donated large sums to young
itinerant preachers, and to private charity. Her death oc-
curred June 17, 1791. The number of her chapels was then
sixty-four. She bequeathed them to four persons, in trust
for their care and management. They have increased in
number until there are now nearly twice as many as when
she died.

CHAPTER XI.

HUNTINGDON AT THE BEGINNING OF THE REVOLUTIONARY WAR — THE MC-

MURTRIES— FORT STANDING STONE— TORIES — COLONEL PIPER EXCEEDS HIS
AUTHORITY — GENERAL ROBERDEAU AT HUNTINGDON — HIS LETTER — TORY
EXPEDITION TO KITTANNING — ITS RESULT— DEATH OF WESTON AND DIS-
PERSION OF HIS MEN.

At the beginning of the revolutionary war, Huntingdon
contained four or five houses. The inhabitants of whom we
have any information, were Benjamin Elliott, Ludwig Sells,
Abraham Haynes, and one of the Clugages. The names of
several of these became prominent in connection with the
formation of the county, eleven years later, and with subse-
quent events.

In 1776 or 77 there came from Philadelphia two brothers
by the name of McMurtrie. They were sons of a prudent
Scotchman, who had sent them away from the temptation of
entering the "rebel" army. One of these young men, David,
attained some prominence in public affairs. He married a
daughter of Benjamin Elliott, and his descendants are among
the most prosperous people of the county. The other
brother, James, resided a while in Huntingdon and then re-
moved to a farm on Shaver's creek.

During the war, the town was more frequently called
Standing Stone than Huntingdon. It is mentioned by the
former name in many of the letters and records of that
period, relating to the movements of troops, tories and In-
dians. When called Huntingdon, its other name was some-
times added to designate what place was meant.

A fort was built there in the early part of the war. It
stood in the southeastern part of the town, on the bluff
overlooking the creek and the lowlands between it and the
fort, and covering about ten acres of ground. It was never
permanently garrisoned, but when troops were in Hunting-
don, as was the case on several occasions of which we have
authentic information, it is to be supposed that their quar-
ters were in this fortification.

HISTORY OF HUNTINGDON" COUNTY. 75

When not garrisoned, its defence, in cases of necessity, de-
volved upon the citizens of the town and surrounding coun-
try, many coming for miles to seek its protection. In times
of alarm and in the absence of troops, the people sometimes
resorted to ruses and stratagems to drive away the Indians.
Once an attack was threatened by a party of savages who
made their appearance on the ridge across the river from
Huntingdon. They greatly outnumbered the force that
could be gathered to oppose them, and to have awaited their
nearer approach with the hope of making a successful resist-
ance would have been futile. Instead of this, an effort wa3
made to deceive them into the belief that the little squad
was really an army. The latter was drawn into line in such
a position that the ends of the column could not be seen by
the savages, and so that by marching round and round, men
would be continually in view and present the appearance of
battalions moving steadily forward. At the same time the
drums, and other instruments not so musical — some of them
in the hands of women and children — were beaten so vigor-
ously as to impress the savages that great preparations were
being made for battle. The enemy were overawed, and re-
treated without testing the strength of the fort and its de»
fenders.

As to the sufficiency of the causes which were regarded
as impelling the colonies to a separation from the mother
country, there was not a unanimity of opinion among the
people of the upper Juniata. There were many royalists or
tories, who were very bold and open in their opposition to
the revolutionary cause and in their sympathy for and ex-
tension of aid to the British, whose emissaries and Indian
allies were operating against the western frontiers. But the
patriots outnumbered them many fold.

That part of Bedford which now constitutes Huntingdon
county was the centre of tory strength and activity. The
disaffected element was scattered over all parts of it, but ex-
isted principally at Huntingdon, on Stone Creek, Shaver's
Creek, the Raystown Branch, and the Aughwick, and in
Canoe, Woodcock and Hare's valleys. Deep and dark as

76 HISTORY OF HUNTINGDON COUNTY. .

were the designs of the tories, they were frustrated by the
fatal mistake of those who were to have cooperated in the
execution of them.

From the Indians there was more real danger, and it con-
tinued a much greater length of time. The alarms caused
by them were well founded. They placed the frontiersmen
on the defensive at a time when the means of protection
were insufficient, and when all the population capable of
bearing arms was urgently needed in front of the British
army. Troops could not be sent to the frontiers, nor, on
the other hand, could men be withdrawn from thence for
duty elsewhere. The settlers were thrown entirely upon
their se//"-reliance, too often literally so, as they were fre-
quently without arms or amunition.

This chapter will not enter very fully into the details of
Indian depredations and massacres. Many of them will be
described in the histories of the different townships, which
form a part of this work, each in treating of the locality in
which it occurred. The measures taken for the defense of
a large extent of territory, in which Huntingdon county was
included, will give an insight into the manner in which hos-
tilities were waged against it by the savages.

In January, 1788, Col. John Piper, realizing the exigen*
cies of the situation, and after consultation with his sub-
lieutenants, proposed the raising of a force of one hundred
and sixty men, to be stationed at five different points in
Bedford county, thirty of them to " guard the inhabitants of
Hart's Log Settlement and Shaver's Creek." In informing
the Supreme Executive Council of his action, Col. Piper says :

" The urgent Call for these men, and the Exhorbitant
Prices of all articles, Lay'd us under the necessity of aug-
menting their Pay to five Pounds Pr month, the men to Be
engag'd for the space of nine months, unless sooner dis-
charg'd. These People Have Repeatedly apply'd to me,
praying their Situation to Be Lay'd Before Councill, and
Assureing Councill of their determinations to make a Stand
— if they meet with this necessary Assistance. They Like-
wise Pray that a Suitable person may be Appointed to Lay

HISTORY OF HUNTINGDON COUNTY. 77

a Small Store of Provisions at each Post to Supply Scouting
Party, or other troops who may be Employ'd as Guards. If
these measures are aproven by Councill the People will
Stand, and if Rejected, I have the Greatest Reasons to Be-
lieve, that upon the first alarm from Indians A great Part of
our County will Be Left desolate."

But Col. Piper had exceeded his authority. The Council
replied that they were surprised that he was enlisting men
for nine months; they had intended that he should call out
the militia as a temporary measure; it was expected that the
people of the county would more cheerfull i exert i hemselves
in their own defence than enter a service more distant, and
therefore they were not called upon to meet and oppose the
King's army, out were permittted to remain at home. The
enlisting of men for so loug a term was improper and unne-
cessary ; there was no fund for the payment of them, and the
proposed increase of pay was a sufficient reason against it, as
the militia of other counties would claim the same rates.
There were legal objections to Col. Piper's action, which it
was not within the power of the Council to remove, and
therefore they had no other discretion than to disapprove of
it. This failure to provide a military force was followed by
others. In fact, there cannot be said to have been any very
efficient protection of the kind during the war. There was no
intentional neglect of duty, no want of earnestness, courage
and patriotism, but as the unorganized, predatory warfare of
the Indians could have but little effect on the ultimate results
of the contest, it was but wisdom on the part of the State and
Federal governments not to divide their strength, but to re-
serve it for the greater foe that was to be met on other fields

Many of the events of those times cannot be better illus-
trated than in the letters of the principal actors in them. I
will insert, in their proper places, several that were written
from Huntingdon, during the most active period of the
operations in the public defence.

On the 23d of April, 1778, Robert Smith sent the follow-
ing note to Robert Clugage, a citizen of the county and an
officer in the continental service :

78 HISTORY OF HUNTINGDON COUNTY.

" Sir: Be pleased to send Expresses to Lt. Carothers by
first opportunity, to give him some account of insurrections
on the South mountain, and Likewise to enspect very closely
into who is abroad at this time, and upon what occasion, as
there is a suspision, by information, of other insurections
Eising in other parts of the county of Cumberland, and in
so Doing you will oblidge your friend, to serve,

Robert Smith."

On that day General Daniel Roberdeau was in Hunting-
don, on his way to Sinking Valley to superintend the mining
of lead for the revolutionary army. He forwarded the above
note to Lie-it. Carothers, commanding in Cumberland coun-
ty, in the following letter :

"Standing Stone, April 23, 1778.

"Sir: The enclosed was put into my hands to be for-
warded to you by express. The intelligence it contains is
abundantly confirmed by several persons. I have examined
both fugitives from the frontiers and some volunteers who
have returned for an imediate supply of ammunition and
provisions, to be sent forward to Sinking Spring A r alley, as
the Troops will be obliged to quit the service without they
are supplied without Delay. Want of arms prevents those
who would turn out. I shall furnish what I brought from
Carlisle as soon as they come forward, but it is very unfor-
tunate that these arms and the amunition which is coming
by watter have been retarded by some contrary wind, and
probably the Lowness of the Watter. To remedj r this I
have Dispatched two canoes this morning to meet them on
the way. I am giving Mr. Brown, who is here, every as-
sistance in my power, but your aid is greatly wanted to
stimulate the militia and furnish arms, Amunition, pack-
horses, and everything necessary in your Line of Duty. The
insurgents from this Neighborhood, I am informed, are
about thirty ; one of them (Hess) has been taken and con-
fession extorted, from which it appears that his Banditti ex-
pect to be joined by 300 men from the other side of the
Aleganey ; reports more vague mention 1,000 Whites and
Savages. The supply of provisions for so great a number

HISTORY OF HUNTINGDON COUNTY. 79

renders it improbable, but in answer to this I have been in-
formed by the most credable in this neighborhood, that
strangers, supposed to be from Detroit, have been this
winter among the Disaffected Inhabitants, and have removed
with them. If you have authority to call out the militia, in
proportion to the exigence of the times, I think it of great
importance that a considerable number of men should be
immediately embodied and sent forward to meet the enemy,
for it cannot be expected that the Volunteers will long con-
tinue in Service, and I find that the recruiting the three
companies goes on too slow to expect a seasonable supply
from them of any considerable number; if you have not
authority to call the necessary aid of militia, you no doubt
will apply to the Hons. the Council, and may furnish them
with my sentiments, and to the board of war with arms and
Amunition. With ten men here under the command of
Lieut. Clugage, in Continental service, until the 1st Dec-
next, I intend to move forward as soon as the arms, ammu-
nition and other things comes forward, to afford an escort to
Sinking Spring Valley, where I shall be glad to meet as
great a number of militia as you will station there, to en-
able me to erect a Stockade, to secure the works so neces-
sary to the public service, and give confidence to frontier
Inhabitants, by affording an Assylum for their women and
children, These objects, I doubt not, you will think worthy
your immediate attention and utmost exertion, which I can
assure you, making the fullest allowance for the timidity of
some and credulity of others, is a very serious matter, for
without immediate aid the frontiers will be evacuated, for
all that I have been able to say has been of no avail with
the fugitives I have met on the roads, a most Distressing
sight of men, women and children, flying through fear of a
cruel enemy."

Although the tories were threatening vengeance against all
who had taken the oath of allegiance to the new government,
their power was entirely incommensurate with the dread
they inspired. Their strength and numbers were greatly
exaggerated by the wild and unfounded rumors that prevailed,

80 HISTORY OF HUNTINGDON COUNTY.

causing genuine fears to grow out of imaginary dangers.
General Roberdeau, while speaking of " the timidity of some
and credulity of others," gave full credence to many of these
rumors and did not express a disbelief in any of them.
Other officers were as much inclined as he to regard them as
true, and repeated them in communications to the Council,
as intelligence to be taken into consideration and acted upon
in providing measures for the public safety. On the 24th
of April, 1778, Lieut. Carothers reported to the President of
the Council, that he had received, through Col. McAlevy, an
account that a body of nearly three hundred and twenty
tories had collected in and above Standing; Stone, and had
driven a number of the inhabitants from the town, that
Colonels Buchanan and Brown had marched with a few men
to the defence of the place, and that he was impatiently
awaiting the issue. But our soil did not become a battle-
ground, as there was no enemy to be found.

Troops, arms and amuuition were sent by Lieut. Carothers,
about the same time, to General Roberdeau, in Sinking Val-
ley. This force consisted of seventy privates and eighteen
muskets. The latter, added to the arms which the General
had taken with him, were considered sufficient for that
emergency.

The tories at this time were concocting schemes in secret,
their meetings being frequently held at the house of their
leader, John Weston, in Canoe Valley, west of Water Street.
"When the} 7 were ready to attempt the consummation of their
plans, he was chosen their commander, a most fortunate
selection, in view of its consequences, for the almost defence-
less people, whose lives and property would have paid the
forfeit, had not disaster overtaken their enemy before he had
an opportunity of striking a blow. The only cotemporary
account of their movements and fate, is given in a letter from
Col. John Piper, written at Bedford, May 4th, 1778. It is
as follows:

"An affair of the most alarming nature (and as I believe
altogether unprecedented) has happened lately in a Corner
of this County, and w'ch I could not think myself justifiable

HISTORY OF HUNTINGDON COUNTY. 81

in not communicating to the Honorable the Supreme Execu-
tive Council of this State : a Number of evil minded Persons,
to the amount of thirty-five, (I think) having actually asso-
ciated together, marched away toward the Indian Country in
order to join the Indians, and to conduct them into the In-
habitance, and thus united, kill burn and destroy Men,
Women and Children.

"They came up with a body of Indians near or at the
Kittanings, and in conferring with them, they, the Indians,
suspecting some design in the white People, on w'ch one of
their Chiefs shot one Weston, who was the Ring-leader of
the Tories, and scalp'd him before the Rest, and immediately
(as if Divine Providence, ever attentive to Baffle and defeat
the Schemes and Measures of wicked Men) the rest fled and
dispersed.

U A very considerable number of the well-affected Inhab-
itants having, as soon as tljeir combination and march was-
known, pursued them and met five of them, and yesterday
brought them under a strong guard to the County Goal.

"They confess their Crime and Intention of destroying
both Men and Property; as these people, thus in open rebel-
lion, are so numerous, there is great reason to believe them
as a part of a greater whole, in some dangerous confederacy
with the Common Enemy, either in Phila. or Detroit."

Those of Weston's men who escaped capture never re-
turned to the Juniata Valley. It is said that most of them
went west to Fort Pitt, and from thence to the south, and
that their families ultimately followed them. The fear of
the tories soon passed away from the public mind. There
was a vague dread for a time after the tragedy at Kittanning
that a tory force would make its appearance at some un-
guarded point or moment, but the people soon learned that
such apprehensions were groundless, much to their relief,
we may feel assured, after two years of trepidation and alarm.
The only enemy that remained was the Indian, against
whom protection was necessary four years longer.

CHAPTER XII.
♦

] 778 TO 17S2 — CUMBERLAND COUNTY MILITIA SENT TO TIIE FRONTIER — DIF-
FICULTY OF OBTAINING ARMS — COLONEL BROADHEAD'S REGIMENT ORDERED

TO STANDING STONE CAPTAIN THOMAS CLUGAGE'S COMPANY — AT FORT

ROBERDEAU — CHARGES AGAINST CAPTAIN CLUGAGE — HIS REPLY TO THEM —
MILITIA OF LANCASTER AND YORK CALLED OUT FOR SERVICE IN BEDFORD
AND WESTMORELAND — THEIR FAILURE TO RESPOND — COLONEL MARTIN'S
LETTER TO COUNCIL — ASSISTANCE FROM CUMBERLAND COUNTY — HUNTING-
DON A DEPOT FOR SUPPLIES — DIVISION OF COUNTY INTO MILITARY DIST-
RICTS — COLONEL GEORGE ASHMAN — HIS REPORT TO PRESIDENT REED — HIS
ANXIETY FOR THE SAFETY OF THE COUNTRY — SURRENDER OF LORD CORN-
WALLIS — GENERAL CARLTON SUPERSEDES SIR HENRY CLINTON — PEACE.

In June, 1778, Lieut. Carothers, who seems to have been
a very energetic and efficient officer, sent sixty of the Cum-
berland county militia to Kishacoquillas and Standing Stone
valleys. The men had not responded very freely to his call
and he could not send a larger force. It was with still greater
difficulty that they were armed. The people of those
valleys, and doubtless of all other localities exposed to at-
tack, on getting arms into their hands, whether public or
private, would refuse to surrender them, as they did not
know the hour when they might have use for them. Every
man felt the necessity of being prepared to defend himself
and his household when threatened by danger, especially
when the only military protection consisted of a few undis-
ciplined men, scattered over an extensive frontier. In the
want of confidence and security which prevailed, it is not
strange that the pioneer preferred to retain the weapons in
his own possession rather than to give them up to others,
who might not be within reach to give him assistance when
it was needed. On the 19th of May, 1779, General James
Potter wrote from Penn's Valley, that " that small company
of 30 men has encurredged the people of standing stoan
Valley to stand as yet, altho' it is too few for that place."
If these thirty were part of the men sent by Lieut. Caro-
thers, then the other thirty had probably remained at Kish-
acoquillas.

HISTORY OF HUNTINGDON COUNTY. 83

In a circular to the County Lieutenants, issued by the
Council at Philadelphia, July 16, 1778, it is stated "that
Col. Broadhead's regiment, now on a march to Pittsburg, is
ordered by the Board of War to the Standing Stone, and we
have ordered three hundred militia from Cumberland
and two hundred from York county to join them." It is
not likely that the Board of War had any intention of
changing the destination of Col. Broadhead's command, or that
its remain at Huntingdon was to be more than temporary.
There is some evidence that the regiment was there on the
8th of August. On that day Council wrote to Dr. Shippen,
that "beside the militia at Sunbury, there are two other
bodies in Continental service which will also require a sup-
ply of medicine — one body of five hundred men at Standing
Stone, on Juniata, in Bedford county ; the other, consisting
of four hundred and fifty men, at or near Easton. You will
therefore please to pay attention to these two bodies at the
same time that those at Sunbury are supplied." These
troops had left Huntingdon before the next spring, as Gen-
eral Potter, in his letter heretofore referred to, said : "I
can't help being surprised that there has been no militia
sent to that part of Bedford county that Joynes us ; neither
to Frankstown or Standing Stone, except that small com-
pany of Buchanan's Batallion that would not go to Fort
Eoberdeau."

In the early part of 1779 Congress adopted resolutions
authorizing the raising of five companies of rangers for ser-
vice on the frontiers for a term of nine months. One of
these was to be raised in Bedford county, and Capt. Thomas
Clugage, brother of Major Robert Clugage, who was subse-
quently in command at Huntingdon, was appointed to the
command of it. As Capt. Clugage resided within the pres-
ent limits of Huntingdon county, he recruited his company
principally within the territory of which it was afterwards
formed, now constituting Huntingdon and Blair counties.

We are at a loss for information in regard to his success
in recruiting, as he either failed to report his progress to the
proper authorities as promptly as required, or his returns,-

84 HISTORY OF HUNTINGDON COUNTY.

as he alleged, were miscarried and failed to reach their des-
tination. On the 26th of June, Joseph Reed, President of
the Council, inquired of him by letter, "the exact state of
the company." To this there was no reply, probably for the
reason that he could not make a creditable report. He
wrote from Fort Roberdeau, the fort at the lead mines,
named after General Roberdeau, on the 6th of August, that
he had arrived at that post that morning, bringing with him
what men he could collect on the way. He meant, no doubt,
that he had obtained some additional recruits between Hunt-
ingdon and the fort, and not that he had no other men than
those whom he had collected. His statement, however, was
so indefinite and unsatisfactory that President Reed wrote to
him in a very peremptory manner on the 20th of August. It
was with great concern that the Council had found that he
had not yet made any return of his transactions in recruiting
his company; they had been informed that he had indulged
his men by permitting them to go to their homes; such con-
duct was very disagreeable to the Council and disreputable
to him, more especially as gentlemen of ncfte in the county
were complaining that their protection was neglected; there
was certainly something wrong which he was required to
rectify without delay ; he was directed to take such station
as Col. Piper should think most for the interests of the coun-
ty and the frontier generally, and was recommended to exert
himself to satisfy the just expectations of the public and ren-
der the services for which the company was raised.

Having given the purport of the charges against him, it
is but proper that I should give his reply in vindication of
himself.

Fort Roberdeau, Oct. 10th, 1779.

" Sir : I received your Letter some time agoe, Daited
Aug't 2(Jtb, which Surprised me very much that you have
not Received my Returns of my Progress in Recruiting at
Different times before the Date of your Letter, as I have
sent Expresses with Different Letters as far down as Carlisle,
allowing them to be forwarded by the first opportunity from
thare. But it's likely they ware miscarried by some means,

HISTORY OF HUNTINGDON COUNTY. 85

therefore would be glad to know by what means I am to
send you returns — whether by Express or no; if by Express
how they are to be furnished with money to pay Expenses.

" You say you have been informed I have Indulged my men
with letting them go to their homes. I acknowledge I have
Indulged a few of them, such as had Grain to Keep, (and
save it) as it appeared to me to be a loss to the State to let
grain be destroyed for want of reaping whare it is so very
scarce as it is on the frontier, rendered so from the different
Incursions of the enemy. I am very much Surprised to
hear that Gentlemen of Note in the County have had reasons
to Complain of me, as I am conscious I have done every
thing that could be expected from me towards Protecting
the Suffering Frontiers of this County. But, Sir, I must in-
form you that there are Gentlemen in this County that
would not be satisfied with my Conduct, Except I would
furnish them and their familyes with a guard at their own
houses, so that they might follow their Labour without
Dangour ; however, that is out of my power ; for it would
take at least a regament to afford that Protection to every
family in the Quarter I am stationed in, and have grate
reason to think it must be some of these Gentlemen that
Layed the Complaint; therefore, in order to Justify my
Caracter, would take it as a favour if you would let me know
the Gentlemen's names by first opportunity.

" My Company has been Eevewed, and Past muster — 3
Officers & 43 Rank and file, one of the Latter Killed or
taken. , I have made application to Mr. Carson for the neces-
saries promised — have received some of them, But no Blan-
kets except four ; they are very necessary at this Season of the
year, and Can't be done without ; therefore would be glad
Mr. Carson Could be furnished with them by some means,
as I have promised them to the men. Would be glad to
know who I must apply to pay the Doctor's Bills, as I have
been under the necessity of applying to one for some of my
company, and paid him out of my own pocket."

While Capt. Clugage's company was being recruited, it
was not the intention to rely on it for the protection of the

86 HISTORY OF HUNTINGDON COUNTY.

whole section of country in which it was to be stationed, but
efforts were made to organize and send militia from other
counties. In February, 1779, President Reed went to con-
sult with General Washington on this subject, and, as the re-
sult of their conference, orders were issued in March, imme-
diately after his return, for the calling out of two hundred
and fifty men from Lancaster and York counties for service
in Bedford and Westmoreland, one hundred and twenty-five
for each of the latter. These orders were almost wholly
disregarded ; at least, they were never complied with. Lan-
caster showed some disposition to obey, but York failed en-
tirely, and Lancaster, influenced by her example, did like-
wise. In the following July, President Eeed wrote to Col.
Piper that the failure of those counties was a proper subject
for inquiry by the Assembly.

In the autumn of that year the danger of an evacuation of
the country had greatly increased. The protection afforded
the people was so insufficient that it seemed for a time that
there would soon be no people to protect. In this emergency
Col. Martin, one of the sub-lieutenants, thought it his duty
to call out more of the militia of Bedford county, but it was
found that there was not a grain of powder with which to
supply them. In a letter to Council, dated September 15th,
1779, the situation of the country was represented as deplor-
able : "It has been our misfortune not to have had a single
man (during that summer) either for our own defense or es-
corting stores to Fort Pitt, except a few of our own tired out
militia and a few of Capt. Clugage's company, who don't seem
to be extended wide enough and only afford protection to
one corner." From the disposition that was made of troops,
when any were available, it seems that the northern part of
Bedford county, or that now embraced within Huntingdon,
was as well, if not better, guarded than any other.

Cumberland county was the most ready to give assistance
when called upon to do so. It was a matter of self-interest
to her to confine hostilities to the territory of her western
neighbor, and to keep the enemy as far from her own bor-
ders a& possible. But the presence of her citizens, armed

HISTORY OF HUNTINGDON COUNTY. 87

and equipped to repel the savages, was hailed with no less
gratification on that account by the dwellers upon the fron-
tiers. In the spring of 1780 a party from that county
"marched out to waylay the gaps of the Allegheny moun-
tains." They found no Indians, but manifested a spirit
which was highly commended by Major Robert Clugage, in
command at Huntingdon. He said that they were " willing
to keep out a scout constantly, and run their chance for pay,
if they could be kept in provisions." As to the latter,
'Squire Brown had proposed to find flour, salt and whiskey,
and there was nothing but meat wanting.

Huntingdon was at that time a depot for supplies. How
long it had been so we do not know. In May, 1780, the
removal of the stores was under consideration, and, perhaps,
fully decided upon, at which the people were very much
dissatisfied, and protested against it. They had no doubt
greater objections to the troops being taken away, a guard
being necessary at the place while the public property was
there. Major Clugage had detailed sixteen men for the pur-
pose, who, he says, were " to do proper duty as enlisted
troops, and in case of misbehaving, to be punished as the
same."

In the meantime the term of enlistment of Capt. Clugage's
company had expired. This occured in the winter or spring
of 1780. His men were discharged and their arms left in
the county. Capt. Clugage was afterwards in the service.
One company, if not more, was raised in Bedford county,
towards the latter part of the war, some of the members of
which were from the present limits of Huntingdon county,
and sent to the front in the eastern part of the State. Col.
John Fee, who resided opposite the mouth of the Ilaystown
branch, was one of the soldiers who went from this vicinity.
He was not an officer during the war, but took great interest
in military affairs after its close.

Nothing occurred to change the situation during the fol-
lowing year. The next important event was the division of
the county into military districts or battalions. One of
these was composed of the townships of Dublin, Shirley,

88 HISTORY OF HUNTINGDON" COUNTY.

Barree, Hopewell, Frankstown and Huntingdon, names
which, with the exception of Frankstown, are still familiar
in Huntingdon county.

In connection with this division first appears the name of
Col. George Ashman. He had come from Maryland, and
had settled where Orbisonia now stands, and where he after-
wards built Bedford Furnace. On the day following the
promulgation of the order dividing the county into districts
— May 19th, 1781 — Col. Ashman wrote to President Reed :
" I have just received the returns of all the male white in-
habitants residing in this (Bedford) county that come under
the militia law, in the whole fourteen hundred and fifty-six,
and am now forming them. I hope your Excellency will
order one hundred of the militia of Cumberland county to
be ready to take post in this county when those that are now
here are discharged, which will be the fourteenth day of
June, or send me such orders as will enable me to call out
the militia of this county from the interior parts of it by that
time. If this is omitted, I can assure your Excellency that
a principal part of the inhabitants of this county will move
off, as many families have already moved when the late dam-
age was done."

On the 3d of June, Col. Ashman, in consequence of the
reported massacre of thirty soldiers between Bedford and
Frankstown, called upon Col. Buchanan, at Kishacoquillas,
to exert himself " in getting men to go up to the Stone."
On the next day Col. Brown and his command marched to
Huntingdon in response to this call..

Later in the same month, Col. Ashman exhibited the
greatest anxiety concerning the situation of the county and
the furnishing of assistance to the people to prevent
them from fleeing. Within two days of the time when
the Cumberland county militia were to be discharged,
he was informed that no orders had been issued for others
to take their places. He became alarmed for the safety of
his own family, and determined to remove them to Mary-
land, as he was convinced that the settlements could not
make a stand against the enemv. Whether he carried out

HISTOKT OF HUNTINGDON COUNTY. 89

this intention, Richard Ashman, esq., his descendant, could
not inform the writer.

The war was then approaching a close. Lord Cornwallis
surrendered on the 19th day of October, 1781. But peace
with the Indians was longer delayed. In May, 1782, the
Cumberland county militia were still moving forward to the
posts near the gaps in the Allegheny mountains. On the
13th of that month, Bernard Dougherty, Treasurer of Bed-
ford county, and a member of the Assembly, wrote from
"Huntingdon, or the Standing Stone town," that "a company
of Cumberland militia, consisting of thirty-five men, arrived
here yesterday on their way to Frankstown garrison, where
they are to be joined by Capt. Boyd's ranging company.
The people in the frontiers of this county are mostly fled
from their habitations. As yet nothing has happened in this
county, but we are afraid a stroke will be made next moon-
light."

In that month General Carlton arrived from England, suc-
ceeded Sir Henry Clinton in command of the British forces,
and entered into negotiations for peace. From a period not
long after his arrival no parties of Indians were sent out,
and messengers were dispatched to recall those who had
gone before that time. This was the end not only of Indian
hostilities under British influence and in the British
interests, but the end of them forever. Beginning in 1754)
when the French and Indian alliance was formed, the war-
fare of the savages against the frontier settlers had con-
tinued without intermission, except that at some periods it
was more active than at others, for twenty-eight years.

The trials, the perils and the sufferings of those times will
never be fully known. Cotemporary records of what then
occurred are meagre and imperfect. We find among them
references to murders and depredations by the Indians.
Many of these can be traced to unfounded rumors, which
were likely to originate in widely scattered communities,
where the people were in constant fear and danger. Au-
thentic accounts of savage atrocities are so few as to scarcely
afford us an idea of the times or enable us to correctly write

90 HISTORY OF HUNTINGDON COUNTY.

their history. The more recent attempts to gather the nar-
ratives of these events, and to present them in connected
form, have not led to satisfactory results. The sources of
reliable information were so limited, that it was necessary
te draw the data or alleged facts from sources that were un-
worthy of confidence. Traditionary statements, after they
have passed from one generation to another, are not entitled
to credence, because of the weakness of memory, on the one
hand, and the disposition of many persons to add to a story,
on the other. An author receiving a highly colored account
of an occurrence, may, if his own imagination be vivid, and
if he be disposed to romance rather than truth, write a vol-
ume which will be pronounced interesting, but which ought
to be presented to the world under some other title than
that of history. In the present work, I have endeavored to
state nothing positively that is not corroborated by in-
dubitable evidence.

CHAPTER XIII.

DIVISION OF PENNSYLVANIA INTO COUNTIES — PHILADELPHIA, BUCKS AND

CHESTER — LANCASTER — CUMBERLAND — BEDFORD — HUNTINGDON — COUNTY

SEAT — TOWNSHIPS THEN WITHIN THE COUNTY — ELECTION DISTRICTS —

■
FIRST INCUMBENTS OF COUNTY OFFICES — COURT HOUSES — JAILS — RUNNING

AND ASCERTAINING COUNTY LINES— DIFFICULTIES WITH MIFFLIN COUNTY

— ERECTION OF NEW COUNTIES — CENTRE — CAMBRIA BLAIR.

The division of Pennsylvania into counties was made dur-
ing William Penn's first visit to. the province. He was
here at that time nearly two years, arriving in 1682, and re-
turning to England in 168-1. The counties formed by him
were Philadelphia, Bucks and Chester, the lines of separa-
tion between which were confirmed by the Provincial Coun-
cil on the 2d of April, 1685. The only boundaries desig-
nated were those where these counties adjoined each other-
Their limits in other directions were undefined. They were
co-extensive with the province itself. Chester embraced
the greatest extent of territory, and from it many other
counties have since been erected. The present county of
Huntingdon was originally a part of Chester. I will follow
the several successive steps by which it became included in
other counties, until it was given a distinct and separate
existence.

Lancaster county was established by Act of Assembly of
May 10th, 1729. It was separated from Chester and Phila-
delphia counties by a line running from Octoraro creek in a
northeastward direction to the Schuylkill, and included all
of the province lying west of that line.

By an Act of Assembly passed the 27th day of January,
1750, the lands lying "to the westward of Susquehanna, and
northward and westward of the county of York," were cre-
ated into a county to be called Cumberland. It was but a
short time previous to that year that events of a historical
character began to occur within the present territory of
Huntingdon county.

92 HISTORY OF HUNTINGDON COUNTY.

Bedford was formed by an Act passed March 9th, 1771,
"for erecting part of the county of Cumberland into a sepa-
rate county."

From it Huntingdon county was erected, on the 20th day
of September, 1787. The following are the preamble of the
Act and the section defining the boundaries of the county:

""Whereas, it hath been represented to the General Assem-
bly of this State, by the inhabitants of that part of Bedford
county which lies on the waters of the Frankstown branch
of the Juniata, the lower part of the Raystown branch of
the same, the Standing Stone Valley, part of Woodcock
Valley, the waters of Aughwick Creek, and other north-
easterly parts of the said county of Bedford, that they labor
under great hardships from their great distance from the
present seat of justice, and the public offices for the said
county, now in the town of Bedford : For remedy whereof,

" Be it enacted, etc. That all and singular the lands lying
within the bounds and limits herein after described and
following, shall be, and are hereby, erected into a separate
county by the name of Huntingdon county; namely, begin-
ning in the line of Bedford and Franklin counties, where the
new state road, (by some called Skinner's road,) leading
from Shippensburg to Littleton, crosses the Tuscarora
mountain ; thence in a straight course or line, to the Gap in
the Shade mountain, where the road formerly called Potts'
road crosses the same, about two miles north of Littleton ;
thence by a straight line to the Old Gap, in Sideling Hill,
where Sideling Hill creek crosses the mountain ; thence
in a straight line by the northerly side of Sebastian Shoub's
mill, on the Raystown Branch of Juniata; thence on a straight
line to the Elk Gap, in Tussey's mountain ; computed to be
about nineteen miles above or southwesterly of the town of
Huntingdon,(formerly called the Standing Stone) and from the
said Elk Gap, in a straight line, to the Gap at Jacob Steven's
mill, a little below where Woolery's mill formerly stood, in
Morrison's cove ; thence in a straight line by the southerly
side of Blair's mill, at the foot of the Allegheny mountain ;
thence across the said mountain, in a straight line, to and

HISTORY OF HUNTINGDON COUNTY. 93

along the ridges dividing the waters of Conemangh from the
waters of Clearfield and Chest creeks, to the line of West-
moreland county ; thence by the same to the old purchase
line, which was run from Kittanning to the West branch of
Susquehanna river ; and along the said line to the said west
branch, and down the same to the mouth of Moshannon
creek, and along the remaining lines or boundaries which
row divide the county of Bedford from the counties of North-
umberland, Cumberland and Franklin, to the place of be-
ginning."

Although, as recited in the preamble, there was a general
movement in favor of the erection of the new county in all
parts of the territory proposed to be included within it, yet
the measure received the most strenuous opposition, and it
was only after a determined struggle that its passage was
secured.

It contained the usual provisions for the holding of courts
of General Quarter Sessions of the Peace and of Common
Pleas, fixing the first Tuesday in the months of December,
March, June and September, as the time for their sessions,
and that they should be held at the house of Ludwig Sell, in
the town of Huntingdon, until a court-house should be
built.

In reference to the location of the county seat and the
erection of county buildings, the act provided as follows:

"And whereas the petitioners for erecting the said county,
have unanimously represented to this house, that the
town of Huntingdon, on the river Juniata, is a proper
and central place for the seat of justice in the said county ;
and the proprietor of said town, at the desire and with the
approbation of the inhabitants and owners - of lots and build-
ings in the same, hath laid off and set apart a proper and
sufficient quantity of grounds, for the site of a court house,
county goal and prison, and hath engaged to give, assure and
convey the same to the commonwealth, in trust and for the
use and benefit of the said county ; provided the said town
of Huntingdon shall be fixed upon by law as a proper place
for the seat of justice in the said county : Therefore,

94 HISTORY OF HUNTINGDON COUNTY.

"Be it further enacted, etc., That Benjamin Elliott, Thomas
Duncan Smith, Ludwig Sell, George Ashman and William
McElevy, be, and they are hereby appointed trustees for the
said county of Huntingdon, and they, or any three of them,
shall take assurance of and for the lands and grounds pro-
posed to be appropriated as aforesaid, in the said town of
Huntingdon, for the site of a court house and county goal
or prison, and shall take care that the quantity of ground so
to be appropriated be sufficient and convenient for the pub-
lic purposes aforesaid, and as little detrimental as possible
to the proprietors and owners of contiguous lots and build-
ings ; which assurance and conveyance of the grounds, as
aforesaid, the said trustees, or any three of them, shall take
in the name of the commonwealth, in trust, and for the use
and benefit of the said county of Huntingdon, and thereupon
erect a court house and prison, sufficient to accommodate
the public service of said county."

The townships then within the county were Huntingdon,
Barree, Tyrone, Frankstown, Hopewell, Woodberry, Shirley
and Dublin, in addition to which the town of Huntingdon
formed a separate district. These had formed the whole or
parts of the third, fifth and sixth election districts in Bed-
ford county. No changes were made in the extent or boun-
daries of these districts by the act erecting the county, ex-
cept that two of them — the third and sixth — were divided
by the line separating Huntingdon and Bedford counties,
part of them remaining in the latter. The places of holding
elections in the former were fixed or removed ; that for the
third district to the house of George Clugage, in Hunting-
don ; for the fifth district, to Shirley township ; and for the
sixth district, to the house of David Lowrey, in Tyrone
township. In calculating the distances that voters were re-
quired to travel in those days for the privilege of depositing
their ballots, we must remember that the area of the county
was then almost twice as great as at present, part of it
having since been taken in the formation of Centre, Cam-
bria and Blair counties. These three voting places may
seem to have been a small number for so large a territory,

HISTORY OF HUNTINGDON COUNTY. 95

but they were probably sufficient when compared with the
population, as the county contained, at the enumeration in
1790, but 7,565 inhabitants, of whom probably not more than
two-thirds were within its present limits. In 1793 it con-
tained 1,717 taxables. But before the year 1798 three new
districts had been formed, and afterwards others were cre-
ated almost annually. It was not many years until the
Legislature commenced the making of districts out of single
townships.

Immediately after the erection of the county, offices were
established for the transaction of the public business and
appointments made to fill them.

Lazarus B. McClain was appointed Clerk of the Court of
Quarter Sessions, Orphans' Court, Justice of the County
Court, and Prothonotary, and was commissioned September
25th, 1787.

Andrew Henderson was appointed Recorder of Deeds,
Register of Wills, etc., and Justice of the County Court, to
which offices he was commissioned September 29th, 1787,
and Prothonotary, to which he was commissioned Decem-
ber 13th, 1787.

Benjamin Elliott was appointed Sheriff and commissioned
October 22nd, 1787, and Lieutenant of the county, commis-
sioned November 30th, 1787.

Robert Galbraith was appointed President of the County
Court of Common Pleas, Orphans' Court, and Court of Gen-
eral Quarter Sessions of the Peace and Jail Delivery, and
commissioned November 23rd, 1787.

Thomas Duncan Smith, of the town of Huntingdon, John
Williams, of Huntingdon township, Thomas McCune, of
Tyrone township, and William Phillips, of Woodberry
township, were commissioned Justices of the county, No-
vember 23rd, 1787.

Samuel Thompson was appointed Coroner, and commis-
sioned November 30th, 1787.

David McMurtrie was appointed Treasurer and filed his
bond, with Samuel Anderson and Alexander Dean as sure-
ties, December 5th, 1787. He resigned the office soon after,

96 HISTORY OF HUNTINGDON COUNTY.

however, the renunciation of the Commissioners releasing
him and his sureties from further liability on the bond being
dated June 28th, 1787.

The house of Ludwig Sell, in which the act of Assembly
erecting the county provided that the courts should be held,
was situated on the southern end of lot number 7, in the
plan of the town, fronting on Allegheny street, between St.
Clair and Smith, now Second and Third streets. It was a
double two-story log building, kept as a tavern by Sell,
and was the first public house in the place. The room in
which the courts sat, the largest in it, was at the lower or
eastern end. It afterwards passed into the possession of

Haines, who also kept a tavern. The lot is now owned

by Mr. Thomas Fisher, by whom the old building has been
torn away and a spacious brick dwelling erected, fronting on
Penn street.

The first court house built by the county stood in Third
street, between Penn and Allegheny, about fifteen feet from
and fronting towards the former. It was a substantial
three-story brick edifice. One of the stories was a basement,
having an entrance from the southern side, in which were
the offices of the Prothonotary, Register, Recorder and
Clerks of the Courts. Some time after its erection, a bell
was placed upon it for the purpose of calling the courts, but
previously it had been customary to escort the justices to
the court house with the fife and drum, and suitors, jurors
and witnesses were summoned to their duties by the same
music.

The bell was a large one, weighing two hundred and fifty
four pounds, and had inscribed upon it: " Cast by Samuel
Parker, Philadelphia, 1798. William Smith, D. D. to the
Borough of Huntingdon, Juniata." After the demolition
of the building, in May, 1818, the bell was placed upon the
public school-house and was used until December 12th,
1861. That being a frosty morning, on ringing for school, it
was broken.

The present court house stands upon the northern side of
Penn street, between Second and Third, occupying the lots

HISTORY OF HUNTINGDON COUNTY. 97

from 31 to 34, inclusive. These lots, before becoming the
property of Huntingdon county, were owned by Stephen
Drury and John Cadwallader, the former owning lot No. 31
and the latter owning Nos. 32, 33 and 34. On the 6th of
August, 1793, Cadwallader executed a mortgage to the com-
missioners of the county, for the use of the Commonwealth,
on his lots, for $300, and on the 31st of the same month,
Drury executed a similar mortgage for $100. In 1839, the
Legislature passed a resolution, which was approved by
Governor Porter on the 25th day of June, in that year,
transferring, the "lien, right, title and claim of the Common-
wealth of Pennsylvania of, in and to" the lots, under the mort-
gages, to the "county of Huntingdon, for the use and purpose
of building by said county of a court house and other necessary
buildings for the said county, therewith and thereon, and for
such other uses as the commissioners of said county shall
hereafter determine." A writ of scire facias had been issued
on the Cadwallader mortgage in 1810, and judgment obtained,
which had been revived at various times before the transfer
to the county. It was again revived in 1839, when the debt
amounted to $1,943.25. The lots were then sold at Sheriff's
sale, and bought by the county commissioners for $1,000. A
scire facias was issued on the Drury mortgages in the same
year, and judgment obtained for $325.50, on which the lot
was sold and bought by the commissioners.

The building was commenced soon afterwards, and was
completed in 1842. Its location, although not central, as
the town has developed itself during the last ten years, is
convenient for those whose business requires them most
frequently to be there. Some improvements are needed
and have been in contemplation, and after they shall have
been' made, it will probably be many years before a re-
moval will be seriously urged.

The surroundings of the court house are pleasant, and, in

the summer, beautiful. In front of it, on Penn street, are

two parallel rows of white maples, which cast a deep shade

when in their verdure. Within the enclosure are a number

of trees of the same species.
G

98 HISTORY OF HUNTINGDON COUNTY.

The necessity for a jail began quite as early as that for a
court house. A building that had been erected before the
formation of the county was first used for the purpose. Its
location is now unknown. In a letter written at that time, it
is mentioned as a "block-house." It may have been the re-
mains of the old fort built during the Revolutionary war.

On the 25th of August, 1791, in pursuance of the agree-
ment under which Huntingdon had been made the county
seat, Dr. Smith conveyed lot No. 41 to Benjamin Elliott,
Ludwig Sell, George Ashman, William McAlevy, Richard
Smith and Andrew Henderson, trustees, as a site for a
county prison. A log jail was erected thereon, which, after
standing some years, was destroyed by fire. There was a
prisoner in it at the time, whom it was impossible to rescue,
and he was burned with the building. This lot was on the
east side of St. Clair (now Second) street, directly opposite
the end of Hill, now Penn, the latter, according to the plan
of the town, extending only to the former street. The
turnpike, when made through Huntingdon, was passed over
this lot, and it has become a continuation of the street to-
wards Stone creek.

The next jail was erected in Smith (now Third) street,
north of Mifflin. It was a small stone structure, standing
back against the hill, with a yard in front of it, running
down towards the street.

In 1829, it gave place to the present prison, which stands
south of the old site, on the line of Mifflin street, the yard
extending back to Church street. It is doubtful whether
this building is a fair specimen of the architecture of the day
in which it was built. It certainly compares very unfavor-
ably with the prisons of later times, and the health and safety
of prisoners can only be secured by the erection of a new
one.

Having undertaken to give the history of only the
territory now embraced within Huntingdon county, we will
follow the various steps by which its boundaries have been
ascertained and defined, and its area reduced to its present
limits.

HISTORY OF HUNTINGDON COUNTY. 99

On the 3d day of April, 1789, the Supreme Executive
Council appointed Benjamin Elliott, of Huntingdon, Mat-
thew Taylor, of Bedford, and James Harris, of Cumberland
county, to run and ascertain the boundaries of Huntingdon
county.

The county of Mifflin was erected on the 19th day of Sep-
tember, 1789. When an attempt was made to run the boundary
line between that county and Huntingdon, a dispute arose con-
cerning a small strip of territory that was claimed by both.
The sheriff' of the latter, on going upon the disputed ground
to serve writs that had been placed in his hands, was con-
fronted by a party that had assembled for the purpose of re-
sisting him in the execution of his official duties, taken into
custody and incarcerated in the Lewistown jail. He was re-
leased from imprisonment on a writ habeas corpus, and sub-
sequently returned to the place with the posse comitatus*
The people again assembled to make a resistance, but they
and the sheriff's posse failed to meet, and further violence
was avoided.

These difficulties were settled by legislative action. On
the first of April, 1791, an act was passed reciting that some
dissatisfaction hath arisen respecting the boundary line be-
tween the counties of Huntingdon and Mifflin, on the south
side ol the river Juniata, which was run in the year one thou-
sand seven hundred and eigthy-nine, "designating where the
line should be, and appointing commissioners to run it."

By another act, passed March 29th, 1792, a new designa-
tion was given to the line, as follows : "A straight line, be-
ginning in the middle of the Water Gap in the Tuscarora
mountain, and from thence to the river Juniata, in such
direction as to include Joseph Galloway's farm within Hun-
tingdon county, at the mouth of Galloway's run, shall be the
line between Huntingdon and Mifflin counties." This was
the end of the controversy.

The original territory of Huntingdon county has been
much reduced in extent by the formation of new counties.
A part of it was taken in the erection of Centre, February
13th, 1800. The line between the two counties was fixed,

100 HISTORY OF HUNTINGDON COUNTY.

by Act of January 7th, 1801, as beginning " at a point on
the Tussey's mountain, three miles south-west of the line
which divided Mifflin and Huntingdon counties, thence by a
direct line to the head of the southwest branch of Bald Eagle
creek, and thence a direct line to the head waters of the
Moshannon." Further reductions were made by the erec-
tion of Cambria county, March 26, 1804, and of Blair, Feb-
ruary 26th, 1846.

CHAPTER XIV.

A TEMPEST IN POLITICS — ADOPTION OF THE CONSTITUTION OP THE UNITED
STATES — OPPOSITION TO IT IN HUNTINGDON COUNTY — GENERAL WILLIAM
M'ALEVY — HIS POLITICAL INFLUENCE — ARMED INTERFERENCE WITH THE
PUBLIC OFFICERS IN THE PERFORMANCE OF THEIR DUTIES — TURBULENT
INTERRUPTION OF THE COURTS — ARRESTS AND RESCUES — MUSTER OF COL.
CANNON'S BATTALION — ASSAULT AND BATTERY UPON BENJAMIN ELLIOTT —
THE MILITARY RETIRES FROM THE FIELD — MORE ARRESTS — DESTRUCTION
OF WARRANTS AND INDICTMENT — OBLITERATION OF THE RECORDS OF THE
COURT OF QUARTER SESSIONS — SECRETION OF SMITH AND FLIGHT OF HEN-
DERSON — ACTION OF SUPREME EXECUTIVE COUNCIL — FURTHER VIOLENCE —
M'ALEVY AND THE MOB — THE STORM SUBSIDES.

The adoption of the Constitution of the United States was
almost cotemporary with the formation of Huntingdon
county. A convention of delegates from all the States met
at Philadelphia, in May, 1787, to revise the articles of confed-
eration. The result of their labors was the framing of an en-
tirely new constitution, which was signed on the 17th of Sep-
tember. It was presented to Congress by the convention
and submitted by that body to the several States for ratifica-
tion. The convention of Pennsylvania to take action in re-
gard to its acceptance or rejection met in the same year.
Benjamin Elliott, of Huntingdon, was one of the delegates.

The new Constitution was scarcely satisfactory to any
party, and very objectionable to some. It was a document
of concessions and compromises, rendered necessary by con-
flicting views and interests, and was bitterly opposed by many
of the people of the country.

In Huntingdon county, this opposition became violent and
riotous. The leader in it was General William McAlevy,
who had acquired a military title during the Revolutionary
war, being mentioned as Colonel McAlevy in the records of
that struggle and in connection with the alarms caused by
the Tories and Indians.* He then acted the part of a patriot,

*On Thursday, July 13th, 1876, after this chapter was written, as
workmen were tearing down the old house at the northwest corner of
Second and Penn streets, in Huntingdon, they discovered under a

102 HISTORY OF HUNTINGDON COUNTY.

all of his efforts being directed towards the advancement of
the cause of independence. His residence was at McAlevy's
Fort, in Standing Stone valley, a place that still bears his
name. At or previous to the adoption of the constitution,
he became a Democrat, and had numerous followers, over
whom he exercised almost supreme control. As illustrating
his political influence among the people of that valley, it is
said that one of his Democratic neighbors, on being asked
what he was going to do in reference to a pending election,

window sill a letter which proves to be quite a relic of General
McAlevy. At the time of its date McAlevy's fort was in Barree town-
ship, and McAlevy was a captain in command of a company.

Barree Township, 9th July 1776.
Colonel Piper

Sir: I have the pleasure to acquaint you that on the Eighth of
this Instant at a full meeting of my company that I mead the resolve
of the Congress of the fifteenth of May fully known to them — and
they unanimously Gave me their opinions that all Power and Authority
Derived from the Crown of Great Britain should be totally Dissolved
And are fully Resolved to Risk all that is Dear and valuable. I am
Sir your Most Humble Servant Wm. McAlevy.

Sir. I would Be Glad how soon you could send Drum and Cullers.

This letter was folded and had been sealed with a wafer, and on
the outside was directed as follows :

To COL JOHN PIPPER

of the Battallion in Bedford County.

The following interesting speculations, concerning this letter and
the house in which it was found, are from the Huntingdon Globe:

"The question arises, how did this letter get into this old house?
The house is on the northwest corner of 2d and Penn Streets just
angling across the way from the Benedict property. It has been in
the possession of John Simpson and his heirs since May 31st, 1793,
when it was purchased from one Haines who had built the house,
but left it unfurnished. Haines had bought the land in 177o, and the
house may have been partially built when the letter was written. Did
it get there while Haines yet owned it? Or did it get there after the
war when Simpson owned it, and if so, how did Col. Piper's letters
get to this place where he never lived ? These questions will never
be answered satisfactorily. Simpson was a military man, and his
father-in-law, Col. James Murray, was witli Piper in the army, and it
may be the letter was carried there by one of these men. At all
events it is a most singjlar coincidence that it should turn up just
one hundred years and four days after it was written — probably ex-

HISTORY OF HUNTINGDON COUNTY. 103

replied that he didn't know, as he hadn't seen the Gin-
eral yet.

The excitement of the times led to attempts by large bod-
ies of armed men to obstruct the performance of public duty
by the officials of the county, and to the offering of the
grossest of indignities to them personally. Col. John Can-
non, member of the Supreme Executive Council from Hun-
tingdon county, was the first against whom there was any
manifestation of enmity. On the first day of the court in
March, 1788, a number of men bearing bludgeons and car-

actly one hundred years after Piper opened it, it was opened again.
Though there are some orthographical errors, yet the penmanship is
excellent, though the paper is brown as roasted coffee. The letter is
now in the possession of George T. Warfel, coal merchant in this
town. It, as well as many other relics of the past which might yet
be collected, ought to be carefully preserved in a county museum."

The " resolve of Congress," to which General McAlevy referred, was
as follows:

In Congress, May 15, 1776.

Whereas, his Brittanic majesty, in conjunction with the lords and
cemmons of Great Britain, has, by a late act of parliament, excluded
the inhabitants of these United Colonies from the protection of his
crown: And whereas, no answer whatever, to the humble petitions
of the colonies for redress of grievances and reconciliation with Great
Britain, has been, or is likely to be given, but the whole force of that
kingdom, aided by foreign mercenaries, is to be exerted for the de-
struction of the good people of these colonies. And whereas, it ap-
pears absolutely irreconcilable to reason and good conscience, for the
people of these colonies, now to take the oaths and affirmations
necessary for the support of any government under the crown of
Great Britain; and it is necessary that the exercise of every kind of
authority under the said crown should be suppressed, and all the
powers of government exerted, under the authority of the people of
the colonies, for the preservation of internal peace, virtue and good
order, as well as for the defence of their lives, liberties and proper-
ties, against the hostile invasions and cruel depredations of their
enemies. Therefore,

Resolved, That it be recommended to the respective assemblies
and conventions of the United Colonies, where no government suf-
ficient to the exigencies of their affairs has been hitherto established,
to adopt such government as shall in the opinion of the representa-
tives of the people, best conduce to the happiness and safety of their
constituents in particular, and America in general.

By order of the congress. John Hancock, President.

104 HISTORY OF HUNTINGDON COUNTY.

ryingan effigy of Colonel Cannon, entered the town. Justices
Phillips and Henderson left the bench, the courts being then
in session, and met the mob at the Upper end of Allegheny
street and endeavored to dissuade them from a disturbance
of the peace, which they seemed to have in contemplation.
This effort, however, was unsuccessful. They marched down
street to the house in which the courts were sitting. There
they made so much noise that it was impossible to proceed
with business, and after they had been several times warned
to desist from this outrage, the sheriff was directed to arrest
the one who seemed the most turbulent and commit him to
prison. When he had been taken into custody, a riot ensued,
and he was rescued by those who were acting with him in
this violation of the law. An indictment was immediately
drawn against the principals, presented to the grand jury?
returned a true bill, and entered upon the records of the
Court of Quarter Sessions ; but as preparations could not
then be made for trial, the case was continued until the next
sessions.

In the following May, a battalion of militia, which had
been organized by Benjamin Elliott, Lieutenant of the
county, was ordered to assemble in Hartslog valley. Some
of the riotous element was present, and after falling into
ranks made an objection to mustering under Colonel Can-
non and Major Spencer, two field officers who had been
commissioned when the battalion belonged to Bedford
county, and who, it was alleged, had not been fairly elected ;
Col. Woods, then Lieutenant of that county, having ob-
tained the return of such men as pleased himself. An as-
sault was made upon Colonel Elliott, and he received many
severe blows from several persons. A friend of his who
undertook to protect him and restore order, was treated in
the same violent manner. Elliott, in an account of this
affair, says that " they met, some for the purpose of doing
their duty, and others for the purpose of making a riot,
which they effected, about the Federal Government, in
which riot I was very ill-used by a senseless banditti, who
were inflamed by a number of false publications privately

HISTOEY OF HUNTINGDON COUNTY. 105

circulated by people who were enemies of the Federal Gov-
ernment."

A commander was then selected for the battalion, who,
according to previous arrangement, ordered that all who
were unwilling to serve under the field officers heretofore
named should withdraw from the ranks. More than one-
third of those in line marched out and formed a new line in
front of the rest. Col. Elliott and the field officers, finding
that the roll could not be called, and that to remain longer
would be unavailing, retired from the field, accompanied by
that part of the battalion which had shown a disposition to
render obedience to those who had a right to command
them.

A few days afterwards warrants were issued by Thomas
Duncan Smith, one of the Justices, for the arrest of three of
the leaders in this demonstration. The prisoners were
taken by the constable before Thomas McCune, another Jus-
tice, who merely required them to enter into their own re-
cognizances for their appearance in five days before Justice
Smith. In the meantime, they gathered a large force of
men, and when they came before the Justice on the day ap-
pointed, his office was instantly filled by the crowd. They
refused to give bail, and insisted that they should be com-
mitted. As he was aware of their designs, and as he was
unwilling to give them a pretext for the commission of fur-
ther outrages, he declined to comply with their request.
There was, besides, no safe prison in the count}'-, none hav-
ing been yet erected. He reminded them of this, that the
jail was but a " block-house," and told them that, as two of
them were owners of real estate, and that as it was but eight
days until the June sessions of the court, he would release
them without security. Finding that he was unalterable in
his determination, one of them, who was subsequently dis-
covered to have a cutlass concealed under his coat, grossly
insulted him, and threatened him with violence.

The accused and the crowd left the office and the town,
and in the afternoon, about one o'clock, returned, more than
ninety in number, sixty of them armed with rifles and mus-

106 HISTORY OF HUNTINGDON COUNTY.

kets and the remainder with clubs, scalping-knives and
tomahawks. They marched down Allegheny street to Sec-
ond, up Second to Penn, up Penn to Diamond, where they
formed into a circle. Justice Smith was then called into
the centre, and it was demanded that he would tear up the
warrants upon which the arrests had been made. He re-
fused to do so ; but having them in his pocket, he delivered

them to one of the leaders. They were then passed into the
hands of a man who must have been the greatest desperado

of the party, as he had previously presented a rifle three

times to Justice Smith's breast, and was only prevented by

the interference of others from taking the Justice's life. He

stepped from the ranks, and tearing the warrants, threw

some of the pieces at the Justice, saying, "see now what it

is to be a magistrate."

The Clerk of the Court of Quarter Sessions was next re-
quired to deliver to them the indictment that had been
found at the March sessions. It was also destroyed.

Justices Smith and Henderson having gone to the house
on Allegheny street in which the courts were held, were
followed by a number of armed men, who demanded pos-
session of the Quarter Sessions docket. On obtaining it,
they obliterated the record of the proceedings against the
rioters, the part which was obnoxious to them.

The compliance of the officers with these demands was
compelled by intimidation and threats. The order-loving
portion of the community was completely overawed.

Information was then brought to Smith and Henderson
that personal injury was intended them. Both sought
safety, the former by secreting himself and the latter by
flight. Their own houses and several others were searched
for them. The Sheriff and David McMurtrie, the latter of
whom had incurred their enmity at the review, had gone
from town the day before, and avoided unpleasant conse-
quences to themselves. Two constables were obliged to
leave their homes to save their lives. The Sheriff could not
with safety go into the country to serve writs, and all kinds
of business was affected by this unhappy state of affairs.

HISTORY OF HUNTINGDON COUNTY. 107

Another visit was feared, and on the 5th of June, 1788, a
full statement of these occurrences was sent to the Council,
with the assurance that without the interposition of the gov-
ernment, order could not be preserved.

The Council took action in regard to the matter on the
25th of June. The Chief Justice and one of the Judges at-
tended, and a conference was held relative to these disturb-
ances. The following were the proceedings, as found in the
minutes :

"A letter from two of the magistrates in Huntingdon
county, stating that the daring and violent outrages were
committed by a lawless sett of men, that the officers of the
Government have been insulted and their lives endangered,
and that part of the records of the Court have been de-
stroyed and erased, was read, praying the support of the
Government, &c. Thereupon,

"Resolved, That the most proper and effectual measures
be immediately taken to quell the disturbances in Hunting-
don county, and to restore order and good government, and
that the Honorable the Judges of the Supreme Court be in-
formed that the Supreme Executive will give them aid and
assistance, which the laws of the State will warrant, and
shall be found necessary to accomplish this end."

The language of this resolution was more vigorous than
the action which followed it. Nothing further was then
done to suppress these high-handed acts, approaching so
nearly to a revolt that they can scarcely be called by any
other name.

After the Council had been informed of them and before
the passage of the resolution, other violence had been com-
mitted. Samuel Clinton, who had made himself notorious
as a rioter, Abraham Smith and William McCune, came into
town at the head of about twenty men, and beat Alexander
Irwin, a citizen. The same party, joined perhaps by others,
assaulted the houses of the county officers at night, with
showers of stones. The persons against whom there seemed
to be the greatest hatred, were Robert Galbraith, Thomas
Duncan Smith, Andrew Henderson and Benjamin Elliott.

108 HISTORY OF HUNTINGDON COUNTY.

Threats were sent from all parts of the county that death,
cropping, tarring and feathering, should be inflicted upon
these or any other officers who should attempt to enforce
the laws.

And these threats were not made without an intention of
carrying them into execution. About the middle of August,
one hundred and sixty men, collected from all parts of the
county, some of them from Huntingdon, led by General
McAlevy, Abraham Smith, John Smith and John Little,
paraded the streets, not armed as before, but with muskets
secreted, as was supposed by those who had reason to fear
them. The officers and a few others who gave their
support to the Government under the constitution, took
refuge in the house of Benjamin Elliott, and there, with
arms, were determined to defend themselves and to repel
force with force.

Thus protected, no attack was made upon them. The
enemy was content with marching through the streets, under
flying colors and to the music of the fife. They met at
William Kerr's house and elected delegates to a convention
to be held at Lewisburg. At this election all were permitted
to vote who had marched in the ranks that day, and all
others were excluded.

This political animosity continued for more than a year.
The subject was again before the Council in June, 17S9.
On the 12th day of that month, a committee to whom the
matter had been referred, made a report, which, if it had
been published or preserved, would have thrown greater
light upon these transactions than can now be obtained
from any source, By order of Council, the next day was
assigned for further action upon the report. On the loth
the following resolution was adopted :

" Resolved, That the consideration of the report of the
committee to whom was referred the representation from
the justices and others of Huntingdon county, relative to
some late disturbances in that county be postponed."

As the Council had delayed so long, and as the excite-
ment had subsided, perhaps no wiser course could had been

HISTOEY OF HUNTINGDON COUNTY. 109

pursued at that time. This daring opposition to the execu-
tion of the laws, formidable as it seemed, was not sufficiently
powerful to accomplish its purposes, and its interference
with the functions of government in Huntingdon county-
could not retard their progress elsewhere. Unassisted by
similar combinations in other parts of the state or nation,
its ultimate failure and discontinuance were necessary con-
sequences, and while it was the duty of the Executive to
protect the incumbents of places of trust in their official
capacities and the lives and liberty of the people, yet it was
good policy to refrain from the employment of military
power until it became absolutely unavoidable. That the
fury of this political tempest would soon exhaust itself must
have been apparent. It ended without loss of life or limb
and with but slight personal injury to any. We cannot ex-
cuse those who instigated and encouraged this unlawful con-
duct, but the civil authorities were competent to bring them
to punishment. We have not ascertained whether this was
done. One of them was under bonds in February, 1790,
for his appearance at the next Supreme Court in this
county, but whether he was brought to trial, and, if so,
whether it resulted in conviction, we are not informed.

It has generally been stated and believed by those who
have had nothing but traditionary accounts of these occur-
rences, that the records of the court were burned by
McAlevy and his men, but there is no official evidence that
such was the case. There are in existence authentic and re-
liable documents which seem to prove conclusively that
some of the records were torn and others obliterated by
erasures. It has been said that a copy of the Constitution
of the United States was burned, and this may be correct,
and may have given rise to the statement that other papers
were destroyed in the same way.

CHAPTER XL

CLOSE OF THE EIGHTEENTH CENTURY — PEACE AND PLENTY — PROSPERITY
AND IMPROVEMENT — NAVIGATION OF THE JUNIATA AND RAYSTOWN
BRANCH — OF THE LITTLE JUNIATA AND STANDING STONE CREEK — FIRST
IRON WORKS — BEDFORD FURNACE — BARREE FORGE — HUNTINGDON FUR-
NACE—FIRST ARK ON THE SUSQUEHANNA AND JUNIATA— FIRST NEWSPAPER
— ESTABLISHMENT OF THE POST OFFICE AT HUNTINGDON.

Towards the close of the eighteenth century, we arrive at
a transition, a change of scene, in the drama that has been
enacted in Huntingdon county. If it can be called a play
at all, it had theretofore been a most serious and. real one
upon the actual stage of human life. From the beginning,
it had been a conflict of antipathies and antagonisms, a
struggle of irreconcilable elements. In the contest between
the English and the French for supremacy on the western
continent, the county, occupying an intermediate position,
necessarily became a part of the field of action. When that
contest ended, there remained in the aboriginal denizens of
the forest a foe more cruel and unrelenting and more diffi-
cult to subdue than were the soldiers of a civilized nation.
But, greatest mutation of all; the arms of Britain and of the
colonists, which had been directed towards a common enemy,
were turned against each other, and were not withdrawn
from the deadly strife until British power in America had
shared the fate of that of France. But there was another
struggle of longer duration and not less arduous, the stuggle
with the wilderness, the great obstacle to progress, and with
the soil for the means of subsistence. At the close of the
Revolutionary war the former was perceptibly disappear-
ing, and the latter had commenced to yield bountifully to
the hand of man. Entering upon a period of peace and
plenty, we also enter an era of material growth and pros-
perity, of improvement in the means of internal commerce,
of travel, of communication between distant points, and of
the dissemination of intelligence.

That this history may fully illustrate the measures that

HISTORY OF HUNTINGDON COUNTY. Ill

have been taken to increase the facilities for trade within
the county and with the country and world at large, we will
revert to the legislation of provincial times on this subject.
We will find their beginning in a scheme for making a num-
ber of the streams of Pennsylvania, among which were the
Juniata and some of its tributaries, navigable. An Act of
Assembly for this purpose was passed March 9, 1771. It
was very thorough and comprehensive in most of its provi-
sions, and had they been carried out we would have had
water craft floating upon our rivers long before the con-
struction of canals along them was thought of. The Juni-
ata to Frankstown and the Raystown Branch to Bedford
were declared public highways for purpose of navigation,
and all obstructions and impediments to passage up and
down them were to be deemed nuisances. Commission-
ers were appointed to receive any money that might
be contributed by residents on or near those streams, and
to expend it in the improvements contemplated by the
act. They were to enlarge, straighten and deepen the chan-
nels, to remove trees, rocks, sand and all other obstructions,
whether natural or artificial, and to make tow-paths for the
drawing of boats, vessels and rafts, which paths were to be
open and free to all persons who miyht have occasion to
use them.

This was a magnificent plan for that day, more magnifi-
cent in the inception than in the execution of it. The de-
fect in it was that it did not sufficiently provide for the
raising of the funds that were necessary for its success. To
depend upon voluntary contributions for effecting a work
of such magnitude and involving an expense which at that
time would have been enormous, was futile. The province
itself would scarcely have been able to have accomplished it.

After a lapse of twenty -three years, the Little Juniata,
from its mouth to the head of Logan's Narrows, and Stand-
ing Stone creek, from its mouth to Laurel Run, near the
house of William McAlevy, were declared public highways.
The act was passed February 5, 1794. It merely authorized
the inhabitants who were desirous of availing themselves ot

112 HISTORY OF HUNTINGDON - COUNTY.

the navigation of those streams, to remove obstructions and
erect such slopes and locks as might be necessary for the
passage of boats and rafts.

To those who are acquainted with the rivers and creeks
of this county which were thus to have been rendered navi-
gable, it need not be said that the people have never taken
practical advantage of the privileges conferred by these acts
of Assembly. At the time of their passage, the Juniata
proper was less obstructed than at present, dams having
since been placed in it for the purpose of supplying water to
the canal, and effectually closing it even to the passage of
rafts down the stream. The Raystown branch, the Little
Juniata and Standing Stone creek are of no more utility
now as public highways than they were when the Indian
furrowed them with his light canoe, and the day has passed
when there is any requirement for such improvements as
were of the highest importance before inventive genius and
engineering skill had devised the wonderfully rapid means
of transportation of recent times.

The manufacture of iron, which has remained one of the
leading industries in the county, had its origin in 1780. In
that year a furnace, the first west of the Susquehanna river,
was erected within the site of the present borough of Or-
bisonia. It was called " Bedford Furnace," after the name
of the county in which it was then located. It had a ca-
pacity of about thirteen tons per week. The ores used were
of the fossil variety, from which the metal was the most
easily extracted, and were smelted with charcoal. The firm
by which this furnace was built consisted of Edward Ridg-
ley, Thomas Cromwell and George Ashman. They were
known as the " Bedford Company," and were the owners of
many thousands of acres of land. Other firms have suc-
ceeded them and other furnaces have been erected upon the
same property and in its vicinity. The latter have been six
in number, including the new mammoth works of the Rock-
hill Coal and Iron Company. The history of all of them
will be given in the sketch of Cromwell township.

The next establishment, in order of date, was for the con-

HISTORY OF HUNTINGDON COUNTY. Iv3

version of pig-metal into wrought-iron. It was built on the
Little Juniata, nine miles west of Huntingdon, by Edward
Bartholomew and Greenberry Dorsey, in 1794, and was
called " Barree Forge." This property also embraced ex-
tensive tracts of land, through which the Pennsylvania Rail-
road now passes. A furnace has been built near the forge.

In 1795 or '96, George Anshutz and John Gloninger
erected Huntingdon Furnace, in Franklin township, three
miles from the mouth of Spruce creek. Yielding large
profits, the owners invested them in other iron works in ad-
joining counties and in several forges on Spruce creek. The
furnace is now owned by G. & J. H. Shoenberger, but has
not been in blast for some years.

Notwithstanding the failure to make the Juniata more
navigable than it was in its natural condition, its waters
were used for the conveyance of the surplus products of
the country to market as early as 1796. In that year, the

first ark appeared in the Susquehanna. It had been taken

there from the Juniata by Cryder, an enterprising

German, and was laden with flour manufactured at his mill
above Huntingdon. The mouth of the Swatara, at Middle-
town, was then considered the termination of navigation on
the Susquehanna, being believed to be impracticable below
that point. Bat Cryder surmounted the difficulties by
which others had been deterred, passed the falls and cata-
racts and other obstacles which had been regarded as so
dangerous, descended safely to Baltimore, and reaped a rich
reward from the profits of his meritorious undertaking.
The success of this enterprise becoming known throughout
the region from which the Susquehanna and its tributaries
flow, numerous arks were built in the following year, and
reached tide-water with their cargoes. From the Juniata
and its branches, they floated down the current whenever
those streams were at a stage to permit, carrying principally
flour, grain and whisky, three of the staple productions of
the times. This mode of transportation continued until after
the Pennsylvania canal was made. For several years sub-
sequently arks went down from the Eaystown branch, but
H

j.i4 HISTORY OF HUNTINGDON COUNTY.

the facilities afforded by the artificial water-course so far
surpassed those of the natural channel that the latter was
soon abandoned for the other.

Not only have we the first furnace and the first ark previous
to the year 1800, but also the first newspaper. It was
called " The Huntingdon Courier and Weekly Advertiser,"
the first number of which appeared July 4th, 1797. It was
published by Michael Duffey, at No. 305 Allegheny street.
Of the method of obtaining the material with which the
columns of his paper were filled, we find the following remi-
niscence in the Huntingdon Gazette, of February 11th, 1 829:

"Thirty -two years ago, no mail, public or private, entered
the confines of this county, A newspaper, about that time,
was established in Huntingdon, the editor of which depended
entirely on the accommodating disposition of a few hardy
mercantile gentlemen, who after a three months' preparation,
making their wills, etc., ventured to the city of Philadelphia
for goods, and on their return brought as many of the city
newspapers as kept him in ' blast ' until they were ready to
return for a supply of goods," etc.

Although the intelligence which Mr. Duffey furnished to
his readers was inexpensive to him, his paper was unremu-
nerative. It could scarcely have been otherwise at a time
when the county was so sparsely populated and when there
were no mails to carry it to the few persons whose literary
tastes or desire for news might have inclined them to be-
come subscribers. As a consequence, he and his enterprise
failed. Whether he continued to publish it until after a
mail route and a post office were established in the county,
is uncertain. He went, or perhaps returned, to Baltimore,
previous to 1799. While at Huntingdon, he had in his em-
ploy as a "journeyman" printer, John McCahan, who, a few
years later, founded the " Huntingdon Gazette," which he
conducted successfully for more than a quarter of a century.
The information as to the merchants carrying newspapers to
Duffey from Philadelphia was furnished by McCahan, and
appeared in the Gazette within a "year after he transferred
it to his son, J. Kinney McCahan.

HISTORY OF HUNTINGDON COUNTY. 115

The precise date of the establishment of the post office at
Huntingdon, which was the first in the county, cannot be
ascertained, as it is not known to the Department at Wash-
ington, " owing to the fire which consumed the post office
building in December, 1836, and which burnt those of the
earliest record books of this office. But, by the Auditor's
' Ledger Book,' it is ascertained that the post office at Hunt-
ingdon began to render quarterly accounts on the first day
of January, 1798, and John Cadwallader was the first post-
master. As the postmaster must have transacted some
business prior to this date, it is believed that the office was
established during the month of October or November,
1797. This comprises all the information that the records
furnish on this point."

The above extract is from a letter of James H. Marr,
Acting First Asst. P. M. General, to J. Hall Musser, esq ,
present Postmaster at Huntingdon, who kindly communi-
cated with the Post Office Department on the subject.

CHAPTER XVI.

NEWSPAPERS OF THE PAST— HUNTINGDON GAZETTE — LITERARY MUSEUM —
REPUBLICAN ADVOCATE — HUNTINGDON COURIER — HUNTINGDON MESSEN-
GER — STANDING STONE BANNER — SHIRLEYSBURG HERALD — THE UNION
— BROAD TOP MINER — WORKINGMEN'S ADVOCATE— YOUNG AMERICA —
THE AMERICAN AND THE REPUBLICAN.

The first number of "The Huntingdon Gazette and Weekly
Advertiser" appeared February 12th, 1801. The writer has
in his possession the fourth number of the first volume,
dated March 5th, of that year, not having been able to ob-
tain a copy of either of the three preceding issues. It was
then a folio, each page being about ten and a half by six-
teen inches in size, and containing four columns. At its
head it bore the motto, '"Give me the liberty to know,

TO UTTER, AND ARGUE FREELY ACCORDING TO CONSCIENCE.'

— Milton" under which appeared the following notice of
the place of publication: "HUNTINGDON, [Pennsylvania):
Printed by John McCahan, Washington Street ; opposite
to GrUINN's Alley."

As Mr. McCahan was a practical printer, he exercised a
personal supervision of the mechanical execution of his
paper, to which may be accredited the clearness and correct-
ness with which it was done. On the 28th of April. 1809,
he enlarged the sheet and added about two inches to the
length of the columns. He remained the editor and pro-
prietor until the 9th of July, 1828, when the establishment
passed into the hands of his son, J. Kinney McCahan, who,
to a great extent, had had the management of it for several
years previous to that time.

John McCahan, the originator and founder of the Gazette,
was born in November, 1780, at Drumnahaigh, a small
village in the north of Ireland. He landed in the United
States in August, 1792, and in 1795, was bound to Steel k
McClain, of Carlisle, Pa., to learn the art of printing. The
failure of that firm in the following year ended his appren-

HISTORY OF HUNTINGDON COUNTY. 117

ticeship. In 1797, he worked with Michael Duffey, publish-
er of the Courier, at Huntingdon. His latter employer, like
the first, failed, and went to Baltimore. McCahan followed
him, and in 1799, worked for William Peckin, on a Digest
of the Laws of the United States. In 1801 at the age of
but little more than twenty years, he established the Gazette
and continued its publication for twenty-seven years. These
facts are obtained from memoranda written by Mr. McCahan
in September, 1853.

His successor, J. Kinney McCahan, improved the paper
immediately after taking charge of it. He added a column
to each page, without, however, enlarging the sheet. The
margin had been very wide, and by a rearrangement of the
style, admitted of the change.

A comparison of one of the earlier copies of the Gazette
with a daily or weekly publication of the present time, is a
most correct illustration of the changes that have taken place
between the two periods, and enables us to pass at a single
step from the one to the other. Then the distinctively local
newspaper was unknown. The more remote the locality
from which it emanated, the greater was the necessity that
it should be devoted to general intelligence, to the news
from the whole world. The reader who was so fortunate
as to receive his journal once a week, expected it to present
all that he could desire to know of occurrences in his own
and foreign countries at a date about three months previous
to that of the paper. And if the weekly mail, upon which
the editor depended for the material with which he supplied
his columns, should be delayed, as frequently, happened,
beyond the day for "going to press," it was a disappointment
for which he felt obliged to apologize to his readers.

Now the great dailies furnish us each morning with dis-
patches from every civilized quarter, detailing the events of
the preceding twenty-four hours. The editor no longer receives
his news by mail, but it comes to him on the electric wire,
and within a few minutes after leaving the pen of his corres-
pondent, may be in the hands of the public. The mails
have almost lost their utility in connection with newspaper

118 HISTORY OF HUNTINGDON COUNTY.

enterprise, except to carry the printed sheet to all part3 of
the globe.

The weekly publication must confine itself to a narrower
field. If it undertakes to give the general news of the day,
it does so after they have been read and re-read at almost
every fireside. It is compelled, in order to maintain its own
existence, to leave the broader domain entirely to those
whose rivalry therein it cannot oppose. This is the contrast
presented by the Gazette and its recent successors.

On the 23d of April, 1834, after having been under his con-
trol nearly six years, and under the control of himself and
father more than thirty-three years, the Gazette was sold by J.
Kinney McCahan to Alexander Gwin, Esq. Its publication
was continued by the latter until after the political campaign
of 1838, which resulted in the election of David R. Porter
to the office of Governor of this commonwealth.

Mr. Gwin, who was the last editor of the Gazette, was the
son of Patrick Gwin, for several terms sheriff of the county.
He was born in Huntingdon, and was educated at Dickinson
College, Carlisle, where he graduated with marked distinc-
tion. He then returned to his native town and studied law,
sustaining, in that pursuit, the high reputation he had ac-
quired at college, and afterwards, in the practice of his pro-
fession, he attained a position of which his early career had
given promise. The vigor of his intellect was acknowledged
by his political opponents. Having advocated with ability,
through the Gazette, the election of David R. Porter, he was
appointed by the latter, after his inauguration as Governor,
Prosecuting Attorney for Huntingdon county. In 1845 he
was elected a Representative to the Legislature. During
the session in which he was a member of that body, he la-
bored with great industry in the committee room, and by
his integrity and talents secured the confidence of, and great
influence with, his colleagues. As a politician he was fair,
constant and undeviating. "In principles, radical; in prac-
tice, consistent." He died March 28, 1848.

A more ambitious literary project was originated in 1809.
Its character will be apparent from the following :

HISTORY OF HUNTINGDON COUNTY. 119

PROPOSALS

For Publishing by Subscription a New Work to be Entitled,

"The Huntingdon Literary Museum and Monthly Miscellany."

Exclusively devoted to amusement and Instruction, by

W. E. SMITH & M. CAKAN.

CONDITIONS.

1. This Work will be published in Monthly numbers, on
a fine white paper and with a good Type.

2. Bach Number will appear on the first Monday of every
Month, and shall contain not less than 48 Octavo Pages, so
as to form a handsome Volume at the end of each year —
when will be given a General Title Page and Index.

3. The Price, to Subscribers, will be $3 per year ; One
Dollar of which to be paid on the delivery of the first Num-
ber ; one other on the delivery of the sixth, and the third,
at the expiration of the year.

4. No subscription to be discontinued, except at the end
of a Volume, and on payment of what may then be due.

5. The first Number shall appear on the first Monday of
November next, or sooner if a sufficient number of Sub-
scribers can be obtained.

Huntingdon, Pa., 1st August, 1809.

This advertisement appeared in the Gazette and was fol-
lowed by an " Address," occupying nearly a column in that
paper, setting forth more explicitly the objects and nature
of the proposed publication The first number was not
ready at the time announced for its appearance and it was
consequently postponed until January, 1810. The twelve
numbers were issued regularly during that year, making
a volume of 576 pages. A bound copy is on the shelves of
the Historical Society of Pennsylvania, and two copies, com-
plete with the exception of the first number, are in the
library of the late General A. P. Wilson, of Huntingdon.

William K. Smith, one of the editors, was a gentleman of
superior literary attainments. He was a lawyer by profes-
sion and a scholar from taste, speaking several languages,
and being especially fluent and eloquent in his mother

120 HISTORY OF HUNTINGDON COUNTY.

tongue. In person he was dignified and noble, and in man-
ners polished and affable. The magazine, nearly every
month during its existence, contained poetical productions
from his pen. The titles of some of his poems are, " Lines
Addressed to a Young Lady on her Birthday," "Poor Mary,"
"The Maid of the Vale," "Sonnet," "National Song,"
" Sonnet to Hope," and '' Ode to Friendship." From these
pieces, I select the one first named, not because it is better
than the rest, but for the reason that it is the briefest exam-
ple of his style among them.

LINES ADDRESSED TO A YOUNG LADY
ON HER BIRTHDAY.

Time's swiftly running glass at length has sped,
And blushing eighteen lights upon thy head ;
Thy youthful charms evince in early hour
The budding beauty of a future flower,
When thrice thy present years time will have told,
And e'en thy friends pr mounce thee growing old,
Then though the roses of thy cheeks be flown,
And all the graces of thy youth be gone,
Thou still shalt please ; thy tender loving heart
Shall shine alone when fleeting charms depart.
As when the sun his drooping splendor laves
At time of eve beneath the western waves,
And though his glory sinks conceal'd from view,
His mid-day beams absorpt in twilight dew,
Yet still the welkin streak'd with gold remains,
And every cloud his brilliant tinge retains ;
So thy affection shall in life's last stage
Charm, when thy sun of beauty sets in age.

Mr. Smith erected the stone building at the northeast
corner of Third and Allegheny streets, now known as the
" Morrison House," and lived in it during his residence in
Huntingdon.

There were other contributors of original articles to the
Literary Museum, the most frequent of whom were J. X.
Barker and Charles J. Cox. Their contributions were all
poetical.

The name of Moses Canan, Smith's co-editor, does not ap-
pear to any of the articles ; but he also was a man of literary

HISTORY OF HUNTINGDON COUNTY. 121

talents, and may have written some of the prose which is
published anonymously.

The selections for the Museum were of a high order, and
many periodicals of less merit have been more successful.
We will not enter into a statement of the circumstances
under which it existed, some of which were so favorable as
to induce the undertaking, and others so contrary as to lead
to its early abandonment. At the expiration of the first
year, the editors closed their magazine with an address " to
the public," giving their reasons for its discontinuance.
They say that, " with the exception of some pieces of poetry,
from several gentlemen in Philadelphia, and an essay on the
early poetic writers, the editors have received no original
matter, and they are compelled thus publicly to state, that
a work of the nature of the Literary Museum cannot suc-
ceed at this time, as there certainly appears no disposition to
assist by original communication." The first volume was
therefore the last one. It was printed by John McCahan, of
the Gazette.

The " Eepublican Advocate " was established in 1829 — the
first number being dated February 24th, of that year — by
Robert Wallace. This gentleman was an Irishman by
birth, and had studied law with Elias W. Hale, of Lewis-
town. He came to Huntingdon about the time of starting
his paper. While residing there, his son, William A. Wal-
lace, at present a United States Senator from Pennsylvania
was born. After conducting the paper three or four years,
Mr. Wallace disposed of it, and removed with his family to
the town of Clearfield.

He was succeeded in the editorship of the Advocate by
Thomas P. Campbell and George Taylor, who were then law
students in the office of General A. P. Wilson. They were
Democrats and admirers of David R. Porter, whom they
supported as a candidate for Governor. Taylor, however,
changed his sentiments towards the latter after his election,
and left the Democratic party.

Campbell had previously been editor of the "Aurora," at
Hollidaysburg. In 1850 he was the Democratic competitor

122 HISTORY OF HUNTINGDON COUNTY.

of his former editorial colleague, George Taylor, for the
President Judgeship. He remained prominent in his party
until the beginning of the Rebellion, when he became a Re-
publican, and was afterwards appointed Assessor of Internal
Revenue, which office he held for several years. He is now
a resident of Davenport, Iowa.

William R. McCay followed Campbell and Taylor. Dur-
ing or previous to his management of the paper, its name
was changed to the "Advocate and Sentinel." In April,
1841, there was another change of proprietors and name, or,
rather, the Advocate passed away and a new paper took its
place. The " Watchman" was established by E. V. Ever-
hart.

The first number of the " Huntingdon Courier and Anti-
Masonic Republican " was issued May 29th, 1830, by Henry
L. McConnell. Its avowed object was the extermination of
Free Masonry. In 1832, McConnell and McCrea — the latter
having become associated in its publication — disposed of
their interest to J. Melville Beckwith & Co., and from that
time it bore the title of the " Huntingdon Courier and
National Republican Monitor." It was the first paper es-
tablished in opposition to the Democratic party, to which
the Gazette and Advocate belonged, and advocated Henry
Clay for the Presidency.

Like the paper of which it was the namesake — the Courier
of 1797 — its existence was one of struggles, and ended by
sinking beneath them, The materials with which it was
printed passed into the hands of William Orbison, esq., the
owner of the building from which it was published, who re-
tained them for arrears of rent.

The following are other papers that were published at
various times, and that have gone out of existence :

The Huntingdon Messenger, by George W. Whittaker
and George Raymond, in 1817 and '18.

The Standing Stone Banner, at Huntingdon, by J. Simp-
son Africa and Samuel G. Whittaker; first number issued
June 14th, 1853; name changed to The Standing Stone, at
nd of first year, and discontinued at end of second.

HISTORY OF HUNTINGDON COUNTY. 123

The Shirleysburg Herald, at Shirleysburg, by John Lutz;
published several times, suspended and resumed.

The Union, at Huntingdon, by R. Milton Speer ; Demo-
cratic in politics ; first issued in August, 1859 ; discontinued
in January, 1861.

The Broad Top Miner, at Coalmont, by A. Tyhurst, be-
ginning in February, 1861.

The Workingmen's Advocate, at Huntingdon, by W. F.
Shaw and B. F. Miller; first issued in March, 1861 ; was to
be the organ of a party which an effort was then being made
to organize, but the party always being weak, the paper was
published but a few months.

Young America, at Huntingdon, by 0. 0. Leabhart, from
August 18th, 1875, to May 5th, 1876. On the 1st of June,
of the latter year, Mr. Leabhart commenced the publication
of the Business Journal, which rendered necessary the dis-
continuance of his former enterprise.

The American and the Republican, both of which were
published at Huntingdon, the former by J. A. Nash and the
latter by Theo. H. Cremer, are mentioned in the succeeding
chapter in connection with their consolidation with the
Journal.

CHAPTER XVII.

NEWSPAPEBS OF THE PRESENT— THE JOURNAL — A. W. BENEDICT — TTIEO. II.
CREMER — JAMES CLARK — J. SEWELL STEWART— J. R. DURBORROW — THE
GLOBE — WILLIAM LEWIS — A. L. GUSS — THE MONITOR — DESTRUCTION OF
THE OFFICE BY THE SOLDIERS — S. E. FLEMING — M. M. M'.NEIL — THE LOCAL
NEWS — HUGH LINDSEY — MOUNT UNION TIMES — THE HERALD — THE LEADER
THE PILGRIM THE YOUNG DISCIPLE.

The oldest of the newspapers now existing in Huntingdon
county is the Journal, first issued by A. W. Benedict & Co.,
September 23d, 1835 — John Boyle being a partner. They
bought from William Orbison, esq., the press and materials
of the Courier, which had come into his hands, as stated in
the preceding chapter. From the beginning, the entire edi-
torial management had devolved upon Mr. Benedict, and in
April, 1836, he became the sole proprietor by the retirement
of Mr. Boyle from the firm.

The Journal was started in the midst of an exciting
political campaign, and was the second effort to establish a
paper in opposition to the party then in power. It was du-
ring the administrations of President Jackson and Governor
"Wolfe. The latter was a candidate for reelection, and was
supported by the Advocate, while the other Democratic
paper — the Gazette — favored the election of Henry A.
Muhlenberg, the candidate of another wing of the party.

The advent of Mr. Benedict to Huntingdon, and to the
editorial profession, was not announced by his brethren of
the press in the polite manner that is customary among
journalists of the present time. The Advocate introduced
him thus :

" Important. — A Strolling Yankee patriot has arrived in
this town, we understand, for the purpose of putting in
operation the old ' Courier ' establishment until after the
election. The public may expect to see an issue in a week
or two. The people of Huntingdon county are highly
honored by foreign dictators, when they have a renegade
unknown, sent to tell them how to act and vote."

HISTORY OF HUNTINGDON COUNTY. 125

In his reply to the Advocate, Mr. Benedict did not deny
his Yankee origin. He said, "we do claim that honor." In
fact he referred to it during his whole life with pride. He
was not, however, a native of the New England States, as
we usually understand here by the term that was applied to
him. His father was a Presbyterian clergyman, belonging
to a family of some distinction, who removed from Norwalk,
Connecticut, to the State of New York, where his son Adin
W- was born. The latter learned the art of printing with
Harper & Brothers, in New York city. In 1830 he married
and went to Philadelphia, where he was engaged as compos-
itor, publisher and editor, until 1835, the year in which he
came to Huntingdon. After relinquishing the editorial
charge and publication of the Journal, he read law, was ad-
mitted to the bar, and practiced in the courts of this county
until the time of his death, which occurred April 28, 1867.
He was chosen to fill several positions of trust, both by
election and appointment. In 1836, and for a year or two
afterwards, he was collector of tolls on the Pennsylvania
canal at Huntingdon ; in 1813 was appointed County Com-
missioner by the Court, to fill a vacancy ; was Deputy Sec-
retary of the Commonwealth during the administration of
Governor Johnston ; was elected a Representative in the
Legislature in 1862, and was subsequently elected and re-
elected Clerk of the House of Representatives at Harris-
burg, and held that office when he died.

Whilst residing in Philadelphia, Mr. Benedict took an
active part in the politics of that city and county, and
brought with him to Huntingdon considerable expe-
rience in political warfare. " The Journal at once took a
high rank among the papers of its party in the interior of
the State. With a little experience in editorial life he soon
became a vigorous and adroit writer, and the files of the
Journal show that he had many a sharp passage with his
editorial cotemporaries of the Advocate and Gazette, in which
he utterly vanquished his adversaries. In 1838, David R.
Porter, ' our own Davy R.,' as the Huntingdon Democrats
delighted to call him, became the Democratic candidate for

126 HISTORY OF HUNTINGDON COUNTY.

Governor against Gov. Ritner. The bitter contest which
ensued brought the Journal to the front still more promi-
nently, and its circulation during the campaign extended to
all parts of the State, and its editorials were copied into
other papers very extensively. In that contest Huntingdon
county gave Ritner a majority of 926. Mr. B. continued to
publish the Journal till January, 1842, six years and about
four months, when the paper may be said to have been fully
established."

It was then purchased by Theodore H. Cremer, a young
gentleman of about twenty -five years of age, who had come
to Huntingdon with Mr. Benedict in 1835. He had assisted
in getting out the first number of the Journal. In 1836 he
commenced reading law with Maj. James Steel, but before
completing his studies went to Williamsport and published
the West Branch Republican, a campaign paper, during the
Porter-Ritner contest of 1888. There he continued the
study of the law, with James Armstrong. In December,
1839, he returned to Huntingdon, and Major Steel having
in the meantime been elected Prothonotary, entered that
office as clerk. The following year he went to Carlisle and
attended the law school of which John Reed was principal.
He was admitted to the bar at York, his native place, then
came again to Huntingdon, and was admitted there in
August, 1812. He served two terms as Prothonotary, be-
ing elected in 1818, and reelected in 1851, and one term as
District Attorney, to which office he was elected in 1856.

Mr. Cremer conducted the Journal three years and seven
months, retiring from it on the 13th of August, 1815. Under
his charge the mechanical appearance of the paper was im-
proved and its circulation and reputation maintained.

James Clark was the purchaser from and successor of Mr.
Cremer. Some of the events of his life, the facts relating to
his connection with the Journal, and the cause by which it
was severed, are stated in the following extract :

" Mr. Clark was born in Dauphin county, Pa., on the 9th
day of February, 1818, and was, on the day of his death, aged
33 years, 1 month and 14 days. He learned the art and

HISTORY OF HUNTINGDON COUNTY. 127

mystery of printing in Harrisburg, under the instruction of
his elder brother, Samuel H. Clark, esq. In August, 1845,
he removed to this place and became the editor of the
Journal, and continued such until the time of his death. As
a mark of confidence and esteem, 'he was, on the 11th of
January, 1849, appointed Aid-de-Camp to Governor John-
ston, with the rank of Lieutenant Colonel. As conductor of
a political paper, Mr. Clark had few equals in the State, and
the readers will bear witness that justice was done to all
their interests, so far as it is in the power of a newspaper to
do so."

The death of Mr. Clark occurred on the 23d day of March,
1851. His successor was W. H. Peightal, who continued
the editorial duties but a short time, however, as the paper
passed into the hands of J. Sewall Stewart, esq., about the
first of August of the same year. In May, 1862, J. A. Hall
purchased an interest from and became associated with Mr.
Stewart in the proprietorship, and subsequently became the
owner of the entire establishment.

The retiring editor, Mr. Stewart, was born in West town-
ship, this county, on the 1st day of May, 1819. He was
educated at and graduated with distinction from the college
at Meadville, after which he came to Huntingdon, read law
with Major James Steel, and was admitted to the bar in
April, 1843. From that time he was actively engaged in
the practice of his profession. In 1848 he was appointed
District Attorney, and was twice elected, continuing in that
office until 1856. He was appointed Assessor of Internal
Revenue for the 17th District of Pennsylvania in 1865, and
acted in that capacity until his death, February 6, 1871. His
character is so well described in an obituary notice which
appeared in the Journal, that it may very appropriately
find a place here:

" As a member of the bar, he established a reputation for
scrupulous honesty and fidelity in watching the interests of
his clients. Having strong self-control, he was rarely thrown
off his guard in the trial of causes, and in his demeanor to-
wards the Court, witnesses and opposing counsel, was

128 HISTORY OF HUNTINGDON COUNTY.

always respectful and gentlemanly. Mr. Stewart was a stu-
dent by nature, and in addition to a well-stored legal mind,
he had traversed the fields of literature and science so suc-
cessfully that his opinion was generally sought after by our
citizens on all questions of a scientific nature. He gave
much time to literary pursuits, and some of his writings, es-
pecially his poems, have had a wide circulation. With the
kindliest feelings towards mankind, he was an earnest ad-
vocate of every scheme calculated to elevate and advance
the interests of his fellow-creatures of every race and tongue
and color, and the principles of his life appeared to be to
confer the greatest good upon the greatest number."

Mr. Hall disposed of the Journal to Samuel L. Glasgow
in 1852 or 53. The latter occupied the editorial chair about
two years, being succeeded by Dr. William Brewster, in
April, 1851. Messrs. Glasgow and Brewster are yet living,
all of their predecessor?, except Mr. Cremer, being num-
bered among the dead.

In December, 1859, the Journal, which then passed into
the hands of Samuel G. Whitaker, and the American, pub-
lished by John A. Nash, were consolidated, and appeared
under the combined names of the two former papers — the
Journal and American. On the 13th day of December, 1865,
Mr. Nash and Robert McDivitt, the latter having purchased
the interest of Mr. Whitaker, entered into partnership under
the firm name of J. A. Nash & Co., and published the paper
until the first day of May, 1867. The firm was then dis-
solved, and Mr. Nash became sole proprietor. On the first
of January, 1871, the Eepublican, the materials of which
had been purchased from Mr. Cremer by Joseph R. Durbor-
row, was consolidated with the Journal and American, and
on the 4th clay of that month the Huntingdon Journal
appeared, and is still published by that name.

Joseph R. Durborrow, the present editor of the Journal,
was born at Chambersburg, Penna., October 23d, 1835. On
the 1st of. January, 1850, he went to learn the trade of a
printer with David Over, editor and publisher of the Bed-
ford Inquirer. In 1852 he became a compositor on the

HISTORY OF HUNTINGDON COUNTY. 129

Mountain Sentinel at Ebensburg. While so engaged he
commenced the study of the law with Col. Michael Hasson,
of that place. In August, 1853, he undertook the publica-
tion of the Alleghenian, of which Charles Albright and A.
C. Mullen were editors. The following June he purchased
that paper, and in a short time afterwards failed financially,
there being but little support in a region such as Cambria
county then was for any other than a Democratic newspaper.
After a trip to the West, during which he worked at Cleve-
land, Detroit and Pittsburg, he returned to Bedford county,,
and resumed the occupation of a school teacher, at which he
had been employed at intervals before taking charge of the
Alleghenian. On the first of April, 1862, he became editor
of the Bedford Inquirer. In the meantime he had been
reading law with King & Jordan, and was admitted to the
bar in 1863. On the 28th of April, 1865, he and John Lutz
purchased the Inquirer, which they edited and published
until the 18th day of July, 1868, w'hen Mr. Durborrow
retired from it. He continued to practice his profession at
Bedford during the succeeding eighteen months, and came
to Huntingdon at the time of assuming the editorship of the
Journal,

The Huntingdon Globe has not had so varied a history as
the Journal, because it has not passed through so many
vicissitudes. It has existed during a period of nearly thirty-
three years, the first number bearing the date of November
22d, 1843, and in that time has had but few changes of own-
ership and management. L. G. Mytinger and G. L. Gentzell
were the original proprietors. For several years before the
establishment of the Globe, the Journal had been the only
paper published in Huntingdon. There had been a com-
plete revolution, and Mr. Cremer had obtained sole posses-
sion of the field. At first all the papers were Democratic.
The attempt to found the Courier, in opposition to that
party, in 1830, was unsuccessful. The Journal followed, and
not only proved permanent, but outlived all of its prede-
cessors. The Democrats were therefore without a paper in

the county to support their cause, a party organ being a
J

130 HISTORY OF HUNTINGDON COUNTY.

necessity that has always been recognized by political
parties. The prospects were encouraging when Mytinger
and Gentzell became the occupants of the editorial chair.
The latter, however, soon retired from it. A notice of the
dissolution of the partnership appeared in the Globe of July
17th, 18-14. Mytinger continued its publication.

In May, 1816, Lyons Mussina commenced a "new series,"
and with Vol. I. No. 41 thereof, dated March 11th, 1816, the
paper passed into the hands of William Lewis, where it re-
mained but a few months less than twenty-five years.

Mr. Lewis was born at Pottstown, Montgomery county,
Pa., September 10th, 1814. He learned the art of printing at
Norristown, in the Free Press office, Robert Iredell, pub-
lisher. From that place he went to Harrisburg and worked
at his trade ten years. His removal to Huntingdon took
place at the time he became proprietor of the Globe. He
remained a Democrat until the secession of the Southern
states, after which he vigorously supported the Government
in its efforts to suppress the rebellion. His paper then be-
came Republican which character it has since maintained.

The present editor of the Globe is Prof. A. L. Guss, who
purchased it from Mr. Lewis, and took charge of it January
1st, 1871. It is published in a new building erected for the
purpose, at No. 411 Allegheny street.

Prof. Guss was born in Juniata county, Pa., August 21st,
1834, At the age of seventeen he entered Pennsylvania
College at Gettysburg, and remained there until he had
passed through the Preparatory Department and all the
classes up to and including the Junior, a period of five
years. Having then married, he removed to Johnstown
and taught school, the first year in the ''Johnstown Gym-
nasium," and the second in the public schools. He then re-
turned to Gettysburg, entered the Senior class in College,
and graduated in 1859. With the design of becoming a
Lutheran minister, he attended for one year the Theological
Seminary at Gettysburg, and was licensed to preach by the
Central Synod of the Lutheran Church, which met at Dun-
cannon, in 1860. The following year he resided and preached

HISTORY OF HUNTINGDON COUNTY. 131

at Centreville, Dickinson Post-office, Cumberland county.
In July, 1862, he bought the Juniata Sentinel, of Mifflin-
town, the only Republican paper in Juniata county, of
which he continued to be the editor and publisher for three
years and three months. He relinquished it on being se-
lected as Principal of the Soldiers' Orphan School, which
he opened at Cassville, this county, on the 6th day of
November, 1865.

The revolt of 1861 caused many minor revolutions. It
changed the political views and course of a large number of
those who had acted with the Democratic party, the party
that had been defeated in the Presidential election of the
preceding year, and to which belonged the mass of those
who, making the success of the Republican party a pretext,
sought to dissolve the Union. Among the changes thus
brought about, as heretofore stated, was that of the Hunt-
ingdon Globe, leaving the Democrats again without a paper
in the county. To supply the want thus created, the Moni-
tor was started in 1862, the first number appearing Septem-
ber 3d of that year. The editor was Albert Owen.

This paper, during the first year of its existence, suffered
much from the animosities of the times. We do not mean
to say that the intensely bitter feeling which led to its de-
struction was entirely on the part of those at whose hands it
became a victim. The paper itself entertained and expressed
the most ultra views of its party.

On the evening of the 19th and the morning of the 20th
of May, 1863, the 125th regiment of Pennsylvania volun-
teers, four companies of which, numbering about four hun-
dred men at the time of their enlistment, were from Hunt-
ingdon county, returned home on account of the expiration
of their term of service. While in camp, some three months
previously, they had passed resolutions, " declaring their in-
tention, should they live to reach home, of demolishing the
Monitor newspaper establishment," alleging as their reasons
therefor, "its hostility to the government," and its publica-
tion of "denunciatory articles concerning themselves." At
10 o'clock on the latter day, a committee of members of

132 HISTORY OF HUNTINGDON COUNTY.

the 125th called upon the editor of the Monitor in regard to
the grievances charged against him, and their interview not
being satisfactory, a soldier cried out, ""Roll in, 125th !" This
was the signal for a ru-sh upon the office, and, as described
in the only account of the affair prepared at the time we
have been enabled to obtain, " soon cases, stands, tables, type,
rollers, &c, were flying through the air thicker than shot
and shell at Antietam." The printing press was taken from
the building at the front door, thrown upon the pavement
below, broken to pieces with axes and hammers, and thrown
into the canal near the Jackson House. The types were scat-
tered through the streets, and after the material and furni-
ture had been completely destroyed, the office was swept with
a broom. Nothing remained upon which further damage
could be done, the editor having disappeared. As to the time,
place and manner of his exit, there are conflicting reports.

On the 4th day of July of the same year, the Monitor re-
appeared under the editorial auspices of J. Irvin Steele, pre-
viously of the Blairsville Record. He enlarged the paper
and improved it in other respects, but could not retrieve its
reputation, and labored under great disadvantages on ac-
count of the odium attacted to it in the minds of a portion
of the community and the soldiers, an odium for which he
was not responsible and which it would not have acquired
under his management. It was, however, twice attacked
within a month after his first issue.

About 4: o'clock on the morning of the 25th of July, a
small party of soldiers, not more than four or five in num-
ber, from the camp near Huntingdon, forced open the doors
of the building in which the Monitor was published, began
to " pie " the type, break the cases, &c. Before they had
proceeded very far with this destruction, the patrol guard
appeared and endeavored to stop it, but being too weak,
hastily retreated to their quarters for reinforcement. During
their absence, the work progressed rapidly inside the build-
ing, and the by time they returned considerable damage had
been done, but the perpetrators thereof had fled. Seventy-
five pounds of type had been thrown into the street.

HISTOKY OF HUNTINGDON" COUNTY. 133

The next and last attack was on the 3rd of August. It
was made by upwards of forty men of the company then
doing guard duty at Huntingdon. They went on the "double-
quick" from their quarters in the court-house to the Monitor
office, and rushing into the building, crowded it to such an
extent that a number of them could not get inside. The
workmen left the office, and before any damage could be
done, the officers of the company appeard upon the scene and
marched the men back to their quarters.

Mr. Steele remained editor of the Monitor until the 4th
day of October, 1865. He went subsequently to Ashland,
Schuylkill county, and became the editor of the Ashland
Advocate. Since removing to that place he has served two
terms in the Legislature.

After an interval of about two months, during which S.
A. McKenzie had charge of it, the Monitor passed into the
hands of J. S. Cornman, a practical printer, who had been
publisher of the Carlisle Democrat. The first number of
the Monitor issued by him bears the date of December 13th,
1865. He retained the ownership until September, 1874,
when he sold to S. B. Fleming and M. M. McNeil. The
names of both of these gentlemen are at the head of the
paper as editors. Mr. Fleming, however, has charge of the
editorial department, and is assisted by O. E. McNeil, esq.,
in the general management. The members of the firm of
Fleming & McNeil are both lawyers, and were admitted to
the bar at the same time, August, 1868. The former was
born in Barree township, this county, and the latter in Clay
township, and are aged respectively thirty-one and thirty
years.*

The Journal, Globe and Monitor are printed upon sheets
of uniform size, viz : twenty-eight by forty-two inches.
Their editions are weekly.

On the 10th day of March, 1874, Hugh Lindsay issued
the first number of the Local News, and on the 14th day of
September following converted it into a semi-weekly, the

* Mr. McNeil has since retired from |his editorial connection with
the paper.

134 HISTORY OF HUNTINGDON COUNTY.

publication days being Mondays and Thursdays. It is neu-
tral in politics, its character being indicated by its name.
Mr. Frank Willoughby became a partner in the establish-
ment, February 10th, 1875. Mr. Lindsay came to Hunting-
don November -1th, 1860, from Girard College, Philadelphia.
He entered the Globe office as an apprentice with Mr. Lewis,
and learned the art of printing. Afterwards he became one
of the editors of the Globe, remaining in that capacity until
it was purchased by Prof. Guss.

The newspapers published at other points in the county
than Huntingdon, are the Times, by John M. Bowman, at
Mount Union; the Leader, at Orbisonia, by R. J. Coons &
Co.; the Weekly Herald, at Shirleysburg, by Webster T.
Bair, and the Mountain Voice, at Broad Top City, by B. F.
Gehrett.

The Pilgrim prospectus was sent out in December, 1869,
and the new enterprise commenced its career with the be-
ginning of the year 1870. It was issued from James Creek,
Huntingdon county, (Marklesburg,) but the first ten num-
bers were printed in Huntingdon, by Theo. H. Cremer, then
proprietor of " The Republican." During the first three
months it was published semi-monthly, on a sheet 16x22
inches, as an 8 -page paper. At No. 32 it was enlarged to
a sheet 22x32 inches, and the form changed, to 16 pages. At
the beginning of the year 1872 it was enlarged to a sheet
23x33 inches, and again changed to 8 pages. At the be-
ginning of the year 1874, it was enlarged to a sheet 21fx3-±
inches, and the form again changed to 16 pages, in which
size and form it continues to be issued.

On the 1st of April, 1870, the publication office was estab-
lished at Marklesburg, and the Pilgrim was then printed on
an old Smith Hoe Press, in a small office 12x16 feet; later, as
the business increased, a more commodious location was
selected, where there were two rooms, one for editorial and
business purposes, the other for a composing and press
room. Then the old press was set aside and a new Fair-
haven Power Press was procured. The business continuing
to increase, the location was not suited to conduct it success-

HISTORY OF HUNTINGDON COUNTY. 135

fully, on account of the limited railroad and postal facilities;
a lot was purchased in West Huntingdon, on the corner of
14th and Washington streets, where a large, commodious
brick building, 38x46 feet, three stories high, with press-
room in the basement, was erected, specially adapted to the
wants of the increasing business; which was occupied at the
beginning of 1874, and has since been known as the "Pilgrim
Building."

The paper was started as a private enterprise by the two
brothers, H. B. and J. B. Brumbaugh, under the firm name
of H. B. Brumbaugh & Bro., J. B. Brumbaugh, the younger,
being the publisher, and H. B.Brumbaugh, the elder, and
also a minister of the Gospel, being the editor, with George
Brumbaugh, their elder brother, associate editor, and Elders
D. P. Saylor, of Double Pipe Creek, Md., and Leonard Farry,
of New Enterprise, Pa., as corresponding editors, and after
the year 1872, Dr. A. B. Brumbaugh, of Huntingdon, as
Literary Editor. It was established as, and continues to be,
a Christian Periodical, devoted to religion and moral reform,
and advocating in the spirit of love and liberty the princi-
ples of true Christianity, as held and practiced by the people
or church known as the German Baptist Brethren.

The circulation of the Pilgrim extends over the whole
United States and a limited number of foreign countries.
It commenced with about 700 subscribers, but the circula-
tion has steadily increased at the rate of from 600 to 700
each year, with the very brightest prospects for a greatly
increased circulation and extended usefulness in the future.
It is now printed by steam power, the office being furnish-
ed with a Baxter steam engine. The price was at first $1 a
year, but has been increased to $1.60, postage paid.

The Young Disciple was started with January, 1876,
published by H. B. Brumbaugh & Bro., and edited by Miss
W. A. Clark. It is a weekly juvenile, or Sunday-school
paper, issued in monthly parts, illustrated, and printed on
the Pilgrim press. It is so arranged that there is a paper,
complete, 12|xl7 inches, for each week. The circulation at
this, the fifth issue, has run up to over 2,000 copies, and it is

136 HISTOEY OF HUNTINGDON COUNTY.

rapidly increasing in favor with the Sunday-schools of the
church, and all others desiring a pure paper for the children.
The prospects for future usefulness seem to be very fait". No
advertisements are admitted. The price has been put at
75 cents a year.

CHAPTEK XVIII.

ENTERPRISES OP THE PAST — POST-RIDERS — ARKS — PACK-HORSES — JUNIATA
MAIL STAGE — WEEKLY — DAILY — TIME FROM PHILADELPHIA TO HUNTING-
DON AND PITTSBURG MAIL ROUTE TO CHAMBERSBURG — TURNPIKES — IN-
CORPORATION OF THE HUNTINGDON, CAMBRIA AND INDIANA — HUNTINGDON
AND LEWISTOWN — PENNSYLVANIA CANAL — LEGISLATION UNDER WHICH IT
WAS CONSTRUCTED — PRELIMINARY SURVEYS — OPENED FOR NAVIGATION —
PUBLIC ENTHUSIASM — SALE TO THE PENNSYLVANIA RAILROAD COMPANY
— ABANDONED WEST OF HUNTINGDON.

The subject which, if disconnected from all others, would
most fully illustrate the history and growth of our county,
or of any locality, large or small, is that relating to the
transportation of mails, freight and passengers, upon which
we now enter. The progress of a country begets the neces-
sity for increased facilities for travel and commerce, and for
the transmission of news and intelligence, and these, in their
turn, add materially to that progress by inciting to other
improvements having no connection with each other, except
that they result from the same cause.

In the previous parts of this work we have made some
references to these general topics, so that the reader may al-
ready have obtained an idea of their " small beginnings."
We have passed the periods of the pack-horses of provincial
times, of the ark of 1796, and of the establishing of a mail
route in 1797, but we have passed them only in point of time
and not in the substitution of more useful and efficient
means for the same purposes. Let us now go forward under
the lead and guidance of the spirit of enterprise and invention.

The mails, when first brought into the county, had stated
times for their arrival, once in two weeks. They were carried
by post-riders, and came from Harrisburg to Huntingdon
in four days. As they were liable to many detentions and
delays, irregularity in their delivery at the post offices be-
came the rule rather than the exception. Storms and
freshets, the freezing of the ice in winter and its melting
in the spring, and the "indisposition" of the carrier, were

138 HISTORY OF HUNTINGDON COUNTY.

among the causes of their failure to arrive at the. specified
times. In addition to the these, there were many others,
incident to a new and undeveloped country, without roads
and without protection from the danger that lurked at every
step. It was a long time until these obstacles were overcome.

The waters were carrying upon their bosoms, in the di-
rection in which they flowed, the products of the soil, of the
mill, and of the distillery. Those articles which found a
market in the east were taken thither without great diffi-
culty. The rains and the swelling of the streams but in-
creased the power and usefulness of the latter as a means of
conveyance.

But nature had furnished no such facilities for trade to the
westward. The iron which ran from our first furnaces, and
for which there was a demand at the manufactories of Pitts-
burg, found its way there in the same manner that Weiser,
Croghan and other traders had taken goods to the Indians,
on the backs of horses and mules. It was hammered at the
forge into bars of about six or eight feet in length, bent
into the shape of the letter U, and inverted over the ani-
mal. The paths over the Allegheny mountains were not of
sufficient width to permit two horses or mules to walk side
by side, but they followed each other in tandem style, four
or five of them being driven or led by one man.

This slow and laborious method did not, however, long
answer the growing requirements of the region west of the
Allesrhenies. Other commodities than iron were needed,
and had to be obtained from the source of supply in the
eastern cities. The making of roads became a necessity,
and with their construction commenced the era of wagons
and stage coaches.

The first effort to run a line of stages into the county
was made in 1808. It was announced to the public in the
following advertisement :

JUNIATA MAIL STAGE.

The subscribers beg leave to inform the public, that on
the 3d day of May next, their Stage will commence running
from Ilarrisburg by the way of Clark's Ferry, Millerstown,

HISTORY OF HUNTINGDON COUNTY. 139

Thompsontown, Mifflintown, Lewistown, Waynesburg and
Huntingdon, to Alexandria, once a week. Leave the House
of Mr. Berryhill, Harrisburg, every Tuesday, at 1 o'clock
P. M., and arrive at Alexandria on the Friday following ;
returning, leave Alexandria every Saturday morning and
arrive at Harrisburg on Tuesday morning.

As the company have procured elegant and convenient
Carriages, good Horses, and careful drivers, they flatter
themselves that the passage of those who may please to
favor them with their custom, will be rendered safe, easy
and agreeable.

Fare for travelers, 6 cents per mile, each entitled to 14
pounds baggage, gratis. 150 pounds baggage, equal to a
passenger.

John Walker, George Mulhollan,
John M'Connell, John M. Davidson,
George Galbraith, Thomas Cochran,
Eobert Clark.
April U, 1808.

N. B. — Horses and Chairs will be procured at the differ-
ent towns, for those passengers who wish to go off the road
or proceed further than Alexandria.

On the evening of the 5th of May, the third day after its
departure from Harrisburg, including the one upon which it
started, the stage, "Experiment," arrived at Huntingdon. It
was the beginning of an enterprise which was to be continued
during many years. The route was afterwards extended to
Pittsburgh, and connected at Harrisburg with another from '
Philadelphia. It will be interesting to trace briefly the
efforts and success of this company in affording the greatest
conveniences for travel and in reducing the trip to the
mininum length of time.

In April, 1828, after a lapse of twenty years from the
making of the first trip, this line of stages commenced running
daily between Harrisburg and Pittsburg. The mails were
then carried by it three times a week, passing through Hun-
tingdon on Sundays, Wednesdays and Fridays. In 1829,
the proprietors made arrangements with the Government to

140 HISTORY OF HUNTINGDON COUNTY.

carry a daily mail, which went into operation in February
of that year. About one year later, the route was divided
into two sections, each terminating at Huntingdon, where
the mails were exchanged. The eastern section passed into
the hands of Calder, "Wilson & Co. Passengers were then
conveyed from Philadelphia to Huntingdon in two days,
and to Pittsburg in three days and a half. But even this
rapidity was not sufficient, and the greatest exertions were
made to increase it. In March, 1832, the daily line arrived
at Huntingdon at 4 o'clock of the second day from Phila-
delphia, and at Pittsburg on the evening of the third day.
This was the acme of stage-coach perfection, and was at-
tained by running as the cars do now, day and night. The
latter, however, in the same number of hours would travel
about twenty-five hundred miles.

There was also an accommodation line between Harris-
burg and Pittsburg, making three trips per week, and going
through in three days and a half.

Before 1809, a mail route was established from Cham-
bersburg to Huntingdon. In 1832 the mail was carried
from the former to the latter place three times a week, once
by way of Fort Littleton, Three Springs and Coffee Run,
and twice by Shade Gap and Shirleysburg.

The "Juniata Mail Stage," during the whole of its exist-
ence, had many of the difficulties to contend with that had met
the post-riders who preceded it. The impediments which
nature throws in our way were the same in 1832 as in 1800.
The elements were not less treacherous nor floods less fre-
quent. Against these human strength and energy could not
always prevail, and as a consequence the mails were often
behind time, sometimes several days. This line was not
without competition, and that was no doubt one of the facts
that led to the utmost efforts to attain the highest rate of
speed. The improvements made in the roads, especially
after the beginning of turnpike construction, facilitated the
exertions of the proprietors to render their conveyances
more desirable as a means of travel.

The turnpike, like every other great enterprise, had its

HISTORY OF HUNTINGDON COUNTY. 141

era of agitation, before it became a practical reality. We
cannot say when a road of that kind was first proposed
through Huntingdon county. From the earliest move-
ment in the matter of which we have any knowledge, until
the completion of a road, there intervened a period of
twelve years, a length of time too great to follow through it
the various stages of the undertaking.

In November, 1806, petitions were in circulation in the
county favoring a turnpike up the Juniata. On the 27th
day of that month a notice was published in the Gazette,
requesting persons who had possession of such petitions to send
them to Andrew Henderson, that they might be forwarded
to the Legislature. Similar petitions were probably signed
and returned from the other counties in the Juniata valley.
The desired legislation was enacted at the following session,
March -4th, 1807. The Governor was authorized to in-
corporate a company for making an artificial road from
Harrisburg, through Lewistown and Huntingdon, to Pitts-
burgh. Other acts of Assembly were passed subsequently
relating to the same subject. On the 15th day of February,
1815, a charter of incorporation was granted by Governor
Snyder to the Huntingdon, Cambria and Indiana Turnpike
Company. An organization was effected on the 8th day of
May, 1815, by the election of a President, Managers and
Treasurer. Books were at once opened to receive subscrip-
tions to the stock, and preparations for the construction of
the road were pushed energetically. The progress, how-
ever, was slow. In September, 1818, nearly four years after
it had been chartered, there remained forty miles uncom-
pleted. These were between Huntingdon and the crossing
ot the Big Conemaugh. The work seems to have been
stopped then for want of funds, and the officers of the com-
pany appealed to the public for pecuniary aid. They ob-
tained it the following year, and soon afterwards the road
was opened throughout its entire length. The portion be-
tween Huntingdon and Alexandria was the last made.

On the 14th of May, 1821, books were opened for sub-
scriptions to the stock of the Huntingdon and Lewistown

142 HISTORY OF HUNTINGDON COUNTY.

turnpike, and the making of that road completed the line of
turnpike throughHuntingdon county from east to west.

But when these artificial highways bad enabled the stage-
coach to achieve its greatest success, a rival to the latter ap-
peared, which was destined to divide its usefulness and rob it
of a considerable part of the patronage of the traveling com-
munity. In 1831, the first canal boat arrived at Hunting-
don, and in 1832 the first " packet " floated down Standing
Stone creek, upon which it had been built, and took its
place upon the then newly constructed canal, for the carriage
of passengers.

Although Pennsylvania did not embark upon the con-
struction of her public works until 1826, there was some
legislation leading to that object at an earlier day. An act
was passed on the 27th of March, 1824, "providing for the
appointment of a board of commissioners for the purpose of
promoting the internal improvement of the State." These
commissioners, among other duties were "to view and
explore a route for a canal from Harrisburg to Pittsburg,
by the waters of the Juniata and Conemaugh rivers." This
act was repealed and supplied by that of April 11, 1825, but
is nevertheless historically important as being the com-
mencement of that great system of improvement inaugura-
ted by the Commonwealth. Commissioners were appointed,
as provided for, who took the levels and made surveys of the
proposed canal, and reported to the Legislatureat its next
session.

The act of 1825 also provided for the appointment of a
board of canal commissioners who were to examine
various routes through the state, one of which was
from "Philadelphia, by the Juniata to Pittsburg, and
from thence to Lake Erie." On the 25th day of Febru-
ary, 1826, an act was passed authorizing and empowering
this board " to locate and contract for making a canal and
locks, and other works necessary thereto, from the river
Swatara, at or near Middletown, to or near a point on the
east side of the river Susquehanna, opposite the mouth of
the river Juniata, and from Pittsburg to the mouth of the

HISTORY OF HUNTINGDON" COUNTY. 143

Kisldminetas," etc. This was to be styled the Pennsylvania
Canal. A great gap was thus left between the Susquehanna
and Allegheny rivers, for which no connecting link was pro-
vided, with the design, as it appears, of making the Juniata
and Kiskiminetas navigable by slack water. But the latter
idea was abandoned within the succeeding two years. The
plan of improvement was greatly enlarged and extended, and
embraced the making of railroads as well as canals.

The next enactment in this series is that of March 24th,
1828, providing for the location and construction of a
canal from Lewistown to the highest point expedient and
practicable on the Juniata, and requiring the commissioners
to have examinations and surveys made of a route from
Huntingdon to Johnstown, "with a view of connecting those
streams (the Juniata and Conemaugh) either by a canal or
railroad." It was finally determined to make this last con-
nection by canal to Hollidaysburg and by railroad over the
mountains. Thus was partially supplied by several links
the gap that had been left by the act of 1826.

The preliminary surveys for the works authorized by
the legislation of which we have given a slight review,
were commenced in the spring of 1828. In the month of
May, of that year, Col. Clinton was engaged in taking levels
and locating the canal near Huntingdon. In July a party
of engineers was exploring the Alleghenies for the purpose
of ascertaining the most eligible route for the railway. The
Canal Commissioners met at Harrisburg in September, and
decided, from the reports of the engineers, the location of
the different lines, and the portions that were to be placed
under contract for construction. Among the latter were
the forty-five miles between Lewistown and Huntingdon.
They were divided into ninety-five sections, a sale or letting
of which took place on the 15th day of October. In two
years thereafter, or in October, 1830, all of those sections
had been completed. The only part that remained unfinished
was two aqueducts, one of which was at Mount Union,
twelve miles below Huntingdon.

The water was let into the first level at Huntingdon on

144 HISTORY OF HUNTINGDON COUNTY.

the 2nd of November, 1830. The Gazette of the 10th of
that month says: "On Thursday evening a number of
houses were handsomely illuminated, and a large assem-
blage of ladies and gentlemen ' trip'd the nimble toe ' to
their heart's content, at the house of William Jackson, in
honor of the occasion."

The canal was opened for navigation in the spring of
1831, the first boat arriving at Huntingdon on the 13th day
of May. That event was announced by the Gazette in the
following manner:

^"SOMETHING NEW ! ! !

PORT OF HUNTINGDON!

ARRIVAL OP BOATS ! ! !

On Thursday evening last a heel boat, the property of Mr.
Jonathan Leslie, having on board plaster andylsA, arrived at
this place. This is the first arrival, by the canal, from
Waynesburgh.

Another Arrival. — On Friday evening, the Boat Margaret,
Capt. McCoy, of Waynesburgh, arrived ; freight, 15 tons,
merchandize.

The letting of the sections between Huntingdon and Hoi-
lidaysburg occurred on the 1st of June, 1831.

The completion of the canal was greeted by the people
with the greatest enthusiasm. There had been illuminations
at other places besides Huntingdon, at Lewistown and
Waynesburg, showing the general appreciation of the im-
portance of the work. As we look at it now and reflect
upon the decay of its utility, we are apt to get the impres-
sion that those who saw it in its infancy were unduly elated ;
but we must remember the difference in their position and
ours. They compared it with the past, with the pack-
horses, which were still within the recollection of many of
them, with the arks, which carried their freight to market
and brought none in return, with the teams, which made
their trips from Baltimore or Philadelphia to Pittsburg in
the space of two or three weeks, requiring four or six horses
to convey a few tons of merchandise, and with the stage-

HISTORY OF HUNTINGDON COUNTY. 145

coaches, which, the more rapidly they traveled the more un-
comfortable they became. In such a comparison there was
reason for exultation and joy. They had made one of the
great strides in progress, and their self congratulation was
as well justified as is ours in those that we have since taken.
Who knows how soon we may be robbed of our glory, the
railroad be converted into a highway where impecunious
pedestrians may travel without danger from the locomotive,
and the latter be made a subject for ridicule by some un-
philosophistical boaster of the future !

To show the extent of the jubilant feeling at Huntingdon,
we take another extract from the Gazette:

" On Saturday last (June 11, 1831,) hundreds of our citizens
witnessed the launching of the James Clarke, a new and very
handsome canal boat, into the basin at the west end of the
borough, owned by Messrs. Williams & Miller. When safely
launched into the basin, she was greeted by the hearty ac-
clamations of these who witnessed the pleasing and inte-
resting sight. What ! a canal boat launched in the vicinity
of Huntingdon! Had any one predicted an event of this
kind some years back, he, in all probability, would have
been 'yclept a wizard, or set down as beside himself. When
the mail stage commenced running once a week from Phila-
delphia to this place, our older citizens considered it a mar-
velous affair. What will they say now? "

Whatever of curiosity may have been mingled with this
enthusiasm was soon satisfied. Boats were launched fre-
quently after the first one, four of them within a month
or two.

Superior as was the canal for puposes of transportation,

it had connected with it many difficulties and disadvantages.

The greatest of these was its liability to breaches and other

injuries from storms and freshets, the same causes that had

so often delayed the post-rider and mail coach. The packet

boats did not altogether take the place of the latter, as there

was a portion of the year when the canal was not navigable.

The mail continued to be carried in the old way until the

cars rendered both stages and packets useless.
K

146 HISTORY OF HUNTINGDON COUNTY.

Under an act of Assembly of May 16th, 1857, the Penn-
sylvania canal was sold to the Pennsylvania Railroad com-
pany, and was transferred to the purchaser on the 1st of Au-
gust following. Since that time it has been operated under
the name of the Pennsylvania Canal company.

And now a step has been taken which may seem to be
one of retrogression, one which could never have entered
into the contemplation of the projectors and builders of this
canal, and at the mere suggestion of which they would have
been deeply shocked. By authority of an act of Assembly
of June 2nd, 1870, a part of it has been abandoned for pub-
lic use. "West of Huntingdon, locks have been removed,
bridges torn down, and the bed of the channel left as dry as
a road. The dam in Warrior's Ridge narrows is still main-
tained as a feeder for the canal below Huntingdon. The
act did not authorize its abandonment east of the latter
place; that must remain open until further legislation per-
mits the closing of it, but notwithstanding this fact, we are
perhaps not far wrong in classing the Pennsylvania canal
among the enterprises of the past.

CHAPTER XIX.

RAILROADS — PHILIPSBURG AND JUNIATA — HUNTINGDON AND CHAMBERS-
BURG — HUNTINGDON AND HOLLIDAYSBURG — PENNSYLVANIA — HUNTING-
DON AND BROAD TOP MOUNTAIN— DRAKE'S FERRY AND EAST BROAD TOP —
EAST BROAD TOP RAILROAD AND COAL COMPANY — LEWISBURG, CENTRE
AND SPRUCE CREEK — TELEGRAPHS.

The decision by which the canal was continued to Holli-
daysburg, instead of running a railroad from that place to
Huntingdon, was the end of the first tangible proposition
for the location of a railroad in this county. All projects
of the kind have since been inaugurated by the passage of
acts of Assembly incorporating companies for the purpose.
It was designed that the main lines of canals should consti-
tute the great arteries of trade and commerce, and that they
should have lateral communication with every part of the
Commonwealth. Such connection by water, however,
was not everywhere practicable or possible, and other
modes of conveyance were sought to and from the
general stream. Several railroads were proposed to run
northward arid southward from points on the canal in Hun-
tingdon county. The first one was the " Philipsburg and
Juniata Railroad, incorporated March 16th, 1830. The
route described in the act of Assembly, was from the
"Pennsylvania Canal, at or near the mouth of the Little
Juniata, below Alexandria, in Huntingdon county, thence
up the Little Juniata and Little Bald Eagle creeks, and
through Emigh's Gap, to the coal mines in the neghborhood
of Philipsburg, in Centre county." The commissioners from
this county were Robert Allison and William Orbison.
Books were to be opened at Philadelphia, at the house of
William Alexander in Centre county, and at the house of
John McConnell in Huntingdon. A survey was made on
this route in 1833. Commencing at the northern terminus,
the engineers arrived at Union Furnace in June of that
year, and at the junction of the Juniatas in July. The road
was never made, but it has been supplied by the Pennsyl-

148 HISTOEY OF HUNTINGDON COUNTY.

vania to Tyrone, and by the Clearfield branch to and beyond
Philipsburg.

The next was the " Huntingdon and Chambersburg Rail-
road Company," incorporated June 16th, 1836.

Even after the construction of the public works, the idea
of a railroad from Huntingdon to Hollidaysburg was not
abandoned. It is doubtful whether there was sufficient en-
couragement to make such an improvement between points
connected by the canal, but the project was not without agi-
tators. The effort in its favor was earnest and determined,
and resulted in the passage of an act incorporating the
" Huntingdon and Hollidaysburg Railroad Company," July
2nd, 1839. This road was probably always unnecessary,
and was certainly so after the making of the Pennsylvania
railroad. That a need for it is now growing up, and that it
will probably take the place of the dismantled canal, is one
of the revolutions of progress.

The Pennsylvania Railroad Company was incorporated
April 13th, 1816. Among the commissioners appointed by
the act " to do and perform the several acts and things,"
therein mentioned, were John G. Miles, John Kerr, A. P.
"Wilson, Edwin F. Shoenberger, Benjamin Leas, John Mc-
Cahen, John Long, Brice Blair, Thomas E. Orbison and John
Porter, of Huntingdon county.

The first surveys through the county were made in the
summer of 1817. By the 3rd of August, the engineers
had progressed several miles west of Huntingdon in the di-
rection of Petersburg. At that time they passed through the
former borough on Washington street, but later in the same
season they made a re-survey on Allegheny street, where
the location of the road was determined upon. Proposals
for the grading and masonry between Lewistown and Hun-
tingdon were advertised for in April, 1818, and received
until the 17th of May. Contracts were entered into within
the next twenty days, and the work was at once commenced.
At the close of tbe year the grading was almost completed.

The sections west of Huntingdon were in process of con-
struction during the same year and the one succeeding it.

HISTORY OP HUNTINGDON" COUNTY. 149

On the tunnel near Spruce Creek, eleven hundred feet in
length, great labor was required. An opening was effected
through the mountain in June, 1849, eleven months after
the first pick had been struck into it. But only three hun-
dred and fifty feet were at that time finished. Several seri-
ous accidents occurred at this tunnel from the premature
explosion of blasts. In one of these, seven men were blown
up, one of whom was killed and two others so badly injured
that they were not expected to recover.
- In the neighborhood of Birmingham there were a num-
ber of riots among the laborers on the road in 1849. The
Irish workmen were divided into several parties known as the
u Far-downs," " Corkonians," etc., each determined to drive
the others from the line. In June, of that year, the Sheriff
of Huntingdon county, with a posse of about three hundred
men from Petersburg, Alexandria and Spruce Creek, went
as far as the western limits of the county, the rioters re-
treating before them. No arrests were then made. At
other times prisoners were taken and sent to jail in Hun-
tingdon. For weeks the people living along the road, from
Spruce Creek to Ironsville, were kept in a state of great
alarm. Some of the laborers and contractors received
severe injuries in the numerous skirmishes fought in that
region between the opposing forces.

The Pennsylvania railroad being a through line, and the
officers of the company, the principal stockholders and others
most deeply interested in the making of it, being in distant
cities, it bore no very close relations to our people until
completed and in operation. It has since become, connected
with all our interests and is the origin from which flows
nearly every pulsation of improvement. Before the iron
bands had been laid within any portion of our county,
we could feel the throbbings of new life and vigor. While
yet the cars came only to Lewistown, there was an increase
of travel over our public highways and upon the canal to
and from that point.

The first train of cars arrived at Huntingdon on Thurs-
day, June 6th, 1850. It consisted of five or six trucks

150 HISTORY OF HUNTINGDON COUNTY.

drawn by the locomotive " Henry Clay." In a few days
afterwards it proceeded westward, the road being then in
running order to the Allegheny mountains. The excite-
ment with which it was greeted probably exceeded that on
the arrival of the first canal boat. Its approach had been
heralded throughout the country for miles on both sides of
the railroad, and as it was a trial trip, the train necessarily
running slowly, the people had time to reach the railroad
and witness the novel sight. In fact the engine announced
itself by shrill whistles that even surprised the mountains
through which they echoed. But there was disappointment.
The idea had become general that trains never ran with less
speed than lightning, and to see that one coming at the
rate of three or four miles per hour was not what had been
expected. It was not time yet for the express or the lim-
ited mail.

The development of the resources and interests of the
county, and the improvements which have followed the
building of the Pennsylvania railroad, will be described in
the sketches of the townships and towns through which it
passes.

On the 11th of January, 1817, Hon. David Blair, repre-
sentative from Huntingdon county, presented in the Legis-
lature a bill entitled "An Act to incorporate the Hunting-
don and Broad Top Railroad and Coal Company." It
passed both Houses, and was sent to Governor Shunk for
executive action. He returned it without his approval, and
with a message stating his reasons therefor. Not having a
copy of the bill before us, we cannot give even the sub-
stance of its provisions; but judging from the Governor's
message, which was probably the strongest argument that
could be made against it, it contained nothing improper.
His objections to it were that it provided that the company
should have the privilege of purchasing and holding five
thousand acres of land, which he assumed they purposed
farming, and that it did not make the stockholders individu-
ally liable for the debts of the corporation. Such messages
deserve a place among the absurdities of official literature.

HISTORY OF HUNTINGDON COUNTY. 151

The friends of the road renewed their efforts to obtain a
charter of incorporation. A meeting was held at Stoners-
town, in Bedford county, on the 20th day of September,
1817. Levi Evans was one of the secretaries, and Alexan-
der Gwin and George W. Speer, of Huntingdon county, were
present. Resolutions were adopted expressive of the views
of the citizens of the adjoining parts of Bedford and Hunt-
ingdon counties, and a committee was appointed to prepare
a memorial to the Legislature. The matter had then taken
a political turn, the Democrats sustaining Governor Shunk
in his veto of the bill and opposing Mr. Blair, who was a
candidate for reelection.

At the session of 1848, a bill was offered by Alexander
King, of Bedford county, member of the Senate from this
district, to incorporate a company under the original name.
In the House of representatives it was amended by striking
out the words, "and coal," leaving the title of the corpora-
tion, " The Huntingdon and Broad Top Mountain Railroad
Company." It was passed in this shape, and received the
approval and signature of the Governor. This act does not
appear among the published laws of 18-48, for the reason
that the enrolment tax was never paid. We have not, there-
fore, a list of the commissioners named by it.

The first public meeting to advance the purposes for
which the act had been obtained of which we find any
account, although there had been others previously, was held
in the court house at Huntingdon on the 15th of August,
1851. General John Williamson presided, and among the
vice-presidents were John Garner, Christian Shoutz and
Thomas Adams. The secretaries were Charles Mickley,
William Lewis and R. Bruce Petriken. A committee, con-
sisting of Major James Patton, J. G. Miles and David Blair,
was appointed to ascertain what coal lands and coal rights
could be procured for the company, upon what terms, and
their location and accessibility, and to take conveyances
thereof for its use. Col. S. S. Wharton, James Entriken
and Charles Mickley were appointed a committee to obtain
releases of the right of way for the railroad. Addresses

152 HISTORY OF HUNTINGDON COUNTY.

were delivered by Williamson, Miles, Blair, Petriken and
General A. P. Wilson. There was always an abundance of
eloquence to assist this road out of its early difficulties, but
not sufficient to extricate it from its later struggles.

Before any organization of the company had been made,
or subscriptions to the stock taken, it was discovered that
the act of 1848 was defective in not granting rights and
privileges which were regarded as necessary in carrying on
the operations of a mining and transporting corporation.

Another act was therefore passed May 6th, 1852, not a
supplement to that of 18-18, but a new one, incorporating
the Huntingdon and Broad Top Mountain Railroad and Coal
Company, and was approved and signed by Governor Big-
ler. The names of the corporators are given in the fol-
lowing list, those from Huntingdon county being designat-
ed by italics :

John G. Miles, A. P. Wilson, Thomas Fisher, John Mc-
Cahan, James Gwin, James Entriken, David Blair, James
Saxton, John Ker, John Scott, S. S. Wharton, John A. Doyle, J
George Jackson, John Porter, Israel Grafius, S. M. Green,
John McCulloch, James Clark, J. H. Wintrode, Jacob Cress-
well, Charles Mickley, Alexander King, Job Mann, Samuel
L. Russel, William Evans, Andreiu J. Neff, William P.
Schell, David McMnrtrie, John B. Given, William Ay res,
George W. Speer, William P. Orbison, Levi 'Evans, James
Patton, R. B. Petriken, Adin W. Benedict, Alexander Port,
James Maguire, Isaac Cook, George Gwin, James Campbell,
Daniel Grove, Henry Zimmerman, and W. F. Dougherty.

More than five years bad elapsed since the introduction
of Mr. Blair's bill into the Legislature, and it was only now
that the proper authority was granted to form a company
with power to build a road and develop the semi-bitumi-
nous coal region of Broad Top. On the 10th of June, 1852,
books were opened at Huntingdon for subscriptions of stock.
Theamount subscribed thatday was$15,000, and the next day
it was increased to $20,000. Meetings were held at Markles-
burg. Stonerstown and McConnellstown, subscriptions taken
and committees appointed to solicit further subscriptions.

HISTORY OF HUNTINGDON COUNTY. 153

The company was organized January 10th, 1853, by the
election of a President, General William Ayres, of Harris-
burg, and a Board of Directors, consisting of Alexander
King, William P. Schell, James Entriken, James Saxton, A.
P. Wilson, John Scott, J. H. Wintrode and Lewis T.
Wattson.

The contracts for the making of the road were entered into
in July, 1853, the letting having been in the previous month.
Samuel W. Mifflin had been chosen chief engineer. " His
labors in the preliminary surveys, before the organization
of the company, as well as his reputation as a civil engineer,
designated him for the station and he was selected by the
board with entire unanimity." At the meeting of stock-
holders for the election of officers, January 11th, 1854, the
first annual report of the directors was presented. The
company then owned two thousand acres of land, the amount
that they could purchase and hold under their charter, the
conveyances for most of which had been obtained. The
number of shares of stock then subscribed was 3629, or, at
the par value of fifty dollars par share, $181,450; the receipts
by the Treasurer had been $68,807, and payments for all
purposes $66,801, leaving a balance of $2,006. The com-
pany had been in existence one year, six months of which
time had been spent in " exploration, surveys and location."
Since the commencement of the work, it had steadily pro-
gressed, and all expenses had been promptly paid.

By the 13th of August, 1855, fourteen miles of track had
been laid, and on that day cars commenced running to
Marklesburg. At the beginning of the year 1856 the road
was completed to Stonerstown, a distance of twenty-four
miles, with the exception of the bridge over the Raystown
branch, and the directors so reported to the stockholders at
the annual meeting in January. The track to the mines
was all laid but about a mile and a half, which the track-
layers were then putting down. The road had been laid
with T rail, weighing 56 pounds to the yard, on substantial
cross-ties, ballasted with broken stone.

It was the original intention to make Bedford the south-

151 HISTORY OF HUNTINGDON COUNTY.

era terminus of the road, and before its completion to the
place of connection with the Shoup's run branch, the work
of extending it beyond that point had been far advanced.
Branches were also made to the coal mines on Sandy run
and Six Mile run. In 1857 the company became embar-
rassed financially, and labor upon the road was brought to
an end. It had then reached Mount Dallas, a station within
six miles of Bedford, and remained in that unfinished con-
dition until the making of the Bedford and Bridgeport rail-
road established a through line from Huntingdon to Cum-
berland, Maryland.

The present management of the Huntingdon and Broad
Top railroad is most thorough and energetic. During the
last two years, the road has been highly improved, the
road-bed having been repaired and the rolling stock renewed
and rendered safe and comfortable. The President is B.
Andrews Knight, of Philadelphia, and the Superintendent,
Geo. F. Gage, of Huntingdon.

The making of a railroad from the Pennsylvania canal
and railroad at or near the present site of Mount Union to
the Broad Top coal region, is almost as old a project as the
Huntingdon and Broad Top mountain railroad. Early in
18-18, meetings were held by the friends of the road at points
on the proposed route. On the 28th of February in that
year, one was held at Scottsville, at which John Lutz pre-
sided. A committee of sixteen was appointed to report res-
olutions, on which were Henry Brewster, George "W. Speer,
Kenzie L. Green, John Sharrer, John Ashman, Daniel Teague,
and Samuel McVitty, of Huntingdon county. The follow-
ing were a committee to present the resolutions to the Leg-
islature : Hon. John Morrison, Brice Blair, Henry Brew-
ster, Robert Speer, Benjamin Leas, George Hudson, Thos.
T. Cromwell, James R. Brewster, John Ashman, Kenzie L.
Green, John Brewster, John Stever, James Lyon, George
Chestnut, John Sipes and John Dougherty. On the 25th of
March following, the Legislature passed an act incorporating
the Drake's Ferry and East Broad Top Railroad Company.
Is o steps were ever taken towards the construction of this road.

HISTORY OF HUNTINGDON" COUNTY. 155

The ground is now occupied by the East Broad Top Rail-
road and Coal Company.

The latter corporation was organized under an act of
Assembly of April 16th, 1856. The persons most actively
engaged in the organization of the company were Messrs.
Edward Roberts, A. Pardee and J. G. Fell, assisted in the
vicinity of the road by Wm. B. Leas, Samuel McVitty, Dr.
Louis Royer, P. P. Dewees and others.

Work was commenced Sept. 16th, 1872, and the road opened
for business as far as Orbisonia, a distance of 11 miles, Aug.
30th, 1873, and to Robertsdale, the terminus of the road, on
Nov. 4th, '74.

The road is 30 miles long — 3 ft. gauge. The northern
terminus is Mount Union on the Pa. R. R., then running
in a southern direction through or near the following
towns or villages in the order named- Shirleysburg, Orbiso-
nia, Three Springs, Saltillo and Cooks Mills, terminating at
the Broad Top coal fields at Robertsdale.

The first officers of the corporation were, President, Wm.
A. Ingham. Directors, Edward Roberts, A. Pardee, J. G.
Fell, Percival Roberts, Randolph Wood, and C. R. Wood.
Secretary, Percival Roberts ; engineer, John B. Wingate.
The latter gentleman was obliged to resign on account of
failing health, and was succeeded by A. W. Sims, under
whose supervision the surveys were completed and the road
constructed.

The capital stock originally authorized was $500,000. Au-
thority has since been obtained for an increase of $150,000.

The Lewisburg, Centre and Spruce Creek Railroad Com-
pany was incorporated April 12th, 1853. The proposed
southern terminus was at Spruce Creek, on the Pennsyl-
vania railroad. By subsequent legislation it was changed
to Tyrone, in Blair county, and the route of the road
through Huntingdon county diverted from Franklin town-
ship to Warrior's Mark township. The grading through the
latter was done in 1873. Work then ceased for want of
funds, and has not been resumed. An effort is now being
made to connect this road with the Tyrone and Lock Haven

156 HISTORY OF HUNTINGDON" COUNTY.

railroad at Bellefonte, which, if successful, will make a con-
tinuous line from Lewisburg to Tyrone without entering
Huntingdon county.

The first telegraph line was established through the
county in 1850, by the Atlantic and Ohio Telegraph Com-
pany. In April of that year, the Superintendent, J. D.
Eeid, was in Huntingdon, making arrangements for setting
the posts and putting up the wires between Lewistown and
Hollidaysburg. When finished to the latter point, the con-
nection between Philadelphia and Pittsburg, by the Juniata
route, was complete. This line was used for commercial
and railroad business until 1856, when the Pennsylvania
Railroad company put up a line of their own. In 1857 the
Atlantic and Ohio line was consolidated with others, under
the name of the National Atlantic and Ohio. In 1862 the
Western Union Telegraph Company purchased the latter,
and in 186-1 put in new poles and ran five additional wires
through to the east. In the same year the Pacific and At-
lantic Telegraph Company, originating in the east, built an
opposition line. A great deal of rivalry existed between
the two companies until 1873, when the Western Union ob-
tained a controling interest in the Pacific and Atlantic, and
absorbed it. In 1875 another opposition line was con-
structed by the Atlantic and Pacific Telegraph Company,
and is now in a flourishing condition. The number of wires
running through or terminating within the county are as
follows : Western Union, nine ; Atlantic and Pacific, one ;
Pennsylvania Eailroad, five ; Huntingdon and Broad Top
Mountain Railroad, one.

CHAPTER XX.

ORGANIZATION OF FIRST AGRICULTURAL SOCIETY — ITS OBJECTS AND MAN-
NER OF ADVANCING THEM — PRESENT AGRICULTURAL SOCIETY — ORGANI-
ZATION — FIRST OFFICERS — INCORPORATION — DATES UPON WHICH FAIRS
HAVE BEEN HELD — PREMIUMS AND EXPENSES— PRESENT OFFICERS — ■
STATISTICS OF AGRICULTURE AND MANUFACTURES.

A meeting of citizens of Huntingdon county was held in
the court house at Huntingdon, on the 16th day of April,
1828, for the purpose of forming an Agricultural Society.
The following were the officers of the meeting: President,
John Patton ; Vice President, John Blair ; Secretaries,
Jacob Miller and Matthew D. Gregg.

Robert Allison, Henry Miller, James Steel, M. D. Gregg, and
William Simpson were appointed a committee to draft an ad-
dress to the public and report the same at the next meeting.
Edward Bell, John Blair, of Blair's Gap, George Schmucker,
Dr. John Henderson, Thomas T. Cromwell, Conrad Bucher,
Maxwell Kinkead, and William Speer were appointed a
committee to draft a constitution for the government of the
society.

Joseph McCune, Stephen Davis, John Stewart, John
Patton, John Blair, of Shade Gap, Adolphus Patterson,
Jacob Miller and Matthew Wilson were appointed a com-
mittee to receive subscriptions and the names of persons
wishing to become members.

The next meeting was held on the 15th of August, 1828.
John Patton again presided, and Jacob Miller acted as secre-
tary. A constitution reported by Matthew D. Gregg was
adopted. The first article and section, stating the objects
and fixing the name of the society, was adopted :

"This society, having for its exclusive object the promo-
tion and encouragement of agriculture and domestic manu-
factures, shall be styled the Huntingdon County Agricultural
and Manufacturing Society."

The manner in which these interests were to be advanced
is set forth in the following provisions of the constitution :

158 HISTORY OF HUNTINGDON COUNTY.

Article 9, Sec. 1. The society at some general meeting
thereof, shall fix and determine upon such articles of agri-
culture, production, or improvement in domestic manufac-
tures, as in their judgment are entitled to encouragement
by rewards; and shall fix, ascertain, and publish, in such
manner as shall be directed by the by-laws, such rewards,
and the conditions, whenever the same shall become due and
payable to the person or persons who shall by his, her, or
their skill or industry, according to such conditions become
entitled to the same. And the said directors, or a majority
of them shall at the stated meetings, or at such times and
places as shall be prescribed by the by-laws, meet for the
purpose of hearing the parties applying for such rewards ;
and of examining their proofs or specimen ; and shall have
full power and authority to determine whether any or either
of the applicants is entitled to the reward so advertised, ac-
cording to the conditions thereto annexed; and to draw
orders to be signed by the President and attested by the
Secretary, on the Treasurer, for the amount of such rewards,
in favor of the persons to whom the same shall have been
adjudged, which orders he shall pay out of the moneys in
his hands arising from taxes and subscriptions.

Article 10. Sec, 1. The rewards shall be offered for pro-
moting and increasing the culture of sugar from the maple
or sugar trees, or any other substances ; the extraction of
salts from ashes or vegtables ; the introduction of any new
grain, grass, or roots, and raising the greatest quantity on
any given quantity of ground ; the invention of any new and
useful untensils in husbandry ; the raising and manufactur-
ing of wool, hemp and flax, in greater quantities, or improv-
ing the value thereof; the introduction of mineral or other
manures ; the improvement of the breed of horses, black
cattle, sheep or hogs; the making of butter, cheese, in any
given quantities, and of the best qualities; or any improve-
ment in all or every of the articles aforesaid, all of which
shall be considered as among the objects contemplated by
the society.

Article 11. Sec. 1. In all cases where moneys shall re-

HISTORY OF HUNTINGDON COUNTY. 159

main in the treasury after the payment of the rewards shall
have been made, the President and Directors shall have the
power to employ the moneys so remaining, in the purchase
of books relating to Agriculture, Mechanics and Manufac-
tures, or in the purchase and improvement of a piece of
land, for the purpose of a pattern farm.

The following officers, provided for in the constitution,
were elected January 14th, 1829 : President, John Patton;
Secretary, Joseph Adams ; Treasurer, Mathew D. Gregg ;
Managers, William Spear, John Stewart, John Ker, Jacob
Grove, Jacob Miller, John JNeffj John Blair, of Shade Gap,
George Ashman, Thos. T. Cromwell and Dr. John Henderson.

Committee of Arrangements : James M. Bell, Henry Miller,
James Coffey, Stephen Davis and Christian Garner.

The records of proceedings after this organization of the
society are perhaps not in existence.

The present Agricultural Society was organized tempo-
rarily on the 14th day of November, 1854, and permanently
on the 9th day of January, 1855. A meeting of farmers
and others was held in the court house on the former date,
at which Hon. Jonathan Mc Williams presided, and Gen. J.
C. Watson, E. Hare Powell, Jacob H. Miller, George Rudy,
Alexander Oaks, John Tussey and Daniel Massey acted as
vice-presidents, and George Hudson, John Hirst and Gen.
S. Miles Green as secretaries.

H. N. McAllister, A. W. Benedict, J. G. Miles and John
Williamson addressed the meeting.

The committee appointed to draft a constitution consisted
of J. S. Barr, Col. S. S. Wharton, Gen. S. Miles Green, R.
Hare Powell, Dr. J. H. Wintrode, Daniel Massey and Sam'l
Wigton.

T. P. Campbell, esq., proposed, and the meeting by vote
accepted, the following agreement :

" We, the undersigned citizens of Huntingdon county,
impressed with the importance of forming an Agricultural
Society for said county, do hereby agree to form ourselves
into an association for the purpose of advancing the inter-
ests of agriculture, science and the arts ; to pay into the

160 HISTOKY OF HUNTINGDON COUNTY.

treasury the sum of one dollar, and be governed by such
Constitution and By-Laws as may be hereafter adopted for
our government."

The raising of a fund being thus provided for, R. Hare
Powell was elected treasurer pro tern.

It was then resolved, " that the officers of this meeting
continue to be the officers of the association until the adop-
tion of a constitution."

On the 9th day of January, 1855, at a meeting at which
the President, Jonathan Mc Williams, was in the chair, and
Charles Mickley acted as secretary, a constitution was
adopted and permanent officers elected. The latter were
as follows :

President — Jonathan Mc Williams.

Vice Presidents — Joseph Reed, West township ; "William
Oaks, Barree; Peter Stryder, Porter; Thomas B. Orbison,
Cromwell; Wm. B. Smith, Jackson; Kenzie L. Green,
Clay ; A. B. Sangree, Walker ; Robert Tussey, Morris ;
John Garner, Penn; George Wilson, Tell; Thomas Neely,
Dublin ; Jacob Miller, Henderson ; Samuel H. Bell, Shirley;
David Auxandt, Tod ; George W. Speer, Cass ; Jacob Baker,
Springfield; Simeon Wright, Union; Gen. J. C. Watson,
Brady ; David Parker, Warrior's Mark ; James Entriken,
Hopewell.

Recording Secretaries — J. S. Barr, J. S. Isett.

Corresponding Secretary — Dr. John Gemmill.

Treasurer — Hon. James Givin.

Librarian — Theo. H. Cremer.

At August term, 1871, of the Court of Common Pleas of
Huntingdon county, the society vvas incorporated, upon the
petition of H. G. Fisher, David Blair, R. McDivitt, J. W.
Mattern, George Jackson, Theo. H. Cremer, G. W. Johnston,
Samuel T. Brown, Graffus Miller, J. S. Cornman, J. Simpson
Africa. John S. Miller, Joshua Greenland, John M. Bailey,
D. W. Womelsdorf, W. B. Zeigler and John Flenner.

The society during the 21 years of its existence has held
sixteen fairs. The dates, premiums paid and expenses in-
curred have been as follows:

HISTORY OP HUNTINGDON COUNTY. 161

1855, Oct. 10th and 11th. Premiums, 1237.00 Expenses, $ 472.00

1856, " 8th to 10th, inclusive " 255.00 " 475.00

1857, " 14th " 16th, " " 386.50 « 743.00

1858, " 5th " 7th, " " 438.00 "' 595.00

1859, " 4th " 6th, " " 527.50 " 620.00

1860, Sep. 26th " 28th, " " 304.62 " 496.00

1865, Oct, 4th " 6th, " " 404.00 " 504.00

1866, Sep. 26th " 28th, " " 877.00 " 930.00

1867, Oct. 2nd " 4th, " " 567.00 " 1029.91

1869, " 6th " 8th, " " 675.00 " 915.00

1870, " 4th " 7th, " " 643.80 " 960.00

1871, " 3rd " 6th, " " 947.80 " 1260.00

1872, " 4th " 7th, " " 682.70 " 1370.00

1873, " 7th " 10th, " " 995.60 " « 1059.00

1874, " 6th " 9th, " " 95.60 " 1064.00

1875, Sept. 28th " Oct. 1st. " " " 1U94.10

After the payment of the incidental expenses incurred at
the last exhibition, 1875, there remained in the treasury
the sum of $6i.9-4, and there was due the society for lumber
sold the sum of $71.90. No premiums were paid.

The officers chosen at the annual election in January
were Alexander Port, President ; Perry Moore and James
Hutchinson, Vice Presidents ; Dr. J. R. Patton and James
B. Carothers, Secretaries ; Theo. H. Cremer, Treasurer ; Dr.
G. L. Etobb, Librarian.

This society aims at the encouragement of both agricul-
ture and manufactures. The progress of these industries in
the county up to 1870 is exhibited by the following tables :

AGRICULTURE.

Number of acres of improved land, 186,818

Value of farms, $9,445,678

Value of all farm productions, including betterments and

addition to stock 1,968,703

LIVE STOCK.

Value of all kinds, $1,434,648

Number of horses, 7,098

" " milch cows, 7,120

" " working oxen, 54

" " sheep, 17,780

" swine, 12,909

ANNUAL PRODUCTS.

Number of bushels of wheat, 388,859

" " rye 78,480

162 HISTORY OF HUNTINGDON COUNTY.

Number of busheis of Indian corn, 503,807

oats, 411,479

" barley, 4,525

" buckwheat, 20,909

" potatoes, J48 679

pounds butter, 465,027

cheese 690

wool, 54,110

MANUFACTURERS.

Number of establishments, 324

" " hands employed — males above 16, ... . 1,249

" " ' females " 15, . . . . 9

" . " " youths, .... 101

1,359

Capital invested, $2,087,052

Wages paid, 353,507

Value of materials used, 1,520,506

" " products, 2,319,152

CHAPTER XXI.

COAL AND IRON — EARLY KNOWLEDGE OP THE EXISTENCE OF COAL ON
BROAD TOP — ATTEMPT TO CREATE A MARKET FOR IT — BEGINNING OF
THE COAL TRADE — ANNUAL PRODUCTION — DETAILED STATEMENT OF THE
BUSINESS FOR 1875 — COKE — JUNIATA CHARCOAL IRON — FURNACES AND
FORGES BY WHICn IT WAS MADE.

Broad Top mountain, in Huntingdon, Bedford and Fulton
counties, contains an eastern or outlying basin of coal of
eighty square miles in extent. The mineral was known to
exist in that region from the beginning of the present century
and mines were worked fully seventy years ago. The opera-
tions, however, were on an exceedingly small scale until the
completion of the Huntingdon and Broad Top railroad in
1856.

An effort was made to create a market for this coal in
1807, if not earlier. It had not then found its application in
the smelting of ores, the generation of steam, the heat-
ing of buildings, and the many other purposes for which it
has become so useful. The owner of the mines endeavored
to induce farmers to experiment with it as a fertilizer, and
advertised it to the public energetically and extensively.
The Huntingdon Gazette of June 4th, 1807, published edi-
torially the liberal proposition of Mr. Samuel Riddle to
furnish it without charge, as follows :

" Such of the Farmers as wish to make experiments with
the Stone Coal as a substitute for Plaster in manuring their
Indian Corn, may be supplied with the Coal gratis, upon
application to Peter Hughes, at Mr. Riddle's Mines, on the
Raystown Branch. Those who cannot make it convenient to
apply at tlfe Mines, can be supplied upon application to the
Editor by paying the carriage. The proprietor of the
Mines offers not only to refund the carriage but also to pay
expense of applying the Coal, if upon a fair experiment, it is
found to be inferior to the plaster, which now sells at two
dollars per bushel."

164 HISTORY OF HUNTINGDON COUNTY.

We should probably not bold the editor responsible for
the above, for although, like the fraternity of the present
day, he may have been willing to bring a new thing to the
attention of the public, he no doubt inserted the notice of
this novelty at the instance and for the accommodation of
Mr. Eiddle.

The experiments made in that year must have been in-
sufficient and unsatisfactory to the latter, as, at the opening
of the next planting season, he sets forth the value and ad-
vantages of the fertilizer more at length :

STONE COAL.

Farmers who wish to use Stone Coal for Manuring their
Corn, or Grass, may be supplied with any quantity of the
Coal ready ground at Two shillings and six pence per
Bushel, by applying to Mr. Prigmore, at Mr. Smith's Mill in
Huntingdon.

For the purpose of encouraging the Farmers to make trial
of the Coal upon different soils, the subscriber will supply
them with this article, gratis, upon application to his agent
at the Coal Mines on the Raystown Branch ; and he further
engages that he will pay double the price of the ground
Coal to each person who shall purchase the same from Mr.
Prigmore, if upon a fair experiment it should not be found
to be a manure equal to Plaster.

The Coal should be ground or beaten into a fine powder,
and applied at the rate of a handful to each hill of Indian
Corn immediately after hilling, and upon grass at the rate
of two or three Bushels to the acre. Upon cold calcareous
soils double the quantity may be used to advantage.

The sulphuric acid contained in the Stone Coal is said to
destroy the Turnip fly and to banish the cut worm and
other destructive insects from the Gardens and Fields upon
which it has been sown. Farmers and others will confer a
favor upon the subscriber by making trial of the coal for
this purpose, and communicating the result of their experi-
ments.

Huntingdon, May 8th, 1808. Samuel Riddle.

HISTORY OF HUNTINGDON COUNTY.

165

This advertisement simply betrays an ignorance of the
chemical composition of coal and of the elements that it is
necessary to add to the soil in order to enrich it. A trial
was all that was required to demonstrate its futility. The
Broad Top coal contains but a small proportion of sulphur,
from 1.70 to 1.85 per cent., and we need not say that that is
not in the form of sulphuric acid or any other combination
of sulphur and oxygen, so that the turnip fly and cut worm
were not likely to be disturbed in their attacks upon rising
vegetation.

With the exception of a few mines opened besides Mr
Riddle's, these vast beds of coal were permitted to remain
undisturbed in the strata of Broad Top, until about twenty
years ago. The annual production of the region during this
latter period, and the average price per ton obtained for it
at Philadelphia, during the last thirteen years, have been as
follows :

Year.

Tons.

1856 . .

. 42,000

1857 . .

. 78,813

1858 . .

. 105,478

1859 . .

. 130,595

1860 . .

. 186,903

1861 . .

. 272,625

1862 . .

. 333,606

1863 . .

. 305,678

1864 • •

. 386,645

1865 . .

. 315,906

Price.

$5.75
6.50
7.25

Year.
1866
1867
1868
1869
1870
1871
1872
1873
1874
1875

Tons.
265,720
244,412
280,936
360,778
313,425
319,625
297,473
350,245
226,693
268,488

Price.
5.75
4.75
4.50
4.75
4.50
4.60
4.70
5.00
4.55
4.15

The foregoing table exhibits the product of both Hun-
tingdon and Bedford counties. The proportion produced by
each in 1875, is shown by the following detailed statement
of the business for that year :

HUNTINGDON COUNTY.

Collieries. Operators. Tons.

Cumberland, R. Langdon & Co., 14,672

PoweJton, R. H. Powell & Co 23,926^

Barnet, R. U. Jacob & Co., 8,421J

Dudley J. M. Bacon 2,640 J

Blair, " 2,395|

Howe, " 8,989

Mooresdale, Reakert Bros & Co., 20,904

Carried up 81,949

166

HISTORY OF HUNTINGDON COUNTY.

Brought up 81,949

Fisher, Fishers & Miller, 15,292£

Carbon, Geo. Mears, 20,351

Robertsdale, Rockhill C. & I. Co 53,567

171,159}

BEDFORD COUNTY.

Collieries. Operators. Tons.

Mount Equity, Kemble C. & I. Co., 41,738^

Cunard R. B. Wigton, 19,717

Scott, William Scott, 212 4 L

Helena, E. P. Jenkins, 539|

Coaldale, W. H. Piper, • . 24,737£

Rommell, Maher & Wilson, 383£

87,328

Total for 1875 , . . 26S,487£

The East Broad Top railroad, connecting with the Penn-
sylvania railroad at Mount Union, and penetrating this coal
field on the East side of the mountain, in Huntingdon
county, carried in 1875, the year in which it was completed,
the first coal from the Robertsdale mines, operated by the
iiockhill Coal and Iron Company.

The Broad Top coal makes a " bright, open, tenacious and
strong coke." The only other coals that approach it in this
respect are the Connellsville, in Fayette county, and the
Bennington, on the crest of the Allegheny mountains. The
following is a comparative analysis of the three kinds:

13 i
o s

7.50

2 u

3
ft

as
1.85

Coke.

Broad Top, Barnet seam . .

74.65

16.00

per cent.

" Kelly " . .

71.12

7.50

19.68

1.70

68.50

8.00

22.38

1.12

8.23

31.36

.78

«(

The Eockhill Coal and Iron Company manufacture coke
in ovensat their furnaces at Orbisonia. The building of ovens
at Saxton, in Bedford county, for the conversion of the coal
from Shoup's run branch and other mines on the Hunting-
don and Broad Top railroad into coke, is, we are informed,
in contemplation.

Charcoal as a fuel for furnaces and forges must soon go

HISTORY OF HUNTINGDON COUNTY. 167

out of use in Huntingdon county. The forests have disap-
peared from around the iron manufacturing establishments
that were built half a century ago, and many of the latter
have gone to decay, and others have ceased operations. It
must not be inferred, however, that the iron interests of the
county have declined. A single furnace now, that of the
Eockhill Coal and Iron Company at Orbisonia, produces
more metal than all the other furnaces that were ever in
blast at one time.

" Juniata charcoal iron" has had, since the manufacture
of it was commenced, a great celebrity. The establish-
ments in this country that assisted in building up that repu-
tation have been as follows :

In Barree township — Rebecca and Monroe furnaces and
Rebecca forge.

Brady — Mill Creek furnace.

Cromwell— Bedford, Melinda, Winchester, Rockhill and
Chester furnaces, and Melinda forge.

Franklin — Huntingdon and Pennsylvania furnaces, three
Colerain forges, two Elizabeth forges, and Millington,
Franklin and Stockdale forges.

Hopewell — Rough and Ready furnace and Clinton forge.

Jackson — Mitchell's and Greenwood furnaces.

Morris — Union furnace.

Porter — Barree furnace and forge and Hatfield's rolling
mill and forge.

Shirley — Edward furnace.

Tod— Paradise furnaces and two forges and Mary Ann
forge,

West — Juniata forge.

CHAPTER XXII.

EDUCATION — NUMBEfc OK SCHOOLS IN THE COUNTY — AVERAGE NUMBER OP
MONTHS TAUGHT — NUMBER OF CHILDREN IN ATTENDANCE — TEACHERS —

CLASSIFICATION BRANCHES TAUGHT — SCHOOL BUILDINGS— PRIMITIVE

SCHOOL HOUSE — RECENT ARCHITECTURE — HEATING OF SCHOOL ROOMS

FURNITURE AND APPARATUS — TEACHERS' INSTITUTES — COUNTY SUPERIN-
TENDENT — SALARY — LIST OF PERSONS "WHO HAVE HELD THE OFFICE —
— RECEIPTS AND EXPENDITURES FOR SCHOOL PURPOSES — ILLITERACY —
NUMBER OF PERSONS WHO CANNOT READ OR WRITE.

The common school system of Pennsylvania was adopted
in 1835, from which time an accurate historv of education
in our county can be given; but previously educational
affairs had been loosely conducted and the preservation of
statistics much neglected. The principal aim of this chapter
will be to trace the progress of the present system of public
instruction. In doing so, we may get occasional glimpses of
the older methods by way of comparison.

It is difficult to ascertain the number of schools within
the present bounds of the county before the formation of
Blair. As nearly as can be estimated, the number in 1842
was one hundred and thirty-six. The increase since that
time has been as follows : In 1857, there were one hundred
and seventy-four; in 1865, one hundred and ninety-two,
and in 1875, two hundred and fifteen. The average number
of months taught in those years was as follows : In 18-12,
four and one-sixth ; in 1857, four ; in 1865^about four and
a half, and in 1875, about five and one-fifth. In 185-4, the
mimimum length of the school term was fixed by act of
Assembly at four months, and in 1872, at five months.
Some districts in the county would increase their term had
they the means of doing so. Others keep their schools
open five months only because they cannot otherwise obtain
a share of the State appropriation.

At the beginning of the free school system there were no
graded schools in the county, nor had there been any, so far
as the records show. Now there are thirty of that class, all

HISTORY OP HUNTINGDON COUNTY.

169

of which are in the boroughs and villages. The grading of
the schools in several of the rural districts has been pro-
posed, but the project has never been carried into e fleet.

The number of children attending the schools at different
periods, embracing more than the third of a century, the
average attendance, and the cost of instruction per month
for each pupil, are shown by the following table :

1842
1857
1865
1875

Attended School.

Average
Attendance.

i— i

04
O

2,774
4,335
4,450

4,754

1,841
3,532
4,125
4,222

4,615

7,867
8,575
8,976

5,480
5,088
5,734

43 cents.
55 "

72 "
87 "

The number of teachers in the same year and the average
salaries paid them, have been as follows :

Teachers.

AVKKAGE SALARIES.

Males.

~130~

154
105
167

Females .

Males.

Females.

1842
1857
1865

1875

6
32

87
57

$20.08
25.39
29.26
35;45

$10.92
19.12
24.72
31.60

From the comparison just given, it will be perceived that
salaries of male teachers in the county have been increased
a little over seventy-five per cent, since 1842, and that the
salaries of female teachers, in the same time, have been in-
creased nearly two hundred per cent.

Prof. H. M. McNeal, Superintendent of common schools
for Huntingdon county, to whom we are indebted for many
of the facts of this chapter, says :

" That our teachers are not yet as well qualified for their
work as they should be, is an undeniable fact. That they
have greatly improved as a class, is equally true. The
standard of qualifications is very much higher than it was a
few years ago.

" In the early history of education in our county, high
scholastic attainments were not required of the teacher.

" If a man had a fair knowledge of arithmetic, could write
a legible hand, read tolerably well, and possessed ' muscle

170 HISTORY OF HUNTINGDON COUNTY.

to wield the birch,' he had the necessary qualifications to
teach.

" Teachers of fifty years ago gave no attention to profes-
sional culture. Educational meetings were not known.
Works on the theory and practice of teaching were not
studied. It is true, many of the teachers were men of ex-
perience in the school-room, but they plied their calling
in 'tread mill' style, few of them knowing anything of the
laws of mental growth and development, or of the science of
education.

"As the cause of education has grown and developed, not
only greater scholastic attainments, but more thorough pro-
fessional training has been demanded.

" The teachers of Huntingdon county compare favorably
with those of other counties in point of attainments and zeal
in their work.

" In the 'good old times' of subscription schools, none but
men(?) were employed to teach. We have no record of any
females teaching in the county previous to the adoption of
the free school system.

" Female teachers in Huntingdon county, as well as in
other counties of the State, have met with violent opposi-
tion.

" They have had to battle against th*e grossest ignorance
and most unreasonable prejudices ; but, in the fight, they
have come off victorious.

" They have established their title to patronage by their
worth. Results prove that they have met with more uni-
form success than have male teachers. Some of the best
disciplined, the most carefully trained, and the best taught
schools in the county have been conducted by female
teachers.

" In 1842 there were one hundred and thirty male and
six female teachers.

"At the present time about one-third of our teachers are
females. During the late war about one-half were females."

The efficiency of our schools has been greatly increased
by the attention latterly given to classification. Formerly

HISTORY OP HUNTINGDON" COUNTY. 171

there were as many classes in each branch of study as there
were pupils pursuing it. Two books of the same kind could
seldom be found in a school. At the opening of the term,
book-cases and libraries were ransacked by pupils in their
ambition to have a book different from any other in school.

Teachers themselves were ignorant of the value of classi-
fication, and did not encourage it. There were fewer
branches taught in the schools at that time than at present,
and the instruction was given in a very different manner.
Arithmetic was not recited. When the pupil reached a pro-
blem he could not solve, it was taken to the teacher, by
whom the solution was placed upon the slate and handed,
without explanation, to the pupil, who departed with his
new acquisition and resumed his work.

Previous to the adoption of the present school system,
little else was taught in our schools than spelling, reading,
writing and arithmetic. In addition to these branches,
teachers are now required to pass an examination in and
to be prepared to impart a knowledge of mental arithmetic,
geography, grammar, history of the United States, and the
theory of teaching. In a number of schools, vocal music,
algebra, and drawing to a limited extent, are taught, and in
a few of the higher grades are also taught etymology, phy-
siology, philosophy and astronomy.

In text-books we approach very nearly to uniformity.
Those principally used are the New American Readers and
Spellers, Brooks' Mathematics, Mitchell's Geography, Few-
smith's and Bullion's Grammars, and Goodrich's History.

Of the one hundred and ninety-five school buildings in
the county in June, 1875, one hundred and sixty-nine were
frame, fifteen brick or stone, and eleven log. Many of the
sketches of townships will give the history of the erection of
school-houses within them, and therefore we entirely omit
such information from this part of the work.

"We are indebted to the Hon. David Clarkson, of Cass-
ville, for the following description of the primitive school-
houses of Trough Creek valley :

" They were built of round logs, and were covered with

172 HISTORY OF HUNTINGDON COUNTY.

clapboards, which were kept in their places by heavy logs
laid on them to keep them down. The floors were made of
logs split in halves and laid together with the flat sides up.
Snakes could crawl through, as they often did. In the end
of each building there was a great fire-place, with a wooden
chimney. The light was admitted through large cracks in
the walls, from six to ten inches in width, covered with
greased paper for glass, and woe betide the urchin who ran
his finger through the window, as often happened."

School architecture has not yet reached a very high
degree of perfection in the county, but most of the houses
built latterly are neat, comfortable and commodious. They
are generally about as good as the means of the district jus-
tify, and are certainly far superior to the buildings used as
school-houses half a century ago.

In the report of the County Superintendent for the year
1865, appears the following description of a room then used
for school purposes in one of the wealthier districts :

" The room is a basement, sixteen by twenty teet, with
two small windows. It has been occupied alternately as a
stable, a butcher shop — of which it is now more suggestive
than anything else — and a school-room. The floor is com-
posed of boards laid down loosely, and scarcely raised above
the damp, cold earth. The back part of the room has never
been walled, and from the yielding soil issue, continually,
small streams of slimy, disagreeable moisture, which trickle
down its side. There was no ventilation, and the musty
damp and vitiated atmosphere was suggestive of disease and
death."

It is almost incredible that such things could have existed
so recently as eleven years ago. This room must have been
the representative of an anterior period.

Twenty-five years ago, many of our school-houses were
heated by the old-fashioned fire-places, which, while they
had little else to recommend them to favor, furnished better
means of ventilation than some of our more modern build-
ings can boast of. Those not heated in this manner were
warmed by wood stoves. Coal as a fuel for school-rooms

HISTORY OF HUNTINGDON COUNTY. 173

is of late introduction. It is now very generally used.
In a few districts, remote from the railroads, where wood
is less expensive, the latter retains its place as a fuel.

Perhaps the greatest improvement in connection with our
schools has been in the furniture and apparatus with which
they are provided. The writing desks of a former day
consisted of boards arranged around the room, against the
walls, supported by wooden pins, and the seats, in most
cases, were slabs with the flat sides up, the surfaces of which
had never come in contact with a plane, and without
backs. Here and there a school could be found fortunate
enough to possess a map and a globe, the property of the
teacher, but blackboards were unknown.

Marked progress had been witnessed in these respects, es-
pecially during the last decade. The houses are not only
built more substantially, but they are constructed and fur-
nished with reference to health, comfort and convenience.
A number of them are supplied with good patent furniture.
Others have " home-made" desks and seats that are tolera-
bly comfortable. Wherever the patented articles have been
tried, they have proved to be cheaper and better than those
manufactured in the old style, and are recommending them-
selves to general use. A majority of our houses have out-
line maps, a number have globes, charts and writing tablets,
and a few have dictionaries. All but one have blackboards.

Although but few of our school buildings can be regarded
as first-class in every particular, they are generally as good
as those found in country districts any where. The best
houses are in Alexandria, Mount Union, Morris, Mapleton,
Petersburg, Porter, Tod, Walker, Warrior's Mark, Franklin
and Huntingdon districts.

Teachers' institutes have done much in this county for
the professional training of teachers, the education of public
sentiment, and the improvement of the schools. The first
institute was organized at Huntingdon, February 23rd, 1853.
A preliminary meeting was held at the public house of Mrs.
Hampson, where the following agreement was drawn up
and signed by forty -five teachers :

174 HISTORY OF HUNTINGDON COUNTY.

" "We the undersigned teachers of Huntingdon county,
hereby agree to meet in Convention this day to promote
the cause of general education and improvement of our pro-
fession ; and we agree to be governed by a Constitution and
By-Laws, adopted by a majority of the members in Conven-
tion."

They then met in the Town Hall, and the Convention
was opened with prayer, by Rev. James Campbell, who, on
motion, was elected president. Miss C. T. Benedict, S.
T. Brown and R. McDivitt were elected secretaries.

A committee was appointed to prepare business for the
Convention. They reported a number of resolutions,
among which were the following :

One resolving the Convention into an association to be
called the " Teachers' Institute of Huntingdon county;" one
providing for the appointment of a committee to draft a
constitution and by-laws ; one recommending to the Legisla-
ture to provide for the appointment or the election of a
County Superintendent; and one recommending the Pennsyl-
vania School Journal to teachers and friends of education.
The institute then adjourned to meet in Huntingdon, April
21st, 1853.

The first annual session was held as per adjournment,
continuing two days. In the absence of the President, Rev.
Campbell, J. S. Barr was made president pro tem.

The constitution and by-laws were read and adopted.
They provided that the necessary expenses of each session
should be defrayed by equal assessments on all the male
members present, and any member refusing to pay his quota
was to be suspended for one year.

The sessions of the institute were taken up in discussions
on the methods of teaching the alphabet, spelling, reading,
and arithmetic. Lectures were given on Teachers' Insti-
tutes by Rev. R. Pierce ; on General Education by S. T.
Brown; on School Discipline by D. Baker, and on Phonetics
by R. McDivitt. An essay on the Influence of the Teacher
was read by Miss G* T. Benedict. The subject of Uniform-
ity of Text Books was also discussed.

HISTORY OF HUNTINGDON COUNTY. 175

The second annual meeting of the institute was held in
Huntingdon, December 22nd, 1853. J. A. Hall was presi-
dent and S. T. Brown and R. McDivitt, secretaries. The
principal subjects of lectures and discussions were the
Common School System, Duties of Parents, Language, His-
tory, Music, The School Law, and Education.

Sessions were held thereafter, commencing as follows ;
December 21st, 1854, December 24th, 1855, December 22nd,
1856, February 22nd, 1858, December 27th, 1860, and De-
cember 26th, 1861. The institute was subject to the call of
the Board of Managers previous to the passage of the act
of Assembly in 1867, making it obligatory upon the Super-
intendent to convene the teachers of the couuty once in each
year. Under this act, the institute met December 17th,
1867, and has since assembled annually.

Before the adoption of the common school system,no exami-
nation was required of those who were applicants for posi-
tions as teachers. From that time until the establishment
of the Superintendency, the examinations were made by the
directors, or by persons selected by them. Improvement
in the qualifications of teachers only became perceptible
after more thorough methods were put into operation by
the Superintendents. Their supervision has been more di-
rect than any that had previously been exercised, and the
less the area over which it has been distributed, the more
effective it has been in producing good results. The use-
fulness of the Superintendency has therefore been much
more apparent in the small counties than in the large ones.

The office met with considerable opposition in this county
after its establishment, citizens of the county joining with
others in petitioning the Legislature to abolish it. The Super-
intendents were poorly paid, and failed to receive the co-
operation of school officers and patron. During the con-
tinuance of this opposition, they did more to improve the
schools of the county than any other agency employed.
Their efficiency was soon recognized, opposition ceased, and
they were given the support of directors and friends of
education.

176

HISTORY OF HUNTINGDON COUNTY.

At the first election of Superintendent, in June, 1854, the
aet establishing the office having been passed at the previous
session of the Legislature, the salary was fixed at $300.
Many of the members of that convention, who voted for a
low salary, have since become warm advocates of the office
and in favor of liberal compensation. John G. Stewart,
now of Mount Union, was the only director who voted for
$800, and was regarded as somewhat fanatical in his views.

The following is a list of the persons who have held the
office, with the year of their election or appointment, and
their salaries :

1854, J. S. Barr,

Salary §300,

Resigned April, 1856.

1856, A. Owen,

« «

Appointed, " "

1857,

S600

1860, R. McPivitt,

« <<

1863,

It It

Increased to Sl,000.

1866, D. F. Tussey,

« It

« « u

1869, "

800.

1872, E. M. McNeal,

" 1,000.

1875,
The receipts and expenditures for school purposes in the
county are shown by the following table, the figures exhib-
iting the increase from a time but a few years subsequent
to the commencement of our free schools :

1842.

1857.

1865.

1875.

Receipts.

State Appropriation,

$ 4 779 00

S 2 020 90

$ 2 603 76

$ 5 570 22

Taxes & other sources,

7 299 57

21 469 30

25 371 25

(12 349 32

Total,

12 078 57

23 490 20

27 975 01

67 919 54

Expenditures.

School Houses, build-

ings, etc,,

8 1 786 42

S 2 558 15

$ 2 496 96

$ 13 573 iMi

Fuel, Contingencies,

and Collection of taxes,

589 83

1 653 76

4 237 02

12 569 11

Teachers' Salaries,

8 069 03

19 319 50

22 839 72

39 756 10

Total,

10 645 28

23 531 41

29 573 70

65 898 87

There is a considerable number of persons in the county
who have not been reached by the benefits of our educa-
tional system. Illiteracy does not, however, exist to as
great an extent as in some of the other counties of the State.
In 1870, there were in the county nine hundred and fifteen
persons, ten years of age and over, who could not read,

HISTORY OF HUNTINGDON COUNTY.

177

and eighteen hundred and seventy who could not write.
The age, color and sex of the latter were as follows :

AGE.

WHITE.

COLORED.

Total.

Male.

Female.

Male.

Female.

10 to 15

514

978

5
33

129

182

1559

15 to 21

655

1130

1870

Progress in education, as in all moral reforms, is necesarily
slow. " As we perceive the shadow to have moved, but did
not perceive it moving, so our advances in education, con-
sisting of such minute steps, are perceivable only by the
distance." Slowly as it may seem, we are steadily advanc-
ing. Every department of our system is more perfect than
when it was established, the grade of scholarship is higher,
teachers are better qualified, and popular intelligence is
more general.

CHAPTER XXIII.

PRIVATE SCHOOLS — SHIRLEYSBURG ACADEMY AND SEMINARY — MILNWOOD
ACADEMY CASSVILE SEMINARY — SOLDIERS' ORPHAN SCHOOL — HUNTING-
DON ACADEMY — MOUNTAIN SEMINARY — CHURCHES.

Shirleysburg at one time supported a Boys' Academy and
a Female Seminary, each of which had a liberal patronage.
At that time a spirit of hostility to the public schools was
rife in Shirley township, it being the last district in the county
to accept the common school system. After the latter was ac-
cepted and began to receive a generous support, these private
schools grew weaker and finally expired. They have not
been in existence for a number of years.

In 1849, Milnwood Academy, at Shade Gap, was founded
through the energy and zeal of Rev. J. Y. McGinnes, Pres-
byterian pastor at that place. Under his wise and efficient
management, the institution sprang at once into popularity
and success, but he did not long survive to continue his
useful labors. His successors were Wilson McGinnes,
nephew of the founder of the Academy, W. H. "Woods, W. Mc-
Knight Williamson, Rev. Van Artsdalen, W. A. Hunter,
L. M. Beers and R. S. Kuhn. It was under the
control of trustees until taken charge of by the latter gentle-
man, when he purchased it. In its early days it was a
flourishing school, and sent from its halls of learning, many
who have become distinguished in the various walks of life,
and who are scattered far and wide over the United States.
It has not been in operation for four or five years. The
buildings remain in good condition.

Cassville Seminary had its origin in the fall of 1851. The
Rev. Zane Bland, in a conversation with Geo. W. Speer and
David Clarkson, who is at present one of the Associate
Judges of the county, suggested the place as admirably
adapted for the location of a seminary. The enterprise was
taken hold of by those gentlemen, stock subscribed, an asso-
ciation formed and officers elected. On the 26th of May,

Ir
In

loo

HISTORY OF HUNTINGDON COUNTY. 179

1852, the Board of Trustees entered into an article of
agreement with Kobert Madden for the erection of the build-
ing, who at once entered upon the work, and completed it
the next fall or winter. While this was being done, the first
session of the school was held in the M. B. Church, Rev.
Ralph Pierce, Principal, and his wife, an adopted daughter of
Bishop Peck, Preceptress. In 1854 and '55 another build-
ing, for the accommodation of boarders, was erected by
Robert Madden. The school was under the supervision of
the Methodist Church, and continued in operation until the
beginning of the late war. It gained considerable popu-
larity and patronage, having at various times as high as a
hundred and twenty-five students.

This property was purchased in September, 1865, by Prof.
A. L. Guss, for a Soldiers' Orphan School. It included four
acres of land, and was bought for $2,250. The erection of
additional buildings and other improvements cost $5,000
more. The farm cost §3,000, and lots and adjoining grounds
$1,000.

The school was opened November 6th, 1865. During the
time it was in operation, pupils were admitted by orders from
the State Superintendent, and by transfers from other schools,
as follows :

Males. Females, Total.

Admitted on orders, 174 149 323

by transfers, 99 62 161

Total, 273 211 484

They were discharged as follows :

Males. Females. Total.

Discharged on age, (at 16 years, . . . 116 99 215

" " order, 48 29 77

" by transfer, 18 12 30

Died while in school, 2 5 7

Discharged at close of the school, . . 89 66 135

Total, 273 211 484

The school closed April 10th, 1874, after having been open
nearly eight and a half years. " The testimony of the out-
side world and the records of the Department " show that it
had been well managed.

180 HISTORY OF HUNTINGDON COUNTY.

The only private schools now in existence in the county
are the Huntingdon Academy and the Mountain Seminary
at Birmingham.

The former was incorporated by Act of Assembly of
March 19th, 1816, which also granted a donation of $2,000
to the institution. It continued to receive State aid for a
number of years. The buildings, then situated at the south-
eastern corner of Second and Allegheny streets, known as
Dean's Hotel, were purchased, and used for the school for
many years. The brick building at the corner of Fourth
and Moore streets was erected in 1844, and the school re-
moved there. In 1874 a more commodious structure was
placed at the northeastern corner of Fourth and Church
streets. Professor J. A. Stephens was then the principal,
and it was his efforts and energy that secured its erection.
His health failing, he was able to teach but a short time in
the new building. He died in April, 1876, much lamented
by all who knew him. Prof. \V. W. Campbell is the present
principal.

The Mountain Seminary was incorporated in 1851, and
the buildings erected by a stock company. Rev. Israel
Ward, A.M., was the first principal. The school had only a
moderate patronage and was far from being profitable. It
was burdened with debt and the management was inefficient.
In 1855, the property was sold at sheriff's sale and was un-
occupied for sometime afterwards. In October, 1857, it was
purchased by Prof. L. G. Grier under whose auspices, with
the assistance of Miss N. J. Davis, graduate of Mount Holyoke
Seminary — than whom there is not a more thorough teacher
in the State — and a full corps of teachers in music and other
branches, the institution has achieved a marked success. The
building has been greatly enlarged, and additional grounds
purchased, until they now consist of about fil'ty acres. The
latter have been greatly improved and adorned with shrub-
bery. An extensive green-house adds greatly to the beauty
and attractiveness of the premises. The laundry is in a sepa-
rate building erected for the purpose. Ample washing and
bathing facilities are afforded the pupils. The building has

HISTORY OF HUNTINGDON COUNTY. 181

been in a measure remodeled during the last year. It is now
lighted with gas, manufactured on the premises, and heated
by steam, both of which improvements contribute materially
to the comfort and safety of the occupants. About fifty
boarding and thirty-five day scholars are in attendance.

We can give no other general church history of the county
than that contained in the census returns for 1870. The
details of the organization of churches and the building
of edifices in many of the townships will be found in the
local sketches which form many of the succeeding chapters.
In 1870, there were in the county eighty-three church
structures, and the value of all church property was
$281,-100. The number of organizations and sitting accom-
modations was as follows :

Organizations.

Sittings.]

Organizations

Sittings.

Baptist, 12

4,900 1

Presbyterian, 12

4,300

Episcopal, 1

300 :

Reformed, 11

2,650

Lutheran, 10

3,35i 1

Catholic, 2

2,000

Methodist, 29

12,800|A11 Denominations, 86

36,000

Thus the number of seats in the churches exceeds the
population by nearly five thousand. And when we consider
the large proportion of the people that stays away from
church, regularly and irregularly, we will perceive how
many of those seats must be empty. It is likely that the
Methodist churches alone would accommodate all who can
be found in attendance at all the churches on any single
day.

Nearly all the denominations have improved their edi-
fices since the above statistics were taken, and many of them
have increased the number. Perhaps the only decrease has
been with the Catholics, who lost their church at Dudley,
by fire during the present year.

CHAPTER XXIV.

POPULATION AND WEALTH — STEADY AND GRATIFYING INCREASE — PROGRESS
FROM 1790 TO 1870 — WHITES, FREE COLORED AND SLAVES — FOREIGNERS
— COUNTRIES FROM WHICH THEY CAME AND NUMBER FROM EACH — DIS-
TRIBUTION OF POPULATION — WHITE AND COLORED, NATIVE AND FOREIGN
— VALUE OF REAL AND PERSONAL PROPERTY — COMPARISON WITH OTHER
COUNTIES — AREA AND TAXATION.

The progress that results from the skill, the industry and
the energy of man is valuable only as it contributes to his
welfare and happiness. The reclaiming of a country from
the wilderness, the improvement of its agricultural re-
sources, the development of its mines, the building of manu-
factories, the conversion of its raw material into articles of
commerce, and the increase of facilities for carrying its pro-
ducts, natural and artificial, to market, and for bringing
other commodities in return, are worthy of our exertions,
because they improve and develop the people, build up a
better social system, beget a higher civilization and provide
the means of support for a larger population. We will
present some statistics of the growth of our county in the
number and wealth of its inhabitants.

In these respects there has been a steady and -gratifying
increase. Had the county been left at its original propor-
tions, it would now contain from sixty thousand to seventy
thousand people, but its population and territory have been
cut down together. Between 1800 and 1810, the increase
was small on account of the formation of Cambria county,
and between 1840 and 1850 there was a loss of some thou-
sands, caused by the erection of Blair. The following table
shows our progress at each decade :

1790.

7,498
24
43

7,565

1800.

1810.

1820.

1830.

1840.

34,977
507

35.484

1850.

1S60. ; 1870.

Whites . . .
Free Colored.
Slaves ....

12,875

100

13,008

19,668 19,866 26,S13

110 268 324
8

24,451
335

24,780

27,810|30,952

290 299

Total . . .

14.778

20,139

27,145

28,100 31,251

The population of 1870 consisted of 29,658 natives and

HISTORY OF HUNTINGDON COUNTY.

183

1,593 foreigners. The countries from which the latter prin-
cipally came and the number from each are as follows :

British America,

Ireland,

Scotland,

England and Wales,

Germany,

The distribution of population, white and colored, native

and foreign, over the county in 1870, and the distribution

of white and colored people in 1850 and 1860, are shown

by the following table :

France,

656

Sweden and Norway,

Switzerland,

443

Poland,

383

TOWNSHIPS.

Barree

Brady

Carbon* . . . .

Cass

Clay

Cromwellf . . .

Dublin

Franklin . . . .
Henderson . . .
Hopewell . . .
Jackson . . . .
Juniata . . . .

Lincoln

Morris

Oneida

Penn

Porter

Shirley

Springfield . . .

Tell

Tod

Union

Walker

Warrior's Mark
West

BOROUGHS.

Alexandria . .
Birmingham .
Cassville . . .
Huntingdon .
Mapleton . . .
Mount Union .
Petersburg . .
Shirleysburg .
Three Springs

1850.

1,269
1,016

709

682
1,288

897
1,386
2,145

787
1,431

783

839
1,012
1,596

592

983
1,208

631
1,083
1,185
1,447

596
263

1,343

263
368

5
13

144

5
3

127

I860.

1,290

916
1.511

567
1,029
1,108

875
1,551

561
1,005
1,741

455

792

362

969

1,115

1,643

686

1,009

804

896

805

1,341

1,338

532

221

265

1,739

334
351

1
26

151

18T0.

1,237
904

2,231
583
811

1,379
975

1,347
661
412

1,662
393
532
687
384

1,139

1,212

1,623
738

1,024
771
789
962

1,209

1,367

555

261
416
2,865
398
535
381
329
189

2
16

7
1
9
8

1
2

4
41

10
16

169

CD
>

1,211

894

1,508

596

808

1,361

968

1,319

(124

404

1,635

371

522

664

359

1,098

1,241

1,603

736

1,012

760

783

930

1,176

1,335

532
254
413
2,787
381
511
368
311
183

725

3
10
19
16
36
37

8
27
22
10
24
27
45
12
30

2
12
21

6
48
33
32

247

1,237
904

2,233
599
818

1,380
984

1,355
661
412

1,662
393
532
6S8
386

1,143

1,253

1,633
738

1,024
781
789
978

1,209

1,367

556
263
416

3,034
389

381
329
189

* Including Broad Top City and Coalmont. t Including Orbisonia.

184

HISTORY OF HUNTINGDON COUNTY.

Although Huntingdon county stands on the list as thirty-
eighth in population, she occupies a much higher position,
being thirtieth, in point of wealth. She compares very favor-
ably with the other counties of the State containing about
the same or even a larger number of inhabitants. The fol-
lowing statement embraces all the counties that have popu-
lations varying from 25,000 to 37,000, from which it will be
seen that but two of them exceed Huntingdon in the value
of their real and personal property and that these are more
populous :

Counties.

Population.

Wealth.

Counties.

Population.

Wealth.

Huntingdon,

31,251

830,240,360

Columbia,

28,766

21,327,400

Adams,

30,315

20,552,000

Greene,

25,887

16,955,650

Bedford,

29,635

19,222,505

Indiana,

36,13S

26,491,208

Butler^

36.510

27,292,655

Lawrence,

27.298

22,256,500

Cambria,

36,569

11,329,220

Lebanon,

34,096

33,713,219

Carbon,

28,144

20,475,666

Perry,

25,447

9,120,400

Centre,

34,418

25,066,560

Somerset,

28.226

23,397,510

Clarion,

26,537

12,786,020

Tioga,

35,097

34,141,020

Clearfield,

25,741

10,374,050

Wayne,

33,188

14,091,168

The area of the county is eight hundred and ninety-nine
square miles, or five hundred and seventy-five thousand
three hundred and sixty acres. The number of taxable in-
habitants in 1870 was seven thousand three hundred and
ninety -five. In the same year the amount of taxes assessed
was as follows :

Borough and Township, $64,886

County 32,508

State 3,317

Total,

$100,711

CHAPTER XXV.

THE GREAT REBELLION — RESOLUTIONS ADOPTED BEFORE ITS COMMENCE-
MENT — SERIES OP MEETINGS AT HUNTINGDON IN APRIL, 1SG1, AND PRO-
CEEDINGS THEREAT — DEPARTURE OF THE FIRST COMPANY FOR HARRIS-
BURG ENTHUSIASM OF THE PEOPLE — DISPLAY OF THE NATIONAL COLORS

IN ALL PARTS OF THE COUNTY — SUPPLYING SOLDIERS WITH REFRESH-
MENTS — SOLDIERS' AID SOCIETIES—NUMBER OF MEN FURNISHED BY THE
COUNTY DURING THE WAR — COMMISSIONED OFFICERS, WITH THEIR RANK,
COMMANDS, ETC. — MILITIA — EMERGENCY MEN — DECORATION OF SOLDIERS'
GRAVES — MEMORIAL ASSOCIATION.

On the 17th day of January, 1861, nearly three months
before the first overt act of rebellion in the South, and
while hopes were yet entertained of a peaceable adjustment
of the difficulties which had been made the pretext for se-
cession, the people of Huntingdon county, irrespective of
party, assembled in the court-house and expressed their sen-
timents as contained in the following preamble and resolu-
tions :

" Several of the States, bound by the Constitution of the
United States, the supreme law of the land, acceded to and
adopted by themselves, having, by the action of separate
state conventions, undertaken to absolve their people from
the allegiance due to the General Government, and placed
themselves in an attitude of hostility to the Union ; and
other States of the Confederacy being agitated by those of
their citizens who favor co-operation with the seceding States,
thus rendering probable not only a dissolution of the Union,
but the formation of two or many governments, which, from
the causes leading to their existence, will act towards each
other with that malignant hate which follows when ' brother's
blood is turned to gall;' and the citizens of Huntingdon
county, strongly impressed with a sense of their duty to the
Constitution and the Union, with the importance of pre-
serving and maintaining both ; desirous to avert the calam-
ities that must follow a permanent dismemberment of the
Union, do, in county meeting assembled, declare :

186 HISTORY OF HUNTINGDON COUNTY.

" 1st. That the undivided feeling of the people of this
county, without respect to party, is an unyielding fidelity
to the Constitution, the Union, and all laws passed in con-
formity with the one or for the protection and perpetuity of

the other.

" 2nd. That we declare, not our willingness to concede,

but our readiness, by all lawful means, to demand and en-
force for our brethren of the South, every right and privilege
granted and secured to them by the Constitution and laws of
the United States; that while we declare the intention that
their rights and ours shall be thus equally secured by the
Government, we also declare that their wrongs and ours
should be, and can be, equally redressed by resort to the
same power.

" 3rd. It is our ardent desire that the differences now ex-
isting shall be adjusted without leading to unnatural and
disastrous strife ; that they should be made the subject of
dispassionate discussion among brethren, with a mutual de-
sire to settle them justly to all parties ; not the occasion of
bloody contest, which will embitter but never remove them ;
and feeling thus, we request our Senators and Representa-
tives in Congress and the State Legislature to give expres-
sion to this sentiment, believed to be that not of the county
alone but of the masses of this State, by advocating and
voting for any measure calculated to bring about a peaceable
and honorable adjustment of pending difficulties ; avoiding
here the presentation of any particular project about which
individuals would differ, but declaring that in this crisis
mere party feeling should be buried by both constituents
and representatives, and every patriotic effort made that
can with honor be made, to preserve the Union in peace,
and to call back those whom we still claim as citizens of a
common country, from rebellion to allegiance, and then, if
the olive branch of peace be rejected, and war proffered in
its stead, we will stand around the flag of our whole country
as firmly as our rocks and mountains stand around us.

"4th. While everything consistent with honor should be
done to avert the calamity of civil war and restore fra-

HISTORY OF HUNTINGDON COUNTY. 187

ternal relations between the States, duty to the Constitu-
tion and the laws, which we have declared our readiness to
support and submit to, requires that the people of every
State should support and submit to them. We cannot,
therefore, characterize the recent attacks upon the property
and flag of the United States as anything else than armed
treason, and while and whenever it continues to manifest
itself, we cordially approve and will support the action of
the President, his Cabinet and Lieut. Gen. Scott, in continu-
ing to make every preparation necessary either to prevent
or meet it.

" 5th. That Major Robert Anderson is entitled to the
thanks of his country for his prudent and patriotic conduct
in occupying Fort Sumpter.

" 6. That we extend our cordial greeting to all friends of
the Union, and of peaceable settlement in the Southern
States; that we assure them of the prevalence of the feeling
in the North that the rights and equality secured by the
Constitution and the laws shall be observed and enforced
by all the powers of the Government, sustained in good
faith by the people ; that we ask them to stand with us, and
pledge ourselves to stand by them in every honorable effort
to preserve that Government under which both the North
and the South have grown and prospered."

Although the day for argument and entreaty, as it then
seemed, had not passed, yet the time for the expression of a
firm determination to preserve the Union had come. It
was not long until the latter was the only sentiment which
the crisis demanded. A series of meetings of the people of
the county was held in Huntingdon on the 17th, 18th, 19th,
20th and 22nd of April, 1861, at which the resolutions were
briefer, and if possible, more expressive :

"Resolved, that we pledge our all in men and means to sus-
tain our National Administration in every effort to maintain
the integrit} r of the Union and defend its flag.

"Resolved, that it is no longer necessary to appeal to every
patriot to forget every thought and every word calculated
to excite partisan feeling or to wound party affections. The

188 HISTORY OF HUNTINGDON COUNTY.

past is forgotten — common dangers unite us. "We are one
people — let no feeling of madness divide us.

"Resolved, that our sympathies and our prayers shall go
with and be offered for those of our fellow citizens who take
up arms to defend our country's honor ; and those dependent
upon them whom they leave amongst us shall have our
faithful care.

"Resolved, that the County Commissioners be requested
to raise the American flag from the cupola of our court
house."

The war had then commenced ; Fort Sumpter had been
fired upon ; the President had issued his proclamation
calling out the militia of the several states to the aggregate
number of seventy-five thousand men, and the military
companies were tendering their services and being accepted.

The appeal of the President "to all loyal citizens to favor,
facilitate and aid .this effort to maintain the honor, the integ-
rity, and the existence of our national Union, and the per-
petuity of popular government, and to redress the wrongs
long enough endured," nowhere met with a more ready and
hearty response than in Huntingdon county. In fact, he
had had the assurance of the support of the people of the
county in the resolutions of January 17th, 1861, in which
they promised to stand around the flag of their whole
country as firmly as their rocks and mountains stood around
them, and cordially approved of every measure taken to
meet and prevent armed treason. How faithfully they stood
by these promises, and how well they gave to the President
and the nation their support, would be attested by the death
roll of those who fell in the fearful struggle which was
then commencing, could it be here given.

Among the first companies to offer themselves were those
from Huntingdon county. But no notification of the accep-
tance of any of them was received until Friday, April, 19th,
1861. The next day, Saturday, the 20th, the " Standing Stone
Guards," of Huntingdon, took their departure for Harris-
burg. They were placed in the Fifth Pennsylvania regi-
ment, of which R. Bruce Petriken was appointed Major, and

HISTORY OF HUNTINGDON COUNTY.

189

immediately sent to Washington. The following is the roll
of the officers and men of the company :

Benjamin F. Miller,

Captain

George F. McCabe,

First Lieut.

James D. Campbell,

Second "

J. Addison Moore,

First Sergt.

John S. Campbell,

Second "

Wm. H. Flenner,

Third "

Geo. W. Simpson,

Fourth "

James McCahan.

First Corporal

Robert B. Smith, Second

Wm. S. Westbrook,

Third "

Geo. W. Cypher,

Fourth "

A. Kinney Buoy,

Musician

Edwin W. Thomas,

Private

Barrick, Jacob

Black, George A.

Bradley, John \V.

Cannon, John

«<

Coder, William B.

Clark, Jacob S.

Couch, W. A. B.

Clark, Alfred

Cullison, John

Cunningham, J. D.

Deffenbaugh, S. S.

DeArmitt, John

Donahoe, John

Deetor, John A.

Dean, George W.

Estep, William

Fink, John

(•

Fleck, Augustus

Forshy, Henry

Gibb, John

Glazier, Wm. H.

Gilliland, J. W.

Gilliland, Wm. D.

Harvey, Geo. W.

Hoffman, Theo.

Heffner, D. J.
Keegan, Thomas
Hoffman, John
Lytle, John W.
Long, Wm. H.
Montgomery, G. W.
McFarland, Theo.
Miller, W. A.
McCabe, Edward
McMurtrie, S. M.
McMurtrie," James
McGee, Chas. W.
Mangle, Adam
McCall, Jacob
McKean, James
McAllister, Alfred
Miller, Adam P.
Nash, E. K.
Prim, William H.
Rinard, Samuel
Roulett, James
Staubs, Nathaniel
Shaw, William H.
Stamm, John
Stevens, William
Sturtsman, William
Steel, Jacob
Shaffer, Peter
Sneath, George
Souder, John
Sneath, Richard
Thompson, Joseph H.
Thompson, R. E.
Tobias, Calvin
Vandevander, M. M.
Williams, B F.
Wagoner, Wm. H.
White, Anthony
Wise, William H.

Private

u
a
tt

n
tt

it
n
((

a
a
it
it
tt
a
a
a
a
u
a
a
a
a
u
a

a
a
it
st

a
a
a
tt
a
a
it
tt

The company contained over ninety men, but the max-
imum number then allowed to a company being but seventy
men, that number was mustered into service, and the balance
returned home.

The departure of the Guards was the occasion of the most
unbounded enthusiasm among the people of Huntingdon.
At an early hour in the day, the sound of martial music
was heard on the streets, the citizens turned out en masse,
and the most intense excitement prevailed. The company
paraded at noon, and, headed by the Excelsior Band, marched

190 HISTORY OF HUNTINGDON COUNTY.

to the Diamond, where a beautiful flag was presented to
them on behalf of the band, by J. Sewell Stewart, Esq.
It was received by J. D. Campbell, Lieutenant of the com-
pany. After these ceremonies, the company participated in
the raising of a number of flags in different parts of the
town, and then marched to the court house.

In the evening the people met to take leave of the soldiers.
For a description of the scenes that then occurred, we are
indebted to the Journal and American of April 24th, 1861 :

" The crowd (at the court house) was immense — men,
women and children, almost our entire population, crowded
the room, the yard, the pavement and the street. The first
speaker was the Rev. S. H. Reid, of the German Reformed
Church, who addressed the volunteers in a glorious speech,
full of patriotic, soul-stirring sentiment, and well- worthy the
heart that gave utterance to them. He was followed by
Rev. G. W. Zahnizer, of the Presbyterian Chuch. Mr.
Zahnizer spoke as a man whose heart beats in unison with
the music of the Union, and when he pointed to the American
flag, and appealed to the noble band of bold hearts around
him, to return only when the dishonor heaped upon it shall
be wiped out, and it again floats in triumph in every section
of our country, the deep response which followed attested
that " Victory or Death " is the watchword of every patriot
in Huntingdon county. Rev. S. L. M. Couser, of the Metho-
dist Church, next spoke. His remarks caused a thrill of
patriotic feeling to agitate every heart, which found vent in
such terrific cheers that made the very rafters crack. And
when he seized the stars and stripes, and waving them over
his head, declared his readiness to shoulder his musket in
defense of that glorious emblem of liberty, the shouts that
went up were deafening. Rev. Mr. Bueglass, of the Baptist
Church, next addressed the meeting. We cannot do justice
to his or his predecessors' remarks. His address was patri-
otic, deep and heartfelt, and stirred the blood in every heart.
He concluded by stating that he had offered his services to
his country, and would shortly leave for the scene of con-
flict. At the close of his remarks, each soldier was furnished

HISTORY OF HUNTINGDON COUNTY. 191

•with a pocket testament, the gift of the ladies of the borough.
The line was then formed, and the soldiers, after taking fare-
well of their friends and relatives, marched to the depot,
followed by the entire populace. The scene there baffles
description. Mothers, wives and sisters weeping over their
friends who thus willingly offer to lay down their lives in
defense of their flag. At eleven o'clock the train started
and our gallant boys were on their way to the seat of war."

On the 23d of the same month the "Union Guards" of
Petersburg, commanded by Capt. Joseph Johnson, went to
Harrisburg, and were assigned to the Fifteenth regiment.
This and the Standing Stone Guards were the only compa-
nies from Huntingdon county that could be accepted under
the President's first call, the quota of the State having been
filled. Their term of enlistment was three months. Six
other companies had been organized in the county, and
were awaiting orders to march. They were accepted upon
the second and succeeding requisitions.

The scenes attending the departure of the first company
from Huntingdon were not an isolated instance of the en-
thusiasm of the people, but were repeated during the war
in spirit, if not in exact form, in every locality of the coun-
ty. There is not a township that did not send its company,
or parts of one or more ; not a community that 'did not
send the best of its citizens ; scarcely a household that did
not send a member, and many of them all or nearly all,
that were capable of bearing arms. The cause that thus
aroused the courage and patriotism of those whose duty it
became to engage in the conflict, and to whom its defense
was a work of personal sacrifice and danger, also received
the support and encouragement of that portion of the popu-
lation whose place was not upon the field of battle. Men
went without reluctance ; women aided them in going.
There were outpourings of the people to see them leaving.
At the railroad stations greater crowds assembled than had
ever been there before. They came from distant parts of
the county to have a last look and to say a last inspiring word
to the soldier who left his friends to face his country's foes.

192 HISTORY OF HUNTINGDON COUNTY.

The popular feeling was exhibited also by the display of
the national colors in every portion of the county. As soon
as a flag of proper dimensions could be obtained it was
placed upon the cupola of the court-house. Six other large ban-
ners floated over Penn street, in Huntingdon, between that
building and Fifth street. The stars and stripes were un-
furled from all public places, the Methodist church, the Cath-
olic church, the public school-house and elsewhere. It is
impossible to designate all the points from which they
waved. Not only in Huntingdon was this the case, but
from one end of the county to the other, they were equally
conspicuous and numerous. So universally were they dis-
played from private dwellings that the house without one
seemed to deserve some suspicion. But there were few to
be suspected.

In the welfare and comfort of the troops, whether in the
field or in their journeys through the county, the people
always manifested an active interest. At the beginning of
the war, when troops were hurried to Washington city, for
its defense, they left their homes unprovided with the food
necessary during their trip by railroad, and were dependent
upon the inhabitants along the route. On the arrival of
trains at the towns and villages in Huntingdon county the
entire population turned out, with baskets containing the
substantial refreshments. A thousand soldiers were fur-
nished with food at Huntingdon at one time.

Soldiers' aid societies were organized in every township,
the officers of nearly all of which were ladies, and the con-
tributions to which were generally made by the same sex.
They sent to the front vegtables, fruits, berries, and nearly
every production of the earth, prepared for use in every
style ; lint, towels, bandages, sheets, clothing, and every
article that could add to the comfort and alleviate the suf-
ferings of the sick and wounded. We cannot estimate the
influence of these efforts and of the moral sentiment mani-
fested by the people, upon the final result.

The exact number of soldiers furnished during the war
by Huntingdon county, will probably never be ascertained.

HISTORY OF HUNTINGDON COUNTY. 193

It might be supposed that such information could be furnish-
ed by the Adjutant General's office, at Harrisburg, but on
application there, it is stated that the records of that office
"are filed in the order of companies and regiments and not
in localities from which the men enlisted or were drafted."
The data ought to exist somewhere, as it was no doubt made
use of in determining the quotas of the county under the*
different calls for troops.

The men did not all go with organized companies, but
towards the latter part of the war, when recruiting became
more difficult, were sent forward in squads and distributed
to such commands as the interests of the service required.
There were also many citizens of the county in companies
from other counties, who were credited to the latter, and
some of the Huntingdon county companies, especially after
the first draft in September, 1863, had men in them who
resided elsewhere. We might learn approximately, by a
great deal of labor, the total number of enlistments in the
county, and such a work should be undertaken while the offi-
cers and men are yet living, as much of the information would
have to be obtained by personal inquiry of them. A thorough
history of our volunteers would make a volume of itself.

Before the draft of September, 1863, there had been
eighteen companies organized in the county, of the strength
of which we can form a very close estimate :

Three Months' Men.

Two companies — 77 men each 154

Three Years' Men.

Twelve companies — average 75 men §ach 900

In companies from other counties 125

In Easton's and Campbell's batteries 30

In the regular army 20

Nine Months' Men.
Four companies — 101 men each 404

Total 1633

The drafted men and the enlistments during the eighteen
months of the war after the first draft, would increase the
number to over two thousand.

194

HISTORY OF HUNTINGDON COUNTY.

The following list of commissioned officers from the
county, showing their rank, commands, etc., shows also the
companies and regiments to which the enlisted men from the
county principally belonged :

Term

NAME.

Rank.

Co.

Beg't.

Rank From
April 21, '61

of
Service.

Remarks.

Major

5th

3 months

Mustered out July 24, '01

Capt

«t

«i

tt ti ti tt

let L't

ti (> it tf

2nd"

tt tt fi if

Capt.

15th

April 23, '61

" " Aug. 8, '61

M. McNally

1st L't H

ii it .I ti

W. H. Simpson

2nd" JH

ti tt ii ii

Capt. O

2Sth

Aug. 17, '61

3 years

Transferred to 147th Pa.

1st L't i

it tt

2nd "

i. tt

tt a

2nd Bes

May 1, '63

Discharged August, 1864

L't Col.

Oth Kes

July 1, '62

Proin'd from Maj., killed
in battle May 6. '64.

Frank Zentmyer. . .

Major

5th Bes

July 1, '62

3 years

Prom'd from Cap't Co. I,
killed at Fredricksburg
Dec. 13, 1*62.

Jae. A. McPherran.

Major

5th Bes

May 7, '64

3 years

Brvt. Lt. Col., must'd out
with reg't June 11, '64.

J. A. Willoughby. .

Adjt

5th Bes

May 7, '64

3 years

Must'd out as 1st L't of
Co. G, June 11, '64.

Capt

5th Bes

May 15, '61

3 years

Hon disch'd Oct. 24, "61.

C. M. Hildebrand . .

April 11, '63

Brvt. Maj., prom'd from
1st Lieut., must'd out
June 11, '64.

Geo. Thomas

1st L't

5th Bes

May 15, '61

3 years

Hon. disch'd Oct. 24, '61.

T. M. Cornpropst..

f t

Oct. 31, '61

Resigned Mav 6, 1862.

W. F. Thomas

2d L't

May 15, '61

Hon. disch'd Oct. 24, '61.

• f

Dec. 4, '61

Besigned July 31, '62.

K. M. Alexander. . .

April 11, '63

Brvt. 1st Lieut., must'd
out June 11, '64.

Capt

5th Kes

Oct. 1, '62

3 years

Mustered out June 11, '64

1st L't

June 1, '61

Discharged Sept. 25, '62.

it.

Oct. 1, '63

Filled at Fredericksburg
Dec. 13, 1862.

G. P. Swope

1st L't

5th Res

Mar. 5, '63

3 years

Mustered out June 11, '64

I. K. Finch

2nd L't

Oct. 1, '62

Killed at Fredericksburg
Dec. 13, 1863.

T.L. Gtiyer

2nd L't

5th Res

Mar. 5, '63

3 years

Mustered out June 11, '62

H. K. Neff

Sur'n

Sth Res

Mar. 25, '62

Discharged May 17, '62.

J. C. Baker

Capt

12th Res

Feb. 6, '62

Died Julv 6, 1862.

Perrv Etehison

1st L't

Mar. 24, '62

Resigned July 18, 1S62.

Sam'*l J. Cloyd

2nd L't

Apl 14, '62

Hon. disch'd Jan. 7, '63.

Frank Stephens.. . .

July 18, '62

Transferred to Co. D,
190th P. V.

C. H. Mitchell

1st L't

14th Res

May 26, '63

3 years

Discharged Dec. 31, '64.

2nd"

45th

June 15. "63

Besigned July 25, '04.

J. B. Miles

L't Col

4'Jth

Oct. 25, '63

Commissioned Capt. Co.

C, Aug. 5, '61 ; prom'd

to Major Oct. 16, '62;

killed at Spottsylyania

May 10, 1864.

Adjt

49th

Mar. 1, '65

3 years

Mustered out July 15, '65

S. H. Irviu

1st L't

July 28, '64

tt ti tt ii

J. J. Hight

2nd"

Capt

B
D

Aug. 10, '61

ii ii ti ti

J. D. Campbell....

Besigned Jan. IS, 1S63.

J. H. Westbrook. . .

1st L't

Aug. 30, '61

Hon. disch'd Nov. 19, '63

F. Y. McDonald...

2nd "

it tt

Capt

June 29, '65

Must'd out as l6t Lieut.,
July 15, 1865.

H. T. Johnston

1st L't

49th

June 29, '65 3 years

Must'd out as 2d Lieut.,

July 15, 1865.

0. S. Kumberger. . .

Capt

49th

Mar. 13, '65

3 years

Promoted from 1st Lieut,
and from 2nd Lieut.,
Nov. 1, '64, mustered
out June 14, '65.

HISTORY OF HUNTINGDON COUNTY.

195

Term

NAME.

Rank.

Co.
H

Reg't.

Rank From

Service.

Remarks.

D. H. Lytle

1st L't

49th

Jan. 1, 'G4

3 years

Wounded May 3, '64, and

May 10, '64; died in the

hands of the enemy,

June 28, 1S64.

J. H. Wintrode....

Capt

53rd

Sept. 16, '61

3 years

Resigned Dec. 3, 1S62.

Jno. McLaughlin..

1st L't

Oct. S, '64

Promoted from 2d Lieut.,
Hon. dis. Mar. 14, '65.

A. G. Fleck

1st L't

!53rd

Mar. 15, '65

3 years

Mustered out June 30, '65

J. T. Hutchinson . .

«(

56th

Nov. 7, '63

Hon. disch'd Sept. 21, '64

S. T. Davis

Adjt

77th

Oct. 26, '64

To Captain Co. G.

S. S. Gillman

Capt

May 22, '64

Absent with leave at date
of muster out of Co.

G. W. Thompson..

Surg'n

84th

July 31, '62

3 years

Resigned Aug. 31, '62.

John M. Porter....

Major

9th Cav

Sept. 26. '64

Commissioned as Adj't,
Oct. 14, '61, and 1st L't
Co. C. Oct 15, '62 ; re-
signed May 30, '65.

I.C. Temple

1st L't

9th Cav

Oct. 15, '62

3 years

Resigned May 29, '63, as,
2d Lieu't Co. M.

D. K. P. Barry

2nd L't

9th Cav

Nov. 18, '62

3 years

Resigned Julj 14, '64.

G. W. Patterson. . . .

Capt

ii ff

Aug. 24, '61

Resigned on account of
disability, Dec. 31, '61.

T. S. McCanan

Capt

9th Cay

Mar. 23, '63

3 years

Promoted from 1st L't ;,
Hon. discharged on ac-
count of wounds, Aug.
1, 1*64.

2nd L't

9th Cav

June 16, '65

3 years

Mustered otit as 1st S'gt.
July IS, '65.

Col

110th

Ap'l 23, '64

3 years

From Capt. Co. B to Maj,,
Dec. 21, '62 ; died May
28, '64, of wounds re-
ceived May 12, '64.

W. F. Cunningham

Adj't

110th

June 3, '63

3 years

Hon. disch'd Sept. 26, '64

t t

Oct. 1, '64

Mar. 13, '65

Capt

Aug. 30, '61

Resigned Nov. 28, 1S62.

J. M. Skelly

Dec. 1, '63

Hon. disch'd Max - . 1, '65..

E. W. Edwards

1st L't

Mar. 1, t 65

Mustered out as 1st S'gt,
June 28, 1865.

B. F. Bare

2nd L't

110th

Sep. 11, '64

3 years

Resigned Feb. 22, '62.

A.J. Miller

f f

Jan. 17, '64

Hon. disch'd Nov. 2S, '64.

J. M. Walls

Mar. 1, '65

Mustered out as Sergt.,.
June 28, 1865.

8. L. Huyett

Capt

110th

Aug. 23, '61

3 years

Resigned Dec. 10, 1S62.

E. Burkett

June 16, '62

Resigned as 2nd Lieut.,

Nov. 28, 1862.

H. C. Weaver

2nd L't

110th

Aug. 31, '62

3 years

Resigned June 16, 1862.

G. F. McCabe

Major

13th Cav

Oct. 15, '63

Mustered out July 14, '65,

H.H.Gregg

Nov. 15, '64

Brvt. L't Col., hon. dis-
charged April 5, '65.

Surg'n

13th Cav

Mar. 19, '63

3 years

Resigned Sept. 14, '64.

1st L't

Nov. 15, '64

Hon. disch'd as 2d Lieut.
Nov. 21, 1S64.

F. W. Kenyon

1st L't

13th Cav

Nov. 15, '64

3 years

Mustered out July 14, '65..

F. Y. McDonald.. . .

April 6, '64

Discharged at expiration
of term Dec. 8, 1864.

J. J. Lawrence

Major

125th

Aug. 16, '62

9 months

Mustered out May. 18, '63,

W. W. Wallace

Capt

Aug. 12, '62

tt it tt

Wm. B. Zeigler....

1st L't

Resigned Feb. 25, '63.

L. F. Watt son

Feb. 26, '63

«i

Mustered out May 18, '63.

W. F. McPherran..

2nd L't

Aug 12, '62

Died Feb. 6, 1863.

T. L. Flood

Feb. 7, '63

Mustered out May IS, '63..

W. H. Simpson....

Capt

Aug. 13, '62

it tt tt

W. C. Wagoner ...

1st L't

i«

Wounded at Antietam ;
resigned Feb. 9, '63.

F. H.Lane

1st L't

125th

Feb. 9, '63

9 months

From 2d Lieut., mustered

out May 18, 1863.

J. F. N. Householder

2nd L't

125th

Feb. 9, '63

Mustered out May 18, '63

Capt

Aug. 13, '62

9 months

it it it

1st L't

ti it ti

2nd L't

Resigned Jan. 24, '63.

Jan. 24. '63

Mustered out May 18, '63»

Wm. F. Thomas....

Capt

f»

Aug. 13, '62

t< ii ii

George Thomas . .

1st L't

ii tt it

John D. Fee

2nd L't

ii it ii

Capt

149th

Feb. 21, '62

Resigned Oct. 24, '64.

196

HISTORY OF HUNTINGDON COUNTY.

Term

NAME.

Bank.

Co.

Keg't.

Rank From

of
Service.

Remarks.

A. H. W. Creigh...

Capt

147th

Oct. 26, '64

3 years

From 1st Lieut., niust'd
out July 15. 1 -

B. E. Thompson...

1st L't B

147th

Oct. 26, '64

3 years

Mustered out July 15, '65

W. Bi. Willett

2ud L't B

Feb. 21, '63

Resigned April 7, '65.

David Heffner

July 8, '65

Mustered out as 1st Ser-
geant July 15, '66.

Geo. W. Speer

Major

149th

Aug. 29, '62

3 years

Hou. dis. Mar. 25, '63, on
account of disability.

B. X. Blair

Capt

149th

Aug. 30, '62

3 years

Wounded at Gettysburg ;
honorably disch'd May
3, 1864.

S. Diffenderfer....

Capt

149th

Feb. 6, '64

3 years

Hon. disch'd May 3. '64.

D. R. P. Neelv

<•

May 24, 'G4

Mustered out June 24, '65

1st L't I

Aug. 29, '62

Hou. disch'd Mch. 25. '03

A. A. Thompson. . .

Mar. 25, '63

From ^d Lieut., hon. dis-
charged Oct. 22, '63.

C. C. Zimmerman..

1st L't

149th

Feb. 6, '64

3 years

From 2d Lieut., killed at
North Anna, Mjv 23,'64

1st L't

149th

May 24. '64

3 years

Mustered out June 24, '65

D. C. M. Applebj . .

•2nd L't

• t

ii .. ii

E. H. Miles

Capt

152nd

Feb. 13, '65

From 1st Lieut., hon.
disch'd May 3<J. 1S65.

1st L't

152nd

Sept. 1. '65

3 years

Mustered out as Corp'l,
Nov. 9, 1- .

S. L. Huvett

Capt

19th Cav

Oct. 19. 'C3 3 years

Mustered out Mav 14, '65.

W. L. Spanogle....

1st L't

20th Cav-

April 1, '65, "

" July 13,' 65.

S. Montgomery....

Capt

Feb. 16, '64 "

tl tt tt tt

S. F. Stewart

1st L't H

184th

Sept. 23, '64 "

Hon. disch'd Feb. 2S, '65

Major

22nd Cav

June 16. '63

6 months Mustered out Feb. 5, '64.

J. D. Fee

Capt

Aug. 5, '63

•t tt tt tt

1st L't

a tt tt *i

Eugene Dougherty.

2nd L't A

a a tt tt

1st L't D

June 16, '63

tt tt tt tt

Capt K

Feb. 26, '64

3 years

" Oct. 31, '65.

W. F. Sharrar

1st L't K

June 13, '65

ft It tt ft

D. P. Kinkead

2nd L't K

Frank D. Stevens. .

1st L't D

190th

June 6, '64

Hon. disch'd Mar. 16, '65.

Wm. F. Johnston..

Major

192nd

April 13, '65

1 year

From Capt. Co. B, mus-
tered out Aug. 24. '65.

Thos. S. Johnston..

Capt B

192nd

April 13. '65 1

Mustered out Aug, 24, "65

Alfred Tyburst....

1st L't B

ci i. I. ii

H. A. Hoffman

2nd L't B

ii ii ii it

J. A. Willoiighbv..

Q M

195th

July 20, '64 100 days

" Nov. 4, '64.

S. I. McPherrau. ..

1st L't F

July 21, '64

Transferred to Co. A, 1-

ycar men.

J. A. WiUougbbv..

195th

Feb. 25, '65

1 year

Mustered out Jan. 31, '66

S. I. McPherrau.. . .

Capt

'• " June 21, "65

202nd

Sept. 8, '64

" " Aug. 3, '65

J. S. Morrison. .. .

1st L't K

ii ii i. it

2nd L't K

ii 11 11 ii

T. B, Reed

Capt D

205th

Sept. 2, '64

I isi ector Gen. 2d Brig.,
3d Div.. 9th A. C.

J. B. Shontz

1st L't D

205th

Sept. 2, '64

Mustered out June 2, "65.

D. H. Geissinger. . .

2nd L't

Hou. disch'd July 25, '65.

Huntingdon county also furnished her full proportion of
men to the militia of 1862, and in the emergency of 1863,
the threatened invasion of the Northern States by the rebel
army, which was prevented at Antietara, and the actual in-
vasion, repelled at Gettysburg, calling from their homes nearly
all of those capable of bearing arms who had not previously
enlisted for some specified term. Many who then went were
incapacitated by age or otherwise for the service of the gen-
eral government and were mustered into the state service.

HISTORY OF HUNTINGDON" COUNTY.

197

Of militia, the county had two companies in the Third regi-
ment, and two in the Twelfth ; and of emergency men,
one in the Twenty-seventh, and five in the Forty-sixth.

The officers of these regiments and companies were as
follows :

MILITIA.
Third Regiment.
Colonel, William Dorris,
Co. F.,
Captain, Geo. W. Garrettson,
First Lieut., William Lewis,
Second Lieut., Abraham A. Jacobs.

Co. G.
Captain, Joseph Johnson,
First Lieut, James Long,
Second Lieut., B. M. Elliott,
TWELFTH REGIMENT.
Major, Henry S. Wharton.
Co. D.
Captain, Edward A. Green,
First Lieut., Albert Owen,
Second Lieut., Benjamin Jacobs.

Co. I.
Captain, George C. Bucher.
First Lieut., Henry Grafius,
Second Lieut., John Dysarfc.
EMERGENCY MEN.
Twenty-Seventh Regiment.
CO. F.
Captain, Jesse March,

First Lieut., S. W. Myton,
Second Lieut., John Morrison.

FORTY-SIXTH REGIMENT.
Colonel, John J. Lawrence,
Adjutant, Thomas C. Fisher.

Co. B.
Captain, David R. Miller,
First Lieut., Robert W. Davis,
Second Lieut., James Morrison.

Co. E.

Captain, Charles Merryman,
First Lieut,, Levi Clabaugh,
Second Lieut., William Funk.

Co. F.
Captain, James C. Dysart,
First Lieut., Geo. B. Dumire,
Second Lieut., Edward B. Purcell.

Co. G.
'Captain, Samuel L. Huyett,
iFirst Lieut., Henry Cook,
'Second Lieut., Victor Dougherty.
I Co. I.

Captain, George Thomas,
[First Lieut., Rudolph McMurtrie,
iSecond Lieut., Thomas Shreiner.

The ceremony of decorating with flowers the graves of
our patriot dead was inaugurated at Huntingdon, by the
post of the Grand Army of the Republic then in existence
there, on the 30th day of May, 1868, in compliance with the
recommendation of General John A. Logan, commander-in-
chief. The following is from the account of the Journal
of the proceedings on that day :

" The patriotic and highly meritorious duty of procuring
and arranging in suitable wreaths and garlands the floral
offerings suited to the occasion, was confided to our fair
towns-women, and we need not add that it was performed
with that alacrity, taste and skill which has ever character-
ized the loyal ladies of Huntingdon in the discharge of every
duty, not only to the dead, but to the living defenders of
our nation's flag. Wreaths and garlands of laurel and ever-
greens, intertwined with wild flowers of every variety, and bou-

198 HISTORY OF HUNTINGDON COUNTY.

quets culled with exquisite taste and tender care from nature's
first offering of spring flowers, the product of their own fair
hands, were in abundant readiness, as the voluntary
offering of love and affection and tribute of gratitude to the
memory of the brave and true.

"The procession was organized at the court house, where
all things were in readiness. It was preceded by the Hun-
tingdon Silver Cornet Band, followed by the officers of the
post and others, with appropriate badges of mourning, the
clergymen of the place and a large portion of our citizens,
and to the music of the muffled drum, the band playing the
dead march, and the mournful tolling of the bells from
every church tower, the solemn and impressive march was
taken towards the city of the dead."

Arriving at the cemetery, a prayer and an address were
delivered, after which the procession was re-formed, every
soldier's grave visited and garlanded with a wreath of laurei 1
and bouquet of flowers.

These ceremonies have been continued annually, with
some variations, since that time. They have usually been
participated in by the people of Huntingdon, and many from
other parts of the county. Places of business in the borough
are closed on that day, and veteran soldiers, military com-
panies, the fire department, children of the public schools
and Sunday-schools, join in the procession and listen to the
exercises. The speakers who have delivered addresses on
these occasions have been as follows :

1868, Hon. John Scott.

1869, Milton S. Lvtle.

1870, Rev. B. B. Hamlin.

1871, Rev. J. W. Plannett.

1872, Rev. M. K.Foster.

1873, Rev. J. S. McMurray.

1S74, Milton S. Lytle and"
A. M. K. Storrie.

1875, Geo. B. Orladv .

1876, Rev. M. P. Doyle. ^

On the 30th of May, 1875, after the decoration ceremonies,
a meeting of the citizens of Huntingdon was held in the court
house, at which the following resolutions were adopted :

"IZesolved, That we hereby constitute ourselves a Memorial
Association, the purpose of which shall be the proper ob-
servance of Decoration Day and the making of the necessary
arrangements therefor."

HISTORY OF HUNTINGDON' COUNTY. 199

"Resolved, That we proceed to elect a President, Vice
President, Secretary and Executive Committee.

" Resolved, That these officers shall be elected for the term
of one year, and that the annual election shall be held on
each thirtieth of May, immediately after the decoration cere-
monies.

" Resolved, That during the first week in May of each
year, the President shall call a meeting of the officers of the
association, who shall determine what preparations are ne-
cessary for the next succeeding decoration day, and shall
hold such other meetings of the officers of the association as
shall be deemed proper.

" Resolved, That said officers shall also appoint such
committees of arrangements and sub-committees as may be
required to perform the work, these appointments to be
made at least three weeks before decoration day."

The following officers were then elected : President, H. C.
Weaver ; Vice President, Milton S. Lytle ; Secretary, B. F.
Isenberg ; Executive Committee, Geo. B. Orlady, chairman ;
T. W. Myton, R. M. Speer, John J. Hight, J. H. Boring,
J. R. Simpson, B. X. Blair, W. K. Grites and John Flenner.

The officers elected in 1876 are as follows: President,
T. W. Myton ; Vice President, J. G. Isenberg ; Sec-
retary, Geo. B. Orlady ; Treasurer, J. H. Isett ; Executive
Committee, Milton S. Lytle, chairman ; B. F. Isenberg, W.
F.. Bathurst, G. W. Gray, W. F. Cunningham, W. K. Crites,
Samuel Coder, B. X. Blair, John Flenner, H. C. Weaver, J.
H. Westbrook, Dr. D. P. Miller and Geo. W. Fleck.

CHAPTER XXVI.

SUPREME EXECUTIVE COUNCIL — MEMBERS FROM HUNTINGDON COUNTY —
COL. JOHN CANNON — BENJAMIN" ELLIOTT — NUMEROUS PUBLIC POSITIONS
FILLED BY THE LATTER— HIS DESCENDANTS.

The executive department of the State government, from
the adoption of the Constitution of 1776 to the adoption of
the Constitution of 1790, was vested in the Supreme Execu-
tive Council. That body, as provided by the former instru-
ment, consisted of twelve members, elected by the people.
Huntingdon county had a representative in the Council
from its erection until the inauguration of the first Governor,
in 1790. In the minutes of the Council for the 21st day of
November, 1787, we find the following entry :

" John Cannon took his seat at this Board agreeably to
the return of the general election for the county of Hun-
tingdon, having previously taken the necessary oaths."

Col. Cannon's name appears frequently in the proceed-
ings as being present at the meetings of Council during the
two years after he became a member. The last meeting at
which he was present was on the 3rd ef October, 1789.

He was a prominent man in the early history of the
county, figuring conspicuously at the time of " McAlevy's
Rebellion." He had represented Bedford county in the
Assembly before the formation of Huntingdon county. In
1791 he was appointed Associate Judge, and was after-
wards elected three times to the lower house of the State
Legislature and once to the State Senate.

The successor of Col. Cannon in the Supreme Executive
Council was Benjamin Elliott. The minutes for December
30th, 1789, contain the record of his admission as a member:

"Benjamin Elliott, Esquire, Councillor elect for the county
of Huntingdon, appeared, and being qualified as the Con-
stitution of this State and the act of Congress of the first of
June last directs, was admitted to his seat at this Board."

AVe can trace Mr. Elliot's services in the Council from
the minutes, as they show minutely the attendance of all the

HISTORY OF HUNTINGDON COUNTY. 201

members. On the 13th day of February, 1790, it is re-
corded that :

" An order was drawn upon the Treasurer in favor of
the Honorable Benjamin Elliott, for forty-four pounds, ten
shillings, in full of his account for attendance in Council
from the thirtieth of December, 1789, to the thirteenth of
February, 1790, inclusively, and his mileage coming to
Philadelphia and returning home."

He was then absent from Council until the 3rd day of
August, 1790. On that day he returned and was appointed
a member of the Board of Property. He attended the ses-
sions of Council until the 1st of October, 1790. An order
was drawn in his favor on the previous day "for the sum of
fifty-four pounds, ten shillings in full of his account for at-
tendance in Council from the third of August until the thir-
tieth of September, inclusively, and for mileage coming to
Philadelpnia in August and going home at this time."

On the 30th of November, 1790, he resumed his seat and
continued in attendance at the meetings until December
20th, when, under the Constitution of that year, the Supreme
Executive Council expired. Thomas Mifflin became Gov-
ernor the next day.

Mr. Elliott filled many public positions during his life-
time. Before his election to Council he had been a member
of the Convention of 1776 to frame a Constitution for the
State ; Sheriff of Bedford county ; Sheriff of Huntingdon
county ; Lieutenant of the county ; County Treasurer, and
a member of the State convention to ratify the Constitution
of the United States. He was subsequently County Treas-
urer, County Commissioner and Associate Judge.

None of the other early residents of Huntingdon left so
many descendants as Mr. Elliott. He had a large family of
children. One of his daughters, as stated in a preceding
chapter, was married to David McMurtrie, and three others
were married to William Orbison, Eobert Allison and Henry
Miller, all of whom have passed away, but many of whose
children and grand-children are yet living in the place. Mr.
Elliott died March 15th, 1835, at the age of 83 years.

CHAPTER XXVII.

DAVID RITTENHOUSE PORTER — LEADING EVENTS IN HIS LIFE BEFORE BE-
COMING A CITIZEN OF HUNTINGDON COUNTY — CLERK AND MANAGER AT
BARREE FORGE — ENGAGED IN THE MANUFACTURE OF IRON ON SPRUCE
CREEK — HIS FAILURE — ELECTED COUNTY AUDITOR — MEMBER OF LEGIS-
LATURE — APPOINTED PROTHONOTARY — REGISTER OF WILLS AND RECORDER

OF DEEDS — ELECTED STATE SENATOR GOVERNOR IN 1838 AND 1841 —

VOTE IN HUNTINGDON COUNTY — RETIRES TO PRIVAVE LIFE — DEATH.

David Rittenhouse Porter, who was for six years Governor
of Pennsylvania, became a citizen of Huntingdon county
while yet a young man, and for more than twenty years
previous to his election as Governor, filled public positions
to which he was appointed or elected by the people. He
held such a conspicuous place, during the greater part of
his lifetime, in the affairs of the county and State, that his
biography is a necessary part of the history of the county.

David R. Porter was the son of General Andrew Porter,
an officer of the Revolutionary army, in honor of whom
Porter township, in this county, has its name, and was born
near Norristown, Montgomery county, Pennsylvania, on the
31st day of October, 1788. The leading events of his life
before his removal to Huntingdon county are thus stated in
Armor's Lives of the Governors of Pennsylvania :

He "received his early training at an academy in Norris-
town, where the branches of a good English education, math-
ematics, and the elementary classical studies were success-
fully taught. With his brothers, George and James, he was
here pursuing a course preparatory to entering Princeton
College, when the buildings of that institution were destroyed
by fire, and the purpose of a collegiate course was abandoned.
"When the father was appointed Surveyor General (in 1809,)
he took his son David with him to the seat of government
as his assistant. He was accompanied by a young man
from the same neighborhood, who likewise became Governor
of the State, Francis R. Shunk. "While thus employed, the
son also studied law, with the intention of entering upon its

HISTORY OF HUNTINGDON COUNTY. 203

practice at Harrisburg ; but the labor and confinement of
these double duties were too severe, and his health was so
much impaired, as was thought, to preclude the possibility
of his pursuing any sedentary employment. He decided,
therefore, to seek more active occupation, and removed to
the county of Huntingdon, where he engaged in the manu-
facture of iron."

Mr. Porter did not embark in the business on his own
account for several years after coming to the county. He
was at first employed by the Messrs. Dorsey, at Barree
Forge, for a year as a clerk, and during the following year
was made manager of their works. Thus acquiring some
experience, he entered into partnership with Edward Patton,
and commenced the making of iron at the forges on Spruce
Creek. The enterprise, however, was not successful, the
firm failed, and on the 10th of February, 1819, Porter made
an assignment for the benefit of his creditors. The reason
given for this failure was the depression into which all
branches of manufactures fell for some years succeeding the
war of 1812. Some of the alleged circumstances connected
with Porter's assignment were strongly urged against him
when he was a candidate for Governor in 1838.

The first office held by Mr. Porter was that of county
Auditor, to which he was elected in October, 1815. Two
other Auditors were elected in that year, one of whom was
John Scott, father of the late United States Senator of the
same name.

In 1819 Mr. Porter was elected a representative to the
General Assembly from Huntingdon county, and was re-
elected in 1820 and 1822. In the two former years he had
as his colleague the same John Scott with whom he had
been elected Auditor.

At the expiration of his last term in the Legislature, Dec.
23rd, 1823, he was appointed by Governor Schultz, Prothon-
otary and Clerk of the several courts of the county, and on
February 16th, 1827, was appointed by the same Governor,
Kegister of Wills and Recorder of Deeds. He filled these
offices until January 2nd, 1836.

204 HISTORY OF HUNTINGDON COUNTY.

" He had in 1820 married Josephine, daughter of William
McDermott, who had emigrated from Scotland for the pur-
pose of manufacturing steel by a new process, and who was
one of the pioneers in that art. Mrs. Porter for a few years
acted as her husband's clerk, recording deeds and wills at
home, while he transacted the business in public, and large
volumes in her hand-writing continue to be shown to
strangers and visitors to the town, written so clearly and
beautifully, and with such perfect accuracy, as to excite ad-
miration." ,

Retiring from the offices of Prothonotary, Register and
Recorder, and Clerk of the Courts, Mr. Porter was, in the
same year, elected State Senator for the district composed
of the counties of Huntingdon, Mifflin, Juniata, Perry and
Union. His characteristics as a legislator have been described
as follows : "The soundness of his judgment and the readiness
of his understanding made him an acknowledged leader.
Few subjects were broached upon which he did not either
report or speak. Legislation upon the subject of the public
works bore largely the impress of his views. As a writer
he was concise, forcible, and even elegant, and as a speaker
he was clear, pointed, and eminently practical. His speeches
were usually very brief, and in defense of this habit he was
accustomed to plead the practice of Jefferson and Franklin.
His advice to young lawyers and debaters was especially to
study brevity. In this respect he differed widely from his
brothers, Governor Porter, of Michigan, and Judge Porter,
of Easton, both of whom were more diffuse, and, it must be
added, acquired higher reputations for forensic ability."

Mr. Porter's term as State Senator had but half ex-
pired when he was elected Governor, in October, 1838. He
was inaugurated January 15th, 1839, and in his inaugural
address, thus referred to the Constitution which had then just
gone into effect, and to the fact that he was the first Gov-
ernor under it :

" A new era has arrived in our Commonwealth. Our
first Constitution, formed amidst the storms and troubles of
the revolutionary conflict, was found in practice not to

HISTOKY OF HUNTINGDON COUNTY. 2 05

answer the expectations under which it was framed. In
fourteen years thereafter it was entirely new modeled by
the Constitution of 1790, an instrument framed by men of
great talents and eminent worth ; but the plan of govern-
ment was always considered by no small portion of the
people as not sufficiently democratic in its details. After
repeated attempts to procure revision, a majority of our
citizens who voted on the question, in 1885, decided that a
convention should be called to revise, alter and amend the
Constitution of the Commonwealth. In pursuance of this
determination of the people, a convention assembled, and
after a long and arduous session, closed their labors on the
22nd of February last, and the amendments agreed upon by
that body have been ratified and adopted by the people. It
is under this amended Constitution that it has been my lot
to be called upon to administer the duties of the Executive
This instrument gives to popular suffrage the decision of
many appointments heretofore vested in the Executive, and
changes the duration of the judicial tenure, from that of
good behavior to a term of years. It shortens the period
of eligibility to the Executive chair, and reduces the sena-
torial term ; enlarges the right of suffrage, and changes other
provisions, all of which are important in the conduct of the
government of the State. Approving as I did of the amend-
ments in the aggregate, and having sanctioned them by my
vote at the late election, it will afford me great pleasure to
assist in carrying them out in practice by a strict adherence
to their principles."

The subjects of greatest interest and importance which
attracted the attention of the people of the State during
Governor Porter's first term, were the construction of the
public work and our system of common schools. Both of
these he advocated and advanced, and their success were to
a great extent due to his efforts.

Governor Porter was reelected in 1841, by a majority
almost four times as great as that given him at his first
election. The vote in Huntingdon county in 1838 and 1841
was as follows :

206 HISTORY OF HUNTINGDON COUNTY.

1838.

Ritner 3687

Porter 2761

Ritner's majority .... 926

1841.

Banks 3258

Porter 2551

Banks' majority 707

Completing his second term as Governor in 1845, he re-
tired from public life, making his residence at Harrisburg.
He again turned his attention to the manufacture of iron,
and erected at Harrisburg the first anthracite furnace built
in that portion, of the State. »

Mr. Porter died on the 6th of August, 1868, in the seventy-
ninth year of his age.

CHAPTER XXVIII.

HON. JOHN SCOTT — HIS EDUCATION — ADMISSION TO THE BAR — APPOINTED
DEPUTY ATTORNEY-GENERAL — ELECTED A REPRESENTATIVE IN THE LEGIS-
LATURE—SUPPORTS THE GOVERNMENT IN THE SUPPRESSION OF THE
REBELLION, AND ADVOCATES THE RE-ELECTION OP LINCOLN, IN 1864 —
ELECTED UNITED STATES SENATOR---HIS PUBLIC SERVICES— COMMITTEES
OF WHICH HE WAS A MEMBER— PART TAKEN BY HIM IN LEGISLATION-
APPOINTED GENERAL COUNSEL FOR PENNSYLVANIA COMPANY AND
REMOVES TO PITTSBURG.

The most prominent citizen of Huntingdon county has
probably been the Hon. John Scott. David R. Porter may
have received an equal share of public attention in his day,
but his reputation was more local in its character, being
confined to a great extent to Pennsylvania, there being
nothing but his position as Governor to extend it beyond
the limits of the State. Mr. Scott became eminent in national
affairs, his abilities and disposition leading him to perform
an important and conspicuous part as a United States Sena-
tor, and making an impress upon the legislation of the
country.* Identified as he has been with the county, the
events of his life must possess a greater interest and be of
greater value as an example than the lives of many whose
biographies occupy more space than we can give to his
here. As a portion of the chapter to which we must confine
this sketch, we give in full his liie, as published in Barnes
History of Congress :

" John Scott was born in Alexandria, Huntingdon county,
Penna., July 14th, 1824. His ancestry on both sides was
Scotch-Irish. His father was a Major of volunteers in the
war of 1812, and a member of the Twenty-first Congress,
from Pennsylvania. To his son he gave the common
school education afforded by his native town, the advantages
of private teachers in Greek and Latin, and an early intro-
duction to practical business life. He soon evinced a talent
for public speaking, acquiring before his eighteenth year
quite a local reputation among the advocates of the Wash-

208 HISTORY OF HUNTINGDON COUNTY.

ingtonian temperance movement. Choosing the legal pro-
fession, he entered, in 1842, the office of Hon. Alex. Thomson,
of Chambersburg, Penna., and in January 1846, he was ad-
mitted to the bar. He immediately commenced to prac-
tice in Huntingdon — -was appointed Deputy Attorney-
General for that county, and held that position for several
years. He rose rapidly in his profession, and soon ranked
with the ablest lawyers in the district. In 1851 Mr. Scott
was appointed a member of the Board of Revenue Com-
missioners, and although the youngest member, took an
active part in its proceedings, serving on its most important
committees. As a member of the Democratic State Con-
vention in 1852, he led the opposition to Mr. Buchanan's
nomination for the Presidency, and was the author of a vig-
orous protest against the manner of electing delegates favor-
able to him. Threatened with failings health, he visited
Europe in 1853, and returned much benefited by his trav-
els. In 1854 he was nominated by the Citizens' Conven.
tion for the State Legislature, and refusing adherence to the
'Know-Xothings,' who organized after his nomination, was
by them defeated. As soon as Mr. Buchanan announced
his Kansas policy, Mr. Scott took decided ground "against
him. In 1860 he was nominated as a Douglass Democrat
for the State Senate, the district being overwhelmingly Re-
publican. In the following year, both parties requested him
to serve in the House of Representatives, and consenting,
he was elected without opposition, although his party was
largely in the minority in the county. He made an attempt
to organize the House without distinction of party, pledging
Pennsylvania to the cordial support of the General Gov-
ernment in the suppression of the Rebellion. This the
Democratic caucus declined, and he and other war Demo-
crats acted with the Republicans in the organization. He
served as Chairman of the Judiciary Committee during the
session, and declined a re-election. Although not a politi-
cian, in the usual sense of the term, he participated actively
in political campaigns, advocating the election of Governor
Curtin in 1863, and supporting Mr. Lincoln for President in

HISTORY OF HUNTINGDON" COUNTY. 209

1864. He was elected a delegate to the Eepublican Na-
tional Convention in 1868, but had his place filled by his
alternate, being detained in the Supreme Court to argue a
case involving the constitutionality of a law of the State
disfranchising deserters — a question in which political par-
ties took a deep interest.

" Taking an active part in the canvass of that year, public
attention was directed to him as a candidate for the U. S.
Senate. When the Legislature met, he was elected to suc-
ceed Mr. Buckalew, and took his seat March 4th, 1869. He
was assigned to the Committee on Claims, Pacific Railroads
and Naval Affairs. His senatorial record shows him to
have been an attentive, industrious and able member of
that body. In the last session of this Congress, he was
appointed Chairman of the Select Committee, to investigate
the alleged outrages in the Southern States. He first spoke
in the Senate upon the bill to repeal the ' Tenure of-Office
Act.' He has since spoken in review of Commissioner
Wells' Report ; upon the admission of Virginia to representa-
tion ; upon the eligibility of Mr. Revels and General Ames
to seats in the Senate ; upon the Funding Bill ; in advocacy
of the repeal of the Income Tax, and upon other subjects.
His speeches are generally brief, sensible and without
attempt at ornament.

il Mr. Scott opposed the repeal of the Civil Tenure Act.
' We have,' said ke, ' this principle given to us now, a most
valuable principle in the administration of this Govern-
ment, which prevents the President from exerting a power
which, in the hands of a bad man, with the immense patron-
age at his command, would be the absolute control of all
the office?. Shall we surrender it ? I say no. Incorporate
it in whatever legislation you may have, and that principle
is of more importance to us for the future of this country
than any mere question of temporary convenience about
men getting into office or getting out of office.'

" One of Mr. Scott's best speeches on the floor of the Sen-
ate was his Memorial Address on the life and character of
his friend, Hon. John Covode, (Representative from the
o

210 HISTORY OF HUNTINGDON COUNTY.

Twelfth Congressional District of Pennsylvania), delivered
Feb. 10, 1871. Referring to the traits of character, public
and private, which distinguished the deceased, he said :

' He was not a man of learning ; he was a man of intellect.
It was not that cultivated intellect which often leads men to be
mere thinkers, whose thoughts end in dreams and sometimes
afterwards are caught up and made practical by the earnest
workers of the world. His was that busy, practical brain,
which made him a man of actiou, a type of the untiring
working men who are making their mark upon this active
century, who study their fellow-men more than books, and
who are indispensable to the earnest thinkers of the age.
Earnest thinkers and earnest workers need each other.
Earnest thought is earnest work in one sense, but not in all
senses. The earnest thought of a commander who plans a
campaign or maps out a battle-field may be earnest work for
him ; but it is not that kind of earnest work which carries
forts and routs opposing armies. The men who do this
kind of work should live in history, as well as those who
plan and direct it to be done.

' I saw recently a large painting of the battle of Gettys-
burg, ordered by the State of Pennsylvania. It represents
the pinch of the fight — the repulse of Pickett's charge. Its
central figure is a private Union soldier, tall, muscular, with
all the energy of determined action apparent in every
feature and in every limb — with a musket clenched franti-
cally in his hands and drawn to strike an assailant. He
seems to be the real leader of all who are behind him. The
commanding generals are in the dim distance. I thought,
as I looked upon it, that men of action, in our day, are
coming to the front. * * * If a man's life has not im-
pressed his fellow-men, his funeral will not. But his funeral
may tell how his life has impressed them ; and standing
there, no one could doubt the sincerity of the sorrow which
his death had occasioned among those who knew him best.
A bad man could not be so mourned.'

"Having introduced an amendment putting coffee and tea
on the free list, Mr. Scott, in advocating this measure, on

HISTORY OF HUNTINGDON" COUNTY. 211

the 15th of March, 1872, made an able and exhaustive
speech on the Tariff. He presented the argument in favor
of protection to home manufactures with an elaborate array
of facts and figures. Having been placed in a position
where the operations of the disqualifications of the Four-
teenth Amendment were forced upon his attention, he gave
it as his opinion in a speech before the Senate, Dec. 20»
1871, that it would be the part of wisdom to remove these
disabilities.

"One of Mr. Scott's most distinguishing labors in the
Senate was his voluminous report — the result of much
labor — on the alleged outrages in the South. On the 17th
of May, 1872, he delivered an able and extended speech,
based on this report, advocating the extension of the Ku-
Klux Act. 'Others,' said he in closing, 'may hesitate
upon this subject. I cannot. Government was instituted
to protect the citizens, and we shall be derelict to our duty
if we permit the more than four millions of citizens in the
South against whom this conspiracy has been formed, to be
subject for a day to these great calamities, and subject to
them at a time, too, when the strongest motives will be ope-
rating for the infliction of just such outrages as those I have
described.'

" In the Senate, Mr. Scott has fully filled the prediction
of the Pittsburgh "Gazette" at the time of his election : 'Be-
ing a lawyer of great depth and acute discernment, it may
naturally be supposed that he will soon take a front rank
with the foremost in Congress, peculiarly in questions in-
volving international law, and the interest and protection of
home manufactures, a subject on which he is well informed,,
and entertains broad and favorable views.'

"In private life he has been an active and leading spirit
in all the prominent enterprises of his neighborhood. He
was an original member of the Huntingdon and Broad Top.
E. R. Co., gave freely of his means and labored assiduously for
the success of the enterprise, and has lived to see his labors
crowned with success."

The foregoing sketch was prepared during Mr. Scott's

212 HISTORY OF HUNTINGDON COUNTY.

term in the Senate. A few facts may be added which might
properly have been included in it, and others that are nec3s-
sary to complete it to the present time.

The committees upon which Mr. Scott served in the Forty-
First Congress, were Claims, Pacific Railroads and Naval
Affairs, and upon the special Senate committee as to the
condition of the late insurrectionary States, of which latter
committee he was chairman.

In the Forty-Second and Forty-Third Congresses, he was
upon the Committee of Claims, of which he was chairman
in the latter Congress, Pacific Railroads and Finance, and
was also chairman of the joint select committee as to the late
insurrectionary States.

One of the principal subjects of general public interest in
which he took part during the remainder of his term, was the in-
come tax, the bill to repeal which he introduced into the
Senate. After passing that body, and upon going to the
House, a constitutional question was raised as to whether
the Senate had power to originate such a bill. On this
question a conference committee was appointed, consisting
of Messrs. Hooper, of Massachusetts, Allison, of Iowa, and
Voorhees, of Indiana, on the part of the House, and Messrs.
Scott, Conkling, and Casserly, on the part of the Senate.
This conference resulted in a disagreement, and reports
were made accordingly to both houses, Mr. Scott as chair-
man, preparing the report to the Senate sustaining the power
of the latter. He participated in the discussion of the bills
relative to the Texas Pacific Railroad, and, in all their
stages, of the bills relative to the Centennial Commission
and the Centennial Board of Finance ; the tax and tariff
bills ; the bill regulating bridges across the Ohio river ; the
Caldwell, Kansas, Senatorial case ; the bills in relation to
currency and banking ; the Louisville and Portland canal ;
and the bill relative to the repeal of moieties, of the
committee of conference on which he was a member.

A few months after retiring from the Senate, Mr. Scott
was tendered and accepted the position of General Counsel
for the Pennsylvania Company. The offices of the Company

HISTORY OF HUNTINGDON COUNTY. 213

being located at Pittsburg, and his presence being required
there, he removed to that place with his family in 1875, and
severed the relation of citizenship which had existed with
Huntingdon county during his whole lifetime.

CHAPTER XXIX.

REPRESENTATIVES IN CONGRESS — FIRST ELECTION APPORTIONMENTS DIS-
TRICTS TO WHICH HUNTINGDON COUNTY HAS BELONGED — NAMES OF
REPRESENTATIVES AND YEARS OF THEIR ELECTION — HON. R. MILTON
SPEER — SKETCH OF HIS LIFE.

The first election for members to Congress participated in
by the people of Huntingdon county was held in 1788, under
the Constitution of the United States, which had been adopted
the previous year. It provided that until an enumeration
of the inhabitants, which was to be made within three years
after the first meeting of Congress, and an apportionment
thereunder, Pennsylvania was to have eight members. At
the election in 1788, no districts having been formed, they
were elected by the State at large. That may have continued
to be the method for some years, but how long we have not
been able to ascertain. No act of Assembly can be found
districting the State prior to 1802. It is only from that
year, therefore, that we can give the names of those who
represented the county, or the districts to which it belonged,
in Congress. The following are the districts, the counties
composing them, the members, and the year of their
election:

1802, FOURTH DISTRICT.

DAUPHIN, CUMBERLAND, MIFFLIN AND HUNTINGDON.

1802, David Bard.
1804, David Bard.
" Robert Whitehill.

1806, David Bard.

" Robert Whitehill.
1808, David Ban!.
" Robert Whitehill.
1810, David Bard,

Robert Whitehill.

1812, NINTH DISTRICT.

MIFFLIN, HUNTINGDON, CENTRE, CLEARFIELD AND M'KEAN.

1812, David Bard.
1814, Tboinas Burnside.

1810, Win. P. Maclay.
1818, Win. P. Maclay.

1820, John Brown.

HISTORY OF HUNTINGDON" COUNTY. 215

1822, TWELFTH DISTRICT.

HUNTINGDON, MIFFLIN, CENTRE AND CLEARFIELD.

1822, John Brown.
1824, John Mitchell.

1820, John Mitchell.
1828, John Scott.

1830, Robert Allison.
1832, FOURTEENTH DISTRICT.

HUNTINGDON, MIFFLIN AND CENTRE.
(Clinton added In 1839.)

1832, Joseph Henderson.
1834, Joseph Henderson.
1830, W. W. Potter.

*1838, W. W. Potter.

1839, Geo. McCulloch.

1840, James Irvin.

1842, James Irvin.
1843, SEVENTEENTH DISTRICT.

CENTRE, HUNTINGDON, JUNIATA AND MIFFLIN.

1844, John Blanchard.
1840, John Blanchard.

1848, Samuel Calvin.
1850, Andrew Parker.

1852, EIGHTEENTH DISTRICT.

SOMERSET, CAMBRIA, BLAIR AND HUNTINGDON.

1852, John McCulloch.
1854, John R. Edie.

1850, John R. Edie.
1858, S. S. Blair.

1800, S. S. Blair.
1802, SEVENTEENTH DISTRICT.

CAMBRIA, BLAIR, HUNTINGDON AND MIFFLIN.

1802, Archibald McAllister.
1804, Abraham A, Barker.
1800, Daniel J. Morrell.

1868, Daniel J. Morrell.
1870, R. Milton Speer.
1872, R. Milton Speer.

1873, EIGHTEENTH DISTRICT.

FRANKLIN, FULTON, JUNIATA, HUNTINGDON, SNYDER AND PERRY.

1874, W. S. Stenger.

Hon. R, Hilton Speer, Kepresentative in the Forty-Second
and Forty-Third Congresses from the Seventeenth Congres-
sional District of Pennsylvania, was born in the village of
Cassville, Huntingdon county, on the 8th day of September,
1838. He is of Irish descent, both of his parents having
emigrated to this county from near Belfast, Ireland.

Upon the death of his father, in the fall of 1852, Mr.
Speer entered the Seminary at his native village and remained

*W. W. Potter died October 28th, 1S39, and at a special election held on the 20th of
November, of the same year, Geo. McCulloch was elected for the unexpired term.

216 HISTORY OF HUNTINGDON COUNTY.

there until the fall of 1856. During the succeeding winter,
he taught school, an avocation at which he was engaged
several years subsequently, while a law-student. In May,
1857, he commenced reading law with Wilson and Petriken,
and was admitted to the bar at Huntingdon, in November,
1859. He entered upon the practice of his profession in the
following April, and has continued at it without interruption,
except such as was rendered unavoidable by the several
offices he has filled. In 1863 he was Assistant Clerk in the
House of Representatives at Harrisburg. He was editor of
The Union, the organ of the Democratic party of Huntingdon
county, from August, 1859, to January, 1861.

In the Congressional contest of 1870, Mr. Speer's majority
in the district, composed of the counties of Huntingdon,
Mifflin, Blair and Cambria, was eleven votes. The opposing
candidate was the Hon. Daniel J. Morrell, who had been
twice elected to Congress, and who was an able arid popular
representative. The defeat of the latter was not regarded
as possible during the campaign, and was a complete sur-
prise to his party and friends. It was effected by changes
principally in Huntingdon county. In the borough of Hun-
tingdon, Mr. Morrell had in 1868, a majority of sixty-two ;
in 1870 Mr. Speer had a majority of two hundred and ten.

In 1872 Mr. Speer was re-elected over Hon. A. A.
Barker, who had also been previously a member of Congress.

CHAPTER XXX.

PRESIDENT JUDGES — APPOINTMENTS PREVIOUS TO 1851 — ELECTIONS IN
THAT YEAR AND SUBSEQUENTLY — HON. GEORGE TAYLOR — HIS DEATH —
PROCEEDINGS AT MEETINGS OP MEMBERS OF THE BAR — SKETCH OP HIS
LIFE — ASSOCIATE JUDGES — PROSECUTING ATTORNEYS AND DISTRICT AT-
TORNEYS.

Until 1851 the President Judges, as well as the Judges of
the Supreme Court and the Associate Judges, were appointed
by the Governor, and held their offices during life or good
behavior. In 1850 an amendment was made to the Consti-
tution of the State providing for an elective judiciary, and
on the 15th of April, 1851, the necessary legislation was en-
acted for carrying out the amendment. The following have
been the President Judges appointed for the judicial dis-
tricts embracing Huntingdon county :

Robert Galbraith, Commissioned Nov. 23rd, 1787.
Thomas Smith, " Aug. 20th, 1791.

James Riddle, First Presided Aug. Sess., 1794.
Thomas Cooper, " " Nov. " 1804.

Jonathan Walker, Commissioned Mar. 1st, 1806.
Charles Huston, First Presided Aug. Sess., 1818.
Thomas Burnside, " " " " 1826.

Geo. W. Woodward, Commissioned Apr. 9th, 1841.
A. S. Wilson, " Mar. 30th, 1842.

George Taylor, " Apr. 6th. 1849.

The amendment of 1850 made the term of office of Presi-
dent Judges ten years. The following have been elected :

1851, George Taylor. I 1861, George Taylor.

1871, John Dean.

The Judges who have presided in the courts of Hunting-
don county have been men who were eminent for their legal
learning, abilities and integrity. The most distinguished
were Walker, Huston, Burnside, Woodward and Taylor.
The latter, having been upon the bench much longer than
any of the others, and having died within a few weeks of
the expiration of his second term by election, was perhaps
the most sincerely and profoundly regretted. While charg-

218 HISTORY OF HUNTINGDON COUNTY.

ing a jury, at the regular terra of the Blair county court, on
the 2-ith day of October, 1871, he became so ill that he was
oblised to leave the court-room. Towards the evening of
the same day, he was stricken with paralysis in both of his
lower limbs, causing entire helplessness of the body, but
not impairing the vigor of his mind. On the 30th of ^October
he was brought to his home in Huntingdon. His condition
did not improve, but gradually became worse until the
morning of November 1-ith, when, without a struggle, he
gently passed away.

The proceedings at the meetings of the members of the bar
of Huntingdon county and the Twenty-fourth Judicial Dis-
trict, after his death, were more than formal. Eloquent and
feeling speeches were made by Hon. J. G. Miles, Hon.
E. M. Speer, Hon. S. T. Brown, Hon. John Williamson,
"Wm. P. Orbison, Esq., Hon. David Blair, Hon. Samuel
Calvin, Hon. John Scott, Augustus S. Landis, Esq., and P.
M. Lytle, Esq.

The resolutions adopted by the bar of Huntingdon county,
were reported by a committee consisting of R. M. Speer,
John Williamson, William P. Orbison, Thos. W. Myton and
T. H. Cremer, and were as follows:

Having heard with profound sorrow of the death of Hon. Geo. Tay-
lor, President Judge of the Courts of this District, which occurred at
his residence this morning, and recognizing in this sad event a com-
mon loss and a public bereavement, and expressing the unanimous
voice of the Bar of this county, we do resolve :

1st. That Judge Taylor, by his modest manner, his eminent ability,
his spotless integrity and his unquestioned fairness, has discharged
the duties of President Judge of this Distrtct for more than twenty-
two years, in such a manner as to make honorable his high office, to
deserve and receive the unshaken confidence of the people, and to
surround his name when living, and his memory now, when dead
with the highest reward of honest labor — the grateful acknowledg-
ment of duty well and faithfully done.

2nd. That, in the presence of his opening grave, we declare him to
have been an honest man and a fearless, able and incorruptible
Judge, the clearness and strength of whose mind were equaled only
by the warmth and kindness of his heart.

3d. That having begun the struggle of life, unaided and alone, his
steady march to deserved distinction was alike the reward of his great
ability and his conscientious discharge of public duty.

HISTORY OF HUNTINGDON COUNTY. 219

4th. That eminent as he was in official lffe, and much as he will he
missed and mourned in the Courts over which he has so long and so
acceptably presided, the tenderness and affection of his heart, and
the kindness of his nature, doubly endeared him to his family and
his friends, to whom, in this hour of their grief, we tender the poor
consolation of our unmixed sympathy.

6th. That as our last tribute to the memory of the honored dead,
we will attend his funeral in a body, and wear the usual badge of
mourning for thirty days ; and we hereby direct these resolutions to
be presented to the Court, to be entered upon its records, a copy fur-
nished to his family, and that they be published in all the papers of
this District.

The Bar of the Twenty-Fourth Judicial District adopted
the following resolutions, reported by a committee consist-
ing of Hon. Joseph Irwin, Hon Samuel Calvin and Col. R.
A. McMurtrie, of Blair county ; Hon. Geo. W. Early, Robert
L. Johnson, and George M. Reade, Esqs., of Cambria county;
and Hon. D. Clarkson, Hon. John Scott and P. M. Lytle,
Esq., of Huntingdon county :

The members of the Bench and Bar of the 24th Judicial District
of Pennsylvania, assembled to express their feelings upon the death
of Hon. George Taylor, late its President Judge, feel that they are
called to pay a tribute to the memory of no ordinary man. We come
not only to bear testimony to the purity and ability of his judicial ad-
ministration, but also to drop the tear which is due to the esteemed
and beloved friend ; for of him it may in truth be said that he had in
as high a degree as any Judge upon the Bench the warm personal re-
gard of his judicial associates, and of the gentlemen of the Bar among
whom he discharged his duties. Added to a strong, clear, discrimi-
nating mind, thoroughly disciplined by early study and imbued with
the elementary principles of legal science, were a reverence for
Supreme authority, a recognition of his responsibility to that authori-
ty, a love of justice and a high moral courage. Strong as were his
feelings and convictions upon any subject which might incidentally
mingle in the contest of the Courts, his sense of right was stronger,
and of no man who ever sat upon the Bench was there less complaint
of personal bias or partiality to suitors. If proper to apply to any
man the first ideal of a Judge, "an able man, a man of truth, who
fears God and hates covetousness" it might be applied to him. Feel-
ing that he has died at the close of an honorable service of almost a
quarter of a century, we who have had every opportunity of observing
and learning the traits of his character, bear testimony to its worth in
these brief words, and do resolve :

1st. That we will now proceed in a body to attend his funeral, and
will wear the usual badge of mourning for thirty days.

220 HISTORY OF HUNTINGDON COUNTY.

2nd. That the members of the Bar of the several counties of the
District will take measures to have the proceedings of this meeting
placed upon the records of their respective counties.

The events in the life of such a man as Judge Taylor are
not numerous. All the distinction he achieved was in the
line of his profession as a lawyer. He was admitted to the
bar, became distinguished as an advocate, was appointed,
elected and re-elected a Judge, and spent more than twenty-
two years in the performance of his judicial duties. The
details of his life have been clearly and succinctly told by
his friend Col. William Dorris, of the Huntingdon bar :

" George Taylor was born at Oxford, Chester county, Pa.,
on the 24th of November, 1812. He was the fourth child
of Matthew Taylor and Rebecca his wife, whose maiden
name was Anderson. His father was an humble but honest
blacksmith, with a large family and limited means ; and he
was consequently afforded few facilities for acquiring even
the rudiments of an education. He did not so much as learn
the grammar of his own language in a school, nor was he in
a school or any other institution of learning as a student,
after he was thirteen years of age. He was, therefore, truly
and emphatically a self-taught and self-made man. Several
years of his early youth were profitably occupied in teaching
a country school, in Dublin township and in Trough Creek
Valley, in this county. During this period he diligently
availed himself of all the means of improvement within his
reach ; greatly increased his scanty stock of knowledge, and
in the quiet seclusion of his rural home, unnoticed by those
around him, laid the foundation of his future success. He
was between thirteen and fourteen years of age when he came
with his father and family to Dublin township, Huntingdon
county. Subsequently he found employment in the office
of the Prothonotary of Huntingdon county, and in 183-4
commenced reading law in the office of Gen. Andrew P.
Wilson. He was admitted to the bar of this county on the
12th of April, 1836, and soon after gave promise of success
in his profession, and by his masterly efforts, in a number
of important cases, acquired an early and distinguished repu-

HISTOKY OF HUNTINGDON" COUNTY. 221

tation as a lawyer and an advocate. In 1840 he assisted in the
prosecution of Robert McConaghy, who was tried, in this
county, for the murder of six of his relatives. The case
was one entirely of circumstantial evidence, and in a speech
of matchless eloquence, in a clear, logical analysis of the
facts, he so traced the murderer through all his windings,
and so fastened the evidence of his guilt upon him, that there
was no escape. The writer has frequently conversed with
the very able counsel of the prisoner as to the electrical effect
of the argument, and they said it was perfectly overwhelming;
that the jury, the judges and the audience were so complete-
ly carried away that any attempt at a defense seemed to be
useless, and conviction followed inevitably. This was the
greatest effort of his professional life. At this time, and for
several years after, he was practicing, in partnership with
John G. Miles, Esq., under the firm name of Miles & Taylor.
Afterwards he acted as Treasurer of the county, and during
the year he held that office he made such progress in study-
ing Greek that he could read the New Testament in the
original tongue.

" When the Legislature, in 1849, passed an act changing
the Judicial Districts of the State, and increasing their num-
ber, he was recommended, almost unanimously, by the Bar
of Huntingdon and Blair counties, for the President Judge-
ship of the 24th District, composed of the counties of Hunt-
ingdon, Blair and Cambria. In April, 1849, Gov. Johnston
conferred upon him the appointment, which was unanimously
confirmed by the Senate. After the amendment to the con-
stitution, making the Judiciary elective, was adopted, and by
which the commissions of all the Judges in the State were
terminated in December, 1851, Judge Taylor was unanimously
nominated as a candidate and elected in October, 1851. After
serving his term of ten years he had so won the hearts of
the members of the Bar of the District, that, without dis-
tinction of party, they asked him to be a candidate for re-
election and he was again triumphantly elected. During the
twenty two years of his Judgeship he faithfully discharged
his duties, and never, from sickness or any other cause, failed
to hold the regular terms of Court in the District.

222 HISTORY OF HUNTINGDON COUNTY.

"In central Pennsylvania it is hardly necessary to speak of
his success as a jurist; certainly no Judge in the State stood
higher. As a man of sound judgment, a close, logical and
profound thinker and a clear and forcible writer, he had no
superior, and perhaps few equals, in the Judiciary of the
Commonwealth. His charges and opinions have been pro-
nounced, by competent judges, not inferior to the best similar
judicial productions that have been carried before the Su-
preme Court of the State during the last quarter of a cen-
tury. After hearing cases argued by able counsel — and the
24th District abounds in such — we have often been amazed
at the manner in which Judge Taylor handled the questions
involved, in charging the jury, taking a higher and bolder
range of thought, and developing elements which had en-
tirely escaped the notice of counsel on either side. He had
an intense love of justice, and the nerve fearlessly to admin-
ister it, in face of all opposition. A lawyer with a good case,
could go before him with perfect confidence of success, but
if he had a bad one, the sooner he got it out of court the
better. He had no taste for the refinements of special plead-
ing, but, stripping a case of all superfluity, he sought with
strong common sense, to decide it according to its merits.
To all his other high qualifications as a Judge, he added
unquestioned and unyielding integrity and stern and severe
impartiality. It is rare to find a Judge who could so entirely
divest himself of feeling or partiality towards litigant par-
ties.

" He had a heart which, in the language of the speech
referred to, could not witness the endurance of suffering,
deserved or undeserved, by any fellow being, without emo-
tions of pity, and in discharging the many painful duties of
his office he alwa}'s tempered judgment with mercy.

" The district over which he presided is an important one.
It includes within its borders a vast iron and bituminous
coal region and is traversed by the Pennsylvania ft. R. and
Canal. It contains two cities and many and large manufac-
turing establishments. A number of important cases, of
diversified character and some of them involving new prin-

HISTORY OF HUNTINGDON COUNTY. 223

ciples of law, were constantly before him for decision. They
were always tried with patient care, involving sleepless nights
and weary days, yet when once tried the conclusion arrived
at was rarely reversed by a higher Court.

"Since 1841 Judge Taylor has been a member of the
Presbyterian church. He was a close, diligent, thoughtful
reader of the Scriptures, and his mind was thoroughly
imbued with its doctrines and precepts. His sole reliance,
during his illness, was on the atonement of Jesus Christ,
and he most submissively bowed to the will of his Creator,
not expressing the least desire to live. He leaves a widow
and five children to mourn his loss.

" After life's fitful fever he sleeps well."

ASSOCIATE JUDGES.
The first appointment of Associate Judges for Hunting-
don county was made in 1791. Before that year courts
were held by the President and Justices of the county, or,
in the absence of the President, by the Justices alone. The
records show that as many as six of the latter were upon
the bench together. The following; were the Associate
Judges appointed, with the dates of their commissions :

David Stewart, . Aug. 17, 1791.
Robert Galbraith, . Aug. 17, 1791.
John Cannon, . Aug. 17th, 1791.
Benj. Elliott, . Au<i. 17, 1791.
Hugh Davison, . Nov. 4, 1791.
William Steel, . April 2, 1804.

Joseph McCune. . Dec. 1,1810.
Joseph Adams, . July 10, 1826.
John Ker, . Dec. 25. 1838.
James Gvvin, . Feb. 25, 1843.
John Stewart, . March 23, 1846.
Jon. MeWilliams . April 4,1851.

The amendment of 1850, making the office elective, fixed
the term at five years. The following have been elected :

1851, Jon. MeWilliams.
1851, Thos. F.Stewart.
1856, B. F. Patton.
1856, John Brewster.

1860, Wm. B. Leas.

1861, B. F. Patton.

1865, A. J. Beaver.

1866, David Clarkson.

1870, A.J. Beaver.

1871, David Clarkson.
1875, Adam Heeter.

PROSECUTING ATTORNEYS AND DISTRICT ATTORNEYS.

District Attorneys were first elected in 1850. The duties
now devolving upon them were previously performed by
officers appointed by the Governor. We have been unable
to obtain detailed and definite information in regard to the

22-i HISTORY OF HUNTINGDON" COUNTY.

latter for this county. An inquiry addressed to the Attor-
ney General, at Harrisburg concerning the names of the
various Prosecuting Attorneys, and the dates of their ap-
pointment, was answered as follows :

" We have no record of the appointment of the deputies
of the attorney general in the different counties prior to the
election of district attorneys. These officers, who were
called prosecuting attorneys, were appointed in an informal
manner, and the attorney generals made no record of the
fact which remains here."

The only source from which we could learn the names of any
of the persons who filled the position of Prosecuting Attorney
for this county, is the indictments on file among the records
of the court of quarter sessions, and even the data there
obtained is very incomplete. During the earliest years, the
indictments were signed with only the name of the Attorney
General, but about fifty years ago, the Prosecuting Attorneys,
after signing for the Attorney General, began to add their
own names. This custom was continued, with slight intermis-
sion, as long as the power of making the appointment was
in the hands of the Governor. The officers whose names
we have thus ascertained, were J. M. Bell, A. P. Wilson,
Kobt. Wallace, S. S. Wharton, Samuel Calvin, Alexander
Gwin, B. V. Everhart, John Cresswell, John Scott and J.
Sewell Stewart.

The Disirict Attorneys and the year of their election have
been as follows:

1850, J. Sewell Stewart.
1853, J. Sewell Stewart.
1850, Theo. H. Cremer.
1859, Samuel T.Brown.
1802, J. H. O. Corbin.

1864, James D. Campbell.
1866, K. Allen Lovell.
1869, Milton S. Lvtle.
1872, H. C. Madden.
1875, J. C. Jackson.

CHAPTER XXXI.

SENATORIAL DISTRICTS FIXED BY CONSTITUTION OP 1790 — SEPTENNIAL
APPORTIONMENTS AND THE DISTRICTS TO WHICH HUNTINGDON COUNTY HAS
BELONGED— SENATORS ELECTED SINCE 1790 — REPRESENTATIVES IN LE-
GISLATURE — MEMBERS ELECTED SINCE THE ERECTION OF THE COUNTY.

The Constitution of 1790 provided that the General As-
sembly of this Commonwealth, which had previously con-
sisted of but one House,should consist of a Senate and House
of Representatives. It fixed Senatorial Districts, which
were to remain until the first enumeration of taxable in-
habitants and an apportionment thereunder, and made the
term of office four years. Districts were first formed by act
of Assembly in 1794, and an act has been passed making a
new apportionment every seventh year since that time. The
different districts to which Huntingdon county has belonged
and the Senators elected to represent them have been as-

follows :

1790.

HUNTINGDON, NORTHUMBERLAND AND LUZERNE.

1790, Wm. Montgomery (elected to Congress.)

1793, Wrn. Hepburn (elected to fill vacancy.)

1794.

HUNTINGDON AND BEDFORD.
(Somerset added on its erection in 1795.)

1794, John Cannon. I 1797, Richard Smith.

1801.

HUNTINGDON, BEDFORD AND SOMERSET.
(Cambria added on its erection in 1804.)

1801 John Piper, I 1805, Henry Wertz, jr.

1807, Jacob Blocher.

1808.

HUNTINGDON AND MIFFLIN.

1808, Ezra Doty. I 1812, William Beale.

1815.

HUNTINGDON AND MIFFLIN.

1816, Alexander Dysart. I 1820, Michael Wallace.

226 HISTORY OF HUNTINGDON COUNTY.

1822.

HUNTINGDON AND MIFFLIN.

1822, William R. Smith. | 1824, Christian Garber.

1828, Thomas Jackson.

1829.

HUNTINGDON, MIFFLIN AND CAMBRIA.
(Juniata added in 1831.)

1832, George McCullouch.
1836.

HUNTINGDON, MIFFLIN, JUNIATA, PERRY AND UNION.

1836, David R. Porter. •
*1838, Robert P. Maclay, 4 years ; James M. Bell, 2 years.
1840, James Mathers, 1842, Henry C. Eyer.

1843.

HUNTINGDON AND BEDFORD.

1844, John Morrison. | 1847, Alexander King.

1850.

HUNTINGDON, BLAIR AND CAMBRIA.

1850, R. A. McMurtrie. | 1853, John Cresswell, jr.

1856, John Creswell, jr.

1856.

HUNTINGDON, BEDFORD AXD SOMERSET.

1857, Win. P. Schell. | 1860, S. S. Wharton.

1863, Geo. W. Householder.

1864.

HUNTINGDON, BLAIR, CENTRE, MIFFLIN, JUNIATA AND PERRY.

(Tflro Senators.)

1864, L. W. Hall. 1867, J. K. Robinson.

Kirk Haines.

C. J. T. Mclntire.

1870, R. Bruce Petriken.
D. M. Crawford.

1871.

HUNTINGDON, CENTRE, JUNIATA AND MIFFLIN.

1873, Joseph S. Waream.

*1874.

HUNTINGDON AND FRANKLIN.

(*Under Constitution of 1873 ; term four years.
L874, Chambers McKibben.

"The Constitution of 183S changed the length of the term to three years.

HISTORY OF HUNTINGDON COUNTY.

227

REPRESENTATIVES IN THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY.

The General Assembly, under the Constitution of 1776,
convened in October, and under the Constitution of 1790, in
December, and usually did not adjourn finally until the
spring of the following year. At the time of the erection
of Huntingdon county, Col. John Cannon was one of the
representatives from Bedford county. The members since
elected by the former have been as follows :

John Porter,
Henry Beaver.
Samuel Rover,
James Clark.
James Clark,
Thomas T. Cromwell,
James Clark,
Thomas T. Cromwelh
H. L. McCpnnell,
George Hudson.
J. Cunningham,
James Crawford.
J. Cunningham,
John Morrison.
J. Cunningham,
John Morrison.
John Morrison,
Joseoh Higgins.
John G. Miles,
Joseph Higgins.
Jesse Moore,
Thomas Weston.
Jonathan McWilliams,
Brice Blair.
Jonathan McWilliams,
Brice Blair.
Henry Brewster,
R. A. McMurtrie.
H. L. Patterson,
Alexander Gwin.
David Blair.
David Blair.
A. K. Cornyn.
A. K. Cornyn.
Win. B.Smith,
Seth R. McCune.
Wm. B. Smith,
Seth. R. McCune.
S. S. Wharton,
James L. Gwin.
James L. Gwin,
James Maguire. "
( reorge Leas,
Geo. W. Smith.
J. M. Gibhonv,
J. H. Wirtrode.

1787, Hugh Davison.

1831,

1788, Hugh Davison.

1789, David Stewart.

1832,

1791), David Stewart.

1791, John Cannon.

1833,

1792, John Cannon.

1793, John Cannon.

1834,

1794, David McMurtrie.

1795, David McMurtrie.

1835,

17i)(>, Samuel Marshall.

1797, Samuel Marshall.

1836,

1798, John Blair.

1799, John Blair.

1837,

1800, James Kerr.

1801, James Kerr,

1838,

John Blair.

1802, William Steel,

1839,

John Blair.

■

1803, Richard Smith,

1840,

Lewis Mytinger.

1804, Arthur Moore,

1841,

James McCune.

1805, Arthur Moore,

1842,

James McCune.

1806, Arthur Moore,

1843,

James McCune.

1807, Arthur Moore,

1844,

Alexander Dysart.

1808, Arthur Moore,

1845,

Alexander Dysart.

1809, Alexander Dysart,

1846,

William McAlevy.

1847,

1810, Alexander Dysart,

] 848,

William McAlevy.

1849,

1811, Alexander Dysart,

1850,

William McAlevy.

1S12, Alexander Dysart,

1851,

R. James Law.

1813, R. James Law,

1852,

John Cruin.

1814, R. James Law,

1853,

John Criim.

1815, Alexander Dysart,

1854,

Conrad Bucher.

181G, Conrad Bucher,

1855,

Christian Garber.

228

HISTORY OF HUNTINGDON COUNTY.

1S17, Conrad Bucher,
Christian Garber.

1818, Robert Young,
J. 1). Aurandt.

1819, John Scott,
David R. Porter.

1S20, John Scott,

David K.Porter.

1821, John Scott,
John Rover.

1822, John Ashman,
David R. Porter.

1S23, Henry Shippen,
Peter Cassidy.

1824, Henry Shippen,
John Ashman.

1825, Matthew Wilson,
Joseph Adams.

1826, Matthew Wilson,
John Blair.

1827, Matthew Wilson,
John Blair.

1828, John Blair,
John Owens.

1829, John Blair,
Henry Beaver.

1830, John Blair,
John Williamson.

1856, J. M. Gibbony,
J. H. "Wintrode.
L857, Daniel Houtz.

1858, R. B. Wigton.

1859, J. S. Africa.

1860, Brice X. Blair.

1861, John Scott.
L862, A. W. Benedict.

1863, David Etnier.

1864, John X. Swoope,
John Baisbach.

1865, Ephraim Baker,
James M. Brown.

1866, H. S. Wharton,
James M. Brown.

1867, H. S. Wharton,
H. H. Wilson.

1868, John S.Miller,
Amos H. Martin.

1869, H. J. McAteer,
Abraham Rohrer.

1870, H. J. McAteer,
Abraham Rohrer.

1871, F. H. Lane.

1872, F. H. Lane.

L873, W. K. Burchinell.
1874, H. H. Mateer,
W. P. McXite.

After the erection of Blair county, in 1846, Huntingdon
county had but one representative until 1850, when, with
Blair, in that and the following year, she elected two. In
1864, the representative district consisting of Huntingdon,
Mifflin and Juniata counties was formed, and continued until
1870, electing two members. At all other times Hunting-
don has formed a separate district. By the Constitution of
1873, the Legislative term was changed from one to two
years. There was consequently no election in 1875.

CHAPTER XXXII.

CONSTITUTIONAL CONVENTIONS — 1776 — BENJAMIN ELLIOTT — 1790 — ANDREW
HENDERSON — 1838 — DELEGATES PROM THE COUNTY AND SENATORIAL
DISTRICT— 1873 — DR. JOHN M'CULLOCH AND JOHN M. BAILEY.

Four conventions have been held in Pennsylvania for the
purpose of framing or revising and amending the Constitu-
tion of the Commonwealth. The first met in pursuance of
the call of the Provincial Conference, the members of which
were "deputed by the committees of several of the counties
of this province," and who assembled in Carpenters' Hall,
Philadelphia, June 18th, 1776, sixteen days before the
Declaration of Independence, and continued their sessions
daily until June 25th.

The delegates to the Convention were elected July 8th,
1776, met July 15th, and passed and confirmed the Consti-
tution, and signed it September 28th, of the same year.
There were eight delegates from Bedford county, seven of
whom appended their signatures to the instrument in the
following order : Benjamin Elliott, Thomas Coulter, Joseph
Powell, John Burd, John Cessna, John Wilkins and Thomas
Smith. The only member of the Convention from the
present territory of Huntingdon county was Benjamin
Elliott.

The second Constitutional Convention of Pennsylvania
convened in Philadelphia, November 24th, 1789, and framed
a new Constitution. Having completed it and provided for
its publication, they adjourned on the 26th day of February,
1790, to meet on the 9th day of August following. After
re-assembling they continued in session twenty-four days,
carefully revising, amending and altering the Constitution.

General Andrew Henderson was a member of this Con-
vention, and the only one from Huntingdon county. He
was at the same time Prothonotary and Register and
Recorder. On the erection of Henderson township, in
November, 1814, it was ordered by the Court that it be

230 HISTORY OF HUNTINGDON COUNTY.

given that name "in consideration of the distinguished up-
rightness of the late General Andrew Ilenderson as a public
officer, and his services during the Revolutionary war."

The third Convention met at Harrisburg, May 2nd, 1837.
After several adjournments, they re-assembled in Philadel-
phia, November 28th, 1837, and adjourned finally, February
22nd, 1838. The Constitution as amended was submitted
to a vote of the people at the October election in 1838, and
was adopted by a majority of twelve hundred and thirteen
votes.

The Convention was composed of Senatorial and Repre-
sentative delegates, the district consisting of Huntingdon,
Mifflin, Juniata, Perry and Union counties, being represent-
ed by James Merrill and Wm. P. Maclay, and Huntingdon
county by Samuel Royer and Cornelius Crum.

The fourth and last Constitutional Convention met in the
hall of the House of Representatives at Harrisburg, Novem-
ber 12th, 187:2. On the 27th of the same month, they ad-
journed to meet in Philadelphia on the 7th of January, 1873.
Their labors completed, the new organic law was submitted
to the voters of the Commonwealth at a special election on
the 16th of December, 1873, and was adopted by an over-
whelming majority.

There were in this Convention one hundred and thirty-
three delegates, twenty -eight from the State at large, and
one hundred and five from the Senatorial districts. The
twenty-second district, composed of the counties of Hunting-
don, Centre, Mifflin and Juniata, was represented by Dr.
John McCulloch, John M. Bailey and Andrew Reed. The
first two were from Huntingdon county and the last from
Mifflin.

John McCulloch was born in Juniata county, Pennsylvania,
November 15th, 1806 ; graduated at Washington College,
"Washington, Pa., in 1825, and at the Medical Department of
the University of Pennsylvania, in 1829 ; has since been a
practicing physician, residing first at Petersburg, in this
county, and for a number of years past in Huntingdon; was
elected to Congress in 1852, and served during the term

HISTORY OF HUNTINGDON COUNTY. 231

ending March 4th, 1855. As a member of the Constitutional
Convention, he was upon the committees on "State Institu-
tions and Buildings" and "Railroads and Canals."

John M. Bailey was born at Dillsburg, York county,
Pennsylvania, July 11th, 1839 ; came to Huntingdon county
in 1857, and was for several years engaged as a teacher in
the common schools ; read law with Messrs. Scott & Brown,
in Huntingdon ; was admitted to the bar in August, 1862,
and entered into partnership with his preceptors, which
business relation continued until the election of Mr. Scott
as United States Senator. The committees upon which he
held positions as a member of the Convention were "Com-
missions," "Offices, Oaths of Office and Incompatibility of
Office," " Revenues, Taxation and Finance."

CHAPTER XXXIII.

COUNTY OFFICERS— SHERIFFS— PROTHONOTARIES, KLERKS OF COURTS OF
COMMON PLEAS, ETC. — REGISTERS, RECORDERS, AND CLERKS OF THE
ORPHANS' COURT— COUNTY TREASURERS — COUNTY COMMISSIONERS— DIREC-
TORS OF THE POOR — COUNTY SURVEYORS— JURY COMMISSIONERS.

SHERIFFS.

1787, Benjamin Elliott.

1788, John Patton.
1792, John Galbraith.
1795, John Patton.
1798, James McMurtrie.
1801, John Patton.
1804, John Miller.
1806, John Patton.
1809, Patrick Gwin.
1812, John Patton.
1815, Patrick Gwin.

181 8, John Patton.
1821, Patrick Gwin.
1824, "William Speer.
1827, "William Simpson.
1830, Thomas Johnston.
1833, James Henderson.

1836, *Thomas Lloyd .

1837, Joseph Higgins.

1838, Joseph Shannon.

1839, John Brotherline.
1841, John Shaver.
1844, John Armitage.
1847, Matthew Crownover.
1850, Wm. B. Zeigler.
1853, Joshua Greenland.
1856, Graffus Miller.

1859, John C. Watson.
1862, G. W. Johnston.
1S65, Jas. F. Bathurst.
1868, D. R. P. Neely.
1871, Amon Honck.
1S74, T. K. Henderson.

PROTHONOTARIES, CLERKS OF COURT OF COMMON

PLEAS, ETC.

The Prothonotaries, Clerks of Courts of Common Pleas,
Quarter Sessions and Oyer and Terminer, were appointed by
the Governor previous to the annual election in 1839. By the
Constitution of 1838 these offices were made elective. The
following were the appointees with the dates of their com-
missions :

Lazarus B. McClain,
Andrew Henderson,
"William Steel,
J. A. Henderson,
David R. Porter,
Robert Campbell,
James Steel,

Commissioned

Sept. 25th, 1787

Dec. 13th 1788

Feb. 28th, 1809

Feb. 9th, 1821

Dec. 19th, 1823

Jan. 2nd, 1836

Jan. 7th, 1839

•It will be observed that there wan a change in the office of Sheriff annually from 1836
to 1839. Thomas Lloyd died duriDg his term, October 30th, 1S3T; Joseph Higgins was
appointed until the next election, and Joseph Shannon was elected for the balance of the
term.

HISTOKY OF HUNTINGDON" COUNTY. 233

The officers elected under the Constitution of 1838 have
been as follows :

1839, James Steel.
1842, James Steel.
1845, James Steel.
1848, T. H. Cremer.
1851 , T. H. Cremer.
1854, M. F. Campbell.
1857, D. Caldwell.

1860, W. C. Wagoner.
1863, W. C. Wagoner.
1866, J. R. Simpson.
1869, M. M. McNeil.
1872, T. W. Myton.
1S75, L. M. Stewart.

REGISTERS, RECORDERS AND CLERKS OF ORPHANS'

COURT.

These offices were also filled by appointment previous to
1839.

Andrew Henderson,

Commissioned

Sept.

29th, 1787.

"William Steel,

Feb.

28th, 1809.

Richard Smith,

Feb.

9th, 1821.

William Kerr,

Jan.

1st, 1824.

David R. Porter,

Feb.

16th, 1827.

John Reed,

t«

Jan.

2nd, 1836.

The following officers have been elected

1839, John Reed.
1842, John Reed.
1845, Jacob Miller.
1848, M. F. Campbell.
1851, M. F. Campbell.
1854, Henry Glazier.
1857, Henry Glazier.

1860, D. W. Womelsdorf.
1863, D. W. Womelsdorf.
1866, J. E. Smncker.
1869, J. E. Smucker.
1872, W. E. Lightner.
1875, W. E. Lightner.

COUNTY TREASURERS.

Previous to 1841, the County Treasurers were appointed
annually by the County Commissioners. The incumbents
of this office before it was made elective, can be ascertained
only by reference to the bonds on file in the Commissioners'
office. No bonds can be found for any of the years between
1789 and 1799, but as Benjamin Elliott was Treasurer in
both of those years, the supposition arises that he served
during all of the intermediate time. There are also no
bonds for the years 1802, 1804, 1805 and 1828. The fol-

234

HISTORY OF HUNTINGDON COUNTY.

lowing are the Treasurers appointed, with the exceptions
above stated :

1787, I 'avid McMurtrie.
178S, Benjamin Elliott.

1789, Benjamin Elliott.

1799, Benjamin Elliott.

1800, John Johnston.

1801, John Johnston.
1803, John Johnston.

1806, Robert Allison.

1807, Robert Allison.
18')S, Robert Allison.

1809, Thomas Ker.

1810, Thomas Ker.

1811, Thomas Ker.

1812, John Huvett.

1813, Samuel Steel.

1814, Samuel Steel.

1815, Thomas Ker.

1816, Thomas Ker.

1817, Thomas Ker.

1818, Samuel Steel.

1819, Samuel Steel.

1820, Samuel Steel.

1821, Isaac Dorland.

1 S22, Isaac Dorland.

1823, Isaac Dorland.

1824, John Miller.

1825, John Miller.

1826, Walter Clarke.

1827, Walter Clarke.

1829, Isaac Dorland.

1830, Isaac Dorland.

1831, Isaac Dorland.

1832, Jacob Miller.

1833, Jacob Miller.

1834, Jacob Miller.

1835, Thomas Fisher.

1836, Thomas Fisher.

1837, Thomas Fisher.

1838, David Snare,
" David Blair.

1839, David Blair.

1840, David Blair.

1841, Andrew B. Hirst.

The act of Assembly making the office of County Treas-
urer elective, was passed May 27th, 1841, and the first elec-
tion under it was held in the following October. The officers
elected have been as follows :

1841, Andrew B. Hirst.
1843, George Taylor.
1845, Joseph Law.
1847, Isaac Neff.
1849, John A. Doyle.
1851, John Marks.
1853, Joseph Stevens.
1855, A. B. Crewitt.
1857, F. H. Lane.

1859, H. T. White.
1861, J. A. Nash.
1863, David Black.
1865, Thos. W. Mvton.
1867, M. M. Logan.
1869, Samuel J. Clovd.
1871, A. W. Ken von.
1873, T. W. Montgomery.
1875, G. Ashman Miller.

F. H. Lane had been appointed Treasurer, April 14th,
1857, previous to his election, to fill a vacancy caused by
the death of A. B. Crewitt. The term of office, which had
been two years, was extended by the present State Consti-
tution, to three years, for which length of time the present
incumbent, G. Ashman Miller, was elected.

COUNTY COMMISSIONERS.

1787, David Stewart,
John Dean,
James Sommerville.

1833, Robert Lytle.

1834, John Stewart.

1835, Peter Hewitt.

HISTORY OF HUNTINGDON COUNTY.

235

1788,
1789,
1790,
1791,
1792,
1793,
1794.
1795,
1796,
1797,
1798,
1799,
1890,
1801,
1802,
1803,
1804,
1805,
180(3,
1807,
1808,
1809,
1810,
1811,
1812,
J 813,
1814,
1815,
1816',
1817,
1818,
1819,
1820,
1821,
1822,
1823,
1824,
1825,
1826,
1827,
1828,
1829,
1830,
1831,
1832,

Patrick Cassidy.
Robert Riddle.
John Cadwallader.
John Blair.
Patrick Galbraith.
John Shaver.
James Kerr.
Thomas Morrow.
William Steel.
Hugh Morrison.
John Steel.
John Cadwallader.
Benjamin Elliott.
Joseph Patton.
Thomas Wilson.
William Wilson.
John Crawford.
Joseph Patton.
John Robison.
John Hnyett.
David Lloyd.
R. James Law.
Robert Provines.
John Sharrer.
Win. Simpson.
Maxwell Kinkead.
John Morrison.
Matthew Wilson.
Philip Roller.
Peter Cassidy.
Samuel Gooshorn.
James Simpson.
William Reed.
John Stewart.
John Cresswell.
John McMullen.
William Simpson.
Conrad Bucher.
Henry Beaver.
James Steel.
George Ashman.
John Stewart.
Jacob Hoffman.
Samuel Smith.
John Lutz.

1836, John Stever.

1837, Peter Swoope.

1838, James Moore.
1S39, Joshua Roller.

1840, Kenzie L. Green.

1841, Robert Moore.

1842, Alexander Knox.

1843, John F. Miller, 1 year.
Mordecai Chilcote.

1844, John F. Miller.

1845, William Bell.

1846, Daniel Teague, 2 years,
Robt. Cummins, 3 years.

1847, Joshua Greenland.

1849, Isaac Peightal.

1850, Benjamin Leas.

1851, Robert Still, 2 years,
Eliel Smith, 3 years.

1852, Samuel Wigton.

1853, Thomas Hamer.

1854, Benj. K. NjbJL

1855, Jacob Baker.

1856, H. L. McCarthy.

1857, Geo. W. Mattern.

1858, John Flenner.

1859, M. F. Campbell.

1860, John Cummins.

1861, John S. Isett.

1862, P. M. Bare.

1863, John Householder.

1864, Jacob Miller.

1865, Adam Warfel.

1866, Adam Fouse.

1867, Samuel Cummins.

1868, Simeon Wright,

1869, Geo. Jackson.

1870, A. B. Miller.

1871, Jonathan Evans.

1872, David Hare.

1873, N. K. Covert.

1874, W. J.Ammerman.

1875, A. G. Neff,
D. B. Weaver.
A. W. Wright.

DIRECTORS OF THE POOR.

The Act providing "for the erection of a house for the
employment and support of the poor in the county of Hun-
tingdon," was approved on the 6th day of May, 1850.
Thomas Fisher, Kenzie L. Green, Benjamin Leas, James
Gillam, John McCulloch, John Porter, Isaac Taylor, A. P.
Wilson, John Watson, Caleb Greenland and S. Miles Green,
were appointed commissioners to purchase a site for the
building, and the people of the county were authorized to

236

HISTORY OF HUNTINGDON COUNTY.

vote at the next annual election, upon the expediency of its
erection. The result of the vote was as follows:

For a poor house 1299

Against" " 952

After it was built, its sale was advocated, and a vote was
taken upon that question, under authority of an Act of As-
sembly, with the following result :

For the sale 892

Against " 2802

The act of 1850, provided for the election of three Direc-
tors of the Poor in that year and of one annually there-
after. The following officers have been elected:

1851, James Clarke.
James Saxton.
George Hudson.

1852, John Brewster.

1853, Samuel Mattern.

1854, J. A. Shade.

1855, Kenzie L. Green.

1856, Joseph Gibbony.

1857, James Murphy.

1858, David Clarkson.

1859, William Moore.

1860, Samuel Peightal.

1861, James Henderson.

1862, Samuel Heckadorn.

1863, John Logan.

1864, Henry Davis, 3 years.
Henry A. Mark, 1 year.

1865, John Flenner.

1866, Jackson Harman.

1867, Adam Ileeter.

1868, John Miller.

1869, James Smith.

1870, John P. Stewart.

1871, Harris Richardson.

1872, Michael Kyper.

1873, Gilbert Horning.

1874, Aaron W. Evans.

1875, John Griffith.

COUNTY SURVEYORS.

1850, William Christy.
1853, J. Simpson Africa.
1859, J. F. Ramey.
1862, John A. Pollock.

1865, James E. Glasgow.
1868, James E. Glasgow.
1871, Henry Wilson.
1874, Henrv Wilson.

In 1856, there was no election to the office of County Sur-
veyor, the result that year being a tie vote between J.Simp-
son Africa and J. F. Ramey. The latter was appointed by
the Court and served during the term.

In 1864 an election was held to fill a vacancy caused by
the resignation of John A. Pollock, at which Henry Wilson
received a majority of the votes cast, but the election was
illegal, as the act of Assembly creating the office provides
that vacancies shall be filled by the appointment of the
Court of Quarter Sessions. Mr. Wilson was subsequently
appointed and served until the qualification of his successor,
James E. Glasgow.

HISTORY OF HUNTINGDON" COUNTY. 237

JURY COMMISSIONERS.

1873, John G. Stewart.
Samuel Brooks.

1867, Geo. W. Shontz,

N. K. Covert.
1870, S. B. Chaney,

John Vandevander.

John G. Stewart resigned and George W. Johnston was
appointed to fill the vacancy, January 22nd, 1874.

CHAPTER XXXIV.

HUNTINGDON — OLD DEED OF CONVEYANCE — INCORPORATION AS A BOROUGH
— EXTENSIONS OF BOROUGH LIMITS — ADDITIONS To THE PLAN OF THJB
TOWN — J. EDGAR Thomson's SURVEY — MILLER, WHARTON AND ANDER-
SON'S ADDITION — MANUFACTURING ESTABLISHMENTS — PLANING MILL ANO
FURNITURE FACTORY — SHOE FACTORY AND TANNERY — CAR WORKS AND
MACHINE SHOPS — BROOM AND BRUSH FACTORY — PILGRIM PUBLICATION

BUILDING — NUMBER OF BUILDINGS ERECTED — CENSUS OPENING AND

EXTENSION OF STREETS — CHANGE IN STREET NOMENCLATURE — NUMBER-
ING OF BUILDINGS AND LOTS — DIVISION OF THE BOROUGH INTO WARDS

— FIRE DEPARTMENT ENGINE HOUSE — GAS SCHOOL BUILDINGS AND

SCHOOLS — CHURCHES AND PASTORS.

This work has already given much of the history of the
town of Huntingdon. One of the points first visited by
white men, and the earliest permanent settlement in the
county, and located upon the old Indian war-path, or a
branch of it, and the Juniata river, it possessed at the be-
ginning, and has since maintained, a greater importance than
any other place within our presents limits. An account of
Standing Stone, of the founding of the town by Dr. William
Smith, in 1767, and the naming of it after the Countess of
Huntingdon, of its condition at the beginning of the Revolu-
tionary war, and of many events occurring there during
that struggle, of its selection as the seat of justice on the
erection of the county in 1787, and of its newspapers and
public improvements, was unavoidable in our effort to ob-
serve as nearly as possible a chronological arrangement in
the statement of facts. But it has much additional history
connected with its own development rather than with that
of the county at large.

The oldest deed of conveyance, of the existence of which
we have been able to learn, made by Dr. Smith to a pur-
chaser of a lot in Huntingdon, is dated " the seventh day of
September, in the eighth Year of the Reign of our Sovereign
Lord George 3d, by the Grace of God King of Great Britain,
&c, Ajino'jue Domini One Thousand Seven Hundred and,
Sixty-Eight, 1 ' and is " between William Smith, of the City

HISTORY OF HUNTINGDON COUNTY. 239

of Philadelphia, and Province of Pennsylvania, Clerk, D.D.,
of the one part, and Samuel Anderson of Cumberland county,
of the other part." It recites that " the said William Smith

hath laid out a certain Town called , at Standing

Stone, on Juniata, in the County of Cumberland, and divided
the same into streets and lots, regularly named and numbered,
as by the plan of the said town entered on record, in the Be-
corder's Office at Carlisle, in the said county, may appear."
The lot conveyed was number 12, situated on Allegheny,
between Third and Fourth streets, and extending to Penn.
It is now owned by John W. Mattern, Esq.

This deed was a printed form, prepared expressly for Dr.
Smith, having no blanks except for names and numbers.
It evidently, therefore, embodies the terms upon which he
had determined to make sales. As the name of the town
does not appear in the deed, and as the space left for it was
not filled in writing, we may reasonably suppose that he
had not given it a name at that date.

The consideration expressed in the deed was as follows :
" Yielding and paying therefor and thereout unto the said
William Smith, his Heirs and Assigns, on the first Monday
in September, in every year, the yearly Kent of One Spanish
Milled Piece of Eight of fine Silver, weighing Seventeen
Penny Weight and Six Grains at least, or Value thereof in
Coin current ; the first payment to be made on the first
Monday of September, which shall be in the Year of our
Lord One Thousand Seven Hundred and Sixty-Isine, and
so on the first Monday of September yearly, and every year
thereafter, forever. And further the said Samuel Anderson
doth covenant, promise and agree to and with the said Wil-
liam Smith, his Heirs and Assigns, by these Presents, that
he the said Samuel Anderson, his Heirs and Assigns, shall
and will, at his or their own proper Cost and Charges, make,
erect, build and finish on the said Lot of Ground, one sub-
stantial Dwelling House of Dimensions of Eighteen Feet by
Twenty Feet at least, with a good Stone or Brick Chimney,
within the Space of Ten Months from the First Day of Oc-
tober," (year illegible.)

240 HISTOEY OF HUNTINGDON COUNTY.

On the failure of Anderson to pay the rental for the space
of ninety days after it became due, Dr. Smith was to have
the right to recover the arrearages by distress, and if no
property could be found upon the premises upon which to
distrain, or if the dwelling house was not erected within the
time and in the manner agreed upon, he was to have the
right to re-enter and to hold and possess the lot, and if the
arrearages of rent were not paid within two years after such
re-entry, the lot was to revert to him absolutely.

Huntingdon was incorporated as a borough by act of
Assembly of March 29th, 1796. The boundaries, as therein
specified were as follows : " Beginning at a large stone
corner placed on the bank of the river Juniata, at or near
the entrance of a fording place, and at the distance of two
hundred feet, on a course south sixty-six degrees east, from
the east side of St. Clair (now Second) street ; thence north
twenty-four degrees east, one hundred and nine perches and
seven-tenths of a perch, to a stone; thence north sixty-six
degrees west, one hundred and fifty-seven perches to a stone ;
thence south twenty-four degrees west, including Charles
(now Seventh) street, one hundred and ten perches, or
thereabouts, to the river Juniata ; thence down the same on
the northerly bank or side, to the place of beginning ; being
the boundary of the said town of Huntingdon on record in
the office for recording of deeds in and for the said county of
Huntingdon." The plan referred to was recorded on the 14th
day of November, 1795. There is no plan on record at
Carlisle, as stated in the deed from Dr. Smith to Samuel
Anderson.

By a supplement to the act of incorporation, approved
March 27th, 1855, the borough limits were extended so as
to include what is now known as West Huntingdon and
some territory east of the borough on both sides of Standing
Stone creek. The boundaries fixed thereby were as follows :
" Beginning at the Juniata river, where the Hickory corner,
between George Croghan's and William Logan's survey
stood, thence by the line between said surveys to William
McMurtrie's corner; thence by this line to Standing

HISTORY OF HUNTINGDON COUNTY. 241

Stone Creek; thence up the eastern side • thereof, at low
water mark, to a point opposite the north-eastern corner
of William Orbison's out-lot ; thence by John Simpson's
line across said creek by William Orbison's out-lot, the
Standing Stone creek road and Hartley and Kautz's lot, to
said Simpson's corner, on the western 'line of the Smith
survey ; thence by the line between John McCahan's land
and lots of said Hartley and Kautz, George Jackson and
Daniel Africa, to Armstrong Willoughby's corner, in Annie
Figart's hollow ; thence up said hollow, including said Wil-
loughby's land, to the extended eastern line of Bath (now
Fifth) street, of said borough ; thence down said line to the
old boundary line of said borough and along the same to
the centre of the Warm Springs road; thence up the centre
of said road to the northern line of the Asher Clayton
survey ; thence by the same to where a hickory corner
stood; thence by the line between the Eenner farm and
land of Hon. George Taylor to the Juniata river ; thence
down the same at low water mark, to the place of begin-
ning."

The second extension of the borough limits was made by
ordinance of the Burgesses and Town Council, on the 14th
of August, 1874. It added a portion of Oneida township
lying north and northwest of the borough. The first section
of the ordinance is as follows : "That all those parts of the
township of Oneida included within the following bounda-
ries, to wit: Beginning at the corner between said borough
and township, at the northern angle of a lot formerly occu-
pied by Hartly and Kautz, now owned by John H. Glazier,
thence in a direct line, passing the south eastern corner of a.
lot on which Robert Drennan resides, to a point on land
of William P. Orbison, esq., where the north-western bound-
ary line of said borough, if extended, would intersect said
line; and thence westwardly along the last mentioned line
to the corner between land of Hon. George Taylor,
deceased, and James Cozzens ; and thence by the line
between said Taylor and Cozzens and by an extension
thereof to the Juniata river ; thence down the said river to
Q

242 HISTORY OF HUNTINGDON COUNTY.

the present line between said borough and township, and
thence along the same to place of beginning."

The growth of the town has kept pace with these addi-
tions of territory, and, in fact, rendered them necessary.
Previous to 1855 the borough limits extended only to
Seventh street ; but in 1854, J. Edgar Thomson, then Chief
Engineer of the Pennsylvania Railroad, purchased the
Cypress Cottage farm, lying west of the borough, for $29,-
000, and in May and June of the latter year, had the part of
the farm north of the railroad surveyed by J. Simpson Africa,
Esq., county surveyor, and laid off into 352 lots. About
the time the plan of West Huntingdon was completed, Mr.
Thomson sold the grist and saw mill, with five acres of
land, to Messrs. David McMurtrie and Thomas Fisher,
for $15,000, thus reducing the amount of his investment to
1 14,000.

Col. William Dorris, who was the attorney and agent for
Mr. Thomson in all his transactions with reference to this
real estate, has furnished us the following information :

" From the time of the making of the plan in May,
1854, until 1865 — eleven years — the West Huntingdon
addition had an existence only on paper. During that
time but one house was erected, the oue now owned
and occupied by Alexander Elliott, and it was built
by the proprietor. It was a standing joke, not only to
the neighboring towns, but to the ancient borough, and was
often pointed to as an evidence of the folly of the owner.
On the 27th of May, 1865, the first three lots were sold to
Hannah Artley and Mary Long. They were numbered 40,
43 and 51. Dwelling houses were built upon them by D.
W. Artley and Christian Long. During the year 1865 the
island, the orchard, and 67 town lots were sold, and buildings
were erected with great rapidity. Sales of lots continued
without interruption until on the 30th of May, 1871, the
last lot in West Huntingdon was sold, the purchaser being
Curtis Larkins, and the lot being number 143. The aggre-
gate amount received up to April 1st, 1876, by Mr. Thomson,
in his lifetime, and by his trustees, since his death, from

HISTORY OF HUNTINGDON COUNTY. 243

the sale of this farm, was $83,697.09, and there is to be col-
lected enough to reach almost $100,000."

The improvements upon the lots sold by Mr. Thomson
soon carried the town northwestward to Fifteenth street,
and it became evident that it would be extended still fur-
ther in that direction, if that portion of the borough were
laid off into lots and offered for sale. On the first of May, 1868,
Dr. R. Allison Miller, H. S. Wharton and Mrs. M. H. Ander-
son bought from Hon. John Scott, executor and trustee
under the will of Major J. P. Anderson, deceased, the Kenner
farm, containing about one hundred and twenty acres, and
had about one hundred acres divided into lots, by J. Simp-
son Africa, Esq. This part of the town is known as Milller,
"Wharton and Anderson's addition to West Huntingdon. The
proprietors have sold 425 lots, 110 buildings have been
erected, and it has now a population of about 500. Its
northern limit was Hon. George Taylor's farm, beyond
Nineteenth street.

Upon this addition the most important manufacturing
establishments in the borough have been erected.

In 1868 the Huntingdon Manufacturing company built
a planing mill and furniture factory at the north-west corner
of Sixteenth and Fenn streets. It is a substantial brick
building, two stories high, and is supplied with first-class
machinery, which is run by steam. The property has
changed hands a number of times since its erection, and is
now owned by Stewart, March & Co.

In 1870 H. S. Wharton built a shoe factory at the north-
west corner of Sixteenth and Fenn streets, and in 1872 added a
tannery. This establishment, known as the Keystone Boot,
Shoe and Leather Manufacturing Company's works, consists
of large and imposing brick buildings, three stories high,
heated by steam. The machinery is all of the latest and
most approved kind.

The car works and machine shops west of Penn, and
between Seventeenth and Eighteenth streets, were built by
Messrs. Orbison & Co., in 1872 and '73. The buildings are
a wood-work department 160 by 70 feet, an erecting shop

244 HISTORY OF HUNTINGDON COUNTY.

165 feet by 60 feet, a machine and blacksmith shop 173 feet
by 46 feet, and an engine-house 26 by 32 feet. The stack is
60 feet high, and the machinery is driven by a sixty-five
horse-power engine. These, with the necessary yard room
occupy about five acres of ground.

R. A. Miller & Son built their broom and brush works, a
a three story brick building, at the north-east corner of
Fourteenth and Washington streets, in 1873, and in the
same year the Pilgrim building, on the north-west corner of
the same streets, was erected by H. B. Brumbaugh, and is
partly occupied for the publication of the " Pilgrim" and
" Young Disciple."

Of the 777 lots sold in West Huntingdon since 1865, a
large proportion was purchased for actual improvement.
Those in the Thomson survey are nearly all built upon, and
more than one fourth of those in the Miller. Wharton and
Anderson addition.

The old part of Huntingdon improved during the same
time almost as rapidly as West Huntingdon, its progress,
however,not being quite so conspicuous, as new buildings, in a
town already built up, do not make as much display as the
same number on ground that previously had none.

This era of improvement continued for more than eight
years, or until after the financial crisis of 1873. It gave us
a better class of buildings than had before existed, many of
them being models of architecture and elegance. The num-
ber erected could not now be ascertained without great
difficulty, but we have obtained a statement of those built
in 1871 and 1872, which will serve as a criterion for other
years.

1S71. 1ST2.

Dwellings, 70 44

Business houses, 10

Manufactories, 4

Other buildings, 4 4

1. (.'modeled and improved, 9 7

83 69
Many of those put down as dwellings had business rooms
on the first floor.

HISTORY OF HUNTINGDON COUNTY. 245

As might be expected, the tables of populations show
that the greatest increase was during the years when lots
were selling and buildings were being erected the most
rapidly. The increase between 1860 and 1870 took place
principally after the war, in the last half of the decade.

1792, Population, 85 families.

1810,

676

1820,

848

Increase,

172

1830,

1,222

374

1840,

1,145

Decrease,

1850,

1,470

Increase,

325

1860,

1,890

420

1870,

3,034

1,144

1876,

■ 4,054

6 years,

1,020

The population in 1876 was ascertained by the canvass-
ers for " Africa's Centennial Directory of Huntingdon
County," recently published.

Not only was the opening of new streets and the extension
of old ones rendered necessary by this growth of the town,
but it led to a change in street nomenclature and to the
adoption of the decimal system of numbering buildings and
lots. By an ordinance of July 3rd, 1863, "Washington
street, from the western line of Charles street to the Warm
Springs road at the line of the Renner farm, and Mifflin
street, from the western line of Charles street to Fulton
(now Eighth,) and from Fulton to Locust (now Thirteenth,)
were declared public streets or highways. The same streets,
by ordinance of June 3rd, 1870, were extended still further
northward to Grant (now Sixteenth) street. The former
ordinance also declared Chestnut, Walnut, Spruce and Pine,
crossing Washington and Mifflin at right angles, public
highways. Other streets were extended or opened as cir-
cumstances required.

The ordinance changing the names of streets running
north and south in the old town and east and west in the
new, was passed March 3rd, 1871. By it St. Clair street
was changed to Second, Smith to Third, Montgomery to
Fourth, Bath to Fifth, Franklin to Sixth, Charles to Seventh,
Fulton to Eighth, Chestnut to Ninth, Walnut to Tenth,

246 HISTORY OF HUNTINGDON COUNTY.

Spruce to Eleventh, Pine to Twelfth, Locust to Thirteenth,
Cypress to Fourteenth, Anderson to Fifteenth, Grant to
Sixteenth, Scott to Seventeenth, Lincoln to Eighteenth,
and Jackson to Nineteenth. It also provided that the
Standing Stone ridge road should be known as First street,
the Standing Stone creek road as Standing Stone avenue,
the Warm Springs road as Warm Springs avenue, and the
towing-path of the Pennsylvania canal as Canal avenue.

The same ordinance divided each square into spaces of
twenty-five feet, each space to constitute a number. On
streets running parallel with the river, the odd numbers are
on the north side and the even numbers on the south side,
each cross street beginning another hundred, corresponding
with its number. On streets running from the river at right
angles, the odd numbers are on the west side, and even
numbers on the east, a new hundred beginning with each
square. The owners or occupants of buildings fronting on
public streets are required to have erected or painted on
some conspicuous parts of the fronts or entrances, the num-
ber of the space upon which each building stands. The
penalty for neglect of this requirement is a fine of five
dollars.

In 1873, the borough, which had previously con-
sisted of but two wards, was divided into four, by act of
Assembly approved April 10th. The territory embraced
in each was designated as follows :

First Ward, all that territory lying northeastward of a
line beginning at the Juniata river, and running thence in a
direct line along the centre of Fourth street, to the line of
Oneida township.

Second Ward, all that territory lying west of the First
ward and east of the centre of Seventh street.

Third Ward,a\l that territory lying north and west of the
Second ward, and south of a line beginning at said (Juniata)
river, and running thence eastward in a direct line along
the centre of Eleventh street, to the line of Oneida township.

Fourth Ward, all the territory lying north of the Third
ward.

HISTORY OF HUNTINGDON COUNTY. 247

On the extension of the borough limits in 1874, so as to
include a part of Oneida township, the added territory was
distributed among the four wards, principally to the second
and third.

The fire department of Huntingdon consists of three en-
gines and hook and ladder apparatus, each in charge of an
organized company. The "Juniata " engine was built in
Philadelphia, 1804, and brought there early in 1805. It was
committed, by an ordinance of 1806, to the Active Fire
Company. The newspapers of that and subsequent years
had frequent notices to the people to turn out with their
buckets, to exercise the engine. It was worked by hand
and the water supplied from the most convenient pump or
other source. The "Active" Company went out of existence,
and was succeeded by the Juniata Fire Engine Company.
The latter was organized in June, 1852, and disbanded just
two years later. The present Juniata Fire Company was
organized September 1st, 1873.

The " Thcenix " engine, constructed on a somewhat larger
scale than its predecessor, was brought to Huntingdon in
1840. A company then organized to manage it, had an ex-
istence of but a few years. A reorganization took place in
May, 1874, the engine being then removed to West Hunt-
ingdon. The members of the company are residents of that
part of the borough, and are fully uniformed and equipped.

The steam fire engine "Huntingdon" was purchased from
the Silsby Manufacturing Company in 1873, the " Hunting-
don Fire Company, No. 1," having been organized October
21st, 1872, in anticipation of its arrival.

The Independent Hook and Ladder Company, No. 1, was
organized October 20th, 1873.

On the 4th of December, 1868, an ordinance was passed
" authorizing a loan to the borough of Huntingdon for the
purpose of purchasing a lot of ground and erecting an engine
house thereon." It provided for the borrowing by the bor-
ough of the sum of four thousand dollars, for which certifi-
cates were to be issued for amounts not less than one hun-
dred dollars each, redeemable on the 1st day of January,

248 HISTORY OF HUNTINGDON COUNTY.

1875, bearing six per cent, interest, payable semi annually,
on the first days of January and July in each year. A sup-
plement to this ordinance was passed February 17th, 1869,
increasing the rate of interest to eight per cent.

Part of lot number 97, fronting on Washington street west
of Fifth street, was conveyed by Zacharias Yenter and wife,
April 21st, 1869. The contract for the erection of the build-
ing had been allotted to John Carman on the 2d of that
month, and it was put up during the summer. After the
organization of the hook and ladder company it was enlarged,
and now accommodates not only the apparatus of that com-
pany, but the Huntingdon and Juniata engines, and has
rooms for the meetings of the companies, and a council
chamber.

In the chapter relating to private schools will be found a
history of the Huntingdon Academy. The other educational
institutions are three public school buildings. The first is
situated at the northwest corner of Fifth and Moore streets,
on a plot containing two acres of ground donated by the
proprietor of the town for a " Grammar and Free School."
It was erected in 1843, was subsequently enlarged, and now
accommodates eight schools. The second is a small brick
building, near Cherry alley and Dorland street, one story in
height and containing one room for a school for colored
children, and the third is a spacious and convenient house,
erected in 1874, at the northwest corner of Fourteenth and
Moore streets, accommodating four schools.

The number of public schools in the borough is thirteen,
as follows : One high school, four grammar, four intermedi-
ate, three primary, and one colored. There are also two
schools in the Academy building.

Gas, for purposes of illumination, was introduced into the
borough on the 29th day of August, 1857. The company
by which it is manufactured was incorporated March 4th of
that year, and their works, located east of Second street, be-
tween Penn and Allegheny, were built that summer, the con-
tract for their erection having been executed on the 13th
day of May.

HISTORY OF HUNTINGDON" COUNTY. 249

The religious denominations worshiping in Huntingdon,
their pastors, and the location of their churches, are as fol-
lows : African Methodist Episcopal Zion, southeast corner
Sixth and Moore streets, Rev. Solomon T. Whiten ; African
Methodist Episcopal, 719 Moore street, Rev. William P.
Ross; Baptist, northwest corner Seventh and Washington
streets, Rev. D. W. Hunter ; German Baptist, northwest
corner Fourteenth and Washington streets, Rev. H. B.
Brumbaugh ; Reformed, northwest corner Sixth and Church
streets, Rev. A Dole ; Roman Catholic, (Holy Trinity) north-
west corner Sixth and Washington streets, Rev. Martin Mur-
phy ; Protestant Episcopal, (St. John's) 212 Penn street, Rev.
Charles H. Mead; United Brethren, northwest corner
Twelfth and Mifflin streets, Rev. Martin P. Doyle; First
Methodist Episcopal, northwest corner Fifth and Church
streets, and Second Methodist Episcopal, Fifteenth street,
between Mifflin and Moore, Rev. Finley B. Riddle and Rev.
Jesse R. Akers; Presbyterian, southwest corner Fifth and
Mifflin streets, Rev. A. Nelson Hollifield ; and Lutheran,
northeast corner Sixth and Mifflin streets, Rev. Joseph R.
Focht.

The Baptists are erecting a new church edifice at the
southwest corner of Sixth and Mifflin streets.

The Lutherans, having also determined to build a new
church upon the site of the old one, held a " farewell meet-
ing " in the latter on the evening of May 1st, 1876, at which
Prof. A. L. Guss delivered a lecture, entitled " Remember
the Days of Old." It was historical in its character, and
from it we make such extracts as give the history of that
denomination at Huntingdon :

" From the best information we can obtain a Lutheran
congregation was organized in this place in the year 180-i by
Rev. Frederick Haas, a licentiate of the Pennsylvania Synod.
He preached in the old Court House, and in 1807 married
Miss Elizabeth Miller of this place. In connection with this
congregation he preached at Water Street, Williamsburg and
Clover Creek, as a supply, and Marklesburg(then known as
Garner's School House), Trough Creek (now known as Cass-

250 HISTORY OF HUNTINGDON COUNTY.

ville), and in Big Valley (now Kishacoquillas). He labored
here some twelve years. During the latter part of his
labors a little brick church was built by the congregation,
which was located where the New Academy now stands. A
small debt was left upon this church, which Haas could have
easily liquidated had he remained; but he removed to Me-
chanicsburg about 1810, and afterwards to Ohio. The church
seems then to have been vacant for some time, and of course
declined.

"In the year 1819, Rev. Rebenack reports at Huntingdon,
with 4 congregations, 14 confirmations, and 144 communi-
cants He must have remained but a short time, as he re-
ports the next year at Somerset. Hence he accomplished
little while here.

"In the year 1820 Rev. Henry Heinan took charge of the
congregation, but paid more attention to the practice of med-
icine than to preaching. Moreover he is said to have been
tinctured with rationalism. Hence the church was worse
than vacant ; and, the members being neglected, were dis-
heartened and scattered. After 18 months or two years
Heinan moved to Union county.

"For the next 15 years, we know not who, if any one,
preached for the little flock at Huntingdon. In 1831 it is
named as still vacant. In 1838 or 1839 Rev. Mr. Osterloh
moved to this place, and preached in the Court House, as
the old brick church was then claimed by other parties, and
was occupied as a school-house, and was not in a proper con-
dition for holding services. He endeavored to re-organize
the congregation, confining himself, of course, to the Ger-
man element of society. He failed in this effort and re-
moved from the town. The older stock of Lutherans, who
had become anglicised, gradually were absorbed by other
churches, while others stood aloof from all church connec-
tion. After this period the whole organization ceased.

" Pastor Haas seems t© have been the only minister worthy
of the name that Huntingdon ever had in the olden days.
At that time the prospects of the church here were better
perhaps than in any ol the towns of the surrounding coun-

HISTORY OF HUNTINGDON" COUNTY. 251

ties, where now large and wealthy congregations exist.
We have no doubt that many of the best members of other
churches in this town would have followed the footsteps of
their ancestors, and be to-day pillars in the Lutheran church
if there had been the proper shepherds to lead them by the
still waters and into the rich pastures of the love of Christ.

"But from the days of Haas, in 1816, to 1853, the place
was practically waste, and even worse than desolate. While
the church prospered elsewhere, here it retrograded. The
owl and the bat took possession of the sanctuary, and our
shrine fell into other hands, and was converted into other
uses, while the children of the church gradually assimilated
into organizations to which their fathers were strangers.
But it pleased God again to visit his plantation.

" Rev. P. M. Rightmyer began to preach occasionally at
Huntingdon as a mission station in the fall of 1853. He had
succeeded Rev. J. Martin, at Williamsburg, and had resign-
ed, and removed to Water Street, where he assisted Rev. J.
T. Williams, and subsequently took charge at Water Street,
Sinking Valley, on Spruce Creek and at this place. At that
time Water Street, Spruce Creek, Marklesburg and Cassville
seem to have been the only Lutheran organizations in the
county. Rightmyer says he ' found only two or three fam-
ilies here holding to the church, among whom were Snyders
and a Mrs. Couts, a hotel keeper's wife, and had he not
offered me a place to stay, free of charge, there would have
been no Lutheran church in Huntingdon. I visited a num-
ber of influential men who had gone into the Presbyterian
church, asking them if we could not revive and resurrect
the old church — they said : ' Too late ! too late I '

" Rightmyer first preached in the Court House, then in
the Baptist church. At length he proposed to build a small
church "as a monument to Luther." Some parties who
were more envious than Sanballat and Tobiah hereupon de-
clared "the Lutherans are not able to build a pig-
pen." This stirred up Rightmyer's German blood. He was
young, vigorous, ready for anything. Full of faith, he went
to work, interested the Hawns and others in the vicinity,

252 HISTORY OF HUNTINGDON COUNTY.

published proposals. $1,900 was the lowest bid, made a close
calculation, found that it could be built for $1,409, got
David ITawn to buy a lot, and ordered the work to go on.

"Before the brick were on the ground, there was an in-
junction on the house. He then gave personal obligations,
and the work went on. Some $300 were raised in the
Marklesburg charge, and some at llawns, but little in Hun-
tingdon. Wherever he went he begged, held meetings and
lectured, and gave the proceeds. Finally it was up and
dedicated, and then the town was canvassed ; some gave
freely ; more, moderately ; some got angry, while one man,
he said, ' looked pitifully on me and gave me $5, adding, ' I
think you are too easy to put this enterprise through."
Nevertheless, he did put it through, for which many since
then have been thankful. Rev. Rightmyer now preaches at
Cohensy, New Jersey.

" The church was built in the summer of 1854. The cor-
ner-stone was laid on the first of July. Services prepara-
tory were held in the Baptist church.

"At the dedication, the Water Street choir and congrega-
tion attended, and there was a pleasant season. Rev. P. M.
Rightmyer, in connection with his brother Cyrus, who had
just completed his studies, and taken charge at Cassville,
supplied Huntingdon with preaching until the fall of 1855.
At this time Rev. R. H. Fletcher, who had just entered the
ministry, took charge at Huntingdon and Lick Ridges, and
continued until March, 1858, when he removed to Pine
Grove. During this period Rev. W. B. Bechtel lived at
Marklesburg, and served that church and Cassville. At the
Synodical meeting, held in Bedford in October, 1858, Hun-
tingdon, Lick Ridges and Marklesburg were made one
charge, and in 1859 Rev. J. K. Bricker took charge and re-
sided at Marklesburg. He served these churches until
January, 1864, when he removed to York county.

"In 1864 Rev. J. H. Bratten succeeded Rev. Bricker. He
served Marklesburg, Huntingdon and the Ridge, and in 1865
reported 50 communicants at Huntingdon. He preached
until 1856, when his health failed and he resigned, and after-
wards died at Chambersburg.

HISTORY OF HUNTINGDON COUNTY. 253

•

"In June 1867, Rev. J. J Kerr took up his residence at
Huntingdon, the charge being divided, and preached in this
place, Lick Ridges, and subsequently also at Mill Creek,
Hawn's School House and at Petersburg, He continued in
charge until January, 1872, when he resigned and removed
to Maryland. He is now living in Duncannon. He says he
found here only 18 members and increased to 100.

"In April, 1872, Rev. S. S. McHenry moved to Hunting-
don and served the charge until April, 1875, when he re-
signed and subsequently removed to Newry, Blair county.
During July, August and September, the church at Hun-
tingdon was served by J. Zimmerman, a theological student
from the seminary at Gettysburg. The congregations at
Lick Ridges and Mill Creek, after McIIenry's resignation,
formed a new charge in connection with a church at Mc-
Alevy's Fort. The congregation was then vacant until Feb-
ruary, 1876, when a call was extended to our present pastor,
Rev. J. R. Focht, under whose ministry quite a revival took
place, and the membership increased from about 100 to 160.

" I have been unable to find any church records. Usually
lists of communicants are kept, but it seems no one knows
of their whereabouts. This is to be regretted, as we should
have liked to enter into a minute sketch of the membership.
As it is, I have had to content myself with meagre data and
sift the uncertainties of human recollections. And it is mar-
velous how many interesting things sleep in the grave of
forgetfulness in the course of 22 years when not reduced to
writing. So many people live and die, who are intent only
on the passing hour and its necessary wants ! Like the ox,
they think neither of those who have gone before them, nor
of those who may come after them. They remember not
the days of old, they consider not the years of many genera-
tions, they ask not their fathers to tell them, nor do they
explain to their children the lessons of the past ! The 'gen-
eration following ' is the least of their troubles. History is
science teaching by examples, but on many persons the in-
struction is lost.

" At this time, this congregation has about 160 members,

254 nisTOKY of Huntingdon county.

not counting 7 families at the Branch, and embraces about
44 male heads of families. It is in a much more flourishing
condition than it was ever before. A good part of its mem-
bership has been composed of a floating population. Not
being raised together, and many of us coming here from other
places, the social spirit of Christian society has never been
cultivated as it should have been. Perhaps the membership
have become better acquainted with each other during our
recent revival ; and we hope and pray that we may all be
led to exclaim : Behold how sweet and pleasant it is to dwell
together in Christian love !

" The mission of this church is by no means ended. It
not only has its membership and the children of its member-
ship to look after, but there are several hundreds in this
town yet, who are children of the church, some of whom at-
tend our sanctuary, while others have so far forgotten duty,
as seldom or never to be found in the house of God. It is
tlie duty of this church to reclaim the fallen, confirm the
wavering, feed the sheep, and take care of the lambs. May
she be equal to the task !

" Without a suitable house of worship no church can in
this day perform her duty and flourish. Our old house has
outlived its usefulness. We propose now to remove it and
erect a new one suitable to our wants and commensurate to
the taste of the times.

" The erection of a new church has been in contemplation
for several years. By a fair, held in 1872, the sum of $500
was realized. A lot, belonging to the congregation, is
deemed worth about that same sum. About $3,000 have
already been subscribed among our own membership. We
are weak in numbers and poor in purse ; but we believe that
if we erect a house that will fitly accommodate our congre-
gation, and in a style that will make it an ornament to our
town, that our neighbors and brethren of other churches in
town will aid us a little.

" We have no suitable Sabbath-school room, nor place for
prayer meetings ; the roof leaks, and it is not deemed
proper to waste money in repairs ; we propose to take it

HISTOKY OF HUNTINGDON COUNTY. 255

down and use the material again in a neat two-story house,
with gothic ceiling, with a central tower for a bell, and a
spire pointing up to heaven."

The day after the delivery of Prof. Guss' lecture, work-
men commenced the removal of the old church. The new
one is now in course of erection.

In the spring of the present year, Rev, J. S. McMurray
prepared and published a sketch of the history of the Metho-
dist church at Huntingdon. We give it here in full :

"The Methodist Episcopal Church in America being or-
ganized in 1784, in four years thereafter — 1788 — Samuel
Breeze and Daniel Combs were appointed to Huntingdon
circuit, with Nelson Reed as Elder, the other two being un-
ordained ; the then circuit embracing the territory now in-
cluded in both the Juniata and Altoona Districts, with a
society of fifty-nine members.

"Up to 1793, the nearest preaching appointment to Hun-
tingdon was at Michael Crider's mill, about 1| miles
west of the town. In that year (according to the reminis-
cences of Aunt Kitty Kurtz, the oldest member of the
church now living, who was born in 1786, and whose father
settled in Huntingdon in 1789), the first Methodist preach-
ing in the town was by one Lesley Matthews, reputed to
have been a converted Roman Catholic priest — who was as-
sociated with John Watson and Nelson Reed as Elder. Num-
bers then in Society on the circuit, one hundred and sixty-
five whites and two colored.

"The first preaching-place was in one Beckie Tanner's
house, on what is now Penn street, and where the brick
residence of John Read, esq, now stands.

"The first Quarterly Meeting was held in an 'upper room',
twelve feet square, of a small log building, still standing,
which then belonged to James Saxton, deceased, and where
fm. Africa's shoe shop now is, on Penn street, south side
of the Diamond.

"The first Society formed in the town was in 1797, con-
sisting of eight persons, viz : Michael Crider and wife, their
son Daniel, Thomas Carr and wife, Isaiah Harr and wife, and

256 HISTORY OF HUNTINGDON COUNTY.

James Saxton. This small class met in a warehouse on the
bank of the Juniata river, near the end of what is now Fifth
street. The numbers in Society on the circuit were two
hundred and forty-two, with Seely Bunn and John Philips
as preachers, and J. Everett, Presiding Elder. In this year
occurs the first designation of Presiding Elders — there being
twenty-two of them in the whole connection, with one hun-
dred and fifty seven ordained preachers called elders; the
limit of a presiding elder's term on a district being four
years, as it is now.

"The first chapel, twenty-five by thirty, consisting of hewed
logs, was built in 1802, where the brick M. E. church now
stands, on the northwest corner of Fifth and Church streets.
The preachers of the circuit were Isaac Bobbins and Jos.
Stone, with VV. Lee as Presiding Elder, and numbers in so-
ciety four hundred and seventeen. In this year, Annual
Conferences were organized, previous to which all the preach-
ers in America met in one body, Huntingdon being included
in the Baltimore District of the Baltimore Conference.

"Coincidents. — In the year the first class or society was
formed in Huntingdon, t\xe first designation and appointment
of Presiding Elders was made, viz: in 1797; and in. the year
th.e first Methodist house of worship was built in Huntingdon,
Annual Conferences were organized (1802).

"A curious incident occurred in 1810, as appears from the
book of the Recording Steward, or Quarterly Conference
Journal. Among other items of expense incurred at a camp
meeting is this: " Whittaker S. Yantries, for 200 segars, for
the use of the preachers, 50 cents."

"The plan of Huntingdon circuit in 1814 was from Hun-
tingdon to Williamsburg; thence up the Juniata to Franks-
town ; thence through Sinking Valley, over the Allegheny
to Philipsburg; thence, to what is now called the Union
Church, six miles above Clearfield, on the Susquehanna ;
thence back again through I'hilipsburg, by a powder mill
which then stood beyond the town, to Warrior's Mark ; thence
to Half Moon ; thence to Benton's, now Pennsylvania Fur-
nace ; thence to Spruce Creek, taking in Huntingdon Fur-

HISTORY OF HUNTINGDON COUNTY. 257

nace and several other appointments ; thence to Kishaco-
quillas ; thence to Stone "Valley, taking in some five appoint-
ments, back to Huntingdon ; the preachers of the circuit
being James Riley and Samuel Davis, with Robert Burchas
Presiding Elder.

"Huntingdon became a station in 1866, during the pastor-
ate of Job A. Price, now of the Baltimore Conference, with
158 members and 10-4 probationers. In a decade from that
time (1875) the members in society have reached 715, con-
sisting of 429 members and 286 probationers. There are
now two churches, the one already referred to, valued at
$15,000, and a new chapel of gothic structure in West Hun-
tingdon, capable of seating five hundred persons, costing,,
exclusive of the lot, $2,600, dedicated February 13th, 1876.
There is also a good, comfortable parsonage, well furnished,,
valued at $8,000. The official body : M. K. Foster, P. E. ;.
J. S. McMurray, P. C. ; J. R. Akers, Jun. P. ; J. W. Ely,
Supernumerary. Local Preachers, J. Irvin White and J. F.
McKinley. Exhorters, John Hagey and J. Harry Geissinger,
with a full board of Stewards, two boards of Trustees, six-
teen Class Leaders, and two Sunday-school Superintendents." 1

In compliance with the request of the General Assembly
of the Presbyterian Church of the United States, addressed
to the pastors of all of its congregations, an historical ser-
mon was delivered at Huntingdon, on Sunday, July 2, 1876,
by Rev. A. Nelson Hollifield, pastor of the Presbyterian
church, giving an account of the church at that place from
its organization until the present time. We have been per-
mitted to take from it such facts and extracts as give a suc-
cinct history of the church buildings and pastors :

" On July 6, 1789, the Presbyterians residing in and near
the town were organized into a church, and on the same day
gave a call to the Rev. John Johnston for one-half of his
ministerial services. Three days hence it will have num-
bered the eighty-seventh year of its existence. It was or-
ganized in the same year that gave the world the General
Assembly of the Presbyterian Church of America. It is
only thirteen years the junior of our great republic, and,
R

258 HISTORY OF HUNTINGDON COUNTY.

like it, seems to be renewing its youth and gathering its

strength for another century of usefulness and honor."
******

" In the early part of his (Rev. Johnston's) ministry, there
was no church edifice, but he preached in private houses un-
til the old court house was built on Third street. Among
other places, he preached in an unfinished apartment of a
log building on the northeast corner of Second and Penn
streets, part of which was occupied as a jail. He also
preached in the second story of the house on the northeast
corner of Fourth and Washington streets, which building is
still standing. On the completion of the court house he
preached in it.

" Subsequently the Episcopalians, Lutherans and Presby-
terians united, and erected what was long known as the
Brick Church, in which they severally worshiped. The
building was situated on the lot now occupied by the
Academy, on the northeast corner of Fourth and Church
streets." * * * * *

" June 13, 1823, after having served this«congregation
faithfully for three and thirty years, the pastoral relations
existing between Mr. Johnston and this charge dissolved,
and on the 16th day of December, following, he departed
this life, in the seventy -fourth year of his age."

" The church remained vacant until June 21, 1825, a pe-
riod of two years, when the Rev. John Peebles was installed
as pastor by the Presbytery of Huntingdon. Mr. Peebles
was born near Shippen?burg, Pa., July 17, 1800, and was
the son of Capt. Robert Peebles, an officer in the Revolu-
tionary war. Mr. Peebles was a graduate of Jefferson Col-
lege, studied theology at Princeton Seminary, and was
licensed to preach the gospel by the Presbytery of Carlisle
in the spring of 1824. In November, 182-1, on the recom-
mendation of the Rev. Henry R. Wilson, D. C, he visited
this church, and his pulpit .ministrations giving general
satisfaction, he was invited and consented to remain as
stated supply during the winter of 1824-25. On the 22d of
April, this congregation extended him a call for his pastoral

HISTORY OF HUNTINGDON COUNTY. 259

services for two-thirds of his time. The succeeding day —
April 23 — he received a call from the Hartslog (now Alex-
andria) congregation for the remaining one-third of his time.
These calls he accepted, and was installed over the church
June 21, 1825." * * * *

" When Mr. Peebles entered upon his work in this field,
the congregation was exceedingly small and possessed no
house of worship other than the brick church used in com-
mon by the Episcopalians, Lutherans and Presbyterians. In
June, 1830, through the efforts of Mr. Peebles, the first house
of worship owned exclusively by this congregation, was com-
pleted and dedicated. It was located on the west side of
Fourth street, above Mifflin. The congregation increased so
rapidly under Mr. Peebles' administration, that they were
soon compelled to arise and build another and more commo-
dious sanctuary, which they did in 1844 and '45. In the
latter year the dedication of the second church edifice, located
at the southwest corner of Sixth and Penn streets, took
place."

" In April, 1850, Mr. Peebles, owing to the impaired state
of his health, tendered his resignation, which was not accepted
until earnest expostulations and frequent entreaties had es-
sayed in vain to alter his fixed determination."

******

" On the 3d of August, 1854, he was seized with a fever of
a typhoid type, and on the 11th of August he passed away
from a sorrowing people exclaiming, ' ! that will be joyful.' "

" The congregation having sxtended a call to the Eev.
Lowman P. Havves, he was regularly installed as pastor
June 4th, 1850. Mr. Hawes was a preacher of more than
ordinary ability, his sermons possessing all the polish which
a gifted intellect and high scholarship could give them.

" His health failing, he resigned his charge in January,
1854, for the purpose of traveling in Europe. Mr. Hawes
was the first pastor whose full time was engaged by this
congregation.

"June 14th, 1854, the Rev. 0. 0. McClean, D.D., was in-
stalled as pastor. Dr. McClean was universally popular as

260 HISTORY OF HUNTINGDON" COUNTY.

a preacher and pastor. In each of these capacities he pos-
sessed gifts and graces peculiar to himself, which greatly en-
deared him to his people during his brief but brilliant pas-
torate. His faithful labors were blessed at different periods
by numerous accessions to the church, and under his efficient
administration the organization grew in usefulness and
power." *****

" June 14th, 1859, the Rev. G. W. Zahnizer having re-
ceived and accepted a call from this church, he was duly
inducted into the office of pastor by the Presbytery, and a
more fitting successor to Dr. McClean it would have been
difficult to designate. Mr. Zahnizers ministry was a success.
Additions were annually made to the church, but it was re-
served for the winter of '73 to place the crown of half-a-hun-
dred conversions on his labors, and the same year witnessed
the dedication of this magnificent temple of worship.

" In June, 1875, notwithstanding the written and earnest
protest of a majority of the congregation, Mr. Zahnizer, from
a sense of duty, requested this congregation to unite with
him in his prayer to the Presbytery, asking for a dissolu-
tion of the pastoral relation. The congregation refused to
acquiesce. Nevertheless the Presbytery granted the prayer
of Mr. Zahnizer, owing to his deep conviction of duty."

After hearing a large number of candidates, the congre-
gation, on the 5th day of January, 1876, gave a unanimous
call to the present incumbent, the Rev. A. Xelson Ilollifield,
then pastor of the Fairview church, in the Presbytery of
Chester. He preached his first sermon after accepting the
call on the evening of January 31st, and by a strange coin-
cidence founded his discourse on the same text — 2 Kings :
5-12 — from which his immediate predecessor preached his
initial sermon. A protracted meeting had been in progress
during the preceding week, conducted by Rev. Samuel T.
Wilaon, D. D., aud Rev. R. M. Wallace, a committee ap-
pointed by the Presbytery for the purpose. This commit-
tee Mr. Hollifield reluctantly relieved. The meetings were
continued for six weeks. During the first two weeks ser-
vices were held day and night, and the rest of the time at

HISTORY OF HUNTINGDON COUNTY. 261

nights only. With few exceptions, Mr. H. preached at every
service. As the result of these labors, one hundred and seventy
persons were received into the church on profession of their
faith in Christ, and fifteen by letter from other churches.
The present number of communicants is about four hun-
dred and fifty, the congregations are large, and the church
is in a thriving condition. Such is the brief history of this
old and influential church. In point of numbers, intelli-
gence, piety, wealth and liberality, it ranks among the fore-
most of its denomination in Central Pennsylvania.

CHAPTER XXXV.

TOWNSHIPS — DIVISIONS AND SUB-DIVISIONS — ERECTED FROM TYRONE — FROM
HUNTINGDON — FROM BARREE — FROM HOPEWELL — FROM SHIRLEY — FROM
DUBLIN — TOWNSHIPS FORMED SINCE THE ERECTION OF THE COUNTY, IN
THE ORDER OF THEIR AGES — BARREE — HOPEWELL.

The townships wholly or partly within the present limits
of Huntingdon county at the time of its erection in 1787,
were Tyrone, Barree, Huntingdon, Hopewell, Shirley and
Dublin. Frankstown and Woodbury townships, which were
within the coumy when formed, were parts of the territory
of which Blair county was erected in 1846. Tyrone town-
ship was also partly within the latter county.

Those six original townships have been divided and sub-
divided, until the number is now twenty-five. Four of them
— Barree, Hopewell, Shirley and Dublin — are still in exis-
tence, although much reduced in extent, while Tyrone and
Huntingdon no longer exist in Huntingdon county. The
townships erected from each of them are as follows :

From Tyrone have been formed Franklin, Morris and
Warrior's Mark.

From Huntingdon have been formed Henderson, Porter,
"Walker, Brady, Juniata and part of Oneida.

From Barree have been formed West, Jackson and part
of Oneida.

From Hopewell have been formed Union, Tod, Cass, Penn,
Carbon and Lincoln.

From Shirley have been formed Clay and parts of Spring-
field and Cromwell.

From Dublin have been formed Tell and parts of Spring-
field and Cromwell.

The present townships at the time of their formation did
not all belong to the original townships, some of them being
the result of two or three subdivisions. Thus Warriors'
Mark, although a part of the original township of Tyrone,

HISTORY OF HUNTINGDON COUNTY.

263

was formed from Franklin. The townships erected since
the county, in the order of their ages, are as follows :

TOWNSHIP.

WHEN ERECTED.

FROM.

Franklin,

March, 1789,

Tyrone.

Springfield,

December, 1790,

Dublin and Shirley.

' Union,

June, 1791,

Hopewell.

Morris,

August, 1794,

Tyrone.

- West,

April, 1796,

Barree.

Warriors' Mark,

January, 1798,

Franklin.

Tell,

April, 1810,

Dublin.

Henderson,

November, 1814,

Huntingdon.

Porter,

November, 1814,

Huntingdon.

Walker,

April, 1827,

Porter.

Cromwell,

January, 1836,

Shirley and Springfield

Tod,

April, 1838,

Union.

Cass,

January 21st, 1843,

Union.

Jackson,

January loth, 1845,

Barree.

Clay,

April 15th, 1845,

Springfield.

Brady,

April, 1846,

Henderson.

Penn,

November 21, 1846,

Hopewell.

Oneida,

August 20th, 1856,

Henderson and West.

Juniata,

November 19, 1856,

Walker.

Carbon,

April 23d, 1858,

Tod.

Lincoln,

August 18th, 1866,

Hopewell.

Barree township, in 1771, the year of the erection of Bed-
ford county, embraced a much greater extent of territory
than in 1787, a very large proportion of it having been
taken off between those years in the formation of other
townships. It then included all that part of the present
county of Huntingdon lying northwest of Jack's mountain,
and may be said to be the mother of townships, seventeen
having been taken from her original limits. She has thus
been reduced in- extent to about four miles in average width,
from West and Oneida townships to Jackson, and ten or
twelve miles in length, from the summit of Standing Stone
mountain and the Mifflin county line on the southeast to the
summit of Tussey's mountain and the Centre county line on
the northwest.

The only considerable elevation between the mountains
which form two of its boundaries is Warrior's Eidge, cross-
ing it south and east of its centre. On one side of this ridge
flow the waters of Shaver's creek, and on the other side

264 HISTORY OF HUNTINGDON COUNTY.

those of Standing Stone creek. The two branches of the
latter unite in the township.

It contains iron ore, yielding forty-two per cent, of metal.
The extent of the deposits are comparatively unknown, as
they are yet undeveloped.

Monroe Furnace, situated in the extreme northwestern
corner of the township, near the Jackson township line, was
built in 1844 or '45 by General James Irvin, of Centre
county. It now belongs to the Logan Iron and Steel Com-
pany, and has not been in operation for many years.

There are three post-offices in the township — Cornpropst's
Mill, on Standing Stone creek, and Manor Hill and Sauls-
burg, between Warrior's Ridge and Shaver's creek. At each
of these places there are villages containing schools and
stores, and the latter two have hotels. Manor Hill is upon
the " Shaver's creek manor," surveyed for the proprietaries
of the province in 1762, from which the place derives its
name.

Hopewell township, now reduced to one of the smallest in
the county, is bounded on the north by Lincoln, on the
southeast by Tod and Carbon, being separated from them
by Terrace mountain, on the southwest by Bedford county,
and on the northwest by Blair. The Huntingdon and Broad-
Top Mountain Railroad runs through it from northeast to
southwest, and the Raystown branch of the Juniata winds
its serpentine course in the same general direction. The sur-
face of the township is rugged and broken, its proximity to
the giant Broad Top giving it many of the features of a
mining region without the advantages of being so in reality.
The township contains no post-office, the people being ac-
commodated with this facility at Coalmont, in Carbon town-
ship, and at Saxton, in Bedford county.

CHAPTER XXXYI.

DUBLIN TOWNSHIP — THE SHADOW OF DEATH EARLY SETTLEKS — ALEXANDER

BLAIR — MANUFACTORIES— DEVELOPMENT OF MINERAL WEALTH — SHADE
GAP — INCORPORATION AS A BOROUGH — CHURCHES, ETC.

Dublin township is situated in the extreme southern end
of the county, extending farther south than any other. It
is separated from Franklin county on the east, by the Tus-
carora mountain, from Springfield and Cromwell townships,
on the west, by Shade mountain, and is bounded on the
north by Tell township, and on the south by Fulton county.

The Indian war-path, upon which the traders and other
early adventurers traveled, traversed this township, and
therefore we trace the presence of white men back to the
expeditions of Conrad Weiser and George Croghan in 1748.
"The Shadow of Death" is mentioned by John Harris, in
his " account of the road to Logstown," in 1754. The name
has undergone some changes, appearing in warrants issued
between 1762 and 1767, as the "Shades of Death." Within
the recollection of persons still living it was known as
" The Shades," and more recently it has been transformed
into " Shade Gap," the name of a flourishing borough, and
the only post-office in the township.

In addition to the warrants dated prior to the Revolu-
tionary war, there is other evidence attesting the presence
of settlers before that period. There are graves scattered in
out-of-the-way places through the township, of which no ac-
count is given except that they are the resting places of the
earliest white residents of the region. In a field of Mr.
Kough's are pointed out the tombs of Samuel Paul and
wife, who lived and died there, perhaps the very first in the
township. Half a mile distant are buried four unknown
persons, and other graves are to be found equally obscure.

George Croghan, whose name appears so frequently upon
the records of the Land Office and in connection with early
titles in this county that Ave cannot mistake his proclivities

266 HISTORY OF HUNTINGDON COUNTY.

towards speculation and jobbing, had surveyed upon a war-
rant a valuable tract of land near Shade Gap, containing
about 876 acres. This was among the first surveys, if there
were any preceding it, and upon it was made one of the first
settlements.

The following account of the family which has there re-
sided for more than a hundred and ten years, is furnished
for this work by Dr. J. A. Shade :

" In the year 1755 a Scotch-Irishman by the name of
Alexander Blair came to Chester county, Pa., where he
stopped awhile, and married a woman (Rachel Carson,) who
came with him, somewhere about 1765. to Dublin township,
and having bought a part of the Croghan tract of land, set-
tled thereon ; and during all the subsequent years this land
has been and is now held by the family.

" On this land these pioneers are buried — here they led a
most adventurous and eventful life far from the associations
and attractions of civilized society, occasionally visited by
the savages, and in the beginning with a natural constant
fear of their incursions.

" It is related that about this time, during a hard winter,
Alexander Blair traveled on the snow in snow-shoes to his
neighbor Jacob Gooshorn's house in Tell township, about
nine miles distant, with a bag of corn on his back, when the
two made a small light sled, and on this each one put his
little bag of corn, and with snow-shoes on their feet hauled
it on top of the deep snow to a mill that stood on the Juni-
ata river somewhere below McVeytown,

"From a very early day the old Blair house, built by
Alexander Blair, and which was burnt last fall, was the
centre of trade and travel. All the wagons going to and
from Baltimore made it their stopping place ; all the law-
yers passing to and fro between Chambersburg and Hun-
tingdon sojourned over night there ; all the elections and
all the militia trainings were held tjjere. The first store
was established there, as well as the first tavern. It was
for a very long time the only stopping place between Shir-
leysburg and Burnt Cabins, and from all accounts was in-

HISTORY OF HUNTINGDON COUNTY. 267

deed a grand old hostelry of the olden times, full of good
cheer, and belated travelers would push long into the night
to make that their resting place.

" John Blair, one of a number of sons and daughters born
here to this worthy old couple, is a marked man in the his-
tory of Dublin township. lie early displayed his charac-
teristic energy and force ; he bought some two hundred
acres more of the Croghan land adjoining his father's prop-
erty, and soon developed it from its native woods into a
beautiful farm, where he lived and died at a good age in
1841. For a good many years, from quite a young man,
Mr. Blair was Justice of the Peace, and a ruling Elder in the
Presbyterian church. During all the long period he held
the office of magistrate, the records of Huntingdon will
show that no appeal or certiorari was ever taken in any
case decided by him, and no criminal business was passed
from his docket to the Court of Quarter Sessions. His in-
fluence and energy were exerted up to the very last of his
useful life for the benefit of the neighborhood, and he died
much regretted."

David Cree and wife, from Philadelphia, settled on a fine
tract of limestone land in the southern part of the township,
owned by Nathan McDowell, of Peters township, Franklin
county, from whom they rented, about the year 1773. They
paid an annual rental, as appears from the original article
of agreement, of ten pounds. The land was afterwards
bought by Cree, and remained in the possession of his family
until a few years ago. Ten children were born to him
there, and they and their descendants are among the most
respectable people of the county. One of the latter is
Thomas K. Cree, so well known in connection with the
Young Men's Christian Association. The farm passed into
the hands of James Clymans, its present owner, and is now
one of the best in the township.

About the same year, John Walker settled on a tract ad-
joining Cree's, and extending to the Tuscarora mountain,
near by. This land was also held by the Walker family
till very recently.

268 HISTORY OF HUNTINGDON COUNTY.

James McCardle, at the time of the Cree and Walker set-
tlements, lived on the Tuscarora mountain, about a mile
from the latter. It is supposed that he was among the very
earliest settlers and his house one of the first built in the
township, dating back anterior to the advent of Cree and
"Walker.

During the decade from 1780 to 1790, the number of set-
tlements increased rapidly. Many then came to the town-
ship whose descendants still occupy the paternal acres. It
was in or about the former year that James McGee took up
some land adjoining the Croghan tract.

In 1782 George Hudson came from Carlisle and settled
at Shade Gap, living in a cabin and purchasing some
" squatter claims," for which there were no warrants, and
thus secured a large and valuable scope of land immediately
adjoining the gap, much of which remains in the possession
of his descendants to this day. He was a man of fine quali-
ties and of great usefulness and influence. He became a
magistrate and established a woolen mill and a grist mill
near the gap at an early period, improvements which were
of vast value to the community, but which have been re-
placed by other and better ones. " Good morning, neigh-
bors," was the salutation of old Mr. Hudson, as he met the
fathers at the door of the church coming up to worship.

William Morrow and John Appleby settled along the
Kittanning or Indian path, in the ridges about two miles
east of Shade Gap, and James Wilson and William More-
land in the same neighborhood. The land there was con-
sidered the most desirable because it was smooth and easy
to clear in comparison with that along the mountains, but
now the preponderance of value is largely in favor of the
latter. About the centre of this settlement was built per-
haps the first school house in the township. Another was
built on Jerry's ridge shortly afterwards, if not at the same
time. Among the earliest teachers were James McGee,
William Woods and George Moreland.

Settlements were made about the same period by Robert
and Alexander McElroy and Robert and William Marshall

HISTORY OF HUNTINGDON" COUNTY. 269

on the Hunting ridge, and by James Morton and Wil-
liam Fleming at the foot of the Tuscarora mountain. Arch-
ibald Stitt also settled near the foot of the same mountain,
adjoining Tell township, where he lived a long and useful
life. He was a respected elder of the Presbyterian church
for many years, and has left numerous descendants in the
township and county. Peterson, Johnson, Harper, Jeffries,
Curry, Neely, Rouse and Shearer are names of other settlers
whose families are yet to some extent represented in the
township.

There was no blacksmith shop nearer than Burnt Cabins
or Orbisonia previous to 1803, when Michael Mills estab-
lished one near Shade Gap. It was in existence until the
death of his son William Mills, three years ago.

Esquire Blair and Mr. Harper each conducted tan-yards
from an early period. Within a few years past the Blair
yard has developed in the hands of John Minich, who
bought it, into a large steam tannery, doing a heavy and
successful business. The Harper yard has gone out of use.

The only other manufacturing establishments of ancient
or modern times worthy of being mentioned, are the distil-
leries, which were not uncommon in the beginning of this
century, several having existed in the township for a long
period, making a considerable market for rye, which was
then largely cultivated. From all accounts intemperance
was not then any more prevalent than at present and was
quite as unpopular.

The date when a wagon road was made through the
township and through Shade Gap is uncertain. Joshua
Morgan, of Black Log valley, who died many years ago, is
said to have been the first man who drove a team through
the gap.

While there have been no startling discoveries made in
this township, and no unexpected attractions presented to
invite and stimulate rapid increase of population and wealth,
there has been a healthy onward movement, which is gather-
ing force as it progresses, and just now bids fair to culminate
in spiendid developments. It has been found that the town-

270 HISTORY OF HUNTINGDON COUNTY.

ship contains large deposits of very valuable fossil and hema-
tite iron ores, which have already been partially instrumental
in originating two furnaces, among the largest in the State,
within six miles of Shade Gap, with an accompanying rail-
road, which is expected soon to traverse the township and
perhaps lead to other furnaces. The lands that were in the
woods a hundred years ago, have been changed to fruitful
fields. Numerous farms and homes of beauty and culture
have taken the place of the wilderness of that day. A thou-
sand people now dwell in comfort where it was then difficult
to trace a single white man, and a flourishing village, the
centre of trade of the township, attests the march of
improvement.

Dr. J. A. Shade settled at Shade Gap, in 1842, to practice
medicine, and as the only buildings there were occupied by
B. X. Blair, as store and residence, and by W. Mills, he
found it necessary to build himself a dwelling ; and having
erected a tasty and substantial structure, for the times, others
were induced to follow his example. In 1849, Milnwood
Academy came into existence through the energy and zeal
of the Presbyterian pastor, Rev. J. F. McGinnes. Its pros-
perity added to the prosperity of Shade Gap, and thenceforth
the village grew, until, on the petition of Dr. Shade, H. E.
Shearer, S. D. Caldwell, George Sipes, and divers other
citizens, it was at the April Sessions, 1871, ordained a
borough by the Court of Huntingdon county.

The incorporation of the place was followed by a marked
increase in building and more attention to the improvement
of the streets. It now contains several stores, two hotels,
the various mechanics, and two or three doctors, all doing
well. Thirty years ago, Dr. Shade was the only physician
in a territory now sustaining fifteen medical gentlemen.

The Methodist church in Shade Gap was built in 18-16.
There had previously been a log church belonging to the
same denomination, in the southern part of the township,
on lands of Isaac Thompson, built largely by his means.
This has been vacated and is now gone, but a better struc-
ture took its place at Burnt Cabins, two miles distant.

HISTORY OF HUNTINGDON COUNTY. 271

The Presbyterian church adjacent to, but not within the
borough, was built in 1848 or '49, under the instrumentality
of the pastor, Bev. Mr. McGinnes. It succeeded a white
rough cast church, which was the original structure the
early settlers worshiped in, and which was probably built
about 1790, though the records fail to indicate the time of
its erection or the organization of the congregation. The
first pastor of whom there is any account was the Eev. Mr.
Mcllvaine. He was succeeded by Eev. George Gray, who
for more than twenty years ministered to the spiritual
wants of the people. The present pastor is Rev. Mr. Kuhn.
Including the church at the foot of Tuscarora mountain,
three miles from Shade Gap, built eight or ten years ago,
the number of members is about one hundred and eighty.

CHAPTER XXX VII.

SHIRLEY TOWNSHIP— EARLY SETTLERS — MILLS— STORES— DRAKE'S FERRY—
CLINTONVILLE— SANTA FE — MOUNT UNION— IRON ORES OF THE SOUTHERN
PART OF THE COUNTY — IMPROVEMENTS IN MOUNT UNION AND VICINITY —
JET D'EAU AND HOTEL DES INVALIDES — SHIRLEYSBURG.

Shirley is one of the largest, and with its two boroughs,
Mount Union and Shirleysburg, is the most populous town-
ship in the county. It extends from the Juniata river on
the north to Cromwell township on the south, and from
Shade mouutain on the southeast to Jack's mountain on the
northwest. There are running through it, parallel with its
two last mentioned boundaries, Black Log mountain, Owen's
ridge, Chestnut ridge and Stony ridge, dividing it into a
number of valleys, each of which is watered by a stream
flowing towards the Juniata. The principal of these are
Black Log creek, the Aughwick and Hill valley run.

The township, as well as the town of Shirleysburg, derives
its name from Fort Shirley, which was located within the
limits of the latter.

A few of the remote descendants of the early settlers of
Shirley township may be found in the Davis, Morgan,
Clugage and Sharrer families. The Galbraiths, who were
pioneers of Germany valley, the Warners, of Shirleysburg,
and the Matthews, who lived south of the town, have not
left their names to perpetuate their memory. The Matthews
burying ground, on land of Mr. A. L. Rieketts, containing
a score or more of the old settlers' graves, cannot now be
recognized, having long since been farmed and plowed over.

The first grist mill of any note in the township was the
old log mill on Fort run, above the one now owned by Mr.
Heffner. Other old mills stood near Mount Union, in Hill
valley near the site of the Brewster tannery, and on lands
adjoining William Morrison's heirs. These preceded the
Bedford Furnace mill, now Mr. Thomas E. Orbison's, at
Orbisonia, which far exceeded in capacity anything of the

HISTOEY OF HUNTINGDON" COUNTY. 273

kind in its day in that section. It has been succeeded by
Baker's, now Bell's, mill, on the Juniata, at the lower end
of Germany valley, built about the year 1800, by Peter and
Abraham Baker, who came from Maryland ; by Heffner's
mill, built by David Eby ; by the Old Log mill, built by
Mr. Crownover ; by the Aughwick or Brick mill built by
Eby & Madden, and by a second mill on the stream or run
near Mount Union, built by the Shaver brothers, and now
owned by Mr, David Etnier, who has greatly enlarged and
improved it.

There were two powder-mills in operation in the town-
ship in the early part of the present century, one built by
the Sharrer brothers below Shirleysburg, and the other
by Adam and Paul Sharrer on Sugar run.

In 1820 Shirley township, then including parts of Crom-
well and Clay, had but two small stores. There was none
south of it nearer than Burnt Cabins, nor north nearer than
the Red house, above Mill Creek. Now there are within
the same territory twenty-five or more doing a prosperous
business. Prior to the making of the Pennsylvania canal,
merchandise was brought into that portion of the county in
wagons, by way of Shade Gap, and the surplus productions
were carried away by arks, one ark each spring being suffi-
cient and it was sometimes necessary to make out the load
with whisky and locust posts. Immediately after the com-
pletion of the canal, agriculture took a new impetus and
population began to increase. Additional iron works were
erected within the portion of the township from which Crom-
well has since been formed.

Drake's Ferry on the Juniata, above the present site of
Mount Union, owned and managed by the Drake family,
was a source of considerable revenue, as it was on the
great thoroughfare from Huntingdon to Chambersburg,
Hagerstown, Harper's Ferry and Baltimore, and the principal
route of traffic during the first quarter of the present cen-
tury. Merchandise from Baltimore came into the county
by way of Fort Loudon, passing around the end of the Kit-

tatinny mountain, and through Cowen's and Shade gaps,
s

274 HISTORY OF HUNTINGDON COUNTY.

From Bedford furnace the road struck the end of Sandy
ridge, below the furnace, and followed the top and bench of
the ridge to near where the Dunkard church now stands in
Germany valley, thence to the gap near Christian Price's resi-
dence, and following nearly its present bed to Drake's ferry,
"a route," in the language of John Dougherty, "first trod by
the deer and elk, followed by the Indian, the trapper, the
trader and the wagoner, and, on the extension of the East
Broad Top railroad, sixteen miles, to the water-shed divid-
ing the Juniata and the Potomac rivers, and thence by way
of Cowen's gap to Richmond, the present terminus of the
Southern Pennsylvania railroad, trade and travel will again
flow through these channels from Mount Union to Baltimore
and Washington cities, and cars laden with East Broad Top
and Rocky ridge coal for the counties of Fulton, Franklin,
York and Adams, and western Maryland, will bring back
red and brown hematite iron ores from the iron mountains
of Fulton county to mix with the fossiliferous ores mined
from the foot-hills around Mount Union, and make it neces-
sary to utilize the twenty-two feet fall at the bend of the
Juniata river, where iron may be made at low cost and re-
munerative prices."

On the opening of the Pennsylvania canal, Thomas T-
Cromwell, proprietor of Winchester Furnace, located a town,
to which he gave the name of Clintonville, at Drake's ferry,
and Dr. James G. Lightner and Colonel Pollock built a
wharf there, from which pig metal from Matilda and Win-
chester furnaces was shipped.

Whilst Messrs. Cromwell, Lightner, Pollock, Cottrell
Caldwell and Fenn were endeavoring to build up a town at
that point, William Wakefield and Joseph Strudc opened a
store, wharf and warehouse at Shaver's aqueduct, at the
lower end of the present site of Mount Union, and John
Shaver and James Kelly occupied with their wharves and
warehouses other positions along the canal west of the
aqueduct. Kelly called his locality ^anta Fe, the city
of the holy faith, a name that Queen Isabella gave to a
city built on the site of Granada, the last stronghold of the
crescent in Spain.

HISTORY OF HUNTINGDON COUNTY. 275

From 1830 to 1850, trade, business and travel were con-
fined to the vicinity of the canal, and although the Penn-
sylvania railroad was completed in the latter year, and
churches, town hall and numerous dwellings and places of
business have been built south of the railroad, yet a consid-
erable portion of trade and traffic is still done along the
canal, the owners of wharfs and warehouses awaiting the
day when barges and packet boats shall not only rival but
take precedence of locomotives and Pullman palace cars.

Mount Union was laid out in 1850, by Gen. George W.
Speer and John Dougherty, and was designed by the pro-
prietors as a place of transfer from their contemplated
Drake's Ferry and East Broad Top Railroad, for which a
charter was granted by the Legislature in 1819, to the Penn-
sylvania canal. The name, Mount Union, concentrates the
physical, geological, commercial, mineral and manufacturing
features of a wild and beautiful region.

The East Broad Top railroad intersects the Pennsylvania
railroad at Mount Union and has added five hundred tons
of coal and forty tons of pig-metal daily to the tonnage of
the latter. This will be more than doubled when a branch
railway of two and a-half miles into the Rocky ridge coal
basin and a dozen miles to the iron mines of Fulton county,
shall be built.

From a letter written by John Dougherty, esq., to Prof. De-
wees, of the State Geological Survey, on the 28th day of Janu-
ary, 1875, giving a sketch of the history of Matilda Furnace,
opposite Mount Union, in Mifflin county, we take the follow-
ing extract in relation to the iron ores of the southern part of
Huntingdon county, from the Juniata river to Fort Littleton:

" In the vicinity of Mount Union, fossil ore yielding 40
per cent, of iron can be mined in slopes of 500 to 700 feet
above water level.

" In addition to the hard fossil vein worked at Matilda
Furnace, three veins of soft fossil ; a large mass, 25 feet in
aggregate, known as the limestone ore vein ; the levant vein
and two veins of hematite iron ore, run parallel with Jack's
mountain.

276 HISTORY OF HUNTINGDON" COUNTY.

" Hematite and levant iron ores at the river are too low
down to be worked to an advantage, but rise rapidly as you
go southward, until these have attained an altitude of 500
feet above the river, ten miles south from Mount Union,
and near the line of East Broad Top Railroad, where all these
ore veins are found in close proximity, leaning on the east
flank of Jack's mountain. A short tunnel would drain and
give access to some eight or more veins of iron ore. At
this elevation these levant ores yield 50 per cent of neutral
iron. Dipping under Aughwick valley, they crop out
again along the west flank of Black Log mountain, from
Meadow Gap to near Fort Littleton, near which they ter-
minate in a limestone dyke, filled with hematite, levant and
sublimated iron ores from a molten-mineral basin, the fount
of the forces that lifted the Broad Top coal basin from its
ocean bed ; — raised the water shed dividing the waters of
the Juniata and Potomac rivers; and upturned the edges of
the No. 2 limestone (7,000 feet in thickness !) giving access
to immense masses of red and brown hematite iron ores in
close proximity to the East Broad Top coal measures.

" Ou the extension of a branch railway of a dozen miles,
from near Orbisonia to Fort Littleton, these older, rich and
more abundant iron ores will, in connection with the fossil
ores of Mount Union, give profitable employment to capital
and labor, and throw on the Pennsylvania railway tonnage
and travel from the counties of Fulton and Franklin to Pitts-
burg a\d Philadelphia, and make it necessary to utilize the
water powers of the Juniata river at Mount Union, where a
22 feet fall may be, at small cost, made available for manu-
facturing purposes.

" Names," says the Koran, " come from Heaven and are
the prophets of destiny." Mount Union derived its name
from a union of Jack's and Stone mountains on the west,
and Chestnut ridge and Jack's mountain on the east —
linked north and south of Mount Union to Jack's mountain.

" Hence Mount Union, the victim of centralization, re-
mained in the deep ocean buried, until the day when the
mother of Rivers bade her blue-eyed daughter, Juniata,

HISTORY OF HUNTINGDON COUNTY. 277

cleave the mountains that barred her way to the bosom from
whence she sprang."

Matilda Furnace, in the immediate vicinity of Mount
Union, built in 1836-7, makes about seventy-five tons of
pig-metal per week and gives employment to eighty men
Two large steam tanneries, one water-power and one steam
grist mill, about twenty workshops, a brick yard, and the
several railroads, are a part of the wealth, the prosperity and
the business of the place, while three capacious and beauti-
ful churches, two weekly newspapers, a town hall and public
school building indicate its moral, intellectual and literary
progress.

John Dougherty, Esq., one of the proprietors, and a resi-
dent of Mount Union, has long had a magnificent scheme
for the utilization of the natural beauty and advantages sur-
rounding the town. We give in his own language the out-
line of his plan for a

u Jet cVEau and Hotel des Invalides /"

"On the double-crested summit of Jack's mountain, one
thousand feet in height, overlooking the borough of Mount
Union, rises a large volume of pure water, amply sufficient
to supply a hotel and hundreds of cottages on the terraced
sides of this mountain, and also a Jet d'eau five hundred
feet in height, and thence falling into fish-pond and bath, ' a
thing of beauty and a joy forever.'

" An Alpine way, via Jet, cottages, hotel and fountain-
head, and thence through mountain vale and summit crest,
with Kishacoquillas valley on the west, the Juniata valley,
deep down below, on the east, hills succeeding hills, like
waves on storm-tossed ocean, the 'Blue Juniata' wending
its way around river bend and through valley and gorge, en-
circling the borough of Mount Union, from whence comes
upward the hum of industry, blended with hymns of praise,
tolling of bells, the clang of hammers, splash of water-
wheels, the voice of locomotives and trains of cars on Ma-
tilda Furnace, East Broad Top and Pennsylvania railways,
running north, south, east and west, through these four gate-
ways of commerce into and out of this centre of art and in-

278 HISTORY OF HUNTINGDON COUNTY.

dustry. Pullman palace cars launched around curves like

planets on the tangents of their orbits and freighted with

immortal souls, conducted hither by the attraction of the

beautiful, halting to plume the wing, and view this magic

scene ere they soar hence to Ileaven.

"The whole wide earth to God-heart bare,
Basks like some happy umbrian vale,

By Francis trodden and by Clare,
When Greatness thirsted to be good,

When Faith was meek and Love was brave,
When Hope by every cradle stood,

And rainbows spanned each new-made grave !

"AVe invite the lovers of the beautiful, useful and good,
on whom Fortune has smiled, ambitious that their names
shall reverberate along the line of generations, to aid in
building this fountain and palace of an industrious, commo-
dious and civilized social life."

The history of the present site of Shirleysburg during
provincial times is given in preceding chapters, relating to
Aughwick and Fort Shirley. The town as first laid out by
Henry Warner, extended from the lot adjoining the Baptist
meetinghouse to Hon. Wm. B. Leas' residence ; the lower
or northern part was added by Samuel McCammon, and the
southern part by Millikeu and Cooper. In its early days,
Shirleysburg was the most important town southeast of
Standing Stone or Huntingdon. At that point was gathered
every spring, for review and inspection, the militia from all
the surrounding territory, now embracing Shirley, Crom-
well, Dublin, Tell, Springfield, Clay, Tod, Carbon, Cass and
Union townships. It is now an important station on the
East Broad Top Railroad.

CHAPTER XXXVIII.

FRANKLIN TOWNSHIP AGRICULTURAL AND MINERAL WEALTH IRON

WORKS — POST OFFICES — SPRINGFIELD TOWNSHIP— FIRST SETTLERS — THEIR
CHARACTER — EARLY SCHOOLS AND CHURCHES— PUBLIC IMPROVEMENTS —
CAUSES THAT HAVE RETARDED THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE RESOURCES
OF THE TOWNSHIP.

Franklin, the first township formed after the erection of
the county, extends from the Little Juniata river on the
southwest to the Centre county line on the northeast, and
from the summit of Tussey's mountain on the southeast to
"VVarriorsmark township on the northwest. The principal
stream is Spruce creek, rising in the township and flowing
the entire length of it, through one of the most fertile val-
leys in the State, to the Little Juniata. The productiveness
of the rich limestone land of this valley is apparent in the
prosperity of the agricultural community. It is in this por-
tion of the county, including West, Porter, Morris and War-
riorsmark townships, in addition to Franklin, that the farm-
ers are preeminently the wealthy class. Their dwellings are
of the most substantial character, their barns too commodi-
ous for any other than a country where the crops spring
from the soil as they do there, and everything betokens that
the land owner may there possess all that can contribute to
his comfort and happiness.

The township is also rich in iron ore, the mines having
been worked since the latter part of the last century. Hun-
tingdon Furnace was built in the midst of these deposits in
1795 or '96, and two other furnaces, Pennsylvania in the
northern part of the township, adjoining Centre county, and
Barree in Porter township, are also supplied with ores from
them. Five forges have been built at various times on
Spruce creek, within five miles of its mouth. They are all
noted elsewhere. None of them are now in operation.

Several manufacturing establishments have been erected
within recent years — the Stockdale Woolen Mills by W. D.

280 HISTORY OF HUNTINGDON COUNTY.

& J. D. Isett, at the moutli of the creek, and an axe factory
by John Q. Adams, one and-a-half miles farther up.

There are three post-offices and villages in the township,
Colerain Forges, Franklinville and Graysville, and one on
the opposite side of the river, Spruce Creek.

Springfield township, situated on the southern border of
the county, was erected in 1790, from Shirley and Dublin.
It is bounded on the north by Cromwell, on the east by
Dublin, on the south by Fulton county, and on the west by
Clay township, and contains two post-offices, Meadow Gap
and Maddensville. Traversed from north to south by the
Black Log mountain, the land is generally elevated and
rolling, although there are considerable tracts of rich
alluvial bottom along the streams, of which the principal
are the Big Aughwick, Sideling Hill and Little Aughwick
creeks.

In the early part of the present century, Springfield town-
ship was a vast forest, slightly broken, by occassional clear-
ings on the bottom lands. One of the earliest clearings was
made by John Bailey, a Revolutionary soldier, who settled
on the banks of Aughwick. The first settlers on that
stream besides Bailey, were William Jones, William Ward and
John Robertson, not one of whom has a representative in the
township at this day. What is known as "the Big Meadow
tract" was warranted, surveyed and patented at a very early
day in the names of Lukens, Lennox and Woods. It is
situated near the village of Meadow Gap, and contains four
hundred acres.

The early settlers were principally from Maryland, of
which class were the Browns, Stains, Lanes, Cutshalls, etc.,
who are still represented by numerous descendants. The
Maddens and Ramseys are of Irish, and the Wibles of
German descent.

1 1 ugh Orlton was one of the first settlers on the ridges.
He took up land at an early day and had it patented. This
tract was bought from Orlton by Richard Lane, in possession
of whose descendants it still remains. Orlton built on it a
house, the first roofed with shingles in the township. It was

HISTORY OF HUNTINGDON COUNTY. 281

a substantial structure and has but recently given place to
a more modern and commodious dwelling.

The tenenents of the settlers were generally constructed
of unhewn logs, roofed with clapboards, and consisted of a
lower story and a garret. The floor was either the earth
itself or what was styled a "puncheon floor," made of staves
or rough boards, and the chimneys were of wood.

In this wilderness the first settlers hunted and began the
cultivation of the soil. Their cattle and hogs roamed the
woods and furnished milk and animal food, without much
labor or attention on the part of their owners. The streams,
especially the Aughwick, abounded with fish, and shad, sal-
mon, etc., were captured in large quantities, with a primi-
tive net of large dimensions, made of brush tied together
with hickory withes.

There was no saw mill in the township. Boards were split
from the log with axes- The material for clothing was raised
by the inhabitants. A new home-spun suit was considered
good enough for any society or occasion. The women were
usually attired in a linsey petticoat and short sack. Mocca-
sins were a substitute for shoes.

The people were for the most part a healthy, hardy, rug-
ged race, unlettered, but generous, courageous and hospita-
ble. A few schools, supported by subscription, were scat-
tered at wide intervals through the township. Dilworth's
Spelling Book was the principal authority in orthography,
and the Testament the only reader. One of the first of these
schools was taught in a hut near Meadow Gap ; the teacher
was a pedagogue named Pike.

The nearest church was at Three Springs, now Saltillo,
the pastor being Samuel Lane, of the Baptist denomination.
He was a man of more than ordinary energy and public
spirit, giving several lots of land in and adjacent to the town-
ship for church and burial purposes, some of which are still
used in accordance with his design. From him are descended
the Lanes, of Springfield, Clay and Shirley townships. The
late Hugh Madden, Esq., also gave a lot for educational pur-
poses, upon which a school house has been erected.

282 HISTORY OF HUNTINGDON COUNTY.

The first grist mill in the township was built by Robert
and John Madden, at Meadow Gap. The former also erected
a mill near the junction of the Sideling Hill and Aughwick
creeks. Much clearing of land was accomplished through
the agency of the iron manufacturers, who used the wood
for the making of charcoal. They denuded large tracts of
their timber and rendered them available for the plow. The
principal road was the old furnace road to Bedford. The
first township road led from Orbisonia to Fort Littleton.
Others followed in succession, and all parts of the township
are now accessible by roads kept in as good condition as is
usual in rural localities.

Owing to its isolation from railroads and other public im-
provements, this township has not afforded a promising field
for the establishment of manufactures of any kind, and the
development of its resources has consequently been retarded.
Nevertheless, much has been done in improving the face of
the country and in the advancement of agricultural indus-
try and interests. The church and the common school
have been at work and a corresponding increase of intelli-
gence is manifest. The present population of the township
exhibits as great a contrast to that of a century ago as do
the past and present of any other township in the county.

Mr. James Norris, who has gathered for us the facts
presented in this sketch of Springfield township, expresses
his obligation to Mr. Thomas Duffey, one of its oldest in-
habtants, for much of the information. Mr. Duffy was born
in the township and has lived in it for the space of eighty-
three years. His memory is still clear and

" His old age is, like a lusty winter,
Frosty but kindly."

CHAPTER XXXIX.

UNION TOWNSHIP — TROUGH CREEK, SMITH'S AND HARE's VALLEYS — THE

STREAMS — THE TORY HARE — MAPLETON MORRIS TOWNSHIP — WATER

STREET — SPRUCE CREEK OR GRAYSPORT — UNION FURNACE.

Union township, situated immediately south of the centre
of the county, is bounded on the northwest by Juniata and
Penn townships, from which it is separated by Terrace
mountain; on the northeast by the Juniata river, separating
it from Henderson and Brady ; on the southeast by Jack's
mountain, on the opposite side of which is Shirley township ;
and on the south by Cass.

Between Terrace and Jack's mountains are Sideling hill
and Clear ridge, dividing the township into three valleys,
Trough Creek, Smith's and Hare's. Streams flow through
the last two valleys in a northeastwardly direction, falling
into the Juniata below Mapleton. Trough creek rises on
Terrace mountain, flowing towards the southwest, and after
passing through Cass township into Tod, turns towards the
northwest and empties into the Raystown branch in Penn
township. Its waters, with those of the latter stream and
the Juniata, after making a circuit, with their various wind-
ings of more than a hundred miles, pass along the end of
Terrace mountain, within a few miles of their source. At
the time of its formation, Union township included nearly
the entire valley of Trough creek.

Hare's valley takes its name from Jacob Hare, a tory who
resided and owned a large tract of land in the valley during
the Revolutionary war. Although he did not take up arms
against the colonists, he was active in contributing aid to the
British cause, and was suspected of being engaged in the
murder of Loudenslager, who was on his way from his home
in Kishacoquillas valley to join a company that was being
raised for the continental service at Standing Stone. The
people became so much incensed against Hare, that both of
his ears were cut off by Captain Thomas Blair's rangers»

281 HISTORY OF HUNTINGDON" COUNTY.

who had pursued Weston and his band of tories on their ex-
pedition to Kittanning. Hare, and his brother Michael,
were attainted of treason and their lands confiscated, but the
latter were restored to them after ihe war, because they had
not made an armed resistance to the cause of Independence.
It is said that Jacob Hare died on his possessions in Hare's
valley.

The post offices in Union township are Calvin, Colfax and
Mapleton.

The principal part of the ground upon which the borough
of Mapleton is situated belonged to Col. John Donaldsoni
who caused the first lots to be laid out. It was incorpo-
rated August 18th, 1866 The only manufactory of any
importance is a large steam tannery, owned by the estate of
Jeremiah Bauman, deceased. The quarrying and crushing
of glass sand on the opposite side of the river from Maple
ton, is an industry that gives employment to a number of
men, and adds to the business of the place. A large public
school building and three churches, Methodist, Presbyterian
and United Brethren, are evidences of the intelligence and
morality of the people.

Morris township adjoins Blair county and is separated
from it by Canoe mountain on the northwest, Fox run on
the southwest, and the Frankstown branch of the Juniata on
the southeast. Its other boundaries are the Little Juniata
river, between it and Franklin township, on the north, and
Tussey's mountain, separating it from Porter township, on
the east. The latter division is a spur usually known as the
Short mountain, about two miles in length, extending from
one river to the other. The Pennsylvania railroad passes
through a tunnel in the northern end of it, half a mile below
the village of Spruce Creek.

The greater part of the township consists of an elevated
plateau, to which has been given the name of Canoe valley,
from the mountain enclosing it on the west. It has a fertile
limestone soil, which yields generously to the hand of culti-
vation.

One locality in this township, Water Street, is mentioned

HISTORY OF HUNTINGDON COUNTY. 285

by John Harris in his "account of the road to Logstown,"
in 1754. The old Indian war-patb passed through it, and
Conrad Weiser was there in 1748. It derived its name from
the fact that a stream of water literally flowed through the
street. During the Revolutionary war, General Roberdeau
had a landing there, from whence lead ore, mined in Sinking
valley, was shipped east to be melted, and where stores were
received for the miners and troops at Fort Roberdeau.

The most prosperous days of Water Street were while the
Pennsylvania canal was in successful tide of operation. But
since it has been closed and abandoned, the place has lost all
importance, trade and travel having been diverted to points
on the line of public improvements, a few miles northward.
The business once attracted to Water Street by the canal is
now drawn to Spruce Creek by the Pennsylvania railroad.

At no other place in this rugged county has the hand of
nature been so abrupt in its works as at Spruce Creek. If
we are to interpret the designs of the Creator from what
seems to be the external evidences of them, we may believe
that it was part of His plan that man should dwell there in
the heart of the mountains and that the narrow strip of level
land lying along the Juniata was placed there to tempt him
to do so. Imagining that the first white man who ventured to
it, had followed the old Indian war-path to Water Street and
crossed from thence the plateau that divides the two branches
of the Juniata, what was the view presented to him when he
reached the crest of the hill overlooking the river and the
site of the present village ? Though he may have traveled
long through an uninhabited country, he had seen nothing
more wild, more grand, more beautiful. The stream for
more than a mile of its course above the bend at the base
of the Short mountain was visible, except when hidden by
the dense and luxuriant forest growth. Perhaps his atten-
tion was first attracted to the long ranges of elevations sur-
rounding him on every side and towering still higher than
the one on which he stood, and to the peaks rising here and
there and adding to the variety of the outline. And when
his eye turned from that scene to one beneath it, he could

286 HISTORY OF HUNTINGDON" COUNTY.

scarcely perceive that there was anything below the hillside
but the silver thread of water winding among the dark green
of the pines and hemlocks. But on descending, in the course
of his footsteps, to the river, he found a strip of ground, not
exceeding two hundred feet in width at any part, and not a
mile in length, terminated at each end by the river sweeping
around and hugging closely to the foot of the hills. Small
as it was, it must have been regarded as a prize for purposes
of cultivation. Directly opposite was the mouth of a creek
coming down from among the mountains and passing a short
distance above its confluence with the river, through a nar-
row defile, which widens into a small valley, forming a level
space of limited extent.

The village of Spruce Creek proper, or Graysport, as it
was originally named, stands on the south side of the Little
Juniata, but as it is so intimately connected with the other
side of the river that the two form but one community, I
shall treat them accordingly.

James Gray became the owner of the land on which the
village is situated under a purchase from John Cannon, but
the interest of the latter being afterwards sol'd at Sheriff's
sale, was bought by John McCahan, of Huntingdon. A con-
troversy arose between Gray and McCahan concerning the
title, which was compromised, and a deed executed by the
latter to the former on the 15th day of April, 1820.

Gray had a tannery, not on the part upon which he sub-
sequently laid out the village, but at the upper or Gray's
fording, on land now owned by Michael Low. Until recently,
a great willow tree stood there, which had been planted by
Matthew Gray when a boy, the stump of which remains.

As to the origin of the place and the advantages and in-
ducements offered to purchasers of lots therein, I take the
following advertisement from the " Huntingdon QazeLte" of

April 8th, 1824:

TO MECHANICKS.
The subscriber, having lately laid out a small village, called

(iRAYSPORT,
at the Bridge over the Little Juniata & opposite the mouth of Spruce
Creek, oilers for sale the LOTS at a very reasonable price, and on

HISTORY OP HUNTINGDON COUNTY. 287

terms which will be advantageous to purchasers. The situation of
this place holds out many inducements to industrious mechanicks
who are actuated by that manly spirit of independence which prompts
man to acquire property of his own, that he may not be subject to the
capricious will of others. It is situated in a healthy part of this
county on a navigable stream, and is intersected by the great road
(which is much traveled) leading, by the way of Northumberland,
from Philadelphia to Pittsburg : is surrounded by Iron works within
a very short distance in every direction, and within a few perches of
a Grist and Saw-mill turned by a never-failing stream of water. Ma-
terials fur building can be obtained here at a very trifling cost, there
being good building stone, which can be had in abundance, without
quarrying, on the adjoining lands of the subscriber, within a few
perches of the Lots; and these he will permit purchasers to appropri-
ate to themselves for building purposes without charging for the
same.

The one half of the purchase money will be required to be paid
in hand, the residue one year atter the purchase, without interest.

JAMES GRAY.
March 1st, 1824.

The bridge mentioned as crossing the river at that point
had been erected about the year 1819. It stood until 1816,
when it was removed for the erection of a new one. The
latter remained there but a short time, being taken away by
the great freshet of the 8th of October, 1847. After the
flood a third one was built, which is still standing.

Gray made some improvements and sold some lots soon
after placing them in the market. He built a stone dwelling
house on the northern end of the lot on which the residence
of Dr. Sidney Thompson and the store room of Isett &
Thompson now stand, and also two shops on the opposite side
of the street from his dwelling, for his two sons, one of whom
was a shoemaker and the other a blacksmith.

The first purchasers of lots seem to have accepted Gra} r 's
offer of stone for building purposes without charge. The
second dwelling was erected of that material by Jacob Keith.
It is a small but substantial building, enduring well the
wear of time. It is now owned and occupied by Thomas M.
Benner.

Daniel Beigle was the builder of the third house, a frame,
on the second lot east of Gray's residence. It has since been
considerably enlarged and improved, and is part of the prop-
erty owned by Nathaniel Lytle.

2S8 HISTORY OF HUNTINGDON" COUNTY.

Beigle also built a stone house near the western limits of
the village, as it then was, which is still in the possession of
his descendants. His son Samuel lives in it. Edward, another
son, lives on the lot adjoining it on the west.

While these improvements were progressing slowly, the
land on the other side of the river came into the hands of
the Isett family. Several tracts, amounting to six hundred
acres, and including the farms now belonging to Abram
Weight, John Eberts, E. B. Isett and J. H. Isett, were con-
veyed to Jacob Isett by Gen. Joseph Hiester, of Reading, on
the 24th day of April, 1827. These lands had been cleared
many years before Mr. Isett's purchase. He had been re-
lieved from the labor of reclaiming them from the forest and
could give his attention to such improvements as seemed to
be required in a fertile agricultural region.

It had taken time to put the lands into the condition in
which Mr. Isett found them, and consequently they had a
previous history. They had been purchased from the Com-
monwealth at a very early day, the warrant, upon which the
part of them lying west of the creek was surveyed, being
dated on the 4th day of June, 1762. The name of the war-
rantee was Matthias Sandham, a resident of Philadelphia,
who died without obtaining a patent. His widow and heirs
conveyed them to Thos. Sandham, to whom they were
patented on the 24th day of November, 1798. In the war-
rant and patent they are named " Spruce Bottom," from the
character of the timber growing upon them.

Before the Revolutionary war, probably in 1774, two
brothers by the name of Beebault, built a tub mill on the
east side of the creek above the end of the bridge which
crosses the stream a short distance above its mouth. It was
a very primitive structure, surrounded, except on the side
next to the creek, by trees and bushes. But it probably
answered all the requirements of the community at that
time. It stood until after Mr. Isett put up another estab-
lishment for the same purpose on a more extensive scale.

John S. Isett moved upon the land purchased by his
father, in October, 1827. He came at that time to build a mill,

HISTOKT OF HUNTINGDON COUNTY. 289

the erection of which was at once commenced, and completed
in 1828. Other improvements made by him were the brick
dwelling house in which he now resides, in 1831, and Stock-
dale Forge, called after the family name of his mother, in
1836.

In the meantime, the village on the south side of the river
had been growing, and it was soon to receive a new impetus
from the construction of the Pennsylvania Railroad.

It had, however, met wif.h a serious check to its career,
The flood of '47 had been most disastrous on both sides of
the river. In addition to the bridge, which was then new, a
number of dwellings and shops of mechanics were taken
away. A house on Mr. Isett's property, some rods east of
the creek, was entirely destroyed, and the family living in it
barely escaped with their lives. The old Gray mansion,
which had come into the possession of Mr. Lytle, and in
which he then resided, was badly damaged. The western
end, about one-third of the building, fell down. The aper-
ture thus made was closed with weatherboarding, in which
condition it remained until removed for other improve-
ments. Two wagonmaker's shops, a blacksmith's shop and
some other buildings were also swept away.

But the place revived after the making of the railroad.
During its construction was a period of great prosperity. A
larger number of workmen was required there than at other
points, on account of the tunnel within a mile of the village.
These employees spent nearly all of their earnings, to the
pecuniary advantage of merchants, boarding-house keepers
and others.

The hotel facilities were then inadequate to the import-
ance that Spruce Creek seemed likely to attain. Col. R. F.
Haslett had for some years been keeping a house for the en-
tertainment of strangers and travelers in the stone building
standing between the public square and the railroad, but he
determined to erect a more commodious building adjoining
the one he then occupied. The foundations were laid before
the completion of the railroad and the bricks for the super-
structure were brought by cars soon after they commenced
T

290 HISTORY OF HUNTINGDON COUNTY.

running. This house, at the time it was built, was the lar-
gest and finest in central Pennsylvania, and even now there
are but few outside of the cities that surpass it in these re-
spects. Its owner and the citizens of Spruce Creek have
good reason to be proud of the " Keystone Hotel."

There is a great contrast between this and the first tavern
kept there. The latter was on the Stockdale side of the
river and was built many years before the property was
bought by Jacob Isett. It was torn down during the last year
or two and other improvements were placed on the same lot.
It would be impossible to follow minutely the progress of
the place during the quarter of a century that has passed
since the railroad was made. The village has been extend-
ed vvestward beyond the limits of Gray's survey. Lots have
been laid out on Michael Low's land, upon many of which
Mr. Low has himselt built houses and others have been sold
by him. It has reached in that direction the point where
the river and the hills come together, and its further growth
must be up the hillside.

John S. Isett, who had been occupying and managing the
property of his father, bought it in 1841. The mill and
forge rendered necessary the erection of dwellings for his
employees, both before and after his purchase.

In 186-1, he sold it to his son, E. B. Isett. Valuable as the
property had become, the latter has added greatly to it. He
has built a very fine dwelling house for himself on the west
side of the turnpike, one on the lots where the old tavern
stood and another on the site where his father first lived. He
also removed the old forge and erected in its stead a foundry
and machine shop. This in its turn has given place to the
" Stockdale Woolen Mills," built by W. D. and J. B. Isett, in
1875.

We may form a very correct idea of a community, morally,
mentally, socially, and, we may say, financially, from its
schools and churches; with regard to the latter the history
of Spruce Creek has been somewhat peculiar. In many re-
spects it has been advancing, while in another it may have
been retrogressing.

HISTORY OF HUNTINGDON COUNTY. 291

The first church was built there in 1850, on the side of the
hill, between the railroad and the public road leading to
Canoe valley. The place upon which it stands is difficult of
access and is available for scarcely any other purpose. The
structure is of frame and large enough for the congregations
that ordinarily assemble there. It is a " Union Church," and
is open not only for all denominations of Christians, but all
sects and persuasions, whether their doctrines are orthodox
or not. Its uses have taken even a wider range than this.
Public meetings of various kinds, having no relation to re-
ligion, have been held in it. These have usually been of a
moral or educational character, an effort having always been
made to exclude anything questionable or improper.

The plan upon which this church has been conducted is
not without its advantages. For people of different religious
views to worship in the same house, to sit in the same seats,
and to hear the gospel preached from the same pulpit, cer-
tainly has an enlarging effect on the mind and begets a toler-
tion for contrary opinions and beliefs that would otherwise
be impossible. The general introduction and adherence to
this plan would be the death of sectarianism. In departing
from it, the people of Spruce Creek should be careful that
they do not also depart from the benefits it secured to them.

The building of additional churches would, in time, have
become a necessity, and that the citizens of the village and
vicinity have already done so, speaks well, not perhaps of
any increased liberality on their part, but of the greater
ability to do so. The Presbyterians have erected a substan-
tial brick church, neatly finished, on E. B. Isett's land, front-
ing on the east side of the turnpike, and the Methodists a
frame one on ground contributed by E. W. Graffius, at the
south end of the bridge. These add very materially to the
appearance of the place, and no doubt to the satisfaction of
the people, and must give to the stranger a higher opinion
of both.

The church first erected has under it a school-room suffi-
ciently large to accommodate all the children who attend
there. At first the two sides of the river, Spruce Creek and

292 HISTORY OF HUNTINGDON COUNTY.

Stockdale, formed but a single district, but, as they are in
different townships, the children from the latter, on account
of a change in the school law, have since been obliged to go
to the " Hook," a mile distant.

The prosperity of Spruce Creek has been affected by the
ups and downs of commercial life. James Gray thought that
the iron works were to build up his village, and they were
no doubt a great assistance in doing so. But that branch of
business seems to have gone into decay. Union Furnace has
fallen down, Huntingdon Furnace has been idle for four or
five years, and Pennsylvania Furnace, if in blast at all, is
working up its material preparatory to its stoppage. No
forges are in operation on Spruce Creek. Colerain is the
only one that is in condition to run, all the rest having been
removed or permitted to fall.

But other interests have arisen that are no less important
than those that have passed away, and Spruce Creek will
always be, as heretofore, a place where all the inhabitants
may gain a competence and wealth.

There are post-offices in Morris township at Spruce Creek,
"Water Street and Morrell.

The latter is at the site of the old Union Furnace, built by
Edward B. Dorsey and Caleb Evans, in 1810 or 1811. It
passed into the hands of Michael Wallace on the failure of
the firm of Dorsey & Evans, and has not been in operation
since 1852.

CHAPTER XL.

WEST TOWNSHIP — SHAVER'S CBEEK VALLEY — ANDERSON'S FORT — ESCAPE OP
JANE MAGUIRE — PETERSBURG — WARRIOR'S MARK TOWNSHIP — ORIGIN OF
THE NAME — BIRMINGHAM — ITS FOUNDATION, GROWTH AND DECLINE.

West township, lying principally in the valley of Shaver's
creek, is bounded on the northeast by Franklin, adjoining
that township on the summit of Tussey's mountain ; on the
southwest by Porter township, the Juniata being partly the
boundary line between them ; on the southeast by Oneida
township, and on the east and northeast by Barree.

Warrior ridge occupies a considerable part of the south-
eastern portion of the township, spreading out into an ex-
tensive plateau, nearly all of which is tillable, much of it
being cleared and cultivated.

Shaver's creek flows through one of those fertile valleys
for which the northwestern portion of the county is so cele-
brated, the land being equal in productiveness and value to
any in the State. The stream takes its name from "an old
gentleman named Shaver," who made the first settlement
upon it, probably at the mouth of the creek. Others settled
near to him before the Revolutionary war. Shaver is said
to have been murdered in the neighborhood, his body hav-
ing been found near a pasture-field, to which he had gone
for the purpose of putting his horse into it, with the head
severed and carried away. The perpetrators of the crime
were never discovered and it was suspected that the Indians
had nothing to do with it.

Samuel Anderson settled in the vicinity of Shaver's. A
fort was built on the western side of the creek near its con-
fluence with the river which took its name from him. In an
account of some of the forts of Huntingdon county furnished
by J. Simpson Africa, esq., to the editor of the Pennsylva-
nia Archives, we find the following concerning Anderson's
fort :

" It was erected, I believe, by the white settlers to defend

294 HISTORY OF HUNTINGDON COUNTY.

themselves from the incursions of the Indians. My grand-
mother, an early settler about the time of the Revolution,
sought protection there. The inhabitants of the fort, after
defending themselves for a long time against the attacks of
the savages, finding their supplies becoming exhausted, fled
to Standing Stone fort. In their flight two of the men,
named Maguire, were killed by the Indians, and their sister,
afterwards Mrs. Dowling, who was driving the cows, was
chased by them. Springing from ambush, the sudden sur-
prise frightened the cows and they started to run. The
foremost Indian caught her dress and imagined he had made
sure of a victim, but she simultaneously grasped the tail of
one of the cows, held on, her dress tore and she escaped.
She reached Fort Standing Stone half dead with fright, still
holding on to the tail of the cow."

This account, although briefer than the one given in Jones'
History of the Juniata Valley of the same occurrence, and
differing from it considerably in details, is probably the more
reliable of the two. The statement that Jane, for that was
her name, twisted the^ow's tail is perhaps merely a twist of
the imagination. The heroine after becoming Mrs. Dow-
ling, removed to the Raystown branch. One of her sons,
William Dowling, is still living at an advanced age among
the ridges of Juniata township.

On the opposite side of Shaver's creek from the site of
Anderson's fort, now stands the borough of Petersburg.
The plan of the town was acknowledged by Dr. Peter
Shoenberger, on the 21st day of May, 1795, and was record-
ed on the 2Sth day of the same month. He had probably
laid it out but short time before those dates. It was incor-
porated as a borough, April 7th, 1830. Located upon the
Pennsylvania canal, recently abandoned, however, through
that portion of the county, and railroad, and being the near-
est shipping point to the rich farming region of Porter, West,
Barree, and Jackson townships, its prosperity always has
been assured, and we can foresee no circumstance that can
possibly prevent its steady improvement and growth in the
future. The last five or six years have seen the erection of

HISTORY OF HUNTINGDON COUNTY. 295

several large and substantial business houses and dwellings,
and there has been an increase of population to correspond
with its progress in other respects. Juniata forge, owned
by Hunter & Swoope, one of the pioneer establishments in
the manufacture of the celebrated "Juniata charcoal iron, 1 '
stands near the junction of Shaver's creek and the Juniata
river, and is operated by water-power from the former.
Near it are flouring and saw mills. These are the most im-
portant manufactories in the place or its vicinity.

Warrior's Mark, extending farther northwest than any
other township in the county, is bounded on two sides, the
northwest and southwest, by Blair county, on the northeast
by Centre county, and on the southeast by Franklin town-
ship. Formed in 1798, it took its name from a settlement
of an earlier date, now a thriving village, in the central part
of the township. As to the origin of the name tradition is
not very definite, but it appears to be sufficiently certain
that the Indians had made marks of some kind on the trees
near their village or meeting place. Jones, in his History of
the Juniata Valley, says that the name "originated from the
fact of certain oak trees in the vicinity having a crescent or
half-moon cut upon them with hatchets, so deep that traces
can still be seen of them (1856,) or, at least, could be some
years ago." From his uncertainty as to whether the marks
were visible at the time he wrote, it is evident that he had not
seen them himself, and it is doubtful whether he obtained
his information from any one who knew anything about
them from personal observation.

The Indians lingered longer in this section of the county
than in any other. Several who made themselves prominent
by their friendly services to the whites are known to have
resided in the township or in close proximity to in during
the Revolutionary war. Of these was Captain Logan, whose
name has been given to a spring and stream in the township
and to a valley in Blair county.

The route of the Lewisburg, Centre and Spruce Creek
railroad runs through the township from northaest to south-
west. It was graded several years ago, but work then ceased

296 HISTORY OF HUNTINGDON COUNTY.

upon it, and its completion need not be expected for some
years to come, if at all.

Birmingham, a borough situated in the southwestern end
of Warriorsmark township, and on the north bank of the
Little Juniata river, which flows between it and the Penn-
sylvania railroad, w*as laid out in December, 1797, by John
Cadwallader, by whom it was designated on the plot as"laid out
for a manufacturing town at the head of navigation." The
original plan of the town was recorded February, 26th,
1799, and the supplemental plan, August 16th, 1833. It
was incorporated as a borough April 14th, 1838. Including
about three hundred acres of extremely undulating land, it
presents, notwithstanding the lofty hills and deep ravines,
an attractive appearance on paper.

The principal feature which commended it as a site for a
town was the numerous springs of calcareous and free stone
water gushing from every hill-side, and affording, with the
fall in the Juniata, abundant and superior water power, the
value and importance of which had not only attracted atten-
tion at an earlier day, but had been utilized in 1786 by the
erection of a grist mill and saw mill on the river, and in
1795 by a paper mill on Laurel run. At the latter was man-
ufactured the paper upon which the Huntingdon Gazette
was printed in 1801, if not the Courier in 1797.

Mr. Cadwallader, the proprietor, was generous in donat*
J ng ground in the new town for public use, having given
several "spring lots," two " school lots," one for "Libra-
ry Hall," four for " religious," and the same number for
" burial places," and several large lots marked " Publick."
On the Juniata was " the Public Landing," which he took
care to mention as the head of navigation.

The proprietor then proceeded eastward to lay this liberal
scheme before people there, and succeeded in ''interesting"
many of them in it, who bought lots and paid a portion of
the purchase money according to stipulations on the face of
the plot. The purchasers, finding subsequently that their
lots were set up edge-wise, or perched on some lofty pinna-
cle, or down in a deep ravine, did not take possession, but

HISTORY OF HUNTINGDON COUNTY. 297

forfeited what they had paid. Mr. Cadwallader, being in
earnest, however, built himself a mansion, which at that
period was no doubt looked upon as possessing some grand-
eur. Others purchased and built upon the more eligible lots
and engaged in mercantile and the ordinary mechanical pur-
suits.

In 1823 a flouring mill was built at Laurel spring, the
paper mill enlarged, and about the same year, an oil mill,
plaster mill and saw mill were erected on Laurel spring run,
and blacksmith and cooper shops, tavern and store, all
under the proprietorship of Michael Wallace.

During the interval between 1835 and 1846, Birmingham
attained the zenith of its prosperity and a population of
about four hundred. It then had several stores, each having
a trade of from five thousand to thirty thousand dollars
annually, and was the chief mart for Bald Eagle, Logan,
Clearfield and Sinking valleys. The staple articles of trade
were iron, lumber, shingles, hoop-poles, hides and whisky.
There were three distilleries in the place at an early day,
making the last mentioned article to their fullest capacity.
Many arks loaded with these commodities left the Public
Landing and " Laurel Spring wharf."

The first school house was built of logs in or about the
year 1790, and was replaced by a second one, of stone, in a
more central locality, in 1818. Both of these were built by
public contributions, and James Thompson, Esq., the "oldest
inhabitant," says that "the stone school house cost a drink
of whisky for every stone in it." In 1860, when this struc-
ture was taken down, the directors were careful to have the
old time-worn stepping-stone at the door remain in its place
as a memento of the alma mater of many of the prominent
business men of that community. A new school house was
erected in that year, which is fully equal to the requirements
of the town.

The Baptists were the first Christian denomination to have
a place of worship of their own, their church having been
built in 1830. The congregation, after prospering for a
number of years, chiefly under the administration of the

298 HISTORY OF HUNTINGDON COUNTY.

venerable Rev. Thomas Thomas, was disbanded, and the old
church taken down. The grave-yard remains, in which the
numerous tombstones mark the last resting places of the
sleeping congregation.

The Birmingham Methodist Episcopal church was organ-
ized about the year 1880, worshiped in the old stone
school-house, built the first church in 1835, and a new one
in 1874.

The Presbyterian church, of Birmingham, was organized
May 16th, 1835, first chujch built in 1836 and '37, and
second in 1868 and '69. The present pastor is Rev. S. T.
Wilson, D. D.

The United Brethren church was organized in 1870 and
the church edifice erected in 1871. The pastor is Rev. J. C
Shearer.

Birmingham Lodge T. 0. of 0. F. was organized in 1846,
erected a hall and continued in existence until LS50.

A division of the Sons of Temperance was organized in
1846, built a hall in 1850, and was instrumental in building
up a permanently abstemious population. Its "occupation
gone," the organization was disbanded and the future well-
being of the people given over to that most efficient agency,
the Christian church.

The Mountain Seminary at Birmingham is appropriately
noted in the chapter relating to the private educational in-
stitutions of the county.

Birmingham has now a population of something more
than two hundred, exclusive of the pupils in the Seminary.
The building of the Pennsylvania railroad on the opposite
side of the river, attracting trade to other points, was the
beginning of its decadence. Jt has but one store and the
shops of a few mechanics. The inhabitants are living on the
glories of the past, and, like the Athenians in the decline of
their metropolis, " spend their time in nothing else but
either to tell or to hear some new thing."

CHAPTER XLI.

TELL — HENDERSON PORTER — WALKER.

Tell, like the neighboring township of Dublin, is bound-
ed on two sides, the northwest and southeast, by Shade and
Tuscarora mountains, and is divided into several small val-
leys by parallel hills or ridges, running northeast and south-
west. The principal of these elevations are Pine ridge, Big
ridge and Hunting ridge. The streams are Trough Spring
creek and Black's run, which unite near Richard Silver-
thorn's, and flow into Tuscarora creek on the west side of
Hunting ridge. The township is well provided with public
roads, four passing through the valley from Dublin town-
ship into Juniata county, but has no other public improve-
ments. The nearest railroad stations are Shirleysburg and
Orbisonia, on the East Broad Top railroad. Although
thickly settled, it has no large towns or villages. The post
offices are Nossville and Shade valley.

Henderson township, as shown by the order of the court
erecting it, was so named "in consideration of the distinguish-
ed uprightness of the late General Andrew Henderson as
a public officer, and his services during the Revolutionary
war." It is bounded on the northwest by Oneida township,
on the southwest by the Juniata river, on the northeast by
Barree township, and on the east by Brady. Adjoining the
borough of Huntingdon, the people find there a market for
their produce, and are benefited in many respects by being
in the vicinity of a town of its size and population. Many
of them are accommodated at its post-office and others at
Union Church, the only post-office in the township.

Porter township, erected at the same sessions of the court
with Henderson, November, 1814, was named in "considera-
tion of the distinguished uprightness of the late General
Andrew Porter, Surveyor General, as a public officer, and his
services during the Revolutionary war." The township is of
a very irregular shape, having the general form of an equilat-

800 HISTORY OF HUNTINGDON COUNTY.

eral triangle. The sides are much indented, especially on
the northeast, where it follows the coarse of the Juniata
river. Its other boundaries are the Tussey mountains on
the northwest, and Blair county and Walker township on
the south. Both branches of the Juniata cross the northern
part of the township and unite a short distance above
Petersburg.

The first travelers through the county, the pioneers of the
eighteenth century, passed the present site of Alexandria, as
it was upon the old Indian path, and the land upon which
that town stands was taken up upon one of the warrants
issued in 1755. Another tract, on the river below Alex-
andria, was warranted in the same year. In August, 1793,
Elizabeth Gemmill had lots laid out upon the former tract,
and the town thus founded was given the name we have
mentioned. The proprietress acknowledged the plan on
the 7th of August, 1798, and had it recorded on the same
day. The borough was incorporated April 11th, 1827, and
Trimble's addition was recorded July, 1847.

Alexandria has Presbyterian, Reformed and Methodist
churches, the buildings being of a superior class and com-
paring favorably with those of almost any other town of the
same population. It has also a large brick public school
building, erected within recent years, accommodating a
number of schools and all the children of the borough.

Walker township extends from Piney ridge, which sepa-
rates it from Juniata township on the southeast, to Tussey's
mountain, dividing it from Blair county on the southwest.
Its northern boundary is Porter township, and its southwest-
ern Penn. It was named in honor of the Hon. Jonathan
Walker, at one time President Judge of the judicial district
to which Huntingdon county belonged. The route of travel
in 1748, and previously, was through this township. A
tract of land within it, lying on the Juniata river, was war-
ranted in 1755.

The site upon which McConnellstown now stands is men-
tioned in very early records as a "sleeping place." The
town was laid out by Alexander McConnell, Esq., of Hun-

HISTORY OF HUNTINGDON COUNTY. 301

tingdon, after whom it was named. It is about half a mile
from the Huntingdon and Broad Top railroad and contains
the only post-office in the township. Additions were laid
out by A. B. Sangree and Joseph McCoy.

Smithfield is located upon the Juniata river opposite the
borough of Huntingdon.

The township contains considerable deposits of iron ore,
some of which have been developed and mined. It is all con-
trolled by manufacturers whose works are at a distance from
Huntingdon county. They obtained leases of the ore rights
some years ago, under the pretext, it is said, that furnaces
were to be built in the vicinity. The points to which the
ores are principally shipped are Danville and Johnstown.

CHAPTER XLII.

CROMWELL TOWNSHIP— INDIAN' REMAINS— GEORGE IRVIN— EARLY SETTLE-
MENTS — FURNACES — BEDFORD — ROCKIIILL — WINCHESTER— ROCK III I.I. IKON
AND COAL COMPANY — THEIR IMPROVEMENTS — STARTING OF THE NEW
FURNACE — THE CLUGAGE FAMILY — BLACK LOG — OKBISONIA.

Cromwell township, on its erection in 1846, was named in
honor of Col. Thomas Cromwell, who was interested in the
building of Bedford Furnace in 1795, and who is described
by the court as " an early settler and hospitable citizen." It is
bounded on the north by Shirley township, on the west by
Cass, on the south by Clay and Springfield, and on the east
by Dublin and Tell. Jack's mountain separates it from the
adjoining township on the west and Shade mountain from
those on the east. The Augwick flows through it from
north to south and receives numerous smaller streams falling
into it on both sides.

Tradition tells us that the beautiful plat, surrounded on
all sides by mountains and ridges, through which runs the
Black Log creek, and on which the borough of Orbisonia
now stands, was once a famous Indian hunting ground.
That it must have been a camping place is evinced, in addi-
tion to the traditionary stories, by the fact that some years
since a cave was found on Sandy ridge, two miles north
from the town, in which there was opened to view a cham-
ber which is proved by its contents to have been a burial
place of the tribes who inhabited the country. This cham-
ber was supported by upright pillars, forming beautiful
natural arches, and within were found many bones, pro-
nounced to be pieces of skulls and other parts of human
skeletons. With these were the remains of animals, a bear's
and a wolf's teeth, and the rude instruments of savage life,
two hatchets and other articles made of stone, all in a state of
great decomposition.

In later days, and indeed but little longer ago than a cen-

* HISTORY OF HUNTINGDON COUNTY. 303

tury, the Indians used the knoll back of the Joseph Grove
barn, now the property of Thomas E. Orbison, as a burial
ground. Numerous hatchets, tomahawks, pieces of flint,
bows and arrows, and stone implements have been turned
up by the plow or otherwise from the earth.

The celebrated Captain Jack is supposed to have on one
occasion, when narrowly pursued, secreted a leather bag con-
taining silver and gold, on one side of Black Log mountain,
near the narrows or gap. It is still unfound.

Within a few years following 1760, George Irvin settled
near where now stands Orbisouia. His business was store-
keeping, and the old log store-room, a story high, it is said,
stood for a number of years on the same ground on which
now stands the Methodist Church, southeast corner of Crom-
well and Winchester streets.

He traded with the Indians and the early settlers, ex-
changing wearing material and groceries, boots, shoes, guns
and powder for grain and corn.

The following is a literal transcript of one of his bills,
now in possession of one of the citizens of Orbisonia :

Philadelphia, April 16th, 1768.
Mr. George Irwin,

Bought of George Fullerton.
3 pes. I wide Irish Linen, No. 234, 69 yards @ 16| £4, 14, 10£

1 ps. yard wide, do " 237, 21, yards ® 2-4 2, 16, —

1 ps. do do do " 238, 25 yards @ 2-1 2, 12, 1

Payable one Month after Date, £22, 8, 10

1 ps. Irish Sheeting, No. 14iJ, 74 yds. 2 7, 8, —

£29, 16, 10

Also the following bill and letter, both of which are writ-
ten with a quill pen on coarse, heavy, unruled paper, and
both without letter or bill heads. The writing is very plain

and intelligible.

304 HISTORY OF HUNTINGDON COUNTY.

Baltimore, May 28th, 1773.
" Mr. George Irwin

Bot of David McLure

1 Hhd Molasses 102 Gain's & 23 £9, 15, 6

1 Hhd N. E. Rum 121 " " 2-4 14, 2, 4

Cash paid porterage 2, 6

£24, 0, 4

" Sir, I Rec'd your favor of the 25th inst. with £16, 6, 8 to your
Credit, and now send you one Hhd Molasses & one Hhd Continent
Rum which I wish safe to hand & to a good market.

" New England Rum is getting very scarce now, but think there will
be some here soon — when any Comes I do intend to purchase the
"Whole that I may serve my friends at a reasonable rate. I have no
news ; flour Low and likely to fall.

I am Dear Sir your very Humble Servt.,

David McLure.

From the dates in above letter it will be noticed that three
days were required to send a letter from Huntingdon county,
(or Bedford as it then was,) to Baltimore.

Teaming over the mountains to and from this place
afforded quite a lucrative employment to those who were
fortunate enough to own a good team and sound wagon.
Pack horses were very frequently used. Mules had not
then been introduced, and nearly all the hauling of ore, char-
coal and limestone from the various openings around was
done with oxen. The latter commanded almost as high
prices then as at the present day.

In 1784 or 1785, Edward Ridgley, George Ashman and
Thomas Cromwell built the first furnace west of the Sus-
quehanna. It was constructed mostly of wood, and stood
directly in the rear of Wilt's Hotel, on the front side of the
" Locust Grove." It may be interesting to iron manufac-
turers to know the size ; namely bosh 5 feet, with a stack of
either 15 or 17 feet.

It was run by either an over-shot or under-shot wheel, or
both, for there were two races, one coming from the Black
Log, near Mr. Orbison's mill race, which would in any
event be under-shot, and the other starting with almost the
head of Camp-meeting run, and twisting and winding
through twenty little hills, passing in its travels under two

HISTORY OF HUNTINGDON COUNTY. 305

bridges, and reaching the furnace grounds at such a point
and in such manner as would call forth the admiration of
even the engineers of the present day. This was an over-
shot wheel. Of the capacity of the furnace nothing authentic
is known.

There was a large stove used in the Tannery School
House up to 1872, that bore the stamp "Bedford Furnace,
1795." Our older citizens will remember the two immense
wood stoves, that would receive a four or five feet stick, used
for heating the main room of the old Court House in Hun-
tingdon. These were cast at Bedford Furnace and bore the
appropriate "imprint." There is now on exhibition at the
Centennial Exposition, two large stove-plates, on one of which
can be plainly read "Colebrookdale Furnace, 1763, Thomas
Butter, Thue recht und" and on the other "Bedford Furnace,

1792."

It is supposed by some that the inscription on the former

is an old form for the German, Thue recht nung, equivalent

to recht shoffen, meaning act righteously.

The next furnace in order of date was Rockhill, com-
menced in 1830, and finished in the spring of 1831. The
land on which this furnace stood was originally owned by
Euhannah Colhoon, who by deed dated May 9, 1821, con-
veyed the same to Thomas T. Cromwell. This land was
then partly in Shirley Township and partly in Springfield,
and was once held in the name of William Chambers.

Thomas T. Cromwell sold a part of this tract — about
nineteen acres — to ThomasN. Diven and William Morrison,
on the thirteenth day of May, 1831. These gentlemen com-
menced the erection of what is now known as the " Old
Rockhill Furnace," the size at the base being 28 feet, 29 feet
high, bosh about 7 or 7J feet, with a square hearth about
18x20 inches. William Davis was the contractor. The
stack was square and built of stone. Thomas Clugage was
the first man who ran the furnace. Soon after Mr. Diven
died, Mr. Cromwell took his place in the firm and after run-
ning successfully for some years, the property was sold to

James Ford and Mr. Bell.
U

306 HISTORY OF HUNTINGDON COUNTY.

In 1841 Bell leased to Andrew J. Wigton and John R.
Hunter, who remained there till April, 1847.

About 1833 or '34 the carding and fulling mill was torn
down, and the erection of Winchester Furnace, a short dis-
tance below Kockhill, commenced by Bracken & Stittfor Mr.
Cromwell. The land was owned by the latter gentleman.
This furnace was a trifle larger than the other, the bosh
being 8 feet. John M. Allen and William Pollock ran the
furnace with comparatively little success. In 1845 Eli
Beatty and Geo. Davis rented Winchester Furnace and ran
it for three years with better pecuniary results.

In 1847 John S. Isett, Samuel Isett, Samuel Wigton,
Andrew J. Wigton and R. B. Wigton bought the property.
These parties sold to Bernard Lorenz and Levi G. Learner,
in 1864.

In 1868 Dr. Lewis Royer and Percival P. Dewees became
owners, who sold one-half their interest in 1871 to the
Messrs. Roberts of Philadelphia.

Soon after, the Rockhill Iron and Coal Company, a cor-
poration existing under the laws of Pennsylvania, became
the sole owners of the entire tract, and commenced very ex-
tensive improvements.

The following article, written by B. F. Ripple, esq., for
the Orbisonia Leader, affords a very correct idea of the ope-
rations of this company :

" The 1872 session of the Pennsylvania Legislature passed
the bill incorporating the Rockhill Iron and Coal Company
with a capital of two million dollars, allowing the company to
hold property and own lands in Huntingdon and four or
five of the adjoining counties. The next autumn or winter
a topographical survey of the lands immediately adjoining
Orbisonia on the south, was made by Mr. Paddock, a Civil
Engineer of Philadelphia. On the northeastern part of this
survey the town of Rockhill is located, and the iron
works of the company. The company are the owners of
about eight thousand acres of laud at this point, extending
along Black Log mountain on both sides, running up Shade
mountain to the top and scattered at various points along

HISTORY OF HUNTINGDON COUNTY. 307

the Aughwick Valley. On their land and in close proximity
to the furnaces, of which hereafter, is found both fossil and
hematite ores, limestone and sand. At Rockhill Gap, with-
in a half mile of Orbisonia, a vein of fossil ore, averaging
twenty-four inches in thickness, and extending from water-
level up over four hundred feet is opened. On each side of
the gap there are two openings at different elevations, the
longest gangway penetrating the mountain for a distance
of one-half a mile. The underlying vein is 20 inches, and is
separated from a smaller vein of 6 inches, overlaid by a
parting of fire clay 6 inches. The rock beneath the vein is
hard sand-rock, and the measures above the vein are soft
shales. The ores on the south side are compact, coarse
fossil ore, reddish brown color, with somewhat laminated
structure ; the north side has a hard ore with numerous
small crystals of calcite ; darker reddish color. They run
about forty per cent, iron, with a trace of sulphur and about
one tenth of one per cent, phosphorus. The vein dips at an
angle of about 70° toward the north, which is of great ad-
vantage over flatter veins, in respect to the convenience and
cost of mining. The mining is done without powder, by
picking out the soft clay parting, and wedging the benches
of ore up and down. Hematites are found within a half
mile of the furnaces, and on Sandy Ridge, two miles north,
are several openings. From the main mine comes a very
hard and compact ochreous iron ore, dark brown color,
yielding from 45 to 51 per cent, iron, and containing little
sulphur or phosphorus. There is also a hematite vein in
crevice of Medina sand stone, on Black Log mountain,
which yields largely and seems inexhaustible. They have
also opened the Cheet bank, lying directly under the Orisk-
aney sand stone, Logan Bank in Hill Valley, and numer-
ous other hematite mines.

"The same company are the owners of about eleven thou-
sand acres, lying on Broad Top mountain and in Trough
Creek valley, of which about ten thousand acres may be
classed as coal land, the rest being covered with valuable
timber.

308 niSTORY OF HUNTINGDON COUNTY.

" These lands lie on the east side of the Broad Top coal
fields, and are reached by the Broad Top Railroad, the ter-
minus being Robertsdale. The measures are flat but not
quite level; there is a general dip toward the southwest. In
addition to this general dip it appears that Trough Creek is
a regular basin, having its synclinal axis near the bed of
the stream, and its outcrops on the side of Ray's Hill on the
east and Broad Top on the west. This formation is the best
possible for mining, as it insures drainage toward the open-
ings on Trough Creek. At Robertsdale the company have
three mines and are now shipping to market over 400 tons
coal daily.

" They have a coal washer, crusher, coke pits and store
located there, and employ about 300 hands at this time.

" To return to the furnaces. Messrs. Taws and Hartman,
Mechanical Engineers, furnished the designs and drawings.
On the 17th of April, 1873, the centre line of two furnaces
was run, and the first ground broken in the afternoon of the
same day. The construction was under the superintendence
of Mr. C. Constable, a civil engineer of New York, who, in
February last, after the completion of the furnaces, went to
Tennessee, where he is now successfully engaged in running
the Rockwood Furnaces.

" The furnaces are wrought iron stacks 65 feet high, 17
feet bosh, with a stone stock house 280 feet long, and two
large brick casting houses. There are 24 boilers which
supply steam to 2 massive engines with -1 fly wheels, 24 feet
in diameter, having steam cylinders 48 inches in diameter
and 8 feet stroke. The blowing cylinders are 90 inches ;
the engines are direct acting, low pressure, and were built at
Southwark Foundry, Philadelphia, said to have cost sixty
to seventy-five thousand dollars. The gases are brought
from the top of the furnace through a large downcomer to
the boilers and the hot ovens, and there take the place of
fuel in supplying steam for the engines. There are 4 brick
hot ovens, each containing 40 D shaped cast-iron pipes
through which the blast from the engines passes into the
furnace, entering the furnace at 800 deg. and above (625

HISTORY OF HUNTINGDON COUNTY. 309

being the point that lead is melted ;) there are 5 tujers and
numerous water pipe connections. A large reservoir is
built on the hill back of the furnaces. A patent air hoist is
used in hoisting the stock. There are 48 coke ovens, 24 and
28 inches, on the Belgian plan; each having its own flues.

"In the present condition of the country and the state of
the iron trade, it is somewhat surprising that a company
would start furnaces so large as these. But it is neverthe-
less so. Mr. H. G. H. Tarr, lately of the Gay lord Iron and
Pipe Co., Cincinnati, is the present Superintendent. After
filling 7 cords wood, 50 tons coke and other stock, reaching
to within 11 feet of the top, the furnace was formally lighted
on New Year's day, 1876. There were present a large con-
course of people of town and vicinity; the casting house was
brilliantly illuminated. Everything being in readiness, Mrs.
Tarr, at 8:23 P. M., after lighting the torch, applied it to the
kindling and lighted No. 1 furnace amidst clapping of hands
and applauding. She went off nicely from the first. Several
persons were called upon for addresses. Messrs. B. F. Ripple,
H. G. H. Tarr and W. T. Browning made short speeches in
the order named.

"The blast was put on Monday, January 3d, at 1:10 p. m.,
and the first cast made Tuesday, at 4:15 p. m., producing
about 15 tons No. 2 extra iron. Since this time she has
been running very satisfactorily.

"The indications are that before long we will be a manu-
facturing town second to none in the State. So may it be."

The Clugage family must have moved into this neighbor-
hood as early as 1760 or '65.

Colonel Gavin Clugage built the first mill in the lower end
of the county. It was erected in 1783, near the junction of
Black Log and Shade creeks, very close to the brick house
recently built by William B. Gilliland. This mill was pa-
tronized by the inhabitants of both Springfield and Tusca-
rora valleys.

Here the militia met regularly every month for company
drill, and on the first Monday in May of each year a grand
battalion drill would come off at the mill. Gavin Clugage

310 HISTORY OF HUNTINGDON COUNTY.

was elected Colonel. It is said that it was not an unusual
occurrence for the different companies, say from Springfield
or Tuscarora, to engage in a general pugilistic encounter,
and the hero would be regarded with as much honor as the
commander of an army at the present day.

The Colonel was a fine hunter, and in those days of game
would invariably ''make his mark." On one occasion, so
the story goes, he started from home in the morning and re-
turned after an absence of only an hour, directing Thomas,
his brother, to "hitch up" and bring in the game.

Thomas started with a sled ; the snow being of such depth
as to greatly impede his traveling, but enabling him to
readily follow the track of his brother. He soon began to
notice in the snow the trail or mark of what seemed to be an
immense saw log. Following this he was no doubt not sur-
prised to find his brother's game — a large rattlesnake, fifteen
feel long and a foot through. The season of the year, the
snoiv, and the size of the snake, have a tendency to make the
story very "snaky." Gavin Clugage, died in 1823.

The inhabitants of the valley say Black Log derived its
name from a large log around which packers and traders
would congregate to spend the night, and which in course of
time became badly burned and black, hence the name. This
stopping place was located along the creek about half the
distance between Samuel Adams' and David Grove's.

On the farm of the latter there was once a small tannery
of some description. Nothing is known of it except that it
ran four vats, and had a blacksmith shop in connection. In
1825 the vats were partly open. Up the valley stands a
stone house, of convenient dimensions and good repair, built
by Esther and Nancy Logan in 1819. It is now inhabited
by Edward Cook.

George Werrick owned the land now the property of
Michael Stair, and died as late as 1852 or '53.

North of the Black Log, James Clugage built the house in
which Frederick Harmon now lives, in 1775. It had plowed
and grooved floors, large mantel and chimney corner, and the
shingles were all put on and, in fact, all other work done with

HISTORY OF HUNTINGDON COUNTY. 311

wrought iron nails, made by the blacksmiths. The Pollards
owned the valley for five miles up.

Dr. Blanchard came from Philadelphia and settled in
Black Log valley about 1809. In 1826, a Mr. Byrum came
from Baltimore with, it is said, five six-horse loads of house-
hold goods — a very large supply for that day — and at once
commenced the erection of a dwelling house 80x60 feet.
After getting about half the rafters up, he abandoned the
structure, sold out and returned to Baltimore with his family,
three sons and two daughters.

In 1830-1, Thomas E. Orbison, from whom the place takes
its name, located in Orbisonia, and started the town.
It was not laid out for several years after, and indeed,
the plan as it has since been built up was only certified on
the 1st of May, 1850, by William Orbison, before Associate
Judge James Gwin. The tracing is in the hand-writing of
Jacob Miller. In 1833, it was quite a pretentious village.

At that time there were no streets, the houses straggling
along either side of the road, which zigzagged at pleasure
where Cromwell street now is; crossing the run below the
Lutheran Church, and keeping along the side of the ridge
in the direction of Shirleysburg. Along the little piece of
this road which is still open were two dwellings, one occupied
by Mr. Murray, and the other, which is still standing, by
Benjamin Gorsuch ; also a blacksmith shop and a cooper
shop, the latter of which still stands and is occupied as a
dwelling.

The log house on the hill overlooking this road was then
quite a pretentious residence, with an avenue of pines lead-
ing down to the road. Thomas Bingham was living there
at that time.

Crossing the run, we find the first building on the westerly
side of the road, a stone distillery, near the run, a little back
of where now stands the blacksmith shop, used as a dwelling.
Next comes the old Mansion House, as it was called, the
oldest house in the village, then occupied by Henry Cohi-
nour. It was a large log house, partly weatherboarded,
with two porches in front, one above the other, and was

312 HISTORY OF HUNTINGDON COUNTY.

surrounded by a grassy yard. The house stood directly in
the rear of where James Chilcoat's house now stands ; in the
lower corner of the yard, next to the road, was a stone spring
house, and adjoining the upper end of the yard, stood the
" old office," then occupied as a dwelling by two families,
George Palmer's and William Bootersbaugh's ; this was where
now stands the kitchen of the house in which Mr. Sims lives.

Next a log store room, about where Mr. Orbison's stable-
yard is now; there, in April, 1833, that gentleman opened
his first stock of general merchandise, in which was included
bonnets, ribbons, artificials, etc., for the fair sex ; for, alas,
there was not a milliner in all the town. This building was
afterwards rolled across the street, and is the house in which
Simon McGarvey is now living.

A few yards south of the store room stood an old log
stable. These were all the buildings on that side of the
road.

On the other side of the road, the first was a log house
nearly opposite the store room, in which Joseph Cohinour
then lived. It has since been weatherboarded, and is now
occupied by William Briggs.

Next was the "new office," the only frame building in
the town. This has been moved several rods down the
street from its original position, and is now the kitchen end
of the house occupied by William R. Baker, directly oppo-
site Mr. Orbison's present brick store room and the post
office. Next came the log tavern, kept by Andrew Fore-
man, promising ' accommodations for man and beast.
Weatherboarded, painted, a back building added, it now
swings its sign as the "Franklin Hotel, H. Wilt." The ac-
commodation for man and beast was to be found in an open
shed where M. Starr & Co.'s storeroom now stands.

The next house was of unhewn logs, and stood where is
now Mrs. Noble's garden. Here lived " Johnnie Prosser,"
as he was styled, who sold cakes and ljeer. It is related
of him, that one night a couple of young bloods roused
him from his peaceful slumbers, intent on purchasing
some of these refreshments. He kindly got up, and cut from

HISTORY OF HUNTINGDON COUNTY. 313

the large loaf of gingerbread the desired section, first, how-
ever, carefully wiping his knife on the skirt of the only gar-
ment that adorned his person. Next and last was a log house
in which Lewellyn Davis lived. This, with additions and re-
pairs, is now the house in which Mrs. Rutter lives.

The grist mill and saw mill still occupy their then posi-
tions, but have been much changed in appearance by repairs.
The mill-race is the same.

CHAPTER XLIII.

TOD TOWNSHIP — UNION— TROUGH CREEK VALLEY — CASS — SALISBURY OR
CHILCOATSTOWN — CASSVILLE — HON. DAVID CLARKSOX.

Tod, one of the Trough creek valley townships, is bound-
ed on the northeast by Penn and Cass townships, on the
southeast by Cass and Clay, on the southwest by Carbon,
and on the northwest by Hopewell and Lincoln. It con-
tains five post offices, Cook's Mill, Eagle Foundry, Paradise
Furnace, Tod, and Trough Creek.

Previous to the erection of Tod township, Union em-
braced nearly the entire Trough creek valley, extending
from the Juniata river on the north to the summit of Broad
Top mountain on the south, and from Jack's mountain on
the east, to Terrace on the west, and including the present
townships of Union, Cass ; Tod and part of Carbon. The
following sketch of Cass township will contain some facts
which relate as well to other parts of the valley.

The boundaries of Cass are Penn and Union on the north,
Shirley and Cromwell on the east, Clay on the south, and
Tod on the west and southwest.

Trough creek valley was settled chiefly by immigrants from
the State of Maryland, at so early a day that the oldest person
now living cannot give the year. We find that improvements
were made in 1774, but few if any land warrants are dated
prior to 1794. Of the inhabitants born here, Mrs. Ruth
"Wright, widow of the Rev. Dr. Jesse Wright, deceased, is
the oldest. She is now 87 years of age. A year or two
before her birth, her father, Richard Chilcott, moved to and
settled upon the farm now owned by James C. Wright, in
Union township, then and for some years afterwards farther
north than any other improvement in the valley.

Among the earliest settlers were the Lilleys, Lucketts,
Fitzsimmons, Corbins, Drennans, Brownings, Caldwells,
Deans, Bomgartners, Curfmans, McClains, Chilcotts, Green-
lands, Stevers and Robinsons. When these pioneers were

HISTORY OF HUNTINGDON COUNTY. 315

endeavoring to make the country habitable, they sometimes
exchanged farms or improvements, and in such cases it was
customary for the parties to the transanction to exchange
also all movable property, each leaving his household goods,
cattle and agricultural implements upon the place from
which he removed, and retaining none of his former posses-
sions but his wife and children. This was done to avoid the
expense and trouble of conveying them to the new home,
through a region without roads, and without the vehicles
which would have been necessary for their transportation.

It is related of one of the Chilcoats, called " Knob Josh,"
that he once set up a great lamentation concerning the
alleged loss of $300, so affecting his financial condition, as he
said, as to compel him to suspend payments. On being
asked how he had lost so much money, he replied that it was
because he had no hogs to eat the acorns. He was a farmer,
as were nearly all of those we have named.

Richard Chilcott, esq., and Thomas Wright at one time
seemed to be standing jurors, attending court at every term
without compensation, and paying their own expenses. Eli-
jah Corbin was commissioned a justice of the peace in 1809,
by Governor Snyder, for the fourth district of Huntingdon
county. Joshua Gosnell was also a justice of the peace and
one of the first local preachers in the M. E. church. Among
the first itinerant Methodist preachers were the Revs. Reilly,
Hank, Sansom and Byerly. There had perhaps previously
been " old school Baptist" preachers, but the first itinerating
minister of that denomination was Richart Proudfoot, who
traveled through the valley for a number of years. His sal-
ary for 1826 was $31, six dollars of which was not paid him.
During the latter part of his ministry he was a " new school
Baptist." It is to be hoped that that paid better.

The Methodist ministers preached in George Smith's
house, which stood within the present borough of Cassville.
The first church in the valley was built where the new M.
E. Church stands, at Trough Creek, Tod township. In 1823
or '24, the Lutheran and German Reformed church was
built in Cassville, and the first person buried in the grave-

316 HISTORY OF HUNTINGDON COUNTY.

yard. Rev. Aurandt, of Woodcock valley, was the first
pastor. The valley now contains five Methodist Episcopal
churches, two Methodist Protestant, two Lutheran, one
Baptist, one Church of God, and one United Brethren.

As to management of schools in the valley, or one of
them at least, at an early day, or before the adoption of the
common school system, we give a literal copy of a manu-
script in the handwriting of Esquire Corbin, now in the
possession of Hon. David Clarkson :

"Whereas, there has heretofore been a school house
erected Near the Long Bridge on Michael Mierley's land in
L'nion township in the county of Huntingdon, known by the
Name of the Union school house, which was built by the
Neighbors, and whereas it now becomes Necessary to appoint
trustees for said school house, the following persons have
met this twelfth Day Oct. 1824, for appointing trustees as
aforesaid, Namely, Michael Mierley, Jacob Miller, John Bom-
gartner, David Bomgartner, Abraham Wright, Jesse Wright,
George Smith, Jacob Bomgartner of Michael, Jacob
Estep and Elijah Corbin and Michael Mierley, jr., at which
time Elijah Corbin, Jesse Wright and Michael Mierley, jr.,
was Nominated and appointed trustees for said school house,
whose Duty it shall be to attend to the Rules and Regulations
of said school in future, that is to say where any teacher
applies for a school at said house they are first to apply to
said trustees who are to admit or Reject as they may think
proper, and if admitted and a school is got then it shall be
their Duty also to see that there is Regular and Due attention
payed by said teacher according to his article." Signed by
Abraham Wright, Michael Mierley, Jacob Miller, Jacob
Estep, George Smith and two others whose names cannot be
deciphered.

The principal grain market for Trough creek valley
before the construction of the Pennsylvania canal was at
McConnellsburg, in Fulton county, thirty to forty miles
distant.

Salisbury, known also as Chilcoatstown, was laid out
by Benjamin and Robeson Chilcoat previous to 1797.

HISTORY OF HUNTINGDON COUNTY. 317

The plan of lots was recorded on the 22nd of February of
that year. It lay entirely south of the present public square
and Seminary street. Lots were sold by the proprietors for
three pounds five shillings each and ground rent, or twenty
dollars, one-half in hand and the balance the first fall month.
Three buildings stood upon the site of the village when
it was laid out, only one of which, now used as a stable,
remains. It has been removed from its former position and
has been replaced by the residence of Rev. Jesse Wright's
widow, which was erected in 1841.

The first tavern was kept there by William Lovell, and
the second by Robert Speer, father of Hon. R. M. Speer, of
Huntingdon. The latter became a resident of the place in
1818 or '19. He was a man of considerable energy and
built a large brick and frame dwelling, 102 leet in length-
Having been the first merchant, as well as a tavern keeper,
he kept the largest and most general assortment of dry
goods the place has ever known, and did an extensive busi-
ness in grain, controlling the trade from Broad Top to the
Juniata river. He contributed more perhaps to the building
up of the town than any other of its citizens.

On the 24th of September, 1830, Andrew Shaw and Dr.
Robert Baird laid out an addition to Salisbury and sold lots
at from forty to fifty dollars each. In that and the follow-
ing year a number of lots were purchased and buildings
erected. Lemuel Green then moved to the town and built
his tannery, which has never since suspended, but is still in
operation. Within the next ten years, James Henderson,
John S. Gehrett, Dr. Jesse Wright and David Clarkson
became residents.

In 1849, a public meeting was held to consider the expe-
diency of having the place incorporated as a borough, and a
committee, consisting of Robert Speer, D. Stever and D.
Clarkson, was appointed to select a name. The ma-
jority decided upon "Cassville" as appropriate, and by that
name it was incorporated by act of Assembly, March 3rd,
1853.

Hon. David Clarkson, who is now serving his second term

318 HISTORY OF HUNTINGDON COUNTY.

as Associate Judge of the county, and who has been promi-
nent in every useful public enterprise in Cassville, was born
near Philadelphia. He came to Trough creek valley when
two years of age and lived about two miles west of Cass-
ville until 1840, when he removed to the town. lie was
one of the projectors of the Cassville Seminary, a history of
which is given in another chapter.

CHAPTER XLIY,

JACKSON TOWNSHIP — JOSEPH JACKSON — GENERAL WILLIAM M'ALEVY — HIS

METHOD OP IMMIGRATION — m'aLEVY's FORT — SCHOOLS AND CHURCHES

GREENWOOD FURNACE MITCHELL'S FURNACE STONE CREEK AND

M'ALEVY'S FORT RAILROAD— CLAY TOWNSHIP BRADY — MILL CREEK

SAND QUARRIES.

Jackson township, in the northeastern portion of the
county, joins Centre county on the north and Mifflin county
on the east and southeast, and is bounded by Barree on the
west and southwest. Is is watered by the two branches of
Standing Stone creek, which rise in the mountains near the
Centre and Mifflin county lines, and unite into one stream
shortly after passing out of the township. It was named
after Joseph Jackson, Esq., one of the first settlers within its
limits. The line dividing it from Barree passes through the
farm upon which he lived, and which still belongs to his
descendants.

Another early settler of note was General William Mc-
Alevy, who is mentioned in the chapters relating to the
Revolutionary war, and in connection with the political
troubles in 1788. He was a Scotch-Irishman by birth, and
had resided in Cumberland valley, north of Carlisle. His
wife was a sister of John Harris, founder of Harrisburg.
He came up to the place which afterwards took his name, about
the year 1770, and after determining to settle there, made a
canoe out of a pine tree, in which he descended Standing
Stone creek and the Juniata and Susquehanna rivers to
Harrisburg, and in which he returned, bringing his family
up those streams to his future home. In the shallow waters
of the creek his craft, light as it was, struck the rocks and
bars, from whence it could be moved only by the power of
a horse which the General kept conveniently near.

He acquired all the lands in and around McAlevy's fort.
The fortification which was thus known, was but a block-
house on the bluff east of the village, built as a defense

320 HISTORY OF HUNTINGDON COUNTY.

against the hostile incursions of the savages. He was once
wounded in the leg by the Indians, but escaped from
them, while his companion was overtaken and scalped.
Brave, resolute and daring, he was just the style of man
that would be ready to take up arms in behalf of Amer-
ican independence.

The old settlers were engaged principally in agricultu-
ral pursuits, and by far the greater part of the present
population follow the same avocation. The township con-
tains eleven public school houses, one academy or high
school, and five churches, two of which are Methodist Epis-
copal, one United Presbyterian, one Presbyterian and one
Lutheran.

Greenwood furnaces, two stacks, are situated in the
southeast part of the township. The old furnace was built
in 1833, by William Patton and William Norris. It has
been in active operation ever since its erection, with the
exception of two or three years. The new stack was
built in 1860. These furnaces now belong to the Logan
Iron and Steel Company.

In 1841 Thomas, John and James Mitchell, built a small
furnace about a mile north of McAlevy's Fort, but the lo-
cation being unfavorable and the management inefficient,
it proved a failure, and now not one stone of it remains
upon another. It was called the Little Furnace.

About six years ago the Legislature granted a charter for
the Stone Creek and McAlevy's Fort railroad, and $20,000,
the sum required from the people of the township, was
subscribed toward its construction, but on the failure of Jay
Cooke & Co., it shared the fate of many similar enterprises.
The road may yet be made on the return of business pros-
perity.

There are three post-offices in the township, McAlevy's
Fort, Ennisville and Greenwood Furnace.

Clay township is bounded on the northeast by Cass and
Cromwell, on the southeast by Springfield, ou the south-
west by Fulton county, and on the northwest by Carbon
and Tod townships. The East Broad Top railroad crosses

&%*tjr^+'

AT MILL CREEK.

HISTORY OF HUNTINGDON COUNTY. 321

the northern portion of the township, passing the boroughs
of Three Springs and Saltillo. At the latter is a large
steam tannery, owned by Leas & McVitty.

Brady township was named in honor of Hugh Brady, a
distinguished General of the United States Army, who is
said to have been born within the walls of Standing Stone
Fort. He entered the army at an early age and received
various well-merited promotions until he attained the high
rank he held at the time of his death. Other members of
the Brady family lived in the vicinity of Huntingdon
before the Revolutionary war. The father of the famous
scout and spy, Capt. Samuel Brady, resided at the mouth of
Crooked creek, on the opposite side of the river. During
the war all of the Bradys removed to the West Branch of
the Susquehanna.

The township is bounded on the northeast and southeast
by Mifflin county, on the south and southwest by Union, on
the west by Henderson, and on the northwest by Henderson
and Barree. It has Jack's mountain on the east, Standing
Stone mountain in the centre and the Juniata river on the
south.

Its principal village is Mill Creek, on the Pennsylvania
railroad and canal, laid out October 12th,1848,for the proprie-
tors, Messrs. Zook, Plank and King. On the stream of Mill
creek, from which the village takes its name, is Mill Creek
Furnace, out of blast for a number of years. The place has
considerable trade from Kishacoquillas valley and the ad-
joining townships of Union and Henderson.

At the end of Standing Stone mountain, in the southern
part of the township, sand for the manufacture of glass is
quarried and crushed by steam power. It is shipped to
Pittsburg and used in the establishments there. As it exists
in large quantities and is of the best quality, the erection of
glass works in the vicinity of the mines, or at some other
point in the county, seems to be demanded by every consid-
eration of economy and convenience.

CHAPTER XLY.

PENN TOWNSHIP — SOIL — ORES — EARLY SETTLERS VILLAGES MARKLES-

BTTRG — GRANTVILLE — GRAFTON — RELIGIOUS DENOMINATIONS— REFORMED
— LUTHERAN — METHODIST EPISCOPAL— GERMAN" BAPTIST — MENNONITE —
CHURCHES — MILLS — SOLDIERS OF THE UNION ARMY.

In 1846 the township of Hopewell was divided into two
nearly equal parts,and the northern or northeastern part erect-
ed into the township of Penn. It is bounded on the north by
the townships of Walker and Juniata, on the east by Union,
Cass and Tod, on the south by Lincoln, and on the west by
the county of Blair, the summits of Terrace and Tussey's
mountains forming, respectively, the eastern and western
boundary lines.

The township is about six miles from north to south, and
eight or eight-and-a-half from east to west. It is watered
by the Raystown branch of the Juniata, which runs along
the base of Terrace mountain. James creek and its tribu-
taries and some of the tributaries of Crooked creek also
traverse the township.

The surface is broken by numerous ridges, which at some
points assume the proportions of mountains; the princi-
pal ones being Mulberry, Warrior, Backbone, Piney and
Alaquippa or " Allegrippus."

Woodcock valley, proper, includes the territory lying be-
tween Warrior ridge and Tussey's mountain. Although
somewhat broken, it is naturally a very productive limestone
soil, and most of it is in a high state of cultivation. The
slate soil of the ridges is less productive than that of the
valley, but in favorable seasons, produces excellent crops.
The soil of the valley of the Raystown branch is mainly a
sandy alluvion, and is also highly productive. The town-
ship is rich in iron ores. There are practically inexhausti-
ble deposits of hematite, fossil and levant fossil ores. The
former is found in the trough formed by Mulberry and
Warrior ridges, the soft fossil and levant along the base of

HISTORY OF HUNTINGDON" COUNTY. 823

Tussey's mountain. Unfortunately for the community, the
owners of these lands were induced some years ago, by
specious but delusive promises, to execute perpetual ore
leases to parties residing in other sections of the State, there-
by depriving this locality of the full benefit of its great
mineral wealth. Within the last twelve years upwards of
one hundred thousand tons of ore were shipped from
Marklesburg and Grafton, mainly to the Cambria Iron
Company of Johnstown, and to Grove Brothers, of Danville,
Pa.

Lead ore has also been discovered at different points on
Warrior ridge, but so far not in any considerable quan-
tities.

But few, if any, of the descendants of the first white set-
tlers of what is now Penn township survive. The names of
Hartsock, Kough, Fleck, Freld, Breckenridge, Bishop,
Keith, Roberts, Hart, Owens, McMath and Grafrius are
among those that figure in its earliest local history. Thomas
Wilson, an Englishman, was probably one of the few
pioneer settlers still having representatives in the township.
He lived on what is now known as the "station farm." He
owned and probably built the first grist mill in this section
of the country. It is represented as having been exceed-
ingly primitive in structure. It was known throughout the
neighborhood as " Tub mill," and stood near the site of the
brick mill now owned by John S. Isett and Solomon H.
Isenberg.

Mr. Wilson had two sons — Levi and William — and five
daughters, married, respectively, to James Entriken, Wil-
liam Enyeart, Samuel Glasgow, William Harvey and
William Taylor. He died April, 1836, in the 95th year of
his age.

Michael Garner came to Woodcock valley from the neigh-
borhood of Sharpsburg, Maryland, in 1789. He purchased
the "improvement" of Thomas Whitner, and on June 20,
1794, from "John Penn the younger and John Penn the
older, through their attorney, Anthony Butler, two hundred
and seventy- nine acres of land lying in Hopewell township,

324 HISTORY OF HUNTINGDON COUNTY.

Huntingdon county, being a part of the tract known as
Penn'd Manor of Woodcock valley, paying therefor £112. 5s.
4d., current money of Pennsylvania, in specie." A part of
this tract is at present owned and occupied by Geo. Garner,
one of his numerous grandsons.

Mr. Garner had five sons — John, Michael, Matthew, George
and Philip, and two daughters — Susan and Mary — married,
respectively, to Daniel Stauffer and Jacob Grubb. His de-
scendants outnumber those of any other family in the
township.

acob Brumbaugh emigrated from Germany and first
located near the Antietam, in Maryland, about the year
1780. He removed to Morrison's cove in 17 s 8, and came
to Woodcock valley in 1794. On the 4th day of August,
1800, he purchased from David McMurtrie a tract of land
known as " Timothy Meadows," on the south side of War-
rior's ridge, containing 219 acres. The tract was originally
surveyed in pursuance of an application — No. 1709 — entered
the 2nd day of August, 1766, by John Mitchell, and the pat-
ent subsequently confirmed to Solomon Sills. His grandson,
Jacob Brumbaugh, senior, is the present owner and occu-
pant of the old homestead.

Mr. Brumbaugh was twice married. He had fifteen chil-
dren — nine sons and six daughters — of whom two are still
living, viz:' David Brumbaugh senior, of Marklesburg, aized
eighty-three, and Mrs. Susanna Markley, of Ohio,a few years
younger.

Jacob Grove was from Lancaster county, ne located on
the farm now occupied by David H. Grove, in the year
1796. He had five sons and three daughters. Of the former,
Daniel, Jacob and Andrew still remain in the township.

John and Peter Beightell and Adam Auman also came
from Lancaster county, and located in Woodcock valley at
a OUl the same time.

Ludwig i loover came from Maryland at an early day and
settled on the Breckenridge farm — the scene of the massacre
by the Indians detailed in Jones 1 Juniata Valley, lie had
a hemp iactory, an oil mill and a distillery. His grandson,

HISTORY OF HUNTINGDON COUNTY. 325

Ludwis Hoover, is the present owner and occupant of this
historic old farm.

Isaac Bowers, from Berks, and Abramam Grubb, from
Bucks county, came to this valley in the early part of the
present century. The former purchased a farm from John
Freed, and the latter purchased the Hartsock property, on
which was located " Fort Hartsock" — famous in the history
of Woodcock valley in Indian times.

Andrew, Henry, Jacob and John Boyer, brothers, came
from Montgomery county, Pa., in the year 1799, and located
in the neighborhood of the present village of Marklesburg,
where most of the surviving children still reside.

Henry Summers and Joseph and John Norris came from
the neighborhood of Hagerstown, Maryland, toward the close
of the last century. The former located in Woodcock valley,
where one of his sons, (the venerable and respected Jacob
Summers, sr.,) and a number of his grandsons still reside.
The Norris brothers settled on the Raystown branch, and
were the progenitors of large and highly respectable families
still resident in the township.

The Barrick, Beaver, Prough, Fink, Speck, Geissinger and
Snare families are among the older ones of the township.

Marklesburg, a quiet and unpretending little village, is
situated in the southwest part of the township, near the head
of James Creek. It is distant half a milefrom the Hunting-
don and Broad Top railroad, at Grantville, and twelve miles
southwest of Huntingdon, on the public road leading from
Huntingdon to Bedford.

David Brumbaugh, sr., and Matthew Garner, dec'd, were
the owners of the land on which the village is located. It
was a part of the tract which was for many years in dispute
between the bank of North America and the heirs of Doctor
Allison. The former of the two proprietors mentioned, put
an end to the conflict in titles by purchasing both claims.
.The village was laid out in the summer of 1844, by Jacob
Cresswell, Esq., surveyor, and was named in honor of Gen.
Joseph Markle, the Whig candidate for Governor.

The first dwelling house was erected by Jacob Skyles, in

326 HISTORY OF HUNTINGDON COUNTY.

1844. The house was for a long time owned and occupied
by Abraham Megahan, Esq.; Jacob Hess, sr., is the present
owner. The second and third dwellings were also erected
in 1844, by Frederick and Adam Garner. In the following
year houses were erected by Anthony Beard, Adam Seigler
and others.

Marklesburg has now forty-five (45) dwellings, three
churches — Reformed, Lutheran and Methodist Episcopal —
one school house, three stores, two carriage factories, two
blacksmith shops, one harness shop, three shoe shops, three
cabinet and joiner shops, and one cooper shop. It has three
clergymen and one physician.

Its post-office, which retains its original name of James
Creek, was established in 1840, and John B. Given, esq., was
appointed first postmaster. Benjamin C. Lytle, Esq., dec'd,
was the second postmaster. In 1874 the borough of Mar-
klesburg was incorporated. It has a population of about
three hundred (300), and can poll forty-five votes. At the
election held Nov. 2, 1875, the vote for Governor stood :
Pershing, 24, Hartranft 16, Browne 1.

It has two daily mails — one due at 9:45 a. m., and the
other at 7 p. m.

Grantville is a station on the Huntingdon and Broad Top
Bailroad, eleven miles from Huntingdon. The first building
erected at this place was a large frame warehouse, which was
subsequently fitted up for and occupied as a dwelling-
house. In 1866 it was destroyed by fire. On its site, John
G. Boyer soon afterward erected a brick dwelling and
store house. At about the same time Samuel B. Garner
also erected a brick dwelling house.

The village has at present some fifteen dwellings, a station
house, a store, a tin shop, a confectionery and a hotel.

Grafton is also a station on the H. & B. T. R. R., seven
miles from Huntingdon. Andrew F. Grove erected the first
dwelling house in 1868. It has at this time some 17 or 18
dwellings, a station house, a grist mill (steam power), a saw
mill, a tannery, two stores, a carriage factory, two black-
smith shops, one carpenter shop and one shoe shop.

HISTORY OF HUNTINGDON COUNTY. 327

Its post office — originally New Pleasant Grove — was es-
tablished in 1870, and A. F. Grove, Esq., appointed first
postmaster.

Rev. John Dietrich Aurandt was probably the first Re-
formed minister who preached statedly in any part of
Woodcock valley. He was born in Lancaster county, Penn-
sylvania, on the 8th day of November, 1760. In 1794 he
removed with his father to Buffalo valley, then Northum-
berland, but now Union county ; and in October, 1804,
came to Canoe valley, Huntingdon county. He purchased
a farm near the Yellow Springs, where he lived lor a period
of 27 years. A short time prior to his death, which occurred
April 24, 1831, he removed from Morris township to Harts-
log valley, Porter township.

He was licensed to preach in 1806, and, after satisfactory
examination, was ordained in 1809. He preached at Hunt-
ingdon, Breidenbach's (at or near Petersburg), P. Roller's,
C. Harnish's, Williamsburg, Henlin's, Martinsburg, Potter's,
Yellow Creek, Bedford, Grove's (in Woodcock Valley), Cass-
ville, Steever's, Snare's, Entriken's, and at some other points.

His " charge " extended from Huntingdon to Cumber-
land, a distance of 90 miles, and from Frankstown to Cass-
ville, a distance of 30 miles. He was a man of good natural
abilities and great energy. In stature he was 6 feet 2 J inches;
was well proportioned and of preposessing appearance.

Rev. Christian VVeinbrenner was the successor of Rev.
Aurandt. He was born February 7, 1/89. He commenced
preaching about 1838. His congregations at preaching
points were as follows: Grove's in Woodcock Valley, and
Clover Creek, Hickory Bottom and Bob's Creek in Morri-
son's cove. It is believed that he was never regularly ad-
mitted into the Synod of the Reformed Church, and there-
fore never received ordination. He passed himself off as a
Reformed minister, however, and was universally accepted
as such. He is affectionately remembered as a sincere,
earnest and pious man. He died at Woodbury, Bedford
county, February 12th, 1858.

Rev. VVeinbrenner was followed by Rev. Theobalt Fouse,

328 HISTORY OF HUNTINGDON COUNTY.

who was born on Clover Creek, then Huntingdon, but now
Blair county, Dec. 26, 1802. At the age of forty, after a
creditable examination, he entered the ministry, and received
regular ordination in 1842. He organized the congregation
at Marklesburg, Oct. 28, 1842, and assisted materially in the
erection of Zion's Reformed church, which was dedicated in
1847. His charge, known as " Woodcock Valley Charge,"
consisted of the following congregations, viz: Marklesburg,
Union, Jacob's, St. Paul's, Spring Valley, Clover Creek?
Hickory Bottom and Sharpsburg — most of which he organ-
ized, or re-organized after partial disintegration.

He was a man of sterling integrity, devout, earnest, with-
out hypocrisy or dissimulation, discharging the sacred du-
ties of the Christian ministry in the fear of God and to the
glory of his Master. He died August 23, 1873, and is bur-
ied in the graveyard attached to Zion's church, at Markles-
burg.

Bev. Jonathan Zeller, now of Lock Haven, organized the
first Beformed congregation at McConnellstown, in the
spring of 1834. His first catechetical class coDsisted of
sixty-five. He baptized before confirmation thirty-five
adults. The first communion held numbered seventy-two.
His immediate successor was Bev. Geo. W. Williard.

Bevs. Aaron Christman, Henry Heckerman, William M«
Deatrich, Samuel H. Beid, J. S. Kieffer and L. D. Steckle
are among the ministers who have filled the pulpit at
McConnellstown. Bev. A. G. Bole is the present pastor.

The first Lutheran congregation in what is now Benn
township was organized as early as 1804, by Bev. Frederick
Haas, a licentiate of Pennsylvania Synod, at Garner's school-
house. He preached at this point, at Huntingdon, Williams-
burg, Waterstreet, Clover Creek, Cassville and Kishaco-
quillas valley. He labored in this field for a period of
twelve years.

Bev. Henry Heinen was the successor of Bev. Haas. He
was a physician as well as clergyman, and it is said, devoted
rather more of his time to the practice of medicine than to
his pastoral work.

HISTORY OF HUNTINGDON COUNTY. 329

Rev. N. G. Sharretts succeeded Rev. Heinen in 1826, his
charge consisting of the Woodcock Valley and Cassville
congregations.

Rev. D. Moser followed Rev. Sharretts in 1829, and was
pastor of the charge till 1832.

Rev. J. Martin, pastor of Williamsburg charge, preached
for this congregation, as supply, from 1832 to 1836.

Rev. J. G. Ellinger became pastor in 1838, the charge
then consisting of the Woodcock valley, Cassville, Clover
Creek and Martinsburg congregations. It was during his
pastorate, in the year 1840, that the first Lutheran church
edifice (at Garner's) was erected.

Rev. Ellinger was followed by Rev. Benjamin Laubach,
who died six months after entering upon his pastoral
labors.

Rev. fin. G. Laitzle was pastor from 1843 to 1847, and
was followed by Rev. Jacob N. Burket whose charge em-
braced Woodcock valley, Newbury and Cassville. Under
the pastorate of Rev. Burket, the Constitution of St. Mat-
thew's Evangelical Lutheran church of Marklesburg was
adopted.

Revs. P. M. Rightmyer, Cyrus Rightmyer, W. B. Bach-
tell, J. K. Bricker, J. K. Bratten, M. G. Boyer and J. Fra-
zier were successfully pastors of the charge. The new Lu-
theran church at Marklesburg was erected during the pas-
torate of Rev. Frazier, who is deserving of much credit for
the unflagging zeal and energy he manifested in the enter-
prise.

The church was dedicated July 30, 1871, the dedicatory
sermon having been preached by Rev. Henry Baker, of
Altoona.

Rev. Frazier was succeeded in 1872 by Rev. J. S. Ileilig,
who continued in charge till April, 1875.

Rev. Matthew G. Boyer is the present pastor, having
entered upon the labors of this field for the second time in
May, 1875.

Although embraced within the boundaries of Cassville
circuit, and occasionally visited by itinerant preachers, no

330 HISTORY OF HUNTINGDON COUNTY.

Methodist Episcopal congregation was organized in Penn
township prior to the year 1^17. In that year, Rev. Robert
Beers, then preacher in charge, preached alternately at
Marklesburg and at Summers' school-house. In the follow-
ing year, 1848, the congregation at Marklesburg was organ-
ized. The appointment remained in connection with Cass-
ville circuit until 186-1, when it was attached to the circuit of
Saxton. For the last ten years, it has constituted one of the
appointments of McConnellstown circuit.

The first class, in connection with the appointment, was
organized in 1847, and consisted of six members, namely,
J. Householder and wife, Robert Gill and wife, and Edward
Duncan and wife.

In 1851 the first steps were taken looking toward the
erection of a church edifice, and in the summer of 1852, the
M. E, Church of Marklesburg was dedicated to the service
of God, the dedicatory sermon having been preached by
Rev. (now Bishop) Thomas Bowman, then principal of
Williamsport Seminary.

Among the ministers who have since filled the appoint-
ment are the following : Rev. A. Beers, J. Spangler, Z. Bland,
J. Lloyd, G. W. Bouse, G. Beikstresser, J. A. Coleman, C.
Graham. J. Guss, J. W. Cleaver, J. W. Leckey, C. V. Wil-
son, J. C. Clarke, J. P. Long, J. A. McKindless, C. White,
W. E. Hoch, and J. W. Bell, present pastor.

Among the first ministers of German Baptist or Brethren
denomination who are known to have preached in this
neighborhood were John Shinefelt, Christian Hoover and
John Martin. John Hoover and Geo. Brumbaugh were also
among the earliest laborers in this field.

Elder Isaac Brumbaugh is remembered as a sincere, ear-
nest and pious ministers of the denomination, for more than
a quarter of a century. He died November 1, 1871.

The Mennonites are represented by a small but highly
respectable membership. They worship at the Union (Grove)
church. The present pastor is Rev. Jacob Snyder.

HISTOEY OP HUNTINGDON COUNTY. 331

The township has seven church edifices, as follows:

Evangelical Lutheran, at Garner's, erected in 1840.
do. do Marklesburg. " 1871.

Reformed and Mennonite, Grove's, " 1841.

Reformed, Ridge, " I860.

Methodist Episcopal, Marklesburg, " 1852.

German Baptist, near Marklesburg, " I860.

do. at Raystown Branch, " 1873.

There are three grist mills in the township — two on James
Creek, and one on a tributary of Crooked Creek, at Grafton.
The mill at the mouth of James Creek was built by James
Entriken Jr., in 1851 and 1852. It is now owned by John
S. Isett and Solomon H. Isenberg. The brick mill, also on
James Creek, was erected by K. F. Coplin, in 1867, and is
now also owned by Messrs. Isett and Isenberg. The mill at
Grafton, was built by Wm. B. Zeigler, in 1873.

Penn will compare very favorably with her sister town-
ships in the patriotic zeal and fervor of its population during
the late war. From 1861 to 1865 it contributed upwards of
one hundred men to the Union army, many of whom sacri-
ficed their lives that the nation might live. Company " C,"
53d Eegiment Pennsylvania Volunteers, Captain John H.
Wintrode was recruited principally in Penn and in tha*. part
of Hopewell (now Lincoln) township, immediately adjoining.
This company was composed of the "bravest and best " of
her population, hardy, robust and stalwart young men. The
company left Marklesburg, for Camp Curtin, at Harrisburg,
on Monday, September 23, 1861. Several hundred persons,
the relatives and friends of the soldiers, were assembled at
the depot to bid good-bye to loved ones. It was probably
the most memorable as well as the most sorrowful day in the
annals of this community.

CHAPTER XLYI.

ONEDIA TOWNSHIP—NATHAN GOBSUCH— JACOB WHITE— OTHER EARLY SET-
TLERS — IMPROVEMENTS AND PRODUCTIONS— WILLIAM FOSTER— BOAT BUILD-

IK( ; JUNIATA TOWNSHIP SOIL TIMBER CARBON' TOWNSHIP ITS

CHIEF INDUSTRY LINCOLN TOWNSHIP— JAMES ENTRIKEN COFFEE

RUN.

Onedia,a small township adjourning the borough of Hun-
tingdon, is bounded on the northeast by Barree, on the
southeast by Henderson, on the west by Porter, from which
it is separated by the Juniata river, and on the northwest by
"West township. The Standing Stone creek passes through
the township from one end to the other, a distance of about
ten miles, the principal part of the township lying on the
northwestern side of the stream. The narrow valley through
which it flows is enclosed by Standing Stone ridge and
Warrior ridge, which form the dividing line between this
and the adjoining tovvnships. The Warm Springs, situated
about five miles from Huntingdon, at one time enjoyed some
celebrity for the medical properties of their waters, and were
a place of considerable resort for invalids and pleasure
seekers. They are owned by the heirs of the late General
A. P. Wilson.

One of the earliest settlers, whose descendants still live in
the township, was Nathan Gorsuch, who emigrated from
Baltimore county, Maryland, in the year 1786, and settled
on the farm where he continued to reside during the rest of
his lifetime. This was during or very shortly after the
Indian troubles, as the family from whom he purchased,
after erecting a cabin and clearing some land, had been
compelled to flee for safety to one of the nearest forts, leav-
ing their household effects to be pillaged and destroyed by
the red men. He was a surveyor, and devoted considerable
of his time to the active duties of that profession, while en-
gaged in the clearing and cultivation of the then almost un-
broken wilderness, assisted by some faithful negro slaves

HISTOKY OF HUNTINGDON COUNTY. 333

that he had brought with him and retained until their
emancipation under the laws of this State. The farm is
situated about five miles from Huntingdon, and is still
owned and occupied by his descendants. It is supposed to
have been the first improvement made between that place
and McAlevy's Fort. The original warrantee was named
Haney, from whom it was bought by Murray, the proprie-
tor at the time Gorsuch purchased.

Near the cabin already referred to stood a venerable
sugar tree, cut down in 1875, a careful computation of the
growths of which reveals the fact that it had witnessed the
storms of more than two centuries. Tomahawk marks were
found in it when cut down, dating back about one hundred
and seventy years, and made when the tree was about three
feet in circumference. When cut last year, it measured
eleven feet eight inches. This tree, from actual knowledge,
has yielded from one thousand to twelve hundred pounds of
sugar, having been regularly tapped every year by white
men for about ninety years.

Not far from the same site stands an apple tree, supposed
to have been planted by Haney, and now, although one
hundred years old, is in a healthy condition and has every
indication that it may yet bear crops of fruit.

William Wheeler, William Carter and Joshua Kelley also
settled there about the same time, but none of their descend-
ants are now living in the neighborhood. John Stewart, a
native of Ireland, and father of John P. Stewart, Esq., settled
there at a very early day.

Jacob White emigrated to America shortly after Brad-
dock's defeat, and located first in Berks county. About the
year 1770 he came to Bedford, now Huntingdon county,
and settled between Alexandria and Petersburg. When
the Revolutionary war commenced, he returned to Berks
county and remained until the close of the war. He then
came again to this county and settled where his grandson,
A. P. White, now resides. The house in which the latter
lives was built by his grandfather seventy- nine years ago.
Jacob Gruber preached in it when he called himself a boy.

334 HISTORY OF HUNTINGDON COUNTY.

White's was a regular appointment on the circuit in those
days.

Elisha Green and Nicholas Decker, whose descendants are
still living in the township, were also among the earliest
settlers.

During the construction of the Pennsylvania canal a great
quantity of timber was furnished for it from this township.
The waters of Standing Stone creek afforded the means of
transportation for all kinds of water craft, from a saw-log
raft to a canal boat, and within the last forty years it was no
unusual sight to witness twenty or twenty-five arks and rafts,
in a spring freshet, gliding down that turbulent stream,
navigated and manned by the sturdy yeomanry of the
county.

Charles Green, late of this township, was at one time ex-
tensively engaged in the making of arks, which, before the
days of canals and railroads, were the principal means of
conveying grain, lumber, and other productions to market.

"William Foster, an old resident, did a large business for
that day in the manufacture of lumber, and built and owned
what is now known as Foster's saw mill. He was an Irish-
man by birth and was an enterprising and public spirited
citizen, and was the contractor for the erection of the present
county prison. He was one of the parties in the famous
ejectment suit of Foster vs. McDivitt, referred to in the
Pennsylvania Reports, which " dragged its slow length
along " through the courts for almost a quarter of a century.
At his saw-mill was built the first packet-boat ever navigat-
ed on the Pennsylvania canal, the " Lady of the Lake" by
name, which on a balmy Sabbath morning in the Summer
of 1881, left her dock and sped gracefully into the waters of
Standing Stone creek, and was by them carried swiftly to-
wards the Juniata, amid the plaudits of wondering specta-
tors who crowded the banks. Subsequently a boat yard was
established there and kept in operation several years, during
which time quite a number of canal boats were built and in
like manner conveyed to their destination.

As long as the timber lasted and the lumber business re-

HISTORY OF HUNTINGDON COUNTY. 335

mained good, but little attention was paid to agricultural
pursuits by the inhabitants ; but of late years quite a change
has taken place in this respect. New farms have been
opened out and an improved system of cultivation adopted,
which in the general march of improvement have added
much to the material wealth of the people.

The township contains three public school houses, two
churches, one store and a post-office. Being so near to
Huntingdon, all of these necessities, except schools, are
conveniently accessible to the residents of the township, in
that borough.

Juniata township, also extending to Huntingdon, its
northern corner being on the opposite side of the river, is
bounded on the northeast by Henderson township, on the
southeast by Union, on the southwest by Penn, and on the
northwest by Walker. It is almost a parallelogram in
shape, its boundaries being as nearly direct lines as is possi-
ble when they are made to follow the summits of mountains
and ridges and the courses of streams. Terrace mountain
separates it from Union township, and Piney ridge from
Walker.

The people of Juniata are almost exclusively an agricul-
tural community. No mechanical arts are followed, nor
have there ever been any manufactures carried on except
the making of lumber. The reason for this is not to be
found in a want of enterprise in the people, nor in an un-
willingness to satisfy their wants with such articles as they
may need. Bat as their only market is in Huntingdon, and
as their business brings them frequently to that place, they
there find the merchant and mechanic with whom they find
it more convenient to deal than they would with the store-
keeper or artizan on the Baystown branch or the ridges,
were any there.

The soil of the township, although not the most fertile, is
in many places susoeptible of being brought to a highly
productive condition, and under skillful cultivation, repays
the labor generously. This is the case in the bottoms along
the Raystown branch, the sinuosities of that stream winding

336 HISTORY OF HUNTINGDON COUNTY.

around and almost encircling large tracts of level land.

The township was at one time covered with valuable
timber, which afforded the landowners greater profit than
they have since been able to realize from agriculture.
There are still considerable quantities of tanner's bark and
railroad ties shipped to market, the labor connected there-
with being performed principally by the inhabitants in con-
nection with their farming. In a few years the timber will
be entirely exhausted. Two steam saw- mills and several
water mills are sawing up what remains, as rapidly as the
demands of trade require. There are five public school
houses in the township.

Carbon township, the distinguishing feature of which is
indicated by its name, lies principally upon Broad Top
mountain, and is bounded on the north by Tod, on the east by
Clay, on the southwest by Fulton and Bedford counties, and
on the northwest by Hopewell township. It contains a con-
siderable portion of the Broad Top coal field, situated in
Huntingdon, Bedford and Fulton counties, the area of which
is eighty square miles. The aggregate thickness of the
workable coal seams is twenty-six feet, the larger seams
ranging from five to ten feet in thickness, and the lesser
from one to three. The township is the terminus of two
railroads, the Huntingdon and Broad Top mountain enter-
ing it from northwest, and the East Broad Top from the
northeast. The only industry is the mining of semi-bitumin-
ous coal, with such mercantile and mechanical business as is
necessary for the population thus engaged. There are two
boroughs in the township, Broad Top City and Ooalmont,
and four villages, Dudley, Barnettstown, Powelton and
Bobertsdale.

Lincoln, the last township erected in the county, and
named in honor of the martyred President, is bounded on
the northeast by Penn, on the southeast by Tod, on the
south by Hopewell, and on the northwest by Blair county.
The Raystown branch of the Juniata, into which empty
Coffee run and other small streams, flows through it, and is
there but little, if any, less wiuding than in the other parts
of its course.

HISTORY OF HUNTINGDON COUNTY. 337

James Entriken settled at the mouth of Coffee run in or
previous to the year 1800, and entered into the mercantile
business ; the first load of goods taken there by him being
hauled down the bed of the run on a half wagon. He was
elected a Justice of the Peace in 1815, and continued in that
office until he removed from the place in 1844. In the latter
year he sold his property there to his nephew, the late James
Entriken, deceased, and removed to James Creek. He was
a man of enterprise and did much for the improvement and
development of that section of country.

The village of Coffee run was laid out by David Blair, of
Huntingdon, in May, 1855. It is located on the Huntingdon
and Broad Top Mountain Bailroad, and contains a post-
office, the only one in the township.

CHAPTEE XL VII.

CENTENNIAL ANNIVERSARY OF AMERICAN INDEPENDENCE — OBSERVANCE OF

THE DAY — AT WARRIOR'S MARK — BIRMINGHAM — DUDLEY — ORBISONIA —

MOUNT UNION — HUNTINGDON — DISPLAY OF FLAGS AND DECORATION OF
BUILDINGS — PROCESSION — ORATION BY DR. J. H. WINTRODE — BALLOON

ASCENSION — CLOSE OF THE CENTURY.

The close of the first century of American independence
and the beginning of the second, the approach of which sug-
gested the preparation of this work, as well as the histories
of other counties in the various States of the Union, was
celebrated by the people of Huntingdon county in a manner
highly creditable to their patriotism and public spirit.

Celebrations were held in different parts of the county, at
"Warrior's Mark and Birmingham in the northwestern, at
Dudley and Orbisonia in the southern, at Mount Uniou in
the eastern, and at Huntingdon in the central, being so dis-
tributed as to afford to the people an opportunity of attend-
ing at one place or another.

Without describing at length the exercises at all of these
celebrations, we will give such accounts of several of them
as will preserve an idea of the manner and spirit in which
the centennial anniversary was observed.

At Dudley, the Union Sabbath-school celebrated the day
by holding a basket pic-nic. The Declaration of Indepen-
dence was read by A. S. Brooks and an address delivered by
Rev. John Calmer. The music for the occasion was fur-
nished by the ladies and gentlemen of the vicinity. Innocent
games and pastimes, and other kinds of amusement were
provided for the pleasure of both young and old, and in-
dulged in by all classes. The day passed profitably and
pleasantly to all present, and the fire of patriotism seomed to
burn in every breast.

At Birmingham the approach of the day was greeted by
the firing of guns, the beating of drums and the ringing of
bells. ^ hen morning dawned flags were unfurled and the
entire populace entered heartily into the work connected

HISTORY OF HUNTINGDON COUNTY. 339

with the duty to be performed. The citizens of the town
and vicinity assembled at Laurel Springs at 10 o'clock in
the forenoon, and John Owens, aged 87, was called to the
chair. James Thompson, John Copley, David Cree, S. B.
Russell, Samuel Gensemer, Jacob Cryder, Abraham Smith
and Jesse Beigle, whose average age is 73 years, were
chosen vice-presidents. The exercises were as follows :
" Glory to God in the Highest," by the Glee Club ; prayer,
by Rev. Dr. Wilson, of the Presbyterian church ; singing,
" Flag of our Country ;" reading of Declaration of Indepen-
dence, by Rev. H. R. Wharton, of the M. E. church; singing,
" America ;" oration by Col. G. W. Owens, subject, " Our
Country in Contrast with the Old World ;" singing, " Our
Beautiful Flag," by the Glee Club ; address to the children,
by Rev. Dr. Wilson, subject, " Our Flag ;" address by
Rev. J. C. Shearer, subject, " Husbandry ;" address bv Rev.
Wharton, subject, "The Bible, the Flag;" singing, "The
Star-Spangled Baaner ;" benediction, by Rev. Shearer. The
multitude then gathered around the largest table ever seen
in Laurel Spring grove, substantially and luxuriantly filled
from one end to the other with supplies to satisfy every
physical want and taste, while many baskets remained un-
opened. At 7 o'clock religious services were held in two of
the churches, and after dark there was a fine display of fire-
works.

The Orbisonia celebration is thus described in the Leader,
of that place :

"The day dawned, one of the most beautiful of the season,
and was ushered in in the usual noisy manner. Before seven
o'clock delegations began to- arrive from the different town-
ships of this and other counties, and long before the hour
set for the forming of the procession the streets were
crowded.

" At half past seven a large and beautiful flag, 20 feet in
length, was raised to position on the large pole, in the dia-
mond. This is the highest flag pole in the county. The
Orbisonia drum corps played " Rally Round the Flag,"
after which three rousing cheers were given for the old flag.

340 HISTOEY OF HUNTINGDON COUNTY.

" The procession was formed in the following order : Or-
bisonia drum corps, in new uniforms, fantastics, wagon con-
taining little girls carrying flags with the names of the States
printed on them, a young lady dressed as the " Goddess of
Liberty," seated on an elevated platform, followed by a
body guard of little boys handsomely dressed, Orbisonia
Lodge, and citizens. Capt. H. G. Tarr, was chief marshal,
with the usual number of aids. The procession formed in
the diamond and marched to the depot to meet those com-
ing by train.

" The trains arriving at 9:03 from Mt. Union and Roberts-
dale were crowded. The train from Robertsdale contained
two brass bands, one from Cassville, and one from Broad
Top City, and several lodges of Odd Fellows and other socie-
ties. Over 300 persons got on the first train at Roberts-
dale, and the train was unable to carry all the passengers
from the intermediate stations, and another section had to be
run to accommodate all.

" On the arrival of these trains the procession re-formed
in the following order : Orbisonia drum corps, fantastics,
wagon containing children, little boys, carriages containing
ministers, speakers and committee of arrangements ; Cassville
baud, Orbisonia Odd Fellows, visiting Odd Fellows, Broad
Top City Band, Broad Top Societies, other visiting societies
and citizens. The procession moved from the depot at 9:30
o'clock over the principal streets of the town and thence to
the grove.

"At 10 o'clock, a flag raising in front of the Market
House, immediately after which the assemblage was called
to order by A. W. Sims; the Cassville Band played " Hail
Columbia," after which prayer was offered by the Rev.Wra.
Prideaux, returning thanks to Almighty God for his watch-
fulness over us in the past and invoking a continuance of it
in the future. The Glee Club sang the Centennial Hymn,
after which Mr. Tarr read the Declaration of Independence
in an impressive manner. The audience then sang the
" Star Spangled Banner." Mr. Sims then introduced the
Hon. John M. Reynolds, of Bedford, the orator of the day.

HISTORY OF HUNTINGDON COUNTY. 341

Mr. Reynolds held the immense audience almost spell-bound
for over an hour. He spoke of the hardships endured by
those who in the trying times of the revolution gave their
all, as it were, to secure the blessings we now enjoy ; he
spoke of the trials of civil war we have passed through
for the perservation of the union intact ; of our now being
at peace with the whole world. He also pointed out the
dangers that beset us on every side ; the danger of mal-ad-
ministration of officers, corruption in high places, and bri-
bery, and stated the remedy to be with the people them-
selves. Mr. Reynolds is a fluent speaker, and had we room
we would have liked to publish the speech in full. He was
followed by the Rev. B. B. Hamlin, D.D., of Chambersburg,
in a few well-timed remarks, on the rise and progress of the
nation and of America since its discovery by Columbus.

" Speaking being over, dinner was served to all those who
could get near the table ; the multitude was so great that it
was impossible to accommodate, but the committee spared
no pains to furnish provisions for all — and there was plenty
for all — if the multitude could have had patience to wait
their turn.

" After dinner the enjoyment of the day began, as the
crowd separated and dispersed through the grove to enjoy
themselves in some of the different amusements provided.
A large platform was erected for dancing, swings were put
up in different parts of the grove, a greased pole was up for
those desiring to climb it; arrangements for plajdng base-
ball were provided, and other amusements. Soon every one
was apparently enjoying themselves to their utmost.

"At 2 o'clock the tournament came off. Six knights were
entered for the riding. The successful knight was Dr. W.
T. Browning, the second best was B. F. Ripple.

"Dancing in the evening was spoiled by the rain.

"The crowd was estimated at 4,000, and we believe that
everyone went away satisfied that it ' was good for them to
be here' to unite with their fellow citizens in this centennial
jubilee of American freedom, in pledging their continued
watchfulness over the welfare of our nation in the future, so

342 HISTORY OF HUNTINGDON COUNTY.

that their children and children's children may celebrate with
pride the two hundredth anniversary of this day.

" The very best of order was maintained on the ground."

At Huntingdon, "preparations on an ample scale were
commenced some days beforehand, and perhaps never before
in the history of our country, were the flowers of our gar-
dens, and the evergreens of the forest, the hemlock, the pine
and the laurel, called upon for so heavy a tribute to the
cause of patriotism, civilization and humanity. These were
rapidly and almost magically transformed into wreaths, fes-
toons and beautiful devices, by the fair hands of the ladies,
who with that energy and patriotic devotion characteristic
of our townswomen, worked with the patience of ants and
the energy of beavers, in the sweltering sun of day and dur-
ing the sultry ho.urs of night, in making a suitable prepara-
tion for the coming occasion.

" The work of decorating buildings began early on the
morning of the third, and long before evening few buildings,
either public or private, were left unadorned, or unfurnished
with the most elaborate and tasteful displays of evergreens,
flowers, emblems and patriotic mottoes, while from roof-top
and window were to be seen the modest and graceful folds
of the red, white and blue, as it fluttered in the breeze. Tri-
umphal arches, with pendant festoons, and a most liberal
and attractive display of bunting, spanned the entrance to
the principal streets and were flung from housetop to house-
top along the crowded thoroughfares, contributing largely to
the gorgeousness of the scene, and forming an interesting and
attractive feature of the occasion.

"The celebration exercises were inaugurated early on
Monday evening by the already effervescing patriotism of
young America, which manifested itself in the wildest enthu-
siasm, the most hilarious merriment, and the utmost noise
which the firing of crackers, shouts, confusion, and genera^
deviltry could produce.

" The ringing of the church bells at 12 o'clock was the
signal for the ushering in of the new century, and from that-
time on till daylight the good-natured citizens submitted to

HISTORY OF HUNTINGDON COUNTY. 3-i3

the deprivation of that sleep which was out of the question,
comforting themselves with the reflection that the next cen-
tennial occasion might perhaps be ushered in a little more
quietly, the novelty of the affair having by that time in some
measure subsided.

" Early religious services were held in some of the
churches. The Baptist church, which had inaugurated the
exercises on the Sabbath previously by a beautiful and
tasteful decoration of the building, and. an appropriate ser-
mon and Sabbath School concert, occupied the hour inter-
vening between 5 and 6 o'clock in devotional exercises ap-
propriate to the opening of the new century in our nation's
existence.

" Immense crowds of people from the surrounding country
were in attendance at a very early hour in the morning J
business was generally suspended and all united in the
general festivities. The procession formed at 10 a. m., oqn
Third street, which from Penn to Mifflin was a mass of
struggling humanity as each division assumed its appropri-
ate place in the line of march.
" The procession consisted of,
Chief Marshal Bathurst, with his Assistants and
Aids, all mounted.
The Huntingdon Silver Cornet Band,
Members of Council and Orators, in carriages,
The Independent Hook and Ladder Company,
Phoenix Fire Company,
Huntingdon Fire Company,
Juniata Fire Company,
Fire Companies from Tyrone,
Young America, with the Centennial Gun,
The Representatives of the Different Trades,
Base Ball Clubs,
Alexandria Band,
Independent Order of Odd Fellows,
Citizens, &c,
and presented an imposing and highly attractive appear-
ance as it moved on its line of march through the principal

344 HISTORY OF HUNTINGDON COUNTY.

streets and returned to the yard in the rear of the Court
House, where a stand was erected and seats prepared for the
guests, and where the exercises were opened with prayer by
Rev. F. B. Riddle.

" Whittier's Centennial Hymn was then rendered by the
Huntingdon Centennial Glee Club.

" The Declaration of Independence was read by J. M.
Bailey, esq., and a Centennial Overture, composed for the
occasion by Prof. J. A. Neff, was rendered by the Hunting-
don Silver Cornet Band.

" Dr. J. H. Wintrode was then introduced by Frank W.
Stewart, esq., of the committee of arrangements, and deliv-
ered the oration of the day.

" The exercises were concluded with music, ' Star Span-
gled Banner,' by the Huntingdon Centennial Glee Club.

" The balloon ascension was next on the tapis, and was
expected to be the crowning feature of the occasion ; accord-
ingly all eyes were turned towards the ' Diamond,' where
the monster 'Republic' was being inflated as rapidly as
possible, and which was soon filled with an eager, surging,
expectant crowd of spectators, holding the position with the
impatient tenacity of such assemblies, and, amid the scorch-
ing rays of a pitiless sun, with the thermometer ranging far
up in the ' nineties,' waiting for the skyward journey of the
aerial voyagers to commence.

" At a few minutes past three o'clock, Miss Ihling, the
female SBronaut, arrayed in her gorgeous costume of the
Goddess of Liberty, the rich spangles of which were only
visible beneath the folds of the linen duster which enveloped
her person, and her flowing auburn ringlets partially con-
fined by the folds of a blue turban, made her appearance
on the scene and seated herself for a few moments, the cyno-
sure of all eyes, awaiting the final preparation, not however
without casting certain ominous glances towards the western
heavens, where a terrific storm cloud had for some time
been gathering, and which now threatened momentarily to
burst in all its fury.

" The process of inflation, under the direction of Prol.

HISTORY OF HUNTINGDON" COUNTY. 345

Wise, who superintended all the arrangements, was almost
completed ; but the storm was coming with frightful rapid-
ity. The squadrons of the air were forming in line of battle;
the huge air-ship, like some mighty etherial monster impa-
tient to be gone, fretted and strained upon her cables,
threatening to drag the sand-bag anchorage that held her to
terra Jirma, and it was manifestly apparent that unless she
could be released speedily, all hopes of a successful ascension
were at an end. But the denouement came. The final
preparations were completed; the aaronaut, flag in hand, was
preparing to take her place in the basket which was being
secured to its moorings ; — the band awaited the signal for
striking up the national air which was to greet her departure;
ten minutes more and she would have been "above the
storm's career," and beyond the reach of human vision, on
her journey to the region of cloudland; — when, the storm
burst, and with it, almost simultaneously, the balloon. The
huge monster of the air gave one or two convulsive starts
towards its native element ; then with an undulating mo-
tion, swayed to and fro, like a drunken man ; once it almost
flattened itself on the earth, to the imminent danger of the
attendants, then righted itself, swayed, and righted again,
when the storm struck her. One dull heavy thud — one or
two tremendous convulsive heavings, like the death throes
of a mighty giant, and the mammoth air-ship, which a few
moments before had assumed such tremendous proportions
and such a swaggering air of defiance to the elements, now
lay prone upon the earth, a mangled, shapeless mass of
shreds and network ; her gaseous contents had mingled with
thin air, and the ascension for that day was over. But no
time was left for moralizing, for philosophizing or grumbling;
the elemental contest was now raging in all its fury, and the
action had become general along the entire line ; the crowd,
so long waiting on the qui vive of expectancy, with the
instinct of self-preservation dispersed as rapidly as possible
to seek shelter from the torrent of rain which followed the
bursting of the storm-cloud, and which placed an effectual
quietus on the festivities of the day.

346 HISTORY OF HUNTINGDON COUNTY.

"The concluding exercises of the evening consisted in a
general and extensive illumination of private dwellings, in
which most of our prominent and wealthy citizens availed
themselves of the opportunity of attesting their patriotism,
notwithstanding the inclement and threatening aspect of the
weather, and which presented a brilliant and highly inter-
esting sight, creditable alike to the energy and public spirit
of our people, and in the absence of any pyrotechnic display,
forming a most appropriate and beautiful feature of the con-
cluding exercises of a day long to be remembered."*

We give in full the oration of Dr. J. H. Wintrode, as an
appropriate conclusion to this work :

We are assembled to-day in obedience to that natural im-
pulse which prompts a people to do honor to its past. We
are here to celebrate with reverent and appropriate services
the ceutennial anniversary of our National Independence;
to commemorate the day that beheld three millions of peo-
ple liberated from the bonds and chains of a foreign vassal-
age, and taking their proper position among the nations of
the earth. And, my fellow citizens, we should celebrate
this day in a spirit and manner worthy of the event that we
commemorate. We should meet together this day as the
children of the same great family, having a common heritage,
a common interest, and a common destiny. If all private,
and local, and political disputes, and all sectarian strifes and
jealousies cannot this day be forgotten, we are unworthy of
our high birthright. John Adams very clearly predicted
the proper observance of the day when he wrote : "lam
apt to believe that the day will be celebrated as the day of
deliverance, by solemn acts of devotion to Almighty God,
and by pomp, games, shouts, guns, bells, bonfires, and illumi-
nations from one end of the country to the other, and from
this time forward forevermore." What heart does not dilate
with feelings peculiar to this occasion, and what a host of in-
teresting recollections spring up in the mind when we reflect
upon " the times that tried men's souls." The narrative of
the Pilgrim Fathers, in the spirit of holy zeal forsaking the

*From R. McDivitt's report in the Huntingdon Journal.

HISTORY OF HUNTINGDON COUNTY. 347

land of their birth, braving the winds of heaven, and the
angry wrath of the mighty ocean, landing on the wild and
rugged rock of Plymouth, and planting the seeds of a holy
religion, as well as laying the foundation of a mighty Re-
public, destined to be unexampled in the extent of its terri-
tory and rapid increase of its population, its material re-
sources and the equality and justice of its political institu.
tions, and of those fields of fame on which the hoary locks
of the sire " lay clotted in the purple gore of the son," where
the traces of the revolutionary fort and ditch remain, in
which our fathers knelt in prayer, and battled for the cause
of freedom; all these things beautifully and vividly revive
in the mind on this centennial of our nation's existence.

One hundred years have now rolled round since the
glorious declaration of the rights of man, which has just
been so admirably read in your hearing, was proclaimed to
the civilized world ; and in vain do we search the page of
history for the record of an event that adorns it with
greater lustre, or that more eminently distinguishes the per-
sons amongst whom it took place, for their patriotism, their
virtue and their valor. " Wiser, far wiser than those who
have attempted a similar work in other lands and beneath
other skies, they sought not to destroy any vested rights ;
they set up no false notions of equality, nor the oppression
of the many for the tyranny of the few ; neither did they
undertake to sever the chain which bound them to an hon-
orable past. They sought rather to make virtue and intel-
ligence the test of manhood ; they sought to strike down
prerogative and privilege, and open the gates of happiness to
all alike. And, my fellow-citizens, if there be anything
great, if there be anything noble, if there be anything pre-
cious and invaluable in the American Revolution, it is just
this, it has secured for all men an equal chance in life."
Then, too, it has demonstrated man's capacity for self gov-
ernment. It has shown him his just, natural and inaliena-
ble rights, and it has taught him, too, that his greatest
privilege, is to be free.

Let us for a moment endeavor to go back in imagination

348 HISTORY OF HUNTINGDON COUNTY.

to the 4th of July, 1776. Let us enter that shrine of Amer-
can liberty, old Independence Hall. See those patriotic men
pondering upon the magnitude of the step about to be taken !
There are Jefferson, and Adams, and Lee and Hancock, and
Hopkins, and Livingston ; there, too, are our own Morris,
and Rush, and Franklin, and Morton, and Clymer, and
Smith, and Taylor, and Wilson, and Ross. Silence, deep,
solemn, profound silence reigns throughout the hall ! There
are those there that seem to waver. See that aged man arise
be casts a look of inexpressible interest and uncon-
querable determination upon his fellow-patriots. Hear him
as in slow, measured and tremulous accents bespeaks: "Mr.
Presideut, there is a tide in the affairs of men, a nick of
time, we perceive it now before us. That noble instrument
upon your table, which secures immortality to its author,
should be subscribed to this very day by every member of
thiu house ! He who will not respond to its call — he who
falters now is unworthy the name of freeman ! Sir,
these gray hairs must soon descend into the tomb, but,
I would rather they should descend thither by the hand of
the executioner, than desert at this crisis the sacred cause of
my country." He is, silent, but the fire of patriotism he has
kindled is burning in every bosom in that assembly, and the
glorous deed is done.

What was it, fellow-citizens, that induced these noble
men to take this bold and praise-deserving step ? Assured-
ly they were not unconcious of the dangers of such a course.
"The disparity between the power of Great Britain and that
of the colonies, was more apparent to them than it can ever
be to us. They saw the first power of the age fresh from
the memorable battles in which she had destroyed the naval
and colonial power of France. The air still rang with the
cheers with which they themselves had greeted her
successive triumphs, the honor of which they had come
to look upon as their own. Her armies had been
triumphant in every land ; her fleets victorious on the most
distant seas." They knew therefore the significance of their
act ; they knew that should the experiment fail, proud Eng-

HISTORY OF HUNTINGDON COUNTY. 349

land would rise in all her might, and vindicate the honor of
her insulted majesty. And as was there grimly said at the
time, they knew they must all " hang together, or all hang
separately." It was therefore from purely patriotic motives
that they acted.

History records many instances of true patriotism, and of
self-sacrificing devotion to country. It records the acts of
Lycurgus, the great Spartan law-giver, who furnished Sparta
with a code of wholesome laws, exacted from his country-
men a promise of implicit obedience to those laws till his re-
turn, and then leaving Sparta to return no more forever ;
thus seeking to secure the permanence of his institutions
by a voluntary banishment from his country. And, although
such a course would at this day be discountenanced, making
due allowance for the age in which, and the people amongst
whom, it took place, it can be regarded in no other light
than that of self-sacrificing devotion to country. The de-
fence of Thermopylae by Leonidas,and the sacrifice of himself
and his three hundred heroic Lacedemonians, is another em-
inent example of self-sacrificing devotion to country, and
well might they erect a monument to tell to posterity the
tale, with the beautiful inscription thereon : " Tell it in
Lacedemon, that we died here in obedience to the laws of
our country." But neither of these incidents, or any
other recorded in history, excels or equals in any of the
attributes or characteristics of a true, healthy and enlight-
ened patriotism, that decisive act in which it was declared
that " these united colonies are and of right ought to be free
and independent States."

But while our thoughts are thus directed to the worth of
those who first unfurled to the breeze the star spangled
banner of freedom, we must not forget the men of equal
worth and patriotic valor who marched through blood and
carnage beneath its flying folds, until it waved in security
and peace over this "land of the free and home of the brave."
Led on by their patriot chieftain, the immortal Washington,
whose confidence rested in the arm of Omnipotence alone ;
guided by his wisdom and directed by his sagacity, the

350 HISTORY OF HUNTINGDON COUNTY.

American people entered on the unequal contest, fearless of
the issue. Their battle cry was "Victory or Death," and
they fought like men determined to be free ; and after eight
Ion? years of triumphs and defeats, of varied successes and
reveises, victory perched upon their banner. The symbol
of peace again hung in the retiring clouds, and the United
States of America, from the very nursery of oppression,
stood before the world the fairest, freest and the best nation
ever gazed on by mortal man.

The true American patriot feels that he has a name
which demands his highest and noblest offering of patriot-
ism, and he yields the first fruits of his genius and of his
heart to his country. He loves her with the gushing fullness
and unselfish devotion of the heart's first and purest love.
And how could it be otherwise ? Her soil claims a parent's
right to that love ; and were it as cheerless as winter, could
he love it less than the Switzer loves his barren cliffs ?
Were it as torrid as Arabia, could he cherish it less than the
Bedouin his own land ? But the grandeur and beanty of
this boon land of his birth, where lavish Nature seems to
have gathered her wonders as for a race of free giants — the
clustered isles of her sublime and solemn forests, the cata-
ract voices that thunder among her hills, the rivers that
sweep with queenly magnificence among valleys the loveli-
est that zephyr ever visited — how could these be his own
and be unbeloved ? . And then her annals, rich in the unri-
valed triumphs of a calm and Christian heroism, of valor
and of virtue, and more, and far greater than all, her liberty,
calm and crimeless, lofty and self-sustained, that lifts her
far above all ancient and modern comparison, the morning
star of the nations leading in the onward march of Christian
civilization, of progress and humanity ! Why, he would be
duller than the dullest clod of the valley did his heart not
swell with exulting gratitude to the God, who made such a
land and made him a child upon its bosom. It is wise,
therefore, that he loves his native land, and loves it thus;
not with a cold sense of filial duty merely, the trickling of
an icy patriotism, but with a full and free passion that

HISTORY OF HUNTINGDON COUNTY. 351

regards a single life as too poor an offering for such a coun-
try, and would give it, not grudgingly or with reluctance,
but freely, as the sun does its light or the heaven its dew,
would pour out his young, warm blood in the battle and
bless each sacrificial drop as it bubbles forth. Oh, more
than mountains or rivers, or even wealth and splendor or
greatness, is this spirit the true glory of our land. And
this spirit, let me say, is no idle dream, no phantom of the
imagination ; it is a presence and a reality. It lives, and
moves, and has its being in every pulsation of the mighty
heart of our country. And when the shadows darken and
the peril comes, will it stand forth, mightier than any mere
inanimate, physical power, to save and to achieve.

It is held by some that we have greatly degenerated, that
we have retrograded into a more shallow and more vulgar
race than our forefathers ; that there are no such intellectual
giants and no such lofty emotions in these latter days.
Where, in our Congress, it is asked, are the white headed
Peyton Randolphs, the Washingtons, the Lees, and the Jays ?
It is the sentimental habit of every age to decry, disparage,
and underrate itself. When the patriots of 1774 met in Car-
penters' Hall, they bewailed the spirit of Cromwell's day, until
the firing of the first bomb into Boston revealed and brought
into the light the same stern courage and unyielding in-
tegrity in themselves. So, too, the firing of the first gun
at Sumpter, in 1861, arrayed us, in a single month, under
one banner or another, men who whatever their mistakes of
judgment were, surely were not influenced by any considera-
tions of gain, but who offered their lives freely for an idea
which seemed to them the wisest and the best. In times
of piping peace, when money spending seems to be our only
business, and money getting assumes with all of us the
greatest importance, the Lincolns and Sumners, and may I
say it, the Lees and Stonewall Jacksons, go into the back-
ground, and the Tweeds the Credit Mobilier men and carpet
baggers come to the front, and the hero of Fort Fisher and
Dutch Gap, and the Winnebago chieftains, become leaders;
but notwithstanding all this the American people are this

352 history of Huntingdon county.

day, wc firmly and honestly believe, as brawny a race of
men, mentally and morally, as our forefathers, quite as gen-
uine and quite as God-fearing, although they may show it

in a different fashion.

The true American patriot recognizes the sublime fact

that the quality of the human race, equal rights on earth

and an equal destiny in Heaven, was first taught by

Christianity ; that the hopes of a Republic are dreams, idle,

shadowy and futile, unless sustained by the faith of the

Christian ; that the ambition is mean that pauses this side

of Heaven ; that the patriotism is false which leans only on

the earth ; that he cannot love his country who will not love

his God, and that

" He is a freeman whom the truth makes free,
And all are slaves beside."

My good friends, this anniversary is about gone by for-
ever, and my task is done. While I have spoken, the hour
has gone from us ; the hand has moved upon the dial, and
the old century is dead. The United States of America
h:tve endured the one hundred years. And here, on the
threshold of the future, at the opening of the new century,
surely the voice of humanity shall not plead with us in vain.
There shall be darkness in the days to come, danger for our
courage, temptation for our virtue, doubt for our faith, and
suffering for our fortitude. A thousand shall fall before us,
and tens of thousands on our right hand, the years shall pass
beneath our feet, and century follow century in quick
succession. The generations of men shall come and go, the
greatness of yesterday shall soon be forgotten, the glories of
this daj shall vanish before to-morrow's sun, but America
shall not perish, but shall endure while the spirit of the
lathers animates their sons.

INDEX.

PAGE.

Aborigines 17

Academies 178

Adams Thomas 151

Africa Daniel 25

Africa J. Simpson . . .25, 70, 122,

160, 228, 236, 243
Aggressions upon unpurchased

lands 35

Agriculture 161

Agricultural fairs 160

Agricultural societies 157

Akers Rev. Jesse R. . . . 249, 257

Albany, treaty of 40

Alexander R. M 194

Alexander William. 147

Alexandria. ... 70, 149, 173, 183,

300
Allison Robert .... 147, 157, 201,

215

Ambrose William 194

American Tbe 123,128

Anderson's fort 293

Anderson Maj. J. P 243

Anderson Mrs. M. H. . . . 243
Anniversary, Centennial . . . 338

Annual products 161

Appleby D. C. M 100

Appleby John 269

A popular error 28

Armstrong Col. John . . 68, 69, 71

Armstrong Jack 30

Area of the county 184

Arks 113,138

Assembly. Representatives in . 227
Ashman Col. George . . 88, 94, 112

Ashman John 154

Associate Judges 223

Aughwick. . . 19, 25, 37, 45, 55, 61,

Aurandt David 160

PAGE.

Aurandt Rev. J. D. . . 228, 316, 327

Ayres Gen. William 153

Bacon J. M 65

Bair Webster T 134

Bailey John M 160, 231, 344

Baker Jacob 160

Baker J. C 194

Bare B. F 195

Barnetstown 336

BarrJ. S. ....... 159,174,176

Barree Forge 112, 167

Barree Furnace 167, 279

Barree township . . .94, 167, 183,

262, 263

Bathurst W. F 199

Beckwith J. M. & Co 122

Bedford county 92

Bedford furnace. . .88, 112, 167 304

Beers L. M 178

Beigle Daniel 287

Beigle Edward 288

Beigle Samuel 288

Bell Edward i, . . . .157

Bell Samuel H / . . . .160

Benedict, A. W 124, 152, 159,

228

Benedict Miss C. T 174

Renner Seth 195

Benner Thomas M 287

Birmingham . . 149, 180, 183, 296,
338

Black Dog 19, 23,25, 310

Blair Alexander 266

Blair Brice 148, 154, 227

Blair Brice X 196, 199, 228

Blair county 100

Blair Hon.D. . . 150, 151, 160, 227
Blair John, of Blair's Gap . . 157,

228
Blair John, of Shade Gap. . . 267

354

INDEX.

PAGE.

Blake John W 196

Bland Rev. Zane 178

Boring .Taiucs H 199

Boring John H 196

Bowman. T. M 184

Braddock 19,56

Brady Gen. Hugh 321

Brady township . . 94,167,183,263,
321

Brewster Dr. Wm 128

Broadhead Col 83

Broad Top City 336

Broad Top Miner 123

Brown Samuel T. . . 160, 174, 228

Brumbaugh Dr. A. B 135

Brumbaugh J. B 135

Brumbaugh H. B 135, 249

Burlier Conrad 157,227

Bucher George C 197

Bucks county 91

Bueglass Rev 190

Burkett E 195

Burning of cabins 37

Burnt Cabins 37

Cadwallader John 115

Caldwell S. D 270

Calvin 284

( lainbria county 100

Campbell .lames 152

Campbell Rev. James 174

Campbell J. D 190, 194, 224

Campbell Tims. P. . . . 121, 159

Campbell Rev. W. W 180

I lanals 142

Canan Moses 120

inon Col. John . . 103, 200, 225

Captain Jack 28

Captain Jacobs 68

Capture of F..ri Granville . . 68
■on township. . . .183, 263, 336

Carlton < feneral 89

Carothers James B 16]

Carothers Lieut 78, 82

- township .... 183,203, 314

sville 183,263,317

\ Llle Beminary 17s

< Sentennial Anniversary

< Sentre county 99

Charcoal 166

PAGE.

Chester county 91

Chester furnace 167

Chestnut George 154

Chilcoatstown 316

Churches 181

Clabaugh Levi 197

Clark James 126,152

Clark Miss W. A 135

Clarkson Hon. D. .171, 178,223, 317
Clay township . . . .183,262,320

Clerks of Courts 232, 233

Clinton forge 167

Clinton Sir Henry 89

Clintonville 274

Cloyd Samuel J 194

Clugage Col. Gavin 309

Clugage Capt. Thomas 83

Clugage Maj. Robert 78, 83

Coal 163

Coalmont 336

Coder Samuel 199

Coffee Run 337

Coke 166

Colerain forges 167, 280

Colfax 284

.Common Schools 168

Condition of Capt. Mercer's

Company 67

Congressional districts . . . .214
Congress, Representatives in . 214

Conser Rev. S. L. M 190

Constitutional Conventions . . 229

Cook Henry 197'

Cook Isaac 152-

Cook's Mills 155 -

Coons R. J. & Co 134

CornmanJ. S 133, 160

Cornpropst's Mdls 2(54

Cornpropsl T. M 194

Cornwallis Lord 89

Countess of Huntingdon . . . 72
County Commissioners • . . .234

Countyofficers 232

County Superintendents. . .175

County Surveyors 236

County Treasurers .233

Courier, Huntingdon . . .114,122

Court Houses 96

Crawford Hugh 71

INDEX.

355

PAGE.

Cree David 267

Cree Thomas K 267

Creigh A. H. W 196

CremerT. H. . . 123, 126, 134, 160,
233

Cresswell Jacob 152

Crites W. K 199

Croghan George . . 18, 21, 22, 45,

49,61,71,265
Cromwell Thos. T. . . . 112, 154,

157, 274, 302, 305
Cromwell township . . . 167, 183,
263, 302

Cumberland county 82, 91

Cunningham W. F 195, 199

Dangers from Indians .... 71

Dare George 194

Davis Miss N. J 180

Davis Robert W. . 197

Davis Stephen 157

Davis S.J 195

Davison Robert 194

Death of Weston 80

Decker A. W 196

Decoration of soldiers' graves . 197

Delawares 36, 42

Destruction of Records .... 106

Dewees P. P 155

Diffenderfer S 196

Difficulties with Mifflin co. . . 99
Directors of the Poor .... 235
Discontent of Indians .... 38

District Attorneys 224

Division of county into mili-
tary districts 87

Division of Pennsylvania into

counties 91

Dole Rev. A 249

Dorris Col. William . 197, 220, 242

Dougherty Eugene 196

Dougherty John . 154, 274, 275, 277

Dougherty Victor 197

Dowling Mrs. Jane 293

Doyle John A 152

Doyle Rev. M. P 198, 249

Drake's Ferry 273

Dublin township . 94, 183, 262, 265

Dudley 336, 338

Duffey Michael 114

PAGE.

Durborrow Jos. R 128

Dysart John 197

Dysart James C 197

Early warrants 70

East Broad Top Railroad . . . 155

Education 168

Edward furnace 167

Edwards E. W 195

Election districts 94

Elizabeth forges 167

Elliott Alexander 242

Elliott Benj. . 75, 94, 95, 104, 200, 229

Elliott B. M 197

Emergency men 199

Enterprises of the past .... 137

Entriken James 151, 160

Erection of Huntingdon co. . . 92

Etchison Perry 194

Evacuation of Fort Shirley . . 69

Evans Levi 151

EverhartE.V 137

Expedition to Kittanning . . 68

Expulsion of settlers 36

Fairs, agricultural 160

Fee Col. John 87

Fee John D 196

Fell J. G 155

First ark 1J3

First county officers 95

First iron works 112

First Newspaper 114

First settlers 35

First white visitors 17

Fisher H. G 160

Fisher Thomas 152

Fisher Thomas C 197

Fishers and Miller 165

Five Nations 17

Fleck A. G 195

Fleck Geo. W 199

Fleming S. E 133

Fleming William 269

Flenner John . . 160, 195, 199, 236

Flood T. L 195

Focht Rev. Jos. R 249

Fort. Anderson's 293

Fort Du Quesne 19

Fort Granville 68

Fort, Hartsock's 325

356

INDEX.

PAGE.

Fort, McAlevy's 319

Fort Necessity 47

Fort Rnberdeau ' s 4

Fort Shirley .... 64, 66, 68, 69

Fort Standing Stone 74

Foster J. T L95

Foster Rev. M. K 198

Foster William 334

Franklin forge 167

Franklin township ■ 113, 155, 167,
17:i, 183,263, 279.

Franklin William 22

Franklinville 280

Fraukstown 19

Fraser Robert 194

Frontier .settlements 61

Funk William 197

Gage Geo. F 154

Galbraith Robert 95 j

Garrettson Geo. W 197

Garrison at Fort Shirley ... 67

Gay ton William 196

Gazette, Huntingdon 116

GehrettDr. B. F 134

-singer D. H 196

Gemmill John 160

Gentzell G. L 129

Gillman S. S 195

Given John B 152

Glasgow S. L 128

Glass-sand 284, 321

Globe.Huntingdon 129

Gorauch Nathan 332

Grafius Henry 197

Graiius Israel 152

Graffius E. W 291

Grafton 326

Grantville 326

GrayG.W 199

Cray .lames 286

Gray Rev. Geo 271

Graysport 286

Graysville - >so

Green Edward A 197

Green Gen. 8. M 152, 159

Green Jos. A 195

Gieen Kenzie L. . . . 154. 160, 236
Greenland Joshua . . . .160,232
Greenwood Furnace . . . 1(17, 320

PAGE.

Gregg H. II 195

Gregg Mathew D 157

Grier Prof. L. G 180

Grove Daniel 152

(hiss Prof. A. L. . . . 130,179,249

GuyerT. L 194

Gwin Alexander . . . 118, 151, 227

Gwin George 152

Gwin James 152,160,223

Gwin Patrick 118, 232

Half King 35,47,53

Hall J. A 127

Hamilton Governor 52

Hamlin Rev. B. B 198,341

Hare Jacob 283

Hare's Valley 283

Harris John 24

Harrison A. S • 194

Haslett Col. R. F 289

Hartslog Valley 19

Hatfield's Rolling Mill .... 167

Flaynes Abraham 75

Heffner David 194

Henderson Andrew . . 95,229,233

Henderson Dr. John 157

Henderson township . 183, 263, 299

Herald 134

HightJ.J 194,199

Hildebrand CM 194

Hirst John 156

Hoffman H. A 199

Hollidaysburg 19

Holhfield Rev. A. Nelson . . 249,

257, 260
Hopewell township . . 94,167,183,

2(12. 2(11

Householder J. F. N 195

Hudson George . . . 154, 159, 268

Hunter Rev. D. W 249

Hunter W. A 178

Huntingdon ... 72, 74, 83,87, 93,

115, 144,149,173, 1S3, 238, 342
Huntingdon Academy .... ISO
Huntingdon, Cambria and In- «

dianaTurnpikeCompany . . 141
Huntingdon, Countess of . . . 72
Huntingdon county, erection

of 92

Huntingdon Courier 114

INDEX.

357

PAGE.

Huntingdon and Broad Top

Railroad 150

Huntingdon and Chambers-
burg Railroad 148

Huntingdon and Hollidaysburg

Railroad 148

Huntingdon Furnace . 113,167,279

Hutchinson James 161

HuyettS. L 195,196,197

Illiteracy 176

Indians 47, 59

Indian Traders 18

Indian War Path 19

Iron 166

Iron ores 275, 279, 301, 307

Irvin S. H J94

Irvin W. M 194

Isenberg B. F 199

Isenberg J. G 199

Isett E. B 288, 291

Isett Jacob 288

Isett J. H 199, 288

Isett John S. . . 160, 235, 288, 306
Jack Armstrong's Narrows . 25, 30

Jack Captain 28, 303

Jack's Narrows 28

Jackson George .... 152, 160, 235

Jackson Joseph 319

Jackson township . 167, 183, 263,
319

Jacobs A. A 197

Jacobs Benjamin 197

Jacobs Captain 68

Jacob R. U. & Co 165

Jails 98

Jet d'Eau and Hotel des In-

valides 277

Johnson Capt. Joseph . 190, 194,

197
Johnston G. W. . . . 160, 232, 237

Johnston H. T 194

Johnston Thos. S 196

Johnston Win. F 196

Journal Huntingdon 124

Juniata Charcoal Iron .... 167

Juniata Forge 167, 295

Juniata Mail Stage 138

Juniata township . . . 183, 263, 335
Jury Commissioners 236

PAGE.

Keith Jacob 287

Kerr John 148

Keystone Hotel 295

Killing of Capt. Jacobs . ... 68

Kinch I. K 194

Kinkead I). P 196

Kinkead Maxwell 157

Kittanning 68, 81

Kittanning Point 19

Knight B. Andrews 154

Kuhn Geo W 195

Kuhn R. S 178

Lancaster county 91

Land Lien Docket 70

Lane F. H 195, 228, 234

Langdon R. & Co 165

Lawrence J. J 195, 197

Leabhart 0.0 123

Leader Orbisonia 134

Lead ore 323

Leas Benjamin 148, 154

Leas Wm. B 155, 223

Letter from Capt. Mercer ... 66
Letter from Gen. Roberdeau . 78
Lewis William . . . 130, 151, 197
Lewisburg, Centre and Spruce

Creek Railroad 155

Lincoln township . . 183, 263, 336

Lindsay Hugh 133

Literary Messenger 119

Live stock 161

Local News 133

Long James 197

Long John 148

Lukens Charles 26

Lukens John 26

Lutheran church 249

Lutz John 123, 154

Lytle Benj C 326

Lytle D. H 195

Lytle Nathaniel 287

Lytle P. M 218, 219

Maddensville 280

Maguire James ..... 152, 227

Maguire Jane 293

Mails first brought into co. . . 137

Mail route 140

Manor Hill 264

Manufactures J 162

358

INDEX.

PAGE.

Mapleton 173, 183,284

March Jesse L97

Marklesburg 327

Marshal] Win 268

Martin Colonel 86

Mary Ann forge 167

Massey 1 Daniel 159

Matilda furnace 277

Mattern John W 160, 329

McAlevy I ten. Wm. . 80, 94, 101, 319

Mc A levy's Fort 319

McAllister H. N 159

McCabe G. F 194, 195

McCahan John . . . 114, 116, 148

McCahan J. Kinney 117

McCahan T. S 195

Mi Cardie James 268

McCay William 122

McClain Lazarus B 95

McConnell Henry L 122

McConnell John 147

McConnellstown 300

McCulloch John . . .152.215,230

McCune Joseph 157,223

McCune Thomas 415

McDivitl Robt. . 128, 160, 174, 176
McDonald F. Y. ...... . 194

McElroy Alexander 268

McGee James 268

McGinnesEev. J. Y. . . . 178, 270

McGinn.es Wilson 17s

Mcllvaine Rev 271

McKenaie S. A L33

McLaughlin John 195

McMurray Rev. J. S. . . . 198, 255
McMurtrie David ... 74, 95,227

McMurtrie Maj. 1) 152

McMurtrie James 74. 232

McMurtrie Rudolph L97

McNally M p.u

McNeal Prof. R. M. . . . L69, 176

M-Ncil M. M 133

McNeil <). E 133

McPherran .las. A loi

McPherran s. I L96

McPherran W. F L95

McVitty Samuel . . . 65, 154, 155
McWilliamsJon. . L59, 160,223,227

Mead Rev. ('has. II 249

PAGE.

Meadow Gap 280

Mears George 166

Melinda furnace and forge . .167
Memorial Association .... 198
Mercer Capt. Hugh . . .65,66,68

Merryman Charles 197

Messenger Huntingdon . . . 122

Methodist church 255

Mickley Charles 151, 160

Mifflin county 99

Mifflin Samuel W 153

Miles J. B 194

Miles John G. . . 148, 151, 159, 227

Miles E. H 196

Militia 86, 196

Miller A J 195

Miller B. F 123,194

Miller David R 197

Miller Dr. D. P 199

Miller Dr. R. Allison 243

Miller Graffus 160, 232

Miller Jacob 25, 157, 201

Miller Jacob H 159

Miller JohnS 160, 228

Miller Henry 157

Mill Creek 321

Mill Creek furnace 167

Mills Michael 269

Milnwood Academy . . . 178, 270

Mitchell C. H. . . " 194

Mitchell's furnace . . . .167,320

Monacatootha 54

Monitor Huntingdon 131

Monroe furnace 167, 264

Montgomery S 196

Montour Andrew 22

Montour Lewis 48

M Ireland George 268

Moreland William 26S

Morgan Joshua 269

Morrell 292

Morrison Hon. John . 154, 226, 227

Morrison James 197'

Morrison John 197

Morrison J. S 196

Morrow B. M 196

Morrow William 268

Musemeelin 30

Musser J. Hall 115

INDEX.

359

PAGE.

Mussina Lyons 130

Mytinger L. G 120

Myton S. W 197

Myton T. W J99

Nash J. A 123, 128

Neely D. R. P 196, 232

Neely Thomas 160

Neff Andrew J 152

NeffH.K 194

Newspapers 114, 116, 124

Oaks Alexander 159

Oaks William 160

Old deed of conveyance . . . 238

Oneida Indians 17

Oneida township . . 183, 263, 332

Orbison & Co 243

Orbison Thomas E. . 148, 160, 311

Orbison William 147,201

Orbison William P. . . ..... 152

Oibisonia 88, 155, 311, 339

Orlady Geo. B 198, 19!)

Osborn J. A 194

Owen Albert 131, 176, 197

Owens Col. G. W 339

Paradise Furnace 167

Pardee A 155

Parker David 160

Patterson Adolphus 157

Patterson G. W 195

Patton John 156, 232

Patton Maj. James 151

Patton Dr. J. R 161

Penn township . ... 183, 263, 322

Penn William 91

Pennsylvania canal 143

Pennsylvania Furnace . . 167, 279
Pennsylvania Railroad • . . .148

Peters Richard 36

Petersburg .... 149, 173, 183, 2!) I
Petriken R. P, . . 151, 188, 194, 226

Philadelphia county 91

Philips William 95

Pierce Rev. Ralph . • . . . . 17!>

Pilgrim • . 134

Piper Col. John 7f>, 80

Plannett Rev. J. W ins

Poor Directors 235

Poor House 235

Population 182

PAGE.

Port Alexander 152, 161

Porter David R. . . . 118, 125,202

Porter James 194

Porter John 148

Porter John M 195

Porter township . 167,173,183,263,

299
Post-office at Huntingdon . . . 115

Post riders 137

Potter Gen. James 82

Powelton 336

Powell R. Hare 159

Powell R. H. & Co . . 165

Presbyterian church 257

President Judges 217

Private schools 178

Prothonotaries . . . , 232

Purcell Edward B 197

Railroads 147

Raymond George 122

Reakert Bros. & Co 165

Rebecca furnace -167

Rebellion 185

Recruiting at Carlisle 66

Reed Joseph 160

ReedT. B 196

Registers and Recorders . . . 233

Reid Rev. S. H 190

Representatives in Assembly ■ 227
Representatives in Congress . 214

Republican 123

Republican Advocate . . . .121

Riddle Rev. Finley B 249

Riddle Samuel 164

Ridglcy Edward 112

Ripple B.F 306,309,341

Ritner Gov. Joseph 126

RobbDr. G.L. . ". 161

Roberdeau Gen. Daniel ... 78

Roberdeau Fort 84

Roberts Edward 155

Roberts Percival 155

Robertsdale 155, 336

Rockhill Coal and Iron Co. 112. 166
Bockhill furnace . . 167, 305, 308

Rogers [saac 195

Ross Rev. Win. P 249

Rough and Ready furnace . . 167
Royer Dr. Lewis 155

360

INDEX.

PAGE. I

Rudy George 159 |

Rumbarger O.S 194

Salisbury 216

Salter Capt. Elisha . . . .66

Saltillo L55

SangreeA. B 160!

Santa Fe 274 i

Saulsburg 264

Saxton James 152

Scarroyady 35,47,54

Schools 168

School houses 171

School teachers 169

Scotch-Irish 45

Scott Hon. John . 152, 198, 207

Scottsville 154

Second Standing Stone ... 26

Sells Ludwig 75, 94

Seminaries 178

Senatorial districts .... 225

Shade Dr. J. A 226. 270

Shade Gap. . . 19,178,265,270
Shadow of Death . . . .25.265

Sliarrer John 154

Shaver Peter 196

Shaw W. F 123

Shawnees 42

Shearer H. R 270

Sheriffs 232

Shingas 68

Shirley Fort 64, 66, 69

Shirley General 04

Shirleyshurg . 37,155,183,272,278
Shirleysburg Academy . . .178
Shirleyshurg Herald .... 123
Shirley township . 94. 167,183, 262
Shoenberger Dr. Peter . . . 204

Shoenberger E. F 148

Shontz Christian 151

Shontz J. R 196

Shreiner Thomas 197

Simpson James 25

Simpson J. R. . . 199

Simpson W. II 194

Sims A. W 155. 340

Si pes ( reorge 170

Sipes John 154

Situation of frontiers 70

Six Nations 36, 41

PAGE.

Skelly J. M 195

Smith James 30

Smith Thomas 26

Smith Thomas Duncan . . .94, 95
Smith Dr. William .... 72, 238

Smith William B 160

Smith William R 119,226

Soldiers' Aid Societies .... 192
Soldiers' graves, decoration of.. 197
Soldiers' orphan school . . . .179

Spanogle W. L 196

Speech of Scarroyady 59

Speer Geo. W. . 151,152, 154, 160,
178, 196

Speer Robert 154, 317

Speer R. Milton . 123, 199, 215, 317

Speer William 157

Springfield township . 183, 263, 208

Spruce Creek 149, 155, 285

Standing Stone . . 17, 23, 25, 74, 78
Standing Stone Banner .... 122
Standing Stone Guards . . . .185

State Senators 225

Steel James 157,233

Steele J. Irvin 132

Stephens Frank 194

Stephens Prof. J. A 180

Stevens Frank D. ..... 196

Stever John 154

Stewart John G. . . . 176, 237
Stewart J. Sewall . . . 127, 190

Stewart John 1 : >7

Stewart L. G 195

Stewart S. F 195, 196

- ikdale forge 167

- kdale woolen mills .279, 290

StorrieA. M. K 198

Stryker Peter 160

Supreme Executive Council . 200
Surprise of Indians . ... 68
Surrender of Lord Cornwallis . 89

Swope <;. P 194

Tanacharisson ".47

Tarr II. G. H 309, 340

Taylor George .... 121, 217

Taxation 184

Teachers' Institutes .... 173

Teague Daniel 154

Telegraphs ..'..... 156

INDEX.

361

Tell township . . 70,183, 263, 299

Temple I. C 195

Tohmas George .... 194, 197

Thomas W. F 194

Thompson A. A 196

Thompson G. W 195

Thompson R. E 196

Thompson Samuel 95

Thompson Dr. Sidney . . . 287
Thomson J. Edgar . . . .242
Times, Mount Union . . . .134
Tod twp. . 167, 173, 183, 263, 314

Tompkins Joel 194

Tories ...'... 75,80,283

Townships 262

Treasurers, county 233

Treaty of Albany 40

Turnpikes . 141

Tuscarora path 23

Tuscarora valley 19

Tussey D. F 176

Tussey John 159

Tussey Robert 160

Union (newspaper) .... 123

Union Guards 190

Union furnace .... 167, 292
Union township. 183, 263, 283, 314
Value of real and personal

property 184

Van Artsdalen Rev 178

Wagoner W. C 195

Walker township . .70,173,183,

263, 300.

Wallace Robert 121

Wallace William A 121

Wallace W. W 195

Walls J. M 195

Ward Rev. Israel 180

Warrants, land 70

Warrior's Mark township . . 155

173, 183, 263, 295.
Washington Colonel .... 47

Watchman 122

Water Street .... 19, 25, 284

PAGE.

Watson Gen. J. C. . . 159, 232
Wattson L. Frank .... 195

Wealth 184

Weaver H. C. ... 195, 196, 199
Weiser Conrad .... 20, 35, 49
Westbrook J. H. . . . 194, 199

Weston John 80

West twp.. . . 167,183,263,293
Wharton H. S. . . . 197, 228, 243
Wharton S. S. . 151, 159, 226, 227

White Jacob 333

White J. Irvin 257

Whiten Rev. S. T 249

Whittaker Geo. W 122

Whittaker S. G 122,128

Wigton Samuel 159

Willett W. M 196

Williams John 95

Williamson Gen. Jno. 151, 159, 228

Williamson W. M 178

Willoughby Frank . . . .134
Willoughby J. A. ... 194, 165

Wilson A. P 148, 912

Wilson George 160

Wilson James 269

Wilson Matthew 157

Wingate John B 155

Wintrode Dr. J. H . . 152,159,195,
227, 321, 346

Woodcock valley J9

Wood C. R .' 155

Woods Randolph 155

Woods William 269

Wood W. H 178

Womelsdorf D. W. . .160, 233
Workingmen's Advocate. . . 123

Young America 123

Young Disciple 135

Zahnizer Rev. G. W. . . 190, 260
Zeigler W. B. . . 160, 195, 232

Zentmyer D 194

Zentmyer Frank 194

Zimmerman C. C 196

Zimmerman Henry . . . .152

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