THE Old and New MONONGAHELA ^^ \ \ % -\ BY- John S. Van Voorhis. A. M., M. D. BELLEVERNON, PA. pittsbcrou, pa. Nicholson, Printer am> Rinuer. /^ Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1893, by .JOHN S. VAN VOORIIIS. IN THE OFFICE OF THE LiBKAKIAN OF CONGRESS, AT Washington. D. C, Jh 12 1908 CONTENI^S. Monongaliela Valley 5 ^Early White Settlers : Early Navigation 8 Monongaliela Navigation Company 8 Steamboat Packets 9 '-Transportation by Wagons 11 , Early Farmi ng 11 Whiskey and Stilliiouses 14 Historical Address by J. S. Van Voorhis, M. D 15 Letter from George P. Fulton 29 T. Dedication of Public School House, Monongahela City 33 T ne New School House Destroyed by Fire 34 Address of Prof. George P. Fulton at the Re-dedication of the Public School House in Monongahela City 35 Ke-dedication of the School House in Monongahela City 40 - Old Time School Houses 40 .ife of William Colho.n 42 Jld Time Schools 51 Schools in Later Days 57 Horse Shoe Church, Wiliiamsport, Monongahela City 60 Rev. John Kerr 66 The Church on the Hill , 69 Rev. A. H. Kerr '...'. 74 Reminiscences of 1840 .^ 75 Mrs. Jane Fulton Power 77 Dr. George E. Lytle 78 Mrs. Margaret Lowry Everhart 79 Mrs. Sarah F. Stevenson 80 William J. Markell 81 Historical Address of J. S. Van Voorhis, M. D., November 15th, 1892, on the One Hundredth Anniversary of Monongahela City, Pa.... 83 West Monongahela 116 Monongahela only 117 Monongahela City Methodist Episcopal Church 118 Cyrus Underwood 135 IraR. Butler 137 Elias Watkins 144 Richard Stockdale 146 Mark Borland 147 Hon. Alexander Hervey Houston 149 Aunt Margaret Philips 150 iv. Content^. The Black— Beutley -King Families 151 William Jones Family 15G The Alexander Family IGO Mrs. Rose Ann Davidson 160 Joseph Alexander 164 Death of William Wickerham in 1879 165 Death of John King in 1881 168 -Death of Dr. Wni. H. King 170 John E. Shaffer. M. D 171 The Walker Family 176 Samuel Frew 180 Death of Mrs. Sarah Wilson ISO Scott Family 182 Moses Scott 185 Hon. James Scott 186 Van Voorhis Family 186 Hon. Daniel Van Voorhis 191 Isaac Van Voorhis 1^9 Death of Mrs. James H. Van Voorhis 212 - Mrs. Lizzie Van Voorhis Cunningham..,..- 213 The Smith Family— Dr. Bela Smith 216 George P. Fulton 226 Prof. George P. Fulton's Mother 228 Death of Mrs. Mary Finley 231 The Hair Family— James Hair 233 Death of Uriah Hair 238 The Late Rev. G. M. Hair 238 The Sample Family 240 Alexander Wilson 241 The Gordon Family 245 Jesse Martin 250 The McFarland Family 2.52 The McGrew Family 254 The Beazell Family— B. F. Beazell 255 James K. Marshall 260 The Teeple Family 261 Gen. John M. Davis.. 265 The Frye Family 268 Dr. Mathew Porter Morrison 274 The Death of Joseph S. Morrison, Esq 275 A Tender Memory 277 Death of Maj. A. P. Morrison 278 Mrs. Eliza Morrison Alexander 280 The Morrison Family 280 Hon. T. K. Hazzard 281 Dr. Wilson dead 285 Dr. R. F. Biddle 286 Mrs. M. J. Biddle 289 Samuel Pollock dead 290 J. Sutton Wall 290 One Hundred Years 393 Belleveruon 399 The Presbyterian Church of Bellevernon 331 ^The Cunningham Family 326 Bellevernon Sabbath School 339 Methodist Episcopal Church of Bellevei'non 333 Stewards in Bellevernon M. E. Church 343 Free Will Baptist Church 347 Disciple Church of -Bellevernon 351 The First School in Bellevernon 353 The New Brick School House in Bellevernon 359 Bellevernon Academy 861 Post Office and Telegraph 363 Newspapers 365 Glass Works and Business Men in Bellevernon 366 The Grand Army Post 368 I. O. O. F r. 373 Other Lodges 375 Natural Gas History (1887) 376 Belleveruon Electric Heat and Light Company 377 Belleveruon Water Company 377 Bellevernon Bridge Company 377 First National Bank of Bellevernon 377 Cleveland Coal Company 378 Romana Land Company 379 Washington and Westmoreland Ferry Company 379 The Militia, Fourth of July, Temperance. Centennial and Railroads 379 North Bellevernon 383 Gibsonton 388 Gibsonton in 1890 ; 392 Natural Gas. 397 Glass — Works of R. C. Schmertz & Co 403 Extracts from Bellevernon Enterprise — S. F. Jones, Robert J. Linton, Thomas L, Daly and J. S. Van Voorhis 406 Belleveruon — "All things come to him who waits" 410 Address of Welcome delivered by Dr. J. S. Van Voorhis, October 15, 1889, at the Opening of the McKeesport & Belleveruon Railroad to Bellevernon 418 An Opening Opened and Big Day of Celebration 436 Nathaniel Everson and Miscellaneous Matters 430 Speers 435 Louis M. Speer 437 Death of Col. William F. Speer.... 442 David Furnier 443 vi. Contcntf<. Corwin 449 J. Westley Corwin 451 Death of Mrs. Sarah A. Springer 453 J. B. Gould : 453 William Eherlieart 456 Dr. David Porter 459 Captain Woolsey 460 Springer Family 460 Andrew Dnnlevy 464 Hazelbalter 465 Tliomas Ward and Frederick Cooper 467 Captain Joseph Sliepler 468 Crossed Over the River — Mrs. Robert J. Linton 471 Rehoboth 473 Death of Mrs. Anna M. Baker 474 Hon. George Plunier 475 Gibsonton Cemetery 479 Long Branch 479 Speers 479 Stockdale 479 Glassport 480 Col. Sam. B. Beutley 480 Mrs. Jane Van Voorhis 483 Building and Loan Associations in Bellevernon 483 Charleroi 485 Robert McKeau 485 ERRATA. Page 148, fifth line from bottom, read 1883 not 1833. Page 220, twelfth line from bottom, read Harriet, daughter of Dr. Smith, married John Fuller, late of Connellsville, Pa., instead of daughter of Dr. Smith Fuller. Wherever the name Beezel occurs, it should read Beazell. On page 144, Elias Watkins instead of Watson. Page 186, sixth line from bottom, read Castellum, not Casteltum. In eighteenth line from bottom read Ibela instead of Kela. Wherever Daily read Daly. MONONGAHELA VALLEY, From different sources amid the mountains of West Vir- ginia tlie Monongahela River arises, and running in a northerly direction at Pittsburgh, in Pennsylvania, it joins the Allegheny to form the Ohio. It is situated principally between 41° and 42° north latitude and in the 80° degree of longitude 'west of Greenwich. Its water flows gently from pure mountain springs and in its course to the mouth fails to gather the malarial poison. The valley for the most part is bordered with moder- ately high mountains and hills which abound in every variety of minerals, timber, and especially in bituminous coal, petro- leum and natural gas. The coal formation susceptible of being mined is estimated at 400 square miles. Petroleum and nat- ural gas are of recent discovery and their development into practical use of very modern date and limited extent. The soil of the valley is rich in fertility and capable of producing grain and vegetation of almost every variety. The forests originally abounded in chestnut, pine, cedar, oaks, nuxple, ash, walnut, hickory, poplar, beech, but of late years timber has been literally wasted to make lumber and obtain space for the productions in agriculture. The principal towns of the valley in Pennsylvania are New Geneva, Brownsville, Fayette City and Bellevernon in Fayette County ; Greensboro, in Greene County ; Millsboro, Freder- icktown, West Brownsville, California, Coal Centre, AUenport, West Bellevernon, C-harleroi, Lock No. 4, Columbia and Coal Blutf, in Washington ('ounty, besides Monongahela, recently formed into a city. In Westmoreland County are situated Gibsonton Mills, North Bellevernon and Webster. Within the limits of Allegheny County, outside of the City of Pitts- burgh, are located C-arrollton, Elizabeth and West Elizabeth, 2 6 TIk' ( >UI )iUl and Neil-' Moninujahela. 9 was cintliofized by an Act of Assembly of the State of Penn- sylvania, March 31, 1836. The only improved condition of navigation heretofore had been the construction of chutes and wing-walls at the different shoal points. The improvement by this company proposed was a series of locks and dams. No. 1 and 2 were put in use in October 1841. Nos. 3 and 4 were completed for use to Brownsville, November 13, 1844. Other locks and dams have been completed at different times until, with the aid of the government improvement, below Morgan- town W. Va., navigation is easy and complete to that point. The slackwater is now in perfect working order, (1893) so that the steamboat company run its boats from Pittsburg to Mor- gantown at all seasons of the year. This 8th day of November 1889, the locks and dams are complete to Morgantown, W. Ya. , the steamboat James G. Blaine passed up from Pittsburgh to that place being the first to make the trip. Steamboat Packets. Prior to the completion of the slackwater to Brownsville there were no regular packets on the river. The Liberty, Ex- change, Oella, Massachusetts, Export and that class of boats did duty as carriers of freight and passengers whenever the depth of watei- would allow. The Pittsburgh and Brownsville Packet Company was organized in 1844 by Adam Jacobs, G. W. Cass, J. K. Moorhead, J. L. Dawson, 1. C. Woodward and others. The Consul was the first boat built for the company ; she was commanded by Captain Samuel Clark. Shortly afterward the Louis McLane was put on the line, under the command of Captain Adam Jacobs. These boats in 1850 were super- seded by the Baltic, Captain Jacobs, and the Atlantic, Captain James Parkinson. In the year 1851 the Bed- stone was placed on the line, witli I. C. Woodward as captain. After a short term of service she was sold and a few months afterwards she exploded her boilers near Cincinnati, killing the engineer and several others. 10 lh( (Jld (!i(iio)i(/aJicJ(i. In 1852 the Jefferson and Luzerne were put in the trade to take the place of the Baltic and Atlantic. Captain Morgan Mason was put in command of the Jeiferson and Elisha Ben- net the Luzerne. In 1856 the Telegraph, Captain I. C. Woodward, was built. The slackwater now being finished above Brownsville, the Jefferson, Captain G. W. C'lark, was put above to connect with the Telegraph and Luzeriie. In 1859 the Gallatin, Captain Clark, and Dunbar, Captain Bennett, were built. The Dunbar was in service only a very short time when she was sold to parties in the lower Ohio. The Franklin, with Bennett as captain came out in 1860. In 186-1 the Fayette was placed on the line, Captain S. C. Speers on the roof. In 1866 the E. Bennett was put on the line, with Captain M. A, Cox in command. At that time the company were running four boats. In 1868 the Peoples' Line, which had been operating for a few months with their boats Elector and Chieftain, was consolidated with the old line, after which the style and corporate title of the company was the Pittsburgh, Brownsville and Geneva Packet Company, and by this arrange- ment the Elector and Chieftain were added to the line. The Geneva was built in 1871 and was in the trade 14 years. The stern-wheel boat John Snowden came into service in 1876, Captain Peter Donaldson in charge. In a short time she was sold to Captain L. N, Clark, of Pittsburgh, who turned her into an excursion boat. The Bennett and Chieftain were lost in the disastrous ice breakup in 1877. In 1878 the Ger- mania came out, in charge of Captain P. 11. Abranis. The James G. Blaine was built in 1882, M. A. Cox master, and has been in continual service ever since. The Adam Jacobs made her maiden trip September 15, 1885, Captain M. A. Cox in command. This boat was the first to carry the electric light, and now, 1893, with the Blaine and Germania, consti- tutes the fleet in the line. Before the completion of the Penn- sylvania railroad to Pittsburgh the Monongahela was on the great route between the west and the east. The packet com- pany was a very important link in the route, and the number The Old and Nd.f MoiunKjalK hi. 11 of through passengers carried by its boats prior to 1852 would astonish tlie uuKlern enthusiast. Tkansi'oktation by Wagons. Before the time of raih'oads between the east and west of the Allegheny mountains, the freight business to the Mononga- hela was carried on by means of the Conestoga road wagons drawn by six horses. By this way the freight to Pittsburgh was carried exclusively, l>ut after the conipletif>n of the Penn- sylvania canal, transportation was divided between the canalboat and the wagon. As early as 1817 12,000 wagons, in twelve months, passed over the Allegheny mountains from Philadel- phia and Baltimore, each with from four to six horses, carrying from thirtyfive to forty hundred weight. The cost was about %1 per ! weight, in some cases ^10. To transport one ton of freight between Philadelphia and Pittsburgh, therefore, would cost about t>ll<>, and in so doing two weeks, at least, of time would be consumed. Now, by the Pennsylvania rail- road, a ton between these same cities will only cost §2.87. In 1817 it cost i^l4 to carry a barrel of Hour from Pittsburgh to Philadelphia, and now the charge is only twenty-eight cents. At that time the merchant paid $7 per 100 for his dry goods hauled from Philadelphia to Pittsburgh, the same weight now carried for fourteen cents. The early immigrants carried much of their household goods on horseback, and for years after their arrival at their new home they were compelled to make frequent- pilgrimages to the east in order to obtain salt, iron, and such like for their use. Families combined and sent one or more to procure these things for all. The roads over which traveling was accomplished were Indian trails, and \\\ many places these were very hard to find. Eaki.y Fakmjng. The primitive farming was done either with oxen or horses, as it suited th(^ taste and abilitv of the owner. The ground 12 Tin Old and Ncm MoiKnKjoJichi . after being cleared was soft and easily turned up by the lionie- niade plow, consisting of a straight beam and handles, with a wooden mould-board, the share and coulter alone being iron. The harrow was triangular in shape, as often we see in modern days, but the teeth were of wood and the frame of hewn tim- ber. The gears were principally at first such as were brought with the settler from the east, but the new ones, and repairing was made from ropes, home-made out of tow, which was the second quality of flax. Sowing of grain was done broadcast, in which the modern invention of drilling is not generally admitted to be an im- provement. Small grain was gathered with the sickle. After the country was somewhat opened up a system of reaping was adopted. The fields were run out at the time of sowing in what was called lands eight feet wide. Two full hand reapers were expected to cut this width and keep up with the gang or else be docked in their pay. The best reaper was selected as the leader and the rest had to follow not far behind until the end of the througJi. It was a beautiful sight to look upon a gang of twenty or more reapers. Not unfrequently even the leader would retire to the shade, having '•'•given out'' as it was called, but in modern parlance such a condition is considered a khd- ■sf/'oh\ At the end of the tlirofKjJi^ which extended across the field, ojie-half of the reapers took up all the sickles and carried them back half way to the starting point, where, on the arrival of the other half the sickles were taken up, thus the grain cut was bound into sheaves by the time the gang reached the be- ginning. The two on each land always put their grain in one grip so as to facilitate the binding. Generally before another round was made, cool water from an adjacent spring and whiskey from the green glass bottle were handed around and each partook freely to brace up the physical nature, yet a drunken man in the harvest field was a rare occurence and looked upon as very disgraceful conduct. Women on many farms were as expert reapers as men. The scarcity of men laborers called the women into service in order The Old and JVein MohojK/aheJa. 13 « to save the grain. A days work in the harvest Held was from daylight to dark. Tlie ])arn was generally erected of round logs in double form. The barn roof was made with clap-boards at first, then of straw and finally of shingles. The clap-boards were rived or split by a tool called a frow, from the best of oak timber. These boards were kept in place by what was called knees and weight poles. The straw-roof was made of rye straw bound in small bundles by a bark withe and these tied neatly to the wood-work of the roof. The straw-roof well put on was more lasting than any other roof and to this day, we occasionally meet with one over half century old. In addition to the barn, there was erected (m some farms what was known as the barracks, this was about 20 feet square with an open floor on which to rest the grain and at each cor- ner an upright post at least twenty feet high, on these corners a movable roof was placed. By a lever and pins this roof could be raised at will, so that as the grain was built up inside, it would be moved so as to allow more or less room. All these improvements were done pretty much by the household itself and the voluntary assistance of the neighbors. The tools consisted principally of an axe, hand axe, hand and cross-cut saw, draw knife, a frow, a few augers and a gimlet, and perhaps a hammer. Nails were not used in the begin- ning, but wooden pins. Some of the more wealthy settlers brought with them a few shoemaker's tools so that their own mending could be done. Threshing was done with the flail during the winter. The original settlers in western Pennsylvania based their titles to farms on the tomahawk right. Having selected a desirable spot they encircled it with a line marked by blazing trees with an axe. There was no attention to angles, degrees and chains, the sole object being to designate the boundaries of the tract without reference to the luunber of acres. Lines thus indicated were held sacred by all parties and to this day are legal. These irregular lines have given rise to ill shaped 14 Tl(( Old and Netc" MonoiKja/K/la. farms, and oven now small tracts are found not included, and hence we have vacant land subject to entrv by anyone who will take legal means to obtain a title from the kState. In those days, sections, half sections and quarter sections were unknown and even county and township lines were run according to circumstances. Whisky and Stillhouses. The sale of grain of all kinds was very limited, and unless made into whisky there was little demand for it. This was a staple production. A still house for its numufacture was erected on nearly every farm. The primitive stillhouse was always located below some never-failing spring, from which cold water could be taken by dugout troughs. Cold water, then as now, was essential to the distillery process. The house was built of round logs, with clapboard roof. Two copper stills fixed in a stone furnace constituted the capacity of the house on which was based the license to distill, but sometimes there were more than two, as could be seen from the licenses. In ITDI there were 272 stills in Washington county. The whisky insurrection in 1794 arose from the imposition of an excessive tax upon dis- tilled liquors, which affected Washington county especially. Re- sistance for a time to the law gave rise to a great deal of trouble, the U. S. army having to be called into active duty before the in- surgents submitted. The whole thing was finally settled by way of a compromise. The use of spirits as a beverage in olden time was a prevailing custom. Late as sixty years ago it was considered a breach of etiquette not to set out the bottle when friends and even ministers called on a visit. The green- glass, long-necked (juart bottle was kind of a household god. It was present on nearly every occasion. At weddings, corn- huskings, wood-choppings, log-rollings, flax-pullings, manure frolics, sheep-washing, fish-gigging, house and barn raisings, it was an essential element. Tlte Old and New Monouaakda. 15 Historical Address. [Historical address delivered by J. S. Van Voorliis. M. D. at tlie dedication of the new school house in Monongahela City, Pa., July 1, 18S1, together with a letter from Prof. Geo. P. Fulton. 1 The history of Education in this vicinity, in coniinon with other matters of h^cal interest, is shrouded in uncertainty, only a few vague and general items being preserved. Looking upon our ancestors from a present standpoint, they appear to have lived merely for their day only, caring little for the wants and .desires of the future. They were content when satisfied that they and their offspring had whereof to eat, drink and wherewithal to be clothed. In fact, their immediate necessities were so urgent as to call for the greater part of their time in efforts secure for them what was termed in those days ' ' a living." Faith in the precepts of the Bible in its truest ver.no'n was innate to the first settlers of our valley ; the strongest Puritanical ideas being the literature upon which they founded their hopes of the future, never doubting that time and labor would in the end verify the prophetic saying, ' ' The wilderness and the solitary place shall be glad for them, and the desert shall rejoice and blossom as the rose."' Until about the close of the last century individual culture consisted chiefly in learn- ing to farm in the most primitive manner, which included a very limited knowledge of the art of raising grain and the manufacture of home-made clothing. The favored few, who were privileged to literary attainment, were in full proportion at reaching the point of reading, writing and ciphering to the Single Rule of Three. Houses erected especially for school purposes were unknown. If, perchance, some itinerant indi- vidual, representing himself to be a schoolmaster, should hap- pen along, an impromptu school house was obtained in the shape of some log cabin vacated by the tenant as unfit to oc- cupy. The predecessor of the Parkisons, whose name we have mislaid, on his arrival found the site on which this rapidly growing city is located to be a dense forest of sugar and walnut trees, untouched by the hand of art or seioucc. Cotemporary 16 7//r Old and JVeiii MoiKijKjdJirld. with this settlement, was the region around the old Horse Shoe Bottom meeting-house filled with immigraiits. Here the older Powers, Moodjs, Colvins, McComas, Witherows, Rices, Fryes, &c., founded their homes. This church, erected at the close of the revolution, was the first in this region, and its organiza- tion gave at once new life and vigor to the settlers, and its force of character culminated in awaking a desire for more than a homespun education. The influence of that congregation rapidly grew into such magnitude as to make it a centre of a higher state of civilization. Its power attracted the immigrant on his way thitherward in his search for a new home, which was found by many in the circle of country of which the church was the centre. So rapidly was this region taken up by new-comers that it for a time overshadowed the river settle- ments. From all information we can gather, it is evident that the first school at which settlers of this city attended, was lo- cated in an old log house that stood near where John With- erow's blacksmith shop now stands, and is supposed to have been tlie original residence of the older McComas. To add more to this influence, on the 19th day of October, 1796, Mr. Samuel Ralston, a licentiate from the Presbytery of New Castle, was called to preach to this congregation. He was a foreigner by birth and education. He was a man not only filled with the Holy Ghost, but he was adorned with the highest literary attainments found in the old world. In his every day life he exemplified the value of education, and impressed the minds of his people that it followed hand in hand with religion. The good of his teachings socm cropped out in the establishment of other schools. During the winter seasons another school was opened in the vicinity of the residence of the late Dutton Shannon, another at Parkison's Ferry, in an old log house of primitive style — by this we mean of unhewn logs. It was a dwelling once, used as such, situate in a grove of sugar trees on the lot on which stands the residence of Michael Yohe, near the old Presbyterian Church, not far from the lot on which this beautiful house has been erected. Shades of the departed ! TJir Old and Nrin IIouoiKjahela. 17 thy spirits inaj vet linger aroniul this saured spot whilst we dedicate another temple to the god of science. Up to this time, and many years afterwards, there was no organized effort to establish a nniform system of schools, the first attempt in that direction being the assessment and collec- tion of a poor tax on the richer to pay the schooling of the poorer class of citizens. This new notion had many disadvan- tages and iu)t any ^•irtues. It fixed at once a discrimination in personal character which was then and is now" distasteful to the full-blooded American. Schools were taught in several of the old-time houses beside the famous old log house already named. A Mrs. JVIcKeever, an elderly lady, in 1819 had a school in an old house where the depot now stands. Among her scholars were Joseph Warne, well known in this vicinity. Edward Tower, father, of G. H. and Theo. Tower, of Elizabeth, taught a school not long after- wards in the old red house that stood on the lot on which the People's Bank now stands. A Mr. A^'ictor also taught in the same house. He also had Mr. Joseph Warne for a scholar. This teacher boarded with Mr. James Warne, who built and lived in the house so long occupied by the late Joseph Wilson on Main street. Orlando H. Gold taught about the year 1830 in the old red house on the river bank, long known as the house in which the late Samuel Black kept his first store. The building has long since disappeared. Among his scholars were W. J. Alexander, the worthy President of your Board of Directors, Charles Bebee, Samuel C. King, Wash. Spence, Samuel Guthrie, Wni. Devore, Robert McGrew, Franklin Manown and many other formerly well-known boys. Mr. Joseph Grieves, a man of delicate constitution — who lived near the toll-gate up the pike — also taught in the old red house on the river bank, the above-mentioned boys constituting many of his scholars. For some reason, duriiig the progress of his school he packed up liis paraphernalia, consisting of rod, ferule and dinner l)asket, ami moved his (piarters to the red 18 The Old and New Monongaliela. house, where the People's Bank now stands, he, in common with his patrons, having a peculiar taste for a red house. In after years no doubt many of them were gratified to see brick substituted, whether on account of the red color or not, we can only have our opinion. In a recent interview with Moses Arthurs, now a resident of this city and perhaps with us to- night, he informed us that he taught a school in 1831 in an old house which stood on the river bank on the upper corner of the lot on which the old Huston mansion then stood — above the old wharf. Mr. B. F. Bentley was one of his scholars, if we are not mistaken. In the year 1834 Mr. E. A. Talbot opened a school in the old Methodist Church, a part of which can still be seen near the new wharf, and Miss Clarke, an aunt of S. C. and W. H. Wilson, taught a school during the same year in the old house formerly known as the Dorcas Cooper house, opposite the present residence of Richard Stockdale, on Main street. To this school of Miss Clarke Mr. Underwood first sent his child- ren after his arrival in the place. Under her teaching my old friend and schoolmate ' ' Uncle Abe, ' ' learned his first lesson of wisdom; and perhaps to the early impressions of her rulings mav be attributed the fact that to this day he has eschewed matrimony. Mr. Watson, well known among the boys as Blue Bcord^ also kept school in this house. It seemed in those days that no kind of a building except an old house could be used for a school house. The idea of erecting a school house was not even among the possibilities. Such, in a general way, was the condition of school matters in this vicinity prior to the adoption of the common school system of 1834, and let it ever be to its credit that the township embracing Williamsport was among the first to accept the provisions of the law. By the Act of Assembly dated March 28, 1781, the county of Wash- ington was divided into thirteen townships, one of which num- ber was called Fallowtield, and included within its territory the district now known as Monongahela City. All schools to which we have alluded were within its limits until the formation of Tlie Old and Neic Mouongahela. 19 Carroll, September 30, 1834. It will be noticed that Miss Clarke and Mr. Watson were the last to teach in the town whilst it was connected with old Fallowfield. Before the school sys- tem was organized, Carroll Township was formed and Williams- ])ort was within its limits and under its jurisdiction for all purposes. The first election in the new township was held at the house of Joseph Hamilton, who kept the hotel now known as the Miller House, on Main street. At this election a Board of School Directors was elected for the first time. On this Board devolved the duty of organizing the Township for school pur- poses. This was no easy task. We can recall but the names of David Williams, uncle of your honorable Secretary, Isaac Van Voorhis, my venerated father, and Geo. Morrison, now residing in Uniojitown, as members of that Board. The Board, for the time being, divided the Township into convenient sub- districts, as required by law, using for school-houses whatever okl buildings could be obtained. An old house on the hillside, to the left of the road leading from Yerty.'s Run to Galbreath's, furnished one in which a one-armed man was teacher. He being barred out at one time at the approach of the holidays, forced an entrance through the clapboard roof and soon settled the boys with a severe druMinf/^ as it was called. He was a strict but succesful teacher introducing many new and practical ideas not dreamed of in old time philosophy. This school was tinally merged into the one in the stone house at the forks of the run, Col. A. T. Gregg, now in this audience, aided in build- ing, and in wliich house he taught the first school, thus carrying into practice tlie homeopathic dogma, '■'•ShjiUia ■nrailihuf< riirarttirr.'' On the hill, above the present residence of AVm. Blythe, may yet be seen traces of a log cabin, which, con- demned by common consent as unfit for any other use, was selected as a suitable school house. It was a retired spot, not even a road, much less a house, within sight ; no wonder the proprietor was constantly complaining of the depredations of such boys as McCarty Williams, Robert Phillips, James Stock- 20 The Old uitd Nea) Mono/K/dJu-la. dale, Rf)bert Van Voorhis, &c., who, not alive to his finer feelings, displayed a good deal of faith in old time Nihilism, having no disposition to ignore the doctrine well cherished everywhere, that the "boy had no pent-up Utkja to contract his power'' to roam undisturbed, not being met in those days at every crossing by the huge sign of danger as now, bearing the inscription, Trespassers, Beware, or if, by chance some such bug-bear passed before them, it was quickly demolished by the iinger- stone — the boys' native arm of defence. The only thing that forced the old-time boy to a hasty retreat was the bumble-bee and yellow-jacket. In this school, as already in- tiinated, our friend Robt. Phillips was a scholar, and metiiinks I can see him yet, as he sat cross-legged on a split log bench, with slate and pencil, intent on working out a sum in pounds, shillings and pence, or proving to those around him, in his peculiar style, how he had solved the question, "that if two and two make four, four and four would make eight. ' ' In this waste cabin an irishman named Lewis first taught ; he was succeeded by Sampsoi^ and Paull. Lewis was Irsh indeed, and his pupils were very much inclined to imitate his tivamj^ calling have ////yv% sounding the a long instead of a short. The town was divided into two sub-districts, one being a double dis- trict. The upper end, including Catsburg, attended scho()l in a frame house which stood on the island near where the foundry now stands, being owned at that time by the heirs of the late Elias Watkins. For one term at least this school was taught by the late Thos. Collins, Esq. The lower end of town occu- pied the old Methodist Church for a time as a school house. E. A. Talbot seems to have been the first teacher in this house under the new system. He was succeeded in 1835 by a Mr. Prescott. He was a relative of the celebrated historian, and and was a man of more than ordinary literary attainments. After grave consideration the Board of Directors determined to erect in each district a brick or stone house. The houses built in town under this resoultion was the three-roomed house of which the late Alex. Scott was contractor, still standing on Th(2 Old and Nev MonongaheJa. 21 the old Presbyterian Cliureh lot, and the one on the island long since ])assed into the river. In the latter house we think Thos. Collins was the Urst teacher. These houses were occu- pied for the first time in the winter of 1836, having been built during the preceding summer. We feel almost certain that Nimrod Gregg, brother of Col. A. T. Gregg, taught one of the schools in the double house during this winter, and that a Mr. Dunn taught the other one. Mr. Dunn was a Yankee schoolmaster. He was fresh from Yankee land, and full of new ideas in the school business. Pie was soon impressed with the fact that he was in a strange land and surrounded by habits and customs requiring no little moral courage to break into, and as much physical nerve to introduce a n^ departure. He took in the situation readily. He came among them as Mr. not Master Dunn, and as such he would' have them recog- nize him. He intended to teach, not keep school ; that he only had one rule, and that was obedience to his will. His rule was founded, no doubt, on the moral lesson taught in the words of the poet : "I ai)i monarch of all I survey ; My right there is none to dispute ; , I make the little ones to obey. And manage the big ones to boot." Which being translated, means that he would use the rod to the smaller and his boot to the larger scholars. Mr. Dunn's career as a teacher was a success. His Scholas- tic attainment and gentlenuudy dejtortment, together with natural kindness, won for him the esteem of all with whom he came in cositact. He was the first to introduce prizes as rewards • f merit, and the first school prizes ever given were taken by three sisters of your worthy President. By the Act of April, 1837, the town of Williamsport was incorporated into a borough under the name and style of ^[onongahela city, and thereafter the schools were placed un- der the control of a Board of Directors elected exclusively by the voters in the new borouii'li. The lat(^ T. p. Hazzard sue- 22 Till Old (Did JSfev Monongahela. ceeded Dunn as teacher, and carried out more fully new im- provements in the art of teaching. He was a fine scholar, a kind friend and a generous benefactor. To him, more than any one individual, is this community indebted for its well known educational spirit. He taught the first classical acade- my in the town. Among his pupils were many who are now hold- ing or have held important positions in church and State. Un- der his teachings a new spirit on the subject of education seemed to take hold of the people, giving rise to a desire for an advance in the cause, with the selection of teachers of a higher order of literary worth. Shortly after his retirement from teaching in the old house, the question of examining teachers as to their qualifications was raised, and to render the matter practical, the late Dr. R. F. Biddle and A. W. David- son, editor of the (^arroll Gazette^ were appointed a Board of Examiners. Among the many other teachers in the old double house were Joseph S. Morrison, now a distinguished member of the Pittsburgh bar, and R. F. Cooper. Cooper had been among Hazzard's earliest pupils, at the age of sixteen having read at a public exhibition his masterly literary production entitled, ''Mutability of all things.'' To him and his teachings your speaker owes his earliest thirst for literature. As a teacher, penman, writer, printer, editor and soldier, he had few equals. His criticism at the early part of the late war on the tactics of the United States army, as printed in the Philadelphia North Aiiierican^ elicited commendation from the highest military authorities of the nation. On the graves of Hazzard and Cooper let us not forget to strew^ flowers and shed tears of regret over their early demise. Friends, teachers, though dead, thy virtues live. The rapid growth of the borough soon necessitated the erection of a new school building. In the year 1852 the Board of Directors, consisting of our venerable friend, Cyrus Underwood, as President, and the late Alexander Wilson as Secretary, with Joseph Alexander, H. H. Finley, Wilson The Old and Nev Monom/ahrfa. 23 Thompson and Alex. Scott as members, resolved to build a new school house, which gave the town the brick house across the street from this house. The lot was purchased from Henry Fulton. The house cost $7,000. Johnson Baird and Wm. Wilson did the stone and brick work, whilst the veteran con- tractor, Wm. Coulter — with us to-night — did the carpenter work. It was opened for school in the fall of 1853. Andrew Brown, now of the "Forks" and T. R. Hazzard, just returned from West Newton, were the first teachers, the former having been the last to teach in the old building. Too much credit cannot be given President Underwood for his untiring industrv and foresight in moulding public opinion and carrying the enter- prise to a successful issue. He was born in Baltimore, Md., August 28, 1807. He first settled in this place in 1834, where he has resided ever since, excepting three years he served as recorder of the county. He and H. H. Finley are the only surviving members of that Board of Directors. We are glad to see them both here to-night. Kind friends, faith- ful Christians, human benefactors, we bid you God speed. The Union school was organized in the fall of 1854, with James H. Moore as Principal, and Miss Webster, Miss Bebee and Miss Hodgson as assistants. Mr. Moore is deceased. His wife, formerly Miss Webster, is now Principal of one of the public schools of Indianapolis. This Union school, under the supervision of a principal, was a new thing among the people, and for a time the plan had many prejudices to overcome, but ere the close of the first term it was pronounced a success by the bitterest enemy. Owing to many diversified circumstances the principal and teachers were very often changed, a policy of questionable propriety. Recently, however, the reverse ob- tains. We cannot recall the names of all who have in this building taught school. We record here that Prof. Jennings was the last principal in that building, and that his reputation is such as insure us in openly declaring that his career has been successful, and that the very walls of the old building join in echoing his praise. -24: T/ic Old and JVew Monoinjuhda. By the provisions of the act incorporating the borough into a city, its boundaries were considerably enlarged, adding thereby mi^ch to the population, and increasing the number of scholars in the public schools. This fact had much to do in originating the necessity of this grand edifice, now under the process of dedication. This building needs no eulogy from me; it speaks for itself in tones that will reverberate through genera- tions yet unborn. When this valley, with its hundred villages, smoking with the fires of industry, shall quake with the thun- derings of the iron horse as it drives with lightning speed its human freight from ocean to ocean, this house will be pointed to as the proudest monument to science between the rising and setting sun. Long after the drapery of the grave shall have enshrouded them, the names of Williams, Beaver, King, Ham- mond, Shepler, Linn, Blythe, Teeters, Alexander, Coulter, Hartrick and others connected therewith, will have an abiding- place in the future. The contractors, too, Neil Blythe & Co., will not be forgotten, when future generations shall make up their jewels of rejoicing. We cannot refrain from turning aside for a moment and pointing you to some interesting feat- ures in the life of our old friend and schoolmate, Wm. Coulter. More than half a century ago we together attended the old Colhoon school, near the late residence of Abe Hull. He has been so long identified with this community in all its interests, and especially in that of its public schools, that his nature has had much to do in moulding the disposition and tastes of the people. He was born November 11, 1817, in Catsburg, in the old house still standing on the corner of the street leading to the cemetery. He came on the stage of life, it will thus be seen, about the time in the history of that village when '" Biddie Caldwell" held queenly sway. He first attended school in an old house long since passed into the river, near the residence of the late Judge Hill. Llis next school was that of Miss Burke, who kept in an old house on the Bollman lot, near the residence of the late Noble Woodward. Among the scholars were his brother Ralph and Joseph Woodward. He The Old and Nein Afonongaheln. 25 also attended John Dimning's school, kept in the red house ah'oady named, where the Peoples Bank stands. In 1827 he attended school in the old house in the rear of the grocery of D. H. Williams, where Gabriel Silverthorn lived long ago. Early in 1828 he attended the old Colhoon school. In 1830 he went to school to a man named Hepburn, wlio, with his two daughters, taught a semi-graded school in the old Dorcas Cooper house. Mrs. Margaret Sloan was one of the scholars, and has very vivid recollections of the teachers. After the adoption of the common school system he was a scholar at the Irish Lewis school on Marshall's hill. The last school he ever attended was taught by Moses Arthurs, on the Yough river, near Robbin's mill. At the close of this school he considered himself a graduate in the ' ' Single Rule of Three, ' ' and con- gratulated himself, no doubt, that after years of hard study in many schools of learning, he had at length acquired sufficient proficiency in that Rule as to cpialify him for the carpenter trade. He began to learn his trade with a Mr. Kelly, but made poor progress, OMang to the fact that Keliy did not have any- thing to do. This did not suit the young apprentice as well as it would boys now-a-days, so he left Kelly and engaged with Amos Robbins to learn the millwright trade. It soon, how- c\ er, struck William that curves, wheels and spindles would not lead rapidly to wealth, so he suddenly, with rule and square, set out fordiimself on his first track, and how well he has pur- sued it ever since, let the result of skill all over this neigh- borhood bear the testimony. He is with us to-night, and al- though his first love of a schoolhouse has been superceded, he delights to dwell on the beauties of this grand ])nlace. He has i)een a school director in his native town back to the time to wliich memory runneth not to the contrary. He has seen the old building across the way come and answer its day. Although in appearance he looks hale and robust, a twinkle of the eye readily detects the facf that the weight of years is upon him. God bless you Wm. Coulter. Independent of the common school system, the infiuence of 26 The Old and Neni Monongahela. the select and academical schools acted no little part in creating that educational spirit which has given your city so widespread reputation for its literary taste. Over half a century ago, Dr. Ralston, at his residence near Ginger Hill, heard the late Sam- uel Hare, Aaron Williams and Samuel Williams recite their first lessons in Greek and Latin. Then followed the academies of Hazzard and E. S. Blake in the old church on the river bank; of J. D. Mason, in the old church on the hill, and of J. P. Thompson, in the old carriage factory where your humble ser- vant learned to decline "Stella," and conjugate the Greek verb TuPTo, Tupso, Tetupha, Etupon. Then followed the schools of McFarland and the Morrison brothers and the select school of Mary J. Cooper, now Mrs. Biddle, whose presence greets us to-night. There, too, was Miss Celia Gillet, daughter of the late Rev. N. H. Gillet, of Rehoboth. She, with her father and mother, have passed to the better land, whilst Miss Lizzie Lockhart is here to-night. Miss Haines, a lady from Canons- burg, taught a select school for a time in the old church on the river bank; so, also, did Rev. Samuel Hudson, now a distin- guished minister in the Cumberland Church. Miss Haines had among her scholars Miss Eliza J. Warne, now the wife of John Watkins, of Missouri; Miss Hindman and Miss Campbell, of Finleyville, Miss Rebecca Van Yoorhis, now of Spearville, Kansas, and many others whose names we cannot recall. From these schools in this vicinity were sent forth many who have taken an important part in the drama of life. J. .W. F. White, once a pupil, is now a judge in Pittsburgh, A. H. Kerr is an able minister in St. Peters, Minnesota; John McFarland was a pioneer minister in Missouri, and died a few years ago near Greenfield, Dade county; J. C. Cooper is a prominent physician of Philadelphia; W. F. Hamilton is one of the most talented ministers in the Synod of Wheeling; John H. Storer and James H. Manown have long been prominent physicians of West Virginia; A. J. Davis is a physician in the East End, Pittsburgh ; Joseph S. and A. P. Morrison are law- yers of high standing in Pittsburgh; James Fleming is a sue- The Old and Nev^ Monongahela . 27 cessful physician in Franklin, Ohio; George T. Miller is a wealthy coal dealer in this valley, near Lock No. 2; he is the father of Rev. Miller, of the Presbytery of Blairsville; Dr. W. H. King was one of the most distinguished surgeons and physicians in Western Pennsylvania ; he died a few years since in the prime of manhood; his remains are sleeping calmly in the beautiful cemetery overlooking his native town; Francis Gardner remains in statu quo on the farm in the bend of the river below Elkhorn; James Scott, one of Hazzard's early pupils, studied medicine with Dr. Biddle in the little old office that stood where Hoffman's store now is. He first practiced his profession in Greenfield, Pa. moved to Ohio, where as physi- cian and politician, he has always occupied ar high position. For many years he was a leading member of the Ohio Legisla- ture; was consul at Honolulu for a term, and is now again a member of the legislature, where, as Nestor of that body, he is recognized as the leading spirit. He is a brother of the late Alex. Scott, of this city. Thomas Hodgson, grandson of the good old J. R. Shugart, is a talented and successful minister in the M. E. Church. Cyrus B. King is a physician in Allegheny, and at this time one of the visiting surgeons of the West Penn Hospital. Geo. P. Fulton, at the age of seventeen, devoted himself to teaching, and has pursued it ever since, except whilst in the army during the war. He has just been elected for the eleventh time Principal of the Hiland public schools. East End, in city of Pittsburgh. Thomas P. Gordon, son of the late Judge Gordon, was the first college graduate in the town, having graduated at Jefi'erson College in 1833. He was a minister, and died at his post of duty in Terre Haute, Indiana. He was the only native of this city who ever received the honorary degree of D. D. He was a brother of Mrs. Sloan, who is a resident of this city. Want of physical vigor alone prevents her presence to-night. May her last be the crowning years, and may the happy thought of a well-s])ent life be her consolation. Thomas T. Williams, was a school boy at Blake & Hazzard's ; is now a successful medical prac- 28 The Old and Xev: Monongahela. titioner at White College, Greene countj, Pa., where for twenty-three years he has physicked Democrats and Republi- cans to their stomach's content. Dr. J. M. H Gordon has long been a physician in Fayette connty. Alonzo Linn, brother of Dr. Linn, a worthy member of your Board, was one of Hazzard's scholars ; he graduated at Jefferson College ; studied divinity ; was licensed to preach by the Presbytery of Red- stone ; is now Yice-President and Professor of Greek in Washington and Jeffers<^n College, and is looked upon as one of the most learned Greek scholars in the nation. M. P. Morrison is your oldest resident physician, and if my eyesight does not deceive me, the frosty tinge noticeable on his head should remind- him that it is not good for man to be alone. The mild and genial James P. Fulton is jn-eaching to the pioneer sinners of Har}»er, Kansas, after having served his Master in that capacity for over a quarter century in the old Keystone State. Robert Ofhcer is a successful business man in Baltimore, Md., and Uncle Abe Underwood is still a resi- dent of your city, and looks but little older than ho did when a student in the old carriage factory, forty-one years ago. There, too, is my old friend, Frank Manown ; he has seen the old log school house, tlie old red house, the old brick house, the new^ brick house over the street, and the present palace. He claims to be one of the oldest resident scholars. His early education consisted in inlying the oar at the old ferry. In his early days he was much engaged in mercantile and other pur- suits, but for a long season his occupation has been that of a farmer and attending to the wants of those around him — kind and generous to a fault. He and V. C. J(»hnson, of Pitts- burgh, are the only survi^'ors of those who occupied what was known as the bachelor's pew in the old Presbyteriian Church at the foot of the hill. At the close of his day's labor, he still can be seen in his regular walk over the bridge to spend a few hours with his friends in the city. A peculiar fondness for education has ever characterized the citizens of this city, and thus their early literary spirit gave The Old and NewMonomiahela. 29 hem an advance hold on the dominant idea of the present day. Let us not, then, mourn over the departure of ancient manners and customs sup})Ianted by the American idea. This is the motive power of the present day. By it we have assumed a proud position as a nation among the constellation of States ; by it we have utilized the electric spark to annihilate time and space ; by it the late Col, Scott pushed the iron horse freighted, with human thought from the rising of the sun to the going down thereof in eighty hours ; by it the western wilds and sandy deserts have been converted into fields of ever-blooming flowers ; by it we can signal the coming storm, and tell what a day may bring forth ; by it we have solved the problem of self-government, which defied the genius of sixty centuries ; by it we are reminded that he only "shall receive the blessing from the Lord and righteousness from the God of his salva- tion who hath clean hands and a pure heart ; who hath not lifted up his soul unto vanity nor sworn deceitfully."" Letter from George F. Fulton. HiiiAND Public School, i Pittsburgh, Pa., July 1st, ISSl. \ Directors of Monongahela City Pxhlic Schools : Gentlemen, — I have the honor to acknowledge the receipt of your invitation "to be present at and aid in the dedication of the public school building" in your city this evening. The many duties attending the closing of the term in our own schools will prevent me from gratifying a long-cherislied hope (»f meeting again my old friends, and partici|)ating in the reunion the occasion will atford to the "boys'" and "-girls" who answered the school-bells of more than a quarter of a century ago. In contemplating your joyous meeting, my heart truly yearns ioY a glimpse of the old footprints of youth and home that were once mine, around and within the ]»recincts of my native town. The fathers that in my }'outhful days were the guardians of 4 .30 Tlw Old and New Monongahehi. your municipality have all passed away from earth and its con- flicts, and have now no part in all the "pomp that decks the summer hills, save that their graves are green/' The generation next succeeding these are now the old men who go about your town with fi-osty brows, garrulous of the "good times'' when the raftman's horn awoke the echoes of the hills and the wild duck and the yellow perch held their favorite haunts by the "Island" audits winding creek hard by. The boys of that day, who then pressed up Beebe's alley and around past the Presbyterian Church into Captain Cooper's school, with the golden dust of the yellow fennel on our bare feet, or afterwards attended Mr. Joseph S. Morrison's acad- emy on the river bank, held over the room where dwelt Mrs. Noble and her dog, are no longer the lads who threw "fire- balls" through the streets every time that the Hon. George V. Lawrence was elected, or built bon-tires on the grave-yard hill when we would hear men talking of good news from the armies of Scott and Taylor in the war with Mexico. We were/V// of that war, for Sparks Cooper — the brave o/d Sparks — was he not in it, and had we not seen on a Fourth of July, Captain Washington's artillery from Carlisle Barracks go through our place on its journey to that distant field of strife 'I Not to make mention of the school girls of that day would be to withhold the utterance of our happiest and purest recol- lections. They "piped unto us when we danced" to our flagellations, and even shared our quarrels. Did they not, with their own white hands, weave the wreaths of pine and myrtle with which we decked our church for the yearly exhi- bition, and "read their essays" and adorned our ranks with their youthful beauty. Many of them will, doubtless, be with vou> this evening as the honored mothers of a duteous train of younglings to be reared under the fostering influences of the new school, while of others we must reflect in sadness, that — "The mossy marbles rest On the lips that we have press'd In their bloom. And the names we loved to liear, Have been carved for many a year On the tomb." The Old and New Monongaliela. 31 I have to regret that I am not fully informed as to the names of all who comprise your present School Board. I can see in fancy the honored President, in inextinguishable youth, grac- ing the night's array, the friend of the boys of '81 as he was the mentor and model of spotless manhood to the boys of 1842. Of my former schoohnates on your Board, Secretary Williams is scanning the spacious building that his energy and tireless spirit aided so much to project and build, atoning in part for unpunished acts of demolition, chronicled against him in the school-house by the river, where he strung bells and rung them during the meditations of our study hours, put the then "smallest boy," Chill now Major, Hazzard, out of the house, through the window, and terrified his mates from their beds at night by alarms of ghosts and spirits evolved from his rollicking brain. There, too, is Captain Wilson (Clark), who once on a time could boast of, swimming, with three other Leanders, from Baird's to Eccles' wharf, without a rest, and who was with me "up the creek" when Michael Dooley was drowned, and Doc- tor George Lynn, the faithful student, who came from over the bridge, with Will. Pierce, John Wilson, Curry and William Ketcham. How I recall him invoking on "speech days," "(Trlenara, " from the "Highland Glen," or imploring "Pizarro" for a hearing car. Last but not least in my affections, I can see my old friend and army comrade. Doctor William King, towering manly and strong as when in youth he trod the hills of the "Jersey settle- ment," or in later years followed the flag of his country in our strife for the Union, and won rank and honor in the 155th Regiment Pennsylvania Volunteers. I trust that the new edifice may be dedicated to the fostering of a sturdy brood of townsmen, who will be equally well taught in the uses of the body, the mind and the heart ; that it may be consecrated as the ])eo])le's school, the ])oor num's college, the rich man's safeguard and the great ho])e of all classes of society. 32 The Old and Nev Monoiiriahela . From its r(jOiiis may there ever go forth legions of stalwarts who will be strong enough to earn their bread, wise enough to know their duty, and brave enough to do it. May the generation to be trained in the new house be better taught than the ancients of the town, as they will have better opportunities, and be equal to them in honesty, purity, social and public virtue, and are the elements of exalted character. I close with a sentiment uttered by the late Col. Sam. Black in an address once delivered in your own county : "Let us all, with one accord, say, 'God bless the common school system. For it is to the wintry condition of the world what the sun- shine of spring, the rain of heaven and the distilled dews of the night are to the earth in her struggles to bring forth through ribs of frost the bud, the leaf and the flower. I remain, very respectfully, Your obedient servant, Geo. p. Fulton. The Old and New* Monongahela. 33 The Dedication. , The school building was dedicated July 1st, 1881, by Rev. Dr. Higbee, State Superintendent. REPORT OF BUILDING COMMITTEE. WHAT IT COST. Captain T. H. Williams, Chairman of the Building Committee, made the following report : Paid John Kennedy for 100 f eet ^n^J^rTboSl^^^^^^ $ 3,213 67 Damage to tenants on same ./y!'..\.-f. *rA../^^^^N^ 250 00 Wallace estate for one lot f/vv- >-v->.----^^^---^^^^^^ V^.^L 65 97 VV^^ . -^ 'oyO -^1 $3,529 64 Contract with Neel, Blythe & Co , W/tot city, foFTlie enfi^e^om- pietion of the building .^^^^d^^^fQUC^^^ 17,750 00 Contract with Kelly & Jones, of Pittsbuifeli, fUi' jU.aui"1ieating ap- paratus 2,536 27 Contract with Keystone School-Church Furniture Co., for the entire seating of building. 2,700 00 Contract with Mitchell, Vance & Co., New York, for chandeliers 220 00 (loHtract with Solomon Meredith for one 75-barrel cistern to supply water for boilers 75 00 Wm. Nelson & Sons, stone buttresses for front steps 125 00 Drum&Steen, architects. 230 00 $27,165 91 We issued on June 30, 1880, .1?17,300 bonds at 16 years, bearing 6 per cent, interest, which we sold at a premium of 3 per cent. We issued on April 1, 1881, $(3,000 6 per cent, bonds, running 20 years, which we sold at a premium of 7 per cent., making a total bonded indebtedness of $23,000 — bonds pur- chased by our own citizens. T. H. Williams, Wm. J. Alexandfk, Sect^etary. President. 34 The Old and New Moiumgahela. Quite a large number of prominent educators were in attend- ance during the dedication, among whom were Rev. Dr. Hig- bee, State Superintendent, Prof. George J. Lucky, City Su- perintendent of Pittsburgh, Rev. George P. Beard, President of the State Normal School at California, Prof. J. H. Darling, Superintendent of Allegheny Schools, Prof. G. E. Hemphill, Superintendent of Allegheny ward schools. Prof. Teal, County Superintendent of Greene County, Prof. E. W. Mouck, Super- intendent of Washington County. The New School House Destroyed by Fire. This beautiful school building was of short life. On Friday morning, March 2, 1883, the whole building was destroyed by fire. We extract from the Daily Repuhlican the particulars of the fire. The RepyMican of the 3d says: ••'We have to record the most disastrous fire that ever oc- curred in this city About 4 o'clock Mr. Simmons in com- pany with some fellow miners going to work discovered the block, corner Main and Fourth streets, on fire. It seemed to them to be just under or just back of the stairway leading to the Record printing office and R. F. Cooper's photograph rooms. The building in which the fire originated was built last spring, and was a wooden tinder box, made of pine lumber and filled with paint ; a mere shell, which was soon in so hot a blaze that it was impossible to pass up Main street between it and the Central Block. The flames soon spread to the wagon shops adjacent, and that too blazed like a straw pile. It was soon evident that unless something was speedily done the new school house must fall a prey to the flames. A feeble eft'ort was made to tear the shops down, but the utter lack of appli- ances and the fast encroaching heat soon rendered all attempt in this direction futile. Then the cry went up ' The school house is afire,' and soon the tongue of flame licking the cor- nice and eating its way into the roof sent a shudder through the thousands of on-lookers, and for a while paralyzed all efforts. Could it be possible 'i Must that splendid building, The Old and New Monongahela. 35 the pride of our hearts, the magnificent School Building, pro- nounced by the State Superintendent ' the finest in the state,' must it be given a prey to the relentless flames '( Alas, it is too true/' Address. [Address delivered at the Re-dedication of the Public School House, Mononga- hela City, Pa., September 27, 1883, by Prof. George P. Fulton, of the Hiland Public School, Pittsburgh, Pa. :] To ask me to speak here to-night is like calling upon a man to respond to a toast at the marriage feast of his step-mother. The bride is young and fair, as all brides are. His father's face beams on the throng of smiling guests. The table is spread and the light is gleaming on china and glassware and silver. The limpid golden notes of the marriage bell ringing over all. But can the son of the woman who is dead, of the wife whose place is being taken by the stranger, speak in ac- cord with all this ? Will there not more likely rise up in his memory the scenes of that other day, the outgoing of that other wife— his mother 'i This bride is fair, but his mother's face was more rarely pale that day. Many of these same guests were there. Their jests were neither so light nor so loud, but the clasp of their hands was closer and the bells rang then. Can he speak to the toast of this new bride when his heart is full of the other ? Do not ask him. He sees the dark pall loom across the lights of revelry and through all the merry jest and compliment of the banquet rings a sound as of the far-olf tolling of a bell. His face is set toward the feast but his heart turns backward to the funeral. So mine to-night. I turn my face to this fine, large building, with its wide halls and spacious rooms and artistic furnishings. This commodious structure which your intelligence and thrift have builded, and your affection and forethought are dedicating to your children, but my eyes arc full of another picture. I have in my mind two other school houses — nay, three — for some of the boys are doubtless here. The grey-bearded boys 36 The Old cmd New MonongaJcela. of Carroll, who recall the old brick school house that stood between Baird's aud Beckett's, that we attended under the tutilage of Mrs. Moses Arthurs, in the days when your honored citizen, T. H. Baird, Esq., was the jolly skipper of the steamer " Harlem," and the Hon. Geo. W. Lawrence was first taking his seat in the legislative halls of Pennsylvania. Not so spa- cious nor so handsome in your eyes as this one — the old double house where Captain R. F. Cooper led our bare feet over the thorny paths of primary learning, and the academy by the river where the gentle Morrison and Storer ruled up stairs and Mrs. Noble's dog ' ' held savage sway below. ' ' ' ' We may build more splendid habitations but we cannot buy with gold the old as- sociations. ' ' Build your new school house of the brightest bricks, lay the walls true and set angles square, adorn them with mullion and pilaster and buttress, but they will lack the lettering of the dear old names which made the walls of the double house and the academy read like a muster roll. Call the rolls of the old schools over and hear how the scat- tered responses come from every quarter of the globe. That faithfvil historian, my beloved friend and brother, Dr. Van Yoorhis, who loves to garner precious memories and indite on perpetual tablets the recollections of his native valley, gave in the exercises of your dedication two years ago a roll of the school boys, a few of whose names at least some of the "old- sters" here to-night will be glad to hear repeated. "J. W. F. White," call that one softly, or peradventure a tipstave will take you into custody for contempt of court. White has gone from the wooden bench the Doctor mentions to the bench of the Common Pleas Court of Allegheny County. It is Judge White now. "James Scott." Hear it echo out in Ohio. They hear of nothing but the Scott law there. "Jim Scott was one of the oldsters, ' ' as Frank, and Pat, and Orr, and John, and Mose, and Joe, were of the youngsters of your speaker's day. He had his training under the vigilant eyes and the kind and The Old and New Mono/iguheht. 37 generous ministrations of the lamented Hazzard. He stii(|ied medicine and moved to Ohio, where no outsider can succeed, except a few from Washington county with the pith and fibre of these hills in their physique. He was elected to the legisla- ture, represented his country at Honolulu for a term, came back, was again elected to the legislature, and is now famous as the author of the new law to tax the liquor traffic in that State. Coming from so healthy a community as this, it is won- derful how the boys who have gone out from these schools have ran to physic. "A. J. Davis," of old Carroll stock, is a practicing physi- cian in the community in which I teach. "J. C. Cooper." He has for years been toning up the vital organs and regulating the digestion of a large circle of clients in Philadelphia. " M. P. Morrison." The children of his schoolmates have been making wry faces at his rhubarb and jalap here in Monon- gahela for thirty years. " W. H. King," there is no answer from his lips. He sleeps in the cemetery, but his name is famous among the foremost surgeons of Western Pennsylvania. "Jas. M. H. Gordon," a physician and a soldier, has of late gone down to rest, and the glistening night dew now weeps o'er his churchyard pillow. Of our personal friends and play- mates of a later generation, there is Cyrus King winning a name and competency in Allegheny City. George Linn, pros- perous and domiciled under the very shadow of the hills over which we together loved to roam, and Thomas T. Williams, doctoring Democrats at White Cottage in the County of Greene. But I will not weary you by going over all the names that come thronging to my tongue. It would be but to tell you where your fathers and your uncles are. The boys of the past are the men of the present. They have rolled down their pantaloons and wear shoes now all the year round. We can- not claim them as boys now, but they have given us no reason to blush for them as men. They have .done honor to their honest breeding ; some in the physician's office, some in the 38 The Old and New Monongahela. counting room, some in the courts and many in the pulpit, for the schools of Monongahela city have given to the ministry some of the grandest, the noblest men that ever went out under the white banner of the son of God. But there are those of my school fellows here to-night who have not preached, nor stirred the mystic potion in the J^^scu- lapian chaldron and who may have plead in youth at other "Bars" than those of justice, who have yet acted well their part in this town of yours, to whom I give my warmest saluta- tion. I may not name them, but you will recognize them as your foremost citizens, sitting at your Council Boards, and directors of your schools. They have given their best ener- gies to the enhancement of the wealth and resources of their native town, have reared churches in amends for youthful irreverency and built school houses in expiation of their designs on those they may once have wished to burn. Very many of the old boys of the advanced class are gone : violets blossom now above the graves of the old masters. The old directors are dust. Pardon me if I have dwelt at wearisome length on these men of earlier days. It seemed to me that they should have a share in the words spoken here to-night. " Not to the living only be it said, But to the other living called the dead. Whose dear paternal images appear Not wrapped in gloom, but robed in sunshine here ; Whose simple lives, complete and without flaw Were part and parcel of great nature's law. Who said not to their Lord, as if afraid, ' Here is thy talent in a napkin laid,' But labored in their sphere as men who live On the delight that work alone can give. Peace be to them ; eternal peace and rest, And the fulfillment of the great behest : ' Ye have been faithful over a few things, Over ten citiies shall ye reign as kings.' " It was their lot to strike the axe into the edge of the wilder- ness, to pass along the way of life when ignorance sat at every gate, a blind and helpless Bartimeus. What in their light to The Old ami New Monougahela. 39 sec was given to their hands to do, they did it well. You who have clearer light to your eyes and more adequate machinery to your hands are expected to do better. They had the clay and the log, you have the brick and the plank. You have the wisdom that they taught you. If I may be pardoned the personal comparison, they had the foot- prints of Chill Hazzard's bare-feet upon the school room Hoor, and the marks of the chewed paper wads upon the ceiling, you have his head joined to your councils, and the more pow- erful paper weapon which he wields now to aid you. Do not make the mistake of supposing that there is less necessity for work. Machinery will not run itself. Maps and globes of themselves will not teach anybody anything even in this fine school house. Do not go home after this dedication and sit down content that you have contributed so much money. You can stint and economise and lower the tax a little. A dollar paid out to support a public school is a dollar put at interest for the benefit of your children, and you owe it to them. You have brought them into this struggling, fighting world and they have a right to demand that you furnish them weapons forth- with. The old flint lock will not do. They were good enough in our father^s day, but we require something better and our children will need the best. The old Concord coaches offered wonders in the way of speed to our ancestors, but we travel by steam now, and those who come after us are getting ready to do everything by electricity. Steam is too slow for them and they look to you to furnish the machinery. You have done well to build this beautiful school house. You have done bravely, in view of your misfortune, in your last costly structure. But do not go home and canonize your- selves. You have done no more than your duty to your child- ren, as your parents did by you. The future will belong, as every age has, to the educated men. By what you have done here as fathers and what will be done within these walls hereafter, you simply file your children's claim for a share in it. As citizens you pay your debt to the government which 40 The Old and Weiv Monongahela. protects yon by doing the best and most that within yon lies to guarantee to your country an intelligent and patriotic citizen- ship in the future. The school house is the cornerstone of liberty and its bells chime the forward march of civilization and improvement. You have laid the one deep in the abiding rock and swung the other high to the winds of heaven. You have a right to be pleased with yourselves and with your work, and there is not one among this company who has more reason to be proud and gratified than I who owe so much to the early advantages which the liberality of your fathers gave me. Ke-Dedioation of the School House in Monongahela Crrv. The Daily Repuhlican of September 2S, 1883, gives an elaborate account of the dedication of this school house, re-built on the same site and embracing much of the brickwork of the one burned March 2, 1883. State Superintendent Higbee, J. D. Moft'at, President of Washington and Jefferson College, Professor Lucky, Professor Douthett and Dr. J. S Van Voor- his, delivered very interesting addresses, in addition to Pro- fessor Fulton, inserted in full above. W. J. Alexander, Presi- dent of the Board of Directors, bfefore closing the exercises, remarked "that it was half-past ten o'clock and plenty of good dishes on the table not served.. So in dire need he was com- pelled to close, having omitted several names from the pro- gramme, fortunatety, however, of gentlemen whose local resi- dence will enable us to hear them again. Old Time School Houses. On the old road in Fallowtield Township, Washington county. Pa., leading from Hair's old mill to the Pittsburgh and Brownsville State road, near where Dickey's school house lately stood, near the farm line of the late Moses Colvin may yet be seen a few relics of what was, over sixty years ago, an old dilapidated house, converted into a primitive school house It was erected of round oak logs, one story high ; about 18 by The 01 fJ and N'eti'' Monongahela . 41 20 feet in size, roofed with clap-boards held in place by what were called ''weight poles" extending a little beyond the length of the roof ; these poles were kept at proper spaces apart by what were called ''knees;"" these were pieces of timber either round or split, about 3 feet in length. The clap- boards were about 6 feet long and 6 inches wide, split like unshaven shingles of now-a-days, but of uniform thickness and width. The ceiling was laid loose with inch boards and the tioor in the same manner. The space between the logs was filled with "puncheons" and the open space filled with clay mortar. The huge fire place was made of split logs, interlaid with flat stones laid at an angle of 45 degrees, and daubed with a mortar called " catan " clay. The chimney was "topped"' out with split sticks plastered with the same kind of mortar. If the chimney smoked it was attributed to the wind " beating down." The door was hung on wooden hinges and made throughout without nails. The wooden latch with its flaxen string were the fastenings of every day use. But, to make secure, was accomplished by the wooden bolt which could only be displaced by a practised manipulation of the wire key made at the nearest blacksmith shop. The windows were on the sides, midway between the ceiling and the floor. They were made by taking out on each side a log for about two-thirds the length, and to keep out the cold and admit light, in the absence of glass, greased paper was used instead of panes of glass. The paper being more frequently used on account of its cheap- ness. Along these windows, fastened to the log wall, were the boards on which the advanced scholars did their writing. The benches used for seats for the scholars were made of split logs with the split side up — and no backs to lean against. The fire was a wood fire — no coal being yet used. Such is a meagre description of an old time school house, where, in old Fallow- field township, the older Moodys, Witherows, Colvins, Hairs, Van Voorhis', McComas", I'owers, Evans and others were accustomenart, with Michael Power and Samuel Moody, in nKUiai»;ing tlie money mntters. Among tlie archives of that 72 The Old and New Moncmgahela. old church is the following subscription paper. Some of the names are written in the subscriber's own writing and others not : November the 28, 1805. James Prine $3 50 Robert Williams 2 50 Daniel Vorehas 3 00 Heury Blythe 1 50 Afoses Carr 3 00 William Witherow • 2 00 William Fenton 2 17 Jacob Crabs 3 00 Subscribed December 19, 1S06. James Hair $3 00 William Priau 1 00 John Foraker 1 00 Then is added below a subscription in pounds, shillings and pence : Henry Siiepler 17s. 6d. James McKnight 7s. 6d. Hannah Power 18s. 9(1. John Power 18s. 9d. Jen McCutcheon 7s. 6d. On the back of this paper is written, in Dr. Ralston' s own writing, the following : "April 5th, 1806. Received from Samuel Moody seven pound, one shilling and ten pence one half penny in stipends for the year 1805." Elder James Hair had, during the summer of 1806, removed from Berkeley county, Va. , and among his first duties was to subscribe to the support of the gospel and deposit the certificate of himself and wife from the church of Middletown, under the signature of Father Joseph Glass, pastor. From this period to 1811, we have no record of either, the spiritual or financial condition of the congregation, only that in some way, or by some means, the place of preaching was changed to Farkison's Ferry. In the old Horse Shoe Church there was no pew rent, but the subscriptions were called stipends and pronounced ^'- stee- piiis.'^ Scats were free to all, but each family was naturally inclined to occupy the same seat, and hence gradually was j The Old and New Monongahda . 73 originated the idea of families each renting by the year a seat called "pews" first in the old church on the hill, where tlie pew-rent system was adopted. As Esq. Hair was one of the giants in the Williamsport congregation, so Michael Power was the ghmt in the old Horse Shoe Church, where, during liis life, he delighted to worship. He lived on the high hill above the residence of one of the Shannons, on a part of the farm now owned by the heirs of Moses Colvin, deceased. His barn standing on the highest part of the hill, shortly before his death, was burned with all its contents. On hearing of the fire, Dr. lialston remarked to a friend that "the individual who fired that sainted man's barn would die on the gallows." Subse- quent events in the eyes of the neighborhood verified the pre- diction. His remains, together with a countless host of other earlier settlers, lie in the graveyard adjoining the old church. Wm. Irwin, although living in Parkison's Ferry, took an active part in the old Horse Shoe congregation, and was permitted to see the church on the hill grow in number and spiritual strength, and for years in it he occupied a pew. He built and resided for some years in the brick house now occupied as a boarding- house by Mrs. Kerr on Main street in Monongahela City. This house was built on Lot No. 1 in the original plan of the town, and it was the first brick house in the town. In what year it was built we cannot say, but we think in 1802. Will- iam Witherow was a cooper by trade and follow^ed his occupa- tion in a shop not far from the present residence of his grand- son, John Witherow, in Fallowfield. Whiskey barrels, churns, buckets, tubs, wash tubs and pld,akestaiids for still-houses were the kind of vessels generally made. Flour and apple barrels were in little demand. We have as early as September 17, 1814, a record that shows he was a cooper, in our possession, being an old account book. He was the father of Samuel, David, Benjamin and James. Samuel was the father of John Witherow, the well- known blacksmith on the Brownsville road. He was a black- smith, as well as his son John, who still holds the old shop and is one of the substantial fixtures in Fallowfield. 74 The Old and New MonongaJtela. Henry Shepler was another old Horseshoe subscriber. He lived and died on the farm now owned by Wm. Rogers on Maple creek. His wife was the daughter of the older k^arnuel Frye. Shepler, with his brother-in-law. Samuel Frye, owned the old mill on Maple creek, where now stands the mill of Henry Cooper. Shepler had two sons. Bowman, celebrated for his love of mischief, moved west long ago, where he died. Feter lived on the farm now owned by the heirs of Wm. Swab, on Maple creek. He removed west about 1860, and has been dead many years. Rev. Aakon Hakvey Kerr Died at Rochester, Minnesota, February 27th, 1890. He was born in Washington county. Pa., January 1st, 1819. His father was the late Aaron Kerr, Esq., who for so many years represented Washington county in the Legislature, and who for years kept store and lived in the brick house on Main street in Monongahela City, now owned by Mrs. Stuart, nearly op- posite the Episcopal church. The deceased was familiarly known as Harvey. Fie was a brother of Rev. Joseph Kerr, of Fairfield, Iowa, of Hampton Kerr, of Cross Creek, Washing- ton county, Pa. He was also a brother of Mrs. Susan Apple- gate, Mrs. Phcebe Hair and Mrs. Amanda Hanna, all well known in this community. Harvey was a student of the academy taught by Rev. J. D. Mason, in the old churcli on the hill, and of the academy, of J. P. Thomson, in the old carriage factory. He graduated from Jefferson College in the Class of 1843, studied theology in the Western Theological Seminary, was licensed by the Presbytery of Ohio, April, 1846, He preached as a pioneer in many of the early churches of the west, and was for a time connected with the educational interests of St. Peter's, Minnesota. He was married October 13, 1817, to Elizabeth, daughter of the late Hon. Walter Craig, of Cross Creek, Washington county. Pa, The writer of this article was a schoolmate at the Old Factory school, and knew him well. In youth he was a man, The Old and Ne^c Monongahcla. 75 of iine physical appearance, tall, erect, and full of vigorous nerve, fond of a joke, but always carried his religion with him. He was one of the good of his day, and his many friends of fifty years ago, will learn of his death with regret. He. was not only a soldier of the late war,, but a soldier nearly all his life in the army of the Lord. Blessed be his memory. [From the Daily Republican, July 3, 1888.] Reminiscences of 1840. Last Sunday's Leader is quite off on its guess work history of the Harrisons, as it relates to Western Pennsylvania, in the campaign of 1840. It speaks of Andrew Jackson Ogle as " Spooney Ogle," who earned a national reputation by expos- ing the extravagance of the White House in Van Buren's day. It was Charles Ogle, an uncle of Jack Ogle. IiT 1840 Jack Ogle was not a full grown man. He made his first speech from the balcony of the Monongahela House, in Pittsburgh, in 1844, in favor of Henry Clay. He was elected to Congress from the Somerset, Fayette and Greene district in 1848, de- feating John L. Dawson. In 1850 he in turn was defeated by Dawson. He was appointed by Fillmore Charge de Affairs to Denmark, but died before he arrived in that country. Charles Ogle served in the 25th and 26th Congress. His celebrated spoon speech gave him a high rank in the campaign. The Leader names as speakers in that campaign, among others, S. T. Hurd, editor of the Washington Eeporter^ J. W. F. White, J. M. Kirkpatrick. In 1840 Hurd was not a resident of Wash- ington, and never was editor of the Reporter. John Bausman was its editor at that time, and with it printed the "Rolling Ball," as a campaign paper. John M. Kirkpatrick did not graduate at Jefferson College until 1846. J. W^ F. White was a student in Allegheny College in that campaign and Rippey, D. N. White and Collier were not active politicians in that day. Rippey was too young and of the age of the other two I cannot say. Andrew Stewart was then in the prime of his life. The 76 The Old and New Monongahela. more prominent whig speakers of the 1840 campaign in this county were the Hon. T. M. T. McKennan, Hon. Joseph Law- rence, William McDaniel, and the local lights in this vicinity were Dr. K. F. Bicldle, Wm. Mills and K. F. Cooper, Esq., at that time acting editor of the Carroll Gazette^ which had de- sorted its neutral ground and came out boldly for Tippecanoe and Tyler too. In Allegheny county Hons. Walter Forward, A. W. Loomis, W. W. Irwin, F. C. Flannigan, W. B. McClnre and Cornelius Daragh were very active in the cause. In Westmoreland, Edgar Cowan, then a resident of West Newton, was the rising speaker in the Whig cause. He made his first speech in the streets of West Newton from a canoe, on a wagon. That speech gave, him the start as a stump-speaker. The campaign was opened in Monongahela City by the great mass-meeting at 'Squire Wall's in Elizabeth township, near Wm. Perm school house. The procession left Hamilton's hotel, preceded by eight men carrying a bark canoe made by the Indians, and the property of Jack McFarland, who had long been a trader among the Indian tribes, in what was then called the far west. It was very light for its size, and about thirty feet long, and of a tan color, neatly made. Dr. Biddle carried a miniature log cabin and some one, whose name we cannot recall, carried on a pole a live coon. The meeting was immense and the ])ies and cakes were without measure. Cider for the multitude was furnished free by old A])e Applegate. The speakers were F. C. Flannigan and W. W. Irwin — well known as "Pony " Irwin — a member of Congress and Minister to Denmark. A full description of this meeting was written by R. F. Cooper of the Carroll Gazette with special references to the "old dame with her ])rood '" on Main street, who were so conspicuous in their criticism of the procession as it passed up the street. The Washington Kmminet\ edited by Grayson and Kaine, also had a Loco Foco view of the whole affair. It was after this great meeting that T. R. Hazzard became a " Straightout" from the Loco Foco Democratic party and re- mained in opposition to that party to the day of his death. The Old and Neiv Mimongahda. 77 The great debate of the local campaign was hold in the old chnreh on the hill. The participants were Dr. John Wishart and Wni. Montgomery, Democrats, against Edgar Cowan and Joseph Lawrence, Whigs. There was a daylight and night session of the debate. The discussion was a very able one, but it was conceded that the Whigs had the better of the fight. The writer has a few manuscript copies of some of the more popular songs of that campaign. Mrs. Jane Fulton Power. Died at her late residence in Monongahela City, Pa., March 23, 1891. She was born in West Newton, Pa., November 15, 1814. She was the daughter of the late Henry Fulton, who was a ruling elder for many years in the Presbyterian church of this city. She united with the Presbyterian church of Sewickley at the age of thirteen years, under the ministrations of Rev. A. O. Patterson. She was married to John Power, September 13, 1836, by the Rev. Wm. Annan. Her husband survives in his 80th year. The family of Henry Fulton has been signally and peculiarly connected with the Presbyterian church. His oldest son, Abram, was an elder, and his daughter Jane, the deceased, married an elder, and his granddaughter, Rebecca — daughter of Abram — married. Rev. Alonzo Linn, L. L. D., Professor in Washington and Jefferson College. Another granddaughter is the wife of Rev. J. H. Sherrard, of Ohio, whose daughter Jennie is the wife of Rev. Ewing, a foreign missionary. Henry Fulton's daughter Rebecca was the wife of Wm. J. Power who for many years was a ruling elder in the Pigeon Creek congregation, where at this date two of his sons are serving that church in the same office. Henry Fulton's son, James P., is a Presbyterian minister in Kansas, Harper county, and his grandson, Wm. S., son of James P., is the pastor of one of the churches in Lexington, Ky, Rev. Robert H. Fulton, D. D., the youngest son of Henry Fulton, is pastor of Northminster church, Philadelphia. 78 Tlie Old and New Monongahela. Henry Fulton had thi'ce daughters married to ministers. Sarah, now deceased, was the wife of Rev. J. H. Stevenson, D. D., of Mount Carmel, Illinois, Nancy married Rev. R. T. Price, of Scio, Ohio, and Almira is the wife of Rev. E. P. Lewis, of St. Paul, Minnesota. Margaret is the wife of James Means, for many years a ruling elder in Lebanon Church, Allegheny county, and-his sou, Henry F., is a minister lately in charge of the churches of Fairfield and Union, in the Presbytery of Blairs- ville. Henry Fulton's son, George P., deceased, was one of the most successful educators in Western Pennsylvania. Mrs. Power, wherever she abode in life, was looked upon as one of God's own children. Her faith never wavered. It was an anchor to her soul, sure and steadfast. Dk. George E. Lytle. This estimable young man and physician died at Gallatin, Tenn., March 6, 1891, at the home of his sister, Mrs. Frank Pierce. He was 35 years of age, the son of Perry A. Lytle, Esq. , of Forward township. He was educated at Washington and Jefferson College, read medicine with Dr. Linn, graduated from Jefferson Medical College, of Philadelphia, in 1870, and after- wards took a special course on the eye. He opened an office here in 1876, and has since been in the active practice of his profession, until failing health obliged him to seek relief in a milder southern climate. Some months ago he went to North Carolina, but still failing, he went thence to Tennessee and, sending for his mother, died atliis sister's home, with his friends about his bedside. George Elmer Lytle was the son of Perry A. Lytle, Esq., of Forward township, born August 26, 1856, read medicine with Dr. George A. Linn, of this city, received his diploma as Doc- tor of Medicine from Jefferson Medical College of Philadelphia, began practice when 20 years of age, and returned to Phila- delphia a few years later to take a special course on the eye. He was a successful practitioner from the very beginning, was Tht Old and New Monona ahela. . 79 ])()])ular in social circles, he bad the confidence of his clientele, and in his specialty of the Eye had already won an enviable reputation. Doctor Lytle was a member of the Presbyterian Church, he was a Mason and a Knight Templar. He held membership in Henry M. Phillips' Blue lodge, in Monongahela chapter of Holy Koyal Arch Masons, and in Pittsburgh Commandery No. 1. He was a member of the Order of Forresters ; was in the Junior Order of American Mechanics, and was honored by being Chief Marshal of the fine parade of 1889. He was a member of the Order of Solon, and of Guild No. 1 of Koyal Americans. The Doctor was very fond of the military. He entered service as hospital Stewart of the Tenth Regiment National Guards in 1876, and had risen to the rank of Major and Surgeon of the Tenth, which commission he held at his death. The regiment had no more popular officer. Doctor Lytle was intelligent and bright, sympathetic, com- panionable and honorable. He had a fund of humor that was irresistable, and his wit sparkled under the pleasant society of a circle of friends where he was alwaj's welcome. He will be missed from our city where he was much esteemed, and from many homes where he was the accepted family physician, Mrs. Margaret Lowrey Everhart Died in her home on State street, in the City of Chicago, 111., on Tuesday, April 28th, 1891. She was a daughter of Mr. James and Mary Plumer Smith, who removed from Pittsburgh to Blairsville in the spring of 1827. He had met with heavy losses in his business and in trading in the Sciota country of Ohio, which finally overwhelmed him, and soon after, August, 1829, he died in Blairsville, and his family returned to Robbstown, Westmoreland county, near which the father of Mrs. Smith, the Hon. George Plumer, resided. 80 Tlie Old and Neiii Monongaliela. Amongst the kindly tributes of friendly condolence at the funeral services of Mrs. Everhart, was one of rarely beautiful flowers from Mr. George M. Lyon and his sister, now resident in Chicago. Their grandfather and grandmother, Mr. and Mrs. George Mulhollan and the Hon. John Cunningham were the ever kind and sympathizing friends of Mr. and Mrs. Smith in their day of trouble in Blairsville, the remembrance of which has alM^ays been gratefully cherished by the writer, g. p. s. Mrs. Sarah F. Stevenson, Wife of Rev. Jos. H. Stevenson, D, D., died Tuesday, May 26th, 1891, at her late residence in Mount Carmel, Wabash county, Illinois. She was born in West Newton, Westmoreland county. Fa. She was a daughter of Henry Fulton, a well known elder in the Presbyterian Church in Western Pennsylvania. Her mother was Elizabeth Plumer, daughter of Hon. George Plumer, who represented Westmoreland county in Congress for several terms. He was one of the substantial elements in the early settlement of Western Pennsylvania. His integrity as a citizen and his great moral worth as a representative are still cherished by the descendants of his constituents. The deceased graduated from the Washington Female Semi- nary in the Class of 1857, from which institution two of her daughters have since graduated. She united in early life with the Presbyterian Church of Monongahela City, Pa., during the ministrations of Rev. John Kerr. We cannot portray her Christian character in a truer light than by inserting here a few extracts from Rev. Dr. Spilman's remarks at the funeral of the deceased : "Mrs. Stevenson inherited from her parents a deep, strong, religious nature, which developed by the converting grace of God experienced in childhood, and carefully trained and in- structed in a Christian home of a positive type. Her strong, logical mind grasped the doctrines of the Presbyterian Church Tlie Old and Neic Monongahela. 8 1 with more than ordinary clearness and intelligence. She was a Christian by the grace of God and a Presbyterian tVoni intel- ligent conviction and loving choice. Her religious life was rather quiet than demonstrative. Its current ran deep, and strong, and constant. Her spirit was reverent. To her the spiritual side of life was very real; the love of God was real; salvation was real; Christian obligation was real. She loved the Bible. To her it was the word of God; it was the daily food of her soul. She loved the house of God w4th its worship and holy fellowship, and never failed to attend its services when her strength permitted. The interests of Christ's kingdom lay constantly on her heart. The cause of missions deeply in- terested her, hence she could not rest without a missionary so- ciety in the church. Salvation meant so much to her, and her sympathy with Christ and for the perishing world was so deep and tender, that she felt a Christain woman must pray and labor and give constantly for the cause of missions. The deceased was a model minister's wife, deeply concerned in all that per- tained to the welfare of her husband's charge. The spiritual life of the church, and especially the care of the sick and the poor, received her tenderest thoughts. The friends who weep in this presence to-day and strew her casket with flowers, whose fragrance is fitly emblematical of the perfume of her beau- tiful and useful life, will add your testimony to the truth oi what I say. But I have occasion to know that Mrs. Stevenson is held in like loving, grateful remembrance by other congrega- tions who have felt the benediction of lier Christian life. They in Ijercavement mingle their tribute of tears and flowers with yours to-day. -i. s. v. LFiotii tiif Daily Republican. 1 William J. ]\Iakkell DiiHJ at his late residence in Monongahela City, Saturday De- cein])er o, 1SI)2. He was l)orn in 1S24, in Greensboro, Cireene county, Pa., second son of William and Eli/a Markell. The family canu' to Mononu;alu'Ia Citv in lSr]0. In 1842 William 82 The Old and New Monongaliela. went into the general merchandise store as clerk, then kept by his brother, John S. Markell. He remained in that capacity until 1847. In that year he went into the glass business for one year and then went on the Muskingum river as clerk on a steamer, but he soon afterwards accepted the captaincy of an Ohio river packet, and boated in that capacity for ten years, closing as part owner and captain of the Hartford and Endeavor respectively. Mr. Markell went west in 1858, and was as far out as Pike's Peak, and in other parts of the then new silver country. Mr. Markell was postmaster of this place from 1857 to 1860, and was succeeded by R. M. Clark at the election of Mr. Lincoln. After his return from the west he engaged in the tobacco business, then he was clerk at Mr. Kern's store, in the People's Bank building, and in 1875 in partnership w^ith Elijah Harrison he purchased the distillery at Mingo, which they operated in partnership for several years, when Markell bought the Josiah Taylor distillery and brewery, which he operated alone for several years. Another of our older citizens sleeps with the dead. A man whose sixty-two years' residence in our city had made him one of the best known among the business men of the t(»wn. As postmaster under President Buchanan, his oiiicial life was char- acterized by probity and courtesy. Socially Mr. William J. Markell was full of humor, he always saw the pleasanter side, and the quiet chuckle of his fitn pointed many a joke. He was a meml)er of the Protestant Episcopal church, of the Masonic lodge, and was l)y political faith a Democrat of the Jacksonian kind. He had been over the sea twice, and seemed to enjoy telling of his observations in Europe, as well as of the halcyon days of his steamboat life, and the experience of his trip to Pike's Peak in the early sixties. He was married twice, first in 1852 to Margaret Dougherty, by whom he had four sons, William, Edw;n-d, Cliarles and Lewis, Tlie Old and New MonongaJiela. 83 all of this city. After his wife's death he again married, in 1880, to Mary Kern, by whom he has two children, Eliza and Norman Keys Markell. In his later life Mr. Markell had sufi'ered from the prostra- tion of a paralysis. Ilis family has been tender and kind, his wife a loving minister at his bedside in all the hours of his ill- ness and suffering. Historical Address Delivered by J. S. Van Vookhis, M. D., November 15, 1892, on the One Hundredth Anniversary of Monougaiiela City, Pa. Abraham Decker originally laid claim to the land on which the upper part of Monongahela City is located. The title was based on a Virginia entry and confirmed by patent No. 3783, bearing the date of August 26th, 1769. Having passed the researches and dispute between the states of Virginia and Pennsylvania, the Board of Property finally declared the title to be valid. In the year 1770 the Parkisons arrived from the east in search of a home in the wilds of the Monongahela Valley and selected the Decker plateau as a most desirable site, and in course of time secured the title to Joseph, as above stated. Of the Parkisons, there were five brothers, viz : Joseph, Thomas, James, Benjamin and William. It is in Joseph w^e have the most interest. Our information is that Joseph Parkison mar- ried Miss Margaret Weaver, a regular descendent in the Penn- sylvania Dutch line. They had as children, James, David, William and Mary. The Deckers had reared their pi-imitive cabin a short distance above the spring on what is now the Van Voorhis homestead, on Pigeon Creek, and consequently Joseph Parkison on his arrival was compelled either to dwell in a tent . or enjoy tlie' lios])itality of the Deckers. The Devore Ferry, authorized in 1775, was in <»i)eration on the arrival of Parkison. It was known as Devorc^s Ferrv until 1782, when the landing of 84 The Old and JVein Monongahela. Devore on the north side, and that of Parkison on the south, near the mouth of Pigeon Creek, was established by law as Parkison' s Ferry. Prior to this date Devore seems to have had kind of a private ferry, worked to suit his own will. Devore had at an early date a store near his landing, which was a branch of the great store of David Furnier, located just below Belle vernon of the present day. It was about this time in the history of the settlement that the pioneers realized the necessity of a postoffice. Browns- ville, Bassett Town (now Washington), and Pittsburgh, were the nearest postoftices. The office was granted and named Parkison' s Ferry. It is very probable that the keen eye of Joseph Parkison saw in the Ferry money at no distant day. A public road had, in 1781, been laid out from the town now called Washington to the mouth of what is now First street, though in the town originally known as Ford stre(^t, named so on account of that point of the river being, in low water, forded by the traveler. The established ferry and the newly laid out road soon attracted tlie attention of the public and resulted in giving the point an importance which in a very short time induced Joseph Parkison to erect on the new road his inn, which the older citizens will recollect stood back from what is now Main street, but fronting the public road, which • run diagonally from the mouth of Ford street across the bottom . land and up the hill westward. It was located on the second lot up from Stewart's alley. The old part of the building was log, but the new addition, with its well remembered porch extending to Main street, was frame. The log part of this house was, beyond all question, • the first erected on the site of the town, but not the first on the Decker tract, as we have already stated. The original settlers generally in the valley selected their new homes out , from the river. The value of the river was overlooked in the terror of Indian depredations, which were more frequent on the river, where their wigwams were located. Joseph Parki- son, with no fear of the Indian, entered into the business t^ succeed. Tltt Old and Nen^ 2fo)U)ii/(<^ a news})ape!' printed in Wash- ington, Pa., by Messrs. Wm. Hunter & Co. Tlie notice was in the foi-m <»f a ])roclamation and on account of its interesting and novel features, we will read it entire : "• Whereas, the subscriber has layed out lotts for a town on his plantation, near the mouth of Pigeon creek, on the 26th of August, Instant, notice is liereby given to all those who incline to becomo purchaser or purchasers of said lott or lotts of this s 80 Th>' Old and New Monongaliela. special condition, that every of said purchaser or purchasers of said lott or lotts are to be prevented from erecting or causing to be erected, any craft, boat or canoe for the conveying of passengers across the Monougahela river, but the same is hereby reserved to the subscriber or his heirs or assigns, so far as the chiim of the subscriber extends. The hiest bidder for each lott or lotts to be the buyer. Any person or persons purchasing any lott or lotts are to pay one third of the purchase money by the third day of September next, one third part by the 26th of November next, and the remaining third part to be paid on or before the 26th of February next, when the pur- chaser will receive a sufficient title for each lott or lotts, sub- ject to the payment of one dollar per annum on each lott, to be payable the 1st of October each year, first year due Octo- ber, 1797. Any person or persons inclining to have their deed or deeds before the above described time, may, on payment of the pur- chase money, immediately receive them. Notes and security will be required for the first payment, and failure of making the second payment, the first will be forfeited to the proprietor, and on failure of the third payment, the first and second to be forfeited and the lotts to revert to the owner. Each lott is 60 feet in front and 200 feet deep. The streets 60 feet wide, and the alleys extending from the river to the hill, 15 feet wide, the cross alleys, from 15 to 25 feet wide, accordijig to the sit- uation of the ground. August 26th, 1796. Joseph Pakkison."' In the general plan of the town, a lot of ground was re- served in the centre for a market house and also a lot for a school house and meeting house. By way of publicity to the sale of lots, Esquire DePew certified that the town was laid out and lots sold and some built upon, as witnessed his hand and seal January 11th, 1797. At this sale of August 26tli. 1796, twenty-four lots were sold at ju-ices ranging from !ii>22 to S>2o9, the total being |1,385. On the laying out of the tov/n, the old road was superceded by JVlain street, or Market street The Old and New Monoiujahela, 87 as it was originally named. Traces of the old road as it passed up the hill can still be seen. The earliest road viewers did not realize that it was just as near to go around a hill as to run over the summit, hence all the ancient road paths crossed the top of the hill rather than go around it. The original plot of the town extended from Ford, now First street, to almost Race, now Third street. The original Parki- son & Froman line cut one lot above Race at the river and two lots at the upper end on the hill. The tract of land adjoining the new town at Race, now Third street, was patented to Paul Froman and sold by him to Adam Wickerman March 13th, 1702. On this same tract, or part thereof, Adam Wickerman laid out Georgetown in 1807. The Georgetown plot was made a part of Williamsport by the act of Adam Wickerman in the following paper : ''I, Adam Wickerman, do certify that this plot is made agreeable to my direction and that I do acknowledge it as a part of Williamsport, formerly cawled Georgetown, as witness my hand seal this 23d day of February, 1816.'^ The towns had been in separate plots under different names for nearly ten years, and we can readily imagine the rivalry and conflicting interests that would spring up between the two villages. Prior to this date the lot holders had insisted on and finally required of Wickerman that he should record it as Wil- liamsport. This paper was signed by such lot holders as John Cooper, Patrigk Burke, John R. Shugart, Joseph Butler, W. P. Biles, John Shouse, Michael Miller, Peter Shouse, James Manown, Joseph Hamilton, Thomas Gordon and others of no less influence. East Williamsport was laid out in 1811, by James Mitchell, an early river trader and active progressive l)usincss man, and was well known as Esquire Mitchell. The addition has always been more generally known as Catsburg, named in honor of Kitty Caldwell and her kittens, whose history can be related in full by Ex-Mayor R. C. King. That jiart of the town known as the Island, though owned by Parkison, was 88 The Old and JSev) Monongahela. not iiicluded within the original town ph)t. The Island made by Pigeon creek on two sides and the Monongahela river on the other, did not foreshadow flattering prospects for an exten- sion of the town, yet in time, aiid for a time, it has been a busy hive of industry. Parkison owned the Island without improving very much until January 5th, 1829, at which time it was sold to James Manown by Sheriff Henderson. By this sale the right of the Washington county side of the ferry passed to the same pur- chaser. The ravine which reached the river at the mouth of Ford, now First street, has almost disappeared. Either by in- heritance or otherwise, the Allegheny side of the ferry passed into the Manown family. The Manowns operated the ferry until 1838, when the building of the bridge rendered it useless. On many of the lots in the Georgetown addition ground rent was fixed, but in the original Parkison plot only a small portion of the lots was finally subject to such an incumbrance. In the original design of the. town a public square was re- served for a market house, and Parkison intended also a lot for a meeting house and a school house. How far his ideas were executed we shall know by the sequel. The square was reserved at the crossing of Market, changed to Main street and Washington, now Second street ; besides the street crossings, a certain number of feet at each corner was included within the square. The buildings of Joseph Brown, of the Nucleus Hall Association, of R. C. King and the People's Bank now occupy ground intended to be included within tlie ]iublic square. The primitive Market House stood in part on this square on Main, just below Second street. Our notes do not show at what time or by what means or by whom it was built. We do know that it was there in 1834, and it is very likely that it was erected soon after the incorporation of the town of Wib liamsport into a borough by the act of April Sth, 1833. In course of time this l)uilding was removed to Secoiul street above Main. The building was erected on brick pillars, and The Old and NeiDMonongahela. 89 in not many years after its removal the boys had so far de- stroyed the columns as necessitated its taking away. The building and object were both failures. The beef shops and wagons have long since taken the place of Market Houses. The reserve for a meeting house never cropped out, only in consideration of a certain sum of money Joseph Parkison and Adam Wickerman, in July, ISl-i, did convey to certain trustees for building a meeting house, the tract of land known in part as lot No. 72, on which was afterward erected a brick church building by contributions from all denominations, and on which was located the primitive graveyard, in which were buried a large number of the older citizens of the town and surrounding country, and in which, we regret to say, are the remains of many of the older fathers neglected because unremembered. The lot for a school house was forgotten and the scholars of the impromptu schools had to find shelter for training in whatever shanty could be found unfitted for any other purpose. By an act of Assembly approved by Gov. Wolfe, April 3d, 1833, Williamsport was incorporated into a borough. The act appointed the third Friday in May for the first election, and thereafter the third Friday of March each year, at the tavern of Joseph Caldwell. The elections ordered by the act of incor- poration related merely to Borough oflicers, not changing the township officers, as the new borough remained in Fallowfield and Nottingham until September 30th, 1834, and in Carroll until 1812. By whom the first election was held we can not ascertain, neither do we know who were chosen officers, only as we gather from the proceedings relating to the death of Joseph Parkison. On the death of Joseph Parkison, the Monongahela Patriot of April 29th, 1834, published in Wil- liamsport, states : "Died — In this borough on Monday night, April 28tli, 1834, at the advanced age of 94 years, Mr. Joseph Parkison. Mr. P. was well known to many as the original proprietor of this place, from whom it received the name of Parkison's Ferry. Although his death was long looked for, it has cast a gloom 90 The Old and New Monongahela. over our citizens. The following testimony of respect from om- town authorities, to the memory of the deceased, was handed in a few moments before our paper went to press. TRIBUTE OF RESPECT. Whereas, we have learned with deep regret of the death of our aged and esteemed fellow citizen, Joseph Parkison, the original proprietor of this town. Therefore Besolved^ That as testimony of respect to the memory of the deceased, we will attend his funeral this afternoon at 4 o'clock, and that it be recommended to the citizens generally to attend on said occasion. By order of the council of the borough of Williamsport. Aaron Kerr, President. John Bausman, Secretary.'' The philology of the name would indicate that Joseph Parkison was of English descent, but of his early history we have very little information. He was born in 1740, seven years before General Washington visited Western Pennsylvania, and fifteen years before Braddock's defeat on the Monongahela river. He immigrated to this region in the 30th year of his age. He settled here at a time when the spirit of the Revolution was quietly pervading the American heart. He laid out his new town in perfect faith of the greatness and perpetuity of the new nation born at the close of the war of Independence. He died after seeing his town arise from a wilderness to take a proud position among the flourishing villages in Western Pennsylvania. In early life Parkison was a tall, bony, muscular man, dressed rather fashionable in the costume of his day, with knee buckles and shoe buckles, such as these. In his older days he wore side whiskers, and the well known que of the times. Some of the older citizens can recall him changotl to an old, bent in form man, sitting on the porch, trembling with nearly a century of years and waiting the summons to pass through the gate to the beyond. Instead of neglect marking his grave, the citizens should long since have erected over it a monument in com- The Old and New Monongahela. 91 luoiJioratioii of liis deeds of daring in establishing the town in a wilderness, now a garden of ever blooniino; flowers. In 1833 the name of the postofRce was changed to Williams- port, and April 1st, 1837, it took the present name of Monon- gahela City — it ought to have been Parkison City. We have failed to obtain from the department the name of the first post- master at Parkison 's Ferry, but it is conceded that as Joseph Parkison was instrumental in obtaining the ofiice, he must have been appointed postmaster, and, in addition, from the fact that he had a store in connection with his inn. On the arri- val of the late Ira Butler and his father's family, in 1805, Adam Hailman was postmaster, and in 1813 he was still in the office. Hailman died February 24:th, 1813. He was succeeded by Mr. White, father of J. W. F. White, now a distinguished judge in Allegheny county. He was succeeded by Geo. Wythe, for many years a business man in the town. We cannot recall all the successors to Wythe, but we are all familiar with the names of Jesse Martin, W. S. Mellinger, J. W. Smith, W. J. Markell, E. M. Clark, Chill Hazzard, Jas. H. Moore, W. C. Robinson and W. W. Bentley. Postage on letters in the early days of the town was rated according to the distance, three cents, six and one-quarter, twelve and one-half, eighteen and three-quarters and twenty-five cents for a single sheet, no matter how large. The custom was not to prepay the postage, and it was considered a breach of etiquette to pre- pay. The mail in Parkison, Hailman and White's time was carried* on horseback by post-boys, as they were called. The old fashioned saddle bags contained the mail. Although the town had been incoi-porated for nine years, yet it never had severed its connection with Carroll township as a general voting district. Before the formation of Carroll town- ship, September 30th, 1834, a part of the citizens of the town of Williamsport voted with Fallowfield, at the tavern house of Abram Frye, on the farm now owned by heirs of Washington Cooper, on the Pittsburgh and Brownsville State road, and the remaining citizens voted with Nottingham township. From 92 The Old and New Monongahela. September, 1834, to May 26th, 1842, the voting place of Car- rol] and the borough was at the tavern of Joseph Hamilton, known as the City Hotel, and stood where now is T. S. Mc- Curdy "s hardware store. After the separation the voting place of the town remained at the same place, but the citizens of Carroll voted for a time in a little brick oftlce of Thomas Col- lins, Esq., near the corner of Main and Cemetery streets, in Catsburg. In after years the poling place was removed to the Rose- Thompson house, up the turnpike, a short distance outside the borough. In the borough, in the course of time, the place of holding elections was moved to the Teeters hotel, corner Second and Railroad streets. The ground on which the hotel stood is now owned by the railroad company. On the incor- poration of the borough into a city, by Act of Assembly of March 21:th, 1873, three wards were formed, each of which constituted a voting district. At the first city election John Holland was choosen mayor, and Hon. S. H. Huston is mayor at the present time. The city embraces a large extent of territory in comparison with the original design of Parkison. The early business of the town was transacted on a trading scale, generally only a very small amount of cash being current. The exports and imports were transported by means of the pack horse. About the time the town received its new impetus, after the second sale of lots, the river became utilized as a means of tran^sporta- tion by crude crafts, called flatboats or broadhorns, now known as coalboats. William Parkison was, no doubt, the first to build such boats at his yard in the "gut,'' as it was called, at the mouth of Ford street. These crafts, loaded with whiskey, flour, etc., were floated to the lower markets. The flat, for local use,«ucceeded such crafts. Their destiny Vv^as Pittsburgh and up river trading points. They were re- turned by being pushed with the old time pike pole. The koelboat succeeded the flat and was used until displaced by the steam- boat. The keelboats always landed at the mouth of Pigeon The Old and New Monongahela. 93 crock, which was not only Ji convenient landing, but a safe harbor. Steamboats never made this point a landing place. They first landed at the Chess wharf, at the mouth of Ferry, now Fourth street. The Limetown packet, Ploughman, com- manded by Captain Joe Chester, was the first to make regular landings at this wharf. Then followed the Export, of which I. C. Woodward was Captain; here, also, the Dr. Pollock boat, the Moxahala, and others made landings, until the completion of the Slack water. In 184:5 the Consul and Louis McLane entered the regular l^acket line, and had their landing at the Chess wharf, until the town council had it removed to the mouth of Washington, now Second street. Another avenue of trade was opened up by the Washington and Williamsport turnpike. The company was chartered by Act of March 18th, 1816. It is still called a turnpike in name. It was constructed under very great finan- cial difficulties, and was only completed by the State coming to its aid with a liberal subscription to the stock. For many years this turnpike was on the great route from east to the west. The older citizens will call to mind the thousands of foreign imi- grants who, in the old Conestoga road wagon, wended their way west, where their descendents now make up the empire of states between the Ohio and Mississippi rivers. This westward move of imigration was at its height between 1830 to 1840. At this period, for the most part, Conrad Crickbaum and Frank Manown were running the Ferry at the mouth of Pigeon creek. Crickbaum did the work and Frank took care of the cash, and it would be wonderful if in that period Frank had not become an adept in the Dutch vernacular. On the turnpike was established a line of coaches, called stages, each of which could carry nine passengers and the mail. These stages were very substantially and nicely finished. They were drawn by four horses, managed by a driver on a seat constructed on the up])er and front part. We can only call to mind tMM) of the prominent drivers. Bob Backhouse and Samuel Burgess. The stage office and horses were kept at the tavern 94 The Old and New Monongahela. ()i Joseph Hamilton, long known as the City Hotel. The lirst survey through the town for a railroad was by B. H. Latrobe, in 1835. The line was run along Coal street and across Pigeon creek, in the rear of the Applegate property, in Catsburg. Opposition in the Legislature, and the cry that the passage through Washington county of a railroad would ruin Pittsburgh and make the grass to grow over the National pike, prevented the company from getting the right of way. After several unsuccessful efforts, the railroad company finally constructed its road around Washington county, leaving Pittsburgh to seek other channels of transit to the east, and thus the town of Wil- liamsport, through the whims of a few would be philanthropists, was deprived of railroad facilities for thirty-eight years. In 1850, May 15th, the Hempfield railroad company was incorporated with the view of constructing a railroad from Greensburg to Wheeling. It was to cross the river just below Third street. After a large sum of money had been expended the work was abandoned. In 1873 the Pittsburgh, Virginia & Charleston railroad was opened to this city. The late Dr. W. L. S. Wilson was appointed agent and sold the first ticket to Maj. A. P. Foster, now of Florida. Dr. Wilson held the position until his death, September 6th, 1886. He was a genial ofticer, a good citizen and amiable gentleman. His early death was not only a loss to the railroad company, but to the town in which he had so long resided. The completion of the McKeesport & Belle Yernon railroad in October, 1889, on the east shore of the Monongahela river, added another avenue to the growing trade of this city, whose 100th anniversary we celebrate to-day. January 4th and 5th, 1832, petitions were presented by Messrs. Waugh and Patter- son, of Washington county, and Gebhart of Somerset, in the Legislature, in favor of incorporating a company to build a bridge across the Monongahela at Williamsport. The act pro- posed an appropriation in its aid, which gave rise to a very active opposition in both houses, but through the efforts of the members from Somerset, Washington, Westmoreland and The Old and Neio Monongahela. 95 Allegheny counties, it was passed, carrying with it an appro- priation of $15,000, which was approved by Gov, Wolfe, March 16th, 1832. This bridge was built of pine frame on stone piers. It stood on the site of the present bridge. The old bridge was burne^i in 1883 or '84:, and the present iron one erected in 188T. In 1800 Joseph Parkison was the inn keeper, and in connection therewith he had a trading mercantile store, in which certain goods were kept to be sold for cash or produce, such as grain whiskey, furs in the shape of skins. Iron and salt. transported from east of the mountains* on pack horses were ver}'^ common commodities. A tavern, store and blacksmith shop in old times constituted a town. Tradition credits Parkison with being, in his early day, a shrewd, successful Indian trader. At the close of the last century (1794) Samuel Black appeared in the town as a merchant and down river trader. He built the house long known as the red house, on the river bank just below First street. The very site of the building has long since been washed away by the ravages of the river. He was very suc- cessful in business, and at his death in 1846, was considered one of the most wealthy men in the county. He was a man of large stature and always wore a que. Daniel DePue was the Esquire of his day. He lived in the old log house on the point at the mouth of Pigeon creek. His peculiar signature is attaclied to many of the older deeds. His first commission was dated March 12th, 1792. William Irwin was also a merchant, had his store in a log room on the corner of First street. He, in 1802, built the old part of the house now occupied by Mrs. Kerr, and it was the first brick house in the town. He died in 1822, and was buried in the old graveyard on the hill, where his remains and those of his wife are to this day. His son John married Margaret Guthrie, niece of the late Joseph Wilson, of whom others will speak. At the beginning of this century James Warne and William Parkison were associated as merchants. 96 The Old and New Monongahela . In 1805 James Warne married Mary, daughter of Joseph Farkison and sister to his business partner. Not \o\\g after his marriage Warne built the house on Main street, above Stewart's alley, so many years the residence of Joseph Wilson. In this house all of Warne's children were born, excepting one. James Warne, in 1820, purchased from James Farkison the farm above Catsburg, on which he resided until his death in 1855. His son, Joseph F., now owns it. William Farkison, son of Joseph Farkison, and business partner of James Warne, owned, in early days, the farm long known as the Black homestead, on the pike, in what is now called Belle videre. He built the old mansion still standing on the turnpike. In front of this ^nansion on the meadow land, William had a race course in circular form, through the wood- land. This race ground gave rise to the name of Race, now Third street, in the town of Williamsport, laid out by his father. In October, 1805, Benjamin Butler, with his family, arrived in the town on his way west, but he having died the first night after liis arrival, the family abandoned the idea of going any further, and settled here. Thie arrival of the family and the death of the father created no little stir. Other particulars will no doubt be related by the committee on genealogy. Business and the social status of the town received a new impulse through the Butler family. Adam Wickerman, proprietor of Georgetown, was an active business man in early days. He was the father of William Wickerman, Mrs. Mary Chess and Mrs. John Bausman, who is still alive and resides in Washington, Fa. George Trout built, prior to 1805, and kept the tavern on Main street, afterwards so long carried on by Joseph Caldwell. Natha]! Chalfant was a boatbuilder. A. B. Chess was farmer and trader ; he built the old frame tavern on the river bank above Ferry street, known as Chess"' tavern. But time will fail us to tell, in detail, of Dr. Rose, Aeneas Tlie Old ;e in Catsburg. He moved to the vicinity of Ginger Hill, where he died. He was a brother-in- law of the late Judge Hill. The beginning of the Monongahela Manufacturing Company, now located in the Third ward, was started by James W. Dow- ner, in 1872. The business was carried on by Downer, Samuel Hindman and Col. David Lackey, until 1877, at which time Downer and Lackey retired and Major W. H. Morrison was lUO The Old and Neio Monongahela. taken into the firm and the business was carried on by Hind- man and Morrison until 1881, when R. B. Abrams was added to the firm, which was changed to Morrison, Abrams & Co. In 1883 the company was merged into the Monongahela Manu- facturing Company, which still exists. The whole plant was burned June, 1890. The present extensive brick plant was erected immediately after the fire, excepting the carpenter and blacksmith shops, which were erected in 1892. The telegraph was established originally to this city by way of West Newton, in 1864. O. C. House sent the first message over the line to Pittsburgh, by way of West Newton. At Pitts- burgh connection was made with the U. S. Telegraph Company. The message cost 55 cents for ten words. The Monongahela Valley Company was organized in 1864, by J. L. Shaw, and under his management as President the line was extended all along the valley. This, with the West Newton line, was merged into the Pacific and Atlantic, which, in 1877, was sold to the Western Union Company. The first telegraph operator at this city was McNulty, from 1864 to 'm\ then North, 1866-'67; then Scott, 1867-^68: Adams, 1869; J. A. Wilson, 1869 to January, 1876; A. Park Wilson, 1876 till his death in October, 1881; W. H. Lewis, 1881 to 1887. In October, 1872, the office was moved from Wilson's drug store, on Main street, below Second, to the rail- road station. In this drug store the office was first opened. Since the death of Dr. Wilson, George Oehle has been agent and operator, with others under him. Others will give in de- tail: — The Valley Saw and Planing Mill of Blythe & Co., estab- lished in 1850 by Wm. and Joseph Brown; the extensive mills of Yohe Brothers; the paper mill established by Samuel D. Culbertson in 1850; the City Flouring Mill, erected in 1845, by Henry Shearer and John Shepler; The Monongahela City Steam Granite and Marble Works, established by R. M. Gee in 1852; the steam docks, put in operation by Joseph Tuman, Shadrick Heyser, George Grove and Cyrus Lynn; Graham's The Old and JVew Mommgahehi. 1(>7 Foundry, established in 1879 by E. V. Graham, the present proprietor ; the gas company ; natural gas company ; telephone ; water works and sewerage system; electric light; the public schools; churches and academies. Philip Catlin was the first barber in the city, as far as we can ascertain. In 1834 he had his shop in the barroom of Joseph Caldwell's tavern. Among his old successors were Wm. Ralph, now a minister, Daniel Baizor and B. W. Adams. Then followed Catlin and Strange. At the dissolution of this firm, Alfred Catlin took a shop of his own. Alfred was a son of Vachel Catlin, of West Newton, and brother of Captain Wm. Catlin, of this city. About 1871 Captain Wm. Catlin and W. H. Jones formed a partnership, which was dissolved in 1873, each one opening a shop. In 1874 Stephen B. Batch opened his present shop on Second street. About 1870 Baizor took into partnership Joseph A. Jones. This firm was dissolved by the death of Baizor, which occurred July 30th, 1881. Joseph R. Brooks then formed a firm with Joseph A. Jones, under the name of Jones & Brooks. In Janu- ary, 1891. Brooks retired from the firm, and Joseph A. Jones and W. H. Jones entered into a partnership under the name of Jones & Jones, who opened up one of the finest shops in the valley, at No. 257 West Main street. Joseph A. Jones died December 9th, 1891. The barbers of to-day in the city are S. B. Batch, James R. Brooks, Captain Wm. Catlin and W. H. Jones. Lizzie, wife of Philip C^atlin, is still living and resides in East End, Pittsburgh. My friend, Samuel Fox, of Fallowfield, has "indly furnished me with an original copy of the articles of association of a bank, entitled ''The Monongahela and Williamsport Manufac- turing Company,'^ to be established in 1816, as shown by the date of the articles. Books of subscription to the stock were to be opened November 21st, 1816, in Williamsport, at the house of Joseph Parkison; in Elizabethtown, at the house of John Walker; also at Ginger hill, Thomas Carson's Columbia, Robbstown and Garret Walls'. The only signature to tliis 108 The Old and New MonongaJiela. copy of the articles is that of John Grable, grandfather, we presume, of John M. Grable, of this city. The proposed capital was |100,000. In order to facilitate the organization, a president and twelve directors were self- constituted to serve until the regular election. May, 181T. These officers were president, James Mitchell; directors, Major James Warne, John Cooper, James McGrew, William Parkison, W. Y. Biles, James P. Stuart, Joel Butler, Garret Wall, Robert McFarland, William Findlay, Aaron Applegate, and Major John Grable. What was the final outcome of this attempt to form a bank we are not able to gather, but tradition makes it a failure. In after years, in the early forties perhaps, Major A. L. Williams, at the old Manown tavern, issued a currency in the form of shin plasters, as they were called, redeemable at his bar and at the store of Charles Bollman. This undoubtedly was the first and only bank of issue in the town, and it was of short life. The banking house of Alexander & Co. was the first real bank in the city. It was established in 1850, when the mer- cantile firm consisted of Joseph and son, W. J. Alexander, under the title of J. Alexander & Son, which had existed since 1843. The firm in 185U was reorganized with the same partners, under the name of Alexander & Co., which still exists, although the names of James S. Alexander and Joseph A. Herron have been added and Joseph Alexander died June 20th, 1871. The banking business was opened in the rear end of the store room which stood on the site of the present McGregor block. The building in which the bank is now located, corner of Main and Third streets, was erected in 1870. The bank is one of the most solid in the state, and its members, by their gentlemanly manners, sterling and long tried integrity, have won the confidence of the business men in every part of the nation. The Peoples Bank was established in 1870, with a paid up Tlie Old and Ne%o Monongahela. 109 capital of $100,000. The late A. C. Sampson was its first president. Hon. J. B. Finley is the present president. This too is a substantial, prosperous institution. Its president is one of the most enterprising men of the city, and his life seems to be devoted to the advancement of its welfare. The new bridge, the telephone, the electric light, water works, the gas works and street improvements, all bear the impress of his progressive spirit. The Pittsburgh Gazette was the first newspaper printed in Western Pennsylvania, and in 1786 was delivered to sub- scribers along the Monongahela river by one John Blair, who advertised in the Gazette August 30th, 1786, that he would pass up and down said river, from Pittsburgh to Casting's (Castener's) Ferry, with a boat every week, all subscribers along the river and neighborhood could have their papers brought to them every week at a reasonable rate. It was in this paper Parkison advertised his first sale of lots. The first paper printed in this town was the W'dliaiiwport Clironk'le. A copy dated January 23d, 1813, is still in posses- sion of Mrs. Rebecca V. Stewart, of Speareville, Kansas. In it we find the following marriage notice : "Married. — On Thursday evening, January 20th, by Rev. Ralston, Joseph Hamilton, of Ginger Hill, and Miss Peggy Ferguson." These were the parents of Rev. W. F. Hamilton, D. D., and grandparents of Editor Col. Chill Hazzard, of the Monongahela Bepahllcan. It also records the marriage of Joseph Caldwell and Catherine Swartz, by Rev. Mercer. It makes reference to IJavid Hickman as a jolly old fellow who lived an easy life, and, amongst other things, pulled teeth for a living, using rude pinchers, made by Benjamen Langhead, who, as the paper says, kept a Smith shop on Market street, next door to James Free- man's shoe shop, where Dr. Roberts formerly lived. David Hickman was no doubt the first resident dentist in the town. The Village Informant was published first in 1818, by Joseph Clingan. We have part of a copy of this paper as 110 The Old and Nevj Monongahela. printed in 1819, but by some means it has been so mutilated as to be of little service. It contained the obituary notice of grandfather Daniel Yan Yoorhis. The next paper in the town was the Pinnsylvairlan^ pub- lished by John Bausman, at the northwest corner of Main street, if any one can tell where that is. We present to you a copy, Vol. 2, No. 71, dated November 21st, 1829. It contains the marrriage notice of Wm. Blythe to Miss Mary Marshall, Thurs- day, November 19th, 1818. It contains among other adver- tisements, that of James Mills, who wants his customers to pay so that he could go forward with Elias Watkins in building a steam mill for the interest of the community at large. The mill was finished and after many years was >sold to a man named Coulson, in whose time it was burned. The mill was situated on the river bank, opposite mouth of First street. The dwell- ing still stands. The Pemtsylvaniaii seems to have merged into the WnUani.^- port Patriot, the first number of which was issued on the 11th day of November, 1833. Its editor was also John Bausman. On the 15th day of April, 1834, Bausman sold the Patriot to Samuel G. Bailey and John W. Hammond, who changed its name to the IfonongaheJa Patriot, a copy of which, No. 49, dated April 29th, 1834, I herewith exhibit. This paper was sold to A. W. Davidson, who changed its name to the Carroll Gazette, a shorttime before, or after the Kitner-Wolfe campaign for Governor. We recall very well the fact that it printed week after week the constitution of 1838, and why it was so often in the paper was the wonder of my boyhood. Mr. Davidson's health gave way about 1840, and the late K. F. Cooper became acting- editor, as well as school teacher during the winter in the brick school house near the toll gate on the pike. Many an article he wrote for that paper in the school house whilst the scholars enjoyed their dinner time. The Gazette ceased in 1840. The Weutral Ground, by John McNeal, was first issued in 1841, and was of short life. Tke Old and New Monoiigahela. Ill Rev. W. H. H. Barnes, in 1844, started kind of a temper- ance paper, which was a failure in every particular. The Mononqahda Republican has outlived every other attempt to publish a paper in the town. Since its first issue by Solo- mon Alter, Esq., July 7th, 1848, it has been the persistent advocate of improvement in the valley, and especially in this city. It has passed through shade and sunshine until to-day it takes rank among the most prominent newspapers in Western Pennsylvania. It has been owned and edited by the Hazzards since 1855. Col. Chill Hazzard is its present editor and pro- prietor. The Valley Becord., first published by Wm. M. Boggs, March 4th, 1876, had for years been a spirited and well gotten up paper. After several changes, it has finally been merged into the Monongahela JDemocrat published and edited by the Mon- ongahela Democrat Publishing Company. The first number, dated October 3rd, 1892, is full of spirit and bright hopes of the future. Judging from the character and ability of the mana- gers, we predict for it a prosperous career. This city can boast that many of her citizens from time to time have held important positions of trust in the great arena of life. Aaron Kerr was elected to the Legislature in 1824- 25-26-27-28 and in 1840, and was also a member of the constitutional convention of 1838. Geo. V. Lawrence has been an active politician since 1842. He was elected to the Legislature in 1843-46-58-59. In 1848 he was elected to the State Senate over his opponent, the late William Montgomery. He was re-elected to the Senate in 1860, of which body he was Speaker in 1863. He was again elected to the Senate in 1874-^76-78. In 1864-66-82 he was elected a member of Congress. In 1872 he was elected a delegate at large to the Constitutional convention. He has just been elected once more to the Legislature. Thus for fifty years he has been identified with national and state politics, and it is a happy thought that his course in public life has always been devoted to progress and the right. 112 The Old and Neio Moiiongahela. In 1843 the self-educated O. B. M'Fadden, a resident of the town, was elected with G. V. Lawrence to the Legislature. The question of a new county was the means which elected these two gentlemen in the same vicinity and of opposite politics. Mr. McFadden was a man of rare natural talent, and with an unbounded energy he was enabled to succeed in almost every step in life. Deserting his tannery in Beallsville, he studied law and was admitted to the Washington bar the same year in which he was elected to the Legislature. In 1845 he was elected prothonotary as successor to E. L. Blaine, father of the distinguished James G. Blaine. At the expiration of his term he emigrated to Washington Territory, where, under a democratic administration, he was appointed a judge of the United States Court, from which position he retired to become a delegate to Congress. lie died in that far-off country many years ago. His wife was a daughter of the old tavern keeper, Joseph Caldwell. John Stofer represented Washington county in the Legisla- ture in 1842. He was the father of Dr. John H. Storer, Mrs. Dr. J. H. Connolly, and Mrs. Sarah, wife of C. C. Johnson, a former active business man of the town. Johnson was born in New York state. He brought to the town the first one- horse buggy, as the Butlers did the first two-horse carriage. Jesse Martin, the old postmaster, was elected to the Legislature in 1841. Jacob Cort was elected a representative in 1847-48. He for years carried on the tin and copper business one door west of the City Hotel and in the old frame house that stood on what is now called Brown's corner. He moved west, where he died many years ago. J. S. VanVoorhis, your humble historian, represented Washington county in 1857. J. B. Finley was a member of the house in 1887-89-91. T. R. Hazzard was also a member of the late constitutional convention. He was a native of New York, immigrated to this city about the year 1838, where he resided nearly all the Til' Old (i))(1 ISfrir Monoriadhilii . 113 remainder of his life. He wus }»erliaps the most successful academic teacher in the valley. He established the first academy in this city, and from it and other similar institutions with which he was connected, went forth to fight the battles of life, many who have attained high positions in literary and professional life. Of such we may mention Chief Justice M'Elvain, of Ohio, Dr. James H. Manown, of Kingwood, W. Va., Major R. C. Walker, of Montana, Dr. J. C. Cooper, of Philadelphia, Rev. William F. Hamilton, D. D., Hon. D. L. Letherman, of Washington county. Dr. J. H. Storer, of West Yirginia, Dr. Robert Niccolls, of California, J. S., M. F. and A, F. Morrison, of this city, Dr. O. J. Forter, of Westmore- land county, W. G. Johnson, Esq., of Fittsburgh, Dr. James Flemming, of Ohio, A. H. Kerr, of Minnesota, William Fuller, the millionaire cattle dealer, of Philadelphia, and others of no less note. Hazzard in his day did more for the cause of scientific and classical education than any other man in the valley. It was the work of his life. As an editor, under trying circumstances, he succeeded in building up the Monongahela Bepuhllcan to be a first-class newspaper, which has for nearly a half century been a household god in the families of the valley. He died in 1877. He was admitted to the Washington county bar in 18i0. James Gordon became a resident in 1810. He served as Justice of the peace for thirty-five years. He was in 181:5 appointed an associate Judge by Governor Shunk. He was elected a member of the Electoral college in 1828, and as such voted for General Jackson. In 1813 he was a county commis- sioner and in 1857 was a member of the Board of Revenue commissioners. Samuel Hill was also an associate Judge. Thomas H. Baird and lanthus Bentley were elected and served with honor as District attorneys of Washington county. Bentley moved to Colorado, where he died a few years ago. Sheshbazzar Bentley, Jr., father of lanthus, was elected commissioner and sheritt' of Washington county. 114 Thi Old and Neio Monongahela. ' Cyrus Underwood and Alvin King were elected Recorder, and R. F. Cooper Clerk of Courts. Hon. James Scott was another Monongahela boy of distinc- tion. Although never a resident, yet was for years a fixture in this city. He was born in Mingo, April 15th, 1815. He received his literary education in the common schools and in the Rev. Marshall's Academy and in Washington College. He studied medicine with Dr. R. F. Biddle, in the old office which stood on corner of Main street and Church alley, where now George A. Hoffman has his hardware store. He graduated at the Cincinnati Medical College. In 1841 he practiced a short time in Greenfield, now Coal Centre, Washington county, Pa. He subsequently removed to Lebanon, Ohio, where he resided the remainder of his days. In course of time he abandoned the medical profession and adopted that of law. He became prominent in politics and served in the Legislature of Ohio for near twenty years. During Grant's administra- tion he was appointed Secretary of the Territory of Washing- ton, and on the death of the incumbent was confirmed as Governor. He was also U. S. Consul to the Sandwich Islands. His rare talent carried with it an ambition that knew nothing but to succeed. He died December 16th, 1888, at his home in Lebanon, Ohio. Among the medical men in the nation is Dr. W. A. Ham- mond, once a boy in this city. He was 1)orn at Annapolis, Md., August 28th, 1828, and at the age of four years immi- grated to this city with his father. Dr. J. W. Hammond. He, with James S. Alexander and others, played many a game of ''Knucks" in the old market house. He was Surgeon general at the beginning of the late rebellion and is now on the retired list. He is still hale and hearty. In ministers of the gospel, this city has sent forth such men as Samuel Hair, Thomas P. Gordon, G. M. Hair, Joseph Kerr, A. H. Kerr, John Goucher, W. F. Hamilton, Thomas Hodgeson, James P, Fulton, Robert H. Fulton, John McFarland, O. M. Todd. The Old and Neui Mouongahela. 115 Joseph P. Wariie, William Coulter, S. B. Bentley and Mrs. Jane Biddle have always had a continuous residence within the limits of this city, and are perhaps more conversant with its early history than any other persons. Coulter was born in the old house on the corner of Main and Second streets, Catsburg, in 1817. We have traced his career on another occasion. S. B. Bentley was born in 1826, in the house known in later days as the old M. E. Church, on the bank of the river. S. B. Bentley has all his life been identified with the interests of his native Monongahela City. His recollections of the past are very vivid; he can recall readily the names and doings of all the active business men of his day. He has been from his youth a member of the Methodist E. Church, and to his per- sistent and prayerful efforts is indebted much of the standing of that useful and influential branch of the church in this city. Prior to 1840 we had no certain means to ascertain certainly the population of this city. From that date we count on its separate population, although the increase must be attributed, to a certain degree, to the extension of its boundaries. The populatiou was in 1832 600 1840 752 1850 977 " •' 1860 999 •' " 1870 1,078 1880 2,904 1890 4,065 We are indebted to the Monongahela Democrat, in its first issue, for the following summary of the present business status of the city: It has 2 railroads — the Pennsylvania and Lake Erie systems, H» churches, elegant school buildings, 16 schools — 9 months in the year and 1,0()() scholars, 1 roller flour mill, 3 livery sta])les, 2 hotels, 2 sale stables, 2 machine shops, 2 founderies, 1 paper mill, 2 planing mills, 3 lumber yards, 2 docks, 1 river toll bridge, 1 fire engine, 1 hose company, 1 hook and ladder com- pany, 1 city hall, 1 city jail, 3 insurance agencies, 2 banks 1 11(> Th( Old and New Monontjiihela. local building and loan association, 4 national building and loan associations, 2 coal works in city limits and dozens near by, 2 brick works, 1 water works, 1 electric light plant, natural gas, artificial gas, city sewerage and paved streets (vitrified brick) in course of construction, 1 window glass factory, 1 electric experiment station, 1 haulage engine factory, 1 carborundum works, 1 manilla paper factory, pick handle factory, 1 lampwick factory, 1 miner's lamp factory, 1 pitcar factory, 1 real estate oflice, 1 opera house, 3 newspapers, 2 dailies, 2 weeklies, 1 monthly, 3 photograph galleries. It has 5 lawyers. 9 physicians, i dentists, 3 journalists, 4 nota- ries public 9 bankers, 3 insurance agents, 8 ministers." Such the past and such the present of your prosperous and rapidly growing city. What the future shall be depends upon your continued energy, determination and public spirit, and that of the generations to come. The forefathers in looking into the future failed to anticipate such results in 100 years as confront the present inhabitants of this city. It takes no flight of fancy or prophetic genius to foreshadow its outcome in another 100 years. You have the elements to make it a metropolitan city, and it requires no stretched imagi- nation to assert that within that period 50,000 people will be imbraced within its limits, doing honor to the memory of the man who dared in the wilderness to lay the foundation of such a city — and that man's name was PARKISON. West Monongahela. This town is situated immediately below and adjoining Mon- ongahela City. It was located and laid out into lots, suitable avenues and streets by H. Higenbotham in 1893. It is on the south side of the Monongahela river and has a long river front of deep water. It is on the Pittsburgh, Virginia & Charleston railroad, with a good prospect of being on a branch of the Baltimore & Ohio railroad. A company is already organized to construct an electric road passing through the town, and the facilities of natural gas, electric light and water works are within reach at any time. The Old and Neio Monongahela. ilT The town is situated on a beautiful plateau, capable of easy drainage and free from all marsh. For manufacturing purposes there are no better sites in the valley. Already the Thomas Wightman Glass Co. has located its extensive works in the town and are rapidly completing a plant which will employ 300 hands. Other capitalists are about erecting plants of various kinds. The proprietor has a coal frontage of 15,000 acres, an amount sufficient to furnish fuel for ages to come. Mr. H. Higenbotham is a man of indomitable energy and business force, having started in the battle of life on his own resources at the age of eleven years. He was born in Mason- town, Fayette county, Pa. He is the son of Theodore Higen- botham, who was the son of Samuel Higenbotham, an early settler in that country. Mr. H. Higenbotham has an abiding faith in the future greatness of the Monongahela valley. His new enterprise is already a success and foreshadows a near future when this town will be dotted over with manufactories of every variety, adding untold wealth to the capitalist and constant employment to skill and labor. Monongahela Only. In postoffice circles there will be no Monongahela City after April 1st, 1893, but thereafter when writing to Col. Hazzard's town the place should be designated as plain Monongahela. The folh)wing from the MoiunKjahela Republican explains itself: PosTOFKicE Department, ) Washington, D. C, Feb. 13th, 1893. \ Yon are respectfully informed that an order luis been made changing the name of Monongahela City to Monongahela, to take ett'ect April 1st, 181)3. E. E. Kathbokne, Fourth Assistant P. M. General. 10 118 TJk' Old , sometime during the month, D. V,. Valentine 132 Thv Old t(nd Ne'iii J/o/ionyd/irla. died, date not given; he presents as good if not the best daily minutes of the Sabbath school found in any of the books. During the year one grand revolution and advance was made in the Sabbath school work — the bureau system was invented. February 5th, 1871, 275 volumes of books were donated to Dry Run and Leechburg schools; 1872, the daily attendance now runs from 165 to 250; 1873, international lesson leaf: January 2d, 1876, the school reached its highest attendance, 315. The speaker referred in passing to faithful teachers, to the triumphant deaths of those who had gone before, and closed with an earnest appeal for more workers and more earnestness in the work. Miss Sallie Graham then read a paper, entitled, the Society and its growth. Two brothers by the name of Riggs began preaching and organized a class about 1812 at the home of Samuel Baxter, in Carroll township, on the farm now owned by Ira Butler. About those two brothers but little has been preserved, except that they were batchelors, followed the occupation of mill- wrights, and lived up and across the river, most likely in the neighborhood of FelTs church. Though their memories are not perpetuated in monumental marble, they gave birth to in- fluences that will be imperishable. So far as can now be ascer- , tained they were the first Methodist preachers that ever preached in this neighborhood. Their visits to Parkison's Ferry began in 1813. They preached every third Sabbath, organized a class and led it on each of their visits. The first members of that class are pretty satisfactorily determined as John R. Shu- gart and wife, Letitia, Mrs. Yandever and her two daughters, Robert Beebe, Mrs McNary and Polly Baxter. Such was the seed planted seventy years ago. The class led every third Sabbath by the preachers was otherwise .without a leader till ^neas Graham and his wife united with it, and he in a short time was made leader. This was in the latter part of 1813 or early in 1811. Thereafter the growth of the young society was rapid, and among its earlier additions were Elias Watkins The Old and Neio Momnigahela. V^?> and wife, Mrs. Mary Black, Mrs. Veriier, mother-in-law of Bishop Simpson, Mrs. McNary and Nancy Koberts and William Jones, and the Padcns, the Philipses and David Sherbondy and wife. Later along the society was fm'ther enlarged by such names as the Wickerhams, the Woodwards, the Warnes, the Alexanders, the Herrons, the Youngs, the Swartzs, the Mills, the Cotts, the Bentleys, the Coulters, the Hulls, the Collinses and the Williams. The eight members in 1813 had reached 300 in 1833, and now, fifty years later, are in excess of 400. Such is some of the fruitage of the seed planted here by the Riggs brothers seventy years since. It has grown into a tree of beauty and casts on every side a grateful shade. For the living of to-day the fathers have made this wilderness to bloom as a garden of the Lord. They, themselves, having finished their work, have, the most of them, passed to their rest. We hail and l-ecall to-day those faithful men and women who filled up the measure of their days in serving God and doing good, and then entered into the gloryland. And we invoke blessings upon their co-workers who have come down to our times as so many relics of the heroic age of Methodism. Green be the path beneath them, And beautiful the sunset at evenuig. The society has had a growth at once substantial and en- couraging, but certainly more rapid and vigorous in the earlier than in the later times. In the first twenty years it grew from eight members to 300, and in its fifty years as a station it has only grown from 300 to 420 members. Is it not fitting that we ask ourselves to-day, are we doing in our place as well as did our fathers 'i J. C. Swickard, one of the most earnest class workers in the society, spoke on that subject which was near to heart, he was a warm lover of the class. In the grand history of our local Methodism, rimning back 70 years, it began with a class organized, and in the days of its greatest prosperity there were inght or ten classes. At a class meeting near Bentleysville, he went in, just why he didn't know, but while there he heard 11 184 TJk^ Old (Duf New MoiKmijdht'ht . that good iiiau Richard Richardson give his experience, saying that he knew, he felt in his heart that he "had found his Saviour." I coukl not say that, and was then and there I re- solved, and I never was satisfied till I had found that Saviour so precious to him, so dear to me. That is why I love the class. I was put in brother Clark ^s class, then Dr. Rabe's and finally Dr. Bracken asked me to take charge of the class. I felt my un worthiness, but I thank God now for the privilege it gives me to mingle my joys with those of my brethren. The preached word is a solace and a comfort, but religion gathers strength in the class room. God help us all to do our duty. Dr. Nesbit announced that he would endeavor to place on record succint history of the church up to the time when the regular record began. In his introduction of the several speakers the Doctor was peculiarly happy, and in all the services there was a warm, generous feeling which showed how happily united were pastor and people in the cele- bration now drawn to a close. Sunday was a half mile stone on the journey toward the Promised Land, and the 23d of September, 1883, will long remain written with a gilt star on the date in the annals of local church history. Mr. S. B. Bentley said this was a proud day to him, as he heard his family name so long and so intimately interwoven in words and works for the advancement of the Methodist Church. He wondered how old he really was when he heard all this back history repeated, and when he thought over how many of the old people he had personally known. The history of his family was a part of the town as well as of the church. His grandfather came in 1794 ; his mother was born here in 1795, in the old house which stood on the river bank below where Mr. Bearer lives. He seemed to have been always in the church ; among his earliest recollections were being stood up on the broad altar-board, singing the old-time hymns as he learned them from his grandmother. My brethren, the sing- ing now is more artistic, but the hymns of those days com'erted ]ieople. (A voice: Please sing one). To this request Bentley sang The Old and New Monongahela. 135 "Saw ye my Savior and God," and the good old song must have awakened memories, for here and there a ' ' treble ' ' voice piped up in the chorus, showing that age had not forgotten the tunes of long ago — childhood. Some one asked him "Where will we be fifty years hence, when our centennial is celebrated ?'' He answered, "We will be goney And oh! my brethren, what record will we make that the speaker on that occasion can refer to sonietJilng we have done or said that will be worth remembering ; worth repeating. He had been singing with the choir for thirty-five years, and at many a funeral, at merry makings and at meetings. Is there any one here who dare say that Christians may not be united in the great choir which will gather to sing the grand song — when our King shall be crowned — and the saved shall sing Hozannas forever. Cyrus Underwood Died at his home, corner Coal and Sixth streets, Monongahela City, Wednesday evening, November 11, 1885. The Dalhf Repuhlican in noticing his death, remarks: Cyrus Underwood was born in Baltimore, Md., August 28, 1807. He was mar- ried in 1826 to Miss Rebecca Shriver. Eleven children blessed their union, five of whom are dead — three died in infancy. Wilbur was drowned from the steamer Bunton; Abraham died September 8, 1885. Six children yet live. Jane, wife of Hiram Filson; Amanda-, wife of A. V. Graham; Mary, widow of S. V. Miller; James, married; Charles and Hannah, unmar- ried and still at home. He had twenty-one grandchildren and ten great-grandchildren. He came to this city from Browns- ville in 1834:. He was one of the earliest and oldest Metho- dists of this community, having been connected with thecliurch for over 57 years. He was always greatly interested in educa- tion. The following paragraph is quoted from the historical address of Dr. J. S. VanVoorhis, delivered at the dedication of our new school house, July 1, 1881: "'The rapid growth of tlie borough soon necessitated the erection of a new school building. In the year 1852 the Board of Directors, consisting lo«) The Old and N'ew Monongahela. of our venerable friend Cyrus Underwood as President and the late Alex. Wilson as Secretary, with Joseph Alexander, H. H. Finley, Wilson Thompson and Alex. Scott as members, resolved to build a new school house, which gave the town the brick house across the street from this house. The lot was purchased from Henry Fulton. The house cost ^7,000. Johnson Baird and William Wilson did the stone and brick work, whilst the veteran contractor, William Coulter, with us to-night, did the carpenter work. It was opened for school in the fall of 1853. Andrew Brown, now of the "Forks," and T. R. Hazzard, just returned from West New- ton, were the first teachers, the former having been the last to teach in the old building. Too much credit cannot be given president Underwood for his untiring industry and foresight in moulding public opinion and carrying the enterprise to successful issue. He first settled in this place in 1834, where he has resided ever since, excepting three years he served as recorder of the county. He and H. H. Finley are the only surviving members of that board of directors. We are glad to see them both here to- night. Kind friends, faithful Christians, human benefactors, we bid you God speed ! " Mr. Underwood took an active part in the establishment of our new cemetery and was very earnest in the advancement of its interests, and especially delighted in its adornment, making frequent visits to the city of the dead, never tired in admiring its trees and avenues. On Friday he will be laid to rest amid the graves and paths which shall know his footsteps no more, forever. He was a warm whig and a strong republican, and his public services were recognized by an election to be recorder, in which office he served during 1855-56-57, and left at the county seat a good record of fidelity to public duty, and up- right walks in the social life. It does not evoke much pain to write the words he is dead. He waited the coming, his soul yearned .for the rest, he was a ripe sheaf heavy for the harvest. Believing in Christ as his personal Saviour ho has completed Tlie Old and Nev) Monongahela. 137 the work of life and gone to his eternal home. Therefore it is not sad to write the words ' ' he is dead, ' ' for all these words mean, when said of him, is that good, old " uncle Cyrus " has gone to his eternal home, and linked with his memory is only the fragrance of a pure life. Ira. R. Butler. Among the early and active class leaders in this church was Ira R. Butler. We insert an interview the author had with him a few years before his death. His grandfather was born in Bristol, England. His name was Noble Butler, and came to this country in 1716, about two years before the death of Wm. Penn. He landed at Phila- delphia and entered under the rules and regulations of Wm. Penn, one thousand acres of land at a very small price in Yeoch- land township, Chester county. His wife's name was Rachel Jones, of Welsh descent. Noble was a single man when he settled on this large farm, but not long after his arrival he was married. They had twelve children, the youngest of whom was Benjamin, the father of Ira. Noble died on this farm in 1804. Benjamin Butler had as sons and daughters, David, Jonathan, Elizabeth, Abner, Eunice, Noble, Is^iac, Benjamin, Joel, Joseph and Ira R. His large family growing rapidly to- ward maturity, Benjamin Butler, although surrounded by every comfort that wealth and opportunity could afford, began about the beginning of the present century to show a disposition to try his fortunes in the wilds of the Ohio. This increased after the death of his father. To carry out his desires in a satisfac- tory way, he sent two of his sons on horseback to spy out tlie new country, with instructions to purchase one well improved farm, and to secure enough in the neighborhood to furnish the family a farm each. They in due time returned with glowing accounts of the Ohio valley, and reported in favor of a section near North Bend on the Ohio river, some distance below Cin- cinnati. In a short time Father Butler sent the same sons back to secure the property by absolute purchase. On their 138 The Old and New MonongaJiela. return to the homestead in the spring of 1805, the old gentle- man sold all he had except such things as were determined to be taken along. After harvest they all bid adieu to the old home- stead with its magnificent stone mansion, and with a six-horse wagon, a five-horse wagon, a two-horse carriage and two extra horses the family set out on their journey to Ohio. They trav- eled by the way of Lancaster, Harrisburg and Bedford, and crossed the Monongahela river at Parkison's Ferry on Sabbath evening the 6th of October, 1805; put up at the tavern of George Trout, long known as the Caldwell stand, on Main street. Next morning the father arose from bed ; went to feed the horses so as to be ready for an early start; returned to the house, laid down to await breakfast; when called he was speech- less; died before midnight of palsy. Doctors at that time were not convenient, none nearer than Greensburg or the Upper Forks. In the midst of this sudden aiiiiction to the new- comers, it was suggested to send up the country a a short distance for a man the name of Miller, who made pretentions to be a general doctor in all things, especially in cows and other animals. He arrived in due time, and with no little degree of pomp and self assurance, pronounced the old gentleman's disease to be yellow fever, supplementing his decisions with the remark that he had powders "for fifty cents each, which, if taken promptly, would prevent the rest of the family, and citizens generally, from taking the disease." Many powders were no doubt disposed of to the credulous. Most of the family were in a short time taken unwell, and within two weeks Isaac died. In the mean- time Dr. Marchand, of Greensburg, was called. The history of the case of the old gentleman was related, and he declared ; it to be a stroke of the palsy; that the rest of the family, from : exposure on the journey, had malarial fever. He denounced the cow doctor in severest terms, and on examination found his powders to be made of brick dust and some other as inert substance. He declared he would not hesitate to cwrhide such a man. The Old and Ntw Monovgahela. • 139 Isaac was buried with his father in the Wicker ham grave- yard, now in the third ward. In the midst of this sorrow Captain Daniel VanYoorhis called to see and comfort the family. He said, "Boys, if yoii are not going to use your horses send them up to my farm and turn them into the fort Held where the grass is knee deep, and leave them there as long as you deem proper.'' Ira and one of his brothers salted them regularly, and there Ira saw a bear for the first time, which was a pet of Abraham YanYoorhis, then about 20 years old. Some of the shoes that came off these horses were found a few years since in plowing the field. They are in the pos- session of John YanYoorhis, the present owner of the field. The death of the father of this family created no little stir in the town; the citizens generally were frightened, and some were so lost to shame as to insist on the Butlers leaving town even in their distress. The father's death necessitated the tak- ing of an inventory of his goods. As this was being done the goods were to be removed to the Red house, now gone, at the mouth of First street, on the river, which had been rented from Samuel Black. Some of the citizens, more nervous than humane, persuaded Mr. Black not to allow the family to occupy the house, though part of the goods had been loaded on the wagons and in the way to the house. He yielded to their demands, leaving them in such a strait as they knew not what to do. At this critical moment appeared among them the good Samaritan, Nathan W. Chalfant, saying, "Strangers, I have a house rented down on Race street which I will not need till spring. Drive your w^agons to it and unload your goods, and let me see the man who will dare to disturb you." Thus the Butlers became citizens of the town, and their pros- pects for North Bend blighted. This man Chalfant lived in Brownsville, but was building keel boats in the town, being its first boat builder. His name and that of Capt. YanYoor- his were cherished in fond remembrance by the Butler family, and the Esquire at this day says, "I hardly know anybody else than the YanYoorhis name.''' Afterwards some time the 14 1) TJie Old and New Moriongahvla. family moved into the frame house, then iinlinished, opposite the City Hotel, occupied by Keller & Co. The members of the family generally were short lived. One of the boys was thrown from a stage three miles this side of Washington, from the effects of which he died September, 1822. Rachel died 13th of October, 1822. Joel married Betsy, daughter of William Irwin, of whom we have written. Eunice married the late David Woodward, father of Noble and Joseph. She died a few years since, an account of whose death was written by Lewis Bollman and printed in the Repuhlican. At this date Ira alone remains. He was born at the old homestead in Chester county, November 15th, 1792. He was married by George Bentley, Esq., to Mary Boyd, June lith, 1822. She was born October 23d, 1801, at New London Cross Roads, Chester county. She died September 7th, 1874. Ira and his wife first set up housekeeping in what was long known as the Peggy Speers house, in Catsburg. In 1812 he kept store with his brother Benjamin in the house now occupied by T. H. Baird, Esq., on Main street, known as the Stewart property. He sold eggs for three to four cents per dozen, butter six to ten cents per pound, home made sugar 6^ cents per pound, there was no other kind of sugar sold; used tallow candles for light in candlesticks of tin with brass mountings and about ten inches high. As people generally made their own wearing material from flax and tow, there was not much finery sold in the stores. The mercantile business did not agree with his health. He sold out, went to Lake Erie, where he secured employment as super-cargo on the sailing vessel " Union of the Grand River,"" Captain Martin, Master. The boat was chartered by the North American Fur Company, of which John J. Astor was president, to bring furs and other goods from Fort Mackinaw, after its surrender to the British forces by Captain Darragh, brother of the late Daniel Darragh, of Mingo. One of the terms of the surrender permitted private citizens to take away their property. He was on the same vessel three years, during two of which he was captain of the craft, and hence he ac- The Old and New Monongahela. 141 quired the title of Captai.n Butler. In the winter of 1815 he returned to Williamsport and followed boat building. He moved from the Peggy Speers house to the Woodward place, where John Lamb first had his tan yard. He subsequently bought the property opposite the paper mill, and in 1837 built the brick house in which he lived until in 1841 he moved to his present residence. He sold his property opposite the paper mill to Douglas McFarland, father of Campbell McFarland, Esq., and Rev. John McFarland, who died some years ago in Greenfield, Dade county, Missouri. He bought his present residence from a man the name of Stockdale, who, we think, purchased it from the Baxters. On the 12th day of May, 1880, we called on Esq. Butler. He was not at home, but was informed that he would be home shortly, as he only walked down to the blackmith's at Victory coal works, and as he was a good walker would soon be back. I thought to myself, a pretty good walk for a man 88 years old. In a short time J heard him on the porch, met him with an extended hand ; looking me in the eyes, says : "I believe I do not know you."" Giving him a gentle hint who I was, he exclaimed, "-Why, John, I hav'n't seen you for thirty years. Set down, I am very glad to see you." I soon discovered that he was a perfect encyclopaedia of the l)ast ; his recollection clear ; his conversational powers unim- paired ; his body erect ; in fact a man extraordinarily well ])re8erved. He has preserved all his papers bearing on his history, business and travels. Still has his copy books used when at school in 1807; a memorandum of miscellany during his life ; a detailed description of a journey in a flatboat from Williamsport to Orleans ; his experience on Lake Erie, in fact the sum total of a long, active life on paper. After giving me a sketch of his family as above, only at length, I gathered from him much in a desultory way. Well, Esq., which house do you think was first built in town 'i Ans. The log part of the old Parkison mansion. Who was the first cabinet maker 'i Joseph McClure, who made my father's 142 The Old and New Memongaltela . coffin, and under whom the late John Eckles learned his trade. His shop was across the alley from the City Hotel, in which Joseph Hamilton afterwards had his cabinet shop. By whom and when was the City Hotel built % Washington Palmer, in 1811, just before he went out in Capt. James Warne's company to the war of 1812, this company being apart of Pennsylvania'.s first quota. Who built the old Glass Works, now gone '. Parkison, Warne & Co., in 1816. The company consisted of William Parkison, James Warne, Joel and Benjamin Butler. Haywood did the job at a cost of ^27,000 before it was ready to start. At the first blast the cap fell in and in fact the whole was a failure. It was sold at sheriff's sale to Samuel Black and J. and R. McGrew, who rented it to Wm. Ihmsen. How about Catsburg? When Esq. James Mitchell laid out East Williamsport in 1811, the widow Biddie Caldwell and her daughter were the only inhabitants on the site, and their cal)iii was the only dwelling except the old log house in which Daniel DePue had resided, on the point at the mouth of the creek. Biddie 's cabin was situated in the orchard on the slope of the hill above the residence of the widow Collins. Biddie and her daughter were constantly quarrelling, squealing, pulling hair and crying like cats. So prominent a feature were these qualities that the household was called the "cat and kittens,'" and the people on the other side of the creek very soon took hold of the idea of calling the new town Catsburg, despite of the Esq. 's name. Who gave the old graveyard lot? William Parkison. The new addition was purchased by a general sub- scription under the supervision of the late Joseph Wilson. Who was Thomas Wells 'i The first saddle and harness maker in town. Who built the first saw mill ? William Johnson, the father-in-law of William Layman. It stood not far from Neel, Blythe & Co.'s mills. In building boats before this time the creek mills sawed the timber into plank, but the whip- saw made it into shape. "Well, Esq., I must go." "If you must go,"' says he. " I want you to call again and I will give you a detail of the building of the town, and how I used to Tht Old and New MonmigaJiela. 143 work for my old friend, Abrani Van Voorhis, and others for 02^ cents per day.''' Ira Butler died at his home in Carroll township, July 18, 18S1:. The Dally Repuhlican in a notice of his death says, "His funeral took place on Sunday, July 20, from his old homestead, and was followed to Monongahela cemetery by the largest concourse of people that has ever been seen at the ob- sequies of any citizen in this part of the country. His death occurred at ten o'clock on Friday night, and the funeral was announced for two o'clock on Sabbath. Long before the hour appointed for the interment hundreds of people in scores of vehicles had collected at the venerated old man's residence to do honor to the memory of one who had lived among them a monument of honesty, uprightness and purity. The pall bear- ers were Wm. Galbraith, Wm. Coulter, David Rabe and Joseph Warne. The funeral was under the direction of Capt. A. D. O'Donovan. The casket furnished was of oak, draped with black cloth. On the plate was the following inscription : Capt. Ika Keese Butlek, Aged 91 Years, 8 Months and 3 Days. Dr. Nesbitt, pastor of the Methodist Church of this city, officiated on the occasion, and in his discourse alluded feelingly and appropriately to the long life and Christian example of the deceased. The emblem of the sheaf of wheat placed upon the casket fitly illustrated that the harvest had been gathered and his many years of usefulness was to be well rewarded by the enjoyment of a bright and glorious beyond. He had been a consistent member of the Methodist Church of this city for over seventy years, having connected himself with it in its infancy, when about twenty-two years of age. Captain Butler was truly one of the pioneers of Washington county, and the many scraps of local history connected with his life would be of great inter- est to the general reader. About 1815 he was captain of a sailing vessel on the lakes, where he was accustomed to put in his time in the business season, returning to Monongahela City to spend the winter with his friends and family. In June, 1-44 Th<^ Old and Neio Monongahela. 1880, we published from the pen of our valued correspondent, Dr. Van Yoorhis, reminiscences of Mr. Butler and family from which we to-day reprint a few extracts.'" These extracts were inserted in a former part of this article. Ira K. Butler was the last of seven sons, all of whom are now dead. The Captain left behind him eight children — Benjamin F., now de- ceased (1889), Ira William and Mrs. Dr. Keys, Mrs. James Blythe, Mrs. Pratt, Mrs. Keechline and Miss Sarah, all resid- ing in or about Monongahela City. Eli AS Watson. Among the early and devoted members of this church was Elias Watkins. His father, Joseph Watkins, came from Baskin Ridge, N. J, in 1801, and settled near Williamsport, on what farm we are not informed. He died within two years after his arrival. He seems to have beon married twice. By his second marriage he had three sons, Jeremiah, John and Elias, and one daughter, Ann, who married the late Abram Van Voor- his. Jeremiah married Nancy Pugh, born in New Jersey, Her father and mother, it may be said, were both Revolutionary soldiers, he being in the American army during the entire war, and she living amidst many of its most stirring scenes; was frequently involved in the perils and hardships incident to a country occupied by contending armies. Jeremiah was a farmer of Fallowlield, living fourteen years on a tract of land belonging to the Grable estate on Pigeon creek, and from which, in 1839, he moved to Southeastern Indiana, where he owned a large body of land on which he died in 1845. His wife died about the year 1870, surviving her husband 25 years. They left three sons; two of whom are successful farmers in Kansas. The oldest son was named Joseph Finley, after Mr. Finley, who died years ago in Rostraver township, Westmoreland county. Joseph F. was 19 years old when his father took him with him to Indiana. He remained on his father's farm assisting in making improvements and caring for the family for ten years, during which time he represented his The Old and New Monongahela. 145 county for two terms in the Legislature. His differing with a majority of his constituents by advocating the passage of a stringent temperance law, caused his defeat afterwards for an important county office. He then abandoned politics, shook the dust of that county from his feet, moved to the western part of the State, where he successfully engaged in the mercantile business up to 1872, when he sold out with a view of partially retiring from business. His active disposition and business turn of mind would not allow him a life of retirement. He bought a half interest in the extensive Brown mills, in the city of Crawford sville, in connection with which is a large grain elevator. The firm of Brown & Watkins is now largely engaged in shipping and manufacturing flour. John Watkins was well known in this community for many^ years. He was a carpenter by trade and did much of the fine work in the older houses in this vicinity. His first wife was a daughter of Alexander McCaslin, who resided years ago near Ginger Hill. He moved from the farm to Williamsport about the year 1828, purchased the lot on which Dr. Linn erected his new house. On this lot in 1829 he built a dwelling house and store room, now being torn down. William Mills in 1839 had a store in this room, and also the firm of Mills & Storer occupied it for a time. He left town, in what year we can not tell, to reside on a farm on Mingo, not far from Kammerer's Mills, where he died about 20 years ago. We have no infor- mation as to his children. Elias, tlie remaining brother, was a man of marked religious character, of deep and fervent piety. In connection with James Mills he built the old steam mill on the other side of the river from the mouth of First street. This mill was burned many years ago whilst owned and run by a man the name of Joseph Coulson. The cause of the fire remains a mystery to this day. Elias lived a long time at the mills, long since gone, belonging to Abram VaiiYoorhis, which stood oh Pigeon creek. He died about the year 1884, leaving a widow and a large family of children. His wife was a half-sister of Robert 146 TJie Old and New Monongahela . Phillips, the late Nancy Wickerhain and Mrs. Jane VanVoor- his, and a full sister, we think, of Margaret Paden — Mrs. Hull, deceased. His son John was a glassblower by trade. He quit his trade on account of health; lived in and owned the house just above the Episcopal church on Main street. He married Miss Eliza Jane, daughter of the late James Warne. He with his family moved in 1857 to the vicinity of Parkers- burg, W. Va. , to engage in farming. Of his present where- abouts we are not able to say, further than that he some years ago moved to the west, and was accidentally killed. William, another son of Elias, was also a glassblower. He moved many years ago from this county to Indiana. Thornton F. died on the plains on his journey to California. One of the daughters married William Hugus, a glassblower, resided a short time in Belle Yernon, and at last accounts near Alliance, Ohio, where he was a successful farmer. As to the remaining members of the family we have not any tidings. RicnAKD Stockdale. This old and well known gentleman died at his residence in Monongahela City January 20th, 1889, in his 71th year, of dropsy, superinduced by rheumatism. Richard Stockdale, son of William Stockdale, was born October 15th, 1815, on the Curry farm, Forward township. Allegheny county. His father moved to the farm on the pike, where James Stockdale lived, while Richard was yet a lad. The family consisted of five brothers: John; James, who lived on the home place; William and Rol)ert, who were in the furniture and lumber business for many years, both now dead. There were five sisters: Sarah, widow of the late Captain Samuel Morgan, of Gastonville; Rachel, wife of James Porter, of Bloomington, 111.; Margaret, wife of James Kerr, of this city; Eliza, widow of Rol)ert Patton; and Forbes, wife of William Coulter, Ijoth of this citv. Tile Old and Nevi Mon/mgahela. 147 Richard Stockdale learned the trade of tanner with Alexander Williams, and after his majority workeS at his trade in Circle- ville and Zanesville, Ohio. Returning in 1843 he leased the ground and opened a tan yard on the site now occupied by the residence and grounds of James V. Shepler on Pike avenue. In 1850 he bought from James Gordon, Esq., the tannery on Main street, where he had worked as an apprentice, he also purchased. the dwellings thereon, which now form part of his estate and where for many years he lived. Henry Fulton's lease had just expired and Mr. Stockdale succeeded him in the business. He operated this tannery until 1877, when the growth of city environments made it undesirable for that pur- pose. He relinquished the tanning business in 1878, having successfully followed the business for 35 years. He then en- gaged in the coal trade, operating the works known as "Stock- dale's,"' in Carroll township. He retired from active business in 1881, since which time he had suffered from rheumatic trouble more or less. Mr. Stockdale was married in 1845 to Miss Levina Hoffman, of Somerset township, six sons blessed the union, one of whom, Charles, died in infancy, the others are providentially able to be present at the funeral, except Richard, who is in Montana. Mrs. Stockdale died November 3d, 1880. Mr. and Mrs. Stockdale were both active, earnest and hard- working members of the Methodist Episcopal Church. He was a trustee and a class leader, was one of the building committee and a liberal contributor to the present edifice on Main street. Mrs. Stockdale was a leader in woman's work for the church, her monument is established in the hearts of many hundreds. Together they walked hand in hand; a few years of separation; n(^w again united beyond the river. Peace to their memory. Makk Borland. f From Monong:ahela Rcpublmtn of July 14, 1803.] Mark Borland, Esq., died suddenly at his home on Main street in this city on Thursday night about 11 o'clock, July 13, 148 Ths Old and New Monongahela. 1893. He had been unusually well, for him, all day, and had his trunk packed to go to-day with the grandchildren for a visit. He wassuddeidy stricken down, and attending physicians, hastily summoned, found that an internal hemorrhage had reached and filled his lungs. Mark Borland was born Dec. 16, 1827, in Pittsburgh, son of Moses and Sallie Taggart Borland. He went to school to Mas- ter Meads in the Second ward school house on the bank where the Monongahela House now stands. At the age of 14 he went with Phillip Ross to learn the dry good trade, and for some years clerked in Pittsburgh stores, gaining the business ex- perience so useful to him in later life. He clerked for Zebulon Kinstry, who did a general store and jewelry business; next with Stacy Lloyd, then with George F. Deihl. He went into the dry goods store of Perry Baker, of McKeesport, and finally at Port Perry hung out his own shingle upon which for the first time appeared the name of ''Mark Borland, General Merchan- dise."" He hadn't a dollar when he started but soon paid for his goods and had $8,000 in bank as his first earnings. He thought he saw in Limetown the coming centre for trade in the middle pool, and moved there. He also went into the coal trade with his brother-in-law, John Peterson, now dead, and J. B. Corey, now a coal king. The tight times of just before the war came on, he sold out at Limetown and came to Monongahela, in 1857, forming part- nership with John Young, and occupying a room on the present location. The business has grown with the passing years, guided by his excellent judgment. In 1833 he joined Swickard and McCurdy in the erection of the city block, and the store now occupies five large rooms, the most extensive dry goods and shoe house in the valley. His sons were taken into the firm as they reached majority. Mr. Borland was married to Miss Elizabeth Peterson, at Port Perry, in 1852, by Pev. Sparks. This dear wife survives him, together with his children, John, Howard, Ida, Sallie, Charles, Th' Old aiul Neil) 3f<>noiiyal ('hurch. In this house his son Samuel B. Bentley was born in 1826, being the same year in which his father died. 152 Th<> Old and Mhc Monongahela. Mrs. Elizabeth Bentley died October 10, 1878. S. B. Bent- ley now lives in the house built by Samuel Black in 1815, but it has been subject to many changes and remodelings since that time. Samuel B. Bentlcy's first wife was Sarah, daughter of ^Eneas Graham, and his second wife was Minerva, daughter of Henry and Elizabeth Swartz Kabe, thus uniting two of the oldest families about Monongahela City. They have four children living at this date, Millie G., Charles R. , Harry K., and Mary M. Samuel B. Bentley joined the Methodist E. Church of his native city in 1847, under the pastorate of Rev. Nathaniel Calendar. His grandmother Black was one of the pioneer women of Methodism in Western Pennsylvania, and his mother was a member of the same church in its primitive days. He was the choirister of the church over forty years. His first school teacher w^as Miss Jane Hepburn, whose father was Principal and sister Eliza was assistant. They taught in a house now owned by Silas Haley, four doors above the Peo- ple's Bank, on Main street. This school was in 1830 and 1831. Samuel Black's son, Harry, married Miss Cotts, of Cincin- nati, Ohio, both of whom are dead. They left two children who are still living: Samuel, a lawyer of Cincinnati, and Sarah, who married a Mr. Cox of the same city. Maria Black, who died December 29th, 1889, in her 90th year, married Dr. S. M. King, a noted and highly esteemed physician of Monongahela City. He settled in that city about the year 1815, and died at his home on Chess street, Septem- ber 7th, 1877. The Monongahela Republican in giving an account of his death, says, ''Dr. King was born at Uniontown, Pa., October 8th, 1794. He received a thorough education at Canonsburg, Pa. He studied medicine at Greensburg, Pa.. with Drs. Marchand and Postlewaite, and graduated at the University of Pennsylvania. He settled in Williamsport, now Monongahela City, in 1815 and commenced the practice of his profession. In 1817 he married Maria Black, daughter of the late Samuel Black. With the exception of a few months' residence in Madison, Indiana, about the year 1840, he has The Old and New Monongahela. 153 been continuously identified with the business and society of his adopted city for 62 years. Dr. King retired from the ac- tive practice of medicine only about 10 years ago, transferring his busines's to his son, the late Dr. William H. King.'' Dr. S. M. King died a Christian as he had lived one, and those who visited him in his invalid chamber, expecting to find it shrouded under the shadow.of gloom, found, instead, a house of rejoicing, a cheerful making ready for the Bridegroom, a chamber lit up with flashes of light from the Gates Ajar. A few days before his death, calling for his favorite walking stick, the dying man caught the staff firmly by its handle and exclaimed. "Farewell vain world. I am on my journey home." With rejoicing and not with trembling he went down into the valley, leaving behind as a legacy for us all, the record Christian life, and the triumph of a Believer's death. They had quite a large family of children. John L., who died Septem- ber 12, 1881; Samuel K. married Harriet Woodburn, of Madi- son, Indiana, and died in 185-, leaving two children, Culver ) and Clarence. Wm. H. King studied medicine with his father, graduated at the Jeft'erson Medical College in 1853, resided all his life in Monongahela Citv, where he was reeiarded as one of S^ the most prominent physicians and surgeons in WQstern Penn- sylvania. He married Sarah, daughter of Rev. S. M. Sparks, one of the pioneers of the Cumberland Church in Western Pa. Dr. William H. King was noted not only as a thorough and learned physician and surgeon, but for his kind disposition and great benevolence. No poor man or woman was ever turned from his house, either in a professional or charitable way. He died in 1871, being just 50 years old the day he died. He had three children, all living at this date, Ida, Maria and Alvin. Richard C, another son of Dr. S. M. King, never married and still remains as a household god in the old home. Dr. Cyrus B. was the youngest son of the older Dr. King. He graduated from Jeft'erson Medical College in 1862, and is now numbered among the most distinguished medical men in Alle- gheny City, where he has always ])urMn('d his jirofcssion, and is 154 The Old and New Monemcjaliela. a Professor in the Western Pennsylvania Medical College. He married Euphemia, daughter of the Rev. John Kerr, who for many years was pastor of the Presbyterian Church of Monon- gahela City. Mrs. Euphemia King was a lady of more than ordinary Christian character. She was noted for her work of love and charity in the Third Presbyterian Church of Pittsburgh. Hers was a model Christian life, in all its phases, as wife, mother, church member and friend to the poor. Pollock's description of the dying motlier is peculiarly applicable to her. •'Her eyes, they set as sets the Morning Star, Th'at g(;es not down behind the daikened west, Nor hides amid tire tempest of the sky, But melts away into the liiiht of Heaven." She died July 26, 1881, in Allegheny City, Pa., honored and beloved by all who knew her, leaving three children, Annie, now Mrs. Bakewell, Nina and Victor, to mourn their loss. Samuel Black, son of Samuel Black the older, died in the old stone house at the mouth of Dry Run, about the year 1833. He left two children, Samuel R. and Caroline. Caroline, daughter of the older Black, married Robert Smith, a successful farmer, near Elizabeth, Allegheny county, Pa. She died July 24, 1885. Cyru-s Black, son of Samuel Black, once a noted revivalist of the M. E. Church, married Bellevidere McGahan, both are deceased, leaving two daughters, Mary and Cornelia, residents of New York. Marcus, another son, married Matilda Morton. Both arc dead, leaving two children: Morton, of the banking house of Alexander & Co., and Mary, wife of William M. Boggs. Jane Black married W. S. Millinger, a well known military man, and postmaster of Monongahela City during the Tyler administration. He kept the postoffice in the house now occupied by S. B. Bentley. They had thi-ee sons, George V. L., Marcus and Robert F., and one daughter, Alice, the wife of Norman Wylie of Allegheny (^ity. The Old and New Me>nong(theUi. 155 l\oss Black was educated at Jetl'erson College, and studied law witli Hon. E. M. Stanton, under the tuition of Judge Stokeley of Steubenville, Ohio. He was admitted to the Washington, Pa., bar in 1841, and died in Monongahela City in 1857. Wilson S., the remaining son, died on his way home from the Mexican war. The remaining daughters were Mary, married to George S. Clark, who died in Chattanooga, Tenn., where his widow and children still live. Hester married Colvin Bissell and died long ago. They had two daughters, Mary and Ida, both of whom are living. Mks. Maria Kino. Died December 29, 1889. The Monongahela Bejyuhlican of December 30, 1889, thus speaks of the death of Mrs. King : The death of this lady removes from Monongahela its oldest resident, one who began life with the century, born in May, 1800, and who has lived as its years rolled by, till now she sees the light of its last decade, but before the dawn of the New Year she passed into eternity where years are not counted. The baby Maria, child of Samuel and Mary Black, was born in what afterward was known as the "old red house," which stood near the river bank, back from Mr. Beaver's, on First street. The family soon afterwards moved to their mansion house on the hill, where the girl spent her childhood, and where she was married to Dr. Samuel M. King, who has pre- ceded her to the silent land. Of thirteen children Richard and Dr. Cyrus remain of the sons ; Mrs. Baird and Mrs. Mosely of the daughters. Mrs. King, like most old people, lived much in the past, and was familiar with the early history of the city which she had seen grow up about her. She was a pupil in the first Sunday school taught by Judge Gordon in 1811. She stood at her father's door step and saw the " Williamsport Rangers" march away under Captain James Warne to tlie war of 1812 ; she watched the builders put up the first glass factory near the place where Elijah Harrison's sons now live, by 150 The Old and New Monongakela. Parkison and Warne ; and subsequently saw the smoke curl from a factory owned and controlled by her father. She heard the new county question discussed for nearly a hundred years. She saw her father active in the erection of the " first house of worship" initiative steps for which were taken July T, 1814, when Joseph Parkison for the sum of $45 conveyed to Samuel Black, James Gordon, James Hair, David Hamilton, William Irwin and others, trustees for building a Presbyterian meeting house on ''lot No. 72, on the hill." She saw the first river bridge built, her father having "released the bridge company from all danger to any lands of his taken in the erection of a bridge." And so on. Within her lifetime is a history of this town ; when she was born Jefferson was the third President, and Aaron Burr Yice President of the United States ; when she was seven years old Robert Fulton made his first steamboat trip. Slaves were then brought to this country from Africa and sold, and Ohio was .not yet in the Union. What a long life to live, and how many memories must have clustered about her as she sank peacefully to rest on the dawn of a Sabbath day. William Jones' Family. William Jones was born at Ellicott's Mills, Maryland, in May, 1763, and died in the latter part of March, 1862. He located in the neighborhood of Ginger Hill, in Washington county, a few years before the Whiskey Insurrection, on the farm still owned by his son William. He was a blacksmith by trade. When the U. S. troops were sent out to disperse the insurgents they halted near his farm, from whence they were ordered to return, as the insurrection was over. While in camp he shod some of the Government horses. He was loyal to the Government and took no part in the insurrection. By his first wife he had eleven children, five sons and six daughters, viz., John, Elijah, Jesse, Samuel and William, Rebecca, Deli- lah, Polly, Ruth, Rose and Ann. At an advanced ago he 1 The Old and New Monoiigahela. 157 married Mrs. Jane Philips as his second wife, by whom he had DO children. John was the founder of Jonestown, in Fallow- held, where he lived most of his life, during which he was generally engaged in farming, merchandising and in keeping entertainment. His peculiar sign, "Entertainment," will be remembered by many of the older citizens. Here he died in 1S74, at an advanced age. Elijah lived and died in the brick house on the hill above Jonestown. Among his children were Isaac W., who built the McGregor row on Main street in Mon- ongahela City, and who is now a successful wool dealer in Washington, Pa. His son James married Caroline, daughter of the late Abram Yan Yoorhis. James died some years ago and his widow, with his children, are living near Ginger Hill. Jesse, another son of Wm. Jones, lived and died on a part of the old Homestead. William still owns the greater part of the original homestead, but lives in Monongahela City. Samuel Jones, the remaining son of William Jones the older, was born on the homestead in 1800. He went to the "Forks of Yough " in 1821 and settled on the farm purchased by his father for him from Peter Shepler. Samuel resided on this farm until his death in June, 1867. He was killed by a log rolling over him. In 1826 he married Jane Fell, daughter of Benjamin Fell, in Rostraver township, Westmoreland county. The wedding took place at the Fell mansion, which consisted of a log cabin of primitive style. Mr. Fell was very positive that at this cabin was organized the tirst Methodist class west of the mountains. Through his influence was erected the old log church which formerly stood where the present stone church, known as Fell's church, is situated, about two miles from Webster. Samuel Jones had by his first wife four chil- dren. Mary married Dr. J. P. Watson, and are both dead, leaving no children. William, on the 8th day of February, 1850, married Sarah, daughter of the well known Captain Joseph Shepler. They have three children. Their son, Joseph S., is a member of the banking firm of S. F. Jones & Co., of Bellevernon, Pa., and married Miss Lizzie Mustard and 158 The Old and New Monongahela. resides in Bellevernon, Samuel married Miss Ann Murphy and resides in North Bellevernon. He is a member of the Bellevernon Saw and Planing Mill Co. The only daughter of William and Sarah Jones is Ella, who married Mr. Sears of Florida and resides in North Bellevernon. His father gave William the old Fell farm which was purchased at Orphans' court sale. On this farm he lived until he moved to North Bellevernon, where he is at this time a member of the banking house of S. F. Jones & Co. His son, S. F. Jones, married Sallie Thomas in 1861. They have no children. His father gave him the farm near Bellevernon known in olden times as the farm on which Rev. David Smith resided while he was pastor of Rehoboth church, and where he died in 1803. He was the father of Rev. Joseph Smith, author of the book ' ' Old Redstone." The old house has given place to aline brick, erected by S. F. Jones. He sold this farm to Michael F. Cook, grandson of Col. Ed- ward Cook, and removed to Bellevernon in 1872, where he be- came a member of the banking house of S. F. Jones & Co., formed in 1872. At this date, 1893, he has an interest in the Bellevernon Heat and Light Company, of which he is Superin- tendent. James S., the remaining son of Samuel Jones by his first wife, married Miss Ann Finley, daughter of the late Wm. Finley, and grand daughter of Rev. James Finley, who was the first pastor of Rehoboth Church. They have no children. James served through the late war and died in Washington, D. C, in about 1891. Samuel Jones' second wife was Miss Mary, daughter of the late Benjamin Thomas, of Rostraver, in the vicinity of the town of Webster, Pa. By her he had eight children. Elizabeth married John M. Bake as her first husband, now deceased. Her second husband is Thomas Hagerty, who now lives on Cook's run, near Fayette City, Pa. Malissa married Lowry Venable, and resides in the west. Rettie married Jonathan Rhodes. She died years ago. in Ohio. Amanda married The Old and New MonongaJiela. 159 Thf)mas C. Doiighiss, and resides in Pittsburgh. Homer mar- ried Jennie McAlpiu, of Gibsonton Mills. They reside in Belle- vernon, Pa. Luther married Sallie Venable, and resides near Bellevernon. John married a daughter of D. V . Hpusman, and still resides on part of the homestead. Celia, the remain- ing daughter, is unmarried and lives with her aged mother in the homestead in Rostraver. Samuel Jones, at his death, was the largest landholder in Rostraver township, and the distribution of his estate gave each of his children a fair patrimony. He was a man of warm feel- ing and ardent sympathies. Energetic in business, he was no less so in his church. He was long a member of the Methodist E. Church, held his membership at Fells, in the graveyard of which his remains are interred. He gave largely of his means and labor in erecting the church building in Webster. Rosa, daughter of William Jones the older, married Hull Williams, who lived for many years in the'neighborhood of the Dutch meeting house near Ginger hill, in Washington county, Pa. They are both dead. Rebecca married Andrew Mills. Both are dead many years. Ann married John Hess, who lived near what is called Edward's chapel, on the pike, above Ginger hill. They are both dead — John died some years ago, and his wife June 30th, 1889. Ruth never married, and died at an advanced age in Monongahela City. Delilah married James Mills. Both are dead. James Mills was a well known local preacher in the M. E. church, and a business man generally. He lived in the town of Williams- port early as 1828, in Washington, Pa., on a farm near lock No. 4, lately owned by Mrs. John Ryan, and on which he laid a prospective town called Lockport, which proved a failure. For years prior to his death he carried on business in Pitts- burgh, where he died. He was a man of more than ordinary ability. His sermons were Scriptural and delivered in a plain though fervent manner. His wife died not many years since in Pittsburgh. They had quite a number of children. A. B. Mills, the oldest son, graduated at Washington college in 1846. 100 The Old and New Moiiongahela. After many years in business he died in Philadelphia in 1888. James R. , another son, is now one of the shining lights in the Methodist Episcopal Church. Some years ago he was the recipient of the degree of 1). D., which he deservedly bears with his accustomed modesty. Mary, daughter of James Mills, married a Mr. Dolby, and resides on Craig street, Pitts- burgh. Mary, the remaining daughter of William Jones, married Joseph Alexander, of whom we will write in another place. The Alexander Family. Joseph Alexander was born on Ten Mile Creek, in Washing- ton county. Pa., on the first day of April, 1795, and died in Monongahela City June 20, 1871. When Joseph was quite young his father immigrated to Barnesville, Ohio, where he grew up to manhood. His father, Joseph Alexander, was born July 9, 1765, and died June 9, 1847, at his residence in Ohio. He was the son of Isaac Alexander, who was born December 16, 1716 ; he was the son of Elias Alexander, who was born in 1680, and died in 1780. Joseph, the subject of this sketch, was one of a large family. His brother James resided in Monongahela City some fifty years ago, and will be recollected by many of the older citizens as having kept a store in the McGrew room just above the present Odd Fellows building. He died in 1860, at Fort Gibson, Louisiana. A sister Han- nah married Benjamin Thomas, of Rostraver township, West- moreland county ; both are deceased. The children of Benja- min and Hannah Thomas were Elijah, Rosa Ann, Mary, Joseph B., Thomas Hudson, Harriet, Westley Ford, A^an R., and James. Rosa Ann married James Davidson and died in Bellevernon August 20, 1887. ' Mks. Rosanna Davidson. The Bellevernon Enterprise oi August 27, 1887, contains the following articles on her death: Died, on Saturday evening, August 20, 1887, at her late resi- The Old and Nero Monongahela. 161 denee in Bellevenion, Mrs. Rosanna, wife of Rev. James Dav- idson. The deceased was the daughter of the late Benjamin Thomas, of Rostraver township. Her mother was an Alexan- der, sister of the late Joseph Alexander, of Monongahela City, who was the father of AV". J. and Jas. S. Alexander, of the same city. The deceased was born September 17, 1816, on the old Thomas homestead, in the above named township, now owned by John Rankin. She was married to James Davidson Oct. 27, 1836, at the old homestead, by the Rev. Geo. McCasky. She joined the Methodist E. Church at Fells, in 1828, being in her twelfth year, under the ministry of the Rev. John Wat- terman. She, with her husband, united with the church of Bellevenion in 1850, whilst in charge of Rev. J. F. ISessly. She leaves a husband, two sons and nine daughters; one daugh- ter, Mary, passed into the beyond on the 24:th day of the same month just 46 years ago. Her nine loving daughters were all with her in her last days. The sons, on account of the sickness of the one and the great distance from his home of the other, were not able to be present during her last illness, but Robert, her youngest son, was present at the funeral. The deceased was truly one of God's own children; the community will bear witness to this fact. Her walk and conversation gave rich fruits of a life of over sixty years devoted to Christ. Only on account of sickness was her seat vacant in the house of God. She will be missed by her husband, with whom she had for over fifty years shared the troubles and pleasures of life; she will be missed in the home circle, where so long by exam])le and precept she exemplified the truth of the Christian religion; she will be missed in the church of which she had been a de- voted meuiljcr for nearly sixty years; she will be missed by the community to which she was ever ready to grant acts of charity and kind sympathy; but she has not missed the crown which was laid up for her in glory. Servant of God. well done I Thy glorious warfare's past. The battle's fought, the race is won. And thou art crowned at last. 1<32 The Old and Nnr Moiunninhehi. MOTHER DEAD. Is she really dead { Has her spirit winged its flight to the glorious land ^ And what is death! Are some of the many thoughts that passed in quick succession through our mind as we stood at the death bed of our beloved mother-in-law on last Saturday afternoon, and gazed for the last time on her face while living. For 22 hours she had not changed her position, and as her life ebbed away she just fell asleep on the bosom of the Saviour, whom she had for 59 years loved and served. On July Ith she sat at the table for the last time. She had to be helped, but she wanted to be where her children w^ere. During her sickness she suffered much, yet there was no com- plaining, no murmuring, and when she realized that the master had called her to come home, she was prepared. Death had no terrors, as she had communed constantly with her maker she was ready to say, '•My home, heiicefortli, is in the skies ; Earth, sea, and siiu, adieu. AU heaven's enfol.ded to my eyrs, 1 have no sight for you." All realized that death would come, but we were not pre- pared to meet it. When the last silent breath had been drawn, and we knew she had gone, then, and not till then did the shock come. xVll her children were present but one, who hav- ing gone to Los Angeles, Cal., could not come. Before death came she could not speak or recognize any one. Loving hands administered to her wants and wishes as long as they could, and on Monday morning she was laid to rest in the cemetery. She leaves eleven children and an aged husband to mourn her loss. 01 where .-ihaU human grief be stilled And joy for pain he given, Where dwells tlie sunshine of a love In which the soul may always rove? A sweet voice answered — Heaven. The Pittsburgh ('hrist/dji Advocate has the following notice of Mother Davidson's death, written Ijy her pastor : The Old and New Monongahela . 1G3 She began very early in life to follow Christ, the result of which was that she became rooted and grounded in the Christian faith. Her steadfastness in the Apostles' doctrine grew with increasing years. She could say with Paul, "This one thing I do.'' She allowed nothing of a worldly character to interpose between her and Christian duty. Her seat in the house of God was seldom vacant. The word of Christ came to her not in word only, but in transforming power. The service of God was her chief joy. A little less than a year ago we met at the home of brother and sister Davidson to celebrate their golden wedding, little thinking that the bride of the occasion would so soon be enfolded in the embrace of death. She reared a large family of children, and had the satisfaction of knowing ere she passed away that they were in the fold of Christ. Her funeral was largely attended. Her last hours were spent in peaceful sleep ; and when the supr-eme moment came her spirit gently took its flight to the regions of the immortals. She was not, for God had taken her. " Signed G. A. Sheets. Mary, another daughter of Benjamin Thomas, married Samuel Jones, as we have already stated. Harriet is the widow of Wm. Bealer and lives in West Newton. Thomas Hudson is a resident of Braddock, his wife having died some years ago. James married a Miss Winters, served in the army in the late war, and died soon after his discharge. Joseph re- sides in Evansvilie, Indiana ; Elijah lives in Iowa ; Van R. was in the late war and now resides in Webster ; Westley Ford has long been a resident of San Francisco, California. Han- nah married Dr." J. C. Gamble, had long resided in Kansas, and whilst on a visit to Pennsylvania, died at the house of Rev. James Davidson in Bellevernon, August 4, 1885. Rose, another sister of Jos. Alexander, married John Mosely — these were the parents of Westley B. Mosely, who died in 1876, and was a well known business man of the valley. Mrs. Mosely, the widow, is a daugliter of the late Dr. S. M. King, of whom we have already written. She resides in Allcirhenv. 164 The Old and N^ew MoiumgahcJa. Joseph Alexander was married to Marj Jones, daughter of William Jones the older, March 8th, 1819, by the Rev. John White, father of Judge J. W. F. White, now on the bench in Pittsburgh. Mrs. Alexander died at her home in Mononga- hela City, August IStli, 1856. Immediately after his marriage Joseph Alexander with his bride moved to a farm in Rostraver township, Westmoreland county, adjoining the farms of Samuel Jones and Bej^aminJIhpmas. The farm is now owned by D. P. Housman. The old log house has given place to a beautiful frame. The old barn still remains. Father Jones was on a visit to Joseph Alexander on the Sabbath morning during which the Marquis de Lafayette passed through the Forks, May 29th, 1825. Father Jones was very strict in his observance of the Sabbath, but in this instance yielded to the pressure and walked over the hill to take a look at the Marquis. Mr. Alexander, in the spring of 1828, sold his farm to Samuel Jones and removed to Williamsport, now Monongahela City, and entered into partnership with James Mills in the mercan- tile business. His son, William J., was born on the farm April 16th, 1820; Rose Ann, now Mrs. Adams, and Eliza, now Mrs. Herron, were also born on the same farm. The three-storied brick house on Main street, above Church alley, owned by W. J. Markell, stands now on the site of the house in which Mills & Alexander did business. In the spring of 1829, the partnership with Mills being dissolved, Alexander removed to Cookstown, now Fayette City, and there carried on a successful mercantile business until the spring of 1831, when he returned to Williamsport, and entered into a partnership with Jamefe McCauley to conduct a general mercantile business. The building occupied by them was destrt^yed by fire in 1855, and the site is now covered by the three-story brick building near the corner of Main and Second streets. The last partner- ship proving disastrous to Mr. Alexander, it was dissolved in about one year, and the business carried on by Mr. Alexander. Not long after this date McCauley removed to Jacksonville, Illinois, where he soon afterwards died. He was a gunsmith The Old and Neim Monongahela. 165 by trade. He built and occupied until his removal west the house lately owned by Hon. G. Y. Lawrence, on the corner of Main and Fifth streets. During this last partnership Alexan- der occupied the house on Second street, where now the brick building of Henry Sutman stands. In 1828-29 he lived in the old brick house near the old Presbyterian church on Coal street, owned and occupied for many years by the late Michael Johe. In this house his son James S. was born. In 1832 he pur- chased from John W. Hailman the property on Main street, below Second street, on which the McGregor block now stands. On this property his storerooms and dwelling were erected, and .in which he died June 20, 1871, after having occupied it nearly forty years. He continued the business alone from 1832 to 1843, when the firm of Alexander & Son was organized by taking into the business his son William J. Alexander. This firm continued until September, 1850 when it was reorganized with the same partners under the style of Alexander & Co., which still exists. Subsequently James S. Alexander w^as taken into the firm, and at a* later date Joseph A. Herroii was added. This has long been considered one of the most solid banking houses in Western Pennsylvania, enjoying the confidence of every class of people. After the death of Joseph Alexander the real estate referred to was sold to Isaac W. Jones. During his ownership the buildings erected by Alexander were burned, but shortly afterwards re-built by Jones, and subsequently sold to Will McGregor, who is the present owner. Death of William Wickekham, in 1870. fFioni Daily lieiinblicaii.] William Wickerham, Esq., died in (Carroll township in 1870 of general decline of age. His interment took place on Sun- day, and assembled one of the largest funerals ever known in the valley. The ancestry of the family runs back to Germany, from which country Peter Wickerham came to Pennsylvania colony and settled in Chester county. The second son, Adam, came 1 ; '. 1()6 The Old and Neio Monongahela. to this place, took up a farm, the boundary being from the City Hotel out as far as Kearney's and down to the line of Dry run. The old Wickerham mansion was situated on the river bank, but the site has long ago crumbled into the river. Some of the timbers of the old house were used in building the Talbot cottage. Adam Wickerham laid out his farm into a town called Georgetown, the upper part of the place, owned by the Parkison's, being called Parkison's ferry. The two were merged by act of Assembly, in 1833, and called Williamsport. Adam Wickerham had four children: a son George, who was drowned at the age of 22 in the Monongahela; Mary, who married Andrew B. Chess, who died in 1857; William, the subject of this notice, who was born in 1809; and Sarah, relict of John Bausman, Esq., late of Washington, Pa., and one of the most accomplished journalists of the state. Mr. Wickerham moved to his farm in Carroll about 40 years before his death, where he had continuously lived ever since. Before he went to the farm he kept store for awhile in a build- ing which stood near the pike, above alderman William's office. He was married three times: to Nancy, sister of Captain Robert Phillips; to Mrs. Mary L. Jones, of Ohio, in 1862, who died in 1876; and to Mrs. Elizabeth Radcliffe, of Washington, who yet survives him. Mr. Wickerham' s family consisted of Adam, who is married and now lives in Carroll; David H., who died in 1838; James S., married and now living near Beallsville; Eliza Jane, wife of Noah Grant, Esq. ; William Henry Harrison, married and living in Carroll; Emeline Allen, who died in 1856; Maggie, now the wife of Clinton Teeple; Mary Chess, wife of Lemon Williams, now dead; Albert Gallatin, living on the home farm; Alexander Wilson, married and living in East Bethlehem; and John Dewitt, married and living on the home place. All honorable men and women, who bear the family name with credit to themselves. The deceased was long a consistent member of the Methodist The Old and New Mo)U)nm8sewj<'i\ one of the early newspapers of the valley. He served a term in the State Legislature, and was appointed by Gov. Ritner, Protlionatory of the Supreme Court. He was a brilliant and talented writer and lawyer, and was eminently kuI generix in his make up. He was naturally endowed with wonderful abilities, was quick of comprehension and probably one of the finest conversationalists in his own or any other community. He was always revolv- . ing some vast scheme in his mind, and always intended to put them in execution but never succeeded. No doubt one trouljle was his being ahead of the times in which he lived. One of his pet schemes was located at Tygart Valley Falls, West Va. This was laid out oii a grand scale and work commenced, Mr. Frew asserting that it would not be long before a railroad would be located and put in operation in this apparently iiuiccessiblo region, which has since been accom])lished. Henuirried Diana, daughter of Major John Walker, and died in 1801. A Triuute — Death of Mks. Sakah Wilson. I From Daily MonoiiKalu^la Rcpuhlicdn.] The death of this well known person, which occurred Decem- ber 18th, 1889, at the residence of her brother, Rev. Dr. The Old and N("\ii Monongaliela. 181 Hainiltoii, in Washington, Pa., removes from among us one of our oldest native residents. She was born in this place Octo- ber 24:th, 1813, being the eldest child of Joseph and Margaret (Ferguson) Hamilton. With the exception of a few occasional absences her whole life was spent here. In 1837 she was married to Mr. Henry Wilson who died many years ago. Since that time she has lived a comparatively secluded life. Last August she went on a visit to her friends in Washington. Her health'Seemed to be quite good for one of her age, but being suddenly attacked with acute pain in her breast she sank rapidly, and within 24 hours her life ended. After brief religious services at Washington, conducted by Rev. Drs. Brownson, Woods and Stevenson, her body was brought to this place on the 19th, and the day following was interred from the house of her relative, C. W. Hazzard. Of her three surviving children, all residing in Illinois, two were present, Mrs. Smith F. Wilson, of Bloomington, and Mr. R. F. Wilson, of Chicago (accompanied by his wife). On account of the casual illness of her pastor. Rev. Dr. Maxwell, the services of a former pastor, Rev. Dr. Campbell, of Sewickley, were solicited and kindly tendered. Dr. C. spoke with much feeling of her christian character and of her sudden departure. She had feared the Lord from her youth, had been a member of the Presbyterian church here for more than 50 years, had been in some important respects an example for others to imitate, Though the sphere in which Mrs. Wilson moved in the latter years of her life was a retired one, she will be not a little missed out of our community. She had lived here so long, she had in earlier life taken such an active interest in all current events, and possessed naturally such an uiiusually retentive memory that her miiul seemed to be a storehouse of ](x;al in- foi-mation, and she was constantly being made the arbiter of doubtful points in local history. In personal ministry to the sick and afflicted she was a inodel of self-sacrificing kindness. During the memorable jieriod of tlu; civil war, her two sous l)eing in the array, she gave her time and tlioiiglit almost 14 ! ^- I'hf Old and Nein Mjmongahela. niceasantl} to those ministries of kindness for the relief of the sick and wounded soldiers which were then so largely and con- stantly required, and which here as elsewhere throughout the country, were so freely rendered. If the question were asked why it was that Mrs. Wilson, ''Aunt Sarah'"' as she was familiarly called by so many, had such a warm place in the hearts of those who best knew her, the reply would doubtless embrace at least two points. One of these is that already alluded to, her sacrificing kind hearted- ness. The other, a certain cheerfulness and equinimity which she owed partly to nature and partly to grace, and which no adversity was able to extinguish. In youth she was remark- ably vivacious, and with strong social tastes and attachments, enjoyed life fully. In later years, though overtaken with many and specially severe trials, she did not fall into a mur- muring and repining spirit, but was patient, submissive, hope- ful. She could always see a bright side to everything. She did not torment herself with fears and distrust of the future. Her faith in Providence was not a theory simply, it was thoroughly and habitually practical. She had nothing to com- plain of. She envied no one. She lived less for herself than for others. She was cheerful, contented, happy; and found her greatest delight in ministering to the hay^piness of others. Dear, kind Aunt Sarah! How much more she did for us all than any of us could ever do for her. — Monongahela City, January 5th, 1890. Scott Family. William Scott, Sr. . with his wife, Rebecca, emigrated from Ireland with their family, consisting of Faimie, John, Thomas, Jane, Mary Joseph, Alexander, Angel and Rebecca. They sailed on the ship Dolphin and landed at New Castle, below Philadelphia, September 6, 1796. April 6, 1800, Thomas Scott, son of William and Rebecca, purchased the tract of land on Mingo Creek in Washington county, Penn'a, now (1888) owned by Cowan, Lofink and Crookham, upon which, near the The Old and i\>7/' Mnnonga/ie/a. 183 bank of the creek, stood at that time a hirge log mill, and near by a log house, the latter of which was erected in 1790, and still stands firm. At what time or by whom the mill was built we have no information. Thomas Scott, with his sister Mary, took possession of this house on date of purchase and attended the mill, which was an undershot wheel mill. Thomas Scott married Margaret Turner, March li, 1802. His father Wm. Scott, was, in the 26th year of his age, with most of his family, settled about the same time on the head waters of Mingo creek, near what is now known as Dunningsville. William Turner, father-in-law of Thomas Scott, with his family, emigrated from Ireland at an earlier day, when the wife of Thomas was only two years old. William Turner also settled in the east end of Washington county. The Turners were nearly related to the Rogers family, one of whose girls married Benjamin Parkison, Sr. , who was the grandfather of A. R. Parkison of this day. The Rogers were also Scotch- Irish, and in Irelarul were considered of the highest class of citizens, fond of style and fine dress. In the log house above mentioned Thomas Scott and his wife had to them born eleven children, under the medical ministrations of the good old mid- wife, Granny McCord, at the cost price of two dollars for each birth. She made it the business of her life and was very suc- cessful. In 1812 Thomas Scott erected the mill on Mingo, now oi- recently owned by R. Cowan. This mill had undershot wheels. In 1831 he applied a steam engine to this mill. In 1835 he sold the mill and farm to Samuel Morgan, and bought what was known as the Bentley mill and farm, now known as the Harrison Distillery, and is situated a short distance up from the mouth of Mingo creek. The wife and son John died here, the former December 24, 1849, and the latter at the date as a])ove stated. In August, 1851, the mill, house and 16 acres of land was sqUI to T. Mitchell. The family then removed to Monongahela City. In 1852 Thonuis Scott built the brick house in that citv in which Mark Borland now resides. In 184 The Old and Netv Monongaliela. this house Thomas Scott died February 19, 1856. Thomas Scott's brother Alexander inherited a large fortune on the death of his uncle Joseph Orr, a rich batchelor who died on the Jamaica Islands. Mary, a sister of Thomas Scott, who was his housekeeper, on his settling in 1802, was married to John Friar, a merchant; who owned the farm three-quarters of a mile on the pike east of Ginger Hill. He, there for a time kept a valuable store. He died possessing what in those days was called great wealth. Their only child, a daughter, Jane, married Major John S. Clokey, He also run the mercantile business at this place, but being extravagant in his way of living, and unsuccessful in his dealings, he soon exhausted his wife's fortune, and both died poor. William Scott died in Stubenville, Ohio, January 24th, 1876. The older citizens will call to mind William when he lived in the old log house over the mill-race, opposite the present resi- dence of the late Nathan Wylie, on Pigeon creek, and attended the mill for Isaac VanYoorhis. They will no doubt recollect his little boy Winfield, who is now one of the most prominent mercantile men in Steubenville, Ohio, and president of several large business associations in that city. Matilda had two sons, James and Oliver, who are now (1888) extensive business men in Toledo, Ohio. James owning one-half of a wholesale store doing yearly one million of sales. Alexander raised a very large family, and nearly all his life lived in Monongaliela City, and for the most part in the house still standing on Railroad, near Fourth street. Moses, the survivor for many years of the family of Thomas Scott, being childless, was long a resident of Monongaliela, where he lived with his wife in ease and comfort. He owned at his death, which occurred March 5th, 1891, a part of the old homestead on Mingo, not far from the spot where he first saw the light of day. He was one of the substantial elements in the make-up of his adopted city, where he was held in high esteem as a citizen and christian gentleman. The Old and New Monongaliela. 185 The Monongaliela BepuUican of March 6, 1891, says: Moses Scott, An aged and respected citizen of this city, died at his residence, Third ward, Thursday evening, March 5, 1891, at 7 o'clock, after a long illness. Mr. Scott was born in the old Scott farm house on Mingo creek, October 12, 1809, where he lived until 1850, when he moved to Monongaliela City. During the year '55 he was married to Rosanna McFarland, daughter of Colonel Joseph McFarland, of Franklin county. This branch of the Scott family are intimately connected with the early history of Wash- ington county, and are well known in this part of Western Pennsylvania. In '62 Moses Scott moved to Beaver, Ohio, but returned to Monongahela City soon after the war was over. Early in life he was converted and became a member of the Mingo Presby- terian Church, and remained a steadfast Christian during all his long life of 82 years. He was a member of the First Baptist Church, this city, and died in that faith. For five years Mr. Scott was Justice of the Peace for Third ward. In politics he was formerly a strong Republican, but of late years has been a Prohibitionist. He carried on a mercan- tile business during one poition of his life in the store now occupied by Keller Bros, but has lived a retired life during his last days. Moses Scott was known to all our people. He was raised in the strictest Covenanter Presbyterianism; his lessons of fru- gality came to him from Ireland, and were his by birth and training. This sometimes led him to a close economy, border- ing on illiberality, and often misunderstood. When one comes to sum up his rouuded character as it stands finished, the verdict will be that Moses Scott lived up to the Christian life as it was given him to see it, and that much of the good that he did was hidden from the world by his own 180 The Old and JS'ew Monongahela. peculiar way of looking at duty. To illustrate: years ago he lifted a debt from the Baptist church, saying, you pay the in- terest, and at my death I will provide for the principal. His funeral will take place on Saturday morning from the Baptist church. And when he is laid to rest his epitaph can well be written, "An honest, virtuous, God-fearing, intelligent Bible reading, correct living man has gone to his reward."' Hon. James Scott. He died at his home in Lebanon, Ohio, December 16, 1888. His biography will be found among the proceedings of the Cen- tennial at Monongahela City, November 15, 1892. VAN YOORHIS FAMILY. To Hon. T. G. Bergen we are indebted for the signification of the Yan Yoorhis, formerly written Yan Yoorhies and Yan Yoorhees, as we find it in his work, entitled "The history of the Bergen family, with notes upon some of the branches of the Yoorhies and other Long Island families. " " Steven Coerte Yoorhies, w^ho emigrated to this country from Holland in 1630, was a son of Coert Alberts Yoorhies, who resided in front of the village of Hees, or Hies, in the Netherlands, the word " Yoor'' meaning in English "in front of." E. W. Yan Yoorhis in his ancestry of W. R. Yan Yoorhis, after a search by the St. James Heraldry office in London in 1872, obtained a certificate, under seal of the office, containing a description of the coat of arms, which states "That the armorial bearings of the family consisted in a golden tower on a red shield, quartered with a tree torn up by the roots, on a silver field. The motto being " Yirtus Casteltum Meum." Our knowledge biographical of the Yan Yoorhis family dates back only to Cornells Coerte Yan Yoorhees, of Flatlands, L. I., who was baptised January 23, 1678, and left, among other children, his son Daniel Yan Yoorhees, who was born at Oyster Bay, L. I., December, 1701, and married Femmyte The Old and New jSI<>vf children, six of whom are living (1892). The Old and New Monongahela. 195 X Newtt)ii, wliu died April 2d, 1890, was named after his grand- mother. Newton married Nancy Cooper, daughter of the late Valentine Cooper and grand daughter of Frederick Cooper, the older, who settled at the mouth of Maple creek, on the Mon- ongahela river, in very early day. Newton's oldest daughter, Mary, married John Hill, both of whom are dead. John Hill was the father of Joseph and Clinton Hill, now residents of Florida. Newton's daughter, Norcissa, married Harvey Yant of Horseshoe, he died not long ago. Julia married Clinton Yan Yoorhis, one ' of the most successful farmers in Carroll township. Elgy married Belle Frye, and lives in Kansas City, Mo. Josiah was drowned many years since in the Monongahela river, at Bellevernon ferry. Samuel married a Miss Adams, of Dresden, Ohio, whose mother was a daughter of John Yan Yoorhis, as above stated. Samuel died December 12, 1888, at Kansas City, Mo., and left a wife and two boys. Jerome remains on the homestead near the Witherow blacksmith shop in Fallowlield township. The daughter, Kate, married and moved west; and Nancy died near S])earville, Kas., a few years since. Elgy, another son of Uncle Danny's, was born in 1810, and married Hester Frye, daughter of Luke Frye. After living for a time in the stone house near the present distillery of W. J. Markell on Taylor's run, near Monongahela City, they removed to Greene county, where he still lives in comfort and affluence. His wife is deceased. Abraham was born February 1, 1812; married Mary Carson, now deceased. They lived for many years on the farm now owned by Robert Coulter, in Carroll township. He removed many years ago to Illinois, where he again married, and where he died June 14, 1886. Isaac, John F., Jerome, Daniel and Harvey 1>. are the re- maining sons of Daniel. Isaac, in 1846, married a daughter of the late Thomas Ho]>kins, of Pike run townshiji, aiul now lives near Hills- borough, on the National Pike. He is, ])erha]->s, the Inrgest 196 The Old and Neu^ Monom/ahda. cattle dealer in Washington county. John F. married a Miss McBeth, whose parents resided near the old log house close by the present brick house of William Devore, near Monongahcla City. Pie resided for several years in the old part of the house now owned by Eobert McKean, near Lock No. 4. After changing bases at different times he finally settled at Spears- ville, Kansas. Jerome married a daughter of the late Wash- ington Cooper, and lived for a few years on the Uncle Danny homestead, then moved to Iowa, where his wife died. He still lives, having married a second wife. Daniel, after wan- dering to California on horseback among the early golden emi- grants, and prospecting in different other places, settled in Illinois or Indiana, we are not sure in what State or what part, and there died. Harvey B. married a daughter of the late John Hopkins, of Brownsville, Pa. He farmed for a time on the "Rogally" farm, near the present town of Finleyville; then carried on the liquor business in Bridgeport, Pa. ; then leased for some years the Oakland Park, out Fifth avenue, Pittsburgh. In the late war he was a major in the cavalry ser- vice in which he was severely wounded. After the war he went west and located in Spearcville, Kansas, where he still resides. Daniel had three daughters, Sarah, Christena and Mary. Sarah married Samuel Cooper, of Mingo creek. They are both dead. Christena married West Frye, whose death is noted elsewhere. His wife is also dead. Mary married B. P\ Bentley, and are residents of Monongahela City. Abraham, the remaining son of Daniel Van Voorhis, the older, by his second wife, was born in Burlington county. New Jersey, December 28, 1785, and died on the primitive old homestead December 4th, 1871. He married Ann Watkins May 11th, 1818, who died November 2d, 1828. He married as his second wife Jane Phillips November 27th, 1829, who lives on the old homestead. Abraham by his first wife had as children Garrett T., born February 18th, 1819, married iirst time to Hester Frye, wh(-) The Old and JSfev.i Monongahela. 197 died March 20th, 1864. He has always been a farmer and stock dealer, and now resides on Pigeon creek not far from the home of his youth. His second wife was Mary Jane Baxter, and still lives, Joseph was born August 27th, 1820; died November I7th, 1822, and was buried in the Van Voorhis cemetery. Kobert was born July 21st, 1822, and married Caroline Frye March 2d, 1848. She died December 18, 1885, and her husband, Robert Van Voorhis, died January 26th, 1892, at Fort Collins, Col. The remains of both are in the Van Voorhis cemetery. Their only daughter, Clara, married the Rev. R. B. Mansell, D. D. She died at McKeesport, Pa. January 12th, 1890. In 1887 Robert married as his second wife Miss Jane Hoffman. Having sold his farm to Captain M. Coulson he moved to Colorado. Mary, the only daughter of Abraham by his first wife, was born May 5th, 1826, and died of diptheria January 31, 1863. She married Vincent Colvin April 6th, 1848, who died March 3l8t, 1876. Vincent was a soldier in the late war, and was in the service when his wife died. Shortly after her death he was honorably discharged from the army by order of the secretary of war. By his second wife Abraham had children as follows: Eliza, born September 1st, 1830, married Thornton F. Watkins April 12th, 1849, and died February 28th, 1850. Thornton died January 2d, 1852, whilst on his way overland to California. They left their little boy, *' Jimmy," who died whilst a youth, in the home of his grand parents, Van Voorhis. Lucinda was born August 7th, 1832, and died of scarlet fever June 24th, 1840. John was born September 6th, 1835, married Josephine H. Teeple September 15th, 1859, and lived until a few years ago (1892) on the original Van Voorhis homestead, since that time he has resided in Monongahela City, where he is a prominent business man, but still owns the honiestt^ad where his son Charles resides. 15 198 The Old and New Monongahela. Emaline, born February 28tb, 1838, married to Josepb Brown, They lived for many years on the Cunningham farm, a short distance from Fayette City, Pa. He now (1892) lives in ease and comfort on a farm in Marion county, Kas. Caroline, born November 1st, 1840, married May 29th, 1862, to James Jones, who died June 25th, 1877. She now resides with her children in a comfortable home near Ginger Hill. Serenia Ann, born July 2d, 1843, died March 23d, 1861. The last of the children born to Abraham and Jane Van Voorhis was Cynthia, who was born January 16th, 1848, married October 15th, 1868, Cooper Bentley, who died July 12th, 1880. Cynthia married a man the name of Snyder as her second husband. They live in their nice residence on the pike, near Valley Inn, about two miles from Monongahela City. Aunt Jane, as she is familiarly called, relict of Abraham Van Voorhis, still lives and resides on the old homestead in a house not far below where stood the primitive cabin. She is hale and hearty, full of vivacity, and wonderfully devoted to her children. She has for a long life time been a member of the Methodist Episcopal Church, and has listened to the preaching of the Gospel in the ' ' church on the river bank before many now in active duty were born. Long may she live to enjoy the love of her children, and to reap in her declining years much of the sweets of that religion she pro- fessed in early life. By his third wife Daniel Van Voorhis had a daughter, Elizabeth, and a son, Isaac. Elizabeth was born in the primi- tive log cabin on the old homestead December 19th, 1792, and died August 18th, 1875. She married the late Samuel Frye, who died many years prior to the death of his wife, in the old log house that stood near the present brick house on the farm now owned by William Rogers in Fallowficld township. The Old and Nein Monongahela. 199 Isaac Van Yoorhis Was born in the log cabin already spoken of, on the old home- stead, March 15, 1794. He attended his first school in an old log house that stood near Witherow's blacksmith shop, in Fal- lowfield. The school was taught by an Irishman whose name we have forgotten. His common mode of punishment con- sisted in putting the unruly scholars up the huge chimney and giving them thereby a good smoking. The older Colvins, Mc- Comases, Witherows, Blythes,, Powers, Moodys were scholars in this primitive school. Isaac was married to Mary Hair by Rev. Samuel Ralston, May 13, 1819. They were married in the old log house, parts of which are still standing on the Hair farm, now owned by Williams brothers. He took his bride on horseback the next day to his home, where the plays and romp- ing took place in good old style beneath the shade of the wide spreading sugar tree that stood below the house. They lived in this home until April 1, 1834, when they removed to the McFarland farm, now owned by his sons, Dr. J. S. and Clinton Van Voorhis, where he died June 4, 1875, and his wife died April 14, 1876. She was born March 10, 1797, near Gerards- town. West Va., and came to Washington county with her father and other members of the family in 1806. Isaac Van Voorhis was ordained an elder in the Presbyterian church of Williamsport, now Monongahela City, February 12, 1836. He was a Presbyterian in the truest sense of the word, believing that the doctrines and usages of that church were founded upon the rock, Christ, as taught in the scriptures. He was among the first flatboat builders at the mouth of Pigeon creek. P)y means of these crafts hay and other farm products were taken to the Pittsburgh market. In one instance he hauled his produce to the river and had it shipped in a kcelboat belonging to some other party, whilst he rode on horseback overland to the city, and returned the same day, the net pro- ceeds of the sale aggregating six dollars and seventy-five cents, not much more than a coal miner now earns in a day. He 2<>0 The Old and New Monongahela. often remarked in liis latter days that people " uow-a-days hardly had an idea what labor it required to earn a living in early days. " He was a great friend of education, having aided, outside of his own family, at least two young men through college, one of whom was during his day on earth a dis- tinguished minister of the gospel. He was one of the first Board of School Directors in his native township after the adoption of the Public School law in 1834. He was one of the original stockholders and for many years a member of the Board of Managers of the Washington and Williamsport Turn- pike Company, serving in that capacity with Col. Joseph Barr, Samuel Hill and James Manown. He was born amidst the scenes of the Whiskey Insurrection and was about six months old at the time the great mass meeting was held at Parkison^s Ferry, now Monongahela City, over which Col. Edward Cook presided, and Albert Gallatin acted as secretary. His father had been a resident of Pigeon Creek for nine years, and on the 29th day of November, 1794, took the oath of allegiance, with many others, before Samuel De Pue, and the old gentleman being frequently waited on by the insur- gents to ascertain his views, was always prompt to give the same reply : "If a few of you want to resist the power of the government, go ahead, for my part I have seen enough of that in my past life. ' ' Isaac Van Voorhis in politics was a Federalist, and as such cast his first vote for President in 1810 for Rufus King ; in 1820-24-28 for John Q. Adams ; in 1832 he voted for Henry Clay, who was the National Republican candidate. In 1836 and 1840 he voted for Gen. W. H. Har- rison, the Whig candidate. In 1844 he voted for Henry Clay, and in 1848 for Gen. Taylor ; in 1852 for Gen. Scott. In 1856, and up to his death, he voted for the Republican candi- dates. He never belonged to any secret orders or other society than the church, which he considered amply sufficient for purposes intended for man's welfare on earth, or his spiritual prepara- tion for the great hereafter. The Pittsburgh Gazette of June c^C^^A— - ^-< y^ '^?^Tr?'^ ^ 2> The Old and Neio Monongahela. 201 5, 1875, in speaking of the death of Isaac Van Yoorhis, said : " Mr. Isaac Van Voorhis, an old, well known and respected citizen of Carroll township, Washington county, near Monon- gahela City, died on Friday morning, June 4, 1875, in the 82nd year of his age. From particulars furnished by a corres- pondent we learn that he was born on the 15th day of March, 1794, within two miles of the place where he died. He resided for forty years on the old homestead bequeathed to him by his father, and forty-one years on the farm where the declining years of his life were spent. His grandfather was one of three brothers, one of whom was killed by a poisoned arrow shot by an Indian. From Cornelius, the name of one of these brothers, the deceased was a lineal descendent. Daniel, the son of Cornelius, was the grandfather of the deceased. He was born at Oyster Bay, Long Island, December 17th, 1708, where also Daniel, father of the deceased, was born July 8th, 1738. Daniel for a time lived in New Jersey, but in October, 1786, he removed to the farm on which the subject of this sketch was born. Mr. Van Voorhis was a subscriber to the Weekly Gazette for over sixty years, and during his life read over 3,000 copies of it, always depending on it for its political and general news and market reports. His father had taken the Gaz(dte from its foundation in 1786. The deceased had always been iden- tified with the whig and republican parties. He, with Robert McFarland, were the only persons in what was then Fallow- field township, Washington county, who voted for John Q. Adams, in 1824, for president. Hciuever had any faith in, or trusted the democratic party, and during his long life of over four-score years he never sought an oftice. For over fifty years he had been a member of the Presbyterian church, and a ruling elder for more than forty years. He was an exem- plary christian, and his early training in the teachings and doctrines of the Bible enabled him in his last illness to draw from it that spiritual consolation which, in the hour of death, the Christian alone can value. 202 The Old and New Monongakela. In a notice of his death in the Presbyterian Banner^ Rev. Dr. W, O. Campbell, pastor of the Presbyterian church of Monongahela City, says: "The deceased was perhaps the oldest inhabitant in Carroll township, having lived in it all his life. He was married the 13th of May, 1819, to Mary Hair, daughter of James hair, one of the first ruling elders of the church in Monongahela City. He leaves his wife and seven children to mourn his loss. He was admitted to the church in early life under the ministry of Dr. Ralston; since that time he has been a faithful and consistent Christian. He was ordained elder in the church of Monongahela City February 12th, 1836, and held that office 39 years. Officially he was the sole surviving representative of the early history of that church. He was a devout man of God, full of faith and the Holy Ghost, ripe in Christian experience and character. He was a steadfast believer in the Bible doctrines, as in our standards. He was not only beloved in his family but honored for his Christian consistency; his children leaned upon his prayers. He was not only honored in the community but be- loved for his Christian charity. He was loved honored and trusted by the church as a member and officer. As a ruler he was prudent; in council cautious, but decided in action, chari- table and conciliatory — a man of peace, yet true and firm in maintaining the interests of Zion. He was one of the worthy band of elders whom God pleased to give to this church in its early history, and was peculiarly respected because their worthy representative. For some years past he was seldom permitted to meet with the session; and was often, on account of his in- creasing infirmities, necessarily absent from public worship. He greatly regretted the deprivation, and had a constant interest in the affairs of God's house. About one year previous to his death he had a severe illness which he, as well as others, thought would be his last. He was most happy in the prospect of death. His great desire was to depart and be with Christ. The writer has not seen a more happy Christian experience than this was at that time. The Old and Neio Monongahela. 203 But God had something more for him to do. He was spared another year. During his last sickness he suffered great pain but had constant peace of mind. His faith did not for a moment forsake him. He knew by experience that God would not forsake him. At this time he did not forget the spiritual interests of his family or the church. He still preferred Jeru- salem above his chief joy. His advice to his children was, "Trust in the Lord, he has not forsaken me, he will not for- sake you." When he was told that all would soon be over, he said, "Bless the Lord, Oh my soul." On Sabbath, June 6, 1875, attended by a large concourse of people, from the house where he had lived forty years, we bore his remains to the tomb. " Blessed are the dead which die in the Lord, from henceforth: yea, saitli the spirit, that they may rest from their labors, and their works do follow them." The Monongahela Rejyuhllcan in speaking of his death, says: Mr. Isaac Van Yoorhis, whose death we noticed two weeks since, was born on the farm now owned by John Van Yoorhis, on the 15th day of March, 1794. He was the son of Captain Daniel Van Voorhis, who was born on Long Island, July 7, 1738, and was in the prime of life during the days of the Revo- lution. He was an accomplished scholar, and especially versed in the science of navigation, as his books now in existence at the old homestead fully show. Captain Van Voorhis followed the sea as captain of a merchant vessel for many years, and during the Revolution was taken ])risoner three times by the British — twice having lost his vessel and cargo. At one time, being hard chased by a man-of-war, ho raised the signal of sur- render, but before it was recognized by the enemy, a cannon ball carried away the post against which he was leaning. At one time he, with several others, were banished to an island, from which they escaped only to be re-captured, though shortly afterwards released. He was married three times. His first wife was originally a Van Voorhis, but was the widow Brett when he married her; they had two children. Samuel for a time was a merchant in New York State, but in the beginning 204 The Old and Neiv Monongahela. of this century removed to this coimtry, and for a short time lived in a cabin near the present Black Diamond Coal Works He afterwards immigrated to Crawford county, Ohio, where he died a few years since. Samuel's sister, Sarah, lived and died near Goshen, N. Y., in the 82nd year of her age. Captain Van Voorhis, prior to his coming to this country, resided some years on Rancocas creek, New Jersey, and in October, 1786, came with his family and purchased from a man named Decker 600 acres of land, now owned hy John Yan Yoorhis and James Sampson. It was then a wilderness but now the garden spot in Carroll. He, with his two wives and three sons, sleep in the beautiful burying ground, selected by himself, overlooking Pigeon creek, for his remains and his kindred long before his death. Four generations of that name are now in that ceme- tery, incorporated and made perpetual by the laws of the land. Mr. Isaac Yan Yoorhis was the oldest resident in Carroll, hav- ing resided in it all his life. Cotemporary with him in the early history of this neighborhood were the Colvins, the Powers, McCombs, Hairs, Randolphs, Fryes, Depews, McGrews, Parki- sons, Irwins, Rices, Beckets, &c. He was married to Mary Hair by the Rev. Dr. Ralston on the 13th day of May, 1819. They lived together a little over 56 years. He always took a deep interest in our town. He, with his brothers, built the first keelboats at the mouth of the creek, just at the close of the war of 1812. He built the first coal- boat, loaded with coal at Williamsport wharf, which was then at the old red house at the mouth of what is now called First street. The boat was twelve feet wide and forty feet long. It was filled with coal by the late Edward Kearney by hauling it with a one-horse cart from the old coal bank in Catsburg. It was sold to a returned horse drover for cash received from the sale of horses, and after his departure was never heard from. In those days it was necessary to have such crafts in order to get the produce of the farm to market, and even then the price of grain scarcely justified transportation. He was in early times a federalist; in the days of Ritner, a TTie Old and New Monongahela. 205 strong anti-Mason; afterwards a whig; and finally a republi- can. He, with -Robert McFarland, were the only persons in Fallowfield township who voted for John Q. Adams at the time he was elected president. He was a subscriber to the Weekly Gazette for over 60 years, and was said to be the oldest continuous subscriber the Gazette ever had. He was a Presbyterian by birth and profession for over 50 years, and was a ruling elder for 40 years. Ordained in 1836, he served in the session with Jesse Martin, James Gordon, James McGrew, Aaron Kerr, James Dickey, Henry Fulton, Joseph Kiddoo and John Power, all of whom had preceded him to the church on high, except John Power. He first attended Pres- byterian church at the old horseshoe building, situate on the farm now owned by John Wilson, and in that old church yard are still to be seen evidences of the resting place of nearly all the first settlers of this country for many miles around. On the removal of the place of preaching to this city, he worshipped with his father-in-law, elder James Hair, and a few others in the old log school house near the old Presbyterian church on Coal street and Church alley. He contributed liberally toward the erection of the old brick church on the hill, also for the church building at the foot of the hill, and more recently aided in building the present beautiful church on Main below Sixth street. Thus in his life he gave of his substance for three church buildings of the same congregation, a no common affair in one life time. He lived on the farm on which he was born 40 years, and 41 years on the farm where he died. He leaves behind his wdfe, seven children, 25 grand children and three great grand children. All his children survive him except Daniel, who died in 1848. We need not say he died a christian, the world knew he was a christian, for it was as an humble follower of Christ his char- acter shown the brightest. As the end drew nigh his faith and trust in a crucified Redeemer grew stronger and his hold on the merits and righteousness of Christ more firm. Although suffer- ing intense pain, he never murmured, and with a halo of glory 206 The Old and New Monongahela. on his countenance he entered within the portals of the celestial city. Mary H., wife of Isaac Van Voorhis, died at the homestead near Monongahela City April 14:th, 1876. The Monongahela liepiihlicmi^ in a notice of her death, says: "The deceased was born in Berkely county, Virginia, now West Virginia, on the 10th day of March, 1797. She came to this county with her parents, James and Rebecca Hair, in the year 1806. Her parents, not long after their arrival, settled on what was known then as the Platter farm, but after- wards was well known as the Hair farm, on Pigeon creek. Her father was the first ruling elder elected in the Presbyterian church in this city, which election occurred soon after the re- moval of the church organization from Horseshoe, in what year we are not able to say. The deceased had six brothers, John, James, Samuel, Gilbert M., Uriah, and B. W. Hair. John died in 1856 or thereabout, in Mount Union, Ohio. She had four sisters, Mrs. Martha Crouch, who died a few years since in the west; Mrs. Kela Baker, who died on the old Hair farm many years ago; Mrs. Eliza Potter, deceased in Allegheny City many years since; and Mrs. Louisa Brinton, who died years ago near Brownsville, Pa. She with her husband united with the Presbyterian church under the ministry of Rev. Dr. Ralston, and each were members of that church over fifty years. Being in full possession of her mental faculties to the last, she freely conversed on her prospects of Heaven; and, relying entirely on the blood of Christ, she was enabled to declare that death had no terrors. Thus in less than a year have passed within the portals of Heaven — two Christian parents, leaving behind a large circle of friends to mourn their loss. ' Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord.'" Another paper, in speaking of her death, remarks: " She was a woman of true piety, conscious of her union with Christ, steadfast in her faith, not afraid to die, her trust was in Jesus. A faithful wife and mother, a true friend, a devoted Christian TJie Old and Neio Monongahela. 207 disciple; they who mourn for her mourn not as those who have no hope. '' Isaac and Mary had eight children, all born on the old Van Yoorhis homestead. Daniel was born March 15th, 1820. He was for awhile a student in Washington College; made a special study of surveying, which he practiced as a part of his business. He was a large full-blooded specimen of the Holland race, and possessed a mind of no ordinary caste. He was said to be more the image of his grandfather, Captain Van Voorhis, than any of the name in this country. He was a member of the original Kingold Cavalry and had rather a taste for military life. In August, 1844, he married Martha Houlsworth, of the vicinity of Jefferson, Green county. Pa. He lived and died in the house now owned by Nathan Wylie's heirs, near the home- stead. He died March 12th, 1848. His daughter, Mary Ruth, married a Mr. Smalley, formerly of Waynesburg, Pa., but now a successful farmer in the west. His daughter, Theresa Jane, born shortly after his death, died when a small child. His widow married Elijah Adams, at one time sheriff of Greene county. Pa. He died a few years since, leaving Martha once more a widow, who made her home in the west with her children in Kansas, where she died in 1888. Daniel was an active member of the Presbyterian church, being converted under the ministry of Pev. John Kerr after hearing a sermon based on the "Barren Fig Tree." His remains are in the Van Voorhis cemetery. Nancy and James were the twin children of Isaac Van Voorhis. Nancy was born on the 19th and James on the 21st day of August, 1821. Nancy was married to John Pollock by the Rev. W. F. Hamilton, January 1st, 1857. They lived in Monongahela City during the time he was connected with his uncle, Joseph Kiddoo, in the planing mill, which was burned in the latter part of 1856. Whilst residing here the little girl, Mary Jane, died. He operated for a time the flouring mill on Pigeon creek, now torn away, but for many years has resided on the Pollock homestead in Union township. Of their children, 208 The Old and New Monongahela. Mary Jane, Coralinn, Belle and James preceded their mother to the better land. Isaac and Willie alone remain. Nancy died July 9th, 1884, at the Pollock homestead. Her pastor, Rev. J. F. Patterson, in a communication to the Presbyterian Banner^ speaks thus of her death: "Mrs. Pollock was born August 19th, 1821. She was the eldest daughter of Isaac and Mary H. Van Voorhis. Her early life was spent near the place of her birth. In January, 181:3, in a precious work of grace under the ministry of Rev. John Kerr, she gave her heart to the Lord and united with the Presbyterian church of Monongahela City. A few years after her marriage she moved into the bounds of the church of Mingo, with the membership of which she connected herself, remaining here a devoted follower of the Master until she joined the church above. Her conversion was a thorough one. In that good time when the spirit came to her the door of her heart was thrown wide open, and the Savior who came in was given entire possession. There in that first unreserved consecration to Christ was the basis of her consecrated life. She loved her Savior, and loving him she lived to do his will — He was the alpha and the omega of her life; her all in all. "" And so it was always the chiefest joy of her life just to follow him. Her Bible was her daily companion. She seemed to live iu the atmosphere of prayer and meditation upon God's word. She loved the courts of God's house, and her place in the sanctuary was seldom vacant, though living several miles away. In the darkest trials of her life, when her heart was almost broken, and in the severe sufferings of her last sickness, her religion was her solace and her support. She lived and died leaning on the bosom of her Savior, and death to her was only life. Yes, she is gone, and we feel her loss. In the home, in the church, and in the community where she lived, she is missed. But we sorrow not as those who have no hope, knowing that our loss is only her eternal gain. James Hair Van Voorhis, twin brother of Nancy Pollock, was given by his father, in his earlier days, the farm now The Old (Mid New Monongahela. 209 owned by William Devore, in Carroll township. August, 1846, he married Polly Smith, granddaughter of the late Dr. B. B. Smith, of the Forks, and also on the mother's side granddaughter of the Hon. George Plumer, long a member of Congress from Westmoreland county. After the death of Amzi Smith, her first husband, Polly's mother married Henry Fulton, at whose residence — the stone house in which Greer McElvain now lives, in Carroll — James and Polly were married by the Rev. John Kerr. Polly died July 29, 1848, leaving no children. James' second wife was Martha Dawson, of the vicinity of Springfield, Illinois. She died in the early fifties and was buried aside of the first wife in the Van Yoorhis cemetery. She left no children. James' third wife was a daughter of the late David Wilson, of Elizabeth, now Forward township, Allegheny county. He had by this wife several children, of whom Mary Lucinda, R. Finley, Grace and Anna are living, whilst Ellen, Marcie and Willie died within a few days of each other, and are buried in the Van Yoorhis cemetery. James H. sold his farm to Wm. Devore and moved into Monongahela City about the year 1870 or '71. He built the fine brick house on Main street, now owned by Mrs. Nathan Cleaver. In April, 1876, James, with his family, moved to Colorado Springs, in the state of Colorado, where he engaged in wool growing and silver mining. He now is a resident of North Dakota, near Cooperstown, Griggs county, where he is engaged in farming. His daughter Mary Lucinda married James A. Loughrey, of Indiana, Pa., March 22, 1887. They reside in Indiana, Pa. Grace married Beecher Cox, of Sanburn, North Dakota, where they now reside. James was for many years connected with the Pres- byterian Church of Monongahela City, of which he was ordained an Elder January 21, 1872. Rebecca, another daughter of Isaac Van Voorliis, was born Jan. 28, 1825, and married T. B. Stewart, as his second wife, and is at this time a resident of Spcareville, Kansas. Martha Jane re- mained at the homestead until the death of her parents. She 210 The Old and Wew Monongahela. never married and now resides in Monongahela City. Theresa married Thomas B. Stewart, of West Virginia, in 1854, and died February 16, 1876, in Union township, Washington county. Pa., only a short distance from the place of her birth. She was a devoted christian, having been a member of the Presbyterian Church from her early youth. She left a large family of children, all of whom are residents of Kansas, except James T., who married Vivia, Patterson, and died in Monongahela City, March 19, 1885, and was buried in the Van Voorhis cemetery. The Daily Repuhlican thus speaks of his death : " The news of the death of the junior partner of Patterson & Stewart, which met our citizens this morning at the breakfast table, was sad news indeed. He was in health till Monday, the 9th, when he was attacked with typhoid fever. Keports of his condition from time to time, and especially in the last few days, had been discouraging, but it was hoped his consti- tution would enable him to pass the critical point at the turn of the fever. He died at fifteen minutes past one on Wednesday night. James T. Stewart was a young man of fine promise, active in business, and in social intercourse one of the most genial companions. He was a member of the Presbyterian Church and Librarian of the Sabbath school. David, her oldest son, graduated at Washington-Jett'erson College, and at the Western Theological Seminary, and is now a successful minister of the Gospel in Kansas. He is married and has several children. Clinton, the youngest son of Isaac and Mary H. Van Voorhis, married September 26, 1854, Julia Ann, daughter of Newton Van Voorhis, of Fallowfield. They reside on part of the old home farm, where he is regarded as one of the most successful farmers and cattle dealers in the eastern end of Washington county. His son Newton is mar- ried and now (1892) in business in Monongahela City, Pa. Albert has his home with his father. Willie and Nannie, ' darling children, passed away in childhood. His six girls arc all at home at this date, 1892. The remaining son of Isaac Van Voorhis, John S., was The Old and New Monongahela. 211 born in the old hewed log house that stood where now is the residence of John Van Yoorhis, on the 8th day of May, 1823. John was a pupil in the old Colhoun school, but always declared that he got his first ideas of education from the late E,. F. Cooper, Esq., who for several years was his teacher in the school near the toll-gate on the pike. He was always an admirer of Cooper's talents, and expressed strong regrets at his early removal by death. John began his college education in November, 1840, with Prof. J P. Thompson in the old carriage factory on Main street, Monongahela City. The recitations were held in the eastern room, upstairs, in which the Carroll Gazette was first printed, giving thus the place its first literary caste. After the death of Prof. Thompson, John recited to John McFarland in the Ira Butler house, opposite the paper mill in Catsburg. He entered the sophomore class in Washington College in November, 1811, and graduated in 1814, dividing the first honor of the class with B. W. Allen and D. C. Reed. He entered the office of the late Dr. R. F. Biddle, of Monon- gahela City, October 9th, 1844. N. A. Adams, J. H. Connelly and A. B. Hill were fellow students in the oflicc. They have all passed away. He graduated at the Jefferson Medical College March 25th, 1847, and settled in Bellevernon, Fayette county, May 25th, 1847. He was married by the Rev. John Kerr to Miss Betsy Plumer Smith September 7th, 1847, at the residence of her step father, Henry Fulton, in the house in Monongahela City now owned by the heirs of Richard Stockdale, deceased. On the 22nd of the same month and year the doctor and his wife set up house-keeping in the brick house on the corner of Main and Second street, in Bellevernon, Pa. They had two children, Lizzie and Isaac S. Lizzie graduated at Washington Female Seminary in the class of 186'6, and dur- ing her seminary career she united with the Presbyterian church under the ministrations of the Rev. James I. Brownson, I). I). She was married to J. C. Cunningham by the Rev. L. Y. Graham, March 30th, 1871. She was born June 30th, 1848, 212 The Old and New Monongahela. and died November 26th, 1877, in Bellevernon, the town of her birth. She left her husband and little Bettie, a darling child, to mourn her death. Bettie is now (1892) a graduate of the Pennsylvania College for Women, of Bittsburgh, Pa. Her mother was a devoted christian and worker in the church. At her death she was a member of Rehoboth, the church of her parents, grand parents and great grand parents on her mother's side of the family. In the graveyard of that old church can be seen, near the main entrance, a beautiful marble slab, standing on a double marble base, surrounded with flowers of almost endless variety, bearing the inscription ' ' Lizzie Van Yoorhis, wife of J. C. Cunningham, born June 30th, 1848, died November 26th, 1877." "But if arouud my place of sleep, The friends I love should come to weep ; Soft airs aud song and light and bloom, Should keep them lingering by my tomb." And on the marble base of the slab is inscribed: I will behold thy face in rightousness. I shall be satisfied, when I awake, with thy likeness." Death of Mrs. James H. Yan Vookhis. I From the Griggs Courier. '\ Died at her late residence, near Cooperstown, Griggs county, North Dakota, August 29th, 1893, Martha J., wife of James H. Yan Yoorhis, aged 59 years and three days. Weary and worn with long and painful battling with disease, the common foe of mankind, Mrs. Martha Yan Yoorhis "fell asleep" Tuesday at mid-day in her home west of town. For a number of days she has been unconscious, and apparently making her way slowly but surely through the "Shadow of the Yalley of Death." . When at length the end came, the spirit stole out of its clay house as silently as a mother from her babe's crib when he falls asleep. Mrs. Yan Yoorhis had been suifering from a complication of trouble since last spring, and especially from a stomach difficulty which has been before a TIk ( >hl (iild Neir J/oiioiigahchi . 218 source of perplexity. Some two months. and a half ago she met with a stroke of paralysis which affected her entire left side. It was thought then that she w^ould not live but a few days,- but she has lingered along all these weeks, a great trial to herself and those about her. Mrs. Van Yoorhis was born in Allegheny county. Pa., 59 years ago last Saturday. For the past 11 years she has lived in North Dakota. She came into this state, together with her family, from Colorado, and was well established in a pleasant home when this last sickness came upon her. When a young woman she confessed her faith in Christ, and at the time of her death was a member in the Congregational Church of this city. Mrs. Van Voorhis and her husband have always been highly esteemed by the community which is pained to hear of her death. She leaves, together with her husband, four children, two married daughters, Mrs. J. A. Loughry, of Indiana, Pa., and Mrs. A. B. Cox, of Sanborn, and an unmarried son and daughter at home. Mrs. McCord, a sister from Zanesville, Ohio, was with her when she died, having come here a short time ago. The funeral was conducted by the Rev. O: P. Champlin, from her late residence, on Thursday afternoon, and the re- mains were interred in the Cooperstown cemetery. The family has the sympathy of the entire community. Mks. Lizzie Van Voorhis Cunningham. I We insert the following tribute to lier memory from llie Presbyterian Buniicr. \ In Memokiam. — In Bellevernon, Pa., om Monday morning, November 26 th, 1877, Mrs. Lizzie Van Voorhis Cunningham fell asleep in Jesus. She was the only daughter of Doctor J. S. and Elizabeth J*. Van Voorhis, and wife of J. C. Cunningham. She was born in Bellevernon, June 30th, 184:8; united with the Presbyterian f'hurch of Washington, Pa,, under the ministrations of Rev, J. I. Brownson, D. D., in 186G, whilst a pupil in the Female 16 214 The Old and Nei" Mu(j(thcl((. 215^ Bela B. Smith, son of the Doctor's, died April 27, 1859, in the house now occupied by his grandson, Joseph H. Smith. His wife was Nancy Plumer, a daughter of the Hon. George Plumer. He died March 12, 1870. Esq. Bela B. Smith w^s for many years a prominent and useful man in his native town- ship of Kostraver. He was elected Justice of the Peace for many years, and was by all parties looked upon as a just and upright judge, and as such his place was hard to fill. Bela B. Smith left a son and two daughters, one daughter hav- ing preceded him to the better world. His daughter Elizabeth married James Todd, wdio died at Beaver Falls, Pa., not many years since. His wife still resides in that place. The daughter, Margaret L., married J. Westley Douglass, for many years a prominent educator in Westmoreland county, but recently a merchant of West Newton, in the same county. Bela B. Smith, Jr., son of Bela B. Smith, Esq., married Elizabeth Housman and resides on the old home place in Rostraver, where he was born. He has long been an active and useful Elder in Rehoboth church. Ami Ruhami, another son of Dr. Smith, was born in Rostraver, October 29, 1803, died October 27, 1883. His remains are in Rehoboth graveyard. His first wife was a Miss Clark, from Connellsville, Pa. She died Oc- tober 27, 1854. They had several children, among whom were John, Elizabeth, Ross, Sarah Ann, married to John Flannegan, and Maggie, who is the sole survivor of the child- ren and parents. She now resides in West Newton, Pa. Sarah Ann Flannegan died February 2, 1888. The second wife of Ami Ruhami was Mary Jane Power, sister of John Power, of Monongahela City, and mother of Mary Jane Power Smith, who died at the house of John Power, in that place, March 11, 1883. From the Daily Rejtnhlican we extract the following notice of her death : "Mary Jennie Power-Smith, adopted daughter of Mr. John Power, of this city, died at her home on Sabbath morning, at 10:30 o'clock, in her 25th year, of nem-algia. Funeral on Tuesday at one o'clock, Monongahela cemetery. She 220 The Old and Ntm MonnngaMa. was the daiigliter of Ami R. Smith, of Rostraver, and came to Mr. and Mrs. Power's to live when but three weeks old, and has lived with them as their own child (the daughter of Mr. Power's sister,) growing up a lovely girl and charming woman. Jennie was more than ordinarily lovely in her disposition. She seemed to have the especial faculty of being happy, and her home was tilled with tlie light of every- thing that her love could brighten. She united with Pigeon Creek Church at the age of fourteen, and recently by certificate with the Presbyterian Church of Monongahela City, Jennie has gone, for so it happened that ' Two angels went out the doorway where but one went in.' " Ami Ruhami's third wife was Mary Beezel, daughter of the late Luke Beezel, of Rostraver. The issue of this marriage was their only daughter Lizzie, who died at Webster, Pa., August 12, 1884. Ami Ruliami joined Rehoboth church in 1829, under the ministration of Rev. Robert Johnson, never having severed his connection. Whilst in health he' not often failed to be in his seat. In all his dealings with men and the church he was prompt and upright. He passed to the grave not only (^Id and full of years, but carrying with him the universal love of his fellow men, and with the brightest prospects of a glorious im- mortality. Hari'iet, daughter of Dr. Smith Fuller, late of Connellsville, Pa. She was the mother of Dr. Smith Fuller and Amzi S. Fuller, both of IJniontown, Pa. Micajah P., another son of Dr. Bela Smith, died at his late residence in the village of Laurel, near Washington, D. C, May 14, 1884. Llis remains arrived by railroad at West Newton, Pa., May 16, and at 11 o'clock a. m. the funeral took place from the residence of his son-in-law, Harry Markle, The remains were followed to the cemetery by a large concourse of his former fellow citizens and others that had grown up around his old home. The services were conducted by the Rev. James Nicols, pastor of the Presbyterian church of i The Old and Nent Monongakela. 221 Laurel, of wliicli the deceased was a member, and by the Kev. J. C. Meloy, of West Newton. The remains were deposited in the family lot in the cemetery of which he was the origina- tor — there let them repose until the resurrection. He was born May 12, 1814, in the old Smith mansion in Rostraver township, Westmoreland county, Pa., now owned by his nephew, Bela B. Smith, and in which his grand nephew, Joseph H. Smith, resides. His first wife was Maria Markle, who died January 17, 1851. They had as children Harmar D., late postmaster at West Newton, but now a resident of Kansas. Ebenezer was born February 25, 1840, and was killed in the battle of Fredericksburg, December 13, 1862. His remains repose in the cemetery where now lay those of his father. Amzi has long been connected with the United States Senate as superintendent of the document room where he is regarded by all parties as an honest and upright man, and as an officer whose services are so highly appreciated as to com- mand the continued support of every senator. Markle, the youngest, returned from the west recently and is now a resident of West Newton. Lizzie is the wife of John Krepps, of Allegheny City, who enjoys his summer residence at the old home of Ami Ruhami Smith in Rostraver. Amanda is not nuirried, and has her home at this time in Washington, D. C. Allie married Harry Markle, and are now living in their new home, erected on the site of the former home of her father near the Rostraver end of the West Newton bridge. Micajah's second wife was Mrs. Brown, of Jamestown, N. Y. They had two children: Hattie E., who died October 14, 1860, and Eva, the wife of Mr. Fay, residing in Washington, D. C. Micajah was the youngest of twelve children of Dr. Bela Smith, the "pioneer" physician of the "Forks." He was the last born and the last to die. He left his home in the old house erected by his father a few months after the first inaugu- ration of President Lincoln and became an attache of the census bureau, and subsequently was transferred to the Indian depart- ment. For nuinv years of his eai'lv life he was identified with 2*22 The Old and jVcw Monorujaliela. West Ncwtorfs social, financial, religious and political interests. He was always in the front in originating and executing any new enterprise. He was an active co-worker with General Larimer, the Plumers, the Markles and others, in the old Youghiogheny slack water enterprise, and many will yet call to mind his beautiful speech at the reception given on the occa- sion of the arrival of the first steamboat at West Newton. Before his removal to Washington, D. C, he had been an elder in the Presbyterian church, and among his latest good deeds in the town of his youth was the giving life to the ceme- tery in which his remains are now interred. Peace to his memory. "The old oaks are falling."' Amzi, the remaining son of Dr. Bela Smith, died January 7, 1831, in the Slst year of his age, in West Newton, Pa. He left a wife and four daughters. His wife was Elizabeth Plumer, daughter of Hon. George Plumer. Polly was the wife of James H. Van Yoorhis, now of Cooperstown, Dakota. She died near Monongahela City, July 29, 184:8, leaving no children. Amanda was the wife of a man the name of John C. Carr. She died in Mont«cello, 111., March, 1859. Mar- garet L. was the oldest of Amzi's children. She died in Kehoboth Valley, July 29, 1849. She was the wife of J. Crawford Cook, who died September 3, 1858, near Fayette City, Pa. They left one child, a daughter who married J. B. Speer, now of Marshalltown, Iowa. We extract from the Presbyterian Advocate the following notice of the death of Mrs. Margaret L. Cook: Died, on the 29th day of July, 1849, at her residence in Eehoboth Valley, Fayette county, Pa., Mrs. Margaret L., wife of J. C. Cook, in the 26th year of her age. In recording the virtues of the dead, we are too apt to over- look all faults, and extol and even over-rate the higher qualities; but if truth should ever be our untiring guide it should be in such cases. Though we may deceive and flatter the friends of the dead by obituary notices, we cannot influence Him who stands as the judge of the quick and the dead. The subject of Tilt' Old and New Monongalida. 223 the preseut notice was an object of very prolonged affliction. It was her \ot to be sorely afflicted for months ere she de- parted, and she bore all with humble submission and Christian f(^rtitude. She never was known to murmur against the will of the Lord; but often said, "the will of the Lord be done, blessed be His holy name.'" During her long suffering she seemed lost to the affairs of this world, and appeared wholly absorbed in the contemplation of and preparation for eternity. She had a longing desire to be with Christ, and seemed anxious for the arrival of the hour when her spirit would take its flight to the bosom of God. When she would recover from a state of partial delirium she would often inquire whether she had said anything that would tend to dishonor Christ or erect stumbling blocks in the way of his enemies. She had been a member of the Presbyterian church for many years, and lived a life devoted to the service of her Master, and fully maintained, at her closing hour, her ardent attachment to the cause of Christ. Of Amzi Smith's four daughters, none of whom are now (1893) living except Betsy, wife of Dr. J. S. Yan Voorhis, of Bellevernon, Mrs. Smith married as her second husband Henry Fulton, of West Newton. He moved to the farm in Carroll township, Washington county, now owned by Greer McElvain, in the spring of 1841. He moved to Monongahela City in 1847. He died at the house of John Power in Nottingham township, in the same county, April 13, 1869: his wife having died October 5, 1868. Abram Fulton, the father of Henry, came from Ireland, bringing his son, Abram, with him. Henry Fulton's first wife was Rebecca Jack. By this wife Henry had four children, viz: Abram, John, Jane and Ellen. Abram died years ago at Columbus City, Iowa. John has long been a resident of San Francisco, California. Jane married John Power September 13, 1836; they were long residents of Mon- ongahela City, Pa. Ellen married Dr. Isctt, and after bis death she married a man the name of Nichols; at last account they were residins- in Iowa. 224 The Old and New Monoou/ahela. Henry Fulton's second wife was Elizabeth Taylor. They had two children, Elizabeth and Rebecca. Elizabeth died in Washington, Pa., in 1866, unmarried. Rebecca married William J. Power; both died in the Pigeon creek Presbyterian congregation. They had a large family of children, among whom are Henry F. and William, elders in the Presbyterian church at Pigeon creek. Henry Fulton's third wife was Mary Chapin. They had three children, James P., Margaret and Hannah. James P. graduated at Washington College in the class of 1846, and also graduated at the Western Theological Seminary. He married Miss Fannie Shouse of Monongahela City. After preaching successfully at different churches in Pennsylvania, he finally settled in Harper, Kansas, where he was the pioneer minister of the Presbyterian church in that region, and where his labors have been blessed especially in organizing churches and in erecting church buildings. By judicious investments he has acquired considerable wealth, which enables him to live com- fortably and arms him with still greater power to do good. His son, William S., graduated at Lafayette College, and is now one of the most prominent ministers of the Presbyterian church in Kentucky. He has been located for many years at Lexington in that state. Henry C, another son, studied med- icine with Dr. J. S. Van Voorhis of Bellevernon, graduated at the Jefferson Medical College, and is now located at Asotin, in the state of Washington. Two other brothers are located in business in the same vicinity. Margaret, daughter of Henry Fulton married September 5th, 1855, James Means, of Mifiiin township, Allegheny county. Pa., where they have lived ever since their marriage. Their son, Henry F., graduated at Washington and Jefferson College and at the Western Theolo- gical Seminary, and is now^ pastor of a church in Centre county, Pa. Their son, Nathan, also is a graduate of Washington and Jefferson College, studied law in the offiee of Moreland & Kerr, and is now a member of the Pittsburgh bar. Hannah, daughter of Henry Fulton by his third wife, was The Old and Ne>n M.onongaJiela. 225 inaiTied to Jonas Munson, of Connellsville, Pa. Tliey lived for a time in a house on the river bank at what was known at that time as Fulton's hinding, on the farm now owned by Greer McElvain, in Carroll. Whilst living in this house their little children, Mary, Elizabeth and Isaac Fulton, died of scarlet fever, the former June 3 and the latter July 12, 1849. Their remains are still in the old graveyard on the hill, surrounded by a neat iron fence. Shortly after the death of these little ones, Jonas Munson went to California to try his fortune in the new Eldorado on the Pacific coast. In a few years his wife and little Jennie joined him. They settled near Cold Springs where he carried on business in its different branches. He was attacked one time by some prospecting tramps and so severely beaten with picks and other tools as to be left on the ground as dead; his skull was so injured as to require the taking out of a part of the table of the skull two inches wide and four inches long; the ])iece so removed the writer has in his possession. He lived many years after this occurrence, but died in his new home, never having returned to this country. He left his wife and four children. His wife paid a visit to her native home some time before his death. She died not long after her return to California. Ilem-y Fulton, by his fourth wife (Mrs. Smith), had five children living at the time of his death, viz: Sarah, Nancy, George P., Almira and Robert H. Sarah married, May 24, 1864, Rev. J. H. Stevenson, now pastor of the Presbyterian church at Mount Carmel, Illinois. Sarah graduated at Wash- ington Female Seminary in the class of 1857. Their daughters Judith Mary, and Sallie are graduates of the same Institution. Nancy graduated at the Steubenville Seminary, but in what class we cannot state. She is the wife of Rev. R. T. I'rice, pastor of the church of Scio, Harrison county, Ohio. Their oldest daughter Bessie married a Mr. Robinson, and now lives in Louisiana. Almira married Rev. E. P. Lewis, who is at this time pastor "f a l*resbyterian church \\\ St. Paul, Minnesota. Their oldest 226 The Old and Wew Monongahela. child, Eddie, in his eleventh year died, whilst they resided in Rochester, Penn'a. He was a bright boy and of fair promise. Robert H., youngest son of Henry Fulton, graduated at Washington and Jefferson College in the class of 1866. He also graduated at Western Theological Seminary. Shortly after he was licensed to preach he was called to the pastorate of a Presbyterian church in Baltimore, Md. He is now and has been for some years pastor of the Northminster church in Philadelphia, where he ranks among the most talented and successful ministers in that city. At the annual commencement in 1887 he had the honorary degree of D. I), conferred on him by his Alma Mater. George P. Fulton The remaining son of Henry Fulton, was born in West Newton, Pa.., November 1, 1833, and died October 4, 1887, and was buried at Rehoboth, Westmoreland county. The Monongahela RepidMcan,, printed in the place of his early life, in a notice of his death, says: "He was the son of Henry and Elizabeth Plumer Fulton, well known former citizens of this city. The deceased was a grandson of the Hon. Geo. Plumer, who represented Westmoreland county in Congress from 1821 to 1829. His grandmother on his mother's side was a daughter of Alex. Lowrey, a member of the convention which framed the Pennsylvania State Constitution of 1776. His father and mother were residents of this city for many years. The de- ceased was educated in the common schools of West New- ton and this city, and took a partial course in Washington College. His life was devoted to teaching in the common schools. At seventeen years of age he tauglit his first school at the Cross Roads in Rostraver township, Westmoreland county; his next teaching was in Bellevernon, Pa., during the years of 1852 and \53. He was teaching in the vicinity of Fayette City, Pa., when in 1862 he entered the Federal army, enlisting in the 155th Regiment Pennsylvania Volunteers. At the close of the war The Old amd Nev Monomjahela. 227 he was engaged in the Quartermaster's department at Wash- ington, D. C. In 1870 he was elected Principal of the Hiland public school in the city of Pittsburgh, with which he has been connected ever since, and in June last he was unanimously re- elected for a term of three years. His success in teaching was unmeasured, and his personal popularity was well attested in the sympathy and condolence expressed in every community in which he ever resided. His loss as a teacher will be only fully estimated in the hearts of those who have for over one- third of a century shared the wisdom of his rich mind, and the kindness of his heart overflowing with tender feeling for those around him. His mission was to enrich the young mind with not only knowledge, but to cultivate the inner and more heav- enly emotions that reign in the immortal spirit. Blessed be God, the world's loss is his gain. He went down to the grave with the bright hopes of awakening in the morning with the full realization of that everlasting rest which he often said could alone be secured through the blood of Christ. His remains, at his own request, were interred in the Kehoboth graveyard, along side of his father and mother, beneath the trees which he had ordered to be planted years ago. Prof. Fulton married, when a young man, Miss Frazer, a relative of the Hon. R. S. Frazer, of the Allegheny county bar. He has four children living — Dr. Henry Fulton, who at present supplies his father's place as principal; W. E. Fulton, a well known attorney; and Robert and Nannie, who are both children under 16 years of age. His family relations have ever been of the most admirable character. Another paper, in giving an account of the funeral services, remarks; " Last night Rev. J. P. E. Kumler, of the East End Presbyterian church, conducted the funeral services over the remains of Prof. George P. Fulton, at the hitter's late home in the East End. The services were simple in character, consist- ing only of prayer and an eloquent address. Among Rev. Kumler's remarks were the following: 'We have gathered to ]>ay tri])ute to the friend now cold in death. The expressions ^28 The Old and New Monon(/<(hela. of sorrow at his departure are not confined to his own house- hold. They fall from lips of every one in the community in which he performed his trying labors, and are uttered also by those with whom he came in public contact. We all know how trying are the duties of those engaged in his profession. His Christian character, his even temperament, and an unusual att'ability charmed away their burdensomness. The yoke of duty was to him a yoke of pleasantness. He is not dead. It is simply the crumbling about him of a house in which he was the august tenant. His belief in Christ, and the knowledge that Christ would dissolve all earthly doubts and mysteries in the ineffable light of heaven limned the fall of the awful shadow with effulgent light. He has passed away, and naught remains now but to say that he is in an abode of blissful rest, and to commend to the care of the loving Savior the widow, now in lamentation, the children he so nobly reared to the manifold duties of life, and the tenderer ones who have yet to fathom its perplexities.' At the conclusion of the services the remains were viewed by several hundred." Prof. Geo. P. Fulton's Mother, She was Elizabeth, daughter of the Hon. Ge<\ Plumer, for many years a member of Congress of Westmoreland county, Pa. She was born near West Newton, Pa., in 1803. After her marriage to Amzi Smith they lived in that place and in Postraver until Amzi's death, January 7, 1831. After, her marriage to Henry Fulton they lived in West Newton until the spring of 1841, when the family moved to the Cooper-Lynn farm above Monongahela City, now owned by Greer McEl vain. In the spring of 1847 they moved to Monongahela City, occupy- ing the house now owned by the heirs of Richard Stockdale. There Mr. Fulton carried on the tannery located in the rear of the same lot on which the house stood. He afterwards bought the old Cooper tannery, which occupied part oi the lot on which .Tas. P. Shepler's residence now stands, on the pike above (Jhess street. Fulton built the house on Third street, above The Old and New Monongahela. 229 Chess street, on part of the tannery lot, where he resided until he moved to Washington, Pa., in the early sixties. In 1867 Fulton removed to Brownsville, where Mrs. Fulton, October 5, 1808, died. The Rev. W. S. Plumer, D. D., in an article published a short time after her death, ^tates : "Died, in Brownsville, Fayette county. Pa., on the 5th of October, 1868, Mrs. Elizabeth Plumer Fulton, daughter of the late Hon. George Plumer, of Westmoreland county. Pa., and wife pf Henry Fulton, Esq., in the 65th year of her age. This excellent lady had at various times seen great trials and afflictions ; but if she lost a child she seemed determined not to lose the benefit of such bereavement. She had a very good mind well stored with Bible knowledge, and well established in the doctrines of grace. Her last end was peace. She was in full possession of her faculties till her eyes closed in death. During her last illness she spoke freely of her own decease, gave her blessing to those around her, and a charge concerning her burial. The light of the Redeemer's countenance was abundantly shed upon her soul. From her birth she had been well cared for and early instructed in the great truths of reli- gion. By one still living it is remembered that her grand- father, Jonathan Plumer, "the Indian's friend,'" and the zealous Elder, spent the night of her birth in prayer, devoting her to God with many prayers and tears. Her excellent parents always set before her an example of serious piety, and often prayed with her, and for her. Dear, gentle, faithful, loving one, we shall see thy meek and pleasant face no more on earth. But christians have no final partings with eacli other. Thou hast wept thy last tear, heaved thy last sigh, suffered thy last pang ! Blessed be God for all his grace and mercy to thee ! If we are faithful we shall soon join in thy worship around the throne of God and the Lamb. A writer in the same ]iaper, in a notice of her death, says: "Mrs. Fulton was descended from a line of godly ancestors, dating back to the settlement of America, when the Huguenot fathers left possessions and country for freedom to worship 230 The bid and Netv Monongaliela. God. She was the daughter of Hon. George Plumer of pious memory. Carefully trained in the doctrines of the Presbyterian church, parental faithfulness was awarded in her early conver- sion. To the close of her life she was a consistent and devoted member of the church whose doctrines and privileges she loved with no ordinary affection. Ever ready to do good as she had opportunity, the care of a large family and feeble health con- fined her efforts, in a measure, to her own family circle. But here she was eminently faithful — careful to teach her children by both precept and example; she prayed much with and for them. She often said with much feeling, " I have never sought earthly honors or riches for my children; but Oh I I have sought the riches of the Kingdom. She was called to pass through many afflictions. Sad change, sore bereavements and great bodily sufferings were in turn permitted to try her faith; but to one who by her death bed was alluding to her trials, she replied, "Goodness and mercy have followed me all the days of my life. '' Although for some months her health had l)een failing, no immediate danger was apprehended by the family, yet she set her house in order, and when at last the messenger came suddenly, she was ready. God's grace was very abundant to her in her last hours, enabling lier fearlessly, even joyfully, to meet the last enemy, of whom all her life she had been greatly afraid. Her intellect was unclouded to the last moment of her life, and amid great bodily anguish she was enabled "to rejoice in the hope of the glory of God,'' and thus passed away "to bo forever with the Lord."" "Thanks be to God, who giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. ' " The Monongaliela Rcjjiihllcatu in reference to her death, says: Died. — October 5, 1868, at her late residence in Brownsville, Pa., in the 65th year of her age, Mrs. Elizabeth Plumer Fulton, wife of Henry Fulton, formerly of this city. Mrs. Fulton was well known in this community as an eminently pious The Old and New Monongahela. 231 and devoted christian. She was a member of the Presbyterian church for more than forty years, and the walk and conversa- sation of her life gave ample evidence of the heavenly inherit- ance which awaited her at death. She lived for Christ, and died rejoicing in the full hope of that immortality which is in reserve for the people of God. After the death of his wife Mr. Henry Fulton became a member of the family of Mr. John Power, in Bellevernon, Pa., and on their removal to the Rankin farm, on Mingo, in Washington county, he went with them, where he died April 13, 1809, and his remains were interred at Rehoboth beside his wife. Death of Mrs. Mary P^inley. This estimable and christian lady died at the residence of her daughter, Mrs. Eberhart, in Winona, Minnesota, January 29, 1864, in the seventy-third year of her age. She was the eldest daughter of George and Margaret Lowrey Plumer. George Plumer was born December 5, 1762, on a farm of 200 acres, ,which his father, Jonathan Plumer, bought of Col. George Croghan, in February, 1759, now in the l7th ward of the city of Pittsburgh, Pa. The treaty of peace between England and France was signed in Paris on the Sth of Novem- ber preceding, by wluch all of the region westward of the Alleghenies to the Mississippi was ceded to the English forever. George Plumer and wife first lived in Puckety, seventeen miles above Pittsburgh, on the Allegheny river. In 1788 or 9, George Plumer and his wife were given by Col. Lowrey, Mrs. I'lumer's father, the land at the junction of Sewicklcy creek and the Youghiogheny river, where were born the children of a ha])])y union, whose memory is cherished by their descend- ants. In 1814 Mary Plumer married James Smith, who, with John C. Plumer, had been a year in Captain Markles' troop of horse in the war of 1812. James Smith was an extensive business man in lJo1)bsto\vn, now West Newton, for manv vears. In 1825 he reinoNcd to 232 The Old and New Monongahela. Fittsburgb, where for a time he was in business. From Pitts- burgh he removed to Blairsville, where he had acquired a growing trade, but his health failed, and in August, 1829, he died. After the death of Mr. Smith the family returned to their old home in Robbstown. Their oldest son, George P., at an early age, after the death of his father, through the kindness of Thomas Plumer, obtained in May, 1830, a position with an English firm, "Simpson & Smith," on Wood street, Pitts- burgh. After the dissolution of this firm in 1831, he went to McClurg & Denniston, with wh(jm he was a boy and man, for five years, after which time he became a member of the firm of Plampton, Smith & Co., in the wholesale and retail dry goods business. He retired from mercantile life in 1855. He resides now, 1893, in Philadelphia. J. C. P. Smith, another son, studied law in Pittsburgh, and with his brother, A. O. P. Smith, are residents of the west. Finley died many years ago in Iowa. The only daughter, Margaret L., married William Eberhart, and died, as stated elsewhere, in Chicago. In 1835 Mrs. Mary Smith, the subject of this sketch, married Michael Finley, and in their new home near Rehoboth church, in Westmoreland county. Pa., passed 15 years most happily, he dying in 1850, About six or seven years after the decease of Mr. Finley, Mrs. Finley removed to Ohio, and finally settled in Winona, Minnesota, where she died. Wherever she lived, in whatever sphere she acted, her part was well done. Her company w-as sought after socially, and her influence for good was unbounded. We close this sketch by quoting from a western paper part of a notice of her death: "Her father, George Plumer, was said to have been the first white male child born under the British dominion west of the Allegheny mountains. Familiar from childhood with the history of the no])le men and women who, in perils of Indian warfare, had made their homes in that beautiful region, and laid deep the foundations of the Presbyterian church in western Pennsylvania. She loved to dwell on their trials, and contrast present privi- The Old and Neio Monongahda. 233 leges with the narrations she had heard of early days. A mother indeed in Israel — beloved by all, revered and cherished by her children. Slie was sustained in her last hours by the everlasting arms of the Savior she liad loved and served through life and trusted in death.'' THE HAIR FAMILY. James Hair. Was born in Maryland, but his earlier days were passed on a farm near Girardstown, Berkeley county, Virginia, now West Virginia. He married Rebecca McKown of the same county. He moved his family from Virginia in 1806, and tarried for a time in the vicinity of Canonsburg, Washington county, Pa. He, in 1807, purchased from a man named Messenger the mill on Pigeon creek, well known in after years as Hair's mill. In connection with this property, he also bought the adjoining farm, known in those days as the Platter farm, on which he resided to the day of his dt3ath, which occurred September 12th, 1826. The family at first lived in one end of the mill. He was a member of the Presbyterian church before he settled on Pigeon creek. James Hair served as an elder with Michael Powers and others in the old Horseshoe bottom meeting house, which stood on what was then the Crawford but now John Wilson farm, in Fallowfield. He was so completely identified with the Presby- terian church in its early day in Washington county that its history is that of James Hair to a very great extent. When the question was asked of Dr. Ralston, the pastor of Horseshoe meeting liouse, ho wa church could be organized in the town of Williamsport, now Monongahela City, he replied: "Elect James Hair, Esq., an elder, now already ordained, and go to work." Thus, at one ecclesiastical coiij) d" graee^ the old Horseshoe bottom congregation was swallowed up. He did perhaps, more for the Presbyterian church in his day than any of his cotemporaries. His remains, together with tliat of his 234 The Old and Neio Monongahela. wife, were interred in the old Presbyterian graveyard in Mon- ongahela City but a few years ago — the kind hearts of his sons, Eev. G. M. Hair and Dr. B. W. Hair, had them removed to the Monongahela City Cemetery. James Hair was appointed justice .of the peace by Governor Snyder in 1811, and served as such to the day of his death. He kept his docket in copy-book form of foolscap paper, most of which docket is now in possession of the writer, and it is of interest to note its many and peculiar features. Mrs. Hair died August 18th, 1840, on the old Hair farm. They had a large family of children, all of whom lived to man- hood and w<^manhood. All were married and were members of the Presbyterian church. Mary, as we already have stated, was the wife of Isaac Van Yoorhis. John was the oldest of the children; he married Harriet Brenton. John was a miller by trade. He lived at and carried on the old Hair's mill until about the year 1836, when he moved to Stark county, Ohio, where he was one of the company which laid out the town of Mount Union. He died in 1855 or 56. His wife still (1892) survives him. Martha married John Crouch, Both are dead. Louisa married Joseph Brenton, of the vicinity of Brownsville, Pa. They are both dead, leaving a large family of children. Eliza, January 1, 1828, married John Potter, who was born December 15, 1808, and died August 28, 1878. His wife died in 1869. He had arrived at four-score years of age. His remains were interred in the cemetery of the church of Pine Creek, Allegheny Presbytery, where those of his wife were laid some nine years since. He was married to Eliza, daughter of the late James Hair, Esq., and sister of Mary H., wife of the late Isaac Van Voorhis. Of the family connection present at that marriage, Mary, Martha, Eliza, Ibela, Louisa, John, James, L^riah, and Samuel, have gone to their rest, with the father and mother, sons-in-law Brenton, A^an Voorhis, Crouch, and now Potter. Mr. Potter had four sons, all in the ministry. John died some years ago. James H., of Florida, Gilbert M., The Old and JYeiv Monongahela. 235 pastor of the Church at Fine Creek, and Henry N., pastor of the church of Darlington, Beaver county. Pa. He was born and brought up in the congregation of Mingo, under the pas- toral care of Eev. Dr. Ralston, D. D., by whom he was married, and under whose ministrations he was taken into the church in his youth, and was elected a Ruling Elder at the age of twenty-two years. Ibela, the youngest daughter of Esq. Hair, married James Baker. He was the son of Nicholas Baker, a prominent elder in the old Maple Creek church. His remains at last account were still in the graveyard of that now abandoned church. Ibela died January 13, 1843. Her remains are in the Monon- gahela cemetery. Samuel, son of James Hair, was born on the old Hair farm on Pigeon creek, in Washington county. Pa., April 1st, 1808, and died May 11th, 1876, in Chicago. He graduated at Jefferson College in 1832; he also graduated from the Western Theological Seminary. He was licensed to preach by the Monroe Presbytery, of Michigan, in 1835, and continued in active service for Christ until a short time before his death. He ^s a finished scholar, and above all a true champion in the cause of Christ. At a meeting of the Chicago Presbytery held May 15th, 1876, suitable resolutions were passed in res- pect to his memory, and of coiulolence and sympathy for the family. A memorial sermon by his pastor, Rev. A. E. Kithredge has been printed and distributed among his friends, in which his character as a Christian is fully set forth, and the result of his labors in diiferent fields are summed up. His great work seemed to be that of organizing churches, for which he had peculiar qualifications. Besides numerous churches which he was instrumental in organizing, he was the real founder of the Michigan University, of Ann Arbor, now one of the most flourishing institutions of the west. This insti- tution sprang from what was known as the Michigan Manual Labor School, of which he was the first teacher, having twelve young men under his charge. 230 The Old and I^eto Monongahela. Samuel Hair was married April 22nd, 1834, to Miss Eliza E. Sample of Canonsbnrg, Pa., who survives him and resides in Chicago, 111. Mrs. Hair was born in Philadelphia, but spent most of her days, prior to marriage, in Pittsburgh, Pa. Mr. and Mrs. Hair had seven children, one died in early life and one daughter, Annie, died in 1887. A Chicago paper prints the following beautiful tribute to her memory: ''Mrs. Annie Hair Elphicke died at her home in Lawndale, Chicago, July 20th, 1887. She leaves a loving husband and three children, one an infant. Her death was sudden and un- expected. The home was a happy, loving home until death entered. She united with the church when young, was a con- scientious, exemplary Christian, a loving, kind, affectionate wife and mother. Six months ago death came and claimed a beau- tiful boy. She bore this aflfliction with Christian fortitude. Now they know as they were known; now the victory is hers, and they are ascribing glory, honor and praise to him who bought them and washed them in the blood of the lamb. Dearest loved one, we must lay thee In the peaceful grave's embrace, But thy memory will be cherished ^ "Till we see thee face to face. Mary J. V., another daughter, died November 21st, 1891. The remaining of the children living are all residents of Chicago. James G., another son of ""Squire Hair, was born on the old Hair farm ; was married to Plitebe Kerr, daughter of Aaron Kerr, of whom we have written in another place. James G. Hair died in Claysville, Pa., August 10, 1885, aged 80 years. His wife and one or two children survive him. B. W. Hair, the youngest son of James Hair, Esq., read medicine with the late Dr. R. F. Biddle in the old office which stood where George A. ILoffman's store now is, on the corner of Main street and Church alley in Monongahela City. He obtained his early education in the common schools at the Dutch meeting house and in the old Colhoon school, and his college The Old and New Monongahela. 237 training at Washington, Pa. He married Margaretta L. Hamil- ton, of Frankfort, Pa., who died at Hamilton, Ohio, March 4, 1882. Dr. B. W. Hair has been married a second time. He now resides in Hamilton, Ohio, but carries on his extensive chemical works in Cincinnati. He is the inventor of Hair's Asthma Cure, which holds a large share of public confidence and from which he has realized a handsome competence. Uriah was another sou. He married Miss Thomas, daughter of James Thomas, of near Dunningsville, Washington county, Pa. They lived for a time in the stone house at Hair's old mill on Pigeon creek ; moved West many years since ; resided in Galesburg, 111., for a term of years. Their home now (1891 ) is at 120 South Ashland avenue, Chicago. On the 14th of March, 1888, they celebrated their golden wedding, Uriah being 76 and his wife 75 years old at that time. They have had several children, but we have not any notes in reference to their progress in life, excepting an account of the death of the wife of their eldest son James T. Hair, to which we give place. Mrs. Josephine E^telle Hair (nee Butler) died February 20, 1887, and was buried from the family resi- dence, No. 3337 Michigan avenue, Chicago, on Friday, the funeral services being conducted by the Rev. S. J. McPherson, of the Second Presbyterian church. The deceased was the grand-niece of the late William O. Butler, of Kentucky, can- didate for Vice President on the Democratic ticket, with Lewis Cass, in 1848, and was related also to Daniel Pierce Butler and Senator M. C. Butler, of South Carolina. She was married in 1875, in the 10th year of her age, to James T. Hair, the well known publisher, and a resident of Chicago since 1863. Five children were born to them, of whom three survive. Mrs. Hair was an accomplished lady, in the prime of womanhood, being only twenty-seven years of age, and in the enjoyment, a few weeks since, of perfect health. She was possessed of many rare qualities of mind and heart, having a remarkably quick perception that grasped almost intuitively matters which to most minds are made clear onlv bv studv and effort. She 23'8 The Old and New Monongakela. was of a sunny disposition, vivacious and winsome. She had traveled extensively with her husband, and had a large circle of friends in Cincinnati, New Orleans, St. Louis, Denver, and other cities, as well as in Chicago, who lament her loss and sympathise with the bereaved husband and his three mother- less children. [From Monongaliela Republican, February 19, 1890.] Death of Uriah Hair. Clinton Van Yoorhis hands us the following item, clipped from the Chicago DaUy News^ February 1st, 1890, noting the death of his uncle : Uriah Hair, a well known citizen of Chicago, died yesterday at his residence, 120 Ashland avenue. Mr. Hair was nearly 78 years old. He was born in Washington county, Penn- sylvania, and came to Illinois in 1856, locating on a farm in McDonough county. Appreciating the advantages of educa- tion, he removed to Galesburg in 1886 to give his children the benefits of schooling. They speak of the sacrifices he made to give them instruction, with the deepest sense of gratitude. Mr. Hair came to Chicago in 1876, but was not engaged in active business during his residence here. His wife and six of his children survive him — James T., William F., Lydia K., Josiah T., Samuel F., and John V. Hair. He was a brother of the late Kev. Samuel Hair. His only living brother is Dr. B. W. Hair, a practicing physician of Cincinnati, the youngest of twelve children. The Late Rev. G. M. Hair. He was born September 4, 1815, in the old log house still standing on what was long known as the Hair farm, now owned by the heirs of the late John Hill, and situated in Carroll town- ship, Washington county. Pa. He attended common schools in the neighborhood of his birth, was at first inclined to enter mercantile life, but in answer to the prayers of pious parents he The Old and yew Mononyahela. 239 entered upon a course of preparation for the ministry and graduated at Washington college, Pa., in 1838. In the fall of the same year he married Miss Jane Sample, of Steubenville, Ohio, and immediately began to teach at Mar- tinsburg, Ohio, where he built up a flourishing academy. While there he studied theology with the late Dr. Hervey, and was licensed to preach the gospel in the spring of 1840. His first charge was the church of Nottingham. While serving it he was elected president of Franklin college, Athens, Ohio, but de- clined the appointment. He then preached for a time at Wells- burg, W. Ya..; started to New Orleans to accept an invitation to the First Presbyterian church of that city, but stopped at Covington, Ky. ; was for five years pastor of the churches of Montgomery and Somerset in Hamilton county, Ohio, where his wife died in 1849; in 1850 was married to Miss Eliza Naylor, who survives him; in 1853 was called to the church of Frank- lin, Ohio, and afterwards labored two years at Carlisle, Ohio; and at the outbreak of the war was engaged in building up a female seminary near Lexington, Ky., but owing to his Union sentiments was compelled to leave at great personal sacrifice. After this he preached two years at Cambridge City, Ind. Some time prior to 1864 he entered the Christian Commis- sion, where in his term of twelve weeks he received into the church at the army chapel 600 soldiers. In 1864 he was called to the First church of Alexandria, Va., where he labored until the close of the war. In 1865 he preached nine months to the church at Gerardstown, W. Va., during which time 101 were added to the church — this was the church of his father, from which he brought his certificate to the old Horseshoe church in 1807. His next charge was Eaton, Preble county, Ohio, dur- ing the first year of which he was invited to and occupied the pastorate of the South church in Baltimore, Md. In 1869 he accepted a call to the First church of McKeesport, Pa. In 1872 he took charge of the Kehoboth church. Presbytery of Redstone. He resigned June 1, 1874, and removed to Chi- cago, 111.; while in that city he organized a church at Lawn- 240 The Old and New Monongahela. dale. The care of his wife's aged parents was his next duty. Whilst with them he preached at New Carlisle, in the vicinity of Franklin, Ohio. In May, 1877, he took charge of the West- minster church. East End, Pittsbm-gh. His health failing, he retired from active service after forty years in the ministry. Partially recovering his health, he labored in the Kuoxville church, near Pittsburgh, for a short time, during which the church increased in number three times as many as when he began to serve it. In September, 1883, he removed to Florida in search of health, where he preached almost every Sabbath, and organized the church at Ravenswood, as a New Year's gift to the Lord. His health appeared to improve until February last; from that time he gradually declined. With his wife he started for his native state, and May 31 he reached the home of his daughter, Mrs. Spurgeon, at West Point, N. Y., where on Tuesday, June 3, 1884, he died. His remains were brought to Pittsburgh, and his funeral took place June 5 from the resi- dence of his son-in-law, H. D. Gamble. He leaves three daughters and one son. Mr. Hair's great delight was to do the work of an evangel- ist. This was the principal cause of his frequent removals. Unless he could see some visible fruit in the conversion of souls, he was not satisfied. Ho was a man of prayer and of earnest devotion to the cause of his Master. THE SAMPLE FAMILY. John Sample had three brothers and one sister: their names were William, Alexander, Samuel and Mary. Mary married Admiral Graves, a resident of north of Ireland, and was con- nected with the royal family. John Sample was second cousin to George the third. Admiral Graves was commander-in-chief of the marine forces of England, being appointed by the king on account of his connection with the crown through his wife. Admiral Graves was sent from England with a large fleet in The Old and New Monongahela. 241 the time of the revolution to relieve Cornwallis at the battle of Yorktown, but he arrived one day too late, as Cornwallis had been taken by General Washington. Admiral Graves returned with his fleet to England, He was owner of old Castle-Dawson with its elegant parks and hunting grounds. John Sample's wife's maiden name was Margaret Whiteside, a resident of Belfast, Ireland. Her brother, James Whiteside, was Lord Chief Justice of Ireland, the highest gift of the queen. He was a nobleman. At the age of 16 Margaret Whiteside married a young man named William Thompson, also a resident of Belfast. They had three children, John T. , William T. and Mary. Mr. and Mrs. Thompson immigrated to America while their children were quite young and settled in Philadelphia, where Mr. Tho^ipson died not long after his arrival. In a few years after his death his widow married John Sample, of the same city. He was a merchant. The issue of this marriage was seven children, viz: Ann, Margaret, Sarah, Eliza, Alex- ander, Jane and Martha. John Sample died in Pittsburgh, Pa., in 1829; his wife died in 1850, in Kentucky, whilst on a visit to her daughter, Mrs. Martha Wheeler. Jane married Rev. G. M. Hair, both of whom are deceased. Eliza married Rev. Samuel Hair, whose death is noted elsewhere. His wife, at this date (ISOS") is still alive, and resides at No. 4417 Lake avenue, Chicago. Martha married John T. Wheeler, now deceased; his wife survives him and resides in Chicago. Alexander was long a resident of Steuben ville, Ohio, where he was regarded as one of the most distinguished dentists in that profession. Alexander Wilson. He was born near Roxbury, Franklin county. Pa., July 7, 1807; died at Hey worth, Illinois, June 14, 1802. Ho was tlie son and eldest chikl of Col. Stephen Wilson, a prominent citizen of Franklin county, who had taken an active part in the war of 1812, and throe times represented his district in the Legislature of this state ; born in the same county in 1789, and 242 The Old and New Monongahela. died there in 1823, in his 4:5th year, leaving his son Alexander, 16 years old, in charge of the farm, and his mother, with eight children, now all deceased, excepting Mrs. Margaret Herron, now residing in the l7th ward, Pittsburgh. 'Alexander received a common school education, principal part of which was prior to the death of his father. He was married to Agnes Herron, of Franklin county, June 11th, 1828, who died in Pittsburgh, November 21st, 1832. He remained on the farm until about 1830, when he removed to Pittsburgh and engaged in the wholesale grocery business on Liberty street, where he did an active and extensive business for ten or twelve years. He was married to Mary C. McFarland (his second wife), daughter of Robert and Ann St. Clair McFarland, at Monon- gahela City, February 3d, 1835, who died at her home in Allegheny City, February 1st, 1881, in her 78th year, and whose remains are interred, with that of her husband's in the cemetery at Monongahela City. Alexander Wilson removed to Monongahela City in the spring of 1845, where he engaged in merchandising, and gradually extended his business until he became the largest dealer in the county in wool, grain, flour and produce generally. The farmers will still recollect that he was always ready to give them the highest prices, and sometimes even when the state of the trade did hardly justify it. He also opened and operated the then extensive coal mines at the mouth of Mingo creek, and had, in connection with a boat yard, some 100 to 150 men in his employ. He was among the first that undertook to tow coal to Cincinnati by steam, having built the side-wheel steamer, Alexander Wilson, for that express purpose. She was run in that trade for some time, when her machinery was taken out and placed on the steamer Mingo, a stern-wheel boat. His residence and business house was the one which Mark Borland has occupied for many years. This house was com- menced to be built by the late Matthew Porter (grandfather of The Old and New Monongahela. , 24-3 the Morrison Brothers) in 1833, but was in the spring of 1834 purchased by Robert McFarland, father-in-law of the deceased, and by him finished as a storeroom and dwelling, and in which he shortly died. In the fall of 1856 he located at Hey worth, Illinois, and in December, 1857, removed his family to that place. There he built and operated with otliers one of the largest flouring mills in the state, which was afterwards destroyed by fire. He then engaged in the grain business in which he continued to the time of his death. Under the pious instructions of a Christian mother, he united with Rocky Spring Presbyterian church as early as his 20th year. On removing to Pittsburgh he united with the first Presbyterian church during the ministrations of Dr. Francis Herron., and at once engaged in active Sabbath school work. He afterwards became connected with the Minersville Presbyterian church, now known as the seventh Presbyterian church of Pittsburgh, and in it became a ruling elder about the year 1838, in which capacity he served almost continually during the remainder of his life, wherever he resided, including the church in Monongahela City and ending with the church at Heyworth, Illinois. He was especially interested in the Sabbath school cause, to which work he gave more than 30 years of his life, most of which time in the posi- tion of superintendent, and frequently had several Sabbath schools in active operation at the same time under his control. He had two children by his first wife, both now living — Mary E. AVilson is the wife of Dr. J. M. Todd, of Bridgeport, Ohio, and William H. Wilson, of Pittsburgh, who has been cashier of the West End Savings bank since its organization, over twelve years ago. He had six children by his second wife —Eliza C, Robert M., Stephen. Ann St. Clair, M. Vir- ginia and Susan E. Robert, Eliza and Susan are deceased, the rest still living. Robert M. went out with the 94th Illinois Regiment Volunteers in the late war. He participated in all the engagements in which his regiment was called to take part. He was promoted to lieutenant in Company B, and after nearly 214 The Old and New Monongahela. three years of active service, ending with the capture of Mobile and its defenses, was on board the steamer St. Charles with a portion of his regiment on their return to Spanish Fort from Ship Ishmd, whither they had guarded an installment of pris- oners. The night was dark, and being called suddenly on deck, he walked overboard and was drowned; all efforts to re- cover his body being unavailing. Stephen is married and lives in Minneapolis, Minn. ; Ann St. Clair is the widow of Isaac N. Coursin, and is living in McKeesport, Pa., where she has two married daughters: M. Virginia resides with her brother, W. H. Wilson in Pittsburgh; Dorcas E. Wilson, widow of Robert, lives at Leechburg, Pa., and has a son and daughter now grown. Alexander Wilson, the older readers will call to mind, was a man of robust constitution, active and energetic, with reniark- ble business qualifications, prompt to decide and quick to act, he pressed forward to the consummation of all he undertook. He was pleasing and affable in his every day walk and conversa- tion, and ever ready to do a kind act for a neighbor. He was full of enterprise and always in the advance to constitute and work for the interests of the community in which he re- sided. He was generous and charitable, with a kind word for all; but, more than all, he was an earnest, active and faithful Christian. After a busy and useful life, his strong constitution finally gave way, and he died comparatively a young man. As his soul passed within the pearly gates he uttered as his last words on earth, "Happy, happy, happy ! '' He was interred at Hey worth, 111., but after the death of his second M^fe, his remains were removed and laid by her side in the cemetery at Monongahela City, where a beautiful monu- ment, erected by kind hands, perpetuate their memory. In this beautiful city of the dead, overlooking her native home and the scenes of his early life, Rest here, blebt sainls, till from His throne The morning break and pierce the shade. The Old and Neu) Monongahela. 245 THE GORDON FAMILY. Thomas Gordon and his wife came from Franklin county, Pa., to Williamsport in the year 1810. The former died Sep- tember 29, 1823, aged 74 years, and the latter March 27, 1821. Their remains were interred in the old graveyard on the hill, in their adopted town. These were the parents of the M^ell known James Gordon, who figured so largely and so long in the affairs of Monongahela City. On his arrival in 1810, there was not a house below the pike, or now called Fourth street. For years he was the only Presbyterian in the town. From the first he took an active part in church matters, and was the first collector of stipends for the Presbyterian congre- gation after its removal from Horse Shoe Bottom. He aided both by his means and labor in the building of the church on the hill, in which he held a pew from the first to the last day it was occupied by the congregation. He organized the first Sabbath Scool in the town, in the face of much opposition on the ])art of the citizens, who claimed that children should have at least one day to themselves. He was elected and ordained an elder in the church October 15, 1835, and remained an elder in the same church until his death, covering a period of over forty years. Prior to the adoption of the constitution of 1838, Justices of the Peace held a life-time term in the oflice, and James Gordon being appointed Justice of the Peace by Governor Snyder, held the office until deposed by the operation of the new constitution of 1838, by the provisions of which this officer was elected by the people for a term of five years. James (lordon was elected to this office in 1850, serving five years, nudving in all a period of thirty-five years daring which he acted as Justice. He was elected Associate Judge, and worn into office March 8, 1845, and served five years. He was a])pointed by Governor Porter Register of Washington county, and served in that ofticc from March 3, 1839, to Octo- b(>r 14, 1839, when George Morrison, Register-elect, took his l)hico. On the resignation of Walter (^raig in 1S11>, as Gounty IS :340 The Old and New Monongahela. Commissiouer, James Gordon was appointed to serve until the next October. He was a member of the Electoral College which placed Andrew Jackson in the Presidential chair for one of his two terms. He was always a Democrat ; in the darkest hours of that party he stood firm to its principles, believing to the day of his death that they formed the basis on which alone the country could prosper. He was married in 1810 by the Rev, Mathew Brown, to Miss Mary Ann Officer, of Washing- ton, Pa. , by whom he had nine children. He first lived in a log house that stood on the site where now stands the McGregor row, on Main street, in Monongahela City. He lived and carried on the tanyard now owned by the heirs of Pichard Stockdale, on Main street, and had his otiice in a little frame building adjoining the house. He was also in the mercantile business for a time. In later days he lived in the brick house on P'ourth and Main streets, opposite what is now called (1889) the Hotel Wilgus. He had his office in the frame building now occupied by Alder- man Williams. James Gordon was a trustee in Jefferson College from 1825 to 1863. He acted as deputy under Sheriff Officer and during his term conveyed on horseback thirty-three convicts to Philadelphia at an expense of nearly §400 for each trip. Physically Mr. Gordon was a remarkable man, tall and erect, and after he was eighty years old he would not hesitate to walk eight or ten miles. He was a man of strong feelings, and when his prejudices were aroused he was very apt to show his Scotch blood. He was a man of sterling integrity, and died at the age of eighty-five years full of faith and briglit prospects of a glorious immortality. Of his nine children, all are dead excepting Martha and Elizabeth. Thomas P., his oldest son, graduated at Jefferson college in 183o, studied for the ministry, had the degree of D. D. conferred upon him by his alma mater in 185'.», and died at Terre Haute, Ind., in 1865. James M. H., the remaining son, studied medicine with the late Dr. S. M. King, and practiced most of his professional life in Fayette City, Pa., where he died August 24, 1883. We quote from the Dally RepMiean of August 29, 1883, the arti- cle on Dr. Gordon's death : The Old and New Monongahela. 247 Dr. James Martin Hunter Gordon died at his late residence in Fayette City, Pa., Friday, August 24th, 1883; his remains were interred in Mt. Auburn cemetery. His funeral was largely attended by relatives and friends. Drs. M. P. Morri- son and George A. Linn, of Monongahela City, Dr. O. P. McKay, of Perryopolis, Dr. J. S. Yan Voorhis, of Bellever- non, Dr. Mitchell, of Allenport, and Dr. Porter, of Fayette City, acted as pall bearers. The remains were dressed in a black suit and encased in a beautiful silver mounted octagon casket furnished by undertaker Curtis Eeppert, of Bellevernon. The deceased was born April 25th, 1825, in the house now owned by heirs of Richard Stockdale, on Main street, Monon- gahela City, then known as Williamsport. His father was the late Hon. James Gordon. The deceased was one of nine child- ren, of whom only Martha and Lizzie are living, and were at the funeral. " "' '^ Dr. Gordon was educated in boyhood in the public schools of his native town; received his collegiate course at Jefferson and Washington Colleges, leaving the latter college in 1843. "■ * "^ As far as the writer can ascertain, he com- menced the practice of his profession in Temperanceville, Allegheny county, and subsequently in Perryopolis, California, Brownsville, and finally settled in Fayette City, where for over 30 years he had been a prominent and successful practitioner. On 16th of May, 1850, he married Miss Margaret K. Church, who, with four children, survive him. His son, John W., a graduate of Joiierson Medical College, was his associate in business and will continue to occupy his father's office. A few months after his marriage, with his brother-in-law, Solomon Alter, Esq., Shesh Bentley, T. F. Watkins, and other Wash- ington county adventurers, he crossed the plains to California. The rough living and hard work incident to the new El Dorado did not suit either his taste or health. -He returned to Fayette City and found a host of friends to greet him, and in a very short time laid gathered up a lucrative practice. At the out- break of the ret)ellioii he went into the armv with the tirst '24:8 TAe Old a ml Nev Monongnhela. regiment of West Virginia volunteers. Being transferred t# Washington, D. C, he was appointed to hospital service on Fourteenth street. After leaving the united service he gave his whole attention to the practice of medicine. Naturally of a vigorous and robust constitution, he was able to undergo a vast amount of exposure. Whilst in health he never refused to respond to the wants of the sick, whethei- rich or poor. His uncollected accounts attest the amount of service rendered the afflicted without compensation. The writer knew the deceased from early boyhood and knew him well. As medical men we met each other often in consultation and otherwise — he was a safe counsellor and a wise practitioner. In his profession. Dr. Gordon was well read; in practice, was more than ordinarily successful. His manners were pleasing, and to the sick kind and sympathizing. In general intelligence he was well posted. In combatting disease he had an unbounded store of therapeutical knowledge, from which he drew in every' emer- gency. He was a fine Bible scholar, so much so that a few years since he was able, in public debate, to defend its truths successfully against one of the champion infidels. For his suc- cess on that occasion his fellow citizens presented him Math a beautiful copy of the Bible, from which Rev. HoUister read during the funeral services, and which, no doubt, will long be cherished as a sacred memento of the deceased. In his professional career he was associated more or less with his friends, Drs. A. M and W. H. King, Biddle, Adams, Connelly, Hill, Lank and Castner, who either studied or prac- ticed medicine in this city, all of whom have preceded him to the spirit land. He has run his race; his voyage of life is ended; his usefulness has ceased; he has gone, and may we not hope that in the unconscious hours, before dissolution, a lucid moment may have flashed upon his soul in which he was enabled to look upward and whisper, " My father, "" and to hear the blessed response from within, "-My son." Mary, daughter of James Gordon, married Kev. W. P. Harshe, and died many years ago. Elizabeth nuirried V. H. The Old and Nein MonoiKjahela. 2411 Khineliard, of Lebanon, Fa., who for a short time printed the Sentinel in the old room which stood where is now the Peoples Bank, in Monongahela City. He is now located at Lebanon, Pa. , where he has grown into a large and lucrative law practice. Martha married Solomon Alter, who established the Monon- gahela Republieati. He died many years ago, and she still survives him, making her home generally in Washington, D. C. Sarah never married, and has been dead for many years. Margaret, the oldest daughter, married Rev. James Sloan. He was a brother of the Hon. J. C. Sloan, of Hopewell township, Washington county. Pa., who was a member of the Legisla- ture during the session of 1857. The Daily Monongahela Repid)lican publishes the following notice of her death : About 10 minutes before 10 o'clock, Monday morning, (^December 12th, 1881,) Dr. James G. Sloan entered his office and found his mother dusting the table. She stopped as he came in and said she felt a pain in her breast. The doctor asked her if it were in the neighborhood of her heart. She said ' ' yes ' ' and at once appeared to grow faint. He assisted her to lie down upon the lounge, and seeing evidences from the absence of pulse at the wrist that the attack was serious, went at once for Dr. Linn, who arrived almost immediately. The attack was at her heart, and failing to rally, Mrs. Sloan died at 10.30 a. m., some 15 or 20 minutes after her first men- tion of the sharp pain to her son. Mrs. Margaret Sloan was the widow of the late Rev. Dr. Sloan, a Presbyterian clergy- man, for long years pastor of the Pigeon creek church, who died in March, 1871. She was in her 67th year, and was an eminently pious mother in Israel. She has gone to her rest covered with the mantle of the sweetest and purest Christian faith. Mrs. Sloan was conscious up to lier death; gave messages of love to her family who stood beside her. To Maggie, her favorite, she said, "Live near to Jesus, Maggie;'' and when the end was near, she folded her hands and said, "Lord Jesus prepare me for the end." She has gone home — she was ready and waiting — the tears that will come are forced 250 The Old and New Monongahela. back by the thought that God hath taken her; and he doeth all things well. If ever a good woman lived and died, that woman was Aunt Margaret Sloan — the term of endearment by which she was called by so many who knew her and loved her with the highest esteem, and the greatest respect. Jesse Martin. The remains of Jesse Martin lay in the old graveyard. He died May 27, 1848. He was elected an elder in the old church on the hill in 1816, just after the first communion was held, at which elder Hair, assisted by elder Benjamin Williams, of Mingo, officiated. He was one of the committee appointed to select a site for a new church, which resulted in the choice of the lot on which the church at the foot of the hill was erected, and which is now used as a tenement house, on Coal street and Church alley, Monongahela City. He served as an elder to the day of his death. Jesse Martin married Miss Abba Gordon, sister of Hon. James Gordon, by whom he had seven children. His son Thomas lived the greater part of his life in St. Louis, Mo., where he died. James C. always re- sided in Monongahela City, his native town, where he died some ten years ago. His wife was Hannah Smith, a niece of Rev. John Kerr. James C. was elected State Libra- rian in 1849, by the joint committee of the Senate and Llouse of Representatives at Harrisburg. Mary married Samuel Scott and was the mother of James C. Scott, the druggist, now deceased. Margaret died about the year 1855. Cynthia \ married James Smith ; both have passed away. Belle married a Mr. McBride, near Washington, Pa., now deceased. She alone survives of all the children of Jesse Martin. Eliza mar- ried Jesse Teeple, both of whom are now dead. They lived all their married life on part of the old Teeple homestead, in Carroll township. Jesse Martin was Postmaster at Parkison's Ferry, now Monongahela City, for many years, being the suc- cessor of George Wythe, and was succeeded by W. S. Mel- linger in 1811. Jesse Martin erected and lived in the old brick house on Main, below Second street, which has given The Old and New Monongahela. 251 way to the beautiful edifice built by his grandson, the late James C. Scott. He always carried on the boot and shoe business, in connection with the postoffice ; the office itself at that time was not worth the labor it cost. The old market house stood on Main street, in front of Martin's residence, where, much to his annoyance, it attracted the boys, especially in the early spring of the year, when playing "knucks'' was on the surface. Beneath the shelter of this aniquated structure such youths as Wash Spence, Samuel King, John King, Robert McGrew, Sam Guthrie, Dick Roberts, Thomas Martin, John Chess, William and Moses Devore and a host of other bloods were wont to spend many an hour in playing marbles. Through the influence of Jesse Martin, more than any one else, no doubt, this unsightly and useless market house was removed to a site on Second above Main street, in front of what is now the Peo- ple's bank, where it could only annoy Constable Gabriel Silver- thorn on the one side and the semi-occasional occupants of the old red house on the other. Here it remained until the next generation with wisdom and forethought for the good of hu- manity, so far mutilated the pillars as to render it so dangerous that the authorities were compelled to have it taken away, and to this day no other market house has ever existed in the town. Even whilst the old one stood, such butchers as Daniel Cort, Sammy Roberts, John Clemens, John McFeely et al, had scruples against. offering their beef for sale within its walls. Hon. Jesse Martin, with Wallace McWilliams and James McFarrcn as colleagues, represented Washington county in the Legislature of 1842. He died in St. Louis at the date above stated; his remains were brought home by steamboat, and in- terred in the old graveyard on the hill where Elders Llair, McFarland, Gordon and McGrew were also buried. Absence from home or sickness alone prevented his attendance at church and at the prayer meetings, where his plain petitions were regarded as the outpouring of a heart filled with love and gratitude to God. His peculiar voice, when leading in singing, will no doubt be called to mind by many of the older citizens. 252 The Old and Nein Mononijahda. THE McFAKLAND FAMILY. Eobert McFarland and Anna, his wife, were well-known personages in tlie Pigeon creek valley. He lived from his youth on the farm originally called Bath Mills, but now well known as the Yan Yoorhis homestead, lately the residence of Isaac Yan Yoorhis, deceased, and now owned by his son. Dr. J. S. Yan Yoorhis. Robert McFarland was a man of fine feel- ing, and of more than ordinary modest deportment. His attire was always neat and of black cloth. He and his wife were not often absent from church, and in consideration of his ex- cellent Christian character he was at one time elected an elder in the Presbyterian church, but he never felt satisfied to take the ordination vows, prefering to do his part as a private mem- ber. His house was a resort for the young and old, and his i hospitality knew no bounds. He manufactured salt in the .| works now gone which stood just below the spring house. The ' well was of the artesian nature, and to this day water con- stantly flows from it. With one exception, these were the only salt works in the county. He sold the farm to Isaac Yan Yoorhis, who took possession April 1, 1834, Although his goods had all gone, Mr. McFarland never left the house until a Mr. Yan Yoorhis arrived, to whom he gave the keys in per- ■ son. McFarland purchased the house, then unfinished, now occupied by M. Borland and others as store rooms, on Main 1 street, Monongahela City, from Matliew Porter, grandfather of Dr. M. P., Joseph and A. P. Morrison, Esqs. Having com- pleted his dwelling and store room, he purchased a fine stock of new goods in the Eastern cities, where he traveled in the old stage coach and from the fatigue and exposure of which journey he never recovered. He died in 1835, and his remains were interred in the old graveyard on the hill, where also those of his wife were after- wards laid to rest. His wife was also a McFarland — Ann St. Clair McFarland. She had several brothers, of whom were Thomas and John. The former lived for manv vears in the Tlie Old and New MonoiKidhela. 253 old mansion still standing on the bank of the Monongahcla, near lock No. 3. He moved to the west and died many years since. This house was in early days well known to the pioneers, being a kind of headquarters for the leading spirits of the day. In this house Major McFarland died, after being wounded at the attack on General Neville's house during; the whiskey insurrection of 1T94. His remains were interred in Mingo graveyard, and the circumstances attending his death are almost forgotten, save by those who cherish the record of the past. John, or Uncle Jack, as he was familiarly called, was a man of peculiar traits of character; in demeanor a perfect gentleman, a fine talker, a good philanthrophist, a bachelor of consider- able wealth, popular among all classes of the people. He was a merchant by inclination as well as in fact. He passed many of his latter days in what was then called the far west, in trad- ing among the Indian tribes. In more than one instance he had to abandon his post, barely escaping with his life. At one time he made good his flight by skating on the ice over 20 miles. At another time he was overtaken in his flight by the Indians, and was scalped by them, as they supposed; but to his delight the Indians discovered to their chagrin that it was a false scalp in the form of a wig which Uncle Jack had been accustomed to wear. He enjoyed that joke (on the Indians) as well as many others of which he was very fond. His many Indian stories seemed to the masses as much exaggerated, but subsequent develop- ment of the true Indian character, since his day, give warrant to their truth. At his death the late Isaac Yan Yoorhis and Elijah Teeple were appointed administrators of his estate, which consisted chiefly in a large amount which he claimed from the government as losses incurred by the depredations of the Indians. After a long delay the claim was collected and distributed among the heirs. He and a man named Lyons had a coal works on the river just abo^-e the mouth of Wolf Harbor iiin, not far below Lock No. 4. They were among the first to 254 The Old and New Monongahela. lo.ad coal in flat-boats by means of an incline from the pit to the river. They soon found that the enterprise would not pay and so abandoned the work. Robert McFarland left two daughters, Eliza and Mary. Eliza married Rev. S, M. Sparks, one of the early pioneers in the Cumberland Presbyterian Church. She died long ago and was buried in the old graveyard where are the remains of her father and mother. She died in Pittsburgh, and her body was transported over land, as steamboating was an uncertain matter in those days. She left one daughter, "wife of the late Dr. Wm. H. King. Mary, the remaining daughter of McFarland, mar- ried Alex. Wilson, of whom we have written in another place. Robert McFarland was no politician, but never failed to vote, even when he had to go almost half way to Brownsville to do so. He and his friend Isaac Van Voorhis cast the only votes in old Fallowfield township for Adams in 1824, when he was elected President over Jackson. The result in the township created no little merriment at the expense of the two lone voters, but the general outcome changed the tune of the other good old boys, who had shouted so loudly for the " Hero of New Orleans." THE McGREW FAMILY. The names of J. and R. McGrew were long familiar to the older citizens of Williamsport, now Monongahela City. They were citizens of the town prior to 1816, but from whence they came, and in what year, we have failed to discover. The firm of J. & R. McGrew for long years carried on the hatter business on the corner now occupied by the Odd Fellows' building. This firm made the wool and fur hats for the whole surrounding country, and to the wear and lasting of their wool hats there seemed to be no end, and such a quality of the article was not always valued by the chaps who never got a new hat until the old one was worn out. It was the wear, not the style, the purchaser looked at. It was to this firm the country boys took their rabbit skins to exchange them for hats, and were rejoiced The Old and Neiv Mn/KnujaJiela. 255 wlien each would bring the value of eight cents. The rabbits were skinned from heel to head, and the skin inverted and drawn carefully over a forked stick so as to have it dried in a perfect state. Hats both fur and wool were often taken to this firm to be ironed over and their shape remodeled after each one's own fancy or some stray idea of style. James was the older of the two brothers. Though intimately associated all their lives, it is said they never had any difficul- ties, one with the other. James McGrew had, by his first wife, one daughter, Matilda, who married Rev. Samuel Hudson, a distinguished minister in the Cumberland Presbyterian Church. His second wife was the widow of Thomas Gordon, a brother of the late Hon. James Gordon, who had two daughters by her first husband: Margaret, now deceased, wife of Captain Samuel Reynolds; and Maria, widow of Robert, the junior member of the firm of J. & R. McGrew; she also is deceased, having died in Monongahela City, September 1st, 1884. By his second wife, James McGrew had one daughter, who married John Gilfillan, of West Alexander, Pa., but re- sided most of their lives in Parkersburg, W. Va., where Alvira, his wife, died about 1886 or 87. Robert, son of James McGrew, was a well known merchant, and died many years ago in the prime of manhood. James McGrew was elected and installed as an elder in the old church on the hill in April, 1816, and served during his lifetime. He was a member of the building committee of the old church at the foot of the hill. He w^as appointed a justice of the peace by Governor Wolfe, but never took out his com- mission, yet he was always called Esquire McGrew. THE BEAZELL FAMILY. Benjamin F. Beazell Died August 27, 1886. He was born in Rostraver township, Westmoreland county, Pa., January 2, 1796. His grandfather and grandmother came from Bazil-on-the-Rhine, in Germany, 256 The Old and New Moiiongahehi. and located in Berkeley county, Va. , in 1760. Mathew and Catherine made acquaintance on board the ship during the voy- age to this country, and were married at Georgetown, now in the District of Columbia, before settling in the town now known as Martinsburg, W. Va. While residing here, William and Eliza (twins), Mathew, Christian, John and Luke were born to them. In 1774 Mathew Beazell and family left Vir- ginia and settled first in a cabin on land now owned by James Moore, known at this day as Moore's woolen factory, and now owned by a man named Kelly, who bought it from the heirs of Samuel W. Power. The farm is on the West Newton road be- tween Bellevernon and that town in Rostraver township, West- moreland county, Pa. The old factory has long since been converted into other uses. In 1775 Beazell moved to a cabin on the land recently sold to Andrew Graham by Wm. Jones, in the same township. Here he purchased what was then known as a "location site," containing 290 acres. On this farm the remainder of his children were born, viz. : Catherine, Barbara and Joseph, the latter died when a mere lad. Here Mathew died, but in what year we have overlooked. His tombstone will tell; it was placed over his grave, which was near the West Newton road on what was then known as the Pentecost farm, now owned by either John Bankin or Joseph Power. For many years this stone was the wonder of the stranger. Some years since it was removed by kind friends to the graveyard at FelFs church. His wife died in 1815, at the house of Robert Stevens, on Redstone creek in Fayette county. The wife of Stevens was her daughter. Mathew's son Mathew died on the farm now owned by David Finley, near the town of Webster. His remains were buried at Fell's church. His wife was a Miss Neal, whose second husband was William Sampson, the father of the venerable James Sampson, of Horse- shoe, in Carrt)ll township, Washington county. The late Mrs. Belar, of Monongahela City, was a daughter of Mathew Beazell. John Beazell married Mary Sutherland, moved to the neighborhood of Warren, Ohio, where he died, The Old and Ncir Monoiujaktla. iJaV and all of his family <3xcept one. Luke married Elizabeth English, lived in different parts of the ' ' Forks of Yough, and died on the farm now owned by a man named McGogney, adjoining the well known Hassler farm in Rostraver township. His remains were interred at FelFs Church. He had sons Mathew, Joseph, John, James, Lemuel and William, all of whom are dead except William. His daughters were Margaret, married to Van Reeves, and died not many years ago at Coal Centre, Catherine, widow of James Ailes, Mary, widow of A. R. Smith, and Eliza, who never married. Mrs. Ailes resides in California, Fa. Mrs. Smith and Eliza are residents of West Newton, Fa. Joseph married a Miss Spliarr, sister of John Spharr, of Allen township, Washington county, Pa. Joseph died a few years since in the old McCrory house, on Maple creek, in the same county, where his widow still has her home. James married a Miss Springer, whose grandfather emigrated from Stockholm, in Sweden, and settled on the farm called "• Springersburgh, "" near Bellevernon, in very early days. James and his wife both died at their home on part of the original Springer homestead. Their remains are in the Belle- vernon cemetery. Mathew died not long since in Rostraver. Lemuel died in Webster not long ago. John was married to Jane Fatterson, at the residence of the late George Houshold, in Rostraver, iiy the Rev. Hiram Miller, November 25, 1853, and died in Bellevernon, Pa., January 13, 1870. His wife still lives. William alone remains, and has long lived in Fallovvtield, Washington county, near John Witherow's blacksmith shop, lie still looks hale and hearty. Elizabeth, one of the daugh- icis of Mathew Beazell the older, married John Sturgess, re- moved to Kentucky and then to Missouri. Christina married I John Fell. She died in the house occupied lately by John '^ Coughenour, and owned by the heirs of Wm. Flannegan, in ■ Rostraver. William, the remaining son of Mathew Beazell , the older, was the father of Benjamin F. Beazell, the subject of this sketch. William married Reljecca Fell in a ])art of the 258 The Old and NeiD Monongahela. bouse in which Benjamin F. lived so long and in which he died. William also died in the Coughenour house. He had twelve children, four of whom were boys, viz : Mathew, Wil- liam, John F. and Benjamin F., of whom we are writing. Mathew died manj years ago. He was the father of H. B. Beazell. John F. lived for a while in Webster, but the latter part of his days was passed in Uniontown, Fa., where he was for years editor of the Pennsylvania Democrat^ published in that place. Benjamin F. was married to Sarah Sampson November iTth, 1820, by the Rev. John White. She was a daughter of William and Dorcas Sampson — Dorcas was a Neal, sister of James Sampson's mother. Her father settled on L<^ng run and was killed by the Indians. At the date of this marriage Samp- son lived at the old ' ' Black Horse Tavern, ' ' now owned by Lew Weaver, and situate in Rostraver. This and the Red Lion Hotel in Redstone, were the two celebrated stopping places between Pittsburgh and LTniontown in old times. The issue of this marriage was a large family of boys and girls, among whom was Dorcas, married to John Darr, of Rostraver; William married Elizabeth Biggs, of Sewickley township, Westmoreland county; Thomas died, aged 14 years; James married Jessie Woodruff; Mary I. and Rebecca remained at home; Benjamin F. married Mary D. Welling, of Ohio, and is now a prominent minister in the Methodist Episcopal church of the Pittsburgh conferejice; Sarah Emma is the wife of Dr. J. A. Mink, of Topeka, Kansas; Samuel is a farmer and John a lawyer, of Chillicothe, Mo.; James and William live in Rostraver. Benjamin F. joined the Methodist church in 1S28, in the old church which stood on the site of the present stone building known as Fell's church, not far from the town of Webster. Rev. John Watterman was the minister at the time of his join- ing. Flis wife joined the same church in a short time after Benjamin did. Benjamin F.'s grandfather Fell donated a part and his father the remainder of the lot which now belongs to The Old and Neto Monongahela. 259 the church. The Beazells and Fells hewed the logs for the old church; thej whip-sawed the material for the stairs and pulpit. The floor was made of split logs and so were the seats; the building presented an unfinished appearance. This was so plain to the stranger that at the first time Lorenzo Dow preached in it he used the following expression in his prayer: ' ' Oh, Lord ! here is a house from all appearances has been building for 40 years, and not yet finished; " and he prayed the Lord to put it in the hearts of the people to finish it and revive his work. Richard Ferguson did the clerking for him on this occasion, singing St. Martin's fast as he could. This was in 1818. B. Bascom, the celebrated divine, preached in this old church on more than one occasion. The present stone church was built in 1834. The board of trustees under whose super- vision it was built consisted of Hugh C. Ford, Samuel Jones, Manassah Reeves, Benjamin Thomas, Luke Beazell, Nathaniel Lender, Benjamin Stewart, Randall Johnson and Benjamin F. Beazell, all of whom have passed away. The carpenter work was done by Townsend for i?400; the plastering by Michael Dravo. The dedication sermon was preached by Rev. Charles Elliot. Among the many distinguished divines who preached in the old and new churches we may mention Bishops McKendry and Morris and Revs. Charles Cook, J. G. Sansom, Jamison, Smith, the Millers, and Rev. B. F. Beazell, son of Benjamin F. Beazell. William, father of Benjamin F. Beazell, laid out the town of Webster in 1835, the late Joseph Yan Kirk doing the survey- ing. Benjamin F. Beazell built the first house in the town of Webster, being known as the Rev. J. G. Sansom mansion, on the lot lately occupied by the residence of Dr. J. T. Krepps. During the first five years of his married life Benjamin lived on the Fell farm. In 1S25 he rented what was known attliat time as the "Daly ■" fann, on which he lived two years. He then moved to the Bhick Horse Tavern and kept store for Samuel Walker for a time; tlien bought out Walker and ran the store liimsolf until in |s;',,-^>. In tjie spring of 1836 he moved to liis 260 The Old and New Monongahela. house in Webster, where he carried on merchandising and boat- building until 1841, excepting two years that he moved back to the Black Horse Tavern. In 1844 he purchased the old Fell homestead, in which he lived to the day of his death. In 1835 he built for Captain Shrodes the steamboat Moravian. He built keelboats and ilatboats for the lower trade, as it was then called. For himself he built a trade boat — loaded it with a variety of goods, as flour, cherry bounce and boiled cider. For the latter he paid $3 per barrel and sold it for |5, making a nice profit. He sold his whole cargo on the way and at Cin- cinnati, and walked home, carrying the proceeds. Father Beazell, by his example and precepts, was a power for good in whatever community he resided. He was a walk- ing encyclopaedia of religious experience. His interest in the church was only exceeded by his zeal in the cause of Christ. " Blessed are the dead that die in the Lord."" James K. Marshall. On a plain marble slab standing on the brow of the hill in the old graveyard can be seen the name of James K. Marshall, who died March 24th, 185S, aged 81 years. He "lived most of his life on the farm now owned by his son-in-law, William Blyth's heirs on Pigeon creek, in Carroll township. His florid complection, white hair, robust form and pleasant manners will be called to mind by many of the present day. His farm in early day was known as the Joseph Hall farm, and was secured by Virginia entry rJjout the time the Deckers took possession of their large tracts. The old house still standing was erected by Joseph Hall — it being a hewed log house with cla})board gable ends shows that it was the successor of the primitive house built of round logs with clapboard roof. His wife was one of the Hall family, tie had several children. James settled in Beaver county, but in after life we learn he moved to the west. He was a inan of fine natural ability, and had only a limited education, yet in debate he was able to hold his own with the late talented R. F. Cooper, Esq., Dr. James The Old and Netr Moiiinujalida . 261 Scott and Dr. Frank Shugart, with whom he had many an intellectual contest in school house debating societies. "Whilst the others exhibited a flow of Rhetoric, he was content to present his views in a plain, logical, common sense manner. He died March 19th, 1892, at Lyndon, Kansas. The other son was a soldier in the late war of the rebellion, and is still a fixture on Pigeon creek. Their daughter, Susannah, in 1835, married a man named John H. Marshall, who died at Hazel Dell, Lawrence county, Pa., August 10th, 1887, in the 77th year of his age. He was born in November, 1810, on what is known as the David Quail farm, near Washington, Pa. His wife died in April, 1886. They left eight children. The other daughter, Nancy, married Enoch Hays, and died at her home near Steubenville, Ohio, in March, 1892, . at an advanced age. THE TEEPLE FAMILY. Christopher Teeple was born in New Jersey. He came to this country in 1775, and remained only a short time. Leaving his son Isaac, the old gentleman removed to Canada, where he died. Isaac purchased a hundred acres of land, known now as the Teeple homestead, in Horseshoe, in Carroll township. He bought it from Massah or Maish Case, who was the father of Leonard Case, Sr. , who was the father of Leonard Case, of Cleveland, Ohio. Isaac Teeple had five brothers and two sisters, but none of theni, excepting one sister, settled in the neighborhood. Isaac married Catherine Castner on the farm owned by the Castner heirs in Horseshoe, on the 22nd day of November, 1788. Isaac was born near New Brunswick, New Jersey, August 28, 1760. His wife was born in Greensburg, Pa., or near that place, January 24, 1772. She was a daugh- ter of Peter and Mary Magdaline Castner. Peter was the father of Michael and John Castner, the latter of whom was the father of the late Daniel Castner, and grand- father of B. W. Castner, Esq., now residing on the Castner homestead in Horseshoe. Isaac lived front liis first coming to 19 I 262 The Old and New MonongaheJa. to this country on the Teeple farm, where he died December 7, 1828. His wife died January 0, 1849, and was buried with the remains of her husband in tlie Columbia graveyard, but in later years both remains were removed to the Monongahela cemetery. Isaac had a large family of girls and boys. Je- mima was born October 26, 1790. Peter and Christopher — twins — were born August 6, 1792 ; Mary, September 4, 1794; Joseph, December 13, 1797; Elijah, January 7, 1799; Eliza- beth, February 27, 1801; Isaac, February 11, 1803; Michael, May 9, 1805; Catharine, March 29, 1807; Christena, April 9. 1809; Sarah Ann, October 29, 1812; Theresa, April 4, 1814. Christopher and Peter were twins and named after their grandfathers. They died in the state of Indiana. Joseph married a Miss Lash, February 7, 1820, near Bentleysville, attended mill on Pigeon creek for a short time, kept store in Beallsville, then removed to Stark county, Ohio, within eight miles of Massilon. He had two sons and five daughters. Jemima, March 11, 1819, married Andrew Burgett, of Bur- gettstown, Washington county. Both are dead, leaving one son, now living on the home place, adjoining the town. Mary, March 11, 1819, married Samuel Kutan, who lived for many years on the farm now owned by W. J. Manown, situated on the Monongahela river just above the old Brown ferry in Kostraver township, Westmoreland county. After the death of Rutan she married Samuel Davis, a brother of General John M. Davis, United States marshal for Western Pennsylvania under Jackson. Samuel Davis was the father of Samuel Davis, of the town of California, on the Monongahela, and of Mrs. Eliza Allen, wife of the late George W. Allen. The late Fortner Davis was a half brother of Samuel and Eliza. Mrs. Samuel Davis nee Teeple died some years ago on the Newkirk farm, near Bentleysville. Elizabeth Teeple, March 30, 1819, married Peter Smock. They are both dead. Their sons, Thomas and Leroy, reside in Wisconsin. They had five daughters of whom we have not any information. From what we can learn Peter Smock was the The Old and New Monongahela . 263 sou of Abraham Smock, who married Polly Teeple, a sister of Isaac Teeple, the older, she having remained with him after the father removed to Canada. This Abraham Smock and Polly, his wife, had four pairs of twins in succession, viz. : Peter and Sallie, John and Barnett, Nettie aud Jennie, William and Jacob. This said Abraham Smock's father was Leonard Smock, and he had several sons, viz. : Abraham, Barnett, John, Leonard and Cornelius. Barnett was the father of Mrs. Mary Corwin, lately deceased in Bellevernon, Pa., and father of the late Henry Smock, whose wife was Betsy, daughter of the older Peter Shepler, of Rostraver. Christena Teeple married Casper Castner, brother of the late Daniel Castner. They had two children, Lewis Cass and Kate E. Lewis is in the drug business and Katie has long been one of the corps of teachers in the Hiland public school of Pittsburgh. Sarah Ann Teeple died in her 26th year, and Theresa in her seventh. Isaac Teeple married Margaret Williams December 9th, 1839. Isaac at first settled on a farm in Richland county, Ohio. He traded this farm for the one on which he died, situated in Carroll township. Philip Crabb owned this farm at the time of the trade, but the late Edward Sprowls, the shoe- maker, resided on it for many years, Mr. Crabb never having resided on it. He lived for long years in Fallowfield, where he died. Edward Sprowls was the father of Obediah and Isaiah Sprowls, of Bentleysville. Isaiah was a scholar in the old Calhoon school; his father living at that time in the old house on the farm formerly owned by Abe Hull, but now by one of the Shannon boys. Isaac Teeple, soon after his mar- riage, moved to the farm where he died. He first occupied the old house, but afterwards built the present brick house. His wife died in ]atclied for his relatives, and for physicians, calling \)x. The Old and Nem Monongahela. 279 Fleming, who was, with Dr. Patten, his consulting physician. The major recovered consciousness, was placed on a cot, and seemed easier. He calmly announced, however, that he was -^ dying. He said to me, ' Tell Eliza and William, and all my friends that I am thinking of them now. ' When Dr. Fleming arrived he was recognized, and said, ' This is the end, doctor, of which you spoke; I am dying now,' and he said this as calmly as if he had said, I am going to sleep. He died at twenty minutes to one o'clock, his last words being ' My sister Eliza.' " Mr. Mcllvaine was with him all those last hours, and we have given these datails because it is well for the world to know how peacefully a good man dies. \ Andrew P. Morrison, the fourth child of John and Margaret Morrison, was born November 2nd, 1829, on their farm, then known as Leechburg, on the Allegheny county side, just south of lock No. 3. The family came to this city in 1837. After graduating from Washington College he read law with his ; brother and with Judge McKennan in 1852-4. He practiced t law in Pittsburgh with Joseph from 1854 till 18G1, when he »' entered the Union army. He enlisted May 1st, 1861, in Company A, Ninth Reserves; was made a corporal, and pro- , moted July, 1862, to be sergeant major; was wounded badly t at South Mountain; was mustered out with his regiment May [ 12th, 1861. He was a member of Duquesne Post, No. 259, G. A. R. ,. Pittsburgh, and that post to-day attends the funeral services of , two members. Major Morrison and Dr. Benham, both gradu- ates of the same college and both Union veterans. Comrade Morrison, it will be remembered, was the installing officer of Post 60, ill our Opera house last winter, when Colonel Tom Stewart was here. He was historian of the Ninth Regiment at the dedication of the Gettysburg monuments, and his address on that occasion will be published by the state. It is a careful, conscientious and accurate historical paper. Major Morrison was married September 11, 1866, to Re- 280 The Old and New Monongahela. becca S. H. Davis, of Pittsburgh, who died in September of 1877. More than a year ago, being warned of the approach of this heart trouble, he relinquished his law practice, refused all new business, and was rapidly closing up his docket. A. P. Morrison was a man of the highest type; the moral atmosphere which surrounded him was pure, the example which he set was helpful. He was an elder in the Presbyterian church, upright, honorable, courteous. PI is instincts were all gentle, his manner urbane, his friendship true as gold; his career was that of honorable manhood, respected citizenship, unquestioned morality and professional integrity. Mrs. Eliza Morrison Alexander, The beloved wife of William J. Alexander, died suddenly at her home, on Wednesday morning, June 28th, 1893, in her 73rd year. She had been suffering from the weakness of ad- vancing age for the past few years, and on Thursday evening fell to the floor from an attack of cerebral hemorrhage, and died very much as her brothers had died. "Aunt Eliza,'' as she was known to her nearest friends, and as she chose to bo called, has lived evenly and quietly a life of love, walking in a pathway made as smooth for her as affection could suggest, in a thousand ways, and giving in return the unaffected devotion of an unselfish heart. This is the whole story of her life — she was gentle and good and considerate of others — she illustrated her Christian faith by fidelity to its teachings. Her's was a kindly soul, and her's a home-loving heart — home-loving in a marked degree. Eliza Morrison Alexander was born January 11th, 1821; married to William J. Alexander November 14th, 1844, by Rev. John Kerr. THE MORRISON FAMILY. Eliza is the last of the family, and when she is laid to rest its annals will be closed, John Morrison was born in Ireland, The Old and New Monongahela. 281' near Loiidonderry, in 1789; emigrated to the United States in 1812, and settled in the neigliborhood of Mingo creek church on February 29th, 1820. He was married to Margaret Porter, daughter of Mathew and Elizabeth Porter, residing on a farm about three miles from this town. About the time of his mar- riage he purchased a farm to which he and his young wife moved. The farm was situated on the Monongahela river, 2|^ miles from Elizabeth, in Forward township. On this farm all their children, Eliza, Joseph, Porter, Andrew, Jane and James, were born. In the spring of 1837, having received a satisfactory offer, the farm was sold and he removed to this town with his family. He purchased the real estate for a home which now becomes the decedent estate of his oldest daughter, Mrs. Eliza Alexander. John Morrison died October 16th, 1837, leaving his widow with five children. She died September, 1882. Hon. T. R. Hazzakd. Died on Monday morning, September 3, 1877, at his late resi- dence in Monongahela City, Pa., Hon. T. R. Hazzard. He was taken ill while at church Sabbath evening. He died of disease of the heart. The deceased was born on the 25th day of October, 1814, at Oxford, in Shenango county, N. Y. He emigrated from Jamestown, N. Y., to Williamsport, now Mo- nongahela City, Pa., in the year 1836. After teaching a classical academy for a time he returned to Allegheny College at Meadville, Pa., and completed his collegiate course. Among his classmates were ex-Governor F. H. Pierpoint, of West Virginia, and ex- Governor Reuben E. Fenton, of New York. He studied law with Judge Marvin, and on his return to Wash- ington county. Pa., was admitted to the Washington bar at November terin, 1840. At the time of his death he was the oldest member of the Washington bar, excepting A. W. Ache- son. He was married by Rev. Dr. Ralston to Miss Harriet Hamilton, daughter of the late Joseph Hamilton. His wife and iouY sons survived him, but his wife passed away March 10, 282 The Old mid New Monongahela. 1887, in her 64th year. His little Willie, Nettie and Martha had preceded them to the spirit land. He lived, with the ex- ception of a few years, all the time in this city since his first arrival in Monongahela City, where he was the first academic teacher, and to him his adopted city owes the largest measure of that educational spirit which is so characteristic of its citi- zens. He was especially versed in polite and classical litera- ture, and as a teacher he had few superiors. To him are in- debted for their taste for learning many who are now active and prominent participants in the great field of literature and science. He was a finished musical scholar, and was for many years a leading musician in the Presbyterian church of Monon- gahela City. He was principal^ of the Bellevernon academy from 1842 to 1845. Dr. J, S. Van Yoorhis, of Bellevernon, Pa., in his centen- nial address in 1876, said: "This academy was started in the spring of 1842. T. R. Hazzard, Esq., an experienced teacher formerly of New York state, was the principal. The institu- tion closed in 1845. At the institution, among Hazzard's stu- dents, were Chief Justice G. W. McElvain, of Ohio; Hon. D. M. Letterman, of Pennsylvania; Dr. J. H. Storer, of West Vir- ginia; Dr. J. C. Cooper, of Philadelphia; James L. Finley, of Westmoreland county; Neal G. Blaine, brother of the distin- guished prime minister of Maine; William Fuller, of Fayette county, and now a distinguished business man of Philadelphia; Dr. Robert Niccolls, of Bloomington, 111. ; William G. John- son, of Pittsburgh; Major P. C. Walker, of Helena, Mont., and others whose names we cannot recall. Hon. T. R. Haz- zard long resided in Monongahela City, where, as counsellor and citizen, he enjoyed the confidence of his fellow-men." T. R. Hazzard, Esq., was for many years editor and pro- prietor of the RepiMican. In it he always fearlessly defended and advocated the right. He was a chaste, intelligent and forcible writer, expressing his ideas in short but well finished sentences. He was a great friend of literary institutions, and was always in the front when the good of literature was in The Old and New Monongahela. 283 question. He was devotedly wedded to liis adopted city — ever ready to aid whatever might redound to its progress. He was a democrat when he came to Washington county, but in the hard cider and log cabin campaign of 1840,, he was converted to the doctrines of the great whig party at a mass meeting at Wall's, near the old William Penn school, in Elizabeth (now Forward) township, at which meeting W. W. Irwin — Pony Irwin, and Frances C. Flannegan were the principal speakers. He held on to this faith until the dissolution of the party in 1852, when he became thoroughly engulfed in the unpara- lelled flood of knownothingism which swept all old political organizations out of existence. After that party had worked out its mission, he became identified in 1856 with the republi- can party and adhered to it to the day of his death. His son, Chill W., is the accomplished editor of the Monon- gahela MejnMican^ and as an editor he holds position in the highest rank. For over 30 years that paper has been under his management, and to its influence Monongahela City owes its greatest measure of progress. He passed through the late war with a conduct that not only elicited tlie commendation of his superior officers, but of the government, as shown in his being breveted major for meritorious service. He served as postmaster for 12 years in his native town, and retired from the position without a blemish on his integrity as a man or ability as an officer. His name has often been mentioned in connec- tion with high civil office, but he has never been a candidate otherwise than in the Grand Army of the Republic, where he has held the highest position. Joseph DeVernon, another sou of T. R. Hazzard, passed through the late war with the loss of an arm. He is now an orange grower in Forida. Thomas L., the youngest son, is a prominent physician in Allegheny City, and a member of the Medical Faculty in the Western Pennsylvania Medical College, located in Pittsburgh. John J., the remainining son, was connected with the banking business for many years in Pittsburgli, but where he is now engaged in business we are unable to state. 284 The Old and New Monongahela. T. R. Hazzard, Esq., was long a member of the Presbyte- rian Church, and cherished its precious doctrines as an epitome of that Holy Bible, of which he was a devoted student. He always took an active part in the prayer meetings and Sabbath school, of which he was many years Superintendent. On the last Sabbath of his life he attended church in the morning, sat at the communion table at noon, attended his Bible class in the afternoon, went to church in the evening, was taken ill while there ; when the morning carae he was in Heaven. The smile that graced his countenance at death tells the story " that he heard the music within,"' and as he passed from earth, heard the voice of the Savior saying, ' ' Come ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you." He was buried in tlie beautiful cemetery overlooking his adopted city. The deceased was often called to stations of honor and trust by his fellow citizens, who never regretted their choice, for, when his work was done, he surrendered these trusts and re- ceived the plaudit " Well done thou good and faithful servant. ■" Our friend has gone to the grave with true nobility stamped on his brow. He was a member of the Constitutional Convention of 1873-4, in the proceedings of which he took an active and prominent part. His speeches, delivered in his usual calm and dignified manner, grace many pages of its Journal, and to his learning and sound judgment we are indebted for many of the valuable ideas incorporated in the new Constitution. His do- mestic virtues cannot be more beautifully portrayed than by quoting his own words as uttered by himself on the occasion of the death of his colleague. Col. Wm. Hopkins, a member of the same convention : "He (Col. Hopkins) was an affection- ate and true husband, a kind parent, a considerate neighbor, a faithful friend, a sound and wise counsellor, and an exemplary christian gentleman. He was charitable to the poor, and fore- most in all benevolent and christian enterprises. By his death his immediate neighborhood will lose the inspiration of his public spirit, his interesting, highly respectable and intellectual family his kind words of wisdom and advice, and the rich gifts of his social nature."' — j. s. v. The Old and New Monongahela. 285 Socrates died like a hero, but friend Hazzard like a Chris- tian. In the full consciousness of his condition, with his char- acteristic coolness, he declared "This is the end," and passed away, "like one who wraps the drapery of his couch about him, and lies down to pleasant dreams." Dr. Wilson Dead. Dr. William Lowrie Sparks Wilson, agent for the Pennsyl- vania railroad at Monongahela City, superintendent of the tele- graph office and agent for Adams Express Company, died at his residence, Third ward, Monday morning, September 6, 1886, at 10:30. Dr. Wilson was born at Merrittstown, Pa., June 26, 1834. He read medicine with his uncle, Dr. Wilson, an old practi- tioner then located at Beallsville, and entered on the practice of his profession at Youngstown, Ohio, removing after a year to East Liverpool, Ohio. He engaged there also in the drug 'business, but came to Monongahela City in 1859, where he opened a drug store and soon became widely known as a pop- ular pharmacist. He was married to Miss Allicia Mitchell, at Beallsville, December 27, 1853, by Rev. Hiram Winnett, and was blessed by twelve children, James Allen, George Reed, William Park, A. C. Sampson, Mai-y, John Robert, Ida King, Dora Bell, Emma, Nellie, Frank and Wannita. The doctor was made superintendent of the first telegraph built to this place, and in 1863 sent over the wire the first message from O. C. House, now dead. AVhen the P., Y. & C. railroad was finished to make connections here in 1873 the doctor was made its agent, and sold the first ticket to Major P. A. Foster, now in Florida. He was a notary public, and served four terms, declining reappointment. He served several terms as school director, two terms as burgess and served in the council of the old bor- ougli. He was connected with the Presbyterian church, and was two years superintendent of its Sabbath school. His death was ^86 The Old and New Monongahela. the result of degeneration of the kidneys, which had crept upon him slowly for nearly a year. He died suddenly while sitting on the porch at his residence, having walked out there a few minutes before to " get air and be quiet,'' as he expressed it. He had taken an early Sunday morning walk to the station the day before. Dr. Wilson was a man of kindly, cheerful manner. He had a flow of good humor. The best portion of his life was made up of those little nameless acts of kindness which every person * whom he met will now recall. A cheerful salute sprang to his lips when he met you, and in his cordial greeting there was honest warmth. Monongahela City had few men more re- spected, more loved, more useful; none more obliging, and no one will be more universally missed. Rest in peace, good doctor — Your friends will feel the woe, Your's be the touch of joy. Dr. R. F. Biddle. Dr. Robert F. Biddle, a well-known educated physician hailing from Washington, Fa., where he obtained a collegiate educa- tion and where he studied medicine under Dr. Stevens, com- menced practice in Monongahela City. He was a man fully six feet high, of rather heavy build, slow in motion when taking a walk or mounted on horseback he leaned forward. He appeared mostly to be absorbed in thought, or deep study. Large eyes and a prominent forehead. He was a man of robust constitution, capable of great endurance, and of strong, vigor- ous intellectual qualities. He very soon obtained the largest practice of any physician ever known in the Monongahela Val- ley, which he maintained until liis health and physical strength gave way. His charges for medical services were notedly moderate, and it was said by persons who kiiew that he was so negligent in making entry of his visits to sick chambers that one-third or more of such visits were never charged at all. Nor was the waste of the doctor's hard earning confined to his very The Old and New Monongahela. 287 low bills, or negligence of making entry, but, added to this, lie was wonderfully loath to make out bills against any parties who were ready and willing to pay such bills when rendered. One man who, it is said, was indebted to the doctor for medical service and who had demanded of him right along for three years his account without success, brought him for settlement before one of our old-time 'squires. On hearing day the doctor declared that he didn't owe the plaintiff one cent. "All right," said the plaintiff", "my object in bringing the suit against you is to put matters in such a shape that I will know how much I owe you.". The doctor's bill was at once rendered and pay- ment made, and both left the 'squire's office well pleased that things were no worse. The popularity of Doctor Biddle as a man and a physician became so great that he was kept on the go mostly day and night, for many years. One of the Doctor's two favorite horses called Ned had considerable sagacity — became so well acquainted with the roads and by-roads and lanes of the country for eight or ten miles round and many stopping places, knowing the Doctor's habits of occasionally taking a snooze in the late hours of night whilst astraddle of his back, was care- ful as to how he carried the Doctor when in such condition. One night at a late hour having alighted at a sick house on Mingo creek, after seeing his patient he remounted Ned and in a few moments afterwards fell asleep. The next stopping place, as the faithful horse well knew, would be at Valley Inn on the Pike, to which place the animal gently posted its way up a long hill and from the creek. In coming to the front of the residence where the sick lay, the sagacious horse made a halt without the pulling of the rein, and loudly neighed with its head towards the patient's house, as mueh as to say to the inmates, ' ' here we are, but the Boss you wish to see is en- joying a snooze upon my back." The weary Doctor was soon waked up and dismounted and the sick seen to. The Doctor was opposed to all kinds of display and pomposity. Plain in his dress, economical in his expenditures, a man of 288 The Old and New Monongaliela. excellently well-balanced mind. Shrewd and quick in detect- ing the plots or connivances of designing men. He was strictly conscientious and honest in all his dealings. He took the grounds that every person should render a full considera- tion for the amount of bill charged — a man of sterling integrity, of mild temper and disposition. He would not jangle or quar- rel with persons disposed to be abusive, but would get away. A profound thinker, he wrote several sensible articles for the local press upon the transpiring matters of his day. Although no office seeker he took a deep interest in the affairs of the country. When he took the stump, as betimes he did in the most exciting political campaigns, his speeches were delivered with force and telling effect. He was a warm, reliable friend and good neighbor, fond of a cigar, also of hear- ing or telling of a joke having a good point, which, without fail, would extort from him a hearty laugh. He was a close observer of the sagacity and acuteness of some of the animals; was disposed to think that such of them thus acute were en- dowed with reasoning powers. Sometimes in the Doctor's leisure moments h^ would close his eyes and take a hearty laugh preparatory to relating a good one in regard to some funny occurrence which had come under his notice, which ho could always tell with such a grace as to bring a spontaneous burst of laughter from the whole company present. It was a matter of wonder to many why a man possessing such an excellent mind and good sense as Dr. Biddle would be so careless in keeping his accounts, and manifest so much dis- like to rendering bills for service. For some 35 years he practiced early and late through every part of this town, and over the hills and dales of the surrounding country for eight or ten miles distant, for which arduous labors he nor his intelli- gent widow has never been half paid. Worn out in the service of the people, he died May 12tli, 1864, at his home in Monongahela City, and sweetly slumbers in the Monongahela cemetery, where a snug monument is erected to his memory. Moses Scott. • The Old and New Monongahela. 289 Mrs. M. J. BiDDLE. Died, at her home on Fourth street, in Monongahela, Mon- day, July IT, 1893, Mrs. Mary Jane Cooper, relict of the late Dr. R. F. Biddle, to whom she was married in 1848. At her death she was "perhaps the oldest continuous resident of this city. She was born October 10, 1818, in this town, the daugh- ter of John and Charity Cooper. Cooper removed from West Newton in 1810. His wife's maiden name was Charity Sparks, daughter of Colonel Richard Sparks, who was a colonel in the United States army at the close of the revolution, and who owned in early days the well-known Garret Wall farm in Forward township, in Allegheny county, Pa., on which the mother of our deceased friend was born. John Cooper and Charity Sparks were married March 2, 1809, and Cooper died March 1, 1820, leaving a widow and four sons, Richard Sparks, Hezekiah D., John S. and Robert F., and one daughter, Mary Jane, the deceased. With the decease of Jane, John Cooper's children have all passed away. Mrs. Cooper, mother of Jane, married John Shouse, March 28, 1828, who died at the Yalley Inn, now Baidland, August 13, 1834, leaving one son, W. H. Shouse, now of Cincinnati, Ohio, and one daughter, Fannie C, wife of Rev. J. P. Fulton, of Harper, Kas. When the father of Mrs. Jane Biddle settled in this city, then called Williamsport, there were only four resident Presbyterians in the place, namely: John Lamb and wife, and James Gordon and wife, the arrival of John Cooper and wife making uj) the faithful eight who, witli James Hair and wife, formed the nucleus of that blessed church which has stood for a century gathering in the genera- tions of the past. In this church Jane was born and lived all of her years, doing service in untold w'ays and means to aid the cause of her Master. She was intellectually bright, which added much to her use- fulness as a member of the church and of society in general. Many of the older citizens will call to mind her success as a teacher in private and public schools. 290 The Old and New Monongahela. • When the deceased joined the Presbyterian church the con- gregation worshipped in the brick church building on the hill, where now only can be seen the remains of the resting places of those who once made up the number who listened to the in- structions of the good old minister, Dr. Kalston, and the younger Chambers and Porter. Mrs. Biddle's associates in early church work have about all gone home. Her race was long, but she reached the goal and won the prize of eternal life, through Jesus Christ. Samuel Pollock Dead. Samuel Pollock, of Pollock's hill, an old resident of Union township, died Tuesday, July 18th, 1893, of heart failure, in his 77th year. Interment at Mingo. J. Sutton Wall. Mr. WalTs ancestry dates from an early period in the history of America ; he being a lineal descendant of Walter Wall, who emigrated from England to St. Christopher's Island (one of the British West Indies) in 1635. (Vide N. E. Geneological and Anticjuarian Kegister for 1860, p. 355). From thence he re- moved to Gravesend, Long Island, in 1640 ; and subsequently became an influential member of the so called English Colony, which the celebrated Lady Moody and her followers joined at that place in 1643. She having left Salem, Massachusetts, to escape the religious persecutions of the rulers at that place. Walter Wall owned considerable quantities of land in and about Gravesend,. (Tide Thompson's History of Long Island, Vol. II, p. 177, &c.) but owing to the unsettled condition of governmental affairs in that region, he, together with a number of intimate friends and their families, removed to East Jersey (now New Jersey) in 1657, where they purchased lands from the Indians, and made a more permanent settlement. He pur- chased a large tract of land in the neighborhood of Middle- town, where he resided during the remaining portion of his life. This is where his grandson, General Garret D. Wall, The Old and Nev) Monongahela. 291 \ was born, _ who subsequently took a prominent part in the pub- lic affairs of New Jersey, and was one of its representatives in the United States Senate for a number of years. (Vide Whitehead's History of Eminent Jerseymen. ) The family remained together in this region during the succeeding hundred years, and mainly throughout the Colonial troubles that led to, and included the separation from the mother country. The Wall family were zealous supporters of the Revolutionary cause, giving their services and lives freely in the behalf of the new country, as many of them more recently have done. James Wall (great grandfather of the subject of this sketch), together with his brother Walter, in 1766, emigrated from ••Jersey '' to the "Forks of Yough, " as they then called it, afterwards known as the "Jersey Settlement," now comprised within the portion of the county of Allegheny lying between the Youghiogheny and Monongahela rivers, in Pennsylvania, where they settled and subsequently purchased large tracts of land from the state. James Wall took a leading part in the public affairs of the new settlement during his life. (Yide. Crumrine's History of Washington county and other local histories of the region). Garrett Wall (son of James and grandfather of J. Sutton Wall) married a daughter of Colonel Richard Sparks, of the United States army. He served in the war of 1812-13, as ijuartermaster of Colonel Ferree's regiment of volunteer in- . fantry in the campaign of the nortluvest, under General William Henry Harrison. Colonel Richard Sparks served as captain in Clark's battalion under Major General St. Clair, in 1791, and in 1792 was ; appointed captain third United States infantry, and subsequent- « ly promoted to colonel of the second United States infantry. •' He was also engaged in the campaign of the northwest under (icneral Harrison, and remained in the army until the time of his death in 1815 (see Records of War Department), at Port (iibson, Mississippi. Colonel Richard Sparks had five children, all daughters, viz: 292 The Old and New Monongahela. Mary, married to Garret Wall; Catherine, married to Richard McChire, of Clermont county, Ohio; Charity, married to John Cooper, he died and she afterward married John Shonse; Eliza- beth, married to Braezeale; and Elenor, who married John Printy, of Clermont comity, Ohio. Captain Brisben Wall, late deceased, (son of Garret and father of J. Sutton Wall) a civil engineer by profession, and widely known for his ability in that profession throughout south-western Pennsylvania, entered the Union service, in the war of the late Rebellion, as First Lieutenant in Company D, 79th Regiment P. V., September 21st, 1861, and served under General James S. Negley, in the Army of the Tennessee, until disabled for further duty during the following year. Major William Wall, (brother of Captain Brisben Wall) graduated from the U. S. Military Academy in 1832, commis- sioned Second Lieutenant Third U. S. Artillery, and subse- quently Captain and Assistant Quartermaster. He served in the campaign against the Seminole Indians in Florida, and con- tinued in the army until the time of his death at Pueblo, August 13, 181:7, while engaged in the w^ar with Mexico. J. Sutton Wall (son of Captain Brisben Wall) was born March 21, 1849, at the old "homestead,"' in the "Jersey Set- tlement."' He received early training in mathematics and the natural sciences under the tutelage of his father, and in the public ajid private schools of that region. His rapid progress in these studies enabled him to commence the practice of civil engineering at the early age of eighteen, and he has continued in the active practice of the various branches of that profession to the present time. He was elected city engineer of Monon- gahela City in 1871, and held that office almost continuously from that time to June, 1887, when he resigned to accept the office of chief draftsman in the Department of Internal Affairs of Pennsylvania, under the administration of Colonel Thomas J. Stewart, which he still retains. He served as a mining engineer on the board of examiners for the bituminous coal regions of Pennsylvania, under the The Old and New Monouyahela. 293 administrations of Governors Hartranft and Hoyt, from 1877 to 1885, and was reappointed to the same office by Governor Beaver. He was appointed in 1881 to make a special survey and re- port on the coal mines and mining operations of the Monon- galiela Valley and the Pittsburgh coal regions, under the auspices of the Second Geological Survey of Pennsylvania? which work has been published as Volume K 4, of the reports of that survey. He has been engaged on numerous other public and private surveys where considerable professional skill and knowledge were essential to a proper execution of the work. One Hundred Years. Mrs. Nancy Quinby Larwill celebrated her 100th birthday at lier home in Wooster, Ohio, May 9th, 1893. She was born in Fallowfield township, or what may now be Carroll, Washington county. Pa., three miles from Parkison's Ferry, which she tells me is as familiar to her as Wooster. Her father, Ephraim Quinby, Jr., married Miss Ammie Blackamore, in Brownsville, Pa., and three children were born when he founded the colony in Warren, Ohio. Their names were Kancy, Samuel and William. The latter lias often been hoard to say that his mother rode on horseback behind him when he came to Ohio. As he was a babe six months old, it is altogether probable he was right. Samuel and William are deceased, as are Elizabeth Heaton, Arabrilla Potter, Mary Girling Spelman, Charles, James and Ephraim III. Warren and George Quinby live at Wooster — Warren at the age of 85 and George at 78. The family are and ever have been singularly and happily united, and maintain the fondest affection for each other. Ephraim Quinby\s fathei-, Ephraim, never emigrated. Ephraim, Jr., came west with his uncle, Joseph Hall, and family while a lad. His brother, Samuel Quinby, lived at the Horse Shoe Bend, on the farm now owned 31 •294 The Old and New Moiiongahela. by James Sampson, and did not leave Washington county until some years after Ephraim, Jr., formed his settlement of twenty families at Warren, Ohio, in 1799, nearly all former residents of Washington county, Pa. Joseph H. Larwill, a surveyor, was employed by Col. Beaver to draught plans and survey his lands. Beaver was the starting point of emigration either by land or water. My father remembers no sugar, tea, coffee or calico could be had on the western reserve nearer than Beaver, and the produce was there exchanged for these then, as now, necessaries of life. May 22nd, 1817, Joseph H. Larwill and Nancy Quinby were married at her father's, in Warren, by Rev. Adamson Bentley. The home overlooks the town, on the banks of Mahoning river, and is known as Quinby hill — a beautiful place — now occupied by George B. Quinby, grandson of Ephraim, Jr. The wedding party went to Wooster on horse- back, and on July 4th, 1817, Mrs. Larwill cooked her first dinner in a house which stood where now stands the Frick Memorial Block. Early in life Mrs. Larwill united with the Baptist church of Warren, and has been a member of the Bethany Baptist Congre- gation of Wooster since it was organized, and the Quinby family in Warren has always been among the staunch sup- porters of the Baptist faith. Samuel Quinby, Sarah Quinby Reeves, and Mr. and Mrs. James Campbell, were the only remaining members to charter a new church when Adamson Bentley and his whole church membership were converted to Disciple belief by the eloquent evangelistic sermons of Alex- ander Campbell, in 1832. It was then the Quinby element held to the Baptist faith, and began anew to build the present outlook for Baptists in Warren. Descended from Quaker stock, born and reared on the neutral grounds (»f the revolutionary days, faith in God, and great goodness of heart, had secured to them the confidence and love of their fellow men. The Old and Neio Monongahela. 295 Joseph H. Larwill honored his employer, Mr. Beaver, by naming the streets in Wooster, Beaver, Henry for the son, Martilla for the daughter, and Larwill street for his own family, where he resided the greater part of his life, dying November 20th, 1867. ISTo children blessed the union, but nieces and nephews call them blessed. One, Mrs. Nannie Laubach, of Pittsburgh, was presented by her centenarian aunt with the gold watch and chain she had carried, which had been pur- chased for her by Mr. Larwill in Philadelphia, in 1857. A hundred rosebuds arranged in an immense bowl, from her two brothers and the nieces and nephews, a hundred navel oranges, from a niece, Mrs. Estep, of San Francisco ; a book entitled " 100 Birthdays," from nieces in Washington, D. C, and many evidences of love and affection were noticed. The room, which is in her own home, and where she has lived since her husband's death, to be near her brothers, was most hand- somely decorated with flowers in profusion from loving friends. On waking in the morning she remarked, "If Mr. Larwill were living, we'd have a feast to-day ;" and though Mr. Lar- will looked down from his portrait, draped in flowers and ever- greens, there was a feast of reason and a flow of soul, for she was able to receive over a hundred friends, who each said a few congratulory sentences, to all of whom she replied fittingly and presented them with a card on which were printed these lines, arranged and suggested hy a deceased but loving niece, Lizzie Quinby Stiles : A hundred years, a hundred yoars, To walk the grand old earth, And see a nation rise and grow To greatness from its birtli. A hundred years, a hundred years, To drink the air and light ; But happy when the shadows fall To bid the world " good-night." A hundred years of tranquil life, And nearer God each day ; The years, like roses, when they die, In fragrance pass away. 296 The Old and New Monongahela. That anj one could enjoy life at 100 years is evidence of care for youth and latter-day attendance most complete. Mrs. Kate Potter Petit, a niece, has guarded her the past seven years from every possible care, and Frederika Link has per- formed for thirty-eight years a loving' service in the Larwill household. Mrs. Larwill cannot be said to suffer from the weight of years. Her hearing has been defective, but time has not dimmed her sight or repressed for her the voice of friends. She sits up all day and observes everything about her, and in the funeral of her life-long friend. Rev. Dr. David Kammerer, which took place the same day, was heard to express sorrow and sym- pathy. She made inquiry for absent friends and sent messages of love to those who feared to weary her by coming. En route I made the acquaintance of Mrs. Parkison, of Beaver Falls, who informed me her husband is a descendant of Joseph Park- ison, and on telling Mrs. Larwill of the incident, she replied: ' ' I was seven years old when my father moved to Warren ; I rode on horseback, and had often in his company been to Park- ison's Ferry, where Mr. Parkison had his three mills, and was entertained by Mrs. Parkison while the grist was being ground.'' She particularly remembers the flowers and fruit, and was impressed that the surroundings were superior. Ephraim and Samuel Quinby were the only sons of Ephraim Quinby, Sr., and Elizabeth Hall Halliday, wdio emigrated to Washington county and are the progenitors of the name in this vicinity, excepting William H. Quinby, of Cleveland, who is descended from Moses Quinby, a brother of Ephraim, Sr. , and William E. Quinby, president of the Detroit Free Press compa- ny, of Detroit, whose father emigrated to that city from Brewer, Me., in 1845, and can in all probability trace his lineage to previous Huguenot emigration. In connection with this sketch it is of interest to note that Mrs. Teresa Quinby Carver, of Sharon, Pa., is a daughter of Samuel Quinby, and for a num- ber of years made her home with her aunt, Mrs. Larwill, in Wooster. Her father, Samuel Quinby, was a soldier in the The Old and Neio Moiumgahela. 297 revolutionary war and was honored by military obsequies Sep- tember 10, 1840. She is one of the exceptional daughters of the revolution, in that she is entitled to a pension, among but few others left in the Union, and enjoys length of days in the home of her youth amid pleasant associations. E. R. Beebe, BELLEVERNON. The territory embraced within the limits of the borough of Bellevernon was prior to the formation of Fayette county, in 1783, a part of Rostraver township, Westmoreland county, Pa. Eostraver at that time was bounded by the Youghiogheny and Monongahela rivers, and a straight line from the mouth of Big Redstone, on the Monongahela, to a point on the Youghiogheny, opposite the mouth of Jacobs creek. When Fayette was formed the line was changed so as to run due east and west from Jacob's creek to the mouth of what is now known as Speer's run, on the Monongahela. This line was so changed by the Act of Assembly of April 15, 1863, as to run from the mouth of Speer's run to the middle of the stone bridge, thence in a straight line to the corner of the school house lot now owned by R. J. Linton, along the upper side of said lot to Long Alley, thence to the county line, and thence along said line east to to the Youghiogheny river. This line as it runs from the stone bridge is better defined by making the next point at the corner of State Road street and Short street and thence along said Short street to Long alley. At the first court held in Fayette county December, 1783, the county was di- vided into twelve (12) townships, one of which was named Washington, in honor of General Washington. The township of Washington originally embraced a part of Ferry and all of Jefferson township. The primitive settlers in the vicinity of what is now called Bellevernon first voted July 8, 1776, at Spark's Fort, near Burns' Ford, on the Youghiogheny. By the Act of March 3, 1790, Fayette county was divided into four election districts. The citizens of Washington township voted at Fort Burd, now Brownsville. After some time the 300 The Old and Neiv Monongahela. place of holding the elections was removed to the Red Lion, kept by Thomas Patterson. When Jeli'erson township was formed in 1840, the election place was removed to Cookstown, by consent of the voters, without the usual process of law. The site on which the town of Bellevernon is built lies within 40 degrees 35 minutes north latitude and 3 degrees of longitude west of Washington, D. C — two hundred feet below Uniontown, seven hundred and sixty feet above the sea, one hundred and seventy-two feet above Lake Erie. In the Washing- ton, Pa., Reporter of July 12, 1812, was first advertised the 8-ile of lots in Bellevernon, by Noah Speers, the proprietor of the ground, and founder of the town. According to this notice the lots were laid out 75 by 100 feet, and main streets 50 and cross streets 40 feet wide. There seems to have been no sales under this notice. Subsequently, for some cause, the size of the lots was reduced to 60 by 100 feet. The first sale was made by public outcry on the IStli day of April, 1814. A premium of $10 was offered for the first house erected, which prize was won by Thomas Ward, who built the house that until recently stood on the corner of Main and Second streets. Dur- ing 1890 this house was moved to the corner of Second and Solomon streets to give place to the stately building of Howard McClure, erected in the autumn of 1890. The next house erected was the Hornbeck tavern, which stood for many years on the corner of Main street and Cherry alley, which gave place to the large building erected by Amon Bronson and sold by him to J. S. Henry, Sr., and now, 1893, occupied by J. S. Henry, Jr., as a storeroom. The title to the land on which Noah Speers founded Belle- vernon was possessed by him through his father, Henry Speers the older, who obtained it by purchase from John Cockey Owens, to whom the state granted a patent bearing date of May 17, 1791. The ground originally was thickly grown with sugar trees. That part of the ground between First street and Speer's Run was not in the original plot of the town. This tract in- cluded the ferry and was called "Summer House" in the The Old and Neio Monongaliela. 301 patent granted Regina Spcers, widow of Henry Speers the older, and to Benjamin Frye, a son-in-law, both of whom were the executors of the estate of Henry Speers. The patent was dated June 1, 1784, and included the ferry and three acres of ground. This tract was conveyed to Noah Speers by Regina Speers, acting executrix of Henry Speers, by deed bearing date of January 16, 1797. Noah Speers, by will dated June 2, 1832, conveyed it to Solomon Speers. Noah Speers be- tween 1816 and 1820 erected the brick house still standing, and now, 1893, occupied as a hotel and ticket office for the Bellevernon and & McKeesport Railroad Company. In the corner room of this house was kept the first store in the town, although David Furnier had a store below Speer's run as early as 1790. The late Uriah Ward often said "that the first money he ever earned was for hauling water and carrying brick for that house, at six cents per day and boarded himself.'' The oldest house in the town is the one on Main street below Fourth, owned and occupied so long by the late Mrs. Mary Corwin. It was the original house erected by Michael Springer, on the well known Springer farm in Rostraver township, Westmore- land county, and now" owned b}^ heirs of James Ward and the heirs of James H. Springer, deceased. It was removed to its site in the summer of 1815, and was from that date to the day of her death occupied by Mrs. Corwin. The first attempt to incorporate the town was made in 1850. On the petition of sundry citizens, Hon. J. D. Leet, a member of the House of Representatives from Washington county, read a bill in place March 19, 1850, to incorporate Bellevernon, in Fayette county, into a borough. It was reported favorably from the committee on corporations promptly, and passed through both houses and signed by Governor W. F. Johnson. The proposed borough was to be bounded and limited as fol- lows : Beginning at the mouth of Speer's Run, following the county line to the coal pit on the State road in front of the present dwelling owned by John Gray in North Bellevernon; thence in a direct line to Gould's Run; thence to the grave- 302 The Old and Neio Monongahela. yard, including it; thence to the river, including the house of J. B. Gould; thence following the river to the place of begin- ning. The bill was bitterly opposed by Solomon Speers, through his brother-in-law, R. C. Walker, a member from Allegheny county, but now a major on the retired list in the United States army, residing in Helena, Mont. Mr. Leet suc- ceeded. By tradition more than otherwise, the county line was sup- posed in its course east to take in the mouth of the old coal pit in front of the lot now owned by John Gray on State street in North Bellevernon. After the building of the brick school house, which stood on the lot owned by R. J. Linton, on the corner of State and Short streets, it became a question to deter- mine the exact and true location of the county line. The primitive act of incorporation failed to go into operation. It was passed in what was called an "omnibus" bill, and in order for any one of the different acts to have effect of law the enrollment tax had to be paid on all the " omnibus " bill contained. Through neglect and indiiference on the part of the friends of the Belle- vernon act the tax was not paid, and at the next session that part of the "omnibus" bill was repealed, and Bellevernon remained a part of Washington township. The voters in the town becoming wearied at the inconven- ience of traveling to Cookstown, determined to have the privi- lege of casting their votes at home, petitioned the Legislature, during the session of 1854, to have created a new election district. Hon. W. Y, Roberts took charge of the bill, which he speedily had passed through both houses and approved by Governor Bigler April 13th, 1854. The new district was bounded as follows, viz: Beginning at the mouth of Speer's run, running the county line three-quarters of a mile, thence in a straight line to the dwelling house of Joseph Springer, in- cluding the same, thence to the upper coal way of Samuel Clark, thence by the river to the place of beginning. The Act named Adolph Eberhart as Judge, A. P. Frye and Thomas Taggart as Inspectors, to hold the first election, which was The Old and New Monongahela. 303 held on the second Tuesday of October, 1854. Solomon Speers and John B. Gould were appointed Clerks. Gould's school house was fixed by the Act as the place for holding the elections. The prospective increase of the town and the build- ing of the new school house in 185T created a new interest in determining the exact locality of the dividing line between Westmoreland and Fayette counties, as it related to the town. To settle the question an Act of Assembly was obtained, ap- proved March 30th, 1860, creating a commission "to survey, ascertain and establish '" this line between Jacob's creek and Speer's run. The commission under this Act were E. F. Housman, of Westmoreland county, J. S. Yan Voorhis and H. F. Blythe, of Fayette. They appointed the late Samuel C. Griffith surveyor, and Alexander Wilson and Jacob B. Speers ax men. They run over the line three different times in order to have it correct beyond doubt. The true line was due east and west between the above named points. It was thus dis- covered that the line at Bellevernon end put the dwellings now occupied by Mrs. Jane Beazell, the dwellings owned now by L. J. Jeffries, Esq., part of the property of Henry Cougli- enour, and that owned by the heirs of William Jacobs, and school house lot now owned by R. J. Linton, into Westmore- land county. During the investigation of this line, Hon. David Kaine, now deceased, found in the prothonotary's office in Uniontown the original draught of the county line as run at the formation of the county. In running the first line it was commenced at Jacob's creek, and when the surveyor's corps arrived at the Monongahela river the terminus was 30 rods be- low the mouth of Speer's run, with ^ degree north of a due east and west line. In a foot note the surveyor remarked that if any one wants to know the true line it is a due east and west line, ^ degree above this line. As that was the only line sur- veyed, it was held by tradition to be the true line, and hence an error was continually being made until the commission of March 30th, 1860, fixed, by actual survey, the true location of the line which was sanctioned by the courts of both counties. 304 The Old and New Mmiongahela. « The discovery of tlie true county line had more to do thau any- thing else toward the incorporation of the Borough by the Act of April 16th, 1863. The town of Bellevernon was formed into a borough with territory taken partly from Fayette and partly from Westmoreland counties. By this act the place of holding the elections was changed from Gould's school house to the public school house on the hill, within the borough limits. The voters in the remaining part of the old district were replaced into Washington township. The last election in the old district was held March 20, 1863, the elec- tion officers being: Judge, J. M. Springer; inspectors, O. D. Johnson and John Reeves. At this election James Corwin was elected judge and C. Amalong and Jacob Brendel inspectors. By the act of incorporation the officers elected last in the old district were authorized to hold the first election in the new borough. The act fixed May 16, 1863, as the time for the first election. The board consisted of James Corwin, judge; Jacob Brindel and S. W. Watson, inspectors. Mr. C. Amalong having failed to qualify, S. W. Watson was appointed in his place. This election perfected the organization. By an act of Assembly approved March 31, 1864, the borough was placed for all purposes under the jurisdictiom of Fayette county, and the proceedings of the burgess and town council were legalized. This act of Assembly was supposed to be necessary, owing to a difference of opinion in the construction of the act of incor- poration. By an act of the Legislature approved March 1, 1866, the citizens of the borough were authorized to elect six councilmen — two for one year, two for two years and two for three years. During the session of 1868 the Legislature passed an act prohibiting the sale of intoxicating liquors as a beverage within the borough. As far as we are advised, this was the last act relating to the borough, except the one giving power to the school board to issue bonds bearing interest not exceeding eight per cent. The churches, cemetery association, loan associa- tions and Odd Fellows' Hall association obtained their charters The Old and New Monongahela. 305 through the courts. At the first election, held May 16, 1863, Amon Bronson was elected burgess; J. R. Powell, Bazil Brightwell, Wm. Sutton, Ed. Martin, James Corwin and Ed. Jordan, councilmen ; James French, John W. Wright, Robert Boyle, J. S. Van Yoorhis, N. Q. Speer and James Davidson, school directors ; auditors, Robert Boyle, J. M, Springer and O. D. Johnson; John Watson, Justice of the Peace; assessor, J. W. Lindsay. J. M. Springer, under a commission dated April 10th, 1860, for Washington township, served as first Justice of the Peace in the borough. He was elected in the borough in 1865, and at this time (1893) he is serving his eighth term of five years. The name of Speers has figured in the history of this town in a variety of transactions for over a century. Appearing at first from German descent the name remains among us to-day. Henry Speers, the older, settled about the year 1770 on what is now known as the Gibsonton farm, and to insure protection from the Indians he located his domicil near the fort, which stood just befow Gibsonton Mills of this day. A more exten- sive notice of the family will be given in another place in this work. He was not only a large landholder, but an extensive slaveholder. He was undoubtedly among the first business men on the river in this region. The Coopers and Fryes on the oppo- site side of the river began their settlements cotemporary with Speers, and in their after history formed important alliances. From what we can learn the ferry had its primitive existence just below the mouth of Maple creek, under the joint ownership of Speers and the older Cooper. The machinery of the ferry consisted in a primitive canoe dugout, somewhat after the fash- ion of an old timed horse trough. Horses had either to fowl the river when the water was low enough, or swim in higher stages of the river. The ferry now existing was established by Henry Speers the older, and the title vested subsequent to his death for that part of the ferry on the Belle Yernon side of the river, but the Washington county side was patented to his son, Hem-y Speers, January 12th, 1789, on a survey entered by 306 The Old and New Monongahela. Henry Keef, May 23rd, 1769, and conveyed to Heiiry Speers by deed dated September 14th, ITS!. The ferry was carried on by means of the primitive canoe, and in progress of time the flat was invented, and its power to cross the river con- sisted in the broad- bhided oars and pike pole, so long used in after years to push the keel boat. The rope ferry is a modern invention. Of the earlier persons who plied the oar we have no information. Noah Speers, by will dated June 2, 1832, conveyed the Fayette side of the ferry to his son Solomon, who sold it to Louis M. Speers, the date thereof we do not know. At the death of Henry Speers, the younger, his son Apollos, came into possession of the Washington side of the ferry, and at his death his son Noah inherited it. The ferry is now working under a charter granted April 1, 1870, by the Legislature to Noah, L. M. Speers and W. F. Speers. At the assignee's sale in bankruptcy of L. M. and W. F. Speers, about 1880, Noah Speers became sole owner of the ferry, and is at this date (1893 ) its owner. At a very early date a man named Penny- well lived in a house where now stands the Presbyterian church. He carried on shoemaking, and his wife attended tlie ferry. In those days shoemaking was a laborious and not very profitable trade. He had to make his own wax, the thread, the pegs, and the polish was a compound of soot and white of an e^^. The paste was home-made and kept for use in an ox horn hung on a peg in the wall by means of a tow string. The shoes were generally made of what was then called upper leather, with calf-skin strings. The shoes intended to be worn with buckles and breeches were not often made by common shoemakers. The leather was furnished by those wanting shoes. Andrew Brice was another ferryman, and also a shoemaker. A man named Joseph Cloud was also a ferryman. He was jack of all trades, but seemed especially inclined to be a stone-mason and blacksmith. He built the huge chimney in the late Aunt Polly Corwin's house in 1815, which still stands as a monument to liis want of skill. Cloud lived and had his shop on the river bank The Old and New Monongahela. 307 near the ferry. The land on which it stood has long since been washed away by the river. Four generations of ferrymen have plied the oar, and, excepting the rope, it remains the same as one hundred years ago. For a century this ferry was sought by the drovers in their route from West to East, and as ferry- men the names of Speers, Ward, Cooper, Wells, French, Husher, et id. omne getius, were household gods from the Mis- sissippi to the Delaware. The " Swan," built in 1845 at Fred- ericktown for Apollos Speers, by Charles Bowers, was the first horse-boat at this ferry. The idea of a horse-boat was sug- gested by the completion of dam No. 4 of the Slackwater. Charles Bowers was an uncle of Morgan Bowers, for many years a resident of Bellevernon. Capt. S. C. Speers recollects very well the fact of his going on horseback with his father, iVpollos Speers, to bring down the boat. The horses on which they rode were placed on the boat and worked it down to the Bellevernon landing, were it was greeted with applause by the citizens. Samuel St. Clair was the pilot on her trip down. The Belle Vernon horse boat was built by L. M. Speers at the boat yard then carried on at the mouth of Third street, Belle Yernon, in 1852 or 53. The mouse colored Davy and sorrel Barney long did duty on this boat, and won quite a rep- utation among the stockmen of the west. The horse boat gave way to the steam ferryboat, " Polly South,'' built at Belle \'ernon in 1858. This boat was run in charge of Captain James French as master, and his sons, Willie and Sylvester, as engineers. The boat becoming more or less unfit for duty and always an expense to the owner, gave way to the rope ferry. The engine is now doing duty for the Speer White Sand Company at the "Juniata works," Mapleton, on the Bennsyl- vania railroad, 159 miles east of rittsburgh. After the dis- mantling of the Folly South the engine also did service in digging the old oil well u]) Speers run. W. A. Coughenour, now a wealthy citizen of Idaho, was the engineer. The well was originally drilled to a depth of 250 feet by hand in the days of Noah Speers, the older, in search of salt water, which 308 The Old and N'ew Monofigahela. in those days was a great desideratum. In the latter drilling, oil was the object, but at 1010 feet the effort was abandoned, having not found any oil, though plenty of salt water and some gas. Now (1893) this old well is found to be in the midst of a great gas field. The store given Solomon Speers by his father in the brick house was no doubt the first one within the limits of the town, but not in the vicinity. The first store in the "Forks '' was the one Col. Edward Cook brought with him from eastern Pennsylvania about 1768, and located it in his primitive cabin, near the present spring house of his great grandson, Joseph Cook, in Rehoboth Yalley. The next store was in the old log house which stood on the river bank where now is the saw and planing mill of the Jones'. This house and store, with the "barter" mill, of which we will speak hereafter, was con- veyed to David Furnier by Elliot &, Williams about the year 1790. This was the first store about Bellevernon. Store- keepers then as now were often obliged to trust their neigh- bors for goods; but it was the rule in old times that if a bill was not paid at the promised time, the case was at once made known and the debtor was drummed out of the neighborhood as an unworthy citizen. The second store in Bellevernon was kept by William Reeves, whose wife was a daughter of Noah Speers. He pccupied at first the room in what is now known as the Sutton house, on Water street, and afterwards moved it to the corner of Water street and Cherry alley, long known as the Methodist church; it now stands in the rear of the former brick store of R. C. Schmertz & Co., on the corner of Cherry alley and Long alley. Barnes Reeves had a store in the house recently owned by Dr. I. C. Hazlett, corner of Main street and Cherry alley. Some time between 1835 and 1837, Barnes Reeves erected the brick building on the corner of Main and Second streets, now owned by L. Z. Birmingham, and occupied as a hotel and Brown's pharmacy. The late Thomas Taggart did the carpenter work. Into the corner room Barnes Reeves moved his store, and carried on business there until he The Old and Nevi MonongaJiela. 309 sold out to his brother-in-law, Rev. John Strickler, who had married Rhoda, daughter of Manassah Reeves. Mr. Strickler sold to John S. Markle, now a resident of Monongahela City, but in what year we are not informed, it was, however, in the early forties. How long he did business on this corner we do not know; but when the writer, in May, 1847, settled in the town, the store room was vacant. On the building of the glass works, of which w^e have said more in another place, William Eberheart had a store in the house on the corner of Main street and Cherry alley, known then as the Hornbeck tavern, but the corner is now occupied by J. S. Henry, Jr., with a store. The tavern house was moved to the lot below, and is now (1893) owned and occupied by A. L. Brown, the druggist, as a residence. Some years afterwards Eberheart moved his store to the corner now owned by R. C. Schmertz & Co., and occupied as dwellings. Ford McKee in 1847 had a store in the basement of the house now OM'ned and occupied by Andrew Guiler, on the lower end of Main street. Boat building was an early element in the business and industry of the town. Solomon Speers and Morgan Gaskill were the lirst boat-builders. The original yard was in front of the present residence of Lario, on Water street. The wide-spreading elm which passed into the river during the flood of 1844, the stump of which can yet be seen, afforded shade for lookers-on in the yard. The yard was started a short time prior to 1830. The whip-saw and the old water mill across the creek, relics of which are still visible, furnished the sawing of this timber. The long timber was all sawed by the whip-saw\ The log was placed on a kind of a platform, and under the log one man worked the lower end of the saw^ and another did the same duty on the top. The whip-saw was ])eculiarly constructed, and would be a curi- osity nowadays. It had a handle at each end, with the one at the lower end moveable, so that it could be taken off at will. As far as we can ascertain, the first boat built was a kind of horse-boat for a party down the river. To launch the boat it 310 The Old and Neir Monongahela. was necessary to haul it to the wharf at the ferry. Keelboats and steamboats were the product generally of this yard. The "Lancaster'' was the first steamboat hnll built at this yard. The hull was contracted for Captain James May, and was in- tended for the New Orleans trade. The liull was contracted for by Samuel Walker, of Elizabeth, who sub-let it to Speers & Gaskill. The late General Isaac Hammett, whose remains lay in the Bellevernon cemetery, drafted the boat on paper in Elizabeth and laid it down on the floor of the old stable which stood until recently on the rear of the lot of the residence of Lario, on Water street. It is said that keelboats had been built in this yard as early as 1822 by William Reeves. The date of the change of the boatyard to the mouth of Third street is contemporary with the building of the saw mill by Solomon Speers, which stood on the lot where the beautiful residence of L. Z. Birmingham is now located at the corner of Water and Third streets. The mill was burned on the morning of February 29, 1880, together with nearly all the buildings on the square. In 1875 a disastrous fire had occurred on the same square, on Main street. Solomon Speers sold the mill to L. M. Speers; L. M. Speers sold it to Daniel Springer and Edward Jordan; Daniel Springer bought out Jordan and became its sole owner. At the death of Daniel Springer it was bought by his son Manoah at the administrator's sale. Manoah Springer sold it to O. D. Johnson, who took in W. J. Anderson as a partner in the business, but not in the ownership of the mill. In 1875 James M. Springer become sole owner and took in as a business partner, W. J. Anderson, forming the firm of Springer & Anderson. In 1878 the mill was sold to C. B. Wiley by the Assignee of Springer & Anderson. C. B.Wiley was the owner at the time of the fire. The date of the build- ing of this saw mill is well fixed by the fact that it occurred the fall of the year in what happened the wonderful falling of the stars and that event was in 1833. The late Daniel Springer did the carpenter work and Samuel Sisley the stonework. Robt. Patterson, lately deceased, called to mind the date The Old and NefiKj Monongahela. 311 from the fact that Sislcy was doing the mason work and was almost fatally frightened at the " falling of the stars. ■" Cap- tain French, now deceased, a well-known citizen was engineer, sawyer, fireman, etc., for many years in the early history of this mill. He related a story in connection with this mill well worth recording. John Brunthoover, well-known in the town as John Bnnty, about to be arrested for debt, sought in haste the saw mill as a place of safety. The Captain took in the situation at once and kindly concealed him in the cistern. By and by either on purpose or thoughtlessly, he started the pump. When the water had gotten to about his neck, Bunty became alarmed at the prospect, and cried out in his usual emphatic tones, "Hallo, Jim; I'd rather go to jail than be drowned."'"' Among the boats built at thq Third Street Yard were the Ontario, Protector, Monongahela, Dolphin and Pittsburgh, to- gether with many others whose names we have not obtained. Among these were the Minstrel, which in April, 1842, fell from the blocks, killing Robert Winters, and very seriously injuring John Baldwin by fracturing his leg and breaking the jaws of John Corwin. Daniel and Joseph Springer, James Housman, Samuel Massey, and others were under the boat but escaped with but very slight injury. Speers & Gaskell suspended op- erations at this yard a short time prior to 184:7. About the year of 1851 or '52, L. M. Speers and Wm. Latta resumed active operations in the same yard, L. M. Speers having pur- chased the saw mill. Some very fine boats were built by this firm and among the last was the well-known tug Clip- per for S. Clark & Sou. During the years 1853-54, L. M. Speers erected the large saw mill below Speers Run and the firm in due time moved the boat-building to it. In 1857 or '58 the firm was dissolved and the business was carried on by L. M. Speers alone, until the close of the war of the rebellion, when W. F. Speers became a partner, and thereafter the firm was L. M. & W. F. Speers. On the morning of October 7, 1876, the mill was burned by fire. The saw mill was rebuilt in 1877, and the yard was carried on until the firm went into 312 The Old and New Monongahela. bankruptcy' in November of the same vear. In the building of the first mill at this yard the late Daniel Springer was the contractor for the carpenter work and David Furnier for the mill-wright work. John Herbertson, of Brownsville, furnished the engine. Captain James French was the first sawyer after re-building of the mill. During the proceedings in bankruptcy Wm. Jones and and S. F. Jones obtained permission from the U. S. Court to forclose a mortgage, in pursuance of which the Sheriff of Westmoreland county sold the mill to William and S. F. Jones, February 7, 1880, and they sold it to the Belle- vernon Saw and Planing Mill Company, May 12, 1880, the firm being composed of Wm. Jones, S. F. Jones, Samuel Jones, and Isaac Shepler. The mill as now constructed has an ex- tensive planing apparatus connected with it. From a diary now in possession of Nelson Johnson, son of the late Levi Johnson, kept by David Furnier in 1790, we learn that the old Barter mills, which stood near the present resi- dence of Samuel McKain on Speers' run, were erected prior to 1790, and was the first flouring mill about Belle vernon. It was conveyed before 1790 to David Furnier, together with the log house and store located on the bank of the river, where now is the boat-yard just below Speers' run. The well is there yet from which the early settlers drew, with sweep and moss-covered bucket, water to quench their thirst; and to make it more palatable the grog of the old-time still - house near by was mingled generally with it. This mill, in its crude state, having had its day, was torn down, and in 1803 the well-known brick mill was built by David Furnier. This mill was situated not far from the north end of the present stone bridge near the mouth of Speers' run. The only known remnants of this mill are the bricks in the old house, called for over half a century "Gould's school house,'' at the upper end of Main street in Bellevernon. This mill was torn down in 1836. William Hornbake in his day attempted to start a carding machine in his building, corner of Main street and Cherry The Old and New Monongahela. 313 alley, but failed. In the same building, in its back part, Apollos Speers, the cabinet-maker, in 1854 put an engine to drive his turning lathe; and in 1855, in this shop, occurred among the first fires ever in the town. William Walker was the first tailor in the town. He located in 1834 in the house known as the ferry house, on Water street and owned (1893). now by D. W. Owens, James Hagerty arrived in 1837, and set up in the tailor business in 1838, in the house recently owned (1890) by Alex. Brown, on Water above First street. He has been ever since that date a resident of the town — to his death — except for a short season when he lived on the opposite side of the river from the town. John Merrick, the tailor, in the same year Hagerty commenced busi- ness, settled in the town. John L. Dehn, now of Mansfield (1890), Ohio, carried on the tailoring business first in the Sut- ton and afterwards in the Wise house. He came to town in about 1859; but can not say in what year he removed to Mansfield, Ohio. J. B. Zeh was his successor, who, with Samuel Bedsworth and J. H. Treasure, constitute the tailor fraternity in town. A German named Blair built the house now owned by Andrew Guiler, on lower Main street, and in it carried on the tailoring business. And just before the war of the rebellion, William McWilliams, now deceased, had his residence and tailor shop in this same building. Father* Thomas Ward was the first cabinet maker; he at first had his shop near the present residence of William Kyle on Grant and State streets, in North Bellevernon, but removed in 1815 to the house he built on the corner of Main and Second streets, in town. He was also the first and only wheel-wright ever lived in the place. He died many years since in Ohio, whither he had gone to pass the remnant of his days among children who had generally preceded him. He was a very skillful mechanic, and had peculiar traits of character which many of the older citizens still relate to the amusement of the younger. Apollos Speers succeeded him as undertaker and cabinet maker on the corner of Cherry alley and Main street. 314 The Old and New Monongahela. He was regarded as one of the most skillful mechanics in the valley. In 1848 he took in as partner Thomas Taggart. The firm carried on the business until Speers sold the house to Robert Patterson in the early fifties. Speers moved to Peoria, Illinois, where he was connected with a coffin manufactory, and where he died suddenly and was buried in a cofiin of his own making. James M. Springer first entered into the furniture business and undertaking in the summer of 1847. He purchased from Mrs. Nancy Reeves, his mother-in-law, the house and lot long afterwards known as the Hutton dwelling on Main street above Strawberry alley. In the same year he built the shop still standing between the residence and the M. E. church. Solo- mon Speers had sold this lot to Barnet Corwin, May 13, 1830, and he, in 1839, built the house. Barnet Corwin sold the same to Nancy Reeves November 4, 1845. Nancy Reeves sold it to J. M. Springer February, 1848. Springer sold it to John Hutton April 2, 1848, and purchased from Solomon Speers the lots just below Strawberry alley on Main street, and built a shop on the corner, lately the store-room occupied by Clarke Corwin. He also built the dwelling burned in 1880. The first cofiin made by Springer was for the father of A. J. Taylor, who built and lived for many years in the house now owned by Mrs. Isaac Hammett, on the corner of Wood and Third streets. The coffin was of the old style, made of black walnut and polished with beesw^ax. In 1872 Springer retired from the business, having sold out to F. M. Myers. Myers, May 20, 1880, sold the business to Curtiss Reppert & Sons, who still carry on the business on the corner of Main and Third streets. Henry Speers, the older, was perhaps the first person who died in this vicinity. His death occurred in 1772, from the kick of a horse, and it is generally believed that his remains were interred in the Gibsonton graveyard on the original Speers farm just below Bellevernon. This (^Id graveyard is now in- corporated as a cemetery and is enclosed by a substantial fence. This was the first burial place in the neighborhood, the Reho- both's first interment being in 1790. The Old and Neio Monongahela. 315 The older Coopers were interred in the private grounds on the farm recently owned by Thomas Redd at the mouth of Maple creek, but now ( 1893) a part of the flourishing town of Charleroi. The older Fryes were buried on what is called Smith Frye's farm, being a part of the original Frye farm on the hill above Lock No. 4. The Fryes, Speers and Coopers were intimately coiuiected, both by marriage and association, in their early life, and at death their remains occupied the same burial grounds, the four graveyards being in sight, one from the other. The first burial ground intended for Bellevernon was on the well-known Gould hill, situated now in the village of " Seldom Seen." During Wylie's ownership of the land, permission for burial was granted and J. B. Gould, who succeeded Wylie, gave the same privi- lege. The remains of Louis Cisly were the first to be interred in this ground, but in what year we cannot ascertain. Then followed the burial of Casper Ebner, Joseph Billiter and his two sons, James and Lew-is. The next burial place was in the one which the old Free Will Baptist Church still stands on Wood Street near Flint Alley. Mrs William Hutchison, who lived in the house now owned by James Housman on the State road beyond La Grange School-house, was the first person buried in this grave-yard. She was buried in 1843. The increased population of the town and vicinity demanded better facilities for the burial of the dead. Hence the organization and incorporation of the Bellevernon Cemetery Association, Bellevernon, Pa,, November 1st, 1866, Denton Lynn, Noah Q. Speers, J. M. Springer; J. S. Yan Yoorhis, Daniel Springer and Bazil Brightwell purchased a lot of ground of James H. Springer for burial purposes and organized themselves into Bellevernon (Jemetery Association. The above named purchasers were elected managers, of whom Dr. J. S. Van Yoorhis was chosen President and James M. Springer, Secretary and Treasurer. A charter for said Association was granted by the Westmore- land County Court, May 13th, 1867. The first meeting of tlie 316 The Old and Ntio Monongahela. lot holders under the charter was held September 2Tth, ]86T, and Denton Lynn, Noah Speers, J. S. Van Yoorhis, Bazil Brightwell, and Daniel Springer were elected managers. On the same day the managers met and elected J. S. Yan Voorhis, President, N. Q. Speers, Secretary and J. M. Springer, Treasurer. The first person buried in these grounds after its purchase was Abram Smock, who died in the house now occupied by his widow in Bellevernon, September 24, 1866. Prior to this date, however, the ground in a limited space had been known as the burial place of the Springer family. The slaves of the Speers family were buried on the point above the property now owned by James Carnes' heirs, a short distance above the mouth of Speers' run. Some of the older citizens used to speak of a few burials on the high ground not far from the public school house in North Bellevernon. In laying out the lots in Bellevernon, the space between Water street and the river was reserved by the original pro- prietor, no street but the state road reaching to the river, thus cutting off the town from all wharf privileges, even remaining in the ownership of the Speers' descendants to this day, either by inheritance or purchase. There is no doubt but the inten- tion originally was to have this river front set apart for wharf purposes, in the interest of the town. From the time of the establishment of the ferry its wharf was used as a landing for trade boats, keel boats and steam- boats until 1850 or thereabouts, when conflicting rights and privileges forced the boats to go to the glass factory, where Wm. Eberheart had landing rights, and to which for his own convenience, he gave free wharfage to all craft. Goods and produce shipped to and from all points on the river were re- ceived and taken from the ferry wharf by the early merchants and business men of the town. The keel boats of Captain Bob Ray — Caleb, Harvey, Creekbaum, Anger, Danks, etc., were objects of gi-eat interest to the populace along the river, and their arrival was watched for eagerly. Sometimes parties. Tlic Old and New Monongahela. 317 especially military companies, were carried on these boats. A few of onr older citizens still call to mind one unfortunate excursion. A keel boat in charge of Captain Rogers, loaded with soldiers, enroute to attend a celebration of some kind in Pittsburgh, in 1826; in passing the town the swivel on deck was to be fired as a salute, and as the boat seemed to be mid- way of the town without the firing, the captain concluded he would go above to see what was the trouble; just as he raised his head above the deck, off went the cannon. Samuel Dough- erty, a colored man, well known in the community, having ex- citedly taken the job of putting off the gun from the regular gunner on duty for that purpose, shot away the back of the head of the captain, scattered blood, bones and flesh in all directions. His body was taken to the front parlor in the resi- dence of Solomon Speers, now the Holey house, where to-day can be seen traces of the blood on the floor. Aunt Polly Corwin, in the absence of a doctor, washed and dressed the dead man's wounds and had the remains in good condition for burial by the time the friends arrived from Brownsville overland with the hearse and carriages. Steamers Louis McLane and Consul, the former commanded by Captain Adam Jacobs and the latter by Captain Samuel Clarke, were among the first to land at the ferry wharf. The Baltic and Atlantic for a time also landed here, but shortly after going to the glass-factory wharf, they gave place in 1852 to the Jefferson and Luzerne. After the removal of the boat yard over Speers' run in 1853 the, steamboat landing was changed to the mouth of Third street, where it remained until the new wharf was graded at the mouth of Second street in 1857. The new wharf was the work of L. M. Speer, who prior to that date had purchased the 'space outside of Water street fi'om Solomon Speers, who had obtained it by will from his father, Noah Speers. The wharf in a short time became an affair of profit. For some years there had been growing dispo- sition on the part of the citizens and town council to obtain the wharf privileges. 318 The Old and New Monongahela. To carry out the project a petition was presented to the Fay- ette County Court, June 23d, 1874, asking for a jury to ap- praise the value of said privileges. The Court appointed James French, W. H. Jones, S. F. Jones, Henry C. Cough- enour, J. T. Holey, James Corwin and John Hixenbaugh as the jury of good and true men, who placed such a value on the privilege as to render it impracticable to take any further action. During the proceeding in bankruptcy of L. M. & AV. F. Speers, the wharf rights were sold to J. W. Carothers, of West Virgi- nia, who sold it to Noah Speers; with the exception of the made wharf at Second street there scarcely remains any space of that ground reserved in the original plot of the town, it all be- ing washed away by the encroachments of high water. The two lots now owned by the heirs of George Lang only run to low water mark and this wise idea gives the heirs full right to use the river shore as a landing for 120 feet. The wharf-boat for the use of the packets is moved to the front of these lots. At this date 1893, Water street only extends north to First street, between First street and Speers' run there never has been any street opened, the ground now being principally oc- cupied by the railroad. At the ferry wharf and along the river shore quite a number of persons have been drowned, even within the recollection of citizens now living. Isaac Boles, who lived on Water street just above Strawberry alley long ago, was drowned on his return from a corn husking over the river at Henry Speers' farm. In company of others he attended the husking, but having imbibed a little too freely of spirits, which was so generally used at that time, he tarried behind his companions. On arriving at the river he found by the absence of the skiff that they had gone over. He took off his clothes and shoes, and in attempting to swim across was drowned in front of his home. The finding of his clothes told the story. The discovery of a skeleton buried in the river bank opposite the glass works induced the belief that some one had been drowned before Boles. In 1856 or 1857 a little daughter of Peter Corwin was drowned at the ferry wharf. She was The Old and New Monongahela. 319 attending the school of Miss Tower, who taught in the store room of now the Roley house. In about 1862 John Speers, of Dunbar; Harvey Bryner, of this town, and Josiah Van Voor- his, of Washington county, in attempting to cross the river in tlie night in a small flat, at the ferry were thrown out by its upsetting, and although only a few feet from the shore Van Voorhis was drowned. The other two in some way reached the shore, although neither of them could swim. Speers and Bryner have since died. Whilst playing at the same wharf August 25, 1881, little Fannie, daughter of M. H. Arters, was drowned. Her body was recovered by Thomas W. Dean. In 1877, Van, son of the late Samuel Hammett, was drowned from a raft of logs above Third street. His body was recov- ered by John Raum. In 1880 a stranger, a laborer on the railroad, was drowned just above Speers"" landing, opposite town. In the fall of 1883 Resin Fox was drowned at the ferry wharf by jumping from the flat as it was about to go down with a load of cattle. His body was recovered by Curtis Reppert. This was the first person ever drowned who worked about the ferry. On the 9th of November, 1876, Capt. O. D. Johnson was drowned ofl" the steamer Athletic, near Gibsonton wharf. His body was recovered the next day by Capt. W. W. Wil- liams. In 1885 a son of Henry King was drowned at Third street wharf by going through the ice. In 1846 a boy named Dunlevy, a nephew of the late Andrew Duulevy, was drowned at Lock No. 4. He was learning the tailor trade with James Hagerty, of Bellevernon. Hagerty, Dr. Johnson, Dunlevy and some others were fishing. Dunlevy had gone above for some purpose and the i-emaining party was apprised of some- thing being wrong by the empty skifi floating over the dam. After a search of many hours his body was recovered. Just above this dam and a short distance below the Rostraver coal works a child of John Foulkes was drowned not long since. A stranger from Pittsburgh was drowned a few years since in front of the present town of Charleroi. The venerable Joseph 320 Tlie Old and JSew Monongaliela. Crow committed suicide by drowning just above Maple creek, many years ago. A little child of James Huttenliour, of Bellevernon, was drowned some twenty-seven years ago near the present residence of Wm. Spharr, and not far from the Gibsonton wharf a man was drowned from one of the packets, some twenty years ago. His body was recovered by James Cams. Long ago in keelboat times a Captain of one of these crafts was drowned near the glass works and near the same place in after years an intoxicated man fell into the river from one of the keelboats and though the water was very shoal he drowned, having fallen face downward and was unable to extricate him- self. In April 1866, Thomas W. Dean discovered the body of James H. Housman floating in the river just above the glass works cinder pile. He was a citizen of Fayette City, was killed by one Thairwell, who was hanged for the crime. A stranger and Joseph Archibald were drowned about the same year near Tremont Coal Works, over twenty years ago. In later years, Mary, daughter of David Davis, and her little child were drowned just above town by the upsetting of a- skiff, in which were also her father and mother, the latter two reaching the shore in safety. A man named House was drowned in June, 1845, at the mouth of Maple Creek, by getting entangled in a fish seine. He lived in a log house that stood above the old Peter W. Shepler farm, now owned by heirs of Esquire Swabb. July l:th, 1868, a Mr. O'Neal was drowned by falling in the river whilst push- ing a flat through Lock No. 4. A little son of George Tabrou was drowned June 29th, 1885, by falling from a board raft above the glass works. Many years ago the oldest child of William Reeves — a little girl — was drowned in a vat in the tan yard, now property of the heirs of George Lang, deceased. The Old and New Monona ahela. 321 THE PRESBYTEKIAN CHUKCH. The Presbyterian church had its first introduction into the '•Forks of Yough'- on the arrival of Rev. James Finley from the east in 1765, although he did not permanently reside in his new home until 1783. The result of his initiative labors was the organization of Round Hill and Rehoboth churches, in the year 1778. He died January 6th, 1795, when the site on which Bellevernon now is situated was an unbroken forest. We have no data on which to base any belief that he ever preached to the pioneers on the river. About sixty years ago Rehoboth congregation appointed elders Michael Finley and William Bigham to visit the village of Bellevernoti and inquire into the expediency and propriety of erecting a church building, so as to have a point for stated preaching. After looking over the matter fully the committee reported against the enterprise, but recommended occasional preaching at private houses in the town and neighborhood. Rev. Robert Johnson, pastor of Rehoboth, preached at long intervals in the house of Abner Reeves, whose wife was a member of his church. The house stood almost on the space now occupied by the new resi- dence of Leonard Luce in Rostraver township, about one mile and a half from town. Rev. N. H. Gillette, who succeeded Rev, Johnson as pastor in 183'!, preached frequently in the old Methodist church on corner of Water street and Cherry alley, now used as a . dwelling on the corner of Cherry and Long alleys. Rev. J. R. Hughes and his successor. Rev. L. Y. Graham, as pastors of Rehoboth, oftentimes held services in the frame Methodist Episcopal church building on Water street, above Strawberry alley; it is now owned and occupied by tbe Disci- ples. In the summer of 1868, John B. Cook, E. F. Housman and L. M. Speer were appointed by Rehoboth to go on the ground and inquire into the propriety of erecting a house of worship in Bellevernon. The committee considered the matter with favor, but the effort only resulted in the renting of the 322 The Old and Ne%n Monongahela. old Methodist building, and for a time services were held in it. Among the Presbyterian ministers who preached in this old church at different times in its history were Dr. Gillette, Dr. N. West, Dr. Brownson, Dr. Sloan, Dr. Allison, Dr. JVPLaren, Revs. J. R. Hughes, L. Y. Graham, J. H. Stevenson, James P. Fulton, and others whose names we cannot recall. The venerable Dr. David McConnaughy, president of Washington College, preached one sermon in 1848 in the old church corner of Water street and Cherry alley. In July, 1869, the members of the Presbyterian church in Bellevernon and vicinity determined to have a church building. Dr. J. S. Yan Yoorhis undertook to raise the money, and how he succeeded the sequel told the fact of a neat little church complete and paid for. A lot on the corner of First and Main streets, 60x50 feet, was presented by L. M. Speer, After re- ceiving bids for the construction of the building, the contract was awarded L. M. Speer for $>2,000, and at his own ex- pense he added to the edifice the spire and weather-vane com- plete. Dr, t). S. Yan Yoorhis, as chairman of the building committee, superintended the work. The foundation excava- tion for the stonework was commenced on the 7th day of Au- gust, 1869, and the whole building was completed and furnished before the 19th day of December of the same year, on which day it was dedicated free of debt. The masonwork was done by Thomas Hagerty and brothers, and the carpenter work under the contractor by J. E. Powell, of California, and Sansom B. Miller, Bellevernon. The glass for the windows was presented by R. C. Schmertz & Co., of their own manufacture. The painting was the work of John Hatfield, of Brownsville, now of Columbus, Ohio. The funds for the furnishing of the church were raised by Mary Speer, Lizzie Yan Yoorhis, Mrs. Margaret Kyle and Mattie Miller, amounting in all to $297.70. The ladies had remaining on hand after buying all needed fur- niture ii?6.44r, which they transferred to the building fund. The bell and furnace were purchased with the building funds. A. Fulton & Son sold to the committee the bell ; it was The Old and Neto Monongahela. 323 moulded for a church in Williamsport, Md., which accounts for the name on it. The clock was presented by Mrs. Wm. Scott. The Bible and hymn-book by Mrs. Eliza Hair, wife of Rev. G. M. Hair, of McKeesport, but shortly afterwards pas- tor o+' Rehoboth. This church building was constructed by the voluntary act of the members of the Presbyterian church in Bellevernon and vi- cinity, independent of any organization. It was intended for a place of worship as preaching might be given by Rehobo'th congregation, which had been and was proposed to continue the custom of services one Sabbath afternoon out of three. Rev. L. Y. Graham was now pastor. The 19th day of Dec- ember, 1869, was appointed for the dedication of the new church, and Rev. Graham invited Rev. G. M. Hair to aid in the service. That Sabbath day at the hour of 11 o'clock, A. M. found the house crowded. The invocation and dedicatory prayer was pronounced by the Rev. L. Y. Graham and the sermon by Rev. G. M. Hair. Miss Lizzie Van Yoorhis had formed a choir consisting of Misses Kate Barkman, Olivia Barkman, Mirtilda Brown, Galena Bunting, Josie Sills, and Messrs. A. S. Woodrow, L. H. Reeves, W. A. Coughanour, and others perhaps, whose names we cannot recall, over which she presided as organist. The organ was loaned by Mrs. L. M. Speer until a new one could be purchased. Under arrange- ment Rev. Graham preached each alternate Sabbath afternoon, until Septembar 24th, 1871, when he preached his last sermon in the Bellevernon church, having resigned the pastorate of Rehoboth. Under his ministry a large number of persons in the town and vicinity united with the church. Candidates for Rehoboth now occasionally preached as circumstances would arise. Rev. G. M. Hair having accepted a call to Rehoboth entered upon his duties as pastor September 1st, 1872, and on the 8th of the same month preached in Bellevernon church for the first time since he became pastor, and continued to j)reacli at stated intervals during his pastorate. August, 1872, Rev. L. Y. Graham, formerly pastor, preached 324 The Old and New Mononyahela. to a crowded house. He baptized Bettie P. Cunningham, daughter of J. C. and Lizzie Yan Voorhis Cunningham. This was the first child ever baptized in the church. Among the ministers, besides the pastors, who preached in this church during its connection with Rehoboth, we call to mind Eevs. Wm. Wilson, Wood, of the Cumberland church, Robert H. Fulton, Eben Caldwell, J. F. Bojd, W. G. Nevin, Mitchell, E. P. Lewis, Dickey, J. H. Flannigan, W. H. Gill, W. Camp- bell, W. V. Kean, Andrews, R. R. Gaily and Rev. Morton. The first funeral services in the church were those of little Noah Bright Abel, March 9, 1873. The continued prosperity of the church enterprise and the bright future predicted by some of the more enthusiastic, in- duced a determination to ask the proper authorities to organize a separate church in Bellevernon. Some of the older mem- bers were very unwilling to sever their connection with the mother church, but in the end yielded to the majority, with grave doubts as to the propriety of the change. For many years Wm. Hasson, the father of John C. Hasson, was the only member of the Presbyterian church residing in Bellevernon. In April, 1848, Dr. J. S. Van Yoorhis and wife were taken into the church at Rehoboth under the ministry of Rdv. N. H. Gillet. These three composed the Presbyterian family in the town for many years. The town and vicinity at the change was represented by about sixty members, which in- crease was the great reason for a separate organization. On Tuesday, December 2nd, 1873, the Presbytery of Redstone met in Bellevernon, being its first meeting in the town. At this meeting the question of the organization of a church in Bellevernon was presented, and after some little discussion a committee consisting of Rev. G. M. Hair, of Rehoboth, Rev. R. R. Gaily, of Redstone, and elder Alexander Rankin, of Rehoboth, was appointed to organize said church if the way be clear. This committee met on Thursday evening, December 11th, 1873, and in due form constituted the First Presbyterian Church, of Bellevernon. Dr. I. C. Hazlett, R. J. Linton and The Old and Nev) Monongahela. 325 S. F. Jones were elected elders. The two former were ordained and installed, Mr. Jones being only installed, as he had served as an elder in Rehoboth. The following persons were received by certificate from Rehoboth, viz: D. B. Johnson, Mrs. E. S. Van Yoorhis, James French, Dr. J. S. Van Yoorhis, Sarah Johnson, L. M. Speers, Fannie S. Speers, Celia G. Speers, S. F. Jones, S. E. Jones, R. J. Linton, Caroline S. Linton, Nancy Smock, Ellen McFall, Margaret Garrison, Harriet Pat- terson, Lizzie V. Cunningham, I. C. Hazlett, Samuel Clarke, Anna Clarke, Maria E. Hughes, Jennie French, W. F. Speers, Mary P. Speers. W. P. Mackey, Samuel McKain, S. McKain, Agnes McAlpin, Mary Smock, Elizabeth Lucas, Nancy Sheets, Maggie McFall, Jane Hopkins, Alvira M. Furnier, Mary E. Cook, Susan C. Wise, James McAlpin, John McAlpin, Jennie Jones, Sarah Barkman, Philip Smock, W. B. McAlpin, Olive Barkman, Lavinia Smock, W. McFall, Robert McFall and Charlotte Hammett. From other churches: W. F. Mor- gan and wife and Mary C. Alter; in all, fifty-one. Of this number, at this date, December, 1890, fourteen are deceased. Rev. G. M. Hair, of Rehoboth, continued to preach for the new church organization until June 1, ISTi, at which time he ceased to be pastor of Rehoboth. The Bellevernon church called Rev. A. B. Lowes, who was installed as the first pastor October 28, 1874. He remained connected with the church until Sept. 1, 1882. The present pastor ( 181)o ) Rev. Perrin Baker was called Jan. 10, 1883, and installed May 3, 1883. From the day he entered upon his duty Rev. Baker infused new life into the church, and through his ministry a large number have been iidded to the membership His wife died at the parsonage in North Bellevernon November 27, 1885. December 21, 1881, W. Y . Morgan was added to the session, and in April, 1886, Dr. I. C. Hazlett, one of the original elders, was dismissed at his own request to the church at Uniontown, to which place he had moved his residence. This congregation was chartered by the courts of Fayette county March 11, 1876. Of the two families who took the most active part in the erection of the 23 326 The Old and New Mouongahela. church building, not one at this time (1893) is a member. L. M. Speers has passed away, and his family removed to other parts. Dr. Van Yoorhis and family, at their own request, were dismissed to Rehoboth December, 1875. To L. M. Speers more than any one else the Presbyterians are indebted for this church building, and we trust his memory will ever occupy a green spot in the hearts of those who worship within its doors. THE CUNNINGHAM FAMILY. James Cunningham was born in Merrittstown, Fayette coun- ty. Pa., July 26, 1812, and died on his farm near that place April 5, 1888. In 1835 he married Rosanna Muir, who was born March 28, 1811, and died September 8, 1885. During his early days James Cunningham taught school; then learned the blacksmith trade, and finally abandoned it and turned his attention to farming, in which occupation he was engaged until his death. He was an elder in the Cumberland Presbyterian church near Merrittstown until 1880, when he withdrew to become a mem- ber of the Dunlaps Creek Presbyterian church, in which he was elected a ruling elder. He served his county prominently dur- ing his life, holding many offices, the last being commissioner for two terms. He had six children. Mary Jane, born Novem- ber 2, 1836, married Isaiah N. Craft. Of their two children, Harry Clyde was born March 7, 1862, and died September 28, 1865. Ewing O. was born October 17, 1859, and married Emma Krepps October 17, 1883. They have two children, Clara Pauline, born April 19, 1887, and Edgar W., born July 30, 1891. John C, oldest son of James Cunningham, was born Sep- tember 27, 1838 ; married March 30, 1871, M. Lizzie, daugh- ter of Dr. J. S. and E. S. Van Voorhis, of Bellevernon, Pa. She was born in Bellevernon, Pa., June 30, 1848, and died November 26, 1877. Their daughter, Bettie Plumer, was the The Old and New Monongahela. 327 only child. Bettie Plumer was born January 24, 1872. She graduated from the Pennsylvania College for Women, Pitts- burgh, in June, 1891, and was married te David Stewart June 22, 1893. John C. has been for nearly thirty years a prominent and successful merchant in Bellevernon. Alfred, son of James Cunningham, married Laura Springer, daughter of James M. Springer, of Bellevernon. They have three children, Clyde, Lillian and Mary. Martha Acklin, Sara Margaret and Anna Eliza, daughters of James Cunningham, are unmarried. The former resides in the family of I. N. Craft, and the others own and live on the home farm near Hopewell church. Thomas Cunningham the great-grandfather of James Cun- ningham, emigrated from Ireland before the war of the revo- lution. He settled in that part of Chester county which was included within the limits of Lancaster county on its formation in 1729. His son James, in whom we are especially interested in this sketch, was born in Lancaster county, Pennsylvania, in December, 1747. Before the outbreak of the Revolution, James Cunningham came from Lancaster county to what is now Washington county, where he toma-hawked a claim near the site of the present town of Washington. After building a house and doing a little clearing he returned to Lancaster to make ready for a return trip to his proposed new settlement. On his return in the fall of that year, he found his claim already occupied. He abandoned the idea of settlement in the western part of the state and bought a farm in Lancaster county where he remained until the war. He entered the ■t^T'S. Army in June, 1776, in Captain Calhoun's company which served under Colonel Clantz. In 1792 he joined his brother John in Fayette county. He built the stone house near Mer- rittstown, owned by Armstrong Porter, now deceased. James died in 1832, leaving two sons and two daughters, John and William, Jane and Isabel. Jane married William Gallagher and Isabel married David Porter. John boated on the Monongahela river for his father and uncle and died at an '■^28 The Old and Nev^ Mon15,000. To the untiring industry and perserverance of the Pastors Rev. Ed- wards and Williams, and the board of trustees, whose names will appear in the charter, the church is indebted for this beau- tiful and substantial building. To facilitate the financial and legal operations of the church matters it was deemed prudent and wise to have the church incorporated, thereupon an appli- cation for a charter of incorporation was presented to the Court of Common Pleas, of Fayette county, June 7, 1867. The court having examined the Articles of Association June 7th, 1867, ordered the application to be filed in the oflice of the prothonotary of said court, and the court also directed notice to be inserted in the Genius of L/herty of said applica- tion. In the court of common pleas, of Fayette county, Pennsylvania. And now, to wit, September 2nd, 1867, having satisfactory evidence that the proper notice was given pursuant to the former order of this court, and \\o sufticient reason having been shown wdiy the foregoing charter sliould not be granted, we do hereby decree and declare that the members of the Methodist Episcopal Church, of Bellevernon, and their suc- cessors, shall, according to the articles and conditions in the within instrument set forth and contained, become and be a corporation and body politic, and direct that this, their charter of incorporation, shall be recorded in the office for the record- ing of deeds in this county. By the court. The Old and New Monongahela. 347 At a meeting of the' members of the church November 12, 18G7, the charter was accepted and at the same time the trus- tees organized by electing Jasper Haught, president; Noah Speers, secretary, and Curtiss Reppert, treasurer. During the year 1870 the Belle vernon charge was separated from Fayette City, Rev. E. B. Griffin being the preacher, and resided in the house on the corner of Water and Fourth streets. In the year 1881 the church purchased from Amon Bronson, for a parsonage, the house situated corner of Wood street and Locust alley. The trustees for 1887 were Noah Speers, C. Reppert, Amon Bron- son, James Davidson, W. C. Kittle, J. B. Zeh, L. Steen, Wm. Jones and J. B. Thompson. Wm. Jones, president; L. Steen, secretary, and W. C. Kittle, treasurer. The present class lead- ers (July 14, 1887) are Noah Speers, James Davidson and J. B. Thompson. The stewards are James Davidson, J. B. Zeh, J. B. Thompson, C. Reppert, W. C. Kittle, Amon Bronson, Wm. Jones, John Durst, Leightty Steen and Noah Speers. We again acknowledge our indebtedness to Rev. James Davidson for his aid in furnishing much material for this historical sketch of the Methodist E})iscopal church. lie has been so long identified with this church that his work is everywhere, for nearly half a century, mingled with its progress. He was con- verted in May, 1838, in the old stone church in Elizabeth, under the preaching of Rev. John Coil, but first joined the church at Fell's not long afterwards. He connected himself with the Bellevernon church in 1850, while Rev. J. F. Nessly was in charge. Mrs. Margaret Lewis, Grace McFall, Samuel Reeves and wife, Levi Harris, are the only persons he can recollect as members now, who were such at the time he came to this church. Fkee Will Baptist Church. In April, 1843, certain brethren living in Bellevernon and vicinity made a request in the form of a petition to Elder Jos- hua Newbold, for the organization of a Free Will Baptist Church in that village. The request was presented to the 348 The Old and Neio Monongahela. Jacobs Creek Church at the monthly meeting held on the sec- ond Saturday (8th) of April, of the same year. At this same quarterly meeting, Elder Joshua Newbold, S. G. Smutz, David Smith, Jr., Robert Armstrong and Alexander Armstrong were appointed a council to organize such a church, April 22, 1843; if they considered it proper so to do. The council met in the old brick school house on the hill, and all being present except Alexander Armstrong, they proceeded to business by choosing Elder Joshua Newbold, president, and S. G. Smutz, secretary, after examining the matter solemnly and truly as required, the council duly organized and constituted the petitioners into a church. The names of the twelve persons which constituted the church are as follows: Thomas C.Jordan, Daniel Springer, Roger Jordon, Isaac Ferree, Jas. M. Springer, Hannah Jordon, Rachel Springer, Lydia Springer, Eliza Jordon, Elizabeth Elder, Cath- arine Shocky, Sarah Ann Jordon ; Elder Joshua Newbold was elected pastor for one year. Daniel Springer and Isaac Ferree were chosen Deacons and Roger Jordon clerk. At a meeting of the members, April 22, 1843, it was resolved that we will agree to form ourselves as Free Will Baptists into a church, to be called the Belle vernon church, and we agree to take the Scriptures for our only rule of faith and practice, and to walk according to the order of the Free Will Baptists as laid down in the Treatise of the General Conference in 1834, and that we agree that the majority shall rule in all cases except in receiv- ing members and excluding them, it will be expected to be a unanimous vote of the church so far as practicable, and that we agree to support a preacher, so far as we are able. Signed by all the 12 members. The first meeting of the church in conference was held on the 4th Saturday of May, 1843, being the 27th day. June 3rd, 1843, at this second quarterly conference meeting, Daniel Springer was appointed delegate to the Jacobs Creek quarterly conference, being the first of the kind appointed. At the con- ference held July 1st, Dr. Charles B. Egan delivered his first The Old and Neio Mononcjahela. 349 exhortation. September 12th, 1843, it was resolved to make an effort to build a church by subscriptions of money. March 26th, 1841, the effort to raise money being successful to such an extent as to warrant the building of a church, it was resolved to appoint Daniel Springer, Roger Jordon and William Wayts trustees for the funds already raised, and the same persons were named as a building committee, and authorized to erect a church building 26 x 36 feet. It was built on the lot on Wood street near Flint alley, now owned by D. W. Owens; Thomas Taggart was the contractor. The church was dedicated Sep- tember 8tli, 1844; elder Joshua Newbold preached the dedica- tory sermon. December 16, 1856, Roger Jordon resigned his position as clerk and trustee, which he held since the organization of the church. James M. Springer was elected in his place, and served until May 25th, 1869. Pierson B. Luce was elected clerk April 23d, 1870, Mrs. Allie Cooper, February 2nd, 1877, Mrs. Erzanna Browneller, January 6th, 1879, and John C. Lynn, was elected January 5, 1885. The deacons are P. B. Luce, James Phillips; and treasurer, Dr. A. N. Marston. The old church becoming too small for the growing congregation, it was determined to erect a new building. A lot on Short street, North Bellevernon, was purchased from L. M. Speers for $350; on it the present beautiful structure was erected in in 1871-72. The total cost was $2800. The contractor for the frame work was the late O. D. Johnson. The plastering was done by Thomas Cooper and the painting by Robert McClure. The church was dedicated April 21, 1872, Rev. James Cal- der, of Harrisburg, preaching the dedication sermon. The spire was blown down by a storm in the fall of 1876, and was replaced by the present cupalo. The lot. No. 71, on which the church is erected, was deeded by L. M. Speers and wife, Fan- nie, June 1, 1871, to J. Wesley Corwin, Joseph B. Courtney and John Hixenbaugh, trustees of the Free-Will Baptist church of Bellevernon borough. To the untiring efforts of the late J. W. Corwin the church is indebted for this building more 350 The Old and New Monongahela. than any one other individnaL From the day the idea of build- ing it was conceived nntil the last dollar was paid he never let lip in his labor to have the work accomplished, and he had be- fore his death not only the comforts' of a beautiful church edifice but the consolation of having done his duty well. He had been a member of this church since 1854. On the 4th day of April, 1846, elders Joshua Newbold, Edward Jordon and David Smutz were elected to preach alter- nately every two weeks for the next year. These preachers were succeeded in their time by Drs. Egan, Newbold, Reardon, Winton, Plannet, Cook, Blakely, Jordon, Bryant, Springer, Lacock, Joy, Nye, Rogers, Fish, Smutz, Knap, Hills, and the present pastor, Joel Baker, who took charge May 6th, 1883. Rev. Joel Baker was born in Connecticut, studied theology at New Hampton Theological School, was licensed to preach at the quarterly meeting held at Meredith, New Hampshire, May 27th, 1856, and was ordained at Alton, N. H., November 19th, 1857. Like most of other churches, this one has no regular record of the origin and early workings of its Sabbath school. The Free Will Baptist Sabbath School was organized in 1844, after the occupancy of the church building on Wood street ; Daniel Springer was the first superintendent, and continued as such until he removed to Brownsville sometime in the early fifties, where he only remained two months. He afterwards was superintendent at different times. The school at this date, July 27, 1887, is in a flourishing condition. Its present oflicers are : Superintend- ent, Dr. A. N. Marston ; Assistant, Ed. J. Corwin ; Teachers, the pastor, Joel Baker, Mrs. Katty Marston, Mrs. Luther Cor- win, Mrs. Barnet Corwin, Mrs. D. W. Jones, Mrs. John Dow- ling, Misses Jennie Worrell, Ella Fuester, Mintie Clegg, Lizzie Scott ; Secretary and Librarian, Thomas Scott, Jr. ; Treasurer, Mintie Clegg. The Old and New Monongahela. 351 Disciple Church of Bellevernon. The exact date at which the Disciples first held meetings in Bellevernon cannot be fixed, but from all the information we can gather, in 1838 two elders named Landfier, of Ohio, preached in the house on Water street below Cherry alley, lately occupied by Alexander Brown. A lady whose name has been forgotten, was immersed by them, being the first bap- tism by the Disciples in the town. After these gentlemen. Elder Pool came into the neighborhood and preached in private houses and the brick school house on the hill. In conversation with Elder L. P. Streator, we learned that he preached in 1841 in the Brown house on Water street, then oc- cupied by Bowman Furnier; after the discourse Miss Sallie Gould was baptized at the ferry wharf. During the religious excitement in this vicinity in 1843, among the different churches, a number of Disciple preachers visited the town and began preaching in private dwellings. Among these were Elders Pool, Pyatt, Benedict, McKenzie and some others whose names are lost. They held meetings in the houses of J. B. Gould, James Corwin, A. P. Frye, Nathaniel Everson, and the school house on the hill. The result of these meetings was the gath- ering into the Disciple faith of quite a number, among whom we may mention John B. Gould and wife, James Corwin, Sr., and wife, Joseph Springer and wife, James H. Springer and wife, Mary Corwin, Hester and Mary, daughters of James Corwin, Sr., Ackey and Sallie Gould whom w^e have already named. The brethren in 1844 determined to build a meeting house, and the result was the building corner of Fourth and Water streets. In 1869 this house was sold, as we have stated in a former article, to K. C. Schmertz, and the old Methodist churcli pur- chased. Elder Pool preached for a year or perhaps two after the completion of the new house. He lived in the house corner First and Water streets. As yet there was no congregation regularly organized in the town. Meetings were held on every 352 The Old and Ne%o Monongahela. alternate Lord's day with Fayette City congregation. Meet- ings were held at different times by such elders as Benedict, Hughes, Walk, Southmaid, Delmont and Kowe, until 1869, when Elder Rowe, having held a successful meeting, it was thought best to organize a separate organization in Bellevernon. A written request being sent to Fayette City congregation and granted, in May, 1870, an organization was effected. John B. Gould, D. B. H. Allen and James M. Springer were chosen elders, and James H. Springer and Thomas Fawcet, deacons; D. B. H. Allen, treasurer, and James M. Springer, clerk. In the Disciple church the pastors are elected by the individual congregation at pleasure. The first regular pastor after the organization was Elder J. B. Cox, who remained a year or two, and was succeeded by Southmaid, Delmont, Pyatt, Streator, Rowe, Chase, Vogel, and Jobes, the present pastor is Elder Brice L. Kershner. In the absence of a pastor the meetings are con- ducted by the elders, who have the oversight of the church, and preaching is had as the congregation may desire by em- ploying preachers to hold meetings. The First School in Bellevernon. The first school in the village of Bellevernon was taught by John Hazelbaker in the kitchen part of the house of the venerable Mary Corwin. This house originally stood on the farm now owned by James Ward, in Rostraver, and was the primitive dwelling of Michael Springer, who emigrated to this country from Stockholm, in Sweden. John Hazelbaker was a brother of the late Jacob Hazelbaker, who lived for many years in the stone house just above town ; also of the late George Hazelbaker, of Allen township, Washington county. Schools were also taught by John B. Gould and others in the house now occupied by W. P. Mackey, and in the house owi;ed now by Mrs. Eliza Smock, and in several other houses. After the common school system was adopted in 1834, the old brick school house on the hill was erected with brick taken The Old and Neui Monongahela. 353 from the old Rehoboth church which had been built in 1803. The money to build this school house was raised by subscrip- tion, and erected under the supervision of Solomon Speers and A. P. Frye. This house being in the woods and on the hill, was soon considered so inconvenient that the school board of Washington township determined to build a new one in Gould's hollow. It was built of brick taken from the old mill near the mouth of Speers' run, owned in the long ago by David Furnier. This old school building is still standing, a monu- ment of the past. The only remnant extant of the old brick church of Rehoboth may be seen in the pavement in front of the residence of W. P. Mackey. Whilst he owned the house Dr. Van Yoorhis had the pavement made of brick taken from the old school house on the hill. After the erection of the school house in Gould's hollow the one on the hill was abandoned, but in after years, when two schools became necessary, it was again occupied under the au- spices of the Washington township school board. Among the teachers in the brick school house on the hill we can mention William, or Billy Bolt, as he was called. He lived in the house recently owned by John H. Shepperd, in Rostraver. Robert T. Galloway was another teacher. He afterwards became a law- yer; resided in Uniontown; was elected to the Legislature in 1844, was elected prothonotary in 1854, and died in Connells- ville not many years since ripe in honors and esteem of his fellow-citizens. David Longneckcr also taught in this house. Nancy J. Gould, John C. Hasson, John B. Gould, John Wil- son, a Mr. Martin, Henry Fulton, now of California; Prof. George P. Fulton, of Pittsburgh, and Sallie Gould, were among those who taught in this old house. John C. Hasson taught his first school in 1852 in the old Tromont House, over the river nearly opposite the glass works. He was the first teacher in Fayette county examined by Joshua Y. Gibbons, who was the first County Superintendent. The examination was in 1854 in Gould's school house. Mr. Hasson is still among us, being one of the most substantial citizens of 354 The Old and New Monongahela. North Bellevernon. Geo. P. Fulton had been a teacher of comraon schools since he was seventeen j^ears old. Was three years in the army, and had been for seventeen years principal of the Hiland Public School, in Pittsburgh before his death. He very kindly undertook to give .the writer a paper on his early career as a teacher in Bellevernon, but before completing it as he desired, he was overtaken with disease, disabling him from giving a full history. We subjoin his letter. Prof. Geo. P. Fulton says : "In April, 1852, I commenced teaching in Bellevernon, in the old brick school house on the hill. It was a subscription school. The glassmen of the works of W. Eberheart, Sr., com- pos<3d the controlling element in all the affairs of the town and neighborhood. Old man Eberheart was ^rex ahsohUm^ of the glass trade from New Geneva to New Orleans. Then there were no strikes. If a workman was not satisfied with his wages he threw up his ' pot, ' vacated the tenement of his employer on summary notice, received his pay and left the town. Adam and George Shunk, Oliver Scott, Christ Welzcr, Oliver Town, John Hutton, Charley Coll, George Bunting and William II. Faulkner, were glass-house men whose names arc still fresh in my memory. The farmers of Allen and Fallowfield over the river, brought their butter and eggs to Eberheart' s store, whilst the Finley's, the Smocks, Robinsons and Springers, from the farms in the forks and Pehoboth valley, furnished from their herds grass-fed beeves and swine for the glass-works families. "Side by side the glass making industry, were the boatyards of L. M. Speers whoso sterling character for probity and gen- erous dealings in all this great enterprise, will be remembered as long as the name of the town shall stand, or hearts can beat in the breasts of those whp then enjoyed his friendship, his confidence and his princely hospitality. "Clarke's coal works above town were then in operation, Init the custom of the miners in the stores generally went to Cooks- town, s(i that the glass works and boat yards alone kept the community in thrift and industry. The Old and Neio Monongahela . 355 "The lirst of July, when the fires were out was a cariiiv^al sea- son for Bellevernon creditors from tlie highest to the lowest in the ranks of the year's workers. Dr. Yan Voorhis gathered in his yearly harvest of dues for healing offices; the preachers and school teachers were then paid; old Dr. Jacob Hazelbaker ran down delinquents for his cobling services, on the hob-nailed shoes of the teazers, rendered in the intervals of his veterinary practice; old man Jones who kept the ale-house on the corner of First and Water streets, rubbed out the chalked scores for the nut brown draughts dealt to the toilers during the year, and laid in fresh supplies of refreshment for the summer solstice. "I taught but two terms in the town. The second school was held in a hall fitted up by Division No. 286, Sons of Tem- perance, converted long since into a dwelling, and now owned and occupied by Allen K. and Curtiss Reppert, on Main below Third street. William Eberheart and L. M. Speers jointly paid my salary, and they sent as pupils the children of their fam- ilies and such of their employes as could be admitted with the prescribed limit of attendance. This was truly a mixed school. Boys were reciting Yirgil preparatory to admission to Wash- ijigton college; one bright girl was studying botany, whilst some were in the alphabet. To hear talk about work in the school room now makes me sigh, when I think of those jubilant days of yore. ' Hope in the prow and pleasure at the helm, ' when the hours of the longest summer day were never tiresome or irksome amid the cheerful group that were always in step with the longest stride of my enthusiasm. ''I had a large school of young ladies older than their teacher, and big boys of equal ages filled the seats around the walls, while scores of six year olds held down the little benches ill front of the master's desk. Professors were unknown in those days. It would have been Professor John Wilson of the Lagrange and Professor John B. (iould of (Tould's Hollow, and Professor Fred Cooper, who used to come on Saturday's from his scliool on Maple Creek and drown his school "sor- rows in the tlovvin bole," as Artemus Ward would say. Cooper 356 The Old and New Monongahela. was a Hue scholarly fellow, six feet in height, erect and had the air and manners of a well-bred gentleman. Our school work was carried on without the help of the many valuable appliances which now abound in the hands of the skillful teachers of to-day ; yet with only primers I had my six year old tads reading in the first reader in six weeks. " Captain Jim French, the jolly skipper of the Swan and Bellevernon, and afterward of the Polly South, had his first- born in this class, and could attest the correctness of this state- ment. "I was in the height of sympathy with my work — my whole soul was in it, and 1 fairly got up early to see these young scions unfold the leaves of their mental growth, and note their pro- gress from night until the next morning roll-call, and herein lies the whole secret of the teacher's success — to love his charge with all his heart and soul and strength, letting his neighbor in other pursuits attend to his own business, and drive his school along to success when he gets it a-going, as Sheridan did his soldiers, not giving them time to halt, lie down or skulk."'" School Teachers and School Houses. Among the many persons who taught school in GouUrs Hol- low were John Wilson, deceased for many 3'ears, John B. Gould, dead only a few years, John Q. Robinson, who is at this time one of the most prominent medical men in Westmoreland county; has always resided in West Newton since conmienc- ing to practice his profession. J. H. Wilson whilst teaching here in 1856, was a resident of Washington county, but now resides near Chatsworth, Illinois. After teaching over thirty years retired from the profession. His mother was a sister of the late Nancy V . Davidson, whose maiden name was Palmer, and whose first husband was Samuel Reeves, the father of our fellow citizens Samuel and John Reeves and the late Mrs. J. M. Springer. Levi J. Jefries is now a citizen of Bellevernon. He was origi- nally a glasshouse boy. His fellow boys taught him the alphabet by means of letters made on the foot-benches with chalk. Within The Old and New Monongahela. 357 three years afterwards his chalk-mark teachers were among his scholars dm'iiig the time he taught in the old Gould's Hollow school house. Sallie Gould married a man by the name of Morrison, and has been dead many years. She was the mother of Elmer Morrison, now a resident of Seldom Seen, adjoining the borough. Sarah Fulton graduated at Washington Female Seminary in 1857. She was the wife of Rev. J. H. Steven- son, of Mt. Carmel, III. She is deceased. George W. Nich- ols, after leaving this town, was long a resident of Lawrence- ville. Pa. He has been dead a number of years. A part of the house owned by the late J. W. Corwin used to stand on the corner of Main and Second streets, and it was utilized for a time as a school house. A man by the name of Adly taught here for awhile, and also A. J. Colvin, about the year 1848. Miss Vashti Budd, about 1849, had also a school in this build- ing. She was a cousin of John C. Hasson. Miss Florilla Tower had a select school in 1856 and a year or more subse- quent, perhaps, in the room for a long time known as the store room of Solomon Speers, but more recently it has been used as sitting room in the hotel known as the ]Ar)lcy house near the ferry. Tn 1857 the old school house on the hill and also the one at Gould's were abandoned and sold, and the new brick building was erected on the lot now occupied by the beautiful residence of R. J. Linton, corner State and Short streets. It was a two- story building with two rooms on the first and one room on the second floor. It was built under the supervision of James Davidson and J. M. Springer as building committee of the school board of Washington township. Solomon Mereditli did the brick and Peter Snyder the carpenter work. The Vjrick were made in and shipped from California, in Washington county. The entire cost of the building was ^1327.18. It was first occupied in January, 1858, by John Wright and Miss Florilla Tower as teachers. In the fall of 1858, Mr. Ross W. Phillips and Miss Sallie Vanhook were elected teachers. In 1859 the same Mr. Ross was elected 25 358 The Old and Nevj Mommgahela. principal, but during the night after the first days school he mysteriously disappeared, leaving nothing to tell the reason for such conduct. Mr. E. C. Griffith was elected in his place. Having no record from this year until the incorporation of the borough, we cannot give in full the names of all the teachers, but we can recall the names of C. C. Baugh, John Hasson, Miss Mary Beazell, Miss Myra Fulton. Miss Beazell was the wife of J. P. Cunningham, of Rostraver; she is now dead. Miss Fulton is the wife of Rev. E. P. Lewis, of St. Paul, Minn. Mr. Baugh has been in the mercantile business in Perrypolis and some other places. In the Enter'jyrise some time ago was published a full official list of all the teachers in the public schools of Bellevernon from the time of the incorporation in 1863 to the present, to which we refer our reader. The records of Washington township have been lost or mis- laid prior to 184:1. In 1841 William Eberheart was elected school director, being the first from the village of Bellevernon. James Davidson, J. S. Van Yoorhis, J. M. Springer, and per- haps others whose names we cannot remember, have served as directors in the township. Below we give a list of the persons who have been directors of the borough since its organization: Robert Boyle, James Davidson, J. S. Van Voorhis, James French, John W. Wright, N. Q. Speers, James M. Springer, J. A. Piersol, Curtiss Reppert, O. D. Johnson, John Power, Jesse P. Sill, W. F. Speers, John Reeves, Henry Haler, Alex. Brown, J. W. Corwin, Anion Bronson, S. F. Jones, Church Porter, R. J. Linton, A. P. Lewis, A. A. Taggart, W. P. Mackey, J. H. Lewis, W. E. McCrory, Eli W. Martin, L. Z. Birmingham, Ephraim Lewis, J. B. Enos, E. M. Kyle, J. M. Bowell, John A. Acklin, W. H. Noble, S. M. Graham, Dr. A. N. Marston, Isaac Coldron, John Durst. The corps of teachers for 1892-93 consisted of Ira R. Smith, principal; Miss Carrie Greathead, Miss Ida Hug, Miss Clara Lang and Miss Spliar. The Old and New Monongaliela. 359 The New Brick School Houses in Bellevernon. The growth of the town and increase of schohirs, seemed to demand greater accommodations in the building. June 17th, 1869, resolutions were offered in the Board looking to the erec- tion of an additional building in the rear of the main building twenty-four bj thirty feet, two stories, to cost about $1800. The resolutions were referred to a committee consisting of O. D. Johnson, J. A. Piersol and James French, who reported on the 22nd of June the resolutions with very little modij&cation, and on motion they were adopted with one negative vote, James M. Springer. At a called meeting of the Board on June 25, the resolutions were re-considered and negatived. The failure of the project arose from opposition on the part of the citizens. The opposition was owing to the assessment of eighteen mills to ])ay for the additional rooms, and little did the grumblers think that in a verj^ few years a massive structure would go up requiring that amount of money to be levied for generations yet unborn. At a meeting January 22nd, 1872, at which were present James French, Henry Haler, J, A. Piersol, Anion Bronson and W. F. Speers, committee on legislation were appointed. June 14, 1872, J. W. Corwin was added as a new member to the board. The bill reported in its passage was so amended and changed as to only authorize a per capita tax, confining it to three years, and allowing the 'use for building pur])<^sos of the excess of school tax not used in carrying on the schools. In 1873 an act was passed authorizing the school board to borrow money at a rate not exceeding 8 per cent, after having exhausted the powers of the court in such cases provided. Of the 8 per cent bonds issued running fifteen years under this act, $5,500 at this date (August 29, 1887) remaining not due and un])aid. These will be due in 1888-89. In July, 1872, J. M. Springer and Captain W. F. Speer 300 The Old and Neiv Monmgahela. were appointed a committee to ascertain a plan of building for a new school house, cost, specifications, etc., Haler, Springer, Bronson, Speers and Brown voting jea. August 5. — On motion Amon Bronson and Henry Haler were appointed to make arrangements with Samuel Bedsworth to burn brick for school house at $6 per 1,000. Committee on plan of school house reported a three-story building, two feet larger than the one at Fayette City. On motion W. F. Speer, Henry Haler and J. W. Corwin were appointed to offer for sale the old school house, and negotiate with J. A. Piersol for the pur- chase of his house and lots, subject to the approval of board. August 6. — Committee to see PiersoU reported in favor of purchasing his property at |3,000. The board unanimously received the report. August 16. — Committee on brick reported that they had bought 200,000 at six dollars per 1000 at the kiln. By a una- nimous vote it was resolved to instruct the committee on pur- chase of school property, to negotiate for the Hasson heirs pro- perty. On motion it was agreed that if the school house be sold on Saturday the 17th inst., that the conditions should be as recorded but fails to specify to whom it was sold and for what price. In another part of the record we discover it was sold to R. J. Linton, not naming the price in the minutes. December 12. — It was resolved to build the new school house sixty by seventy feet. On motion Brown, Speers and Corwin were appointed a committee to draw up specitications for both a two and three story building, and to i-eceive bids for both plans. On motion it was resolved to sell the Piersol pro- perty. December 26th, the specifications for school building as written out and presented were unanimously adopted, not stating whether for two or three stories or for both. January 30th, 1873, the bids were opened and read as follows : — Wm. Coulter and A. A. Taggert, i{^13,l)90; Ziba Whiting, J{^14:,0(M); Samuel Daugherty and Larimerl, f 15, 650. February 14. — ^On motion the contract was awarded Wm. Coulter and A. A. Taggart at their bid, yeas Springer, Corwin, The Old and Neio Monongahela. 361 Speers, Bronson, Brown and lialer. The committee made sale of the old house on Hasson lots and the Piersoll property to Amon Bronson, the former for $150 and the latter for $2810. March 31st an order was issued in favor of Hasson 's heirs for $1450, which seems to be the price paid for the two lots corner of Wood and Third streets on which the new buildine was erected. June 2, 1873, S. F. Jones was elected instead of Haler, and W. F. Speers re-elected members of the board. June 25, S. F. Jones and J. M. Springer were appointed to superintend the building of the new school house, and July 19 Amon Bronson was added to the committee. August 25 J. M. Springer re- signed his seat in the board, and August 30 Church Porter was appointed in his place. We have not been able to find in the record the exact cost of the new school house, including the fixtures and furniture, but from all the information we can gather the total cost was not far from $30,000. September 17, 1873, J. W, Gibbons was elected princip'al of the first school in the new building at a salary of $80 per month; H. T. Baily was elected to room No. 2 at a salary of $60 per month; Theo. J. Allen to No. 3, wages $45, and Miss Hattie Davidson to room No. 4, wages $45. This school house has been subject to much severe criticism. The plan, the, size and cost, have all undergone an ordeal of complaint. In many particulars the building has faults, but perhaps the board did all for the best, as things were seen at that time. Then every- thing was carried on under a high pressure. The Bellevernon Academy. The Bellevernon Academy was founded in 1842 by Noah W. Speers. The Academy occupied the stone house then owned by said Speers, and now by John Gibson's Son & Co. William Eberheart in his day remodeled and improved it for his dwell- ing, and more recently it, under the above firm, has been still more modernized, and now is the beautiful residence of Captain T. L. Daly, superintendent of the Gibsonton mills, located in 362 The Old and New Monongahela. the vicinity. The late T. R. Hazzard, a native of New York, was the principal; he was an accomplished scholar, and stood in the front rank as a teacher. At the founding of this school he was considered the most siiccessfnl classical educator in the Monongahela Valley, and did more perhaps than any other one man to foster in the youth of the valley a desire for a thorough academical course of education. Whilst principal of this acad- emy he lived in the house now owned by Conrad Metz, on the corner of Main street and Cherry alley. In this house was born his son Joseph de Vernon, named in honor of this town. He was a soldier in the late war, coming out of it minus an arm. He is now a prominent orange grower in the state of Florida. T. R. Hazzard had for his assistants in the academy, Wm. F. Hamilton, now a distinguished Doctor of Divinity in the Pres- byterian church. He now resides in Washington, Pa. Among the students of this school are some very prominent public actors. Dr. J. C. Cooper, a prominent physician of Philadel- phia, the late Hon. Demas M. Letherman an ex-member of the Pennsylvania Legislature, who was the father of Dr. J. A. Letherman, of California, Dr. John H. Storer, of Triadelphia, West Virginia, who ranks in the front of the medical men of the State, Dr. R. NicoUs, now retired among the wealthy men of Bloomington, 111., the late Hon. George W. Mcllvain, ex-chief Justice of Ohio, who was looked upon as one of the most dis- tinguished jurists in that or any other state of the Union, the Fuller boys, now the largest cattle dealers in Philadelphia, N. C and Ephraim Blaine, brothers of ex-Secretary Blaine of the state of Maine, were students at this Academy. T. R. Hazzard, Esq., was a member of the Washington bar for nearly forty years; was more than once elected Burgess and Justice of the Peace in his adopted City of Monongahela, and was a very active and influential member of the late Constitu- tional Convention. He died September 3, 1877, his wife fol- lowed him on March 10th, 1887. They left to mourn their loss four sons, Chill W., the accomplished and talented editor of the Monongahela Rei^uhUcan; J. De Vernon, of whom we The Old and Ne%o Mmiongahela. 363 have spoken above; John J., connected with one the banks of rittsbnrgh, and Thos. L., one of Allegeny City's prominent physicians and a professor in the Western Pennsylvania Medi- cal College, located in Pittsburgh. Owing to circumstances of which we have no special knowledge, the proprietor closed the Academy a few years after its founding, and removed to Cincinnati, where he had been for many years an active business man. N. W. Speers is now a resident of Memphis, Tenn. He and Jacob are the only surviving members of the family of Noah Speers, the founder of Bellevernon. Post Office and Telegraph. We wrote to the Department to ascertain at what time the Bellevernon post office was established, but failed to get a reply to the request. It seems to have been established about 1830, or perhaps a few years prior to this date. Solomon Speers was the first postmaster, and kept the office on the cor- ner of Water and First street, in the well known brick house now used as a hotel. The same case of alphabetical boxes then obtained is still in use. Uriah Ward, who had been in the employ of Speers as a clerk, succeeded him in 1836 as post master. Ward was succeeded by Wm. Eberheart, the well-known glass manufacturer, who kept the office in the brick store room, corner of Water street and Cherry alley. John Mullin was next in office. He had the office in his store room on the corner of Main street and Cherry alley, where now stands the beautiful three story building of A. A. Taggart. It was during his term that the office was broken into and the letters carried into a corn field on the hill and destroyed. Stephen Whetsel was arrested for the robbery and tried in the U. S. Court at Pittsburgh, but the evidence was not sufficient to convict him. It remains a mystery to this day who commit- ted the deed. John Mullin was succeeded by James R. Davidson, some- where about the year 1855-56. He had the office in the brick store room corner of Main and Second streets now occupied by 3G4 The Old and New Monongahela. Browns" Pharmacy. James R. Davidson is now a prominent lawyer of Hillsboro, Henry county, Iowa, was succeeded in time by J. B. McKennan, Robert Boyle, L. R. Boyle, James Davidson, Jas. Haggerty, and the present postmaster, L. M. Kyle. Jas. Davidson was in office from 1869 to 1885. Even within the recollection of the writer postage was rated accord- ing to the number of sheets of paper and the distance carried. There were no stamps in early days. The postage on letters run up from 6 J cents or a fip, \'i\ cents or a levie, 18f cents and 25 cents to be prepaid or not, as people determined. It was considered a breach of etiquette to prepay a letter. Prior to the establishment of the post office the Bellevernon people received their mail at Cookstown which office had been erected in 1813. The mail was carried on horseback and it was con- sidered a big thing to get it twice a week. We cannot find out who first carried the mail on this route but we do know that Richard Everson and James Kerr were two of the con- tractors, and that in 1847 the late Joseph Hassler, of Ros- traver, in person brought the mail to Bellevernon on every Tuesday and Saturday. The mail pouch resembled the old- time saddle-bags, and was thrown across the horse, the car- rier riding on it. Even in 1847 only a small mail was received at this office. Wm. Eberheart got most of the letters; a few copies of the Genius of Liherty^ the Pennsylvania Democrat, now the American Standai'd, the Presbyterian Advocate, now the Banner, the Christian Advocate and Morning Star, were received weekly. The Greensburg Herald was carried to the subscribers in Rostraver by Samuel Douglass who was em- ployed as private carrier. Outside of the cities daily papers were not often taken. Along in the early fifties Wm. Eber- heart took one daily paper, the first in the town, now 1893; the newsman sells 200 copies of the Pittsburgh dailies. In the early spring of 1865, James L. Shaw, through his in- dividual exertions, had formed the Monongahela Valley Tele- graph company, which erected the first line of telegraph along the Monongahela river. The office in Bellevernon was first The Old and New Monongahela. 365 placed ill the store room of Harvey B. Frye, well known as Speers' corner. The first operator was Miss May Johnston and the present operator is Mrs. J. F. Frye. The office was opened on the 14th day of April, 1865, the day of the assassination of President Lincoln. The first message sent was as follows : "Bellevernon, Pa., April 14, 1865. "To Harvey Fleming^ Cookstown, Pa.: "What is Jane Hunter selling eggs at'^ Answer. "8 D. H. H. B. Fkye.^' Newspapers. The first effort at starting a newspaper in town was made by the youthful E. A. Hastings. In the winter of 1873-74 he printed a small sheet called the Young Patriot. The outgrowth of this effort was the establishing of the Bellevernon Patriot. E. A. Hastings was the editor and J. T. McAlpin associate. The first number was issued April 24, 1874. May 7, 1874, McAlpin retiring, E. A. Hastings assumed full control of the Patriot. The paper was published by McAlpin and Hastings in kind of alternate way until July 29, 1875, the date of the last issue. January 4, 1877, J. T. McAlpin obtained control of the Valley Leader press and issued No. 1, Vol. 1, of the Bellevernon Courier. He published this paper until June 13, 1878, when it ceased to live. The press was sold to a firm in Uniontown, and is now doing service in some office in Ohio. The writer has the Patriot and Courier complete, bound in one volume, which is an epitome of the local history of the town of that day. The Bellevernon Enterjyrhe was first issued on the 3rd day of April, 1886, by L. M. Truxal, and is now one of the fixtures of the town. The first persons married in the town were Miss Fannie Billiter and John Thompson, the ceremony being performed by William D. Mullin, Esq., in 1824. 366 The Old and New Monongahela. Glass Works and Business Mgn in Belleveknon. The glass works have always been the prominent business of the town. The factory long known as the "old house," was commenced by Kendall & Patton, in 1834, but was completed and put in operation by William Eberheart in 1836. The venerable John S. Cams, now deceased, remembered very well of being present at the first blowing. Persons in large number from the surrounding country were in the factory to witness the op- eration of blowing glass. The cylinders or rollers were only large enough to make from six to nine lights of eight by ten. Mr. Cams lived at that time in the old log school house on the farm, then belonging to the late Samuel Jones, but now the lot owned by Henry Lang, near the colored church in Rostraver, Mr. Carnes could not recall to mind any of the blowers unless it be that of Chas. M. Coll, who he thought was among the number, and perhaps Gabler, Burk, Sedgwick, Benedict, Kimber, Goslin, Berry, Reddick, Downs and Denny. Griffith Wells, a well-known former citizen, now dead, was the first glass-cutter who worked at these works. Eberheart inherited his glass-making propensities from his fatherAdolph Eberheart, who carried on for many years in New Geneva, the works erected by the late Hon. Albert Gallatin. Each blower flattened his own glass iniwhat was called shove- down ovens. There were no snappers and second-handers — only the tending boys who were generally apprentices to the trade. They made six melts in a week and flattened the glass. At what time the upper house was built we cannot say positive- ly, but think it was about 1841. Financial troubles com- pelled Eberheart in 1853 to close up the business. The works were purchased by Geo. A. Berry, of Pittsburgh, and the busi- ness was revived under the firm of Geo. A. Berry & Co., which was in a few years merged into Geo. A. Berry, J. B. McKennan and Samuel Vanhook retiring, but remained agents for Mr. Berry, until he sold to Robert C. Schmertz & Co., in 1865. This firm is still carrying on the works, which have The Old and Neio Monongahda. 367 been enlarged and so improved as to hold thediighest rank in the United States. It is now a thirt j-pot establishment, employing near 200 men and boys. In the future (1887) natural gas will be used throughout the whole plant. The gas will be furnished by the Bellevernon Light and Heat Company from its .five wells in which R. C. Schmertz & Co. is the lar- gest stockholder. The firm employs the most skillful workmen in every department, and the glass turned out commands a ready market in every part of the United States. Kollers or cylinders are now made which cut forty-eight lights eight by ten inches. Hotel-keeper — A. C. Houseman, State road and Main street. In 1847, Tanner — A. P. Frye, Water and Second streets. The tan-yard was established by William Reeves in 1830. It was owned in succession by William Reeves, Alex, and John Big- ham, John Niccolls, A. P. Frye, J. W. Wright and W. C. Drum, during whose ownership it was abandoned as a tan-yard about the year 1866. It is now owned by the heirs of George Lang, deceased. Morgan Reeves was the first tanner. There was no justice of the peace, but 'Squire J. B. Gould in 1847 did "all the law business," as he resided adjoining the the town. The first tailor in town was Billy Walker, who in 1836 had his shop in the house on the corner of Water and First streets. Milton Sloppy, the first harness-maker, had his shop in 1857-58 in storeroom corner of Main and Second street, and he was succeeded in March, 1859, by W. P. Mackey, who had his shop in a room near Second on Main, where now Dr. Van Voorhis has his ofiice. Budd Gaskill was the first gunsmith. He had his shop in the rear part of the present Lang residence. Water street. He was succeeded by Wash. Everson, in the middle room of the old Taggart row on Main street below Strawberry alley. J. S. Van Voorhis, M. D., became a resident of Bellevernon May 25, 1847, and in 1893 is still in the town, having long since become one of its^fixtures. 368 The Old and New Monongakela. The Odd Fellows' Hall Association of Belle Vernon was chartered by a decree of the Fayette county court, December 1, 1879, with a capital stock of four thousand dollars, divided into shares of ten dollars each. The original stockholders were John Hackett, Samuel McKean, John S. Neil, John W. Wilkinson, W. B. McAlpin, John S. Sharpnack, J. S. Van- Voorhis, E. C. Guffy, Ephraim Lewis, A. L. Brown, L. K. Boyle. The first officers were, Trustees John Hackett, Sam- uel McKean and Ephraim Lewis; President, Samuel McKean; Treasurer, John W. Wilkinson, and Secretary, J. S. Van Voorhis. At a meeting of the stockholders October 21, 1879, the trustees were authorized to purchase lot 38 with the build- ing thereon well known as Speer's corner, in Bellevernon, from JohnW. Wilkinson, for the sum of 11,333.33^, the Associa- tion assuming the mortgages on said property. John W. Wil- kinson had purchased it at the sale of the assignee of L. M. &, W. F. Speer. This purchase by the Association was made prior to its incorporation, but became the legal property of the incorporated Association. This property in 1889 was sold to Wm. Jones and Lyia M. Graham, and the Association in the same year purchased from W. K. Wise 30 by 100 feet of the lot on corner of Main and Second streets, and in January, 1890, bought an additional five by 100 feet, making the lot 100 by 36 feet. On this lot during the summer of 1890, the Association erected a frame three story building. A. A. Taggart was the contractor. It is one of the most complete buildings in the town. The Grand Army Post. We are indebted to Joseph E. Nutt for the following sketch of General George D. Bayard Post, No. 178, of the G. A. R. June 24, 1880, was the red-letter day in the history of Belle- vernon, for military display and for the number thronging the streets of the old town who had carried the musket in defense of the Union in the dark days of 1861 to 1865. The early morn was ushered in by the booming of cannon and the en- The Old and New Monongahda. 309 tliusing and stirring martial music of the life and drum. Why all this excitement in our staid old town 'i Why this hurrying to and fro, completing , preparations as though to withstand a besieging enemy momentarily expected to appear and demand the surrender of the fortress? Is grim-visaged war again abroad in our loved land, as twenty years ago demanding each patriotic father and mother to bring forth their most cherished treasures, their eldest and perhaps their only dependent for support on the sun set side of the hill of life^ Thanks to that kind Providence that led our heroes in blue through a series of splendid victories to a permanent peace, the answer comes, " We are not preparing for war " but are about to muster a Post of the Grand Army of the Republic, an organization composed exclusively of surviving Union sol- diers who took part in the war of the rebellion, were honora- bly discharged and on whom rests no stain of treason. The questions may be, and often are asked, why this organization? Are not its objects calculated to retard the healing of the broach between north and south, and to perpetuate the sec- tional feelings which in the past led to such terrible conse- ([uences in the enormous sacrifices of blood and treasures? Again the answer comes, bearing tlic assurance that its mission is peaceful, and to any careful observer of the day, this fact is a])parent that there is no class that stood opposite each other across Mason and Dixon's line, that entertain a higher regard for or estimate at nearer the true value of each other as the ex- Pnion and ex-Confederate soldier class. The merits and sol- diery qualities recognized and acknowledged by either side only tends to give additional lustre to their own achievements, hence there can be no motive for the mcTi led by Grant, Sher- man, Sheridan and Meade, to withhold froiji the men led by i.ee, the Johnsons, Jackson and Longstreet, the credit due ilieir military daring and wonderful endurance, and vice versa. But there is in the heart of every old soldier an undefined feeling that binds him to every other one who shared like dan- gers and endured privations that cannot be appreciated by those 3^T0 The Old and New Mon&nga/iela. inexperienced in such things, and though the person maybe despised in almost every other respect, the fact substantiated that he did noble duty, and was a "good soldier,^' 2;gi1" erally admits him to the honor and benefits of the order. Mutual interests make it necessary to organize, that the pledges of the country to those who sacrificed all their dearest idols, their hopes of distinction in their chosen pro- fessions, the best years of their bright young manhood may not stand a meaningless verbage on the nation's statute books. The old adage that "Republics are always ungrateful'" would have still held good in this case, had it not been for the influence brought to bear through the G. A. R., as nearly all the relief thus far obtained has been secured directly or indi- rectly through this agency, and even in local affairs to accom- plish anything in the w*ay of relieving cases of distress and want of soldiers or their families,- we could not, without organi- zation bring the matter so intelligently before the public and obtain the needed help, and right here be it said the appeal for such purposes, has never been in vain in this community. The people have always given enough and more than enough to accomplish the object on hand, and the balance was religiously placed in the fund reserved for similar future drafts which were sure to come. There was on the 24:th of June, 1880, three hundred old sol- diers in Belle vernon, and thanks to the liberality and patriotic sympathy of our town and vicinity, an elegant and sul)stantial dinner was spread for the immense crowd of visitors from other places and the surrounding country. The occasion was graced by the presence of (now Past Department Commander) Chill. W. Hazzard, F. H. Dyer, Capt. Tom. Gist, Capt. N. W. Truxal, Hon. J. K. Billingsby, and other distinguished Grand Army men whose names cannot now be recalled, and a full turn out of Henry Billingsby Post 168, and J. W. Stephens Post 168. The exercises and entertainments of the day passed very pleasantly, and in the evening the Post was duly mustered by the visiting comrades. Com. C. W. Hazzard, then De- The Old and Neio Monongahela. 371 partment Commander, acting as mustering officer, and Com. Tom. Gist as officer of the day. During the evening Com- rade F. H. Dyer gave a grand series of sciopticon views, which were explained by C. W. Hazzard, some of which were grandly instructive, others very fun provoking. The records of the first meetings of the Post are too much abridged to give a satisfactory account of the first year's work, even the roster of officers is not recorded. The charter mem- bers were as follows, viz: J. B. Thompson, John Dowlin, James W. Morgan, W. C. Johnson, Joseph T. Bell, W. S. Harvey, Jas. H. Acklin, W. H. Noble, John Fell, Thos. Scott, S. B. Miller, Geo. R. Waters, Pierson B. Luce, John W. Dean, Nathan Worrel, Wm. F. Boothe, Robt. Fields, Wm. Bunting, Isaac Coldren, J. E. Nutt, A. B. Lowes, John S. Reeves, W. F. Morgan, John H. Weaver, Stewart Patter- son. Comrade John B. Thompson was elected Post comman- der, and hence is the Sr. Post P. C. He chose for his Adju- tant Comrade W. H. Noble. Rev. A. B. Lowes was elected Chaplain, which important office he ably filled as long as he remained in the community. The Post adopted for its name that of Brigadier Gen. Geo. D. Bayard, who was the Colonel of the First Pennsylvania Reserve Calvary when it first took the field, was afterwards about the 1st of May, 1862, commis- sioned Brigadier General, and, ably in camp and in field led a brigade of calvary until on the 12th day of December, 1862, on the disastrous and ill-fated field of Fredericsburg, he poured out his rich young life blood on his country's alter. Being only 22 years of age he gave promise of a bright future, as a calvary leader, and had he lived it might not have been necessary to call Sheridan from the west to lead the calvary of the Army of the Potomac on those memorial campaigns which covered alike the leader and those led, with such a halo of glory that their deeds of valor are imperisliably fixed on the pages of the country's history. The term ending December 31, 1880, was a fairly prosper- ous one, some seven or eight recruits having been added to the 372 The Old and JVeiv Monongahela. body of charter members. The roster of officers for 1881 was as follows: W. S. Harvey, Post Commander; L. R. Boyle, Sr. , Vice Commander; Wm. Boothe, Jr., Commander; W. H. Noble, Quarter-Master; J. W. Morgan, Adjutant; J. B. Thompson, officer of the day; Joseph Bell, officer of the guard; Rev. A. B. Lowes, Chaplin. During this term the Post procurred the necessary order for the admission of, and sent a comrade with the orphan children of Comrades Isaac Hammitt and Chas. Hixenbaugh, to the Soldiers Orphan School near Uniontown at Jummonville. The Post was not very successful in recruiting new members during the year 1881, but three were mustered during this year, events trans- pired which stirred to their depths the hearts of every member of the patriotic frateriuty. In the midst of the enthusiasm of celebrating our great national holiday, the news reached us that our most distinguished comrade and honored President, James A. Garfield, was stricken down by the hand of the assassin. Words cannot picture the chill of horror or determ- ination to have full justice meted out to the miserable wretch who committed the foul deed. As soon as it could be attended to a committee was appointed and resolutions of sympathy and condolence drafted and forwarded to the wounded President, of which the following is a copy: Whereas, our comrade, his excellency, the President of the United States, has been stricken down by the hand of a cowardly assassin, which act has secured and merited universal condemna- tion throughout the civilized world; therefore, EeHolvt'd^ That we, the members of General G, D. Bayard Post, No. 178, of Bellevernon, Fayette county. Pa., do de])lore this terri])le national calamity, and wc do hereby extend to our wounded comrade our heartfelt sympathy, and we do most earnestly hope for his speedy recovery. Signed, W. S. Hakvey, p. C. W. H. Noble, Adjutant y>yv> teni. The following is the reply secured from the private secretary of President GarHold : The Old and JVew Mojiongahela. 373 Executive Chamber, Washington, D. C, August 1, 1881. Dertr Sirs — The resolutions adopted by your association, ex- pressive of the sympathy and condolence which its members feel with the President and his family in the great calamity which has befallen them, have been received. In acknowledg- ing their receipt, permit me to assure you that it will afford me great pleasure at the most favorable and opportune time, to invite the attention of the President to this gratifying action on the part of your organization. In the meantime, expressing the thanks of the President for this courtesy, I am, yours very respectfully, I. Stanley Brown, Private Secretary. I. O. O. F. Belle Yernon Lodge No. 656, I. O. O. F., was instituted at Belle Vernon, Fayette county, Pennsylvania, on the afternoon of March 26, 1869, by Special D. D. G. M., LT. L. Clemmer, of Triumph Lodge No. 613, assisted by P. G. Master Alfred Slack, of Pittsburgh, then a candidate for G. W. of the Grand Lodge of Pennsylvania; P. G. Patriarch Sholes, of the same city, then Grand Patriarch of the Grand Encampment of Penn- sylvania; D. D. G. M., J. Mullin, of Allegheny county, and a large number of visiting brothers from Lodges Nos. 51, 377, 491, 511 and 613. The meeting was called to order by 1). G. M. Clemmer, and the names of the charter members being called were as follows: P. G. M. Alter, P. G. Samuel McKean, Bros. A. P. Lewis, R. C. Byers, Noah Speers, J. M. Springer, John T. Stciner, J. H. Lewis, T. F. Lewis, Milton Lanehart, G..y. Abel, J. S. Van Voorhis, J. B. Thompson, J. W. Dean, W. French, C. A. Patterson, J. Gould, W. Bright, R. J. Patton, R. K. Feuster, J. S. Bolsinger and E. L. Hyatt. After the usual ceremonies the charter was read and the Belle Vernon Lodge No. 656, was duly constituted. The elec- tion for officers resulted in the choice of R. C Byers, N. G.; J. S. Van Voorhis, V. G. ; Samuel McKean, Secretary; A. P. 26 374 The Old and New Monongahela. Lewis, Assistant Secretary, and J. M, Springer, Treasurer. In the evening J. H. Weaver, J. E. Hixenbaugh, E. E. Stickel, J. F. Reed, J. H. Hixenbaugh and O. D. Johnson were initiated, being the first under the charter. J. B. Foulk was the first admitted by card. During the year 1869, twen- ty-three were initiated and twenty-five admitted by card, in- cluding charter members; withdrawn by card, four; leaving January 1, 1870, a membership of forty-four. January 1, 1875, the lodge had a membership of 101, and in 1893 the same number. January 31 of this year the building in which the meetings were held was burned, destroying nearly everything belonging to the lodge, includ- ing the charter, the whole loss being estimated at ^1,200. The following persons have filled the oftice of Noble Grand since its institution, viz.: R. C. Byers, J. S. Yan Voorhis, A. P. Lewis, J. B. Thompson, J. M. Springer, J. E. Hix- enbaugh, J. F. Reed, J. H. Weaver, F. Hixenbaugh. A. G. Beazell, George Treasure, John Wilkinson, N. Speers, J. Hackett, W. C. Kittle, G. Amalong, M. Lanehart, J. F. Young, R. C. Gufty, G. Y. Abel, W. S. Harvey, E. S. Young, Will- iam Yaughan, L. R. Boyle, W. B. McAlpin, J. W. Morgan, J. H. Eller, Hugh Price, Ad. Young, Samuel Houseman, L. Thompson, Leightty Steen, J. A. Neil, George F. Gulp, W. H. Neil, Charles Clegg, C. C. Hammett, Wni. Corwin, John Gray, W. H. Hammett, Oliver Hixenbaugh, S. M. Warrensford, Anthony Hugg, J. R. Bovard, C. M. Jones, M. F. Packer, Wm. Eller and J. B. Shawman. We can recall the names of the fol- lowing P. G.s who have served as representatives to the Grand Lodge, viz.: M. Alter, Samuel McKean, A. P. Lewis, J. B. Thompson, J. M Springer, J. W, Morgan, Leightty Steen, E. S. Young, L. Thompson and I. N. Neil. Samuel McKean and J. M. Springer have each served one year as district deputy grand master. With the exception of one year, Samuel McKean had served as secretary from the institution of the lodge until April, 1890, when E. S. Young was elected. The lodge held its first meetings in a hall in Kittle's building, in the second The Old and NeiJj Monongahela. 375 story ; then occupied a room over Springer's store room on Main street, below Strawberry alley. The meetings were held here when the fire occurred. For years after the fire the lodge used the hall in the third story of Kittle's building, and in 1886 the lodge rented Corwin's hall on Main street. The lodge is now made up of seventy-one members. Its financial standing has always been good. It holds $2,900 stock in the Odd Fellows Hall Association; the paraphernalia and furniture is estimated at 1^1,500, and a respectable balance in the treasury October 1, 1893. The lodge had paid out for the relief of the sick and widow and orphan funds from Janu- ary, 1871:, to October 1, 1887, the sum of |3,712. Owing to the loss of the records by the fire we are not able to give the amount from 1869 to 1874, but no doubt the same proportion held good. Maple Grove is the name of the Encampment instituted shortly after the lodge was and is made up of third degree members of the lodge, or rather such of them as may apply for membership and be accepted. The Encampment holds |^400 of stock in the Hall Association above named. Other Lodges. Monongahela Lodge No. 362, Knights of Pythias, was or- ganized June 13, 1872. The first Division of the sons of Temperance in the town was Belle Vernon Division No, 286, instituted by D, G. W. P., James Piper, September 22, 1847. It ceased to exist about 1852. The present Division, No. 147, was organized Sept; 24, 1885, and meets in Odd Fellows' Hall every Tues- day evening. In addition to those organizations already named, we have a variety of other societies and institutions such as Accomac Tribe of Red Men, Knights of Labor, Council 531 of the Royal Arcanum, IT. S. Benevolent Frater- nity, Ethan Allen Council 355, O. IT. A. M., Western Coun- cil No. 79, Junior O. U. A. M., Equitable Aid Union, W. C. T. P., L. and O. Society, M. E. Lyceum, Presbyterian Mite 376 The Old and Neio Monongahela. Society, Presbyterian Happy Band, the Baptist Social, Foreign Missionary Societies of the different churches, Conamore Club, Cornet Band, Drum Corps. As place of amusement we have the opera house, skating rink, and the public halls are Taggart's, Bronson's and the school hall. Natural Gas History, 1887. R. C. Schmertz during the past three years has drilled three gas wells. Two of these are located on the low land just above the town outside the borough limits; the other one on Speer's run, near the old Johnson mill site, on the farm form- erly owned by L. M. Speer, but now by S. F. Jones & Co. R. C. Schmertz also purchased from the Belle Yernon Light and Heat Company the well on the high land above the green house of Samuel McKean, about a half mile from town in Roe- traver township. All of these four wells have been piped to the glass works, and at this date, October 16, 1887, all of the ten pot furnaces are run with natural gas. The Bellevernon Heat and Light Company was organized under a charter granted by the Governor of this Commonwealth bearing date March 15th, 1886. The corporators were R. C. Schmertz and one of his sous, S. F. Jones, R. J. Linton and T. L. Daly. The company during the year 1886 drilled the well sold to R. C. Schmertz above mentioned, and drilled a well of very great pressure on the farm of J. B. Carson, in Washington county, one mile from the Mononga- hela river at Maple Creek. The company laid pipe from this latter well to Bellevernon and Gibsonton Mills, crossing the river a short distance above the mouth of Maple Creek. The pipe is laid along the river shore on the east side to the up})cr end of the town. The object of the company was to supply Gibsonton, Bellevernon and the vicinity with natural gas as fuel for manufacturing and domestic use to take the place of coal. The right of way for the pipe was granted to the com- pany by the Borough authorities on certain conditions of which we are not informed. The Old and New Monongahela. 377 On the 7tli day of October, 1887, K. J. Linton introduced the use of natural gas into his dwelling, being the first to use it in the town as fuel. Bellevernon Electric Heat and Light Company. This company was chartered by the Governor May 27, 1892. The corporators were J. C. Cunningham, Thomas G. Brown, A. L. Brown, Isaac S. Van Yoorhis and J. S. Van Voorhis. Directors for 1893 : A. L. Brown, Thomas G. Brown, J. S. Van Voorhis and Isaac S. Van Voorhis. Treasurer, J. C. Cunningham. Bellevernon Water Company. This company was chartered by the Governor May 27, 1892, for the purpose of furnishing water for Bellevernon and terri- tory adjacent thereto. The incorporators and officers for 1893 are same as the Electric Heat and Light Company. Bellevernon Bridge Company. The design of this company is to construct a wagon and foot bridge across the Monongahela river at Bellevernon. The company was incorporated February 11th, 1891. The Act of Congress authorizing the construction was passed in February, 1893. The corporators were S. F. Jones, J. S. Jones, S. C. Speers, Charles P. Speers, Thomas P. Grant, J. S. Van Voorhis, J. C. Cunningham, Isaac S. Van Voorhis, A. L. Brown, T. L. Daly, R. J. Linton and W. «!. Manown. Directors for the year 1893: J. S. Van Voorhis, T. L. Daly, Isaac S. Van Voorhis and Thomas P. Grant. Treasurer, S. F. Jones. Secretary, J. S. Jones. First National Bank of Bellevernon, \ Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, I Washington, February 7th, 1893. Whereaa^ by satisfactory evidence presented to the under- signed, it has been made to appear that the First National 378 The Old and Nev) Monongahela. Bank of Bellevernoii, in the town of Bellevernon, in the county of Fayette, and state of Pennsylvania, has complied with all the provisions of the Statutes of the United States required to be complied with before an association shall be authorized to commence the business of banking. N(y)v^ therefore., I, Alonzo Barton Hepburn, Comptroller of the Treasury, do hereby certify that the First National Bank of Bellevernon, in the town of Bellevernon, in the county of Fayette, and state of Pennsylvania, is authorized to commence the business of banking, as provided in section fifty-one hundred and sixty-nine of the revised Statutes of the United States. Ill testimony lohereof witnessed my hand and seal of office, this 7th day of February, 1893. A. B. Hepburn, [seal.] Comptroller of Currency. The officers for the current year are as follows: Directors, S. M. Graham, J. S. Henry, M. G. Finley, P. G. Patton, Samuel Thompson, S. E. Taylor, W. J. Manown, Joseph A. Cook and K. J. Linton. President, W. J. Manown; Vice President, R. J. Linton; Cashier, Joseph A. Cook; Assistant Cashier, Frank Z. Taylor. Capital, |50,000. Cleveland Coal Company. The Cleveland Coal Company has its works a short distance above Bellevernon and is largely engaged in shipping coal by railroad. Large tracts of coal land have been purchased by different parties along Speer's Run and the "Middle Forks," which will be operated through a lateral railroad along said run, a survey of which has already been made. This lateral railroad is supposed to have in view a connection with a bridge connecting Charleroi, and thus the coal company will have the advantages of shipment by either the Pittsburgh & Lake Erie Railroad or the Pennsylvania. The Old and Neio Monongahela. 379 RoMANA Land Company. This company was incorporated in 1892. It holds in fee. simple the farm owned for many years by the late Samuel Clarke, a short distance above Bellevernon, on the opposite side of the river. Among the prominent stockholders are S. M. Graham and Joseph S. Jones, of Bellevernon. It is the intention of the company to lay out the bottom land in town lots, and they have already had inducements which almost guarantee the location of large manufacturing establishments. There is no doubt but these beautiful bottom lands will in the near future furnish the location of very important business in- terests, as few places offer more eligible situations or more favorable terms. Komana is destined to be a great hive of industry. The main street in Bellevernon was paved with brick during the summer of 1893. Washington and Westmoreland Ferry Company. This company was incorporated in 1893 to conduct a ferry between Charleroi in Washington county, and Rostraver town- ship in Westmoreland county. Under the supervision of John W. Ii'ons it has already become a successful convenience to the public, and will be in a short time a source of revenue to its stockholders. The Militia, Fourth of July, Temperance, Centennial AND Railroads. The old militia system came to an end in this state in 1846, about the time of the breaking out of the Mexican war. The last company of militia to which citizens of Bellevernon belonged was commanded by John R. Wilson, now of Uniontown. The law required every able-bodied male citizen to be enrolled between the ages of 18 and 45 years, and subject to duty under a pen- alty of one dollar for each day absent from muster. In the last days of the law the fine was reduced to fifty cents. On 380 The Old and New Monongahela. the first Monday of May each company had to muster, and about the first of June the general or regimental parade took place. The little muster was held for this neighborhood a* Cookstown and the general muster at Col. Billy Patterson's, some distance above that place, in Jefferson township. The militia was made up of companies commanded by a Captain, with a First and Second Lieutenant ; of regiments with their Colonel, Lieutenant Colonel, Major and Adjutant ; of brigades made up of regiments and commanded by Brigadier Generals ; of divisions in command of Major Generals. There was also a Brigade Inspector in each county. These officers were gen- erally well uniformed and presented a very fine appearance. Uniformed volunteer companies were not uncommon in early days. Any person serving seven years in one of such compa- nies was exempt from military duty unless in time of war. In the early forties the Washington Cavalry was in the pride of existence. It was made up of the best men in the community. John Ong was its captain until he removed west, then Jacob Wolf, still living on Redstone, succeeded in the office. James Cope, now a dentist, was first lieutenant; Richard Latta, orderly sergeant. Among the members of the company were Pierson Cope, Samuel Galloway, Joseph Galloway, Jacob Housman, the bugler, the Ellet boys, Jacob McLain, Lewis Krepps, Bazil Brightwell, James McCrory, Edward, William and Crawford Cook. The company had caps with the ostrich feathers; blue coats trimmed with red. The Monongahela Blues was a company of footmen com- posed of citizens of Cookstown, Bellevernon and the surround- ing country. James Hagerty and others from this vicinity belonged to the company. William Krepps was the first captain and Joseph Shepler was the last. The company was disbanded before the breaking out of the Mexican war. The uniform of this company was white pants, blue coats trimmed with white, a heavy bell crowned leather cap with a white plume tipped with red. Each one carried an old fashioned flint lock musket, well polished, a cartridge box on one side and a bay- The Old and Neio Monongaliela. 381 onet sheath on the other, suspended to huge straps on each shoulder. Somewhere about 1840 these companies named above, with the Jackson Guards from Monongahela City, and others whose names have been forgotten, had a grand celebra- tion on the 4:th of July in a grove near the residence of the late Robert Patterson. The dinner was served on the lot now owned by Geo. Yer- non, corner of Wood street and Strawberry alley. The Dec- laration of Independence was read by the late Dr. O. D. Todd. David Smith, a revolution soldier, was present. He was the grandfather of Mrs. Robert Patterson. His remains repose in Rehoboth graveyard. On the breaking out of the late rebellion the town was well represented in the army. Hillery Miller was the first to enlist. He enlisted in Capt. R. F. Cooper's company of three months men, and within two weeks after the call of the President for troops, April 15, 1861, the company was in active service. Jeremiah Huttenhour, killed at Petersburg, June 18, 1864, was the only one from the town killed in battle, others were wounded and some died in hospitals and at home from the effects of service. Among many who volunteered early in the war we recall the names of Michael Dolan, John Young, Wm. Bunting, Geo. W. Beam, John Fell, Joseph Wiltsie, Joseph T. Beall, J. W. Dean, Chas. Hixenbaugh, Jesse Strickland, S. B. Miller. Among the many large meetings held in the town in its his- tory none perhaps were greater than on the 29th day of May, 1848, at which there was a Bible presented by the ladies to Division No. 286, Sons of Temperance. The book was given in the name of the ladies by the late Rev. J. G. Sanson, and was received on the part of the Division by Dr. J. S. Yan Yoorhis. An original ode on the Bible written by Miss Re- becca Yan Yoorhis, now of Spearville, Kansas, was sung by the ladies. The speech of the day was delivered by J. Rob- inson Elder, at that time editor of the Temjyeranee Banner, and one of the most eloquent orators of his day. The centennial of the signing of the Declaration of Inde- 382 The Old and New Monongahela. pendence was celebrated jointly July 4, 1876, by the citizens of Bellevernon, Fayette City and surrounding neighborhoods. The meeting was held in Springer's grove, midway between the two towns on the hill road. It was estimated to be the largest assembly of people ever held in the Forks. Old and young of both sexes were congregated to do honor to the day. Rev. Marcus W. Wishart, then pastor of Rehoboth, presided over the meeting. Samuel McKean, as grand marshall of the day, with his aids, had charge of the procession. Dr. J. S. Van Voorhis delivered the historical address which was listened to with very great attention by the immense crowd. In the afternoon the pleasure was very much interfered with by a severe rain storm. In 1852 there was a prospect of the Hempfield railroad crossing the river at this place in its route from Greensburg to Wheeling. Hon. T. M. T. McKennan, president of the road from the steps of the residence of Solomon Speers delivered an address on the subject, and regarded the route with favor. The Mingo route, via Monongahela City, was adopted, and after a very large sum of money had been lavishly expended, the portion east of Washington was abandoned. In 1873, the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad Com- pany having purchased the Hempfield, changed its route from Washington to a point near Layton"s station, on its Connells- ville branch. A vast deal of work was done on the route including the deep cut on the other side of the river from Bellevernon, and a magnificent bridge located to pass from hill to hill over the lower end of Main street and in the midst of apparent pros- pect of an early completion, the work was in May, 1874, abandoned. Sometime subsequent to this date last mentioned, a charter was obtained for a railroad to be run from Bellever- non to a point on the Connellsville railroad, near Amieville be- low West Newton. After suflicient stock had been subscribed and a survey made, the project was given up and court dis- solved the company. At this date, 1883, a charter has been The Old and New Monongahela. 383 obtained for a railroad from McKeesport to this place, and the prospect for its early completion is favorable. The town is shut out from the transportation facilities which its business de- serves. The glass works products and raw material are taken across the river by a private ferry in charge of the firm, also the transportation to and from the Gibsonton' distillery is carried on by a rope ferry in charge of S. C. Speer. The pub- lic ferry owned by Noah Speers is now worked by a wire rope and is the best conducted and safest ferry on the Monongahela river. North Bellevernon. It is situated in Westmoreland county, adjoining the borough of Bellevernon, in Fayette county. It was laid out by the late L. M. Speers. On the original plan of lots we find the follow- ing note, viz: Diagram or plan of lots laid off by L. M. Speers, situated on Bellevernon hill, second addition partly in Westmoreland and partly in Fayette counties, April 9th, 1872, D, B. H. Allen, Surveyor. On the 23rd day of October, A. D. 1875, a petition was presented to the Westmoreland county court for the incorporation into a borough of that part of North Bellevernon, within said Westmoreland county, bounded and limited as set forth in said charter. February 26th, 1870, the court issued a decree incorporating said borough, and ordered that the first election be held at the school house in said borough on the 6th day of May, 1876, between the hours of one and six o'clock p. m. To hold said election, the court appointed Samuel Dougherty, Judge; Frank Morgan and Thomas Hunt, Inspectors. In the absence of a school house, this election was held in S. Dougherty's carpenter shop, which was used for a school house. The election board appointed A. G. Vanhook and W. R. Springer, clerks. This, the first election, resulted in the choice of the follow- ing persons for the different offices: Burgess, W. R. Springer; Justice of the Peace, Samuel Dougherty; Council, Beter Cor- win and Thomas Hunt for two years; John S, Henry and J. C. 384 The Old and Nevj Monongahela. Hasson for three years; Francis Keistler and Samuel Dougher- ty for one year; School Directors: for one year, Thos. Hunt and Wm. Jones; two years, Samuel Dougherty and Francis Keistler; three years, J. A. Fiersoll and John S. Henry; Judge of Election, Samuel Dougherty; Assessor, J. S. Henry; Assistant Assessors, J. C. Hasson and Thos. Hunt. The first meeting of the council was held in Dougherty's carpenter shop, June 2, 1876. John S. Henry was elected President; J. C. Hasson, Secretary; Thos. Hunt, Treasurer, and Peter Corwin, Street Commissioner. The first borough tax was one and one half mills, and was levied July 27, 1876. The first code of ordinances was adopted August 18 and September 12. J. C. Hasson was elected Col- lector. Among the many persons elected to the more import- ant ofiices we note from the record the names of W. R. Springer, Samuel Dougherty, A. C. Dougherty, Thos. Hunt and Wm. Jones for Burgess. For Justice, Samuel Dougherty, J. A. Piersoll, J. E. Nutt, Thos. Hunt, Wm. Jones, R. L. Weller and J. S. Reeves. Several of these did not take out their commissions. W. R. Springer, under a commission bear- ing date of March 13, 1875, was the first acting Justice, being elected in the township of Rostraver prior to the incorporation of the borough. For Council we note the names of Peter Corwin, J. S. Henry, F. M. Keistler,, Samuel Dougherty, J. C. Hasson, Wm. Jones, J. E. Nutt, C. A. Patterson, R. L. Weller, John L. Housman, Leroy Bedsworth, Isaac H. Shepler, E. M. Kyle, John T. Gould. The present Council, 1887, consists of J. S. Henry, John T. Gould, F. M. Keistler, J. C. Hasson, E. M. Kyle and R. L. Weller. The School Directors named above held their first meeting June 6, 1876, but the record does not state where. The Board was organized by electing Wm. Jones, President; J. S. Piersoll, Secretary; Wm. Jones, Treasurer; and Thos. Hunt Collector. The first assessment for the borough as returned by the assessor amounted to |48,369. The rate for 1876 was fixed at 5 mills each for school and building purposes. The Old and Nevi Monongahela. 385 The lot corner Grant and Henry streets was purchased from L. M. Speers for a school house. The office of president and treasurer being incompatible, Wm. Jones, July 17, 1876, re- signed the office of treasurer and S. F. Jones was elected in his place, and at the same date Homer Hunt was awarded the contract for building the new school bouse, for the sum of ^854.81. August 3, 1876, J. C. Hasson was elected teacher for the fall and winter term. September 29, 1876, school house reported completed according to contract. The term of school was fixed to begin on the second Monday of October, and the salary |45 per month. November 30th, a joint meeting of the directors and those of Lagrange was held at Lagrange, to which district this town belonged before the formation of the borough, and resulted in arranging matters so that the funds on hand should be equally divided between the two districts, the whole amount being $680.75, one-half going into the treasury of each district. May 4th, 1877, on first settlement in the district, whole amount of money received during the year was $1,333.65, amount paid out $1,224.51, Balance in treasury $109.14. John S. Henry, J. A. Piersoll, Thomas Hunt, Samuel Dougherty, F. M. Keistler, William Jones, J. E. Nutt, Peter Corwin, R. C. Guffy, John W. Goslin, 'L. H. Reeves, Isaac H. Sheplcr, James Ferguson, W. R. Springer, R. L. Weller, William Jones, have been directors. As teachers, John C. Hasson, F. R. Hall, Leightty Steen, W. Y. Barnum, Miss Bowman, Clara Lang, Miss Lizzie Morgan, L. M. Axtel, Miss Stockdale, J. R. Bovard and Miss Alton have served. In 1884 the school house was enlarged by an additional story, and thereafter two schools were carried on to acommodatc the increasing population, and in 1892 one other room was added. In 1892-93 Alva Chalfant, Miss McAlpin and Miss Wylie were teachers. In 1893, Prof. S. C. Kelley, Miss Agness McAlpin and Miss Charlotte Harr are the teachers. Prior to the organization of the borough the citizens belonged to the Lagrange iu(lo])endent school district. In 1876 Eli W. 386 The Old and Weio Monongahela. Martin taught a school under the Lagrange authorities in Dougherty's carpenter shop, situated on the southwest corner of Spring and Hunt alleys. This was the first school in the town. Samuel Dougherty, now a resident of Rostraver, claims to have built the first dwelling on the site of the town, not tak- ing into account the prunitive log house which stood in the rear of the present residence of William Kyle, corner of State road, and Grant street. Thomas Ward occupied this primitive house when he erected his new house in Bellevernon in 1815, on the corner of Main and Second streets. Richard Wells, the father of Mrs. William Jacobs, afterwards lived in the old house, and was perhaps the last who occupied it. The occupants of this house used the water from the well-known spring that gushed forth in such abundance for many long years on the State road near Grant street. This spring has disappeared since the coal has been taken out underneath it. Samuel Dougherty, for his new house on State road near Spring alley, hauled the lum- ber to the site on the 4th day of July, 1870, and moved into it September 10 of the same year. The property is now owned and occupied by John Gray. The old coal mine was opened just in front of the house, but during the building of the honse it was nicely covered over with earth. Much of the ground on which the town is situ- ated is undermined by the coal being taken out, though enough was reserved to render perfectly secure the surface. The cavity is filled with water which has been utilized through pipes lead- ing from the mouth of the mine to the surface along State Road to Short street. The house now owned and occupied by S. Reeves, northwest corner of State . Road and Short street, and also the one owned and occupied by E. M. Kyle, north-east corner of the same streets, were erected about the same year as Dougherty's house; the former was built by Wm. P. Mackey and the latter by Thos. Hunt, who purchased this, the first lot in the town. These houses were built whilst the surrounding ground was planted in corn. The flouring mill at the corner of Speer street and Long alley was erected by John McLain The Old and New Monongahela. 387 and Thos. Hunt in 1874, but now is owned and operated ex- clusively by the former. Recently the roller process of mak- ing flour has been introduced, ^nd now the mill has all the machinery necessary to compete with city manufacturers. The foundry on north side of State road above Spring alley was built in 1873 by Daniel Johnson, now a resident of one the western states. It was purchased by Mackey and Linton in 1875. The foundry has been torn down and the beautiful residence of John Smith stands now on its site. Since 1875 the houses on the north-east corner of Graham and Grant streets has been occupied as a parsonage for the Presbyterian ministers of Bellevernon. Rev. Perrin Baker, the present pastor, occupies it at this date. The Springer house, north-west corner of Speer and Grant streets, was erected by W. R. Springer in October, 1871. It is now the property of Everil T. Springer. He put a drug store in a part of it in 1881, and remains as such to this date. James Webb had a blacksmith shop in 1872 on Grant and Speer streets, being the first shop in the town. In 1877 A. C. Dougherty and a man named Kinney started a marble works on the corner of State road and Spring alley. This firm sold out to Stoen and Baird, and in a short time, about 1884, Alonzo Baird, one of the partners, became sole proprietor, and carries on the busi- ness at this date. W. S. Garret about 1876-77 had a marble shop on Long alley, near Third street, in Bellevernon. S. A. Picrsoll built a store room in 1880 on the south-east corner of State road and Spring alley, and established the first store in town. He enlarged the store room to its present size in 1882. Otiicers in 1802 : Burgess, vacant ; Council, John Gray, President, John H. EUer, S. Brogan, S. McKean, Jr., Joseph Robinson, C. M. Jones ; Borough Treasurer, E. M. Kyle ; Clerk of Council, J. R. Bovard ; Justice, Wm. Lehew ; Con- stal)le, J. L. liousman ; School Directors, John Gray, H. M. Fish, J. H. EUer, Pressly Jones, Joseph Williams, Edward Jordon. At this date, 181)3, John S. Reeves is an acting justice. 388 The Old and New Monongaliela. GIBSONTON. This village is situated on the Monongahela river, in West- moreland county, about one quarter of a mile below Bellever- non. In 1771, Henry Speers the older and Kegiua Froman, his wife, from Germany, settled near the site of this place and became the owner of it, as well as a large tract of land sur- rounding it. The farm at that time was within the limits of Bedford county, from which Westmoreland was formed Febru- ary 26th, 1773. Richard Penn was then Governor. The old log house, the primitive part of which he built, stood across the ravine from the present stone mansion, where yet may be seen some old fruit trees. This was in time improved until it was sixty feet long, most of the timber being hewn logs. The house now occupied by Jacob Irons was built partly with logs taken from this house. Henry Speers the older died from the kick of a horse in 1773, not having long enjoyed the comforts of his new home. His remains are supposed to be interred in the graveyard near the present school house on the same farm. We have no data on which to fix the date of the death of his wife. By his will, Henry Speers, May 14th, 1773, conveyed the present Gibsonton farm to his son, Noah Speers, who, by his will, bearing date of June 2nd, 1832, conveyed it to his son, Noah W. Speers, now a resident of Memphis, Tennessee. Noah Speers was born March 27th, 1769, being only about two years old when his father, Henry Speers settled on the farm. He, that is, Noah, died June 9th, 1832, also from a kick of a horse, having lived on this farm ever since his father settled on it. The addition to the primitive house was built by Noah Speers, this part being of hewn logs whilst the original cabin was of round logs, as were all the first houses. It was the second generation of settlers who in Western Pennsylvania began to erect houses with hewn logs. So far as we can ascertain, the round logs in the primitive house formed the blacksmith shop which once stood near the old res- idence, but most of which shop now constitute the old Jane The Old and New Monongahela. 389 Goe house on Bellevernon hill, to which place it had been moved in 1843. The late Jas. Beazell for a time worked at his trade in this shop whilst it stood on the Speers farm, of which we are now writing. The old log barns which stood one in the meadow just below the present road before reaching the row of houses of Gibsonton, and the other on the site of the present large frame barn in front of the residence of Jacob Irons, were both burned about 1850 or 1851. Noah Speers was in his early days a large slaveholder, and to accommodate his slaves he erected the main part of the stone mansion. His slaves were manumitted under the gradual emancipation laws and were all free before his death. The mansion house was enlarged and fitted up by Noah W. Speers for an academy in 184:2, as we have already mentioned in a former part of this history. He also resided in it after the school closed until the farm was sold to John Niccolls in about the year of 1846. In 1848 it was sold to Wm. Eberheart, who remodelled and im- proved the stone mansion, putting on the cornice around the roof and adding other changes which gave it a neat and desir- able appearance. The present large frame barn on the public road was built for Eberheart by the late Geo. Whiting, of Fay- ette city. During his ownership Eberheart also had erected the stable now standing near the mansion on the site of the former one which was burned. After the financial embarrass- ment of Wm. Eberheart in 1853, the farm was sold to J. K. Moorhead by the Sheriff of Westmoreland county. The farm was sold by Moorehead to John Gibson, of Philadelphia. At the death of John Gibson, his son Plenry C. became sole Dwner. The extensive distillery known the world over as Gib- sonton Mills, was erected on this farm in 1850-57 by the firm of John Gibson Son & Co. The firm subsequently took in (Charles Gibson, and then it was changed to John Gibson, Sons it Co. On the death of Charles the firm became John Gibson Son & Co, After the death of John Gibson the firm was changed to John (Tibson's Son ife Co. This firm was succeeded in January, 390 The Old and New Monongahela. 1884, bj Messrs. Moore & Sinnott, ,who at this time carry on the mammoth establishment. These mills as originally erected were superintended by Westley Ballinger, of Philadelphia, who took charge in 1856 and remained until April, 1858, a short time after the distillery went into operation. The main build- ing was built of hewn sandstone taken from a quarry on the farm. Westley Ballinger was succeeded by Harrison Mason, of Brownsville. In November, 1858, L. C. Baldwin was placed in charge as superintendent. He remained until July, 1873. In the same month he was succeeded by Thomas L. Daly, the present efficient superintendent. The distillery was put in operation in April, 1858. Thomas Daily, father of Thomas L., superintended the placing in po- sition the distillery apparatus, but April 7, 1858, a few days before the starting of the mills, he by some misstep fell through one of the hatchways and was killed. He was a man of ex- traordinary genius, beloved by all with whom he associated, and his death was a loss not easily to be replaced in the estab- lishment. Harrison Mason was the first miller. The first distiller was Thomas Donaway, who took charge in April, 1858. He re- mained until the fall of 1869. He is now a resident of Vir- ginia City, Cass county. 111. John D. Yerty succeeded him. He left in 1872, and in a few years afterwards died near Mo- nongahela City. The present distiller is James Frost, who took charge in 1880. Joseph Abell was the first foreman in the cooper shop, and made the first barrel in this shop for the firm. He took charge in 1858 and left in 1868. He died in Monongahela City. John W. Wilkinson since February, 1866, has been engineer and general machinist. Edward Hendrickson, now deceased, had been miller for twenty years, and had also Ijeen grain inspector. Among the first coopers, we recall the names of Andrew Gra- ham, William Gall, Samuel Alloways, William McFall, Ben Bayless, William Garten. On the morning of December 11, 1882, the main building The Old and New Monongahela. 391 with warehouse No. 1 were consumed by fire, occasioned by the explosion of the copper still. Wm. Lucas, a soldier of the late war, was so badly injured by the explosion as to die in a short time. He was attending to his duties about the still when the accident occurred. Three thousand barrels of whiskey were lost by the fire. The main building and warehouse were rebuilt and ready for starting in October, 1883. June 2, 1883, warehouse No. 2 and 3 were consumed by fire through an accident happening- inside one of the buildings. Quite a number of persons were more or less injured but none fatally. The loss in this case was 7,000 barrels of whiskey. The present capacity of these mills is 1,000 bushels daily and warehouses for 100,000 barrels. The telegraph office at these mills was established in 1877, with Allen Wilson the first operator. The present operator is W. H. Lewis, (1893.) The postofiice of Gibsonton was established in July, 1884, with T. L. Daly postmaster. L. R. Boyle had been book- keeper for the firm since April, 1869, and to his death. The late John F. Beazell was night watchman for many years and was succeeded by the present incumbent, Fred. Mounser. Thos. L. Daly, the present superintendent, grew to manhood with his father around the mills, and was whilst quite young an em- ployee. He after leaving these mills was for many years pro- ])rictor of the well known Boyle distillery in Washington county. Fa., and was in business in Monongahela City when he was tendered his present position. The products of the "Gibsonton Mills ^' are sought after in every state and territory in the United States. The firm ex- port to many foreign countries including China. No article is turned out but the pure whiskey manufactured from rye l)y the most modern chemical process. The establishment in all its departments is most complete. The machinery includes all the latest improvements. The grain is ground by the recently invented roller process. At this date,- November 15, 1893, natural gas is introduced 392 The Old and Neio Monongahela. and used instead of coal, the mills and dwellings all being heated by gas. In connection with the mills is a complete water works distributing water from the Monongahela river all through the establishment and dwellings. From Bellevernon Enterprise, July 19, (1890.) GiBSONTON. A history or sketch of Bellevernon would be incomplete without reference to this valuable suburb. In the bend of the beautiful Monongahela river, in Westmoreland county, about one-fourth mile below Bellevernon, nestled among the lovely shade trees, is the works. The introduction of the excise law was the death-blow of the small distiller. It was a case of the survival of the fittest, and from that time forth instead of small establishments run in connection with other interests, large mills succeeded them, which supply thousands of barrels annually to all parts of the world. The most widely known and greatest of these manu- factories is situated at Gibsonton, on the east bank of the Monongahela, about forty-two miles from Pittsburgh. To subdue the whiskey rebellion it cost the government of the United States $669,992.34. In the year 1885, and nearly every year since, the same government received in taxes alone from the great Gibson Distillery at Gibsonton, the sum of $675,000, or more than the cost of the entire rebellion ! In 1854 the late John Gibson, of Philadelphia, who had been in the habit of making large purchases of Monongahela whiskies in the valley, found himself unable to secure the quantities that his growing business demanded. The local dis- tillers objected to selling in large quantities — they were content with a certain annual production, and would not listen to any suggestion as to its increase. Mr. Gibson, with a view to the ■ future, thereupon determined to erect a distillery of his own and on a grander scale than had yet been seen in western Penn- sylvania. In 1856 the corner stone of the present works was laid, and in April, 1858, the first whiskey was made at the The Old and New Monongahela. 393 distillery. When Mr. Gibson began building, his neighbors strongly advised him against committing what they termed an act of the greatest folly. The idea was termed extravagant, and a speedy failure was predicted by those who were con- sidered among the farseeing ones in the neighborhood. Mr. Gibson, however, still persevered in his building. He saw the advantages of the situation and its undoubted future. When completed the capacity of the work was 250 bushels of rye per day. At various times down to the year 1882 it rose to 750 bushels. In December, 1882, the works were destroyed by lire, and in their rebuilding, the capacity was further increased to 1000 bushels a day, which amount they have retained to the present time. Upon the death of Mr. John Gibson in 1865, he was suc- ceeded by his son, Mr. Henry C. Gibson, who, together with Mr. Andrew M. Moore and Mr. Joseph F. Sinnott, formed the firm of John Gibson's Son & Co. In 1884, Mr. Henry C. Gibson retired from business, and the firm's name was again changed to that of Moore & Sinnott, the present proprietors of the Gibsonton distillery. Gibsonton is a model manufacturing town. The settlement consists of thirty-two comfortable dwelling houses for the em- ployes of the works; twelve great warehouses, which contain at times as high as 100,000 barrels of whiskey; three principal mills, stave and barrel shops scattered here and there, and the numerous lesser ofhces which are necessary in a large manu- facturing center. In addition to this there are six live stock barns on the premises which cover from ten to fifteen acres of land. In these 12,000 hogs are annually fed with the refuse from the distillery, occupying the pens in four relays of 3,000 each every year. The employes of the firm live in comfortable cottages, which are leased to them at a nominal rent. They are a prosperous, thriving set of artisans, and are seldom known to change their employment. Each cottage has its little garden alongside, and nea rly every tenant posesses a cow or two and is interested in 394 The Old and N'ew Monongahela. the improvement o| his individual holding as well as the larger work in the mills. They are usually men of family and chil- dren of all ages may be seen at all times crowding the streets or coming to and from the little school which has been built upon the estate. Counting the manufactories, wood land and farm land, the settlement of Gibsonton covers about 400 acres. The land is fertile and full of promise. From two-thirds or three-fourths of it is underlaid with a fine vein of bituminous coal, and the Gibsonton quarries, situated on the property, pro- duce sufiicient limestone for all the building purposes that can ever be needed. Under the present rules there can be no collusion by which whiskey can be abstracted in the manufactory. The workmen cannot have access to the spirits they are making and conse- quently a great source of temptation — that of drinking — is en- tirely removed. In Gibsonton to-day, although the greatest whiskey center of this country, there is not a single workman on the premises who could procure without permission a pint of whiskey for himself, no matter how much he might try to do so. The consequence of this is that there are none of those scenes which the ill-informed commonly associate with the localities in which alcoholic liquors are manufactured in great quantities. The general manager of the works, Mr. T. L. Daly, is a thorough disciplinarian in this respect. He holds that it would not be just to pass over the Gibsonton distilleries without mention of some of the associate industries which cluster around the institution. Of these the most important as well as the most interesting, is the coopering department. All the barrels used for storing the whiskey are made upon the premises. The staves of which they are made are of solid oak. They are secured from Kentucky and Indiana, and a stock of about one million is continually carried in order that they may be well seasoned. Each stave is kept exposed to the atmosphere for three years before it is considered sufficiently well seasoned to be used in the manufacture of barrels. And here it may be re- The Old and Neio Monongahela. 395 marked that one of the chief points in the distilling trade is the provisions for the future. The grain market must be closely studied, and favorable opportunities for buying can never be allowed to escape. The probable consumption for years ahead must be considered with prophetic eye. The supply must be equal to a future demand and must not exceed it. The possible effect of legislation must be taken into account and a policy shaped suitably to its provisions. In every way the distiller must be far seeing, and must consider the future as of equal importance with the present. The case of the manufacture of barrels in one respect furn- ishes a problem that may be of interest to American inventors. Up to the present time no machine has been invented that will make a perfect whiskey barrel. They are all made by hand. No nails are used in their construction. The workmen, won- derfully skilled to their trade, put them together with almost incredible speed. An expert can, without aid, put together and make three complete barrels a day — a wonderful perform- ance, considering the solidity and difficulty of their construc- tion. In the barrel factory at Gibsonton, however, each man has a certain assigned task to perform, and thus by combining the whole force is enabled to work in a quicker as well as a more systematic manner. One man shapes the staves, another with his compass and adze, traces out the headings, another puts the barrel in shape, and still another tightens the rivets which hold the parts together. No barrel is used twice. They are all new and, when they leave the store houses at Gib- sonton they never return. One hundred thousand, however, filled with whiskey of different ages, are resting in the warehouses at present. These will be removed a batch at a time as future consumption may demand. Another department of the Gibsonton works, and one scarce- ly less interesting than the cooper shop, is the malt house. The works malt all their barley required in the process of whiskey manufacture. The amount of malt used averages from thirty to fifty thousand bushels a year. It is obtained 396 The Old and New Monongahela. mostly from Caiifida and shipped directly to the mills. Here it is cleaned, steeped and spread on stone floors until used. All the barley malt is kiln dried like the rye. The magnitude of the business transacted by the firm of Moore & Sinnott is exceedingly great. Although their dis- tillery is situated at Gibsonton, their principal oflice is at 232 and 234: South Front street, Philadelphia. They have branch offices in New York, Boston, New Orleans, San Francisco, Charleston, Savannah and Augusta, Georgia. Each year their taxes to the government exceeds half a million of dollars, and their freight carried by the railroads reaches as high as five thousand carloads. The whiskey from Gibsonton supplies the majority of the wholesale dealers throughout the United States, but the reputation of their whiskies is not confined to this country alone. At the present time Gibson whiskies are being shipped to Mexico, the West Indies, France, England, and even China, in large quantities. Over f 50, 000 is paid out annually in wages at Gibsonton, and the company own no stores; hence Bellevernon reaps a large benefit therefrom. The large plant lies on the line of the McKeesport & Belle- vernon Railroad, which is operated by the V. & L. E. Company. The shipments are made also by P. R. R. and boats. This place, like Bellevernon, is a natural gas town. The Bellevernon Light and Heat Company piped the place, and for some years have been furnishing the plant as well as the homes with gas. Mr. Daly having faith in the farm being on the line of the great gas belt, secured Mr. Stewart, who has drilled two wells, the capacity of either being sufficient to furnish twice as much gas as is needed for all purposes. Daly & Co. purchased the pipe line of the Light and Heat Company and furnish gas now for themselves. That this is the section for any one contemplating locating in a rapidly growing and popular place, no one doubts. This is a health V boom and no mistake. The Old and Neio Monongakela. 397 (From Belleveniou Enterprise.) Natural Gas. The stranger visiting Bellevernon for the first time cannot fail to be impressed with the clearness of the atmosphere. Great establishments covering acres of ground, and with stacks pointing high into the skv, front on the river. There is ample evidence that they are in full operation, but no smoke rolls from their stacks and there is no grim anywhere to mar the beauty of the surroundings. Ask the reason for this and the average intelligent citizen of Bellevernon will say : " It is because we have natural gas.'' And then the visitor may ex- pect to be entertained with an enthusiastic description of the richness of the natural gas territory surrounding Bellevernon ; the wonder of natural gas as a fuel ; the comfort and luxury it has brought to the people of Bellevernon, and the great aid it will be in working out the destiny of what every true Belle- vernonite believes will be a great city. The boasts may seem overdrawn, but only until the visitor has some knowledge of their foundation. Then it must appear that eloquent statement is necessary to convey an idea of the wonders of Bellevernon's natural gas field. And it must appear too, that when all has been told, words have fallen far short of adequately paying tribute to the beneficient work of Dame Nature, who has supplied right at the doors of our peo- ple a fuel whose quality for light and heat are unexcelled, and that in quantities that justify the claim that the supply is inex- haustible, and whose measurement places the Bellevernon gas field in the lead of all others in point of richness. Some idea of the facts may be obtained when it is stated that the produc- tion of two of the wells of the Bellevernon Light and Heat Company is 45,000,000 cubic feet of gas every twenty-four hours. The figures are almost too great for comprehension, but they are most eloquent testimony to the magnitude of the Bellevernon natural gas interests, and the most cogent reason for the confidence of our people in the future of our town. 398 The Old and New Monongahela. It is fair to presume that natural gas has been with us as long as the hills and rivers, and everything else that surrounds us, but it did not proclaim its presence. It was found only after a long search, in which the people of Bellevernon displayed that patience and perseverance that is one of the most important elements in the success of any community, and whose posses- sion and exercise is always a subject for congratulation. It was about the year 1865 that the presence of natural gas was first dis- covered at Bellevernon. Mr. L. M. Speer while drilling a well for oil struck a flow of gas at a depth of 1,000 feet. The value of the discovery was not apprehended at that time, and it was not until eighteen years later, in 1883, that the first real efforts to find gas with the idea of utilizing it as a fuel were made. In the fall of that year a well was put down on the river bottom by K. C. Schmertz & Co. At a depth of 2,800 feet enough gas was found to justify the belief that Bellever- non was either directly on the natural gas belt, or so near to it as to leave no doubt that if the search were continued gas suf- ficient for all purposes would be found. This conviction was all that was necessary to furnish the leading spirits of Belle- vernon with the incentive to exertion, which should be con- tinued until the end was reached. R. C. Schmertz & Co. drilled three more wells, testing the territory along the river for a mile north of their factory. In one of the wells the bit was lost at a depth of 1,000 feet, and work was abandoned. The other wells showed gas in small quantities, but proved that the true gas belt had not been found. The Schmertz and other developments had involved the outlay of a small fortune with- out securing important results, save to deepen the conviction in the minds of Bellevernon "s progressive men that natural gas in great quantities could be found if the search for it was continued. It was decided to work systematically, and the Bellevernon Light and Heat Company, with a capital stock of ^10,000, di- vided into 200 shares of $50 each, was formed, and a charter was obtained March 5th, 1886. The incorporators were R. C. The Old and Neiv Monooigahela. 399 Schmertz, W. E. Schmertz, Jr., S. F. Jones, T. L. Daly and R, J. Linton. The first officers were R. C. Schmertz, Presi- dent; S. F. Jones, Yice President; R. J. Linton, Secretary. The first move of the company was to secure the services of J. C. White, State Geologist, and Professor of Geology in the University of West Virginia, to survey the field and point out a suitable location for a well. Professor White designated a spot north of Bellevernon, on which was drilled a well known as the Carnes well. This well when completed showed a pressure of thirty pounds to the minute. It was the largest flow so far discovered, and while the pressure as compared with that of what are now known as Bellevernon' s great gas wells was small, the Carnes well was regarded as of great importance. The well was sold to Mr. Schmertz, who laid a pipe line to his glass factory, and the gas has been used there ever since. More important than this, however, was the determination of the company to prosecute in a new direction the search for gas. That four wells should have been completed and another partially drilled without striking gas in great quantity, might have been considered good reason to believe that rich strikes could not be made in the vicinity of Bellevernon. But the people of Bellevernon were not made of that kind of stutt' — their faith was not exhausted. While they had faith they were willing to spend money, and they decided to drill another well and in a new direction. While Professor White was prospecting for the company, S. F. Jones made himself familiar with the anticlinal and other theories. This knowledge Mr. Jones utilized at this juncture. With a pocket compass and an atmospheric barometer he ran a line across the Monongahela river below Gibsonton. The line struck the west shore of the river near the mouth of Maple creek, and then ran through John Redd's farm to a point one mile beyond B. L. Parson's farm. The company decided to drill a well on J. B. Carson's farm, one mile from the river, in Washington county. This well was completed September 15th, 1887. It showed a pressure of 125 pounds to the minute. 400 The Old and New Monongahela. At last Bellevernon had natural gas in sufficient quantities to enable its people to not only supply themselves with light at nominal cost, 'but to hold out inducements to capitalists in other quarters to cast their lot with them and share their good fortune. The company at once contracted for pipe and proceeded to lay a six-inch line from the well to the river at a point opposite Gibsonton Mills. There the river was crossed, and then the line ran up the east shore to the glass factory, a distance of two miles from the well. The work was completed and gas delivered to the distillery and factory about November 15tli, 1887. Ten days later the fuel was turned into the dwellings of the people of Gibsonton and Bellevernon, and they have since had a steady and cheap supply of light and fuel. On January 12, 1888, a resolution was passed by the gas company to increase its capital stock from l|10,000 to |100,000. This action was proposed because more than double the origi- nal capital had been expended on the plant, and because it was considered wise to make further developments. The increase was properly authorized February 26, 1888. The additional stock was taken by the stockholders in the same proportion as their former holdings, and paid up stock certificates to the amount of |50,000 were issued. With abundant capital and a firm faith in the richness of the territory, the Bellevernon Light and Heat Company secured valuable leases and concluded to- drill two additional wells, one each on the Parsons and Eider farms. That on the Parson's farm was begun on April 4, 1888, and completed May 21st, the gas sand having been reached on the 16th. The Rider farm well was completed soon after. The two wells rank among the wonders of the natural gas development of the country. Their combined daily production is not less than 45,000,000 cubic feet of gas. Natural gas strikes were be- coming common when these wells were brought in, but so great was the volume of the gas put out that they attracted widespread attention from all parts of the country. The roar of The Old and Neui Monongahela. 401 the gas escaping from them could be heard for miles. It sounded a proclamation to the world that the enterprise and energy of Bellevernon's people had been rewarded; that gas in quanti- ties beyond the wildest expectations of the people had been found, and that the quiet trip of S. F. Jones, with his pocket compass and barometer, had resulted in defining the lines of a natural gas field, whose existence had not only not been sus- pected, but whose richness was beyond compare. The sound was music to the ears of the people of Bellevernon, and they had a right to so regard it. It was a clarion note of invitation to the whole country to come and see and be convinced that to Bellevernon's manifest advantages of long standing had been added another and the greatest of all the advantages, one which in a day placed Bellevernon in the front rank of suita- ble locations for great enterprises. R. C. Schmertz, the President of the Bellevernon Light and Heat Company, died just a few days before the first of the great wells in the Maple creek field was brought in. Mr. Schmertz was one of the most indefatigable spirits in the prosecution of the search for natural gas, and one of the most firm believers in the possibility of Bellevernon's future if the new fuel could be found in large quantities. It was his sturdy faith that was proof against the repeated discouragements that attended the first year's experiments. And rarely has faith been more richly justified. Rarely, too, it must be said, has any man earned a greater amount of gratitude than that which the people of Bellevernon owe to R. C. Schmertz. Mr. Schmertz was succeeded as president of the Bellevernon Light and Heat Company by S. F. Jones, who was also made general superintendent with large powers. T. L. Daly became vice president; R. J. Linton, secretary; and J. S. Jones, treasurer. During the year 1888 contracts were entered into with the Brow)isville, Fayette City and Lock No. 4 Gas Company to supply them with gas. Since that time, these companies, as well as Bellevernon and Gibsonton, have been amply supplied from two wells through a system of high |»res- ■102 The Old and New Monongahela. sure pipe lines aggregating about 20 miles in length. Eight miles of this line belongs to the Bellevernon Light and Heat Company, and is supplied with improved appliances for safety and economy. Recently the company assigned a portion of its territory to the Monongahela Natural Gas Company, of Pitts- burgh, on advantageous terms. The Philadelphia Company has also some territory and some good wells in the Bellevernon and Maple Creek fields. The Bellevernon Light and Heat Company, however, has reserved enough territory of approved quality to guarantee an inexhaustible supply of natural gas for all time. There is another important fact in connection with the Belle- vernon gas field, however, which deserves extended mention. Within the past few months two wells have been drilled on the east side of the river, about a quarter mile north of Gibsonton. One of these wells is directly on the anticlinal line defined by the Carson, Parson and other good wells in the Maple Creek field, and the other is a short distance east of the line. These wells are known as the Daly wells, in honor of T. L. Daly, who is responsible for the experiment in this direction. They are both good wells and are of the highest importance, as proving that the gas belt which is so wonderfully rich in the Maple Creek field crosses the Monongahela river in a northerly direc- tion and runs into Westmoreland county, no person yet knows how far. The territory will be thoroughly tested, however, and it will not be strange if the field in which the L)aly wells are located proves as rich as that which has produced the won- derful wells on the western side of the river. There is no doubt of the staying qualities of the wells on both sides of the river. They may fail in time, but the people of Bellevernon have secured enough territory to make sure of a |)lentiful supply of gas at nominal rates to all who come for generations. Thus the people of Bellevernon have every right to proclaim their advantages over other towns to the world. They ask for nothing better than that capitalists who arc seeking for advan- The Old and New Monongahela. 403 tageous locations shall come and see what Bellevernou has to offer. Here is natural gas in quantities too great for measure- ment ; here are facilities for the transportation of freight, either hy rail or river, that are unsurpassed anywhere ; here are great beds of coal and limestone and sand ; here are free sites for any responsible parties who will locate with us, and here are a people who have shown themselves progressive, public spirited and ready to help along any enterprise that will aid in the development of their town and its surroundings. Glass Works of R. C. Schmertz & Co. Spread over five acres of level ground at the south end of the town is one of Bellevernon's proudest monuments. It is not a shapely shaft surrounded by beautiful gardens, but a col- lection of substantial brick buildings, the glass works of R. C. Schmertz & Co., Limited, whose product has done more to make the name of Bellevernon known to the outside world than anything else that has gone out of the town, and at the same time has added year after year to the prosperity of its people. Glass making is among the oldest of the importajit indus- tries of Bellevernon. Far back in the thirties its advantages as a site for a glass factory were recognized, and in 1836 or 1837 a factory was established by William Eberheart. Not much information of its size or capacity is in existence, but it is known that it was a small affair, and it is fair to presume that its owner never dreamed that fifty-three years later one of the largest manufactories in the country would be located on the ground where he made his beginning. After some years the property passed into the hands of Geo. A. Berry, now president of the Citizens Natioiuil Bank, of Pittsburgh, and was operated by him until the year 1865, when it was purchased by the late R. C. Schmertz, who united with careful business training amount of indomitable energy that was certain to cause to grow to its fullest capacity any en- terprise in which he was interested. 404 The Old and New Monongahela. Mr. Schmertz formed the firm of R. C. Schmertz & Co., consisting of himself, William Loeflier and R. J. Linton. In the hands of this firm the plant has grown to its present proud dimensions and has attained, in many important particulars, a position far in advance of any concern of the kind in the country. Mi-. Schmertz died in 1888. The members of the firm now are the Schmertz heirs, William Loeffler and Kobert J. Linton, and the corporate name, R. C. Schmertz & Co., limited. The manager of the factory is Lawrence Morrison. The establishment consists of ten four-pot furnaces, five flattening ovens, a large three-story pot room, immense cutting rooms, two large ware rooms, batch room, clay house, grinding room, pot room for working flattening stones and furnaces, saw mill and box shop, pot shell room, lime and sand houses, etc., all closely connected and conveniently arranged. The last warehouse to be erected is 60x300 feet, and it is certain that the end of the growth is not yet. When to this statement is added the fact that the capacity of the establishment is 4,000 boxes of glass each week, those who have any knowledge of glass industry will appreciate the important position in the manufacturing world held by the firm of R. C. Schmertz & Co., limited. But this importance is as largely due to excellence in special lines as to the mere capacity of the establishment. At the Schmertz factories glass making has always been conducted on the most scientific principles and the best results have therefore been secured. The factory is famous for its ability in twenty- four hours to transform the raw materials from which glass is made into highly polished sheets of double-thick glass of the largest size made in the ccnnitry, ready for shipment. \\\ the cutting rooins may be seen sheets 36x96 inches, 42x88 inches, 44x80 inches, 46x98 inches, 48x80 inches, 50x74 inches. Many of these sheets contain nearly 4,000 square inches of glass. The aim of the firm for years has been to make the quality of the glass manufactured by them equal to the product of the The Old and New Monongahela. 405 famous Belgian factories. How well they have succeeded may be miderstood when it is stated that the Schmertz glass is to a great extent used for pictm'es, show cases and large store fronts, taking in each of these particulars the place of imported glass and giving in every case equal, if not better, satisfaction. Another important particular in which the firm of R. C. Schmertz & Co., Limited, excels is in the manufacture of ground and frosted glass, which is now so largely used for office partitions and windows. This firm was the first in the United States to add this department to the manufacture of window glass, and in doing so again proved the ability of American glass manufacturers to compete with those of Europe in a field that was considered most firmly held by them. Not the least interesting or important of the features of this great glass establishment is the saw mill and box factory. The firm buys lumber in large quantities in the river, piles it up in the yard and drys it, and then seasons it and cuts the boards up into the thousands of boxes that are required every week to ship the finished product. The Schmertz firm is the only glass concern that does this, and it is an important advantage. Another advantage is the fact that the railroad runs into the factory yard and that the rates for freight are those ruling at Pittsburgh. The firm employs over 200 men, and these enjoy the proud distinction of receiving higher wages than those employed in any other glass factory in the country. Some men make from $300 to $500 in four weeks, and all are well paid, many hav- ing been in the employ of the firm for many years and are among the most respected citizens of the town. In September, 1893, the R. C. Schmertz & Co., limited, was merged into the E. C. Schmertz Glass Company, inc(U-})orated with a capital of f>250,000, of which Wm. Loetfier is President, A. L. Swift is Secretary, and Wm. E. Schmertz, Jr., Treasurer. Principal oflice at Pittsburgh. The company has just com- pleted a tank of 48 pots capacity, with a ton ])()t furnace, making an increased capacity of 50 per cent. 38 lot) The Old and Neio Monongahela. Extracts from the Bellevernon Enterprise. Any history of the town of Bellevernon would be incom- plete and unsatisfactory without reference to the gentlemen who are and who have been for years untiring in their efforts to bring the advantages of our town before the world. In doing this they have, unconsciously perhaps, performed a great ser- vice to all our people, in that they have kept awake in the heart of every man the spirit of ' ' push ' ' which is so essential to the well-being of every community. Their example in enterprise and public spirit has always been earnest and effective, and the people of Bellevernon are largely in their debt. S. F. Jones. One of the most familiar figures on the streets of Bellever- non, and one of the leaders in everything calculated to advance its interests, is S. F. Jones. Mr. Jones is manager of the firm of S. F. Jones & Co., bankers, and also president of the Belle- vernon Light and Heat Company. He was born in Rostraver township, Westmoreland county. Pa. ; was educated in the common schools; followed the life of a farmer until 1872, when he and his brother, William, formed the banking house of S. F. Jones & Co., meeting a want long felt at Bellevernon. Notwithstanding it was a new experience for him, and the great panic of 1873 coming so soon after, this firm stemmed the tide, and to-day is one of the firm financial fixtures of Bellevernon. He is also one of the firm of the Bellevernon Saw and Planing Mill Company, doing an extensive business. Mr. Jones is largely interested in the development of the Maple Creek gas fields, and it was in a great measure due to his eft'orts that the late R. C. Schmertz was induced to join with a few capitalists in the organization of the Light and Heat Company, of which Mr. Jones is president and general super- intendent. This company was the pioneer in the Bellevernon and Maple Creek field which has attracted so much attention. He is also vice-president of the Fayette City Natural Gas Co. The Old and Neio Monongahela. 407 He was one of the chief promoters and devoted much time securing rights of way and encouraging the building of the McKeesport and Bellevernon K. R. Mr. Jones combines thorough painstaking with great enterprise and executive abil- ity. He is always active for the public good and is prominent in all of Bellevernon' 8 most important affairs. His manner is quiet and unostentatious, but the most casual observer cannot fail to be impressed, even after a short conversation, that Mr. Jones is a man with a great reserve force and that he is a safe adviser for any commnnity. Robert J. Linton. The first impression of the average man who may be intro- duced to Robert J. Linton is that he is a man of fixed purpose, large ability, a safe adviser and a gentleman whose word in every respect is equal to his bond. First impressions are often erroneous, but the people of Bellevernon unite in the agree- ment that Mr. Linton is just what he appears to be — a straight forward man of affairs who can always be relied upon to do anything that will aid in furthering the best interests of the town. For over twenty years he has been in their midst, and this testimony is the result of long experience and the intimate knowledge that comes from close acquaintance. Mr. Linton is a member of the firm of R. C. Schmertz & Co., limited, glass manufacturers, and resides in one of the most pleasant homes in the town. No man in the country has more thoroughly mastered than he every detail of the mysteries of glass making. He knows every foot of the great factories covering acres of ground, and no space is wasted. Quick to appreciate the real value of any new device, and ]M-ompt to grasj) all its benefits, and to improve on them if improvement is possible, it is not strange that he should rank among the most advanced manufacturers in the country, and one whose counsel is always sought in important matters. This being the case, the declaration of Mr. Linton that he considers Bellever- non one of the best towns in which manufacturers can locate 408 The Old and Nero Monongahela. must have great weight. He is of the Scotch-Irish race and one of its most sturdy representations. In the prime of life and full of vigor and kindliness, it is not presumptions to say that he may reasonably expect to see the fulfillnient of his hopes for the town in which he takes so much pride. Thomas L. Daly. A thorough and accomplished gentleman, and a man who enjoys the respect of all citizens is Captain Thomas L. Daly, the general manager of the Gibsonton distillery. Mr. Daly was born in Philadelphia, September 19th, 1839, the sixth in a family of eight children of Thomas and Mary (Marr) Daly. His father and mother were natives of Dublin, Ireland, and after coming to this country settled in Philadelphia, and in April, 1857, was employed to come to Gibsonton to superintend the erection of the Gibsonton mills. Here he was joined by the subject of this sketch, who came from Indianapolis, Ind., where he had been engaged in the extensive flouring mills of William Winpenny & Co. At Gibsonton mills he has filled one position after another since April, 1857, in these extensive works. In July, 1873, he was appointed general manager, which position he still holds. He is a large stockholder in the Light and Heat Company, and thoroughly in earnest in any- thing he undertakes. As the manager of great enterprises, Mr. Daly is the equal of any man in the country. Modest and unassuming in his manner, his character is of the positive order that always wins for its possessor a place in the front ranks. His executive ability is unquestioned, and the ease with which he controls the details of a business whose ramifications extend to all parts of the world commands general admiration. John S. Van Voorhis, M. D. A finished scholar, a cultured gentleman, a man of wide ex- perience in the affairs of the world, and one of the most pro- nounced believers in the future of Bellevernon — that is John S. Van Voorhis, M. D. Dr. Van Voorhis in a sense was "to The Old and Neiv Monongahela. 409 the mauor born," having first seen the light May 8, 1823, near Monongahela City, which is just a few miles distant from Bellevernon, and having spent his whole life among our peo- ple. He graduated from Washington College September 25, 18^4:, and on March 25, 1847, took his degree at the Jefferson Medical College. Locating in Bellevernon in May of the same year, he has practiced his profession in this town almost con- tinuously ever since, the longest exception being a residence of three years in Monongahela City. Shortly after locating in Bellevernon Dr. Yan Yoorhis was married to Miss E. P. Smith, an estimable lady, and his home has always been one of the pleasantest in the town. While devoted to his profession and ranking as one of its most skillful members. Dr. Van Yoorhis has found time to en- gage in many other important projects, all of which have advanced the best interests of the Monongahela valley. He was one of the earliest to advocate tlie construction of railroads in the Monongahela valley, and with voice and pen labored diligently in that direction. The efforts of few men have been crowned with greater success. He was the organizer of the Pittsburgh, Virginia & Charleston Railroad Company, whose road he has seen grow to be one of the most important branches of the Pennsylvania system. He also worked early and late in the interests of the McKeesport & Bellevernon road; and in recognition of his services and standing in the community, was made chairman of the general committee on celebration, and delivered the address of welcome wdien the road was opened to Bellevernon. In 1857 he represented Washington county in the Legislature, and he has been an honored member of the American Medical Association since 1872. In 1885 he made an extended tour through Europe. His latest work, in addi- tion to the practice of his profession, is the preparation of a volume that will be devoted to the history and biography of the Monongahela valley. He enjoys the respect and esteem of all classes, and has abounding faith in Bellevernon'' s future. ■ilU The Old and New Monongahela. Bellevernon. "All things come to him who waits." "Patience and perseverance overcometh all things." The two sayings that times without number have revived hope in the hearts of hosts of earnest men and women, striv- ing under apparently insurmountable obstacles to accomplish great objects, have been proven true once more. The sturdy people of Bellevernon, after generations of waiting, and after long years of intelligent exercise of patience and persever- ance, are on the eve of the realization of their fondly cherished hopes for the future of the town. On every hand signs are abundant that the quiet which has been the characteristic of the town, and which underthinking observers have mistaken for indifference and lethargy, is to be shaken off, that the well directed bustle that proclaims prosperity, is to fill its streets; that the enterprising spirit of its people is to spread far and wide; in a word, that Bellevernon is to have a boom. That this is not idle speculation can easily be demonstrated. To begin with, no locality in the country has been more highly favored by Dame Nature. Much wilder exaggeration passes current as good sense than the statement that in the construc- tion of things material extra pains must have been exercised to make perfect the territory of Mdiich Bellevernon is the centre. The beautiful Monongahela river, running in a straight line, for miles along a bottom high enough for health, and wide enough for the needs of a busy people, was the first element of nature's kindness. Picturesque hills rising in a gentle slope from what has become the site of a busy town, an^ supporting in their turn level fields of such an extent as to be equal to the requirements of a great city, are another natural advantage. When it is added that under everything, and easy of access, are inexhaustible deposits of coal of the finest quality, sand for manufacturing and building purposes, and stone enough to lay the foundations of a state, there might be reason for saying : "Nature has done enough ; nothing is left for man but to rest and be happy I" The Old and New Monongahela. 411 Something of this spirit may have animated the people of the Bellevernon of one day. But that was long ago. Man's enterprise and ingenuity have added so much to Bellevernon's advantages as a place for residence, and a site for great busi- ness operations, that if there were no other inducements these would weigh for much. During all time the energy that demonstrated the eligibility of Bellevernon as a site for great enterprises must be given one of the first places in the record of the, notable accomplishments in its history. The first move was the establishment of a fac- tory for the manufacture of glass. It was at the time an experiment, whose success was in doubt, but that success lias been so great that it lias carried the name of Bellevernon to nearly every civilized country on the face of the globe. Not less important in its bearing on the future of the town was the establishment of a distillery, which has grown to be the largest of its class in the world. The success of these enterprises proved that Bellevernon had as good a right to look for greatness as any other locality. But there was a long time to wait, and much patience and per- severance was called into play before the people were in con- dition, as they are to-day, to strike out for the realization of their hopes. First of all it became evident that the river, while an impor- tant factor in the prosperity of any community, did not afford the rapid and certain means of communication with the balance of the world that are necessary to keep up with the hurry of the last quarter of the nineteenth century. A railroad was stretched along the opposite side of the river, due to the efforts of Dr. J. S. Van Voorhis and others of our town. It was an aid to the growth of the town, but it failed to meet all require- ments. It was evident that Bellevernon must have a railroad of its own. The town could not be moved to any point already traversed by tracks, so the railroad had to be brought to Belle- vernon. What this task involved — how often hope was de- ferred, and how gloriously it was finally realized, are subjects 412 The Old and New Monongahela. not to be discussed here. Suffice it to say that the raih-oad came to the town, and every day its good effects are felt by all classes. Before the railroad, though not before it was discussed, the people of Bellevernon had natural gas. With an abundance of coal under every foot of ground, it would not have been surprising if the people of Bellevernon had left the discovery, of natural gas in their neighborhood to persons from other lo- calities who needed it more. But by the time it was generally understood that natural gas was far superior to coal as a fuel, and long before many shrewd minds realized that fact, the active men of Bellevernon concluded that what they needed was natural gas. They went to work with the spirit that has characterized all their acts. Discouragement and large and apparently useless expenditure came first. But perseverance seemed to be the motto of the town. The search was con- tinued, and to-day Bellevernon is the center of the richest gas producing territory in the world. The wells are so near the doors of the people that the best fuel ever given to man is sup- plied at nominal cost. Natural gas was the last discovery needed to make complete the preparations for the future of Bellevernon. It brought the railroad; it has stimulated energy in every direction. Without detail the reasons have been given for the faith of the people of Bellevernon, in proclaiming to the world the be- lief that they offer better advantages than any other locality to capitalists of all classes, to come to them and help make Belle- vernon a great manufacturing center. Summarized these ad- vantages are: Natural gas. Railroad and river outlets. Coal of the best quality. Sand and limestone in abundance. A locality whose eligibility has been demonstrated by suc- cessful capitalists. A community whose members can be relied upon to- The Old and New Monongahela. 413 actively aid any enterprise calculated to promote the general prosperity. Added to all these, and reserved to the last because it is one of the greatest, is the offer made of free sites for manufacto- ries to capitalists who will locate in Bellevernon. " Bellevernon may be a city some day," was the remark we were acc^ustomed to hear from enthusiasts in the old days. " Bellevernon shall be a city," is the expression and inten- tion of its people to-day. The two greatest events in the recent history of Bellevernon were the discovery and introduction of natural gas and the construction of the McKeesport and Bellevernon railroad. The story of the long search for and final location of the richest natural gas field in the world is given on another page. It is proper that the advent of the railroad should be recorded here. A direct railroad connection with the outside world was the dream of. the people of Bellevernon for forty years. That it was not realized until the 10th of October, 1889, was no fault of the people of Bellevernon and other towns along the east shore of the Monongahela. Thirty years before an attempt was made to secure a railroad, and at various times after that the effort was renewed. Hopes ran high when in 1881 the East Shore Railroad Company was incorporated under the auspices of the Pittsburgh and Lake Erie Railroad Company, but the charter expired without any work being done. In 1886 the McKeesport and Bellevernon Railroad Company was chartered, and in December, 1887, the work of building a line from Reynoldton, opposite McKeesport, to Bellevernon was begun. Owing to successive troubles over rights of way, but eleven miles of the road was completed up to April, 1889. Between that date and the 7th of October, 1889, seventeen miles were added, and on the memorable ■ Monday, the 7th of October, the last spike was driven. The road was formally opened on the 10th of October with a celebration at Bellever- non that will be remembered as long as the youngest person 414 The Old and New Monongahela. present that day lives, and long afterward. Hundreds were present from points in the neighborhood, and distinguished guests came from a distance. Dr. J. S. Yan Yoorhis was master of ceremonies for the day, and the exercises consisted of speeches by residents of the town, officials of the railroad company and other distinguised visitors, and a grand banquet. The people thought they had occasion to rejoice and everybody joined in. There was particular reason for joy, because three of the foremost promoters of the railroad were Bellevernon men — Messrs. S. F. Jones, T. L. Daly and R. J. Linton — and all of the leading men of the town had given their time, energy and money to the successful prosecution of the work. Five passenger trains and a large number of freight trains are running over the road daily now, thus affording rapid, direct and cheap communications with east and west through Pittsburgh. The ability of Bellevernon and the east shore of the Monongahela generally to support a railroad has been dem- onstrated, and it is only a question of a short time until the road is extended to Brownsville or some point more distant. The capital stock of the cofnpany was |600,000, and over ^1,000,000 was expended in the construction of the road. The officials at the date of the opening were: President, Jacob Wainwright; Secretary and Treasurer, W. T. Wallace; Direc- tors, S. F. Jones, R. J. Linton, J. M. Guffey, C. H. Sack- rader, P. H. Green, B. L. Wood, Jr., and J. Chamberlain. The road is now operated by the P. & L. E. P. P. Co. The Bellevernon of to-day, to state the case briefly, is one of the most prosperous towns and pleasantest places to live or do business in the United States. With a river that is always navigable by reason of the improvements of the Monongahela Navigation Company flowing })ast its doors; with two railroads affording direct communication with all parts of the country; with an inexhaustible supply of natural gas; with coal of the finest quality underlying every foot of ground; with sand and limestone to be had for the quarrying — with all these advan- tages, what community could be more richly endowed, and The Old and Mew Monongahela. 415 what town has a better right to raise its voice and stretch out its hand and invite men with money to come and help build a city. This can be done with better grace, than by the resi- dents of many other towns for a reason not given alone. The foresight of such citizens as R. J. Linton, S. F. Jones and Thomas L, Daly has secured to the business men of Bellever- non, a boon which every business man will appreciate, and which entitles the gentlemen named to the gratitude of all the people of Bellevernon. By the terms under which the McKeesport & Bellevernon Railroad obtained admittance to the town, shippers are guaran- teed a freight rate even to that charged shippers in Pittsburgh and other terminal points. The same condition prevails with regard to freight received into the town. The advantage of this will be apparent to everybody when it is stated that the growth of hundreds of towns throughout the country is retarded by freight discrimination — that is, the charging of excessive rates on freight from the time it leaves the main system of the railroad. In more than one case within the knowledge of the writer, the freight rates imposed on the shippers in tow^ns situated as Bellevernon is, have been greater for less than 20 miles than those charged shippers in the main line for a distance of 150 miles. What this means any business man can calcu- late for himself. It answers the one argument that foreign capitalists might urge against investing in this town. When they verify the statements concerning freight rates, as they can easily upon application to the proper officials, they will ascertain that with plants located at Bellevernon they will have the same advantages with regard to freight rates as are enjoyed by the largest shippers at the most important terminals. Enterprise seems to be the chief characteristics of the peo- ple of Bellevernon. The Gibsonton distillery from the small beginning of 1854 has grown to be the largest pure rye whisl^ey distillery in the world. The plant covers ten acres of ground, and the daily capacity of the concern is from 4,000 to 4,200 gallons. From 416 The Old and New Monongahela. 48,000 to 50,000 barrels of whiskey are permanently stored in the great bonded warehouse of the firm, and from 2,000 to 3,000 barrels are stored in the free warehouses subject to the order of customers. The keeping up of this great stock is necessary because the average yearly demand for the product of the distillery is from 15,000 to 16,000 barrels, and the pro- prietors adhere rigorously to the old idea that whiskey is not fit for consumption before it is at least three years old. That, perhaps more largely than any other circumstance, is responsi- ble for the fact that Gibson's whiskey is a prime favorite every where. In addition to being the largest distillery of its class, the Gibsonton concern is one of the most perfectly appointed. The barrels in which the product of the still are stored are made on the ground; all the grain grown in the surrounding country is utilized, and the employes, many of them in the service of the proprietors for more than twenty years, are sober, intelligent men of family and good citizens in every respect. This high standard of excellence in all departments is very largely due to Captain Thomas L. Daly. The Glass Works, which many years ago became the property of R. C. Schmertz & Co., have also a distinction that is claimed by no other factory in the country. It has produced the largest sheets of window glass manufactured in the United States. The establishment, which is in every respect a model, is under the management of Robert J. Linton, than whom no man is more deeply interested in everything that concerns Bellever- non's welfare and prosperity. Next most prominent in the industrial field is the plant of the Bellevernon Saw and Planing Mill Company, which operates an extensive planing mill and boat yard. Under the energetic management of Samuel Jones this concern has achieved an excellent reputation and is doing a large business. The banking house of S. F. Jones & Co. is another of the prominent features of the town. Mr. S. F. Jones is president and gives his personal attention to the management of its busi- ness. This is the best guarantee that could be given of the The Old and New MonongaJiela. 417 solidity of the concern, and it is a matter of common consent that the bank is as stable as the United States Treasury. Another institution of which the people of Bellevernon are proud is the foundry. This concern manufactures stoves and ranges in large numbers. Those known as the "Torchlight" and "CoalYalley" stoves and the " Braddock " ranges are unexcelled by the product of any other stove foundry in the country. The proprietor, Mr. Amon Bronson, is a self-made man, and is one of the "fixtures " of the town. The people of Bellevernon never have occasion to go away from home for good flour. John McClai]i has a large mill and has a reputation as a miller that is second to none. As a contractor and builder, C. R. Corwin ranks among the first in any locality. It is impossible within the limits prescribed for this article to go into details concerning all the business enterprises of the town. It must suffice to say that they embrace every class; that Bellevernon has as good stores as any town of its size anywhere; that its merchants are wide awake and accommo- dating, and that there is nothing that is necessary for the com- fort or happiness of any person that cannot be found in the town. One more feature of the enterprise of our people deserves especial mention however. That is that the go-ahead spirit is not confined to any class. This will be evident to any person who spends a day in the town, from the bustle in the stores; the thrifty appearance of everybody met on the streets; the number of new buildings in course of erection, and the im- ])rovements on old buildings that have been made and are in progress. In a word, everybody is awake and they want the outside world to know it. Independent of its facilities as a business location, Bellever- non is one of the best places in the country in which a man can live with his family. Its beautiful location has been described. When to this is added the fact that rents are low, that lots can be purchased for little money, and that fuel costs almost noth- 418 The Old and New Monongahela. ing, there is little to be desired. But these are not half the advantages Bellevernon offers. It has excellent schools and a fine school building; four churches, representing the Presby- terian, Methodist, Baptist and Disciples"' denominations; the people are sociable and refined, and have fewer vices than are usual among a population made up of so many diverse elements. Another matter that counts for a great deal is the fact that very generally the workmen of the town own the homes in which they live. As a consequence, the poor man is equally alive with the rich man to the necessity of doing everything possible to advance the best interests of the town and all its people. Our people know all this, and much more which their modesty deters them from exploiting, to be true. They invite outsiders to come and see for themselves, satisfied that the town and its inhabitants will be benefited by the closest inspection. An Address. An Address of Welcome Delivered by J. S. Van Voorhis, October 10, ISSO, at the Opening of the McKeesport and Bellevernon llailroad to Belle- vernon, Pa. Messrs. President, Board of Directors of the McKeesport and Bellevernon Railroad Company, Citizens and Strangers Within Our Gates : The spirits of four generations look down upon the event of this day and beckon us to give you a hearty welcome. To-day we realize a forty years' dream overshadowed by your presence in celebrating the crowned efforts of science and labor. This is the dawn of the day when om* valley will take a proud position in the great railroad highway from the rising to the setting sun. In the name of the fathers who sleep be- neath the sod, and in the spirit of all that is dear to the present, we bid you partake of our hospitality. The importance of a full development of the resources of the Monongahela valley has at last been ap])reciated. Skill, ca])ital, wisdom, foresight The Old and Neio Monongahela. 419 and individual energy has completed a railroad to this point on the east shore of our beautiful river. For long years we have been using our eiforts, in divers ways, to induce the opening up of the valley by means of railroads. The river has long been an efficient agent in giving life and wealth to the valley, but the demands of progress are such that water transportation cannot satisfy the increasing trade. The spirit of the age requires rapid transit and quick returns. Our side of the river to-day can boast of such facilities as we have been dreaming of for nearly three score years ; and perhaps but for the industry, energy and business shrewdness of Wainwright, to-day might have found us " waiting still for something to turn up." God bless such a man and may his shadow never grow less. Sixty years ago the building of railroads was a mere experi- ment in this country, with a population of 12,000,000. To- day 156,000 miles of railroad traverse our country from ocean to ocean and from the lakes to the Gulf of Mexico, w^ith a pop- ulation of 60,000,000. Sixty years ago the wealth of our country was $1,000,000,000; to-day it over reaches 156,000,- 000,000. The railroads of this country, in 1888, carried 475,- 000,000 of passengers and 600,000,000 tons of freight. The railroads of the United States employ 1,000,000 workmen. They have 30,000 locomotives, 21,000 passenger cars, 7,000 baggage cars and 1,000,000 freight cars. The capital invested exceeds $8,000,000,000 and over $600,000,000 are paid annu- ally for labor and supplies. The first attempt at building a railroad from any point in the valley of the Monongahela was made by the Baltimore & Ohio Company in 1829. The surveys were made under the super- vision of Jonathan Knight, at that time chief engineer of the company. He ranked among the most distinguished civil en- gineers of this or any other country. This survey was ])rinci- pally made with the view of a direct line to Wheeling with the contingency of a branch to Pittsburgh. On the completion of the B. & O. railroad to Cumberland in 1844 the citizens of Pittsl)urgh and the valley generally wn and vicinity. She recalled an incident which happened to her per- sonally on the day of the funeral of Rev. James Finley, whicli occurred in 1795, she being only four years old. She remem- bers very well of being present at the birth of our citizen, Robert Fatterson, who will be 80 years old next St. Patrick's day ( 17th 450 The Old and New Monongahela. of March). Whilst her health permitted, she was ever ready to extend a helping hand to the sick and needy, and she was present at the birth of more children than any other woman who ever lived in the valley. Not one pf her early kindred or associates are living. She was the mother of Barnet, James, John and William Corwin. John and William are dead and Barnet is dead also. His first wife was a Miss Coll, sister of Mrs. Thomas McFall and Mrs. Alex. Frazier. By his first wife Barnet had two children, John W., the Main street grocer, and Mary. Mary was taken into her grandmother's family — Aunt Polly — when she was 11 years old, and remained with her until death separated them — a period of 41 years. In joy or sorrow, in sickness or health, Mary was ever alert in that household, and when her kind old grandmother was worn out by age and affliction, she was the ministering angel that soothed her pains and made soft her pillows until God took her dear one home. Barnet's second wife was a daughter of the late Joseph Springer, the issue of which marriage was several sons and daughters, most of whom are still living. His third wife was a Mrs. Cooper. James, the remaining son living of Aunt Polly, resides on Main street, Bellevernon. His first wife was Eleanor Walker, long since deceased. She left two daughters — Georgiana and Eva ; the latter is dead. His second wife also is deceased. Pier name was Indiana Jacobs. Her aged mother, Jane Jacobs, survives her and has been a resident of this town over 55 years. James by his second wife has living William, Clarke, George, Elma, Alice and Lizzie. The funeral services of Aunt Polly were held Sunday at 2 o'clock, January 8, and were conducted by Rev. Joel Baker, of the Free Will Baptist church, and Elder James M. Springer, of the Christian church. Her remains were interred in Belle- vernon cemetery, in full view of the place of her birth. One grandson and three great-grandsons acted as pall-bearers. Barnet Corwin, son of Aunt Polly, died July 20, 1889. He was taken sick with something 'like a sunstroke and paraly- The Old and New Monongahela. 451 sis, and did not think much of it until taken to his bed, which he never left. He was born near Bellevernon, April 27, 1814, and grew up to manhood's estate. At the age of twenty he married a neighbor's daughter, Miss Nellie Call. To this union came three children, J. W., Marj and Baker, the latter dying quite young. Mrs. C. only lived six years, and then went to join her child in the realms of glory. Mr. Corwin married Miss Margaret Springer, and quite a family of children were born to them, those living being: Sarah A., Charles R. , Joseph F., Luther C, Rowland W., and A. Odell. The second Mrs. C. followed her children, and her name is sacred to the children left. Mr. Corwin did not like to be left alone, and about seven years ago he married the widow of Thomas Cooper, who survives him. He was always a highly respected citizen and his loss was a blow. He in early years was a member of the Methodist Episcopal church, but later joined the Free Will Baptist church, of which he was a member at his death. He had not attended church in his last days on account of his hearing being defective. His fui^eral took place Monday morning at 10 o'clock, and the remains placed in the Bellevernon cemetery. The pallbearers were all grandchildren of the deceased. The last sad rites had been performed, when words similar to the following came to the minds of the mourners and brought relief. " Weep not for him who clieth, For he sleeps and is at rest, And the couch whereon he lieth Is tlie green earth's quiet breast." J. Wesley Coewin, Died on Saturday, November S, 1890, at his late res- idence on Main street, Bellevernon, Fa., of ])aralysis of the heart. He was born in the house adjoining liis late residence, well known as the "Aunt Polly Corwin house,*' July 6, 1834. He was the only son of his father, l^arnel Corwin, by his wife, Eleanor Call Corwin, He was 452 The Old 07\d New Monongahela. married to Miss Margaret Jane Jacobs, June 21, 1866, by the Rev. Jordon C. Nye. He joined the Methodist Episco- pal Church of his native place in 1850, under the ministra- tion of the Rev. John Coil, by whom he was baptized. In 1853 he transferred his church membership to the Free Will Baptist Church, during the ministration of Rev. David Winton. This church then worshipped in the old building near the corner of Wood street and Flint alley on the hill. In his new church relation the deceased assumed an active and influential posi- tion, and continued faithful to its interests and the cause of his Master to the end. He was among the first to agitate the pro- ject of erecting a new church edifice. To this end he devoted his untiring energy, and to him more than any one individual is that church indebted for the new building, now standing on the corner of Short and Speer streets. As a deacon in the church he was faithful and ever on the watch for its interests and the welfare of souls. x\s a citizen he was honest and upright in all his dealings, and was so regarded universally by the community in which he always lived. In the municipal affairs of his native borough he was often called to take part, and always performed his office satisfactory to his fellow citi- zens. At the time of his death he was a member of the school board of which he was treasurer. He leaves a wife, one son and sister, with several half brothers and one half sister, to mourn over his sudden departure. On Monday, October 10th, his remains were interred in Bellevernon cemetery, where three generations of his kindred await the resurrection morn. Blessed be his memory. His transition from earth to eternity was sudden, and without a struggle his eyes were closed in death and opened to behold the Son of Righteousness in all his glory. Death of Mrs. Sarah A. Springer. Mrs. Sarah A. Springer, wife of J. M. Springer, Esq., died on July 25th, 1893, and was interred in the Bellevernon cem- etery at 3 o'clock July 2Tth. She was born December 5th, The Old and New Monongaheh. 453. 1825, in Rostraver township, and was in her 68th year. Her maiden name was Reeves, daughter ^of Samuel and Nancy Reeves, and she was united in marriage to J. ,M. Springer May 15th, 1847, and was the mother of nine children, all of whom survive her and who were present at the time of her death and burial. A true devoted Christian mother, it was her happy lot to see all her children grow to manhood and womanhood, and her's was the first death in the family. In this union was cemented, though existing, social ties between two of the oldest and best known families in this part of the state. Each of these families dating their settlement among the first in the wilderness of the Monongahela valley. Her disease was an acute affection of the stomach, from which she suffered deep and painful affliction for about five months. Her end was peace, and was marked by the quiet resignation of a long life earnestly spent in the service of the Master on high, and her bereaved husband and family have the heart-felt sympathy of a large portion of the community who knew her but to love her. The thought is, however, a consoling one — that their loss is her gain, as she has gone to reap the reward deservingly won. The funeral was attended by a large assemblage of relatives and friends, and the servi(;e was conducted by Rev. B. L. Kershner, pastor of the Christian church, assisted by Rev. Charles Clark, pastor of the Presby- terian charge at Rehoboth. J. B. Gould. John B. Gould was born in Hillsborough county. New Hampshire, June 6, 1795. He left the paternal roof at an early age to try his fortune amid the hills of the coast bound State of Maine, but in 1810 he emigrated from that State and came to the neighborhood of what is now known as the Red Lion, above Fayette City, Pennsylvania. In 1811, in com- pany with the families of a man named McCalla and Ziba Whiting, father of the late Geo. Whiting, of Fayette City, in all fifteen persons, immigrated to the territory of Louisiana. 31 15 J: Tlie Old mid Nev) Monongahela. Two of the men died there together with four of their children. GoLihl returned in 1812, and was the last to die of the com- pany. Shortly after his return to the Red Lion he became an apprentice to a Mr. Coldron to learn the scythe and sickle trade, and remained with him over four years. Miss Jane Trainer, an inmate of the household of the widow Whiting, early attracted the attentions of the young Gould, and after an en- gagement of five years, he concluded one day whilst " hoeing corn,'' that if Jane was willing and the next Ith of July came on Thursday and in the light of the moon, they would get married. He hastily consulted the never failing almanac, and to his great joy he found all right in accord with his wishes. They were married on the Ith day of July, A. D. 1824, and to use his own words, "in the year that Jackson first ran for President. " They located on the farm just above Bellevernon, a part of which he owned to the day of his death. They commenced housekeeping in the old log house that stood on the bank of the river, but what has long since passed away. He did not work much at his trade, but devoted his time generally to farming, and in the winter taught school. For many years Gould and John Wilson seemed to have a mortgage on the "art of teaching"" in the town and vicinity. Gould "kept school"" in the house now owned by W. P. Mackey on Main street, and in other houses about the town prior to the building of the brick school house on the hill and in the hollow. Many of our older citizens owe their early ed- ucation to the influence of Gould's ferule and birch. He in- formed the writer when speaking on the subject of education, that for a long time he regarded himself as one of the educa- tors of the land, but found in reality that ])rogress had so far outstripped his Yankee notions as to force him to acknowledge to having scarcely learned his A. B. C.'s half way. Gould was always held in high esteem by his fellow citizens. He held many offices in his adopted township of Washington. He was elected Justice of the Peace in 1845-50-55. He served as Assessor in 1840-51-54-62-65-68. He was Auditor The Old and New MonoiujaheXa. 465 ill 1858-63-66. He was School Director in 1849. He served many years as Constable when that office was considered one of the most important in the township. His career as Justice marked well his effort to do right between man and man, and he spared no pains in settling petty cases without the process of law suits. Gould was one of the pioneers in the Disciple church of the town; and to him, more than anyone individual, is that people indebted for its success in the town. His wife died some years prior to his death, at the old homestead. Gould died September 9th, 1881, while on a visit to his daughter, Mrs. John Coldron, near Fayette City, in the 90th year of his age. His remains were interred beside those of his wife in the Bellevernon cemetery. They had several children, some of whom preceded the parents to the grave. Malissa married William Beam, and is now deceased. Lorena is the wife of John Coldron, above Fayette City. John resides in North Bellevernon. Ephraim is in Colorado. Elmer Morrison, a grandson, resides in Seldom Seen, a^ village being built on part of the old farm. He lives in his own home alone, and seems to enjoy life and the good will of his fellow citizens. Nancy Jane married Thomas Richards, now deceased. She lives in Zanesville, Ohio. One daughter married a Mr. McKinney, but where she resides we arc not informed. Another daughter married a Mr. Stout, and have their home in Kentucky. James has long been a resident of Illinois. John B. Gould, in politics, was always a democrat, having voted for every democratic candidate for president since the days of Madison, having voted the first time 1816. During the great know-nothing excitement in 1854, he was one of the ten democrats in Bellevernon district who stood up for William Bigler, the democratic candidate for governor. He always had a poor opinion of the know-nothing organization. 456 The Old and Nev:) Monongahela. Wm. Eberheart. The first glass manufacturer in Bellevernon died at the resi- dence of his son-in-law, Leonard Laneheart, in Redstone town- ship, Fajette county, Feb. 23, 1882. He was born in New Geneva on the Monongahela, in the year 1800. He was the son of Adolph Eberheart, who emigrated from Germany and settled in New Geneva, soon after that place was founded by Albert Gallatin, a native of the city of Geneva in Switzerland. Gallatin had erected in his new Geneva home the first glass works in the west, and the older Eberheart was in his employ until Gallatin was called by President Jefferson in 1802 to a seat in his cabi- net as Secretary of the Treasury. At the time Gallatin entered Jefferson's cabinet, Adolph Eberheart became proprietor of the Geneva glass works, and in due time his son learned the glass blowing trade, William married Rachel Hutton, a sister of the late John James and Nathan Hutton, all well known in this community in their day. Not long after his marriage, in about 1828, he moved to Williamsport, now Monongahela City, where for several years he followed his trade in the works of Wm. Ihmsen, at that time the most extensive window glass manufacturer in the west. One of his children died at that place, and its remains are now among the unknown relics of the old grave yard on the hill. Eberheart subsequently carried on the glass business at Albany, below Brownsville. In 1832 he started in the same business in what was then called Free- port, afterwards Cookstown, and now known as Fayette City. In 1836 he removed to Bellevernon, where he purchased of Patton and Kendall the unfinished glass factory, ever since known as the old glass house. He first resided in the Demain house on Water street, now owned by the heirs of the late Capt. J. M. Bowell. From this house he moved to the house on Water street, near Third street, known as the Morgan Gas- kill house. About 1849 he purchased from John Niccolls the Noah W. Speer farm, now known as the Gibsonton farm. In 1852 he became financially embarrassed. In 1855 The Old and Neio Monongahela. 457 be closed up the glass business iu Bellevernon and removed to Fayette City, where for a time he aided one of his sons in the business. His daughter Elizabeth married Noah W. Speers. She died of yellow fever a few years ago in Memphis, Tennesse. His son, William, married Margaret L. Smith, grand daughter of the late Hon. George Plumer. Adolph married a daughter of the late William D. MuUin, Esq., of Fayette City, Rebecca married A. C. Housman, who, in 1847, kept the hotel now known as the Wise house, in Bellevernon. They left that house for Baltimore, Md., where they still reside. Allen K., another son, is perhaps the best known shoe man in Penn- sylvania. His first wife was a Reed, and present wife was of the name of Brick. He has for many years resided in Phila- delphia, and is now connected with the shoe firm of Graff, Son & Co., No. 512 Market street, Philadelphia. Thomas Niccolls married William Eberheart's daughter, Elma, in 1845. He died many years ago in Cincinnati. Her present husband is Leonard Lanehart. They live in ease and comfort in a beauti- ful home on the National pike, between Brownsville and Uniontown. Charles D., the remaining son, married a Miss Mason, daughter of Morgan Mason, a well known river man of Brownsville, but of later day a resident of Missouri. We are not able to say when Eberheart erected the second or new glass house, but it must have been in the early forties. The long and short rows, well known as the factory tenements, at the upper end of town, were built by him for his workmen. He also built the storeroom lately occupied by R. C. Schmertz & Co. Eberheart was very liberal in his views and treatment of men. In his day there were no butchers, so called, so that his men were supplied with eatables and meat at his well filled store. In the fall of the year he bought hogs by the score and distributed them ready dressed among his men. So with beef, he sold to his men a quarter at a time. His cellar and ware- house were frequently replenished. The writer has known fifty five barrels of molasses to ffo into the store cellar at one time, ■158 Tlie Old and Neiv Monongahela. together with barrels and hogsheads of sugar. He generally purchased his stock of dry goods, &c., in Baltimore, and it was a common affair to see 12 W boxes of dry goods hauled from the wharf, now the ferry, with notions, hats, caps and hardware, in proportion. For convenience and as a labor saving machine it was the custom for many years to use his own script as money. This currency was charged on the books in sums as drawn by the employes, and taken back in return for goods. The script was issued in the denominations of 6J cents, 12^ cents, quarter and half and one dollar pieces. Specimens of this script is still preserved by some of the curious. Eberhcart was proverbally generous to the poorer class of his employes, in many instances would forgive a long extravagant account rather than oppress. Whilst a resident of the town he was not connected with any church, but had a high regard for all denominations. Whilst holding a pew for many years in Rehoboth, under the ministrations of Revs. Gillett and J. R. Hughes, he was a liberal contributor to the support of the Gos- pel in the Methodist Episcopal Church, of Bellevernon. In his day glass making was principally confined on this side of the mountains to Pittsburgh and the Monongahela val- ley. The Gallatin factory at New Geneva, the Albany, the Bellevernon, the Williamsport, the Elizabeth, the Cookstown, and the Perryopolis glass works were in early day in the valley, all of which, save those in Bellevernon, have long since passed away. They have been supplanted by one at Brownsville, one at Fayette City and one at Monongahela, City. Eberheart sold his glass chieHy in Pittsburgh and Cincinnati, his son-in-law, N. W. Speers, being for many years his agent in the latter city. In his works he generally made two quali- ties of glass. The first quality was branded Bellevernon, and the second W. Eberheart. The sizes were principally 8 by 10 and 12 by ]1, but in his latter days the size began to increase. It was the custom in his day to agree with the blowers for the fire early as February preceding the end of the current year ending July 1. Strikes and other troubles as now a days were unknown, harmony and good" feeling prevailing between the The Old and Neiu Monongahela. 451) employer and employes. Dr. David Porter was the next physician after Dr. Smith, who located in the Forks. He was born in Wheeling, West Virginia, March 17, 1794. His father, Wm. Porter, was a neighbor of Capt. Wm. Woolsey, who in early days owned the lands in Rostraver township, recently owned by Dr. Porter and now belonging to the heirs of Mrs. Levi Johnson, deceased. Wm. Porter took a lively interest in the whiskey insurrrection of 1794. On account of his open opposition to the enforce- ment of the whiskey law, he was compelled to flee from the ' ' Forks. ' ' With his young wife he went to Wheeling where his son David was born. After the excitement of the insur- rection was over, Wm. Porter returned to Rostraver, where he taught school until his thirst for travel induced him to accom- pany Wm. Darby 'to New Orleans. The yellow fever was pre- valent at that time in the south, on account of which Darby refused to complete the journey. Darby returned, but Porter, not daunted, pushed forward to the city and was never heard from afterwards. Capt. Woolsey mourned over the loss of his friend. Being childless he adopted David as his own son, under whose care he was educated, and at his death, in 1834, David inherited his large estate. For more than half a century Dr. Porter was the leading physician of the "Forks.'' He was a man of good physical structure and very well adopted to endure the exposures of the pioneer doctor. He was a man of fine literary culture and a writer of more than local reputation. He was not a graduate of any Medical College, but in 1825 the Trustees of Jefferson College con- ferred on him the honorary degree of Doctor of Medicine. The first wife of Dr. Porter was a daughter of the distinguished Dr. Obadiah Jennings. By this wife he had two sons and one daughter. The daughter married Levi Johnson both of whom are dead leaving Nelson and William as their only issue. Obadiah his son was a physician and died many years ago. William the surviving son died in Texas. The second wife of Dr. Porter was a sister of A. H. and J. B. Miller well known 460 TJie Old and Nevj Monongahela. in their day. The only issue of this second marriage was their daughter Ada who died years ago. Mrs. Dr. Porter is now a resident of Uniontown. Dr. David Porter died in Uniontown September 22, 1875, the remains being interred in Rehoboth grave yard. Capt. Woolsey To whom Dr. Porter was so much indebted for his start in life was born in Ireland in 1748. He followed a sea faring life from early boyhood to the age of thirty years when he immigrated to this country and joined the continental army, in which he commanded a company, at the close of the war he settled on the farm on which Dr. Porter resided. He married Margaret Goe, who had immigrated to these parts co-temporary with Col. Edward Cook and many other well known early settlers. The common mode of traveling in those days was something different from that in use now a days. When the Goe family immigrated the children were carried in baskets sus- pended on each side of the horse — white and black mixed together, and on the way the races would occasionally kick up a fuss which would require the intervention of the parents and master to settle. The Captain though very eccentric in man- ner and customs had many good qualities of heart, and was very peculiar in his likes and dislikes. The few older citizens now living yet recall his peculiar traits of character. SPRINGER FAMILY. The name of Springer has long been identified with Belle- vernon and vicinity. It was introduced by the arrival of Michael Springer, who was born in Stockholm, Sweden, about 1727, and came to this country somewhere in 1760. The exact date of his marriage is not known. His wife's surname was not known, but she was called Mary Ann. Michael Springer's father found Mary Ann asleep at the foot of a tree when she was supposed to be only about three years old. Her clothing was of tine quality, but nothing was found about her person or The Old and New MoiiGngahela. 401 clothing to indicate who she was; all that she could remember was that she lived in a large house where there were lots of flowers and a big porch, and where one day she was when a man came riding along on a black horse and said, "Come, lit- tle lady, and take a ride." Michael Springer's father raised her, and his son (Michael) married her and emigrated from Germany to America about 1760. They first settled near Philadelphia, where Daniel was born September 15th, 1762, Michael Springer and family crossed the mountains about 1783 on pack horses or mules, his wife carrying her spinning wheel on her back. They took by tomahawk right the land now (1893) owned by the heirs of James Ward, deceased, and others in Rostraver township, Westmoreland county. The tract originally contained 355^ acres, and was called Springers- burgh. The patent for this land was granted Daniel Springer dated May 18th, 1787, on a warrant issued to Michael Springer and signed by Benjamin Franklin, President of the Supreme Executive Council. Michael and Mary Ann had five children, John, Mathias, Michael, Mary and Daniel. The father died 1797, and was buried in the family burial ground, near a part of the Bellevernon cemetery grounds. Their sons, Michael and Mathias, settled in the west. Mary married John Worley and moved to the west. The old homestead was given by will to Daniel. He mar- ried Rachel Higgins in 1790. He was born in Virginia in 1760 and came to this region about the time the Springer fam- ily located in Rostraver. Daniel had eight children, Michael, Mathias, John, Joseph, James H., Nancy, Daniel and Martha. John married Sallie Billiter. John was killed by a limb from a tree which he was felling, in 1833. John had four children, Nancy, who married Harrison Hornbake; Rachel, who mar- ried Thompson Carmichael, and after his death she married Jesse Sills, who for many years lived in Bellevernon, but at his death was a resident of Ohio. John R. married a Miss Jordon, of Monongahela City. They lived for a time in Shel- byville, Indiana, but at last accounts were in the State of Call- 462 The Old and New Mononc/ahela. fornia. Mary married Joseph Culler, of Rostraver, where they now reside. After the death of John Springer his widow married Luke Hornbeck. They lived for many years in the old log house that stood where is now the residence of George Scribner on the State road leading from Bellevernon to West Newton. Luke was a shoemaker by trade. He died July 22, 1866. Daniel, son of Daniel the older, was never married, and has been dead many years. He lost the use of one leg from white swelling. He spent most of his time in studying music, though he had no voice for singing, but loved the science. Joseph, son of Daniel, married Margaret Driver. They lived in the old log house on the county line near town. The farm in part is owned by S. F. and Wm. Jones, and part now divided into lots forming the town of East Bellevernon. The ground was purchased from J. W. Carothers by Geo. C. Max- well and J. T. Roley, who laid out the town. Joseph had born to him twelve children. James and Newton died in childhood. Daniel was the oldest and married Rachel Jordon, who still survives her husband, who died October 21, 1870. Daniel lived most of his days in Bellevernon where his widow still resides. Martha married Barnet Corwin, both of whom are dead. John married Sarah A. Baily, and has been a resident of Brownsville for many years. Rachel and Lydia were twins. Rachel married James Carroll and died December, 1879. Lydia married Asa Hastings, who died in Brownsville in 1882. His widow lives in Findlay, Ohio. She was the mother of E. A. Hastings who published the first newspaper in Bellevernon. Nancy married Edward Cook, both of whom are dead. James M. married Sarah Reeves, and has been a resident of the town ever since their marriage in 181:7, excepting a short time in Mount Pleasant, Pa. He has long been an active citizen, having been honored by his fellow citizens with many offices of trust. With the expiration of his present term, 1893, he will have served forty years as Justice of the Peace. Joseph The Old and N'evj Monongahela. 463 married Hannah J. Davidson. Tliej reside in Circleville, Westmoreland comity, Pa. William R. married Margaret Reed, and are residents of North Bellevernon. Margaret, the remaining daughter of Joseph Springer, married Frederick Browneller. They live in Findlay, Ohio. Joseph Springer, the father of these children, died at Brownsville June 20, 1871, and the mother October 28, 1876. James Higgins Springer, another son of Daniel the older, in- herited the old homestead. He married Sallie Smith, daughter of David Smith, a Revolutionary soldier, whose remains are in Rehoboth graveyard. He died in Webster, Fa., April 26, 1876, his wife having died January 17, 1864. Their remains are in the Bellevernon cemetery. They had seven children. Martina married D. B. H. Allen, who died Febru- ary 22, 1881. Sophia married Dr. J. R. Nickel, who died July 17, 1874, in Connellsville, Pa. Mrs. Nickel resides in Bellevernon. Theodore is married and lives in the west. Ancelmo married Barbara Newcomer and is a resident of Clinton, Iowa. Everil F. married Ella Huffman, of Iowa, and now lives in North Bellevernon, where he is in the drug busi- ness. Caroline died December 12, 1885. Rebecca is also dead. Martha, daughter of Daniel Springer the older, mar- ried James Beazell, who so long carried on blacksmithing where now Mr. Cowan has his shop, near the Bellevernon cemetery. James Beazell died February 28, 1868, and his wife October 18, 1869. Their remains are in Bellevernon cemetery. They had a large family, some of whom have passed aw^ay. We recall Jasper, now living in Cincinnati. Eliz- abeth, widow of Wm. Ballou, resides in North Bellevernon. James, now dead, and Albert, resided in California, where many years ago, Thomas Benton died. Mortimer, after having been in California for some years, returned to his native heath. Malissa and Anna reside on the old homestead. Rachel mar- ried Samuel Bedsworth, who resides near the old home. Jane lives at Ruifsdale, Westmoreland county. 464 Tlie Old and New Monongahela. Andrew Dunlevy. In the early days of Bellevernon Andrew Dunlevy and his brother-in-law Geo. Hazelbaker carried on the manufacture of hats in the house at that time known as the Billiter house on Water below Third street. It was truly a manufactory as all the work was done by hand power. They not only made the popular wool hat of that day but also the fine fur hat. The wool hat did -a boy an undesirable long service. There seemed to be no wear out to it, as it was the custom at that day to iron over and shape anew the hat whenever it became dis- colored or presented an unseemly appearance. The fine fur hat was also subjected to a renovating process that made it good as new. This firm was the market for rabbit and mink skins, from which the fine fur hat was manufactured. Caps and mufliers, so called, were made from coon and fox skins with the tails as ornamental appendages. Andrew Dunlevy was born July 24, 1795, on the farm now owned by his son Jehu in Allen Township, Washington County, Pa. He died July 24, 1879, in the house still stand- ing a few rods distant from the spot where he was born. The farm is situated on the Monongahela river about one mile above Speer's ferry. This farm was the home of his parents. His mother was a Crawford, sister of the wife of Col, Edward Cook well known in the early days of the "Forks" neighbor- hood. The wife of Andrew Dunlevy was a daughter of the older Wm. Jackman who was father also of the late Jehu and Simeon Jackman well known citizens of Washington County. Andrew had five sons and two daughters. Joseph died in his youth. Anthony was drowned many ^^ears ago in Galves- ton Bay. William married a Furnier and resides in the west, Crawford married a lady in Brownsville, and has resided for some years near the hot springs, in Arkansas. Barbara married S. T. Williams, well known in former years in this vicinity; they now live in Iowa. The remaining daughter was accidently burned to death. Jehu resides on the homestead, and is one The Old and New Monongahela. 465 of the solid farmers of Allen township. His first wife was a daughter of the late Hugh McKee; his present wife was a Smith from the Youghiogheny valley. Andrew Dunlevy's wife died in 1845. Andrew by birth and profession was a Presbyterian in reli- gion. At his birth Dr. Ralston had not commenced his minis- try at Horseshoe Meeting House, now only known by the rough stones that mark the graves of the early settlers. Dr. James Finley had just closed his earthly labors as pastor of Rehoboth, where Dunlevy's parents were accustomed to wor- ship with his uncle, Col. Cook. Dunlevy was one of the number who organized, about 1840, the Maple Creek Presby- terian Church, and during its existence was a member of the sessions. In the eldership of that church he was associated with such men as Moss, Baker, McJunkin and Simeon Jackman, all of whom have passed to the beyond. In politics Dunlevy was always a Democrat of the Jeffersonian school, and even the Know Nothing allurements of 1854 could not entice him from his inborn Democracy. He always possessed the confi- dence of his fellow citizens as an upright Christian gentleman. Honest in habit, generous in heart, kind in disposition and de- voted to his coimtry and church, he was ranked among those whose place it would be hard to fill. His remains were buried along side those of his wife in the Speer's graveyard, opposite Bellevcrnon. Hazeluaker. Peter Hazelbaker immigrated to this country from Anspach, in Germany, as an English soldier during the revolution. He was taken prisoner by the American forces, was never ex- changed, and at the close of the war he settled in the United States. Shortly after the war Peter married Elizabeth Shively, daughter of Daniel Shively, Of Berkely county, Va., now West Virginia. After their marriage Peter and his wife immigrated to 4:^*5 The Old and New Mononyahela. Washington County, Pa., and settled in an old log house on the farm now owned by one of the heirs of S. A. Chester, in Allen Township. He died in 1800 and his remains are buried in the field just above the present residence of Major Henry Spliarr. Peter had six sons, Peter, Daniel, John, Jacob, Abraham and George. John was an old time school teacher. He taught the first school in Bellevernon. The kitchen part of the residence of the late Aunt Polly Corwin on Main street was the schoolhouse. He and Daniel died in the West. Peter died six weeks after the death of his father and was buried in the same graveyard. Abraham died near Brush Creek in Ohio. Jacob was well known in the community. He was a shoe- maker by trade and lived many years in the stone house just above Bellevernon now owned by R. C. Schmertz & Co. About 1848 he removed to a farm near Perryopolis where he died. George lived beyond all of his brothers. He was born in Berkely County, West Va. , January 18, 1790. His wife was Matilda Dunlevy sister of Andrew Dunlevy. She died in 1853. After his marriage he erected the lower part of the old house on Main street in Bellevernon where now stands the house owned by A. L. Brown and occupied by Abe Lewis. In the old house George and his wife first set up housekeeping and there he carried on the hat business until he and Dunlevy started the shop in the Billiter house. He also resided for a time on the Gould farm, then on the Levi Johnson, then on the Rutan farm opposite Columbia owned now by W. J. Man- own. He moved from this farm to the Cooper farm near the mouth of Maple Creek and fimilly in 1841 he purchased the farm on which he died, in Allen township, from Abia Allen and Robert Stockdale. His son Andrew married a daughter of Thomas Fryc and died about the year 1856 near Lock No. 4. Joseph died at the homestead unmarried. Anthony lived for many years in the house near the mouth of Maple Creek now owned by Charles Baltzee. He carried on the flouring mill which stood between the dwelling and the present bridge. The mill has passed The Old and New Monongahela. 467 away. Anthony over thirty years ago moved to Illinois where he died a few years since. Jacob married a Miss Crow and lives in Clarion County. George married a Miss Riggs and lives on part of the homestead and John resides in Allen town- ship not far from Wood's Run. Matilda married Joseph Wolf and resides in the west. Mary married Jehu Cooper, now deceased. She lives in Illi- nois. Sarah Ann is the wife of Addison Cummings, of Allen township. Margaret married R. C. Guffey and di^d in North Bellevernon. George Hazelbaker, the father of this large family, died on the home farm, June 23, 1880. He united with Rehoboth church in his seventy-fifth year and remained in that membership until his death. He was a good citizen, a genial neighbor, and above all a Christian. His remains were interred in Howe Cemetery. Thomas Wakd and Frederick Cooper: Thos. Ward built the first house in Bellevernon. In the summer of 1815 he purchased the lot on the corner of Main and Second streets, now owned by Howard McClure and Mrs. Kittle, and built thereon the well known house now moved to the upper end of the lot, and occupied now (1893) by James Haggorty's widow. Before moving into this house Ward re- sided in the old house that stood near the present home of Wm. Kyle in North Bellevernon. He was a most skillful mechanic in every art of making in wood. He was born May 23, 1776, but where we cannot say, or just when he came to this vicinity. He lived to a good old age in Bellevernon, and when the decrepitude of age prevented his earning his own living he was kindly taken to the house- hold of his children in Ohio, where some thirty years ago lie died. His wife was a daughter of the old Frederick Cooper who settled about 1768^ on the farm lately owned bj Thomas Redd, and the farm or Robert McKain, both of which now form the site of the flourishing town of Charleroi. This settle- ment was made after the death of his first wife. On this farm' 4:6s The Old and New Monongahela. (then embracing both the Redd and McKain land) he reared a shanty or cabin under the protection of the fort that was located near the present Gibsonton distillery on the opposite side of the river. Notwithstanding the fort, the depredations of the Indians were so frequent and dangerous that the new emigrant concluded to return for a time to the east, where he had left his son John and two daughters, Polly and Betsy. Whilst in the east he nuu-ried Elizabeth Kyle as his second wife, and in a short time after the marriage he returned to his farm on the Monongahela, with his new wife and children, where he re- mained to the day of his death. His remains were no doubt interred in the family burying ground yet to be seen in the orchard above the present residence of Mrs. Thomas Redd. Frederick's son Valentine iuherited the farm and lived at his death in the old house that stood not far from the present brick house. Jehu, son of Valentine, inherited the upper part of the land and in his day erected the brick house. He sold, before going west, to A. P. Frye. whose heirs sold to Thomas Redd, who in 1890 sold the farm, excepting the house and surroundings, to the Charleroi Land Company. The lower part of the original Cooper farm was sold at administrator's or executor's sale, Daniel Van Voorhis becoming purchaser, who in his day sold it to his son John F. John F. sold it to Elgy Yan Voorhis, his nephew, now of Kansas City, Missouri. After a short residence on it Elgy sold the farm to Robert McKain, a greater part of which he sold in 1890 to the Charleroi Land Company, on which they are now building the flourishing town of Charleroi. [From Bellevenion Enterprise, May 20th, 189::.] Captain Josei'h Shei'Lek. Died Sabbath, May 15th, 1892, at his late residence in Ros- traver township, AVestmoreland county. Pa. He was born March tUh, 1807, on the old home farm recently owned by his brother, Lewis, but now occupied by David Deatcrly. He The Old and Nev) Monongahela. iOU was the oldest of seven children of Isaac and Sarah H. Shep- ler. His ancestors on both sides of the family emigrated from Germany and settled in Virginia, near Winchester. The grandfather of the deceased, . Mathias Shepler, with two brothers, Peter and Philip, moved from Virginia before the war of the revolution and settled in Rostraver, taking up farms on the Monongahehi hill in that township, on part of which his descendant, Philip Shepler, now resides. Mathias married Margaret Houseman, whose family too was one of the early settlers in the township. Their children were John, Philip, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Mary, Margaret and Catherine. All were married and raised families, and all are deceased. Isaac, the father of Joseph, the subject of this sketch, married Sarah, daughter of Joseph and MarV Hill. Her father, at the age of eighteen, came to Rostraver township, before the Braddock expedition, and is supposed to have been the first white settler in the region included within the township. Isaac had as children Joseph, Lewis, Samuel, Margaret, Elizabeth, Sarah and Polly. Lewis died December, 1881, on the farm on which he was born, now owned by David Deaterly, above named. Polly married James Wright, and are both dead. Samuel, brother of Joseph, was bora July 14:th, 1814, and resided on and owned a farm adjoining Joseph, being a portion of the land taken up by his grandfather Hill. He is now deceased. He had been twice married. His first wife was Eveline Steele, whom he married December 12th, 1831). She died April 18th, 1850. Jan. 29th, 1852, he married Elizabeth Couldren. Eliza- beth, now deceased, was the wife of Davis Shepler, now deceased. He lived on and OM^ied the farm recently sold l)y his heirs to David W. Owens, in Rostraver. Sarah, another sister of Joseph, is the wife of Jehu Stephens, a farmer living in Washington township, Fayette county, I'a. Isaac Shepler, father of Joseph, died December 10th, 1837, and his wife sur- vived him many years, dying July, 1869. The remains of both are interred in the graveyard at Fell's church. Capt. Joseph Shepler passed his whole life in Rostraver 33 4:70 The Old ayid Neio Monongahela. township; lie was educated in the schools of the township, and always attended church within its limits. Until the age of 22 he lived on the homestead where he was born. He married April 16, 1829, Mary, daughter of Joseph and Nancy Black- burn, who lived on a farm not far from what is now known as Rostraver postoffice. Mary, wife of Joseph Shepler, was born March 28, 1807, being twenty-two days younger than her hus- band and she survives him. Her family was among the early settlers in Rostraver. For one year after marriage Joseph and wife lived in the house of his father, then went to housekeep- ing on one of his father's farms, where he resided and carried on farming for eight years. In 1838 he moved to the farm on which he died. Capt. Shepler had been a member of FelTs M. E. Church over sixty years, and one of its chief supporters. His wife joined the church at the same place and time and re-' mains in its membership to this day. Joseph Shepler had four children, two sons and two daughters. Sarah born January 7, 1830, is the wife of William Jones, of the Bellevernon bank- ing house of S. F. Jones & Co. They have three children, Ella Jane, Joseph Shepler and Samuel. Yiolet another daughter of Joseph Shepler, was born August 20, 1833 and is the wife of Capt. Martin Coulson, now residing on a farm near Monongahela City, Pa. They have as children Joseph S., Margaret E. and Alfred Kerr. John B., son of Capt. Shepler, was born February 18, 1835, married Josephine Claywcll, of Jo Daviess County, 111. Their children are Shedrack Clay- well, and David Richey. Isaac Hill the remaining son was born March 20, 1840, married Eveline, daughter of Samuel Shepler, to them were born James Kerr, Mary Blackburn, William Jones and Elizabeth. The death of Capt. Joseph was the first in his family or in any of his descendants. He left 12 grandchildren, eight of whom acted as pall bearers at his funeral — two sons from each of his children's families. In the church Joseph Shepler had acted well his part in the offices of Trustee, Steward and class-leader and in all other church work to which he was called. In his native township, to The Old and Nero Monongahela. 471 which he was so devoted, he held every office and performed his duties with fidelity. He was a man of undoubted and well known integrity. He was a military man by nature and disposition. He re- ceived the sobriquet of Captain by serving at the age of twenty-one in that capacity in the first company Eighty-eighth regiment of State Volunteers. He held the position of Cap- tain for seven years in this company; was afterwards Captain for five years of the Monongahela Blues and First Lieutenant of the Rostraver Cavalry for seven years. His voice and com- manding appearance, together with liis knowledge of military tactics, gave him a first rank as an officer. He had a wonder- ful memory, especially for the things of long ago. He seemed to have never forgotten the incidents of the neighborhood from boyhood to the day of his death. He was firm in his convic- tions of right, yet gentle and hospitable in the inner man. He was a Jackson Democrat, having voted for him twice, and always voted for the Democratic candidate for President since he cast his first vote in 1828. He believed the hope of the country was in the carrying out of the principles of Democra- cy as first enunciated by Jeft'erson and confirmed by Jackson in his two administrations. He recalled to mind very vividly the incidents of the Sabbath day in 1825, when Gen, LaFay- otte passed through the Forks by way of Rehoboth valley. His funeral took place on Tuesday, May IT, from his late residence. His remains were interred in Bellevernon Ceme- tery. His pastor. Rev. Hildebrand, and his old friend. Rev. Mcllyar, officiated at the last rites. [i