- THE SPALDING RESEARCH PROJECT -
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History of Erie Co., Pennsylvania Chicago: Warner, Beers & Co., 1884 |
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See also: 1896 History of Erie Co. | 1878 History of Ashtabula Co., Ohio
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THE first step in the actual settlement of Erie County by white people was taken in 1785, when David Watts and William Miles were sent under the auspices of the State to survey the Tenth Donation District, embracing portions of Waterford, Wayne and Amity Townships. On the completion of their labors, they returned to the East, and gave such a flattering account of the country that much interest in it was excited among the adventurous people of that region. March 24, 1789, it was resolved by the General Assembly that not exceeding 3,000 acres should be surveyed at Presque Isle, LeBoeuf, and two other places for the use of the commonwealth. In 1790, Gov. Mifflin, by authority of the Legislature, appointed Timothy Matlack, Samuel McClay and John Adlum to examine the western streams of the State for the purpose of ascertaining whether "any nearer and more feasible communication could be had between the Allegheny River and Lake Erie." They examined French and LeBoeuf Creeks up to Waterford, traversed the portage to Presque Isle, and on going back made a report which resulted in £100 being appropriated for the improvement of the streams named. This was followed by the settlement law of the 3d of April, 1792, which provided for the survey of all the lands north and west of the Allegheny and Ohio Rivers and Conewango Creek, and their sale upon terms that will be stated in another chapter. The Pennsylvania Population Company, formed at Philadelphia March 8, 1792, purchased a large trace of land in the Triangle with the object of selling it at a profit, and inducing settlement. On the 8th of April, of the same year, the Legislature passed and Gov. Mifflin approved a bill for laying out a town at Presque Isle, which was a part of the general plan for the occupation of the Northwest. This act was as follows: SECTION 1. Be it enacted, etc., That the Governor be and is hereby empowered to cause to be surveyed the tract reserved at or near Presque Isle by the act entitled, "An act for the sale of the vacant lands within this commonwealth," passed the 3d day of April, 1792; and at the most eligible place within the said tract he shall cause to be laid out and surveyed sixteen hundred acres of land in town lots of not more than one-third of an acre each; and also three thousand four hundred acres adjoining the same, in outlots, not less than five acres nor more than ten acres each. Provided always, That the Governor shall reserve out of the lots of the said town so much land as he shall deem necessary for public uses; also, so much land within or out of the said town as may, in his opinion, be wanted by the United States for the purpose of erecting forts, magazines, arsenals and dock yards. SEC. 2. That the first two hundred persons that shall actually inhabit and reside, on or before the 1st day of January next, within the said town, shall each and every of them be entitled to one unappropriated town lot, to be ascertained by lottery, for which they shall respectively receive a deed, clear of all charges; Provided, That such persons respectively, or their respective representatives, or assignees, shall inhabit and reside in the said town for the term of three years, and also, within the said town build or cause to be built, a house at least sixteen feet square, and containing at least one brick or stone chimney, on the town lots to be granted in pursuance of this act. SEC. 3. That the Governor is hereby authorized to sell two hundred of the town lots exclusively of those granted by the next preceding section, and the whole of the other outlots, in such manner as he shall think most to the advantage of the State, and make conveyance of the same; excepting, always, such as shall be made upon this condition; that the respective purchasers shall and do, within the term of three years, erect and build one house, at least sixteen feet square, and containing at least one brick or stone chimney, on each and every town lot by them purchased; and no deed of conveyance shall be granted 202 HISTORY OF ERIE COUNTY. by the Governor to any purchaser, nor, after the expiration of the said term of three years, shall the said sale be deemed or construed to vest any title, claim or demand in any purchaser, unless, satisfactory proof be first given that a house has been erected or built on the town lots sold as aforesaid; that the streets, lanes and alleys of the said town shall be common highways forever; and that previous to the sale or sales of the said town lots and outlots, notice shall be given of the same in at least three of the newspapers of the State at least ten weeks previous to such sale or sales. PROTECTING THE FRONTIER. On the 25th of February, 1794, another act was passed which authorized the Governor "to detach from the several companies of artillery and infantry raised by the State" for the security of the port of Philadelphia and the defense of the Western frontier, "as many men as can be conveniently spared from the specific objects of protection and defense for which the companies were particularly destined, and to station the detachment so made at such place or places at or near Presque Isle, on Lake Erie, as shall in his judgment be best calculated to carry into effect the act" just quoted. This measure was called forth by the menaces of the Indians, who had learned of the proposed settlement at Presque Isle, and knowing that it would cause a break in their communications between the East and West, were determined to prevent it if possible. In accordance with its provisions, Gov. Mifflin, on the 1st of March, 1794, issued a circular to the Brigade Inspectors of Washington, Westmoreland and Allegheny Counties, requiring them to raise men to serve eight months, unless sooner discharged, with a stipulation that, if necessary, they should continue in service till the next meeting of the Legislature. Each man who took his own rifle was to be allowed $2 for its use, and to have a reasonable equivalent if it was lost or destroyed in the public service. Four companies were to be organized within the district stated, of whom one Captain, one Lieutenant, two Ensigns, six Corporals and six Sergeants and ninety-five privates were to be detached for the Presque Isle expedition. The command was given to Capt. Ebenezer Denny, of Allegheny County, who is presumed to have seen service in border warfare.Gen. William Irvine and Andrew Ellicott had been appointed Commissioners some time before to lay out a road from Reading to Presque Isle. On the same day the above-mentioned circular was issued they were notified that Albert Gallatin had been associated in the appointment, and that they three were to lay out the town contemplated by the act of 1793. The Governor's instructions desired them to "promote peace, order and friendship with the peaceable Indians or British garrison, should any intercourse * * * be produced by accident or necessity." Capt. Denny was required "to comply with every lawful request of the Commissioners," and was further reminded that the objects of his appointment were "strictly those of protection and defense." OCCUPANCY OF FORT LE BOEUF. Boats and cones left Pittsburgh on the 16th of April, by way of the Allegheny River, the stores and provisions having been sent in advance. By the 25th of April, three officers and seventy-seven men had reached Franklin, at the mouth of French Creek. On the same date, a report reached headquarters at Pittsburgh that the Indians, incited by British agents, were "meditating an opposition to the designs of the Government respecting Presque Isle," and a week later Denny wrote to the Governor his apprehensions that "a council holding at the mouth of Buffalo Creek between the chiefs of the Six Nations and the British may terminate unfavorably to our establishment." On the 1st of May, a Maumee Indian was killed at Franklin in a drunken row by a whiteHISTORY OF ERIE COUNTY. 203 man named Robertson. This added greatly to the feeling among the aborigines. The affair was settled by the party at Franklin raising a purse of $100 and paying it to the relatives of the dead man, in satisfaction of their wrong, according to an old custom among the Indians. The troops took possession of "the forks of French Creek, about two miles below the old post of LeBoeuf," on or near the 11th of May, where they built a small block-house, pending the cutting out of the logs which obstructed the navigation of the stream. From this point, Gen. John Wilkins, of Pittsburgh, who accompanied the expedition, wrote on the day of their arrival that "the British are determined to oppose the progress of the State troops from LeBoeuf to Presque Isle by sending a number of Indians and English to cut them off." In a few days more the detachment reached LeBoeuf, where they immediately erected two small picketed block-houses, which, Wilkins reported, "will make them sufficiently strong until the re-enforcement arrives under Capt. Denny." The latter event did not occur until the 24th of June. A draft of 1,000 militia from the brigades of Westmoreland, Washington, Allegheny and Fayette Counties was ordered by the Governor in the latter part of May, to co-operate with Denny's detachment under command of Gen. Wilkins. On the day the order was issued, the Governor wrote to Wilkins warning him of "the critical state of our Presque Isle settlements," which, he added, "calls for an exercise of judgment, prudence and spirit." INTERFERENCE OF THE GENERAL GOVERNMENT. While the events here mentioned were in progress, a letter reached Gen. Knox, Secretary of War under President Washington, from Gen. Israel Chapin, the United States Commissioner to the Six Nations, to the effect that the British "feel very much alarmed at the garrisoning of Presque Isle. * * If the garrison destined for that place," wrote Chapin, "is not very strong, it is doubtful whether it will not be attacked." On the 9th of May, Gen. Knox wrote to Wilkins and Denny, cautioning them to "proceed with the utmost vigilance and precaution." The next day, he addressed a communication to Gen. Mifflin, stating that "affairs are critically circumstanced between the United States and the Six Nations," and giving it as the opinion of the President, "on mature reflection, that it is advisable to suspend for the present the establishment of Presque Isle." On the very day this epistle was received, the Governor notified the Brigade Inspectors of the four western counties that he had been induced to suspend the execution of the act for laying out a town at Presque Isle. He therefore rescinded all orders for drafting men, directed the Commissioners, who had not yet left Pittsburgh, to postpone further proceedings, and commanded Denny's detachment to remain at LeBoeuf, "unless it should be found necessary to retire from the station in order to prevent an actual contest with the friendly Indians." The Commissioners were asked to remain "in such a situation as will enable them on short notice to resume the execution of their mission."WAS THE DANGER REAL? The correspondence that has been preserved on the subject indicates that the fears of an Indian war were well founded and quite universal among those who had the best means of information. Gen. Wilkins wrote from LeBoeuf: "The Indians contrive to make opposition to the establishment at Presque Isle. The Lieutenant Governor of Upper Canada and an Indian agent were visiting all the Indian towns westward, exciting the Indians to oppose the Americans and assuring them of support from the King. * * * Advices from the Genesee204 HISTORY OF ERIE COUNTY. country state that every industry is being made by the British to put the Indians on us." The chief men of the Six Nations, he concluded, held a council at Buffalo Creek about the middle of May. In a letter of June 5, from David Reweck to Gov. Mifflin, he says of Presque Isle: "I have not doubted but that the British wish seriously to possess it. * * * It is pretty certainly known that for a considerable time past no vessel (British) has gone up or down the lake without instructions to put in at Presque Isle and see whether we were there or no." About the same time, John Polhemus, commanding at Fort Franklin, reported: "From the best information that I have received this day, I have reason to believe the Indians will attempt to make themselves masters of this post." A week later, he forwarded the tidings that three men on their way to Pittsburgh from Franklin were attacked by the savages, two of whom were killed. D. Ransom, a trader wit the Indians, deposed on the 11th of June that he "had been told by the Broken Twig that the British and Indians were to land at Presque Isle and form a junction with Cornplanter on French Creek and were then to clear it by killing all the white people and taking all the posts on it." It is but fair to the Senecas and their chief to state that in a letter from Capt.Denny, dated at Franklin on the 10th of June, he says: "The Cornplanter has gone to another council at Buffalo. * * * He is extremely concerned at the account given of their going to take up the hatchet; says they are bad men that report it; that it's a lie." In a communication of the 12th of June from Gen. Chapin to the war Department, he declares: "I am afraid of the consequences of the attempt to settle Presque Isle at present. The Indians do no acknowledge the validity of the Cornplanter's sale to Pennsylvania." We have gathered the testimony on this point at more length than many seem necessary, because of it relation to other events that will be detailed in a subsequent chapter. A LENGTHY DISCUSSION. The people of the western counties were highly indignant at the suspension of the proceedings for settlement, and without knowing the reason that prompted Gov. Mifflin, hotly condemned what they called him timidity. The Governor, however, soon righted himself by spreading the intelligence abroad that he had acted in pursuance of a special request from President Washington. He was of the belief, in common with most of the citizens of the State, that there was more bluster than sincerity in the threats of the Indians, and that the best way was to go right on, and, if necessary, whip them into acquiescence. Gen. Irvine wrote from Pittsburgh: "People here are astonished at the course of the General Government. I could have taken 500 -- some mounted, some riflemen, of such as would have effectually awed the savages and British." A long correspondence took place between Mifflin and the Federal authorities, in which the Governor argued earnestly in favor of the right of the State to protect its own territory and endeavored to convince the Cabinet of the folly of suspending the operations.AN IMPORTANT COUNCIL. The council referred to by Denny was held at the mouth of Buffalo Creek on the 18th of June. It was attended by Gen. Chapin, as representative of the United States, who found the Indians "much agitated with regard to the movements made by the State of Pennsylvania." He left Buffalo on the 19th, in company with sixteen chiefs and warriors and a British Indian agent, whoHISTORY OF ERIE COUNTY. 205 acted as interpreter, for Presque Isle, which they reached on the 24th. Finding no person there, they proceeded to Le Boeuf that evening, where they met Capt. Denny and Mr. Ellicott, one of the State Commissioners, who had recently come up from Pittsburgh. In the consultation which ensued, the Indians objected to the establishment of garrisons in this quarter in the professed belief that it would involve them in a war with the Western Indians. They also claimed that the lands wee not legally purchased from them by Pennsylvania. Ellicott and Denny replied that the purchase was as openly and fairly made as any that had ever taken place. The Indians returned to Buffalo, where another council was held on the 4thof July, at which it was determined to maintain their rights by force. In a communication of July 17, from the Secretary of War to the Governor, he reported that Chapin had sent word that, had he not proceeded to LeBoeuf and the surveyors not suspended operations, blood would certainly have been shed. FORT LE BOEUF AND ITS GARRISON. Denny begged of Gen. Gibson on the 27th of June for "a few militia," on the ground that a number of his men at Le Boeuf were ill with the flux and others had to be detached. To the Governor he reported on the 4th of July: -- Have been busy erecting a stockade post. Moved the detachment in yesterday. Am now beyond the power of any body of hostile Indians. None have been around since the party on the 24th. Hear firing almost daily, but whether friends or does is uncertain." Ellicott wrote on the 1st of August: "The Indians consider themselves as our enemies and that we are theirs. From this consideration they never come near the garrison except as spies and then escape as soon as discovered." Denny notified the Governor on the same date that they had four block-houses at LeBoeuf, on two of which a six-pounder was mounted, the others not being calculated for cannon. Over each gate was a swivel. The officers occupied their tents in the absence of more agreeable quarters. The situation he regarded as excellent, except that there was a hollow way parallel with the rear of the works and within gunshot that would "cover any number of Indians." This was examined every morning before the gates were thrown open. A few days previous, two or three Indians were seen "reviewing the plan," who seemed disappointed when a white flag was hoisted. The troops at the post numbered one hundred and ten, inclusive of officers. Ellicott regarded the garrison as being "in excellent order," and that it could, "if supplied with provisions, safely bid defiance to all the Indians between the Genesee and Mississippi Rivers."On the 10th of September, a man named Dickson was fired at by a party of Indians and wounded in two places, while working in a field within a hundred and fifty yards of the settlement at Cussewago, below LeBoeuf. The news of the atrocious act spread like wildfire, and excited a universal desire among the whites for retaliation. Denny complained to the Governor, on the 1st of October, that "the men are very naked; few of them have anything but their summer dress, and that in rags, and the most of them are barefooted." Again, o the 1st of November, he sent word: "For want of clothing, particularly shoes, there are numbers of the men who are almost useless. * * * The fellows who are barefooted suffer with the snow." A letter from Wilkins, of the 10th of October, dave more favorable accounts from LeBoeuf and Franklin. The British influence over the Six Nations, he stated, had been greatly affected by the defeat which the Western Indians sustained from Gen. Wayne's army in August. A number of Six Nation Indians were in the battle at Maumee, and on getting back to their 206 HISTORY OF ERIE COUNTY. homes told the most terrifying stories of Wayne's skill and bravery. Mr. Ellicott set out for the older sections of the State on the 23d of October, and was in Philadelphia on the 30th of December. An order was issued by the Governor to Gen. Wilkins on the 26th of October to raise one hundred and thirty men for six months, after the expiration of the services of the detachment at LeBoeuf, for the maintenance of that post and the completion of the Presque Isle enterprise. Each private was to receive 50 shillings a month, besides the customary rations. The old detachment was relieved by the new recruits in the closing part of December. A TREATY OF PEACE. By the efforts of Timothy Pickering, representing the United States, a treaty of peace was concluded with the Six Nations at Canandaigua, N. Y., on the 11th of November, in which they unreservedly acknowledged the title of Pennsylvania to the Triangle, and for themselves and their successors released all claims upon the lands within its limits. This happy conclusion was much hastened by the terror of Anthony Wayne's name and victories. As soon as tidings of the treaty reached Washington, word was sent by the President to Gov. Mifflin that the temporary obstacles to the establishment were removed. It being too late in the season when the good news arrived at Le Boeuf to do any effective work at Presque Isle, the detachment remained at the former post until early spring. The force there on the 27th of March, 1795, consisted of nine-nine in all.While Ellicott was at Le Boeuf, in the summer of 1794, he laid out the town of Waterford, the plan of which was afterward sanctioned by the Legislature. An act for laying out towns at Presque Isle, Le Boeuf, Venango and Conewango (Erie, Waterford, Franklin and Warren) passed that body in April, 1795, being the second in regard to the first-named place. This law also repealed the one of April 8, 1793, quoted in the beginning of this chapter. Maj. Craig, of the United States Army, stationed at Pittsburgh, reported to the Secretary of War on the 24th of May, 1795, that "the State troops at Le Boeuf are nearly all disbanded. Capt. Buchanan," he says, who commanded at that post (Denny having left), arrived here yesterday with the greater part of the men under his command, who are all discharged." In Buchanan's communication to the Governor, of June 19, he states, however, that Lieut. Mehaffey, with twenty-six men, marched from Pittsburgh with Commissioners Irvine and Ellicott toward Le Boeuf. He, Buchanan, expected to start that day with the balance of the escort. This would imply that a new set of men had been enlisted for the purpose. In Denny's report of his operations, he thus describes the location at Presque Isle: "A mile and a half in some directions from the old French fort the land appears to have been under cultivation, or at least cleared, but is now grown up thick with young chestnut and linn. The fort has been a regular pentagon, but the work was very light. The parapet don't exceed five feet, and the ditch not more. The walls of the magazine, of stone, are standing, and may be repaired. The well may also be easily made fit for use." He mentions that "among the stores sent up by the State" was "a complete set of irons for a saw mill." BEGINNING OF THE TOWN OF ERIE. Some two hundred men from Wayne's army landed at Presque Isle early in the spring of 1795, under command of Capt. Russell Bissell. They set to work at once, cutting timber for block-houses, of which two were erected on the bluffHISTORY OF ERIE COUNTY. 207 [p. 207 graphic; pg. 208 blank] HISTORY OF ERIE COUNTY. 209 overlooking the entrance to the harbor, just east of the mouth of Mill Creek.1 They also cleared a good deal of land to raise corn for the use of the garrison. In June, Ellicott and Irvine, commissioners, arrived, accompanied by a corps of surveyors, and escorted by State troops under command of Capt. John Grubb, to lay out the town of Erie as required by the act of Assembly. How long they remained it is impossible to ascertain. The troops under Bissell built a saw mill the next season at the mouth of Mill Creek, which was the first in Erie County, and gave name to the stream. The command would seem to have been kept up until about 1806, being successively in charge, after Bissell, who continued until 1799, of Capts. Hamtramck, Lyman and McCall, and Gen. Callender Irvine, a son of Commissioner Irvine. THE LAST INDIAN MURDER. A bloody incident occurred on the 22d of May, 1795, which was afterward the cause of much discussion and litigation, on account of which we will give the contemporary statements in regard to it found in the Pennsylvania Archives. Denny wrote to the Governor from Pittsburgh on the 29th of May: "Four men were attacked on Saturday last by a party of Indians lying in wait on the road two miles from Presque Isle. One was found scalped; the fate of the other three is not known." A letter from the Secretary of War to Gov. Mifflin, dated the 5th of June, referring to the occurrence, says: "It is not improbable that the attack was in retaliation, because a family of friendly Indians on the Allegheny, returning from their winter hunt, had been fired upon in May be a party of white men, and two of the Indians badly wounded." The man who was killed was named Ralph Rutledge, and one of the other three was his son, who was found scalped but living, and was carried to the fort at Waterford for medical treatment, where he died shortly after. These were the first known deaths in the county. The body of the elder Rutledge was found near the site of the Union depot in Erie, and was buried on the spot where he died.
CHAPTER X.
NO work upon Erie County would be complete without a sketch of the career of Gen. Anthony Wayne, whose last sickness, death and burial are inseparably associated with its history. He was born in the township of Eastown, Chester County, Penn., on the 1st of January, 1745, being the son of Isaac Wayne, who served several terms as a member of the Provincial Legislature and took part in one or more Indian expeditions. After receiving a good education, Anthony embraced the profession of a surveyor, at which he was engaged for a brief period in his native county. In 1765-66, he visited Nova Scotia as the agent of a Philadelphia land association, and on returning home was elected to several county offices. He formed an early friendship with Dr.Franklin, and, like him, was one of the first to espouse the cause of American independence. A member of the Assembly in 1774, and of the Provincial Convention in the same year, to consider the troubles with Great Britain, __________ * The troops merely erected quarters that year; the warehouse and stockades were not completed until the next year, after the new mill was placed in operation. The supplies for the command were brought by vessel from Detroit. 210 HISTORY OF ERIE COUNTY. he became one of the Committee of Safety in 1775. Believing war to be inevitable, he resigned his civil office in September, and, after some time spent in military study and practice, raised a regiment, of which he was commissioned Colonel. His first service was with Gen. Sullivan in the spring of 1776, and he bore a brilliant part in the battle of three Rivers, Canada. When the expedition returned, he was placed in charge of the posts of Ticonderoga and Mt. Independence. In February, 1777, he was commissioned a Brigadier General, and served with Washington in the New Jersey and Delaware Valley campaign. On the 20th of September, 1777, while stationed at Paoli, near his Chester County home, with a detachment of 1,500 men, his position was betrayed by some tories to the enemy, who fell upon him during the night and killed and wounded one-tenth of his command. By Wayne's coolness and bravery, his little army was rallied, and retreated to a place of safety. This was the affair generally known as the "MASSACRE OF PAOLI." "A court-martial convened by Gen. Washington, at Wayne's urgent request, decided, after minute investigation, that he did everything that could be expected from an active, brave and gallant officer under the orders which he then had." He led the attack of the American right wing at Germantown, and received the special applause of Washington for his conduct at Monmouth. His surprise and capture of Stony Point, one of the strongest British positions on the Hudson, was among the most gallant events of the war, and elicited resolutions of thanks from Congress and the Legislature of Pennsylvania. After other valuable services in the North, Wayne was transferred to the South, where he co-operated with marked skill in the operations which led to the surrender of Cornwallis. His last sphere of duty during the Revolution was in Georgia, from which he succeeded in driving the enemy. He was distinguished in all councils of war for supporting the most energetic measures, from which and from his wonderful dash and courage, he won the popular appellation of "Mad Anthony." At the close of the war, he retired to his farm in Chester County. He was called in 1789 to serve in the Pennsylvania convention, and in that body advocated the adoption of the United States Constitution with all of his old-time earnestness and patriotism.HIS WESTERN CAMPAIGN. In the year 1792, Wayne was commissioned a Major General, and assigned to the Northwestern frontier, for the purpose of forcing the Indians into subjection. After various minor engagements, he gained a signal victory over the savages on the Maumee, in August, 1794. His skill, promptness and bravery made a strong impression among the hostile tribes, and they hastened to sue for forgiveness. He was then appointed sole Commissioner to deal with them on the part of the United States, and effected a treaty of peace at Greenville, Ohio, in 1795, which paved the way for the settlement of Northwestern Pennsylvania and Northern Ohio.SICKNESS AND DEATH. Gen. Wayne's mission being fulfilled, in the fall of 1796 he embarked in a small vessel at Detroit for Presque Isle, now Erie, on his way homeward. During the passage down the lake, he was attacked with the gout, which had afflicted him for some years, and been much aggravated by his exposure in the Western wilds. The vessel being without suitable remedies, he could obtain no relief, and on landing at Presque Isle was in a dangerous condition. By hisHISTORY OF ERIE COUNTY. 211 own request, he was taken to one of the block houses on the Garrison tract, the attic of which had been fitted up as a sleeping apartment. Dr. J. C. Wallace, who had served with him as a surgeon during his Indian campaign, and who was familiar with his disease, was then stationed at Fort Fayette, Pittsburgh. The General sent a messenger for the doctor, and the latter started instantly for Erie, but on reaching Franklin was astonished to learn the news of his death, which occurred on the 15th of December, 1796. During his illness every attention was paid to the distinguished invalid that circumstances would permit. Two days after his death the body was buried, as he had directed, in a plain coffin, with his uniform and boots on, at the foot of the flagstaff of the block-house. Among those who helped to lay out and inter the remains was Capt. Daniel Dobbins, long one of the best known citizens of Erie. The opt of the coffin was marked with the initials of his name, "A. W.," his age and the year of his decease in round-headed brass tacks, driven into the wood. HIS APPEARANCE AND BEARING. An account of Gen. Wayne at the age of thirty two describes him as "about middle size, with a firm, manly countenance, commanding port and eagle eye. His looks corresponded well with his character, indicating a soul noble, ardent and daring. In his intercourse with his officers and men, he was affable and agreeable, and had the art of communicating to their bosoms the gallant and chivalrous spirit which glowed in his own. * * * His dress was scrupulously neat and elegant, his movements were quick, his manners easy and graceful."DISINTERMENT OF THE REMAINS. In the fall of 1808, Gen. Wayne's daughter, Mrs. Altee, was taken seriously ill. While upon her sick bed, she was seized with a strong desire to have her father's remains moved to the family burying ground. Realizing that it was her last sickness and anxious to console her dying moments, Col. Isaac Wayne, the General's son, consented to come on to Erie for the purpose of complying with her wishes. The journey was made in the spring of 1809, through what was then a wilderness for much of the distance, with a horse and sulky. On arriving in Erie, Col. Wayne put up at Buehler's Hotel, and sent for Dr. Wallace, the same one who had been called to minister to the General. The Doctor agreed to attend to the disinterment and preparation of the remains, and Col. Wayne gave him entire charge of the operation, declining to witness it on the ground that he preferred to remember his father as he knew him when living. Thirteen years having elapsed, it was supposed that the corpse would be decomposed, but, on opening the grave, all present were amazed to find the body petrified with the exception of one foot and leg, which were partially gone. The boot on the unsound leg had decayed and most of the clothing was missing. Dr. Wallace separated the body into convenient parts and placed them in a kettle of boiling water until the flesh could be removed from the bones. He then carefully scraped the bones, packed them in a small box and returned the flesh, with the implements used in the operation, to the coffin, which has been left undisturbed, and it was again covered over with earth. The box was secured to Col. Wayne's sulky and carried to Eastern Pennsylvania, where the contents were deposited in a second grave among those of the General's deceased relatives. In the labor of dissection, which took place on the garrison grounds, Dr. Wallace was assisted by Robert Murray, Robert Irwin, Richard Clement and perhaps others. Gen. Wayne's sound boot was given to James Duncan, who found that it fitted him, had a mate made for it and wore the pair until they could no longer be used.212 HISTORY OF ERIE COUNTY. APPEARANCE OF THE BODY. At the time of the disinterment, Capt. Dobbins and family were living on the Garrison grounds in a large building erected for the use of the commanding officer. Mrs. Dobbins was allowed to look at the body, with some of her lady acquaintances, and obtained a lock of the dead hero's hair. She had a vivid recollection of the incident when nearly in her one hundredth year. The body, she said, was not hard like stone, but was more of the consistency of soft chalk. The hairs of the head pulled out readily, and the general appearance of the corpse was much like that of a plaster of Paris cast.In explanation of Dr. Wallace's course, it is argued that he acted in accordance with what the circumstances of the case seemed to require. It was necessary that the remains should be placed in as small a space as possible, to accommodate the means of conveyance. Col. Wayne is reported to have said, in regard to the affair: "I always regretted it; had I known the state the remains were in before separated I think I should certainly have had them again deposited there and let them rest, and had a monument erected to his memory." William H. Holstein, a grandson of Gen. Wayne, in a letter printed in the Erie Observer of February 13, 1880, states that "Col. Wayne was not aware of the condition of his father's remains until all was completed or he would not have consented to the removal." A SECOND DISINTERMENT. Some years ago, Dr. Germer, of Erie, who has a profound veneration for Wayne's memory, read a sketch of the burial and removal, and was prompted to look up the place of the grave. He first ascertained the site of the blockhouse, which had long before disappeared with the other structures, and digging down at the probably foot of the flagstaff readily found the grave and coffin. The lid of the coffin, with the initials, etc., before described, upon it, was fairly preserved, but the balance had mostly rotted away. Largely through the efforts of Dr. Germer and Capt. Welsh, an appropriation was obtained from the Legislature, with which a substantial log block-house in imitation of the original was built to mark the site, and the grounds were surrounded by a railing with cannon at each of the four corners. The grave has been neatly and substantially built up with stone, and the coffin lid, with other relics of the early days, is carefully sheltered within the block-house -- the whole forming as appropriate a monument to the hero as could well be devised.HIS EASTERN TOMB. The Wayne family burial ground, where the bones of the gallant General repose, is in the cemetery attached to St. David's Episcopal Church, at Radnor, Delaware County, not far from the Chester County line, less than an hour's walk from Wayne Station, on the Pennsylvania Railroad, and fourteen miles west from Philadelphia. Not far distant is Paoli, the scene of the massacre which was so brilliantly avenged at Stony Point. The Pennsylvania State Society of the Cincinnati erected a monument over the grave on the 4th of July, 1809, which is still in position. In close proximity are the last resting places of Gen. Wayne's wife, son and daughter, and of numerous relations. The house where Wayne was born, near Paoli, is still standing, or was in 1876, and his descendants, who occupy it, have collected and preserved many articles of interest as having been associated with his long and illustrious career. |
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HISTORY OF ERIE COUNTY. 245 WHEN the French army penetrated this section in 1753, they were accompanied by several Catholic priests, who served in the double capacity of chaplains and missionaries. They erected a small log chapel at Erie, on the right side of Mill Creek, near its mouth, and another within the walls of Fort Le Boeuf, at Waterford, in which the solemn rites of the mother church were regularly administered until the departure of the invading forces in 1759. So far as any record exists, these were the only religious services held within the bounds of Erie County previous to the year 1797. It is not known whether the chapels were torn down when the French left the country, were destroyed by the Indians, or fell into decay, but no trace of either is mentioned by the early American settlers. The first Protestant exercises we have any account of took place at Colt's Station, in Greenfield Township, where Judah Colt had established the most important settlement then in the county, on Sunday, the 2d of July, 1797. About thirty persons assembled in response to a general invitation. No minister was located within the bounds of the county, and the services were led by Mr. Colt, who read a sermon from Dr. Blair's collection. PRESBYTERIAN MISSIONARIES. Most of the colonists were Presbyterians from New England and the valley of the Susquehanna, and it was no more than natural that that denomination should have been the first to look after the spiritual welfare of the promising settlement. In 1799, a tour that is somewhat celebrated in the annals of the church was made through this section by Revs. McCurdy and Stockton, two missionaries who were sent out by the Ohio and Redstone Presbyteries. They visited Erie, Waterford and North East, and preached at each place to the delight of the pious people of the community, many of whom had not been afforded an opportunity to attend public worship for a number of years. A period of two years ensued before the colonists were favored with another ministerial visitation, when Mr. McCurdy was again sent forth, assisted by Revs. Satterfield, Tate and Boyd, all of the Presbyteries above named. The first two reached Middlebrook, in Venango Township, in August, 1801, and preached with great acceptance in a chopping that had been prepared for the purpose on the bank of French Creek. They were accompanied by their wives, and traveled on horseback. No roads had been opened in that part of the county and the party had to find their way by marked trees and trails through the woods. The efforts of the two ministers met with such marked favor that it was resolved upon the spot that a meeting house should be put up within the ensuing week. On the next Thursday, the population for miles around gathered at the site that had been chosen, on a knoll near the first place of worship, but down the forest trees, hewed them into shape, and at night had a rough log building under roof, the first house for Protestant worship erected in Erie County. This structure was succeeded by another and better one in 1802, known to every old settler as the Middlebrook Church, which stood until decay246 HISTORY OF ERIE COUNTY. When compelled it to be taken down some twenty years ago. From Middlebrook, after organizing a congregation of eighteen members, Messrs. McCurdy and Satterfield continued their journey to Colt's Station and North East, where they were joined by Messrs. Tate and Boyd. At the latter place, these four participated in the first sacrament of the Lord's Supper ever administered in Erie County, according to Protestant forms. The scene of this eventful ceremony was at the house of William Dundas, within the present limits of North East Borough, and the date was the 27th of September, 1801. An audience of about 300 had assembled, of whom some forty sat down to the tables. A congregation with the title of "The Churches of Upper and Lower Greenfield" was organized at the same time. THE ERIE PRESBYTERY. The whole of Western Pennsylvania this side of the Allegheny River was at that time within the jurisdiction of the synod of Virginia. On the 2d of October, 1801, in response to the petitions of those who foresaw the coming importance of the field, that synod set off the territory between the Ohio and Allegheny Rivers and Lake Erie, extending some distance also west of the Ohio line, into a Presbytery, to which the name of Erie was given. The new Presbytery met at Mt. Pleasant, Beaver County, on the 13th of April, 1802, seven ministers only being in attendance. Supplications were filed from Upper and Lower Greenfield, Middlebrook and Presque Isle. Revs. McCurdy, Satterfield and McPherrin were chosen missionaries, and, it is presumed, visited Erie County during the year, but no evidence of the fact is to be found.PERMANENT PREACHERS. Rev. Robert Patterson, who had accepted a call from "The Churches of Upper and Lower Greenfield," was received by the Presbytery on the 30th of September, 1802. He returned to North East, and entered upon his pastoral work on the 31st of December, but was not ordained until September 1, 1803. The congregation were still without a building, and the ordination exercises were held in John McCord's bark house. Mr. Patterson's contract was to preach two-thirds of his time for the congregation, and the balance was spent by him in riding the county from place to place, holding services in the woods, barns, sheds and private houses. During these trips, he had numerous startling adventures, and suffered many privations. An effort was made to have him devote one-third of his time to Erie, but failed for want of an adequate subscription. A log church was built at North East in 1804, on the knoll now occupied by the cemetery of that borough. Mr. Patterson preached at Springfield during that year, and organized a preaching point there. The first church in the latter township was built in 1804 on the site of the cemetery at East Springfield. Mr. Patterson was unable to stand the fatigues of frontier duty, and in April, 1807, applied to the Presbytery for a release from his charge, which was granted.REV. JOHNSON EATON. During the year 1805, Rev. Johnson Eaton came on from the southern part of the State, and preached for some time at the mouth of Walnut Creek and in Springfield. In the fall of that year, he went back to his home, returning in 1806 with a bride, and settling permanently in Fairview Township. The devotion of the young wife, and the earnestness of the minister can only be appreciated when it is remembered that they rode on horseback throughHISTORY OF ERIE COUNTY. 247 [p. 247 graphic; pg. 248 blank] HISTORY OF ERIE COUNTY. 249 the woods the whole way from the Ohio River to Lake Erie, with nothing but a trail to guide their course, and with scarcely a house on the route at which to obtain shelter and refreshments, to take up their abode in what was almost an unbroken wilderness. Mr. Eaton immediately entered upon his pastoral duties, having the whole county for his field, but giving special attention to the people at Fairview and Springfield. In 1807, he succeeded Mr. Patterson at North East, and he also held occasional services for several years at Colt's Station, Middlebrook, Waterford and Erie. He was not ordained, however, till June 30, 1808, the ceremony, for lack of a church building, taking place in William Sturgeon's barn, in or near the limits of Fairview Borough. A church was built at the mouth of Walnut Creek in 1810. During the war with Great Britain, Mr. Eaton gave his services to the Government as a Chaplain, besides ministering to his congregation with as much regularity as the unsettled condition of the time would allow. By 1816, the population of Erie had increased sufficiently to enable an arrangement to be made by which he gave one-third of his time to the congregation there, which had been organized by him September 15, 1815. He continued as pastor of the Erie congregation until 1823, and of the Fairview Church until his death, on the 17th of June, 1847. The first year of Mr. Eaton's residence in the county, his salary was $360 a year, one-half of which was to be taken in produce. In 1808, supplies were granted by the Presbytery to "Upper Greenfield, Middlebrook, Waterford and Erietown," and in 1809 it was reported to that body that none of these places could support a pastor. It must have been due to the poverty of the people, though, rather than to their want of religious principle, for we find that in 1808 one Jared Goodrich, of Greenfield, was fined $4 by Justice Marvin, of the same township, for driving his ox team to Erie on Sunday. If every offense of a similar nature were punished now, the offices of Justice and Constable would be more profitable than that of Sheriff. THE ERIE AND OTHER CHURCHES. No regular preaching of any kind was had at Erie until Mr. Eaton was called to give one-third of his time, as before stated, the people who were piously inclined being compelled to attend worship at North East and Fairview. A Faithful few rode their horses to these places every Sabbath when service was held, regardless of the weather, and for a number of years the churches were not even warmed in winter. Men, women and children in those primitive days thought nothing of riding ten to twenty miles over rough forest roads in the middle of winter to attend Divine worship, which meant a good deal more to them than an opportunity to show off their fine clothes, or a mere compliance with the mandates of fashionable society.The Presbyterian congregation of Waterford was organized in 1809, and that at Union in 1811, being the first in those places. Rev. John Matthews was settled as pastor of the Waterford and Gravel Run (Crawford County) congregations October 17, 1810. The Union congregation did not put up a building till 1831, and that of Waterford till 1834. In 1817, Rev. Mr. Camp was employed as a missionary to supply the churches unable to support a pastor, and served in that capacity for two years. The minutes of the Presbytery in 1820 show congregations at Springfield, North East, Waterford, Middlebrook, Union, Fairview and Erie. METHODIST EPISCOPAL CHURCH. The Methodists held occasional worship at an early date in various portions250 HISTORY OF ERIE COUNTY. of the county, but principally n the western and southwestern townships. The first service of which there is any positive knowledge was led by Rev. Joseph Bowen, a local preacher, at the house Mrs. Mershon, near West Springfield, in September, 1800. A class was organized near Lexington, in Conneaut Township, in 1801, and the same year a great revival was held at Ash's Corners, Washington Township. The first church building was erected in 1804, about a mile south of West Springfield, and soon after its dedication was the scene of a famous revival, during which Rev. Andrew Hemphill was the instrument of converting about 100 souls. The first quarterly meeting was held in that church in July, 1810. Meetings of the denomination in Erie were held by circuit preachers, at long intervals, commencing in 1801. Worship took place in the winter of 1810-11, in a tavern on the west side of French street, between Sixth and Seventh. A congregation would seem to have been partially established soon after the beginning of the century, but was probably unable to support a pastor until 1826, at which period the First Church of Erie City dates its organization. The earliest of the other congregations in the county were those at Mill Village, organized in 1810; North East, in 1812; Fair Haven, Girard Township, 1815; Girard Borough, 1815; Waterford Borough, 1816; Union City and Fairview, 1817; Middleboro, 1819; Northville, 1820; Wattsburg, 1827; Wesleyville, 1828. The following interesting incidents relative to the history of the Methodist Church in Erie County were contributed by Mr. Frank Henry to the Erie Gazette: At the annual session of the Pittsburgh Conference of the Methodist Episcopal Church, held at Uniontown, Fayette County, Penn., in the month of August, 1830, the following resolution was passed, viz.: Resolved, that a new circuit be formed, and called Erie Circuit. That it shall comprise that part of North East Circuit lying west of North East, Greenfield and Venango Townships, and that part of Meadville Circuit lying north of Waterford and east of Springfield Townships, in Erie County. I have the original minutes of the new circuit up to the time when it was again subdivided and Wesleyville Circuit was formed. Also, the complete minutes of Wesleyville Circuit to the present time. Nearly all the preachers who met in conference in Uniontown in 1830 went there on horseback over mountains and through the wilderness, fording or swimming over creeks and rivers, and often camping out at night. Some were too poor to own a horse, and went to conference on foot. They were indeed heroes and those were "the heroic days of Methodism." What a wonderful change has been wrought in the half century that has passed away. There are only a few -- perhaps half a dozen members of the conference in 1830 -- who are now living. Nearly all the persons whose names are recorded in the minutes have passed "from labor to reward," but their names are written in the Book of Life. Many readers of the Gazette well remember these old pioneers, and will be interested to have the work of the fathers recalled to memory, and will doubtless be pleased to read a few extracts from the old "log book:" First quarterly Conference for Erie Circuit held at Harbor Creek, September 13, 1830. Present, William B. Mack, Presiding Elder, Joseph A. Barrass and A. Young, circuit preachers. Roll call, present: Local preachers, N. W. Curtis, Barney Bort, William Stafford; exhorters, Luther Stone, D. D. Daniels, Y. Wilkins, Joseph S. Buck, Justus Osburn; class leaders, David Burton, A. Bowers, William Allen, William Campbell, Edmund Brace; circuit stewards, James Flowers, Sturkely Stafford, John Wheaton. James McConkey, Recording Steward. Voted unanimously, that the members of this Quarterly Conference will do all they can to establish weekly class collections on this circuit. Signed: W. B. Mack, P. E.; A. Young, Sec'y." HISTORY OF ERIE COUNTY. 251 During this conference year, Rev. Mr. Barrass, preacher in charge, received his salary in full, viz., $167. The salary now paid the pastor of one of the charges -- in the city of Erie -- would have endowed a college professorship in those primitive times. This meeting was held in warm weather and the doors and windows were open. An enterprising and devout cat persisted in annoying those having charge of the communion basket, causing merriment among some of the young people present, and disturbing the meeting. Finally, Brother Barrass took the cat outside and beat its brains out against the corner of the house. It is said that that cat was none of the nine-lived species. This act filled the hearts of some of the "beam in their own eye" ones with holy indignation and horror. The storm eventually subsided and the good brother was not "cast out of the synagogue." On the 26th of December, 1830, at the close of a meeting in the court house, where the Methodists then worshiped, a subscription paper was circulated to raise money to pay the preacher. We notice the names of George Moore, Captain Wright, Albert Kelso, J. Lantz, Pressly Arbuckle, William Himrod and Thomas Moorhead, Jr., on the paper. At the next meting $4 were raised to pay for wood and candles. The second quarterly meeting was held in West Mill Creek in December 1830. Josiah Flower was one of the exhorters present. John Brace, of Beaver Dam; Timothy Clark, of North East, and Thomas Stephens, of Erie, were added to the Board of Stewards. The third quarterly meeting was held in Harbor Creek, February 19, 1831. Stephen Stuntz, A. C. Barnes, Watts B. Lloyd and Josiah Flower were among the exhorters present at this meeting, and James McConkey was Secretary. The fourth quarterly meeting was held in connection with a camp meeting in a grove on the farm of Judge Sterrett, in Harbor Creek, near Wesleyville, June 25, 1831. James Flower, a Steward, resigned, and John Shadduck was appointed. The following local preachers were present: Barney Bort, William Stafford, John Keese Hallock, N. W. Curtis, Philip Osborn, William Burton, Titus Cook. Josiah Flower joined the Annual Conference. Exhorters present: Justus Osburn, Luther Stone, D. D. Daniels, Nehemiah Beers, Stephen Stuntz, David Burton, John McClune, Joseph S. Buck, Watts B. Lloyd, Freeman Palmer and Franklin Vandoozer. The first annual meeting of the Erie District Bible, Tract and Sunday School Society was held at the brick meeting house, Harbor Creek, July 4, 1836, Rev. W. B. Mack, Chairman; James McConkey, Secretary; and John Shadduck, Treasurer. Managers, Stephens Stuntz, John Wheaton, Stukely Stafford, J. S. Buck, Thomas Adams, Timothy Clark, David D. Daniels, George Walker, James Flower, E. N. Hulburt, John Richards and David Sterrett. The meeting adjourned to meet at Wheaton's meeting house in Mill Creek July 4, 1832. Almond Fuller and Stewart Chambers were among the subscribers to the funds of the society. All the members of this society are now dead except Stewart Chambers, of Wesleyville, Penn., and George W. Walker, of Marquette County, Wis. The first quarterly conference of Erie Circuit ever held in the borough of Erie, met November 19, 1831, W. B. Mack, Presiding Elder; John P. Kent and A. Plimpton were circuit preachers. Peter Haldeman acted as Secretary, pro tempore. James Flower, Peter Haldeman, John Magee, A. Bowers, James Boyle, and _____ Sweetland were the class leaders present. Watts B. Lloyd was by verbal consent allowed to preach for the time being. Stephen H. Wilcox was licensed to preach. The next meeting was held in Wesleyville, and Ezekiel Chambers was 252 HISTORY OF ERIE COUNTY. licensed to preach. The fourth quarterly conference was held at Peter Himebaugh's, in Beaver Dam, July 28, 1832. David Vorse, Asa White and Edmund Brace were among the exhorters, and William Chambers, James Bail, William B. Weed, Luther Lewis and B. Deighton, class leaders. A committee to build a meeting house in McKean was appointed, viz.: John K. Hallock, Ezra White and James Bail. The following local preachers' licenses were renewed: Barney Bort, William Stafford, Philip Osborn, Josiah Flower, Nehemiah Beers, David Vorse and Peter Haldeman. At this meeting Watts B. Lloyd was licensed to preach, and Capt. Thomas Wilkins was licensed to exhort. At their own request, the papers of Stephen Stuntz and Justus Osborn were not renewed. Second quarterly conference was held in Wesleyville, February 9, 1833, J. S. Barrass, Presiding Elder; John Chandler and E. P. Stidman, circuit preachers. Luther Stone was silenced and expelled from the church. Edmund Brace and F. Vandoozer returned their licenses to exhort. A committee was appointed to estimate the expense of building a meeting house in Erie, viz.: J. McConkey, T. Stephens and E. N. Hulburt; Trustees for same, E. N. Hulburt, J. McConkey, T. Stephens, David Burton and John Richards. The third quarterly meeting was held in Erie April 18, 1833. W. Rogers, J. Hay and J. McCoy were made an estimating committee to build a meeting house in Fairview. The fourth quarterly meeting was held on the camp ground in Fairview June 22, 1833. F. Vandoozer was expelled from the church, after trial by a committee, viz.: W. S. Chambers, N. Beers, William May, Solomon Riblet, George W. Walker, P. Cauffman, Robert Ferguson and Alva Phelps. An appeal of Barney Deighton was laid over. "At a regular meeting of the Stewards of Erie Circuit, held in Erie September 21, 1833, to take into consideration the proper amount of money to be collected from each class for the support of the preachers, the following apportionment was made, viz.: "Wesleyville, $40; Erie, $55; Haybarger's, $8; Burton's, $10; Brown's, $10; McKean, $12; Bean's (3), $12; Lake Pleasant, $10; Adam's, $10; Wheaton's $30; Fairview, $30; Bradish, $6; H. Clark's, $6; Backus's $12; T. Clark's, $8; Haldeman's, $8; Rees Hill, $18; Gospel Hill, $18." Rev. J. Chandler and Samuel Gregg were the "circuit riders," and the amount estimated for the support of the two men and their families for an entire year was $343. During the conference year, beginning September, 1879, and ending September, 1880, the combined salaries of the Methodist Episcopal preachers within the limits of this same territory, including house rent, was $8,054. The second quarterly conference for the year 1833 met at the Wheaton Meeting House (now Asbury) in West Mill Creek. Rev. Hiram Kinsley was Presiding Elder. The minutes are in the peculiarly illegible handwriting of Rev. Samuel Gregg, author of "History of Methodism Within the Bounds of Erie Conference." James McConkey tendered his resignation as Steward, and George W. Walker was elected Recording Steward. The following trustees were "appointed to secure a proper location and build a meeting house in Fairview Township," viz.: James McClelland, or Miller, Henry Rogers, John McKee (?), Stephen Stuntz, James Morton. The fourth quarterly meeting met in Wesleyville July 7, 1834, Rev. Hiram Kinsley, Presiding Elder, in the chair. The name of Audley McGill appears on the minutes as class leader. Also the name of Christian Bort. Local preachers, Capt. Thomas Wilkins and Philip Osborn, were also present. E. N. Hulbert HISTORY OF ERIE COUNTY. 253 was appointed a Steward for Erie, and Henry Rodgers Steward for Fairview. The decision of the committee in the case of John Dillon was sustained. A committee was appointed to build a parsonage for the use of the circuit, viz.: George W. Walker, Thomas Rees and William Chambers. This committee was authorized to apportion to each class the amount expected from them to pay for the same. The parsonage was built in Wesleyville, and has been used for that purpose ever since. Rev. Noble W. Jones and family are its present occupants. The preachers were paid in full. The account reads as follows: "Preachers -- John Chandler, $100; wife, $100; child, $16; total, $216. Paid. Samuel Gregg, $100. Paid." The Recording Steward very properly classed Mrs. Chandler and chid as preachers, and paid them accordingly. There is no class of women on earth more earnestly devoted and self-sacrificing than the wives of Methodist preachers. Many successful men owe more to their wives than to their own unaided exertions, but are not magnanimous enough to admit the fact. The next quarterly meeting was held in Fairview, Rev. Alfred Brunson, Presiding Elder; P. D. Horton, circuit preacher; Harry Rogers, Christian Bort, F. Dixon, M. Haybarger, R. Weeks and J. Bradish were the class leaders present. The second quarterly meeting was held in Wesleyville December 6, 1834, George W. Walker was released from the Parsonage Building Committee, and Rev. P. D. Horton appointed to fill the vacancy. The third quarterly conference met at Wheaton's meeting house February 28, 1835. David Chambers appealed from the decision of the committee at Wesleyville, and the committee were not sustained. G. Hawly was chosen Recording Steward, in place of George W. Walker, resigned. The fourth quarterly meeting was held in McKean May 23, 1835. U. Gittings, D. Ray, George Deighton, S. Brace, William Kinnear, Philip Osborn and William Stafford were the local preachers present. At the session of Pittsburgh Conference, held in the summer of 1834, a new circuit called Wesleyville Circuit was set off, and the rest of the old Erie Circuit left to take care of themselves. The minute book was left for use of the Wesleyville Circuit, and the last record is in the hand writing of William P. Trimble, Recording Steward, and bearing the date of January 25, 1862. I believe, however, that Wesleyville Circuit contained for a long time all the territory of the old Erie Circuit outside the borough of Erie. A quarterly conference for Wesleyville Circuit was held at Backus Schoolhouse, in South Harbor Creek, March 12, 1836; Isaac Winans, Presiding Elder; Thomas Graham and P. D. Horton, circuit preachers. A new committee, Stutely Stafford, Ezra White and James Bayle, was appointed to build a new meeting house at or near McKean Corners. The next quarterly conference was held in Wesleyville June 25, 1836. Philip Osborn and Barney Bort were recommended to the annual conference for admission to the "traveling conexion." The preachers were paid in full -- $124 each for a year's hard work. Some of the membership charged the preacher's family with extravagance in using up so large a salary! It was not considered advisable to pay the preachers much money in those days. It had a tendency to make them "stuck up and worldly-minded." Any unmarketable produce, such as rancid butter or lard, moldy hay, or wilted potatoes, etc., was often taken to the parsonage as "quarterage," and the preacher and his wife were expected to receive these tokens of brotherly thoughtfulness with becoming humility and thankfulness. I called at the parsonage in Wesleyville 254 HISTORY OF ERIE COUNTY. many years ago, and while there a good brother brought in a cheese. He did not inquire whether the preacher wanted it or not but laid it on the table, with a sanctimonious grin on his weazened face. At that time good cheese could be bought for 8 cents per pound. "Brother, how much shall I credit you for this?" inquired the preacher. "I took it on a debt, and will not be hard with you. Call it 10 cents per pound," was the prompt reply. The preacher's son, a promising lad of twelve summers, inspected the cheese very closely. In a few minutes he came in with a piece of his mother's new clothes' line in his hand. "Why, my son! what in the world are you going to do?" his mother inquired. "Going to tie up pa's cheese to keep it from crawling away." was the laconic reply. The cheese was a living, loathsome mass of maggots, and the old rascal knew it before going to the parsonage. The good layman sneaked off, and was that preacher's enemy ever after. If such fellows succeed in dodging into heaven, then the doctrine of universal salvation will be "the correct thing." In 1836, J. Chandler, L. D. Mix and Albina Hall were the circuit preachers. At the meeting held in Wesleyville January 21, 1837, David W. Vorse, of McKean, was licensed to preach. At a meeting held in McKean July 4, 1837, he was recommended to the annual conference for admission to the itineracy. David Chambers was made an agent of the circuit to build the parsonage. This enterprise seemed to move along slowly . . . A resolution to sustain him unanimously passed. The next meeting was held at Hoag's Schoolhouse, in South Harbor Creek, September 30, 1837. A committee on temporal interests was appointed, viz.: William Campbell, George W. Walker and David Chambers. This committee was directed to notify subscribers to the parsonage fund that they must pay up or be dealt with according to discipline. D. Preston and D. Pritchard were the preachers. March 3, 1838, at a meeting held in Fairview, Peter Haldeman was licensed to preach. At the meeting held in McKean June 2, 1838, Philip Osborn was recommended to the annual conference for deacon's orders. All that part of Wesleyville circuit west of the Waterford Turnpike was formed into a new circuit, to be called McKean Circuit. The following is the first official board of McKean Circuit: Joel Stafford, Recording Steward; Joseph S. Buck, Lewis Calder, John L. B. _____, Philip Osborn, George Deighton and John Palmiter. At a meeting held in Wesleyville June 15, 1839, Mathias Himebaugh was licensed to preach. David Preston and Theodore D. Blinn were the circuit preachers. The former received a salary of $169.58, and Mr. Blinn received $93.65. UNITED PRESBYTERIANS, LUTHERANS, EPISCOPALIANS, ETC. Rev. Robert Reid, a minister of the Associate Reformed Presbyterian Church, gathered a congregation in Erie in 1811, which was the first regularly organized religious body in the city. Services were held in a schoolhouse until 1816, when a church building was erected, eight years in advance of that of the First Presbyterian congregation. These two were the sole religious organizations in the city in 1820. A second society was organized by Mr. Reid at Waterford in 1812, three years after the Presbyterian body of the same place. The denomination became known as the United Presbyterian Church in 1858, as will be explained below.In the year 1815, Rev. Charles Colson, a Lutheran minister from Germany, came to the Northwest and organized four congregations of that church, one each at Meadville, French Creek, Conneaut and Erie. The Erie society died HISTORY OF ERIE COUNTY. 255 out very soon, and does not appear to have been revived until many years later. The earliest Lutheran Church in Erie City was built in 1835. The first knowledge we have of the Episcopalians is through a paper, a copy of which has been preserved, drawn up in 1803, and signed by fourteen citizens, agreeing to contribute the sum of $83 annually "to pay one-third of Rev. Mr. Patterson's time in Erie, until a Church of England clergyman can be placed." Mr. Patterson, it will be recollected, was the Presbyterian minister in charge at North East. Among the signatures are the familiar names of Reed, Rees and Wallace. No organization of the denomination was effected till March 17, 1827, when a number of persons withdrew from the Presbyterian Church and became united as St. Paul's Episcopal congregation. About the same time, Rev. Charles Smith came on from Philadelphia and assumed charge as rector. Services were held in the court house till a building was completed in November, 1832. The Waterford society, the second in the county, was organized the same year as the one at Erie. The first building of the Christian denomination was erected at East Springfield in 1826, and the second in Fairview Township in 1835. CATHOLICS AND OTHER DENOMINATIONS. The Roman Catholics had no organization in the county until 1833, when a church was erected in the northern part of McKean Township, and occupied until the new one was put up i Middleboro. St. Mary's and St. Patrick's congregations in Erie date from 1833 and 1837 respectively. The Catholics now number more communicants than any single denomination in the county.The Lake Erie Universalist Association was organized in Wellsburg in 1839, where a church had been established the preceding year. The Erie church was not organized until 1844. The earliest Baptist congregation was in Harbor Creek Township in 1822. This was followed by societies at Erie in 1831, and in North East and Waterford Townships in 1832. The United Brethren, the Adventists and the other denominations are comparatively new to this section. Some of the churches are large, handsome and expensive structures, while about one-third are plain wooden buildings that cost less and are less imposing than many of the barns in the county. The most elaborate churches are in Erie, Corry, North East, Union, Girard, Fairview, Miles Grove, Harbor Creek, Waterford and Mill Village. The Cathedral church of the Roman Catholics, at the corner of Tenth and Sassafras streets, in Erie, which has been building for several years, will, when completed, be the most extensive, costly and handsome religious edifice in this part of Pennsylvania. LIST OF CHURCHES. Below is a list of the various congregations in the county in 1880, with the year each one is supposed to have been organized. Any additions that have been made since that year will be mentioned in the township sketches:Presbyterian (19) -- Belle Valley, 1841; Beaver Dam, Wayne Township, about 1820; Central Church, Erie, 1871; Chestnut street, Erie, 1870; Corry, 1864; East Springfield, 1804; Edinboro, 1829; Fairview Borough, 1845; First Church, Erie, 1815; Girard Borough, 1835; Harbor Creek, 1832; Mill Village, 1870; North East Borough, 1801; Park Church, Erie, 1855; Union City, 1811, Waterford Borough, 1809; Wattsburg, 1826; Westminster, Mill Creek Township, 1806-1852; Wales, Greene Township, 1849. The Presbyterian Churches of Erie County are within the bounds of the 256 HISTORY OF ERIE COUNTY. Synod of Pennsylvania and of the Presbytery of Erie. The Synod was constituted in 1881, and embraces the four old Synods of Philadelphia, Harrisburg, Erie and Pittsburgh. The Presbytery embraces Erie, Crawford, Warren, Venango and Mercer Counties, and contains sixty-two churches and about fifty ministers. United Presbyterian (6) -- Beaver Dam, Wayne Township, 1859; First Church, Erie, 1811; Five Points, Summit Township, 1842; Mission Church, Erie, 1874; Waterford Borough, 1812; Whiteford's Corners, Summit Township, 1876. The name of this denomination in Erie County was originally the Associate Reformed Presbyterian Church. On the 26th of May, 1858, the Associated Presbyterian and the Associated Reformed Presbyterian societies of the Northern States consolidated under the name of the United Presbyterian Church. The churches of this county are attached to the First Synod of the West and to the Lake Presbytery. The Synod embraces all of the churches in Pennsylvania west of the Allegheny and portions of Ohio and Michigan. The Presbytery covers Erie and Crawford Counties, a portion of Mercer and a small part of Trumbull County, Ohio. Episcopal (8) -- Emanuel, Corry, 1864; Cross and Crown, Erie, 1867; Miles Grove, 1862; Mission of the Holy Cross, North East, 1872; St. Paul's Erie, 1827; St. John's, Erie, 1867; Union City, 1875; St. Peter's, Waterford Borough, 1827. The churches of Erie County are embraced in the Diocese of Pittsburgh and in the Erie Deanery. The Diocese includes all of Pennsylvania west of the Eastern lines of Somerset, Cambria, Clearfield, Elk, Cameron and McKean Counties; the Deanery comprises Erie, Crawford, Venango, Lawrence and Mercer Counties. The Pittsburgh Diocese was organized November 15, 1865, on which date Rev. John B. Kerfoot was elected Bishop. His consecration took place on the ensuing 26th of January. He was succeeded by Rev. Dr. Cortland Whitehead, who was consecrated on January 25, 1882. The Erie Deanery was erected on the 12of June, 1874. The Deans have been as follows: 1st. Rev. J. F. Spaulding, Erie; 2d, Rev. W. H. Mills, Erie; 3d, Rev. Henry Purdon, Titusville. United Brethren (13) -- Branchville, McKean Township, about 1866; Corry, 1864; Clark settlement, Harbor Creek Township, 1856; Erie, 1878; Elk Creek and Girard line, 1870; Elk Creek Township, 1853; Fairview Township, about 1857; Greene and Venango line, 1871; Macedonia, Venango Township, _____; New Ireland, Le Boeuf Township, 1876; Shattuck's Corners, Greenfield Township, about 1874; Union City, 1872; Wayne Valley, Wayne Township, 1870. Roman Catholic (16) -- Albion, prior to 1850; St. Mary's, Erie, 1833; St. Patrick's, Erie, 1837; St. Joseph's, Erie, about 1853; St. John's, Erie, 1869; St. Andrew's, Erie, 1871; St. Thomas, Corry, 1860; St. Elizabeth, Corry, 1875; St. John's, Girard, 1853; St. Boniface, Greene Township, 1857; St. Peter's, Greene Township, 1870; St. Matthew's, Summit Township, 1867; St. Francis Xavier, Middleboro, 1833; St. Gregory's, North East, 1854; St. Teresa's, Union City, 1857; St. Cyprian's, Waterford Station, 1878. The Erie Diocese comprises the counties of Erie, Crawford, Mercer, Venango, Forest, Clarion, Jefferson, Clearfield, Cameron, Elk, McKean, Potter and Warren. It was established in 1853, Rt. Rev. Michael O'Conner being the first Bishop. He was transferred from Pittsburgh in 1853, and re-transferred in 1854. His successor, Rt. Rev. J. M. Young, was consecrated April 23, 1854, and died September 18, 1866. Rt. Rev. T. Mullen, present Bishop, was consecrated August 2, 1868. HISTORY OF ERIE COUNTY. 257 [p. 257 graphic; pg. 258 blank] HISTORY OF ERIE COUNTY. 259 Methodist Episcopal (55) -- Albion, prior to 1850; Ash's Corners, Washington Township, 1867; Asbury, Mill Creek Township, 1846; Asbury, Union Township, 1840; Beaver Dam, 1838; Carter Hill, about 1835; Corry, 1862; Cherry Hill, 1858; concord Township, 1879; Cranesville, about 1830; Crane road, Franklin Township, 1867; East Springfield, 1825; Edinboro, 1829; Edenville, Le Boeuf Township, 1839; Elgin, 1854; Eureka, 1867; First Church, Erie, 1826; Fair Haven, Girard Township, 1815; Fairplain, Girard Township, 1840; Fairview Borough, 1817; Franklin Corners, 1866; Gospel Hill, Harbor Creek Township, 1816; Greenfield, 1826; Girard Borough, 1815; Harbor Creek, 1834; Hatch Hollow, Amity township, prior to 1835; Hamlin, Summit Township, 1837; Keepville, about 1867; Lowville, 1875; Lockport, 1843; Miles Grove, 1867; McLane, Washington Township, 1863; Mill Village, prior to 1810; Middleboro, 1819; Macedonia, Venango Township, _____; North Corry, 1870; North East Borough, 1812; Northville, about 1820; Phillipsville, prior to 1848; South Harbor Creek, Harbor Creek Township, prior to 1830; Simpson Church, Erie, 1858; Sterrettania, 1842; South Hill, McKean Township, about 1860; Sharp's Corners, Waterford Township, 1838; Sherrod Hill, _____; Tower Schoolhouse, Venango Township, _____;; Tenth Street, Erie, 1867; Union City, 1817; Waterford Borough, 1814; Wellsburg, 1833; Wattsburg, 1827; West Springfield, 1801; Wales, Greene Township, about 1850; West Greene, 1827; Wesleyville, 1828. The Methodist Episcopal Churches in Erie County are attached to the Erie Conference, organized in 1836, the bounds of which extend o the west to the Ohio State line, on the east to a line running slightly beyond Jamestown, N. Y., and Ridgway, Penn., and on the south to a line running east and wet below New Castle, Penn. The Conference is subdivided into six Presiding Elders' districts, viz.: Erie, Clarion, Franklin, Jamestown, Meadville and New Castle. The Erie District includes the churches of Erie, Mill Creek, Fairview, Girard, Greene, Greenfield, Harbor Creek, McKean, North East, Summit, Springfield, Wesleyville and Waterford; the Meadville District those of Albion, Edinboro, Lockport, Mill Village, Union and Wattsburg; the Jamestown District those of Corry. The Presiding Elders of these districts have been as follows: Erie District -- G. Fillmore, 1821-24; W. Swayze, 1825-27; W. B. Mack, 1828-31; J. S. Barris, 1832; H. Kinsley, 1833; J. Chandler, 1836-38; J. C. Ayers, 1839-42; T. Goodwin, 1843-44; J. Robinson, 1845-48; B. O. Plimpton, 1849; E. J. L. Baker, 1850-53 and 1865-68; J. Leslie, 1854-57; J. Flower, 1858-61; J. H. Whallon, 1862-64; D. M.Stever, 1869-72; R. M. Warren, 1873-75; W. F. Wilson, 1876-78; R. W. Scott, 1879-80. Meadville District -- Z. H. Coston, 1832; A. Brunson, 1833-34; I. Winans, 1835; J. S. Barris, 1836-37; H. Kinsley, 1838-39, 1843-45 and 1855-58; J. Bain, 1840-42; B. O. Plimpton, 1846-48; W. Patterson, 1849-52; E. J. Kenney, 1853-54; N. Norton, 1859-62; J. W. Lowe, 1863-66; G. W. Maltby, 1867-70; W. P. Bignell, 1871-74; J. Peate, 1875-78; F. H. Beck, 1879-80. Jamestown District -- H. Kinsley, 1834-36; R. A. Aylworth, 1837-38; D. Preston, 1839-41; J. J. Steadman, 1842-43; D. Smith, 1844-47; W. H. Hunter, 1848-51; J. H. Whallon, 1852-55; B. S. Hill, 1856-58; J. W. Lowe, 1859-62; G. W. Maltby, 1863-66; J. Leslie, 1867-70; A. Burgess, 1871-72; N. Norton, 1873-75; O. G. McEntire, 1876-79. Universalist (5) -- Corry, 1877; Erie, 1844; Girard, about 1850; Wellsburg, 1838; West Springfield, 1848. Evangelical Association (6) -- Emanuel, Summit Township, about 1838; Salem, Fairview and Mill Creek line, 1833; Salem, Erie, 1833; Mt. Nabo, Fairview Borough, 1833; North East Borough, 1870; congregation at Sterrettania, _____. 260 HISTORY OF ERIE COUNTY. Lutheran (11) -- St. John's Evangelical Lutheran and Reformed, Erie, 1835; St. Paul's German Evangelical, Erie, 1850; German Evangelical Lutheran Trinity, Erie, 1881; First English Evangelical Lutheran, Erie, 1861; Evangelical Lutheran, Girard Borough, 1866; Evangelical Lutheran, Fairview, 1856; St. Paul's German Lutheran, Mill Creek Township, about 1836; St. Paul's German Evangelical, North East, 1864; St. Jacob's Evangelical United, Fairview Township, 1852; Franklin Township Church, 1871; german (Lutheran), Corry, about 1874. Baptist (16) -- Corry, 1863; Edinboro, 1838; Franklin and Elk Creek line, 1866; First Church, Erie, 1831; German Church, Erie, 1861; Lowrey settlement, Harbor Creek Township, 1822; McLane, Washington Township, 1838; North East, 1832; Newman's Bridge, Waterford Township, 1832 or 1833; Pageville, 1839; Second Greenfield Union Free-Will Baptist, Greenfield Township, 1881; Union City, 1859; Waterford and Amity line, about 1835; West Springfield, 1826; Wattsburg, 1850; Wellsburg, 1839. Christian (8) -- Corry, 1864; Draketown, 1877; East Springfield, 1826; Fairview Township, 1835; Girard and Franklin line, 1872; Hare Creek, Wayne Township, 1877; McLallen's Corners, 1828; Oak Hill, Waterford Township, 1854. Disciple (2) -- Albion, 1880; Lockport, 1877. Congregational -- Corry, 1874. Hebrew -- Erie, 1858; Corry, about 1873. Advent -- Edinboro, 1863. Wesleyan Methodist (3) -- Concord Township, 1840; Erie, 1847; Keepville, 1854. African Methodist Episcopal -- Erie, re-organized, 1877. Union -- Manross Church, Le Boeuf Township, erected 1869. Recapitulation -- Presbyterian, 19; United Presbyterian, 6; Episcopalian, 8; United Brethren, 13; Roman Catholic, 16; Methodist Episcopal, 55; Congregational, 1; Advent, 1; African Methodist Episcopal, 1; Universalist 5; Lutheran, 11; Evangelical Association, 6; Baptist, 16; Christian, 8; Disciple, 2; Hebrew, 2; Wesleyan Methodist, 3; Union, 1; total, 174. SUNDAY SCHOOLS. The first Sunday school in the county was founded by Rev. Mr. Morton and Col. James Moorhead at Moorheadville, in 1817. In 1818, Mrs. Judah Colt returned to Erie after a visit to New England, where schools for the religious instruction of children on the Sabbath had recently been introduced, and by the aid of Mrs. R. S. Reed and Mrs. Carr established a class for girls, which met alternately at the houses of the two ladies last named. After a time the brothers of the girls asked to be admitted, but fears wee entertained that they would be hard to control, and it was only after much debate and hesitation that they were allowed to enjoy the benefits of the class. Col. Thomas Forster became interested in the enterprise, and in 1820 tendered the ladies a room, which was gladly accepted. A public meeting was held in the court house on the 25th of March, 1821, to consider the project of regularly organizing "a Sunday School and Moral Society." Resolutions in favor of the same were drafted and introduced by R. S. Reed, Thomas H. Sill and George A. Eliot -- one capitalist and two lawyers -- and solemnly adopted by the audience. A paper for contributions was passed around, and the munificent sum of $28.50 subscribed to procure suitable books. This subscription paper is now hanging up in the basement of the First Presbyterian Church of Erie. The school commenced in May with an attendance of sixty-four, big and little,HISTORY OF ERIE COUNTY. 261 who had increased to eighty-one at the end of six months, of whom twenty-one, or nearly one-fourth, were colored. Horace Greeley, then an employee in the office of the Erie Gazette, was one of the scholars in the winter of 1830-31. A second school was started in September, 1830, by the ladies of St. Paul's Episcopal congregation, and held its sessions in the court house until their church building was completed. The first schools had to encounter some opposition, even from zealous Christian citizens. A Sabbath school is now connected with almost every church in the county. BIBLE SOCIETY AND Y. M. C. ASSOCIATION. The Erie County Bible Society was established in 1824, and has been in continuous operation ever since. Its mission is to distribute the Holy Book free of cost to those who are too poor to buy, and at a moderate price to persons in better circumstances. The first officers were Rev. Johnston Eaton, President; Rev. Robert Reid, Vice President; George Selden, Secretary; and E. D. Gunnison, Treasurer. Its annual meetings are held on the first Wednesday after the second Tuesday in May.The only Young Men's Christian Association in the county is in Erie and was organized in September, 1860. The society owns a fine building at the corner of Tenth and Peach streets, which is conveniently fitted up for its purpose. Its library of nearly six thousand volumes is free to all who visit the reading rooms, and, for a moderate sum per annum, the holders of tickets are allowed to take books to their homes. Aside from its religious influence, the association has done a good work among the young men and women of the city by increasing their literary taste, and giving them the opportunity to read good books instead of the trashy stuff that floods the land. It also maintains a Railway Employes' Reading Room in the building on Peach street, opposite the northern entrance to the Union depot. GRAVEYARDS AND CEMETERIES. As death and religion are always associated to a certain extent, this seems to be the proper place to give a brief sketch of some of the old graveyards in the county, which, thanks to the improved taste, are fast giving way to neat and ornamental cemeteries. The first burial place of which there is a record, was established at Colt's Station in Greenfield Township on the 6th of July, 1801. A party of fifteen met and cleared off an acre for the interment of the dead, which has remained as a graveyard to this day, though in a sadly neglected condition. Their example led the people at Middlebrook to follow suit, and a burial place was begun there in the following month. Most of the bodies in the latter have been removed within the last thirty years, and the spot is now used for farming purposes. A graveyard was established at Erie nearly at the same time, on the bank of the lake, east of Parade street, but was abandoned about 1805. Others were located at an early day at Waterford, North east, Fairview, Springfield and elsewhere. In 1805, three lots were set aside for a graveyard at the southeast corner of French and Eighth streets, Erie, which was used by all denominations until 1827, when it became the property of the United Presbyterian Church, whose building adjoined the premises on the east. The property was sold in 1862, the bodies were removed to the cemetery, and the site is now covered with dwellings. The Presbyterians purchased four lots at the southeast corner of Seventh and Myrtle streets, in Erie, in 1826, and used them for burial purposes for upward of twenty years, when the bodies were carefully removed to the cemetery and the land was sold to private purchasers.262 HISTORY OF ERIE COUNTY. The Episcopal Graveyard was also on Seventh street, nearly opposite the gas house. Besides the above, there was a graveyard on Third street, east of the Catholic school, on the north side, which was used for burial purposes as late as 1837. The Catholic burial grounds on Twenty-fourth, between Sassafras and Chestnut streets, still contain numerous bodies, which will probably be removed some day to the cemetery west of the city. An unused graveyard is also attached to St. John's Church in South Erie. The various cemeteries in present use will be described in connection with the city. As the county increased in population, graveyards were located in every section, some of which continue, while the sites of others have almost or entirely been forgotten. Many families chose burial places on their farms, and some of these still exist. The old-style graveyards were, and those that remain are, generally speaking, dismal and forbidding places, the tombstones dingy and often tottering, the fence sides grown up to brambles, the graves and walks in a horrible state of neglect, and the whole aspect well calculated to encourage the belief in ghosts, goblins and demons, which was quite universal forty years ago. The establishment of the cemetery at Erie, which was dedicated in May, 1851, and speedily became one of the tastiest in the Union, has had a gratifying effect upon the whole county. People of refinement from the neighboring towns, comparing it with the neglected graveyards at their homes, became ashamed of the contract, and efforts, some successful and other futile, have been made to secure creditable places of burial in almost all sections. Corry, Union City, North East, Waterford, Girard, Fairview, Springfield, Sterrettania and Lowville have cemeteries that speak well for the taste of their citizens, and at Erie the new Catholic cemetery near the Head is fast assuming a first rank. The writer hopes to be spared long enough to see every vestige of the old-style graveyard removed from the face of the earth, and each town and township in possession of a cemetery that will be an honor to the living and afford a proper resting-place for the dead.
CHAPTER XV.
THE first mill in Erie County of which there is any record was built at the mouth of Mill Creek in 1795 - 96, under the direction of Capt. Russell Bissell, of the United States Army, to supply timber for barracks, dwellings, etc., for the use of the troops who had been sent forward as a protection to the settlers. It gave name to the stream, and stood until 1820, when it burned down. Another saw mill was built upon its site in 1831, by George W. Reed and William Himrod, the frame of which stood till some time after 1861. The second saw mill within the city limits was erected on the same stream, at or near where the Hopedale Mill stands, by Robert Brotherton, in 1806, and the third at the Eighth street crossing in 1807 or 1808, by William Wallace and Thomas Forster. About 1810, the Wallace & Forster mill privilege was bought by R. S. Reed, who added a grist mill. The property fell into the hands of George Moore in 1822, and a carding machine and fulling mill were added. They were purchased by P. & O. E. Crouch in 1859, who improved HISTORY OF ERIE COUNTY. 263 the grist mill from time to time and continued to operate it. In 1815, two more grist mills rose upon Mill Creek, the one built by R. S. Reed at the Parade street crossing, and the other by Mr. Large near the corner of French and Eleventh streets. Mr. Reed put up a distillery near his mill, and both concerns were run by him until his death. The mill building, an unusually large one, stood until about ten years ago. The mill erected by Mr. Large was allowed to go down, and its site was adopted by Vincent, Himrod & Co., for the establishment since known as the Erie City Iron Works. The fourth grist mill in the city was put up by the McNairs in 1827, on State street, south of the Lake Shore Railroad track, using the water of Ichabod Run for power. It went down, and in 1849 the Erie City Mill was built by McSparren & Dumars, to use the water of the same stream. The building was sold, moved further south, and is still standing. The Hopedale Mill was built by Henry Gingrich, on the site of the Brotherton Saw Mill, about 1850, and was operated for a time by Oliver & Bacon. These gentlemen in 1865 secured the Canal Mill, built by William Kelly, under the supervision of Jehiel Towner, on Myrtle street, near Sixth, to use the surplus water of the canal, and have managed it ever since. At one period there were no less than half a dozen distilleries within the city limits, and perhaps as many saw mills, the latter all driven by the water of Mill Creek, which was quite a strong, steady stream. Mr. Russell, in one of his valuable contributions to the Gazette, says: "When there was not one-fifth of the population, a distillery was to be found in almost every neighborhood. Most families were as particular in laying in their barrel of whisky as their barrel of port, and would rather be without the latter than the former." Of mills in the vicinity of the city, the earliest were erected by John Cochran, who put up a saw mill in 1800, and a grist mill in 1801 on the site of the present Densmore Mill. Three miles south of the city, on what is now the Waterford Plank Road, Robert McCullough, in 1802 or 1804, put up a saw and grist mill, which are still in operation under the title of the Erie County Mills. All of these used the water of Mill Creek. In 1814, a small grist mill was built by Thomas Miller, on the little stream which empties into the bay at the Head, to which he soon after added a mill for making linseed oil. The ruins remained until quite recently. OUTSIDE OF ERIE CITY. The second and third saw mills in the county were put up in 1797 -- one by Thomas Forster at the mouth of Walnut Creek, and the other by Robert Brotherton, on Le Boeuf Creek, near the Waterford Station of the P. & E. road. The latter added a grist mill in 1802. In 1798, a fourth saw mill was built near the mouth of Four Mile Creek by Thomas Rees, for the Population Company. The fifth was built by Leverett Bissell, on French Creek, in Greenfield Township, in 1799.During the year 1798 the first grist mill in the county was built at the mouth of Walnut Creek under the superintendence of Thomas Forster. The other mills established outside of Erie City before the last war with Great Britain were as follows: One on Spring Run, Girard Township, by Mr. Silverthorn, in 1799. A grist and saw mill by William Miles, at Union, in 1800, now known as Church's mill. In the same year, a small grist mill, by James Foulk, at the mouth of Six Mile Creek. A saw mill by William Culbertson, in 1801, and a grist mill in 1802, at Edinboro, now known as Taylor & Reeder's mills. 264 HISTORY OF ERIE COUNTY. A saw mill by Capt. Holliday, in 1801, and a grist mill in 1803, at the mouth of Crooked Creek, in Springfield Township, both of which have gone down. A saw mill in 1802 or 1803, by John Riblet, Sr., on Four Mile Creek, half a mile south of Wesleyville. No vestige of this remains. Lattimore's and Boyd's saw mills, in Waterford Township, about 1802. Grist mills were added to each at a later date, and allowed to go down some forty years ago. A grist and saw mill, in 1803, by Capt. Daniel Dobbins and James Foulk, near the mouth of Twelve Mile Creek, since known as Neely's mill. A grist mill on Sixteen Mile Creek, in North East Township, by Col. Tuttle, in 1807, now known as Scouller's. The following shows when the mills mentioned were erected, and will be found convenient for comparison: 1814 -- The West Girard Grist and Saw Mill, on Elk Creek, by Peter Woolverton. A saw mill where Lines' mills stand, on Crooked Creek, in Springfield, by Amos Remington and Oliver Cross. 1815 -- A saw mill by William Saltsman, at the foot of the gully of Four Mile Creek, in Harbor Creek Township. 1816 -- A saw mill by James Love, on Walnut Creek, in Mill Creek Township. A saw mill on Mill Creek, by Foote & Parker. About 1820 -- The Strong Grist Mill, on Crooked Creek, in Springfield, by Andrew Cochran. 1822 -- The Lowville Mills, by Samuel Low. The Wattsburg Mills, by William Miles. 1823 -- The Nason Mill, on Bear Run, in Fairview, by Daniel Bear. The Porter Mill, on Conneaut Creek, in Springfield, by Comfort Hay. Two mills in Amity Township, near Milltown, one by Capt. James Donaldson. The grist mill at Wesleyville, by John Shattuck. 1824 -- A saw mill in the south part of Greenfield, by John Whiteside. 1825 -- Shattuck's saw mill at Wesleyville. The mills at Wellsburg, by Samuel Wells. 1826 -- The old Cooper Mill, on Four Mile creek, by William Saltsman. The Burger Grist Mill, on French Creek, in Le Boeuf Township, was built by George Burger about 1830; the Line Grist Mill, in Springfield, by Mr. Case, about 1832; the Sterrettania Mills, on Elk Creek, by David S. Sterrett, in 1839; the Moore Saw Mill, in Le Boeuf, about 1840; and the Branchville Mill, about 1850. OTHER EARLY MILLS AND FACTORIES. Among the earliest mills were Weigle's, at the crossing of Walnut Creek by the Ridge road, in Fairview Township, built by S. F. Gudtner; the Elgin Mills, on Beaver Dam Run, by Joseph Hall; the Grist mill on Le Boeuf Creek, in Greene, by Jacob Brown; and the Backus Mill, on Six Mile Creek, in Harbor Creek. All of these were established in the beginning of the century, but the writer has been unable to obtain the exact dates. A saw mill was built at an early period by Michael Jackson, and a grist mill by Amos King, at Albion. In 1810, there was a carding and woolen mill on the site of the Cass factory in Harbor Creek.Soon after the war of 1812-14, a perfect mania arose for building saw mills, and every stream that could be turned to use was employed to drive from one to a dozen wheels. The county was still largely covered with forest trees, and all of the streams contained more water than now. The cutting of the timber was followed by the drying up of the streams. Most of the mills have gone HISTORY OF ERIE COUNTY. 265 down, and those that remain generally use steam. With few exceptions, the grist mills remain on the sites originally adopted. Hubard B. Burrows was a noted millwright and constructed a good share of the early mills. The first concern in the county for the manufacture of iron goods was a foundry at Freeport, North East Township, built in 1824, by Philetus Glass. The next of any consequence was the establishment of Vincent, Himrod & Co., in Erie, who engaged in the manufacture of stoves, using the site of Large's grist mill, and the water-power of Mill Creek. The concern began operations in the winter of 1840 - 41, and has continued ever since under several changes of name and management. The Erie City Iron Works cove a portion of the site of the old mill, and the Chicago & Erie Stove Company and Erie City Boiler Works are offshoots from the original establishment. List of Manufacturing Establishments Below is as nearly as could be ascertained in 1880 a list of the mills and factories in the county outside of Erie and Corry. Any omissions or changes that are discovered before this book is published will be noted in the township and borough sketches: Creameries -- Amity Creamery, near Wattsburg. Cheese Factories -- West Springfield, Springfield Township; Phillipsville, Venango Township; Wellsburg, Elk Creek Township; Steadman's, Franklin township; West Union, Union Township; Waterford; Concord, Concord Township; Beaver Dam, Wayne Township; Carter Hill, Wayne Township; Kennedy, Wayne Township; Culbertson's, Union City; Jones', Union City; Bean's, Summit Township; Excelsior, Summit Township; Grahamville, North East Township; Reed's, McKean Township; Bean's, near Middleboro; Little Hope, Greenfield Township; Lockport, Lockport Borough; Wellman's Washington Township; McLallen's Corners, Washington Township; Phelp's, Edinboro; West Greene, Greene Township; Newman's Bridge, Waterford Township; Brown's Conneaut Township; Keepville, Conneaut Township; Wheeler's, Le Boeuf Township; Mill Village; Excelsior, Cherry Hill. Grist Mills -- Richard's, Amity Township; Nason's, Fairview Township; Weigle's, Fairview Township; Oriental, Fairview Township; Lohrer's, Fairview Township; Porter, Springfield Township; Lines', Springfield Township; Strong's, Springfield Township; Lowville, Venango Township; Wattsburg; Long, Wells & Co.'s, Wellsburg; The Old Spires, Wellsburg; Steenrod's, Union Township; Anchor, Union City; Church's, Union City; Judson & Hipple's, Waterford Township; Williams & Dewey's, Waterford Borough; Elgin; Densmore's, Mill Creek Township; Erie County, Mill Creek Township; Kocker's, Mill Creek Township; William H. Cooper's, Wesleyville; the Old Cooper, Harbor Creek; Neely, Harbor Creek; Sterrett & Barron's, Sterrettania; Hilliker's, Branchville; Guy & Beatty's, North East Township; Jones', North East Township; Scouller's, North East Township; Little Hope, Greenfield Township; Strickland & Nason's, Girard Township; West Girard, Girard Township; Reeder & Taylor's, Edinboro; Thornton's, Albion; Burger Mill, Le Boeuf Township; ; Irving's, Union City. Tanneries -- Vetner's, Fairview Township; Wells & Sons', Wellsburg; Smith & Shoppart's, Waterford Borough; Bolard & Hayes', Waterford Borough; Sterrettania; Chisholm's, McKean Township; Rappold's, near Sterrettania; Roher's, McKean Township; Scouller & Tyler's, North East Township; Nason's, North East; St. John's, Washington Township; Rossiter's, Girard Township; Aldrich's, Lockport; McWilliam's, Edinboro; Terrill's, Union City. 266 HISTORY OF ERIE COUNTY. Saw, Shingle, Lath and Heading Mills -- Shove's, Amity Township; Wheeler's, Amity Township; Doolittle & Chaffee's, Amity Township; Donaldson's (saw and shingle), Amity Township; Richard's, Amity Township; Cox's, Amity Township; Ester & Kelsey's (shingle), Amity Township; Ruhl's, Fairview Township; Kreider's, Fairview Borough; Comer's, McKean Township; Propeck's, McKean Township; Porter's, Springfield Township; Lines', Springfield Township; Strong's, Springfield Township; Reed's, Springfield Township; Lowville (saw, shingle and heading); Phillipsville (saw and shingle mill); Wattsburg (saw mill); Bowman's, Wellsburg; Pageville, Elk Creek Township; Mohawk, Franklin Township; Sweet & Alden's, Franklin Township; Mishler's, Franklin Township; Gimber's, Franklin Township; Fenno's, Union Township; Bentley's (saw and shingle), Union Township; Kamerer's, Union Township; Vermilyea's, Union Township; Miller's, Union Township; Harrison's, Union Township; one on the South Branch, Union Township; Brunsteter's, Union City; Carroll's (saw and shingle), Union City; Clough's (shingle), Union city; Kimball & Harrison's (shingle) Union City; Church's, Union City; Clark & Son's, Union City, Pratt & Son's, Union City; Davis', Waterford Township; Benson's, Waterford Township; Lattimore's Waterford Township; Brotherton's, Waterford Township; Judson & Hipple's, Waterford Township; Himrod's, Waterford Township; Boyd's, Waterford Township; Hull's, Waterford Township; Marsh's, Waterford Township; Dewey's (saw and lath), Waterford Borough; Young's, Concord Township; Crowell's, Concord Township; Ormsby's, Concord Township; Lovell's Station, Concord Township; Elgin (saw-mill); saw-mill on the Brokenstraw, Wayne Township; two shingle-mills on the Brokenstraw, Wayne Township; two sawmills on Hare Creek, Wayne Township; shingle-mill on Slaughter Run, Wayne Township; saw-mill near the New York line, Wayne Township; Erie County Mill, Mill Creek Township; Russell's, Mill Creek Township; Nece's, Mill Creek Township; Geist's, Mill Creek Township; Stroher's, Mill Creek Township; Thomas's (saw, shingle and feed), Mill Creek Township; Balkey's (shingle and feed), Mill Creek Township; William H. Cooper's, Wesleyville; the old Cooper, Harbor Creek Township; Dodge's (saw and shingle), Harbor Creek Township; Neely, Harbor Creek Township; another mill, Harbor Creek Township; Jackson's, Summit Township; Sterrett & Barron's, Sterrettania; Wood's, McKean Township; Osborn's, McKean Township; Decker's, McKean Township; Leland's, McKean Township; Lampson's (saw and shingle), Middleboro; Guy & Beatty's (saw and shingle), North East Township; Freeport, North East Township; Applebee & Butts's, North East Township; mill near New York line (saw and heading), North East Township; three portable mills, Greenfield Township; Raymond's, Greenfield Township; Little Hope, Greenfield Township; West Girard, Girard Township; Gudgeonville, Girard Township; Pettis', Girard Township; Herrick's, Girard Township; Shipman's, Girard Township; Godfrey's, Girard Township; one saw-mill at Lockport; Wait & Ensing's (saw and lath), Washington Township; ; Wellman's (saw, shingle and lath), Washington Township; Reeder's, Washington Township; Davis & Rider's, Washington Township; Black's, Washington Township; Gardner's, Washington Township; Wade's (saw, shingle and lath), Washington Township; Sherwood's, Edinboro; Reeder's, Edinboro, Brown's (saw and lath), Greene Township; Kane's, Greene Township; Ripley's, Greene Township; two mills on Six Mile Creek, Greene Township; Spalding's, Conneaut Township; one portable mill, Conneaut Township; Albion Saw Mill; Moore's, Le Boeuf Township; Manross', Le Boeuf Township; Wheeler's, Le Boeuf Township; Fogle's, Le Boeuf Township; Dunlap's, Le Boeuf Township; HISTORY OF ERIE COUNTY. 267 [p. 267 blank; pg. 268 graphic] HISTORY OF ERIE COUNTY. 269 Waterhouse's, Le Boeuf Township; Robinson's Corners, Venango Township; Henderson's (shingle), Venango Township; Bennett's, Venango Township; the Gillett Mill, Mill Village; George Burger's (saw and shingle), Mill Village. Cider, Jell and Vinegar Factories -- Glazier's, Fairview Borough; Galyard's, Fairview Borough; Lowville Cider Mill; Bennett's, Venango Township; Water's, Union Township; Carroll's, Union City; Rices, Waterford Township; Hare's, Waterford Township; Belle Valley; Tompkins', Mill Creek Township; Balkey's, Mill Creek Township; Thomas', Mill Creek Township; Cooper's, Wesleyville; Troop's, Harbor Creek Township; Hauck's, Sterretania; Leland's, McKean Township; Smith's, McKean Township; Wiswell's, McKean Township; Wagner's, McKean Township; Rhode's, cider and vinegar, North East Township; Green & Chase's, cider and vinegar, North East Township; Brown's, Girard Township; Mosemann's, Greenfield; West Girard, cider and plaster, Girard Township; Lockport; Waterhouse's, Le Boeuf Township; McLallan's Corners, Washington Township; Anderson's, Washington Township; Mitchell's, Mill Village. Planing Mills, Sash, Door and Blind Factories -- Kreider's, Fairview Borough; one at Lowville; two planing mills at Wattsburg; one sash factory at Wattsburg; Mills', Franklin Township; Cooper's, Union City; Clark & Son's, Union City; Jenkin's, Union City; Hunter's, Union City; Dewey's, Waterford Borough; one at Middleboro; Green's, North East Township; West Girard, Girard Township; one at Lockport, one at Girard Borough; Wade's, Washington Township; Taylor & Reeder's, Edinboro; Mickel's Planing and Spoke Mill, Mill Village; Beardsley's Stave Mill, Mill Village. Woolen, Carding and Fulling Mills -- Thornton's, Albion; Lewis', Washington Township; Thornton's, Girard Township; Grimshaw's, North East Township; Irving's, Union Township; Cass', Harbor Creek; one in Wayne Township. Paper Mills -- Franklin, North East Township; Watson & Morgan's, Fairview Township. Brick and Tile Works -- Seigel's, Fairview Township; Thomas', West Springfield; Kilpatrick's, North East Township; Kane's, North East Township; Dyer Loomis', North East Township; West Girard, Girard Township; Barton & Kelly's, Waterford Borough; Kennedy's, Conneaut Township;. Wooden Articles -- Pease's Tub and Firkin Factory, North East Borough; Jones' Barrel Factory, North East Township; New Era Organ Factory, North East Township; Grape Basket, Fruit and Cigar Box Factory, North East Township; Stetson's Handle Factory, North East Township; Freeport Table Factory, North East Township; Freeport Turning Works, North East Township; Coffman's Pump Factory, North East Township; Brown's Hand Rake Factory, Girard Township; Lockport Oar Factory; Girard Furniture Factory; White's Factory, Washington Township; Taylor & Reeder's Pump Factory, Edinboro; Wells & Andrews' Oar Factory, Albion; VanRider's Horse Rake, Wheelbarrow and Shovel Factory, Albion; Dodge's Handle Factory, Harbor Creek; Troop's Basket Factory, Harbor Creek; Elgin Barrel Factory; Coffin Factory, Mill Creek Township; Gunnison's Pump Factory, Mill Creek Township; Blanchard & Hanson's Furniture Factory, Union City; Wescott's Dowel Pin Factory, Union City; Clark & Son's Stave and Handle Mill, Union City; Hunter's Pump Factory, Union City; Hatch's Broom Factory, Union City; Jones' Cheese Box Factory, Union City; Manross' Stave Works, Union City; Thompson's Water Wheel Works, Union City; Woods & Johnson's barrel factories, Union City; Chair and Furniture Factory, Union City; Westcott's Broom Handle Factory, Union City; Wheeler's Chair 270 HISTORY OF ERIE COUNTY. Factory, Union City; Woods' Stave Factory, Union City; Sulky Hay Rake Factory, Waterford Township; Hasting's Tub and Firkin Factory, Waterford Township; Wattsburg Handle Factory; Wattsburg Furniture Factory; Wellsburg Furniture and Coffin Factory; Zeigler's Broom Factory, Wellsburg; Keeler's Furniture Factory, Wellsburg. Beer Breweries -- Water's, Union City; Mill Creek Brewery; Bannister's, North East Township. Carriage and Wagon Works -- Griffith's, North East Borough; Fromeyer's, North East Borough; Mattison's, Le Boeuf Township; Sterrettania Wagon Shop; two wagon shops at Middleboro; Lamphier & Brower's, Union City; Morton's, Union City; two wagon shops at Beaver Dam; Howe & Son's, Waterford Borough; Taylor's, Waterford Borough; Emanuel Ziegler's, Wellsburg; Fargo's, Fairview Borough; Wurntz's, Fairview Borough; Williams', Amity Township. Miscellaneous -- Glass's Foundry, North East Borough; North East Canning Factory; Girard Wrench Factory; Miles Grove Iron Foundry; Denio's Agricultural Tool Works, Miles Grove; Pettibone's Limekiln, Girard Township; Mount Hickory Iron Works, Mill Creek Township; Dunmyer's Iron Works, Union City; Union City Iron Works; Johnson's Boot and Shoe Factory, Waterford Borough; Wattsburg Feed Mill; Purcell's Spring Bed Factory, Wellsburg. Recapitulation -- Creamery, 1; cheese factories, 28; grist mills, 36; tanneries, 14; saw, shingle, lath and heading mills, 117; cider, jell and vinegar factories, 27; planing mills and sash, door and blind factories, 17; woolen, carding and fulling mills, 6; paper mills, 2; brick and tile works, 8; manufactories of wooden articles, 38; beer breweries, 3; carriage and wagon shops, 11; miscellaneous, 12; total, 316. As the list stand above, with Erie and Corry added, there are fully 450 concerns in the county that can properly be classed as mills and factories. Their number, extend and variety will be as much of a surprise to the reader as they were to the writer in making up this chapter.
(remainder of this section not yet transcribed)
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