Abbildungen der Seite
PDF
EPUB

The oldest record in possession of the pastor shows the names of W. T. Lane, Honeoye; Joel Whitney, Lane school-house; Stephen Chapel, South Bolivar; R. D. Garrison, Pikeville (members joined the Nazarites), and B. C. Call of Ceres; Edward Nicholas and Calvin Blood of Shinglehouse were the class leaders. Later H. B. Robarts is named as leader of the Bell's run class, with Elisha B. West local preacher; A. Mallory was recording steward in 1867, while Mrs. F. G. Fuller is now recorder. The pastoral record goes back only to 1879, when A. B. Kelly was appointed. In 1882 Rev. W. Post and Rev. A. I. Blanchard came, and in 1886 Rev. W. H. Farnham. There are now seventy-nine members.

In 1840 Nelson Peabody was commissioned justice of the peace and held the office until elected associate judge in 1861. He was again commissioned and served until six or seven years ago. During the war he was deputy provost marshal for Ceres township. Among the soldiers of the district, many of whom belong to Portville Post, No. 85, G. A. R., are the following named: Frank A. Chapman, Twenty-ninth Ohio Infantry; F. P. Chapman, Eighty-fifth New York; Nat. Hendrix, Company A, Eighty-fifth New York; Henry B. Robarts, Eighty-fifth New York; John Frugan, New York Infantry; William Hyde, William Worden, Eighty-fifth New York; Frank Fuller, Eighty-fifth New York; John B. Gleason, Clark Wells and Edgar Wells, Forty-second Regiment, Pennsylvania Bucktails; Byron Lanphere and Robert Lanphere, Bucktails; Jacob Brock, Eighty-fifth New York; Adam Burdick, Eighty-fifth New York; Daniel and Matthew Burdick, Eighty-fifth New York; Lafayette Maxson, Eighty-fifth New York; James Gobles, Eightyfifth New York; Martin Stephens, Pennsylvania Infantry; F. Maxson, Eightyfifth New York; Robert Clark, Fifty-eighth Pennsylvania; Frank Van Wormer, Pennsylvania; A. De North, Fifty-eighth Pennsylvania; Moses Ford, Hiram Grow, Daniel Peabody, James Biggins and Amos Safford, Eighty-fifth New York (drowned in the Oswayo some years ago); Bill North, Bucktails; George North, Fifty-eighth Pennsylvania; George Lanphere, Eighty-fifth New York; James Hobbs, New York Infantry; Carpenter (wounded at Gettysburg), Pennsylvania Infantry; William North, Fifty-eighth Pennsylvania; Volney Mix, Pennsylvania Infantry; Albert Lanphere, Bucktails; Freeman Fuller, Bucktails; Philip Haines and Bennie Haines, Pennsylvania Infantry; F. Hawley, Eighty-fifth New York; Lewis Hawley, Eighty-fifth New York; John Hawley, Eighty-fifth New York; Floyd Hawley, Forty-second Pennsylvania; C. Melven, Forty-second Infantry; C. Bridge and West Bridge, Forty-second Pennsylvania Regiment; also Nate Foote, Thomas, John, and Alonzo Cushman, and Nathan Hand.

Charles B. Bailey, who resided in Ceres township before the war, now of Young Hickory, N. Y., was, in June, 1889, granted a back pension of $5,000, and $72 monthly. This large pension was granted on account of his total blindness.

A. B. Luce was the first agent at Ceres of the Bradford, Eldred & Cuba Railroad in October, 1881. W. D. Chase took charge in February, 1882; E. D. Cummings in May, 1882; L. J. White in February, 1883, and in November, 1883, C. H. Gleason, the present agent, took charge. (Between 6,000 and 8,000 cords of bark will be shipped from Ceres this summer.) In 1877 the White & Van Wormer Mill at Ceres was erected. of the immense lumber industries of the county.

This is one

CHAPTER XIII.

ELDRED TOWNSHIP-BOROUGH OF ELDRED.

ELDRED TOWNSHIP- -TOPOGRAPHY-OIL WELLS-POPULATION

[ocr errors][merged small]

THE TOWNSHIP, 1890-FIRST SETTLEMENTS-RESIDENT TAX-PAYERS, 1843–44— FIRST SHINGLE-MILL-VILLAGES, ETC. BOROUGH OF ELDRED ORIGIN OF NAME-EARLY HISTORY-GROWTH OF THE TOWN-INCORPORATION-FIRST COUNCIL-OFFICERS CHOSEN IN 1890-HURRICANES, FIRES, ETC.-FIRE COMPANY-SCHOOLS AND CHURCHES SOCIETIES -BANKS-WATER-WORKS-GAS COMPANY-INDUSTRIES-- MISCELLANEOUS.

LDRED TOWNSHIP is divided into two ridges by the valley of the Allegheny. The river enters the township near the southeast corner, flows in a tortuous course, generally north, to the bend at the confluence of Indian creek, where it runs east, and thence north, entering New York State near the northeast corner of the township, and seven and one-third miles from the northeast corner of the county, at State Line village. Newell creek enters from the northeast in the southeast corner; Potatoe creek joins the river a mile below Frisbee; Barden creek enters at Eldred, and Knapp's creek a mile below. Several small feeders run down from the high lands: Rice's creek (along which runs the pipe line) courses southeast through the southwest corner, and Indian creek holds a similar position in the northwest corner. The rich valley lands comprise the greater part of the area; but the summits are bold, many attaining a height of about 2,200 feet above tide level. At State Line the elevation is only 1,440. The outcrop of Kinzua creek sandstone extends for 800 feet to the Chemung conformation, and up to 1879 the oil field was mainly confined to the Indian creek region. The old Littlefield well, drilled in 1878, was the only producer at Eldred for some time prior to 1879, when the Cummings & Dean well was drilled, only to be found dry. In August the old Erie Company's well was shot, and became (it is alleged) a ten-barrel producer. The well on the Benham farm, at the head of Windfall, was abandoned, but became a gasser. The Gas Company's new well is bored on this farm.

In August, 1878, the well on the Welch farm, the Hostetter on the Wolcott farm, the Knott Bros.' well on Mix creek, and the Lee & Halleck well, as well as Parsons & Co.'s, were in existence. Palmer well No. 1, on Carpenter brook, was drilled in the spring of 1880, but proved dry. In March, 1881, the Morse well, on Windfall, gave a new industry to Eldred. The Sartwell well, five miles south of Eldred, was shot in February, 1882, and threw out the oil and salt water in the hole. The Eldred wells in existence in March, 1884, were the Simcox on the Littlefield farm, completed in May, 1877, but, owing to heavier wells being found at Duke Centre and Indian Creek, it was abandoned until the winter of 1883-84, and it is now a producer. The Cummings & Dean well, on the G. T. Dennis farm, was finished August 2, 1879; Barber's well, in January, 1881; Morse & William's, in March, 1881; White & Lloyd's, in April, 1883; Morse & Allen's, on the Winchell farm, in December, 1883; Allen, Morse & Jones', on the Hartson farm, in February, 1884; Morse & Co.'s, on the Jerome Curtiss farm, in February, 1884; Douglass & Co.'s, on the Rixford, March 1, 1884; Riley Allen's, on Will Curtiss', March 3, 1884; Bradley

& Curtiss', on the Dean farm, March 5, 1884, while Douglass & Co. were engaged in drilling. The Bennett well was shot in March, 1886, also the Chrisman, Brown & Baldwin wells, while the Keyes well, on the E. R. Lamphier farm, was drilled to the Kane sand, 1,605 feet, when it was shot and oil taken, and a new well begun at Turtle Point-Alford & Loops'-on the Rixford farm. In June, 1889, Tarbell, Rice & Shafer finished their well No. 1 on the Perham mill lot, eastward of the older wells. They have their rig for No. 1 on the Bennett farm, near Mitchell Bros.' No. 1, and one for their well on the Rice purchase. Throughout the summer of 1889 Steele & Duncan, the Mitchell Bros. and others were engaged in drilling. Tarbell, Shafer & Rice's well was shot at the close of July, 1889, and yielded twelve barrels. This was the first well drilled east of the river at Eldred. It shows a difference in the oil-bearing rock. In November the same firm shot No. 2, east of the river, obtaining

thirty barrels.

The population of Eldred township in 1880 was 3,243, including 1,165 in Eldred village, 228 in Indian Creek village, 200 in Larrabee village, 200 in State Line and 220 in Haymaker. In 1888 the township recorded 176 Republican, 111 Democratic, 20 Prohibition and 15 Labor Unionist votes, or a total of 322; the respective vote of the borough was 112, 85, 22 and 5, or a total of 224. The total vote of the township multiplied by five equals 1,610 as the population, and that of the borough multiplied by six gives 1,344, or a total of 2,954.

The officers of the township chosen in February, 1890, are as follows: Supervisors, John Ellis, O. Bell; school directors, Joseph Stull had 213 votes, and R. A. Rice and Mike McAuliff each had 212 votes; collector, Pat McDonald; constable, C. J. Carey; auditor, D. Burnham; judge of election, C. M. Slack; inspectors, G. Kelley, Mike McAuliff; town clerk, J. C. Campbell.

The first settlements were made in 1808 by the Loops and Hookers, in 1810 by Joseph and Jacob Stull, in 1812 by Rensselaer Wright and a man named Hitt, on the farm which Stephen H. Smith occupies, opposite the Coleman & Wright mill. Wright filled the office of sheriff one term, and that of justice for many years. In 1818 Justice Rice and three brothers arrived and settled near what was known as the Benton mill. Jacob Knapp also came that year and located at the mouth of Knapp's creek. Ebenezer Larrabee, father of Ransom, came in 1818; the Dennis family arrived in 1822, and shortly after, Timothy Carpenter. In 1835 came William Lamphier, and in 1838 Dr. E. Barden. For some years after settlement bear-hunting was a common sport for the pioneers, and stories are related of Nathan Dennis and his brother-in-law, Larrabee, of adventures in the dense alder-brush below and west of the present village. In 1838 the country was so wild a party of raftsmen were lost in the woods near Knapp's creek.

The resident tax-payers in 1843-44 were Ebenezer* and A. A. Barden*, James Baker, Val. Bowen*, Nelson, Josiah and I. C. Burnham*, Selden Blackman, S. D. Brown, A. D. Brainard*, Orrin Cook*, James and Cynthia* Campbell, David Cooper, John Chase*, Cornelius Culp*, Oscar Carpenter*, Timothy Carpenter*, T. T. Carpenter*, Nathan Dennis*, Asa* and Caleb Canfield, Dave Cornelius*, James Drake, John Fobes* (saw-mill, owner and proprietor of a silver watch), Perry and George Frost, Mary Fowler*, Eldredge Goodman†, John D. Green*, Jesse L. Garey*, Phil. Hooker*, Horace Hooker* (saw-mill owner), Martin G. Samuel*, Abijah†, Jacob* and William Knapp, John and Norry Loop, Ben. Lumpkin, William*, William, Jr.*, and Benjamin Lamphier, Ransom, Ebenezer* and Eben, Jr.*, Larrabee, John Morris*, C. *Deceased. † Moved.

[graphic][merged small][merged small]
[ocr errors][merged small][merged small][ocr errors]
« ZurückWeiter »