Editors Note
The following History of Herrick Township was written by Mrs. Eugene Camp Putnam and presented on Saturday, August 26, 1905, as part of the Herrick Day celebration at the Bradford County Historical Society. The events of this meeting were published in the Bradford Star over a period of four consecutive weeks starting August 31, 1905.
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Series
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All Bradford Star publications have been transferred to microfiche. Due to the print size and age of the newspapers, it is sometimes difficult to read material copied via microfiche equipment. Therefore, articles related to the Herrick Day Celebration have been retyped by former Herrickville resident, Janet McGovern of Towanda, who submitted them to the Rocket-Courier for publication.
It should be noted that the retyped material appears exactly as shown in the original newspaper articles. Punctuation, spelling, sentence/paragraph structure, etc., are the same as in the original document. The Rocket-Courier will republish Mrs. Putnam's account over the next four weeks.
Herrick Day Celebrated
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A Meeting of Great Interest -
A Valuable Paper and Interesting Addresses -
"Home Coming Week" Established
Saturday proved an unusually pleasant and profitable afternoon at the rooms of the Bradford County Historical Society, a large audience being present to listen to and take part in the exercises, arranged as Herrick Day. Commendable interest was shown on the part of the citizens of Herrick in the work of the society, by a large number attending the meeting and making it the most successful of any of the township gatherings yet held.
The exercises were opened by a phonographic selection, given by Wm. Siegel, on one of Mr. Mouillesseaux's excellent machines, and were followed by several others during the afternoon. A number of gifts were reported by the secretary and two new members elected. It was suggested that the week of the fourth Saturday of September be fixed upon as "Home Coming Week" for all former residents of the county, who might wish to meet each other and visit their old homes, and that the Historical Society arrange a program for their welcome at its meeting on Sept. 23. The suggestion was adopted and the secretary authorized to arrange a program suitable for the occasion. The matter of having the museum opened on certain days of each week for the accommodation of visitors was discussed, and will be arranged for the balance of the fall.
After a finely executed violin solo by Master Kearney Putnam, Secretary Heverly called the roll of pioneer families of Herrick, descendents of the following responding: For Daniel Durand, 3; Charles Squires, 2; William Nesbit, 8; James Lee, 2; Richard Hillis, 2; William Taylor, 7; Silas Titus, 1; Charles Stewart, 5; George Elliott, 1; Hamilton Morrow, 2; James Gamble, 1; John Fleming, 3; John Foyle, 1; William McPherson, 3; James Newell, 3; David Nesbit, 2; Hiram W. Camp, 4; Dr. William Thompson, 3.
The feature of the afternoon was the splendid paper by Mrs. Eugene Camp Putnam, on Herrick. It took her an hour to deliver her address, which was a very ingenious presentation, showing vast research and thoroughness, and holding the rapt attention of the audience from start to finish. This valuable paper is appended. I. McPherson, Esq., spoke of the splendid work of the late George Landon, and its impress upon the town, of the Scotch-Irish who had settled in Herrick and a most interesting account of the origin of the Scotch-Irish people. Then short addresses were made by D. T. Fleming, John Taylor, David Nesbit, Mrs. D . T. Fleming, P. S. Squires and H. W. Durand, reciting the privations and hardships of the pioneers, and giving incidents of historical value connected with the history of the town. During the exercises a number of interesting relics were exhibited in connection with the different subjects presented.
For her great labor and splendid effort, Mrs. Putnam was tendered a unanimous vote of thanks by both the society and the citizens of Herrick.
A Valuable Paper and Interesting Addresses -
"Home Coming Week" Established
Saturday proved an unusually pleasant and profitable afternoon at the rooms of the Bradford County Historical Society, a large audience being present to listen to and take part in the exercises, arranged as Herrick Day. Commendable interest was shown on the part of the citizens of Herrick in the work of the society, by a large number attending the meeting and making it the most successful of any of the township gatherings yet held.
The exercises were opened by a phonographic selection, given by Wm. Siegel, on one of Mr. Mouillesseaux's excellent machines, and were followed by several others during the afternoon. A number of gifts were reported by the secretary and two new members elected. It was suggested that the week of the fourth Saturday of September be fixed upon as "Home Coming Week" for all former residents of the county, who might wish to meet each other and visit their old homes, and that the Historical Society arrange a program for their welcome at its meeting on Sept. 23. The suggestion was adopted and the secretary authorized to arrange a program suitable for the occasion. The matter of having the museum opened on certain days of each week for the accommodation of visitors was discussed, and will be arranged for the balance of the fall.
After a finely executed violin solo by Master Kearney Putnam, Secretary Heverly called the roll of pioneer families of Herrick, descendents of the following responding: For Daniel Durand, 3; Charles Squires, 2; William Nesbit, 8; James Lee, 2; Richard Hillis, 2; William Taylor, 7; Silas Titus, 1; Charles Stewart, 5; George Elliott, 1; Hamilton Morrow, 2; James Gamble, 1; John Fleming, 3; John Foyle, 1; William McPherson, 3; James Newell, 3; David Nesbit, 2; Hiram W. Camp, 4; Dr. William Thompson, 3.
The feature of the afternoon was the splendid paper by Mrs. Eugene Camp Putnam, on Herrick. It took her an hour to deliver her address, which was a very ingenious presentation, showing vast research and thoroughness, and holding the rapt attention of the audience from start to finish. This valuable paper is appended. I. McPherson, Esq., spoke of the splendid work of the late George Landon, and its impress upon the town, of the Scotch-Irish who had settled in Herrick and a most interesting account of the origin of the Scotch-Irish people. Then short addresses were made by D. T. Fleming, John Taylor, David Nesbit, Mrs. D . T. Fleming, P. S. Squires and H. W. Durand, reciting the privations and hardships of the pioneers, and giving incidents of historical value connected with the history of the town. During the exercises a number of interesting relics were exhibited in connection with the different subjects presented.
For her great labor and splendid effort, Mrs. Putnam was tendered a unanimous vote of thanks by both the society and the citizens of Herrick.
History Of Herrick
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By Mrs. Putnam
Herrick township was organized in February, 1838, from Orwell, Pike, Wyalusing and Wysox, and named in honor of Hon. Edward Herrick, then president judge of Bradford county. The surface is a high table land about 1,100 feet elevation; it is the source of the headwaters of the Wysox and Rummerfield creeks. It is well adapted for farming and dairying. At present it has seven schools, one store, one hotel, four churches - one Presbyterian, two Methodist and one Wesleyan. Valuation, $315,000; population, 810. The northern and eastern part of Herrick was originally called "Chaumont land." Count LeRay De Chamont was one of the "new nobility." His "chateau" or home in France was bought by his grandfather, who was in favor with Bonaparte. The town of LeRaysville, Pike township, was named for Count LeRay. These French people made gunpowder and other ammunitions for the American government, and afterwards sold the land in large and small tracts to the early settlers. The southern part of the township is known as Dupont land, and was owned by the Duponts of Wilmington, Del., French people employed in making gunpowder. Their descendants still live in Delaware, and their powder mills are large and prosperous.
The Indian history of Herrick is closely allied to that of Wyalusing; it really has none separate from adjoining townships, being too far from the river. There was a path from Susquehanna county to Athens that passed through the northern part of Herrick. The particular one of the Five Nations that claimed possession was the Iroquois, a warlike tribe; they held the territory about 100 years before Bradford county was formed. The Mohawks also used it as a hunting ground. The red shale found in a few places in Herrick belongs to the Catskill group. The ancient marks of the early glacial slides are distinctly traceable on some farms. The Chemung formation contains less sand than the Catskill rock.
There have been at least 14 saw mills at different times in Herrick. On this account and because it was also one of the last townships settled, there were fewer log cabins than in the other townships. Job Camp, a carpenter, built the first saw mill on the Wyalusing Creek, above Wyalusing. the lumber and split shingles being about the only product the early settlers could sell or exchange for the necessities of life. With his oldest son he worked for the French in Frenchtown to get means to build another mill; which was of a very primitive kind situated near the mouth of Camp's creek.
Probably the first work done in the limits of Herrick was to make the present Camp's pond from a swamp, for a reserve of water, when the creek failed in summer. The motive power of the first mills was either over-shot or flutter wheel; the saw was in a frame similar to an ordinary buck-saw, later called the "muley," without a frame and fastened only at the lower end; sawing lumber was slow. One man and a boy could attend the mill and saw about 1,500 feet in a day. The mills were often kept in operation through the night with a change of men.
Rafting and running the lumber down the river was laborious, but had variety and excitement as well as dangers. In walking back from Port Deposit they paid for the fun. The ox was a draught animal for all purposes, but was gradually superseded by the horse, which was very inferior to the horse of today. Wood shod sleds was the only vehicle in use for years.
September 24th, 1836, there fell a heavy snow; the little patches of buckwheat here and there had been cradled, but not gathered, the snow was more than knee deep on the level; it entirely disappeared in three days; that winter was the nearest approach to famine of which we have any record. There was also a "big snow," which fell Oct. 9. 1844, and covered a larger territory; in fact, is probably the one still spoken of in Susquehanna County as being the most remarkable on record for the early fall for breaking limbs of trees. The depth was between three and four feet, and was followed so closely by other snow storms that the ground was not bare until spring, when apples and such other fruit as the pioneers owned were found to be well preserved on the ground. On the 25th of May (1825 to '30) snow fell after the shearing of sheep. On the last day of February and the 1st and 2d day of March, 1841, six feet of snow fell. Superstitious people thought that the snow would turn to oil.
In November, 1833, occurred the meteoric shower, or "falling stars" yet remembered by a few of Herrick's aged people.
The "State Road" passed through the county from northeast to southwest. It was provided for by the legislature in 1807. Henry Donnell and George Haines were commissioners.
Free schools were provided by law of 1834. This law was slow to find its way to public favor. A county superintendent was not elected in Bradford county until 1854. From an old account book used for a tax list and by the secretary of the school board, we find that in 1841 men teachers were paid from $8 to $14 per month, women teachers from $1 to $1.75 per week.
The post office was called Wheatland and kept by Isaac Camp; it was changed to the name of Herrick, Dec. 28, 1837.
At one time the pioneers having suffered so much from the depredations of bears and wolves not only upon their stock, but their children being in danger, they decided to have a hunt, which is known as the "three days' hunt." They were under the leadership of Captain Wilcox; Calvin Stone and John Haywood were also of the party. The circle the first day was large enough to reach from Wyalusing, Standing Stone, Orwell, LeRaysville and towards Stevensville. At night they built fires between every group of men, and by the next night the circle was smaller as the men kept coming together. They only moved forward on the order of horns. At the end of the third day they had many animals in the circle, but there was so much danger of shooting each other that the wolves nearly all escaped. Tradition of the townships seems to be agreed that there 65 deer caught and several bears, but not as many wolves as they expected, in fact, the object of the hunt was to kill panthers and wolves instead of deer, The panthers all got away.
At another time in early history there came a snow that later formed a hard crust on top, so that men and dogs could run with ease, the deer having small feet broke through with nearly every step and were starving. There were many captured alive and put in a barn, probably for venison through the winter. Elijah Camp felt so sorry to have them killed, that one night he let the remainder out, much to the disgust of the other men. Only one deer died from injury through the chase over the "crust snow." They were caught by the horns and their feet tied together.
It is on record that once a bear came and looked in a school house door in Herrick. Also that we have the required number of children for a school, one boy about three years was pressed into service; his mother went to school with him In the morning a long distance in the woods, where occasionally wolves were heard, One day after returning from the trip she saw him coming back; on questioning him, he replied that "he forgot to take a posy to the teacher."
The first settlers in the township moved there previous to the year 1813. Among them were Zophar Platt and his son, Nathaniel, who came from Connecticut; they settled on what is now the farm of Mr. H. H. Smith. Nathaniel was accidentally killed at a general training at Orwell in 1831. Zophar Platt is probably the second oldest person. Another older settler was Fredus Reed, who came from Connecticut in 1811; he was a dish-turner by trade, and was induced to locate in Herrick, on account of the fine timber growing there for making wooden dishes, the ash and cucumber being in great demand; his father-in-law, Asa Matson, soon followed; one of his daughters, a Mrs. Phelps, was the first tailoress of the township.
The last wolf was shot by Charles Stewart (father of the present Charles Stewart); he received a bounty of $12.
Herrick township was organized in February, 1838, from Orwell, Pike, Wyalusing and Wysox, and named in honor of Hon. Edward Herrick, then president judge of Bradford county. The surface is a high table land about 1,100 feet elevation; it is the source of the headwaters of the Wysox and Rummerfield creeks. It is well adapted for farming and dairying. At present it has seven schools, one store, one hotel, four churches - one Presbyterian, two Methodist and one Wesleyan. Valuation, $315,000; population, 810. The northern and eastern part of Herrick was originally called "Chaumont land." Count LeRay De Chamont was one of the "new nobility." His "chateau" or home in France was bought by his grandfather, who was in favor with Bonaparte. The town of LeRaysville, Pike township, was named for Count LeRay. These French people made gunpowder and other ammunitions for the American government, and afterwards sold the land in large and small tracts to the early settlers. The southern part of the township is known as Dupont land, and was owned by the Duponts of Wilmington, Del., French people employed in making gunpowder. Their descendants still live in Delaware, and their powder mills are large and prosperous.
The Indian history of Herrick is closely allied to that of Wyalusing; it really has none separate from adjoining townships, being too far from the river. There was a path from Susquehanna county to Athens that passed through the northern part of Herrick. The particular one of the Five Nations that claimed possession was the Iroquois, a warlike tribe; they held the territory about 100 years before Bradford county was formed. The Mohawks also used it as a hunting ground. The red shale found in a few places in Herrick belongs to the Catskill group. The ancient marks of the early glacial slides are distinctly traceable on some farms. The Chemung formation contains less sand than the Catskill rock.
There have been at least 14 saw mills at different times in Herrick. On this account and because it was also one of the last townships settled, there were fewer log cabins than in the other townships. Job Camp, a carpenter, built the first saw mill on the Wyalusing Creek, above Wyalusing. the lumber and split shingles being about the only product the early settlers could sell or exchange for the necessities of life. With his oldest son he worked for the French in Frenchtown to get means to build another mill; which was of a very primitive kind situated near the mouth of Camp's creek.
Probably the first work done in the limits of Herrick was to make the present Camp's pond from a swamp, for a reserve of water, when the creek failed in summer. The motive power of the first mills was either over-shot or flutter wheel; the saw was in a frame similar to an ordinary buck-saw, later called the "muley," without a frame and fastened only at the lower end; sawing lumber was slow. One man and a boy could attend the mill and saw about 1,500 feet in a day. The mills were often kept in operation through the night with a change of men.
Rafting and running the lumber down the river was laborious, but had variety and excitement as well as dangers. In walking back from Port Deposit they paid for the fun. The ox was a draught animal for all purposes, but was gradually superseded by the horse, which was very inferior to the horse of today. Wood shod sleds was the only vehicle in use for years.
September 24th, 1836, there fell a heavy snow; the little patches of buckwheat here and there had been cradled, but not gathered, the snow was more than knee deep on the level; it entirely disappeared in three days; that winter was the nearest approach to famine of which we have any record. There was also a "big snow," which fell Oct. 9. 1844, and covered a larger territory; in fact, is probably the one still spoken of in Susquehanna County as being the most remarkable on record for the early fall for breaking limbs of trees. The depth was between three and four feet, and was followed so closely by other snow storms that the ground was not bare until spring, when apples and such other fruit as the pioneers owned were found to be well preserved on the ground. On the 25th of May (1825 to '30) snow fell after the shearing of sheep. On the last day of February and the 1st and 2d day of March, 1841, six feet of snow fell. Superstitious people thought that the snow would turn to oil.
In November, 1833, occurred the meteoric shower, or "falling stars" yet remembered by a few of Herrick's aged people.
The "State Road" passed through the county from northeast to southwest. It was provided for by the legislature in 1807. Henry Donnell and George Haines were commissioners.
Free schools were provided by law of 1834. This law was slow to find its way to public favor. A county superintendent was not elected in Bradford county until 1854. From an old account book used for a tax list and by the secretary of the school board, we find that in 1841 men teachers were paid from $8 to $14 per month, women teachers from $1 to $1.75 per week.
The post office was called Wheatland and kept by Isaac Camp; it was changed to the name of Herrick, Dec. 28, 1837.
At one time the pioneers having suffered so much from the depredations of bears and wolves not only upon their stock, but their children being in danger, they decided to have a hunt, which is known as the "three days' hunt." They were under the leadership of Captain Wilcox; Calvin Stone and John Haywood were also of the party. The circle the first day was large enough to reach from Wyalusing, Standing Stone, Orwell, LeRaysville and towards Stevensville. At night they built fires between every group of men, and by the next night the circle was smaller as the men kept coming together. They only moved forward on the order of horns. At the end of the third day they had many animals in the circle, but there was so much danger of shooting each other that the wolves nearly all escaped. Tradition of the townships seems to be agreed that there 65 deer caught and several bears, but not as many wolves as they expected, in fact, the object of the hunt was to kill panthers and wolves instead of deer, The panthers all got away.
At another time in early history there came a snow that later formed a hard crust on top, so that men and dogs could run with ease, the deer having small feet broke through with nearly every step and were starving. There were many captured alive and put in a barn, probably for venison through the winter. Elijah Camp felt so sorry to have them killed, that one night he let the remainder out, much to the disgust of the other men. Only one deer died from injury through the chase over the "crust snow." They were caught by the horns and their feet tied together.
It is on record that once a bear came and looked in a school house door in Herrick. Also that we have the required number of children for a school, one boy about three years was pressed into service; his mother went to school with him In the morning a long distance in the woods, where occasionally wolves were heard, One day after returning from the trip she saw him coming back; on questioning him, he replied that "he forgot to take a posy to the teacher."
The first settlers in the township moved there previous to the year 1813. Among them were Zophar Platt and his son, Nathaniel, who came from Connecticut; they settled on what is now the farm of Mr. H. H. Smith. Nathaniel was accidentally killed at a general training at Orwell in 1831. Zophar Platt is probably the second oldest person. Another older settler was Fredus Reed, who came from Connecticut in 1811; he was a dish-turner by trade, and was induced to locate in Herrick, on account of the fine timber growing there for making wooden dishes, the ash and cucumber being in great demand; his father-in-law, Asa Matson, soon followed; one of his daughters, a Mrs. Phelps, was the first tailoress of the township.
The last wolf was shot by Charles Stewart (father of the present Charles Stewart); he received a bounty of $12.
Originally Published in the Bradford Star
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Thursday, September 7, 1905
By Mrs. Eugene Camp Putnam
Part III
Reuben Atwood was born in 1782 and died in 1878; he came from Connecticut in 1832 traveling all the way in an ox cart and located on the farm now owned by P. J. McCauley. George C. Atwood, youngest of five children, was married in 1852 to Henrietta, daughter of Aaron and Armanda Watson Taylor from Connecticut.
Isaiah McPherson, Esq., of Towanda, was born in Herrick, his parents, William and Mary Kennedy McPherson, came from Ireland about 1840. He was a student of Susquehanna Collegiate Institute and Lafayette College, later studying law with Hon. I. D. Morrow, and was admitted to the bar in 1872. He was married in 1879 to Bernice, daughter of Hiram and Emily Sweet McGill.
Newton J. Morrow was born in Herrick in 1848, his father Hamil-ton Morrow was born in County Monaghan, Ireland, in 1812 and came to this country when fourteen years old. In 1839 he married Jane, daughter of Thomas and Catherine Walsh Walker. He was a successful farmer and lumberman. Newton married in 1872 Adeline, daughter of John and Mary Fee Nesbit.
Hon. George Moscrip was born in Scotland in 1840. His father, Andrew Moscrip, came to America when a young man, then returned to Scotland. His mother, Fanny White Moscrip, was a direct descendent of Peregrine White (of the Pilgrim stock) who was the first male child born in the Plymouth colony. The paternal grandfather was a graduate of the University of Edinburgh, was a pastor of a Scotch Presbyterian church in Scotland forty years. He was an educated man but chose a trade in preference to a profession; returning to America he settled in Herrick in 1840 and died at the age of 63 years. The son George was elected to the State Legislature in 1874. He married Harriet Pease in 1870; after her death he married in 1878 Sarah Loomis of Windham. In the Civil War Mr. Moscrip served in the commissary department of the Second Army Corps.
John D. Squires was the first white child born in Herrick town-ship south of the State Road, in 1821, son of Charles and Mary Webb Squires, natives of Connecticut; the father, a blacksmith, born in 1787, came to Asylum in 1815; in 1820 removed to Herrick when the county was almost an unbroken wilderness; he crossed the river on the ice, and cut a road through the woods nearly two miles; his first log-house was 20x30 feet and contained two rooms, with a window in each room, a fire place at each end and a Dutch oven built in the house. The first winter the chimneys were built only to the joist and an aperture left in the roof for the escape of the smoke; the house was made almost without nails, the rafters were of ash poles split and fastened with iron nails made at his forge, the roof was of split white pine boards, fastened with poles. The first night after moving into this house the whole roof was broken in by snow. This was a primitive log cabin; the bedstead was of white pine split from the log and nailed together with nails of his own making.
Pembroke S. Squires, another son of Charles Squires, was born in 1829 on his present farm in Herrick; he has been a successful and enterprising farmer, also County Commissioner. His first wife, Harriet Lafferty, died in 1886; later he married Margaret, daughter of John and Mary Fee Nesbit. The grandfather, Amber Squires, was in the Revolutionary War. His widow drew a pension dating from about 1840 until her death.
William Angle, born in Stroudsburg, 1805, his wife, Margaret Little, born in 1809 in Pike county, Pa.; they were married in Wyalusing, and moved to Herrick later. One son, John C. Angle, born in 1830, married a sister of John and Pembroke Squires. She has in her possession two silver teaspoons made from silver dollars about the time of the Revolutionary War and given to her by her grandfather from Connecticut. They are marked plainly C. W., for Constant Webb.
Dr. A. R. Stephens was born in Pike township in 1835; his people came from Connecticut and later settled in Herrick. He studied medicine in Binghamton and Albany. During the Civil War he was appointed medical cadet, U. S. A. and also assistant surgeon in 1864. He received a gun shot wound while in service and was in the hospital at Louisville, Ky., and then transferred to Albany. He settled in Herrick in 1866, where he began to practice his profession.
Samuel Stethers was born in Herrick in 1848, his father, Francis Stethers, was born in County Monaghan, Ireland, in 1812. In his 18th year he went to Liverpool, sailing on the "Henry Bell," the first steamship built to run between Ireland and Liverpool. He married Anna, daughter of James and Nancy McCray Hillis in 1857 and came to this country, settling in Herrick. His sister Sarah and her husband, John Hurst, came to this country soon afterward. Mr. Stethers built his first log house and barn in 1839. He was a farmer and also cattle buyer.
Henry L. Phelps was born in Connecticut in 1819. His father died there in 1822. His grandfather, Asa Matson, took him after his father's death and came to Wyalusing in 1823, two years after, he settled in Herrick. The grandfather purchased the title from Col. Kingsbury; and died in 1833.
Micajah Slocum and his wife, Mary Fairchild, were both of New England lineage. He was a shoemaker and farmer, John Jay Slocum was born in Herrick in 1848. He lives on the homestead which was formerly known as the "Perley Buck farm." Another son, Oscar, is baggage master for the Lehigh Valley Railroad at Wilkes-Barre.
Dr. Thompson, with his wife and four children came from London, England, in 1847; they were more than a month at sea on the packet ship "Prince Albert." Dr. Thompson purchased a tract of land near Barclay; they went by steamboat from New York to Troy, then by canal boat and by hiring horses journeyed through Horseheads, N. Y. to LeRoy, where the family remained until a log house could be erected on their place. The logs were chinked but not filled with clay and mud as the ground was frozen; the mother cut up valuable blankets which they had brought from London to keep the house warm enough for the small children. Bear, deer, as well as small game were plentiful at the door, throughout the first year. Dr. Thompson, with the oldest son, now W. H. Thompson, Esq., went down the Schrader Branch to Towanda in the spring, fishing for trout and hunting on the way. At Towanda he met Dr. Houston and Dr. Porter; after talking with them he decided to practice medicine and rented a house in Standing Stone of Hon. H. C. Tracy. He went back to Barclay after his family. Dr. Thompson had studied medicine in London and was very successful in the treatment of fevers. Later he moved to Herrick, at one time living near Camp's Pond, before he bought the old James Beaumont place, where they lived until they moved to Towanda about 1896, where Mrs. Thompson died in 1902. There were in all eleven children. Mrs. Thompson was educated in the fashionable society of her time in England. She could play the piano and harp, was recognized in London art galleries for her paintings in water color and embroidery. She knew Spanish, French, Italian and German. She had never made a loaf of bread or taken care of her children, being accustomed to servants until they sailed to America.
Col. Joseph Kingsbury, a surveyor, was born in Connecticut in 1774; he came to this county when nineteen years old, his baggage in a handkerchief. He surveyed and plotted, nearly all the land of this and adjoining counties. He married a daughter of Gen. Spalding.
Thomas and Mary Conn Mitten came from County Monaghan, Ireland, in 1839, locating in Herrick. Their son James married a sister of the late J. S. Crawford; they were attendants of the Presby-terian church and reared a large family; the youngest daughter, Adelia, was married to W. H. Homet, descendant of the French refugee Homets. Another son of Thomas was William, born in 1819, remained on the farm until 1844, when he enlisted in the U. S. lnfantry (8th Reg.) stationed at St. Augustine, Fla. He was transferred to Tampa Bay, then Corpus Christi, Texas. In 1846 the army started on the march along Rio Grande. He was in the battle of Palo Alto and was with Gen. Winfield Scott in the campaign against the City of Mexico and Vera Cruz, also battle of Cerro Gordo, where Santa Anna's wooden leg was captured. Gen. Longstreet was wounded at the storming of Chapultapec and was carried to the rear on the back of William Mitten. One daughter married J. W. Hurst, farmer, of Herrick, afterwards Register and Recorder of Bradford county. W. Mitten was the first organizer of training in Herrick.
Wm. Taylor was in the employ of the French people named DuPont, that came to Wilmington, Delaware, and built a large gun powder factory and mills. They have sold ammunition to the United States Government for nearly a century. Mr. Taylor traveled with a three horse team through Virginia, Maryland and Delaware, carrying the powder from the factory to various places of deposit or to fill contracts. Through business relations with Pennsylvania the DuPonts obtained possession of large tracts of land, some being situated in the southern part of Herrick. After serving the company faithfully for many years Mr. Taylor desired to have a farm and home of his own, and bought a farm in Herrick of DuPont land. He and his wife were obliged to ford the Susquehanna river three times. They often had to stop on their journey and cut down trees to make a path for their load of goods. They built their log house after arriving in Herrick with the help of neighbors. They came in 1839. There seemed to be a wolf's den on or near their farm, for they were greatly harassed by them; the wolves at times being bold enough to come to the door for scraps to eat that had been thrown out for the dog.
By Mrs. Eugene Camp Putnam
Part III
Reuben Atwood was born in 1782 and died in 1878; he came from Connecticut in 1832 traveling all the way in an ox cart and located on the farm now owned by P. J. McCauley. George C. Atwood, youngest of five children, was married in 1852 to Henrietta, daughter of Aaron and Armanda Watson Taylor from Connecticut.
Isaiah McPherson, Esq., of Towanda, was born in Herrick, his parents, William and Mary Kennedy McPherson, came from Ireland about 1840. He was a student of Susquehanna Collegiate Institute and Lafayette College, later studying law with Hon. I. D. Morrow, and was admitted to the bar in 1872. He was married in 1879 to Bernice, daughter of Hiram and Emily Sweet McGill.
Newton J. Morrow was born in Herrick in 1848, his father Hamil-ton Morrow was born in County Monaghan, Ireland, in 1812 and came to this country when fourteen years old. In 1839 he married Jane, daughter of Thomas and Catherine Walsh Walker. He was a successful farmer and lumberman. Newton married in 1872 Adeline, daughter of John and Mary Fee Nesbit.
Hon. George Moscrip was born in Scotland in 1840. His father, Andrew Moscrip, came to America when a young man, then returned to Scotland. His mother, Fanny White Moscrip, was a direct descendent of Peregrine White (of the Pilgrim stock) who was the first male child born in the Plymouth colony. The paternal grandfather was a graduate of the University of Edinburgh, was a pastor of a Scotch Presbyterian church in Scotland forty years. He was an educated man but chose a trade in preference to a profession; returning to America he settled in Herrick in 1840 and died at the age of 63 years. The son George was elected to the State Legislature in 1874. He married Harriet Pease in 1870; after her death he married in 1878 Sarah Loomis of Windham. In the Civil War Mr. Moscrip served in the commissary department of the Second Army Corps.
John D. Squires was the first white child born in Herrick town-ship south of the State Road, in 1821, son of Charles and Mary Webb Squires, natives of Connecticut; the father, a blacksmith, born in 1787, came to Asylum in 1815; in 1820 removed to Herrick when the county was almost an unbroken wilderness; he crossed the river on the ice, and cut a road through the woods nearly two miles; his first log-house was 20x30 feet and contained two rooms, with a window in each room, a fire place at each end and a Dutch oven built in the house. The first winter the chimneys were built only to the joist and an aperture left in the roof for the escape of the smoke; the house was made almost without nails, the rafters were of ash poles split and fastened with iron nails made at his forge, the roof was of split white pine boards, fastened with poles. The first night after moving into this house the whole roof was broken in by snow. This was a primitive log cabin; the bedstead was of white pine split from the log and nailed together with nails of his own making.
Pembroke S. Squires, another son of Charles Squires, was born in 1829 on his present farm in Herrick; he has been a successful and enterprising farmer, also County Commissioner. His first wife, Harriet Lafferty, died in 1886; later he married Margaret, daughter of John and Mary Fee Nesbit. The grandfather, Amber Squires, was in the Revolutionary War. His widow drew a pension dating from about 1840 until her death.
William Angle, born in Stroudsburg, 1805, his wife, Margaret Little, born in 1809 in Pike county, Pa.; they were married in Wyalusing, and moved to Herrick later. One son, John C. Angle, born in 1830, married a sister of John and Pembroke Squires. She has in her possession two silver teaspoons made from silver dollars about the time of the Revolutionary War and given to her by her grandfather from Connecticut. They are marked plainly C. W., for Constant Webb.
Dr. A. R. Stephens was born in Pike township in 1835; his people came from Connecticut and later settled in Herrick. He studied medicine in Binghamton and Albany. During the Civil War he was appointed medical cadet, U. S. A. and also assistant surgeon in 1864. He received a gun shot wound while in service and was in the hospital at Louisville, Ky., and then transferred to Albany. He settled in Herrick in 1866, where he began to practice his profession.
Samuel Stethers was born in Herrick in 1848, his father, Francis Stethers, was born in County Monaghan, Ireland, in 1812. In his 18th year he went to Liverpool, sailing on the "Henry Bell," the first steamship built to run between Ireland and Liverpool. He married Anna, daughter of James and Nancy McCray Hillis in 1857 and came to this country, settling in Herrick. His sister Sarah and her husband, John Hurst, came to this country soon afterward. Mr. Stethers built his first log house and barn in 1839. He was a farmer and also cattle buyer.
Henry L. Phelps was born in Connecticut in 1819. His father died there in 1822. His grandfather, Asa Matson, took him after his father's death and came to Wyalusing in 1823, two years after, he settled in Herrick. The grandfather purchased the title from Col. Kingsbury; and died in 1833.
Micajah Slocum and his wife, Mary Fairchild, were both of New England lineage. He was a shoemaker and farmer, John Jay Slocum was born in Herrick in 1848. He lives on the homestead which was formerly known as the "Perley Buck farm." Another son, Oscar, is baggage master for the Lehigh Valley Railroad at Wilkes-Barre.
Dr. Thompson, with his wife and four children came from London, England, in 1847; they were more than a month at sea on the packet ship "Prince Albert." Dr. Thompson purchased a tract of land near Barclay; they went by steamboat from New York to Troy, then by canal boat and by hiring horses journeyed through Horseheads, N. Y. to LeRoy, where the family remained until a log house could be erected on their place. The logs were chinked but not filled with clay and mud as the ground was frozen; the mother cut up valuable blankets which they had brought from London to keep the house warm enough for the small children. Bear, deer, as well as small game were plentiful at the door, throughout the first year. Dr. Thompson, with the oldest son, now W. H. Thompson, Esq., went down the Schrader Branch to Towanda in the spring, fishing for trout and hunting on the way. At Towanda he met Dr. Houston and Dr. Porter; after talking with them he decided to practice medicine and rented a house in Standing Stone of Hon. H. C. Tracy. He went back to Barclay after his family. Dr. Thompson had studied medicine in London and was very successful in the treatment of fevers. Later he moved to Herrick, at one time living near Camp's Pond, before he bought the old James Beaumont place, where they lived until they moved to Towanda about 1896, where Mrs. Thompson died in 1902. There were in all eleven children. Mrs. Thompson was educated in the fashionable society of her time in England. She could play the piano and harp, was recognized in London art galleries for her paintings in water color and embroidery. She knew Spanish, French, Italian and German. She had never made a loaf of bread or taken care of her children, being accustomed to servants until they sailed to America.
Col. Joseph Kingsbury, a surveyor, was born in Connecticut in 1774; he came to this county when nineteen years old, his baggage in a handkerchief. He surveyed and plotted, nearly all the land of this and adjoining counties. He married a daughter of Gen. Spalding.
Thomas and Mary Conn Mitten came from County Monaghan, Ireland, in 1839, locating in Herrick. Their son James married a sister of the late J. S. Crawford; they were attendants of the Presby-terian church and reared a large family; the youngest daughter, Adelia, was married to W. H. Homet, descendant of the French refugee Homets. Another son of Thomas was William, born in 1819, remained on the farm until 1844, when he enlisted in the U. S. lnfantry (8th Reg.) stationed at St. Augustine, Fla. He was transferred to Tampa Bay, then Corpus Christi, Texas. In 1846 the army started on the march along Rio Grande. He was in the battle of Palo Alto and was with Gen. Winfield Scott in the campaign against the City of Mexico and Vera Cruz, also battle of Cerro Gordo, where Santa Anna's wooden leg was captured. Gen. Longstreet was wounded at the storming of Chapultapec and was carried to the rear on the back of William Mitten. One daughter married J. W. Hurst, farmer, of Herrick, afterwards Register and Recorder of Bradford county. W. Mitten was the first organizer of training in Herrick.
Wm. Taylor was in the employ of the French people named DuPont, that came to Wilmington, Delaware, and built a large gun powder factory and mills. They have sold ammunition to the United States Government for nearly a century. Mr. Taylor traveled with a three horse team through Virginia, Maryland and Delaware, carrying the powder from the factory to various places of deposit or to fill contracts. Through business relations with Pennsylvania the DuPonts obtained possession of large tracts of land, some being situated in the southern part of Herrick. After serving the company faithfully for many years Mr. Taylor desired to have a farm and home of his own, and bought a farm in Herrick of DuPont land. He and his wife were obliged to ford the Susquehanna river three times. They often had to stop on their journey and cut down trees to make a path for their load of goods. They built their log house after arriving in Herrick with the help of neighbors. They came in 1839. There seemed to be a wolf's den on or near their farm, for they were greatly harassed by them; the wolves at times being bold enough to come to the door for scraps to eat that had been thrown out for the dog.
Originally Published in the Bradford Star
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Thursday, September 21, 1905
By Mrs. Eugene Camp Putnam.
Part IV
John Erskine was born in Ireland in 1827. His father emigrated to New York in 1829, the mother and children coming the following year. They were thirteen weeks on the ocean. In 1830 the family with Mrs. Erskine's brother, Nathaniel Nesbit, settled in the forest on the place owned by John Erskine, in Herrick, at his death in 1902. The parents attended the Presbyterian church in Merryall, walking and taking all the children. In 1869 Mr. Erskine married a grand daughter of justice Lewis, whose sister married Lebbeus Hammond, who with Joseph Elliot, were the only men of 16 prisoners to escape Queen Esther in the Wyoming Valley, Mr. Erskine was installed elder of Herrick church by Rev. Darwin Cook in 1 857.
Mrs. Patrick McGovern was born in New York city, and when a child played in the street that is now called 5th Avenue. The houses were separated by farms; during childhood they lived a short time in Georgia, where her father was a veterinary surgeon. They returned to New York where the daughter was educated in a convent. When about seventeen her father, James Clare, and John Donnelly's family came in an emigrant wagon to Herrick, where the latter married Mr. McGovern. They reared a large family of good citizens.
Martin Blocher was born in Germany in 1801. He came to Connecticut where he lived four years with Joel Camp, a relative of the Camps, who settled in Camptown. He came to Herrick in 1841 and lived on what is now part of the Landon and part of the Mitten farm. He sold his land to them in 1854 and bought land near Camp's Pond, where his sons, H. M. and George Blocher now live. H. M. Blocher has been superintendent of the Herrick Sunday school for twenty years. He has interested himself with the careers of young people leaving Herrick; his work is appreciated by the people.
John Nesbit came of a good Scotch-Irish Presbyterian family for generations. He was born in Ireland in 1821. The family emigrated to this country when he was six years old, later in 1830 moved to Ballibay, where he lived until his death. Mr. Nesbit was chosen ruling elder and deacon in 1857 and was a faithful officer at the time of his death He was a kind neighbor and kept "open house" for all good people. He gave his children a good education and taught them to be useful citizens. He married Miss Mary Fee in 1850. Her paternal grandmother was a Jackson and an aunt of Gen. Andrew Jackson, seventh President of the United States.
James Dewan with his brother, boys of about ten and twelve years, came alone from Ireland. They were seven weeks crossing the Atlantic; they arrived in Herrick soon after. Through William Brake, agent and son-in-law of the DuPonts, he bought a farm where he now lives .Former owners were Mr. Lacey and Mr. McKenna. Mr. Dewan married a daughter of Mr. McGovern. They are second to none in Herrick in the matter of educating their children.
The parents of James and Dr. J. K. Newell came from Ireland and settled at first in Canada, later moving to New York, where the oldest child, James was born. In 1859 James went to Pike's Peak with the "gold seekers," after which he worked about the furnaces of iron mines near Lake Superior. He then went to New York city and paid $250 in gold for second cabin passage to San Francisco via Isthmus of Panama, where they crossed the land. He has probably seen more "adventures" than any other man from Herrick, aside from army life. He settled in Herrick in 1866, where he now lives.
Adam Overpeck was born in Pike county in 1784. Sometime after his marriage in 1808 he moved to Laporte's at Frenchtown; afterwards he lived several years on one of the Hollenback farms near Wyalusing. His oldest child, Samuel, born January 25, 1810, is still living in Herrick and is the oldest person in the township. In his youth he has killed wild cats and deer in Herrick and Ballibay. He says that the farmer cleared one fallow each year; they used to help each other making "logging bees;" it was not uncommon to have five a week in a neighborhood in the season. The men and ox teams would be divided into two groups or squads and there would be a strife to see which would get their logs finished first. Many teams of oxen learned the routine so well that the men had to "step lively" while putting the chain in place to draw a log.
William Gamble, grandfather of Mr. Leander Overpeck, rode a horse from Herrick to Illinois after he was sixty years old and later rode the same horse to the gold mines in the excitement of '49. He married a daughter of Joseph Elliot.
There are few men in Bradford county with more interesting or instructive careers than the late Hon. George Landon. At an early age he began to bear his own responsibilities; he educated himself by working on farms and teaching school. He graduated in college as valedictorian of his class. He was a noted lecturer and orator at an early age in Boston, but the strain of this work ruined his voice. He came to Herrick with his first wife on a visit to her sister, Mrs. H. W. Camp; he liked the country and bought a farm, which was his home until his death. He became presiding elder In the Methodist church and was twice State Senator, where he was a party leader. It was also during this term of office that David Wilmot was elected United States Senator to succeed Simon Cameron. Lincoln's Secretary of War Wilmot had been defeated at the former election, and his election at this time is generally admitted to have been due to the labors of Mr. Landon. "A lion has a lion's enemies." Besides his career in the pulpit and in public service, his generosity towards helping young men to secure educational advantages are well known. He was of the first to demand better schools and pay good salaries for teachers of merit. Men who opposed Mr. Landon bitterly in politics have gone to his house and although still differing on political questions have left wondering at the marvelous warmth of welcome and personal magnatism, which won for him his admirers. He was born in Wyoming county In 1816 and died in 1904. When he entered college he had just $10. He graduated from Wesleyan College in Connecticut, with a class of forty-three, winning the valedictory by reciting "The Landing of the Pilgrims," by Mrs. Sigourney. At his death there were only two of his class living. After the destruction by fire of the first building of Wyoming Seminary in 1853, he took the financial agency of the school and readily raised twenty-five thousand dollars, a large sum for that time. Mr. Landon said in after years that was his first business success.
Captain Joseph H. Hurst was born in England In 1836 and came to Herrick about 1848. His early struggles to obtain an education were of the most trying character, but by perseverance he fitted him-self for teaching. He enlisted in Company A, 141st Penna. Vols. He was twice wounded, but served until the close of the war, when he was mustered out a Captain of Volunteers. He was commissioned Second Lieutenant in the Regular Army in 1867 and was retired as Captain in 1893, after twenty-nine years of continuous service, twenty of which was spent on the frontier of New Mexico, Arizona, California, Montana, Oregon and Dakota. When Chief Joseph and his six hundred red demons were murdering the defenseless settlers, Captain Hurst and his command made a forced march of over twelve hundred miles in pursuit of them. Many and thrilling had been his hair- breadth escapes. It was fitting that after his long years of faithful service, he was permitted to return to the scenes of his childhood where he died at his brother's home in 1896.
David Armstrong was born in 1812 in New York and came to Herrick in 1834 with his possessions tied in a cotton handkerchief. He is still living, being next in age to Samuel Overpeck. He chopped trees two days for Mr. Depue for a small Bible; these he cut where the Herrick church now stands. He married Sylvia Lyon, who was born in 1819, and grew up among Quakers in Putman county, New York. She experienced religion at the age of 15 years while living at Skinner's Eddy. Her loyalty to church laws was excellent. Mr. Armstrong paid $3.50 per acre for the greater part of his farm; it was originally DuPont land which they sold for $2.50 per acre.
By Mrs. Eugene Camp Putnam.
Part IV
John Erskine was born in Ireland in 1827. His father emigrated to New York in 1829, the mother and children coming the following year. They were thirteen weeks on the ocean. In 1830 the family with Mrs. Erskine's brother, Nathaniel Nesbit, settled in the forest on the place owned by John Erskine, in Herrick, at his death in 1902. The parents attended the Presbyterian church in Merryall, walking and taking all the children. In 1869 Mr. Erskine married a grand daughter of justice Lewis, whose sister married Lebbeus Hammond, who with Joseph Elliot, were the only men of 16 prisoners to escape Queen Esther in the Wyoming Valley, Mr. Erskine was installed elder of Herrick church by Rev. Darwin Cook in 1 857.
Mrs. Patrick McGovern was born in New York city, and when a child played in the street that is now called 5th Avenue. The houses were separated by farms; during childhood they lived a short time in Georgia, where her father was a veterinary surgeon. They returned to New York where the daughter was educated in a convent. When about seventeen her father, James Clare, and John Donnelly's family came in an emigrant wagon to Herrick, where the latter married Mr. McGovern. They reared a large family of good citizens.
Martin Blocher was born in Germany in 1801. He came to Connecticut where he lived four years with Joel Camp, a relative of the Camps, who settled in Camptown. He came to Herrick in 1841 and lived on what is now part of the Landon and part of the Mitten farm. He sold his land to them in 1854 and bought land near Camp's Pond, where his sons, H. M. and George Blocher now live. H. M. Blocher has been superintendent of the Herrick Sunday school for twenty years. He has interested himself with the careers of young people leaving Herrick; his work is appreciated by the people.
John Nesbit came of a good Scotch-Irish Presbyterian family for generations. He was born in Ireland in 1821. The family emigrated to this country when he was six years old, later in 1830 moved to Ballibay, where he lived until his death. Mr. Nesbit was chosen ruling elder and deacon in 1857 and was a faithful officer at the time of his death He was a kind neighbor and kept "open house" for all good people. He gave his children a good education and taught them to be useful citizens. He married Miss Mary Fee in 1850. Her paternal grandmother was a Jackson and an aunt of Gen. Andrew Jackson, seventh President of the United States.
James Dewan with his brother, boys of about ten and twelve years, came alone from Ireland. They were seven weeks crossing the Atlantic; they arrived in Herrick soon after. Through William Brake, agent and son-in-law of the DuPonts, he bought a farm where he now lives .Former owners were Mr. Lacey and Mr. McKenna. Mr. Dewan married a daughter of Mr. McGovern. They are second to none in Herrick in the matter of educating their children.
The parents of James and Dr. J. K. Newell came from Ireland and settled at first in Canada, later moving to New York, where the oldest child, James was born. In 1859 James went to Pike's Peak with the "gold seekers," after which he worked about the furnaces of iron mines near Lake Superior. He then went to New York city and paid $250 in gold for second cabin passage to San Francisco via Isthmus of Panama, where they crossed the land. He has probably seen more "adventures" than any other man from Herrick, aside from army life. He settled in Herrick in 1866, where he now lives.
Adam Overpeck was born in Pike county in 1784. Sometime after his marriage in 1808 he moved to Laporte's at Frenchtown; afterwards he lived several years on one of the Hollenback farms near Wyalusing. His oldest child, Samuel, born January 25, 1810, is still living in Herrick and is the oldest person in the township. In his youth he has killed wild cats and deer in Herrick and Ballibay. He says that the farmer cleared one fallow each year; they used to help each other making "logging bees;" it was not uncommon to have five a week in a neighborhood in the season. The men and ox teams would be divided into two groups or squads and there would be a strife to see which would get their logs finished first. Many teams of oxen learned the routine so well that the men had to "step lively" while putting the chain in place to draw a log.
William Gamble, grandfather of Mr. Leander Overpeck, rode a horse from Herrick to Illinois after he was sixty years old and later rode the same horse to the gold mines in the excitement of '49. He married a daughter of Joseph Elliot.
There are few men in Bradford county with more interesting or instructive careers than the late Hon. George Landon. At an early age he began to bear his own responsibilities; he educated himself by working on farms and teaching school. He graduated in college as valedictorian of his class. He was a noted lecturer and orator at an early age in Boston, but the strain of this work ruined his voice. He came to Herrick with his first wife on a visit to her sister, Mrs. H. W. Camp; he liked the country and bought a farm, which was his home until his death. He became presiding elder In the Methodist church and was twice State Senator, where he was a party leader. It was also during this term of office that David Wilmot was elected United States Senator to succeed Simon Cameron. Lincoln's Secretary of War Wilmot had been defeated at the former election, and his election at this time is generally admitted to have been due to the labors of Mr. Landon. "A lion has a lion's enemies." Besides his career in the pulpit and in public service, his generosity towards helping young men to secure educational advantages are well known. He was of the first to demand better schools and pay good salaries for teachers of merit. Men who opposed Mr. Landon bitterly in politics have gone to his house and although still differing on political questions have left wondering at the marvelous warmth of welcome and personal magnatism, which won for him his admirers. He was born in Wyoming county In 1816 and died in 1904. When he entered college he had just $10. He graduated from Wesleyan College in Connecticut, with a class of forty-three, winning the valedictory by reciting "The Landing of the Pilgrims," by Mrs. Sigourney. At his death there were only two of his class living. After the destruction by fire of the first building of Wyoming Seminary in 1853, he took the financial agency of the school and readily raised twenty-five thousand dollars, a large sum for that time. Mr. Landon said in after years that was his first business success.
Captain Joseph H. Hurst was born in England In 1836 and came to Herrick about 1848. His early struggles to obtain an education were of the most trying character, but by perseverance he fitted him-self for teaching. He enlisted in Company A, 141st Penna. Vols. He was twice wounded, but served until the close of the war, when he was mustered out a Captain of Volunteers. He was commissioned Second Lieutenant in the Regular Army in 1867 and was retired as Captain in 1893, after twenty-nine years of continuous service, twenty of which was spent on the frontier of New Mexico, Arizona, California, Montana, Oregon and Dakota. When Chief Joseph and his six hundred red demons were murdering the defenseless settlers, Captain Hurst and his command made a forced march of over twelve hundred miles in pursuit of them. Many and thrilling had been his hair- breadth escapes. It was fitting that after his long years of faithful service, he was permitted to return to the scenes of his childhood where he died at his brother's home in 1896.
David Armstrong was born in 1812 in New York and came to Herrick in 1834 with his possessions tied in a cotton handkerchief. He is still living, being next in age to Samuel Overpeck. He chopped trees two days for Mr. Depue for a small Bible; these he cut where the Herrick church now stands. He married Sylvia Lyon, who was born in 1819, and grew up among Quakers in Putman county, New York. She experienced religion at the age of 15 years while living at Skinner's Eddy. Her loyalty to church laws was excellent. Mr. Armstrong paid $3.50 per acre for the greater part of his farm; it was originally DuPont land which they sold for $2.50 per acre.
The First School House
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EDITOR STAR: As I promised Mrs. Putnam to give you something of the history of the first school house built in Herrick township--which we did not have ready Herrick Day--I will now make that promise good. The first house built for school purposes was the Ballibay school house, or No. 1, built in the fall of 1836. The first term taught here was in the winter of 1836 by Philander Camp afterwards Rev. P. Camp. The house was built by subscription, not taxation. It was erected on the farm owned then by William Nesbit, now owned by Wm. J. Nesbit, a grandson. It was built in the woods and the pupils travelled a distance from 3 to 4 miles through the wilderness. Not a very pleasant way of getting an education (but we educated some pretty smart men). Every patron paid his own school bill as there was no state appropriation or public moneys as it was then called.
Very respectfully,
DAVID NESBIT
Camptown, Pa.
Very respectfully,
DAVID NESBIT
Camptown, Pa.
