History: Part 11 - pp. 119 - 126: S.W. and P.A. DURANT: History of Lawrence County, PA, 1877 transcribed by Tami McConahy and Ed McClelland USGENWEB ARCHIVES NOTICE: These electronic pages may NOT be reproduced in any format for profit or presentation by any other organization or persons. Persons or organizations desiring to use this material, must obtain the written consent of the contributor, or the legal representative of the submitter, and contact the listed USGenWeb archivist with proof of this consent. http://www.usgwarchives.net/pa/pafiles.htm _____________________________________________________________________________ NOTE: An html version of this work with graphics and tailored search engine is available at http://www.usgwarchives.net/pa/lawrence/1877/ _____________________________________________________________________________ 1770. --- 1877. HISTORY OF LAWRENCE COUNTY, PA --BY-- S.W. and P.A. DURANT. L. H. Everts & Co., Philadelphia ------------------------------------------------------------------------ TAYLOR TOWNSHIP. [p. 119] This township was formed from parts of North Beaver and Shenango townships, February 19, 1853. It was the first new township erected after the organization of the county, and was named in honor of President Zachary Taylor, who died in the second year of his term, July, 1851. It originally extended to the old county line between Beaver and Mercer counties, but on the 10th of September, 1859, the township of Union was formed from portions of Mahoning, Neshannock and Taylor, taking a strip two-thirds of a mile in width from the latter. The township is in the form of an irregular triangle, and contains an area of about six square miles, or three thousand eight hundred and forty (3,840) acres, being the smallest in the county. It is bounded on the north by Union township and the city of New Castle; on the south by Beaver river and Wayne township; on the east by the city of New Castle and Shenango township, and on the west by North Beaver township. About one-half of the township lies in the valleys of the three rivers, and the remainder is hilly land on the north and east. The Mahoning and Shenango rivers unite and form the Beaver river a little north of the center, on the west side, and the old canal-beds traverse to the rivers. Numerous small creeks and spring-runs flow into the rivers from the hills, and the township is well watered. The soil on the bottom-lands is exceedingly rich and productive, and much of the hill land is good, and even the most precipitous hillsides afford excellent pasturage. The mineral resources of the township are considerable. Coal is found in the bluffs all along the eastern part of the township, but the vein is not of sufficient thickness to make the working of it profitable. The coal is of an excellent quality. There is a great abundance of limestone in the northern and eastern portions of the township, and in the northeastern part, at an elevation of about three hundred feet above the river, is an excellent deposit of ferriferous limestone. This stone is being worked by Messrs. Green, Marquis & Johnson, who have a tram-railway connecting with the Erie and Pittsburgh railway, by means of an inclined plane and bridge over the Shenango river. The quarry was opened by Messrs. Green & Marquis about 1869, and the same year an inclined railway was built, which connected with the canal. When the canal went out of use, the company built a bridge over the Shenango about 1873, and put down a side-track to connect with the Erie and Pittsburgh railway. The quarries are worked by Mr. J. D. Pitzer, who loads the stone upon the "flats" at a stipulated price per ton. The lands upon which the quarries are situated are owned by Robert Cooper and Martin and Newton Law. The stone is handled on the "incline" by means of two cables worked around a large drum; the loaded cars in their descent bringing up the empty ones. The amount annually taken out is about forty thousand tons. The quarries are opened for a distance of nearly half a mile, and the deposit is extensive. The stone is of two varieties, the upper [p. 120] portion showing a breast of from eight to nine feet in thickness, which is the valuable part, and all that the company works. The lower stratum is about three feet in thickness, and not considered of any value for fluxing purposes, for which the other is used extensively. The stone is shipped to various points on the Erie and Pittsburgh railway; New Castle, Middlesex, Sharon, Sharpsville, &c. There is a thickness of from three to six feet of earth overlying the limestone. A bed of fire-clay underlies the stone. The Erie and Pittsburgh railway passes diagonally through the northern portion of the township, a distance of two and a-half miles, and there is about a-half mile of the Ashtabula, Youngstown and Pittsburgh railway also in the township, lying between the Junction and the Mahoning river. There are two railway stations; one at Mahoningtown, and the other at Lawrence Junction, a-half mile below. A vast amount of labor was expended on the canal in this township. The aqueduct over the Shenango was 330 feet in length, and its abutments, wings and piers were solidly constructed of heavy blocks of sandstone. There were four piers, and the canal bed was built of plank, hung with heavy iron rods upon strong elliptical arches resting upon the piers. There were also within the township four or five locks constructed of the same material as the aqueduct, in the most substantial manner. The canal furnished considerable power, only a small portion of which was utilized for manufacturing purposes. Frisbie & Newell had a saw-mill at one time about one mile above Moravia. With the abandonment of the canal, disappeared all these establishments, and much of the trade which had centered at Mahoningtown and Old Moravia departed to more favorable locations on the railways. EARLY SETTLEMENTS. This township claims the honor of having within its limits the ground upon which the first white man settled, not only in Lawrence county, but in the entire valley of the Beaver river. This was the settlement of the famous Moravian missionaries, Zeisberger and Senseman, with their Indian converts, about the 25th of April, 1770. They had come from the mouth of the Tionesta creek, now in Forest county, where they had attempted to plant a mission, but failed for lack of success among the Indians of that region, who were more or less hostile. They had made the voyage in canoes down the Allegheny and Ohio, and up the Beaver rivers, and landed on the broad bottom land that spreads along the left bank of the Beaver at and above this point, upon the invitation of the great chief or king, Pack-an-ke, who gave them ground upon which to erect their log-chapel and the dwellings necessary to accommodate their small company. They camped and commenced improvements on the ground a little west of where the hamlet of Old Moravia now stands, but finding the location too low, and fearful of high water and malaria, they changed it some time in July following, to the west bank of the river, where they laid out a new town on ground elevated a hundred or more feet above the river. Here the settlement remained, making improvements and laboring among the Indians until the Spring of 1773, when they abandoned their town and removed to the head-waters of the Muskingum, now in the State of Ohio. Christian Frederick Post, another Moravian missionary, and the man who built the first dwelling within the limits of the State of Ohio, was also a visitor to this township in 1758, when on his way to Kush-kush-kee, the great Indian town on the Mahoning. OLD FORTIFICATIONS. When the first white settlers came to this region (after the Moravians) they found the crumbling remains of an old fortification. It was a small regular earth-work enclosing about one acre of ground, and was located on land now belonging to Thomas Brown. Mr. Samuel Copper, now living in Moravia, recollects seeing it when a boy. It has been plowed and worked over until no traces of it remain. It was undoubtedly thrown up by a company of French soldiers, who frequently passed up and down this stream in their journeys between the Ohio and the Canadas.* Post speaks of seeing a company of them during his visit to Beaver valley. *A company of the French garrison of Fort Duquesne was stationed somewhere in the Beaver or Mahoning Valley during the Winter of 1758-59, succeeding the capture of the Fort by General Forbes. One of the early settlers, and very possibly the earliest after the Moravians, was Hugh Gaston, who, according to the recollections of Seth Rigby and other old settlers, came into the valley as early as 1795-96, and settled temporarily on the five-hundred-acre tract which included the ground now occupied by the hamlet of Moravia. This tract was originally owned by David R. Porter, afterwards Governor of Pennsylvania. Robert Shannon, of Beavertown, purchased it about 1830; but, on account of Hugh Gaston's living upon it for some time, it was known as the "Gaston tract."* *This tract was found to contain, by actual survey, about 620 acres. "Hughie," as he was familiarly called, was a confirmed old bachelor, and is remembered by Mr. Rigby and others as the owner of two horses, two guns and two dogs. He was a great hunter, and lived solitary and alone until his brother, James Gaston, came out with his family, about 1800, and moved into the cabin with him. The brothers removed to a tract of land in what is now the northwest corner of Shenango township, about 1802-3. Their location was near what is now called Normal Glen--vulgarly, "Pumpkintown." Another early settler, and one who might possibly have been here as early as Gaston, was Thomas Hendrickson, who probably settled at or near the present site of Mahoningtown, in 1798. He built and operated a primitive distillery at an early day, and is said to have been a great wolf-hunter. He afterwards removed to Plain Grove township, where he died, about 1830. John Butcher, a Revolutionary soldier, settled in the northeast part of the township of Taylor, about 1800. Mr. John Sword now owns a part of the old Butcher farm. Samuel Sample, from Carlisle, Pa., moved to Pittsburgh about 1806. His father, Robert Sample, had visited the Beaver valley at a very early period and purchased several tracts of the "Donation lands," but did not settle upon them. He returned to Carlisle, where he soon after died. His sons, Samuel and James, came together and settled on these tracts, about 1807. The land is now owned by Alexander English. Joseph McMurray, a Revolutionary soldier, settled on the land now owned by Joseph Anderson, about 1808. He was from near Chambersburg, Pa., and had a family of eight children--four sons and four daughters. Samuel Sample married his daughter Esther, about 1809. After their marriage they lived near the river for about two years and a-half. In 1810-11 there was a great flood in the Beaver river and its branches, and nearly all of the bottom lands were overflowed. Mrs. Sample says it was the highest water she has seen in seventy years. Joseph McMurray lived on his place in the valley until his death, at an advanced age, about 1847. His wife survived him about one year. Mr. McMurray lived at Crow's Bottom, on the Ohio river, in Beaver county, about a year before removing to Lawrence county. Mrs. Samuel Sample (Esther McMurray) was born on the 1st day of January, 1787, and is consequently now in her ninety-first year. Samuel Sample died in April, 1870, aged eighty-five years. They never had any children. Mr. Sample and James McMurray, his brother-in-law, were at Erie during the war of 1812, in Captain Kildoo's company. When the Samples and McMurrays first settled on the Beaver, the country was wild and new, and the only roads were Indian trails and bridle paths, with the exception of the New Castle and Beaver State road, which was laid out as early as 1800, but not worked very much for many years. Wolves and other wild animals were exceedingly plenty, and the settlers were well supplied with venison and wild turkey. Large quantities of maple sugar were made, and Mrs. Sample tells of carrying fifty-two buckets of sap or sugar-water to the boiling place in a day, when she was a young woman. They made sugar all night in the "camp," and many a night she has heard the howling of wolves as they prowled around the scattered settlers' cabins. All the clothing worn by the early inhabitants was spun and woven by the women from flax and its tow, and the old lady tells of weaving as many as thirty yards of tow cloth in a week, besides doing her regular housework. The price for weaving tow and linen cloth was about ten cents, and for flannel twelve and a-half cents per yard. Cultivated fruits were scarce for several years after the settlement, and the wild fruits were used. The wild crab-apple, plum, cherry and smaller fruits and berries were quite abundant. Mrs. Sample remembers visiting the ruins of the Indian village at Moravia, and seeing the remains of their hearths and chimnies[sic]. Although she never had any children of her own, yet she raised several from infancy. Mr. Samuel Hawthorne, with whom she is now living, is one of her proteges. She is remarkably well preserved, and retains her faculties in an extraordinary degree. Mrs. Thomas Sample and Mrs. Frisbie, both living at Mahoningtown, are about the same age as Mrs. Samuel Sample. Joseph Pollock, grandfather of Hiram Pollock, of New Castle, came originally from Ireland. His wife was from Scotland. They were married in America previous to the Revolution, and lived in Westmoreland county for [p. 121] some years, and finally came to what was then Beaver county, and located on land near Westfield Church, in the present township of North Beaver, in 1800, intending to settle permanently, but, after a year or two, finding the title of his land defective, he gave it up and removed, about 1802, to the farm now owned by the Frisbie heirs in Taylor township. He resided here until his death--about 1830--and was buried on his farm. His wife died about 1835, and was buried beside him in the little burial-ground near the canal, on the old farm. Mr. Pollock was a remarkably honest, straight-forward and upright man. One incident will illustrate his character. After he had got his land partially cleared, and began to raise crops, he had a great many calls for grain and produce from the new comers who were settling in his neighborhood. He always asked them if they had money to pay for what they wanted, and if they replied in the affirmative, he sent them to a neighbor of his who would only sell his produce for cash, at the same time remarking that he was keeping his grain, &c., for those who had not ready money. He trusted all who came without means and when he wanted help to harvest his crops, he found plenty in those whom he had accommodated, while his parsimonious neighbor could scarcely hire help for money. His son Joseph studied medicine, and located at what is now Monongahela City, then called Williamsport, where he practiced for some twenty years. In 1826 he removed to what is now Shenango township, where he engaged in farming, and, about 1835, removed to New Castle, where he died in 1856. The doctor was a prominent man, having been a member of the State Legislature, of the State Equalization Board, and Superintendent of the Beaver Division of the Canal.* Seth Rigby, father of Seth Rigby, of Shenango township, from Virginia, settled in this township on land afterwards purchased by Robert Sample. He did not purchase land in this township, but rented, and about 1806 purchased the land now owned by his son in Shenango township. *See history of New Castle. Joseph Copper, from Fayette county, Pa., and originally from Kent county, Maryland, came to the Beaver valley about 1800. He had five sons--Joseph, Jr., Nathaniel, Alexander, Ralph and Michael, all of whom, except Joseph came with him. The latter came in 1804. These brothers settled along the Beaver river, and at the mouth of the Mahoning. Joseph Copper, 2nd, occupied a cabin on the "Gaston Tract" for about one year or a little more. He was a weaver and shoemaker by trade. In 1807 he settled land about four miles below Moravia, on the Shenango and Beaver road, of "Scotch John Moore," a deserter from the British army during the American Revolution. He remained in this place about thirteen months, when he removed to the place now owned by Mr. Anderson. In 1808, Mr. Copper and his uncle, Nathaniel Copper, removed to a tract of about 200 acres, which they had purchased in North Beaver township, about four miles west from Moravia. Old Mr. Joseph Copper, 1st, died in June, 1813, at the advanced age of one hundred and three years. He was living with his son Ralph, who occupied what is now the English farm, but at the time of his death was at his son Alexander's, on what is known as the "Zeigler farm," now owned by James Wilson. Joseph Copper, 2d, died in 1842, at the age of sixty-nine years. Samuel Copper and Martha his sister, children of Joseph Copper, 2d, are still living, he in Moravia, and his sister in Hancock county, Ohio. Joseph Copper, 2d, was in the army subsequent to the war of 1812. Samuel Copper worked on the canal during its construction, and afterwards ran a boat. Among the early settlers were: Charles Morrow, who settled about a mile below Moravia, about 1800; two Johnsons, who settled near to John Butcher, about the same year, and Jack Tilton, a brother-in-law of the Johnsons, who came with them. John Miller and Dennis Kennedy settled early on a portion of the land now owned by John Sword, Esq., who has a finely-improved farm of three hundred acres, including the "point farm" lying at the confluence of, and between the rivers Shenango and Mahoning. A steam saw-mill was operated on this farm for some years, but it is not now in use. This farm also includes one hundred acres of the old Butcher farm lying on the summit of the high hill east of Mr. Sword's residence. The McCall and Lewis families were early settlers. Daniel Cameron's father settled at the Forks as early as 1816. VILLAGE OF MORAVIA. This place was laid out near the ground at first occupied by the Moravians about 1835-36, by Marcus T. C. Gould. It had always borne the same name, though it never had a post-office. One of the first stores in the place was a small grocery opened by a Mr. Justice, about 1838. The first dry-goods store was opened by Samuel Smith about 1843-44. The first tavern was kept by William Lawton, in 1835. There have been two church organizations in the place, Methodists and Baptists. The latter built a church about 1836, which was used as a kind of free church for a while, being open to all denominations. A man named Dr. Winters was the principal mover in it. It was only kept up a few years.* *For an account of the Methodist Church see another page. During the years of canal navigation this hamlet was quite a point for business. Below this place the Beaver river was mostly used for navigation purposes, under the slack-water system of dams and locks. The canal extended from this point up the river to New Castle, when the slack-water was again used on the Shenango for some distance. The "Cross-cut" canal connected at Mahoningtown, and thence followed the Mahoning river into the State of Ohio. There were two locks on the canal at Moravia, the stone work of which remains solid and substantial yet. The business at Old Moravia has, since the abandonment of the canal, departed to more favorable localities. There is no school in the place, the nearest being about a-half mile below. MAHONINGTOWN. The first settler at this place was William Simpson, from Butler county, Pa., in the Spring of 1836, who opened the first store in the place. The town was laid out in the Spring of 1836, by William Hayes and Benjamin Darlington, of Pittsburgh. These parties owned the five-hundred-acre tract of "Donation lands," patented to the heirs of Colonel William Crawford, for his military services. It included the site of Mahoningtown. Mr. Simpson is still living about one mile west of the place on the Mount Jackson road. Samuel Vandivort settled in the place in September, 1837. He was also from Butler county, Pa. He was a hatter by trade, and followed the business for some ten or twelve years after he came here. Franklin Alexander, a blacksmith from Pittsburgh, came about the same time. Henry Mace, a tailor, from east of the mountains, came about 1839. John Simpson, a brother of William, came in 1838, and settled on a farm southwest of the town. He laid out a small addition to the place on the south side of "Cross-cut" canal, about 1840. The last-mentioned canal was commenced in 1836 and finished about 1838. It connected with the Beaver division of the Pennsylvania canal at this point, and extended up the Mahoning river into the State of Ohio making connections with the canal system of that State, and opening a direct route to the city of Cleveland on Lake Erie. Archibald Newell settled in Mahoningtown in 1844, and has been engaged in the mercantile business from that date to the present time, a period of thirty-three years. He came to America from Ireland in 1837, and lived a few years in Crawford county, previous to coming in this place. John Wallace, from Mifflin township, Allegheny county, Pa., settled at Mahoningtown in 1842. he was born in Allegheny county, May 1st, 1786 and is consequently ninety-one years old. His father had twelve children, four sons and eight daughters, of whom only three are now living. The Wallaces were originally from county Tyrone, Ireland. Mr. Wallace was in the service during the war of 1812. He was a private in Captain Peter Stilley's company, raised in Allegheny county, and his brother-in-law, James Irwin, was first lieutenant. The company was stationed at Pittsburgh for five months, guarding the British prisoners taken by Commodore Perry on lake Erie. Wallace drew a land-warrant of one hundred sixty acres for his service. He sold his warrant for $160. He was a carpenter and builder by trade. When he came to Mahoningtown it was only a small cluster of houses. There were then two stores, one blacksmith and wagon shop, and a Presbyterian church, or, at least, they held meetings. Mr. Wallace worked at his trade twelve years. He afterwards worked at farming for twenty-eight years. His wife died January 14, 1874, aged ninety-one years. The couple lived sixty-one years together, and raised ten children. At a meeting of the veterans of 1812, held near Mahoningtown a few years since, only three of Mr. Wallace's company of one hundred and sixteen men were to be found. POSTMASTERS. The first postmaster at Mahoningtown was John Gillespie, who came from Pittsburgh, and opened a store about 1841. He built the "Lawrence House" the next year. The postmasters succeeding him have been David Bower, under General Taylor's administration; Joseph Cox, who held it until the [p. 122] Spring of 1874, and Seth Blanchard, who succeeded Cox, and is the present incumbent. Stephen Sherman held the office for an interval of eight or nine months under the present (General Grant's) administration, but was removed and Mr. Cox re-appointed. Mr. Cox settled here in 1850. EARLY SCHOOLS. The first school in the place was about 1841. A school-building was erected, in 1838, on the hill one mile north of town. Mahoningtown was set off in a district by itself, and a school-building erected in the town. The school on the hill was then abandoned. During the period between 1833 and 1870, the canal business made this town a place of considerable importance, and quite an extensive trade was transacted here. With the abandonment of the canals, much of its business was transferred to New Castle and other points. MANUFACTURES. James Raney built the first grist-mill in Mahoningtown in 1852, on the Cross-cut canal. He operated it about nine years, when he sold it to his son, L. Raney, who in turn sold it to Messrs. Genkinger & Kraft about 1865. After the transfer the mill was changed into a stave-factory, but was only operated as such about a year, when Mr. Genkinger purchase Mr. Kraft's interest and changed to the original business again. The mill contains three run of stone, and has a capacity for grinding about one hundred and fifty bushels in ten hours. It is doing both merchant and custom-milling, and has a good business. It is run by steam. THE SHENANGO MILLS. James Raney commenced building a dam over the Shenango at this point in June, 1873, and, by extraordinary exertions, finished the work in September of the same year. It forms one-quarter of a circle, with the convex side facing the stream. Measured on the curve the length is 450 feet; in a straight line from one abutment to the other the distance is 400 feet. The dam is solidly constructed of timber, bolted to the bottom and pinned together so as to form a compact structure, strong enough to resist the powerful action of both water and ice in time of floods. The fall is four and one-half feet. In 1874 the race was excavated and the foundations of the mill laid. The mill was mostly completed in the Summer and Autumn of 1875. It is perhaps the best grist and flouring mill in Lawrence county, all things considered. Its size is 45 by 58 feet, and it is four stories in height. It has four run of stone and is fitted up in every department with the best machinery and appliances known to the business. The wheels in use are of Mr. Raney's own invention and construction, upon which he has letters-patent. They are of the "turbine" class, and claimed by their inventor to be superior to any similar wheel in use. Mr. Raney has been a practical millwright and miller for forty consecutive years, and has constructed in his day five new flouring and grist-mills, and repaired many others. He is connected in the milling business with the firm of Raney, Sheal & Co., at Steubenville, Ohio. The "Shenango Mills" are leased by Messrs. Gordon, Raney & Co., who are doing a very extensive business--making a specialty of what is known as "patent flour," manufactured by a peculiar process (this being the only mill in this part of the State using it), and a brand which is much sought after in the market by connosseurs. There are about eight acres of land belonging to the property, including a margin on each bank extending above the dam about half a mile, sufficient to cover the overflow. The power is one of the best and most permanent in the county. The capacity of the mill, measured by the patent process, is about fifty barrels in twenty-four hours. The process is not what is known as a "fast" one, but one which requires quiet and steady manipulation to produce exact and satisfactory results; the quality alone being considered without regard to amount. (See view of this property on another page.) Mr. Raney laid out an addition to Mahoningtown about 1852-53. SCHOOLS. The number of school buildings in this township is three, all frames, in which there are taught four schools an average of six months in the year. There are four teachers employed (two male and one female), and the total number of scholars is one hundred and eighty-eight, with an average attendance of one hundred and fifty-nine. The total receipts for school purposes during the year 1875, were $1,230.60, and the total expenditures for all purposes during the same time, $1,193.72. The village of Mahoningtown contains at present two churches, Presbyterian and Methodist Episcopal, one school-building with two schools, one hotel, the "Lawrence House," four stores, and two grist and flour-mills, with a population of several hundred. It is situated on a fine piece of ground lying between the Shenango and Mahoning rivers, and high and dry above all overflows. The junction of the Erie and Pittsburgh, and Ashtabula, Youngstown and Pittsburgh Railways is about a-half mile south of the town, and is known as Lawrence junction. CHURCHES. THE PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH at Mahoningtown was organized May 14, 1866, by a committee of Presbytery, with thirty-five members, received by certificate from other churches--twenty-eight from the First Church of New Castle, four from Westfield, and the balance from other churches. The first elders were John Sword and A. D. Simpson, and soon after James Moffat was added. The first board of trustees consisted of John Simpson, Thomas Sample and Samuel Vandivort. The church-building was erected during the Summer and Fall of 1866. It was fully completed and paid for by the 10th of March, 1867, on which day it was dedicated. The total cost was about four thousand dollars. Rev. D. L. Dickey, the first pastor, commenced his labors November 1, 1867, and continued until August 14, 1876, when he demitted his charge. Rev. J. R. Andrews succeeded him on the 1st of April, 1871, and still continues. When Mr. Andrews assumed charge, the members numbered eighty-three, and there have been eighty-five received since. The present number is one hundred and forty-eight. A Union Sabbath-school was organized as early as 1846, in Mahoningtown, by this denomination and the Methodists, which was kept up with little interruption until it was finally merged in the Presbyterian congregation. The school at the present time (1877) consists of about fourteen officers and teachers and one hundred and twenty scholars. It has a small but select library. The parsonage was purchased in 1871, at an expense of two thousand five hundred dollars. The society is entirely out of debt and in a very prosperous financial condition. It is worthy of remark that it has always been self-supporting, and, in addition, has contributed liberally for denominational purposes. METHODIST EPISCOPAL CHURCH. The Methodist Episcopal church at Mahoningtown was organized about 1858, with some eight members--John D. Pitzer and wife, John Balmer and wife, Joseph Cox and wife, Mrs. Jane Wallace, and Mrs. Eve Forney. The church-building was erected some time previous to the organization of the society, at a cost of about $4,500--finished and paid for. The first pastor was Rev. Allen Crowell, who preached for two years, and was succeeded by Rev. Johnson, who only staid one year. Rev. John Crawford followed, and remained for two years, and was succeeded by Rev. John Cruman, who remained two years. Rev. Richard Bear, the present pastor, succeeded him. The present membership numbers about sixty, and the society maintains a Sabbath-school, with ten officers and teachers, and sixty-two scholars. The school has a small library. David Rhodes is the superintendent. METHODIST EPISCOPAL CHURCH Among the earliest Methodists in Moravia were Michael Pitzer and wife, John C. Ault (who was also a local preacher), Mrs. Mary Robertson, Rhoda Boyle and Lydia Phillips. The church-building was erected about 1846-47. Thomas Robertson and Patterson White were the contractors. The first preacher was Rev. Gideon Kinnear under whose auspices the church was built and a society gathered. Succeeding him were Revs. Hawkins, Monroe, J. Somerville (occasionally), Bennett, James Sheilds, S. K. Paden, John McCombs, Foster Boyd, S. K. Shattuck, Shurick, Marshtellar, J. E. Johnston (the latter serving two terms), James Foster, Morris, Moore, J. H. Merchant, Brown, Crawford, &c. the society is small and at present without a permanent preacher. The Rev. Mr. Perry, located at Wampum, supplies a portion of his time. The present membership is about twelve. Among the members not heretofore mentioned are Bazaleel Pitzer, Joseph Phillips and Charles Phillips, the latter of whom is steward and class-leader. There was a small Baptist organization at this place for a few years subsequent to 1836. A man known as Dr. Winters was a prominent member, and was chiefly instrumental in building a small church. Henry Frazure probably preached the first sermon at this place, as he lived in the vicinity a portion of the time while pastor at Providence, Beaver county. It is supposed that Thomas Rigdon and Andrew Clark also visited this church occasionally while at Providence, the distance being only ten miles. William Tindall, Joseph Brown, Elizabeth Brown, and Isaac Jones and his wife, were among the first Baptists here. [p. 123] On the 15th of August, 1818, privilege was granted by Providence Church to their members living on the west side of Beaver river, to organize a branch. The church was constituted by Wm. Stone, Jonathan Davis and Samuel Williams in 1831, and numbered twenty-two members. Their first pastor was William Stone, in 1832. Jonathan Davis was his successor; until 1848; Daniel Daniels, 1849; John McConchy, 1850 to 1853; Gabriel Lanham, 1858 to 1863; John McConahy, 1863 to 1867; Gabriel Lanham, 1867 to 1871, when he received a letter of dismissal, and united with the Disciples. Rev. John Davis came in 1871, and served about eighteen months. After him the Rev. Melvin Nye served one year, and was followed in 1875, by Rev. John Owen, who is the present pastor. The members who have served as deacons of this Church have been Robert Aiken, James Book, Henry Crider, Zachariah Tindall, Jacob Book. The meeting-house is located about two miles below Wampum. The first meetings of the congregation were held in a coal-house for some years. The present membership is about eighty. The society is much scattered, part of the members living on each side of the Beaver river, and extending from within two miles of New Castle on the north of the Connoquenessing on the south. The membership at one time was much larger than at the present. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ UNION TOWNSHIP. [p. 123]The township was erected from portions of Mahoning, Neshannock and Taylor townships, on the 10th of December, 1859. It contains a little over nine square miles, or about 6,000 acres, and is, next after Taylor, the smallest township in the county. It is bounded on the north by Mahoning township and the Shenango river; on the south by Taylor township and the Mahoning river. Lying between the two rivers, the surface is made up of lands descending on both sides towards these streams. On the east and north the declination is comparatively gradual towards the Shenango, but on the southwest the descent is much more abrupt into the valley of the Mahoning. There are considerable bottoms on both these rivers, and the land generally throughout the township is of a very superior quality, producing good crops of grain and fruit. The minor streams are all small, the largest being Sankey's run, in the northwest part of the township, which discharges into the Shenango at the "Harbor." There is an abundance of limestone in this township, particularly along the bluffs of the Mahoning river, which in many places are very precipitous. Coal is found in several localities, and is quite extensively mined on the farm of Robert Wallace, in the southwestern part of the township. There is no improved water-power at present in the township. The bed of the abandoned Cross-cut canal follows the valley of the Mahoning. This was an important and busy thoroughfare in the years from 1838 to about 1871, when it was abandoned forever as a means of travel and transportation. The Erie and Pittsburgh railway traverses the township its whole length, on the eastern side along the valley of the Shenango river There are two stations on this road within the limits of the township, to wit: the main New Castle station, and Harbor Bridge station, at the old Western Reserve harbor on the Shenango, long the terminus of the canal. In early days when turnpike roads were something of great importance, the great "Scrub-Grass road" was opened by commissioners appointed by the State, from Venango county across Lawrence to Youngstown, Ohio. This road passed diagonally through what is now Union township, in a north-westerly direction, and it is still known as the "State road." A beautiful suburb of New Castle lies in this township, generally known as West New Castle. It is a fine location, overlooking the whole city, from which it rises gradually towards the west. It contains probably about two thousand people, many of them doing business in New Castle. This suburb extends a mile west from the bridge, and more than that distance up and down the river. There are many picturesque and charming locations for residences, and the landscape is covered with evidences of a thrifty population. Among the many beautiful localities, the Greenwood Cemetery is deserving of particular mention; and a mile and a-half northwest from the Washington street bridge is the new Catholic cemetery, recently laid out on a very commanding site.* *See article "Cemeteries." Three fine bridges connect the township with the city of New Castle, two of iron and one (at the "Point") of wood. A wooden bridge at the "Harbor" connects Union with Neshannock township. This township is the thickest settled of any in the county, and has, perhaps, increased more rapidly since its formation than any other. This is owing to its close proximity to the city, the privileges and advantages of which the people enjoy without being subject to the increased taxation necessary to maintain the various branches of a city form of government. The people lack one thing badly. Having no form of incorporation, there can be no general or uniform system of streets, side-walks, sewerage, &c. There is considerable talk of applying for a borough charter in order to remedy these evils, but the expense of maintaining a separate incorporation would probably equal the increased taxation consequent upon annexation to the city; and it would seem that a consolidation would be altogether preferable. An addition to West New Castle was laid out by Phillps & Du Shane, in 1868. EARLY SETTLEMENTS. Undoubtedly the first white settlers within the present limits of Union township were Cornelius Hendrickson and his son Daniel, who came probably in 1798, and erected cabins on the river, one above and the other below the present Washington street. Daniel built his cabin on land afterwards washed away in November, 1835, at a time when a great flood threatened to submerge the borough of New Castle, and the river was turned around the west end of where is the iron bridge, to let the waters have a freer passage. Cornelius Henrickson, the old gentleman, was something of a practitioner of the healing art, without being a regularly educated physician. He dealt in herbs and simple domestic remedies, and was no doubt a welcome visitor at the sick-bedside. During his residence in New Castle he was known as Dr. Hendrickson. He located fifty acres and twenty and six-tenth perches of land when he settled, it being a portion of the "vacancy" lying between the first and second districts of "Donation lands." He also claimed the whole of the "vacancy" lying west of the Shenango river, and containing, by actual measurement, one hundred and seventeen acres and thirty-eight perches. It is probable that Hendrickson, during his occupancy, only received title to a portion of the land. About 1818 he sold or transferred his claim to Ebenezer Byers and Geo. McDowell, who afterwards obtained the patent. It is quite probable that Oakey (or Okey) Hendrickson, a son of the doctor, also had an interest, in the property. George McDowell, is said to have been his son-in-law. It is also probable that Daniel Hendrickson had no interest, but was merely a squatter on his father's land for a short time. Byers and McDowell made an equitable division of the property, the former taking the north, and the latter the south half. McDowell afterwards sold to James D. White, and his administrators to A. L. and John Crawford and Geo. K. Ritter; and subsequently the Crawfords owned the whole. In 1836, Byers bargained his share to Ezekiel Sankey, and executed a deed for the same, January 13th, 1837. The Hendricksons established a canoe-ferry on the Shenango about opposite the present North street, when they first arrived. The young man, Daniel, managed the ferry, and frequently accommodated parties, going and coming on the river, with canoes, going sometimes himself to Beaver Falls. The old doctor and his son, Cornelius, Jr., after a few years emigrated to Ohio, probably about 1818 or 1820.* *For further account of the Hendricksons see history of New Castle. Ezekiel Sankey, father of Ezekiel and David Sankey, now residing in West New Castle, was perhaps the first permanent settler within the limits of the present township. His ancestors were from near Warrington, in Lancashire, England, from whence they emigrated to America and settled in the Kishacoquillas valley, now Mifflin county, Pa., where his father died in 1794. He and his mother were appointed as executors of his father's will. Soon after the death of his father, he removed to a place called Potter's Mills, in Center county, and, after a short residence there, removed to the Chartiers valley, in Washington county, Pa., where he bought a farm and remained until 1800, when he removed to the farm at the mouth of "Sankey's run," since in Union township, Lawrence county. A few of the "red skins" still remained in the county, and their abandoned wigwams, made of poles and bark, were numerous. The territory of Union township was then in Mercer county, recently erected, and Mr. Sankey was the first sheriff of the county that was elected by the people--Wm Byers, the first sheriff, having been appointed by the governor in 1803. [p. 124] Mr. Sankey was major of one of the Pennsylvania militia regiments, and it was on the occasion of one of its general musters on his farm, that a recruiting officer appeared in the Summer of 1812, and offered the regiment the privilege of volunteering in the service of the country in the war then just beginning between the United States and Great Britain. If the regiment accepted the proposition, they were to join General Wm. H. Harrison, then in command in the northwest territory, of which he was also governor. The regiment declined enlisting in a body, and the offer was tendered to the companies, which also declined, and then individual enlistments were called for, when Major Sankey and a man named William Sheriff, of the same township, stepped forward and enlisted, being the only ones from that regiment. Major Sankey was appointed to a position in the commissary department of General Crook's brigade, which was organized at Pittsburgh. After a short visit to Erie, to learn what the British were contemplating in that quarter, he rejoined Crook's brigade at Mansfield, Ohio. He afterwards accompanied a portion of it as far West as the Rapids of the Maumee, where Harrison afterwards, in February, 1813, constructed the famous Fort Meigs. Here he remained during the Winter of 1812-13, and returned home in the Spring, and soon afterwards went to Mercer upon business, when his health, which had suffered severely by the rigor of the Winter and exposure in the camp, gave way, and after lying there for some time, he was brought home, where he lingered until the 13th day of July of that year, when he expired. Major Sankey raised a family of nine children, six sons and three daughters, all of whom are dead excepting his two youngest sons, Ezekiel and David, the latter of whom is the father of the co-worker with D. L. Moody--Ira D. Sankey--whose name and fame as a singer of Gospel hymns is world-wide. These two brothers reside in West New Castle, and have raised large families, who occupy respectable positions in society, and the name in Union township is more numerous than any other. They younger of these two brothers, notwithstanding he was deprived of the counsel and care of a father at the tender age of four years, in a new country, being the eighth member of a family, with moderate means of support, and the facilities for obtaining an education very meager, but with a mother whose memory will (he says) be ever cherished with profound veneration while life lasts--has been promoted to several public offices of honor and responsibility, both State and National, the duties of which he discharged with credit to himself and acceptability to the people, and, by close attention to business, has acquired a competency, and enjoys the respect and confidence of all who know him. He has been a man who has exerted a large degree of influence upon every measure, both local and general, which had for its object the good of the community. The formation of Lawrence county and the township of Union was brought about mainly by his influence. All speak in praise of his ability and integrity, except the worst elements of political parties, whose base schemes to corrupt public morals and prostitute the public service for personal and party purposes, he has to a considerable degree exposed and thwarted. Ezekiel Sankey, brother of David, in 1823, at the age of sixteen years, hired to Samuel McCleary, of New Castle, at six dollars per month, to work on his farm. McCleary kept a store, and paid his help mostly in goods. In 1836 Mr. Sankey had acquired considerable property, including that portion of the "vacancy" formerly owned by Ebenezer Byers, from whom he purchased it in the year last mentioned. In the month of May, 1836, he laid out the town of West New Castle, in which he has been a prominent man, and intimately connected with a great variety of important enterprises which have built up the busy city of New Castle, its schools, manufactures, banks, and has also been closely connected the politics of city ad county. As a lobbyist, he, perhaps, is unrivaled in that peculiar tact which always commands success, and hence his connection with the many manufacturing, civil and political questions involving large outlays of capital and superior administrative ability. The Wallace family was originally from the neighborhood of Londonderry or Donegal, in Ireland, from when John Wallace emigrated to America about 1765, and settled at Alexandria, Virginia, which place is said to have derived its name from his wife's family--Alexander--who were proprietors of the town. Mr. Wallace was a linen merchant, and carried on the business for a short time in Alexandria, where he married Mary Alexander, and soon after removed from Virginia to Bedford county, Pa., and settled in the "Big Cove," where he purchased a farm which he cultivated, and also traded and speculated more or less in lands. After a few years residence he sold, and again removed to the Ligonier valley, in Westmoreland county, where he purchased a tract of land and resided until driven away by the Indians subsequent to the Revolution. He served at various times during the war in short enlistments. When driven from Westmoreland he settled in Washington county, Pa., some four or five miles from Williamsport, now Monongahela city, on Peter's creek, near the present line between Washington and Allegheny counties. What he did with his property in Ligonier valley is not at present known. He served at various periods against the Indians, and was one of the party who constructed the original Fort McIntosh, at the mouth of the Beaver river. He died in Washington county in 1808, or 1809. He had five sons--Robert, Jacob, John, Hugh and William. The old gentleman and his oldest son, Robert, visited the Slippery Rock valley (then in Allegheny county, now in Lawrence), in the Fall of 1797, and the old gentleman was so well pleased with it that he located four hundred and forty acres of land on the "vacancy," lying between the first and second districts of "Donation lands." His son, Robert, settled on the land at that time and remained. In 1801, his father visited the Mahoning valley and purchased about four hundred acres opposite where the town of Edenburg has since been built. Robert was born in Washington county in 1781. In 1807 he married Elizabeth Reader, of the same county. After his marriage he rented the property in Slippery Rock for about two years, and lived in Washington county. About 1809 he returned to Slippery Rock and resided there until 1827, when he removed to the land now occupied by his son, William R. Wallace, where he remained to the time of his death, which occurred February 12th, 1847. By his will he divided his property in Slippery Rock equally among his four daughters--Mary, Harriet, Elizabeth and Sarah. Mary married Andrew Robinson, of Mahoning township (now Union), who died about 1851. She is still living in the township. Harriet married John Leeper, of Mahoning township, who died about 1860. She is still living in the township. Elizabeth married Jacob McCracken, father of G. W. McCracken, editor of the Lawrence Guardian. They are both living near Harlansburg, in Scott township. Sarah married Rev. John McComb, of Findlay township, Mercer county, where they still reside. His property in Mahoning he divided equally between his two sons, William R. and Robert. The old gentleman served during the war of 1812, two terms in Captain McCune's company which went to Erie. During his last term he was promoted to captain of the company in place of Captain McCune, resigned. His commission was issued in the Fall of 1814. After the war he served in the State militia with the rank of captain for fourteen years. He was a man of superior education for the times in which he lived, but was never an office-seeker. His father was a strict Presbyterian, and his son was baptized in that faith, but as he grew to manhood and mature years his judgment led him in a different direction, and he was one of that class, then few in numbers, who conscientiously declined to unite with any religious denomination, choosing rather to endure opprobrium, the natural result of bigotry, than to stultify honest conscience with hypocrisy, and he died an honest man. The eldest son of Robert, William R., had the homestead portion of the farm for his share of the property, and Robert the remainder. William had left his father in 1836, in his twenty-fourth year, and removed to the Slippery Rock property, which he carried on for his sisters until his father's death, when he returned, and has since lived on the place where his father died. He built the two-story brick house still occupied by him. His brother Robert still lives on his share of the old farm adjoining. Each of them has six children: William R. five sons and one daughter, and Robert three sons and three daughters. William R. Wallace was captain of the same company which his father formerly commanded, from 1836 to 1842, when he was elected Colonel of the 27th Regiment Pennsylvania Militia, which office he held until 1849, when the system was abandoned. He held the office of County Commissioner from 1852 until 1855, and also the office of Justice of the Peace for eleven years--1856 to 1861, and from 1866 to 1871. His two sons, Jacob and William, were in the army during the rebellion. Jacob served three years and four months in the "Roundhead" regiment. He was on detached service for about three years, in the signal corps. William was in the 134th (nine months') regiment. He also served in the Sixth Heavy Artillery for one year. Colonel Wallace's mother (Mrs. Robert Wallace) is still living at the advanced age of ninety-five years. She makes the Colonel's house her home. Her maiden name was Elizabeth Reader. She was born near the city of Coventry, Warwickshire, England. Her father had a family of eleven children, and first settled at Pittsburgh, Pa., in 1804, but removed to Washington county the same year. When the Wallace farm was first settled it was abundantly watered and heavily timbered. Colonel Wallace recollects of cutting a sugar-maple on the river bottom, which measured four feet in diameter, and had the marks of an Indian hatchet, which the concentric rings showed had been made ninety years before. [p. 125] There is a fine little island in the Mahoning a few rods above the farm. Across the river, near where Edenburg now stands, was the famous village of Kush-kush-kee, and a remarkable mound, constructed, no doubt by the pre-historic people known as the "Mound-builders." "PARKSTOWN." This well-known locality on the State road from New Castle to Youngstown, Ohio, was first settled in the Fall of 1800 by a colony from Virginia, consisting of William Park and his sons, John, James and William, Jr., Joseph Brown and family and Thomas Franklin, a son-in-law of Park. They were all from Berkely county, and the men had been out the previous year and purchased the land under a "joint article" of one John Chenowith, a Virginian, and father of Arthur Chenowith who afterwards settled in New Castle. Joshua Chenowith, brother of Arthur, came at a later day, and lived in the settlement until his death. He raised quite a large family. The land purchased by the company amounted to three hundred acres. William Park, Sen. Died about 1806 or 1807, and was buried in the old ground at New Castle, now included in Greenwood cemetery. The old lady, his wife died about 1808 or 1809. Several of the descendants of William Park are now living in Edenburg. Joseph Brown resided at "Parkstown" until about 1813, when he removed to what was called the Mayberry farm, on the Shenango river, which he worked for about a year, and in 1814 removed to New Castle. He was a tanner by trade and rented Wm. Dickson's tannery, and operated it for two years, when, finding the business unprofitable, he gave it up. He had lost his share of the land purchased by the original company at "Parkstown," in consequence of entanglements under the "joint article" and was left in somewhat straitened circumstances. After giving up the tanning business he removed to a place above Edenburg where he rented a farm known as the "Ashton" farm, belonging to a Revolutionary soldier, which he worked for about three years, when he moved on to the Martin place on the north side of the Mahoning river. He remained on this place for four or five years, when he again removed to the place now owned by Messrs. Miller & Peyton, in Pulaski township. On this place he staid two or three years, and finally moved to the place now owned by his son, William Brown, in the present township of Mahoning, one mile north of Edenburg, where he lived until his death, which occurred about 1850, at the age of ninety years. He died of a malignant dysentery, then prevailing to an alarming extent in the vicinity. His wife died some years previously. Mr. Brown was adjutant of a militia regiment previous to the war of 1812, the same of which Ezekiel Sankey was major. He and James Park were out together at Erie during the war of 1812. Subsequent to the war he served for some time in the State militia. Joseph Brown had seven sons, Robert, William, John, Matthew, Joseph, David and Madison. Only two are now living. A man named Isaac Bryson settled at the mouth of the little run above Grant street bridge, soon after 1800. Joseph Cox and Samuel his son also settled in this township about 1802-3 on the "Scotland" farm. A brother-in-law of Cox, William Miller, settled on the Cameron farm south of the district line about the same time. Among other early settlers were William Young, who came from Cumberland county, Pa., and settled the place now owned by the Young heirs and others, on the New Castle and Youngstown road, about 1810. Among the later comers were Robert Paisley and family, three sons and six daughters, from Lancaster county, Pa., who settled in 1827, in New Castle, but, after a residence of two years, in 1829 purchased thirty acres where his son Andrew N. now lives. He was a cooper by trade and followed the occupation until his death in October, 1851. His wife died in 1836. His sons were named respectively John, Andrew N. and Robert. All three are now living in West New Castle, adjoining each other. The sisters are all dead but one, who lives in Sharon, Mercer county. Shubael Wilder came to this vicinity in 1838, and was engaged in erecting the Ętna Iron Works during that and the succeeding year. He was from the State of Massachusetts, and, since his first settlement, has been more or less identified with the manufacturing and commercial interests of New Castle. He has a fine residence in the southern part of West New Castle. The Crawfords--Alexander L., George W., and James A.--came about 1840-41, and have been also identified with the great business interests of the city from that day to this. Two of the brothers, George W. and James A., reside in Union township, where they own valuable property. Alexander L. lives in Taylor township, on a splendid farm just south of the Union township line. John McComb, from Washington county, Pa., settled in the township of Mahoning, one mile above Edenburg, about 1806, and lived there some ten years, when he traded for a farm about a mile below Edenburg, in what is now Union township, where he lived until his death, in November, 1866, at the age of eighty-six years. The old McComb homestead is now owned by A. N. Paisley and Mrs. Maria McComb. Mr. McComb was clerk in the old "Seceder" Church in New Castle for twenty years, commencing with its organization under Rev. Alexander Murray. John Fulkerson, from Virginia, settled in this township about 1810. John Ray settled at a very early date on the Shenango river, about two miles above New Castle. The country was a wilderness--luxuries were unknown, and even the necessities of life were sometimes hard to procure. Mrs. Ray was a woman of uncommon determination, as the following incident will show. At one time, when her husband, no doubt, was busy clearing his land and getting ready for raising a crop, she went on foot alone through the forest to Rochester, on the Ohio river, a distance of some twenty-five miles, to purchase a little salt for family use. At the store where she traded she saw a quantity of flax-seed, and her imagination at once looked forward to the day when the family could be "clothed in purple and fine linen," and she tried to think of some way by which she could procure a little of the shining seed. But her money was all gone, and she could not expect to get trusted. She talked with the merchant, and told how fine a thing it would be if they could only get enough of the seed to make a start, until finally he told her if she had any way in which she could carry it he would give her a small quantity and she could pay him when they raised a crop. She could find nothing to carry it in, and as a last resort, rather than go home without it, she improvised a sack from the skirt of her scanty dress, and actually carried home a peck of the seed through the wilderness in that way. Whether she ever paid the accommodating trader or not, we do not know, but she no doubt felt as rich when she arrived at home with her package as if she had been burdened with so much gold dust. The Rays afterwards removed to Hickory township, and eventually to some of the Western States. This township is an anomaly in one respect among its sister townships.* It has not a single church or congregation within its borders. The people all attend church outside their own limits--at New Castle, Mahoningtown, Edenburg, the "Harbor," and possibly other points. *This is also true of Washington township. They are undoubtedly equally zealous in the cause of religion, and contribute as much in proportion to their means as any equal population in the county, but the singular fact remains that there is not a church in the township. SCHOOLS. The earliest school in the township was opened in 1806, in "Parkstown." It was supported by subscriptions. The first teacher was one Shearer, an Irishman, and a terrible fellow with the rod. The school-building was of round logs, and the scholars, some of them, came a distance of three miles to attend. It was not kept up very long, for the few scattered settlers were not able to pay the necessary teachers. There are at the present time four school-buildings in the township, two of brick and two of wood, and seven schools, with an enrollment of four hundred and fifty scholars, and an average attendance of two hundred and twenty-five. The total amount raised for school purposes in 1875 was $3,174.40. The largest school-building in the township is the brick one in West New Castle. It is two stories in height, and contains four rooms, but, notwithstanding its large size, it is crowded with pupils. There is also another school-building in the village, leaving but two for the balance of the township. "WESTERN-RESERVE HARBOR." As a matter of history it is proper to put on record a few facts regarding this point, thought the business has long since departed, and only the quiet farms remain. The Beaver Division of the canal was completed to this point in the Fall of 1833, and, being the "head of navigation," it at once became an important point. It was named for the reason that all the freighting and passenger business from and to the rich region known as the "Western Reserve," in the northeastern part of Ohio, made this its shipping and forwarding point. Great quantities of merchandise, cheese, black salts, and every kind of commodity entering into the general business of the country, was handled here. Large quantities of sandstone for building purposes were also shipped over the canal from some point near Pittsburgh, and landed at the "Harbor," and [p. 126] hauled thence by teams, of which hundreds were frequently on the ground at once. It was a busy mart, and transacted far more general business than New Castle. F. J. Clark, from Bridgewater, Beaver county, erected the first warehouse in either 1834 or 1835. It was on the north side of Sankey's run, and Mr. Clark did a general forwarding and commission business. David Sankey erected a second warehouse on the south side of the run about the year 1836, and also built a bridge over the run, at his own expense, to facilitate his trade business, and was agent for a line of boars called the "Greenville line," and Mr. Clark was agent for a line owned by G. M. Horton & Co. The two agents did a rival business for a few months, when Mr. Clark came to Mr. Sankey and made a proposition that he should take charge of his business, and also take the agency of the other lines. He offered Mr. Sankey a good salary, and only required him to do justice to both parties without partiality. Mr. Sankey finally accepted the proposition, and carried on the business for a year with such satisfaction that Mr. Clark paid him ten dollars per month additional salary when he settled with him, and offered him a partnership, which he accepted, though he still continued as agent for the "Greenville line." Soon after G. M. Horton & Co. bought the "Greenville line"--boats, horses, and everything pertaining to their business, and from this time until the canal was completed to Greenville, in 1840, Mr. Sankey handled the whole business at "the Harbor" with profit to the company and himself, and to the general satisfaction of the people. A town was laid out at this point about 1835, by Thomas Allison, and quite a number of lots were sold. There were two hotels, one a frame building, and the other partly frame and partly logs. A general store was also kept by Samuel J. Bolby, and there was a blacksmith shop in or near the town. There were not many buildings erected, for the people soon saw that upon the completion of the canal their business must necessarily leave them. Mr. Sankey was elected to the State Senate in the Fall of 1847. during his term of office complaints came from the lumbermen on the French creek, on account of the dams, built by the canal company on the creek to furnish water to the feeder, not having "slides" or arrangements for running rafts over them, and Mr. Sankey framed a bill requiring the company to build the necessary "slides" and "shutes," and also incorporated a clause requiring them to build a bridge over the Shenango river at "Western Reserve Harbor." He was contractor for this latter work, and built a substantial frame bridge about 1852-3, which is still standing, in good condition. He also procured an Act of Assembly authorizing the County Commissioners to take charge of it, and it was turned over to them ready for use without expense to the county. After the canal was completed to Greenville "the Harbor" was abandoned as a shipping point, and the warehouse erected by Mr. Sankey was moved to another locality and used as a stable for a long time. The canal-dam at New Castle, which backed the water up about six miles, was torn away about 1873. The valuation of the taxable property for a series of years, commencing with 1872, has been as follows: 1872, $231,158; 1873, $234,612; 1874, $245,284; 1875, $241,563; 1876, $240,972; 1877, $227,323. The taxes assessed for the purpose of keeping the roads of the township in repair for a number of years, appear to be as follows: For 1860, total amount levied, - - - - $607 70 For 1861, " " - - - - 606 42 For 1862, " " - - - - 609 05 As a subject for comparison we give the amounts levied for the past few years, as shown by the auditor's books, commencing with 1873: For 1873, total tax levied, - - - - - $1,410 38 For 1874, " " - - - - - 1,228 64 For 1875, " " - - - - - 2,032 63 For 1876, " " - - - - - 1,204 54 The increase for 1875 was caused by extraordinary rains and floods. There is very little manufacturing done in this township; with the exception of the Ętna furnaces and a brewery or two near the Erie and Pittsburgh railway depot, there is nothing of consequence. A steam saw-mill was built and operated for a time some years since by Amaziah Sample, near the river. "SUNNY-SIDE" GARDENS. One of the most beautiful spots in the vicinity of the romantic city of New Castle, is found on the west side of the Shenango river, among the glens that afford such enchanting scenery to the south and west of Greenwood Cemetery. On a promontory lying between two of these wild glens, stands the fine residence of Mr. C. B. Lower, surrounded by tastefully laid out and finely ornamented grounds and mostly occupied by flower and fruit gardens, and familiarly known under the title given at the head of his article. Mr. Lower purchased, in 1868, eight acres of wild and uncultivated land, intending it solely for a homestead. He had served in the army during the rebellion four years--two in the Pennsylvania "Bucktails," and the balance in the 23d Ohio Infantry, Colonel R. B. Hayes commanding, now (February, 1877) Governor of Ohio. After his discharge, he returned home an entered the law office of David Craig, Esq., a prominent attorney of New Castle, intending to follow the legal profession. In the Spring of 1869 he was offered a position in the United States Revenue Department, procured mainly in consequence of his services during the war, which position, by the advice of Mr. Craig, he finally accepted, and continued in the government service until 1875. He had, in the meantime, spent his leisure hours in the cultivation of vegetables, and gradually worked into the flower and fruit business. He sold off a portion of his purchase to advantage for building purposes, has now three and a-half acres. He erected a fine house, and laid off his grounds with roadways, walks, &c., transforming the once unsightly place into a bower of beauty. The place is approached from New Castle by a wild and romantic road, winding around the side of the steep bluff south of the cemetery, and crossing the "Hemlock Glen" on a bridge elevated some forty or fifty feet above the roaring torrent below. In 1875 Mr. Lower became one of the stockholders in the "Greenwood Cemetery Company," and was also chosen president. In connection with the cemetery he has a fine greenhouse, where he cultivates choice varieties of flowers, ferns &c. At his home-place he has two large greenhouses for the cultivation of early vegetables and flowers. He is gradually going out of the fruit business, and giving all his attention to the cultivation of flowers, shrubbery and vegetables. The bulk of his products is sold at the public market-house in New Castle, but he also employs men and teams during the summer, who sell in Lawrence and adjoining counties. In the pursuit of his chosen avocation Mr. L. unites pleasure with profitable labor, and thereby finds abundant employment for both mind and body. His establishment is finely and conveniently situated with reference to the city of New Castle, and to the lover of the romantic and beautiful we know of no other locality in the vicinity which is more interesting. ------------------------------------------------------------------------