Venango county was duly organized in the fall of 1805, and the first term
of court was held at Franklin, in December of that year. During the following
year the first assessment rolls for the newly organized county were completed.
Those rolls have been carefully preserved (as seems not to have been
the case with early papers of the same class in Crawford county), and from
them we have obtained the most complete and authentic list of the original
pioneers of Warren county now available, and now published for the first time.
Brokenstraw was still the only township in Warren county, and its taxable
inhabitants in 1806, together with the amount and kind of taxable property
owned by each, were as follows :
Addison, (1.) Alexander, 2 outlets in Warren.
(1.) This was Judge Addison, of Pittsburgh. And here we are reminded that of those named in the following list of taxables, only those who were assessed for personal property can be counted with certainty as actual residents during the years mentioned.
Armstrong, George, 2 outlets and 2 inlots in Warren.
Adams, William, 400 acres land, 1 horse.
Arthur, John, 170 acres land, 1 cow, 4 oxen and 1/2 of saw-mill.
Andrews, Robert, 900 acres land, 2 horses, 3 cows, 1 saw-rnill and 2 inlots in Warren.
Andrews, James, single man, 1 inlot in Warren.
Andrews, John, 600 acres land, 4 horses, 2 cows, 4 inlots and 1 outlet in Warren.
Arthur, William, 70 acres land, 1 cow, 1
horse, 1 inlot in Warren.
Arthur, Robert, single man, 2 outlets in Warren.
Anderson, Samuel, 150 acres, 1 cow.
Baldwin, Jonathan, single man, 400 acres land, 1 cow.
Brown, John, 400 acres land, 1 cow, 2 horses.
Brown, James, single man, 100 acres land, 1
cow.
Barr, John, 100 acres land, 2 cows, 2 oxen.
Budd, Benjamin, single man.
Biles, Charles, 400 acres land, 1 cow.
Buchanan, Andrew, 1 cow.
Bonner, Robert, 400 acres land, 1 cow, 1 grist-mill.
Banjer, Mathew, 134 acres land.
Bell, John, 400 acres land, 1 cow, 1 horse.
Bell, Mary, 100 acres land.
Bell, Robert, 1 cow, single man.
Cole, Benjamin, 100 acres land, 1 cow.
Culbertson, James, 400 acres land.
Crawford, John, 1 cow.
Chamberlain, Stout, 200 acres land, 1 cow, 1
horse.
Coneway, George, 400 acres land.
Carpenter, William, 100 acres land, 2 horses, 2 cows.
Carpenter, John, single man, 1 horse.
Cochran, William, 1 cow, 1 horse.
Culbertson, James, Jr., 250 acres land, 1 cow, 2 oxen, 2 inlots in Warren.
Corbett, Daniel, 250 acres land, 1 horse, 1 cow, 1 inlot in Warren.
Corbett, William, 1 inlot in Warren.
Corbett, Isaac, 1 inlot in Warren.
Call, Daniel, 200 acres land, 2 cows, 1 horse, 2 oxen.
Call, Dennis, 200 acres land, 1 cow.
Cunningham, Richard, single man, 400 acres land.
Carr, David, 200 acres land at mouth of the Brokenstraw.
Craig, Isaac, 1,080 acres land.
Davis, Elijah, 100 acres land, 2 cows, 2 oxen.
Davis, Abraham, single man, 100 acres land, 1 ox.
Davis, John, 100 acres land.
Dougherty, Charles, single man.
Dickson, John, 100 acres land, 1 cow, I horse.
Davis, William, 150 acres land, 1 cow, 2 horses.
Davis, Thomas, 150 acres land.
Eagan, William, 700 acres land, 1 horse, 2 oxen, 1 inlot in Warren.
Eddy, Zachariah, 400 acres land, 2 cows, 2 oxen, 1 inlot in WTarren.
Evers, Andrew, 200 acres land, 2 oxen.
Evans, William, single man,
Elder James, 400 acres land, 1 horse, 1 cow, 2 oxen.
Elder, John, 400 acres land, 1 cow, single man.
Ford, Samuel, 400 acres land, single man.
Felton, John, 100 acres land.
Ford, William, single man, 400 acres land, 1
horse, 1 inlot in Warren.
Foster, William B., single man, 1 horse.
Frampton, John, 50 acres land, 1 cow.
Frampton, Nathaniel, 100 acres land, 1 horse, 1 cow.
Ford, John, 100 acres land, 1 cow, 2 oxen.
Frew, Hugh, 200 acres land, 3 cows.
Fenton, George W., single man.
Gray, Joseph, 400 acres land, 1 cow, 1 horse, 2 inlots in Warren, 550 acres "up the Creek."
Groves, Thomas W., 200 acres land, 2 cows.
Granger, Eli, single man.
Gibson, Samuel, 400 acres land, 1 inlot in Warren.
Gibson, Gideon, 2 cows, 2 oxen, 2 inlots in Warren.
Gilson, John, 2 cows, 1 horse, 2 oxen, 2 inlots in Warren.
Gibson, Erastus, 2 inlots in Warren.
Gibson, Jacob, 400 acres land, 3 cows, 2 oxen.
Grippin, William, single man.
Goodwin, Joseph, single man, 1 cow.
Huffman, Philip, 400 acres land, 2 cows, 2 horses.
Hildebrandt, George, 400 acres land, 2 cows, 2 oxen.
Hildebrandt, George, Jr., 400 acres land.
Hildebrandt, Solomon, 400 acres land.
Hicks, John, 400 acres land, 2 cows.
Hicks, Levi, 400 acres land, 2 cows, 1 horse.
Hicks, Gershom, 1 cow.
Hare, Michael, 100 acres land, 1 cow.
Hare, James, 100 acres land.
Hunter, Robert, 400 acres land, 1 cow, 2 oxen.
Henderson, Richard, 400 acres land, 1 cow.
Henry, William, single man.
Hunter, Garrett, 400 acres land.
Huffman, Jacob. 100 acres land, 2 cows, 1 horse.
Houghy, John, 400 acres land.
Hood, John, 100 acres land, 2 cows, 1 horse.
Irvine, Callender, 800 acres land east of the Allegheny River, 200 acres land opposite Warren.
Irvin, James, 400 acres land, 1 cow, 2 oxen.
Jackson, Daniel, 130 acres land, 2 cows, 1
horse, 2 oxen, 2 inlots in Warren, 1 saw-mill.
Jackson, Daniel, Jr., 400 acres land, 2 cows, 1 inlot in Warren.
Jackson, Ethan, 200 acres land, 2 cows, 2 oxen, 1 horse, 2 inlots in Warren.
Jackson, Elijah, 150 acres land, 2 cows.
Jones, Isaiah, 329 acres land, 2 cows, 2 oxen.
Jones, Daniel, 3 cows, 1 inlot in Warren.
Justice, James, 250 acres land, 2 cows, 1 horse.
Justice, John, 2 oxen.
Jones, Edward, single man.
Jobes, Samuel, single man, 1 horse.
Kennedy, Thomas R., 5 outlets in Warren.
Linn, James, 100 acres land, 1 cow, 1 horse.
Long, George, 400 acres land, 1 cow, 1 horse, 2 oxen, 1 saw-mill.
Long, John, single man.
Long, John, Senr, 200 acres land.
Lapsley, William, 400 acres land, 1 cow, 1
horse.
Lynch, George, 1 cow.
Miller, John, single man, 100 acres land.
McKinney, Michael, 200 acres land, 2 cows, 1 horse.
Marsh, Mulford, 400 acres land, 1 cow, 2 oxen.
McGinty, Daniel, 400 acres land.
Morrison, Jeremiah, 133 acres land, 2 cows, 2 oxen, 1/3 pt. saw-mill, 1 inlot in Warren.
Morrison, Samuel, 133 acres land, 2 oxen, 1/3 part saw-mill, 1 inlot in Warren.
Morrison, James, 183 acres land, 2 cows, 2 oxen, 1/3 part saw-mill.
Morrison, John, 400 acres land, 2 cows, 1
horse, 2 inlots in Warren
Morrison, James, Senr, 4 oxen, 3 cows.
Morrison, William, single man, 2 inlots in Warren.
Morrison, Ephraim, single man, 1 inlot in Warren.
Murdock, Abijah, 11 inlots and 6 outlets in Warren, single man.
McClain, Neil, 200 acres land, 2 oxen, 2 cows.
McClain, John, 150 acres land.
Murdock, Galen, 100 acres land, 2 cows, 1 horse.
Murdock, Moses, 100 acres land, 2 cows.
Miles, Robert, 1650 acres land, 2 cows, 2 horses.
McClay, Charles, 150 acres land.
Marsh, John, 800 acres land, 1 cow, 2 oxen, 1 outlot and 4 inlots in Warren.
Marsh, Hugh, 500 acres land, 2 cows, 2 oxen, 1 horse, 3 outlets and 2 inlots in Warren.
Mead, Darius, 300 acres land, 2 oxen, 3 cows, 1 saw-mill, 1/2 grist-mill.
Mead, Joseph, 400 acres land, 3 cows, 1 horse, 2 oxen, 1 saw-mill, 1/2 grist-mill, 2 inlots in Warren.
McQuay, Daniel, 400 acres land, 2 oxen.
McNair, Charles, single man, 200 acres land, 1 horse.
Murphy, Jesse, 200 acres land, 1 cow.
Maxwell, William, 400 acres land, 2 cows, 2 oxen.
McCue, Daniel, 100 acres land.
Morrison, Hugh, 400 acres land, 1 horse, 1
cow.
McGuire, Hugh, 400 acres land, 1 cow, 1
horse.
McClain, William, 100 acres land, 2 cows, 2
horses.
McDowell, Alexander, 9 outlets and 4 inlots in Warren, 11 acres Reserve.
McKinney, Barnabas, 100 acres, 1 cow, 1 horse, 2 oxen, 1/2 saw-mill.
McKinney, John, 500 acres land, 2 oxen, 2 inlets in Warren.
Miner, Allen S., single man.
Neville, John, 400 acres land.
Olds, Gilbert, 100 acres of land, 1 "stear," 1
horse.
Peelman, Christopher, single man, 100 acres land, 1 cow, 2 oxen.
Peelman, John, 100 acres land.
Prosser, Daniel Senr, single man, 1 cow, 1
horse.
Prosser, William, 100 acres land.
Prosser, Daniel Jr., 100 acres land.
Prosser, Isaac, 100 acres land.
Putnam, Michael, 133 acres land.
Putnam, Nathaniel, 133 acres land.
Portman, (1.) John, 800 acres land, 2 cows, 2 oxen.
(1.) At the June term of court, 1821, John Portman, then seventy-one years of age and living with
Hugh Marsh, made affidavit that he enlisted in August, 1776, in a company commanded by Captain
Moses Carson in the Eighth Regiment of the Pennsylvania Line, Continental Army. The regiment
was commanded by Colonel Enos McCay until his death, and subsequently by Colonel D. Brodhead;
that he (Portman) continued under the command of Carson until he (Carson) revolted, when the company
was commanded by Captain John Findlay, with whom he served till the close of the war. The
affidavit further states that Portman was engaged in the battles of Brandywine and Boundbrook and
various skirmishes. He was taken prisoner at the battle of Brandywine and confined at James Island,
S. C, but escaped the evening before the British evacuated Charleston.
The old veteran was then (1821) an insolvent debtor, and this statement was made under oath, to
the end that he might avail himself of a recent act of Congress, passed for the relief and immunity from
imprisonment of old soldiers thus circumstanced.
Ross, Stephen, 400 acres land, 1 cow, 1 horse, 1/2 saw-mill.
Reese, Martin, 2 cows, 1 horse, 2 oxen, 117 acres Reserve lands, 1 inlot in Warren.
Reese, Martin, Jr., single man, one horse.
Rogers, James, single man, one horse.
Russell, John, 200 acres land, 3 cows, 2 oxen.
Russell, Thomas, single man, 100 acres, 1 cow.
Russell, Robert, 100 acres land, 1 cow, 2 oxen, 1 inlot in Warren.
Robertson, Jonathan, 200 acres land, 2 cows, 2 oxen.
Rinard, Isaac, 400 acres land, 2 cows, 2 horses.
Stuart, John, 100 acres land, 1 cow.
Stuart, James, 200 acres land, 1 horse.
Stuart, William, single man, 100 acres land.
Shelletto, Edward, 400 acres land, 1 cow.
Shipman, James, 100 acres land, 1 cow, 2 oxen.
Stiles, John, 400 acres land, 1 cow, 2 oxen.
Stage, Samuel, 50 acres land, 3 inlots and 2 outlots in Warren.
Slone, George, 400 acres land, 3 cows.
Smith, John, single man.
Swar, Jacob, 2 inlots in Warren.
Simon, T. G. V., 200 acres land, 1 cow, 2 horses.
Stewart, James, single man.
Sims, James, single man, 400 acres land, 1 inlot in Warren.
Shearer, Joseph, single man, 1 horse.
Sims, William, 150 acres land, 1 cow, 2 horses, 1 inlot in Warren.
Spitler, William, 2 horses, 2 cows, 2 oxen.
Sample, John, 1 cow.
Stearns, Ellesus, 200 acres land.
Sample, John, Jr., 150 acres land, 1 horse, 2 cows.
Stewart, Richard, 100 acres land, 1 cow, 2 oxen.
Smith, Charles, 400 acres land, 1 cow.
Tyler, Joel, single man, 200 acres land, 1 cow.
Thompson, Aaron, 400 acres land, 1 cow, 1 horse.
Thompson, Daniel, 400 acres land, 1 horse.
Thompson, Alexander, 50 acres land.
Talmage, Levi, single man.
Welch, Samuel, 800 acres land, 2 cows, 2 horses, 2 oxen.
Winton, David, single man, 200 acres land.
Watts, John, Jr., single man, 150 acres land, 1 ox.
Wilson, Hugh, 300 acres land, 1 cow, 2 oxen.
White, Alfred, 100 acres land, 2 cows, 2 oxen.
Wilson, William, 600 acres land, 1 horse, 2 oxen, 2 cows, 2 inlots in Warren.
Wilson, James, 200 acres.
White, Giles, 100 acres land, 2 cows, 2 oxen.
Wales, Moses, 400 acres land, 2 oxen.
Wilson, Samuel, 400 acres land, 1 cow, 2 oxen.
Wright, Isaiah, single man, 1 horse, 3 inlots in Wrarren.
Woods, John, 400 acres land.
Watts, Alexander, single man, 200 acres land.
Watts, James, single man, 300 acres land.
Watts, John, 200 acres land, 1 cow, 2 oxen.
Waldo, Frederick, 400 acres land, 2 cows.
Young, John, 2 inlots in Warren.
York, Amos, 100 acres land, 2 cows.
Young, Mathew, single man, 400 acres land, 1 saw-mill.
Young, Christopher, 400 acres land, 2 horses, single man.
The assessor for that year was Hugh Marsh, and the total amount of the
tax levied upon the taxable property in the township, or county rather, was
$441.12 1/2.
Here, then, are shown the names of two hundred and six of the earliest
residents of Warren county, the representatives of a population of nearly one
thousand people, or a much greater number than has heretofore been supposed
to have existed here at that time. But to determine who among them was
the first settler, or the first dozen families to settle in the county, is an impracticable
task. It is probable, however, that if it should be asserted that the
Andrews, Arthur, Brown, Bonner, Corbett, Call, Davis, Evers, Elder, Frampton,
Frew, Gray, Gibson, Gilson, Huffman, Hildebrandt, Hicks, Hare, Irvin,
Jackson, Jones, Long, McQuay, Marsh, Morrison, Miles, Mead, McKinney,
McDowell, Prosser, Reese, Russell, Stewart, Slone, Sample, Thompson, Welch,
Watts, Wilson, and Young families were among the very first, and that they
became residents here during the years from 1797 to 1802, the assertion would
not be far from being correct.
It has been claimed that settlements were made in Pine Grove and Columbus
townships prior to 1795, but from facts already set forth in previous chapters,
viz.: that the Indians, including Cornplanter's band, were hostile until
1795; that the British did not evacuate forts on the American side of the line
until the following year; that this immediate region offered no special inducements
for settlement over others situated in less dangerous localities; that this
territory had not then been surveyed and legally opened to settlements, and
that so far as authentically known no settlements existed in all this part of the
State prior to 1795, other than those at the mouth of French Creek, and at
Meadville, and those composing these settlements were glad to seek the protection
of Forts Franklin and Le Bceuf until long after Wayne's victory—we
do not believe that any permanent settlements were effected in Warren county
until about 1796-97. True, a block-house had been erected at Warren about
1795, but this was intended for the storage of supplies, etc., sent here for the
use of those engaged in surveying the lands of the Holland Company, and
when their work was completed, or when winter came on, it is but natural to
presume that these men returned to their homes. However, for more detailed
accounts of early settlements the reader is referred to township histories, and
the personal sketches to be found in other pages of this work.
|
