Pioneer Settlers of Cambria County Pennsylvania
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PIONEER SETTLERS ADAMS FAMILY PRINCE GALLITZIN CAPTAIN MICHAEL M'GUIRE JOSEPH' JOHNS HE LAYS OUT THE VILLAGE OF CONEMAUGH.
The best proof that is now obtainable leads to the conclusion that Samuel. Solomon, and Eachel Adams were the first white people to locate, improve and till the soil on land within the limits of Cambria county. It seems that the Adams family came from Berks county some time prior to 1774, and improved the Peter Snyder tract of land, which later became the Horner estate in the Seventh ward. The exact date cannot be fixed, but it was not prior to April 3, 1769, as, by the act of the provincial authorities, no white man was permitted to locate on land which had been reserved by treaty with the Indians for their exclusive use; however, it was prior to 1771.
It will be observed that Charles Campbell took out a warrant on April 3, 1769. It is probable that the Adamses did the same then, or soon thereafter; at least, the deeds show that in 1771 Peter Snyder took out a warrant for the "Solomon Adams Improvement" on "both sides of Solomon's Run" (in the Seventh ward). The records do not show that Solomon Adams took out a warrant: but that he occupied it and made improvements on it there is no doubt.
During this period (1769-1774) the white man and the red man were in a war, which had practically been circumscribed to the territory between Bedford and Pittsburg, and especially in and around Bedford, Ligonier, and points between them. The near-by forts were at Bedford and Ligonier, and one was at Fort Palmer, a few miles south of Lockport and near Covodesville. When danger from the warlike Indian was apprehended the Adamses would flee to one of these points.
In 1777 the Tull family, who resided on the mountains six miles west of Bedford, consisting of father, mother, nine daughters, and a son. were massacred, excepting the son, who was absent. The hill is yet known as the Tull Hill on account of the terrible vengeance of the Indians on this occasion.
Sherman Day gives an account of the courageous action and death of Samuel Adams as follows:
"About December of the same year (1777) a number of families came into the fort (Bedford) from the neighborhood of Johnstown. Amongst them were Samuel Adams, a man named Thornton, and one Bridges. After their alarm had some what subsided they agreed to return for their property. A party started with packhorses, reached the place (now Johnstown), and, not seeing any Indians, collected their property and commenced their return. After proceeding some distance (about four and a half miles) a dog belonging to one of the party showed signs of uneasiness and ran back. Bridges and Thornton desired the others to wait whilst they would go back for him. They went back, and proceeded but 200 or 300 yards, when a body of Indians, who had been lying in wait on each side of the way, but who had been afraid to fire on account of the numbers of whites, suddenly rose up and surrounded them and took them prisoners. The others, not knowing what detained their companions, went back after them. When they arrived near the spot the Indians fired on them, but without doing any injury. The whites instantly turned and fled, excepting Samuel Adams, who took a tree and began to fight in the Indian style. In a few minutes, however, he was killed, but not without doing the same fearful service for his adversary. He and one of the Indians shot at and killed each other at the same moment.
"When the news reached the fort a party volunteered to visit the ground, and when they reached it, although the snow had fallen ankle deep, they readily found the bodies of Adams and the Indian; the face of the latter having been covered by his companions with Adams' hunting shirt."
The place where this sanguinary duel took place between the pioneer and the Indian is on the farm of William Cole, in Richland township, four and a half miles from Johnstown. It is on Sandy Run, near the head of Solomon's Run. The path from the Adams place was up Solomon's Run and then along Sandy Run. The grave where Samuel Adams and the Indian were buried is but a few hundred yards from the home of Mr. Cole, at the angle of the Geistown and Elton, or the "Hollow" road.
The facts of the manner and place of the death of Samuel Adams are fully sustained by tradition, by stories from persons who were companions of Adams, as well as the grave that held the bodies of the representative of the white man and the red race, side by side, who were combatants in a cause in which each believed he was in the right.
The above, as has been noted, is the version, of Historian Day, and wliile'in the essentials it agrees with, yet in many points it differs from well authenticated local tradition concerning the same incidents. Probably the best of these local stories is that of Edwin A. Vickroy, a son of Thomas Vickroy, a surveyor, of Alum Bank, Bedford County.
Thomas Vickroy was a neighbor of the Adamses, and, of course, knew them well, and Edwin A. Vickroy, also a surveyor, knew Archibald Adams, a son of Samuel Adams. From these gentlemen he procured his information, which was substantially this:
That Samuel Adams, just previous to his death, lived on the place formerly owned by Louis von Lunen, but he did not own it, as in a contest with William Barr it had been lost. It is now mostly in the Seventeenth ward of the city. When the Indians became troublesome he took his wife and children to Fort Bedford for safety and came back for his cattle. While collecting them the Indians observed his movements, and when he and his brother Solomon, John Bridges, and Thomas Cheney had started with the cattle toward Bedford, the Indians went around them and ambushed at the crossing of Sandy Eun and fired on them. Solomon escaped and ran to Bedford and gave the alarm. The next day a party came over and found Samuel Adams and an Indian, both dead, and both were buried near where they fell.
No tidings could be had of Bridges and Cheney for a long time, but they finally returned and told of the attack; that they began to fight Indian style, each man getting behind a tree, but that they were overpowered, and had been taken prisoners and conveyed to Canada. But Adams had killed an Indian and was himself dead, before they were taken away. Bridges resided on the place known as Samuel Blough's.
Archibald Adams, the son of Samuel Adams, was born in 1764, and died in what is now the Eighth ward of the city of Johnstown in 1859. A short time before his death he spent the day with Mr. Vickroy, and then said that he was about seven years of age when his father was killed, which would make his death about 1771. Sherman Day states that it was about 1777, but it seems that our authority is the better. We know that the Adamses had improved the John Horner farm prior to 1774, as it was warranted as the "Adams Improvement." Jesse Proctor, the great-grandfather of I. E. Eoberts, of this city, married the widow of Samuel Adams.
There is, as a matter of fact, no doubt of the death of Samuel Adams and of the Indian combatant substantially in the manner set forth, nor of the time nor of the place, and that this historical event is so well authenticated ought to be a matter of satisfaction to the people of the county in which Samuel Adams was undoubtedly the first settler, in the days when every man was a hero. This theory rests upon authority from the lips of persons who were companions of the Adamses, two of whom were John Grosenickel and Peter Goughnour. The late Isaac Hershberger, who was born in 1811 and resided until his death on his farm a short distance from where Samuel Adams died, knew John Grosenickel very well and heard him relate the Adams incident, along with other things occurring at that time, in 1777. Shortly before his death he stated that Grosenickel came from Lancaster county and settled on the farm now occupied by Samuel I. Hershberger, near Geistown, on the Bedford road. The log house occupied by Grosenickel and his family, which was erected before the death of Samuel Adams, is still standing. It was used as a dwelling until 1895 and now does duty as a home for Mr. Hershberger 's chickens. When the trail between the Adams improvement and Geistown was opened, Grosenickel built another log house near the trail, which was used as a lodging place by many a weary traveler. The Adamses were also frequently entertained therein. This house is about three-fourths of a mile east of Geistown on the Bedford road, and was recently occupied by 'Squire McVicker.
In the latter house John Grosenickel died about 1826. His youngest daughter, Salome Grosenickel, married Justus Varner, who later lived in Adams township, but both have been dead many years. A number of their children, however, are now residing in Richland and Adams townships.
Hannah Grosenickel, a daughter of John Grosenickel, married John Miller, who was an uncle of Isaac Hershberger. They resided on a farm now occupied by Joseph S. Blougli, a mile and a half south of Geistown. Mr. Miller moved to the "Miami" country in Ohio, and afterward to Iowa, a good many years ago.
Peter Goughnour, Daniel and Christian his brothers, lived above Solomon's Run. Isaac Hershberger was intimate with Peter Gouglmour, and in referring to the early days of pioneering, told him that on one occasion, he, with some of his neighbors, went east to procure provisions and were unavoidably delayed, and when the party returned Goughnour 's family were living on nettles and potato stalks, which they cooked as greens.
RACHEL ADAMS.
Tradition has it that Rachel Adams was also killed by the Indians, and this is authenticated by the word of Peter Goughnour and Thomas Vickroy, the surveyor. These gentlemen frequently told Mr. Hershberger how Samuel, Solomon, and Eachel Adams started from their home to go to Bedford over the Geistown trail; that they remained at Grosenickel's over night and started at an early hour next morning with some horses. After proceeding a few miles something occurred that required the brothers to return, and they left Rachel in charge of the horses for what they expected would be a brief absence. Before their return, however, the Indians appeared, captured the horses, and killed Rachel Adams. This occurred near Elton, in Adams township, at a small stream which has since been known as Eachel's Run, named by the woman's brothers, it is said, in commemoration of the horrible deed. In her memory also was named Rachel's Hill, a prominence a short distance east of Geistown on the Bedford road.
In connection with the death of Samuel and Rachel Adams, tradition says that their brother Solomon was also killed by the red man, but there is no authentic, or reasonably authentic, information that such was the case. The probabilities are that it is not true, as we have record testimony in the colonial archives that in 1787 Solomon Adams was appointed by the Provincial Council as one of the Viewers to locate the Frankstown road, and acted in that capacity, as appears by his report when the duty was performed.
The Hannastown massacre, in 1782, was the final atrocious act of the Indians. For a year or two afterward an occasional attack was made on the white settlers, but by 1784 there was practically peace as far west as Westmoreland county, and it is not probable that Solomon Adams was put to death by them after 1787.
On Friday, April 6, 1787, at a meeting of the supreme executive council in Philadelphia, wherein Benjamin Franklin was President, commissioners as follows were appointed.
"Charles Campbell, of Westmoreland County, and James Harris, of Cumberland County, surveyors, and Solomon Adams, of Bedford County, were appointed Commissioners to lay out a highway between the navigable waters of Frankstown Branch of Juniata and the River Conemaugli, agreeably to Act of Assembly dated 29th of March last."
Within recent years proofs of the habitation of the Indian in this vicinity have been plowed from the ground and fonnd in trees. A few years ago Saninel I. Hershberger plowed up an Indian tomahawk, and frequently he has found arrow points made of stone, some broken and others whole. John B. Lehman found an arrow head on the farm of Moses B. Miller, in Richland. Isaac Hershberger cut a tree on his farm and found near the top of a flint arrow head imbedded therein. About 1863 the late Wesley J. Rose found a skeleton in the lot now occupied by John Thomas, Esq., on Vine street, Johnstown, which the late Dr. John Lowman, the eminent surgeon and i^hysician, pronounced to be the perfect form of a matured Indian.
Pastor Gallitzin, a pioneer, came from the Gallitzin family, of the Russian nobility, whose members had been prominent in war and diplomacy from the sixteenth century.
Vasili, a prince of that house, surnamed the Great, born 1643, died 1714, was the councilor and favorite of Sophia, the sister of Peter the Great, and regent during the latter 's minority. The design of Vasili was to marry Sophia and place himself on the Russian throne, but it miscarried, whereupon Peter placed Sophia in a convent, and banished Vasili to a spot on the Frozen ocean, where he died.
Amalie, Princess Gallitzin (1746-1806), the mother of Father Gallitzin, was a daughter of the Prussian general. Count von Schmettau, and was noted for her literary culture and devoutness to Catholicism. In 1768 she married Prince Dimitri Alexievitch Gallitzin, (1738-1803) a diplomat and the author of several books on geology. He had been sent as ambassador to the court of France in 1763, and to The Hague ten years later. The Prince and Princess separated, she withdrawing from a life of splendor in the courts of Europe retired to a charming residence between The Hague and Scheveningen, where she educated her two children, a son and daughter.
Demetrius Augustine Gallitzin was born at The Hague, December 22, 1770. He was carefully educated and at seventeen was confirmed in the church of his mother's choice, taking the name of Augustine to please her. The father, desiring to have his son enter the army and take up a military career, procured for him an appointment as aide-de-camp to the Austrian General von Lillien, but difficulties arose which caused a reconsideration for his future, and the position was not accepted.
The father had conceived a profound admiration for John Adams, who represented the States at The Hague, which feeling was cordially reciprocated, and when the military career was cast aside for the present at least, the Prince desired his son to travel through the United States under the kindly attention and influence of Mr. Adams. The father gave him letters to Mr. Adams and others in the field of diplomacy at Washington, and the mother procured a letter of introduction from the Prince-Bishop of Hildesheim to Bishop Carroll, of Baltimore. It was the decision of the parents that Demetrius should lay aside his princely title and estate, and should travel in America under the name of Mr. Schmet, an abbreviation of "von Schmettau," his family name.
When the time for his departure had come and his mother accompanied him to the pier, he recanted and implored her to let him stay. Her flashing eyes and indignant accusation of cowardice overcame him, and he fell backward into the ocean, but being an expert swinuner he recovered in time to sail for the new world. Demetrius arrived in Baltimore on October 28, 1792, and presented his letter to Bishop Carroll, who took a kindly interest in the youthful traveler. His life was made so pleasant that he evinced no desire to form new acquaintances, nor is it known that he called ujDon Mk. Adams at Washington, who was then vice-president.
Probably a year or more after his arrivel he informed the Bishop that he had determined to renounce his ambition and that of his familv, and intended to enter the church for the benefit of the American mission. His family were informed of the new declaration, and they were astounded; beseeching letters came, imploring him not to do so, but he remained firm and entered the Society of St. Sulpice, and on March 18, 1795, was ordained a priest. Thus a child of fortune became a pioneer in the forest of the Allegheny mountains. He was now known as Father Smith, and served as a missionary at Port Tobacco, on the Susquehanna, at Conewago, near Gettysburg, and in Cumberland and Huntingdon counties, until July, 1799, when he arrived at Loretto, the scene of his future home and work.
Captain McGuire had donated a tract of land for church purposes at Loretto. and Father Gallitzin began to construct a log church, where on December 24, 1799, lie celebrated the initial mass in a building, which was the first one erected for that purpose between the Mississippi and the Susquehanna rivers. He devoted his services to the congregation at Loretto, and traveled the mountains administering spiritual comfort to those who were unable to attend his church. He created debts for the church and honored them with remittances received from his sister, until in 1808 he was informed that in consequence of adopting the Catholic faith and clerical profession he was excluded from any share in his father 's estate, and tliat his mother having died (1806) his sister was sole heiress. This decision of the Russian senate and council of state was approved by the emperor and was therefore irrevocable.
His sister, known as the Princess Marianne, or Mimi, could not bestow any part of the property on her brother, but she wrote him that she would faithfully divide the income, and led him to believe that it was her wish to do so. Her promises were not fulfilled, although he received small remittances for a while, the princess ended all hope by marrying, late in life, the Prince de Salm, who squandered her fortune. These complications caused his financial em.barrassment, for debts not of his own, but m.ade for the use of the church and which he felt in honor bound to meet. It is estimated that he had spent between $150,000 and $170,000 from his own fortune. These sacrifices on his part were beyond the comprehension of the rougher element, and aroused suspicion in the minds of the wicked. Notwithstanding the financial difficulties, these suspicious persons formed a conspiracy to ruin his reputation, even accusing him of forgery; but it fell harmless among those who knew him, and Bishop Carroll always remained his friend. In these difficulties with the border ruffians, who had been encouraged by the suspicious members of the community, he showed much courage and fearlessness. On one occasion two of the intense sinners went to his church with the intention of attacking him there by an assault. He was informed of this, and when the congregation had assembled, coming before the altar in his vestments, he said: "I now proceed to offer up the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass. Let no one dare to profane this church, or insult the Christ here present, by one word or movement. And I tell you this," as he advanced with vigor of speech, "and I tell you this, if any man raises hand or foot to take me from the altar, or to interrupt my words this day, another day shall come when he will call for me and I will not be there."
On July 18, 1807, one of the conspirators recanted and humiliatingly acknowledged his guilt, and imposed this penalty upon himself: "As to temporal punishment, I will, with cheerfulness, submit to your reverence. I am willing to submit my bare back to flagellation publicly in the church, by your trustees, for I consider no punishment too good to be inflicted upon me, the most unworthy of sinners."
In 1808, in the campaign between Snyder and Eoss for governor, he was enthusiastic for Eoss, the Federalist candidate, and in a letter to Bishop Carroll, who was also a follower of Hamilton, he said: "I am very much afraid of the issue in the next election. Our Irishmen are ready to go mad for Snyder, and Charles Kenny, Esq., of Westchester, by his artful and virulent publications in the Aurora and in Dickson's Lancaster paper, keeps them up in a state of enthusiasm for Snyder and against sound, genuine principles. Under the signature of Tyrconnell he made an attack upon my political character and principles in order to prevent his countrymen of Cambria and Huntingdon counties from listening to me. I yesterday sent my reply to be published in Hamilton's Federal Gazette of Lancaster."
While he was in Huntingdon, in 1802, he filed his naturalization papers and was made a citizen under the name of Augustine Smith. Having adopted this name by the direction of his parents, and the purpose for which it was done having passed, he now desired to have his own name restored; therefore, on December 5, 1809, he presented a petition to the senate and house of representatives of Pennsylvania, praying that a law be enacted to establish his true name of Demetrius Augustine Gallitzin, which was accordingly done on February 12, 1810 (5 Smith, 84).
He was for some years vicar-general of the diocese of Philadelphia, But on October 28, 1823, Gallitzin wrote to Archbishop Marechall declining to accept the bishopric of Detroit, wherein he expressed his laudable purposes thus:
"Several years ago I formed a plan for the good of religion, for the success of which I desire to employ all the means at my disposal when the remainder of my debts are paid. It is to form a diocese for the western part of Pennsylvania. What a consolation for me if I might, before I die, see this plan carried out, and Loretto made an Episcopal See, where the Bishop, by means of the lands attached to the bishopric, wliich are very fertile, would be independent, and where, with very little expense, conld be erected college, seminary and all that is required for an Episcopal establishment."
In writing to Bishop Carroll he expressed his views on the question of temperance thus:
"I am so exceedingly fatigued after walking since last Monday about fifty miles through rocks and mire after sick people (having lost my riding horse) that I am obliged to confine myself to a very few words. From what little experience I have it appears to me that total abstinence from Spirituous liquors is the only sure way of breaking up the habit of that kind; and as. I never keep any kind of liquor, nor drink anything but water or milk, I think if he seriously means to leave off the practice of drinking he will have a fine chance of curing himself effectively by living with me."
Gallitzin was intensely patriotic, and would not submit to any halfway measures or things dishonorable. During the war of 1812 two members of Captain Richard McGruire's company came home without leave of absence, probably worse; they attended the service in the church at Loretto, and as the priest approached from his dwelling one of them went toward him with an offer of greeting to receive the expected welcome. He stopped and clasped his hands behind his back, and with his dark eyes expressing contempt, he bade them no welcome, but saying: "I never shake hands with one who deserts his post," passed on.
Gallitzin was a versatile citizen; beside being the priest, he was the trading man of the community for many miles from Loretto; he was the counsellor in all things, legal and otherwise; he had a limited knowledge of medicine, and gave his assistance wherever he could; he built a tannery and a hat manufactory, and aided the farmers.
On February 9, 1800, he wrote thus to Bishop Carroll informing him of the favorable conditions at Loretto: "Our church, which was only begun in harvest, got finished fit for service the night before Christmas. It is about 44 feet long by 25, built of white pine logs, with a very good shingle roof. I kept service in it at Christmas for the first time, to the very great satisfaction of the whole congregation, who seemed very much moved at a sight which they never beheld before. There is also a house built for me, 16 feet by 14, besides a little kitchen and a stable. I have now, thanks be to God, a little home of my own for the first time since I came to this country, and God grant that I may be able to keep it. The congregation consists at present of about forty families, but there is no end to the Catholics in all the settlements round about me; what will become of them all if we do not receive a new supply of priests, I do not know; I try as much as I can to persuade them to settle around me."
In 1827 Gallitzin not having satisfied all his creditors, he prepared a petition to his fellow Christians requesting relief, wherein he stated: Being the only son of a wealthy father he did not spare expense in order to get the above ends accomplished (establishing the Loretto church), but still spent far below his supposed ability. Lately, unexpectedly and without having had it in his power to foresee, or to even suspect such an event, he finds himself by a decree of his former government, deprived of the whole of his parent's estates, and with debts amounting to more than $5,000. ** This statement came to the hands of Charles Carroll, of Carrollton, the signer of the Declaration of Independence, who endorsed his approval of the project as follows:
"I hereby recommend to all charitable persons to subscribe such sums as their inclination and ability will permit to second the views detailed on the opposite page by the Reverend Demetrius A. Gallitzin.
"Ch. Carroll, of Carrollton.
"13th Nov. 1827."
Some of the subscribers were: Ch. Carroll of Carrollton, $100 ; Robert Oliver, $100 ; Baron de Maltitz, $100 ; Je Silvestre Rebello, $100; Cardinal Capellari, $200 the latter was subsequently known to the world as Pope Gregory XVI; and Matthew Carey,' $20.
Father Gallitzin died May 6, 1840, in his sixty-ninth year. Seven years thereafter a vault was constructed in the church yard to which his remains were transferred, and a humble but substantial monument was erected to his memory. This was, however, replaced by a beautiful bronze figure of the Pioneer Priest, the gift of Charles M. Schwab, as a token of his esteem. It was dedicated October 10, 1899, in the presence of a large concourse, when Archbishop Ireland and Governor William A. Stone made the principal addresses. There were many church dignitaries present, among them Sebastian Martinelli, Archbishop of Ephesus, and the Apostolic Delegate to the United States of Pope Leo XIII; the Kt. Rev. A. A. Curtis, Vicar General of the Archdiocese of Baltimore. Mr. Justice John Dean, of the supreme court, in acknowledging the invitation to be present said: "No one reverences the Christian character of Father Gallitzin more than I; that character shines through all the early records of the county, deeds, wills and contracts. Much of his work passed under my eye as judge in that county. He was a Christian lawyer in this, that taking human nature as it existed, he sought to allay and prevent strife by wise, just and clear writings, as well as by Christian counsel."
The first settler in Northern Cambria was Captain Michael McGuire, who, in 1788, brought his family from Taney town, Maryland, where they had resided. During the Revolution, Captain McGuire had served in a Maryland company, but his first visit to Cambria county had been made on a hunting trip in 1768, when he established his camp near the borough of Chest Springs, which appears on a map of 1793 and is designated "Captain McGuire's Camp." With his nearest neighbors at Blair's Hills on the eastern slope of the mountains, about twelve miles distant, he located the "McGuire Settlement" in the valley east of the borough of Loretto, now Allegheny township, in this county, but at that time in Frankstown township, Huntingdon county. He died on his farm, November 17, 1793, in his seventy-sixth year, and was the first person interred in the Loretto Cemetery.
Captain McGuire was a devout Catholic, and donated a very large tract of land for the use of the church and its schools to Bishop John Carroll, of Baltimore, a cousin of Charles Carroll, of Carrolltown, who was the last survivor of the signers of the Declaration of Independence. This fact was the moving cause which influenced Prince Gallitzin to locate at Loretto and establish a Catholic colony on the western slope of the monntains. The following letter from Bishop Carroll to Prince Gallitzin is pertinent:
"Washington City, March 1, 1799.
"Rev. and Dear Sir:
"I fear you have been disappointed in not receiving an earlier answer to your letter, which covered a list of subscribers in Clearfield, Frankstown and Sinking Valley. I had come hither on immediately before the arrival of yours at Baltimore.
"Your request is granted. I readily consent to your proposal to take charge of the congregations detailed in yours, and hope that you will have a house built on the land granted by Mr. (Michael) McGuire and already settled or cleared, or if more convenient, on your own, if you intend to keep it. * * * I meant to have offered you with your present congregations that of Emmitsburg and the mountain (Mount St. Mary's) united in one.
"John, Bishop of Baltimore."
Captain Richard McGuire was also a pioneer of northern Cambria'. He was a son of the preceding, and was born in Frederick countv, Maryland. December 12, 1771, and died at Loretto, January 13, 1855. He was seventeen when his father located the "McGuire Settlement" at Loretto, and on May 15, 1800, he and Eleanor, daughter of John and Ann Byrne, were married.Captain Richard McGuire, like his father, was a farmer and a patriot; he organized a company at Loretto and commanded it in the War of 1812.
Joseph Johns, the founder of Johnstown, was a native of Switzerland. He and a sister named Frainie Johns came to this country about 1768, when he was near nineteen years of age, and first located in Berks county, where he and Frainie Holly were married. His sister Frainie married Joseph Crisner, and they located on a farm in Elklick township, Somerset county, near Meyersdale. Their children were: Peter, Eli, Jonas, David, Joseph, Benjamin, Christian, Gabriel, John and Daniel. The name Frainie was originally spelled Frainie, but subsequently changed to Frany, Franie, Vronie, and Fannie.
Joseph Johns bought a farm near Berlin, Somerset county, which was afterward owned by Martin Myers, who was county surveyor at one time. In 1793, he sold it, and on the 13th of September, 1793, he bought from James McLenahan the Campbell tract of land, on which most of Johnstown is now situated, including the tirst four wards, excepting the upper part of the Fourth, and parts of the Ninth and Tenth and a part of the Thirteenth wards. At the same time he purchased the "Henry Wise" tract, of which the Twelfth ward is a part. At that time it was a forest, and as late as 1828 that portion west of Market and Vine streets was in woods.
In the fall of 1793, or the following spring, he erected a one story log house on the Campbell survey, which consisted of two hundred and forty-nine acres, near the corner of Levergood and Vine streets.
The land of Mr. Johns' final homestead near Davidsville was surveyed on a warrant issued by the commonwealth to Jacob Barge for three hundred and sixty acres, and allowance, on March 14, 1776, the warrant being dated February 7, 1776, by Thomas Smith, deputy surveyor.
The survey has the following certificate attached:
"A Draught of a Tract of Land called the "Stock Farms," situate on the West side of Stony Greek, about a Quarter of a Mile Distant from it. on the East side of Adams' Path, where the same crosses the Maple Swamp adjoining lands of Clement Biddle & others in Quemahoning Township, in the County of Bedford, containing three hundred and Sixty acres &: the usual Allowance of six per cent, for roads, &c., surveyed the 14th Day of March, 1776. for Jacob Barge, in Pursuance of a warrant dated the Seventh Day of February, 1776, by Thomas Smith, Deputy Surveyor.
Reuben Haines purchased the warrant, and on June 24, 1776, the commonwealth granted a patent to him for the Barge survey. Haines sold it to Abraham Lidden on August 19, 1776; Lidden sold it to John Lehman, Jr., on Februaiy 12, 1799, and Lehman sold it to Jacob Stover on March 1, 1800, for £141 and thirty cents.
On December 12, 1804, Jacob Stover and Joseph Shantz, or Johns, entered into an article of agreement by which the former agreed to convey "all that tract of land whereon the said Jacob Stover now lives with his family, it being one hundred and eighty acres and allowance," for £700.
The compact was skillfully drawn by Abraham Hildebrand, an eminent justice of the peace of this place and subsequently one of the associate judges of the county, and was witnessed by him and Daniel Wertz on April 5, 1805. John McClean made a survey of the same for Mr. Johns.
On April 9, 1805, Jacob Stover and Catharine, his wife, executed and delivered a deed to Mr. Johns for this land.
On the 16th of October, 1807, Joseph Johns purchased another tract of land, containing eighty-eight acres and allowances, situated in Conemaugh township, Somerset county, from David and Barbary Yoder, for £59 10,9. The commonwealth issued a patent to David Yoder on February 27, 1806, for this piece, which was described as bounded by the land of "Widow Lehman," "the Stonycreek River," and "vacant Stony Hill." In the Yoder deed the name of Mr, Johns, the grantee, is spelled "Shontz."
Joseph Johns also owned the Robert Morris farm, located on the Quemahoning, about three miles above its mouth, but he sold it to John Borntrager, on April 9, 1812, for 350 pounds, Mr. Joseph Reininger is now the owner.
Robert Morris, although not a native, was one of the great American patriots. He was one of the signers of the Declaration of Independence. He was the great financier for the country during the Revolutionary War, but misfortune came in a financial way, and he spent his later years in a debtor's prison. He died in Philadelphia May 8, 1806. He deserved a better fate at the hands of his countrymen.
The farm in question is known as the John McSweny, or Sweny, warrant, which was dated April 3, 1769, for "three hundred acres of land, called Kickenypawlings Old Town, situate on the Quemahoning creek, where the old road from Bedford to Fort Pitt crosses said creek, now in Quemahoning township, in the county of Bedford." This seems to be good proof that the Indian village of Kickanepawlin was not at Johnstown.
McSweny, or Sweny, sold to William Hunter, of Peters township, Cumberland county, on January 22, 1772; Hunter conveyed it to Thomas Smith, of Bedford Town, for £200, on May 9, 1778, and on the 21st of April, 1779, Smith sold it to "Robert Morris, of the city of Philadelphia, merchant," for £765.
In 1813, three years after Mr. Johns' death, he having died without a will, partition proceedings were commenced in the orphans' court for Somerset county, and under date of November 3, 1813, Alexander Ogle, clerk of the Orphans' court, certified that Joseph Johns, "the eldest son and heir at law," was the highest bidder, and awarded to him the one-hundred and eighty acre tract at $10.71 per acre, and the eighty-eight acre parcel at seventy-six cents per acre.
The adjoining owners on the eighty-eight-acre tract were John S. Miller, Tobias Yoder, the Stonycreek river, and land of Carl Von Lunen.
Joseph Johns, the second, held both tracts of land until April 22, 1867, a few months after the death of his wife, and less than a year before his death, when he sold the two hundred and sixty-eight acres to his son Joseph Johns, the third for $2,800.
This deed is in manuscript in its entirety and is skillfully dra^m, plainly and neatly written by Peter Levy, Esq., who always did his work in that manner. Mr. Levy was a justice of the peace at Davidsville, within a mile of the Johns' homestead, for many years, and was probably as well acquainted with the family as any person could be, and, being a gentleman of intelligence and education, his judgment should have great weight on questions not conclusively settled. In this deed he describes the parties thereunto as follows: "Between Joseph Shautz (Johns), widower, of the first part, and Joseph Sliantz (Johns), his son, of the second part."
This was within the past forty years, and at that time in the judgment of 'Squire Levy the correct way to spell the name in a legal document was "Shantz," while it was commonly known and used by the grantor and his neighbors as "Johns," as the latter name is within parenthesis, incorporated for the purpose of explanation.
Joseph Johns, the first, with his unmarried sister Frainie, came to this country in 1769, as will appear by the following registry made at Philadelphia, where they disembarked: "List of foreigners imported in the ship Nancy. Captain William Keyes from London, Qnaliiied September 1, 1769, * * * Joseph Schantz." * * * Their descendants of the present do not know anything in reference to their ancestors in Switzerland, nor do they have any information as to what part of Switzerland they hailed from, as the brother and sister are the only persons of that family who embarked from the Old World for the New, and they located in Berks connty. It is known, however, that Joseph Johns was born November 8, 1749.
At the time of his death he resided on the Jacob Stover farm, on which place he was also bnried in a private graveyard located on a knoll, which can be seen from the Davidsville Road. His wife and some of his descendants rest by his side. The inscriptions on the tombstones of the husband and wife are simply this:
Joseph Johns, Died Jan. 18, 1810, Aged 60 yrs. 2 mon. 10 d.
Feaney Johns, Died Dec. 15, 1833, Aged 76 y. 8 m. 18 d.
The family of Joseph Johns, and all publications relating to his death, fix the date as of January 18, 1810, it even so appears on the tombstone, but is an error. It should be 1813, when he was sixty-three vears of age instead of sixty. The evidence of this appears on the records in the Somerset court. For instance, on April 9, 1812, Joseph Johns and Franey his wife conveved to John Burntrager the Robert Morris farm called the "Quemahon," on the old road from "Bedford to Fort Pitt." Both signed this deed, which shows it was two years after the date usually given as the date of his demise. Furthermore, on March 9, 1813. letters of administration were granted to Christian Miller and Peter Blough for his estate, and on the same day they filed their bond for $2,000 with Abraham Morrison and Frederick Neff as sureties. Also, Franey Johns, the widow, was entitled to the letters, but on March 8, 1813, she executed a renunciation of her right in favor of these gentlemen. The custom was and is yet to probate wills or take out letters of administration soon after the death.
Joseph Johns, the Third, when his attention was called to this fact, admitted it might be true as they did not have a record of the date, and the gravestone was not erected for a great many years after his death and likely they were mistaken. The administrators final account disclosed that the decedent has in his possession personal property to the value of $2,125.53 1/2, in addition to his real estate.
Frainie Johns, his wife, who was Frainie Holly, of Berks county, was born March 27, 1757, and died December 15, 1833, aged seventy-six years eight months and eighteen days. Mr. and Mrs. Johns had two sons — David and Joseph — and three daughters — Barbara, Vronie, and Sarah.
David was born July 30, 1779, and died when he was seventeen 3 years old, while his parents lived in Johnstown.
Barbara Johns, born January 22, 1782, married John Borntrager, then a farmer, in Conemaugh township, Somerset county, but they moved to Lagrange county, Indiana, many years ago. She died May 1, 1870, aged eighty-eight years three months and twelve davs.
Vronie, or sometimes called Frainie, her mother's name, was born January 22, 1786, and married John Holly, a son of David Holly, of Conemaugh township, Somerset county. They subsequently moved to Canada, where Mr. Holly died. His widow then married a Mr, Nell. She died in Peru, Indiana, in October, 1869, in the eighty-third year of her age.
Sarah, born January 27, 1794, in Johnstown, married Christian Eash, a farmer, of Conemaugh township, Somerset county.
Joseph Johns, second in descent, married Nancy Blough. daughter of Jolm Blough, a farmer of Quemahoning township. He was born January 19, 1792, and died December 5, 1868, aged seventy-six years ten months and sixteen days, and Nancy, his wife, was born August 26, 1799, and died February 14, 1867, aged sixty-seven years five months and eighteen days. They had three sons — Daniel, John, and Joseph - and four daughters — Catharine, Sara, Annie, and Christina. Daniel, the eldest son, was born August 20, 1819, and he and Polly Yoder, a daughter of Joseph Yoder, of Somerset county, were married October 26, 1841, and have resided near Middleburg, Elkhart county, Indiana, for many years. They have three daughters — Maria, born May 28, 1843; Lizzie, born December 3, 1845, married to John Stahley in December, 1868, and Catharine, born October 4, 1860, married to Joseph D. Miller in March, 1879. Both married daughters reside near Middleburg, Elkhart county, Indiana. Catharine Johns, born November 1, 1820, married Samuel Shrock, of Somerset county, on March 19, 1850, and died November 12, 1896. They moved to. Lagrange county, Indiana, soon after their marriage. They had three sons — John, born August 15, 1852, now residing in Battle Creek, Michigan; Josepli, born May 1, 1854, in Ligonier, Indiana, and Samuel, bom February 21, 1856, in Cleveland, Ohio.
John Johns, born January 20, 1824, on November 17, 1844, married Catharine Yoder, a daughter of Christian Yoder, of Brothers Valley, Somerset county, and they also, located in Lagrange county, Indiana, where they now reside. They have two sons and five daughters: Judith, born April 11, 1847, married to Martin Baer in February, 1872, resides in Wellman, Iowa; Rosina, born November 4, 1848, married to John C. Hershberger in 1871, lives at Inman, Kansas; Daniel J., born September 8, 1850, married to Nancy Yoder in May, 1875, lives at Goshen, Indiana; Lena, born November 13, 1853, married to Peter C. Schrock in 1870, resides in Lagrange county, Indiana; Jacob J., born July 24, 1856, died December 30, 1894, was married to Malinda M. Mehl in November, 1876, who died August 17, 1890, and in February, 1891, he married Mary^ Sunthimer, who survives him; Amanda, born June 30, 1860, married John E. Miller in July, 1882, and now lives at Shipshewana, Lagrange county, Indiana; and Catharine, born February 13, 1868, married to Elias A. Borntrager in May, 1885, resides at Middleburg, Indiana.
Sara Johns was born November 22, 1822, and on December 29, 1850, married Joseph Thomas, of Conemaugh township, Somerset county, where they now reside. They had three sons and one daughter: Valentine, bom October 31, 1851; Aaron, born July 23, 1853 ; Christina, born September 7, 1857, and Samuel, her twin brother, who died April 21, 1890. They reside in Somerset county.
Annie Johns, the sixth child, was born May 13, 1831, and died November 7, 1891. She and Samuel Yoder, a son of Daniel Yoder, of Cambria county, residing in that part now known as Upper Yoder, were married October 17, 1851, and have three sons: Joseph S., born February 3, 1853; Daniel S., born October 3, 1856, and Samuel S., born February 3, 1860.
Christina Johns, the seventh child, was born February 11, 1834, and on December 5, 1852, she was married to Sem Kaufman, Jr., of Conemaugh township, Somerset county, where the couple have always lived. They had fourteen children — ten boys and four girls: Joseph, born February 19, 1854 — died March 11, 1854; Isaac, born June 28, 1855; Noah, born March 17, 1858; Anna, born July 21, 1860; David, born August 24, 1862 — died October 9, 1862; Bennett, born February 13, 1864; Eleasannah, born March 9, 1866 — died May 28, 1889; Lizzie, born August 24, 1868; Katie, born September 7, 1870; Sem, the third, born May 18, 1873 — died May 19, 1873; Daniel, born May 27, 1874; Amos, born July 29, 1876 — died February 1, 1877; Menno, born May 2, 1878— died April 16, 1879; and Austin, born May 27, 1883, and died on the same day.
Joseph Johns, the third in descent, was born June 14, 1826, on the farm where he now resides, and where his grandfather located after he moved from Johnstown. He and Lydia Kaufman, a daughter of Mr. Sem Kaufman, lately deceased, of Conemaugh township, were married April 7, 1850. Mrs. Johns was born November 18, 1832, and died November 9, 1896, aged sixty-three years eleven months and twenty-one days. They have had three sons — Sem K., Moses K., and David K., and three daughters — Lizzie, Barbara and Fannie.
Sem K. Johns was born February 25, 1851, and now resides on a farm in Conemaugh township, Somerset county.
Moses K. Johns was born July 22, 1852, and lives at Hillsboro, in Paint township, Somerset county.
David K. Johns was born December 15, 1855, and died October 29, 1872.
Lizzie Johns was born December 13, 1858, and on November 14, 1875, married Mr. Aaron Swank, a farmer, who for the past fourteen years has resided on the Johns homestead, and cultivates it.
Barbara Johns was born June 21, 1861, and married Mr. Henry Rish, a merchant of Davidsville, Somerset county.
Fannie Johns was born December 31, 1864, and on January 22, 1882, she married Mr. Harry Custer, of Ingleside, Cambria county.
Joseph Johns the founder, was among the pioneers who cultivated the land about Johnstown, probably being preceded only by Samuel and Solomon Adams, who located on Solomon's Run, in the Seventh ward of the City of Johnstown. He was a self-made man, arriving in Berks county with no friend or acquaintance, except his sister; no wealth, saving good health and a strong character for honesty, industry and frugality. He, as well as most of his descendants, was, and are, members of the Amish congregation.
Joseph Johns, the third, has the family Bible of his grandfather, with the memoranda of the family records in his writing. It is a German Bible printed in 1776, by Christoph Sauer, of Germantown, who was the first publisher of the Bible, printed in German, in America.
Mr. Johns, the elder was a Federalist, a follower of Alexander Hamilton, and his children and grandchildren were Whigs. Those living now are Republicans.
There is some confusion in the orthography and pronunciation of the family name. The early records seem to indicate that it may have been spelled, using the English letters, as Yontz. In some of the deeds signed by the founder the J's in Joseph and Johns are not made alike, arid it may be that the latter is intended for a Y, or probably an S, as it is conceded by his people that in the early days the name was pronounced Shonz. But for many years it has been and is now correctly spelled J-o-h-n-s.
Joseph Johns, the elder, was five feet six inches in height and weighed one hundred and seventy-five pounds. He was small in stature, but large in bone and sinew, and had great strength and endurance. His wife — Frainie Johns — was a large woman, and, in her later years, never so well contented as when knitting or preparing flax thread and making clothing. Mr. Johns, the third, has two small balls of linen thread, one white and the other an indigo blue, which she spun from flax and colored over seventy-five years ago. It is very smooth and even, without knots or defects, very strong, and has a delicate lustre notwithstanding its age. He has also a deerskin from a deer shot by his grandfather while he lived in Johnstown. It exhibits the holes where the bullet penetrated and passed out of the deer's body in the hind leg. The skin was tanned by his grandfather by what was known as the alum process, and is yet as soft and velvety as the finest chamois. He had three deerskins and gave one to his son Joseph, who gave it in turn to his son Joseph. The others are in other branches of the family.
Joseph Johns, the first, was, like all the pioneers, an expert marksman, and while living in Johnstown shot many bears, deer, wolves, and much smaller game. On one occasion he shot what he believed was a wolf, but, after a closer examination, he was undecided, as it looked very much like a dog belonging to one of his neighbors. To clear up the doubt he went to the neighbor's house, and there found the dog in good health. When he lived at what is now the corner of Vine and Levergood streets, many articles of wearing apparel, such as coats, vests, and trousers, were made for himself and sons from skins which he tanned, having previously killed the original wearer.
Joseph Johns, the second, was five feet seven inches in height — one inch taller than his father — and weighed about two hundred pounds.
Joseph Johns, the third, is five feet seven and one-fourth inches tall, and ordinarily weighs one hundred and sixty-five pounds. In his eighty-first year he is in good health, with a strong constitution, a ruddy complexion, and an abundance of silvery hair.
The most eventful incident in the lives of Joseph Johns, the second and his son — Joseph Johns, the third — was the brutal robbery committed at their home on Saturday night, May 15, 1852.
About 9 o'clock that evening six men from the town where Joseph Johns, the founder, had dedicated to the public the squares, playgrounds, school lots and other popular places of resort and use, went to the farmhouse built by him and asked for something to eat, which was handed to them from a sliding window. Presently they threw their weight against the door and broke in, when a struggle took place, and the father and son were brutally beaten, the nose of the son being broken, which mark he carries to this day.
Both of them were overpowered, bound hand and foot, and laid on the kitchen floor, after which the robbers went through the house and procured about $300 in money. The son succeeded in freeing himself, and started to Davidsville for assistance. Going to the hotel kept by Cyrus Shaffer, he made known what had just occurred at home. He, with his broken nose and bloody appearence, and a number of gentlemen, among them being Josiah and Samuel Waters, Daniel and John Border, John Seigh, Nelson and Leonard Fearl and John Inscho, at once started for the Johns homestead, but the burglars had departed and the elder Mr. Johns was lying on the bench, bleeding profusely from the wounds inflicted in the struggle. A large bowie knife and some clubs had been left at the house.
The robbers were at this time unknown, but the next morning the neighbors were on the alert and roads and fields were closely examined for marks in the mud on the road and in the freshly-plowed fields. A short distance below the farmhouse of Isaac Kaufman Josiah Waters found a footprint alongside the plank road, and, it being a peculiar one he examined it closely and said it was "Yell Zook's crooked foot." His associates came to the same conclusion, and they hastened to Johnstown and arrested Zook, who was taken to the Mansion House, on the corner of Main and Franklin streets, where the Dibert building now stands. Zook at once made a confession and said his companions in the crime were John Shaffer, known at that time as "Bully Shaffer," a boatman with a great reputation as a rough-and-tumble fighter; Daniel Ewing, and three others, named James W. Miller, Jacob Patton, and Andrew J. Young.
Ewing was arrested at Coshun's coal bank, now in Conemangh township, Cambria county, by sending in a bloodhound and scaring him out. Shatfer was apprehended at Columbia, Pennsylvania, and the others, excepting Young, were soon in Somerset jail. Before the trial Ewing broke jail and was never heard of afterward.
The trial took place in Somerset in August of that year before Judge Kimmell, when John R. Edie, Esq., subsequently a member of congress and a colonel in the regular army, was district attorney, Zook was not indicted, but betrayed his confederates and went on the witness stand for the commonwealth, although it was he who planned the robbery and procured their help to carry it out. Shaffer, Miller and Patton were sentenced to seven years' imprisonment, but Shaffer was pardoned after a period of three years, and for many years afterward kept hotel at Duncansville, Blair county.
A portion of the $300 — about one-third — was the savings of Joseph Johns, the third, in five and ten-dollar gold pieces. It seems Shaffer did the dividing of the spoils in a house over the basin waste weir, between the corner of Clinton and Washington streets and the Gautier Works, in Johnstown and, shaking some of the gold pieces, said, "these pennies are not much account," and put them in his pocket, thus defrauding his criminal associates, as he had Mr. Johns.
Neither the grandfather, nor the son, ever sat for a portrait, daguerreotype, photograph, or any other kind of a picture of themselves. At the period when the elder Mr. Johns lived there was no opportunity for such things, except to have an oil portrait, and such artists were scarce in the vicinity in which he resided; but it is most probable he would not have had a likeness if he could, on a question of principle, as his son Joseph, the second declined to do so because it tended to vanity, which these good people abhorred. The grandson absolutely declined to sit for a photograph, but he qualified his refusal by saying: "Some of the children have theirs, but I do not need it." However in 1904 he reconsidered his former opinion.