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http://www.pa-roots.com/potter/beershistory/chapter02.html
History of the Counties of McKean, Elk, Cameron and Potter, Pennsylvania, J.H. Beers & Co., 1890
CHAPTER II
INDIAN AND PIONEER HISTORY
INDIAN SETTLEMENTS, GRAIN STOREHOUSE, RELICS, ETC.- FIRST WHITE SETTLERS, MARRIAGE, ETC.- EARLY LAND TRANSFERS- RELIGIOUS EXERCISES- PRICE OF COMMODITIES- TWO INTERESTING LETTERS- CUSTOMS AND DOINGS OF THE EARLY TIMES- SOME PIONEER NAMES- INDIAN AND WHITE HUNTERS.
Of the Lenni Lenape, the third tribe or division, were the Wolves (Minsi), who occupied the region which embraced the land along the Allegwi Lipu (Allegheny river) to its head waters. So the aborigines, who held the land now embraced by Potter county, were the Minsi, or Monseys, as called by the whites. A portion of the Monseys joined their tribe on the head waters of the Allegheny after the sale of their lands, from which they were driven, on the Susquehanna, as late as 1768. As before noticed, the village of Muncy takes its name from this tribe of the Lenape, who once owned the lands upon which it stands. The largest settlement of the Minsi was at the mouth of the Tionesta, and above upon the Allegheny river to the swamp from which its waters rise, the Minsi held the land. : There is evidence of various encampments along the stream where it passes through Potter. That there was a large granary of corn at Roulette is proven, and some of the carbonized grains are still in existence. It stood upon the ground now used as the burying- ground above the village of Roulette. This granary was burned, and according to the traditions of the early settlers it was both roofed and floored with hemlock bark, as the charred bark was found both above and below the burnt corn. This corn, it is evident, was not raised in this country, as the forest was dense and unbroken, but had been brought up from the corn fields of the Tionesta and the Brokenstraw, probably in canoes, and this depot of supplies established, either for the convenience of hunting expeditions or to be kept for an emergency, in case the Indians were driven from the lower river by their enemies, the "pale faces." Upon the Mills farm at Colesburg, and the adjoining farm of Edwin Haskell, many arrow- heads and other implements have been found. Mr. Haskell informs me that in one place a large quantity of flint chips and imperfectly formed arrow- heads were found, showing that there was at one time a manufactory of instruments of the chase, and that when taking out a stump of an elm, the stem of which was at least three and one- half feet in diameter, he found exactly beneath it, under a foot of black mold, a stone tool, used by the Indians in skinning their game. A year or so ago there was discovered in a piece of woods, about one and one- half miles from Andrews Settlement, in a northwesterly direction just over the line in Genesee township, a mound about fourteen feet in diameter, walled up by a stone cairn, about three or four feet high. Upon the top of the mound grew a beech about two feet in diameter. Some curious persons dug into the side of this mound and brought to light the skeleton of a man of gigantic size, also the bones of a dog, nearly all of the bones crumbling upon exposure to the air. The jaw- bone is in the possession of Mr. Alva Andrews, of Andrews Settlement. With the bones were found numerous flint arrow- heads, and some stone ornaments, and about a pint of small shells, which also soon disintegrated upon exposure. There has been no thorough exploration of the mound; the specimens above referred to are scattered about among the settlers of the neighborhood. In other parts of the county relics of the departed race are found, along the Pine creek (Indian name Tiadaghton) and the Sinnemahoning, which retains its Lenape name.
2nd paragraph:
It is claimed that Thomas Butler, a deserter from the British army, was the first to settle in the wilds of Potter, but at what date he came or departed is unknown to the writer. The first settlement of which we have any date, and which probably was the first bona fide settlement, was that of a Frenchman by the name of Jaundrie, who, "in 1806, settled on the Oswayo at a point now called Shinglehouse. He built a house on the south bank of Oswayo creek, at the mouth of the run which still bears his name. The house was sided with shingles, put on like roofing, and the butts of the same were rounded to a half circle. From that house the place (Shinglehouse) took and retained its name." (L.H. Kinney, Sharon Township.) All histories of the county have claimed that William Ayers was the first settler in 1808, but Mr. Kinney has shown that the first settlement of the county took place two years earlier. We find on Book A of the register and recorder's office the entry of a deed dated October 25, 1806, by which instrument Robert Waln and others conveyed to Isaac Wharton 400,000 acres of land in Potter county for the sum of $50,150. Maj. Isaac Lyman let a job of clearing ten acres of land on the Keating farm, in Sweden, to a man by the name of Carson. The Keating farm is situated about three miles above Lymansville on the road from Coudersport to Brookland, and is now owned by Nathan Adams, who lives upon the place. This is the first clearing we know of being made in the county, unless Jaundrie had made one on the Oswayo at Shinglehouse. In 1808 William Ayers moved his family into the county, and settled upon the Keating farm, where the body of a log house had been erected in 1807. His family consisted of his wife and three children:
- George,
- Nancy and
- James, and
- a negro boy whose name was Asylum Peters, who is referred to in the history of McKean county.
In 1809 Maj. Isaac Lyman moved into the country and settled on the Keating farm also. He came as the land agent of Keating. In 1810 Maj. Lyman built a saw- mill where Lymansville now stands. The lumber for this mill was cut on the Keating farm with a whip- saw. This was the first saw- mill in the county. In 1811 Maj. Lyman constructed the first grist- mill; this was also located' at Lymansville.
In 1810 also occurred another notable event. It was the first marriage in the county. It was celebrated at Lymansville in the autumn of that year. Silas McCarty, of Muncy, Penn., wedded Miss Laura Lyman, daughter of Maj. Isaac Lyman. In 1811 the first white child born in the county first saw the light at Lymansville- Eulalia Lyman, named from the township of Eulalia, which at this date comprised the entire county. It is claimed that John Ives, Sr., a Revolutionary veteran, settled in Pike township somewhere from 1808 to 1810. In 1811 Solomon Walker settled at the mouth of Fishing creek. Benjamin Burt also settled in what is now known as Roulette township, where Burtville now stands, May 4, 1811, he being the third settler in the county. John Peet moved into Potter county on the 23d day of May, 1812, taking up a piece of land one mile below where Coudersport now stands. At this time court was still held at Williamsport, and was continued there until February, 1823, making a long journey through the forests, generally on foot, necessary to the settlers of the new land. The first person who died in the county was a Mr. Beckwith, who, was passing through to his home in McKean county. He was buried upon the farm now occupied by Mortimer Benson. No one living can tell the exact spot of the grave. The birth or the first child was attended by a German midwife, Mrs. Platman, who resided in Bradford county. The first regular physician was Dr. Eastman, who divided his time between Lymansville and Smethport. When in Lymansville he boarded with Maj. Lyman, and to add to his earnings he taught school. The first nurse and midwife resident in the county was Eunice Nelson, wife of Cephas Nelson, who attended families upon the Pine creek and Allegheny river. John K. Burt was the first male white child born in the county. The first mortgage put on record was given by Isaac Lyman to Keating and Roulette October 16, 1812. In this same year the Pine creek road was laid out by William W. Walters, Isaac Lyman, A. Parmateer, John Lyman, John Peet and Amos Mix, viewers. A Fourth of July celebration took place in 1812 at Maj. Isaac Lyman's, and was a grand affair, nearly every resident of the county attending. A flag was raised upon one tree, and a pair of deer's antlers upon another. Dinner and drinks followed, of course. About this time, 1812- 13, Samuel M. Losey moved into what is now known as Pike township. He was a prominent character in the early days of the county, particularly on Pine creek, Hon. J.M. Kilbourne writes me (1887): "I came here (Pike) fifty- six years ago, and Losey was an old settler then, and postmaster." He settled on the right- hand side of Phenix creek, the east line of his farm being also the dividing line between Potter and Tioga counties. Just over the line his father- in- law, John Phenix, settled. Losey was noted as a jovial man, and was always present at all the merry- makings for miles around.
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