Page:Historical and Biographical Annals of Columbia and Montour Counties, Pennsylvania, Containing a Concise History of the Two Counties and a Genealogical and Biographical Record of Representative Families.pdf/325

 COLUM BIA AND MONTOUR COUNTIES Fraziers w e re of the earliest settlers in this portion of the State. Jo h n Deen cam e to this county w ith his uncle in his seventh year. The w idow m arried Jo h n W ilson. S h e died in D anville Oct. i. 1827. in her sixty-sixth year, and w as buried in the old Presbyterian cemetery. H ere Jo h n lived from the time he came w ith his uncle, D aniel F razier, whose log house w as on the hillside a little cast o f Bloom street, near the present site of the R e ­ formed church, his farm covering the ground that is now the Fourth w ard. Here at the short-tem icd subscription schools Jo h n ac­ quired w hat education he possessed. In 1796 he was apprenticed to M r. H endrickson to learn blacksm iihing. In 1809 he m arried M ary Flack, daughter o f H ugh and Susan Flack, who w as Iw m near V ashin «on ville in .April, 1785. T h e H acks were a la rg e fam ily, and their descendants have interm arried with nvmy of the pioneer fam ilies. T h e father on the m aternal side of the F lacks was M cB ride, another u f the very early settlers in what is now M ontour co u n ty; M cB rid e settled on a fann at w hat is now W hitehall. In i8 o y M r. Deen and w ife came to Dan­ ville. T h e town w as then a mere hamlet o f Ic* buildings scattered over the territory west 01 what is now Church street and south of the canal. H e occupied the corner on which is now the residence o f W. G. Shoop. at M ar­ ket and F e rry streets, where he lived until 1814. M erc he had his smithy sh o p; here three o f h is children were bom. v iz .: Thom as, who died at the age o f five years, Jo h n and Julia A n n. H e then purchased ground on the opposite side of the street o f Daniel Mont­ gomery. H e here erected what is now the eastern end of the fram e house lately owned by his eldest daughter, M rs. Ju lia A nn Bow yer. w here he l l v ^ the remainder o f his life. I'h e w ork in a blacksmith shop in those days w as very different from that o f to-day. There w as v e ry little m ach in civ; everything had to lie hammered out on the anvil, and charcoal w as the only fuel used. M r. Dccn's account books are still in the possession of the fam ily and here are recorded business transactions dating back to so long a period as now to possess much historic interest. Bar iron at that time w as worth $ 10 0 to $ 1 2 0 per ton. Buckw heat w as selling at thirty to thirty-five cents a bushel. In I & 4 wheat sold for S t .S y y i. A d ay’s ploughing with two horses w as worth $ 1 4 0. Soon a fte r m aking his residence here. M r. Deen obtained an interest In a fishery IcKated above the mouth o f M ahoning creek, and also

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one in C ulp’s eddy, above. T h e fish caught here at that time were many and of the best quality, shad weighing as high a s seven pounds and salmon weighing fifteen pounds, rockfish thirty pounds. T h e best fish sold at six or seven cents a pound. T he women made the twine o f which the nets were woven, a s they also made the clothes worn by men and wom­ en. T h e spinning wheel and the loom were then to l)c heard In almost ever)' house. T he first woolen factory w as erected in Danville more than one hundred years ago. It w as on M ahoning creek at the Northumberland street crossing. These facts arc gathered from M r. D ccn's old account book. Jo h n Dcen's close Industr)- and economy brought him prosjw rity, and in 1820 he pur­ c h a s e o f Jo h n M ontgomery the land running eastw ard along the south side o f M arket street, paying one hundred dollars per acre fo r it. Thi.<i w as stony ground and not fit fo r cultivation; how ever, it w as once a great place fo r blacklicrrics. It has long been cov­ ered with the fine improvements w e now see there. In 1826. in addition to h is busines.s o f farm ing and his large blacksmith shop. Mr. Deen purcha.scd of the (latentee the right to m anufacture threshing machines and openwl a factory. These w ere evidently good machines and well nude. M r. Deen had contracts on the canal then being constructed, as well as on the river bridge. W hen the canal w as opened he owned and ran a boat thereon in the coal trade. .At an age when ordinary men usually retire from active bu.sinc.ss life he built the tannery on the river near Church street. On Ja n. 5. 1852. his faith fu l helpmate de­ parted this life. A fte r a long and u seful life, widely esteemed and beloved by a great circle o f friends, he breathed his last lu ly 16. 1864. leaving behind seven children, all o f whom are now deceased. H is eldest son. Joh n, m arried Ja n e Hutton and died in 18 7 4 : Ju lia .Ann n u rricd Jo h n B o w y e r; Jan ies m airlcd M argaret S an d ers: Ja n e m arried Thom as B ran d on : Ilan n ah m arried R ev. A m os B. S t ill: P erry, the youngest son. m arried Ja n e Ritchie, and a fte r her death m arried Jan e F u llm e r; Susan, the youngest of the fam ily, m arried Isaac T yler. J a c o b S E C t ii.E R w as the son o f Jo h n Sech ­ lcr. an early settler, who liought part of the M ontgom ery Purchase in c lu d ^ in the boun­ daries o f Danville. Jo h n Scchler, the father, w as a Revolutionary hero, surviving the win­ ter ot V alley F o i* c and said to have Iwcn an officer on W ashington’s staff. Jo lm and his brother cam e to what is now l i n v i l l e some