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/46

 COLUMBIA AND MONTOUR COUNTIES Robert Curry, came from Ireland in 17 7 1 and settled in that part o f this section now known as Liberty township, Montour county. H is complete history, as well as that of the other pioneers mentioned further on in this chap­ ter, will be given in the separate sketches of the different divisions. Jan ies M cClure, a Scotch-]rishnian from Lancaster county, Pa<, settled in 177a near where the town o f Bloomsburg is now located. About the same time E van Owen (founder of B erw ick) and John Doan bought land and locateil near him. Another later settler here was Samuel Boone, a Quaker, in 1775. M oses Roberts, the builder of the first house at Catawissa, is next tn order o f coming. He w as a Quaker, from Maiden-creek, Berks county. lohn Eves, the famous Quaker ancestor of all the m em lxrs o f that name in this section, located permanently at Millville in 1774. The same year Alexander M cAulcy, whose mysteri­ ous disappearance later on aroused the entire community, settled temporarily in Beaver town­ ship, on ikotch run. In the year 1775 Michael Billheimer and Daniel W elliver, both from New Jersey, locatc<l amid the headwaters o f Chillisquaque creek, now in Madison township, Columbia county. On N ov. a 6 ,1774, William Montgomery pur­ chased from J. Simpson 180 acres o f land on Mahoning creek, on the north bank of the east branch o f (he Susquehanna, called "K arkaase/* and on which the town o f Danville w as laid out in 179 a by his son Daniel Montgomery. In the fall o f 1776, or early in the spring o f 1777, W illiam Montgomery moved his family to this section and occupied their recently built stone house. There, Oct. 8, 1777. w as bom his youngest son. Alexander, l ^ i s house still stands in the town o f Danville and is occupied by the descendants o f William Montgomery in 1914. It is still in a good state o f repair. The year after the settlement of the Mont­ gomerys w as not one o f general exodus to this section, owing to Indian depredations, but in 1779 an unfortunate family, whose name is un­ known. were exterminated by the savages soon after they arrived at the site o f Mifflinville. V alley township, Montour county, w as the next scene o f new arrivals, in the persons of Philip M aus and family, who came in 178a. The year following w as the date of the settle­ ment of the county above Orangeville, the leader of the i>arty being Daniel M cHenry. Abraham KUne, whose name is a household won! in that section, came from Ctermany in

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J785 to csubiish himself and his large family on Pishing creek, around Orangeville. Three years later Leonard Rupert established his home at the mouth o f Fishing creek and fixed upon that point a name which will forever cling to it. These were the leaders of the immigration to this county and their names will stand forth upon the pages o f history beside those of others of this great nation who have made smooth the w ay of the present generation by conquering the wilderness and the savages who shared its sovereignty with the wild twasts. K E M tN lSC ESC eS

T he conditions o f society, the modes o f liv­ ing and the methods o f business in Columbia county a hundred years ago and for twentyfive years thereafter were quite different from those o f this brisk and prosperous age. M r. I. W. Hartman, a form er mer­ chant of Bloomsburg, living in 19 14, re­ called many interesting things by which comparison may be made of the past with the present. M r. Hartman said that i f the average merchant o f today w as obliged to do business handicapped as they were in those days he would consider it almost an impossibil­ ity. When the everpresent commercial drtuniner was an unknown quantity, the only means the mercliant had o f replenishing his stock was by personally going to Philadelphia, which he did semi-annually, spring and fall. And as (here w as no railroad nearer than Pottsville the trip was not only costly but consumed a great deal o f time. In those days there was only little cash business, alt goods being sold on six months’ time. Prior to his going to Phila­ delphia to purchase the stock the merchant would call upon his customers, collect from them what was coming, and taking the money with him would pay for the goods he had pur­ chased six months previously. T his w as re­ peated twice a year, yet notwithstanding this crude financiering many of them amassed what in those days w as considered an ample fortune. O f course a few goods were purchased in the interim, but owing to the cost o f transporta­ tion and the time consumed in their delivery this w as the exception. The mailing facilities were as crude as others. There w as a mail route from Williams­ port to this place passing through Jerseytown. T h e mail was usually carried by a man on horseback, but in inclement weather he used a covered wagon. T he postage at that time was five cents and subsequently reduced to three