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/513

 446

COLUMBIA AND MONTOUR COUNTIES

o f which he had several thousand dollars when ic became worthless. The late Philip F. Maus, one o f his descendants, had liaskets full o f this old currency (it is now in the pos­ session o f r . E . M ans). A letter written by Philip M aus during this period, and slill pre* serv’cd, is o f interest in this connection: Philadelphia. 9 Octo, 1*76. Mr. Sam uel U pdegraff, S i r :— B y the iK a rrr. Mr. Josep h K err, I send you the ballanee of the price u( K doz pairs o f buckskin breeches 1 Iw ugbl o f you. having paid you £9 in advance, itie baliancc being ^U3 which he will pay you on deliverinK Inni the guo<ls. I f you have any more to dispose o f he w ill contract with you fo r inem. and i shall be glad if you and him can agree. Y o u r humble servant. P n iL ir M a c s.

Incidental to his activities during the Revolu­ tion Mr. M aus formed an intimate acquaint­ ance with Benjamin Franklin and Robert M orris which lasted to the end u f their days. O f M r. M aus’s three brothers, Frederick. Charles and Matthew, the last named became prominent as a surgeon during the Revolu­ tionary w ar, serving throughout the conflict, w as with fu n eral Montgomcr)* on his expe* dition into Canada, and when the General fell before Quebec aided Colonel B u rr in carry­ ing aw ay his body. Daniel M aus was in W ashington's army. Several years before the Revolution i ’hilip •Maus had invested some .surplus capital in 600 acres o f land in what is now Montour county, in the rich and fertile section of V al­ ley township. T he patents, from Thom as and John Penn, arc dated A pril 3. 17O9. among the earliest issued from the county (as soon as it w as possible to obtain titles in the new Indian purchase, which included all this part o f Penn­ sylvan ia), and the proprietaries reserved a perpetual quit rent of twojience per acre, which was paid until the Commonwealth com­ pensated the E ’enns and became the proprietor of the lands. A t the time Mr. Maus made the purchase this tract w as on the outer fringe of the settlements, and no improvemciUs were made on the property until after the Revolu­ tion. When the w ar ended his fortune Evad been so reduced, by the stoppage o f his r<«ular business and the unfortunate deterioration o f Continental currency, with which he had been paid fo r the mntcriai he liought to make garments for the arm y, that he turned his .attention to his land, and as soon as peace and .safety permitted hrought his family hither. W’ith the brief exception mentioned it w as his home for the next thirty years. Danville was an incipient town, then called Montgomery’s 1-anding. founded by the broth­

ers Daniel and W'illiain Montgomery a few years before, and consisting o f a few log cabins occupied by a half dozen families, near­ ly all from southeastern Pennsylvania and western New Jersey. Breeches, moccasins and liunting shirts of leather were generally worn, and all the surroundings and condition.* o f living were exceptionally primitive. T h e .Maus tract, stretching along the northern base o f .Montour's ridge, with the Mahoning creek flowing through it, was overgrown wilh lim ­ ber and brush. It w as typical of the man and his custom o f doing things systematically that when he and his son Philip came to prepare (he home he brought two car[>enters with him from Philadelphia, and his cabin was the tlrst erected in what is now Valley township. It stood on the right liank of the stream, nearly half a mile above the present stone mill and homestead. H e and his son Philip conimenced lo d e a r the forest immediately around the house preparatory to cultivating the land, and he intended to have the other part of the tract cleared. But the Indian trou ilcs commenced before any great progress had been made, and as there was no provision for protection fo r the settlers here they had to go to Norihumlierland. Articles they could not com-eiiiently carry, tools, implements, etc., were buried to scorctc them from the Indians, and M r. Mau.s rented his place to Peter Blue, Frederick Blue and Jam es Stutfeh, who agreed to take pos­ session as soon as the Indian hostilities would cease. T his arrangaiient w as probably made in Northumberland at the fort, as these men came on according to contract and set vigor­ ously to work. .After a brief stay at Northumlierland M r. Maus then went to Lebanon, where they lived for a year, thence returning to Northumberland fo r three or four years, after which they again ventured to settle on the Mahoning. It is supposed Philip .Maus was the first permanent settler in what is now V alley township. M any of the incidents of lhe.se early days are best recorded in his recol­ lections, which by reason o f his intelligence arc regarded as authoritative. M r. Slau s huilt his sawmill, which w as operated by the waters o f Mahoning crcck. and there fo r years the lumber for nearly every building erected in the surrounding country was cut. T he mill and other improvements were the attractions which brought together the settlers whose homes formed (he nucleus o f what is now Mausdale. In the year 1800 he erected his flouring mill, a stone building imposing for (he times, anil which is still standing, appar­ ently as sound and durable as ever. T he fol­