1843 History of  Tioga County, Pennsylvania

The county is traversed by the high undulating ridges skirting the northwestern base of the Allegheny mountain, or rather of Laurel bill, which sweeps past the southeastern corner of the county. These ridges pertain generally to the hard sandstone strata of formations X. and XII. of our state geologists, and the lower strata of formation XIII., which comprehends the coal measures. The uplands in the vicinity of the larger streams are well covered with white pines of a superior quality; the sugar-maple abounds in many places, and large quantities of sugar are produced from it. The county is well supplied with navigable streams, having the Tioga river, a south branch of the Chemung, on the east, which is navigable for rafts and arks about 30 miles above the N. York line ; the Cowanesque creek on the north, navigable about the same distance, and Pine creek on the west, also navigable ; so that no part of the county is distant more than ten miles from descending navigation. A very extensive lumber business has been done on these streams, especially on Pine creek, whence a vast amount has annually been sent down the Susquehanna. The recent crisis in monetary affairs has tended in some measure to check this trade. Several men from the cities, with more capital than industry, and more enterprise than prudence, had embarked in the business, and driven it beyond its profitable limit.

It is still a tavern stand and the site of a post-office, about 12 miles south of Blossburg. This house was kept in the primitive times by one Anthonyson, a sort of half French and half Dutchman. Anthony, according to his own story, had spent most of his life as a soldier, during the stormy times of the French revolution; and he had thereby neither improved his morals nor his fortune. He made no scruple, by way of amusing his guests, of boasting of his bold-faced villany-there was no one of the ten commandments which he had not specifically broken, time and again. With the habits of the old soldier, he had little disposition to get his living by tilling the ground; and found the military mode of pillage much more to his taste. He raised no oats, but always charged travellers for the use of his troughs, and for sleeping before his fire. Whiskey was the staple commodity at his house, serving both as meat and drink. Many of the early emigrants to the Genesee country drove their young cattle along. There was a wide track of some fearful tornado, not far from Anthony's house, in which he had contrived to cut an open space, with a narrow passage into it; making a kind of unseen pen. To this spot the cattle of his guests were very apt to stray, in the night. In the morning the poor emigrants were hunting, far and near, for their cattle, with Anthony for their guide; but on such occasions he never happened to think of the windfall. '

The unsuspecting guests, after two or three days of fruitless search, owould leave, paying roundly for their detention; and instructing the old scoundrel to hunt the cattle, and when found, to write to a certain address, with a promise of reward for his trouble. Anthony never had occasion t6 write; but it was always remarked that he kept his smokehouse well supplied with what he called elk-meat. When or where he caught the elks was never known. Some lone travellers, who stopped at his house, it is strongly suspected, never reached their intended destination.

Soon after the cutting of the Blockhouse road, Mr. John Norris, from Philadelphia, first came, about the beginning of the year 1799, to the southwestern part of the county, as an agent for Mr. Benjamin Morris, who owned lands in that region. He was accompanied by his brotherin-law, Mr. Mordecai Jackson, then a young lad. On Mr. Norris's arrival, he erected a grist and saw mill, on the waters' of Little Pine creek, just within the boundary of Lycoming county. This establishment was generally known as Morris's mills. The country was then a complete wilderness, and in traversing its wilds these first adventurers endured the many hardships incident to a pioneer's life ; such as sleeping on the ground in the open air, often without fire-searching for the blazes on the trees, at night, to find the way through the forest-and travelling long journeys for their provisions, to the older settlements, for one or two years after their first arrival. These hardships were doubly severe to young men, reared among the comforts and luxuries of Philadelphia. After remaining at Morris's mills for five or six years, and inducing some half dozen settlers to immigrate, Mr. Norris removed to the vicinity of the Big Marsh; and subsequently, in 1807, to the place where he now lives, within a mile of Wellsborough. The mill at that place had been built the year previous, (1806,) by Samuel W. Fisher, of Philadelphia; and the same year the county seat was fixed at Wellsborough. the first settlers, at or near Wellsborough, besides Mr. Norris, Benjamin W. Morris, David Linsey, Alpheus Cheney, and Daniel Kelsey,

Since that time it has greatly improved, and many new frame buildings have been erected: among them an Episcopal and a Methodist church, in a very neat style of architecture. There is also an academy. The private dwellings are built with much taste, and even some of the stores and taverns exhibit the tasteful proportions of Grecian architecture. Pleasant front yards, gardens, and green blinds indicate the origin of the population, from New York and New England. The courthouse, seen on the left, in the annexed view, is a fine edifice of white sandstone, surmounted with a cupola. A tri-weekly stage runs to Covington, 12 miles east. Population in 1840. 369. Coal has been discovered about seven miles south of the borough.

Lands both for farming and timber, and town lots, were eagerly taken up, and passed from hand to hand, sometimes doubled and trebled in value at each transfer ; coal mines and iron mines were opened, and water-powers were sought out and improved ; saw-mills, furnaces, houses, stores, and taverns, went up as if by magic ; bank notes poured in from New York "and Towanda, and everybody seemed to be getting rich. But at length, in 1841-42, the bubble burst-bank notes melted in the hand, property became unsaleable, and the whole community embarrassed. The fever had subsided, and left in its place a hard-shaking ague.

Philadelphia, 17th Feb. 1842. This morning, at about 6 o'clock, Mr. J. G. Boyd, late cashier and agent of the Towanda Bank, killed himself, at his residence in Schuylkill Seventh st, by firing a loaded pistol into his mouth. Previously to his late dismissal as the cashier of the bank, it was ascertained that he had, as the signing officer of the relief issues of that bank, put out some thousands of dollars on his own account. The Penn Township Bank, one of the losers by this fraudulent issue, and by some of his other transactions, had commenced a suit against him and it was while in the custody of the sheriff, and when he saw that the whole fraud must be exposed, that he committed the melancholy act. About two years since he had married an interesting young lady at Trenton, New Jersey, and was keeping house with her at the time of his suicide hi Philadelphia. He had furnished this house splendidly-had settled upon his wife a farm near Germantown, worth about $8000, and had made many munificent presents to her relatives. But it appears that all this time he had another wife, a most estimable lady, at Coving-ton, Tioga co., by whom he had several children, and with whom he was living on most affectionate terms, whenever his business called him to that vicinity. With his Philadelphia wife he passed as Mr. Henry Seymour-represented himself as a drover having large transactions with the interior counties, and often spoke of his intimate friend Mr. John G. Boyd. So adroitly was the deception maintained, that neither of these unfortunate ladies ever suspected the least impropriety in his conduct, or alienation of his affections.

Mr. Boyd had come out from the state of New York to Tioga and Bradford counties some three or four years since. He was a man of about 35 years of age, with a gentlemanly, bat plain and business-like exterior,-exhibiting extraordinary tact and readiness in matters of business, and a good degree of common sense, apparently, in the management of his enterprises. Although comparatively a stranger, yet so plausible was his address, that he soon gained the confidence of wealthy men, who intrusted him with means to enter largely into the lumber business, and afterwards into the iron business, and coal land speculations in Tioga county. He had several large mills near Covington, a furnace at Blossburg, and was engaged in many of the most prominent schemes for improving these two places. His business led him into intimate connection with the Towanda Bank; and he was successively appointed clerk, agent for the transaction of the bank's business in Philadelphia, and cashier. The latter office, after the credit of the bank began to decline, he was compelled to give up. He still, however, secretly continued his fraudulent issues of Towanda relief notes in Philadelphia, until a short time previous to the tragic close of his career.

Covington, however, though shocked and thrown back by this calamity, added to the ordinary embarrassment of the times, still has many advantages for becoming a prosperous town,-particularly an extensive farming and lumbering country constantly opening to the west of it, which finds here the most convenient depot for its produce and lumber. Quite a brisk business is still done. No church has yet been erected in the place. The Presbyterians worship in a school-house. The Baptists and Methodists have it in contemplation to erect churches soon. The extensive lumber establishment of Boyd & Clever is about half a mile below the town.

Blossburg is situated on the Tioga river, at the head of the railroad connecting the bituminous coal and iron mines of Tioga co. with the Chemung river and canal, and promises to become a point of some importance when all the natural resources in its vicinity shall be properly developed.

The railroad from Blossburg, through Covington, to Corning in the state of New York, 40 miles, was constructed by the Tioga Navigation Co., instead of a canal or slack-water navigation, and was opened for locomotives in July, 1840. This road opens a connection between the coal mines of Blossburg and the Chemung canal of New York. The annexed view shows, on the right, the large hotel erected by the late Mr. Boyd ; and near it, the extensive depot and workshops of the railroad. Beyond, on the hill, is seen the opening of the Arbon company's coal mine, and the inclined plane by which the coal descends. These mines are extensive and valuable. The vein is about five feet in thickness.

A large iron furnace stands at the upper end of the village, which had been leased by Mr. Boyd and another person. It was originally wrought owith charcoal, but had been altered for coke ; and the workmen were conducting a successful blast with the latter, when Mr. Boyd's catastrophe occurred, and the hearth was allowed " to chill." The same blighting chill came over many of the enterprises in this region from the same cause. Blossburg has become quite a village since the opening of the mines and the railroad. Like most other coal towns in Pennsylvania, it resembles an army with its tents pitched in different detachments-here one row of houses in uniform, and there another. The houses are constructed with good taste, principally of wood. The country around is wild and rugged. The Tioga, here but a narrow stream, flows in a deep and narrow valley, surrounded on both sides by precipitous hills.

Lawrenceville is a small village just within the state line, at the confluence of the Cowanesque with the Tioga river. Furmantown is on the state road, 12 miles west of Wellsboro; and Mixtown lies near the western boundary of the co., on a small branch of Pine creek, six or seven miles N.W. from Furmantown.