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History of Bedford and Somerset CountiesHistory of Bedford and Somerset Counties
Pennsylvania with Genealogical and Personal History
Bedford County by E. Howard Blackburn To the "Frosty Sons of Thunder, be they still dwellers among their native hills, or whether they have roamed far from their mountain homes, or beyond the Rocky Mountains' snowy range; on land, on sea, on farm, or in town; in every calling known, whether in factory, mill, or mine; in cabinet, or on the bench----doing whatever work comes to their hand, this volume is inscribed by its Author. PREFACE. It was with great reluctance that the task of
writing these pages was undertaken. It is true that for a
number of years the writer had been gathering and preserving such
data and facts relating to the early history of his native county
as happened to come in his way. This he had been doing long
before the 17th of April, 1895, on which date Somerset County
passed the one hundredth milestone of its existence as a separate
county of the grand commonwealth of which it forms an integral
part. This epoch in the history of the
county was duly celebrated on the 4th of July following, and the
two succeeding days by the greatest crowd of people who had ever
been assembled together at the county seat at one time. It is
estimated the people present numbered from twelve to fifteen
thousand persons. Among them were many hundreds, natives of
the county, whose lives had been cast in other parts of the
country, and to whom it was a veritable home-coming.
But this event was also the occasion of
many of the early happenings in the history of the county being
brought to light. It cannot be said to have been an epoch
of history making, but it was one of history writing. This
came in the shape of contributions to the county press, and they
were from many persons, but no one individual made so many of
these contributions or of a greater historical value than did Dr.
William F. Mitchell, of Addison. The address delivered on that
occasion by Hon. William H. Koontz is also a mine rich in
historical data. It is sufficient to say
that everything of this kind that fell under the writer's notice
was religiously preserved by him, not with any view of using
himself in this way, nor was it arranged as it should have been
for such a purpose. If any thought at all was given in this
direction, it was that it would perhaps prove a field in which
one else might glean in the future.
Distrusting his own abilities, and believing that there ere
others who could use the material in hand to better advantage
than he could, it was only after repeated urging on the part of
personal friends that the writer at last consented to take u[
this work. It was soon found, however, that there were many
things about which further information must be sought. This
made the writing of many letters of inquiry necessary. Many of
these met with a ready response, but of others no notice was
taken, even when it was well known that the persons addressed
could have given the desired information. This was notably
the case with many of the ministers who were asked for data
concerning their respective churches. Much information
might have been obtained from the records and papers on file at
the court house, and many other things might have been verified
from them, had it not been for their inaccessibility caused by
their removal to the temporary court house.
Under such conditions as these, it is to
be expected that some errors and inaccuracies may have crept into
the work. But, if there be any of these, they are more apt
to be in the dates than anything else, and in such cases the
dates given are at least approximately correct.
Conscientious and scrupulous care has been exercised to exclude
whatever did not have a good foundation on which to rest.
It is also proper to say that "Annals of Somerset
County" written out by the late David Husband, have been a
very helpful source of information which has been freely drawn
on. From Hon. William H. Koontz, whose
name appears on the title page along with his own, the writer has
received much assistance and encouragement in his work, which he
here wishes to acknowledge. To all others who have in any
way aided him de desires to return his sincere thanks.
One of the author's purposes in writing
this volume has been to preserve in a permanent form as much of
the history of his native county as possible, and, so far as this
has been accomplished, he does not regret the many months of
labor spent in it preparation. Wm. H. Welfley [Source: The History of Bedford and Somerset Counties by Blackburn and Welfley, published in 1906. Transcribed and donated by Batha Karr.] |
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