Jackson Township
Cambria County, Pennsylvania
|
Chapter 3
Annals
Of Jackson Township
Following the purchase of the land of which Jackson township is now a
part, more white settlers came
to this part of the country and established their
homes. All that they had to do to claim ownership was to have a piece of
land surveyed, pay taxes on it for so long a time and reside there for a
given
period, then the land became theirs. The land would be marked off by
"blazing" trees, using them as the boundary lines.
When the township was organized in 1828 there were less than ninety land
owners living here. When the first assessment was made in 1830 we find
the names of many who were the ancestors of the present residents of the
township. The names, Funk, Gillin, Good, Grove, Goughnour, Harrrison,
James, Leidy, Paul, Reed, Rager, Snyder, Singer, Wilson, Waggoner,
Burkhart, Shuman, Brown, Bracken, Bowman, Duncan, and Davis all have a
familiar sound. At this time of course there were many residents who
were
not property owners, and who will be mentioned later. Others who were
property owners at that time, but have no descendants bearing their name
living here now are Benshoff, Bearinger, Cameron, Dunmire, Evans,
Garber,
Gorman, Helman, Killin, Kirkley, Lambaugh, Luke, Murray, McDonnell,
Fisher, Perry, Rowland, Roberts, Shoup, Slonaker, Thomas, and Wallace.
John Murray, Esq. Was the owner of the largest piece of land, having 800
acres. Several of the others owned 400 acre tracts.
At
the time there were six inns in the township, four sawmills and three
blacksmith shops. Oxen were still much in use for farm work and
transportation to short distances. There were no buggies nor carriages.
Horse-back riding, the spring wagon (later), or by foot were the modes
of traveling distances not too great, although sometimes the trip to
Pittsburgh would be made by horse and saddle. Valentine Rosbaugh(in
later years) often made the trip to that city, traveling that way in one
day, returning
home the following day, a distance of 65 miles or more.
It
was not until about the time of the Civil War that buggies came into
general use. In 1859
Samuel Goughnor had one and William Harris had a carriage. In 1871
Edward Burkhart, son of Joseph Burkhart, a first settler, had the second
one.
The
average income of these first settlers was twenty-five to thirty-five
dollars a
year, although in some cases where a man had a sawmill in addition to
his
land it might be fifty to one hundred dollars a year. Much that would be
needed for food and clothing in those days was raised on their farm, so
the
dollar went much farther than it does today. Flax and sheep supplied the
early settler with clothing, wheat was raised and taken to a grist mill
(in
1859 Sam Goughnour had the first one here, located at Vinco), corn was
made into meal and hominy and the cobs of the corn used in making syrup.
Sugar maple trees were then plentiful and several sugar camps were
located
in
various parts of the township. Each farmer had at least one cow, a few
chickens and hogs and the woods were filled with wild game. Candles were
then in general use and candle dipping was an art known to every
housewife. |