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The Reverend Mr. David Craft Franklin Township |
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HISTORY OF THE TOWNSHIPS
FRANKLIN TOWNSHIP
Geographically the township of
Franklin is situated between West Burlington and Burlington on the north, Monroe
on the cast, Barclay on the south, and Le Roy on the West.
It is separated from Barclay (which,
until 1867, formed a portion of the township) by a high range of hills or
mountains, and its general surface, except along the creek, is hilly and broken.
The soil is productive, and adapted to the cereals and grasses, and was once
most heavily timbered.
The Towanda creek passes through the
township from west to east centrally, receiving several small tributaries,
mostly from the north, the most considerable one entering near West Franklin,
from the northwest.
The town is a parallelogram, nearly
perfect, about three miles north and south, by six miles cast and west.
SETTLEMENT
The first settlement made in the
present township of Franklin was made in or about 1795-96, by David and Stephen
Allen, who built a gristmill on the Towanda creek, at what is now known as
Franklindale, and the following summer a brother, named Daniel Allen, moved two
miles farther up the creek (to what is now known as West Franklin), where he
opened a farm at the lower end of the bottom, which was called the "windfall."
The father of these men was Daniel Allen, who was of English descent, and born
at or near Providence, R. I., April 25, 1718. He married Sarah Sprague
(who was born Nov. 21, 172S), at Smithfield, Sept. 8, 1745. They removed
first to Dutchess Co., N. Y., and thence to Luzerne Co., Pa., before the
Revolutionary war, and were there at the time of the Wyoming massacre, and were
included in the capitulation of that place. Isaac Allen, born Dec. 18,
1753, David Sprague Allen, born April 25, 1756, and Stephen Olney Allen, born
Sept. 17, 1758, were at the massacre as soldiers, and escaped from the Tories
and their Indian allies, through the assistance of a friendly Indian, while the
savages were having a grand pow-wow. Men, women, and children went on foot
through the wilderness to Dutchess county, and after the war the Allens returned
to Wyoming.
Daniel Allen, born Oct. 22, 1764,
was too young for a soldier. Isaac, David, and Stephen moved to Towanda
creek, in 1794, and built the mill at Franklindale as before stated, being
joined by Daniel in 1797.
Isaac Allen married Betsy Miller,
David S. Allen married Mary Smith, Stephen 0. Allen married Jemima Dodd, and
Daniel Allen, Jr., married Anna Dodd. They were all of the regular Baptist
denomination in their religious faith.
Daniel Allen, Sr., was buried on
Towanda creek, at West Franklin, in 1802, and his wife in 1812. David S.
Allen was also buried there about 1837, and his wife lies beside him.
Stephen 0. Allen was buried at Wysox, April 17, 1831. Isaac Allen died
Jan. 16, 1825, in Champaign Co., Ohio. Daniel Allen, Jr., removed in
October, 1824, to Champaign Co., Ohio, thence, in 1839, to Tazewell Co., Ill.,
where he died Feb. 14, 1847.
David Allen, after his location at
Franklindale, removed to West Franklin, where he built another gristmill.
He had but two children, Nehemiah and Polly. The latter married Daniel
Webber, who lived on the other side of the creek. Both are dead, and of
their families not one individual remains. Nehemiah Allen had a son named
Nehemiah, also, who married Betsy Smiley, a daughter of John and Susannah
(Stone) Smiley. Mrs. Smiley, for her second husband, married the elder
Nehemiah Allen, the father of her daughter's husband. The older Allen died
in 1837, aged forty-nine years.
Mrs. Smiley was a daughter of
Benjamin Stone, whose wife was Elizabeth, a sister of Nathan* Wilcox. The
families were from Salem, Mass. Mr. Stone came to West Franklin in 1800.
Daniel* Wilcox settled in Franklin
as early as 1798. Mrs. Betsy (Smiley) Allen says that Nathan Wilcox came
to Franklin before David Allen, and that he sold out his possession to Allen and
moved to Le Roy, where he died. Mr. Wilcox settled in a place which has
since been called "Preacher brook." He was a Preacher for the Methodists.
Elder Thomas Smiley was among the
very earliest of the settlers of Franklin, and located on the farm occupied by
Dorson Stone, and owned by Clay Fairchild. The well dug by Mr. Smiley is
still in daily use.
John Knapp and the Spaldings were
also among the pioneers; also William Damer.
Benjamin Stone was an early and
prominent settler in West Franklin in 1799.
In 1805, Samuel Wilcox, Absalom and
Ezekiel Carr, Widow Lattimore, William Blancher, Aaron Cook, Daniel Stone,
Truman Holcomb, and their families, were living in the town, in addition to
those before named.
Subsequently, but yet early, came
Gilbert Gay, Wm. B. French, Allen Rockwell, Nathan Wilcox, Major Oliver
Williams Dodge (1826), and Burr Ridgway. The latter came into the county
in 1803, and was the publisher of the first permanently established newspaper in
the county, the Bradford Gazette. He was a prominent citizen of the
county, both officially and as a politician. He died Aug. 19, 1876, aged
ninety-seven years.
Mrs. Pladnor settled in the town
about 1820, coming in from Monroe, and locating on the farm next above the
Ridgway place. She died about 1830,* aged one hundred and nine years.
Stephen Wilcox was her son.
The Spaldings were three brothers,
Horace, William B., and Noah. The two latter bought the mill property of
Mr. Allen, at Franklindale, and lived next above Mrs. Pladnor. William B.
Spalding was a very energetic man, and did an extensive business, and
accumulated at one time a large property, but was unfortunate in business and
lost it, and went to Texas, where he died.
There were three of the
Lattimeres,-- Stephen, Peter, and a sister Elizabeth, who married David, son of
Rev. Thos. Smiley. He moved to Ohio, where he and his wife both
died. Stephen and Peter also went to Ohio, as early as 1825, and settled
near Columbus.
Alpheus Holcomb came to the township
in 1832, and made a clearing of' some five or six acres on the farm on which
James C. Ridgway now resides. He brought his cattle to his clearing for
pasture in its vicinity, but they persisted in returning every opportunity to Le
Roy, where Mr. Holcomb formerly lived, and at length he became disgusted with
the necessary travel involved in getting them back so frequently, and followed
them himself, selling his improvements to Ridgway. He had put up no buildings.
Mr. Holcomb bought his right of Deacon William Lewis, a Welshman, who bought of
Wm. Means.
Oliver Williams Dodge was born in
Connecticut, about six miles from New London, in 1775, and died in 1845.
He came to Towanda creek in 1826-27.
Stephen Wilcox lived above Mr.
Ridgway, where the Browns now live. He went west after his mother, Mrs.
Pladnor, died, which date is given by Mrs. (Lyon) Haynes (born Jan. 4, 1799), as
1826-27.
Franklin was covered by the
Susquehanna company's township of Fullersville, granted Maech 1, 1795, to Capt.
Stephen Fuller, of Sheshequin, on account of "his former expenses, services, and
loss in supporting and defending the interests of the company,"March 1, 1795, by
Simon Spalding, John Jenkins, and Elisha Satterlee, commissioners of the
company, which is described as lying on the waters of Towanda creek, and
containing 22,286 acres, made at the request of Col. John Franklin, Silas
Franklin, Alexander Wolcott, William Fellows, Simon Tubbs, Mrs. Sally Bidlack,
Josiah Marshall, and others. The period of the settlement of' the town,
however, was so late, that the worthlessness of the Connecticut title was soon
discovered, and the settlers did not suffer much loss therefrom.
The Pennsylvania owners were the
Bank of North America, Franklin college, and Washington college.
The township took its name in honor
of Col. John Franklin, who had warm friends and enthusiastic friends among the
early and prominent settlers of the townships
BURIAL RECORDS OF THE PIONEERS
In the burial-grounds at Franklindale
the following pioneers are buried :
T. H. Lewis, died April 1, 1871, aged
73 years.
Lucy, his wife, died Feb. 3, 1869,
aged 63 years.
Delight, wife of Wm. B.
Spalding, died May 11, 1844, aged 55 years.
Jacob Myer, died Oct. 9, 1835, aged
55 years.
Evan 0. Shiner, died March 21, 1844,
aged 56 years.
Tenny Ann (wife of above), died April
3, 1844, aged 57 years.
Lewis Kirkendall, died Jan. 2, 1836,
aged 60 years.
Margaret Kirkendall, died March 7,
1863, aged 72 years.
Samuel Anderson, died Feb. 23, 1877,
aged 85 years. Sallie Anderson, died Aug. 9, 1866, aged 77 years.
Burr Ridgway, died Aug. 19, 1876, aged 97 years. Alice Ridgway, his wife,
died June 8, 1858, aged 79 years.
In the old burying-ground below
Franklindale
Maj. 0. W. Dodge, died Feb. 1, 1845,
aged 69 years.
Elizabeth Dodge, died Aug. 30, IS56,
aged 60 years.
Joanna Latimer, died June 5, 1814,
aged 55 years,
Stephen Latimer, died Nov. 30, 1800,
aged 11 years.
Natban Latimer, died May 1796, aged 7
months.
Jane Latimer, died July 1803, aged 19
years.
Diniel Wilcox, died Dec. 1815, aged
75 years.
Elizabeth Wilcox, died May 1817, aged
73 years.
CIVIL HISTORY
The township was formed from the townships of Troy, Canton, and Burlington, in 1819, and the first election was held at John Knapp's. About that time, too, a post-office was established in the town, and Knapp was appointed postmaster.
POPULATION
In 1850, Franklin had a population of 767 souls; in 1860, 998; and in 1870, 705. In 1853 Overton was formed, and took a part of Franklin, and in 1867 Barclay was formed from Franklin. In 1876 the town polled 179 votes.
SCHOOLS
The township is divided into five school districts, in each of which a school was taught seven months during the year ending June 1, 1877. Eleven female teachers were employed, at salaries averaging $15.40 per month; 91 boys and 61 girls attended the schools, the average attendance being 120. The tax raised for school purposes amounted to $682.86; $174.80 were received from the State, the total receipts for the year being $1052.45 ; $,539.27 were paid for teachers' wages, the total expenditures being $760.48.
FRANKLINDALE
is a small village in the eastern part of the town on the Towanda creek, and contains a church (Methodist Episcopal), a school-house, post-office, saw-mill, grist-mill, a hotel, and general store, and a few dwellings.
WEST FRANKLIN
is a similar village situated in the
west part of the town, at the junction of the roads north, a short distance, of
the Towanda, and contains a schoolhouse, a Baptist and a Union church,
post-office, hotel, general store, mechanic shops, and a small collection of
dwellings.