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Nancy Selander of Beaver Dams, NY.
Originally published in Gemini: Twin Tiers Genealogical Society, Elmira, NY, February 1986, Vol. XV No. 2
Monroe Township
Along Millstone Creek near Weston in Pennsylvania's Bradford County, lies an old cemetery where rest the members of the Northrup clan that settled this "Hollow" in 1816.
Nathan Northrup, patriarch of this family, was born in Connecticut in 1727. His wife, the former Sarah Crawford, was born in 1732. Nathan was a Revolutionary War Veteran who served with the New Jersey troops from Sussex County, NJ. On July 3, 1778, he was among the settlers to flee from the Wyoming Valley, their new home, to the safety of Forty Fort.
Sarah, called "Mother Northrup", was a remarkable woman. When past 90 years of age, she would spin 80 knots of yarn daily. When she was 100 years of age, she could dance as if she were a teenager. When past the venerable age of 100, she walked alone, from Athens to Monroeton, a distance of 22 miles. She wanted to visit her children.
Nathan died in 1804 and Sarah died in 1837. Both are buried in the
family cemetery along Millstone Road.
John Northrup, son of Nathan and Sarah, was a stonecutter, a lumberman, a
waterman, and a hotel keeper. While searching along Millstone Creek, he
discovered the beauty of the area and settled there in 1816. His wife,
Polly Tallady, was the daughter of Henry Talladay of Wysox. Their
descendents built their homes in the hollow which was described as "a place full
of Northrups".
Millstone Creek Road now has the lonely cemetery as its one reminder of the Northrup past. There lies the remains of Nathan, Sarah and 3 sons: Steven, Nathan Jr., and John the stonecutter whose grave was marked with a millstone. Several grandchildren who died in early childhood are also buried there.
The flood in 1972 wreaked havoc in Northrup Hollow and the cemetery also suffered. Stones that weren't washed away, are now laying flat on the ground or propped against trees, several fieldstones give no clues to their owners identities. It is a sad legacy to a family whose history includes Nathan, a Revolutionary War Soldier; John, the founder of Northrup Hollow; Abijah, whose log cabin once stood where the First National Bank of Towanda does now; "Betsey Bijah", daughter of Abijah, one of Northern Pennsylvania's most powerful women, who drove her own ox team, rived and shaved 1000 shingles a day and swung an ax with great skill.
Many Bradford Co. residents can trace their roots to this family. Families that have married into the Northrup clan are: Crawford, Parks, Ross, Sadler, and Talladay. (Note: there is one other name here that is unreadable)
References: Pioneers and Patriots of Bradford County PA by Heverly, Myrtle Northrup Bailey, Walter Northrup's Civil War Pension Records, Walter Northrup's Death Record, Census Records
This article is from Gemini, Published by: Twin Tiers Genealogical Society,
Elmira, NY, February 1986, Vol. XV No. 2