STERLING STORIES
Henry Drinker, at the age of ten, was apprenticed to George James and
afterward formed a partnership with his son, Abel James, in the shipping and
importing business under the name of James and Drinker.
Their operation became extensive as they were ranked
among the principal importers of their time.
Henry Drinker invested the greater portion of his means
in wild lands.
Besides the land he owned in Drinker’s Beech, he also owned land
in Wayne County, Pennsylvania, and in Cumberland County, New Jersey.
After his purchase of 1787 in Drinker’s Beech, Henry Drinker hired John
Delong of Stroudsburg to cut a wagon road from the North and South Turnpike in
Wayne County to his property.
The road began in Sterling Township, passed through what
later became Freytown and terminated near Daleville.
After the road was finished, Drinker had the area
surveyed into lots averaging 500 acres each.
The survey started on October 13 and was finished on
November 3, 1792.
But here the improvements ended.
The “Old Drinker Road” grew full of underbrush and his
family and friends who had invested in his enterprise became anxious about their
investments.
At his death in 1809, he left a large, unimproved and for many
years, unproductive landed estate.
It was Henry W. Drinker, however, great-nephew of Henry
Drinker that did something about opening up the land in The Beech.
He formed a land company of the investors, but the War
of 1812 came along and he served his country as an officer.
After the war, Henry W. Drinker, born the year of the purchase, had the
land re-surveyed into lots averaging 100 acres each.
The survey was done by Jackson Torrey of Bethany, Wayne
County, in 1814.
The year 1815 found him at Stoddardsville with a company of
laborers who began opening up a road into the lands of the purchase.
The road was built and the settlers came.
We cannot extol Colonel Drinker too highly for his
labors in our area.
He brought in settlers, lumberman and businessmen.
He helped improve the land and make the settlers
self-sustaining.
He built the Drinker Turnpike through Scranton and Dunmore and
into his holdings in The Beech with trifling state aid.
It was through his efforts that the Delaware, Lackawanna
and Western Railroad were built.
He donated lands for civic purposes and cemeteries.
He built sawmills, stores and schoolhouses.
He loaned money to the settlers.
He served as the first postmaster in Clifton.
According to one historian, “He promoted and fostered
the townships of Madison and Covington (which at that time included Clifton) and
was the author and forwarder of all the most important public improvements in
that region”.
It can easily be seen that many of the family names of those that built
Drinker’s Beech are no longer known in our area.
Of course, some of the descendents of those families
have been predominately female whose names changed when they married, but the
sons of these families have also disappeared.
They have moved to other localities where a better
living could be made for their wives and children.
A perusal of the foregoing installments will show that
our sons and daughters, born in Drinker’s Beech have located in many other
states of the union where part of their descendents have remained, while others
have moved on again.
So it has been through the years, and so it is today.
Let us cite an example of the family of seven children
that were raised in Moscow which we knew well.
Two of these families are presently living in Moscow,
but one is in Gettysburg, PA, three in New York State, and one in Maryland.
Of their children, two live in Tennessee, two in New
York State, one in Indiana, one in Maryland, one in Colorado, two in California,
two in Virginia, on in Texas, one in Philadelphia, and one in British Columbia,
Canada.
But many of the older families of Drinker’s Beech have had sons and
daughters in these and other states for years.
In fact, no matter where we go, we may be looking at
someone who had his roots in Drinker’s Beech.
It’s a small world!
But let us continue…
THE 1840’S
In 1840, the largest communities in Drinker’s Beech were at Yorktown
(now Daleville), Turnersville, Aberdeen, Bear Brook and Madisonville.
David Dale, Edward Wardell, John Fish, Henry W. Drinker,
Matthew Hodgson and Jacob Havenstrite lived in or near Yorktown.
William Copeland, Godfrey Jones, John Holgate, Patrick,
John and Owen Simpson and George Sayer had settled at Turnersville on land that
had been lumbered off by Richard Easby and William Holmes.
Richard Edwards, John Biesecker, William Swartz, Henry
Yeager and Hiram and Laton Knapp lived at Aberdeen.
Thomas Depew, Thomas Edwards, George W. Swartz, Lewis B.
Schoonover and David and John E. Noack were strung out along Bear Brook between
Moscow and Madisonville; while at Madisonville, Henry Swartz, Samuel Swartz,
William Evans, George Krotzer and Bateman L. Beemer had arrived.
Abraham Turner opened the road from Daleville to Springbrook in 1832,
when he settled at the latter place, other settlements were made along logging
roads.
Turnersville and Freytown sprung up on the trails used by Richard Easby
and William Holmes when they lumbered this area, while the Maple Lake road
originally was a timber trail opened by Henry Yeager and his sons to transport
lumber from their sawmill on Spring Brook to Moscow and the settlements along
the Drinker Turnpike.
No settlement was made on the Maple Lake road until 1848, when Israel
Depew settled on what is now the Sekeley farm; Larry Miller on the farm now
owned by Peter Kieselowski, and Bradley Williams between Maple Lake and
Springbrook Corners.
THE 1850’S AND 1860’S
The influx of new residents, started in the 1850’s, continued through
the 60’s.
However, as always, many of these moved on in a few years, but
some remained to become ancestors of today’s residents.
Businesses had a set-back during the depression that started in 1873.
It was not felt as much in our communities as it was in
the larger cities.
Scranton was forced to put men to work on public
projects, while New York City and Philadelphia suffered severely.
The lumber business was flourishing in Drinker’s Beech.
Many commercial lumber companies were busy in all
sections, and most of our virgin timber disappeared at this time.
Moscow boasted three hotels, one on the southwest corner of Main and
Church Streets operated by Hiram Ackerley, who had opened a general store on the
ground floor; one on the northwest corner of Factory (now VanBrunt) Street
operated by Leopold Keller; and on Mill (now Market) street, near Roaring Brook,
operated by Lyman Dixon.
Stores included the ones operated by S. W. Wyckoff,
Gaige and Clements, Frank Pelton, Charles Noack and Wardell Brothers.
S. W. Keene operated a saw mill and turning mill on
VanBrunt Creek and C. P. VanBrunt’s sawmill was located farther to the west on
Factory Street.
They remained in business for over a hundred years.
There were three grist mills in town.
E. J. Ehrgood’s mill stood on Roaring Brook at the foot
of Mill Street, while the mills of H. L. Gaige and Company, and Grant and Rice
were also on Mill Street farther uptown.
Alanson Hinds operated a livery stable on Mill Street,
near the present railroad underpass.
There were two drug stores in Moscow, one on Mill Street operated by B.
J. Cannon, and one on Main Street, run by Dr. C. J. Wilbur.
There were also the chair factory of William DeFrehn on
Factory Street, the harness shop of Rudolph Ehrhart on Mill Street, the
wheelwright shop of Moses Davis on Mill Street and the shoemaker shop of Lorenz
Hokrein on Cooper (now Lincoln) Street.
The blacksmith shop of Bowen Swartz was located on Main
Street, and the one operated by Henry Clouse was on Church Street.
Physicians were Dr. C. J. Wilbur and Dr. E. A. Glover,
and Dr. George A. Cole.
In Madisonville, Evans and Swartz operated a general store, while the
saw mills of Irvin Ives and George Krotzer were located within a half-mile from
the corners.
Blacksmiths were William Evans, Jacob Krotzer and Reuben Noack.
Dr. Milton Clark and Dr. George H. Fike were the
physicians.
At Clarksville, Charles W. Frazier operated a sash and blind
factory, and Francis M. Depew opened a general store about 1875, which closed
then he died in 1883.
Gromlich and Staples operated a sawmill, a clothes pin factory and a
store at Staplesville, west of Daleville; and S. G. Holgate operated a turning
mill and brush block factory at Holgate’s Mill, north of Daleville.
Dodge and Company and Hollister, Beck and Company were
the proprietors of sawmills east of Daleville; W. Boyer had a saw mill between
Turnersville and Freytown; and Yocum, Kline and Company operated their Union
Mill near Moscow.
The swamp at this place is still known as the Union Mill
Swamp.
Dr. Charles Frischkorn was the only practicing physician in Covington
Township.
Yost, Pile and company operated a large lumber business at Yostville,
with a store and boarding house for their laborers.
A post office was established here and Joshua Yost
became the postmaster.
Jacob Pile lived in Moscow and took charge of their
lumber business here.
He was appointed postmaster at Moscow.
Nathan Turner operated a general store and post office in Springbrook.
Other businesses of the township were lumber businesses.
Samuel Stevens owned a saw mill on Spring Brook, and
Barringer’s sawmill was located to the west, at the mouth of Plank Ridge Creek.
In Roaring Brook Township, Eugene Snyder, Stout and Kreilick, Mullen and
Baxter, Giles A. Megargel, James M. Rhodes and Charles W. Curtis all operated
sawmills.
At Dunnings (Elmhurst) there was the tannery of Eugene Snyder,
and Jay Knickerbocker was the proprietor of a store and post office.
Dr. Anthony P. Gardner was the physician.
Clifton was in its heyday at this time.
The lumbering community of William L. Harvey, called
Harveysville, was located north of the town, while in town; William H. Reese
operated a Large Lumber business, a tavern and a store and post office.
The sawmill of Reading Lumber Company was located on the
Lehigh River near town, while Bright, Dundon and Kalbach operated another
sawmill farther to the east, along the old Plank Road.
J.
J. Wagenhorst had a saw mill up the road between Clifton
and the Drinker Turnpike.
Rhinehardt Gersbacher was the proprietor of the mammoth
Plank Road Hotel.
Franklin Lancaster was the Justice of the Peace in Madison Township,
Edward Wardell in Covington.
He was replaced by David W. Dale in 1876, Jay
Knickerbocker in Roaring Brook, William L. Harvey in Clifton and Irvin Ives in
Madisonville.
THE 1870’s
From the foregoing it can be seen that Drinker’s Beech had become a
melting pot of all nationalities by 1870.
The Irish, the Welch, the English, Germans, Bavarians,
Prussians, Dutch and others, they had all settled here.
Some were a bit clannish, probably due to language
barriers, but none seemed to harbor any continuing ill will toward their
neighbors.
Rehabilitation from the ravages of the Civil War continued during this
period.
Wounds and diseases had taken their toll of many of our male residents.
Many more died during the decade, while others struggled
to regain their health.
THE 1880’s
The exodus into Drinker’s Beech had hit its peak during the 1850’s, but
continued through the 1870’s.
By 1880, the population had reached the saturation point
and new names became fewer.
Most of those that did arrive probably had taken the
place of residents that had moved on to other places.
The virgin timber throughout our area had been felled except for the
mountainous portions of Springbrook and the large timber companies had moved on.
However, in Springbrook, the eager lumbermen had built a
narrow gauge railroad to move that which remained down Spring Brook Creek to the
railroad at Moosic.
Limbs and brush that had been left behind by the
lumbermen had become thoroughly dried and forest fires raged throughout the
area.
At these times, every available man, and big boys as well, were called
out to fight fire.
During the 1880’s a forest fire destroyed the buildings
and lumber business of David Dale and Son at Daleville and wiped out part of the
town.
It has been said that sometimes these fires were so hot that farm
implements were burned in the middle of plow fields.
O. E. Vaughn operated a general store in Moscow at this time, as did
also Joseph Loveland.
The partnership of Tunstall and Pelton had dissolved and
Frank Pelton carried on as “Pelton’s Store.”
Smith and Dale also operated a store here for a few
years and B. F. Summerbell operated a store on Mill (now Market) Street.
Gaige and Clements became a thriving business.
They now owned two hay and grain farms on the Maple Lake
road.
Farm #1 was located where Mrs. Daniel Setzer lives.
Jacob Swarts was the caretaker.
Farm #2 is now owned by the Schlittler family.
Levi Robinson was the caretaker.
In Roaring Brook Township, Eliphalet Simonson operated a hotel at
Simonson’s Settlement.
Jesse H. Snyder was the postmaster at Elmhurst, and T.
E. Carr and Company operated a large produce farm here.
They shipped the produce to their store in Scranton by
railroad.
A new physician located in Moscow during this decade, Dr. S. W.
Lamoreaux.
Reverend Reuel Hanks became the minister of the Daleville
Methodist Protestant Church.
The 1880’s was a time of less activity than formerly.
Businesses had been established, farms had been cleared
of timber, roads had become passable, and a few horses and mules could be seen
working in the fields or pulling wagons on the roads.
Oxen were still the beast of burden, however, and were
used extensively.
Only the more wealthy residents could afford horses, and
most of our settlers were far from wealthy.
The greater part of our settlers was living on farms, and they were
busy.
A farmer’s wealth was measured by the number of healthy cows he owned,
which seldom amounted to more than a half-dozen.
All the milk, cheese, butters and buttermilk these
farmers used was produced in their individual dairies.
But cows meant work.
Corn, hay, oats and wheat to feed the stock had to be
planted, cultivated and harvested in the way their forefathers had done it, by
hand.
Gardens were planted and cultivated to produce food for the tables of
large families, for most every family had from six to ten children.
Stables had to be kept clean, manure had to be hauled
into the fields and spread out with pitchforks, roofs of buildings had to be
patched, fences had to be kept in good repair, and milady usually had a chore or
two for her husband on rainy days.
The ladies of Springbrook, and probably in other communities, met once a
week, depending on the weather, at a large spring, to do their washing.
Each lady would appear with her children and a bag full
of lunch.
A good time was had by all as they washed their week’s supply of
soiled clothes and dried them on a comjunal line between trees or draped over
bushes.
Children, in the meantime, ran, shouted or made mud pies as their fancy
dictated, for they felt freer on this day than any other.
At mealtime, the lunches were spread out together and
everyone ate what he liked best, but always there was more than enough.
After lunch, the clothes were all folded, packed into baskets and the
group left for home, often to find a grumpy, hungry husband who had felt
deserted.
This just had to be expected, for none of the ladies would miss
the grand outing for the world.
Farmer’s labors changed with each season.
Each spring, a field or two was plowed behind a team of
oxen, the ground was harrowed and stones were picked from the bare earth and
loaded on stoneboats to be taken to a stonewall.
The larger rocks were dug out of the ground with
crowbars, to be pulled off the field by oxen.
The planting time had come.
These tasks were done between the chores of tending the
stock, milking the cows, or some other pressing duty.
During the summer, corn and gardens had to be cultivated, usually by
hoeing.
Then in the fall, the crops were harvested and stored for the long
winters.
Wintertime was taken up by felling trees in the woodlot to make props
for the mines and ties for the railroads.
These were hauled on wagons to the railroad at Moscow or
Elmhurst, and were loaded on railroad cars, for this labor produced each
farmer’s winter supply of cash.
As we look back, in retrospect, it seems that farmer’s wives had busy
days, too.
They helped to milk the cows, or did it all in some cases.
They set the tempo for the family, both religious and
otherwise.
They washed the family dishes, and did the washing with strong
lye soap.
In winter, clothes were frozen dry out-of-doors when fingers
became nipped with frost, then burned the next day with “sad irons” heated over
a hot stove, as they ironed for hour after hour to keep the family’s clothes
presentable.
Ladies planted and tended any flowers about their homes, had a new baby
at least every two years, fed, loved and watched over their “young-uns,” and did
the thousand and one other things that came along.
These were the “good old days!”
The population figures for Drinker’s Beech show a steady decline of new
residents after 1860.
The census of 1850 showed 1,223 residents, and by 1860
there were 2, 410, a gain of nearly 50 percent.
The figure for 1870 was 3,130, a gain of nearly 30
percent, but by 1880, the report was 3, 275, which was a gain of only 22
percent.
THE 1890’s
The last decade of the Nineteenth Century was, in many
ways, a repeat of the 1880’s in Drinker’s Beech.
Little had been done to improve methods of work on the
farm.
Hay was still cut with a scythe, raked, loaded and unloaded by hand.
Crops were still cultivated with a hoe.
Manure was still spread on the field with a pitchfork.
However, by this time, an increasing number of farm
houses had installed a “Pitcher pump” in the kitchen where the housewife could
work the handle up and down to get water.
This was considered a great convenience, but a couple
quarts of water had to be kept handy to prime the pump, for they were obstinate.
Some farmers went to the trouble of building his lad a
sink in the kitchen with an iron pipe through which waste water poured into a
ditch beside the house.
Many housewives used water from a well near the house, or from a spring
below the house.
Wells were located by a water finder or well-dowser.
George W. Miller of Moscow located several of the wells
in his area.
He used a wooden crotch cut from a cherry, plum or peach tree.
It has been said that he could tell where to find water,
and how far down one had to dig to reach the vein of water.
Since this method worked as well as it evidently did,
and is still used by well drillers, it is amazing that the U.S. Geological
Survey has gone on record as disapproving it as a farce.
THE 20th CENTURY
The new century started with the discovery of tuberculosis in milk.
Our government responded by asking farmers to keep barns
cleaner and to let their cows be inspected periodically to find the afflicted
cows.
Of course, this eventually led to pasteurization.
However, this “government interference,” as it was
called, was not received too kindly.
An almanac, printed in 1902, showed a cartoon of a cow
with a cloth bag covering her udder, and a “government inspected” specatcles
before her eyes.
She was also equipped with a tail hook, padded shoes with arch
supports and a blanket to keep her warm on chilly days.
This was a time when farmers also received an envelope containing “free
seeds” from their congressmen.
Of course, it was a way for our law-makers to gain
votes, but the idea didn’t take very well.
Enough seeds to supply his constituancy must have cost
the congressman plenty, but a small packet of cucumber seeds meant very little
to the individual farmer.
The author can remember a couple packets of seeds which
remained on a shelf in a kitchen of Drinker’s Beech for over twenty years.
The term “conservation” as it related to natural resources, was first
heard at this time, in response to the program started by President Theodore
Roosevelt.
The settlers of our country had not been too careful as they
lived off the land.
Now something had to be done to preserve what was left.
Our own settlers in Drinker’s Beech were just as guilty as any other.
The Passenger Pigeon and the elk, once as plentiful in
The Beech as in other places, had entirely disappeared.
The bear, deer, mink, raccoon, otter, wildcat, fox,
turkey, grouse, dove, hawk and other species were all but exterminated, and the
wolf, martin and panther had left for parts unknown.
Only the skunk could fight back, if he could get close
enough.
Now we were being told that some of our hawks were beneficial.
Up to now, any large hawk was a “hen hawk,” and a small
hawk was a “chicken hawk.”
Any farmer would run for his gun to protect his chickens
when he was a hawk.
At first, it was a matter of educating our citizens.
Thornton Burgess started his children’s stories of Peter
Rabbit and Reddy Fox, while men like John Burroughes, Frank Chapman and F. E. L
Beal wrote page after page to acquaint us with wildlife.
Louis A. Fuertes, Francis L. Jacques, R. Bruce Horsfall,
Allan brooks and their contemporaries, drew beautiful pictures of birds, while
Harrison Cady did an exceptional job illustrating Burgess’ stories.
In the 1920’s, the National Association of Audobon Societies, now the
National Audubon Society, published various two-page pamphlets, each with a
colored picture of the bird the pamphlet described, to school children and
others, for five cents.
We are just beginning to reap the benefit of the labors of these
dedicated men at the present time.
Many of the species previously named have come back to
Drinker’s Beech.
Again our hearts can be gladdened with the songs of birds, or, if
we are hunters, the bear, deer and grouse are plentiful once more.
In Moscow, Gaige and Clements had added a large platform from their
building along the railroad bank, where farmers could load hay, grain, farm
implements and groceries on their wagons.
Clouse and Coslar on Church Street had hired a couple
young men to help with their blacksmithing, John Clouse and Redford E. Miller.
The latter followed blacksmithing in the area until the
late 1940’s.
Mr. Miller and John Roney of Daleville were the last two
surviving blacksmiths in this area.
John Clouse became the postmaster at Moscow.
Moscow High School at this time was the only four-year high school
within miles.
Students came from Elmhurst, Sterling, Daleville, Clifton,
Springbrook and even Gouldsboro.
Some came from even farther away.
Many of these students boarded with families in Moscow.
Sometimes a romance began with some young student and a
resident of the town, which ended in marriage, the author’s parents, for
example.
The Moscow railroad underpass was built in 1908, ending the dangerous
Mill (now Market) Street crossing which had existed since 1854.
Mill Street had met Main Street across the road from the
present Borough Building.
The Cooper (now Lincoln) Street crossing was also closed
at this time.
An iron footbridge with a concrete walkway and iron steps was
built over the tracks at this time.
The span started at the intersection of Main and Church
Streets and ended, down the long flight of steps, at the railroad station.
This old landmark was removed in the early 1970’s.
The store which had been established on Mill Street by Charles Noack in
the 1870’s, at this time, was operated by his son, John M. Noack.
The store was torn down and the foundation was buried
under the fill used to grade the railroad.
John M. Noack moved to the building recently vacated by
Gaige and Clements.
His son, Frank P. Noack, took over the store when his
father retired and remained in business until 1930 when he died.
Moscow was made a Borough in 1908.
William A. Dale was burgess in the early 1920’s,
B.
J. Biesecker was the next burgess.
He remained in office from 1926 to 1953.
When J. Wesley Franklin was elected in 1953, the name of
the position was changed to mayor.
He served until 1969.
The next mayor, Richard Lougee, was in office from 1969
to 1972 when he resigned.
He was followed by Ambrose (“Bus”) Kelly, who died
January 6, 1974 on his last day in office.
James S. Scandale, born January 22, 1907, served from
1974 until his death on August 3, 1979.
Robert J. Kemp was named mayor following Mr. Scandale’s
death, and is the present mayor in 1985.
THE TROUBLED TEENS
The nineteen-teens were times that tried the souls of all who lived at
time.
It was a time when winters were extremely cold and blizzards raged.
In 1914 the “Billy Sunday Snow Storm” dumped more snow
in the area than in any winter since 1888.
In fact, some of the older residents claimed that it was
“worse than the storm of 88.”
Winds of gale proportion blew the snow into huge drifts;
stalling railroad trains and tearing down telegraph and telephone lines.
Billy Sunday, professional baseball player turned evangelist, was
holding a revival meeting in a tabernacle in Scranton on the night of the storm
which attracted a large crowd.
Those who attended were marooned at the tabernacle.
Some of them did not reach their homes for a couple of
days, hungry and exhausted, while others from out of town had to stay in the
city until trains could operate again.
Drinker’s Beech was cut off from the rest of the world.
Roads were not passable for two weeks.
Another big snowstorm occurred during the winter of 1918, when winds
drifted snow up to the eves of some houses.
Farmers were forced to tunnel through the drifts to
reach their barns.
Stonerows along the roads acted as snow fences, but
filled the roads with snow instead of keeping them free from the winter white
stuff.
Farmers, with their horses and sleighs, detoured around the roads
through the fields.
There were no snow plows at this time.
Roads were shoveled open by man power.
Near the top of Church Street hill, leading out of
Moscow, the road was shoveled open at this time by men who had to throw the snow
over a bank higher than their heads.
Automobiles became more popular and a few residents of Drinker’s Beech
owned them, a Ford here, a Dodge there and a Baby Grand Chevrolet, a Maxwell, a
Durant, an Overland or a Reo in between, but not many.
One man stored his first car in a barn after the first
few trial runs, never again to travel the roads.
Cars weren’t dependable and he refused to spend his time
fixing his car.
It wasn’t until the late 1920’s that the horseless carriage came
into its own.
We declared war on Germany in 1917 and some of our young men enlisted.
Others were drafted for service, to do “their bit” in
“No Man’s Land” or “Flander’s Field” in France.
This time a new horror had been added, poison gas.
Many died “over there,” and some of the others that did
come back were so badly “gassed” that they lived for only a few years.
Among many others, popular songs at this time included:
“Over there, over there, say a prayer
For we won’t be back until it’s over, over there.”
And
“Keep the home fires burning, while your hearts are yearning?
Through your lads are far away, they dream of home.
There’s a silver lining through the dark clouds shining!
Turn the dark cloud inside out, ‘til the boys come home.”
The school boys had a little ditty of their own:
“Kaiser Bill went up a hill, to take a look at France;
Kaiser Bill came down the hill with a bullet in his pants.”
The folks at home suffered the inconvenience of rationing.
Bread was made with flour substitutes and became brown
and tasteless, while a pound of sugar had to last a family of four for a week.
A few years later, one of our citizens claimed that the
“white niddlings’ he bought to feed his pigs was the same as he had used as a
substitute for flour during the war.
Housewives served “eggless, butterless, milkless,
flourless” cake, without icing, to their families at mealtime; and any money
that a family could spare went to purchase war bonds.
The influenza scourge started in 1918.
Millions all over the world were afflicted and thousands
died.
In Scranton, the armory and other public buildings were converted into
hospitals and additional physicians were sent here from Philadelphia.
Coffin manufacturers went on 24-hour, around-the-clock
duty to supply the need, and nurses were in short supply.
However, in Drinker’s Beech, although many “caught the
flu” and some died, deaths were fewer in proportion to our population, probably
because the farming people were more widely separated from their neighbors.
Yes, the teens were “times that troubled the souls of men,” but during
this, the worst epidemic we have ever known, the Armistice was signed on
November 11, 1918, ending the war and giving new hope to everyone.
It wasn’t long until “troop trains” brought “our boys”
back home.
In Moscow, a train was met in gala fashion by the town’s folk and
Knedler’s brass band.
The decade ended with the passage of the Prohibition Act and the Woman’s
Sufferage Act.
THE ROARING TWENTIES
Women’ Lib really started in the 1920’s.
Filled with a new-found freedom after the preface of the
Woman’s Sufferage Act, they began to bob their hair, and wear large,
off-the-face hats and shortened dresses.
Younger girls began to roll their stockings below the
knees, showing their naked knees.
This prompted a song, popular at the time:
“Roll ‘em, girlies, roll ‘em,
Don’t forget to roll ‘em.
Roll ‘em downward and show your pretty knees.
Laugh at ma, laugh at pa, give them all the ha, ha, ha.
Don’t listen to their mocking,
Hang your sweetie’s picture on your stocking.
Roll ‘em down and show your pretty knees.”
As the next step, ladies began to smoke cigarettes, and to wear
high-heeled shoes!
Now the use of tobacco by women wasn’t new.
Their mothers and grandmothers had dipped snuff and
smoked clay pipes for many years.
But cigarettes?
However, they continued to smoke cigarettes, and they
continued to wear high-heeled shoes.
New dances also became popular, including the
“Charleston” and the “Black Bottom.”
To say that all ladies of Drinker’s Beech took to the new styles would
do our mothers and grandmothers an injustice.
Most of them fought these “fads” with tooth and nail.
Some of them did bob their hair, but it was their
daughters who wore the shortened skirts.
Even in the late 1920’s dresses of married women usually
reached midway between knee and ankle.
The Roaring Twenties and woman’s new freedoms had a decided setback, as
did other ways of life, in the depression years of the 1930’s and 1940’s.
There were also Prohibition days.
No “hard” liquor could be bought, legally, at any price.
Consequently, our men frequented the speak-easies which
were operated in secret and puzzled moonshine and needle beer which was procured
from bootleggers.
Only residents known to the proprietors were admitted.
Home-made beer, called home brew, wines, brandies,
apple-jack or hard cider could be found in many homes.
The Prohibition Act did very little good, it seems, for
even those who had never been known “to touch the stuff,” now began imbibing
what they could make or buy.
Moscow was outgrowing its graded school by this time.
By 1927, the individual desks in the high school room
were doubled with less aisle space to accommodate the many pupils.
Clarence A. Phillips was principal and Paul M. Hettes,
the assistant principal.
Miss Theresa Fitzgerald, followed by Miss Grace Rounds,
was also high school teachers.
Seventh and eighth grades were presided over by Miss
Marion Reynolds, followed by Mrs. Ellen Thomas.
Fifth and sixth grades were taught by Miss Edna Malone,
third and fourth by Miss Mary Depew, and Miss Annette Vail had charge of the
Primer classes, first and second grades.
These teachers were loved by most of their students,
even though they were allowed to use corporal punishment, if necessary.
It is amazing that some of them did not use it more
often!
The Moscow graded school burned in 1925; a year after the Methodist
Church had burned.
At this time, school was held in the Borough Building,
the I.O.O.F. Hall, and in a room over Dr. Knedler’s garage, until the new school
was rebuilt on the site of the old building.
This building is now used as an elementary school.
The A & P store in Moscow was opened in the present Foley building.
George McCormack was the manager.
Mary and Augusta Sanko and Helen Plociniak were some of
the first employees.
A few years later, Lowell Swartz became manager of the
meat department and Irene Knoll had charge of green goods.
G. F. (“Dock”) Gillespie opened a drug store in the
basement of the same building a short time later.
Alson Croop began a lumber business in town in 1924, Edward M. Kohnstamm
opened the Valley View Inn, Clare T. Johnson established a Ford agency on Main
Street in 1925 and Benjamin T. Miller opened a Chevrolet agency on Market
Street.
Morgan J. Jones opened his automobile repair shop on Main Street in the
building occupied by Ray Plociniak.
Harry Megargel was president of the First National Bank
until 1928 when Ernest E. Battenberg became president.
Joseph F. Loveland, real estate agent and lumber broker,
had an office in a small building between the bank and t. R. Matthews’ hardware
store.
J. Wesley Franklin established his undertaking business on Main Street
in 1924.
Grant E. VanWoert was pastor of the Moscow Methodist Church when it
burned on January 28, 1923.
Joseph H. Smith was pastor when it was rebuilt in 1925
and 1926.
He remained until 1929.
Miss Lois Donne moved to Moscow from Scranton to be the
new organist.
Father Kane was pastor of the Roman Catholic Church in 1926 when
the lovely new edifice was built on Church Street.
Joseph Gavin opened his tavern in 1928, and Morris Wolfson opened a
shoemaker shop on Church Street a few years previously.
His wife, Minnie, operated a dry goods store in the
building.
COMMUNITY HOLIDAYS IN THE 1920’S
Memorial Day in Moscow in the 1920’s was centered on the few surviving
veterans of the Civil War.
Citizens that attended the services usually met in the
I.O.O.F. Hall where some visiting dignitary had been invited to speak.
The author remembers an interesting talk by Reverend
Alfred H. Ackerley, the noted hymn writer and pastor of Elmhurst Presbyterian
Church, in which he tried to foretell coming events in the next hundred years.
He said automobiles and airplanes would be much improved, but that
gasoline would be in short supply that we would look for other sources of power
for heat, light and transportation.
He finished by saying that the citizens of our country
were more than equal to this task, and that by A. D. 2020 life in our country
would be much different, more complicated in some ways, but less complicated in
others.
At another time, Moses Davis of Moscow, a grand old veteran, was coaxed
into saying a few words about his experience during the war.
Mr. Davis was a bit shy before an audience and needed
prompting, but he received a standing ovation when he finished.
THE DEPRESSED THIRTIES
The twentieth century was running to true form, World War I, cold
blustery winters, the influenza epidemic, and now the bottom had fallen out of
our financial structure.
The 1930’s was ushered in this way, and it labored under
the greatest depression we have ever known.
The Public Works Administration was established to give
work to bread-winners.
In a few years it became the Works Progress
Administration, popularly known as the “W. P. A.”
Men were put to work on public projects financed by the state with
grants from the U. S. government.
The Pennsylvania governor, Gifford Pinchot, a personal
friend of President F. D. Roosevelt, capitalized by using laborers to resurface
existing roads and to build new ones.
The program was soon known as the “Pinchot Roads
Program.”
Routes 502 from Daleville to Moosic and 307 from Scranton to
Daleville were built at this time, mostly through virgin wilderness.
Route 690 from Springbrook to Twenty-One was given a new surface and
other roads were improved.
In Moscow, Green Street and Orchard Street came into
existence and Academy Street was extended from Spring Garden Street to Green
Street.
A new bridge was built over VanBrunt Creek at the foot of Orchard
Street, and the school grounds were graded.
In a few places, retaining walls were built along
highways to hold banks of earth from washing into the roads.
If the depression did not other good, it gave Drinker’s
Beech better roads.
The old stone walls which had surrounded every field and had followed
each side of all roads, disappeared at this time.
Work was accomplished in the most primitive fashion.
Farmers hauled the stone rows into the roads with horses
and wagons, and men broke them with stone hammers.
The school grounds were graded during the winter months
with pick and shovel.
Wheelbarrows were used to move the excess dirt.
Most businesses struggled to exist, while others failed.
Men were laid off by the thousands.
Office executives, clerks, carpenters, mechanics and
farmers became common laborers.
Occasionally a few were lucky enough to become
supervisors or dump truck operators.
They averaged about $15.00 a week.
Our way of life changed, too.
Wood was burned in homes in place of coal, and clothes
were “patched on top of patch.”
Farmers who had been using Fordson tractors now went
back to using their horses again to accomplish their plowing and other laborious
tasks.
Housewives made bread and canned more vegetables, berried and fruits.
Homemade clothing became more prevalent, and gardens
became larger to produce food.
Merchants felt the impact.
Gone were thoughts of woman’s new freedoms that she had
felt after the Woman’s Sufferage Act.
She was too busy laboring at her husband’s side feeding
and clothing the family.
But many of these housewives were the descendents of the rugged men and
women who had settled our land, and accepted their lots with smiles on their
faces and song in their hearts.
They were as happy as their grandmothers had been to
live in Drinker’s Beech and to labor beside the men they loved, had married, and
for whom they had borne children.
Indeed, families felt closer.
In this manner, the depression of the 1930’s
accomplished its good!
THE STERLING FRONTIER
The first white man to settle in the virgin forests of what is now
Sterling Township, Wayne County, PA, was Henry Stevens, born in Holland, who
came here from Old Paltz, NY in the year 1800.
His home was about a mile south of Sterling corners on
the Jericho Road, known at that time as the North and South Turnpike.
In 1800, Sterling was part of Canaan Twonship, but when Salem Township
came into existence in 1808, it included Sterling.
Sterling township was taken from Salem on April 24,
1815, but part of it was again added to Salem in 1839.
The population of Canaan Twonship in 1800 was but 183 residents which
were included in 28 families.
They were: William Annis, John Bunting, Henry Curtis,
Daniel Davis, Moses Dolph, George Enslin, Robert Freeland, Nathaniel Goodrich,
chester Kimble, Edward London, Francis Nicholson, John Shaffer, Asa Stanton,
Henry Stevens, John Swinc, Conrad Swingle, Hans Ulrich Swingle, Hans Ulrich
Swingle Jr., John Swingle, Elias Van Akin, Adam Wagner, Edward Wheatcraft,
Joseph Wheatcraft, Samuel Wheatcraft, Theodore Woodbridge, John Woodward, Enos
Woodward Jr., and Silas Woodward.
Salem Township, alone, contained 251 residents in 1810.
The population for Sterling Township was 385 in 1820;
481 in 1830; 1,025 in 1850; 1,297 in 1860; 1,433 in 1870, but only 700 in 1880
after Dreher Township was formed from it precincts. In writing this history, we
will include some of the names of the present Dreher Township and the near-by
Greene Township in what is now Pike county, for these settlers moved around
through the years and had their influence on the present Sterling Township.
The entire are of Sterling is glaciated, with deposits of sand and
gravel and rocks.
Our settlers entered a beautiful country, but they chose
to make their homes on a big rock pile.
Stone walls surronded every field in a few years, even
though the filed was only large enough for a good-sized garden.
This is hilly country, too.
Several roads have been abandoned that were once used by
farmers, because the hills were too steep for automobiles.
One steep incline, Orr Hill, was on a road that once
connected Maple Grove with the North and South Turnpike.
Another led up a long, steep hill from Jericho to
Freytown.
It was called the Gas Hollow Road and is no longer passable, even
on foot.
Swamps in the section are extensive.
One is called the Thousand Acre Swamp, although it does
not contain a thousand acres.
Another large swamp drains into Pocono Peak Lake, once
known as the marsh.
Here the Lehigh River has its beginning.
Wild animals were numerous when the first settlers came here, making it
difficult to protect lambs, calves and poultry.
Wolves were a menace.
Sometimes the settlers feared for their children,
although ther is no record that any human was ever attacked in the area.
Panthers, wildcats, fox and mink were also obnoxious
when they raided the hen houses, and hawks often carried away young chicks.
Occasionally, an owl would raid the chicken coops at
night.
Mink, wolves and panthers were also night raiders.
The first settlers built log houses here as they did on all our
frontiers.
These houses contained but one room, the floor was the bare
earth, and the fireplace was a hole in the earthen floor near the middle of the
room.
Here an iron pot hung over the fire where the lady of the house did her
cooking.
Smoke left the room throuhg a hole in the roof.
Tables and benches were made of split logs with straight
sticks for legs.
Kitchen utensils of iron or wood hung on one wall, and the
windows were covered with greased paper to admit light.
Besides using many other sources of information, such as local
histories, census records, cemetery records, old pension records and old family
Bibles the author acknowledges with appreciation the contributions to this
history of the following persons who knew something about Sterling: Lur lawrence
Alt (1864-1959); Asher Baisely; Gertrude Stevens Carr; Mary Depew Catterson
(1869-1944); Elma Peet Ehrhardt;
P. Bennett Gilpin; Emma Sinquet Howe (1862-1949; Gertude
Edwards McLain (1881-1954); Nellie Stevens Miller (1834-1931); Redford e. Miller
(1873-1954); Roy J. Miller (1910-1968); Marion Clark Peet (1856-1952); Charlotte
Abdill Stevens (1893-1966); Maude Rotterman Stevens (1886-1955); and Granville
E. Webster (1880-1967).
1800 to 1810
Jeremiah Bennett, John clements and Phineas Howe were the first settlers
to follow Henry Stevens into the Sterling forests.
They came here in 1804, Edward Cross came in 1805,
Robert Bortree in 1806 and Thomas Bortree in 1808.
Everything these, our frontiersmaen ate, wore or used was either brought
to this wilderness with them or was made at home.
The nearest towns were Hawley or Honesdale, or perhaps
was Stroudsburg, all at least on or days’ journey away.
Scranton, Moscow and Daleville, even Hamlin, were
non-existent at this time.
The frontiersman had to be his own blacksmith,
carpenter, mechanic, farmer, lumberman, miller, cobbler, cooper and mason, while
the women died the cooking, housekeeping, milking, gardening, sewing, spinning,
besides feeding the chickens, cows sheep, pigs and later, the horses.
She also cared for her children and added a new one to
the family at least every two years.
Each man or his wife was the family physician.
Home remedies were used almost exclusively.
They were made of herbs, roots, bark of certain trees
and dired parts of animals, such as the heart, liver, gall bladder and spleen.
Greens were added to the diet in the spring and included
milkweed shoots, dandelions, sour dock, march marigold called “cow slips”,
brakes (fern shoots), pigweed (lamb’s quarters), and many other wild plants.
They lived off the land.
The diet included deer, elk, bear, fish, woodchuck,
turkeys, woodcock, grouse and doves, besides homegrown pork and chickens.
Berries in season included blackcaps, raspberries,
strawberries, whortleberries (low-growing blueberries), blueberries (known as
huckleberries), wild cherries, plums and apples.
In the fall, butternuts, hickory nuts and chestnuts were
enjoyed, but in the wintertime, they existed on meats and dried fruits and
berries, dried corn, cornmeal mush, buckwheat pancakes, and coarse bread made
from hommade wheat flour.
Cornmeal was also used to make “Johnney cake”.
Sometimes it was baked on a griddle and sometimes in an
oven.
These, our ancestors, were sturdy stock.
They had to be.
Sterling was in Salem Township until 1815, and Salem Township was in
Canaan Township until 1808.
By the year 1810, the population of Salem Township had
grown considerably, 251 residents now lived in Salem, compared with 183, in
1800, for the entire Township of Canaan.
New names reported in the 1810 census for Salem Township
included: Henry and William Avery; Jeremiah Bennett; Ephraim bidwell; Robert and
Thomas Bortree; John Clements; Joseph and William Cobb; Andrew Corey; Edward
Cross; William Dayton; John and Thomas Dixon; Abram Fitzsimmons; Amos and Elijah
Flint; Harris Hamlin; James Hartford; Timothy Hollister; Phineas Howe; Asa and
Solomon Jones; Jesse Miller; George Morgan; Jeremiah Osgooed; Abraham Simons;
James Thomas; Elijah Weston; and Nathan Wright.
1810 to 1820
The year 1810 found seven settlers within the confines of the present
Sterling Township: Jeremiah Bennett, Robert and Thomas Bortree, John clements,
Edward Cross, Phineas Howe and Henry Stevens.
Four of the seven were immigrants form northern Ireland,
three of whom raised large families.
At this time, Sterling became known as the Irish
Settlement, although two had come from England, and Stevens a Dutchman from
Holland.
The Irishmen were the Bortree brothers, Clements and Cross.
The New Englanders were Bennett and Howe.
Howe sas the first settler at the foot of Howe Mountain
at what later became known as Howetown, then Paupertown, and is now Jericho.
A sprinkling of Irish settlers continued until 1870.
According to the census records, the following heads of
families were all born in Ireland: Robert Catterson, Simon Dillworth, James
Dobson, Thomas Ferguson, Richard Gilpin, Abraham Hazleton, Burrows Lee,
Nathaniel Martin, Robert McDevitt, Robert McLain, Joshua Neville, John Vevin,
John Phillips, John Ralston, Richard Simons, Joh and joseph Simpson, Henry
Skelton, Hugh surplus and John Wallace.
More settlers came to Sterling by 1820.
They included William Akers, Lewis Barnes, Bartle and
Thomas Bartleson, John Bennett, John Brown, Benjamin Beach, Charles and Stephen
Cliff, George Dobell, James Dobson, George Fraxee, Richard Gilpin, Abraham
Hazleton,
Richard and William Lancaster, Sarah lee, Thomas London, Jacob
Long, Amasa and Joseph Megargel, Edward Mullensford, John Nevin, David and
William Noble, Jonathan Richardson, John and Joseph Simpson, Levi A. Webster and
Joseph Williams.
1820 to 1830
Sterling was made a township on April 24, 1815.
Jeremaih Bennett was given credit for the name.
The largest town in the township, now sterling, became
known as Nobleville, the Nobletown.
It kept this name until the postmaster changed it many
years later.
Jesse B. Ransbury set up a blacksmith shop in the village during
this time, but it was perhaps the only business in Nobletown.
Wolves were still plentiful in Sterling in the 1820’s.
A story has been told about the children of George
Dobell concerning these animals.
The adult members of the family had to be absent from
their home one winter day, leaving the girls (there wer no boys) at home.
Of course, the children were cautioned to remain
indoors, but in the afternoon they heard wolves.
Looking out, one of the girls saw that the gate to the
sheepfold was not securely fastened, and she ran outside to fasten it.
Wolves immediatley surrounded her, with bared fangs and nasty growls.
Seeing her predicament, an older girl grabbed a broom,
dipped it in a barrel of pitch and set the broom afire.
Holding the flamin torch, she thrust it into the faces
of the closer animals which scared them away.
The children returned to the dafety of their home and
did not leave it again until the return of their father.
A few German immigrants had joined William Akers in the Newfoundland
woods by 1830 and this place became known as the Dutch Flats.
These settlers were: Benjamin Beach, John and Charles Beehn, Christian
and John Freabely, Phillip Houck, Charles Heffley, Jacob Long, Charles and
Johannes Reitz, Jacob and William Robacker and Charles Wolfe.
\By 1840 they were joined by Peter Heberling, Conrad Schall, Jacob Seig,
George Waltz, Jacob Wesser, Christian Wolfe and Paulus Wolff.
1830 to 1840
The population of Sterling had grown from 66 reported in 1820 to 81
families by 1830.
Of course, some of these families were the married sons
and sughters of the original settlers.
As they married, the homesteads were divided and new
houses wer built.
Small communities were named for different families.
At one time there were Bortreetown, Howetown, Leetown,
Nobletown and Kipptown, to name a few.
New settlers in what is now Sterling Township during this period
included: Lester Adams, George Butler, Thomas Ferguson, Robert McLain, John
Phillips, Richard simons, Daniel Slote and Charles Wildash.
Graveyards were first located on the homesteads of the settlers.
Some of them were small and the sites were finally lost,
such as the one on the Stevens homestead.
Henry and Martha Stevens, a few of their children and
grandchildren were buried here, but no one today knows the exact location.
The Catterson Cemetery was better preserved and is still used, but the
road to the much larger Gilpin cemetery has been closed and this old historic
gem is falling into disrepair.
The Hazleton graveyard, the smallest of them all, is on
a road leading east from Jericho.
It is on a bank near the road, but hardly can be found
because of the brush that covers it.
The Howetown Cemetery, at the foot of Howe Mountain in
Jericho, needs a bit of care, too.
The other two cemeteries in Sterling were established by the churches.
Zion Cemetery was once a churchyard of the Zion
Episcopal Church, which stood in the northeast corner.
The one in the village of Sterling was opened by the
Methodists and was known as “God’s Little Acre.”
The most amusing epitaph we have found was in this
cemetery, but the stone has been replaced by a much larger one.
It was to the memory of a wife who died at the age of
32.
It read: “In the tomb, O gentle friend, Here thy sermons have an end.”
The Zion, the Methodist and the Catterson cemeteries
show better care than any of the rest.
The Gilpin Cemetery is probably the oldest of the six cemeteries in
Sterling.
The first five deaths recorded are:
1.
James Dobson died January 23, 1823, age 41
2.
Lewis K., son of Robert and Emily S. Bortree, died March
29, 1834
3.
Richard Gilpin died January 8, 1835, age 82 years, 21
days
4.
Richard b., son of Thomas and Mary Gilpin, died May 25,
1841
5.
Charlotte, wife of Smith Weed, died August 9, 1841
The Sterling Methodist cemetery may have been established next.
The first five deaths are recorded here:
1.
Avery F., son of Giles and Lucy Dayton, died September
2, 1823, age 19
2.
David Noble died July 23, 1830, age 52
3.
Paulina, daughter of Giles and Lucy Dayton, died
November 6, 1835, age 27
4.
Ellenore, wife of Amasa Bortree, died January 15, 1837,
age 50
5.
Valentine Stevens died October 9, 1841, age 50
The Zion Cemetery was the third to be used as a burying ground.
The first five deaths recorded on the stones are:
1.
Amie L. Wolfe, wife of David W. Bortree, died March 22, 1836, age
80 years
11 months, 6 days
2.
Mary A., wife of John Clements, born May 29, 1790, died
April 14, 1842
3.
Elizabeth, wife of Dawson Lee, died December 26, 1846,
age 52
4.
Charles F. Clements, born February 28, 1822, died May
31, 1850
5.
Frances, wife of Edward Cross, died April 1, 1852
The first five deaths recorded in the Catterson Cemetery are:
1.
Martha, wife of Robert McLain, died May 11, 1839, age 46
2.
Robert McLain died May 25, 1845, age 65
3.
Robert E. Catterson, died May 25, 1845, age 65
4.
Ann, wife of Nicholas Stevens, died May 29, 1845, age 43
5.
John Ralston died February 19, 1851, age 75
The first five deaths recorded in the Howetown Cemetery are:
1.
Phineas Howe, died January 27, 1843, age 81
2. Alice,
wife of Phineas Howe, died October 18, 1848, age 76
3.
John, son of John and Sarah Dunstone, died August 22, 1853, aged
14 years,
11 months, 14 days
4.
Alice s., daughter of Phineas and Mary Howe, died August 22,
1853, aged 1
year, 10 months, 20 days
5.
Maria, daughter of Jesse O. and Jane Cliff, died February 23,
1854, aged 8
days
The first five deaths recorded in the Hazleton graveyard are:
1.
Abraham Hazleton, died January 30, 1857, age 88
2.
Eliza, wife of William J. Skelton, died June 10, 1865, aged 41
years, 10
months, 5 days
3.
Sarah Gilpin, wife of Abraham Hazleton, died October 17, 1865,
aged 81
years, 12 days
4.
William J. Skelton died April 1, 1866, aged 64 years, 8
months
5.
Edward Hazleton died October 27, 1888, aged 61 years, 8
months, 11 days
These cemeteries are all we have left to remember the Sterling settlers,
our fore-fathers, who came into the Sterling wilderness and built Sterling by
hard work, by enduring untold hardships, by sweat, tears and sorrows, but always
looking toward a better future – for us.
Someone cared enough to have these stories made and
installed.
Do we care enough to preserve their last resting places as
hallowed grounds?
CHRONOLOGY
It can be seen from the foregoing installments that some of the earlier
families married back and forth time and again.
Besides this, young girls frequently married men much
older than themselves.
Actually, eligible bachelors were hard to come by.
They were ear-marked by
some other
girl.
However, when horses become more common, the young people could go
farther in their quest for helpmates.
Boys were courting girls in the Sterling area, and even
as for away as Salem Township.
Frequently when they married, they made their homes in
the locality where they had found their wives.
Thus the names became spread out.
The Irish families were especially prolific.
Many of the residents of Sterling today can trace their
ancestry lines back to a Bortree, Catterson, Cross, Ferguson, Gilpin, Hazleton,
McLain, Musgrave, Phillips or Simons, and some can find two or more in their
lineage.
Some of the younger people, too, were looking for greener pastures and
“went west,” at first to Ohio, Illinois or Minnesota, but later settling in many
of our western states.
Their descendents can be found today in many of these
places.
Others settled in the cities of New Jersey and New York where jobs were
plentiful and wages were good.
This, in itself, has taken many of our young people away
from Sterling.
The Endicott and Johnson City, New York area contains many
families that have their roots back in Sterling.
This is also tru of Plainfield, Newark, Elizabeth and
other cities in New Jersey.
William E. Hamlin came to the village of Sterling during this time,
where he opened a general store, perhaps the first in town.
He died in 1886 and Samuel, Joseph and Albert Cross took
over the merchandising business.
They each had their individual store, but were known as
the Cross brothers.
They sold every kind of merchandise known at the time,
from groceries and Jewelry, to farm implements, dry goods and hardware.
They became the largest business concern ever to have
been in the town and were patronized by farmers from all over the township, as
well as from Newfoundland, Hamlin, Madisonville and other places.
Mrs. Albert Cross was a milliner and had a millinery
shop in her husband’s dry goods store.
1850 to 1860
The population of Sterling Township in 1860 was 1, 297 as compared to 1,
025 reported in 1850.
There were 194 families in 1850 and 237 in 1860.
New names found in the 1860 census included: Charles
Batzel, William Bisbing, Jacob Brown, Simon Dillworth, James Edwards, Frederick
Ehrhardt, Lambert Frey, Alanson Gregory, James Haig, Hannah Haines, William W.
Hawk, Martin Humple, John Riley, Joseph Sinquet, Alanson Stevens, Phillip
Swartz, Thomas Thompson and Josiah Whittaker.
These people were farmers and lumbermen.
John Riley and his brother-in-law, Joseph Sinquet,
operated a sawmill on the Butternut known as the Sinquet and Riley Company.
1870
The population of Sterling in 1870 was 1,433, showing an increase over
the 1,297 reported in 1860.
However, the 237 families had only reached 283 families.
Actually, new names in Sterling were fewer, showing that
the sons and daughters of the older families had married and settled here and
were
producing more young people.
New names included: James Bird, Simon Cron, Anthony
Dutot, Daniel O’Dell, Alfred pace, Martin Philo, George Smith, John Stucker,
Hugh Surplus and Benjamin Swartz.
1870 to 1880
Dreher Township was formed from Sterling Township during this period.
The population of Sterling Township was only 700 in
1880, included in 163 families.
New names during this period included: Rob Baisley, John
Beavers, Charles Biesecker, John L. Brown, Andrew Butterworth, Paul Debler,
Thomas Cowling, Benjamin L. Deckard, Charles and Thomas Frick, Samuel Hafler,
James Hineline, Austin Lesher, Luther C. Loring, Ebenezer Moon, Truman Osborn
and Jeremiah Wilcox.
FINALLY
There have been other settlers since 1880, of course, but those found in
the preceding installments are still the backbone of the present population.
We hope you have enjoyed our efforts to bring the past
to life.
It was a past filled with the back-breaking toil and many sorrows and
frustrations, but these settlers’ lives were also fulfilled with their more
pleasant moments.
They surely enjoyed their churches and were blessed with
good neighbors.
May we long remember them.