Tri-Counties Genealogy & History by Joyce M. Tice 1885 Seven Counties History - Bradford County PA

Postcard of Wyalusing purchased by JMT in antique shop

Tri-County Genealogy & History Sites Home Page How to Use This Site Warning & Disclaimer Wyalusing Township Page Table of Contents Bradford County Section of Outline History Schools and Churches of the Tri-Counties No Unauthorized Commercial Use Say Hello to Joyce  ReTyped for Tri-Counties by Pat SMITH Raymond .  Book Submitted by Walt Samson

Wyalusing was first organized in 1790, twenty years previous to the formation of Bradford county.  It is located upon the east shore of the Susquehanna river, near the south-eastern limit of Bradford county, and is bounded on the north by Herrick; on the east by Tuscarora; on the south and west by the Susquehanna river.  The lands of the township are extremely fertile and productive; none better can be found in the commonwealth.  The township is historic ground, the former home of the red man, and the site of their ancient villages.  Settlements were made by white men upon its fertile flats previous to the revolutionary war.  It was in this township that the Moravians established a mission among the Indians, and erected a church, laid out and built a village in 1765.  In 1768 the Indians in their treaty with the commissioners of Pennsylvania, sold these lands occupied by these Indians and missionaries, and on the 11th of June, 1772, they vacated their village and removed to Ohio.  In 1871, a monument was erected by the Moravian Historical Society, inscribed in a suitable manner, to mark the spot where a hundred years before, the red men and their families were taught by the Moravians the Christian religion, and where the remains of many of their number were buried.  Delegations were present from Bethlehem, Nazareth in Northamton county, Litz in Lancaster county, and from New York and Philadelphia to witness the ceremonies upon that occasion.

The inscription upon the monument upon its northern face is:  “To mark the site of Friedenshutten.  (M’chwehilusing.”)   A settlement of Moravian Indians between 1765 and 1772. The eastern face reads:  “And my people shall dwell in a peaceable habitation and in sure dwellings and in quiet resting places.”
The south face reads:  “Remember the days of old, consider the years of many generations; ask thy Father and He will show thee; thy elders and they will tell thee.”

The early settlers were Thomas Brown, Joseph Elliott, Henry Elliott, Isaac Hancock, Wareham Kingsley, Nathan Kingsley, Robert Carr, Stephen Beckwith, Sherman Buck, Amos Bennett, Richard Benjamin, Benjamin Ackley, Gideon Baldwin, Humphrey Brown, Gideon Baldwin, Jr., Thomas Lewis, James Wells, Cyrus Wells, Reuben Wells, Amasa Wells, Guy Wells, Justus Lewis, Benjamin Stalford, Peter Stevens, Daniel Sterling, Justus Gaylord, Justus Gaylord, Jr.,  Abraham Bowman, Robert Lattimer, Ambrose Gaylord, David Shoemaker, Samuel Gordon, Joseph C. Town, John Hollenback, James Anderson, Isaac Hancock, Judah Benjamin, Thomas Brink, Daniel Turrell, David Lake, Zackariah Price, David Lake, Job Camp, Jonas Ingham, William Dalton, Amos Hurlburt, Hiram Buck, Thomas Oviatt, Eleazer Price, Demmon Price, Asa Flint, Elijah Camp, Thomas Gardner, Francis Gardner, Benjamin Crawford, Nathan Winton, Humphrey Brown, Timothy Gaylord, Jabez Chamberlain, Gilbert Merritt, Daniel Merritt, Hezekiah Merritt, Alexander P. Biles, Lewis Biles, Simeon Marsh, Stephen Chalott, Elias Vaughan, John Taylor, John Hollenback, Peter Stevens, Jonas Ingham, Charles F. Wells, Nehemiah Main, Miles Bunnell, Nathaniel Parks, Zackariah Price, Bascom Taylor, Amos York, John Elliott. (Note from JMT - Most of these men had wives who were also first settlers but not mentioned in the histories. You can help restore these women to their rightful place in history and honor them by doing write-ups about them for the Women's Page of this site.)

--Nathan Parks was struck by lightning in 1804.
--In 1794 salt was worth ten dollars per barrel in Wyalusing.
--Benjamin Ackley was the first blacksmith in the township.
--Justus Gaylord opened the first store in Wyalusing in 1796.
--Samuel Gordon erected the first grist mill in Wyalusing, in 1793.
--Joseph C. Town erected the first saw mill in Wyalusing, in 1796.
--The first temperance society was organized in Wyalusing, in 1829.
--James Hines erected a distillery, in 1800, the first in the township.
--Browntown, Camptown and Wyalusing, are villages in Wyalusing.
--John Dalton murdered Amos Hurlburt in Wyalusing, in June, 1803.
--Wyalusing is an Indian word and means “Good Hunting Grounds.”
--The first Sunday school in Wyalusing was organized by Eleazer price, in 1818.
--The post office was established at Wyalusing, in 1801, Daniel Sterling, post master.
--John Hollenback was the first man to float lumber out of Wyalusing creek in 1801.
--Guy Wells, an early settler was Justice of the Peace, in Wyalusing, for twenty-five years.
--The early settlers of Wyalusing were driven from their homes in 1778 by the British and Indians.
--The Lehigh Valley Railroad passes through the township, following the valley of the Susquehanna.
--Upon one square mile in Wyalusing were four families whose aggregate number of children amounted to sixty.
--May 20th 1760, Christian Frederic Post preached to the Indians at Wyalusing, the first religious service in Bradford county.
--Wyalusing Lodge, No. 503, I. O. O. F., was instituted, April 14th 1854.  Its first officers were Joshua Burrows N. G.; Hiram Elliott, V. G.; L. W. Camp, Sec.; Harrison Black, Treas.
--John Elliott, a son of an early settler, was a captain and division quartermaster in the militia, justice of the peace for twelve years, served two terms in the Pennsylvania legislature, county commissioner and a staunch and influential democrat.  He died in 1876, aged 84 years.
--July 4th, 1801, was the first celebration held in Wyalusing, of American Independence, John Hollenback presided, and Jonas Ingham delivered an address.  Uriah Terry prepared an ode on The death of Washington, music was arranged for the ode and it was sung by Polly sill.  A Barbecued bear furnished the meat for the occasion.
--Wyalusing is the residence of Rev. David Craft, the teacher, minister and historian.  No one who has ever lived in the Susquehanna Valley has done more than Mr. Craft to preserve the facts and incidents connected with the settlement of the Valley and Bradford county than he.  He has,   while ministering to the members of his congregation acceptably for so many years, found time to search out and publish facts which were fast becoming forgotten, and place in an enduring form, a chronicle of events connected with the pioneer settlement of the county and its various   townships.  He delivered an exhaustive and eloquent address at the dedication of the Sullivan monument in August, 1879, near Elmira, N. Y., to commemorate the battle at Newtown, and his pen has ever been busy in recording past events as they were brought to light by his unceasing  diligence and research, and preserving them for the benefit of the present and future generation. Already has he erected a monument to his own memory of historical facts, and reminiscences Upon whose shaft the inscriptions will be read by generations yet unborn, with pleasure and delight.  All honor to Rev. David Craft, of Wyalusing.

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