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Archiver > PAFAYETT > 2001-11 > 1006290719


From: Betty L Grass <>
Subject: Fw: Re: [Pafayett-L] Land patents
Date: Tue, 20 Nov 2001 16:11:59 -0500


--------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Betty L Grass <>
To:
Date: Tue, 20 Nov 2001 15:36:29 -0500
Subject: Re: [Pafayett-L] Land patents

I am not familiar with the location of Amity Twsp or Morris Twsp. My
interest stopped at the river. There were about 3 ferries in that time
period, that crossed the river near Brownsville. I have a little info at
the point where one crossed the river. It seems to have been misfiled in
Fayette Co. But , all this is to be found in Washington Co. records.

I discovered one ferry that I think is not now known to have existed.
The Krepp's Ferry and the Gillespie (spelling?) Ferry are well known but
I have never seen this ferry mentioned. Other ferries existed on the
"west bend" of the river but from your description they would not be a
Brownsville Ferry.

The Brownsville- Cheat River Rd .of 1787 : I said it closely matched PA
166. I should have said; south of Republic. It is not PA 166 north of
Republic. It entered Brownsville from the west. Later(?) roads with
several reroutings in the early 1820s joined this trace in Republic and
were called Brownsville to Geneva Rd. That section eventually coalesced
into PA 166.

(?) means, this is the earliest that I can document a road existing
there. It is an arduous route and is better accomplished by other routes,
one of which I have a strong hunch was that fabled Dunlaps Path.

I should add; we try to avoid steep hills with our roads. These early
roads would ascend-descend very steep grades with no attempt to avoid
them. In some instances, I could not believe anyone would built a road
there. But...wagons are a lot easier to tip from side to side than they
are end to end and horses can climb steep hills a lot better than they
can walk along the side of a hill. Not much grading went on in those
days, but even getting rid of the endless forest and its
stumps.......wow.

My time is free for qualified individuals. I posted for general info
without identification.

My ancestor in that area Masontown to Morgantown was Aaron Hackney
1738-1806 and maybe his son Jehu Hackney ,1776-1840, and/or Edward
Eaglin, whose dau. Rachel married Jehu. All these people came to Luzerne
Twsp by 1820. They came west from Frederick Co. VA and Kennett Square,
PA. Aaron was on a list of Spring Hill Twsp residents in 1772. He
relocated to Luzerne Twsp formally in 1778 when he transferred to the
Redstone M.M. from the Hopewell M.M. near Winchester. Before that time
he is often mentioned in Quaker records in VA. He must have had a
presence in both places for a time.

His step-father, Francis Baldwin, was quite active in settling Greene
County along the river north of Point Marion. It seems reasonable that
Aaron Hackney could have first settled in the same area where his sister
and step-sisters owned much land and his son Jehu could have gravitated
back to an area with ties before acquiring his father's homestead in
Luzerne Twsp.

Keep me in mind if you should happen across these names.

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