Coral’s family history · Chapter 6

Finding a Homestead

David and John Mead painted such a great picture of a beautiful valley with a river running through it that Thomas and Mary decided he should go take a look for himself. They were then living in Dunnstown Pa. on the Susquehanna River.

About 1793 he started on the long journey. He left on foot with his rifle slung over his shoulder and meager supplies. Thomas followed the Great Shamokin Indian Trail as the Meads and several others had done in the summer of 1788. It was a lonely journey following the Susquehanna River whenever he could and then by land to the Alleghany River, north to Venango and Cussawago (Meadville) and the settlement the Meads had made a few years before.

After purchasing supplies from one of the stores, he set off into the wilderness with his rifle, a camp kettle and two weeks provisions. He headed southwest out of Meadville searching for just the right spot for a homestead, always keeping a watchful eye out for hostile Indians.

A few days into his journey, a spark from his campfire caused his provisions to go up in smoke. The next day he took a good look around and decided that this was a pretty nice place. There were acres of timber and with a good stream running through it.

He then returned to Meadville and purchased his location from Jabez Colt, the land agent for the Pennsylvania Population Co. He selected two 200 acre parcels, #773 and #785.

He found someone who would sell him a horse and he headed for home. It was a lot faster on the return trip. Everyone greeted him with open arms and a lot of tears. He promised not to leave again without taking them with him.

It was quite a few more years before Thomas decided it was safe enough for them to go back to their land and make the necessary improvements to live there. There was still some danger but nothing like the Mead party had faced in the years previous to that, They stayed at Dunnstown on the farm until it was time to go to their new home.

Morgan (Mary Ann) was born in Dunnstown on J uly 19th, 1794. That brought the number of children in the family to four.

It was the spring of 1797. The farm had been sold so Thomas and Mary packed up the goat cart with a few household possessions. That all important broad axe, a few tools and Morgan’s quilts to lay on when she was too tired to walk and everyone else was too tired to carry her. They had a good crop of corn the summer before so a big bag of corn was in the cart.

The purpose of taking the goat was two fold. It could pull the cart and furnish milk for Marianne and the rest of them. They also brought some of their sheep on the journey. Everyone carried their own bedding on their backs with a few articles of clothing that they owned and an extra pair of shoes.

The journey was long and arduous. They followed the Shamokin Trail that Thomas used on the first trip. They had to follow treacherous mountain trails and ford turbulent streams. There were plenty of scrapes and scratches along the way. There was no room for namby pamby whiners on this trip. Children had to grow up fast in those days. This made them well suited for rugged pioneer living. It was a very wearisome trip for all. Sometimes it seemed as if they couldn’t go another step but they just kept moving.

At Chinklacamoose (now Clearfield) the trail joined the west branch of the Susquehanna. Several crossings of the Susquehanna had to be made west of Clearfield because of the thickets of Mountain Laurel. Mountain Laurel is usually found on rocky slopes and mountainous forest areas covering large areas of the forest floor. Since it blooms between May and June, it presented a beautiful sight. Beautiful, but deadly. All parts of the plant are poisonous. It is sometimes called spoonwood because the Indians made spoons out of it.

They met a few friendly Indians along the way. Most were from Cornplanter’s tribe of Iroquois and sometimes they made camp with them and shared what they had. The Indians were fascinated by Mary Ann’s blond curly hair. She was so cute that they made a fuss over her.

When they were crossing the rivers, sometimes they could get a ride across on a flatboat which helped to speed up the journey. The whole trip took more than a month.

When they reached Meadville (Cussawago), there were two mercantiles and stores where they could trade with and purchase supplies and provisions. While they were there Thomas befriended a man named Richard Dick (called Negro Dick by some) who was described as a peaceable colored man who roamed from place to place selling straw baskets and beehives. He wanted to settle in Fallowfield and buy some land.

Thomas helped him purchase 200 acres. He picked parcel #786 just south of Thomas’s land. Thomas was his assignee and took care of the purchase for him.