Pittsburg dispatch. [volume] (Pittsburg [Pa.]) 1880-1923, 1889-05-14
ON THE ALBION FARM.
RecollectiOns Recalled by the Death
Of an Early Settler,
MRS. SUTTON, OF LAWRENCEVILLE
She Lived in That End of Town Since the
Dim Days of 1911.
HER STORY OF AN INDIAN BUTCHERY

In the death of Mrs. Ann Sutton, Of
Winebiddle avenue, Lawrenceville loses
one.of its early settlers. Her life was q
part of the history of that section Of the city.
1t stretched across the lapse Of years from
that period when but two or three farms
broke the immensitv of the forests which
covered the shores of the Allegheny between
old Bayardstown and the site of the Sharps-
burg bridge, to the present day when the
Seventeenth ward alone is the most popu-
lous in Pittsburg, and several other wards
besides are embraced within the territory
described. 1t was marvellous what her
memory compassed. An obituary on the
fourth page of to-daY's DISPATCH tells of
her sickness.
Mrs. Sutton was the daughter of Richard
Bishop. She was born in England, and
came to this city with her father and his
family in 1908. Mr.. Bishop, soon after
his arrival, purchased farm from Cen
eral John Wilkins, who was Burgess of Pitts
burg 100 years ago, and the father of the cele-
brated Judge William wilkins. The farm lay
Just west of the Sharpsburg bridge, on the
Pittsburg side of the river, and extended back
from the river over the hillside. It was then
known as the "Albion Farm" and to this day
the name is still retained in the neighborhood.
That is the Eighteenth ward now, and the
whole hill is known in local Nomenclature as
Mt. Albion while the public school is desig-
mated by the Central Board as the Albion
school. In the years afterward MIR. Bishop
became widely known resident and was in
fluential in local affairs. On his farm he en-
tertained the State Commissioners who sur
veyed and laid out the Pennsylvania canal on
the other side of the Allegheny river.
AN INTERESTING REMINIsCENCE.
A few years ago workmen for the Standard
Oil Company were excavating ground in the
Eighteenth ward for the foundations of an oil
tank. They unearthed lot of bones. When
Mrs Sutton-at that timet aged, but still Of
very bright memory-heard of the incident she
related to the writer of this article the proba-
Bile history of those bones She said that In the
year l79l family named Chambers removed to
Pittsburg, which was then only small town,
and took up their residence somewhere in the
vicinity of the present Court House. There
was small clearing in what was afterward
the Albion farm, near the Sharpsburg bridge.
All else between that and the old town of
Pittsburg was unbroken forest. Mr.. Chambers
purchased this in the spring Of the year and
planted upon 1t a corn field. He did not move
his family out to it, but only built small log
cabin in which he conld obtain shelter while
d
Mr.. Chambers had two sons, who were some
where in the neighborhood of 10 and Is years
of age. A young man named Bradshaw,
nephew of Chambers, was also living with the
family. In the summer Of T791 Mr.. Chambers
sent these three young men out to his small
farm to do some work upon it. They were gone
about week, and when they returned they
seemed to be much frightened, and told about
seeing the Indians skulking about their cabin.
The father laughed at their fears He said
1,o lovr
day. and complete what they had been doing.
They all pleaded earnestly to be allowed to
stay at home, but Mr.. Chambers was stern
old fellow, and would not favor the wishes of
his sons and nephew. One Of the former openly
rebelled, Saying he would rather die at home
than be scalped by the Indians. The next
day he ran away. On Monday morning young
Bradshaw and his companion left to finish
their work in their corn fields.
AN INDIAN MASSACRE.
The parents heard nothing more Of them
that week. On Saturday evening the son who
had ran off returned home, and upon learning
that his brother and cousin had not re-
turned started out to hunt them. By
this time the mother had become very
anxious about them also. and she would
not allow her other son to go to look for
them alone, but accompanied him herself. 1t
was beautiful moonlight night, and they had
no difficulty whatever in getting over the FIVE
mile stretch of wooded country. which lay be-
banks of the Allegheny. Upon arriving in
sight of it they were greeted with sicken-
ing odor, and few steps more re-
vealed to them a horrible sight. Lying
was the bloody and msngled form of young
Bradshaw, and several yards distant was the
corpse of Chambers also. From all appear
ances the Indians had attacked them unawares
and they had no opportunity to defend them.
selves. They were fast decomposing and had
evidently been killed several days. Mrs. Cham |
bers and her son went back home, and in the
with the aid Of the late Mr.. Sample, |
the gentleman who once owned all the proper |
ty now known as Millvale, opposite Lawrence |
vile, buried the two young men on the same |
spot they were killed. Their remains were |
only in sheet, and their graves were |
marked by two small sandstone slabs Years |
rolled on, and the farm, after being much en-
larged, changed hands, evetually getting into |
Mr.. Bishops possession. Mrs Sutton had |
often seen the tombstones when out on the |
farm. |
A STRANGE vERIFICATIoN.
Time soon obliterated all traces of where the |
graves of young Chambers and Bradshaw lay, |
and all save few olu residenters forgot the |
story of how they perished at the hands Of the |
Indians.
After the writer printed this story from Mrs. |
sutton's lips, in one of the Pittsburg papers, it |
ed to surprising results. The further state |
nent had been made in the article at that time |
hat the exact spot where the bodies had been |
Inferred was on the outskirts of the Standard |
1arrel factory property. The same laborers
Who had dug up the bones happened to read |
Mrs. Sutton's story Of their discovery. 1t in
pired them to deeper search, and on the day |
Lfter the publication of the article they ac-
ually found the identical tombstones spoken |
# by the old lady. They sent word to the
writer, and an investigation showed faint let
ering and figuring on the stones which cor
with the names and dates given by |
Mrs Sutton. Thus, after the constant plowing |
,f seuaral diffarant farmers and the accumn-