The Anderson intelligencer. [volume] (Anderson Court House, S.C.) 1860-1914, 1899-11-22
Calvin Hawley.
Born March S, 1873.
Died January 1G, 1885.

Those who know the story Of the
man whose name is chiseled there
have wondered-and still wondcr-ii
John E. Rockefeller, multi-millionairt
and president Of the Standard Oh
Company, knows that his great for
tune rests upon the corner stone
which Calvin Hawley lay away back
in the first year CT the ffties, when he
placed upon the market the first petro
leum ever taken from out Of the
ground.
Before this coal oil was known, Of
course, but few had any idea that il
would ever become of commercial val
ue except to the chemist. Early in
the present century settler in the
Mohawk Valley discovered that the
Seneca Indians in that section com.
pounded liniment which was of val
ue in soothing rheumatic pains. In
vestigation showed that the Indians
used but two ingredients, an oilwhich
oozed from the ground in gully near
the lake and balsam. The settler 90
tanned quantity Of the oil. which
was petroleum, and filling bottles with
it and balsam, labeled them Seneca
Liniment. He travelled about the
country selling it. It's medical quail
ties soon created demand for it and
this man made a fortune. Every
country boy who was reared in New
York, Pennsylvania, or New England
can remember it as one Of the stand
ard remedies Of his early days, the
yellow label with a picture of Indians
gathered about campfire, presumably
preparing the liniment, was always in
the front row on the shelf in the medi-
cine closet.
Calvin Hawley did not know that
coal oil was one of the ingredients Of
the iiniment-it is doubtless if he
ever heard of it. But that part of
West Virginia where he lived was sat-
urated with an oil-nameless to him
which he felt was Of some commercial
value. and he. determined to take a
quantity Of it to Cincinnati. He
thought it might be used for oiling
machinery, use for which the oil is
unified, although it was tried some
time later.
1t seems strange that Hawley did
not realize that it was suitable for
Lighting: purposes. Five miles from
bis'hoI1e, at place where the boys
and girls of the i, neighborhood held
their picnics; were Rathbone's Burn
ing Springs. These Springs were
nothing but barren acres Of land, acres
without,a yestige of vegetation and
covered d'Rith.a; damp sand that was al
mostblacks.xIt was soaked with pc
"troIeum:, and 4 match touched to the
surface sent therAames sweeping across
those, barren places ikea prairie FIRE
until the miniature desert was veri-
table sea of fire. Once iguited, the
"springs" would burn until heavy
rain cxtinguished them.
Hawley, howe yer, thought only of
the grease which was in the petroleum.
So. when he decided to place the coal
oil on the market he sought the lowest
point in the vicinity, with the hope
that the liquid would be thicker,
which is really quality not to be
desired. He found the oil oozel
from the banks Of the Hughes River
and at a place about four miles from
Newark, w. Va, he and half dozen
companions in the enterprise dug a
long trench just above the waters
edge. This they lined with clay, and
then began the construction of fiat
boat while the ditch was filing. The
raft-for that was about all the boat
was-was made Of hewn poplar logs
lashed together with rawhide.
Finally the trench was filed, but
not with the kind of oil one purchases
at the grocer's to-day. Instead was a
thick, sticky, ill.smclling mess that
was half sand and half petroleum.
The men stripped and waded into it.
For weeks they worked, first dipping
the mess by the pailful and straining
it through sicves, time after time, to
remove the dirt; then ladling it into
barrels, where it was allowed to settle
until the dirt was at the bottom, when
the crude petroleum was drawn off
through a spigot.
Seventy eight barrels were filled af
ter six weeks work, and the men
started down the river. Cincinnati
was reached after some difficulties, the