The Forest Republican. [volume] (Tionesta, Pa.) 1869-1952, 1908-02-26
PIONEER LIFE.
A SHORT HISTORY OR "REMINISCENCES OF
THE HoLEMAN FAMILY FROM THE
EARLY PIONEER DAYS DOWN TO
THE PRESENT TIME.

EARLY PIONEER DAYS DOWN TO
THE PRESENT TIME.
The pioneers of America led life OF
great danger, very different from any
thing that Is known here today. The
men worked in the fields and woods with
rifles by their side, and each hut or cabin
was built like fort, with holes in the
sides of them to shoot through, for no one
knew at what moment the savages would
rush out of the woods upon them with
musket aud tomahawk. Those were
times such as can never come again in
this country. In the early pioneer days
there were no large and beautiful build
ings like we see today. Most ali the
buildings were merely small log huts.
/ don't remember whether it was in
the state of Pennsylvania or near the
state line, that a band of Indians, who
we're on the war path, massacred all the
white settlers they could find and burned
their cabins. My grandfather, who lived
there, had negro wench living with
ing the cows when she saw the smoke
where the Indians were burning the
cabins of some white settlers. She ran
and told my grand father, and grand
mother and the negro wench took their
children and ran to a fort. The Indians
were so close TO them when they got to
the fort that they caught the negro wench
by the dress, but my grandfather,
who could not run so fast, was taken
prisoner by the Indians and had to run
the gauntlet. He got free but was Grip
pied for life. After the Indians became
friendly my grandfather moved to We
mango county and settled on the Alle-
gheny River at the place now known as
Holemsn flats. He reared family of
five children, two sons and three daugh-
ters. The daughters got married and left
home, but the sons, Charles aud Alexan-
der, stayed with their father on the farm
and also kept and ran ferryboat across
the Allegheny River, at the old state
road which ran from Lake Erie to some
of the eastern counties. They had no
y
Indians. The name OF these Indians was
what is now known as tie Cornplanter
tribe. There was one white family living
up where Tionests is now and one living
at Pithole
When Alexander grew to manhood he
enlisted and served in the militia in the
war of 1872. He was at Lake Erie and
fought under General Winfield Scott.
While he was there soldier by the name
of James Bird was sentenced to be shot
for going to sleep when on duty. The
general sent man to The governor for
reprieve, but when he got nearly back he
heard the report of the guns which killed
James Bird. The man rode his horse so
hard to get back with the reprieve that
the animal fell dead under him. When
the war closed Alexander went back to
his old home on the Allegheny River,
where he married Miss Clarissa Sexton,
of Meadville, Pa. They reared a family
of nine children, five sons and four
daughters. In those DAYS people had to
go fifteen miles to a grist mill and carry
the grain on a horses back, and had to
bring their other provisions from Frank
lin in canoes until some years later the
steamboats, commenced to go up the river
from Pittsburg as far as Tidioute. When
the children grew up there was school
only three months of the year, but they
studied hard at home in the evenings by
the light of pitch pine torches and got an
education, so that six of them were
school teachers. Alexander was elected
and served two terms as Justice of tie
Peace. He was also the first Associate
Judge of Venango county, in which ca
pacity he served three terms, He was
also elected a Representative OF Venango
county in the State Legislature one term,
and as there were no railroads or stage
lines then, he had to walk all the way to
Harrisburg. His sons were all in the
mercantile business-Ci aries in Craw-
ford county, Ashbel at teasantville, Pa,
John and Eli at Tionesta, and Richard at
Mill Village, Pa. Alexander and his
wife, four of his sons and two of his
daughters are dead. Two sons and two
daughters are still living, as follows:
John, of Pleasantville, Richard, of Mill
Village, Nancy Dale, of Tionesta, and
Mary Maze, OF Clarington.-[W Written
from memory by Mrs. Mary NJ. Maze, o.
Clarington, Pa.