Nehemiah York

Notes:

http://www.pa-roots.com/warren/oldtimetales/nehemiahyork.html

Along about 1815 Nehemiah York arrived in
Warren County from New York State, bringing with him his wife and two young
children. Autumn had already colored the leaves of the great forests of maple
trees in the region of Sugar Grove, then called Brownsville, when York came
traveling through, and over the hills into the Brokenstraw Valley, which must
have been, when this early settler first saw it, a region of virgin beauty
unsurpassed.But it was not in the valley that Nehemiah settled, he had
higher aims, he took up four hundred acres on top of the high hill which bears
his name. And it was only a day or two after the Yorks arrived, that the first
snow storm of the season came riding over the hills, singing a song in the oaks
and beeches. But it was a song of warning to Nehemiah York, he knew there was
not time to build a log cabin, single handed, before real winter set
in.There are giant, gray rocks scattered here and there on the summits
of the York Hill region. Some of them are as large as a house. Looking at one of
these great, square rocks gave Nehemiah an idea. He knew the solidity and
weather-resisting quality of stone, he was a mason by trade and had built more
than one house of stone blocks. The big rock was twenty feet high and much more
than twenty feet in length. At one end of it, standing close, and at right
angles, was another huge stone. Nehemiah saw two sides of a mighty solid house
already built for him. He cut heavy poles and made a lean-to ; a crevice running
up at the rear, between the two big rocks, made a mighty fine stone
chimney.In this pole lean-to, which was warmer, and certainly more solid
than many a frame house, Nehemiah York and his family passed their first winter
on York Hill. The lean-to was on the south side of the great rock and when
winter came in deadly earnest and the north wind blew its bitterest blasts over
the high summits of York Hill, the Yorks knew little of the weather, when they
stayed at home in their primitive abode. It was the most solid house, on two of
its sides, to be found anywhere. The natural chimney, which York, with his stone
mason's experience in building chimneys, had helped out with some additional
stones, drew nicely. With a forest full of deer, partridges and snowshoe
rabbits, York was comfortable and happy. He was part Scotch, and he'd saved
expense on two sides of his house.The next summer Nehemiah built him a
log cabin, which a few years later was burned flat to the ground, with all his
worldly possessions, while the family was down in Youngsville. The cabin stood
close to the present site of the Crippen homestead.The hilltop settler
had brought his stone hammers and trowel with him to Warren County. It was not
long till he was at work on a stone house on the Irvine estate. He helped build
both the old stone dwellings now standing near the Newbold home, and his trowel
placed the mortar in the chinks of the quaint old stone house now standing near
the over-head bridge at Irvine.Nehemiah was the true pioneer type, a
powerful man, capable of a tremendous amount of work. After working all day
laying up stone at Irvine, he would walk to his home on the hilltop and split
wood by the light of the moon. When he had cleared enough land to raise a little
patch of wheat, he carefully threshed his first two bushels of grain with a
flail, put the wheat in a sack and walked through the woods to the mouth of
Sulphur Run. There he loaded his precious wheat in a canoe and paddled down to
Catfish Falls, below Franklin, where there was a small grist mill. He brought
his flour back over the same route, and it is not on record that anybody ever
said of Nehemiah that he didn't earn his bread.Like a great many of
Warren County's hard-handed pioneers, he liked a drink of whiskey, and sometimes
another. They tell how he would stride off to his day's chopping in the woods
with a full quart bottle in each side pocket of his coat. When he came home the
bottles would be empty, but Nehemiah York could still swing his ax all day with
such accuracy he could "cut out the line" hewing a log. Either the whiskey was
not so strong in those days, or the men were stronger. A couple of men cradling
wheat would take a jugful to the field in the morning. At eventide the jug was
dry, and perhaps the cradlers were too, and had to have a little appetizer
before supper.Men drank prodigious quantities of whiskey and performed
unbelievable amounts of work. Their tremendous activity burned up a great deal
of the alcohol, no doubt, and the sweat produced by hard labor accounted for a
great deal more. In a day book of the Kinnear store in Youngsville for the year
1839, are entries, showing that one well known citizen purchased two gallons of
brandy on Monday and another two gallons on Saturday of the same week. Further
entries in the book show that the man was still living, six months
later.For some years Nehemiah York owned the only gun on York Hill. It
was a long-barreled flintlock which had killed countless deer, and possibly a
few Indians. It had a bore like a small cannon, and a kick like a mule. It was a
gun with a come-back, was Nehemiah's flintlock. The fact that Nehemiah owned the
weapon,-he had traded twenty-two thousand shingles for it in Youngsville,-was
well known by other settlers on the hill, who were proud to have a gun in their
midst and looked up to Nehemiah as a protector of the region.One moonlit
night in the fall of the year, John Sedores' pigs suddenly set up a terrific
squealing. Rushing out from their log cabin, the Sedores discovered a huge black
bear in their pig pen. He was plainly visible in the moonlight. He had already
slain a plump young pig and was indulging the bear's well known propensity for
pork. When the excited family came out, the giant bear paid scant attention to
their voices, he just looked up, blinked his eyes and went back to the enjoyment
of his feast.The Sedores had no weapon but an ax and a butcher knife.
There was no competition for an opportunity to go close enough to the big bear,
to use either on him. Bruin showed no disposition at all to run away, he was
going to stay where he was and enjoy his pig.One of the Sedores thought
of Nehemiah York's gun! Perhaps the bear would wait. A boy started on the run
toward York's cabin, a mile through the woods.Before long the boy and
Nehemiah were back, also York's oldest son Amos. They had made good time, and
brought the loaded gun,-but alas, a catastrophe, the piece of flint had dropped
out of the cock. Without the flints-no spark, without the spark-no shooting! And
there was the big bear, still in the pig pen, sitting on his haunches, devouring
the fresh pork. It was a tense situation. The pioneers needed their pigs, also
the skin of the great black bear would make a wonderful bed covering for cold
nights, a fine robe for the ox sled. It would be such an easy shot, if the gun
could only be fired!The pioneers learned resourcefulness early in life.
Every day had its problem, or battle. Nehemiah York conceived an idea. "Run into
the house and fetch me out some hot embers in the tongs," he told his son. Amos
hurriedly brought the glowing coals.Nehemiah put fresh powder in the
pan, took careful aim at the bear and said, "Now touch off the gun with the
embers."Young Amos applied the sparks, the long-barreled flintlock
hissed, hesitated and went off with a roar. When the smoke floated away the bear
lay dead, the first and probably the only bear ever shot with the aid of a pair
of tongs.
SOURCE: Page(s) 173-178: Old Time Tales of Warren County;
Meadville, Pa.: Press of Tribune Pub. Co., 1932

http://www.pagenweb.org/~warren/townships/Brokenstraw.html#settlers
Nehemiah York, who has the distinction of giving his
name to York Hill, acquired his possessions in part by taking up 400 acres of State land. He died at his home but a few years ago, leaving " him surviving," according to legal phrase, a number of sons and daughters

http://familytreemaker.genealogy.com/users/t/u/r/William-H-Turner-iii/FILE/0002text.txt
57. NEHEMIAH8 YORK (AMOS MAIN7, THOMAS6, THOMAS5, THOMAS4, JAMES JR.3, JAMES SR.2, JOHN1) was born 22 Apr 1791 in Ballstone Spa, Albany Co. N.Y., and died 02 Dec 1873 in Youngsville, Warren County, Penn..
He married (1) JULIA ANNA DALRYMPLE. She was born 03 Mar 1797 in Colerain, Mass., and died 07 Dec 1842 in Youngsville, Warren Co. Penn..
He married (2) PERSIS HOARD 10 Oct 1844 in Townline. Ellery Co. New York. She was born 23 Sep 1799, and died 29 Oct 1882.
More About NEHEMIAH YORK: Burial: York Hill Cemetery, Youngville, Warren Co. Penn. Military service: His name is on a monument in Laurel Park for the War of 1812 Occupation: Stone Mason and Farmer
More About JULIA ANNA DALRYMPLE: Burial: York Hill Cemetery, Youngville, Warren Co. Penn. Children of NEHEMIAH YORK and JULIA DALRYMPLE are: 68. i. AMOS9 YORK, b. Abt. 1813, Pennsylvania; d. 30 Apr 1893, Ashtabula, Ashtabula Co. Ohio. ii. JAMES YORK, b. Abt. 1816; d. Unknown.
More About JAMES YORK: Burial: York Hill Cemetery, Youngville, Warren Co. Penn. 69. iii. ROBISON YORK, b. Abt. 1819, Brokenstraw, Warren Co., Penn; d. Abt. 1899. 70. iv. MARK C. YORK, b. 09 Nov 1826, Pennsylvania; d. Abt. 1887. v. ELIZABETH YORK, b. Abt. 1830, Pennsylvania; d. 04 Aug 1835, Pennsylvania. vi. CATHERINE YORK, b. Abt. 1831; d. Aft. 1850.
More About CATHERINE YORK: Burial: York Hill Cemetery, Youngville, Warren Co. Penn.

Cemetery:
York Hill Cemetery Brokenstraw Township, York County, PA
http://files.usgwarchives.net/pa/warren/cemeteries/yorkhill-brokenstraw.txt
York, Nehemiah, d. 02 Dec 1873, aged 82Y, War of 1812 flag marker

Nehemiah married Julia Ann Dalrymple. Julia was born cal 4 Jul 1796; died on 7 Apr 1842. [Group Sheet]

Nehemiah married Miss or Mrs.? Persis Hoard on 10 Oct 1844 in Townline, Erie Co, New York, USA. Persis was born cal 23 Nov 1798 in New York, USA (Both Parents Born New York); died on 29 Oct 1882; was buried in Brokenstraw Twp, Warren Co, Pennsylvania, USA (York Hill Cemetery). [Group Sheet]