Guide to the Records of Beaver County (Pa.), 1802-1848
- Repository
- Heinz History Center
- Title
- Records of Beaver County, (Pa.)
- Creator
- Beaver County (Pa.)
- Collection Number
- MSS#142
- Extent
- 1.25 cubic feet (3 Boxes)
- Date
- 1802-1848
- Abstract
- Beaver County, Pennsylvania is located in the southwest part of the state, and was carved out of Washington and Allegheny Counties in 1800. The county borders Mercer County on the north, Butler County on the east, Allegheny County on the southeast, Washington County on the south, and Ohio and West Virginia on the west. These records consist exclusively of photocopies and originals of contemporary hand-written duplicate tax records for six Beaver County townships, Borough, Brighton, New Sewickley, Ohio, Second Moon, and Sewickley Townships, from 1802 to 1848.
- Language
- The material in this collection is in English.
- Sponsor
- This finding aid has been encoded as a part of the Historic Pittsburgh project a joint effort of the University of Pittsburgh and the Historical Society of Western Pennsylvania. Funding for this portion of the project has been donated by the Hillman Foundation.
- Publisher
- Heinz History Center
- Address
- 1212 Smallman St.
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 15222
library@heinzhistorycenter.org
URL: https://www.heinzhistorycenter.org
History of Beaver County, Pennsylvania
Beaver County, Pennsylvania is located in the southwest part of the state, and was carved out of Washington and Allegheny Counties in 1800. The county borders Mercer County on the north, Butler County on the east, Allegheny County on the southeast, Washington County on the south, and Ohio and West Virginia on the west. Although a law passed in 1792 opened the territory north and west of the Ohio River to occupancy by settlers, hostilities with the Native Americans limited settlement until General Wayne's Treaty of Greenville in 1795. Located within the boundaries of the future Beaver County was Logstown, situated on the Ohio River and a busy center of the Indian trade with the French and English in the mid-1700s. Logstown was also the original site of the Harmony Society's village of Economy. George Washington visited this area at various times to survey the French forts and the general Ohio River area.
The townships and boroughs in Beaver County have changed frequently in the county's early years. Beaver County originally had six townships, split by the Ohio River. These townships were Sewickley, South Beaver and North Beaver Townships in the north half of the county, and Hanover, First Moon and Second Moon Townships south of the Ohio River. In 1814, the southern townships were reorganized into four approximately equal quarters and given the names Hopewell, Moon, Green and Hanover Townships. The northern townships had a much more complicated history of division. Sewickley Township divided in 1801 (only one year after the establishment of Beaver County) into North Sewickley and New Sewickley Townships. South Beaver Township experienced several divisions to satisfy residents' complaints that the township was too large. South Beaver Township was first divided in 1802 into three townships: Little Beaver, Big Beaver, and South Beaver Townships. In 1804, the small area in the southeast corner of South Beaver Township, known as Beaver Borough, broke off and became Borough Township. It retained this name until 1970, when it was renamed Vanport Township. In 1805, what was left of South Beaver Township split into Ohio and South Beaver Townships. In 1816, the townships of Ohio and South Beaver were reorganized into four equivalent quarters: Ohio and Brighton Townships just north of the Ohio River, and South Beaver and Chippewa Townships further north.
The city of Beaver, located in Borough (Vanport) Township, is the county seat from the formation of the county. Beaver was chosen because it had already been laid out by surveyor Daniel Leet eight years before the establishment of the county. Beaver, originally the site of Fort McIntosh, was considered a prime location for a town because of its location at the confluence of the Beaver and Ohio Rivers. The entire area was considered desirable for farming, and the rivers supplied a source of transportation. As water transportation methods improved, small towns began to spring up along the county's many rivers and creeks. Several natural rapids and falls along the waterways proved useful as waterpower for mills and manufactories. During the 1830s, the area became distinguished for the quality and quantity of its natural resources including limestone, fire clay, sandstone, and coal. Beaver County had a considerable supply of cannel coal, a bituminous coal popular for its light compactness and its clean bright flame that lit "as easily as wood."
Despite a steady increase in commercial industry, the county's population was slow to grow for its first fifty years. The sluggish growth rate stemmed from the large number of lawsuits over land titles between settlers claiming title under purchase from the State, and those claiming title under the 1792 clause of "settlement and improvement." Further confusion and lawsuits arose over the Depreciation Lands, land north of the Ohio River. These lands were given as grants to veterans of the American Revolution to compensate for the devaluation of currency used to pay soldiers during the war. Some veterans sold their shares to land companies such as the Pennsylvania Population Company, which had many legal battles with squatters. Also contributing to the slow growth of the county were an adverse series of events in the 1840s, beginning with a general depression partially because of a bank failure at New Brighton (Beaver County), Pennsylvania, the banking center for the county. Other businesses suffered after Pittsburgh's great fire of 1845 since Pittsburgh served as Beaver County's main economic link to other markets. In 1849, an Act of the Legislature took part of Beaver County to form Lawrence County, resulting in a shift of over 9,000 residents to Lawrence County. With the advent of the railroad in Beaver County, population and business grew rapidly in the 1850s.
Beaver County was the home of many notable citizens, whose names appear in the county's records. James Allison, called "the honest lawyer," was a district attorney and served a term in the United States Congress. Allison was also a successful merchant and one of the original trustees and first President of Beaver Academy. Thomas Henry was the publisher of the county's first newspaper, the Argus. Brothers Evan and John Pugh owned a variety of businesses, including grist and linseed oil mills, a carding and cloth-dressing factory, and a grocery store. James Lyon was a store owner for 35 years, and served as county sheriff from 1818-1821. Daniel Agnew was another noted lawyer who eventually rose to Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania. In the 1820s, the Harmony Society built the community of Economy along the banks of the Ohio River to serve as their religious commune. They brought a sizable increase in the population and business of the county.
Scope and Content Notes
The Beaver County (Pa.) Records consist exclusively of photocopies and originals of contemporary hand-written duplicate tax records for six Beaver County townships, Borough, Brighton, New Sewickley, Ohio, Second Moon, and Sewickley Townships, from 1802 to 1848. Since these tax records are not comprehensive, researchers should examine the container list of the photocopied tax records to see the exact years represented.
These records provide detailed accounts of the residents, their occupations, and their property during the first half of the 19th century. Careful examination of these records provides a vivid picture of an area that grew into a commercial and transportation center along the Ohio River. Early tax records depict the county's small population, minimal commercial activity and subsistence farming. Property listed for many of these subsistence farmers included only a single cow and horse. Later tax records depict the increasing population and commercial activity including mills, factories, distilleries, shops and tanneries. Listed occupations of residents also became more diverse over time, with taxes being assessed to teachers, butchers, blacksmiths, doctors, shoemakers and boat builders. Of special interest are records for Ohio Township (1810) that indicate private ownership of two slaves, despite the 1780 act mandating the gradual abolition of slavery in Pennsylvania. Also of interest are occasional listings of "poor children for education," documenting an 1809 law establishing provisions for the education of indigent children. Real estate speculation can also be documented in these records and reveals this popular means of investment for the county's more prosperous citizens. Land ownership is documented through the listing of all individual lot numbers and acreage owned by each person. Many of the leading residents of Beaver County are commonly found in these records including Daniel Agnew (1809-1902), James Allison (1772-1854), Thomas Henry, James Lyon, and Evan and John Pugh. While providing detailed information on the property of the residents, these records do not document the process of collecting taxes or the general administration of Beaver County government.
Arrangement
The Beaver County (Pa.) Records are housed in three archival boxes and are arranged alphabetically by folder title with the photocopies of the records arranged to the front. Users of these tax records should be alert to the assessors practice of retaining township names in recording information. For example, the Sewickley Township (1802) records are actually the combined tax duplicates for North Sewickley and New Sewickley Townships, formed the previous year when Sewickley Township divided. While Sewickley Township named separate assessors for each of the two sections, individual residents' assessments are combined into a single alphabetical listing.
Conditions Governing Access
This collection is open for research.
Immediate Source of Acquisition
These records came in one accession.
Acc# 1976x Purchase from Mrs. Stryker, (Records) 1976
Preferred Citation
Records of Beaver County (Pa.), 1802-1848, MSS#142, Historical Society of Western Pennsylvania
Processing Information
This collection was processed by Historical Society Staff in 1976; Records rearranged and inventory rewritten by Karen Hockenson on September 29, 1994.
Revision and rearrangement for the encoded version of the finding aid provided by Susan M. Allen on November 5, 1999.
Conditions Governing Use
Property rights reside with the Historical Society of Western Pennsylvania. Literary rights are retained by the creators of the records and their heirs. For permissions to reproduce or publish, please contact the curator of the Archives.
Subjects
- Beaver County (Pa.)
- Agnew, Daniel, -- 1809-1902.
- Allison, James, -- 1772-1854.
- Henry, Thomas
- Lyon, James
- Pugh, Evan.
- Pugh, John R., -- 1950-
- Agriculture -- Pennsylvania -- Beaver County.
- Education -- Pennsylvania -- Beaver County.
- Real property -- Pennsylvania -- Beaver County.
- Slavery -- Pennsylvania -- Beaver County.
- Taxation -- Pennsylvania -- Beaver County.
- Beaver County (Pa.) -- Agriculture.
- Beaver County (Pa.) -- Commerce.
- Beaver County (Pa.) -- Economic development.
- Beaver County (Pa.) -- Education.
- Beaver County (Pa.) -- Industry.
- Beaver County (Pa.) -- Genealogy.