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THE 
 EARLY AND LATER 
 
 WITH 
 
 AUTHENTIC FACTS IN REGARD 
 
 TO ITS 
 
 DEVELOPMENT IN WESTERN PENNSYLVANIA, 
 
 The Oil Fields of Europe and America. Gas Wells. Spiritual Wells. Oil Well Shafts. Petroleum Products. 
 
 Oil Companies. Pipe Line Statistics. Early Modes of Transportation. Flowing Wells of 1861, 
 
 to 1864. Pit Hole in 1865. The Lubricating Oil District, &c. Also, Statistics of Product, 
 
 Export, and Consumption, with prices of Oil from 1859, to 1872, &c., &c. 
 
 THE PARKERS' AND BUTLER COUNTY OIL FIELDS. 
 
 ALSO, LIFE SKETCHES OF 
 
 PIONEER AND PROMINENT OPERATORS, 
 
 WITH THE 
 
 REFINING CAPACITY OF THE UNITED STATES. 
 
 BY J. T. 
 
 PHILADELPHIA: 
 
 JAS. B. RODGERS CO., PRINTERS, 52 & 54 NORTH SIXTH ST. 
 
 1873. 
 

 Entered according to Act of Congress, on the 2gth day of September, 1873, by 
 
 J. T. HENRY, Titusville, Pa. 
 In the Office of the Librarian of Congress, at Washington. 
 
eilicatanr, 
 
 TO 
 
 WILLIAM H. ABBOTT, 
 
 In submitting to a discerning, yet indulgent public, this volume, relating 
 to the History of Petroleum, with Life Sketches, of many of the prominent 
 men in the Pennsylvania Oil Region, identified therewith, I beg to associate 
 with my unpretending labors, your own honored name, known and acknowledged 
 as that of an enterprising business man, a public-spirited citizen, a high- 
 toned Christian gentleman. Your characteristic reserve, I know, would prompt 
 you to shrink from such conspicuous mention ; but the public voice pronounces 
 you one of the worthiest members of the community, and I cannot deny 
 myself the privilege of paying this dedicatory tribute to one who has sustained 
 my enterprise with never-failing sympathy and encouragement. 
 
 J. T. HENRY. 
 
 398686 
 
PREFACE. 
 
 IN the preparation of this work, the end and aim has been, to 
 supply some needed historical data of the discovery of PETEOLEUM 
 OIL, in Western Pennsylvania, West Virginia, Ohio, and at other 
 points in the United States and Canadas. The Pennsylvania Oil 
 Region is by far the largest field, and produces eight-tenths of all 
 the Petroleum, now so largely entering into the commerce of- the 
 commonwealth, and of the nation, and has surely come to be an in- 
 dispensable benefaction to millions of households, in every civilized 
 nation upon the globe. To the early and later developments in 
 this section, therefore, this work is mainly devoted. While this 
 portion of its pages is deemed to be full and complete, and, we may 
 add, reliably so, a sufficiently elaborate account of other Oil Fields 
 upon this continent, and throughout the old world are -given, and 
 from the best sources attainable. In this respect no pains have 
 been spared to render it complete and authentic in all the details 
 
 treated of. 
 i 
 The STATISTICAL pages of the work, though not e T .aborate, are 
 
 regarded as full enough for the purposes of an intelligent under- 
 standing of the magnitude of the industry. Such as we give, are 
 known to be accurate. The Refining capacity of the more import- 
 ant refining centres of the United States, except Boston, Mass., and 
 Cleveland, Ohio, may be relied upon as authentic. 
 
6 PREFACE. 
 
 The BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES, which make up so important a 
 part of the work, are from among the representative men of the 
 Region, and they furnish, individually and collectively, very 
 many interesting and valuable facts, with reference to develop- 
 ments, early and late, in the Oil Region of Pennsylvania, never 
 before given to the public in an authentic form. 
 
 And here we may as well refer to the fact that no " sketches " 
 are given of operators at Petroleum Centre, Columbia, Tarr Farm, 
 Rouseville, Oil City, President, and but one at Franklin. As 
 " brevity is the soul of wit," we may add the neglect is not ours. 
 
 While we have, in the list of biographies given, made a fair 
 showing of the representative men of the Oil Region of Western 
 Pennsylvania, we have not exhausted this portion of our subject. 
 There are scores of men connected, in one way and another, with 
 this great mining industry, whose history, and whose developments 
 as producers, would add interest to our effort, and lustre to their 
 names, but we have been unable, in many cases, to obtain per- 
 mission thus to do justice to them. We may do tips in future edi- 
 tions of the work. 
 
 Our acknowledgments are due to JAMES MCCARTY, of Oil 
 City, and to Mr. RICHARD LINX, formerly of The Petroleum 
 Monthly, for valuable aid in the preparation of the work, and to 
 Mr. CARBUTT, of Philadelphia, for the beautiful photographic il- 
 lustrations that accompany its pages, especially in the department 
 of Biographies, and to JAS. B. RODGERS Co., for the superior ex- 
 cellence of the mechanical and typographical part of the work. 
 
 TITUSVILLE, October 20th, 1873. 
 
CONTENTS. 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 EARLY NOTES OF PETROLEUM PETROLEUM SPRINGS 9 
 
 Gas and Salt Wells , >! 
 
 Fossil Oil 05 
 
 Reflections 27 
 
 CHAPTER II. 
 
 THE DISCOVERY OF THE VALUE OF PETROLEUM 29 
 
 Prof. Silliman's Paper on the Subject 3.? 
 
 Properties of Distilled Oils 44 
 
 Use for Gas-making 45 
 
 Use of Naphtha for Illumination 49 
 
 Photometric Experiments : 51 
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 
 EARLY AND INTERESTING FACTS. 
 
 Petroleum as a Medicinal Agent KIER'S announcement in 1849 50 
 
 The First Developments at Titusville 60 
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 
 REAL ESTATE TRANSACTIONS ON OIL CREEK 69 
 
 Organization of the Pennsylvania Rock Oil Company 70 
 
 CHAPTER V. 
 
 COMMENCEMENT OF DEVELOPMENTS ON OIL CREEK 81 
 
 Col. E. L. DRAKE connects himself with the Enterprise 86 
 
 Completion of the "Drake Well," 94 
 
 CHAPTER VI. 
 
 CONTINUANCE OF DEVELOPMENTS ALONG OIL CREEK 95 
 
 The Second Well put down "The Burnsdall" 95 
 
 General Review of Early Operations <j6 
 
 The ''South Improvement Company" 110 
 
 GENERAL SUMMARY. 
 
 THE OIL FIELDS OF AMERICA. 
 
 West Virginia and Ohio 113 
 
 Prof. Lesley's Report 116 
 
 Prof. W. F. Roberts' Report 118 
 
 Kentucky and Tennessee 121 
 
 Oil Region of Indiana .' 125 
 
 Oil Region of California 127 
 
 THE CANADA OIL FIELDS. 
 
 First Discovery in Enniskillen *v 129 
 
 Shaw and his First Operations .\ 130 
 
 Subsequent Developments in Canada \.. 132 
 
 FOREIGN OIL FIELDS. 
 
 South America Peru, Ecuador, Bolivia, Chili West India Islands The Car- 
 pathian Oil Field Burmah Punjaub, India China Japan Alsace Hanover- 
 Italy New Zealand Nova Scotia Caucasian Oil Region Scientific Experi- 
 mentsShale Oil Business of Europe % 140-179 
 
 GEOLOGICAL. 
 
 The Oil Fields of Pennsylvania, &c., 181 
 
 Theories in regard to Petroleum 182 
 
 HISTORICAL DATA, 
 
 Petroleum Products S. DANA HATES I 86 
 
 7 
 
CONTENTS. 
 
 GAS WELLS, Ac. 
 
 Pennsylvania, Ohio, New York, Kentucky, 200 
 
 Remarkable Gas Well at Fairview, Pa., 206 
 
 Newton Gas Well at Titusville, 208 
 
 Gas Walls at East Sandy 210 
 
 Phenomena of Oil Wells 211 
 
 Salt Water in Wells 214 
 
 Locating Wells by Spirit Influence 215 
 
 Phenomena with an explanation 218 
 
 Cost of Wells 219 
 
 Oil Shafts and Deep Wells 222 
 
 EARLY FLOWING WELLS. 
 
 From 1860 to 1865 224 
 
 Pit Hole in 1865 235 
 
 First Flowing Well and Oldest Well in the Region 241 
 
 VARIETIES OF PETROLEUM. 
 
 The Franklin Lubricating Oil Region 244 
 
 Drilling Oil Wells 248 
 
 HISTORY OF THE TORPEDO. 
 
 The Patent, and First Experiments 251 
 
 Results in First Thirty-eight Wells 252 
 
 OIL WELL RECORDS. 
 
 Wells at Brady's Bend, &c 255 
 
 Tabular Statement of "Sands," &c 255 
 
 OIL COMPANIES 
 
 The Economite Society 260 
 
 Sage Run Oil Field 265 
 
 The Reno Oil Company 267 
 
 The Octave Oil Company 270 
 
 The Colorado Oil District 272 
 
 The Columbia Oil Company 275 
 
 The Oil Market from 1859 to 1872 277 
 
 Oil Brokerage, &c 279 
 
 OIL PIPE LINES. 
 
 Their Extent in the Pennsylvania Oil Region 283 
 
 The Lower District Lines 284 
 
 Early and Later Modes of Transportation 286 
 
 THE LOWER OIL FIELDS. 
 
 St. Petersburg, Foxburg, Parker's, and Butler County 201 
 
 Principal Producers, and the Modoc District, 296 
 
 The Fourth Sand Rock 304 
 
 STATISTICAL INFORMATION, ,. 305 
 
 Exports from New York 311 ; all other ports 312 
 
 Number of Wells drilling at various dates, 314 
 
 STATISTICS OF REFINING. "The Creek," ,. 315 
 
 New York and vicinity 316 ; Cleveland 317; Pittsburgh 318 ; Philadelphia 318: 
 Baltimore 319 ; Erie 320; all others 321. 
 
 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES. 
 
 Col. E. L. Drake 323; Cant. A. B. Funk 331 ; Henry R. Rouse 335; George H. Bissell 346: 
 Charles Hyde 351 ; William H. Abbott 360; Orange Noble 375; Dr. F. B, Brewer 393; 
 John Fertig 397; John W. Hammond 403; Fertig <fe Hammond 412; Dr. W. B Ro- 
 berts 417 ; Samuel Q. Brown 426; J. L. Grandin 431 ; Adnah Neyhart 440 ; E. B. Gran- 
 din 457; S. D. Karns 4(59; C. D. Angell 482; A. D. Atkinson 494; John L. McKinney 
 503; Frank W. Andrews 512; Henry Harley 526; Col. R. B. Allen 535; Col. E. A L 
 Roberts 540 ; Marcus Brownson 546 ; John C. Bryan 556 ; George H. Dimick 565 ; Geo 
 H. Nesbitt 573; William D. Robinson 579; James S. McCray 582. 
 
 CITIES AND TOWNS 587 
 
 THE LOWER OIL FIELDS 593 
 
EARLY AND LATER 
 
 HISTORY OF PETROLEUM. 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 EARLY NOTES OF PETROLEUM. PETROLEUM SPRINGS. 
 
 
 
 T17HILE the history of Petroleum in America prior to 
 developments brought about by artesian boring, 
 will probably be accounted of little practical value, it is 
 apprehended that a work of this sort overlooking it would 
 be incomplete. 
 
 In Europe and Asia it has been an object of some com- 
 mercial value for centuries, and there is good reason to 
 believe that it has been known and used since the earliest 
 ages of the world. 
 
 It is impossible to go back to the time when petroleum 
 was first discovered. From its frequent occurrence in the 
 form of springs in many parts of the world, it is evident 
 that it has always been known certainly more than four 
 thousand years. 
 
 Layard and Botta, in their discoveries at Nineveh, ad- 
 duce positive evidence that the inhabitants of this ancient 
 city had knowledge of the existence and use of petroleum. 
 In building the city, an asphal tic mortar ("slime" accord- 
 ing to the Old Testament,) was employed, the asphalt for 
 which was a partially evaporated petroleum. That used 
 at Babylon was obtained from the Springs of Is, on the 
 Euphrates, which, at a later date, attracted the attention 
 of Alexander, of Trajan, and of Julian ; they, even to this 
 day, supply the neighboring villages with oil. 
 
 9 
 
10 c\ I ! i ' i ,V - : "- * ; mfeoJEto OF PETROLEUM. 
 
 Herodotus, 500 years before Christ, spoke of the oil 
 wells of Zante ; and Pliny and Dioscorides described the 
 oil of Agrigenturn, which was used in lamps under the 
 name of " Sicilian Oil." 
 
 The wells of Amiano, on the banks of the Taro, were 
 formerly used for lighting the City of Genoa.* 
 
 There is reason to believe that at some former period in 
 the history of the American continent, the existence and 
 uses of petroleum had been better understood than they 
 were for some centuries before the recent artesian devel- 
 opments. The numerous pits, until recently, and perhaps 
 even still to be seen along the valley of Oil Creek, cribbed 
 with roughly hewn timber, but nearly hidden by the rub- 
 bish of ages, indicate a development comparatively exten- 
 sive. Trees were found growing in the centre of some of 
 these pits, which, we are told, on the evidence of the con- 
 centric circles in the wood, were shown to be the growth 
 of centuries. Many circumstances concur in referring 
 these excavations to a period of time, and to a race of 
 people, who occupied the country prior to the advent of 
 those aborigines, found here by our Latin or Saxon ances- 
 tors. They were probably the work of that mysterious 
 people who left the traces of their rude civilization in the 
 copper mines about Lake Superior and the mounds of the 
 South-West. 
 
 When we consider how easily, partially nomadic races, 
 of which they probably were, degenerate, and how sud- 
 denly they are sometimes extinguished, this disposition of 
 the matter seems plausible; but as all that is more within 
 the sphere of the arcbaBologist than the historian of a mo- 
 dern industry, we have passed it by without research. 
 
 There is a tradition in Yenango Co., Pa., that the oil 
 springs on Oil Creek formed a part of the religious cere- 
 
 * In the body of this work we devote a number of chapters to foreign oil fields. 
 
EARLY NOTES OF PETROLEUM PETROLEUM SPRINGS. 11 
 
 mony of the Seneea Indians, who formerly lived on these 
 wild hills. The Aborigines dipped it from their wells and 
 mixed it with their war-paint, which is said to have given 
 them a hideous appearance, varnishing their faces, as it 
 were, and enabled them to retain the paint for a long 
 time, and to keep their skin entirely impervious to water. 
 The uses of this oil for their religious worship is spoken 
 of by the French commander of Fort Duquesne, in the 
 year 1750. " I would desire," writes the commandant to 
 his Excellency, General Montcalm, " to assure you that 
 this is a most delightful land. Some of the most astonish- 
 ing natural wonders have been discovered by our people." 
 " While descending the Allegany, fifteen leagues below 
 the mouth of the Connewango, and three above the Ve- 
 nango, we were invited by the chief of the Senecas to at- 
 tend a religious ceremony of his tribe. We landed, and 
 drew up our canoes on a point where a small stream en- 
 tered the river. The tribe appeared unusually solemn. 
 We marched up the stream about half a league, where the 
 company, a large band it appeared, had arrived some days 
 before us. Gigantic hills begirt us on every side. The 
 scene was really sublime. The great chief then recited 
 the conquests and heroism of their ancestors. The surface 
 of the stream was covered with a thick scum, which, 
 upon applying a torch at a given signal, burst into a 
 complete conflagration. At the sight of the flames, the 
 Indians gave forth the triumphant shout that made the 
 hills and valleys re-echo again. Here, then, is revived 
 the ancient fire-worship of the East; here, then, are the 
 children of the Sun." Tracing the course of the French 
 commander down the Allegany river on our present maps, 
 we find the spring spoken of, as evidently upon Oil Creek, 
 and on marching half a league above that stream we will 
 probably reach Rouseville, where Cherry Run flows into 
 Oil Creek. The " gigantic hills " are still here, and the 
 
12 HISTORY OF PETROLEUM. 
 
 "thick scum" which the Indians gathered, and which 
 careful, prudent men, now guard against conflagration, 
 flows into peaceable tanks, and, instead of lighting up the 
 wilderness for exhibitions of uncouth savages, sends joy 
 and comfort into thousands of distant homes. 
 
 Later again we find a most interesting account of a 
 Petroleum Spring in the southwestern part of the state 
 of New York in the "American Journal of Science" for 
 1833, written by Prof. Silliman, Sr., a man who rendered 
 early and valuable services to the cause of scientific 
 investigation in this country. As it contains some inter- 
 esting reflections on the origin of petroleum, nothing bet- 
 ter can be done than to give it in full : 
 
 Notice of a Fountain of Petroleum called the OIL SPRING. 
 
 " The Oil Spring, as it is called, is situated in the west- 
 ern part of the County of Allegany, in the State of New 
 York. This county is the third from Lake Erie on the 
 south line of the State, the counties of Cattaraugus and 
 Chautauqua lying west, and forming the southwestern ter- 
 mination of the State of New York. The Spring is very 
 near the line which divides Allegany and Cattaraugus. 
 
 Being in the county of Allegany, I was indebted to 
 the kindness of a friend, who on the 6th of September 
 took me from Angelica to the Spring. After crossing the 
 Genesee River, our ride was to the town of Friendship, 
 six miles ; then to Cuba, eight miles ; and thence into 
 the township of Hinsdale, three and a half miles, making 
 seventeen and a half miles from Belvidere, the country-seat 
 of Philip Church, Esq., and twenty-one miles from Angelica 
 village. The place will be found without difficulty by 
 taking a guide at Hicks' tavern, which is on the corner 
 of the road to Cuba where it is intersected by the road to 
 Warsaw, two miles west of Cuba. 
 
 The last half mile is in the forest: a road is cut, for 
 
EARLY NOTES OF PETROLEUM PETROLEUM SPRINGS. 13 
 
 the greater part of the way, through the woods ; but the 
 path becomes finally an obscure foot-track in which a 
 stranger without a guide might easily lose his way, or at 
 least fail of finding the object of his search. The country 
 is rather mountainous; but the road running between the 
 ridges is very good, and leads through a cultivated region 
 rich in soil and picturesque in scenery. Its geological 
 character is the same with that which is known to prevail 
 in this western region ; a silicious sandstone, with shale, 
 and in some places limestone is the immediate basis of 
 the country. The sandstone and shale (the limestone I 
 did not see) lie in nearly horizontal strata. The sand- 
 stone is usually of a light gray color, and both it and the 
 shale abound with entrocites, encrinites, corallines, tere- 
 bratula, and other reliquse characteristic of the secondary 
 or transition formation. The Oil Spring or fountain rises 
 in the midst of a marshy ground. It is a muddy and 
 dirty pool of about eighteen feet in diameter, and is nearly 
 circular in form. 
 
 There is no outlet above ground, no stream flowing from 
 it; and it is of course a stagnant water, with no other cir- 
 culation than that which springs from the changes of 
 temperature and from the gas and petroleum that are 
 constantly rising on the surface of the pool. 
 
 The water is covered with a thin layer of petroleum or 
 mineral oil, giving it a foul appearance as if coated with 
 dirty molasses, having a yellowish-brown color. Every 
 part of the water was covered by this film, but it had 
 nowhere the iridescence which I recollect to have observed 
 at St. Catharine's well, a petroleum fountain near Edin- 
 burgh in Scotland. There the water was pellucid, and the 
 hues produced by the oil were brilliant, giving the whole 
 a beautiful appearance. The difference is, however, easily 
 accounted for. St. Catharine's well is a lively, flowing 
 fountain, and the quantity of petroleum is only sufficient 
 
14 HISTORY OF PETROLEUM. 
 
 to cover it partially, while there is nothing to soil the 
 stream; in the present instance, the stagnation of the 
 water, the comparative abundance of the petroleum and 
 the mixture of leaves and sticks and other productions 
 of a dense forest preclude any beautiful features. There 
 are, however, upon this water here and there spots of 
 what seems to be a purer petroleum probably recently 
 risen, which is free from mixture, and which has a bright 
 brownish-yellow appearance lively and sparkling. 
 "Were the fountain covered entirely with this purer pro- 
 duction, it would be beautiful. 
 
 We were informed that when the fountain is frozen, 
 there are always some air holes left open, and that in 
 these the petroleum collects in unusual abundance and 
 purity, having distinctly the beautiful appearance which 
 has just been mentioned as now occurring here and there 
 upon the water. The cause of this is easily understood. 
 The petroleum being protected by the ice from the impu- 
 rities which at other times fall into it, escapes contamina- 
 tion, and being directed to the air holes both by its light- 
 ness and by the gas which mixes with it collects there 
 in greater quantity and purity. All the sticks and leaves, 
 and the ground itself around the fountain, are rendered 
 more or less adhesive by the petroleum. 
 
 They collect the petroleum by skimming it like cream 
 from a milk-pan. For this purpose they use a broad, flat 
 board, made thin at one edge like a knife. It is moved 
 flat upon and just under the surface of the water, and is 
 soon covered by a coating of petroleum which is so thick 
 and adhesive that it does not fall off, but is removed by 
 scraping the instrument upon the lip of a cup. It has 
 then a very foul appearance like very dirty tar or mo- 
 lasses ; but it is purified by heating it, and straining it 
 while hot through flannel or other woolen stuff. It is 
 used by the people of the vicinity for sprains and rheu- 
 
EARLY NOTES OF PETROLEUM PETROLEUM SPRINGS. 15 
 
 matism and for sores upon their horses. It is not mono- 
 polized by any one, but is carried away freely by all who 
 care to collect it, and for this purpose the spring is fre- 
 quently visited. I could not ascertain how much is 
 annually obtained. But the quantity is considerable. 
 It is said to rise more abundantly in hot weather than in 
 cold. Gas is constantly escaping through the water, and 
 appears in bubbles upon its surface. It becomes much 
 more abundant, and rises in large volumes whenever the 
 mud at the bottom is stirred by a pole. We had no 
 means of collecting or of firing it ; but there can be no 
 doubt that it is the carburetted hydrogen probably of 
 the lighter kind, but rendered heavier and more odorous 
 by holding a large portion of the petroleum in solution. 
 Whenever it is examined we should expect, of course, to 
 find carbonic acid gas mingled with it, and not improbably 
 ozate or nitrogen. We could not learn that any one had 
 attempted to fire the gas as it rises, or to kindle the film 
 of petroleum upon the water. We were told that an 
 intoxicated Indian had fallen into the pool and been 
 drowned many years ago, but that his body had never 
 been recovered. The story may be true, and if true, it 
 would be a curious inquiry whether the antiseptic proper- 
 ties of petroleum so well exemplified in the Egyptian mum- 
 mies may not have preserved his body from putrefaction. ( 
 The history of this spring is not distinctly known. 
 The Indians were well acquainted with it, and a square 
 mile around it is still reserved for the Senecas. As to 
 the geological origin of the spring, it can scarcely admit 
 of a doubt that it rises from beds of bituminous coal below. 
 At what depth we know not, but probably far down. 
 The formation is doubtless connected with the bituminous 
 coal of the neighboring counties of Pennsylvania and of 
 the west rather than with the anthracite beds of the cen- 
 tral parts of Pennsylvania. 
 
16 HISTORY OF PETROLEUM. 
 
 A Branch of the Oil Creek (not the same with Oil 
 Creek in Venango Co., Pa. ED.) which flows into the 
 Allegany River, a principal tributary of the Ohio, passes 
 near this spring, and we crossed the rivulet in going to it. 
 There we had the pleasure of seeing water that was on its 
 way to New Orleans and the Gulf of Mexico. We had 
 just passed the Genesee which flows into Lake Ontario, 
 and is thus seeking the Atlantic through the St. Law- 
 rence, and a little to the east, rise waters which flow to 
 the Susquehanna and the Chesapeake Bay; and thus this 
 elevated land, said to be one thousand four hundred feet 
 above the ocean level, is a grand rain shed for the supply 
 of rivers, seeking their exit through very remote and 
 opposite parts of the continent. 
 
 I cannot learn that any considerable part of the large 
 quantity of petroleum used in the Eastern states under 
 the name of Seneca Oil comes from the spring now de- 
 scribed. I am assured that its source is about one hundred 
 miles from Pittsburgh on the Oil Creek, which empties into 
 the Allegany River, in the township and county of Ve- 
 nango. It exists there in great abundance, and rises in 
 purity to the surface of the water. By dams enclosing 
 certain parts of the river or creek it is prevented from 
 flowing away, and is absorbed in blankets from which it 
 is wrung. Although I have this statement from an eye-' 
 witness, (he mentions in a footline that this eye-witness 
 was a stage driver at Rochester ED.), still it would be an 
 interesting service, claiming a grateful acknowledgment, 
 if some gentleman in the vicinity of the petroleum, or at 
 Pittsburgh would furnish an account of it for this or some 
 similar journal. And as there are numerous springs of 
 this mineral oil in various regions of the West and South- 
 West, connected especially with the saline and bituminous 
 coal formations, it would promote the cause of science if 
 notices of any of them were forwarded for publication. 
 
EARLY NOTES OF PETROLEUM PETROLEUM SPRINGS. 17 
 
 The petroleum sold in the Eastern states under the 
 name of Seneca Oil is of a dark brown color, between that 
 of tar and molasses ; and its degree of consistency is not 
 dissimilar according to temperature. Its odor is strong, 
 and too well known to need description. I have fre- 
 quently distilled it in a glass retort, and the naphtha 
 which collects in the receiver is of a light straw color, and 
 much lighter, more odorous and inflammable than petro- 
 leum. In the first distillation a little water usually rests 
 in the receiver at the bottom of the naphtha. From this 
 it is easily decanted, and a second distillation prepares it 
 perfectly for preserving potassium and sodium, the object 
 which led me to distil it. And these metals I have kept 
 under it, as others have done for years. Eventually they 
 acquire some oxygen from or through the naphtha, and 
 the exterior portion of the metal returns slowly to the con- 
 dition of alkali more rapidly if the stopper is not tight. 
 The petroleum remaining from distillation is thick like 
 pitch. If the distillation has been pushed far the . resi- 
 duum will flow only languidly into the retort, and in cold 
 weather it becomes a soft solid, resembling much the mul- 
 tha or mineral pitch. The famous lake of multha and pe- 
 troleum in the island of Trinidad is well known. I have 
 specimens from that place in all the conditions between 
 fluid petroleum and firm pitch. It is unnecessary to re- 
 peat that the English use it on their ships of war as a sub- 
 stitute for tar and pitch, and that the bituminous mass in 
 the natural lake, which covers several square miles, is suf- 
 ficiently tenacious to support a man during the colder part 
 of the year, but at the opposite season is too soft to sustain 
 any considerable weight. 
 
 In alluding to the probable connection with bituminous 
 coal of the oil spring named at the head of this notice, I 
 did not mean to imply that petroleum and other bitumi- 
 nous substances necessarily prove that there is coal beneath, 
 2 
 
IS HISTORY OF PETROLEUM. 
 
 for it has been ascertained that bitumen exists in a limited 
 degree in many minerals, as appears from some of the 
 phenomena of volcanoes, and was proved experimentally 
 by the late Hon. George Knox, in an extensive series of 
 researches published in the philosophical transactions of 
 London. 
 
 As regards the probability of finding coal the opinion 
 should be thus modified : If the country on whose waters, 
 or in whose rocks petroleum or other varieties of bitumen 
 appear, is such a one as in its geological structure is con- 
 sistent with the usual associations of coal, then the exist- 
 ence of bitumen, especially if it be abundant, and. more 
 especially if the rocks themselves are impregnated with 
 it, affords a strong presumption in favor of the existence 
 of coal beneath. Such is the fact in this part of the State 
 of New York. The shale at Genesee is highly bitumi- 
 nous, and burns readily, with abundant flame. I cannot 
 answer for the rocks in the immediate vicinity of the Oil 
 Spring, as they are not in view. 
 
 The people have dug a few feet for coal at the distance 
 of a few yards from the spring; the excavation is too 
 shallow to decide anything except that petroleum rose in 
 this place also as at the spring, thus proving that the 
 bituminous impregnation is not peculiar to that spot. 
 
 If these remarks should excite any interest in the 
 minds of landed proprietors in that vicinity, I would ven- 
 ture to suggest to them that it would not be wise without 
 some more evidence to proceed to sink shafts, for they 
 would be very expensive and might be fruitless. It 
 would be much wiser to bore, which would enable them 
 at a comparatively moderate expense to ascertain the 
 existence, depth and thickness of the coal should it exist. 
 But even this should not be done without a previous dili- 
 gent examination of water courses, banks, precipices, exca- 
 vations for wells, cellars, roads, &c., which might perhaps 
 
EARLY NOTES OF PETROLEUM PETROLEUM SPRINGS. 19 
 
 materially aid the inquiry. The well-known existence of 
 bituminous coal beds at the distance of a few miles in 
 Pennsylvania renders it highly probable that they may 
 pass under this region, but perhaps at too great a depth 
 to admit of profitable extraction ; for the abundance of 
 coal in other parts of Pennsylvania and the west, the 
 magnitude and easy accessibleness of the beds and the 
 excellence of the coal will long render it impossible that 
 thin beds in other parts of the country, especially if lying 
 deep in the ground, should be wrought without ruinous 
 expenditure. It is worthy of remark that the cattle 
 drink freely of the waters of the oil springs a fact that 
 we should hardly expect since they are so foul, and since 
 there is abundance of pure water near, and also because 
 we should expect that the petroleum would render the 
 water very disgusting to animals. Perhaps they may 
 find in this something of the reputed virtues of tar-water. 
 I could not learn that the birds ever light upon or near 
 the spring. The mephitic gases might perhaps make it a 
 real avernus to them." 
 
 For such as take a lively interest in discovering the 
 origin and learning the history of Petroleum, we can hardly 
 think of a paper more useful than the above. In the first 
 place, the writer was one of the ablest scientists of our 
 country in his day, and had manifestly looked into the 
 subject before, and in whose educated mind the phenome- 
 non was referred to natural and plausible, if not true, 
 causes. Then the evidence of what was known on the 
 subject of its existence in the country previous to the 
 development, which cannot fail to interest the reader, is 
 not liable to the suspicion of invention which clings to 
 some of the more modern publications, even when written 
 over professional titles. 
 
 The readiness with which the eminent author connects 
 its origin with bituminous coal, if it answered no better 
 
20 HISTOEY OF PETROLEUM. 
 
 purpose, would serve to disembarrass some would-be scho- 
 larly individuals who are inclined to deny that they ever 
 held the same opinion in a cruder form, because it is not 
 the theory prevailing among the practical oil operators 
 of the day, who indeed, as far as we can judge, for the 
 most part persistently refuse to entertain any theory at 
 all. No doubt they will hasten to take back all their 
 denials when they find their first and very natural suppo- 
 sitions shared by such respectable authority. 
 
 Indeed, though the theories of the origin of Petroleum 
 are numerous and all of them liable to some apparently 
 insuperable objections, we think the one indicated by Prof. 
 Silliman in the above paper is the one, with some modifi- 
 cations, which still obtains among the best minds that 
 have given the matter consideration. Formerly it was 
 held to be a distillation of bituminous strata at high tem- 
 peratures, and the work, we believe, of a very inconsidera- 
 ble period of time ; whereas now it is thought to be a result 
 of heat applied at a very low temperature, but for infinite 
 ages. The first theory supposed the production to have 
 ceased completely with the cause which produced it; 
 while the second favors the belief that it is being slowly 
 but constantly generated in the carboniferous formations. 
 In the manufacture from bituminous coal of kerosene oil, 
 a substance much resembling petroleum, there is a consi- 
 derable amount of gas given off that does not condense, 
 which, supposing the petroleum to be the result on simi- 
 lar constitutions of subterranean distillation, accounts for 
 the gas which invariably accompanies it, though the pro- 
 duction of gas does not surely indicate the production of 
 oil, as would probably be the case if the distillation took 
 place at a very low temperature. The village of Fredonia, 
 Chautauqua Co., N. Y., near the shores of Lake Erie, was 
 lighted by natural carburetted-hydrogen gas in the year 
 1828, which was supposed to be the production of bitumi- 
 
EARLY NOTES OF PETROLEUM GAS AND SALT WELLS. 21 
 
 nous coal beneath, but instrumental surveys have we 
 believe, since shown, that there is no coal beneath, and 
 all borings for oil in that vicinity have proved fruitless, 
 though they have been prosecuted to a great depth. The 
 supply of gas was more than sufficient to light the town, 
 though the hole bored in the fetid limestone rock in the 
 edge of the small stream in which the gas was first noticed 
 to escape, was only an inch and a half in diameter. Great 
 quantities of gas escaped within a few miles and further 
 up the same stream. It would be interesting to know 
 what connection these have with petroleum, or whether 
 or not they have been affected by the enormous discharge 
 of gas, which has gone on for years now in the oil region 
 of Pennsylvania. It is not likely; but we are unable to 
 say. While their composition is the same, it is not pro- 
 bable that their sources are identical. 
 
 In a paper communicated to the " American Journal of 
 Science," for July, 1833, on " The Saliferous Rock Forma- 
 tion in the Valley of the Ohio;' by Dr. S. P. Hildreth, of 
 Marietta, touching incidentally on the subject of Carburet- 
 ted-Hydrogen Gas and Petroleum, he says: "All salt 
 wells afford more or less of this interesting gas, an agent 
 intimately concerned in the free rise of the water, and uni- 
 versally present where salt water is found. Indeed so 
 strong is the evidence afforded by the rising of this gas to 
 the surface of the existence of the salt rock below, that 
 many wells are sunk on this evidence alone. It is with- 
 out doubt a product of the saliferous formation as it rises 
 in many wells without any appearance of petroleum, 
 which latter product is probably generated by bituminous 
 coal, and in all wells, from a depth far below where coal 
 has been discovered in sufficient quantity to furnish such 
 an immense and constant supply as is continually rushing 
 from the earth in these saliferous regions. In many wells, 
 salt water and inflammable gas rise in company with a 
 
22 HISTORY OP PETROLEUM. 
 
 steady uniform flow. In others, the gas rises at intervals 
 of ten or twelve hours, or perhaps as many days, in vast 
 quantity, and with overwhelming force, throwing the water 
 from the well to the height of fifty or one hundred feet in 
 the air, and again retiring within the bowels of the earth 
 to acquire fresh power for a new effort. This phenome- 
 non is called " blowing," and is very troublesome and 
 vexatious to the manufacturer. The explosion is some- 
 times so powerful as to cause the copper tube which lines 
 the upper part of the well to collapse, and to entirely mis- 
 place and derange the fixtures about it. By constant use 
 this difficulty is sometimes overcome by the exhaustion 
 of the gas, and in others the wells have been abandoned 
 as hopeless of amendment. 
 
 A well on the Muskingum, ten miles above McConnels- 
 ville, at six hundred feet in depth, afforded such an im- 
 mense quantity of gas, and in such a constant stream, 
 that while they were boring, it several times took fire 
 from the friction of the iron on the poles against the sides 
 of the wall, or from the scintillations from the auger, 
 driving the workmen away, and communicating the flame 
 to the shed which covered the works. It spread itself 
 along the surface of the earth, and ignited several com- 
 bustible bodies at the distance of several rods. It became 
 so troublesome and difficult to extinguish whenever ignited, 
 being in this respect a little like the Greek fire so cele- 
 brated by Gibbon, that from this cause only the well has 
 been abandoned. In the days of superstition and igno- 
 rance this would doubtless have been attributed to the 
 anger of the genius who presided over the spot, and thus 
 protected it from the unhallowed approaches of man. 
 
 At A. P. Stone's well, on the opposite side of the river, 
 a little below McConnelsville, the gas rises in small regular 
 puffs or discharges, averaging one for every minute or two, 
 causing the water to. flow in jets from the spout as it falls 
 
EARLY NOTES OP PETROLEUM GAS AND SALT WELLS. 23 
 
 into a large cistern below. The water rises in the head 
 through a bored log to the height of twenty-five feet above 
 the surface of the earth. Through a hole in the top of a 
 small receiver or cup, the gas rises in a constant stream, 
 and when a candle or torch is applied, kindles into a 
 beautiful flame, burning steadily until extinguished by 
 closing the hole affording in the stillness and darkness 
 of midnight a striking and interesting phenomenon. It 
 is supposed that this well alone furnishes sufficient gas, 
 if properly applied, to light the town very handsomely. 
 No petroleum rises with it, and very little in any of the 
 other wells of this locality. The quantity of gas in dif- 
 ferent wells varies very considerably; all, however, afford 
 sufficient to keep the water in constant agitation over the 
 mouth of the well. The supply of water depends very 
 much on the quantity of gas discharged. A few miles 
 above Charleston, on the Big Kanawha, great quantities 
 of the carburetted hydrogen are slowly emitted through 
 the earth. A tract of several rods in extent, near the 
 river bank, is so charged with it that on making shallow 
 cavities in the sand, and applying a fire-brand, it immedi- 
 ately becomes ignited, and burns with a steady flame for 
 an indefinite period, or until extinguished by covering it 
 with sand. The boatmen, a rude but jolly race, often 
 amuse themselves by tracing a circle in the sand around 
 some one of the company unacquainted with the mystery, 
 and applying fire, a flame immediately springs up as if by 
 magic around the astonished wight, which being entirely 
 confined to the circle traced, adds much to his terror, and 
 increases the delight of his boisterous companions. In a 
 short time the sand beneath the burning gas becomes red 
 hot. The neighboring women sometimes make use of it 
 to boil their water when washing clothes on the bank of 
 the river, and boatmen occasionally cook their food in the 
 same easy and cheap manner. This spot would afford a 
 
24 HISTORY OF PETROLEUM. 
 
 fine site for the. temple of the fire-worshippers of ancient 
 Persia. In low stages of the water, gas and oil are seen 
 oozing from the bed of the river at various points. On 
 the Little Muskingum River, a few miles from Marietta, 
 this gas is discharged in many places often through a 
 pool or sink-hole filled with water in which case it is 
 called a burning spring. Petroleum is often found rising 
 from the earth near the spring. Throughout the whole 
 saliferous region, so far as I have any knowledge, on pe- 
 netrating the salt rock a greater or less quantity of car- 
 buretted-hydrogen gas is discharged through the opening; 
 in some places accompanied by petroleum, and in others 
 without this co-existent production." 
 Continuing, he says of 
 
 Petroleum or Fossil Oil: 
 
 Since the first settlement of the country west of the 
 Apallachian range, the hunters and early pioneers have 
 been acquainted with this oil. Rising in a hidden and 
 mysterious manner from the bowels of the earth, it soon 
 arrested their attention, and acquired great value in the 
 eyes of these simple sons of the forest. Like some mira- 
 culous gift from Heaven, it was thought to be a sovereign 
 remedy for nearly all the diseases common to those pri- 
 meval days ; and from its success in rheumatism, burns, 
 coughs, sprains, &c., was justly entitled to all its celebrity. 
 It acquired the name of Seneca Oil that by which it is 
 generally known from having first been found in the 
 vicinity of Seneca Lake, New York. From its being 
 found in limited quantities, and its great and extensive 
 demand, a small vial of it would sell for forty or fifty 
 cents. It is at this time in general use among the inha- 
 bitants of the country for saddle bruises and that com- 
 plaint called the scratches in horses. It seems to be 
 peculiarly adapted to the flesh of horses, and cures many 
 
EARLY NOTES OF PETROLEUM FOSSIL OIL. 25 
 
 of their ailments with wonderful certainty and celerity. 
 Flies and other insects have a natural antipathy to its 
 effluvia, and it is used with much effect in preventing the 
 deposit of eggs by the " blowing fly " in the wounds of 
 domestic animals during the summer months. In neigh- 
 borhoods where it is abundant it is burned in lamps in 
 place of spermaceti oil, affording a brilliant light, but fill- 
 ing the room with its own peculiar odor. By filtering it 
 through charcoal much of this empyreumatic smell is de- 
 stroyed, and the oil greatly improved in quality and ap- 
 pearance. It is also well adapted to prevent friction in 
 machinery ; for, being free of gluten, so common to animal 
 and vegetable oils, it preserves the parts to which it is 
 applied for a long time in free motion. Where a heavy 
 vertical shaft runs in a socket it is preferable to all or any 
 other articles. This oil rises in greater or less abundance 
 in most of the salt wells on the Kanawha, and collecting 
 as it rises in the head on the top of the water, is removed 
 from time to time with a ladle, and put by for sale or use. 
 
 The greater abundance of stone coal in this locality, than 
 in that of the Muskingum, gives it a decided advantage in 
 the elaboration of petroleum. On the latter river the wells 
 afford but little oil, and that only during the time the pro- 
 cess of boring is going on. It ceases soon after the wells are 
 completed, and yet all of them abound more or less in gas. 
 
 A well on Duck Creek, about thirty miles north of Ma- 
 rietta, owned by Mr. McKee, furnishes the greatest quan- 
 tity of any in this region. It was dug in the year 1814, 
 and is four hundred and seventy-five feet in depth. Salt 
 water was reached at one hundred and eighty-five feet, 
 but not in sufficient quantity. However, no more water 
 was found below this depth. The rocks passed were simi- 
 lar to those on the Muskingum River, above the flint stra- 
 tum, or like those between the flint and salt deposits at 
 McConnelsville. A bed of coal two yards in thickness 
 
26 HISTORY OF PETROLEUM. 
 
 was found at the depth of one hundred feet, and gas at 
 one hundred and forty-four feet, or forty-one feet above 
 the salt rock. The hills are sandstone, based on lime, one 
 hundred and fifty or two hundred feet in height, with 
 abundant beds of stone coal near their feet. The oil from 
 this well is discharged periodically, at intervals of from 
 two to four days, and from three to six hours duration at 
 each period. Great quantities of gas accompany the dis- 
 charges of oil, which for the first few years amounted to 
 from thirty to sixty gallons at each eruption. The dis- 
 charges at this time, are less frequent and diminished in 
 amount, affording only about a barrel per week, which is 
 worth xit the well from fifty to seventy-five cents a gallon. 
 A few years ago, when oil was most abundant, a large 
 quantity had been collected in a cistern holding thirty or 
 forty barrels. At night some one engaged about the 
 works approached the well-head with a lighted candle. 
 The gas instantly became ignited, and communicated 
 the flames to the contents of the cistern, which, giving 
 way, suffered the oil to be discharged down a short decli- 
 vity into the creek, where the water passes with a rapid 
 current close to the well. The oil still contined to burn 
 most furiously, and spreading itself along the surface of 
 the stream for half a mile in extent, shot its flames to the 
 tops of the highest trees, exhibiting the novel and perhaps 
 never-before witnessed spectacle of a river actually on 
 fire." 
 
 Here we find Petroleum obtained more than thirty 
 years before its final development, yet attended with all 
 the accidents, and presenting all the phenomena that 
 characterize its production in Pennsylvania. These are 
 not accounts open to the suspicion of exaggeration. They 
 were written and published more than a generation before 
 the philosophy of Petroleum broke upon the understanding 
 of man. Here we find it repeatedly forced upon his atten- 
 
EARLY NOTES OF PETROLEUM REFLECTIONS. 27 
 
 tion in the very way it was finally developed, and still 
 the idea of artesian boring was never designedly applied 
 to the production of Petroleum till at last suggested, as is 
 often the case with great ideas, by a most trivial occur- 
 rence. 
 
 Here was a well bored for salt to the depth of six or 
 eight hundred feet to the average depth of Petroleum 
 wells in Pennsylvania producing scarcely anything but 
 Petroleum, every well in the region throwing up more or 
 less of the oil, and yet it seems never to have occurred 
 to any one that if bored for expressly, it could be found 
 in paying quantities. 
 
 What a comment on the narrowness of a mind pre- 
 occupied ! How have we overlooked all the great truths 
 of philosophy, until at last they secured a sprouting place 
 in some mind unprejudiced by practice and unbiased by 
 theory. And then we call it inspiration, when the germ 
 that has fallen in good ground, and sprouted, and blos- 
 somed, and borne fruit, has proved to be such a very 
 wonderful little seed, and one that all saw, and none com- 
 prehended, when it was lying exposed in the stony places. 
 And then we wonder we had not comprehended it before, 
 especially as it was easier to comprehend it the simple, 
 little idea than to shut it out from our understanding as 
 the thing quite incomprehensible. 
 
 Its value as a lubricator was indisputably established ; 
 its medicinal properties were appreciated; very little 
 stood in the way of its adaptation to purposes of illumi- 
 nating, and so much of even that objection was removed 
 by the simple process of filtering through charcoal on 
 which process a patent has since been obtained that in 
 the light of present events, it is impossible to understand 
 how its importance could have been overlooked, could 
 have failed to suggest, if not the philosophy of its exist- 
 ence in the earth, the manner in which it is held among 
 
28 HISTORY OF PETROLEUM. 
 
 the rocks, at least the hope of making a fortune by deve- 
 loping it after the manner of raising brine. 
 
 Even twenty years later we find Mr. Kier of Pittsburgh, 
 profitably engaged in bottling and selling it as a great 
 natural panacea ; consuming in this way regularly about 
 three barrels a day, obtained from his father's salt well at 
 Tarentum, a few miles above Pittsburgh, on the Alle- 
 gany River, labelling his bottles to the effect that this 
 most wonderful remedy was obtained four hundred feet 
 below the surface of the earth distilling it, even, so that 
 nearly every objection to it as an illuminator in the crude 
 state was removed, and yet pocketing the returns without 
 giving a thought to its origin or extent. 
 
 "With Mr. Kier naturally enough the consideration was 
 to utilize what he had, to make the most of it, rather 
 than by research and development to bring forth that 
 which would have been in every sense a drug in the mar- 
 ket. He grasped one idea its utility, and suggested the 
 next its development. 
 
 Thus link by link, was forged slowly, the chain of events 
 which united thought and action, effecting what is known 
 as the "" discovery" of Petroleum. 
 
THE DISCOVERY OP THE VALUE OF PETROLEUM. 29 
 
 CHAPTER II. 
 
 THE DISCOVERY OF THE VALUE OF PETROLEUM. 
 
 reader will hardly need to be informed that the 
 circumstances' related in the last chapter were not 
 what led to the discovery of the. economic value of Pe- 
 troleum. There can hardly be said to be any merit in 
 witnessing and describing circumstances purely accidental 
 in their occurrence, when to do so effects no impression 
 useful to the cause of human progress. However acci- 
 dental, the events referred to must be allowed to have 
 been very suggestive; but inasmuch as they did not 
 suggest anything of practical importance to the very in- 
 telligent gentlemen who beheld them, it would seem to 
 increase our obligations to the person who finally did 
 grasp the simple idea of the philosophy of Petroleum, 
 and that without any knowledge of the circumstances 
 mentioned. But it must be conceded that, in their cases, 
 a most important incentive was wanting the article had 
 no certain market, no determinate value. The fact that 
 it sold for fifty and twenty-five cents a gallon proves 
 nothing. It sold for that in 1859, but the first day's 
 productions of the first well "broke the market." There 
 was no demand for it, because its uses were unknown 
 or at least not definitely understood. If any one thinks 
 that a larger and more constant supply would have earlier 
 brought about a knowledge of its importance (had that 
 supply been accidentally obtained, and had its continu- 
 ance been altogether conjectural,) let him reflect how 
 comparatively slow was its introduction to general use, 
 
30 HISTORY OF PETROLEUM. 
 
 even when the supply was so large that its cost was 
 merely nominal, and its continuance an established fact. 
 No ! The world was not yet ready for it. And though 
 the long course of scientific research in other directions, 
 which prepared for its final reception, has escaped public 
 attention, it is easy to show that the way was not pre- 
 pared in a moment ; but it is difficult, looking back from 
 the light of the present, to excuse a stupidity which cannot 
 now be understood, because it has been out-grown. 
 
 No science has been more active, progressive, and use- 
 ful in the last forty years than Chemistry. But its 
 strides have been as silent as they have been rapid ; and 
 though as a science it has almost grown up within the 
 age of living men, and while it has done more, perhaps, 
 than all other sciences to enable us to understand physi- 
 cal relations, there are still plenty of intelligent people 
 who know no more of it than the name. It is mainly to 
 this science that we owe those elaborate experimental re- 
 searches which demonstrated the practical utility of Pe- 
 troleum to the domestic comforts of refined civilization. 
 
 About the year 1830 a German chemist named Reichen- 
 bach, while experimenting with the bitumen found in 
 wood, discovered a white, tasteless, inodorous, waxy sub- 
 stance which he called Paraffine, because of its antipathy 
 to unite with other substances. Like Selligne of France, 
 Reichenbach had devoted much attention to the produc- 
 tion of illuminating oils from the coals and bituminous 
 shales in his own country, as well as various other por- 
 tions of the Continent of Europe, and like him experi- 
 mented for years without producing anything of value. 
 
 The small quantity of paraffine obtained, was hoarded 
 as a curiosity of the laboratory, and for many years, it is 
 said, was the only bit of that substance in existence. It 
 does not appear that Reichenbach himself at the time, 
 clearly understood the chemical change by which it was 
 
THE DISCOVERY OF THE VALUE OF PETROLEUM. 31 
 
 produced, but his researches were continued, and together 
 with Selligne's and several others, his name now appears 
 as the inventor or discover of kerosene, or coal oil. It 
 seems likely that either of them is entitled to all he 
 claims, for they appear to have worked separately; and 
 aside from the meagre details of their progress given to 
 the scientific journals of the day, to have known little 
 of each other's experiments. 
 
 It is true, no vast credit can attach to the invention or 
 discovery on account of originality, for the way was very 
 clearly pointed out by facts already known. But its im- 
 portance can hardly be over-estimated. The refining in- 
 fluence we might say the civilizing influence of a good 
 cheap illuminator, could easily be shown if this were the 
 place for an extended essay on the subject. 
 
 The introduction of gas in the cities of Asia and 
 Europe, furnish statistics on the subject most interesting 
 from the political, as well as the humanitarian point of 
 view. But the want of an illuminator for the habita- 
 tions of the poor, and for such places as could not be 
 economically lighted with gas was manifest, and in obedi- 
 ence to a common want we find it invented almost simul- 
 taneously in three countries England, France and Ger- 
 many occupying the same plane in civilization. Such 
 coincidences frequently occur; but it is a remarkable fact 
 that they never occur unless the invention has become a 
 manifest necessity to the comfort of the society, and the 
 progress of the civilization which the inventors have en- 
 joyed. 
 
 Reichenbach's ounce or two of Parafnne was preserved 
 for many years as a great curiosity to his scientific friends. 
 A small quantity of it was also discovered by Selligne, a 
 few years later ; but it was reserved for Mr. James Young 
 of Scotland to complete the value of the discovery by 
 showing how to produce it at will, and in quantity, and 
 
32 HISTORY OF PETROLEUM. 
 
 by utilizing it to the comforts of mankind. In 1850 he 
 procured a patent in England for the manufacture of 
 "paraffine oil, or oil containing paraffine, and paraffine 
 from bituminous coals." Some years later a similar patent 
 was issued to him by the government of the United States. 
 
 Before this oil had been manufactured from bituminous 
 shales and coals on a small scale in France by Selligne, 
 we think in Germany, and in the Austrian Empire. 
 Even on the American Continent, Dr. Abraham Gesner 
 manufactured oil from coal as early as 1846, and exhibited 
 the same in the course of his lectures in the British Pro- 
 vinces. Uniting himself with capitalists, Mr. Young 
 promptly began the manufacture of paraffine oil on a large 
 scale. No lamp had yet been invented in which it would 
 burn without a most offensive smoke, and while the hea- 
 viest of this manufacture was used for lubricating machi- 
 nery, the lightest was reduced to paraffine wax, manufac- 
 tured into candles, and sold as spermaceti, to which it 
 bears a striking resemblance. It is a product obtained 
 by destructive distillation of the oil that is, one sub- 
 stance is destroyed before the other is produced. The 
 change which takes place is purely chemical, and not me- 
 chanical, as it would be if the paraffine was separated 
 from the oil by which it was merely held in solution. Mr. 
 Young's process consists in breaking the coals into pieces 
 about the size of a hen's egg, which are then distilled in 
 the common gas retort, with worm pipes and the ordinary- 
 refrigerators of stills, the water in them being kept at a 
 temperature of about 55 Fahr., by a stream of cold water 
 entering the worm cistern. The retort is kept at a low 
 red heat, and heated up gradually. The product is an 
 oil containing the paraffine. 
 
 The crude oil is put into a cistern, and steam heat 
 applied up to about 156. This separates some of the 
 impurities, and the oil is run off into another vessel, leaving 
 
THE DISCOVERY OF THE VALUE OF PETROLEUM. 33 
 
 the impurities behind. The oil is then distilled in an iron 
 still, with a worm pipe and refrigerator, the water in the 
 latter being kept at 55 Fahr. The oil thus distilled is then 
 agitated with 10 per cent, of sulphuric acid for an hour. 
 It is then allowed to settle twelve hours, when it is drawn 
 off from the acid and impurities into an iron vessel, where 
 it is again agitated with a solution of caustic soda of spe- 
 cific gravity 1.300. Six hours are again allowed for the 
 alkali and impurities to settle when the oil is again drawn 
 off and distilled with half its bulk of water, which is run 
 into the still from time to time to supply the quantity 
 distilled off. The light oil comes over with the steam, 
 and is employed for illumination. The oil left in the still 
 is carefully separated from all water, and put into a leaden 
 vessel, and then agitated with two per cent, of sulphuric 
 acid. It is then allowed to settle twenty-four hours. 
 This oil is then run into another vessel, and for every 
 one hundred gallons there are added twenty-eight pounds 
 of chalk ground up with water into a paste. The oil and 
 chalk are agitated together until the oil is freed of acid. 
 After it has remained a week at rest, it is used for lubri- 
 cating machinery, and may be mixed with animal or 
 vegetable oils for that purpose. 
 
 To obtain the Paraffine the oil containing it is brought 
 down to a temperature of 30 Fah., when paraffine will 
 crystallize and separate itself from the oil ; or it may be 
 filtered and finally submitted to pressure. Again it is 
 agitated with its bulk of sulphuric acid, and the opera- 
 tion repeated until the acid ceases to be colored by the 
 paraffine, which is kept melted during the operation." 
 
 Mr. Gerker's method, differed from this not very ma- 
 terially, but had for its object not the production of paraf- 
 fine, and therefore the similarity of the treatment ceased 
 just where the production of paraffine began. 
 
 His purpose was merely to procure an illuminating oil, 
 3 
 
34 HISTORY OF PETROLEUM. 
 
 which he called " Kerosene," a name almost identical in 
 its meaning with " Paraffine oil." The patents granted 
 him by our government, known as the " Kerosene 
 Patents," were sold to the North American Kerosene 
 Gas light Company of New York, which in 1854 began 
 the manufacture of Kerosene oil at their works on New- 
 town Creek, Long Island, New York. Its introduction 
 was discouragingly slow. The refining process was not 
 thoroughly understood, and nothing had then been found 
 to overcome the odor which was most offensive. Men 
 interested in the manufacture of camphene, and burning 
 fluids of all sorts spread the belief that it was very ex- 
 plosive. But the beauty of its light commended it in 
 spite of the odor and the fear of explosion, though in fact 
 when first manufactured it was no more explosive than 
 ordinary sperm oil. One great apparent need was a 
 lamp which would burn it without a smoke, and admit 
 of its being moved around, which could not be done when 
 it was burned in the camphene lamp. This difficulty was 
 afterwards remedied by the introduction of the Vienna 
 burner by Mr. Austin. 
 
 Mr. Young's patents specified a paraffine oil from 
 " coals." The great profit of the business induced many 
 to embark in the manufacture of the oil, and he soon 
 found that his patent-right was being invaded both in this 
 country and England. Proceedings were instituted at 
 once to compel the payment of a royalty of three cents 
 per gallon, and also for damages by infraction of the 
 patent-right. In most cases these were strenuously re- 
 sisted; the defendants in many cases claim that their oils 
 were not from coals, but from bituminous shales and as- 
 phaltum. These gave the proprietors of the lands with 
 whom for the most part sharp bargains had been driven, 
 a pretext for checking the despoliation of their property, 
 under contracts for, the removal of coal, and Mr. Young 
 
THE DISCOVERY OF THE VALUE OF PETROLEUM. 35 
 
 in common with many of the other English manufacturers 
 found himself involved in litigation that threatened to 
 prove interminable, and was only settled at last by com- 
 promise. One of the best effects of these costly suits was 
 a most exhaustive scrutiny into all the varieties of coals 
 and bitumens, by the best scientific authorities in all 
 countries, and though in a few instances carboniferous 
 deposits, which were clearly shown to be asphalts or of 
 that nature, by their solution in benzine and naphtha, 
 were pronounced "coals" by ignorant jurors, it has not 
 affected the value of those researches to the industries of 
 the world, nor changed the opinions of educated men. 
 Mr. Young's patent, after having been the source of a 
 princely fortune, expired in England in 1864, and four 
 years later in the United States, but it had brought him 
 no revenue from this country since the discovery of 
 Petroleum in Pennsylvania. 
 
 Before that event took place, however, a market was 
 being prepared for it on the continent of Europe, by the 
 manufacture on* an extensive scale of oils from coals, 
 schists and bituminous shales. 
 
 In Germany, on the Rhine, and in various parts of 
 France and Switzerland, large manufactories were erected, 
 and it soon became not a luxury of life, but a necessity. 
 And in the Empire of Austria, in some of the Northern 
 provinces of which it was extensively manufactured, a 
 lamp had been invented in which the oil burned with a 
 beautiful clear flame, and without smoke. The light 
 could also be carried about indifferently without ex- 
 tinguishing. Here was the great desideratum at last, the 
 greatest obstacle overcome. This lamp was promptly in- 
 troduced into the United States. Our government has 
 issued innumerable patents for alterations in this lamp, 
 but not more than half a dozen have really been any 
 improvement on the first one brought here, and many of 
 
36 HISTOUY OF PETROLEUM. 
 
 them are greatly inferior. The quality of our light of 
 course has been greatly improved, but it is less the result 
 of any improvement in the lamp, than a more perfect 
 method of refining the oil. 
 
 When Mr. Young began the manufacture of mineral 
 oil, the success of his efforts sent consternation into some 
 branches of industry on this side of the Atlantic. 
 
 The great manufacturers of animal oils along our East- 
 ern seaboard were first to take the alarm. For years they 
 had almost monopolized the whale fisheries, and large 
 amounts of capital were invested in the production of the 
 smaller fish oils and lard oil. They saw in his success 
 the breaking down of their monopoly, the destruction of 
 their trade; and determined to preserve their importance, 
 they commenced manufacturing mineral oils themselves. 
 Casting about for the means of self-preservation, they very 
 soon discovered that our own country afforded even greater 
 facilities for the production of these commodities than 
 either Great Britain or any other part of Europe. 
 
 Our bituminous coal measures, were found to be the 
 most extensive and accessible in the world. Upon exam- 
 ination, valuable oil-producing shales were discovered. 
 Mines could be obtained on the most reasonable terms ; 
 could often be purchased in fee for a few dollars per acre. 
 Everything was favorable, and it seemed as if our prestige 
 in oil was not only to be maintained, but vastly increased. 
 
 The great difficulty was the cost of labor, which was 
 four times as great as in England, and nearly six times 
 greater than in Germany, where much of the work was 
 done by women. This, to be sure, was in some measure, 
 compensated by the difference in the cost of lands ; but it 
 was a compensation which must soon have been overcome. 
 
 Eastern capitalists invested largely in the coal lands 
 of Virginia, Kentucky and Missouri, and to obviate the 
 expense of transporting the coal by rail, began the erec- 
 tion of oil works at the mines. 
 
THE DISCOVERY OF THE VALUE OF PETROLEUM. 37 
 
 Near Boston, Mass., Saml. Downer had erected works on 
 a most extensive scale, which cost about half a million dol- 
 lars, while at Portland he had other works put up at an 
 expense of $250,000 for the manufacture of oil from im- 
 ported coal; and they continued to increase, till at the 
 time oil was struck, there were not less than fifty or sixty 
 of these establishments in the United States, one of which 
 was in Portland, one in New Bedford, four in Boston, one 
 in Hartford, five in the environs of New York, eight or 
 ten in western Pennsylvania, twenty-five in Ohio, eight 
 in Virginia, six in Kentucky, and one in St. Louis. 
 Many, if not most, of these were of small capacity, how- 
 ever, and the greater part of them were not more than 
 fairly started when the discovery of petroleum prostrated 
 the whole business, and threatened its projectors with 
 overwhelming loss, from which they were happily rescued 
 by converting their oil factories into refineries, which was 
 done with very little trouble. 
 
 While the object of this chapter has been to show the 
 gradual steps by which the economic value of petroleum 
 was discovered, or rather demonstrated, and while the 
 reader will, we presume, believe with us, that had its 
 value not been thus conclusively determined, and had not 
 the way for its reception at home and abroad been opened 
 by the previous extensive introduction of coal oil both as 
 a lubricator and an illuminator, its development must 
 have been indefinitely delayed ; for it was a belief in its 
 identity for practical purposes with coal oil that 
 prompted the series of investigations which resulted in 
 its most wonderful development. 
 
 The event which finally determined its economic value, 
 which proved its identities with, and differences from, 
 coal oil, which showed that while for many purposes it 
 was about the same for most purposes it was superior, 
 was the exhaustive analysis procured and paid for by 
 
38 HISTORY OF PETROLEUM. 
 
 George H. Bissel and others, the report of which is 
 appended by permission of Professor Silliman to this 
 chapter rather than place it in the chronological order to 
 be observed throughout this work : 
 
 MESSRS. EVELETH, BISSELL & REED, 
 Gentlemen, 
 
 I herewith offer you the results of my somewhat ex- 
 tended researches upon the Rock Oil, or Petroleum, from 
 Venango County, Pennsylvania, which you have re- 
 quested me to examine with reference to its value for 
 economical purposes. 
 
 Numerous localities, well known in different parts of 
 the world, furnish an oily fluid exuding from the surface 
 of the earth, sometimes alone in " tar springs," as they 
 are called in the western United States ; frequently it is 
 found floating upon the surface of water in a thin film, 
 with rainbow colors, or in dark globules, that may, by 
 mechanical means, be separated from the fluid on which 
 it swims. 
 
 In some places wells are sunk for the purpose of ac- 
 cumulating the product in a situation convenient for col- 
 lection by pumping the water out. The oil exudes on 
 the shores of lakes and lagoons, or rises from springs 
 beneath the beds of rivers. Such are the springs of 
 Baku, in Persia, and the wells of Amiano, in the duchy 
 of Parma, in Italy. The usual geological position of the 
 rocks furnishing this natural product, is in the coal mea- 
 sures but it is by no means confined to this group of 
 rocks, since it has been found in deposits much more 
 recent, and also in those that are older but in whatever 
 deposits it may occur, it is uniformly regarded as a pro- 
 duct of vegetable decomposition. Whether this decom- 
 position has been effected by fermentation only, or by the 
 
THE DISCOVERY OF THE VALUE OF PETROLEUM. 39 
 
 aid of an elevated temperature, and distilled by heated 
 vapor, is perhaps hardly settled. 
 
 It is interesting, however, in this connection to re- 
 member, that the distillation, at an elevated tempera- 
 ture, of certain black bituminous shales in England and 
 France, has furnished large quantities of an oil having 
 many points of resemblance with Naphtha, the name 
 given to this colorless oil, which is the usual product of 
 distilling Petroleum. The very high boiling point of 
 most of the products of the distillation of the Rock Oil 
 from Yenango County, Pa., would seem to indicate that 
 it was a pyrogenic (fire-produced) product. 
 
 Bitumen, Asphaltum, Mineral Pitch, Chapapote, &c., 
 &c., are names variously given to the more or less hard, 
 black resinous substance which is produced usually from 
 the exposure of Petroleum to the air, and is found either 
 with or without the fluid Naphtha or Petroleum. The 
 most remarkable examples of the occurrence of these 
 substances, so intimately connected with the history of 
 Rock Oil, are the Lake Asphaltites of the Dead Sea, so 
 memorable in history, the well-known Bitumen Lake of 
 Trinidad, and the deposits of mineral pitch or Chapapote 
 in Cuba. In one of the provinces of India, vast quanti- 
 ties of Petroleum are annually produced, the chief con- 
 sumption being local, for fuel and lights, but a portion is 
 also exported to Europe for the production of Naphtha. 
 In the United States, many points on the Ohio and its 
 tributaries, are noted as producing this oil ; nearly all of 
 them within the coal measures. A detailed history of 
 these various localities can be found recorded in books of 
 science, and their repetition here would be out of place. 
 
 General Character of the Crude Product. 
 The crude oil, as it is gathered on your lands, has a 
 dark brown color, which, by reflected light, is greenish or 
 
40 HISTORY OF PETROLEUM. 
 
 bluish. It is thick even in warm weather about as 
 thick as thin molasses. In very cold weather it is some- 
 what more stiff, but can always be poured from a bottle 
 even at 15 below zero. Its odor is strong and peculiar, 
 and recalls to those who are familiar with it, the smell 
 of Bitumen and Naphtha. Exposed for a long time to 
 the air, it does not thicken or form a skin on its surface, 
 and, in no sense, can it be called a drying oil. The 
 density of the crude oil is .882, water being 1*000. It 
 boils only at a very high temperature, and yet it begins 
 to give off a vapor at a temperature not greatly above 
 that of boiling water. It takes fire with some difficulty, 
 and burns with an abundant smoky flame. It stains 
 paper with the appearance of ordinary fat oils, and feels 
 smooth and greasy between the fingers. It is frequently 
 used in its crude state to lubricate coarse machinery. In 
 chemical characters, it is entirely unlike the fat oils. 
 Most of these characters are common to Petroleum from 
 various places. In one important respect, however, the 
 product of your lands differs from that obtained in other 
 situations, that is, it does not, by continued exposure to 
 the air, become hard and resinous like mineral pitch or 
 bitumen. I have been informed by those who have 
 visited the locality, that on the surface of the earth above 
 the springs which furnish your oil, there is no crust or 
 deposit of this sort such as I have seen in other situations 
 where Petroleum or mineral tar is flowing. This differ- 
 ence will be seen to be of considerable importance, as it 
 is understood and represented that this product exists 
 in great abundance upon your property, that it can be 
 gathered wherever a well is sunk in the soil, over a great 
 number of acres, and that it is unfailing in its yield from 
 year to year. The question naturally arises, of what 
 value is it in the arts, and for what uses can it be em- 
 ployed ? These researches answer these inquiries. 
 
THE DISCOVERY OF THE VALUE OP PETROLEUM. 41 
 
 Examination of the Oil. 
 
 To determine what products might be obtained in the 
 oil, a portion of it was submitted to fractional distilla- 
 tion.* The temperature of the fluid was constantly 
 regulated by a thermometer, the heat being applied first 
 by a water bath, and then by a bath of linseed oil. This 
 experiment was founded upon the belief that the crude 
 product contained several distinct oils, having different 
 boiling points. The quantity of material used in this 
 experiment, was 304 grammes. The thermometer indi- 
 cated the degrees of the Centigrade scale, but, for con- 
 venience, the corresponding degrees of Fahrenheit's scale 
 are added. The water bath failed to distil any portion 
 of the oil at 100 C. (=212Fah.) only a small quantity 
 of acid water came over. An oil bath, linseed oil, was 
 then substituted, and the temperature was regularly 
 raised by slow degrees until distillation commenced. 
 From that point the heat was successively raised by 
 stages of ten degrees, allowing full time at each stage for 
 complete distillation of all that would rise at that tem- 
 perature before advancing to the next stage. The results 
 of this tedious process are given in the annexed table 
 304 Grammes of crude oil, submitted to fractional dis- 
 tillation, gave : 
 
 Temperature Quantity. 
 
 1st Prod, at 100 .=213 Fah. (acid water,) 5 Cms. 
 
 2d 
 
 3d 
 
 4 th, 
 
 5th 
 
 6th 
 
 7th 
 
 8th 
 
 at 140 C. to 150 .=284 to 302 Fah. 26 
 at 150 C. to 1 60 C.=30z to 320 Fah. 29 
 at 160 C. to 170 .=320 to 388 Fah. 38 
 at 170 C.to 180 .=338 to 367 Fah. 17 
 at 1 80 C. to 200 C.=356 to 392 Fah. 16 
 at 200 C. to 220 C.=392 to 428 Fah. 17 
 at 220 C. to 270 .=428 to 518 Fah. 12 
 
 Whole quantity distilled by this method . . 160 
 
 Leaving residue in the retort .... 144 
 
 Original quantity, ..... 304 
 
 * Fractional distillation is a process intended to separate various products in mixture, 
 and having unlike boiling points, by keeping the mixture contained in an alembic at 
 regulated successive stages of temperature as long as there is any distillate at a given 
 point, and then raising the heat to another degree, Ac. 
 
42 HISTORY OF PETROLEUM. 
 
 Product No 1, as above remarked, was almost entirely 
 water, with a few drops of colorless oil, having an odor 
 similar to the original fluid, but less intense. 
 
 Product No. 2 was an oil perfectly colorless, very thin 
 and limpid, and having an exceedingly persistent odor, 
 similar to the crude oil, but less intense. 
 
 Product No. 3 was tinged slightly yellow, perfectly 
 transparent, and apparently as limpid as the 2d product, 
 with the same odor. 
 
 Product No. 4 was more decidedly yellowish than the 
 last, but was in no other respect distinguishable from it. 
 
 Product No. 5 was more highly colored, thicker in con- 
 sistence, and had a decided empyreumatic odor. 
 
 Product No. 6. This and the two subsequent products 
 were each more highly colored and denser than the pre- 
 ceding. The last product had the color and consistency 
 of honey, and the odor was less penetrating than that of 
 the preceding oils. The mass of crude product remaining 
 in the retort (equal 47.4 per cent.,) was a dark, thick, 
 resinous-looking varnish, which was so stiff when cold, 
 that it could be inverted without spilling. This showed 
 no disposition to harden or skin over by exposure to the 
 air. The distillation was arrested at this point in glass, 
 by our having reached the limit of temperature for a bath 
 of linseed oil. The density of the several products of this 
 distillation, shows a progressive increase, thus : 
 
 No. 2, density, 
 
 No. 3 
 
 No. 4 
 
 No. 5 , 
 
 No. 6 
 
 No. 7 
 
 No. 8 
 
 733 
 75 2 
 .766 
 .776 
 .800 
 .848 
 854 
 
 To form an idea of the comparative density of these 
 several products, it may be well to state, that Sulphuric 
 Ether, which is one* of the lightest fluids known, has a 
 
THE DISCOVERY OF THE VALUE OP PETROLEUM. 43 
 
 density of .736, and Alcohol, when absolutely pure, 
 .800. 
 
 The boiling points of these several fluids present some 
 anomalies, but are usually progressive, thus, No. 2 gave 
 signs of boiling at 115 C. (=239 Pah.) and boiled vigor- 
 ously and remained constant at 225 C. to 228 C., 
 (=437 to 442 Fah.) No. 3 began to boil 120, (=248 
 Fah.,) rose to 270 (=518 Fah.,) where it remained con- 
 stant. No. 4 began to vaporize at 140, (=284 Fah.,) 
 rose to 290, (=554 Fah.,) where it remained constant. 
 On a second heating the temperature continued to rise, 
 and passed 305, (=581 Fah.) No. 5 gave appearance 
 of boiling at 160, (=320 Fah.,) boiling more vigorously 
 as the heat was raised, and was still rising at 308, 
 (=581 Fah.) No. 6 commenced boiling at 135, (=275 
 Fah.), boiled violently at 160, (=320 Fah.,) and con- 
 tinued rising above the range of the mercurial thermome- 
 ter. No. 7 commenced ebullition at the same temperature 
 as No. 6, and rose to 305, (=581 Fah.,) where the ebul- 
 lition was not very active. Much time was consumed in 
 obtaining these results. We infer from them that the 
 Rock Oil is a mixture of numerous compounds, all having 
 essentially the same chemical constitution, but differing in 
 density and boiling points, and capable of separation from 
 each other, by a well-regulated heat. 
 
 The uncertainty of the boiling points indicates that the 
 products obtained at the temperatures named above, were 
 still mixtures of others, and the question forces itself upon 
 us, whether these several oils are to be regarded as educts 
 (i. e., bodies previously existing, and simply separated in 
 the process of distillation,) or whether they are not rather 
 produced by the heat and chemical change in the process 
 of distillation. The continued application of an elevated 
 temperature alone is sufficient to effect changes in the 
 constitution of many organic products, evolving new 
 bodies not before existing in the original substance. 
 
44 HISTORY OF PETROLEUM. 
 
 Properties of the Distilled Oils. 
 
 Exposed to the severest cold of the past winter, all the 
 oils obtained in this distillation remained fluid. Only the 
 last two or three appeared at all stiffened by a cold of 15 
 below zero, while the first three or four products of dis- 
 tillation retained a perfect degree of fluidity. Exposed to 
 air, as I have said, they suffer no change. The chemical 
 examination of these oils showed that they were all com- 
 posed of Carbon and Hydrogen, and probably have these 
 elements in the same numerical relation. When first dis- 
 tilled, they all had an acid reaction, due to the presence 
 of a small quantity of free sulphuric acid, derived from the 
 crude oil. This was entirely removed by a weak alka- 
 line water, and even by boiling on pure water. Clean 
 copper remained untarnished in the oil which had thus 
 been prepared, showing its fitness for lubrication, so far 
 as absence of corrosive quality is concerned. The oils 
 contain no oxygen, as is clearly shown by the fact that 
 clean potassium remains bright in them. Strong Sul- 
 phuric Acid decomposes and destroys the oil entirely. 
 Nitric Acid changes it to a yellow, oily fluid, similar to 
 the changes produced by Nitric Acid on other oils. Hy- 
 drochloric, Chromic and Acetic Acids, do not affect it. 
 Litharge and other metallic oxyds do not change it, or 
 convert it in any degree to a drying oil. Potassium re- 
 mains in it unaffected, even at a high temperature. Hy- 
 drates of Potash, Soda, and Lime, are also without action 
 upon it. Ohloride of Calcium and many other salts mani- 
 fest an equal indifference to it. Distilled with Bleaching 
 Powders (chloride of lime) and water, in the manner of 
 producing chloroform, the oil is changed into a product 
 having an odor and taste resembling chloroform. Ex- 
 posed for many days in an open vessel, at a regulated 
 heat below 212, the oil gradually rises in vapor, as may 
 
THE DISCOVERY OF THE VALUE OF PETROLEUM. 45 
 
 be seen by its staining the paper used to cover the vessel 
 from dust, and also by its sensible diminution. Six or 
 eight fluid ounces, exposed in this -manner in a metallic 
 vessel for six weeks or more, the he^at never exceeding 
 200, gradully and slowly diminished, grew yellow, and 
 finally left a small residue of dark brown lustrous-looking 
 resin, or pitchy substance, which in the cold was hard 
 and brittle. The samples of oil employed were very 
 nearly colorless. This is remarkable when we remember 
 that the temperature of the distillation was above 500 
 Fah. The oil is nearly insoluble in pure alcohol, not 
 more than 4 or 5 per centum being dissolved by this 
 agent. In ether the oil dissolves completely, and on 
 gentle heating is left unchanged by the evaporization of 
 the ether. India Rubber is dissolved by the distilled oil 
 to a pasty mass, forming a thick black fluid which, after 
 a short time, deposits the india rubber. It dissolved a 
 little amber, but only sufficient to color the oil red. It 
 also dissolves a small portion of copal in its natural state, 
 but after roasting, the copal dissolves in it as it does in 
 other oils. 
 
 Use for Gas Making. 
 
 The Crude Oil was tried as a means of illumination. 
 For this purpose, a weighed quantity was decomposed, by 
 passing it through a wrought iron retort filled with car- 
 bon, and ignited to full redness. The products of this 
 decomposition were received in a suitable apparatus. It 
 produced nearly pure carburetted hydrogen gas, the 
 most highly illuminating of all the carbon gases. In fact, 
 the oil may be regarded as chemically identical with 
 illuminating gas in a liquid form. The gas produced 
 equalled ten cubic feet to the pound of oil. It burned 
 with an intense flame, smoking in the ordinary gas jet, but 
 furnishing the most perfect flame with the Argand burner. 
 
46 HISTORY OF PETROLEUM. 
 
 These experiments were not prosecuted further, because 
 it was assumed that other products, now known and in 
 use, for gas making, might be employed at less expense 
 for this purpose, than your oil. Nevertheless, this branch 
 of inquiry may be worthy of further attention. 
 
 Distillation at a higher Temperature.. 
 
 The results of the distillation at a regulated tempera- 
 ture in glass led us to believe, that in a metallic vessel, 
 capable of enduring a high degree of heat, we might 
 obtain a much larger proportion of valuable products. A 
 copper still, holding five or six gallons, was therefore pro- 
 vided, and furnished with an opening, through which a 
 thermometer could be introduced into the interior of the 
 vessel. Fourteen imperial quarts (or, by weight, 560 
 ounces) of the crude product were placed in this vessel, 
 and the heat raised rapidly to about 280 C. (=536 
 Fah.), somewhat higher than the last temperature reached 
 in the first distillation. At this high temperature, the 
 distillation was somewhat rapid, and the product was 
 easily condensed without a worm. The product of the 
 first stage was 130 ounces (or over 28 per cent.), of a 
 very light-colored thin oil, having a density of .792. 
 This product was also acid, and, as before, the acid was 
 easily removed by boiling with fresh water. The tem- 
 perature was now raised to somewhat above 300 C. 
 (572 Fah.), and 123 ounces more distilled, of a more 
 viscid and yellowish oil, having a density of .865. This 
 accounts for over 43 per cent, of the whole quantity taken. 
 The temperature being raised now above the boiling point 
 of mercury, was continued at that until 170 ounces, or 
 over 31 per cent., of a dark brown oil had been distilled, 
 having a strong empyreumatic odor. Upon standing still 
 for some time, a dark blackMi sediment was seen to settle 
 from this portion, and on boiling it with water, the 
 
THE DISCOVERY OF THE VALUE OF PETROLEUM. 47 
 
 unpleasant odor was in a great degree removed, and the 
 fluid became more light-colored and perfectly bright. 
 (It was on a sample of this that the photometric experi- 
 ments were made.) The next portion, distilled at about 
 700 Fah., gave but about 17 ounces, and this product 
 was both lighter in color and more fluid than the last. 
 It now became necessary to employ dry hickory wood as 
 a fuel, to obtain flame and sufficient heat to drive over 
 any further portions of the residue remaining in the 
 alembic. 
 
 It will be seen that we have already accounted for over 
 75 per cent, of the whole quantity taken. There was a 
 loss on the whole process of about 10 per cent., made up, 
 in part, of a coaly residue that remained in the alembic, 
 and partly of the unavoidable loss resulting from the 
 necessity of removing the oil twice from the alembic, 
 during the process of distillation, in order to change the 
 arrangements of the thermometer, and provide means of 
 measuring a heat higher than that originally contem- 
 plated. 
 
 About 15 per cent, of a very thick, dark oil completed 
 this experiment. This last product, which came off 
 slowly at about 750 Fah., is thicker and darker than the 
 original oil, and when cold is filled with a dense mass of 
 pearly crystals. These are Paraffine, a peculiar product 
 of the destructive distillation of many bodies in the organic 
 kingdom. This substance may be separated, and obtained 
 as a white body, resembling fine spermaceti, and from it 
 beautiful candles have been made. The oil in which the 
 crystals float is of a very dark color, and by reflected 
 light is blackish green, like the original crude product. 
 Although it distills at so high a temperature, it boils at a 
 point not very different from the denser products of the 
 first distillation. The Pafaffine, with which this portion 
 of the oil abounds, does not exist ready-formed in the ori- 
 
48 HISTORY OF PETROLEUM. 
 
 ginal crude product ; but it is a result of the high tem- 
 perature employed in the process of distillation, by which 
 the elements are newly arranged. 
 
 I am not prepared to say, without further investigation, 
 that it would be desirable for the Company to manufac- 
 ture this product in a pure state, fit for producing candles 
 (a somewhat elaborate chemical process) ; but I may add 
 that, should it be desirable to do so, the quantity of this 
 substance produced may probably be very largely increased 
 by means which it is now unnecessary to mention. 
 
 Paraffine derives its name from the unalterable nature 
 of the substance, under the most powerful chemical agents. 
 It is white, in brilliant scales of a greasy lustre ; it melts 
 at about 116, and boils at over 700 Fah.; it dissolves 
 in boiling alcohol and ether, and burns in the air with a 
 brilliant flame. Associated with Paraffine are portions 
 of a very volatile oil, Eupione, which boils at a lower tem- 
 perature, and by its presence renders the boiling point of 
 the mixture difficult to determine. I consider this point 
 worthy of further examination than I have been able at 
 present to give it, i. e. whether the last third, and possi- 
 bly the last half, of the Petroleum, may not be advanta- 
 geously so treated as to produce from it the largest amount 
 of Paraffine which it is able to produce. 
 
 The result of this graduated distillation, at a high tem- 
 perature, is that we have obtained over 90 per cent, of 
 the whole crude product in a series of oils, having valua- 
 ble properties, although not all equally fitted for illumina- 
 tion and lubrication. 
 
 A second distillation of a portion of the product which 
 came over in the latter stages of the process, (a portion dis- 
 tilled at about 650 Fah., and having a high color), gave 
 us a thin oil of density about .750, of light yellow color 
 and faint odor. 
 
 It is safe to add that, by the original distillation, about 
 
THE DISCOVERY OF THE VALUE OF PETROLEUM. 49 
 
 50 per cent, of the crude oil is obtained in a state fit for 
 use as an illuminator without further preparation than 
 simple clarification by boiling a short time with water. 
 
 Distillation by high Steam. 
 
 Bearing in mind that by aid of high steam, at an ele- 
 vated temperature, many distillations in the arts are 
 effected which cannot be so well accomplished by dry 
 heat, I thought to apply this method in case of the pre- 
 sent research. Instances of this mode of distillation are 
 in the new process for Stearine candles, and in the prepa- 
 ration of Rosin Oil. I accordingly arranged my retort in 
 such a manner that I could admit a jet of high steam into 
 the boiler, and almost at the bottom of the contained 
 Petroleum. I was, however, unable to command a jet 
 of steam above 275 to 290 Fah., arid, although this pro- 
 duced abundant distillation, it did not effect a separation 
 of the several products, and the fluid distilled had much 
 the same appearance as the Petroleum itself, thick and 
 turbid. As this trial was made late in the investigation, 
 I have been unable to give it a satisfactory issue, chiefly 
 for want of steam of a proper temperature. But I sug- 
 gest, for the consideration of the Company, the propriety 
 of availing themselves of the experience already existing 
 on this subject, and particularly among those who are 
 concerned in the distillation of Rosin Oil a product 
 having many analogies with Petroleum in respect to its 
 manufacture. 
 
 Use of the Naphtha for Illumination. 
 Many fruitless experiments have been made in the 
 course of this investigation which it is needless to recount. 
 I will, therefore, only state those results which are of 
 value. 
 
 1. I have found that the only lamp in which this oil 
 can be successfully burned, is the Camphene lamp, or one 
 4 
 
50 HISTORY OF PETROLEUM. 
 
 having a button to form the flame, and an external cone 
 to direct the current of air, as is now usual in all lamps 
 designed to burn either Camphene, Rosin Oil, Sylvic Oil, 
 or any other similar product. 
 
 2. As the distilled products of Petroleum are nearly or 
 quite insoluble in alcohol, burning fluid (i. e., a solution 
 of the oil in alcohol) cannot be manufactured from it. 
 
 3. As a consequence, the oil cannot be burned in a 
 hand lamp, since, with an unprotected wick, it smokes 
 badly. Neither can it be burned in a Carcel's mechanical 
 lamp, because a portion of the oil being more volatile 
 than the rest, rises in vapor on the elevated wick required 
 in that lamp, and so causes it to smoke. 
 
 I have found all the products of distillation from the 
 copper still capable of burning well in the Camphene 
 lamp, except the last third or fourth part (i. e., that por- 
 tion which came off at 700 Fah. and rising, and which 
 was thick with the crystals of Paraffine). Freed from, 
 acidity by boiling on water, the oils of this distillation 
 burned for twelve hours without injuriously coating the 
 wick, and without smoke. The wick may be elevated 
 considerably above the level required for Camphene, with- 
 out any danger of smoking, and the oil shows no signs of 
 crusting the wick tubes with a coating of Rosin, such as 
 happens in the case of Camphene, and occasions so much 
 inconvenience. The light from the rectified Naphtha is 
 pure and white without odor. The rate of consumption 
 is less than half that of Camphene, or Rosin Oil. The 
 Imperial pint, of 20 fluid ounces, was the one employed 
 a gallon contains 160 such ounces. A Camphene lamp, 
 with a wick one inch thick, consumed of rectified Naph- 
 tha in one hour II ounces of fluid. A Carcel's mechani- 
 cal lamp of J inch wick, consumed of best Sperm Oil, per 
 hour 2 ounces. A "Diamond Light" lamp, with " Sylvic 
 Oil," and a wick 1J inch diameter consumed, per hour, 
 4 ounces. 
 
THE DISCOVERY OF THE VALUE OF PETROLEUM. 51 
 
 I have submitted the lamp burning Petroleum to the 
 inspection of the most experienced lampists who were ac- 
 cessible to me, and their testimony was, that the lamp 
 burning this fluid gave as much light as any which they 
 had seen, that the oil spent more economically, and the 
 uniformity of the light was greater than in Camphene, 
 burning for twelve hours without a sensible diminution, 
 and without smoke. I was, however, anxious to test the 
 amount of light given, more accurately than could be done 
 by a comparison of opinions. With your approbation 
 I proceeded therefore to have constructed a, photometer, or 
 apparatus for the measurement of light, upon an improved 
 plan. Messrs. Grunow, scientific artists of this city, 
 undertook to construct this apparatus, and have done so 
 to my entire satisfaction. This apparatus I shall describe 
 elsewhere its results only are interesting here. By its 
 means I have brought the Petroleum light into rigid com- 
 parison with the most important means of artificial il- 
 lumination. Let us briefly recapitulate the results of 
 these 
 
 Photometric Experiments. 
 
 The unit adopted for comparison of intensities of il- 
 lumination is Judd's Patent Sixes Sperm Candle. 
 
 The Sperm Oil used was from Edward Mott Robinson, 
 of New Bedford the best winter Sperm remaining fluid 
 at 32 Fah. The Colza Oil and Carcel's lamps were 
 furnished by Dardonville, lampist, Broadway, New York. 
 The Gas used was that of the New Haven Gas Light Co., 
 made from best Newcastle coal, and of fair average 
 quality. 
 
 The distance between the standard candle, and the il- 
 luminator sought to be determined, was constantly 150 
 inches the Photometer traversed the graduated bar in 
 such a manner as to read, at any point where equality of 
 
52 HISTORY OF PETROLEUM. 
 
 illumination was produced, the ratio between the two 
 lights. I quote only single examples of the average 
 results, and with as little detail as possible, but I should 
 state that the operation of the Photometer was so satis- 
 factory that we obtained constantly the same figures 
 when operating in the same way, evening after evening, 
 and the sensitiveness of the instrument was such that a 
 difference of one half inch in its position was immediately 
 detected in the comparative illumination of the two equal 
 discs of light in the dark chamber. This is, I believe, a 
 degree of accuracy not before obtained by a Photometer. 
 Table of illuminating power of various artificial lights 
 compared with Judd's patent candles as a unit. 
 
 Source of Light. Ratio to Candle. I. 
 
 Gas burning in Scotch fish-tail tips, 4 feet to the hour I 15.4 
 
 i< ^ a ..1:7 c " 
 
 " " Cornelius " " 6 " " 1:6.3 
 
 " " English Argand burner 10 " " I : 16. 
 
 Rock Oil, burning in I inch wick Camphene Lamp, consuming I 3-4 
 
 ounces of fluid to the hour 1:8 I 
 
 Carcel's Mechanical Lamp, burning best Sperm Oil, 2 ounces of fluid to 
 
 the hour, wick 7-8 of an inch. I : 7.5 
 
 Carcel's " " " " " " Colza Oil, 1:7.5 
 
 Camphene Lamp, (same size as Rock Oil above,) burning best Camphene, 
 
 4 fluid ounces per hour I : II. 
 
 " Diamond Light " by " Sylvic Oil," in I 1-2 inch wick, 4 ounces per 
 
 hour I :8.l 
 
 From this table it will be seen that the Rock Oil Lamp 
 was somewhat superior in illuminating power to Carcel's 
 Lamp of the same size, burning the most costly of all 
 oils. It was also equal to the a Diamond Light " from a 
 lamp of one half greater power, and consequently is su- 
 perior to it in the same ratio in lamps of equal power. 
 The camphene lamp appears to be about one-fifth superior 
 to it, but, on the other hand, the Rock Oil surpasses the 
 Camphene by more than one half in economy of consump- 
 tion, (i. e. y it does not consume one half so much fluid by 
 measure), and it burns more constantly. Compared with 
 
THE DISCOVERY OF THE VALUE OP PETROLEUM. 53 
 
 the Sylvic Oil and the Sperm, the Rock Oil gave on the 
 ground glass diaphragm, the whitest disc of illumination, 
 while in turn the Camphene was whiter than the Rock 
 Oil light. By the use of screens of different colored glass, 
 all inequalities of color were compensated in the use of 
 the photometer, so that the intensity of light could be 
 more accurately compared. Compared with Gas, the 
 Rock Oil gave more light than any burner used except 
 the costly Argand consuming ten feet of gas per hour. To 
 compare the cost of these several fluids with each other, 
 we know the price of the several articles, and this varies 
 very much in different places. Thus, gas in New Haven 
 costs $4 per 1,000 feet, and in New York $3.50 per 1,000, 
 in Philadelphia $2.00 per 1,000 and in Boston about the 
 same amount. 
 
 Such Sperm Oil as was used costs $2.50 per gallon, the 
 Colza about $2, the Sylvic Oil 50 cents, and the Camphene 
 68 cents no price has been fixed upon for the rectified 
 Rock Oil. 
 
 I cannot refrain from expressing my satisfaction at the 
 results of these photometric experiments, since they have 
 given the Oil of your Company a much higher value as 
 an illuminator than I had dared to hope. 
 
 Use of the Rock Oil as a Lubricator for Machinery. 
 
 A portion of the rectified oil was sent to Boston to be 
 tested upon a trial apparatus there, but I regret to say 
 that the results have not been communicated to me yet. 
 As this oil does not gum or become acid or rancid by ex- 
 posure, it possesses in that, as well as in its wonderful re- 
 sistance to extreme cold, important qualities for a lubri- 
 cator. 
 
 Conclusion. 
 
 In conclusion, gentlemen, it appears to me that there 
 is much ground for encouragement in the belief that your 
 
54 HISTORY OF PETROLEUM. 
 
 Company have in their possession a raw material from 
 which, by simple and not expensive process, they may 
 manufacture very valuable products. 
 
 It is worthy of note that my experiments prove that 
 nearly the whole of the raw product may be manufactured 
 without waste, and this solely by a well directed process 
 which is in practice one of the most simple of all chemi- 
 cal processes. 
 
 There are suggestions of a practical nature, as to the 
 economy of your manufacture, when you are ready to 
 begin operations, which I shall be happy to make, should 
 the company require it meanwhile, I remain, gentle- 
 men, 
 
 Your obedient servant, 
 
 B. SILLIMAN, JR., 
 Professor of Chemistry in Yale College. 
 
 NEW HAVEN, APRIL 16, 1855. 
 
FiARTiY AND INTEEESTING FACTS. 55 
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 
 EARLY AND INTERESTING FACTS. 
 
 WE now approach that interesting period in the his- 
 tory of Petroleum in America, which witnessed the 
 first movement toward a practical development of its 
 astounding resources. 
 
 The reader who has carefully scanned the report to 
 Mr. Bissell and others, submitted in the last chapter, will 
 have observed that, however it may have been with him- 
 self, the existence of Petroleum was not a novelty to 
 scientific minds. 
 
 While he will perceive with admiration, the complete- 
 ness and comprehensiveness with which every phase of 
 the subject was examined, and reflect with astonishment 
 upon the manner in which every mode of treatment was 
 foreshadowed, it cannot fail to strike the reader as re- 
 markable, that notwithstanding the value of this product 
 to our country, has been about nine hundred millions 
 of dollars ; notwithstanding, (thirteen years have elapsed 
 since the first well was sunk) and the total number of 
 wells since sunk to obtain it must reach twenty thousand, 
 its origin has not yet been absolutely determined. Indeed 
 very little more is known than was conjectured by the 
 rash pioneers, who only just failed of achieving the de- 
 velopment nearly a generation earlier, in the valleys of 
 the Ohio and Kanawha. We shall follow up the history 
 of that development, which has since proved to be of so 
 great importance to the prosperity of the country, and the 
 comfort and convenience of mankind. 
 
 Bearing in mind the frequent appearance of Petroleum 
 
56 HISTORY OF PETROLEUM. 
 
 in the salt wells of the Kanawha valley in Virginia, and 
 along the valley of the Ohio near the mouth of the Mus- 
 kingum, the reader will not be surprised to hear of its 
 appearance in the salt wells of Tarentum, on the Al- 
 legany river, twenty miles above Pittsburgh, Pa. But 
 its appearance at this place was singular, in so far that 
 instead of appearing where the wells were first sunk, 
 many of them were successfully pumped for brine for a 
 long time before the manifestations of oil disturbed opera- 
 tions. Mr. Kier, who together with his father was a large 
 owner in these salt works, states that one well on the 
 left bank of the river, after having been pumped con- 
 stantly for twenty years without a show of Petroleum, 
 passed to new owners, who rigged it with a new engine of 
 greater power, and in a few days it began to yield four or 
 five barrels per day. 
 
 The wells on the other side of the river owned by S. M. 
 Kier and his father, had for years previous yielded a small 
 quantity of Petroleum, which being suffered to waste for 
 a long time, spread itself over the surface of the old canal, 
 and became accidentally ignited, when it came so near 
 causing the destruction of a large amount of property, as 
 well as endangering human life, that it was afterwards 
 poured upon the ground. 
 
 About the year 1849, Mr. Kier, Jr., conceived the 
 thought of putting it up in bottles and selling it as a 
 specific remedy for all the ills of life. He opened an es- 
 tablishment in Pittsburgh, where it was put up in half 
 pint bottles, which were wrapped in the following descrip- 
 tive sheet, and sold for a half dollar apiece : 
 
 KIER'S 
 
 PETROLEUM, OB ROCK OIL, CELEBRATED FOR ITS WONDERFUL CURATIVE POWERS. 
 A NATURAL REMEDY ! PROCURED FROM A WELL IN ALLEGANY Co., PA., 
 FOUR HUNDRED FEET BELOW THE EARTH'S SURFACE. PUT UP AND SOLD BY 
 SAMUEL M. KIER, 363 LIBERTY STREET, PITTSBURGH, PENN'A. 
 
EARLY AND INTERESTING FACTS. 57 
 
 The healthful balm, from Nature's secret spring, 
 The bloom of health and life, to man will bring ; 
 As from her depths the magic liquid flows, 
 To calm our sufferings, and assuage our woes. 
 
 THE PETEOLEUM HAS BEEN FULLY TESTED ! It was placed before the public as 
 a REMEDY OF WONDERFUL EFFICACY. Every one not acquainted with its virtues, 
 doubted its healing properties. The cry of humbug was raised against it. It had 
 some friends those that were cured through its wonderful agency. These spoke out 
 in its favor. The lame, through its instrumentality were made to walk the blind, 
 to see. Those who had suffered for years under the torturing pains of RHEUMATISM, 
 GOUT AND NEURALGIA, were restored to health and usefulness. Several who were 
 blind, have been made to see, the evidence of which will be placed before you. If you 
 still have doubts, go and ask those who have been cured ! Some of them live in our 
 midst, and can answer for themselves. In writing about a medicine, we are aware 
 that we should write TRUTH that we should make no statements that cannot be 
 proved. We have the witnesses : crowds of them, who will testify in terms stronger 
 than we can write them, to the efficacy of this remedy ; who will testify that the Pe- 
 troleum has done for them what no medicine ever could before : cases that were pro- 
 nounced hopeless, and beyond the reach of remedial means; cases abandoned by 
 Physicians of unquestionable celebrity, have been made to exclaim, " THIS IS THE 
 MOST WONDERFUL REMEDY YET DISCOVERED !" We will lay before you the cer- 
 tificates of some of the most remarkable cases : to give them all, would require more 
 space than would be allowed by this circular. Since the introduction of the Petro- 
 leum, many Physicians have been convinced of its efficacy, and now recommend it in 
 their practice ; and we have no doubt that it will stand at the head of the list of 
 valuable Remedies. If the Physicians do not recommend it the people will have it 
 of themselves ; for its transcendent power to heal WILL and MUST become known and 
 appreciated; when the voices of the cured speak out; when the cures themselves stand 
 out in bold relief, and when he who for years has suffered with the tortures and 
 pangs of an immedicable legion, that has been shortening his days and hastening him 
 " to the narrow house appointed for all the living," when he speaks out in its praise, 
 who will doubt it ? The Petroleum is a Natural Remedy ; it is put up as it flows 
 from the bosom of the earth, without anything being added to or taken from it. 
 
 It gets its ingredients from the beds of substances which it passes over in its secret 
 channel. They are blended together in such a form as to defy all human competition. 
 The Petroleum, in this respect, is like Mineral Water, whose virtues in most chronic 
 diseases, are acknowledged, not only by Physicians, but by the community at large. 
 These singular fluids flowing out of the earth, impregnated with medicinal substances 
 of different properties, and holding them in such complete solution as to require the 
 aid of Chemistry in order to detect them, bear ample proof to the fact that they are 
 compounded by the master hand of Nature, for the alleviation of human suffering 
 and disease. If Petroleum is medicine at all, it is a good one, for Nature never half 
 does her work; and that it is a medicine of unequalled power we have the most abun- 
 dant testimony. It will be used when many of the new remedies now in vogue will 
 have been forgotten forever. It will continue to be used and applied as a Remedy 
 as long as man continues to be afflicted with disease. That it will cure every disease 
 to which we are liable, we do not pretend ; but that it will cure a great many diseases 
 hitherto incurable, is a fact which is proven by the evidence in its favor. Its dis- 
 covery is a new era in medicine, and will inure to the health and happiness of man. 
 
 All of which was followed by about a hundred testi- 
 
58 HISTORY OF PETROLEUM. 
 
 monials of wonderful cures of hopelessly incurable dis- 
 eases. 
 
 In fact, after the manner of patent medicines in our own 
 day, it was declared perfectly capable of doing or undoing 
 whatsoever anybody could wish done or undone. It was 
 trundled around the country by agents who traveled in 
 vehicles decorated in gilt, with pictures of the good Sa- 
 maritan ministering to a sufferer, writhing in inhuman 
 contortions under a palm tree. 
 
 Although the oil cost him next to nothing, as it was 
 obtained from his own wells which were pumped for salt, 
 and for a long time he could not dispose of even the whole 
 of the two or three barrels a day produced, yet the ex- 
 pense of introducing it as a medicine in this way con- 
 sumed the profits. As the stuff, however, possessed 
 considerable medicinal virtue, the demand continued to 
 increase until quite a valuable trade was established, 
 when he withdrew his agents and furnished it exclusively 
 through the drug stores. 
 
 This at first left quite a quantity on hand, for his sales 
 sensibly fell off for a while, after the agents were with- 
 drawn in 1852, and having previously burned the crude 
 oils at the wells, it occurred to him that he might utilize 
 this surplus if he could Only devise some way of render- 
 ing it less offensive, in the way of smoke and odor. 
 
 The most obvious suggestion was to distil it. This he 
 accomplished by fitting a caldron kettle with a cover and 
 a worm. The first result was a dark distillate, little 
 better than the crude itself; but after he learned to manage 
 his fires so as not to send it over too rapidly, he produced 
 by twice distilling, an article about the color of clear cider, 
 which, like all distillates, had an odor infinitely more 
 offensive than the crude Petroleum, and as he knew noth- 
 ing of treating it with acids, as is done at the present 
 time as indeed was extensively done very shortly after 
 
EARLY AND INTERESTING FACTS. 59 
 
 that time with coal oil he seemed to be progressing very 
 slowly toward the production of an illuminator. 
 
 After some improvement on the camphene lamp, how- 
 ever, he perceived with joy that his distillate would 
 burn without smoking, provided the flame was kept low 
 enough and the lamp left perfectly quiet. From this rude 
 beginning, he went on improving both the quality of his 
 fluid and the adaptability of his lamp, thus manufacturing 
 and selling for a dollar and a half a gallon all the Petro- 
 leum he could not dispose of as a medicine, for burning, 
 till at last by the introduction of the " Virna burner" and 
 the treatment of his distillate with acids he had brought 
 the matter nearly to its present state of perfection, when 
 the first Petroleum well in Venango County broke his 
 monopoly, and put an end to the manufacture of coal oil 
 in the United States. 
 
 Up to the time when his first attempts to utilize Petro- 
 leum for a burning fluid, a very little of which had been 
 collected on Oil Creek by absorption in blankets, from 
 which it was wrung, amounting in all perhaps to a couple 
 of barrels per month, the principal part of which was 
 gathered from a spring which bubbled up in the middle 
 of the creek on the M'Clintock Farm, three miles above 
 Oil City. 
 
 Many writers have given very exaggerated accounts of 
 the quantity of oil exuding from these springs, and con- 
 vey to the reader the impression that the surface of the 
 creek was an unbroken sheet of Petroleum, while the 
 truth is, only in high water, when the freshets brought 
 down that which had collected in the bays, was it at all 
 noticeable. 
 
 The spring next in importance was near the northern 
 line of the county on the lands of Brewer, Watson & Co. 
 It was beside this spring the first artesian well was sunk 
 for Petroleum, and this also seems to have been the prin- 
 
60 HISTORY OF PETROLEUM. 
 
 cipal scene of development in early times, for here are 
 still to be traced many pits, cribbed with roughly hewn 
 timbers preserved beneath the accumulation of centuries. 
 The first written document looking to a mechanical 
 development is the following between J. D. Angier, still a 
 resident of Titusville, and the firm of Brewer, Watson & 
 Co., consisting of Ebenezer Brewer and James Rynd, of 
 Pittsburgh, and Jonathan Watson, Rexford Pierce and 
 Elijah Newberry of Titusville, associated in an extensive 
 lumbering business on Oil Creek : 
 
 The Agreement. 
 
 "Agreed this fourth day of July, A. D. 1853, with J. 
 D. Angier of Cherrytree Township, in the county of 
 Venango, Pa., that he shall repair up and keep in order 
 the old oil spring on land in said Cherrytree Township, 
 or dig and make new springs, and the expenses to be 
 deducted out of the proceeds of the oil, and the balance, 
 if any, to be equally divided, the one half to J. D. Angier 
 and the other half to Brewer, Watson & Co., for the full 
 term of five years from this date. If profitable." 
 
 f BREWER, WATSON & Co. 
 \ J. D. ANGIER. 
 
 Following out the spirit of his agreement, Mr. Angier 
 proceeded at once to erect some slight works for collect- 
 ing the oil. A few rude trenches were dug, centering in 
 a common basin from which the water was raised by a 
 pump, connected with the saw mill of Brewer, Watson & 
 Co., into a series of broad shallow troughs, shelving off to 
 the ground. Where the water passed from each trough 
 into the next, was rigged an ingenious little skimmer ad- * 
 justed just under the surface of the water, so as to col- 
 lect the oil. 
 
 The water passing under was again agitated by the fall 
 
EARLY AND INTERESTING FACTS. 61 
 
 which favored a further separation of the oil, which was 
 collected as before by the skimmer at the end of the 
 trough. In this manner three or four gallons a day were 
 collected, and even as high as six gallons, where the 
 ground had been recently agitated by digging, but the ex- 
 pense consumed the profit, and after a few months, the 
 experiment was suffered to drop. 
 
 Mr. Angier describes a remarkable phenomenon ob- 
 served in this method of obtaining Petroleum. While 
 digging in the gravelly clay, three or four feet beneath 
 the surface, the workmen frequently struck "pockets" of 
 oil often containing a quart. 
 
 In the summer of the year 1854, Dr. F. B. Brewer, 
 whose father was at the head of the firm of Brewer, Wat- 
 son & Co., visited relatives at Hanover, New Hampshire, 
 and carried a bottle of Petroleum to Professor Crosby, of 
 Dartmouth College, where he had graduated some ten 
 years before. 
 
 A few weeks later George H. Bissell, a native of the 
 town and a graduate of the same College, but then prac- 
 ticing law in New York city, while on a visit to his 
 mother called to spend an evening with his old tutor, 
 Prof. Crosby, and was shown the Petroleum, upon the 
 wonderful properties of which the Professor expatiated 
 with great enthusiasm. 
 
 Coal oil was then just being introduced in the eastern 
 states for illuminating and lubricating, and the similarity 
 of the products, naturally suggested the question why 
 Petroleum might not be used for the same purpose. Of 
 Mr. Kier's attempts in that direction, nothing was of 
 course known. They were upon too limited a scale to 
 attract attention. The only doubt was as to the supply ; 
 and that was of course a serious doubt. 
 
 Coal oil was selling for a dollar a gallon, and from the 
 glowing description, which had been given of the spring 
 
62 HISTORY OF PETROLEUM. 
 
 by Dr. Brewer, it seemed reasonable to hope that many 
 thousand gallons might be collected annually. 
 
 Professor Crosby had a son, who was ready for any en- 
 terprise that promised a chance of making money. He 
 seems to have been persuaded from the first, that the oil 
 spring was a humbug, but he had the penetration to see 
 that it was a humbug of the "taking " sort ; and dilating 
 on the representations of Dr. Brewer, he induced Mr. 
 Bissell, on certain conditions to pay the expenses of a 
 trip to Titusville, for the purpose of inspecting the spring. 
 The most obvious method of handling such a piece of 
 property for the purpose of making money, was to throw 
 it into a joint-stock company. 
 
 If he brought back a favorable report of the spring, 
 Mr. Bissell pledged himself to organize the company and 
 launch the enterprise on the New York stock market. 
 
 Mr. Bissell authorized him to propose to the firm of 
 Brewer, Watson & Co., the formation of a joint-stock 
 company, with a capital stock of $250,000, divided into 
 ten thousand shares of twenty-five dollars each Brewer, 
 Watson & Co., to receive one fifth of the whole stock ; 
 and five thousand dollars for the tract containing the oil 
 spring, to be paid out of the first money realized from the 
 sale of treasury stock, which was also to be one fifth of 
 the whole. Mr. Crosby was to take one fifth, and assume 
 one fifth of the expense of getting up the company, while 
 the other two fifths were to remunerate Mr. Bissell, and 
 his associate in Law, Mr. Eveleth, for the trouble of or- 
 ganization. 
 
 To this Dr. Brewer, as the agent of Brewer, Watson & 
 Co., replied in the following letter, a copy of which has 
 been preserved and is furnished by Dr. Brewer : 
 
 GENTLEMEN, 
 
 We have received through Mr. A. H. Crosby, your 
 
EAELY AND INTERESTING FACTS. 63 
 
 proposals to put in market in a joint-stock company, cer- 
 tain springs yielding a peculiar oil surpassing in value 
 any other oil now in use for burning, for lubricating 
 machinery, and as a medicinal agent. 
 
 The springs yielding this oil, are situated on Oil Creek 
 in Venango county, near the corner of Warren and Craw- 
 ford counties, and cover a large surface of territory. 
 
 The yield is abundant, and is believed to be inexhausti- 
 ble. We have some simple machinery constructed at an 
 expense of, say two hundred dollars, that yields on an 
 average to each spring worked three gallons per day, re- 
 quiring perhaps one day in a week the attention of one 
 man, which when estimated with regard to the percent- 
 age, will show as follows : 
 
 Capital invested $200, int., at 10 per cent.. ..$20 
 Two months of run $20 per month 40 
 
 Total. $60 
 
 The cost of raising 1.095 gallons of oil, worth here 
 seventy-five cents per gallon, making $821.25. Deduct- 
 ing expenses $60 leaves $761.25. 
 
 Now this is only one spring, and worked very imper- 
 fectly, but actually paying an interest on $10,000. 
 
 I make these figures as they are, and have been when- 
 ever the spring has been worked, and this is no fancy 
 thing for a stock, but an exceedingly large paying stock, 
 and one that with proper machinery would afford a much 
 larger percentage. 
 
 Now your proposition, as far as it goes, is satisfactory ; 
 but it does not go far enough to guarantee to us a certain 
 quid pro quo for what we have paying us now. And in 
 asking us who will represent only one fifth of the com- 
 pany to furnish the actual capital gratuitously, to the 
 other four fifths, for what we expect to realize OR one 
 
64 HISTORY OF PETROLEUM. 
 
 fifth, is not perhaps asking too much, but it would in our 
 opinion be granting too much. 
 
 There are other parties in Pittsburgh who were very so- 
 licitous to put the thing in market a year ago by purchas- 
 ing our interest, but we prefer the plan you suggest if you 
 will warrant us a certain amount for our premises ; and 
 we will propose as follows : Pay to Brewer, Watson & Co. 
 $5,000, to be reimbursed to the stock company from the 
 first sale of stock, or as you may deem proper in any way, 
 and we will assign or deed to the company, the right to go 
 on and erect such machinery as the company may think 
 proper, to procure oil on a certain one hundred acres of 
 land known here aS the Willard Farm, and embracing 
 most of the oil territory as yet discovered, and further, all 
 springs on our other lands adjoining, not interfering with 
 our lumbering and farming interests. 
 
 This will give us an equivalent, or partially so, for what 
 we furnish the company ; and we wish the company to pay 
 from the sale of stock its current expenses, whatever they 
 may be, and by sale of stock to provide for a dividend, if 
 thought best such stock to have preference over all other 
 except for the reimbursement of the purchase money. 
 The other stock should be sold as you propose. These, gen- 
 tlemen, are our views, hastily thrown together. If the 
 general outlines meet your favor the minutia can be ar- 
 ranged with you in New York." 
 
 After spending a few weeks with Dr. Brewer, Mr. Crosby 
 hurried back to Hanover to report, but finding that Mr. 
 Bissell had returned to New York he forwarded the letter, 
 of which the above is a copy, to Mr. Eveleth, who was in 
 Maine, and apparently not comprehending its terms he 
 hastened after Mr. Bissell, and reported his proposition ac- 
 cepted. Mr. Bissell announced himself satisfied, and at 
 once began the preliminary arrangement for organizing the 
 
EARLY AND INTERESTING FACTS. 65 
 
 company. In a gush of innocent satisfaction with the 
 success of his negotiations Mr. Crosby telegraphed to Dr. 
 Brewer that his proposition was accepted. He returned 
 again to New Hampshire, and a few days later he wrote 
 the following : 
 
 HANOVER, N. H., September 11, 1854. 
 MY DEAR DOCTOR, 
 
 I intended to have written you again before leaving the 
 city, but as I was very busy, and as the main question 
 was settled by my telegram of the Monday previous, I 
 concluded to wait until my return home. 
 
 I cannot now tell you exactly when we shall be ready to 
 meet you in New York, but will write next Monday again, 
 and shall then be able to tell you when you had better 
 start. 
 
 The oil I suppose you can take with you to Erie, and 
 ship it so that it will be in New York nearly as soon as 
 you are, and that will be in sufficient season to offer it for 
 exhibition, as we shall then have circulars, stock-books, 
 and everything else ready to issue to a gullible public." 
 
 But this gulling of the public, is not an enterprise of 
 unmitigated interest with men who have everything to 
 gain, and Eveleth & Bissell having considerable to lose, 
 objected to this scheme in so far that ten days later this 
 embryo broker, curbing his wild ambition to surge into 
 the stock exchange, and get up a panic with his " fancy," 
 writes Dr. Brewer to the effect that after a " long talk " 
 with Eveleth and Bissell it was decided to " put the thing 
 through by daylight." 
 
 Thus vanished his bright dream of oil spring " fancy" 
 at a premium of five hundred per cent., and his enthusi- 
 asm thenceforward continued to wane. 
 
 Shortly afterward, l)r. Brewer, empowered as the attor- 
 5 
 
66 HISTOKY OF PETROLEUM. 
 
 ney of the lumbering firm, visited New York city to ratify 
 the terms of sale and contract, but the letter which Crosby 
 had forwarded to Mr. Eveleth having been lost in the 
 mails, the result was a general misunderstanding. 
 
 Eveleth & Bissell suspecting that Crosby had intention- 
 ally deceived them which was surely not the case now 
 refused to credit his statements as to the value of the 
 springs, dismissed Dr. Brewer, and peremptorily dropped 
 the whole matter. But they had already incurred obli- 
 gations to the extent of several hundred dollars for seals, 
 certificates of stock, stock books, etc. On the eve of his 
 departure for Titus ville, they sent a line to his hotel, say- 
 ing they would reconsider the matter, and inviting him 
 to call. He did so, and an arrangement was effected on 
 substantially the same basis as before proposed; but 
 Crosby, who was unable to meet his portion of the 
 expenses, was left entirely out of the bargain. The agree- 
 ment to sell ratified, for their better information, it was 
 decided that one of them should visit the locality at once, 
 and examine the spring, and bring away a draft from 
 which a map could be made. 
 
 The oil which had been sent on to Mr. Bissell was dis- 
 tributed for examination among several prominent chem- 
 ists, and a week or two later he wrote the following letter, 
 which may convey some idea of what it cost, both in time 
 and money, to bring about the organization of the com- 
 pany and to procure the analysis of the Petroleum, which 
 must be regarded as the most important step in all these 
 negotiations, if we accept only the birth of the great fact 
 which made development possible. Messrs. Eveleth & 
 Bissell were young men, and though possessed of consi- 
 derable means, did not rank among the "heavy" of New 
 York, and the whole expense of the organization and the 
 analysis was advanced by them in one of the most strin- 
 gent seasons that has ever marked the financial history 
 
EARLY AND INTERESTING FACTS. 67 
 
 of our country. It was done, too, at a sacrifice of personal 
 convenience, which could only have been prompted by an 
 earnest faith in the ultimate success of their enterprise 
 but the letter: 
 
 NEW YORK, Nov. 6, 1854. 
 F. B. BREWER, ESQ. : 
 
 Dear Sir: We have had to encounter many obsta- 
 cles in the way of organizing our joint-stock company, 
 and shall be unable to get out our papers at the time ori- 
 ginally proposed. 
 
 Mr. Eveleth will go on at the earliest possible period, 
 and will then be prepared to arrange everything to our 
 mutual satisfaction. I do not think, however, that it will 
 be possible for Mr. Eveleth to arrive in Titusville before 
 the 18th or 20th inst. 
 
 We have obtained our stock-books, certificates of stock, 
 signs, &c., &c., and have done everything to insure success 
 when we fairly get under way. We have forwarded seve- 
 ral gallons of the oil to Mr. Atwood of Boston, an eminent 
 chemist, and his report of the qualities of the oil and the 
 uses to which it may be applied are very favorable. Pro- 
 fessor Silliman of Yale College is giving it a thorough 
 analysis, and he informs us that so far as he has yet tested 
 it, he is of opinion that it contains a large proportion of 
 benzole and naphtha, and that it will be found more valu- 
 able for purposes of application to the arts than as a me- 
 dicinal, burning or lubricating fluid. 
 
 Our* expense of a thorough analysis will be very heavy; 
 but we think the money will be well spent. We send 
 you a proof-sheet of our certificate of stock. The book 
 will be printed of course on bank-note paper. 
 
 Let us hear from you at your earliest convenience, and 
 believe us, Very truly yours, 
 
 EVELETH & BISSELL. 
 
68 HISTORY OF PETROLEUM. 
 
 The whole cost of the analysis, including the photome- 
 trical comparison, for which a new and improved instru- 
 ment was especially provided, was between eleven and 
 twelve hundred dollars, every cent of which was advanced 
 by these young men. 
 
 The above letter is the first that bears the seal of The 
 Pennsylvania Eock Oil Company; but as the company 
 came not into legal existence till nearly two months later, 
 it was probably applied in obedience to a whim, or per- 
 haps to give their correspondent an idea of its impression. 
 
KEAL ESTATE TRANSACTIONS ON OIL CREEK. 69 
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 
 REAL ESTATE TRANSACTIONS ON OIL CREEK. 
 
 rPHE first deed from Brewer, Watson & Co., bears date 
 four days later, and conveyed in fee simple to George H. 
 Bissell and Jonathan G. Eveleth, of New York city, one 
 hundred and five acres of land in Cherrytree Township, 
 Venango county, Pennsylvania, embracing the island at 
 the junction of Pine Creek and Oil Creek, on which a 
 part of the works of the lumbering firm were situated. It 
 was on this island that Mr. Angier's trenches were dug, 
 and the first artesian well bored for Petroleum five years 
 afterwards. The consideration for the property mentioned 
 in the deed was twenty-five thousand dollars, though the 
 real consideration was but five thousand. It was thought 
 that if the consideration should appear to be such an in- 
 significant fraction of the capital stock it would be more 
 difficult to dispose of the shares, and therefore, as is 
 usually done in the formation of joint stock companies, 
 the land was put in at a figure far above its cost. The 
 deed, though dated on the 10th of November, was not 
 formally executed till the first of January following, for 
 the reason that Messrs. Eveleth and Bissell had opened 
 negotiations with a party of gentlemen in New Haven, 
 under whose notice the matter had been brought by Prof. 
 Silliman, who evinced an inclination to subscribe for a 
 large portion of the stock, and in case they did, it was 
 proposed to place one or more of their number on the 
 board of directors, and have the property conveyed 
 directly from Brewer, Watson and Co., to The Pennsyl- 
 vania Rock Oil Company. But this failing, Eveleth and 
 Bissell gave their joint and several notes for the purchase 
 
70 HISTOEY OP PETROLEUM. 
 
 money, save five hundred dollars paid in cash, and on the 
 first day of January the deed was executed by the mem- 
 bers of the firm living in Titusville, and four days after- 
 wards by the remaining members in Pittsburgh. It was 
 asserted in a paper on this subject which appeared in the 
 Atlantic Monthly y for 1869, that Dr. Brewer never received 
 pay for his land, which is quite untrue ; for though Dr. 
 Brewer never had anything to do with the land except in 
 the capacity of agent for his father and the other mem- 
 bers of the firm, the notes he received were certainly 
 paid for; they were all found cancelled, and with pay- 
 ment indorsed, among papers submitted by Mr. Bissell. 
 This may seem a matter of trifling interest in the history 
 of the vast industry born of these transactions, but as 
 well as being a piece of personal injustice, it is a palpable 
 absurdity, for Mr. Bissell afterwards acquired, and per- 
 haps still retains, an immense amount of property in the 
 county, that would have been liable for those debts. 
 
 On the 30th of December, 1854, the folio wing certificate 
 of incorporation was filed, as by law required, with the 
 Recorder of the city of New York, and also at Albany 
 with the Secretary of State : 
 
 ( " Certificate of Incorporation of the 
 \ Pennsylvania Rock Oil Company. 
 
 f STATE OF NEW YORK, 
 
 ( CITY AND COUNTY OF NEW YORK, ss. 
 
 Be it known that we, the undersigned, do hereby 
 associate ourselves as a body politic and corporate, pur- 
 suant to the N. Y. Revised Statutes, 4th edition, vol. 1st, 
 Chap. 18th, Art. 2d, and also Laws of New York, 1853, 
 chap. 333, in relation to the formation and management, 
 powers and responsibilities of corporations. 
 
 And the following are the articles of our agreement 
 and association : 
 
REAL ESTATE TRANSACTIONS ON OIL CREEK. 71 
 
 AKT. 1. The na,me of the corporation sJiall be the Penn- 
 sylvania Rock Oil Company. 
 
 ART. 2. The objects for which said Company is formed, 
 are to raise, procure, manufacture and sell Rock Oil. 
 
 ART. 3. The capital stock of the said Company shall be 
 two hundred and fifty thousand dollars, and shall be 
 divided into ten thousand shares of twenty-five dollars 
 each. 
 
 ART. 4. The business of said Company shall Commence 
 on the 1st day of January, 1855, and continue fifty years, 
 
 ART. 5. The business of said Company shall be under 
 the management of seven trustees, and the board of trus- 
 tees for the first year shall consist of the following persons, 
 viz : 
 
 George H. Bissell, of New York; J. G. Eveleth, of New 
 York ; Franklin Reed, of New York ; Francis B. Brewer, 
 of Titusville, Pennsylvania ; Anson Sheldon, of New Ha- 
 ven, Connecticut ; James H. Salisbury, of New York ; and 
 Dexter A. Hawkins, of New York. 
 
 ART. 6. The principal place of business shall be in the 
 city and county and State of New York. 
 
 In witness whereof we have hereunto set our hands and 
 affixed our seals, this thirtieth day of December, Anno 
 Domini, one thousand eight hundred and fifty-four.'* 
 
 Here follow the signatures of the above-mentioned seven 
 trustees, of whom, all but Dr. "Brewer, who represented the 
 stock of Brewer, Watson & Co., were mere lay-figures, oc- 
 cupying positions it was necessary for appearance' sake, 
 that some one should fill. Not more than one of them at 
 most, represented stock held in his own right, stock for 
 which he had paid. 
 
 On the 16th of January 1855, Eveleth Bissell conveyed 
 to the Trustees*of The Pennsylvania Rock Oil Company 
 all their right and title to the lands, but the deed fortu- 
 nately was not recorded, and the estate continued ostensi- 
 
72 HISTORY OF PETROLEUM. 
 
 bly in them till* the following autumn, when it was con- 
 veyed to other parties for the benefit of the new Pennsyl- 
 vania Rock. Oil Company. 
 
 After the organization of the Company in January, an 
 effort was made to get the stock taken at some price, but the 
 great stringency in the money market, not less than the un- 
 usual character of the enterprise, placed the stock in the 
 ever dangerous category of " fancies," and prevented its 
 being taken to any great extent in the city of New York. 
 
 Yet every effort was made ; and even Crosby, then en- 
 gaged as a reporter on one of the newspapers of the city, 
 became again an agent in the enterprise. He received a 
 few shares in acknowledgment of former services, and a 
 few more to engage some influence he was supposed to pos- 
 sess by having at all times the ear of the public ; but no 
 sooner had he got his couple of hundred shares transferred 
 to his own name on the books of the Company, than, fig- 
 uratively speaking, he dropped the ear of the public 
 which had never been a profitable ear to him and gave 
 his exclusive attention to the disposal of his own stock. 
 
 Selling stock may be pleasant enough when one has 
 stocks that sell, but unfortunately for his hopes, Mr. 
 Crosby's were not of that sort. 
 
 With him, as with others, the times were hard in fact, 
 as is usually the case with such jovial characters, the 
 times were especially hard in- his case. He was desperate, 
 but his desperation instead of quickening his wits seemed 
 rather to cloud them; and Dr. Brewer, who frequently 
 passed back and forth from Titusville to New York, and 
 who was cognizant of most of their transactions and diffi- 
 culties, relates how one day it happened to be a day when 
 the desperation of Mr. Crosby's prospects had sunk his 
 mercurial temperament to the very lowest notch he 
 chanced to learn that Messrs. Eveleth and Bissell were 
 about concluding a sale of several hundred shares of stock 
 
REAL ESTATE TRANSACTIONS ON OIL CREEK. 73 
 
 to a Connecticut gentleman at two dollars and-a-half per 
 share; and regarding the knowledge in the light of a 
 special providence a plank that would save him from 
 being engulfed in a sea -of troubles he reached out and 
 grasped it ; in other words he sought an interview with 
 their client, and offered him the remnant of his own stock 
 at fifty cents per share. The result was what any one 
 might have foreseen what Mr. Crosby himself could not 
 have failed to foresee, only that he was blinded by despera- 
 tion the man knowing neither of the parties and suspect- 
 ing a swindle, refused to take the stock from either, and 
 peremptorily dropped the transaction. 
 
 The consternation of Messrs. Eveleth and Bissell, who 
 had now expended seven or eight thousand dollars, 
 without receiving a cent, and had calculated on this sale 
 to help them out with their own obligations when they 
 learned of the failure of the transaction, and the aggra- 
 vating circumstances by which that failure was brought 
 about, may possibly be imagined but cannot be described. 
 
 But as it was useless to offer stock for sale, while Mr. 
 Crosby had any to sell, they found it expedient to buy for 
 themselves, the little remnant of stock he found it im- 
 possible to sell to any one else, and he readily parted 
 with it for such a meagre sum, as enabled him to reach the 
 paternal roof at Hanover ! And thus forever subsided, 
 that luminary to whom it pleased the writer of the paper 
 in the Atlantic, to gushingly ascribe the development of 
 Petroleum ! 
 
 The enterprise continued to hang fire. True it is, that 
 neither of the partners was able to give his exclusive at- 
 tention to its management. Their legal business claimed 
 their attention, and so far there was nothing in prospect 
 for the stock company, to encourage the thought of giving 
 up a thrifty legal business, to assume the more active 
 management thereof. But they engaged the services of 
 
74 HISTORY OF PETROLEUM. 
 
 Mr. Sheldon, a superannuated minister from Connecticut, 
 and kept him to fan the little flame of interest, mani- 
 fested by a circle of gentlemen in New Haven, who 
 eagerly watched the progress of Professor Silliman's 
 analysis. To say that he was not earnest in his work, 
 would be doing him injustice. He was enthusiastic. He 
 bought several hundred shares himself, for which he gave 
 a note that he had about as reasonable a hope of paying, 
 as the immortal Micawber, when he negotiated his paper 
 at the Canterbury Inn, and then, poor man, he became 
 not only an enthusiast but a fanatic. 
 
 Some two thousand shares were transferred to him to 
 sell, and the lowest price fixed. Dreaming the same fond 
 dreams of sudden riches that have ever been the fatality 
 of oil stocks, he fell frantically to work. The following 
 letter from him will throw some light on the way they 
 were obliged to dicker in the disposal of the stock : 
 
 NEW HAVEN, April llth, 1855. 
 My Dear Sir, 
 
 Professor Silliman has not yet completed his pho- 
 tometrical examination of the Rock oil, in comparison 
 with other burning fluids ; but will probably wind up his 
 analysis in all, this week. 
 
 The experiments last evening were favorable, and are 
 to be renewed again this evening, and continued until 
 the work is done. 
 
 The oil will not work well in the Carrol Mechanical 
 Lamp, but burns finely in the camphene lamps, and will 
 be tested in those now in general use. The value of the 
 oil depends mostly on its properties as a burning fluid. 
 
 In this respect the analysis, in its results, has been 
 highly satisfactory. Several gentlemen here have signi- 
 fied a desire to take some of the oil stocks, and pay for 
 the same in town lots, but I have not as yet been able to 
 
REAL ESTATE TRANSACTIONS ON OIL CREEK. 75 
 
 satisfy my own mind as to their value and hence have 
 not closed any negotiations. 
 
 This difficulty in disposing of stock was not occasioned 
 more by the complete prostration of the money market 
 than by the laws of the State of New York, which bore 
 heavily on such enterprises by rendering the shareholder 
 in a joint-stock company liable for its debts to the extent 
 of the par value of the stock he owned. 
 
 During the preceding year such enormous frauds had 
 been perpetrated by taking advantage of this law, that it 
 was even difficult to give away stocks of just as good cha- 
 racter as theirs. It was not considered the safest invest- 
 ment in the world for a man having no means of knowing 
 the financial condition of a company, except by tedious 
 investigations, which it was not possible for every one to 
 make, to take shares at two dollars whose par value was 
 twenty-five, when, for aught they knew, they might be 
 called upon any day by decree of court to pay the whole 
 twenty-five to the company's creditors. 
 
 With the opening of Spring, however, the partners took 
 the matter more actively in hand. About the middle of 
 April, Professor Silliman's report was handed in, and after 
 being printed, was distributed wherever it was desired to 
 obtain notice for the enterprise. On the llth of May, 
 writing from New Haven, their agent says: 
 
 " Silliman's report is now generally in the hands of the 
 monied men of this place, and the impression it has crea- 
 ted is decidedly favorable to the P. R. 0. Company. But 
 with the present state of feeling existing here in reference 
 to joint-stock companies formed under the laws of the 
 State of New York, and doing their business in the City 
 of New York, I do not think that any great amount of 
 stock will be taken by capitalists in this city. 
 
 The history of the New York and New Haven Railroad, 
 and also the Western Empire Company, is still remem- 
 
76 HISTORY OF PETROLEUM. 
 
 bered with sorrow. Many had been ruined by the frauds 
 committed by these companies, so that by them many 
 others had sustained losses." 
 
 Under the circumstances, it is not at all strange that 
 monied men should be cautious. 
 
 Some of the most prominent business men here have 
 signified a desire to take stock in the Company, provided 
 it be reorganized under the laws of Connecticut, and New 
 Haven made the place of its business operations. In this 
 state the property of the stockholder is not liable for the 
 debts of the Company." * * * * 
 
 From the above we may obtain a view of the situation 
 and the difficulties that trammeled them. To begin with, 
 they were not rich; and the cost of the land, and the 
 expense of the analysis including the photometrical 
 comparison about twelve hundred dollars together with 
 all the innumerable smaller expenses of organization, had 
 absorbed the greater part of their available means. The 
 previous Fall they had employed Mr. Angier to take 
 charge of the spring, and run the rude machinery for 
 pumping which he had himself invented and erected, and 
 now when the spring opened, he was engaged to resume 
 operations, while they hastened to do that which they 
 saw must plainly be done before they could succeed to 
 organize a new company under the laws of Connecticut. 
 This accomplished, a number of men promised to subscribe 
 liberally for the stock. 
 
 Therefore a new company was formed in New Haven 
 with a nominal capital of three hundred thousand dollars, 
 and preparations made to take the property of the old com- 
 pany at twenty-four thousand dollars, and raise by imme- 
 diate assessment a sufficient sum to undertake the devel- 
 opment of the property by trenching on a large scale. 
 
 The deed to the first company had never been recorded, 
 and it was thought the simplest course, to call in all the 
 
THE PENNSYLVANIA HOCK OIL COMPANY. 77 
 
 stock on every matter, since they owned the most of it 
 themselves, and the rest was held principally by their 
 agent, who, poor man, rejoiced at the thought of cancelling 
 his obligations by returning it and thus after extin- 
 guishing the former corporation, make the deed directly 
 to the new company. 
 
 When everything was ready for the transfer, Mr. Bis- 
 sell had occasion to visit Titusville, where he was de- 
 tained over Sunday. 
 
 A drizzling rain prevented his walking out. While 
 lounging in the parlor of the once miserable little inn of 
 the hamlet, he chanced to pick up a copy of the Penn- 
 sylvania Statutes, used by the Justice of the Peace, who 
 held court in the room, and therein, to his amazement, he 
 saw re-enacted the old English statutes of mortmain, de- 
 vised and enacted three hundred years before, to check 
 the absorption of the landed property of the realm, by 
 ecclesiastical institutions too easily manipulated by the 
 encroaching power at Rome. 
 
 The statutes there framed for a wise and beneficent 
 purpose were here perverted so as to render forfeit to the 
 state of Pennsylvania, the lands of any corporation or- 
 ganized beyond its borders! 
 
 He hastened at once to apprise the new company of 
 this fortunate discovery, and on the 20th of September, 
 1855, executed a deed to Asahel Pierpont and William A. 
 Ives, of New Haven, who gave a bond for the value of 
 the property and promptly leased it for ninety-nine years, 
 to the new company legally formed two days before, by 
 the publication of the following articles of association : 
 
 ARTICLES OF ASSOCIATION 
 
 OF THE PENNSYLVANIA ROCK OIL COMPANY. 
 
 Be it known that we the subscribers, do hereby asso- 
 ciate ourselves as a body politic, and corporate, pursuant 
 
78 HISTORY OF PETROLEUM. 
 
 to the provisions of Title 3d, Chapter 14th, of the Statute 
 laws of the state of Connecticut, entitled " Of Joint-stock 
 Corporations," and the act in addition thereto, and in al- 
 teration thereof, and the following are the articles of our 
 agreement and association. 
 
 ART. 1. The name of the corporation shall be the 
 Pennsylvania Rock Oil Company. 
 
 ART. 2. The capital stock of said corporation, shall 
 be three hundred thousand dollars, and the said capital 
 stock shall be divided into twelve thousand shares of 
 twenty-five dollars each. 
 
 ART. 3. The purposes for which the said corporation 
 is established, are the following, viz : to raise, procure, 
 manufacture and sell Rock Oil, coal, paints, salt or any 
 mineral or natural productions which may be found in 
 any springs or mines, or on any lands that may come 
 into the possession of said company by deed or lease, 
 and generally to perform all acts and transact any busi- 
 ness incidental to or that may be necessary in the prose- 
 cution of said business. 
 
 ART. 4. The statute aforesaid entitled "Of joint- 
 stock companies," is hereby particularly referred to, and 
 made part of these articles : and the corporation hereby 
 established, and organized under and pursuant to the 
 said statute shall have the powers, and shall proceed ac- 
 cording to the regulations described, and specified in said 
 statute. 
 
 ART. 5. Each subscriber to these articles, agrees to 
 take the number of shares annexed to his name of the 
 capital stock of said corporation, each share to be twenty- 
 five dollars as aforesaid. 
 
 ART. 6. The said corporation is established and located 
 in the city of New Haven, county of New Haven and 
 state of Connecticut. 
 
THE PENNSYLVANIA KOCK OIL COMPANY. 79 
 
 SUBSCRIBERS' NAMES. No . of Shares< 
 
 George H. Bissell , 2OO 
 
 J- G. Eveleth .....!.'..'."!!! 1200 
 
 Asahel Pierpont Iooo 
 
 Prof. B. Silliman, Jr ...I.!...!!".! 200 
 
 Henry L. Pierpont 2OO 
 
 James M. Townsend COQ 
 
 John Hannah je o 
 
 Ebenezer Brewer Ioo 
 
 William A. Ives 1000 
 
 Brewer, Watson & Co 1200 
 
 Edwin B. Bowditch 500 
 
 Eveleth& Bissell 4690 
 
 12,000 
 By order of the Board of Directors. 
 
 New Haven, September 1 8, 1855. 
 
 It will thus be seen that Eveleth and Bissell retained a 
 controlling interest in the affairs of the new company. 
 There were, indeed, in the published articles of association, 
 a number of other names on the list, among them Shel- 
 don's ; but they never took their stock, and it was retained 
 by the partners. The consideration for the land was 
 $24,000, and though retaining so much of the stock them- 
 selves they had now about received the amount of their 
 expenditure, and felt inclined to hold it and wait the re- 
 sult of further development of the property. 
 
 A small fund was raised for the treasury, and Mr. Pier- 
 pont, an eminent mechanic, was sent out tp examine the 
 spring with a view to. the improvement of Mr. Angier's 
 machinery. It was, however, though rude, perfectly 
 adapted to that mode of development, and no other had 
 been yet thought of. 
 
 Mr. Pierpont would have resumed more extensive ope- 
 rations, but the inharmony that forever afterwards charac- 
 terized the management of this company had already be- 
 gun to manifest itself, and it was found impossible to raise ' 
 more money for the treasury. 
 
 While Mr. Bissell and his partner held a majority of the 
 
80 HISTORY OF PETROLEUM. 
 
 shares they were crippled by the by-laws to which they 
 had subscribed, and which provided that a majority of the 
 board of directors should be chosen from the New Haven 
 stock-holders. The one thousand shares that Mr. Ives had 
 taken were paid for in local securities that were 'after- 
 wards proven to be worthless at the time, and out of the 
 vituperative charges that followed this discovery, sprang 
 the spirit of dissension that always thereafter divided their 
 counsels and circumscribed their usefulness. 
 
 In a letter to Mr. Bissell in October, Dr. Brewer, speak- 
 ing of a new trench, says: "Mr. Angier took six gallons 
 from it, though it had been gathered the day before," and 
 in a postscript to the same letter he adds, " As I have no 
 interest in the matter only the wish to see it go on to per- 
 fection, of course I can have no object in magnifying its 
 resources,, but from fifty to one hundred gallons per day 
 may be had by the judicious expenditure of five hundred 
 dollars." But the five hundred dollars were not forth- 
 coming. Even Mr. Angier's services were dispensed with. 
 
COMMENCEMENT OF DEVELOPMENTS ON OIL. CKEEK. 81 
 
 CHAPTER V. 
 
 COMMENCEMENT OF DEVELOPMENTS ON OIL CREEK. 
 
 ORE-OCCUPIED by a course of specious reasoning, it is 
 -- wonderful how completely the human mind may ignore 
 the inductive logic of facts. It is a lamentable, and ap- 
 parently, an incurable frailty which more than all other 
 human infirmities, retards the progress of knowledge. 
 It is the fault of an ancient system of speculative phi- 
 losophy which accepted the plausible as conclusive 
 which, taking anything for granted, rejected that as ex- 
 ceptional to the law which could not be warped to the 
 support of its theory a philosophy which, while it 
 encouraged reflection, forbade experiment, and thus left 
 much uncertain, that might have been rendered positive 
 by the simple turning over of a chip a philosophy which 
 received its death blow from Bacon, the experimentalist, 
 and Franklin, his follower. But enough of its dreamy 
 essence still lingers to tone the wild, progressive spirit 
 of the age. 
 
 Without bringing into question here the plausibility or 
 correctness of that theory which referred the origin of 
 Petroleum to coal, can we help but express our wonder at 
 the perversity of those minds, which, preoccupied with 
 such a conclusion, steadfastly overlooked the fact, that in 
 every important case to which they could refer, it had 
 been found very far beneath the coal measures? 
 
 While clinging to and reiterating a theory that was 
 perfectly indisputable, namely : that the oil was forced 
 to the surface by the expansibility of the gas with which 
 it is invariably accompanied, they overlooked the fact 
 
82 HISTORY OF PETROLEUM. 
 
 that the same gas should have prevented its ever settling 
 to such a depth should have forced it to the surface 
 when it was first expressed from the carboniferous stra- 
 tum instead of forcing it downward through impervious 
 underlayers. 
 
 With infinitesimal modifications the " coal theory " is 
 the one that has mostly obtained none are without some 
 insuperable objections ; and, considering the organic 
 nature of the fluid, it is in many respects exceedingly 
 plausible. 
 
 But the day may come when Geology will discover or 
 invent a "period of Petroleum plants," which, after 
 revising her nomenclature a little, she can fix somewhere 
 anterior to the " period of coal plants," and simplify the 
 theories of the origin of Petroleum, which are now too 
 numerous and ponderous to be mentioned. 
 
 Although a perusal of the report of the State Survey 
 would have shown them that the last traces of the coal 
 fields of Northwestern Pennsylvania faded out in a thin 
 stratum at the tops of the highest hills a few miles 
 farther down the creek, and that, geologically speaking, 
 they were a great many feet below the coal measures, 
 still the inhabitants of an insulated hamlet like Titus ville, 
 numbering less than three hundred souls, and offering 
 no facilities for extended investigations, were quite ex- 
 cusable for clinging to the supposition that the hills which 
 rose abruptly on either side of the little island on which 
 their famous oil spring was located, were filled with a 
 highly bituminous coal from which the Petroleum slowly 
 leaked into the valley of the Creek, and coming in contact 
 with water, was forced by specific gravity to the surface. 
 In the light of present events, this may seem sufficiently 
 absurd, but it was not without an appearance of great 
 plausibility to even reflecting minds in that day. 
 
 But a new day was dawning a day which witnessed 
 
COMMENCEMENT OF DEVELOPMENTS ON OIL CHEEK. 83 
 
 the birth of an idea that gave a new direction to human 
 thought, and developed an industry which will forever 
 mark an era in the progress of the world. 
 
 It was the idea of obtaining Petroleum by means of 
 artesian wells. It was a simple thought, but significant 
 a thought which, as Professor Silliman remarked, was 
 the one of all others most naturally suggested by the 
 various phenomena that had attended the discoveries of 
 Petroleum in the salines of the Muskingum and Kanawha, 
 described in a former chapter of this work the first idea 
 that should have been suggested to a mind cognizant of 
 all these circumstances; and yet, though himself editor-in- 
 chief of the periodical in which the circumstances were 
 described, he very candidly confessed, that throughout 
 the five months he was prosecuting the analysis, the 
 thought of artesian boring, never once occurred to him. 
 And yet of all in any way connected with these first 
 transactions, he was the only one of whom we had a per- 
 fectly reasonable right to expect such an idea; but Profes- 
 sor Silliman's interest in the matter terminated with the 
 conclusion of his elaborate analysis, for though he perfectly 
 comprehended its value, he never expected to see it 
 obtained in any great quantity, and the two hundred 
 shares of stock he held were given him in order to make 
 him president of the company, and thus secure the pres- 
 tige of a name renowned in science. 
 
 The idea came from, another quarter, and was suggested 
 by an incident as trifling as that which disclosed the law 
 of gravitation. While seeking shelter beneath the awning 
 of a Broadway drug-store, one scorching day in the sum- 
 mer of 1856, Mr. Bissell's eye fell upon a remarkable 
 show-bill lying beside a bottle of Kier's Petroleum in the 
 window. (See copy of this label on opposite page). 
 
 His attention was arrested by the singularity of display- 
 ing a four-hundred-dollar bank-note in such a place; but a 
 
84 HISTOEY OF PETROLEUM. 
 
 closer look disclosed to him the fact that it was only an 
 advertisement of a substance in which he was deeply 
 interested. He stepped in and requested permission to 
 examine it. The druggist took it from the window, and 
 having plenty of them, told him to keep it. For a mo- 
 ment he scanned it, scrutinizing the derricks and remark- 
 ing the depth from which the oil was drawn, till instantly, 
 like an inspiration it flashed upon him, that this was the 
 way their lands must be developed -by artesian wells. It 
 seems a very simple thought, but how astounding have been 
 its results. It has added more than a thousand million 
 of dollars to the material wealth of our country, and its 
 history is only just begun. Already it makes, after wheat 
 and cotton, our most valuable commodity of export, and 
 throughout the world, must furnish the means of subsis- 
 tence to more than half a million of people. Its influences 
 upon civilization are incalculable. Yet all this by the 
 birth of a new idea. Thus, step by step the world im- 
 proves, moving on toward knowledge. 
 
 The idea was simple at first it may almost seem to 
 have been self-evident, but reflect that the mind which 
 grasped it must also have taken in a better conception of 
 the philosophy of the existence of Petroleum than had any 
 other mind before. 
 
 It is not unlikely that the mind of this man may have 
 been prepared for the reception of such an idea, by long 
 reflection. It is quite likely that Newton had seen many 
 an apple fall before the one that gave him an idea, and it 
 is just as unlikely that he would have ever drawn the 
 conclusion from the incident if the necessity of the law of 
 gravitation had not previously occurred to his mind. 
 
 When Mr. Bissell disclosed his theory to his partner 
 that gentleman embraced it with enthusiasm, and they 
 promptly canvassed the practicability of putting it to the 
 test. 
 
COMMENCEMENT OF DEVELOPMENTS ON OIL CREEK. 85 
 
 Their first notion was to attempt the experiment them- 
 selves, but even if they could induce the company to help 
 them in their scheme they reflected that such a step would 
 necessitate the loss of their legal business, and even if it 
 should prove successful, which was all an uncertainty, 
 they never dreamed of flowing wells that would make 
 them millionaires in a day. 
 
 In this dilemma they imparted their convictions to Mr. 
 Havens, of the firm of Ly man & Havens real estate brokers 
 on Wall street, N. Y. a man who had been largely iden- 
 tified with the construction of the first railroads in West- 
 ern Pennsylvania, and he was so favorably impressed with 
 the theory that he signified a desire to take part in the 
 enterprise himself, and after a few days reflection, offered 
 them five hundred dollars to secure him a lease of the 
 property from The Pennsylvania Rock Oil Company. 
 But that was a company very much inclined to thwart 
 any plan proposed by the New York stock-holders, and 
 though several of the New Haven parties, prominent 
 among whom was Mr. Pierpont, readily accepted the new 
 idea, they having faith if the expression may be pardoned 
 and though after much delay the lease was finally 
 granted, it was not till Mr. Havens had been overwhelmed 
 in financial embarrassments which prevented his going 
 on with the contract. 
 
 By the terms of the contract he was to pay the Com- 
 pany twelve cents per gallon for all oil raised for fifteen 
 years, and a year was given him to begin operations. 
 
 When Eveleth and Bissell conveyed their title to The 
 Pennsylvania Rock Oil Company, they reserved to the 
 lumbering firm, the use of the mill race and the right of 
 way over the property, in consideration for which the Oil 
 Company received a lease to take "oil, salt, or paint" from 
 all other lands of the firm in Venango county for a term 
 of ninety-nine years. 
 
86 HISTORY OF PETROLEUM. 
 
 But the wives of the members of the firm had not joined 
 in the power of attorney by which the agent conveyed the 
 lease, and would be entitled to dower in the event of the 
 death of .their husbands. 
 
 The idea of artesian boring was too fascinating to be for- 
 gotten. It grew reasonable, upon reflection. It was sus- 
 tained by all the phenomena of Petroleum. It was 
 encouraged by every written account. It grew into such 
 favor with the New Haven stockholders that they formed 
 a scheme to monopolize its value. 
 
 Before the year allowed for Havens to begin operations 
 had nearly expired, Mr. Townsend, then President of the 
 Company, in lieu of Professor Silliman resigned, em- 
 ployed Mr. E. L. Drake, whom, in the darker days of its 
 prospects he had cajoled into purchasing two hundred dol- 
 lars' worth of his own stock for the ostensible purpose of 
 going to Titusville, to rectify the oversight mentioned in 
 the lease, though the real object was not less to have him 
 inspect the locality with a view to what followed, while it 
 might be done at the expense of the Company. 
 
 That this was their plan of operation, will be perfectly 
 plain to any one who follows the progress of the cunning 
 development of their scheme. 
 
 First, and foremost the legal hitch might just as easily 
 have been fixed up, by sending the documents by mail ; 
 for it was merely an oversight, and the women had no 
 objections to signing. Then Mr. Drake, though an in- 
 telligent gentleman, was the last one to choose for the per- 
 formance of legal business, as no occupation of his life 
 had prepared him for such duty ; besides in order to give 
 a pompous turn to the transaction in the eyes of the 
 backwoodsmen, the legal documents, together with several 
 letters were mailed to "Colonel E. L. Drake, care of Brewer, 
 Watson & Co.," before ever the man left New Haven. 
 
 The title was the pure invention of Mr. Townsend, 
 
COMMENCEMENT OF DEVELOPMENTS ON OIL CREEK. 87 
 
 who generously acknowledges his plus fraudum, and in 
 the oil region and elsewhere, he has ever since been 
 known as Colonel Drake. On his way to Titusville, 
 he stopped to examine the salt borings at % Syracuse, 
 New York, and about the middle of December, 1857, 
 was trundled into the little village of lumbermen, on 
 the wagon that brought the mail from Erie, Pennsyl- 
 vania. Prepared as they had been for his coming, he 
 was received with ostentatious hospitality. 
 
 Finishing that part of the legal business, which could 
 be accomplished in Titusville, he spent a few days ex- 
 amining the various indications of oil on the lands, and 
 then proceeded to Pittsburgh, to add the signatures of Mrs. 
 Brewer and Mrs. Rynd, to the instrument of conveyance, 
 and after visiting the wells at Tarentum, the picture of 
 which on Mr. Kier's advertisement had suggested the 
 idea of boring for oil, he hurried back to New Haven, en- 
 thusiastic to conclude the scheme. On the 30th of De- 
 cember, the three New Haven directors, constituting a 
 majority, executed a lease to Edwin E.Bowditch and E. L. 
 Drake, by the terms of which, they were to pay the 
 Pennsylvania Eock Oil Company, only Jive and a half 
 cents a gallon royalty for the oil raised for fifteen years. 
 At the annual meeting of the directors, eight days 
 later, this lease was brought up, and notwithstanding 
 the protest of the two other directors, George H. Bis- 
 sell and Jonathan Watson, representing a trifle over 
 two-thirds of the whole stock, it was ostentatiously 
 ratified. The thing however was so palpably unjust 
 that Mr. Bissell and Mr. Watson withdrew, protesting, 
 from the council. Perceiving that they had overdone the 
 matter, and might possibly lose all if they persisted, they 
 at once changed the consideration to one-eighth, in kind, 
 of all the "oil, salt or paint" .produced, and determined 
 to defy every protest against this. The deed was at once 
 
88 HISTORY OF PETROLEUM. 
 
 sent to Franklin and recorded. But refusing to concur 
 in terms more favorable than those granted in Havens' 
 lease, Mr. Bissell threatened to restrain despoliation of 
 the property by injunction, if they attempted operations. 
 Their position was quite untenable. They knew it, and 
 rather than undergo the scrutiny of a legal investigation, 
 and being determined not to let the prize slip from their 
 fingers, they yielded. A supplemental lease was recorded, 
 making the terms the same as in Havens' lease, but ex- 
 tending the time to forty-five years. To this Bissell and 
 Watson cheerfully agreed. 
 
 On the 23d of March they formed themselves into an 
 association under the title of "The Seneca Oil Company." 
 They had the grace to shun publicity, and the publication of 
 the articles of association, required by law, was effected in 
 an obscure little weekly, published in one of the villages 
 of New Haven county. 
 
 The basis of their association was the lease. Mr. 
 Drake appeared as the principal stockholder; but no 
 stock was ever issued. 
 
 It was in effect only a partnership, the members of 
 which sought protection against each other under the 
 laws for joint-stock companies. From the little influence 
 he possessed in the management of their affairs, it is evi- 
 dent that Drake could have furnished but little of the 
 capital. He was not in a situation to do so. For eight 
 or ten years previous he had been a conductor on the New 
 York and New Haven railroad, at a salary of seventy-five 
 dollars per month, and the little he had been able to save 
 from such a pittance, had been swept away by an unlucky 
 investment the year before. 
 
 He was engaged at a thousand dollars a year, and 
 about May, 1, 1858, arrived in Titusville with his family. 
 
 He had been provided by the company with a fund of 
 a thousand dollars on which to begin operations. 
 
COMMENCEMENT OF DEVELOPMENTS ON OIL CEEEK. 89 
 
 His first step after getting settled was to start up the 
 old works abandoned by The Pennsylvania Rock Oil Com- 
 pany, and then he cast about for a practical artesian 
 driller to sink a well. 
 
 On the 2d of July, 1858, he writes : 
 
 " Here I am digging along yet in search of oil and 
 other valuables. The month of May was a hard one, 
 and the first eleven days of June, but since then we have 
 had dry weather, so that I have got the start of the water, 
 and am now gathering about ten gallons of oil per day r 
 at the same time sinking a well for the purpose of taking 
 what oil there is on the island. 
 
 I have found some difficulty in getting a borer. All 
 were engaged on jobs that will last until fall. Yesterday 
 Dr. Brewer wrote me that he could get one for me at 
 Allegany, who will bore and tube for three dollars per 
 foot, which is the best offer I have had. I wrote the 
 Doctor to send him along at once. Yesterday I set some 
 men to opening a new spring, so that things begin to look 
 greasy." 
 
 In justice to his partners, it is due to say that Mr. 
 Drake was ^well supplied with money. In the oil 
 region there has been a general belief to the con- 
 trary, but this is entirely without foundation. In his 
 private affairs possibly, he was embarrassed, but in his 
 last quarterly statement to the company before striking 
 the oil, he reported a fund of two hundred and eighty 
 dollars on hand. 
 
 On the 16th of August, '58, he writes as follows: 
 
 "I received on Saturday at Erie, Aug. 14th, a pack- 
 age containing $472.67, from the Treasurer of the Seneca 
 Oil Company, and gave the Express Company my re- 
 ceipt. 
 
 " I shipped two barrels of oil to Mr. Pierpont at New 
 Haven, as he said he could make a market for it. 
 
90 HISTORY OF PETROLEUM. 
 
 "In sinking our well last week, we struck a large vein 
 of oil, but the same thrust of the spade opened a vein of 
 water that drove the men out of the well, and I shall not 
 try to dig by hand any more, as lam satisfied that boring 
 is the cheapest. I should have had my borer here, 
 but I wrote him on the 1st, I was riot ready, as I did not 
 know that you could raise the money, but money we 
 must have if we make anything. I have abandoned the 
 idea of boring and pumping by water, as I could not have 
 the exclusive right to the power, but must be subject to 
 the sawyer, the turner, and the blacksmith, so that after 
 consulting the best salt and oil men at Tarentum, I have 
 contracted for an engine to be ready for boring by the 
 first of September. 
 
 " I have got out the timber for my pump-house, and am 
 having it framed to-day. We shall get it up this week. I 
 sha.ll send in a statement of my stewardship on the first 
 of September, but if in the mean time the Company should 
 feel too poor to furnish a thousand dollars more by the 
 10th of September, please let me know at once. Money 
 is very scarce here. The lumbermen could not sell their 
 lumber for cash this summer, and the people all depend 
 upon the lumber trade." 
 
 The Company did not send him the thousand dollars as 
 soon as the 10th of September; his engine was not ready; 
 and when he finally was prepared to start, the driller had 
 taken another job and operations were suspended for the 
 winter. In February '59, Drake went to Tarentum and en- 
 gaged a driller to come up in April. But April came and 
 no driller appeared. The man having been able to get a 
 better job nearer home, affected to believe that Drake was 
 crazy a monomaniac on the subject of Petroleum. It 
 afforded him the simplest exit from his contract. 
 
 When Drake went down to look after him, Mr. Kier 
 recommended him to engage William Smith and his two 
 
COMMENCEMENT OF DEVELOPMENTS ON OIL CREEK. 91 
 
 sons who had done a great deal of work on his salt wells. 
 About the middle of June, provided with a complete set 
 of tools from Mr. Kier's shop, " Uncle Billy Smith" and 
 his two sons arrived in Titus ville. 
 
 Aggravating delays followed. In artesian boring it is 
 necessary to begin on the rock to drill. This had been 
 previously done by digging a common well-hole, and crib- 
 bing it up with timber. When the rock is within a few 
 feet of the surface it is still the cheapest and easiest 
 method, but in some localities to do so would be practi- 
 cally impossible. They started to dig a hole, but it so 
 persistently caved in and filled with water when they got 
 a few feet below the surface, that Drake determined to give 
 it up, and try an experiment that had suggested itself to 
 his mind. This was the driving of an iron tube through 
 the quicksands and clay to the rock. If this is exclusively 
 his own invention, which is probable, it is a pity he did not 
 procure a patent on it. The royalty would have afforded 
 .him at least a competency, though the driving pipe is not 
 so much in use now as formerly. 
 
 The operators in the oil region have had the benefit of 
 his invention without any return, unless indeed we except 
 the good feeling which prompted them to send him a 
 present of $4,200, when they heard he was sick and in 
 need. 
 
 The pipe was successfully driven to the rock thirty-six 
 feet and about the middle of August the drill was started. 
 The drillers averaged about three feet a day, making 
 slight indications all the way down. 
 
 Saturday afternoon, August 28th, 1859, as Mr. Smith 
 and his boys were about to quit for the day, the drill dropped 
 into one of those crevices, common alike in oil and salt 
 borings, a distance of about six inches, making the total 
 depth of the whole well 69 \ feet. They withdrew the tools, 
 and all went home till Monday morning. On Sunday after- 
 
92 HISTORY OF PETROLEUM. 
 
 noon, however, " Uncle Billy " went down to the well to 
 recon noiter, and peering in could see a fluid within eight or 
 ten feet of the surface. He plugged one end of a bit of a tin 
 rain-water spout, and let it down with a string. He drew 
 it up filled with Petroleum. 
 
 That night the news reached the village, and Drake, 
 when he came down the next morning, bright and early, 
 found the old man and his boys proudly guarding the spot, 
 with several barrels of Petroleum standing about. 
 
 The pump was at once adjusted, and the well com- 
 menced producing at the rate of about twenty-five barrels 
 a day. The news spread like lightning. The village was 
 wild with excitement; the country people round about 
 came pouring down to see the wonderful well. 
 
 Mr. Watson jumped on a horse and 'hurried straight- 
 way to secure a lease of the spring on the M'Clintock 
 farm, near the mouth of the creek. Mr. Bissell, who had 
 made arrangements to be informed of the result by tele- 
 graph, bought up all the Pennsylvania Rock Oil stock, it 
 was possible to get hold of, even securing much of that 
 owned in New Haven, and four days afterward was at 
 the well. His views of the matter had ever been the 
 broadest, as his transactions had been the boldest. 
 
 While others were seeking for surface indications before 
 leasing, he rushed forward, and secured farm after farm 
 down the creek and along the Allegany, where there were 
 no surface indications whatever. The result has proven 
 the wisdom of his conclusions. Drake unfortunately took 
 a narrower view of the matter. He pumped his well in 
 the complacent conviction, that he had tapped the mine ! 
 He was probably led into this supposition by what seemed 
 to him the remarkable incident of having struck a crevice. 
 No money was paid on most of the leases at first taken ; 
 a royalty of an eighth or a quarter, only being reserved 
 by the easy old farmers who owned the land, and without 
 
COMMENCEMENT OP DEVELOPMENTS ON OIL CREEK. 93 
 
 a cent he might have secured any quantity of territory. 
 He was repeatedly advised to do so, by shrewd men 
 who were themselves laying the foundation of fabulous 
 fortunes; but it was his fatal misfortune to disregard that 
 advice. "When several other wells had been struck, and 
 his eyes were opened to his mistake, it was too late the 
 golden opportunity had fled. 
 
 The well fell off slowly till toward the end of the year, 
 it produced only about fifteen barrels per day. It was 
 never purnped at all on Sundays, and averaging the pro- 
 duction at twenty barrels per day an average probably 
 much too high and granting a hundred and five work- 
 ing days shows the production for the year 1859, to have 
 been twenty-one hundred barrels. But there were many 
 days in succession when it was not pumped. At one 
 time Mr. Smith, approached one of the tanks with a 
 light when the gas caught fire, and the derrick, pump- 
 house, oil vats and all were completely consumed, and it 
 was nearly a week before operations could be resumed. 
 
 Probably two thousand barrels even would be twenty- 
 five per cent, above the actual production of tho four 
 months of that year, and yet the production is generally 
 quoted at 82,000 barrels. * 
 
 The second well was promptly started by Barnsdal, 
 Meade and Rouse, and at the depth of eighty feet, in 
 November it was pumped for two or three days, but 
 yielded in all less than five barrels of oil, till it was sunk 
 to about one hundred and sixty feet, when in February 
 1860, it was again started, and produced from forty to fifty 
 barrels per day. The third well was sunk by Mr. Angier 
 for Brewer, Watson & Co., in the spring of '60 on the M'Clin- 
 tock farm, and oil was struck about the middle of Decem- 
 ber following, but both these last wells had been put down 
 without the aid of an engine " stamped down with a spring 
 pole" they called it and after pumping by hand one day 
 
94 HISTORY OF PETROLEUM. 
 
 at the third well, producing twelve barrels of oil, so 
 much water came up, that operations were suspended till 
 an engine could be got down from Erie and set up, which 
 was not till the middle of January. Considering every- 
 thing, the difficulty of disposing of the oil was much less 
 than might have been expected. Kier contracted to take 
 part of it at fifty-six cents per gallon, and the rest was 
 disposed of through Scheifflin Brothers of New York. 
 And here ends the history of Petroleum developments on 
 Oil Creek prior to the year 1860. 
 
 NOTE. It is claimed by Peter Wilson and R. D. Fletcher, of Titusville, that the Com- 
 pany refused aid to Drake during the drilling of the well, and that they assisted him by 
 indorsing notes, enabling him to raise money, and thus supply the " sinews of war," 
 when the work might have been abandoned. 
 
DEVELOPMENTS ALONG OIL CREEK. 95 
 
 CHAPTER VI. 
 
 DEVELOPMENTS ALONG OIL CREEK. 
 
 A FTER oil was struck on the island in Oil Creek, at 
 -* the junction of Pine, the development spread rapidly 
 thence to its mouth, where now is situated the thriving 
 town of Oil City, containing about eight thousand inhabi- 
 tants, and fast growing into a solid, business centre. 
 
 With one stride, indeed, the whole territory was vir- 
 tually thrown open to development, for the very day that 
 Drake's well began to pump. Brewer, Watson and Co. 
 leased the Hamilton M'Clintock Farm, below Rouseville, 
 where the " surface indications " were even better than on 
 their own tract, which had passed entirely from their 
 control to The Pennsylvania Rock Oil Company. 
 Here they immediately began to sink a well the third 
 one ever sunk for oil and all the intermediate territory 
 for sixteen miles along the narrow valley of Oil Creek 
 was soon taken up. 
 
 At first, it is true, speculators looked for " surface indi- 
 cations" "pebble rock," oil springs," &c. and leased only 
 where they were found; but when a few older or better in- 
 formed minds took the initiative, others followed, and a few 
 months' experience proved that there was no reliance to 
 be placed in " surface indications," and that good wells 
 were as likely to be obtained half a mile away, as beneath 
 the most productive natural spring. 
 
 The second well, on the Watson flats, below Titus- 
 ville, was begun within a few days after the com- 
 pletion of the first, by Messrs. Barnsdall, Meade, Ab- 
 bott and Rouse. It was situated a little above, and 
 
96 HISTORY OF PETROLEUM. 
 
 almost within stone throw of the first, and though it was 
 tested in November, 1859, it had to be sunk deeper, and 
 was not finally completed until February of the following 
 year. Like the third, sunk by Mr. Angier, for Brewer, 
 Watson and Co., on the M'Clintock farm, this was also 
 put down by means of a spring pole ; and indeed the same 
 is true of several hundred of the first wells drilled along 
 the Creek ; nor was the system entirely abandoned before 
 1865, and to strong men, whose means were limited, it 
 afforded a ready mode of development that answered a 
 good purpose in opening up " shallow " territory ; but it 
 was a means totally inadequate when they began to sink 
 wells below four or five hundred feet. 
 
 In February, Captain Funk and also Messrs. Phillips & 
 Co., began operations on the Upper McElhenny Farm, 
 about a mile-and-a-half above Petroleum Centre. On this 
 farm in June, 1861, the first-flowing well was struck. In 
 more than one respect the well may be considered remark- 
 able it : being the FIRST drilled to the THIRD sand rock. 
 
 This was the "Fountain Well "on the upper McElhenny 
 or Funk Farm. To the astonishment of all the drillers in 
 the neighborhood it commenced flowing at the rate of 300 
 barrels a day. Such a prodigal supply of oil upset all cal- 
 culations, and it was confidently predicted that the supply 
 would soon stop. It was an " Oil Creek humbug," and 
 those who had direct interest in the property in the well 
 looked day after day to see the stream stop. But like the 
 old woman who sat down by the river-side to let the water 
 run itself out, that she might cross dry-shod, they waited 
 in vain. The oil continued flowing with little variation 
 for fifteen months, and then stopped (See chapter on 
 early-flowing wells.) 
 
 Long before the Fountain Well had given out, the won- 
 der in regard to it was overshadowed by a new sensation. 
 On the Tarr Farm, the "Phillips Well" burst forth with a 
 
DEVELOPMENTS ALONG OIL CREEK. 97 
 
 stream of three thousand barrels daily ! Not to be out- 
 done by the territory down the Creek, the Empire "Well, 
 in the immediate vicinity of the Fountain Well, suddenly 
 burst forth with its three thousand barrels daily, figures 
 which subsequent flowing wells vainly endeavored to equal. 
 
 Kier & Co., of Pittsburgh, began to develop the J. W. 
 McClintock Farm, on which the village of Petroleum Centre 
 now stands. Hibbard & Co. began on the John McClintock 
 Farm, Henry R. Eouse, S. Q. Brown, John Mitchell, and 
 others, on the Buchanan Farms; Crossley & Fletcher on the 
 Stoeppel Farm all before the first of February, 1860. 
 "The Crossley" was the third well completed; and upon the 
 flats below Titusville and up the valley of Pine Creek as 
 far as Enterprise, there were not less than twenty compa- 
 nies and individuals preparing to put down wells as soon 
 as the spring opened. 
 
 The number of farms between the island on which oil 
 was first struck and the mouth of Oil Creek, a distance of 
 between sixteen and eighteen miles, was forty-three, and 
 though most of the statistics of the early operations are 
 now hopelessly lost, from the few preserved we are able to 
 glean the following : 
 
 The Island tract, embracing one hundred and five acres, 
 originally owned by Brewer, Watson & Company, was 
 transferred to George H. Bissell and Jonathan G. Eveleth, 
 of New York, in 1854, and by them put into a joint stock 
 company called The Pennsylvania Rock Oil Company. In 
 1858 the property was leased to The Seneca Oil Company, 
 which put down the first well. 
 
 The lease ran for forty-five years, and as the decline in 
 the price of oil made it ruinous to pay the royalty of 
 twelve and a half cents per gallon, The Pennsylvania 
 Rock Oil Company came to an agreement by which The 
 Seneca Oil Company took a small portion of the land in 
 fee, and gave up the lease in the summer of 1860. 
 7 
 
98 HISTORY OF PETROLEUM. 
 
 After this was accomplished George H. Bissell purchased 
 the interest of The Pennsylvania Rock Oil Company, of 
 which he was himself principal shareholder, for fifty thou- 
 sand dollars, and that portion of the tract was thereafter 
 known as the Bissell Farm. 
 
 Mr. Bissell at once began actively to develop the farm, 
 putting down ten or twelve wells, six of which were pro- 
 ductive, and yielded for some time eighty barrels per day, 
 which was much better than any other territory in the 
 immediate vicinity. The farm a few years later was sold 
 to the Original Petroleum Company. 
 
 Next below this is the Griffin Farm, located on both 
 sides of Oil Creek, and containing the ruins of several 
 derricks. The property was pretty well developed after 
 passing into the hands of the New York and Pennsylvania 
 Petroleum Company, and below this is the Crossley Farm, 
 on the east side of the creek, which, though well devel- 
 oped, was never very productive territory ; and this again 
 is followed by the second Bissell Farm, owned by George 
 H. Bissell & Co., which, like all the rest of the territory 
 which came under the management of this energetic man, 
 was thoroughly and successfully developed. 
 
 Below the second Bissell Farm are the two Stackpole 
 Farms, partly covered by one of the large dams used in 
 the production of pond-freshets. 
 
 The upper Stackpole Farm passed into the possession of 
 the Northern Light Oil Company, and Brewer, Watson & 
 Co. ; the lower one contains ten wells and two abandoned 
 refineries. Then follows the Pott Farm, on which there 
 have been no producing wells, and next below is the 
 Shreve Farm, owned by the Great Western Consolidated 
 Oil Company, but like the farm above, it has not been pro- 
 ductive territory. 
 
 The Shreve farm is followed by the J. Stackpole Farm, 
 which came into the hands of Brewer, Watson and Co., 
 
DEVELOPMENTS ALONG THE CEEEK. 99 
 
 and was well developed by sub-lessees, but without re- 
 markable success. 
 
 The Flemming Farm, next below, owned by Mrs. 
 Fleraraing, was found to be, if not entirely unproductive, 
 at least unremunerative territory, and is now without any 
 evidences of development. 
 
 The same may be said of Henderson Farm, which is just 
 below it. 
 
 The Jones Farm, which is next in order, though 
 thoroughly tested by sinking nearly twenty wells, was 
 never proved productive territory, yet from surface in- 
 dications it was as promising as any farm along the 
 Creek. 
 
 The second Flemming Farm, a little more than four 
 miles below Titusville, is next after the Jones Farm, and 
 the beginning of better territory. The flats on this farm 
 were thoroughly tested, and several good wells obtained ; 
 one, a flowing well, was successfully operated for some 
 time, when the owner, hoping the more completely to 
 shut off the surface water and increase the flow of oil, 
 drew up the tubing to change the locality of the seed-bag ; 
 but after re-arrangirig it, from some unaccountable cause, 
 the well not only ceased to flow, but never again pro- 
 duced oil. 
 
 The Miller Farm, now a station on the Oil Creek R. R, 
 and formerly the scene of great enterprise on the part of 
 the Pit Hole and Miller Farm Transportation Company, 
 is the first below the Second Flemming Farm on the 
 Creek. 
 
 Though formerly excellent territory, having a great 
 number of good flowing and pumping wells, it now pro- 
 duces little or no oil, and owing to the improvements in 
 the manner of transporting oil by rail, the labor of three 
 or four men sufficing to fill a whole train of the modern 
 tank cars in a few hours, and the fact that many of the 
 
100 HISTORY OF PETROLEUM. 
 
 refineries once operated here, are now abandoned, the en- 
 terprise that once marked the place has almost entirely 
 subsided. 
 
 Its capacity of iron tankage is nearly two hundred and 
 fifty thousand barrels, being, except Oil City, the largest 
 pipe line station in the region. 
 
 From the Miller Farm to the mouth of the creek at Oil 
 City, the territory has been incomparably the best ever 
 discovered, producing up to 1868, probably two thirds of 
 all the oil ever brought to the surface. 
 
 The Shaffer Farm, which is next, though containing 
 but little more than fifty acres, was formerly one of the 
 moderate producing farms on the Creek. This farm, though 
 in the year 1864, containing less than a half dozen build- 
 ings, was for a time the terminus of the Oil Creek Rail- 
 road, and immediately became a shipping station of great 
 importance, for the oil was then shipped in barrels, and 
 not less than fifteen hundred teams were employed in 
 hauling it to the cars from the well, and, together with their 
 drivers, and other auxiliaries, these supported the innu- 
 merable stables, 'hotels and eating-houses, that sprang up 
 in a night like mushrooms. Though at one time the 
 village on Shaffer Farm, numbered over two thousand in- 
 habitants, there is hardly a house now remaining to 
 mark the scene of former activity. 
 
 When the road was extended, the buildings were taken 
 down and removed to the next station. 
 
 The Sanney Farm, which is the first after Shaffer, 
 though not unproductive, has not been remunerative ter- 
 ritory; and though once the seat of a number oi small 
 refineries, is now completely abandoned ; and the same 
 may be said of the Gregg farm which follows. 
 
 The Beaty Farm just below, lying at the mouth of 
 Hemlock Kun, has done better, and once contained a 
 number of good wells, several of which were up the run. 
 
DEVELOPMENTS ALONG TflE CREEK. 101 
 
 The Farrel Farm, though containing but thirty-six 
 acres, has been probably the most remunerative bit of 
 country property of its size in the whole oil regions. Its 
 original owner was James Farrel, but a part of his in- 
 terest was sold to the Commonwealth Oil Company. It 
 is situated on Bull Run, and the East side of Oil Creek. 
 The renowned Noble and Delamater well, which flowed 
 three thousand barrels of oil a day when first struck, 
 commenced in 1863, and continued to flow till 1865, and 
 is estimated to have produced upwards of three million 
 dollars worth of oil ; and another well the Craft, on the 
 same farm, produced over one hundred thousand barrels. 
 
 Besides these there were several other good wells on 
 the tract, but most of them are now producing little or 
 nothing. Opposite this, on the other side of the creek, is 
 the Foster farm, rendered scarcely less famous by the 
 great Sherman well, which began flowing in 1862, at the 
 rate of two thousand barrels per day, and for nearly two 
 years is said to have averaged nine hundred barrels per 
 day. It commenced to flow in May 1862, and ceased in 
 February 1864 ; but for a long time afterward, it was 
 successfully pumped. On the other side of the creek again, 
 bounded by both the Foster and Farrel farm, lies the 
 Caldwell farm. 
 
 The famous well of the same name, struck on this farm 
 in the spring of 1863, being found to have a subterranean 
 connection, with the Noble and Delamater well, the 
 owners of the later offered to buy it, and it was sold with 
 an acre and a half of land for the sum of $145.000. (See 
 sketch of Orange Noble.) 
 
 The upper McElhenny Farm, which is next below 
 these, was one of the first to be thoroughly developed, 
 and has always been one of the best producers. A great 
 number of wells were sunk on this farm, in the years 1860, 
 1861 and 1862, and though none of them were large 
 enough to be remarkable, nearly all were remunerative. 
 
102 JafSTORY^ OF PETROLEUM. 
 
 The Espy Farm adjoining, is remarkable for the old 
 Buckeye well, and has proved valuable territory. The 
 flats on this farm, were developed among the earliest, but 
 the up-lands tested several years later, were very produc- 
 tive. 
 
 The Benninghoff Farm, which lies between the two 
 McElhenny Farms on the creek, at the mouth of Pioneer 
 Kun, was at one time remarkable for the great number 
 of its flowing wells. 
 
 Most of the wells on this tract flowed, when first 
 struck, and though none of them were large, all were 
 lasting, and the territory very sure. 
 
 A number of joint-stock companies, were chartered 
 to work leases on this farm, for it was brought into market 
 at the period of the great excitement. 
 
 The lower McElhenny Farm, situated on both sides of 
 Oil Creek below the Benninghoff Farm, was one of the 
 earliest developed, and for many years continued to be 
 one of the most productive. 
 
 It was purchased, like the Upper McElhenny Farm, of 
 the original owner, by Hasson and M' Bride, and L. Halde- 
 man & Co. 
 
 The most remarkable wells on this farm were the Em- 
 pire and Crocker ; the former of which started off at two 
 thousand five hundred barrels a day, and after yielding an 
 average of two thousand barrels a day for nearly four 
 months, finally dropped off to three hundred, and then 
 ceased altogether. Among the other best wells on the 
 farm were the Burtis and the Davis. 
 
 The Boyd Farm, next below this, has singularly 
 enough proved very poor territory, though it is entirely 
 surrounded by that which is exceptionally good. It was 
 at one time the seat of several small refineries, all of 
 which have been abandoned. 
 
 The Stevenson Farm in this vicinity, but not reaching 
 
DEVELOPMENTS ALONG THE CEEEK. 103 
 
 to the Creek, was developed in 1865, and proved to be 
 valuable territory, though possessing no remarkable fea- 
 tures. 
 
 The James S. McCray Farm has been so exhaustively de- 
 scribed in another part of this work, that we pass it here 
 to notice the J. W. McClintock Farm, on which the once 
 flourishing city of Petroleum Centre is situated. 
 
 The farm contains two hundred and seven acres, and 
 was leased in November, 1836, by George H. Bissell and 
 Co., and in the following February put into a joint stock 
 Company, called the Central Petroleum Company of New 
 York. 
 
 It embraces, besides the land on which the ' town is 
 situated, the circular ravine to the left, called Wild-Cat 
 Hollow ; nearly every square rod of which has been per- 
 forated with a well hole. Not less than a hundred and 
 fifty wells have been drilled on this territory, and nearly 
 eighty per cent, of the whole number have been remune- 
 rative; and this was undoubtedly until the opening up of 
 the Parker's Landing field, which has been for the most 
 part very sure territory the best showing made by any 
 farm in the region. 
 
 The remarkable results shown by this farm are un- 
 doubtedly due quite as much to the excellency of . its 
 management, as to the superiority of the territory, and 
 stands a bright example of the result of the judicious and 
 economical management of an oil farm. Instead of giving 
 out leases at random, to parties willing to pay a large 
 bonus for the sake of getting leases on which to found 
 speculative joint stock companies, and then in all proba- 
 bility having enriched themselves by the sale of stock, 
 neglect the development of the land instead of pursuing 
 this course, so common in the oil region, they only gave 
 leases to actual operators, and at a uniform royalty of one 
 half the oil. 
 
104 HISTORY OF PETROLEUM. 
 
 In 1865 a bonus of one hundred thousand dollars and 
 "one half the oil" was offered for ten leases on the farm, 
 but promptly refused, and the result proved the wisdom 
 of the decision, for while the owners may not have 
 realized more than this, they have retained the unre- 
 stricted control of their -property. 
 
 Three million dollars worth of oil, or more, must have 
 been taken from this territory, and the revenue from 
 ground-rent, for building, must at one time have been very 
 great. The village retains of its former population only 
 about fifteen hundred, and as the farm is now exhausted, 
 beyond the hope of another excitement, must continue 
 to decay: 
 
 Scarcely less decided was the success that attended the 
 development of the Hyde and Egbert Farm, on the other 
 side of the creek along the foot of the McCray hill. It 
 was purchased in 1859, of the original owner, Davidson, 
 and soon after tested with fair results, but it was not 
 until 1863 that the flowing wells, which rendered this 
 territory the subject of such wild speculation, were struck. 
 
 The Maple Shade, and the renowned and singular 
 Coquette well are the most remarkable in the history of 
 this farm. 
 
 The first operations here were the least successful, and 
 thus it came to be looked upon as doubtful territory for 
 some time. 
 
 The Hayes farm below the Hyde, and Egbert is 
 situated on both sides of the creek, and though pretty 
 well developed, and always with fair success, it has never 
 been so well managed as many of the farms by which it is 
 surrounded. 
 
 On this farm was attempted the experiment of digging 
 a shaft five feet by seventeen, to the oil-bearing rock 
 known as the " third sand." The enterprise was under- 
 taken by the Petroleum Shaft and Mining Company, and 
 
DEVELOPMENTS ALONG THE CREEK. 105 
 
 the shaft was commenced in the rear of the Maple Shade, 
 near the line of the Hyde and Egbert farm. Though 
 unfortunately for the cause of science, the gas would 
 have rendered the enterprise impracticable, it was aban- 
 doned for want of means, when down less than a third 
 of the distance. 
 
 The Story Farm, better known as the Columbia Farm, 
 lies directly below the Hayes. It was bought in 1859, 
 by Pittsburgh parties, for thirty thousand dollars, and some 
 other contingent benefit, and shortly afterward, put into 
 the Columbia Oil Company, which has ever since owned 
 and managed it. It has been, all in all, the best man- 
 aged piece of oil territory in the region, and is still 
 paying large dividends. The sale has been the subject 
 of much litigation, and the Story family lately obtained 
 a judgment for about $20,000 against the property. 
 George H. Bissell, had determined to buy the farm, and 
 was willing to pay all the owner asked; but the old lady 
 refused to sign the conveyance. 
 
 Seeing that it would be for his interest to buy the wife's 
 good-will, he returned, decided to offer her a fair sum for 
 her contingent interest the bargain as far as the old 
 gentleman was concerned, was considered by both parties 
 as made but the agent of the others had been a few 
 hours ahead, and having the documents all ready for 
 signing, induced the woman to concur in the sale of a 
 property, that has been worth at least five millions of 
 dollars, by the promise of a new silk dress ! To any one 
 wishing a thorough knowledge of the profits, and risks 
 of the oil business, when judiciously and economically 
 managed, no better insight is afforded than by the study 
 of the exhaustive annual reports of this most excellent 
 company. 
 
 Next below, and on the opposite side of the creek, is 
 
106 HISTORY OF PETROLEUM. 
 
 the Tar farm, one of the very best on the creek, and re- 
 nowned for the Phillips and the Woodford wells, the first 
 of which, when struck, is said to have produced 3,000 bar- 
 rels per day, and the latter 1,000 barrels per day, though 
 in both cases it is probable the figures are too high. 
 
 They were situated within two rods of each other, and 
 the subterranean connection between their sources of sup- 
 ply, was so manifest that when the "Woodford" pumped, 
 the only remedy left the "Phillips" was to draw the tubing 
 and let the surface water down to shut off the oil from 
 both. 
 
 Enormous sums were offered by both owners, but as 
 either had it completely in his power to render the 
 property of the other worthless, neither was willing to 
 settle until both wells were nearly ruined by the surface 
 water, and the consequence has been that many smaller 
 wells than either, have yielded as much oil as both. 
 These famous wells are located on the bank of the creek 
 to the left (going down) of the railroad bridge, and still 
 pumping, they are a subject of interest to travelers, who 
 view them from the car windows. 
 
 THE BLOOD FARM was one of the earliest to be developed, 
 and therein may be said to have been its misfortune, for 
 in 1861, and 1862, when oil was almost valueless, often 
 selling, in bulk, as low as ten cents per barrel, and not un- 
 frequently suffered to run to waste as utterly worthless, 
 this farm produced more than all of the oil region to- 
 gether, and before the time of speculation and high prices 
 was exhausted, or nearly so, there were a great number 
 of good wells, many of them flowing, and one that flowed 
 twenty-five hundred barrels per day. Below this, at the 
 mouth of Cherry Tree Run, is the RYND FARM, which, 
 though now producing comparatively little, was once good 
 territory. Not less than a dozen different companies had 
 interests in this farm, and the whole flat has been perfo- 
 
DEVELOPMENTS ALONG THE CHEEK. 107 
 
 rated with holes, though it was rather uncertain territory. 
 The Widow McClintock's or Steele Farm, next below, has 
 also been good territory. The farm was the property of 
 the widow McClintock, who was herself burned to death 
 in 1863, while lighting the fire with oil, and left the farm, 
 together with all the accumulated money of two years' 
 production to her adopted son, John Steele. It has since 
 passed from his possession, and is now in the hands of a 
 company. Its production at present is very small. 
 
 The John McClintock Farm, below this, at the mouth of 
 Cherry Kun, commenced producing in 1860, and like those 
 immediately above it, produced at a time when oil was 
 worth least. 
 
 The number of wells sunk on this tract cannot now be 
 ascertained, but must have been very great. Though but 
 few of them were large enough to be singular, nearly all 
 were remunerative. 
 
 There were also several refineries on the farm at one 
 time, which are now abandoned. 
 
 The Buchanan Farm^ situated on either side of Cherry 
 Run, being mostly upland, neither of them were thor- 
 oughly developed until the speculative fever of 1864 and 
 '65 brought them into the market as the basis of the for- 
 mation of joint-stock companies, but the narrow flats along 
 Oil Creek had previously been tested with considerable 
 success. 
 
 The village of Rouseville, still a flourishing town, with 
 a population of nearly three thousand, is situated partly on 
 both of these farms. 
 
 Though both farms have been quite productive, and 
 have had several large wells, the percentage of dry holes 
 has been very great. 
 
 There were several smaller refineries on both those farms, 
 and the number of stock companies was beyond all belief. 
 
 The Ham. McClintock Farm, containing three hundred 
 
108 HISTORY OF PETROLEUM. 
 
 and fifty acres is situated at McClintock's Station on the 
 Oil Creek Kailroad, and lies on both sides of the stream. 
 It is one of the first farms that came into the market as 
 oil territory being in fact the second for here were 
 found the surface indications which for the first year or 
 two were thought by most operators necessary to warrant 
 the sinking of a well. 
 
 For some years before the idea of adopting artesian 
 boring in the development of Petroleum had dawned upon 
 the world, the owner, Hamilton M'Clintock, had collected 
 oil from a spring that bubbled up in the middle of the 
 creek, and around which he built a crib in order to pre- 
 vent the oil from being borne away on the current of the 
 water. By occasionally skimming the pool inside this 
 crib, and sometimes agitating the ground with a pick or 
 crowbar to the depth of a few inches, he collected several 
 barrels in the course of a year without giving himself 
 much trouble, and it was all disposed of with some profit 
 to the surrounding farmers, and was sent to Pittsburgh by 
 the lumbermen in the spring of the year. But though 
 fifty barrels might have been annually collected, it is 
 doubtful reports to the contrary notwithstanding if 
 ever more than five actually were. The third well to 
 produce oil on the creek was sunk in this crib for Brewer, 
 Watson and Co., by J. D. Angier. The town, which took 
 its name from the farm, and which was once a brisk, little 
 place, has been nearly obliterated. 
 
 The Clapp Farm, purchased of the original owner in 
 1859, by George H. Bissell and Arnold Plummer, was 
 thereafter at once thoroughly developed, and though there 
 was a large percentage of dry holes, the number of pay- 
 ing wells was also very great, and the fact that Mr. Bis- 
 sel was at the same time conducting the largest barrel 
 factory in the oil region, enabled him often to ship 
 his oil to market when others either sold it to speculators 
 
DEVELOPMENTS ALONG OIL CREEK. 109 
 
 for ten cents a barrel, or let it run to waste because they 
 could not afford to pay two, and two and a half dollars 
 apiece for barrels to ship it in. 
 
 The total daily product of all the wells in June, 1860, 
 was estimated at 200 barrels. By September, 1861, the 
 daily production had reached 700 barrels, and then com- 
 menced the flowing well period, with an addition to the 
 production of six or seven thousand barrels a day. The 
 thing was monstrous, and could not be endured ! The 
 price fell to twenty cents a barrel, then to fifteen, and then 
 to ten ! Coopers would sell barrels for cash only, and re- 
 fused to take their pay in oil, or in drafts on oil ship- 
 ments. Soon it was impossible to obtain barrels on any 
 terms, for all the coopers in the surrounding country could 
 not make them as fast as the Empire well could fill them. 
 Small-producing wells were forced to cease operations, 
 and scores became disheartened and abandoned their 
 wells. The production during the early part of 1863 
 was scarcely half that of the beginning of 1862, and that 
 of 1864 was still less. In May, 1865, the production had 
 declined to less than 4,000 barrels per day. 
 
 In the winter of 1864, and 1865, the "United States 
 well," at Pit Hole, was struck, and flowed, as estimated, 
 January 7, 1865, 650 barrels per day. By this well 
 came the famous Pit Hole excitement, which must ever 
 stand prominent in the history of the Oil Region of 
 Pennsylvania. Pit Hole City was commenced May 24, 1865, 
 and soon the town contained a population estimated at 
 8,000. (See the history of flowing wells.) 
 
 At one time Pit Hole City had fifty hotels; several of 
 them were palatial in size, and truly gorgeous in their 
 equipment. The cost of the Chase House, was over 
 $80,000; the cost of the Morey and Bonta Houses, equally 
 as large. It had miles of streets, lined with buildings, 
 including banking-offices, school-houses, churches, an 
 
110 HISTORY OF PETROLEUM. 
 
 opera house, and other appendages of a first-class modern 
 city. 
 
 Soon the production of oil at this point decreased to a 
 mere nominal figure ; fire swept away whole streets of 
 the town ; the signs of decay were evident. A general 
 collapse took place, and piece by piece Pit Hole City was 
 carted away and it is now but a mere " settlement " of a 
 few hundred inhabitants. 
 
 Commencing at Titusville in 1859, the tide of develop- 
 ment swept over the valley of Oil Creek, and along the 
 Allegany river, above and below Oil City, for a consider- 
 able distance, then Cherry Run in 1864 ; then came 
 Pit Hole Creek. Benninghoff and Pioneer Run the Woods 
 and Stevenson farms, on Oil Creek, in like succession, in 
 1865 and 1866. Tidioute and Triumph Hill, in 1867, 
 and in the latter part of the same year came Shamburgh. 
 In 1868 the Pleasantville oil field furnished the chief 
 centre of excitement. 
 
 A lull now took place, to be followed by the develop- 
 ments on the McCray Hill, at Petroleum Centre, and on 
 the Shaw farm near Rouseville, Foster farm and East 
 Hickory Centre, and then the great " down the river," or 
 lower oil field loomed up to become the principal centre of 
 production at the present time. (See chapter on lower 
 oil field.) 
 
 "THE SOUTHERN IMPROVEMENT COMPANY." 
 During 1872, unparalleled excitement prevailed in the 
 petroleum business. This year witnessed- the formation 
 and collapse of the most formidable speculative combi- 
 nation ever formed for the purpose of controlling the 
 markets and production of petroleum. 
 
 Early in the year " a. ring " of railway officials arxd re- 
 finers, incorporated by the Legislature of Pennsylvania, and 
 termed "The Southern Improvement Company," entered 
 
DEVELOPMENTS ON OIL CREEK. Ill 
 
 the field. This company possessed extraordinary powers by 
 virtue of their charter, and forthwith made contracts with the 
 principal railway companies, .under which they were to re- 
 ceive enormous rebates. An advance of one hundred per cent. 
 on all freight charges- on crude and refined, was the result 
 of this combination. 
 
 The storm of opposition which " The Southern Improve- 
 ment Company" met with from the producers, forced it to 
 dissolve, and its charter was abrogated. 
 
 Subsequently, about four-fifths of the refiners of the 
 United States organized themselves into an association for 
 the purpose of forcing a margin between crude and re- 
 fined. The producers, in order to protect themselves 
 against the exactions of the refiners, formed an " Agency' 
 and a " Union," which embraced, probably, three-fourths 
 of all the producers. The control of the production of 
 Pennsylvania, and of the markets of the world, was given 
 to the " Union," but after one or two vain attempts to 
 regulate them, the producers came to the conclusion that 
 it could not be done without the aid of the refiners. So a 
 coalition was effected with the refiners. The contract 
 between the two interests was a singular instrument. The 
 producers agreed to stop a certain portion of the drilling and 
 pumping wells, and the refiners agreed to keep the price 
 of refined in New York from falling below twenty-seven 
 cents per gallon, and take immediately 200,000 barrels of 
 crude from the " Union " at twenty-five cents above the 
 then market price. Neither of the contracting parties 
 carried out their engagements, and the coalition was not 
 long-lived. 
 
 Thus we have briefly sketched the discovery and de- 
 velopment of this great industry to the present day. The 
 discovery of Petroleum must be placed in the front rank 
 of the important events of the present century, and no 
 one doubts but it will give light to coming generations 
 
112 HISTORY OF PETROLEUM. 
 
 and to nations yet unborn. By the accident of its dis- 
 covery it was found that the Creator had placed beneath 
 the crust of the earth, a reservoir of oil, giving as brilliant 
 a light as any discovered substance. We have not at- 
 tempted to picture the scenes of excitement of the early 
 days of the business the anxious drillers, the smiling, 
 wealthy fortunates, the downcast, ruined unfortunates, 
 the busy teams conveying the barreled liquid to the 
 water, the oil-begrimed and mud-besmeared boats, the 
 eager barterer and the earnest seller. The scenes of to- 
 day but mirror those of the days of the commeticement 
 of petroleum mining. 
 
THE OIL FIELDS OF AMERICA. 113 
 
 THE OIL FIELDS OF AMERICA. 
 
 WEST VIRGINIA AND OHIO. 
 
 IT is almost impossible to describe or rather define the limits of 
 what is called the oil region of West Virginia. Streams which 
 empty into the Ohio river, as far as fifty miles above Marietta, 
 afford the usual surface indications of oil. One hundred and fifty 
 miles below Marietta, the Ohio river touches the northeast corner 
 of Kentucky, and, on the streams which empty into the Ohio at 
 this point, oil is said to abound, and to have been discovered in 
 paying quantities. From Fishing Creek, which empties into the 
 Ohio, fifty miles above Marietta, there is a country running back 
 from ten to thirty miles from both banks of the Ohio, that affords 
 surface indications. Of course the existence of oil throughout all 
 this vast region is doubtful. 
 
 On the Ohio side of the river are the counties of Washington, 
 Athens, Morgan and Noble, in which oil has been drilled for and 
 found. On the Virginia side, there are eight counties, Tyler, 
 Calhoun, Roane, Jackson, Kanawha, Wood, Wirt, Richie, and 
 Pleasants, in which oil has been found. These twelve counties 
 embrace a territory which extends away from Marietta in every 
 direction, and whose extent is from thirty-five to sixty miles. 
 Great excitement prevailed on the discovery of oil in this region in 
 1860, and was followed by speculations in land and the formation 
 of oil companies. As a specimen of the producing character of 
 this oil territory in the early days of the business, we may instance 
 the Dutton well, on Duck Creek, Ohio, which was struck in 1 860, 
 8 
 
HISTORY OF PETROLEUM. 
 
 at a depth of fifty feet, and averaged, it is said, from seventy to one 
 hundred barrels per day for a considerable time. Another, called 
 the Steel well, on Duck Creek, produced some five hundred barrels 
 per day for some weeks, and in 1865 was producing five barrels 
 per day. This well was drilled to a depth of one hundred feet. 
 In the Summer of 1864, a well called the Dixon, was sunk eight 
 hundred feet, when it commenced flowing at the rate of thirty bar- 
 rels per day. The Bull Creek region, on the Virginia side, had in 
 1865, some forty or fifty wells, the largest of which yielded sixty 
 barrels per day. 
 
 In 1860, when the excitement was at its height, a crisis occurred. 
 The price of petroleum suddenly went down, until the barrels, as 
 they came from the hands of the cooper, were of more value than 
 the oil that filled them. Two causes led to this the world had 
 not learned the uses of petroleum, and the early surface-wells, 
 threw forth so many barrels of oil that the supply was larger than 
 the demand, and the market became overstocked. This disheart- 
 ened capitalists, and lands fell. Then came the war. Virginia 
 seceded, and the line of the Ohio became contested ground. Mc- 
 Clellan crossed, but his forces were too busy with the Baltimore and 
 Ohio railroad to think of protecting the oil-hunters, then swarming 
 along the Kanawha. Although there was no organized army of 
 Confederates in Western Virginia, there was nevertheless a body 
 of guerillas who were constantly harassing the country. The result 
 was a panic. In a week the whole party left. The derrick stood 
 in the field over the half-drilled well, the oil gushed up and over- 
 spread the ground, the houses were torn down for camp-fires, and 
 the whole enterprise perished. As soon as the turmoil of war 
 ceased the drill was again set in motion, and operations have con- 
 tinued with singularly uniform success up to the present time. The 
 present centre of the oil-producing region of West Virginia is Vol- 
 cano, formerly called White Oak, which consists of two narrow 
 belts of land, only a few rods wide, running parallel with each other 
 a a distanced &bout a stone's throw apart. Their direction the 
 
THE OIL FIELDS OP AMERICA. 115 
 
 longest way is north, 10 east and south, 10 west. Here, within a dis- 
 tance of six miles in length by one mile in width, is embraced the whole 
 of the West Virginia heavy oil-producing territory. Within this nar- 
 row limit is produced all the heavy lubricating oils known as the 
 Globe, Peninsular, Grant, Hillsdale, Mount Farm, White Oak, Gales 
 Fork, Volcanic, &c., which have become so well known in this 
 country and in Europe. In one respect the geological formation 
 here is remarkable. Upon either edge of these oil belts the rock, 
 upon the surface, stands at an angle of about 80 to 90, and is 
 precisely similar in character to the rock found in the surrounding 
 territory at a distance of six hundred feet below the surface. While 
 the lower stratum of rock entirely surrounds the oil belt, it is miss- 
 ing under it, or rather, instead of lying six hundred feet below the 
 surface, it here appears at the surface. The conclusion is irresistible 
 that this belt rock once formed part and parcel of the lower stra- 
 tum, and that at some period by some convulsion of nature it has been 
 forced to the surface. We suppose it is to this circumstance that Vol- 
 cano is indebted for its name. It is somewhat limited in numbers 
 and territory, yet its productions aid not a little in making up the 
 aggregate of the material wealth of the nation. There are at pre- 
 sent quite a number of new wells being put down, both for heavy 
 and light oils. The heavy oil is found at a depth of about 600 
 feet, while for the lighter oils it is necessary to go down to a sand 
 rock 1200 feet below the surface. The wells yield, on an average, 
 about three barrels per day. 
 
 The territory known as the Glantz tract, and owned by the Oil 
 Run Petroleum Company at Volcano, is considered one of the best 
 producing tracts in West Virginia. From twenty-three wells, 
 during 1872, this company had an average production of 3,750 
 barrels per month, of all gravities ranging from 29 to 35. The 
 oldest well on the tract, the Moore well No. 1, produced alone 
 7,735 barrels of 35 gravity. The second well struck, the Shafer 
 and Stein Well/has produced 2,748 barrels of oil, 29 gravity, 
 
 A recent writer at the Ohio oil field, and particularly of the 
 
116 HISTOEY OF PETROLEUM. 
 
 Cow Run region, says : For the encouragement of oil producers, 
 and men interested in the production of oil in Ohio, and more 
 especially to show that Pennsylvania is not the only oil-producing 
 territory, I present you the following figures and data of a two acre 
 lease, situated at Cow Run, Washington Co., Ohio. Grecian Bend 
 Company's Well, No. 1, struck oil in April, 1869, at a depth of 
 300 feet, and produced 966 barrels until January 1, 1870. Well 
 No. 2 struck oil December 25, 1869, at a depth of 700 feet, and 
 produced 21,985 barrels until January 1, 1870. Well No. 3 struck 
 oil June, 1870, at a depth of 400 feet, and produced 1134 barrels 
 until January 1, 1871. Besides this, the Company have paid the 
 Transportation Company over 500 barrels charged for evaporation. 
 This is the production of only one company. The School House 
 Company have produced and sold, the past year, over $60,000 
 worth of oil. And Perkin's, Harvey & Co.'s wells have produced 
 and sold, to August 1, 1870, $212,566.33 worth of oil. This is 
 the production of only three companies, out of a host of good com- 
 panies located at Cow Run. 
 
 The West Virginia and Ohio oil fields are justly celebrated for 
 the production of lubricating oil, which is held in great estimation 
 in England and on the continent of Europe. 
 
 The combined production of Ohio and West Virginia for 1872, 
 was estimated at 320,000 barrels. 
 
 Tn connection with our sketch of the Oil Region of West Vir- 
 ginia and Ohio, we would offer some facts in relation to the discovery 
 of what has been termed Crystallized Petroleum. In noticing it 
 we simply give the reports of two eminent scientific men Prof. 
 Lesley and Prof. W. F. Roberts. 
 
 Professor Lesley's Report. 
 
 The following report is taken from the printed proceedings of 
 the American Philosophical Society : 
 
 Professor J. P. Lesley communicated a notice of a remarkable 
 coal mine or asphalt vein, cutting the horizontal coal measures of 
 Ritchie county, West Virginia. 
 
THE OIL FIELDS OF AMERICA. 117 
 
 Mr. Lesley said, that through the kindness of R. H. Gratz, Esq , 
 of Philadelphia, a descriptive letter and a map had been submitted 
 to him, which exhibited geological facts of more than ordinary 
 interest to those who are studying the origin of the rock oil deposits 
 of the "West. 
 
 The curious points of the case require careful investigation, but 
 there seems to be no good reason to doubt the essential correctness 
 of the statement. 
 
 The coal-beds of West Virginia pass horizontally through the 
 prong-like ridges from valley to valley. Some of these ridges run 
 as narrow on top and as regular as railroad embankments, for threo 
 or four miles, and in nearly straight lines, between equally straight 
 vales terminating bowl-shaped against some cross ridge. 
 
 It is across such vales and dividing ridges, that the asphaltum 
 vein of Ritchie county makes a straight course, "two thousand 
 three hundred and twenty-three feet long, as at first measured, but 
 since then traced in both directions still further, so that now it is 
 known to extend more than two-thirds of a mile." Explorations 
 beyond this line have failed to find it. Its outcrop, four feet ten 
 inches thick, was discovered crossing a ravine fifty feet wide at the 
 bottom, and rising on each side with slopes of nearly forty-five 
 degrees. On one of these hill-sides at a height of ninety feet, the 
 outcrop showed the same thickness, but at a height of one hundred 
 and eighty-five feet, it was found to be but two feet six inches 
 thick. It is not certain that this diminution is in a vertical direc- 
 tion ; it may be lateral ; for the slope between the ninety and the 
 hundred and eighty-five feet levels is more gradual, especially upon 
 the western side. 
 
 In the bottom of the ravine, a vertical shaft was sunk to a depth 
 of thirty-four feet upon the vein, which continued uniformly four 
 feet ten inches thick, the asphaltum being filled in pure and clear, 
 without . the least admixture of earthy or foreign ingredients, be- 
 tween the smooth and almost perfectly vertical walls of yellowish- 
 greenish sandstone, lying in horizontal layers, through which this 
 
118 
 
 HISTOEY OF PETKOLEUM. 
 
 gash or fault was once no doubt an open fissure, communicating 
 with some reservoir of coal oil which still, it may be, lies beneath 
 it undisturbed. The most interesting part of the phenomenon for 
 structural geologists is this gash. 
 
 The substance which fills this gash-fault in the coal measures of 
 Northwestern Virginia, resembles the glossiest, fattest caking coals, 
 and has a decidedly prismatic structure; breaks up into pencils, 
 with flat, lustrous faces and sharp edges, but the faces not set at 
 any fixed angles to each other, so that the effect upon the eye is 
 rather that of a fibrous than of a prismatic structure. At the same 
 time there is not the slightest appearance of layers, but the aspect 
 of complete uniformity or homogeneity. Pieces are taken out, it 
 seems, a foot in diameter ; and that portion of one of these pieces 
 which I have, shows a plain face on one side, as if it had encoun- 
 tered one of the walls, and is covered with a delicate film of a dead 
 black substance like charcoal dust, which is probably the dust of 
 the vein substance itself. 
 
 Pieces lying at the surface of the ground are said to yield as 
 much oil as specimens taken out six or eight feet down. By the 
 ordinary dry distillation the substance is reported to yield as much 
 oil as the Albert coal. By a different process, the first and only 
 trial, at which six hundred pounds in one charge were used, forty- 
 four and a half gallons of superior oil were obtained. Retorts are 
 now upon the ground. 
 
 Geological and Mineralogical Report of Prof. W. F. Roberts. 
 McFarland's Run is a noted locality in the great oil formation of 
 West Virginia. A vertical crevice filled with crystallized or soli- 
 dified petroleum in a direct line, is found crossing the deep-cut 
 gorges of small streams and rising to the summits of the ridges 
 bounding them. 
 
 In the month of June last I made a special visit to this part of 
 the country for the express purpose of making a full and particular 
 examination of this phenomenon, if I may so term it, in geology. 
 
THE OIL FIELDS OF AMEEICA. 119 
 
 I travelled from Cairo station on the Parkersburg branch of the Bal- 
 timore and Ohio Railroad, over a road then in progress of grading 
 by the Ritchie Coal Oil Company for a branch railroad to connect 
 their property containing this solidified petroleum deposit with the 
 main road, and during this journey, I could not detect anything 
 remarkable or different in the general geological structure of the 
 country to that shown in some of the other oil-producing sections 
 in the West Virginia " oil belts," with the exception of an opening 
 made on the line of the road on the Ritchie Coal Oil Company's 
 lands near McFarland's Run, where there is a vein of a peculiar 
 substance, resembling somewhat some of the most glossy kinds of 
 bituminous coal. Having secured specimens, I continued round 
 the point of the hill, and entered a deep-cut gorge formed by a 
 small run, a branch of McFarland's, and at about half the distance 
 from the head of the run, I reached a shaft sunk "upon the line of 
 a fissure, or crevice in the strata, in this peculiar kind of substance, 
 of the same quality and characteristics of the specimen taken from 
 the place above referred to. This crevice is a vertical one, four 
 feet four inches wide, and the strata adjoining it on both sides is 
 horizontal, a common micaceous sandstone, in their plys of a yel- 
 lowish-green color, of the carboniferous formation. 
 
 The shaft I was informed was sunk thirty-four feet, and the cre- 
 vice continued of the same width downward. It was perfectly 
 filled with solidified petroleum. The course of the dyke or open- 
 ing in the horizontal coal strata run in a course S. 75J W. and to 
 N. 75J E. which I traced in both directions. I traced the open- 
 ing which had been made in the line of this crevice up the steep- 
 sided ridges and over their summits, and I found from the specimens 
 visibje at the several shafts that the solidified or crystallized petro- 
 leum rose to the surface, or nearly so, in all places. The west hill 
 bounding the ravine where the dyke crossed over, I judged to be 
 about three hundred feet above the level of the ravine where the 
 deep pit was sunk. The east hill-side is about two hundred feet 
 above the favine. Developments of shafting have been made pro- 
 
120 HISTORY OF PETROLEUM. 
 
 ving the continuation of this petroleum-filled crevice in solidified 
 form more than one mile in a direct line, and bounded by a flat or 
 horizontal formation of shales and sandstones of the middle car- 
 boniferous series, similar in all respects to other ridges in oil-pro- 
 ducing sections in West Virginia. The walls of the crevice are 
 perfectly smooth and regular, and exceedingly well defined. 
 
 The crystallized petroleum has a fibrous structure. It is very 
 glossy in appearance, of the color of the purest specimens of richest 
 and fattest bituminous gas coal. It melts under heat readily and 
 runs like pitch. This peculiar mineral has been wrongly called 
 " asphaltum." Its fracture, lustre, and general appearance are al- 
 together foreign to the Albert coal, or to any other mineral of that 
 class. By experiments made upon this crystallized petroleum, it 
 has yielded from one hundred and forty to one hundred and sixty- 
 nine gallons of oil to the ton. 
 
 Developments will prove the continuation of the crevice filled 
 with the same material the crystallized petroleum into and 
 through the properties I am reporting upon, and in consequence of 
 its embracing within their boundary lines two deep-cut valleys and 
 high ridges intervening, an immense quantity can be mined above 
 water level, and one cannot put an estimate too high upon this pro- 
 perty, containing as it does, this valuable mineral substance, 
 
 How deep this solidified material may continue down beneath 
 the level of the valleys is not determined. The crevice may get 
 much wider, and still be filled with this solid petroleum. One 
 thing is however certain, that it has its source from some immense 
 subterranean lake or large opening in the strata of the lower mea- 
 sures of liquid petroleum. The numerous gas and oil springs 
 closely contiguous and ranging with this dyke show that there are 
 beneath the surface large cavities filled with oil. 
 
 At the junction of the streams which meet in the southern part 
 of this tract is excellent boring territory, room enough for a large 
 number of oil wells. The geological structure of the strata shows 
 great disturbance underneath the surface, and here may be seen the 
 
THE OIL FIELDS OF AMERICA. 121 
 
 pure oil oozing out from the joints of the rocks, and gas springs 
 bubbling up on the surface of the water, throwing off oil in rain- 
 bow-colored tints. The nature of the formation, the geological 
 structure of the strata and the contour of the surface, as well as 
 other indications, show that this tract of land is located in an ex- 
 ceedingly rich petroleum section of country, where proper develop- 
 ments should be prosecuted without delay. One thing more may 
 with propriety be mentioned, that this solidified petroleum in all 
 places where it has been shafted upon is free from any deleterious 
 foreign substance. It is as pure as oil generally is found in the 
 best oil-producing localities of West Virginia. 
 
 A few years ago thirty-two barrels of this mineral were sent 
 north, and all of it was retorted, a large portion being put through 
 on a commercial scale in the city of Brooklyn, and resulted as fol- 
 lows: 
 
 YIELD OF ONE TON. 
 
 Illuminating Gas, 7000 feet, @ $2.00 $14.00 
 
 140 Gallons Oil, @ .60 84.00 
 
 17 Bushels Coke, @ .12 2.0 
 
 100.04 
 
 The analysis of Professor R. Ogden Doremus gives the following 
 result : 
 
 100 PARTS MINERAL DRIED AT 212 FAH. 
 
 Ash, 2.15 
 
 Hydrogen, 8.45 
 
 Carbon, 75-9 6 
 
 Oxygen, 12.75 
 
 Nitrogen, 69 
 
 KENTUCKY AND TENNESSEE. 
 
 Along Boyd's Creek, Barren County, Ky., three miles from 
 Glasgow, are the best oil wells of this state. Glasgow is a town 
 of three thousand inhabitants, situated on a branch of the Louis- 
 ville and Nashville Railroad, and one hundred miles from Louis- 
 
122 
 
 HISTORY OF PETROLEUM. 
 
 ville, and eighty from Nashville, Tennessee. At the present time 
 there are fifteen wells in operation, producing oil. The Armell 
 wells in this district are drilled to the depth of 130 feet, three of 
 which are flowing about three barrels each per day. Two of these 
 wells have flowed for six years, and at one time produced 400 bar- 
 rels per day. Chess, Corley & Co., oil refiners at Louisville, who 
 own a large scope of territory in this section, have, met with good 
 success as oil operators, having thus realized a large fortune. 
 
 Their Well No. 1 is producing 35 barrels per day. At first it 
 produced 70, and has now been pumping three years. A Pitts- 
 burgh Company own some land here, on which they have put 
 down a number of wells, producing on the average 3 J barrels per 
 day. 
 
 The pioneer oil men of this region are Messrs. Chess, Corley & 
 Co. and Messrs. Graham & Thomas. Bothihese firms commenced 
 operations early in 1865. 
 
 During 1865 and 1866 considerable interest was manifest on 
 Boyd's Creek, and many wells were put down, all of which pumped 
 or flowed more or less oil. With the increased production, the 
 price fell from $1.50 to 25 cents per barrel, at the wells. The oil 
 was 40 gravity, and tainted with sulphur. With the limited 
 knowledge of refining at that time, it was difficult to deodorize it. 
 Operators became discouraged, and the territory fell at once. 
 Some wells, within a few days of completion, were abandoned, and 
 the oil adventurers went back to their various homes, many dis- 
 couraged, others hopeful that when oil would become scarce, and 
 science overcome the deodorizing difficulty, all would again be 
 prosperous. In 1869 active operations again commenced, and 
 with improvements in the refining process, the prices rose from 
 25 cents to $2.00 per barrel. 
 
 There was quite an excitement in 1867 near Burks ville, Cum- 
 berland county, Kentucky, which was occasioned by the striking 
 of the Crocus well at a depth of 300 feet, which flowed 300 barrels 
 heavy oil per day, after discharging salt water for three months, 
 
THE OIL FIELDS OF AMERICA. 123 
 
 but this promising field was abandoned by reason of the extreme 
 cost and difficulty of shipment and consequent low price of oil. 
 There is one well in this section, which is only 80 feet in depth, 
 and has flowed six dollar lubricating oil, for the last six years. 
 The oil from this well is teamed 40 miles to the river, and shipped 
 down the Cumberland to Nashville, Tennessee. Navigation on 
 the river is only open five months in the year. In Cumberland 
 county, on one of the tributaries of the Cumberland river, a well 
 exists which was put down to a depth of 400 feet, and has flowed 
 about 60 barrels per day into the stream, for upwards of four years. 
 The oil from this well is quite black, very heavy, and of a rank 
 smell. Along Scrub, Indian and Greasy creeks, on the Cumber- 
 land river, there are many oil springs, which produce from one to 
 five barrels per day of surface oil. These wells or pits are dug 
 down to the blue clay to the bed rock. Cumberland county is the 
 foot of the mountain range, and is hilly and rocky. Burksville, 
 the county seat, is connected with a railroad by a forty mile stage 
 route. 
 
 Near Bowling Green, Ky., a well was sunk to the depth of 80 
 feet, which produced oil in considerable quantities, for over twelve 
 months. The owner built a small refinery for the manufacture of 
 his own production. This was the only well drilled in this section. 
 Within a few miles of the Mammoth Cave, near Green river, 
 there are several oil springs. The surface rock here is so impreg- 
 nated with oil and gas, that a match will ignite them. At Boston 
 station there is a gas well, some 90 feet in depth, which produces 
 a considerable quantity of gas. 
 
 There is little doubt but the north-western part of Kentucky is 
 rich in coal and oil. We know that one well was drilled in Hen- 
 derson county, near the] Ohio river, which passed through a four- 
 foot vein of coal, at twelve feet from the surface; and another six- 
 foot vein, at 50 feet from the surface, and at 450 feet a small well 
 of the best lubricating oil ever produced was discovered. 
 
 It is the opinion of practical oil men who have visited Kentucky, 
 
124 
 
 HISTOEY OF PETROLEUM. 
 
 that the best oil lands have not yet been touched, and that all 
 that is required to make this rich mineral State prosperous, is capi- 
 tal and energy. 
 
 Little is known of the producing capabilities of Tennessee, but 
 it bears the evidence of being an important field of enterprise for 
 the production of oil. At White Bluff, Dixon county, thirty miles 
 west of Nashville, there is a small green oil well of the same char- 
 acter and quality as that of Butler county, Pennsylvania. This 
 well is 500 feet in depth. 
 
 Mr. Eugene Scott, of Karns City, Butler Co., Penna., informs 
 us that he visited the wells on Boyd's creek, late in the fall 
 of 1872. He says, "I was astonished to learn that in this enlight- 
 ened age of petroleum mining, the people here knew so little about 
 the business. The derricks were only 30 to 45 feet in height; 
 some with one bull wheel, and some with two. The whole rig is 
 of white wood. *.***** They dressed their bits in the 
 shape of a wedge, and reamers, why, they are beyond description. 
 Drilling is only done in the day time, and it is usual to take six 
 weeks to get down 150 feet. The seed-bag is put on the tubing, 
 which is frequently drawn in testing. The oil-bearing rock is a 
 kind of shell and sand-rock mixed, and of a white color. The 
 stream (Boyd's creek) had been tested for three miles north and 
 south, and finding the best wells in the centre of the line of tests, 
 and that the hills had not been operated on, I concluded that the 
 belt crossed the creek, and ran parallel with the Pennsylvania belt, 
 therefore I took a large lease southwest of the best producing well 
 on the creek, and at the depth of 250 feet struck 28 feet of loose 
 sand, full of oil and salt water. Two miles northeast of this, and 
 on a line with the best wells on the creek, my partner drilled a well 
 with a Pennsylvania oil rig, and in six days reached the sand-rock, 
 but there was little oil ; the well produced only one barrel per day." 
 " It is usual when a well is dug in this country, to pump it for a 
 fe\v days, and then tube with three-quarter inch pipe, and let it 
 flow then remove the machinery, and drill another well. The 
 
THE OIL FIELDS OF AMERICA. 125 
 
 bed rock of the Barren County oil field is white limestone, which 
 in the valley is about eight feet from the surface. The surface 
 rocks are usually flat, and so porous that water will run through 
 them readily. 
 
 We are furnished by the gentleman above named with the fol- 
 lowing well record : 
 
 30 feet, white limestone ; 
 
 40 " shale; 
 
 60 " limestone ; 
 
 20 " oil-bearing rock, a kind of shell and sand rock, mixed, 
 and of a white color. 
 
 OIL REGION OF INDIANA/ 
 
 In the western part of Crawford County, Ind., there is an oil re- 
 gion that has never been properly tested by that only sure test 
 " the drill." The surface indications of oil extend five miles in 
 width by over ten miles in length, and consist of a tar spring, 
 oil springs, and oil rock, of several varieties and in great abun- 
 dance. The tar spring has been known ever since the county was 
 settled, and is nine miles from Leavenworth; it is about half way 
 up a large hill which is probably one hundred and fifty feet high ; 
 it flows after each heavy rain, and in the course of a year throws 
 out tons of tar or asphaltum. It is between the Otter fork and the 
 West fork of Little Blue ; the nearest well to it is the Dexter well, 
 which is two miles distant. The oil springs are found on Otter 
 fork, and West fork, and on hollows tributary to them, there are 
 quite a number of them from which small quantities of oil can be col- 
 lected. The oil rock is found in great abundance. At one place 
 on Otter fork, the bed-rock of the creek is a soft, black sandstone, 
 and contains over thirty per cent, of oil If a piece of it is put into 
 a fire it blazes like a candle, and will continue to burn till it loses 
 one-third of its weight. In the vicinity of the Dexter well on the 
 
HISTORY OF PETROLEUM. 
 
 West fork, the oil rock is in great abundance, and in almost every 
 hollow and their name is legion in all that locality, rock more 
 or less impregnated with oil may be found. 
 
 The Wells. In 1861 a well was sunk to the depth of ninety- 
 seven feet, by a man named Custerman. He obtained no show of 
 oil, and never pumped the well. The war caused him to stop work, 
 and he has never been heard of in that locality since. In 1863-4 
 several wells were sunk three on the west fork. The Dexter well 
 is 580 feet deep, and has a fine show of oil ; it rises constantly in 
 the conductor; a quart can be taken off every morning. It is a 
 lubricating oil of good quality. It now belongs to the Dexter Oil 
 and Salt Company, and they intend to sink it deeper and pump it 
 this year. .The Clark well, located three miles below, is 640 feet 
 deep ; found no oil ; a little gas and saltish water. The well has 
 been left open and is filled with sediment. The Eaton Sulphur 
 Well, three miles further down the creek, is only 275 feet deep ; 
 flows white sulphur water. It is becoming a great resort for invalids. 
 
 These are all the wells that have ever been sunk on the West 
 fork. On the Otter fork, there have been five wells sunk. A 
 small show of oil was found in two of them. The Golden Salt 
 well is one of them, and is over 1,000 feet deep. It is a good salt 
 well. Two of the other wells are 700 feet deep. All of these 
 wells are below the indications. No well has ever been sunk on 
 either creek above the indications except the one mentioned. 
 
 The Geological Position. The locality is in the sandstone which 
 underlies the great Indiana coal field ; the first strata below is the 
 carboniferous limestone, which is about 800 feet thick"; the next 
 strata is known as the knob sandstone, and is about 400 feet thick ; 
 the next is a black shale or slate, 100 feet thick, and is the last 
 strata through which they passed at Terre Haute, in sinking their 
 well, which is the only successful oil well yet sunk in the State. 
 It is 1,625 feet deep. 
 
 " The Crawford County Petroleum and Mining Company " are 
 now sinking a well at Leavenworth. It is to be sunk through the 
 
THE OIL FIELDS OF AMERICA. 127 
 
 black slate penetrated at Terre Haute, which will be a depth of 
 about 1,300 feet. 
 
 The marked difference in the geological formation in the Indiana 
 region and those of Pennsylvania and West Virginia is in the 
 limestone, and consequently wells will have to be deeper here to 
 reach the main source of the oil, which lies below it. While the 
 thick strata of limestone will make it expensive to sink wells, it is 
 a good evidence that the oil exists in abundant quantities, or it 
 would not rise so far through it and make so great and extensive 
 surface show. 
 
 The Louisville, New Albany and St. Louis Railway passes 
 through the center of Crawford County. 
 
 CALIFORNIA. 
 
 The discovery of petroleum in California adds another to the al- 
 ready widely varied products of that State. It has been known 
 for a long time that deposits of petroleum existed near the coast, 
 but as yet the production of this oil has been unimportant. The 
 Learning Petroleum Company, recently organized in San Fran- 
 cisco, has fairly commenced operations, with results which augur 
 abundant success. The crude oil is found in the mountains of the 
 San Fernando District, thirty-five miles north-west from Los An- 
 geles, from which point there is railroad communication of thirty- 
 one miles with the Port of San Pedro. The cost of transportation 
 from the mines is 2} cents the gallon, and the cost of refining 2 
 cents per gallon for small quantities, and 1 \ cents for large lots. 
 Up to the present time several shipments of crude oil have been 
 received at San Francisco, aggregating some hundreds of barrels, 
 which have found immediate purchasers at remunerative rates. The 
 Gas Companies are prepared to take and use not less than 1,000 
 barrels per day, and the district owned by the company is suffi- 
 ciently extensive and prolific to warrant the delivery of that or 
 
128 
 
 HISTORY OF PETROLEUM. 
 
 even a greater amount, so soon as the requisites can be obtained to 
 furnish suitable works. These shipments have, so far, been the 
 products of natural springs from which the oil was dipped with 
 buckets ; one spring is now producing two barrels per day ; but 
 when a system of scientific operations shall have been introduced, 
 the yield will be greatly augmented. It is the opinion of capable 
 gentlemen who have carefully examined the mines, that they are 
 of sufficient capacity to furnish nearly all the oil required for con- 
 sumption on the Pacific coast. 
 
THE OIL FIELDS OF CANADA. 129 
 
 THE OIL FIELDS OF CANADA. 
 
 THE CANADA OIL REGIONS. 
 
 THE first discovery of Petroleum oil in Canada was made in the 
 township of Enniskillen, in the County of Lamberton, in the 
 extreme western section of the province of Ontario. 
 
 Among the settlers on the almost barren and unproductive soil 
 of this section of the county, was a lean, swaggy Down -Easter 
 named Shaw, who had emigrated thither from the State of Massa- 
 chusetts about the year 1836. Shaw is represented as being luck- 
 less, thriftless, and poverty-stricken to the last degree. He had 
 ever been considered a visionary, a schemer of impracticable pro- 
 jects, and many were the undertakings which he broached to his 
 friends and neighbors, only to be laughed at. In the years 1855- 
 6, he set the seal to his reputation as a demented visionary, by his 
 vain endeavors to get up a stock company for the purpose of boring 
 down through the swamps, with a view to extracting from the 
 bowels of the earth a substance which he averred existed there in 
 exhaustless quantities. He waxed eloquent on this theme, and 
 declared his conviction that beneath the barren marshes, a source 
 of untold wealth lay hidden. By these and similar wild represen- 
 tations, Mr. Shaw ere long came to be regarded as a lunatic. He 
 was wondered at by some, abused by others, and laughed at for a 
 fool by all. 
 9 
 
130 
 
 HISTORY OF PETROLEUM. 
 
 It must be premised that ever since the original settlement of 
 Enniskillen, a dark, oily substance had been observed by the set- 
 tlers floating on the surface of the water in the creeks and swamps. 
 Good water was not to be had. No matter how deep the wells 
 were dug, the water was brackish and ill-smelling, and in some 
 localities totally unfit for use : while a surface of black, oily slime, 
 frequently arose an inch thick, as cream rises on new milk. Here 
 and there, in the forest, the ground consisted of a gummy, odcrife- 
 rous, tar-colored mud, of the consistence of putty. These places 
 were known by the name of " gum-beds/ 7 and in two or three 
 instances were of considerable extent. At the present day such 
 " surface indications " as these would reveal the secret to the most 
 casual observer ; but to the primitive, untutored minds of the then 
 residents of the township they failed to convey any other impres- 
 sion than that their lines had not fallen in very pleasant places. 
 
 Finding it impossible to arouse any enthusiasm, or get up any 
 agitation on the subject, Shaw quietly subsided into his normal 
 condition of mental torpidity; in which condition he remained 
 until the summer of the year 1857, when he was seized by another 
 of his intermittent attacks of enterprise, and this time he deter- 
 mined to commence operations on his own account. He inaugu- 
 rated proceedings by digging an ordinary well, as if for water, in a 
 hollow about a hundred yards from his dwelling. He worked 
 away at intervals for some days without attracting any notice, and 
 without assistance from any one. Finally, he was one day aroused 
 while eating his dinner by a loud explosion, accompanied by what 
 seemed to be the shock of an earthquake. Upon running out to 
 ascertain the nature of the disturbance, he perceived a huge foun- 
 tain of what seemed to be black mud bursting with great violence 
 from the hole where he had been digging. The " mud " emitted 
 a very offensive smell. The "jet," when he first cast eyes upon it, 
 was, as nearly as he could judge, about a foot in diameter, and it 
 every moment increased in volume, frequently shooting high up 
 into the air. As a -necessary consequence, the ground was soon 
 
THE OIL FIELDS OF CANADA. 131 
 
 flooded, and had not his dwelling been built on an elevation, con- 
 siderably higher than the mouth of the well, it would have been 
 partially submerged. 
 
 Upon examination, the substance thus ejected proved to be crude 
 petroleum. The well continued to flow, with occasional brief ces- 
 sations, for upwards of sixty-seven hours, and this in a large and 
 swift stream, which poured into the adjoining creek, and the con- 
 tents were thus carried away and lost. The neighbors for miles 
 around came and lent their assistance ; but of course, owing to the 
 want of tanks and barrels, only a very inconsiderable quantity 
 could be preserved. 
 
 The neighboring proprietors followed Mr. Shaw's example, and 
 leased portions of their lands to the highest bidders. In an incon- 
 ceivably short space of time, enterprising operators from all parts 
 of Canada and the adjoining republic began to pour in. The needy 
 denizens of the Enniskillen swamps began to realize the fact that 
 their slimy morasses might be confidently counted on to yield a 
 revenue such as could never be hoped for from the richest and best 
 cultivated agricultural soil in America. Land changed hands 
 rapidly, and from one thousand to two thousand five hundred dol- 
 lars an acre was paid for territory which, previous to the great dis- 
 covery, could hardly have been given away. The more common 
 method resorted to, however, was not to transfer the fee-simple of 
 the lands, but to grant " oil-leases " thereof, whereby the lessee 
 acquired the exclusive right to operate for oil upon the land for a 
 specified number of years, in consideration of which privilege, a 
 certain sum of money usually several hundreds of dollars per 
 acre was paid down to the lessor, who, by the terms of the instru- 
 ment, was further to receive a percentage generally one-third 
 of the oil produced; called a "royalty." Stores, taverns and 
 dwelling-houses sprang up all around with marvellous Celerity, 
 forming a village, to which the name of Oil Springs was given. 
 Postal and telegraphic communication was sKortly afterwards 
 granted, passable roads were constructed, connecting the region 
 
132 
 
 HISTORY OF PETROLEUM. 
 
 with civilization, and for some time all went merry as a marriage 
 bell. The supply of oil was supposed to be almost inexhaustible ; 
 but it was soon found necessary to spend much more time, and to 
 incur much greater expense, than Shaw and his immediate succes- 
 sors had been compelled to do. In other words, the wells would 
 not flow, but had to be pumped, and it became necessary not only 
 to sink a surface- well down to the rock, but to bore, by means of 
 the drill, through the rock, until the vein was reached ; whereupon 
 oil was said to be " struck." Frequently a vein of water, instead 
 of oil, would be struck, which had to be exhausted before opera- 
 tions could be proceeded with, and this sometimes occasioned great 
 delay. Meanwhile, Mr. Shaw was regarded as a public 'benefactor, 
 and received as great credit as if he had discovered the philosopher's 
 stone. He found himself in the possession of enormous wealth, 
 arising partly from the lease of his lands, and the royalties there- 
 from ; but chiefly from the product of his wells, the first of which 
 continued to yield from three hundred to six hundred barrels daily. 
 The market fluctuated considerably ; but oil seldom brought less 
 than six dollars per barrel at the well, and was generally much 
 higher. For two days it reached the enormous figure of sixteen 
 dollars and twenty-five cents. 
 
 Mr. Shaw, through injudicious speculation, spent all his splendid 
 fortune. He came to the Pennsylvania Oil Region in 1868, and 
 was employed as a common day-laborer at Titusville, up to 1870, 
 at which place he died broken-hearted and quite unknown. 
 
 About thirty miles to the south-east of Oil Springs, near the 
 village of Bothwell, another large vein of oil was struck, and ere 
 long, a busy community sprang up there, scores of wells were put 
 down, and fortunes made and lost. Oil was soon after discovered 
 five miles north of Oil Springs, to which place was given the sug- 
 gestive name of Petrolia. 
 
 In the year 1864, Oil Springs contained a population of more 
 than three thousand inhabitants, several spacious and well-conducted 
 hotels, and at least a dozen or more places of entertainment, which 
 
THE OIL FIELDS OF CANADA. 133 
 
 could lay no claim to remarkable distinction. It moreover contained 
 two private banking-houses, a Board of Trade, a printing-office 
 and weekly newspaper, and two hundred and forty-seven wells, all 
 in active operation, yielding a large number of barrels per diem, 
 and more were being put down. Money was plentiful, and gam- 
 bling was practised on a scale which, for Canada, might well be 
 pronounced gigantic. Every night, Sunday night not excepted, 
 was consecrated to the unholy rites of "poker" and " euchre." 
 Dancing assemblies were formed, tri-weekly fandangoes were held, 
 and the whole place presented the appearance of a California in 
 miniature. But the end was not very far distant. Already the 
 deposit had indicated tolerably palpable symptoms of exhaustion. 
 The Shaw well, after having yielded a sum total of thirty thousand 
 barrels and this in addition to the immense quantity which was 
 lost as already described suddenly collapsed, and refused to yield 
 another drop. The Twenty Friends well, which was second only 
 in importance to Shaw's, followed the example of its predecessor ; 
 and a gradual falling off was perceptible throughout the entire 
 district. Towards the end of the year, Hendrick's well revived 
 the hopes of the operators somewhat by a daily yield of seven hun- 
 dred barrels for about a week ; but in the course of a fortnight 
 these seven hundred barrels were reduced to from thirty to forty, 
 and shortly afterwards to fifteen. Operators could no longer count 
 with certainty upon striking a vein of oil wherever they chose to 
 bore, and many wells had to be abandoned as a dry holes." Many 
 even of the yielding wells did not produce oil in paying quantities. 
 About this time, charlatans professing to be endowed with the 
 mystery of the "Divining Rod" made their appearance on the 
 scene ; and, though laughed at and condemned by nine-tenths of the 
 operators, they contrived to realize something more than a good 
 livelihood out of the other tenth. Success generally followed their 
 predictions, even when dry holes were becoming alarmingly numer- 
 ous in the district ; but, of course, the secret lay in their former 
 extensive experience of surface indications in Pennsylvania. They 
 
134 
 
 HISTORY OF PETROLEUM. 
 
 could form something more than a plausible guess as to where oil 
 was to be found, but their science gave them no information as to 
 the quantity; and the wells sunk by their directions generally ex- 
 hausted themselves in a day or two from the time the vein was 
 struck. 
 
 Though Western Pennsylvania has produced numerous flowing 
 wells of wonderful capacity, there is no quarter of the world where 
 the production attained such prodigious dimensions, as in 1862, on 
 Black Creek, in the township of Enniskillen. The first flowing 
 well was struck there on January 11, 1862, and before October not 
 less than thirty-five wells had commenced to drain a store-house, 
 which provident nature had occupied untold thousands of years in 
 filling for the uses not for the amusement of man. There was 
 no use for the oil at that time. The price had fallen to ten cents 
 per barrel. The unsophisticated settlers of that wild and wooded 
 region seemed inspired by an infatuation. Without an object save 
 the gratification of their curiosity at the unwonted sight of a com- 
 bustible fluid pouring out of the bosom of the earth, they seemed 
 to vie with each other in plying their hastily and rudely erected 
 "spring poles" to work the drill, that was almost sure to burst at 
 a depth of a hundred feet, into a prison of petroleum. Some of 
 these wells flowed three hundred, and six hundred barrels per day. 
 Others flowed a thousand, two thousand, and three thousand bar- 
 rels per day. Three flowed, severally, six thousand barrels per 
 day ; and the "Black and Matthewson " well flowed seven thousand 
 five hundred barrels per day. Three years later that oil would 
 have brought ten dollars per barrel in gold. Now, its escape was 
 the mere pastime of full-grown boys. It floated on the waters of 
 Black Creek to the depth of six inches, and formed a. film on the 
 surface of Lake Erie. At length the stream of oil became ignited, 
 and the column of flame raged down the winding of the creek in a 
 style of such fearful grandeur as to admonish the Canadian squatter 
 of the danger, no less than the inutility of his oleaginous pastimes. 
 From detailed determinations, Professor Winchell says, " I have 
 
THE OIL FIELDS OF CANADA. 135 
 
 ascertained that, during the spring and summer of 1862, not less 
 than five million barrels of oil floated off on the water of Black 
 Creek a national fortune totally wasted." 
 
 The extent of the field is very great if we include every place 
 where oil is found. Reckoning in that way, a district of two hun- 
 dred square miles would not more than cover it. Most of these 
 places, however, present only oozings from limestone rocks, such 
 as occur in various other places in the world unconnected with 
 qualities of any practical value. 
 
 The region of value, as developed by actual borings to this time, 
 and the existence of the proper rock, is confined to the western 
 part of the Dominion, and extends from near Lake Erie to Lake 
 Huron, and from the St. Clair river eastward seventy-five miles or 
 more ; thus being about fifty miles north and south by, say, one 
 hundred east and west. Its outside lines are somewhat irregular, 
 but such is the general range of it. The part of practical value is, 
 thus far, limited to the " Carniferous Limestone " (so-called from 
 containing nodules of flint resembling a harp), and which is mostly 
 confined to the southern part of Canada. 
 
 Within this range Petrolia, Bothwell and Oil Springs have pro- 
 duced nearly all the oil. The latter had the largest wells, though 
 the former now produces more than nine-tenths of present amount. 
 Petrolia is about sixteen miles southeast of the outlet of Lake Hu- 
 ron ; Oil Springs seven miles south of that, and Bothwell, about 
 thirty-five miles from that. 
 
 The surface of the country above described is nearly level, except 
 where the ground descends to the bed of streams, and being largely 
 covered with a dense forest of hard-wood trees, is often wet and 
 muddy, and, in a rainy season, would wonderfully help a traveller 
 to appreciate the "slough of despond." Time, muscle and money 
 will however cure this, and while the. timber now keeps out the 
 drying process of the sun, it is furnishing most valuable fuel for 
 the oil wells. 
 
 Western Canada has no coal. The land descends gently to 
 
136 HISTORY OP PETROLEUM. 
 
 the southwest, and the general dip of all the rock formations is 
 westerly. 
 
 In drilling, the first thing found is a yellow clay, and sometimes 
 sandy soil, five to fifteen feet deep. Next, a compact blue clay of even 
 consistency and appearance, from 50 to 100 feet deep. This rests 
 on a thin shell of limestone, resembling a stalactite formation, which 
 seems to have been crystalized out of the water as it drained from 
 the clay into the next bed below, which is composed of gravel from 
 two to eight feet thick. 
 
 Next comes a slate rock (called Hamilton shale), usually fifteen 
 feet thick, in the region of good wells, and thinning out to nothing 
 eastward. The surface wells, formerly so productive, were found in 
 this gravel, held down by the clay and thin limestone ; and when, 
 in digging, the pick broke through this thin shell, the oil and gas 
 would rush up so rapidly the laborer would often be compelled 
 literally to flee for his life. 
 
 Next below the shale lies the carniferous limestone already re- 
 ferred to, the upper layer of which is about forty feet thick. This 
 alternates with thirty to fifty feet of slate; then comes about forty 
 feet more of limestone, then a similar amount of slate again, and 
 then (being now at the depth of about 250 feet from the surface), 
 is again found the limestone, which continues 250 feet more, making 
 a total of about 500 feet. All the oil is found within that range, 
 being regularly in veins in the limestone, and the deeper veins 
 usually the larger. All the rocks below the clay are more or less 
 saturated with it. 
 
 Next below the oil-bearing limestone, is a stratum of hard blue 
 limestone, averaging four feet thick, and immediately underneath 
 that a vein of salt water apparently inexhaustible. 
 
 At this point commences, with few exceptions in the oil regions, 
 what is called the Onondaga salt group, which is a formation of 
 unknown thickness, and in which is found the salt of Syracuse, 
 N. Y., and also of Goderich on Lake Huron, at a depth of 1,100 
 feet. It has been penetrated five hundred feet in several places 
 near Petrolia without producing a barrel of oil. 
 
THE OIL FIELDS OF CANADA. 137 
 
 To prevent mistake we ought to say that the salt of Western 
 Virginia is taken from quite another formation, lying geologically 
 much higher, and coming very near the coal, being the "conglome- 
 rate" of the coal measures. 
 
 In some places, as near Oil Springs, the upper strata seem thin- 
 ner/and the lower thicker, thus bringing the oil-bearing part nearer 
 the surface, giving rise to large surface wells, and also to the gum- 
 beds there, which resemble the residuum after the oil has evapo- 
 rated, or been drawn off, leaving a black deposit like asphalt cover- 
 ing, in one or two instances, a hundred acres. 
 
 The oil-baring limestone varies from a close compact structure 
 to quite open, and these characteristics are presented often in bands 
 or belts, and the best wells are expected where the rock is most 
 open. In all its parts it is largely composed of marine shells and 
 other fossils peculiar to that geological horizon. This seems to 
 have strengthened the theory of the animal origin of the oil. 
 
 The thought is quite romantic perhaps poetic that the little 
 animals which occupied these shells ages before men appeared, un- 
 willing to be of no use in the future, built up the rocks out of 
 the ruins of their dwellings, and then, by some subtle chemistry, 
 allowed their substance to be converted into oil to fill them, and 
 thus, with true charity, even "gave their bodies to be burned." 
 Other facts, however, point to other causes of the oil, at least in a 
 majority of cases. 
 
 The rocks of Canada, it will be seen, differ widely from those of 
 Yenango county, Pa., these being almost exclusively limestone, and 
 others sandstone, alternating with slate. 
 
 The odor of the oil is rather unpleasant, and this arises from the 
 sulphur and other substances often found in limestone. Sulphuric 
 acid occurs occasionally in the water, corroding tools and tubing, 
 and sulphuret of iron is found in the rock. Its decompositions and 
 recompositions are taken up by the oil. An English deodorizing 
 process, called Allen's, is now effectually used. The gravity of the 
 oil varies from 33 to 43 Beaume. Refining produces about 80 
 
138 HISTORY OF PETROLEUM. 
 
 per cent, of illuminating fluid, with less benzine and more tar than 
 Pennsylvania oil. The color of the crude is dark green, shading into 
 black. Very little paraffine is deposited in pumping, and benzine 
 in wells is rarely used. Casing six inches in diameter is put down 
 to 280 feet, or say 30 feet into the hard limestone, which shuts off 
 fresh water and prevents the soft shale rock from caving. Tank- 
 age of the oil is accomplished in part by the use of wooden tanks, 
 but mostly by making use of the blue clay above described. It is 
 found to be almost impervious to water and quite so to oil. Ex- 
 cavations are made in it from ten to twenty feet in diameter, and 
 sometimes seventy-five feet in depth. Curbing is usfcd to prevent 
 the possibility of caving. The top of the excavation is planked 
 and covered with earth. Here is stored the oil, both crude and re- 
 fined, free from waste and safe from danger until wanted, when it is 
 pumped out, sometimes by engines and sometimes by spring-holes. 
 This blue clay, which the farmers in some parts of Northern Ohio 
 and elsewhere regard with exceeding dislike, is here one of the 
 best friends of the oil-producer. 
 
 Exhaustion of the oil is not to be anticipated for several genera- 
 tions. Enough is produced for the present wants of the Dominion, 
 and as Canada develops and her population increases upon the sur- 
 face, the .regions below will respond to their wants. Nature does 
 not display all her treasures at once, but opens one storehouse after 
 another as man's needs may require. 
 
 Glaciers, it is quite evident, once moved over that country, for 
 whenever excavations are made down to the solid rock, scratches 
 and grooves are found, varying from mere lines to the size of fif- 
 teen inches, and nearly all running in a uniform course of north- 
 east to south-west. They dip up under Lake Erie and appear 
 along its southern shore, w r here they have been seen often, even larger 
 than any found in Canada. Icebergs have also floated over the 
 same sections, and evidences of both are abundant from New Eng- 
 land to the Mississippi and beyond, and from Lake Superior nearly 
 to the Southern states. - 
 
THE OIL, FIELDS OF CANADA. 139 
 
 By these and similar means were many of the Pennsylvania 
 hills torn down and valleys formed, and from these sources came 
 most of the soil, gravel and boulders scattered along the Oil Creek 
 country. Their home was in the North. It seems wonderful that, 
 in all the tumults, earthquakes and upheavals of the past, nothing 
 has been permitted to disturb the oil, though it has been left com- 
 paratively near the surface and easily accessible to man. 
 
HISTORY OF PETROLEUM. 
 
 FOREIGN OIL FIELDS. 
 
 SOUTH AMERICAN OIL FIELDS. 
 
 Much attention has of late been directed to this field. Peru, 
 Ecuador, Bolivia and Chili, offer inducements to speculators in 
 search for oil, but only in the two first-named countries are the 
 prospects of such a character as to attract foreign capital for the 
 present. The existence of oil in Peru and Ecuador has been known 
 as far back as the tradition of these countries reached, but to a cer- 
 tainty it has been made- use of for at least two hundred and fifty 
 years, by the Spaniards (the first conquerors of the Peruvian em- 
 pire, which included Ecuador,) for making pitch. The oil was 
 collected in a manner similar to that employed by the Seneca In- 
 dians, to obtain the petroleum of Oil Creek ; viz : shallow pits were 
 dug, and the oil which collected, was skimmed from the surface, 
 and was then allowed to evaporate under the heat of a tropical sun 
 till it became of a thick, glutinous consistence, when it was removed 
 and boiled down to a hard pitch. This pitch was used for coating 
 the inside of earthenware, and particularly Aguardienti or liquor 
 jars. The Spanish government long held a monopoly of this trade, 
 which yielded an annual profit of $35,000. That portion of the 
 South American oil field lying in the neighborhood of the town of 
 Payta, on the river Achira, was purchased by a Mr. Lama in the 
 year 1830, who worked the mines or pits after the primitive mode. 
 In 1868, a Mr. Blanchard C. Dean in prospecting along the coast, 
 discovered the works of the Lamas, and proposed a partnership 
 
FOREIGN OIL FIELDS. 141 
 
 agreement with them, and a joint prosecution of the work. They 
 refused. He then " denounced " * a mine according to the old 
 Spanish mining laws, which resulted in a law-suit. Mr. Rollin 
 Thorne, a resident of Lima, assisted Blanchard in the litigation 
 and won the suit, and possession of the land, which in extent is 
 thirty-one miles in length and six in width. 
 
 Within the past year the courts of Peru have decided that 
 petroleum is not denounceable. Happily for the Messrs. Thorne, 
 who obtained their best oil territory by this means, the Peruvian 
 law will not allow a decision already made to be affected by any 
 subsequent one. 
 
 The Peruvian Oil Field is a belt on the west coast of South Ame- 
 rica, running along the thirtieth parallel of longitude, between Point 
 Aguja on the south, (or needle point) and the town of Tumbez, on 
 the north, and about seven degrees south of the equator. The 
 known distance is about two hundred and fifty-one miles, running 
 north and south along the Pacific coast, and about one hundred 
 and fifty miles inland to the. Andes. It is a singular coincidence 
 that the oil belt corresponds with the Oil Region of Pennsylvania, 
 as both are intersected by the 80th degree of longitude. The topo- 
 graphical structure of the Peruvian territory is broken and moun- 
 tainous, and has evidently been subjected to volcanic action. It is also 
 worthy of note that the mountain range of the Andes to the east, con- 
 
 * The proceeding is this. Any person who may have discovered a mine or vein of 
 any metals, or as the Peruvian mining laws say, juices of the earth, can present him- 
 self before the Mining Tribunal and demand possession of said vein. The discoverer 
 or claimant is called the denouncer. The Tribunal then awards him the possession 
 of a piece of ground containing the vein, two hundred yards long and of the same 
 width. Within ninety days he is obliged to commence work. He must dig a pit at 
 least ten feet deep, by the same in length and width. When this is completed his next 
 duty is to publish in the nearest daily papers, for thirty days in succession, calling 
 and asking if there be any person, or persons, who can show a better right to the dis- 
 covery. Within these thirty days, he must also post handbills in the village nearest 
 the mine, and within the jurisdiction of the mining tribunal making his award, bear- 
 ing the same import. 
 
 If no opposition is made or sustained, then the Tribunal decrees the ownership and 
 title in the " denouncer," and that the former owner of the ground shall receive from 
 the denouncer payment therefor at a price reckoned without the added value of the 
 mine. 
 
142 HISTORY OF PETROLEUM. 
 
 tains large deposits of anthracite coal, and that this coal deposit is 
 about the same distance from the oil field of Peru as our Allegany 
 anthracite deposit is from the Pennsylvania Oil Region. A coating 
 of sand about eight inches thick covers the entire surface of the 
 Peruvian oil field. A fossiliferous deposit of marine remains is 
 found on the surrounding hills, from 250 to 300 feet above the 
 level of the sea. The same deposits are also found on the bottom 
 lands, which proves that this part of the continent has at some period 
 of time been covered by the sea, The oil belt appears to belong to 
 the tertiary formation. The outcroppings of sand-rock are to be 
 met with everywhere, as we find them in Pennsylvania. Shale 
 exists below the top coating of sand, and is completely saturated 
 with oil ; which, to say the least, is a good surface indication. The 
 shale varies from thirty to forty feet in thickness. These strata of 
 shale are interlined with thin lamina of bluish grey sand-rock, of 
 a fine texture. The first sand-rock is to be found at a depth of 
 from 130 to 132 feet, and is from five to ten feet thick. The 
 second sand-rock is found at 300 feet, and the third has not yet 
 been reached, as no well has been sunk to a greater depth than 350 
 feet. 
 
 In 1871, Messrs. Rollin, Thorne & Co. commenced drilling with 
 a common pod-auger; three wells were drilled and oil was found in 
 very considerable quantities at very shallow depths, viz., 226, 56 
 and 38 feet. Other wells followed with good results. In July, 
 of last year, a new well was commenced at Point Pavinas and 
 drilled to a depth of 351 feet, or 51 feet in the second sand, through 
 which the tools have never yet penetrated. No crevice was per- 
 ceptible to the driller, as a volume of gas and oil at this depth was 
 suddenly ejected from the well, compelling the abandonment of the 
 drilling. The well was finally tubed, and both valves and sucker- 
 rods put in, to diminish the flow, which was calculated at 1,000 
 barrels per day. The well is now flowing 250 barrels per day 
 with the lower valve in. From all the wells struck on this territory 
 great volumes of gas continually issue. The gravity of the oil is 
 
FOREIGN OIL FIELDS. 143 
 
 from 40 to 50 degrees Beaume. In color it is a little darker than 
 Pennsylvania oil, and it has the same odor as an oil of the same 
 gravity. It yields from 70 to 75 per cent, of 110 fire-test kerosene 
 when refined, and is a superior article. 
 
 A contract has been entered into with Messrs. K. Thorne & Co. by 
 an Anglo-Peruvian firm for two hundred barrels crude oil per day at 
 $5 gold, extending over a long period. This firm is now building 
 a refinery of two hundred barrels capacity at the point of operation. 
 In the year 1864, Messrs. G. H. Bissell and James Bishop, of 
 the city of New York, leased of Don Diego Lama, his estate of 
 Prancora, consisting of 4,500,000 acres. A company called the 
 Peruvian Oil Company was formed, with capital of $5,000,000. 
 Operations were soon commenced by the company, on the northern 
 portion of the tract at Zorritos, twenty miles south of the Tumbez 
 river, immediately on the coast. 
 
 This company has put down a number of wells, with good suc- 
 cess. In the early part of 1868, the company struck a well which 
 produced 300 barrels per day for nearly a year, when it caved in, 
 and the production ceased. The company refine their own oil, and 
 find a ready market for this product on the Pacific Coast, Austra- 
 lia, and New Zealand. The President of the company is Mr. Geo. 
 H. Bissell. 
 
 In one well on the company's lands, the following is the order 
 in which the rocks were found : 
 
 Soapstone and slate, 
 
 Sandrock and slate, 
 
 Conglomerate limestone, 
 
 Hydrate of iron, or reddle, 
 
 Cretaceous sandstone, 
 
 Carboniferous slate, 
 
 Gravel-pebble, in which the oil was found. 
 Oil was met at 18 feet. 
 
144 
 
 HISTORY OF PETROLEUM. 
 
 ECUADOE. 
 
 The oil fields of Santa Elena, in the Republic of Ecuador, is 
 spoken of in the following terms by Raymond De Peiger, Engineer 
 and Geologist to the Government of Ecuador, in his report to the 
 President of the Republic. He says : " Petroleum is to be found 
 in the country in very large quantities. On a surface of about 
 four square leagues from the sulphureous spring of San Vicente to 
 the sea shore, wells have been sunk, and the bituminous matter 
 obtained in a liquid state. Its consistence is not the same in the 
 different wells. In some of them it is fluid, like whale oil; in 
 others, it has the consistence of butter at ordinary temperature. At 
 the surface, or upper part of many wells, it can be seen in hard 
 compact masses, which probably have been formed by the evapora- 
 tion of the liquid. This oil has a dark-brownish color, which gets 
 darker with the greater consistence of the oil. In one place where 
 it oozes from the bed of a dried stream, the bituminous matter has 
 a greenish color. 
 
 "Its smell is not disagreeable, which is generally the case with 
 many of the American, and especially the Canadian oils. As the 
 inhabitants have neither the knowledge nor the implements re- 
 quired, the works are very rude. Pits from ten to twelve feet deep 
 are dug into the sand till clay is reached, and when the oil, which 
 oozes from all sides, has filled them, it is dipped out. 
 
 " Near the wells are primitive furnaces, built with sun-dried clay, 
 on which are open iron boilers. The bituminous matter is thrown 
 into these vases and cooked until all the volatile products disap- 
 pear, and leave a thick pitch. 
 
 "In * * * Santa Elena it is not admissible to suppose that pe- 
 troleum has been formed in the upper sandy deposits. Its presence 
 there can only be explained by the escape of the bituminous matter 
 from the fissures in which it was contained. ***** "Y\r e mav 
 then safely admit that, although large quantities of oil are to be 
 found in the sand, it is only the mere waste of the real springs. 
 
FOREIGN OIL FIELDS. 145 
 
 Deeper sinking will, without any doubt, be very profitable, and 
 yield immense proportions of petroleum. 
 
 " Their proximity to the sea is another advantage of these mines. 
 AVhile great difficulties have been encountered in the United States 
 for the conveyance of the oil to the seaboard, here it may be con- 
 ducted at very small expense, from the wells to the port of Santa 
 Elena, by means of pipes, if the crude oil is exported. 
 
 " Although I should think that it would be more profitable to 
 refine at the place of production, the advantage expressed remains 
 the same. 
 
 " By this extent, by the enormous quantities of petroleum that 
 they contain, and by the short distance which lies between them 
 and the sea, these mines have a real value. Intelligent capitalists 
 will promptly appreciate it, and works will soon be established.* 
 
 " By building refineries at Santa Elena, enough kerosene might 
 be produced for the use of the country, and for the markets of the 
 neighboring republics." 
 
 What has been said of the topography and geology of the Peru- 
 vian field applies with equal force to that of Santa Elena. The 
 climate of this region, though situated almost directly under the 
 equator, is mild and salubrious, owing to the elevation of the coun- 
 try and its proximity to the Pacific, the cool breezes of the ocean 
 exercising a favorable influence on the temperature. In the coldest 
 season it is never below 50, and in the hottest never above 85. 
 
 These discoveries and these developments are destined to exercise 
 a potent influence on the future of the trade of Peru and Ecuador. 
 A powerful competition will be offered to Pennsylvania in the 
 markets of Europe, Australia, and New Zealand, while in the Ke- 
 publics of Central and South America it can result in nothing less 
 than entire exclusion. 
 
 * Since the above report was published, the Government of Ecuador leased the 
 entire oil region of Santa Elena to Mr. Richard Linn, of Titusville, for a long terra 
 of years, with most valuable concessions. We understand thai an association of capi- 
 talists are now preparing to operate under Mr. Linn's lease. The amount of territory 
 covered by this lease is 70 miles in length, and 70 in breadth. 
 
 10 
 
146 HISTORY OF PETROLEUM. 
 
 WEST INDIA ISLANDS. 
 
 CUBA. 
 
 In the early history of Cuba it is recorded that Havana was ori- 
 ginally named by the early visitors and settlers Carine " for 
 there we careened our ships, and we pitched them with the natural 
 tar which we found lying in abundance on the shores of the beau- 
 tiful bay." Petroleum springs are in number near Havana, rising 
 from fissures in the serpentine rocks at Guanabacoa, and have been 
 known for two centuries. " Allan's Manual of Mineralogy " says 
 the whole of Cuba is impregnated with bituminous matter to a 
 surprising degree, in cells and cavities in the rocks. The Esaai 
 Politique sur I 7 Isle de Cuba : " Petroleum leaks out in some, indeed 
 in numberless places in this delightful island, from amidst the fis- 
 sures of the serpentine, and perhaps has deeply-seated sources. We 
 are acquainted with abundant springs of petroleum between Hol- 
 quin and Mayari, in the eastern end of the island, and also possess 
 notices in the direction of Santiago de Cuba." 
 
 SANTO DOMINGO. 
 
 On a stream called " El Aguatediondo," or stinking water, three 
 miles north of the town of Azua, this spring makes its appearance 
 as a stagnant, torpid pool, exuding slowly through a heavy gravel 
 deposit. A very small area in the vicinity is covered with deposits 
 of pitch ; for half a mile down the bed of a rain-water stream, the 
 gravel or sand, as the case may be, is more or less cemented by an 
 impure pitch, sometimes plastic, oftener hardened to asphaltum. 
 The pools of the spring and neighboring excavations contain a 
 dirty water rendered brown by contact with the oil, and on the 
 surface is a thin scum of petroleum dark brownish-green to reflected 
 light, and a reddish-brown by transmitted light. An attempt was 
 made during the oil excitement of 1865 to bore here ; the usual 
 tools were taken to the spot, but the undertaking was eventually 
 abandoned. In the driving pipe yet remaining at the mouth of 
 the well, may be observed an accumulation of oil, through which 
 
FOREIGN OIL FIELDS. , 147 
 
 gas bubbles up. At the distance of a few yards from this well are 
 several jets of gas. Over the whole area there is not a single 
 blade of grass or any other vegetable. 
 
 BARBADOES. 
 
 An American gentleman in business on this island in 1864 
 visited the oil regions of Pennsylvania, and from his observations 
 became convinced that a like article had been noticed by him oozing 
 out of the rocks and lying on the surface of the ground on some of 
 the plantations of this island, but being engaged in business de- 
 manding his entire attention, he made no efforts to test the facts in 
 regard to it. During the year 1871, a firm on the island quietly 
 commenced to secure it by sinking shafts and curbing as they went 
 down ; it was soon found that they shipped considerable oil, and 
 that it was very valuable for lubricating purposes, netting them 
 thirty dollars per barrel on the island. These facts coming to the 
 knowledge of other parties, a company was formed and a favorable 
 spot secured on a plantation having abundant surface indications. 
 This company determined to take advantage of the modern Penn- 
 sylvania mode of obtaining oil by drilling and pumping. An ex- 
 perienced driller was engaged in Pennsylvania, who was furnished 
 with a full rig boiler, engine tools and wood work, and was dis- 
 patched to the island. In a letter dated the 2d of March the 
 driller says: "We have drilled 168 feet, but the rock is soft soap- 
 stone, and not hard enough to prevent ' caving/ so we had to 
 abandon the well. "We then moved the rig from the ravine to 
 higher ground." After the abandonment of this well it was found 
 that it had filled up seventy-five feet with oil. The second well, 
 for some cause unknown to us ; has also been abandoned. 
 
 TRINIDAD. 
 
 In the island of Trinidad, three-fourths of a mile back from the 
 coast, is a lake called the Tar Lake, a mile and a-half in circumfer- 
 ence, apparently filled with impure petroleum and asphaltum. The 
 latter, more or less charged in its numerous cavities with liquid bi- 
 
148 HISTORY OF PETROLEUM. 
 
 tumen, forms a crust around the margin of the lake, and in the 
 centre the materials appear to be in a liquid boiling condition. The 
 varieties contain more or less oil, and methods have been devised 
 for extracting this ; but the chief useful application of the material 
 seems to be for coating the timbers of ships to protect them from 
 decay. By the patented process of Messrs. Atwood, of New York, 
 the crude tar of that locality, having been twice subjected to dis- 
 tillation and treated with sulphuric acid and afterward with an 
 alkali, is then further purified by the use of permanganate of soda 
 or of potash. Being again distilled it yields an oil of specific 
 gravity 0.900, which is fluid at 32 Fahr. 
 
 THE CARPATHIAN PETROLEUM BELT. 
 
 The existence of rock oil springs and wells in Galicia, Moldavia 
 and Wallachia, outside, or along the north, north-east and east foot 
 hills of the chain of Alps which surrounds Hungary on the side 
 of Russia, has been known for some years. In 1859 the Austrian 
 geologist, M. Foetterle, wrote of them in the Year-book of the K. 
 K. Geological Institute. In 1866 Hochstetter and Prosepny pub- 
 lished further observations in the same Annual ; and licinsky, in 
 the Berg-ung-Hutten-wesen Zeitung, No. 36-37. In No. 39-41, 
 1866, Prosepny gave another account of them ; as Cotta did also 
 in the East Austrian Review. Ellenberger in 1867 added some- 
 thing in the Annual K. K. G. R., and M. Coquand inserted his 
 Memoir in the xxiv. vol. Bulletin of the French Geological 
 Society. 
 
 We have now, however, a completer resume of all that is known 
 on the subject from the pen of M. Emile Heurteau, Engineer of 
 Mines, in the recently issued 3d part of the xix. vol. of the Annals 
 of the Paris School of Mines, with a map of the Krosno-Dukla 
 districts and sections of the petroleum-bearing rocks. He says that 
 
FOREIGN OIL FIELDS. 149 
 
 in 1869 he visited most of the points where oil was actually sought 
 or obtained, but that the work was conducted by the proprietors 
 of the land, no records of borings were kept, and scarcely any traces 
 of what had been done were left to view. 
 
 The mountain range, in this part of it, runs north-west and 
 south-east, and falls oif gently to the great Miocene Tertiary plains 
 of Galicia and Moldavia, in a series of parallel anticlinal and syn- 
 clinal undulations, which are visible in the sections made by all 
 the descending valleys and ravines. The mountain mass consists 
 of cretaceous rocks and outcropping on the south-west flank, 
 covered by Eocene Tertiary sandstones and clay-slate formations, 
 almost vertical or a little overturned, so as to plunge south-west- 
 wardly, and rarely fossiliferous. 
 
 On these Carpathian rocks lie the Miocene Tertiaries, the lowest 
 of which, outcropping all along the foot-hills, are the two thin beds 
 of saliferous clay-slates which furnish the salines of the region. 
 The salt mines of Wielisk and Bochnia, the gypsum masses of 
 Podgorze, and the sulphur deposit in the gypseous marls of Schos- 
 zowice, are all in the Miocene. 
 
 Everywhere along the range of the salt-bearing rocks is a black- 
 ish clay, marl bed, more or less bituminous, of muddy consistency, 
 strongly impregnated with salt, either crystallized in large grains 
 imbedded in the mass, or condensed into -large lenticular beds of 
 impure rock salt ; or irregularly distributed. The whole saliferous 
 formation is traversed by contorted beds of anhydrite gypsum 
 alternating with beds of salt-clay, more or less pure. All stand 
 vertical or plunge steeply south, growing less deep the further 
 down they are followed, puzzling the observer with the appearance 
 of passing underneath the older steeply south-dipping rocks of the 
 mountain range. Heavy coverings of loss help the deception. It 
 is of course necessary to suppose a long fault, the north-east country 
 having settled down and curled the edges of its rock formation 
 completely over. This fault is the key to the subject of the me- 
 moir. 
 
150 
 
 HISTORY OF PETROLEUM. 
 
 On the Galician side, the oil belt, though extending for 200 
 miles, is explored at three principal centres : New Saudac, on the 
 west ; Dukla, Krosno and Sanock, in the middle ; and Borslau, in 
 the east, where the " mineral wax," ozokerit occurs in great abun- 
 dance. 
 
 From time immemorial the peasants of Bobrka, on the banks 
 of the Jasolka, between Dukla and Krosno, have noticed oil oozing 
 from joints of the sandstone rocks, and standing, especially in dry 
 seasons, on the little pools of water ; they collect it to grease their 
 wagons, and fire it off on festival occasions. In 1860 M. Lucka- 
 silwitch, hearing of the American petroleum wells, experimented 
 with his own in the laboratory, and then commenced work on M. 
 Klobassa's lands, but with very poor success. In 1861, he trans- 
 ferred his search to a place farther east, and struck oil in a bore 50 
 feet deep, which yielded 16,000 pounds daily. His second well 
 yielded 600 bbls. Wells multiplied, until in 1870 the yield 
 amounted to $70,000 per annum, giving a profit of $50,000. 
 Seventy-seven wells are ranged along the axis of a sharp anticlinal, 
 one-third of a mile long, none being more than 80 feet off the 
 straight line, and the oil from all flows through a pipe to a common 
 reservoir. Some of the wells are 350 feet deep ; but no law of 
 depth has been obtained. Shafts 7 feet square are sunk about 70 
 or 80 feet to the sandstone, and bore-holes are continued from this 
 downward. Gunpowder is used in shafting, and strong ventilating 
 fans blow out the gases. Lights are forbidden, and accidents are 
 few. The boring is very rude, being done by four hands without 
 machinery. 
 
 On reaching the oil stratum a great quantity of carbonic acid gas 
 mixed with hydro-carbons escapes from the well, followed by the 
 oil, which rises to the surface of the water, filling the shaft. A 
 small " Jewish " hand-pump is used to draw off the water and oil 
 into barrels, from which the water is allowed to escape by gravity. 
 It is evident that the oil is kept down, by the weight of water, and 
 must be relieved of this load before it will rise in any quantities. 
 
FOREIGN OIL FIELDS. 
 
 151 
 
 Some wells yield per day 3,000 kilogrammes, others 600, 302 down 
 to 80, and some mere traces of oil. The author gives interesting 
 details of the lawless behaviour of the various wells of the group, 
 with diagrams showing their relative situations and relations to the 
 anticlinal axis, and confesses that no trace of a method of explana- 
 tion has been obtained. The oil is always mixed with water, some- 
 times fresh, ordinarily saline. Between the two petroleum horizons 
 the water is always salt. The following table shows the authenti- 
 cated and official statistics of all the oil which has been transported 
 and conveyed by the Carl Ludwig & Kaiser Ferdinand (Nord- 
 Bahn) Railroads for eight successive years from the oil regions. 
 
 YEAR. 
 
 Oil conveyed and 
 transported by 
 two roads. 
 
 Into Austrian pro- 
 vinces and Prus- 
 sia. 
 
 Consumed in the 
 towns and cities 
 in Galicia. 
 
 American oil con- 
 sumed in Gali- 
 cia. 
 
 1862 
 
 cwt. 
 32,295 
 67,336 
 113,099 
 133,356 
 166,349 
 155,589 
 147,251 
 81,398 
 
 cwt. 
 26,725 
 53,796 
 91,672 
 117,043 
 146,802 
 139,059 
 134,535 
 72,701 
 
 cwt. 
 5,570 
 13,560 
 21,427 
 16,313 
 19,547 
 16,530 
 12,716 
 8,697 
 
 cwt. 
 
 787 
 238 
 114 
 1,552 
 395 
 297 
 
 1863 
 
 1864 
 
 1865 
 
 1866 
 
 1867 
 
 1868 . ... 
 
 1869 
 
 The above table will give some idea of the resources of the Ga- 
 lician portion of the Carpathian oil field, as it exhibits how many 
 years the product of this field has been in the market. 
 
 A recent traveller says of the Wallachian portion of the Carpa- 
 thian oil belt that " there is no country in the old world which has 
 been so plainly proved to be a land flowing with petroleum." Asso- 
 ciated capital has been brought to bear on its extraction and ex- 
 port, but strange enough, the mechanical appliances by which suc- 
 cess has been achieved in western Pennsylvania have been but to a 
 very limited extent introduced into Wallachia. The Romanian 
 petroleum companies, situated on the same end of the Carpathian 
 
152 HISTORY OF PETROLEUM. 
 
 belt have been contented to adopt the primitive mode of collection 
 in use with the peasantry, by making excavations into the earth, 
 into which the oil saturating the strata flows. This plan of opera- 
 tions is not conducive to profitable commercial working on a large 
 scale, but should attention be given to deep boring on the plan 
 adopted in the oil region of Pennsylvania, there is every prospect 
 of success. 
 
 In the course of this chapter mention has been made of " Ozo- 
 kerit," a mineral wax or solidified petroleum. We consider the 
 matter of so much interest that we give a brief account of this sin- 
 gular product of the field now under notice : 
 
 " Ozokerit " is a " mineral wax," and in the raw or native state 
 is of a yellowish color, of light specific gravity and somewhat 
 fibrous in its structure. It will not burn of itself, but will readily 
 melt on a light being applied to it. . On being roughly wrapped 
 around a central wick, even in its native state, it is easily and 
 readily consumed. In fact, a rude candle can be made of the raw 
 material and a cotton wick. It is found principally in Austria, 
 Moldavia, the Caucasus, and near the Caspian Sea, where it is ob- 
 tained in great quantities, being largely used in those countries for 
 illuminating purposes. It was discovered about two years since by 
 a Russian military officer, who communicated the fact to a Mr. Gus- 
 tav Siemssen, who has introduced it into England. In the prem- 
 ises where the candles are made, the native ozokerit is found in two 
 conditions in the one as dug from the earth, and in the other as 
 roughly melted down for convenience of storage in transit. In 
 the latter condition it forms a dark-colored mass, and is packed in 
 barrels, the native or unmelted ozokerit being sent over in canvas 
 bags. From the store, the crude material is conveyed into the 
 melting-tanks, holding from two to three tons each, where it 
 is melted down by means of a steam coil. From these tanks, 
 which are situated in a gallery some fifteen feet above the ground 
 level, the ozokerit is run off by gravitation to a series of stills 
 placed outside the main building, and holding from two to three 
 
FOREIGN OIL FIELDS. 153 
 
 tons each, into which it is distilled over, partly by steam, and 
 partly by bottom heat. The dirt and bottoms from the crude ozo- 
 kerit are run off from the melting-tanks into another set of tanks 
 beneath them, where they are remelted, the finer products being 
 afterward distilled over, The ozokerit comes from the stills in the 
 form of an oily distillate, which is run from the condensers into 
 molds and allowed to cool. This gives a deep yellowish wax-like 
 substance of a spongy nature, the pores being filled with oil, which 
 exudes under a slight pressure. These cakes are packed between 
 oil-skins and canvas cloths, and are placed in hydraulic presses, of 
 which there are three of large capacity. The pressed cake after 
 removal is put into reheating tanks and again melted down, and is 
 pumped from these tanks by a steam pump into the acidifier, where 
 it is treated with sulphuric acid. These acidifiers are steam jack- 
 eted, and are fitted with revolving agitators, by which the ozokerit 
 and acid are agitated for a certain time, after which the mixture is 
 allowed to settle. After settling, the purified ozokerit is drawn off 
 from the lower part of the acidifiers the acid remaining on the 
 top and run into vessels which are heated by bottom heat. This 
 is the final heating, and from these vessels the fine stuff is drawn 
 off into molds, the result being a hard white wax, the melting point 
 of which is 140, that of paraffine wax being only 128. These 
 blocks are sent to Messrs. Field's works at Lambeth, London, 
 England, and from them the well-known ozokerit candles are 
 made. There are several by-products, the chief of which is a very 
 clear, colorless oil, and of very high illuminating power. 
 
154 HISTORY OF PETROLEUM. 
 
 BURMAH. 
 
 The petroleum business in Burmah has long been in operation, 
 the oil being used by the natives for heating purposes, for preserv- 
 ing wood, and also as a medicine. Thousands of wells have been 
 excavated, and after working them so long as profitable, they were 
 left and new ones dug out. Dry holes are as frequent as in Western 
 Pennsylvania, broken-down operators as numerous, and lucky ones, 
 who have succeeded in making their first million, just as few. 
 The possession of the royalties of Burmese oil lands are still so 
 valuable as to be deemed the most desirable gifts the sovereign of 
 that country can bestow upon chosen favorites. Not only this, but 
 English capital is largely invested there, and large quantities of the 
 oil find a ready market in Europe. 
 
 The following interesting account of the wells of that distant 
 country is taken from the journal of John Crawford, Esq., F. R. S., 
 F. L. G., and ambassador of the Governor-General of India, to the 
 Court of Ava, 1826. Though this report is of old date, it applies 
 with equal truth to the present state of the business. 
 
 "At three in the afternoon, our whole party proceeded to the 
 celebrated petroleum wells. Those which we visited cannot be 
 further than three miles from the village, for we walked to them in 
 forty minutes. The wells altogether occupy a space of about six- 
 teen square miles. The country here is a series of sand hills and 
 ravines, the latter torrents after a fall of rain, as we now experienced, 
 and the former covered with a very thin soil, or altogether bare. 
 The trees, which were more numerous than we looked for, did not 
 rise above twenty feet in height. The surface gave no indication, 
 that we could detect, of the existence of petroleum. On the spot 
 which we reached, were eight or ten wells, and we examined one 
 of the best. The shaft was of a square form, and its dimensions 
 about four feet to a side. It was formed by sinking a frame of 
 wood composed of the mimosa catechu, which affords a double 
 timber. Our conductor, a son of the Myosugi of the village, in- 
 
FOREIGN OIL FIELDS. 155 
 
 formed us that the wells were commonly from one hundred and 
 forty to one hundred and sixty cubits deep, and their greatest depth 
 in any case, two hundred. He informed us that the one we were 
 examining was the private property of his father that it was con- 
 sidered very productive, and that its exact depth was 140 cubits. 
 We measured it with a good lead line, and ascertained is depth to 
 be 210 feet; thus corresponding exactly with the reports of our 
 conductor, a matter which we did not look for, considering the 
 extraordinary carelessness of the Burmans in all matters of this de- 
 scription. A pot of oil being taken up, and a good thermometer 
 being plunged into it, indicated a temperature of 99 degrees. That 
 of the air when we left the ship, an hour before, was 82 degrees. 
 We looked into one or two of the wells, and could discern the bot- 
 tom. The liquid seemed as if boiling, but whether from the emis- 
 sion of gaseous fluids or simply from the escape of oil itself from 
 the ground, we had no means of determining. The formation when 
 the wells were sunk, consisted of good, loose sandstone and blue 
 clay. When the well is dug to a considerable extent, the laborers 
 informed us that brown coal was occasionally found. Unfortu- 
 nately we could obtain no specimens of this mineral on the spot, but 
 I afterward obtained some in the village. The petroleum itself, 
 when taken out of the well, is of a thin watery consistence, but this, 
 by keeping, and in the cold weather it coagulates. Its color at all 
 times, is a dirty green, and not much unlike that of stagnant water. 
 It has a pungent, aromatic odor, offensive to most people. The 
 wells are worked by the simplest contrivance imaginable. There 
 is over each well, a cross beam, supported by two rude stancheons. 
 At the center of the cross beam, and embracing it, is a hollow 
 revolving cylinder, with a channel to receive a drag rope, to which 
 is suspended a common earthen pot, that is let down into the well, 
 and brought up full by the assistance of two persons pulling the 
 rope down an inclined plane by the side of the well. The contents 
 of the pot are deposited for the time in a cistern. Two persons are 
 employed in receiving the oil, making the whole number of persons 
 
156 HISTORY OF PETROLEUM. 
 
 engaged on each well only four. The oil is carried to the village 
 on posts in carts, drawn by a pair of bullocks, each cart conveying 
 from 10 to 14 pots of ten viss each, or from 265 to 371 pounds 
 avoirdupois of the commodity. The proprietors store the oil in their 
 houses, and then vend it to the exporters. The price varies, ac- 
 cording to the demand, from four ticals of flowered silver to six ticals 
 per 1,000 viss; which is from five pence to seven pence halfpenny 
 per 100. The carriage of so bulky a commodity, and the breakage 
 to Which pots are so liable, enhances the price in the most distant 
 parts to which the article is transported, to 50 ticals per 1,000 viss* 
 Sesamun oil will cost at the same place not less than 300 ticals for 
 an equal weight, but it lasts longer, gives a better light, and is more 
 agreeable than the petroleum, which in burning, emits an immense 
 quantity of black smoke, which soils every object near it. The 
 cheapness, however, of this article is so great, that it must be con- 
 sidered as conducing much to the comfort and convenience of the 
 Burmans. Petroleum is used by the Burmans for the purpose of 
 burning in lamps and smearing timber to protect it against insects, 
 especially the white ant, which will not approach it. It is said 
 that about two-thirds of it is used for burning, and that its con- 
 sumption is universal until its price reaches that of Sesamun oil, 
 the only other oil which is used in the country for burning. Its 
 consumption, therefore, is universal, wherever there is water car- 
 riage to convey it that is, in all the country watered by the 
 Krowaddy, its tributary streams and its branches. It includes 
 Bassien, but excludes Martaban, Tavoy and Mergui, Aracan, Tongo 
 and all the northern and southern tributary States. The quantity 
 exported to foreign ports is a mere trifle, not worth noticing. It is 
 considered that a consumption of thirty viss per annum for each 
 family of five and a half persons is a moderate average. If it were 
 practical, therefore, to ascertain the real quantity produced at the 
 wells, we should be possessed of the means of making a tolerable 
 estimate of the inhabitants who make use of this commodity, con- 
 sisting of the largest part of the population of the Kingdom. Of 
 
FOREIGN OIL FIELDS. 157 
 
 the actual produce of the wells we received accounts not easily re- 
 concilable to each other. The daily produce of the wells was stated 
 according to quality to vary from 35 to 500, the average giving 
 about 235 viss. The number of wells was sometimes as low as 50, 
 and sometimes as high as 400. The average made about 200, and 
 considering that they are spread over 16 square miles, as well as 
 that the oil is well-known to be a very general article of consump- 
 tion throughout the country, I do not think the number exagge- 
 rated. This estimate will make the consumers of petroleum for 
 burning amount to 2,066,721. In the narrative of one of my pre- 
 decessors, Captain Cox, the number of wells is given as high as 
 520, and the average daily produce of each well is reckoned at 300 
 viss, w^hich makes the whole amount produced 56,940,000." 
 
 We here give extracts in reference to Petroleum from the Narra- 
 tive of Major Michael Symes, of the English Army, who was sent 
 by the Governor-General of India as Embassador to the Court of 
 Ava, in 1765 (published by Bulmer and Co., in London, in 1800), 
 who says at page 261 : After passing various sands and villages, 
 we got to Yaynangheoum or Earth Oil (Petroleum) Creek, about 
 two hours past noon. "We were informed, that the celebrated wells 
 of Petroleum, which supply the whole empire and many parts of 
 India with that useful product, were five miles to the east of this 
 place. The mouth of the creek was crowded with large boats, 
 waiting to receive a lading of oil, and immense pyramids of earthen 
 jars were raised within and around the village ; disposed in the 
 same manner as shot and shells are piled in an arsenal. This is 
 inhabited only by potters, who carry on an extensive manufactory, 
 and find full employment. The smell of the oil is extremely offen- 
 sive. We saw several thousand jars filled with it, ranged along 
 the bank ; some of these were continually breaking, and the con- 
 tents, mingling with the sand, formed a very filthy consistence. 
 Mr. Wood had the curiosity to walk to the wells ; but, though I 
 had felt the same desire, I thought it prudent to postpone visiting 
 them until my return, when I was likely to have more leisure, and 
 to be less the object of^)bservation. 
 
158 HISTORY OF PETROLEUM. 
 
 PAGE 441. We rode until two o'clock, at which hour we 
 reached Yaynangheoum, or Petroleum Creek, of Benangyun. The 
 oil drawers stated to us, that in cleaning out old wells, accidents 
 sometimes happened from the fire-damps ; and they pointed out a 
 particular well at which two men had lost their lives from this cause. 
 
 PAGE 178. The celebrated Petroleum wells aflbrd, as I ascer- 
 tained at Ava, a revenue to the king, or his officers. The wells 
 are private property, and belong hereditarily to about thirty- two 
 individuals. A duty of five parts in one hundred is levied on the 
 Petroleum as it comes from the wells, and the amount realized on 
 it is said to be 25,000 ticals per annum. No less than 20,000 of 
 this goes to contractors, collectors, or public officers, and the share 
 of the State, or 5,000, was assigned during our visit as a pension 
 of one of the Queens. 
 
 PAGE 206. The Petroleum wells of Renangyorong have been 
 already described in the Journal. From the more accurate infor- 
 mation, which I obtained at Ava, it appears that the produce of 
 these may be estimated at the highest, in round numbers, at 22,- 
 000,000 of viss, each of three and sixty-five one-hundredth pounds 
 avoirdupois. This estimate is formed from the report of the Myo. 
 Thugyi, who rents the. tax on the wells, which is five in a hundred. 
 His annual collection is 25,000 ticals, and he estimated, or conjec- 
 tured, that he lost by smuggling 8,000, making the total 33,000. 
 The value of the whole produce, therefore, is 660,000 ticals. The 
 value of the oil on the spot is reckoned at three ticals per 100 viss, 
 and consequently its amount will be as above stated. 
 
 PAGE 238. I should observe, that Petroleum is universally 
 used, wherever the navigation of the Irrawaddy and^ Ryendwen, 
 with their tributary streams, will allow of its being conveyed, and 
 that it is also carried to a place already noticed in our journey up 
 the river. Dr. Buchanan partook of an early dinner with me, and 
 when the sun had descended so low as to be no longer inconve- 
 nient, we mounted our horses to visit the celebrated wells that 
 produce the oil, an article of universal use throughout the Empire. 
 
FOREIGN OIL FIELDS. 159 
 
 PAGE 442. The evening being far advanced, we met but few 
 carts; those we did observe were drawn by a pair of oxen, 
 and of a length disproportionate to the breadth, to allow space 
 for earthen pots that contained the oil. It was a matter of sur- 
 prise to us, how they could convey such brittle ware with any 
 degree of safety over so rugged a road. Each pot was packed in a 
 separate basket and laid in straw, notwithstanding which precau- 
 tion, the ground, all the way, was strewn with broken fragments 
 of the vessels, and wet with oil, for no care can prevent the fracture 
 of some in every journey. As we approached the pits, which were 
 more distent than we had imagined, the country became less un- 
 even, and the soil produced herbage. It was nearly dark when 
 we reached them, and the laborers had retired from work. There 
 seemed to be a great many pits within a small compass. Walking 
 to the nearest, we found the aperture about four feet square, and 
 the sides lined, as far as we could see down, with timber ; the oil is 
 drawn up in an iron pot, fastened to a rope passed over a wooden 
 cylinder, which revolves on an axis, supported by two upright 
 posts. When the pot is filled, two men take hold of the rope by 
 the end, and run down a declivity, which is cut in the ground, to a 
 distance, equivalent to the depth of the well. Thus, when they 
 reach the end of the track, the pot is raised to its proper elevation ; 
 the contents, water and oil, together, are then discharged into a 
 cistern, and the water is afterwards drawn through a hole in the 
 bottom. Our guide, an active, intelligent fellow, went to a neigh- 
 boring house, and procured a well-rope, by means of which we 
 were enabled to measure the depth, and ascertained it to be thirty- 
 seven fathoms ; but of the quantity of the oil at the bottom we 
 could not judge. The owner of the rope, who followed our guide, 
 affirmed that when a pit yielded as much as came up to the waist 
 of a man, it was deemed tolerably productive ; if it reached his neck, 
 it was abundant ; but that which rose no higher than the knee, was 
 accounted indifferent. When a well is exhausted, they restore the 
 
160 
 
 HISTORY OF PETROLEUM. 
 
 spring by cutting deeper in the rock, which is extremely hard in 
 those places where the oil is produced. The government farms out 
 the ground which supplies this useful commodity, and it is again 
 let to adventurers, who dig wells at their own hazard, by which 
 they sometimes gain and often lose, as the labor and expense of 
 digging are considerable. The oil is sold on the spot for a mere 
 trifle I think 200 or 300 pots for a tackal, or half a crown. The 
 principal charge is incurred by the transportation and purchase of 
 vessels. We had but half gratified our curiosity, when it grew 
 dark, and our guide urged us not to remain any longer, as the road 
 was said to be infested with tigers, that prowled about at night 
 among the rocky, uninhabited ways through which we had to pass. 
 We followed his advice, and returned with greater risk, as I 
 thought, of breaking our necks from the badness of the road, than 
 of being devoured by wild beasts. At ten o'clock we reached our 
 boats without any misadventure." 
 
 PUNJAB, INDIA. 
 
 The Public Works Department of the Government of India a 
 few years since engaged a gentleman from Pennsylvania, Benjamin 
 Smith Lyman, Esq., to report on the commercial value of the oil 
 lands of the Punjab. Mr. Lyrnan reports as follows : 
 
 The Punjab oil region is in the corner between Cashmere and 
 Cabul, and lies wholly between north latitude 32 31 ', and ,33 
 47', and east longitude (from Greenwich) 71 18', and 73 5' ; a 
 nearly square space about a hundred miles long east and west, by 
 ninety miles wide, north and south. 
 
 Just inside the north-east corner of this square is Eawul Pindee, 
 the largest town of the region, with about twenty thousand inhabi- 
 tants; just inside the south-east corner is Pind Dadun Khan, a 
 town of about twelve thousand inhabitants ; and just inside the 
 
FOREIGN OIL FIELDS. 161 
 
 south-west corner is the ancient uninhabited ruin of a walled town, 
 now called Kafir Kot. Just within the north-west edge of the re- 
 gion, and less than twenty miles from its eastern edge, stands the 
 little village of Shah kee Dheree, on the site of the ancient capital 
 Taxila, where the King Taxiles hospitably entertained Alexander 
 the Great. The small town of Attok, where Alexander crossed the 
 Indus into India, is only ten miles north of the middle of the north- 
 ern edge of the square. The famous Muneekyala Tope, built by 
 King Kanishka, about the Christian Era, to mark the spot where 
 Booddha in compassion gave his own flesh to satisfy the hunger of 
 a starving tiger, stands a little outside the square, fifteen miles 
 south-east of Eawul Pindee. 
 
 The river Indus enters the square about the middle of the north- 
 ern edge, and leaves it at the south-west corner. The Jhelum 
 river (the " fabulosus Hydaspes " of the ancients), one of the five 
 rivers that gives its name to the Punjab, flows across the south-east 
 corner, past Pind Dadun Khan, south-westerly toward the Indus. 
 The center of the region is drained by the Sohan, which rises near 
 Rawul Pindee, and flows west, south-west to the Indus. 
 
 The region lies, then, mostly between the Indus and Jhelum, in 
 what is called the Sind Sagur Doab (two rivers), and it is mainly 
 in the mountainous or hilly part (Kohistan) of the Doab. The oil 
 has been bored for at Gunda, and at first fifty gallons of it a day 
 were pumped from the well ; but the yield, of course, grew quickly 
 less (like the ordinates of a parabola), and after the whole amount 
 had reached two thousand gallons (about five months) the daily 
 yield was less than ten gallons. In the region, oil flows also at 
 five other places from natural springs, from a gill to three quarts a 
 day, and there are traces of it at yet two other places, making 
 eight in all. Asphalt, or dried oil, is found in small quantities at 
 four of these places, and at four other places at two in notable 
 quantities. At most of the asphalt places there are traces of rock 
 tar or asphalt melted in the heat of the sun ; and at one of them 
 (Aluggud) as much as one hundred gallons. Besides these dozen 
 11 
 
162 HISTORY OF PETROLEUM. 
 
 places where oil or asphalt is found there are half a dozen places 
 where there are small traces of one or the other, enough to attract 
 notice in the minute examination of the country by its inhabitants. 
 About half of all the places are in the north-eastern corner of the 
 region ; about half toward the south-western corner, and one or two 
 in the north-western corner toward the middle. 
 
 The Aluggud oil (now dried to asphalt) seems to have come from 
 rocks of carboniferous age, to judge by their fossils, though other 
 things would rather show that they were of later age. If they 
 are carboniferous, then the nummulitic rocks are wanting above 
 them, and have thinned completely away from a thickness of 2,000 
 feet only thirty miles distant. This oil is also the only case of oil 
 outside of the older tertiary rocks anywhere in the whole region. 
 
 All the other oil springs or shows of oil in the southern part of 
 the region are on the northern side of the Salt Range and in the 
 nummulitic lime rock, or close above it. The northern ones are 
 either in the nummulitic lime rock of the Choor Hills, the same 
 probably as that of the Salt Range ; or in the Gunda rocks (chiefly 
 sand rocks) that lie south of them, also accompanied by nummulites. 
 
 In every case the oil seems to come from a deposit of very small 
 horizontal extent, sometimes only a few feet, seldom as much as a 
 few hundred yards ; only in one case, that of the Chhota Kutta 
 and Burra Kutta oil springs, near Jaba, does the deposit seem to 
 extend as much as half a mile. Here, too, the oil comes from a 
 thickness of about a hundred feet, and the natural springs yield at- 
 one place as much as three quarts a day. At all the other places 
 the oil comes from a much smaller thickness of rock, from forty 
 feet at Aluggud and twenty at Gunda and Punnoba downward. 
 Scarcely do any two oil springs come from the same bed of rock. 
 
 The oil is dark green in color, and so heavy as to mark 25 of 
 Beaume's scale, or even less. The Gunda oil has been burned a 
 little by the natives with a simple wick, resting on the side of an 
 open dish ; but the Punnoba oil is more inflammable, and needs a 
 special tube for the wick, though the main opening of the dish or 
 
FOKEIGN OIL FIELDS. 163 
 
 lamp may stay uncovered. The oil, generally, however, has been 
 little used for burning, except at Punnoba ; but has been sought for 
 as a cure for the sore backs of camels. The asphalt was highly 
 prized forty years ago by the natives as medicine, especially for 
 broken bones. It was carried far and wide, and was called " negro's 
 fat/' because it was believed to have dripped from the brain of a 
 negro who had been hung up by the heels before a slow fire. 
 
 It is perhaps needless to say that there is nothing whatever in 
 the mode of occurrence of the Punjab oil, to uphold the chimerical 
 belief that rock-oil ever passes by distillation, emanation, or other- 
 wise, from one set of rocks to another ; that it originates in any dif- 
 ferent rocks from those in which it is found ; and nothing to show 
 that it has been formed by any other method than the very natural 
 and sufficient one of the slow decomposition of organic matter, de- 
 posited along with the other materials of the rock. Neither is 
 there anything to show that the oil has been driven up by the up- 
 ward pressure of water from the lower parts of a bed of rock 
 through its pores to a higher part of the same bed ; on the contrary, 
 as the rocks near most of the oil springs dip pretty steeply, if such 
 an action of water were possible, all the oil would long ago have 
 been altogether forced out of the rock at the outcrop. Indeed, such 
 an idea is quite inconsistent with the fact that even a slight amount 
 of oiliness in the pores of a body is a complete bar to the entrance 
 of water ; much less could water (without soap) scour the oil from 
 one mass of rock and make it flow into another mass filled with 
 moisture. If oil wells are more numerous in some regions along 
 the tops of rock saddles, the reason is clear, that the oil-bearing 
 bed lies too deep for boring conveniently elsewhere. 
 
 Wild hopes have sometimes been entertained that a large amount 
 of oil might, by boring near the oil springs, be struck in some ca- 
 vity below the oil-bearing bed ; but it is safe to say that they are 
 not justified by anything whatever, either in the Punjab or in any 
 other part of the world either in the practical experience of oil 
 boring or in the general laws of physics. 
 
164 HISTORY OF PETROLEUM. 
 
 CHINA. 
 
 Late accounts from. China report immense oil fields, some of 
 which are worked to a limited extent. The Chinese may justly 
 claim to be the first to drill for oil, as for hundreds of years they 
 have regularly bored their wells, and that to a very great depth. 
 The celebrated traveller, Abbe Hue, discovered the existence of 
 petroleum in many parts of the Empire. In describing the wells, 
 he states, that many are drilled to a depth of 1,500 to 2,000 feet, 
 the drilling being done very laboriously by a tube six inches in 
 diameter. 
 
 A Catholic missionary who was engaged in the province of Slo- 
 Tchouch in 1833 a territory which is celebrated for its fine wells, 
 gives some very interesting particulars about the petroleum busi- 
 ness in the Celestial Empire. After describing a burning well, 
 and the method of quenching it, by turning the waters of a small 
 lake upon the flames, the missionary states, that when the mouths 
 of these wells are closed, the gas is conveyed to any place where it is 
 needed through hollowed bamboos, and used for lighting the towns 
 and villages. He also describes how in a province about 200 
 leagues from Canton the gas is used in the great salt mines for fuel. 
 The gas is conducted under the boilers by bamboos from the well. 
 These are tipped with earthenware, which keeps the bamboo from 
 burning when the gas is ignited. So great is the quantity of gas 
 produced that all the flame cannot be utilized, but much of it is 
 allowed to escape to the surface of the earth by means of chimneys. 
 
 JAPAN. 
 
 A very extensive and valuable oil field exists in this country. 
 Oil is found at shallow depths by sinking pits. An English Com- 
 pany recently purchased the necessary tools and machinery to com- 
 mence developments. This Company took out with them a driller 
 and refiner from the Pennsylvania Oil Kegion. From accounts 
 received of this field, we conclude it is of a very promising cha- 
 racter. 
 
FOREIGN OIL FIELDS. 165 
 
 ALSACE. 
 
 The value of Alsace to Germany, and the Consequent extent of 
 the loss to France, commercially considered, are alike enhanced by 
 the probable development of a considerable petroleum industry in 
 that celebrated province. 
 
 Oil works on a small scale, already exist in the valley of the 
 Rhine, near the village of Schwatwiller, within and near the 
 borders of the forest of Hagenau. A thick alluvial deposit has 
 first to be penetrated, beneath which are alternating strata of in- 
 durated clay, and micaceous sandstone, with seams of compacted 
 sand. These last named seams, contain the petroleum, and are 
 found at a depth of two hundred or two hundred and fifty feet. 
 Indications of the presence of petroleum are observable in various 
 parts of the forest, and bitumen is found and worked in the adjacent 
 country. Borings to test the presence of the petroliferous sand, 
 have been multiplied to some extent, and in all cases with satis- 
 factory results. The mode of working very much resembles that 
 of a colliery. We believe that at present there are only two oil 
 pits existing, and one of these is of a very recent date. The pits 
 are sunk in the ordinary way, and the seams of sand are worked 
 by galleries, in a manner similar to that of getting coal. As the 
 workmen cut their way through the compacted sand, the oil oozes 
 out of it, running down the wall, of the gallery on to the floor, 
 where it accumulates in shallow wells dug for the purpose. From 
 these wells the crude petroleum is conveyed to the surface. But 
 the process of draining does not remove all the oil, and the sand 
 itself is accordingly taken to the surface, to be distilled in retorts. 
 The crude oil which oozes from the sides of the gallery, and that, 
 which is distilled from the sand, are subsequently rectified by a 
 further distillatory process, and the product is understood to be in 
 no degree inferior to Pennsylvania refined petroleum. In working 
 the existing pits, it is a singular fact that no water is found. Of 
 the extent to which the petroliferous sand prevails, it would be 
 
166 HISTORY OF PETROLEUM. 
 
 premature at present to judge, but there seems no reason to doubt 
 its presence over a considerable range of territory. 
 
 HANOYEK. 
 
 Experiments have been made in regard to the well-ascertained 
 deposits in different localities in Hanover, and borings have been 
 prosecuted in the neighborhood of Helde, with the object of de- 
 termining the extent and thickness of a remarkable layer of chalk, 
 occurring at the depth of about one hundred and twenty feet, and 
 saturated with petroleum. Several years ago this chalk deposit 
 was examined to a depth of four hundred feet, and the first one 
 hundred and fifty feet were extremely rich in petroleum, and 
 various amounts were yielded as the drillings descended. It would 
 appear that in consequence of the inefficiency of the apparatus, 
 the engineer was unable to penetrate any deeper than four hundred 
 feet, at the point pure petroleum was found. At present the 
 borings are to be conducted more vigorously, and are to be carried 
 down to a depth of one thousand feet, with a bore of the diameter 
 of seventeen inches. 
 
 ITALY. 
 
 From time immemorial the inhabitants of Rivanazzano, a small 
 place a short distance from the town of Voghera in the former 
 kingdom of Sardinia, have been in the habit of using mechanically 
 a certain fluid which issues in small rills from the Madonna del 
 Monte, as well as of burning it as a light in their dwellings. At 
 the top of this mountain there are traces of an extinct volcano, and 
 some short time since wells were sunk at its foot, and their con- 
 tents subjected to chemical analysis, the result of which was that 
 petroleum of an excellent quality was found to be present in con- 
 siderable quantities. The explorers then came to the conclusion 
 that abundant subterranean reservoirs of this mineral oil must ne- 
 
FOREIGN OIL FIELDS. 167 
 
 cessarily exist at no great distance from the scene of their opera- 
 tions, and they determined to trace the above mentioned rills to 
 their sources. 
 
 Excavations were accordingly commenced on the borders of the 
 pleasant slopes of Nazzano, about twelve kilometres from Voghera. 
 At a depth of about fteen metres a considerable issue of gas took 
 place, and when thirty metres had been reached, salt-water strongly 
 impregnated with petroleum was met with, a circumstance which 
 the explorers remembered as always occurring in the oil springs of 
 Pennsylvania. Following up the excavations, loud explosions of 
 gas took place at a depth of ninety metres, and large volumes of 
 salt water mixed with petroleum issued from a stratum of sand- 
 stone rock which was there met with. Pumps, on the principle 
 of those used in America, under similar circumstances, were then 
 introduced, and an abundant supply of petroleum obtained. Ulti- 
 mately, a concession of this valuable property was granted by the 
 Italian government to the explorers, as a reward for their exertions. 
 
 The petroleum thus obtained has now been refined, and found 
 to yield a valuable lubricating oil, and one well adapted for mixing 
 up paints and varnishes, while the oil for burning gives a very bril- 
 liant white light, and has been found remarkably free from the 
 offensive odors usually existing in mineral oils. Our contemporary 
 adds that the result of these explorations has created quite a 
 sensation, and that it is to be hoped that capital will not be want- 
 ing fully to develop discoveries which have been pronounced by 
 eminent engineers, geologists and chemists, to be most promising 
 in a commercial, as well as important in a national point of view. 
 
 " At Salso the Marchese della Rosa," says an American gentle- 
 man traveling in Italy, " took me to see the place where he is 
 boring for oil. The country has very much the appearance of 
 that around Oil City, Pennsylvania. The Marchese said, that one 
 could not stick a cane into the ground" without finding traces of 
 oil. The work has now been carried down about one thousand 
 feet, but not in paying quantities. 
 
168 
 
 HISTORY OF PETROLEUM. 
 
 NEW ZEALAND. 
 
 IN the vicinity of Taranaki there is an exhalation of gas, and 
 bubbles of bituminous matter, have been observed since the earliest 
 days of the settlement, at about half a mile from high water mark, 
 between the main-land and Moturoa, the highest of the Sugar 
 Loaf Islands; and, according to Dieffenbach, "was whimsically 
 attributed by the Maoris to the decomposition of an atua, or spirit, 
 who was drowned there." 
 
 It was not, however, until November, 1869, that any attempt 
 appears to have been made to search for this oil, by boring or sink- 
 ing wells on land, and as these experiments have to a certain de- 
 gree proved successful, much attention has been recently attracted 
 to this natural production. 
 
 Two companies were formed to test the oil lands of this island. 
 The Taranaki Company drilled two wells, and the Alpha Oil 
 Company one well. Dr. James Hector, in his abstract report on 
 the progress of the geological survey of New Zealand, says, close to 
 the main Sugar Loaf, and to the foot of the cliffs is the Taranaki 
 Company's bore, No. 1, which has been sunk with much trouble 
 to a depth of 300 feet. The derrick stands at ten feet above high 
 water ; and for some time the water level in the bore, maintained 
 by this level, but after a time it sunk suddenly to 32 feet, which 
 would appear to indicate the existence of subterranean channels, 
 communicating with chambers where there is less than the external 
 atmospheric pressure, owing, perhaps, to the condensation of oil va- 
 pors. At 254 feet a patch of grey, ferruginous tufa was passed 
 through, charged with oil, which was the only result. In this bore 
 some patches of hard basaltic rock were encountered, but in the 
 whole there was no decided change in the character of the agglo- 
 merate. 
 
 Taranaki Company's bore, No. 2, is on the island on the north 
 headland, and is commenced on a shelf above the water level. 
 The bore was, in October, sunk to a depth of 145 feet, being 10 
 
FOREIGN OIL FIELDS. 169 
 
 feet in the sand-stone, 95 feet in the agglomerate breccia, 30 feet in 
 the consolidated tufa, and a few feet more in the agglomerate again. 
 A few oil patches have been passed through, but no appreciable 
 quantity has been obtained. 
 
 The third bore is that of the Alpha Company, which is situated 
 a short distance from the north headland. 
 
 At 10 feet above high water, and close to the boulder-covered 
 shore, into a high sandy cliff, a shaft was sunk for 60 feet into the 
 agglomerate, from the sides of which, at 44 feet from the surface, 
 oil was found to ooze. 
 
 This shaft was continued by a bore hole to a depth of 180 feet, 
 oil being got at 80 feet, and again at the extreme depth. 
 
 When allowed to stand at rest, a considerable quantity of oil 
 collected on the surface of the water in the well, * * * 
 accompanied by the escape of gas. The oil was pumped into a 
 tub along with the water. Recently, the well has been pumped 
 more regularly, and yields, I am informed by the directors, about 
 two barrels per week.'' 
 
 The general results of the chemical examination of the oil ob- 
 tained from these wells are given as follows : One hundred parts 
 of crude oil, as obtained from the wells, having a specific gravity 
 of .963, give- 
 Distilled oil of specific gravity 874 .02 
 
 " " " " 893 .10 
 
 " " " " 917 .08 
 
 " " " 941 .60 
 
 Solid bitumen 06.1 
 
 Fixed carbon 12.4 
 
 Ash 01.5 
 
 100.00 
 
 The presence of petroleum has been reported in other parts of 
 New Zealand. 
 
 We understand that recent developments promise success. During 
 the summer of the present year a complete set of the most approved 
 Pennsylvania drilling tools were sent out to be used at this oil 
 field. 
 
HISTORY OF PETROLEUM. 
 
 NOVA SCOTIA. 
 
 Attention has been attracted to the existence of surface-oil oozing 
 from the sand rock exposed on the shore of Lake Anslie. A Com- 
 pany has been formed at Halifax, and are now operating under 
 the superintendence of Mr. William Harrington. Two wells have 
 been drilled to a depth of 800 feet, in which the tools were lost ; a 
 third was commenced of which we have had no report. The drill 
 has revealed the existence of three sand rocks. The second well 
 struck oil at 758 feet. Oil was produced from this well in such 
 abundance as to give reasonable evidence of the existence of oil in 
 paying quantities. The oil taken from the well was of unusually 
 high gravity, and almost destitute of odor. 
 
 The oil field is distant from* Halifax some 200 miles, and is near 
 a fine harbor on the coast, which we understand is now connected 
 by rail with Halifax. 
 
 CAUCASIAN OIL EEGION. 
 
 The petroleum deposits of the region of the Caucasus are very 
 remarkable. For many centuries the springs have been known, 
 and the oil has been collected by skimming. On the eastern shores 
 of the Caspian Sea, twenty thousand such wells, all of them quite 
 shallow, existed in 1868. The wells are described as being often 
 close to each other, and the opening of a new one, it is ascertained, 
 does not affect the productiveness of another near it. One sunk in 
 1863, by the side of another, which for centuries had produced 
 three thousand five hundred pounds per day, yielded forty thou- 
 sand pounds per day, without affecting in the least the first. The 
 American method has lately been introduced, and flowing wells 
 have burst forth from a depth of two hundred and fifty feet, which 
 have, until controlled, sent up a jet from 40 to 60 feet high. It is 
 calculated that nineteen million pounds are annually produced in 
 
FOREIGN OIL FIELDS. 171 
 
 the Caucasus region. The present oil-producing region is 25 
 miles in length, and about half a mile in width. The oil is found 
 in a porous argillaceous sand-stone belonging to the tertiary period. 
 In the vicinity are hills of volcanic rocks, through which heavier 
 sorts of petroleum flow out. It has been observed that from the 
 central portion of the tract the oil is as pure as if refined, and by 
 its faint yellow tint resembles Sauterne wine. That obtained near 
 the sides of the tract is darker, changing to a yellowish green, then 
 reddish brown, and finally to Asphaltum. 
 
 The oil is largely introduced into Persia, and over large districts 
 no other material is used for producing artificial light. The fol- 
 lowing article by M. Sainte-Claire-Deville upon the properties of 
 Caucasian petroleums will be found of much interest : 
 
 On the Physical Properties and the Calorific Power of some 
 petroleums of the Russian Empire. By M. Sainte-Claire-Deville, 
 Corresponding Member of the Academy of Sciences of St. Peters- 
 burg. Read April 21, 1871. 
 
 Rear Admiral Likhatchof desiring to know, in the interest of 
 the transport trade on the Caspian sea, the value and composition 
 of the petroleum oils of Bakou, sent to me samples of these ma- 
 terials. I have made a very attentive examination of them, per- 
 suaded that one day the employment of mineral oils as a combusti- 
 ble will be general in all countries where nature furnishes them 
 abundantly to a regular and well organized exploitation. 
 
 Petroleums receive divers applications which necessitate a know- 
 ledge of certain of their properties and composition. These special 
 properties and the result of their analysis will be the object of 
 this memoir. 
 
 1st. The investigation of volatility. Petroleums are employed in 
 considerable quantities for lighting purposes. Lamp oils, to use 
 an expression established in France (les huiles lampantes), ought 
 at the same time to be very fluid in order to mount easily into the 
 wick, and little volatile in order not to be too dangerous in their 
 management. The more fluid these oils are, the more volatile are 
 
172 HISTORY OF PETKflLEUM. 
 
 
 
 they, and the lower their, density. When they distil, as they do 
 in America on a large scale, petroleum of low density, they only 
 devote to the manufacture of lamp oils the intermediate products 
 whose points of ebullition are above 150 and below 250 or 280. 
 Those portions which go above 300 in the retorting possess a 
 viscosity which make them useless for lamps, and puts them in 
 demand for the fabrication of lubricating matters, or for fuel. To 
 handle a. petroleum oil, one must know exactly the number which 
 represents the quantity of these volatile matters between 150 and 
 300. This number indicates the proportion of lamp oils which 
 can be extracted from the natural product. 
 
 All that which does not pass in the distillation below 280 
 should be considered as properly furnishing the lubricating oils, 
 or to be employed without danger as a combustible of perfect 
 quality. As to the volatile portions below 150, they are com- 
 posed of gaseous substances, such as hydrure of butyline, or of 
 matters possessing at ordinary temperatures strong volatility. These 
 are the substances which cause such frequent accidents since the 
 development of a commerce in petroleums on so grand a scale. 
 
 The table which I am about to give, and which contains numer- 
 ous figures relative to the volatility of the Caucasian oils, enables 
 them to distinguish at once those which are dangerous, those which 
 furnish lamp oils, and finally the parts of these oils which may be 
 employed for heating purposes. 
 
 It will suffice for this to state for each of them the quantities of 
 materials volatilized below 150, between 150 and 300, and 
 those which have resisted this temperature. 
 
 M. Likhatehof has sent me three specimens of oils, or products 
 of the works at Bakou. On submitting them to distillation, the 
 following results are obtained : 
 
 No. I. Raw Naphtha, from the Balchany Wells. 
 
 Volatile matters at 100 l.o per cent. 
 
 " 160 5.0 " 
 
 " " 180 9.3 " 
 
 " " 200 14.0 " 
 
FOREIGN OIL FIELDS. 173 
 
 Volatile 
 
 matters at 
 
 220 
 
 1 5. 3 per cent. 
 
 
 
 260 
 
 29.0 
 
 " 
 
 
 
 280 
 
 37-0 " 
 
 
 
 
 30<> 
 
 41-3 " 
 
 
 No. 
 
 2. Residue from distillation of the Bakou Works. 
 
 
 M 
 
 tt 
 
 240 
 
 I.O " 
 
 " 
 
 u 
 
 260 
 
 2.3 " 
 
 " 
 
 tt 
 
 280 
 
 4-3 " 
 
 " 
 
 tt 
 
 300 
 
 7.7 
 
 
 M 
 
 ?. 3. Black oil from the Weyser Works, Bakou. 
 
 
 " 
 
 " 
 
 200 
 
 2.3 
 
 " 
 
 K 
 
 240 
 
 
 " 
 
 " 
 
 260 
 
 14.0 " 
 
 " 
 
 tt 
 
 280 
 
 22.3 
 
 " 
 
 (t 
 
 300 
 
 33-7 " 
 
 Numbers 1 and 3 give a certain quantity of lamp oil, and 
 number 2 can only serve as a combustible or lubricating substance. 
 
 The specimens from another source, but which have been col- 
 lected at Bakou itself, and of which M. Likhatchof has sent me 
 great quantities, have given the following results : 
 
 NO. 4. LIGHT OIL. 
 
 Volatile parts at 140 2.7 per cent. 
 
 " " 160 7.0 " 
 
 " 180 13.3 " 
 
 " " 220 19.0 " 
 
 " " 240. 23.3 
 
 " " 260 29.3 " 
 
 " " 280 36.7 " 
 
 " 300 75.3 " 
 
 NO. $. VISCOUS OIL. 
 
 Volatile parts at 200 l.o per cent. 
 
 " " 220 , 1.3 " 
 
 2 4 3-7 
 
 " " 260 I.O " 
 
 " " 280 6.0 " 
 
 300 9.7 " 
 
 These materials are those which have served to determine the 
 calorific power which will be given further on. 
 
174 HISTORY OF PETROLEUM. 
 
 2d. Density and co-efficients of dilatation. I have had many 
 times occasion to note the dangers which arise during the trans- 
 portation of petroleums from their considerable dilatability. When 
 a building is filled with barrels containing petroleum, a large 
 empty space must be left in order to avoid their explosion ; the 
 volume of which space can be calculated from tables now to be 
 cited, constructed with reference to the changes of temperature to 
 which the material may be exposed on its voyage or during its stay 
 in the ports and warehouses of commerce. 
 
 I have taken the density at and at 50 of the petroleum oils 
 of Bakou, and have calculated with these numbers their co-effi- 
 cients of dilatation. Supposing the oil to be exposed during its 
 voyage to a change of temperature of 50, which is prudent to 
 admit, the value of the space which must be left empty in the 
 vessel is found by means of the following formula : v + k -j- 50 ; v 
 being the volume of the vessel, and k being the co-efficient of dila- 
 tation given below : 
 
 No. i. Density at o 0.882, raw naphtha from the Balchany wells. 
 
 at 50 0.8473. 
 
 Co-efficient of dilatation ...0.000781. 
 
 No. 2. Density at o o 928, residue of distillation from Bakou works. 
 
 at 50 0.888 
 
 Co-efficient of dilatation ... 0.00091. 
 
 No. 3. Density at o 0897, black oil from Weyser works of Bakou. 
 
 at 50 7.865. 
 
 Co-efficient of dilatation 0.000737. 
 
 No. 4. Density at o 0.884, light oil of Bakou. 
 
 at 50 0.854. 
 
 Co-efficient of dilatation *. 0.000724. 
 
 No. 5. Density at o 0.938, heavy oil of Bakou. 
 
 at 50 0.907. 
 
 Co-efficient of dilatation 0.000681. 
 
 3d. Elementary composition. The elementary analysis of petro- 
 leum serves principally to calculate the theoretical calorific power 
 of these minerals. In default of direct determination, you can 
 admit that the quantity of heat given by the combustion of the 
 compound is the sum of the quantities of heat of the combustion 
 
FOREIGN OIL FIELDS. 175 
 
 of the elements, and calculate thus the calorific power of these hy- 
 dro-carbons. The number thus found for petroleums is always a 
 maximum that experience never permits us to reach, doubtless 
 because carbon and hydrogen in combining disengage heat, and 
 .naturally this disengaged heat is no longer present in the com- 
 pound. But, as M. Macquorn Rankine has very judiciously re- 
 marked, you obtain by this calculation an approximate number, 
 which, wholly inexact as it is, may be a guide in the comparison 
 of values, as combustible of divers mineral oils. Here are the 
 results which I have obtained by analyzing the petroleums of 
 Bakou. I designate them by the numbers which have already 
 served me to specify them in the preceding chapters. 
 
 No. I. Hydrogen 12.5 
 
 Carbon 87.4 
 
 Oxygen o.i 
 
 100. 
 
 No. 2. Hydrogen 11.7 
 
 Carbon 87.1 
 
 Oxygen 1.2 
 
 100. 
 
 No. 3. Hydrogen 12-0 
 
 Carbon 86.5 
 
 Oxygen 1.5 
 
 100. 
 
 No. 4. Hydrogen 13.6 
 
 Carbon 86.3 
 
 Oxygen o.i 
 
 100. 
 
 No. 5. Hydrogen , 12.3 
 
 Carbon 86.6 
 
 Oxygen i.i 
 
 100. 
 
 To compute with these results the heat of combustion, deduct 
 from the number of hydrogen one-eighth of the oxygen found, mul- 
 tiply this difference by 344.62, multiply the number of the carbon 
 by 80.8, and get the sum of the two products thus obtained. 
 
176 HISTORY OF PETROLEUM. 
 
 Thus calculated, the following table gives the theoretical heat of 
 combustion of the Bakou oils : 
 
 No. * 11,370 units of caloric. 
 
 2 11,000 " " 
 
 3 11,060 " " 
 
 4 11,660 " " 
 
 5 u,aoo " " 
 
 4th. Calorific power or heat of combustion. I have determined 
 already the calorific power of petroleums by proceedings which 
 have been described in the reports rendered by the Academy of 
 Sciences of France (see volume Ixviii., page 349). No longer 
 having at my disposal the apparatus which has served for these 
 experiments, I have had recourse to a method which seems to me 
 to give also very good results, and which has the advantage of pos- 
 sible application whenever you have a steam-engine whose boiler 
 is heated by mineral oils. 
 
 I have shown that the heavy oil of gas works has a very nearly 
 constant composition, and furnishes with truly remarkable regu- 
 larity the same quantity of heat when it is burned in a calorimeter 
 rightly arranged. Under these conditions heavy oil at 0, a density 
 of 1.044, furnishes by kilogram 12&.77 of vapor, and produces in 
 burning 8,916 units of caloric. These numbers being definitely 
 fixed (see reports rendered, vol. Ixvi., page 450), it is evident that a 
 sufficiently exact relation could be obtained by burning successively 
 representative heavy oil under the boiler of a steam-engine pro- 
 ducing a known work, and then the oil to be experimented on 
 doing also the same work, and burning the same quantity of matter. 
 The quantities of water vaporized by the combustibles will be very 
 nearly in proportion to their calorific powers. As you know the 
 number for the heavy oil, a simple proportion enables you to 
 determine the heat of the combustion of the mineral oil taken ex- 
 perimentally. 
 
 I operated upon an engine with a Belleville boiler of eight-horse 
 power. I maintained constant, for less than a tenth of an atmos- 
 
FOREIGN OIL FIELDS. 177 
 
 phere nearly, the pressure in the boiler, while the engine was con- 
 densing in a large iron reservoir of forty cubic meters, air at a 
 constant pressure of two atmospheres three-quarters. 
 
 The air brought in by pumps escaped by a cock whose opening 
 was conveniently arranged so that the engine doing a constant 
 work the pressure in the reservoir remained itself absolutely in- 
 variable. Under the conditions which I have just mentioned, you 
 can measure exactly the quantity of water volatilized in the boiler, 
 the quantities of oil consumed to produce the constant work of the 
 engine, and when you have made the two determinations suc- 
 cessively for the heavy gas, oil serving as representative and the oil 
 taken as experiment, you have given all that is necessary to calcu- 
 late the calorific power of this last. 
 
 1st. Bakou oil, specimen sent by M. Likhatchof, and arrived in 
 a sheet-iron box carefully closed, fluid oil and already studied 
 above under No. 4. 
 
 Here are the results of its comparison with heavy oil : 
 
 Heavy oil has given 
 
 Pressure of the engine ....................................................... 3#-8. 
 
 Pressure of the air in the reservoir ........................................ 2 #-75 
 
 Temperature of the feed water ..... . ...................................... 26 
 
 Volatilized water ............................................................... i6ik. 
 
 Oil consumed ................................................................... 18^.23 
 
 Oil No. 4 has given- 
 
 Pressure of the steam .................................... .-... ................. 30.8 
 
 Pressure of the air in the reservoir.... .................................... 20.75 
 
 Temperature of the feed water ............................................. 26. 
 
 Volatilized water 
 Weight of the oil burned 
 
 From this is deduced : 
 
 1st. Calorific power of oil No. 4, 11,460 cal. Quantity of vapor 
 produced at an ordinary pressure, and without work, by 1 kilogram 
 of oil, 16&.4. 
 
 2d. Bakou oil, specimen sent by M. Likhatchof, and arrived in 
 a shee5ron box carefully closed, oil very viscous, and already ex- 
 amined above under No. 5. 
 12 
 
178 HISTORY OF PETROLEUM. 
 
 This oil, to flow easily in the pipes of conduit, requires that it 
 should be put under a pressure of about 4 decimeters of mercury. 
 To burn well an oil so little volatile, you must give to the vertical 
 grating of my preparations (see their descriptions in the reports 
 rendered, vol. Ixviii., page 349), a little more height than for the 
 fluid oils, and so dispose it (or such a disposition) that the air arrive 
 a little more easily at the bottom than at the top of the grate, where 
 the access of the air should be a little narrower. 
 
 Oil No. 5 has given 
 
 Vaporized water ............................................... . .................. 126^.6 
 
 Oil consumed ........ , 
 
 From this is deduced : 
 
 Calorific power of oil No. 5 ............................................. 10,800 cal. 
 
 Quantity of vapor produced without work and at ordinary pres- 
 sure by I kilogram of oil .......... , ............................. 
 
 If you compare these calorific powers with those which were 
 theoretically deduced from their composition, you find : 
 
 Observed power. Calculated power. Diff. 
 Oil No. 4 ........................... 11,460 cal. 11,660 cal. 200 
 
 OilNo.5 ............... ........... io,8oocal. 11,200 cal. 400 
 
 If you admit that this difference which is in mean some 300 
 units of heat, between the real calorific power and the calculated 
 calorific power, is the same for all the Bakou oils, you find for the 
 specimens of the materials sent me by M. Likhatchof, which bears 
 the numbers 1, 2, 3, and of which too small a quantity were sent 
 me to make the experiment possible, the following results : 
 
 Real power. Calculated power. 
 
 No. I ......................... ................ 11,070 cal. n,37ocal. 
 
 2 ......... ................................. jo,7oo cal. 11,000 cal. 
 
 3 .......................................... 10,760 cal. n,o6ocal. 
 
 All these determinations are infected by a very slight cause of 
 error, proceeding from the manner in which the calculations are 
 established. But they demonstrate nevertheless that the oils of 
 Bakou, compared to the American and European oils which I have 
 examined previously, hold the first rank from the considerable 
 value of their calorific power. 
 
FOKEIGN OIL FIELDS. 179 
 
 THE SHALE OIL BUSINESS OF EUROPE, ETC. 
 Scotland holds the first place in the manufacture of shale oil. It 
 is estimated that 800,000 tons of shale are annually put into the 
 retorts of the various Scotch oil works. The probable yield of 
 crude oil from this source is reckoned at 25,000,000 gallons. To 
 obtain this result, and also for the distillation of the crude, about 
 500,000 tons of fuel must be used. The principal product from 
 the crude is burning oil, of which 300,000 to 350,000 barrels may 
 be taken as the annual yield. Of lubricating oil, the demand for 
 which appears to be increasing, there is produced about 9,800 tons. 
 Also paramne wax of which the bulk is made into beautiful, semi- 
 transparent candles, and the commonest of it is used in the manu- 
 facture of lucifer matches say 5,800 tons. To these figures may 
 be added some 2,300 tons of sulphate of ammonia, and several 
 thousand barrels of coal oil spirit. The probable commercial value 
 of these products is estimated at $1,260,000. All told, there are 
 about fifty shale oil works in Scotland. Russia is advancing in 
 this department of industry ; probably the largest works of the 
 kind in the world are to be found at Riazan. Works are now being 
 erected at Taganroy of a very extensive character for the manufac- 
 ture of shale oil. From experiments made with this coal-shale the 
 result is said to have been satisfactory in the very highest degree. 
 As regards the mineral, recent explorations have led to the dis- 
 covery that there are apparently inexhaustible coal mines in Khar- 
 loff and Taganroy, and from these oil can be produced in ex- 
 tremely large quantities. This mineral is pronounced to be, some 
 of it, anthracite, and some " half anthracite," while another quality 
 of it is called " smolisteongle," or steam coal. 
 
 In France and Germany quite a number of these works exist, and 
 are in working order. Of their number and capacity, we are una- 
 ble to get reliable (statistics. 
 
 Shale oil works are to be found in England, Spain, at Constan- 
 tinople, in Italy, Bohemia and Australia, in which latter the works 
 
180 HISTORY OF PETROLEUM. 
 
 are very extensive. Under the present mode of retorting the shale 
 gives a yield of 150 gallons of crude to the ton. This gives a net 
 return of 50 per cent., or 75 gallons of clear illuminating oil. 
 This company (New South Wales Shale and Oil Company) manu- 
 factures about 20,000 barrels per annum. 
 
 We understand that there is one company in Ireland who extract 
 oil from the peat deposits, so plentiful in that country. Previous 
 to the discovery of petroleum a large number of coal-oil works ex- 
 isted in the United States ; at present there is but one, that of 
 Henry R. Foote, at New Galilee, forty miles from Pittsburgh. 
 
Drilling an Oil Well. 
 
 INSIDE VIEW OF A DERRICK. 
 
GEOLOGICAL. 181 
 
 GEOLOGICAL. 
 
 THE OIL FIELDS OF PENNSYLVANIA, ETC. 
 
 THE geology of the oil country is a subject upon which many 
 theories have been wrecked. In dealing with it we purpose to 
 present in this chapter a few quotations from the best authorities 
 we can find upon the subject, and we would here acknowledge our 
 indebtedness to that excellent little work of Henry E. Wrigley, 
 Esq., C. E.* 
 
 It is well known that the Allegany mountains divide the United 
 States geologically as well as geographically ; that east of them lie 
 the transition, the primitive and alluvial formations, and west of 
 them the great secondary formation, or formation by deposition 
 from water. This secondary formation extends across the conti- 
 nent, from the Alleganies to points far west of the Mississippi. 
 
 Whether the great valley, drained by the Mississippi, was once 
 swept over by an ocean, of which the great lakes are but the 
 remaining puddles, is not an object of immediate interest. That 
 the Alleganies formed the shore or beach of some such body of 
 water, and that along its edge were strewed animal and vegetable 
 .remains, it is undoubtedly safe to assume. 
 
 The presence of carbon, as the base of oil, shows that these 
 deposits were either animal or vegetable, it being the base of the 
 
 * Practical Memoranda for the Use of Refiners, Producers and Shippers of Petro^ 
 leum. Cleveland, 1872. 
 
182 
 
 HISTORY OF PETROLEUM:. 
 
 animal and vegetable world, as silica is likewise of the mineral 
 world. 
 
 Of course, the drill does not reach these deposits. They lie per- 
 haps almost uniformly under the edge of this formation, at a depth 
 of from 30 to 40,000 feet. The heat at this depth, although only 
 a matter of estimate, is doubtless very great, as we know that be- 
 tween 150 and 2000 feet in depth, there is an increase of 30 P . 
 It would seem, then, that these deposits of animal or vegetable 
 matter are volatilized and thrown off into the upper rocks, and 
 condensed there, by the lower temperature, into liquid oil. 
 Into what rock the gas will enter, will depend upon the charac- 
 ter of the rock. A close slate or sandstone will resist it ; but 
 wherever it finds a crevice or an open porous rock, it will force its 
 way into it, and will condense there. 
 
 Consequently the rock itself is the guide of the driller in search- 
 ing for oil, and the location of the oil producing spots, resolves itself 
 into the existence of this porous sand rock. 
 
 All the oil-producing spots that have been found in this section 
 of the United States are included in a belt of twenty miles in width, 
 stretching from Western New York to Tennessee, in a line paral- 
 lel with the Alleganies, and lying about fifty miles to the west of 
 them. The producing spots themselves are in area but the small- 
 est specks upon this belt, and are scattered over it in such an indis- 
 criminate manner, that it is impossible to trace any connection 
 between them, or, rather, to deduce the position of one producing 
 spot from others, with any degree of satisfaction. It is equally 
 impossible to trace any connection between these spots and the 
 water-shed or river-drainage of the country. 
 
 A matter which will somewhat affect the question of production 
 at the south end of the belt is the dip of the sand rock deeper into 
 the earth as it goes south. Although this is, in a great measure, 
 counteracted by the general slope of the water-shed of the country 
 in that direction, it will still average, as near as can be ascertained 
 by leveling and drilling, about thirty inches to the mile. Professor 
 
GEOLOGICAL. 183 
 
 Silliman says, that " Petroleum is uniformly regarded as a product 
 of vegetable decomposition." 
 
 Professor Dana says : " Petroleum is a bituminous liquid result- 
 ing from the decomposition of marine or land plants (mainly the 
 latter), and perhaps also of some non-nitrogenous animal tissues." 
 
 Professor Denton says : " It is a coral oil, not formed from the 
 bodies of the coral polyps, as some have supposed, but secreted by 
 them from the impure waters, principally, though not exclusively, 
 of the Devonian times." 
 
 Professor Winchell says: "Crude petroleum is not a product 
 of definite composition. It seems to be a varying mixture of seve- 
 ral hydro-carbons, some of which, as naphtha, volatilize with rapid- 
 ity when exposed to the atmosphere ; others, as kerosene, slowly ; 
 while others, as bitumen, are nearly fixed. It contains also vary- 
 ing quantities of aluminous matter and other impurities. 
 
 Petrolejum occurs in stratified rocks of all ages, from the Lauren- 
 tian to the recent. It has even been observed in some rocks of a gran- 
 itic structure. The mere presence of petroleum in a formation is far 
 from being evidence that it exists in large quantities. Observation 
 has shown that it does not exist in large quantities in any formation 
 except under certain intelligible conditions. Its presence in small 
 quantities is to be expected. 
 
 It is an opinion almost universal among geologists that petroleum 
 has been produced from organic remains. Hence long before the 
 discovery of the eozoon in Laurentian rocks, it had been inferred 
 that organic life existed upon our planet during the accumulation 
 of these rocks, because, among other reasons, they afford con- 
 spicuous quantities of petroleum. Geologists are somewhat divided 
 in opinion as to whether animal or, vegetable organisms have 
 afforded most of th native oil. Little dissent exists, however, 
 from the doctrine that most of the oil occupying the pores and 
 pockets of fossiliferous limestone has been derived from animal 
 bodies, while that saturating shales, and arising from shales, has 
 had a vegetable origin. As the oil of commerce is probably de- 
 
184 HISTORY OF PETKOLEUM. 
 
 rived from the latter course, it appears that we are to regard our 
 commercial oil as a vegetable product." 
 
 Professor Winchell closes his article on the geological phenomena 
 of petroleum* by presenting a synopsis of oil regions, and the 
 formation tributary to their supplies. 
 
 I. The black shales of the Cincinnati group afford oil which ac- 
 cumulates in the fissured shaly limestones of the same group, and 
 supplies the Burkesville region of Southern Kentucky, and Mani- 
 toulin Island, in Lake Huron. 
 
 II. The Marcellus shale affords most of the petroleum which 
 accumulates in the fissured shaly limestones of the Hamilton group, 
 and thus supplies the Ontario oil region, locally divided into the 
 Bothwell district, the Oil Springs district, and the Petrolea district. 
 The Marcellus shale affords also a large portion of the oil which 
 accumulates in the drift gravel of the Ontario region. 
 
 III. The Genesee shale, with perhaps some contributions from 
 the Marcellus shale, affords oil which accumulates in cavities and 
 fissures within itself in some of the Glasgow region of Southern 
 Kentucky. It affords also the oil which accumulates in the sand- 
 stones of the Portage and Chemung group, in North-western Penn- 
 sylvania and contiguous parts of Ohio. It affords also the oil 
 which accumulates in the sandstones of the Waverly (Marshall) 
 group, in Central Ohio. It affords also that which accumulates in 
 the mountain limestone of the Glasgow region of Kentucky and 
 contiguous parts of Tennessee, as also some of that which is found 
 in the drift gravel of the Ontario region. 
 
 IV. The shaly coals of the false coal measures, aided, perhaps, 
 by the Genesee and Marcellus shales, seem to afford the oil which 
 assembles in the coal conglomerate, as worked in South-western 
 Pennsylvania, West Virginia, Southern Ohio, and the contiguous, 
 but comparatively barren, regions, of Paint Creek, in Kentucky. 
 
 V. The coal measures may perhaps be regarded as affording a 
 
 * Sketches of Creation. Alex. Winchell, LL. D. 
 
GEOLOGICAL. 185 
 
 questionable amount of oil, which may have been found within the 
 limits of the coal measures in the West Virginia and neighbor- 
 ing regions. 
 
 From this exhibit, it appears that the principal supplies of pe- 
 troleum, east of the Rocky Mountains, have been generated in four 
 different formations, accumulated in nine different formations, and 
 worked in nine different districts. The sandstone beds in which 
 the Pennsylvania oil is found, belong to the Chemung group of the 
 Devonian formation. It is so called from the Chemung river, in 
 the State of New York, where it is well exhibited. 
 
186 HISTORY OF PETEOLEUM. 
 
 HISTORICAL DATA. 
 
 MANUFACTURE OF PETROLEUM PRODUCTS. 
 
 Communicated to the Society of Arts, Massachusetts Institute of 
 Technology, March 14th, 1872, by S. DANA HAYES, State 
 Assay er and CJiemist for Massachusetts , etc., etc. 
 
 BY referring to any authentic shipping-list, the number of thou- 
 sand gallons of crude and refined petroleum sent away from the 
 United States every day and week may be ascertained ; and very lit- 
 tle search in this direction develops statistics that are surprising to 
 persons previously unfamiliar with them. As, for example, the 
 total value of the crude and refined petroleum exported last year 
 (1871,) estimated at a low average value of twenty-five cents per 
 gallon, amounts to nearly thirty -five millions of dollars, in one year. 
 And it is especially notable that a considerable proportion of this 
 material is classed as " refined," and consists of products manufac- 
 tured from the crude petroleum of the wells before shipment. There 
 is certainly no other article of commerce ^exhibiting similar statis- 
 tics of production and manufacture among the industries of this 
 country. 
 
 The object of this memoir is to briefly sketch the history and 
 present condition of the manufacture of petroleum a manufacture 
 which is of great importance, and which, after the diligent study 
 given to it, and under skillful management, yields products supe- 
 rior to those obtained in Europe, and elsewhere, from the same 
 crude material. 
 
 The literature on this subject is at ^present exceedingly meager, 
 
HISTORICAL DATA. 187 
 
 and generally in short articles, not always trustworthy, distributed 
 through many journals and publications of different kinds ; and 
 very little correct history can be compiled from any records, ex- 
 cepting those of the Patent Office. But as the industry itself is 
 not, at most, more than eighteen years old, we find, in the experi- 
 ence of practical chemists and manufacturers, a fund of very valua- 
 ble and interesting information relating directly to the subject. 
 
 Having had uncommon opportunities for making myself familiar 
 with the manufacture of petroleum products, after careful investiga- 
 tion, and in the correspondence of others, I find it generally ac- 
 knowledged that to Mr. Joshua Merrill, manufacturing chemist of 
 the Downer Kerosene Oil Company, of Boston, more than to any 
 one else, belongs the honor of bringing this manufacture to its pre- 
 sent advanced state ; and, as an account of his labors and discoveries 
 in this connection would provide a nearly complete history of the 
 art, I take pleasure in recording some of them in this form. 
 
 COUP OIL. The first coal-oil made for sale in this country, was 
 produced at the works of the United States Chemical Manufactur- 
 ing Company, in Waltham, Mass., by Messrs. Philbrick and At- 
 wood, early in the year 1852. It was made, in connection with 
 picric acid, benzole, and other products, from coal-tar ; and was 
 named by Luther Atwood, the inventor, " Coup Oil," after the 
 coup d'etat of Louis Napoleon, which had taken place a few months 
 before. 
 
 This was a lubricating oil for machinery, of which a hundred 
 and seventy-five thousand gallons were made. It was used by 
 many of the largest factories and railroads, and at that time was so 
 highly esteemed, that Messrs-. Atwood and Merrill were employed 
 to make and sell it in Glasgow, Scotland, for Messrs. George Mil- 
 ler & Company, in 1855 and 1856. But if compared with a neu- 
 tral hydro-carbon lubricating oil of the present day, it would be 
 considered entirely unmerchantable, on account of its very offensive 
 odor and other comparatively poor qualities. 
 
 EARLY EXPERIMENTS. In 1856 Mr. Samuel Downer who 
 
188 HISTORY OF PETROLEUM. 
 
 had previously been a successful sperm and whale-oil merchant, 
 erected buildings in South Boston, and employed Mr. Merrill to 
 manufacture hydro-carbon oils for lubricating purposes especially 
 and a great many experiments were tried there, on a manufacturing 
 scale, with different forms of apparatus; and to determine the 
 most suitable crude material from which to make these oils. 
 
 About four hundred tons of Trinidad bitumen, and one hundred 
 tons of Cuban " chapapote," were consumed, and converted into 
 lubricating and burning oils, during these early experiments. The 
 experience gained in this way, and the many difficulties then over- 
 come, proved of great service in the latter operations at these 
 works. 
 
 THE FIRST ILLUMINATING OIL. Light coal-oil products ap- 
 pear to have been used by individuals in this country, for illumi- 
 nating purposes previous to this time ; but upon the introduction 
 of the Knapp and Dietz lamps, which were originally designed for 
 burning resin and other oils, it was found that some of the light 
 hydro-carbons obtained from these West Indian bitumens burned 
 freely in them, yielding a bright and beautiful light as compared 
 with that from the animal oil lamps and candles previously in 
 common use. This was an important advance, and inaugurated 
 the general burning of these hydro-carbons in lamps in this part of 
 the country ; the first illuminating oil having been made by Mr. 
 Merrill, from Trinidad bitumen, in 1856. 
 
 ALBERTITE PRODUCTS. In the spring of 1857, the first at- 
 tempts to use the Albert coal, from Hillsboro', New Brunswick, as 
 a source of lubricating and illuminating hydro-carbon oils, were 
 made at South Boston. But the condensing apparatus, which had 
 been used when distilling other coals and bitumens, was found to 
 be unsuitable for this new material, as a black asphaltum-like sub- 
 stance passed bodily over-out of the retorts, and often closed the 
 cool pipes of these condensers. This difficulty was only overcome 
 after six months spent in experimenting by Mr. Merrill, who then 
 invented an atmospheric condenser, which, being constructed of 
 
HISTOEICAL DATA. 189 
 
 large hollow disks, allowed this tarry distillate to' pass through, 
 with the more liquid hydro-carbons, from, which it was separated af- 
 terward. With this improved apparatus, the Albertite proved 
 such a valuable material, that, in the fall of 1857, six retorts, each 
 having a capacity for twelve hundred pounds of coal, were erected 
 in the open air, with the new condensers attached, and together 
 yielded about three hundred and sixty gallons of crude coal-oil in 
 twenty-four hours. Twelve more retorts were soon added to these 
 six, out of doors. After Mr. Downer had made contracts with the 
 Albert Mining Company for a regular supply of their mineral, 
 thirty retorts were erected in a substantial brick building ; and 
 these were followed by twenty more, the first eighteen having been 
 worn out and removed. These fifty retorts were used for more 
 than four years, and produced at the rate of nine hundred thousand 
 gallons of crude, or six hundred and fifty thousand gallons of re- 
 fined oils each year quantities very much larger than were antici- 
 pated when the first experiments were made, in 1856. 
 
 A very large part of the products from this Albertite mineral 
 were hydro-carbons used for lubricating purpose ; and their acknow- 
 ledged excellence was entirely due to the untiring labor and skill 
 of the manufacturing chemist. It is almost impossible for persons 
 unfamiliar with the distillations of this mineral to realize at the 
 present time, when similar processes are in common operation, how 
 many obstacles there were to success in these early days. Many of 
 the best forms of steam-distilling, and other apparatus now in use, 
 were employed and perfected then. 
 
 " CRACKING." One observation made by Mr. Merrill during 
 the manufacture of Albertite products became of such practical and 
 scientific importance in after years, that it is worthy of special 
 description here. 
 
 The light or "thin." products, afterwards used as illuminators, 
 were for a long time unmerchantable, and the production of them 
 was undesirable ; but it was observed that every time the crude 
 coal-oils, or the heavy lubricating oils made from them, were dis- 
 
HISTORY OF PETROLEUM. 
 
 tilled, these thin, light-colored hydro-carbons were invariably pro- 
 duced at first by the distillation, although the oils in the apparatus 
 had been previously fractioned with great care. 
 
 This caused so much loss of material, that every endeavor was 
 made to prevent it ; such as surrounding the upper part of the stills 
 with heated flues, and covering their tops with sand, or other poor 
 conductors of heat. But these efforts to prevent the decomposition 
 only served to demonstrate that any distillation of these hydro-car- 
 bons is necessarily destructive, and that the light distillates were 
 produced by condensation of vapors in the upper part of the distil- 
 ling apparatus, which falling back into the body of the heated fluid, 
 to be again raised in vapor, were thus decomposed, with the depo- 
 sition of carbon, into lighter and thinner hydro-carbons. Further 
 experiments showed that these hydro-carbons could be so easily 
 decomposed, that the continuous production of light distillates, 
 having a specific gravity of about .818 (42 degrees Beaume) was 
 effected from hydro-carbon oils having a specific gravity of .880 
 (30 degrees Beaume) in an apparatus holding a thousand gallons, 
 by properly regulating the heat applied ; the other products being 
 only uncondensed gases, and deposited carbon left in the apparatus 
 at the end of the distillation. These light distillates became valua- 
 ble for use in lamps some time afterward, and the manufacturer's 
 difficulty was thus removed; but the unstable nature of these 
 hydro-carbons, and the ease with which they may be " cracked/' 
 was practically demonstrated when endeavoring to overcome an 
 annoyance. 
 
 KEROSELENE. Any account of the Albertite products would 
 be incomplete without mention of the lightest naphtha obtained 
 from it, which was known as " keroselene." This was made by 
 Mr. Merrill in 1857, just after the first successful distillation of the 
 New Brunswick mineral ; and it was used in considerable quanti- 
 ties for supplying carburetted air or automatic gas machines, which 
 would have been useless at that time without this material. It 
 was obtained in a crude condition by carefully refrigerating the 
 
HISTOEICAL DATA. 191 
 
 waste gases as they passed from the outlets of condensers attached 
 to the stills and retorts ; this crude material, after agitation with 
 sulphuric acid, was redistilled by steam heat ; and the exceedingly 
 volatile keroselene, having a specific gravity of only .634, and 
 which boiled at 85 degrees Fahrenheit, was manufactured in this 
 way. 
 
 Mr. Merrill first noticed the anaesthetic effects of keroselene upon 
 a laborer engaged in cleaning a tank or cistern which had contained 
 it, at the works; and afterwards experimented further with it 
 upon rats and mice. This discovery of its anesthetic properties 
 was recorded in the medical and surgical journals of that time, and 
 many interesting results were obtained with it by different mem- 
 bers of the medical profession. 
 
 PETROLEUM. I have been unable to find any record of the dis- 
 tillation of American petroleum, taken from the wells, in a large 
 way ; although it was investigated, and the distillates obtained in 
 the laboratory were burned experimentally, quite early. But 
 Pennsylvania petroleum was not, probably, made into illuminating 
 oil, for sale, before the fall of 1858 ; although there were fifteen 
 establishments using petroleum exclusively, in the United States, 
 by the fall of 1860. 
 
 During the years 1858 and 1859, several hundred barrels of 
 petroleum were brought to Mr. Merrill from surface wells ; and, 
 on one occasion, a considerable quantity was sent to him for distil- 
 lation from the famous Tarentum well in Pennsylvania. And 
 afterward the heavy paraffine oils and residuary products from 
 "Western establishments, which were considered valueless there, 
 were manufactured into lubricating and illuminating hydro-carbon 
 oils at the works in South Boston. As the supply from flowing 
 wells increased, the use of Albertite, as a source of fluid hydro- 
 carbons, gradually diminished; although it was not abandoned 
 until 1865. 
 
 After the trying experiences of former years, no difficulty was 
 encountered in converting crude petroleum into naphthas, burning 
 
192 HISTORY OP PETROLEUM. 
 
 oil (called kerosene or "wax-oil" a patent trade-mark name), 
 lubricating oil and paraffine, similar to those made from coals and 
 bitumens. Petroleum breaks up into thin hydro-carbons, by dis- 
 tillation, even more readily than the Albertite products ; and when 
 large demands are made for burning oil, the distilling apparatus is 
 operated slowly, or modified in form, so that the condensed vapors 
 of the petroleum, or heavy oils, obtained from it are repeatedly 
 heated by being returned into the body of the still; and in this 
 way the yield of the lighter hydro-carbons may be increased at 
 will, the whole contents of the still being converted into burning 
 oil when desirable. This principle is applied to the immensely 
 large wrought-iron stills, holding two thousand barrels, or eighty 
 thousand gallons each, that are now frequently used; they are 
 placed over a number of small fire-places, with the top and upper 
 part of the stills exposed to the outside atmosphere, for the purpose 
 of condensing and returning heavy vapors in the stills. 
 
 Petroleum yields, by distillation, nine distinct commercial pro- 
 ducts. 
 
 Name. Specific Gravity. Beaume Scale. Boiling Poi 
 Righolene , &2C 6c F 
 
 Gasolene 
 
 ....665.. 
 
 85 
 
 ...120 " 
 
 C. Naphtha 
 
 ....706.. 
 
 > 70 
 
 ...I90 " 
 
 B. Naphtha 
 
 ....724.. 
 
 67 
 
 ...228 " 
 
 A. Naphtha 
 
 ....742.. 
 
 65 
 
 ...300 " 
 
 Kerosene Oil 
 
 ... 804.. 
 
 45 
 
 ...350 " 
 
 Mineral Sperm Oil 
 
 847.. 
 
 36 
 
 ...425 " 
 
 Neutral Lubricating Oil. 
 
 883. 
 
 29 
 
 '575 " 
 
 Paraffine..., 
 
 ,...848(? 
 
 U. 
 
 
 Four of these products are especially interesting and valuable : 
 the first is Righolene. It nearly corresponds to the keroselene of 
 the Albertite products, and is an extremely volatile hydro-carbon, 
 used for producing local anaesthesia, by its rapid evaporation, 
 during short surgical operations. In 1866, Mr. Merrill was re- 
 quested to make the most volatile fluid he could produce from 
 petroleum, by Dr. Henry J. Bigelow, the eminent surgeon of 
 Boston. This was done by redistilling gasolene, which was the 
 
HISTORICAL DATA. 193 
 
 very lightest petroleum naphtha, by steam heat, and condensing 
 the first distillate by the aid of ice and salt. In this way, ten per 
 cent, of the gasolene was converted into the lightest of all known 
 fluids,* which was named righolene by Dr. Bigelow. Its specific 
 gravity is only .625, and it boils at 65 degrees Fahrenheit. The 
 evaporation of this fluid is so rapid at common temperatures, that 
 it will depress the mercury in a Fahrenheit thermometer to nine- 
 teen degrees below zero, in twenty seconds. Several hundred 
 gallons of righolene have been consumed for surgical purposes. 
 We pass next to the neutral heavy lubricating oil. At the works 
 in South Boston, the production of lubricating oils has always 
 been a specialty, but with petroleum there came a scarcity of heavy 
 and dense crude materials from which to make these oils ; fortu- 
 nately, however, other manufacturers of petroleum, finding the il- 
 luminating oil and light products more profitable, have been glad 
 to dispose of their heavy residuum at these works ; and the defi- 
 ciency of material has been supplied from this source. 
 
 The lubricating or paraffine oils were always characterized by 
 offensive odors and tastes, so that a person brought in contact with 
 them became at once aware of their origin ; and the desideratum 
 with manufacturing chemists, from the earliest days of this in- 
 dustry, has been the production of dense neutral oils, or oils free 
 from these offensive objections. Much time and study have been 
 devoted to experiments having this object in view ; and shallow 
 stills, stills with double heads, repeated distillations, different pro- 
 cesses of purification by chemical agents, and many other means, 
 have been tried without success. But partly as the result of an 
 accident, Mr. Joshua Merrill succeeded in making neutral oils in 
 November, 1867. 
 
 Distillation had fairly commenced, from a still heated in the 
 usual manner, by a direct fire underneath, and charged with nine 
 hundred gallons of mixed heavy and light oils that had been pre- 
 
 * Cymogen is a still lighter and more volatile product of petroleum. Its gravity i 
 0.590=110 B. Its boiling point 32 F. [EDS,] 
 
 13 
 
194 HISTORY OF PETROLEUM. 
 
 viously distilled, and which were too heavy for illuminating, and 
 too light for lubricating purposes, when it was found that the con- 
 denser had partially closed from some accidental cause ; and this, 
 by the consequent pressure, soon caused leakage at joints about the 
 bottom of the still, over the fire. Continued distillation increased 
 the leakage, so that it was necessary to withdraw the fire gradually 
 from under the still ; although the distillation was continued for 
 some time in an attempt to empty the apparatus by operating very 
 slowly. "When the fire was removed, and after distillation ceased, 
 two hundred and fifty gallons of light hydro-carbons, had passed 
 over through the condenser. The next day, the oil left in the still, 
 having cooled sufficiently, was removed; and Mr. Merrill was'sur- 
 prised to find it different from anything that he had ever seen 
 before. It had a bright yellow color ; was clear, very nearly odor- 
 less, neutral and dense. Further experiments showed this result 
 to have been obtained by the removal of all light odorous hydro-car- 
 bons without decomposing either the distillate or the oils remaining 
 in the still, and that this had been accomplished by the moderate 
 fire employed, and its gradual withdrawal. 
 
 This mode of operating was immediately applied to other dis- 
 tillations ; and, after two months spent in determining the best 
 mode of procedure, Mr. Merrill obtained letters patent for his 
 valuable discovery, from which extracts will be made in a descrip- 
 tion of the present improved processes of manufacturing petroleum 
 products, at the end of this memoir. This discovery consisted, 
 first, in determining that the odor and taste of the heavy distilled 
 oils arise from the presence in them of light and odorous hydro- 
 carbons, formed during the previous and necessarily destructive 
 distillations ; and that when these are removed by distilling in a 
 suitable apparatus, with the application of only sufficient heat to 
 remove them, withoutjlecomposing or cracking the oils in the still, 
 the latter are left nearly odorless. And, secondly, in perfecting 
 the means for .effecting this removal of the odorous bodies. The 
 introduction ,of ateam from an open pipe to the body of the ap- 
 
HISTORICAL DATA. 195 
 
 paratus during this distillation, aids greatly in effecting the separa- 
 tion, as it lifts the light vapors out mechanically into the con- 
 denser ; and it also serves to regulate the heat employed for dis- 
 tillation. 
 
 Thus, by extraordinary means, true fractional distillation of the 
 heavy mixed oils is effected ; and Mr. Merrill says : " I believe it 
 is impossible to prevent the cracking or decomposition of these hy- 
 dro-carbon oils, except by keeping them in the still, at temperatures 
 below their boiling points/' 
 
 Many hundred thousand gallons of this neutral heavy hydro- 
 carbon oil, which has frequently perplexed the most expert judges 
 and dealers in oils, have been made by Mr. Merrill. It is almost 
 odorless and tasteless, and cannot be easily distinguished when 
 mixed with one-fifth part of its volume of the best bleached 
 animal, sperm or other fat oil, as an examination of this specimen 
 will assure you. No better estimate of its valuable qualities can 
 be given than the statement that, in the year 1871, fifty thou- 
 sand gallons of this oil were sent to England alone, where it 
 was used for lubricating spindles, oiling wood and other pur- 
 poses. Another important substance obtained from petroleum is 
 
 PABAFFINE. This was one of the very first products made at the 
 works in South Boston, in the early days : and it is interesting to 
 know, that while Cuban chapapote bitumen yielded paraffine by 
 distillation, and Albertite gave large quantities of it, the Trinidad 
 bitumen never afforded any of this crystalline mineral wax. Mr. 
 Merrill began to make paraffine from Pennsylvania petroleum in 
 1859, and since then has, at times, made the enormous quantity of 
 fifty thousand pounds (or twenty-five tons), in one month. It is 
 a product of destructive distillation of this petroleum, and does not 
 exist already formed in the crude oil. 
 
 This substance is used principally in candles, also for rendering 
 textile fabrics water-proof, and for many other purposes ; as one 
 maker of friction-matches in New York has used one hundred 
 
196 HISTORY OF PETROLEUM. 
 
 thousand pounds, and a manufacturer of chewing-gum in Maine 
 seventy thousand pounds, of paraffine in one year. 
 
 MINERAL SPERM-OIL. The fourth product to which I wish 
 to draw your attention is mineral sperm-oil. This is a burning 
 heavy oil made from petroleum ; and its valuable properties as a 
 safe illuminating agent are such as to render this product one of 
 very great importance. The following statement of its discovery 
 and characters is given in Mr. Joshua Merrill's own words : 
 
 " In the summer of 1869, in connection with Mr. Rufus S. Mer- 
 rill, I made an important discovery relating to burning the heavy 
 or paraffine oils in lamps, for illuminating purposes. Mr. R. S. 
 Merrill is a skillful mechanic, who has devoted himself for several, 
 years to perfecting the construction of lamps and burners for hydro- 
 carbon oils. While experimenting upon an apparatus for burning 
 paraffine wax, with a view to increase the light from this beautiful 
 substance over that obtained from common candles the only form 
 in which paraffine is burned he one day put some lubricating oil 
 into the lamp, instead of the paraffine wax, and we were both much 
 surprised at the good qualities of the light yielded by it. But, 
 after examining some days, we found this heavy oil to be impracti- 
 cable as an illuminating material in its present form, and that some 
 modification would be necessary. It occurred to me, that if this 
 heavy paraffine oil was passed through a partially destructive dis- 
 tillation, cracking it enough to lessen its viscidity, but not enough 
 to render it volatile, its increased mobility would cause it to ascend 
 the wicks freely, and yet preserve its character as a fixed oil. 
 
 " After many trials, I obtained the product now called ' mineral 
 sperm-oil/ which is sufficiently thin to fill the wicks perfectly; but 
 it is so far from being a volatile oil that it is comparatively inodor- 
 ous, and will not take fire at any temperature below 300 degrees 
 Fahrenheit, or nearly a Jiundred degrees hotter than boiling water. 
 Flames of considerable size, such as a large ball of wicking-yarn, 
 saturated with oil, and ignited, when plunged beneath the surface 
 of this oil, previously heated to the temperature of boiling water, 
 
HISTORICAL DATA. 197 
 
 are extinguished at once. It burns freely in the German student 
 lamps, and with great brilliancy from the ' Dual ' burner." 
 
 The manufacture of this oil is patented in this country and in 
 Great Britain ; and Mr. Merrill estimates the quantity that may 
 be made as at least one-quarter of the whole production of petro- 
 leum, or about one hundred and sixty thousand gallons of mineral 
 sperm-oil every day a quantity more than twice that of the whale 
 and sperm oils obtained in the best days of the whale fishery of this 
 country. 
 
 The present time, when government authorities and scientific 
 men are so generally cautioning against the "dangers of kerosene," 
 and just as French savans have discovered that certain heavy 
 petroleum oils may be burned in lamps,* seems peculiarly oppor- 
 tune for the introduction of this product of American skill and 
 invention namely, a hydro-carbon, or mixture of hydro-carbons, 
 which seems to fulfil all the requirements of an oU to be burned in 
 lamps, yielding a steady, brilliant and safe light. And practical 
 indications of its appreciation may be found in the manufacturer's 
 announcement, that the demands for this mineral sperm-oil is 
 steadily increasing. It is used on ocean steamers plying between 
 the United States and Europe, and also on several railroads. 
 
 MANUFACTURE OF PETROLEUM PRODUCTS. It only remains 
 for me to give you a brief outline of the manufacture of petroleum 
 products, as conducted at a well-managed establishment in this 
 vicinity. 
 
 The crude petroleum is received here from the "West in round 
 wooden tanks, one or two of which occupy a railway carriage, as 
 you have undoubtedly observed them on the neighboring railroad ; 
 and these are sometimes emptied into bulk-boats, when the works 
 are more easily approached by water. The petroleum is pumped 
 out and underground into the iron reservoir tanks that closely re- 
 semble gasometers, where any sand and water that may be present 
 are deposited and removed. The crude oil, drawn from these 
 
 * Comptes Eendu's de 1'Acad. des Sciences, July, 1871 
 
198 HISTORY OF PETROLEUM. 
 
 reservoirs, is first pumped into large wrought-iron stills or upright 
 cylinders, incased in wood to prevent loss of heat, which hold about 
 twelve thousand gallons each. These are the naphtha stills, in 
 which the petroleum is heated by steam alone ; the distillates being 
 collected by condensers, consisting of iron pipes surrounded with 
 cold water. Only the naphthas, or about fifteen per cent, of the 
 crude oil, are distilled from these large stills ; but the four kinds 
 (gasolene, A, B and C naphtha) are collected in different recepta- 
 cles. Bigholene, as stated before, is made by a second distillation 
 of gasolene. 
 
 The steamed crude oil remaining in the naphtha stills is pumped 
 from them into smaller stills heated by direct fires underneath, and 
 holding about a thousand gallons each ; the whole contents of these 
 are distilled over and condensed, excepting that which passes into 
 the air as uncondensable gas, and the separated carbon. This is the 
 first complete distillation, and it is eminently destructive ; the pro- 
 ducts being separated, by densities, into three grades No. 1, crude 
 burning oil ; No. 2, intermediate oils ; and No. 3, crude lubricating 
 oil. Each of these is redistilled by itself in apparatus of the same 
 size and construction as that used for the first distillation, and they 
 all break up again into lighter, intermediate and heavy oils. No. 1 
 is thoroughly agitated with sulphuric acid and caustic soda success- 
 ively, by revolving stirrers in large tanks, before its second distilla- 
 tion ; and it then yields from the still, eighty per cent, of its volume 
 of finished kerosene and mineral sperm, and nearly twenty per 
 cent, of denser oil. No. 2 is redistilled before treatment with acid 
 and alkali; it yields crude lubricating oil principally. No. 3, the 
 crude lubricating oil, requires more careful manipulation than 
 either of the others. It is first agitated with sulphuric acid, and 
 then distilled with caustic soda present in the still, the product 
 being mostly dense parafnne oil. This is placed in wooden barrels, 
 in ice-houses, where it remains for from seven to ten days ; and du- 
 ring this time the paraifine wax crystallizes, so that the masses re- 
 tain the form of the barrels when they are removed. It is now 
 
HISTORICAL DATA. 199 
 
 put into bags made of strong cloth, which are arranged one above 
 another, with sheets of iron between them ; and, when submitted to 
 heavy pressure, it yields crude scale-paraffine wax remaining in the 
 bags, and heavy oil is pressed out. The crude paraffine is refined 
 by repeated solution in naphtha, recrystallizing and pressing until it 
 is perfectly white and pure, ready for sale. The heavy oil is treated 
 by the patent deodorizing process. It is placed in stills heated by 
 fires underneath ; and the temperature is slowly and gradually 
 raised, until from twenty to thirty per cent, of the contents of the 4 
 apparatus is distilled over ; it is then allowed to cool in the stills, 
 and when removed, is ready for sale. The hydro-carbons that pass 
 over to the condensers during this process have very offensive 
 odors ; but the oil remaining in the stills, if the operation has been 
 properly conducted, is free from the characteristic odor of paraifine 
 oil, and has only a slight odor, similar to that #f fat oil. Live 
 steam is generally used in the body of the oil during this operation, 
 and the distillation is effected at as low a temperature as possible. 
 
 The very last distillates that are obtained from all the destruc- 
 tive distillation made at the works are highly colored, and known 
 technically as " cokings ;" these -are accumulated and distilled by 
 themselves, yielding crude lubricating oil principally. After every 
 distillation of petroleum, or the products obtained from it, consid- 
 erable masses of separated carbon are obtained as residuum ; and, 
 as caustic soda is frequently used in the apparatus, it remains in 
 this coke ; this is saved, however, by burning the carbon in a pro- 
 perly-constructed fire-place ; and the ashes lixiviated yield the soda 
 as carbonate. The sulphuric acid that has been agitated with the 
 oils, known technically as " sludge," is carefully saved, and gene- 
 rally sold to makers of biphosphate of lime fertilizers, although some 
 of it has been successfully reconverted into commercial oil of vit- 
 riol by an ingenious process that I need not detain you to describe. 
 
 I have thus hastily reviewed the history and modus operandi of 
 an important manufacture, in the belief that some parts of this me- 
 moir are new and of general interest. 
 
200 HISTORY OF PETROLEUM. 
 
 GAS WELLS. 
 
 PENNSYLVANIA, OHIO, NEW YOEK, KENTUCKY. 
 
 CARBU RETTED hydrogen is the chief component of the gas 
 which escapes from the earth in wells and springs in many locali- 
 ties. It is evolved in the working of coal mines, and constitutes 
 " fire damp." It is also a constant associate of petroleum, and al- 
 ways issues in greater or less quantity from oil wells. It is given 
 off, too, in the decomposition of recent vegetable matter, and may 
 be seen bubbling up through the water of all pools in which plants 
 are decaying. When it escapes from the earth it may be generally 
 traced to beds of bituminous matter, such as coal, lignite, carbona- 
 ceous shale, asphalt, oil, etc. From these substances it may be 
 obtained by artificial distillation, and is evolved by the spontaneous 
 decomposition which all organic substances suffer on exposure. 
 
 As carburetted hydrogen produces a brilliant light in combus- 
 tion, it is largely manufactured and used for the illumination of 
 cities and residences. So extensively is it employed for this pur- 
 pose that it may he regarded as an indispensable element in our 
 modern civilization. It is not strange, then, that efforts have been 
 made to utilize the immense quantities of gas which flow from 
 wells and springs in so many different countries. The Chinese 
 have for hundreds of years used for lighting and heating, the gas 
 which emanates from the earth in several provinces of their coun- 
 try. In the United States the gas which issues from the salt wells 
 of the Kanawha Valley has been for many years employed as a 
 fuel in the evaporation of the brine. 
 
GAS WELLS. 201 
 
 Of course the oil wells of Pennsylvania produce gas, and often 
 in very great abundance, and it occasionally occurs, that wells 
 drilled for the purpose of obtaining oil, produced only gas. On 
 newly developed territory the sight to be witnessed at night in the 
 many illuminations from this natural gas, is truly grand, causing 
 the heavens to be lighted up, and the earth to be spread abroad with 
 a brightness equal to the best artificial illumination of any modern 
 city. To the reflecting observer the sight will prompt him to look 
 from " nature up to nature's God." 
 
 The village of Fredonia, in western New York, has for more 
 than forty years been fully or partially lighted by gas which issues 
 from springs at that place. In the borings made for oil in the va- 
 rious oil districts of the Western States, the gas which has been 
 produced so abundantly has been regarded as a useless, frequently 
 inconvenient and dangerous product. Within a year or two past, 
 however, this gas has been utilized in numerous localities^ and al- 
 ready a large number of wells have been bored for the express 
 purpose of obtaining it. In some cases these gas wells have been 
 highly productive, furnishing an abundance of material for heating 
 and lighting in its most convenient and manageable form, so that 
 this deserves to be reckoned as one of the important elements in the 
 mineral resources of our country. As this method of procuring 
 carburetted hydrogen gas forms a new industry, and one which 
 will probably assume considerable importance, a few words in re- 
 ference to its present condition and prospects may not be without 
 interest to the public. We therefore extract from our notes a few 
 facts in regard to some of the most interesting of our gas-producing 
 districts. On the Upper Cumberland, in Kentucky, gas accumu- 
 lates in such quantities beneath the sheets of Lower Silurian lime- 
 stone, that many hundred tons of rock and earth are sometimes 
 blown out with great violence. These explosions have received the 
 local name of " gas volcanoes." In Ohio, gas escapes from nearly 
 all the wells bored for oil in the oil-producing districts. Of these, 
 two bored by Peter Neff) Esq., near Kenyon College, in Knox 
 
202 
 
 HISTORY OF PETROLEUM. 
 
 county, present some remarkable features. These wells were boivj 
 in 1866, at the same geological horizon as that which furnishes the 
 oil on Oil Creek, Pa. At the depth of about 600 feet, in each 
 well, a fissure was struck from which gas issued in such volume 
 as to throw out the boring tools, and form a jet of water more than 
 100 feet in height. One of these wells has been tubed so as to ex- 
 clude the water, and gas has continued for five years to escape from 
 it in such quantity as to produce, as it rushes through a two and-a- 
 half-inch pipe, a sound that may be heard a considerable distance. 
 When ignited, the gas forms a jet of flame three feet in diameter 
 and fifteen feet long. The other well, which has never been tubed, 
 constantly ejects, at intervals of one minute the water that fills it. 
 It thus forms an intermittent fountain, one hundred and twenty 
 feet in height. The derrick set over this well has a height of sixty 
 feet. In winter it becomes encased in ice, and forms a huge trans- 
 lucent chimney, through which at regular intervals of one minute, 
 a mingled current of gas and water rushes to twice its height. By 
 cutting through this chimney at its base and igniting the gas in a 
 paroxysm, it affords a magnificent spectacle a fountain of water 
 and fire which brilliantly illuminates the ice chimney. No accu- 
 rate measurement has been made of the gas escaping from these 
 wells, but it is estimated to be sufficient to light a large city. 
 
 At West Bloomfield, N. Y., is another gas well, not unlike those 
 described. This is bored to the depth of five hundred feet, reach- 
 ing down to the vicinity of the Marcellus bituminous shales. From 
 some measurements made by Prof. Wurtz, it appears that about 
 fifteen cubic feet of gas escaped from this well every second. It is 
 proposed to utilize this large amount of valuable combustible by 
 conducting it through pipes to Rochester, a distance of twenty miles. 
 
 At Erie, Pa., there are now twenty-five wells in successful opera- 
 tion, most of which have been bored for the special purpose of 
 obtaining gas. 
 
 FIRST. H. Jarecki & Co. (Petroleum Brass Works) have two 
 
GAS WELLS. 203 
 
 wells ; the first bored for oil in 1854, 1,200 feet deep. No oil was 
 obtained, but brackish water and an abundant supply of gas. 
 
 At Conneaut and Painesville, Ohio, wells have been bored for 
 gas with entire success, and others are being bored, in these locali- 
 ties, and at many points farther west. 
 
 Of two of the Painesville wells, a few notes may be of interest 
 to the residents of the lake shore. First, is the well of Gen. Case- 
 ment on the east side of the town. This well is 700 feet deep, and 
 passed through the following materials : 
 
 One Drift, clay and gravel, 40 feet. 
 
 Two Erie shale, " soapstone rock," 648 feet. 
 
 Three Huron shale, very black and bituminous, with strong 
 smell of oil, 12 feet. 
 
 Gas was found in the Erie shale. The supply is abundant, and 
 is used for all domestic purposes in Gen. Casement's house. The 
 pressure of the gas was tried ; but at 27 pounds per square inch 
 part of the apparatus failed. 
 
 SECOND. Well at the Erie Seminary, 725 feet deep at the time 
 of observation. Strata passed through 
 
 One Clay and sand, 23 feet. 
 
 Two Erie shales, alternations of sandy and argillaceous gray 
 and green shales, 687 feet. 
 
 Three Huron shale, black and bituminous, 15 feet. 
 
 The gas was found in the fissures or crevices of the " soapstone 
 rock." In the seminary well four such fissures were found. The 
 first gas was obtained at 300 feet. 
 
 Another well at the seminary is of similar character. The sup- 
 ply of gas from both wells is insufficient to light and heat the 
 building. If collected in .a gasometer, it would at least supply all 
 the light required. 
 
 In the vicinity of Cleveland, as in many other localities in the 
 eastern half of the state, gas and oil springs are frequently met 
 with, and many wells have been bored for one or the other of these 
 useful articles. Here, as elsewhere, there are two marked lines of 
 
204 
 
 HISTORY OF PETROLEUM. 
 
 gas and oil springs, connected with the outcrops of the two sheets 
 of bituminous shale which underlie the surface. First, the Cleve- 
 land shale of Lower Carboniferous age, which crops out along the 
 base of the hills that bound the "Cuyahoga Valley. This bitumi- 
 nous shale is from thirty to sixty feet in thickness, and is the source 
 of the oil of the East Cleveland and Kingsbury quarries, the noted 
 gas spring at the brick-yard beyond East Cleveland, etc. The oil 
 of Mecca and Liverpool is derived from the Cleveland shale. 
 Second, the Huron or Great Black Shale, which passes beneath 
 Cleveland, and rising westward comes to the surface in Huron and 
 Erie -counties, and forms a broad belt of outcrop, thence to the 
 Ohio river. The Huron shale has a thickness of 300 to 400 feet, 
 mostly black and highly bituminous, and is the source from which 
 the gas of the Neff wells and the well on the lake shore, and the 
 oil of Oil Creek are derived. In the valley of the Cuyahoga, in 
 both Cuyahoga and Summit counties, a large number of wells were 
 bored for oil some years since. Most of these yielded both gas and 
 oil, but neither in large quantity. From a similar well in the val- 
 ley of Rocky river a copious flow of gas has continued to escape 
 for several years. Of the wells recently bored in this vicinity, a 
 brief notice may perhaps be of interest to the people of Cleveland. 
 First, well at mouth of Kingsbury run, bored by the Standard Oil 
 Company for water. The depth of this well is 1,005 feet. The 
 well head is about ten feet above the river. Before reaching the 
 rock, 238 feet of clay, with partings of sand and gravel, were passed 
 through. The rock penetrated was gray and black shale. Some 
 water and gas flow from this well, but neither in large quantity. 
 
 Second, well bored by the gas company, at the gas works near 
 the mouth of the river, well head about fifteen feet above the lake. 
 This well is 835 feet deep. The rock was reached at 116 feet, the 
 overlaying material being mainly blue clay, with sheets of quick- 
 sand and gravel. The rock passed through consisted of alternations 
 of gray and black shale. Gas was obtained at several points, but 
 not in remunerative quantity. 
 
GAS WELLS. 205 
 
 Third, well bored by Captain Spaulding between Cleveland and 
 Rocky river. This well -began about 100 feet above the lake. At 
 the date .of my visitation, it had been sunk to the depth of 715 feet. 
 It passed through, 
 
 1. Sand and clay, 12 feet. 
 
 2. Erie shale, gray argillaceous shale, with bands of sandstone, 
 400 feet. 
 
 3. Black shale, with thinner bands of gray Huron shale, 303 
 feet. In this well gas was obtained at several horizons, and the 
 quantity is sufficient to light a number of houses. 
 
 In the city of Erie there are some thirty gas- wells. These wells 
 are for the most part drilled to a depth of from 500 to 700 feet. 
 The shale is here reached at the depth of from 30 to 40 feet, and 
 extends below any depth yet reached by the drill, and is com- 
 posed of alternate gray, and black layers or veins the gas being 
 found only in the latter. The gas from a portion of the wells here 
 furnishes fuel to three steam flour mills, the city water works, an 
 oil refinery, two machine shops, a car manufactory, and four or five 
 other steam works. The City Gas Company also have a well, and 
 use a mixture of natural and manufactured gas for the use of the city. 
 
 At Buffalo, N. Y., a well was sunk to a depth of 640 feet, when 
 a large vein of gas was struck. The volume of uprising gas showed 
 a presence of 130 pounds to the inch. This gas is of remarkable 
 purity. 
 
 At Cumberland, Maryland, a company started what they in- 
 tended to be an oil well. Gas was struck, and soon afterwards was 
 accidentally set on fire, and continued to burn for a period of two 
 years. A Mr. Haworth, having heard of the burning well, went 
 to Cumberland, tested the quality of the gas, and was satisfied that 
 he could put in operation a scheme or plan of his own, for the 
 manufacture of carbon from the gas. The well was leased, and a 
 patent obtained for the manufacture of carbon from the gas. Mr. 
 Haworth has now in operation 660 burners, each burner consuming 
 eight cubic feet of gas per hour. The gas is allowed to burn 
 
206 
 
 HISTORY OF PETROLEUM. 
 
 against soapstone plates, on which the carbon is deposited in the 
 shape of soot. 
 
 The carbon is used for the manufacture of ink, and these works, 
 we believe, are the only ones of the kind in the country. 
 
 Some six miles east of Crab Orchard, in Lincoln county, Ky., 
 there is a spring known as the "Burning Well/ 7 situated at the 
 very base of the Cumberland mountains, on the banks of a small 
 stream called Dix river. The water in this well is in a constant 
 state of ebullition, and regularly, every day, between four and five 
 o'clock in the afternoon, overflows. A large quantity of gas is 
 liberated, said to be carburetted hydrogen gas, to which a light 
 being applied, a flame, sometimes ten or fifteen feet in height, 
 results. The only peculiar feature of this well is the diurnal and 
 infallibly regular overflow. 
 
 REMARKABLE GAS WELL AT FAIRVIEW, PA. 
 
 . In June, 1872, a well was drilled about two miles from Fair- 
 view, Butler County, Penna., to a depth of 1335 feet, for oil, and 
 was abandoned on account of the strong flow of gas and. salt water ; 
 so great was the flow of gas that the boiler had to be removed to a 
 distance of twenty-five rods. After the well was abandoned some 
 two months, the pressure of gas became so strong that it forced the 
 water entirely out of the hole, and in the autumn of the same year 
 a company was formed to utilize the gas, which was done by bring- 
 ing it through a3J-inchcasing to Fairview, a.nd thence to Petrolia, 
 three miles from Fairview. The gas is used to light- the streets 
 and heat residences and offices in both places. The pressure, as in- 
 dicated on a steam gauge, is 80 pounds. This well has an escape 
 through a 6-inch pipe, and the noise of the escaping gas, can be 
 heard readily for a distance of two miles. 
 
 A correspondent of the Titusville Herald under date of Septem- 
 
GAS WELLS. 207 
 
 ber 3 r 1873, gives the following graphic account of this remarkable 
 gas well : 
 
 " The roar of the escaping fluid was equal to the sound of Nia- 
 gara, and the iron tools that had penetrated 1335 feet of solid rock 
 were raised, and tossed in the hole with as much ease as a skiff is 
 rocked upon the surface of an angry ocean ; so strong was the gas- 
 giant that one man might have helped the tools out of the well 
 without the aid of an engine. A man might throw a one hundred 
 pound rock into the escaping column, and it would be thrown with 
 ease tp the height of forty or fifty feet in the" air ; an ordinary club 
 might be launched into the upward stream, and it would be toyed 
 with as a fountain jet toys with a marble. It would raise a club 
 seventy-five or eighty feet in the air, and when it would begin to 
 descend it would be elevated again until it would escape the centre 
 of the current, and then return to- the ground. The voice of this 
 giant can be heard for five miles distinctly, and it sounds like the 
 approach of a train of cars on the railroad, or like the sound of a 
 brake when letting down tools into a 1500 foot well. In the hole 
 is a little salt water, just enough to make the gas appear like blue 
 smoke. The water, under the force of the gas, is formed into a 
 mist, and on approaching the well, appears like a column of smoke 
 rising out of the valley, but ' woe be unto him ' who touches a 
 match in this giant's face, for his breath is explosive, and would, 
 when lit, make heat enough to melt iron. 
 
 " For a few weeks this well blew, and howled, and whistled, 
 making night hideous and day tedious with its ceaseless 'yells/ 
 until the arms of science opened to receive the wasting fuel. A 
 twenty-horse power boiler was stationed near the well and con- 
 nected to receive it ; to the boiler was connected a three-and-a-half 
 inch tubing, which was laid for seven miles to Fairview, Petrolia, 
 Karns City, and Argyle ; to this seven miles of pipe are attached 
 forty pumping and 'drilling wells, eight pump stations and different 
 pipe lines, two hundred gas burners, and forty cook stoves, all of 
 which burn the gas from this well. But they do not use it all. The 
 
208 HISTORY OF PETROLEUM. 
 
 well is only a five-and-a-half inch hole, but the waste pipe is a 
 five and five-eighth inch casing, which fairly rings with the pressure 
 of the escaping waste gas." 
 
 NEWTON GAS WELL, NEAE TITUSVILLE, PA. 
 
 Nearly all wells producing oil, yield small amounts of gas, 
 which is often found in quantities large enough to make it availa- 
 ble as fuel for boiler fires ; but wells, producing large quantities of 
 gas unaccompanied by oil, are comparatively rare. We have in- 
 stanced a few in different parts of the country, and would here 
 make mention of one quite famous well of this sort, at the mouth 
 of East Sandy Creek, hereafter described, and another at Stewart's 
 Run, both in the Pennsylvania Oil Region. But the most re- 
 markable gas^well yet discovered is the Newton well on the A. H. 
 Nelson farm, five and one-fourth miles northeast of Titusville. 
 This well is the second one drilled in this vicinity, the first sunk 
 in the fall of 1871, proved a dry hole. The usual strata of rock 
 found in this region, were passed through in drilling, and there 
 was no indication of oil, and but slight signs of gas, during the 
 process of boring. 
 
 This well is drilled to the depth of seven hundred and eighty- 
 six feet, and was finished on the llth of May, 1872. A few 
 minutes after the pump was set in motion the flow of gas com- 
 menced throwing up the fluid as fast as a two and a-half inch outlet 
 would allow it. Soon the water was exhausted and the gas rushed 
 out with a deafening noise, and with terrible force. The well was 
 at this time tubed only to the second sand-rock, a depth of seven 
 hundred and five feet. The casing was now lowered below the 
 second, and the tubing to the third sand-rocl^ and pumping re- 
 sumed, with about the same pressure from the third sand-rock, as 
 from the second, but showing a difference in the quality of the 
 
GAS WELLS. 209 
 
 gas, it being much purer and of higher illuminating power. On 
 the 24th of June, the casing was removed and placed above the 
 first sand-rock, leaving all the gas veins open below the casing. A 
 sand-pump was then run down a few times for the purpose of ex- 
 hausting the water, and agitating the well, so as to permit the gas 
 to flow the more freely.- On putting down the sand pump for the 
 fourth time, the gas again rushed up, carrying the sand pump and 
 line with it, faster than steam power could be made to draw it out; 
 and for several minutes the well discharged a column of water to 
 a height of at least one hundred feet, making a splendid sight, and 
 a noise which is , said to have been heard for a distance of ten 
 miles. 
 
 As soon as possible the gas was divided into seven two-inch jets, 
 one of which was sufficient to run the engine, the gauge showing a 
 pressure of 75 Ibs. to the square inch. Calculations, as accurate as 
 it is possible to make, showed a total pressure of not far from 350 
 Ibs. to the square inch, and a flow of more than 500,000 cubic feet of 
 gas per day. Each day the volume of gas seemed to increase and 
 then occurred to some capitalists, the feasibility of carrying the gas 
 to Titusville to supply the many manufacturing firms and private 
 families with it. as fuel, and to this end the well was purchased by 
 Henry Hinckley, Esq., of Titusville, who had the product of the 
 well measured, which revealed the fact tHat it was producing over 
 four million cubic feet per day ! On the first day of August, 1872, 
 the gas was conveyed through a two-inch pipe to the city of Titus- 
 ville. This two-inch pipe was found, after a short time, inade- 
 quate for the demand, and a line of 3 J-inch pipe was laid down, and 
 now supplies two hundred and fifty firms and private families with 
 gas, for heating and lighting purposes. 
 
 Of the many striking features of the Pennsylvania oil region, 
 Gas City, Cranberry township, "Venango County, is one of the 
 most remarkable. It is called Gas City because of the large amount 
 of gas flowing from its wells, of which there are some thirty pro- 
 ducing oil. The town has about forty houses, composed principally 
 
 14 
 
210 HISTORY OF PETROLEUM. 
 
 of hardware stores, groceries, restaurants, &c., and these are all 
 heated and lighted by gas from one well. Each well has gas 
 enough to make steam for its engine, and to light the engine-house 
 and each engine-house uses for light as much gas as would sup- 
 ply a large hotel, and wastes more than would supply a town of five 
 thousand inhabitants. At each well there is pipe run from the 
 boring to some distance, through which the waste gas is burned at 
 an elevation of fifteen to twenty feet. 
 
 GAS WELLS AT EAST SANDY. 
 
 There is a remarkable gas well at East Sandy, in the Pennsylva- 
 nia oil region, which was struck in the spring of 1869. It caught 
 fire, and resisted all efforts to extinguish it, and it burned for a little 
 more than a year, lighting up the surrounding country for 'a great 
 distance. The rush of gas and flame, roaring like a cataract, could 
 be heard for miles. After partial exhaustion, the gas was conveyed 
 in pipes in some instances upwards of half a mile, for use on both 
 drilling and pumping wells. The amount of gas produced daily 
 by the well is not known, having never been tested, but some idea 
 of it may be gathered from the fact that it has supplied gas to 20 
 pumping and drilling wells at one time. In some instances this gas 
 was utilized directly into the engine, like steam as a motive power, 
 the steam-gauge indicating a pressure of 80 to 90 Ibs. to the inch. 
 
 The presence of large quantities of gas in the Pennsylvania oil 
 region usually indicates the presence of an abundance of oil in the 
 neighborhood. East Sandy offering such inducements, oil men, 
 prominent among whom we may mention F. W. Andrews, of Titus- 
 ville, commenced active operations. Success was not so great as 
 expected, jet quite a number of good paying wells were found. 
 
GAS WELLS. 211 
 
 THE PHENOMENA OF OIL WELLS. 
 
 As every human being has his own set of features, tone of voice, 
 and the like, so each individual well has its characteristics, whether 
 it be a flowing or pumping well. All differ in regard to the flow of 
 water, gas and petroleum. In one the flow of oil will be continuous 
 and uniform, day and night, not ranging more from week to week 
 than a spring-brook. In others the flow will be intermittent, but 
 with precise regularity as to time; others again flow at irregular 
 intervals. 
 
 It is recorded of "The Coquet Well" Hyde and Egbert 
 farm that she emitted a succession of sounds as loud and as sharp 
 as the exhaust of a small steam-engine, occurring in tolerable order 
 every ten seconds, in such a manner as 1, 2, 3, 4; 1, 2, 3; 1, 2, 3, 
 4 ; and sometimes two or three coming off together by an extra- 
 ordinary effort. "The Wild Cat " and "Yankee Wells" remained 
 silent for forty and twenty minutes respectively, and then began to 
 foam and flow, the oil coming off at first only in drops, but increas- 
 ing by degrees, until it belched forth with terrifying force and 
 power. These discharges then decreased in violence, and finally 
 fell off entirely, after the lapse of from five to eight minutes. Each 
 escape of liquid was accompanied by a sharp report, heard at the 
 distance of a hundred yards or more. Some wells have remained 
 quiescent for twenty-one or twenty-two hours in the day, and then 
 have broken forth in one continuous flow, or a succession of belch- 
 ings, for two or three hours. A few wells have run for six hours, 
 and then subsided or distributed their favors over twelve hours in 
 the twenty-four. " The Dunn Well," on the Watson flats, pro- 
 duced freely from morning till midday; then the supply diminished 
 or stopped altogether, for the rest of the day, the pump bringing 
 little but salt water. In the case of pumping- wells, with each 
 revolution of the band-wheel, (all things being in working order,) 
 a discharge of oil, or salt water, or both, takes place. 
 
 It is not difficult to account for the phenomena of flowing wells. 
 
212 
 
 HISTORY OF PETROLEUM. 
 
 Gas seems to be the life-blood of these remarkable wells. Pro- 
 fessor Winchell, in an article on gas- wells, intelligently disposes of 
 the question, which we here append: 
 
 " The escape of oil at the surface of a well is caused sometimes 
 by mere hydrostatic pressure, as water rises in a common artesian 
 well. More frequently, perhaps, the oil is forced up by the elastic 
 reaction of confined gases. An open cavity, or a porous portion 
 of rock, bounded on all sides by impervious walls which consti- 
 tutes a virtual cavity may be partly filled with oil, while gases 
 occupy the higher portions of the cavity. Such a cavity, whether 
 actual or virtual, may possess any form or extent, or may consist 
 of a number of cavities connected by narrow passages or mere fis- 
 sures. In nearly all cases, more or less gas accompanies the oil, 
 
 and subsists under a 
 very high degree of 
 pressure. The pres- 
 sure in such cases is 
 not the hydrostatic 
 pressure of water, but 
 a consequence of the 
 continual generation 
 of gas and oil long 
 after the cavity had 
 been filled. If the 
 boring happens to pe- 
 netrate the higher por- 
 
 FIG. i. FIG. 2. 
 
 tion of such a cavity, (Fig. 1), the gas at once rushes forth 
 with greater or less violence and persistence. As soon, how- 
 ever, as the tension is relieved, the escape ceases. No oil will be 
 obtained in such a case without applying suction, since there is no 
 hydrostatic pressure exerted from behind, and the reaction of the gas 
 tends rather to confine the oil in the lowest ramifications of the 
 cavity. 
 
 " Suppose, however, on boring a hole for oil, we happen to pene- 
 
GAS WELLS. 213 
 
 trate some of the lower portions of the cavity occupied by the oil. 
 The elastic pressure of the confined gas above will at once force 
 the oil up, and produce a spouting or blowing well. The flow 
 must necessarily subside by degrees as the confined gas, by the 
 escape of the oil, acquires more space for its accommodation. It 
 may continue, however, until the cavity is exhausted of its oil, after 
 which pumping will be of no avail. If the confined gas attains its 
 equilibrium before the oil has been completely forced from the cavity, 
 it is evident that the remainder must be obtained by pumping. 
 
 " Intermittent wells appear to act in some cases precisely after 
 the manner of intermittent springs. More frequently, however, it 
 is manifest that the combined action of gas and oil produces the 
 phenomenon. In boring a well, suppose a stream of gas is struck 
 over one hundred feet from the surface of the rock, and a small 
 stream of oil twenty feet below the gas. The entrance of oil fills 
 twenty feet of the hole, and begins to submerge the fissure at which 
 the gas is escaping. The gas forces its way through the oil with a 
 sputtering sound, bubble after bubble rising to the surface. As 
 the oil ascends, the gas makes louder and louder complaints, till, 
 finally, summoning all its accumulated energies, it hoists the super- 
 incumbent column of oil to the surface, and pours it out in a few 
 seconds' duration. The flow then ceases, and the same operation 
 begins to be repeated. After a minute or more, renewed grumbling 
 and sputtering, the pent up-gas again relieves itself, and thus the 
 work continues. The same result would ensue if oil and gas found 
 entrance at the same fissure, or even if the gas were admitted at 
 any distance beneath the entrance of a small supply of oil." 
 
 In evidence of the truth of Professor Winchell's conclusions, we 
 may instance a case in point. On the main street of Kouseville, 
 Venango Co., Pa., is the site of an old well, drilled some ten years 
 ago, which was pumped, and long since abandoned; it is now 
 covered with earth, and hidden from view. This well, with the 
 regularity of time, flows oil and gas once a month. The cause is 
 obvious : evidently the gas accumulates, carrying with it oil, forcing 
 itself through the resisting earth. 
 
214 HISTORY OF PETROLEUM. 
 
 SALT WATER IN WELLS. 
 
 In the course of this work we have had occasion to mention the 
 existence of salt water in oil wells. It is safe to say that in all oil 
 wells salt water is to be found. But whence this salt, which, in 
 the form of brine, gushes upward from depths of one hundred feet 
 to the greatest depths to which wells have been drilled ? Above 
 the first sand-rock, the water is invariably fresh ; between the first 
 and second, it is expected to be such ; below that stratum, it is cer- 
 tainly expected to be brackish or briny. As a rule, the surface 
 water does not go down through the second sand rock, or the brine 
 force itself above it, until an artificial opening exists, the excep- 
 tions being so few in either case as to establish the general princi- 
 ple here laid down. Besides, it is well known that water, in pass- 
 ing through sand or clay, is apt rather to part with impurities than 
 take others up. Wright, in his work, says : 
 
 " The only satisfactory explanation of the existence of these salt 
 springs is that the strata in which they abound, at one period in 
 the world's history, formed part of the ocean-bed. This may have 
 consisted of lime-stones, sand-stones, or conglomerates, all saturated 
 with brine, and reposing on what had been beds of clay which con- 
 tained carbonaceous ingredients ; while the process of baking this 
 clay into shales filled it with cracks and seams, that have since 
 become so many veins, filled with salt water or petroleum expressed 
 from the rocks subsequently formed; the whole being upheaved 
 to their present elevation. But who shall fill up the picture of 
 those ages, of which this is scarcely an outline ? 
 
 The relationship between brine and petroleum is intimate ; yet 
 they are not invariably found together. Where oil is obtained in 
 the second sand-rock, it has sometimes happened that the show of 
 salt was scarcely perceptible in or above the oil vein. By sinking 
 a few feet deeper, however, the brine would flow up so profusely 
 as to completely monopolize the tube and choke off the more 
 desirable product. At Tidioute, the alliance is so intimate that it 
 
LOCATION OF WELLS BY SPIRIT INFLUENCE. 215 
 
 has come to be considered a maxim : " No salt, no oil." We have 
 stated, that brine is found in all wells ; but it is not always found 
 in large producing wells, when at their best, the appearance of salt 
 water in good producing wells is generally a precursor of a decreased 
 production. As to the why or wherefore of this connection, our 
 superficial philosophy must place its finger on the lip, and be 
 modestly silent for the present. 
 
 LOCATION OF WELLS BY SPIKIT INFLUENCE. 
 
 The story related of the locating of the first well (by spiritualistic 
 agency) called the Harmonical, No. 1 , on the Porter farm, at Plea- 
 santville, which led to the extensive developments in the Plea- 
 santville district in .1868, is stoutly affirmed by the party who 
 claims to have been the instrument selected for locating it. As a 
 matter of history we give an account of the location as recorded at 
 the time. Mr. James, the spiritualist, in company with a number 
 of gentlemen, was on his way to examine some property a few miles 
 south of Pleasantville. Seated in a buggy with a companion, they 
 had proceeded but a little distance when Mr. James became violently 
 influenced by what is termed his attending spirit-guide. This in- 
 visible power increased till, Paul-like, he hardly knew whether he 
 was " in the body or out." The control soon becoming absolute, 
 he was taken over the fence into a lot on the east side of the road, 
 moving rapidly, and his companions following. Nearly uncon- 
 scious, the locomotion seemed to him like being hurriedly forced 
 over a fence. Proceeding towards the south side, then back and 
 near the north end of the field, he moved more cautiously, as though 
 tracing some lode or vein. Reaching a certain locality, he was 
 thrown heavily upon the ground, and making a mark with his fin- 
 ger, thrust a penny some inches into the earth. He then fell upon 
 his bosom stiff, and apparently lifeless. His eyes were closed, his 
 face pale, the pulse feeble, and the limbs rigid as in death. 
 
216 
 
 HISTORY OF PETEOLEUM. 
 
 In this condition, he was given to understand that they were then 
 upon a superior oil-producing territory, extending many miles in a 
 certain direction, that directly under their feet, were floating 
 streams of oil that if opened would yield rich supplies. This was 
 the spot the precise location of " Harmonical Well, No. 1" which 
 was struck in February, 1868, and produced upwards of 100 barrels 
 per day. The striking of this well created great activity in oil devel- 
 opments in the district, and thus commenced the famous Pleasant- 
 ville excitement of 1868. Mr. James has located many wells in the 
 oil region by <( spiritual guidance," many of which proved good pro- 
 ducing wells. He became prominent as an enterprising and success- 
 ful operator. Recently, however, he has located a well on the Cla- 
 rion River, claiming the same manifestations as related in regard to 
 the Pleasantville well. This well is now sunk to the depth of 1600 
 feet, and no sand and no oil, but drilling still continues. There are 
 many operators in whose minds are yet fresh the implicit confidence 
 placed in " Oil Wizards," and their power to successfully locate 
 wells ; indeed, they are to be found at the present time, and still a 
 few of our oil men employ " Hazel-twig " manipulators to mark 
 the spot to drill upon. That they were skillful, at least so far as 
 manipulating the divining rod or "dowsing rod" as it was some- 
 times called to the satisfaction of their employers and their own 
 emolument, there can be no doubt, and that they have now almost 
 become extinct is equally true. Still the system or practice has yet 
 its defenders, and it seems not without some shadow of consistency. 
 In 1826, a book was published by Count de Tristam, which gives 
 a general history of its use and many details, which are curious as 
 well as interesting. The French call it " Baguette Divinatoire ;" 
 and M. Chevreuil, in 1854, published a book combating the ob- 
 jections raised to it as a deception, and ascribing its action to philo- 
 sophic causes. 
 
 The divining rod is a forked stick of either hazel or peach, held 
 by the extremity of each prong of the fork in a peculiar way the 
 palms of the hands being upward, and the prong in either hand 
 
LOCATION OF WELLS BY SPIRIT INFLUENCE. 217 
 
 . 
 
 crossing the palm and being held by the thumb and tips of the fin- 
 gers. The wizard then walks over the country he is to try, and as he 
 approaches the greatest body of oil in the immediate neighborhood, 
 the thick end or handle of the fork turns down in spite of all the 
 efforts of the holder to the contrary. There is no doubt that, 
 owing to the way in which it is held, it has, when once it begins to 
 move, a mechanical tendency to turn, and this increased at the will 
 of the holder, and in such a way as to remain undiscovered by even 
 a close observer. 
 
 Wells have been located and by some diviners, with wonderful 
 success, but whether through good luck or actual philosophy is a 
 question not easily disposed of. It has been used with marked 
 success in Europe, in discovering mineral lodes or deposits ; and 
 even as late as 1863, we read of a French ecclesiastic making a hand- 
 some income by its use in discovering veins of water. 
 
 A case stilt later 1869 is quoted, in which what is called the 
 Chiverton lode was discovered by its aid, this in Cornwall, Eng- 
 land. In the central counties of Pennsylvania, a well is seldom 
 dug without first calling in the " water wizard," and making him 
 " smett" as they term the process over the ground where water is 
 wanted. This same water wizard is generally shrewd, and allows 
 the rod to turn down where water will be most convenient, and 
 then announces the depth at which it should be found, giving as 
 nearly as possible the same depth as of other wells in the vicinity, 
 with due allowance for surface irregularity, and the prophecy 
 seldom fails. 
 
 Some of the best oil wells on Pit Hole were located by the use of 
 this instrument, and this fact is often quoted by its defenders, but 
 of course finds little sympathy with the incredulous. 
 
218 HISTORY OF PETROLEUM. 
 
 A PHENOMENON WITH AN EXPLANATION. 
 
 At Pit Hole, in the early part of 1866, a singular phenomenon 
 manifested itself. A fire occurred at the United States Hotel ; the 
 water used to extinguish it was procured from an adjacent well, 
 but after a time it was observed that the supposed water was only 
 adding fuel to the flame, and on examination it was found that the 
 well from which the water was obtained, was covered with oil some 
 inches in thickness ; in fact, the oil was running into it. On further 
 examination, other wells were found in like condition. Great ex- 
 citement followed ; many thousands visited the locality, and large 
 prices were offered for them. It was not confined to the wells alone. 
 Two or three springs in the vicinity of the water wells mentioned, 
 were found to be covered with oil. Nature, it would seem, had 
 become weary of the drilling and pumping process of obtaining oil, 
 and poured out her treasures of her own accord 
 
 The first well in which oil was discovered, was only sixteen feet 
 in depth, and from it over fifty barrels of oil were taken with a 
 common pump. The second well was twenty-three feet in depth; 
 from this well were obtained over one hundred barrels of oil. These 
 wells produced at the rate of five to twenty barrels per day, when 
 operated. From the spring near them, the owners dipped several 
 barrels per day. Some parties sank wells to a moderate depth, and 
 in cases obtained oil. One of these, only a few feet from the first- 
 named, struck a crevice in the surface rock, at a depth of twelve 
 feet, from which poured a fine stream of oil. The yield from these 
 wells was of brief duration, and many who had wildly speculated 
 in leases lost heavily. These wells were located about 150 feet 
 above the level of the creek, on the second bench or table land, 
 half a mile from the "creek, where producing wells were located. 
 The wild theories of the wise and learned, and the speculative, too, 
 were soon after wiped away, a solution of the mystery, and its 
 explanation being conclusive. JThe Pit Hole* and Miller farm pipe 
 
COST OF WELLS. 219 
 
 line had burst during the cold weather of the winter of 1866, at a 
 point in the neighborhood of these wells, and some thousands of 
 barrels of oil were lost. The oil taken from the wells described, 
 was the product of this misfortune to the Pipe Line Company ! 
 
 COST OF WELLS. 
 
 LIFE OF WELLS AND COST OF PRODUCING OIL PEE BARREL. 
 
 The cost of putting down oil wells has varied through all the 
 years of the history of the business, and also varies with the locality 
 and facilities for the work. In the early years of this industry 
 many and frequent were the mishaps, the losing of tools, and other 
 vexatious accidents, the results of inexperience, which often termi- 
 nated in the abandonment of the work o drilling. Experience 
 and the improved facilities offered by many valuable inventions 
 have almost entirely obviated the difficulties with which the early 
 operators had to contend. Most wells at the present time are cased, 
 with pipe six to six and a half inches in diameter, to a depth suffi- 
 cient to shut off the fresh water. Previous to entering the oil-bear- 
 ing rock, a six to eight inch hole is drilled down to this point, and 
 then " seed-bagged." This device prevents the fresh water from 
 falling below the lower end of the casing. The drilling now pro- 
 ceeds with a reduced bore of about five and a half to six inches in 
 diameter, to the required depth, after which two-inch tubing is let 
 down to or below the oil rock, and pumping is commenced at once. 
 The power of engines used varies from ten to twelve horse-power 
 being the maximum. The cost of these is in accordance with the 
 contingencies above mentioned. Wells range from five hundred 
 to sixteen hundred feet in depth, and the entire expense for 
 rigs, machinery, and drilling, averages from $3,000 to $8,500 for 
 each well. 
 
 These figures cover the average cost of shallow and deep wells, 
 
220 
 
 HISTORY OF PETROLEUM. 
 
 without tankage. In some cases, however, they are put down 
 cheaper, and in others, where accidents occur, such as caving in, 
 tools, sticking, etc., they cost more money. 
 
 The time required for completing a well, ready for pumping, 
 ranges from twenty-five to one hundred days. 
 
 From the reports issued by the Petroleum Producers' Associa- 
 tion, 1871, we deduce the following interesting items in regard to 
 the completion, abandonment and resumption of wells, and from 
 these facts learn the average life of a well and the length of time 
 required to drill one. 
 
 The facts given are as follows : 
 
 Date. 
 1871. 
 
 Wells 
 Drilling. 
 
 Wells 
 Completed. 
 
 Wells 
 Abandoned. 
 
 Wells 
 Resumed. 
 
 Number of 
 Wells 
 Producing. 
 
 
 132 
 
 90 
 
 83 
 
 14 
 
 2897 
 
 February 
 
 173 
 
 57 
 
 63 
 
 31 
 
 3036 
 
 
 240 
 
 64 
 
 69 
 
 9 
 
 2921 
 
 April 
 
 279 
 
 87 
 
 56 
 
 24 
 
 2994 
 
 Mav... 
 
 356 
 
 99 
 
 30 
 
 29 
 
 3087 
 
 
 303 
 
 154 
 
 55 
 
 8 
 
 3177 
 
 July 
 
 329 
 
 147 
 
 54 
 
 39 
 
 3280 
 
 
 330 
 
 112 
 
 88 
 
 29 
 
 3369 
 
 September 
 October 
 
 439 
 
 486 
 
 128 
 182 
 
 69 
 
 78 
 
 38 
 28 
 
 3466 
 3606 
 
 November 
 
 477 
 
 154 
 
 83 
 
 15 
 
 3692 
 
 December 
 
 394 
 
 191 
 
 131 
 
 21 
 
 3775 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 Total... 
 
 3938 
 
 1465 
 
 859 
 
 285 
 
 39.300 
 
 From which we deduce that 859 minus 285, the net number of 
 wells abandoned during the year, was 574, or an average of 47.8 
 per month : the average number of wells producing was one-twelfth 
 of 39,300, or 3,275 ; and the time necessary for all to become aban- 
 doned would be 3,275, divided by 47.8, or 68 J months, or twice the 
 average life of a well. Wells, therefore, (including all "dry holes " 
 of which any record is had,) average to produce oil for 34 J months. 
 
COST OF WELLS. 221 
 
 The average time required to drill the 1,465 wells completed 
 during the year is as many months as the number completed is 
 contained in the total number reported as being drilled at the close 
 of each month, or 3,938 divided by 1,465, equal to 2.69 months, 
 equal to 81 days nearly; the extremes are, however, wide apart. 
 
 It would be interesting to ascertain, if possible, the average cost 
 of all wells drilled, including the dry holes, and adding the cost of 
 pumping to determine the average cost of each barrel of oil pro- 
 duced ; an exact account it will be quite impossible to arrive at, but 
 a close approximation is reached by the following method : 
 
 We divide the cost of a well into three parts ; one a constant 
 quantity, viz., the cost of labor and fuel expended in drilling the 
 wells, for which $26 is a fair average daily expense, or for the 
 81 days $2,106. This for the 1,465 completed will amount to 
 $3,085,290. Another part is the cost of the engine, boiler, rig, 
 &c., necessary for each well ; this is fully $3,000 for each successful 
 well ; but in the case of dry holes other wells can probably be put 
 down with the same material for $1,000 each. To determine the 
 total expenditure for this item it is necessary to ascertain the pro- 
 portion of the dry holes to the successful wells ; this proportion we 
 learn from the experience of several of the most extensive oper- 
 ators, is five of every thirteen wells drilled, or 540 dry and 925 
 successful wells drilled in 1871, or an aggregate expense for en- 
 gines, boilers and rigs of $3,315,000. 
 
 A third portion of the expense is that for tubing, rods, pumps, 
 tanks and et ceteras necessary to work the well : this may be fairly 
 estimated at $1,000 per well, or an aggregate of $925,000. 
 
 To reach the * cost of the oil produced, we must add to this cost 
 of the new wells, the expense of pumping those that have produced ; 
 this expense may be fairly averaged at $6.50 per day, or an aggre- 
 gate for the 3,275 wells, of $7,982,812. 
 
 This makes a total expenditure for the year 1871, of $15,308,102, 
 to produce 5,755,057 barrels of oil, or an average of $2.66 per 
 barrel. 
 
HISTORY OF PETROLEUM. 
 
 OIL SHAFTS AND DEEP WELLS. 
 
 Many, in the early history of oil developments entertained the 
 idea of sinking shafts so as to obtain oil in vast quantity, and then, 
 as it were, to tap the fountain at its head. Instances are recorded 
 of such shafts being sunk to the depth of from two hundred to 
 five hundred feet, in Burmah, which have yielded large quantities 
 of oil for hundreds of years. In these Burmese shaft-wells, the 
 mode of lifting the oil is not remarkably skillful, the entire w T ork 
 being accomplished by buckets. When it is necessary to clear the 
 shafts, men are let down by means of ropes, and they often die from 
 the effects of the gas. Life, however, is cheap in that country ; 
 and there is no difficulty in keeping the wells clear at moderate 
 cost. 
 
 The first oil shaft sunk in this country, was near Tarentum, in 
 Allegany County, about twenty miles above Pittsburgh, which was 
 finished in the latter part of 1859. The third sand rock in this 
 locality is found at a depth not much less than two thousand feet, 
 and as the shaft was sunk to a depth of only one hundred and 
 sixty feet, it is needless to say that little or no oil was obtained. The 
 salt wells of that section, which usually penetrate to a great depth, 
 have always yielded more or less oil mixed with salt water. 
 
 On the south side of the Allegany river, opposite Tidioute, is a 
 shaft, sunk in 1865 by the New Yprk Enterprise and Mining Com- 
 pany. The aim of the company was to penetrate, if possible, the 
 third sand rock, .and then tunnel into it. The Tidioute shaft is the 
 only one in this country which has penetrated the third sand rock. 
 The shaft is twelve by eight feet in width, and a hundred and 
 sixty feet deep. Upon striking the oil rock, holes were drilled 
 at various angles, and quite a large amount of rock was removed 
 and brought to the surface. The men worked in " towers " of eight 
 hours each, and the shaft was kept supplied with fresh air by 
 means of a powerful air blast. At the end of one of the towers the 
 men came up to the surface, the engine was for some reason stopped, 
 
OIL SHAFTS AND DEEP WELLS. 223 
 
 and the gas accumulated. The two gangs of men were seated 
 on the curbings round the edge of the shaft, and Mr. Hart, the 
 foreman, occupied a position on a plank directly over the mouth 
 of the pit. As a preliminary to descending, one of the men 
 dropped a lighted taper into the shaft, which was instantly followed 
 by a powerful explosion. The men were thrown violently back 
 from the curbing, and as soon as they recovered from the shock, 
 they found that Mr. Hart had disappeared into the pit below. 
 The body of Mr. Hart was found in a shockingly mangled con- 
 dition, having been tossed from beam to beam on its way to the 
 bottom. His death, more than anything else, put a stop to the 
 operations, at least no work was ever done after that. 
 
 A second shaft well was put down at Tidioute, about the date 
 of the one described above. We have, however, been unable to 
 obtain reliable data in regard to it. 
 
 Another shaft was sunk near the Hyde and Egbert farm, below 
 Petroleum Centre. Work was suspended on reaching one hundred 
 and sixty feet, owing to the large flow of gas, and the great cost of 
 the undertaking. 
 
 In November, 1865, Mr. Jonathan Watson, of Titus ville, con- 
 ceived the idea of drilling a well beyond the third sand rock, in 
 hope of reaching a fourth sand. Drilling on this well was prose- 
 cuted for upwards of two years without reaching a fourth sand rock. 
 This well was cased with three and a quarter inch casing, to its full 
 depth of two thousand one hundred and thirty feet, and pumped, 
 but without any show of oil. This enterprise cost Mr. Watson 
 upward of twenty-five thousand dollars. 
 
 Probably the deepest boring in the world, is to be found at 
 Sperenberg, in Lusatia, Germany, at the salt region of that place, 
 where a depth of four thousand feet has been attained. 
 
224 
 
 HISTORY OF PETROLEUM. 
 
 EARLY FLOWING WELLS, 
 
 FROM 1861 TO 1864. 
 
 FOSTER FARM. 
 
 THE SHERMAN WELL. In May, 1862, there was but one pro- 
 ducing well on the Foster farm, and that was called " The Sher- 
 man Well/ 7 and that was struck in March of the year first-named. 
 She started off at 1,000 to 1,300 barrels, and was for some montlfe 
 the largest well "on the Creek." "The Sherman Well" continued 
 to flow until February 1864, gradually diminishing. Her daily 
 product as a pumping well was quite large, and she held out for 
 two or three years. 
 
 " The Sherman well " lease was the property of Mr. J. W. Sher- 
 man, now a resident of Cleveland, Ohio. He came to the oil region 
 in the early days of petroleum, in somewhat straightened circum- 
 stances. He had some means, but not enough, as the -sequel proves, 
 to complete his first well. He obtained a lease upon the Foster 
 farm, below Shaffer, on the Creek, and commenced the work of 
 drilling a well. Passing over the trials and embarrassments en- 
 countered in getting ready to drill, he finally began his enterprise, 
 employing " spring pole power. In the " first sand " he had a 
 " good show " of oil, but long before he reached the " second sand 
 rock," his money gave out, and he was compelled to shut down. 
 The " spring pole " had become powerless to work the drill effect- 
 ively, and a horse or steam-power was indispensable. Mr. Sher- 
 man waited for something to turn up, by which he could obtain 
 
EAELY FLOWING WELLS. 225 
 
 either a steam engine or a horse. After many days of waiting, an 
 interest in the well was disposed of " for an old horse," and the 
 work proceeded. Two or three weeks of horse-power drilling, and 
 the labor became too heavy for " OLD PETE." Another one-six- 
 teenth was sold to two gentlemen who owned a small steam engine, 
 and work was again resumed. Coal was an expensive item, and 
 it could not be had without the " ready cash," and not one of the 
 owners could muster enough to buy a single ton ! Another halt ! 
 
 A week's delay and another interest was forced upon a reluctant 
 purchaser, for " $80 in cash and a shot gun." Just before the last 
 dollar of this money had been expended, the drill penetrated " a 
 crevice," and the " Sherman " commenced to flow at the rate of 
 1,000 barrels per day! The fortunes of the plucky lessees were 
 made they had " struck ile," indeed. " The Sherman " con- 
 tinued to flow for two or three years, finally coming down to a 
 pumping well. It is safe to say, the product of this well enriched 
 its owners in fabulous degree, for its total receipt for oil sold is 
 estimated at $1,700,000 ! 
 
 Soon after "the Sherman'* began to flow, a dozen or more wells 
 were drilled upon this farm, but they were mainly non-productive. 
 Mr. Frederick Crocker put down one well on the farm, which he 
 pumped two months steadily, when she started off at the rate of five 
 hundred barrels daily. The " Crocker well " had a short career, 
 however. The surrounding wells let down the surface water and 
 soon drowned her out. She produced for a year or more, and was 
 then abandoned. 
 
 LOWER McELHENNY FARM. 
 
 This farm was purchased by Capt.A. B. Funk, in the fall of 
 1859, of David McElhenny, the original proprietor, for $1,500 
 McElhenny reserving one-quarter of the oil. In the spring of 1860, 
 the work of development began, and the first well drilled was 
 named "The Fountain." It was put down with spring-pole 
 15 
 
226 HISTORY OF PETROLEUM. 
 
 power, to the depth of 260 feet. To reach this depth required 
 months of labor, running into the winter and spring of 1861. 
 During the early months of the latter year, the ".spring-pole " pro- 
 cess was abandoned, and a small locomotive boiler and a stationary 
 engine were obtained, and with this the drilling was completed. At 
 this early day, few, if any wells, were drilled below the " second 
 sand rock/' obtained generally at about 160 feet. Capt. Funk was 
 inclined to abandon this well at 260 feet depth 100 feet below the 
 only oil-bearing rock yet discovered. His son, A. P. Funk, then 
 and afterwards in charge of operations upon the farm, determined 
 to sink it still deeper, persuaded that another oil rock could be 
 found. 
 
 The well was completed in May, 1861 the drill having reached 
 the " third sand," and perforated it to the depth of sixty feet be- 
 fore the slightest evidences of gas or oil were visible. Its entire 
 depth was 460 feet, and the top of the " pebble rock " or " third 
 sand" was struck at 400 feet depth. When the oil vein was 
 reached, the drilling tools were " hammering away " at the bottom 
 of the well, and the first intimation the drillers had of the presence 
 of oil was the gradual rising of a foam, under which was a volume 
 of water, bubbling and rushing over the top of the drilling-pipe. 
 This continued for some moments, the column of water, mixed 
 with oil, steadily rising to the height of eight or ten feet above 
 the drilling-pipe, when it seemed to explode, and the oil followed 
 in immense volume, rising to the altitude of the derrick and above it. 
 
 This was the first well put down to the " third sand rock " in 
 the Pennsylvania Oil Region. It was, as before remarked, .named 
 the " Fountain Well," and produced (flowing) 300 barrels per day 
 for about six months, and then stopped short instantly, it is said, 
 and never afterwards produced a barrel of oil. It was agreed upon 
 all hands that the well was destroyed by paraffine, for the lead 
 pipe from it to the tanks two hundred feet distant was completely 
 filled up with it to such solidity that a sucker rod could not be 
 driven through it with a sledge hammer. Only thirty feet of 
 
EARLY FLOWING WELLS. 227 
 
 tubing was ever used in the well, and the hole doubtless presented 
 the same appearance as to obstructions as did the lead pipe. The 
 verdict therefore, was, " The Fountain Well " was destroyed by pa- 
 raffine. 
 
 "The Empire Well/ 7 same farm, was put down by Bennett & 
 Hatch, lessees, and was completed about the 20th of September, 
 1861. " The Empire" had the same sands and the same depth of 
 " third sand " as that found in " The Fountain Well." When 
 struck, she started off at 2,500 barrels ! Six weeks after she began 
 to " flow," 2,200 barrels was her regular daily product ! She flowed 
 nearly eight months, gradually falling off to about 1,200 barrels, 
 when in May, 1862, she, like her predecessor, "'The Fountain," 
 stopped as suddenly and as mysteriously as did her consort, but not 
 with the same fatality as to future profit. "The Empire" was soon 
 afterwards cleaned out, and the pump applied to her, and for some 
 months she produced 600 barrels per day, and then fell off, and for 
 eight or nine months gave out about 300 barrels per day. 
 
 There is one incident connected with the history of " The Em- 
 pire Well " which will bear repetition. While in the height of her 
 " flow," one month's product of the well was sold to Bradley & 
 Son, of Cleveland, Ohio, for five hundred dollars ! Not less than 
 100,000 barrels of oil poured out of her during this thirty days' 
 transfer, for which her owners realized not more than five cents per 
 barrel ! 
 
 The " Lower McElhenny farm " was among the most prolific of 
 " flowing well " localities on " the Creek." After the " Fountain" 
 and " Empire " wells were struck, the farm became rapidly studded 
 with derricks, engine houses, and all the paraphanalia of an oil- 
 producing locality. " The Davis and Wheelock Well," was struck 
 in the fall of 1862, and 'daily poured out 1,500 barrels. "The 
 Densmore Well, No. 1," struck about the same time, flowed 600 
 barrels per day. No. 2, same party and name, 400 barrels per 
 day; and No. 3, same owners, about 500 barrels per day. These 
 latter wells were all struck about the same time in the fall of 
 
228 HISTORY OF PETEOLEUM. 
 
 1862, and were all put down upon a two-acre lease. "The 
 Crocker Well " was struck about the same date, and flowed 1,000 bar- 
 rels daily. This well was owned by Mr. FRED. CROCKER, of Titus- 
 ville since one of the prominent producers of the region, and now 
 as anxious, and as industrious and determined to obtain good pay- 
 ing wells, as he was in 1861 thought he could hold the oil in the 
 well, for better prices, as well as to save tankage expenses, and 
 resolved to "plug it" below "the second sand-rock." His fur- 
 ther object was to control the flow of oil to suit his convenience ! 
 In the " plug " was an inch-and-a-half hole, to permit the oil to 
 escape into the tubing above ; and upon the top of the tubing was 
 placed a stop-cock of like dimensions. The idea was to turn off or 
 on, the flow of oil at any moment, and thus secure a car, or a boat- 
 load at pleasure ! The contrivance worked well for a single day ! 
 But shutting down for the night, to remain idle for eight or ten 
 hours, was fatal to it. The following morning, upon opening the 
 stop-cock, little or no oil came from her. The " plug " was subse- 
 quently driven to the bottom of the well, for it could not be with- 
 drawn, and the well became a " pumper " of thirty to fifty barrels 
 per day, and finally after a brief life was abandoned. 
 
 To these noted "flowers" of "The Lower McElhenny farm," 
 may be added "The Hibbard Well," struck in March 1863, and 
 started off at 400 barrels. " The American Well," struck about 
 the same time, and flowed 500 barrels. " The Canfield Well," 
 struck in the summer of 1863, and flowed 400 barrels. 
 
 During the fall, winter and spring of 1862 and '63, the daily 
 product of the Lower McElhenny farm, was between five and six 
 thousand barrels. Oil was sold from this farm, during the years 
 just mentioned, as low as 10 cents per barrel; the average price, 
 however, l>eing 25 cents per barrel, the purchaser furnishing his 
 own barrels. In the spring of 1864, better prices were realized; 
 oil being sold from the tanks on the farm at $5.00 per barrel. 
 
EABLY FLOWING WELLS. 229 
 
 THE ESPY FARM. 
 
 This farm, adjoining the Lower McElhenny, had some noted 
 flowing wells, in the early days of petroleum development. " The 
 Buckeye Well" was one of the most famous. She was completed 
 in September, 1861, and flowed 1,000 barrels per day; while there 
 were other good-producing wells upon this farm, they were small, 
 compared to those upon the McElhenny farm. " The Buckeye " 
 was a famous producer. The tanks to receive her oil, were set up 
 on the hills above her, two hundred feet, and for a year the oil was 
 forced through a lead pipe into these tanks from the well ! 
 
 HYDE AND EGBERT FARM. 
 
 PETROLEUM CENTRE. 
 
 Dr. A. G. EGBERT, now an enterprising and wealthy resident 
 of Franklin, Pa., purchased, or contracted to purchase the Davidson 
 farm, of its owner and occupant, in 1860. Later, Mr. Davidson 
 died, and some difficulty was experienced in obtaining a clear title 
 to the property. Without further detail, we may add that all was 
 cleared up, and in 1862, CHARLES HYDE, of Hydetown, became a 
 purchaser of one-half the property from Dr. EGBERT, who, mean- 
 time, had effected a settlement with the widow Davidson, agreeing 
 to pay her $2,625 " and one-twelfth of the oil," for a deed of the 
 farm. This sum, $2,625, Mr. Hyde paid to Dr. Egbert for one- 
 half his purchase from Mrs. Davidson. 
 
 Prior to this sale to Mr. Hyde, or in the spring of 1861, a well 
 had been drilled \ipon the property. This was called " The Hollis- 
 ter Well," and when struck, "the oil flowed in great volume," 
 flooding everything about the derrick. The lessees had contracted 
 to deliver to the land-owners, their "one-half royalty," in barrels. 
 Barrels could not be obtained in sufficient quantities, at any price, 
 
230 
 
 HISTORY OF PETROLEUM. 
 
 and $3.50 to $4.00 was demanded for all that could be procured. 
 Oil was selling at 25 to 30 cents per barrel. The drillers, therefore, 
 abandoned their enterprise, and the well was never tested ! It 
 continued to flow for some days, the oil running upon the ground. 
 The lessees could not afford to barrel that portion going to the land 
 proprietors, for it would cost them more than the entire product was 
 worth ! 
 
 " The Jersey Well " was one of the famous " flowers " of the 
 Hyde & Egbert farmland was the property of a company of Jersey- 
 men, and was struck in the spring of 1863. It produced from 
 the start 350 barrels per day, and this product was maintained 
 with little variation for quite nine months. 
 
 "The Maple -Shade Well" working interest was the property of 
 an organized company, " The Maple Shade Oil Company," and was 
 struck August 5th, 1863. Its product was 800 barrels per day, 
 and continued at this standard for eight or ten months. It was a 
 steady flower, and brought* its owners a large amount of wealth. 
 Dr. A. G. Egbert informs the writer that during its life its aggre- 
 gate net earnings and clear profits were more than $1,500,000 J 
 
 " The Coquet Well," Hyde & Egbert farm, was struck in the 
 spring of 1864. An account of this well will be found in the bio- 
 graphical sketch of Mr. E. B. Grandin, and we omit its repetition 
 here. " The Coquet " was pumped for ten or twelve days, when, 
 upon drawing the sucker rods, in order to relieve her of an exces- 
 sive quantity of gas, she began to flow largely, and for a few days 
 produced 1,000 to 1,200 barrels. She finally settled down at 800 
 barrels, and continued for many months at this standard. 
 
 CHERRY RUN OR RYND FARM. 
 
 THE HEED WELLS. 
 
 THE original "Reed Well" was struck on the 18th of July 
 1864, and flowed 280 to 300 barrels per day. The lease upon 
 
EARLY FLOWING WELLS. 231 
 
 which this well was located consisted of one acre of land, and upon 
 this small tract the lessees put down four wells, all proving abun- 
 dantly productive. Mr. William Reed was the original lessee, and 
 
 before he succeeded in getting down the first well" the Reed" 
 
 he was joined by one or two parties, " with a little money." After 
 the well was down to a proper depth, it had every appearance of 
 " a dry hole." Several days were spent in pumping and testing it, 
 when she began to flow at the rate of 300 barrels, and continued 
 to produce largely for two or three years. The other three wells 
 upon this lease added to the product considerably, and in the end 
 netted handsome fortunes to the owners. One-quarter of the " land 
 interest," belonging to Mr. Cresswell, who came into the enterprise 
 plethoric with a lack of greenbacks, was sold soon after the first 
 well was struck for $280,000, to the Mingo Oil Company, of Phila- 
 delphia, Mr. C. having previously realized from the product of the 
 well $30,000! Mr. Reed, after realizing $75,000 from the sale of 
 oil from the well, disposed of his one-half interest in the property 
 to Bishop, Bissell & Co., for $200,000. Mr. Frazer, who owned 
 one-quarter of the property, and who had received from sales of 
 oil from the well, more than $100,000, subsequently disposed 
 of his interest, to other parties, for $100,000 ! This in round 
 numbers makes a total of $785,000 realized by the original pro- 
 prietors, "for the working interest" of "The Reed well and 
 lease," and all within " ninety days from the commencement of ope- 
 rations." The purchasers made money from their investment, for 
 these four wells continued to produce largely, two or three years 
 after they passed out of the hands of the original owners. Multi- 
 ply $785,000 by two, and we have $1,570,000 as the grand total 
 realized by the lessees, and subsequent purchasers. Add to this 
 princely sum the amount received by the " land interest," and it is 
 safe to estimate the profits of this one oil operation at $2,000,000, 
 and this is only " one of the many " having like fabulous history. 
 
232 
 
 HISTORY OF PETROLEUM. 
 
 TARE FARM. 
 
 THE PHILLIPS WELL (No. 2), Tarr Farm, was struck on the 
 14th of November 1861, and commenced to flow at the rate of 
 3,000 barrels per day ! Oil at this date was sold as low as fifteen, 
 and even ten cents per barrel. Thousands of barrels of the pro- 
 duct of this well, for want of barrels worth then at the well 3.50 
 to $4.00 each ran off into Oil Creek, or were allowed to waste in 
 various ways. In December, one month after " the Phillips" began 
 to flow, she produced by actual measurement three thousand nine 
 hundred and forty barrels in twenty-four hours ! She finally set- 
 tled down to 2,500 to 3 ; 000 barrels, and maintained this standard 
 for months. The owners of interests in this marvellous well were 
 accustomed to take their portion of the product by the hour ! A 
 rude trough, made of six-inch boards, was constructed from " the 
 Creek " to the tanks, and as boats could be obtained, and sales 
 made, the oil was " let on," and run, two, three, five, or more 
 "HOURS" in each owner's interest.* If the boats, barges, barrels 
 or tanks supplied as fast as possible filled up before the expira- 
 tion of the party's allotted time, the. oil ran into " the Creek," or 
 upon the ground, and was thus wasted and lost. 
 
 Samuel Downer, Esq., later the proprietor of the Downer Oil 
 "Works at Corry, was one day standing at the discharge end of the 
 leading trough, which had half an hour before been thrown from a 
 flat boat just filled. The oil was running into the Creek in a 
 volume as large as the trough would hold. " See here/' said Mr. 
 Downer, " don't you know you are wasting a hundred barrels an 
 hour here?" "Yes," said the interested party addressed, "but 
 what am I to do with it? You won't give five cents a barrel for 
 it ; and I can stand a loss of five dollars an hour rather than let 
 you have it at that price !" Mr. Downer passed on up the Creek. 
 
 The lessees of this portion of the Tarr farm had obligated them- 
 
 * See Frontispiece. 
 
EAELY FLOWING WELLS. 233 
 
 selves to give " one half the oil, and deliver it to the land-owners 
 in barrels !" For a few weeks after the well was struck, the flow 
 was stopped by means of a stop-cock. The question of barrels was 
 finally adjusted, and the flow began again, as above stated, in De- 
 cember 1861. The product of this well is variously estimated; 
 some put it as high as 750,000 barrels, and others at 1,000,000 
 barrels. "The Phillips" flowed for a year or more, her product 
 lessening, when the pump was applied, and she produced largely 
 for twelve years, and was shut down as late as May, 1873, when 
 her product was from seven to ten barrels per day. 
 
 Dur&g the "Stock Company epidemic" in 1864-5, all but the 
 land interest of this well was stocked at a fabulous sum one or 
 two million dollars ! While she had vigorous life and marvellous 
 product, oil was sold from her immense wooden tanks as low as 
 five cents per barrel, and as high as $13 per barrel ! 
 
 The Phillips was 491 feet deep, and had 60 feet of oil rock. 
 
 THE CRESCENT WELL, Tarr farm, was drilled by JS". S. WOOD- 
 FORD during the summer of 1861, with a spring pole, and to the 
 " First Sand." This was the first well put down upon the Tarr 
 farm. She flowed thirteen months and twenty days, averaging 300 
 barrels per day, and " shut oif in an instant," and never afterwards 
 produced a barrel of oil. In 1871 efforts were made to resuscitate 
 "the Crescent," but without avail. The well was cleaned out, 
 drilled deeper, and pumped for several weeks ; but it was a dry 
 hole ! t)uring the life of this well, oil was sold at such low rates, 
 that while there was little or no expense attending its running, 
 beyond tankage, not a dollar of profit or dividend was ever realized 
 by any one of its owners. She, however, paid for herself, but 
 the land-owners claim to have lost money in outlays to save their 
 portion of the product. 
 
 " The Woodford Well," tarr farm, was put down by N. S. 
 WOODFORD, in the winter of 1861. This well was located within a 
 few rods of " the Phillips," and soon after she began to produce 
 two thousand barrels per day the water flooded " the Phillips," 
 
234 
 
 HISTORY OF PETROLEUM. 
 
 and materially affected her flow. When these wells became 
 "pumpers/' neither would give out oil unless both were in motion. 
 When the "Woodford" shut down, the "Phillips" produced only 
 water, and vice versa. A compromise was subsequently effected by 
 which both wells were to be operated at one and the same time, and 
 each to have one-third of the product of the other well. 
 
 There were several large flowing wells upon the Tarr farm 
 during the early developments there, from 1861, to 1863-4. 
 "Phillips No. 1.," struck in June 1861, flowed two hundred 
 barrels per day. " Elephant No. 1.," completed in December, 
 1861, was a bountiful producer, six hundred barrels pfer day. 
 " The Union," struck in April, 1862, measured out three hundred 
 barrels per day. "The Eagle," started off, August 1862, at 100 
 barrels, and later, August and September, 1864, " The Cornwall," 
 and " Sterling," each produced one hundred and twenty barrels 
 per day. 
 
 The great flowing wells of the Tarr ?arm, in 1861 and 1862, 
 were closely followed by others, at various points on " the creek." 
 " The Van Syckel Well," on the widow McClintock farm, yielded 
 one thousand five hundred barrels per day. "The Brawley Well," 
 on the Buchanan farm, one thousand barrels per day. " The Blood 
 Well," Blood farm, one thousand barrels per day. " The Noble 
 Well," Parrel farm, two thousand five hundred barrels per day, 
 and others which we have already mentioned in more detail, in 
 this connection. 
 
EARLY FLOWING WELLS, 235 
 
 PIT HOLE IN 1865. 
 
 In January, 1865, the famous " United States or Frazer Well," 
 was struck, on the Thos. Holmden farm, in a ravine on Pit Hole 
 Creek, six or eight miles from its mouth, and almost as many miles 
 from any other developments. " This intelligence," we quote an 
 author, " who was himself of the moving mass," naturally created 
 some excitement in the restless world of Oildom ; but the spring 
 floods of that memorable year, as well as the attractions to enter- 
 prising operators afforded by more accessible localities, for several 
 months prevented extensive developments in the direction of the 
 new discovery. Indeed, the " town " could boast of only two 
 buildings by the end of May, although the production of the 
 United States Well had steadily increased, and was then fully eight 
 hundred barrels a day. However, the beginning of June wit- 
 nessed the striking of the " Grant Well," a " spouter " of twelve 
 hundred barrels magnitude, and forthwith commenced the rush for 
 the inviting hills and dales of Pit Hole, which resulted in the rise 
 of a city in some respects the most wonderful the world has ever seen. 
 Capitalists eager to invest their greenbacks, thronged in thousands 
 to the spot. Labor and board commanded exorbitant rates ; every 
 purchasable farm for miles around was immediately bought at a 
 fabulous price ; hundreds of wells were begun with the least 
 delay possible. New strikes continually intensified the excitement. 
 Speculators roamed far and wide in quest of a source of wealth 
 that promised to outvie the golden treasures of California. The 
 value of oil lands was reckoned by millions ; small interests in 
 single wells brought hundreds of thousands of dollars. New 
 York, Boston, Philadelphia, Chicago, and numberless other lesser 
 centres, measured purses in the insane strife for territory. Money 
 circulated like waste paper, and for weeks the scene recalled the 
 wildest fictions of the South-Sea Bubble or Law's Mississippi 
 Scheme ! 
 
236 
 
 HISTORY OF PETROLEUM. 
 
 Everything conspired to favor the growth of the " city." The 
 close of the war had left the country flooded with an inflated cur- 
 rency, besides throwing many thousands of energetic men upon 
 their own resources, and hundreds of these flocked to the latest 
 Oil-Dorado, which presented manifold inducements alike to the 
 venturesome spirit, the active speculator, the unscrupulous stock- 
 jobber, the needy laborer, the reckless adventurer, and the dis- 
 honest trickster. 
 
 Some time previously the Holmden farm had been purchased for 
 $25,000, by Prather & Duncan, who surveyed the greatest portion 
 into building lots, that found ready sale at figures varying from 
 three hundred dollars to fifteen thousand, which latter sum was 
 actually paid for the site of the Danforth House. Before the end 
 of September the improved Chicago boasted a population variously 
 estimated at from twelve to sixteen thousand, including the daily 
 average of transient visitors. The post-office required seven clerks, 
 and transacted a volume of business that ranked it third in the 
 State, Philadelphia and Pittsburgh alone surpassing it. Hotels, 
 theatres, saloons, public halls, and places of general resort could be 
 counted by the score. A fire department was organized ; stores 
 and dwellings sprang into existence as if by enchantment ; a rail- 
 way to Reno was projected and completed almost the entire distance, 
 and the unpoetic name of Pit Hole became familiar to every news- 
 paper reader throughout the civilized world. Incredulous for- 
 eigners, unaccustomed to the "suddenness" of Americans, with 
 unfeigned astonishment, learned that in the brief space of three 
 short months, a dense forest had been transformed into a bustling 
 city, possessing nearly all the conveniences and appliances of old- 
 established towns a city, the wondrous story of whose dazzling 
 rise and unexampled fall sounds even now like the weird romance 
 of ancient fable. What a rich field for a graphic sketch of fortunes 
 lost and won in an hour, of strange vicissitudes and extraordinary 
 reverses, of feverish excitement and unhealthy speculation, does the 
 history of Pit Hole offer to some later Scott or Dickens. 
 
EARLY FLOWING WELLS. 237 
 
 But, alas ! the youthful city was destined to decline as rapidly as 
 it had risen. In October the production of the wells fell off 
 largely ; the laying of pipe-lines to Titusville and Oleopolis forced 
 hundreds of teamsters to seek employment elsewhere ; two destruc- 
 tive fires helped to accelerate the final disaster, and January dawned 
 upon a comparatively deserted city, with scarcely anything more 
 than long rows of empty buildings to indicate its former greatness 
 and short-lived prosperity. 
 
 Many of the finest structures have since been removed to other 
 places ; not a vestige of the first wells is to be seen ; the few hotels 
 and stores that yet remain open, are no more crowded with liberal 
 patrons. Occasionally a traveller finds his way to the spot, possibly 
 impelled by an irresistible desire to behold again the scene of his 
 disappointed hopes and buried greenbacks. Of the once busy city, 
 the unused engine houses and derricks, the unoccupied tenements 
 and unfrequented by-ways, are too often the only traces that still 
 remain, silent, forsaken and alone, " to point a moral or adorn a 
 tale!" 
 
 We add a single projected transaction of the Pit Hole furor in 
 1 865, as an index to scores of others of like, or very like mammoth 
 proportions. 
 
 In July, 1865, Mr. GEORGE J. SHERMAN, HENRY E. PICKET 
 and BRIAN PHILPOT, then residing at Titusville, contracted with 
 Messrs. Prather & Duncan, the owners, for the purchase of the 
 Thomas Holmden farm, at Pit Hole, for $1,300,000 ! The farm 
 contained about two hundred acres of land, and at the date of this 
 contract, July 24th, 1865, was producing 3,500 barrels of oil per 
 day, and had one hundred wells going down, at half royalty, and 
 was besides part and parcel of the " city plot " of Pit Hole, upon 
 which were building leases, netting $60,000 per annum. Dwell- 
 ings, shops, stores and hotels were begun and completed every day. 
 The contract spoken of, was for the purchase of this farm, just as it 
 was, and thirty days were stipulated as the time in which to make 
 the first payment of $300,000 ! 
 
238 
 
 HISTORY OF PETROLEUM. 
 
 Mr. Sherman proceeded to New York city with his contract, 
 survey, statistics, &c., to interest parties there in the scheme. A 
 few days subsequent to his arrival in New York, he secured pur- 
 chasers of his contract from Prather & Duncan, at $1,600,000 ! The 
 preliminaries were all settled upon, and a committee of the pur- 
 chasers was selected to visit Pit Hole, to make examinations and 
 ascertain if the property was up to its representations. On the 
 very day the committee were to leave New York for the oil region, 
 the great Ketchum forgeries were announced, and as many of the 
 gentlemen interested in this tf Pit Hole oil scheme," were victims 
 of Ketch urn's rascality, the journey was abandoned, and subse- 
 quently the whole thing fell through ! 
 
 In this dilemma, Mr. Sherman telegraphed to Mr. H. H. Honore, 
 a wealthy gentleman at Chicago, giving him an outline of the pro- 
 perty he had for sale, and urged him to meet him at Titusville in 
 FIVE DAYS, prepared to close up the transaction. Mr. Honore, 
 and a party of Chicago capitalists, made good Mr. Sherman's ap- 
 pointment, and after going over the property, reopened negotiations 
 with Duncan & Prather, who, in lieu of the $400,000, cash, stipu- 
 lated as the first payment, agreed to take that amount in real estate, 
 situated in Chicago. To this end Duncan & Prather were to visit 
 Chicago, examine the real estate, which was to be priced by dis- 
 interested parties and close up the sale. Delays followed Messrs. 
 Duncan & Prather were a week or more in reaching Chicago, and 
 once there, they hesitated, and finally declined to receive real estate 
 in Chicago as payment for their property. Among the many valu- 
 able properties offered was Honore's block, adjoining the Tremont 
 House at $175,000 since valued at $350,000 ! 
 
 The contract for the sale of the Holmden property had been re- 
 newed and the time extended two weeks! This extension had 
 only about five days' life and a Sunday intervened ! Messrs. 
 Duncan & Prather had left for St. Louis, intending to return home 
 on the following Tuesday. Judge Beckwith, the attorney for the 
 Sherman party, advised a tender of the first payment, $400,000, in 
 
EAKLY FLOWING WELLS. 239 
 
 greenbacks ! This was late Saturday evening. On the Tuesday 
 following, the $400,000 had been obtained, and Mr. Sherman, 
 Joshua A. Ellis, President Second National Bank, Chicago, John 
 G. La Moyne, and Mr. Honore, started for Titusville, with their 
 treasure for a legal tender ! The contract required that the first 
 payment should be " made upon the Holmden Farm ! " The 
 party had reached Titusville with their valuables in safety. Pit 
 Hole was twelve miles distant, and the country was just then in- 
 fested by highwaymen of the meaner sort. Each of the gentle- 
 men named provided himself with a pocket-pistol, and mounting 
 horses the $400,000 equally divided between them they set out 
 for Pit Hole. " It was the last day in the afternoon," and late at 
 that, when the party reached Prather & Duncan's banking office. 
 They ejitered, made known the object of their coming, and there- 
 upon laid upon the bank's counter, in full view of Messrs. Prather 
 & Duncan, $400,000 as a legal-tender for the first payment as re- 
 quired by the contract ! 
 
 The tender was declined ! Messrs. Prather & Duncan claimed 
 that the life of the contract expired with the setting sun, of that 
 very day, and they would listen to no further negotiations ! Suit 
 was soon after commenced in the United States District Court at 
 Pittsburgh, which finally terminated in a compromise, by which 
 the Honore party obtained title to seven-eighths of the Holmden 
 farm property. 
 
 Soon after the tender was made, Mr. Samuel J. Walker, of Chi- 
 cago, now one of the largest real estate operators in the west, be- 
 came interested in the transaction, and he is now the owner of the 
 seven-eighths interest in the Holmden farm, as also of the Copeland 
 farm adjoining. The sum paid for the seven-eighths interest in 
 the Holmden farm is not known to the writer of this. 
 
 Pit Hole, however, developed a great many flowing wells, a few 
 of which we make brief mention of hereafter. 
 
240 HISTORY OF PETROLEUM. 
 
 THE^UNITED STATES WELL." 
 
 This well was located on the Thomas Holmden farm, and was 
 the property of the United States Oil Company, struck on the 7th 
 of January, 1865. The well flowed at the rate of 650 barrels at 
 the start, and continued to flow, gradually falling off for quite ten 
 months. The well ceased to flow November 10, 1865. The same 
 farm developed other great producers. Among the most noted 
 wereHhe "Twin Wells" 800 barrels per day. "No. 54," 800 
 barrels per day. " The Grant well," 450 barrels per day. " The 
 Eureka well," 800 barrels per day. None of these, however, 
 " held up " their product beyond six to ten months. The daily 
 product of the Holmden farm for some time during the season of 
 1865, was 3,685 barrels per day. 
 
 Upon the Hooker farm, adjoining the Holmden, were several 
 large " flowers," during the summer of 1865. Among the most noted 
 were the J. R. Johnson, " No. 110," which spouted out 800 bar- 
 rels per day; "No. 15," the property of Pratt & Suniner, which 
 produced 400 barrels daily, and "No. 108," 400 barrels a day. 
 Nos. 18 and 147, each 200 barrels daily. The daily product of 
 the Rooker farm for several mouths was 2,230 barrels. Leases of 
 one acre upon this farm were sold as high as $3,000 and one-half 
 the oil ! 
 
 " The Homestead well," at Pit Hole, located upon the Hyner 
 farm, was among the "great flowers" of 1865, in this prolific ter- 
 ritory. This well started off at 500 barrels daily. " The Ar- 
 ietta " flowed 250 barrels per day, and " The Stevenson, No. 2," 
 produced 175 barrels per day. But these wells, as " flowers," 
 lasted only about three months. 
 
 " The Burtiss Well " was struck late in the summer of 1865. It 
 was located on the Copeland farm, Pit Hole, and flowed from the 
 start, and for months after, quite 800 barrels per day. Besides 
 " the Burtiss," there were upon this farm three other flowing wells. 
 " The Rice Well" gave out 300 barrels a day; "No. 1," 150 bar- 
 
. fcABLY PLOWING WELLS. 241 
 
 rels per day, and the " Clara Well " ran up to 300 barrels per day 
 for nearly four months. 
 
 FIRST FLOWING WELL. 
 
 The first " flowing well " at least, the first we have any know- 
 ledge of in the oil regions of Pennsylvania, was obtained in the 
 summer of 1860, upon the Archie Buchanan farm, near Rou Seville. 
 It was called the " Curtis well," and was a little less than 200 feet 
 deep. No tubing was then used, and only partial efforts were 
 made to save the oil. The surface water was allowed to run into 
 the well; and after a short season of flowing, "the Curtis" ceased 
 to be. 
 
 OLDEST PRODUCING WELL IN THE REGION. 
 
 Near to the track of the Oil Creek and Allegany Valley Railroad 
 at Rouseville, Venango Co., Pa., on the Buchanan farm, is situated 
 the oldest well of the region, having now produced oil for a period 
 of nearly fourteen years. This well was put down by Messrs. 
 Rouse and Mitchel, the pioneer operators on the Buchanan farm. 
 It was drilled only to the first sand, and pumped for several 
 months at the rate of eight barrels per day, when it was sold to a 
 Mr. Porter, who put it down to the third sand, and obtained a 
 production of three hundred barrels per day, which lasted for seve- 
 ral months, when it again declined. The well occasionally changed 
 ownership, until in 1865, it passed through the hands of the Sheriff, 
 into possession of the First National Oil Company, and was dis- 
 posed of by them to Gould and Stowell. For some years, it pro- 
 duced from 4 to 6 barrels per day, up to the latter end of 1872. 
 At present, it is producing some two barrels per day. It is unques- 
 tionably the oldest producing well in the region, and dates back to 
 the earliest period of the oil operations following the success of the 
 Drake well. This well, though of small average production, has 
 
 produced upwards of a quarter million dollars' worth of oil ! 
 16 
 
242 HISTORY OF PETROLEUM. 
 
 EXTENT OF THE OIL REGION. 
 
 The area of a rectangle which will embrace all the territory of 
 the Pennsylvania Oil Region, from which oil has yet been obtained 
 is about 2,000 square miles ; but the whole number of acres which 
 have yet produced oil does not exceed 6,500, equal to ten square 
 miles, or a two-hundredth part of what is known as the oil region. 
 
 PRODUCTION AN ESTIMATE. 
 
 The region produced during the year 1872, 6,539,000 barrels. 
 This amount of oil would fill 79,150 cars, making a train 446 
 miles in length. It is estimated that the total production previous 
 to 1871 was about 33,500,000 barrels, or a total up to January 1st, 
 1873, of 45,789,000 barrels. This quantity of oil would fill 540,- 
 548 cars, making a train nearly 3,507 miles in length. 
 
VARIETIES OF PETROLEUM. 243 
 
 VARIETIES OF PETROLEUM. 
 
 PENNSYLVANIA OILS. QUALITY AND VARIETY. 
 
 THE oil found in the Pennsylvania Oil Region is, for the most 
 part, of a greenish color, and by some considered of a rather 
 unpleasant odor. The specific gravity ranges from .820 to .782, 
 or from proof 40 to proof 48 Beaume. The oil yields by distilla- 
 tion from seventy to eighty-five per cent, of illuminating oil, which, 
 when properly manufactured, should not vaporize and inflame 
 under a temperature of 110 to 116 Fahrenheit. 
 
 Of lubricating oil produced in the Franklin district, the specific 
 gravity varies from .880 to .860, or from proof 28 to 32 Beaume. 
 
 The Oil of Pennsylvania varies somewhat in color in the differ- 
 ent districts and in the different sand rocks. The black oil district 
 of Pleasantville, is so called from the fact that the oil is of a dark, 
 inky, greenish color. This district extends from a little north-east 
 of Pleasantville to the Story farm on Oil Creek, taking a north- 
 east and south-west direction, and is in extent, so far as developed, 
 about twelve miles in length and half a mile wide. 
 
 It is claimed by oil men that the rock in which the black oil is 
 found is not the regular oil-producing sand rock ; they term it a 
 stray rock, as green oil is found in a lower sand on the same land. 
 
 On the eastern portion, or upon the lands of the Shamburg and 
 Cherry Run Petroleum Companies, is the dividing line between 
 the green oil and the black. The line is defined sharply, as if by 
 a plummet. The rock in which the black oil is found is nominally 
 thinner than the green oil sand rock. 
 
 The cause of this coloring of the oil is reasonably attributed to 
 the metallic composition of the sand rock, it being largely impreg- 
 nated with oxide of iron. In the Modoc and Millerstown districts 
 
244 
 
 HISTORY OF PETROLEUM. 
 
 the oil is of an amber color, with a very slight greenish tinge. As 
 before stated, oil differs in color and, to a slight extent, in gravity 
 in the different sand-rocks, which, we think, can be fairly accounted 
 for by the presence of iron in the composition of the rocks. 
 
 THE FRANKLIN LUBRICATING OIL DISTRICT. 
 
 The Franklin lubricating oil district, lies in and around the city 
 of Franklin, and is made up, for the most part, by the territory 
 lying between and including Patchen Run, and Two Mile Run. 
 The line or belt of the most important developments, is about one 
 hundred rods wide, and so far as developed, two miles in length, 
 and includes the following farms : Hyde and Blakely farm, Geo. 
 P. Smith farm, McCalmont tract, Lamberton, Galloway, Dr. Fee, 
 and Fee, Kunkle & Go's. farm. 
 
 Soon after the striking the Drake well, Mr. Evans, a blacksmith 
 by trade, sank a well on the lot on which he resided, within the 
 Borough limits. The well was put down at first for the purpose of 
 obtaining water, and at the depth of seventeen feet, a vein of water 
 /was struck, which soon became covered with a thick scum of 
 oil, so as to render the water almost unfit for use. On learning 
 that Drake had obtained oil by drilling into the sand rock, he 
 concluded to do likewise. Not having the means to procure the 
 necessary implements, to carry his resolution into effect, he was 
 obliged to seek for assistance, but for some time his efforts were in 
 vain. Finally a merchant in Franklin, who became enlisted in 
 the enterprise, sold him iron on credit, and he manufactured the 
 tools himself. He then erected a derrick, and, by means of a 
 spring-pole, bored the well to the depth of seventy-two feet, when 
 he struck a heavy vein of oil. He then put down the tubing, and 
 commenced pumping by hand, with a common pump, at the rate 
 of twenty barrels per day, and which he readily sold for thirty 
 
THE FRANKLIN LUBRICATING OIL DISTRICT. 245 
 
 dollars per barrel. The success of the well occasioned considera- 
 ble excitement. A writer at the time says, " The town almost in- 
 voluntarily poured forth its inhabitants to witness the natural curi- 
 osity. The attendants at court (which was then in session) went 
 into a "committee of the whole," on the state of the oleaginous 
 condition of the country, and adjourned to the Evans well. At- 
 torneys, jurymen, and witnesses who were concerned in the various 
 cases then pending in the Court of Common Pleas, suddenly 
 became a self-constituted judicial tribunal to decide upon the merits 
 of this uncommon cause of public excitement."' 
 
 Mr. Evans, having raised in a few days, money sufficient to 
 enable him to purchase an engine, he commenced pumping by 
 steam-power. The yield of the well was variously estimated at 
 from sixty to two hundred barrels in twenty-four hours. He was 
 offered fifty thousand dollars for an undivided half-interest in his 
 well, and refused the offer, as his income then was probably not 
 less than two thousand dollars per day. 
 
 This well has earned the fame of giving occasion for the famous 
 saying : " Dad's struck ile." The story is vouched for as true, 
 and runs as follows : Mr. Evans had a daughter, who was courted 
 by a young man living near by, and the course of their love ran 
 smoothly enough, until the ill-starred day when the damsel's father 
 reached the " third sand," and success in his well. On the even- 
 ing of this day, the swain, not dreaming of anything less pleasant, 
 than moonlight and love, called on his sweetheart, and was met 
 coldly at the door, and promptly informed, that he needn't trouble 
 himself to come there any more, for " Dad has struck ile !" 
 
 The quality of the oil obtained in this district, is not the com- 
 mon illuminating oil, but lubricating oil of nearly the best quality, 
 being little inferior to the best West Virginia oil, which is twenty- 
 eight degrees gravity, while that of Franklin ranges from 30 to 
 32, and is now taking the lead in the markets of the world, as 
 a lubricator. 
 
 At the present time, the production is estimated at 900 barrels 
 
246 HISTORY OF PETROLEUM. 
 
 per day. The largest production having been reached in the early 
 part of the present year, amounting to 1,250 barrels per day, which 
 was caused by the striking of a number of large wells on the 
 Galloway farm, one of which produced 150 barrels per day. The 
 number of wells now pumping, will reach about 150, many of which 
 produced between forty and fifty barrels each, per day. Not a few 
 of the wells, included in the above estimate, have been in operation 
 from three to ten years, quite a number of which produce a very 
 small quantity of oil, but such wells are only pumped " by heads " 
 once, twice or three times a day. 
 
 That part of the Lubricating District, on Two-Mile Run, a 
 large portion of which was recently purchased by W. S. Mc- 
 Mullen, produces oil of 28 to 30 gravity, equal to the best 
 West Virginia oil. The gentleman referred to, is now making- 
 preparations to refine the oil produced on his own territory. 
 
 The depth of the wells in this district averages from 260 to 700 
 feet. The oil-bearing sand rock is from 50 to 80 feet in thickness, 
 being an open pebbly rock. 
 
 The manufacture or refining of lubricating oils, has for years 
 been an important industry at Franklin. " The Eclipse Lubricating 
 Oil Works," are located here, and when fully completed will be the 
 most extensive of its kind in the world, and will have a capacity 
 of 1,000 barrels per day. At the present time the company have a 
 capacity of about 450 barrels, and generally keep the concern 
 run up to this point. A ready market is found for the oils in 
 England, Prussia, Austria and Russia. The company are now 
 making arrangements for supplying the governments of Prussia 
 and Russia for use on railroads, arsenals, navy, and other .public 
 works. Oils were exhibited by the company at the Vienna Ex- 
 position, and were awarded a First Medal and Certificate for 
 Lubricating Oils made from Petroleum. We ought here to ob- 
 serve that the mode of refining adopted at these works is under 
 patent, granted to H. W. C. Tweddle, the general manager of the 
 company, which latter own the patents and use them exclusively. 
 
THE FRANKLIN LUBRICATING OIL DISTRICT. 247 
 
 An interesting feature of this company is, that the President, 
 Directors and stockholders control the eight-tenths of the whole 
 production. The stockholders are thus at the same time pro- 
 ducers and refiners. 
 
 The manufacture of railroad axle oils is made a speciality. 
 
 Capital stock of the company is $200,000. The following are 
 a list of the company's officers : 
 
 A. G. EGBERT, President, 
 
 CHAS. W. MACKEY, Vice-President, 
 
 H. "W. C. TWEDDLE, Genl. Manager, 
 
 W. H. HOWARD, Secretary, 
 
 W. M. N. HAYES, Treasurer, 
 
 Hon. JOHN S. MCALMONT, Solicitor. 
 
 The second refinery of importance at Franklin is "The GALENA 
 LUBRICATING OIL WORKS. V This company has a capacity of 600 
 barrels per week, and they are well and favorably known for the 
 excellent character of their oils. They have a quick market for 
 their products in the east, as well as in the western states. 
 
 There are a number of smaller establishments at Oil City 
 and Franklin, of which it is not necessary to give an extended 
 notice. 
 
248 
 
 HISTORY OF PETROLEUM*. 
 
 DEILLING OIL WELLS. 
 
 EARLY AND LATER METHODS OF DEVELOPMENT. 
 
 In another part of this work we have made mention of the fact 
 that the mode of operating or mining petroleum was borrowed from 
 the plan adopted by salt miners in other parts of the country. To 
 a great extent, the system of boring deep wells had been perfected 
 long before the discovery of petroleum, so that the early operator 
 had all the necessary appliances with which successfully to demon- 
 strate the existence of oil in the rocks underneath the surface of the 
 earth ; had it not been for the knowledge of the plan of artesian 
 boring, it is not unlikely, that the discovery of this most valuable 
 article would have been indefinitely postponed. 
 
 Thus we see that the drilling tools and other mining apparatus 
 used by salt miners, but in a more modified and simple form, fur- 
 nished all that was requisite for testing and obtaining the rich 
 deposits of oil that had lain hidden and almost unknown for so 
 many years. 
 
 For some years operators were content with very shallow depths ; 
 indeed it was not necessary to go deeper, or take higher ground for 
 sinking wells, as the few hundred feet to which they went gave as 
 much oil as the markets, or the necessities of the demand required. 
 Various kinds of power were employed. The most primitive and 
 most laborious, was that of the "spring-pole," which has been 
 described as follows : 
 
 "The spring-pole consisted of a green sapling, some forty feet in 
 length and ten inches in diameter, with the butt end made fast in 
 the ground, or attached to an upright pole. A second post, ten or 
 fifteen feet from the butt, acted as a fulcrum, while the pole passed 
 over the well, and about ten -feet above it. The boring implements 
 were attached to this pole, and the "power" adjusted near its 
 smaller extremities. This was applied by the strength of two men 
 throwing jtheir weight upon the pole. Sometimes a small wooden 
 
DRILLING OIL WELLS. 249 
 
 staging, four feet square, was hinged by one of its sides to the der- 
 rick, and the other side suspended to the pole. In this case the 
 two men stood on the staging, and brought down the pole by throw- 
 ing their weight on the side next to the derrick. In either case 
 the spring of the pole brought up the implements, while the down- 
 ward motion of the pole permitted the stroke. The general term 
 for this method of drilling a well, was "jigging it down," from 
 its resemblance to the dance, so styled. 
 
 " Kicking down a well," another process used in the early days 
 of the business, which was done at the expense of a great deal of 
 human muscle. A short, elastic pole, ash or hickory, ten or fifteen 
 feet in length, was arranged over the well, working over a fulcrum, 
 to the end of which was attached stirrups, in which two or three 
 men, each placed a foot, and by a kind of kicking process brought 
 down the pole, and produced the motion necessary to work the bit. 
 By this process the strokes were rapid. 
 
 Horse- power was used, of different patterns, suitable for one 
 horse, and sometimes for two or three. They resembled in their 
 general features the horse-power of a threshing-machine, the horses 
 walking around the centre, and over a dumbling-shaft, that gave 
 the necessary perpendicular motion. Water-power was used in 
 many instances, at very trifling cost to the operator. 
 
 Stearn-power next came into general use, which greatly reduced 
 the labor and facilitated the work of the miners. Year by year, 
 we might almost say, day by day improvements have been made on 
 all things used in mining petroleum. The derrick has grown from 
 30 feet to 64, and even to 80 and 90 feet in height. Formerly it 
 was built of rough poles, or hewn timber, the bottom being 10 to 
 12 feet square; the poles, four in number, being erected at each 
 corner, converging toward each other, forming a square at the top, 
 of two and a half feet, with girths and braces at suitable distances, 
 to make the structure substantial. Derricks are now made of 
 sawed boards, two inches thick and eight inches wide, the edges being 
 spiked together, forming a half square, on each corner of the foun- 
 
250 
 
 HISTORY OF PETROLEUM. 
 
 dation, which is usually from 16 to 18 feet square. With the 
 increased depth of boring, the derrick has grown stronger and 
 higher, and in the same ratio the drilling tools have grown in 
 weight from 150 pounds to 2,000 pounds! Formerly it was no 
 unusual thing for the driller to take his set of tools in his hands 
 and start out to look for a job now it requires one and oftentimes 
 two teams to haul the tools to the point of operation. 
 
 The pumping apparatus, valves, rods and the like, have been 
 much improved during late years. And many devices, invaluable 
 to the operator, have been brought into use. We would instance 
 the process of " casing," which is now always used in wells, and 
 obviates the necessity of breaking the seed-bag in drawing tubing. 
 By the use of casing the well is never allowed to flood with fresh 
 water, which flooding, experience has demonstrated to be of great 
 injury to wells. 
 
 Early wells had a bore of four inches. At present the usual 
 bore is from six to eight inches in diameter. 
 
 By the many improvements in the mode of drilling and pumping, 
 the business of operating in oil has been shorn of nearly all its 
 drawbacks. The industry is now reduced to a legitimate basis, 
 and though it is said that more lose money, than make by it, we 
 are convinced that no other enterprise in the country can show a 
 less percentage of failures, and few can exhibit so many substantial 
 successes, 
 
Ill* 
 
 Before Explosion. 
 
 After Explosion. 
 
 THE EGBERTS TORPEDO. 
 
TOBPEDOES. 251 
 
 TORPEDOES. 
 
 THEIE HISTORY AND POSITIVE VALUE. 
 
 " THE HISTORY OF PETROLEUM" would be singularly incomplete 
 without mention of the Roberts Torpedo, for to this remarkable in- 
 vention may be attributed, more than to any other agency, the success 
 which has attended its prosecution. "We propose, therefore, to pre- 
 sent, as concisely as possible, a history of this invention, from its 
 inception to the present time. 
 
 In 1862, Col. E. A. L. Roberts, then an officer in the volunteer 
 service, and with his regiment in the Army of the Potomac, in front 
 of Fredericksburg, conceived the idea of exploding torpedoes in 
 oil wells, for the purpose of increasing the production. He made 
 drawings of his invention, and in November, 1864, made applica- 
 tion for letters patent. In the fall of the same year he constructed 
 six torpedoes, and on the 2d of January, 1865, he visited Titus- 
 ville to make his first experiment. Col. Roberts' theory was re- 
 ceived with general disfavor, and no one desired to test its practica- 
 bility at the risk, it was supposed, of damaging a well. On the 
 21st of January, however, Col. R. persuaded Capt. Mills to permit 
 him to operate on the Ladies' Well, on Watson Flats, near Titus- 
 ville. Two torpedoes were exploded in this well, when it com- 
 menced to flow oil and paraffine. Great excitement of course fol- 
 lowed this successful experiment, and brought the torpedo into gen- 
 eral notice. The result was published in the papers of the oil re- 
 gion, and five or six applications for patenting the same invention 
 were immediately filed at Washington. Several suits for interfer- 
 ence were commenced, which lasted over two years, and decisions in 
 all cases were rendered declaring Col. Roberts the original inventor. 
 
 Notwithstanding the success of the first experiment, operators 
 
252 
 
 HISTORY OF PETROLEUM. 
 
 were still very skeptical as to the practical advantages of torpedoes, 
 and it was not till the fall of 1865, that they would permit the in- 
 ventor to operate in their wells to any extent, from fear that the ex- 
 plosion would fill them with rock and destroy their productiveness. 
 In December, 1866, however, Col. R. exploded a torpedo in 
 what was known as the " Woodin "Well," on the Blood farm This 
 w^ll was a "dry hole," never having produced any oil. The re- 
 sult of the operation secured a production of twenty barrels per 
 day, and in the following month, January, 1867, a second torpedo 
 was exploded, which brought up the production to eighty barrels. 
 This established for the torpedo, beyond question, all that Col. 
 Roberts had claimed, and immediately the demand for them be- 
 came general throughout the region. "We present below a tabular 
 statement of the result of the first THIRTY-EIGHT wells torpedoed : 
 
 THE RESULTS OF THE TORPEDO. 
 
 NAME AND LOCATION OF WELLS. 
 
 Increase Pumping & 
 Bills. Flowing. 
 
 Woodin Well, Blood Farm ......................................... ............................ 
 
 Two Wells for Mr. Archer, Tarr farm ........................................................ 
 
 Tarr Homestead, No. 1 ..................................... .......................................... 
 
 Tarr Homestead, No. 2 ............................................................................. 
 
 Monitor Well, No. 2 .................................................................................. 
 
 Vogan ...................................................................................................... 
 
 Keystone Well ...... ......... ........................................................................ 
 
 Sherman Homestead Well ........................................................................ 
 
 Manhattan Well, Story Farm .................................................................... 
 
 Clara Well, Pit Hole, no increase, but made the Andy Johnson well flow 
 Burnett Well, Tarr Farm ......................................... .-. ............................... 
 
 Gardner's Well, Pioneer Run. ................................................................... 
 
 A. Aldrich, Tip Top Well, Tarr Farm ......................................................... 
 
 Smith Well, Tarr Farm ............................................................................ 
 
 Hawkin's Well, Petroleum Centre ............................................................ 
 
 Anderson Well, Petroleum Centre ............................................................ 
 
 Monitor, Well No. 1,. Tarr Farm. Two Torpedoes .................................... 
 
 Mahaffy Well, Petroleum Centre ............................................................. 
 
 Ennis Well, Cherry Run.... ....................................................................... 
 
 Hunter Well, Story Farm .......................... .............................................. 
 
 Hamburgh Oil Co., Story Farm ................................................................. 
 
 Morse Well, Blood Farm ........................................................................... 
 
 Woodin Well, Blood Farm (second time) .................................................. 
 
 No. 8 Well, John Rynd Farm ................................................................... 
 
 Hyde Well, Story Farm ........................................................................... 
 
 Mitchell Well Cherry Run ................................................... . .................. 
 
 Parker Well, No. 1, Tarr Farm .................................................................. 
 
 Bakery Well, No. 1, Tarr Farm ................................................................. 
 
 Columbia Oil Co., Story Farm ................................................................... 
 
 Refinery Well, Blood Farm ......................................... : ............................ 
 
 Tarr Reserve Well, Tarr Fajm ................................................................. 
 
 Blanchard Well. Blood Farm ........................................................... 
 
 Catskill Well, Cherry Run ................................... ...................... 
 
 Duff Well, Tarr Farm .................................................... ........................ 
 
 Mahaffy, No. 2, Petroleum Centre .................................................... . ......... 
 
 Hays' Well, Petroleum Centre .................................................................. 
 
 Bnggs & Severence Well, Church Run ..................................................... 
 
 Anderson Well, Petroleum Centre (second time) ...................................... 
 
 No. 272 Well, Petroleum Centre (second time) ............. ............................ 
 
 80 
 60 
 60 
 65 
 35 
 30 
 185 
 60 
 75 
 150 
 65 
 8 
 
 35 
 10 
 20 
 90 
 10 
 4 
 35 
 20 
 30 
 30 
 30 
 75 
 35 
 10- 
 125 
 200 
 10 
 10 
 35 
 30 
 15 
 90 
 10 
 30 
 40 
 125 
 200 
 
 Pumping 
 
 Pumping 
 
 Flowing 
 
 Flowing 
 
 Pumping 
 
 Pumping 
 
 Flowing 
 
 Pumping 
 
 Flowing 
 
 Pumping 
 
 Flowing 
 
 Pumping 
 
 Pumping 
 
 Flowing 
 
 Pumping 
 
 Pumping 
 
 Pumping 
 
 Pumping 
 
 Pumping 
 
 Pumping 
 
 Pumping 
 
 Pumping 
 
 Pumping 
 
 Flowing 
 
 Pumping 
 
 Pumping 
 
 Flowing 
 
 Flowing 
 
 Pumping 
 
 Pumping 
 
 Pumping 
 
 Pumping 
 
 Pumping 
 
 Flowing 
 
 Pumping 
 
 Pumping 
 
 Pumping 
 
 Pumping 
 
 Pumping 
 
TORPEDOES. 253 
 
 In 1865, immediately after operating on the Ladies' Well, a com- 
 pany was organized in New York for the purpose of prosecuting 
 the business, with the following officers : 
 
 President, WILLIAM S. FOGG, 24 Fulton Street. 
 Vice-President, JAMES W. SIMONTON, 145 Broadway. 
 Secretary, W. B. ROBERTS, 47 Bond Street. 
 Treasurer, ERASTUS TITUS, 283 Washington Street. 
 Counsel, HON. GILBERT DEAN, 74 and 76 Wall Street 
 Superintendent, COL. E. A. L. ROBERTS, Titusville, Pa. 
 
 TRUSTEES : Walter B. Roberts, Wm. H. Dwinelle, M. D., A. 
 G. Trask, Erastus Titus, Gilbert Dean, Wm. S. Fogg, Erastus 
 Titus, Jr., Wm. H. Akin, James W. Simonton, Wm. H. Chap- 
 man, E. A. L. Roberts. 
 
 About the time the Woodin Well was struck (1866,) the wells of 
 the region had materially decreased, and but little oil was pro- 
 duced. There was a general apprehension that the territory had been 
 drained and would soon be quite exhausted, unless new belts were 
 discovered. But the application of torpedoes immediately effected 
 a revolution, and during the summer of 1867, the wells on Oil 
 Creek were increased several thousand barrels. Immediately there- 
 after Col. ROBERTS introduced nitro-glycerme as an explosive for 
 his torpedoes, and established a manufactory near Titusville, and 
 during the last year (1872,) some twenty-five tons qf this compound 
 were used for this purpose alone. 
 
 . The developments of Tidioute, Shamburg and other districts fol- 
 lowed the operations of 1866, and the employment of torpedoes 
 continued with the same striking success. And it may be safely 
 stated that up to the present time nearly one-third of the oil pro- 
 duction has been dependent upon the use of this invention. 
 
 In the summer of 1866, infringements commenced by different 
 parties throughout the oil region, and suits were instituted by Col. 
 R. against the parties and injunctions granted. In 1868, the Reed 
 
254 HISTORY OF PETROLEUM. 
 
 Torpedo Company was organized, with several oil operators at 
 its head, for the purpose of infringing and breaking down the 
 Roberts patent. Suits were commenced by Col. R. against all 
 parties and carried to a final hearing before Judge Grier of Phila- 
 delphia, and decisions given in favor of Roberts, and judgments 
 rendered to the amount of about $10,000. Numerous other suits 
 were commenced and final judgment rendered, among which was 
 one against James Dickey, which was tried before Justices Strong 
 and McKennan in Washington, in January, 1871. An elaborate 
 opinion was rendered in this* case in favor of Roberts. The case 
 was regarded with great interest in the oil region, from the 
 magnitude of the considerations involved, and the newspaper 
 controversies upon the subject. Since the great Rubber suits, no 
 patent-suit has elicited more general attention, involved so im- 
 portant considerations, or its termination more anxiously awaited. 
 The sum of $50,000 had been subscribed among the producers, 
 for the purpose of breaking down the Roberts Patent, and such 
 a result was looked for with entire confidence. Few cases have 
 ever enlisted higher professional ability, or been more earnestly 
 contested. Messrs. Bakewell and Christy, of Pittsburgh, and 
 George Harding of Philadelphia, conducted the case for Roberts, 
 and Messrs. Kellar and Blake, of Ne^r York, were employed by 
 the oil producing interest, for the defence. The decision was 
 rendered in May, 1871, and was in favor of Roberts. It was 
 made the occasion of a very elaborate and exhaustive opinion, 
 which, as a matter of course, was received with general disap- 
 probation on the part of the producers, and occasioned great dis- 
 appointment. 
 
 Very many suits have since been brought for infringements, 
 and over $100,000 have been expended by the inventor in pro- 
 tecting his legal rights. Thus far the Courts have uniformly 
 sustained the Roberts patent. 
 
OIL, WELL RECORDS. 
 
 255 
 
 OIL WELL RECORDS. 
 
 THE OIL WELLS AT BRADY'S BEND, LOWER DIST. 
 
 BY PROF. LESLEY. 
 
 ORIGINAL information on practical subjects is always useful, and 
 we therefore register the following table and notes of thirteen oil 
 wells sunk near the Brady's Bend Iron Works. These are situated 
 on the Allegany River, at a remarkable oxbow curve of the river 
 just above the mouth of the Red Bank, a few miles below that of 
 the Clarion, and sixty-nine miles above Pittsburgh. Parker's 
 Landing, a great oil centre now, is thirteen miles higher up than 
 the iron works ; Foster, another oil centre, is forty-eight miles 
 above the works; Franklin, Jifty-four miles; and Oil City, sixty- 
 one miles. 
 
 Height of well 
 
 
 Depth below 
 
 
 
 mouth above 
 Eng. No. 
 
 Depth of 
 well. 
 
 river, high- 
 est water 
 
 First yield in 
 barrels per 
 
 Present yield per 
 day. 
 
 datum. 
 
 
 mark. 
 
 day. 
 
 
 1... 96 feet 
 
 1,400 
 
 
 
 1 bbl. 
 
 2. ..232 
 
 1,111 
 
 1,268 
 
 5-fbbls. 
 
 no sand rock. 
 
 3... 97.62 
 
 1,262 
 
 1,113 
 
 
 1 bbl. 
 
 4... 97.69 
 
 1,105 
 
 1,264 
 
 7 bbls. 
 
 abandoned. 
 
 5... 100.31 
 
 1,290 
 
 1,105 
 
 5i bbls. 
 
 2 bbls. 
 
 6...300.48 
 
 1,414 
 
 1,090 
 
 9 bbls. 
 
 4 bbls. 
 
 7...437.41 
 
 1,345 
 
 1,077 
 
 840 bbls. 
 
 8 bbls. 
 
 8...379.18 
 
 1,065 
 
 1,066 
 
 4ibbls. 
 
 150 to 200 bbls. 
 
 9...101.38 
 
 1,300 
 
 1,066 
 
 Ibbl. 
 
 34-bbls. 
 
 10...330.27 
 
 1,200 
 
 1,070 
 
 
 abandoned. 
 
 11...111.13 
 12...216.50 
 
 1,212 
 1,402 
 
 1,189 
 l,095i 
 
 12 bbls. 
 
 powerful gas blow 
 13 bbls. 
 
 13...426.38 
 
 
 1,076 
 
 3 bbls. 
 
 2 bbls. 
 
256 HISTORY OF PETROLEUM. 
 
 From the above table, it a'ppears that all the oil-producing wells 
 mentioned in it get their supply from one stratum lying in an un- 
 disturbed and horizontal position, varying in their actual depths 
 below a fixed datum level from 1,113 to 1,066 feet, a difference of 
 only forty-seven feet. This difference is due to three causes, viz : 
 1. The different depths in the oil-bearing stratum penetrated by 
 the bottom boring of the wells ; 2. The slight inequalities in the 
 upper surface of the stratum ; 3. And chiefly to a general slight 
 dip of the rocks, both from the north-west and from the south-east, 
 in toward the centre line or axis of the trough or basin which here 
 crosses the Allegany River in its northeast-southwest course ; and 
 also to a still slighter and almost insensible decline of the axis of 
 the basin itself south-westward. 
 
 The table also confirms what was proven years ago, long before 
 the fact was acknowledged by oil men, namely, that it makes no 
 difference whether a well is started in a valley bottom or on the 
 hill-tops provided it goes down to the uniform and nearly horizon- 
 tal oil-bearing sand rock. For some of these wells have their 
 mouths at elevations more than 300 feet greater than others. Some 
 on the river bank, and others high up at the heads of side ravines. 
 The great No. 8 well was commenced at an elevation of (379 
 96=) 283 feet higher than those on the river bank, which yield 
 only from one to three barrels per day. 
 
 The following table shows the thickness of the third sand rock 
 where it was passed entirely through : 
 
 No. 2. No sand rock found and no oil. 
 
 No. 4. Sand rock, twenty-six feet ; hard fine white sand. 
 
 No. 5. Sand rock, twenty-seven feet ; fine pebbles. 
 
 No. 6. Sand rock, sixteen feet ; with slate partings. 
 
 No. 7. Sand rock, twenty-seven feet ; pebbles pretty coarse. 
 
 No. 8. Sand rock^ very coarse and open. 
 
 No. 9. Sand rock ? pebble very fine and close, very little gas. 
 
 No. 10. Sand rock? ten feet; pebbles pretty fine, except in 
 one thin streak. 
 
OIL WELL RECORDS. 257 
 
 No. 11. No sand-rock, no oil, but great gas blow, doubtless 
 from a fissure. 
 
 No. 12. Sand rock, seventeen feet, all pebbles; steady flow of 
 oil. 
 
 No. 13. Sand rock, thirteen feet; coarse open pebbles; and a 
 fair amount of gas. 
 
 No. 14. Sand rock, thirteen feet; large coarse pebbles; r fair 
 amount of gas. 
 
 Other noteworthy facts are as follows : 
 
 No. 1 well, on the river bank, one-half mile above the rolling- 
 mill, begun March, 1865, finished 1866.* 
 
 No. 2 well, at the mouth of Cove Run, May, 1866 June, 1870. 
 
 No. 3 well, on the river above the mill, commenced August, 
 1868 pumping in September, 1872, one barrel a day. 
 
 No. 4 well, on the river above the mill, May, 1869 March, 
 
 1870. Cost $10,405. Record of strata given below. 
 
 No. 5 well, on the run above the mill, June, 1869 April, 1870. 
 At 931 feet struck so powerful a gas vein, that the bore hole was 
 deluged with water and abandoned for four months. In June, 
 
 1871, a three-quart nitro-glycerine torpedo was exploded without 
 increasing the production of oil. The pebble-rock was almost as 
 fine as sea sand. 
 
 No. 6 well, on Queenstown Run; August, 1870 April 5, 1871; 
 drilled with the water cased out; all the previous wells were 
 drilled in water; casing commenced at 357 feet; not much gas. 
 
 No. 7 well, on Queenstown Run ; August 7, 1870 March 1, 
 1871 ; water cased at 512 feet; some gas at 1,050 ; commenced 
 pumping about nine barrels a day, and has produced up to Sep- 
 tember, 1872, 4,133 barrels. 
 
 No. 8 well, on Queenstown Run ; June 26, 1871 September 
 22, 1871 ; water cased out ; first show of oil September 22, and 
 
 * The " Engineers' Datum " is an assumed level, 100 feet lower than a mark on the 
 Brady's Bend Iron Company's warehouse, showing the extreme height reached by 
 the flood of March 17, 1865. 
 
 17 
 
258 HISTORY OF PETROLEUM. 
 
 began to fill up very slowly. At 12.35 A. M., September 23, 
 struck a vein of gas and oil which spouted over the top of the der- 
 rick, and was fired by the night lamp hung in the derrick, burning 
 the rigging down. The spouts occurred every two minutes. At 
 9 A. M., the fire was extinguished and the oil began to fill the tank 
 at the rate of thirty-five barrels an hour, but gradually calmed 
 down to about sixty barrels a day during the first month, and Oc- 
 tober 22, ceased to flow. Tubing and sucker rods were then put 
 in, and it began to flow again at the rate of 150 barrels a day. 
 
 This well has been cleaned out many times to keep her in good 
 running order. Immediately after any one such cleaning she pro- 
 duces from seventy to ninety barrels a day, and gradually falls off 
 to about twenty to twenty-five, when it is understood that she 
 again needs cleaning. In fifty weeks she has produced 9,505 bar- 
 rels. There is not much gas except when flowing. 
 
 No. 9 well, on the river opposite Catfish ; June 24, 1871 Octo- 
 ber 24, 1871 ; water cased out; cost $5,750. 
 
 No. 10 well, on Lower Campbell Tract; July 10, 1871 May 
 22, 1872; water cased out. After passing through third sand at 
 1,300 feet, put in a four-quart torpedo, which seemed to have very 
 little effect. Sand-pumped for two days afterward, and found that 
 she filled up with less than a barrel of oil per day, and therefore 
 concluded it was useless to tube her. Not much gas at any time. 
 
 No. 11 well, on river half mile below the mill; August 24, 
 1871 June 24, 1872 ; water cased out at 437 feet. Struck very 
 heavy vein of gas at 858 feet. 
 
 The gas from this well, by calculation, would supply fuel to run 
 the rolling-mill and machine shop boilers, being therefore equal to 
 100 tons of coal per week. 
 
 The pressure of gas would sometimes lift the tools twenty or 
 thirty feet in the hol&, tools weighing 1,700 pounds and rope 300 
 pounds. The flow of gas is enormous and continuous. 
 
 No. 12 well, on Queenstown Run; December 9, 1871 April 
 12, 1872 ; water cased out at 394 feet. Struck heavy vein of gas 
 
OtL WELL RECORDS. 
 
 259 
 
 February 2, at 725 feet, which caused a flow of water until March 
 1, when casing was put in and the water stopped off. 
 
 Struck oil at the top of third sand April 4, at 1,183 feet, the 
 rock being nearly all good pebble-rock ; after passing through it 
 (1,200 feet) drilled twelve feet into slate for a pocket ; tubed well 
 April 12; commenced pumping twelve barrels a day, and the well 
 is now doing thirteen barrels. Much gas all the time. Cost 
 $6,557. 
 
 * 
 
 WELL RECORDS IN DIFFERENT PARTS OF THE OIL REGION. 
 
 . Name of Well. 
 
 Farm. 
 
 Township. 
 
 County. 
 
 "1 
 Q 
 
 ISt 
 
 Sand 
 at 
 
 Thickness. 
 
 2d 
 
 Sand 
 at 
 
 I 
 
 3d 
 band 
 at 
 
 I 
 
 X 
 
 4th 
 band 
 at 
 
 Thickness. 
 
 5th 
 Sand 
 at 
 
 A & G W Oil Co 
 
 
 Oil Creek 
 
 
 64.2 
 
 
 
 
 
 573 
 557 
 446 
 
 64 
 
 
 
 
 Cadwallader & Warner 
 C G Emery 
 
 
 Southwest, 
 
 Warren 
 
 613 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 462 
 
 
 
 
 
 6Yl"Creek7 
 
 Venango 
 
 474 
 465 
 844 
 844 
 t- 2 6 
 
 238 
 362" 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 E. Baum 
 
 William Wood 
 
 Baum, 
 Zuver, 
 
 if 
 
 534 
 
 M 
 
 628"" 
 475 
 757 
 452 
 
 21 
 
 2< 
 
 37 
 
 699 
 772 
 
 23 
 
 797 
 799 
 
 H Davies 
 
 J Watson 
 
 
 Perry, 
 
 Armstr'g 
 
 900 
 
 
 
 400 
 400 
 
 
 
 
 
 u 
 
 Murphy & McKenny... 
 J Watson 
 
 
 
 
 
 Hall, 
 Ball, 
 Poor, 
 Bennehoff, 
 Egbert, . 
 Skinner, 
 Weed, 
 
 
 
 g 
 
 587 
 
 77 
 
 
 
 834 
 
 ... 
 
 
 
 
 E. Poor & Co 
 Custer & Lowers 
 Dr Egbert 
 
 
 
 
 708 
 
 3' 
 i<5 
 
 824"" 
 
 711 
 482 
 
 Cornplanter 
 
 Oil Creek, 
 
 Southwest, 
 
 Cornplanter 
 Oil Creek, 
 
 Venango 
 
 Crawford 
 Warren, 
 
 Venango 
 
 564 
 79 i 
 704 
 722 
 596 
 652 
 8 74 
 823 
 614 
 
 267 
 364"" 
 
 
 387 
 605 
 597 
 
 22 
 
 19 
 14 
 
 20 
 
 764 
 
 6^9 
 369 
 546 
 558 
 779 
 
 32 
 
 13 
 
 15 
 
 671 
 418 
 596 
 693 
 794 
 
 u 
 J Watson 
 
 B D Benson 
 
 Whitman & Doubleday 
 F G Irving 
 
 
 241 
 33 
 
 27 
 
 325 
 485 
 
 McClintock, 
 Blood, 
 
 40 
 
 i ::: 
 
 Col Roberts 
 
 
 ... 
 
 472 
 
 
 
 
 Reno Oil Co 
 
 
 Sugar Creek 
 Southwest, 
 
 Venango 
 Warren 
 
 882 
 522 
 482 
 560 
 767 
 
 579 
 
 477 
 
 I 91 
 632 
 
 660 
 811 
 
 
 
 
 
 H Joy & Co 
 
 
 221 
 
 463"" 
 2 75 
 
 208 
 2OO' 
 247 
 
 i 
 
 44 
 
 JI 
 
 T 4 
 5 
 sfi 
 
 342 
 
 10 
 
 469 
 
 19 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 Fee & Emery 
 Watson, Williams & Co. 
 A R Williams 
 
 Carp'ter Lot 
 Barnsdall, 
 
 372 
 672 
 429 
 542 
 342 
 333 
 500 
 435 
 469 
 
 8 
 
 35 
 
 55 
 59 
 
 509 
 
 688 
 364"" 
 
 607 
 635 
 
 55 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 Redfield & Co 
 
 
 
 
 7 
 
 20 
 
 489'" 
 
 24 
 
 7 o6 
 
 W Barber 
 
 
 Cornplanter 
 
 Venango 
 
 W H Marsden 
 
 
 
 Kinney, 
 Withrop, 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 T. King 
 
 C D Angell 
 
 RockTand"' 
 
 Venango 
 
 tW Brice 
 
 
 47 
 
 
 
 79 i 
 
 . T. Ridgway 
 E. Haines 
 T. Chattels 
 
 Watson & Steele 
 
 McMullen, 
 Benedict, 
 N. Star Co., 
 Terrill 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 586 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 495 
 667 
 7Q 6 
 
 
 
 .. 
 
 
 35 
 
 )26 
 
 620 
 763 
 648 
 
 n > 
 1 6 
 
 ^7 
 23 
 
 12 
 
 1 6 
 
 
 
 
 775 
 
 
 ..!.... 
 
 R. W. Throwbley 
 Linn, Pinkerton, & Co. 
 Hess & Tarbell 
 
 Shaw, 
 McClintock, 
 Shoup, 
 
 Cornplanter 
 Richland, 
 
 Venango 
 Clarion, 
 
 789 
 675 
 1,048 
 
 497 
 360 
 
 73 2 
 
 43 
 $8 
 
 614 
 
 505 
 835 
 
 
 
 
 
 NOTE The sands, thickness, depth of wells, &c., in the Lower Oil Fields, will be found in the 
 
 chapter devoted to a description of the Butler County and Parker's Landing District. 
 
260 HISTORY OF PETROLEUM. 
 
 OIL COMPANIES. 
 
 A FEW SPECIALLY MENTIONED, 
 
 THE HARMONY OR ECONOMITE SOCIETY. 
 
 IT was not the intention to give special notice of the existence of 
 individual associations and companies. We, however, make excep- 
 tions in a few instances. We do so because these present interesting 
 and peculiar features. 
 
 In the case of the Economite Society their history is of marked 
 interest to the public, because of their strange organization, their 
 singular history, and their great success as oil operators. For the 
 information herewith given we are indebted to their present Super- 
 intendent, Mr. William Merkle, to whom we tender our acknow- 
 ledgments for his courtesy. 
 
 The Harmony Society was founded near the beginning of the 
 present century, by George Rapp, and a colony of emigrants from 
 Wiirtemberg, numbering over one hundred families. They be- 
 longed to that class of devout people in Germany, to whom, in the 
 previous century, had been given in reproach, the name of Pietists. 
 Dissatisfied with the state of religion in the established Lutheran 
 church, they gave themselves to the more diligent private study of 
 the Scriptures (a practice which they still retain), and to the edifi- 
 cation of each other in social assemblages for conference and prayer. 
 Two men arose among them, who by their force of character, be- 
 came leaders. These were Michael Hahn and George Rapp. They 
 
OIL COMPANIES. 261 
 
 were earnest, zealous men, who magnified their office by gathering 
 together on the Sabbath, the people who sympathized with them, 
 and administering to them words of instruction and encouragement. 
 Hahn had commenced the work of preaching at an earlier period 
 than Rapp. He was a man of more literary culture, and made 
 use of the press in the work of reformation. He was an humble 
 farmer, with limitecLeducation, but he was a man of deep religious 
 spirit, and great force of character. Feeling himself 'constrained to 
 proclaim to others the religious convictions which filled his own 
 heart, he soon gathered around him a number of followers, of 
 kindred views. The work grew gradually until several hundreds 
 looked to him as their leader. These movements excited the oppo- 
 sition of their more worldly neighbors, and especially of the clergy, 
 whose ministrations they neglected. Hahn and his adherents, 
 under the name of Pietists, still retained their connection with 
 the established churches, giving at least occasional attendance on 
 the ordinances as then administered. Like the first Methodists 
 in England, they hoped to bring about a reformation within the 
 church itself. They thus escaped in great measure the persecu- 
 tions which arose against Rapp and his followers, who refused to 
 attend upon the ministrations of the regular clergy. They were 
 called Separatists, and although demeaning themselves as quiet, 
 orderly citizens, and paying their dues both to church and state, 
 they became objects of odium, and were denounced to the civil 
 authorities by the offended clergy. They were persecuted with 
 fines and imprisonment, and their appeals for redress were in vain. 
 After long endurance, and after having made an ineffectual ap- 
 plication to their own government for permission to form a settle- 
 ment by themselves, they determined to emigrate. In the year 
 1803, George Rapp visited this country, in search of a location 
 suitable for a colony. He purchased a large tract of land near 
 Zelienople, in Butler county, Pennsylvania, and in the autumn of 
 the ensuing year three ship-loads of colonists arrived. 
 
 Before they left ' Germany they had embraced some peculiar 
 
262 
 
 HISTORY OF PETROLEUM. 
 
 views of religion and social economy, to which, they were led, as 
 they supposed, by their careful study of the New Testament. 
 They had generally adopted the Millenarian theory of the per- 
 sonal and pre-millenarian advent of Christ, which they regarded 
 as near at hand. They were also disposed to follow the example 
 of the primitive Christians, in having all things in common. It 
 was not, however, for some years later that this practice became a 
 law among them. Soon after their settlement in this country 
 marriage was prohibited, celibacy being strictly adhered to by 
 members of the Society, for now, upward of fifty years. 
 
 The Society, for some reason, changed their location, having 
 purchased lands in the Valley of the Wabash, in Posey County, 
 Indiana, disposing of their property in Pennsylvania at a great 
 sacrifice. After a residence often years on the Wabash, they again 
 determined to change their location, finding the country unhealthy, 
 and their neighbors ignorant, vicious, and turbulent. It is said 
 unpleasant collisions occurred between them and the peacefully 
 disposed Harmonists. These circumstances induced them to think 
 of returning to Pennsylvania. 
 
 In 1825, they made a purchase of their present lands in Beaver 
 County, Pennsylvania, on the Ohio river, about eighteen miles 
 from Pittsburgh. They built a steamboat, and removed in detach- 
 ments to their new and final place of settlement. Here they 
 founded a town, to which they gave the name of ECONOMY, and 
 from this circumstance, the popular name of the Society is de- 
 rived. 
 
 A few years prior to the discovery of oil, the Economists' Society 
 came into possession of a large tract of land, some six thousand six 
 hundred acres, opposite Tidioute, in Warren County, Pennsylvania. 
 This land was originally purchased as a lumber enterprise, for the 
 supply of their own wants, and to meet the extensive demand for 
 timber at their mills in Economy. This tract has since proved to 
 be valuable oil territory, as is now well known. When oil was 
 first discovered, it was a great and unexpected addition to the value 
 
OIL COMPANIES. 263 
 
 of their lands, and they generously intrusted the management of it 
 to the former proprietor, with such share of the profits as enabled 
 him to retrieve his shattered fortune, and place his family in inde- 
 pendent circumstances. They then took the whole business into 
 their own hands. 
 
 In the early part of the summer of 1860, oil was found imme- 
 diately below the river tract belonging to the Society, which created 
 great excitement, and many persons sought to purchase or lease the 
 land from them, but fortunately for them a law-suit was then pend- 
 ing for the possession of this tract, which prevented leasing or sales. 
 In September of the same year they took actual possession of this 
 tract, located five different wells upon it, made contracts for drilling 
 them, and engaged workmen for the vigorous development of the 
 property. 
 
 The first two wells drilled were entire failures. The third had 
 a pretty good show of oil, but finally proved to be nearly worth- 
 less, after three months' hard labor, and the expenditure of a large 
 amount of money. The prospect of success now looked gloomy, 
 but they hoped and worked on, and unexpectedly, at the depth of 
 99J feet, the drill struck a large crevice, and sank some eight or 
 ten inches, and in a few moments large quantities of oil and water 
 were thrown high above the derrick in a continuous stream. This 
 well flowed steadily for six months, gradually decreasing in 
 production, then stopped and flowed periodically, and at the end of 
 nine months ceased to flow, and afterwards was pumped for a number 
 of years. Immediately after the striking of the flowing well, a 
 new well was struck near to it, which at first produced but little 
 oil, but after some time proved a good well, and continued to pro- 
 duce for eight years. 
 
 During the spring of 1861, 'eight wells were finished, four of 
 which were failures, and four of them good shallow wells of not 
 more than one hundred and fifty feet in depth. 
 
 In March, 1862, the society had four good producing wells ; had 
 erected a number of buildings, made roads, constructed wharves a 
 
264 HISTORY OF PETROLEUM. 
 
 cooper shop ; with a stock of several thousand barrels to send 
 their oil to market ; a blacksmith shop, carpenter shop, and all the 
 necessary tools. 
 
 The history of the society's operations for the years following, up 
 to 1868, is varied, meeting like all other operations, with successes 
 and reverses, but still maintaining their position against all the 
 drawbacks incident to the business. 
 
 In 1868, the society met with marked success, having sold dur- 
 ing the year upwards of one hundred thousand barrels of oil, and 
 in 1869, over seventy-five thousand barrels. They are now drilling 
 their seventy-sixth well, having at the present time fourteen pro- 
 ducing wells, yielding a little over one hundred barrels per day, 
 which the Trustees have leased for a short term, to their superin- 
 tendent, Mr. Merkle, and Mr. A. R. Moore. 
 
 From the records of their drillings, we find that the wells vary 
 in depth from ninety-nine and a half feet, to five hundred and 
 seventy-eight feet, and the oil-bearing sand rock from twelve to 
 fifty-five feet in thickness. Their largest well was two hundred 
 and fifty barrels per day. 
 
 It is something remarkable that the Economites never pumped 
 their wells on Sunday. They declare that their wells do not suffer 
 thereby, though of like character to that of their neighbors, being 
 subject to water, which is presumed to injure wells by standing on 
 the oil-bearing rock. We dare say the fact of the Econornite 
 wells being so long-lived is an argument in favor of their practice 
 of cessation of pumping on Sunday. 
 
 In a few instances the Trustees have leased small portions of 
 their oil territories, and in all such cases they have made binding, 
 it being in the lease, not to pump on the Sabbath ; their operators 
 say that they have never known their wells injured by cessation of 
 pumping on Sunday. 
 
 The society is represented in all its business matters by two 
 trustees, one of whom formerly took especial care of their oil inter- 
 ests ; we refer to Mr. R. L. Baker, now deceased, who was ably 
 
OIL COMPANIES. 265 
 
 assisted by Mr. Jacob Henrici. Since Mr. Baker's death Mr. 
 John Lenz has been selected by the society to fill his place. 
 
 There are no members of the Economite Society on their Tidioute 
 property ; the business is conducted by their agents, under the 
 supervision of the trustees, who make frequent visits of inspection. 
 
 We ought not omit to mention that most of the land of the 
 Tidioute property is valuable as timber land, on which the society 
 has now two large saw mills in full blast. 
 
 Of the society's 6,600 acres, not more than 200 acres have been 
 developed. The balance is supposed to be good oil territory. 
 
 The Economites are very few in number now; year by year 
 death is thinning them out. Their adoption of celibacy, as a mat- 
 ter of course, will in a few years put an end to their existence. 
 What is to become of their vast property ? At present it is not 
 known that they have made any provision for its disposal after 
 their extinction. They expect, even yet, that the Lord will come 
 in his glory before they are all gone. 
 
 SAGE RUN OIL FIELD. 
 
 The oil territory at the head of Sage Run, 2 J miles south of Oil 
 City, has of late proved valuable. The first strike was made early 
 in the summer of .1869, which produced 40 barrels daily, located 
 on the Schwartz farm, and owned by the McGrew Bros, of Pitts- 
 burgh. Land owners would not lease or sell on reasonable terms, 
 and the excitement consequent upon the strike died out. 
 
 Prominent among the operators here is a widow-lady, Mrs. 
 Sands, who, with a keen eye to future advantage, had several 
 months before the McGrew strike, purchased a tract of some 200 
 acres, situated on the turnpike road, near the Schwartz farm ; this 
 land, she bought at a nominal rate of eight or ten dollars per 
 acre, from a Philadelphia Company. Mrs. Sands has now put 
 
266 
 
 HISTORY OF PETROLEUM. 
 
 down seven wells. Her No. 1 was struck in September, 1870, and 
 is said to have produced 60 barrels per day, gradually falling off, 
 till at the present time, it is producing some three barrels. The two 
 following wells put down by this enterprising lady were moderately 
 successful. In the beginning of October, 1872, Mrs. Sands struck 
 her No. 4 flowing well, which attracted much attention. For days 
 this well " spouted " not less than 500 barrels daily ; it gradually 
 declined by filling up with sand and mud, and ceased to flow early 
 in November. At present this well is producing 12 barrels per 
 day. 
 
 A few rods south of the Sands property is the first Green well, 
 owned by the Green Bros, and Mead Bros. It began pumping at 
 the rate of 30 barrels per day in November, 1872, and is still pro- 
 ducing at the rate of five barrels per day. The second Green well 
 was struck, 29th of January, 1873, and started up at the rate of 
 400 barrels per day, and then held out at the rate of 200 barrels 
 for two months, when it decreased, and at 60 barrels it ceased to flow 
 when pumping commenced, and at the time of our visit (August) 
 it was producing 50 barrels per day. 
 
 A few rods south of the wells just described, is situated the Bly 
 and Main well, which was struck July 12th of the present year, 
 and continues to flow, starting up at 300 barrels, and now doing 
 200 barrels. This well, like many of its kind, flows intermittingly, 
 sending forth the oil with a tremendous rush every ten minutes, or 
 thereabouts. 
 
 The territory hereabouts is from 1000 to 1045 feet in depth, the 
 oil-bearing sand rock varying from 18 to 20 feet in thickness. 
 
OIL COMPANIES. 267 
 
 THE RENO OIL COMPANY. 
 
 The Reno Oil Company, now owners and operators, of what is 
 known as the Reno district, was formed in 1867. The tract of 
 land owned by this company comprises quite one thousand two 
 hundred acres. The district lies on the north side of the Allegany 
 river, extending back up the hill-side for about a mile, and so far 
 as developed has proved valuable oil-producing territory. 
 
 The president of the present organization, is C. V. Culver, who 
 was first identified with the oil region, as part owner of some 
 wells upon the Clapp farm, early in 1861 he being at that time 
 connected with the Citizens 7 Bank at Logan, Ohio. Gifted with a 
 clear and far-seeing mind, he saw the opening which this region 
 presented, and acted upon it at once, as in May of the above year 
 he came to Meadville, and purchased the charter of the Bank of 
 Crawford county, which was at that time in bad repute. He re- 
 deemed the old issue of notes, and established the bank on a sound 
 basis. Comprehending fully, that for the development of the oil 
 region a large amount of capital was needed, he conceived the finan- 
 cial scheme of organizing a chain of offices and banks throughout 
 the district. He first opened an office of discount and deposit, 
 at Franklin, in May, 1861. In October of the same year, he 
 founded the Venango Bank, at Franklin, which institution after- 
 ward proved such a disastrous failure. The advent of this bank 
 was followed by the opening of the Petroleum Bank at Titusville, 
 and another of discount and deposit, at Oil City; and to accommodate 
 Eastern capitalists who had invested in the oil region, he opened a 
 house in Philadelphia, under the name of Culver, Brooke and Co., 
 and in New York city, a banking-office under the style of Culver, 
 Penn & Co. Although these offices facilitated the business of his 
 country banks, they were not enough, and accordingly in the spring 
 of 1864, he organized the Third National Bank of New York. 
 With all these banks, he was not able to do the business which 
 crowded upon him, and to meet the demands, he organized the 
 
HISTORY OF PETROLEUM. 
 
 first National Bank at Cony, the First National Bank at Titus- 
 ville, the Second National Bank at Erie, and the Tradesmen's Na- 
 tional Bank at Pittsburgh, thus completing the circle. 
 
 Mr. Culver organized the Yenango Oil Transportation Com- 
 pany, for handling and storing oil, which company owned some of 
 the finest store-houses and docks in New York city. 
 
 With the disasters of 1865-6, came the downfall of Culver, and 
 the mighty fabric which his genius had reared, and with his fall 
 came the ruin of thousands who had placed their savings under 
 his care. We pass over this point with the suggestion generally 
 received now, that the times, and not the man, contributed to the 
 destruction of his grand scheme. Had the result been different, 
 Mr. Culver might at this day have been a Petroleum king. As it 
 is, he is generally acknowledged to be a gentleman of rare business 
 qualifications, industrious, plucky, and sure to work out his finan- 
 cial salvation. 
 
 Mr. Culver was elected to Congress in 1865, in recognition of his 
 great efforts to advance the interest of the Oil Region. 
 
 The Reno Oil Company was organized in the . interest of the 
 creditors of Culver, Penn & Co., and by judicious management 
 and the good fortune of the company they have paid a number of 
 dividends to the creditors. 
 
 The first well, known as No. 18, was struck on the 27th of May, 
 1870. It started off at the rate of one hundred and fifty barrels 
 per day, and created quite an excitement at the time. It soon fell 
 off, however, and after a time a torpedo was put in, which brought 
 it back to its original production, when it caught fire and burned 
 up the derrick. 
 
 The company have now some forty wells producing. No. 51 
 was finished early in 1872, and when completed did only fifteen 
 barrels. It gradually increased, fluctuating from time to time, was 
 torpedoed, and then commenced to flow two hundred barrels per 
 day, and continued at this rate for a considerable time. 
 
 So far the company have found very few dry holes ; in fact, only 
 
OIL COMPANIES. 269 
 
 three during the present year. A number of the wells are small, 
 but as there is plenty of gas to run them, they are made to pay 
 by pumping them " by heads." The engine houses are models of 
 neatness, with their cleanly swept floors and well kept boilers and 
 engines. The oil from the wells is running into a large 10,000- 
 barrel tank, from which it is pumped to the loading rack, as re- 
 quired. 
 
 Very little coal is used on any part of the farm, thereby saving 
 an immense amount of cost, and making the profits of the company 
 proportionately greater. 
 
 The sand found in the best wells is coarse and white, with large 
 pebbles that look like bits of polished marble. It, however, changes 
 its character somewhat in different localities. The oil in the wells 
 near the river bank was reached at a depth of from 500 to 550 feet. 
 Further back, No. 51, the elevation of the hill required about 200 
 feet more of drilling. This oil is taken to the New York and Cleve- 
 land markets, that to the latter place being shipped over the James- 
 town and Franklin railroad, the remainder by the way of Meadville 
 to New York. The prices and the freight are the same as those of 
 Oil City, and the oil is in good demand on account of its quality 
 and gravity, which varies from 43 to 47 degrees. The company 
 have refused to lease any of their lands, reserving the entire develop- 
 ment for themselves. No leases have been given at any time, with 
 the exception of a few granted a number of years ago, before the 
 creation of the present company. The wells on these leases are 
 pumped by heads only, none of them being large enough to pay for 
 more time and attention. 
 
 Quite a small village has sprung up upon the territory. The 
 population numbers about 500 100 of whom are on the pay roll 
 of the company, the remainder being generally the families of 
 these. One rule rigidly enforced is that no liquor shall be sold in 
 the place, and none drank by the men in the employ of the com- 
 pany, either when otf or off duty, instant dismissal being the pen- 
 alty for drinking even a glass of ale. The consequence of this is 
 
270 HISTORY OF PETROLEUM. 
 
 that perfect peace and quiet prevails, and the men are always able 
 to attend to their work, in proof of which the company have never 
 had a boiler burned since they began operations. 
 
 The officers of the company are an extremely gentlemanly and 
 obliging set of men, always ready to afford information, or oppor- 
 tunities for inspection of the wells and machinery, to visitors. Their 
 office is pleasantly located at the lower end of the village, and has 
 from the windows fine views of the scenery both up and down the 
 
 river. 
 
 Conducted as it has been, the past of this company has been a 
 
 success, and under the same efficient management there is no reason 
 to expect a change from this in the future. 
 
 THE OCTAVE OIL COMPANY. 
 
 " The Octave Oil Company " was organized at Titusville in July, 
 1871, and consisted of an association of eight members, the major- 
 ity of whom were members of the Mendelssohn Society of that city 
 all musically inclined suggesting the title of the company 
 " OCTAVE." The association was formed for the purpose of pro- 
 ducing, refining and transporting oil, and commenced with a capital 
 stock of $80,000. The Octave territory is situated two miles 
 north of Titusville, and embraces about nine hundred acres of land, 
 including the Purtill and Hyde farms, which are owned in fee, also 
 a large tract of leased territory on the Fleming, Pierce and Lamb 
 farms, all on the west side of Oil Creek. On the east side, the 
 company own one hundred acres in fee and one hundred and eighty- 
 three acres by lease, on the Young and Noble farms. This terri- 
 tory stretches in a north-easterly and south-westerly direction, and 
 from actual developments fully demonstrates " the belt theory." It 
 is singular, however, that the Octave district is the only one of the 
 many prolific tracts in the vicinity of Titusvilfe which thoroughly 
 proves the correctness of the belt theory. 
 
OIL COMPANIES. 271 
 
 The company have drilled twenty-one wells, the larger portion 
 of which have proved good paying wells. One of them produced 
 200 barrels daily for a considerable time, and continues to produce 
 largely, though struck in November, 72. The depth of the oil- 
 bearing strata varies from 460 to 900 feet, and the thickness of the 
 rock, from forty-five to seventy-five feet. Nearly all the rock is 
 white and coarse. Operations can be carried on upon this territory 
 with much greater economy than on territory situated at great dis- 
 tances from the manufacturing centres. The cost of wells averages 
 from 3,000 to $4,000 each. 
 
 The company possess peculiar facilities for economically conduct- 
 ing their business, as they pipe, transport and refine their own 
 oil, and sell their refined product to the exporter or the home 
 dealer. The Octave Pipe Line is fifteen miles in length, with all its 
 connections, and furnishes cheap transportation to the oil farms in 
 the neighborhood of their operations. The refinery of this company 
 is situated at Titusville, and has a still capacity, daily, of 606 barrels. 
 This company have extended their operations to the great lower 
 oil fields, having purchased 318 acres of the celebrated McCly- 
 monds farm at KarnsCity, Butler County. On this farm they have 
 built one of the largest oil tanks yet constructed, it having a capacity 
 of 22,000 barrels. The business plan of this Company may be 
 considered unique, as they produce, transport, refine and sell their 
 own oil and that of their neighbors, thus saving many profits for 
 their own pockets, and though the title of the association was at 
 firs* suggestive and appropriate enough, yet we think they have 
 earned for themselves the title of "Model" Oil Company. The 
 present officers of the Company are as follows : 
 
 M. STEWART, President. 
 J. E. BLAKE, Yice-President. 
 D. O. WICKHAM, Secretary. 
 O. G. EMERY, Treasurer. 
 D. EMERY, ^ 
 L. EMERY, JR., f" 
 
272 HISTORY OF PETROLEUM. 
 
 COLOEADO OIL DISTKICT. 
 
 This territory, comprising what is now known as Colorado, is 
 located on Pine Creek, in the south-west corner of Warren County, 
 and in the town of South West eight miles north-east of Titus- 
 ville, or midway between Tidioute and Titusville. The extent of 
 this territory may be stated, as at present developed, at about one 
 mile up and down the course of Pine Creek, or lying near to that 
 stream embraced within a tract of 800 acres of land. The land 
 was originally owned by the Holland Land Company. The title 
 to four hundred acres of this tract, and first tested, we trace from 
 the Holland Land Company, through several parties, until it 
 reaches the possession of William and Benjamin McGee, who pur- 
 chased it for lumbering purposes, years before the discovery of 
 oil in this part of the State of Pennsylvania. About the date of 
 the discovery of oil on the Watson flats, by Col. Drake, GODFREY 
 HILL, of Pittsburgh, purchased these 400 acres for oil and lumber- 
 ing purposes. In the fall of 1860, Mr. HILL put down the first 
 well drilled upon the tract. This " test well " was very near what 
 has since been demonstrated as the "Colorado Belt." He found the 
 " third sand rock," and it was pronounced good. From it came a 
 very little oil, but not in paying quantities. He soon after began 
 a second and third well, but abandoned both before they were half 
 down. This territory lay in its comparatively undeveloped state, 
 until the fall and winter of 1869 and 70 the original purchaser, 
 GODFREY HILL, having meantime died. 
 
 The remaining 400 acres, of which we have made mention, was 
 purchased in 1860, by HENRY R. ROUSE, whose tragic death by 
 burning occurred at a well he was interested in, on the Buchanan 
 farm, for lumbering purposes. Just prior to Mr. ROUSE'S death, 
 he executed a will, by which, after certain bequests (see his will else- 
 where), he devised the remainder of his estate to the County of War- 
 ren, to be expended in equal parts, for the benefit of the poor of the 
 county and the improvement of the highways within its boundaries. 
 
OIL COMPANIES. 
 
 273 
 
 This property, after an equitable administration, was purchased by 
 MYRON WATERS, of Warren, Pa. 
 
 In the spring of 1865, T. C. JOY, of Titusville, purchased Mr. 
 WATERS' interest in this property, paying in round numbers 
 $60,000 for it. In the course of the summer of the same year, Mr. 
 JOY sold the north half of his purchase to " The Enterprise Oil 
 and Lumber Company," represented by B. D. Benson & Co., of 
 Enterprise, Pa. Soon after this sale, Mr. JOY began and com- 
 pleted his first well upon the south half of his purchase. This well 
 exhibited a dark gray sand rock, but no oil. The following spring 
 and summer, B. D. Benson & Co., put down a single well upon 
 the tract purchased from Mr. JOY, called the " Metter well." This 
 was also a "dry hole!" Little or nothing was done in drilling 
 wells for a year or more thereafter. In 1867, a a JOINT WELL" 
 was put down upon the east and west line of this tract Mr. 
 JOY and B. D. BENSON & Co. owning equal interests. This well 
 produced about two barrels per day, but was soon after abandoned, 
 as non-paying. 
 
 Shortly after this last development, the improvement in product 
 and quality of sand rock, encouraged a number of Shamburg oper- 
 ators to try it once more. They sank the fifth well on the 
 " Joy tract," and this was a dry hole ! 
 
 In December, 1869, a "developing company" was organized, 
 composed of F. W. AMES, Dr. W. B. ROBERTS, L. B. SILLIMAN, 
 T. C. JOY and A. K. MURRAY of Titusville, and B. D. BENSON 
 & Co., of Enterprise, and GRAHAM & HORTON, of Middletown, 
 N. Y. In all previous developments a comparatively inferior 
 " third sand " rock had been found, of forty to fifty feet in depth. 
 This company was therefore organized to make still further 
 searches for the " golden stream " confident the territory would 
 fifrnish it. The company drilled TWO wells, and both were dry ! 
 This concluded the operations of the " Developing Company," and 
 soon after all its parties withdrew from the temporarily organized 
 association, leaving Mr. JOY, and B. D. BENSON & Co., sole owners 
 
 and operators. 
 18 
 
274 
 
 HISTORY OF PETROLEUM. 
 
 Meantime, or in 1870, HENRY HILL, a son and heir of GOD- 
 FREY HILL, put down the second well upon the first 400 acres, 
 previously mentioned. This well made a promising " show," but 
 it failed to produce in remunerative quantities less than three 
 barrels per day. It demonstrated, however, that oil existed there 
 in some abundance, and that this last well was very near the de- 
 posits. The first good sand rock was found in this well. 
 
 Soon after this, B. McKinney and others secured a ten acre 
 lease, and put down the third well upon the " Hill Tract/ 7 which 
 produced ten barrels per day. 
 
 At this time the title to the property, was in dispute and in 
 litigation. Terms of adjustment were, however, agreed upon, and 
 out of the compromise, for such it was, "The Colorado Oil Com- 
 pany " sprang composed of the following gentlemen : 
 
 T. C. Joy, F. AY. Andrews, B. D. Benson, Marcus Brownson, 
 R. E. Hopkins, David McKelvey. 
 
 In November, 1871, this company completed the fourth well on 
 the first four hundred acres, or "Hill Tract," and within forty rods 
 of the first well, put down by Mr. HILL in 1860. This proved to 
 be a success. The well produced, after being torpedoed, one hun- 
 dred and fifty barrels per day. This established the character of the 
 Colorado Oil District, beyond cavil or doubt. The territory has 
 been rapidly developed, since, and up to the date of this record, 
 January, 1873, "The Colorado Oil Company," has put down 
 eighteen wells, seventeen of which have been remuneratively pro- 
 ductive a few largely so. 
 
 During the two years' operation of this company, over 80,000 
 barrels of oil have been taken from their wells, and the line of 
 development demonstrates that the " Colorado Belt " extends over 
 both the " Joy" and the Hill Tract," alike. 
 
 Messrs. D. B. Benson & Co., have developed other and larger 
 tracts in the Colorado districts, and their operations began about 
 the date of those above mentioned. We have not been able to 
 obtain the information required, and therefore omit further men- 
 tion of the Colorado district. 
 
OIL COMPANIES. 275 
 
 THE COLUMBIA OIL COMPANY. 
 
 This company was chartered by the Pennsylvania Legislature, 
 May 1, 1861, with a capital of $250,000, divided into 10,000 
 shares of $25 each. 
 
 It commenced operations on the Story Farm, on Oil Creek, 
 about seven miles from its mouth. During the year 1861, its pro- 
 duction of oil was 20,800 barrels ; in 1862 it had increased to 
 89,602 barrels. Its first dividend was declared July 8, 1863, but 
 little over two years from the date of its charter, and was for thirty 
 per cent, on its capital stock. This was followed on the 12th of 
 August, by a second for 25 per cent. ; another for the same amount 
 September 9th, and still another on the 14th of October for 50 per 
 cent. making in all dividends to the amount of 130 per cent, on 
 the capital stock within two and one-half years of the formation of 
 the company. 
 
 In 1864, its production increased to 141,508 barrels. During 
 the first six months of this year, it declared four more dividends 
 amounting to 160 per cent, on its capital stock. At this time its 
 capital was increased to $2,500,000, and it at once declared a divi- 
 dend of 5 per cent, on this increased capital, and before the close 
 of the year, five more making in the aggregate 25 per cent. 
 From that date to the close of the ysar 1871, its production of 'oil 
 has been remarkably uniform; the minimum amount being 110,- 
 655 barrels in 1867, and the maximum 142,034 barrels in 1871. 
 
 The whole amount of oil produced by the company during the 
 ten years of its operations is 1,715,972 barrels, and the whole 
 amount of its dividends $2,342,600, or 401 per cent, on its capital 
 stock ; and yet after ten years of active development, but a small 
 part of its land has been touched, and the part where developments 
 have been made is capable of receiving as many more wells as have 
 been already sunk upon it ; and although the fortunate owners of 
 its stock have already received a princely return for their invest- 
 
276 HISTORY OF PETROLEUM. 
 
 ment, there is no reason to doubt that these dividends can be main- 
 tained, or even increased, almost at pleasure, for years to come. 
 The history of this company, as we have endeavored to give it, is 
 one of figures, not words ; but from these figures, some idea can be 
 formed of the vast wealth still lying hidden in the crevices of the 
 rock, only needing the hand of skill and the direction of prudent 
 managers to bring it into the service of man. Touch the point of 
 a pencil ever so 1 lightly upon a map of the oil region, and a larger 
 proportion of the territory which is known to be oil-producing, is 
 covered, than the whole property of this company. Touch a pencil 
 again upon a map representing the land of this company, and the 
 spot covered by the mark may represent the developed portion of 
 the land, and from this speck of ground, eight millions of dollars' 
 worth of oil has been sold ! 
 
OIL WELL RECORDS. 277 
 
 THE OIL MARKET FROM 1859 TO 1872. 
 
 Petroleum mining may be said to have commenced as a business 
 in 1860. The demand previous to this was of a very limited char- 
 acter ; yet the oil from the Drake Well commanded an average 
 of 50 cents per gallon during 1859. In July, 1860, the price at 
 the wells had declined to seven cents per gallon. In October it 
 was ten cents per gallon, and from this time it continued to advance 
 slowly to January 1st, 1861, when it was sold at 25 cents per gal- 
 lon, and remained at this price till March 1st. A few days after- 
 wards sales were made at 15 cents per gallon, and on the 18th of 
 March it was ten cents per gallon. In June, 1861, the flowing 
 well period commenced, and the production was suddenly increased 
 from about 150 barrels daily, in February, to some three thousand 
 barrels daily, in September, and more than 6,000 barrels daily, in 
 December of the same year. The sudden and immense increase of 
 production had now almost destroyed its value, as consumption 
 was as yet very small. Thousands of barrels were allowed to run 
 to waste for want of barrels and a market. In the summer the 
 price had declined to five cents per gallon, and in August and Sep- 
 tember sales were made at fifty, twenty-five and thirty cents per 
 barrel, when in July the price had receded to ten cents per barrel. 
 Prices again took an upward turn, and sales were made during 
 October, November and December at 35 to 40 cents per barrel ; 
 then again the price is quoted in January, 1862, at $2 per barrel. 
 The spring of 1862 was signalized by a much larger production, 
 and the price of oil went down to 40 cents per barrel. Excessive 
 cheapness forced consumption, both in this country and abroad, 
 with unparalleled rapidity, so that in the latter months of 1862, 
 there occurred a large but spasmodic rise in the value of petroleum. 
 The unremunerative price which had for some time prevailed 
 checked production, causing all small wells to be abandoned. This 
 state of the market continued, merging into a more even upward 
 graduation of values through the year 1864, when crude oil sold 
 
278 
 
 HISTORY OF PETROLEUM. 
 
 at one time as high as $13.50 per barrel, at the wells. The fol- 
 lowing list of prices we take from the books of a firm engaged in 
 the purchase of oil at Titusville, from 1860 to 1865. 
 
 December 7th, 1860, 
 " 24, " 
 
 January 4, 1861, 
 " 10, " 
 " 16, " . 
 
 April 18, " 
 
 July 22, " 
 
 August 12, " 
 
 November 17, 1862, 
 
 Oil at Titusville, 
 
 23 cents per gallon. 
 23 " " 
 
 25 " " 
 
 26 " " 
 26 " " 
 
 On the Creek, 
 At Titusville, 
 
 On the Creek, 
 
 At Shaffer Station, 
 
 $2.25 per barrel. 
 
 $2.25 " 
 
 $5.50 " 
 
 $2.50 " 
 
 $2.00 " 
 
 $3.00 " 
 
 $5.00 " 
 
 $8.50 " 
 
 $9.50 " 
 
 $12.50 
 
 February 18, 1863, 
 
 March 27, " 
 
 April 10, 1864, 
 
 June 7, 
 
 August, " 
 
 Sept. 1, 
 
 Sept. 26, " " " $8.00 " 
 
 The above quotation includes hauling from the wells to the place 
 of delivery. The average price per barrel of crude on Oil Creek 
 for the years named are as follows : 
 
 1862 
 
 1863 
 
 1864 
 
 1865 
 
 $1.15 currency. 
 3.25 " 
 8.13 
 6.71 " 
 
 In the Columbia Oil Company's Eleventh Annual Report, the 
 average prices for the years named are given as follows : 
 
 1866 . . . $3.78 
 
 1867 ^ . 2.54 
 
 1868 . . . 3.95 
 
 1869 . . . 5.48 
 
 1870 3.82 
 
OIL BROKERAGE. 279 
 
 OIL BROKERAGE ITS COMMENCEMENT, &c. 
 
 BY ARNOLD BURGESS. 
 
 To a visitor in the oil regions, not the least interesting as well 
 as surprising feature is the brokerage business. A stranger to the 
 section and the trade, calling at the exchange, seeing the number 
 of brokers and dealers engaged, and these augmented on the 
 arrival of every train, the constant coming and going of telegraph 
 messages, and listening to the terms used, finds himself in a new 
 world, where thousands on thousands of dollars' worth of property 
 changes hands with an indifference and ease which astonishes and 
 bewilders him. 
 
 In 1868, brokerage was started by a few individuals, and for some 
 time was chiefly confined to buying for refineries in Pittsburgh, 
 Philadelphia and Baltimore. In most cases the brokers were paid 
 by the buyers a commission of ten cents per barrel, and this was 
 sometimes increased by an additional five cents per barrel by the 
 seller. At the outset the business was a matter of experiment, 
 but soon the attention of other parties was attracted thereto. New 
 men entered the ranks, and the whole thing was placed on a legiti- 
 mate basis by the formation of brokers' boards in the cities where 
 the heaviest trade was carried on, and the establishment of regular 
 rates of brokerage. 
 
 In 1869, Erie "cornered" the market, and by the large transac- 
 tions in crude on the creek, influenced the refined markets of New 
 York and Cleveland, thus bringing them in, as extensive buyers 
 and opening these important points also to the brokers. Since 
 that time, with each succeeding year they have assumed a more 
 important position in commercial circles, till now all over the 
 country, wherever oil is produced or shipped, either crude or re- 
 fined, the greater part of the transactions are executed by brokers. 
 A broker's business consists of buying and selling "spot," 
 " regular " and " future " oil. As these are expressions which 
 will convey to the uninitiated no idea of the particular trade 
 
280 HISTOEY OF PETROLEUM. 
 
 named, a few words may be appropriately given in explanation : 
 " Spot " is the term used when the oil is to be moved and paid for 
 immediately ; " regular " is where the buyer is allowed ten days 
 in which to put in his cars and take out the oil. These are parol 
 contracts and without writings, the broker acting under orders 
 from his principal, whom he names to the other party, and he 
 being often the only witness to the trade; but in the case of 
 " futures," this is not the custom, as the fulfillment of these takes 
 place at the expiration of the agreed time. A written contract is 
 drawn by the broker and signed by him as such. This is accepted 
 by both parties, and is equally binding, the one agreeing to sell 
 and the other to take a certain quantity of oil within a certain 
 period of time, at a price named in the contract, which also speci- 
 fies that the party, in whose favor the contract be drawn, shall 
 give to the other ten days' notice, within which he will move the 
 oil. Regular future contracts are buyers' and sellers 1 options. In 
 the first, the buyer has a right to demand the oil at any time he 
 sees fit; and by the last, the seller can put it in whenever he 
 chooses, all within the time as named in the contract. By these 
 contracts the buyer is also bound to take the oil or pay, or take a 
 difference in money according as the trade has proved in his 
 favor or against him, and this difference is that between the con- 
 tract price and the regular market rate on the last of the ten 
 notice days. 
 
 I have spoken of these as regular contracts, because there is a 
 species of contract by which the amount of difference is named and 
 limited at the start. These are called " puts " and " calls." 
 
 A " put " is where one party agrees to give a certain sum of 
 money to be paid at once for the privilege of delivering a 
 named quantity of oil at a price also named, within an agreed time. 
 
 A " call " is when the money is paid for the right to call on the 
 other to deliver the oil. In these cases the prices of the " put " or 
 called oil is generally higher than the rate of regular contracts for 
 ihe .same time. This is because it is a one-sided affair since 
 
OIL BROKERAGE. 281 
 
 under no circumstances can the acceptor of the offer get more than 
 the amount bid, while if the market goes against him, he is obliged 
 to settle the difference at what may prove a heavy loss. 
 
 In all regular contracts the seller pays the brokerage ; but in 
 these irregular trades there is yet no established custom as to which 
 of the parties it is due from. In New York the commission is 
 three cents per barrel ; in Gil City and on the Creek it is two-and- 
 one-half cents. There is, however, one obstacle in this business to' 
 which brokerage in other commodities is not liable. I refer to the 
 fact that in all futures the broker has to wait for the fulfillment of 
 the contract ere he can collect his commission, and if either party 
 fails, he loses his pay. By this he is actually made to insure the 
 solvency of both parties to the amount of his brokerage, which is 
 a manifest injustice. His business ought to end with the issue and 
 acceptance of the contract, and though it is customary for brokers 
 to attend to the taking or delivery of oil for their principals, they 
 get no additional pay for this extra work. 
 
 In a business like this, the market is liable to great and sudden 
 fluctuations. A combination is often formed to lower or raise the 
 price of oil, and this is especially the case as the time approaches 
 when a number of contracts mature. The bulls and bears are 
 then rampant, and the talk is all of the " long " and " short " 
 order. The close of the first, and last half of the year, is generally 
 marked by some such struggle, and the brokers buy and sell thou- 
 sands of barrels of " paper " oil, to effect settlements of the six 
 months 7 contracts that are coming due. 
 
 Brokers are, by the nature of their business, very closely con- 
 nected. Each has his correspondent " on the Creek " and elsewhere, 
 with whom he shares the brokerage arising from the purchases or 
 sales made through their joint exertions ; and it often happens that 
 each broker is obliged to call in the oil of another, till the commis- 
 sion is so divided and sub-divided that it will hardly pay the tele- 
 graph bills of the different parties. In fact, brokerage, is a hard- 
 worked and poorly-paid profession, and yet there is an excitement 
 
282 
 
 HISTORY OF PETROLEUM. 
 
 about it that forms a great attraction. The men are a jolly, jovial 
 set, free and generous with their money and kind offices, and as 
 their's^is a business where much is of necessity left to their honor, 
 each man takes a pride in keeping his word on an equal footing 
 with his bond. 
 
 Efforts are constantly being made to place brokerage upon a still 
 higher and more responsible footing. During 1871, by the exer- 
 tions of prominent men identified with the trade, regular exchanges 
 were established both in Titusville and Oil City. The members 
 of these are bound by the most rigid laws of equitable trade, and 
 by a wise arrangement of arbitration committees, very much liti- 
 gation is avoided. Within these halls of exchange, all possible 
 aids to business are gathered. 
 
 Every facility is offered by telegraphic communication with both 
 home and foreign markets for a thorough and accurate knowledge 
 of the condition of affairs. Membership is not limited to brokers ; 
 but dealers, producers and consumers are admitted to the benefits 
 thereof, and meet on the same footing. By such an arrangement, 
 the best interests of all are consulted, buyers and sellers are brought 
 together, and the brokers, through whom this is effected, take their 
 rightful position before the world as a useful and honorable body 
 of men. 
 
OIL PIPE LINES. 283 
 
 OIL PIPE LINES. 
 
 EXTENT IN THE PENNSYLVANIA OIL EEGION. 
 
 THE iron pipe lines for the conveyance of oil from the wells to 
 railway shipping points play an important part in the transportation 
 of the article. The difficulties experienced in conveying oil by 
 teams in the early years of the petroleum discoveries and develop- 
 ments suggested the idea of using wrought-iron pipes for the pur- 
 pose. Mr. Samuel Van Syckel, of Titusville, was, we believe, the 
 first to reduce the idea to practice. The first pipe line, four miles 
 in length, was put down by him in 1865, and extended from Pit 
 Hole to the railway, at Miller's Farm. Like many other innova- 
 tions, the idea was received with doubts and misgivings at first, but 
 after a variety of changing fortunes, it at length worked its way into 
 public favor, and was pronounced a success. From this small be- 
 ginning has arisen a whole net-work of pipe lines, covering the 
 entire oil-producing territory and introducing an entirely new sys- 
 tem of transportation. 
 
 Soon after the completion of the Van Syckel line from Pit Hole 
 to Miller Farm, Mr. Henry Harley had a line in successful opera- 
 tion from Benninghoff Hun to Shaffer Farm, on the Oil Creek 
 railroad. A fuller account of both these lines of pipe, is given in 
 the sketches of Messrs. Abbott and Harley, and to these we refer 
 the reader. Suffice it to say here, that " The Pennsylvania Trans- 
 portation Company " own and operate nearly five hundred miles of 
 pipe line in the upper oil region. 
 
 Messrs. Vandergrift and Foreman, of Oil City, are extensively 
 
284 HISTORY OF PETROLEUM. 
 
 interested in pipe line enterprises, and own and operate several in 
 the upper as well as the lower oil field. They have one line from 
 Pit Hole to Paxton, 10 miles ; one from Fagundas to Trunkey- 
 ville, 10 miles ; one from the Shaw farm to Oil City, 4J miles ; 
 one from Sandy to Oil City, 11 J miles, and one from the Miller 
 farm to Oil City, in one direction, and to Franklin in the opposite 
 direction, 7 miles. 
 
 " The Rochester and Oleopolis Transportation Company," of 
 Oil City, have a line from Oleopolis to Oil City six miles com- 
 posed of six-inch pipe. This line and its capacity was found to be 
 necessary during the great product of 1865 at Pit Hole five to 
 six thousand barrels per day. 
 
 Grandin Bros. & Neyhart own and operate extensive lines of 
 pipe at Tidioute, Fagundas, and elsewhere in that vicinity. 
 
 Mr. Payne and Mr. Martin, of Petroleum Centre, are each ope- 
 rating a number of short lines for the convenience of producers in 
 that locality. 
 
 The Cherrytree pipe line was one of the earliest constructed. 
 It runs from Kane City to the Rynd Farm, is 15 miles in length, 
 and is owned by John Wallace & Co., of Rouseville. 
 
 THE LOWER DISTRICT PIPE LINES. 
 
 The following is a very complete estimate of the Pipe Lines of 
 the Lower Oil Field, comprising nine different lines, all of them 
 gathering in the oil to places of shipment on the Allegany Valley 
 Railroad. The extent and ramification of these lines is surprising, 
 and testifies to the importance of the transactions in that direction. 
 
 The Emlenton Pipe Line is 50 miles in length, carrying the oil 
 from Upper Turkey^Run. 
 
 The Antwerp Pipe Line runs from Upper Turkey Run, and 
 points adjacent, and is about 50 miles in length. 
 
 The Mutual Pipe Company's lines, consist of nine different 
 
OIL PIPE LINES. 285 
 
 branches, running from the following points : Upper and Lower 
 Turkey Run, Clarion District, St. Petersburg!], Antwerp City, 
 and points as far as Beaver Creek, and is 100 miles in length. 
 
 The Grant Pipe Line runs from the Grant farm on the west 
 side of the Allegany, coming out at Parker's Landing, and is 20 
 miles in extent. 
 
 The Union Pipe Line runs from the Bear Creek District, Sheak- 
 ley, Argyle, Petrolia, Karns City, Millerstown and Modoc City, 
 and is in all, 125 miles in length. 
 
 The Cleveland Pipe Line Co. (S. D. Karns, owner,) runs from 
 Karns City and Greece City, and is 40 miles in length. 
 
 The Fairview Pipe Line, owned by Vandergrift and Foreman of 
 Oil City, runs from Sheakley, Petrolia, Greece City, Millerstown 
 and Modoc. Total length, 125 miles. 
 
 Relief Pipe Line runs from Story Farm and Armstrong Kun, 
 and is some 12 miles in extent. 
 
 The Butler Pipe Line runs from Greece City, Modoc, Millers- 
 town, and intervening points, to the Butler Branch Railway, and is 
 sixty miles in length. 
 
 With the lines now in operation, in course of construction, and 
 those surveyed, soon to be commenced, the Oil Region of Pennsyl- 
 vania will soon have upwards of 2,000 miles of pipe lines for the 
 transportation of oil ! 
 
 . There are a few gravity pipe lines ; but generally the oil is forced 
 through the lines by pumping. The capacity of each line is about 
 1,500 barrels in every twenty-four hours. In some districts, the 
 lines are run up to their capacity, while in others they do not 
 exceed half that amount. The present cost of the pipe used is 
 about 30 cents per foot ; and the average cost of the lines, including 
 pipes, tanks, pumps and boilers, is about $1,500 per mile. A 
 large share of the production is purchased at the wells by the com- 
 panies, and then transported on their own account. Many of the 
 large producers, however, prefer marketing their own oil, and em- 
 ploy the pipe companies to transport it to the railway. The charge 
 
286 
 
 HISTOEY OF PETROLEUM. 
 
 varies from 20 to 30 cents per barrel, according to distance. In 
 such cases, the oil is usually pumped into the company's tanks, and 
 from these, 42 gallons are delivered for each 43 gallons received 
 at the well the one gallon per barrel being deducted for wastage. 
 The pipe lines are increasing with the development of new pro- 
 ducing territory, and are proving a source of great benefit to the 
 producers, as well as of profit to the companies. 
 
 EAELY AND LATER MODES OF TRANSPORTATION 
 The early operator had many difficulties to* contend with in the 
 transportation of his oil to market, as the only mode of land- 
 carriage consisted in hauling the oil from the wells to Titusville, 
 Oil City, or other shipping points. The roads were bad, and when 
 much used and in wet weather, they then became almost impassa- 
 ble. The author of Petrolia, writing on this subject, says : 
 
 "Oil Creek mud" attained a fame in the earlier and subsequent 
 years, that will be fresh in the memory of those who saw and were 
 compelled to wade through it. Teamsters and horse-men swore 
 both loud and deep at it. Newspaper correspondents exhausted all 
 their adjectives, epithets, and expletives in essaying to give a faint 
 description of its demerits. "Weary pedestrian pilgrims, like Bun- 
 yan's Christian, were inclined to part with their knapsacks after a 
 brief experience; ministers of the Gospel and devoted laymen, 
 earnestly desired sustaining grace while urging their weary beasts 
 over and through it. Mud, deep, and indescribably disgusting, 
 covered all the main and by-roads in wet weather, while the streets 
 of the towns composing the chief shipping points, had the appear- 
 ance of liquid lakes or lanes of mud." 
 
 The difficulties of moving the thousands of barrels of oil which 
 it was necessary to transport, can be better imagined than de- 
 scribed. It was indeed a huge task, and many were the mishaps 
 
OIL PIPE LINES. 287 
 
 attendant upon the rough and swearing teamsters, as was evidenced 
 to any one passing along the line of roads leading to a large ship- 
 ping point, as the way was literally strewn with broken wagons, 
 dead horses, oil barrels, filled and empty. Some one conceived the 
 idea of conveying the oil down Oil Creek to the Allegany in flat 
 boats, to hold the oil in barrels or bulk, and the employment of 
 pond-freshets to float the boats, when laden with oil. Flat-bottom 
 boats were procured from the upper Allegany, and from all points 
 where they were built. Arrangements were made with the mill- 
 owners at the head- waters of Oil Creek, for the use of their surplus 
 water at stated intervals. The boats were towed up the creek by 
 horses not by a tow-path, but through the stream to the various 
 points of loading, and when laden they were floated off upon a 
 pond-freshet. The amount of oil brought down upon one of these 
 pond-freshets averaged from 15,000 to 20,000 barrels the largest 
 quantity ever brought out of " the creek " upon a single freshet, 
 would not exceed 40,000 barrels. The oil was transferred at the 
 Oil wharves at Oil City to a larger and better class of boats, and 
 floated down the Allegany to Pittsburgh. 
 
 At one time over 1,000 boats were employed on the creek and 
 river, and in addition to these there were some thirty steamers, pas- 
 senger and tow-boats engaged in the same traffic. This oil float 
 furnished employment to about 4,000 men. 
 
 Collisions and "jams" were of common occurrence; a boat 
 would by some mismanagement get aground, and thus swing 
 round, by the force of the stream, when it filled with water and 
 sunk. Against this obstacle the advancing boats dashed with 
 great force, the weaker ones becoming splintered from the concus- 
 sion, the stronger ones being wedged fast, in the order in which 
 they came, and thus formed what is familiarly known on Oil Creek 
 as "a jam." During the freshet of May, 1864, a "jam" occurred 
 at Oil City, which resulted in the loss of from 20,000 to 30,000 
 barrels of oil. 
 
 The magnitude of the oil business, soon attracted the attention 
 
288 HISTORY OF PETROLEUM. 
 
 of railroads running near the Oil Region. The Atlantic and Great 
 Western Railway, first built a branch road from their main line, 
 at Meadville, to Franklin, thus opening an avenue of traffic 
 to New York, Philadelphia and Cleveland. About this time, 
 1861-2, the Oil Creek road was projected and built from Corry to 
 Titusville, thus connecting with the Philadelphia and Erie Rail- 
 road. The Oil Creek road was gradually extended down the 
 valley of Oil Creek, to Shaffer farm. In the winter of 1865 and 
 1866, the Atlantic and Great Western, extended their branch road, 
 from Franklin to Oil City. We need not here occupy the reader's 
 attention with a particular account of railroad developments in the 
 Oil Region. It is sufficient to say, that the country has ample ac- 
 commodation in this respect at the present moment. 
 
 With the advent of railroads, the mode of doing business was 
 revolutionized. Car tanks were brought into use, each car being 
 mounted with two wooden tanks, having a capacity of about forty 
 barrels each, and by the aid of pipe lines, were filled upon the rail- 
 road track with great ease, and at much less expense, compared 
 with the old system. The wooden car tanks, have latterly given 
 way to the iron cylinder-shaped single tank, which holds about the 
 same amount of oil, as the two wooden tanks. These are used for 
 transporting both crude and refined oils. A great many railroad 
 companies own iron car tanks for the transit of oil. There are, on 
 all the railroads that handle petroleum, about 2500 iron bulk cars, 
 of an average capacity of eighty-five barrels to a car, giving a 
 tankage capacity now on wheels of 212,500 barrels. Cars that 
 carry oil in barrels are not included in this aggregate. 
 
 The expense of hauling by team, was an important and expen- 
 sive item, and helped to reduce the gross price of oil. During 
 the spring and summer of 1862, the price paid for hauling or 
 teaming oil, from the flowing wells on the lower McElhenny farm, 
 to Oil City and Titusville was, from half a dollar to a dollar and 
 a half per barrel. Later in the fall of that year, three dollars to 
 three dollars and fifty, and even four dollars per barrel was paid, 
 
OIL PIPE LINES. 289 
 
 for hauling from the Empire well (McElhenny farm) to Titusville. 
 We have it from a reliable gentleman, BARNEY BOSCH, now a 
 prominent citizen of Titusville, that he had in his employment, a 
 teamster for a period of nine weeks during which time, this " oil 
 forwarder " drew only money sufficient for the necessities of life and 
 horse feed! The man slept in his wagon or under it, seldom 
 washed, and during the nine weeks, never changed a single article 
 of clothing. At the expiration of his nine weeks' services, he 
 "thought he'd go home for a clean shirt, &c.," and called upon 
 Mr. Bosch for a settlement. The amount standing to his credit 
 was nineteen hundred dollars 1 
 
 19 
 
A Scene iu the Lower Oil Field. 
 
 OPERATING WELLS BY GAS-LTGHT. 
 
THE LOWER OIL FIELD. 291 
 
 THE LOWER OIL FIELD. 
 
 ST. PETERSBURG, FOXBURGH, PARKER'S LANDING, 
 AND BUTLER COUNTY, PA. 
 
 IN the year 1860, Thomas McConnell, W. D. Robinson, Smith 
 K. Campbell, and Col. J. B. Findlay, of Kittanning, purchased 
 two acres of land on the west bank of the Allegany river, about 
 ninety rods north of Tom's Run, from Elisha Robinson, Sen., and 
 organized the "Foxburgh Oil Company/' consisting of sixteen 
 shares, and commenced putting down a well, which reached a depth 
 of 460 feet, when an accident occurred to obstruct operations 
 for a few days. In the interval the war broke out, and the excite- 
 ment incident thereto, stopped all further work on the premises, 
 and the well was abandoned. 
 
 Subsequently the same parties purchased 100 acres, known as 
 the Tom's Run Tract, from Mr. Robinson, for which they paid $50 
 per acre. In 1865, the Company sold about thirty acres of this 
 purchase to a number of gentlemen in Philadelphia, for the sum of 
 $20,000. On these 30 acres the " Clarion and Allegany River 
 Oil Company" put down their first well, which struck oil in Oc- 
 tober, 1865, the first to produce in that locality.* 
 
 Many were the scoffs and jeers and insulting remarks made 
 
 * Operations, during 1863-4, had been commenced and were successfully prosecuted 
 on the Clarion River , near the Allegany, above Parker's Landing, by a Philadelphia 
 Company or Companies, and the developments they made established the character 
 of the surrounding country for oil purposes. 
 
292 
 
 HISTORY OF PETROLEUM. 
 
 about these first operators. They were held up to ridicule by men 
 of means, as well as by others, and were euphoniously called "crazy/' 
 having " oil on the brain/' etc. The followers of these pioneers 
 are now, however, numerous. 
 
 It is remarkable that the well of 1860, was put down on territory 
 which has since proved dry ; and had it then been finished would 
 have undoubtedly been a failure, and possibly prevented all future 
 development in this region. But it was not to be so. It was 
 abandoned for a period of four years before the " Allegany and 
 Clarion River " well, had been commenced, and which, proving a 
 success, gave this field to the world at a time when Venango was 
 rapidly declining in product. 
 
 The Pennsylvania Oil Region is divided into two grand divisions, 
 termed the Upper and Lower region, or the Creek region, and 
 River or Parker's Landing region. The tendency for operations 
 has of late moved towards this lower division of the Oil field. 
 Here, the great bulk of the present production is obtained, and 
 here are to be found the leading men of this great industry. From 
 the first developments in this section, operations have been con- 
 ducted on the theory of a belt, or series of belts. 
 
 In 1868, some wells were struck at Lawrenceburg, situate on the 
 hill, just above Parker's Landing. A well-known operator, Mr. 
 Marcus Brownson, of Titusville/acting on data the result of actual 
 operations, projected a line or belt from this point north, 22 degrees 
 east, and south 22 degrees west, in breadth about five miles, and in 
 length as now developed, about 35 miles, and venturesome operators 
 soon opened up a belt, the end of which has not yet been reached in 
 either direction. Many were stimulated to " Wildcat," and it was 
 found that north-east of this, which may be termed the central 
 belt, is one extending up the Clarion river, out through Turkey 
 Run, in Clarion County. Southward it passes a little to the west 
 of Millerstown, Butler County. To the westward of the eastern, 
 or central belt, is another, extending and developed from the Russel 
 farm, opposite Antwerp, in Clarion County, to a point abreast 
 
THE LOWER OIL FIELDS. 293 
 
 of Lawrenceburg on the east, with the Robinson, Black and Grant 
 farms, which may be termed the western belt. Then, there is a 
 break in the development in this middle belt of some three miles, 
 until the Stonehouse property is reached on the west^line. This 
 belt will pass not less than five miles to the left, or east of the 
 borough of Butler, Butler County. Between the central and east 
 belts the distance is about one mile ; between the central and west 
 belt about three miles. The eastern belt is of the greatest impor- 
 tance ; in fact, the middle belt appears to run into it, after they 
 cross Bear Creek, east of Lawrenceburg. (We ought here to say 
 that many operators differ in their opinions, from this last sug- 
 gestion.) Actual developments north-east of Lawrenceburg show 
 that this eastern belt runs through Parker's Landing, Foxburgh, St. 
 Petersburg, Antwerp, etc. Below, and just . across Bear Creek, are 
 the Say, and the Stonehouse farms. Then follow, lying end to end, 
 the Fletcher and Campbell farms; the Martin and Hutchinson, 
 the Gibson and Turner farms ; the Robert Campbell and Marcus 
 Brownson farms; the Mayville tract; the James Campbell and Ward 
 farms ; the Canada Oil Company and A. L. Campbell and Wilson 
 farms; the Blaney and Dougherty farms at Petrolia City; the 
 McClymonds, Wilson and Bank farms ; the J. B. Campbell and 
 Adams farms ; the Story and Riddle farms at Karns City ; and last, 
 the Moore and Hepler farms, now known as the Angell Oil Com- 
 pany's tract, which consists of two hundred and seventy acres, and 
 lying in the Millerstown belt. From Bear Creek to the Angell 
 tract, the distance is about ten miles, and the average width four 
 miles, giving an area of forty square miles developed or in process 
 of development. 
 
 Prominent among the first wells of this region, and perhaps we 
 should say the belt just described, was the noted one on the Mc- 
 Clymonds' Farm, at the date of its completion, one mile and a-half 
 in advance of other developments. It was drilled some fourteen 
 hundred feet, fifty feet deeper than the wells thereabouts, and the 
 owner, fearing the rock had run out, sold it as a dry hole to More- 
 
294 HISTORY OF PETROLEUM. 
 
 head, Tack and Preston, \vho purchased it solely on the strength of 
 their belief in the existence of belts. Three hours after they had 
 purchased it the drill entered the sand, and before the well could 
 be tubed seven hundred barrels of oil .flowed out of it ! Their suc- 
 cess encouraged others, and the intervening territory was rapidly 
 developed. A town called Karns City, a compliment to Mr. S. 
 D. Karns, a well-known operator, was soon built up. 
 
 The success at Karns City greatly emboldened operators, and the 
 line of the western belt was then projected .in the direction of But- 
 ler, seven miles out. Several wells 'were started on the Jamieson 
 Farm, in the latter part of last year. Four of them produced two 
 hundred barrels per day for a considerable time. This point has 
 since been called Greece City, and now has a population of 4,000 
 to 5,000. This is the largest jump ever taken, there being some 
 four or five miles of undeveloped territory in the rear. On the 
 Angell Oil Company's territory, lying on the line of the central or 
 eastern belts, successful strikes have but recently been made, and 
 thus all the territory near or between it and Fairview, a distance 
 of some two miles, has been opened. 
 
 The St. Petersburg district, upon the east side of the Allegany 
 River (it may be said to be from one to eight miles from it, and its 
 limit has not yet been reached) is north-east of the Butler oil field. 
 The general direction of the belt, like that just described, is north- 
 east and south-west. Developments in this district were com- 
 menced in the summer of 1869, and the first well was struck in 
 September of that year. This was the " Mead Well," south of the 
 Clarion River and near its mouth. Soon after the Elephant "Well, 
 near the first named was struck. Parties then began to extend de- 
 velopments north of the river, and in October following, a well 
 was struck there, and operations continued on up the Allegany, to, 
 where Foxburgh now stands. The wells on this portion of the new 
 field were not extraordinarily large. The pioneer who pushed de- 
 velopments back from the Allegany to St. Petersburgh, was Marcus 
 Hulings, who struck the Hulings' or " Antwerp "Well/' in Novem- 
 
THE LOWER OIL FIELDS. 295 
 
 her, 1871. This well started up at the rate of 100 barrels per day, 
 and maintained this production for some time. It is still produc- 
 ing oil, and pumps about seven barrels per day. Within two 
 weeks after the Hulings' well was struck, twenty-five wells were 
 commenced on the J. J. Ashbaugh and Dan Bitz farms, in and 
 around the borough of St. Petersburg. The farms between the Al- 
 legany River and -St. Petersburg were soon taken up by active ope- 
 rators, and derricks were rapidly reared all along the line. These 
 farms are the Frederick Rupert, Whitting, Shoup, Collins, Foust 
 and Keating. Then commenced the building up of St. Petersburg, 
 which is now one of the important villages of the lower oil field. 
 Early in the spring of 1872, building went on rapidly, (it had pre- 
 viously been a farming settlement and centre,) as there* was a large 
 influx of population. Houses were put up at the rate of twenty-five 
 per day. Shortly afterwards it was incorporated as a borough. The 
 distance from the Allegany to St. Petersburg is two miles. A 
 quarter of a mile beyond St. Petersburg stands the village of Ant- 
 werp. St. Petersburg contains a population of 2,500 to 3,000. 
 
 The thickness of the oil-bearing rock in this district is twenty- 
 five feet nine inches. The average depth of the well is 975 feet. 
 The deepest is the Fountain Well, which is 1241 feet. The shal- 
 lowest, the Antwerp or Hulings' Well, which is 790 feet. These 
 two wells are half a mile apart. 
 
 The lower oil field proper, is varied and beautiful in scenery. 
 The land is rolling, fertile and fairly cultivated. The homes of 
 the old settlers bear the marks of peace and plenty. The hills and 
 valleys contain rich deposits of coal, and their -Jbowels, rivers of 
 oil. " 
 
 Recent developments have centred at points lying between and 
 including Petrolia and Fairview on the north, and Millerstown on 
 the south, and Karns City on the east, and Greece City on the 
 west, all in Butler Co., Pa., which comprise the best producing oil 
 territory of late years. At no period in the history of petroleum 
 developments has there existed such a large number of flowing 
 
296 HISTORY OF PETROLEUM. 
 
 wells as are to be found at the present writing, and at no time has 
 there been so large a production of oil. 
 
 The country has been chiefly developed by combinations of indi- 
 viduals, some ventures being divided into sixteenths. The most 
 prominent gentlemen engaged in developing this territory are S. 
 D. Karns, C. D. Angell, Parker, Thompson & Co., Lambing Bro- 
 thers, Campbell Bros., Fisher Brothers, Tack Brothers, Moorhead 
 and Ripley, Robert Leckey, H. W. Scott, F. F. A. Wilson, Mar- 
 cus Brownson, Dimick, Nesbitt & Co., Jno. Preston, Jno. L. and J 
 C. McKinney,and Jno. H. j Gailey,Vandergrift& Foreman, Phillips 
 Bros., H. L. Taylor, Jno. Satterfield, Tarbell & E^ess, and others 
 not known to the writer. 
 
 THE MODOC DISTRICT. 
 
 Having in the early part of this chapter noted the lines of devel- 
 opment, and marked its progress, we will now proceed to chronicle 
 the more recent developments with a brief sketch of the progress 
 of the work. 
 
 We have already made mention of the striking of the Troutman 
 well, on the Troutman farm, in that portion of this oil field, known 
 as the Modoc City district. This famous well, which began flow- 
 ing enormous quantities of oil on the 23d of March, 1873, is situ- 
 ated on a tract of land of some fifty-five acres, upon which a French- 
 man named Troutman settled some four years since. A party of 
 capitalists, known as " The Hope Oil Company," purchased the land 
 about one year ago. This well created great excitement among 
 operators, and soon extensive operations were commenced in the 
 neighborhood. The amount of oil produced for the first few days 
 is variously estimated at from 800 to 1,000 barrels per day. From 
 the 23d of March to the 10th of September of the present year ; 
 1873, this well produced, according to the Pipe Line Co.'s receipts, 
 
THE LOWER OIL FIELDS. 297 
 
 85,413 T Vff barrels ! Add to this 3,000 barrels, lost for want of 
 tankage the first few days of its production. The production 
 on the 10th of September was 308 barrels,* after flowing five months 
 and seventeen days ! " The TROUTMAN" is 1,440 feet in depth, and 
 was sunk as a test well, the success of which soon attracted opera- 
 tors to the locality. Surveys were made, and leases given out. The 
 following shows the results thus far of this wonderful territory : 
 The Troutman Well, Troutman farm, struck 23d of March, BBLS. 
 1873, now producing daily, . . . 308 
 
 Capt. Grace Well, John Starr farm, struck in July, '73, 
 
 now producing daily, . .' . . 300 
 
 Boyer Well, John Starr farm, struck in July, '73, now 
 
 producing daily, ..... 300 
 
 Capt. Grace No. 2, John Starr farm, struck in July, '73, 
 
 now producing daily, .... 300 
 
 Percy & Beck Well, John Starr farm, struck in July, '73, 
 
 now producing daily, . . . . 250 
 
 Brawley Well, Jerry Starr farm, struck in July, '73, now 
 
 producing, ..... 300 
 
 Captain Jack Well, Harper farm, struck in July, '73, now 
 
 producing daily, . . . . . 200 
 
 Dean Well, Harper Farm, struck in August, '73, now pro- 
 ducing daily, ..... 300 
 Modoc Well, Troutman farm, owned by Hope Oil Co., 
 
 struck in August, '73, now producing daily, . 300 
 
 W. W. Thompson Well, Morrow farm, struck in August, 
 
 '73, now producing daily, .... 500 
 
 Seep Well, McClurg farm, struck in August, '73, now pro- 
 ducing daily, ..... 350 
 Fleming Well, No. 1, Kalston farm, struck in Sept. 6th, 73, 
 at first produced at the rate of 700 barrels, and is now 
 producing daily, ..... 500 
 
 * The production, as reported above, is the actual flow of the well on Sept. 13th, 
 1873. 
 
298 HISTORY OF PETROLEUM. 
 
 Fleming, No. 2, Ralston farm, struck Sept. 6th, 1873, BBLS. 
 flowed at the same rate as No. 1, and is now doing daily, 500 
 
 Tip Top Well on the Troutman farm, started up at 700 
 
 on Sept. 7th, '73, and is now producing daily, 500 
 
 Phillips and Vanansdall well on the Harper farm, struck 
 
 1st Sept. '73, and started at 500 barrels, is now doing daily, 300 
 
 Phillips well on the Sutton farm, struck on the 1st Sept. 
 
 '73, commenced at 500 barrels and is now doing, 300 
 
 Miller well, on the Troutman farm, struck Sept. 3, '73, 
 
 commenced at 500, and is now doing daily, 350 
 
 Gordon well, on the McClelland farm, struck 28th Au- 
 gust, '73, commenced at 350, and is now doing, 200 
 
 Columbia well, on the Columbia Oil Co.'s tract, struck 
 7th Sept., '73, commenced at 350, and is now producing 
 daily, 225 
 
 The Markham and Jock well, struck llth Sept., '73, and 
 
 producing, 500 
 
 Capt. Grace well, No. 3, on the Starr farm, was finished 
 on the 4th Sept., '73, the well filled with salt water, 
 which was cased off and pumping commenced, which is 
 now producing daily, 150 
 
 These wells are all situated in "THE MODOC DISTRICT," 
 
 and all, with one exception the Grace well, No. 3 are flowing, 
 
 making a grand total daily production of 7,033 barrels ! 
 
 The Gas well, on the Banks' farm in the district, is supposed by 
 
 many to have a greater flow than the famous Newton gas well, 
 
 near Titusville. It was struck about the 5th of August, and a 
 
 volume of gas has ever since been pouring forth, with a noise like 
 
 " the rush of mighty waters." An attempt was made to lower the 
 
 tools into this well, but the tremendous force of gas forced them 
 
 out of the hole ! 
 
 There are about seventy-five wells going down in this district, 
 
 principally on the Troutman, Ralston, Starr, Sutton, Harper, 
 
 Grover, McClurg, and Brown farms, embracing an area of one 
 
THE LOWER OIL FIELDS. 299 
 
 thousand acres. All these wells flow through the casing, not 
 one of them having been tubed. No sooner do the tools strike the 
 sand rock than the oil spouts forth. A contrivance on the top of 
 the casing having been provided, the oil is allowed to flow undis- 
 turbed. 
 
 The depth of the wells in this district average 1500 feet. The 
 oil-bearing sand rock is from twelve to fifteen feet in thickness, be- 
 ing pebbly and porous. 
 
 The Starr farm is now owned by Phillips Bros., of Parker's 
 Landing, Pa., having been recently purchased by them for the sum 
 of $100,000 
 
 GREECE CITY DISTRICT. 
 
 The first well struck in the Greece city district was the Morrison 
 well, on the 24th August, 1872, on the Jameson farm, which 
 flowed at the rate of 250 barrels per day for four months. It then 
 gradually fell off and is now producing 40 barrels per day. S. D. 
 Karns struck the next well, " The Dogley," on the 25th Decem- 
 ber, 1872. This well is situated half a mile below the Morrison 
 well. It flowed liberally for several weeks, and is now pumped, 
 producing in moderate quantities. A third well was put down by 
 the same gentleman, with what result we could not ascertain. The 
 fourth well, owned by John Preston, was struck on the 12th Janu- 
 ary, 1873, and began flowing at the rate of 130 barrels per day, 
 and is at present (Sept. 1873,) yielding oil in paying quantities. 
 Numbers of others followed in close succession during the latter part 
 of February, and through March and April. Some of these started 
 off very largely ; a fair percentage never yielded above twenty-five 
 barrels per day, while all fell off materially after the first "spurt." 
 
 The greatest number of wells producing at this point at any time 
 did not exceed thirty-five. The largest daily production never 
 
300 HISTORY OF PETROLEUM. 
 
 stood above 1200 barrels daily, and this occurred during the 
 months of February, March, April and May of the present year. 
 At present the production is about 300 barrels per day. No new 
 wells are going down here. 
 
 MILLERSTOWN DISTRICT. 
 
 The first well struck in the Millerstown district, was the Shreve 
 well, on the Stewart farm, in March of this year, which produced 
 at the start 150 barrels per day, and is now doing 125 barrels per 
 day. Next came the Dr. James well, on the Barnhart farm, 
 which was struck in May, and started off at 150 barrels, and is 
 now doing 130 barrels per day. 
 
 The Lambing well followed, and produced 100 barrels per day, 
 and is now doing fifty barrels. This well produced a large amount 
 of gas, and is situated on the Barnhart farm. 
 
 The Howe and Clark well, on the McDermot farm, next fol- 
 lowed, and produced at the rate of 125 barrels, and continues to 
 produce 75 barrels per day. 
 
 The Green well, on the Johnston farm, never penetrated the 
 third sand. About the 1st of August, the Wolf well commenced 
 flowing at 150 barrels per day. It is situated on the Barnhart 
 farm, and continues to produce at the above rate. 
 
 The Carlien and Mosier well, on the McDermot farm, began at 
 the rate of 150 barrels on the 21st of August, and continues about 
 the same rate. The Preston well, on the McKinney Bros. & 
 Gaily tract, was struck on the 10th of August, and on striking the 
 oil rock was burned down. It is now pumping at the rate of 100 
 barrels per day. 
 
 The Parsons well, on the McKinney Bros. & Gailey tract, was 
 struck on the 1st of September,, and flowed at the start, 250 barrels 
 per day, and is now flowing 200 barrels. 
 
THE LOWER OIL FIELDS. 
 
 301 
 
 Dr. J. McMichael or Salsbuiy well, on the McDermot farm, 
 started at 125, and is now doing 75 barrels per day. 
 
 The Farquar well, on the Farquar farm, one mile south-east of 
 Millerstown, was struck on the 20th of August, and is now flow- 
 ing 250 barrels per day. 
 
 The Salsbury well, No. 2, owned by Dr. McMichael, was struck 
 on the 1st of September, and started at the rate of 300 barrels per 
 day, continuing to do about the same rate. 
 
 The Dubenspeck well, on the Dubenspeck farm, adjoining the 
 McDermot farm, struck on the 1st of September, 1873, and flowed 
 300 barrels per day. No perceptible reduction in the produce is 
 noticeable at the present writing. 
 
 A new well on the Abidiah Barnhart farm, was struck on the 
 10th of September, 1873, and is flowing 100 barrels. 
 
 The Kepler well, on the Kepler farm, struck on the 10th of 
 September, 1873, is flowing 200 barrels per day. 
 
 The Hulings well, on the Barnhart farm, is in the sand, and 
 flowing in large quantities. (Sept. 11.) 
 
 The Shidemantle well, on the Dubenspeck farm, began flowing 
 (llth Sept. 1873) at the rate of 250 barrels per day 
 
 PETKOLIA DISTRICT. 
 
 The first wells in the Petrolia district, were put down by Messrs. 
 Dimick, Nesbitt & Co., in November and December, 1871, on the 
 Sheakley farms, which attracted considerable attention from opera- 
 tors. These wells proved quite remunerative, but it was not till 
 April of 1872, th^it the first great strike was made at Petrolia, 
 then a rural district. Early in April, 1872, Dimick, Nesbitt & 
 Co., finished the " Fanny Jane Well," which yielded liberally for 
 a considerable time. This successful venture was attended with 
 the usual result, and forthwith began a regular rush for the latest 
 Oil-Dorado. 
 
302 
 
 HISTORY OF PETROLEUM. 
 
 The Blaney Farm was purchased by Fisher Bros, for $60,000, 
 and other tracts in the vicinity were either bought at extravagant 
 prices or leased at high rates ; houses multiplied rapidly, and ere 
 long the infant settlement presented all the bustle and activity 
 characteristic of new oil towns. Large numbers of wells on the 
 Blaney, Wilson, Jamieson and neighboring farms produced in 
 abundance. The wells on the farms above named are but short- 
 lived, as with few exceptions they declined materially within a 
 short period, gradually falling off, many of these ceasing to yield in 
 paying quantities six months after their completion. 
 
 At present a large number of these wells are shut down in con- 
 sequence of the low price of oil. At present there are only some 
 five wells going down in this section. No new strikes of conse- 
 quence to be recorded within the last few months. 
 
 KARNS CITY DISTRICT. 
 
 The success attending the operations at Petrolia induced opera- 
 tors to extend developments further south, and in May, of 1872, 
 the Cooper Bros, began on the McClymonds Farm. This property 
 is situated on a branch of Bear Creek, Fairview township, one 
 mile and a-half from Petrolia, and the same distance from Fairview. 
 In June the Coopers fearing it destined to be a failure, disposed of 
 a well partly down to S. D. Karns, who drilled a few feet deeper 
 and struck a hundred barrel well. The next was completed by 
 the Coopers, and for several weeks this well flowed 200 barrels a 
 day. Other wells soon followed, on the J. B. ^Campbell, Story, 
 Riddell and Kincaid farms. On the 9th of January the famous 
 Salsbury Well, on the J. B. Campbell farm, began to flow at the 
 rate of over five hundred barrels per day. This point became at 
 once the centre of developments, and soon the nucleus of a town 
 was built, which, as before mentioned in an early part of this chap- 
 
THE LOWER OIL FIELDS. 303 
 
 ter, was named after S. D. Karns, and called Karns City. At 
 present operations are at a stand-still, only five wells drilling in 
 this section and forty-three wells producing ; operators rushing to 
 newer and for the present more productive fields. We ought here 
 to remark that a fourth s&nd has been reached in two wells near 
 Karns City with good results, which discovery is likely to give 
 rise to the deepening of all the small wells on the line of develop- 
 ment in the neighborhood of Karns City and Petrolia. The opin- 
 ion of operators in regard to these two wells differ. Some believe 
 that no oil exists in the fourth sand, while others are of opinion 
 that the reckoning in these two wells is correct. 
 
 Passing through Karns City, one and a half miles to the south, 
 is the Moore, Hepler and Myers farms. The first well struck in 
 this section, was on the 31st of January of the present year, which 
 flowed some 200 barrels per day. Another was struck soon after- 
 wards, which proved a good well. Mr. C. D. Angell, the owner 
 of the Moore & Hepler farms, has now five producing wells, doing 
 500 barrels per day, and five new wells going down. 
 
 A new town has sprung up, on this property, called in honor of 
 the owner, ANGELICA. Extensive operations are in progress at 
 Fairview and Angelica. 
 
 Having now taken a cursory glance, at the present state of de- 
 velopments, and given the initial operations at different points of 
 interest, we will bring this chapter to a close. 
 
 The importance of this lower oil field, must be evident to all 
 conversant with the history of its steady development ; but we 
 would here say that with this rapid progress of developments, a 
 large and very extensive scope of territory has been left behind 
 untouched and undeveloped. Oil men pushed ahead, only desiring 
 to make great conquests in the way of flowing wells. That 
 portion of the field which has been left in the rear, has only been 
 skimmed, but will most assuredly be once again opened up, and 
 again become the scene of fortunes made and fortunes lost. 
 
 At the present moment there are in this lower oil field no less 
 
304 HISTORY OF PETROLEUM. 
 
 than twenty-eight flowing wells, producing daily the enormous 
 sum total of 8,833 barrels, giving an average production to each 
 well, of 31 5 barrels ! 
 
 DISCOVERY OF THE FOURTH SAND-ROCK. 
 
 We have already mentioned, briefly, the discovery of a FOURTH 
 SAND, or oil rock, in the vicinity of Karns City. It was first 
 found by Mr. CHARLES STEWART, a native of Butler County. He 
 purchased an abandoned well on the Scott farm, near Karns City, 
 and after a month's vain effort to make it pay as a pumping well, 
 resolved to sink it deeper. He began this labor about the middle 
 of June last, and after nearly eight weeks' drilling in daylight, 
 struck the first flowing well in the fourth sand ! This well is 
 known as the Banks' or Stewart well, and averages four hundred 
 barrels daily. The entire oil community, including the shrewdest 
 operators, scouted the idea of this being the " fourth sand," and 
 claimed that the well had not originally been drilled deep enough. 
 Messrs. Tack & Morehead, however, on the adjoining farm, com- 
 menced to drill one of their abandoned wells, known as the Mc- 
 Cleer No. 1, about four weeks ago, and struck the fourth sand on 
 the 15th September, with a good show of oil. They continued to 
 drill until the 18th of September, when the well commenced flow- 
 ing at the rate of 700 barrels per day ! The most experienced 
 operators claim that the fourth sand is only prolific at these points, 
 where a spur branches out from the main belt, and this is evidently 
 the spur of the Modoc belt. This theory will be very fully 
 studied within the next sixty or ninety days, as there is a determi- 
 nation on the part of everybody owning an abandoned or non- 
 paying well to try it. 
 
 The " FOURTH SAND," thus far developed, is from 65 to 75 feet 
 below the " third sandy" and is of excellent quality. 
 
STATISTICAL, LNFOEMATIOK. 
 
 305 
 
 STATISTICAL INFORMATION. 
 
 PRODUCTION. 
 
 The following shows the average DAILY product of the Penn- 
 sylvania oil region district in 1867, during the months indicated. 
 No reliable monthly reports were published prior to this date : 
 
 1867. 
 
 September. 
 October..., 
 
 . . 9>6o 
 
 November 9,800 
 
 December 10,400 
 
 MONTHS. 
 
 1868. 
 
 1869. 
 
 1870. 
 
 1871. 
 
 1872. 
 
 January bbls. 
 
 8.700 
 
 IO IQ2 
 
 1 2 634. 
 
 TC 4.77 
 
 1 6 286 
 
 February 
 March 
 
 9,200 
 8,621 
 
 9967 
 9,80 I 
 
 11,917 
 12.38? 
 
 14,391 
 13 41:7 
 
 17,012 
 ic co6 
 
 April , .... 
 
 8,^37 
 
 ,<->y 
 1 1 ,067 
 
 12,074. 
 
 I3,3o8 
 
 1 6 308 
 
 
 8,700 
 
 IO.I S3 
 
 14,161; 
 
 13,087 
 
 l8 341 
 
 
 10,102 
 
 11,334 
 
 I4,8l7 
 
 14,806 
 
 17,740 
 
 July 
 
 10,603 
 
 11,697 
 
 l6,Q6q 
 
 I7,26l 
 
 18,151? 
 
 August 
 
 II.oSl 
 
 I2.IC7 
 
 17,777 
 
 18,161 
 
 18 816 
 
 September 
 October 
 
 ",033 
 
 10,133 
 
 12,645 
 I3,O7I 
 
 19,489 
 20,158 
 
 17,648 
 16068 
 
 16,561 
 
 14 3OQ 
 
 November 
 December 
 
 10,276 
 9,737 
 
 13,317 
 
 12,844 
 
 18,012 
 
 15,214 
 
 16,651 
 16,703 
 
 23,275 
 22,054 
 
 The total production in 1872 was 6,539,103 barrels of forty- 
 three gallons, a daily average for the year of 17,925 barrels against 
 15,800 barrels in 1871, showing a daily average increase in 1872 
 of 2,115 barrels, and a total increase of 671,975. The daily ave- 
 rage in 1870 was 15,350 barrels, in 1869, 11,560 barrels, and in 
 1868, 10,180 barrels. The average in 1865 was between 6,000 
 and 7,000 barrels daily. 
 20 
 
HISTORY OP PETROLEUM. 
 
 The annexed table gives the production of Pennsylvania oil re- 
 gion each year since 1859: 
 
 BBLS. 
 
 Production in 1859 * 87,000 
 
 " 1860 500,000 
 
 " 1861 2,118,000 
 
 " " 1862.... 3,056,000 
 
 " 1863 2,631,000 
 
 " 1864 2,116,000 
 
 " 1865 2,497,000 
 
 " 1866 3,597,ooo 
 
 " J 867 3,347,000 
 
 *' 1868 3,715,000 
 
 " " 1869 4,215,000 
 
 " 1870 5,659,000 
 
 " " 1871 5,795,ooo 
 
 " " 1872 6,539,000 
 
 Total bbls 45,840,000 
 
 * In all published statements of the product of Petroleum for 1859, this is the amount given. It is 
 palpably wrong. Col. Drake's well was struck in August, 1859, anc ^ produced not more than ten or 
 twelve barrels per day. And this was the first well in the Pennsylvania Oil Region. The second pro- 
 ducing well was stiuck in February, 1860 the Barnsdall well fifty barrels per day. It is question- 
 able, therefore, if the entire product of 1859 would reach 3,000 barrels. 
 
 PRODUCT OF AMERICA FOR THE YEARS GIVEN. 
 
 The production of America in 1872, and previous years compare 
 as below : 
 
 BBLS. 
 
 Total product Pennsylvania Oil Region in 1872 6,539,000 
 
 " " of West Virginia, Ohio and Kentucky Oil Regions in 1872 .. 325,000 
 " " " Canada in 1872 530,000 
 
 BBLS. 
 
 Total product of America in 1872 7,394,000 
 
 " " 1871 6,638,000 
 
 1870 6,535,000 
 
 " " 1869 4,917,000 
 
 1868 3,965,000 
 
 The daily average product in America in 1872 was 20,271 bar- 
 rels against 18,100 barrels in 1871, and 17,900 barrels in 1870. 
 
 In Canada the yield is estimated at 530,000 barrels for the year. 
 At one time there was a production there of more than 2,000 
 barrels daily. In West Virginia and Ohio the product is given at 
 325,000 barrels. 
 
STATISTICAL INFORMATION. 
 
 307 
 
 AVERAGE PRICES. 
 
 The following were the average monthly prices of Crude on the 
 Creek of barrels of 43 gallons and of Crude and Refined per 
 gallon in New York for 1872 and 1871 : 
 
 MONTHS. 
 
 CRUDE IN BULK. 
 
 REFINED. 
 STANDARD WHITE. 
 IN BARRELS. 
 
 NAPHTHA. 
 IN BARRELS. 
 
 
 
 Highest and 
 Lowest. 
 
 Average 
 Price. 
 
 Highest and 
 Lowest. 
 
 Average 
 Price. 
 
 Highest and 
 Lowest. 
 
 Average 
 Price. 
 
 Crude 
 On Creek. 
 
 
 I2fg & 13^ 
 
 11% ((fy 13 
 
 13.11 
 13.01 
 13.06 
 
 22 @ 23 
 
 21 % (0), 22% 
 
 23.29 
 
 22.22 
 22.58 
 
 2 @I 3 
 I I2# 
 @ II 
 @ 12 
 
 12.44 
 11.66 
 10.28 
 10.39 
 
 $4-05 
 
 3-55 
 3-95 
 4.10 
 
 3-25 
 4-25 
 4-50 
 3-62^ 
 
 February 
 March 
 
 April 
 
 May 
 June 
 July 
 
 n/4 I2 ^ 
 13 @ 14% 
 
 i3# @ H l /2 
 ii @ 13 
 
 13-34 
 12.92 
 12.33 
 11.88 
 11.71 
 13-74 
 14.10 
 12.08 
 
 22% 2 4 
 
 22 @ 23 
 22 l /% (fl) 23^ 
 
 23^ (a), 24 l /2 
 24% (a), 26% 
 26% 2 7/^ 
 
 23-52 
 23.04 
 22.37 
 22.55 
 24.17 
 25-97 
 27-15 
 *26.OO 
 
 2 (0), l8 
 
 6 @ 18 
 4% i6 i 
 
 17% 20 
 17% @ 19% 
 
 15-25 
 1 7-5 
 14-75 
 14.86 
 16.14 
 18.94 
 18.42 
 17.07 
 
 
 September 
 October 
 
 November 
 December 
 
 
 12.89 
 
 
 
 
 14.81 
 
 IO.OI 
 
 3-75 
 4.00 
 
 " 1871 ... 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 * Nominally 
 
 
 Monthly average of prices of Crude and Refined, at New York, 
 for the years 1871, 1870, 1869, 1868, 1867, 1866 and 1865 : 
 
 YEARS. 
 
 CRUDE. 
 
 REFINED. 
 STANDARD. 
 WHITE. 
 
 NAPHTHA. 
 
 BULK. 
 
 BARRELS. 
 
 BARRELS. 
 
 BARRELS. 
 
 l8?I 
 
 14.04 
 
 13-93 
 18.25 
 14.40 
 12.17 
 
 18.09 
 18.45 
 23.25 
 19.66 
 
 J7-43 
 25.78 
 
 38.37 
 
 24.24 
 26.35 
 
 32.73 
 29.52 
 28.41 
 
 42.45 
 58.87 
 
 IO.OI 
 
 9.83 
 10.33 
 18.91 
 
 23-75 
 37-84 
 5-37 
 
 1870 
 
 1869... 
 
 1868 
 
 1867 
 
 1866 
 
 1865 
 
 
 THE CONSUMPTION OF THE WORLD. 
 
 The total consumption of crude in 1872 was 6,663,000 barrels, 
 an increase over the previous year's consumption of 662,000 bar- 
 rels, or eleven per cent. The rate of increase in consumption in 
 1871 over 1870, was over two anil one-half per cent, greater than 
 the rate of increase in 1872 over 1871. Among the causes that 
 led to the falling off in the rate of increase in 1872, was the in- 
 creased manufacture of shale oils, and the prices demanded by the 
 refiners of Petroleum in America. 
 
308 
 
 HISTORY OF PETROLEUM. 
 
 The following table shows the consumption throughout the world 
 in 1872 : 
 
 Production, 1872, bbls 
 Stock Jan. I, 1872, bbls 
 Stock Jan. I, 1873, bbls 
 Deduct increase Jan. I, 1873, 
 Deduct losses by fire, &c., in 1873. 
 
 Total consumption 1872, bbls. crude. 
 Consumption in 1871, bbls 
 
 Increase in 1872, or about ten and 
 eight-tenths per cent 
 
 3,269,000 
 3,849,000 
 
 580,000 
 150,000 
 
 7,394,000 
 
 730,000 
 
 6,664,000 
 6,002,000 
 
 662,000 
 
 The average daily consumption in 1872, was nearly 18,500 bbls. 
 
 PETROLEUM TRADE OF PITTSBURGH. 
 
 We give below the statistics of the petroleum trade of Pittsburgh 
 for the last fourteen years. The figures do not include lubricating 
 oils, the quantitv and value of which it would be impossible to as- 
 certain. 
 
 The following are the receipts of crude oil from 1859 to 1872, 
 inclusive : 
 
 BBLS. BBLS. 
 
 l866 1,253,326 
 
 1867 727,494 
 
 1868 1,061,227 
 
 1869 1,028,902 
 
 1870 1,050,810 
 
 1871 1,149,493 
 
 1872 I,l86,50I 
 
 1859 
 
 i860 I7,l6l 
 
 1861 94,102 
 
 1862 171,774 
 
 1863 175, 181 
 
 1864 208,744 
 
 1865 630,246 
 
 Total barrels 8,746,756 
 
 RECEIPTS AT PHILADELPHIA FROM 1865 TO 1872. 
 The following are the receipts of Petroleum by railroad, at Phi- 
 ladelphia, for the past seven years : 
 
 BBLS. 
 
 1872 1,165,613 
 
 1871 1,329,250 
 
 1870 1,476,564 
 
 1869 7. .". i,049,5 l6 
 
 1868 1,064,702 
 
 1867 970,798 
 
 1866 -, 743,504 
 
 1865 640,019 
 
STATISTICAL, INFORMATION. 309 
 
 EXPORTS OF REFINED OIL FOR PAST EIGHT YEARS. 
 
 BBLS. 
 
 1865 298,111 
 
 1866 424,848 
 
 1867 498,226 
 
 1868 724,991 
 
 BBLS. 
 
 1869 59M75 
 
 1870 811,158 
 
 1871 733,943 
 
 1872 743> 6l 
 
 THE PETROLEUM TRADE. 
 
 PRODUCTION, CONSUMPTION, AND EXPORT FOR 1871 AND 1872. VALUES, DECREASES, &C. 
 
 The following interesting and reliable statistics we gather from 
 " The Trade and Commerce Keports " of 1871 and 1872 : 
 
 1872. 1871. 
 
 Barrels. Barrels. 
 
 The total production of Pennsylvania oil region equaled... 6,839,103 5 5 795,ooo 
 
 West Virginia, Ohio, and Kentucky. ... 325,000 401,000 
 
 Canada 530,000 442,000 
 
 7,694,103 6,638,000 
 DAILY AVERAGE PRODUCTION: 
 
 Pennsylvania 17,917 15,800 
 
 Daily average of America 20,271 18,100 
 
 Exports from the United States of Crude and refined 150, 385,869 155,674,74! 
 
 Some 4,688,922 gallons less than preceding year. 
 
 1872. 1871. 
 
 Consumption of the world equaled 6,644,000 6,002,000 
 
 An increase of about 108.10 per cent. The daily consumption estimated at 
 18,500 barrels against 18,000 barrels in 1871. 
 
 Stock in America January i, 1873, 2,316,000 barrels, against 1,600,000 in 1872. 
 
 World's stock January I, 1873, 3,849,000 barrels. Stock of the world has 
 more than doubled in three years. 
 
 The value of production of Pennsylvania, West Virginia, Ohio, Kentucky, and 
 Canada equals $28,516,250, against $30,570,500 in 1871. 
 
 1871. 1872. 
 
 Value of the world's consumption $27,009,000 $24,990,000 
 
 Value of daily consumption 73,8oo 69,395 
 
 Value of world's stock, December 31 14,710,500 14,433,730 
 
 Value of United States stock, Dec. 31 7,155,000 6,903,550 
 
 Value of exports of crude, refined, and Naphtha.... $38,077,501 24 $33,174,182 52 
 World's value amount on hand Jan. i, 1872, and 
 
 consumed in 1871 $41,719,50000 
 
 On hand Jan. I, 1873, an ^ consumed in 1872 30,423,75000 
 
 Decrease in value of refined exports 5,294,978 23 
 
 " crude 113,22589 
 
 " naphtha 278,43362 
 
310 HISTORY OF PETROLEUM. 
 
 Crude oil and naphtha show a gain in exports of $391,659,51, and 
 refined, which should have been the greater, fell off $4,903,318.72. 
 
 DECREASE IN VALUE OF PRODUCTION, CONSUMPTION, STOCK AND EXPORTS : 
 
 Increase in value of production $2,054,250 oo 
 
 " World's consumption 2,019,00000 
 
 " ' Daily consumption 4,^5 
 
 " < World's stock 276,75000 
 
 " < United States 251,45000 
 
 " ' Exports 4,903,31872 
 
 Value of world s consumption during the year, and stock in hand 
 
 Jan. I, 1871 41,719,50000 
 
 Do. 1872 39,423,75000 
 
 Decrease in value .., $2,295,750 oo 
 
 VALUE OF EXPORTS FROM THE UNITED STATES DURING THE YEAR AND 
 STOCK ON HAND : 
 
 Jan. i, 1871. Jan. I, 1872. 
 
 Value of exports 38,077,501 24 33,174,182 52 
 
 stock 7,155,000 oo 6,903,550 oo 
 
 Total $45,232,501 24 $40,077,732 52 
 
 Decrease of exports and stock 1872 under 1871... 5,154,768 72 
 
 The production, consumption, and stock in hand were greater 
 than the preceding year, but the value was less. The exports of 
 crude and naphtha -were increased ; but the refined oil decreased in 
 commercial value, and shows a large falling off. 
 
 The falling off in most cases occurred among the largest con- 
 sumers of American petroleum in Europe heretofore. 
 
 The facts show that refined oils sent upon the markets of the 
 world of late years have been of poor quality and dangerous, and 
 the public have been seeking other illuminators, and putting up 
 with some inconvenience to be safe. This has stimulated the ma- 
 nufacture of coal oil, from the cheap and almost exhaustless shales 
 of Wales and Scotland, and the increase has been unparalleled in 
 the last few years'; all the abandoned works of 1865, have been re- 
 built, with new improvements and new machinery. 
 
 The future consumption must govern the demand of this article 
 as in all commercial products, and must meet the wants of con- 
 sumers both in quality and price. This, we are glad to know, 
 will be the results of the petroleum trade in the future. Several 
 of our State Legislatures, Pennsylvania among the number, have 
 enacted laws requiring a manufactured article of refined oil at suph 
 fire test as to render it absolutely non-explosive. 
 
STATISTICAL INFOKMATION. 
 
 311 
 
 EXPORTS FROM THE PORT OF NEW YORK FROM 1868 TO 1872. 
 
 
 GALLONS. 
 1872. 
 
 GALLONS. 
 1871. 
 
 GALLONS. 
 1870. 
 
 GALLONS. 
 1869. 
 
 GALLONS. 
 
 1868. 
 
 
 1,388,419 
 1,372,263 
 
 1,866,538 
 1,457,628 
 
 I,836,6 7 5 
 2,047,118 
 
 877,667 
 872,118 
 
 1,291,200 
 
 947,3" 
 
 
 Glasgow &c 
 
 Bristol - 
 
 556,261 
 65,814 
 1,021,079 
 
 414,322 
 392,919 
 
 248,132 
 83,"9 
 551,649 
 
 410,605 
 
 184,070 
 
 JJ U H 
 
 Falmouth, E., &c 
 
 367,233 
 
 92,210 
 
 Cork &c 
 
 3,141,436 
 
 5,328,811 
 
 4,689,283 
 
 2,648,865 
 
 2,272,534 
 
 
 Havre - 
 
 4,139,619 
 1,399,830 
 
 2,832,134 
 
 2,549,793 
 
 1,417,851 
 2,508,468 
 309,522 
 108,743 
 288,231 
 
 455,677 
 118,772 
 
 4,275,096 
 2,410,308 
 
 2,925,413 
 3,269,600 
 149,450 
 
 
 Cette 
 
 226,300 
 850,886 
 852,292 
 229,828 
 
 
 
 Dunkirk 
 
 762,369 
 557,639 
 
 831,398 
 428,306 
 346,650 
 
 369,501 
 184,600 
 78,539 
 
 
 Nantes and Rouen 
 
 
 6,489,132 
 11,822,83! 
 678,914 
 5,776,354 
 1,897,546 
 783,702 
 
 3,433,9S 
 397,799 
 5,644,478 
 143,864 
 294,229 
 873,889 
 3,858,708 
 
 4,747,i67 
 12,356,572 
 
 9,977,114 
 10,162,399 
 
 8,202,931 
 11,374,282 
 
 7,052,177 
 8,578,026 
 
 Tj " 
 
 
 
 5,866,532 
 6,987,302 
 
 4,456,226 
 5,305,299 
 
 4,333,982 
 2,115,838 
 
 2,458,557 
 ifySPZS 
 
 T> a ff . *J 
 
 Stockholm & Gottenberg 
 
 
 5,997,362 
 216,047 
 5,650,978 
 
 7,227,273 
 216,942 
 2,645,677 
 
 4,163,320 
 
 I ,523,3 8 7 
 150,028 
 2,537,o86 
 
 
 
 4,594,363 
 
 
 Lubec &c 
 
 186,260 
 1,177,776 
 2 ,967,345 
 73,32i 
 169,023 
 9 8 5,25o 
 472,201 
 608,487 
 50,760 
 786,685 
 7,397,^6 
 71,690 
 870,113 
 3,i59,M2 
 2,601,290 
 1,463,882 
 411,660 
 140,729 
 187,365 
 1,492,905 
 2,233,671 
 592,9! 5 
 457,29 
 
 97,242 
 767,999 
 894,422 
 121,540 
 189,148 
 287,500 
 6lO,IIO 
 1,101,049 
 135,500 
 571,462 
 7,982,173 
 
 210,759 
 379>9 12 
 2,515,926 
 2,816,655 
 1,045,376 
 228,394 
 451,582 
 18,234 
 1,508,240 
 2,136,551 
 935,207 
 451,610 
 
 138,570 
 810,596 
 341,572 
 
 
 
 374,671 
 118,492 
 
 Copenhagen, Elsinore, &c 
 
 
 100,230 
 490,520 
 
 
 
 Syria &c . 
 
 168,220 
 
 
 
 Venice 
 
 
 1,068,555 
 35,000 
 
 .774,723 
 8,023,509 
 
 74,590 
 520,945 
 1,425,261 
 2,131,130 
 1,684,482 
 9",532 
 310,302 
 61,230 
 738,218 
 1,385,671 
 1,138,408 
 
 1,353,03 
 200,000 
 169,990 
 1,318,328 
 
 436,058 
 66,038 
 530,029 
 
 2,774,547 
 362,708 
 1,064,943 
 1,774,223 
 1,4*3,743 
 748,494 
 
 380,581 
 518,260 
 470,929 
 4,289,017 
 251,704 
 1,032,209 
 2,229,928 
 900,161 
 398,873 
 223,000 
 43,*94 
 16,461 
 603,012 
 417,210 
 199,163 
 120,300 
 
 Tarragona and Alicante 
 
 Gibraltar and Malta 
 
 
 
 
 Trieste 
 
 
 Al ^ ii ' F 
 
 L^bon r a ' 
 
 194,812 
 16,353 
 602,180 
 1,498,682 
 330,221 
 207,180 
 
 P T 1 c\ 
 
 
 Bilboa, Seville and Vigo 
 Palma Spain &c 
 
 China and East Indies 
 
 Africa 
 
 169,980 
 1,794,993 
 
 99,272 
 1,633,663 
 
 30,200 
 619,649 
 43,680 
 139,280 
 835,299 
 169,541 
 1,144,378 
 
 101,000 
 
 109,120 
 
 193,990 
 142,780 
 9,027 
 
 36,106 
 
 24,560 
 
 959,959 
 37,5oo 
 224,526 
 804,390 
 155,576 
 988,955 
 169,200 
 91,000 
 168,000 
 233,956 
 
 4,220 
 40,700 
 
 
 
 Sydne'y, N. S. W 
 Brazil 
 
 433,6i4 
 2,713,409 
 382,542 
 1,850,051 
 828,573 
 
 529,779 
 270,750 
 
 233,490 
 12,462 
 50,897 
 
 337,28o 
 1,036,943 
 559>8o9 
 1,534,751 
 374,950 
 534,o5o 
 266,160 
 181,629 
 8,072 
 37,i5o 
 11,322 
 489,227 
 34,930 
 10,596 
 277,517 
 19,823 
 88,701 
 
 40,399 
 17,916 
 76,620 
 98,509 
 93,346 
 
 231,080 
 1,364,294 
 243,022 
 1,566,547 
 396,403 
 4i7,58o 
 174,884 
 305,673 
 5,049 
 79,543 
 8,235 
 586,492 
 38,598 
 10,058 
 
 
 Cuba 
 
 
 Cisalpine Republic 
 Chili . 
 
 p eru 
 
 British Honduras 
 
 
 
 397,693 
 69,969 
 27,121 
 
 298,997 
 
 54,221 
 
 16,473 
 
 236,805 
 47,215 
 12,255 
 
 Br N Am Colonies 
 
 
 
 Dutch West Indies 
 
 48,061 
 14,600 
 19,377 
 15,465 
 132,764 
 110,478 
 103,379 
 
 30,267 
 86,600 
 ftj654 
 8, 7 ? 
 <5&,z5i 
 78,186 
 46,934 
 3,000 
 
 40,698 
 73,138 
 
 xfi,678 
 1,858 
 77,266 
 60,312 
 36,492 
 
 17,463 
 
 7 8 ? $ 
 
 2,848 
 
 57,9" 
 64,219 
 34,228 
 
 French West Indies . 
 
 Hayti 
 
 
 
 
 Porto Rico 
 
 Total 
 
 
 
 
 
 90,027,726 
 
 94,955,850 
 
 87,667,299 
 
 65,933,690 
 
 52,803,20*: 
 
312 
 
 HISTORY OF PETROLEUM. 
 
 
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 New York g 
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 S 
 
 ^ 
 
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STATISTICAL INFORMATION. 313 f 
 
 EXPORT FOE 1873, 
 
 The figures upon the opposite page fairly represent the rapid 
 increase in the consumption of the article abroad. It will be noted 
 that the export of 1872 was more than double that of 1867. 
 
 The following table of the quantity shipped from leading ports, 
 from January 1 to June 1, 1873, will show how greatly the foreign 
 demand has augmented within a few months. The table is com- 
 piled from the issue of the New York Commercial and Shipping 
 List, reliable authority on all matters pertaining to shipments 
 or imports to or from the United States. The exhibit is as follows : 
 
 FROM JANUARY 1st TO JUNE 1st, 1873. 
 
 GALLONS. 
 
 From New York. 46,224,596 
 
 " Boston 987,368 
 
 " Philadelphia 22,437,417 
 
 " Baltimore 1,221,438 
 
 Total exports from United States 70,870,819 
 
 In addition to the above, the exports from New York alone ag- 
 gregated nearly three million gallons during the first three days of 
 June, an increase of over twenty-seven million gallons since the 
 first of January as compared with the same months of 1872. The 
 coal famine in England is rapidly undermining the prejudices ex- 
 isting against kerosene as an illuminator, and the petroleum trade 
 with that country is fast acquiring vast proportions as the result. 
 Thus Liverpool imported 255,708 gallons last year, up to the first 
 of June, against 1,150,877 this season; London, 353,433, against 
 1,741,551 ; Bristol, 136,534, against 781,852; and other ports in 
 like proportion. The exports to Ireland have more than doubled ; 
 those to France quadrupled, and the demand from Germany and 
 Belgium and other European countries is enormously increased. 
 
 These facts and figures are at once interesting and suggestive, 
 indicating, as they do, in unmistakable terms, an enhanced value 
 of petroleum at no distant date. With so great an enlargement of 
 the foreign demand, a production certainly no greater than the 
 markets of the world require, the chances of its application in im- 
 
314 
 
 HISTORY OF PETROLEUM. 
 
 mense quantities to new purposes, and the continuous increase of 
 home consumption, it is difficult to believe oil will not advance in 
 price till it reaches a figure at which the average operator will be 
 able to carry on his business, if not at a large profit, at least without 
 positive loss, as has been the case in too many instances during the 
 depression of the last few months. 
 
 NUMBER OF WELLS DRILLING AT VARIOUS DATES. 
 
 No reports have been made up since December, 1872, upon this 
 subject, and we are left to conjecture as to the number of wells 
 drilled from January 1st, 1873, to July 1st, 1873. A fair estimate 
 would be about 225 to 25*0 during the first six months of 1873. 
 
 MONTHS. 
 
 1872 
 
 1871 
 
 1870 
 
 1869 
 
 1868 
 
 1867 
 
 January 
 
 304. 
 
 167 
 
 364. 
 
 378 
 
 182 
 
 
 February 
 
 360 
 
 173 
 
 388 
 
 34.1 
 
 JCQ 
 
 
 March . . . 
 
 31"? 
 
 I ^Q 
 
 2QC 
 
 334. 
 
 I 60 
 
 
 April 
 
 3O2 
 
 231 
 
 A-}-) 
 
 2Q2 
 
 IQ3 
 
 
 May 
 
 &** 
 
 <?-?6 
 
 24.7 
 
 4.12 
 
 312 
 
 217 
 
 
 Tune 
 
 3QI 
 
 306 
 
 463 
 
 3 1 -* 
 
 34 "? 
 
 2C7 
 
 
 July ... 
 
 ?Cq 
 
 386 
 
 340 
 
 3O C 
 
 2OQ 
 
 
 August 
 
 -2Q2 
 
 5 C-3 
 
 3IQ 
 
 3IO 
 
 327 
 
 
 September . 
 
 07 * 
 
 -7QI 
 
 364. 
 
 3O6 
 
 O iw/ 
 31^ 
 
 331 
 
 
 October . . 
 
 
 4.26 
 
 2(X 
 
 J*J 
 331 
 
 Jo*- 
 37O 
 
 
 November 
 
 3C4 
 
 d.8l 
 
 * 5 
 
 206 
 
 360 
 
 4.-JC 
 
 2CC 
 
 December 
 
 OJT- 
 
 318 
 
 490 
 
 191 
 
 J"U 
 
 346 
 
 4OI 
 
 2 3 2 
 
STATISTICS OF REFINING. 
 
 315 
 
 STATISTICS OF REFINING. 
 
 REFINING CAPACITY OF THE UNITED STATES. 
 
 Statement showing the Refineries in the Oil Region of Pennsyl- 
 vania, with their respective daily Still Capacity, for Crude : 
 
 NAME. 
 
 LOCATION. 
 
 DAILY CAPACITY. 
 BBLS. OF 43 GALS. 
 
 Porter, Moreland & Co., 
 
 Titusville, . . . 
 
 1,213 
 
 Bennett, Warner & Co., 
 
 
 
 '856 
 
 Octave Refining Co., . 
 
 (t 
 
 606 
 
 Pickering, Chambers & Co. 
 
 
 
 512 
 
 Easterly & Davis, . . 
 
 tt 
 
 496 
 
 R. M. & J. W. Jackson, 
 
 <( 
 
 288 
 
 M. N. Allen, .... 
 
 (( 
 
 251 
 
 Decker & Co., . . . 
 
 <t 
 
 190 
 
 A. H. Lee, .... 
 
 <( 
 
 185 
 
 J. A. Scott, .... 
 
 <( 
 
 139 
 
 Cadam & Donohue, . . 
 
 <( 
 
 68 
 
 John Johnson & Co., . 
 
 Miller Farm, . . . 
 
 308 
 
 Du^lev & Co., . . . 
 
 t( 
 
 250 
 
 A. RoWilliams, . . . 
 
 (( 
 
 243 
 
 Z. Chandler, .... 
 
 Gregg Switch, . . . 
 
 187 
 
 H. De Zebala, . - . 
 
 Pioneer, . . . 
 
 127 
 
 Patterson Refinery, . . 
 
 Petroleum Centre, 
 
 292 
 
 Hermann, Cornell & Co., 
 
 a 
 
 198 
 
 Bartlett & Newton, . . 
 
 te 
 
 47 
 
 Doe & Frazer, 
 
 Rousville. . . 
 
 117 
 
 Producers Oil Works, . 
 
 d 
 
 100 
 
 Levi Kerr, .... 
 
 Tarr Farm, . . . 
 
 227 
 
 Imperial Refining Co., . 
 
 Oil City, ' ... 
 
 1,385 
 
 Standard Oil Co., . . 
 
 ft 
 
 418 
 
 Economy Refining Co., 
 
 ft 
 
 321 
 
 Solar Oil Works, . . . 
 
 Oleopolis, . . . 
 
 171 
 
 L. D. Galligan, . . . 
 
 Tidioute, . . . 
 
 36 
 
 
 Total daily still capacity, 
 
 9,231 
 
316 
 
 HISTORY OF PETROLEUM. 
 
 KEFINING CAPACITY OF NEW YORK. 
 
 Statement showing the daily refining capacity for the city of New 
 York and vicinity. Furnished by Peter Schmid : 
 
 WORKS AND LOCATION. 
 
 Kings Co. Oil Works, 
 Newtown Creek, 
 Green Point, L. I., 
 
 Pratt's Oil Works, 
 
 Brooklyn, E. D 
 
 Empire Oil Works, 
 
 Hunter's Point, 
 East River, 
 
 L. I. City, 
 
 Queens Co Oil Works, 
 Newtown Creek, 
 
 Long Island City, 
 Franklin Oil Works, 
 Newtown Creek, 
 Brooklyn, E. D., 
 
 Olophine Oil Co., 
 
 Greenpoint, L. I 
 
 Brooklyn Oil Works, 
 
 Greenpoint, 
 
 Brooklyn, ED 
 
 Central Oil Works, 
 
 66th St., N. Eiver 
 
 Hudson Eiver Oil Works, 
 
 Bull's Ferry, N. J... 
 Locust Hill Oil Works, 
 
 Newtown Creek, 
 Long Island City 
 
 Union Oil Works, 
 
 Brooklyn, E. D 
 
 Washington Oil Works, 
 
 Newtown Creek, 
 Brooklyn, E. D.... 
 
 Wallabout Oil Works, 
 
 Brooklyn, E. D 
 
 Vesta Oil Works, 
 
 Gowanus Creek, 
 
 Brooklyn, 
 
 Peerless Works, 
 
 Brooklyn, S. D., 
 
 Foot of 25th St 
 
 Long Island Oil Works, 
 
 Long Island City.... 
 
 OWNED OR RUN BY. 
 
 Sloan & Fleming, 
 
 159 Front St., N. Y... 
 Chas. Pratt & Co., 
 
 108 Fulton St., N. Y. 
 
 R. W. Burke, 
 
 181 Pearl St., 
 New York.. 
 
 Olophine Oil Co., 
 
 322 Broadway, N. Y 
 
 Wm. A. Byers, 
 
 181 Pearl St., N. Y 
 
 Lombard, Ayres & Co. 
 
 58 Pine St., N. Y 
 
 I. H. Wickes, 
 
 120 Maiden Lane, N.Y... 
 
 I. Donald & Co., 
 
 124 Maiden Lane, N.Y. . . 
 T. Meyer, 
 
 126 Maiden Lane, N.Y... 
 
 Thomas McGoey, 
 
 143 Maiden Lane, N.Y... 
 S. Jenney & Son, 
 Kent Av., foot of Rush St., 
 
 Brooklyn, E. D 
 
 W. & G. F. Gregory, 
 
 125 Maiden Lane, 
 
 New York 
 
 Greo. Sommer I., 
 Jersey City, 
 Cor. Warren & 1st St... 
 Denslow & Bush, 
 128 Maiden Lane, 
 
 New York 
 
 Long Island Oil Co , 
 
 140 Pearl St., N. Y 
 
 Total daily Capacity Bbls 
 
 DAILY CAPACITY. 
 BBLS. OF 43 GALLS. 
 
 1,700 
 1,500 
 
 1,500 
 
 1,000 
 
 600 
 600 
 
 400 
 
 140 
 105 
 
 215 
 280 
 200 
 175 
 
 175 
 
 1,200 
 9,790 
 
STATISTICS OF REFINING, 
 
 317 
 
 EEFINING CAPACITY OF CLEVELAND. 
 
 Statement showing the Refining Capacity of Cleveland, Ohio, and 
 vicinity : 
 
 NAME OF OWNER. 
 
 LOCATION. 
 
 NUMBER BBLS. CRUDE. 
 DAILY CAPACITY. 
 
 Standard Oil Company, . . 
 Hanna, Chapin & Co., . . . 
 
 .. Cleveland, .. 
 
 a 
 
 10,000 Estimated.* 
 732, 40 Gall, to Bbl 
 
 Scofield, Squire & Teagle, 
 Bishop & Heisel, 
 
 tt 
 
 
 675, 42 " " 
 300, " " " 
 
 W. H. Doan, 
 
 t( 
 
 ^\jy 
 
 825, " " " 
 
 Corrigan & Co., 
 
 <t 
 
 ^y 
 200, " " 
 
 * The Standard Oil Company has a Capacity, it is said, of over 10,000 barrels per day. We 
 estimate it, therefore, at this amount. The balance of the statement .is given by the parties 
 named, and may be relied upon. 
 
318 
 
 HISTORY OF PETROLEUM. 
 
 REFINING CAPACITY OF PITTSBURGH. 
 
 Statement showing the daily refining capacity in Pittsburgh and 
 
 vicinity : 
 
 NAME OF REFINERY. 
 
 OWNERS. 
 
 CAPACITY PER DAT. 
 
 Central,* 
 
 Central Refining Co., 
 
 1 165 
 
 Penn, ...... 
 
 H. S. A. Stewart, 
 Standard Oil Co., 
 
 130 
 650 
 
 Iron City, 
 Vesta, 
 
 H. S. A. Stewart, 
 R. S. Waring, . . . 
 
 75 
 335 
 
 Nat'l. Ref. & Storing Co., 
 Keystone, 
 
 Nat'l. Ref. & Storing Co., 
 P. W^isenberger, . 
 
 330 
 65 
 
 Petrol ite, 
 
 Wormsen, Myers & Co., 
 
 130 
 
 
 Braun & Wagner, 
 
 260 
 
 Lily, . 
 
 Brooks, Ballantine & Co. 
 
 100 
 
 Citizens' Co., .... 
 Riverside, 
 
 Citizens' Oil Co., . . 
 Elkins, Bly & Co., . 
 
 400 
 110 
 
 Fairview, 
 
 Alonold Hertz, 
 
 110 
 
 
 L. Irwin & Co , . 
 
 330 
 
 Crystal, 
 
 Livingston Bros., . 
 
 200 
 
 Brilliant, . . . 
 
 Lochart, Frew & Co., 
 
 670 
 
 Model, ...... 
 
 Model Refining Co., . 
 
 260 
 
 Liberty, 
 Star, . . . . . . 
 
 J. A. McKee & Sons, 
 Ralston & Wiring, 
 
 200 
 130 
 
 Empire, 
 
 D. P. Reighard, . . 
 
 60 
 
 Nonpareil, 
 
 Warden & Oxenerd, . 
 
 80 
 
 Hutchison, 
 
 Hutchison Oil Ref. Co., 
 
 200 
 
 
 
 
 
 . 
 
 6,090 
 
 * These works are in course of completion, and will have a capacity as stated. This company 
 has absorbed eight refineries or firms. 
 
STATISTICS OF REFINING. 319 
 
 REFINING CAPACITY OF PHILADELPHIA. 
 
 Statement showing the Refineries in Philadelphia and vicinity, with 
 their respective daily Still Capacity : 
 
 NAME OF WORKS AND 
 LOCATION. 
 
 OWNED OR RUN BY. 
 
 DAILY CAPACITY. 
 BBL8. OF 43 GALS. 
 
 Atlantic, ") 
 Point Breeze . . j 
 Point Breeze, 1 
 Point Breeze . . J 
 Franklin, 
 Gibson Point . . . 
 Phoenix, 
 Gibson Point . 
 
 Warden, Frew & Co., . 
 Stewart, Matthews & Co , 
 J. L. Stewart, . . . 
 M. Lloyd . ... 
 
 665 
 266 
 200 
 133 
 
 Harkness, 
 Gibson Point . . . 
 Monumental, ") 
 Hestonville . . . \ 
 Belmont, 1 
 Hestonville . . . } 
 Reliance, 
 Hestonville . . . 
 Excelsior, 
 Hestonville 
 
 N.W. Harkness, . . 
 Taber, Harbut & Co., . 
 W. L. Elkins, . . . 
 W. D. Heston, . . . 
 
 W. King . 
 
 100 
 100 
 165 
 100 
 100 
 
 Greenwich Refinery, 
 Greenwich . . . 
 Stephen Carr, 
 City . 
 
 Greenwich Oil Co., . . 
 Stephen Carr 
 
 100 
 66 
 
 Victoria, 
 City 
 
 Carson & Conlin, . . 
 
 66 
 
 
 
 2,061 
 
 REFINING CAPACITY OF BALTIMORE, MD. 
 
 Statement showing the Refineries of Baltimore, Md. with their 
 respective daily Still Capacity: 
 
 NAME OF OWNERS. 
 
 NAME OF REFINERY. 
 
 DAILY CAPACITY. 
 BBLS. OF 43 GALS. 
 
 Merritt, Jones & Co., . . 
 Sylvia C Hunt, . . . 
 Robert Read, .... 
 Brown Hamill & Co* 
 
 Janton, 
 Monumental, .... 
 Baltimore, .... 
 
 650 
 
 90 
 30 
 35 
 
 C West & Sons . . . 
 
 
 133 
 
 Newbold & Son . 
 
 Belvidere, 
 
 60 
 
 Carswell & Son, . . . 
 Christopher & Co., . . . 
 
 Rising Sun, .... 
 Patapsco, 
 
 40 
 60 
 
 
 
 1,098 
 
320 
 
 HISTORY OF PETROLEUM. 
 
 REFINING CAPACITY OF ERIE, PA. 
 
 Statement showing the Refineries of Erie, Pa., with their respective 
 daily Still Capacity. Furnished by M. B. Parsons : 
 
 NAME OF OWNERS. 
 
 LOCATION. 
 
 DAILY CAPACITY. 
 BBLS. OF 43 GALS. 
 
 Ira G. Hatch, . . 
 Brown Bros., . . 
 O. C. Thayer & Co., 
 Wallace & Vaughn, 
 M. V. Dawson, . . 
 I. W. Watkins, 
 
 
 
 Near Phila. & 
 on 10th S 
 Sixth Street, 
 Mill Creek, 
 Mill Creek, 
 Mill Creek, 
 Mill Creek, 
 
 E 
 
 t, 
 
 rie 
 
 R.R. 
 
 305 
 430 
 155 
 ' 160 
 98 
 20 
 
 1,168 
 
 BOSTON, MASS. 
 
 The Refining Capacity of Boston, Mass., and vicinity, is esti- 
 mated at 3,500 barrels per day. We have been unable to obtain 
 the names of fhe Refineries or their proprietors, although making 
 every effort to do so. 
 
 BUFFALO, N. Y. 
 
 THE STAR OIL WORKS, owned and operated by Thayer & Rid- 
 dell, No. 385 Hamburg St., Buffalo, has a Still Capacity of nearly 
 two hundred barrels per day. 
 
 Dudley & Co., Buffalo, have a refining Still Capacity of 251 
 barrels per day. A portion of this labor is done at Miller Farm, 
 on Oil Creek, before it is shipped to them at Buffalo. 
 
STATISTICS OP REFINING. 321 
 
 PORTLAND, ME. 
 
 PORTLAND OIL WORKS. 
 
 Portland has one refinery, originally built and used for the 
 manufacture of Coal Oil, with a capacity for working ten thousand 
 tons of coal annually. It was one of the best and most perfect Coal 
 Oil works in the United States, and was among the most extensive. 
 It was the last to give up the manufacture of Coal Oil. 
 
 The Still Capacity of these works is 350 barrels Crude daily. 
 
 WM. ATWOOD, Sup't. 
 
 JAMESTOWN, N. Y. 
 
 MARVIN & CO. OIL WORKS. 
 
 This is a small refining locality, the works being owned by 
 Messrs. Marvin & Co. Their Still Capacity is about 50 barrels 
 per day. 
 
 BINGHAMTON, N. Y. 
 
 Binghamton has a small refinery, the Capacity of which we have 
 been unable to obtain. It is said to be not more than fifty barrels 
 per day. 
 
 21 
 
THE ORIGINAL "DRAKE WELL." 
 
 This was the first Artesian well drilled in the Pennsylvania Oil Region. It was located upon the Watson 
 Flats, below Titusville. and was 09 feet f> inches in depth struck August 2Sth, 1859 and produced twelve barrels 
 nf Oil per day. 
 
SKETCHES. 
 
 PIONEER AND PROMINENT OPERATORS. 
 
 COL. E. L. DRAKE. 
 
 THE subject of this memoir, whose useful life will leave the 
 mark of its individuality upon the events of the nineteenth cen- 
 tury, was born on the 29th of March, 1819, at Greenville, Green 
 County, New York. His parents were poor, but respectable and 
 intelligent people, and earned their living by farming. EDWIN L. 
 was the eldest of two sons their only children. The brother died 
 in the far West about the time Mr. DRAKE'S name was heralded to 
 the world in connection with the first oil well. When the oldest 
 of their sons was about eight years of age, the parents removed to 
 the vicinity of Castleton, Vermont, where they gave their children 
 the benefit of the old-time, New England common-school educa- 
 tion no mean advantage. 
 
 Passing an uneventful childhood, there was, perhaps, but a single 
 incident so indicative of his future useful career as to leave any im- 
 pression on his own mind, or to be worthy of remark in a sketch 
 of his life, and that incident was a dream. It is, of course, only 
 singular in so far that with the superstitious, it is capable of pro- 
 phetic interpretation ; but one can hardly be said to have had any 
 childhood who has not had strange dreams. It was a day-dream 
 not a waking dream, however. He sat upon the wide old porch 
 
 323 
 
324 HISTORY OF PETROLEUM. 
 
 that shaded the entrance to their plain abode. The autumn sun 
 shone down upon his head ; and the autumn breezes, heavy with 
 the fragrance of the fields, lulled him to sleep, and sleeping he 
 dreamt. With his brother in fancy he raked the dry stubbles 
 of the wheat field. Together they tugged and toiled, and after 
 infinite labor they had raked a great stack of straw into a corner, 
 nearly half a mile from the house. Then for a bon-fire ! While 
 his smaller brother watched with gleeful anticipation, EDWIN 
 touched a match to the pile. They watched it a moment in ec- 
 stacies but their mirth was turned to horror when, their stack 
 consumed, the ground continued to blaze and burn ! They exerted 
 all their strength to quench it, but in vain. The devouring flames 
 rose higher and higher. The fire burned deeper and wider. It 
 followed their receding footsteps ; and now, completely terrified, 
 they turned and fled to their mother. When they reached the 
 house, EDWIN, breathless and guilty, buried his face in her lap and 
 confessed the deed. She led him gently to the door, and after 
 watching the flames a moment, she said calmly, and without re- 
 proach : " My son, you have set the world on fire !" 
 
 Nearly thirty years later these words of his mother were recalled 
 by the burning of his oil tanks a few weeks after the first well be- 
 gan to produce. When the tanks burst, and the creeping flames 
 spread over the surface of the creek, he may possibly have enter- 
 tained a momentary suspicion that his mother's words were about 
 to be fulfilled. The incident recalled the dream. 
 
 At the age of nineteen he left home to seek his fortune which 
 meant to go West. Like the majority of emigrants in that lati- 
 tude, his ultimate destination was Michigan, where he had an uncle 
 living. At Buffalo, however, he obtained a situation as night 
 clerk on the steamer Wisconsin, plying between that port and De- 
 troit, where he remained until the season closed, when he went to 
 his uncle's, near Ann Arbor, and worked on a farm for about 
 a year. 
 
 He then procured a situation as a clerk in a hotel at Tecumseh. 
 
COL. E. L. DRAKE. 325 
 
 This was a type of the western hotel of the day, and around the 
 hospitable log fire upon the broad hearth, it is not unlikely that 
 DRAKE caught that droll and happy faculty of story-telling which 
 has ever since been among the genial characteristics of his manner. 
 In this situation he remained two years, acquiring something of 
 that western "push" which was not developed until brought out 
 by the difficulties which beset his labors years later on Oil Creek. 
 
 After leaving Tecumseh he returned to visit his parents in Ver- 
 mont, and was persuaded to remain in the East. 
 
 He next went to New Haven, Connecticut, where he served three 
 years as clerk in a dry-goods store. They were three uneventful 
 years, and in the hope of bettering his prospects he gave up his 
 situation, and obtained a position in one of the retail dry-goods 
 stores on Broadway, New York. While here he married a young 
 woman, whose home was in Springfield, Mass., and soon afterwards 
 falling into a lingering sickness, it became advisable to seek country- 
 air, and they went to Springfield. While there Mr. DRAKE was 
 offered the position of Express Agent on the Boston and Albany 
 Railroad, at a salary of fifty dollars a month, which he accepted, 
 and held the position till 1849, when he resigned it to accept the 
 office of Conductor on the New York and New Haven Railroad, 
 then just opened, which he held nearly ten years, with entire satis- 
 faction to the superior officers of that corporation, and only resigned 
 it to take charge of the developments on Oil Creek in Pennsylva- 
 nia, as described in the opening chapters of this work. 
 
 The position he held on the railroad gave him the opportunity 
 of forming an extensive acquaintance, which his inclinations 
 prompted him to improve. In 1854 his wife died, leaving him 
 one child, two others having already died ; and he broke up the 
 comfortable little home he had provided in New Haven, and went 
 to boarding. 
 
 It was about this time that he made the acquaintance of Jas. M. 
 Townsend, a banker in New Haven, into whose society he was 
 thrown at the Tontine Hotel, where, at the time, both made their 
 
326 
 
 HISTORY OF PETROLEUM. 
 
 home. A few years afterward, when the prospects of the Pennsyl- 
 vania Rock Oil Company were under a shadow, Mr. Townsend, 
 who, amidst the allurements of social intercourse, kept an eye upon 
 business, induced his friend DRAKE to invest a little balance of 
 two hundred dollars which he had in bank, in stock of that cor- 
 poration, and sold him a part of five hundred shares, which he 
 himself held. This was the beginning of his connection with the 
 business which has rendered his name famous. About the first 
 of the year 1857, he married Laura Dow, of New Haven, a young 
 woman of most excellent character, who has ever been to him a 
 friend and guide in prosperity, and a staff and a light in the gloomy 
 days of adversity and want. During the summer of 1857, Mr. 
 DRAKE was compelled by debilitating illness to give up work on 
 the railroad for a couple of months ; but at the same time he was 
 not prostrated, and having at least an " inquiring " interest in the 
 Pennsylvania Rock Oil Company, he began to investigate its pros- 
 pects, and the subject of Petroleum generally. He had leisure for 
 conversation with the directors, of whom his friend Townsend was 
 one, and also president of the board. 
 
 The new idea of developing the property by artesian wells had 
 been suggested some time before, and found in Mr. Asahel Pier- 
 pont, an intelligent and persistent advocate. Business complica- 
 tions forbade the thought of his going to attend to a matter so far 
 away from home, and perhaps the growing dissensions of the com- 
 pany discouraged the hope of efficient action in a legitimate way. 
 The board of directors consisted of five members, three of whom 
 were residents of New Haven, as required by the by-laws adopted, 
 and though representing only a third of the whole stock of the com- 
 pany, they controlled the management of its aifairs. From what 
 followed all of which has been minutely described in the opening 
 chapters of this book it is indisputably clear that the New Haven 
 stockholders were determined to secure to themselves the advan- 
 tages of this new idea. 
 
 In December of the year 1857, Mr. Townsend, then president 
 
COL. E. L. DRAKE. 327 
 
 of the board of directors, engaged Mr. DRAKE to proceed to Ye- 
 nango County, as has been previously stated. He finished his 
 business and returned, enthusiastic to embark in the enterprise 
 which they had projected. 
 
 On the last of the month, the New Haven members of the board 
 a majority and a quorum met and executed a lease of the lands 
 to Mr. Bowditch one of the largest New Haven stockholders- 
 and Mr. DRAKE, the terms of which were remarkably advantageous 
 to the lessees, but which it was found necessary to change before 
 the other members would permit them to go on. 
 
 When all was satisfactorily arranged with the old company, a 
 new corporation was formed called " The Seneca Oil Company," of 
 which Mr. DRAKE was the nominal president, and in which he ap- 
 peared as the principal stockholder. 
 
 In the published articles of association the stock was subscribed 
 as follows : 
 
 SHARES. 
 
 W. A. Ivis, 2680 
 
 E. L. Drake, 8926 
 
 J. F. Marshall, 394 
 
 But of the 8926 shares which were in his name, DRAKE, according 
 to a previous understanding, transferred all but 656 to the other 
 members of "The Pennsylvania Rock Oil Company," and it then 
 stood as follows : 
 
 Asahel Pierpont, 3334 
 
 James M. Townsend, ..... 2785 
 
 William A. Ivis, 2680 
 
 Edwin E. Bowditch, 1630 
 
 E.L.Drake, 656 
 
 Henry L. Pierpont, 521 
 
 J. F. Marshall, 394 
 
 Total, .... 12,000 
 
328 HISTORY OF PETROLEUM. 
 
 This comprised all the New Haven members of The Pennsylvania 
 Rock Oil Company, of which the largest stockholders in the new 
 company, Pierpont, Townsend and Ives, were directors. 
 
 In the following spring Mr. DRAKE set out for Titusville with 
 his little family, and until a house was prepared boarded at the 
 American Hotel. Himself, wife, and two children and a horse, 
 were boarded for six dollars and-a-half per week, where a few 
 years later they would only have been entertained for about twice 
 that amount per day. 
 
 Shortly after arriving he bought a tract of twenty-five acres of 
 land in Titusville, of Jonathan Watson, through the centre of 
 which Drake Street now runs. 
 
 He unfortunately sold this in 1863, realizing about ten thousand 
 dollars by the bargain.* It was shortly afterwards sold for ninety 
 thousand dollars, and must now be worth not less than treble that 
 amount. 
 
 Nothing perhaps better indicates the condition of the little vil- 
 lage, than the fact that a few weeks after his arrival, being in want 
 of a couple of picks and spades, he found there were none to be 
 had short of Meadville or Erie. Though his life at the well was 
 crowded with incidents, they were incidents now too common to be 
 any longer interesting. 
 
 After oil was struck there was some difficulty in obtaining 
 a market for it a difficulty which indeed continued to increase, 
 until in a couple of years' time, it was for a season nearly impossi- 
 ble to sell at any price. There was no room for delay, and relying 
 upon his integrity to shield him from the imputation of improper 
 motives, naturally counting something on his services to the com- 
 pany and his own interest in that company's welfare, he hastened 
 at once to Pittsburgh and contracted to furnish about a third of the 
 oil to S. M. Kier, and, arranged hastily with Mr. Geo. M. Mowbray 
 for the disposal of the rest on commission. 
 
 In 1860, Mr. Bissell proposed a division of the lands in lieu of the 
 
 * See the Sketch of Dr. Atkinson fora detail of this transaction. 
 
COL. E. L. DRAKE. 329 
 
 twelve cents per gallon, royalty, and the Seneca Company thus ob- 
 tained in fee simple one-third of the island which DRAKE after- 
 wards sold for them, for enough to clear them of all indebtedness, 
 though it is doubtful if they made a dime by the whole transac- 
 tion. Indeed they declare they did not. 
 
 In 1860, Drake was elected Justice of the Peace for Titus ville, 
 an office worth about three thousand a year at that time, when 
 every man was rushing to sell or buy leases, the documents for 
 which he mostly drew and acknowledged. At the same time he 
 bought oil for Shiefflin Bros., of New York, and thus increased his 
 income to about five thousand a year. 
 
 In 1863, he sold his property, and left the oil region forever, 
 taking with him between fifteen and twenty thousand dollars, and 
 united himself with some "Wall street broker, in oil stocks. It was 
 a very unfortunate, not to say short-sighted move, for a man with 
 his total ignorance of the manipulation of stocks and with so lim- 
 ited a capital. 
 
 His little fortune was soon engulfed. His health, already im- 
 paired by his labors on the Creek, gave way, and his noble wife 
 now cast about to secure the future. She removed the family to a 
 cheap and quiet abode in Vermont, and hoarded to the last the 
 little she had been able to save from the wreck. 
 
 But his illness lingered and his strength failed, and his physician 
 advised him, if possible, to seek the sea air. A friend kindly 
 offered the use of a cottage on the Highlands-of-Never-Sink, near 
 Long Branch, New Jersey, and thither they removed. But their 
 funds were now exhausted, and their misery began indeed. 
 
 His disease was most agonizing; neuralgic affection of the spine, 
 which constantly threatened paralysis of the lower limbs. He 
 needed constant care, and his wife, surrounded by a family of four 
 helpless children, attempted to keep them in bread by her needle. 
 Sewing she could obtain in plenty, when she could tear herself 
 from other absolute duties, to go after it, tramping through wet 
 meadows, and chill and choking sea-fogs that roll in on that 
 
330 HISTORY OF PETROLEUM. 
 
 dreary point. But with all her noble and uncomplaining effort 
 to keep them in bread without begging, she found it impossible. 
 Medicines were out of the question, and with the greatest difficulty 
 she got together the price of his^fare to New York and back 
 eighty cents and he struggled up to the city to get a situation for 
 his eldest son among some of his old acquaintances. Before return- 
 ing in the afternoon he was met and recognized in the street by 
 Mr. Z. Martin of Titusville, who noticed his wretched appearance, 
 and drew from him the story of their misery. 
 
 . Mr. Martin, after providing him with a warm dinner, of which 
 he stood sorely in need (for above the money to pay his fare he had 
 not enough to pay for a cup of coffee, and he was weak from hun- 
 ger), gave him twenty dollars, and cheered ' him with the hope of 
 raising a fund for him in the oil region. No sooner was his dis- 
 tress made known, than with a generosity for which they have ever 
 been famed, the citizens of Titus ville, with some aid from indi- 
 viduals throughout the region, raised four thousand two hundred 
 dollars for his relief; which wisely enough was committed to the 
 management of Mrs. Drake, who has frugally hoarded it, and yet 
 continued to meet a part of the family expenses with the wages of 
 her needle. 
 
 In 1870, on the advice of his physician, she removed her invalid 
 husband and three smallest children, to Bethlehem, near Allen- 
 town, in this State, where they are still living, beloved and respected 
 by a large circle of friends who have gathered about them. 
 
 In conclusion, we have the pleasure to record the fact that the 
 Legislature of Pennsylvania, at its session in 1873, deemed it pro- 
 per to pass a law which grants to Col. DRAKE a pension of fifteen 
 hundred dollars a year during life, or that of his wife. This is 
 not charity, but simple justice. 
 
Wooin.ur.TtTpi'. A. P. It. P. Co., IMiihi 
 
 CAPT. A. B. FUNK 
 
CAPT. A. B. FUNK. 331 
 
 CAPT. A. B. FUNK Deceased. 
 
 TITUSVILLE, PA. 
 
 AMONG the many noted, and successful pioneer operators, in the 
 Pennsylvania Oil Region, Capt. A. B. FUNK, merits distinction 
 and prominence. He was a man of superior intellectual acquire- 
 ments and yet a fair type of the hardy settlers of the wilds of that 
 portion of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. When the oil 
 developments at Titusville became a reality, Capt. FUNK was 
 among the first to enter into the new enterprise, lending to it the 
 whole force of his character and ample wealth. We regret we have 
 not the data at hand for a completed history of his eventful life; for 
 few men, active as he was, in the earlier years of the development 
 of petroleum in the Pennsylvania oil fields, deserve so generous a 
 remembrance. Such facts as we have, however, we make use of, 
 more for the purposes of a tribute to his memory, than a detailed 
 sketch of his life. 
 
 Capt. A. B. FUNK was a native of West Newton, Westmoreland 
 County, Pa., born in 1811, and grew to man's estate in his native 
 town. His earlier years were devoted to commercial pursuits, in 
 which he earned for himself an enviable character for integrity, 
 and an unblemished repute for uprightness and honesty. Later in 
 life he engaged extensively in the lumber trade on the Youghiogheny 
 River building and running small steamers upon its waters and 
 here, we infer, he obtained his title of " Captain." 
 
 In the spring of 1848, he had superintending charge of the con- 
 struction of a lock and dam, known as "the Upper Lock and 
 Dam," on the Youghiogheny Slackwater Improvement. During 
 the same summer he began the construction of a large side-wheel 
 steamer, intended for the Youghiogheny river trade. This vessel, 
 called " THE FARMER," he completed in 1850, but when launched, 
 
332 HISTORY OF PETROLEUM. 
 
 she proved to be of too heavy draft, and he was compelled to run 
 her on the Ohio and Mississippi rivers. The management and 
 care of this steamboat enterprise required his almost constant atten- 
 tion, and necessarily, he was, during the season of navigation at 
 least, away from his home in West Newton. But the enterprise 
 was abundantly successful, and he continued his connection with it, 
 until the fall of 1851, when he disposed of his vessel, having pre- 
 viously determined to purchase timber lands in Western Pennsyl- 
 vania, and engage in the manufacture of lumber. In pur- 
 suance of this predetermined, and we may add, well considered 
 enterprise, he soon after the sale of his steamer, in 1851, purchased 
 of Judge Warner, of Allegheny City, a large tract of timbered 
 lands, located in Deerfield Township, Warren County, Pa. In 
 March, 1852, with his family, he removed to his new home, then 
 in the wilds of this portion of the commonwealth, and entered in- 
 dustriously upon the work before him. He continued his lumber- 
 ing operations until the spring and summer of 1859 meantime 
 largely increasing his capital and his products as well. When oil 
 was discovered at Titusville, in 1859, he was among the largest 
 lumber manufacturers of that region, and his enterprise has been 
 abundantly successful. 
 
 In the fall of 1859, Capt. FUNK purchased from the original 
 proprietor, David McElhenny, his farm of less than one hundred 
 acres, paying him $1,500 for it McElhenny reserving one 
 quarter of the oil ! In the spring of 1860, the first well, " The 
 Fountain Well," was commenced upon the property, "spring pole " 
 power being used, until a depth of 260 feet had been attained. It 
 was late in the fall of 1860, and winter and spring of 1861, when 
 the " spring hole " was abandoned, and a small boiler and engine, 
 procured to complete the drilling. "The Fountain Well," was 
 completed in May 186L, and started oif at 300 barrels per day ! 
 
 THIS WAS THE FIRST WELL IN THE PENNSYLVANIA OlL REGION, 
 DRILLED TO THE THIRD SAND ROCK ! 
 
 The development of this farm, always known as " The Lower 
 
CAPT. A. B. FUNK. 333 
 
 McElhenny," was rapidly prosecuted by Capt. FUNK, and by 
 lessees, under him, and it is needless to say it was among the most 
 bountiful producers of that early day. Its wonderful product 
 during Capt. FUNK'S ownership, and the handsome sum received for 
 the property in 1864, netted a princely fortune to its owner. Very 
 many of the lessees and operators realized large fortunes from their 
 investments, and retired to more inviting homes. 
 
 Early in 1864, Capt. FUNK sold his oil lands and property, in- 
 cluding the lower McElhenny farm, to " The McElhenny Oil 
 Company," for $100,000 ! This, after realizing from it, in profits, 
 during his four years' ownership, more " hundreds of thousands of 
 dollars," than we care to mention. The sale of this property 
 practically terminated his career as an oil producer. During 
 1863, he disposed of his lumber-lands, steam-mills, &c., in Deer- 
 field Township, and had removed to Titusville, Pa., where he sub- 
 sequently built a substantial residence, which he lived in until his 
 death, and which his widow still owns and occupies. 
 
 The later years of Capt. FUNK'S life were spent in doing good. 
 He was ever a noble-hearted, generous man ; always ready to aid 
 those who deserved it. We might give many instances of his lib- 
 erality and generosity to individuals and to communities, but we 
 must content ourselves with a rehearsal of only a few. 
 
 At " Steam Mills," Deerfield township, where Capt. FUNK first 
 settled in 1852, are monuments of his liberality and enterprise that 
 speak volumes for the goodness and kindness of his heart. In 
 1861, he built a substantial church edifice, paying every dollar of 
 its cost himself. Did his neighbors supply timber, lumber, stone, 
 or labor, he insisted upon the payment of their bills, and would 
 allow no one to be called upon for assistance to complete it. This 
 church, when it was ready for use, with five acres of land surround- 
 ing it, he presented by warranty deed, to the Methodist Episcopal 
 Society of Deerfield, and it is held and occupied by them to this 
 day. Later, he built a school-house, in the same locality, and 
 supplied it with an extensive library these two bounties cost him 
 
334 HISTORY OP PETROLEUM. 
 
 in all, not less than $10,000. Nor did he confine his generosity 
 in this respect to his immediate neighborhood. He gave bountifully 
 to churches and public schools about him, and seemed always 
 anxious so to do. 
 
 During the winter of 1859, Hon. JNO. FERTIG, now Mayor of 
 Titusville, and a producer of prominence, was employed to teach 
 the district school in Capt. FUNK'S locality. The District paid 
 him "$18 per month and board." Capt. FUNK generously added 
 $18 per month more, and towards spring presented Mr. FERTIG 
 a sizeable lease upon the Lower McElhenny Farm, upon which that 
 gentleman, in 1861, put down a well, the product and profit from 
 which became the basis of his subsequent success and later ample 
 wealth. 
 
 Capt. FUNK died on the 2d day of August, 1864, universally 
 mourned by all who knew him. His record was that of a good 
 man. He was kind and generous to the poor, liberal in aid of his 
 less fortunate neighbors and friends, and ever ready to assist those 
 struggling with adversity and misfortune. But above, and beyond 
 all, he was AN HONEST MAN true to his destiny, true to his fel- 
 lows, true to himself, and faithful and devoted to his family. His 
 religious convictions were the results of a life-time of eventful ex- 
 periences, and these were "a shield and buckler" to him in his dying 
 hour. He passed away quietly and peacefully, beloved and 
 lamented by a large circle of devoted friends and bereaved relatives 
 and kinsmen, in the fifty-third year of his age. 
 
Woodlmvvtvpe. A. P. R. !'. Co.. I'hvl 
 
 HENRY R. ROUSE. 
 
HENRY R. BOUSE. 335 
 
 HENRY R. R.OUSE, Deceased. 
 
 ENTERPRISE, WAR11EN CO., PA. 
 
 THE tragic death of this gentleman, which occurred at an oil well 
 he was part owner of, upon the Jno. Buchanan farm, at Rouseville, 
 in 1861, has lent an interest to his short career in the oil region at 
 once remarkable and melancholy. The likeness herewith given of 
 him was taken some years previous to his death, but those who 
 knew him while he lived will recognize its truthfulness. 
 
 HENRY R. ROUSE was a native of Westfield, Chautauqua 
 County, New York, where he was born, on the 24th day of Au- 
 gust, 1824. Very little is known of his earlier years, beyond the 
 fact that he was kept at school until he was twelve years of age. 
 Thence he was sent two terms to the select school at Jamestown, 
 N. Y. Returning to "Westfield, he entered the academy there, 
 and continued his studies a year or two, and before he attained his 
 majority commenced to read law, in the office of a Mr. Dixon, 
 then, as now, a practicing attorney of note in Westfield. He re- 
 mained here preparing himself for his chosen profession, two years. 
 Laying this aside temporarily, he engaged in teaching a district 
 school in the town of Ripley, in the same county, for one winter. 
 At the close of his school he received $100 for his services, and 
 seemed at this time to have changed his determination. It is said 
 a slight impediment in his speech absolutely overcome when he 
 became interested determined him to abandon the law as a profes- 
 sion. He did not return to his law studies, but in company with 
 a friend, named Brigham, resolved to go into mercantile and lum- 
 ber pursuits in the wilds of western Pennsylvania. Procuring a 
 number of letters of recommendation from friends at Westfield, 
 
336 HISTORY OF PETROLEUM. 
 
 with his friend Brigham, and $100 in cash, he proceeded to the 
 city of New York and purchased a considerable stock of dry goods, 
 groceries, &c., and in a few months after, we find him located at 
 Enterprise, Warren Co., Pa., five miles from Titusville, in the full 
 tide of success as a busy, industrious merchant and lumber dealer. 
 This was about the year 18445. He was not then far from 
 twenty years of age. He continued in the lumber and mercantile 
 trade for a few years, when he disposed of his store and goods and 
 gave his undivided attention to his large lumber enterprises. He 
 prospered beyond his sanguine hopes, and was known as a clear- 
 headed, comprehensive and successful lumber man. 
 
 In the fall of 1858, he was nominated by the republican party 
 of Warren County for representative in the General Assembly, and 
 was elected by a flattering majority serving in the legislatures of 
 1859, and 1860 for he was re-elected in 1859. His career in 
 this responsible position was marked by the same vigor, industry 
 and integrity as had characterized him in the conduct of his pri- 
 vate affairs. He was incorruptible in his legislative action, and 
 supported or opposed every measure presented to him upon his own 
 convictions of right. He attained prominence among the leading 
 members of the legislature of that period, and was known and ac- 
 knowledged by all, as an honest man, a high-toned gentleman, and 
 an incorruptible law-maker. 
 
 His election was opposed by Mr. Jonathan Watson, of Titus- 
 ville, with considerable bitterness and effect. After the session had 
 closed, Mr. Watson met Mr. ROUSE, and proffered him his friend- 
 ship, desiring to have the " old score " obliterated. " I can forget 
 and forgive all but one thing," said Mr. ROUSE. "What's that?" 
 said Mr. Watson. " Your story during the election," said ROUSE, 
 with a knowing wink to the bystanders "that I was a crazy 
 spiritualist ! I'll never forgive you that, if I find that you set ike 
 story in motion ! " 
 
 The rumor was in circulation, we are told, but Mr. Watson was 
 not responsible for its currency, and the old score was cleared oif, 
 
HENRY R. ROUSE. 337 
 
 and Mr. Watson was ever afterwards a warm personal friend and 
 admirer of HENRY R. ROUSE. 
 
 When in 1859 and '60, the oil excitement burst upon the quiet 
 of " the Creek," and the country adjacent, Mr. ROUSE was yet an 
 extensive land owner and lumberman at Enterprise. He was not 
 long in taking the inspiration of the hour, and with his partners, Sam. 
 Q. Brown and John Mitchel, of Franklin, Pa., in September, 1859, 
 secured leases of the two Buchanan farms at Rouseville. In October 
 following he had completed one well upon the Barnsdall farm near 
 Titusville ; and another upon one of the Buchanan farms, near 
 Rouseville. This was the commencement of his career as an oil 
 producer. Fully convinced of the value of the discovery, he, with 
 his partners before named, began a general investment in oil 
 lands, and as the result proved, were soon the owners of large 
 tracts of the best oil territory then, or years later, developed. 
 Wealth poured in upon him in fabulous volume; and as yet, 
 the territory he was interested in, was but partially developed. His 
 connection with the early developments of oil in western Penn- 
 sylvania began late in 1859, and terminated with his terrible death 
 on the 17th of April, 1861 about eighteen months in all. During 
 this brief period he had established a character for energy, industry 
 and boldness in his operations, that won for him universal admira- 
 tion and general prominence. It has been remarked by one who 
 knew him well, that had he lived, "he would have been a giant or 
 a bankrupt in the oil business." With him, however, as with Car- 
 dinal Richelieu, there was " no such word as fail." Daring his brief 
 career as an oil operator and producer he had laid foundations of a 
 great fortune, and up to the day of his death his accumulations 
 continued to increase with wonderful rapidity. 
 
 The facts and detailed circumstances attending his death, we ob- 
 tain mainly, from Mr. GEO. H. DIMICK, at that time his confi- 
 dential clerk and cashier, and a relative of the family. We give 
 them mainly in Mr. DIMICK'S own language : 
 
 "Just after supper on the evening of April 17th, 1861, Mr. 
 22 
 
338 HISTORY OF PETROLEUM. 
 
 ROUSE, Mr. PERRY, Mr. BUEL and myself and others were in the 
 sitting-room of Anthony's Hotel, (now Cherry Run Hotel,) discus- 
 sing the fall of Fort Sumter, (the nearest railroad point at that 
 time being Union Mills and Garland, and news from the outside 
 world requiring from two to three days to reach us,) when a laborer 
 on the fatal well hurried into the room to say that a monstrous vein 
 of oil had been struck and barrels were wanted to preserve it. 
 
 All ran to the well with the exception of myself, and I not seeing 
 the man who attended to the distribution of barrels, started in the 
 opposite direction for teams to haul the necessary packages. I had 
 completed my errand and was on a full run for the well with less 
 than twenty rods to make, . when an explosion occurred which 
 nearly took me from my feet. On the instant an acre of ground with 
 two wells and their tankage, a barn and a large number of barrels 
 of oil were in flames, and from the circumference of this circle of 
 fire could be seen the unfortunate lookers-on of a. moment before, 
 rushing out, enveloped in a sheet of flame which extended far above 
 their heads, and which was fed by the oil thrown upon their cloth- 
 ing by the explosion. Scenes followed each other, and occurred 
 simultaneously, beggaring both description and imagination. One 
 poor wretch struggled out of the fire, believing himself to be in the 
 hands of the evil one. His charred and naked figure was speedily 
 placed in a blanket, and he was borne from the place. He lamented 
 
 his supposed arrival in , in piercing tones of agony, which 
 
 proceeded from lips burned to a cinder, and hence powerless to give 
 proper accent to his language. He bemoaned his own fate, and call- 
 ing the names of various friends warned them of his own terrible 
 punishment. Death ensued in four hours. 
 
 Above the well and against the foot of the hill had been rolled 
 two long tiers of barrels. One of the victims it would seem had 
 been standing on these barrels near the well when the explosion 
 occurred ; for I first discovered him running over them away from 
 the well. He had hardly reached the outer edge of the field of fire, 
 when coming to a vacant space in the tier of barrels from which 
 
HENEY B. ROUSE. 339 
 
 two or three had been taken, he fell into the vacancy, and there 
 uttering heart-rending shrieks, burned to death with scarcely a 
 dozen feet of impassable heated air between him and his friends. 
 
 So numerous were the victims of this fire and so conspicuous, as 
 they rushed out, enveloped in flame, that it would not be exaggera- 
 tion to compare them to a rapid succession of shots from an im- 
 mense Roman candle. 
 
 Before speaking of ROUSE, a word about the well. It had pro- 
 duced oil for some time from the first sand rock, but failing there, 
 was being drilled deeper in search of another oil-bearing formation. 
 Its location was near the upper line of the John Buchanan farm on 
 flie east side of Oil Creek, and back at the junction of the bottom 
 land^with a steep hill. A few rods up the hill, and a little south 
 of the well -issued a spring, which had formed a small ravine in 
 running down, and created something of a swamp at the bottom 
 and around the well. The well must have commenced flowing (as 
 measurements of other later wells would prove,) at the rate of three 
 thousand barrels per day, and although but eighteen or twenty 
 minutes of flowing preceded the explosion yet the little swamp 
 was covered deep with oil, excepting several small elevations on 
 which the astonished spectators were standing when the shock oc- 
 curred. Had this catastrophe happened even ten minutes later it is 
 .safe to say its victims would have been quadrupled ; for word of the 
 strike had spread with the rapidity of thought, and hundreds were 
 running in breathless anxiety to behold it. 
 
 Mr. ROUSE standing probably within twenty feet of the well and 
 among the very nearest of the spectators did not lose possession of 
 his mind for an instant. He remembered the ravine, and dashed 
 toward it. In the breast-pocket of his coat was a book containing 
 valuable papers, and in the pocket of his pantaloons a wallet con- 
 taining a large sum of money. These he jerked from their places 
 and threw far outside of the fire, where they were afterwards found 
 in safety. He had accomplished but half a dozen steps when he 
 stumbled and fell, still being within the circuit of fire. He buried 
 
340 HISTORY OF PETROLEUM. 
 
 his face in the mud to prevent inhalation of the flames ; then recov- 
 ering himself bounded again up the ravine, falling a second time 
 completely exhausted at a point where two men barely endured the 
 heat long enough to seize and drag him forth. He was taken to a 
 shanty near by, placed upon the bed of a workman, and gasped 
 through five hours of excruciating agony before death gave relief. 
 His body from the top of his head down the back and legs to the 
 knees was burned to a crisp. The front of his person being less 
 exposed was less seriously injured, but the face and feet were the 
 only portions so far escaping, as to remain in any degree natural. 
 The former was partially protected by the ground when he fell, 
 and the latter by high-topped boots. Of his clothing, which was 
 very heavy, but a handful of shreds remained. 
 
 ROUSE during the period of consciousness, which lasted up to 
 within an hour of his death, maintained a coolness of manner most 
 astonishing, and neither by word or action betrayed his terrible 
 bodily suffering. With the precision and unconcern of a man with- 
 out a care he dictated a will concise in terms and correct in lan- 
 guage, and this, too, while being obliged to have water given him 
 with a spoon not only at the end, but in the middle of every sen- 
 tence. The bulk of his estate was bequeathed in trust to the Com- 
 missioners of Warren Co., one half of the proceeds to be applied to 
 the improvement of the public roads. The proceeds of the other 
 half for the benefit of the poor. Suitable bequests were made to 
 all his relatives, and some of his intimate friends also found them- 
 selves remembered. We publish herewith a copy of this remarka- 
 ble Will, certified by the E-egister of Warren county. 
 
 LAST WILL AND TESTAMENT OF HENRY R. ROUSE. 
 
 IN THE NAME OF GOD, AMEN : 
 
 I, HENRY R. ROUSE, being as I believe near my last moments, but sound in 
 mind, do make this my last Will and Testament. 
 
 1st. My Executors to be George H. Dimick, Samuel D. Rouse and Samuel Q. 
 Brown. 
 
 2d. I bequeath to my father, Samuel D. Rouse, Five Hundred Dollars per year, 
 during his lifetime. 
 
HENRY R. ROUSE. 341 
 
 3d. Rouse & Mitchell hold the notes of A. Skinner and Allen Wright for Twenty- 
 five hundred dollars. My half I bequeath to them ; they are having hard enough 
 times, without having to pay the notes. 
 
 4th. All the Lessees of Rouse & Mitchell, and Rouse, Mitchell & Brown, I want to 
 have their leases at one-half the oil, and I bequeath to them all of my share of said 
 rents over the one-half the product of the wells as now stipulated to be paid in their 
 respective leases. 
 
 5th. I bequeath to George H. Dimick Two Thousand Dollars, for the use of him- 
 self and his mother, to be paid out the residue when my estate is settled up. 
 
 6th. To John Mitchell I bequeath my black mare. 
 
 7th. I have the Sheriff's Deed of the Store and Dwelling House occupied by Thos. 
 Morean. I bequeath said property to his two youngest children, Eva and Maggie. 
 Their father to have the use of it until they come of age. 
 
 8th. I bequeath the residue of my estate, after making some other bequests, to the 
 Commissioners of Warren -County, the interest of it to be expended on the roads of 
 said County, after I make some other bequests. 
 
 9th. I have a little namesake, Harry Rouse, in East Granby, Connecticut. I be- 
 qifeath to him Five hundred dollars. I cannot think of his name. His mother is the 
 daughter of Joel C. Rouse ; his name is Harry Rouse Victs. 
 
 10th. David H. Taylor, I bequeath to him Five hundred dollars. 
 
 12th. I bequeath to my aunt, Clara C. Hart, Five hundred dollars. 
 
 13th. I bequeath to Miron Waters, Five hundred dollars, to be paid when my es- 
 tate is settled up. 
 
 14th. I also bequeath Five hundred dollars to my hired boy, Miron Dunham, to 
 be paid when my estate is settled up. 
 
 15th. I wish to change the object of the bequest contained in No. 8, so as to give 
 the benefit of one-half of it to the poor of Warren County. It is given in trust to 
 the County Commissioners for that purpose. 
 
 16th. To Almedia Arnold I bequeath Two Hundred dollars. 
 
 17th. To Joel C. Rouse, of Saratoga, N. Y.,I bequeath Three hundred dollars. 
 
 ISth. I bequeath to Mrs. Morean, wife of Thomas Morean, Three hundred dollars. 
 
 19th. Two gentlemen carried me out of the fire. I bequeath them each one hun- 
 dred dollars. 
 
 20th. Let my funeral be without display. No funeral sermon to be preached. 
 Bury me by the side of my mother at Westfield. 
 
 21st. I have a beautiful picture, an engraving, in Herstfield's store, at Pittsburgh. 
 I bequeath it to William Hirst, of Meadville. 
 
 22d. I bequeath my library to my father. 
 
 23d. I bequeath my wardrobe to Mrs. Thomas Morean. 
 
 I have nothing more to add at present. I authorize all who are here present to 
 witness the foregoing as my last Will and Testament. 
 
 In testimony that the foregoing is the last Will and Testament of HENRY R. 
 ROUSE, and at his request, we the undersigned hereby sign the same in his presence, 
 in Cornplanter Township, Venango County, this seventeenth day of April, A. D. one 
 thousand eight hundred and sixty-one. 
 
 his N. F. JONES, 
 
 HENKY R. H ROUSE. ALLEN WRIGHT, 
 
 mark. Physician in attendance, S. S. CHRISTY, 
 
 Z. MARTIN, 
 W. B. WILLIAMS, 
 
 W. H. KlNTER. 
 
342 HISTORY OF PETROLEUM. 
 
 ROUSE was a man of peculiar religious views ; while entertain- 
 ing exalted ideas of the Creator and Ruler of the universe, he yet 
 deprecated the popular forms of worship. Fear of the present or 
 of the life to come had no place in his heart. After the completion 
 of his will and but little more than an hour this side of the grave, 
 a preacher friend standing in the little group watching his fading 
 life, desired to administer religious consolation. Mr. ROUSE re- 
 plied : " My account is already made up. If I am a debtor, it 
 would be cowardly to ask for credits now. I do not wish to dis- 
 cuss the matter." 
 
 The well burned three days before it could be extinguished, 
 which was finally done by smothering it with manure and earth. 
 Its appearance wMle burning was grand. From the driving 
 pipe, six inches in diameter, to the height of sixty or seventy feet 
 arose a solid column of oil and gas burning brilliantly. Above 
 this hovered an immense cloud of black smoke, which would seize 
 sections of the ascending flames, and rolling over and over, first ex- 
 posing to the view cloud, and then flame, would rise a hundred feet 
 higher before the flame would fade out. From the main column 
 below, millions of individual drops of oil would shoot off at an 
 angle and then turning the arc of a circle drop burning to the 
 ground, presenting all the hues of the rainbow making a scene like 
 enchantment. The whole accompanied by a roar hardly inferior 
 to that made by Niagara Falls. 
 
 Of the little group of eight sitting in the hotel at the time word 
 of the well was brought, Mr. Dimick was the only one escaping in- 
 jury, and ROUSE was the only one burned to death. 
 
 The disaster, although so mournful, was not wholly destitute of 
 ridiculous incidents. One woman' in an agony of fear, rushed 
 nearly across Oil Creek through water waist-deep, ere she realized 
 the situation ; and a man of strong religious convictions, climbed one 
 hundred and fifty feet of the hill in rear of the well, before he could 
 understand that it was not the day of judgment which ne was 
 making such good time in getting away from. 
 
HENRY R. ROUSE. 343 
 
 The evening of the fire was damp and murky, and the gas, 
 issuing from the well crept along the ground like fog in a valley. 
 All fires in the immediate neighborhood had been extinguished, 
 and ignition undoubtedly occurred from a boiler eight or ten rods 
 distant. The amount of gas escaping from the well, and the con- 
 dition of the atmosphere, made explosion almost a certainty, and it 
 is believed that fire anywhere within a distance of thirty or forty 
 rods up or down the bottom land, would sooner or later have been 
 reached with a result much more terrible. 
 
 Rumor has often charged Mr. ROUSE with smoking a cigar 
 which caused the explosion. This we know to be false, from his 
 own statement of the direction from which the explosion originated, 
 and the extreme care which he invariably took in banishing cigars 
 and pipes from the immediate vicinity of the wells. 
 
 Nineteen persons lost their lives by this fire, as follows: 
 Henry R. Rouse, Enterprise, Pa. ; W. S. Skinner, Wattsburg, 
 Pa. ; James Walker, Butler Co., Pa. ; George Hayes, Chautauqua 
 Co., N. Y. ; Albert Gardner, Pontiac, Mich. ; Judson Mason, New 
 York State; G. W. Bentley, Harlansburg, Pa,; and Philander 
 Stevens, Chautauqua Co., N. Y. Badly burned: Levi Walker, 
 Butler County, Pa. ; S. Houston Walker, Pittsburgh, Pa. ; John 
 Resiling, Chautauqua County, N. Y. ; Easton (fatally;) White- 
 son, Oneida County, N. Y. ; Constant Burnell, Erie County, Pa. ; 
 James Perry, Utica, N. Y. ; (fatally :) Smith Cushing, Sherman, 
 JN". Y. ; Thomas Page, Mercer Co., Pa. ; J. G. Stratton, Crawford 
 Co., Pa. ; James Smith, Yenango Co., Pa. ; James Johnson, Mer- 
 cer Co., Pa. ; Archibald Montgomery, Venango Co., Pa. ; Willis 
 Benedict, Warren County, Pa. ; Lockwood, Michigan ; Au- 
 gustus Cummings, orphan boy, fatally ; Buel, Utica, N. Y. ; 
 
 Jos. Floyd, Utica, N. Y. ; (fatally ;) J. A. Kent, Chautauqua Co., 
 N. Y. ; John Glass, Butler Co., Pa. ; Geo. Glass, Henry Chase, 
 Mr. Burly and a few others slightly burned. In all nineteen per- 
 sons lost their lives, and eight or ten were disfigured or maimed 
 for life. 
 
344 HISTORY OF PETROLEUM. 
 
 Thus perished HENRY R. ROUSE, by a fearful disaster which 
 swept from the habitations of men, nineteen human beings, half of 
 them without note or warning, and almost in a twinkling of an eye. 
 The explosion was instantaneous, and death to a majority of its vic- 
 tims was sudden and painless. The large number who surviveckthe 
 catastrophe, and who yet live, bear the marks of the terrible con- 
 flagration about their persons. 
 
 HENRY R. ROUSE was a little more than 38 years of age when 
 this fatal accident came upon him. From a feeling tribute to his 
 memory, written by a kinsman, and published in the Warren (Pa.) 
 Mail, of May 4, 1861, we transcribe the following truthful esti- 
 mate of his leading characteristics : 
 
 " Mr. ROUSE was distinguished for many noble traits of char- 
 acter. Foremost among these were energy and decision. He was 
 rather small in stature, and of light frame, but the energy of his 
 will, carried him forward to the accomplishment of his object, 
 through difficulties and over obstacles that would have deterred 
 common men. To this he owed his success in life. He never 
 knew fear. To resolve was to execute, and his business capacities 
 were of the brightest order. He was emphatically the architect of 
 his own fortune. He was a man of a noble public spirit. There 
 was no enterprise by which the public were to be benefited, the re- 
 sources of the region developed, facility of intercourse increased, in 
 which he was not interested. He spent much time, labor and 
 money opening and improving roads, constructing bridges, and 
 helping on every work which tended to develop the wealth of the 
 new region about him. How dear to him was the accomplishment 
 of these is evident from his will, which appropriated one-half of 
 his property, after the payment of legacies, to the construction and 
 improvement of roads and bridges in Warren County. 
 
 He was a man of much literary taste and culture, and a great 
 reader. The impulse which he received in this direction in ' his 
 academical course was never lost. He kept himself informed of 
 
HENRY R. HOUSE. 345 
 
 the affairs of the nation, and had collected a large library of stan- 
 dard works in history and general literature. 
 
 He was a man of warm impulses and strong personal attachments. 
 He loved his friends with his whole heart, and never forgot them ; 
 and he greatly enjoyed friendly and social intercourse with them. 
 Having no family of his own, he was continually showing kind- 
 nesses to families and children of his neighbors, making them pre- 
 sents, taking them to ride ; and he surprised a number of his little 
 friends by legacies in his will. Many of his early friends were 
 thus remembered ; and to each of the persons who picked him up, 
 when insensible, and carried him to a place of safety, he gave a 
 legacy of $100. 
 
 To the poor he was proverbially liberal, dispensing his favors 
 with a lavish hand. Many are the anecdotes current of his timely 
 and sympathizing aid. He never forgot that he himself was once poor, 
 and he had a strong sympathy for indigent merit, and always lent 
 with an open hand to its encouragement; and in his will he showed 
 the liberality of his heart by giving one-half of his princely fortune 
 for the support of the poor of Warren County. He was loved by 
 all who knew him ; and in his death Warren County lost a most 
 valuable and public-spirited citizen, his fellow-townsmen an ener- 
 getic and liberal-minded business man, the cause of virtue and 
 sound morals a firm supporter, and the poor a sympathizing and 
 most helpful friend." 
 
346 HISTORY OF PETROLEUM. 
 
 GEORGE H. BISSELL. 
 
 NEW YORK CITY. 
 
 AMONG the earliest of the early pioneers of the Western Penn- 
 sylvania Oil Region, GEORGE H. BISSELL, of New York city, 
 must take a leading and a prominent place. We show clearly in suc- 
 ceding sketches and by historical data, that petroleum was gathered 
 upon the Watson Flats near Titusville, and at McClintockville, 
 just above Oil City, as early as 1840, and so on down to 1856-7-8 
 and '59. It however remained to Mr. BISSELL to give force and 
 effect, and final triumph in developing this world-renowned bene- 
 faction. 
 
 The facts, as we give them below, are obtained from reliable 
 data, and are given without fear of contradiction. But first of Mr. 
 BISSELL'S early history. 
 
 GEORGE H. BISSELL was born at Hanover, New Hampshire. 
 He is descended from a family of Norman-French origin, which 
 came from Somersetshire, England. His mother came of Belgic 
 and Holland descent. One of his ancestors was the first settler at 
 Windsor, Connecticut, in 1628. The late Governor Clark Bissell, 
 of Connecticut, and Governor William H. Bissell, of Illinois, were 
 relatives. 
 
 About the age of twelve years his father died, and GEORGE was 
 thrown upon his own resources for support. He has gained educa- 
 tion and fortune, bnt never by the aid of a dollar from any one. 
 While at school and college he supported himself by teaching and 
 writing for magazines and papers. In the business struggle, it has 
 been his own energy and talents which have won the victory. 
 
 Some two years were spent at the Military School at Norwich, 
 Vermont; another period at Kimball Union Academy, at Meriden, 
 
tt-oodburjtvpe. A. V. \i. P. Co., I'hila. 
 
 GEORGE H. BISSELL. 
 
GEORGE H. BISSELL. . 347 
 
 New Hampshire, and he was graduated at Dartmouth College in 
 1845. For about two months he held the professorship of the 
 Greek and Latin languages at the University at Norwich, but re- 
 signed on account of the inadequate salary. 
 
 Going to Washington, D. C., he was employed during the winter 
 of 1845-6, as correspondent of the Richmond Whig. In the spring 
 of 1846 he went to Cuba, and thence to New Orleans, where he 
 became connected with the editorial department of the New Orleans 
 Delta. For several years thereafter he contributed largely to the 
 columns of the different papers of that city. 
 
 In 1846, on the organization of the High School, Mr. BISSELL 
 was elected its first Principal, over many competitors. Subse- 
 quently he was chosen Superintendent of the Public Schools in 
 New Orleans. His remarkable administrative ability, and high 
 qualifications as a scholar, were of great service in his onerous 
 position. The schools reached a discipline and prosperity before 
 unknown. Amid the pressure of official and editorial duties, he 
 still found opportunity to study law and several of the modern lan- 
 guages. In the summeriof 1853 -impaired health compelled him 
 to come to the North. 
 
 It was during this year that Mr. BISSELL'S attention was first 
 called to Petroleum. He saw, at the office of Professor Crosby, of 
 Dartmouth College, a bottle of petroleum, given Professor Crosby 
 by Doctor Brewer, of Titusville, Pennsylvania, found upon his 
 (Doctor Brewer's) land on Oil Creek. He became greatly inter- 
 ested in the product, and, about six months after, sent to Titusville, 
 Mr. J. G. Eveleth, who was then, and had been previously, his 
 partner in other business. They bought together, what were then 
 thought to be the principal oil-lands of Pennsylvania. The lands 
 were in extent one hundred acres in* fee simple, and one hundred 
 and twelve acres on lease for ninety-nine years, on Oil Creek, about 
 two and a half miles below Titusville, for which they paid five 
 thousand dollars. In 1854 they organized "The Pennsylvania 
 Rock Oil Company/' which was the first petroleum company in 
 the United States. 
 
148 
 
 HISTORY OF PETROLEUM. 
 
 This Company was organized under the laws of New York, with 
 a nominal capital of $500,000, most of the stock being owned and 
 retained by Messrs. EVELETH and BISSE L, who were its officers. 
 
 The Company proceeded to develop the lands by trenching them, 
 and raising the surface oil and water into vats. The supply was 
 very limited, amounting to perhaps, a few barrels in the course of 
 a season, which was sold at one dollar and fifty cents per gallon, to 
 parties who retailed it for medicinal purposes. In the spring of 1855, 
 Professor Sillimaa, of Yale College, was employed to analyze the 
 oil, and Messrs. BISSELL and EVELETH furnished him with all 
 useful apparatus for his experiments, and paid the entire cost of the 
 analysis. Professor Silliman's report, published in the fall of 
 1855, attracted attention in New Haven, and led to the reorganiza- 
 tion of the Pennsylvania Rock Oil Company, with that gentleman 
 as President. 
 
 The work of trenching the lands was continued until 1858, 
 when the question of boring an artesian well was discussed, and 
 advocated strongly by Mr. BISSELL, it having been suggested by 
 the fact that Mr. Kier of Pittsburgh h%d obtained a small quan- 
 tity of oil from one of his salt wells near Pittsburgh, at a depth of 
 about 400 feet. 
 
 The New York and New Haven stockholders were not har- 
 monious, and finally, after much discussion and difficulty, a contract 
 was concluded between the Pennsylvania Rock Oil Company and 
 some of its members, by which the latter agreed to lease the lands 
 for a term of years, and pay the parent Company a royalty of 12 
 cents a gallon on all oil raised. They then organized in New 
 Haven a new Company, based on the lease aforesaid, and employed 
 one of their number, Mr. E. L. Drake, as Superintendent, and fur- 
 nished him with the necessary capital. He proceeded to Titusville, 
 and after many delays and obstacles, on the 28th day of August, 
 1859, the first vein of oil was struck, and the first petroleum ob- 
 tained from an artesian well drilled on Oil Creek, Venango county, 
 Penna., and this was accomplished under the auspices of " The 
 
GEORGE H. BISSELL. 
 
 349 
 
 Seneca Oil Company," lessees of "The Pennsylvania Rock Oil 
 Company," the organization of which, and the first purchase and 
 development of oil lands under it, were mainly due to GEORGE H. 
 BISSELL. 
 
 Soon after the completion of the "Drake well," Mr. BISSELL 
 and Mr. EVELETH began the purchase of large tracts of oil lands 
 along "The Creek," investing between two and three hundred 
 thousand dollars in the enterprise. Thenceforward they engaged 
 in the production of the oil by drilling wells at various points on 
 "The Creek," at Franklin, Petroleum Centre, &c., doubling and 
 quadrupling their investments in munificent pecuniary returns. 
 We have not the details of all the operations of these pioneer ope- 
 rators, and it is perhaps, needless that we give 'them. It is enough 
 to know that GEORGE H. BISSELL'S name is identified promi- 
 nently, and, we may add, honorably so, with all the early struggles 
 and later triumphs in connection with this great national blessing, 
 and that his name and fame is "a household word " among oil men 
 from end to end of the continent. 
 
 From 1859 to 1863, Mr. BIS&ELL was a resident of the oil region, 
 his home being at Franklin, "V^nango county. He erected a large 
 barrel factory at Franklin, and continued this industry for some 
 years. In 1866, he established a banking-house at Petroleum Cen- 
 tre, which has withstood the vicissitudes and disasters of the oil 
 region from year to year, and is to-day regarded as one of the 
 soundest and most substantial banking institutions in the oil coun- 
 try. Mr. BISSELL still continues his connection with it, and this 
 fact is a sufficient guarantee of its stability and unquestioned sound- 
 ness. 
 
 In 1863, Mr. BISSELL removed to the city of New York. In 
 1864, he represented the oil dealers of Pennsylvania, and the Petro- 
 leum Board of New York, at Washington. He made a powerful 
 and effectual argument before the Committee on Ways and Means 
 in opposition to the tax on the crude material, which would have 
 proved ruinous. 
 
350 HISTORY OF PETHOLEUM. 
 
 In addition to conducting an immense petroleum business, he 
 was at one time carrying on three banking institutions, building a 
 railroad in the oil country, and was president and director of va- 
 rious companies in New York. With a majority of these he is still 
 actively connected. He has recently been prominent in the organiza- 
 tion of the New York Loan and Indemnity Company. He is also 
 President of the Peruvian Petroleum Company and of the Peruvian 
 Refining Company. These companies supply most of the petro- 
 leum used on the Pacific coast of South America, and have made 
 large shipments to Australia, England, and other countries. 
 
 Mr. BISSELL was admitted to the bar of New York in 1855 to 
 practice in the United States Courts in 1857, and to the bar of 
 Pennsylvania in 1861. He was married in 1855, to Miss Ophie 
 Louise Griffen, of New York city, who died suddenly in the spring 
 of 1867. He has been a liberal donor to various institutions. 
 Dartmouth College is indebted to him for a gymnasium which cost 
 twenty-four thousand dollars. 
 
 Mr. BISSELL has an erect, well-proportioned figure, an active 
 step, and an intellectual head and face. His head is long, towering 
 to a round, high brow, while the o%her features are not less signifi- 
 cant of mental force and the purest character. His eyes are sharp, 
 and look forth with much directness. The mouth is closed, having 
 the expression of decision and energy, which are the leading char- 
 acteristics of the man. The peer of his contemporaries in the 
 walks of business, he is endowed with scholarly accomplishments 
 which fit him for any of the most exalted positions of life. Friendly 
 and honorable in social intercourse, he is, also, one who is to be 
 admired for the successful application of varied and brilliant talents 
 in all other relations with his fellow-men. A man of fine mental 
 accomplishments and of commanding business talents, he has dis- 
 tinguished himself in many widely different fields of effort, and his 
 life affords events of much popular interest. 
 
Woo-lburvtvpe. A. P. R. P. Co.. 1'hihi. 
 
 CHARLES HYDE. 
 
CHARLES HYDE. 351 
 
 CHAKLES HYDE. 
 
 PLAINFIELD, NEW JERSEY. 
 
 AMONG the number of successful pioneer oil producers, the sub- 
 ject of the following sketch is perhaps one of the most notable. His 
 successes were not in all respects the results of "good luck" either, 
 but were rather the offspring of judicious in vestments. coupled with 
 clear-headed business tact. With his good fortune, he united in 
 himself a sagacity and discernment that led him, .as wealth poured 
 in upon him, to gather up his accumulations and hold them for 
 other profitable ventures ; the sketch we give herewith will war- 
 rant us in these preliminary suggestions, and without further re- 
 mark we proceed. 
 
 CHARLES HYDE is a native of the town of Eagle, Allegany 
 County, New York, and was born on the 27th day of February, 
 1822. The place of his birth was known as Hydeville, his father 
 being one of the early settlers of that locality. The town or village 
 is now known as Eagle Village, and is a point of considerable note 
 in Allegany County, N. Y. Charles is the third of a family of 
 four children three sons and one daughter. At the age of eleven, 
 his father removed to Nunda Valley, then in the same county, but 
 now a thriving town in the county of Wyoming. In 1837, or when 
 CHARLES had attained the age of fifteen, the family removed to 
 Western Pennsylvania, settling upon a partially cleared up farm, 
 two miles south of Titus ville, Pa. This farm adjoined the Stackpole 
 farm, and has lately been developed into valuable oil territory, by 
 the " Octave Oil Company " a history of which we give elsewhere 
 in these pages. The price paid for the property by Mr. Hyde, Sen., 
 was $3.33 per acre. 
 
 Charles was schooled winters and assisted his father the balance 
 of the time, until he was nineteen years of age. At twenty, in com- 
 
352 
 
 HISTORY OF PETROLEUM. 
 
 pany with his father and two brothers, "W. C., and E. B. Hyde, 
 he purchased a small tract of twenty-five acres of land near Centre- 
 ville, Crawford County, Pa., and in connection with the grocery 
 and hardware trade, engaged to a limited extent in the manufacture 
 of salts and saleratus, from ashes gathered or brought to their place 
 of business. The firm was known as E. Hyde & Sons. Three 
 years were spent in this enterprise, the business steadily increasing, 
 demanding greater facilities and larger capital. Success in a 
 marked degree followed these ventures, and industry and frugality 
 characterized all the operations of this firm of father and sons. To 
 their other interests they added the manufacture of lumber, which 
 was run out of Oil Creek into the Allegany Kiver, and thence to 
 Pittsburgh. At the end of three years successful business, 
 CHARLES purchased his father's and brothers' interests, and thence- 
 forward assumed its entire responsibility. Soon after he became 
 sole proprietor, his ashery burned, and he abandoned the idea of 
 rebuilding it, and resolved to confine himself exclusively to the 
 manufacture of lumber. The " Hydetown Mills," were at this date 
 the property of JOHN TITUS, who had become hopelessly involved 
 in debt, and was soon after compelled to compromise with his cre- 
 ditors. Mr. Hyde, Sen., who was one of Mr. Titus 7 largest cre- 
 titors, finally purchased the property upon a fair valuation, paying 
 Mr. Titus the difference, over and above his indebtedness. Soon 
 after the conclusion of this transaction, CHARLES again entered 
 into co-partnership with his father and brothers, and removed to 
 "Titus Mills/ 7 assuming charge of the property and business. 
 This was in 1846, and from this time on "Titus Mills/ 7 was succeed- 
 ed by " Hydetown/ 7 and by this name has the little village since been 
 known now come to be a point of considerable importance, and 
 ^boasting a thrifty growth, with many handsome residences, which 
 villages of greater pretensions might point to with pride. 
 
 This last partnership continued for two years, and was measura- 
 bly successful. At its termination the father purchasing the 
 interest of the sons CHARLES spent a month or more, in exploring 
 
CHARLES HYDE. 353 
 
 the great lumbering regions of the Clarion river, traversing the 
 country for a hundred miles or more, on foot. He, however, re- 
 turned to Hydetown, and the following year purchased the Hyde- 
 town Mills in which he had retained a small interest and at 
 once entered largely into the manufacture of lumber. This property 
 he still owns and operates, and it is a source of considerable revenue 
 to him. The property has meanwhile, however, been much im- 
 proved, the capacity of the mills greatly increased, and the facili- 
 ties for manufacturing materially added to. To his lumber business, 
 he united soon after his purchase of the property, a large mercantile 
 trade, all which he successfully conducted for many years, and 
 altogether he may be set down as a well-to-do merchant-lumber- 
 man, long before the oil excitements of 1859-'60, and later, came 
 to the knowledge of the residents of that locality, or startled the 
 public mind from end to end of the country. 
 
 As early as 1840-'41, Mr. HYDE knew of the existence, and in 
 quantities, too, of petroleum oil below Titusville. With his father, 
 he had many times visited these " oil springs," to procure supplies 
 for lighting their mills and other purposes. Their mode of obtain- 
 ing it was by digging trenches, or excavating from four to six feet in 
 depth and diameter, into which the oil would run upon the surface 
 of the water in such quantities, that with cloths, they were enabled 
 to gather and " wring out " pails full of the odorous fluid. This 
 was also true of the McClintock farm near Rouseville. Mr. HYDE, 
 from 1840, down to 1858-9, frequently visited the McClintock 
 farm, and purchased barrels of petroleum, which was taken thence 
 to Titusville and elsewhere, and sold at $1.00 per gallon, for illu- 
 minating and for medicinal purposes. 
 
 When in 1859, the old "Drake Well" was commenced, Mr. 
 HYDE was still a resident of Hydetown, driving his lumber and 
 mercantile interests, as only he knew how to drive them. Col. 
 Drake became a customer of his, in a small way, purchasing some 
 of his supplies, small tools, shovels, etc., at his establishment in 
 Hydetown. He was not, therefore, an uninterested observer of this 
 
 23 
 
354 
 
 HISTORY OF PETROLEUM. 
 
 new enterprise. Col. Drake visited Mr. HYDE often, and thus he 
 was enabled to keep himself thoroughly informed in regard to the 
 progress of events. When later in the summer of 1859, the well 
 was down and pumping ten to twelve barrels of "Seneca oil, 
 worth one dollar a gallon," Mr. HYDE did not craze himself over 
 the event, as many of his neighbors and acquaintances did. An 
 additional demand was made upon his well-filled lumber yards at 
 Hydetown, for derricks, engine houses, dwellings, tank lumber, 
 etc., etc., and these he supplied as promptly as he was able to, and 
 during the fall and winter and spring of 1859, and '60, his business 
 was amply remunerative, and he was satisfied with its profits, and 
 its rapid increase. 
 
 During the winter or early spring months of 1860, however, 
 Mr. HYDE was invited by his friend, SAMUEL GRANDIN, of Ti- 
 dioute, to become a share-owner in " The Tidioute and Warren 
 Oil Company," then about organizing at that point. He left 
 his home a day or two after receiving Mr. GRANDIN'S invitation, 
 and proceeded to Tidioute, where, after a careful canvass of the 
 matter, he became a purchaser of one share of this property, paying 
 $1,000 for it. The property was divided into ten shares of $ 1,000 
 each. This was his first investment in oil territory. 
 
 [A fuller detail of " The Tidioute and Warren Oil Company," 
 will be found in the sketch of Mr. J. L. GRANDIN, and we omit 
 further mention of it here.] 
 
 The development of this property followed early in the spring 
 of 1860. The spring freshets came, and upon them, Mr. Hyde 
 started with his stock of lumber for Pittsburgh. A day or two 
 after reaching the Allegany river, he was overtaken by a raftsman 
 from above Tidioute. Mr. HYDE inquired of him, in regard to 
 the oil prospects in that locality, and especially in reference to 
 developments upon -" the Tidioute and Warren Oil Company's " 
 lands. "They've got a big well up there," said the raftsman, "and 
 upon that very farm, too !" " Have they?" said Mr. HYDE, " I 
 own one-tenth of that property !" " Do you?" was the reply. 
 
CHARLES HYDE. 355 
 
 <( Then you'd better jump from that raft and go straight home ! 
 You've no business running lumber for a living, if -you own an 
 interest in that property. Your fortune is made I" 
 
 The information thus given, proved to be reliable, for the first 
 well sank upon this property, produced forty barrels per day. 
 This Mr. HYDE learned after he reached Pittsburgh, with his 
 lumber, whither he went, and where he remained superintending 
 the sale and delivery of his stock, until all was disposed of. 
 
 During the winter of 1860, " the Hydetown Oil Company " 
 was organized, Mr. HYDE subscribing for two shares. The Com- 
 pany had leased the McClintock farm, from Brewer, Watson & 
 Co. at an advance of royalty, to the latter Company. The Company 
 Mr. Hyde being the lessee and developer commenced opera- 
 tions upon the property early in 1860, completing his first well 
 to the depth of 280 feet during the summer of that year. A 
 small steam engine was used to drill the well, and the oil they ob- 
 tained, was " second sand rock " product. When struck, the well 
 began to flow largely 150 barrels and continued to produce for 
 nearly a year. 
 
 Oil, at this date, was a " drug in the markets." One dollar per 
 barrel was paid for it, in the spring and summer of 1860, but later 
 in the season, large quantities were sold at thirty, twenty, ten, and 
 even five cents per barrel, " at the wells !" The McClintock farm 
 development as well as the Tidioute investment, were of course 
 non-paying, and Mr. HYDE realized little or nothing from either, 
 during 1860, or 1861. 
 
 About the date of these briefly referred to oil operations, Mr. 
 HYDE turned his attention to individual ventures. He obtained a 
 half acre lease upon the Clapp farm, adjoining the McClintock 
 farm, and during the summer of 1860, drilled two wells upon it. 
 One of these, at the date mentioned, was the deepest well drilled 
 on "the Creek" if we except one put down by Jonathan Watson, 
 Esq., in 1865, to the depth of 2130 feet, at the base of the hill, 
 where Spring Brook comes into the city of Titusville, a detailed 
 
356 HISTORY OF PETROLEUM. 
 
 statement of which is given elsewhere and one other drilled on 
 the Watson flats, in 1864, to the depth of 1,200 feet. One of Mr. 
 HYDE'S wells, was put down to the depth of 982 feet, and the 
 other was 675 feet deep. We have no record of these wells, save 
 that given from recollection by Mr. HYDE. No other "sands" were 
 discovered below the " third," however, and this was found at the 
 depth of 456 feet. " Second " and "third sand 5 ' oil, was found, 
 but not in paying quantities, and both wells were shortly after 
 abandoned. 
 
 The " Hyde Town Well," continued to flow nearly up to its 
 first year's product, through the winter of 1861, and spring of 
 1862, and better prices were realized for oil in the Pittsburgh 
 market. Mr. HYDE had, in the meantime, engaged quite exten- 
 sively in the purchase and shipment of the staple, in flat-boats, 
 barges, barrels, &c., to that point. Upon one of his return trips 
 from Pittsburgh, in the spring of 1862, he met Dr. A. G. Egbert, 
 then operating in. a limited way, upon the widow Davidson farm, 
 at Petroleum Centre. Dr. E., held a contract for the purchase of 
 this property, and in the course of the interview offered to dispose 
 of one half his interest, upon what he termed " the ground floor." 
 The offer was accepted by Mr. HYDE, and upon the following day, 
 the transaction was completed, and the widow Davidson farm 
 passed into the hands of Hyde & Egbert, and by this name it has 
 been known ever since. The fabulous product of this farm, gave 
 it a world-wide notoriety, and brought untold wealth to its fortu- 
 nate owners. Mr. HYDE paid Dr. Egbert, $2,625 for one half his 
 interest in this farm, which was in fee, with a reservation of one- 
 twelfth of the oil to the original owner, as royalty. 
 
 On and after this purchase by Mr. HYDE, we may safely assume, 
 he began his career as one of the largest producers of " the Creek." 
 He spent much of ^his time upon the farm, superintending its 
 development, and having a general care of the valuable interest he 
 had acquired. In rapid succession, after developments began in 
 1862, and in 1863, many large wells were obtained, among them, 
 
CHAKLES HYDE. 357 
 
 "The Jersey Well," "The Maple Shade," and other smaller 
 " flowers," the product of which aggregated, in cash receipts, many 
 thousands of dollars per day. Later, in 1865, " The Coquet Well," 
 and half a dozen others of less product, went far toward doubling 
 and quadrupling his income of previous years. During the years 
 1864, and 1865, there were TWENTY-THREE FLOWING WELLS 
 upon the Hyde and Egbert farm, which altogether comprised only 
 about forty acres of land, and one-half the product of these 
 " flowers," and nearly as many good pumping wells, went to swell 
 the immense income of the fortunate owners. 
 
 Details of the development of this wonderful mine of wealth, we 
 know would be interesting to the general reader, but we have 
 scarcely room for them, or time to devote to their rehearsal. Very 
 many facts connected with the history of the Hyde and Egbert 
 farm property, are given in other chapters of this work, and we 
 leave this portion of Mr. HYDE'S personal history, with the single 
 remark, that more than $3,000,000 was gathered into the coffers 
 of the lucky, and we may add, always industrious and enterprising 
 proprietors. Mr. HYDE still holds his original interest in this 
 property, and it brings him in a small monthly revenue. 
 
 " The Second National Bank of Titusville," was organized on 
 the llth of February, 1865, with' a capital of $100,000. Mr. HYDE 
 was the principal mover in the enterprise, and became a subscriber 
 to its stock to the amount of $57,000. At its organization he was 
 unanimously elected President, a position he has been annually re- 
 elected to fill ever since. 
 
 In January, 1866, the capital of the bank was increased 
 $100,000, without an increase of circulation. In December, 1867, 
 the charter of "The First National Bank of Titusville," was pur- 
 chased, with the privilege of its circulation. This institution had 
 a capital of $100,000. On the 1st of September, 1871, the bank 
 purchased $100,000 of the capital stock of " The First National 
 Bank of Meadville," and thereupon increased its capital to 
 $300,000. 
 
358 HISTORY OP PETROLEUM. 
 
 In all these additions to the capital stock of " The Second Na- 
 tional Bank of Titusville," Mr. HYDE has maintained his position 
 as its largest stock subscriber, and he is to-day the owner of about 
 $170,000 of its capital. "The Second National Bank of Titus- 
 ville," is one of the successful, as it is the most substantial banking 
 institution in the oil region, or indeed in Western Pennsylvania. In 
 addition to the large ownership of stock of the bank named above, 
 Mr. HYDE has on deposit with the Treasurer of the United States, 
 $300,000 in government bonds, his own personal property, left 
 there as additional security to bill holders and creditors of the in- 
 stitution, of any and every character should it be required. 
 
 In 1869, Mr. HYDE became largely interested in real estate in- 
 vestments at Plainfield, New Jersey, and removed thither with his 
 family, in that year, in order to give to the enterprise his undivided 
 attention. Since his residence at Plainfield, he has added exten- 
 sively to his landed property, and has now under the highest state 
 of cultivation, three or four hundred acres of the very finest lands 
 in the State of New Jersey. Under his skillful hand these have 
 been made to " blossom like the rose." The close proximity of 
 this large body of land to the city of Plainfield, for it lays just out- 
 side the city limits, may give the reader some idea of its great value. 
 Upon this property Mr. HYDE has a very fine private residence, 
 with commodious out-buildings, carriage-houses, etc., not lavishly 
 expensive structures, but substantial, and in entire keeping with his 
 good taste, and ample for his wants. It is safe to say Mr. HYDE 
 would refuse $350,000 for this property alone. The city of Plain- 
 field has a population of quite 12,000, is admirably situated, and 
 elaborately laid out. It is a city of very many magnificent private 
 residences, owned and occupied by merchants, manufacturers, and 
 professional men, as well, doing business in the city of New York, 
 Brooklyn, Jersey City, etc. Mr. HYDE'S residence, and grounds 
 surrounding it, very elaborately laid out, containing shrubbery, 
 flower gardens, walks, boating pond, fountain, etc., are all within the 
 city limits. But the larger portion of his property, contiguous to 
 
CHARLES HYDE. 359 
 
 his residence, spreads out as far as the eye can reach, and embraces 
 about 400 acres of beautifully located lands, which are mainly used 
 now for agricultural purposes. When, four years since, Mr. HYDE 
 came into possession of this splendid property, the lands were 
 exhausted, and nearly valueless for farming uses. His thorough 
 knowledge of the art of agriculture here found ample scope for 
 practice. The soil has been greatly enriched, and to-day, every 
 acre of it is as productive as it ever was. 
 
 The management of this property absorbs the time and attention 
 of the enterprising owner. It is soon to become an addition to the 
 city of Plainfield, and already streets are laid out, and partially 
 graded through its ample boundaries. When it is put into market, 
 the income from it will reach a fabulous sum. 
 
 CHAELES HYDE is a man of deeds, and not of words. Of modest 
 deportment and reticent manner, he is, nevertheless, a gentleman 
 of solid worth, and has excellencies of character, that brighten and 
 become more and more prominent and evident as acquaintance 
 and association familiarize one to him. One of his chief charac- 
 teristics is the thorough knowledge he has of his own business 
 affairs, and the scrupulous exactness with which he devotes his 
 personal attention to them. Educated in the practice of a rigid 
 economy, he maintains the same careful, judicious conduct of his 
 business affairs that have characterized him from his youth up. 
 Waste and extravagance have no apologist in CHARLES HYDE. 
 He lives temperately, walks humbly, and deals justly by all. He 
 pays dollar for dollar of his indebtedness, and pays it promptly and 
 cheerfully. Plain of speecn, and plain of manner and dress, he 
 seems at home in the drawing-room, in the counting-room, or in 
 the harvest field. Honor, honesty, and unblemished integrity are 
 his, by a life of practical devotion to the observance of these vir- 
 tues. He is just in the vigor of his manhood and the years of his 
 usefulness, and to all appearances, has before him a lengthened 
 lease of life, which we doubt not will be marked by good deeds, 
 sure to bring happiness and a green old age. 
 
360 HISTORY OF PETROLEUM. 
 
 WILLIAM H. ABBOTT. 
 
 TITUSVILLE, PENNA. 
 
 WILLIAM HAWKINS ABBOTT, is a New Englander by birth 
 born in the town of Middlebury, New Haven County, Connecticut, 
 on the 27th day of October, 1814, and is the eldest son of a family 
 of twelve children, six sons and six daughters. His father was an 
 industrious, thrifty Connecticut farmer, and from him, young AB- 
 BOTT, as he grew to boyhood, and merged into manhood, imbibed 
 and practiced those- rare virtues of integrity, sobriety and honesty, 
 that have been his shield through life. During his early years he 
 had the advantages of a good common school education, embracing 
 these from three to four months of the year ; the remaining months 
 were devoted to the interests of his father in the conduct of the 
 farm. He continued in the discharge of these duties until he was 
 eighteen years old, when, with the approval of his father, he entered 
 the mercantile establishment of Gen. Hemmihgway, at Water- 
 town, Litchfield County, Conn., as a salesman and clerk. He re- 
 mained in this position seven years, or until the spring of 1844, 
 challenging from first to last the confidence of his employer, and the 
 public as well, for industry, unquestioned honesty and excellences 
 of both head and heart. 
 
 At the age of twenty-five he caught what was then known as the 
 " Western Fever," and removed to Newton Falls, Trumbull Co., 
 Ohio, where he soon after entered the employ of Bronson & War- 
 ren, then largely engaged in the general mercantile business. This 
 position he held for one year, when the firm dissolved by the with- 
 drawal of Mr. Warren^ and the substitution of Mr. ABBOTT. The 
 firm of Bronson & Abbott continued another year, and then dis- 
 solved, both the partners continuing business separately. A 
 year subsequent, Mr. ABBOTT purchased the stock and business of 
 
Wood bui yt\tK- A. 1*. It. P. Co.. Phila 
 
 WILLIAM H. ABBOTT. 
 
WILT JAM H. ABBOTT. 361 
 
 his former partner, and the real estate of Bronson & Warren, and 
 continued the enterprise from that date, 1848, upon his own ac- 
 count, until 1862. 
 
 Of course, during these eighteen years of mercantile life, there 
 were fluctuations in trade, "ups and downs" with business-men, 
 sudden changes in values, bank panics, bank failures, " wild cat " 
 schemes for defrauding the public, many of them bountiful successes, 
 but amidst all these, and above and beyond them all, Mr. ABBOTT 
 maintained an unblemished credit, always paying one hundred 
 cents upon the dollar of his indebtedness. 
 
 Few merchants of fifteen to twenty years' 'standing, but have at 
 one time or another encountered the embarrassments and dis- 
 couragements incident to " hard times," " no trade," " no money," 
 no public or private confidence. All these were the experience of 
 Mr. ABBOTT in the conduct of his large and yearly increasing busi- 
 ness, but he surmounted them all,, and maintained for himself an 
 unsullied repute for reliability in all his engagements, promptness 
 in all his obligations, and integrity of an unimpeachable character 
 in his intercourse with all. 
 
 Early in February, 1860, Mr. ABBOTT resolved to visit the oil 
 region of western Pennsylvania, partly from curiosity, but mainly 
 as a matter of business. He reached Titusville on the 8th of Fe- 
 bruary, 1860, and remained only a portion of two days. He visited 
 the only oil well then in existence "The COLONEL DRAKE" 
 which had been producing small quantities of petroleum for some 
 months, and at a glance saw, that here was a field for his enterprise 
 and business tact, and that in all probability untold wealth coursed 
 through the rocks beneath him. With his accustomed promptness, 
 he purchased one half of the one-quarter interest WILLIAM BARNS- 
 DALL owned in the James Parker farm, upon which a well was 
 then going down, including the "Crossley well" and lease, to- 
 gether with a like interest in one hundred acres leased by Mr. 
 BARNSDALL, at Shreve Rock, all lying a short distance below 
 Titusville. For these three one-eighths, in three different tracts, he 
 
362 HISTORY OF PETROLEUM. 
 
 paid $10,000, and immediately set out for his home in Ohio. Two 
 days after reaching Newton Falls, he received information that a 
 fifty-barrel well had been struck on the Parker farm lease ! 
 
 This well was known far and near as "The Barnsdall Well/' 
 and was the second struck the "Colonel Drake," completed in 
 August, 1859, being the first. This, like the "Drake well," was 
 put down with a " spring pole," and was one hundred and twelve 
 feet deep, and produced about fifty barrels per day, of first sand- 
 rock oil. 
 
 Soon after receiving this news, Mr. ABBOTT returned to Titusville, 
 and thence proceeded to New York, with a view to making a mar- 
 ket for the product of this second well. Mr. BOON MEADE, one 
 of the owners of the well and lease, accompanied him. Mr. Henry 
 R. Rouse, afterward burned on the Buchanan farm, held an inter- 
 est in this lease. 
 
 Mr. ABBOTT while in New York made the acquaintance of Mr. 
 George M. Mowbray, then as now, a chemist of rare acquirements, 
 and through him, obtained an introduction to the extensive Drug 
 and chemical house of Shefflin, Bros. To this firm he sold 200 
 barrels of oil at 35 cents per gallon, delivered in New York. This 
 may be said to be the beginning of the oil trade with New York 
 city, which has since grown into such enormous proportions, re- 
 quiring millions of barrels to supply the demand for both foreign 
 and domestic consumption. 
 
 This oil Mr. ABBOTT subsequently shipped to New York in old 
 oil barrels, turpentine barrels, molasses barrels, whiskey barrels, 
 a few new barrels, and indeed every conceivable kind of barrel 
 or cask that promised to hold its oily contents. The result of this 
 shipment proved the almost utter worthlessness of packages of this 
 character for oil shipments, for upon reaching their destination, 
 there was scarcely a barrel but had leaked and wasted from 
 one-quarter to one-third its original contents. While the own- 
 ers and shippers made "a good sale," they were "handsomely 
 short " on delivery ; and yet, the balances, when closed up, were 
 
WILLIAM H. ABBOTT. 363 
 
 largely in their favor. One thing, however, had been accom- 
 plished a market for the sale of petroleum oil and this, to a 
 man of Mr. ABBOTT'S enterprise, was an ample return for the vexa- 
 tions and losses attending the first effort to bring this great staple 
 to the notice of commerce and commercial men. 
 
 Of the experiments subsequently made by and through Shefflin 
 Bros., to utilize petroleum and make it serve some other and bet- 
 ter purpose than that to which it had theretofore been applied, we 
 will not stop here to detail. Suffice it to say, that the experiments 
 made by these gentlemen demonstrated its entire adaptation to illu- 
 minating purposes. Of course, other experiments had proven this 
 fact, prior to this, but we think it fair to assume that the tests and 
 chemical appliances of Shefflin Bros., practically settled the question 
 of refining petroleum oil as an illuminator, and gave to the world 
 light as cheap as daylight. What a change has all this wrought ! 
 To-day, refined petroleum illuminates more households and domes- 
 tic hearths upon this, and the continent of Europe, and wherever 
 civilization extends, than all other modes combined. 
 
 To make this first shipment to Shefflin Bros., Mr. ABBOTT and 
 his partners purchased the necessary barrels, in and about Titus- 
 ville, " teamed " them to the " Barnsdall well," filled, and thence 
 sent them across the country by wagon-loads, to Union, on the 
 Atlantic & Great "Western Railway a distance of twenty-two 
 miles. The cost of this mode of transportation varied, depending 
 wholly upon the condition of the roads. When " wheeling " was 
 good, 75 cents per barrel was the ruling price from Titus ville to 
 Union. When the roads were "heavy" $1 and $1.25 was paid 
 bringing the average to about $1 per barrel. The Railway charges 
 to New York were $1.56 per barrel, making the total per barrel, 
 when laid down in New York, not far from $4. Had the pack- 
 ages held their contents safely, this first large shipment must have 
 proved very profitable, netting the owners a clear margin of $2,000 
 to $2,250^ after deducting all expenses. As it was they realized a 
 handsome sum, and were far from being discouraged with their 
 first venture. 
 
364 HISTORY OF PETROLEUM. 
 
 Very many of the subsequent shipments of oil to the sea board 
 by Mr. ABBOTT, as well as others in 1861, and '62 were not a 
 source of profit. Barrels that at first could be purchased for 60 
 and 70 cents each, were now worth $1.50 and $1.60, and they were 
 very scarce at that price. Mr. ABBOTT bought old barrels, how- 
 ever, at these new prices, sent them by teams to the old "Empire 
 Well," on the Funk Farm then the largest producing well on 
 the creek, where they were filled at 25 cents per barrel, and re- 
 turned in like manner to Titusville. The price paid for this team- 
 ing was 50 cents per barrel, the round trip. Arrived at Titusville 
 every barrel was re-inspected, hoops tightened, bungs replaced or 
 re-driven, and then reloaded and hauled to Union, at an additional 
 cost of 75 cents per barrel. The general depot for this trans-ship- 
 ment at Titusville, was upon the grounds now occupied by the 
 residences of Col. Pitcher and Dr. Barr, on Washington street. N 
 
 We have said these subsequent shipments were often a source of 
 expense to their enterprising projectors. Mr. ABBOTT tells us of 
 two instances ; a large quantity shipped to New York, about this 
 date, when sold and accounted for, involved him in an absolute loss 
 of $1 per barrel, which he paid to close the account, and this after 
 furnishing the oil and barrels gratis! 
 
 In the fall of 1860, Mr. ABBOTT, having associated with him Mr. 
 James Parker and Mr. William Barnsdall, commenced the erection 
 of the first Refinery built in the oil regions. Work upon this new 
 enterprise was begun on the 6th of November, 1860, and on the 
 22d day of January following a little over two months and a 
 half the fires were lit, and the refining of oil commenced in Titus- 
 ville. The cost of this establishment, with subsequent improve- 
 ments, was $15,000. Mr. ABBOTT continued his connection with 
 the enterprise for nearly three years, with moderate profits, the 
 prices of oil fluctuating, so remarkably as to render any anticipation 
 of margins upon the manufacture of refined, extremely doubtful, 
 and oftentimes hazardous. The first lot of crude a few hundred 
 barrels run through their new works, cost $10 per barrel, and 
 
WILLIAM H. ABBOTT. 865 
 
 before this was put upon the market, and realized from, crude oil 
 could be bought at $2 and $2.50 per barrel. Of course the prices 
 of refined did not at all times sympathize with the fickleness of the 
 " crude market," and so a fair profit was ordinarily realized upon 
 the'manufactured article. 
 
 Mr. ABBOTT had the burden of the labor to perform in the erec- 
 tion of this refinery, and indeed, its superintendence and manage- 
 ment after its completion, and during the three years of his joint 
 ownership. The boilers, and other apparatus and machinery, 
 were purchased at Pittsburgh, and thence shipped " by river " to 
 Franklin and Oil City. Here they were "dumped" upon the 
 shore af low-water, and lay in that condition until the streams 
 were filled from bank to bank, by the fall rains, and when with 
 men and teams they sought to raise them from their watery bed, 
 almost entirely submerged, it was found to be an almost impossible 
 task. Two teams, with a full complement of men, made the jour- 
 ney from Titusville to Franklin, charged with the duty of raising 
 these boilers from the water and transporting them to their desti- 
 nation. They came, they saw, and returned as empty as they 
 came ! Subsequently, Mr. ABBOTT personally superintended the 
 work, and they were brought out, loaded, and in four days from 
 the time of starting were on the ground in Titusville, where they 
 were put to the uses intended. In this manner all, or nearly all 
 the machinery for this new undertaking was brought to Titusville. 
 
 We have given this detailed account of the first refining enter- 
 prise in the oil region, to enable the general reader to form some 
 idea of the obstacles and embarrassments men of enterprise were 
 forced to contend with in the early years of the discovery of Petro- 
 leum. This of Mr. ABBOTT'S was only an index to others, bearing 
 upon the business interests of the region. In 1860- ? 61, and even 
 into 1862, nearly everything making up the machinery of an oil 
 well engines, boilers, drilling tools, cables, &c., &c., had to be 
 transported by wagon, from the railway stations at Corry, Union, 
 Meadville, &c., twenty and twenty-five miles, and over roads that 
 
366 HISTORY OF PETROLEUM. 
 
 at times were absolutely appalling to " man and beast." After oil 
 began to be produced in large quantities, there was a great dearth 
 of barrels for transporting it from the wells to the railroad stations, 
 and thence to market. To meet this demand, in part at least, Mr. 
 ABBOTT contracted for the manufacture of large quantities of barrels 
 in Ohio, and in many instances sent them by wagons, eighty to ninety 
 miles, across the country to Titusville. The manufacture of this 
 indispensable article was, however, soon after extensively carried 
 on in Titusville, Mr. ABBOTT furnishing a large amount of capital 
 for this purpose. 
 
 In the fall of 1862, Mr. ABBOTT added another branch to his 
 already extensive business interests a depot for the sale of coal. 
 He laid down in Titusville the first car load brought there, him- 
 self being consignor, consignee, and retail dealer. This large 
 supply, for such it was for that day and the locality, was sold off in 
 small lots of 50 to 200 pounds, to such as were willing to try the 
 experiment of its use, and on the whole Mr. ABBOTT regarded the 
 speculation as " tolerably remunerative." He continued the busi- 
 ness thus begun, gradually increasing his capital, and enlarging his 
 boundaries. In October, 1865, he leased for 30 years a large tract 
 of coal lands, partially developed, at Greenville, Mercer County, 
 Pa., and continues to this day to mine and ship great quantities into 
 the oil region and elsewhere. 
 
 Of the fluctuations in the price of crude oil, in 1860-'61-'62, we 
 may as well speak here, and to say they were remarkable, is hardly 
 sufficient to give the reader a clear comprehension of this branch 
 of the subject they were wonderful and must have been attended 
 by losses of thousands and thousands of dollars, which no one 
 positively profited by. In January and February, 1860, as we 
 have before stated, Mr. ABBOTT paid $10 a barrel for "crude," 
 delivered at their refinery and holders did not care to sell at 
 these figures ! By the middle of March and April following, oil 
 was delivered at the same refinery at $1.25 per barrel ! In Octo- 
 ber, 1862, Howe & Nyce purchased, barreled, and had stored upon 
 
WILLIAM H. ABBOTT. 367 
 
 the first platform, erected at Titusville, on the Oil Creek railway, 
 500 barrels of crude oil. This oil Mr. ABBOTT purchased at 
 $2.62J, including packages, and with a guarantee that every bar- 
 rel contained 42 gallons. Shortly after, this lot was put upon the 
 market and sold for $3 and $3.50 per barrel. In January and 
 February following, oil was sold from the same platform by Mr. 
 ABBOTT at $12.50 and $14 per barrel, and before the middle of 
 March following, the same lot for it had not been moved was 
 sold at $8 per barrel, and thirty days after, the market price at 
 Titusville was $3 per barrel ! These transactions involved large 
 amounts of money. The oil bought and sold was usually in round 
 lots of 1,000 to 5,000, and even 10,000 barrels, and destined to 
 eastern markets. "While, therefore, the original producer often- 
 times received fabulous prices, the purchasers were generally the 
 victims. At the time these extravagant figures were being realized 
 by producers, a few, one at least, known to the writer of this sketch, 
 was dealing out one hundred barrels per day, at 40 cents per barrel ! 
 When the great flowing wells on the Funk farm " lower 
 McEllhenney" were struck, the old "Empire," producing 3000 
 barrels per day, and the " Fountain well," pouring out 400 barrels, 
 Mr. Funk, senior, contracted to deliver to Mr. Chas. A. Dean, of 
 Cleveland, Ohio, one hundred barrels of oil per day for five years, 
 at 40 cents per barrel ! This contract was actually entered into, 
 and the letter of it lived up to by Mr. Funk through two years of 
 its existence! But the contractor became greedy. He was not 
 satisfied with ordinary barrels of 40 to 42 gallons capacity, but 
 would furnish casks and tierces, and almost hogsheads, holding 
 fifty, sixty, and as high as sixty-five gallons, and demanded to have 
 these filled and counted as barrels ! To this extraordinary crafti- 
 ness Mr. A. P. Funk, then in charge of his father's affairs, mildly 
 objected, and finally flatly refused to submit. The contractor ap- 
 plied to the courts for relief, and the courts in turn declared the 
 contract forfeited! 
 
 Mr, ABBOTT became interested in the development of oil and oil 
 
368 HISTORY OF PETROLEUM. 
 
 lands, early in 1860. From that time until the present, more than 
 twelve years, this connection has been constant and always promi- 
 nent, both as a producer, a refiner, and a buyer and seller of oil. In 
 the spring of 1863, he purchased from S. S. Fertig, Esq., a one- 
 eighth " free" interest in the famous " Noble Well," then producing 
 2,500 barrels per day, and paid for it the princely sum of $27,500 ! 
 Many of Mr. ABBOTT'S friends regarded the amount paid as exor- 
 bitant, but it proved to be one of the best oil investments of his life. 
 He realized his money thrice over, and never regarded the specula- 
 tion as at all hazardous or doubtful. The owners of the " Noble 
 Well," soon after Mr. ABBOTT purchased his interest, determined 
 to buy out the " Caldwell Well," located a short distance from their 
 own, fearing it would injure the flow of the "Noble Well." They did 
 purchase it, paying for it the extraordinary sum of $145,000 ! The 
 well was producing, when they came in possession of it, about 400 
 barrels per day. Mr. ABBOTT, as did the other owners, paid cheer- 
 fully his one-eighth of the sum required to purchase the " Caldwell 
 Well," and deemed it a bargain at that. The owners of the "Cald- 
 well Well," had they held their property forty-eight hours longer, 
 would have been paid as cheerfully $200,000 ! 
 
 In June, 1867, Mr. ABBOTT formed a co-partnership in Pipe 
 Line interests, and the general transaction of the oil trade, with 
 Mr. Henry Harley, who had just completed his Pipe Line from 
 Benninghoff Run to Shaffer Farm. Mr. ABBOTT had, previous to 
 this date, purchased the Pipe Line from Pit Hole to Miller Farm, 
 and was operating it successfully. The consolidation of these two 
 Pipe Lines was, thenceforward, a substantial success in every way 
 Mr. ABBOTT'S judicious management contributing largely to this 
 result. From that day to this he has been identified with this en- 
 terprise, giving to it his large experience and comprehensive busi- 
 ness tact, which have, gone far to render it not only remunerative 
 to its stock owners, but a source of incalculable convenience to oil 
 producers, as well as shippers and refiners, and all others interested, 
 near or remote, in this great staple. Out of this first pipe line en- 
 
WILLIAM H. ABBOTT. 369 
 
 terprise has grown up many others, in various parts of the oil re- 
 gion, from Parker's Landing, St. Petersburg, and the lower river 
 country, up to, and including Titusville and points contiguous to it. 
 The history of this first Pipe line is given so fully in the sketch of 
 Mr. Henry Harley, elsewhere in these pages, that we deem further 
 reference to it, in this connection, as only a repetition. Suffice it to 
 say, " The Pennsylvania Transportation Co." now represents a ca- 
 pital invested of nearly $2,000,000, it has over 400 miles of pipe, 
 stretching its iron lengths at every point where it may be required, 
 from Titusville, Miller and Shaffer Farms, Petroleum Centre and 
 Gregg's Switch, over the mountains to Shamburg, Red Hot, Plea- 
 santville, Trunkeyville, Fagundas, Triumph, Tidioute, Colorado, 
 and Enterprise, including a delivery at Siverly and Oil City. It 
 has, besides, immense platforms and conveniences for railway deli- 
 very at all stations on the Oil Creek and Allegany River Rail 
 Road, where connections are made, and maintains tankage capacity, 
 at various points, of quite 300,000 barrels. This vast interest has 
 been brought to its present magnitude and its conceded remune- 
 rative basis by and through the rare ability and wise foresight of 
 Mr. ABBOTT and his partner, Mr. HARLEY. 
 
 In the Summer of 1865, "The Titusville and Pit-Hole Plank 
 Road Company " was organized, and its construction soon after 
 entered upon. It was completed in the winter of 1866. Mr. 
 ABBOTT, Colonel F. W. Ames, Col. Oliver Keese, and S. Q. 
 Brown, of Pleasantville, were its projectors, furnishing from sixty 
 to eighty per cent, of the capital required for its completion. It was 
 an important work to the region traversed, and went far toward 
 opening the .country to oil development, lying between Titusville, 
 Pleasantville and the then great oildorado of the oil region Pit 
 Hole. It cost $200,000, and more than two-thirds of this sum was 
 advanced by the gentleman we have named. 
 
 Union and Titusville Railroad Company. 
 
 "The Oil Creek and Titusville Mining and Transportation 
 Company/' was granted a charter in April, 1865, authorizing the 
 24 
 
370 HISTORY OF PETROLEUM. 
 
 construction of a railroad from Titusville to Union. James Sill, 
 E. H. Chase, Jno. W. Douglass, H. C. Rogers, Charles Burnham, 
 Joseph Sill, A. C. Bloomfield, and James D. Smith were appointed 
 commissioners, under the act of incorporation, " to open books, re- 
 ceive subscriptions, and organize a company to construct a railway 
 from and to the points named." The capital stock of the company 
 was fixed at $500,000. In April, 1866, a supplemental act was 
 passed by the legislature authorizing the directors to reduce the 
 capital stock to such amount as they deemed proper. On the 17th 
 of April, 1866, at a meeting of the directors, held at Union, the 
 corporate name of the company was changed to "The Union and 
 Titusville Railroad Company." In June 1867, the Company mort- 
 gaged its property, real and personal, to secure $150,000 of bonds 
 to be used in its construction. Subsequently, in 1868, there being 
 default in the payment of interest upon these bonds, the trustees 
 named in the mortgage, by due course, sold the property of the 
 company, its privileges and franchises, at public sale, at the office of 
 Jay Cooke & Co., Philadelphia, to E. Cooper and J. C. Frisbee, 
 and executed to them a deed of the entire property. What amount 
 of money had been expended upon this work to this date, is not 
 fully known. Certain it is that the new organization availed them- 
 selves of but a small portion of what had been done. In the con- 
 dition here indicated, Mr. ABBOTT found the enterprise in 1870, 
 and comprehending its great importance to the city of Titusville, 
 and the oil fields adjacent, resolved upon its immediate building. 
 He associated with himself a few gentlemen of known enterprise, 
 and on the 2d day of July, 1870, a meeting of the stockholders 
 was held at the McHenry House, Meadville, and upon a full con- 
 sultation, it was determined to go on with the work. The follow- 
 ing board of directors was thereupon elected : 
 
 W. H. ABBOTT,^ Jno. Fertig, D. H. Cady, P. H. Stranahan, 
 W. R. Davenport, Henry Harley and J. S. Casement. Mr. AB- 
 BOTT was subsequently elected President, and I). T. Casement 
 Secretary and Treasurer. 
 
WILLIAM H. ABBOTT. 371 
 
 Subscription books were promptly opened, based upon the pledge 
 that Titusville should take $250,000, and the balance, sufficient to 
 complete the work, was to be subscribed by the Casement Brothers, 
 the contractors. Upon this basis the contract was let to the Case- 
 ment Brothers, and work was begun in August, 1870. The sub- 
 scriptions to the capital stock by citizens of Titusville fell far short 
 of Mr. ABBOTT'S anticipations, but rather than the enterprise 
 should fail, Messrs. ABBOTT & HARLEY, in addition to their al- 
 ready large pledge of $50,000, subscribed $66,000 more, making 
 in all $116,000, to this important work. All this was the labor of 
 but a few days, for within one month after Mr. ABBOTT had identi- 
 fied himself with the enterprise, the contracts were let and work 
 actually begun. Thenceforward, the construction of this important 
 road was prosecuted with great rapidity, and on the 28th of Fe- 
 bruary (1871,) following, it was opened, and the first train of cars 
 passed over it, bearing freight and passengers. 
 
 Mr. ABBOTT'S connection with, the undertaking, illustrates as 
 completely as anything we could assert, his character as a business 
 man. He entered upon the enterprise with no such word as fail 
 within hailing distance of him. When the public interest flagged, 
 he put the whole weight of his personal and financial character 
 upon it, and it went through to completion. It was the first en- 
 terprise of this nature, Mr. ABBOTT had identified himself promi- 
 nently with, and he resolved it should not fail, even if it involved 
 the last dollar of his means. 
 
 The road opened in February, 1871, but its progress was not 
 marked with that measure of success so confidently anticipated. Its 
 rival route, the Oil Creek and A. V. R. Road, competed for both 
 freight and passengers, and many of the heavy freighting houses of 
 Titusville, renewed their contracts with the latter road, at reduced 
 rates. The result is easily foretold the Union and Titusville road 
 did not receive the traffic it had a right to anticipate, if not absolutely 
 claim. This state of things continued through the spring and sum- 
 mer of '71, and in September, the majority of the stock and bond- 
 
372 HISTORY OF PETROLEUM. 
 
 holders of the road entered into negotiations for a transfer of the en- 
 tire work to the Oil Creek and Allegany Eiver Rail Road. This 
 consummation Mr. ABBOTT opposed from the start, and continued 
 his opposition, with all the power and resources at his command, 
 to the last. At a meeting of the directors, at which a large majority 
 of the stock and bonds were represented, the proposition was carried 
 over Mr. ABBOTT'S voice and vote. From the commencement he 
 had devoted all his energies and time to this work without " fee or 
 reward." He proposed to continue his services without emolu- 
 ment, if the road was retained by its then owners, and give to it 
 all the ability he possessed to render it a success financially. But 
 all to no purpose. The contract was consummated, and the road 
 passed into the hands of the O. C. & A. V. R. R., under a lease, 
 having reservations protecting the interests of the business men of 
 Titusville. When Mr. ABBOTT connected himself with this enter- 
 prise the Oil Creek Road were charging 17 a car, for freight to 
 Corry, and 60 cents per barrel for oil. Immediately thereafter 
 this rate was reduced to 15 per car and 30 cents per barrel, and 
 just before the completion of the road the price per car, was reduced 
 to 10. The same liberal policy as to coal and all other freights 
 was granted by this rival route, the advantages of which are still 
 realized by citizens of Titusville and the country adjacent. 
 
 Notwithstanding this plain statement, every word of which can 
 be verified by incontestable proof, there are those who assume to 
 believe that Mr. ABBOTT transferred his interest in this railway 
 undertaking at a considerable profit upon his investment ! The 
 writer of this knows whereof he speaks, and asserts without fear of 
 contradiction, that the balance was largely against Mr. ABBOTT, 
 amounting to many thousands of dollars. Even this loss did not 
 shake his confidence in the ultimate success of the road. His proposal 
 to add to his alreadyjieavy liability to the interest, coupled with an 
 offer to discharge the duties of chief executive officer of the corpo- 
 ration, gratis, until success was attained, is proof of his devotion 
 to its interests, and positive evidence of his entire confidence in its 
 
WILLIAM II. ABBOTT. 373 
 
 ultimate value as an investment, both for himself and associates, 
 and to the city of his adoption. 
 
 A man of the prominence of WILLIAM H. ABBOTT, identified 
 with almost every public enterprise that has engaged the attention 
 of the men of the oil region during the last ten or twelve years, 
 affords an almost exhaustless field of interesting facts for a sketch, 
 of the character of which this work is in part made up. We have 
 given enough we apprehend of the leading incidents of his history 
 to indicate the true character and real worth of the man. Indeed, 
 it seems to be labor lost to assert that he is a man above reproach, 
 and without spot or blemish, either as a public or private citizen. 
 In all his relations he is exemplary, acting always upon his con- 
 victions, based upon a broad and comprehensive view of life, its 
 duties and its responsibilities. His generosity and liberality are 
 known of all men. An instance of this will suffice. A year or 
 two since at a Sabbath School celebration of St. James' Episcopal 
 Church, of which Mr. A. is a consistent communicant, and has oc- 
 cupied the position of Senior Warden for many years the necessity 
 for a mission branch of the church, to be located in another part 
 of the city of Titusville, was brought to his attention. The lot had 
 been partly secured. Mr. A., with his accustomed promptness, 
 said " Secure your lot, and I will build your chapel at my own 
 expense, and. upon the plan you have submitted ! " The lot was 
 purchased, and Mr. ABBOTT immediately began and completed the 
 church edifice at a cost of about $4,000. Soon after, Bishop Ker- 
 foot visited Titusville, and the little mission church was dedicated 
 with due solemnity, and is to-day an important auxiliary in the 
 work of educating the young in its immediate locality up to a cor- 
 rect standard of Christian duty and Christian responsibility. 
 
 Mr. ABBOTT is a man of quick perceptions and rapidity of 
 thought and action. With him it is "yes" or "no," and this 
 promptly and without apparent reflection and yet he thinks pro- 
 foundly. His "yes" has cost him thousands and thousands of 
 dollars, and his " no " has been but a slight source of revenue to 
 
374 HISTORY OF PETROLEUM. 
 
 him ! A good man, ever cultivating and acting from the noblest 
 impulses, he is doubtless often imposed upon ; but he never permits 
 the opportunity to escape to give bountifully to charitable objects 
 appealing to him. Honorable in the fullest and broadest sense 
 of the word, he has little charity for those whose practices do not 
 come up to this standard. Proverbially he is a man of enlarged 
 liberality, and gives with an open hand, and with none other than 
 a desire to do good. As a man of business he is prompt, thorough 
 and reliable under all circumstances. As a financier he is far-see- 
 ing and rarely mistaken in his convictions. As President of the 
 Citizens' Bank of Titusville, he is estimated at his real worth, for 
 he has given to that institution very much of the success and finan- 
 cial solidity that has marked its history in the nearly three years 
 of its existence. As a citizen he is foremost in all enterprises cal- 
 culated to add to the growth and prosperity of the city of his home. 
 As a neighbor he is obliging generosity and kindness characteriz- 
 ing his intercourse with all. In his domestic life he is a model of 
 indulgence and excellence, and in all his worldly intercourse a pat- 
 tern and example for the young about him, as well as those of ma- 
 turer years. 
 
 Few communities can boast better men than WILLIAM H. AB- 
 BOTT. His daily life illustrates his worth and illumines his path- 
 way in his declining years. Universally respected, he bears about 
 him those real elements of an unblemished manhood, sure to be ho- 
 nored and beloved as age and infirmity creep upon him. Let us 
 hope he may be spared many years of health and vigor, and be enabled 
 to fill up the measure of his usefulness, reaching the fate of us all, 
 ". like a shock of corn fully ripe," ripe in those manly virtues 
 now so bountifully possessed ripe in the practice of the nobler 
 emotions of the human heart ripe in the assurance of a well-spent 
 life ripe in " the Christian's hope of a blessed immortality." 
 
WToodbunrtvpe. A. P. K. P. Co.. Phil: 
 
 ORANGE NOBLE. 
 
CHANGE NOBLE. 375 
 
 ORANGE NOBLE. 
 
 ERIE, PA. 
 
 ORANGE NOBLE is a native of the State of New York, born in 
 Whitehall, Washington County, on the 27th day of April, 1817. 
 He was the eldest of a family of seven children, five daughters and 
 two sons v His father was a farmer of limited means, but of thrifty 
 and industrious habits. He owned a small farm in that part of the 
 State of New York, and cultivated it with industry and frugality, 
 rearing a large family from its products. ORANGE was the 
 eldest of the children, and at an early age became an important 
 aid to his father in the cultivation of the farm. There were no 
 schools within ten miles of the homestead, and so the advantages 
 of even a common education were denied him, if we except a few 
 months of schooling in each year after he was ten years old 
 until he attained the age of fifteen. At this age he conceived the 
 idea of becoming a cattle dealer, and importuned his father from 
 time to time to aid him in his enterprise. The father discouraged 
 the undertaking as best he could, pointing to many of his neighbors 
 who had spent their lives in that business, and who were yet poor ! 
 This made little impression upon young ORANGE, who could see 
 only success and profit in the business. Finally the father forbid his 
 mentioning the subject in his presence again ! But young NOBLE 
 abated nothing of his determination to get into the traffic as soon 
 as opportunity offered and it presented itself soon after. Visiting 
 a neighbor a few days subsequent to this command of the father, 
 he was shown a very attractive animal a two year old heifer and 
 at once resolved to purchase her if he could make terms. The 
 price was agreed upon, and young NOBLE said he would take her 
 
376 
 
 HISTORY OF PETROLEUM. 
 
 if he could have thirty days' time. "Yes/' said the owner, "you 
 can have her, and pay for her when you are able ! " The animal 
 was driven home, and, within the time named, doubled, and the 
 two were sold at a liberal profit, and the original obligation 
 promptly discharged. This was his first venture in his new busi- 
 ness, but it was sufficient to satisfy him that there was money to be 
 made at it. 
 
 During the same and the following summer he purchased, on 
 credit, a considerable number of sheep and cattle, and drove them 
 into pasture at home or near there, and sold them off in the fall at 
 fair advances and profit. The following year he borrowed $600 
 for ninety days, and at the end of eighty-two days had purchased 
 and sold his stock, paid his loan, and counted his profits at $75 ! 
 This business of buying and selling cattle and sheep, he continued 
 until he was twenty-one, clearing every year from $150 to $250, 
 not meeting with any serious losses. These profits, whatever they 
 were, he cheerfully handed over to his father, to be used in the 
 support of the family. 
 
 The fall before reaching his majority he determined to attend, for 
 a single term, the North Granville Academy, located in his native 
 county, and this resolution he carried out, doing chores during the 
 winter for his board. This may be said to constitute all or nearly all 
 of his educational advantages. He had, however, applied himself 
 with so much industry and zeal to his studies, that when the term 
 closed, he felt he had set out anew in life. He had acquired a gene- 
 ral knowledge of the common branches of an education, especially 
 of mathematics, English grammar, &c., and was partially satisfied. 
 
 The following summer, having become of age, he re-engaged 
 in the business of buying and selling cattle, and counted his profits 
 at the close of the fall trade at $500 ; and here, we may add, that 
 he continued in the business of purchasing and marketing cattle 
 for nearly fifteen years after he came to man's estate, and with uni- 
 form, though moderate success. 
 
 In January, 1841, then in his twenty-third year, he married, 
 
ORANGE NOBLE. 377 
 
 and soon after leased a farm, and began his career as an agricul- 
 turist, in connection with his cattle traffic. Two years later he 
 purchased a small farm, agreeing to pay $2,200 for it. The terms 
 of payment were somewhat remarkable. There was a small sum 
 paid down, and the balance was to be liquidated in annual install- 
 ments, running twenty-five years ! Mr. NOBLE, however, did not 
 avail himself of all the liberality extended to him, but gradually 
 lessened his indebtedness, and before the close of the FIFTH year 
 had paid the last dollar of his bond, and received his deed. 
 
 He continued to live upon this farm to which he added by pur- 
 chase 60 acres until the fall of 1851, when he sold it at an ad- 
 vance from the price originally paid, having determined to remove 
 into western Pennsylvania. After the sale of his farm,, for which 
 he received about one-half cash in hand, and the sale of his stock, 
 crops, &c., he was enabled to count his worldly wealth in ready 
 capital, at $5,000. 
 
 During his fourteen years' business operations, he had been a re- 
 gular depositor and patron of the old " BANK OF WHITEHALL," 
 always one of the most substantial banking institutions of the 
 State of New York. His loans and discounts had not been large, 
 but they were regular, and he had never permitted a note made by 
 himself to go to protest. He paid promptly, and the officers of 
 the bank were always ready to take his notes, even when others of 
 more reputed wealth were denied. A single fact will serve to il- 
 lustrate the estimate put upon him by " THE WHITEHALL BANK." 
 When he came to draw the balance due him from the bank, prepa- 
 ratory to his removal West, the officers paid him $3,500 in a new 
 issue just then being signed, and every note was made payable to 
 "ORANGE NOBLE, OR BEARER." This was a distinction few cus- 
 tomers of a bank had awarded them, but Mr. NOBLE had it ex- 
 tended to him, and at the same time the gratulations and commen- 
 dations of the officers of the bank. 
 
 In the regular transaction of his business through the country, . 
 it was his custom to give checks upon the BANK of WHITEHALL 
 
378 HISTORY OF PETROLEUM. 
 
 for his purchases. These checks ordinarily, would not reach the 
 bank until after his own return home. There were occasions, how- 
 ever, when the checks preceded him, and not unfrequently his ac- 
 count was overdrawn, $500 to $1,000, and once or twice $2,000. 
 But the bank paid them as freely as if he had $50,000 on deposit ! 
 
 In the Spring of 1852, Mr. NOBLE removed with his family to 
 Randolph, Crawford County, Peuna. Soon after reaching his 
 destination, he purchased two or three farms, in all four hundred 
 acres of land, and settled down to its cultivation, adding the old 
 business of his earlier years, the buying and selling of cattle. He 
 purchased mainly young stock of the better sort, and raised them 
 for teaming and farming purposes. He furnished better cattle thaa 
 could be found elsewhere in the region of his residence, and always 
 commanded higher prices, because of their excellence and superiority 
 in all respects. 
 
 In the Spring of 1855, he entered into co-partnership in the gen- 
 eral mercantile trade, with Hon. GEO. B. DELEMATER, the late 
 State Senator from the Crawford district, then a resident of Townville. 
 He was at this time engaged in the manufacture of " Shooks" for 
 the eastern markets, and had built extensively for the conveniences 
 of his increased and increasing business. In the Spring of 1856, 
 the "shook" manufactory was added to the mercantile enterprise, 
 and the capacity of the former largely increased. At times during 
 the following three, four and five years of this mechanical enter- 
 prise they employed from sixty to eighty men, in the manufacture 
 of "shooks," and after the discovery of oil, in making barrels for 
 that trade. The firm continued their mercantile and manufactur- 
 ing operations up to the fall of 1863, some months after the famous 
 "Noble well" was struck. 
 
 The assertion is often made, that when Mr. NOBLE, and his 
 partner Mr. DELEMATER, commenced their oil developments, or 
 rather when they struck the " Noble well," both were poor, and 
 were largely in debt. This is very far from the truth. Their 
 business connection had been successful in every direction. They 
 
ORANGE NOBLE. 379 
 
 had by their industry and a careful conduct of their affairs, accumu- 
 lated a handsome property, and owed no man a dollar, they could 
 not liquidate at sight. When they began their operations in 1859- 
 60, in the oil region, the firm was worth in round numbers $50,000. 
 It is proper to state this fact here, and now, that assertions to the 
 contrary may be set at rest. 
 
 In October, 1859, or within a few weeks of the striking of the 
 " Drake well," Mr. NOBLE, in company with Mr. Delemater, and 
 Mr. L. L. Lamb, visited Titusville with no other purpose than to 
 see for themselves the wonderful phenomena of " pumping oil out 
 of the ground." A neighbor of Mr. NOBLE'S, who had visited the 
 well, was rehearsing its remarkable operations " pumping water 
 and Seneca oil in large quantities," and descanting upon the 
 "visitation," rather forcibly. "You tell that story very well; one 
 would think you believed it yourself!" said Mr. NOBLE, after 
 listening to a rehearsal of the facts. " And they are facts," said 
 the informant. " I was there and saw it with my own eyes!" But 
 Mr. NOBLE could hardly credit the statement, and he did not. 
 Subsequently, he talked privately with this man, who had seen the 
 strange phenomena, and was more than half induced to give his 
 statement credence. He resolved to see it for himself, and a few 
 days after the interview referred to, Mr. NOBLE, Mr. Delemater, 
 and Mr. Lamb, set out from Townville, twelve miles distant from 
 Titusville, to visit this "well in the rocks," which was reported to 
 be sending forth " Seneca oil " in fabulous quantities. All these 
 gentlemen were disbelievers in the report that had sent them upon 
 this journey of inspection. Mr. NOBLE looked upon it as an utterly 
 impossible thing; a sort of half fact and half hoax, which only a 
 visit would dispel or confirm. The party reached the "Drake 
 well," late in the day, in October, 1859, and were convinced, as 
 well as confounded. The idea of pumping so valuable a commo- 
 dity as " Seneca oil," an article of rare medicinal value, from the 
 ground, struck them with amazement. There it was, however, 
 and the fact could not be gainsaid. They remained about the well 
 
380 HISTORY OF PETROLEUM. 
 
 for some hours, and when finally they set out for home, little else 
 was talked of but this wonderful development. 
 
 Before reaching their homes they had practically organized an 
 Oil Company, to which Mr. NOBLE and Mr. Delemater each con- 
 tributed $3,000, and Mr. Lamb $2,000. Mr. NOBLE was deputed 
 to return without delay to "the Creek," and secure leases, and 
 make arrangements for putting down one or more wells. In pur- 
 suance of this hurriedly organized effort, Mr. NOBLE went to 
 Titusville, and secured his first lease, upon the Staekpole farm, 
 below the "Drake well." His next lease was upon the Jones 
 farm, in the vicinity of Miller Farm. Derricks were erected, and 
 in the spring of 1 860, a well was drilled with a spring-pole upon 
 each of these farms. Both were dry holes ! Later in the summer 
 of 1860, he secured a lease of seven acres on the Tarr farm, and 
 in 1861 he held a lease of small dimensions on the Hamilton 
 McClintock farm. The Tarr farm lease was developed in 1861. 
 " The Crescent " well was among the first put down, and its history 
 is a peculiar one. It started off at three to four hundred barrels, 
 and flowed steadily at this rate for nearly ten months, and stopped 
 in an hour, and has never since produced a barrel of oil ! Efforts 
 were made in 1871 to resuscitate it, but without avail. It was 
 " rimmed out," and re-tubed, and after a month's pumping, was 
 abandoned as a dry hole. During the life of the " Crescent well," 
 in 1861, oil was selling at ten and fifteen cents per barrel, and while 
 it produced largely, it never paid a dollar of profit to its owners ! 
 
 Three wells were put down on the Hamilton McClintock lease, 
 in 1861-2, two of which produced ten or twelve barrels each per 
 day, and the third was dry! 
 
 History of the "Noble Well! 1 
 
 In the spring of 1860, Mr. NOBLE secured for himself and part- 
 ners Messrs. Delemater and Lamb a lease of sixteen acres on 
 the Farrel farm, half a mile above what is now known as Pioneer. 
 For this lease he paid $600 bonus, " spot cash," and one-fourth of 
 
ORANGE NOBLE. 381 
 
 the oil. He bound himself and associates to proceed without de- 
 lay interpreted to mean twenty to thirty days to drill a well 
 1 34 feet deep. This done his lease was held to be valid for twenty 
 years, whether oil was found at that depth or not. In pursuance 
 of this contract he set immediately about the work. A derrick was 
 erected, a " spring pole " hung, and the labor of drilling began. 
 It required days and weeks, running into months, to put down a 
 well to this depth with a "spring pole," but the work was finally 
 accomplished Mr. NOBLE personally superintending the entire 
 labor. It was done by " days' work," hiring men from time to 
 time to replace those who had " worn themselves out " in the ex- 
 hausting labors required of them. 
 
 The well reached the required depth 134 feet late in the fall of 
 1860, and no oil, and not even "a show" of the coveted article 
 was visible, or had been found from its commencement. Mr. NO- 
 BLE was the master spirit of the enterprise, and his judgment and 
 determination was law to the balance of the owners. He resolved 
 to abandon the well for the present, at least, and develop some one 
 or more of his many other leases. This he did without unneces- 
 sary delay, and nothing was done upon the property, in the way 
 of developments, until the spring of 1863. Meantime a "third 
 sand rock" had been found at various points on "the Creek" 
 from which oil was being produced in large quantities. 
 
 The contract for drilling this abandoned well of 1860, was let to 
 SAM'L S. FERTIG, of Titusville, since become one of the successful 
 oil producers of the region. He employed for the purpose of sink- 
 ing the well, a small eight or ten horse-power boiler and engine, 
 and with the opening of spring in 1863 in April, or perhaps ear- 
 lier he began the work of putting the well down to the " third 
 sand." As a part of his payments for the labor, Mr. NOBLE as- 
 signed to him a ONE-SIXTEENTH working interest. The well was 
 drilled rapidly, but after reaching the oil rock, at 452 feet from 
 the surface, Mr. Fertig found one or two "crevices," of ten to 
 twelve inches depth, as he judged by the dropping of the drilling- 
 
382 HISTORY OP PETROLEUM. 
 
 tool. The last "crevice" of ten or twelve inches depth alarmed 
 him, lest he might get his tools fast, and believing he was deep 
 enough in the " sand rock," and prompted by his fears for the 
 safety of his tools, he " shut down " for consultation and further 
 orders. Mr. NOBLE was absent at this juncture of affairs, and did 
 not learn of Mr. Fertig's action for a day or two. "When he re- 
 turned he found everything at a stand-still, and the contractor 
 quite determined to stop where he was, and test the well ! 
 
 Some time before the well was down, Mr. NOBLE, who had 
 from the commencement in 1860, and so on to the second renewal 
 of operations, sole control of all matters pertaining to it, determined 
 to tube it, when completed, with the best artesian tubing. To ob- 
 tain this he visited the various manufactories at Cleveland and 
 Pittsburgh, and at last, where he least expected to find it in the lat- 
 ter city, his eye fell upon a few lengths of the desired article, lying 
 in front of a small establishment, in the rear of the St. Charles 
 Hotel. He was not long in ascertaining its " author and finisher," 
 a large establishment in Philadelphia. He ordered six hundred 
 feet shipped at once, and contracted with the Pittsburgh party to 
 take it on its arrival there, mount each joint with brass thimbles, 
 and at the same time manufacture for him a peculiar discharge 
 pipe, which was to cap the tubing, having four stop cocks to facili- 
 tate the conveyance of the oil to any desired point. This done he 
 hastened back to the well to await its arrival. 
 
 Time and space will not permit a detail of the delays attending 
 the transit of this tubing to its destination. It was " switched off" 
 at Ravenna, Ohio, and lay there a week or two, and was delayed 
 in all about twenty days at various points. It finally reached 
 Cony, and here Mr. NOBLE obtained permission from Dr. STREE- 
 TER, a director of the road, to have it transferred to a freight car, 
 and this attached to a passenger train nearly ready to start for Titus- 
 ville. The $10 slipped into the palm of the " train dispatcher" 
 was an amazing help, in the matter of facilitating this unusual 
 manner of transporting large quantities of freight I 
 
ORANGE NOBLE. 
 
 383 
 
 The tubing reached its destination in a day or two after its ship- 
 ment from Corry, and was in the well and ready for operation by 
 3 o'clock on the 27th day of May, 1863. The well had been stand- 
 ing open for a week or ten days, the surface water, and water veins 
 below pouring into it in great volume. It had not filled up, but 
 the roar of the " falling waters " was almost deafening. Where 
 the water ran to, as the hole did not fill up, the reader can "guess " 
 as well as we can. 
 
 After a few hours delay the well was ready "to start up." Mr. 
 NOBLE gave orders to Mr. FERTIG, to "start her slowly and pump 
 steadily." This done he repaired to an eating-house near by, as he 
 says, "to get a bite of something to eat." He had but partially fin- 
 ished his lunch, when a lad at the door remarked, " That well throws 
 water, bully !" Mr. NOBLE heard the remark, but paid no atten- 
 tion to it, until it was thrice repeated ; then turning his eye toward 
 the door he saw the " Noble well" spouting oil and water far above 
 the derrick and trees about it ! Mr. NOBLE describes the scene 
 most graphically. It was about 4 o'clock, and the expectation was, 
 that it would require pumping some hours before the golden stream 
 would show itself. But it came within twenty minutes after the 
 pump started. The well puffed and blowed, and roared, and the 
 earth about it fairly trembled with agitation. No one dared to ap- 
 proach it, even within the circuit of the falling spray of oil and 
 water. The little ravine near the derrick soon filled up with the 
 great volume of oil rattling and foaming through the two-and-a- 
 half inch tubing. Something must be done to control the dis- 
 charge and save the oil. Mr. NOBLE offered $50 each, to any three 
 men who would enter the derrick and attach his ingenious device 
 for conducting the oil into tanks. The men stripped to the buff, 
 and entered the derrick. The spray, oil and water completely hid 
 them from view, and nearly drowned them before they could ac- 
 complish their task. At the end of an hour, or a little less, they 
 had made the connection and returned to the outer world. For 
 their service Mr. NOBLE gave them $200. 
 
384 HISTORY OP PETROLEUM. 
 
 The flow of the well being now un'der control, tanks became a 
 vital necessity. One, of seven hundred barrel capacity had been pro- 
 vided, but this was filled in an incredibly short space of time ! Soon 
 after the oil began to flow into the tank, Mr. NOBLE despatched 
 men on horseback, down "the Creek" to advise boatmen, that they 
 could have all the oil they wanted at $2 per barrel. And about the 
 hour the 700-barrel tank was full, boats began to arrive from be- 
 low, and by midnight enough were abreast of the well to take the 
 oil as fast as it could be conveyed to them. The following day 
 more came, and by noon " oil boats" lay in " the Creek" for twenty 
 rods above and below the well, filling the stream from bank to 
 bank. 
 
 This was a temporary relief only. Mr. NOBLE immediately 
 employed all the men he could find to assist in supplying tanks. 
 Fifty men were at work the day following "the great strike," 
 clearing away, and putting together immense tanks made of wood 
 and having capacity of from eight hundred to twelve hundred bar- 
 rels. Within fifty feet of the " Noble well," stood an empty tank 
 with a capacity of three thousand barrels. None of the owners 
 could be found, but Mr. NOBLE stretched his lead pipes into it, 
 and it was full in less than twenty-four hours after! Other 
 tanks, wholly empty, were within a hundred feet of the " Noble 
 well;" and these were pressed into the service and filled. By 
 the time all these tanks were running over full, the boats loaded 
 and dispatched, Mr. NOBLE had an ample supply of his own, 
 ready for use. 
 
 We have been thus particular in our detailed account of this well, 
 because of the almost romance with which it was surrounded, and 
 that seemed to mark its history from its commencement and this 
 even is not its history complete. The well from the start, flowed 
 between 2500 and 3000 barrels daily, and continued at this stand- 
 ard for many months. During its second year, its product gradu- 
 ally fell off, and in the later months of its second year's life in 1865, 
 it produced four to eight hundred barrels a day. The first month's 
 
ORANGE XOBLE. 385 
 
 shipments and sales from its product, were 61,300 barrels, and 
 there were still left in the tanks 15,000 barrels. The loss 'from 
 waste, leakage, want of tankage, &c., &c., was large, and altogether 
 it is safe to say that during the first months of its existence, its pro- 
 duct was not less than 3000 barrels per day. When it began to 
 flow, oil was selling at the wells at $4 per barrel. To save as much 
 of it as possible, Mr. NOBLE sold it by the boat load, and with little 
 regard to the size of the boat, at $2 per barrel. While the product 
 was at its height, oil was sold at $6, $7, $8, and even $10 and 
 $13 per barrel, from their great tanks, bringing in return a volume 
 of greenbacks, which went to enrich the fortunate owners and land 
 proprietors. It has come to be a proverb almost, that "The Noble 
 well " earned more money for its owners, than any well ever struck 
 in the oil regions. And it may be added, that every dollar it 
 earned was scrupulously accounted for, and paid over to the rightful 
 owner. 
 
 Mr. NOBLE superintended the work of putting down the well, 
 and determined, when it began to produce in such immense volume, 
 that every interest should have its full share of the profits and 
 he rigidly adhered to this determination, as long as he had control 
 of it. When it subsequently passed into the hands of a stock com- 
 pany he surrendered his charge, conscious that no interest, however 
 small, and there were many who held interests, drawing only one 
 barrel in one hundred and seventeen had. suffered a loss of a 
 dollar. 
 
 "The Caldwell well" was located a short distance from the 
 " Noble Well," and had been producing from 400 to 500 barrels 
 per day for a month before the " Noble " was struck. After the 
 " Noble well " was down and pouring out its 3000 barrels daily, 
 Mr. NOBLE became interested in the effect it would be likely to 
 produce upon his near neighbors, of "the Caldwell." He fre- 
 quently met the superintendent, Mr. Brown, and always inquired 
 if he "discovered any change in the product of their well?" 
 " No," was the reply, for several days. But the change not long 
 25 
 
386 HISTORY OF PETROLEUM. 
 
 after this was apparent. "The Caldwell" was surely lessening, 
 day by day, in its product, and Mr. Brown became solicitous for 
 the interests of his company, owners and employers. He made 
 known his fears to Mr. NOBLE, who had from the first been anti- 
 cipating this very result. He had several interviews with Mr. 
 Brown, who at first intimated and subsequently fairly demanded 
 one-quarter of the product of the " Noble well " as remuneration 
 for the loss to " The Caldwell." The " Noble " was producing at 
 this time ten days to two weeks after it was struck 3,000 barrels 
 a day. Mr. Brown would be satisfied with one-quarter of the pro- 
 duct, and deemed this a fair equivalent for the loss his well was 
 sustaining ! Mr. NOBLE, although not legally bound to pay a sin- 
 gle dollar to the owners of the " Caldwell well," yet acknowledged 
 a moral obligation to reimburse them. The Noble well had been 
 located and drilled 134 feet three years before the Caldwell well 
 had been projected, and when it was down, and it was absolutely 
 known that it was drawing the oil from his neighbors, there was 
 no legal obligation resting upon him to make good their loss. 
 Nevertheless, he felt it his duty, to in part at least, make good their 
 deficiency. There was still another fear in regard to the "Cald- 
 well well." The owners threatened to draw their tubing and let 
 the water down into the " Noble well," and thus destroy both, in 
 all probability. To avoid this threatened contingency, as well as 
 to deal justly, Mr. NOBLE cheerfully entered into the negotiations 
 we hereafter detail. Mr. Brown was advised to call together his 
 co-partners, at a subsequent day, with a view to some sort of settle- 
 ment. This meeting was soon after held, and Mr. NOBLE asked 
 them to consider the whole question at issue, and submit two pro- 
 positions one for the sale of their property, and the other, the 
 amount of oil they would be satisfied with, from the Noble well. 
 They first demanded, one-quarter of the product of the Noble well! 
 The Caldwell had never produced more than 650 barrels per day, 
 even before the "Noble well" was struck, and now they required 
 seven or eight hundred barrels to make good, not their absolute 
 
ORANGE NOBLE. 387 
 
 loss, but a prospective injury to their well. (" The CaMwell " was 
 at this time flowing about 350 barrels.) The proposition to sell 
 their property had also been considered, and they had agreed to 
 offer it to Mr. NOBLE for $150,000. 
 
 A second council was held, but they adhered to the first demand 
 one-quarter of the product of the NOBLE well, but had concluded 
 to take $145,000 for their lease, well and property. "When do 
 you want this money?" inquired Mr. NOBLE. "To-day," said 
 Mr. Brown. " That's a good deal of cash to raise in so short a 
 time," answered Mr. NOBLE, "and I am not able to do it. I will 
 tell you what I'll do. I will buy your property at the sum you 
 name, and will pay you to-day $37,500. Fifteen days from to-day 
 I will pay you $40,000 more. Thirty days from to-day I will pay 
 you $40,000 more, and the balance, $28/500, I will pay on or 
 before the end of forty-five days from to-day." This liberal propo- 
 sition was finally accepted, and the Caldwell well passed into the 
 control and ownership of the Noble Well Company. It continued 
 to produce two or three hundred barrels a day for a few weeks, but 
 in less than one month it "dried up," and never afterwards pro- 
 duced a barrel of oil ! 
 
 The negotiations and final purchase of this property were all the 
 work of Mr. NOBLE, and were begun and concluded without the 
 knowledge and consent of his associates, if we except W. H. Abbott, 
 Woods & Wright, J. W. Hammond, Esq., and one or two of the 
 land owners the Messrs. Farrel who had purchased small work- 
 ing interests. Mr. NOBLE conceded a moral obligation to make 
 good, or to a degree repair the loss of his neighbors, but it is mo- 
 rally certain that no court or jury would ever have awarded the 
 fabulous sum he consented to pay to make them whole. He, how- 
 ever, determined to deal justly and honorably with all, and if he 
 erred in his conclusions the error should be against himself. When 
 afterwards his action was submitted to his associates, it was heartily 
 and unqualifiedly approved. 
 
 This large sum of money, $145,000, was afterwards paid before 
 
388 HISTORY OF PETROLEUM. 
 
 it became due ; and every dollar of it was earned and realized from 
 the product of the Noble Well, and within the forty-five days of its 
 maturity ! 
 
 It is to be regretted that no reliable data can be found now of 
 the immense sums of money this well earned for its owners. The 
 entire product of the we'll was, according to the books of shipment 
 and sales, 480,000 barrels. It is safe to say, that $2,800,000 is a 
 fair estimate of its fabulous profits. Of this princely sum, one-quar- 
 ter was paid to the land interest, owned by James, John and 
 Nelson Parrel, now residing at Titusville, and an only sister, Miss 
 Sadie Parrel, since Mrs. W. B. Sterritt, of Titusville. The re- 
 maining three-quarters were fairly and equitably divided according 
 to the interest owned, among the ten or twelve fortunate possessors. 
 
 Original Owners of the Noble Well. 
 
 Orange Noble and Geo. B. Delemater owned one-half the work- 
 ing interest. One-sixteenth of their interest was in 18 63, assigned 
 to S. S. Pertig, who subsequently sold it to W. H. Abbott, of Titus- 
 ville, for 12,500. L. L. Lamb, W. H. Noble, Salmon Noble, 
 father of Orange Noble, Charles Delemater, Thomas Delemater, G. 
 T. Churchill, James Hall, Eev. L. Keed, L. H. Hall, and Kollin 
 Thompson these last ten owned, altogether, a little less than a 
 one-quarter interest, which, when divided, gave each one barrel of 
 every 117 barrels the well produced. Even this small fractional 
 interest gave to each from sixteen to twenty-two barrels per day. 
 After the well was down and producing 3000 barrels daily, Mr. 
 W. H. Abbott purchased the one-sixteenth interest, owned by Mr. 
 Fertig, who, while drilling the well, purchased a sixteenth land 
 interest from Jno. Parrel, at a nominal price. This he also sold to 
 Mr. Abbott for $14,500. Jno. W. Hammond, Esq., of Erie, Pa., 
 purchased an interest^ after the well was struck, as did also "Woods 
 & Wright, of Petroleum Centre. 
 
 There is one fact connected with the history of "The Noble 
 well " which we venture to give here as entirely new to most of 
 
ORANGE NOBLE. 389 
 
 the readers of the present day. Ten days, or perhaps two weeks 
 before the well was down, a gentleman called upon Mr. NOBLE, 
 and after much circuitous conversation, asked, "What will you 
 take for your interest in this well, Mr. NOBLE?" Mr. N. dis- 
 claimed any desire to sell. "Will you take $10,000?" said the 
 stranger. "Oh, you don't want to pay that amount of money for 
 an uncertain piece of property," replied Mr. NOBLE. But the 
 stranger was in earnest. He offered $10,000, and subsequently 
 $20,000, and $50,000, and finally $100,000 was tendered for the 
 Noble and Delemater one-half interest . in the well ! Mr. NOBLE 
 declined all, not because he deemed the well worth more than that 
 sum of money, but because he had determined to see it down and 
 tested before he parted with another fraction of his interest. The 
 wisdom of his resolute action was fully realized in the subse- 
 quent history of the well, for he received as his part of the profits 
 from its product, nearly if not quite $800,000 ! 
 
 The subsequent history of the Noble well may be briefly stated. 
 During the spring of 1864, "The Noble & Delemater Oil Com- 
 pany" was organized, the interests of Mr. NOBLE and Mr. De- 
 lemater in the well, forming the basis of its capital stock, which 
 was fixed at $500,000. Of this sum Messrs. NOBLE & Delemater 
 held $200,000 in shares, the par value of which was $10 per share. 
 The well was still producing 500 to 800 barrels daily, and con- 
 tinued to do this for some months after the organization of the 
 stock company. Several monthly dividends were declared, and 
 everything seemed to be going on promisingly. Of course with 
 the organization of the stock company, the control of the well 
 passed from the hands of Mr. NOBLE, to that of the company. 
 During the early months of 1865, the well still flowing 300 to 400 
 barrels, the Superintendent and President of the Company deemed 
 it necessary to take out the tubing and clean out the well. This 
 was very earnestly opposed by Mr. NOBLE, who seems to have had 
 well-grounded fears in regard to the proceeding. His opposition 
 delayed the determinations of these gentlemen for a few weeks, and 
 
390 HISTORY OF PETROLEUM. 
 
 meantime Mr. NOBLE sold, as did also Mr. Delemater, every share 
 of their stock at a little more than its par value. Later in the 
 spring of 1865, the tubing was taken out, the well thoroughly 
 cleaned, and again put into operation. But the life of the grand 
 old flower had fled ! With the exception of a few barrels of oil 
 pumped for a day or two after "starting up," it came to a dead 
 stand, and was shortly after abandoned as a dry hole ! 
 
 In April, 1864, Mr. NOBLE removed from Townville to Erie, 
 Pa., where he had already purchased a very handsome residence 
 and grounds. The dwelling is situated in the Yv T estern portion of 
 the city, upon a slight eminence, overlooking the city, harbor and 
 lake. Mr. NOBLE has expended a large amount of money in fur- 
 nishing his home, and in embellishing the ample grounds about it. 
 Everything is substantial, luxurious and attractive. 
 
 In January, 1865, "The Keystone National Bank " of Erie, 
 Pa., was organized with a capital of $150,000 Mr. NOBLE sub- 
 scribing $75,000 to its stock. At the first meeting for the election 
 of officers, Mr. NOBLE was elected its President, and has been an- 
 nually re-elected to this responsible position, since. THE KEY- 
 STONE NATIONAL BANK of Erie, Pa., is one of the best managed 
 and most substantial institutions of its character, in the Common- 
 wealth of Pennsylvania. Among its directors are the ablest men 
 of the growing city of Erie, who give character, thrift and success to 
 financial operations of this magnitude. Before leaving this portion 
 of Mr. NOBLE'S history, it is not deemed inappropriate to say, that 
 the capital stock of the Keystone National Bank has been increasd 
 to $280,000, and this within a year after its organization. 
 
 In April, 1868, Mr. NOBLE was made the candidate of his party 
 for the responsible office of Mayor, and was elected by a large ma- 
 jority. He was re-elected to serve a second term, and pending an 
 amendment of the City's Charter, he held over one term, and was 
 re-elected the third time without opposition. During his four 
 years' administration many valuable and much needed city improve- 
 ments were inaugurated, and carried through to completion. Among 
 
OEANGE NOBLE. 391 
 
 these we may name Erie's splendid system of water works, costing 
 $800,000. The water is taken from the lake, given an elevation 
 of two hundred feet, and thence distributed to every part of the city, 
 through immense mains and in exhaustless quantities. These water- 
 works are after the pattern of the city of Chicago, and may well be 
 the pride and boast of the good people of the city of Erie. 
 
 A thorough and elaborate system of sewerage was also adopted 
 and put into operation during Mr. NOBLE'S term of office. To 
 this should be added the adoption of a general street paving policy, 
 inaugurated and carried into successful operation during his admin- 
 istration. 
 
 Mr. NOBLE is largely identified with many of the industrial and 
 financial enterprises of the city of Erie. He was made the Presi- 
 dent of The Alps Insurance Company, upon its organization in 
 1871, and has been twice re-elected to this position. 
 
 Upon its organization in 1869, he was elected and has been re- 
 elected since to the Presidency of the Erie City Passenger Railway 
 Company, and is among its largest stockholders. 
 
 He is a director of " The Second National Bank of Erie," and is 
 also a director of " The Erie Dime Savings Bank," an institution 
 of steady growth and solidity. He is also a large stockholder and 
 a director of the Foxburg and St. Petersburg Savings Bank, in 
 Clarion County. In 1866, Mr. NOBLE erected the " Noble Block," 
 a magnificent brick and stone structure, four stories high, and cov- 
 ering nearly half a square at the corner of State and Eighth Streets. 
 This improvement, for it is one of the finest blocks in the city, cost 
 him in the neighborhood of $140,000. He was the projector, 
 builder and one-half owner of the first elevator built in the city 
 of Erie. He is also half owner of " The Bay State Iron Works," 
 one of the successful industries of Erie, in which he has invested 
 $50,000. He is besides the owner of a one-quarter interest in the 
 extensive blast furnace of Rawle, Noble & Co.. in which he has 
 invested $60,000. 
 
 In 1872, he added to his other enterprises "The Erie Paper 
 
392 HISTORY OF PETROLEUM, 
 
 Mill/' for the manufacture of paper from wood and other mate- 
 rial. This undertaking, at first an experiment, has now come to be 
 a positive success, and to it Mr. NOBLE has contributed of his am- 
 ple means to make it so, its entire capital nearly $70,000. 
 
 It will be hardly expected that we should make mention of all 
 the enterprises with which Mr. NOBLE has identified himself during 
 his ten years' residence in the city of Erie. It is due to him to 
 say, however, that whatever promised growth and prosperity to the 
 city of his residence has met his warm approval and co-operation. 
 
 Mr. NOBLE is a gentleman of quiet deportment and simple 
 tastes and habits. He is not proud, nor can he be said to be a 
 handsome man. There is however a cordiality always about him 
 that renders him attractive and agreeable to all who make his ac- 
 quaintance. He is a rigidly upright, honest and honorable man, 
 of unimpeachable integrity and real private worth. In business 
 circles he is recognized as a gentleman of liberal views and clear 
 conceptions, enterprising, and generously so, with the ample means 
 at his control. He is a man of even temper, amounting to amia- 
 bility. He is cool in judgment and candid in the expression of his 
 opinions. There may be, and possibly is, a little self-will in his 
 general character, but this is guided and governed by a matured 
 experience that always controls his action. There is no deception ' 
 in the man. He is frank in his friendships and as steadfast and 
 true as. the needle to the pole. Integrity of character, devotion to 
 his friends, and a readiness to serve them at a personal inconve- 
 nience, if need be, make up the personal worth and comprehend 
 the general outline of his character. 
 
 Although practically retired from the oil trade, he is still the 
 possessor of large tracts of oil lands located in the vicinity of 
 Tidioute. These he leases upon liberal terms, as opportunity 
 offers. His extensive^and extending business cares absorb much 
 of his time and attention. But he is blessed with a vigorous con- 
 stitution and robust health, and bids fair to live to a ripe old age 
 to enjoy the fruits of his industry and deserved success. 
 
DR. F. B. BREWER. 
 
DB. F. B. BREWER. 393 
 
 DR. F. B. BREWER. 
 
 WESTFIELD, N. Y. 
 
 FRANCIS B. BREWER was born in Keene, N. H., October 20th, 
 1820. His father, Ebenezer Brewer, Esq., moved in 1822, to 
 Mclndoe's Falls, Vermont, and there carried on an extensive mer- 
 cantile and lumbering business until the year 1840, when he and 
 his associates in business purchased several thousand acres of land 
 on Oil Creek, and continued there their mercantile and lumbering 
 operations. 
 
 The subject of this sketch is a graduate of Dartmouth College, 
 class of 1843. He continued his professional studies in the medi- 
 cal department of the same institution, and. completed them in the 
 Jefferson Medical School, of Philadelphia. He began the practice of 
 medicine in Barnet, Vermont. Soon after the establishment of the 
 lumbering business on Oil Creek, at Titusville, he had heard with 
 interest the accounts of a natural bituminous oil which was found 
 in that immediate vicinity and along the valley of Oil Creek, and 
 in conversation with persons who had returned from that region he 
 learned that it was highly esteemed as a domestic remedy of great 
 efficacy in several diseases, such as rheumatism, neuralgia and af- 
 fections of the throat. In the year 1848, or 1849, he procured seve- 
 ral gallons of the oil and used it with marked success in his prac- 
 tice. The product became an interesting study, and excited his 
 surprise that an article so easily procured and so intrinsically valu- 
 able should be so entirely neglected. 
 
 In looking at the history of Petroleum he learned that it was 
 found in many portions of the world, and in the East, was to some 
 extent utilized, and entered into the commercial statistics of the 
 countries which produced it. 
 
 In the fall of 1850, Dr. BREWER made a journey to western 
 
394 HISTORY OF PETROLEUM. 
 
 Pennsylvania, and while at Titusville, where the firm of Brewer, 
 Watson & Co. were operating largely in lumber, he visited and 
 examined the original oil spring a few rods below what was known 
 as the " Upper Mill," and just south of the line dividing Yenango 
 and Crawford counties, and on the spot where the Drake Well was 
 subsequently developed. After visiting the timber lands of the 
 company, and their several mills, and conversing with Mr. Jona- 
 than Watson, who was the active partner then at Titusville, Dr. 
 BREWER determined to accept the propositions of the firm and be- 
 come a partner in the business. 
 
 Although the development of the Petroleum Springs, was often 
 discussed, nothing was really done in the matter for two or three 
 years. In the fall of 1852, Dr. BREWER took a quantity of the 
 oil to Hanover, N. H., and submitted it, for chemical analysis, to 
 Prof. O. P. Hubbard, of Dartmouth College. He was assured by 
 Prof. Hubbard that the product was a very valuable one, but that 
 oil would not be found in quantities sufficient for commercial pur- 
 poses. The first proposition Dr. BREWER gladly admitted to be 
 true ; the second, however, he felt sure was made at a venture, and 
 did not accord with his own conclusions, based on a careful explo- 
 ration of the territory and confirmed by abundant surface indica- 
 tions throughout the entire valley of Oil Creek. Specimens of the 
 oil were left with Prof. Dixie Crosby, of Hanover, and were there 
 seen by individuals, who, after several years, became interested in 
 the oil business. 
 
 In the summer of 1854, A. H. Crosby, Esq., son of Dr. Dixie 
 Crosby, visited Titusville at the request of Dr. Brewer, and as the 
 result of this visit, a proposition was made which was the first real 
 step toward the great end now accomplished, of good and cheap 
 light for all the world. There was formed in New York City, a 
 Joint-Stock Co., called " The Pennsylvania Eock Oil Company," 
 to the organization and working, of which Dr. Brewer gave much 
 time and attention. On a subsequent visit to New Haven, he was 
 introduced, to Col. E. L. Drake, who remarked that he had been 
 
DE. F. B. BEEWEE. 395 
 
 solicited to take stock in an oil company, and wished Dr. BEEWEE to 
 give him some information on the subject, which was cheerfully 
 done. The stock was purchased, and Col. Drake some years after, 
 moved to Titusville, and developed the first oil well ever bored or 
 drilled in the rock. 
 
 From this time till 1864, Dr. BEEWEE gave most of his time to 
 the oil business. The firm of Brewer, Watson & Co., owning 
 large tracts of land, and leasing many farms, required the active 
 labors of all their partners. 
 
 In 18G4, the company sold most of their territory, and Dr. 
 BEEWEE, who had removed to Westfield, Chautauqua Co., New 
 York, organized the " First National Bank," in that village, 
 of which he has always been the president. He is also proprietor 
 of a large manufacturing establishment, called the " Westfield 
 Lock Works." 
 
 During the rebellion, Dr. BEEWEB received the appointment of 
 Special State Agent, with rank as Major, and spent much time in 
 visiting the soldiers of New York, looking after their welfare, and 
 supplying their wants when sick, and suffering in the camps and 
 hospitals, and on the field throughout the Eastern and Southern 
 Divisions of the army. 
 
 In the year 1867, the doctor made the tour of Europe, and 
 during this time, he carefully examined into the progress made in 
 the refining business, and the comparative merits of the several 
 processes used by the European manufacturers of refined oil, as com- 
 pared with the American methods of accomplishing the same 
 results. The samples exhibited at the Paris exposition, were 
 numerous, but the merit belonged to the American Kefiners as 
 was clearly demonstrated by the purity of the oil, and the brilliancy 
 of the light. 
 
 Dr. BEEWEE, has still some free interests in the oil regions, and 
 occasionally visits Titusville, and the valley of Oil Creek, where 
 he is most cordially welcomed by the old residents of the country 
 as well as by numerous gentlemen, who have known him only 
 
396 HISTORY OF PETROLEUM. 
 
 through business operations. He enjoys the confidence of the 
 people among whom he now resides, as is evinced by his occupy- 
 ing the position of Chairman of the County Board of Supervisors, 
 and Member of Assembly from the First District of Chautauqua 
 County. 
 
 Dr. BREWER is a gentleman of solid worth, and we may add, 
 of solid wealth, as well. A man of superior education and rare 
 literary culture, he is fitted for almost any position he may 
 aspire to. Of robust physique, excellent presence, and attractive 
 manner, he wins, and merits distinction in whatever circle he may 
 move. He is enterprising with his large means, liberal in his 
 views of public affairs, and thoroughly honest and honorable in all 
 his private and public relations. He acts from his convictions 
 always, never doing violence to his own sense of right and wrong. 
 He has due respect for the opinions of others, and is proverbially 
 reserved in the expression of his own. He is eminently a man of 
 the people, and is universally respected for his integrity and purity 
 of character. 
 
JOHN FERTIG 
 
JOHN FEKTIG. 397 
 
 JOHN FERTIG. 
 
 TITUSVILLE, PA. 
 
 THE subject of the following sketch may be classed among the 
 most active and successful business men of the oil region, distin- 
 guished alike for integrity and reliability, and possessing those rare 
 qualifications of head and heart, sure to work out success in almost 
 any undertaking. 
 
 JOHN FERTIG, " is native and to the manor born." He comes 
 of humble parentage. His father was one of the early settlers of 
 Venango County, taking up a small farm near what is now known 
 as Gas City, in 1833-4. Here he reared a large family, JOHN, be- 
 ing the third, of twelve children, six sons and six daughters. JOHN 
 was born on the 17th day of March, 1837. His boyhood was 
 spent under the parental roof. As soon as his age would permit, 
 he was sent to the nearest school in the neighborhood, a mile or 
 more from his father's house. The struggles and privations of the 
 early settlers of this part of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, 
 were fully realized by all whose lot was cast in the almost track- 
 less wilderness which then, and for years afterward, surrounded 
 them. Without entering into a detailed statement of these, we 
 may say that luxuries of any and every name and nature, were de- 
 nied them, if we except a peaceful home ! They were miles and 
 miles from civilization, and a market for their products. The 
 pretentious settlements, " where stores and shops abound," could 
 only be reached by paths, and roads picked through the forests, 
 and over the rugge(J mountains, and bridgeless streams intervening. 
 Schools and school-houses, were " few and far between," and these 
 were of limited duration and of very ordinary character, so far as 
 teachers were concerned. 
 
398 
 
 HISTORY OF PETROLEUM. 
 
 It was under adverse circumstances like these, faintly pictured, 
 that young FERTIG grew almost to manhood working with his 
 father upon the little farm, that at best, afforded but a bare subsist- 
 ence to a large family, and attending a district school two or three 
 months in each year, until he was sixteen years old. At this age 
 he "hired out" to a farmer near by, at $8 per month, for one year. 
 His wages were cheerfully handed over to his father to assist in the 
 maintenance of the family, and young FERTIG faithfully worked 
 out his contract. 
 
 At the age of seventeen, he gathered together his entire fortune, 
 amounting to about $5 in cash, and with his scanty supply of 
 clothing packed in a primitive valise, he set out for the great lumber- 
 ing regions of the Susquehanna River, more than one hundred and 
 fifty miles from his home. He performed this journey on foot and 
 alone, reaching his destination late in the fall of 1855. Here he 
 sought and obtained employment as "a sawyer" in one of the ex- 
 tensive lumbering establishments of that section. He remained 
 here through the winter and spring of 1855-6, and when the early 
 floods came, he "rafted" his way homeward. 
 
 He was now nineteen years old. He had seen something of the 
 world, and began to feel the need of an education. Thus far in 
 life his opportunities in this direction, had been few, and to him, 
 lamentably so. He resolved to educate himself, and straightway 
 went about the task before him securing books and whatever he 
 needed to attain this desired end. How well he succeeded, may be 
 understood when we state, that a year later we find him in charge 
 of a district school, in the vicinity of Neilltown, and subsequently 
 at Steam Mills, in the neighborhood of West Hickory. The little 
 red school-house, on the right of the road from Titusville, to 
 Fagundas and Tidioute, half a mile east of Steam Mills, yet 
 remains, and here JOHN FERTIG, taught " reading, writing, cypher- 
 ing, syntax and grammar," as also the higher branches of a com- 
 mon school coarse. He taught four years during the winter, four 
 months of each -year, his wages averaging $20 per month. This 
 
JOHN FERTIQ. 
 
 399 
 
 sum aggregated $80 for his winter services, and constituted the 
 entire fund at his command for the expenses of clothing, board and 
 tuition during the remaining eight months of the year, if we 
 except twenty-five or thirty dollars, earned in " haying and harvest- 
 ing." During this four years of effort, to secure for himself an 
 education, he attended an academic institution, located at Neill- 
 town, Warren County, Pa., which offered very many advantages. 
 Joseph A. Neil, Esq., a lawyer of prominence, now residing at 
 Titusville, was, during some of the terms of this Academy attended 
 by Mr. FERTIG, a teacher in, or a professor of the Institution. 
 
 Mr. FERTIG, spent the winter of 1859-60, in charge of "Deer- 
 field District school No. 8," at Steam Mills, and this was the last of 
 his teaching. He received for his services from the District, $18 
 per month and board. To this amount, Captain A. B. Funk, 
 then a large lumber manufacturer and dealer at that place, and a 
 man of proverbial benevolence and good deeds, added a like 
 amount, from his own purse. With this addition to his ready 
 means, Mr. FERTIG hoped to complete his higher course of 
 studies, and looked forward to this consummation, with earnest 
 solicitude. During the fall and winter of 1859-60, however, the 
 oil developments of Col. DRAKE, had been attracting public at- 
 tention, and it would be strange indeed, if young men of Mr. 
 FERTIG'S temperament and ambition, did not catch the inspiration 
 of the hour. He visited the old " Drake Well," and subsequently, 
 the " Barnsdall Well " in the same vicinity and as soon, almost 
 as we can write it, the earlier aspirations of his youth, were laid 
 aside, and he determined to have an oil well ! He was . without 
 capital, save his winter's salary, but he had health, two hands and 
 a will, and determination ample for the emergency. He obtained 
 from his friend, Capt. A. B. FUNK, a sub-lease of five acres, on 
 the upper McElhenny farm, then wholly undeveloped territory. 
 The farm at this date had been purchased by Capt. Funk, and he 
 was drilling the first hole upon it the old " Fountain Well." 
 
 In this, his first oil well enterprise, Mr. FERTIG had two partners. 
 
400 
 
 HISTORY OF PETROLEUM. 
 
 Mr. David Beatty, then of "West Hickory, and since a successful 
 operator in that locality, and now a wealthy citizen of Warren, 
 Pa., was one of these, and Michael Gorman, then a small farmer 
 near Steam Mills, and since become a wealthy oil-man, and removed 
 to Ohio, was the other. The well was put under way, as soon as 
 possible after the spring floods had subsided. The drilling was 
 done with a spring pole, by contract, and to pay his part of the ex- 
 pense of putting down the well, Mr. FERTIG hired to the contractor 
 at one dollar a day ! This engagement, however, lasted only three 
 or four days, for Mr. FERTIG, found he was " kicking " two to five 
 feet per day, for which the contractor received $2 per foot, 
 one-third of which was chargeable to his own account and he was 
 only receiving $1 per day, for his services ! 
 
 Three or four months were used up in drilling this well down to 
 the depth at which oil was found on the Watson flats 175 to 200 
 feet. At the depth this well was drilled, 200 feet, no signs of oil 
 were visible ! A whole summer gone, and the little all Mr. FER- 
 TIG could call his own at the commencement, had long since been 
 exhausted ! 
 
 The well was abandoned and the territory condemned ! Mr. 
 FERTIG, who had by his three or four days 7 services upon his own 
 well, learned enough of the " art " to warrant him in embarking in 
 the business of drilling wells, supplied himself with a set of tools, 
 and contracted to put down two or more wells at Walnut Bend, on 
 the Allegany River, above Oil City. The receipts from these were 
 sufficient to pay up his " assessments " on the " Fertig Well," on the 
 Upper McElhenny. Meantime Capt. Funk, who had been at work 
 upon " The Fountain Well/ 7 during the same summer, and who, 
 upon reaching a depth of 200 feet, resolved to go deeper, assuming 
 from " the surface indications " that " oil must be there, somewhere 
 this side of China ! " After the " spring pole " upon Capt. Funk's 
 well gave out, a horse-power was substituted, and subsequently a 
 small steam engine was employed to complete it to the depth of 500 
 feet. This was the "Fountain Well," and started off, " flowing" at 
 
JOHN FERTTG. 
 
 401 
 
 300 barrels per day. Soon after this well was struck Mr. FERTIG re- 
 sumed operations upon his abandoned lease of the year previous 
 I860 an d without detailing the trials and vexations that attended 
 this, as all others of the early developments of that day, we may 
 simply add, that when the well reached the third sand it com- 
 menced to " flow " at the rate of 300 barrels per day ! 
 
 This was in the spring of 1861, and here we leave Mr. FERTIG 
 in the possession and enjoyment of his good fortune, to bring up a 
 sketch of the life of his partner, Jno. "W. Hammond, Esq., of Erie, 
 Pa., who shortly after, purchased an interest in this well, then and 
 afterwards known as the " Fertig Well." This done, we shall 
 trace the progress of the firm of Fertig & Hammond through the 
 twelve years of its existence. 
 
 Mr. FERTIG is of unassuming manners and attractive address. 
 A thorough business man, he is rarely excited, but is always 
 " pushing " whatever demands his attention. Self-poised and self- 
 possessed, he wins the good opinions of all with whom he comes in 
 contact, by a manly straight-forwardness always indicative of the 
 true gentleman. Scrupulously honorable, there is an air of manli- 
 ness about him at once noticeable and attractive. Socially he is 
 a man to cultivate. In private life he is above reproach, and in all 
 his intercourse with his fellow-citizens he maintains an unblemished 
 reputation. , Always exhibiting a careful regard -of the opinions of 
 others, he does not obtrude his own offensively upon any. He is, 
 however, a man of decided convictions, and acts upon them without 
 fear or favor. In business, commercial or mercantile circles, he 
 takes high rank, not more for his uniform reliability and prompt- 
 ness than for his efficiency, candor and acknowledged practical 
 views of whatever engrosses his mind. 
 
 He cultivates a liberal estimate of men, and is generous in his 
 dealings with all. Enterprises calculated to add to the growth 
 and enhance the importance of the city of his adoption, have his 
 ready approval with both purse and effort. It cannot be said, that 
 he is prodigal in the use of his ample means, and yet he gives 
 26 
 
402 HISTORY OF PETROLEUM. 
 
 bountifully to charities, whether of a private or public character. 
 He is, above and beyond all, a gentleman of high moral tone, 
 modest in his deportment, frugal in all his business affairs, and 
 temperate in all things. 
 
 In the acquisition of his large fortune, he has paid dollar for 
 dollar of his indebtedness, and no man can say he has been wronged 
 by him. His investments have been successes, perhaps beyond the 
 common lot of men. But his possessions are the fruit of his own 
 industry and his rigid attention to his own affairs. This has 
 brought him to be among the largest property owners of the City 
 of Titusville, and has made him one of her prominent, enterprising 
 citizens. In this connection we may add, he is the owner of the 
 " Fertig block," one of the substantial business structures of the 
 city, located at the corners of Spring, Martin and Diamond Streets. 
 He is half owner of the large flouring mill on Franklin Street, in 
 the same city, and has recently built for his own use, a very elegant 
 residence at the " East End/' on Main Street. He is besides the 
 possessor of valuable building lots, located, many of them, in the 
 heart of the city, which, as the city expands, will become a mine 
 of wealth to him. 
 
 In April, 1873, Mr. FERTIG became -the nominee of his party, 
 (Democratic,) for the office of Mayor a distinction he neither 
 sought nor declined. His opponent was the then Mayor in office, 
 Dr. "W. B. ROBERTS, one of the representative and popular men 
 of the Republican party, and the contest was a sharp and decisive 
 one. Mr. FERTIG was successful, his majority being nearly 500 
 the largest ever given to any candidate whose election had been 
 contested. 
 
Woodburytype. A. P. H. P. Co., Philsi. 
 
 JOHN W. HAMMOND. 
 
JOHN W. HAMMOND. 403 
 
 JOHN W. HAMMOND. 
 
 ERIE, PA. 
 
 Mr. HAMMOND is a native of Carthage, Jefferson County, New 
 York, where he was born on the 6th day of May, 1829. He was 
 the ninth of a family of twelve children seven sons and five 
 daughters. "When he was but seven years old, his father, a civil 
 engineer and surveyor, died, leaving a large family, not in affluent 
 circumstances, to the sole care of his mother. Young HAMMOND 
 at this early age seems to have had a realizing sense of his respon- 
 sibilities, and the necessity for self-reliance and self-support, for 
 soon after the death of his father he sought and obtained employ- 
 ment as a clerk, in one of the mercantile establishments of his 
 native town, receiving for his services $5 a month, and boarding 
 himself. He was at this time nine years old, and his opportunities 
 for securing an education had been very limited. He had attended 
 school, however, and had learned to read. Beyond this his acquire- 
 ments were quite limited. As opportunity offered, he employed 
 his leisure hours in learning to write, and in obtaining a knowledge 
 of arithmetic, grammar, etc. He attended school during the win- 
 ter months until he was seventeen, and continued his clerkship the 
 remainder of the year, his salary having been advanced to $8 per 
 month and board. At the age of seventeen he left his home in 
 Carthage, and with less than five dollars in money in his pocket, 
 and a scanty wardrobe, packed in a hand valise, made by Mr. 
 ALEXANDER MORSE, then a young mechanic of Carthage, but now a 
 resident of Titusville, and an oil producer of prominence, he made 
 his way by stage to Utica, New York, in the spring of 1847. 
 With the letters of recommendation he held, from his former 
 employers and many prominent citizens, he sought and found 
 
404 HISTORY OF PETROLEUM. 
 
 employment in the wholesale grocery establishment of Mr. Caleb 
 Watkins, one of the largest in the city of Utica. He remained 
 with this house two years, steadily advancing in the confidence of 
 his employer, and assuming more and more of the responsibilities 
 of the increasing business. 
 
 During the fall and winter of 1848, and ? 49, the country from 
 the ocean to the far western rivers, was in a feverish excitement 
 caused by the great gold discoveries in the lately acquired territory 
 of California. Companies were organizing in various parts of the 
 country, destined in the early spring of 1849, for the golden shores 
 of this new Eldorado. Young HAMMOND, then nearly twenty 
 years of age, caught the " golden fever," and without great ado, 
 made his arrangements to " get there " as soon as possible. In 
 March, 1849, he left Utica, and proceeded by way of Buffalo, 
 Pittsburgh, and Cincinnati to St. Louis, where he completed his 
 outfit, and joined one of the many emigrating parties leaving for 
 Fort Independence, the great plains, and the Pacific slopes. The 
 experience of this company, numbering more than one hundred 
 and fifty persons, has its counterpart in the scores and hundreds 
 that followed it, for but few had preceded them and so we omit 
 mention of any of the numerous incidents or accidents that came 
 and passed, as they made their way across the great sand plains, 
 mountains, rivers and chasms, making up the 3,000 miles they 
 were compelled to traverse to reach their journey's end. 
 
 The company reached the mining regions of Nevada City, in the 
 early days of September, having been nearly four months in cross- 
 ing the plains. They were in good spirits, and in the enjoyment 
 of general good health. They commenced at once their mining 
 operations, " panning" for gold, and with ordinary success. At 
 the end of six weeks, their supplies getting low, young HAMMOND 
 was delegated to proceed to Sacramento for a new stock. He exe- 
 cuted his charge faithfully, and 'returned to the camp in due time. 
 The late fall rains had begun, and winter was at hand. Fearing 
 its rigors, Mr. HAMMOND and his brother, Dr. C. B. HAMMOND, 
 
JOHN W. HAMMOND. 405 
 
 
 
 of Titusville, Pa., whom, we should have before said, accompa- 
 nied him from the outset resolved to return to Sacramento, to 
 remain until the opening of spring to prosecute their mining opera- 
 tions. While here they erected a building, and let it for mercantile 
 purposes occupying a portion for the conveniences of their own 
 business, that of the sale and transit of provisions and supplies to 
 the mining regions, near the head-waters of the Uba river. 
 
 In the spring of 1850, they returned to the mining regions of the 
 American river, their party consisting of but four persons. Soon 
 after reaching their destination they resolved to change the current 
 or course of the river, the better to enable- them to prosecute their 
 searches for the precious metal in the bed of the stream. This was 
 a great undertaking for four men ; but having settled upon its 
 necessity, they were not long in determining to accomplish it. 
 Four months of labor, such as few men can endure, saw the com- 
 pletion of their undertaking, and the old bed of the river, bare 
 before them. They had worked sixteen hours a day, most of the 
 time, in two and three feet of water, sleeping at night in swung 
 hammocks, and subsisting upon food not over-abundantly nutri- 
 tious but their work was accomplished, and they looked forward 
 to a rich harvest of golden sands and nuggets, from the great river 
 bed now spread out befere them. But disappointment lurks 
 everywhere. After days of toil, "panning out" the mud, and 
 sand of the old river bed, they found " neither gold nor precious 
 stones," in paying quantities, but only the gravel, sand, and the 
 debris of the mountains, which were yearly cleared out by the 
 floods and replaced by melting ice and snow from their sides and 
 summits. 
 
 Late in August of the same year 1850 the mining enterprise 
 upon the American River was abandoned, and the party divided, 
 one going one way, and another another. Young HAMMOND 
 resolved to go to Sacramento. He owned a mule, had a small 
 amount of money about $100 and so he started down the Nevada 
 Mountains to Sacramento, now acknowledged to be one of the 
 
406 HISTORY OF PETEOLEUM. 
 
 most beautiful and enterprising cities of the Golden State, and since 
 made the Capital of California. When he reached Sacramento, 
 the cholera was raging with fearful fatality. A day or two spent 
 in examining the situation, convinced him of one great need to the 
 stricken city and its suffering populace. It was ice ! Promptly 
 he set about supplying this important article. He purchased an 
 additional mule, bought a heavy wagon, and set out for the snow- 
 capped mountains of the Sierras 80 miles distant. Here he cut 
 great glaciers of ice from the mountain gorges ; and loading them 
 upon his wagon a ton or more he hastened back to the pestilent 
 city. "When he reached Sacramento, nearly half his cargo had 
 melted away under a hot August sun. But he had ten or twelve 
 hundred pounds left ; and this he sold in an incredible short time 
 at one dollar per pound ! Besides his large profits over $1, 000 
 he had made himself a benefactor, and all classes of people thanked 
 aye, blessed him for his enterprise and foresight. 
 
 This undertaking, and its wonderful results, set the whole town 
 in a furious excitement. It was a bran new business, and large 
 numbers quickly engaged in it. The prices of horses and mules 
 advanced in a very few days, 25 to 30 per cent., and long trains of 
 teams and wagons were daily seen making their way across the 
 valley of the Sacramento River, to the perpetual snow and ice 
 regions of the Sierra Nevada Mountains. Mr. HAMMOND, after 
 closing out his stock of ice, was offered an almost fabulous price for 
 his team and wagon, to which was to be added correct information as 
 to the sources of his ice supply. He accepted the terms of sale, 
 and quit the business $1,500 richer than when he entered the 
 afflicted city. The ice traffic was subsequently overdone, and the 
 commodity was sold before the season was over, at 6 cents per 
 pound both at Sacramento and San Francisco, and points interme- 
 diate along the Sacramento river. 
 
 The ice enterprise disposed o'f, Mr. HAMMOND went largely into 
 the traffic in horses and mules. He leased a tract of land just out- 
 side the city limits, on the great emigrant route of travel, and as 
 
JOHN W. HAMMOND. 407 
 
 they came out of the Nevada Mountains, their teams weary, worn- 
 out and foot-sore, he purchased them at low figures, put them in 
 condition for market, and re-sold them at a handsome profit. He 
 continued in this business two or three months, or as long as it 
 "paid," meanwhile, he made money. Late in October, he re- 
 solved to make his way down the coast to San Francisco, and 
 thence, by sea, to New York and his home. 
 
 Arriving at San Francisco without incident or accident, he soon 
 after engaged passage in a merchant sailing vessel, that had been 
 re-fitted and re^painted, and pressed into the passenger business, 
 now grown to enormous proportions, both upon the Pacific and 
 Atlantic sides of the Isthmus.* The vessel, "THE TALMA," 
 sailed upon the advertised day, down the magnificent bay of San 
 Francisco, out through the Golden Gate, into the broad expanse of 
 the Pacific Ocean. For days and days they "beat against the 
 winds," and made little progress. They ran before the wind two 
 or three days at a time, passing Honolulu and the Sandwich Islands, 
 but were making no less " the waste of waters " between them and 
 their destination the Isthmus. Discontent and bitter complaint 
 were heard upon every hand. They should have made the voyage 
 in ten to twelve days. They had been " bounding about upon the 
 deep," for nearly thirty days ! Mutterings of disappointment were 
 becoming more and more audible. To add to their calamity, the 
 ship's provisions were nearly exhausted, and their fresh water sup- 
 ply had given out ! Cholera had broken out, and numbers had 
 died. The ship's officers would give no satisfactory replies to the 
 reasonable inquiries of those who approached them for information. 
 
 * He remained at San Francisco five or six days, waiting for the vessel to sail. 
 Meantime, he was upon the look out for his brother, Dr. C. B. HAMMOND, whom he 
 had left in the mountains two or three months before, and had not since seen. The 
 sequel shows that the Doctor had arrived at San Francisco about the time his brother 
 reached there, and had engaged passage in the steamer for Panama, and that the ves- 
 sel he sailed in lay alongside the merchantman at the same dock, and that they passed 
 and re-passed each other daily in their visits to their respective ships, and did not 
 meet ! The Doctor reached home in due time, and John W. had an overland passage 
 through Mexico and up the Mississippi River, to reach the same port, which we 
 detail hereafter. 
 
408 HISTORY OF PETROLEUM. 
 
 The passengers counselled together. They resolved upon a despe- 
 rate expedient for their release from the perils that confronted them 
 a seizure of the officers and crew with a view to compel them to 
 steer for the nearest port ! They promptly executed their purpose, 
 and after securing the captain and his officers, and extorting from 
 one of their number a promise to accede to the wishes of their cap- 
 tors, they were released, and the ship headed for the port of Acu- 
 pulco, on the coast of Mexico. They landed there after a drifting 
 voyage of 44 days from San Francisco, in the rotten old hulk in 
 which they had been induced to take passage. The vessel was 
 there seized by the proper authority, and after a thorough examina- 
 tion, was condemned as unseaworthy, and sold at auction for the 
 benefit of whom it concerned. 
 
 From this point, seventeen of the passengers, among them Mr. 
 HAMMOND, after securing horses and suitable outfits, guns, pistols, 
 bowie-knives and ammunition, proceeded across the Mexican do- 
 main, taking in the City of Mexico in their route, to Vera Cruz. 
 The country, as ever, was infested with Guerilla bands, ready to rob 
 and murder any and all who chanced to fall into their hands espe- 
 cially Americans towards whom the people of Mexico generally 
 cherished very little respect or admiration, the results of the war 
 their own insolence had brought upon them. The party, how- 
 ever reached Vera Cruz in safety, and found the steamer Alabama 
 ready to sail for New Orleans. Engaging passages, a few days 
 later they landed in the Crescent City. Mr. HAMMOND shortly 
 after left for his home in northern New York, which he reached in 
 due time, having been absent about two years. Upon counting up 
 the profits of his trip he found a balance in hand of a little moie 
 thap $5,000. 
 
 In the spring of 1851 he commenced business upon his own ac- 
 count in the city of New York, mainly dealing, in a wholesale way, 
 in foreign and domestic fruits, to which he added a general com- 
 mission business. He continued in this lucrative trade for many 
 years, establishing for himself an excellent repute as a merchant 
 
JOHN W. HAMMOND. 409 
 
 and successful tradesman of undoubted credit. He built up an 
 extensive and profitable business, his customers and patrons being 
 located and resident in almost every State in the Union. "While 
 enjoying this deserved prosperity, in 1857, he married the grand- 
 daughter of his first employer, at Utica, N. Y., Mr. Caleb Wat- 
 kins. 
 
 In the winter of 1860, and '61, he visited the Oil Regions, more 
 from motives of curiosity than a desire for investment. He had 
 heard much of the wonderful wealth of this region of country, and 
 determined to see it for himself. He had meantime disposed of 
 his business in New York City, and counted his gains and re^ 
 sources at $35,000 to $40,000. The civil war was impending, and 
 he feared the consequences upon trade and commerce generally, and 
 so gave up his lucrative trade, reserving the privilege of re-pur- 
 chasing, at the end of twelve months. It was at this particular 
 juncture of his own affairs, and the threatened national calamity, that 
 he came into the Oil Region as we have before said, with no in- 
 tention either to invest or in any manner engage in this new devel- 
 opment of nature's great riches. Once here, however, he could 
 not resist the temptatiota to interest himself in the then developing 
 wealth of the locality. He secured a lease of Mr. John Watson, on 
 the flats below Titusville, and shortly after contracted for the drill- 
 ing of four wells. 
 
 Returning to New York, he awaited anxiously reports of the pro- 
 gress of his enterprise. He could get no word from his contractors, 
 and becoming impatient, he returned and superintended the work 
 himself. He put down three wells, abandoning the fourth. This 
 was in the spring of 1861. When the wells started up they 
 pumped from twelve to fourteen barrels each, per day, and these 
 were regarded as first-class producers ! Oil was selling at $ 10 per 
 barrel when these wells were struck, and this price was realized for 
 some weeks after. Three months later, however, it had a drag- 
 ging sale, at $1.50 per barrel ! This was in consequence of 
 the great flowing wells of Capt. Funk, and others on the lower 
 
410 HISTORY OF PETROLEUM. 
 
 McElhenny Farm, two or three of which were producing largely, 
 and the oil from, these was selling at the wells at 25, 50 and 75 cents 
 per barrel ! 
 
 Mr. HAMMOND was not long in .determining upon his future field 
 of operations. His pumping wells on the Watson Flats had ceased 
 to be remunerative. He therefore resolved to go into the " flowing 
 well region." Prior to this time, and while oil was selling at 10 
 per barrel, some gentlemen at Dunkirk, N. Y., had begun the 
 erection of a refinery, and Mr. HAMMOND secured the contract for 
 supplying it with crude for refining. The terms of this contract were 
 somewhat remarkable, and we deem them of sufficient interest to re- 
 hearse in this connection. The chemist employed by this refining 
 enterprise had, from his experiments, made himself and associates 
 believe he could realize 90 per cent, of refined oil from one hun- 
 dred barrels of crude ! He had demonstrated, as he alleged, that 
 this result was easily and practically attainable. With this scien- 
 tific (?) assurance before them, the proprietors contracted with Mr. 
 HAMMOND, for one year's supply of crude, which they bound them- 
 selves to manufacture into refined oil, giving Mr. HAMMOND nearly 
 one half, or 45 barrels of every 100 distilled ! It is needless to add 
 that Mr. HAMMOND had by far the best of the bargain. 
 
 In pursuance of this contract, Mr. HAMMOND, who had pre- 
 viously met Mr. John Fertig, then the owner of a large flowing 
 well on the Upper McElhenny Farm, entered into a written agree- 
 ment with him, to furnish the larger part of the oil contracted to this 
 Dunkirk refinery, at $1.25 per barrel, at the well! The contract 
 with the Dunkirk parties was subsequently greatly modified, and 
 finally wholly surrendered by Mr. HAMMOND, after realizing a 
 large profit. And this involved the cancelling of the contract with 
 Mr. Fertig, which resulted in the purchase by Mr. HAMMOND of 
 an interest owned by that gentleman in the old "Fertig Well" and 
 lease on the Upper McElhenny Farm, and the organizing of the 
 firm of Fertig & Hammond, a sketch of which is given herewith. 
 
 Mr. HAMMOND, is a gentleman of rare business comprehension, 
 
JOHN W. HAMMOND. 411 
 
 and superior executive ability. His whole career, thus far, bears 
 us out in this judgment of his character. His life has been a 
 clearly eventful one, but he has been equal to every emergency. 
 He is a studious man, of deep reflection, and rapid in his move- 
 ments when his mark is set. He comprehends readily, and this 
 done his work is more than half accomplished. In business 
 circles, Mr. HAMMOND is known as an eminently practical and 
 careful man. His investments are made after a thorough and 
 rigid examination as to probable results, and hence it is, that suc- 
 cess has, in the main, followed close upon all his financial transac- 
 tions. In the city of his residence, he is identified with whatever 
 adds to her growth and prosperity, devoting of his ample means, 
 liberal sums to this end. In private life, he is universally es- 
 teemed for his social excellences, and for the warmth and stead- 
 fastness of his friendships and attachments. 
 
 As before remarked, he has a comprehensive mind, and executive 
 ability, rarely found in men of his peculiar mould. Upright, 
 honorable and free from conventionalisms of every character, 
 whereby deception is fostered, he deals squarely and fairly with all 
 men, and matters presented to him. An old proverb says, that 
 " punctuality is the politeness of kings." Mr. HAMMOND illus- 
 trates -the truth of this province of royalty, by a punctuality in all 
 his engagements, that might be imitated with profit by others. 
 A man of generous impulses, he gives of his abundance to all 
 worthy charities and to the needy poor about him. He is yet in 
 middle life, possesses a rugged constitution and unimpaired health, 
 and bids fair, even with his great activity of brain, to live to a 
 good old age, to enjoy the fruits of a thus far, profitable and well- 
 spent life. 
 
412 
 
 HISTORY OF PETROLEUM. 
 
 FERTIG & HAMMOND. 
 
 THE firm of FERTIG & HAMMOND was formed, or rather terms 
 of co-partnership were entered into, soon after Mr. HAMMOND 
 purchased an interest in the FERTIG well and lease, in the spring of 
 1861. The terms of this partnership were simple, and' yet amply 
 comprehensive for the men who made it. Only " HONOR AND 
 HONESTY, THE ONE TO THE OTHER." Upon this really substantial 
 foundation, they began their operations, purchasing interests, sink- 
 ing wells, producing and refining oil, &c., &c. 
 
 During the years, 1862-3, they added four new wells to the 
 " Fertig Well," on the same lease. These were all excellent pro- 
 ducers, and helped to swell the cash balances of the thrifty and in- 
 dustrious owners and operators. 
 
 In the fall of 1861, the firm built a refinery at Erie, Pa. The 
 material, stills, &c., for this enterprise, had been ordered for, and 
 shipped direct to, Titusville. Reaching Erie, the then nearest 
 Railway station to the oil fields, it was deemed to be an impossible 
 task to remove it across the country to its destination, and Mr. 
 HAMMOND promptly resolved to put it into operation at Erie. He 
 set about the task before him, and in 21 days from its commence- 
 ment, the refinery was in running order, and a few days subsequent, 
 a car load of Crude Oil was refined, and shipped to an eastern con- 
 signee. The firm subsequently owned and operated another refinery 
 at Erie, transporting their crude oil from their wells on the Fertig 
 lease, on the Upper McElhenny farm. 
 
 In the spring of 1864, they put down one well on the widow 
 McClintock farm, which produced for a long time, between 600 
 and 700 barrels per day. Jno. W. Steele, since so famous as an 
 " oil prince," was at this time the owner of this farm, and was on 
 and after this time, in receipt of the fabulous sums of money so 
 generously paid, and so recklessly wasted. In 1863, the firm 
 purchased the Young farm near Titusville, consisting of 106 acres, 
 paying $2,800 for it. In the oil land speculations of the following 
 
FERTIG & HAMMOND. 413 
 
 year, they sold it for $30,000 ! Two years thereafter, they re- 
 possessed themselves of it, at a Sheriff's sale, for $3,000 about 
 its value for farming purposes ! 
 
 In 1864, they purchased 22 acres, of Custer and Drake's addi- 
 tion to Titusville. This purchase embraced what is now known as 
 Drake street, both sides, and extending Eastward to the West bounds 
 of lots on Kerr St., and Westerly to Martin St. The tract had 
 been surveyed into city lots, and was soon after offered for sale. 
 The rapid growth of this chief city of the Oil Regions, following 
 the revulsions of 1864-5, doubled and quadrupled the value of 
 these lots, and the profits upon this transaction alone, were very 
 large. The last of this property, was disposed of in 1872. Before 
 closing this part of the history of the operations of this firm, we may 
 state, without fear of contradiction, that at least one-tenth of all the 
 titles to city property in Titusville, bear the signatures in convey- 
 ance, of JOHN FERTIG, and JNO. W. HAMMOND. 
 
 In the summer of 1864, they made sales of their interest in the 
 Fertig lease, and five wells, together with the Hammond Well on 
 the widow McClintock Farm, and some others scattered along 
 "The Creek," receiving therefor $220,000 in cash, and a consider- 
 able amount of the stock of " The Hammond Oil Co.," which was 
 soon after organized with a capital of $500,000. Several hand- 
 some dividends were made upon the earnings of this company, and 
 its stock at one time was quoted above par. 
 
 At the close of the war, in 1865, the firm having disposed of 
 many of their valuable oil interests, their active operations lapsed, 
 but did not cease altogether. Mr. HAMMOND removed to Utica, 
 N. Y., where he purchased a handsome residence and lands ad- 
 joining, which he afterwards divided into city lots, disposing of 
 sufficient to make his investment a source of considerable profit. 
 Mr. FERTIG removed to Painsville, Ohio, still making Titusville 
 his business head-quarters. Both, however, were occasionally in 
 the region buying, selling and giving attention to their remaining 
 interests and property. 
 
414 HISTORY OF PETROLEUM. 
 
 During the memorable years of 1865-6 memorable for the dis- 
 asters and revulsions that were experienced by all the enterprises of 
 the oil region Messrs. FERTIG & HAMMOND put down in vari- 
 ous localities, or were interested in their drilling, including Church 
 Run, Hyde Town, Pit Hole, Sweitzer Farm, Dawson Centre and 
 elsewhere, forty-five wells, without obtaining a single barrel of oil 
 from either! Here was an expenditure of nearly or quite $100,- 
 000, and no return, save the establishment of the fact that the ter- 
 ritory they had tested was barren and dry of petroleum deposits. 
 
 During the spring and early summer of 1867, they put down the 
 " Maple Shade Well," at Pleasantville, which proved to be one of 
 the best in that rich district. Other successful investments followed 
 this, throughout the years 1867-8-9 and '70, which required the 
 attention of one or both members of the firm, and in 1870, Mr. 
 FERTIG again took up his residence in Titusville. Mr. HAMMOND 
 in 1870, visited Europe in search of health and recreation, and soon 
 after his return home, or in 1870, removed from Utica, N. Y., to 
 Erie, Pa., where he now resides. 
 
 In 1869, they purchased the Dutchess Farm, at Parker's Land- 
 ing. Jno. L. McKinney, of Titusville, was subsequently admitted as 
 an equal partner in this purchase, and shortly after a small portion of 
 it was sold for development. It proved to be superior oil property, 
 and the development opened up an entirely new field of explora- 
 tions. In the spring of 1870, they put down the first well upon 
 what is now known as the flourishing borough of Foxburgh, and 
 later we find them leasing, purchasing and developing territory 
 in the St. Petersburg District, far beyond the circuit occupied by 
 others, and with uniform success. 
 
 " The Keystone National Bank," and " The Erie Dime Savings 
 Bank," at Erie, Pa., were organized in 1868, and Mr. HAMMOND 
 and Mr. FERTIG became interested in both as stockholders, and 
 both were subsequently elected directors of each of these institu- 
 tions, and are now holding these responsible positions. 
 
 In 1871, they established "The Foxburgh Savings Bank," with a 
 
FERTIG & HAMMOND. 415 
 
 capital of $100,000. Mr. HAMMOND was. elected President, and 
 Mr. FERTIG, Yice-President these gentlemen owning a majority 
 of the stock. The St. Petersburg Savings Bank is a branch of the 
 Foxburgh institution, and both are upon a solid basis, and are 
 known and acknowledged to be among the most substantial in the 
 Oil Region. 
 
 Of course we are unable to give a complete detail of all the ex- 
 tensive and extended operations of these gentlemen as oil produ- 
 cers, nor can we, in this connection, mention but a moiety of their 
 multitude of financial operations. They are emphatically men of 
 business. They are to-day the owners and lessees of more than 
 four thousand acres of valuable oil tracts, located all along the Al- 
 legany and its tributaries, from Parker's Landing to Tidioute and 
 Titus ville, which under their skillful control must bring them, in 
 years to come, wealth untold. 
 
 We said at the commencement of this brief sketch of the career 
 of this firm, that the basis of their co-partnership was " honor and 
 honesty, the one te the other." When they concluded to go on 
 together, both agreed to this proposition " When either deceives or 
 attempts to defraud the other, the partnership ends" This was the 
 beginning and the end of stipulations between them. No others 
 have ever been entered into, and to this day twelve years since 
 the firm had an existence no WRITTEN terms of co-partnership 
 have been made, and none exist. Their business transactions have 
 from year to year largely increased, involving at times, thousands 
 and thousands of dollars in capital and credit, and yet no man can 
 say the firm of FERTIG & HAMMOND has not promptly met and 
 discharged every obligation it has assumed. And this is also true 
 of each, in his individual operations. This has been, and is the 
 character they have established for themselves, and maintained 
 through a series of years, as marked and remarkable for their 
 changing hues of depression and success, as for the wonderful profit 
 and prosperity brought to their doors. During their twelve years 
 of co-partnership, no word of rebuke, censure, or complaint has 
 
416 HISTORY OF PETROLEUM. 
 
 passed between them each in turn approving the operations of the 
 other, where the firm's interest has been involved, or in any man- 
 ner affected. Of course they have made some losing ventures; 
 but the losses, whatever they may have been, have been mutually 
 borne, and as cheerfully so as they have divided their large gains. 
 They have maintained an unsullied and an unquestioned credit, 
 from the outset of their business connection, by promptly meeting 
 all their engagements, and discharging all their liabilities at matu- 
 rity. In the conduct of their extensive, and steadily augmenting 
 financial operations, involving hundreds of thousands of dollars, 
 with individuals, with corporations, with banks, with merchants 
 and manufacturers, they have never yet been under protest ! A 
 record like this is something to boast of, and is of itself, capital in 
 any community, or for any enterprise, and we question if the annals 
 of many commercial circles, near or remote, afford a parallel to the 
 facts here briefly alluded to. 
 
Wrwvihnrvtype. A. P. R.P. Co., Phila. 
 
 DR. W. B. ROBERTS. 
 
DR. W. B. ROBERTS. 
 
 DR. W. B. EOBEETS. 
 
 TITUSVILLE, PA. 
 
 WALTER BROOKS EGBERTS was born in Moreau, Saratoga 
 County, New York, on the 15th day of May, 1823. His early 
 years were spent under the paternal roof, his winters at a district 
 school, and his summers in labors upon the farm. At the age of 
 seventeen he accepted a clerkship in a banking office in the city of 
 Albany, N. Y. He held this position but a few months, however, 
 severe illness compelling him to return to his father's house, where 
 he remained until his health was fully restored. 
 
 In the summer of 1841, he entered the Academy at Evans' 
 Mills, in Jefferson County, New York, with the determination to 
 qualify himself as a teacher. A few months later we find him in 
 charge of a district school, in the town of Northumberland, in his 
 native county, at a salary of $11 per month. His success in this 
 responsible calling was marked and gratifying, not alone to young 
 EGBERTS, but to all who knew him. The following four winters 
 were devoted to school teaching, and the summer vacations to the 
 study of Mathematics at the Glens' Falls Academy, and of Medicine, 
 with -Dr. Sheldon, of Glens' Falls, N. Y. Two years of subsequent 
 study of medicine, and he turned his attention to the Dental pro- 
 fession, acquiring a thorough knowledge of this science in all its deli- 
 cate and important branches. 
 
 During the summer of 1845, with an ample outfit for the practice 
 of his new art, he traveled through New Hampshire, a few months, 
 visiting Meredith, New Hampton, Holderness, &c., winning golden 
 opinions for skill and superior knowledge of his profession. Clos- 
 ing up his business affairs in New Hampshire, he returned to 
 Poughkeepsie, N. Y., to establish himself permanently in the busi- 
 27 
 
418 HISTORY OF PETROLEUM. 
 
 ness of Dentistry. Here misfortune overtook him, for he was 
 seized with a violent illness typhoid fever and for nearly five 
 months his life hung as if by a hair. Although among strangers, 
 he yet found friends, who, through all the weary days, weeks and 
 months of his helplessness, " stuck to him closer than a brother," 
 emblazoning indelibly, upon his memory, remembrances of their 
 kindness and devotion. Passing the relapses of his serious illness, 
 hemorrhage of the lungs, &c., he finally regained his health and 
 strength sufficient to return to his professional labors, and in 1849, 
 he opened a Dental office in connection with Dr. C. H. ROBERTS, 
 at Poughkeepsie, N. Y. Less than a year's confinement to practice, 
 which grew rapidly upon his hands, brought on an attack of 
 hemorrhage of the lungs, and he promptly determined upon a sea 
 voyage for the benefit of his declining health. In February, 1850, 
 he sailed for the West Indies, spending a month or more upon the 
 Island of Cuba, then a great resort for invalids of a pulmonary 
 character. Returning home by way of New Orleans, Cincinnati 
 and Washington city in the late summer months of 1850, he soon 
 after disposed of his interest in the Poughkeepsie Dental enterprise, 
 and continued the practice of his profession in many of the princi- 
 pal towns of Dutchess County, taking healthful out-door exercise, 
 and employing such other means as were at his disposal, for 
 strengthening and developing a rugged manhood, since vouch- 
 safed to him. 
 
 In 1853, Dr. ROBERTS, with a view to entering into mercantile 
 pursuits, visited Nicaragua, Central America, and after a careful 
 survey and examination of the country, its products, &c., decided 
 to engage in the purchase and shipment of deer skins and cattle 
 liides. Returning home, a company was shortly after organized, 
 under the firm name of Churchill, Roberts, Mills & Co., of which 
 he was one of the principal partners and business managers. The 
 partnership formed, agents were dispatched to Grenada, with ample 
 means for the purchase and shipment of the commodities which 
 formed the .basis of this new commercial enterprise. In .a very 
 
DR. W. B. ROBERTS. 
 
 419 
 
 short time a large and lucrative business was established and an 
 unbounded credit given the firm. Its drafts, letters of credit, &c., 
 were termed " gilt-edged," and were preferred, and commanded a 
 readier sale in commercial circles than any house in Central America. 
 
 After the successful establishment of this Nicaragua enterprise, 
 he again turned his attention to his profession, and in connection 
 with his brother, Col. E. A. L. Roberts, opened an elegant, sump- 
 tuously furnished and appointed Dental office in New York City. 
 A year later he purchased the interest of his brother, and located 
 himself in Bond street, in the same city, where he continued his 
 practice until some time in 1868. 
 
 The position Dr. ROBERTS held in the Dental profession was 
 always marked and prominent. He received the First Medal 
 awarded by the American Institute, for the best artificial teeth, a 
 distinction which at once placed him in the front rank of men of 
 the Science of Dentistry. He was during this period, Editor and 
 Proprietor of THE NEW YORK DENTAL, JOURNAL, a publication 
 devoted to Dental Science and interests, and continued his editorial 
 connection with it about four years, its columns from month to 
 month, containing from his pen, many of the most practical and 
 useful articles upon dentistry ever published. He was one of the 
 leading spirits in the organization and establishment of the New 
 York Dental College, and is at present one of its trustees. 
 
 The internal feuds of Central America, had grown into a fearful 
 civil war, destroying values, and deranging business of every char- 
 "acter. The new firm found it necessary to close their commercial 
 relations with that country,, and to this end Dr. ROBERTS revisited 
 Nicaragua. After months of hardship, endured in traversing* 
 swamps, mule paths and unbroken jungle fields with hair-breadth 
 escapes from bullets, banditti and yellow fever, he succeeded in 
 reaching the camp of the insurgents, accomplished the object of his 
 mission, and returned home, with the ills incident to that climate 
 fastened upon him, and these clung to 'him, resisting all medical 
 appliances, for nearly a year. 
 
420 HISTORY OF PETROLEUM. 
 
 In the early spring of 1863, Dr. EGBERTS was appointed by 
 Rev. Dr. Bellows, President of the National Sanitary Commission, 
 an agent, to visit Gen. Hunter's Division, then having its head- 
 quarters at Beaufort, South Carolina, to examine into the condi- 
 tion, sanitary and otherwise of that portion of the Union Army. 
 To complete this duty, required a month's time, and upon his re- 
 turn, his report was published in full in THE NEW YORK DENTAL 
 JOURNAL, and widely copied and commended, throughout the 
 Northern States. It contained a detailed account of his visits to 
 the various camps of our soldiers, and was exhaustive in practical 
 suggestions for the amelioration of their condition in all regards. 
 
 In the Spring of 1864, he was induced to subscribe to the stock 
 of an oil company, scores of which were at this time " beating 
 about" for patrons. This "investment" proved like many others 
 of its co temporaries, to be a permanent one. Dr. ROBERTS, upon 
 visiting the Oil Region, soon after this venture, found his large 
 tract of oil territory located miles away from developments, and 
 where none but speculators in oil stock companies would think of 
 looking for oil wells. This investment remains unproductive, and 
 is likely to remain so, " as long as grass grows and water runs." 
 His visit, however, he turned to good account, for he made a 
 thorough examination of the then producing regions of "the 
 Creek," and settled into the conviction that wealth untold coursed 
 through the rocks beneath, and that with capital, business tact and 
 mechanical skill it could be brought forth. On his return to New 
 York City, he sought to enlist his brother, E. A. L. Roberts, in 
 his plans for developing, by tendering him the superintendency of 
 ^ome wells he had resolved to put down. Col. R. declined the 
 position, but suggested, that he had an enterprise of far more value, 
 and if the Doctor would furnish the necessary capital to test his 
 torpedo, he would assign him a half interest. A theoretical exami- 
 nation convinced Dr. R. that not only was the torpedo of vital im- 
 portance to the uses intended, but he saw a mine of wealth in it, 
 and promptly accepted the proposition of his brother, Col. Rob- 
 
DE. W. B. EGBERTS. 421 
 
 erts, and entered heartily into his plans for testing its practica- 
 bility. 
 
 In January, 1865, Col. ROBERTS went to Titus ville, having pre- 
 viously made six torpedoes, to test their power and efficiency. 
 Meantime, application for a patent had been made. The experi- 
 ments were, in all respects, successful; and not only the utility, 
 but the necessity for blasting oil wells to increase their production, 
 was established. This accomplished, the Torpedo became a fixed 
 fact, and a rich harvest awaited the enterprising discoverer. But 
 this was not to be had without an effort. Others sought to super- 
 sede the ROBERTS' discovery, and filch from them the rewards of 
 their genius and enterprise. Half a dozen applications were filed 
 in the Patent Office at Washington for torpedoes for like uses, and 
 the claims of the contestants were two years in traversing the 
 various departments of the patent boards, and finally taken to the 
 United States District Court, before Judge Carter, where the pri- 
 ority of invention was awarded to ROBERTS, as had been the result 
 in all preceding examinations, to reach that point. Dr. ROBERTS 
 had the management of all these litigations, acting as attorney for 
 the patentee, and at the end of two years found himself " master 
 of the situation." The patent was issued to his brother, and upon 
 counting the cost of the whole effort, it was found to be less than 
 is ordinarily paid now to an attorney as " a retainer " in an impor- 
 tant suit. 
 
 In the spring of 1865, he organized THE ROBERTS PETROLEUM 
 TORPEDO COMPANY. In 1866, he was elected its Secretary, and 
 in 1867 its President, which responsible position he now holds. 
 
 In the fall of 1866, he was elected to the Common Council of 
 the City of New York, for two years, and served his constituents 
 faithfully and well. Although a pronounced Republican, and a 
 candidate in a strong Democratic district, he was elected by a hand- 
 some majority. In a political minority in the Board of Council- 
 men, he yet very soon after becoming a member of it, assumed a 
 prominent position among his colleagues, and before the public. 
 
422 HISTORY OF PETROLEUM. 
 
 In the Council of 1867-8, he was the recognized leader of the Re- 
 publican minority, and in the winter of 1868, was the candidate of 
 his party for President of that body, the vote standing 13 Demo- 
 crats to 11 Republicans. 
 
 In the summer of 1867, he visited Europe in quest of health 
 and recreation. He visited various portions of France, Switzer- 
 land, Austria, Prussia, Holland, Belgium, England, Ireland, &c. 
 In 1868, he removed to Titus ville, surrendering his lucrative prac- 
 tice in New York, that he might give his undivided attention to 
 his growing interests in the oil region. The torpedo infringements 
 were assuming proportions, and Dr. ROBERTS reluctantly entered 
 upon the defence of his rights and franchises in that direction, and 
 after months and months of labor, and the expenditure of a hand- 
 some fortune, success crowned his efforts, the courts sustaining the 
 Torpedo patent at every stage of the proceedings. 
 
 During his residence in Titusville he has, with a liberality rarely 
 exhibited, expended thousands of dollars in the erection of substan- 
 tial and elegant business blocks, which have gone far to make the 
 city of his residence the pride of its people and the emporium of 
 the oil regions. 
 
 In March, 1872, he became the candidate of his fellow-citizens 
 for Mayor ; and though opposed by one of the strongest men of 
 the opposition, a.fter a hotly contested canvass, he was elected by a 
 large majority. 
 
 When the " South Improvement Company " threatened the pros- 
 perity and very life of the oil-producing interest, Dr. ROBERTS 
 was the first to raise his voice against it, and penned the first call 
 for a public meeting. In all the subsequent struggles with this 
 towering monopoly, he was- foremost and persistent in his efforts to 
 strangle it, even before it had a being. At the first meeting of 
 producers, held at the Opera House, in Titusville, to devise mea- 
 sures to thwart the schemes, of this company, Dr. ROBERTS was a 
 leading spirit, and by his wise counsel and determined voice, did 
 much to crush the monster monopoly. To his energy and charac- 
 
DK. W. B. EGBERTS. 423 
 
 teristic enterprise is largely due the present flattering prospects for 
 the early completion of the Buffalo & Titusville Railroad. When 
 this subject was presented to him, he did not hesitate to embrace 
 the earliest opportunity to give it his powerful aid by becoming a 
 subscriber to its capital stock in the princely sum of $50,000. 
 When subsequently an organization was perfected, he was unani- 
 mously chosen President of the Corporation. 
 
 On the 1st of January, 18.72, he, in company with his brother, 
 E. A. L. Roberts, and John Potter, Esq., of Meadville, L. B. 
 Silliman, of Titusville, organized a banking firm at Titusville, 
 under the name of ROBERTS & Co., BANKERS, Mr. JNO. PORTER, 
 Cashier. It is among the most substantial monied institutions of 
 the oil regions, and indeed of the State of Pennsylvania with an 
 ample capital, an unlimited credit, unquestioned public confidence 
 and a business ability of the highest order, this, like all the enter- 
 prises Dr. ROBERTS puts his mind and efforts upon, is to be a 
 bountiful success. 
 
 The ancestors of this branch of the ROBERTS family, were dis- 
 tinguished both in the diplomacy and in the sterner realities of war. 
 The great-grandfather on the maternal side, Andre Everard Van 
 Braam, was the second embassador of the Dutch East India Com- 
 pany to the Court of Pekin, China, and in this capacity perfected 
 the treaty with the Chinese government, that enabled the Holland- 
 ers to hold and control the trade of that peculiar people so many 
 years, to the exclusion of all other nations. He was also the pub- 
 lisher of one of the first books in the English and French lan- 
 guages,, detailing the habits, customs and peculiarities of that won- 
 derful people. 
 
 The great-grandfather on the paternal side was a distinguished 
 officer in the Revolutionary War. He was a native of Wales, 
 England, and at one period an officer in the British Army. When 
 the mother country resolved to subdue her rebellious colonists in 
 America, Col. Owen Roberts was a citizen of Charleston, South 
 Carolina, and patriotically espoused the cause of his adopted coun- 
 
424 HISTORY OF PETROLEUM. 
 
 try. He was, however, tendered his commission in His Majesty's 
 service, which he promptly and indignantly declined, defiantly re- 
 turning as his answer, his assurances of devotion to the laud of his 
 adoption, and an avowal of his determination to " stand by her for- 
 tunes, come weal or come woe." When hostilities began, he was 
 commissioned a Colonel of the 4th South Carolina Artillery, and was 
 subsequently killed at the battle of Stono, while gallantly leading 
 his command in an effort to prevent the landing of British troops 
 at that point. Mortally wounded by a cannon ball through one 
 of his lower limbs, he was carried from the field and placed under 
 the shade of a tree and out of the range of the battle, still raging. 
 His son, Richard Brooks Roberts, grandfather of the subject of 
 this sketch, learning of the terrible disaster to his father, hastened 
 to his side. (See Alexander Garden's Anecdotes of the Revolution.) 
 His father, observing the emotions of his son, said : " Take this 
 sword, which has never been tarnished by dishonor, and never 
 sheathe it while the liberties of your country are in danger. Accept 
 my last blessing, and return to your duty." A short time after he 
 breathed his last, upon the spot where his comrades had placed 
 him. His son, Richard B. Roberts, was a youth, scarcely eighteen 
 years of age, holding a captain's commission in his father's regi- 
 ment. He faithfully and patriotically lived up to his father's 
 dying injunctions, remaining in the service of his country until the 
 close of the revolutionary struggle, and after, and was commis- 
 sioned a Major in the regular army by General Washington. He 
 died at the early age of 37, leaving three sons, the eldest of whom 
 was Lucius Qnintius Cincinnatus Roberts, father of Dr. W. B., 
 and Col. E. A. L. Roberts. This name was given him in honor 
 of the Cincinnati Society, of which he was a distinguished member, 
 and to the privileges of which, his eldest son attained, upon his 
 father's death. 
 
 Dr. ROBERTS is a man of marked characteristics, mentally as 
 well as physically. In person he is about six feet in height, with 
 a well knit, powerful frame, capable of enduring any physical effort 
 
DR. W. B. ROBERTS. 425 
 
 he may undertake. Rarely, and we may add difficult to arouse, he 
 seems always to be of an even temper, and absolutely free from 
 mental excitement. He is, however, a profound thinker, and 
 never discharges a subject that at any time engrosses his attention, 
 without fully comprehending it, in all its points and bearings. 
 Having done this he is riveted, so to speak, to his convictions and 
 conclusions, and will defend both with consummate skill and de- 
 termination. When thoroughly awakened upon any matter of 
 personal or public concern, he does not hesitate to give the whole 
 weight of his personal and intellectual power to the issue before 
 him, and seldom with doubtful results. 
 
 In his private intercourse he is sociable and companionable, 
 drawing men to him as if by magic, and retaining their friendship 
 and confidence ever after. In business circles he is known for his 
 reliability, and for the sacredness which he attaches to his promises 
 and pledges. Notwithstanding the vast wealth he represents, he is 
 a plain liver, unostentatious in his intercourse with his fellow-citi- 
 zens, and frugal and temperate in all his daily walk and life. In 
 all public enterprises promising advantage and prosperity to the 
 city of his residence, he is foremost with voice and means to secure 
 the coveted prize. He is generous and confiding toward personal 
 friends, kind and benevolent to the poor, giving with a willing 
 and bountiful hand to relieve those who have claims upon the 
 charity of their more fortunate fellows. Dr. ROBERTS is not the 
 man to shirk any responsibility that may fairly be put upon him, 
 and when he sees his way clear and he never moves till this is 
 reached he advances with resolute step. In business circles he is 
 recognized for reliability and undoubted sagacity. In council he is 
 cool, but never timid, and generally carries those who consult with 
 him over to his own convictions. 
 
 He is in the prime of life, and in the height of his prosperity 
 and usefulness. If life and health are spared him he is destined 
 to fill an important place in the public esteem, confidence and ser- 
 vice. 
 
426 HISTORY OF PETROLEUM. 
 
 SAMUEL Q. BROWN.* 
 
 PLEASAJSTVILLE, PA. 
 
 No other modern enterprise, so plainly as the development of 
 Petroleum, has demonstrated the fact, that endowed as he is,, with 
 the highest faculties bestowed upon the creations of an Almighty 
 God, man still needs opportunity, before, with all his reason, with 
 all his cultivation, with all his wonderful capabilities, he can 
 achieve that success which will leave the impress of his career upon 
 the world, the state, or the community in any degree upon the 
 generation in which he has lived, or the generations that follow. 
 
 Not overlooking the importance of preparation, or the value of 
 experience, this is so palpably the truth, that none but a very -suc- 
 cessful man would ever deny it ; and even a very successful man 
 would only deny it in so far, as to claim that himself, had created 
 the opportunity. 
 
 Men who succeed are prone to believe in themselves ; men who 
 fail are sure to believe in Fate. The wisest probably believe in 
 neither. But it is very natural that a successful man should seek to 
 enhance the merit of his success by overrating the difficulties sur- 
 mounted ; and it is equally natural for the unsuccessful man to 
 excuse his failure by attributing it to a power beyond his control. 
 
 The many instances in which the plain sons of Yenango County, 
 not unlettered always, but certainly uneducated in the management 
 of any but the scantiest finances, seized the opportunity of " that 
 tide in the affairs of men which, taken at its flood, leads on to for- 
 tune," would seem to_. encourage a belief in the theory of " mute, 
 inglorious Miltons ;" for who can doubt that without the opportu- 
 nity afforded by the development of Petroleum, they must have 
 
 * No Photograph furnished. 
 
SAMUEL Q. BROWN. 427 
 
 lived and died, not useless perhaps, but certainly obscure ; whereas 
 taking advantage of opportunity, many have developed into the 
 most extensive, intelligent and successful financiers the commercial 
 history of the country can boast. Prominent among these stands 
 the man whose history it is the purpose of this imperfect sketch to 
 record. 
 
 SAMUEL Q. BROWN was born at Pleasantville, "Venango Co. Pa., 
 on the 19th of September, 1835. His parents had formerly lived in 
 the City of New York, where his father was at one time engaged 
 in commercial pursuits. But being a man of sensitive religious 
 convictions, and believing that a family of children would be less 
 exposed to temptation, and could be more easily reared in the fear 
 of the Lord, in the country, he determined to remove thither, and, 
 together with a number of other families of some means, employed 
 an agent to come to what was then (1833,) the "West," and, after 
 careful inspection, select a location for the little colony. 
 
 The agent looked upon Crawford County as offering, in the great- 
 est degree, the advantages required ; but, instead of locating the 
 farms together, he selected them several miles apart, and fixed 
 upon a spot for Mr. BROWN in the howling wilderness several miles 
 above Titusville. 
 
 Leaving his wife to come on with the household effects and *a 
 stock of merchandise for it was his intention to unite with his 
 farming, the business of a small country store by way of the Erie 
 Canal, then the great thoroughfare to the West, Mr. BROWN has- 
 tened across the country, via Harrisburg, to prepare in advance, 
 the home for her reception. 
 
 When he came to view the land, he was so disappointed and 
 disgusted with the selection of the agent that he went at once to 
 Pleasantville, where there were already several thrifty settlers, and 
 established a home. 
 
 When his wife joined him, they found the prospect so unpromis- 
 ing, that they determined to return to New York, as soon as their 
 stock of merchandize could be disposed of, and for more than half 
 
428 
 
 HISTORY OF PETROLEUM. 
 
 a year, left the most of their household goods packed, prepared to 
 return at the earliest possible moment. But to sell the merchandize, 
 he had to let the goods go on credit, and before he could make 
 collections the family became so attached to the place, and the 
 hearty hospitality which always characterizes new settlements, that 
 they were willing to remain, and two years after their arrival the 
 subject of this memoir was born. 
 
 He obtained a good common-school education, and was even 
 prepared for a classical course in Allegany College, at Meadville, 
 then in a very prosperous condition, and having some four hundred 
 students ; but he only completed the freshman year, for feeling ill 
 from exposure, he lingered in a critical condition for several years, 
 which prevented the renewal of his studies, and after final recovery, 
 which was not till he had nearly attained his majority, he gave up 
 the notion of a collegiate education, and after a preparatory com- 
 mercial course at Duff's college, in Pittsburgh, he joined his father 
 in the management of the store in Pleasantville. 
 
 For the place and time, his educational advantages were excep- 
 tional. Both parents had taken great interest in the cultivation of 
 his mind, and his natural aptitude for study was evinced by the 
 remarkable fact, that at the age of thirteen he entered college. 
 
 - There was very little of incident in his life up to the year 1859 ; 
 nothing at all, but the careful management of a very small country 
 store, to fit him for that brilliant financial career, which afterward 
 distinguished him among the remarkably brilliant and active set of 
 men, brought out in that eventful period of history. 
 
 A few weeks after the discovery of petroleum, in 1859, Mr. 
 BROWN, in connection with Messrs. Mitchell and Rouse, obtained 
 control of the Buchanan farm at Rouseville, which soon, under their 
 management, became one of the best producing farms on the Creek. 
 In the year 1864, after having thoroughly developed this farm by 
 the sinking of nearly a hundred wells by lessees, and producing 
 great quantities of oil, Mr. BROWN put the property into the " Bu- 
 chanan Farm Oil Company," with a capital stock of four million 
 dollars, realizing by the transaction himself one million dollars. 
 
SAMUEL Q. BROWN. 429 
 
 He at once established a broker's office in Philadelphia, and the 
 following year one in New York, and dealt extensively and suc- 
 cessfully in oil stocks (after which people were at that time crazy ;) 
 travelling by night from one city to the other, and devoting alter- 
 nate days to the business of each office. 
 
 Among other companies organized by Mr. BROWN, was "The 
 Titus Oil Company/' He also put the Rynd Farm into a stock 
 company, in connection with several other owners of the property. 
 
 Among the most useful acts -of his career was obtaining the 
 charter of the Farmers' Railroad along Oil Creek, which, owing 
 to the opposition of Senator Scott, he was unable for several years 
 to accomplish. The original charter was granted for a horse-power 
 railroad, and after it had been extended to the employment of 
 steam-power, Mr. BROWN disposed of the charter to Messrs. Bis- 
 sell, Bishop and others, who constructed the Oil Creek Railroad. 
 
 In 1862, the first pipe line was chartered by him in connection 
 with others, but its purpose was only to con-duct the oil from the 
 wells along the Creek to Oil City, and thus obviate the expensive 
 and disastrous system of pond-freshet conveyance by which great 
 quantities of oil were lost. 
 
 The joints employed, however, were such a poor affair that on ac- 
 count of leakage the enterprise was abandoned, and Mr. BROWN 
 afterwards sold out to a gentleman who carried the matter to per- 
 fection and covered the region with a net-work of pipes to conduct 
 the oil to the principal shipping and storing points. 
 
 In 1866, Mr. BROWN became partner in a large mercantile house 
 in New York, continuing his connection with the wholesale and 
 retail branch at Pleasantville, for the Oil Region. 
 
 A few months later, he married Miss Lamb, of his native vil- 
 lage, an estimable woman whom he had known from childhood. 
 Shortly afterwards/ he was taken down with hemorrhage of the 
 lungs, which prostrated him for the rest of the summer, and kept 
 him for weeks at the very point of death. 
 
 But, though a delicate person in appearance, and though all at- 
 
430 HISTORY OF PETROLEUM. 
 
 tention to a naturally fragile physique, had been overlooked in the 
 absorbing enterprises of the last few years of his life, the spark of 
 vitality that still remained, proved sufficient to recuperate him, and 
 in the winter of 1867-68, he travelled in the Southern States, by 
 which he was so benefited that, when the excitement following the 
 discovery of oil at Pleasantville commenced, he was able to return, 
 and take an active part in the development of his own territory, of 
 which he held several hundred acres in the vicinity, that proved 
 to be among the best in that field. 
 
 By this happy turn of affairs, the large fortune he had already 
 acquired, was greatly increased, and Mr. BROWN stands now among 
 the richest men in the oil region. 
 
 His religious convictions are very decided, and though a " suc- 
 cessful man," his success has never lessened his reliance on the 
 directing care of Providence. Though a Presbyterian himself, 
 he still has encouraged the establishment of every other denomi- 
 nation, in his village, by liberal donations, and the Christian 
 hospitality that so beautifully distinguishes his own charming 
 home, is by no means restricted to so narrow a sphere. He is 
 still in the prime of life only thirty-seven and the busy life 
 through which he has already passed, will probably be crowned by 
 many years of even more extended usefulness. 
 
 Mr. BROWN opened a banking establishment at Pleasantville, in 
 company with Mr. Mitchell which, on a dissolution, was carried 
 
 on under the firm of S. Q. Brown & ; this firm was during 
 
 the present year superceded by a stock company, called the " Plea- 
 santville Banking Co.," with the subject of our sketch as President. 
 Mr. Brown is the senior partner of the extensive mercantile house 
 of Brown Bros., of Pleasantville. 
 
Woodburyt.M*. A. P. R. P. Co.. Phila. 
 
 J. L. GRANDIN 
 
J. L. GRAND1N. 
 
 J. L. GRANDIK 
 
 TIDIOUTE, PA. 
 
 IN preparing the biographical sketches which accompany and 
 form so important a part of this work, it has been the aim of the 
 author to select for special reference gentlemen prominently identi- 
 fied, first and last, with the production of Petroleum in Western 
 Pennsylvania, and known as successful operators, or those who 
 stand in the front rank, in one or another branch of the develop- 
 ment of this wonderful phenomena and gift of nature. The ma- 
 jority of these, have been individual cases, whose various and 
 varied enterprises have been briefly detailed, the better to enable 
 the reader to comprehend the magnitude of the subject we are 
 elaborating, and thus to realize, in some degree at least, the vast 
 amount of labor and capital involved in its successful conduct. 
 From the earliest days of the petroleum discoveries in western 
 Pennsylvania, " the GRANDINS " at Tidioute have been advanced 
 and advancing producers and operators, largely successful and al- 
 ways reliable and representative men of the Oil Kegion. 
 
 SAMUEL GRANDIN, the father of the three brothers GRANDIN, 
 was a pioneer in Western Pennsylvania, having removed to Alle- 
 gany Township (near Pleasantville), Venango County, from New 
 Jersey, in 1822. His early ambition was to own lands. The old 
 Grandin farm, within a mile of Pleasantville, which Mr. G. took 
 up in 1822, and subsequently cleared, and successfully cultivated 
 for many years, affords the best proof we can adduce of his 
 industry and ability to overcome embarrassments and discour- 
 agements inseparably connected with early settlements in a new 
 country, and that country almost a wilderness. During nearly 
 half a century's residence in Venango and Warren Counties, Mr. 
 
432 HISTORY OF PETROLEUM. 
 
 GRANDIN has maintained a high character for integrity and scru- 
 pulous honesty, and in the conduct of his large business interests, 
 has commanded the confidence and retained the esteem of all who 
 know him. In earlier years, his enterprise led him into heavy 
 lumber operations ; and these continued and increased with his 
 mercantile, mechanical and lumbering operations, and always gave 
 him a prominence and prestige, as success crowded upon him, few 
 men in Western Pennsylvania have attained. Mr. GRANDIN, Sr., 
 now over seventy-three years of age, is yet hale and vigorous. 
 Some twelve years since he withdrew from active pursuits, 
 not perhaps because of his age, but that his sons, three 
 in number, whom he had reared and educated with care, 
 might assume the greater portion of the responsibilities he had 
 spent the best part of his own life in gathering upon himself. 
 
 This brief reference to the father of the GRANDIN brothers is 
 made, because it seemed to be eminently due to him, as also to the 
 sons, who succeeded to his responsibilities and large business cares, 
 quadrupling them all, and who, with so much fidelity and tact, 
 have maintained the credit and unsullied repute he established for 
 himself through more than thirty years of active life. 
 
 JOHN LIVINGSTON GRANDIN was born in Venango County, 
 Penn., near the village of Pleasantville, on the 20th day of Decem- 
 ber, 1836. He is the eldest of three sons living, an elder brother 
 having been accidentally drowned, at Tidioute, twenty odd years 
 ago. In 1 839, the family removed from Pleasantville to Tidioute, 
 where Mr. GRANDIN, Sen., had acquired by purchase, "large tracts 
 of timber lands, and here they have continued to reside for a third 
 of a century. The subject of this sketch, here grew into boyhood, 
 having the advantages of a Common School education. Later he 
 was sent to the Academy at "Warren, Pa., and subsequently to the 
 Jamestown, N. Y., Union Institute, and at the age of eighteen, 
 he entered Allegany College, at Meadville, Pa., and remained here, 
 pursuing mathematics, and the higher branches of a classical 
 education. When he connected himself with Allegany College, his 
 
J. L. GRANDIN. 433 
 
 determination was to take to the law as a profession. A few 
 months' observation, however, among his fellow-students and class- 
 mates convinced him that his success in life did not depend upon 
 his becoming a lawyer. Of the class graduating, the year young 
 GRANDIN left College, very many had fixed upon the profession 
 of the law as a life calling. He estimated that not more than one- 
 third of these could succeed, and contrasting his own chances of 
 success with the small fraction of his class-mates, he determined to 
 abandon his earlier resolves, and seek success in other and less 
 crowded fields. 
 
 He left college in 1857, and returned to Tidioute, and engaged 
 in business with his father, then largely interested in mercantile 
 and lumbering enterprises. He readily acquired a full knowledge 
 of his father's business, and later, assumed almost entire control of 
 it, and was generally recognized as its responsible head. This posi- 
 tion he has continued to occupy to this day, and has always been 
 regarded as the master spirit of very many of the great financial, 
 commercial and business operations of the successors of SAMUEL 
 GRANDIN. 
 
 When in 1859, the oil developments of Col. Drake, upon the 
 "Watson Flats, became known, J. L. GRANDIN was the first to in- 
 augurate measures for its production at Tidioute. He had known 
 of the existence of an oil spring on Gordon Run, one of the tribu- 
 taries of the Allegany river, at that point, from which oil had in 
 years past, been gathered in small quantities. Within a day or two 
 after the Drake well was struck, and while Col. Robinson, then a 
 resident of Titusville, was rehearsing the particulars of the wonder- 
 ful success which had attended Col. Drake's efforts, to a listening 
 group in his father's store, young GRANDIN saddled his horse, 
 and within an hour, was pressing negotiations for the purchase 
 of thirty acres of the Campbell farm, upon which the oil spring 
 was located. The terms of sale were agreed upon 30 acres at $10 
 per acre a payment made, and Mr. GRANDIN returned to Tidioute. 
 28 
 
434 HISTORY OF PETROLEUM. 
 
 Later, upon the same day, he visited the spring, had it thoroughly 
 cleaned out, and immediately the oil began to rise to the surface, 
 in small globules, and before leaving it, a pint bottle of the green 
 fluid was obtained. 
 
 On the morning following his purchase and explorations about 
 the spring, Mr. GRANDIN visited Mr. H. H. DENNIS, an old 
 favorite of the Grandin family, and a man of superior mechanical 
 ingenuity, still residing at Tidioute, then living at Dennis' Mills, near 
 what is now known as New London. He hurriedly disclosed to him 
 his plans, the purchase of the oil spring, and its flattering " surface 
 indications." The Drake well and its remarkable product, eight 
 barrels per day, and selling at the well for 75 cents per gallon ! 
 this and much more was discussed, and finally Mr. G. made known 
 the object of his visit. " I think," said Mr. GRANDIN, "we can find 
 oil in paying quantities on Gordon Run. The old oil spring gives 
 strong proofs of its abundance there and I have determined to 
 put down a well, right in the centre of the spring ! I have come 
 to see if you can provide the tools and put down the well ?" 
 " Well," said Mr. Dennis, after a moment's hesitation, " I think, 
 by jolly, I can do it, if anybody can !" A bargain was struck at 
 once, and a contract entered into between the parties, and the 
 following day a derrick, consisting of four twenty-feet scantling* 
 was erected a spring pole procured, and everything necessary for 
 a commencement of the work of drilling, put at the disposal of Mr. 
 Dennis as rapidly as possible. The spring hole was excavated to 
 the rock bottom, the drilling tool " swung," and all accomplished 
 that could be, before the setting of the sun on the THIRD day after 
 Mr. GRANDIN'S purchase ! 
 
 As this was the FIRST well started at Tidioute, and probably 
 the very next commenced after Col. Drake's well was completed, 
 in the oil region, we have deemed its history of sufficient import- 
 ance and interest, to give a detailed statement of its inception, 
 manner of drilling, and the incidents attending its progress and ul- 
 timate failure. 
 
J. L. GBANDIN. 435 
 
 Mr. Dennis, though a mechanic of remarkable skill and rare 
 genius, had never seen an oil well, nor indeed had he ever turned 
 his attention to rock drilling, in any regard even to rock blasting, 
 but he at once comprehended the undertaking, and set about sup- 
 plying himself with the necessary implements for the work before 
 him. He had seen the old style " churn drill," used for blasting, 
 and procuring a bar of inch and a quarter iron, three feet in 
 length, he soon fashioned it to his needs. One end was flattened 
 to form a cutting bit, two and a half inches in breadth, this being 
 the diameter of the hole to be drilled. In the upper end of this 
 iron bar or bit, he made a socket into which, as the work pro- 
 ceeded, he put an inch bar of round iron, tapered to fit the socket, 
 and fastened by means of a key, and this riveted, and made per- 
 fectly straight and solidly fast. These continued additions, consti- 
 tuted his drilling tools, drilling jars, auger stem, &c., &c. When 
 it became necessary, as it did ordinarily twice or thrice a day, to 
 remove the drill, or bit, to sharpen or repair it, the rivet or key 
 had to be cut off, and the drill removed, and thus every succeeding 
 bit and he afterwards made several was operated. 
 
 In this manner, and with this rude outfit, the first well was 
 drilled at Tidioute, and as before remarked the SECOND well in 
 this region was begun. Of course the process of drilling was 
 slow, and had to be done with great care. The first break in the 
 drill-point half an inch or more being taken off was deemed 
 fatal to the enterprise. Mr. Dennis, however, tried the 'blunting 
 of the point of his drilling tool, and pounding away for a day or 
 two, finally drove the " offender " into the walls of the well. 
 Thus, one after another of the innumerable obstacles encountered, 
 were overcome, and the well drilled down to the depth of 134 
 feet! It was begun in the month of August, 1859, and spite of 
 embarrassments and hindrances, more easily imagined than de- 
 scribed, was completed to the depth stated, in the last days of 
 October of the same year, or a little more than eight weeks from 
 its commencement. During the progress of drilling, no "show" 
 
436 HISTORY OF PETROLEUM. 
 
 of oil or gas had been visible, but the depth was deemed ample for 
 oil purposes. The Drake Well, was sixty-nine feet six inches 
 deep, and this was double the depth of this first test well, and 
 was regarded as sufficiently deep for all practical purposes. 
 
 Mr. GRANDIN, immediately ordered from a Pittsburgh manu- 
 factory, copper tubing for the well, giving its dimensions, depth, 
 <&c., as also a pump of sufficient capacity and power to draw the 
 fluid from its great depth. The manufacturers replied, that they 
 made no tubing of the size required, and informed Mr. GRANDIN, 
 that his well-hole was too small by nearly one half! That it must 
 be four inches in diameter, in order that tubing, and a pump of 
 sufficient power be used to make it practicable and successful ! 
 
 Here, indeed, was time, money and effort expended for naught. 
 The well had been put down upon the best information attainable, 
 and to appearances was valueless because of its size ! Mr. GRANDIN, 
 accompanied by Mr. Dennis, had visited the Drake Well, while 
 drilling their own, purposely to obtain information to enable them 
 to proceed correctly, and to learn how to remove broken bits and 
 rock cuttings from their well, and such other facts as would aid 
 them in accomplishing the end in view. When they reached the 
 Drake Well, all was boarded up tight, and the entrances barred, 
 bolted and locked ! Col. Drake himself was absent, and the won- 
 derful " wonder," was in charge of a German fellow-citizen, who 
 denied all access to the inner courts of the derrick, and refused 
 utterly to give any information upon the subject ! Of course 
 Messrs. GRANDIN and DENNIS, returned to their own enterprise, 
 as wise as they went to Col. Drake's well, and the following day 
 Mr. Dennis called upon Mr. GRANDIN, and detailed to him his 
 plan for enlarging the dimensions of the hole. He wanted a bar 
 of iron two inches in diameter, and from six to eight feet in length. 
 But where to get such a ponderous piece of metal, was the next 
 suggestion. No hardware establishment in all that section of the 
 country, kept iron bars of this character, and it was questionable 
 if it could be had short of Pittsburgh. During the same day, 
 
J. L. GRANDIN. 437 
 
 however, Mr. Dennis' eye fell upon "just what he wanted !" It 
 was a discarded axle, used upon a tram- railway, running out of 
 Gordon Run, used to transport lumber to the Allegany river! " It 
 was just the thing needed I" It was six feet in length, two inches 
 in diameter, made of wrought iron, and would weigh nearly one 
 hundred pounds. This was quickly transformed into the desired 
 shape, a block of steel run through the bar, welded and riveted, 
 four inches from one end, and the steel on either side of the bar, was 
 flattened to a cutting edge, two inches in breadth. To the other 
 end he attached an inch and an eighth cable, and fastened this to 
 his spring pole, and thus began the work of enlarging the well 
 hole. For a sand pump, he used while drilling the two and a 
 half inch well, three feet of an inch and, a half copper pipe, cut 
 from a boiler water pipe, used at a neighboring saw-mill, fastening 
 a leather valve at or near the lower end, so as to securely hold 
 whatever entered it. This sand pump he continued to use success- 
 fully, until the enlargement was completed ! 
 
 Of course it was the labor of days and weeks, running into 
 months, to " rim out " this hole, with their home-made tool, but it 
 was ultimately accomplished!. During the fall and winter of 1859, 
 and '60, Mr. Dennis toiled on, some days, " rimming out " six 
 inches and others as many as two feet per day. As- he proceeded 
 he discovered the necessity for "jars" in his drilling apparatus, 
 and so constructed "a pair" to meet the demand. He made of 
 inch and a quarter bar iron, two links, similar to the links of a log 
 chain two feet in length and attached these to his " car-axle " 
 drill and cable, and this constituted his drilling jars ! Mr. Dennis 
 admits, cleverly, that the principle he adopted for "drill jars," 
 has been enlarged as well as improved ! 
 
 But the saddest part of the story of this second well, drilled for 
 oil in the Western Pennsylvania oil fields, and which we have given 
 with such particular detail, and for a purpose that the reader will not 
 fail to detect, remains to be told. When the " rimming out " to 
 the bottom of the first well had been completed, and the " car- 
 
438 HISTOEY OF PETROLEUM. 
 
 axle " drill, had been run down for the last time, "just to make sure 
 that the work was finished/' it in some unaccountable and inexpli- 
 cable manner became fastened to the rocks below, and " never saw 
 day-light again ! " Days and days were spent in the vain effort to 
 release it, but all to no purpose. Mr. Dennis constructed a rude 
 torpedo out of the remaining portion of his copper boiler feed pipe, 
 and charged this with blasting powder. After some experiments 
 with a fuse, as to the time required to reach the top of his drill- 
 ing tools, he made one or two efforts to explode it, and finally ac- 
 complished his purpose. The explosion was sensibly felt upon the 
 surface, for Mr. Dennis says " the ground trembled like an earth- 
 quake under his feet!" The explosion was effected, doubtless, 
 nearer the surface than he intended or anticipated. But the effect 
 of this " first torpedo exploded in an oil well," was a failure to re- 
 lease the embedded tools. Other expedients were resorted to, but 
 all to no purpose. Each succeeding effort only served to put it be- 
 yond the mechanical skill of Mr. Dennis to recover the lost imple- 
 ments, and they were finally abandoned. What a curiosity that 
 rude drilling tool would be now, and what a contrast would be dis- 
 cernible in them and those in use at the present day ! 
 
 We may as well state here that while other wells followed this 
 first one upon Gordon Run one as late as 1865, no oil has ever 
 been brought to the surface in that locality. The oil spring, which 
 first induced Mr. GRANDIN to purchase it and the land surround- 
 ing it, is still in existence, and the gravel two feet from the surface 
 is thoroughly impregnated with heavy petroleum. It is supposed 
 the oil is forced up through the rocks from Dennis Run, half a 
 mile distant, and finds an exit in this spring. 
 
 Before the completion of this well, or perhaps we should say be- 
 fore its abandonment, during the winter and spring of 1860, Mr. 
 GRANDIN secured leases upon the river flats, on lands belonging to 
 " The Tidioute and Warren Oil Company." These leases were 
 sub-let to other parties, and in the early spring and summer of 
 that year, two wells were put down, one of which produced eight 
 
J. L. GRANDIN. 439 
 
 barre T s and the other forty barrels daily. Mr. GRANDIN retained a 
 " free interest " in the property leased, and was thus made a party 
 to the profits without great outlay. The wells were shallow, not 
 being in any case, we believe, during the development of 1860, and 
 '61, more than 125 to 150 feet in depth. 
 
 During the summer and fall of 1 860, developments had extended 
 across and down the river from Tidioute a mile or more. Mr. 
 GRANDIN leased a number of farms in the direction indicated, put 
 down a good many wells himself, and sub-leased to other parties 
 upon various terms, but the developments were without marked 
 success. Little or no oil was discovered, and the consequence was 
 an innumerable number of "dry holes" rewarded the industry 
 and enterprise of the explorers. Efforts to discover the producing 
 oil-rock were continued by Mr. GRANDIN, with unabated zeal 
 through 1860, '61, '62 and '63, and with moderate success. Du- 
 ring these early years of the petroleum excitement, and while 
 known as a prominent producer, he became largely interested in the 
 purchase, sale and shipment of oil to the sea-board. 
 
 In 1863, Mr. GRANDIN, partly as a speculative operation, but 
 mainly to introduce refined petroleum to western dealers and con- 
 sumers, shipped 130 barrels of oil, refined, at Irvineton, Pa., upon 
 shares, to Chicago, and went thither himself to attend to its sale. 
 He found much difficulty in interesting dealers in its traffic. Their 
 prejudices, the results of a total lack of knowledge of this new il- 
 luminating agent, would admit of no arguments, or proofs, or sug- 
 gestions. They " had a coal oil that gave ample light," and they 
 would not touch the new material. Mr. GRANDIN did, however, 
 finally succeed in interesting one or two dealers in its sale but the 
 speculation was not a flattering one, financially. But it served to 
 introduce the new " illuminating fluid " to the people of the west, 
 and later, opened up one of the best markets on the continent for 
 the sale of refined oil. 
 
 The first oil-producing well put down at Tidioute was struck in 
 the fall of 1860. It was located upon the river-flat below Tidioute, 
 
440 HISTORY OF PETROLEUM. 
 
 and was drilled by Messrs. KING & FERRIS, then both residents 
 of Titusville. The land upon which it was situated belonged to 
 W. W. WALLACE, of Pittsburgh, and in 1860, was purchased by 
 " THE TIDIOUTE AND WARREN OIL COMPANY/' This was, pro- 
 bably, the first oil company organized at Tidioute, if not in the Oil 
 Region, and its proprietorship is worthy of preservation in these 
 pages. There were ten shares of the stock at 1,000 each, and the 
 following gentlemen were its original owners : 
 
 Samuel Grandin, . . . Tidioute. 
 
 Brewer, Watson & Co., . . Titusville. 
 
 Charles Hyde, .... Hydetown. 
 
 Robert Brown, .... Milltown. 
 
 W. T. Neill, .... Neilltown. 
 
 E. T. F. Vallentine, . . . Warren. 
 L. L. Lowry, .... 
 C. B. Curtis, .... " 
 
 L. D. Wetmore .... " 
 
 The Company purchased the "undivided one-half" of the Wal- 
 lace farm property, which consisted of about 500 acres of land, and 
 leased the other half at "an eighth royalty." The investment 
 proved to be a very profitable one, the shareholders receiving large 
 sums as dividends. In 1865, Mr. GRANDIN became interested by 
 purchase, in this valuable property, and was soon after elected 
 Treasurer of the Company, and one of the Executive Committee. 
 He had been identified and indirectly connected with the 
 purchase and development of this property from the first, repre- 
 senting his father's interest, but became a purchaser of a portion of 
 its stock himself, as we have stated. He holds the position of Trea- 
 surer and Manager at this writing, directing its affairs almost 
 exclusively, the remaining members of the Committee being resi- 
 dents of Pittsburgh and Warren, and rarely at Tidioute. As evi- 
 dence of the success with which Mr. G. has developed this property, 
 we may add, that during his eight years 1 supervision of it, he has 
 paid over to its stockholders more than $1,200,000, in dividends! 
 
J. L. GRANDIN. 441 
 
 This is quite $150,000 per annum as profits upon an investment 
 of only $10,000 made in 1860 ! 
 
 In 1866, Mr. GRANDIN became interested with Pierce & Ney- 
 hart in the purchase, sale and development of oil lands, building 
 of iron tankage, and the general traffic incident to the oil trade. 
 Later the firm added the shipment of oil to the sea-board, and else- 
 where to their extensive operations. Few firms or individuals in 
 the oil region have been as large buyers and shippers, as Pierce & 
 Neyhart, and Mr. Adnah Neyhart, who succeeded Pierce & Neyhart. 
 Buying upon a falling market as readily as upon an advancing one, 
 their ample capital permitted the purchase of large quantities of oil 
 which they were enabled to hold at various points, and ship as 
 required. Mr. GRANDIN retired from this firm in 1868, after two 
 years of successful operation, and Messrs. Pierce & Neyhart suc- 
 ceeded to the shipping traffic. 
 
 In 1866, the first Pipe Line was put into successful operation 
 upon Dennis Run. It was owned by J. L. GRANDIN, Pierce & 
 Neyhart, Fisher*Bros., and C. "W. Ellis. It extended from the 
 river, through Dennis Run to the " New York and Dennis Run 
 Oil Company V lauds, below Triumph. This line was in 1867, 
 sold to the " New York and Dennis Run Oil Co.," and passed into 
 their control at that date. 
 
 Another Pipe Line was laid in 1867, and by the same parties, 
 with M. G. Gushing and James Parshall, added to their number. 
 The pipe used for this second enterprise was three inch, the first 
 being but two inch capacity. In 1870, the Fagundas developments 
 startled the oil region from end to end. Prior to these extraordi- 
 nary productions, or in the fall and winter of 1869, J. L. GRANDIN, 
 with his brothers E. B. and W. J., and the brothers Neyhart, pur- 
 chased the undivided one-half interest in the David Beaty farm, on 
 Hickory Creek, and adjoining the Fagundas farm on the west, for 
 $91,000. The following year, 1870, Messrs. J. L. & E. B. GRAN- 
 DIN, A. Neyhart and David Beaty purchased one-half of the Hirarn 
 Scott farm at Fagundas, paying for it, with developments within a 
 stone's throw of its boundaries, $5,000. 
 
\ 
 
 442 HISTORY OF PETROLEUM. 
 
 Shortly after this transaction, the same parties, in conjunction 
 with Fisher Bros., purchased five-sixths of the Fagundas Farm, 
 John Fagundas retaining a one-sixth interest. For this the parties 
 paid $100,000 ! Subsequently Mr. A. Neyhart purchased one-half 
 of John Fagundas 7 one-sixth interest, for which he paid $25,000 ! 
 
 During the same summer, and after developments began to prove 
 the great value of property at Fagundas, the GRANDINS and Ney- 
 hart, and David Beaty, leased ten acres of the afterwards widely- 
 known Wilkins Farm five of which they re-leased to James 
 McNair. Upon the remaining five acres they sank three w r ells, 
 one of which, " The McQuade Well," produced from the start, 400 
 barrels a day ! This was by far the largest well obtained upon 
 the Fagundas belt, and brought to its fortunate owners a large 
 amount of solid profit. Besides these returns, here briefly referred 
 to, these gentlemen possessed valuable interests at various points in 
 this new field, all which, or nearly all, added to the volume of 
 wealth literally pouring into their coffers. At this writing, May, 
 1873, they are owners of nearly 100 producing w^fls, scattered over 
 the Fagundas, Scott, Wilkins, Beaty, and contiguous Farms, the 
 aggregate production of which is not less than 500 barrels per day. 
 
 In closing this brief mention of the Fagundas operations, we 
 may add, by way of a summary statement, that -in the purchase 
 and development of the property above referred to, more than 
 $600,000 have been expended upon the Fagundas and Beaty Farms 
 alone ! Of course the " right side " of the ledger will exhibit a 
 "stretch of numerals" largely in excess of even these fabulous 
 expenditures. 
 
 During the summer of 1868, J. L. & E. B. GRANDLY, Fisher 
 Bros., and Adnah Neyhart, purchased the remaining interests in 
 the Tidioute Pipe Line these gentlemen being from the first its 
 largest stockholders : and in 1869, with David Beaty and Jahu 
 Hunter added to their number, began and completed a Pipe Line 
 from Fagundas to Trunkeyville, a station on the O. C. and A. R. R. 
 R., a mile and a half from the Fagundas oil field. 
 
J. L. GBANDIN. 443 
 
 These lines of pipe were successfully operated through 1869- 
 '70 and '71, at which date "The Pennsylvania Transportation 
 Company," the most extensive Pipe Line incorporation in the oil 
 region, became interested in them. Messrs. Grandins & Ney- 
 hart are now equal owners with this Company in the Pipe-lines 
 from Fagundas to Trunkeyville, and from Fagundas to Tidioute, 
 and from Fagundas to Titusville. They also own, in connection 
 with the same Company, one-half of the Pipe-line running 
 from Triumph to Tidioute, which, with its extensions, reaches 
 to all the producing territory lying between Colorado and 
 Tidioute. 
 
 The storage or Iron tankage belonging to Grandins & Ney- 
 hart, and David Beaty, who is also part owner with these gen- 
 tlemen in some portions of their tank investments, is larger than 
 that of any private firm or individual in the oil regions. At Par- 
 ker's Landing, J. L. & E. B. GBANDIN, and Messrs. Neyhart and 
 David Beaty, have a tankage capacity of 36,000 barrels. The 
 tankage at Tidioute, owned by J. L. & E. B. Grandin, and Adnah 
 Neyhart, amounts to 75,000 barrels. Upon the Beaty Farm, the 
 same parties, with Mr. Beaty, have tankage for 18,000 barrels, 
 and 11,000 barrels of tank capacity is owned by the same parties 
 at Miller Farm, on Oil Creek. These gentlemen are now erecting at 
 Titusville for the conveniences of their own private business, a 
 tankage capacity of 18,000 barrels. Here are nearly 160,000 bar- 
 rels of storage capacity owned and controlled by the enterprise of 
 these gentlemen, and it is but truth to say they have " no room to 
 spare." Their production and purchase of oil, month in and month 
 out, test the capacity of all the storage they have at their disposal. 
 As with their ample means, Grandins & Neyhart are enabled to con- 
 duct this branch of their business upon a thoroughly successful 
 basis, and at the same time keep their large capital actively, employed. 
 They are large buyers at all times, but specially so upon a depressed 
 market. It is no uncommon fact for Grandins & Neyhart to pur- 
 
444 HISTORY OF PETROLEUM. 
 
 chase and carry over to a higher market 150,000 barrels 
 of oil.* 
 
 In December, 1865, Wadsworth, Baum & Co., opened a private 
 banking- office at Tidioute. In February following, (1866,) J. L. 
 GRANDIN associated himself with Dr. Baum, one of the original 
 partners of Wadsworth, Baum & Co., and purchased the interests 
 of the remaining partners, and thenceforward the enterprise was 
 known as " Grandin & Baum's Bank." In February, 1870, after 
 four years of financial success, this banking firm was succeeded by 
 J. L. & W. J. Grandin, and these brothers have since conducted 
 the banking business solely upon their own account and responsi- 
 bility, under the firm name of Grandin Brothers. The institution 
 is wholly a private enterprise, owned and managed exclusively by 
 these two gentlemen, both of whom, it is needless to add, command 
 the confidence of the public, and take rank among the leading and 
 substantial bankers of the oil region and Western Pennsylvania. 
 The amount of capital required to conduct their extensive banking 
 transactions is not named, nor does it seem necessary that it should 
 be. Whenever required, their resources will supply every demand 
 made upon them. Their deposits are very large, and their line of 
 discounts are probably equal with any other banking institution in 
 the oil region. 
 
 JOHN LIVINGSTON GRANDIN is a gentleman of large business 
 calibre and experience. In commercial as in financial circles he is 
 regarded as amply comprehensive and reliable beyond doubt or 
 question. He is self-possessed under whatever burden his large 
 business affairs and engagements impose, and never seems disiairbed 
 or deprived of his equanimity, either by reverses or successes. He 
 is prompt, energetic, and thorough, grappling large transac- 
 tions, involving thousands of dollars of outlay, as he would the 
 ordinary operations of every-day life. He is not what the world 
 
 * Since the above was written, an addition of 75,000 barrels tankage capacity has 
 been added a portion of it in the Parker's District a 20,000 barrel tank on the 
 Jamestown road, below Oil City, and another at Titusville of like dimensions. 
 
J. L. GRANDIN. 445 
 
 terms a bold operator, for that expression oftentimes involves 
 suspicion of recklessness. But he is a clear-headed, far-seeing, 
 sound financial thinker, and accepts and adopts his own convictions 
 and theories, and acts upon them without special regard to the im- 
 pressions of others. He has an active temperament, with a well 
 balanced brain and a thoroughly cultured mind. He thinks and 
 moves not alone for himself, but for others, and is therefore among 
 that class of commercial and financial head- workers, whose opinion 
 and judgment upon all important subjects of this character will 
 always be sought after, and heeded. 
 
 In private life he is a man of rare personal worth and high-toned 
 moral excellencies. Dignified even to reserve, he is nevertheless 
 cordial and companionable toward all with whom he comes into 
 contact. Limited, perhaps to a degree, in his closer friendships, he 
 is yet generously frank and zealously devoted to those so fortunate 
 as to win his confidence and merit his esteem. In business circles 
 he is irreproachably honorable and scrupulously upright. His 
 integrity is absolutely unassailable, for he has ever regarded his 
 word as his bond, and his bond is always quotable at par. 
 
 Such men as JOHN LIVINGSTON GRANDIN, and the firms with 
 which his name is so prominently identified, and has been during 
 the past eight or ten years, give character and stability to the com- 
 mercial and monetary affairs of the Oil Region, and in closing 
 this brief resume of his own, and his associates' connection with this 
 important branch of our national wealth and resources, we may be 
 permitted the hope, that both he and they, may yet celebrate other 
 triumphs and still greater successes than those already carried to 
 their credit, which have given him and them, such flattering com- 
 mendation, and public and private renown. Such men deserve 
 success, and the popular voice is ever an approving one when they 
 attain it. 
 
446 HISTORY OF PETROLEUM. 
 
 ADNAH NEYHAKT. 
 
 TIDIOUTE, PENNA. 
 
 A POLISHED and, we may add, a piquant, American author has 
 said, that " few virtues are more popular, more fascinating, and 
 unfortunately, more rare, than pluck !" Not " pluck " of that 
 blind, spasmodic, impulsive character usually misnamed under this 
 head, but of a steady, quiet, invincible and persistent quality 
 founded on neither ignorance nor miscalculation r spur red on neither 
 by emulation, nor conceit, following out, through clearly foreseen 
 and fully comprehended dangers, a well denned and thoroughly 
 good purpose. Men thus endowed have elements of greatness 
 about them that sooner or later will crop out, and in the end 
 demand and obtain success in whatever field they may choose to 
 labor. " Pluck," or courage under whatever disaster, is a virtue 
 beneficent solely through its own intrinsic quality. In whatever 
 cause displayed, it is ever a noble and an ennobling trait of human 
 character. No eminent man, in whatever station he be found in 
 the learned professions, in mechanics or arts, in financial circles, or 
 in the commercial world, has attained distinction without it. 
 Wherever it is discovered, it is applauded, for there are few who 
 do not sympathize with and pay it homage. 
 
 There are now and always have been, since its discovery, 
 "plucky" men, identified with the development of petroleum oil 
 in western Pennsylvania men of unconquerable will, invincible 
 determination, and unabated zeal and industry men, who under 
 whatever adversity or disaster, have resolved, come what may, 
 to attain success. Among this class of men, deserving recognition 
 and a place in the memory of the reader of these pages, we place 
 the subject of the following sketch, ADNAH NEYHART of Tidioute. 
 
ADNAH NEYHART. 
 
ADNAH NEYHART. 447 
 
 Mr. NEYHAET, is a native of Tompkins County, New York, 
 born in the town of Lansing, a few miles from its chief business 
 centre, Ithica, on the 20th of December, 1836. ADNAH, is the 
 eldest of three children, two sons and a daughter. His father was 
 a carpenter and builder, in moderate circumstances, but he early 
 determined to give his children all the educational advantages at 
 his disposal. ADNAH was kept at the district school, from six to 
 eight months of each year, until he was twelve or fourteen years 
 of age, when he was sent to reside with Rev. C. H. A. Bulkley, 
 a Dutch Reformed clergyman, resident in an adjoining town. 
 Here he remained four years : pursuing the higher branches of 
 study, in the -public school of the vicinity. At the end of this 
 time he went to reside with Mr. B. G. Ferris, where he remained 
 a year, pursuing his studies and still, another year spent in like 
 manner, in the, family of Mr. D. T. Wood, both of his. native 
 county. 
 
 About this time he had not yet attained his majority he was 
 offered a situation in the large mercantile establishment of J. W. 
 & J. Quigg, at Ithica, and accepted it, entering their employ- 
 ment in 1853. The house did an extensive business in general 
 merchandizing, and the purchase of produce. Here young NEY- 
 HART obtained a pretty thorough knowledge of the trade he was 
 engaged in indeed all his early business experience was obtained 
 while in their employ. Leaving this firm in 1857, he determined 
 to go into trade upon his own account. His cash capital amounted 
 to $200. He secured a partner with about the same amount of 
 means, and with him proceeded to New York this just after the 
 great panic of that year, 1857, and purchased a large stock of 
 groceries UPON CREDIT. We may add here, that it was the 
 letters of introduction MR. NEYHART presented, and not his finan- 
 cial ability that enabled him to obtain all the goods "on time/ 7 
 that he desired. This business engagement was maintained for 
 about one year. It proved to be a sure, but by far, too slow a 
 mode of making money to Mr. NEYHART, who had at this early 
 
448 HISTORY OP PETROLEUM. 
 
 day imbibed and cultivated a speculative turn, in business affairs, 
 and could hardly endure the retail trade of a " corner grocery 
 store " for the gratification of his ambition. It was not the desire 
 to become rich, that prompted him to give up this mercantile en- 
 terprise, but rather in the hope, that some more important business 
 engagement, with larger transactions, and more of them, would be 
 presented to him. This retail grocery enterprise we should say 
 here, was a considerable success to the firm, but in the sale and 
 transfer to his partner, Mr. NEYHART was, in the end, the loser 
 of nearly all he had invested. This misfortune, for the time at 
 least changed his business determinations, for he soon after entered 
 the large dry goods establishment of Mr. S. H. Winton, in the 
 same city, as a general salesman. He at once won the esteem and 
 'confidence of his employer, who was not long in discovering in his 
 new employee, an especial adaptation to business, as well as his 
 clear, cool judgment, in all matters pertaining to his mer- 
 cantile trade. Mr. NEYHART remained in this establishment, 
 growing in the esteem of his employer, and the public, for about a 
 year, when Mr. Winton disposed of his business to other parties, 
 with whom Mr. NEYHART remained still another year. 
 
 This was early in the fall of 1861. With the accumulations of 
 his two years engagement with Mr. "Winton, and his successors, he 
 determined to try his fortunes as a speculator in one of the staples of 
 that portion of south-western New York. Butter was at this time 
 almost unsalable. Its quotable market value was very low. But 
 Mr. NEYHART saw "money in it," and promptly took the risks 
 of its purchase in large quantities. His capital was limited, but 
 the banks gave him generous accommodations, and very soon his 
 profits began to be tangible and substantial. 
 
 Later in the conduct of this enterprise, when the staple he dealt 
 in became more abundant, and his capital inadequate to the demands 
 made upon it, Mr. S. H. WINTON, his old employer, with ample 
 means, joined him in his operations. To their butter purchases, 
 which were largely increased under the new firm, was added the 
 
ADNAH NEYHART. 449 
 
 buying and shipping of dried apples, now come to be an important 
 article in the list of Army supplies. This business association was 
 continued, and with much profit, until the fall of 1864, just as the 
 rebellion began to wane and give signs of failure. Values were 
 becoming fitful and varying, the finances of the country fluctuated 
 and were unsettled, and commercial transactions had little of per- 
 manence, and were fraught with disaster and loss indeed all 
 business ventures, the country over, presented an uninviting as- 
 pect. Messrs. Winton & Neyhart determined to surrender their 
 heretofore profitable enterprise, which they did before the fall busi- 
 ness commenced, and the partnership affairs were gradually wound 
 up, and the business discontinued. 
 
 While this was being accomplished, Mr. NEYHART, partly from 
 motives of curiosity, and partly as a speculative out-look, visited 
 the oil regions, arriving at Oil City early in the fall of 1864. 
 During his stay of two weeks, he made thorough examinations of 
 the oil-producing localities, noting the details of operating wells, 
 leases, etc., etc. He became fairly interested in this great industry, 
 and resolved to give it his immediate attention and effort. Upon 
 his return to Ithica, he, with other gentlemen of his acquaintance, 
 formed an association or partnership, with a cash capital of $25,000, 
 upon which to commence operations in the new Oil-dorado Mr. 
 NEYHART receiving and accepting the appointment of Supervising 
 Agent. This completed, Mr. N. returned to Oil City, and there- 
 upon began his operations. His first investment covered a few 
 leases on Cherry Eun, above Rouseville, then one of the largest 
 producing points on "the Creek." Leases in this locality com- 
 manded a large " bonus," and invariably " one-half the oil/' but the 
 few Mr. NEYHART secured, could have been disposed of soon after 
 he obtained them at a fabulous advance, but the association, whose 
 agent he was, decided to hold and operate them in their own behalf, 
 and to this end the capital of the Company was doubled, and the 
 purchase and sale of oil lands added to the original determination. 
 Everything promised well, and large returns were anticipated by 
 29 
 
450 HISTORY OF PETROLEUM 
 
 oil men throughout the region indeed prosperity was upon every- 
 hand. In 1865, memorable for its devastating floods, its beggarly- 
 prices of oil, and the consequent prostration of this great industry, 
 leaving in place of thrift and marvellous gains, destruction, rain, 
 and bankruptcy, Mr. NEYHART'S enterprises met the fate of 
 others. The leased lands and oil-well properties of the association, 
 whose agent he was, proved to be, in the main, valueless, and to 
 add to the general disaster that met him at every turn, the Com- 
 pany was in debt, nearly, "if not quite $30,000 !" The home 
 office declined perhaps neglected, is the better word to respond 
 to Mr. NEYHART'S appeals for renewed assistance, to enable him 
 to liquidate some pressing demands, and after a few days of in- 
 effectual effort in this direction, he decided to assume the entire 
 responsibility himself! Calling upon his creditors, one after 
 another, he sought their best terms of adjustment, at the same time 
 assuring them, if they " pushed things," he would be unable to 
 discharge even a fraction of their just claims but if allowed to 
 manage his embarrassed affairs in his own way, every dollar of the 
 indebtedness would be scrupulously paid. Whatever Mr. NEY- 
 HART required was conceded by the creditors, and the sequel shows 
 how thoroughly and faithfully he accomplished his ends. Every 
 penny of the Association's liabilities were subsequently paid by 
 him, amounting in all, principal and interest, to more than $30,000 ! 
 While these burdens were resting so heavily upon Mr. NEY- 
 HART, and he was straining every nerve to relieve himself from 
 them by payment, he made the acquaintance of Mr. Joshua Pierce 
 of Philadelphia and together they joined their experiences money 
 they had none! This partnership began in 1866. The first ope- 
 rations under this new connection were successful one a lease and 
 well upon "The Tidioute and Warren Oil Company's " lands at 
 Tidioute, and another upon the " New York and Allegany Oil 
 Company's " lands, on Dennis Run. This may be said to be the 
 commencement of Mr. NEYH ART'S career as a successful oil pro- 
 ducer and operator, and thenceforward new investments and addi- 
 
ADNAH NEYHART. 451 
 
 tional oil enterprises were entered upon. Later in the summer of 
 1866, the firm purchased a small tract of oil land at Triumph, 
 which proved to be productive, but, unfortunately for the owners, 
 about the date of the completion of their wells upon this property, 
 the price of oil had so far declined as to render its production un- 
 remunerative. During the season of 1866, oil was sold at the wells 
 as low as $1.1 2 J to $1.30. Messrs. Pierce & Ney hart's daily pro- 
 duct was quite large, and deciding not to sell at the losing prices 
 offered, they began the erection of great iron tanks among the 
 first put up at Tidioute in which to store their own product, dis- 
 continuing at the same time their developing enterprises, regarding 
 that part of their business, as almost, if not quite a failure. 
 
 The firm determined early in 1867, to engage in the shipment 
 of oil to Philadelphia, Baltimore, and other points, and to this 
 end Mr. Pierce returned to the former city, and after a careful ex- 
 amination of the whole ground and a thorough study of the details 
 of the undertaking, resolved to enter into it Mr. Pierce to remain 
 at Philadelphia to receive and dispose of the oil, and Mr. NEY- 
 HART to remain in the oil region purchasing and having charge of 
 shipments from all points. This traffic was continued, steadily 
 increasing in magnitude and importance, and requiring constantly 
 augmenting capital, until the fall of 1869. A few months sub- 
 sequent to the establishment of this shipping enterprise, additional 
 capital being requisite to its successful conduct, Mr. J. L. Grandin 
 became a silent partner with Messrs. Pierce & Neyhart, contribut- 
 ing sufficient of his ample means, to warrant its enterprising pro- 
 jectors against possible loss. In the fall of 1869, in consequence 
 of the continual, oftentimes petty, and not unfrequently, insur- 
 mountable obstacles at the disposition of chartered transportation 
 companies, which were constantly thrown in their way, Messrs. 
 PIERCE & NEYHART resolved to surrender this portion of their 
 enterprises, and this they did as promptly as possible, and the part- 
 nership was dissolved. 
 
 Before leaving this point in our sketch of Mr. NEYHART, some- 
 
452 HISTORY OF PETROLEUM. 
 
 thing is due to his partner, Mr. Pierce, and justly so. He is still a 
 resident of Philadelphia, though wholly withdrawn from business 
 connections with petroleum in any of its varied branches. But 
 while he was connected with it, and in whatever relation, he main- 
 tained a high character for business excellencies and unsullied per- 
 sonal worth. He retired a few years ago with a competency, ac- 
 quired by industry and the faithful discharge of every obligation. 
 A man of sterling integrity and rare personal attractions, he is a 
 man among a thousand to be admired and commended for his suc- 
 cess. 
 
 Mr. NEYHART did not long remain idle. He immediately turned 
 his attention exclusively to developing new oil fields, and during 
 1869, 70, and '71, became, with Grandin Brothers, and David 
 Beaty, one of the largest producers in the Hickory, Fagundas and 
 Tidioute districts. Early in 1869, he began negotiations for the 
 purchase of a one-half interest in the Beaty farm; at Hickory, ad- 
 joining the Fagundas farm on the west. Developments in this 
 vicinity had unmistakably indicated this and contiguous farms as 
 oil territory, and Mr. IS"., as before remarked, commenced negotia- 
 tions for the purchase of all he could obtain of the Beaty farm. 
 Terms were finally agreed upon, and the transfer promptly made, 
 and Messrs. J. L., E. B. and "W. J. Grandin, with Mr. NEYHART 
 and his brother Alpheus, became one-half owners in fee, of the 
 David Beatty farm. When this transaction was finally consummated, 
 all the parties were at home, the brothers J. L. and E. B. Grandin 
 having returned from their California tour, but Mr. NEYHART, with 
 the assent and concurrence of his associates, conducted the negotia- 
 tions generally, and closed the transaction. This may be said to 
 be true of the subsequent negotiations and purchase of five-sixths 
 of the Fagundas farm, together with the lease upon the Wilkins 
 farm. 
 
 For the one-half interest in the Beaty farm $91,000 was paid. 
 For five-sixths of the Fagundas farm, purchased soon after the 
 Beaty farm transaction, $100,000 was paid. When in 1869, to 70, 
 
ADNAH NEYHART. 453 
 
 developments indicated the great value of the Fagundas farm 
 property, Mr. NEYHART purchased one-half of the one-sixth interest 
 reserved by Jno. Faguudas at the first sale, paying $25,000 for it. 
 This latter purchase, he made upon his own account, and holding 
 it for only a few months, disposed of it to Pittsburgh parties for 
 $50,000. 
 
 Having been largely instrumental in securing these very valu- 
 able oil properties, in conjunction with Mr. E. B. Grandin, he as- 
 sumed the greater part of the responsibility of developing and 
 rendering them, as they most assuredly have been, a source of vast 
 wealth to the owners. Later in the history of this prolific oil-pro- 
 ducing locality, Mr. NEYHART gave over the care and control of the 
 property into the hands of Mr. E. B. Grandin, having previously 
 determined to re-engage in the purchase and shipment of oil to the 
 sea board. 
 
 In June, 1871, Mr. NEYHART became again largely interested in 
 oil shipments, principally to New York City. 
 
 Throughout the season of 1871, purchases and shipments stea- 
 dily increased, involving a large amount of capital at times re- 
 quiring three, four and five hundred thousand dollars. During 
 the closing months of 1871, purchases and shipments aggregated 
 90,000 barrels per month. The average of shipments per month 
 from all points in the region are about 450,000 barrels. Mr. NEY- 
 HART, may therefore at this date, be regarded as the buyer and 
 shipper to the sea-board, of nearly, if not quite one-quarter of the 
 product of the entire oil region of Western Pennsylvania. His own 
 ample capital, with that of his partnership connection in other oil 
 enterprises, promptly at his command when required, afford him fa- 
 cilities in this direction e.njoyed or within reach of few engaged in 
 like transactions. 
 
 For the year 1872, negotiations were in progress for the trans- 
 portation by rail of 100,000 barrels or more of crude and refined 
 oil, per month. The threatened " South Improvement Company " 
 monopoly, which alarmed the region during the last months of that 
 
454 HISTORY OF PETROLEUM. 
 
 year, to a considerable extent paralyzed this contemplated enter- 
 prise, but Mr. NEYHART continued his purchases and shipments, 
 amounting in the aggregate to more than 100,000 barrels per 
 month, and requiring the employment of quite half a million of 
 dollars, and the handling of 1,500,000 barrels of crude and refined 
 oil per annum. In the present depressed state of the oil market, 
 one-half the amount of capital required in 1871, and '72, is ample 
 for the successful conduct of this important commercial enterprise. 
 With oil at $4 and $5 per barrel when shall we see this pros- 
 perity again ? $400,000 to $600,000, and even a larger sum, is 
 often required to meet the demands of this purchasing and shipping 
 traffic. 
 
 In the fall of 1871, from over-taxed energies of both body and 
 mind, Mr. NEYHART'S health failed him, and since that date, 
 while he has had a general oversight and control of his great busi- 
 ness concerns, he has yet practically withdrawn from its immediate 
 direction and supervision. In the early months of 1872, he estab- 
 lished a commission house in the city of New York for the sale of 
 refined oil, placing Mr. John D. Archibold, formerly of Titusville, 
 in full charge. His crude oil sales, in the same city, are made 
 through the usual brokerage channels, Mr. Henry C. Ohlen hold- 
 ing the position of principal broker in the crude oil department. 
 
 This entire shipping enterprise is under the sole responsibility 
 and guidance of Mr. NEYHART, and is wholly independent of other 
 partnership interests held by him with the Grandin Brothers. He 
 has an equal interest with these gentlemen in their pipe-line invest- 
 ments, as well as their great iron tankage capacity, scattered over 
 the region, from Parker's Landing to Titusville and Tidioute. 
 He is also an equal owner with these gentlemen in nearly all their 
 extensive oil land properties, located at various points throughout 
 the oil fields of Western Pennsylvania. 
 
 The firm of Grandins & Neyhart was organized in 1868. Since 
 that date Mr. NEYHART has partaken largely of its marvellous 
 successes, and been prominently identified with all its more impor- 
 
ADNAH NEYHART. 455 
 
 tant transactions. We need not remark upon the universally con- 
 ceded financial solidity of this association of capitalists and business 
 men, so thoroughly recognized throughout the oil region, and 
 wherever they may be known. Suffice it to say, their contracts 
 are greenbacks to any amount they may name, and their word is 
 their bond to be kept to the letter. In this firm, ADNAH NEY- 
 HART stands without blot or blemish, the soul of honor, and the 
 representative of that class of American business men, distinguished 
 alike for superior attainments in commercial circles, and for the 
 possession of that unconquerable will and determination to succeed 
 facetiously termed " pluck," and which, sooner or later, hews its 
 own way to power, and in ninety-nine cases out of a hundred, 
 achieves the success it so richly deserves. 
 
 In person, Mr. NEYHART is tall, well-proportioned, and in per- 
 fect -health has a commanding presence, and at all times a dignified 
 manner. In his intercourse with all, he manifests a reserve which 
 may often be mistaken for austerity or a domineering spirit. 
 Nothing is further from his composition. He is a man of thought 
 and reflective inclinations, yet possessing rare social excellencies, 
 of plain, unassuming manners, and simple, unaffected tastes. These 
 prominent characteristics are liable to be attributed to other than 
 their true sources, and thus the true gold of his manhood be mis- 
 understood and misapprehended. In matters of business, Mr. 
 NEYHART says just what he means, and in as few words as will 
 convey his real intent. There is no guile or deceptive traits in his 
 character. Integrity and personal worth are his in an abundant 
 degree. He is sternly honest and rigidly upright in all his life, 
 both private and public. As a business man, he ranks among the 
 leading, successful operators of the Oil Region, and is recognized 
 wherever he is known as a comprehensive, clear-sighted financier, 
 a cool, well-poised man of business, capable, mentally, of working 
 out to successful results any mercantile, commercial or financial 
 problem that may engage his mind or command his energies. 
 
 For a year or more, Mr. NEYHAET has been compelled to with- 
 
456 HISTOEY OF PETROLEUM. 
 
 draw from the immediate control of his large business affairs, 
 because of impaired health. In the fall of 1872, he sought, by 
 travel and release from business cares, to re-invigorate his over- 
 taxed body and brain. He spent the winter of 1872-3, in traver- 
 sing the great plains lying west of the Missouri river, to the Rocky 
 Mountains, and into the pure air of Colorado. Thence he went 
 through New Mexico and Texas to Florida and. the southern states, 
 returning to his home at Tidioute in the -early part of June last, 
 much improved, and with strong hopes of an ultimate restoration 
 to his old-time vigor and health. 
 
Woodbiirylype. A. P. K.P. Co.. Ph 
 
 E. B. GRANDIN, 
 
E. B. GRANDIN. 457 
 
 E. B. GKANDIN. 
 
 TIDIOUTE, PENJSTA. 
 
 SUCCESS in life, is said to be a passport to popular favor. This 
 is especially true, where success has been attained through indi- 
 vidual effort, and without the aid or assistance of influential friends 
 or wealthy relatives. Men do become rich and great, at one and 
 the same stroke of fortune at least this seems to be the public es- 
 timate in innumerable instances and we would fain believe the 
 public voice is not always at fault. But the man, who, through 
 years of practical industry, and zealous attention to his business 
 affairs, acquires a competency, and at the same time builds up and 
 rigidly maintains for himself, a character for integrity and unsul- 
 lied honesty, not only wins, but deserves the plaudits and com- 
 mendations of his fellows. Among this class of leading men in 
 the Oil Region of Western Pennsylvania, we place the subject of 
 the following sketch. 
 
 ELIJAH BISHOP GRANDIN, is a native of Tidioute, Warren Co., 
 Pa., where he was born on the 23d day of November, 1840. He 
 is the youngest son of SAMUEL GRANDIN, Esq., of Tidioute, and 
 brother of J. Livingston Grandin, a sketch of whom immediately 
 precedes this. 
 
 As soon as his age would permit, young GRANDIN was sent to 
 school, and kept there, summer and winter, without much inter- 
 ruption, until he was fifteen years old. At this age, with the as- 
 sent and approval of his father and family, he left his home, and 
 entered the mercantile establishment of S. J. Goodrich, at Warren, 
 Pa., as a general clerk. This was in the early spring of 1856. A 
 year's labor with Mr. Goodrich, gave him a tolerable knowledge of 
 the business, and at the same time won for him the approbation of his 
 
458 HISTORY OF PETROLEUM. 
 
 employer, for industry and strict integrity, and the good opinions 
 of all who knew him. At the end of a year's engagement with 
 Mr. Goodrich, that gentleman disposed of his establishment, and 
 retired from business, and young GRANDIN returned to his home 
 at Tidioute, and during the winter of 1856, and '57, he attended 
 school. In the spring of 1857, he again sought employment as a 
 clerk, and obtained such a position, including that of book-keeper, 
 in the mercantile establishment of Mr. Charles Hyde, at Hyde- 
 town, Pa., then one of the largest lumber manufacturers and mer- 
 chants in that part of Western Pennsylvania. A temporary change 
 in Mr. Hyde's mercantile operations, occurred a few months later, 
 and young GRANDIN was permitted to relinquish his position a 
 short time, and he returned to Tidioute. A respite of three or 
 four months, and he again entered the employ of Mr. Hyde, now 
 assuming the position of confidential clerk, cashier and accountant. 
 From the first, he had won the confidence and esteem of Mr. 
 Hyde, who in turn, committed to his care and control, the most 
 important business interests of his large establishment, lumbering 
 as well as mercantile. This confidential relationship continued for 
 many years, Mr. GRANDIN very generally superintending his 
 steadily increasing business aifairs, and financial operations selling 
 goods from the store, buying timber for his mills, and ordinarily 
 having a secondary charge of his large manufacturing and mercan- 
 tile concerns holding at the same time the closer relationship of 
 cashier and confidential clerk. 
 
 It was during the later years of this business engagement, that 
 the oil excitements, and developments of 1859, '60, '61, and '62, 
 were inaugurated. Young GRANDIN, still held his responsible po- 
 sition, and when in 1860, and '61, Mr. Hyde began his career as 
 an oil producer and oil land operator, and gave his personal atten- 
 tion to these interests,, it was part of young GRANDIN'S duty to 
 look after and have an accountant's care of these enhancing re- 
 sponsibilities. The better to accomplish this increased labor, a 
 division of his time and labors became necessary, alternating 
 
E. B. GRANDIN. 459 
 
 between Hydetown and "the Creek." When Mr. Hyde began 
 the drilling of wells, upon " The Hydetown Oil Company's " lands 
 below Rouseville, young GRANDIN became a limited subscriber to 
 its capital stock, and thenceforward, had a personal interest in 
 the enterprise. This, with another small venture in development 
 elsewhere upon the same farm, comprised his first oil investments, 
 and they were successful. The interest he had purchased in " The 
 Hydetown Oil Company," he sold before the first well was down, 
 for $900 nearly all profit receiving in payment therefor, three 
 horses valued at $500, and $400 in cash. 
 
 At this date Mr. GRANDIN was known along " the Creek," and 
 among the crowds of oil operators, daily increasing, as the agent 
 and confidential adviser of Mr. Hyde, and was constantly ap- 
 proached by interested parties having oil lands, leases, etc., to dis- 
 pose of, and thus the principal, who was regarded as among the 
 substantial capitalists, and monied men of the region, was fre- 
 quently appealed to through his agent (Mr. GRANDIN,) to purchase 
 or lease this or that interest, first as matter of profit, though mainly 
 we dare say, to assist his less fortunately provided neighbors and 
 co-operators, in their oil enterprises. Very man^ good investments 
 were thus made, a few of which Mr. GRANDIN became limitedly 
 interested in. Some of these subsequently added to his gains, but 
 the larger portion of the property held by him, and his associates, 
 has never been developed. 
 
 In the early months of 1862, Mr. Hyde purchased from Dr. A. 
 G. Egbert a one-half interest in the Widow Davidson farm, at 
 Petroleum Centre. His oil land investments and operations now 
 absorbed nearly all his time, and required his undivided attention. 
 Mr. GRANDIN had been, and was at this date, his faithful, invaluable 
 " right hand man," so to speak, and in order to show his apprecia- 
 tion of his services, and at the same time lessen his own cares and 
 responsibilities, he offered Mr. GRANDIN an interest in the mer- 
 cantile establishment at Hydetown, which was subsequently ac- 
 cepted upon the generous terms proposed. The trade and traffic 
 
460 HISTORY OF PETROLEUM. 
 
 of this mercantile enterprise had doubled, and quadrupled under 
 Mr. GRANDIN'S supervision, and at the date of this co-partnership 
 (1862 ; ) greater facilities were required and additional room de- 
 manded for the transaction of their constantly increasing trade. A 
 new and more commodious structure was erected to accommodate 
 the business of the new firm, and their stock of goods and wares 
 materially added to. Besides this latter responsibility, Mr. GRAN- 
 DIN still had the care and supervision of Mr. Hyde's daily aug- 
 menting oil interests and investments among the most important 
 of which was the Widow Davidson or as it is now known, the 
 Hyde and Egbert farm purchase. 
 
 At this early day in the history of petroleum, there was little 
 system or order in the conduct of the great oil well interests. The 
 oil was produced and tanked sales made, the money received, and 
 the amount divided among the fortunate owners of interests, with- 
 out delay. This, in conjunction with Dr. A. G. Egbert, was Mr. 
 GRANDIN'S portion of the labor see to the product of each well, 
 sell and deliver the oil on hand, and receive pay for it and as 
 soon as practicable thereafter, pay over the proceeds to the rightful 
 owners. 
 
 The mercantile firm of Hyde, Grandin & Co., (William C. Hyde, 
 now Vice-President of the Second National Bank of Titusville, 
 being also a member of the firm,) was dissolved at the expiration 
 of one year's successful operations, Mr. GRANDIN purchasing the 
 interests of the remaining partners, and thenceforward until 1865, 
 he conducted the enterprise upon his own account. Under his pro- 
 prietorship and individual control, and we may add because of his 
 rare business tact, prosperity, deserved and positive, was vouch- 
 safed to him. 
 
 In 1865, one-half this mercantile enterprise was re-sold to Mr. 
 Charles Hyde, and the firm of Hyde & Grandin, continued the 
 business until 1869, or '70, when the stock was transferred to Mr. 
 E. D. Fleteher, of Titusville, and thereafter the establishment at 
 Hydetown ceased to exist. 
 
E. B. GRANDIN. 461 
 
 During Mr. GRANDIN'S sole ownership and direction of the Hyde- 
 town mercantile enterprise, from 1862, to 1865, he became quite 
 extensively interested in and identified with the oil developments 
 of "the Creek." In the spring of 1863, he purchased a one- 
 eighth interest in " The Keystone lease," located upon the Hyde 
 & Egbert farm, and during the same summer two wells were 
 drilled on this property one of which produced from the start 50 
 to 60 barrels per day. The interest he held in this lease was dis- 
 posed of before the second well was down, for^ $9,000 this sum 
 being nearly all " clear profit." Prior to this transaction Mr. G. 
 had purchased interests and secured leases upon territory at or near 
 the junction of Pine Creek with Oil Creek, below Titus ville, and 
 these also, from prompt sales, proved to be sources of considerable 
 profit. 
 
 This may be said to be true of very many of his subsequent 
 ventures. He acquired interests in leases at various points along 
 " the Creek, (and yet undeveloped,) but he made it a point to dis- 
 pose of his property thus held whenever he could do so at a fair 
 advance. This policy, uniformly practiced in all his early opera- 
 tions in oil property, enables him to assert that he suffered no 
 loss upon any lease or on well interests held by him. Soon after 
 Messrs. Hyde & Egbert obtained possession of the Davidson farm, 
 they gave leases to parties applying for them, usually at one-half 
 royalty. This continued only a short time, however, for the pro- 
 .perty began to develop and produce largely and leases were 
 finally declined altogether, the owners preferring to operate it them- 
 selves. In the spring of 1864, because of personal considerations, 
 doubtless, Mr. GRANDIN, A. C. Kepler, William C. Hyde and 
 Titus Kidgeway obtained a small lease upon the farm, a little 
 removed from developments already made. This lease comprised 
 about one acre of land, and was located upon the western bounda- 
 . ries of the Hyde & Egbert farm, and a few rods from Oil Creek. 
 The lessees contracted to give the land owners a royalty of three- 
 quarters of the oil I The usual royalty at this date, at all points 
 
462 HISTORY OF PETROLEUM. 
 
 on " the Creek," was one-half. It is safe to add that no lease before 
 or since made, gave so large a royalty to the land owners. 
 
 The well was located by Mr. Kepler, and by him named " The 
 Coquet/' and soon after the work of drilling began. One-half the 
 "working interest" in this well was owned jointly by Mr. GRAN- 
 DIN and Mr. Kepler, and the other half of a like interest, was held 
 by "VV. C. Hyde and Mr. Ridgeway. Each of these " half work- 
 ing interests " drew one-eighth of the oil, and the other six-eighths 
 went to the land proprietors ! A few days before the well was 
 " struck," or completed, Messrs. Hyde & Ridgeway sold their half 
 of the "working interest," for $10,000! This interest, after 
 changing hands once or twice, finally became the property of Dr. 
 M. C. Egbert, a brother of the original purchaser of the farm, who 
 had meantime become the possessor by purchase of a one-sixth in- 
 terest in fee, of the entire property. At the date of the sale by 
 Messrs. Hyde and Kidgeway, GRANDIN and Kepler were offered 
 the same sum for their interest, and declined it. The well was 
 subsequently completed, and was pumped ten or twelve days, pro- 
 ducing daily two or three hundred barrels. The flow of gas inter- 
 fered materially with its operations, and it was determined to draw 
 the sucker rods. This done, the well commenced to flow, and for 
 the first few days its product was variously estimated at 1,000 to 
 1200 barrels. It finally settled down to 800 barrels, and at this 
 rate it produced for many months. Immediately after " the Co- 
 quet" began to produce in such bountiful quantities, Messrs. 
 GRANDIN & KEPLER were offered large sums of money for their 
 one-half working interest. The price they finally put upon it, was 
 $150,000! Three months after, and while the well was gushing 
 forth its eight hundred barrel stream, they disposed of it to Mr. 
 Frank Allen, of New York City, the consideration being $145,- 
 000, or $75,500 for each one-sixteenth of the product of the well ! 
 During Messrs. GRANDIN & KEPLER'S ownership of the interest, 
 the prices of oil ranged at a high figure, and the first 10,000 bar- 
 rels sold from the " Coquet," brought $9.00 per barrel, or $90,000 
 in round greenback numbers ! 
 
E. B. GRANDIN. 463 
 
 We have given this detailed history of "The Coquet Well/' 
 and Mr. GRANDIN'S connection with it, first because of the romantic 
 interest attaching to it, and its marvellous product, as also the great 
 wealth it brought to its owners ; and second, because it may be 
 regarded as the basis upon which Mr. GRANDIN laid the foundations 
 of his later fortunes and present wealth. From this single invest- 
 ment, which at the commencement involved an outlay of $2,000 
 to $3,000, he realized from the sale of his portion of the product 
 of the well, during his three or four months ownership of it, not 
 less than $10,000. Add to this the sum received for the interest 
 when sold $72,500, and we have a total of $82,500, all but $2,500 
 of which may be regarded as profit ! While fortune was thus 
 showering its gifts upon him, he was the possessor of many other 
 paying ventures, nearly all of which brought him large and remu- 
 nerative gains. At the date of these transactions 1864, and '65, 
 Mr. GRANDIN was scarcely twenty-four years of age, and yet by 
 his energy, careful business ventures and successful operations in 
 oil lands, leases and oil well interests, he had accumulated a hand- 
 some fortune, all without special aid or assistance from relatives or 
 friends. His ^father, having ample means, upon several occasions 
 offered to aid him in his enterprises, but he determined to stand or 
 fall upon his own efforts, and accomplished his aims most successfully. 
 
 After the sale of the " Coquet Well " interest, Mr. GRANDIN 
 resolved to dispose of his oil properties and interests, of whatever 
 name and nature, as rapidly as possible, and did so, as far as he 
 was able to. 
 
 He still held and gave such attention to his mercantile interests 
 at Hydetown, as they required at his hands. The business had 
 steadily increased, and his profits as a sequence, yearly grew apace. 
 This co-partnership, as before remarked, terminated in 1870, when 
 the stock was sold to other parties, and the establishment closed. 
 With the exception of this mercantile enterprise, Mr. GRANDIN 
 had little else to engage his attention for a year or more, save the 
 remaining unsold interests of his earlier operations, and later in- 
 
464 HISTORY OF PETROLEUM. 
 
 vestments made at West Pit Hole, and elsewhere, in other producing 
 localities. 
 
 In 1867, Mr. GRAXDIN again became a permanent resident of 
 Tidioute, his ample means husbanded for immediate use. His first 
 operations here, some months later, indicate his well-defined plans 
 for the future. He commenced by purchasing a one-quarter inter- 
 est in what was then and is now known as the " Valley Tank." 
 Later during the same season, he largely increased his tankage 
 investments, and as occasion offered, bought oil upon a " low mar- 
 ket," and carried it over for better prices. There has not been a 
 year since 1862, or '63, that the difference in prices of this great 
 staple has not varied from one to three dollars per barrel, during 
 each year. Not unfrequently prices have fluctuated to even wider 
 points ; but the general average, we believe, has been about one 
 dollar per barrel, in favor of the buyer and holder for better rates. 
 Mr. G. steadily enlarged this branch of his petroleum operations, 
 from year to year, subsequently merging his business interests and 
 investments in this direction, with those of his brother, J. L. Gran- 
 din, and his brother-in-law, Adnah Neyhart, who are now co-part- 
 ners in portions of the extensive tankage owned by^Grandins* and 
 Neyhart, at Tidioute and vicinity, at Parker's Landing and Brady's 
 Bend, at Miller Farm, on Oil Creek, and at Titusville. At 
 times during every year since 1868, it has been no uncommon 
 occurrence for Mr. GRANDIN and the firm of which he is a mem- 
 ber, to have in store more than a hundred thousand barrels of oil, 
 purchased upon a depressed market and this over and above their 
 own large production, which averaged in 1869, '70, quite fifteen 
 hundred barrels daily, and is at this date fully five hundred barrels 
 per day. 
 
 A single statistical statement, and we leave this branch of our 
 subject. The tankage capacity owned by the Messrs. Grandins (J. 
 L. & E. B.) and Mr. Neyhart is in the neighborhood of 75,000 
 barrels, of which E. B. GRANDIN, is one-third owner. In addition 
 to this, the brothers Grandin, Adnah Neyhart and David Beaty 
 
E. B. GRANDIN. 465 
 
 own a tankage capacity, located at Parker's Landing and elsewhere 
 in the region, of 85,000 barrels, of which E. B. GRANDIN is one- 
 quarter owner.* 
 
 In 1867, Mr. GRANDIN purchased one-half the OIL INTEREST in 
 the Royal Scott farm at Fagundas. This was a year or more prior 
 to developments in that locality. This property he held until 
 the " Venture Well " was struck in 1868, and then disposed of 
 three-fourths of his purchase to Fisher Bros, and others, reserving 
 a one-quarter ownership and interest to himself. This property 
 proved to be abundantly productive, and the interest reserved in it 
 at the commencement of developments, is still held by Mr. GRAN- 
 DIN, and is a source of considerable revenue to him. While ope- 
 rations were in progress upon this farm in 1869-' 70, Mr. G. 
 obtained a lease upon it, and put down several wells upon his own 
 account, all of which proved to be largely remunerative. 
 
 This imperfect sketch of Mr. GRANDIN'S early and later opera- 
 tions as an oil producer, with an enlarged and increasing traffic in 
 lands, leases, product, etc., has been necessarily void of detail. To 
 follow up and particularize even a fraction of his very many ven- 
 tures and investments, would require time and space we could 
 hardly devote to it. It is, however, but " the vindication of the 
 truth of history" to say, that from the beginning of his oil enter- 
 prises in 1860, (long before reaching his majority,) he has been 
 prominently identified with this -great national benefaction, and is 
 to-day regarded as one of its leading influential men. The firm of 
 Grandins & Neyhart, of which Mr. E. B. GRANDIN is a member, 
 has a representative character, co-extensive with the history of 
 petroleum itself. The enterprises of these gentlemen, the steady 
 and liberal employment of their large capital in seeking new fields 
 for development, place them in the front rank of oil producers in 
 
 * Mr. GRANDIN is equal owner in the Beaty farm, and holds a like interest in the 
 Fagundas farm with his brothers, J. L. and W. J. Grandin, and Mr. A. Neyhart. 
 There are other oil interests held by the firm, unnecessary to mention here, in which 
 Mr. G. is an equal owner with the remaining partners. 
 
 30 
 
466 HISTORY OF PETROLEUM. 
 
 Western Pennsylvania. Nearly all their developing operations of 
 later years have been inaugurated by lease or purchase, in the name 
 of one or other of the partners, and subsequently by a sale to each 
 of the remaining partners. Thus have their interests harmonized, 
 and all things have worked together for good. There are and have 
 been, of course, individual ownerships of valuable leases and oil 
 lands held by one or all the partners, at various dates during their 
 associated operations. This is true of some recent purchases of Mr. 
 E. B. GRANDIX. He holds by late investments, interests he deems 
 to be valuable, and has determined to develop them himself. But 
 very many of the larger and more important and lucrative under- 
 takings of the firm of Grandins & Neyhart, have in later years thus 
 had their inception one of the parties has purchased or leased 
 tracts of land for oil development, and the firm has immediately 
 assumed the transaction and executed the contract to the letter. 
 This mode and manner of conducting and augmenting their ex- 
 tended and constantly extending business operations, has given 
 them a prominence as producers, buyers and sellers of petroleum, 
 second to no firm or association of capitalists in the Pennsylvania 
 Oil region. 
 
 Mr. GRANDIN is the owner, independent of his associates, of 
 considerable oil property of undoubted value, which it is his de- 
 termination to operate and develop in the future as his own enter- 
 prise. He is besides part owner in the extensive oil pipe lines of 
 the firm of Grandins & Neyhart, a detailed statement of which will 
 be found in the sketch of Mr. J. L. Grandin, in the preceding 
 pages. 
 
 We have thus imperfectly sketched the career of ELIJAH 
 BISHOP GRANDIN, who began life as a merchant's clerk, and who 
 with the early discoveries of petroleum, and while yet a minor, 
 had earned for himself an enviable position as a successful oil pro- 
 ducer and operator. All this he accomplished by his own personal 
 efforts. There are those who may charge this flattering record, 
 and its attendant successes, to " good luck." Very much of it may 
 
E. B. GRAKDIN. 4G7 
 
 be ascribed to this, but the major part of it, is due to superior 
 business sagacity and clear-headed financial discernment. That he 
 has deserved his success, none will dispute or question, and deserv- 
 ing and attaining ought always, as in this instance, to go hand in 
 hand. 
 
 In person, Mr. GKANDIN is below the medium height and 
 size, but he is a man of compact build, of nervous-lymphatic tem- 
 perament, of active, well developed brain, and substantial physical 
 power. Much of this is due to his temperate, unexceptionable 
 habits of life. Quick in perception, his conclusions are arrived at 
 without circumlocution, and his movements are rapid, and his aims 
 high. He evidently enjoys the making of money, more than he 
 does its hoarding after it is acquired. Yet he has a just estimate 
 of its value, and disposes of it wisely and well. In his private 
 relations as well as in his associations with neighbors and friends, 
 he is genial and full of good-nature, with enough of the milk of 
 human kindness to prompt him to aid the deserving, encourage 
 the unfortunate, and lighten the burdens of the needy. In all 
 respects, he may be said to be a generous man, liberal, without os- 
 tentation with his ample means, in every good work. Instances 
 of his generosity bountifully dealt out to young tradesmen, and 
 deserving industrious mechanics of his native town, and elsewhere 
 in the oil region, are not wanting in proof of this trait of his cha- 
 racter, many of which are rehearsed by the recipients of his favors, 
 with gratitude and grateful remembrances. 
 
 As a business man, he ranks among the best, as he is unques- 
 tionably among the most successful, in the oil region. He is ac- 
 tive, comprehensive, energetic, and always reliable. Honorable in 
 the fullest sense of the word, he requires neither seals nor bonds to 
 hold him to his engagements. His word once given, if involving 
 even the expenditure of thousands of dollars on his part, is as 
 faithfully adhered to and executed as if bound by forfeitures of dou- 
 ble the sum of the original transaction. He is, in short, a thorough- 
 ly earnest and honest man, one whom the people of all grades of 
 
468 HISTORY OF PETROLEUM. 
 
 society regard as above the trickery and the sharpness of mere 
 " money making," honoring at all times, and illustrating in every- 
 day life, not only the outward appearance and manners, but the gen- 
 uine traits and kindly feelings of a true gentleman. He is yet a young 
 man scarcely thirty-three years of age in the full vigor of man- 
 hood and usefulness. His past experiences and triumphs for 
 such his career has been are but indexes to other successes and 
 more important achievements. To such a future we confidently 
 commit him, assured that he will not alone maintain his unblem- 
 ished repute for integrity, probity, and high personal and commer- 
 cial honor, now so happily united to rare business talent, and 
 private worth, but that he will add to his renown in these regards, 
 as the years roll by, and age, with its attendant and increasing re- 
 sponsibilities, creeps upon him. 
 
Woodhurytype. A. P. K.P. Co., Philt 
 
 S. D. KARNS. 
 
S. D, KARNS. 4G9 
 
 STEPHEN DUNCAN KARNS. 
 
 PARKER'S LANDING, PA. 
 
 MR. KARNS is a native of the State of Pennsylvania, born in the 
 county of Allegheny, some twenty miles above the city of Pittsburgh, 
 on the Allegheny River, in what is known as the Salt Well Region. 
 His ancestors were of Irish extraction, and emigrated to this coun- 
 try early in the last century. They came to Pittsburgh, and shortly 
 after took up a large tract of land on the banks of the Allegheny 
 River, and began to clear it up for agricultural purposes. Years 
 after their settlement there, salt was discovered, and the lands in the 
 vicinity were pretty generally given over to this new development 
 the father of the subject of this sketch entering largely into the en- 
 terprise. It was here S. DUNCAN KARNS was born, on the 21st 
 day of September, 1843. He was the eldest of three sons. As 
 soon as he attained a suitable age he was sent to school, and kept 
 there steadily until he reached the age of fourteen years. He then 
 entered the Turtle Creek Academy, located near Pittsburgh, and 
 remained two years in that institution. Subsequently he spent 
 some months as a student in the " Iron City Commercial College," 
 at Pittsburgh, and when in his sixteenth year, he graduated at 
 " Duff's Commercial College," in the same city. This briefly given 
 record constituted all his educational advantages. 
 
 In the spring of 1859, then in his sixteenth year, he resolved to 
 see the " western country," and set out with a party bound for 
 Colorado and the Rocky Mountain silver region. This trip, which 
 seems to have been undertaken more as an adventure than for 
 profit, occupied six months of his time, but he returned to his 
 home, with broader views of life and its responsibilities, and a bet- 
 
470 HISTORY OF PETROLEUM. 
 
 ter comprehension of the extent and almost limitless western boun- 
 daries of his native land. 
 
 Soon after his return from his western trip, or early in 1860-61, 
 he was sent by his father to superintend his interests in West Vir- 
 ginia, where he had leased for salt, and other mineral deposits, the 
 subsequently widely known Rathbone Farm, consisting of 800 
 acres of land. Upon this farm a salt well had been drilled years 
 before, but it did not prove to be especially valuable or productive. 
 Young KARNS was dispatched to this farm, and well, with instruc- 
 tions to test the old salt development for oil. The well was cleaned 
 out, tubed, and the pump set in motion. For a few days the pros- 
 pect was anything but promising. A little oil was from time to 
 time visible upon the large volume of salt water the well afforded, 
 but when the water had been exhausted the oil began to come in 
 goodly quantity. The well for months after produced 40 barrels 
 of petroleum oil per day ! This may be said to have been the 
 commencement of oil developments in West Virginia, and to Mr. 
 Karns, Sen., and to the subject of this sketch, may be awarded the 
 credit of its development. This was in the fall, and winter, and 
 spring of 1860 and '61. 
 
 During the winter and spring months of 1861, civil war was 
 threatening and impending at various points in the nation. South 
 Carolina was the first to precipitate it, and inaugurate the strife 
 which filled the land with armed men, and the tramp of great 
 armies upon either side. When Sumter had been fired upon, 
 young KARNS, then scarcely seventeen years old, hastened .away 
 from West Virginia, then the home of outspoken treason and un- 
 checked rebellion, back to his father's house, and soon after entered 
 the service of his country, as a private in Company C, 9th Penn- 
 sylvania Reserve Volunteers. These were three years' volunteers. 
 The Regiment was promptly marched to the front, and early in 
 1862, participated in the battle of Drainsville, and in the following 
 spring, as part and parcel of the " Army of the Potomac," under 
 , was in the Peninsula Campaign, and the advance 
 
8. D. KARNS. 471 
 
 upon Richmond. The Regiment had its full share of the seven 
 days' retreat, and the battles of that terrible campaign, from Me- 
 chanicsville to Malvern Hill, and Harrison's Landing. Not long 
 after these disasters, young KARNS, who had distinguished himself 
 for bravery and gallant conduct in these fearful battles for the 
 Union, was mustered out for promotion, by order of the Secretary 
 of War, and upon recommendation of the Colonel of his Regiment, 
 he was soon after commissioned a Second Lieutenant in Company I, 
 123d Regiment, Pennsylvania Volunteers, and subsequently was 
 engaged in the battle of Fredericksburg, where he was wounded 
 slightly. In this battle, the Captain of his company was seriously 
 wounded, and the First Lieutenant killed ; of the rank and file of the 
 command, forty-three of eighty men were killed and wounded. Lieut. 
 KARNS was soon after promoted to a First Lieutenancy, and the 
 Captain remaining away, in consequence of his wounds, Lieut. 
 KARNS was in command, and led his Company in the battles of 
 Antietam and Chancellorville, and retained this position until his 
 term of service ended, when he was mustered out, and honorably 
 discharged. He remained at Washington for a short time, in ex- 
 pectation of further promotion, but it came too slow for him, and 
 in the spring of 1864, he returned to his home, and assumed control 
 of his father's business, continuing in the discharge of his duties for 
 two years. 
 
 In the spring of 1866, then in his twenty-third year, he deter- 
 mined to visit the oil region, with a view to embarking in the 
 business as a producer. He went to Parker's Landing, and shortly 
 after secured his first lease upon the Fullerton Parker farm, lying 
 on the river above and within the present limits of the borough of 
 Parker's Landing. The lease consisted of one acre of land, for 
 which he paid a bonus of $1,000, and " one-quarter of the oil." 
 The well he put down himself, taking his regular " tower," and 
 superintending the work generally. Wells in the immediate 
 vicinity found rock-bottom for driving pipe, at about fifteen feet. 
 He first excavated twenty-eight feet. It was almost an irnpossi- 
 
472 HISTORY OF PETROLEUM. 
 
 bility to find men who would risk themselves in the labor of exca- 
 vation, the earth being of a sort of quick-sand, or loam and rock 
 together, which constantly caved in, rendering it extremely' hazard- 
 ous to operate. Indeed, once when the excavation had been nearly 
 completed, Mr. KARNS, who did most of the work himself, left for 
 dinner, and during his absence the banks caved in, and the hole 
 filled to within a few feet of the surface. The " Conductor hole " 
 was again cleaned out by Mr. K., and the pipe driven fourteen feet 
 in addition to the twenty-eight feet of excavation. All this labor 
 accomplished, ordinarily, in a few days, required six weeks of 
 valuable time before the drilling began ! 
 
 The well was completed in September following. The oil rock 
 was found at the same depth as that in neighboring wells ; but as 
 a matter of experiment, and to settle the question of other and lower 
 sand rocks, Mr. KARNS put it down to the depth of 1,065 feet 
 250 feet below any well before or since drilled in the immediate 
 vicinity of Parker's Landing No additional sand rock was found, 
 and the well was thereupon " tubed and tested." After pumping 
 three days, it commenced to produce less than a barrel of oil per 
 day. The pumping continued on through the fall and winter, 
 gradually increasing, and at the end of three months' active opera- 
 tions the product was about three barrels per day. In the spring 
 of 1867, the oil from the well was sold at $2.40 per barrel, leaving 
 the plucky proprietor largely indebted for expenses of the fall and 
 winter's operations. Far from discouragement, and with no idea 
 of abandoning his enterprise, as he was earnestly advised to do 
 upon all hands, he redoubled his efforts, and from April, 1867, 
 up to late in the summer of 1868, he "steadily clung to his task/' 
 the well meantime, gradually increasing its product up to eight, ten 
 and twelve barrels per day. Oil during these twelve to sixteen 
 months was sold at more remunerative prices, and the return from 
 the well was a source of revenue and profit. Later, the product les- 
 sened, and in the fall of 1869, it was a good day's work to pump 
 one barrel from her. At this juncture it was torpedoed, and the 
 
8. D. KARNS. 473 
 
 product immediately increased to twenty-seven barrels per day ! 
 continuing at this standard for five or six months, when it began 
 to fall off, and steadily went the wrong way, until it reached four 
 barrels and a half, which is the product of the well at this writing 
 -March, 1873. 
 
 During the life of this first well, named "Karns' Well, No. 1," 
 it has realized to its enterprising owners, by judicious management 
 and care, over $30,000 in profits ! 
 
 We have been particular in our detailed account of this well, 
 because it illustrates, better than any language we can employ, the 
 determined character of the gentleman whose sketch we are endea- 
 voring to write. Not one man in one hundred, would have re- 
 garded this well as worth more than a month's effort. Mr. KARNS, 
 however, persuaded himself that the well could be made to pay by 
 steady pumping, and the correctness of his impressions was fully 
 realized in the subsequent history of its product and large profit. 
 
 In the summer of 1868, Mr. KARNS leased from the land own- 
 ers, an abandoned well, belonging to, or put down by " The Miles 
 Oil Co., of N. Y." some time in 1866. The first operators sup- 
 posed they had reached the "third sand," or oil rock, and had 
 given it up as a "dry hole." Mr. KARNS, full in the faith that 
 the rock was still below, leased the property from the original land 
 owners, and put the drill through the third sand, and from the 
 start it produced twenty-four barrels per day ! This well had been 
 abandoned more than eighteen months. It was located south of, 
 or below Parker's Landing, nearly a mile from other developments. 
 When Mr. K. avowed his determination to resuscitate it, his 
 neighbors and cotemporaries fairly jeered at him. Every means 
 was resorted to, to dissuade him from his purpose, but without 
 avail. Regardless of the universally expressed opinion that it was 
 dry territory, he began his enterprise, cleaned out the old well, put 
 in the drill, ran it down and through the oil rock, and had a " good 
 show." Those who had watched the undertaking began to expe- 
 rience a change of opinion ! When subsequently the well was 
 
474 HISTORY OF PETROLEUM, 
 
 tubed and tested, and proved to be one of the best of the locality, 
 they were generous enough to applaud Mr. KARNS for his perse- 
 verance. This well continued to produce in paying quantities up 
 to the spring of 1871, but the development had a still more impor- 
 tant significance. It settled the question of oil deposits below 
 Parker's Landing, and went far toward encouraging the develop- 
 ment of the extensive oil fields soon after undertaken at Lawrence- 
 burg, and Bear Creek, and later at Petrolia, Fair view, Millerstown, 
 Karns City, Greece City, &c. 
 
 In the spring of 1869, Mr. KARNS secured four additional leases, 
 of limited boundaries, upon the Fullerton Parker Farm, at Par- 
 ker's Landing, and drilled a single well upon each, during that 
 summer. All these wells were successful, averaging for many 
 months at least 20 barrels each. 
 
 During the same season he leased the Farran Farm, lying south 
 of Lawrenceburg, and containing fifty acres. For this lease he 
 paid a bonus of $2,800, and " one-eighth of the oil." He put 
 down during the summer of 1869, two wells upon this property, 
 one of which produced eight barrels per day, and the other one 
 barrel every twenty-four hours ! The larger portion of this farm 
 he subsequently leased to other parties at a quarter royalty giving 
 him a one-eighth free interest. He has upon this farm four pay- 
 ing wells of his own, and has one-eighth royalty in six: or eight 
 others. This farm was for a long time very productive, paying to 
 all interested about $9,000 per month. 
 
 Developments upon the Farran Farm and upon Bear Creek, still 
 beyond, and which were prosecuted during the same year by others, 
 had demonstrated to Mr. KARNS the existence of deposits still in 
 advance of those already discovered. A thorough believer in the 
 " Belt Theory," he caused two lines to be run south and west, 
 one of which terminated upon the Esquire Campbell farm, and the 
 other upon the Stonehouse farm, two miles or more in advance of 
 any operations. One of these lines he denominated the " Middle 
 Belt," and the other the " Western Belt." Having secured his 
 
8. L. KARNS. 475 
 
 lines, he promptly set about the work of obtaining leases, He at 
 once leased thirty acres of the Esquire Campbell farm, upon his 
 own account, and in company with Mr. C. P. Badger of Parker's 
 Landing, obtained a lease of the entire Stonehouse farm, consisting 
 of 240 acres. Both these tracts were leased at an "Eighth" 
 royalty. 
 
 During the following spring and summer, 1870, he put down 
 one well on the Campbell farm, which from the start produced 
 thirty barrels per day. Another well, drilled during the same 
 season upon the Stonehouse farm, started off at fifty barrels per 
 day ! Soon after the Campbell farm well was struck, he sold the 
 lease and property to Keese, Perry & Co., of Titusville, for 
 $20,000. 
 
 A one-third interest in the Stonehouse farm lease, owned jointly 
 by Mr. KARNS and Mr. Badger, was, after the first well was down 
 and producing fifty barrels per day, sold to Rev. J. D. Norton, of 
 Brooklyn, N. Y., at $30,000. This was in the fall of 1870. In 
 1871, Mr. KARNS purchased the one-third interest owned by Mr. 
 Badger, which gave him two-thirds of this very productive prop- 
 erty for such it has proved to be. In March, 1873, there were 
 six producing wells upon this farm, belonging to the original les- 
 sees, netting two hundred and thirty barrels per day! Upon the 
 same farm are SEVEN other wells, upon leases at a " quarter-roy- 
 alty " one-eighth free to Messrs. Karns and Norton all of which 
 are producing in abundance. The two wells first mentioned in this 
 connection, were two good Pennsylvania miles in advance of other 
 developments, when they were struck, and remained " at the front," 
 until the summer of 1871. 
 
 In the spring of 1871, Mr. KARNS in connection with Gibson & 
 Brown, of Parker's Landing, purchased the Fronsinger Farm, lying 
 directly south of the Esquire Campbell Farm, containing 80 acres. 
 The cost of this farm was $22,000. The purchasers leased it at 
 " a quarter-royalty," and it has been pretty thoroughly developed, 
 and was producing in March and April last, over 400 barrels per 
 day ! 
 
476 HISTORY OF PETROLEUM. 
 
 These large interests occupied Mr. KARNS' time and attention 
 during 1870- ? 71, and into 1872, so entirely that he had little in- 
 clination to advance with the advancing developments then and 
 since looming up with such wonderful results, still beyond his own 
 field of operations. But he did not lose sight of the new Oil- 
 dorado ! In the spring of 1872, the Cooper Bros, had commenced 
 a well on the McClymonds Farm two miles in advance of other 
 operations. At the date of Mr. KARNS' visit to this well in May, 
 1872, the drill had penetrated about 1,390 feet without finding the 
 third sand, and the Cooper Bros, were well nigh disheartened. 
 They believed their well would prove a failure, and were half- 
 inclined to abandon it. Mr. KARNS, who had watched the pro- 
 gress of the work, after a careful survey of the country, and the 
 nearest developments, settled into the conviction that the oil-bear- 
 ing rock was yet below the drill. He generously offered Cooper 
 Bros. $8,500 for one-half their well and lease, and they accepted ! 
 The condition of their enterprise, it is safe to say, made them easy 
 victims to Mr. KARNS' liberal offer. Two days after this purchase 
 the well was down 1,400 feet, and flowing through the casing at 
 the rate of 100 barrels per day. The product of this well for the 
 first ten months of its life, foots up over 20,000 barrels, and thero 
 are little signs of decrease. 
 
 Upon the conclusion of negotiations for this property, and before 
 the well was struck, Mr. KARNS purchased one-quarter, in fee, of 
 the McClymonds Farm consisting of 200 acres paying for it 
 $25,000. Four months later this farm was producing 1,000 barrels 
 of oil daily, with only a partial development ! 
 
 At the same time Mr. K. purchased a lease of the Riddle Farm, 
 lying south of the McClymonds tract containing 200 acres for 
 which he paid the fabulous sum of $40,000 and one-eighth of the 
 oil ! During the summer of 1872, he put down three wells upon 
 this farm one of which started off at 200 barrels, another at 100, 
 and the last, 80 barrels per day ! 
 
 Three other wells upon this farm two leased at one-quarter, 
 
8. D. KARXS. 477 
 
 and one at three-eighths royalty, brings its daily production up to 
 750 barrels. Eight leases at one-quarter, and one at three-eighths 
 royalty, are now in process of development, and when completed, 
 will doubtless double the product of this farm, for it is pronounced 
 by experienced operators to be the best oil territory yet developed 
 in the Parker's Landing District. Very many leases have been 
 disposed of upon this farm, and in every instance save one, a bonus 
 of $1,000 has been paid for every jive acres in addition to a roy- 
 alty of one-quarter of the oil ! 
 
 Mr. Karns did not stop here. At the date of the above transac- 
 tions, in conjunction with M. S. Adams, of Lawrenceburg, a 
 lease was taken of the John B. Campbell farm, adjoining the 
 property before mentioned, and containing 130 acres at an eighth 
 royalty. This farm has since been leased at a quarter royalty, and 
 is being rapidly developed, and proves to be very productive. At 
 this writing March, 1873, there are SEVEN wells upon the farm, 
 producing in the aggregate, 800 barrels a day ! Among these 
 seven, are the famous " Salisbury," and " Grace " wells, each aver- 
 aging 200 barrels per day ! 
 
 Upon the heels of all these briefly mentioned transactions, Mr. 
 K. purchased the Forcht farm, containing 100 acres, and adjoining 
 the Story farm. This property he is developing himself, and 
 within a few rods " The Thompson Well/' which has produced for 
 months past, 150 barrels per day. 
 
 Besides these, soon after the " Jameson Well," near what is now 
 known as Greece City, was struck. Mr. KARNS, purchased two 
 half acre plots in the immediate vicinity of this development, and 
 put down a single well upon each, one of which started oif at 120 
 barrels, and the other at 100 barrels. These have been producing 
 without diminution for some months, and promise to hold out for 
 months to come. Three months' product from these two wells is 
 10,000 barrels. 
 
 Karns City, is located upon a branch of Bear Creek, in Fair- 
 view Township, and is eligibly situated upon the Riddle & 
 
478 HISTORY OF PETROLEUM. 
 
 McClymonds farms lands owned and leased by Mr. KARNS, and 
 contained in March, 1873, a population of quite 2,000 souls, and 
 this a growth of less than six months. Before the discovery of 
 oil in June, 1872, the spot now covered with a thrifty, enterpris- 
 ing oil town, was devoted to agricultural purposes. 
 
 Upon the McClymonds farm was the old homestead, and a 
 dilapidated saw-mill, and all else was the quiet of a far removed 
 farming region. To-day the busy hum of industry is heard upon 
 every hand. Mercantile establishments have multiplied. Hotels 
 have sprung up as if by magic, and a city of real pretensions, with 
 all the conveniences, if not the luxuries, of older settlements, are 
 at command. Banks, Insurance offices, telegraph stations, Pipe 
 Lines, and whatever makes up a " live town," are visible, and may 
 be enjoyed by all who visit Karns City. 
 
 Upon the site of Karns City, building leases have been disposed 
 of by Mr. K., the income from which, is already $2,500 to $3,000 
 annually. 
 
 This necessarily brief and rapid resume, of Mr. KARNS' oil 
 operations, is sufficient to warrant the assertion that he is among 
 the most prominent, if indeed, he be not the leading oil producer 
 of the entire region of Western Pennsylvania. He is the pos- 
 sessor, by lease, or by purchase, of large tracts of the best oil pro- 
 ducing lands yet developed in the new territory, lately discovered 
 in Butler County, and this is as yet, only partially tested. How 
 much of wealth in petroleum, still courses beneath the surface 
 of his possessions, time must determine. It is safe to anticipate 
 for him, however, enough in this, world's wealth to satisfy all or- 
 dinary demands. 
 
 Mr. KARNS, has not confined his enterprise to the production of 
 petroleum oil alone. His ample means have been used in various 
 ways for the benefit of his neighbors and fellow-citizens. In the 
 fall of 1868, he laid the first pipe line from Parker's Landing to 
 the railway, on the opposite side of the river. This was for the 
 convenience of only FOUR wells, then producing at that point 
 
s. D. KARATS. 479 
 
 two of which he owned. Though not an expensive enterprise, for the 
 line was less than half a mile in length, yet he constructed it, 
 entirely at his own expense. Months after its completion and suc- 
 cessful operation, and when the production began to increase suf- 
 ficiently to warrant it, Mr. Fullerton Parker, joined Mr. K., and 
 the facilities were largely increased. During the summer of 1869, 
 Parker, Thompson & Co., opened another line as a competitor to 
 the KARNS & PARKER line. After a year or more of rivalry and 
 competition, the two were united under the name of " The Union 
 Pipe Line," and the conveniences of the line again, largely added 
 'to. In January, 1872, Mr. K., sold his interest in The Union 
 Pipe Line," for $25,000. 
 
 In the fall of 1871, "The Exchange Bank of Parker's Land- 
 ing," was organized, with a capital of $140,000, of which Mr. 
 KARNS is one-quarter owner. At the first meeting of the direc- 
 tors he was, with entire unanimity, elected its President, and 
 was re-elected at the succeeding annual meeting in 1872. The 
 bank is organized under the law of the commonwealth of 
 Pennsylvania, each stockholder being individually liable. 
 " The Exchange Bank " has been in existence less than two years, 
 and it already takes rank among the most substantial and success- 
 ful banking institutions of the Oil Region. Among its stockhold- 
 ers and Board of Directors are many of the solid men of the Parker 
 oil field men who give character, credit and confidence to what- 
 ever bears their endorsement. The following gentlemen make up 
 the present Board of Directors : 
 
 S. D. KARNS, Fullerton Parker, Wm. C. Mobley, R. B. Allen, 
 James Fowler, Peter tlutchison, Wm. McKelvy, Jacob H. Walters, 
 Capt. J. T. Stockdale. 
 
 " The Parker's Landing Bridge Company " was organized in* the 
 spring of 1872, with a capital of $100,000. To this important 
 local enterprise and great public need, Mr. KARNS generously 
 subscribed $55,000. Upon the organization of the Company 
 he was elected President of the Board of Directors, a position 
 
480 HISTORY OF PETROLEUM. 
 
 he fills with rare ability, and to the complete satisfaction of stock- 
 holders, directors, and the public, so much convenienced by its con- 
 struction. The bridge is a wrought iron structure, having four spans 
 of 200 feet each, and is one of the finest specimens of mechanical 
 solidity, strength and beauty to be found in the State of Pennsyl- 
 vania. Its cost was a little more than $100,000. It was manufac- 
 tured and erected by " The Canton Iron Bridge Company/ 7 of 
 Canton, Ohio, and is an imperishable monument to the skill and 
 superiority of American mechanics. To appearances, it is as solid 
 and immovable as the everlasting hills overlooking it, from both 
 sides of the river. 
 
 In 1872, Mr. K. purchased a farm of 100 acres, 25 miles 
 above Pittsburgh, situate on the banks of the Allegany River, and 
 upon both sides of the Allegany Valley Railroad. Upon this farm 
 he is erecting an elegant residence for his own use, which, completed, 
 will cost him $35,000. The farm is located in the bend of the river, 
 with a beautiful slope descending to the water, and commands a 
 view of the river for miles above and below. The residence when 
 ready for occupancy will be the finest country-seat west of the Al- 
 legany Mountains. 
 
 Mr. KARNS is a man of slight build, of nervous temperament, 
 and of prepossessing appearance. Easy in his manners, he is al- 
 ways self-poised and self-possessed. In his intercourse with all he 
 is frank, manly and cordial. He could not disguise his generous 
 nature by any effort he might make. Just what he is may be 
 learned by any and all who come within the circle of his acquaint- 
 ance and friendship. As a business man he is without blemish. 
 His word is his bond, and either is good for any amount he may 
 name. He is a man of inflexible integrity and acknowledged personal 
 worth. Generosity, in its largest sense, is his ruling characteristic. 
 Those who know him, best, admire him most. He is enterprising, 
 bold in adventure, and rapid in the execution of whatever he may 
 undertake. Conscious of his own power, he is restive under re- 
 straint, and would sooner carry any enterprise alone at whatever 
 
S. D. KARNS. 481 
 
 cost, than be hampered by the hesitation of the timid, or be held 
 in check by the doubting. In all things he is an emphatic man. 
 It is " yes," or " no," with him, and as promptly as the most im- 
 patient could wish. In no regard does he lack boldness of charac- 
 acter, and he has originality and discrimination largely developed. 
 He is a man sure to be remarked and felt in any assemblage of 
 men. To be comprehensive, we may say of him without fear of 
 offence or contradiction, that with a goodly element of pride, he is 
 a man of firmness amounting to combativeness, and is at all times 
 dignified and determined. To these characteristics may be added 
 a tenacity of purpose rarely excelled, and " a will of his own," of 
 which he is seldom bereft or deprived. 
 
 These have been the foundations of his great success in life, and 
 as they are prominent elements in the character of the man, it is 
 easy to prophesy a successful future for him. Yet in the prime of 
 life, blessed with good health, a vigorous constitution, and a mind 
 disciplined to a clear comprehension of all enterprises commanding 
 his attention, it is surely his province to leave upon the great in- 
 dustry now engaging his large means, a name and fame at once 
 honorable and enduring. 
 
 31 
 
482 HISTORY OF PETROLEUM. 
 
 C. D. ANGELL. 
 
 FOREST VI LLE, N. Y. 
 
 CYBUS D. ANGELL is a native of the town of Hanover, Chau- 
 tauqua County, New York, where he was born on the 24th day of 
 April, 1826. Until he attained the age of sixteen, he attended 
 the district and select school of his native town, He had, how- 
 ever, applied himself with so mnch industry to his studies that 
 when, at the age of seventeen, he entered the academy at Fredonia, 
 N. Y., he was so far advanced in the rudiments of an education, 
 that he maintained his place among the leading classes of that most 
 excellent institution, and from first to last sustained an enviable 
 character for studiousness and application, as well as rectitude in 
 all his intercourse with his superiors and fellow-students. Leaving 
 the Fredonia Academy, after two years of attendance, he entered 
 the Genesee Wesleyan Seminary, at Lima, N. Y., when, upon at- 
 taining his majority, he found himself qualified to "go out into the 
 world and work his own way to success." 
 
 Returning to his home in Chautauqua County, he was soon after 
 selected by his fellow-citizens for the important position .of School 
 Commissioner. This office he held until 1856, giving to its ad- 
 ministration, abilities rarely possessed by officials of this character, 
 and yet indispensable to their success in the delicate and responsi- 
 ble duties imposed upon them. Young ANGELL comprehended 
 this fully, and in the discharge of his arduous task had but one 
 ambition the elevating of the standard of common schools in his 
 native county. In this he was abundantly successful. Many of 
 the reforms he inaugurated are still continued, and the county of 
 Chautauqua may be said to possess to-day the very best system of 
 common schools to be found in western New York. 
 
Woodburvt vpo. A . V. R. P. Co., Phila. 
 
 C. D. ANGELL. 
 
C. D. ANGELL. 483 
 
 In the fall of 1856, Mr. ANGELL entered largely into mercantile 
 pursuits, at Forestville, Chautauqua Co., N. Y. Here, as in all 
 other business connections, he maintained a high character for in- 
 tegrity, moral worth and unsullied fame. As "a country mer- 
 chant" his credit was unquestioned at home and abroad. His 
 neighbors and fellow-citizens knew him for his high character and 
 personal worth, and his creditors, in whatever part of the country, 
 estimated him at his true value for probity, honor and inflexible 
 honesty. As an instance of his real character, we beg to mention 
 that in 1856, through the treachery of friends, he lost heavily in 
 some business transactions, forcing him to compromise with his cre- 
 ditors. Subsequently he recovered his financial standing, and paid 
 every dollar of his liabilities, principal and interest, accepting from 
 no one of his creditors an abatement of one jot or tittle of their 
 just demands. 
 
 In the spring of 1867, Mr. ANGELL, almost empty-handed, 
 came into the oil regions, first effecting a loan of $1,000 from a 
 'personal friend. This sum he invested in the purchase of an in- 
 terest in the Central Petroleum Company's property at Petroleum 
 Centre. The venture proved to be a considerable success, and with 
 his profits he began his career as a producer. 
 
 Prior to his disasters of 1866, in connection with capitalists of 
 Buffalo, among whom were Wm. G. Fargo, Esq., S. O. Barnum, 
 Esq., and some twenty others, he had purchased Belle Island, a 
 small tract of land in the Allegany River, twenty-five miles be- 
 low Oil City, and soon after the " Belle Island Petroleum Com- 
 pany" was organized. His interest in this property, with all else 
 he had, went into the hands of his creditors at the time of his fail- 
 ure. In 1867, he repossessed himself of it, as before stated, by 
 paying every dollar of his indebtedness, and at once took measures 
 for its development. He became the lessee of the Company's pro- 
 perty, and in the early part of 1867, drilled three wells upon the 
 Island. These proved to be very productive, all three averaging 
 about 100 barrels each, per day. This product continued for two 
 
484 HISTORY OF PETROLEUM. 
 
 or three years, and during this period Mr. ANGELL paid to the 
 Company as net profit upon their investment of $200,000, 358 per 
 cent ! 
 
 While engaged in these developments, Mr. ANGELL gave much 
 thought to, and critical examinations of a comparatively new theory 
 in regard to the existence of petroleum in " belts " or deposits. 
 Of course this theory had been mooted by operators who had pre- 
 ceded Mr. ANGELL, but no effort had ever been made to demon- 
 strate its correctness or falsity. From careful observation, how- 
 ever, he came to reject the idea that oil wells could be located by 
 chance. Following up these convictions, he settled into the belief 
 that petroleum deposits could be found in " belts," or courses, and 
 to this theory he confined his examinations and experiments, and 
 finally, by absolute tests, established its truth beyond question or 
 doubt. In his researches he determined upon the course of two 
 " belt," running in a north-easterly and south-westerly direction. 
 The one from Scrub Grass, on the Allegany River, to Petroleum 
 Centre, on Oil Creek and the other from the St. Petersburg dis-' 
 trict, through Parker's Landing to Bear Creek and Butler County. 
 There are those who have that implicit confidence in this latter 
 "belt," now known as the " ANGELL BELT," thus far, extending 
 by actual developments more than thirty miles in length, and from 
 three to five miles in width, that they regard it as not altogether 
 improbable that it may be followed into the oil producing regions 
 of western Tennessee, a distance of hundreds of miles ! The sur- 
 vey of these two lines was intrusted to engineers, Mr. A. usually 
 accompanying them in person and after months of thorough, un- 
 remitting labor, he completed his examinations and resolved upon his 
 future. During the surveys of the first line, his convictions became 
 so deep-seated as to the correctness of his theory, that he purchased 
 nearly all the lands, lying along his lines of survey, and at other 
 points, within the boundaries of his " belt," from Foster Station to 
 Scrub Grass, a distance of about five miles. The result of all this 
 toil, expense and solicitude was most flattering, for, of the great 
 
C. D. ANGELL. 485 
 
 number of wells put down upon these "belts/' at least 95 per cent, 
 have been successful, and many of them of large production, yield- 
 ing abundant profit to their enterprising owners. 
 
 As early as 1868-9, he began seriously his investigations of his 
 belt theory. At this time he had few advocates and fewer be- 
 lievers. He sought by argument and persuasion to interest scores 
 of operators in the development of his property, but he could find 
 none who had "the faith of a grain of mustard seed" in his " vi- 
 sionary notions," as some termed them. Subsequently, however, 
 Messrs. Prentice & Whitney, upon the upper, or " Foster belt/' 
 and Messrs. B. B. Campbell, James M. and John A. Lambing, 
 upon the lower, or " Parker's belt," adopted the theory of Mr. Ax- 
 GELL, and entered heartily into a practical demonstration of their 
 soundness and value. While the great mass of oil producers " on 
 the river " and elsewhere throughout the producing regions scouted 
 the belief that a continuous line of oil producing rock existed any- 
 where within the oil circuit of western Pennsylvania, these gentle- 
 men quietly proceeded with their investigations and developments, 
 and, as the sequel shows, their efforts were crowned with an abun- 
 dant financial as well as scientific success. 
 
 There could be no " chance " or " luck " about these practical 
 developments upon Mr. ANGELL/S " belt theory." They were in- 
 deed substantial demonstrations of a sound system of reasoning on 
 the part of their enterprising projector, and future operators will 
 owe it to Mr. A., that he has established beyond contradiction or 
 doubt, that petroleum oil lies in courses of more or less length and 
 breadth, and that with proper efforts to discover these belts, the 
 business of oil producing will be reduced to a basis involving 
 fewer risks than in a crop of wheat or a stock of merchandise. 
 This subject of oil in " belts " or courses, has been so exhaustively 
 discussed and so elaborately presented to the public by the able 
 editor of the Oil City Derrick, C. E. BISHOP, Esq., in a commu- 
 nication to the New York Tribune, that we deem proper to re-print 
 it, and have obtained permission of Mr. Bishop to make such use of it : 
 
486 HISTORY OF PETROLEUM. 
 
 To THE EDITOR o? THE NEW YORK TRIBUNE: 
 
 No his-tory of success or failure in the search for oil can be utterly 
 disinterested ; and if the sagacious reader should infer from the following 
 description of facts that somebody has oil-lands for sale, he must also admit 
 that, even in the face of such a hypothesis, the facts are of too general value 
 to be confined to an interested few. The history of oil developments in this 
 country has been a chronicle of reckless risks and blind speculation. No 
 systematic, intelligent efforts have been made to detect the sources of petro- 
 leum; hence the balance in dollars and cents is against Petroleum in its 
 account with Trade. Science has contributed little, almost nothing, to the 
 practical ends of the business. It is a matter of surprise that these wonder- 
 ful manifestations of nature's workings have received so little attention from 
 scientists, compared with their merits and their needs. Still more a matter 
 of surprise is it that Trade has so neglected their investigation ; while it has 
 systematized the oil-traffic above ground wonderfully. The financial depart- 
 ments of the business are also perfectly organized. An oil-broker can 
 actually handle and transfer a thousand barrels of oil as easily as he could 
 a thousand dollars in money, depositing and checking against the former 
 precisely as the latter. At Oil City, Titusville, and other centers there have 
 been organized Boards of Trade, or Petroleum Exchanges, which keep their 
 members and the trade at large well informed of all that concerns the 
 business above ground. Yet none of these organizations have made any 
 effort to collect information, analyze" experiences, and make even general 
 deductions which would offer the driller the net results of all experiments, 
 and thus reduce the tremendous chances against his success. If every driller 
 had kept such a record as he might, and*concerted intelligent efforts had 
 been made to collate these records, the lines of subterranean wealth could 
 be traced on the surface with a very considerable degree of accuracy. The 
 result would be the saving of millions of dollars annually wasted in blind 
 probing for oil deposits, and the reduction of the business to as safe a basis 
 as in any pursuit. Strange that nothing like a Bureau of Oil Mining exists 
 to this day ! 
 
 Such investigation as has been made has been empirical in character. 
 The science of oil development can hardly be said to exist, though recent 
 indications show that it is gestating vigorously. The business of oil devel- 
 opment owes what progress it has made to the gain-inspired efforts of 
 practical, unscientific men. The country cannot present a body of men 
 better fitted for practical achievement than the business men of Oildom. 
 Next to the wonderful natural phenomena of this region, the observing 
 spectator will be impressed with the unflaging enterprise of its men. They 
 highly personify that quickness of perception and fertility of resources which 
 Yankees sum up in the word "cuteness." The average "oil man" is a 
 practical engineer, a consummate financier, and a scientist by intuition and 
 experiment. It is this class of men who have made all the discoveries and 
 originated all the theories of any value yet announced as to the origin, 
 location, and probable future of oil deposits. And they are the ones who 
 
C. D. ANGELL. 487 
 
 will have to construct the new science of oil mining. That such a science 
 is possible nay, that its truth is near at hand I propose to show by 
 detailing the experiments of an operator. 
 
 Preliminary to the narration, a few well-established facts in oil phenomena 
 should perhaps be laid before the general reader. (1.) Operators and scien- 
 tists are pretty well agreed on the conclusion that oil exists both in reservoirs 
 or basins of considerable area, and in belts or channels of considerable 
 extent, Whether the two forms of territory have any connection; the dis- 
 tinctions between them; the continuity of the belts; these are unsettled 
 problems. The facts I am about to relate may tend toward their solution. 
 The basins were first discovered, and, it is probable, have been in a large 
 measure exhausted. It was they that supplied the leviathan spouting wells 
 of former days (1860-'65). Such lakes were fopnd at Pit Hole, Tarr Farm, 
 and other points. (2.) Present developments are on extended lines that 
 constitute belts of oil territory; they indicate currents, or stagnant channels, 
 or elongated basins of oil. The ablest thought of the petroleum world 
 is now turned toward discovering the location, direction, and extent of 
 these belts. (3.) Because the first oil was found on the margin of Oil 
 Creek, it was supposed the subterranean oil-courses corresponded in some 
 degree with the external water-courses. Because of this impression, traces 
 of which still exist in the minds of oil men, and because the streams offered 
 the best, sometimes the only means of transit in this rough country, the 
 majority of drillers have chosen locations on streams. Nearly the entire 
 water front of this section is perforated with wells. It is safe to say that 
 not one in twenty of these wells, to-day, by production, vindicates the theory 
 on which their locations were selected. (4.) The oil-bearing rock is the 
 third stratum of sand-rock in order of downward progress. The sand- rock 
 is a conglomerate of flinty pebbles and sandstone. The pebbles in the thirJ, 
 or oil-bearing sand-rock, are of varying degrees of hardness and whiteness, 
 these variations always indicating unerringly the richness of the rock in oU 
 product. The first triturations of the drill brought up from the " third 
 sand" are eagerly scanned by the operator as an index of his success. A 
 handful of "third sand" is the horoscope of the new well. Old drillers can 
 read the value of a well in these specimens. A good geologist might, I pre- 
 sume, collect specimens which drillers and oil companies are now-a-days 
 more in the habit of preserving than formerly, together with the records 
 and information drillers could give, and, by their aid, trace oil lines with 
 some degree of certainty. 
 
 This is just what one man, though not a scientist, did accomplish. This 
 brings us to our story, to comprehend which the reader will need to bear in 
 mind the general facts above given. About three years ago Mr. Cyrus D. 
 Angell of Forestville, N. Y., embarked on the petroleum sea. He enjoyed 
 a large degree of luck for it was that more than any thing else that gave his 
 first ventures success. He soon commenced studying the problem that agi- 
 tates all shrewd " greasers," viz., the location of the oil belt. He began to 
 collect data bearing on this problem, and to study them by day and night. 
 He conceived and assumed as real this postulate: Exactly corresponding 
 
488 HISTORY OF PETROLEUM. 
 
 geological data, or two or more points of oil development, are proof of a 
 continuous belt between those points. Or, conversely, an oil belt will 
 manifest the same characteristics everywhere. Taking a series of facts 
 regarding paying wells in one locality, he imagined that, if he could find 
 exactly the same series of facts manifest in another paying locality, he would 
 have two bearings on the same oil belt ; and at any place between these two 
 points he could be certain of the same practical results as had followed 
 drilling at the extremes, viz., oil in paying quantities. 
 
 The data for which he must find duplicates were these: (1.) The depth 
 from the surface to the different sand rocks. (2.) Distance between the 
 upper surfaces of the different sand- rocks. (3.) Thickness of the sand-rocks. 
 (4.) Quantity and quality of the oil indications (called "shows,") found in 
 the second sand. (5.)Color and gravity of the oil produced by the third sand. 
 (6.) Texture and temper of the third sand. I have named these indications 
 in the order of their importance as a basis of general opinion as to territory 
 of course he would look first and most anxiously for those last named, but 
 as these are all fixed scientific data, it is probable that, for purposes of com- 
 paring different wells, all are equally important and decisive. It will be 
 noticed that none of these points of inquiry relate to the more superficial and 
 demonstrative manifestations ; they are mainly geological, permanent facts. 
 Mr. Angell started with the data pertaining to his own wells on Belle 
 Island a little strip of land in the Allegany Eiver just below Scrubgrass 
 Station, on the Allegany Valley Railway, and about 25 miles, by the river, 
 below Oil City. On this island, and also on the river bank above (north of) 
 it, was a small but rich oil field ; two thick clusters of wells here had for 
 some years been producing. Making himself master of the whole subterra- 
 nean history of this development, as told by the log-books of the drillers, 
 the specimens of sand and other rocks, and his own observation while making 
 wells on Belle Island, he turned his steps to other developed territory in 
 search of duplicate "picture in the rocks." Proceeding up the river, the 
 most producing territory he found was at Foster Station, nine miles, by river 
 from Belle Island. Here, on a little area of about 25 acres, rich wells have 
 been for some years pumping, and probably millions of dollars' worth of oil 
 have been taken out. At Foster he heard a driller's tale that was an echo 
 to the one he had learned at Scrubgrass. The depth of drill at the first sand, 
 the texture and color of the third sand, the color and gravity of the oil, and 
 the other data, were remarkably identical at these two points, five miles 
 apart by air line. More than this, Mr. Angell was struck with the fact that 
 tliis similarity of order, composition and thickness, was not confined to the 
 sand-rocks, but marked also the intervening and overlying strata. The wells 
 at both points were in all respects fac-similes each of the other. 
 
 As another evidence, Mr. A. computed the depth of drill at the two points 
 to the upper surface of the third sand. Measuring at the surface of the 
 river, and deducting atToster for the natural descent of the river between 
 the two points, he discovered that the upper surface of the third sand is on 
 a dead water level at the two points. On his postulate that similarity of 
 rocks indicated identity of belt, he now had two known quantities of his 
 
C. D. ANGELL.. 489 
 
 problem. Its solution was still a delicate operation. He knew the belt 
 must be a narrow one, because at the points where the river crossed it 
 (Scrubgrass and Foster) the territory had been by actual development shown 
 to be small ; the derricks at these points are huddled as closely together as 
 the necessary operations will admit. On so narrow a belt it would be easy 
 to lose the trail ; an error of one degree in the compass would lead olf the 
 belt in a few rods of progress. 
 
 Mr. A. now employed a civil engineer, and for many months was engaged 
 in running numerous lines between Scrubgrass and Foster. Without detail- 
 ing all the laborious process and study by which he fixed the line, suffice it 
 to say that he finally settled on a line which passed midway between the 
 extremes of development at the two points (Scrubgrass and Foster). In the 
 course of his research, Mr. A. developed another collateral theory, which 
 materially aided him, and if it holds good on all belts is very important. 
 That is : As you digress from the central line of a belt, either way, the third 
 sand grows thinner and the supply of oil less, both finally running out when 
 the limits of the belt laterally have been reached ; the nearer the central 
 line the better the territory. This shelving of the rock is from beneath, the 
 upper surface of the third sand being level. This theory was demonstrated 
 by the record of the wells on the belt. He found that running his line mid- 
 way between the extremes of the development it traversed the derricks of the 
 best wells struck. He was further confirmed in this idea by the fact that 
 his central line between Scrubgrass and Foster passed at one side the cele- 
 brated Burning Well, on a bend of the river. This well, several years ago, 
 struck an immense gas vein ; the tools stuck in the well, the gas took fire, 
 and for seven years was not extinguished. The owners abandoned it. Its 
 location on the edge of what he supposed to be the best width, its failure to 
 produce oil in paying qualities was encouraging. 
 
 Having now found the axis of the belt, it was easy to determine its direc- 
 tion the most important point of all. The compass indicated the belt to lie 
 north-east. To confirm all his tests, and " make assurance doubly sure," he 
 now projected his central line on north 16 degrees east beyond Foster and 
 across the mountains until he again crossed the tortuous Allegany, four 
 miles from Foster. There was a development on Porter Island, it being the 
 next development above Foster ; all " dry holes " between these and Foster. 
 The line left this island several rods at one side, and it is poor paying ter- 
 ritory. This fact, and the exact similarity of its data with those collected 
 below were good confirmation of the two theories mentioned. Continuing 
 his line over the mountains five miles further, he again debouched on the 
 river at Reno (two miles below Oil City). Here, to his surprise and satis- 
 faction, his lines crossed the best wells on that territory, and the "testimony 
 of the rocks " was identical with that of Scrubgrass, Foster, and Porter Is- 
 land. Following his now sure line, he found himself walking through the 
 heart of the rich oil fields of Charley Run, Wood Farm, and Petroleum 
 Center. Thus he had traced his belt for twenty miles across the country, 
 crossing the Allegany five times, traversing every paying development on 
 that river, and landing in the centre of the greatest oil basin in the world. 
 He was content, and kept his own counsel. 
 
490 HISTORY OF PETROLEUM. 
 
 Mr. ANGELL had now spent a year and a-half of time and several thousand 
 dollars in developing his theory. He could see the strip of oil rock 1,000 
 feet beneath him as satisfactorily to himself as if all the overlaying strata 
 had been stripped off and the third sand laid bare to his fleshly optics. He 
 proceeded at leisure to gather the fruits of his labor and genius for it was 
 scarcely less than genius that guided him. I say "at his leisure," for no 
 other operator suspected his great discovery. After considerable shrewd 
 negotiation he managed to secure from every property owner on the belt 
 between Scrubgrass and Foster, a lease on liberal terms to them as to roy- 
 alty, &c., but including an option clause for the purchase of the land, in fee, 
 at any time within a year at a stated price. He made similar contracts for 
 several hundred acres on the belt north of Foster, also. Before long he, of 
 course, took his option, and in a short time owned all the territory between 
 Scrubgrass and Foster. This was all he could pay for and manage, and the 
 rest of the leases were sufftred to lapse. He had now invested $60,000 on 
 faith in his new theory. 
 
 The first well was bored one and-a-half miles back from the river, and 
 from all previous development. It found the third-sand rock and oil at the 
 depth of 1,110 feet, and yielded 71 barrels, and is still producing at that rate. 
 The rest of the grand achievement is soon told. .Mr. ANGELL, in connec- 
 tion with his partner, Mr. Prentice (a veteran "greaser.") has on his terri- 
 tory at present 16 producing wells, ranging in yield from 12 to 400 barrels. 
 The last strike, made three days since, is " a spouter." It threw oil 150 feet 
 high, took fire, and burned up everything destructible around it. When 
 brought under control, it recorded 400 barrels per day. There has been but 
 a single failure to strike oil in paying quantities by them, and that was an 
 experimental well to test the width of the belt. Every acre of land could be 
 leased by ANGELL & PRENTICE to other parties for $1,000 to $5,000 bonus 
 and one-half royalty, the usual royalty being from a sixteenth to a quarter. 
 They, however, grant no leases ; they run no risks in sinking wells. They 
 are now putting down 16 more wells for themselves, with a certainty of re- 
 sults which they would not give any one a dollar to insure. Mr. ANGELL 
 can now set his foot down on the spot that will yield oil "to a dead cer- 
 tainty." Nay, he can tell within a few barrels what a well will do in any 
 spot on the belt, proportioned to its nearness to the central line. Looking 
 across this city of derricks, they " line " almost like a row of shade-trees, 
 and mark to the spectator's eye the limits of the belt with wonderful distinct- 
 ness, though not any more clearly than Mr. ANGELL saw them by his clair- 
 voyant perception before a blow had been struck, or a " Sampson post " set on 
 this spot. 
 
 The belt is less than thirty rods wide ; the profitable part of it not half 
 that width. It can be seen, therefore, how easy it is, or was, for a man to 
 mi;<s it while prospecting all oildom for a place to " set in " or, in petroleum 
 phrase, " wild-catting." His chances were about as 15 square rods are to 
 the whole area of oil country. 
 
 Of course, the triumph of this new development created a furore. This 
 soon spent itself. The fever had nothing to work on. The discoverer owned 
 
C. D. ANGELL. 491 
 
 all the territory, and none was " for sale or to let." Considerable fishing for 
 the belt further north (between Foster and Eeno) was done. One of these 
 "wild-cat " parties blundered upon a blaze upon a tree, and, assuming that 
 it was ANGELL'S center line, took a lease and sunk a well. They were upon 
 one of his experimental lines and not on the center ; hence, they found only 
 a thin third-sand and a small yield three barrels. They abandoned this 
 well and moved 40 rods further south, which direction, being at an acute 
 angle with ANGELL'S line (S, 16 W.), brought them within 12 feet of the 
 center of his belt. There, on the 28th of March, they struck a 100 barrel 
 well, which has as yet shown no falling off from that figure. This is called 
 the Milton Well, and is two miles from Eeno. A new oil town has since 
 grown up at this point. With a satirical humor for which the nomenclature 
 of Oildom is noted, it is called " Driftwood " it is 400 feet above high 
 water on the Allegany 1 The traffic growing up in consequence of the de- 
 velopment of this portion of the belt open to operators has caused the erec- 
 tion of a new station on the Allegany Valley Eailway, called Prentice, 
 after Mr. ANGELI/S partner. It is five miles from Oil City. 
 
 It would seem that Mr. AISTGELL'S successful research tends to establish 
 the following principles in oil development: (1.) That oil lies in belts of 
 more or less unbroken continuity; the latter feature having to be established 
 by tests in each case, and constituting one of the unavoidable contingencies 
 of belt development. (2.) That the general direction of ihese belts is N. E. 
 and S. W. (3.) That different belts may and probably will differ in char- 
 acteristics from each other; but the same belt is uniform in its leading 
 physical features throughout. (4.) That these belts do not deviate from a 
 direct line ; at least it is not safe to count on deflections or crooks in making 
 investments. (5.) That the under surface of the third-sand rock slopes up- 
 ward each way from its center, and therefore the value of a well will depend 
 upon its nearness to the central line of the belt. (6.) That the upper surface 
 of the third sand rock is absolutely level throughout the belt. Mountains 
 are superadded to it. Therefore there can be no current of oil in the belt, 
 as some have supposed might be the case. (7.) That superficial water- 
 courses have no relation to the oil courses or belts. Therefore territory on a 
 river is worth no more than that on a mountain top, other things being 
 equal, except that the drill starts a little nearer the third sand. (8.) That 
 it is possible to detect an oil belt and stake it out on the surface with a de- 
 gree of accuracy sufficient for safe business investments? (9.) That when 
 proper efforts shall be made to discover these belts, the whole business of oil 
 production (so called) will be reduced to a basis in which there will be fewer 
 risks than in a crop of wheat, a sea voyage or a stock of goods. (Some of 
 these principles are well sustained by the experience of operators generally.) 
 
 Mr. ANGELL'S success must result indeed it has already resulted in 
 turning the thoughts of practical men to the study of the theory of oil belts. 
 This may end in the establishment of the whole business on just such a sure 
 basis as I have indicated. This would make a saving of millions of dollars 
 annually to the producing interest, and inure to the direct benefit of millions 
 of consumers of kerosene. It is. certain that with the risks and expenses 
 
492 ' HISTORY OF PETROLEUM. 
 
 hitherto attached to oil production, prices cannot remain where they are. 
 Therefore, all who use petroleum oil are concerned to have the risks and 
 expenses reduced. In case the results named flow from Mr. ANGELL'S 
 research, he will, while securing a princely fortune to himself, have become 
 a benefactor to his fellows. I believe, as does every practical man who has 
 learned of Mr. ANGELL'S achievements, that it and the theory on which it 
 was based are destined to mark an epoch in the history of petroleum. It is 
 certain, whatever the results, that both the nature and manner of his dis- 
 covery of the great oil belt stamp him as a remarkable man at least as re- 
 markable among oil men, and that means much to any one who knowa the 
 class. ************* 
 
 Already the minds of considerate oil men are reaching out to solve the 
 question whether the oil manifestations of this continent have a common 
 origin ; whether there is not a connecting belt running from West Virginia 
 to Canada. 
 
 JAMESTOWN, N. Y., May 26th, 1871. 
 
 Of Mr. ASTGELL'S record as a producer, very little has been said 
 in this brief sketch of his connection with the oil region of western 
 Pennsylvania. That he is among the leading and prominent ope- 
 rators of the region, we need not affirm. His enterprise and his 
 unflagging industry are known of all men. His developments at 
 Scrub Grass and on the Foster and Scrub Grass belts, won for him 
 a notoriety he may well be proud of. His late operations in the 
 lower oil fields at Fairview, Greece City, and upon the Moore and 
 Hepler farms, territory he leased in the early months of the pre- 
 sent year, fix his status as one of the successful as well as one of the 
 most indefatigable operators in that section. He is now midsum- 
 mer '73 in the daily receipt of five hundred to one thousand bar- 
 rels of oil per day, and this product, it is fair to assume, will be 
 largely increased as his developments proceed. 
 
 In his native county, Mr. ANGELL is held in high esteem by all 
 classes of his fellow-citizens, not alone for the possession, but for 
 the daily practice of those manly virtues which are the crowning 
 glory of all good men. In no sense an office-seeker, he has not 
 escaped the observation, nor been freed from the importunities of 
 his political friends to permit the use of his name for responsible 
 trusts. In the canvass of 1871, he was named by a large body of 
 
C. D. ANGELL. 493 
 
 his fellow-citizens for the office of State Senator from his senatorial 
 district, partly as a compromise candidate, between the rival fac- 
 tions, but generally because he was regarded, upon all hands, as 
 the most unexceptionable man for the distinguished position. He 
 was, however, not nominated, "the factions" warring to the bitter 
 end but we doubt not we reflect the sentiments of a very large 
 majority of the partizans of each of these belligerents, when we say 
 that the PEOPLE and not Mr. ANGELL, were immeasurably the 
 losers by his absence from the Senate of the State of New York. 
 
 The writer of this brief sketch of CYRUS D. ANGELL has known 
 him personally for many years, and in common with a wide circle 
 of friends, and an extended public acquaintance, recognizes him as 
 a gentleman of pure motives, and clear, conscientious impulses. As 
 a man of business he is sagacious, energetic, and reliable. If em- 
 barrassments come upon him he will double and quadruple his 
 efforts to surmount them. He has intelligence of a high order, 
 coupled with an integrity of character, stainless and blameless be- 
 fore the world. In his intercourse with men of whatever station 
 in life, he is always truthful and irreproachable. He is dignified, 
 and yet a man of marked sociability and cordiality. Modest in 
 his demeanor, he has always about him the demeanor of the true 
 gentleman, and from this standard never lowers himself. Where he 
 is best known he is most appreciated as a man, a neighbor and a 
 public-spirited citizen. He is in the prime of life, and the very 
 heyday of his vigor and usefulness. With health guaranteed to 
 him, that indomitable perseverance that has characterized him 
 through life, will be sure to carve out for him a name and a place 
 among the noted men of the oil regions at once distinguished and 
 enviable. 
 
494 HISTORY OF PETROLEUM. 
 
 A. D. ATKINSON. 
 
 NEW BRUNSWICK, N. J. 
 
 ASHER D. ATKINSON is a Pennsylvanian by birth, born in the 
 city of Philadelphia, on the 30th day of September, 1821. When 
 he was seven years of age his father removed to the city of New 
 York, where he engaged in the retail drug and medicine business. 
 Here young ATKINSON grew up and was educated. While from 
 early childhood he had more or less to do with the drug store his 
 father conducted, it was not until he was sixteen years old that he 
 entered the establishment as a clerk, and gave his undivided attention 
 to it. From his earliest remembrances, he was called " Doctor/' 
 but he did not entitle himself to the distinction even if he did then 
 until after he reached his majority. He commenced the study of 
 medicine at the age of eighteen, and continued some months after 
 he was twenty-one but he did not complete his preliminary pre- 
 parations. It is questionable, therefore, if he be, even now, enti- 
 tled to the affix of M. D." to his name, for he abandoned all 
 idea of adopting medicine as a profession soon after attaining his 
 majority, from an early and later cherished aversion to it. He 
 acquired, however, a commendable proficiency in surgery, and a 
 thorough knowledge of anatomy, ere he gave up his studies, and 
 these have been serviceable to him upon many occasions, but he 
 has never practiced medicine outside his own family circle. 
 
 He continued his connection with the drug and medicine traffic, 
 in conjunction with his father, until 1861, when he surrendered it 
 to enter into the just-then developing petroleum enterprises of the 
 Western Pennsylvania oil region. 
 
 In the spring of 1861, Dr. ATKINSON visited Titusville for the 
 first time. His father-in-law, Mr. John Barnsdall, had preceded 
 
Wooilbury t> pp. A. V. R. P. Co., Phil 
 
 ASHER D. ATKINSON. 
 
A. D. ATKINSON. 495 
 
 him some months to look after interests he had acquired by pur- 
 chase in 1860, and with whom Dr. ATKINSON had associated him- 
 self as a partner.* Their first leases were upon the Parker Farm 
 flats, near Titusville, and these were in course of development 
 when Dr. A. reached there, in 1861. Here let us retrace our steps 
 to show just how Dr. ATKINSON became interested in the develop- 
 ment of Petroleum. 
 
 During the summer of 1860, Mr. William Barnsdall, who re- 
 sided then, and now, at Titusville, visited Dr. ATKINSON, in New 
 York City, taking with him specimens of the oil obtained from 
 " the Drake " and " the Barnsdall Wells." During his visit, the 
 subject of Petroleum was fully discussed its development, value, 
 extent, and in fact every conceivable phase of it was elaborately 
 examined. Dr. ATKINSON became deeply interested in the sub- 
 ject, and made several experiments with the small specimens before 
 him, and finally " determined to put some money in it." He sub- 
 sequently joined Mr. John Barnsdall in his purchase of interests, 
 and, as before stated, in the spring of 1861, disposed of his drug 
 and medicine business, and practically removed to Titusville to 
 give his attention wholly to this new enterprise. 
 
 Great activity in drilling wells, leasing lands, and buying oil 
 tracts, were visible upon every hand at the date of Dr. ATKINSON'S 
 arrival at Titusville. The developments were as yet confined to 
 the Parker Farm and the Watson Flats, though operators had ven- 
 tured still further down " the Creek " as far as Rouseville, and 
 below. The daily product of the wells at and near Titusville was 
 limited to a few hundred barrels, and the price was uniformly $10 
 per barrel. Later in the summer and fall of 1861, the great flowing 
 wells of the lower McElhenny Farm were struck, and in a few days 
 thereafter oil sold for twenty-five and even ten cents per barrel ! 
 
 * Mr. John Barnsdall was among the early operators of 1860, upon the Watson and 
 Parker flats, below Titusville. He died in that city in 1863, universally regretted 
 and respected. He was a man of worth and integrity, and lent to the early develop- 
 ment of petroleum a vigor and enterprise that won for him distinction and general 
 prominence. 
 
496 HISTORY OF PETEOLEUM. 
 
 The scores, and perhaps we should say hundreds of operators 
 upon the Watson Flats, the Parker Farm, and other tracts in the 
 immediate vicinity, found their small wells of five, ten and twenty 
 barrels daily product, almost valueless, and the territory next to 
 worthless for paying oil wells and they were generally abandoned 
 for the " flowing well region," further down the Creek. 
 
 Dr. ATKINSON was among the first to go,- His.first investment was 
 upon the Foster Farm, below Shaffer Farm. Joel "W. Sherman 
 had leased a single acre upon this farm, and was busily engaged in 
 "kicking down" the Sherman "Well. Mr. John Barnsdall had 
 met Mr. Sherman at Titusville soon after the " Fountain Well," 
 lower McElhenny Farm, had been struck, and subsequently pur- 
 chased a " one-quarter working interest," in his Foster Farm 
 lease, paying him $250 for it the purchasers to pay one-quarter 
 of the cost of putting down the well. Long before this well was 
 completed, Mr. Sherman's patience became exhausted, as did his 
 working capital. He was ready, nay anxious, " to abandon the 
 whole thing," upon very liberal conditions. He, over and over 
 again, offered to sell his interest one-half the working interest 
 for $500, and $400, and even $300 ! Mr. Barnsdall would reason 
 with him, encourage him to " push ahead," and offered to loan him 
 the amount he demanded for his interest, if he required it, to be 
 repaid when the well "was completed. 
 
 In giving these incidental facts connected with the history of 
 "The Sherman Well," it is not intended to question the industry 
 or the determination of Mr. Sherman. His was only the case of 
 scores and scores who became disheartened, and were willing to give 
 up their enterprise if they could realize money enough to get to 
 their homes ! 
 
 " The Sherman Well " was finally completed on the 10th day of 
 March, 1862, and immediately started off at a product of 1,000 
 barrels per day ! She continued to flow, gradually lessening in 
 volume for about twenty-two months, and was thenceforward 
 pumped until exhausted in 1865. As a pumping well, the Sher- 
 
A. D. ATKINSON. 497 
 
 man netted her owners between $57,000 and $58,000. While her 
 producing life held out, oil was sold from her great wooden tanks 
 as low as fifteen cents per barrel, and as high as eleven dollars per 
 barrel ! 
 
 During the same summer, (1862,) and upon the same farm, the 
 " Barnsdall Well " was struck, and flowed 100 barrels per day. 
 Barnsdall & Atkinson owned one-third of the land interest of this 
 well, and all the working interest. Having thus begun in 1862, 
 the development of their own leases, they followed it up, and in 
 1863, they completed a well on the Fleming farm, adjoining the 
 Miller farm, on the north and west. This well flowed from the 
 commencement, 300 barrels per day. On the very day the Flem- 
 ing farm well was struck, Dr. ATKINSON completed a fifty barrel 
 pumping well, on the bluff, in the rear of the Sherman Well. Both 
 these wells, we may add, were struck, and in operation the day 
 previous to the striking of the famous " Noble Well," on the ad- 
 joining farm. 
 
 During the summer of 1862, Mr. Barnsdall, for the firm, 
 contracted to deliver at their wells, over 50,000 barrels of oil, 
 at prices ranging between thirty-five and sixty cents per barrel. 
 While this contract was in force, and only about two-thirds of the 
 oil had been delivered, Mr. Barnsdall died, and Dr. ATKINSON, 
 though not legally bound to do so, fulfilled the agreement to the 
 letter delivering the oil at "the Sherman," "the Barnsdall" and 
 Atkinson wells, and this, too, when $4 and $6 per barrel could 
 have been realized for it ! But the great loss sustained by this 
 single transaction was subsequently fully atoned for. The money 
 realized from this sale of oil, was re-invested in lands in the vicinity, 
 and from their later development, Dr. ATKINSON laid the founda- 
 tion of his present ample fortune. 
 
 In 1864, Dr. A. purchased the John Fleming Farm, located on 
 the high lands, in the Shamburg district two or three miles north 
 and east of Miller farm station. For this property he paid $20,000. 
 
 "A refusal," for the purchase of this farm had been obtained by 
 32 
 
498 HISTORY OF PETROLEUM. 
 
 Dr. Potter, of Tidioute, at 5,000. Dr. ATKINSON expected to 
 buy it for that sum, but upon "interviewing" Dr. Potter, he 
 learned his error, and thereupon offered him $20,000 for his 
 chance to purchase a clear profit of $15,000 ! This generous 
 offer, for such it was at that time, the territory being three miles 
 from " the Creek," and as far from any developments, was accepted, 
 the whole amount paid down, upon the execution of the deed from 
 Fleming, and the title to it passed to Dr. ATKINSON. We may add 
 here, that the Doctor still owns and operates this farm, and that 
 its product, though limited, yields a goodly monthly income. 
 
 From and after the purchase of this property, in 1864, Dr. AT- 
 KINSON, to a considerable extent, withdrew from the oil business, 
 removing to Brooklyn, N. Y., with his family, and taking up his 
 residence there though occasionally returning to "the Creek" to 
 look after his yet profitable oil interests. 
 
 In the early spring of 1867, Dr. ATKINSON began the develop- 
 ment of the Fleming, or Atkinson farm although a derrick and 
 engine-house, boiler and engine, had been put upon the property in 
 1865. In July, 1867, however, the first well was completed and 
 operated, and we may add, demonstrated the value of the farm 
 for oil purposes. This first well a pumping one produced 
 seventy barrels per day. In December following, on Christmas 
 day, the second well was completed, and this was a "flower" 
 of four hundred barrels per day! About the 1st of January, 
 following, the third well was struck, and this "New Year's gift" 
 flowed from the start three hundred barrels per day! 
 
 During the summer of 1868, developments were continued with- 
 out interruption, and with uniform success. "The Atkinson farm," 
 became famous for its productive wells, and it was rapidly devel- 
 oped during 1868,-69, and '70. About thirty wells in all were 
 drilled upon the farm, averaging in depth, 952 feet, and all or 
 nearly all were profitable oil producers many of them largely so. 
 During the summer of 1868, a well was struck upon the farm 
 which had this peculiarity. The first FOUR days she flowed eleven 
 
A. D. ATKINSON. 
 
 hundred barrels of oil, each day making FORTY-FOUR hundred 
 barrels during her flowing life. Ever after, the well was known, 
 as "4. 11.44!" 
 
 The purchase and development of this farm was a source of 
 great profit to Dr. ATKINSON. During the years 1868, and '69, 
 the average daily product of the " Atkinson farm" was fully 2,500 
 barrels per day. Oil sold readily for from $2.50 to $6.50 per bar- 
 rel during these years making the average price during the pro- 
 ducing life of the property $3.50 to $4.00 per barrel. Dr. AT- 
 KINSON owned the farm, and paid no "royalty to the land" and 
 while he had much of it leased to, and developed by others, an 
 average of one-half the oil produced from all sources, was turned 
 over to him. We have no correct statement of the total product 
 of oil from this prolific farm, but the amount realized IN CASH, 
 to all interests, exceeds $1,600,000! 
 
 A. H. CHENEY and who among the early operators " on the 
 Creek," from Titusville to Oil City, does not remember rollicking, 
 always happy " Lon. Cheney " and JAMES MOORE were the first 
 Superintendents of the Atkinson farm, to whom Dr. A. gave, "out 
 and out," various interests from which each realized largely. Both 
 are since deceased, and both left considerable means to surviving 
 relatives. F. E. Hammond is the present Superintendent a posi- 
 tion he has held since 1869. 
 
 We have stated, that soon after the purchase of the Atkinson 
 farm in 1864, Dr. ATKINSON suspended further operations until 
 1867. He removed with his family from Titusville, to Brooklyn, 
 N. Y., in 1865, and soon after engaged in real estate operations 
 there. Among his purchases, was one hundred acres of land 
 located at various points surrounding the City of Brooklyn. This 
 investment was made for his children, and this he will retain for 
 their sole benefit. 
 
 In 1868, Dr. ATKINSON purchased a summer residence at New 
 Brunswick, N. J., and here free from the turmoil of a great city, 
 his summers have since been passed. This purchase included a 
 
500 HISTORY OF PETROLEUM. 
 
 tract of land lying within the city limits, and containing ninety- 
 four acres of land. For this property, he paid $25,000. Subse- 
 quently, in 1869, or 1870, he disposed of all but TEN acres of this 
 tract of land, realizing from the sale, sufficient to pay the original 
 cos t $25,000 and, at the same time, provide for the erection and 
 completion of one of the finest private residences in the City of 
 New Brunswick, or in the County of Middlesex, in which the 
 city is situated. We may add, that this elegant residence has cost 
 him not far from $50,000 nearly all of which, with the ten acres 
 reserved from the original purchase, may be set down as clear pro- 
 fit ! Since the completion of his residence, he has become a per- 
 manent resident of New Brunswick. 
 
 Dr. ATKINSON, while he retains his interests in the Oil Region, 
 may yet be regarded as practically withdrawn from active partici- 
 pation in the later developments. He, however, makes annual 
 visits to his old tramping grounds, and cultivates a lively interest 
 in all that pertains to the good of its people and the growth and 
 prosperity of the industry. In later years, he has become promi- 
 nently identified with real estate transactions in Brooklyn, N. Y., 
 at New Brunswick, and upon the Raritan River, in New Jersey. 
 In all these, he has been successful, and largely so ; and so real 
 estate operations, involving large capital, absorb much of his time 
 and large means. 
 
 In 1847-'8, Dr. ATKINSON resided nearly a year in the south, 
 principally at New Orleans. Since the war, with the exception of 
 last year, he has passed his winters in the southern portion of the 
 Union, and during these annual journeys, has visited every legisla- 
 tive assembly in the South. 
 
 "The Fashion Plantation," near New Orleans, and once the 
 property of Gen. Dick Taylor, son of President Z. Taylor, was 
 confiscated by the Government just after the close of the war. An 
 acquaintance of Dr. ATKINSON'S purchased the property, and, 
 requiring money to pay for it, he applied to Dr. A. for a loan of 
 $20,000. The loan was granted, the doctor securing himself by 
 
A. D. ATKINSON. 501 
 
 bond and mortgage. This he held a year or two, and was finally 
 enabled to realize upon his investment, suffering only a moderate 
 loss! 
 
 In 1853, Dr. ATKINSON married Miss EMMA BARNSDALL, 
 daughter of Mr. JOHN BARNSDALL, then a resident of the City of 
 New York, and a brother of WILLIAM and JOSEPH BARNSDALL, 
 of Titusville, Pa. This marriage relation doubtless furnishes the 
 motive and incentive to Dr. ATKINSON'S subsequent prominent 
 and successful connection with the development of Petroleum in 
 Western Pennsylvania, Mr. BARNSDALL, the father-in-law, being 
 a large owner in the second well struck in the Oil Region, upon 
 the Watson flats below Titusville. 
 
 Personally, Dr. ATKINSON is a man of many excellencies, and 
 marked private worth. Large-hearted, so to speak, he is generous 
 to a fault. Attractive in manner, he is always companionable, and 
 sure and unvarying in his friendships and attachments. A single 
 instance will illustrate his generosity and liberality. Col. E. L. 
 Drake had, in 1860, or 1861, purchased a tract of land lying in the 
 then village of Titusville, consisting of twenty-six acres. He paid 
 a nominal sum for it $2,000 to $3,000 giving a mortgage for 
 the amount unpaid.* In 1863, this mortgage became due, and the 
 holder pressed Col. Drake for its payment. The property had 
 meantime quadrupled in value. Col. Drake had applied to several 
 personal friends to aid him in his embarrassment, but had obtained 
 no relief. Some one suggested that he make his application to- Dr. 
 ATKINSON. " But I don't know Dr. ATKINSON !" said Col. Drake. 
 " That'll make no difference," said his friend ; " the doctor will 
 help you out, I know." Col. Drake presented the Vnatter to Dr. 
 ATKINSON, giving him a full detail of his threatened disaster. The 
 property was offered to Dr. A. for $10,000. " I will give you 
 $12,000 for it," said Dr. ATKINSON, "and I will hold it subject to 
 
 * This property has since become part and parcel of the City of Titusville, and is 
 worth to-day, half a million dollars. It is that part of the city lying east of Martin 
 Street. 
 
502 HISTORY OF PETROLEUM. 
 
 your future efforts to dispose of it at a still further advance." The 
 doctor added: " If at any time during the next twelve months, you 
 can sell it for more than $12,000, you may have all the profits!" 
 The sale was made, and Col. Drake was saved from impending 
 bankruptcy, and by a total stranger. The property was subse- 
 quently sold, and within the time named by Dr. ATKINSON, for 
 $16,000; but neither Col. Drake, nor Dr. ATKINSON profited by the 
 advance. The individual who purchased the property from Dr. 
 ATKINSON, of whom a deed had been obtained for $12,000, with 
 the understanding that all over that amount, obtained for it, should 
 go to Col. Drake, neglected to make good his verbal agreement to 
 do so, and retained the $4,000 profit as his own ! But the trans- 
 action, so far as Dr. ATKINSON was connected with it, did honor 
 to his generosity and liberality. 
 
 Dr. ATKINSON is in middle life, the picture of health, and seems 
 to enjoy the very personification of an unbroken constitutional vigor. 
 He is just what he seems to be at first acquaintance, a plain, sub- 
 stantial, good man, without guile, ostentation, or modern "airs." 
 A man of clear conceptions, and rapid comprehensive grasp, he 
 has business qualifications of a high order. Honor, honesty and 
 integrity of character, make up his private worth, and endear him to 
 all who know him. In his domestic relations he is indulgent and 
 devoted his little family circle being his " Heaven upon Earth." 
 As a citizen he is enterprising; liberal, and cordial with all. As a 
 neighbor he is obliging, and full of those little attentions and accom- 
 modations so generally appreciated, and we may add, indispensable 
 in all communities. As a friend he is cordial, devoted and steadfast. 
 Such men mase the world better for their living in it and this is 
 the estimate we put upon Dr. A. D. ATKINSON, coupled with the 
 hope that he may live many, many years, to enjoy the bounties now 
 surrounding him, among the least of which, in our judgment, is 
 the ample fortune he has amassed by his own industry. 
 
Wmidbiii-Tlype A. P. R. P. Co., Phil* 
 
 JOHN L. McKINNEY. 
 
JOHN L. McKiNNEY. 5Q3 
 
 JOHN L. McKiNNEY. 
 
 TITUSVILLE, PA. 
 
 JOHN L. McKiNNEY was born at Pittsfield, Warren Co., Pa., 
 on the 21st day of June, 1842, of thrifty, industrious, well to do 
 parentage, and is the second son of a family of seven sons and one 
 daughter. He had the advantages of an excellent district school 
 education until he attained the age of 15 from the age of 12, aiding 
 his father in the conduct of his lumbering and farming inter- 
 ests, as he was enabled to do, during the school vacations of the 
 summer months. At sixteen he assumed almost entire charge of 
 his father's books and accounts, involving considerable amounts 
 of property which was constantly changing in value, location, 
 <fec. ; often superintending the sales of lumber, farm products, 
 and whatever else made up the bulk of his father's business. 
 All this responsibility young McKiNNEY discharged with fidelity 
 and an ability rarely exhibited in one of his years and experience. 
 He remained with his father in this responsible position three 
 years, when at the age of nineteen, he resolved to grapple the world 
 in his own behalf. 
 
 The discovery of Petroleum oil, near Titusville, and at other 
 points on Oil Creek, had already attracted the attention of the pub- 
 lic, and thither young McKiNNEY bent his steps. His father 
 strongly opposed this new enterprise on the part of his son not 
 yet come to man's estate but visions of wealth, and a desire to 
 " strike a blow for himself/' outweighed all else, and in the sum- 
 mer and fall of 1861, we find him at Franklin, Pa., with less than 
 $500 cash capital, looking for an opportunity to invest. He was 
 not long in search of a " a good thing," as he deemed it. His 
 
504 HISTORY OF PETROLEUM. 
 
 first venture was upon a lease and well, located on the Allegheny 
 River, south of Franklin. Here he risked a large portion of his 
 cash capital, drawing upon his father for much of the lumber and 
 timber needed in the erection of a derrick, engine house, &c. 
 
 This well was a failure made so through the bad management 
 of the parties engaged in its drilling and subsequent testing, and 
 young McKixxEY's loss was total. 
 
 This first investment proved to be disastrous, but Mr. McKiN- 
 NEY, with a wise foresight, had partially provided against such a 
 contingency. He had invested in one or two "interests" on "Oil 
 Creek/' both which proved to be successful, and left him sound 
 financially. 
 
 In the spring of 1862, he purchased an undivided one-third 
 interest in a well and lease on the Jno. McClintock farm, near 
 Rouseville. At the date of this purchase, the well was down about 
 125 feet, and had been drilled thus far with a "spring-pole." This 
 process was continued to the depth of 300 feet, and then a " horse- 
 power' 7 was substituted, which exhausted itself at 400 feet, and a 
 steam engine was found to be indispensable. With this steam 
 power, the well was drilled to the depth of 512 feet, and at once 
 began to flow, at the rate of 500 barrels per day ! The well con- 
 tinued to flow for nearly two years, gradually lessening in product, 
 but yielding to its fortunate owners, thousands and thousands of 
 dollars in profits. 
 
 The history of this well, and Mr. McKiNNEY's connection with 
 it, may be set down as the history of very many others of the earlier 
 developments " on the Creek," and may not be without interest to 
 the general reader. After the purchase of his one-third interest in 
 this lease, he gave to its development all his individual effort, and 
 every dollar of money he was able to command. He worked his 
 regular " tower," " kicking the pole," and followed the business of 
 "a driller," with all the industry and devotion of an interested 
 owner. "Weeks, had run into months, in labors upon this well, 
 and yet all was in doubt. Hope alone kept the operators to their 
 
JOHN L. McKINNEY. 505 
 
 task. It might, nay, many prophesied it would be a "dry hole" 
 a summer's work -lost, to say nothing of the ready cash required 
 " to prosecute with due diligence." But the sturdy industry of the 
 owners did not flag. They labored night and day, surmounting 
 obstacle after obstacle, and embarrassment after embarrassment, 
 looking confidently at times, and doubtfully at others, upon the 
 results of their sacrifices. After the steam-power had been applied, 
 Mr. McKlNNEY improved the opportunity to visit his home in 
 Warren County, little anticipating that during his absence " not 
 to exceed two weeks," the well would be down, and a golden 
 stream gushing from its mouth, destined to enrich every man own- 
 ing interests in it. But this consummation was realized. Mr. 
 McKiNNEY heard of his good fortune a few days after the well was 
 struck, and immediately set out across the country to Rouseville, 
 then called "Cherry Run." When he reached the vicinity of the 
 well, he ascertained that his partner had sold the entire property 
 for a good round sum, taking no account of HIS interest! 
 
 When Mr. McKiNNEY purchased his share in the property, he 
 drew his own contract for the sale, and upon its execution, laid it 
 away among his papers, neglecting to have it filed in the Protho- 
 notary's office at Franklin. The parties purchasing from his part- 
 ner, had made a thorough search, and found no record invalidating 
 his claim to ownership, and, thereupon, closed the trade, paid the 
 consideration, and were actually in possession of the property, when 
 Mr. McKiNNEY returned ! Here was indeed a threatened calamity. 
 What to do, or whither to turn for relief, was the absorbing question 
 with young McKiNNEY who, while yet a minor, possessed the 
 will and determination of a full-grown man. He promptly noti- 
 fied the purchasers of his ownership of an undivided one-third in- 
 terest, and his willingness to take care of his portion of the product 
 of the well. They in turn refused to acknowledge his rights, insist- 
 ing upon their own, by absolute purchase. While these interviews 
 were transpiring, Mr. McKiNNEY had recourse to his contract, and 
 found the " six months recording clause" still in life ! About two 
 
506 HISTORY OF PETROLEUM. 
 
 days were left him, to put his claim on file. He was not long in 
 reaching Franklin, when upon consulting Mr. C. HEIDRICK, one 
 of the able attorneys of Franklin County, he ascertained that his in- 
 terest was safe and that his ownership in the well, was beyond cavil 
 or doubt. 
 
 The purchasers from Mr. McKiNNEY's partner, upon presen- 
 tation of his incontestable proofs, acknowledged his claim, and very 
 shortly after paid him a large sum for his interest. The property, 
 however, was worth, or proved to be worth, during the life of the 
 well, fifty times the money Mr. McKiNNEY received for it. The 
 purchasers realized handsome fortunes from its product, some of 
 whom are to-day rolling in the wealth it brought them. 
 
 After disposing of his interest in this property, he made good 
 use of the little store he had acquired, buying interests in some ten 
 or twelve other leases on Cherry Run and elsewhere, and pushing 
 developments as rapidly as possible. The " Baker well," which 
 produced one hundred barrels per day, was the first struck, in which 
 he was interested. Others, many of them without name, but abund- 
 ant in product, followed, and Mr. McKiNNEY was really upon the 
 flood-tide of success. The celebrated " Mountain (or Phipps) well," 
 which produced three hundred barrels per day, was among his ac- 
 quisitions. These continued successes ran through 1862 3 4, and 
 '65, when he began the sale of his interests, here and there, having 
 determined to change somewhat the character of his operations. He 
 disposed of many of these at fabulous prices, receiving in payment 
 considerable sums of money, and larger amounts in certificates of 
 stock in various oil companies, then "as plenty as the leaves of the 
 forest " many of which never reached the stock boards of eastern 
 monied centres. A few were "not worth the paper they were 
 printed upon;" but a fair fraction proved to be valuable. In all^ 
 Mr. McKiNNEY realized in cash and stocks, more than $500,000 
 for his oil interests. While his stocks had a nominal value, it is 
 safe to say he left the oil region $200,000 richer than when he 
 risked his all in 1861. 
 
JOHN L. McKiNNEY. 507 
 
 In 1864, still retaining several small interests in his early invest- 
 ments, Mr. McKiNNEY, in connection with Mr. Wm. C. Duncan, 
 of Pittsburgh, and Mr. George Work, of Philadelphia, and others, 
 visited the then developing oil belts of Green Co., Pa., and leased 
 large tracts of land along Duncard Creek. This leased land was 
 afterwards sold to other parties, the original lessees realizing a con- 
 siderable profit. In 1864-5, Mr. McKiNNEY took up his residence 
 in Philadelphia, still holding a business relationship with the oil 
 regions occasionally visiting the scenes of his early successes, pur- 
 chasing interests here and there, and steadily adding to his worldly 
 possessions. During the spring and summer of 1866 ? he purchased 
 interests in several leases and wells on Benninghoff Hun, and sub- 
 sequently, consolidating various other productive and valuable oil 
 properties, among which was an oil farm, owned by him in fee, 
 "The Benninghoff Mutual Petroleum Company" was organized, 
 and Mr. McKiNNEY was elected its vice-president. This organi- 
 zation was upon a substantial basis, having valuable property and 
 some of the very best producing wells " on the Creek " upon which 
 to pay dividends. It did for a time pay very largely, but " the 
 crash of 1866 and 1867," swept away values, obliterated oil compa- 
 nies, and " gobbled up " oil producers and their labor of years, 
 leaving the oil region, if not a desert of industries, at least a section 
 almost wholly given over to bankruptcy and ruin. 
 
 In addition to his oil traffic, Mr. McKiNNEY dealt largely as 
 a general Stock Broker, and in the disasters of '66 and '67 he 
 found himself deeply involved. The accumulations of his ear- 
 lier years, seemingly ample for a life-time, were rapidly exhausted, 
 and he, left as empty-handed as when, six years before, he made his 
 first venture in the oil fields of western Pennsylvania. But this 
 "complete ruin" did not discourage or dishearten him. He re- 
 solved to " try again," and to begin as before, " at the top of the 
 ground," and work out of his financial embarrassments. He re- 
 turned to the region in 1868, and took some leases at Pleasantville, 
 just then the point of attraction for good producing wells. Here 
 he met with moderate success, and in a few months began to see 
 
508 HISTORY OF PETROLEUM. 
 
 clear sky and mended fortunes. His industry and devotion to his 
 affairs soon placed him upon comparatively independent ground, 
 and marked out his future. 
 
 He remained at Pleasantville until June, 1869, when an oppor- 
 tunity offering, he disposed of his interests at a fair profit, and re- 
 solved to enter the new oil fields at Parker's Landing. Admoni- 
 tion and friendly advice, and in some instances strong protests were 
 indulged in by disinterested friends against this " suicidal enter- 
 prise," as nearly every one termed it. Mr. McKiNNEY had, how- 
 ever, "put his hand to the plow/ 7 and would not turn back. 
 
 Late in the summer of 1869, he made some leases and purchases 
 at Parker's Landing, and completed two wells, one of which was a 
 kinsman of the "dry hole" race, and the other produced from four 
 to six barrels per day. The cost of wells at Parker's Landing was 
 nearly double that of other oil districts, and these first investments 
 were not " strong arguments " in favor of Mr. McKiNNEY's enter- 
 prise in fixing upon this district as the point of his future opera- 
 tions. He, however, did not falter or abate one jot of his confidence 
 in the ultimate success of his now redoubled efforts. He made 
 more and larger leases, and commenced the drilling of numerous 
 wells, in that since wonderfully developing region. 
 
 Early in the spring of 1871, success began to crowd upon him, 
 and through that year, and up to this time August 1st, 1873 
 scarcely anything he has consented to identify himself with, but 
 has served to swell his bank account, and add to his repute as a 
 successful oil producer. 
 
 While conducting his large oil business, he managed an agency 
 for the sale of Gibbs, Russell & Co.'s engines, boilers, well tools, 
 &c., and during this connection, which was incidental rather than 
 actual and positive, he sold not far from $500,000 worth of this 
 great establishment's work, and suffered a loss from " bad debts," 
 of less than $500! 
 
 In the spring of 1872, Mr. McKiNNEY, in connection with R. 
 H. Sterritt, purchased the one-third interest Jno. T. Russell owned 
 
JOHN L. McKINNEY. 509 
 
 in Gibbs, Russell & Co.'s Novelty Iron works, at Titusville, and at 
 Nunda, N. Y., paying therefor a princely sum. While he is not 
 prominently active in the conduct of this mammoth industry, his 
 sound judgment is uniformly sought by the remaining members of 
 the firm. An enterprise of this magnitude, involving so large a 
 capital, certainly requires the best business talent to be commanded, 
 and Mr. McKiNNEY is in all respects, up to the requirements of 
 the responsibility imposed upon him. It is needless to add that 
 the present firm of Gibbs, Sterritt & Co., is among the most success- 
 ful in the oil regions, or in Western Pennsylvania. 
 
 When in the fall of 1872, " The South Improvement Company" 
 began to foreshadow its objects and aims, Mr. McKiNNEY stood, 
 with the large body of producers, opposing its schemes, as the effort 
 of a monopoly, to gather into its embrace the producing interests 
 of the oil region. He weighed carefully, every new phase of this 
 all-important and all-absorbing movement, and gave to each and 
 all its later developments, an unbiased examination. When the 
 region "rose as one man," to oppose and bitterly denounce " The 
 South Improvement Company," he held aloof, and was unwilling 
 to join in the universal clamor not that he abandoned, or in the 
 least became lukewarm in the interests of producers, but that he 
 deemed a calmer judgment than was manifested, indispensable to 
 an adjustment of all questions at issue. With the subsequent ac- 
 tion of "The Producers' Congress," and its efforts to control or 
 monopolize the product, shipment and sales of oil, Mr. McKiNNEY 
 had little to do, and less confidence in as a means of relief. He 
 regarded the proposed " plan of operations " as unsubstantial and 
 wanting in the essential elements of probable financial and com- 
 mercial success. The later history of these transactions, shows 
 how clearly he comprehended "the situation," for the results were 
 a full warrant for his judicious action from beginning to end. He 
 was, however, among the first to suggest ways and means to arrest 
 what was generally regarded as an impending calamity. He urged 
 first, a suspension of the drilling of wells for six months; and sub- 
 
510 niSTORY OF PETROLEUM. 
 
 sequently, the shutting down of all pumping and drilling wells for 
 thirty days. The first despatch that passed over the wires from 
 Parker's Landing to other oil centers', electrifying the entire region, 
 advising and demanding this last great sacrifice at the hands of 
 producers, was dictated, if not actually written by Mr. McKlNNEY, 
 and signed by the firm of which he was the head McKiNNEY & 
 NESBITT. Having dealt this blow, he earnestly followed up his 
 convictions with unremitting labors to unite the Parker's Landing 
 district in the movement, and in ten days thereafter, saw the fruits 
 of his efforts in more than 4,500 wells shut down for thirty days! 
 
 In the early months of 1873, Mr. McKiNNEY, with his brother, 
 J. C. McKiriney, who for a year past has been his sole partner, pur- 
 chased the two Hemphill farms, and the Barnhart farm, at Mil- 
 lerstown, now the great oil field of the Parker's, or lower district, 
 consisting of about 250 acres. For this property they paid 70,- 
 000. Subsequently Mr. JOHN H. GAILEY, of Parker's Landing, 
 became a purchaser from the McKiNNEY brothers, of an interest 
 in these oil lands, and they are now being developed under the 
 firm name of McKiNNEY BROS. & GAILEY. 
 
 Mr. McKiNNEY, besides the business connections heretofore 
 named, and his manufacturing interests, atTitusville and Corry, Pa., 
 and atNunda, N. Y., as a partner of Gibbs, Sterritt & Co., is a stock- 
 holder and director in two of the soundest banking institutions in 
 the lower oil region The Parker's Savings Bank, at Parker's 
 Landing, and The Millerstown Savings Bank, at Millerstown, But- 
 ler Co., Pa. 
 
 "We may be permitted to mention here, what should have been 
 stated before, that Mr. McKiNNEY on the 14th of February, 1866, 
 married Miss IDA D. FORD, of Pittsfield, Penna., a lady of such 
 womanly and motherly excellencies and attractions as are sure to 
 adorn the home circle, and become a jewel in the crown of her hus- 
 band's triumphs and worldly renown. 
 
 Mr. McKiNNEY has the elements of a successful business man 
 largely developed. He possesses a well balanced mind, is a con- 
 
JOHN L. McKINNEY. 511 
 
 staiit "worker/ 7 and a thorough, earnest " thinker " upon all mat- 
 ters pertaining to his business affairs. "While there is nothing 
 penurious or small in his dealings with men, he yet goes to the 
 bottom of every proposition engaging his attention or challenging 
 his favor. Details and their bearing upon results, are carefully 
 examined, and rarely with faulty conclusions. In his intercourse 
 with business men he is reserved yet positive, and always influen- 
 tial. His opinions are grounded upon a substantial basis, and he 
 is never without ample language to render them intelligible. A 
 man of positive convictions, he possesses the ability to defend his 
 opinions and carry men with him. In his relationships to the 
 world he is frank, zealous, open-hearted, in the strongest acceptation 
 of these terms. Possessing the characteristics of the true gentle- 
 man, he bears about him the dignity of a true manhood. In private 
 life he is companionable and sociable, beyond the power of appre- 
 ciation until wholly and really known. Retiring in manner, and 
 reticent in hab'its, he rarely obtrudes himself upon others. Cordial 
 and -confiding in his friendships and attachments, his estimate of 
 men is at once prompt, and usually correct. 
 
 In business circles Mr. McKlNNEY takes rank among the first. 
 He is reliable, and prompt under all circumstances. His industry 
 and devotion to his private affairs, and his consequent success, is 
 known of all men, and hence it is that his obligations are regarded 
 everywhere as "first-class" and "gilt-edged." He is at this writ- 
 ing a few months past his thirtieth birthday, and it is no stretch of 
 probability to say, that a most prosperous future is opening to him, 
 and that he will advance to it with the same realizing sense of his per- 
 sonal power, responsibility and duty, that has characterized him 
 thus far through a life of remarkable activity and conceded useful- 
 ness and excellence. 
 
512 HISTORY OF PETROLEUM. 
 
 FRANK W. ANDREWS. 
 
 TITUSVILLE, PENNA. 
 
 THERE are few prominent men now living in the oil region of 
 Western Pennsylvania, who, identifying themselves with the early 
 development of that great staple, petroleum, have not carved out 
 for themselves a history in many regards remarkable. When 
 the discovery was made, great numbers came, saw, and strived 
 manfully to conquer, but after a brief career, dropped out of the 
 ranks and were heard of no more. Many came, it is true, and in 
 a few weeks or months, by sheer " luck," gathered up their one, 
 two, three and five hundred thousand dollar fortunes, and aban- 
 doned the field to others. But the men who have made the oil 
 region of Western Pennsylvania, and have been made by this 
 wonderful phenomena of nature, are those who began early, and 
 have remained through ten or twelve years of adversity and pros- 
 perity, to enjoy the fruits of their industry in a final triumph over 
 all obstacles and embarrassments. Among this class of men, the 
 subject of the following sketch has a deserved distinction, creditable 
 alike to his industry, his will and his determination. 
 
 FRANK W. ANDREWS is a native of the Green Mountain State, 
 born in the town of Vernon, Windham County, Vermont, on the 
 30th day of May, 1838. In May, 1840, his father, a successful 
 farmer, removed with his family to Ohio, and settled in Geauga 
 County, engaging extensively in stock-growing and the cultivation 
 of a large farm. Here young ANDREWS grew to manhood, work- 
 ing upon the farm summers, and attending a district school winters, 
 acquiring a tolerable common school education. When nineteen 
 years old, he assumed the role of a teacher in a district school in 
 the vicinity of his father's residence, and acquitted himself with 
 
Wood bury type. A. P. R. P. Co.. Phila. 
 
 F. W. ANDREWS. 
 
PRANK W. ANDREWS. 513 
 
 credit. Subsequently he attended Hiram College, at Hiram, Ohio. 
 At the age of twenty he determined to commence the battle of life, 
 singly and alone, and with about $75 in money, he made his way 
 west and south, arriving at Cairo, 111., undecided as to a southern 
 or western destination. While at Cairo, he fell in with a couple 
 of gentlemen, who were publishers or owners of a map of the 
 "Great West, and the States of the Union/' together with a book 
 entitled "The History of the United States and Territories." He 
 was tendered an agency for the sale of these publications, his field 
 of operations embracing Southern Illinois and the State of Missouri. 
 For each book or map sold, he was to receive one dollar. He en- 
 tered at once upon his enterprise, and for a time his expectations 
 were fully realized. It was, however, a business he was scarcely 
 adapted to, and we next hear of him as a school teacher, in a small 
 provincial town, in the State of Missouri. He applied for the 
 position, and after passing a creditable examination as to qualifica- 
 tion, was questioned by the commissioners upon various points of 
 school policy, and among others was asked if he kept a "loud" or 
 a " silent " school. Young ANDREWS was extremely anxious to 
 put in a correct answer to this interrogatory, and after a hesitancy 
 of a few seconds, believing he comprehended the situation, he 
 promptly answered, a a silent school, of course." This did not meet 
 the approval of the learned commissioners, whom traditionary prac- 
 tice had impressed with the efficiency and desirability of schools 
 of the "loud" sort. They intimated to the young pedagogue that 
 " he wouldn't do !" Young ANDREWS, however, resorted to diplo- 
 macy, and suggested that he would accept the position upon a 
 week's trial, at the end of which time, if his " school policy " did 
 not meet the approval of the commissioners, and scholars as well, 
 he would resign his charge. Upon these terms he commenced his 
 labors. Among the attendants were many young men and young 
 ladies his senior in years, but not in acquirements. His thorough 
 discipline, his superior ability as a teacher, his self-control and per- 
 fect reserve, together with his industry and devotion to his duties, 
 33 
 
514 HISTORY OF PETEOLEUM. 
 
 won for him a respect and admiration on the part of parents and 
 students, never before extended to a teacher in that locality. Of 
 course he was retained ; Mr. A. maintaining his reserve, and pre- 
 serving a dignity, so to speak, that challenged the respect of his 
 scholars and commanded the approbation of the commissioners and 
 patrons of the school. He continued his charge of this school for 
 five months, and when he left, he bore away with him the confidence 
 and good will of scholars, commissioners and the community gen- 
 erally. Had he consented to remain, as he was urged to do, his 
 salary would have been $50 instead of $40 per month. 
 
 Soon after the close of his school in the spring of 1859, Mr. AN- 
 DREWS, full of the spirit of adventure, and a commendable determi- 
 nation to hew his own way to fortune, resolved to join the throngs 
 just then gathering upon our western borders, bound for the lately 
 discovered gold and silver mining regions of Colorado and Pike's 
 Peak. Securing the co-operation of three or four friends and ac- 
 quaintances of like ambition, they promptly began the preparation 
 of an outfit. They purchased four yoke of cattle, a heavy emigrant 
 wagon, which they loaded down with provisions, clothing, etc., for 
 a lengthened expedition, and in a few days were upon their weari- 
 some journey across the plains to the new Eldorado, where it was 
 said gold in abundant quantities could be had for the picking up, 
 and where untold wealth in other precious metals awaited the per- 
 sistent and industrious pioneer. 
 
 As the little band of adventurers travelled " westward ho ! " their 
 company rapidly increased, and long before one-third their journey 
 had been accomplished, they numbered over one hundred persons, 
 all destined for Pike's Peak and the golden mountains of that far 
 off country. Day after day they met large and small parties, who 
 had turned back, discouraged and heart-sick of gold hunting. They 
 told fearful tales of suffering and disappointment, which sadly de- 
 moralized the ranks of Mr. ANDREWS' party, and as a consequence, 
 two, three, five and ten of their number from time to time " gave 
 out," and joined those who were " homeward bound." The result 
 
FRANK W. ANDREWS. 515 
 
 was disastrous. The " faint-hearted " increased with alarming ra- 
 pidity, and there were only thirty left of the first one hundred re- 
 cruited ! At last a majority of these " struck, and would go no fur- 
 ther ! " There was one, however, who had resolved to " stick." 
 Mr. ANDREWS had set out for Pike's Peak, and if life and health 
 were spared him, he " would go through if he went alone ! " Turn- 
 ing back with the rest, for he could not release his teams or their 
 load, he travelled a portion of one day toward home, when he en- 
 countered another party, bound for Pike's Peak, and he gladly 
 joined in this new expedition, and turned his face once more toward 
 the west. 
 
 We shall not follow this band of resolute men in their toilsome 
 journey across the plains to the point of destination. Suffice it to 
 say, they were a little more than three months in accomplishing 
 their journey, encountering all the vicissitudes, trials, accidents and 
 incidents of an emigrating party upon the great plains lying west 
 of the Missouri River, and east of the Rocky Mountains. Their 
 numbers, as in the first instance, were largely augmented, until 
 their rolls showed 125 persons. Daily as they toiled and travelled 
 on toward the setting sun, they passed returning parties who had 
 " seen enough and knew enough of Pike's Peak to satisfy them !" 
 and had turned their faces homeward. They had become disheart- 
 ened, and had resolved to return to civilization. All told the 
 same tale of disappointment, disaster, and misfortune. This did 
 not, however, appal the brave men who made up this second expe- 
 dition with which MR. ANDREWS had cast his lot. They deter- 
 mined to see the end of their journey. 
 
 In June following, this company entered the city of Denver, 
 Colorado, one hundred and twenty-five to one hundred and thirty 
 strong. A few days spent here in replenishing their reduced out- 
 fit, and in recuperating their wasted strength, and they were again 
 on the road over the mountains to the gold diggings of Pike's 
 Peak. Reaching finally their destination, prospecting began in 
 earnest, and for the purposes of brevity in this mining venture, we 
 
516 HISTORY OF PETROLEUM. 
 
 may add, that startling success did not follow in the track of any 
 one or more of Mr. ANDREWS' party. Many who had come to 
 regard the expedition as a failure, joined in the numerous parties 
 making up and returning to the States, while others abandoned the 
 mines and betook themselves to employment in the mining towns 
 of the region. The result of all this " thinning of the ranks " was 
 just TWO of the original or subsequently recruited mining party, 
 and MR. ANDREWS was ONE of these two, and Capt. BARNES, a 
 hardy old California miner, was the other. Mr. ANDREWS deter- 
 mined to remain. He had suffered too much of privation and 
 hardship to surrender upon so slight an experience in " gold hunt- 
 ing." He had come too many hundred miles, and had sacrificed 
 too many of the comforts of life to entertain the idea of abandoning 
 all upon so slender a pretext. "With his sole remaining companion, 
 he took up his line of march to the rich placers of Clear Creek 
 operating at the " Spanish diggins' ;" and here their prospecting 
 and mining operations were really begun. The first day's return 
 to MR. ANDREWS was " washings " of the pure metal 'amounting 
 to $16 1 Claims were "staked out" at various points, and labor 
 expended on each sufficient to make good their rights as discoverers. 
 Early in August, however, Mr. ANDREWS was stricken down with 
 fever, and for a long time his life was despaired of. 
 
 During his illness he sold a few of his claims, receiving in 
 exchange some personal property and a small amount of money. 
 He owned other and more valuable mining interests, which he 
 retained, having determined to develop them the following season. 
 
 He recovered his health and strength slowly, and after a con- 
 finement of nearly two months, fearing the rigors of a winter in 
 the mountains snow to the depth of eighteen to twenty inches 
 having already fallen and this in October he determined to 
 close up his affairs and return to the East. He began his journey 
 eastward soon after, and reaching the Platte Kiver at Denver, he 
 constructed a skiff or small boat, intending to follow its course to 
 its junction with the Missouri, six hundred miles away. For some 
 
'FKANK w. ANDREWS. 517 
 
 days he made satisfactory progress, but the farther he went, the 
 more shallow and unnavigable the water, became, and long before 
 he had made one-half his journey, he was compelled to take to the 
 dry land ! Briefly, he reached the mouth of the Platte River, late 
 in the fall of 1859, and soon after bent his steps toward St. Joe, 
 Missouri, where he arrived in the month of November. % Remain- 
 ing here a few days, he sought and obtained employment as a 
 teacher, and entered upon his trust, determined with the means 
 thus realized, to return to his mining interests at South Pass as 
 soon as spring opened. 
 
 The winter passed, and the $150 the amount received for his 
 three months' services in teaching in hand, he began to gather up 
 his outfit for a second expedition. Before its consummation, how- 
 ever, ill health compelled him to change his determinations, and 
 he returned to Ohio. This was in the early spring of 1860. He 
 reached home in due time, and turned his attention to the supervi- 
 sion and conduct of his father's business. In January, 1862, he 
 married Batpih L., eldest daughter of Anson Reed, Esq., of New- 
 bury, Ohio, a very estimable lady. 
 
 Late in the fall of 1863, he resolved to visit the Oil Region of 
 "Western Pennsylvania, and during the winter of 1863-4, we find 
 him engaged in the lucrative business of " hauling oil," from Tarr 
 Farm, to Oil City and Franklin, and oftentimes to Titusville, em- 
 ploying several teams for this purpose, and when " the Creek " ad- 
 mitted, " boating " the same commodity to the two former points. 
 This " means of livelihood " he followed into the fall months of 
 1864, when he determined, having accumulated, as he believed, 
 means sufficient for the undertaking, to try his fortunes in operat- 
 ing. He secured leases on Cherry Tree Run, then undeveloped 
 territory, and put down four dry holes ! As a commencement, 
 this result was far from flattering to his zeal and industry. But 
 he did not weaken in his faith, or slacken in his resolve to succeed. 
 
 In the spring of 1865, he put down a single well on the McClin- 
 tock farm, and later in the same year, drilled three on Pit Hole 
 Creek, all which were like his first four, dry ! 
 
518 HISTOKY OF PETROLEUM. 
 
 The Pit Hole excitement was about looming up, and thither Mr. 
 ANDREWS went, full of resolution, quickened and intensified by 
 his previous failures. On the day of his arrival there he secured five 
 half-acre leases, agreeing to pay a bonus of $4,000 for each, " and 
 one-half the oil." He paid $250 down upon each of the five leases 
 $1,250 and bound himself to pay the balance of the sum due 
 $18,750 in 60 days thereafter! After completing these con- 
 tracts, his "cash account" was about balanced! He, however, 
 contracted for drilling the first well, Mr. W. W. Thompson, of Ti- 
 tusville, since so famous as a successful oil operator, being the con- 
 tractor. Mr. Thompson purchased a small interest, to apply on the 
 drilling account, and immediately commenced the work of sinking 
 the well. Of the remaining interests in the first venture, Mr. AN- 
 DREWS disposed of sufficient to pay the cost of putting it down, re- 
 taining the balance. He continued to sell interests in the remain- 
 ing four leases at excellent prices, and in six weeks from the date 
 of his contract, sales had been made sufficient to pay off all his in- 
 debtedness and leave him a handsome margin ! To this good for- 
 tune, was added the new well Mr. Thompson had meanwhile com- 
 pleted, and it was flowing 400 barrels per day ! 
 
 During the same summer, with other parties he purchased a re- 
 serve of 3 \ acres of the Hooker farm, in the Pit Hole basin, paying 
 $75,000 for it. This property was prolific of good wells, and 
 among them was the famous " Fisher well," which flowed from 
 the start, one thousand barrels per day. 
 
 Soon after securing the four half acre leases, above-mentioned, 
 Mr. Andrews purchased one acre of the Ball farm, one of the large 
 producing tracts of Pit Hole, and for this " bit of land " he paid 
 $5,000, $1,000 down and the balance in monthly payments of 
 $1,000 each ! Before the second payment became due, or within 
 thirty days after the purchase, he sold the fee of this single acre of 
 land to Hopewell, Parker & McLaughlin, for $6,000, reserving 
 one-eighth of the oil ! 
 
 Pit Hole continued its wonderful developments, and as a sequence, 
 
FRANK W. ANDREWS. 519 
 
 the value of leases, lands and farms, went to fabulous prices. The 
 "Hyner farm" may be taken as a fair record of all the surround- 
 ing territory. Mr. ANDREWS met the owner, Mr, Hyner, one 
 evening, while the excitement was at simple " fever heat." 
 "What will you take for your farm?" asked Mr. Andrews. 
 Mr. Hyner hesitated a moment, and replied : " Fifty thousand 
 dollars cash \" " I will take it," said Mr. ANDREWS, " and here 
 are $500 to make the contract binding!" "Never mind that," 
 said Mr. Hyner, " you come down in the morning, and make the 
 papers !" The morning came, and Mr. ANDREWS was promptly on 
 hand but Mr. Hyner didn't seem to be as eager as the night before 
 he talked less, and appeared to be in deep study ! The papers 
 were being prepared, and as they approached completion, Mr. 
 Hyner wandered a little way off, and beckoned to Mr. ANDREWS. 
 " I told you fifty thousand dollars cash would buy my farm, didn't 
 I ?" said Mr. H. " Yes," replied Mr. ANDREWS, " and the papers 
 are nearly ready." " Well," said Mr. Hyner, " I meant fifty thou- 
 sand dollars in gold!" This was a stunner to the enterprising 
 purchaser. Gold was then selling at $2.15, and the new proviso 
 made a difference Mr. ANDREWS had not calculated upon ! Another 
 negotiation was entered upon, based upon $100,000 in green-backs, 
 and a ten days' refusal of the farm at these figures $500 forfeit ! 
 Later, Mr. Hyner, claiming he could not make a perfect title, 
 " bought " out of this contract, by refunding the $500 paid for the 
 refusal for ten days, and gave Mr. ANDREWS a lease upon any part 
 of the farm he might select, within sixty days thereafter. This 
 farm was afterwards divided into halves or thirds, and sold, Mr. 
 Hyner realizing $175,000 to $200,000 from the sales. 
 
 Mr. ANDREWS' Pit Hole ventures continued to grow more and 
 more remunerative, and he steadily enlarged his operations. At 
 one time he could have disposed of all his interests there, at a clear 
 profit of $250,000 ! He added new engines and boilers, erected 
 new derricks and engine-houses, and rapidly increased his leases 
 and liabilities. Some months later, when " the bottom went out of 
 
520 HISTORY OF PETROLEUM. 
 
 the Pit Hole basin," Mr. A. was left like scores of others in that 
 once attractive locality, with considerable Pit Hole City property, 
 numberless oil well rigs, boilers and engines, tools, tubing, casing, 
 &c., upon his hands, with a scant stock of oil, and less money ! 
 His embarrassments might have disheartened and crushed out a less 
 determined man. Indeed large numbers theretofore successful ope- 
 rators at Pit Hole and elsewhere, did actually "give up the ship," 
 and returned to their homes " in the States," with cash and bank 
 accounts either badly shattered, or showing balances upon the 
 wrong side. Mr. ANDREWS, however, saw in his disaster only 
 greater inducements for effort. He returned to "the creek" and 
 secured territory on Pioneer Run this and the Benninghoff farm ter- 
 ritory, just then being developed successfully. He again secured 
 the services of his friend, Mr. W. W. Thompson, to drill his first 
 well, Mr. T., as before, assuming a small interest to apply on his 
 contract. 
 
 The well was first put down upon a lease adjoining the " Union," 
 and proved to be a 300 barrel flowing and pumping well. The 
 opening at Pioneer Run was so flattering and remunerative that he 
 prosecuted his operations there, with redoubled vigor, through 
 18667 and 7 68, and with large success, and here, we may add, he 
 laid the foundations for that ample fortune he has since amassed 
 and now enjoys. 
 
 In the fall of 1867, he purchased five-eighths of the land interest 
 of the Tallman farm at Shamburg, paying for the property a little 
 over $40,000 cash. This farm at the date of purchase, was rated 
 "Wild Cat Territory" and the first and second, and even the 
 third well drilled upon it came near establishing its character as 
 " dry diggins." The fourth, however, atoned for the first three, 
 for from the start it flowed and pumped over 300 barrels a day. 
 This farm was thoroughly developed through the summer of 1868, 
 and into the early months of 1869, and proved to be among the 
 best oil tracts of the region, netting to the fortunate owners more 
 than $ 500,000 ! and it is yet a source of revenue. At one time 
 
FRANK W. ANDREWS. 521 
 
 during the summer of 1868, there were four wells upon this farm, 
 the product of which was 1,200 barrels per day. Oil at this time, 
 and throughout the year, brought readily $3.50 to $4.50 per bar- 
 rel, making the average daily income to the owners of the Tallman 
 farm, from these four wells alone, quite $4,000 ! Add to these some 
 thirty others upon the same farm, all producing bountifully, and 
 some idea may be formed of the great volume of greenbacks daily 
 dropping into the cash boxes of the owners. 
 
 During the summer of 1868, Mr. ANDREWS purchased the inte- 
 rest held by Wm. A. Byers, in the Tallman farm and property ad- 
 joining, paying him $55,000 cash, which proved a good investment. 
 Early in the spring of 1869, he returned to Cherry Tree 
 Run, " in search of satisfaction," as we infer, for his first failures 
 in that locality. He contracted for drilling FIVE wells upon his 
 own account, and in connection with other parties, put down THIRTY 
 others. All these were remunerative investments, though not 
 largely so. It is, however, safe to say, his "dry holes" of 1865, 
 were paid for, and much more ! During the same summer he 
 drilled THREE wells on Shaffer Run, in the neighborhood of Char- 
 ley Run, which were productive and paying wells. He also inter- 
 ested himself in the sinking of FIVE wells on the Allegany River, 
 above Oil City, in the same year. These were small but paying wells. 
 In August, 1868, in connection with other parties, he leased forty 
 acres of the McClintock Oil Company's land, near McClintockville, 
 and twenty-five acres of the Robert Shaw farm, half a mile north 
 of McClintockville, on the summit, overlooking Oil Creek. He 
 leased, about the same time, seventy-five acres of the Corn Planter 
 Oil Company's lands, adjoining the Shaw farm, with a portion of 
 the Davis & Hukill tract, and soon after purchased twenty-six 
 acres of the Robert Shaw farm, paying therefor only* $300 per acre! 
 Obtaining control of all this adjoining territory rapidly, he deter- 
 mined to develop it with his accustomed vigor. And here let us 
 state one fact in regard to Mr. ANDREWS' mode of operating his 
 territory. Having acquired possession, by lease or purchase, of any 
 
522 HISTORY OF PETROLEUM. 
 
 tract of oil territory, he promptly sets about developing and testing 
 it. If a well is to be put down, he begins operations without 
 unnecessary delay, and is the first to know the result. If the 
 estimated cost of an engine and boiler, tools, tubing, casing, and 
 the expense of drilling, amount to $5,000, he is only solicitous to 
 see the " bottom dollar " and the bottom of the well at one and the 
 same time. This we believe to be one important element of his 
 success as an oil producer. 
 
 Immediately upon acquiring title to these four tracts three 
 by lease and one by purchase he promptly contracted for drill- 
 ing EIGHT wells, so located as to practically test the entire pro- 
 perty. THREE of the EIGHT proved to be dry holes; but the 
 remaining FIVE were abundantly productive. All this territory, 
 embracing in the aggregate one hundred and forty acres, was 
 rapidly developed, much of it producing largely and adding boun- 
 tifully to the wealth of the enterprising owner. In the fall of 1871, 
 he sold this property, real and personal, at $60,000, and this, after 
 realizing from its product, in profits, more than $100,000 ! 
 
 "We have thus briefly sketched Mr. ANDREWS' career as a pro- 
 ducer of Petroleum and even this interesting record is incomplete, 
 and shows but a small portion of his operations during the last five 
 years, for he has purchased numberless interests in leases, and 
 wells, and tracts of land, owned and developed by others. In 
 some instances, these purchases were made for the sole purpose of 
 assisting his less fortunate friends, but mainly as business ventures. 
 The large majority of these latter investments brought him addi- 
 tional wealth, and have placed him in the front rank of producers 
 of " the Creek," and region. During the five years covered by 
 this portion of his history, there were months and months, that his 
 DAILY income reached the sum of $4,000 from his oil properties 
 alone ! But under this " grean-back shower," swelling into a flood 
 that would have submerged and utterly destroyed some men, he 
 remained the same careful, economical, judicious man of business, 
 devoting to his affairs, his energies and constant attention. 
 
FRANK W. ANDREWS. 523 
 
 He is still the possessor of valuable oil lands, and leases, and 
 interests, in quite 200 wells, located at Brady's Bend, St. Peters- 
 burg, Petrolia, East Sandy, Bredensburg, the Milton, Huff and 
 Henley Farms near Oil City, Fee Farms, Shaffer Run, Shamburg, 
 Eed Hot, Church Eun and Colorado. He is the owner, in fee, 
 of more than 5,000 acres of undeveloped oil territory, lying in 
 various sections of the oil region, from Brady's Bend to Tidioute, 
 on the Allegany River, and " on the Creek," from Cherry Tree 
 Run to Titusville. These will add still further to his worldly 
 wealth when developed ; but we venture the prediction, that no 
 amount of prosperity will change the general characteristics of the 
 man as we have indicated them in this imperfect sketch of his his- 
 tory. 
 
 One fact in regard to the SYSTEM which Mr. ANDREWS has 
 adopted in the conduct of his large oil business, deserves mention 
 here. His oil interests, developed and developing, are scattered 
 widely over the oil fields of the region. It would be an im- 
 possibility to visit them all, even once a month. He has therefore 
 adopted a system of " checks and balances," that meet exactly the 
 emergency. Every well is provided with blanks, which the person 
 in charge is required to fill up once a day, giving the product of 
 the twelve hours of his control. This record shows the product 
 of the well at any date required. If delays have occurred, the 
 cause is set forth. If expenses have been incurred, the amount is 
 given, and the reasons are assigned fully. If the product has fallen 
 off, it is either from neglect of duty or from natural causes, which 
 is readily shown from these daily check reports. In this simple 
 mode and manner, Mr. ANDREWS has from week to week, and 
 oftener, if desired, the product of each and all his wells, and main- 
 tains as perfect control, and has as complete knowledge of his inte- 
 rests as he could have by daily or weekly visits. 
 
 Before closing this brief resume of Mr. ANDREWS' business 
 career, we should add that he has large and increasing manufactur- 
 ing interests at Titusville, at Corry, Pa., and at Nunda, New York, 
 
524 HISTORY OF PETROLEUM. 
 
 requiring a heavy capital to conduct. He is Vice-President of 
 " The Gibbs and Sterrit Manufacturing Co.," one of the largest iron 
 manufactories in North Western Pennsylvania. He is also a stock- 
 holder in four of the principal banks of the oil region, in three of 
 which he is a director. 
 
 Mr. ANDREWS, is eminently a man of business, of acknow- 
 ledged honor and unsullied integrity. He possesses a rare 
 faculty of comprehending the intricate problems surrounding 
 or entering into any matter challenging his attention. To this 
 universally conceded acquirement must be added a more than com- 
 mendable reticence as to his business affairs and ventures. SELF- 
 MADE, he has become thoroughly wedded to a SELF-RELIANCE 
 worthy of imitation. Quiet and unassuming in manner and habit, 
 he is yet regarded by all who know him as a man of solid worth 
 and real purity of character. Upright and honorable in all his 
 business affairs, no " bonds " or " seals " can add to the binding 
 force of his word, once given. Amiability, of the manly sort, is a 
 prominent element of his character. Indeed, he seems always to 
 be of an even temper, rarely ruffled or ill-humored. 
 
 Financial operations, involving thousands of dollars, are grap- 
 pled with the same apparent ease and almost indifference, that ac- 
 company the simplest transactions. He, however, never loses 
 sight of details, and his active mind is sure to work out successful 
 results. 
 
 In his intercourse with the world, he is reserved and retiring, 
 and yet he is cordial, and cheerfully so, with those who know him 
 best. In his friendships he is warm and steadfastly attached. 
 Possessing the finer sensibilities of a mature manhood, he culti- 
 vates all the social virtues and excellencies that render HOME 
 attractive and inviting. A liberal giver to every worthy charity, 
 and to the needy poor about him, he gives for the sake of giving, 
 and without ostentation or a desire for publicity. Rigidly " tem- 
 perate in all things," he is, besides, as blameless in his private life 
 as he is unspotted and unblemished in his public career. 
 
FEANK W. ANDKEWS. 525 
 
 For a year past he has been in impaired health, partly induced, 
 we doubt not, by the death of his wife, a most amiable and refined 
 lady, a devoted companion, and a kindly, tender Christian mother. 
 The poignant grief over such a bereavement, no man may appre- 
 ciate or fully comprehend until the bitter cup has passed his own 
 lips. Latterly, however, release from the cares of business, together 
 with travel in a southern clime, have combined to reinvigorate and 
 build up anew, a constitution heretofore preserved by an entire 
 freedom from excesses of every character. 
 
 Mr. ANDREWS is now in middle life, full of vigor, full of en- 
 terprise, and in possession of ample ability, financial, as well as 
 mental and physical, to accomplish desired results in the future, 
 and we hesitate not to prophesy for him a career of great useful- 
 ness, and an individual prosperity sure to keep even pace with the 
 careful, the determined, the economical, and the industrious. 
 
526 HISTORY OF PETROLEUM. 
 
 HENRY HARLEY. 
 
 NEW YORK CITY. 
 
 THE subject of this sketch, one of the marked, and we may add, 
 remarkable men of the oil region, was born of most excellent 
 family, in Canton, Stark County, Ohio, on the 28th day of April, 
 1839. He is the eldest of a family of four three sons and one 
 daughter. 
 
 O 
 
 Young HARLEY had the advantages of an excellent common 
 school education, and at the age of 16, entered the Rensselaer Poly- 
 technic Institute, at Troy, N. Y., whence he graduated in 1858, 
 with all the honors of the institution, as a civil engineer. He was 
 soon after appointed to the position of Assistant Engineer, upon the 
 Troy and Boston Railroad, and Hoosac Tunnel, of which Gen. 
 Herman Haupt, formerly Chief Engineer of the Pennsylvania 
 Central Railroad, was Chief Engineer. The responsibilities of this 
 charge were assumed with so much confidence, and discharged 
 with such rare ability, that a few months later, Mr. HARLEY re- 
 ceived the appointment of Principal Assistant Engineer of the 
 entire work, and was placed in the immediate control of the great 
 work of the Hoosac Tunnel. This important and responsible posi- 
 tion he continued to hold, discharging its duties with fidelity 
 and ability, until the breaking out of the war in 1861, when the 
 State of Massachusetts withdrew her aid from the road, and the 
 work was suspended. 
 
 In 1862, Mr. HARLEY married, and soon after removed to Pitts- 
 burgh, where he became interested in the petroleum trade, in which 
 he was very successful. He was the active partner of the firm of 
 RICHARDSON, HARLEY & Co., at that day, one of the largest 
 petroleum commission houses in western Pennsylvania. In 1863, 
 
\Voodbnry lype. A. P. R.P. Co., Phi 
 
 HENRY BARLEY 
 
HENKY* HAELEY. 527 
 
 branch houses of this firm were established in New York and 
 Philadelphia, and Mr. H. removed to the latter city, assuming the 
 management of their large and increasing business at that commer- 
 cial centre. 
 
 The- excitements, and necessarily the speculative spirit engen- 
 dered by and through them, which marked the history of petroleum 
 developments in 1863-4, found Mr. HARLEY a willing participant 
 in their attractions and prospective profits. He associated himself 
 with Hon. Augustus Schell, James McLean, the late Benjamin 
 Nathans, so mysteriously murdered in his own house some years 
 later, John Bloodgood, Esq., and other prominent New York gen- 
 tlemen 'and capitalists, purchasing large tracts of land in West 
 Virginia, for oil development. This new enterprise required so 
 much of his time and attention, that he was forced to relinquish 
 his connection with the firm of RICHARDSON, HAKLEY & Co., 
 which he reluctantly did in the fall of 1864. 
 
 The results of his West Virginia enterprise did not meet his 
 expectations, and in the latter part of 1865, we find him engaged 
 in a comparatively new enterprise on Oil Creek, in Venango 
 County, Penn., laying pipe-lines for the more rapid and less ex- 
 pensive transit of petroleum from the wells to railway facilities. 
 
 The first pipe-line, in the interest of the public, was laid from 
 the old "Noble Well" on the Farrel farm, below Shaffer farm, to 
 the then termini of the Oil Creek Railroad, at Shaffer. In this ' 
 enterprise the Oil Creek and Allegany River Railroad was largely 
 interested. It was known as " The Western Transportation Com- 
 pany" and was organized under a charter obtained from the Legis- 
 lature of the State of Pennsylvania. Its projectors, however, 
 "reckoned without their host." The pipe itself was 5J inches in 
 diameter, and when completed, was about two miles and a quarter 
 in length. It was laid upon a regular grade, and in the ordinary 
 mode of laying water-pipe. Connected by lead points, it could not 
 be made to hold its contents. It leaked at every joint, almost. 
 Suffice it to say, this first attempt at piping oil was a disastrous 
 failure, and it was abandoned. 
 
528 HISTORY OF PETROLEUM. 
 
 The Pipe Line from Pit Hole to Miller Farm, was constructed 
 in the fall of 1865. Mr. Van Syckle, of Titusville, was its pro- 
 jector and builder. Its construction required a large amount of 
 money, involving Mr. Van Syckle in debt and embarrassments. 
 The First National Bank of Titusville, then in the height of its 
 power and prosperity, came to the relief of the enterprising gentle- 
 man, identified with the construction of this new mode of trans- 
 porting oil to the railways, advancing to him as his needs required, 
 more than $30,000. The line was finally completed, and after a 
 few months of trial and disappointment, Mr. Van Syckle was 
 forced to give it up as a losing venture. The enterprise, with its 
 property, machinery &c., subsequently fell into the hands of the 
 First National Bank, its largest creditor. This was in the fall of 
 1866. Shortly after, Jonathan Watson, Esq., a creditor of the 
 Bank, came into possession of it, and subsequently disposed of 
 portions of his interest to W. H. Abbott, Esq., and Mr. HARLEY. 
 At this time and since its completion we believe J. T. Briggs 
 and Geo. S. Stewart, of Titusville, had been running the line in 
 the interest of the Bank. 
 
 Messrs. ABBOTT & HARLEY, who at this date owned one-half 
 the Pit Hole and Miller Farm Line, and Mr. HARLEY, who 
 owned all of the Benninghoff Run Line, believed the Pit Hole 
 Pipe Line 'could be made to pay, in connection with the Benning- 
 hoff Run Line, already in successful operation, (of which we shall 
 speak hereafter,) resolved to purchase Mr. Watson's interest, and 
 consolidate the two lines, which was done, and thenceforward, for 
 sixty or ninety days, the business was conducted under the firm, 
 name of ABBOTT & HARLEY. 
 
 And here we digress, in order to bring up the history of Mr. 
 HARLEY'S Pipe Line, constructing and completed about this date, 
 from Benninghoff Run, to Shaffer Farm. 
 
 In the fall of 1865, Mr. HARLEY, began the construction of a 
 Pipe Line from Benninghoff Run, to Shaffer farm, at that date, 
 the termini of the Oil Creek and Allegany River Railroad. In 
 
HENRY HARLEY. 529 
 
 this undertaking, his skill and experience as a civil engineer, were 
 of great value to him. The line was constructed amid all sorts of 
 threatening demonstrations, from a combination of oil teamsters, and 
 lawless men, bent upon destroying whatever seemed inimical to 
 their interests, or that ceased to minister to their wants. The 
 threatenings of these men found open utterance at all points, and 
 these were either privately or publicly endorsed and approved by 
 those who assumed to have, or really cultivated an interest in the 
 well-being of the men whose cause they espoused. Mr. HARLEY, 
 however, with the same vigor and determination, which has cha- 
 racterized him through life, " pushed things," and in the spring of 
 1866, his enterprise was an acknowledged success, and his efforts 
 universally commended. 
 
 While this Pipe Line was in process of construction, the team- 
 sters of Shaffer farm and vicinity, then forming a large fraction of 
 the population of " the Creek " between the Lower McElhenny 
 farm, and Titusville, came to regard Mr. HARLEY'S Pipe Line, 
 and indeed all Pipe lines, as legalized robbery, and as infringements 
 upon their rights as common carriers as a fatal blow at their 
 means of livelihood or as many of these exasperated, ignorant 
 men expressed it " an effort to take the bread from the mouths 
 of their children/' Of course these lawless combinations had 
 plenty of sympathizers, aiders and abettors, who saw, in the de- 
 struction of the business which had drawn so many thither, to 
 engage in " hauling oil," a loss of their own sources of revenue, 
 and hence it is, or was, that Mr. HARLEY had few friends who 
 dared to avow themselves such, and so he may be said to have been 
 compelled to "go it alone." Threats of vengeance, torrents of 
 abuse, and a wild clamor for what these men termed their 
 "rights," greeted him upon every hand. His movements were 
 watched with daily increasing frenzy, on the part of the large 
 body of teamsters, all about him. There were street brawls and 
 bar-room rows, growing out of these Pipe Line affairs, which 
 finally culminated in an attempt to impede their construction by 
 34 
 
530 HISTORY OF PETROLEUM. 
 
 acts of violence, and a resort to mob-law. These infuriated, but 
 misguided men, set fire to the wooden tanks belonging to Mr. 
 HARLEY, many of which were filled with oil. They sought to 
 destroy the Pipe Line, by breaking the joints, and by every con- 
 ceivable device, determined to thwart the designs of the enterpris- 
 ing and plucky projector. They sent him letters threatening his 
 certain assassination, if he did not abandon his scheme for im- 
 poverishing them by ruining their business ! Several assaults were 
 made upon the men employed in constructing the line, in which 
 pistols, clubs and stones were freely used, but we believe no lives 
 were sacrificed. 
 
 While these lawless demonstrations were transpiring, Mr. HAR- 
 LEY was not idle. He secured several detectives from New York 
 and elsewhere, made teamsters of them, and they in turn made con- 
 fidants of their fellows. In less than a week after the adoption of 
 this scheme for the capture of the leaders, Mr. HARLEY had more 
 than twenty of their number under arrest, and conveyed to the 
 county jail at Franklin ! This strategetic movement demoralized 
 the remainder of the gang, and in ten days after, more than three 
 hundred teams and teamsters had shaken "the dust from their 
 sandals," and gone hence to return no more. The twenty or more 
 leaders arrested and committed to the county prison at Franklin, 
 were kept there for two or three months, when, no one appearing 
 against them, they were discharged, wiser, and we doubt not, better 
 men! 
 
 Mr. HARLEY completed his line from Benninghoff run to Shaifer 
 farm, and it was a positive success. It had cost him months of 
 toil and a large amount of money, but all this was of little account 
 when compared to the fearful trials and almost insurmountable 
 embarrassments and determined opposition he had encountered 
 from the people we have mentioned. Going to and from his works 
 with his life in his hands, a price put upon his head, assassination 
 threatened, overt acts committed, and the general voice, openly or 
 secretly against his enterprise, one can, in a measure, at least, com- 
 
HENRY HARLEY. 531 
 
 X 
 
 prehend his unenviable surroundings. He, however, found himself 
 ample for the emergency. Turning neither to the right nor to the 
 left to appease the wrath of those who sought his life or threatened 
 the destruction of his property, he completed his enterprise, and 
 met his reward in its unqualified success. 
 
 " The Western Transportation Company" held the only charter 
 granted by the Legislature of the State of Pennsylvania, at that 
 period, for piping or transporting oil from the wells to railway 
 stations. This was the charter used for constructing the 5J inch 
 pipe-line, from the Noble Well to Shaffer farm, before referred to. 
 As opportunity presented itself, Messrs. Abbott & Harley pur- 
 chased the stock of this company, and in the course of the summer 
 and fall of 1867, found themselves in possession of sufficient of its 
 script to control it all, and their lines were subsequently organized 
 under the old " Western Transportation Company's" charter, and 
 took the name of " The Allegany Transportation Company" The 
 following gentlemen were elected the first Board of Directors, held 
 January 25, 1869: 
 
 Henry Harley, W. H. Abbott, Joshua Douglass, J. P. Harley, 
 and Jay Gould. At a subsequent meeting of the Board, Mr. HAR- 
 LEY was elected President; Mr. Abbott, Secretary; T. W. 
 Larsen, Treasurer, and William Warmcastle, General Super- 
 intendent. Mr. Warmcastle has been associated with Messrs. Har- 
 ley & Abbott, in one capacity and another, ever since these 
 gentlemen commenced their pipe-line enterprises, and laid, or 
 superintended the construction of the first two miles of the Benning- 
 hoff Run line. Upon the consolidation of Mr. Abbott's and Mr. 
 Harley's interest, and the organization of " The Allegany Trans- 
 portation Company" in 1867, Mr. Warmcastle was appointed 
 General Superintendent, and has continued to hold the position 
 with that uninterrupted relationship of confidence and rare ability 
 always characterizing a faithful discharge of responsible duties. 
 
 In 1868, " The Allegany Transportation Company" having 
 grown into almost colossal importance, and hence under- 
 
532 HISTORY OF PETROLEUM. 
 
 stood to be " a power " in the oil regions, the attention of the vari- 
 ous railway lines to the sea board were attracted to it, and the Pre- 
 sident of the. Erie Railway Company, Jay Gould, Esq., succeeded, 
 in advance of all negotiators, in obtaining control, by purchase, of 
 the valuable interest. Simultaneously with this purchase, which 
 comprised little more than one half the stock, Mr. HARLEY was 
 appointed to the Superintendency of the oil traffic of the Atlantic 
 and Great Western, and Erie railways, with the title of " General 
 Oil Agent." This responsible position he continued to fill, system- 
 atizing its cumbersome and unwieldy proportions, and reducing 
 them to practical business comprehension, as susceptible of control 
 as the simplest problem in mathematics through the administra- 
 tion of Jay Gould, and he was re-appointed to the same position, 
 upon the accession of the new management, of which Gen. John 
 A. Dix, present Governor of New York, was made President. In 
 May, 1872, he tendered his resignation, his private affairs requir- 
 ing his attention and presence in Europe. Soon after the acceptance 
 of his resignation, Mr. HARLEY visited Europe, spending some 
 months abroad, business affairs in the main engrossing his time and 
 attention. 
 
 Early in the spring of 1871, the Oil Creek and Allegany River 
 Railway, impressed with the belief, doubtless, that " The AUe- 
 gany Transportation Company" had organized itself so fully and 
 completely in the interests of the Erie Railway Company, as to 
 compel it to stand in a position of armed neutrality, if not open 
 hostility to the interests of the former road, threatening seriously 
 their freighting facilities, resolved upon a new pipe line, to meet 
 the emergency. A company was organized, under the title of 
 " THE COMMONWEALTH OIL AND PIPE COMPANY," in the in- 
 terest of the Oil Creek Railroad, and its construction promptly 
 entered upon. 
 
 In August of the same year, Mr. HARLEY opened negotiations 
 with the Oil Creek road, for the purpose of effecting a combination 
 of interests, and shortly after terms were agreed upon, resulting in 
 
HENRY HARLEY. 533 
 
 the organization of "THE PENNSYLVANIA TRANSPORTATION 
 COMPANY," with a capital of $1,700,000, owning and operating 
 nearly 500 miles of Pipe Line, running hither and thither upon 
 the surface of the earth " over mountain and gorge, over rock and 
 plain/' here, there, and everywhere, in the almost double triangle, 
 made up of Tidioute, Triumph, Irvineton, Oil City, Shamburg, 
 Pleasantville and Titus ville, with the apex at Miller Farm. 
 
 The new organization at its first meeting elected the following 
 Board of Directors : Henry Harley, W. H. Abbott, Jay Gould, 
 A. R. Williams, J. Douglass, C. B. Wright, U. S. Lane, Geo. K. 
 Anderson and W, H. Kemble. Subsequently Mr. HARLEY was 
 elected President, Mr. Abbott, Treasurer, T. W. Larsen, Secretary, 
 and Mr. Warmcastle, General Superintendent. 
 
 Mr. Thos. W. Larsen, the first Treasurer of The Allegany Trans- 
 portation Company, and latterly, Secretary of The Pennsylvania 
 Transportation Company, deserves mention in this connection. The 
 position now held by Mr. Larsen, like that of Treasurer of the 
 Allegany Transportation Company, is one of great responsibility, 
 requiring ability of a high order, and integrity of an unquestioned 
 character. Mr. Larsen's connection with this important enterprise 
 from its commencement to the present day, is proof positive of his 
 entire fitness for the position he occupies. 
 
 It may be stated here, without fear of contradiction that " The 
 Pennsylvania Transportation Company," under its present organi- 
 zation and control, is among the wealthiest and most substantial 
 institutions of this commonwealth. Its stock owners are compara- 
 tively few, but they are of a character to warrant unqualified con- 
 fidence in its soundness and stability. Among the most prominent 
 of these may be named Col. Thos. A. Scott, the - great railway king 
 of the continent, Jay Gould, C. B. Wright, U. S. Lane, HENRY 
 HARLEY, W. H. Abbott, Geo. K. Anderson, and Mrs. James 
 Fisk, Jr. 
 
 Since Mr. HARLEY'S return from Europe he has employed him- 
 self mainly in closing up his business connections in New York 
 
534 HISTORY OF PETROLEUM. 
 
 City, to make his home in Titusville, where he now resides, hon- 
 ored and respected by a wide circle of friends, who know and ap- 
 preciate him for his worth, integrity and capacity as a man of 
 business. 
 
 Personally Mr. HARLEY is a gentleman of rare excellencies. In 
 his friendship he is devoted and constant. He belongs to that 
 class of men who win their way to private and public esteem 
 through a sort of magnetic channel, founded really upon " good 
 will toward all." Few are blessed with this gift, but Mr. HAR- 
 LEY seems to be its possessor in an abundant and enviable degree. 
 In all his business connections he is recognized as the possessor of 
 a clear head, with an ample comprehensiveness of detail, giving as- 
 surances of success to whatever enterprise he undertakes. In private 
 life he is blameless, without high-sounding professions charitable 
 without ostentation, always ready with word and purse to relieve 
 the needy and aid the unfortunate. In all his public and private 
 relationships he is recognized as a man of worth, integrity and rare 
 business capacity. His word is his bond, and his bond is gold, or 
 its equivalent. He is now in " the flush of his manhood and the 
 years of his usefulness," blessed with a vigorous constitution, guar- 
 anteeing bodily health equal to the responsibilities which his 
 large and constantly augmenting interests rigidly impose. Let us 
 hope these may be vouchsafed to him for many years, and that his 
 career so auspiciously begun may be a "steady series of brighten- 
 ing ^out-looks," and of brighter achievements, through "a thousand 
 moons yet unfulled." 
 
Woodburytype. A. P. R.P. Co., Phila. 
 
 COL..R. B ALLEN 
 
COL. E. B. ALLEN. 535 
 
 COL. R. B. ALLEN. 
 
 PARKER'S LANDING, PA. 
 
 COL. ALLEN is a native of Delaware County, Pa., born in Upper 
 Darby Township, on the 22d day of September, 1838. He comes of 
 good old Pennsylvania stock, and is the second son of a family of 
 nine children four sons and five daughters. His father was a car- 
 penter and joiner and master builder by trade, and this calling he 
 followed successfully and industriously, rearing a large family, and 
 giving each and all his children a good common school education. 
 The subject of this sketch was kept steadily at school until he was 
 sixteen years old, acquiring a thorough knowledge of mathematics, 
 grammar, and the rudiments of a higher grade of scholarship. At 
 sixteen he went to his trade with his father, and was counted both 
 an industrious apprentice and a skillful workman. During his 
 three years of apprenticeship he attended school during the winter 
 months, storing his mind with a knowledge of the principles of 
 mechanics, mathematics, &c. He followed his trade industriously, 
 until the war broke out in 1861, then in his 22d year. In April, 
 soon after Fort Sumter had fallen into rebel hands, he volunteered 
 for three years, in a Cavalry company, organizing in the vicinity of 
 his home, and called " Mad Anthony's Boys." There were vexa- 
 tious, if not needless delays, in getting into the service, for weeks 
 and weeks after their organization, but the " boys " made good use 
 of their time and leisure. When they came to be mustered, as 
 they were, in July following, they were comparatively well drilled 
 and disciplined for the tented field. Upon their muster-in, they 
 were united to and formed a part of the 5th Regiment Pennsylva- 
 nia Volunteer Cavalry. The Regiment was promptly marched to 
 the front, and in August, 1861, became part and parcel of the 
 
636 HISTORY OF PETROLEUM. 
 
 Army of the Potomac. In 1862, the Regiment participated in the 
 Peninsula Campaign, and the advance upon Richmond. After the 
 fearful disasters of that year, it was detailed for special duty in the 
 Dismal Swamp region, then infested with marauders, Ku-klux, and 
 spies. They remained here until the early months of 1864, when 
 they were united to Gen. Kautz's Division, and ordered to march over 
 land, to City Point, charged with the duty of severing railway com- 
 munications, south of Richmond, and making a junction with 
 Grant's lines at Bermuda Hundreds. The Division accomplished 
 its mission, destroying the railways between Petersburg and Rich- 
 mond, and all other railway communication, south. Subsequently, 
 the Regiment took an active part in the great Col. Wilson raid, 
 upon the Danville and South Side Railroad. In all these ad- 
 vances, skirmishes, raids, and engagements, young ALLEN bore a 
 prominent part, in upholding, defending, and maintaining the flag 
 of his country. 
 
 His term of enlistment ended in the fall of 1864, when he was 
 honorably discharged the service, and returned to his home in 
 Delaware County, Pa. Here he again took up his trade of a car- 
 penter and builder. The swamp fevers of Virginia, and the se- 
 verity of the campaigns of 1864, had left their traces indelibly 
 upon his otherwise rugged constitution, and only a few months 
 after his return Home his health failed him, and he was obliged to 
 abandon the severe labor of his profession. He spent a year or 
 more as a book-keeper in Philadelphia, and subsequently, engaged 
 in the manufacture of patented articles, labor-saving machines, &c. 
 This enterprise did not meet his expectations, and after a few 
 months of profitless labor, he disposed of his interest, and was again 
 " upon his oars." 
 
 About this date a personal friend, suggested the acceptance of a 
 Superintendency of an Oil Company in the oil regions of Western 
 Pennsylvania. The suggestion met the hearty co-operation of Col. 
 ALLEN, and very soon after, he was appointed Superintendent of 
 "The Clarion and Allegany River Oil Company," with head- 
 
COL. E. B. ALLEN. 537 
 
 quarters at Parker's Landing, and in October, 1868, he assumed 
 the responsibilities of the trust confided to him. At the date of 
 his arrival at Parker's, not more than four or five producing wells 
 were in operation there, and two or three of these were the 
 property of The Clarion and Allegany River Oil Company, whose 
 superintendent he was. He was not long, however, in making 
 himself familiar with his duties and responsibilities, nor in appris- 
 ing the company of the exact condition of their valuable property. 
 From the outset, he won the confidence of those who had entrusted 
 him with their interests, and this relationship has been strengthened 
 and intensified by five or six years of contact, for Col. ALLEN, is 
 still the superintendent of " The Clarion and Allegany River Oil 
 Company/' a fact that speaks volumes for his efficiency, devotion 
 and trustworthiness. 
 
 In the spring of 1869, Col. A., commenced operations upon his 
 own account. His capital was not large, but his determinations 
 were equal to his requirements. His first lease consisted of half 
 an acre of land on the Fullerton Parker farm, at Parker's, at a 
 graded royalty. At the completion of this, his first well, its pro- 
 duct reached scarcely FIVE barrels- per day ! His second venture 
 was upon the Robinson farm, same locality, and this proved to be 
 a dry hole ! Upon the heels of these seriously deplored failures, 
 Col. ALLEN became thoroughly in earnest, and as rapidly as 
 possible contracted for the drilling of ten or twelve new wells in 
 the Parker oil field. Very many of these were largely productive, 
 and the profits of the plucky proprietor in the aggregate were 
 largely remunerative. 
 
 The fall, winter and spring of 1869, and '70, witnessed a very 
 marked advance of the lines of development, to the northeast and 
 southwest from the Clarion river to Bear Creek, and beyond upon 
 the same belts. Col. ALLEN, moved with the picket line, and 
 continued his operations vigorously and with profitable results. 
 
 Without going into a detailed statement of his enterprises during 
 the past three years, we may justly claim for him, prominence and 
 
538 HISTORY OF PETROLEUM. 
 
 an honorable distinction as a producer in the Parker's District. H* 
 has been interested as principal or partner in many of the new oil 
 fields, from Parker's to Bear Creek, Fairview, Petrolia, Karns City. 
 &c., and north-westerly to the Clarion River, and into the St. Peters- 
 burg District. He is steadily increasing his operations, extending 
 his developments and adding to his investments, and these are 
 sure to add to his worldly possessions, and work out for him a 
 name and fame, which he may justly, and without boast, claim as 
 his own. 
 
 Col. ALLEN, is President of "The Grant Pipe Line Company," 
 having its termini at the Parker's Railway station, of the Allegany 
 River Railroad, directly opposite Parker's Landing. The responsi- 
 ble duties of this position he discharges with consummate ability, 
 and to the entire satisfaction of stockholders and patrons. He is 
 also, a director in " The Exchange Bank of Parker's Landing." 
 
 Whatever has promised good to the interests of the producer of 
 Petroleum oil, in western Pennsylvania, has had the hearty con- 
 currence, and unqualified approval and support of Col. ALLEN. 
 When, in the early months of 1872, "The South Improvement 
 Company " sought a foothold in the oil region, and gradually un- 
 folded its fearful demands for a monopoly of the Petroleum trade, 
 not alone in its production, but in its transportation and absolute 
 control, at home and abroad, Col. ALLEN was among the first, 
 foremost and most uncompromising of its opponents and denuncia- 
 tors. By voice and purse, and unremitting effort, he accomplished 
 the work of a score of less determined men, and did it promptly, 
 cheerfully and well. 
 
 Col. ALLEN, wherever he is known, is recognized as a rigidly 
 upright and honorable man upright in all his business relations, 
 and honorable in all his personal and private transactions. A man 
 of quick perceptions, he unites in himself administrative ability 
 of a high order. Socially, he is by instinct and education, a gen- 
 tleman. Of commanding presence, and yet of modest pretence, he 
 has about him a weight of character, rarely possessed and sure to 
 
COL. R. B. ALLEN. 539 
 
 be observed and felt by all who make his acquaintance. Of warm 
 friendships and unmistakable convictions, his opinions and judg- 
 ment of men, are based upon thorough acquaintance, and are 
 never given hastily or without mature deliberation. A man of 
 generous impulses, he gives freely of his means for all worthy 
 objects. He is universally respected, and admired for his worth, 
 integrity, and for the tenacity with which he clings to his convic- 
 tions and purposes. 
 
 Col. ALLEN is a bachelor, and has surrounded himself with all 
 the luxuries of a bachelor's home. Books, paintings, and whatever 
 contributes to his enjoyment and comfort, make up the attractions 
 of his sumptuous apartments, and these he shares with his troops 
 of friends, dispensing his hospitalities with bountiful generosity. 
 In closing this incomplete sketch of the man and his past, we may 
 say, without being open to the charge of meddlesome interference, 
 that while he seems to enjoy his bachelor-hood and single blessed- 
 ness, in the fullest degree, no man of his social excellencies and rare 
 personal good qualities, has the right the Scriptural right we 
 mean to thus " hide his light under a bushel," and so we ad- 
 monish and beseech him to marry, and that too, without delay, 
 and repent, if repentance becomes necessary, at his leisure. 
 
540 HISTOBY OF PETKOLEUM, 
 
 COL. E. A. L. EGBERTS. 
 
 TITUSVILLE, PENNA. 
 
 COL. E. A. L. ROBERTS, the inventor of the Torpedo, for Oil 
 "Wells, was born in the town of Moreau, Saratoga County, New 
 York, on the 13th day of April, 1829. The early years of his 
 boyhood were without incident, save that at the age of thirteen, he 
 boldly struck out for himself. In 1846, then in his seventeenth 
 year, he enlisted as a private in Col. Pitcher's company recruiting 
 at Sandy Hill, N. Y., for the Mexican War. Though a mere lad, 
 he served his country faithfully, and was counted one of the best 
 soldiers in the company, often receiving the commendations of his 
 commanding officer. After a service of twenty-two months, at 
 the close of the Mexican War, he was honorably discharged, and 
 returned to his home in Saratoga County, and soon after entered 
 the Academy at Amenia, Dutchess County, N. Y., where he r*e- 
 mained one year. After leaving the Academy, in 1851, he entered 
 the dental office of C. H. & W. B. Roberts, at Poughkeepsie, N. 
 Y. Here his natural bent for mechanics, found an ample field, 
 and a few years later we find him a full partner with his brother, 
 Dr. W. B. Roberts, in the city of New York. This partnership 
 continued one year, and then Col. R. resolved to " go it alone." He 
 disposed of his interest to his brother, W. B. Roberts, and soon 
 after opened a dental depot in Bond street, New York, where he 
 entered largely into the manufacture of Dental material, and in a 
 very short time brought to perfection a Mineral Compound, now 
 used by the Dental profession for making what is known as " Con- 
 tinuous Gum Teeth." For his many improvements made in den- 
 
Woodburytvi'e. A. P. K.P. Co., Pliila. 
 
 COL. E. A. L. ROBERTS. 
 
COL. E. A. L. ROBERTS. 541 
 
 tal science and dental operations, he was awarded three gold and 
 silver medals by the American Institute. 
 
 In 1857, he obtained letters patent for a Dental and Coupeling 
 Furnace, now in general use by Dentists, and by United States 
 Assay officers. 
 
 In 1858, he perfected and obtained letters patent for a Vulcaniz- 
 ing Machine, which proved to be of great value to the Dental pro- 
 fession, and which is now in use in all parts of the world. This 
 Vulcanizing Machine was infringed, and he was compelled to 
 bring suits in its defence. These proved to be very expensive, and 
 he was forced to sell his patent for the paltry sum of $2,000. The 
 purchaser subsequently realized from the invention over $100,000. 
 
 In 1859-60, Col. Roberts constructed and brought to successful 
 completion, his large Oxhydrogen Blow Pipe, and made experi- 
 ments in melting 60 ounces of platina. This scientific achieve- 
 ment is referred to with considerable elaboration in Appleton's 
 Cyclopedia, under the index word, "Blow Pipe and Platina." A 
 fuller description of this valuable discovery is given in Hodge's 
 work on American Inventions. 
 
 The Rebellion of 1860-61, found Col. ROBERTS in the full en- 
 joyment of health and a robust, vigorous constitution. Promptly 
 he lent his individual aid to the government, and actively engaged 
 in raising Regiments and forwarding them to the scene of conflict. 
 In 1862, he was appointed Lieut. Col., of the 29th New Jersey 
 Volunteers, and remained with it oftentimes its Commanding 
 officer until the battle of Fredericksburg, under Burnside, had 
 been fought. Soon after, failing health compelled him to resign 
 his command and return to his home in New York. 
 
 In 1863, he assisted Col. F. A. Conkling of New York city in 
 recruiting the 84th Regiment, New York National Guards, and 
 was complimented with a Captain's Commission, and assigned to 
 Company C., and soon after was placed in charge of the Center St. 
 Arsenal, and was in command of that post when the riots of that 
 year in New York, threatened such serious consequences. 
 
542 HISTORY OF PETROLEUM. 
 
 In July, 1864, Gov. Seymour of New York called for volunteer 
 regiments of the National Guard, for 100 days, and Col. Conkling 
 tendered the 84th Regiment, and was accepted, and ordered to 
 march without delay. Col. ROBERTS still held the command of 
 Company C., and was ready, and went promptly to the Capitol 
 with his command. From Washington, the Regiment was ordered 
 to Martinsburg, thence to follow up Sheridan's Division, through 
 that part of Virginia since made famous by being the scene of 
 " Sheridan's Hide," with all its glorious consequences and invalua- 
 ble results. 
 
 On the expiration of the one hundred days which the Regiment 
 had volunteered to serve, Col. ROBERTS returned to New York, 
 and completed drawings of his Torpedo, for Artesian and Oil 
 "Wells, together with specifications, which he had commenced in 
 1862. This done he applied for a patent. This was in Nov. 
 1864. He then constructed six Torpedoes, and came to Titusville, 
 with a view to test their adaptability to the uses he intended. 
 
 It was the labor of days and weeks to induce owners of wells 
 to permit him to use his new invention for increasing the produc- 
 tion of oil wells. Some said it would do no good, others feared it 
 might do injury, and the majority believed the process would ab- 
 solutely destroy the wells. In January, 1865, however, he ob- 
 tained permission to explode two Torpedoes in the ' Ladies' "Well," 
 on the Watson Flats, which largely increased the product of the 
 well, creating a great deal of excitement, and establishing beyond 
 cavil, the feasibility and practicability of the process. From that 
 day, the virtue and necessity for Torpedoes in oil wells may be 
 dated. 
 
 These successful experiments with Torpedoes in oil wells, 
 prompted others to lay claim to originality of discovery, and within 
 a few months not less than six applications were made at the Patent 
 Office for the same invention. Interferences were declared by the 
 different claimants, and a contest of more than two years was had 
 before the patent was issued. Appeals had been taken from the 
 
COL. E. A. L. ROBERTS. 543 
 
 Examiner's decision, to the Examiner-in-chief, and from the Ex- 
 aminer-in-Chief, to the Commissioner of Patents ; and from the 
 Commissioner of Patents, to the United States Supreme Court of 
 the District of Columbia. In every instance, decisions were ren- 
 dered in favor of ROBERTS. These several suits embarrassed Col. 
 ROBERTS seriously, and delayed the issuance of his patent for 
 Torpedoes until the 20th of Nov., 1866 more than two years after 
 filing his specifications. 
 
 Infringements upon this patent became frequent and vexatious ; 
 and to protect his rights, Col. ROBERTS was compelled to commence 
 suits against several parties. The cases of Roberts vs. Nickerson, 
 and Roberts vs. Hammar, were among the first tried the Court, 
 after a patient hearing, sustaining the ROBERTS patent without 
 qualification. Other suits were brought, and a like result was 
 obtained in each case. The suits of Roberts vs. Dickey, and 
 Roberts vs. The Reed Torpedo Company, followed, and were con- 
 tested to the last. Decisions were rendered in ROBERTS' favor, 
 fully sustaining the validity of his patents, by Judges McCandless, 
 Grier, Strong and McKennan. 
 
 " The Producers' Association," an association embracing among 
 its membership a large majority of the Oil Producers of the Penn- 
 sylvania oil fields, having a President, Secretary, Treasurer, and 
 Board of Directors, Executive Committee, &c., in order to define 
 their own rights under the Roberts' Torpedo Patent, determined 
 to contest the validity of Col. Roberts' claim to originality. From 
 $40,000 to $60,000 was raised to this end, and thereupon the 
 Torpedo war became general, and at all points, determined and 
 uncompromising Col. Roberts maintaining his position with a 
 consciousness of the justice of his claim, and " The Producers' 
 Association" only desirous, as they alleged, to arrive at such 
 conclusion as would establish the rights of all parties. 
 
 In January, 1871, a final hearing was held before Judges Strong 
 and McKennan, in the U. S. District Court at Washington, and 
 the Roberts Patent was sustained the Court granting a perpetual 
 
544 HISTORY OF PETROLEUM. 
 
 injunction against all infringers in the following language : " The 
 complainant is therefore entitled to a perpetual injunction, and to a 
 decree for account." 
 
 The expenses attending the litigation of suits brought by Col. 
 ROBERTS to defend his rights and franchises, have been very great. 
 He has disbursed more than $100,000 in these cases, numbering 
 not less than two hundred in all. Many convictions and imprison- 
 ments have followed, and more than $60,000 in judgments have 
 been obtained against infringers here and there, to the present time. 
 
 On the 7th of May, 1873, he secured Letters Patent for a 
 new and useful "Improvement in treating Explosive Com- 
 pounds, to render them safe for blasting and other purposes." 
 Under this Patent, Col. ROBERTS has demonstrated that he can treat 
 Explosive Compounds, especially those mixed or combined with 
 water, so as to render them absolutely harmless, and to be safely 
 handled, or stored for any length of time, "without any decompo- 
 sition occurring that would give rise to dangerous results." 
 
 On the 3d day of June, 1873, Col. ROBERTS obtained a re-issue 
 of his patent for torpedoes, granted Nov. 20, 1866, and ante-dated 
 May 20, 1866. By this re-issue, he claims " a ne\v and useful im- 
 provement in process of increasing the capacity of oil wells, and 
 also of restoring oil wells to productiveness." He also secured by 
 this re-issue a patent for the apparatus used in lowering the torpedo 
 to the oil-bearing rock. 
 
 Just what Col. ROBERTS claims by his " specifications," as his 
 invention, upon which letters patent have been granted, is thus 
 concisely stated in his application : 
 
 1. The method or process of increasing or restoring the produc- 
 tiveness of oil wells by causing an explosion therein, at or near the 
 oil-bearing point. 
 
 2. The method or process of increasing or restoring the- produc- 
 tiveness of oil wells by causing an explosion at or near the oil- 
 bearing point, in connection with superincumbent fluid tamping, 
 substantially as set forth. 
 
COL. E. A. L. ROBERTS. 545 
 
 3. In combination with a torpedo adapted to deep wells, the 
 employment of a weight and guiding cord for the purpose of ex- 
 ploding the charge, substantially as described. 
 
 4. The means herein described for suspending, adjusting, a*nd 
 exploding torpedoes in oil wells at any desired or predetermined 
 point, consisting of a wire or cord, attached to such torpedo and 
 through which, as a medium of communicating ignition, the tor- 
 pedo is exploded. 
 
 Col. ROBERTS, following the natural bent of his genius and rare 
 mechanical skill and ingenuity, is now engaged in perfecting a new 
 and novel mode of propelling water craft of every conceivable 
 character and burthen, both inland and at sea. If this new mo- 
 tive power proves to be a success, and it looks very like it, a revo- 
 lution in navigating our inland lakes, rivers and canals, and indeed 
 the ocean, is sure to follow. We regret the experiments now making 
 are not sufficiently developed to warrant a full description of 
 this new mode of propelling vessels of all kinds, in whatever waters 
 they may be found. 
 
 Col. ROBERTS is at this writing, a little over forty-three years 
 of age. He is blessed with a strong constitution, a clear head and 
 a mind filled with original ideas. His personal appearance denotes 
 activity of both mind and body. A man of iron will and indom- 
 itable perseverance, he exhibits a capacity equal to any emergency 
 which may surround him. In all public enterprises he is liberal, 
 open-handed and proverbially generous. To private charities he 
 gives with a bounty and cheerfulness worthy of emulation. His 
 private friendships are not many, but they are lasting and close. 
 In the city of his adoption may be seen many monuments of his 
 enterprise, erected under his own eye, and with a view to adding 
 beauty and thrift to all about him. We add the hope that he may 
 be spared to a green old age to enjoy the fruits of his genius, his 
 labors and his enterprises. 
 
 35 
 
546 HISTORY OF PETROLEUM. 
 
 MAECUS BEOWNSON 
 
 TITUSVILLE, PENNA. 
 
 MR. BROWNSON is a New Yorker by birth and rearing, born in 
 the County of Delaware, on the 23d day of May, 1822. He is 
 the next youngest of a family of seven children three sons and 
 four daughters. His father was a farmer, and young MARCUS 
 remained under the parental roof, assisting, as he grew up, in the 
 labors of his father, until he was nineteen years old. At this age, 
 his father died, leaving him in sole charge of the farm. His edu- 
 cational advantages were limited to the district school of the neigh- 
 borhood, and thus he was enabled to improve a portion of each 
 year, three or four months at farthest, until the death of his father, 
 which occurred, as before stated, when he was nineteen years old. 
 He, however, obtained a very good knowledge of the common 
 branches, and was considered a proficient scholar. 
 
 Upon the death of his father, young BROWNSON assumed the 
 entire responsibility of the conduct of the farm, providing for the 
 support of the family, and the payment of a heavy incumbrance 
 upon his father's estate, divided by will among the heirs. He con- 
 tinued to reside upon the farm, and to conduct it industriously and 
 successfully for nearly fifteen years, steadily working out of the em- 
 barrassments that surrounded him at the commencement ; and, we 
 may add here, that long before these years had passed, he had pro- 
 vided for all the liabilities upon the property, and had, by economy 
 and careful attention to his affairs, been able to count up a goodly 
 sum as the profits of his industry and thrift. 
 
 On the 1st of January, 1844, Mr. BROWNSON, then twenty-two 
 years of age, married Miss MARY A. WALLING, a lady of New 
 
Woodhnrytjpe. A. P. R.P. Co., Phil 
 
 MARCUS BRO\VNSON. 
 
MARCUS BROWNSON. 547 
 
 we 
 
 England birth and parentage. It is both just and proper that 
 make special mention of Mrs. Brownson in this connection ; for 
 her husband attributes to her, as he ought, the possession of 
 womanly qualities, sure to gladden the household, lighten the bur- 
 dens -of her help-mate, be a guide and example to her children, and 
 a jewel in the family and social circle. 
 
 In 1855, eleven years after his marriage, Mr. BROWNSON dis- 
 posed of his farm, and found himself the possessor of $3,000 in 
 gains, which, with the additional sum of $500, devised by his 
 father's will, gave him a small fortune of $3,500, to embark in any 
 new enterprise that might offer itself. 
 
 Some months prior to the sale of his farm, Mr. BROWNSON 
 received a visit from a younger brother, who had long been a resi- 
 dent of Oregon. Many times during these months of re-union, 
 the brother had expressed a wish, amounting almost to a prayer, 
 " that MARCUS would return with him to Oregon," and make that 
 his future home. Mr. B. finally determined to accede to his bro- 
 ther's wishes, if, he could make advantageous sales of his property. 
 His purpose settled upon, it was only the work of a few weeks to 
 get ready. The farm was sold, everything settled up, preparation 
 for the journey completed, and at the end of three months from the 
 younger brother's arrival, the twain, with their families the 
 younger brother had left his family when he first migrated to the 
 then territory of Oregon set out for that far distant country. 
 
 This was in the early spring months of 1855. The party sailed 
 from New York, via the Isthmus route, and in due time landed at 
 San Francisco. About the date of Mr. BROWNSON'S arrival on the 
 Pacific Coast, the Indian tribes of Oregon aiid Washington Terri- 
 tories were in arms against the whites, and massacres, murders, and 
 depredations of every conceivable horror were being committed by 
 these dreaded savages. Gen. John E. Wool, then in command of 
 the Department of the Pacific Coast, was fitting out transports with 
 army supplies and munitions of war to subdue these " barbarian 
 wards of the government !" Mr. BROWNSON sailed in the same 
 
548 HISTORY OF PETROLEUM. 
 
 steamer which conveyed Gen. Wool and retinue, to the scene of 
 slaughter. The steamer, with its convoys, was bound for Portland, 
 Oregon, and without accident or delay, reached that port. 
 
 The headquarters of the United States forces was at Corvallis, a 
 point of some importance on the Williamette river, seventy-five miles 
 distant from Portland. This "settlement " Mr. BROWNSON resolved 
 to make his future home, and thither he removed soon after his 
 arrival at Portland. He had scarcely made a home for himself 
 and family at Corvallis, ere he was tendered the appointment of 
 Commissary of Subsistence in the army, and upon the discharge of 
 these responsible duties, Mr. BROWNSON entered at once. Subse- 
 quently he was commissioned " Purchasing Agent/ 7 in the Quarter 
 Master General's Department, thus adding to his burdens, and, at 
 the same time, enlarging his usefulness and power. This latter 
 appointment covered the purchase of horses, mules, cattle, and 
 indeed almost every needed article required by the Army of the 
 Oregon Indian Campaign. This position he held, discharging its 
 varied and oftentimes hazardous responsibilities, with faithfulness 
 and fidelity to his trust, until the close of the war, which continued 
 about eighteen months. 
 
 After his retirement from government service, he engaged in the 
 business of purchasing and driving cattle to Portland, whence they 
 were shipped to Van Couver's Island, Puget Sound, Victoria, &c. 
 At this time the Frazier River gold mining excitement was at its 
 height, and some questions of boundary had arisen between the 
 British government and our own. British troops were stationed 
 near Van Couver's Island, and our own defenders were " on the 
 look-out " at several points on the coast, at Bellevue Island, Fort 
 Townsend, etc. Added to these bodies of men were " forty thou- 
 sand " gold miners scattered along Frazier River, and to these 
 camps as well as the several military stations, cattle were shipped 
 for a market. We have thus particularized, that the reader may 
 form some idea of the enterprise with which Mr. BROWNSON was 
 identified. 
 
MARCUS BROWNSON. 549 
 
 This business connection and important traffic important in 
 more ways than we have time or space to mention, was continued, 
 increasing in magnitude and augmenting in profits, until the spring 
 of 1860, when Mr. BROWNSON determined to re-visit his home in 
 the State of New York, and soon after sailed thence, where he ar- 
 rived in the early days of June of that year. 
 
 The Presidential canvass of 1860, was just opening, and the 
 country was filled with mutterings of an approaching national 
 crisis, never before experienced. The election of Abraham 
 Lincoln followed in the fall of 1860, and thenceforward the 
 threatened rebellion and secession of the Southern States of the 
 Union, began to assume alarming proportions. The " overt act/' 
 was committed, firing upon Fort Sumter, in April, following, 
 and the North and the South sprang to arms. Mr. BROWNSON 
 promptly espoused the Union cause, and did his whole duty in 
 aiding the government in the terrible struggle for its own main- 
 tenance, through four years of bloody civil war. He had re- 
 solved to remain at the North, and "survive or perish" with 
 those who would preserve the government of our fathers from 
 rebellious hands. At one time during the war he held minor re- 
 lationships to the armies of the republic, furnishing troops to the 
 thinning ranks, and whatever else he might do, to sustain " the 
 flag of the free." As a member of the Sanitary Commission, he 
 traversed the lines of the Army of the Potomac, visiting the sick 
 and ministering to those requiring assistance of any character. 
 
 During these years of civil strife, he engaged in no settled busi- 
 ness enterprise, until some time in the fall of 1863, when he re- 
 moved to Binghamton, N. Y., where he remained only a few 
 months, for he had already determined to visit the oil regions of 
 Western Pennsylvania, and try his fortunes in that marvelous field 
 of industry and prodigal wealth. 
 
 In June, 1865, Mr. BROWNSON removed to Titusville, then the 
 great distributing centre of the oil fields of " the Upper Creek re- 
 gion." The Pit Hole "dazzle" was at its zenith, and thither, a few 
 
550 HISTORY OF PETROLEUM. 
 
 days subsequent to his arrival at Titusville, he bent his steps, 
 and not long after, was induced to purchase a small interest in a 
 well going down, upon the Holmden farm. Without stopping to 
 give details of this investment, we may add, that the interest cost 
 him $500, and that the well proved an utter failure ! Some months 
 later he purchased a brick building and lot, upon the site now oc- 
 cupied by " The City Bakery," on Spring street, Titusville, and 
 this he rented, for the purpose it is now used a bakery. At the 
 end of six months the building was destroyed by fire, and so this 
 investment " turned to ashes " for it was only partially insured. 
 Mr. BROWXSON rebuilt it of brick, in 1865, and soon after re-sold 
 it to the original owners. 
 
 These, and other unfortunate ventures, had to a degree crippled 
 Mr. BROWNSON financially. His entire capital, when he arrived 
 in Titusville, in 1864, did not exceed 7,000. And this sum, how- 
 ever carefully handled, and invested, without some gains, would 
 hardly "stick to a man through the Pit Hole campaign, and stand 
 one fire with a loss of 3,000 to $4,000 ! " Added to his embar- 
 rassments, was the fact that he had loaned to a personal friend, 
 whom he sought to aid in his enterprise, 2,500, taking some "wild 
 cat " security for its payment. This debtor betrayed his confidence, 
 took " French leave," and departed hence, leaving Mr. BROWNSON 
 and other creditors to get their honest dues as best they could. It 
 was full three years before the absconder was heard from, and four 
 years before Mr. B. met him face to face. Meantime, a year or 
 two after his departure, the security left to Mr. BROWNSON became 
 valuable, and the $2,500 were realized. About the close of the 
 year, 1865, however, the balances of Mr. BROWXSON'S 7,000 capi- 
 tal, balanced each other he had next to nothing in cash, and he 
 owed no man a dollar ! And here we may remark, en passent, 
 that during a business^career of more than thirty years, he has paid 
 one hundred cents on the dollar of his indebtedness, and has never 
 asked rebate or discount from any sum he was honestly or legally 
 liable for. 
 
MARCUS BROWNSON. 551 
 
 In 1866, Mr. BROWNSON resolved to try his fortunes as an oil 
 producer. He had little or no cash capital, but he had an unblem- 
 ished name and fame, and this was capital sufficient for an indus- 
 trious, determined man like him. He removed to Pioneer, in the 
 spring of that year, and soon after, in connection with others as part- 
 ners, secured three half acre leases upon the BenninghofF Farm, 
 (Western Run,) just then developing quite largely. For these 
 leases about $1,000 each was paid, " and half the oil." As before 
 stated, his own resources were very limited. His friends at Titusville 
 had tendered him accommodations, by way of endorsement, &c., to 
 prosecute his enterprises, but he thankfully declined them, pre- 
 ferring, as he avowed, " to fail, if fail he must, without embarrass- 
 ing his friends, and dragging them down with him." 
 
 After procuring the leases above named, interests were disposed 
 of in each, sufficient to repay the bonuses, and complete the wells. 
 In this safe way he began his operations as a producer of petroleum, 
 retaining in each lease a " free interest," which in the end, proved 
 to be quite productive, and in each instance were sources of revenue 
 and profit to him. 
 
 We should state here, that before his removal to Pioneer, he had 
 acquired a small interest in a well on the McClintock Farm, and 
 another at Benninghoff Hollow, the former of which was a failure, 
 and the latter a paying investment. The wells, three in number, 
 upon the leases first mentioned, were each good producers, and went 
 far towards mending the broken fortunes of Mr. BROWNSON . Later, 
 in 1867, he was interested in two other wells upon the Benninghoif 
 Farm, one of which paid good dividends, and the other proved 
 valueless. 
 
 During 1867, and '68, the line of developments extended across 
 Pioneer Run, to the Foster Farm, and here Mr. BROWNSON con- 
 tinued his operations during these years with flattering success.* 
 
 * During the years of 1868, and '69, Mr. B. was also extensively engaged in oil opera- 
 tions at Shamburg, and Red Hot, and held interests in eight or ten good producing 
 wells. This property he sold, in two different quantities, after realizing very accepta- 
 bly from their product for nearly two years. 
 
552 HISTORY OF PETROLEUM. 
 
 In 1869, continuing his developments upon the Foster Farm, he 
 extended his enterprise and operations to the Pierson Farm, west 
 of Pioneer Run and the Benninghoff Farm. Success crowned his 
 efforts, and later in 1869, and '70, in conjunction with F. W. An- 
 drews and others, developments were inaugurated upon the Shaw 
 Farm above Rouseville. This farm was, during its producing life, 
 prolific of good wells. The enterprising lessees, while they dis- 
 posed of their product, in 1868, and '69, at very low rates, were yet 
 enabled, before the farm was exhausted, to realize large gains, and 
 it is safe to say, that here Mr. BROWNSON laid the foundations of 
 his future prosperity and substantial wealth. 
 
 It was during these three or four years of prosperity, that in ex- 
 tending his enterprises and enlarging his investments, Mr. BROWN- 
 SON became interested in the marvellous "Venture "Well," at 
 Fagundas, that produced from the start between three and four 
 hundred barrels per day ! In 1870, he disposed of his interest in 
 the " Shaw Farm/ 7 together with his Fagundas and Hickory prop- 
 erty, to F. W. Andrews and Charles Bly, for $55,000. 
 
 He had the year previous made sale of his Pierson Farm prop- 
 erty, together with some other small interests in that vicinity, for 
 $10,000. 
 
 In 1869, or '70, Mr. BROWNSON, in connection with F. W. An- 
 drews and T. C. Joy, of the one part, and D. B. Benson & Co., of 
 the other part, purchased four hundred acres of land lying in what 
 is known as the Colorado oil field, eight or ten miles north-east 
 of Titusville. This property is very productive, and is being 
 developed steadily, though not as vigorously as it would be if the 
 price of oil was nearer its remunerative value. 
 
 About the date of the above purchase, Messrs. Brownson, An- 
 drews and Joy Mr. Joy being the original owner of a portion 
 of the tract became joint proprietors of two hundred and twenty- 
 five acres more, in fee, adjoining their other landed interests at 
 Colorado. This property is also being developed judiciously, and 
 is proving itself excellent oil territory. We give elsewhere a more 
 
MARCUS BROWN60N. 553 
 
 complete history of the Colorado oil field, and omit further refer- 
 ence to it here, beyond the fact that it is a source of steady gain to 
 its proprietors, Messrs. Andrews, Brownson and Joy, who still own 
 and operate it. 
 
 In the spring of 1869, Mr. BROWNSON visited Parker's Land- 
 ing "upon a tour of inspection." This was his first visit, but he 
 became thoroughly convinced, that this was oil territory, and that 
 its limits were yet to be ascertained. Before leaving, he had 
 secured with other parties a ten acre lease, southeast of Law- 
 renceburg, and between that point and Bear Creek. Upon this 
 lease, four wells were drilled during the summer of 1869. These 
 wells were paying, but not largely so. This property Mr. BROWN- 
 SON held, and operated for a year or two, and finally disposed of 
 it, at a nominal sum. 
 
 In 1870, Mr. BROWNSON, in conjunction with Mr. A. K PER- 
 RIN, a producer of clear record, deserved prominence, and we may 
 add, deserved success, purchased a five acre lease, upon the Robin- 
 son farm, above Parker's Landing, upon which were two wells, 
 one producing 140 barrels, and the other 20 barrels per day, with 
 a third to be completed, paying therefor, $45,000. This large 
 transaction was followed by other investments by Mr. B., in fee, 
 and in developments, in connection with other parties upon the 
 Thomas and Parker farms, at Parker's Landing, and additional 
 enterprises of like character on the Clarion River. We omit a 
 detail of these varied operations. They were all flattering suc- 
 cesses, however, and added to the wealth of the owners. In the 
 spring of 1871, the several investments named in this connection, 
 were sold to Fisher Bros., for $60,000. How much of this 
 princely sum should be regarded as clear profit, may be approxi- 
 mated, when we state the fact, that during Mr. BROWNSON'S part 
 ownership of them, they paid bountifully, and over and above 
 first cost ! 
 
 On the very day this sale was consummated with Fisher Bros., 
 Mr. BROWNSON purchased the western half of the "Walker 
 
554 HISTORY OF PETROLEUM. 
 
 farm," situated four miles, southwest of Parker's Landing, and two 
 miles north-east of Petrolia city containing ninety-two acres. For 
 this property he paid $45,000. This farm adjoins the Shakeley 
 farm, upon which developments had already been made, establish- 
 ing its character as good oil territory. Upon the eastern half of 
 the Walker farm, had been drilled the " Gold Dust Well," which 
 started off at 150 barrels, and maintained this great volume for 
 many months. Mr. BROWNSOX, owned an interest in this well 
 and lease about seven acres and was identified with its develop- 
 ment from the first. 
 
 Immediately upon acquiring title to this property the Walker 
 farm the work of developing it began, and during the summer, 
 fall, and winter of 1870, and '71, four wells were put down. 
 
 When Mr. BROWNSON, purchased this farm, one lease had 
 been given, and soon after he came into possession, another was 
 made, to other parties the first named, being the first drilled 
 upon the farm. Just before these two wells were completed, how- 
 ever, he purchased both, paying $18,000 for them. With the ex- 
 ception of one other lease and well, which he put down mainly 
 himself, but upon an agreement to divide the " working interest " 
 with a valued friend, he hr.s developed this property entirely as 
 his own enterprise. He, has now, twelve producing wells upon 
 "The Walker," or "BROWNSOX Farm," the monthly product of 
 which is between five and six thousand barrels. The average cost 
 of these wells is $8,500. So that in prosecuting these later de- 
 velopments, he has expended more than $100,000. To this may 
 be added, the expense of an iron tankage capacity of 10,000 bar- 
 rels, at a cost of $8,000. 
 
 Mr. BROWXSON has recently purchased additional oil territory, 
 on the new oil field, near Millerstown, so lately demonstrated, and 
 denominated the " head centre " of the lower oil region. He is 
 the owner in fee, of one half of the " Boyle farm," containing 
 one hundred acres of land, and is the possessor in fee, of a one- 
 third interest in two other contiguous farms, containing, about one 
 
MARCUS BROWNSON. 555 
 
 hundred and seventy-five acres of land. This property is in the 
 line of developments, at and near Millerstown, and is regarded 
 upon all hands, as eligibly located, and sure to be valuable for oil 
 purposes. Should these anticipations be realized, and there 
 seems to be little doubt in this direction, Mr. BROWNSON, has in 
 the near future a mine of wealth, which his indomitable industry 
 and perseverance will surely open and secure, adding to his fame 
 as a producer of Petroleum, and greatly augmenting his wealth. 
 
 Mr. BROWNSON, as this hurriedly prepared sketch of him in- 
 dicates, is a gentleman of superior business qualifications and un- 
 sullied public and private repute. He is a man of generous im- 
 pulses, and marked liberality both in his business relations, and in 
 his intercourse with the world about him. A man of social ex- 
 cellencies, high moral culture, and Christian practices, he com- 
 mands the respect and warm friendship of all. who know him. 
 Prompt in the discharge of every duty imposed, he bears with him 
 an unblemished record, and an unspotted commercial name and 
 fame. Whatever he agrees to do no matter when or where, 
 or whether under " Seal " or not he will do, faithfully and surely 
 to the end of the contract. By this emphatic language, we mean 
 to convey to the reader the impression, unqualifiedly, that Mr. 
 BROWNSON, is an honest man. 
 
 He is in middle life, hale, vigorous and full of determination. 
 His course is yet onward, and his ambition is yet unflagging. A 
 man of quiet manner, he wins the confidence and bears off the 
 good opinion of all who may fortunately be thrown into his society. 
 Without guile, or even the ability to deceive, his frankness, like 
 his manhood, never forsakes him. Upright and honorable in all 
 his transactions, he is a man to cultivate, whether in the walks of 
 private life or in the more rugged and tortuous paths to wealth and 
 its acquirement. MARCUS BROWNSON is among the men of the oil 
 region whose industry, sagacity and tried honesty have won him 
 distinction, and an ample competency. This he has richly de- 
 served, and none will grudge him the enjoyment of his good for- 
 tune now, or in the future. 
 
556 
 
 HISTORY OF PETROLEUM. 
 
 JOHN C. BEYAN. 
 
 TITUSVILLE, PENNA. 
 
 JOHN C. BRYAN, is a native of the county of Cork, Ireland, 
 where he was born on the 25th day of December, 1831. He was 
 one of a family of twelve children, five boys and seven daughters, 
 all whom came to man's and woman's estate, in the enjoyment of 
 health and vigor. Young BRYAN, had the advantages of an ex- 
 cellent school, until he reached the age of eighteen, when he re- 
 solved to try his fortunes in the new world, and soon after set sail 
 for America. He landed in New York, the possessor of very little 
 of this world's wealth, and after a few days spent in the Metro- 
 polis of the Western hemisphere, he went to Erie, Pa., where soon 
 after, he entered the employment of Sennett Barr & Co., iron 
 workers and machinists, with whom he remained three years, 
 mastering his business, and becoming thoroughly wedded to his 
 profession. Leaving Erie, he entered the employment of Sidney 
 Shepherd & Co., at Buffalo, New York, with whom he remained 
 one year, and then engaged with " The Buffalo Steam Engine 
 Works," for another year. In the winter of 1855, he was ten- 
 dered, and accepted the position of foreman in the establishment 
 of Teesdell & Cole, at Conneautville, Crawford County, Pa., re- 
 maining here one year. The following year he spent in the em- 
 ploy of Sennett, Barr & Co., at Erie, in a supervising capacity. In 
 the summer of 1857, he entered the employment of Brown Bros. 
 & Co., iron manufacturers and machinists, at Warren, Pa., and re- 
 mained with them until May, 1858, when he returned to Ireland 
 upon a visit to his relatives, and in pursuit of health and relaxa- 
 tion from the exacting demands of his profession. 
 
 A year spent in the land of his birth, found him recuperated in 
 
VToortbnrytype. A. V. R. P. Co., Phila. 
 
 JOHN C. BRYAN. 
 
JOHN C. BRYAN. 557 
 
 health and strength, and he resolved to return to the United States, 
 and in 1869, we find him again in the service of Brown Bros., 
 at Warren, Pa. He remained here until the fall of 1860, mean- 
 time, superintending the construction of the first steam engine 
 manufactured in Warren county. 
 
 The discovery of Petroleum Oil, in apparently inexhaustible quan- 
 tities, was made at Titusville, Pa., in the fall of 1859. Mr. BRYAN 
 was not long in determining his course of action. With his accus- 
 tomed business foresight, he saw clearly the magnitude of this new 
 development, not only to the world at large, but to that branch of 
 mechanics which had been his pride and study for years. Within 
 a few weeks the oil region, from Titusville " down the Creek// 
 was the scene of a most wonderful excitement. Men with, and 
 without means, flocked thither, and speculations and developments 
 were the rule of the hour. Wells were put down, with "spring 
 poles," " horse power," and every conceivable mode was adopted 
 to secure the " golden stream," from the rock below. Col. Drake, 
 had used a small steam engine to drill his first well sixty-nine 
 feet, but this was deemed quite too expensive a process, while oil 
 brought only one, two or three dollars per barrel, or $25 to $40, 
 for a flat-boat load of forty to sixty barrels. At this time "second 
 sand rock oil," was all operators sought for, and hence " spring 
 pole," water, and horse powers were deemed sufficient for the needs 
 of drillers. This product was soon exhausted and deeper wells de- 
 manded, and to accomplish this, steam was deemed absolutely ne- 
 cessary. To employ this power, required capital as well as me- 
 chanical skill and genius for their manufacture. Mr. BRYAN 
 comprehended the needs of the section, and proposed to Brown 
 Bros., to enter at once into the business of supplying engines 
 and boilers, of sufficient capacity to meet the requirements of the 
 just then developing wealth of the oil region. They, however, 
 did not at first accept the proposal of Mr. BRYAN, regarding their 
 ability to compete successfully with eastern manufacturers as ex- 
 tremely problematical. Everything, in the iron trade, and required 
 
558 HISTORY OF PETROLEUM. 
 
 in the manufacture of engines and boilers, had to be transported 
 by wagon, over twenty to thirty miles of unimproved roads, the 
 nearest railway facilities, being at Corry, and Union. In spite of 
 all these embarrassing surroundings, Mr. BRYAN proposed to 
 Brown Bros., the building of one steam engine, the cost of which 
 was to be charged against his services, if not promptly disposed of. 
 The result proved how completely Mr. BRYAN comprehended the 
 matter, for not alone was this first engine sold, but orders were 
 taken, and executed with promptness, for six additional. These 
 engines were all rated at six horse power, and sold for 600, to 
 $800 each. 
 
 While constructing these engines Mr. BRYAN was engaged in 
 the manufacture of pole tools, the rope or cable not as yet being used. 
 The first set of drilling tools, after the discovery of oil by Col. 
 Drake, in September, 1859, was designed and manufactured by 
 Mr. BRYAN. 
 
 During the spring and summer of 1860, Messrs. Kingsbury, 
 Ames, and Richards, from Brown Bro.'s establishment at Warren, 
 Pa., erected a small iron foundry in Titusville, upon the site now 
 occupied by the Titusville Manufacturing Co.'s extensive works, 
 and tendered to Mr. BRYAN a leading position. This was ac- 
 cepted, and .the engagement lasted about six months. Mr. BRYAN 
 had from the first, made himself master of the situation, and by 
 closely observing the operations of the new enterprise, arrived at 
 the conclusion that the business was being conducted at a loss to 
 the proprietors. An examination of the liabilities and assets of the 
 firm disclosed this fact very palpably. Mr. BRYAN proposed to 
 purchase the establishment, and soon after formed a co-partnership 
 with Mr. William McMullen, of Warren, Pa., and the firm of 
 McMuLLEX & BRYAN became proprietors of the first iron foundry 
 and machine shop in the Oil Region. The amount paid for the 
 property was $6,000, and, in Mr. B.'s judgment, all it was worth. 
 In December 1862, Mr. McMullen died, leaving the business 
 to the care and conduct of Mr. BRYAN, alone. At this juncture 
 
JOHN C. BRYAN. 559 
 
 the outlook was not inviting or encouraging. Business was almost 
 at a stand still. Oil was selling at one and two dollars per barrel, 
 and even less, and there was little demand for it at these prices. 
 Money was scarce, and the wants of oil producers in the iron trade, 
 next to nothing. All these discouraging surroundings did not 
 frighten or appal Mr. BRYAN. He had commenced his business 
 in Titusville with the determination to work out his financial sal- 
 vation, and come what might he resolved to "stick." The estab- 
 lishment employed but five hands, and there was often nothing for 
 these to do. Business, there was none stagnation was visible 
 everywhere, and often Mr. BRYAN was advised by friends who 
 seemed impressed with the idea of his utter destruction in a business 
 way, to " pull up and go elsewhere." He, however, listened to 
 none of these " croakers," but redoubled his efforts to adapt his 
 manufactures to the wants of all classes of people. When the de- 
 mand for drilling-tools flagged, he turned his attention to the 
 manufacture of plows, scrapers, or whatever else would be required 
 by farmers, contractors, &c., &c. When the plow and scraper 
 market was overstocked, saw-mill irons, gearing, &c., were turned 
 out in fair quantities and excellent mechanical attraction. When 
 nothing else offered, he applied himself to the construction of pat- 
 terns for a new steam engine, which during his leisure hours he 
 built and set up in the establishment, anticipating orders for more. 
 In this he was not disappointed. From this time onward his busi- 
 ness rapidly increased, to such a degree that in the summer of 1864, 
 thirteen machines were required (employing over thirty men,) to 
 meet the requirements of the oil trade. Prosperity, thrift and the 
 busy hum of a score and a-half of operatives, greeted him upon 
 every side. The summer of '64 was indeed a season of profit to 
 him, due alike to his industry and determination to succeed over 
 all obstacles. 
 
 But disappointment and disaster lay in his path. The earnings 
 of years were destined to become the sport and sacrifice of the de- 
 vouring element. On the 22d of November, 1864, following his 
 
560 
 
 HISTORY OF PETROLEUM. 
 
 previous months of prosperity, a destructive fire swept away his all. 
 The foundry and machine shops were in ruins ! The loss was not 
 less than $42,000, and fell entirely upon Mr. BRYAN. It included 
 his all ! 
 
 On the morning succeeding the fire, friends gathered about him 
 tendering sympathy and assistance, if needed. "What are you 
 going to do, John ?" said one to him. His answer was character- 
 istic of the man and his indomitable will. " What am I going to 
 do ? I shall carry on the Foundry business right here : I am not 
 dead yet !" The reply was an order for clearing away the debris, 
 and the commencement of the erection of new buildings of ample 
 proportions and greater -adaptability to the growing demands of 
 his extended and extending business. The promptness with which 
 his determinations were set in motion and executed may be com- 
 prehended when it is added, that early in March following a little 
 over three months after his disaster found him again in full tide 
 of successful operation, with greatly increased facilities for the exe- 
 cution of any and all orders made upon him. The completion of 
 his new establishment in so short a time was such a " gilt-edged " 
 certificate to his energy and perseverance that old and new custom- 
 ers flocked to him from all quarters of the oil belts, crowding his 
 manufactory with their work, and his counting-room with their 
 orders. Mrs. McMuLLEN still retained the interest owned by her 
 husband at his death. 
 
 Mr. BRYAN was again upon the flood-tide of prosperity. The 
 works gave employment to forty men, testing the full capacity of 
 the machinery in use. Prosperity was wafted to the new establish- 
 ment upon every breeze. The mechanical excellence of all its 
 work was known of all men. But there was still another disaster 
 in store for the proprietors. On the 17th of April, 1865, the rains 
 descended, and the floods came, carrying destruction and devas- 
 tation in their track. The oil men of that day will remember 
 the fearful character of that terrible scourge. It was the most 
 disastrous blow before or since received by this industrious re- 
 
JOHN C. BRYAN. 56 1 
 
 gion. Everything trade, money, product, credit, confidence and 
 effort seemed to be paralyzed, or entirely swept away. 
 
 In this emergency, the ever-fertile brain of Mr. BRYAN waa 
 again taxed to its utmost limit. While failures, bankruptcy, stag- 
 nation, and almost a total destruction of values were upon every 
 hand, he bated no jot or tittle of his energy and manly perseve- 
 rance. He maintained the credit of his establishment through all 
 this crisis of the oil region, and came out brighter and prouder, so 
 to speak, than ever. As the storm-clouds cleared away, he took 
 careful note of his surroundings and found a clear sky and an open 
 sea, in which to sail his sturdy craft, and he kept her from the 
 " breakers." 
 
 In May, 1866, following the reverses of the previous year, he 
 sold a one-third interest in the establishment to Capt. John Dil- 
 lingham, whose accession to the enterprise proved to be of great 
 value. In the latter part of the same year 1866 Mr. BRYAN 
 added to the increasing business of the establishment a commodious 
 boiler-shop, and this, contrary to the judgment of Mr. Dilling- 
 ham, whose opinion was, that it would require more capital than 
 they could command. 
 
 The manufacture of boilers in the Oil Region, at this time, was 
 so much of an experiment, and its success so doubtful, that the firm 
 not only furnished all the machinery and stock, but they contracted 
 with Mr. Ackerman, a practical boiler-maker, to give him one-half 
 of all that could be made out of the undertaking for one year. 
 The business was so limited for the first twelve months, that the 
 contractor did not realize day-wages. Operators preferred to go 
 abroad for their boilers, regarding those of home manufacture as 
 unreliable. The firm, however, continued the manufacture of 
 boilers, disposing now and then of one or more, so that at the end 
 of two years, their character was substantially established, and from 
 that day to this, BRYAN, DILLINGHAM & Co.'s boilers have grown 
 in public confidence, and are now regarded as second to none manu- 
 factured in any part of the country. 
 36 
 
562 HISTORY OF PETROLEUM. 
 
 In 1868, a brass-foundry department was added to their exten- 
 sive works, to enable them to supply the increasing demands for 
 brass boxes, gibs, and every kind of brass fixtures used in the 
 manufacture of engines, gas pumps, &c., &c., heretofore dependent 
 upon remote and foreign industries. 
 
 We have thus traced the personal history of Mr. BRYAN from 
 his boyhood, to "point a moral and adorn a tale" of industry 
 under every conceivable discouragement, and a deserved success 
 under many perplexing embarrassments. Few men, encountering 
 the seemingly overwhelming disasters which have been the lot of 
 the .subject of this sketch, would have proven in so eminent a de- 
 gree, superior to them all. The instances we have given of the 
 business calamities falling to the lot of Mr. BRYAN, are not in 
 detail, nor are they elaborated in the least. The reader may, with 
 reflection, form a faint idea of the character of a business man, who 
 can, from the ruins of three sweeping losses, in six years, rise to 
 success and to final affluence. The great iron establishment 
 of BRYAN, DILLINGHAM & Co., now operating under the auspices 
 of " The Titusmlle Manufacturing Company" is the product of the 
 indomitable will and perseverance of JOHN C. BRYAN, built up to 
 success under disasters that would have disheartened most men. 
 To-day this great industry ranks second to none in Western Penn- 
 sylvania, involving a capital of $350,000, and giving employment 
 to more than two hundred and fifty men. The establishment has 
 built over 300,000 barrels of tankage in the oil regions. They 
 turn out half a dozen boilers and engines a week, and derrick rigs, 
 and drilling tools without number, every thirty days. To these 
 departments must be added their brass foundry, manufacturing all 
 the brass work for their own needs, and immense quantities for 
 the wholesale and retail trade of the region. Their great iron tank 
 transportation works, recently put into successful operation, adds 
 largely to their importance as manufacturers, and is a guarantee 
 of the bountiful success of this great mart of industry and mechani- 
 cal excellence. 
 
JOHN C. BRYAN. f)63 
 
 Within the past year and a half the establishment, of which Mr. 
 BRYAN was so long the successful head, prepared and put into 
 successful Uvse, some of the best tapping machines in the United 
 States. These are necessary to meet the wants of refiners, latterly 
 a growing and all-important industry for Titusville and other re- 
 fining centres. Indeed, it is not too much to say, that this estab- 
 lishment is capable of, and really does a larger diversity of work 
 for oil purposes, than any other in the State of Pennsylvania. The 
 success of this great industry, as we have before said, its wealth 
 and world-wide reputation are mainly due to Mr. BRYAN. Titus- 
 ville has long been the radiating centre for our heaviest oil opera- 
 tions, and it is safe to say, the wants and necessities of producers 
 have not been in advance of 'Mr. BRYAN'S ability to devise and 
 execute and to his genius and mechanical skill must be awarded 
 much of the perfection now apparent in the manufacture of tools 
 for drilling, pumping, and the clearing out of oil wells, and indeed 
 for improvements of every character for oil well uses. 
 
 Titusville is a city of enterprise and enterprising business men, 
 and Mr. BRYAN, from the date of his residence there, may be, nay 
 must be, regarded as among the foremost in all improvements of 
 both a public and private nature. While others, in the struggle 
 for success, have fallen by the way, his pertinacity and determina- 
 tion to surmount all obstacles stands out in bold relief, the true 
 index to his character as a man, a neighbor, and a public and pri- 
 vate citizen. As a mechanic he has few equals. This fact is con- 
 ceded by all who know him. He has been awarded contracts for 
 building some large refineries and tanks in New York city, and these 
 have been executed with such fidelity and satisfactory results, that 
 others of like nature have been tendered in such numbers, that it 
 was impossible to fill them and this, when other and rival estab- 
 lishments proposed to do the same work at lower rates. 
 
 These details of the growth of the iron interest of the oil regions, 
 as exemplified in the sketch of Mr. BRYAN'S life, have been given 
 as forming an important part of the history of the vast mineral 
 
564 HISTOEY OF PETROLEUM. 
 
 wealth of this section, and the mechanical means adopted for its 
 development. Without this our history would be incomplete, in 
 the language of another, who recently sketched the personal history 
 of Mr. BRYAN for the pages of the "Petroleum Monthly," " We of 
 to-day are alone interested in the business and successes of to-day. 
 Looking back ten years, we can scan the entire history of Petroleum 
 in Western Pennsylvania. It seems but yesterday, that Colonel 
 Drake opened this mine of wealth, now so successfully worked, and 
 whose bounty reaches to every civilized nation .on the globe. But 
 in the future, when this generation has passed away, the men who 
 are now the supporting pillars of the grand edifice of commercial 
 industry and prosperity here erected, will live in the respectful 
 memories of their successors." 
 
 Mr. BRYAN'S personal characteristics are those of an active, un- 
 tiring business man, wholly given to his profession, and thoroughly 
 identified with all its details. In person he is six feet in height, 
 and when in robust health, the picture of activity, and perseverance. 
 He is clear-headed, logical, and almost invariably correct in his 
 mode of reasoning, and his conclusions upon any subject he has in 
 hand. He has been a member of the City Council of Titusville, 
 and occupied from first to last a prominence in that body, at once 
 honorable and commanding. His perceptions are quick and gener- 
 ally accurate, and he estimates men, not from their wealth, but 
 upon the broader basis of honor and honesty. His personal friend- 
 ships are many and real. He is known and appreciated for his 
 business probity, and for fidelity to all his obligations, public or 
 private. For a few months past he has been in delicate health, 
 and has necessarily withdrawn from the more active pursuits of a 
 thus far busy life. 
 
c. A. P. R. P. Co.. Phila. 
 
 GEO. H. DIMICK. 
 
GEORGE H. DIMICK. 565 
 
 GEOEGE H. DIMICK. 
 
 PETROLIA, PA. 
 
 MR. DIMICK is a western man, born near Kenosha, Eacine 
 County, Wisconsin, on the first day of April, 1839. He is the 
 third, of a family of five children, four sons and one daughter. His 
 father was a farmer, and the sons were reared to this independent 
 calling, until they reached years of maturity. GEORGE was kept 
 at the district school until he was fourteen years old. At this age he 
 was sent to the High School at Kenosha, Wis., for a few terms, 
 and subsequently, attended the High School at Milwaukee for two 
 years and a-half. At the age of seventeen he taught a district 
 school in his native town for a single term, and at nineteen was 
 engaged as principal of one of the Ward Schools of the city of 
 Milwaukee. This position he held two years, or until the spring 
 of 1860. 
 
 In the fall of 1860, he came into the oil regions, and located at 
 Eouseville, then known as the "Buchanan Farm," and subse- 
 quently as Cherry Eun. Not long after his arrival at Eouseville 
 he received the appointment of Superintendent of the two Buchanan 
 farms one of which was being operated under a lease to Eouse & 
 Mitchel, and the other by Eouse, Mitchel & Brown. This position 
 he held about one year. 
 
 During the latter part of 1861, he began operations upon his 
 own account, and upon the two Buchanan farms. At this date the 
 "spring pole," water and horse power, were alone employed in 
 drilling oil wells, and the "first sand" was the lowest depth 
 reached, and this was obtained at from 180 to 200 feet. The 
 first well drilled upon the Archie Buchanan farm, and the " first 
 sand" was struck at 180 feet. The drilling, which required 
 months of time, was accomplished wholly by " spring pole " power. 
 
566 HISTORY OF PETROLEUM. 
 
 This well produced from twelve to fifteen barrels, and was owned 
 by Rouse, Mitchel & Brown. 
 
 Mr. DIMICK'S enterprises were measurably successful during the 
 summer of 1861, but an unlooked-for affliction came upon him, 
 in the tragic death, by burning, an account of which is given else- 
 where in these pages, of his friend, Henry R. Rouse, which changed 
 for the time at least the current of his ambition. Allied to Mr. 
 Rouse by ties of consanguinity, and from his business connections, 
 fully acquainted with the private affairs of the unfortunate gentle- 
 man, he was selected to settle his estate. This responsible duty 
 he entered upon during the fall and winter of 1861, in connec- 
 tion with the administrators, named by the deceased just prior 
 to his death. This labor required some months of his time, and 
 while in its performance he marked out his future. The war 
 for the Union, was at this time assuming colossal proportions. 
 Communities, Towns, Counties and States were rivaling each 
 other in arming and equipping Companies, Regiments and Bri- 
 gades for the bloody contest. Mr. DIMICK soon after the closing 
 up of his responsible duties to his dead friend, proceeded to New 
 York City, and there enrolled his name as a private in " Scott's 
 Nine Hundred/ 5 afterwards known, as the " First Regiment U. 
 S. Volunteer Cavalry." Col. Thomas A. Scott, since so widely 
 known as the Railway King of this continent, was mainly in- 
 strumental in procuring the passage of a law authorizing the Regi- 
 ment, and when it was ready for service, was named in honor of 
 him, " Scott's Nine Hundred/' and was known during its three 
 years active duty by this title. 
 
 The regiment reached Washington in the early spring of 1862, 
 and was detailed for special duty, acting when required, as escort to 
 President Lincoln, and members of his cabinet, and keeping watch 
 and ward over the federal capitol. 
 
 . Mr. DIMICK entered the regiment as a private, and was at its 
 organization elected first sergeant. Subsequently he was promoted 
 to First Lieutenant and Quarter Master, and then to a Captaincy. 
 
GEORGE H. DIMICK. 567 
 
 He was detached from his regiment, and served as Post and Di- 
 vision Quarter Master, and later was honored with the position of 
 acting Assistant Adjutant-General. 
 
 The regiment, after eighteen months' service about Washington, 
 was transferred to the Department of the Gulf, under Gen. Banks. 
 For a considerable time the command remained in New Orleans, and 
 was afterwards stationed at Baton Rouge, having charge of points on 
 the river intermediate to New Orleans. During this time Capt. Di- 
 MICK was acting Assistant Quarter Master. After New Orleans and 
 the lower Mississippi had been brought back to their allegiance to 
 the Union, the regiment was transferred to Memphis. This was in 
 the fall and winter of 1864. The regiment had already served three 
 years and three months, and in March, 1865, Capt. D. was honor- 
 ably discharged. After he returned to his home in Wisconsin, he 
 received his commission as captain, a promotion he had earned by 
 gallant and meritorious conduct, and which ought to have been 
 awarded him months before his term of enlistment expired. 
 
 In May, following his discharge from the army, he returned to 
 the Oil Region. This was about the date of the Pit Hole develop- 
 ment, and thither Mr. D. bent his steps. He at once identified 
 himself with the rapid growth and fabulous wealth of this newly 
 discovered oil-producing locality, entering largely into real estate 
 sales and putting down wells upon his own account. " The United 
 States Petroleum Company." the first to lease and successfully test 
 the Pit Hole basin, appointed Mr. D. an agent for the sale of leases 
 upon their property. Large sums of money were paid for half 
 acre leases, near the old " United States Weiy and Mr. D. had 
 the agency of most of this property. His transactions were heavy, 
 rapid, and very profitable. During the summer of 1865, and 
 while Pit Hole was the centre of attraction to operators and specu- 
 lators, small fortunes were eagerly expended in the purchase of 
 half acre leases at a quarter, and one-half royalty ! One day, 
 while Mr. DIMICK was busily engaged in his office, a sedate, well- 
 dressed, elderly gentleman entered, and inquired for the " United 
 
568 HISTORY OF PETROLEUM. 
 
 States Oil Company's agent?" Mr. D. was pointed out to him, 
 and he promptly approached. "What figures do you put upon 
 lease No. 49, Hohnden Farm ? " asked the stranger. " We have 
 concluded not to part with that half acre/ 7 said Mr. DIMICK, " but 
 to operate it ourselves." The clerical gentleman was evidently 
 disappointed, but not wholly satisfied. He pressed Mr. D. to fix a 
 price upon the coveted half acre plot, and before he gave up the 
 effort to secure it, offered $20,000 for it ! This sum was refused, 
 and the stranger departed. It was afterward ascertained that he 
 was the representative of a body or company of " oil smellers," 
 who for some days had been examining the surroundings of the 
 " United States," the " Grant," and other large flowing wells in the 
 vicinity, and had fixed upon this lease as one sure to rival all 
 others. They declared that this lease covered the great jugular 
 vein of the deposits. The plot happened to be one of several the 
 Company had reserved for their own development, and so could 
 not be sold at any price. When it was subsequently operated, it 
 proved to be only nominally productive territory ! 
 
 Throughout the summer and fall, and into the winter of 1865, 
 Mr. DIMICK operated largely, and carried controlling interests in 
 eleven dry wells on the McKinney farm alone ! These were, how- 
 ever, more than balanced by interests in many large producers, 
 among which were interests purchased, after they were down, as 
 ventures, in the great " Fool Well," that tanked out daily, 1,200 
 barrels the " Eureka Well," which gave out a golden stream of 
 800 barrels per day the famous " Grant Well " which flowed, for 
 many months, (as did the others,) 700 barrels per day and the 
 " Burchill Well," which produced steadily 350 barrels per day. 
 He held paying interests in very many other large producing wells 
 of less note than those we have named, all which added largely to 
 his resources and wealth. His business steadily augmented, and 
 was mainly successful through the fall and winter of 1865-6. But 
 in spite of all these evidences of accumulating riches, which 
 at times, amounted to thousands of dollars a day, when in Janu- 
 
GEORGE H. DIMICK. 569 
 
 ary, 1867, Mr. D., shook the dust of Pit Hole from his feet, his 
 Bank balances were far from flattering. Like hundreds of others, 
 he had remained quite too long, and when he came to gather 
 up his resources, their value was easily computed. Indeed the 
 balances were largely upon the wrong side. 
 
 In the spring of 1867, Mr. D., found himself physically reduced, 
 and he resolved upon a sea voyage. He proceeded to New Bed- 
 ford, Mass., and took passage in the good ship "Maywood," 
 bound for Cumberland Inlet, away up in the Arctic regions. 
 Without giving a detailed account of this somewhat remarkable 
 trip, to these far-office bound- shores and it was full of incident 
 we may add that the voyage was accomplished in about fifteen 
 months, when Mr. D., returned to his home in Wisconsin, greatly 
 improved in health. Soon after, or in the fall of 1868, he again 
 returned to the oil region, locating at Pleasant ville. He remained 
 here, a year or more, operating to a limited extent at Hickory, 
 Rouseville and Pleasantville, buying and selling lands, leases, in- 
 terests, &c. In the spring of 1871, he removed to Parker's Land- 
 ing, and became a partner in the extensive oil well supply es- 
 tablishment of Messrs. McKinney & Nesbitt, then representing on 
 the one hand the great iron manufactory of Gibbs, Sterritt & Co., 
 of Titusville, for boilers, and engines, drilling tools, &c., and the 
 Messrs. Morris, Tasker & Co., of Philadelphia, with the National 
 Tube Works, of Boston, and the Crescent City Tube Works of 
 Pittsburgh, upon the other, for casing, tubing, and w r ell fixtures 
 generally. Eight months after his connection with this firm, Mr. 
 DIMICK purchased the interests of his partners, and thence for- 
 ward, with a single change, that of DIMICK & McCoRMiCK he 
 conducted the constantly growing business, with success. During 
 his year and a half control of this branch establishment at Parker's 
 Landing, it is safe to say that his sales and receipts amounted to 
 $500,000, every dollar of which was scrupulously accounted for 
 and paid over. 
 
 In June, 1871, Mr. DIMICK made a thorough survey of the 
 
570 HISTORY OF PETROLEUM. 
 
 country lying five to seven miles south and west of Parker's Land- 
 ing, extending his observations and examinations to what is now 
 known as Petrolia City between Fairview and Argyle in Fair- 
 view Township, Butler County, Pa. Reaching what seemed to him 
 to be a natural basin, at a point where South Bear Creek and 
 Dougherty Run unite, he settled into the conviction that " this 
 must be oil territory." Near by, and upon the high ground over- 
 looking this basin, a large number of men, farmers and neighbors, 
 were engaged in raising a barn. There may have been fifty or 
 sixty of them. Mr. DIMICK, had previously met one of them 
 and had " interviewed him," as to the possibility of the vicinity 
 being oil territory, and he was not long in interviewing others at 
 the " raising." Subsequently he offered to drill a well somewhere 
 in this basin, provided the owners of the land would give him 
 leases of portions of their farms, sufficient to warrant the under- 
 taking. Terms were finally agreed upon, and before Mr. DIMICK 
 left the " raising party," he had obtained leases upon five farms 
 in the immediate vicinity, for himself and partners. He took a 
 lease of twenty-nine acres of the Blaney farm sixteen acres of the 
 Jameson farm, and ten acres of the W. A. Wilson farm all which 
 covered or were located in the basin before referred to. He also 
 obtained a ten acre lease on the Graham farm, west of Argyle, and 
 another of ten acres upon the James Wilson farm, south of the 
 Blaney farm, about seventy-five acres in all, and all $k one-eighth 
 royalty. We have been thus particular in our detail of this 
 transaction, because it illustrates better than we can express or ex- 
 plain it, the mode and manner of " Wild Catting " as it is termed, 
 for new developments. The first well drilled upon this property, 
 was located upon the line dividing the Jameson and Blaney farms. 
 It was arranged that the one-eighth royalty, should be equally 
 divided between the owners of the land, each receiving one-six- 
 teenth. This well was completed on the 17th of April, 1872, and' 
 started off at 100 barrels per day ! When these leases were se- 
 cured, there were no developments within four miles of Petrolia 
 
GEORGE H. DIMICK. 571 
 
 or Argyle. Other parties, at a later day obtained leases, a mile or 
 more below Mr. DIMICK, and were a day or two in advance of 
 him in getting their wells down, but the " pioneering " about 
 Petrolia, we think belongs to Mr. DIMICK, and the firm of which 
 he \tas a member, and which was formed after the first well was 
 commenced, (DiMiCK, NESBITT & Co.) The developments just 
 mentioned, were the signals for emigration to the new Oil-dorado. 
 "Petrolia City/' became a famous oil centre. Its growth was 
 rapid, and in many respects substantial. The first wells in the 
 vicinity were struck in April, and before the close of the following 
 month, May, the moving mass began to arrive, and by July, a 
 city with metropolitan pretensions and cosmopolitan make up, 
 sprang iuto existence. Early in 1872, a borough charter was ob- 
 tained, and in February following, an election of borough officers 
 took place. Mr. DIMICK was named by the respectable portion of 
 the community for Burgess. The "roughs" and "slums" of the 
 oil region, named one of their own number as an opposing candi- 
 date. When the election came on, many of the best citizens of 
 Petrolia, feared the " roughs " might succeed with their infamous 
 representative, who all day long possessed the polls, desiring, if they 
 did not do so, to " vote early and often." When the vote was can- 
 vassed, it was found that Mr. DIMICK had been elected by a large 
 majority the slums and " riff-raff/' being able to muster less than 
 one fifth of Jhe whole number cast. At the regular election, which 
 followed late in March, Mr. DIMICK was unanimously nominated 
 and re-elected without a dissenting vote. This is a compliment 
 rarely paid to officials of this character, but we doubt not, Mr. D., 
 merited this endorsement and compliment, at the hands of his fel- 
 low-citizens, for upon all hands he is denominated a faithful, vigi- 
 lant public officer. 
 
 Mr. DIMICK'S career, as a successful producer, may date from his 
 Petrolia City investments and developments. He has, of his own, 
 and in connection with Mr. Nesbitt, many other oil interests, and 
 tracts of oil territory, in process of development, or soon to be put 
 
572 HISTOKY OF PETROLEUM. 
 
 to the drill. These properties are located in different portions of 
 the Parker oil field, at St. Petersburg, Slippery Rock, and in the 
 immediate vicinity of the wonderful developments in and about 
 Greece City. 
 
 Personally, Mr. DIMICK is a gentleman of active temperament, 
 excellent executive ability, and sturdy industry. He has dignity 
 of character, and yet ample social characteristics to relieve him of 
 a seeming stiffness of manner. He is a man of quick perceptions, 
 and superior business qualifications. Reliable in all his relations, 
 a man of integrity and private worth, he adorns alike the private 
 circles of life, and is amply qualified for the sterner conflicts of a 
 public career. As Burgess of Petrolia City, he is deservedly popu- 
 lar with all classes, and he discharges his varied duties with a clear 
 conception of his responsibilities, without fear or favor. He is at 
 present upon the high road to deserved success, and this will assu- 
 redly be his future ; for to a commendable perseverance, he adds 
 an industry and a will, always sure to overcome obstacles and 
 whatever of embarrassment that may stand in the way. 
 
Woodburytype. A. P. R. P. Co., Phils 
 
 GEQ. H. NESBITT. 
 
GEORGE H. NESBITT. 573 
 
 GEOEGE H. NESBITT. 
 
 PETROLIA, PA. 
 
 MR. NESBITT is a native of Erie Co., Perm., born in Washing- 
 ton township, on the 21st day of July, 1847. His father was, and 
 is at this date, a well-to-do farmer, residing upon the same farm 
 upon which he settled many years ago. GEORGE is the youngest 
 of a family of nine children, six sons and three daughters. In his 
 earlier years, he had the advantages of a good common-school edu- 
 cation, acquiring a thorough knowledge of the common branches, 
 and was known and acknowledged, before he attained the age of 
 twelve years,' as a bright, if not a brilliant scholar. He early 
 became impressed with the idea of self-reliance in the battle of life; 
 and at the age of fifteen, left his father's house, resolved to work 
 out his own success. He made his way to the Oil Eegions, reach- 
 ing Titusville late in the fall of 1862. Here he soon after entered 
 the employ of BTJRTIS BROS., oil-refiners, intending to learn the 
 business. He continued in this position a few months, when, in 
 consequence of a general stagnation of the trade, induced by the 
 beggarly prices of oil, the refinery closed, and GEORGE was thrown 
 out of employment. The following spring, 1863, he engaged with 
 DENSMORE Bros., extensive and successful operators on the Tarr 
 and Funk farms. Here he remained into the summer of 1863. 
 During 1863, in connection with his brother-in-law, "W. H. 
 DOUGHERTY, he built a refinery at Bull Run, Shaffer farm, and 
 this enterprise was continued with success until the spring of 1864, 
 when Mr. NESBITT disposed of his interest, and soon after entered 
 into the business of shipping oil to Pittsburgh, and points interme- 
 diate, by barges, flat-boats, &c. When the waters had subsided, 
 his occupation was gone; and during the remainder of that year, 
 
574 HISTORY OF PETROLEUM. 
 
 he turned his attention to real estate operations. He dealt success- 
 fully in property of this character, buying and selling oil leases, oil 
 well interests, oil lands, <fec. 
 
 In the spring of 1865, then scarcely eighteen years old, he began 
 to operate upon his own account, and drilled wells on lower Ben- 
 ninghoff Run, and upon the Dempsey and adjoining farms on 
 Cherry Tree Run. These enterprises were, taken as a whole, only 
 partially successful ; but Mr. N. was enabled to pay all his indebt- 
 edness, dollar for dollar, and keep his balances upon the right side. 
 While these several wells were being put down, " the Pit Hole 
 glory " came upon the region, and startled everybody. Mr. NES- 
 BITT was among the first to reach the new developments, and 
 secure leases. He leased, and during 1865, put down, or was 
 interested in, wells upon the Holmden, Rooker, Hyner, Ball, Mc- 
 Kinney and Morey farms. In conjunction with his oil operations, 
 he entered into real estate speculations, dealing in le^ling, interests, 
 &c., and occasionally erecting buildings, and leasing or disposing 
 of them at fabulous prices to the daily augmenting population of 
 Pit Hole City. It is safe to say, his two years' residence, at Pit 
 Hole were marked by as many changes of fortune as commonly 
 fall to the lot of men of his years and experience. There were 
 days and months that his profits and prosperity and rapid accumu- 
 lations of wealth were simply wonderful. He counted his gains 
 by the tens of thousands. But when in 1867, Pit Hole "gave out," 
 and its glory departed, he found himself, like hundreds of others, 
 able to get away with only a fraction of his earlier acquisitions. 
 
 During the latter part of 1866, and while endeavoring to dis- 
 pose of his Pit Hole interests, he received the appointment of As- 
 sistant Assessor of Internal Revenue his district comprising Plea- 
 santville and its vicinity and this was his residence and head- 
 quarters during 1866. In the spring of 1867, he returned to " the 
 Creek," locating at Pioneer. Here he operated extensively, on the 
 Benninghoif, Upper McElhenny, and Foster Farms, and with con- 
 siderable success. The low price of oil during the summer of 
 
GEOHGE H. NESBITT. 575 
 
 1867, was a serious check to rapid money-making, but Mr. NES- 
 BITT was fortunate in obtaining good wells, and while he sold his 
 product at $1.50 per barrel, and upwards, he was enabled to count 
 his profits at a good round figure. In the spring of 1868, he 
 moved with the mass to the then developing oil deposits of Plea- 
 santville. Here he again entered largely into real estate invest- 
 ments, dealing as before in oil lands, oil wells and oil interests 
 generally. Besides this, his chief pursuit, he put down several 
 wells upon his own account, and nearly all his ventures were 
 sources of profit. He remained at Pleasantville until the summer 
 and fall of 1869, when his health failed him, forcing him to with- 
 draw from active pursuits. He, however, formed a business con- 
 nection with Mr. G. H. Dimick, and together they purchased some 
 abandoned wells at Rouseville, with a view to resuscitating them. 
 This undertaking did not prove a profitable one, and during the 
 summer of 1869, they turned their attention to prospecting for oil 
 belts and new territory. They located the famous Goodrich lease, 
 on the Scott Farm, north-east of developments on Hickory Creek, 
 and established the " belt " upon which the celebrated " Venture 
 Well " was subsequently obtained, and which gave Fagundas City 
 and its marvellous production so much notoriety. During the same 
 season they located a large lease on the Cope Farm, near the 
 McGrew developments, south of Oil City. All these located leases 
 afterwards proved to be very productive, demonstrating the cor- 
 rectness of the surveys and examinations of Messrs. DIMICK & 
 NESBITT. 
 
 During the winter of 1869-70, Mr. NESBITT removed to Parker's 
 Landing, and shortly after formed a business connection with Mr. 
 J. L. McKinney, in the sale of oil well supplies, machinery, &c. 
 This business had already grown into large proportions, involving a 
 heavy capital, but the firm extended their operations as opportu- 
 nity offered, dealing extensively in oil lands and oil interests at 
 various points in the Parker region. Upon the opening of opera- 
 tions in 1870, and throughout the spring and summer of that year, 
 
576 HISTORY OF PETROLEUM. 
 
 they were known as leading operators and producers, extending 
 their developments to Bear Creek, and upon the Black and 
 Dutchess Farms, and wheresoever a fair return was promised for 
 their enterprise. By judicious investments, good management and 
 careful, pains-taking industry, the firm prospered largely. Indeed, 
 their oil investments and varied operations absorbed so much of 
 the time and required so fully the attention of both the partners, 
 that in the spring of 1871, Mr. G. H. Dimick was admitted a part- 
 ner in the oil well supply branch of their trade, under the firm 
 name of McKinney, Nesbitt & Co., and to him was confided the 
 care and conduct of this important portion of their interests. 
 
 In the early part of 1871, Mr. NESBITT was again afflicted with 
 ill health, the results of exposure to storm and cold, and overtaxed 
 energies, and the greater part of the subsequent months of that 
 year were spent in eastern cities, the better to secure medical advice 
 and treatment. But though ill, he was not idle or relieved wholly 
 from the cares of his business. In conjunction with his partners, he 
 gave much attention to the sale of oil lands and interests to eastern 
 and home parties. The oil excitement at Parker's Landing ran 
 high during all the summer of 1871, and oil lands were in great 
 demand. The firm of McKinney & Nesbitt was among the boldest 
 and most enterprising and active, and as a sequence, had an exten- 
 sive trade and realized large profits. 
 
 In January, 1872, he returned to Parker's Landing, greatly im- 
 proved in health. During the spring and summer following, the 
 firm of McKinney & Nesbitt entered largely into oil operations, ex- 
 tending their developments from St. Petersburg, to the then extreme 
 south-western limits below Parker's Landing. They secured 
 leases, purchased lands, and put down many wells, largely increas- 
 ing both their expenditures and their profits. Among their earlier 
 developments during this year, was the first oil producing well at 
 Petrolia, since so prolific of oil wells of fabulous production. 
 
 In the early part of 1872, Messrs. McKinney & Nesbitt, in 
 connection with, and we may add, at the suggestion of Mr. G. H. 
 
GEORGE H. NESBITT. 577 
 
 Dimick, who prospected the new territory, obtained a large lease, 
 including parts of the Blaney, Jameson, W. A. Wilson, James 
 Wilson, and Graham Farms, four or five miles in advance of other 
 developments, and upon the site of what is now known as Petrolia 
 City. Their first well at this point was completed about the middle 
 of April, 1872, and flowed from the start one hundred to one 
 hundred and fifty barrels per day ! 
 
 Soon after this first well was down, Messrs. Dimick & Nesbitt, 
 and Mr. William Lardin, the contractor for drilling their first well, 
 purchased the interest of Mr. McKinney in the property, and Mr. 
 L. has since been a member of the firm of Dimick, Nesbitt & Co. 
 The new proprietors of this very valuable property continued 
 their active operations, and before the close of the summer of 1872, 
 it had been thoroughly gone over and tested. The history, in brief, 
 of its development is a most remarkable one, and is beyond ques- 
 tion without parallel in the Parker District. 
 
 Let us take " the first six " of these wells put down upon this 
 territory, in proof of our assertion : 
 
 No. 1, flowed and pumped from the start over one hundred bar- 
 rels per day ! No. 2, about eighty barrels per day. No. 3, over 
 one hundred and eighty barrels per day. No. 4, two hundred and 
 fifty barrels per day. No. 5, one hundred and fifty barrels per 
 day, and No. 6, tanked two hundred and twenty barrels per day. 
 It is questionable if the entire oil region, in later years, will afford 
 an instance of such wonderful product, and in such rapid succes- 
 sion, at this date, April, 1873. There are fourteen wells upon this 
 lease, one of which has been pouring forth its golden stream for 
 quite twelve months, and the majority of the remaining thirteen have 
 been producing largely for months past, and bid fair to hold out 
 for months to come. 
 
 Mr. NESBPTT has no business, or financial connections other than 
 we have mentioned, if we except one, he holds in " The Parker's 
 Savings Bank." He is a Director in this institution, and has been 
 so honored for two years past. 
 
 37 
 
578 HISTORY OF PETROLEUM. 
 
 GEORGE H. NESBITT is yet a young man, but he has left an 
 impress upon the history of petroleum developments in Western 
 Pennsylvania, which may well be his pride and boast. Without 
 capital or influential friends, he made his way into the oil region, 
 when a mere lad, and by his industry, frugality and fidelity to 
 every trust confided to him, has hewn his w^ay to prominence and 
 prosperity. He is to-day the possessor of a handsome competency, 
 accumulated in the earnest and honest discharge of all his obliga- 
 tions. No man can say truthfully that GEORGE H. NESBITT has 
 knowingly wronged or designedly over-reached him. 
 . Personally, Mr. NESBITT is a gentleman of modest and retiring 
 manners. He never obtrudes himself or his opinions upon any. 
 He is, nevertheless, a man of convictions, and does not hesitate in 
 the avowal of them whenever and wherever occasion requires it. 
 In business circles, he stands the test of ability, capacity, and un- 
 questioned honor and honesty. He is a man of irreproachable 
 private worth, and unblemished integrity, and such a man must 
 achieve, as he deserves, success in all his business transactions. 
 
ie. A. P. R. }'. Co., V 
 
 WILLIAM D. ROBINSON 
 
WILLIAM D. ROBINSON. 579 
 
 WILLIAM D. ROBINSON. 
 
 KITTANXING, PA. 
 
 ME. ROBINSON'S ancestors were among the early settlers of 
 Perry Township, in the County of Armstrong, Penna., his father 
 having removed thither, and to what is now known as Parker's 
 Landing, in 1810, where he soon after entered largely into the 
 manufacture of leather, erecting a tannery, and necessary buildings 
 for this purpose. 
 
 The subject of the following sketch, WILLIAM D. ROBINSON, 
 was born in this new home in the wilderness, near the present 
 borough of Parker's Landing, on the 2d day of October, 1820. 
 He was the eldest of nine children seven sons and two daughters. 
 Schools were not as plentiful as now, in this new Petroleum 
 field, but such as they were, young ROBINSON enjoyed and im- 
 proved, as soon as his age would permit. He was schooled until 
 he was twenty. Meantime, he acquired a thorough knowledge of 
 the business his father carried on. He was known as. a first-class 
 tanner and currier, and followed this calling until he had nearly 
 reached his majority attending school winters, and assisting his 
 father from seven to eight months of each year. 
 
 When he was in his twentieth year he sought and obtained a 
 clerkship in Shippen's Furnace, Venango county, Pa. This- position 
 he held about a year, when he was tendered a like responsible 
 place in an iron manufactory at Brady's Bend. Here he remained 
 three years, faithfully discharging his duties, challenging and re- 
 ceiving the confidence and esteem of his employers. 
 
 In 1843, he embarked in business for himself, opening a country 
 store at Parker's Landing, for the sale of dry goods, groceries, 
 
5 SO HISTORY OF PETROLEUM. 
 
 crockery, hardware, etc., etc. This enterprise he continued for 
 nearly twenty-six years, establishing a character for uprightness 
 and honorable dealing never questioned. He retired from mer- 
 cantile pursuits in 1869; having acquired a competency, accelerated 
 doubtless, by his successes in developing and producing petroleum 
 oil. 
 
 In the winter of 1864, 5, the oil excitements of the. upper and 
 lower Oil Creek region were at their height, and Mr. ROBINSOX 
 very earnestly conceived the idea, that oil deposits existed in the 
 region of his. third of a century's residence. He had examined and 
 carefully -noted the then generally received opinion of " surface in- 
 dications," and soon reached the conviction that oil could be found 
 there. He purchased thirty-six acres of the old Homestead farm, 
 lying on the Allegany River, and now forming a portion of Park- 
 er's Landing. This 'thirty-six acres of land he made the basis of a 
 stock company, called " The Clarion and Allegany River Oil Com- 
 pany," with a capital of $100,000. 
 
 The stock was all subscribed mainly by Philadelphia capitalists, 
 who knew Mr. ROBINSON as a truthful, honest man and upon 
 the organization of the company Mr. R. was made the Superinten- 
 dent, and assumed charge of the work. 
 
 In the spring of 1865, he commenced his first well, under the 
 auspices of this company, and this was the first oil well drilled at 
 Parker's Landing. The embarrassments attending this first effort 
 to find oil at Parker's Landing, may be estimated by those familiar 
 with new territory. .All the machinery for tile well had to be 
 boated from Pittsburgh and Oil City ; and there was neither der- 
 rick nor development between these two points. Fifty and sixty 
 miles from a machine shop, if a break occurred, Pittsburgh, or 
 Oil City, or Titusville, were the nearest points for repairs. It re- 
 quired the entire summer of 1865 nearly six months to com- 
 plete this well. In October, 1865, the sand-pump brought up the 
 unmistakable evidences of a " third sand/' or oil rock. The well 
 was tubed, and started off at about ten barrels per day. It averaged 
 
WILLIAM D. ROBINSON. 581 
 
 the first year nineteen barrels per day, and oil was sold from it, 
 during its first two or three months' product, at $8 per barrel. The 
 well continued to produce for a long time, and was a source of 
 much profit to the company. 
 
 During the same year (1869,) he began and completed, upon his 
 own account, a third well, on the Fox farm, just above his first 
 developments. This proved to be another success, the well pro- 
 ducing from the start, and for more than a year thereafter, seventy- 
 five barrels per day. 
 
 Mr. ROBINSON has been a resident of Kittanning, Pa,, thirty 
 miles below Parker's Landing, since 1859. Here he has provided 
 himself with a commodious residence, furnished with all the modern 
 luxuries of a sumptuous home. During the past thirteen years he 
 has given his personal attention to his large business at Parker's 
 Landing, where he is still the fortunate possessor of some valuable 
 oil property, spending much of his time in that locality. 
 
 In. all his business relations he has maintained a high character 
 for promptness, probity, and unflagging industry. No man stands 
 higher in the esteem of those who know him best. He is clear- 
 headed, honest to a fault, and possesses the financial ability to exe- 
 cute to the letter., every contract he may enter into. He is a man 
 of generous impulses, and does good without ostentation, or desire 
 for notoriety. Of simple tastes and habits, he enjoys his ample for- 
 tune without worry or apparent anxiety. Possessing to the fullest 
 extent? the confidence and esteem of all who know him, his de- 
 clining years are sure to be his truest and happiest. He has a well 
 preserved constitution and vigorous health, the results of correct 
 habits of life, and he bids fair to live to a good old age, to enjoy 
 the fruits of his industry, and the friendship and devotion of a 
 wide circle of friends. 
 
582 HISTORY OF PETROLEUM. 
 
 JAMES S. McCRAY. 
 
 FRANKLIN, PA. 
 
 OF all the remarkable phenomena of Petroleum, among the 
 most singular have been those which attended the development of 
 the McCray Farm, at Petroleum Centre. Nearly half surrounded 
 by the Creek, along the margin of which, directly at the base of 
 that hill on which the farm is situated, were several of the largest 
 flowing wells of the Pennsylvania Oil Region, which, together with 
 the infinite number of good pumping wells that perforated the 
 ground in the immediate vicinity of the territory, at Wild Cat, Pe- 
 troleum Centre, and the Egbert Farm, for eight years, sapping the 
 sources of supply to an unheard-of extent, yet in October, 1870, 
 six months after oil was struck on the hill, this farm produced 
 over twenty-seven hundred barrels a day, yielding to its owner the 
 enormous income of more than six thousand dollars a day, and yet 
 but little more than half the production was his ! 
 
 To gratify an hdnest interest which the public are sure to feel in 
 the history of men whose lives have been connected with remark- 
 able events, we pause in the description of the farm to glance at the 
 career of the man. A career it has been which however much 
 wanting in the wild interest of adventure, is not without a health- 
 ful lesson in industry and perseverance, to restless, surging, fever- 
 ish, fortune-seeking young America. 
 
 He was born November 16, 1824, about a mile below Titusville, 
 on what is now known as Watson's Flats. Here, till his father 
 removed to a farm near the Allegany, several years of his childhood 
 were passed. The meagre education in that day deemed requisite 
 for a farmer's son, was acquired at the log school-houses, here and 
 there maintained for the enlightenment of country youth during 
 
Woofihurytype. A. P. R.P. Co.. Phila. 
 
 JAS. S. McCRAY. 
 
JAMES S. McCEAY. 583 
 
 the winter months. Up to that time, in the history of American 
 evangelization, there were still a few who clung to the antique 
 supposition, now quite obsolete, that children owed the parents 
 who had nourished them in their tender helplessness, some debt 
 of gratitude that demanded a practical recognition. Consequently, 
 after giving his father two or three years of service, we find J. S. 
 McCRAY, at the age of twenty-two, starting out for himself, with 
 only two dollars in his pocket. 
 
 For two years he worked at one of the numerous saw-mills in 
 the lumbering region, along the Allegany, above Oil City, and 
 by the practice of those economies which the* hardy back-woods- 
 men, who are now the bone and sinew of the land, commonly ob- 
 served, at the age of twenty-five, he was able to buy a team and 
 take up the land which now constitutes the McCray Farm, and for 
 which he paid about two thousand dollars. 
 
 Between farming and lumbering he continued to lay up the 
 means of making a comfortable home, and at the age of twenty- 
 eight, married Martha G. Crooks, of Venango County, a respect- 
 ably connected young woman, of sterling good sense, who was a 
 willing helpmeet in their humble beginning, and an invaluable 
 guide when the flood of fortune, that might have unsettled a 
 steadier head, rolled in upon him. 
 
 When the news of Drake's success spread like wildfire up and 
 down the country, drawing crowds of curious and excited visitors, 
 Mr. McCRAY, together with several others, formed a Company, 
 and took a lease of two acres on the Buchanan Farm, at Rouseville. 
 The lease proved a remunerative bargain, but before the first well 
 was quite down, McCRAY embraced an opportunity which was 
 offered, to sell out his interest, and he soon after secured a lease on 
 the Blood Farm, adjoining his own. 
 
 It was here that fortune first smiled on his oil operations. He 
 had obtained a most favorable lease from his old neighbor, who 
 still held the farm, and in company with several others, he put 
 down the famous "Maple Shade Well," which for a long time 
 
584 HISTORY OF PETROLEUM. 
 
 flowed eight hundred barrels per day, a quarter of which produc- 
 tion, clear from all expense, belonged to Mr. McCRAY, who, be- 
 sides owning the lease, had an interest in the well. 
 
 After realizing more than twenty-five thousand dollars by the 
 sale of oil, he sold his interest in this property for fifty thousand 
 dollars ! 
 
 In 1863, Dr. Egbert, then as still one of the most enterprising 
 of operators, having acquired possession of the strip of bottom 
 land along the Creek at the base of the McCRAY hill, and having 
 struck the renowned " Coquet Well ". almost on the McCuAY line, 
 took a lease of all that terrace called the McCRAY flats which 
 adjoined his own property, giving three-eighths of the oil as roy- 
 alty, and immediately began to develop. 
 
 The first three wells sunk, for a long time averaged about three 
 hundred barrels of oil per day, netting of course a handsome revenue, 
 and piling up wealth as fast as any man could reasonably wish. 
 In all, there were seven or eight wells sunk on his land at the foot 
 of the hill; and in 1865, when the production was at its height, 
 Mr. McCRAY refused a clear half million in cash for the farm. 
 Though he refused this offer, not because he thought it less than 
 the value of the property, but from reluctance to give up a home- 
 stead acquired by hard labor and constant frugality, and endeared 
 to his family by cherished associations ; subsequent events showed 
 it to be a very fortunate decision. 
 
 In the possession now of an ample fortune he surrounded his 
 family with such solid comforts as their education and former 
 hardy lives enabled them to enjoy, and prudently determined to 
 give his children such an education as would fit them for any so- 
 cial position. 
 
 Early in the spring of 1870, KefFer & Watson, operating on the 
 Dalzell tract, on top of the hill, struck a well which began to flow 
 four hundred barrels per day. 
 
 This well was near the McCray line, and when it was struck, 
 immediately leases were in anxious demand on the McCray farm 
 
JAMES S. McCRAY. 585 
 
 07i the top of the hill, and operators were crowding to obtain them 
 on any terms at all; 
 
 He, however, fixed a uniform price of one thousand dollars per 
 acre bonus, and one-half the oil. Even at these unusual figures there 
 were plenty of experienced operators, ready to take leases. He also 
 began to operate himself on a large scale, and so remunerative was 
 the territory that in the whole Oil Region of Pennsylvania there 
 is probably not to-day another piece of land equal in size, on which 
 are to be seen standing so great a number of derricks. So suc- 
 cessful were the operations, and so rapid the increase in production, 
 that six months after Keifer & Watson's strike in October, 1870, 
 the McCray farm piped twenty-seven hundred and thirty barrels 
 of oil daily, about seventeen hundred of which were his own, yield- 
 ing for a time, perhaps the largest revenue ever received by a single 
 firm from the production of petroleum. 
 
 But when the magic smile of fortune had turned the rugged 
 hill, over which they had toiled in the hopeful days of their younger 
 life, following their quiet herds, dreaming only of a competency 
 that would enable them to spend the evening of their lives in re- 
 pose and plenty ; happy because industrious, honest and thrifty ; 
 ambitious only to give their children a better chance in life than 
 their's had been ; when fortune surrounded them with gold for 
 the realization of their wildest dreams, the hand of death stole in 
 upon the glittering scene, and with one rude crash shattered their 
 fondest hopes. The eldest of their three children, a beautiful 
 daughter just merging into womanhood, died, bowing their hearts 
 in a grief that riches can never heal. 
 
 MR. McCRAY is in middle life, blessed with a vigorous, robust 
 constitution, and as a sequence, enjoys most excellent health. He 
 is a man of active temperament, thoroughly devoted to his business 
 concerns, and these he manages with an ability seldom witnessed 
 in men of his educational advantages and experience. Latterly he 
 has come to regard all enterprises, bidding for his approval and 
 capital, with great caution, and is therefore not likely to become 
 
586 HISTORY OF PETROLEUM. 
 
 the dupe of sharpers, or the prey of speculators upon his bounty 
 or generosity. 
 
 The product of the McCRAY farm from the commencement of 
 operations in 1871, to July, 1873, must reach, if it does not exceed, 
 500,000 barrels of oil one-half of which has been turned over to 
 Mr. McCRAY. Nearly 150,000 barrels of this is now held in iron 
 tanks by him for better prices. 
 
 A year or more since, Mr. McCRAY purchased the elegant pri- 
 vate residence of Mr. BROUGH, at Franklin, Venango Co., Pa., and 
 soon after removed thither, and is now a resident of that beautiful 
 city. Here he is honored and respected for his integrity as a man, 
 his enterprise as a citizen, and his worth, honor and honesty as a 
 neighbor and friend. 
 
CITIES AND TOWNS. 587 
 
 CITIES AND TOWNS. 
 
 THE OIL REGION OF PENNSYLVANIA. 
 
 WITH the progress of Oil developments, cities and towns, with 
 teeming inhabitants, arise. A great number of these remain to 
 mark the industry and the fortunes of the business. We have 
 only to point to Titusville, Oil City, Franklin, Parker City, 
 Tidioute, and others of less importance, to prove that notwith- 
 standing the hazardous character of the oil business at these points, 
 it has built up for itself very many enduring monuments. 
 
 In the following pages we shall endeavor to describe the cities 
 and towns of the Oil Region as they now stand. The reader should 
 not entertain too exalted an idea of many of these "cities." They 
 spring up as if from the touch of the magician's wand are swept 
 away by fire, or disappear, only to re-appear miles in advance of 
 their last location. They are portable and ported. The owners 
 of the buildings migrate with the greatest unconcern % The struc- 
 tures that shelter them to-night, may to-morrow, do a similar 
 service miles in advance, at the scene of some new strike. 
 
 From the year succeeding Col. DRAKE'S initial venture, the 
 striking of a good well has time and again throughout the Oil Re- 
 gion resulted in the establishment of a flourishing town, with a ce- 
 lerity truly marvellous. Who is not familiar with the unpoetic 
 name and eventful history of Pit Hole the civic wonder of the 
 century? Well might foreigners, accustomed only to the slow ad- 
 vance of national progress, exhibit astonishment at the story of this 
 remarkable creation of the feverish times, Avhen a few brief weeks 
 
588 HISTORY OF PETROLEUM. 
 
 served to accomplish the work of years, and hundreds of anxious 
 men, in three short months, crowded into their lives the multiform 
 experiences of a decade. Never before had mankind beheld a 
 nearer realization of some imaginative tale of the Arabian Nights 
 nor is the world likely soon again to witness an ascent and a tumble 
 so bewildering as the rise and fall of the once famous Pit Hole 
 city, located in the north-east corner of Cornplanter township. 
 But Pit Hole, and others of minor note in the upper district, have 
 disappeared, and he who would see thoroughly, representative 
 u oil towns," must perforce visit the oily realms of Butler County, 
 and interview the new oil " cities," springing up there. 
 
 TITUSVILLE, CRAWFORD COUNTY, PA. 
 
 LET us begin our review, or description of the chief Cities and 
 Towns in the upper oil fields, with TITUSVILLE, located as it is, 
 upon the extreme north-eastern boundary of the oil producing re- 
 gion, near the head-waters of Oil Creek, in the north-eastern cor- 
 ner of Crawford County. TITUSVILLE became a point of import- 
 ance, upon the successful completion of Col. DRAKE'S well, in 
 1859, though the Borough was incorporated in 1847. At that 
 date 1847, the settlement, contained less than 200 inhabitants. 
 JOSEPH L. CHASE, was the first Burgess of TITUSVILLE, under a 
 special law of the State, creating it an incorporation. WILLIAM 
 BARNSDALL, S. S. BATES, J. K. KERR, and G. C. PETTIS, com- 
 posed the first Council, under this enactment. In 1861, the Bo- 
 rough was re-organized under the general' act of 1834, retaining as 
 its corporate government, a Burgess, six Councilmen, six School 
 Directors, and other officers required by its Charter. Year by 
 year, since 1861, the city has grown in population and wealth, 
 and in 1867, a City Charter was secured, with a Mayor, Common 
 Council, uniformed Police, School Board, <fec., &c. 
 
CITIES AND TOWNS. 589 
 
 The population of TITUS VILLE, by the census of 1870, was a 
 little short of 10,000. Its steady growth since, warrants an esti- 
 mate of the population now, at 12,000. The city presents an at- 
 tractive and solid appearance. The business streets are adorned 
 with handsome stores, mostly brick structures, and the thorough- 
 fares are well lighted, and are kept in good repair. During the 
 past year since July, 1872 more than a mile of wooden pave- 
 ment has been laid in the* principal business avenues SPRING, 
 DIAMOND, FRANKLIN, PINE, and WASHINGTON Streets* an im- 
 provement greatly needed, and rendering these thoroughfares at 
 once attractive and substantial. Many splendid private mansions 
 have been erected during the past two or three years, both elegant 
 in style and elaborate in finish. The city has besides scores and 
 scores of beautiful residences. The principle streets are wide, and 
 handsomely graded. The city is lighted with gas. It has some 
 ten or twelve churches, representing almost every profession of 
 Christianity. It has four public schools one in each of the four 
 Wards of the city, two of these school edifices being large and 
 substantial brick structures, that have cost not less than $50,000 
 each. It has a public park, which is beautified yearly by an ex- 
 penditure of $2,000 to $5,000. Its city sewerage is nearly com- 
 plete, and the new " Holly Water Works " will be finished this 
 year. 
 
 The city has six banking establishments, all upon solid 'basis a 
 Board of Trade "Oil Exchange" two daily newspapers The 
 Herald and The Courier, the former the Kepublican, the latter the 
 Democratic organ and one weekly, The Sunday Morning Press 
 " independent, but not neutral." It has among its many indus- 
 tries, two large Iron establishments, employing hundreds of men in 
 the manufacture of engines and boilers, oil well tools and ma- 
 chinery, car .tanks, oil tanks of immense size and capacity, &c., &c. 
 These are "THE GIBBS & STERRITT MANUFACTURING COM- 
 
 * The principal portion of this wood pavement is the product of local enterprise, 
 Col. E. A. L. ROBERTS being the patentee, and ROBEBTS BROS, the contractors. 
 
590 HISTORY OF PETROLEUM. 
 
 PANY," and "THE TITUSVILLE MANUFACTURING COMPANY." 
 Besides, there are many others of less capacity ADAM GOOD'S 
 Brass Foundry and Machine Shop, being among those de- 
 serving special mention. In addition to these noted industries, 
 TITUSVILLE has eight or ten Oil Refineries, involving the employ- 
 ment of a large amount t)f capital, and hundreds of operatives. Its 
 Hotel accommodations are second to no town or city in Western 
 Pennsylvania. It has an Opera Hpuse, which, for size and 
 beauty, is not excelled in this portion of the Commonwealth. 
 
 TITUSVILLE has two Railways entering her limits " The Oil 
 Creek & Allegany River Railway " connecting with the Atlantic 
 & Great Western Railway at Union and Corry and at the latter 
 point, with the Philadelphia & Erie Road, East and West, and 
 with the Cross Cut, or Buffalo, Corry & Pittsburgh Railroad to 
 Brockton, on the Lake Shore & Michigan Southern Railroad. 
 
 " The Warren & Venango Road," terminates at TITUSVILLE at 
 present connecting that city with Warren, Pa., and with Dun- 
 kirk, N. Y., on the Erie, and Lake Shore Road. This Road has its 
 prospective terminus at Oil City, and the road-bed is nearly com- 
 pleted to that point. 
 
 TITUSVILLE has all the advantages and attractions of a growing 
 Western city. It has wealth, enterprise, industry, thrift, and a 
 " go-ahead," about her citizens, that will bring prosperity and con- 
 tinued growth as surely as day succeeds night. 
 
 PLEASANTVILLE, VENANGO COUNTY, PA. 
 THIS is one of the most attractive and prosperous towns of the 
 upper Oil Region. Situated on the high land, overlooking the 
 country for miles in every direction, PLEASANTVILLE is a beauti- 
 ful interior village of two to three thousand inhabitants, six miles 
 east of Titusville. The streets are wide, and are laid out regu- 
 larly, beautified by substantial private residences, not costly or 
 luxurious, if we except a dozen or more of the better class of struc- 
 
CITIES AND TOWNS. 591 
 
 tures of this character, but are home-like, substantial, and inviting. 
 Every street in the village is a model of neatness and order^ 
 
 PLEASANTVILLE has half a dozen brick blocks, devoted to the 
 purposes of trade and business. It has two Banking Institutions of 
 financial solidity, Churches, an Opera House, and first-class hotels, 
 ample for all the public requirements. In the midst of an oil pro- 
 ducing region not yet exhausted, and surrounded by an agricultural 
 territory second to no village in the upper Oil Country, PLEA- 
 SANTVILLE will have sure prosperity and steady growth for years 
 to come. 
 
 MILLER FARM, PIONEER, PETROLEUM CENTRE, COLUMBIA, 
 TARR FARM, RYND FARM, and KOUSEVILLE, were once busy 
 oil centres, with large populations. They each have, even now, 
 their attractions, and are all located in the valley of Oil Creek, be- 
 tween Titusville and Oil City, on the line of the Oil Creek and 
 Allegany Eiver Railroad. PETROLEUM CENTRE and ROUSEVILLE 
 may be said to retain much of their early thrift and later enter- 
 prise, being surrounded by good producing territory. PETROLEUM 
 CENTRE is perhaps the most important point, located in the midst 
 of productive oil farms, and yet a shipping station of note. It has 
 two churches, a banking office, stores, machine shops, an opera 
 house, hotels, &c., and a population of 2,000 to 2,500. It has 
 also an excellent daily paper, small, but ably conducted, "The 
 Record" ROUSEVILLE has all the advantages and conveniences 
 of the " Centre," including churches, banking offices, hotels, and 
 an opera house, but it has no daily or weekly newspaper. 
 
 COLUMBIA, Story Farm, is a point of considerable note and 
 importance being the local habitation of one of the best oil 
 companies in the upper oil field" The Columbia Oil .Co." It 
 has yet hundreds of acres of undeveloped oil lands. 
 
592 HISTOEY OF PETROLEUM. 
 
 OIL CITY, VENANGO COUNTY, PA. 
 
 OIL CITY is located upon both sides of the Allegany River and 
 Oil Creek Venango City across the Allegany River having 
 been added to its corporate boundaries a year or more since, by 
 special enactment of the Legislature. The population of the city, 
 with its additions, must be 7,000 to 8,000. 
 
 "About twenty years prior to the discovery of oil," or in 1840 
 we quote a writer who seems to know whereof he speaks " a small 
 settlement was made on this spot, consisting of a grist mill, a fur- 
 nace, hotel, and boat landing, but this soon fell into decay. In 
 1852, Mr. JOHN HOPEWELL established a store, the first settler 
 after him being FRANCIS HALLIDAY, who purchased the land 
 where the city now stands from the Government. The amount of 
 this purchase included several hundred acres. After a while, the 
 greater portion of this tract was sold to Dr. JOHN NEVINS, who 
 again sold it to PLUMMER & DRUM, of Franklin. In 1860, the 
 Michigan Rock Oil Company became the purchasers, and by them 
 the foundation of the present city was first laid. The land on the 
 east side of the Creek was once, if not now, owned by 'the United Pe- 
 troleum Farms Association, of New York, having been purchased by 
 them in 1865, of GRAFF, HASSON & Co., originally belonged to 
 CORNPLANTER, the renowned Chief of the Seneca Indians, a branch 
 of the famous Six Nations. Three hundred acres of this property 
 was presented to the Chief, by Congress, as a reward for distin- 
 guished services rendered by him during the wars of the Revolu- 
 tion. CORNPLANTER, it is alleged, was very fond of ' fire-water/ 
 and in one of his drunken frolics, it is claimed, he sold this pro- 
 perty for a mere song." 
 
 Soon after the striking of DRAKE'S well in 1860, the town be- 
 gan to increase rapidly, so much so indeed, that in 1865, its popu- 
 lation was about 8,000. There are eight or nine churches, a public 
 library, two large school-houses, several machine shops, three Re- 
 fineries one of which has the largest Still capacity of any in the 
 
CITIES AND TOWNS. 593 
 
 Oil Region besides a large number of excellent stores, well stocked 
 with every description of goods. The town has an ably conducted 
 morning paper, The Oil Oity Derrick, and a weekly, The Oil City 
 Times, issued from the office of The Derrick. A substantial iron 
 bridge over Oil Creek unites the eastern and western portions of the 
 city. The railroad bridge of the Atlantic & Great Western Kail- 
 way crosses the Creek at its mouth, and a fine wooden bridge 
 stretches over the Allegany, connecting OIL. CITY with its recently 
 added territory Venango City. 
 
 From the commencement of the Oil business, OIL CITY has been 
 the principal shipping point of the Petroleum Region. The Mead- 
 ville branch of the Atlantic & Great Western Railway has its ter- 
 minus at OIL CITY. The Oil Creek Railroad runs through it, 
 having its connections at Corry with the Philadelphia & Erie 
 Railroad. The Allegany Valley Railroad has its terminus here, 
 and the Jamestown Railroad, (Lake Shore & Michigan Southern 
 Railroad,) run trains into the city. In addition to these advan- 
 tages, the Allegany River and Oil Creek, at certain seasons of the 
 year, furnish cheap means of transportation. 
 
 The amount of iron tankage at this point is computed at more 
 than a million barrels. 
 
 OIL CITY has within its limits a number of small producing 
 wells, and it is surrounded by territory where wells, although not 
 doing any thing very extraordinary if we except the Sage 
 Run developments are steadily pumping from one to five bar- 
 rels of oil a day. The agents of many of the largest refining 
 and exporting houses are stationed here, and an oil exchange has 
 been established upon the principal street, which is characterized 
 by all the bustle and anxiety noticeable in similar places in larger 
 cities. With its numerous Railroad connections it may easily be 
 imagined that the depots present a very animated appearance, and 
 the tracks seem always crowded with long trains of tank cars, bear- 
 ing away the precious oil to all quarters of the country. 
 
 During the past two years OIL CITY has added largely to her 
 38 
 
594 HISTOEY OF PETROLEUM. 
 
 growing business needs, by the addition of very many splendid brick 
 structures. Few cities in Western Pennsylvania can boast more 
 substantial or more attractive blocks for the purposes of trade, than 
 OIL CITY and these are being constantly and rapidly added to. 
 Two or three years of prosperity and enterprise, like that of the two 
 years past, will go far to make OIL CITY the chief town of the Oil 
 Region. 
 
 TIONESTA, FOREST COUNTY, PA. 
 
 TIONESTA, just above, on the opposite side of the Allegany, is a 
 thriving village of about eight hundred inhabitants, many fine pri- 
 yate residences, several stores, hotels, and churches. It is the 
 county-seat of Forest county. A new court-house and jail were 
 completed a few years since. Two newspapers The Journal and 
 The Press, representing each of the political parties are published 
 here. There is also a banking office. Tionesta Creek here de- 
 bouches into the Allegany. 
 
 TIDIOUTE, WARREN COUNTY, PA. 
 
 TIDIOUTE is in Warren county, still above Tionesta, on the Alle- 
 gany river, and is the centre of an excellent oil producing region. It 
 is one" among the oldest towns in this part of Pennsylvania, is well 
 built, has several churches, school-houses, an opera house, hotels, 
 stores, three banking offices, " Grandin Bros. Bank/ 7 " People's 
 Savings Bank," and a private banking institution all in excellent 
 repute machine shops, and a daily and weekly newspaper, The 
 Journal. It contains about 3,000 inhabitants. At present, a very 
 heavy iron bridge is being constructed over the Allegany river at 
 this point, to connect the village with an addition to its boundaries. 
 
 TRIUMPH, FAGUNDAS and NEW LONDON, in the neighborhood 
 of Tidioute, are emphatically Oil Towns, located in the midst of 
 Oil Fields that have been producing oil in abundance, during the 
 
CITIES AND TOWNS. 595 
 
 past four or five years. TRIUMPH and NEW LONDON seem to 
 have an exhaustless oil product, and are, therefore, the more thrifty 
 and prosperous. Mr. E. E. CLAPP, of President, is the principal 
 owner of the New London oil territory Henderson farm and 
 others and is one of the largest and most enterprising operators in 
 the upper oil region. 
 
 FRANKLIN, VENANGO COUNTY, PA. 
 
 FRANKLIN is the county seat of Venango county, and is situa- 
 ted at the junction of French creek with the Allegany river, an'd 
 on the west side of the latter. The present town was laid out in 
 1795, by General William. Irvine and Andrew Ellicott, who were 
 commissioners appointed by the State, under Act of Assembly to se- 
 lect a site for the county town. Having been chosen, Franklin, 
 was laid out in what was then known as in-lots, out-lots and out- 
 tracts. The town was first organized into a borough, in 1829, 
 Judge William Connelly being selected as Burgess. Franklin re- 
 ceived its chief impetus from the Petroleum excitement, and is now 
 a substantial city, with a steady growth, and has a population of 
 6,000 to 7,000. 
 
 The streets are broad and well paved, and the principal business 
 houses are located in elegant blocks of brick buildings. TJbe resi- 
 dences of the well-to-do inhabitants are very handsome, and remark- 
 able for the care and tastefulness with which the grounds are laid 
 out in gardens and ornamental shrubberies. Theie are in the town 
 several machine shops, two or three foundries and one large flouring 
 mill. A new and very elegant and commodious court-house has 
 lately been completed, which is of red brick with brown stone 
 facings. This edifice would contrast favorably with many of the 
 public buildings in more pretentious cities. The school-house, not 
 far distant, is also a handsome structure, capable of accommodating 
 1,000 children. There are churches of almost, avery 
 
696 HISTORY OF PETROLEUM. 
 
 tion, several private schools and two weekly newspapers, The 
 Spectator and The Citizen. 
 
 On the high ground opposite the city, upon the banks of French 
 Creek, several wells have been put down, some of which started out 
 with a yield of as much as one hundred barrels per day. This 
 fact, of course, soon became known, and the hill-side is now literal- 
 ly bristling with derricks. The oil found in this neighborhood is 
 of more than ordinary quality, almost all of it being known as lu- 
 bricating oil, and the wells along French Creek are almost all 
 yielding fairly. On the Allegany side, on the contrary, the yield 
 is small, and a great number of dry wells may be seen scattered 
 about. (See chapter on Lubricating Oil.) 
 
 Two Lubricating Oil Manufactories are located here, employing 
 a capital of $300,000 to $400,000. These distil nine-tenths of 
 the lubricating oils produced in the vicinity of Franklin. 
 
 Franklin has three or four banks and banking institutions, am- 
 ple hotel accommodations, an Opera House, and very many elegant 
 and commodious stores and warehouses. The Meadville Branch 
 of the Atlantic and Great Western Railway passes through the city 
 limits, as does also the Jamestown and Franklin road. The Alle- 
 gany Valley Railway is upon the opposite side of the river, a mile 
 from the business centre of the city, and all three of these rail- 
 ways have depots for the conveniences of passengers and freight. 
 
 FOSTER STATION, and SCRUBGRASS, are points of importance, 
 and are located still further down the Allegany River. FOSTER, 
 is an oil producing and shipping point, and beyond this has few 
 advantages. SCRUBGRASS has an oil field, and two or three years 
 ago, boasted a prolific yield. It has a railway eating-house, and is 
 a point of some importance for shipping oil. The village may 
 have & population of 300 to 500. 
 
CITIES AND TOWNS. 597 
 
 EMLENTON, CLARION COUNTY, PA. 
 EMLENTON is one of the oldest towns in this part of the State. 
 It was a lumbering center years before the discovery of oil. Its 
 rapid growth dates from the oil developments of the lower oil 
 field, since 1865-6. It has a population of 2,000 to 3,000, with 
 churches,, elegant public school buildings, hotels, stores, and a 
 weekly newspaper,, published by that veteran journalist, J. R. 
 JOHNS. EMLENTON is seven or eight miles above Foxburg, on 
 the Allegany river, and on the line of the A. V. Railroad. It is 
 an oil shipping point of importance. 
 
 FULLERTON, three miles above Foxburg, is an oil-shipping 
 station for the St. Petersburg district and points contiguous to 
 FULLERTON, on both sides of the river. The tankage capacity 
 here must be fifty to seventy-five thousand barrels. 
 
598 HISTORY OF PETROLEUM. 
 
 THE LOWER OIL FIELDS. 
 
 PAKKEB/S LANDING, ARMSTRONG Co., PA. 
 
 'S" is the largest and perhaps the most important town 
 in the lower oil field. From this point diverge the great develop- 
 ments in oil which have astonished the world. Parker City is the 
 base of operations, and may justly be termed the capital of the low- 
 er oil field. 
 
 The first settlement was made here about seventy-five years ago, 
 by JOHN and WILLIAM PARKER,* and for upwards of forty years 
 it continued to be a small village deriving support from an iron 
 furnace situated about half a mile from town. This furnace was 
 established 1825. 
 
 With the progress of oil developments, the territory around 
 PARKER'S became the scene of active operations, the village as- 
 sumed the importance of a busy, thriving town, possessing all the 
 advantages and disadvantages, vices and virtues, of larger cities, 
 known to fame. On the 1st of March, 1873, the charter incorpo- 
 rating PARKER'S LANDING, Lawrenceburg and Farrentown, (the 
 two latter suburban towns,) into one city, was signed by the Go- 
 vernor of the State, thus ^consolidating, under one city government, 
 these three towns, which had only been divided by name. 
 
 * It is worthy of note that WILLIAM 'PAKKER, the first settler, came from the 
 North of Ireland, bringing with him the pluck and energy of an Ulster yeoman, and 
 from him are descended Parkers, of the firm of Parker, Thompson & Co., of Oil 
 City, and Parker's Landing. 
 
THE LOWER OIL FIELDS. 599 
 
 PARKER'S has twice been visited by fire, and on both occasions 
 the great bulk of the town was swept away, but on each occasion it 
 has re-appeared, built up in better shape, with increased dimensions, 
 and more substantial buildings. Many of the lately erected build- 
 ings are of brick, and present tasteful architectural features. The 
 city boasts a well equipped fire department, three banks, five hotels, 
 and two churches. 
 
 The Allegany River at PARKER'S is spanned by an iron bridge, 
 which has cost $100,000. On the east side of the river, oppo- 
 site the city, is located the Allegany Valley R. R. depot. The 
 Parker and Karns City R. R., now in course of construction, will 
 materially aid the progress and prosperity of the place. This road 
 runs along Bear Creek to Martinsburgh, thence to Petrolia. It 
 will be ten miles in length, three foot gauge, and will cost $150,000. 
 It is not unlikely this road will be extended to Millerstown, and 
 thence to Butler. 
 
 PARKER CITY is noted for its men of energy and liberality 
 here are to be found the men of "the front." The city is peaceable, 
 orderly, and well kept, being under the government of an active 
 and efficient city council. 
 
 The population of PARKER CITY is about 4,000. The Oil 
 Man's Journal, a weekly publication, of large circulation, is printed 
 here, and it is very ably conducted. 
 
 FOXBURGH, CLARION Co., PA. 
 
 FOXBURGH is three miles above, and upon the opposite side of 
 the river from Parker's Landing. Less than two and a half years 
 ago there was nothing on the sight of this town but a freight shed, 
 belonging to the Allegany Valley R. R. Now there are at least 
 two hundred houses, and a population of over 1,000. It is the 
 head-quarters of the Mutual Pipe Line Co., and an immense freight- 
 ing business is done here. There is the usual complement of banks, 
 
600 HISTORY OF PETROLEUM. 
 
 stores, etc., and it is noticeable that the buildings are neater in 
 appearance, and far more substantial than those seen in the more 
 recently built oil towns. It is situated on the Fox estate, and de- 
 rives its name from the former owner, now deceased. An iron 
 bridge is being constructed here, to span the Allegany River. Its 
 cost will be not less than $100,000, and like that at Parker's Land- 
 ing, will be the perfection of American skill and mechanism. 
 
 ST. PETERSBURG, CLARION Co., PA. 
 ST. PETERSBURG is of considerable size and importance, and 
 lays claim to some antiquity. A small village has existed here for 
 nearly fifty years, but previous to the development of oil in its 
 neighborhood, it was almost unknown. There are now at least 
 four hundred houses, and a population of two thousand inhabitants. 
 The town enjoys many of the advantages of larger places, having a 
 church, bank, and weekly newspaper, named The Progress. In 
 September, 1871, the Hulings' Well was struck on the J. J. Ash- 
 baugh farm, which proved a 100 barrel well. From this may 
 be dated the revival of St. Petersburg. The town is two miles 
 from the Allegany river, west of Foxburgh. 
 
 PETROLIA, BUTLER COUNTY, PA. 
 
 THE attention of operators having been attracted to this quarter 
 in the autumn of 1871, by the striking of good wells on the Sheak- 
 ley farm, and subsequently (April 1872,) a strike made by Di- 
 mick, Nesbitt & Co. This latter venture was attended with the 
 usual results, and forthwith began a regular rush to the new field 
 of operation. "With the first rig built, PETROLIA was founded, 
 houses multiplied, and ere long the infant city presented all the 
 bustle and rush characteristic of sudden oil towns. Wells continued 
 to be put down, PETROLIA grew apace, and in February of 1872, 
 
THE LOWER OIL FIELDS. 601 
 
 it was incorporated into a borough. The town possesses a most 
 energetic population of about 1,500. PETROLIA justly ranks among 
 the most attractive and prosperous towns in North-western Penn- 
 sylvania. 
 
 The town is built principally upon the Blaney, Graham, and 
 Jamison farms, ftnd stands in a valley running due north and 
 south. The hill on the east side commands a view of Karns City, 
 one and a half miles to the south, and Fairview, about a mile and 
 a half to the west. At night the " belt " can be distinctly traced 
 for miles by the hundreds of gas-lights which mark its outline. 
 New buildings are constantly being built.- At present there is in 
 progress a church. PETROLIA is the central point for a number 
 of the Pipe Lines. It has a bank, and other institutions necessary 
 for a rising and prosperous town. PETROLIA utilizes the gas from 
 the Fairview gas wells. It is supplied to many of the Jjpuses, and 
 illuminates the streets. 
 
 FAIRVIEW, BUTLER COUNTY, PA. 
 
 FAIRVIEW is situated one mile south of Petrolia, on a command- 
 ing position, affording a delightful prospect of the country for miles 
 around, from which circumstance the place derived its name. FAIR- 
 VIEW is of old date, a settlement having established itself here some 
 seventy years ago, when the country around was nothing but a howl- 
 ing wilderness. Most of the buildings are located on one street, 
 and generally present the appearance of considerable age. 
 
 FAIRVIEW has one good hotel, a tavern or two, one bank, a 
 church and school-house, and numbers in population about 800. 
 
 ARGYLE, BUTLER COUNTY, PA. 
 
 ARGYLE is a suburb of Petrolia. It took its rise from a well 
 put down in the fall of '71. At its best it had 600 inhabitants. 
 
602 HISTORY OP PETROLEUM. 
 
 two hotels, two hardware stores and one or two machine shops. 
 ARGYLE is but a wreck of its former self, and is a sad comment on 
 the changeable character of our new petroleum towns. 
 
 KARNS CITY, BUTLER Co., PA. 
 
 CITY is about fifteen months old, pleasantly situated on 
 a large plateau of ground about a mile long, and a quarter of a 
 mile broad. Prior to the oil excitement, the site of KARNS CITY 
 presented nothing to distinguish it from the average of farming 
 lands. The McClymonds' homestead and an old saw-mill were its 
 chief erections. The first well here was struck in June, 1872, and 
 the second in September, and from the later period the place con- 
 tinued to improve rapidly. At the present time it has a population 
 of about 1,000 inhabitants. A number of important business 
 houses have established branches at this point. There are three 
 large hotels the Erfipire House, Apollo House, and Exchange 
 Hotel one bank, and the customary number of business houses of 
 all varieties. The town is named in honor of S. D. Karns, Esq., 
 a fortunate and extensive operator. 
 
 BUENA VISTA, BUTLER Co., PA. 
 
 Four miles south of Petrolia, on the road to Greece City, is the 
 rising hamlet of BUENA VISTA. It is pleasantly situated at the 
 intersection of roads leading in all directions. A settlement has 
 'ted here for at least sixty years. It has a Post Office, two ta- 
 verns, and the usual supply of tradesmen. The population is 
 about 400. 
 
 GREECE CITY, BUTLER Co., PA. 
 
 A little less than fourteen months since, GREECE CITY had nei- 
 ther "a locale nor a name." On the 24th of August, 1872, the 
 
THE LOWER OIL FIELDS. 603 
 
 first well was struck on the Jamison farm, and early in September 
 the first building made its appearance in what is now GREECE 
 CITY. GREECE rose rapidly and fell with the same speed. It 
 had, at the height of its glory, about 1,200 inhabitants, and has 
 now four or five hotels, three banks, and the full variety of stores. 
 The " city " is fast disappearing from the face of the earth. 
 
 The Morrison well at this place is the second largest yet struck 
 so far as the productive value is concerned having at the present 
 date produced $90,000 worth of oil, and still continues to produce 
 fifteen barrels of oil per day 
 
 BUTLER, BUTLER COUNTY, PA. 
 
 The first settlement of whites in what is now Butler county, was 
 made in 1796, when the four families of Harbison, Holt, Fulton, 
 and Kennedy, located in Middlesex township. The town is plea- 
 santly situated, and the surrounding country is rich in soil and mi- 
 neral products. BUTLER is laid out with tolerable regularity the 
 streets being intersected at right-angles, and possessing ample width. 
 A large proportion of the buildings are of brick, and the side- walks 
 paved with the same material. Iron furnaces once existed here, to 
 which is due much of the growth of the town. It was made a borough 
 in 1817. The first Court House was built in 1807 the present 
 building in 1853. The church (Presbyterian) was built in 1822. 
 
 With the advance of oil developments around its vicinity, BUT- 
 LER has taken a step in advance. New buildings are being erected, 
 and all branches of business have become stimulated. A number 
 of wells are now going down in the BUTLER district} upon which 
 the further advance of the town for the present depends. BUTLER 
 is a well-ordered town, possessing all the necessary adjuncts to civi- 
 lization, such as a court-house, jail, churches, school-houses, two 
 newspapers, &c. It has now a population of 5,000. 
 
604 HISTOBY OF PETROLEUM. 
 
 MILLERSTOWN, BUTLEE COUNTY, PA. 
 
 A village has existed here for upwards of half a century and 
 previous to the advent of the derrick and drill, presented that 
 dead-and-alive appearance common to towns situated at considera- 
 ble distances from railway connections, manufacturing or mining 
 industries. Its silent streets wore a Sunday aspect. It lived in 
 quiet peace, and could boast of a couple of taverns, a number of 
 stores, tradesmen's shops, a church, school-house, and less than two 
 hundred men, women, and children. Many of the dwellings gave 
 evidence that the owners were*well-to-do, as they presented a com- 
 fortable appearance. 
 
 In March of the present year, the first well " The Shreve " 
 was struck, which gave ample proof of the value of the MILLEES- 
 TOWN territory, and so attracted many of our operators. MIL- 
 LERSTOWN soon became crowded with people from all parts of the 
 Region. New wells were struck and with each strike the town 
 swelled in population and importance. At the present writing it 
 has two banks, two Pipe Line offices, four hotels, four livery sta- 
 bles,' a number of hardware and drug stores, and some six or seven 
 grocery and dry goods houses, and has a population of 2,000 to 2,500. 
 The town, as it now stands, is well built, and has the look of perma- 
 nence. It is situated on a side-elevation overlooking the valley, and 
 is surrounded by a beautiful and fertile farming country its count- 
 less hills and dales forming a picturesque landscape of rare beauty. 
 The Sand Pump a daily newspaper is published here. 
 
 BRADY'S BEND AND EAST BRADY. 
 
 The Rolling Mills at BKADY'S BEND have been in existence for 
 about fifty years. Their full capacity gives employment to 800 
 men. At the present time there are about 500 men at work. The 
 town is situated on Sugar Creek, about half a mile from the Alle- 
 
THE LOWER OIL FIELDS. 605 
 
 gany river, and has six churches built by the miners and 
 mill men. 
 
 EAST BEADY has a population of nearly 1,500. There are five 
 hotels and one church, one machine shop and foundry, a number 
 of groceries and dry goods houses, and three schools. There is a 
 large amount of freight business done here on the Allegany Valley 
 Railroad, consequent upon the opening up of the Oil districts of 
 Modoc and Millerstown. 
 
 EAST BRADY has a weekly paper The Independent which 
 enjoys a large circulation Col. YOUNG, one of the live men of the 
 profession of Journalism, being its editor and proprietor. 
 
 MODOC, BUTLER COUNTY, PA. 
 
 Scarcely a year has elapsed since the success of operations a short 
 distance north of Greece City, also in Concord township, attracted 
 the attention of enterprising operators to an uninviting tract of 
 land about midway between the many roads leading to Fairview 
 and Buena Vista respectively. The property was secured, and the 
 spot chosen on which to put down a well. The place was low and 
 forbidding in its appearance, surrounded with a dense growth of 
 underbrush, having a small run and extended ravine contiguous, 
 and in no respect possessing any natural features likely to please 
 an aesthetic taste. Neither did it seem destined to reward the 
 adventurers with abundance of the greasy fluid of which they were 
 in search, as the " belt " was generally believed to run in a direc- 
 tion that would leave the entire locality completely " out in the 
 cold." A rig was put up during the fall and winter, drilling 
 quietly went on, and on the twenty-second of last March the 
 biggest strike since "sixty-five," was announced to the outside 
 world. Such was the origin of the renowned Troutman Well, 
 the most prolific yet discovered south of Oil Creek. 
 
 At the outset, the new " spouter " actually flowed at the enor- 
 mous rate of over a thousand barrels per diem. It was only three 
 
606 HISTORY OF PETROLEU^. 
 
 feet in the third sand, and the tools were left suspended in the hole 
 for greater convenience in agitating the well occasionally. It re- 
 quired two pipes to convey the product from the casing to the 
 tanks, of which a number were provided in the quickest manner 
 known to the business. The owners of the big strike were William 
 "Vandegrift, Joseph Bushnell, Warden and Bostwick, who had 
 likewise secured a large tract of land in the immediate vicinity. 
 For weeks the "geyser" continued to flow without serious dimi- 
 nution, frequently giving the pipe line lively exercise to convey 
 the oil to Greece City, exactly three miles distant. Up to this 
 date, it has yielded nearly ninety thousand barrels of petroleum, 
 thus ranking it with the most productive wells ever struck in any 
 portion of Oildom. 
 
 The great success of this venture was attended with the result 
 that has invariably followed in such cases. Operators and specu- 
 lators flocked to the latest Oil-Dorado, intent on acquiring some 
 interest in the neighborhood. Rigs multiplied rapidly, and the 
 nucleus of a town appeared as if by magic. The Starr and the 
 Button farms, below the Troutman property, were generally con- 
 sidered with special favor, and upon these a village was at once 
 located. Building lots were staked off that found ready purchasers 
 or lessees at high figures, balloon houses were quickly erected along 
 both sides of the principal street, even the fearful condition of the 
 roads did not deter crowds from seeking this second Pit Hole, 
 and within a month a town bristling with business of every 
 description occupied the vacant fields of four weeks before. The 
 embryo city received an Indian epithet, and henceforth Modoc be- 
 came a familiar name in petroleum circles. Many oleaginous sages 
 wisely shook their heads at the spectacle of activity everywhere pre- 
 sented. 
 
 MODOC, now contains one leading hotel, two or three hardware 
 stores, a dozen groceries, a livery stable, two banks, and a score of 
 unlicensed local-option dispensaries. The place is built without 
 special regard to architectural arrangement, its appearance and sur- 
 
THE LOWER OIL FIELDS. 607 
 
 roundings are decidedly picturesque, and the newest tyro would not 
 be long in discovering he had " fetched up " in a genuine oil city ! 
 With the exception of the three old homesteads of the Troutman, 
 Starr and Sutton farms, everything about the town is of the mod- 
 ern date of the present season. The muddy streets are crowded 
 with travelers from all quarters, and no one who has not visited 
 Modoc can be said to have " done " the specimen oil town of the 
 period. 
 
 ANGELICA. 
 
 This village or town, named after C. D. Angell, " the lord of 
 the soil," has an existence of only a few months, and yet it has at- 
 tained considerable proportions. Active developments are being 
 pushed on in the neighborhood, and no doubt this village will soon 
 aspire to the title of city. 
 
 Such is a brief description of the principal cities and towns, 
 large and small, located in the Pennsylvania Oil Region. Before 
 the oil discovery by Col. DRAKE, in 1859, the older towns were 
 generally farming or lumbering centres, and owe their growth to 
 the Petroleum development. The number of cities projected by 
 sanguine speculators in the flush times of 1864 and 1865, were le- 
 gion. Beyond a few board shanties, in hopeless decay, nothing now 
 remains of them. 
 

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