The early settlers of Pennsylvania were faced with various struggles. It’s probably safe to say the hardships were similar for families in various parts of the state.

I recently came across several articles in the Bradford Star newspaper in Bradford County, published in the late 1890s, that provide insight and describe some of the setbacks and deprivations experienced by the pioneers.

A June 09, 1898 article in the Bradford Star described the problems caused by wildlife. “In 1805, there were 5,000 inhabitants in the county. There were a few small villages. The settlers were generally scattered about on farms. With the exceptions of these clearings, the country was still an unbroken dense forest. Wolves and bears had hardly thought of retiring before the encroachments of the settlers. Deer roamed the woods in herds, and elk still grazed in the mountain vastnesses. The backwoods clearings were constant foraging grounds for wild beasts.

The few sheep, swine, and cattle the pioneers had were never safe fr om these marauders, and it frequently happened that these raids left the settler's stock enclosures entirely empty. Although hundreds of animals annually fell victims to traps, snares, and guns of the pioneers, their depredations still remained a serious obstacle to the welfare of the settlers.”

An article from that same newspaper two years earlier, in March of 1896, interviewed an elderly woman from Pike Township who provided valuable insight into her experiences.

Pike township was named for General Zebulon Pike, an explorer in the western United States and noted for his success in the second year of the War of 1812. Pike township was formerly called Bradford and taken from Rush and Orwell townships. It was organized as a township in April 1813. The first township election was held on March 19, 1813.

The March 26^th newspaper recounted its conversation with a woman who remembered the early years of keeping house. “A few stories were told us a few days ago by an old lady 86 years of age, which will perhaps illustrate some of the inconveniences and hardships endured by our early settlers. She said that when she went to keep house, her setting-out of dishes consisted of three pewter plates, two cups, two saucers, one iron spoon, two knives, and two forks. Some were so poor they were not able to have dishes at all and were obliged to make wooden dishes. She told of going to a neighbor's one day and found the family at dinner. Their dinner consisted of porridge, which was in a sap trough; each one of the family had a spoon, and all were eating from the same trough.

Nearly all the settlers had homemade wooden stools in place of chairs. All had fireplaces in place of stoves, and if the fire should chance to go out, it was started again by borrowing coals from a neighbor or with sparks made with flint stones, then so common. Matches were unknown at that time. Their grain they took with teams to Wilkes-Barre to mill (that being the nearest mill at that time) with the exception of corn, which they pounded out at home. They used to take a large block of wood and hollow it out large enough to hold half a bushel. A large pole was fixed over it, much like an old-fashioned well sweep. From the end of the pole, a heavy weight was suspended, and corn was ground by working the pole up and down, causing the weight to fall on the corn, thus grinding it.

One of the chief articles of food here was samp and milk. (Samp was a type of porridge, or when meat and vegetables were added to it, it became the main dish). One story told us by this lady was of a Mr. Rockwell who lived in what is now Brushville. He had his hog pen close to his bedroom window in order to protect his hogs from wild animals. One night, while he was absent, his wife heard the hogs squeal; on investigating the cause of the disturbance, she saw a large bear in the pen.

Hastily getting a shovel full of hot coals, she went to the pen and threw them on the bears back, but even this did not frighten the bruin away. Mr. Rockwell returned soon after, and the bear fled at his approach but not before he had eaten part of the hog alive.

The settlers prospered; there seemed in those times to be a market for most everything, even ashes, could be sold. At that time, teams were mostly oxen, and it was very few men that were fortunate enough to possess a horse.

Horses appeared about as oddly then as oxen do now. Trees were marked along the roads to keep people from getting lost. The early settlers found here plenty of game and fish, which are so important to settlers in the midst of a forest where nothing can be raised until the land is cleared. But best of all, they found fertile soil. (The fertile soil of Pike township accounts for the prosperous condition of its farmers at the present time. (1896)

Clearing land, frontier defenses, growing crops, dealing with wildlife, and building log cabins all had a part in shaping Pennsylvania’s early pioneers.