EARLY SETTLERS OF MONTOUR COUNTY ASSOCIATED WITH CHILLISQUAQUE CHURCH

by Terry Diener

Nestled in Northumberland County, just a short distance from the western edge of Montour County is the historic Chillisquaque Church Cemetery. It’s the final resting place of the earliest settlers in the area, a Who’s Who in the history books, with familiar names from both Northumberland and Montour Counties.

In 1926, Reverend William Gardner Finney wrote a history of the Church that once stood there, and shared biographical sketches of some of the men and women buried there. One of Finney’s early ancestors was a pastor at the church. The Treaty of 1768 added land above the forks of the Susquehanna River, and the men who served in both the French and Indian and Pontiac Wars wanted to be paid in land. The officers met at Fort Augusta in February 1769 and determined to open up two tracts of land, in the Buffalo Valley and the Chillisquaque. Claims were made that year, but Northumberland County wasn’t founded until 1772. By 1774 the Chillisquaque Church was on the roles of the Donegal Presbytery. In September of that year, twelve acres were purchased for a churchyard and grounds, two years before the Revolutionary War.

Finney’s history includes sketches of some of the pioneers of the area. Names such as William and Daniel Montgomery, who acquired land in what is now Montour County, were mentioned. William Montgomery was in command of the Fourth Battalion from Chester County. His brother-in-law was Thomas Strawbridge, a Captain in the Revolutionary War. Strawbridge married Margaret Montgomery, the sister of General Montgomery. She was brought up and educated in the family of an aunt in Philadelphia. One description of her life noted, “She manifested ability and great devotion to her husband and the cause during the hard times of war, carrying on the work of the large farm herself, the proceeds going to the relief work.” Captain Strawbridge was with George Washington at Trenton. During the terrible winter at Valley Forge, Margaret Strawbridge once a week, rode on horseback to carry bundles of clothes and stockings and the like, knit by the wives and daughters of the men, distributing them herself. For the first time in several months, just one day before Washington and his men crossed the Delaware, Mrs. Strawbridge was able to see her husband at Trenton. Their family included four children. Both she and her husband are buried at the Chillisquaque Church Graveyard. (Note the photo)

Among several Montgomery families to settle in the area, James Montgomery was born in 1766 in Ireland and came to Chester County in 1790, and later to Montour County. James Montgomery built a schoolhouse at the Northumberland and Montour County line in 1793 and he was the first teacher. He also served in the local militia.

Another pioneer was Robert Finney, known as “Robin”, who came to America with a close companion, Robert Curry. Curry’s father was a well-to-do linen manufacturer in Ireland. Robert settled on Mahoning Creek, in what is now Valley Township, Montour County. He was brutally killed and scalped by Indians on June 9^th, 1780. He was also a Presbyterian in religious belief and was one of the first to give his money and influence toward the propagation of the gospel. Curry was also the trustee of his church in Danville. He married Miss Jane McWilliams in Belfast, Ireland, and four children were born to them: James, who was born in Ireland, grew to manhood and settled in Ohio; Robert, who settled on the north branch of the Susquehanna River; William, who settled on the home place in Valley Township, Columbia County, and Jane, the first white child born between the north and west branches of the Susquehanna.

Robert’s wife witnessed her husband’s murder and was taken captive by the Indians. She managed to escape and returned to Danville where she alerted authorities. Her husband’s body was recovered, and buried in the old Grove Presbyterian Church Cemetery, which is now Memorial Park in Danville. What was left of his remains were disinterred, along with others at the old cemetery, to make room for the Park. His remains are now located in the Fairview Cemetery in Danville.

The author of the Chillisquaque Church history noted that Curry’s close friend Robert Finney came to America with a mother and sisters. They were buried in the old graveyard in Danville, where their bodies were left when the cemetery was abandoned, the markers being laid over and covered. Among the earliest recorded deeds from the Penns was one containing 329 acres assigned to the Presbyterians southwest of Mooresburg, in what is now Montour County. Finney was the purchaser of that land, earning the money by the use of a flail, an agricultural tool used for threshing grains from their husks. He lived near the Chillisquaque Church before his death in 1839, nearing his one-hundredth birthday.

There are many names found on the faded tombstones in the old graveyard just east of Pottsgrove, Northumberland County. The Montgomerys, the McKnights, the Finneys, the Simingtons and Strawbridgess are just a few. Many left their native lands to seek a new life in a new land, even before it became the United States of America.

A historical marker along Route 642 points the way to the Chillisquaque Church Cemetery, just a mile or two off the main road. The graves provide a glimpse into the early families who made this area of the Susquehanna Valley their homes.