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WHO WAS - Samuel Kightlinger
in Plum Township
Venango County, Pennsylvania
By H. W. Strawbridge - August 16, 1957

It was probably in the Sugar Lake region that Samuel Kightlinger was born on March 14, 1815. Tradition states that his ancestors had come from Wales. His father was Michael Kightlinger and his mother's maiden name was Whitney. Her first name is uncertain, but it may have been Isabella.

Michael was a veteran of the War of 1812, and he served as a private under Capt. James Cochran's Company of Riflemen around the Erie sector.

When Samuel was a young man, his father's family came to Plum Township and lived on a place somewhere in the area by the Fairview school or the Fairview church.

On May 13, 1841, Samuel was married to Miss Nancy Proper, a daughter of Joseph and Rebecca Beers Proper, who lived in present Diamond. The couple rode on horseback to their place of marriage and, believe it or not, snow was up to the horse's knees on that May day!

Nancy's father had given 50 acres to her. This piece of land was situated just east of Diamond and would now be the main acreage of the farm owned by Mrs. and Mrs. C. R. Stephenson. In fact, Mrs. Sylvian Stephenson is a granddaughter of Samuel and Nancy Kightlinger. The farm has been in the family for several generations.

However, this 50 - acre piece of land did not adjoin a public road, so Samuel bargained for an adjoining six-acre piece just south of theirs for $50 in 1845. This piece of land did adjoin the Meadville - Titusville turnpike.

William Proper, a brother of Mrs. Kightlinger, owned this six - acre piece which was included in his farm which would now be the main part of the Homestead Farm. It was William who sold the six acres to Mr. Kightlinger.

Works Out Payment

The first payment that Samuel made to William was a yoke of oxen worth $10. Then William died of typhoid fever on June 15, 1845. Samuel still owed William's widow and children $31 for this land. While William was on his death-bed, he requested his brother-in-law, Noah Ross, to take charge of the farm after his death. So Noah and Samuel arranged a system for finishing the payment. Samuel was to work out the rest of the payment on Proper's farm with wages as follows: $10 per month in winter; $12 per month in summer; 62 Cents a day in haying time and $1 a day for cradling. Samuel did this and paid for the land. but then he didn't have any papers to show that he owned the land. Next, he went to Franklin and recorded the fact that he bargained and paid for the land, then had four or five area people come down and swear on paper that he had paid for the land and was now owner. He certainly earned it the hard way.

Samuel built a log house which stood about where Mr. and Mrs. Stephenson's milkhouse now stands. A water well was dug 35 feet deep of which all was in solid rock except the top 10 feet or so. Prior to digging this well, they carried water up the hill from an old spring that as situated near where the later cider mill stood.

They had 13 children as follows: Mrs. Mary Jane Smith; Joseph Kightlinger, Andrew Kightlinger, Mrs. Ruth King, Robert Kightlinger, Mrs. Nancy Corey, Mrs. Adaline Hancox, Benjamin Kightlinger, Jared Kightlinger, Mrs. Charlotte Storms, John Riley Kightlinger, Miss Edna Kightlinger and Jerome Kightlinger. All reached adulthood except John who died Sept. 27, 1861, at the age of six month, and Edna who died Dec. 4, 1875 at the age of 13. A boy had kicked hot ashes on her, setting her ruffled dress afire on the Diamond schoolyard. Another pupil threw his coat over her to smother the fire, but it was too late. Edna died of the burns two weeks later.

Farmer and Auctioneer

Samuel was primarily a farmer. He usually kept some sheep. He had 15 sheep at the time of his death. It is said that he was once employed in Anderson's fanning mill factory which was in operation at Wallaceville in 1861.

He was also an auctioneer. One sale that he was known to auction, was the goods and effects of the late Miller M. Thomas, a civil War veteran near Wallaceville in 1870. "Crying a sale" was an expression sometimes used then.

In 1860 and 1870 Samuel was one of the pathmasters in Plum Township. He had district No. 10 in his care. This was in the Diamond area.

Samuel was a shoemaker and made all the shoes for his family. This was related by Mrs. Nellie Markley of Westport, Wash., a granddaughter of Samuel. Her mother, Mrs. Ruth King, died at the age of 92 in 1940.

Mrs. Nancy Kightlinger was a good-hearted woman. She always gave a slice of bread with a thick dab of jam or apple butter on it to visiting children. She spun a lot of wool on her spinning wheel and also darned all the socks for her family. She generally wore a red handkerchief around her neck when working about the house. She knew quite a bit about doctoring and was called upon many times by vicinity families when a birth was to occur.

She and Samuel made the upper part of the Diamond Cemetery available to the public for burials.

On Sept. 17, 1872, Samuel Kightlinger and Henry Hoover, Sr., who lived north of Diamond, served as witnesses to the will of Elliott Welsh, 39, a neighbor who was dying of tuberculosis. Elliott died just three days after making his will. His farm was the 66 - acre piece of land located across the road from the present Howard Alexander residence.

Samuel purchased some lumber from the Homan & Welsh sawmill and had it piled to build a new house when he was killed before he had opportunity to build the house. Incidentally, when his estate was later appraised, this lumber was by some mix-up appraised wrongly, and Mrs. Kightlinger had to pay for it twice.

Killed In Buggy Accident

Samuel's very tragic death occurred on Thursday evening, Sept. 6, 1877. On this evening he took a hired man over to the William Peebles place in Cherrytree Township with his horse and buggy. On the way over he stopped at the home of his daughter, Mrs. Addie Hancox, and chatted with members of her family. when he was ready to leave, Mrs. Hancox wanted him to take her lantern because it was getting dark, but Samuel refused. Samuel then completed his errand at the Peebles home and left there around 8 o'clock for home, it being a very dark evening.

When he approached a bridge located over a mile south of Stone Springhouse Corners, the wheels on one side of his buggy went off the side of the bridge, upsetting his buggy among the sharp stubs of black alders which had recently been cut off. Mr. Kightlinger fell onto these stubs which punctured his body and, in falling, he also pulled the horse on himself with the lines. Mr. Kightlinger was pinned under the wounded horse in such a position that his head was under the horse's head. The horse made several attempts to get up, but failed, and each time would swing it's head back to the ground, battering Mr. Kightlinger's head something frightfully.

The tragedy wasn't discovered until about 7 o'clock the next morning. Mr. Gorsuch passed over the bridge without noticing anything unusual. After he had passed he heard the wounded horse whinny back at the bridge. Mr. Gorsuch retraced his steps back to the bridge and made the horrible discovery.

Coincidentally two grandsons of Mr. Kightlinger live near the bridge today. James Hancox lives a short distance west of the bridge and Clarence Hancox lives a short distance east of it.

Mr. Kightlinger's funeral on Sunday was the largest ever seen in the neighborhood. It was held in the Diamond United Brethren Church and upwards of 1,000 people were in attendance with 130 carriages. Rev. I. C. Armagost of Chapmanville delivered the funeral oration.

Mrs. Nancy Kightlinger stayed the remainder of her life on the old place. Her son and daughter-in-law, Jared and Etta Kightlinger, eventually took over the management and operation of the farm. She survived Samuel by nearly 30 years. She passed away in her home of infirmities of old age on April 4, 1907, at the age of 86.

Transcribed by Penny Kulbacki Minnick
minnick862@verizon.net

Disclaimer:there may be errors due to transcription ofinformation from both early and late (current contributors) work.