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WHO WAS - J. H. Tracy
in Plum Township
Venango County, Pennsylvania
By Howard Strawbridge March 1, 19576

J. H. Tracy was born at Smithville, Chenango County, N.Y., on Dec. 22, 1822. His father was Hyle Tracy whose occupation was that of a clothier. The first name of his mother is now unknown but her maiden name was Dugan.

As a young man J. H. Tracy came with two sisters to Oakland Township, Venango County, near Dempseytown. Soon he went back to New York state where he worked in the lumber business about six years in Cattargus County. Again he returned to Dempseytown where he clerked in a dry good store for two years.

At this period he married Catherine Homan, the wedding taking place on Nov. 12, 1855, with John Walls, a justice of the peace, officiating. Catherine was the daughter of Michael and Susan Shoup Homan, and was born Oct. 21, 1837, in Center County, Pa. She came to Oakland Township as a child with her parents.

Eventually Mr. Tracy sold his small farm near Dempseytown and came to Diamond where he and his brother-in-law, Henry Homan, purchased two acres for $200 from Luke Eddy on Nov. 11, 1864. In buying the property at Diamond it was their intention to establish a store there. No store had been there previously.

Their store building stood immediately west of the present home of Mr. and Mrs. Ronald Copeland. Homan & Tracy opened up for business in 1865. Mr. Tracy also built the present Copeland house and here he lived the remaining years of his live. There was a white board fence along the edge of the yard in front of the house.

His full name was John Henry Tracy, but many people knew him as "Hank" Tracy. He was just an average sized man. He kept a diary of his daily activities.

Homan and Tracy continued in the mercantile business as partners until 1872 or '73, when Homan sold his share to Tracy. Homan then devoted his time and interest in a sawmill.

Mr. Tracy continued running his store for many years. On Feb. 28, 1880, he was appointed postmaster of Diamond, succeeding "Squire" J. G. Proper. Mr. Tracy kept the postoffice in the front part of his store. The boxes of the patrons were on the right as one walked in.

In 1870 Mr. Tracy was one of the pathmasters or "roadmasters" in Plum Township. His district was No. 18 which was a road in the Diamond area. The amount of the duplicate on his district that year was $56.50.

He took quite an interest in the upkeep of the Diamond Cemetery during those early years. He was one of a committee of three men who received part of the cemetery grounds in 1877, and he put a lot of time and work in its improvement. Still standing today at the foot of their young son, Homer Tracy's grave, is a large spirea bush that Mr. and Mrs. Tracy planted long, long ago.

Mr. and Mrs. Tracy were the parents of seven children: John A. Tracy, George H. Tracy, Miss E. Tracy, Frank M. Tracy, Homer Tracy, Mrs. Maude Abrams and Homan Tracy. Four of these children preceded their parents in death: Homer caught a bad cold and died at the age of four on Sept. 13, 1874; Frank died Dec. 23, 1881, of heart disease at the age of 17; Mary died July 19, 1896, of tumor, aged 35; and John died at the age of 41 in Kelso, Wash., in 1897.

The youngest only living child, Homan Tracy, 80, resides today in Titusville. Former Diamond residents, Mr. and Mrs. Homan Tracy moved to Titusville in 1951.

J. H. Tracy bought additional land in Diamond from Luke Eddy in 1875. His property altogether contained 171/2 acres. He kept four or five horses and four or five cows. He had two barns - one a horse barn, and the other one for cattle. Mr. Tracy farmed out a lot. He and his sons plowed fields and planted buckwheat on the Shields Green and Crawford Billig farms, just to name two of them. This is how he acquired the grain for his stock. Homan Tracy started plowing when he was 12 years old. Mrs. Tracy churned a lot of butter and it was sold in their store.

The reason for keeping so many horses was that Mr. Tracy would raise colts from them and sell them. A three-year old colt then brought 75 or 80 dollars. Many times he would sell the old horses after raising the colts.

In 1876 Mr. Tracy acquired a one-fourths interest in 22 acres located along the creek south of Diamond. He got this through the sheriff as the result of store bill owed to him by an old Diamond resident. Mr. Tracy sold his interest in this piece of land in 1878.

Then in 1886 he bought 28 acres of land at public auction for $428. This was put up for sale because its owner became mentally incompetent. Mr. Tracy sold this land in 1889 to Henry Woodruff of Troy Township for $500. This is presently the back of the farm of Harold Strawbridge - that part that touches the line road between Plum and Troy Townships.

Mr. Tracy closed out at auction his stock of goods and merchandise in April 1890. His store was then vacant awhile with the exception of the postoffice. A year of so later his storeroom was rented by two men, J. H. Rickenbrode and A. R. Alcorn, brothers-in-law, who ran the store. In December, 1893, his storeroom was again vacated when Mr. Rickenbrode opened a store in the newly built Propers hall which is the present Grange hall.

Mr. Tracy maintained the postoffice in his store building until July, 1897, when he was succeeded as postmaster by Mr. Rickenbrode who moved the postoffice into the new Odd Fellows building.

In 1900 Mr. Rickenbrode built a new house across the road from the Tracy home. First though, he bought the split stone in the cellar wall under the vacant Tracy store building to use as the foundation for his new house. He moved the store building a few rods to the west, leaving it about where the present Copeland store sits. Sometime after Mr. Tracy's death, Joseph M. Proper bought the old store building and moved it on the Proper farm above the schoolhouse. Finally it was moved west of Diamond, and it is now the front part of the Steadman home.

Mr. Tracy died on Nov. 12, 1900, three days after sustaining a stroke of apoplexy. He had never been sick a day in his life previous to this. It is recalled that a neighbor lady, Mrs. Emeline Thomas, placed a penny on each of his eyelids after death so they would remain closed. This was an old custom. His funeral took place in the Diamond United Brethren Church.

Mrs. Tracy remained at the old home until 1918 when she moved in with her son, Homan, north of Diamond. She died on April 18, 1930, aged 92. She had caught a cold and couldn't throw it off, having been seriously ill for six weeks.

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.