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WHO WAS WHO in PLUM TOWNSHIP
September 13, 1960
By H. W. Strawbridge

Henry K. Proper

Henry K. Proper, a lifelong Diamond resident, was born Dec. 11, 1816, a son of Joseph and Rebecca Beers Proper. Being one of seven children, Henry helped his father and brothers operate the earliest sawmill in Plum, built in 1805. This mill sat down the Diamond creek a ways and was willed equally by Joseph to his four sons.

Joseph, who died in 1842, also willed his large land holdings amongst his seven children. Henry’s share was briefly listed as follows: “To Henry, 100.50 acres of the old place next to Welsh’s”. This would be the place presently owned by Mrs. Jessie Proper and her son-in-law and daughter, Mr. and Mrs. Frank Root. This place has been in the Proper family now for about 160 years.

Henry was married on Feb. 13, 1840, to Miss Catherine Hoover, who was born June 7, 1822. The writer is unable to locate the names of her parents, but she is likely a kinwoman of the early Hoovers of the Wallaceville area. She was generally called “Kate” or “Katie”.

As far as is known, Henry and Kate began housekeeping on the same farm where they spent their married life. The old house had stood where the present barn stands, and the old barn stood back of the present house.

The old house was sort of a square structure with a huge stone chimney. There was a well at its back porch which is within the confines of the present barn.

Henry’s nephew, Jackson A. Proper, made his home with them until he was 11 years old, when he took his residence with the D. D. Proper family south of Diamond.

Henry’s father had willed 50 acres to young Jackson, and Henry and his brother, William, were to give Jackson “the liberty of raising a yoke of steers until he is 21 years of age. William and Henry are to also pay the tax for Nancy and Jackson till they are of age.” Nancy was a younger sister of Henry. She later married Samuel Kightlinger.

On Dec. 8, 1848, an article of agreement was drawn up between Henry Proper and William P. DeLong of Southwest, Warren County. Henry agreed to bear one-half of the expense of cutting and hauling the timber and lumber out of Henry’s woods on the north side of the Meadville-Titusville road for DeLong to build a new sawmill on the creek just east of Henry’s buildings. DeLong was to use the old sawmill down the creek to saw out the lumber and timbers for the new mill, and to also build a sufficient dam to raise to a 12-foot head.

DeLong was to furnish the cast and wrought iron for the mill, and to make a deed to Henry for 50 acres of land in Deerfield Twp., Warren County. Then Henry as to make a deed to DeLong for a portion of the land north of the road.

About 1855 Jacob G. Proper bought out DeLong’s share of the mill. Henry sold his share to James P. Smith. It eventually came into the hands of the Wright family.

Henry Proper once had a chance to sell his farm to a couple of men who were intently interested in drilling for oil. This was of course back in the 1860s. The exact price offered isn’t now known, but it was said to be nearly a fabulous figure.

Both parties agreed that the buyers was to come on a designated day to give the money to Henry for the place. During the period of time between, the weather set in very bad, making the roads practically impassable. It was several days past the designated day before the men were able to get to Henry’s place. But, come they did, bringing money, papers and all. Henry met them at the door and exclaimed: “Too late, too late! You didn’t come on the day you were supposed to. The deal’s off!” Thus did Henry pass up a deal which could have put plenty of money in his pockets for several years.

He did make a lease for oil with J. P. Smith in August, 1864. This was the same men who bought his share of the sawmill. There was some oil found, but in no great quantity.

Credit of selling lots and forming the eastern half of the community of Diamond can be given to Henry Proper. During the latter 1850s and early 1860s he sold several lots on which the purchasers built houses.

The first lot was sold for $75 to Luke Eddy in 1856. This was on the corner where Mrs. Florence Fiely’s home now stands. Luke built a tavern here called “the Diamond House”, from which the community took its name.

However, one might wonder how the tavern was named. It stood on the northwest corner of a large piece of Henry’s land bounded on four sides by four roads, two of which were public and still exist and the other two having been more or less lanes or private roads. This piece of land was shaped like a diamond, hence the very beginning of the name.

Other lots of pieces of land were sold to Samuel Daniels, James P. Smith, Charles Doe, Jesse R. Luse and John Mooney.

In later years Henry also sold pieces of land to August and Estella Fabian and Rev. John Wright.

Henry and Kate Proper were the parents of eight children, who with their years of birth were: Rebecca B. Proper, 1840; Elizabeth a Proper, 1842; Alexina Evaline Proper, 1844; Sarah Ann Proper, 1846; George W. Proper, 1852; William Irvin Proper, 1855; Charles L. L. Proper, 1863; and Mary A. Proper (adopted), 1864.

Rebecca was married to Elisha Archer of near East Roy on Sept. 22, 1859. They spent their married life on a farm there. Rebecca died March 17, 1902. They had the following children, all of whom are deceased: Miss Ida Archer, Miss Lizzie Archer, Robert Archer, Mrs. Clarenda Wagner, Hattie Archer, Ernest E. Archer and a baby boy who died in 1880. Robert and Hattie died young, too. Ernest, a well known Titusville citizen and former mayor, died this past May.

Elizabeth was married to P. G. Smith on Oct. 23, 1862. They lived at Diamond for some time, then lived in the east end of Titusville. They probably last lived in Hydetown, Mr. Smith was a lumberman. They had the following children, all of whom are deceased: Mrs. Sadie Stevens, Mrs. Hattie Connors, Mrs. Louie Grove, Maynard Smith and Mrs. Carrie Dailey.

Evaline was married to Eli A. Proper of Diamond in the 1860s. Evaline was a schoolteacher. She died Nov. 17, 1877. Eli, a millwright, carpenter and rig-builder, later lived in Bradford. They had three children, all now deceased. They were Elmer Henry Proper, Elisha Grove Proper and Mrs. Lusetta Gertrude Proper Stewart.

Sarah Ann was married to John Moyer. She died May 7, 1866, aged nearly 20. Nothing further appears to be known about her or her husband.

George was married to Miss Lusetta Kightlinger, and they spent their entire married life on the old homestead at Diamond. They engaged in farming. George also carried mail for years. He died May 8, 1912. They had two children, both now deceased. They were Mrs. Althea Proper Bearce and Delbert H. Proper. Mrs. Delbert Proper remains on the home farm yet.

William died July 8, 1858, at the age of three.

Charles also died at the age of three on Nov. 2, 1866. It would be interesting to know what his two middle initials, L. L., stood for.

Mary A. Proper, the last, appears to have no information known about her.

Henry Proper, the father, was a short man. He was definitely less then five feet, six inches in height. In his last years he sat in front of his house watching carriages go by, and often stopping whom he knew to inquire about things. He smoked a pipe. His late grandson, E. E. Archer, recalled that as a child he would try to grab his grandfather’s pipe and the old gentleman would strike at him with his cane.

Kate was a very heavy woman. She, too, was short. She was so fleshy that indeed it was difficult for her to get around. An old news item of April, 1888, reported as follows: “Katie Proper is on the sick list”.

During the early or mid 1880s, Henry had a new barn built across the road. When it was raised, the late Ben Strawbridge, as a little boy, was there taking it all in. One of the men thought he’d have some fun so he told Ben to walk up to Henry (who was walking with two canes) and ask him which cane was made of hickory. Young Ben did this and after the question was asked, Henry took one of his canes, rapped him on the head and replied: “This one. Do you believe me?” The men got quite a chuckle over this.

Henry had this barn moved across the road near his older barn in the spring of 1891. It burned down very few years later, probably after Henry died. A horse burned to death in it. The other barn also burned sometime after the turn of the century. It caught afire while threshing was being done in it. This was when George Proper owned the place.

The year of 1889 was a bad year for Henry. On March 2 he was kicked in the face by a vicious horse which he was leading. It fractured his jaw bone. Then, in November, he broke his left leg. He had been hauling some logs when a large one rolled onto his foot and leg, breaking the tibia in three places, and the fibula in two. Dr. R. M. Strauss of Chapmanville was summoned and he treated the injury.

On Friday, Feb. 14, 1890, Henry and Kate observed their golden wedding with a large number of guests and relatives present. They received many useful and handsome gifts.

Mrs. May Morse of Chapmanville recalls that Kate walked over to Chapmanville once to visit two or three families, one of whom was Mrs. Morse’s mother. After the visit her mother took Kate back home in a “crackie wagon”. Henry was on the porch complaining of a pain in his head.

It wasn’t long afterward that Henry had a stroke of paralysis. He lived about four weeks and died on Nov. 4, 1893.

In Kate’s last years she enjoyed traveling here and there for visits. Despite her heavy weight, she walked a lot with the aid of her cane. Her neighbor, Mrs. Catherine Tracy, was great for cooking boiled dinners. Quite often Kate would walk up to the Tracy place and have boiled dinners with them.

Kate was troubled with dropsy and a tumorous growth at last, and she died near Franklin on Friday, Jan. 25, 1901.

Her funeral was scheduled to be held Sunday forenoon at the Diamond Free Methodist Church. However, through some misunderstanding, two preachers and a large number of neighbors and friends that filled the church, gathered on Saturday. They waited, waited and waited. Still no undertaker came with the body. Finally the confused crowd went home.

It seems that the body was taken overland to Brown’s parlors in Titusville on Saturday, and people erroneously thought the funeral was to be held that day.

The service was held at the church on Sunday. It is said that some who came the first time were not in attendance the second time.

Transcribed by Kandy Newton

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