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WHO WAS WHO in PLUM TOWNSHIP
~ Titusville Herald ~
~ January 9, 1964
By H. W. Strawbridge

James L. Peebles

James L. Peebles was born in the Fairview settlement of Plum Township on March 9, 1838, the sixth of 10 children of James and Margaret Orr Peebles, both of whom were born in Ireland. They came to New Brunswick shortly after their wedding in 1825 and arrived in the United States in 1827. They settled in Plum Township in 1837, just a year before James L. was born. Old James bought land until eventually he had 1,000 acres. Thus young James L. Peebles was brought up on the farm and he received a common school education.
He was married on May 31, 1870 at Cooperstown to Miss Mary Ellen Green with Rev. Robert Beatty, pastor for the Sunville Methodist Charge, officiating. Mary was born in Plum Township on Oct. 19, 1843, the third of a family of seven children of Thomas and Millie McIntosh Green who were early Plum settlers. James and Mary commenced housekeeping on his father’s old homestead which was located three-eights of a mile from the public road at Fairview. His parents had left the homestead the year before and retired in Wallaceville. His father put 120 acres under James’ management as soon as he became an adult. This land was situated a short distance north of the original Peebles tract. In 1879 he received legal title to this and another little chunk near the Fairview Cemetery from his father plus an acre from his brother-in-law, Jesse Alcorn.
In 1867, James L. bought a farm west of the Peebles tract from the Goodwin Sugar Creek Oil Co. of Philadelphia for $2,800. This is presently the Frank Sager farm. James used to house cattle in the barn which still stands on that farm. In 1875 he bought 12 acres of the Joseph B.Grove property from a millwright named Eckerson, but he sold it just a few months later to a Snyder family. Then in 1882 he bought the Shepherd house and its two acres plus which joined the Peebles property, and he rented this house for several years. Finally in 1885 he bought considerable acreage north of his place from Joseph Proper. Thus James had a large area of land to till.
He and Mary had four children who were as follows: Thomas Victor Peebles, Sept. 15, 1871; Wirt Leroy Peebles, Aug. 18, 1874; Sylvia Millicent Peebles, Sept. 28 1876; and Nellie May Peebles, Aug. 4, 1880.
Thomas married May 15, 1912 to Miss Katherine M. Grove of Wallaceville. They resided on his father’s homestead. Thomas mainly farmed, but also had a custom wood-sawing outfit and concrete mixer. Mrs. Peebles died Sept. 23, 1922 at the age of 31 and Thomas died in the Titusville Hospital on May 8, 1943, after a year’s illness. They had three sons, Richard G. Peebles of Pleasantville, Lyle W. Peebles of Titusville and Raymond O. Peebles of Sharon.
Wirt never married. As a young man he went to California and worked in the oil fields as a driller. He was in Rondsburg, California at the time of the deaths of his parents. He later worked for the Dutch East Indies Oil Co. in Borneo, India and likely other places. He came back to Fairview and spent his last years with his brother, Thomas. He died in the Titusville Hospital Oct. 30, 1937, of pneumonia.
Sylvia was married on June 26, 1897 to James L. Alcorn of Cherrytree Township. They lived on the present Clarence Hancox to a short life. She died at the time their only child, a boy, was born on July 27, 1905. She and the infant were buried in the same casket. Mr. Alcorn later remarried and maintained a coal and lumber yard in Titusville. He died in 1945.
Nellie was married on Jan. 1, 1900 at Sherman, N.Y. to Ray V. McCurdy of Troy Township. They first lived in Hydetown, then moved on the Hydetown-Townville road. He was the first rural carrier from the Hydetown Post Office. They moved to Fairview about 1910 where they spent the remainder of their lives. Nellie died in her sleep on Feb. 23, 1949 and Ray died Dec. 3, 1956. They had four children, Birdie C. McCurdy who died in infancy; L. Claude McCurdy of Chapmanville; W. Archie McCurdy, deceased of Miami, Fla.; and Victor McCurdy, deceased of Fairview.
In 1885 and 1886 James L. Peebles built a large two-story house a short distance west of the Fairview Cemetery and his family moved into it in November 1886. Hemlock lumber for it was bought for $3 per thousand. The son, Thomas, as a youngster hauled some of the lumber with his father’s team and wagon. This home is presently owned by Mr. and Mrs. T.W. Wescoat and family. At the site of his new home James constructed a number of buildings. West of the house there stood the horse barn which burned about 1917 with some stock in it, south of the house there was a cattle barn which was razed within the past 10 years, east of the house there stood the carriage shed which still stands but was converted into a barn years ago, and north of the house, or across the road, there were two storage shed, one of which was quite large. It was moved back to the original Peebles place after the big barn there burned about 1907.
For many years James was an agent for Deering machinery, Empire drills, Kemp spreaders, buggies, carriages, fertilizer, binder twine, etc. During the winter he would buy a carload of phosphate, haul it out from Titusville and sell it in the spring. He traveled around the country in his horse and buggy to sell his goods. It is said he was quite trustworthy and lost several accounts.
James was a raw-boned man of at least average height, and was normally a quiet and serious man. He became quite stooped in his later years. He was one of the best posted men on the topics of the day, having been a great reader and thinker. His wife, Mary, was a rather short, stoutly proportioned lady who wore glasses. She was a very nice lady, quiet and sedate. She and a neighbor lady, Mrs. Ellen Ann Strawbridge, used to visit often at the home of Mrs. Margaret Lonctot in Troy Township. Mrs. Lonctot was the mother of Mrs. Carrie Peebles, 85, of Cherrytree Township, who well remembers James and Mary Peebles. Two others who supplied facts in this sketch were J. C. Alcorn of Titusville, who was reared on the farm next to James L. Peebles, and Mrs. William F. Whitman of Cherrytree Township, who maintains the family tree of the many members of the Peebles family in general.
James L. Peebles probably got the shock of his life on Aug. 14, 1879. He was walking along the long lane which connected the farms of his brother, John M. Peebles and himself, when he found the dead body of John’s hired man, John McKay, a victim of a bolt of lightning during the storm the night before. McKay had gone up to James’ the evening before to get a bag of apples. He had it slung over his shoulder and was on his way back to John’s when the bolt struck him.
James was in the lumber business during the early 1890s with his brother-in-law, W.R. McIntosh. In March 1892 James was in West Virginia looking after his timber interests. He put David Warner in charge of his farm while he was gone. During that same year James sold a lot of timber from his farm to Bruce Alcorn. Alcorn moved his mill into the lot in September and sawed out staves. James’ brother, John, hauled logs there in the winter for exactly 100 days, it is said.
James and a neighbor, Alex Buchanan, once committed themselves to bail out a certain relative of James who had gotton into trouble. Surprisingly enough, the defendant “skipped the country” and never came back. James and Alex had to dig up bail in the amount of the four-figure column. James worked long and hard hauling great quantities of hay for selling to pay his share in the unfortunate event.
In 1892 the Plum road commissioners designed a new road to proceed from Valley Corners eastward to the Chapmanville Picnic road. Viewers of this new road were James Peebles, W.K. Gilliland and John H. Alcorn.
James was a staunch Democrat, having been a firm believer in the early Jeffersonian principles of democracy. He was one of the class of oldtimers who would sit up most of the night arguing with another on the subjects of politics, religion and other topics of the times.
James had served a number of township offices. He had been school director, constable, tax collector, auditor and assistant assessor. In 1873 he finished out another man’s term as auditor and served two full terms during the 1890s. He was assistant assessor in the separate years of 1885 and 1892.
James together with Jesse Alcorn and John H. Alcorn were the prime movers in securing a charter for the Fairview Cemetery on April 29, 1899. These three were also instrumental in having the rural free delivery system established in their area from the Titusville Post Office. They measured the route by trying a rag around the end of spoke in the buggy wheel, then counted the revolutions the wheel made. The men took turns counting as it was a most tedious job.
In 1898 James erected a windmill, or “a large aerometer,” as it was then reported, on his south barn to provide power for his feed mill.
He belonged to three organizations, the Dempseytown IOOF Lodge, which he joined on July 2, 1887, the Cherrytree Grange and the AOUW No. 3 of Franklin.
In July 1906, a well for oil was completed on his land. Some oil was found in the gray sand where it was shot, but there was not enough to warrant pumping. James Miles drilled it. The location of this well is thought to have been in the northwestern section of James’ land beside a run. It has been owned by the Game Commission now for many years.
Some interesting notations were penciled on the weatherboarding of the former back porch of the Peebles house by members of the family. Some of these still are readable and are as follows: 1896 oyster supper at Diamond,” “Dance at Diamond,” “March 25, 1896,” “Day, 1896 stormy day but no sleighing,” “9 pigs, 4 mill,” “Dance and supper at Diamond Feb. 9, 1900,” and “Put hen on duck eggs March 31, 1900 (11).”
James at last walked with a cane which had a brass plate with his name inscribed on it. It is still possessed by his grandson, Lyle Peebles of Titusville. In 1906 the old gentleman suffered a paralytic stroke which incapacitated him to a degree, though he did get about the house and outside some. He was sorrowed by the death of his wife on Feb. 24, 1908, from a seven weeks’ illness of grippe and complications. Miss Laura B. Thomas of Diamond stayed and worked in the Peebles home at the time of Mrs. Peebles’ last illness. On Dec. 12, 1908, James took seriously ill with Bright’s Disease and heart trouble. He lingered until the afternoon of Feb. 5, 1909, when his death occurred. Oddly enough, his closest neighbor, Jesse Alcorn, died just 50 hours later.
Mr. Peebles’ funeral was conducted in his home on the 8th by A.K. Brown, funeral director of Titusville, with Rev. O.C. Sherman of Chapmanville officiating. A quartet composed of Ben Strawbridge, John M. Grove, Mrs. A. C. Miles and Miss Margie Shriver, with E. D. Goodwin as organist, rendered three hymns. Burials was in the Fairview Cemetery with the Dempseytown Odd Fellows in charge of graveside services.

Transcribed by Penny Kulbacki Minnick
minnick862@verizon.net

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