John Oyler: Early settlers in South Fayette

John F. Oyler | Tuesday, February 25, 2020 12:01 a.m.

We recently had the privilege of meeting with a group of South Fayette Seniors and discussing the pioneers who originally settled what is now South Fayette Township. We have talked and written about early settlers in the general Bridgeville area; this was our first opportunity to focus on South Fayette.

We began by revisiting the series of events that led to the establishment of the township in its present form. Pennsylvania’s claim to what is now Southwestern Pennsylvania was finally upheld in 1780.

At that time, Washington County was established; it consisted of all the land west of the Allegheny and Monongahela Rivers.

In 1788, Allegheny County was created with its southern border being close to what it is today; it extended to Lake Erie in the north. Within the county, Moon Township included all the land south of the Ohio River and west of Chartiers Creek.

In 1790, Fayette Township was established from part of Moon Township. It, in turn, was subdivided into North and South Fayette townships in 1842. The final event was the establishment of Collier Township in 1785 from parts of Robinson, South Fayette, and North Fayette townships.

In 1768, a mystery man named Miller claimed the land at the mouth of a creek that he named for himself. According to legend, he sold it to land speculator John Campbell.

“The Mouth of Miller’s Run” passed to Campbell’s sister on his death. She sold it to Presley Neville, who sold it to Robert Johnson in 1807. Johnson was the subject of one of our recent columns, as have been Christian Lesnett, who came in 1768; Richard Boyce, 1772: and Nicholas Hickman, 1774.

George Vallandingham and his brother-in-law Richard Noble claimed land in the northwest part of the township along Robinson Run in 1773. Richard’s son, Henry, then built a sawmill and a grist mill and established a prosperous trading business.

Abraham Middleswarth and his son, Moses, arrived in 1781 and claimed land in what is now the northeast corner of the township, in the Thoms Run area. Moses eventually moved across Chartiers Creek and acquired most of the land in Bridgeville west of Washington Avenue.

Samuel Morgan came to the South Fayette area sometime in the early 1780s and claimed the property known as Armaugh, which eventually became the community of Morgan. He built a grist mill there that was sold to Moses Coulter in 1811.

James Dinsmore was born near Belfast in Ulster, Ireland, in 1742. He came to the New World as a young man, settling in York, Pa. Around 1776, he claimed “Canaan” on Miller’s Run, in the Cuddy area. By 1795, he and his family had moved into Washington County in Canton Township. A blockhouse called Dinsmore’s Fort was built on this site.

Obadiah Holmes Jr. and his family came to South Fayette at about the same time and claimed “The Parsonage” due north of Morgan’s property. His parents had settled on Chartiers Creek in what is now North Strabane Township in 1775. He was a participant in the Gnadenhutten massacre, allegedly reluctantly.

These early settlers were remarkable people — self-reliant, resourceful and very hardworking. One wonders how many of us today could achieve what they did.

Our thanks to Margie Smith and the South Fayette Seniors for the opportunity to discuss them.