Milestones Vol 1 No 4--Fall 1975
An interesting part of a family history written by Elmore Alfonso Barnes in 1906 is clearly marked legend but could contain an important clue in locating the birth place of several early settlers in Beaver County.
"LEGEND - About 1788 the heads of 12 different families near or on Chestnut Ridge, Maryland went west to near where Service P. 0. Beaver County was in 1792 and marked off 12 tracts. They cleared a few acres, sowed it and built a log cabin on each tract, then cast lots for choice of pieces of land. They returned to Maryland or as they called it Chestnut Ridge that winter and the next spring brought their families out with them.
Some two or three years later, three families, the families of Peter Barnes, Hugh Graham and Ezekial Inman became dissatisfied and with their families crossed the Ohio River near where Georgetown now is, North into what is now Beaver County, Pa. at or near where Black Hawk, P.O. is and they were among the first settlers north of the Ohio River in Beaver County. At that time it was called Four Mile Square."
This makes the family a little more human and gives clues for later genealogists to search and find if they are correct. We just have to be careful and remember to not change legend to fact without proof.
Thanks to Mrs. Gladys Scmidt of Rochester, Pa. a direct descendant of Peter Barnes for this very interesting piece of Beaver County History.