Somerset Township

Byadmin

Sep 14, 2015

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HISTORY OF THE TOWNSHIP</center>
This township was formed in the early part of 1796 from Quemahoning and Milford, and was named after the county and the county seat of the same name. Its territory has since been considerably reduced by the formation of other districts; still it is the largest township in the county, and the most densely populated. In 1880 its inhabitants numbered three thousand two hundred and seventy-six, exclusive of those in the borough of Somerset, and in 1882 its tax-payers were eight hundred in number. It is a healthful region, and famed for the excellence of its dairy products. The people are chiefly engaged in the pursuits of agriculture.

The Ankenys, Adamses, Browns, Bruners, Bells, Campbells, Flicks, Glessners, Johnsons, Husbands, Hunters, Millers, Penrods, Reads, Rices, Switzers, Trents, Wellses, Walterses and Wrights were all very early settlers, and are known to have been residents in the central part of the present county of Somerset before the beginning of the revolutionary war.

William S. Larmer came to Somerset township in 1833. He afterward went west and was a county surveyor in Iowa before moving to Kansas. His eldest son, John W., was in the army, serving in a Somerset county company. Another son, Jeremiah S., is now farming in the eastern part of this township.

There are several villages in the township, namely: Lavansville, Sipesville and Friedens, as well as a summer resort known as <a href=”articles.php?article_id=339″>Edgewood Farm</a>.

The area of Somerset Township is 38,755 acres or about 60 and one-half square miles. In 1930, it had 349 farms and a population of 5,488 persons.

<center>BIOGRAPHIES</center>
<a href=”http://www.pa-roots.org/data/read.php?720,543722″>Christopher Beam</a> — <a href=”http://www.pa-roots.org/data/read.php?720,543723″>John Bell</a> — <a href=”http://www.pa-roots.org/data/read.php?720,543276,543276#msg-543276″>Peter Heffley</a> — <a href=”http://www.pa-roots.org/data/read.php?720,543876″>John F. Kantner</a> — <a href=”http://www.pa-roots.org/data/read.php?720,543875″>David Lavan</a> — <a href=”http://www.pa-roots.org/data/read.php?720,543725″>Abraham Miller</a> — <a href=”http://www.pa-roots.org/data/read.php?720,543500″>Michael Mowry</a> 
<a href=”http://www.pa-roots.org/data/read.php?720,543079,543079#msg-543079″>Hon. Christian C. Musselman</a> — <a href=”http://www.pa-roots.org/data/read.php?720,543497″>Philip Shaver</a> — <a href=”http://www.pa-roots.org/data/read.php?720,543720″>Peter Sipe</a> — <a href=”http://www.pa-roots.org/data/read.php?720,543873″>William Tayman</a> — <a href=”http://www.pa-roots.org/data/read.php?720,543080,543080#msg-543080″>James Trent</a>

<center>CHURCHES</center>
<a href=”articles.php?article_id=61″>Christ\’s Evangelical Lutheran</a> — <a href=”articles.php?article_id=58″>Friedens Evangelical Lutheran</a> — <a href=”articles.php?article_id=60″>Friedens Reformed</a> — <a href=”articles.php?article_id=59″>German Lutheran</a> 
<a href=”articles.php?article_id=90″>Lavansville Reformed</a> — <a href=”articles.php?article_id=92″>Mount Calvary Evangelical Lutheran</a> — <a href=”articles.php?article_id=348″>Somerset Circuit of the Evangelical Association</a> 
<a href=”articles.php?article_id=89″>St. Peter\’s Reformed</a> — <a href=”articles.php?article_id=7″>Somerset Presbyterian</a> — <a href=”articles.php?article_id=361″>Somerset Presbyterian (2)</a> — <a href=”articles.php?article_id=91″>Will\’s Evangelical Lutheran</a> 
Somerset Church of the Brethren or German Baptist denomination was formed in 1880, with seventy-five members. There is but one meeting-house in this district. Bishop, H. Holsinger; ministers, Michael Weyant, Solomon Baer, Alfred Syford.

<center>TAX LISTS</center>
<a href=”articles.php?article_id=4″>1800 (A-K)</a> — <a href=”articles.php?article_id=5″>1800 (L-Z) </a>

<center>TOWNS & VILLAGES</center>
<a href=”articles.php?article_id=349″>Brunerstown</a> — <a href=”articles.php?article_id=346″>Lavansville</a> — <a href=”articles.php?article_id=350″>Somerset</a> — <a href=”articles.php?article_id=11″>Somerset Borough</a> 
Friedens is a small town in the northeastern part of the township. The old part of the town was laid out by Gabriel Walker and the new part was laid out by the Madaria-Hill Coal Company in 1917. The postoffice was established in 1864 and the first postmaster was Harrison Casebeer. 
Husband is a small village in the northwestern part of the township. 
Listie is a small mining town in the eastern part of the township. It grew up since the Listie Mines were opened in 1893. 
Sipesville derives its name from Michael Sipe, who established a mercantile house here in 1843, and thus made it a local point of attraction. The lands were purchased by Michael Sipe from Henry Geiger. Levi Hoffman became the first postmaster at Sipesville, about the year 1851. 
Other localities in the large township of Somerset were:
Beams Mills
Fairview
Pleasant Hill

Lavansville
The village of Lavansville is situated about four miles west of the county seat. Its name is derived from David Lavan, who owned the eastern part of the town site.

The first building erected here, a hotel, was built by John Tantlinger, of Somerset, in 1803; the second and third being the shop and dwelling-house of David Lavan, who located here as a blacksmith about the year 1812.

Martin Ross was the owner of the western part of the town site, but did not lay out lots, etc., until some time after Lavan had done so. About 1830 Isaac Friedline and Frederick Neff opened the first store. The first church edifice was erected by the Lutherans about 1848.

At the present time the town contains two churches, two stores, one wagonshop, two smithshops, two shoeshops, two cabinetshops, one harness-shop, and one hotel.

(Source: History of Bedford, Somerset & Fulton Counties, PA; 1884)