Thomas Bickett (1801 - 1887)

Born 28 Dec 1801 in Fairy Hill, Ballinderry, County Antrim, Ireland

Ancestors

Died 15 Aug 1887 at age 85 in Winfield Township, Butler, Pennsylvania, United States

Biography

Thomas Bickett

Burial

Burial:

Place: Slate Lick U. P. Church Cemetery, Armstrong Co., Pennsylvania

Immigration

Immigration:

Date: 1823

Place: From Belfast Ireland to St. Andrews, Canada, to Baltimore, Maryland and to the Arthur and Helena Hill nee Beckett farm, Winfield Twp., Butler Co., Pennsylvania, With Father Matthew.

Event

Event:

Type: Comment

Place: Returned to Ireland for a visit

Sources

• WikiTree profile Bickett-3 created through the import of O'Bryan Family tree.ged on Sep 6, 2011 by Tim Tropeck. See the Changes page for the details of edits by Tim and others.

Notes

Note N880Butler County Naturalizations

This is an index of naturalizations in Butler County, PA that occurred from 1800 through 1994.

For Copies, write to Glenna Walters, Prothonotary

Butler County Courthouse, P O Box 1208, Butler, PA 16003.

For at least the first 100 years plus, only the head of the family was naturalized and that covered everyone in the family, including married sons and their families.

1800 - 2000

Naturalized: BICKET Thomas 1838 1

On Thomas's visit to Ballinderry, Co., Antrim, Ireland in 1876, he landed at Liverpool, England and then to Belfast, Ireland. At Ballinderry he found only ten persons whom he knew fifty-three years earlier, when he had left Ireland Among them were some of his cousins Beckett. The rest had all died or immigrated. In the kitchen part of the house where he was born at "Fairy Hill", Megarriff Parrish, he found three or four looms and weavers engaged at work. The other rooms in the house were sadly out of order. Several of the outbuildings were torn down, all was going to wrack and ruin, the place was occupied by strangers.

Chapter 29--Winfield Township: History of Butler Co., Pennsylvania With Illustrations and Biographical Sketches of some of its Prominent Men and Pioneers. Waterman, Watkins, & Co., Chicago, 1883.

Thomas BICKETT, one of the few pioneers who are still living, came from Ireland to Butler Co., in 1823, and, after working in various parts of this State, settled upon his present farm in 1828. He bought his land, 200 acres, in 1824 or 1825, at a Commissioner's sale. The land was sold because of non-payment of taxes, and Thomas BICKETT bid it in for . His first year's tax upon the property was 99 cents. After coming here,Thomas BICKETT married Nancy HILL. Two children by this marriage still reside in Winfield ; William, on the homestead, and Mrs. Margaret YOUNG.

Eliza Beckett married William Green, September 30, 1820, Ballinderry Co., Antrim, Northern Ireland. In July, 1821, William with his young wife, came to America. located for a short time in Butler county, (Sold his farm to his brother-in-law Thomas Beckett for 0.00 if Thomas would pay the tax debt of .), and later near the salt works near Freeport, where he remained about three years, and then removed to Pittsburgh, and there learned the trade of plasterer, which trade he followed in that city until 1850. Up on the latter date, he purchased a farm near Strongstown, Indiana county, and lived upon it until the death of his wife, in 1856. William and Eliza came to America for the availability of employment.

According to information obtained from Robert Shearer and wife, the owners in the year of 2007; records obtained from Butler Co., Pennsylvania, show that William actually sold this farm to his brother-in-law Thomas Beckett, whereas Thomas paid the property taxes of .

Thomas BICKETT says this was a wretched-looking region when he first saw it. The little clearings of the few settlers then in the township were formed after the most primitive methods. Plows were in use, manufactured by the farmer himself, from wood, with the addition of a little iron obtained from some neighboring blacksmith. Such a plow would make a scratch in the Earth, but as for turning a furrow, that was impossible. Forks, that were almost as much as a man could lift without any load upon them, were used in handling manure and hay. Soon after he had set about making a home in this uninviting wild, Thomas BICKETT was bitten by a rattlesnake one evening as he was crossing Cornplanter Run on his way from his farm to the cabin where his wife was staying. The snake bit through his thick pants of tow-cloth and through a thick woolen sock deep into the flesh above his ankle. On reaching home, he drank a large quantity of new milk, which prevented injurious results, but he endured excruciating pain for some time.

Black and yellow rattlesnakes, copper-heads, black racers and other kind of snakes were very abundant among the rocks along Cornplanter Run, and, in fact, on the lowlands in all parts of the township. While mowing, the settlers frequently wrapped quantities of hay around their legs to prevent being bitten.

Thomas BICKETT raised his house in the spring of 1828. It is still standing, though no longer used as a dwelling. As he recalls the names of many who were present at the raising, it may be of interest to some of our readers to mention them in this connection. Among others were John and Mac MOOR HEAD, James RALSTON, Robert GRAHAM, Arthur HILL, William and David RALSTON, Andrew CRUIKSHANK and James SMITH.

(The Thomas BICKETT farm is located on Cornplanter Road. From Village of Winfield traveling toward Cabot, at the top of Winfield Hill, turn left on Corn planter Road toward Leasureville, shortly after crossing Cornplanter Run, passing the road to Cecil Bricker's shop, first red brick house with barn on the right). William Green, husband of Eliza Beckett a sister to Thomas sold this farm to Thomas on June 15, 1824. Thomas made the red bricks and erected this house in 1828. The barn was built in 1829. The property is now owned by the Robert Shearer family, 2009. The house and barn are presently restored and the Robert Shearer family home.

Two graves were discovered on the property. The grave of Albert H. Grelling, 1882-1952. The grave of Mary Green with grave marker. A vandal stole Mary’s gravestone and used it as a door stop.

William's Hudson Green’s wife Mary (Ulery) Green, is probably the Mary Green buried on the Thomas Bickett farm, owned by Robert and Irene Shearer, 2007.This is a Mary Green that has not been accounted for.

Thomas BICKETT, one of the few surviving pioneers in Butler Co., was born in Co., Antrim, Ireland, in the year 1801, and is the son of Matthew and Jane Hall BICKETT, who had nine children--Mary, Helena, (Anna)-Jane, Henrietta, Thomas, Eliza, Matthew, Margaret and William, who is the third child from the eldest. Three members of this family survive. Thomas (the subject of this sketch), Matthew

(a farmer in Clinton Township), and Margaret, a widow, now residing in Illinois) Mary and Jane died in Ireland, but the other members of this family came to this country. Mrs. Jane Hall BICKETT died in Ireland in 1809, and her husband Matthew died in Butler Co., in 1841 at the age of eighty-four years. Thomas BICKETT came to America in 1823, accompanied by his father, his brother and two sisters, and the same year visited Butler Co. On his trip to this Co., he walked in company with his brother-in-law from a place ten miles east of Greensburg, Westmoreland Co., one Sunday, to the home of his sister in Butler Co., a distance of fifty miles. Throughout this journey they were without food, having asked for it only at Greensburg and New Salem, the people refusing to give them anything to eat because they were traveling on the Sabbath! (Did offer them whiskey). When he arrived here, Thomas BICKETT thought a very short residence in this Co., would satisfy him, as the whole country appeared wild and desolate. But he found that the people, though poor, were not without religious privileges. There was then a Presbyterian Church at Slate Lick, of which Rev. John REDICK was pastor for many years. He discovered other pleasant features in pioneer life, and concluded that this region was far preferable to Ireland as a home for poor people. He found employment on the canal and in the trade of stone-masonry until the fall of 1829, when he settled on the farm of 200 acres, where he still resides. This land Thomas BICKETT had previously bought at Commissioners' sale for . He at once entered upon the difficult task of clearing his land and bringing it under cultivation. By hard and persistent toil and rigid economy, he succeeded in this undertaking, and the land which he obtained so cheaply is now worth per acre. the farm is highly improved, the buildings are good, and Thomas BICKETT, in the fullness of years, has the satisfaction of knowing that this beautiful and pleasant home has been earned by the work of his own hands. Thomas BICKETT is a man who has hosts of friends. His agreeable social qualities and interesting conversational powers are so well known as to require no comment. He has been a member of the Presbyterian Church for many years, having joined it soon after he came to this Co., and he now holds the office of Elder. April 17, 1828, he married Nancy HILL, of Armstrong Co.. The fruit of this union was five children, of whom two are living, Margaret and William. The former is the wife of John YOUNG, of Winfield Township. William married Mary M., daughter of Andrew and Dorothea MCCASLIN, of Armstrong Co., and resides upon the old homestead. He was in the service during the war for nine months as a volunteer of Company D, One Hundred and Thirty-seventh Pennsylvania Regiment, and participated in seven engagements, among them the battles of Bull Run and Antietam. Thomas BICKETT's first wife died in 1837 at the age of thirty-six. In 1838, he married Satia TREMBLE, who bore him three children--Matthew, Nancy and Mary. Mathew died in infancy. Nancy, Mary and their mother all died within the short period of one week.

A large wolf, said to have made tracks larger than a man's hand, frequented the Little Buffalo and Cornplanter Run. He was known as the "Brindled Wolf," and seemed capable of a great deal of mischief. In 1829, he killed five sheep belonging to Thomas BICKETT and committed numerous other depredations. A reward of was at length offered for his scalp, and ECKIS, the hunter, succeeded in obtaining it.

History of Butler Co., Pennsylvania, 1895

Buffalo Township, Chapter 38

CHURCHES

Buffalo Presbyterian Church, one and one-half miles east of Sarversville, was organized August 3, 1843, by Revs. Abraham BOYD, Thomas W. KERR and Elder HILL. Mr. BOYD preached there for some time before he could gather the original thirteen members and continued as pastor until 1846. Re v. David D. MCKEE came in 1847; Rev. Newton BRACKEN in 1849; Rev. George C CAIRNS in 1851; Rev. Newton BRACKEN, as stated supply, in 1858; Rev. John V. MILLER in 1859; Rev. Josiah MCPHERRIN in 1865; Rev. James T. PATTERS ON in 1874, and Rev. John S. ATKINSON, June 14, 1881. John ATKINSON was released in April, 1888. Rev. L. E. KEITH succeeded him and remained one year. The pulpit was supplied from 1889 to February, 1894. Rev. J. W. HAZLE HAZLETT was ordained pastor in February, 1894. The membership in 1894 was 120. The first elders were Andrew MCCASKEY and William CRUIKSHANK. Among the latter day elders may be named Thomas BECKETT, W. H. MCCAFFERTY, William GALBREATH, Wilson TODD, James BRICKER, Thomas ELLIOTT and J. P. HEPLER R. In1843-44 a very primitive house of worship was erected, which was used until after the war, when a new frame edifice was built, and dedicated in 1867. It was repaired about two years ago. The church stands in the two-acre cemetery lot.

Among others who settled here early in the century were Arthur HILL and Robert GALBREATH, both Irishmen, and William HESSELGESSER and family, who came in 1815. In 1817 another Revolutionary veteran arrived in the person of Abraham LEASURE (Leasureville), and the year after(sic 1823), came Thomas BICKETT. James, William and David RALSTON and Robert GRAHAM were then residents. Francis JACKMAN and his wife arrived from France in 1832 and took possession of a tract of land near the present village of Denny or Delano station.