Peter Livengood Family

This page created February 4, 1998
This page updated February 16, 2003

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The Tenmile Country and Its Pioneer Families by Howard Leckey, pp. 433.
"One gets the impression that Peter Livengood, who had warranted to him on 5-Jun.1786, a tract of land as "Peter's Purchase," was a very old man when he settled on this side of the Monongahela. His land was situated on an upper branch of Muddy Creek, near the ridge where Jack Morris lives. Most of his children had married in Fayette County and were living there at the time of Peter Livengood's death in 1814. His son-in-law, John Smith served as his executor, and as such sold the land on 4-Aug.1826 to William Kincaid. His will was probated 14-Jun.1814. No wife was named. John Lemley, named as executor, did not serve."
History of Greene County by Samuel Bates, pp 484, 485.
"About the year 1775, three German families emigrated and settled near the mouth of Pursley Creek. Two of these, by the name of Sellers, appropriated the lands since owned by John Buchanan and Fordyce Thomas. The other family bore the name of Provator, and improved the tract where Edward Wood and Doc. Huffman live. A year later came Benjamin Pursley, and located the land now owned by George Hoge, Jr., and from him Pursley Creek was named. The family of the elder Sellers consisted of himself, wife, and four sons, Leonard, Jacob, George and John, the latter being demented. They lived in a cabin built for defense, located near a spring below the house of Mr. Buchanan, still standing. Leonard Sellers* married Mary, the only child of Gasper PROVATOR, with whom the young couple lived. One afternoon in the fall of 1780, or thereabouts, Leonard shouldered his gun, and journyed into the forest for game. Molly, the wife, with her twin children, and her sister-in-law, went out to gather grapes. Molly spred her apron upon the ground, and sat the two children upon it, and while busily engaged gathering clusters, Indians, creeping stealthily, fired or rushed suddenly upon them. Molly instinctively and instantly bounded away, oblivious to everything except the terrible vision of the inhuman savages rushing upon her, and firing after her. Having escaped their deadly clutch, she ran at her utmost speed, not halting till she had reached her own cabin, when some one exclaimed, "Why, Molly, where are your children?" This was the first thought that the terror-stricken mother had, that her babes had been with her in the woods. With a shrek and a bound she flew back over the ground by which she had come, to meet death if she must, only intent on rescuing her little ones. When she reached the spot, she found the children sitting upon the apron as she had left them, but horrible to behold, both scalped. Fearing pursuit the Indians had fled. On approaching the children, one of them looked up and smiled, when it recognized its mother. Folding them to her bosom in the apron as they sat, she hurried home, and upon her arrival, found a huge butcher knife in the folds of the apron, that the savage had dropped. One of the children died, and the other lived to become the wife of Joseph Aukram, and the mother of a family. The sister-in-law, who was with her, was carried away, and was never heard of more.
During the first run home the mother saw the bark knocked off a sapling before her by the ball from the Indian's gun, which passed between her body and her arm, but fortunately did not harm her, and when she jumped off the creek bank into the sand she made a greater leap than any man in the settlement was able to do. But the powerful exertion required for the leap, and the running back and forth, together with the shock produced by seeing her poor scalped babes, proved nearly fatal. She was completely broken down, and for over a year was in a very feeble and critical condition, never regaining her natural vigor. So violent was her hatred of the savages ever after, that she not only became much excited whenever she related these incidents, but usually added, "If ever I should see an Indian, no difference where he was, or who, or how friendly he pretended to be, I know I should try to kill him--I know I could not help it." The husband returned at evening, but so horror and grief stricken that he soon sickened and died. Thomas Hoge, who furnished many of the particulars related above, says: "My parents when first married, sixty years ago, settled on Pursley, where John Hoge now lives, on the improvement made by Ben Pursley, for whom both the creek and Ben's Run took their names. Old Molly was a practicing midwife. She also adds that when they settled on Pursley there were but two or three families above them on all the waters of that stream. There were in places two miles or more together of solid woods, without a stick amiss, where deer, wolves and wild turkeys were very plenty, with a sprinkling of bears and rattle-snakes. The deer were very troublesome in pasturing off the young wheat in winter and early spring, and wolves were so bold that it was difficult to raise poultry, lambs, or pigs."

For Immigration and Ship Lists on this Family:
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1. Peter LIVENGOOD, married ___.
2 i Elizabeth Livengood, who married ____ Halfhill, and remained in Fayette County, Pa.
3 ii Magdeline Livengood, who married Robert Hickman and came to Greene Co., Pa.
4 iii Catherine Livengood, married John Smith of Fayette Co., Pa.
He served as executor of the will of Peter Livengood.
5 iv Mary Livengood, w/o John (?) Waits of Fayette Co., Pa.
6 v Barbara Livengood, married John Lemley, of Greene County, Pa. Wayne's Homepage Wayne's Email
7 vi Sarah Livengood, w/o ___ Franks, of Fayette County, Pa.
+ 8 vii Peter LIVENGOOD who married Mary (PROVATOR) Sellers, widow of Jacob
Sellers*. He settled on Pursley Creek, where he died about 1839. His will made
29-Jan.1833, was probated 25-Dec.1839, with George Hoge and John Hoge as
executors. He and his wife, Mary, made a deed for land on 29-Jun.1833, and another
deed that was dated as the date of the probate. The will mentions his step-daughter,
Elizabeth Sellars, w/o Joseph Sellars.
8. Peter LIVENGOOD, married Mary (PROVATOR) Sellars.
9 i Sarah Livengood, w/o John Staggers.
10 ii David Livengood.
11 iii Peter Livengood.
12 iv Jacob Livengood, who died before his father.
+ 13 v Catherine LIVENGOOD, b. 1-Mar.1790, d. 3-Aug.1848, m. Joshua THOMAS,
b. 11-Mar.1787, d. 12-Oct.1873. He was a son of John and Cassandra (DUNN)
THOMAS.
14 vi Anna Livengood, m. William McFann.
15 vii Barbara Livengood, m. James Dye.John's Homepage jbutler@UH.EDU
16 viii Mary Livengood, m. John Fry.
13. Catherine LIVENGOOD b. 1-Mar.1790
d. 3-Aug.1848, married Joshua THOMAS b. 11-Mar.1787 d. 12-Oct.1873.
To see the Thomas History
17 i Anna Thomas, m. William McFann.
18 ii Cassandra Thomas, m. James Dye.
19 iii Harriet Thomas, m. William Pratt.
20 iv Mariah (Lucy?) Thomas, m. Aliff Neal.
21 v Susannah Thomas, m. Abraham Eisenminger.
22 vi Inda Thomas, m. Isaac Eisenminger.
+ 23 viii Eleanor THOMAS, m. Remembrance NEAL.
24 viii Rees Thomas, m. Priscilla Crago.
23. Eleanor THOMAS, m. Remembrance NEAL. To see the O'Neill History