Photo by Greg Reedy
Author James Burke details some history of Elk County as part of his book, "Pioneers of Second Fork" in a presentation at the Elk County Historical Society.

By Greg Reedy
Sports Editor

Author James Burke detailed some notables in the history of Elk County as part of his book "Pioneers of Second Fork" at the Elk County Historical Society on Wednesday night.
Burke is the president of the Mt. Zion Historical Society and researched history about places such as Force and Weedville. One aspect of Weedville did not make the final published copy.
"We didn't get this in the book because the information came too late. Frederic Weed and Joshua Mead traded land in New York for land in Bennetts Valley," Burke said. "Mead took the northern part in Caledonia, N.Y. Just recently, we got information that Joshua Mead was a captain in the Revolutionary War. We discovered we have our fourth Revolutionary War soldier buried in Jay Township. We're in the process of getting a plaque."
Weed, the founder of Weedville, also was a part of the Society of Cincinnati.
"Weed put the first sawmill at the mouth of Kersey Run in Bennetts Valley," Burke said. "Weed also put a tannery in and he made harnesses and leather goods. We were up to Fort Ticonderoga and we talked with a sharp researcher. He was stumped on the Society of Cincinnati, which Weed was a member of. Weed was a veteran of the Revolutionary War. We determined that the society was a political society pledged to George Washington made up of veterans of that war. The Weed story was a little rough to work on but we did find a lot of interesting things."
Isaac Webb was the founder of Force and has a famous lineage.
"One of his ancestors was a knight who served in the Crusades. Their lineage went back to William Shakespeare," Burke said. "Back when King Henry VIII kicked the Catholic Church out of England, you could marry your first cousin. William Shakespeare had two grandmothers that were both Webbs. They were pretty well-to-do people and they decided in the early 1600s to come on over to America. Charles Webb with Thomas Hooker, he was among the 16 founders of Hartford, Conn. Hooker is acknowledged as the founder of democracy in America. The society he set up in Hartford was one of the first in America. His descendant, Isaac Webb, comes down and buys 1,000 acres of ground where Force is."
Burke explained to those in attendance at the Historical Society how Fox Township got its name.
"The Morey family is very interesting, they were very instrumental in the birth of Elk County," Burke said. "Leonard Morey was the clerk of the county and responsible for the formation of the first township. It was first called Sinnemahoning Township. People over at this end of the county didn't like it and it was renamed Fox Township."
Burke said the name of Benezette Township came from Europe in the 17th century.
"The engineering building at the University of Paris is named Benezette Building," Burke said. "When the Benezettes left Paris, they eventually got to Philadelphia and became very wealthy. Anthony Benezette in the late 1600s, he was known as the Martin Luther King of the day. He bent over backwards for the blacks and the Indians. When Ruben Winslow was founding Benezette, they couldn't pick a better name than Benezette."