Person:William Corner (1)

William left his home in Eastern Cheshire, England in March in 1795 enroute to a purposed destination of the Green River country in Kentucky, where the family had purchased a large tract of land. They spent nine weeks on the ocean and the journey from Baltimore to "Fort Pitt," (Pittsburg), occupied about the same length of time. William was seized with a violent fever and died 10 days later and was buried in Pennsylvania on the banks of the Juniata.

[THE JUNIATA, PAST AND PRESENT (http://www.acb-online.org/juniata.cfm) The Juniata is a picturesque river, often cutting through high mountain ridges, revealing spectacular water gaps and baring the geological history of the Keystone State. The Juniata River drainage basin is a subbasin of the Susquehanna River watershed, and drains about 1/8th of it, or some 3,400 square miles in southcentral Pennsylvania. All or most of Blair, Huntingdon, Juniata and Mifflin counties, along with parts of Bedford, Centre, Dauphin, Fulton, Perry and Somerset counties are included in the Juniata's drainage basin. The Susquehanna River watershed encompasses nearly 27,000 square miles in Pennsylvania, New York and Maryland.

The Juniata River is approximately 100 miles long and is the second largest tributary to the Susquehanna River (the largest is the West Branch Susquehanna). The river was once paralleled by a canal system known as "the Great Canal," constructed as Pennsylvania's answer to New York's Erie Canal. The state sold the canal to the Pennsylvania Railroad which abandoned it as a transportation project after the damaging "Great Flood" of 1889.

One of the Juniata River's tributaries, Standing Stone Creek in northern Huntingdon county, got its name from association with an Indian tribe known as the Oneida. Tradition says the Oneida revered a l4-foot high and 6-inch square ceremonial stone decorated with engraved petroglyphs. Oneidn means" standing stone," and came into common local usage as a label for both the ceremonial stone and the tribe. Juniata is also reported to mean "standing stone."

The main stem of the Juniata River originates at the confluence of the Frankstown Branch Juniata and the Little Juniata near Petersburg in Huntingdon county. Major tributaries of the Juniata River include those on the map (center). The Juniata River enters the Susquehanna River at Duncannon in Perry county. Some of the Juniata's tributaries, such as Kishacoquillas Creek are significantly pollution-stressed and do contribute poor water quality to the system, but the main stem of the river is generally clear.

The relative shallowness and gentle course of most of this river along the base of steep, scenic slopes make it valuable for quiet recreational pursuits such as canoeing and fishing.

A variety of plants grow in and along the Juniata River, including water willow, lizard-tail and numerous species of pond weeds. One of the Juniata's gems is a Pennsylvania species of special concern, a plant classified as "threatened" in the state. The Jewelled-shooting-star, Dodecatheon amethystinum, grows on the moist, calcareous (limestone) cliffs along the Juniata formed by the river cutting down through the rock layers.

THE BASIN Much of the Juniata River basin is mountainous, with ridges and valleys which are generally oriented from northeast to southwest. Weather-resistant sandstone generally forms the mountain ridges, whereas more erodable limestone and shale primarily underlie the valley regions. Approximately 66% of the stream flow in the Juniata River is supplied by groundwater, either by flow from springs or by direct seepage to streambeds. The aquifers in the drainage basin are a thick sequence of folded sedimentary rock consisting chiefly of sandstone, siltstone, shale and limestone. As of 1990, total water use in the basin had increased by about 28 percent over 1970 rates; most of that increase has come from groundwater use, but has had little impact on groundwater availability. The Juniata River basin has had abundant water resources due to an average annual precipitation of 37 inches.

Many small towns dot the basin, but only Altoona and Lewistown boast populations of greater than 10,000 people. Steep slopes, railroad tracks and roads paralleling most of the length of the main river continue to discourage immediate riverside development. Summer homes do occur along the main stem, but improved sewage treatment helps protect water quality in modern times. No major industries directly flank the river's main stem. ]

William Died in America in the Allegheny Mountains on the trek to Ohio and wife Mary continued with the children.