USA > Maryland > Washington County > Leitersburg > History of Leitersburg District, Washington County, Md.: Including Its Original Land Tenure. > Part 5
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WITH respect to nationality the pioneers of Leitersburg Dis- trict were almost exclusively German. Cresap, Charlton, Perry, and Sprigg were English, and Gabby was Scotch, but their names are almost forgotten. The German element was repre- sented by such names as Lambert, Miller, Shiess, Burkhart, Har- tle, Fogler, Leiter, Good, Ritter, Reiff, Bell, Lantz, Schriver, Solmes, Snell, Mentzer, Garver, Stotler, Wolfinger, Ziegler, Strite -an overwhelming majority; and many of these families are still represented, because the Germans, as a class, came to stay.
Industry and thrift, the tendency to acquire real estate and to retain it when acquired, are characteristics of the Teuton, and while there is abundant reason to believe that the early German settlers were generally poor, they were not long in securing homes and providing for their families the necessities and comforts of life. The second generation started in life with larger capital and better advantages than the first; its numbers were reduced by emigration, but reenforced again from the older German com- munities of York and Lancaster Counties in Pennsylvania, and thus the District became more thoroughly German than before. The poll and tax books still show an almost uninterrupted suc- cession of German names, Anglicized in orthography and pro- nunciation but German nevertheless. The four religious de- nominations represented in the District-Lutheran, Reformed, Mennonite, and German Baptist-are all of German origin. For several generations German was the language of social and busi- ness intercourse with a large majority of the population; it was the language of public worship at Jacobs church until 1840, and at Miller's church at a still later date. To-day it is a dead lan-
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HISTORY OF LEITERSBURG DISTRICT.
guage, and in this respect the pioneers have failed to transmit to their posterity that to which they most tenaciously adhered. But English was the language of the county courts, of the local school- master, and of the country at large, and under such a combination of influences the transition to its use, though gradual, was in- evitable.
The change in language was accompanied by others equally noticeable. "The dress of the early settlers," says Kercheval in his History of the Valley of Virginia, "was of the plainest material, generally of their own manufacture. The men's coats were gen- crally made with broad backs and straight short skirts, with pock- ets on the outside having large flaps. The waist-coats had skirts nearly halfway down to the knees and very broad pocket-flaps. The breeches were so short as barely to reach the knee, with a band surrounding the knee, fastened with either brass or silver buckles. The stocking was drawn up under the knee band and tied with a garter (generally red or blue) below the knee, so as to be seen. Shoes were of coarse leather, with straps to the quar- ters and fastened with either brass or silver buckles. The hat was either of wool or felt, with a round crown not exceeding three or four inches in height with a broad brim. The dress for the neck was usually a narrow collar to the shirt, with a white linen stock drawn together at the ends on the back of the neck with a broad metal buckle. The more wealthy and fashionable were sometimes seen with their stock, knee, and shoe buckles set in
gold or silver with precious stones. *
*
*
The female dress
was generally the short gown and petticoat made of the plainest materials. The German women mostly wore tight calico caps on their heads. * * In hay and harvest time they joined the men in the labors of the meadow and grain fields. * Many females were most expert mowers and reapers. It was no uncommon thing to see the female part of the family at the hoe or plow." To this it might be added that men, women, and chil- dren alike discarded shoes in warm weather, on the score of com- fort as well as economy. While respect for the church was almost universal, it was not considered necessary to wear a coat in warm weather, when the men usually appeared in their shirt sleeves. There are those still living who remember when this was charac- teristic of the congregations at Beard's and Jacobs.
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SOCIAL AND MATERIAL DEVELOPMENT.
The first farm improvements usually consisted of a log house and barn, built near a spring or running water if the land offered such advantages. The floor of the primitive cabin was made of split puncheons and the roof of clapboards weighted with poles. Hewn logs, a shingled or thatched roof, and plank floors indicated an improvement in the circumstances of the owner. A few houses of more pretentious appearance were also built at an early date. The stone house on the farm of Daniel N. Scheller, near the Ziegler mill and several rods beyond the District line, was built by Samuel Downing in 1750, and is undoubtedly one of the oldest specimens of colonial architecture in Washington County. The oldest part of the farm house on the farm of Hiram D. Mid- dlekauff near Leitersburg was built by John Gabby prior to 1779. Among the oldest stone houses within the limits of the District is that on the farm of George F. Ziegler near Leiters- burg, built by George Lantz, who died in 1802. In 1803 Henry B. Hockman built the stone house near Bowman's mill owned by the heirs of Henry G. Clopper. Frederick Bell built the stone house on the farm of Daniel S. Wolfinger near Rock Forge in 1812. In 1823 Andrew Bell built the stone house on the farm of Upton Clopper. The stone house on the farm of Harvey J. Hartle, near Leitersburg, and that on the farm of Isaac Shank, near the Marsh mills, are also among the oldest representatives of the stone age in rural architecture in Leitersburg District. The oldest brick house is undoubtedly that on the Cressler farm, built by General Sprigg in the last century.
Stone was also used so far as possible in the construction of barns. Frederick Bell built the stone barn on the farm of Daniel S. Wolfinger in 1806; John Barr, that on the farm of Harvey J. Hartle, in 1809; Michael Wolfinger, that on the farm owned by the heirs of the late Joseph Strite, in 1815; Joseph Miller, that on the farm of Samuel Hykes, in 1819; John Mentzer, that on the farm of E. Keller Mentzer, in 1826. A number of others were also built, principally at a later date. It seems somewhat surprising that the enormous stone gables of these structures should have been reared at a time when timber was plenty and possessed but little commercial value.
A hundred years ago the aristocracy of Washington County lived in the country, and of this class the most distinguished
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HISTORY OF LEITERSBURG DISTRICT.
representative in Leitersburg District was General Thomas Sprigg. His estate was Sprigg's Paradise, a tract of seventeen hundred acres. Here he erected a spacious mansion, some de- scription of which may not be inappropriate. The main hall is sixty-two feet long and twelve feet wide, and at each end there was originally a winding stairway. The drawing room, dining room, etc. connected with this hall. The ceilings are fourteen feet high on the first floor and thirteen on the second. The house is constructed throughout in a most substantial manner and fin- ished with a degree of care, taste, and expense rarely found in Washington County country residences at the present day. The culinary department and the servants' quarters occupied a separ- ate wing. East of the mansion was the garden, arranged in a series of terraces. The estate was cultivated by slaves, whose quarters, a long, low stone building near the turnpike, were re- moved several years ago. The establishment also included a race track, west of the turnpike, one mile in length and sixty feet wide, with woods on either side.
This old mansion was often the scene of protracted festivities, in which horse-racing, fox-hunting, cock-baiting, dancing, and other fashionable amusements contributed to the diversion of the guests. The General and his son, who succeeded him, dispensed a lavish hospitality. Their immediate circle included the fam- ilies of Major Ignatius Taylor, Thomas Belt, and Thomas Hall, all of whom resided in Leitersburg District, and Charles Carroll of Bellevue, an estate of a thousand acres near Hagerstown. The elite of Washington County were entertained here, and visits were also exchanged with families of wealth and prominence in south- ern Maryland. But Sprigg's Paradise has shared the same fate as Fountain Rock, Montpelier, and every other large landed estate in the county. The old mansion still stands, a reminder of social and material conditions that are forever past, but only a fraction of the estate is connected with it in ownership, and the family name in which the title was vested for three generations is now unfamiliar or forgotten.
SLAVERY IN THE DISTRICT.
There is evidence that slavery existed upon the present terri- tory of Leitersburg District at an early period in its history.
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SOCIAL AND MATERIAL DEVELOPMENT.
Robert Downing, who died in 1755, bequeathed to his son Robert "one negro man named Will and one negro woman named Rachel;" and to his son Samuel "one negro boy named Dick and one negro girl named Kate."
The following are transcripts of original papers relating to slavery in the District at a later date:
Received, January 21, 1804, of Jacob Miller the sum of £18 for hire of negro Jem, the property of Letty Hall, for one year ending 20th January, 1804. I. TAYLOR.
Received, January 20, 1806, of Mr. Jacob Miller $80.00 on account of Miss Letty Hall for the hire of two negros, Jem and Bob, for one year ending this day.
THOMAS BELT.
To all whom it may concern: Be it known that I, Jacob Miller, of Washington County in the State of Maryland, for divers good causes and considerations me thereunto moving as also in further considera- tion of one dollar current money to me in hand paid, have released from slavery, liberated, manumitted, and set free from and after the 1st day of January in the year of our Lord 1825 * * * my negro man named John Norrison, who will at the date aforesaid be of the age of thirty years and if in health be able to work and gain a sufficient livelihood and maintenance, and him the said negro man named John Norrison I do declare to be from and after the 1st day of January, 1825, aforesaid free, manumitted, and discharged from all manner of servitude or service to me, my executors, or adminis- trators forever. In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand and affixed my seal this 26th of July in the year of our Lord 1820.
JACOB MILLER.
Know all men by these presents that I, Jacob Kessinger of Wash- ington County and State of Maryland for the consideration of the sum of $145.00 current money to me in hand paid by John Mentzer, Jr., of the county and State aforesaid. the receipt whereof I do here- by acknowledge, have granted, bargained, sold, and delivered * * * unto the said John Mentzer, Jr., my negro slave Betty, which said slave Betty I will warrant and defend to the said John Mentzer, Jr., his executors, administrators, and assigns * * * against every other person or persons whomsoever. In witness whereof I have hereunto set my name and affixed my seal this 13th day of March, 1820. JACOB KESSINGER.
It is my will that my colored people, viz., Hannah Reed, Benjamin Buchanan, and Joseph Smith, be free immediately after my death, and that my executors pay to each of them * * * the sum of $150 apiece .- Will of William Gabby.
In 1815 Christian Lantz manumitted his slave Charles Bryson,
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HISTORY OF LEITERSBURG DISTRICT.
aged thirty-eight years, at the consideration of $600.00. In 1827 William Gabby manumitted his "negro woman named Jemima, being at the age of thirty-five years, and able to work and gain a sufficient livelihood and maintenance," at the consideration of one dollar. Among other slave-owners in the District were the Spriggs, Thomas Belt, George I. Harry, Jacob Schnebley, Joseph Gabby, George Shiess, and F. C. B. Wilms. It is probable that the number of slaves kept on the Sprigg estate was equal to those of all other owners in the District combined. At her death in 1851 Mrs. Maria E. Reynolds (nee Sprigg) owned twelve slaves, of whom the youngest was twelve years of age and the oldest eighty. By the terms of her will they all received manumis- sion and substantial legacies. Chatham Jones, who thus secured his freedom after eighty years of servitude, lived to the age of more than a hundred and is still remembered by old residents of the Marsh neighborhood, to whom he used to relate that he was brought to Paradise by General Thomas Sprigg and employed as a young man in the building of the old Marsh mill and other improvements on the Paradise estate.
Slavery was never a flourishing institution in Leitersburg Dis- trict, because there were few estates of sufficient size to render slave labor profitable. Emancipations were frequently made, as shown in the preceding pages, and it is doubtful whether a single slave remained in the District to be liberated by the constitution of 1864.
ERECTION AND BOUNDARIES OF LEITERSBURG DISTRICT.
Antietam and Salisbury Hundreds, erected by the Frederick County court in 1749, with Antietam creek as a mutual boundary, embraced the present territory of Leitersburg District. Both were subsequently divided, the former in 1758 and the latter at a later date, after which the District was embraced in Upper An- tietam and Upper Salisbury until 1824, when hundreds were no longer recognized as political subdivisions in Washington County.
For many years after the organization of the county elections were held at Hagerstown. In 1800 five election districts were established, of which No. 3 included the northeastern part of the county. This extensive district was bounded on the west by Conococheague creek and the Williamsport and Greencastle road,
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SOCIAL AND MATERIAL DEVELOPMENT.
on the north by the State line, and on the east by the South mountain, with Orr's Gap as its southern limit; it included Hag- erstown, and there elections were held at the court house. In 1822 the territory of District No. 3 was materially reduced by the erection of District No. 7 (Cavetown), a measure of much im- portance to the region subsequently embraced in District No. 9 (Leitersburg). The Greencastle road from the State line to An- tietam creek and that stream for a distance of some miles to the south were constituted the line of division between Nos. 3 and 7. West of the Greencastle road and Antietam creek the citizens continued to vote at Hagerstown, as they had done since 1776; east of that line the polling place was at Cavetown. This arrangement continued until 1838, when Leitersburg Dis- trict was erected. The original act of the Legislature es- tablishing the District was passed on the 6th of March, 1837. It provided for the erection of an additional election district in Washington County to be composed of parts of the Seventh and Third, and Lewis Ziegler, John Byer, and Jacob Bell were appointed commissioners to establish the boundaries. As this involved an amendment to the constitution, concurrent legis- lation at the ensuing session was necessary before it became oper- ative. A confirmatory act was duly passed on the 14th of March, 1838, and thus, so far as legislative action was concerned, Leiters- burg District became a separate and distinct subdivision of the county and State. The boundary commission met at the court house in Hagerstown on the 29th of March, 1838, and after three days' deliberation established the following boundary for the Ninth Election District:
Beginning at the red post in the town of Middleburg on the Penn- sylvania line, thence with the Greencastle and Hagerstown road to where the road from Frederick Ziegler's mill intersects said road, thence with said Ziegler's road to Paradise school house, thence with the Hagerstown and Waynesboro road to the finger-board where the Nicholson's Gap road intersects said road, thence with a straight line to Bachtel's school house, thence with a straight line to John Wolfersberger's ford on the Antietam creek, thence with said creek to the Forge mill, thence to Beard's church, thence with the road to Welty's church and school house, thence with said road to the Penn- sylvania line, thence with said line to the place of beginning.
58
HISTORY OF LEITERSBURG DISTRICT.
Some explanation of the original boundaries of the District may not be inappropriate. "The Greencastle and Hagerstown road" is now known as the Hagerstown and Middleburg turnpike; "Frederick Ziegler's mill" is situated on Marsh run and is now owned by his son, David Ziegler; "the Hagerstown and Waynes- boro road" is the Marsh turnpike and the Nicholson's Gap road is the Hagerstown and Leitersburg turnpike; "Bachtel's school house" was situated near Fiddlersburg on the farm of Martin Bachtel, now owned by the Loose estate; "John Wolfersberger's ford on the Antietam creek" is the ford at Trovinger's mill.
The boundary thus established embraced an area probably twice as great as that of the District at the present time. Unfor- tunately, however, the work of the boundary commission was not entirely satisfactory, and within a few years after the erection of the District its territory was materially reduced. This was ef- fected by an act of the Legislature passed on the 10th of March, 1841, by which the line between District No. 3 and District No. 9 was established agreeably to the following description:
Beginning at the Pennsylvania line where the Waynesboro road crosses the same, and running with said road to the Paradise school house, and from thence with the public road to Frederick Ziegler's mill, and from thence with a straight line to the end of Peter Spess- ard's lane on the road leading from the Forge mill to Hagerstown, and thence with said road to the fording at the Forge mill, where it intersects the original location of said Ninth Election District.
This established the present western and southwestern bound- aries of the District. The present eastern boundary was estab- lished by the erection of Ringgold District, June 12, 1860; this line is described as "Beginning on the line dividing the States of Maryland and Pennsylvania at a point about two hundred yards west from Frick's foundry and in the center of a public road"-a point it might be difficult to identify, as both foundry and road have gone out of existence. The present southern boundary from the Old Forge road to a point beyond Antietam creek was established in 1872 by the erection of Chewsville District. The Old Forge road continued to be the southeastern boundary of the District until September 5, 1882, when the present line between Districts No. 7 and No. 9 (Cavetown and Leitersburg) as surveyed by S. S. Downin was confirmed by the county commissioners.
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59
SOCIAL AND MATERIAL DEVELOPMENT.
DISTRICT POLITICS.
On the 20th of March, 1838, the Legislature passed an act di- recting the commissioners of Washington County to appoint a place for holding elections in Leitersburg District and appoint judges for the same. The first election was accordingly held on the first Wednesday in October, 1838, when Samuel Lyday was elected to represent the new District in the board of county com- missioners.
The constitution of Maryland confers upon local election dis- tricts a very limited measure of political autonomy. There was a time when each district elected a county commissioner and a local constable; when the board of county commissioners ap- pointed a district supervisor of roads, with jurisdiction over all the public roads of the district, and a district school commissioner, with similar functions in connection with its educational work. But at the present time all administrative functions are central- ized at the county seat and the district is a geographical rather than a political subdivision. No local offices are elective. Jus- tices of the peace and registers of voters are appointed by the Governor; election officers, by the county board; constables and supervisors of roads, by the county commissioners; school trus- tees, by the county school board. Consequently, the larger issues of the county, State, and nation engross the attention in district politics; there is no contest over local officers and measures.
This does not imply an apathetic or indifferent attitude toward partisan politics; on the contrary, the great national political par- ties have always had stanch and stalwart supporters in Leiters- burg District. A presidential campaign usually develops all the latent political enthusiasm and party loyalty, and that of 1840, the first after the organization of the District, is generally re- garded as one of the most exciting the country has ever known. The Democratic primary, as reported in the Hagerstown Mail, was held on the 13th of June at the house of James Weaver. Joseph Trovinger was chairman, Benjamin Hartman vice-chair- man, and John P. Stephey secretary. A committee of three, composed of Joseph Leiter, William E. Doyle, and William N. Rolls, was appointed by the chairman to select delegates to the county convention and reported the names of Joseph Trovinger, David T. Wilson, William E. Doyle, Joseph Leiter, William N.
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HISTORY OF LEITERSBURG DISTRICT.
Rolls, John P. Stephey, Samuel Etnyer, David Bell, Henry Brumbaugh, Hugh Logan, Ignatius Brown, and Abner Hays. Jacob E. Bell was nominated for county commissioner. The county convention was held on the 20th of June, when Samuel Lyday, of Leitersburg District, was one of the nominees for the House of Delegates.
The Whig primary meeting was advertised to be held "in Dis- trict No. 9 at the Log Cabin in Leitersburg," but no account of its proceedings was published in the Torch Light. Lewis Tritle was nominated for county commissioner, but before the election he was superseded by George Poe. Joseph Gabby of Leitersburg District presided over the county convention, and among his col- leagues as delegates were Charles A. Fletcher and David Brum- baugh. Lewis Ziegler was one of the nominees for House of Delegates. In the Whig convention for the nomination of a presidential elector for the Sixth Congressional district, No. 9 was represented by Joseph Gabby, Dr. T. B. Duckett, and Charles A. Fletcher. The District member of the county central com- mittee was D. G. Martin.
As the campaign advanced the enthusiasm on both sides be- came intense. Immense public meetings attended by thousands of people were held at Hagerstown by both parties, to each of which Leitersburg District sent a numerous equestrian delega- tion. Nor was the proper education of local public sentiment neglected; both parties held large and enthusiastic meetings at Leitersburg, when suffrages were sought by fervid oratory and persuasive eloquence, reenforced on the part of the Whigs by co- pious supplies of hard cider.
The judges of election were William Webb, Joseph Trovinger, and Peter Bell. The number of votes received by the respective candidates was as follows: Bell, 169; Poe, 177; Lyday, 194; Zieg- ler, 193; Van Buren, 185; Harrison, 177. The "Log Cabin and Hard Cider" campaign having resulted in the national triumph of the Whigs, Frederick Ziegler of Leitersburg District sent a barrel of cider to the White House shortly after the inauguration of President Harrison. His wagoner delivered it with the six- horse team-a very unusual proceeding, notwithstanding which it was accepted by the President and duly acknowledged as a con- gratulatory testimonial from a loyal member of his party.
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SOCIAL AND MATERIAL DEVELOPMENT.
The vote for President, so far as ascertainable, since the erec- tion of the District has been as follows:
1840 .- Martin Van Buren, Democrat, 185; William Henry Harrison, Whig, 177.
1844 .- James K. Polk, Democrat, 168; Henry Clay, Whig, 180.
1848 .- Lewis Cass, Democrat, 152; Zachary Taylor, Whig, 190.
1852 .- Franklin Pierce, Democrat, 171; Winfield Scott, Whig, 187.
1868 .- Horatio Seymour, Democrat, 121; Ulysses S. Grant, . Republican, 183.
1872 .- Ulysses S. Grant, Republican, 174; Horace Greeley, Liberal Republican, 111.
1876 .- Samuel J. Tilden, Democrat, 131; Rutherford B. Hayes, Republican, 180.
1880 .- Winfield S. Hancock, Democrat, 127; James A. Gar- field, Republican, 185.
1884 .- Grover Cleveland, Democrat, 116; James G. Blaine, Republican, 179; John P. St. John, Prohibitionist, 1.
1888 .- Grover Cleveland, Democrat, 124; Benjamin Harrison, Republican, 169; Clinton B. Fisk, Prohibitionist, 6.
1892 .- Grover Cleveland, Democrat, 132; Benjamin Harrison, Republican, 162; John Bidwell, Prohibitionist, 6.
1896 .- William J. Bryan, Democrat, 114; William McKinley, Republican, 163; Joshua Levering, Prohibitionist, 9; John R. Palmer, Independent Democrat, 2.
The official representation of the District has been as follows: Member of Congress .- 1792-96, Thomas Sprigg.
Member of State Convention to Ratify the Constitution of the United States .- 1788, Thomas Sprigg.
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