USA > Pennsylvania > Fayette County > Uniontown > A history of Uniontown : the county seat of Fayette County, Pennsylvania > Part 14
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as an auctioneer, in which capacity he was frequently employed, and it is doubtful if the town has ever produced his equal in this respect. He auctioned much of his stock of goods at his store and on occasions from a wagon in front of the court house. Some of his peculiarities were displayed in the use of his sign and his advertisements. His regular sign was Hook & Wife, but he swung out a board on which was lettered "Hook & Hankins versus Boyle & Rankin." This was intended as a catchy sign, rather for the rhyme than for a slur at a competing firm, and also to give the impression that one James Hankins was backing the concern with his means which Hook chose to term " Hankins' castings."
Hook took advantage of the excitement incident to the Mexican war and advertised after the following fashion: " Ho, ye lovers of tobacco! Just received 14 boxes of tobacco that was captured at the storming of Monterey, from General Am- pudia. It is called " Old Zach Taylor's fancy." One plug, 5 cts .; Rough and Ready, 3 plugs for 121% cts .; Old Kentucky, alias Hossleg, 10 cts. per pound. A new kind called "Smashing of the Jaw," 16 plugs for 121/2 cts. Hook introduced the use of carbon oil and lamps and would keep several burning in the day time, claiming it was cheaper than daylight.
Dave Blythe, an eccentric character, occupied rooms over Hook's store, and here he painted portraits and wrote verses. He styled his studio the " Rats' Nest." An extended history of Blythe is given elsewhere.
William I. Crawford succeeded Hook here with a grocery store, 1855-57, and he was succeeded by Benjamin Kremer, son- in-law to William Crawford, with a watch and clock repair shop, and he lived in the rear part. Colonel Ewing Brownfield pur- chased this lot and erected thereon a brick residence, 1860, which he occupied as such the remainder of his life. He died February 19, 1889, and his widow continued to reside here until her death, June 25, 1903. This property was sold at the same time, and to the same parties as the store room"property, and being used as a boarding house for several years was con- verted into and occupied as such.
Martin Myers purchased lot No. 16 in Jacob's Addition June 12, 1790, and after passing through several conveyances, George Bentley came into ownership of the western part and William Crawford of the eastern part. Mr. Crawford erected a
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two-story frame building on his part of the lot in which he carried on the saddle and harness business for many years. The firm of William Crawford and William S. Lewis com- menced business as Crawford & Lewis May 13, 1823, and Mr. Crawford lived in the rear. Mr. Crawford sold this property to Mary Inghram, March 4, 1834, who occupied the rear part as a residence and rented out the front for various purposes.
John Irons purchased the Genius of Liberty printing of- fice in April, 1840, and for the greater part of his ownership, which lasted about ten years, he issued the paper from this property. George A. Shallenberger & Co. occupied this prop- erty as a saddle and harness shop in 1849. Mr. Shallenberger sold out his interest in 1852 to George Hubbs who continued the business in the same room and Mr. Shallenberger went into partnership with Colonel Lippencott of Westmoreland county, in the dry goods business in the Bryan building. Robert Scott & Co. purchased the stock of saddles and harness of George W. Hubbs and continued the business in 1855. Anderson Jolliffe purchased this property from Mary Inghram, April 5, 1865 and occupied the rear as a residence and rented out the business room, which was occupied by various tenants, while Mr. Jolliffe carried on his business as a blacksmith in a shop next west. Mr. Jolliffe was an excellent workman and gentlemanly in his manners. His first wife was Miss Julia Winders who was a most amiable woman, and his second wife was the widow of his deceased brother.
Dr. A. P. Bowie purchased this property May 31, 1880, and tore away the old frame and erected the present brick building.
Charles and Joseph Bolus purchased this property in 1907, improved, and converted it into a restaurant with lodging rooms above.
A blacksmith shop and wood shop stood back about half way on the middle of this lot, No. 16, which it is said was built by George Bentley who owned this lot and the adjoining one- third lot on the west. This property passed through the owner- ship of several persons and was occupied by different tenants as a workshop. Thomas Prentice, Jr., occupied it for several years as a wagonmaker's shop along with Anderson Jolliffe who owned it and carried on his business of blacksmithing here for many years. Joseph White purchased this lot, January 29, 1881 and tore away the old building and erected a frame shop
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History of Uniontoren, Pennsylvania.
in which he carried on his business as a marble cutter, for a number of years, until his death.
George L. Hibbs purchased this property from the White heirs, gave a long lease to James McFadden who improved the property and conducted a meat market for several years, and after further improvements, opened a large fruit store and ice cream parlors. After the death of George L. Hibbs the property was sold to J. Gibson Hibbs.
On the western part of lot No. 16 in Jacob's Addition Jacob Medtart kept a tavern in 1796, in an old log building, and, it is said, he quit the business about 1803. The property appears to have been owned at this date by Christian Wireman, from whom it was sold by the sheriff. It may have been in this property that Moses Allen kept a tavern at the sign of the "Indian King" in 1810. One of the oldtime school teachers by the name of Lathrop taught a subscription school in this old log building in the early history of the town when it was customary for parents to subscribe for a certain number of children for a cer- tain number of days, and in the case of the absence of one child another might be sent as a substitute. The late Capt. John Bierer used to relate that his father subscribed for a cer- tain number of children to Lathrop's school, and on one occasion when an older brother could not attend, he was sent as a sub- stitute for one day only and that that day was made memorable on account of a flogging he received at the hands of Lathrop.
George Bentley came into possession of this property and the vacant lot adjoining on the east. He was a saddle and harnessmaker by trade and carried on his business in the log building in the front and lived in a brick building in the rear, 1819. This property was sold from Bentley by the sheriff in 1824, and he was succeeded by William Armor with a stock of ready-made clothing which he sold at auction. He was here in 1824, and remained but a short time. Mrs. Sarah G. Lewis bought this property in 1824, and William Lewis carried on the saddle and harness business here till about 1830.
General William Wood, who had been in business else- where, purchased this property in 1848, tore away the old build- ings and erected a two-story brick business room and dwelling. Upon the completion of this building in 1849, Mr. Wood re- moved his saddle and harness shop and his family into it and here conducted his business until his death. The family con-
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tinued to occupy this property until after the death of Mrs. Wood. John W. Wood, son of William Wood, carried on the saddlery and harness business in this room from 1869 to 1872. I. W. Miller purchased this property from the Wood heirs, March 30, 1889, and remodeled it and occupied the lower floor as a tin- ner's shop and rented out the second floor as a dwelling and his son, Arthur, in connection with Billy Pickard, put in a stock of hardware. I. W. Miller sold the property December 5, 1904, to John P. Coun, J. A. and Benj. Strickler and moved to Cali- fornia, and Hayden Craft put in a stock of hardware and lived above. He was followed by D. N. Craft & Sons in the same line of business. Alexander Chisholm, Jr., purchased the real estate July 20, 1908, since which it has been used for business purposes.
Moses Vail purchased lot No. 17 in Jacob's Addition in 1792, and after several conveyances it came into the possession of Nathaniel Mitchell as early as 1808, who built a two-story frame house on the eastern part of the lot. A log house stood on the western part and he and his brother, Samuel, carried on their occupation as cutlers in a brick shop which stood on the lot adjoining on the west. Nathaniel Mitchell was unmar- ried at this time and boarded with his brother, Samuel, who lived in the log house when his daughter, Elma, who became the wife of Nathaniel Brownfield, was born, April 7, 1812. This log house had one room and hall down and two rooms up. The work turned out by these two brothers evidenced that they were proficient in their line of business. Samuel Mitchell moved to his farm in German township in 1818 and died there in Sep- tember, 1820. Nathaniel moved to the foot of Pittsburgh street where he continued his business and ran the old "Tilt Ham- mer," as mentioned elsewhere.
In 1823 this property came into the possession of Dr. Louis Marchand who settled in this town after the death of his brother, Dr. Daniel Marchand. He was unmarried at the time, but soon after coming here he was married to Miss Sarah Sackett, a daughter of Dr. Samuel Sackett, a native of Con- necticut and who had served as a surgeon in the Revolutionary war, and was perhaps the first practitioner of medicine in Uniontown, in 1781, and who subsequently settled on Georges creek, a mile south of Smithfield, where he died in 1833.
Louis Marchand had practiced medicine for more than twenty years while residing on his farm about five miles below
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Brownsville. As the compounder of an antihydrophobia pill his reputation became very extensive, reaching far beyond the limits of Fayette county.
The heirs of Dr. Marchand sold to John Barry, 1866, and in 1867, Barry sold to Abraham Brown, and on March 28, 1870, Brown sold to Everhart B. Wood who oc- cupied it as a residence until his death. Daniel P. Gib- son succeeded E. B. Wood in the ownership of this prop- erty in 1885, and it was occupied by different tenants as a boarding house A. D. Johnson in connection with John C. Fulton bought this property from Mr. Gibson in 1901, and tore away the old buildings and in 1902-3, erected a fine four-story brick building known as the Johnson-Fulton build- ing, covering the entire lot. Mr. Johnson occupied the entire first floor, of two rooms, with a stock of furniture. Mr. John- son, failing in health, was compelled to retire from business when he sold his stock to Lin T. Hayden, May, 1908, who ran the business until 1910, when on April 1st of that year David Freedberg bought the stock and closed it out, and in July fol- lowing went in with a stock of furniture and added hardware, and in May, 1911, Jacob Davis took over the stock.
A two-story frame house stood on the western part of this lot, No. 16, in which Christian Keffer carried on the shoemak- ing business for many years and lived in a small frame house near the old Methodist church, at the west end of Peter street. He is said to have been the first Roman Catholic resident of the town. He had formerly kept a tavern in Washington, Pa., in 1805.
John Henry McClelland purchased the western part of this lot from E. B. Wood in 1873, and erected a two-story brick residence thereon and occupied it as such until his death, February 8, 1885. He was a son of William McClelland, the original proprietor of the McClelland House. He was married to Margaret J., daughter of Jehu and Jane (West) Brownfield. His widow continued to occupy the property until 1907, when she sold to George Titlow, who tore away the house and let the lot remain vacant for some time. D. N. Craft purchased this lot and in 1911-12 erected thereon a fine business block and occu- pied it with a hardware store.
William Norris is cited as the first purchaser of lot No. 18 from Jacob Beeson, and after several transfers it came into the
JACOB BEESON,
Founder of Jacob's Addition and Jacob's Second Addition.
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History of Uniontown, Pennsylvania.
possession of Nathaniel Mitchell before mentioned, who with his brother, Samuel Mitchell, carried on their business as cutlers in a long brick building facing on Mill alley and lived in a log house where the brick residence of James A. Searight now stands. This property was sold as the property of Nathaniel Mitchell by the sheriff, January 7, 1823, to Everhart Bierer and he conveyed it to William B. Roberts who erected on the western part of the lot a fine four-story brick business block in 1843, and removed his grocery and liquor store from his old location into this store-room and occupied the upper part as furniture ware rooms and the rear as work shops. Here he carried on an ex- tensive business for several years. On the 10th of April, 1845, a disastrous fire occurred in Pittsburg in which much property was destroyed, and Mr. Roberts made a good business stroke by shipping his stock of furniture to that city to meet the de- mands of those who had lost their household effects.
When war was declared between the United States and Mexico, Mr. Robert enlisted a company and entered the service of his country. The history of this company and its services are given elsewhere. Mr. Roberts left his business in the hands of William Maquilken and Henry T. Diffenderffer with whom he had formed a partnership in the furniture business, June 10, 1847. Col. Roberts died of hemorrhage of the lungs in the city of Mexico, October 3, 1847, and his body was brought home and interred in the Methodist Episcopal graveyard, December 16, 1847.
After the death of Col. Roberts, Henry T. Diffenderffer, William Maquilken and William Selden formed a partnership and carried on the furniture business at the old stand for a while. Then Diffenderffer purchased the furniture business of John and Howell Phillips on Morgantown street and withdrew from the firm, and Selden and Maquilken continued the business. Wil- liam Selden and Thomas J. Claggett succeeded Selden and Maquilken, and soon Claggett withdrew and Selden continued alone. Subsequently John J. Kimberly and Thomas J. Claggett bought out Selden in 1857 and continued until 1863 when the firm became Thomas J. & Cornelius Claggett and continued business here for a number of years.
Peter Kremer had been a clerk in Col. Roberts' store and after the death of Col. Roberts, he with Thomas Semans pur- chased the stock and continued the business. Mr. Kremer be-
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History of Uniontown, Pennsylvania.
came one of the best known merchants of the town and oc- "cupied this room for many years.
Mr. Kremer was followed in this room by Daniel Sharp- nack & Son, Henry R. Beeson, John D. Ruby, who kept here for many years, and others.
James A. Searight purchased this property and made valuable improvements in the business part. Several parties have occupied the store room with groceries, and Samuel R. Shuman one room as a funeral director.
Joseph Hedges, Jr., purchased lot No. 19 in Jacob's Addition in 1794. This lot was located on the south side of Elbow or Main street and next west of a twenty-foot alley known as Mill alley.
Thomas Brownfield came from Gainsborough, Frederick county, Virginia, with his family and settled here in 1805. He had been a wagoner over the old road across the mountains before the construction of the National road and before he set- tled here. His family at that time consisted of Catharine, who married Ewing McCleary, proprietor of the McCleary hotel, and after his death married William Hart; Rebecca, who married German D. Hair, who kept tavern in the village of Monroe; Sarah, who married Dennis Springer and lived on a farm two miles west of town; Mary, who married Charles Wolverton; Ewing, who married Julia, daughter of Robert Long, and who carried on merchandising for many years in this town; Rachel, who married William Searight, and lived at the village of Sea- . rights six miles west of Uniontown. After settling here there were born to them Thomas, who married Eliza Johnson ; John, who married first Anna Beeson and second Elizabeth Ellis, and after being in the mercantile business here for some years re- moved to South Bend, Indiana; Nathaniel, who married Elma, a daughter of Samuel Mitchell, and succeeded his father in the tavern business; Hannah, who married William B. Roberts who was in the furniture business and went to the Mexican war and died in the city of Mexico as related elsewhere; Esther, who married Christopher Brown Snyder and removed to New York city ; Barak, who died very young and Elizabeth and Eliza Ann who died in early childhood.
Thomas Brownfield first rented this property in 1805, and after conducting a tavern here for some time, he purchased it and continued it as a tavern until his death.
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History of Uniontown, Pennsylvania.
The old log bar-room part was the only portion of the original property when Mr. Brownfield bought it, and here he swung out his sign of "The White Swan," and not only the name but the reputation of his tavern became favorably noted throughout the length of the old National road. Mr. Brown- field built a brick kitchen back from the log front, and after- wards built the brick dinning-room between. This was con- sidered the most commodious dining-room at the time in this part of the county. He celebrated the opening of this dining- room by a grand dinner to which were invited Mr. and Mrs. Isaac Skiles, who lived at that time in the dwelling part of the Beeson mill; Mr. and Mrs. Ewing McCleary, who lived at that time in a log house at the west end of the hotel; Mr. and Mrs. Samuel Mitchell and others. In 1818 Mr. Brownfield built a two-story brick building east of the original log part and this was used as a parlor. This part lined on Mill alley. Mr. Brownfield was born in 1764, and died April 27, 1829, in the 65th year of his age, and his widow, with the assistance of her youngest son, Nathaniel, conducted the business for some years. Mrs. Brownfield died August 3, 1835, in the 63rd year of her age.
Thomas Brownfield added lot No. 20 on the west to his first purchase and hereon erected sheds for the protection and ac- commodation of teams and droves which patronized his tavern. Section by section was added to the original old log front until the front of the lot was occupied.
Nathaniel Brownfield, as before stated, assisted his mother in conducting the tavern until her death, after which he con- tinued to conduct it in his own name, and he became owner of the property in 1849, and he and his faithful wife continued to conduct the affairs of this old hostelry in the same hospitable manner that characterized the old frontier taverns in the early settlement of the country. The fare was always generous, palat- able and wholesome. And while all the other old taverns of the town have discarded their good old-fashioned names, have been either demolished or improved, and their style changed to that of a hotel, the old " White Swan " continued in the even tenor of its way unchanged for a period of ninety years with " neither variableness nor shadow of turning."
The sign of the old " White Swan " swung in front of this tavern before the construction of the great National road, and
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History of Uniontown, Pennsylvania.
offered food and shelter to the weary traveler who sought a home in the then unsettled West. It witnessed the construction, the wonderful development, the bustle and noise of this great highway till it reached the zenith of its glory, crowded with travel and traffic. It witnessed, with grief, its waning, until the rattle of the last dashing stage coach and the rumble of the ponderous Conestoga wagon had died away in the distance.
The old " White Swan" tavern had its peculiar characters or mascots who were always in evidence about this old hostelry. Mike Walters was one of these. He had been about the old " White Swan " for several years as a chore man, and, becoming aged, he was told that he must soon be an inmate of the poor house. This so preyed upon his mind that he committed suicide by hanging himself to the bedpost. This occurred in 1860. Thomas McDonald was a familiar personage about the " White Swan " for many years. It was he who laid the cobble-stone in the big wagon yard and around the hotel, and from the fact that it has withstood the wear and tear of so much rough usage for so many years, attests that the work was well done. "Dumb Ike " was a conspicuous figure about the "White Swan" for many years. Ike hailed from Springhill township and was oc- casionally allowed to drive a stage coach over the National road. He was an unsafe and irresponsible fellow, and was trusted to drive only in case of emergency. A seat on a stage coach in charge of a spanking team of horses was Ike's highest ambition. He enlisted in his country's service as a teamster and died while in the service. Billy Anderson, a harmless old colored man, ap- pears to bear the honors of being the last mascot about the old " White Swan " hotel. It was his duty to saw the big stack of cord wood into stove wood and to keep up the roaring fire in the old bar-room grate. For years Billy's familiar form was to be seen bent over the saw-buck as he faithfully and patiently sup- plied the wood for the kitchen fire; for the savory viands of the old " White Swan " were prepared over a wood fire long after the other hostelries of the town had discarded that fuel for cooking purposes. No one who has ever enjoyed it can forget the luxury of country-cured ham prepared over an old fashioned wood fire.
In their advanced age Mr. and Mrs. Brownfield wished to retire from the service of the public, and on Saturday, Decem- ber 21, 1895, Rev. W. O. Wilson and some friends took dinner here and were the last patrons of the old " White Swan " tavern.
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Mr. Brownfield died in the same room in which he was born, December 28, 1895, after an illness of one week, aged 85 years and 2 months. He had always been a hale and hearty man. Mrs. Brownfield died June 14, 1903, and Mrs. William Hinsey, a daughter, was the last of the family to occupy the property, and she moved out in 1907, after a tenure in the Brownfield family of 102 years.
Thomas Brownfield erected a log tenement next west of the old tavern among the occupants of which may be mentioned Ewing McCleary, a son-in-law; Peter White, a gunsmith; Daniel Duer and many others. West of the log tenement Nathaniel Brownfield built a frame wagon shop which was used as such for many years. Frank Wilkinson carried on wagon making here in 1843, and he was succeeded by Monroe Beeson in the early fifties. Thomas Prentice, Jr., carried on wagon making here for many years. A frame blacksmith shop stood on the lower part of the wagon yard and was occupied from its construction by different blacksmiths and was always considered a good stand for that business.
George Roth secured a lease on the whole of this property in 1907, and removed the weatherboarding from the front and faced it with brick and converted it into business rooms.
Lot No. 20 in Jacob's Addition, the western lot of the " White Swan " property, was the western limit of Jacob's Ad- dition to the town of Union. A twelve foot alley divided this from a 721/2 foot lot on the west. This lot was purchased from Jacob Beeson by his youngest child, Henry H. Beeson in 1813, and in 1815, sold to Thomas Brownfield upon which he erected the sheds before mentioned, for the accommodation of droves that were being taken over the National road to the eastern markets.
Mrs. Elizabeth Kremer purchased the eastern half of this lot, March 27, 1865, on the front end of which was a frame house and on the rear was a brick dwelling. This frame building was used many years as a dwelling and was subsequently converted into a business room in 1879, in which Albert C. Kremer car- ried on the grocery business for many years. Mr. Kremer re- tired after 30 years in business. Charles O. Laclare followed in this room with a plumbing shop.
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History of Uniontown, Pennsylvania.
David Veech, June 2, 1862, sold to Mrs. Rachel McCray the western half of this lot, on which is a brick dwelling, which she has occupied ever since.
Jacob Beeson, the founder, constructed a saw-mill which stood a considerable distance back from Elbow street and a little distance west of the lot sold to Henry H. Beeson, from which it was separated by an alley. The race that conveyed the water to this mill was connected with Jacob's run near the southern end of Mill street and western end of Ray street. Mr. Beeson operated this mill for several years.
During the war of 1812, one of the soldiers belonging to a company raised here was confined in this mill to be starved into submission for disobedience of orders. Sarah Brownfield, then a lass of sixteen, carried him food from the kitchen of the " White Swan" and sustained him during his confinement in the mill. Some years after the war he sought the hand of his fair benefactor, but was disappointed to learn that it was al- ready engaged to another.
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