USA > Pennsylvania > Fayette County > Uniontown > A history of Uniontown : the county seat of Fayette County, Pennsylvania > Part 68
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PRESBYTERIAN SLAVISH MISSION CHURCH.
Judge Nathaniel Ewing donated a lot on Wilson avenue extension for the erection of a building for the Presbyterian Slavish mission, which had been organized and holding meet- ings in the Salvation Army hall under the charge of Rev. Frank Helmick. This building was of Victoria Gothic style, of light colored brick, and cost about $6,000. The corner-stone was laid September 26, 1909, the ceremonies being in charge of Rev. Frank H. Helmick, the pastor.
CHAPTER XXXI.
DISTINGUISHED VISITORS - GENERAL GEORGE WASHINGTON- GENERAL LAFAYETTE-HONORABLE JOHN C. CALHOUN-JAMES MONROE - GENERAL ANDREW JACKSON - JENNIE LIND - P. T. BARNUM-JOHN C. FREMONT-JAMES K. POLK-GENERAL WIL- LIAM HENRY HARRISON-HENRY CLAY-GENERAL SAM HOUSTON- THOMAS H. BENTON-GENERAL WINFIELD SCOTT-JAMES BU- CHANAN-GENERAL ZACHARY TAYLOR-ABRAHAM LINCOLN-JOHN J. CRITTINDEN - GENERAL PILLOW - DAVY CROCKETT - SANTA ANNA-JOHN QUINCY ADAMS.
Those who are familiar with the history of our country are aware that Washington was awarded vast tracts of land west of the Allegheny mountains for his military services during the French and Indian war. Much of this land was located on the Ohio river between the Great Kanawha and the Monongahela, of which some three thousand acres were located on Miller's run in Washington county, and to which were added some two thousand acres in Fayette county by purchase, and which he still owned at the time of his death.
In 1770, before the Revolutionary war, Washington, in company with other interested parties, visited these lands, com- ing out over the old Braddock road, over which he had marched with his little army in 1754, and again to Braddock's defeat in 1755, and returned by the same route.
In the fall of 1784 he concluded to again visit these lands with the purpose of disposing of some of them and also at the same time to locate if possible, a highway between the head- waters of the Potomac and those of the Ohio, to accommodate the great tide of emigration and traffic that was already forcing its way over the mountains. He again traversed the old Brad- dock road and arrived at Gilbert Simpson's, in the vicinity of the present village of Perryopolis, on September 13. Here he visited his mill that had been constructed under the superin- tendency of Gilbert Simpson and set in operation in the spring of 1776, and is still standing as a monument to the enterprise and forethought of Washington. Here he met many of the
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inhabitants with whom he had business relations and others who had gathered to show their respect for the distinguished visitor.
From here he proceeded to Washington county where he . found his land occupied by settlers who claimed their tenure by squatters' rights, and whom he threatened with writs of ejectment unless satisfactory terms could be arranged. He had at first intended to visit his lands further down the Ohio, but upon learning of the hostile attitude of the Indians at that time, he concluded to return by the way he had come.
He returned as far as Gilbert Simpson's, and here concluded to place his baggage under the care of Dr. Craik, who with his son had been Washington's traveling companion, and who had been his bosom friend and physician for so many years; the doctor and his son returning by the new or Turkey Foot road, a route some twenty miles nearer than the Braddock road, while Washington in company with his nephew, Bushrod Washington, set out for Uniontown then known as Beesontown. Here he was to meet Mr. Thomas Smith, an eminent attorney of Carlisle, who was attending the courts of Fayette county then in session at Uniontown and whom Washington engaged to bring suits of ejectment in the courts of Washington county against some sixteen persons who had made improvements upon his lands.
Washington arrived in Uniontown "about dusk " on the 22nd of September and " put up" at a house of public enter- tainment, which was a double log house which stood on the south side of West Main street on the lot now occupied by the Fayette Title & Trust building, and formerly owned by Philip Dilts. The tavern at this time may have been kept by one John Huston, as he was an inn keeper in the early history of the town, and it is said, was at this time connected with this lot.
Here Washington met Captain Benjamin Hardin, a promi- nent and intelligent resident of Springhill township, and Colonel Theophilus Phillips from the same locality, a gentleman of equal prominence, upon whose farm the courts of Monongalia county, Virginia, were held before the courts of Fayette county were established.
While lodging at this old tavern, Washington had the op- portunity of conversing with several intelligent gentlemen con-
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cerning the feasibility of connecting the headwaters of the Po- tomac with those of the Ohio.
Although Washington's arrival in the town was unan- nounced, the ubiquitous boys of the village discovered it and soon gathered en masse. They procured thirteen tallow candles which they lighted and marched and countermarched past the old tavern, waving their torches and cheering for the great gen- eral whom they wished to honor.
Having finished his business here, Washington prepared to leave the town about noon the day after his arrival. The Court extended to him an apology through Mr. Smith for not having addressed him as his presence had not been announced in time for the Court to have taken some formal action suitable to the occasion.
His horses being in readiness, Washington walked quietly from the tavern, and with uncovered head he saluted the throng that had gathered to show their respects, and rode off in com- pany with Colonel Phillips, Captain Hardin and his nephew, Bushrod Washington, and arrived at the home of Colonel Phil- lips about 5 o'clock in the afternoon where he lodged over night. The following morning Colonel Phillips accompanied Wash- ington over Cheat river to the house of Captain Samuel Hanway who sent for Colonel Zach Morgan, of Morgantown, and others who might express their views as to the easiest way of estab- lishing communication between the Potomac and the Ohio.
Here Washington met for the first time young Albert Gallatin, or at least it was on just such an occasion when Wash- ington was examining his maps and discussing the same sub- ject when the youthful Gallatin traced his finger over the map and remarked, " This is the most feasible route." Washington raised his eyes from the map and gave Gallatin a most wither- ing look of rebuke which Gallatin never forgot to his dying day ; but after much discussion and calculation, Washington came to the same conclusion, and turning to Gallatin, said, "You are right, young man."
From Captain Hanway's Washington proceeded over the mountains by what was then known as the New Road to the headwaters of the Youghiogheny and Cheat rivers. Here was a favorite hunting ground for large game and hither hunters were wont to resort in the hunting season. William McClel- land, one of the early settlers on York's run, and who had re-
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moved to where Frederickstown in Washington county is now located, with a party of friends, was at this time on a hunting expedition and had taken up their abode in a deserted cabin from which its occupants had been frightened by the incursions of the Indians. In this old cabin was a weaver's loom which had been left by the former occupant of the cabin. As night ap- proached Mr. McClelland and his companions returned to this cabin for shelter, and to their surprise and delight, Washington and his companions in travel drew up to the same cabin for shelter for the night as a rain was threatening. The hunters hastily made every provision for the comfortable entertainment of their distinguished guest the circumstances would allow. On the seat of the weaver's loom was spread a blanket and with his saddle for a pillow, the general retired to rest, but the rest of the company, nearly a dozen in number, were seated on im- provised seats or standing in the corner.
In the night the rain fell in torrents and the roof being open in places allowed the water to pour upon the head and breast of Washington until he was compelled to leave his place on the loom seat and stand or be seated with the other inmates of the cabin. Washington in his journal mentions the extreme inclemency of the weather at this part of his journey.
In 1824, Mr. Freeman Lewis, a noted surveyor of Union- town, was engaged in assisting the engineers in reconnoitering for a route for the Chesapeake and Ohio canal in the vicinity of the above mentioned old cabin. Here he found a great col- lection of deer horns that had been piled up against the cabin by hunters, and entered the building, recalling the scenes that had transpired there and the uncomfortable night spent by Washington and his companions on that rainy night. This old cabin was at one time the property and perhaps the home of Charles Friend, one of the ancestors of the numerous and popu- lar Friend family of Maryland, and stood near the present route of the main line of the Baltimore and Ohio railroad.
VISIT OF GENERAL LAFAYETTE.
One of the very illustrious characters that have visited Uniontown was the Marquis de la Fayette, who by an act which was unanimously passed by both Houses of Congress in February, 1824, and approved by President Monroe, was most cordially invited to become the guest of the nation that the
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people might be afforded the opportunity to demonstrate the grateful and affectionate attachment still cherished in the hearts of a grateful nation. A ship, with suitable accommodations, was tendered him for his conveyance to this country.
Lafayette accepted this warm invitation to become the " guest of the nation" and arrived in New York on the 15th of August, following, where he was received at Castle Garden by fifty thousand people assembled to do him honor.
Upon the arrival of General Lafayette in the United States the citizens of Uniontown determined to extend to the nation's guest a cordial invitation to visit the town, and to this end the following gentlemen were selected as a committee of invitation and entertainment, viz .: Colonel Samuel Evans, Thomas Irwin, Esq., Honorable Andrew Stewart, John Dawson, Esq., and Robert Skiles, who framed the following invitation :
" Uniontown, Fayette county, Pennsylvania, July 31, 1824. General La Fayette:
The citizens of Fayette county participating in the uni- versal joy diffused by your visit to the United States have ap- pointed the undersigned to congratulate you upon your safe arrival,-to express the grateful sense they entertain for the brilliant services you have rendered to this country,-and re- spectfully to say that, if convenience and inclination would per- mit the extension of your tour to this part of the Union, they would be delighted to manifest that respect and veneration for your person which they have always entertained for your character.
When the tie that bound us to the throne of Great Britain was dissolved, this western country presented to the eye of the observer a great wilderness inhabited by savages. It could not be but gratifying to your feelings now to observe the astonish- ing change-the wonderful contrast-and be assured, Sir, it would be highly gratifying to our feelings to do honor to him who so essentially contributed to produce our present happy condition-to display our attachment to the principles of the Revolution by evincing gratitude to one who, surrounded by the splendors of nobility and comforts of wealth at home, risked his life and his fortune in defense of a destitute and an op- pressed people abroad-and to express our regard for the rights of mankind by greeting with a hearty welcome the man who
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has been the uniform friend of Liberty, and the determined enemy of Tyranny both in Europe and in America.
Signed, Samuel Evans,
Thomas Irwin,
A. Stewart, Jno. Dawson, Robert Skiles."
The above invitation was forwarded to Judge John Bouvier, a former member of the Fayette county bar, for presentation to General Lafayette and which he did.
Mr. John Campbell, postmaster and merchant of Union- town, was in Philadelphia at the time General Lafayette visited that city and wrote the following letter to Col. Evans : .
" Philadelphia, October 4, 1824, 1 o'clock p. m.
Sir :
My brother Benjamin and myself have this moment re- turned from the Mansion House hotel where we had the pleas- ure of an introduction by Mr. Bouvier to General La Fayette ; it was very difficult to gain admittance, but Mr. Bouvier told one of the committee that he had presented to the general, some days before, an address, etc., from Fayette county, and that there were two gentlemen now with him from Fayette county that wished to receive his answer if ready; after some time, perhaps an hour, we were admitted, and after Mr. Bouvier broached the subject, the general replied: "My dear sir, it has been out of my power to answer yet, my situation has been as you now see me, ever since, nor will I be able to write in answer until my arrival at Washington, and it will be after the sitting of Congress before I can visit that place; viz., Fayette county.' His son, George Washington, was present, and about five or six others only when we were introduced. I have hur- ried to give you the first information of the above. Mr. Bouvier will write, perhaps, to Mr. Irwin. No time to write more now. Signed, Your friend,
John Campbell."
General Lafayette visited the eastern cities, and went as far south as New Orleans, and ascended the Mississippi and Ohio rivers as far as Wheeling, where he and his party were
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met by the committee of reception and entertainment and were extended a very flattering and urgent invitation to accept the gratitude and hospitalities of the citizens of Uniontown. Hav- ing signified his acceptance of the invitation, the general was again met by Col. Evans and other members of the committee at Washington, Pa., to which place the party had traveled by the National road. The committee soon sent back the follow- ing communication :
"Washington, Pa., Wednesday, May 25, 1825, 6 o'clock p. m.
General Lafayette arrived at 5 p. m. He will leave this place tomorrow morning early, will breakfast at Hillsborough, dine at Brownsville and sup and lodge at Uniontown. This ar- rangement is fixed, you may act with certainty."
The citizens of Brownsville gave the general a cordial re- ception and entertainment at the Brashears hotel, and detained him long after the hour contemplated for his departure. The awaiting throng at Uniontown grew impatient, and as the day wore away, couriers were flying between the towns bearing the news. The committee, becoming impatient, importuned George Craft, then high sheriff of Fayette county, to remind the general that the people of Uniontown were anxiously awaiting his ar- rival. Armed with the following note to General Lafayette, written by the hand of Mr. Gallatin :
" Union, 26th May, 1825,-Lafayette, you must come-you must come, Lafayette.
Gallatin."
Craft mounted his horse, struck spurs and was off. In fifty- two minutes he was dismounted at the hotel where Lafayette was seated at the table. Leaving his horse in the street, he pushed through the dense throng, vainly endeavoring to reach the dining-room and finally gained entrance through a window. The general, on reading Mr. Gallatin's note, arose and playfully said, " Gentlemen, I am now in the hands of the high sheriff of Fayette county whose summons I must obey, I therefore pray to be excused," and withdrew from the dining-room.
Two splendid arches had been erected over Main street, one at the intersection of Morgantown street and the other at the court house. A pavilion had been erected in front of the
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court house, and all were beautifully festooned and decorated by the ladies of the town. The floor was carpeted, and seats were provided for the distinguished guests, the ladies and the Revolutionary soldiers, in order that the latter might be near their old comrade in arms.
On Thursday, about 11 o'clock a. m., the Honorable Albert Gallatin arrived, escorted by a detachment of the Fayette Guards, commanded by Capt. Wood of the vicinity of New Geneva. He was met just out of town by Captain Richard Beeson with his company of Union Volunteers and by these conducted to the Walker hotel. The Youghiogheny Blues, commanded by Captain Smith, and the Pennsylvania Blues, commanded by Captain McClelland, arrived also early in the day and the citizens in great numbers thronged the streets.
The artillery, under the command of Captain Hugh Gorley, was posted on an eminence at the west of town, with orders to give notice of the approach of the general and his suite. The day was uncommonly fine and pleasant, and as it began to draw away the awaiting throng grew anxious and couriers were sent to ascertain the whereabouts of the approaching guests. Mr. Gallatin himself, perhaps to conceal his emotions from the gaze of the throng, went two miles out to meet his friend. They recognized each other at some distance, and each stepped from his carriage and advanced with uncovered head. The spectators stood in awe at a respectful distance as these noble men em- braced and kissed each other in the most affectionate manner.
About half past five the signal of the general's proximity to the town was announced by a discharge of thirteen guns. The volunteer companies, under the command of Major Daniel P. Lynch, were stationed on the hill west of town, and at 6 o'clock the general arrived at that point and the procession was formed agreeable to the order previously arranged by the mar- shals of the day.
The procession. then entered the town in the following order: The various military companies formed the advance, followed by General Lafayette and his suite, which consisted of his son, George Washington Lafayette; his secretary, Col. A. Levasseur; M. de Syon, an educated Frenchman and at this time a resident of Washington City; and Bastien, his valet. General Lafayette rode in an open barouche drawn by four elegant bay horses, on each of which rode a postillion dressed
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in white with a blue sash. George Washington Lafayette was driven tandem by Mr. L. W. Stockton in his elegant barouche, and Col. Levasseur rode with John M. Austin, Esq., in a gig. Then followed Governor Morris of Ohio and his two aides; Judge Thomas H. Baird, and Messrs. Ritner and Sample, two of the Washington county committee. The last three gentle- men accompanied the general from Washington, Pa .; the mar- shals and committee of arrangements, and a number of our most respectable citizens in gigs, carriages and on horseback. General Markle of Westmoreland county and General Henry W. Beeson and several field officers rode in full uniform.
In passing through the streets the general was saluted with the shout of " Welcome to General Lafayette " and bowed recog- nition to those who thronged the sidewalks. As he approached the arch that spanned the street his eye caught the sentiment, " La Fayette, L' Ami de I' homme." On the reverse side of this arch was observed the following lines under the memorable date of 1776 :
" Our choicest welcome hereby is expressed In heartfelt homage to the Nation's Guest."
The arch near the court house was surmounted by an eagle, the emblem of American liberty, and bore the following in- scription : " Lessons to Tyrants "-" York and Brandywine." On the opposite side was the legend, "Friends of Freedom- Washington and Lafayette."
Upon reaching the court house the general left his carriage and entered the pavilion where he was received by Honorable Albert Gallatin and Major General Ephraim Douglass, sur- rounded by a goodly company of Revolutionary soldiers and an assemblage of ladies. After the exchange of the most friendly salutations, Mr. Gallatin arose and addressed him in the follow- ing impressive and eloquent speech :
" General Lafayette : The citizens of this county would wish to express their joy on seeing you among them, their feelings of love and gratitude towards you. These sentiments you have already heard in a thousand places and from a thousand voices ; and what language so eloquent as those multitudes collected from every quarter to meet you, as those acclamations which
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greet you wherever you appear! Accept these demonstrations as the sincere and spontaneous effusions of a free people im- pressed with respect for your character, and who entertain the most grateful sense of your valor.
Of these services it is hardly necessary to speak; they are engraved in the heart of every American. Who among them has forgotten that General Lafayette, in the prime of youth, re- linquished for the sake of America all the advantage of birth and rank, the allurements, the splendor of a brilliant court and, what was far more precious to him, the endearments of do- mestic happiness, of conjugal love? Who does not remember that he came to aid America at the most critical period of her struggle for independence? that he fought and bled for her? that he acquired the friendship and confidence of Washington, the love of all those who fought with him or approached him? that he prepared, that he shared in the decisive triumph at Yorktown? His services were not confined to the field. While he bore the fatigues and braved the dangers of every campaign, almost every winter he crossed the ocean to stimulate and en- courage our friends, to hasten, to obtain new succors from our illustrious and unfortunate ally. All these services he rendered with the most perfect disinterestedness, impairing his private fortune instead of receiving a compensation from the United States.
The name which this county bears, an early evidence of public gratitude, that name, whilst it perpetually reminded us of your virtues and of your services, has also given us a more common interest in all your fortunes. Let this be our apology for detaining you, even at the risk of wounding your modesty, a few minutes longer than is usual on occasions like this.
In the first assembly of Notables it was on your motion that the report of one of its bureaus recommended the restora- tion of the Protestants of France to their civil rights; a report on which was founded the decree to the effect issued the year before the commencement of the French revolution.
When this last event took place, although belonging to a distinguished family of the privileged class, you instantaneously appeared as one of the most zealous and able defenders of the people. The part you took on all the momentous questions agi- tated at that time, is known to the world. But it has been a common error to believe that France has reaped no other fruits
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from her revolution than wretchedness and bloodshed; that no material benefits had ultimately accrued to the nation from that portentous event. If, however, the magnitude of the obstacles to be overcome in every quarter shall be duly considered, and if we compare what France was at the epoch of our revolution with what it now is, these will be found less cause of astonish- ment that no more was effected than of regret, that it should have been purchased at so dear a price.
A penal code, imperfect in its forms, but in its penalties as mild as our own, substituted for the sanguinary enactments of a barbarous age; an uniform civil code adapted to the present state of society, taking the place of superannuated and contra- dictory usages, trial by jury in criminal, a public trial in all cases; the principles of a representative government adopted and public moneys annually voted and accounted for; personal liberty rendered more secure, that of the press enlarged, that of conscience established, all the privileges of individuals, of classes, of corporations, of provinces abrogated; servitude and feodality entirely abolished, and a people of vassals become a nation of freeholders; all these together form a mass of im- provements, a radical change in the internal policy of France far greater than ever had been effected within the same time in any age or in any country. For almost if not all, those ad- vantages were obtained in the course of the three first years of the French revolution, of that short period during which alone you had an influence, and a most powerful influence over the affairs of France.
No, sir, you have not lived in vain any more for France than for America. The foundation is laid, and the life of nations is not to be computed by years but by generations. It does not belong to us to say what further improvements may still be wanted-what are suitable to the state of France. We only pray that whatever they may be they should flow from per- suasion and not from due force ; that they may be the result of mutual confidence restored and not of new convulsions, of re- newed sanguinary conflicts.
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