USA > Pennsylvania > Luzerne County > Wilkes-Barre > A history of Wilkes-Barre, Luzerne County, Pennsylvania : from its first beginnings to the present time, including chapters of newly-discovered early Wyoming Valley history, together with many biographical sketches and much genealogical material. Volume III > Part 93
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*The bodies of Rev. Johnson and his wife were later reinterred in Hollenback Cemetery.
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to a ripe old age, devoting a skill, which she seemed to have acquired from her husband, to midwifery.
An interesting personage was Dr. William Hooker Smith, who reached Wyoming in 1772, from White Plains, New York. He purchased land for himself in Kingston and a "plantation" for his son-in-law, James Sutton, at Plains, then called Jacob's Plains. A description of Dr. Smith is given by Dr. Hollister in his "History of the Lackawanna Valley" which might apply to the aver- age practitioner of the time:
"The doctor was a plain, practi- cal man, a firm adherent to the theory of medicine as taught and practiced
by our sturdy ancestors. He was an unwavering phlebotomist. Armed with huge saddle bags, rattling with gallipots and vials and thirsty lance, he sallied forth on horseback over the rough country calling for his services and
many were the cures issuing from the unloosed vein. No matter what the location or nature of the disease, bleed- ing promptly and largely, with a sys- tem of diet, drink and rest, was enforced on the patient with an earn- estness and a success that gave him a widespread reputation as a physician.',
PILLS.
The activities of Dr. Smith in the erection of Luzerne County and the stirring incidents of that period, have been mentioned in a preceding Chapter. A fact that impresses the reader of today about him was his recognizing, in the veins of anthracite coal which cropped out at many points along the Valley, the potentiality of future development and the foundation of great wealth. In 1791, he made the first purchase of "mineral rights," as distinguished from surface holdings, to be recorded in Wyoming's history. The purchase was made of a Mr. Scott, at Pittston, and was followed by numerous other similar invest- ments between that year and 1798. Backing his opinions as to the value of bog iron deposits, occasionally found in the county, the Doctor removed, in 1789, to what is now Old Forge, in Lackawanna County, where, with James Sutton, he established a forge for the purpose of converting ore into bar iron. The venture, however, did not prove successful, and the Doctor removed, with his family, to the neighborhood of Tunkhannock, where he died in 1815.
Other physicians to the settlers came to Wyoming for a time, but most of them found the uncertainties of their calling added to by still greater uncertain- ties in community affairs, and their residence was brief. Among those mentioned* in this connection are found the names of Dr. Lemuel Gustin, who studied medicine with Dr. Smith and, with the former, rendered assistance to the wounded on the battle field at Wyoming; Dr. John Calkins, who appears to have practiced both at Wyoming and at Cochecton; Dr. Alden I. Bennett, the first physician to settle at Nanticoke; Dr. Oliver Bigelow, who, before the year 1800, was a noted physician at Kingston; Dr. Matthew Covell, who settled in Wilkes-Barré,
*See, "Pioneer Physicians of Wyoming Valley", by Frederick C. Johnson, M. D. ,published in Vol. IX, page 47 of the Proceedings of the Wyoming Historical and Geological Society.
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as a young man, and practiced with success until his death, in 1813, were the most noted of those who practiced in the settlements prior to the opening of the nineteenth century.
For twenty-six years following the first permanent settlements by the whites at Wyoming, no effort was made, so far as is now known, to set up a printing office. For news from the outside world the settlers were at first dependent upon visiting friends and relatives, and occasional travelers passing through the Valley.
According to Pearce, in his "Annals of Luzerne County," page 451, "in 1777, a post-route, once in two weeks, was opened between Wyoming and Hartford, Conn., and Prince Bryant was engaged as postrider for nine months. 'The expenses of this route were defrayed by private subscriptions. During the Pennamite-Yankee Wars all letters and communications were sent by private messengers, or by persons employed on private subscription."
In 1794, the first Post Office in Wilkes-Barré was established by the Federal Government, with Lord Butler as Postmaster, and for six years thereafter, this was the only Post Office anywhere along the Susquehanna River from Nescopeck to the New York State line.
Pearce states that, "after the organization of Luzerne County, a weekly mail was forwarded between Wilkes-Barré and Easton," and that "in 1797, Clark Beebe, the post-rider, informed the public through the Wilkes-Barre Gazette, that, as he carried the mail once a week to Easton, he would also carry passen- gers, when the sleighing was good, at $2.50 each."
A large majority of the early Wyoming settlers being natives of Connecticut, they naturally turned to Connecticut newspapers for information concerning current affairs in the outside world. These papers were The Connecticut Gazette, The Connecticut Journal, The Connecticut Courant (published at Hartford) and, chiefly, The New London Gazette, published at New London, in the County of New London-from which county, and the adjoining County of Windham, many of Wyoming's first and principal settlers had come.
Pearce, in his "Annals," says:
"In 1795, two young men, whose names are unknown, came to Wilkes-Barré from Phila- delphia with a small press and a few cases of type. They printed The Herald of the Times, the first newspaper published in the County. Prior to this date all notices, advertisements, &c., were put up on the town sign-posts, the first of which was erected in Wilkes-Barre in 1774, on the river bank. The Herald of the Times was issued for a short period, and was then sold hy the proprietors to Thomas Wright."
Only one copy of Wilkes-Barré's first newspaper is known to exist .* It consisted of four pages, 1012 by 17 inches in size, three columns to a page. The title reads as follows:
THE HERALD OF THE TIMES Wilkesbarre, Published by Benajah Hall. Tuesday, October 31, 1797. VOL. 1. No. 52.
*The final paper on historical matters at Wyoming prepared by the late Oscar Jewell Harvey dealt with "Wilkes- Barre's Earliest Newspapers".
The paper was read in two installments at successive meetings of the Wyoming Historical and Geological Society, on May 13 and October 14, 1921, respectively. These papers are used as a basis of the account which pertains to the early press of the county contained in these pages, often in verbatim installments. As the local Historical Society possesses no early copies of either the Herald of the Times or the Gazette, Mr. Harvey made a painstaking search, by correspondence and otherwise, through the files of other Societies and wherever else such copies might have been de- posited. About to give up the search in despair, Mr. Harvey by chance learned, in 1920, that a copy of the Herald of the Times was in possession of Mrs. Clayton D. Fretz of Sellersville, Bucks County, Pennsylvania.
Sometime later, he paid Mrs. Fretz a visit, to find that the copy in question, together with other files of Wilkes- Barré newspapers of a somewhat later date, had come into her hands from the estate of a grandfather who was a brother- in-law of Thomas Wright who had left Bucks County to settle in Wilkes-Barre. With Mrs. Fretz's permission, Mr. Harvey made photographs of the headings and most of the contents of the paper, which contents he used in his address before the Society much to the instruction and frequently to the amusement of its members.
Mr. Harvey's address in full is published in Vol. XVIII, page 59, of the "Proceedings of the Wyoming Historical and Geological Society", for the year 1922.
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On the first page is the following editorial valedictory :
"This paper completes the number for one year, and, consequently, the publication of the Herald expires.
"We think it unnecessary to make any commentaries on the merits or demerits of the Herald of the Times, but only to announce its dissolution. It shall be succeeded by a permanent Gasette, which we will use our utmost endeavors and exertions to render far superior to the former; however, time will evince our intentions."
Judging by the first paragraph of the foregoing valedictory, as well as by the heading of the paper, one would say that the publication of the Herald had been begun fifty-two weeks previously; to wit, in October, 1796. We learn however, from the original minute-book of "town-meetings of Wilkesbarre" that the Herald was being published here at least as early as in the month of June, 1796; for at a town-meeting held June 5, 1796, it was voted that a certain resolution then adopted, should be published for "at least four weeks in The Herald of the Times, printed in this town."
It is quite probable that, according to Pearce's statement, the publisher of the Herald established himself here in 1795-perhaps late in the year- having issned his "proposals" (according to the custom of those days) for the publishing of a newspaper, and in due time received subscriptions for the same. But, owing to the fact that Wilkes-Barré was far distant from the leading commercial centers of the country, and that the routes and means of communication were very primitive, it would follow that the bringing here of paper and other print- ing supplies would be attended with many difficulties.
Because of this fact, therefore, and perhaps because of the scarcity of patronage and cash, it may be presumed that, from the time the actual pub- lication of the Herald was begun-say early in 1796-up to and including October 31, 1797, only fifty-two numbers of the paper were issued; and also, that at some time prior to this last-mentioned date, the IIerald had been disposed of by its proprietor, to Thomas Wright .*
What appears to be an important announcement, insofar as it affected subsequent publications of the community, is the following:
"Printing-Office, Wilkes-Barré, October 17, 1797. Proposals are issued from this office for publishing a Weekly Newspaper, to be entitled
THE WILKES-BARRE GAZETTE, AND LUZERNE ADVERTISER.
"Conditions. I-To be printed on paper of a demy size, and equal in quality to any news- paper in this State; and on the same type with which the Herald of the Times is printed.
"II-To be published early on every Tuesday morning. Those subscribers who reside in the town of Wilkesbarre shall have their papers delivered at their houses.
*THOMAS WRIGHT (according to a sketch of his life prepared by Dr. B. F. Fackenthal, Jr., of Riegelsville, Pa , and read before the Bucks County Historical Society, in October, 1916) was born in County Down, Ireland, in 1748. He immigrated to America with bis two brothers, Joseph and William, in 1763, and settled at Dyerstown, near Doyles- town, Bucks County, Pennsylvania. He secured a bome in the family of Joseph Dyer; tanght the rudiments of English to the children of the neighborhood, and made love to Mary Dyer, the daughter of his bost. One day they slipped off to Philadelphia and were married.
In 1774, he applied for and obtained membership in the Buckingham Meeting of Friends, at which time bis three small children. Joseph, Rachel and Thomas were also accepted. In 1778. he took the oath of allegiance to Pennsylvania, which was objectionable to the Friends, and he was dealt with accordingly; whereupon he justified bis act, and was disowned in January, 1779.
The public records at Doylestown show that he bad many transactions in real estate. He is described in the deeds as being a "Shopkeeper." In January, 1783, he entered into partnership with Richard Backhouse to operate the Greenwich Forge, leased from Hugh Hughes.
About July 1. 1791, Thomas Wright removed to Wilkes-Barre, where he made his temporary bome at the inn of Jesse Fell, who had come from Bucks County about 1785. Later, Mr. Wright removed his family to Wilkes-Barre, and they took up their residence on what is now River Street. There they remained until 1804, when they removed to what is now the borough of Miner's Mills. At that place he had built, in 1794 or '95, a grist-mill, and later he built there a distillery and a saw-mill. This locality soon became known as Wrightsville.
Mr. Wright's wife Mary died August 20, 1803, aged sixty-three years, and on June 27, 1804, be was married a second time, to Mary Nelson, who survived him and died at Sunbury, Ohio, May 3, 1824. Thomas Wright died at Wrightstown March 25, 1820, and his remains now lie in Hollenback Cemetery, Wilkes-Barré. In an obituary notice, printed at the time of his death, was this paragraph:
"Through a long life he had heen a very industrious, active and useful citizen. By the lahorer and the mechanic he will be long remembered. He was a steady friend, and always ready to render his services among bis numerous acquaintances. He died, as he believed, at peace with all men."
The public records of Luzerne County show that while living here Thomas Wright continued his speculations in land, and at one time owned a very large number of tracts in various parts of Luzerne County.
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"III-A regular Weekly Post will be established, which will leave the Printing Office the moment the papers are printed, and will arrive at Tioga Point on the Friday following (unless the roads are rendercd impassible by the height of the waters), by which all subscribers residing on the borders of the river, between Wilkesbarre and Tioga Point, will he regularly served with their papers.
"IV-Any person who will procure twelve subscribers, aud hold himself responsible for their subscription money, shall receive a paper gratis.
"V-The price to subscribers will be two dollars per annum-one dollar to be paid on the publication of the 26th number, the other dollar at the expiration of the year.
"VI-Subscribers desirous of withdrawing their subscriptions may do so at any time by giving notice to the Printer.
"VII-The publication of The Herald of the Times will cease on the last Tuesday [October 31] of the present month (which will complete the year), and, should due encouragement be obtained, the first number of The Wilkesbarre Gazette shall appear on the third Tuesday of Novem- ber next.
"Should it be the general wish of the people in the lower part of this County, they shall he accommodated with a Post, who will serve them with their papers weekly (should the list of sub- scribers be numerous), by paying an additional sum of half a dollar annually.
"Subscriptions are received at most of the public houses in this County, and by the pub- lisher, J. Wright, at this office.
"Terms of postage to be paid for The Wilkesbarre Gazette. The papers to be left in pack- ets on the direct route of said Post, at such places as the subscribers may agree upon. Those subscribers who reside on the river between James Scoffield's tavern (ten miles from Wilkesbarre) and the mouth of Tunkhannock Creek, will pay at the rate of half a dollar per year. Those be- tween Tunkhannock and the Great Bend, one dollar per year. Those subscribers who reside be- low Wilkesbarre, between Nanticoke Falls and the Southwestern boundaries of this County, will have to pay at the rate of half a dollar per year. Those who reside between said boundaries and Berwick, to pay at the rate of three-fourths of a dollar per year.
"It is not determined whether the Post will be extended to Berwick. It depends upon the number of subscribers that may be procured in that quarter.
"Mr. Nicholson Marcy has agreed to ride Post from Wilkesbarre, by the way of Tioga Point, to the Great Bend, weekly. He will leave this office at five o'clock every Tuesday morning, and will arrive at Tioga Point on Thursday evening. All letters left at this office for said Post will he carefully attended to. Postage ou letters from Wilkesbarre to Asylum, the same as from Wilkesbarre to Philadelphia; to Tioga Point or Great Bend, in proportion. This first route will be on the third Tuesday in November next."
The first issue of The Wilkesbarre Gazette, and Luzerne Advertiser appeared on Tuesday, November 28, 1797, one week later than the date of its promised appearance. Thomas Wright was the owner of the paper; and its editor, printer and publisher was his son Josiah.
The Gazette consisted of four pages, 102 x 17 inches in size, with three col- umns to a page. On the first page, under the heading or title, was the motto, "Let Party rage, let Malice vent her spite; Truth we'll revere, and we shall e'er be right."
In the Gazette in February, 1798, is found a table of local "prices current," from which is gathered the fact that fresh beef sold at $6.75 per 100 pounds; French brandy, $1.34 per gallon; claret wine and sherry wine, $1.00 each per gallon; tea, $1.00 per pound; lump sugar, 27 cents and loaf sugar 29 cents per pound; Jamaica rum, $1.40 per gallon; country rum, 87 cents per gallon; Hol- land gin, 86 cents per gallon; wheat, $1.25 per bushel; rye, $1.00 per bushel; oats, 40 cents and Indian corn 67 cents per bushel; molasses, 54 cents per gallon ; coffce, 23 cents per pound; butter, 16 cents per pound; hams, 12 cents per pound.
In the issue of December 18, 1798, the following unique advertisement appears over the name of James Morgan.
"BEWARE OF THE DEVIL'S OWN SON.
"Ran away from the subscriber, ou the night of the 14th inst., John Rodrock.
"Au indentured curse, in shape something like a man. He stands about 1712 hands high, is 22 or 23 years of age, swarthy complexion, with a large head, aud a huge gash in his face ex- tending almost from one ear to the other, passing at the same time between a pair of lusty, thick lips. He has a large uose, shortish brown hair, and dark eyes, above which are fastended a set of remarkable eyebrows, resembling a couple of gray wigs pasted to a smoked gammon. And as to devils-he has more in him than Mary Magdalene had.
"He is a thief aud a liar. When he is dead it will not be safe to inter him in a graveyard. If you do, he careful to place him with his face downward, and put large stones on his grave, or he will be quick up again and plunder his nighest neighbor.
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"Whoever takes up the above described sinner and returns him to the subscriber, shall receive by wholesale and retail the hearty curses of their humble servant."
In view of the establishing of a new post to Tioga, Painted Post, and other localities to the northward, the publication day of the Gazette was changed, in October, 1800, from Tuesday to Mon- day. At that time the printing office was in the house of Joseph Wright, on West Market Street, where the present Beers' Building was built in 1859.
With the issue of Monday, Novem- ber 10, 1800, the title or name of the Gazette was changed to The Wilkesbarre Gazette and Republican Sentinel, while the original motto of the paper was restored to the first page. A week later Thomas Wright, owner of the Gazette, announced in the paper that Charles Miner had been authorized to collect balances due on subscriptions to the paper ante-dating May 20, 1800; that he was then "on his way up the river for the purpose," and that "cash or grain would be accepted by him" in settlement of accounts.
It may be remarked, in passing, that the newspapers of Luzerne County have progressed materially in trend from THOMAS WRIGHT 1748-1820. the older day. What was then con- sidered fit for publication would be barred by any editor of the present. In the absence of news happenings in the community, stories were printed that evidently were bandied about in the neighboring taverns. Advertisements that then ap- peared often used violent language. Libel laws were unknown, and the press often became the medium of personal spite between neighbors, and vented itself in language that would demand redress in the courts of today.
Whatever success the Gasette was attaining in 1800, the following announce- ment was made on December 8th, that it was to have opposition:
"To the Public. I have been informed by persons of veracity that several of our subscribers have, by a false report, industriously circulated, been induced to subscribe for a newspaper about to be established in this town, to be called The Luzerne County Federalist, and in opposition to this Gazette.
"In order to deceive people into a subscription, it has been asserted that this Gazette was no longer to be continued, but that it was to be given up in favor of the Federalist.
"The Federalist is to be exclusively devoted to the cause of Federalism. It is, therefore, reasonable to suppose that some persons zealous in that cause must have fabricated and propagated this malicious falsehood. Weak, indeed, must be the cause that is reduced to the necessity of employing instruments so base, and means so detestable, in its support."
The Lucerne County Federalist made its first appearance on Monday morning, January 5, 1801. Its owner, editor and publisher was Asher Miner,* and the
*ASHER MINER, the third child of Capt. Seth and Anna (Charlton) Miner, was born March 3, 1778, at Norwich . New London County, Connecticut. He learned the printer's trade under Samuel Green, at New London, and removed to Wilkes-Barre in 1799. In November of that year he opened a private school in a small building on the east side of Public Square, and notified the public that he had "undertaken to instruct youth in reading, writing, arithmetic and English grammar," and that proper attention would "be paid to the morals and manners of those committed to his care." This school was successfully conducted by Mr. Miner during the next four years-for the most of which period he was also engaged in editing and publishing the Federalist.
In May, 1804, Mr. Miner removed to Doylestown, Bucks County, Pennsylvania, where, two months later, he established a weekly newspaper hearing the name "The Pennsylvania Correspondent and Farmer's Advocate." For twenty years Mr. Miner edited and published this newspaper, and then, having disposed of his business in Doylestown, he removed to West Chester, Chester County, Pennsylvania, where, from 1825 to 1834, he was a partner with his brother
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printing office was located in the two-story frame house occupied by Mr. Miner as a residence, on West Market Street, where the Second National Bank is now located. The Federalist consisted of four pages, 1014x17 inches in size, with four columns to a page. The price of the paper was $2.00 per year. The press upon which the Federalist was printed was brought from Norwich, Connecticut, to Wilkes-Barré, on a sled, in December, 1800, by Charles Miner and S. Howard. "So strange a piece of machinery", wrote Charles Miner in May, 1859, "was a wonder along the way. To the thousand and one enquiries, 'What is it?' Howard's patience being exhausted, he was wont to reply: 'We are taking it to Wyoming. They are terribly troubled there with mice, and this is timber for mouse traps.'" In the Federalist of April 26, 1802, the following notice was printed: "The editor of this paper having taken his brother, Charles Miner,* into partnership, the paper will in future be printed by A. & C. Miner."
The newspapers published in Wilkes-Barré were generally, if not always, delivered to local subscribers through the Post Office, up to the year 1854, when, however, the postal authorities put a stop to this custom.
For a number of years-say from 1798 to 1805, or even later-Wilkes-Barré newspapers intended for subscribers outside of the village of Wilkes-Barré, were carried and delivered by the regular post-riders, or contractors, who, in making . their contracts with the postal authorities, reserved to themselves "the emolu- ments arising from carrying newspapers from Wilkes-Barré, other than those carried in the mail." The carrier was allowed one cent for each newspaper delivered within the State of Pennsylvania, and one cent and a-half for each paper delivered beyond the borders of the State.
The paucity of local news, which is very striking in these early newspapers, may be accounted for by the fact that Wilkes-Barre was a small community, and the people knew, without the aid of a newspaper, what was occurring from day to day in their midst.
According to the first official census of the United States, in 1790, there were 4,904 people. including 11 slaves, credited to Luzerne County, but no separate return was made for Wilkes-Barré or any of the other townships. The census of 1800 gave Wilkes-Barré township only 835 inhabitants, hence the scattered nature of the settlements may be readily inferred.
The first brick house in Wilkes-Barré a pretentious structure on the South Side of Public Square-was erected in 1807, but the Federalist never
Poid Butler, Esq Asher Miner Ar To instructing Bierce, Houghton, and Silvina, each one Is ending Nov. 20, 1800, " I Grrights Geography, dr. Pierre .622
instructing 4 Scholars the Ir ending Feb 24.9 .. . Wood during the winter . 18014- „8.
1 ... 15-622
Charles in editing and publishing The Village Record. In 1834, he removed to what is now Miner's Mills, near Wilkes- Barré, where he died March 13, 1841.
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