USA > Pennsylvania > Erie County > A twentieth century history of Erie County, Pennsylvania : a narrative account of its historic progress, its people, and its principal interests, Volume I > Part 28
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While the canal had undoubtedly vastly increased the business of Erie harbor and had transformed it into a very busy place, it must not be overlooked that conditions then were not as they are now- this with reference not alone to Erie, but the country generally. What was great then would not be so regarded now. At the time the canal business was at its best, the harbor was full of shipping, and nothing could be more picturesque than the aspect of the lake beyond, its expanse of blue dotted with the white sails of numerous crafts, beating their way up or down the lake, against the wind. At times as many as a score: sometimes even twice as many, could be counted from Garrison Hill, their white sails filled with wind, as they held their course tacking to make way against the wind, and it made little difference whether they were intended for Erie or merely pass- ing by, they came within view through the necessities of navigation. But they were not large vessels. Not many were above 500 tons bur-
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den, and nearly all were sailing vessels, mostly schooners. The carriers of coal and grain and ore; of lumber and limestone, or other bulky commodities were nearly all schooners, with now and then a bark or brig. Steam vessels were very few, and did not begin to be common until about the end of the decade of the sixties, and then they were frequent rather than common. The visit of a "propeller" to Erie was a subject of comment. The entire business of the canal for the year 1845 was 15,000 tons-not enough to meet the capacity of two steamers of the present time. The best record of the canal for a season was 150,000 tons of coal.
The Erie Extension canal went out of existence as the result of a collision with a railroad-that is to say, there was a railroad built, and the canal being inimical to the interests of the railroad the canal was gobbled. It was in 1864 that the Erie & 'Pittsburg Railroad was built. At once the full strength of the rivalry between theni was felt. The railroad suffered because of the canal, and the canal was not as profitable as before because of the railroad. Each was in the other's way. For a time there was talk of enlarging the canal, and before long the talk crystallized into action, and a company was formed with sufficient capital to undertake the work. At that time the stock of the canal was controlled by Gen. C. M. Reed. He wanted to sell it. The new company knew this, and having com- pleted the preliminaries and secured the necessary funds, representa- tives called upon Gen. Reed to take over his holdings. To their sur- prise and chagrin they were told that the canal had already been sold. It had been bought in the interests of the Erie & Pittsburg Rail- road.
The canal was not immediately closed. It could not well be with the state charter in existence. But the manner of its operation left much to be desired-more even than had previously been the case. In 1871 the aqueduct across Elk creek fell, and that was the end of the Erie Extension canal. Today its picturesque ruins con- sist of a stretch here and there of water overgrown with lilies, or at rarer intervals, a lock not yet fallen into complete decay, for, down in the neighborhood of Albion there are yet occasionally to be found locks with most of their masonry undisturbed.
During its existence the canal did much for Erie in a business way. More than one Erie fortune came out of it, and more than one Erie industry of today can trace its history back to the canal as its origin.
It was an Erie institution. It was through the efforts of Erie men in the legislature that it came lawfully into existence, and that it was financially backed by the state until nearly completed. It was by means of Erie capital that it was finished, and Erie men operated it. It must not be overlooked that the efforts of William W. Reed,
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long its superintendent, his capable management and his eminent technical abilities, made it a success commercially and financially. If the movement to enlarge it and continue it in operation had won out there can be no doubt but that the history of the old canal would have been repeated in the new.
Mr. William W. Reed did not depend upon his own judgment with reference to the feasibility of enlarging the canal, although his long connection with it and his intimate knowledge of all that per- tained to its operations placed him in a position to form a pretty reliable estimate of what could be done with it. Nor was it his experience in the operating of the canal as it existed that he alone depended upon to form judgment. He was himself an engineer, and as well acquainted with the geography of this part of the state as perhaps any man living in this locality, and he had devoted a good deal of time and attention to the business of calculating the pos- sibilities from conditions known to exist. However, he decided to put the question up to one who could speak with authority, and there- fore laid the matter before W. Milnor Roberts, the chief engineer of the canal when it was built and then (in 1867) employed as govern- ment engineer on the work of the improvement of the Ohio River. Mr. Roberts made the following report :
"\V. W. Reed, Supt. Erie Canal.
"Dear Sir :- My attention was called last winter to the project of enlarging the Erie Canal so as to make it of sufficient capacity for boats of 250 tons burthen. Since then I have reflected upon it considerably. I feel quite confident that it is possible that there is sufficient water in French creek to feed it when finished, and that the change can be effected from its present to the enlarged size for a sum much less than many supposed. I regard it as a noble project, worthy of the most careful and deliberate investigation, and will cheerfully aid in any way in my power in its future development. I consider that, in connection with the improvement of the Ohio river, upon which I am now engaged in the service of the government, it may become one of the most important and valuable avenues of com- merce in our country. I need not here enter into details, but at the proper time I will with pleasure do so. My long connection and familiar acquaintance with your canal will enable me to do so without occupying much time.
"I trust that you will succeed in turning public attention favor- ably in this direction, believing that the scheme will bear investiga- tion and prove to be practicable.
"Very respectfully yours, "W. Milnor Roberts, "Civil Engineer."
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This report by Mr. Roberts was a powerful aid toward further- ing the project for canal enlargement that Mr. Reed had been for some time nursing, and made possible the organization of a company to take over the canal, and make the desired improvement. He had succeeded in forming the company and raising the money needed, supposing that when that had been done the rest was only the mat- ter of arranging the details of the work. It was therefore a grievous disappointment when he learned that he had been forestalled. He was not much more than an hour late. Perhaps his missionary work had been misdirected. It might have been better to have expended a greater degree of his persuasive energy upon his relative, General Reed, who held the destinies of the canal in his hand. But he did not work it from that end, and the railroad interests did, and what was more to the point, they understood the importance of the maxim of David Harum, though not then enunciated: "Do it fust."
CHAPTER XXIV .- COMING OF THE GERMANS.
FIRST ARRIVALS FROM EUROPE IN 1830 .- THE IMPORTANT PART THEY ASSUMED IN SOCIAL AND BUSINESS AFFAIRS.
With the third decade of the nineteenth century there came to Presque Isle the pioneers of another invasion, but unlike that of the French, who were first to occupy the land, the newcomers were not to be dispossessed. But it was an altogether different sort of an invasion. Those who began then to land upon the shores of Erie came without weapons in their hands or a hostile banner waving over them. They came in peace, and they came with the sole pur- pose of becoming part and parcel of the community into which they entered. No doubt many of them had learned the art of war-per- haps most of them. The people of Erie were to learn in time that they were not entirely without military training or soldierly instincts. But they came not to do battle with the people who were already here, nor to acquire possession for a foreign prince or potentate. They came instead with tools in their hands and a determination in their breasts to be builders and not destroyers. They came to carve out a place for themselves in a new country, and to set up for them- selves homes where they could enjoy the sweets of liberty and have and hold the fruits of their labor ; where they could rear their fam- ilies and gather about them the comforts of life.
The Germans who sought America and found their way as far inland as Erie, beginning as early as 1830, had taken up the resolu- tion to emigrate from the Fatherland solely to better their condition. They were of the intelligent, studious kind, who did not come to the resolution blindly when they decided to break old home ties and seek a new country. They had come to know about the land across the sea, and those who ventured first did not keep to themselves what they had learned about the new world. So that those who came after, came upon the best of information, and with a pretty reliable notion of what they were coming to. They were nearly all people who had been, in their home land, workers, and not a few of them skilled arti- sans. An examination of the directory of 1853, the first ever printed in Erie, serves to show that among the Germans of that early time- and they were then all immigrants who were of the German race in Erie-there were carpenters and joiners, masons, plasterers, painters,
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tailors, shoemakers, bakers, barbers, coopers, brewers, watch-makers, moulders, butchers, turners, dyers, stone-cutters, tanners, weavers, soap-makers, confectioners, saddlers, teamsters, gardeners, cabinet makers, machinists and general laborers. In point of fact, there was no trade or occupation that did not have some representatives among the Germans who in that early period of the history of the city al- ready constituted an important element of the population. Indeed they had begun to move forward, for among the business houses and industries of the time it was shown by the book that there were Ger- mans in business as grocers, clothiers, dealers in shoes, contractors, hotel keepers, saddlers, keepers of meat markets, tallow chandlers and makers of soap.
It is no easy matter at this late day, to record the first comers to Erie of the Teutonic race. No care was taken at the time to pre- serve a list and set down the dates of the arrivals. It is not here as it is at the ports of entry on the tide water, that the registry lists of vessels are obtainable to show who were the passengers. Once ad- mitted into free America, they were individually at liberty to go wherever they chose to go in search of a home: Many of them elected to follow compatriots who had been for some time in the United States, and early a large colony of Germans had become established on the banks of the Ohio at and near Cincinnati. Not a few of those who settled in Erie were on their way to join these colonists, but, stopping here on their way, went no further, well pleased with the prospects presented and the advantages apparent at Erie. It was in much the same way that Buffalo and other lake ports first obtained the German element of their population. Among the very earliest names, if not the first to be enrolled among the citizens of Erie, was that of Wolfgang Erhart, in 1830. Two years later W. F. Rinder- necht, from Wuertemberg, and Stephen Erhart, brother of Wolfgang. arrived here, and it was not many years before they were among the most prominent business men of the place. About the same time came Charles Koehler, and in 1833, Cassimir Siegel began his career of usefulness and business success, as a merchant, a contractor on the building of the Erie Canal, a manufacturer of linseed oil at Hope- dale, and activities so varied as to be "too numerous to mention" at this late day. Conrad Doll came from Nassau in 1833, and came to take a forward place. Andrew Blila came with his family in 1833, and his son Andrew W., who was a child of three years at the time, is still living, the oldest of the German settlers now in Erie in point of residence here. Others who settled at Erie during the thirties were Philip Fenningham, Anthony Blenner, Lawrence Loesch. John Gens- heimer, Casper Doll, and Philip Dieffenbach.
At first they came scatteringly. Not every year had its immi- grant who was to become of note sufficient to get into the imperfect record of the time. There were many who did not tarry in the city.
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but turned their faces toward the rural districts, where it was neces- sary to hew an opening in the forest with the axe in order to find a place to set up a home, and before long they had set their mark upon the country of which they had become a part, roads and hamlets tak- ing on names of unquestioned German origin. In Millcreek, Greene, Summit. McKean and Fairview, German neighborhoods sprang up, and in localities where families of particular faiths or religious de- nominations gathered together in numbers, churches came into ex- istence, as was the case, for instance, at the village in Greene town- ship, which takes its name from St. Boniface's church. During the next decade-that of the forties-they came in greater numbers. Among them were Frederick Curtze, the Veits of Mckean, the Haucks of the same township, Jacob Eller of Greene, John M. Win- schel, Matthias Leuschen, John A. Scheer, Ignatz Kaltenbach, An- thony Mehl, John Metzner, J. F. Walther, George Schneider, Jacob F. Gingenbach, Charles G. Steinmetz, Adam J. Beck, M. Mehl, George Kuch, John B. Sitterle, Adam Schneider, Marcus Conrader, Joseph Kraus, Peter Wingerter, C. M. Conrad, Michael Link and Alois Lich- tinger.
By the time Erie had blossomed out into a city the German signs upon the streets had come to be a notable feature of the place, and it is questionable whether they did not dominate the character of the little town. At that time there was not much of the city in a business way except upon French street, but the first important breaking away is due to the Germans. Not a small proportion of the immigrants from the Fatherland were of the Catholic faith. These, with the characteristic tendency, flocked together, and selected the eastern part. of the town, settling in the vicinity of German and Parade streets on Eighth and Ninth streets. There they had erected, as early as 1838, a frame church, and as the time passed the community grew, until the building was altogether inadequate, so that in 1854 it was decided to build larger, and a fine large brick edifice. St. Mary's church, was undertaken. John Gensheimer was the leading spirit in this enterprise, his coadjutors being Messrs. Englehart, Schlind- wein and Emling. Meanwhile the colony had become a business cen- tre as well as a religious community, and the grocer, the dealer in meats, the baker and the brewer found place and prospered in busi- ness, for the neighborhood, beyond the valley of Mill creek, was be- coming populous.
So the Germans were making a peaceful conquest of "the borough, now city, of Erie." They were getting ahead. They were prosper- ing. Among the most notable improvements of the time was the erection, in the year 1853, of one of Erie's tall buildings of the time, that of John Gensheimer, at the corner of Seventh and State streets, still a notable structure on Erie's principal business thoroughfare. But the Germans were everywhere. The first city directory, published
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by Henry W. Hulbert in 1853, contains the names of the following Germans, then in business in Erie :
Manufacturers-Gustave Brevillier, soap and candles; Henry Jarecki, brass and machine work; Jacob Kneib, starch; George Schneider, soap and candles; Christian Schwingel, oil cloths; J. J. Fuessler, leather.
Brewers-Fred Dietz, Jacob Fuess, Joachim Knobloch, Jacob Weschler.
Grocers-John Dietly, George Conrad, John Gabel, Matthias Hartleb, John G. Hemmerle, Joseph Kerner, Fred Kneib, Martin Metz, W. F. Rindernecht, Schaaf & Co., Jacob Seib, C. Siegel, F. & M. Schlaudecker, George Witter, John Wolf.
Clothiers-John Gensheimer, Dieffenbach Brothers, Wagner & Hoffman.
Physicians-Dr. C. Brandes, Dr. Chas. Sevin.
Shoes-Joseph Eichenlaub, Christian Sexauer.
Meat markets-Fred & Frank Eichenlaub, John Knapp, Henry R. Musser.
Cabinet makers-John J. Henrichs, John Kern, Martin Esser. Jewelry-August Jarecki, Gustav Jarecki.
Saddlery-W. & S. Erhart, E. Hemmerle, John Lantz, F. Mut- terer.
Smiths-Anthony Motch, Klick & Sutter.
Miscellaneous-Jacob Kunz, hatter; I. Lorenz, dyer; M. Mehl, barber; W'm. Nick, druggist; August Roemer, books; Otto Schirler, weaver; Gregory Ehret, cooper; J. T. Sevin, repairer; Benjamin Schlaudecker, hotel keeper; William Sexauer, upholstery and house furnishing; John Meuser, carriage painting.
These were all on the mainland, but there were Germans among those who did business on the public dock, then very much in trade. Among the merchants of the harbor were Jacob Dreisigaker, Dan- iel Knobloch and Michael Schlindwein, grocers ; Philip Klein, clothier, and Henry Neubauer, shoes.
The population of Erie was then less than 7,000, and it may be seen, by the list given, that the Germans were holding their own. As a matter of fact, the increase in population was greater in propor- tion among the Germans than those who were English speaking, and this condition continued until about the period of the Civil War, when there was a falling off steadily until in the course of time there were few additions direct from the Fatherland.
The Germans are notable for a number of things, prominent being the tenacity with which they adhere to customs, and that spirit which in Scotland is called clanishness ; and this last character- istic naturally becomes developed in a community of people of com- mon nationality settled in a new and distant land. In the case of the Germans established in Erie it did not matter so much that the
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language of the people differed from theirs, because, there being so many of them they could get along very well among themselves. They became a self-contained community. Many of the merchants had no customers except those who spoke their own tongue, and the signs over their doors were in the language of the country from which they came ; they had their own church organizations; they had societies of their own, so that in Erie at that time there existed a section of Germany-in all but the laws, for whatever may have been the social and business practices of these colonists from continental Europe, they observed and respected the American laws to the full extent of their understanding of them.
There was, however, among the German first-comers a strong desire, that became crystallized into a determination, to perpetuate here the customs to which they had been born and in which they had been reared. There were many of these that were admirable, even from the view-point of the Americans who had, in themselves, in- herited ideas of what was proper and desirable. Therefore, the or- ganization of fraternities that had the club idea as their basis came early. The German Beneficial Society, that was organized in 1842, and was prosperous for fully thirty years, was one of the first of these associations, and there were others that though of briefer ex- istence, still flourished until they were merged into later and perhaps broader organizations. The general comradeship that was observed was, however, the chief characteristic to distinguish the German people, and especially the disposition to gather in the evenings or during holidays in garden, grove or hall and, sitting in groups, par- taking of the cheer reminiscent of the Fatherland, engage in conver- sation, or listen to the music, which was always a feature of these gatherings.
Toward the end of the decade of the fifties there was a move- ment started, and soon an organization was perfected, that was direct- ly in line with this spirit of adherance to the customs of the old country. The exact date has not been preserved, but it was about the year 1857 that the German Free School Society came into exis- tence. The chief spirit at the inauguration of this society was the late J. F. Walther. In his young manhood he was more enthusiastic- ally loyal to the traditions of the land from which he sprang than in his later days, after he had absorbed more of the spirit of Ameri- canism. At the time the German Free School Society was organized, however, he very much favored preserving the Germans in America- at least in Erie-a people apart. So this society was organized to establish a German free school, in which children should be edu- cated in the language of Germany, and the plans had progressed to the extent that it was decided to build a school at the corner of Ninth and German. There were many supporters of the principle for which the Free School Society stood. But it is proper to state that
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not all the Germans, nor not all the members of the Free School So- ciety, favored the radical purpose that was declared to be the funda- mental principle of the movement. There were members who openly objected to restricting the education to German only. Among the chief of these objectors was Frederick Brevillier, who was not op- posed to educating the children in the language of their German parents, but was opposed to restricting their schooling to this tongue, while they were residents of, and to become citizens of, a nation of which the language was the English. At that time he was a director of the East Ward School, and he had in his official capacity come to have an understanding of what the provisions of the state were for the education of its children, and appreciated the fact that these provisions were so wide in their scope that there were none who did not come under their influence. However, among the Germans the German free school idea became thoroughly grounded, and the plan was put into execution, teachers being hired and the work of education proceeding, the organization was maintained. In 1871 the directors of the German Free School Society were, J. F. Walther, William Nick, P. Liebel, Joseph Richtscheit, H. Neubauer. A. Liebel, F. T. Brevillier. It came about in 1822 that the School Board of Erie decided to add German to the studies in the public schools, and when this had been actually entered upon the German Free School Society formally turned over to the School District of the city of Erie all of its property, wound up its affairs and went out of existence.
The Germans, though never indifferent to the government and politics of the nation, state or city, did not for many years take a prominent place among those who were "in politics." It was not, in fact, until quite recently that any of that race came to figure promi- nently in general political affairs. And yet they were not without their representatives among those who had to do with the public business from the very beginning of the city's existence. The first councils, elected in 1851, included F. Schneider as a member of the Select, and L. Momeyer of the Common Council. Up to the Civil War period there was no council organization without one or more Germans on its roll, except during the period of the Railroad War. For some reason the natives of Deutschland did not seem disposed to mix up in that affair. The rolls show the following names of German councilmen who served from time to time during the period mentioned, some of them being frequently re-elected : Schneider, Momeyer, Siegel, Mutterer, Rindernecht, Wild, Kneib, Koch, Doll, Sevin, Fuessler, Hartleb, Mayer, Schlaudecker, Boyer, Blenner, Bootz, Kuhn, Englehart, Gingenbach, Richtscheit and Walther.
After a time the Germans began to forge ahead-to be elected to office in the civic bodies to which they had been elected. In 1869 F. Schlaudecker was president of the Common Council ; in 1822 P. A. Becker was president of the Select Council, and in 1883 Mr. Becker
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was elected Mayor. Under his administration occurred two im- portant steps in civic advancement, namely : the lighting of the city with electricity, and the laying of the corner stone of the City Hall, the latter, which took place July 31, 1884, being marked by an im- posing ceremony over which he presided. In the politics of the county the first recognition accorded the Germans was the election, in 1877, of E. E. Stuerznickel as sheriff. The next year Capt. Gustav Jarecki was elected to represent Erie in the State Legislature. Two other Germans were elected to the office of Sheriff, W. O. Mehl in 1888, and E. C. Siegel in 1891, but these were Germans of the second gener- ation, and they are about as good Americans as any who claim citizenship under the flag of the Union. Michael Liebel, elected Mayor of Erie in 1907, and again in 1908 for three years, is also of German blood but of American birth.
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