USA > Pennsylvania > Philadelphia County > Philadelphia > Annals of Philadelphia, and Pennsylvania in the olden time; being a collection of the memoirs, anecdotes, and incidents of the earliest settlements of the inland part of Pennsylvania, Vol. III > Part 14
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Gas, Watchmen, etc.
thune in the summer of 1837; afterward the church in Seventh street, below Arch, built for the late Dr. Cuyler, was thus light- ed a few weeks later, and then the Unitarian Church at Tenth and Locust streets. We are not able to say in what dwelling- house gas was first introduced into the city ; among the earliest was the residence of the late William F. Fotterall, north-west cor- ner of Thirteenth and Chestnut streets. The Gaslight Tavern, on Second street, near Walnut, was illuminated with gas manufactured on the premises for several years before the city gas-works were established. According to our memory, William Neill was the first to introduce gas into a public tavern after the establishment of the city gas-works; he kept the " Old Star " at the corner of Exchange place and Dock street. There was a rivalry as to who should be first to introduce it.
Watchmen, lamps, etc., p. 211 .- Feb. 8, 1836, gas first made at the gas-works; to the end of the year 6,481,300 cubic feet were consumed, and in 1837, 17,078,700 feet; number of con- sumers, 670, and burners 6814; public lamps supplied 301; 4 gasometers, contents equal to 140,000 cubic feet. In 1855 all the lamps of the city and districts were supplied with gas. The introduction of gas met with much opposition, many fearing the city and houses would be blown up, others that the gas when ignited would carry the flames back into the houses.
Watch-boxes for the watchmen, in our day, stood at nearly every corner, and as a boy we have watched the "Charley " clean up his little house, his lanterns, etc. At night the watch- men hourly started from their stations, carrying a lantern, a rattle, and club, and perambulated their allotted district, calling out the hour thus : "Ten-o-clock-and-all's-well," or "Past twelve-o-clock-and-a-starry-night." At any alarm, if assistance was needed, they would spring their rattles, and it was very ex- citing to hear the various rattles answer and repeat as they gath- ered together at the place of the first alarm or pursued the male- factors.
Pavements, p. 213 .- Kalm in 1748 said : " All the streets ex- cept two which are nearest to the river run in a straight line, and make right angles at the intersections. Some are paved, others are not, and it seems less necessary, since the ground is sandy, and therefore soon absorbs the wet. But in most of the streets is a pavement of flags, a fathom or more broad, laid before the houses, and posts put on the outside, three or four fathoms asunder. Under the roofs are gutters, which are carefully con- nected with pipes, and by this means those who walk under them when it rains or when the snow melts need not fear being wetted by the dropping from the roofs. The houses make a good appearance, are frequently several stories high, and built either of bricks or of stone; but the former are more commonly used, since bricks are made before the town and are well burnt.
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The stone which has been employed in the building of other houses is a mixture of black or gray glimmer. Very good lime is burnt everywhere hereabouts for masonry. .... The houses are covered with shingles. The wood for this purpose is taken from the Cupressus thyoides, Linn .- a tree which the Swedes here call the white juniper tree, and the English the white cedar. The wood is very light, rots less than any other, and for that reason is good for roofs, for it is not too heavy for the walls, and will serve for forty or fifty years together."
STOVES.
Stoves, p. 218 .- But few improvements were made in the art of heating houses until near the middle of the eighteenth cen- tury. The stoves most in use were the jamb and German stoves, made by Christopher Sauer of Germantown. They were square or box form, set in the side or jamb of the kitchen fireplace, pass- ing through the wall, so as to present the back end in the adjoin- ing room ; even though kept up to a red heat, they imperfectly warmed the room. The invention, therefore, of so practical a mind as Franklin's rapidly worked its way into use, backed up as it was by his pamphlet explaining its advantages for health, comfort, and economy, based upon scientific principles of venti- lation. He called it the "new Pennsylvania fireplace." He gave a model of it to his friend Robert Grace, who had castings made of it. This fireplace was made out of plates with pas- sages between them through which the air circulated and became heated, and added much to the comfort of the room. It was claimed " that there was no draft on the back as before, where- by a person was scorched before and frozen behind. The stove gives out more heat than the old-fashioned fireplace, and saves it from going up the chimney." On the front of it was the device of the sun, with the motto, " Alter Idem "-
"Another sun, 'tis true, but not the SAME; Alike, I own, in warmth and genial flame ; But, more obliging than his elder brother, This will not scorch in summer like the other ; Nor when sharp Boreas chills our shivering limbs Will this SUN leave us for more southern climes, Or in cold winter nights forsake us here To cheer new friends in t'other hemisphere ; But, faithful still to us, this new sun's fire Warms when we please and just as we desire."
It would perhaps be difficult to trace the first maker of cook- stoves for the use of coal. In April, 1828, the United States Ga- zette of this city described an invention which had recently been perfected by Williamson & Paynter, stove manufacturers, south-
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Stoves.
west corner of Ninth and Market streets, Philadelphia. It consisted of "a cast-iron box, fifteen to thirty inches in length, eight to ten inches wide, and six or seven inches deep. It has a grated bottom, and is calculated to burn anthracite coal as readily as charcoal. Upon one edge is placed a common tin- kitchen, or roaster, in front of which, on the opposite edge, is a sheet-iron fixture of the same length, which reflects the heat upon the contents of the tin-kitchen. Through the top of the reflector may be placed boilers for meats and vegetables. By means of false jambs the size of the fire is reduced at will. By displacing the reflector and the tin-kitchen the box or furnace may be used to heat water, roast coffee," etc. The contrivance was fixed on four iron wheels, and the cost of it, according to the Gazette, would not exceed nine dollars. This was undoubt- edly the first improvement of the kind. Such an adaptation could not have been made until after anthracite coal came into common use. It was certainly a great addition to household economy, and was one of the most important improvements in stoves since Franklin invented the "Pennsylvania fireplace." Clement Letourno, stove and grate manufacturer, who in 1832 was at No. 76 North Sixth street, was among the first in this city to make cook-stoves, and they were also probably made by Jacob F. Pleis, in Second street above Arch, about the same time.
The Fuel Savings Society, 8th month 5th, 1831, adopted the following resolution : " Whereas, the time has arrived when, in the opinion of this board, the article of anthracite coal ought to be introduced as a common fuel amongst the poorer classes of our citizens, and as it appears there is at present nothing re- quired to effect this desirable object but the invention of a cheap, simple, and convenient movable apparatus for burning coal, not only for the purpose of warming the apartment, but for doing the necessary cooking, etc. for a family," the committee invited mechanics to invent a stove or grate, to be delivered at a price not exceeding six dollars and within two months. On Oct. 7th the committee reported that Steinhaur & Kisterbock had patented a stove which for cheapness and peculiar simplicity of construc- tion answered all the purposes contemplated. With one peck of coal, costing four cents per day, it would warm the room, boil a wash-kettle of ten or thirteen gallons, and accomplish all the baking and other culinary purposes required in a family of five or six persons. The cost by the quantity to the society was $5.50 each, including pipe, pans, poker, and other fixtures. They es- timated a poor family would use in the cold season of six months-
2} cords wood, and carting, sawing twice $15.00
2 tons egg coal, nearly 1} pecks per day . 9.00
Leaving a balance in favor of coal-fuel of . $6.00
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Annals of Philadelphia.
Enough to pay the cost of the stove in the first season. The society at once ordered one hundred stoves. Kisterbock stoves are celebrated to this day as inexpensive and useful stoves.
Public Stages, p. 219 .- In March, 1738, a stage-wagon started to run twice a week and back again from Trenton to Brunswick; it had benches and was covered over; fare, 2s. 6d. This line was successful, and stimulated others. In 1740 a line was rur frum Bordentown to Amboy once a week on Monday, and thence by boat to New York, except in the winter. In 1750 a line of stages started from the Crooked Billet in Philadelphia every Tuesday to Bordentown, thence on Wednesday and Thursday to Amboy, thence by boat to New York. These latter two were rival lines to the New Brunswick route. The oldest stage-road to New York was the road through Frankford and along the bank of the river to Bristol, and usually to Coryell's Ferry, below Morrisville, where the Delaware was crossed; thence the route was through New Jersey by way of Trenton and Prince- ton. What was afterward called " the old York road," or New Fourth street, was not opened until after the Revolution. It ran into the old road in the upper part of the county. Of course there have been innumerable instances of persons driving from New York to Philadelphia, and vice versa, ever since the foun- dation of Pennsylvania. At certain times of the year, when the Delaware was frozen, there were regular stage-routes through; but in summer-time the route was by stage-boat up the river to Bordentown and Trenton, across New Jersey by coach to New Brunswick, and thence by boat to New York. When steam- boats came into use-about the year 1809-the transportation was by steamboat from Philadelphia to Bordentown. When the railroad was finished between Camden and Amboy, stage- coach travel between Philadelphia and New York ceased, ex- cept for a year or two when the stage-lines fought against the railroads. The regular stage-coach routes between Philadelphia and New York ceased entirely about 1836.
Houses Altered, p. 220 .- C. P. Wayne's house, Fourth and High streets, was pulled down about 1850. Stiles's two houses on Walnut street have long since been pulled down. The large house of Gibbs, Fourth and Arch streets, still stands, though much altered. The houses of John Rhea were altered into Rhea's Ho- tel, afterward the United States Hotel; and now the Farmers' and Mechanics' Bank, the Philadelphia Bank, and the Philadel- phia Trust Company, stand on their site.
The fine woodwork panelling alluded to by Watson can still De seen in its perfection in some of the fine old mansions on the Main street in Germantown, notably that of Elliston P. Morris, Esq., formerly the head-quarters of Washington and of Howe; also the building near it formerly used by Congress, and now
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The Poplar- Worm-Tomatoes.
adapted as a reading-room for the workmen. The superiority of the workmen of that day, who made everything by hand, is readily seen, the fine old woodwork being perfect to this day, with hardly a crack or warp to it. How long would such woodwork done by our mechanics last, to be in good order ?
James Stokes, p. 222 .- He made a fortune at the hardware business, and, retiring from business, removed and lived in Ger- mantown, where I believe he died, at the corner of Market Square. The Fassitts, Earps, and Bird, and his sons-in-law, Charles Biddle and C. P. Wayne, succeeded him in that business ; some of them were brought up by him.
Segur's Ice-creams, p. 222 .- They were very good ; he served them at his shop in Market street between Third and Fourth. His successor was a remarkably ugly man, with a very large nose, and a Dutchman by the name of Schrawder (?).
Ice-Houses, p. 222 .- Ice was first introduced to families by Henry Moliere, who first supplied it in carts.
The Poplar-Worm, p. 223 .- The newspapers of the day contain many wonderful accounts of their supposed dangerous bites. The trees were cut down on account of them, so that the Lombardy is now a rarity. The linden trees took its place, and they have now in their turn shared the same fate, in consequence of cater- pillars destroying their leaves and annoying persons walking under them while spinning their threads. It was a species of measuring- worm, and offensive in appearance. The introduction of late years of the English sparrows has, together with the extinction of the tree, almost exterminated them.
Another objection to the Lombardy was that the roots, running very superficially, tore up the pavements. They also fell into a state of decay in portions of the tree, and became very unsightly ; they were not really suited to this climate. The lindens had also another objection besides the worms-that of decaying internally, till they would break off, having no external appearance of decay. The trees next in vogue were the maples, the ailanthus, and the horse-chestnut, and some buttonwoods. The one now most likely to take the places of these, which have all pretty much disap- peared, is the silver maple, though tree-planting on the streets is not so much in vogue as formerly, the trees not generally thriving well; some suppose the escape of gas from the pipes to be the cause.
Tomatoes, p. 223 .- (See Historical Mag., New York, vol. vi.) They were raised in Boston between 1815 and 1822, and I think in Philadelphia before the first date, say as early as 1810. They were common in New York in 1830, when the first edition of this work was printed. I remember to have seen them growing in pots in druggists' windows as ornamental and medicinal plants. They were slow in coming into general use as a vegetable. They were also called " love-apples," and cultivated in garden as cu
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riosities, and were by some reputed to be poisonous, and by nearly every one detested as a vegetable. For years almost every variety of pill and panacea was extract of tomato. It now occupies as great a surface of ground as cabbage, and is cultivated throughout the length and breadth of the country. A native of Philadelphia informs us that he first ate tomatoes at New Orleans, about the year 1817 or 1818. They seem to have been first used in this country by the French Louisianians, who were acquainted with their uses on the continent of Europe. They were introduced into the Philadelphia market about 1829-30, and in five years the sale of them had become very extensive.
The grapes mentioned by Watson have almost entirely given way to the Concord, the Clinton, the Delaware, and others. Cali- fornia now ships East tons of the most delicious grapes of the largest size; she is also making and shipping great quantities of raisins.
The growth of the berry and peach trade is enormous, Dela- ware now far outstripping any other of the States. The berry trade of Delaware increased from 20 carloads in 1868 to 882 car- loads in 1876. The largest yield was in 1875, when 905 carloads were shipped. The increase in the peach trade has been even more rapid. In 1868 but 23 carloads were shipped, and in 1875 there were marketed 9072 carloads. The crop is very uncertain, however; in 1876 it fell off to 2117 carloads. From 1867 to 1876, inclusive, the Philadelphia, Wilmington, and Baltimore Railroad, and its branches, transported 33,208 carloads of peaches and 4551 carloads of berries-319,474 tons in all-and collected as freights from these two items alone $1,783,921.83.
CEMETERIES.
Cemeteries, p. 224 .- The custom introduced into this country by our forefathers of having burial-grounds surrounding the churches had its origin probably in the Roman Catholic Church, as its grounds are always blessed and made consecrated ; it was introduced into England by Cuthbert, archbishop of Canterbury, in 758. As ground became valuable in the city, this plan was changed, and churches purchased lots throughout the city for the especial purpose of burying the dead. The first burying-ground was the Weccacoe or Swedes' Church; the next, the Friends', Fourth and Arch streets ; then Christ Church, in Second street, and afterward at Fifth and Arch streets. When the law was passed against burials in the city limits on sanitary accounts, a great impetus was given to the more attractive style of cemeteries on the Grecian and Roman plan of being outside the city. A number were started, however, in the city hv those who asso-
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Cemeteries.
ciated together and bought lots for the purpose. The Friends were an exception to the first plan, as their burial-lots at first were always separate from their meeting-houses; as, for instance, the lot at the corner of Fourth and Arch streets, which had nearly ceased being a receptacle of their dead, or more than a century after it was started, before the meeting-house was built there. The first burial in this lot was that of T. Lloyd's wife, in 1683; William Penn spoke at her grave. For many years this was a general burying-ground, strangers and the friendless finding here a resting-place.
In 1825 a number of persons united under the name of the Mutual Association and bought ground on Washington (formerly Prime) street, between Ninth and Tenth streets. In the two following years four other companies adopted the association principle-the Machpelah, Washington avenue from Tenth to Eleventh; the Philanthropic, Passyunk avenue below Cross street; the Union, South Sixth, from Washington avenue to Federal street ; the La Fayette, from Ninth to Tenth and from Federal to Wharton street.
In 1827, James Ronaldson, a Scotchman and an eminent type- founder, improved the plan by starting a cemetery Ninth and Tenth streets from Bainbridge to Fitzwater, which should make the burial-place attractive by trees, shrubbery, handsome orna- mental tombstones, walks, etc. Though he met with opposition from the sanctimonious and those opposed to new ideas, it was in keeping with the feeling of the times, and was successful. He commenced preparing the lot in the fall of 1826, and the first interment took place June 2d, 1827, of a lady who died in the hospital under Dr. Physick. Many tombstones in the ground bear dates of 1828 and 1829. Before Mr. Ronaldson made it into a cemetery it was a celebrated skating-lot in the winter season. At the corner of Tenth and South streets was the old Lebanon Garden, where a barbecue in honor of Gen. Jackson took place. (See p. 402 of this volume.)
The next cemetery that was established was that of Laurel Hill, on the banks of the Schuylkill, extending to Ridge avenue and from Huntingdon street to Allegheny avenue, and now acces- sible by cars or steamboat. It is now known as North, Central, and South Laurel Hill, as it was purchased at three separate times as the demand increased for more space.
In 1835 the topic of non-sectarian cemeteries had been brought before the public by the foundation near Boston of the first burial- place on an extensive scale. Judge Story's beautiful address had been printed, exciting general interest in a greatly neglected topic of civilization. Very soon after this well-considered and ex- haustive oration had been published the attention of one of our prominent citizens (John Jay Smith) was called to the subject by the loss of a favorite young daughter. Little other preparation
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Annals of Philadelphia.
had been made for the dead than that around churches, and this was rapidly becoming insufficient for the increasing population of Philadelphia, then little more than two hundred thousand. Seeing his child interred in the "Friends' Ground " on Cherry street-which, like the rest of the city soil, was of clay, retaining water as does a cup-the moment was used to declare that Phila- delphia should have a rural cemetery in dry ground, where feel- ings should not be harrowed by viewing the bodies of beloved relatives plunged into mud and water. The problem was to find a situation sufficiently near to the population, and yet of a cha- racter so beautiful in contrast with the usual sites devoted to the dead. For nearly a year no such place was found, when Laurel Hill-its original name-long the country-seat of the great mer- chant Joseph Sims, was offered for sale. It had been chartered and used as a boarding-school, the principal of which was a Catholic priest ; but not succeeding in his project, the place was sold for fifteen thousand dollars, and an attempt to form a union of citizens for the general good was urged with great energy, without results. Three other gentlemen, however (Nathan Dunn, Benjamin W. Richards, and Frederick Brown), finally agreed to see the enterprise through ; but as much money would be requi- site and the returns uncertain, the four formed a company, obtained a charter from the State, and began the attempt to make a rural cemetery, without much knowledge of the wants of such an institution.
The place was purchased in February, 1836, and the first inter- ment was made in October; it was enclosed, but little public sympathy was visible ; and after an expenditure of more than one hundred thousand dollars the panic of 1837 came, and the pro- jectors were greatly discouraged. The clergy, as a rule, were unfavorable to the project, believing the time for attendance was too long to suit their other duties.
The panic subsiding, the best members of the most extensive churches, seeing no provision made by their pastors and the officers, as by common consent came to be, of necessity as well as choice, willing patrons. In ten years all the expenses incurred had been paid, and a small profit ensued. This, the public saw, and willingly paid, was due to the repayment of the risks in- curred, and success was no longer doubtful. Two church gov- ernments purchased large plots and removed their dead. All opposition was thoroughly conquered ; the public gave credit to the original party and his friends; the clergy themselves sought admission, and were encouraged to inter there either by gifts of lots or ultimately by reducing current prices ; it is said there are more than a hundred interred of this respected class. It was a great conquest over weak opinion-one to be recorded.
Successive purchases on the north and south were soon made, and even then the nearly one hundred acres in thirty or forty
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Cemeteries.
years were found insufficient, and another plot of forty acres on the south and nearer the city was bought and under improve- ment, when the city authorities, under their charter, with the right of "eminent domain," declared this ground necessary to the completion of the Park, and by law took it.
The entrance is imposing, two hundred and sixteen feet in length, of brown sandstone, with Doric columns. Inside this entrance is a fine piece of sculpture, by Thom of Edinburgh, of Scott's figure and Old Mortality and his pony, from Scott's novel.
A long list of notables lie here, and there are monuments to others, including General Mercer, Charles Thomson, Commodore Hull, Godfrey, Justice Mckean, Rush, Drayton, Commodore Murray, Commodore Lavallette, Joseph C. Neal, Graff, Kane, Ridgway, and many others of distinguished reputations.
There was no future provision made for respectable and orna- mental burial-places for the wealthy citizens, and Mr. Smith, the first projector of the original cemetery, with an eye to the city's prosperity and great needs, succeeded again in purchasing the more beautiful ground now called "West Laurel Hill Cemetery," at Pen- coyd Station; by the time-table of the Reading Railroad only four minutes from Laurel Hill, but in the adjoining county, near the city line, of Montgomery. It lies higher than any other ground in the vicinity of the city, is admirably adapted in every respect to the needs of cemetery purposes, and promises to be the pride of the city. Situated between two deep ravines, there is no pos- sibility of invasion by streets ; a little below Manayunk and on the west side of the river, its views are unsurpassed, no site in the Park being entitled to rival it in scenery.
The experience derived from a long connection with Laurel Hill has enabled the president (Mr. Smith) to give new and valu- able features to the newer enterprise, and it is in the most promis- ing condition of popular appreciation. It has one hundred and ten acres, and was established in 1869 as a chartered company.
Monument Cemetery was established in 1836-7, and has a fine monument to La Fayette.
There are many others, of which the most beautiful and most noted for its antecedents is Woodlands, eighty acres on the Schuyl- kill, near Gray's Ferry, in which stands the original mansion of William Hamilton. Among the notables who lie here and have fine monuments are Lieutenant Greble, Admiral Stewart, Com- modore Porter, Drexel, Greble, Birney, Saunders, Moore, Jayne, and others.
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