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 51
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Pierce on the Weather says that the medium temperature of
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Annals of Philadelphia.
December, 1840, was thirty degrees, or two degrees below the freezing-point. There was a violent snow-storm lasting from December 4th to December 6th. Fifteen inches of snow fell in Philadelphia. After that the mercury was for some days, on an average, eighteen degrees. The Delaware closed from Kensing- ton to Trenton on the 19th of December. In January, 1841, the medium of the thermometer was thirty-three degrees, and seven inches and three-quarters of rain fell during the month. The river was closed five days. In February, the medium temper- ature was twenty-nine degrees. From the 3d to the 17th the thermometer ranged from three to thirteen degrees above zero.
One of the greatest snow-storms occurred on the 17th of March, 1843; the streets were impassable, and the old company of Hibernia Greens paraded on that day under the command of Captain Joseph Diamond. They passed down Chestnut street, looking more like the witches in Macbeth than like soldiers. A warm thaw and rain set in, and the snow soon disappeared. Since that time the weather in March has not been so violent.
We should say that the winters lately have not been as severe as they were thirty years ago in regard to continued cold. We have " cold snaps" that last three or four days, but nothing like the constant cold weather which many of the present generation can remember as a usual accompaniment of winter weather. Philosophers attribute the change to the destruction of the for- ests, which opens great spaces of the country to the heat of the sun and favors the evaporation of moisture from the surface of the earth.
Two extraordinary hail-storms, remarkable for their severity and the destruction which they caused, have happened in Phila- delphia within the last twelve years. One occurred on the 25th of September, 1867, the other on the 8th of May, 1870. The storm of 1870, according to our memory, did the most damage.
On the 8th of January, 1866, the mercury registered nine and a half degrees below zero; and that was the coldest day from 1857 to 1877. Mercury freezes at thirty-nine degrees below zero. It is impossible to say at what temperature a man laboring out of doors should knock off work, further than that he should cease when he cannot stand the cold. This must depend on per- sonal strength, health, and whether the person is accustomed to the cold. We know of a gentleman who lived in Minnesota who. says that he has worked out of doors at twenty-four degrees below zero, and was not fatigued; but he was accustomed to the climate. Explorers in the Arctic regions are out of doors and engaged in their duties when the weather is much colder than that.
It would be curious to ascertain when the mode of designating the months by numerals was first adopted. It was in use among the Puritans of New England long before the rise of Quakerism.
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The Post. 475
Did this custom of numbering the months in New England orig- inate there? It would be likely that the Puritans would adopt the style of enumerating the months instead of calling them by names derived principally from those of heathen gods and god- desses, which must have been offensive to their prejudices.
1746, p. 371 .- From the spring to the autumn of 1746 an epidemic disease, the angina maligna or putrid sore-throat, pre- vailed in the Province, as well as in New England and elsewhere. It was very fatal in its effects, particularly on children and those living in low places. Great changes in the temperature increased the number of victims, particularly a time of great heat after cold, wet, disagreeable weather. The old practice of bleeding was fatal in the majority of cases
THE POST.
P. 393 .- The first list of letters advertised appeared in the Pennsylvania Gazette of March 21, 1738. It contained about 150 names, or all the letters collected and uncalled for in the previous six months, mostly for non-residents. Among the for- gotten places advertised were "Piscataway near Philadelphia," " Shiptown," "Wapping," etc. In 1742 James Reed, printer, printed " next door to the post-office in Market street."
In July, 1762, the following advertisement appeared in Brad- ford's Journal: "The lad who was lately employed at the Post- office as penny-post having ran away, the gentlemen who expect letters are requested to call for them until a suitable person can be procured to carry them. WILLIAM DUNLAP."
In 1756 the first stage between New York and Philadelphia took three days.
The old post-office, since then the Congress Hall Hotel, has been pulled down. It was kept by Robert Patton, postmaster from 1791 to 1814. A four-story granite front was erected on its ruins. It was on Third street, the third house below Elbow lane. The hotel had also an outlet on Chestnut street below Third.
The post-office was afterward kept at the corner of Chestnut and Franklin place, in the house in which Arthur Howell, the Quaker preacher and currier, lived and died. Richard Bache was postmaster, and Thomas Sergeant succeeded him, being brothers-in-law, the former having left for malfeasance in office.
POSTMASTERS OF PHILADELPHIA.
1776. The Pennsylvania Gazette of November 27th says . "Peter Baynton is appointed postmaster of Philadelphia."
1785. White's Directory gives James Bryson as the name of the postmaster at that time.
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1791. Clement Biddle's Directory gives Robert Patton as the name of the postmaster then.
Whether there was any other than James Bryson between the close of Peter Baynton's term and the commencement of Robert Patton's I have not been able to ascertain, nor can I find any- where the dates of the appointment of James Bryson and Robert Patton.
February, 1814. Michael Leib was appointed in place of Col. Robert Patton, deceased.
January, 1815. Richard Bache appointed in place of Michael Lieb, removed.
April, 1828. Thomas Sergeant appointed.
May 1, 1833. James Page succeeded Thomas Sergeant.
April, 1841. John C. Montgomery appointed.
1844. James Hoy, Jr., appointed.
1845. Dr. George F. Lehman appointed.
1849. W. J. P. White appointed.
1853. John Miller appointed.
1857. Gideon G. Westcott appointed.
1859. Nathaniel B. Browne
1861. Cornelius A. Walborn
1866. Charles M. Hall
1867. H. H. Bingham 66
1872. George W. Fairman
1876. A. Loudon Snowden
1879. John F. Hartranft
LOCALITIES OF THE PHILADELPHIA POST-OFFICE.
1782. An advertisement in the Pennsylvania Gazette of Jan- uary 28th says : "The post-office is removed to Widow Budden's, in Front street, a few doors south of the Coffee-House." This was on the west side of Front street, a few doors below Market.
1785. White's Directory says the post-office was "in Front street near Chestnut street."
1791. Clement Biddle's Directory says No. 36 South Front street. This was about the fifth house north of Chestnut street, the same afterward occupied by Holmes & Rainey.
1795. It was removed to No. 34, being the house afterward occupied by Oliver & Smith.
1801. Colonel Patton purchased the house No. 27 South Third street (built by Lauman & West), third house below Elbow lane, long known since as Congress Hall, and there he located the post- office. Colonel Patton died in 1814.
1814. Dr. Leib rented for the post-office the rooms in rear of John Fries's house, south-west corner of Market and Third streets, the same afterward occupied by Alexander Benson and ( thers.
1815. Richard Bache kept the post-office at Widow Patton's, No. 27 South Third street, but not for a long time.
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1817. The post-office was located by Richard Bache at No. 116 Chestnut street, south-east corner of Carpenters' court. This was the former residence of Edward Tilghman, Esq. It was after- ward, for years, the office of Adams' Express.
1828. The post-office removed to No. 107 Chestnut street, Ar- thur Howell's property. About this time Franklin place was opened to Chestnut street, and then the post-office became the north-east corner. The Franklin House, opened by J. M. San- derson & Son in 1842, was on the site; David S. Winebrenner owned it, and bought adjoining properties and enlarged it in 1847-48. It was not very successful, and was torn down, and the present First National Bank stands upon the site.
1834. The new Exchange on Dock street was finished, and the post-office was removed to rooms on the north side.
1855. The post-office located in the lower rooms of Jayne's granite building, north side of Dock street. From here it re- moved to Chestnut street between Fourth and Fifth, south side, next to the Custom-House.
In September, 1789, the General Post-Office was in Chestnut street, south side, about six or seven doors above Front street, opposite the Washington's Head and office of the Federal Gazette and Philadelphia Evening Post, Andrew Brown publisher ; Ebe- nezer Hazard, Postmaster-General.
In 1791 the General Post-Office was at No. 9 South Water street ; Postmaster-General, Samuel Osgood, New York; Assistant Postmaster-General, Jonathan Burrell, 9 South Water street; clerk, Charles Burrell.
Timothy Pickening, appointed Postmaster-General in 1791, succeeded Osgood, and had his office at the north-east corner of Fifth and Chestnut streets.
" Blood's Dispatch," for letter delivery, was originally started as " Halsey's Dispatch." After a short time the interest was bought out by D. Otis Blood, who was chief clerk and cashier of the Public Ledger. This was in 1845. It was conducted as " Blood's Dispatch " by D. O. Blood & Co., and afterward by Charles Kochersperger & Co. as "Blood's Penny Post." The offices were at No. 48 South Third street ; in the Arcade building ; in the Shakespeare building, Sixth street above Chestnut; and in Fifth street near Chestnut. An act of Congress, aimed at all the city-dispatch posts, which was passed in 1861, broke up the establishment, and the Kocherspergers went into the business of manufacturing extracts.
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OF QUACKS.
P. 388 .- In 1742 one John Hanson advertised as bleeder and tooth-drawer and veterinary surgeon, " for these twenty years ex- perienced in curing all or most all distempers in cows, oxen, and calves." Another, Anthony Noel, "can bleed, draw teeth, and cure all sorts of wounds incomparably well."
In 1732 a colored " doctor " had a great run from every class of citizens to have the toothache cured by extracting a worm from the tooth! "The beau, the belle, the physician, the patient, the wit, the fool, the man of sense, the coxcomb, the married, the single, the old, the young-and, in short, all sorts and sexes of whatever denomination, that ever suffered or expected to suffer an aching tooth-have run unanimously to the wormer. It was certainly truly laughable to see a dirty Ethiop fumbling in the mouth of a fair belle-to observe the black undertaker communi- cating by his more than Faustian piece of stick the drivel from his own to the fauces of a dainty beau."
On September 6, 1739, the Mercury printed a recipe for cur- ing the stone, for which the British Parliament had paid five thousand pounds to Joanna Stevens, and the efficacy of which was certified to by archbishops, chancellors, dukes, lords, bishops, and doctors. It was this: A powder of egg-shells and garden- snails calcined ; a decoction of Alicant soap ; swine's cresses burnt to blackness with green chamomile, sweet fennel, parsley and bur- dock-leaves ; pills composed of calcined snails, burdock-seeds, "alysenkeys," and other articles burnt to a blackness and com- bined with soap and honey.
In 1749 one Patrick Wilson, a Scotchman, at the Horse Saw- mill, near the New Market, made a snuff "after the same man- ner as in Scotland, with an addition more suited for health and purgation of the head and stomach ; for having, by long study and experience, found out the chief disorders of the body may be allayed by means of air or breath, and seeing most of these dis- orders does proceed from cold, moist airs, which stagnates the wheels, as also corrupts the pores of the body, and seeing the greatest part of mankind makes use of snuff, it being an excellent mean against damp or sulforus airs, but especially those which I have made and considered, and now sell as common to all. Also to be sold, the sternutatory or sneezing powder, at one shilling per ounce."
In 1751, Daniel Goodman, a seventh son, a baker living in Second street between Market and Chestnut, advertised he would cure the king's evil, and, to prove his name, for nothing ; but for his "infallible cure for the bite of a mad dog, which had been in use in Old England for fifty years, and never missed curing where the skill of the ablest physician had failed," he would charge " five
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The First Daily Newspaper.
shillings for a man or woman ; for a beast, two shilling and six- pence."
THE FIRST DAILY NEWSPAPER.
Mr. Watson (on p. 397 of Vol. II.) says that the Pennsylvania Packet, or the General Advertiser, which was afterward merged into the North American, was " the first daily newspaper in all the United States." It was changed to a daily September 21, 1784.
Mr. J. Morton, in the Public Ledger of December 16, 1876, says : "I have an original copy of a daily newspaper, The Morn- ing Post and Daily Advertiser, dated August 24th, 1789, num- bered 1600, printed and published by my grandfather, William Morton, at No. 231 Queen street, New York City, which he pub- lished from about the 1st of July, 1784, daily. In the year 1783, Morton & Hornor published a paper on Tuesdays and Fridays at No. 7 Water street, called the New York Morning Post; and in 1782, Messrs. Lewis, Morton & Hornor published the paper ; all of which Thomas, in his History of Printing, omitted to mention."
Referring to the above statement of Mr. Morton, it will be seen by the number 1600 on the 24th of August, 1789, that it must have been published five years and fifty days ; allowing three hundred and ten days to the year for a daily paper, this would make the first publication of it about the 1st of July, 1784, which would be nearly three months earlier than the Pennsylvania Packet, which was commenced as a daily on September 21st, 1784. It is very curious that the titles of the two papers should be so similar ; the New York one was entitled The Morning Post and Daily Advertiser, and the Philadelphia paper, The Pennsyl- vania Packet, or the General Advertiser, and afterward The Ameri- can Daily Advertiser.
In January, 1832, a paragraph had been copied into one, or perhaps more, of our city papers, in reference to the withdrawal of the venerable John Lang, one of the partners of the New York Gazette, in which the statement is made that the Gazette alluded to is the oldest daily paper in the United States, and that he was the first person who had issued a daily newspaper. To this statement Mr. Zachariah Poulson, then the editor of the Daily Advertiser, answered as follows: " The Pennsylvania Packet, or the General Ad- vertiser, was established in November, 1771, by the late Mr. John Dunlap. He published it once a week in Philadelphia from that time until September, 1777, when the British army took posses- sion of the city, from whence he moved the establishment to Lan- caster, in which place he published the paper till July, 1778. On his return to Philadelphia, Mr. Dunlap published it twice a week for several years, and then formed a copartnership with Mr. David
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C. Claypoole ; they issued their paper thrice a week until the 21st of September, 1784, on which day they converted it into a daily paper ; and it was, undoubtedly, the first daily paper printed on the American continent, north or south. The present editor re- members the occurrence perfectly : it was noticed at the time in almost all the papers published in America as a most enterprising and hazardous undertaking. The title of the paper was soon after altered by Messrs. Dunlap & Claypoole to its present designation -The American Daily Advertiser."
R. Aitkin's Small Bible, p. 400 .- Mr. Aitkin was very well known to my grandfather, who with a number of gentlemen aided him with the means to print this edition of the Bible. Mr. Aitkin presented him with the first copy of the first edition of the Scriptures ever printed in the English language in America, and wrote on the fly-leaf a certificate to that effect in his own handwriting. Thomas, in his History of Printing, denies the fact that it was the first edition, and refers to some other.
Water Street, p. 401 .- Stephen Girard lived and died (on Dec. 30, 1831) on Water street, between Market and Arch streets. The row of city stores is built upon his property. (See Reg. Penna .. viii. 431.)
P. 401 .- Alexander Wilcocks, then Recorder of the city, after- ward lived and died in Arch street, in the second house above the Second Presbyterian Church, formerly at the corner of Third street. This house stood as late as 1856, as also did the old house next above it in which Dr. Dunlap lived, a celebrated ac- coucheur. Matthew Clarkson, one of the city mayors, also lived next door or next but one, and next to him Captain Heysham. Next was Kearsley's Episcopal Hospital for Old Women, after- ward removed to the rear of the lot, on Cherry street. Then came Mr. Sergeant's house, opposite whose door stood a very large buttonwood tree, and under it a celebrated pump. Next was a red frame shop of David Evans, a coffin- and blind-maker -a funny, eccentric fat man-at the east corner of Loxley's court, Loxley himself living at the west corner of it.
Statistic Facts, p. 403 .- When William Penn settled Pennsyl- vania he laid out the county of Philadelphia, and in a portion of it, running from the Delaware to the Schuylkill, between what was afterward Vine and South streets, he established the city of Philadelphia. There were, therefore, two jurisdictions-a city jurisdiction and a county jurisdiction. In time, portions of the county adjoining the city were erected into what were called dis- tricts, with municipal governments on the same general plan as the city. This became inconvenient in time, in consequence of every district having its own laws and government, the interest of the localities becoming entirely different from one another, when they might have been the same. Therefore there arose a demand that the conflicting governments should be united. This
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was done in 1854 by the act of Consolidation, by which the boundaries of the old city of Philadelphia were extended so as to include the whole county, wiping out the district governments. For territorial purposes the city of Philadelphia has taken up the entire county. The territory has been divided into wards in the built-up parts, as well as in the rural sections. There is, there- fore, no county of Philadelphia composed of landed territory. But under the constitution of the State and old laws counties were instituted, and for some purposes have to be kept up in name. While actually there is no county of Philadelphia, ideally it may be said that for the purpose of maintaining legal forms there is a county of Philadelphia. Applying the condition of affairs to human physiology, it may be said that the city of Phil- adelphia is the body and the county is the soul.
That portion of the city west of the river Schuylkill was divided from the earliest times into the townships of Blockley and King- sessing. After the commencement of the present century Hamil- ton of the Woodlands laid out a village south of Market street called Hamilton Village. Mr. Britton laid out Mantua Village. The village known by the name of Hestonville was commenced by the erection of buildings near a famous old tavern there. Mon- roe Village and Haddington are the names of small settlements. West Philadelphia was incorporated as a borough February 17th, 1844, and its title was changed to "the District of West Phil- adelphia," April 3d, 1851. The name "West Philadelphia " was popularly given to that part of the city west of the river long before those dates.
P. 405 .- Our people increased faster, because of the sturdy character of the emigration yearly added to our population, as it is a well-known fact the real American population is decreasing in its growth, while the foreign population is increasing. For instance, in 1831 there arrived at this port one vessel, bringing 26 German or Swiss families, consisting of the parents and 103 children, of whom 28, or 14 pairs, are twins, and of these twins 6 pairs are the production of 3 families. The ages were from one to four years, except one pair, which was ten years of age. Of the 14 pairs, 5 pairs were all male, 5 were female, and 4 pairs were male and female. Three other vessels at about the same time, and from the same place, had each two pairs, and one other vessel four pairs on board.
Nicholson, p. 416 .- The State having been paid, he retrans- ferred his lands to the heirs, who sold their claims to Mr. Heil- man of Williamsport.
Penn's Mile-stones, p. 420 .- One of these is in the Pennsylvania Historical Society's collection. The allusion by Watson to these mile-stones (see pp. 420 and 484), as having three balls, is in- correct. Dr. Smith, author of the History of Delaware County, said he had " heard that these balls were supposed to represent
VOL. III .- 2 F
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the arms of Admiral Penn, being three cannon-balls," instead of three plates on the fess, as is said in Westcott's History of Phila- delphia. The heraldic bearings of the Penns are found in Ed- mundson's Heraldry and in Burke's Landed Gentry, where both descriptions are similar. The error in relation to the " plates," which construed them to be " balls," is excusable, in consequence of the old mile-stones which bore the Penn arms having the " plates" raised above the fess, and cut so as to present the ap- pearance of balls in bas-relief.
A mile-stone marked "1 M. to P." as late as two years ago stood at the northern corner of Keen & Coates's tannery, No. 943 North Front street. It is a dressed stone, with a circular top, about one foot and a half in height, ten inches wide, and six inches thick. This indicated, as all the old mile-stones did, the distance from the old court-house at Second and Market streets. While the old stone has been performing its silent duties what a change has been going on around it! Miles of houses have been built beyond it, while the edifice to which it directed the traveller has disappeared from the face of the earth, and will soon be re- membered but by few.
PAPER MONEY.
P. 440 .- Paper money was also issued at times by individuals. In May, 1746, Joseph Gray gave notice that Franklin had print- ed for him £27,100 in notes of hand of 2d., 3d., and 6d., “ out of sheer necessity for want of pence for running change. Who- ever takes them shall have them exchanged on demand with the best money I have."
In 1749 the scarcity of small change was so great that the in- habitants petitioned for relief, and a committee of the Assembly was appointed to bring in a bill for the issue of £20,000, mostly in small bills.
In December, 1766, there was formed an association for issuing paper money to relieve the pressure for change. Eight reputable merchants issued £5 notes to the amount of £20,000, payable at nine months with five per cent. interest. It was soon evident that any one might do the same thing, and the community be flooded with a valueless currency. It at the same time was a new way of borrowing capital. A petition signed by 200 trades- men was presented to the Assembly, which forbade it.
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Lotteries and Steamboats.
LOTTERIES.
Steeple to the new Presbyterian church, p. 444 .- This steeple, of which the upper part was of wood, having become dangerous by decay, was taken down, and on enlarging the church the space occupied by the base of the steeple was taken into the church, and finally the whole church was sold and pulled down in 1836, and the new one in Seventh street below Arch erected. The former site was sold to Mr. Woodward, a tobacconist, who erected a fine row of stores upon it.
The elders and good people of that day had no religious scru- ples about lotteries, as they have now in this age of reform. They were acknowledged by law, and the most respectable and best men then thought it no sin to be managers, and nothing like cheating was dreamed of. The drawing then required several days, all the numbers being placed in one wheel and all the blanks and prizes in another. Since the introduction of the Italian mode of drawing only a few numbers, by which the scheme is regulated, and which occupies only a few hours, there is believed to be much cheating and many people are ruined.
By an act of the Legislature lotteries were entirely prohibited in this State. Still, tickets for lotteries in other States are clan- destinely sold, and they are only still maintained by churches and religious associations! In December, 1877, a fair was held in this city by which $20,000 was raised by lottery for building- lots, jewelry, railroad-tickets, horses and carriages.
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