USA > Pennsylvania > Armstrong County > Armstrong County, Pennsylvania her people past and present, embracing a history of the county and a genealogical and biographical record of representative families, Volume I > Part 59
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Mr. Copley's success as publisher of the Gasette from the beginning sealed his am- bition to find his life work in literary labor. Much of his best work was of a religious order, for he always directed his studies and thoughts in such channels, but his work along secular lines was equally in demand, and he gained particular prominence in his connec- tion with the Pittsburgh Gasette. He was connected with the Gazette at three different periods as co-editor, this association begin- ning in 1838, when he gave up his work on the Kittanning Gasette and removed to Pitts- burgh. He worked with the late Robert M. Riddle, father-in-law of Col. Thomas A. Scott, president of the Pennsylvania Railroad Com- pany. But his health failing two years later he removed to Appleby Manor in Armstrong county, near Kittanning, and hoping to bene- fit by a change in occupation undertook the management of a farm. He also owned a brick manufacturing plant, and began the manufacture of firebrick in 1846, continuing it for about twelve years, until 1858, after which until the Civil war it was carried on by his sons. It was then taken over by his brother, William Copley, who conducted the business until his death, after which it went to his son, William S. Copley. The plant was located at Manorville, on land belonging to Miss Eliza Sibbet between the railroad and the hill, on the south side of the street, extend- ing past the railroad station to Water street. Fifteen hands were employed at first, less help being required after the introduction of mod- ern machinery. though the capacity, three thousand bricks a day, was not reduced.
While conducting his place at Appleby Manor Mr. Copley acquired a scientific as well as practical acquaintance with horticul-" ture and agriculture. He was particularly interested in fine fruits, apples, peaches, pears and cherries, etc., raising the best in his im- mediate vicinity, and became well informed on the various processes of budding, grafting, hybridizing and soil improvement. He set out his fine orchard soon after moving there, bringing his stock from Philadelphia by canal and stage in 1840, and his example set the
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pace for his neighbors, many of whom were encouraged to make similar ventures and profited by his experience and advice. He is still quoted in the neighborhood. He gave away a great deal of budded stock to neigh- bors, and was on the friendliest terms with all the residents of the locality.
In this period, however, Mr. Copley did not give up his chosen work, by any means, and during the twenty years of his residence there wrote for various newspapers and issued a number of pamphlets, some of a political nature and some dealing with the advance- ment of civilization and progress generally. It was during this time that he published his first collection of religious articles in book form, under the title "Thoughts of Favored Hours," his choice of a motto for that book being characteristic-"While I was musing the fire burned." In 1850 he again became a member of the editorial staff of the Pitts- burgh Gasette, being associated as such with D. N. White until 1852, when ill health again made it necessary for him to retire.
The first Republican convention held in Armstrong county (held at the courthouse in Kittanning Sept. 30, 1855, to form the party) was organized by electing Dr. David Alter, of Freeport, president ; John Craig, of Frank- lin township, and Alexander Henry, of Kit- tanning, vice presidents ; and Dr. S. A. Mar- shall, secretary, and by appointing Josiah Copley, Rev. William Galbraith, Rev. Wil- liam Smith, Hugh Reed and John Burford a committee to prepare business and report resolutions. They reported the following :
WHEREAS, A crisis has arrived in the history of the country which has made the question of slav- ery paramount to all other issues in politics, a crisis forced upon us in the first place by the abrogation of the Missouri compromise, followed, as it has been, by a series of outrages upon the people of Kansas territory, unparalleled in our history,
Resolved, 1. That the people of the Free States owe it to their brethren in Kansas to stand by them and aid them by every means in their power, against the border ruffians Achison and String- fellow, organized for the avowed purpose of forc- ing slavery upon them against their will.
2. That if the people of the Free States expect to do anything effective, they must stick together. The people of the South do so in favor of slav- ery; we must do so in opposition to it.
3. That to this end we give the right hand of fellowship to every man, of whatever party, who affiliates with us in this great struggle.
4. That we cordially adopt the platform of the late Republican convention, at Pittsburgh, as our declaration of sentiments.
5. That we deem it inexpedient at present to put in nomination candidates for the Legislature and for the several county offices to be chosen at
the ensuing election, because it is the opinion of many friends of liberty that the gentlemen put in nomination by the American party agree with us in sentiment on the great question of slavery, but in order that there may be no doubt on that ques- tion,
6. That a committee of three be appointed to correspond with such of them, and draw from them a full and explicit declaration of their sen- timents, and that such correspondence be pub- lished.
7. That in taking this course we do not wish to be understood as approving of the organization or of the peculiar principles of the American or Know-Nothing party.
All these resolutions were received and adopted. The following minority report of the committee was read, and, after some spirited discussion, was rejected.
Resolved, That this meeting proceed to nom- inate a Republican ticket for this county, inde- pendent of the Democratic and American parties, and that they approve of the nomination made by the state convention for canal commissioner.
The president of the convention appointed Dr. S. A. Marshall, James E. Brown and Jo- siah Copley a committee to correspond with the candidates of the American party. That committee presented each of these candidates with a copy of the foregoing fifth and sixth resolutions, with pointed questions as to whether they were hostile to the further en- croachment of slavery, in favor of the repeal of the fugitive slave law and the restoration of the Missouri compromise, to which the committee received satisfactory answers from various nominees. Thus all the antislavery elements became consolidated in the Repub- lican party.
In 1860 Mr. Copley moved with his family to Pittsburgh and renewed his connection with the Gasctte.
With a clear brain and a strong mind, Mr. Copley united remarkable facility of expres- sion in his writings, though he was rather slow of speech. He had a wonderful command of language and composed pure English, rarely if ever correcting a sentence-an acquirement of the trained newspaper man which has in- estimable value to the busy writer.
Before the war Mr. Copley was a conser- vative abolitionist and during its progress he supported the Union cause by pen and action. He was ever afterward a Republican. Four of his sons were in the army, two falling on the battlefield. So his sympathies with the families of soldiers were close, and he mani- fested them in practical ways whenever pos- sible, being active in organizing societies and raising aid for the widows and orphans of
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still at the front.
soldiers, as well as for the families of those his fellow creatures in the round of their regular duties in life. Though he wrote on a wide range of subjects his speculations were mostly of a religious nature, and he found his deepest inspiration in the Scriptures, of which
A comment made by one who knew him well, in a character sketch which appeared in the Presbyterian Banner shortly after his death, said: "While far removed from the he continued to be a profound student to the position of a radical, yet he could not be end of his days. The revised version of the Bible enlisted his eager interest, and indeed the idea had been with him for some time, as his article on "Scriptural Revision," which appears in the volume "Gathered Sheaves," clearly sets forth. This was written before the revised version appeared, and gives a his- tory of the English Bible and of the work of translation under different hands. termed a conservative. New ideas and new theories had a charm for him." In this he showed one of the most practical features of his character. Though gifted with fore- sight and capable of planning for the future, he did not plan so far ahead of the present needs and aims of his fellow creatures that he could be considered an impractical dreamer. Hle kept abreast of the foremost thought of the day, and his readers could always feel that they were carried with him.
As he had been a hearty advocate of the Union cause during the Civil war period, so he had been of every movement for the gen- eral good before, and continued to take a lively interest in everything that affected the well-being of his home locality, county and
State. Religious works and movements al- his first school year, 1810, and carry the reader
ways received his first consideration, and it was as a religious writer and worker that he attained widest reputation. He took pleas- ure in encouraging and aiding any affairs of importance to such of his fellows as were working toward the betterment of mankind, in any direction. He could estimate the prac- tical worth of most projects with the vision given to those whose ideas keep them ahead of their generation; and was quick to enter into the spirit of progressive activities. The temperance cause was one which always had his attention and support.
In religious connection he was a Presby- terian, uniting with the church in early life. He became very well known as a writer for various denominational publications, the Presbyterian Banner, United Presbyterian, and other periodicals, counting him among their most esteemed contributors. A number of the articles originally so issued were col- lected by him into the volume he published in 1877, "Gatherings in Beulah." The title of this book, and numerous references in all the products of his pen, would make it seem that after the Bible Bunyan's "Pilgrim's Progress" was the book he most loved and read. All the articles in this book except the last, "A Memoir of Early Life," are of a religious character, and show not only the deep study and serious thought of the philos- opher, teacher and adviser, but a forceful and analytical mind, alive to the daily needs of
"Gathered published by his daughter, Mrs. Thaw, in 1886, contains sixty- nine articles, with an introduction by Rev. Dr. S. H. Kellogg, and a biographical sketch writ- ten by Mrs. Thaw of her father. Most of these first appeared in the Presbyterian Ban- ner and other periodicals, and deal with relig- ious subjects, but among them appears his "Recollections of Boyhood," which begin with back to the days when "spare the rod and spoil the child" was the literally accepted maxim of the instructor, and a teacher's literary qualifications were no more important than his muscular acquirements. The impressions such events as the comet of 1811, the earth- quake which shook a large portion of the Mis- sissippi valley, the war of 1812-15 and con- temporaneous Napoleonic wars, particularly the burning of Moscow during its occupation by the French in the war of 1812, made upon his childish mind are set down graphically and with all the whimsical charm of which he showed himself so capable, and possess a last- ing value. Other articles in the book are somewhat singular for speculation and in- vestigation into primeval and ancient history. So late as Christmas, 1884, when in his eighty-second year, he published in the United Presbyterian a paper entitled "A Crippled Translation" (this is included in "Gathered Sheaves"), in which he expressed his belief that the 7Ist and 73d Psalms were revelations of both the resurrection of the body and the consciousness of the everlasting existence of the soul.
He was never bigoted, recognizing the sev- eral evangelical denominations as simply other divisions of one grand army. He pre- sented his views on the subjects he chose in such a way as to interest all of the reading community, and those competent to judge re- garded his style as distinctly classical. Among
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the many writers for the general press few the cholera epidemic in that city in 1824. She was the step-daughter of his uncle, John Sibbet, at whose home in Philadelphia Mr. Copley met her, while in that city to buy ma- terials for printing the Gasette, which he had just started. The marriage took place in Philadelphia, and the young people journeyed gained so high a reputation for dignified and conscientious work as Mr. Copley. The true nobility of his nature shone through every ex- pression of his views, but it was those most closely associated with him who could best appreciate his character at its real value. He held their respect, love and admiration to a thence in a private conveyance to Hunting- degree enjoyed by few, and ties formed in don, and from there by stage to Kittanning. The wedded life of Mr. and Mrs. Copley ex- tended over a period of almost . fifty-nine tions in upholding the right or standing up years, Mrs. Copley surviving her husband.
his early life endured through the years. Though he had the confidence of his convic- for a good cause, he was modest in his estimate
In the early days of Appleby Manor-a of his own worth, and generous in his praise beautiful region which was one of the reserva- and appreciation of others. Self-made in the tions made by the William Penn heirs-coun- most creditable sense of the word, he had ac- try churches were few and far between. It was due to the untiring efforts of Josiah Cop-
quired his high intellectual attainments by the most persistent and diligent study, and his ley and Hamlet Totten, of Rural Village, that material success was the reward of untiring industry and devotion.
Earlier, while at Kittanning, he was inter- ested in the extension of the Pennsylvania canal to Lake Erie by means of the Allegheny river and French creek instead of the Beaver and Shenango route afterward adopted, and at a meeting held Jan. 16, 1828, in Kittan- ning, to advocate that route, he was one of the committee of correspondents appointed, its other members being Samuel Houston, Thomas Hamilton, Frederick Rohrer and James E. Brown.
Mr. Copley's accounts of the commercial traffic between the upper country and Pitts- burgh, carried on chiefly by means of canoes and keelboats, are intensely interesting. Large numbers of rafts of sawed lumber were sent down the river in those days, and it was com- mon to see them occupied by emigrants bound westward, taking advantage of the opportu- nity to save themselves many miles of weari- some travel. All these incidents of the primi- Beautiful for situation, it stands on the original site, partly surrounded with its peaceful God's acre, as a memorial to those whose memories are still cherished by the tive days he has preserved in his inimitable way, and his vivid recollection of the striking features of those times, set down with the skill of description he knew how to employ, men and women of today who knew and hon- makes them delightful reading.
Appleby Manor was included in Manor township, a petition for the organization of which was presented to the proper court in June, 1849, and the first township election was held in March, 1850, when Josiah Copley was elected one of the overseers of the poor. At the same election his brother William was chosen justice of the peace.
In 1826 Mr. Copley married, his bride be- ing Mrs. Margaret Chadwick Haas, widow of a young physician of Philadelphia who sac- rificed his life in attendance on the victims of
a plain but commodious frame church build- ing was erected on land provided by John Christy, on a part of his own farm. Pre- viously they had maintained prayer meetings in the little log schoolhouse, later securing the services of Levi M. Graves, a graduate of the Western Theological Seminary. At that church Mary Sibbet Copley, who later be- came the wife of William Thaw, of Pitts- burgh, daughter of Josiah and Margaret Cop- ley, was baptized in 1843. In recognition of the enduring work of her parents Mrs. Thaw replaced this building in 1892 with a brick church, English architecture, as a memorial. When this new church, known as Appleby Manor Memorial Presbyterian Church, was destroyed by lightning in 1907, Mrs. Thaw rebuilt it, without cost to the congregation, and the sweet-toned bell, presented by her son, Henry Kendall Thaw, for the first Memorial building, broken at the time of the fire, was recast and replaced.
ored them before they left those parts at the beginning of the Civil war.
Mrs. Copley was, in every sense of the word, a help meet to her husband, and her cheerful disposition and courage, in the midst of trials incident to the care of a large family, and the great change from her life in Phila- delphia to that of the wife of a pioneer editor of a weekly newspaper in western Pennsyl- vania, was a very considerable factor in mak- ing a success of Josiah Copley's life of literary activity.
She became one of a group of interesting
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women, the names of whose husbands are in plies they could give no information concern- this history, and when later Mr. and Mrs. ing him after his capture, and he sleeps in an unknown grave. Copley moved with seven children to Appleby Manor, she was the adviser and comforter in the troubles and perplexities of many in that rural community. Mr. Copley writes soon after their golden wedding thus: "Together we have journeyed through much of sorrow and joy for over fifty years, and are together yet.'
During the dark days of the Civil war, when three sons were in different divisions of the army, one having enlisted from a school in Illinois, in Col. (afterward Gen.) Ulysses S. Grant's 21st Illinois Regiment, the brave spirit and religious faith of these two patriotic parents was tested to the utmost, but their faith in an overruling Providence never wavered. Mrs. Copley survived her husband two years, dying at the age of eighty-six, at the home of her son-in-law. William Thaw, re- taining her remarkable health and faculties to the. end, when, after three days' illness, she slept away so peacefully that the daughter, at her bedside, scarce knew when the gentle breathing ceased.
Nine children were born to this couple, six sons and three daughters, of whom six were living at the time of Mr. Copley's death. Four of the sons served in the Civil war, two giving up their lives in that struggle. John Sibbet Copley fell at the battle of South Mountain, Sept. 14, 1862, while serving as a member of Company A, 9th Regiment, Penn- sylvania Reserves. The next son, Albert Cop- ley, of the 78th Pennsylvania Volunteer In- fantry, was wounded by an exploded shell at the battle of Stone River, Tenn., and cap- tured. He and his fellow prisoners were put on board a train and carried southward nearly to the border of Florida. There they were turned back, to be taken to Richmond, be- cause some Union forces had in the mean- time come near to that part of the Gulf States.
Although Albert Copley was not mortally wounded, 1,200 miles of continuous traveling was more than he was able to bear. When the returning train got as far as Knoxville, Tenn., he was taken off and put into a hos- pital. There he wrote his father a short let- ter. giving the above facts, and spoke hope- fully of his recovery. But very soon after- ward came another letter, from some one else, informing his father of his death, but giving no particulars. The father wrote to his cap- tain and to General Negley, then in command of the division, but though both sent kind re-
A third son, Josiah Copley, Jr., was taken prisoner at Chickamauga in 1863 and held for seventeen months, suffering untold hardships at Libby prison, and Castle Thunder (Rich- mond), Danville and Andersonville. A fourth son, Henry Weldon Copley, although under age, enlisted in a Pennsylvania regiment so near the close of the war that it was not called into active service.
In this connection we quote at length from the article "Call Ye This Chance" ("Gathered Sheaves"). "During the Civil war, as many people will remember, a band of generous men and women maintained what was known as The Pittsburgh Subsistence Committee, for the purpose of giving a good meal to every soldier which passed through Pittsburgh, no matter what hour of the day or night. A few weeks after Albert's death, I learned that a regiment in transit from West to East would be at the City Hall about midnight. I lived in Alle- gheny City at the time, and had no active part in that good work ; still I felt that I must go over that night to see the boys.
"When I entered the hall I found them around the long tables to the number of ten or twelve hundred. all highly pleased, as if they enjoyed their bountiful warm supper. I stood near the entrance and looked on until they were through and had begun to gather into groups. Then I walked down among them, but spoke to no one until I noticed a good-looking young man standing alone. I went to him and entered into conversation. He told me that he was a member of an Ohio regiment, giving its number, and that he be- longed to what was known as the Army of the Cumberland. 'Did you ever meet any of the men of the 78th Pennsylvania?' I asked. 'Yes,' he replied ; 'we lay for some time along- side of that regiment, and I got acquainted with a good many of the boys.' 'Did you know a man named Albert Copley?' He started at the question, and exclaimed, 'Albert Cop- ley? Why, I was lying beside him in the hospital when he died.' He then told me that he was captured at the same time-that they traveled all that round in the same car- that he dressed Albert's wounds daily as well as he could-that before reaching Knoxville he himself took sick-that both were put into the same hospital, and occupied couches side by side. He said Albert was in a fair way of recovery until erysipelas set in, which soon terminated in death. He spoke of his resigna-
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tion, cheerfulness, and hopefulness, and of his had the courage backed by physical fitness, gratitude to his nurse, who had been very kind and the intellectual qualities supported by to him. I inquired of him if he knew any- moral stamina, necessary to success in the face of the obstacles with which the early founders thing of his grave; but he did not, for he was too sick to attend his funeral. He told me that of communities in western Pennsylvania had Albert gave that nurse what little he had in return for his unwearying kindness. . .
"Now what shall we say to all this? If you ask why I went over at all at that unseasonable hour, I can not tell you. And when I got there, was it chance that led me to the only man among ten or twelve hundred who was able to give me the information for which I so earnestly yearned? They who please may think so and say so; but I feel that it would be wicked in me to do either. Dear reader, you have my simple story-interpret it as may seem best to yourself."
Mr. Copley's nobility and high example were an inspiration to others, and his ready syn- pathy made him beloved as well as esteemed. Mr. H. H. Wray, now publisher of the Ad- vance of Leechburg, Armstrong county, at- tributes his first hopes of becoming a success- ful newspaper worker to the encouragement and aid he received from Mr. Copley, whose kindliness and interest were a great help in his early struggles. It was Mr. Copley who gave him his first quarter for some trifling service rendered, and he declares no amount that he has received since has ever impressed him as being so large. There are many other successful citizens here and elsewhere today who have reason to feel grateful to Mr. Cop- ley for words of cheer spoken at the right time, and material assistance where it was necessary.
Mr. Copley's busy life was extended over fourscore years. The end came March 4, 1885. He had been confined to the house since November, and never left the sick room after the 31st of December. But though he suffered in those last weeks, intensely at times, he never showed any weariness of spirit. His confi- dence and hope cheered all who visited him. The next world to him was as real as this, and his habitual contemplation on the life to come had so accustomed him to the idea that he regarded the change, to use his own words, simply as "going from one room to another." Peacefully he sank to rest in the evening of March 2, 1885. Like Enoch, he "walked with God, and he was not, for God took him."
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