History of Mercer County, Pennsylvania : its past and present, Part 38

Author:
Publication date: 1888
Publisher: Chicago, Ill. : Brown, Runk
Number of Pages: 1288

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Resolved, That the great object of civil government is to prevent and suppress, rather than sanction and encourage, crime and immorality; to protect the weak and defenseless, aud to promote the general welfare.

That the statement and admission of the foregoing proposition necessarily carries with it the conclusion that government is vested with the power to enact and enforce all laws necessary to accomplish the end proposed; and moreover, that it is under the highest obligation to exercise the power.

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That, as the traffic in intoxicating liquors is the grand promoter of vice, immorality and crime -- is destructive of the general welfare-and as the drunkard himself, his abused wife aud hungry and half-naked children need the strong arm of the law to protect them against the ravages of the rum-seller-therefore, it is the bouudeu duty of the law-mak- ing power to enact a law that will entirely prohibit the traffic.

That we hail with joy the rapid progress which the principles of prohibitory legisla- tion have made since the first enactment of the Maine law, it having found a place in the statute books of some ten States, within the short period of a few years; and that we con- template, with unmingled satisfaction, the condition of our country when every State Legislature shall prohibit the importation of intoxicating liquors.

That, as the triumph of this principle thus far has bceu seeured in the face of invet- erate opposition from those interested in the liquor traffic, so will be its future progress; and the friends of prohibitiou must not abate one jot or tittle of their labor until victory shall have crowned their efforts.

That, while we are thankful for the restrictive laws enacted by the last Legislature of this State, yet we believe that any legislation recognizing the legitimacy of this traffic is wrong, and that nothing but a prohibitory law will effect thoroughly the end proposed. Therefore, it is the duty of the friends of temperance to direct their energies to secure this result.

That to this end representatives must be chosen who are firm, unwavering advocates of such a law. None others can be trusted, and none others can or will receive the sup- port of the genuine friends of prohibition.

That, as the sense of this convention, we do not desirc to mingle this beneficent cause with the confliet of political parties, and will not, unless circumstances compel us to do so. We, therefore, decline designating any candidates for the Legislature, in the hope that the political parties will place good and true men before us; but should this hope be disappointed, we authorize the County Committee to call another convention, at a suitable time. to adopt such means as may be deemed necessary to sccure the consum- mation of the high and holy objects we have in view.

The prohibitory movement in Pennsylvania in 1854-55 became very popu- lar, and the amendment submitted for popular vote lacked only about 5,000 of being carried.

Several society movements were at work throughout the country, commenc- ing with the popular movement of Father Matthew, the great Irish Catholic temperance orator, the Sons of Temperance, the Sons of Malta, and the Good Templars. Each one did its part in arousing popular interest in the cause of temperance, and had numerous orders in all parts of the country.

In the spring of 1874 there originated in Hillsboro, Ohio, what was popu - larly called the Woman's Crusade. It organized praying bands of ladies, who made direct appeal to the saloon keeper to cease his nefarious business, and aimed to deter men from drinking. It spread extensively and rapidly through- out Ohio, and invaded the adjoining States, east, north and west. Quite an efficient organization was established at Sharon, and possibly at other points in the county. The crusade at Sharon was a vigorous one, and was instru- mental in enlisting in favor of temperance many prominent citizens who had previously occupied an attitude either of indifference or of absolute opposition. The crusade was but a tidal wave, temporary in its operations, but permanent in the results that followed the agitation which it developed.

The crusade movement culminated in a movement more philosophical in its methods and permanent in results-the Woman's Christian Temperance Union .* Its origin in Mercer County was as follows: In March, 1875, Mrs. M. Wolfkill and Mrs. A. P. Hamilton, from Sharon, attended a convention in Philadelphia for the purpose of organizing a State W. C. T. U. Mrs. Hamil- ton was appointed vice-president of the 26th Congressional District, comprising the counties of Mercer, Crawford and Butler. In June, of the same year, she called a convention at Mercer, which organized a county Union. Its history is thus stated by Miss M. Luella Crawford, of Sandy Lake, county superin-

*For the facts herein contained, the writer is indebted to Mrs. A. P. Hamilton, of Sharon, and Miss M. Luella Crawford, of Sandy Lake.

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tendent of the press department: "The Woman's Christian Temperance Union of Mercer County was formally organized in the court-house, Mercer, June 10, 1875. The meeting was called to order by Mrs. A. P. Hamilton, of Sharon. The temporary officers were: President, Mrs. Rev. B. M. Kerr; secretaries, Mrs. Rev. R. McWatty and Miss Sarah Pew. Ladies were present from Sharon, West Middlesex, Greenville, New Castle and Franklin. The follow- ing officers were elected for the year: President, Mrs. Rev. S. A. Bignell, of Greenville; vice-presidents, Mrs. Rev. B. M. Kerr, Mercer, Mrs. Rev. B. K. Ormond, Sharon, and Mrs. Emily Rayen, West Middlesex; recording secre- tary, Miss Sarah Pew, Mercer; corresponding secretary, Mrs. Jennie Martin, Greenville; treasurer, Mrs. Ward, Sharon.

The subsequent officers were as follows: Presidents, Mrs. B. M. Kerr, Mrs. M. Wolfkill, Mrs. A. J. Kerr, Miss Narcissa E. White, Mrs. E. C. Eckles, Miss Sarah Pew.

Recording secretaries, Miss Sarah Pew, Mrs. Knight, Mrs. Wolfkill, Mrs. C. Cunningham and Mrs. L. I. Crawford.

Corresponding secretaries, Mrs. Jennie Martin, of Greenville, Miss Sarah Pew, Mrs. Bennett, Mrs. Dr. Martin, of Grove City, Mrs. A. P. Hamil- ton, Mrs. J. W. Stevenson and Miss Sarah Pew.

Treasurers, Mrs. Ward, Mrs. A. P. Hamilton, Mrs. J. M. Wilson, Miss Sarah Pew, Mrs. M. Wolfkill and Mrs. A. P. Hamilton.

The full corps of officers for 1887-88 is as follows : President, Mrs. E. C. Eckels, Stoneboro ; vice-president, Mrs. Dr. Martin, Grove City ; correspond- ing secretary, Miss Sarah Pew, Mercer ; recording secretary, Mrs. L. I. Crawford, Sandy Lake ; treasurer, Mrs. A. P. Hamilton, Sharon.

Annual conventions have been held as follows: Greenville, 1875 and 1884; Mercer, 1876, 1877 and 1879 ; Sharon, 1878 ; Sharpsville, 1880 and 1887; N. Salem, 1881 ; Clarksville, 1882; Jackson Centre, 1883; Sheakleyville, 1885; Grove City, 1886, and Stoneboro, 1888.

The treasurer's books show the following receipts during the successive years: 1875, $48.50; 1881, $82.61; 1882, $108.88; 1883, $62.59; 1884, $115.84 ; 1885, $125 ; 1886, $234.16 ; 1887, $289.70.

The efficiency of this work in the county is seen in many directions, in the various departments into which it is organized. Its power is specifically felt at the season of renewing licenses in the various boroughs of the county. In addition to the regular Woman's Christian Temperance Union, there are an equal number of young women's christian temperance unions, whose mission is confined to the more youthful classes. The two organizations enroll over 1,500 members in the county.

Another temperance movement originated in 1876, and exerted a marked influence throughout the land. It was known as the "Murphy movement," in honor of its leading spirit, Francis Murphy, a reformed inebriate, who has done a great deal in the temperance cause.

Prohibition, quite a successful temperance movement, which purposes to correct the ills of humanity by prohibiting the manufacture, sale and con- sumption of intoxicating drinks, has acquired considerable strength. It relies largely upon the moral regeneration, assisted by acts of legislation, and has been organized into a political party. It is the second effort to solve the temperance problem by prohibitory legislation, the first having been made in 1854-55.

Anti-Slavery Agitation. - Mercer County was not agitated as much over the enormities of the African 'slave system in the South as other portions of the State lying contiguous to that region; and yet the abolition of the evil

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was advocated, not as a political but as a reform movement, early in its his- tory. A discourse having been delivered in the Presbyterian Church in Mer- cer, June 15, 1835, by the Rev. Nathaniel West, on the subject of slavery and measures for its extinction, a meeting was called on the dismissal of the assem- bly, and organized by calling John Young to the chair, and S. C. Tait, secre- tary. A free interchange of opinion was had as to the proper course to be pur- sued on this subject, when the following resolutions were unanimously adopted:

Resolved, That in the opinion of this meeting it is expedient to form an anti-slavery society in this county.

Resolved, That a committee, consisting of Gen. T. S. Cunningham, William F. Junkin, William McElhauey, William S. Rankin and S. C. Tait, be appointed to draft a constitu- tion for adoption by such a society.

At an adjourned meeting of the anti-slavery advocates, held at the court-house, in Mercer, Saturday, July 4, 1835, William Fruit was called to the chair, and John Keck appointed secretary. The committee appointed to draft a constitution reported oue with the following preamble, which was adopted by the society:

WHEREAS, We hold, with the venerable signers of the Declaration of Independence, these truths to be self-evident: That all men are created equal; that they are endowed by their Creator with certain inalienable rights; that among these are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. We believe that God hath made of one blood all the nations of men; that with Him there is no respect for persons; and that He requires of all that they should do unto others as they would others should do unto them; and that slavery in the United States deprives more thau two millions of our fellow men of their iualienable rights, and therefore is a gross violation of the fundamental principles of our government, and incompatible with the laws of God and the requirements of the Gospel, and in direct oppositiou to the healthful influences of all republican institutions-that it is a system of injustice and oppression calculated in its very nature to sow discord in our national councils, and to impoverish and enfeeble slave-holding States, to bring houest inquiry into contempt, and to make the poor an easy and continued prey to the lawless passions of the avaricious, the rapacious and licentious. That it begets and fosters an aristocratic spirit, befitting the pampered lordlings of despotism rather than American citizens. That wherever it prevails it breathes a moral and political pestilence, alike destructive to the endearments and purity of domestic and social life and to the privileges and princi- ples of republican freemen. That its continuance in this boasted land of liberty, in the view of all enlightened nations, pronounces our Declaration of Independence "the poetry of philanthrophy " rather than the dictates of common sense and common justice. Therefore, we hold that duty to God our Creator, and love to our fellowmen, as well as to redeem our nation from the charge of inconsistency and to stay the arm of the Almighty from executing deserved wrath for the awful guilt of its oppression, we are bound to re- pent instantly, to undo the heavy burdens, to break every yoke, and let the oppressed go free.

The purpose of the society, as enunciated in Articles 3 and 4 shall be to induce the eu- tire abolition of slavery in the United States, by collecting and diffusing information concerning its true character, by endeavoring to convince our countrymen, by arguments addressed to their understanding and consciences, that slave-holding is inconsistent with the religion of our Savior, and a heinous crime in the sight of God, derogatory to our national character, and that the duty, safety and interests of all concerned require its immediate abandonment.

This society shall aim to elevate the character and condition of the people of color, by encouraging their intellectual, moral and religious improvement, but never countenance the oppressed in vindicating their rights by resorting to physical force.

On motion it was Resolved, That the diffusion of anti-slavery sentiments through the Northern States is uot only necessary in order to convince our Southern brethren of the enormity of the traffic in human souls, but also that the whole moral energies of the nation be brought to bear on the monster, slavery, which sits like an incubus on our laud.

The first officers chosen by the society were: President, John Hoge; vice- presidents, William F. Junkin and William .McElhaney; recording secretary, John Keck, and corresponding secretary, Rev. A. W. Black.

The sentiment of abolition continued to grow. In 1843 we find the first traces of a political organization known as the "Liberty Party," whose object was the "deliverance of the North from the expense, disgrace and crime of slavery." The central committee of this party in the county consisted of

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Robert Stewart, William H. Scott, Robert Hanna, John Young, F. B. Hub- bard, Joseph McDonald, Joseph Sykes, Joseph L. McQuillan and James Kil- gore. The subsequent passage of the Fugitive Slave law and the Dred Scott decision were not calculated to allay this anti-slavery feeling. Men were found in various parts of the county who were efficient agents of the "Under- ground Railroad," whose stations were always open to the runaway negro. The agitation was kept up until the great Rebellion was precipitated, which extinguished the evil forever.

Assistance Rendered the Irish People .- One of the philanthropic appeals of the last half century which struck the American people feelingly was that in behalf of the famishing people of Ireland in 1847, brought to star- vation by English misrule and tyranny. Mercer County, like other portions of the country, was keenly alive to the distress caused by the severe famine in the Emerald Isle, and its citizens, largely of Irish descent, acted nobly in furnishing immediate and necessary relief. In pursuance of previous notice, a meeting was held at the court-house in Mercer on Friday, March 5, 1847, to act in the premises. Rev. J. T. Smith was chosen president, and Hugh Bingham, secretary. William F. Clark, by request, stated the object of the meeting, and offered a preamble and series of resolutions, which expressed the condition of things existing in Ireland and the neces- sity of taking steps for immediate relief. The resolutions suggested the appointment of a central committee, to address the people of the county and solicit liberal contributions for the end in view. The resolutions were unanimously adopted, and the following gentlemen appointed as the central committee of supervision: William F. Clark, chairman; L. Weaver, secre- tary; E. W. Carter, William McElhaney, John Bowman, J. P. Garrett, Thompson Graham, Jacob Zahniser, James Sheriff, R. L. Maxwell and J. R. Rogers. William F. Clark, James Sheriff and William McElhaney were appointed to prepare an address to the people of the county, urging a liberal and hearty response to the appeal of perishing humanity. Mercer, and the warehouse at Big Bend kept by Messrs. McFarland & King, were designated as points at which contributions would be received. We regret that we are unable to give the results of this movement specifically, but they were gen- erous and timely. The collections were shipped to the Ohio, and thence by boat to the destitute.

Desecration of the Lord's Day .- The observance of one day in seven as a day of rest and religious worship has met the approbation of the wisest and best statesmen and philosophers of the world. Its importance was also recognized by the early settlers of Mercer County. On the even- ing of March 26, 1846, the citizens of West Middlesex and vicinity met to express their denunciation of the profanation and desecration of the Lord's holy day. R. B. Young was chosen chairman, and Robert Craw- ford, secretary. Rev. A. C. Rockwell, J. D. Foreman and Thomas Sweezy were appointed a committee to express the sense of the meeting. They reported a preamble and resolutions, the former expressing the sanctity and divine appointment of the Lord's day, and calling attention to the laxity and, in some cases, the irreverence with which it is observed. In their resolution they said:

Resolved, by us, the citizens of West Middlesex and vicinity, that as public opinion is, under God, the prime source of security to our laws and morals, we solemnly declare and hereby publish to the world that we disapprove of, and wholly discountenance, such a disposition to desecrate God's sacred day, and in testimony of our determination to set our faces against this great, this growing, Heaven-daring evil, and unitedly, and by every

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proper means, to use our influence for its restraint and entire suppression, we set our names to this our resolution: Abram Robinson, Amos Smith, William Clingan, J. D. Foremen, N. H. Pritt, Charles Eaton, James Canon, John Lover, William Crossman, John McCall. William Steen, Thomas Miles, Jacob Brinker, James Bell, John Welch, John W. Edeburn, Jacob Davis, Henry Davitt, Joseph Edeburn, R. G. Garlick, Jackson Robinson, William Mathers, Isaac Pounds, James Satterfield, Erasmus Canon, William Mitcheltree, S. C. Sample, Thomas Miles, Jr., R. B. Young, Ross Robinson, Wesley Hoge, Thomas Sweezy, S. C. Johnson, Jerome Vernon, David Walan, A. O. Rockwell, R. E. Johnson, William Johnson, John Campbell, Robert Mayers, John McConnell, Samuel Bell, John Hill, John Miteheltree, Mead Satterfield, William Hill, John McBride, R. Crawford, W. G. Henderson, A. F. Everhart, James B. Ward, J. B. Mathers and James Satterfield, Jr.

Fourth of July Celebrations. - The celebration of our natal birth-day was, in the earlier days of our country, attended with patriotic exercises and beneficial results. There is no doubt that American patriotism, and the grandeur and achievements of the American nation, owe much to the inspirations of those occa- sions, when martial music familiarized the young with Yankee Doodle, the Star Spangled Banner, Hail Columbia and other national airs; when the reading of the Declaration of Independence portrayed vividly the causes which led to the revolt against the mother country; when the oration for the day supplied the popular information which the school-boy of to-day obtains from his history of the United States, and when the toasts responded to by leading citizens gave prom- inence to our republican form of government, its flag and its civic institu- tions. Free dinners in the grove, copious draughts of pure whisky, and all the pageantry of martial parade, called out vast crowds of people. The intro- duction of the fire-cracker and sky-rocket at a later date added special attract- iveness to the occasion for the average boy and girl. The sketch of these suc- cessive occasions would, if carefully written, be a valuable contribution to American patriotic literature. Sad will it be when America neglects to observe properly her natal day. Let banners float; let rockets glare; let martial music enliven every occasion; let cannon boom; let children decorate, and enjoy them- selves; let fire-crackers be discharged; let orations spread-eagle in style be delivered; let the Declaration of Independence be read, and let the rising generation know the rich heritage they have received from a loyal ancestry.

Lives there a man with soul so dead Who never to himself hath said, This is my own, my native land?

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CHAPTER XV.

MILITARY -- THE REVOLUTION, WAR OF 1812 AND MEXICAN WAR-CONDITION OF WESTERN PENNSYLVANIA DURING THE REVOLUTION-PERIOD OF SETTLEMENT -REVOLUTIONARY SOLDIERS WHO SETTLED IN MERCER COUNTY-WAR OF 1812-EARLY INCIDENTS OF THE STRUGGLE-MILITARY ORGANIZATION IN THE COUNTY BEFORE TIIE WAR-ROSTERS OF COMPANIES FROM MERCER COUNTY-CHARACTER OF THE TROOPS-EVENTS OF THAT PERIOD-SOME VETERANS WHOSE NAMES DO NOT APPEAR ON THE ROSTERS-MEXICAN WAR -OPPOSITION OF THE WIIIG LEADERS TO THE WAR-ENTHUSIASM OF THE PEOPLE-A COMPANY RAISED IN MERCER AND ITS SERVICES TENDERED THE PRESIDENT-PUBLIC MEETINGS HELD TO SUSTAIN THE GOVERNMENT.

W HEN the Declaration of American Independence was made, and even as late as the surrender of Cornwallis at Yorktown in October, 1781, not a single family of white men resided in what is now Mercer County. Through- out its territory, and, in fact, throughout the greater portion of what is now Western Pennsylvania, "the rank thistle nodded in the wind and the wild fox dug his hole unscared." Through the vast forests which covered its lands the dusky Indian chased his panting game, and in its rippling waters the savage hunter looked for the delicious food which the finny tribe furnished in great abundance. Beneath the branches of the giant oak, mighty robed senator of the forest, the Indian youth wooed and won the heart and hand of the maiden whose untrained sylvan voice was a source of life to his developing soul. All was wild and uncultivated.

After the Revolutionary struggle in the East and South had ended, and the independence of the colonies was recognized, the course of empire began to take its way westward. Lands set apart for donation purposes, as described elsewhere, began to be occupied-in many cases by those who had been stanch friends of American institutions, and had fought for them during the war just closed. Such, then, were the representatives of the Revolutionary War in Mer- cer County. Their martial conflicts were elsewhere, but their trials with the wilds of nature were here; and in many a resting place within the confines of Mercer County may be seen, to-day, some evidence of the gratitude with which their descendants hold their memory in loving remembrance. Side by side with those who fought in subsequent wars they rest, while the twinkling stars above and unseen angels keep the watch of unsleeping vigils over their consecrated ashes. May their hallowed and patriotic memories ever be cherished by their descendants, and all others who have entered into the fruition of their unselfish sacrifices.

We regret that we are unable to give the names of all such heroes. In the biographical sketches of this volume will be found references to many of these ancient worthies, and tributes to their memories. We append the names of some as they have been collected:

Godfrey Carnes, who came to Pymatuning Township as early as 1801, was one of these patriots. Many of his descendants are residents of the county.

Capt. James Duncan, whose diary of the Revolutionary War is now in the possession of A. L. Duncan, of Greenville, was a settler four miles northwest of Clarksville. His ashes rest on the old homestead.

William Simonton, a participant in the battles of Brandywine and Long Island, in the former of which he was badly wounded, settled about two miles.

Kernunku

Lewis Egberts

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southeast of Clarksville. His remains rest in Moorfield Cemetery. His descendants are still found in and around Clarksville.

David Hayes, one of the pioneer pedagogues of the county, was a neighbor of Mr. Simonton, and now rests in the same "city of the dead, " Moorfield Cemetery.

Abraham De Forest was a captain in the Revolutionary War, taking part in the campaigns in New Jersey. He died near Sharon in 1847, aged ninety- eight years, nine months and fifteen days. His children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren are still living in and around Sharon.

Benjamin Kaster, whose remains are in the Moorfield Cemetery, came to Hickory Township in 1802.

Capt. William Findley and Joseph Junkin were both residents of Findley Township, the first settling about 1799 and the latter about 1806.

Benjamin Stokely, whose history is given in extenso elsewhere, aided in the suppression of the whisky insurrection in 1794.

John Carmichael, a Scotchman, who, drafted into the British army, served under Wolfe at Quebec in 1759, lived in Worth Township, whither as an old man he accompanied his sons in 1802.

Peter Wilson settled in Jackson Township in 1797, and built one of the first mills of the county the same year. He was of Irish extraction.

William Gill was a resident of Liberty Township, James Williamson was an early settler of Otter Creek and Martin Carringer of Perry Township. All fought for independence.

Daniel Harper located in Lake Township in 1797, and was a pioneer horti- culturist.

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History of Mercer County, Pennsylvania : its past and present, Part 38

Author: Publication date: 1888 Publisher: Chicago, Ill. : Brown, Runk Number of Pages: 1288

Author:
Publication date: 1888
Publisher: Chicago, Ill. : Brown, Runk
Number of Pages: 1288