History of Northumberland County, Pennsylvania, Part 49

Author: Bell, Herbert C. (Herbert Charles), 1868- ed; John, J. J., 1829-
Publication date: 1891
Publisher: Chicago, Brown, Runk
Number of Pages: 1424

USA > Pennsylvania > Northumberland County > History of Northumberland County, Pennsylvania > Part 49

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After the suppression of long bullets the game of ball first commanded general popular favor. There were four ball alleys, located, respectively, at Shaffer's hotel, at the old jail (southeast corner of Market street and Center alley), at the yard of the county prison (corner of Second and Arch streets), and at a vacant lot on the north side of Market street east of the building in which Renn's drug store is situated.

Foot-races were of. frequent occurrence, and were sometimes attended by distinguished sprinters from other points. The course was usually in "Bullet alley." Closely allied to these were the jumping matches, in which five dis- tinct varieties were recognized, viz .: the "single jump," "backward jump," "three jumps," " running hop, step, and jump," and " high jump."

At that period physical prowess was a prominent factor in the adjustment of personal difficulties, the settlement of which for some months previously was usually deferred until "battalion day." Each community had its local bully, and when a number of the noted fighters in town and country assem- bled under the patriotic influences of a militia muster, the reminder of a past victory or defeat was sufficient challenge to involve them all in a general melee. While a local code of rules was generally recognized, these encounters were

* An effort was made to revive the game early in the '30's, but it had been discontinued so long that few persons possessed sufficient skill to cover the distance from Front to Fourth in three jerks. Harry Thomas, a tailor, attempted to throw the ball instead of jerking it, but the muscular contrac- tion was greater than the resistance of the bones of his arm, which sustained a fracture in con- sequence.

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far more frequently tests of strength than of skill. Not the fists alone, but also the teeth and nails, were brought into requisition, and when one of the participants acknowledged himself beaten it was usually because of thorough exhaustion on account of the brutal treatment he had received. There were also wrestling matches, conducted in a spirit of friendly rivalry, but the skill displayed was of a crude type. The manly art of self-defense was first regu- larly expounded at Sunbury in 1839 by a Mr. Reed, who opened a boxing school on Front street between Walnut and Spruce. It is needless to remark, however, that Marquis of Queensbury rules have not always been observed in personal encounters since that date.

Cock-fighting was also one of the fashionable amusements at Sunbury. There were two varieties of game-cocks, the " reds " and the " grays; " tra- dition asserts that the former were introduced by the Gibersons and the lat- ter by the Robinses. There were three cock-pits, located, respectively, at the Blue Ball tavern, at Robins's tannery, and at a cellar on Front street. The usual amount of betting was connected with exhibitions of this nature; if the fight occurred at night the odds were generally in favor of the " reds," as the " grays," owing to their color, could more easily be distinguished.

The Terpsichorean art was first scientifically taught in Northumberland county by a Frenchman named Blondell, and David Hartzhorn was among his successors at Sunbury in this department of instruction as early as 1802. Cotillions were not introduced in the rural districts for many years thereafter, however, and the exercises of "battalion day " regularly closed with danc- ing at the various hotels in which the popular figures were " straight four," "French four," and " the buckwheat thresher."

At that early date considerable rivalry existed between the towns of Sun- bury and Northumberland, and the partisans on either side were not slow to devise derisive epithets for the other. In this mutual exchange of courtesies the people of Sunbury received the collective designation of "Bullyrums" (bull-frogs), from the amphibious animals of that name which found a con- genial habitation in the marshy ground east of the town; the corresponding sobriquet of the Northumberlanders was " Pine-Knots," doubtless suggested by the pine forests that covered the hills northeast of that borough. Each town was jealous of the prestige of the other, and this feeling frequently found expression in collisions between the boys and young men. But the old time antagonism has entirely subsided, under the close commercial intimacy fostered by the steamboats, railroad, and street railway.

Sixty years ago (1830) the streets of Sunbury were green with grass, upon which sheep, geese, ducks, and cows pastured at will. The houses were nearly all constructed of wooden materials; the only three-story build- ings were the borough high school on Front street and a brick structure at the southwest corner of Market and Third. The public buildings included the court house, at the western end of the inclosure in Market square;

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HISTORY OF NORTHUMBERLAND COUNTY.

the " state house," at the southeast corner of Market and Second streets; the jail, at the southwest corner of Second and Arch streets; the borough market house, on Market square east of the court house; the Lutheran church, on Third street, and the Reformed and Presbyterian church, at the site of the present Reformed church.

Race Street, the northern limit of the town plat, was improved to a very limited extent. The only houses on the north side were the brick residence of Jacob Heller at the corner west of Second and a wooden building owned by Henry Masser and used as a dwelling or school house. On the south side were the following improvements: a one-story log building occupied by Mrs. Mollie Carr, the only house between Third and Fourth; a small frame house west of Center alley, built by John G. Fry, carpenter and court crier; a large red frame house, at the corner east of Second, occupied by Henry Beshler, court crier; a small log house built of unhewn timbers untrimmed at the corners, occupied by James McEwen, weaver (one of the principal wells of the borough is on these premises), and an old house at the corner of Front.

Arch Street .- South side: a brick house at the corner west of Fourth, built in 1822 by Michael Sanders and occupied by Francis P. Schwartz, teacher; a log house, erected by George Lawrence, and afterward converted into a stable by John G. Youngman; the residence of John G. Youngman, printer, at the corner west of Third; a frame building at the corner west of Center alley, owned by Lewis Dewart; the shop of Samuel Gobin, wagon maker; the Follmer property, a small frame house; the brick residence of Jacob Druckemiller; a red frame barn connected with the jail, at the corner west of Second; and E. Greenough's residence, at the corner east of Front .*

North side: a one-story log house with clapboard roof, at the corner west of Fourth, occupied by Phebe Rowe; a frame house, occupied by Alexander Strickland; a two-story log house, with brick end at the east, built for George P. Buyers by Jacob Ruch; a log house at the corner east of Third, occupied by Andrew McNamara; a frame house west of Third, removed from Market street by Eli Diemer, register and recorder of Northumberland county, 1824-27, who died, December 1, 1875, at the age of eighty-three years, eleven months, and six days; the brick house of Henry Yoxtheimer, west of Second, with a frame shop adjoining in which he formerly conducted wagon making, and the old Maclay house, at the corner east of Front.

Market Street was then, as now, the business thoroughfare of the borough. On the south side, the first improvement on the east was the Robins tannery,

*The site of the Catholic church, then a vacant lot, was once occupied at the period to which this relates by one of the first circuses that ever visited Sunbury. Notwithstanding inclement weather there was a large attendance at the evening performance, which had scarcely begun when the tent collapsed, precipitating a state of confusion that beggars description. In the melee a certain gentle- man, the father of a family, selzed a boy whom he supposed was his son and carried him several squares before the urchin Informed him of his mistake.

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at the southeast corner of Market and Fifth. Between Fifth and Fourth were the log house owned by William Kebler, a German butcher; a long double log house occupied by Mrs. Kitty Bower, who sold cakes and beer; the frame house and hatter shop of Edward Kutzner and Benjamin Robins; the brick residence of Dr. William Robins, and his office at the present site of D. Heim's store, and Jonas Weaver's hotel, at the east end of which was Black & Leisenring's store. Between Fourth and Third: Young & Alter's store and John Young's residence, the former the brick building in which Reimensnyder's drug store is situated and the latter the frame house immediately adjoining on the west, both now owned by the Bassler estate; the frame residence of George Weiser, justice of the peace and subsequently associate judge; the frame residence of Peter Martz, afterward associate judge and member of the legislature; George C. Welker's tailor shop, a small frame structure back from the street; the present brick residence of Mrs. George C. Welker, then occupied by Betsey Bright as a millinery store; the saddler shop of Jonathan Weiser; a frame house occupied by George Gass, whose wife sold cakes and beer; a frame building in which William Jordan, brother of Judge Jordan, had his store and residence; a frame house back from the street, occupied by the Wiggins or Vanderslice family; a frame building at the southeast corner of Market square, occupied by William Mil- ler as a buhr-making shop, (in which a bear belonging to a traveling show- man and a bull-dog belonging to Thomas Robins were once pitted against each other, and the stakes, amounting to five dollars, were awarded to Robins), and the stone house still standing at the southeast corner of Third and Market. Between Third and Second: Lorenzo Da Ponte's three-story brick building on the corner west of Third, and store, a small frame structure adjoining on the west; Jacob Painter's frame residence and hat shop; Henry Shissler's residence, now owned by Mrs. Louisa Shissler; the blacksmith shop of Jesse, David, and John Martz; the old jail building at the corner of Center alley, then the Farmers' Hotel, kept by William Shannon; a frame house across the alley; the two-story brick residence of Henry Masser, still standing, in the cellar of which he had a tinware store; a two-story brick building, in which Henry Yoxtheimer resided and had a large general store; George Prince's hotel, the Lawrence House, and the old "state house." Be- tween Second and First: Henry Shaffer's hotel, a brick building, at the site of the Neff House; James Smith's brick residence, at the site of Ira T. Clement's; Weitzel's hotel, a stone structure just west of the alley, and Daniel Levy's law office, a small frame building at the southeast corner of Market and Front.

On the north side of Market street the most easterly improvement was a log house in which James Farrow, blacksmith, resided, situated between Fifth street and the alley, west of which were the following: a frame house now occupied by Mrs. George W. Kiehl; several buildings owned by Henry

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HISTORY OF NORTHUMBERLAND COUNTY.

Weise, sheriff of the county, 1854-57; James Farrow's blacksmith shop; a frame building, subsequently the office of the Gazette, and Charles Gobin's tannery, while the corner east of Fourth was owned by Mrs. Betsey Bright. Between Fourth and Third: a frame shop at the west corner of Fourth at the site of the bank; the brick residence and store of John Haas; two small frame buildings, occupied, respectively, as cooper and shoemaker shops; a large log house, occupied by Jacob Kiehl; a frame shop; John Boulton's brick hotel, with tailor shop upstairs in an adjoining frame building; the brick building in which Dr. P. H. Renn's drug store is situated, then owned by Gideon Markle; the frame house now owned by Caroline Dalius, formerly occupied by Henry Gobin and Thomas Billington as a store and by the Der- ing family as a residence; a frame building at the northeast corner of Mar- ket square, in which Peter Lazarus conducted a drug store; a blacksmith shop, and Martin Weaver's brick residence at the site of the Central Hotel. Between Third and Second: a two-story shop, at the corner west of Third; a frame building with shed roof, Ezra Grossman's printing office, at the west side of the lot upon which the Dewart block stands; a wooden building at the site of Doctor Awl's residence, originally owned by the Keims, of Read- ing, Pennsylvania, and occupied by Ezra Grossman in 1830; a wooden build- ing back from the street, in which Jacob D. Breyvogel, the first printer at Sunbury, is said to have resided; the brick residence of Samuel J. Packer, originally built by Paul Baldy, with an addition by John Sinton, carpenter and school teacher; a one-story frame shop, at the corner east of Center alley, the site of the Presbyterian church; the present brick residence of the Dewart family; the present brick residence of George Hill, erected by Ed- ward Gobin; a frame house, in which Mrs. Henry Donnel resided, and the present Donnel property, formerly a hotel. Between Second and Front: a wooden building at the corner west of Second; the old frame building still standing, formerly the residence of Mrs. Gaynor Smith, widow of Enoch Smith, and a great place for social gatherings, and the brick building at the northeast corner of Front and Market, built by Charles Hall.

Chestnut Street, on the south side, was not improved east of Fourth, with the exception of the present brick residence of Mrs. Mary Lenker, then occu- pied by George Young. Between Fourth and Third the improvements com- prised a log school house, afterward occupied by John Hileman, shoemaker, and the brick residence of George Weiser, tanner, subsequently associate judge. Between Third and Second: a wooden building, in which Daniel Hoffman, shoemaker and constable, resided; the frame house and shop of George Weyel, cooper; the frame residence of Frederick Lazarus, justice of the peace, whose son, Peter Lazarus, was sheriff of the county, 1830-33; a wooden building immediately west of Center alley, the residence of Alex- ander Jordan, and the present residence of Dr. A. S. Cummings, then occu- pied by the widow of John L. Finney, ex-register and recorder of this county

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and prothonotary of the Supreme court for the Middle district of Pennsyl- vania, who was born, May 12, 1766, and died on the 24th of October, 1824. Between Second and Front: the present residence of H. B. Masser, then occupied by Isaac Zeigler, tanner; a wooden building, in which Jacob Bright, watchmaker, resided; Henry Bartsher's hotel, a large wooden build- ing; John Bogar's frame residence and store, just east of the alley, and a small brick building, belonging to William McCarty.

On the north side of Chestnut street, the only improvement east of Fourth was a wooden building at the northeast corner of Chestnut and Fourth, owned by Peter Hileman. The improvements between Fourth and Third included Jacob Weimer's brick residence at the corner west of Fourth; a log school building; the log house of George Hall, maker of spinning wheels, large and small; the frame house of George Zimmerman, and his blacksmith shop, and Miss Sallie Giberson's log dwelling, at the corner east of Third. Between Third and Second: the large frame residence and cabinet making shop of Charles Dering; west of Center alley, a log school house subsequently occu- pied by a German named Westerman, and Hugh Bellas's frame residence, now occupied by Dr. F. B. Masser. Between Second and Front: a church building at the corner west of Second; the present residence of W. I. Green- ough, then occupied by Peter Weimer; Daniel Bogar's pottery and residence, and Daniel Levy's residence, which fronted, however, toward the river.

Penn Street had but three houses on the south side: a log structure between Third and Fourth, occupied by James Butler, colored; a large frame house at the southeast corner of Penn and Third, occupied by the widow Miller and daughters Susan and Betsey, and a wooden building at the southeast corner of Penn and Front, occupied by John Ray. On the north side, beginning at the east, the succession of improvements was as follows: Daniel Hurley's log house, at the corner east of Fourth; Christian Bower's frame house, at the corner west of Fourth; the log house of Jacob Martin, tinner; a wooden building; the log house of John Barnes, shoemaker; a log house, occupied by Polly and Ann Hunter; a long frame house, occupied by Captain Heinen, a veteran of the war of 1812, and a log honse at the northeast corner of Third and Penn, occupied by Dinah Anderson, a colored woman, and John Boyer, her son-in-law. Mrs. James Husted resided at the Buyers property on the corner east of Front.

Walnut Street had a fair complement of improvement. On the south side, the following were situated between Fourth and Third: the frame house of Jacob Young, brickmaker; the frame house of Samuel Gobin, wagon maker; a log school house, and the wooden dwelling of Joseph Hinton, blacksmith. Between Third and Second: Henry Bucher's residence, at the corner west of Third (it was customary for funeral processions from the country to stop at this corner, from which the entire cortege walked to the cemetery); Leonard Epley's frame house, at the corner east of Center ally, and the house at the corner east

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HISTORY OF NORTHUMBERLAND COUNTY.

of Second street in which the Gray family resided. Between Second and First: the house in which John Schneider resided; a frame house, long occupied by Rev. J. P. Shindel; a small house, in which Mrs. Reinold lived; a log house, in which Mrs. Reppert lived, and the hotel and hatter shop of Charles Whar- ton, at the corner east of Front.

On Walnut street, north side, at the corner east of Fourth, was the log house of Christian Petry. Between Fourth and Third: an old log house at the corner west of Fourth, occupied by Peter Goodhart, who died on the 6th of November, 1840, aged seventy years (Mary, his wife, died on the 11th of January, 1854, at the age of eighty; during the war of 1812, while stand- ing at the door of her house, which opened in two sections, as the outer doors of mills usually do, a drunken soldier shot off one of her fingers); the frame house of John Lyon, now occupied by Miss Harriet Lyon; Christian Foulk's frame residence; an old log school house, and Jeremiah Simpson's frame residence, at the corner east of Third. Between Third and Second: Leonard Montgomery's house, at the corner east of Center alley; a large frame house, in which Aaron Robins, brick layer and school master, resided; Jeremiah Shoop's large frame house, and a wooden building still standing at the cor- ner east of Second. Between Second and Front: a frame building at the corner west of Second, which has been in possession of the Martin family since 1816; a log house, occupied by Mrs. Kate Withington, nee Smith, and a log school house, one of the earliest in the town.

Spruce Street was popularly known as "Bullet alley." A small frame house stood on the corner west of Third on the north side, owned by George Weiser and occupied by Peter Durst, undertaker; between this and Fourth street were two frame houses owned by William McCarty, both opposite the cemetery.

Front Street was undoubtedly the location of many of the first improve- ment in the town. The only houses between Race and Arch were the resi- dence of a Mr. Lukens and the old Maclay house at the corner north of Arch. At the corner south of Arch is the stone house erected in 1797 by Jeremiah Simpson, register and recorder of the county; it was for many years the resi- dence of E. Greenough, attorney at law, whose office was situated at the site of E. W. Greenough's present residence. A two-story log building, and later an ice-house, occupied the corner south of the alley, and at the corner north of Market is the brick and stone structure built by Charles Hall, attorney at law. There were three houses between Market and Chestnut: Daniel Levy's law office, at the corner south of Market; Dr. John B. Price's residence, at the corner north of the alley, and Daniel Levy's residence, a long frame building with extension to the rear, and grounds extending to Chestnut street. At the corner south of Chestnut was a small brick house owned by William McCarty, and originally erected by Christian and Henry Gettig in compliance with the will of their father, Christian Gettig, as a residence for

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their mother, Elizabeth Gettig; and then in order were the following: an old log house, weather-boarded and painted red, and known as "the barracks;" Dr. Solomon Markley's brick residence, still standing; the frame house of James Black, merchant; a three-story brick structure at the site of the high school building; the Buyers property, occupied for many years by Mrs. Sarah Husted and demolished by the construction of the Reading railroad; a wooden building at the corner south of Penn street, owned by William McCarty and occupied by John Ray; John Lyon's brick hotel, still standing; the Misses Barringer's candy shop, a small log house; a house owned by William Mc- Carty; Michael Quin's store; the hatter shop and hotel of Charles Wharton, at the corner south of Walnut; the dwelling of Charles Rhinehart, boatman and farmer; the hotels of George and Jacob Mantz, watermen and pilots, and a large frame house near the corner of Spruce, subsequently occupied by the borough as a poor house, and the limit of the town proper. An old log house, owned by Hugh Bellas; a frame house, occupied by Peter Kerlin, farmer; a frame house at the dam, occupied by Edward Harrison; a small log house, owned by George C. Welker and occupied by his father; an old stone hotel, known as the Oberdorf property, and a frame hotel, near the bridge, kept by John Miller, were situated at irregular intervals between Spruce street and the mouth of Shamokin creek.

Second Street, east side, was improved as follows: a red frame house at the corner south of Race, the residence of Henry Beshler, court crier; the " state house," at the corner south of Market; a frame building at the rear end of the court house lot, occupied by the fire engines; Hugh Bellas's residence, at the corner north of Chestnut; Mrs. John L. Finney's residence, at the corner south of Chestnut; a wooden building still standing at the corner north of Walnut, and Mrs. William Gray's residence, at the corner south of Walnut.

On the west side of Second street improvements had been made in the following order: the brick residence of Jacob Heller, carriage and wagon maker; his frame shop, afterward a school building, located between Race and Arch; the red stable connected with the jail, at the corner south of Arch; the jail; Enoch Smith's law office, a frame building at the corner north of Market; Henry Shaffer's hotel, at the corner south of Market; a small frame building at the corner of Barberry alley, formerly occupied as a printing office and school house; the Reformed and Presbyterian church, at the corner north of Chestnut; Isaac Zeigler's brick residence, at the cor- ner south of Chestnut, and tannery, at the southern end of his lot, and Isaac Martin's residence, at the corner north of Walnut.

Third Street .- East side: a small frame house between Race and Arch, formerly part of a raft or flat-boat, occupied by Hannah Woolsey, who sub- sequently removed to the corner of Race and Third; Martin Weaver's resi- dence, at the corner north of Market; Fox's stone hotel, at the corner south of Market; Miss Sallie Giberson's residence, at the corner north of Chest-

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nut; George Weiser's tannery, at the corner south of Chestnut, and tan house, in which one of the early schools was conducted; Dinah Anderson's residence, at the corner north of Penn; Widow Miller's residence, at the corner south of Penn; Jeremiah Simpson's residence, at the corner north of Walnut, and Joseph Hinton's residence, at the corner south of Walnut.

West side: John G. Youngman's residence, at the corner south of Arch; the two-story brick building between Arch and Market, built by Andrew Al- bright and occupied by his widow; Charles Keany's buhr making shop, at the corner north of Market; Lorenzo Da Ponte's brick building, at the cor- ner south of Market; Charles Dering's cabinet making shop, at the corner north of Chestnut; the Lutheran church, between Penn and Walnut; Henry Bucher's residence, at the corner south of Walnut, and Peter Durst's resi- dence, at the corner north of Spruce.

Fourth Street .- East side: Mrs. Betsey Bright's residence, at the corner north of Market; Jonas Weaver's hotel, at the corner south of Market; Peter Hileman's residence, at the corner north of Chestnut; George Young's resi- dence, at the corner south of Chestnut; Daniel Young's residence; a long red house, occupied by John Slutman and Walter Bell; the residence of Dan- iel Beck, a soldier in the war of 1812, immediately north of the Shamokin Valley railroad; the frame residence of Sebastian Haupt, cabinet maker; the frame residence of Daniel Haupt, carpenter; Andrew Durst's house; a log house at the corner north of Penn, occupied by Daniel Hurley, merchant; the large frame house of John Bucher, at the corner south of Penn; An- thony Weke's residence; Jacob Crist's residence; a wooden building owned by Lewis Dewart; the frame house of Henry Petry, carpenter; the frame house of John Petry, carpenter; the house of John Eisely, school teacher; the log house of George Hileman, mason; the log house of Christian Petry, laborer, at the corner north of Walnut; the frame house of John Randles, mason; a frame house; Mrs. Ann Moore's frame house; the frame house of Charles Beck, plasterer; a wooden building, occupied by Jacob Beck, butcher, a soldier of the war of 1812; a frame house occupied by two maiden ladies, Misses Ann and Kate Snyder, and a log house occupied by several brothers of the Snyder family.

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History of Northumberland County, Pennsylvania, Part 49

Author: Bell, Herbert C. (Herbert Charles), 1868- ed; John, J. J., 1829- Publication date: 1891 Publisher: Chicago, Brown, Runk Number of Pages: 1424

Author: Bell, Herbert C. (Herbert Charles), 1868- ed; John, J. J., 1829-
Publication date: 1891
Publisher: Chicago, Brown, Runk
Number of Pages: 1424