History of Washington County, Pennsylvania : with biographical sketches of many of its pioneers and prominent men, Part 137

Author: Crumrine, Boyd, 1838-1916; Ellis, Franklin, 1828-1885; Hungerford, Austin N
Publication date: 1882
Publisher: Philadelphia : H.L. Everts & Co.
Number of Pages: 1216

USA > Pennsylvania > Washington County > History of Washington County, Pennsylvania : with biographical sketches of many of its pioneers and prominent men > Part 137

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" 1st. The Borough shall without delay erect a Town Hall, and on the principal or first floor erect and finish and furnish in an appropriate and suitable manner a fire-proof room sufficiently large to contain the first purchase of books, etc., and leave abundant room for a gradual increase for a long time to come. Also a Reading-Room, adjacent the Library Room, of sufficient size to fully accommodate those who may wish to oc- cupy it, well fitted up with desks, seats, etc.

"2d. To admit to the uses, privileges, and benefits of the library and reading-room every citizen of the Borough on equal terms without any distinction whatever, except that every person will be held to decorous and orderly conduct and personal cleanliness.

"3. That an act of Incorporation shall be obtained from our courts placing the government and control of the institution in the hands of five Curators or Trustees. Three of them to be elected by the citizens of the Borough at the corporate Election to serve three years, one to be selected each year ; one to be appointed by the judges of the Court of Common Pleas for this County to serve three years, and the other to be appointed by the Trustees of Washington and Jefferson College if lo- cated here. If not located here, then the fifth curator or Trustee to be elected by the Pastors of the several religious congregations worship- ing in the Borough in a joint meeting held by them for that purpose, to serve three years. Vacancies occurring in the board by death, resig- nation, removal, or otherwise to be filled by the several departments to which said Curators or Trustees previously belong.

"4, The Curators or Trustees to appoint a Librarian to serve one year, to have charge of the Library and Reading Room, under such rules and regulations, as the board shall from time to time adopt.

"5. The Ten Thousand Dollars donated shall be devoted thus : Six thou- sand dollars to be expended in the purchase of books as by Dr. F. Julius Le Moyne, the donor, and such other person or persons as he may call to assist him in the selection, to be ready to place in the Library Room when it is furnished and ready for use and occupancy. The other four thousand dollars to be invested in some safe and profitable manner, the interest or proceeds of the fund to be used sacred and exclusively for the gradual increase of the Library, by the purchase at stated and regular times of such new and necessary works as will be required to keep up the standard of the Institution to the advancement of Litera- ture, Science, and the arts from year to year. This four thousand dol- lars to be paid over to the curators or Trustees when they are organized under the proposed charter, and when the Library and Reading Room are finished and furnished and ready for use.

" Respectfully yours, " F. JULIUS LE MOYNE."

Dr. Le Moyne being present made some explana- tions and withdrew, when the subject was postponed until the 23d of April. At a meeting of the Coun- cil held on that day the matter of Dr. Le Moyne's communication, offer, and terms was fully discussed, and the Council resolved :

"Ist. That'it is our duty to carry out the wishes of the people by the erection of a suitable town hall as soon as the necessary arrangements can be made.

"2d. That the town Council will accept, in trust for the people of the borough of Washington, the ten thousand dollars donation of Dr. F. J. Le Moyne, $4000 of which shall remain as a sacred and permanent fund, the interest of which shall be applied annually to the purchase of books on literature, science, and the arts.

"3d. That the remaining $6000 shall be expended for books under the direction of trustees appointed under a charter in the manner proposed by Dr. Le Moyne iu his communication of April 19, 1869, and that the said trustees shall call to their assistance Dr. Le Moyne in the selection of said library.

"4th. That the Council will furnish, for this purpose, suitable rooms in the contemplated town hall, and have a perpetual insurance placed upon the library to cover all losses which might occur.

"5th. That the trustees shall make all necessary arrangements for the regulation of the library."

The committee on town hall, consisting of Messrs. Creigh, Hamilton, and Morrow, were instructed to present a copy of the foregoing resolutions to Dr. Le Moyne for his approval or rejection and report at next meeting.

This committee reported May 4, 1869, as follows :

" That they presented to Dr. F. J. Le Moyne the resolutions unani- mously adopted by the Council April 23, 1869, that they had several in- terviews since presenting them, and that he refused to accede to the propositions. The report was accepted, and the following preamble and resolutions were then, after a free expression of opinion, unanimously adopted.

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WASHINGTON BOROUGH.

" Whereas, The proposition of Dr. F. J. Le Moyne is so trammeled with restrictions and conditions as to render it impracticable and useless to the people, therefore resolved that we cannot accede to the same."

No further action was taken until Jan. 17, 1870, when

"The following preamble and resolutions were read, and on motion adopted :

" Whereas, Dr. F. J. Le Moyne tendered to the borough of Washington $10,000 (ten thousand dollars) for the purpose of founding a public li- brary for the benefit of the people, which proposition was rejected by the town Council on account of the expenses which would be necessarily involved in the reception of said library, and an extra building of a fire- proof vault, and whereas Dr. Le Moyne now wishes to establish said library by expending the sum of ten thousand dollars ($10,000), and in- curring the necessary expenses.

" Therefore Resolved, That the town Council, appreciating the generous donation and intention of said Dr. Le Moyne, hereby agree to proffer to Dr. Le Moyne the two rooms in the rear of the post-office, and also twenty-five feet of the rear of the engine-house, for the purposes con- templated, and a committee to be appointed to correspond with Dr. Le Moyne and finally settle and adjust the matter to the satisfaction of both parties."

On the 21st of February, 1870, the committee ap- pointed to confer with Dr. Le Moyne reported that they had completed all arrangements, and the agree- ment was signed by Dr. Le Moyne of one part and the committee appointed by the borough of the other part. On the same day the court of Washington County granted a charter to the Citizens' Library Association.

The town hall was erected and completed in 1871. The library-rooms were also fitted up with fire-proof vaults ; books were purchased, and the library opened. Books have been added from time to time until it has reached its present numbers. The following are the curators who have been appointed and elected as provided by Dr. Le Moyne :

Appointed by the court : David S. Wilson, Aug. 15, 1870. On the 27th of February, 1872, D. S. Wil- son resigned, and C. M. Reed was appointed. He remained curator until Aug. 2, 1875, when he resigned, and Dr. Alfred Creigh was appointed, and served the remainder of the term, and was reappointed Aug. 19, 1878, and again March 21, 1882.

Dr. F. J. Le Moyne was appointed, on the part of Washington and Jefferson College, às curator in 1870. After his death, in October, 1879, his daughter, Miss Jane Le Moyne, was appointed, and is still acting in that capacity.

Physicians .- Dr. Absalom Baird was of Scotch ancestry. His father, John Baird, was born in Scot- land about the year 1730, and came to America with Gen. Braddock in 1755, and was with that general at the defeat on the Monongahela. After the defeat he retired with the troops into winter-quarters in Phila-

delphia, where, in the winter of 1756-57, he married a Quaker lady. In 1758 he was in one of the High- land regiments sent out under Forbes to attack Fort Du Quesne, and was said to have been killed in the battle of Grant's Hill, Pittsburgh, September, 1758. He left a widow with the infant son Absalom, who was born in Chester County, Pa., in 1758. His mother was left with small means, and to support and educate her son taught school for several years. After imparting to him all the instruction she was able he was sent to school at Pequa, Lancaster Co., then under the charge of Robert Smith.

After leaving school he studied medicine under Dr. Gardiner Scott, of Chester County. He had just left his studies at the outbreak of the Revolution. Dr. Scott raised a company of volunteers, and Baird en- listed and was made ensign. Soon afterwards he was appointed assistant surgeon in a Pennsylvania regi- ment. He was present at the storming of Stony Point, N. Y., by the forces of Gen. Wayne on the night of July 15, 1779, when Wayne was wounded in the head by a musket-ball and the wound dressed by Dr. Baird.

On the 20th of March, 1780, he was commissioned surgeon in Col. Jedutha Baldwin's regiment, where he remained until the regiment was disbanded by act of Congress, March 29, 1781, when his military services in the Revolution terminated. On leaving the army in 1781 he entered upon the duties of his profession in Kennett Square, Chester Co. On the 14th of July, 1783, he married Susanna Brown, and July 26, 1784, their first child, John, was born. In November, 1786, he moved with his family to Wash- ington, Pa., and commenced the practice of his pro- fession. In July, 1788, he purchased of John Hoge lots 12, 13, 14, on the north side of Maiden Street, between Main and Franklin. On these lots he built a residence, in which he lived until his death. The homestead afterward was in possession of Thomas H. and George Baird, and in 1832 was owned by William Baird. They are now owned by Mrs. C. H. Scott.

Dr. Baird was commissioned justice of the peace and of the Court of Common Pleas on the 3d of March, 1789, and remained in office till the justices of the courts were abolished in 1791.

Elected by the borough of Washington : Henry J. | Col. James Marshel as county lieutenant. Letters are Van Kirk, 1873; Henry Woods, 1874; Boyd Crum- rine, 1875; H. R. Martin, 1876; T. D. M. Wilson (three years), 1877; John Aiken (two years), 1877; Alonzo Linn, 1878; D. J. McAdam, 1879; Charles V. Harding, 1880; Alonzo Linn, 1881; George A. Jones, 1882.

Under the constitution of 1790, Dr. Baird succeeded in the hands of the family addressed to Col. Absalom Baird, lieutenant of the county of Washington, from Maj .- Gen. H. Knox, Secretary of War, dated Feb. 25, 1792; from Thomas Mifflin, Governor of Penn- sylvania, dated Aug. 9, 1792; and from Anthony Wayne, major-general and commander-in-chief of the troops of the United States, dated " Headquarters, Pittsburgh, Jan. 23, 1792." In 1793 a change was made in the military system, and under this change the office of county lieutenant was abolished and the duties performed by brigade inspectors. Absalom Baird was appointed brigade inspector. This posi-

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HISTORY OF WASHINGTON COUNTY, PENNSYLVANIA. .

tion he held till his death. He was succeeded by Col. James Dunlap. In October, 1794, he was elected with Thomas Stokely to represent Allegheny and Washington Counties in the State Senate. They were refused admission on the ground that the coun- ties had been in a state of insurrection when the elec- tions were held, for which reason they were unconsti- tutional and void. A new election was held, and they were returned and took their seats. Dr. Baird was a member of the Senate till October, 1796. In 1798 he was elected with John McDowell and Aaron Lyle member of the House of Representatives of Penn- sylvania, and served one term. He was elected sheriff of Washington County in October, 1799. He was one of the original trustees of Washington Academy upon its charter in September, 1787. His wife Su- sanna died Nov. 16, 1802, and twelve days later his mother died, aged sixty-nine years. In 1804 he was married to Margaret Darragh, whose family had moved to Washington about the same time he came.

Absalom Baird died Oct. 27, 1805, in consequence of a fall from his horse. He was buried with Masonic and military honors in the old graveyard at the north part of the town. He left four sons,-John, George, Thomas H., and William. John was educated at Washington Academy. He studied medicine with | 1824. his father, and later moved to Chillicothe, Ohio, where he married and settled. He lived there many years, and late in life returned to Washington, where he died in 1836, aged fifty-two years.

George Baird was born in Kennett Square, Pa., Dr. Isaiah Blair was a native of Carlisle; his name appears first on the assessment-roll in Washington in the year 1800 as a physician. He was a graduate of the first class at Dickinson College in 1787. He became a trustee of Washington Academy, and was appointed the first secretary of the board of trustees, and to the honorary professorship of medicine, at the organization of Washington College. His office was opposite Morris Tavern. He died Sept. 15, 1808. Oct. 28, 1785. He was educated at Washington Academy, and was for a time a tutor. He entered into merchandising, and opened a store where now stands the residence of Samuel Templeton on Main Street. He removed to Ripley, Ohio, and later to Wheeling, Va., where he passed a few years, and in 1844 returned to Washington, where he opened a store on the old John Wilson property, and where his son, A. T. Baird, is now in business. He continued in business till his death, Nov. 1, 1860. Of his children, ' in Europe and an extensive practice in the western John, Susan, Jane W., and A. Todd Baird reside in Washington, and Dr. George W. Baird is a resident of Wheeling.

Thomas Harlan Baird, a son of Absalom, was born in Washington, Nov. 15, 1787. He was educated at Washington Academy, after which he entered the law-office of Joseph Pentecost ; after the completion

Morgan, of Washington; Thomas H. Baird, of Mo- nongahela City ; Mrs. Dr. Reed, of Pittsburgh ; Mrs. Eliza Patterson, Mrs. Jennie McKnight, and Miss Margaret and Harriet Baird, of Sewickley.

William Baird, the youngest son of Absalom, was educated at Washington College, married Nancy Mitchell, studied law in Washington, and was ad- mitted to practice June 18, 1812; appointed deputy attorney-general July 23, 1819, and served till 1824. He followed the practice of law in Washington till his death in 1834. Of his children, Gen. Absalom Baird, of the United States army, resides in Washing- ton, D. C .; William resides near Cumberland ; Jane became the wife of Governor Jacobs, of West Vir- ginia .; and Maria is living with Mrs. Jacobs. Sarah, a daughter of Absalom Baird, was born in Washing- ton March 11, 1793. She was married in 1826 to Wil- liam Hodge, of Kentucky; she died in 1833. Their son, Gen. George B. Hodge, was a colonel in the Con- federate service, and a member of the Confederate Congress, and now resides at Newport, Ky., where he is a successful practitioner of law.

Susan Baird, the youngest daughter of Absalom, was born in 1796; she became the wife of Dr. Hugh Campbell, of Uniontown, in 1823, and died July 9,

Dr. John Culbertson came to this town about 1794, and about 1798 moved to Hopewell township (now Independence). A more extended sketch of him will be found in the history of that township.

Dr. Frederick L. Conyngham, after a course of study country, settled here in February, 1800, and practiced. He also opened a drug-store near the market-house at Mrs. Wilson's. On Jan. 24, 1801, he bought of John and Isabella Ritchie lot No. 186 on Market Street, corner of Pine Alley. The lot is now owned by Dr. R. Davis. He had left here before 1810.

Dr. Francis Bean came to Washington in the latter of his studies he was admitted to the bar, in March, ' part of 1803, and advertised as an Indian doctor. On 1808. He married Nancy Mccullough, the niece of George, Thomas, and David Acheson. He was en- gaged for several years in the management of the Washington Steam Flouring-Mill, which he owned till its destruction by fire in 1832. He was a contrac- tor on the National road with Parker Campbell and Thomas McGiffin. On the 19th of October, 1818, he was chosen president judge of Washington, Fayette, Greene, and Somerset Counties, and continued till 1838. His children who are living are Mrs. George the 7th of June, 1804, he bought of Charles Valen- tine, on an article of agreement, one house and three lots "on Belle Street, opposite the Academy" (now the college), and on the 17th of August, 1807, he pur- chased of John Hoge lot 140, on Beau Street, which he sold to George Darns in 1810. On the 6th of February of the same year he sold the lots opposite the academy to Silas Pruden, the brick-maker. On these lots Charles De Hass lived, and later had a white-lead works. About 1830 the lots and houses

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WASHINGTON BOROUGH.

were occupied by Dr. Robert McClure, who lived there for several years. These lots are now owned by Mr. A. B. Caldwell.

Dr. William Barr came to this town from Cumber- land County in 1808. He advertised on the 3d of August of that year that he had opened a drug-store next door to William Sherrard's store, and offered his services to the public in the practice of physic and surgery. A notice of his death occurs in the Reporter of October 15th, the same year.

Dr. Henry Stephenson came to Washington from Carlisle in 1809. He advertised, March 1st of that year, that he had opened a drug-store opposite the court-house. He left Washington for Pittsburgh within a year after, gave up the practice of medicine, and died a few years since.

Dr. John Julius Le Moyne de Villiers was a native of a suburb of Paris, where he was born in 1760. His father was a physician, and had charge of the Botanic Gardens. John Julius studied medicine with his father, and enjoyed the best opportunities Paris af- forded, going through a course of seven years' study, including a practice of several years in the hospital. He became a successful practicing physician in Paris. He was present at the storming and demolition of the Bastile, though he went involuntarily, being borne along with the great crowd against his will.

Great inducements were held out to emigrants to come to America, and he joined a party, many of whom were of high families, fleeing from the terrors of the French Revolution. The vessel in which he embarked was shipwrecked, but all were landed at New York safely, he having lost all his clothing and a very fine collection of books and in- struments. After the French emigrants received a grant of land in Southern Ohio, he accompanied the party to Gallipolis, Ohio, where he remained four years and practiced his profession. He came to Washington about 1797, and married in that year Nancy, the daughter of Francis McCully, then lately arrived from Ireland. They made their home in a two-story log house above Chestnut Street on Main, lately torn down by Mr. Lytle, where his son, Francis Julius Le Moyne, was born. In 1800 he removed to a log house at the lower end of Main Street, on the side of the hill. A large piece of ground was attached to this place, which was planted with many trees, shrubs, and herbs. Later he moved to the house of Hugh Wilson, on Main Street, where now stands Charlton's confectionery-store, and opened a drug- store. As was the custom of the time, he entertained strangers, especially French people, who made his house their home while passing from east to west. He took out a license to keep a house of entertain- ment from the years 1798 to 1806, after which time his drug-store and practice demanded so much atten- tion that it was given up.

Having been unaccustomed to riding on horseback he was an awkward rider, and objected to country

practice and gradually gave it up. He was very fond of music and drawing, and was proficient in both. His performances on the violin and clarionet are well remembered by Mr. C. M. Reed when he was keeping the drug-store in 1813, where Michael Kuntz's hat-store now is, in the Valentine House, and also his relating the taking of the Bastile. He accu- mulated many books, especially on chemistry and botany, the latter of which he was particularly fond of. The cultivation of flowers and gardening was a favorite pastime. He gave up practice when about sixty years of age, and continued his drug-store till his death in 1849, at the advanced age of eighty- seven years, retaining all his faculties perfectly. The stone house known as the Le Moyne mansion was built by him in 1813, and in that year he moved into the "New Stone House on Maiden Street," where he resided until financially embarrassed, and moved to the house across the street, where he died.

Francis Julius Le Moyne, only child of Dr. John J. Le Moyne, was born on the 4th of September, 1798, in Washington. His school-days were passed in his na- tive town, where he graduated from Washington Col- lege in the class of 1815 at the age of seventeen. He commenced the study of medicine with his father, and finished his studies at the medical college in Philadelphia. He commenced the practice of medi- cine in 1822, and continued practice till he was about fifty years of age, when he relinquished the arduous duties of his profession. Shortly after his return from Philadelphia at the close of his medical studies he met at his father's house Miss Madeleine Romaine Bureau, who had accompanied her sister from Gal- lipolis in order to receive medical treatment. This - acquaintance ripened into a marriage, which occurred in May, 1823. He settled in Washington, and en- tered upon the practice of his profession with great zeal and energy. By his father's embarrassment about this time the old homestead was sold, and by the aid of friends he was enabled to purchase it. By hard work, economical living, and persistent en- ergy he succeeded in clearing his own and his father's debts. Feeling deeply interested in education, he early manifested a desire to promote and extend its benefits. On April 2, 1830, he was elected a trustee of Washington College, in which position he remained, a prominent and useful member, until the union of · Washington and Jefferson Colleges, which occurred in 1865. He was one of the earliest friends of the Wash- ington Female Seminary, and was elected one of the original trustees in 1836. About that time he became interested in the abolition movement that was just beginning to sweep over the land, and was induced to join that party. From then till the successful ac- complishment of the object for which the movement was started he was a champion of the down-trodden race, and one of the most aggressive workers in the field. A sound, logical thinker, independent, forci- ble, he brought to the work the best powers of his

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HISTORY OF WASHINGTON COUNTY, PENNSYLVANIA.

mind, regardless of personal and private interests. He was a candidate of the Abolition party for Gov- ernor of Pennsylvania in 1841, again in 1844, and in 1847. The Citizens' Library, of which he was the founder, is mentioned at length in this work. He founded a colored normal school under the care of the American Missionary Society. A donation of $20,000 was made for this purpose, a portion of which was to be expended in the erection of buildings, and the remainder in the endowment of the institution. The site selected was on a bluff in the vicinity of the city of Memphis, Tenn. The school proved success- ful, and an additional sum of $5000 was donated for its support. Feeling the deepest interest in his alma mater, he endowed a professorship with $20,000 in 1872, to be entitled " The Le Moyne Professorship of Agriculture and Correlative Branches," and in July, 1879, made an additional endowment of $20,000 for a chair of applied mathematics.

He was an enthusiast on the subject of cremation, and believing it to be the only proper means of dis- posing of the dead, he built a crematory a short dis- tance southeast of the town. The first body cremated was that of Baron de Palm, a German nobleman. The cremation took place on the 6th of December, 1876, under the charge of a society called the Theo- sophists. The transaction attracted great attention ; reports of it were published in nearly all the news- papers of the country, and Dr. Le Moyne, the crema- tionist, became widely known and famed. There have been fourteen cremations in the furnace, he himself being the third subject. It is not looked upon with much favor by, the people of Washington.

Dr. F. J. Le Moyne died Oct. 14, 1879, his wife having died six years earlier (July, 1873). They had eight children, all of whom are living, viz .: Hon. John V. B. Le Moyne, ex-member of Congress, Chi- cago; Frank Le Moyne, M.D., of Pittsburgh; Mrs. N. K. Wade, of Columbus, Ohio; Mrs. V. Harding; Mrs. John A. Wills; Julius Le Moyne; Miss Jane and Miss Madeline Le Moyne, of Washington.

Dr. Alexander Blair, a son of Dr. Isaiah Blair, was born in Carlisle, Pa., May 22, 1789. He moved with his father to this town, and entered Washington Col- lege, where he graduated in the first class in 1808. On receiving his diploma, Alexander returned to Car- lisle, and entered upon the study of medicine with Dr. Samuel Allan McCoskey, who had been his father's medical preceptor. After a preliminary course of reading he went to Philadelphia and at- tended lectures in the medical department of the University of Pennsylvania for one term and part of a second. After this course of study he returned to Washington, and his advertisement in the Reporter of date March 9, 1812, says he had then opened an office and drug-store on the northeast corner of Market and Maiden Streets. Soon after this, upon the breaking out of the war of 1812, he applied for a military po- sition, and received a commission as surgeon's mate in

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History of Washington County, Pennsylvania : with biographical sketches of many of its pioneers and prominent men, Part 137

Author: Crumrine, Boyd, 1838-1916; Ellis, Franklin, 1828-1885; Hungerford, Austin N Publication date: 1882 Publisher: Philadelphia : H.L. Everts & Co. Number of Pages: 1216

Author: Crumrine, Boyd, 1838-1916; Ellis, Franklin, 1828-1885; Hungerford, Austin N
Publication date: 1882
Publisher: Philadelphia : H.L. Everts & Co.
Number of Pages: 1216