USA > Pennsylvania > Westmoreland County > History of Westmoreland county, Pennsylvania, Vol. I > Part 54
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In some parts of the Connellsville coal basin there are three separate strata of coke-producing coal, and the lower veins are often as much as five hundred feet or more below the surface. In some places the lower veins are over nine- feet in thickness, and none of them is anywhere less than six feet.
Water is a great barrier in the mining of this coal. Without the constant use of pumps the mines would soon fill up, for natural drainage at such great depths is out of the question. Constant pumping, day and night, adds greatly to the cost of coke production. And, although water for the purpose of cooling the molten coke at the present time is necessary, and is poured into the ovens in great volumes, the water pumped from the mines cannot be used for this pur- pose because of the sulphur it contains, and because of its many other impurities. Impurities in the water leave a trace in the coke if poured into the molten oven, and consequently only the purest water must be used. This is furnished by a system of waterworks, the construction of which alone is often attended with great expense. It requires about twenty-four hours roasting of the coal in the- ovens to produce a coke that is suitable for the purpose of smelting iron ore, and
46g
HISTORY OF WESTMORELAND COUNTY.
about forty-eight hours to make the coke used in foundries. A still higher grade is made which requires sixty or seventy-two hours roasting.
The real wealth of the coal in the Connellsville coke seams is almost beyond comprehension. The region seems small when compared with the acreage of other coal fields,yet the coal in this region,known by special geological examina- tions, assures us beyond doubt that at the present output the field cannot be ex- hausted by the present generation. Producers claim that an acre of coal will produce about five thousand tons of coke. There are in the Connellsville region about one hundred and thirty square miles of coking coal, or about eighty-six thousand acres, capable of producing over four hundred millions of tons. The output for 1904 was 12,427,488 tons, and at this rate it would require over thirty years to exhaust the region. Yet this calculation includes only one stratum of coal, whereas there are, in much of this region, three separate veins, the lower ones, moreover, being much thicker than the upper one upon which this calcula- tion is based. It will be remembered, however, the Connellsville coke field is no longer confined to the narrow region originally designated by that name. Good coking coal is now found in West Virginia.
In most of the mines the mining is done by improved electric machinery, which is also the motive power used in pumping water and air, and in drawing the coal and hoisting it to the surface. There are certain ramifications in al- most every mine, however, which cannot well be reached by electric appliances, and in these the hauling is done by mules and donkeys, after the manner of the old-time mining.
The development of the coke industry was very meager at first, and has ac- quired nearly all of its commercial importance since 1870. Comparatively few ovens had been built before that time, but in that and the year following they multiplied rapidly. The financial difficulties of 1873 had a very depressing effect on the iron industry, and but little was done in the coke business for sev- eral years. When the more prosperous years of 1878 and 1879 came, new ovens sprung up all over the region, and coke for a short time sold at as much as five dollars per ton, and some sales were made at a still higher figure. It may be safely said, however, that the coke industry was permanently established by 1880, at which time our state produced 84 2-10 per centum of all the coke produced in the United States. Over fifty per centum of this coke was produced in the counties of Westmoreland and Fayette. The United States census of 1900 gives the total valuation of all coke produced in the United States as $35,885,000, of which the Connellsville district is credited with $17,128,112. It also shows that in that year Pennsylvania had eighty-nine coke establishments, employing 9,283 men, and that the value of the product was $22,282,558. The census of 1890 showed that our state had 5,855 wage earners employed in the coke industry, and that the value of the product was $10,415,628, which shows an increase of 1139-10 per centum in ten years. In 1899 the average number of carloads of coke shipped from the Connellsville district was 1,676 per day, and it must have been greater each year since, as the subjoined table will show.
470
HISTORY OF WESTMORELAND COUNTY.
The price of coke per ton has fluctuated greatly in the last twenty years. In 1901 it was sold as high as $6.00 per ton, and as low as $1.50 per ton. The average price and gross revenue of the Coke Region, from 1880 to 1905 in- clusive, is shown in the following tabulated statement taken from the Connells- ville Courier, the highest recognized authority on the Coke Industry in the United States. It shows the total number of ovens at the close of each year and the annual output.
YEAR
TOTAL OVENS
TONS SHIPPED
AVERAGE PRICE
GROSS REVENUE
1880
7,211
2,205,946
$1 79
$ 3,948,643
1881
8,208
2,639,002
1 63
4,301,573
1882
9,283
3,043,894
1 47
4,473,889
1883
10,176
3,552,402
1 14
4,049,738
1884
10,543
3,192,105
1 13
3,607,078
1885
10,471
3,096,012
1 22
3,777,134
1886
10,952
4,180,521
1 36
5,701,086
1887
11,923
4,146,989
1 79
7,437,669
1888
13,975
4,955,553
1 19
5,884,081
1889
14,458
5,930,428
1 34
7,974,663
1890
16,020
6,464,156
1 94
12,537,370
1891
17,204
4,760,665
1 87
8,903,454
1892
17,256
6,329,452
1 83
11,598,407
1893
17,513
4,805,623
1 49
7,141,031
1894
17,834
5,454,451
1 00
5,454,451
1895
17,947
8,344,438
1 23
10,140,658
1896
18,351
5,411,602
1 90
10,282,043
1897
18,628
6,915,052
1 65
11,409,835
1898
18,643
8,460,112
1 55
13,113,179
1899
19,689
10,129,764
2 00
20,259,528
1900
20,954
10,166,234
2 70
27,448,832
1901
21,575
12 609,949
1 95
24,589,400
1902
26,329
14,138,740
2 37
33,508,714
1903
28,092
13,345,230
3 00
40,035,906
1904
29,119
12,427,468
1 75
21,748,069
1905
30,842
17,896,526
2 26
40.446,149
CHAPTER XXXIII
Manufacturing Industries.
The manufacturing interests of Westmoreland county are so extensive and so diversified in their character that it is impracticable to classify or enumerate them. Briefly it may be said, however, that the manufacture of iron and steel into various commercial products, leads all others, but it should be understood that this statement does not include the coal and coke products, either of which sup- passes any other one industry in the county. In addition to iron and steel, our more extensive products are tin-plate, glass, brick, aluminum, brass, lumber and its finished forms, paper, machinery, liquor, etc. Many of the larger es- tablishments are described as industries of the various boroughs of the county. It is impossible to give a detailed statement of the output of these industries for the last five years, but we must content ourselves with the statistics of the county as collected by the Census Bureau of the United States Government for the year ending June Ist, 1900.
From Census Bulletin No. 163, issued by the Department on April 29, 1902, page 20, we learn that we had in Westmoreland county, at that time, 624 mann- facturing establishments, owned by 662 proprietors, including corporations and individuals, who on an average employed 14,535 wage earners. The total capi- tal invested by these manufacturers was $31,587,664. Of this invested capital, $1,857,142 is in land; $4,149,606 in buildings ; $11,352,275 in machinery, tools and implements ; and $14,228,641 in cash and sundries.
The wages paid that year to these 14,535 employes was $8,050,020. Of this sum the men who were sixteen years old and over numbered 13,353, and re- ceived $7,798,425. The women sixteen years old and over numbered 666, and received $152,547. The number of children employed under sixteen years of age was 516, and they received $99,048. By this it will be seen that the average amount paid the men for that year was a few dollars less than $600, and that the average paid the women was slightly less than $230, while children under sixteen years of age were paid a few dollars less than $200. The value of the output of these 624 establishments for that year was $37,285,177.
Comparing the manufacturing industries of Westmoreland county with those
472
HISTORY OF WESTMORELAND COUNTY.
of the cther rural counties of the state, that is, excluding Allegheny and Phil- adelphia counties, we stand third in the state, the counties of Berks and Dauphin alone surpassing Westmoreland. If the amount of capital invested is compared with that of other rural counties, we still stand third, the counties of Berks and Northampton surpassing us. This immense output from the factories of West- moreland is shipped to every civilized nation on the globe.
Briefly it may be said that Westmoreland county manufactures more window glass, the chief product of glass, than any other county in the United States. This is all manufactured in three places, viz. : Jeannette, Arnold, and Mt. Pleas- ant, and these factories are described in the parts of this work which pertain to these boroughs. The factories at Jeannette and Arnold are the largest in the world. Our county has in the past twenty years wrested this supremacy from the world, and has taken from Pittsburgh all the glass factories it had. This is largely due to peculiar natural advantages, viz .: to an almost inexhaustible vein of coal near Jeannette which is better adapted to the manufacture of glass than any other known coal, and to the natural gas which is found in abundance in this locality. The glass blowing in these large factories is now done entirely by the most improved modern machinery.
CHAPTER XXXIV
The Spanish-American War.
But two regiments from Pennsylvania, viz. : the Tenth and the Sixteenth, saw service in the Spanish-American War, for they were the only ones from our state which succeeded in getting out of the United States. In these regiments Westmoreland county had three companies, viz. : Companies I and E, of the Tenth, and Company M of the Sixteenth Regiment.
The Tenth Regiment of Infantry belonged to the National Guard of Pennsyl- vania, and was composed of companies from Beaver, Washington, Greene, Fayette and Westmoreland counties, and was commanded by Colonel Alexander L. Hawkins. The regiment was called out and reported at Mt. Gretna on April 28, 1898. The two companies, I and E, from Westmoreland county, Com- pany I from Greensburg and Company E from Mt. Pleasant, were in this regi- ment. Company I was commanded by Captain James M. Laird; and Company E by Captain 'James A. Loar. The regiment was paraded for inspection and muster, and both the officers and men had the privilege of entering the United States service or refusing to do so, for, by our law, the National Guard of Penn- sylvania could not be taken outside of the state to do military service. Be it said to their honor that almost every one of them entered the United States service. The few who did not had reasons for not doing so which were excep- tionally good. Immediately thereafter and prior to the mustering of the regi- ment, the companies were increased to seventy-five enlisted men each, and they were mustered into the service of the United States on May 12th, 1898. They re- mained in camp at Mt. Gretna, and on May 17 were ordered through the War Department to move to Chickamauga Park, Georgia. While preparations for this movement were being made, the order was countermanded and another was issued the day following, which directed the Tenth Regiment to proceed to the Philippine Islands as part of the command of General Wesley Merritt. This order was hailed with great joy by the officers and soldiers of the regiment, and in compliance with the order they left Mt. Gretna about nine o'clock p. m. on May 18, passing through Greensburg about half past eight the next morning, on their road to California and thence to the Philippines. A stop of a half hour only was allowed at Greensburg. The citizens from the town and many hun-
474
HISTORY OF WESTMORELAND COUNTY.
dreds from the surrounding country had assembled to bid them good-bye, make them presents, and give to them a last word of good cheer before they left on their long journey to the Orient. The trip of the regiment across the continent was by way of the Pittsburgh, Fort Wayne and Chicago Railroad to Chicago, thence to Omaha, thence to Ogden, and thence by the Southern Pacific Railroad to San Francisco. It was almost a continuous ovation from Harrisburg to the Pacific coast. Their reception at San Francisco, magnificent in every particular, was the crowning event of all. They reached that city on the morning of May 25, and almost immediately went into camp at Camp Merritt, near the Presidio. On the morning of June 14 they embarked on the United States transport "Zealandia," and in a few hours were under way across the Pacific ocean, as a part of the expedition to the Philippine Islands under the command of Brigadier General Francis V. Greene, U. S. V. The regiment arrived in Manila Bay on July 17, 1898, and on July 21 disembarked and went into camp at Camp Dewey, six miles south of the city of Manila. They immediately began to build earth- works, and by July 31, with the aid of the Tenth Regiment, entrenchments sufficiently strong to afford excellent protection to the troops were constructed. On the morning of the 3Ist, the Tenth Regiment had been detailed for outpost duty, the term being twenty-four hours. Nothing unusual occurred that day.
Company I, among other companies of the regiment, occupied the most northern entrenchments of the United States army, and were on July 31st abont four miles south of the city of Manila. The entrenchment line extended from the Manila Bay east two hundred and fifty yards, terminating at the road lead- ing to Cavite and Manila ; the entire day being without firing from either side, the United States troops were busily engaged in strengthening their position. About II o'clock P. M. the enemy opened fire from four pieces of artillery at Fort Malate. This was kept up for a half an hour or more without any ma- terial damage to the United States works. They then advanced in a heavy line of infantry, firing occasionally, until they were within about four hundred yards of the United States troops. There they halted and began firing rapid volleys from their entire line, which they kept up for three hours. This having but little effect, they again opened fire from two pieces of artillery, after withdraw- ing part of their advanced line. The two pieces of artillery were loaded with shell and shrapnel. During all of this time there were but four of the United States troops wounded and one killed. In the meantime the enemy made sev- eral movements to turn the flank of the United States troops at the eastern extremity, but were held in check by our troops, and at no time came nearer than two hundred yards from the end of our line of entrenchments. The battle terminated with the retirement of the enemy at about 3 o'clock A. M. It was estimated by Colonel Hawkins that no less than one hundred thousand rounds of ammunition were expended by the enemy, and perhaps sixty thousand by the United States troops, the Tenth Pennsylvania Regiment alone having used thirty-nine thousand rounds. Those behind the entrenchments were compara- tively safe, there being but few casualties, but among the exposed troops, when
475
HISTORY OF WESTMORELAND COUNTY.
they went forth to check the flanking movements of the enemy, one soldier in four was either killed or wounded, as is shown by the report of the battle made- by Colonel Hawkins. A furious typhoon, with a constant downpour of rain, lasted during the entire night, and the soldiers long before morning were liter- ally covered with mud and drenched with rain. Most of the troops, and, in- deed, all of the Westmoreland soldiers, were under fire for the first time in this battle, yet it was the testimony of the experienced officers, including Gen- eral Greene and Colonel Hawkins, that they stood like veterans, never for a single moment yielding an inch from their position. The companies most dan- gerously exposed and in an unprotected position were Companies D, E and K. All of the soldiers held their ground bravely, and when relieved brought their dead and wounded to places of safety. This battle, known in history as the battle of Malate, was the only engagement between the land forces of the two. countries that took place during the Spanish-American war in the Philippine Islands.
From August Ist until the morning of the 13th, the Tenth Regiment per- formed fully its share of outpost duty. On the 13th they received two days" cooked rations and two hundred rounds of ammunition per man, and were or- dered to take the position at the crossing of the Manila and Pasia roads, with the understanding that the army was to advance on the city of Manila. At 9:30 A. M. the bombardment of the fortifications of Manila was begun by the. United States fleet, and at 10:30 the reserves started for the front, but, when the Tenth Regiment had advanced but a short distance beyond their entrenchments, a white flag was seen floating over Manila, and, following the beach, they en- tered the city via Malata and Ermita, with but little resistance.
When the command reached San Francisco it was decided that each com- pany should be increased in numbers so as to make up the quota of one hun- dred and six men to a company, as required by the new army regulations. Col- onel James E. Barnett and Adjutant Charles C. Crowell and one enlisted man from each company were sent back to Pennsylvania to enlist these additional troops. The required number for the Tenth Regiment was two hundred and forty-eight, and they were very readily found. But by the time they reached San Francisco the main body of the Tenth had sailed for Manila. The re- cruits were taken from San Francisco to Honolulu on the "Arizona," sailing on August 20, and reaching Honolulu August 27th. There they were in Camp Otis, and were drilled till November 10, when they again sailed on the "Ari- zona," and reached Manila Bay on November 25th. On December 2 they joined the regiment, and all were united under one name. .
The regiment did guard and patrol duty in the city of Manila from the 14th of August until the 4th of February. On February 5, the Tenth Regiment was ordered to advance and capture a Chinese hospital, and after a stubborn contest the enemy was driven away and the hospital captured. In the after- noon the advance was continued and the enemy driven from De la Loma Church and blockhouse. There entrenchments were built and this position was occu-
.476
HISTORY OF WESTMORELAND COUNTY.
pied until March 25th. They then began to advance north, the Tenth Regi- ment being on the extreme left of the Second Brigade. On March 31, after one or two engagements, they reached Malolos, where they remained until April 14, when they were ordered to Manila and thence to Cavite. On June 29 and 30 they embarked on the transport "Senator" to be mustered out of service at San Francisco, and sailed on July Ist. They came home through Japan, stop- ping at Nagasaki and Yokohama. Colonel A. L. Hawkins, who had greatly en- deared himself to all the soldiers and to the people of Pennsylvania generally by almost a lifetime of military service, died on board the "Senator" at sea, on July 18th. His remains were brought home and interred at his home in Wash- ington, Pennsylvania. A monument has since been erected to his memory in Schenley Park, Pittsburg. The transport "Senator" reached San Francisco Bay on August 1, and the regiment was mustered out of service at San Fran- cisco, on August 22, 1899, after a service of sixteen months. The soldiers, on their return to Pennsylvania, were greeted with splendid receptions, not only in Pittsburgh, but in all the towns from which the members of the several companies hailed, the President of the United States, the Governor of Penn- sylvania, General Merritt, General Greene and many other notables being present to welcome them when they reached Pittsburgh.
The soldiers of this regiment who hailed from our county and who were killed in battle were as follows: William E. Bunton, Company E, killed July 31, 1898; Jacob Hull, Jr., Company E, killed July 31, 1898; Jesse Noss, Com- pany E, killed July 31, 1898; Alexander Newill, Company E, killed March 25, 1899 : William H. Stillwagon, Company E, killed July 31, 1898; Lee Snyder, Company E, wounded July 31, 1898, died August 3, 1898; John Brady, Com- pany I, killed July 31, 1898; Bert Armbrust, Company I, killed March 30, 1899 : Daniel W. Stephens, Company I, killed March 29, 1899.
Those who were wounded were as follows : Company I-Richard D. Laird, Augustus C. Remaley, Archibald W. Powell, Morrison Barclay, Joseph C. Mickey, William H.Stouffer. Company E-Captain James A. Loar, John G. Thompson, Nathaniel J. Hurst, Richard G. Baer, Sylvester B. Bobbs, Charles H. Eminhizer, John A. Hennesey, Roy J. D. Knox, Howard Miner, John A. McVay, Frank J. Schachte, Christopher Siebert, George Washabaugh, Will- iam H. West, Sylvester B. Bobbs died at sea, July 22, 1899.
Company M of the Sixteenth Regiment was recruited at Jeannette, in West- moreland county, and was the third and last company from our county which was engaged in the Spanish-American war. It was commanded by Captain James M. Laird, of Greensburg. He had become captain of Company I of Greensburg in 1878, and was connected with it and with the Tenth Regiment as captain or major during all the years between 1878 and 1898, but, when Company I was to be mustered into the United States service, Major Laird was rejected because he had passed the age limit, much to the regret of the sol- diers, his friends at home and to himself. Lieutenant W. S. Finney was elected in his stead. In July following Governor Hastings, regardless of the age limit,
477
HISTORY OF WESTMORELAND COUNTY.
commissioned him as captain of Company M, which in the summer of 1898 had. been recruited at Jeannette. Company M was attached to the Sixteenth Regi- ment, and was part of the Third Battalion. Because of the lateness of their enlistment they did not sail with the Sixteenth Regiment from Charleston, South Carolina, but were encamped first at Chickamauga and then at Newport News. They finally sailed from the port of New York on the "Obdam," on September 14, and landed at Ponce on September 22. They were equipped with Krag-Jorgenson rifles. After much moving they were encamped at San Juan, and on October II sailed for the United States, landing at New York on October 17. The regiment was furloughed for sixty days awaiting orders, and it was then supposed that they would soon be ordered to Manila, for the troubles, though practically over in the Porto Rican section, were still bubbling. up in the Philippine Islands. On December 28, however, the regiment was mus- tered out of service.
CHAPTER XXXV
COUNTY OFFICERS.
The following comprises the list of county officers of Westmoreland county from the formation of the county to the year 1905:
PRESIDENT JUDGES.
John Moore 1785-91
Jeremiah M. Burrell 1851-1855
Alexander Addison 1791-1803
Joseph Buffington
1855-1871
Samuel Roberts
1803-1806
James A. Hunter 1879-1890
John Young
1806-1837
Lucian W. Doty
1890
Thomas White
1837-1847
Alexander D. McConnell 1895
Jeremiah M. Burrell 1847-1848
John B. Steel
I90I
John C. Knox 18.48
ASSOCIATE JUDGES.
William Jack
180I
James Bell 851
John Irwin
1801
David Cook
1851
James Barr
1801
Sam'l L. Carpenter 1856
William Jack
1806
G. R. D. Young 1856
John Irwin
1806
Robert Given
1861
Jacob Painter 1806
John Jones
1861
John Lobingier
1821
Robert Given 1866
Thomas Pollock
1821
M. P. McClanahan 1866
James Bell
1841
John W. Riddle 1871
John Moorhead
1841
M. P. McClanahan
1871
PROTHONOTARIES.
Arthur St. Clair 1773
William J. Williams 1858
Michael Huffnagle
1776
Bales McColly 1858
Archibald Lochry 1779
George Bennett 1861
Thomas Hamilton
1793
John Zimmerman 1864
John Morrison 1800
Lewis A. Johnston 867
James Reed 1818
John Zimmerman 1870
John H. Wise
1819
R. W. Singer 1873
Eli Coulter
1820
John H. Highberger 1876
David Marchand
1821
H. P. Hasson
1879
479
HISTORY OF WESTMORELAND COUNTY.
GLASS.
Randall Mclaughlin
1830
John C. Keffer 1882
James B. Oliver
1836
John Chamberlain (died) 1885
John Clark
1839
George W. Flowers 1888
David Fullwood
1842 John Rial 1888
James McCallister 1848
Robert A. Hope
1891
Samuel B. Ransey 1849
Lewis Thompson
1894
Andrew Graham, Sr.
1850
Robert A. Rankin 189;
Joseph Gross
1852
M. F. Null
1900
William McCall
1855
M. F. Null
1903
RECORDER.
New office created by virtue of the law and the Census of 1900, showing a population of over 150,000 in the county.
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