History of York County Pennsylvania, Volume I, Part 82

Author: Prowell, George R.
Publication date: 1907
Publisher: J. H. Beers
Number of Pages: 1372

USA > Pennsylvania > York County > History of York County Pennsylvania, Volume I > Part 82

Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).

Company I, of the Eighth Regiment, which served in the war with Spain under Captain John H. Drenning, of Wrightsville, was organized shortly after the Civil War as the Wrightsville Grays. Captain Frank J. Magee drilled the company for nearly ten years. It then became Company I, of the National Guard of Pennsylvania. Edwin K. McConkey, afterwards chosen to the State Senate from York County, was its drummer. Company I, under Captain Magee, aided in quelling the riots in Pitts- burg, in 1877, and was called into the service during all the different strikes in the coal regions.

Colonel Theodore F. Hoffman, who commanded the Eighth Regiment, had a brilliant military record during the Civil War. He was a native of Pennsylvania, but when a mere boy migrated to the northwest, and served for three years in the First Min- nesota Regiment, which lost nearly two- thirds of its men in killed, wounded and captured at the battle of Gettysburg. Colo- nel Hoffman died of a fever while in com- mand of his regiment at Duryea, Pennsyl- vania, in 1902, engaged in quelling a coal strike.

Company I, in the Spanish-American War, entered the army with eighty men, and was later recruited to 106 officers and men, corresponding in number to the other companies of the regiment. Many of its men belonged to Marietta and Columbia, in Lancaster County.

The following is a list of those who served from York County :

Officers-Captain-John H. Drenning, Wrightsville. First Lieutenant-Harry Wallick, Wrightsville. Sec- ond Lieutenant-C. C. Beecher, Wrightsville. First Sergeant-Levi Wallick, Wrightsville. Quartermaster Sergeant-James L. Crone, Wrightsville. Sergeants- Wesley W. Drenning, Wrightsville; William Zigler, Wrightsville ; James Townsby, Wrightsville. Corporals -Peter P. Siltzer, Wrightsville; S. Sheary, Wrights- ville; Harry Newcomer, Wrightsville; Milton Ellis, York. Artificer-William Hinkle, York. Wagoner- William Swartz, East Prospect.

Privates-John W. Barnes, Abraham Ditzler, Walter L. Drenning, all of East Prospect; Harry D. Fox, York; Harry F. Horn, York; Lewis H. Jenkins, Gatchelville; James W. Miller, Bridgeton; Harry W. Myers, Glen Rock; Charles R. Ritter, York; Glen Kerr, Norman Morrison, George W. Siltzer, William Spencer, Charles Townsby, Charles Williams, William Zorbaugh, all of Wrightsville; Thomas Lowmiller, Oliver Wales.

Company M, of the Fifth Pennsylvania Regiment, was recruited at Gettysburg. The regiment was sworn into service at Mt. Gretna, May II, 1898. It was sent to Camp George H. Thomas, on the battlefield of Chickamauga, Georgia, May 19, and later was transferred to Lexington, Kentucky, reaching there August 23. The war having practically ended, officers and men were given a furlough of thirty days. The head- quarters were opened at Altoona, Pennsyl- vania. On October 27, 1898, this regiment participated in the Peace Jubilee in Phila- delphia, and was mustered out of service, November 7.

'The following soldiers from York County served in Company M, of this regiment : Charles W. Barnhart, Henry C. Brant,

-----

-------- ------ 1 1 1

- t

453

THE SPANISH-AMERICAN WAR

Francis P. Connolly, Lewis M. Dodson, Schwartz, of York, enlisted in the Ninth John A. Eline, Daniel W. Everhart, George Fickes, Charles W. Glessner, Charles Hill, Adam Keesey, Ambrose L. Kissinger, Ed- ward S. Little, Hugh C. McCall, Howard Moser, John R. Reeser, John J. Sechrist, Charles R. Sipes, Frank A. Smith, Charles F. Snyder, George W. Strickler, William Tampsett, Charles G. Throne, Samuel P. Trimmer, all of York; Charles L. Hamme, Jacob H. Sell, Samuel P. Trimmer, Ser- geant Maurice N. Trone, all of Hanover ; Calvin Heiges, James C. Hoecht, of Frank- lintown.

A number of men enlisted, from York County, in the Fourth Regiment Pennsyl- vania Volunteer Infantry, which was sworn into the service at Mount Gretna, May 12, 1898, with David B. Case, of Marietta, colo- nel. Soon afterward the regiment was sent to Camp George H. Thomas, Chickamauga Park, Georgia, where it remained two months. Meantime, all the companies were recruited to 106 men. During the latter part of July, the Fourth Regiment was sent to Newport News, where it embarked with Haynes' brigade, Brooke's division, for Porto Rico. The regiment arrived at Ar- royo, one of the chief ports of the island. Here it was prepared for active service, but before hostilities had opened in Porto Rico the war had ended and peace was declared. The regiment was mustered out of service, November 16, 1898.

Company I, of this regiment, was re- cruited at Harrisburg, by Howard L. Calder, who became captain. It was sworn into the service July 2, 1898, at Mount Gretna, where it became part of the Third Battalion when the regiment was recruited to 106 men in each company. Among the soldiers from York County who had en- listed in Company I were Sergeant James J. Logan and C. Mark Huntsberger, of Dills- burg; Mervin Lau and Charles Underwood, of Franklintown. Company K. of the Fourth Regiment, under Captain Martin Smith, of Columbia, contained some York County men, among whom were Lewis Nispel, Henry Bruhl, Nevin Keech and John Shrenker. Irvin E. McDermott, of Fawn Grove, served in the Sixteenth Regi- ment.

Samuel K. McCall, of York, served with Battery A in Porto Rico. H. Joseph

United States Infantry and served in the war on the Philippine Islands. Later he served in his regiment with the allied armies in China for the purpose of quelling the Boxers in that country. He was present at Tien Tsin, China, with Colonel Liscomb commanding the regiment, when that officer was killed. William H. Fantom, Thomas Keesey and Charles Brunhouse, of Com- pany A, Eighth Regiment, afterward en- listed in the volunteer service and served in the war on the Philippine Islands. James Danner, of York County, who was a private in Company A in the war with Spain, en- listed in the United States volunteer service and was accidentally killed on the Philippine Islands.

Edwin G. Dempwolf, son of E. A. Demp- wolf, of York, was placed on duty on the training ship Saratoga, in 1896. At the opening of the war he enlisted as a sailor and was assigned to duty on the Supply, a commissary vessel. He was transferred to the cruiser New York, commanded by Cap- tain French E. Chadwick. He served on this vessel in the battle of Santiago harbor, when the Spanish fleet, under Cervera, was sunk by the American squadron. He served in the United States navy for a period of three years. During the last thirteen months of his enlistment he was quarter- master on the United States naval tug Mas- sasoit. His brother, Ralph W. Dempwolf, served on the training ship Saratoga in 1897. In 1906 he was a lieutenant in the United States Revenue Service.

Robert Allewalt, of Hanover, in 1905, was appointed a cadet to the United States Naval Academy at Annapolis. Lloyd H. Shettel, of York, enlisted as a sailor and served on the steamship Peoria. Later he was transferred to the cruiser New York and served in the blockade fleet on the Cuban coast.

Lieutenant Rudolph E. Smyser, of the United States Army, was born at York, De- cember 5, 1882. He enlisted as a private in Company A, of the Eighth Infantry, Span- ish-American War, from June, 1898, to March, 1899. On August 29, 1899, he was promoted to the rank of second lieutenant of the Forty-seventh United States Infan- try, and soon afterward was transferred to the Philippine Islands. He took part in

454

HISTORY OF YORK COUNTY, PENNSYLVANIA

several engagements to quell the natives, visiting many foreign ports. He was pro- and for meritorious services was promoted to first lieutenant of his company, March 31, 1901, and was honorably mustered out of service, July 2. He then entered an in- fantry and cavalry school, from which he was graduated, November 22, 1902. Mean- time he was assigned to the rank of second lieutenant of cavalry, and was promoted to first lieutenant of the Fourth Cavalry, No- vember 22, 1902. Lieutenant Smyser was transferred to the Fourteenth Cavalry, March 30, 1903. moted to lieutenant, March 3, 1883, and was with the Galena, and later the Swatara with the United States naval brigade during the Revolution at Panama, in 1885. From this time until 1896 he served on different ves- sels and then spent two years at the naval academy. At the opening of the war with Spain he fitted out the tug Samoset and the tug Nezincot at New York and took them to Key West, Florida. During the war he served on the Marblehead, which performed active duties in Cuban waters in the summer of 1898. On March 3, 1899, he was com- missioned lieutenant commander of the bat- tleship Iowa, one of the largest war vessels of the navy, and in 1904, was promoted to the rank of commander.

Captain William Earnest Welsh, of the regular army, was born in Hanover, York County, November 23, 1872. On June 17, 1890, he entered West Point Military Academy, where he excelled in the study of mathematics and civil engineering. He was graduated from that institution in June, 1894, and was then assigned second lieutenant of Eighth Infantry in the regular army. He was promoted to first lieutenant in the Tenth Infantry, April 2, 1898. In 1900 he accompanied his regiment to the Philippine Islands, where he aided in quel- ling the natives. On February 2, 1901, Lieutenant Welsh was promoted to the rank of captain in the Thirteenth United States Infantry.

Major Silas A. Wolf, of the regular army, was born in Newberrytown, York County, December 13, 1853. He obtained his preparatory education in the public schools and on June 1, 1874, he was appointed cadet to the United States Military Academy at West Point, from which institution he was graduated, 1878. He entered the army as second lieutenant of infantry and was pro- moted to first lieutenant, August 5, 1888, and captain, February 19, 1895. On March 2, 1901, he was promoted to the rank of major of the Nineteenth Infantry.

Commander York Noel, of the United States navy, son of Daniel K. Noel, the first mayor of York, graduated from the naval CHAPTER XXVII academy at Annapolis, in 1874. He entered active service in the navy on the flagship NOTED MEN OF YORK COUNTY. Colorado, was commissioned ensign in 1876 Jeremiah S. Black-Hugh Brackenridge- Phineas Davis-Lewis Mayer-United States Senators Ross, Rowan and Quay. and served in various squadrons in different parts of the world. He was on board the Alliance on a cruise around Europe and served on other vessels with commendable The biographies of noted men of the Revolutionary period are found in the chap- ability. He was commissioned master, Oc- tober 28, 1881, and went on a special cruise, ters relating to that subject. The follow-

Colonel William H. Mclaughlin, of the regular army, a native of York, entered the military academy at West Point, July 1, 1861, and was graduated from that institu- tion, June 23, 1865. He was assigned to duty in the army as second lieutenant in the Seventeenth Infantry, was immediately pro- moted to the rank of first lieutenant and served on garrison duty for two years. He was promoted to captain of the Twenty- sixth Infantry, in 1867; served on garrison duty in different parts of the United States and was transferred to the Eighteenth In- fantry, in 1871. In 1877, Captain Mc- Laughlin served with his regiment in sup- pressing railroad strikes in West Virginia and Pennsylvania. He performed im- portant duties on the western frontier and served on garrison duty until the opening of the Spanish-American War. With the rank of lieutenant colonel he took an active part in the war. Soon afterward he was promoted to colonel. He resigned from the army in 1899 and has since lived in retire- ment in Washington, D. C.

1 i

1 1

From

Jeremiah J. Black

455

NOTED MEN OF YORK COUNTY

ing chapter describes the careers of a num- ber of prominent men who were either born in York County or resided within its limits and won distinction in different fields of operation.

JEREMIAH SULLIVAN BLACK, jur- ist and statesman, for twenty years one of the leaders of the American bar, was born in Somerset County, Pennsylvania, January 10, 1810. He was a descendant of sturdy Scotch-Irisli ancestors, who came to this country and located near the site of Gettys- burg with the early settlers of that region.

James Black, his first American ancestor, migrated to the Glades, a beautiful and picturesque region in the present area of Somerset County. Henry Black, his son, and father of the jurist, born 1783, was for twenty years an associate judge, a member of the state legislature and representative in Congress.

Early in life Jeremiah S. Black displayed the strong intellectual endowments which marked his distinguished career as a lawyer and statesman. He obtained his education at a classical school in his native county, and then entered the office of Chauncey Forward, one of the ablest lawyers of west- ern Pennsylvania, who was practicing his profession at Somerset. Soon after his admission to the bar in 1831, Mr. Black took charge of the extensive business of his pre- ceptor, who was then serving as a member of Congress, and became widely known as a successful lawyer. In 1842, he was ap- pointed president judge of the Sixteenth Judicial District, embracing Somerset and several adjoining counties. Judge Black remained on the local bench for a period of nine years.

In 1851, under the judiciary amendments to the constitution, he was nominated by the Democratic party, for the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania and was elected. When he assumed the duties of his office he was chosen, by lot, chief justice, succeeding John Bannister Gibson, who had served in the same position with great distinction a period of twenty-four years. In 1854, Judge Black was re-elected for a term of fifteen years.

His judicial career was distinguished; his decisions contained in the state reports from Fourth Harris to Fifth Casey, are cited as learned and forceful expositions of

the law. The body of American juris- prudence received a deep impress from his terse and vigorous style and the clearness and logical force of his reasoning.

Shortly after March 4, 1857, while upon the supreme bench of Pennsylvania, Presi- dent Buchanan appointed him attorney- general of the United States. His manage- ment of the great cases of the California land grants, involving in extent over 19,000 square miles, including a large part of San Francisco, the whole of Sacramento and other cities, and in money, $150,000,000, called into exercise not only the legal ability, but the professional skill of the attorney-general and resulted in a great triumph of justice over a most stupendous fraud. This laid the foundation of Judge Black's national reputation as a lawyer, and secured that remarkable success that at- tended his subsequent professional career. In statesmanship, during that trying period of our country's history, there devolved upon him the most onerous duties. He was the principal adviser of President Bu- chanan, a man of high intellectual ability, but who, on account of the warring elements of his cabinet, was compelled to look to his attorney-general for support. Upon the resignation of Lewis Cass, the President appointed Judge Black, Secretary of State. The events of the closing months of that administration are memorable.

James G. Blaine, in his work entitled "Twenty Years of Congress," in referring to the stormy times preceding the Civil WVar, pays the following tribute to the character and ability of Judge Black :

"He was a man of remarkable character, and was endowed by nature with a strong understanding and a strong will. In the profession of the law, he had attained great eminence. His learning had been illus- trated by a prolonged service on the bench before the age at which men, even of excep- tional success at the bar, usually attract public observation. He had added to his professional studies, which were laborious and conscientious, a wide acquaintance with our literature, and had found in its walks a delight which is yielded to few. In history, biography, criticism, romance, he had absorbed everything in our language worthy of attention. Shakespeare, Milton, indeed all the English poets, were his

456

HISTORY OF YORK COUNTY, PENNSYLVANIA

familiar companions. There was not a and which, it was presumed, had been set- disputed passage or an obscure reading in tled a century before. The cases of citizens any one of the great plays upon which he of the republic, Blyew, McArdle and Milli- could not off-hand quote the best render- gan, have made the state trials of the ings, and throw original light from his own United States of America more illustrious than those of Great Britain, for they ar- rested in this land the encroachment of a government, republican in form, upon the absolute rights of individuals, when the excitement of the hour seemed to obscure the better judgment of those in power. They established the judiciary as truly the bulwark of liberty. illumined mind. Upon theology he had apparently bestowed years of investigation and reflection. A sincere Christian, he had been a devout and constant student of the Bible, and could quote its passages and apply its teachings with singular readiness and felicity. To this generous store of knowledge he added fluency of speech, both in public address and private conversation, and a style of writing which was at once unique, powerful, and attractive. He had attained unto every excellence of mental discipline described by Lord Bacon. Read-

The case of Blyew arose under the Civil Rights' Bill. The defendant had been sentenced to death by a federal court in the state of Kentucky, but the prisoner, for whom Judge Black appeared, was released ing had made him a full man, talking a by the Supreme Court. The case of ready man, writing an exact man. The judicial literature of the English tongue may be sought in vain for finer models than are found in the opinions of Judge Black when he sat, and was worthy to sit, as the associate of John Bannister Gibson, on the Supreme Bench of Pennsylvania. McArdle arose under the Reconstruction acts. The defendant was held under a con- viction by a military commission, and under the argument of Judge Black would have been released had not Congress invalidated the jurisdiction of the Supreme Court. The prisoner was then released by the gov- ernment. The case of Milligan was a trial and conviction before a military commis- sion. He, too, was under sentence of death,

"In political opinion he was a Democrat, self-inspired and self-taught, for his father was a Whig who had served his state in Congress. He idolized Jefferson and approved by the President of the United revered Jackson as embodying in their States. The case came before the Supreme respective characters all the elements of the Court on a writ of habeas corpus. The soundest political philosophy, and all the requisites of the highest political leadership. He believed in the principles of Democracy as he did in a demonstration of Euclid."

Before his retirement from the cabinet, Secretary Black was nominated for the position of justice of the Supreme Court of States. the United States. This was during the

The Civil War gave rise to a class of cases which involved the fundamental prin- ciples of liberty, the struggles for which had been handed down to us from a former age,

argument of Judge Black, in this last mentioned case, is one of the most memor- able forensic efforts before any tribunal. The case is one of the celebrated state trials, and its result, the discharge of the prisoner, maintained the constitution of the United

Judge Black retained his vigor and pro- exciting period at the opening of the war, fessional skill until the close of his career. and the appointment was not acted upon. For a short time he served as reporter to the United States Supreme Court. When he retired from this position, he took up his. residence at York, and turned his attention to the practice of law. He rarely appeared in the local courts, but was engaged in the trial of many of the most important litiga- tions in the higher courts of the state and nation. He was a delegate at large in the state con- vention which framed the revised constitu- tion of 1873. His eminence as a lawyer and jurist attracted attention when he entered that convention, but owing to his profes- sional duties, he did not remain long as a member. Though he participated but little in its public discussions he influenced the action of the convention on many important subjects, notably that on the restriction of the powers of certain corporations.

Judge Black spent twenty-four years of his life as a resident of York County. He resided first in the town, and in 1873

1 ! 1

457

NOTED MEN OF YORK COUNTY

erected a large mansion, two miles south- napolis, Maryland, he was admitted to the west of York. He named this delightful rural retreat "Brockie," and here he spent the remainder of his life. At this home he entertained many of the most distinguished men of the country, who were pleased with the privilege of being his guest. President Garfield, who for many years had been a close and intimate friend of Judge Black, was a frequent visitor at Brockie, rarely passing through York without calling upon his friend, whom he revered and honored as one of the foremost lawyers and statesmen of this country. During his long residence in York County, Judge Black was held in the highest esteem by every one who knew him. He died at Brockie, August 19, 1883.

HUGH HENRY BRACKENRIDGE, a chaplain in the Revolution and one of the noted lawyers and jurists of Pennsylvania, spent his early boyhood in the lower end of York County, either in Hopewell or Peach Bottom Township. He was born near

Campbelton, Scotland, in 1748. When five , years old he accompanied his father, a farmer, to this country, and settled in York County, Pennsylvania, near the Maryland border. He supported himself by farming and teaching while preparing for college, and was graduated at Princeton in 1771, in the same class with James Madison. In conjunction with Philip Freneau, he wrote a poetical dialogue entitled "The Rising Glory of America," which formed part of the graduating exercises, and was afterward published (1772). After graduation he was for some time a tutor at Princeton, and then taught school in Maryland for several years. During this time he wrote for his

bar, removed in 1781 to Pittsburg, then a small frontier town, and soon became prominent in his profession. In 1786 he was sent to the legislature to secure the establishment of Allegheny County. In 1794 he was prominent in the "Whiskey In- surrection," but used his influence in bring- ing about a settlement between the gov- ernment and the malcontents. He vindi- cated his course in "Incidents of the Insur- rection in Western Pennsylvania," (Phila- delphia, 1795). After the Democratic victory in 1799 the Governor of Pennsyl- vania, Thomas Mckean, appointed Brack- enridge to the Supreme Bench of the State, where he remained until his death. Be- sides works already mentioned, he wrote a "Eulogium of the Brave who fell in the Contest with Great Britain," an oration, delivered at Philadelphia, July 4, 1778; another oration, delivered July 4, 1793; "Gazette Publications Collected," (1806) ; "Law Miscellanies," (1814); and "Modern Chivalry, or the adventures of Captain Far- rago and Teague O'Regan, his Servant." The last named, a political satire, is his best work, the materials of the story being drawn from the author's own experience. The first part was published in Pittsburg in 1796 and re-published in Philadelphia in 1846, with illustrations by Darley. The second portion appeared in 1806, and both were issued together in 1819. Bracken- ridge also wrote many miscellaneous essays and poems. He died in Carlisle, Pennsyl- vania, June 25, 1816.

REV. THOMAS BARTON was prominent personage in the colonial his- a

pupils a drama called "Bunker Hill" (Phila- tory of York and Cumberland Counties. delphia, 1776). In 1776 Brackenridge went He was born in Ireland in 1730, and edu- cated at the University of Dublin. In 1753 he came to America, and was em- ployed as a teacher for two years in the academy at Philadelphia. At certain in- tervals he visited the church people at York, Huntingdon (now York Springs) and Car- lisle. After making the acquaintance of the English people at these places, he was induced by them to return to England, obtain clerical orders from the proper authorities, and become the officiating rec- tor for the people of the Episcopal Church in York and Cumberland Counties. He to Philadelphia and became editor of the "United States Magazine." Some strict- ures on General Charles Lee, published in this magazine, so enraged that officer that he called at Brackenridge's office for the purpose of horsewhipping him, but the editor prudently refused to appear. Brack- enridge had studied the divinity, and was for some time chaplain in the Revolutionary army. Six of his political sermons, delivered in camp, were afterward pub- lished. He was never regularly ordained, however, and his tastes lay in a different direction. After studying law at An- came back to America in 1755, and immedi-

Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.

History of York County Pennsylvania, Volume I, Part 82

Author: Prowell, George R. Publication date: 1907 Publisher: J. H. Beers Number of Pages: 1372

Author: Prowell, George R.
Publication date: 1907
Publisher: J. H. Beers
Number of Pages: 1372