USA > Pennsylvania > Allegheny County > Allegheny in Allegheny County > Recollections of seventy years and historical gleanings of Allegheny, Pennsylvania > Part 11
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In view of the fact that the State Agricultural Society had determined to hold their annual exhibition in 1882 in Alle- gheny County, an arrangement was made with the Society to hold a joint exhibition in that year. With this object in view, the board of managers proceeded at once to the erection of new additional buildings adjoining the main building on the west, to be utilized as power-hall and agricultural machinery department.
Upon the completion of the new buildings, a new and pow- erful high-pressure engine of one hundred horse-power was placed in position for the use of exhibiters of machinery.
The exposition was continued from year to year with varied success until 1883, when, unfortunately, on the night of the 2d of October, the buildings with their entire contents were totally destroyed by fire.
The loss to the public by the disaster can hardly be esti- mated, while the intrinsic value of the material destroyed can be put down in round numbers at about three million dollars. There were many valuable relics that nothing can replace.
It was without doubt one of the largest and most destructive conflagrations that ever visited the city of Allegheny.
The officers of the exposition at the time of the fire were D. W. C. Carroll, president ; Joseph T. Spear, vice-president ; E. P. Young, superintendent ; J. C. Patterson, secretary ; and E. P. Haynes, press agent.
There was a total amount of insurance on buildings and machinery of forty thousand dollars.
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WESTERN THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY.
WESTERN THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY.
THE history of this institution since its advent in Allegheny is somewhat peculiar, and is deserving of a more than passing notice, especially in relation to the occupancy of the common ground.
The General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church in the United States, having declared their intention of establishing, at some point in the West, a theological seminary, similar to the one at Princeton, N.J., certain citizens, land-owners in the town of Allegheny, sensible of the great advantages that would result from the location of such an institution in their midst, called a public meeting in the said town of Allegheny, Nov. II, 1825, for the consideration of the project.
After a free interchange of opinions on the subject, a certain written instrument was drawn up and executed by the citizens there assembled, granting and transferring to the General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church all their right, title, inter- est and claim, to the free and entire use to a certain portion of the common ground belonging to the said town of Allegheny, bounded and described as follows : to wit, -
"Commencing at the distance of forty feet from the south line of the commons, and five perches from the west line; thence northerly parallel with said west line forty-five perches nine and one-half feet to a post ; thence easterly parallel with the south line of said commons sixty-four perches to a post ; thence southerly parallel with the west line of commons forty-five perches nine and one-half feet to a post, forty feet from the south line of the same ; thence westerly parallel with said south line sixty-four perches to the place of beginning, containing an
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HISTORICAL GLEANINGS OF ALLEGHENY.
area of eighteen acres and thirty-seven perches, hereby granting unto the said General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church in the United States, all our right of common for the sole use and benefit of the said Western Theological Seminary, provided that the same shall be located on the ground indicated, and com- menced within four years from the date of this grant, hereby war- ranting and defending the premises demised unto the General Assembly aforesaid, on the conditions therein stated, against us the grantors, our heirs and assigns, forever." In view of the above declaration, the Legislature, by the Act of the seventeenth day of April, A.D. 1827, and 29th March, 1844, conveyed all the right, title, and claim of the Commonwealth in the soil of the eighteen acres and thirty-seven perches, and vested the same in James Brown, John Hannen, and Hugh Davis, in trust for the free use, occupation, and benefit of the Western Theological Seminary, to be erected and established under the auspices of the General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church in the United States.
By means of the foregoing grant, and a generous subscription on the part of the citizens, the trustees of the seminary were induced - and, it appeared, with some hesitation - to pass over other advantageous offers made by citizens of other places, and establish the institution in the town of Allegheny.
Before commencing operations, a committee was employed to procure the written consent or release of all then known to pos- sess an in-lot in whole or in part within the town, whether resi- dent or otherwise. On the ground thus donated, and with the assurance that the assent of all who had an interest in the pub- lic ground had been obtained, the authorities of the seminary commenced, in 1825, the excavation for their building, on the crest of the elevation known as "Hogback." The building was completed in 1831, at a cost of over twenty-five thousand dollars.
Two years were spent in making these expenditures, during which time no mutterings of discontent were heard, nor were the trustees apprised that there were any serious objections to the occupancy of the eighteen acres and thirty-seven perches of the commons for the purposes designed.
Now comes the fact, that, after a lapse of years, a suit is brought to test the title.
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By the Act of the Legislature approved March 12, A.D. 1783, appropriating certain lands for the liquidation of depreciated certificates, a certain tract of three thousand acres was reserved for the use of the commonwealth, opposite Fort Pitt. By a sub- sequent Act, approved the eleventh day of September, A.D. 1787, the Supreme Executive Council was empowered to have laid out and surveyed a town with a competent number of lots for the accommodation thereof, and to cause to be laid out and surveyed the residue of the said three thousand acres in out-lots which should not be less than one acre, nor more than ten acres, each. They were also directed to set apart within the town, for the use of the State, so much land as they might deem neces- sary for a court-house, jail, market-house, etc. ; and without the town, one hundred acres for a common pasture.
In pursuance of the Act, the town of Allegheny was laid out, and the lots sold at public auction in the city of Philadelphia : every purchaser of an in-lot got an out-lot in connection with it. The patent deeds describe the commons as belonging to the town.
By this Act, it is clearly defined, that, whilst the State re- tained the right of soil, it guaranteed the right of surface to the purchasers of the in-lots for a common pasture for cattle, etc., and they could not be legally divested of their inherent right of surface without their consent. In order to test the question, an action was brought in the District Court of Allegheny County by Samuel Carr vs. Mary Wallace (the real defendants being the Western Theological Seminary), to test the plaintiff's right founded upon his claim as an owner of an in-lot in the town. After a patient trial of the case, and upon the charge of the learned judge who presided, the jury rendered a verdict in favor of the defendant. To this charge, plaintiff's counsel excepted, and carried the case to the Supreme Court on a writ of error.
There is no principle better settled, none founded on more solid considerations of equity and public utility, than that which declares that if any one knowingly suffers another to purchase, and lay out money on, land under a mistaken notion of title, without making known his claim, he shall not afterwards be permitted to exercise his legal right in the premises. "To be
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HISTORICAL GLEANINGS OF ALLEGHENY.
silent when in conscience he should have spoken, he shall be debarred from speaking when conscience and public policy require him to be silent."
The judgment rendered by the court below was therefore affirmed.
In the matter of the suit brought by the Trustees of the Seminary vs. Samuel S. Shields, George R. Kiddle, and others, at the November term, 1843, of the District Court of Allegheny County, tried Nov. II, 1844, for trespass, damages to the amount of twenty thousand dollars were claimed.
The syllabus of the case upon which the suit was based, may be thus briefly stated. The trustees of the seminary had com- menced the excavation for a building on the plain at the base of the hill on a portion of the common ground, over which no right had been exercised by the plaintiffs, other than claiming it as being included in the grant of the 18 acres and 37 perches. The defendants resisted the occupancy of the ground, and suc- ceeded in filling up the excavation. This action was instituted by the trustees to recover damages as above stated.
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The charge of the court was rendered by the late Judge Hepburn, before whom the case was tried : it was clear, com- prehensive, and exhaustive in every particular, upon which the jury rendered their verdict in favor of the plaintiffs. To the charge of the court, defendant's counsel took exceptions, and at their instance it was written and filed.
In 1844 the Western Theological Seminary was chartered.
In view of the complications surrounding the question of title, etc., a compromise was effected between the city of Al- legheny and the trustees of the seminary on the 20th of December, 1850, whereby the latter relinquished to the former, by deed dated Dec. 3, 1849, all their right, title, interest, and claim to all the property embraced in the original grant, except about one acre on the corner of Ridge and Irwin Avenues, which was reserved : in consideration thereof, the city of Allegheny executed to the trustees a perpetual loan of $35,000, bearing interest at the rate of six per cent, payable semi-annually.
On the 24th of January, 1854, the buildings were entirely
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consumed by fire, with a large portion of the valuable library ; upon each there was an insurance of $5,000.
In 1854 there were two professors' houses erected on the ground reserved, at a cost of $5,000 each ; and on the Ioth of January, 1856, the new seminary building was completed, at a cost of $22,000. During this year, there were also two addi- tional professors' houses erected, costing $5,000 each.
Beatty Hall was erected in 1859, at a cost of $15,000. In 1868 it was remodelled, at an expense of $3,586. In 1872 the library was erected, costing $25,000. Subsequently, to wit, in 1878, Beatty Hall was taken down, and Memorial Hall, a building much better adapted to the purposes designed, was erected on the site ; estimated cost, $25,000.
The above buildings were erected on the north side of Ridge, between Irwin and Grant Avenues, and not on the public ground, as by some supposed.
OCCUPANCY OF THE COMMONS BY THE WESTERN UNIVERSITY AND THE WESTERN PENITENTIARY.
In the case of the Trustees of the Western University of Pennsylvania vs. Robinson, and others, tried in the Court of Common Pleas of Allegheny County, Sept. term, 1824, the same legal questions were involved : the parties, however, were entirely different. The Act of the 18th of February, 1819, vested in the trustees of the university the title to forty acres of the commons lying between the town and the out-lots, sub- ject, however, to the right of pasture, granted by the Act of the IIth of September, 1787, to the inhabitants of said town.
This was an action of ejectment, brought for forty acres of the common ground. The plaintiff, relying solely upon the grant conferred by the Act of the 18th of February, 1819, made but little effort, if any, to obtain the assent or release of those having the right of pasture, etc.
In view of the manner in which the trustees of the univer- sity undertook to locate their grant, the lot-holders, deeming it highly injurious to their rights as commoners, resolved to
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resist the university claim, and thus determine the constitu- tionality of the law : upon this, the trustees of the university brought suit, as above stated.
The learned judge, before whom it was tried, charged the jury in favor of the defendants, for whom a verdict and judg- ment were rendered.
To this charge, the plaintiff's counsel excepted, and the case was carried to the Supreme Court, who, on a careful review of the case, affirmed the judgment of the court below, thus deter- mining that the rights of the commoners are unextinguished and unextinguishable unless by their own consent.
The Act of the third day of March, 1818, provides for the erection of a State prison, on the principle of solitary confine- ment of the convicts, "the same as now is, or may hereafter be, established by law ; shall be erected on the public land sur- rounding the town of Allegheny ; appropriating sixty thousand dollars for that purpose; and that the select and common councils of the city of Pittsburg, at their first stated meeting in April next, shall, in joint meeting, appoint five competent persons as commissioners, who shall select a suitable site for a penitentiary of not less than ten acres of the public ground aforesaid, which is hereby appropriated and set apart for that purpose." In pursuance of the Act above quoted, the ground was selected, and the foundations commenced.
Although, as is stated elsewhere, the State possesses the right of soil, subject, however, to the right of common, it also possesses the inherent power to appropriate to itself for public purposes any private property, awarding just compensa- tion, on the principle that "no man's property shall be taken or applied to public use without his consent, and just and equitable compensation being made," etc. Now, in this case, it was understood that the commoners were of the opinion that the location and erection of the prison, on the site selected, was for their interest, without further compensation; and in this aspect of the case, the buildings were erected at a large public expense; and by their silent acquiescence, they are bound as much as if they had executed a release. It ap- pears there were ten acres selected, six acres of which were
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within the walls, leaving four acres outside of the west wall : this was fenced in and appropriated for a burial-ground, and pasture-lot, for the use of the prison. The enclosing of the four acres without the wall, the citizens objected to, as not coming within the meaning of the intention of the grant. Meetings of the citizens were frequently called, and council importuned in relation thereto, in order, if possible, to remedy the same. Committees were appointed by council to confer with the inspectors, to induce them to amicably remove the cause of offence, without avail. At length the virtue of forbear- ance ceased ; and on the 9th of May, 1838, the borough coun- cil, by resolution, instructed the street-commissioner to remove the nuisance within thirty days, dispose of the materials to the best advantage, liquidate the expense of the same, and the balance, if any remain, pay over to the prison inspectors. The proceedings, it appears, were quietly acquiesced in by the inspectors.
By the Act of the 18th of March, 1840, this ground was revested in the commoners. By the language of the Act, the commoners are highly complimented for their liberality in granting to the State their right of common in the public ground, for the uses of the State prison; and, further, that the said grant embraced a larger area than now, appears to have been necessary for the purpose : and part thereof never hav- ing been used for the object of the grant, it was therefore ordered and decreed, that so much of the public ground on the west side of the prison-walls, as is now, or may not hereafter become, necessary for the use of said prison, be reverted and restored to its original condition, as a part of the common ground.
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PITTSBURG AND ALLEGHENY ORPHAN ASYLUM.
THE nucleus around which this noble and home-like institu- tion was erected, originated at a meeting held by a few charita- ble ladies of the city of Allegheny, at the house of Professor Halsey, for the purpose of forming a sewing-society.
At a subsequent meeting, at the home of Rev. Joseph Stock- ton, it was decided, after a free interchange of opinions, to form an asylum for orphan children, and to appoint a committee to draught a constitution for the government of the same. In order to carry out more fully this benevolent object, a meeting was held in the First Presbyterian Church of Pittsburg on the 17th of April, 1832, at which a preliminary organization was effected, William Robinson, jun., presiding, Ross Wilkins acting as secretary.
After a brief address by the presiding officer, the committee on constitution, etc., made their report, which was adopted, and a full board of managers and officers elected.
Application having been made to the Legislature, an Act was passed, incorporating "The Orphan Asylum of Pittsburg and Allegheny," approved March 20, 1834.
Under this Act, the following managers were appointed : viz.,-
ELIZABETH F. DENNY. MARY ROBINSON. ELIZABETH TIERNAN. MARIAN YOUNG. MARGARET BRUCE.
ELIZABETH P. HALSEY. SUSAN K. WADE.
ANNA HALSEY.
MARY B. HOLMES.
MARY WILKINS.
MARGARET GEORGE. 4
HANNAH HIGBY.
MARY A. S. BAIRD.
ISABELLA SIMPSON.
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Under the provisions of the Act, every woman contributing, and paying into the treasury, the annual sum of one dollar, was entitled to all the rights and privileges of membership, so long as the contribution should be continued, and upon the payment of fifty dollars entitled to the privileges of life-membership. The grounds and improvements were exempted from taxation so long as the same should be occupied for the object designed. The Act also limited the income to eight thousand dollars annually. A supplementary Act was passed and approved the twelfth day of March, 1866, extending the annual income to twenty-five thousand dollars.
A commencement was made with three inmates in a small house rented for the purpose, situated on the bank of the Ohio river, under the care of Mrs. McKee as matron, and her daughter as teacher. The maintenance was assured by the annual subscriptions and donations, collected from time to time by the active members going from house to house throughout the two cities, together with the aid afforded by the active operations of the sewing-society.
In order to raise a fund for the purchase of a suitable site and the erection of buildings, a fair was projected, and held in September, 1833, and also one in the year following : the results from both were highly encouraging.
Through the active and forcible manner in which the minis- ters of some of the churches presented the objects and aims of the institution to their several congregations, collections were taken up, and encouraging amounts realized. Concerts were given by amateur musical societies of both cities, and the pro- ceeds appropriated in aid of this benevolent enterprise. Con- tribution-boxes were also placed in all the steam and canal boats trading with the cities, and in the public hotels. During this period the managers experienced many trials and diffculties, and the strictest economy had to be observed in the management.
In the year 1835 the late Mrs. N. W. Campbell was elected secretary. It was during this year that the subject of purchas- ing suitable grounds, and the erection of the necessary build- ings, was freely discussed : a considerable difference of opinions existed in regard to locality, some advocating Pittsburg, others
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Allegheny, as the most suitable and convenient. The matter, however, was finally settled Aug. 16, 1836, by the offer of the late William Robinson of the fee-simple title of a lot of ground in the Second Ward, Allegheny, situated on the corner of Taylor Avenue and Webster Street.
At this time a building committee was appointed, consisting of Mrs. Robinson, Mrs. Denny, Mrs. Wade, and Mrs. Montgom- ery. The plans and specifications were gratuitously drawn up by the late John Chislett.
In view of the high rate of labor and building material, operations were suspended until the following spring.
By the efforts of the late Mrs. Mary Robinson, through the aid of the late Hon. Cornelius Darragh, a bill was passed by the Legislature at the session of 1838, appropriating the sum of ten thousand dollars to the institution, payable in annual in- stalments of one thousand dollars. In the spring of this year, ground was broken, and the building commenced, and was so far finished before the close of the year as to be occupied by a family of thirty children. During the year the sewing-society held fairs in one of the lower rooms of the building : the object was to raise means to purchase an adjoining lot for the purpose of a play-ground for the children committed to their care ; and by their continued efforts, the lot was purchased, at a cost of two thousand dollars, and deeded to the institution.
The community now became thoroughly awakened, and seemed greatly interested in the cause ; liberal donations and legacies were received from time to time ; and upon the return of each Thanksgiving Day, the cause of this much-needed insti- tution was not forgotten by the benevolent.
Notwithstanding the means derived from all these sources to meet the wants of the increasing family, the arduous and thank- less duty of collecting the annual subscriptions had still to be continued by the managers.
In order to relieve the managers of this onerous duty, a num- ber of benevolent gentlemen contributed each the annual sum of ten dollars, amounting to over one thousand dollars. This amount was only realized for a few years, when it ceased alto- gether : still, the cause has been greatly favored by the following
PITTSBURG AND ALLEGHENY ORPHAN ASYLUM. 147
legacies and donations of those friendly to the enterprise, which have been safely invested, and the interest utilized for the cur- rent expenses of the institution : viz., -
LEGACIES.
Charles Brown's estate ยท $112,917 40
James McAuley's estate, farm and stock in Mercer
County, Penn., value
2,950 00
Mary O'Hara's estate, five lots in the city of Pitts- burg, value
2,500 00
Samuel Hall's estate
1,000 00
Michael Allen's estate .
1,719 00 .
Thomas Holmes's estate
500 00
Isabella McDonald's estate .
500 00
Mrs. Mowry's estate
1,000 00
J. R. Weldin's estate
300 00
James Frazier's estate .
500 00
Thomas Hartford's estate, contingent on the death of his widow, who died in February, 1874 39,000 00
Mr. Plummer's estate
250 00
Mrs. James Park's estate
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1,000 00
James Crawford's estate (by Thomas Holmes) .
1,000 00
Thomas Bakewell's estate
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1,000 00
Thomas S. Clarke's estate
5,000 00
Mrs. Albree's estate
500 00
Miss Rose McCabe's estate .
300 00
DONATIONS.
Elizabeth F. Denny, 100 shares Pennsylvania Railroad stock, value
5,000 00 M. J. Semple
1,000 00
Messrs. McKnight, Hogg, and Childs, " Fortification Fund " .
778 90
Mrs. James Anderson, 27 shares Allegheny Bridge stock, value
675 00
John Reddick, quit-claim deed for lot on Ridge, Grant, and Lincoln Avenues, 150 and 250 feet, new site . State Pennsylvania, by Act of the Legislature, ap- 10,000 00 proved April 14, A.D. 1838 . . William Robinson, jun., lot of ground, corner of Web- ster Street and Taylor Avenue, valued at 2,000 00
Allegheny Sewing-Society, lot of ground adjoining the one donated by William Robinson, jun., valued at
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John Irwin
2,000 00
William Thaw
3,000 00
A. and W. K. Nimick
3,000 00
William Holmes & Co.
2,103 00
J. M. Pennock
1,390 00
William Holmes
1,000 00
Charles Knap
1,000 00
Nathaniel Holmes
1,000 00
M. J. Semple
1,000 00
James Park, jun. .
1,000 00
Economy Society
1,000 00
Mary B. Jackson .
1,000 00
Isaac Jones .
750 00
Thomas S. Clarke
750 00
Reuben Miller, jun.
600 00
James McAuley
500 00
John Bissell .
500 00
William M. Lyon
500 00
James Caldwell
500 00
Others in less sums, aggregating, in 1868
9,051 00
In view of the contingency involved in the donation of $15,000, and legacy of $52,000, of the late Charles Brown, and the location on Taylor Avenue and Webster Street not proving altogether healthy, the managers resolved to commence the erection of new buildings on the corner of Ridge and Grant Avenues, on the property deeded to them by John Reddick. In 1866 it was completed and made ready for occupancy.
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