USA > Pennsylvania > The Historical journal : a quarterly record of local history and genealogy devoted principally to Northwestern Pennsylvania > Part 2
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Five feet four and a half inches. 1
Five feet five inches 22
Five feet five and a half inches. 3
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THE HISTORICAL JOURNAL.
able place in the history of the world, the men who composed the American armies of the Revolution did not reach a very high aver- age of stature. but rather that toughness of tissue instead of length of legs was what accomplished the work they undertook and so suc- cessfully carried through ; and as the "Pennsylvania line." of which the New Eleventh Regiment was a part, was often dubbed the "Long-legged line," the inference would seem to be plausible that the rest of the army was composed of men of still shorter average stature, and that the old notion of all being giants in those days, however venerable with age and instilled as a part of youthful education, is hardly sustained by these muster rolls.
Lieutenant-General the Count de Rochambeau, the commander of all the French land forces sent to assist the American army of the Revolution, was also only about five feet six inches in height. But Lieutenant William Feltman says in his journal that the French soldiers were "all very tall men"-possibly by comparison with the Americans.
Of 215 men of the New Eleventh Pennsylvania Regiment whose ages are given, three were only 14 years old, one 15 years, four 16 years, eleven 17 years, nine 18 years, six 19 years, seventy-two between 20 and 25 years, twenty-seven between 25 and 30 years, twenty-eight between 30 and 35 years, ten between 35 and 40 years, thirteen between 40 and 45 years, nine between 45 and 50 years, nine between 50 and 55 years, two between 55 and 60 years. and one 60 years old.
The birthplace of 207 men of the regiment is given, of whom 60 were born in America. 41 in England, 89 in Ireland, 6 in Scot- land, 10 in Germany, and one in Wales. The small number of German birth may be accounted for by the fact that Pennsylvania furnished. a number of military organizations, varying from a com- pany to a battalion. made up almost exclusively of Germans. The German element, foreign and American born. was very large in Pennsylvania's quota of the Revolutionary army.
As illustrations of what the "Pennsylvania line" could do. when the first and second Pennsylvania brigades were called upon to make a forced march, upon the discovery of the treason of Ar- nold, in order to get possession of an important position before the British could seize it, General Wayne says: "Our march of six-
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teen miles was performed in four hours, during a dark night, with- out a single halt or a man left behind. When our approach was announced to the General, he thought it fabulous." And well he might, whether the men were short-legged or long-legged. Indeed it was a feat that even the members of the "Veteran Corps" of Company G* might consider well up towards real soldiering. Then again, the New Eleventh Regiment formed a part of General Sul- livan's expedition against the Northern Indians, during which it made a march from Sunbury, Pa., to beyond Canandaigua, N. Y .. and back again, not to speak of lateral marches; and this through a wilderness without roads, bridges or ferries, but interspersed with plenty of mountain climbing and swamp and stream wading-a feat of walking not to be despised by any soldiers. During that expedition, between the evenings of August 12th and 13th, (1779,) Colonel Hubley, of the New Eleventh, says his regiment was in motion, fighting and marching, for twenty-three consecutive hours. and in that time marched not less than forty miles.
THE METEORIC SHOWER OF 1833. BY J. C. MCCLOSKEY, LOCK HAVEN.
T HERE are but few persons now living who witnessed the great meteoric shower of 1833. At that time the news was not flashed from one end of the universe to the other in the twinkling of an eye, as it is at the present. Those who saw the strange phenomenon in this county, had no idea that it was being observed in all parts of the globe, and with the slow methods then in use for disseminating information it was weeks before they were any the wiser. That the sight was one of appalling grandeur is vouched for by the few of our oldest residents who were fortunate in being permitted to gaze upon the singular spectacle.
An intelligent old lady gave the writer, a short time before her death, which occurred about one year ago. the following informa- tion regarding the great meteoric shower of November 12th, 1833, as witnessed by her at her farm home near this city.
"My husband." she said, "was lumbering up river and had sent one of his men home with a team for supplies. This teamster had
*A Williamsport crack company belonging to the Twelfth Regiment, N. G.
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risen about two o'clock in the morning to feed and care for his horses in order to get an early start on his return trip. While going to the barn he saw the 'falling stars,' as they were called, and hastily returning to the house, called to us women-folks to get up as quick as possible, that the stars were falling and the judg- ment day was at hand.
"A single glance from the window convinced us that either his words were true or that some strange phenomenon was taking place. The air seemed to be filled with falling fire, each separate particle of which was apparently as large as the big flakes of snow that sometimes fall on a soft day in winter. The falling fire, or whatever it was, made it as light as when the full moon is shining on a clear night, and looking far up towards the sky we could fix our eyes upon a single one of the falling meteors and trace it until it almost reached the ground, upon which none of them could be seen to alight. Some of the meteors assumed fantastic shapes and our fears were terrible. When we finally calmed ourselves enough to reason together, we found that by fixing our gaze upon the real stars, that were shining brightly in the heavens, we could see that they were not falling. This allayed our fears, and from the moment that discovery was made, we feasted our eyes upon the falling meteors until daylight shut them from our view.
"But few of our neighbors witnessed the strange sight, and those who did not were loth to believe the occurrence as we related it to be real. We, however, were pleased to know, when we saw the newspapers, that the singular phenomenon had been witnessed all over the world, and that we had seen the wonderful sight of that remarkable night of November 12th, 1833."
THE pretty little borough of Port Allegany, Mckean county, located in a nook on the line of the Buffalo, New York and Phila- delphia Railroad. is growing and prospering. It already has one large tannery and several smaller enterprises, and now the Ameri- can Extract Company is preparing to establish works there. The main building will be 136 by 80 feet, and 32 feet high, besides a boiler house, laboratory and office. It is expected to have the works in operation by the first of June. Their capacity will be about thirty cords of bark per day, and from 16 to 24 men will be given employment.
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HON. JOSEPH BILES ANTHONY.
BY F. C. CAMPBELL, WASHINGTON, D. C.
H ON. JOSEPH B. ANTHONY was born in Philadelphia, June 19, 1795. At an early age he removed with his parents to New Jersey, where he received his earlier education. His father was a man of means and gave his son a good education, sending him to Princeton College, where he graduated.
While still a young man he came to the West Branch Valley and located in Milton, at which place he studied law under Samuel Hepburn, Esq., and was admitted to the bar. He then went to Ohio, but after an absence of a year returned to Penn- sylvania and settled permanently in Williamsport, then a small village. He was admitted to the Lycoming County Bar in 1818. In 1821 he married Miss Catharine Grafins, of Williamsport.
He took an active part in the politics of his day, associating himself with the Democratic party, with whose views he was heartily in accord and whose policy he advocated. He was elected a member of the State Senate in 1830, and served out his term so satisfactorily to his constituents that he was sent to Congress in 1834, and re-elected in 1836. At his last election he was chosen by an unprecedented majority, carrying every township in each county, and every ward in every borough in his district.
During the administration of Governor Porter he was ap- pointed Judge of the Nicholson Court of Pennsylvania. a court established to settle the titles of vast tracts of land in the state. In 1847 he was appointed President Judge of the Eighth Judicial District of Pennsylvania. He continued in the faithful exercise of his duties until the day of his death, and he performed all the duties of his various high offices honestly, faithfully and with dis- tinguished ability.
Judge Anthony was a lover of society, an accomplished scholar. a man of wit, anecdote, brilliant repartee and the soul of the social cirele. Possessed of those traits of character which endear us one to another-charitable and generous to a fault-he was beloved by the entire community in which he lived. As a sample of his wit it may be mentioned that while holding court at Danville, at the January sessions of 1846, a man was tried be-
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fore him for shooting a valuable setter dog named Logan, the property of Mr. Mercer. The trial excited much merriment, and during the argument the Judge wrote the following stanzas, * which were quietly dropped on the table for the amusement of members of the bar:
Poor Logan's dead, no more he'll howl, And rend the air with deafening cries, No more he'll set for man the fowl, In death's cold lap he lowly lies.
How fondly would he hunt the game, How closely would he scent the air,
A setter known full well to fame, The huntsman's friend! his master's care.
From day to day, from year to year, He roamed the wood, he scour'd the field;
From every vicious practice clear, In faithfulness to none he'd yield.
A watchful, trusty, peaceful friend, From quarrel, strife and bickering free ;
He never failed his aid to lend, But true to huntsman call was he.
In canine veins no drop of blood of "Logan " courses-all his race Is now extinct-in wicked mood Man sent him to his resting place.
As a judge guided by stern integrity of purpose, he dis- tributed even-handed justice with impartiality, whilst his honesty of character won for him the golden opinions of all good men. He died in Williamsport on the 10th of January, 1851, of heart disease, at the comparatively early age of 56 years, six months and twenty-one days, regretted by all who knew him. And as if im- pressed with a sense of the mutability of this world, his last words were: " It is folly, it is folly ; we must leave it all."
His wife, one son and six daughters survived him, but they are now all dead. The daughters married as follows: Elizabeth R. became the wife of John R. Campbell ; Martha B., of Hepburn MeClure ; Catharine G., of Henry White; Mary V., of Dr. Charles L. Lyon: Rachel A., of James B. Montgomery, and Emily, of John Morgan.
* Freeze's History of Columbia County.
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METHODISM IN CENTRE COUNTY.
BY JOHN B. LINN, BELLEFONTE.
T HE centenary of the Methodist Church in Centre county was marked by the assembling of the Central Pennsylvania Con- ference in Bellefonte, March 10-15, 1887. No allusion was made to the fact in any of the proceedings of Conference ; nevertheless, the first Methodist society was formed in Bald Eagle, at the house of Philip Antes, (now Curtin's Eagle Iron Works, in Boggs town- ship,) in 1787. His daughter Polly, born June 3, 1787, was just four weeks old when Philip Antes, (grandfather of General John Patton, our Congressman-elect,) moved up to the Bald Eagle from Nippenose, and made a home and preaching place for the pioncer circuit riders of the Methodist Episcopal Church.
It antedates the first society in Lycoming county, formed. as stated by Captain A. H. MeHenry, of Jersey Shore, Pa., at the home of Ared Sutton on Lycoming creek, in 1791. The name of the first members of the Bald Eagle society that have come down to us are Philip Antes and wife, Christopher Helford, Philip Barn- hart, Jacob Lee, Lawrence Bathurst, and their respective families.
Philip Antes died in Clearfield county, Angust 14, 1831. He was a son of Henry Antes, sheriff of Northumberland county in 1782. and grandson of Rev. Henry Antes. Philip was born at Falkner Swamp (now New Hanover township,) Montgomery county, August 26, 1759, moved to what is now Dauphin county, where he married Susanna Williams and removed to Nippenose. After he sold out to Roland Curtin he removed to Clearfield county. His wife died in Clearfield county May 2, 1826. Their daughter Susan married John Patton, Sr., and is only lately deceased at the age of 93 or 94. She was born at the old mill in Boggs township. May 10, 1791.
Lawrence Bathurst was an old Revolutionary soldier and died in 1848, near Curtin's works, aged 94, upon the farm that had been his home during his entire life in the Bald Eagle Valley. Philip Barnhart's descendants are well known Methodists to this day.
In this connection the following postscript to an old letter I found not long since will be interesting. The letter is from Roland Curtin, father of Ex-Governor A. G. Curtin, to Judge
.
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James Potter, who had a distillery over in Penn's Valley. It is dated March 7, 1803 :
"P. S .- The major part of Dunlop's hands are becoming Methodists, which prevents the rapid sale of whiskey I have had in November and December. However, I empty the barrels tolerably fast, and I send a few to Chicklekamouch and Moshannon."
By Dunlop's hands he means the puddlers at Colonel James Dunlop and John Dunlop's forges, adjoining Bellefonte.
A VERY OLD HOUSE BURNED.
On the night of March 4th, 1887, a fire occurred in Wayne township, Clinton county, which destroyed a historical building known as the "Big House." It stood on the farm of Edwin Winchester, on the bank of the river, and in early times was a favorite stopping place for travelers passing up and down. The house was built by "Grandfather" Quiggle at an early day. J. F. McCormick, of Nittany Valley, informs the Lock Haven Express that it was abont 150 years old. The builder was his grandfather. and the mother of Mr. McCormick was born in the house in 1787. She was the youngest of eight children, all of whom were born there. He further says that he thinks the same roof was on the house when it burned that was put on when it was erected. His mother often told him that more than a certain number of windows in a house at that time were subject to taxation, and she knew of some of the windows having been boarded up to avoid paying tax on them. The builder was the first of the name to settle there, and he paid for his land in pounds, shillings and pence. The quaint old deeds are now held by Jacob Stamm. The house was very commodious and had the reputation of being the largest dwell- ing in Lycoming county, which then covered half a dozen of the present counties. The reminiscences connected with it and its many guests in olden times would fill a volume. It was well built. was the first "log, frame" erected in that section, and was provided with a fire-place in every room, up and down stairs. Some of the rooms were highly ornamented in the style of the times. For many years it had been used as an outhouse and tobacco shed. There is much regret that it perished by vandal hands. Tramps are sup- posed to have fired it.
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THE ANTIQUITY OF PROHIBITION.
Hon. John B. Linn, of Bellefonte, who has, perhaps, niade more careful searches among the old records at Harrisburg than any man living in the state to-day, sends THE HISTORICAL JOURNAL this important scrap of early local history :
The country about the mouth of Lycoming creek was, in 1753, the domain of French Margaret, a Canadian, and niece of Madame Montour. Her village site is that now occupied by Newberry proper, in the Seventh ward of Williamsport. It was known as "French Margaret's town," and is so noted on Seull's map of 1759.
In August, 1753, J. Martin Mack, Moravian missionary among the Indians, called upon her, and thereupon writes in his journal :
"At 9 A. M., August 28, Brother Grube and I arrived at French Margaret's. She received us heartily, conducted us to her lodge and set milk and watermelon, before us. 'Do you remember me, mother? I asked. 'I do,' she said, 'but I have forgotten when and where I met you.' 'On the Island below, at Shamokin,' I re- plied, 'eight years ago.' She at once recalled the occasion of our first meeting and signified her satisfaction at our having traveled so far to visit her.
In the course of conversation, for she was very communicative, she stated that her son and son-in-law had been killed in the winter while on a maraud against the Creeks. On asking permission to deposit our packs with her, until our return from the Delaware town of Quenischachschocheny, (Linden,) 'Oh,' said she, 'the Indians there have been drinking hard the past week, and you will likely find them all drunk "
On our return she gave us a refreshing draught of milk and entertained us with the family news, speaking of Andrew and of her husband, Peter Quebec, who she said had not drank rum within six years. She has prohibited its use in her town, and yet although she has initiated other reformatory measures within her little realm, she enjoys the respect and confidence of her subjects."
Williamsport, if it keeps up its ancient reputation, must be the oldest temperance city in the state. How is it about Linden ?
WHO was the first postmaster of Newberry ? And how long did he serve ?
IN the record of Pennsylvania marriages, second volume State. Archives, second series, page 117, it appears that Jasper Graff and Susannah Mouse were married January 8, 1776. Place of resi- dence not given, but supposed to be in Philadelphia. Whoever heard of a family named Mouse before ?
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THE THREE MUNCIES.
Thomas F. Gordon, in his Gazetteer of Pennsylvania, published in 1832, fifty-five years ago, thus speaks of the three Muncies in Lycoming county :
Muncey was originally incorporated by the name of Pennsborough, 15th of March 1826; but was again incorporated, and its name and limits changed by act 19th of January, 1827. It has 100 dwellings, " stores, 5 taverns, 1 Methodist Church and 1 church common to Episcopalians and Presbyterians, and 500 inhabi- tants. Within 5 miles of the borough are 7 grist mills and 3 woolen and cotton factories and 5 distilleries, which consume at least 25,000 bushels of grain per annum.
Muncy township. Greatest length 7 miles, breadth 5; area 17,040 acres. Population in 1830, 1,000; taxables 192. Valuation of taxable property in 1829, seated lands. &c .. 840,548 : unseated $5,232, personal estate, $8.500; rate of levy ? of one per cent.
Muney Creek township. Greatest length 10 miles, breadth 8, area 17,920 acres. Population in 1830 about 800; taxables 179 : valuation of taxable property in 1829, seated lands, &c., 863,461: personal estate, $7,502.
By comparing the population of that time with the census of 1880 we have the following: Muncy borough, 1,174; Muncy township. 809 : Muney Creek township, 1,709. The population of the borough is probably 1,500 to-day. Muncy township, however, has lost and Muncy Creek has more than doubled. But great advances have been made in the value of property and in the wealth of the people.
LATITUDE OF WILKES-BARRE.
The following valuable scientific information first appeared in the Wilkes-Barre Record of March 17, 1887. The report of four observations to ascertain the latitude are given thus :
. 41 degrees, 14 minutes, 17 seconds in 1755, as taken by John Jenkins. 41 degrees, 14 minutes, 27 seconds in 1770, as taken by Samuel Wallis.
41 degrees, 14 minutes, 40 seconds in 1787, as given by David II. Conyngham.
41 degrees, 14 minutes, 40.4 seconds in 1881, as taken by second geological survey.
These observations were made at the following points: The third and fourth on the Public Square. The second at Fort Durkee. situate on the bank of the Susquehanna about where the
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residence of William L. Conynghamn stands. The first at a point unknown.
The distance apart, in a southern direction, would be: the third, 2.4 rods south of the fourth; the second about 80 rods south of the fourth, and the first about 142 rods south of the fourth.
I accept the fourth point of observation as giving the most per- fect result, as it was done with modern instruments made expressly for that kind of work, with great care and at large expense. and after many observations, in a house built for the purpose, covering a considerable period of time; while the others were made by com- mon surveyors' compasses in the woods or on the open plain.
The agreement is very close considering the great disadvantages under which the early observers labored. Who made the Conyng- ham observation it is not stated. He was on a visit to the valley in 1787, and noted in his journal, " Wilkes-Barre is in 41 degrees 14 minutes 40 seconds north latitude."
STEUBEN JENKINS.
MOST ECCENTRIC WILL EVER WRITTEN.
Probably the most remarkable will ever made was drawn up by Alderman Hartman, of Pittsburgh, on Thursday, February 17. 1887. The testator, Ambrose Retharge, who is 52 years of age, after dis- posing of $10,000 in real estate, directs as follows:
"I direct that my body be taken to St. Michael's Church, and, after the proper religious services are performed, that it be given in charge of my family, who will convey it to Samson's crematory, and there have it burned to ashes, the ashes to be put in a small bottle and given in charge of the German consul in Pittsburgh. This gentleman will then forward my ashes to the consul in New York, who will give them in charge of the captain of the German steamer Elba, who will place them securely in his ship for the ocean voyage. When at mid-ocean I direct the captain to request one of the passengers to dress in a seafaring suit and ascend with my ashes in his hand to the top of the topmost mast, and after pro- nouncing a last benediction, to extract the cork from the bottle and cast its contents to the four winds of heaven. I direct also, while this ceremony is being performed, that it be witnessed by all
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passengers on board. After the Elba has completed her trip and returned again to New York, I want a full statement of my death and the scattering of my ashes in mid-ocean published in the Pitts- burgh papers, so that my friends in this city shall know my burial place."
NORTHUMBERLAND COUNTY IN 1800.
Scott, in his quaint Geographical Description of Pennsylvania, published in 1806, gives the following table of the population of Northumberland county, by townships, in 1800.
TOWNSHIPS.
Free.
Slave.
Augusta
1,037
5
Beaver.
1,257
..
Beaver Creek
543
...
Bloom
806
...
Catawessy
1,315
...
Derry
1,570
...
Chillisquaque
1,098
East Buffalo
1,982
Fishing Creek
419
...
Greenwood
663
. . .
Haynes
1,387
1
Mahantango
1,070
...
Mahanoy
1,810
...
Mahoning
1,102
...
Mifflin
450
...
Miles
588
...
Point
874
Penn's.
2,309
..
Shamokin
1,466
3
Sunbury Borough.
611
Turbet ..
2,364
Washington.
380
West Buffalo
1,691
1
White Deer
977
1
Total.
27,769
At that period many of the townships mentioned were much larger than some counties are to-day. In 1805, according to the same authority, Northumberland county gave on the election for governor 4,457 votes.
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THE LITTLE GRAVE ON THE HILL.
There's a spot on the hillside far away, Where in summer the grass grows green ; Where, beneath a rustling elm tree's shade, A moss-colored stone is seen. "Tis a quiet and unfrequented spot, A solitude lone and wild ; Yet-somebody's hopes are buried there- 'Tis the grave of a little child.
In winter, alas! that mossy stone Is hid 'neath a shroud of snow ; But around it, in springtime, fresh and sweet, The daisies and violets grow ; And o'er it the summer breezes blow With a fragrance soft and mild, And the autumn's dead leaves thickly strew That grave of a little child.
And every year there's a redbreast comes, When the month of May is nigh, And builds her nest in this quiet spot, 'Mid the elm tree's branches high ; With her melody sweet, by the hour she thrills, And if by the scene beguiled, Perhaps-who knows? 'tis an angel comes To the grave of that little child.
Yes, somebody's hopes lie buried there, Some mother is weeping in vain, For, though years may come and years may go, 'Twill never. come back again. Yet blessed are they who die in youth The pure and the undefiled; Some road to Heaven, perchance, runs through That grave of a little child.
ACCORDING to Joseph Scott's .Geographical Description of Pennsylvania, published in 1806, Bellefonte only "contained forty dwelling houses" in 1800. Bald Eagle and Patton townships had 1,534 inhabitants, and Potter township had 1,170. This same curious old book says that the only township in Warren county at that time was Oil Creek, and it had 130 inhabitants. "Erie had about 100 houses. a court house and jail," and there was one slave in the county.
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