Twentieth century history of Altoona and Blair County, Pennsylvania, and representative citizens, Part 8

Author: Sell, Jesse C 1872-
Publication date: 1911
Publisher: Chicago, Richmond-Arnold Publishing
Number of Pages: 1036

USA > Pennsylvania > Blair County > Altoona > Twentieth century history of Altoona and Blair County, Pennsylvania, and representative citizens > Part 8

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HISTORY OF BLAIR COUNTY

cial office, and is a worthy successor to the eminent jurists who have preceded him upon the bench.

It is very gratifying to us to meet on this occasion so many distinguished judges from other districts. They give tone to this affair.

It will be an evil day for this country, when if ever the people have reason to lose faith in the integrity of the judiciary. If that evil day should come, there would be reason to appre- hend that the pillars of the temple of constitu-

tional liberty would be sensibly shaken. But it should be a source of great satisfaction to the people of this county that from the time of its formation until this time, all our judges, albeit not infallible in judgment, have worn the judicial ermine without reproach. This fair and unblurred judicial record of the past, should be an auspicious omen for the future, justifying a reasonable hope, that in future years, this county may be as fortunate in its judiciary as it has been in the past, and is now.

CHAPTER III.

BLAIR COUNTY SEMI-CENTENNIAL.

Ceremonies and Addresses-The Grand Parade-Unveiling the Soldiers' and Sailors' Monu- ment-Perfect Weather-Exercises in the Court House-Exhibition of Relics-Address by Hon. John Dean-Poem, "Little Blair."

The golden jubilee in commemoration of the completion of the county's first fifty years of in- dependent existence, was celebrated June 10, II and 12, 1896. The celebration took place in Hillidaysburg and was attended by a great throng of people. Providence seemed to smile on the efforts of the people of Blair to prop- erly celebrate the occasion. The weather was all that could have been desired; frequent showers during the week preceding and on the first two days of the week of the festivities led to some apprehension that it might be a failure, but on Wednesday morning the clouds were dissipated and not another drop of rain fell until the last set piece of the pyrotechnic display of Friday night had enacted its part and the curtain dropped on the scene.

Wednesday afternoon, June 10, at 2:30 o'clock the first formal meeting took place. It was the bar of Blair county entertaining in- vited guests, distinguished jurists, and former members of the county bar with reminiscent speech at the court house, and in the evening with a banquet at the Logan House, Altoona.

The afternoon meeting was called to order at 2:30, on motion of A. A. Stevens, Esq., Hon. Martin Bell, president judge of the county was chosen chairman. Rev. D. H. Barron, D. D., pastor of the First Presbyterian church of Hollidaysburg, offered a prayer, and a sextette under the leadership of Charles Geesey, Esq., sang the national anthem "America." The singers also rendered other appropriate selec-

tions, at intervals, during the afternoon. Hon. Daniel J. Neff, the oldest active member of the bar, delivered the address of welcome. He was followed by Hon. Augustus S. Landis with a historical address which occupied an hour in its delivery. Other short addresses were made by Hon. William Dorris of Hunt- ingdon, one of the five surviving members of the original bar, Hon. John Scott of Phila- delphia, and Hon. John Fenlon of Ebens- burg, also among the few survivors of that first court in Blair county fifty years before. Mr. Justice John Dean of the supreme court, was the last speaker, after which W. L. Pascoe, Esq., at 5 o'clock, moved the adjournment of the meeting in a few well chosen sentences. The addresses of Colonel Neff and Judge ' Landis are given in full in the following chap- ter entitled Bench and Bar, to which they most appropriately belong.

In the evening at 8 o'clock the members of the bar and invited guests assembled at the Logan House, for a reception and banquet. They sat down to the banquet table at 9:45 and did not quit the banquet hall until I o'clock in the morning. No wines nor intoxicants of any kind were served, and the last two hours were spent in responding to the toasts, J. S. Leisenring, Esq., of Altoona, officiating as toastmaster. Mr. Justice John Dean responded to the toast "The Judiciary" and spoke feel- ingly. Thomas H. Greevy, Esq., responded to the toast "Our Clients" in humorous vein. W.

HISTORY OF BLAIR COUNTY

I. Woodcock, Esq., in the absence of Judge Bell, who was unable to remain to the end of the banquet, responded to the toast "Our Guests." Most of the guests of the afternoon were present at the reception and banquet at night, and selections of music were led by the sextette, under the direction of Charles Geesey, Esq. The committee on arrangements was composed of Hon. Martin Bell, Hon. A. S. Landis, A. A. Stevens, Esq., Hon. J. D. Hicks, J. S. Leisenring, Esq., W. L. Hicks, Esq., W. S. Hammond, Esq., and H. A. McFadden, Esq.

Thursday morning's sun rose in a cloudless sky and the temperature was not much above seventy degrees Fahrenheit at any time; a gentle breeze making the day a perfect one for marching, no dust and no mud. This was Military Day and shortly after II a. m. the columns of soldiers moved off over the route assigned in the following order :

Chief Marshal Theodore Burchfield and Staff.

Altoona City Band.

Fifth Regiment Drum Corps.

Fifth Regiment National Guards of Penn- sylvania.

Battery B of the Second Brigade.

Sheridan Troop, N. G. P., of Tyrone.

Captain C. S. W. Jones.

Carriages containing members of the gen- eral committee and distinguished guests.

Second division-Marshall and Staff.

Hollidaysburg Band.

Post No. 39, Grand Army of the Republic. Logan Band.

Post No. 62, Grand Army of the Republic.

Roaring Spring Drum Corps.

Post No. 82, Grand Army of Roaring Spring.

Continental Drum Corps.

Post No. 172, Grand Army of the Republic of Tyrone.

St. Patrick's Band of Gallitzin.

Post No. 426, Grand Army of the Republic of Bellwood.

Reese's Cadet Drum Corps.

Posts No. 468, 474 and 574, Grand Army of the Republic.

People's Bank of South Fork.

Encampments Nos. 17 and 37 Union Vet- eran Legion.

Camps Nos. 12, 89 and 234, Sons of Veterans.

Carriages containing Old Soldiers.

Bellwood Band.

German Veteran Association of Altoona.

The route traversed was from the starting point near the depot in Gaysport, across the bridge into Hollidaysburg, Allegheny street, to Juniata street, to Mulbury street, to Amelia street, to Allegheny street, to Jones street, to Walnut street, to Juniata street, to Alle- gheny street, to Union street. Distinguished guests not in carriages reviewed the proces- sion in front of the court house.

The parade ended about noon and at 2:45 the ceremony of unveiling the monument to the soldiers and sailors of the county began in front of the court house. The Semi-Cen- tennial Chorus of 200 voices, Charles Geesey, Esq., director, sang "America," and Rev. David S. Monroe, D. D., presiding elder of the Altoona district, Central Pennsylvania Con- ference of the Methodist Episcoapl church, of- fered the invocation and at its conclusion the choir sang "To Thee, O Country," after which Comrade Henry L. Bunker unveiled the monu- ment and Captain Robert Johnson formally presented it to the county commissioners. Hon. J. D. Hicks, member of congress from Blair county, received it in the name of the com- missioners and made a brilliant ten minute ad- dress in which he said that 4,000 soldiers from Blair county fought for the preservation of the Union and that there was not a battle fought during the war in which there were not men engaged who were from Blair county.

Gen. Thomas J. Stewart, adjutant general of Pennsylvania, followed in an able oration occupying half an hour, after which the band played a patriotic air. The assembled multi- tude then sang the doxology, and the meeting adjourned at 4:06 p. m. In the evening the Grand Army posts held a camp fire in front

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of the court house and thus the exercise of the second day closed.

Friday, the last day of the celebration, dawned bright and clear, and was a most per- fect summer day. Business throughout the county was suspended and the railway and trolley cars were crowded to their capacity throughout the day. When the great civic and industrial parade started there were at least 40,000 visitors in Hollidaysburg and Gaysport.

The parade started at 10:30 from Gaysport and marched over the principal streets of the two towns, being reviewed at the court house by Justice Dean, Mayor H. C. Barr of Al- toona and burgesses of the different boroughs of the county. It consisted of eleven divisions, led by Chief Marshall W. C. Roller, Jesse L. Hartman, chief of staff and aides.

The first division comprised the Red Men, representing the aborigines, carriages with guests, executive committee, the Altoona city band, the various lodges of Odd Fellows, and the Boys' Brigade of Altoona.

Second division comprised the Patriotic Order Sons of America, nine camps.

Third division .- Uniformed rank Knights of Pythias and U. R. K. P. band of Pitts- burg.

Fourth division .- Junior Order United American Mechanics, the Oneida Social Club of Altoona and the Tyrone Division Brother- hood of Locomotive Engineers.

Fifth division .- Order of Artisans, Reese's Cadet Corps, Assembly No. 29, of Altoona and No. II of Hollidaysburg.

Sixth division .- Knights of the Golden Eagle, uniformed rank and subordinate castles.

Seventh division .- Catholic societies, in- cluding Knights of St. George, Emerald Bene- ficial Association, St. Patrick's Band.

Eighth division .- Young Men's Institue of Altoona, Logan band and St. John's Temper- ance cadets.

Ninth division .- Firemen; Volunteer Fire- men's Association, of Altoona, Pennsylvania Railroad Firemen, Tyrone Firemen, without equipment, and the Phoenix Fire Company of

Hollidaysburg with engine and full equipment, Bellwood Firemen, Bellwood Band, Duncans- ville Fire Company and hose cart, South Fork Fire Company and Band, and other visiting firemen. An old-fashioned hand fire-engine brought up the rear.

Tenth division .- Employes of Hollidays- burg Rolling Mill, 150 strong in working cos- tume and carrying some of their work im- plements.

Eleventh division .- Floats, merchandise and machinery displays, ancient relics, old canal boat, old stage coach, etc. The float of Wil- liam F. Gable & Company, of Altoona, was the most artistic and costly one in this divi- sion, representing an immense urn entirely cov- ered with expensive lace, "Justice," with her scales, "Liberty" and "America," all draped in white and drawn by eight gaily caparisoned white horses, in tandem with attendants dressed in white. The Young America Clothing Com- pany also had a beautiful historical tableau.

The procession was about one and a half miles in length and was three-quarters of an hour passing a given point. Between 5,000 and 6,000 persons took part in it, while 25,000 to 30,000 spectators lined the streets along which they passed.

In the afternoon the semi-centennial ex- ercises were held in the court house, beginning at 2:40. The room was packed long before the hour for beginning. After the Altoona City Band had played a patriotic selection, Judge Bell called the meeting to order and made a few brief remarks, in which he illus- trated the wonderful improvements that had taken place in the past fifty years. He paid a high tribute to the enterprise of Altoona and her wonderful growth and to the broad and liberal policy of the Pennsylvania Railroad Company. Rev. J. F. Hartman, pastor of the Second Lutheran Church, of Altoona, offered a prayer, the Semi-Centennial Chorus of 200 voices sang "Red, White and Blue." After which Hon. J. D. Hicks read the prize poem, "Little Blair," written by Mrs. Ida Clarkson Lewis, and which will be found at the end of this chapter. The band and chorus rendered

HISTORY OF BLAIR COUNTY

some more music, and the chairman intro- duced Hon. John Dean, one of the justices of the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania, a native and life-long resident of the county, who de- livered the historical address of the occasion, a masterly effort dealing largely with the re- ligious predilections of the first settlers of the county. The paper is given in full in the present chapter.

The address was followed by more music and then, after a few preliminary remarks suitable to the occasion, the Rev. Father Cornelius Shehan, pastor of St. Mary's Catholic church, Hollidaysburg, pro- nounced the benediction and the meeting adjourned at 4:35 p. m. The formal cere- monies of the celebration closed with the adjournment of this meeting, but one of the most entertaining features was yet to come-the pyrotechnic display on Campus Ridge, near Lakemont park. This began at 8:50 at night with the ascension of a large paper balloon, to which explosives were attached. The air being calm it went almost straight upward till it was lost to view among the stars. Fifteen hundred dollars' worth of fireworks were used in the entire display of the evening, some of the set pieces being very fine, among them a full-sized locomotive engine and tender. The closing one, "Good Night," sent out its last sparkling scintillation at 10:33 p. m., and Blair county's semi-centennial passed into history. On the whole it was an im- mense success from first to last. Not a hitch of any kind occurred. The assem- bled crowd was larger than any that Blair county had ever seen and not an accident worth recording happened during the en- tire time.

In Condron's Opera House, Hollidays- burg, was maintained an exhibition of relics worth many thousands of dollars, as such, loaned by the individual owners and free for the inspection of everybody. They were surrounded at all times with hundreds of appreciative visitors.

Among these relics and other exhibits

were old tomahawks, arrow-heads, Indian utensils, guns which had shot Indians, guns, pistols and swords that had been used in the Revolution and earlier, guns and swords that had been used in the War of 1812, the Mexican war and the War of the Rebellion, the first printing-press used in Blair county, copies of the first news- papers printed here in 1834-5-6, old deeds 100 years old and more, the original char- ter of the Portage railroad, a clock that kept the time in the Portage shops in 1832, still in running order, a piano made at Flowing Spring in 1827, and hundreds of other equally interesting relics ; pictures of all the judges of the county since its or- ganization, etc.

BLAIR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. Historical Address Delivered by Hon. John Dean at Hollidaysburg, June 12, 1896.

My Friends> Accepting the assignment of an address on the history of our county, I have endeavored to perform that duty to the best of my ability, in view of the cir- cumstances. A history of the county would involve a narrative of the leading incidents of its growth from the period of its first settlement or its first settlers, run- ning back to about 1768. A chronological statement of important events during that period, important not only because of im- port to those who took part in them, but to us, because of their effect on our present condition, would take, even in its most con- cise form, five or six hours to deliver, in- stead of the less than one, which from the necessity of the case, the committee has allotted me. Therefore I have eliminated from my subject all but one phase of it; in so doing I have put aside much that is of historical interest, such as the source of our land titles in the different townships; how the Penns acquired them; how the first grantees under the Penns took them; to what restrictions and reservations some of them were subject. This is an especially

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interesting topic, not only to the law- yer, but to the intelligent layman. How Judge Wilson, one of the first judges of the supreme court of the United States, could take up and have patented to him more than 100,000 acres of land, a large part of it within the boundaries of our county, when the act of assembly forbade the issue of a warrant for more than 433 acres to one individual, and made void the title to all in excess of that. How the Hollidays, who settled upon and really obtained title to 2,000 acres of the land upon part of which this courthouse stands, afterward lost that title; how the original owners, bring- ing with them the customs and legal no- tions of England, Scotland and Ireland, sought in some instances to impress upon their lands the law of primogeniture and entail, and how their purpose was defeated by the legislature and the courts of the commonwealth; how and why Tyrone township, that beautiful valley known for a hundred years as Sinking valley, is one of the Penn manors, how it came to be such, and the nature of the vexatious restric- tions upon its titles came to exist. All this, and much more, would be a part of the proper history of the county and would be interesting, but they must be set aside.

I take up and speak of that part of the history of our county which to me is al- ways the most interesting. Whether the people about whom I wish to speak or wish to learn be an ancient one and centu- ries ago disappeared from the earth, or be a present dominant one, who have for hun- dreds of years been advancing in civiliza- tion, I want to know as much as possible of their daily lives, their customs, religion, manners; how they acted in their domestic relations ; how they cooked, ate and drank, and protected themselves from the weather. So in the brief time before me I shall en- deavor to present to you the daily lives of our predecessors on the territory which now forms our county.

The population in the first thirty years

of its existence had reached about 3,000. This population consisted almost wholly of original settlers, their wives and chil- dren, that is, those who had purchased their lands from the Penns or the common- wealth, settled upon and improved them, and still occupied them, or having died, they were occupied by their families. At the date Penn obtained his charter for his colony from Charles II., in England and on the continent, as the old hymn has it, "Re- ligion was the chief concern of mortals here below;" not exactly the mortal's own religion, but chiefly that of his neighbor ; no one had any doubt as to his own; he only doubted as to whether his neighbor's religious belief was orthodox; if it differed from his, his neighbor, being wrong, must be brought to his way of thinking, or his neighbor's soul was in danger of everlast- ing perdition.

Hence it was an age of religious persecu- tion; of inimical laws against heretics by those in power. And it mattered very lit- 'tle, so far as the persecution was concerned, which party was in power, Catholics persecuted Protestants; Protestants perse- cuted Catholics and each other ; in England all sects detested and persecuted the Quak- ers. When this spirit of religious persecu- tion was rife, in the year 1681, Penn, who had been persecuted and imprisoned for his religion, acquired the patent to Pennsylva- nia, and commenced to colonize it, by in- viting immigrants, not only members of his own sect, but of all sects, promising to all freedom of conscience in religion, which promise he and his sons in the proprietor- ship faithfully kept. Penn, while in prison for refusing to take an oath, ten years be- fore the date of his charter, had written a pamphlet advocating the largest liberty of conscience in religious belief ; from this po- sition he never swerved.

It is a remarkable fact that the Quaker, whose religious belief excludes all dogma, resting wholly on the "inner light," and the Catholics under Lord Baltimore, who set-

HISTORY OF BLAIR COUNTY

tled Maryland, and whose religious belief rests almost wholly on authoritatively de- fined doctrine and dogma, should have given to the world within a few years of each other, the first examples of complete relig- ious toleration in the new world. Not a single one of the other colonies did it. I use the word "complete" religious tolera- tion, as applied to the facts of that age. The act of toleration in Maryland declared that: "No person or persons whatsoever professing to believe in Jesus Christ, shall from henceforth be in any way troubled or molested or discountenanced for and in re- spect of his or her religion; nor in the free exercise thereof ; nor in any way compelled to the belief or exercise of any other religion against his or her consent." This would not tolerate the Jew nor the Deist. But the numbers of these were so insignificant at that day, that it was altogether probable there was no intention thought to exclude them; they were simply not thought of.

Under Penn's great principle of religious toleration, emigrants began to pour into Pennsylvania from almost all European races. Quakers, Presbyterians, Episcopali- ans, Lutherans, Tunkers, Catholics and Moravians in religious creed; Dutch, Eng- lish, Irish, Scotch, Scotch-Irish, Swedes, Welch and Germans. Such a conglomera- tion of races and religions settled no other of the original colonies. Within the next hundred years, there reached the territory now composing our county, Presbyterians, Tunkers, Lutherans and Catholics in relig- ion. And in race there were Scotch, Scotch-Irish, Irish and Germans. The Cove, from North Woodbury township to Williamsburg, was mainly originally settled by German Tunkers; what is now Catha- rine township, Tyrone township, Logan township, Allegheny township, the land around Hollidaysburg and part of Franks- town township by Scotch-Irish; that part of Frankstown township known as Scotch Valley, by Scotch. In the territory now known as Greenfield and Juniata townships

many Lutherans settled. Some of them also settled in Frankstown township and Sinking Valley. Blair township was set- tled principally by Irish Catholics in the latter part of the last century and most of the descendants of the original settlers still reside there. Besides these, Irish Catholics appear early in this century, from the old assessment books scattered all over the county ; especially at the early iron works, furnaces and forges.

As to the German element, most authori- ties estimate that at the commencement of the revolutionary war it constituted from a third to a half of the population of the state. I would judge, in looking over the assessment of 1847, the first after the or- ganization of the county, it numbered fully one-third of our population. At an early day the Germans sought exclusiveness, pre- served their own language, and neither sought nor desired intercourse with others ; especially was this the case with the Tun- kers; their principles were in one respect not unlike those of the Quakers ; they were opposed to war, but they went further ; they were non-resistants; whole families of them were massacred and scalped by the Indians in the Cove and they resisted not; a dozen savages would devastate and destroy a set- tlement containing thirty men without a hand being raised on their part. To every appeal to their courage and manhood in the frontier days the invariable answer was, "Gottes will sei gethan" (God's will be done). While we cannot but admire stead- fast adherence to principle, we cannot fail to see they were utterly out of place as fron- tiersmen. These are not the people who conquer homes in a new territory with a savage foe facing them, and if they had not had for neighbors men of a different stamp the settlement of their great com- monwealth would have been delayed half a century.

They are, however, the very embodiment of thrift and industry, and as cultivators of the soil have had no equals in the United

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States. Travel through the Cove, where their descendants still live on the splendid limestone farms; notice the fences, straight, with no broken rails; the large bank barns, generally painted red, a touch of old coun- try color ; houses often of a size, that a half dozen would go inside the big barn, but al- ways neat and presenting an air of comfort ; what sleek, contented cattle; heavy, fat horses. And these honest, simple people are the soul of hospitality; enter their houses, whether for a meal or lodging, without many words you feel you are wel- come; the food, though plain, always appe- tizing and well cooked; the liquid bever- ages, cider and milk; the meals were not French, principally napkins, cut-glass and flowers; it was beef or pork, potatoes, dried apples or snits, the finest of bread in huge loaves, and large wheat flour cakes. Nearly all their clothing was made on the farm, from the wool clipped from their own sheep, their shoes from hides taken from the cattle on the farm, and then to the near- est tannery to be made into leather. Often at least such was the case thirty-five years ago-the women of the house did not speak English, and but poorly understood it. Pennsylvania Dutch was the language of a century ; it is probably much the same now, for these people loathe change. In many respects, they excel in good citizen- ship; they are never found in the courts, civil or criminal; their disputes among themselves are settled by the congrega- tion ; often outsiders impose on them, feel- ing sure they will not seek redress at law. They are benevolent; they would consider it disgraceful for any of their own poor to reach the almshouse; but towards those without the pale they are also kind and charitable.

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Twentieth century history of Altoona and Blair County, Pennsylvania, and representative citizens, Part 8

Author: Sell, Jesse C 1872- Publication date: 1911 Publisher: Chicago, Richmond-Arnold Publishing Number of Pages: 1036

Author: Sell, Jesse C 1872-
Publication date: 1911
Publisher: Chicago, Richmond-Arnold Publishing
Number of Pages: 1036