Area History: Warner-Beers' History of Franklin County, PA, 1887 -- Part II: Chapters IX - XI
Contributed for use in the USGenWeb Archives by Joyce Moore
USGENWEB ARCHIVES NOTICE: Printing this file by non-commerical individuals
and libraries is encouraged, as long as all notices and submitter information
is included. Any other use, including copying files to other sites require
permission from the submitters PRIOR to uploading to any other sites. We
encourage links to the state and county table of contents.
__________________________________________________
HISTORY OF FRANKLIN COUNTY PENNSYLVANIA
ILLUSTRATED
CHICAGO:
WARNER, BEERS & CO., 1887
Chicago:
JOHN MORRIS COMPANY, PRINTERS
118 and 120 Monroe Street.
__________________________________________________
HISTORY OF FRANKLIN COUNTY - Part II
CHAPTER IX. MEXICAN WAR
Texas and Mexico -- Whig and Democrat -- Counter
Arguments -- Declaration of War -- Franklin County
Company -- Its Services
Texas had revolted and conquered its independence from Mexico, and
asked to become a part of the Union. The Lone Star State was of her-
self a great and rich empire in territory, and when she knocked at the
doors of the United States for admission as one of the sister States,
to the average American there was a strong desire to bid her come and
welcome. Had Mexico quietly consented at that time, and abandoned all
claims to still control the independent State, it is highly probable it
would have peacefully become a member of the union, and Mexico would
have avoided a disastrous war with this country, and the consequent
loss of her immense territories north of the Rio Grande; and then, too,
it is probable that the annexation of Texas would not have caused a
political feud in the United States, over which discussion became heated
and new political issues were made -- presidents were elected, and
eminent politicians were defeated in their ambitious purposes.
When a national question in this country assumes a political phase
it is curious to watch its accidental outcomes. Men apparently shut
their eyes and rush forward in spite of the most solemn warnings of
their neighbors. They care only to know what their political rival
wants them to do, and then they set their faces like steel to accomplish
the very opposite. Thus, by curious accident, the Mexican war became,
in the minds of men at that time, a Democratic war; and the Whigs, as
a party, were placed in the position as opposed to the annexation of
Texas. To demonstrate how purely accidental were the controlling in-
fluences among men, we give an incident that occurred between a Demo-
cratic and a Whig politician in Illinois in 1844. They were two bright
and ambitious young men -- both, afterward, becoming eminent in the
Nation's councils. They lived in the same village in southern Illinois,
and each was striving for his party nomination for congressman. In
order to advertise their claims they agreed to travel together over the
vast district, and hold in each county joint discussions. They started
out on the absorbing topic of both Whig and Democrat, the annexation of
Texas, ranged on different sides. They were bright, witty, brilliant
and eloquent, and they drew nearly equal to a circus in the Illinois
back countries. But, in taking sides, the Whig favored annexation, and
the Democrat opposed it. Thus they had passed over about two-thirds of
the district, when the long delayed news from the National Democratic
Convention reached the, and lo, it had nominated Polk, and upon the
strongest kind of a Texas annexation platform. Here, indeed, was a
kettle of fish. What could they do? Why, simply, just what they did
do -- swap sides and continue their trip and discussion through the
remainder of the district, hammering each other over the heads, each
with the other's own arguments.
Congress passed a bill admitting Texas into the union of States,
and on the 4th of July, 1845, the Legislature of Texas, by solemn act,
approved of the measure, and the union was consummated. Mexico con-
sidered this as an act of war; and withdrew her minister from Washing-
ton. Some feeble and possibly half-hearted attempts to tide over the
threatened conflict were made by the United States, and then the two
nations declared war, and at once began marshalling their armies. In
the early part of 1846, our armies had marched to the border lines of
Mexico, and after a brief halt they invaded the country of the enemy.
The declaration of war was made by Congress, May 11, 1846, and
$10,000,000 voted to furnish the army, and the President was authorized
to call for 50,000 volunteers. The temper of our people is shown by
the fact, that at once 200,000 volunteers offered themselves, and from
every part of the Union it was a race among companies and regiments to
get in first. Everywhere companies were formed that the Government was
compelled to reject.
Franklin County sent one company. This was recruited in 1847, by
MARTIN M. MOORE, of Washington, who had procured authority to enlist a
Pennsylvania company for the Mexican war. He opened a recruiting office
in Chambersburg, and soon filled his company, and it left Chambersburg,
March 17, 1847, for the seat of war, numbering 122 men, rank and file,
officered as follows:
CAPTAIN -- MARTIN M. MOORE
FIRST LIEUTENANT -- CHARLES T. CAMPBELL
SECOND LIEUTENANTS-- HORACE HALDEMAN
WASHINGTON MEADES
THIRD SERGEANT -- JAMES S. GILLAN
CORPORALS -- MICHAEL W. HOUSER
J.R. THOMPSON
HENRY REMLEY
PRIVATES FROM FRANKLIN COUNTY
JAMES ARBAUGH GEORGE BARMORD WILLIAM FISHER
JAMES S. BIGGER EMANUEL BURNS WILLIAM JOHNSON
JOHN BRICKER DAVID BEARD JEREMIAH KEEFER
JOSEPH BRICKER HUGH P. COXE HENRY KOYLER
FREDRICK BERKLE WASHINGTON CRAMER SAMUEL KRAFT
FREDRICK BAKER JEREMIAH DOUGLAS AMOS LIGHTNER
WILLIAM BITTINGER MATHEW DOWNS GEORGE MILLER
JAMES BRILEY JOHN DAVIS DANIEL MILLER
JOHN BEAMHOP GEORGE ELDRIGE JAMES McCULLOUGH
JOHN MEHAFFEY HENRY RAY THOMAS SHOEMAKER
ALEXANDER McCARTHEY LEWIS RUMMEL JOHN SHEAFFER
JOHN McCUMSEH WILLIAM RETTER JOSEPH WELCH
WILLIAM I. McCLELLAN HENRY REAFSNIDER JACOB WEST
JOSEPH McMAHAN HEZEKIAH STUFF JACOB WILLIAMS
JOSEPH NAVE JOHN C. SHEFFIELD JOHN ZUMBRO
JOHN A. PIERSON DAVID M. STUMP JOHN HARNISH
JACOB PENTZ JOHN SUDERS JOSEPH GRIMES
WILLIAM ROBISON HENRY SHEAFER DAVID CORDELL
Although we have no complete list of the men of Company B, Eleventh
United States Infantry, as furnished by the War Department, yet we give
only those that were known to be from Franklin County.
This company marched to Pittsburgh, by way of Bedford, where it
received some additional recruits. It arrived with the army at Brazos
Santiago, in April, 1847, and for some time was in garrison at Tampico,
where a number of men died of yellow fever. From here it went to Vera
Cruz, and from there to the City of Mexico. The company was in active
service until the close of the war, July 4, 1848.
CAPTAIN MOORE was dismissed from the service at Tampico, and
CHARLES T. CAMPBELL was promoted to captain, and was in command until
our army was mustered out. At the time of the close of the war it was
in the interior of the country, about seventy-five miles from the City
of Mexico. When the company reached New York on its return home in
1848, its force of 100 men had been reduced to about twenty-four men in
the line.
There were other men recruited who went to war from this county in
addition to those given above in Company B. CAPTAIN WHIPPLE and LIEU-
TENANT HANSON got recruits for their command here. Then we are inform-
ed that there were several Franklin County men who joined commands that
went out from Cumberland County, and their identity as Franklin County
men was thereby lost.
CAPTAIN CHARLES T. CAMPBELL is now a resident of Scotland, Dak.,
to which point he removed from Franklin County, some years ago.
End Chapter 9.
CHAPTER X. THE PRESS
Introductory - First Newspaper -
Press of Chambersburg - Press of
Waynesboro - Press of Mercersburg -
Press of Greencastle
The corner-stones of modern civilization are the family, the
school, the church, and the state.
The family is the origin of all government -- the germ of all
organization. Upon it all social and political institutions rest.
From it all others derive their vitality and inspiration. Without
its economy, the body politic and the social fabric could not exist.
The family may be regarded a preparatory university, whose president
is the father, and whose chief instructor is the loving and faithful
mother. All science and all art are taught in this university. The
most important lessons in life are the "things learned at that best
academy, a mother's knee," embracing the names and quantities of
objects and actions; government, philosophy, religion, political
economy, theology, poetry, literature, music -- all the gems of an
encyclopedic education.
From this preparatory school pupils are admitted to the conven-
tional school under the control of a licensed master or mistress. New
lessons and new duties are to be learned. Certain personal rights
must be sacrificed to enjoy certain privileges that are desired. True
republicanism is cultivated. Genuine philanthropy is developed, and
the pupil qualified to enter intelligently the next grade -- the
church. It is the great theological institution intended to teach the
higher duties and responsibilities of a moral and pious life. Self-
control, charity, benevolence, consecration, devotion, unselfishness --
all these are its legitimate purposes to accomplish. Its work done
efficiently, the subject is prepared to occupy his appropriate position
in the state; in other words, to become an intelligent, conscientious
citizen. Three sets of agencies, each working efficiently in its own
sphere, have co-operated to produce the highest type of manhood, the
conception which inspired HOLLAND to write:
"God give us men! a time like this demands
Strong minds, great hearts, true faith and ready hands;
Men whom the lust of office does not kill;
Men whom the spoils of office can not buy;
Men who possess opinions and a will,
Men who have honor -- men who will not lie;
Men who can stand before a demagogue
And damn his treacherous flatterers without winking,
Tall men, sun-crowned, who live above the fog
In public duty, and in private thinking."
Men may condemn the evils of church and state; they can not be
divorced. As well attempt to separate youth and manhood, the soil and
its crop, or any cause from its effect. If the child is the father of
the man, the family, the school and the church are the progenitors of
the state.
But as society is organized, the life-blood of all these institu-
tions is the modern newspaper. It is the food of all. In its greed
it has usurped the prerogative formerly enjoyed by the oral teacher,
secular and religious. It is the accepted text-book of the ordinary
laborer, the learned divine and the profoundest statesman. It is more
powerful than the throne, which it makes and unmakes at will. It is,
in our modern civilization, the life-blood of the body politic. Hence
the power and the responsibility of the press.
In the history of English journalism occurs this account of the
growth of the newspaper: "First we have the written news letter,
furnished to the wealthy aristocracy; then, as the craving for informa-
tion spread, the ballad of news, sung or recited; then the news phamph-
let, more prosaically arranged; then the periodical sheet of news;
and lastly, the newspaper."
The English newspaper was born in London, in 1622. Its liberty
at first was greatly restricted, nothing being allowed publication un-
til it had passed proper official inspection. In its struggle for
independence, the press had to undergo many prosecutions and trials
unknown to the present generation. The blood of martyrs is the seed
not only of the church, but of the press as well. Governmental in-
fluence with the subject-matter of the newspaper was regarded as a
divine right; hence, we are not astonished to find the House of Commons
resolving, in 1729, that "it is an indignity and a breach of privilege
of the House of Commons for any person to presume to give, in written
or printed newspapers, any account or minutes of the debates or other
proceedings of this House or any committee thereof." In 1764 the
editor of the Evening Post, of London, was fined £100 by the House of
Lords, for mentioning the name of Lord Hereford in his paper. The
good work continued, however, till the press was disenthralled.
France had much difficulty in liberating the press. During the
reign of Louis Napoleon there were 6,000 prosecutions of publishers;
but they finally succeeded, and France can hear from plebeians, sen-
timents which the throne did not dare to utter. Not by German battal-
ions only was the usurper overthrown. He was shot through and through
by the paper bullets of a hostile and enraged public press.
In America the first newspaper was published at Boston, September
25, 1690, by BENJAMIN HARRIS, the printing being done by RICHARD
PIERCE. Its name, Public Occurrences, both Foreign and Domestick, was
very significant. The only copy now in existence is preserved in the
State office in London. Others sprang up in regular oder, until today
the American press stands forth as one of the greatest bulwarks of
national liberty -- the proudest monument of the progressive spirit of
the age.
A sentence or two may serve to sketch the editor who realizes the
nature of the trust he holds.
1. An editor, like a poet, is born, not made. A plug hat, a waxed
mustache, a cigar and a goose quill, will not necessarily edit a paper
successfully. Profanity, bad grammar, excessive slang and whisky, are
not the indispensable requisites of modern journalism.
2. He has an inherent right to be both a gentleman and a scholar. He
should be sufficiently educated, at least, to express an original
thought occasionally, in good Anglo-Saxon. Scissors and paste have
their legitimate sphere, but this does not imply that he should have
"just enough learning to misquote: nor does it require that he should
demonstrate in his own case that "to follow foolish precedents, and
wink with both eyes, is easier than to think."
3. He should be a leader in public sentiment. It is his province to
mould the thought of his constituents. On every new issue he should
be able to sound forth the clarion notes of truth and progress, and
lead his readers to occupy advanced grounds in the face of ignorant
opposition. Some one has truly said: "To know how to say what others
only know how to think, is what makes men poets and sages; but to dare
to say what others only dare to think, is what makes them heroes or
reformers or both."
4. He should have a conscience on matters that affect the public weal.
A newspaper is not private property in the sense that it is to reflect
only the wishes and piques of its manager. It represents a consti-
tuency whose consciences it ought to respect, while it aims to educate
them. It can not be made the vehicle for giving vent to private ill-
will. For that reason it ought to treat an opponent with courtesy,
so long as he exhibits marks of sincerity.
The press of Franklin County has had an existence since the open-
ing of the last decade of the eighteenth century and has had some able
representatives in the ranks of journalism. As will be seen from the
lists that are to follow, these daily, weekly and monthly heralds of
light and life, have been exceedingly numerous, but many of them,
having accomplished their mission, did obeisance to an apparently
disinterested public, and silently departed to enjoy the rewards of
achieved fame. For the information, and in many cases, the language
contained in these brief sketches, obligation is publicly acknowledged
to those faithful chroniclers of Franklin Country History, DR. D. C.
LANE (Public Opinion of January 1, 1878), JUDGE HENRY RUBY (Shippens-
burg News of October 16, 1875), and I.H. McCAULEY, ESQ. (Historical
Sketch of Franklin County).
From the organization of the county, in September, 1784, to July
14, 1790, no newspaper was published in Franklin County, all sheriffs'
proclamations, notices of candidates for office, offers of real estate
for sale, estrays, runaway negroes, desertions of bed and board by
wives, obituaries, divorces and sale notices, etc., being printed in
the Carlisle Gazette and Repository of Knowledge.
As the population of Chambersburg increased, one of its chief
wants was a weekly journal, to "note the passing tidings of the times."
This want was eventually supplied by the advent of MR. WILLIAM
DAVISON, from Philadelphia, who, in the month of June, 1790, issued the
first number of the first newspaper published in Franklin County. The
name of this primitive journal was The Western Advertiser and
Chambersburg Weekly Newspaper. It was a small, dingy sheet of three
columns to the page, and 10x15 inches in size. Its contents consisted
mainly of advertisements and a few extracts from Loundon and Eastern
journals, and an occasional ponderous and drowsy original communica-
tion upon some political or literary subject. It was singularly
dignified and dull. The price of the paper was 15 shillings per annum.
MR. DAVISON did not more than fairly start his enterprise, before his
health began to decline, and he was obliged to call to his assistance
MR. ROBERT HARPER, brother of the late GEORGE KENTON HARPER. MR.
HARPER came to Chambersburg in 1792, and took charge of the paper. MR.
DAVISON dying soon afterward, MR. HARPER then became its sole proprie-
tor. In 1793, MR. HARPER changed the elaborate title of the journal
to the simpler one of The Chambersburg Gazette. This name it retained
until the year 1796, when it was further changed to The Franklin Re-
pository. Soon after MR. ROBERT HARPER became the owner of the paper,
he associated with himself in its publication a gentleman named DOVER.
This connection existed only a few months, and was severed by MR.
DOVER's withdrawal. In the year 1800, ROBERT HARPER sold the estab-
lishment to his brother, GEORGE KENTON HARPER (D. R. KIRBY of Chambers-
burg, had a copy of the Repository dated February 20, 1800, which was
marked No. 44 of Vol. IV. Its subscription price is put at $2.25 per
year. G.K. HARPER is its owner and publisher. In its columns is a
notice that GEORGE K. HARPER had bought of ROBERT HARPER the Minerva,
showing its publication in the last century. See MCCAULEY's denials
in loco.). The latter gentleman had previously learned the art of
printing in the office in Chambersburg, although, at the time of the
purchase, he was a resident of Philadelphia. Under the able and ju-
dicious management of GEORGE K. HARPER, the Repository became one of
the most extensively circulated and influential journals in the in-
terior of the State. The Repository was published by MR. GEORGE K.
HARPER for a period of thirty-nine years, and was then sold to JOSEPH
PRITTS, who was publishing the Chambersburg Whig, and by whom the two
papers were united under the title of the Repository and Whig.
This venerable and influential old journal was successively owned
by many companies and individuals, until it fell into the most compe-
tent hands of COLONEL ALEXANDER K. McCLURE, by whom it was enlarged
and otherwise improved. Its title was, by this gentleman, again
changed, and its old and honored name of The Franklin Repository most
appropriately given it. Under COLONEL McCLURE's proprietorship, it
became an acknowledged political power in the state. The paper is
now owned (see statement at close of this sketch of the press of
Chambersburg) and edited by MAJOR JOHN M. POMEROY, and it may be said
with perfect truth and candor, and without any invidious disparage-
ment of the very many able gentlemen by whom it had formerly been
conducted, that its present proprietor exhibits in its management a
combination of energy, enterprise, tact and ability which, at least,
have never been exceeded in its past history. The Repository has
always been a fearless and able defender of the principles of the old
Whig and Republican parties, in whose defense it has been compelled to
break many a lance; and, in its mature age of eighty-seven years, it
exhibits more than the vigor and energy which characterized its earlier
days.
The Repository was first issued from an old log house, originally
built and used for a blacksmith shop, which stood on the lot now
occupied by Mr. Jacob Snider's book store. It was then removed to a
small one-story weatherboarded building, which stood on Main Street,
near the corner of the Diamond, on the lot on which Mr. Thomas E.
Paxton's store now stands.
For many years the Repository was the only newspaper published in
Franklin County. At length, about the year 1809, a Democratic rival,
called the Franklin Republican, was issued by Mr. JOHN HERSHBERGER.
Previously, however, two papers, one in English and the other in the
German language, had been published for a few years. * * * * * (One
of these was called Der Redliche Registrator. Its publisher and
editor, F.W. SCHOEPLIN, announced in the Repository of December 21,
1813, "The first number of this paper will be issued from this office
to-morrow." He says, further, "Nearly the whole contents of this
paper is weekly translated from the latest English papers, which
together with the quick conveyance by mails running in all directions
from Chambersburg, enables its patrons to receive information of the
occurrences of our own and foreign countries as early as they could
through any of the English weekly papers." It must be remembered,
that at that time all mail matter was distributed by carriers but
once a week, and yet these crude facilities were highly appreciated.
The German population in the country, too, was an important factor at
this early date. Says JUDGE RUBY: "There were but few families in the
town or country that did not then understand the German language,
which accounts for two weekly papers being sustained in that language."
After Mr. Schoeplin's death in 1825, the office was sold to HENRY
RUBY.) * * * * * The names of these papers have not been ascertained,
although extended inquiry has been made. The English paper was now
united with the Franklin Republican. On relinquishing the business
of printing in 1816, Mr. Hershberger sold his office to JOHN McFARLAND
by whom the publication of the English journal was continued; but who
discontinued the German paper for want of adequate support. McFARLAND
sold the paper to JOHN SLOAN, who published it until his death, a few
years after the purchase. MR. SLOAN died about the year 1824. The
late JOSEPH PRITTS, who had been employed in the office of SLOAN,
married his widow, and thus became the owner of the printing establish-
ment. MR. PRITTS continued to publish the paper in the interest of
the Democratic party, until the anti-Masonic excitement in 1834, when
he became a member of that organization, and purchased an anti-Masonic
newspaper which had previously been established by JAMES CULBERTSON.
The two papers were then conjoined and the name changed to The
Chambersburg Whig, which it bore until it was merged into the Franklin
Repository, in 1839. MR. PRITTS having thus abandoned the Democratic
party, that organization was left without an organ, until the Franklin
Telegraph was started about the year 1831, by MESSRS. RUBY & MAXWELL.
This partnership continued but six weeks, at the end of which time
JAMES MAXWELL withdrew, MR. RUBY then selected another partner named
HATNICK. MR. HATNICK dying after a partnership of only nine months,
MR. RUBY became sole proprietor of the paper, and continued its publi-
cation until the year 1840, making it an able and successful exponent
of the principles of the party in whose interests it was established.
Having been appointed one of the associate judges of Franklin County,
JUDGE RUBY sold his journal to MESSRS. BROWN and CASEY. These gentle-
men, after conducting it for several years, sold it to JOHN BRAND, who
changed its name to the Chambersburg Times. MR. FRANKLIN G. MAY
bought the paper from MR. BRAND, and held it until April 6, 1846, when
he transferred it to E. R. POWELL. During the proprietorship of MR.
POWELL, its name was changed to the Valley Sentinel. In January, 1850,
it was purchased by FREDERICK SMITH, ESQUIRE, and edited by his son,
ALFRED H. SMITH, until April, 1851, when this gentleman moved to
Philadelphia. MESSRS. NEAD & KINNEARD then became the owners of the
Sentinel, under whose management it remained until late in the year
1852, when it was sold to MESSRS. P. S. DECHERT & CO.; and its
apposite name, after appearing for a season in company with the Spirit
as the Spirit and Sentinel, died away.
DANIEL DECHERT, in July, 1847, under the title of the Valley
Spirit and Cumberland and Franklin County Democrat. In July 1848, it
was moved to Chambersburg, and conducted under the firm of P.S. DECHERT
& CO, with MR. COOPER as editor. In 1852 the firm bought the Sentinel
and united the two papers. In 1857, the Valley Spirit, which had
dropped part of its original name, became the property of GEORGE H.
MENGLE & CO., and was published by them until 1862, when it was pur-
chased by B. Y. HAMSHER & CO., who retained it until 1867, when it
passed into the hands of MESSRS. J. M. COOPER & CO., and in 1868 MR.
COOPER withdrew from the establishment, MESSRS. WM. S. STENGER and
AUGUSTUS DUNCAN becoming its proprietors. In 1876, MR. JOSEPH C.
CLUGSTON purchased the paper and reinstated its old and popular editor,
MR. COOPER, in the editorial chair.
The Valley Spirit is an ably-managed and vigorous publication, and
is an able and fearless advocate of the principles of the great party
to which it belongs; and its influence is not limited merely to the
locality in which it is published, but is sensibly felt in the politics
of the State. In that peculiar tact, as well as talent, so essential
to the successful editor, MR. COOPER was gifted in an eminent degree.
October 1, 1879, the paper was purchased by its present owners, JOHN G.
& D. A. ORR, from J. H. WOLFKILL, through whom it had come from
CLUGSTON and COOPER. On the 2d of August, 1886, JOHN G. and D. A. ORR
purchased at sheriff's sale the Franklin Democrat and Daily Herald, and
immediately began the publication of a morning daily known as the
Valley Spirit. In a prominent position on its second page stands this
epitome of its own history: "Established, 1847. Founded in 1831, mer-
ged in Valley Spirit, 1852 -- Franklin Telegraph, Chambersburg Times,
Cumberland Valley Sentinel. Founded in 1858; merged in Valley Spirit,
1862 -- the Independent, the Times. Founded in 1878, merged in Valley
Spirit, 1886 -- the Franklin County Democrat." Both daily and weekly
editions show the highest style of mechanical execution, and the con-
tents of each are newsy and spicy, evidencing careful and painstaking
research. It is a pronounced anti-Randall Democratic exponent of the
theories of government.
In July, 1853, MR. ROBERT P. HAZELET started a folio sheet, devot-
ed more especially to literature, which he called the Transcript. It
became the Know-Nothing organ in the fall of 1854, and was subsequently
merged into the Repository, under the title of the Repository and
Transcript, and, after a titular fellowship of a few years, ultimately
perished.
In 1854, MESSRS. KELL & KINNEARD started an educational monthly,
called the Tutor and Pupil, which had an ephemeral existence.
DAVID A. WERTZ instituted The Independent in 1858, a handsome and
able paper, which attracted much attention for its literary ability,
but sold it in April, 1859, to WILLIAM I. COOK and P. DOCK FREY. A
few months later, namely, on the 7th of October, 1859, they transferred
it to FREY & FOLTZ, who converted it from a neutral into a Republican
paper. On the 31st of August, 1860, it again changed owners, and
MESSRS. WILLIAM KENNEDY and JACOB SELLERS converted it into a Democra-
tic organ, as an exponent of the principles of the DOUGLAS wing of the
party, in opposition to the Valley Spirit, which supported BRECKENRIDGE.
After holding it a few years it was united with the Valley Spirit, as
the Valley Spirit and Times, and, a short time after, its distinctive
title passed into oblivion.
In the year 1814, the HONORABLE HENRY RUBY moved to Chambersburg,
and was apprenticed to a German printer named F. W. SCHOFLIN, who was
publishing a German paper in connection with MR. GEORGE K. HARPER.
This paper was soon afterward sold to MR. SCHOFLIN. MR. SCHOFLIN died
in 1825, and his paper was managed by MR. RUBY, for his widow, for a
period of six months, at the expiration of which time he bought the
office. He continued its publication for some time after the publica-
tion of the Franklin Telegraph, but under a new name, and eventually
sold it to MR. VICTOR SCRIBA, by whom it was removed to Pittsburgh.
MR. SCRIBA changed its name to Freiheit's Freund, and it soon attained
a large circulation and much influence among the German population of
Pittsburgh. Another German paper was started in Chambersburg, by JOHN
DIETZ, in 1824, but enjoyed a very brief existence dying in its second
year.
During the time embraced by these publications, a large number of
papers were launched upon the treacherous waves of popular favor, but
soon stranded on the hidden rock of impecuniousity, and sank even
beneath public recollection. A notable exception to this statement,
however, was the Transcript, established in 1853 by ROBERT P. HAZELET.
This paper aspired to the establishment of a literary reputation, in
which it secured a marked degree of success. It was then purchased by
the Know-Nothings, and upon the sudden collapse of that political
monstrosity, was merged into the Repository, and lived a short time
longer in the Repository and Transcript.
The Despatch, a semi-weekly paper, was started in the spring of
1861, by GEORGE H. MERKLEIN and P. DOCK FREY, under the firm of GEORGE
H. MERKLEIN & CO., and lived until the spring of 1863.
The Country Merchant, an advertising sheet, was issued in July,
18166, by M. A. FOLTZ, and was succeeded in 1869, by Public Opinion,
a progressive weekly newspaper, devoted to advanced Republican
principles. It deals especially with news of a local nature, always
giving the preference to such, but at the same time, it never neglects
matters of national or State import or information of general interest.
The people of Franklin County have always had in it a true friend.
Their interests have been its interests, and it has fought their
battles with vigor from the moment that it first saw the light.
The first issue appeared on the 20th of July, in the year above
named, and met with immediate success. It rapidly became a leading
paper, not only in its own county, but throughout the whole of the
Cumberland Valley, its views being quoted far and wide. It has con-
tinued to hold this prominence, and is to-day one of the most influen-
tial newspapers in southern Pennsylvania. And at the present time, as
in the past, it is representative of its title, and is truly a reflex
of public opinion.
With the commencement of its third volume, in July, 1871, the
Opinion enlarged, and in 1885 it re-enlarged, thus becoming one of the
largest weeklies published in its section of the State. It has now a
circulation of about 2,500, and goes into the best families in the
county.
The Silver Cornet, a monthly musical journal, was published by P.
DOCK FREY & CO., coming into the world of letters in September, 1869,
"and piping out" at the somewhat immature age of seven months.
The People's Register was started in 1876 as the Centennial
Register. It is a patent outside, and was edited by REV. J. G. SCHAFF
until the time of his death, when it passed into the hands of his sons,
who are still publishing it. In the summer of 1886, they began the
publication of an evening daily which has met with a favorable recep-
tion. The Register has given special attention to educational news
and articles, and thus has become the teachers' friend in the county.
The Farm Journal and Experimental Farm Journal were issued suc-
cessively by GEORGE A. DIETZ & CO., and were extensive circulated.
The first religious journal published by the German Reformed
Church, was a monthly pamphlet called The Magazine of the German
Reformed Church, and was issued at Carlisle, Penn., under the editor-
ship of REV. DR. LEWIS MAYER. It appeared in November, 1827. In 1829
it was removed to York, Penn. In 1832, its title was changed to The
Messenger of the German Reformed Church, and the numbers were desig-
nated as the New Series. In 1834, it was changed to a semi-monthly,
in a quarto form, which was continued until July, 1835, at which time
it was removed to Chambersburg. Its title was now changed to the
Weekly Messenger and was issued weekly. A specimen number of the paper
was published in July, but the regular issue did not begin until the
September following. The numbering as a new series again commenced,
which has been continued to the present date. In December, 1848, the
name of the paper was further changed to that of The German Reformed
Church Messenger, because the word "German" had been omitted in the
church itself. The office in Chambersburg was destroyed by the rebels
in 1864, and its place of publication was then transferred to Phila-
delphia. Its name is now simply The Messenger, and it is edited by the
accomplished and scholarly divine, REV. P. S. DAVIS, D. D., ably
assisted by SAMUEL R. FISHER, D. D., and others. For a time after the
removal of the paper to Chambersburg, it was published by JOSEPH
PRITTS, and subsequently by HENRY RUBY, until the church established a
printing office of her own, in the Masonic Hall, on Second Street, in
1840. The old Mansion House on the east side of the public square was
then purchased, refitted, and the office removed into it.
The late REV. BENJAMIN S. SCHNECK, D. D., became editor of the
Messenger in 1835, after its removed to Chambersburg, and occupied this
position until the year 1844. In the beginning of 1840, the REV.
SAMUEL R. FISHER, D. D., (since deceased) became associated with him
in its editorial management. DR. SCHNECK's relation to the paper,
which was suspended in 1844, was resumed in the fall of 1847, and con-
tinued until the year 1852. During DR. SCHNECK's pastorate in Gettys-
burg, Penn., in 1834, he began the publication of a semi-monthly in the
German language, styled the Christliche Herold. The publication of
this journal was transferred to Chambersburg in 1840, and issued under
the name of the Christliche Zeitschrift. DR. SCHNECK then took charge
of it, changing its name to that of Reformirte Kirchenzeitung, and
continued this relation until the destruction of the office in 1864,
when it was removed to Philadelphia, with the exception of an interval
of five years, from 1852 to 1857, when it was edited by the REV. SAMUEL
MILLER.
For a time the Saturday Local was published by JOSEPH POMEROY &
CO. Having accomplished its mission, it quietly took its departure to
the sweet by-and-by.
In the forgoing sketch it is stated that the Repository is owned
and edited by MAJ. JOHN M. POMEROY, and a merited compliment is paid
him. Since that was written by DR. W. C. LAME the daily Franklin
Repository has been established, which is now in its fourth volume.
It has, like the weekly, attained a large circulation, and is, with the
People's Register, an evening paper. Until November 26, 1886, it was
published and edited by the POMEROY BROS.' but owing to certain com-
plications, growing out of the right of title, it was sold by SHERIFF
KURTZ to T. M. MAHON and H. GEHR for $2,200, and immediately leased by
them to its former managers. The paper is now under the management of
JOHN H. POMEROY and A. NEVIN POMEROY, lessees and publishers.
The Repository is the oldest paper in the Cumberland Valley, and
its pages from 1793 to the present, contain the substantial history of
the county. Its influence upon the population of the county through
these years has been wonderful. It requires little sacrifice to be
able to concur in the sentiment of HON. HENRY RUBY, himself an old
printer and a competent judge, "that few towns in Pennsylvania have
newspaper establishments conducted with as such ability as the Franklin
Repository, Valley Spirit and Public Opinion of Chambersburg."
PRESS OF WAYNESBORO
In RUPP'S "History of the Five Counties," 1846,in this simple
statement: "A weekly paper -- Waynesboro Circulator -- is published by
MR. M. C. GROTE."
The Village Record, weekly, was founded March 13, 1847, by D.O. &
W. BLAIR. D.O. BLAIR afterward studied medicine and went to Abingdon,
Ill., where he died. W. BLAIR had sold his interest to his brother,
but in 1851 repurchased it and has retained it ever since. It was dur-
ing the war published regularly till the time of LEE's invasion in
1863, when an interruption occurred. The outside was printed June 19,
and the inside July 31. Rebel soldiers pied his type and overturned
his cases, producing confusion which required several weeks to overcome.
By virtue of continuous services, MR. BLAIR is entitled to be
known as the Nestor of the Franklin County press.
The Keystone Gazette was established in 1876, as a Democratic
weekly, by J.C. WEST and W.C. JACOBS. In 1878 Jacobs retired. In 1880,
S.M. ROBINSON bought it, but in 1882 sold to N. BRUCE MARTIN and JAS.
B. FISHER, who conducted it as an independent paper till January 1,
1885. At the last date, MR. FISHER bought MARTIN's interest, and
conducted the paper till March, 1886, when D. B. MARTIN assumed edi-
torial control, with FISHER as manager.
The Brethen Advocate, a religious weekly periodical, was published
at Waynesboro from August 5, 1879, to July 5, 1882. It was published
in the interests of the German Baptist or Brethren Church. The con-
tributors to its columns were some of the ablest writers of the sect.
D. H. FAHRNEY was publisher. Size of sheet, 22 x 32.
PRESS OF MERCERSBURG
In 1846, The Mercersburg Visitor, weekly, was published by
McKINSTRY and DOYLE.
The Mercersburg Journal was established in 1846. It is a weekly,
neutral in politics and has a good local circulation. Its present
owners and managers are M. J. SLICK and GEORGE HORNBRAKER. It has
passed through a number of changes, which can not be given.
In 1851-52, the Mercersburg Review was published in the interests
of Marshall College. It was a bi-monthly, and sold at $3 per year.
PRESS OF GREENCASTLE
The first paper stated in the town was called the Conococheague
Herald, and was published by E. ROBINSON, August, 1848. In a few
months it was sold to him by CHARLES MARTIN. After running it a year,
he sold it to A. N. RANKIN, who in turn disposed of it to ELLIOTT B.
DETRICH, by whom the name was changed to the Franklin Intelligencer.
At his death the paper passed into the hands of McCRORY and BONNER,
who named it the Franklin Ledger. When BONNER died, the new firm,
STRICKLER & McCRORY changed the name to The Pilot. Mr. Strickler
retiring, McCRORY ran the paper on his own responsibility for several
years when he sold it to ROBERT and WILLIAM CROOKS. The first brother
soon withdrawing from the firm, the other continued the paper until
1867, when he sold to REV. JOHN R. GAFF, who associated M. D. REYMER
with himself, and changed the name to The Valley Echo. In 1867 COL.
B. F. WINGER purchased the paper and, with the aid of GEO. E. HALLER,
the present proprietor, ran it till January 6, 1876, at which time he
sold the establishment to the present owner and manager.
The Greencastle Press was established by COL. B. F. WINGER, after
retiring from The Valley Echo, in 1876, and has been controlled by him
ever since. At present his associate in the management and editorial
work is J. C. SEACREST. It is a weekly, and has a good circulation in
that portion of the county.
About the opening of the war, a small paper was published at
Concord by a brother of J. W. C. GOSHORNE, but after a time it was
removed to the West.
In 1886 the Path Valley News was established at Fannettsburg, and
is still in existence.
CHAPTER XI. AGRICULTURE
A Business of First Importance - Its Promising
Future - Improvements Introduced - Judge Watts -
The First Reaper - First Stock in the Country -
Wheat and Corn - Hessian Fly - Improved Implements -
A Wonderful Feat with the Scythe - Agricultural
Societies, Officers, etc.
From the land comes the life of every living, breathing, thing. It
is the nourishing mother of animal and vegetable life. It is the be-
ginning of all existence, and "dust to dust" is the common end. The
soil and the climate are the determining factors in the growth and
quality of the world's civilization. From the soil comes all that we
can possess - the best type of manhood, the great cities with their
spires and minarets gleaming in the morning sun, the army with banners,
the armadas whose sails fleck every sea, the maiden's blush, the bubbl-
ing laughter of childhood, the sweet bondage of love, the restful haven
of home, all are from this one common, fruitful source. The dull soil,
the primeval rocks from which all soils are made, bore the great secrets
of life.
It has been well said that were you to show a man, sufficiently
versed in the subject of rocks, a new world, that by an examination of
the soil and rocks he could tell exactly what kind of men, the degree of
civilization, the boundary line of their improvements, in farming and in
all other industries, the new world would eventually evolve. This might
seem to some a sweeping assertion, but by all men of tolerable culture
it is accepted without further question.
Of all vocations in life that a farmer brings him in closer rela-
tions to the land than that of any other class of men. To perfect his
education, practically and scientifically, is to make him the master of
the philosophy of the most vital subject that can affect life, because
he is in the position of first importance, and when his energies are
properly directed, it will of itself place him high and supreme above
all others. The fundamentals of our physical life have always rested
primarily upon the tillers of the soil, and to the coming farmer will
mankind go for the higher qualities of mental life as they have already
gone for their physical existence. The rudest tillers of the soil in
the darkest ages learned, by patient experiments, some of the lessons
the land had to give its children. However limited their acquirements
may have been, they were the first lessons in nature's supreme univer-
sity, whose final diplomas will attest to the best type of minds the
earth can produce. The coming farmer will understand the physical laws
of this fountain of life at which he toils, sows and reaps. The schools
will then teach that all knowledge is simply understanding the mental
and physical laws that hedge us about, that form and shape us in every
way from the cradle tot he grave. Then, too, will be revealed to the
world the important secret that there is nothing so wholly practical as
real knowledge. When this great age shall dawn upon the race, then will
the unfortunate city boy go to the farmer's school to learn the true
knowledge -- to be educated. In that age the great man, "the sun crown-
ed," to whom is accorded universal respect and honors, will be that
farmer with the most knowledge of the soil he tills.
The improvement in the manner of cultivating the soil -- the intro-
duction of machinery -- has distinguished the last half of this century.
It is not a great while ago that farming, stock raising and all branches
of the business, were greatly matters of chance. Mostly the farmer
would plow and sow, and gather his crops after the manner of his ances-
tors. He then did not concern himself about drainage, or fertilizing,
or improving his stock, or better implements of husbandry. Now the
poorest farmer makes some effort to inform himself. He has learned to
read agricultural papers and books, to meet and interchange ideas with
his fellow-farmers, and thus he bestows and receives valuable hints and
a more accurate knowledge of his own affairs. Agricultural schools are
the evidences of what this important class are beginning to do for them-
selves. These steps along the line of advancement once came very slow,
but now they are keeping abreast with the age. These are the most
cheering signs of our times. Already he realizes fully that he is in a
position to experiment and study cause and effect. This is the begin-
ning of his real school, and once in the right path he will never turn
aside. By these means he lifts himself above the narrow selfishness
that too often characterizes nearly all other classes of men.
IMPROVEMENTS INTRODUCED
Reforms move slowly. They are required, as HERBERT SPENCER says,
to pass through three stages: First, that of indifference; second, that
of violent opposition; third, that of adoption. Improvements in the
material and methods of farming are, by no means, an exception to this
general law.
It was the writer's good fortune to have a pleasant interview with
HONORABLE FRED. WATTS of Carlisle, touching the changes in farming that
have characterized the community. Said he, "About the middle of June,
1839, I was driving in a carriage with my wife from New York to Phila-
delphia, there being at that time no railroad communication. Near
Trenton, N.J., I was met in the road by a former resident of Carlisle
Barracks, LIEUTENANT WILLIAM INMAN, of the United States Navy, who in-
vited us to spend the night at his house on the farm. We went over. The
next day he showed me a field of beautiful wheat which was rapidly ripen-
ing for the harvest. He told me that two years prior to that time he
had procured three bushels of the seed near Leghorn, Italy, and was now
raising his second crop. I obtained from him six barrels of the same
kind, and sowed it on my farm near Carlisle. This was the introduction
into the United States of the beautiful variety of wheat for a long time
very popular and known as Mediterranean. From the six barrels which I
sowed, it was spread through the Cumberland Valley, and into other por-
tions of the State.
"It was in the summer of 1840," continued the judge, "I bought a
McCORMICK reaper, and brought it to my farm. When harvest came I deter-
mined to test its power in a twelve-acre field that would yield at least
thirty-five bushels per acre. When the appointed time came there were
present from five hundred to a thousand persons anxious to witness the
signal failure of 'WATTS' folly' as they called the machine.
"The wheat stood well. The team was started, the cutting was ex-
cellent; the draught was not heavy, but the general decision was that
one man could not remove the wheat rapidly enough from the machine. The
team could not be driven more than ten or twelve rods till it was neces-
sary to stop and rest the raker and straighten up his sheaves. Finally
a well-dressed gentleman, or ordinary side and pleasant demeanor, came
up and asked whether he might be permitted to remove the wheat for a few
rounds. Being answered in the affirmative, he mounted the machine, and
took the raker's stand. With perfect ease he raked off the wheat, nor
did he seem to labor hard. After two or three rounds the spectators
reversed their former decision and unanimously agreed that the machine
was a complete success. 'WATT's folly' became a favorite, and thus was
introduced into the Cumberland Valley the first McCORMICK, the original
reaping machine of the United States. The well-dressed gentleman who
did the raking was CYRUS H. McCORMICK, the inventor of the American
reaper."
Similar illustrations might be adduced relative to the difficulties
that attended the introduction of left-handed steel plows, threshing
machines, improved varieties of fruit and stock, and the general elements
of agricultural improvements. The organization of agricultural and
horticultural societies, the publication of State and National reports,
the teaching of botany, physiology, geology and agricultural chemistry,
the wide-spreaad distribution of farm journals, and the general education
of the people by all rational means have tended to hasten reforms. The
good work is going on. Scientific farming is destined to be not only a
lucrative calling, but an intensely interesting intellectual one.
FIRST STOCK INTRODUCED
The first animals brought to America from Europe were imported by
COLOMBUS, in his second voyage in 1493. He brought over seventeen ships,
laden with European trees, plants, and seeds of various kinds, and a
number of horses, a bull and several cows. The second lot of horses,
the first having all been destroyed soon after landing, was in 1539 by
DeSOTO -- a large lot of horses and thirteen cows. The Portuguese took
cattle and swine to Nova Scotia and Newfoundland in 1553. Thirty years
after, they had increased so much that SIR RICHARD GILBERT was tempted
to land there to get supplies of cattle and hogs, but his vessel was
wrecked. In 1609 three ships landed at Jamestown, with many emigrants
and the following domestic animals: 6 mares, 1 horse, 600 swine, 500
domestic fowls, a few sheep and goats. Other domestic animals had, how-
ever been introduced there. In 1610, an edict was issued in Virginia,
prohibiting the killing of domestic animals, on penalty of death. By
1617, the swine had increased so rapidly that the people were obliged to
palisade Jamestown to prevent being overrun by them. In 1627, the Indians
in Virginia subsisted mostly upon wild hog meat. In 1648, some of the
settlers had a good stock of bees. In 1657, sheep and mares were by law
forbidden to be exported from the colony.
The first importation of domestic animals into New York was in 1625,
by the West India Company. These consisted of horses, cattle, sheep and
swine. In 1750, the French in Illinois had numbers of horses, cattle
and swine.
WHEAT
The first raising of wheat antedates history. Its native country
even is not known. It was brought to this country by the earliest set-
tlers, and was first sown in Massachusetts by a man named GOSNOLD in
1602. It is known that it was raised in Virginia in 1611, but here it
was for many years neglected for the cultivation of tobacco Prior to
the Revolution, Pennsylvania, among a few other provinces, raised enough
for the home market and shipped wheat to the West Indies.
In 1776 there was entailed upon the country the enduring calamity --
the Hessian or wheat fly, which it is supposed came from Germany, in
some straw employed in the debarkation of HOWE's troops, on the west end
of Long Island.
CORN
This was called sometimes maize, and for a long time was called
Indian corn. But now it is corn, and is known, used and cultivated
throughout the civilized world. It is indigenous to the Western Hemis-
phere. Once it was the accepted saying in this country, "cotton is king"
but in the past quarter of a century, cotton has abdicated, and now "corn
is king."
Corn is still found growing in its wild state from the Rocky Moun-
tains in the north to the humid forests of Paraguay, where instead of
having each grain naked, as is always the case after long cultivation,
it is completely covered with glumes or husks. COLUMBUS found corn
cultivated on the island of Cuba at the time of discovery.
The first successful attempt to raise it by the English in this
country was in 1608, on the James River, by the colonists sent over by
the London Company. They pursued the mode that they saw the Indians
practice.
OATS
It is known that oats have been raised at least from the times of
PLINY. The plant was introduced in North America early in the seven-
teenth century.
In the early years of this century, the farming implements used
were of the primitive kind. The old wooden plow was the means of pre-
paring the ground; then came the CAREY plow, and finally the iron mold-
board was introduced with constant improvements to date, and we now have
the gang plow, the sulky plow and others in almost endless variety. Men
of middle age now can easily remember when there was no corn planted
except that dropped from the hand. The mower and reaper came, and then
the reaper and binder, until now a well stocked agricultural store would
be a veritable curiosity -- a world's agricultural implement fair -- to
those who left the farm only a few years ago. There are men now living
who can remember when grain was cut only by the ancient sickle -- the
scythe and cradle were in their day a great invention. They were an
advance like the reaper and binder are to the scythe.
THE CHAMPION CRADLER
In putting away the old "cradle" it is appropriate to here record
what may be considered an extraordinary feat by a gentleman now living,
and the truth of which is so well attested that its correctness cannot
be questioned.
During the harvest of 1858, the gentleman in question, an expert
cradler, cut ten acres of grain in a single day. The feat being noised
abroad, some newspaper ridiculed the statement as being absurdly ridicu-
lous. In the meantime, the report reached the ears of a firm in the
Empire State, the proprietors of the Millard Fillmore Manufacturing
Company of Claysville, N.Y., who wrote him to inquire whether he could
cut ten acres of wheat provided they should make a cradle just to suit
his wants; if so, they would be pleased to make him the implement, and
to present it to him with their compliments. He responded to the effect
that if they would make an implement as ordered, he would undertake to
cut twelve acres. They agreed. In due time his cradle came, a marvel
of beauty and strength. The blade was sixty-five inches in length, and
made of silver steel, cost alone $25. The only difference between this
cradle and the ordinary one, was in point of size and the slight curva-
ture of the blade at its heel.
The long-expected time finally arrived, judges were appointed, and
the champion was authorized to begin his day's task, the limits being
from sunrise to sunset. From far and near the people came, some to wit-
ness, as they predicted a failure; some to gratify idle curiosity, and
others to see the modern Hercules actually accomplish his thirteenth
wonder.
He had employed a physician to traverse the field with him, and to
give such medical advice as circumstances required. Under the physician's
advice he worked bareheaded, cutting the grain regularly by going around
the field. He was clad in linen pants and shirt and ordinary slippers.
He took no solid food during the day, nor halted at noon. Once every
two hours he stopped briefly to whet his scythe, and then pushed ahead,
cutting a swath eleven feet wide and five feet deep at every clip. He
made, on an average, twenty-two clips per minute.
About 2 o'clock in the afternoon, a heavy thunder storm came up,
the rain falling in torrents. The lightning flashed, the blade gleaming
as it was thrust into the heavy grain. Slippers were thrown aside, and
still the heroic man pushed on, determined to redeem his pledge or die
in his tracks. No solid food was taken, but liquid nourishment was con-
sumed under the advice of the physician. Sometime during the afternoon,
an old hunter suggested to the physician that a piece of raw beef taken
between the teeth would benefit the man. It was done, a man being dis-
patched to Mercersburg to procure a piece which was held and the juice
absorbed. At night only the fibres remained.
As the sun sank behind the western hills the judge called time. His
task was done. The field was subsequently surveyed, and measured some-
thing over twelve acres and a half. It is located near the village of
Mercersburg, Franklin County, Pennsylvania. The product of this remark-
able day's cradling was 365 dozen shocks of wheat, yielding, when
threshed, 262 bushels of grain. The labor of four men was required to
bind after him.
The gentleman who did this work, and whose constitution was
thoroughly shattered by it, is MICHAEL CROMER, at present the genial and
popular conductor on the South Penn Railroad from Chambersburg to Rich-
mond. He never speaks of it with pride, the honor having been gained by
wrecking a constitution of unusual vigor and power. A more accommodata-
ing railroad official it had not been our good fortune to meet anywhere.
At the age of fifty-eight years he still has the respect of everybody
who is acquainted with him.
In the early part of this century the farmers of Franklin County
began agitating the subject of forming county agricultural societies.
Exactly what year the first meetings of the people were held, looking
forward toward organizing, is not definitely known. The following is
found in a chance copy of an old paper:
"The Agricultural Society of Franklin County held a meeting at
the court-house the 1st day of June, 1824. JAMES RIDDLE, Presi-
dent; T. G. McCULLOUGH, Secretary.
"Note -- The members of the society are expected to pay up
their annual contribution on or before the day of meeting
at Chambersburg.
"Tuesday, June 5, 1827, a meeting of the Agricultural Society of
Franklin was held. T. G. MCCULLOUGH, Secretary."
Exactly when these society meetings were organized, how long they
continued, or exactly their manner of organization is not definitely
known. The organization was in advance of the county agricultural
societies as they now exist.
The first regular organization was in the year 1853 -- the charter
members being JUDGE JAMES KENNEDY
GEORGE CHAMBERS, vice president,
S. M. ARMSTRONG, recording secretary
JAMES MILLS, corresponding secretary
ALEX. K. McCLURE, treasurer.
The grounds were fifteen acres, about one mile west of Chambersburg,
which is now the colored cemetery. It belongs to JUDGE KENNEDY.
In 1854 the society held a most successful fair. To the novelty of
the occasion, ALEX. K. McCLURE succeeded by personal efforts in securing
HORACE GREELEY to come and deliver an address on agriculture. The add-
ress was of course able, edifying and interesting. COLONEL McCLURE was
at that time publishing the Repository and was so pleased with the
address that he appealed to Mr. GREELEY to permit him to publish it.
The great editor placed the manuscript in his hands and the hieroglyphics
were as inscrutable as the characters on a tea-chest. After many
patient efforts the services of D. S. EARLY (who was drowned in Philadel-
phia in 1855) were called in, and he finally translated the strange
characters into English, and the address was printed. But when once in
print it richly repaid the labor it had cost. Its advice to the farmers
deserved to be not only printed in COLONEL McCLURE's paper, but also to
have been hung up over the portals of every farm house in the country,
and to be read and re-read at least once a year.
The second list of officers for the society, elected in 1853, for
the year 1854, were:
GEORGE CHAMBERS, president
WILLIAM HEYSER, vice-president
S. M. ARMSTRONG, recording secretary
JAMES NILL, corresponding secretary
ALEX. K. McCLURE, treasurer
At the fair in 1853, DANIEL F. ROBENSON delivered an address on
agriculture.
The following officers were elected for the Franklin County Agri-
cultural Society for the year 1855.:
President, WILLIAM HEYSER
Vice Presidents
WILLIAM McDOWELL
JAMES DAVIDSON
JAMES LOWE
SAMUEL THOMPSON
Managers
DANIEL TROSTLE
F. S. SAMBAUGH
GEORGE ASTON
JACOB HEYSER
WILLIAM BOSSERT
HEZ. EASTON
PETER BROUGH
MARTIN NEWCOMER
CHRISTIAN STOUFFER
JACOB GARVER
BENJAMIN SNIVELY
JAMES CRAWFORD
Recording Secretary, S. M. ARMSTRONG
Corresponding Secretary, JACOB HEYSER
Treasurer, A. K. McCLURE
Farmers and Mechanics Industrial Association was the third agri-
cultural association formed in the county. A meeting was called in
Chambersburg, Tuesday, January 18, 1859.
President, COLONEL JAMES B. ORR
Vice Presidents
JOHN RUTHRAUFF
J. WATSON CRAIG
WILLIAM BOSSERT
CAPTAIN SAMUEL WALKER
DAVID SPENCER, ESQ.
JOHN DITCH
JOHN W. TAYLOR
JOSEPH G. CRESSLER
SAMUEL GILMORE
SAMUEL ALEXANDER
JACOB B. COOK
JOHN THOMAS
BENJAMIN CHAMBERS
HON. JAMES J. KENNEDY
Secretaries, FRANCIS NORTHCRAFT and WILLIAM D. McKINSTRY
A committee of two from each township, two from Chambersburg,
appointed to solicit membership for the new organization, as follows:
Antrim: JOHN RUTHRAUFF and BENJAMIN SNIVELY
Chambersburg: J. W. TAYLOR and A. R. HURST
Fannett: SAMUEL HOLLIDAY and SIMON MILLER
Greene: JACOB GARVER and S. BRECKENRIDGE
Guilford: G. W. IMMELL and F. WALK
Hamilton: WILLIAM BOSSERT and HENRY KEEFER
Letterkenny: S. GILMORE and SAMUEL LEHMAN
Lurgan: THOMAS PUMROY and D. C. BYERS
Metal: CAPTAIN S. WALKER and JACOB FLICKINGER
Montgomery: J. WATSON CRAIG and J. L. RHEA
Peters: A. E. McDOWELL and S. ALEXANDER
Quincy: JACOB SECRIST and JOHN A. SHANK
Southampton: D. HAYS and DAVID SPENCER, ESQ.
St. Thomas: CHARLES GILLAN and JOHN MILLER
Warren: A. H. McCULLOH and JACOB ZIMMERMAN
Washington: ABRAHAM BAR and H. X. STONER
On motion,
HONORABLE JOHN ORR
JOHN W. TAYLOR
DAVID M. LESHER
were appointed a committee to wait upon the last board of managers of
the defunct old Agricultural Society of Franklin County, and learn if
they will contribute to the present company as soon as formed, the funds,
lands, and other property of said defunct body.
Appointed a committee to draft a constitution were
ANDREW N. RANKIN
COLONEL JAMES B. ORR
MR. JOHN RUTHRAUFF
An able and highly instructive address was delivered by WILLIAM
McLELLAN.
A constitution was adopted.
The county executive committee appointed were
ANDREW N. RANKIN
DR. SAMUEL G. LANE
JACOB HENNINGER
JACOB N. SNIDER
PETER B. HOUSUM
Officers elected at a meeting June 7, 1859 to serve the ensuing
year as follows:
President JAMES B. ORR
Vice presidents: WILLIAM BOSSERT
JAMES DAVISON
S. ARMSTRONG
BRADLEY and HENRY KEEFER
Recording Secretary, WILLIAM S. EVERETT
Corresponding Secretary, ANDREW N. RANKIN
Treasurer, EMANUEL KUHN
Managers, JOHN RUTHRAUFF
J. WATSON CRAIG
BENJAMIN CHAMBERS, ESQ.
JACOB HEYSER
PETER STENGER, ESQ.
CAPTAIN SAMUEL WALKER
DAVID M. LESHER
WILLIAM CLINE
DAVID A. WERTZ
WILLIAM B. GABBY
ROBERT CLUGSTON
JAMES G. ELDER
A fair to be held in October, continuing four days was provided for.
The old society promptly turned over their assets to the new society.
The Franklin County Agricultural Society was organized October 19,
1875. The board of directors were:
President JAMES SCOTT
Vice President DR. J. L. SUESSEROTT
Secretary CALVIN GILBERT
Treasurer WILLIAM HEYSER
(No title was given)
DR. E. CULBERTSON
JAMES A. McKNIGHT
JOHN P. CULBERTSON
M. A. KEEFER
DR. A. H. SENSENY
E.J. BONEBRAKE
PETER KREIGHBAUM
M. A. FOLTZ
W. F. EYSTER
JOHN FORBES.
The last board (it ceased to exist in 1882 or 1883)
President DR. J. L. SUESSEROTT
Vice President A. H. ETTER
Secretary, CALVIN GILBERT
Treasurer WILLIAM HEYSER
JOHN P. CULBERTSON
JAMES A McKNIGHT
M. A. KEEFER
E. J. BONEBRAKE
M. A. FOLTZ
JERE RHOADARMER
N.P. GROVE
A.A. SKINNER
JOHN GERHIG
W.P. SLAUGHENHAUPT
Pet Stock Association in 1879-80 was in a flourishing condition.
Its meetings were held in Repository Hall, Chambersburg. The following
were the officers:
President, L. L. SPRINGER
Vice Presidents, REV. F. F. BAHNER, Waynesboro
H. C. GREENAWALT, Fayetteville
J. M. LONG, Loudon
SOLOMON SELLENBERGER, Guilford
DR. W. C. LANE, Orrstown
JOHN CROFT, St. Thomas
P. E. KREPS, Greencastle
DR. MARTIN, Mercersburg
H.S. GILBERT, Chambersburg
C. C. SCHREBLER, Chambersburg
G. R. COLLIFLOWER, Chambersburg
DR. B. BOWMAN, Chambersburg
Recording Secretary, W. E. TOLBERT
Corresponding Secretary, T. M. NELSON
Treasurer, A. H. McCULLOH
Auditor, J. P. KEEFER
Executive Board N.P. GROVE
J. N. SNIDER
REV. A. S. HARTMAN
J. M. GABLE
J. L. SENSENY
H. C. SEIBERT
Superintendent, N. P. GROVE
End Chapter XI