Here are two more excerpts, possibly related, from Revolutionary War pension applications at the National Archives concerning erecting a stockade for the British prisoners held at York (Camp Security). By the time he was eligible for a pension under the 1832 act, Philip Werntz was living in Haines Township, Centre
Here is another clue from the National Archives records into life at Camp Security. John Stewart as 77 years old when he applied for a Revolutionary War pension in Clermont County, Ohio in 1832. He states that he was born in Lancaster County, Pa. and moved to Maryland about a
As you know, the southeastern/southcentral Pennsylvania area was settled early, and then, as families grew, some members spread out through the rest of the country from here. The western parts of Maryland, Virginia and North Carolina beckoned, as the settlers travelled down the valleys in quest of land. Some went
Where did all those people to the west of us come from? A lot of their families started out here, in south central Pennsylvania, a couple of hundred years ago. Some of them: the Morrows, the Ruhls and the Kinselys are highlighted in my recent York Sunday News column, which
During the Civil War “Peace Democrats” were also known as “Copperheads.” There are a couple of explanations for the term applied to those Northern Democrats who opposed the Civil War and wanted to see the country reunited, even if it meant that slavery would continue. Some sources compare them to
You know my theory–dig deep enough in just about any subject and you’ll find a York County connection. That’s why we named my blog Universal York–York County, center of the universe. Here is another example, gleaned from an article in the September 10, 1905 York Gazette: “Samuel Toomey left York
A 1917 newspaper account captured some reminiscences of David Sloat, who at 90 was one of the last three Civil War veterans in Wrightsville. After the war Sloat had moved to Ohio and lived there for fifty years, but he retired back to Wrightsville. There he shared his vivid memories,
William Holmes McGuffey (1800-1873) was a professor of languages at Miami University in Ohio when he developed a series of enduring readers for children. Truman and Smith, a small Cincinnati publishing firm, brought out the First Reader in 1836, followed by the Second Reader in 1837. The Third and Fourth
You know my theory that all roads lead back to York? Here is another example. The small city of Galion, with about 11,500 people, sits in the northern part of Ohio, about half way across the state. They are on U.S. Route 30, like York. They have an industrial past,