Universal York

As York County Heritage Trust prepares for its major Civil War exhibit, The Fiery Trial: York County’s Civil War Experience, opening on June 29, 2013, items just seem to jump out of the collections at you. While looking for another document in the YCHT Library/Archives files today, I came across the small flier below, printed by the Gazette Printing company.

It outlines how the citizens left at home were planning, at the very beginning of the conflict, to provide for the families of the volunteer soldiers while they were gone. Considering the war dragged on for four long years with over six thousand York County men eventually serving, I wonder how the relief plans worked out.

RELIEF AND PROTECTION
OF THE
Families of Volunteer Companies
FROM YORK COUNTY.

At a meeting of the Committee of Safety of the borough of York, held on Saturday, April 27, 1861, the following resolutions were unanimously adopted:

Resolved, That Abraham Forry, Major D.A. Stillinger and Dr. Wm. S. Roland, be a committee to procure from the Captains of the several volunteer companies from York County, who have been or hereafter may be mustered into active service, a certified list of the names of the officers, non-commissioned officers, musicians and privates of each company, and their places of residence; designating those who have families and the number of each family, with their ages, condition and sex, so as to enable the general Committee of Safety to adopt proper and efficient measures for the relief and protection of such families as may require it, during the absence in the services of our country of their natural protectors

Resolved, That a committee of three from each ward in the borough of York, to act for their respective wards, be appointed, whose duty it shall be to enquire, from time to time, into the wants of the families of the absent officers and soldiers of the several companies organized in the borough of York, and grant them the necessary relief, and for such relief, whether it be in money, provisions or fuel, an order shall be drawn on Henry Welsh, the Treasurer, countersigned by Henry Lanius, the Chairman of the general Committee of Safety, and paid.

The committees under the foregoing resolution are, viz:
1st WARD–Dr. W. S. Roland, Henry Greenawalt and V.K. Keesey.
2nd WARD–John Evans, Samuel Small and D.E. Small.
3rd WARD–Peter McIntyre, Daniel Heckert and Thomas B. Schall.
4th WARD–James H. Fisher, Abraham Forry and Henry Bayler.
5th WARD–Daniel Kraber, E. C. Lauman and Capt. John Meyers.

Resolved, That Adam H. Smith, Jacob Wirt and Dr. J. Culbertson be appointed a committee to take charge of the relief of the families of the officers and soldiers of the volunteer companies organized in the borough of Hanover, and any relief granted by said committee shall be paid by Henry Welsh, Treasurer, on their orders, countersigned by Henry Lanius, Chairman of the general Committee of Safety.

Resolved, That the foregoing resolutions be printed and a sufficient number of copies furnished to the Captain of each company, for distribution, for distribution among its members.

Certified from the minutes,
HENRY LANIUS
Chairman.
JOHN R. STROMAN
Secretary