Philadelphia Pennsylvania

Philadelphia Pennsylvania, renowned as the birthplace of American democracy, is a city steeped in history and rich in cultural heritage. Founded by William Penn in 1682 as part of the Pennsylvania Colony, Philadelphia played a central role in the early history of the United States. It was here that the Declaration of Independence was signed in 1776 and the U.S. Constitution was drafted in 1787, within the walls of Independence Hall, a UNESCO World Heritage site. Philadelphia served as the nation’s capital from 1790 to 1800 before the government relocated to Washington, D.C. Located in Philadelphia County, the only county in the state with the same boundaries as its city, Philadelphia is Pennsylvania’s largest city and the sixth-most populous in the U.S. Geographically, it is situated at the confluence of the Delaware and Schuylkill rivers, providing a strategic location that has contributed to its historical prominence as a port and commercial center.

Biography of Rev. John A. Anderson

Rev. John A. Anderson, so long identified with the work of the Presbyterian Church at Junction City, and, while a resident of that place, with the affairs of Congress, of which he was a member, had a remarkable experience for a elergyman. He graduated from Miami University, Oxford, Ohio, in 1853, Benjamin Harrison being his roommate for a time. Mr. Anderson began his ministerial work at Stockton, California, in 1857, and is said to have preached the first union sermon on the Pacific coast. In 1860 the state legislature of California elected him trustee of the state insane asylum. Two … Read more

Descendants of Philip Taber of New Bedford, MA

The Taber family of Dartmouth and New Bedford is descended from (I) Philip Taber, who, according to Savage, was born in 1605, and died in 1672. He was at Watertown in 1634, and he contributed toward building the galley for the security of the harbor. He was made a freeman at Plymouth in that same year. In 1639-40 he was a deputy from Yarmouth, and was afterward at Martha’s Vineyard, and from 1647 to 1655 was at Edgartown, going from there to New London in 1651, but probably returning soon. He was an inhabitant of Portsmouth in February, 1655, and was a representative in Providence in 1661, the commissioners being Roger Williams, William Field, Thomas Olney, Joseph Torrey, Philip Taber and John Anthony. Later he settled in Tiverton, where his death occurred. He married Lydia Masters, of Watertown, Mass., daughter of John and Jane Masters, and his second wife, Jane, born in 1605, died in 1669.

Biography of Henry Sheppard

Henry Sheppard, among the early people of Greene county, was the man who made and left the best impression. He was born in Cumberland county, New Jersey, on November 8th, 1821, of the seventh generation from the original settler of his name. His father was a quiet man of moderate means who gave to his sons what education he could in schools and at home taught them, by precept and by example, industry, self-reliance and truth. The mother was a deeply religious woman. Henry, the oldest son, an ambitious and independent boy supported himself from the age of fifteen. He … Read more

Biography of James A. Wendell

To the subject of this sketch more than to any other person, perhaps, is due the fact that the finest plant in the United States for the manufacture of table oil cloth is now located in Rock Island. During a long career as traveling salesman for an eastern manufacturer he was impressed with the advantages of the upper Mississippi valley as a site for a factory, and it was the soundness of his reasoning which impressed the officers of the Standard Oil Cloth Company and led to the location of the present factory on the Father of Waters at Rock … Read more

Biographical Sketch of L. L. Silverthorn, M. D.

L. L. Silverthorn, M. D., physician and surgeon, Charleston; was born in Stroudsburg, Monroe, Co., Penn., Oct. 21, 1830; his early life was passed upon a farm; he was the youngest of a family of twelve children, and his father being in moderate circumstances, he was thrown upon his own resources, and obtained only such an education as the common schools afforded; in 1850, he began teaching school, which he continued at intervals for three years; in 1852, he entered upon the study of medicine, in Fond du Lac, Wis.; in 1854, he came to Charleston and continued his studies … Read more

Biography of John H. Thornton

Mr. John H. Thornton, veteran of the Civil War and for many years employed in the Government service at Rock Island Arsenal, was born in Ireland June 24, 1847, and died at his home in Moline July 9, 1903. He was the son of Patrick and Mary Thornton and came to America with his parents while an infant, aged nine months. The mother died in Rochester, New York, after which the father removed to Philadelphia, from which city, at the age of sixteen, young Thornton enlisted, July 26, 1862, in Company Fifty-three, Twenty-Ninth Regiment, Pennsylvania Volunteers, Third Infrntry. His Company … Read more

Biographical Sketch of D. Edward Dangler

Dangler, D. Edward; mfr.; born, Cleveland, Feb. 23, 1858; son of David A. and J. Clark Dangler; educated in the schools of Cleveland and Philadelphia; married, Cleveland, Oct. 20, 1885, Effie M. Scofield; issue, three sons, C. S., Oct. 9, 1886, Frank, June 23, 1888, C. E., April 25, 1895; formed first company for the manufacture of gasoline stoves, 1880; has made this his business ever since; enlarged plants of the Dangler Stove Co., of which he is manager and director, from time to time; company has also taken up the manufacture of oil and gas stoves and now sell … Read more

Biography of J. B. Congle

J.B. CONGLE. – Mr. Congle was one of the men of wealth who contributed largely to the early growth and prosperity of our state, and especially of Portland. He was born December 9, 1817, in Chester county, Pennsylvania. In the year 1832 he went to Philadelphia to learn the harness and saddlery trade, and in the spring of 1838 removed to Virginia, thence to Missouri, and in the year 1841 was at Lafayette, Indiana, where he resided ten years thereafter. On May 21, 1844, he was married to Miss Ellen H. Gray, of the place last named. He came as … Read more

Biographical Sketch of Archibald W. Thomson

Thomson, Archibald W.; vessel transportation; born, Philadelphia, 1872; son of William and Isabella Wilson Thomson; educated High School, Philadelphia; University of Pennsylvania, but did not graduate; former member Troop A; nine years Pacific Coast agt. American Steel Barge Co., San Francisco and Puget Sound; in 1899, came back to Cleveland, and associated himself with The Wilson Transit Co.; pres. and mgr. The Wilson Transit Co.; director and treas. The Volunteers Transit Co., and The Thomas Wilson Land Co.; member Union, and Country Clubs.

Biographical Sketch of Arthur Bradley

Bradley, Arthur; law and insurance; born, Philadelphia, Pa., Jan. 18, 1856; son of Joseph William and Clara Amelia Morse Bradley; educated, Swathmore College, Pa., class of ’76, degree A. B.; studied and admitted to the practice of law in Philadelphia, Pa., 1881; Ohio U. S. Courts in 1910; married, Philadelphia, Pa., Nov. 24, 1891, Alice Deering llsley; one son, Arthur llsley Bradley, born July 25, 1899; practised law in Philadelphia until 1886; general publishing business, 1886-1888; connected with West Pub. Co. of St. Paul, Minn. (law publishers), 1888-1891; general solicitor of Warren Scharf Asphalt Paving Co., N. Y., 1881-1901; general … Read more

Biographical Sketch of Dr. A.H. Parkes

Dr. A. H. Parkes, whose birth occurred on the farm where he now resides, in Moore County, October 11, 1936, is one of seven surviving children, born to the union of Martin L. and Susan (Smith) Parkes. The father was a native of North Carolina, born in 1793, and came to this county about 1818. He was an officer in the war of 1812, and was magistrate in Lincoln County for several years. He was a tiller of the soil, and died December, 12, 1845. The mother was born August, 8, 1803, in Virginia, and came to this county in … Read more

Biography of John Zurcher

That stanch little republic whose spirit has made her presence felt in all of the countries of Europe, has furnished many enterprising citizens of this country, and among them we wish to mention the esteemed gentleman, whose name initiates this paragraph, and who has demonstrated his loyalty and sterling qualities in that, when the call came for the sons of liberty to defend the flag, he at once left the walks of domestic life and plunged into the carnage of battle, where for the entire term of the Civil war he was foremost and at the post of duty, both … Read more

War Between the Colonies and The Western Indians – From 1763 To 1765

A struggle began in 1760, in which the English had to contend with a more powerful Indian enemy than any they had yet encountered. Pontiac, a chief renowned both in America and Europe, as a brave and skillful warrior, and a far-sighted and active ruler, was at the head of all the Indian tribes on the great lakes. Among these were the Ottawas, Miamis, Chippewas, Wyandott, Pottawatomie, Winnebago, Shawanese, Ottagamie, and Mississagas. After the capture of Quebec, in 1760, Major Rodgers was sent into the country of Pontiac to drive the French from it. Apprised of his approach, Pontiac sent … Read more

Biography of Alexander E. Mayhew

The rewards of purity in public life are many, but one of the most important and apparent is continuance in public life. This is true everywhere, and of course it is true in Idaho, where the fact is emphasized and illustrated by the career of Judge Mayhew of Wallace, Shoshone County, Idaho. At least he lives at Wallace, but he is a man of the west and for the west, and his influence is active and far-reaching. Alexander E. Mayhew, son of Samuel and Elizabeth (Conklin) Mayhew, was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, March 31, 1830. His father, a native of … Read more

Biographical Sketch of George W. Martin

George W. Martin, long secretary of the State Historical Society, an old newspaper man and state printer, was born in Blair County, Pennsylvania, June 30, 1841. He learned the printer’s trade in his native town and in Philadelphia, and in April, 1857, accompanied his parents to the Territory of Kansas, Young Martin worked in printing offices at Lecompton until the fall of 1859 and in 1861 became connected with the Junction City Union, which he edited for several years. Mr. Martin was postmaster at Junction City several months in 1865 and register of the land office in 1865-66; assessor of … Read more

Pennsylvania German Pioneers

This set of manuscripts was compiled in the 1930s by Strassburger and Hinke in order to provide the descendants of Pennsylvania German pioneers a publication of the most accurate of original lists of arrivals. In order to do this they transcribed the hard-to-read German and American script of the passenger lists, oaths of allegiance to the Crown, and oaths of abjuration and fidelity to the proprietors. These three types of records form the basis for the Pennsylvania German Pioneers.

Biographical Sketch of Ellis Jones Chesbro

Chesbro, Ellis Jones; dentist; born, Cleveland, Dec. 25, 1868; son of George W. and Miss Boyce Chesbro; educated, Willoughby High School, Allegheny College, A. B.; University of Pennsylvania, D. D. S.; married, Washington, D. C., May 9, 1906, Eugenna C. Davis; one son; member Northern Ohio Dental Ass’n and Phi Delta Theta Fraternity.

Natchez Trace

In 1792, in a council held at Chickasaw Bluffs, where Memphis, Tennessee, is now located, a treaty was made with the Chickasaws, in which they granted the United States the right of way through their territory for a public road to be opened from Nashville, Tennessee, to Natchez, Mississippi. This road was long known, and no doubt, remembered by many at the present time by the name “Natchez Trace.” It crossed the Tennessee River at a point then known as “Colberts Ferry,” and passed through the present counties of Tishomingo, Ittiwamba, Lee, Pantotoc, Chickasaw, Choctaw, thence on to Natchez, and … Read more

Establishment of Fort Smith in 1817

The white population in Arkansas in 1817 had increased to several thousand, whose protection, as well as that of the Cherokee people living in that territory, from the continued hostilities of the Osage, required the establishment of a military post at the western border dividing the white settlements from the Osage. From Saint Louis came further news of threatened hostilities by the Osage near Clermont’s Town, and a report that Major William Bradford with a detachment of United States riflemen, and accompanied by Major Long, topographical engineer, had left that city for the purpose of establishing a military post on … Read more

In Possession Of The “Promised Land”

Monday, Nov. 22, 1819.–This day breakfasted with Mr. R. Morrison and dined with Mr. W. Morrison. These gentlemen are wealthy and live in very comfortable style. Mrs. R. Morrison is one of the most intelligent women that I have conversed with, and possesses a lady’s privilege, while Mrs. W. Morrison might rank, in point of beauty with some of the belles of Philadelphia. Dr. Hill having accomplished his business, we set out from Kaskia at 2 o’clock, after bidding a friendly farewell to many new friends made in this place. I must confess I found a few possessing so much … Read more