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 CORNELL 
 
 UNIVERSITY 
 
 LIBRARY 
 
 BOUGHT WITH THE INCOME 
 OF THE SAGE ENDOWMENT 
 FUND GIVEN IN 1891 BY 
 
 HENRY WILLIAMS SAGE 
 
Cornell University Library 
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PITTSBURGH 
 
 A SKETCH OF ITS EARLY 
 SOCIAL LIFE 
 
 CHARLES W;^DAHLINGER 
 
 G. P. PUTNAM'S SONS 
 
 NEW YORK AND LONDON 
 
 Zbe IRnlcftetDocftcr ipreee 
 1916 
 
 Hi 
 
\ I 
 
 ( I 
 
 Copyright, 1916 
 
 BY 
 
 CHARLES W. DAHLINGER 
 
 
 Ube IknfcKetbocKer ffitese, mew JSotb 
 
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 B. McC. D. 
 
PREFACE 
 
 THE purpose of these pages is to describe 
 the early social life of Pittsburgh. The 
 civilization of Pittsburgh was crude and 
 vigorous, withal prescient of future culture and 
 refinement. 
 
 The place sprang into prominence after the 
 conclusion of the French and Indian War, and 
 upon the improvement of the military roads laid 
 out over the Alleghany Mountains during that 
 struggle. Pittsburgh was located on the main 
 highway leading to the Mississippi Valley, and 
 was the principal stopping place in the journey 
 from the East to the Louisiana country. The 
 story of its early social existence, interwoven as 
 it is with contemporaneous national events, is of 
 more than local interest. 
 
 C. W. D. 
 
 Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, 
 November, 1915. 
 
CONTENTS 
 
 CHAPTER PAGE 
 
 I. — The Formative Period . . . i 
 
 II. — A New County and a New Borough 22 
 
 III.— The Melting Pot .... 38 
 
 IV. — Life at the Beginning of the Nine- 
 teenth Century .... 62 
 
 V. — The Seat of Power ... 90 
 
 VI. — Public and Private Affairs . -114 
 
 VII. — A Duel and Other Matters . . 138 
 
 VIII. — Zadok Cramer . . . .161 
 
 IX. — The Broadening of Culture . .184 
 
 Index ...... 209 
 
Pittsburgh 
 
 CHAPTER I 
 
 THE FORMATIVE PERIOD 
 
 UNTIL all fear of Indian troubles had ceased, 
 there was practically no social life In 
 American pioneer communities. As long 
 as marauding bands of Indians appeared on the 
 outskirts of the settlements, the laws were but a 
 loose net with large meshes, thrown out from the 
 longer-settled country whence they emanated. In 
 the numerous interstices the laws were ineffective. 
 In this Pittsburgh was no exception. The nomi- 
 nal reign of the law had been inaugurated among 
 the settlers in Western Pennsylvania as far back 
 as 1750, when the Western country was no man's 
 land, and the rival claims set up by France and 
 England were being subjected to the arbitrament 
 
2 Pittsburgh 
 
 of the sword. In that year Cumberland County 
 was formed. It was the sixth county in the prov- 
 ince, and comprised all the territory west of the 
 Susquehanna River, and north and west of York 
 County — limitless in its westerly extent — between 
 the province of New York on one side, and the 
 colony of Virginia and the province of Maryland 
 on the other. The first county seat was at 
 Shippinsburg, but the next year, when Carlisle 
 was laid out, that place became the seat of justice. 
 After the conclusion of the French and Indian 
 War, and the estabHshment of English supremacy, 
 a further attempt was made to govern Western 
 Pennsylvania by lawful methods, and in 1771 
 Bedford County was formed out of Cumberland 
 County. It included nearly all of the western 
 half of the province. With Bedford, the new 
 county seat, almost a hundred miles away, the law 
 had little force in and about Pittsburgh. To bring 
 the law nearer home, Westmoreland County was 
 formed in 1773, from Bedford County, and em- 
 braced all of the province west of "Laurel Hill." 
 The county seat was at Hannastown, three miles 
 northeast of the present borough of Greensburg. 
 
The Formative Period 3 
 
 But with Virginia and Pennsylvania each claiming 
 jurisdiction over the territory an uncertainty pre- 
 vailed which caused more disregard for the law. 
 The Revolutionary War came on, with its attend- 
 ant Indian troubles; and in 1794 the western 
 counties revolted against the national government 
 on account of the imposition of an excise on 
 whisky. It was only after the last uprising had 
 been suppressed that the laws became effective 
 and society entered upon the formative stage. 
 
 Culture is the leading element in the formation 
 and progress of society, and is the result of mental 
 activity. The most potent agency in the produc- 
 tion of culture is education. While Pittsburgh 
 was a frontier village, suffering from the turbu- 
 lence of the French and Indian War, the uncer- 
 tainty of the Revolution, and the chaos of the 
 Whisky Insurrection, education remained at a 
 standstill. The men who had blazed trails through 
 the trackless forests, and buried themselves in 
 the woods or along the uncharted rivers, could 
 usually read and write, but there were no means 
 of transmitting these boons to their children. The 
 laws of the province made no provision for schools 
 
4 Pittsburgh 
 
 on its frontiers. In December, 1761, the inhabit- 
 ants of Pittsburgh subscribed sixty pounds and 
 engaged a schoolmaster for the term of a year to 
 instruct their children. Similar attempts followed, 
 but, like the first effort, ended in failure. There 
 was not a newspaper in aU the Western cotmtry; 
 the only books were the Bible and the almanac. 
 The almanac was the one form of secular litera- 
 ture with which frontier families were ordinarily 
 farruliar. 
 
 In 1764, while Pittsburgh was a trading post, 
 the military authorities caused a plan of the village 
 to be made by Colonel John Campbell. It con- 
 sisted of four blocks, and was bounded by Water 
 Street, Second Street, now Second Avenue, Mar- 
 ket and Ferry Streets, and was intersected by 
 Chancery Lane. The lots faced in the direction of 
 Water Street. In this plan most of the houses 
 were built. 
 
 At the outbreak of the Revolution, the proprie- 
 tors of the province were the cousins, John Penn, 
 Jr., and John Penn, both grandsons of William 
 Penn, the founder of Pennsylvania. Being royal- 
 ists, they had been divested of the title to all their 
 
The Formative Period 5 
 
 lands in Pennsylvania, except to a few tracts which 
 had been surveyed, called manors, one of them 
 being "Pittsburgh," in which was included the 
 village of that name. In 1784 the Penns con- 
 ceived the design of selling land in the village of 
 Pittsburgh. The first sale was made in January, 
 when an agreement to sell was entered into with 
 Major Isaac Craig and Colonel Stephen Bayard, 
 for about three acres, located "between Fort Pitt 
 and the Allegheny River." The Penns deter- 
 mined to lay out a town according to a plan of 
 their own, and on April 22, 1784, Tench Francis, 
 their agent, employed George Woods, an engineer 
 living at Bedford, to do the work. The plan was 
 completed in a few months, and included within 
 its boimdaries all the land in the triangle between 
 the Allegheny and Monongahela Rivers, extending 
 to Grant Street and Washington, now Eleventh, 
 Street. Campbell's plan was adopted unchanged; 
 Tench Francis approved the new plan and began 
 to sell lots. Major Craig and Colonel Bayard ac- 
 cepted, in lieu of the acreage purchased by them, 
 a deed for thirty-two lots in this plan. 
 
 Until this time, the title of the occupants of 
 
6 Pittsburgh 
 
 lands included in the plan had been by sufferance 
 only. The earlier Penns were reputed to have 
 treated the Indians, the original proprietors of 
 Pennsylvania, with consideration. In the same 
 manner John Penn, Jr., and John Penn dealt with 
 the persons who made improvements on the lands 
 to which they had no title. They permitted the 
 settlement on the assumption that the settlers 
 would afterwards buy the land; and they gave 
 them a preference. Also when litigation arose, 
 caused by the schemes of land speculators intent 
 on securing the fruits of the enterprise and industry 
 of squatters on the Penn lots, the courts generally 
 intervened in favor of the occupants.^ The sale 
 was advertised near and far, and immigrants and 
 speculators flocked into the village. They came 
 from Eastern Pennsylvania, from Virginia, from 
 Maryland, from New York, and from distant 
 New England. The pack trains carrying mer- 
 chandise and household effects into Pittsburgh 
 became ever longer and more ntunerous. 
 
 Once that the tide of emigration had set in 
 toward the West, it grew constantly in volume. 
 The roads over the Alleghany Mountains were 
 
The Formative Period 7 
 
 improved, and wheeled conveyances no longer 
 attracted the curious attention that greeted Dr. 
 Johann David Schoepf when he arrived in Pitts- 
 burgh in 1 783, in the cariole in which he had crossed 
 the mountains, an achievement which until then 
 had not been considered possible. ^ The monoto- 
 nous hoof-beats of the pack horses became less 
 frequent, and great covered wagons, drawn by 
 four horses, harnessed two abreast, came rumbling 
 into the viUage. But not all the people or all 
 the goods remained in Pittsburgh. There were 
 still other and newer Eldorados, farther away to 
 the west and the south, and these lands of milk 
 and honey were the Meccas of many of theadven- 
 turers. Pittsburgh was the depository of the 
 merchandise sent out from Philadelphia and Balti- 
 more, intended for the western and southern 
 country and for the numerous settlements that 
 were springing up along the Monongahela and 
 Allegheny Rivers. ^ From Pittsburgh trading 
 boats laden with merchandise were floated down 
 the Ohio River, stopping at the towns on its banks 
 to vend the articles which they carried.'' Coal 
 was cheap and emigrant and trading boats carried 
 
8 Pittsburgh 
 
 it as ballast, s In Pittsburgh the immigrants 
 lingered, purchasing supplies, and gathering in- 
 formation about the country beyond. Some pro- 
 ceeded overland. Others sold the vehicles in 
 which they had come, and continued the journey 
 down the Ohio River, in Kentucky flat or family 
 boats, in keel boats, arks, and barges. The con- 
 struction and equipping of boats became an 
 industry of moment in Pittsburgh. 
 
 The last menace from the Indians who owned 
 and occupied the country north of the Allegheny 
 and Ohio Rivers was removed on October 21, 
 1784, when the treaty with the Six Nations was 
 concluded at Fort Stanwix, by which all the Indian 
 lands in Pennsylvania except a tract bordering 
 on Lake Erie were ceded to the State. This vast 
 territory was now opened for settlement, and 
 resulted in more immigrants passing through 
 Pittsburgh. The northerly boundary of the vil- 
 lage ceased to be the border line of civilization. 
 The isolation of the place became less pronounced. 
 The immigrants who remained in Pittsburgh were 
 generally of a sturdy class, and were young and 
 energetic. Among them were former Revolu- 
 
The Formative Period 9 
 
 tionary officers and soldiers. They engaged in 
 trade, and as an adjunct of this business specu- 
 lated in lands in the county, or bought and sold 
 town lots. A few took up tavern keeping. From 
 the brief notes left by Lewis Brantz who stopped 
 over in Pittsburgh in 1785, while on a journey 
 from Baltimore to the Western country, it appears 
 that at this time Fort Pitt was still garrisoned 
 by a small force of soldiers; that the inhabitants 
 lived chiefly by traffic, and by entertaining trav- 
 ellers; and that there were but few mechanics in 
 the village.^ The extent of the population can be 
 conjectured, when it is known that in 1786 there 
 were in Pittsburgh only thirty-six log buildings, 
 one of stone, and one of frame; and that there 
 were six stores. ^ 
 
 Religion was long dormant on the frontier. 
 In 1761 and 1762, when the first school was in 
 operation in Pittsburgh, the schoolmaster con- 
 ducted religious services on Sundays to a small 
 congregation. Although under the direction of a 
 Presbyterian, the services consisted in reading the 
 Prayers and the Litany from the Book of Common 
 Prayer. ^ During the military occupation, a chap- 
 
lo Pittsburgh 
 
 lain was occasionally stationed at Fort Pitt around 
 which the houses clustered. From time to time 
 missionaries came and tarried a few days or weeks, 
 and went their way again. The long intervals 
 between the religious services were periods of in- 
 difference. An awakening came at last, and the 
 religious teachings of early life reasserted them- 
 selves, and the settlers sought means to re-estab- 
 lish a spiritual life in their midst. The Germans^ 
 and Swiss-Germans of the Protestant Evangelical 
 and Protestant Reformed faiths jointly organized 
 a German church in 1782; and the Presbyterians 
 formed a church organization two years later. 
 
 The first pastor of the German church was the 
 Rev. Johann Wilhelm Weber, who was sent out 
 by the German Reformed Synod at Reading.' 
 He had left his charge in Eastern Pennsylvania 
 because the congregation which he served had 
 not been as enthusiastic in its support of the Revo- 
 lution as he deemed proper. ^ " The services were 
 held in a log building situated at what is now the 
 corner of Wood Street and Diamond Alley. ^^ 
 Besides ministering to the wants of the Pittsburgh 
 church, there were three other congregations on 
 
The Formative Period ii 
 
 Weber's circuit, which extended fifty miles east 
 of Pittsburgh. When he came West in Sep- 
 tember, 1782, the Revolutionary War was still 
 in progress; Hannastown had been burned by 
 the British and Indians in the preceding July; 
 hostile Indians and white outlaws continually 
 beset his path. He was a soldier of the Cross, 
 but he was also ready to fight worldly battles. 
 He went about the country armed not only with 
 the Bible, but with a loaded rifle," and was pre- 
 pared to battle with physical enemies, as well as 
 with the devil. 
 
 : Hardly had the churches come into existence 
 when another organization was formed whose 
 origiQ is claimed to be shrouded in the mists of 
 antiquity. In the American history of the order, 
 the membership included many of the greatest 
 and best known men in the country. On Decem- 
 ber 27, 1785, the Grand Lodge of Pennsylvania, 
 Free and Accepted Masons, granted a charter to 
 certain freemasons resident in Pittsburgh, which 
 was designated as "Lodge No. 45 of Ancient York 
 Masons." It was not only the first masonic lodge 
 in Pittsburgh, but the first in the Western coun- 
 
12 Pittsburgh 
 
 try. '3 Almost from the beginning, Lodge No. 45 
 was the most influential social organization in 
 the village. Nearly aU the leading citizens were 
 members. Toward the close of the eighteenth 
 century the place of meeting was in the tavern 
 of William Morrow, at the "Sign of the Green 
 Tree," on Water Street, two doors above Market 
 Street."* Although not a strictly religious organi- 
 zation, the order carefully observed certain Church 
 holidays. St. John the Baptist's day and St. 
 John the Evangelist's day were never allowed to 
 pass without a celebration. Every year in June, 
 on St. John the Baptist's day, Lodge No. 45 met 
 at 10 o'clock in the morning and, after the ser- 
 vices in the lodge were over, paraded the streets. 
 The members walked two abfeast. Dressed in 
 their best clothes, with cocked hats, long coats, 
 knee-breeches, and buckled shoes, wearing the 
 aprons of the craft, they marched "in ancient 
 order." The sword bearer was in advance; the 
 officers wore embroidered collars, from which 
 depended their emblems of office; the wardens 
 carried their truncheons; the deacons, their staves. 
 The Bible, surmounted by a compass and a square, 
 
The Formative Period 13 
 
 on a velvet cushion, was borne along. When the 
 Rev. Robert Steele came to preach in the Presby- 
 terian Meeting House, the march was from the 
 lodge room to the church. Here Mr. Steele 
 preached a sermon to the brethren, after which 
 they dined together at Thomas Ferree's tavern 
 at the "Sign of the Black Bear,"'s or at the "Sign 
 of the Green Tree.'"^ St. John the Evangelist's 
 day was observed with no less circumstance. 
 In the morning the officers of the lodge were in- 
 stalled. ' Addresses of a semi-religious or philo- 
 sophic character, eulogistic of masonry, were 
 delivered by competent members or visitors. 
 This ceremony was followed in the afternoon by 
 a dinner either at some tavern or at the home of 
 a member. Dinners seemed to be a concomitant 
 part of all masonic ceremonies. 
 
 By the time that the last quarter of the eigh- 
 teenth century was well under way, the hunters 
 and trappers had left for more prolific hunting 
 grounds. The Indian traders with their lax 
 morals '^ had disappeared forever in the direction 
 of the setting sun, along with the Indians with 
 whom they bartered. If any traders remained, 
 
14 Pittsburgh 
 
 they conformed to the precepts of a higher civili- 
 zation. Only a scattered few of the red men con- 
 tinued to dwell in the hills surrounding the village, 
 or along the rivers, eking out a scant livelihood 
 by selling game in the town.'* 
 
 A different moral atmosphere appeared: schools 
 of a permanent character were established; the 
 German church conducted a school which was 
 taught by the pastor. Secular books were now 
 in the households of the more intelligent; a few 
 of the wealthier families had small Hbraries, and 
 books were sold in the town. On August 26, 1786, 
 Wilson and Wallace advertised "testaments, 
 Bibles, spelling books, and primers" for sale." 
 Copies of the Philadelphia and Baltimore news- 
 papers were brought by travellers, and received 
 by private arrangement. 
 
 In July, 1786, John Scull and Joseph Hall, 
 two young men of more than ordinary daring, came 
 from Philadelphia and established a weekly news- 
 paper called the Pittsburgh Gazette, which was the 
 first newspaper pubHshed in the country west of the 
 Alleghany Mountains. The partnership lasted only 
 a few months. Hall dying on November 10, 1786, 
 
The Formative Period 15 
 
 ,t the early age of twenty-two years ;^'' and in the 
 oUowing month, John Boyd, also of Philadelphia, 
 )urchased Hall's interest and became the partner 
 )f ScuU." For many years money was scarcely 
 een in Pittsburgh in commercial transactions, 
 iverything being consummated in trade. A few 
 nonths after its establishment, the Pittsburgh 
 jazette gave notice to all persons residing in the 
 lountry that it would receive country produce 
 n payment of subscriptions to the paper. *^ 
 
 The next year there were printed, and kept for 
 ale at the office of the Pittsburgh Gazette, spelling 
 )Ooks, and The A.B. C. with the Shorter Catechism, 
 which are Added Some Short and Easy Questions 
 or Children; secular instruction was combined with 
 •eligious.^3 The Pittsburgh Gazette also conducted 
 m emporium where other reading matter might 
 )e purchased. In the issue for June 16, 1787, an 
 Uuminating notice appeared: "At the printing 
 )ffice, Pittsburgh, may be had the laws of this 
 state, passed between the thirtieth of September, 
 775, and the Revolution; New Testaments; 
 Dllworth's Spelling Books; New England Primers, 
 nth Catechism; Westminster Shorter Catechism; 
 
i6 Pittsburgh 
 
 A Journey from Philadelphia to New York by 
 Way of Burlington and South Amboy, by Robert 
 Slenner, Stocking Weaver; . . . also a few books 
 for the learner of the French language." 
 
 In November, 1787, there was announced as 
 being in press at the office of the Pittsburgh Gazette. 
 the Pittsburgh Almanac or Western Ephemeris 
 for lySS.""^ The same year that the almanac ap- 
 peared, John Boyd attempted the establishment 
 of a circulating library. In his announcement 
 on July 26th, ^5 he declared that the library 
 would be opened as soon as a hundred subscribers 
 were secured; and that it would consist of five 
 hundred well chosen books. Subscriptions were to 
 be received at the office of the Pittsburgh Gazette. 
 Boyd committed suicide in the early part of 
 August by hanging himself to a tree on the hill 
 in the town, which has ever since borne his name, 
 and Scull became the sole owner of the Pittsburgh 
 Gazette. This act of self-destruction, and the fact 
 that Boyd's name as owner appeared in the Pitts- 
 burgh Gazette for the last time on August 2d, 
 would indicate that the library was never estab- 
 lished. Perhaps it was the anticipated failure of 
 
The Formative Period 17 
 
 the enterprise that prompted Boyd to commit 
 suicide. 
 
 The door to higher education was opened on 
 February 28, 1787, when the Pittsburgh Academy 
 was incorporated by an Act of the General Assem- 
 bly. This was the germ which has since devel- 
 oped into the University of Pittsburgh. Another 
 step which tended to the material and mental 
 advancement of the place, was the inauguration 
 of a movement for communicating regularly with 
 the outside world. On September 30, 1786, a 
 post route was established with Philadelphia,^* 
 and the next year the general government entered 
 into a contract for carrying the mails between 
 Pittsburgh and that city.^^ Almost immediately 
 afterward a post office was established in Pitts- 
 burgh with Scull as postmaster, and a regular 
 post between the village and Philadelphia and 
 the East was opened on July 19, 1788.=^* These 
 events constituted another milestone in the pro- 
 gress of Pittsburgh. 
 
 Another instrument in the advancement of the 
 infant community was the Mechanical Society 
 which came into existence in 1788. On the twenty- 
 
1 8 Pittsburgh 
 
 second of March, the following unique advertise- 
 ment appeared in the Pittsburgh Gazette : "Society 
 was the primeval desire of our first and great an- 
 cestor Adam; the same order for that blessing 
 seems to inhabit more or less the whole race. To 
 encourage this it seems to be the earnest wish of a 
 few of the mechanics in Pittsburgh, to have a gen- 
 eral meeting on Monday the 24th inst., at six P.M., 
 at the house of Andrew Watson, tavern keeper, to 
 settle on a plan for a well regulated society for the 
 purpose. This public method is taken to invite 
 the reputable tradesmen of this place to be pimc- 
 tual to their assignation." 
 
 I Andrew Watson's tavern was in the log building, 
 at the northeast comer of Market and Front 
 Streets. Front Street was afterward called First 
 Street, and is now First Avenue. At that time 
 all the highways running parallel with the Monon- 
 gahela River were designated as streets, as they 
 are now called avenues. The object of the Me- 
 chanical Society was the improvement of the con- 
 dition of the workpeople, to induce workpeople to 
 settle in the town, and to procure manufactories 
 to be established there. 
 
The Formative Period 19 
 
 The society was more than local in character, 
 similar societies being in existence in New York, 
 Philadelphia, and in the neighboring village of 
 Washington. At a later day the Mechanical 
 Society of Pittsburgh produced plays, some of 
 which were given in the grand- jury room in the 
 upper story of the new court house. The society 
 also had connected with it a circulating library, 
 a cabinet of curiosities, and a chemical laboratory. 
 
REFERENCES 
 Chapter I 
 
 James Fearnly v. Patrick Murphy, Addison's Reports, 
 Washington, 1800, p. 22; John Marie ». Samuel Semple, 
 ibid., p. 215. 
 
 JoHANN David Schoepf. Reise durch einige der mittlem 
 und siidlichen vereinigten nordamerikanischen Staaten, 
 Erlangen, 17S8, vol. i., p. 370. 
 
 F. A. Michaux. Travels to the Westward of the Alleghany 
 Mountains, London, 1805, p. 37. 
 
 Thaddeus Mason Harris. The Journal of a Tour, Boston, 
 1805, p. 42. 
 
 "A Sketch of Pittsburgh." The Literary Magazine, Phila- 
 delphia, i8o5, p. 253. 
 
 Lewis Brantz. "Memoranda of a Journey in the West- 
 erly Parts of the United States of America in 1785." In 
 Henry R. Schoolcraft's Indian Antiguities, Philadelphia, 
 Part IIL, pp. 335-351- 
 
 Niks' Weekly Register, Baltimore, August 19, 1826, vol. xxx., 
 p. 436. 
 
 James Kenney. The Historical Magazine, New York, 1858, 
 vol. ii., pp. 273-274. 
 
 Rev. Cyrus Cort, D.D. Historical Sermon in the First 
 Reformed Church of Greensburgh, Pennsylvania, October 
 13, 1907, pp. 11-12. 
 
 Johann David Schoepf. Reise durch einige der mittlem 
 und siidlichen vereinigten nordamerikanischen Staaten, 
 Erlangen,"i788, vol. i., p. 247. ' 
 
 Carl August Voss. Gedenkschrift zur Einhundertfuen- 
 fundzwanzig-jaehrigen Jubel-Feier, Pittsburgh, Pa., 1907, 
 p. 14. 
 
 20 
 
The Formative Period 21 
 
 " Rev. Cyrus Cort, D.D. Historical Sermon in the First 
 
 Reformed Church of Greensburgh, Pennsylvania, October 
 
 13, 1907, P- 20. 
 " Samuel Harper. "Seniority of Lodge No. 45," fljj>/o?-y o/ 
 
 Lodge No. 4S, Free and Accepted Masons, 1785-1910, 
 
 Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, pp. 97-109. 
 '■I Pittsburgh Gazette, June 15, 1799. 
 's Tree of Liberty, June 6, 1801. 
 '« Tree of Liberty, June 12, 1802. 
 «7 Diary of David McClure, New York, 1899, p. 53. 
 '' Perrin DuLac. Voyage dans les Deux Louisianes, Lyon, 
 
 An xiii-(i8o5), p. 132. 
 " Pittsburgh Gazette, August 26, 1786. 
 »" Pittsburgh Gazette, November 18, 1786. 
 " Pittsburgh Gazette, January 6, 1787. 
 " Pittsburgh Gazette, December 2, 1786. 
 '3 Pittsburgh Gazette, May 5, 1787. 
 '■I Pittsburgh Gazette, November 17, 1787. 
 »s Pittsburgh Gazette, July 26, 1788. 
 »" Pittsburgh Gazette, September 30, 1786. 
 »7 Pittsburgh Gazette, March 24, 1787. 
 »8 Pittsburgh Gazette, July 19, 1788. 
 
CHAPTER II 
 
 A NEW COUNTY AND A NEW BOROUGH 
 
 THE constantly rising tide of immigration re- 
 quired more territorial subdivisions in the 
 western part of the State. Westmoreland 
 County had been reduced in size on March 28, 
 1 78 1, by the creation of Washington County, but 
 was stiU inordinately large. The clamor of the 
 inhabitants of Pittsburgh for a separate county 
 was heeded at last, and on September 24, 1788, 
 Allegheny County was formed out of Westmore- 
 land and Washington Counties. To the new 
 county was added on September 17, 1789, other 
 territory taken from Washington County. In 
 March, 1792, the State purchased from the United 
 States the tract of land adjoining Lake Erie, con- 
 sisting of two hundred and two thousand acres, 
 which the national government had recently ac- 
 
A New County and a New Borough 23 
 
 quired from the Indians. This was added to 
 Allegheny County on April 3, 1792. The county 
 then extended northerly to the line of the State 
 of New York, and the border of Lake Erie, and 
 westerly to the present State of Ohio.' On 
 March 12, 1800, the county was reduced by the 
 creation of Beaver, Butler, Mercer, Crawford, 
 Erie, Warren, Venango, and Armstrong Counties, 
 the area of these counties being practically all 
 taken from Allegheny County. By Act of the 
 General Assembly of March 12, 1803, a small 
 part of Allegheny County was added to Indiana 
 County, and Allegheny County was reduced to 
 its present form and dimensions.^ 
 
 On the formation of Allegheny County, Pitts- 
 burgh became the county seat. The county was 
 divided into townships, Pittsburgh being located 
 in Pitt Township. Embraced in Pitt Township 
 was all the territory between the Monongahela 
 and Allegheny Rivers, as far east as Turtle Creek 
 on the Monongahela River, and Plum Creek on 
 the Allegheny River, and all of the county north 
 of the Allegheny and Ohio Rivers. With the 
 growth of prosperity in the county, petty offenses 
 
24 Pittsburgh 
 
 became more numerous, and a movement was be- 
 gun for the erection of a jail in Pittsburgh.^ 
 
 Next to the establishment of the Pittsburgh 
 Gazette, the publication and sale of books, and the 
 opening of the post route to the eastern country, 
 the most important event in the early social ad- 
 vancement of Pittsburgh was the passage of an 
 Act by the General Assembly, on April 22, 1794, in- 
 corporating the place into a borough. The town- 
 ship laws under which Pittsburgh had been 
 administered were crude and intended only for 
 agricultural and wild lands, and were inapplicable 
 to the development of a town. Under the code of 
 laws which it now obtained, it possessed functions 
 suitable to the character which it assumed, and 
 could perform acts leading to its material and 
 social progress. It was given the power to open 
 streets, to regulate and keep streets in order, to 
 conduct markets, to abate nuisances, and to levy 
 taxes. '' 
 
 Before the incorporation of the borough, various 
 steps had been taken in anticipation of that event. 
 The Pittsburgh Fire Company was organized in 
 1793, with an engine housed and a hand engine 
 
A New County and a New Borough 25 
 
 brought from Philadelphia. A new era in trans- 
 portation was inaugurated on Monday, October 
 21, 1793. by the establishment of a packet Hne on 
 the Ohio River, between Pittsburgh and Cincin- 
 nati, with boats "sailing" bi-weekly. The safety 
 of the passengers from attacks by hostile Indians 
 infesting the Ohio Valley, was assured. The boats 
 were bullet-proof, and were armed with small 
 cannon carrying pound balls; muskets and amu- 
 nition were provided, and from convenient port- 
 holes, passengers and crew could fire on the 
 enemy. * 
 
 One of the first measures enacted after Pitts- 
 burgh was incorporated, was that to prohibit hogs 
 running at large. "> The dissatisfaction occasioned 
 by the imposition of the excise on whisky, had 
 caused a spirit of lawlessness to spring up in the 
 country about Pittsburgh. When this element 
 appeared in the town, they were disposed, particu- 
 larly when inflamed with whisky, to show their 
 resentment toward the inhabitants, whom they 
 regarded as being unfriendly to the Insurgent 
 cause, by galloping armed through the streets, 
 firing their pieces as they sped by, to the terror of 
 
26 Pittsburgh 
 
 the townspeople. This was now made an offense 
 punishable by a fine of five shillings. * 
 
 Literary culture was hardly to be expected on 
 the frontier, yet a gentleman resided in Pittsburgh 
 who made some pretension in that direction. 
 Hugh Henry Brackenridge was the leading lawyer 
 of the town, and in addition to his other activities, 
 was an author of note. Before coming to Pitts- 
 burgh he had, jointly with Philip Freneau, written 
 a volume of poetry entitled, The Rising Glory of 
 America, and had himself written a play called 
 The Battle of Bunker Hill. While a resident in 
 Pittsburgh he contributed many articles to the 
 Pittsburgh Gazette. His title to literary fame, 
 however, results mainly from the political satire 
 that he wrote, which in its day created a sensa- 
 tion. It was called Modern Chivalry, and as origi- 
 nally published was a small affair. Only one 
 of the four volumes into which it was divided 
 was printed in Pittsburgh, the first, second, 
 and fourth being published in Philadelphia. The 
 third volume came out in Pittsburgh, in 1793, 
 and was printed by Scull, and was the first book 
 published west of the Alleghany Mountains. The 
 
A New County and a New Borough t.'j 
 
 work, as afterward rewritten and enlarged, ran 
 through more than half a dozen editions. 
 
 The interest in books increased. In 1793, 
 William Semple began selling "quarto pocket and 
 school Bibles, spelling books, primers, dictiona- 
 ries, English and Dutch almanacs, with an assort- 
 ment of religious, historical, and novel books."' 
 "Novel books" was no doubt meant to indicate 
 novels. In 1798 the town became possessed of a 
 store devoted exclusively to literature. It was 
 conducted in a wing of the house owned and 
 partially occupied by Brackenridge on Market 
 Street. 
 
 John C. Gilkison had been a law student in 
 Brackenridge's office, and had tutored his son. 
 Abandoning the idea of becoming a lawyer, he 
 began with the aid of Brackenridge, to sell books 
 as a business.'" In his announcement to the 
 public his plans were outlined:" "John C. Gil- 
 kison has just opened a small book and stationery 
 store. . . . He has a variety of books for sale, 
 school books especially, an assortment of which 
 he means to increase, and keep up as encourage- 
 ment may enable him; he has also some books of 
 
28 Pittsburgh 
 
 general instruction and amusement, which he will 
 sell or lend out for a reasonable time, at a reason- 
 able price." 
 
 Changes were made in the lines of the townships 
 at an early day. When the new century dawned, 
 Pitt Township adjoined Pittsburgh on the east. 
 East of Pitt Township and between the Monon- 
 gahela and Allegheny Rivers were the Townships . 
 of Plum, Versailles, and Elizabeth. On the south 
 side of the Monongahela River, extending from 
 the westerly line of the county to Chartiers Creek, 
 was Moon Township. East of Chartiers Creek, 
 and between that stream and Streets Run was St. 
 Clair Township, and east of Streets Run, extend- 
 ing along the Monongahela River, was Mifflin 
 Township, which ran to the county line. Back of 
 Moon Township was Fayette Township. North 
 of the Allegheny and Ohio Rivers were the Town- 
 ships of Pine and Deer. They were almost equal 
 in area, Pine being in the west, and Deer in the 
 east, the dividing line being near the mouth of 
 Pine Creek in the present borough of Etna. 
 
 The merchants and manufacturers of Pittsburgh 
 had been accixmulating money for a decade. In 
 
A New County and a New Borough 29 
 
 the East money was the medium of exchange, and 
 it was brought to the village by immigrants and 
 travelers, and began to circulate more freely 
 than before. In addition to the money put into 
 circulation by the immigrants, the United States 
 Government had expended nearly eight hundred 
 thousand dollars on the expedition which was 
 sent out to suppress the Whisky Instirrection. 
 At least half of this sum was spent in Pittsburgh 
 and its immediate vicinity, partly for supplies 
 and partly by the men composing the army. The 
 expedition was also the means of advertising the 
 Western country in the East, and created a new 
 interest in the town. A considerable influx of 
 new immigrants resulted. With the growth in 
 population, the number of the mercantile estab- 
 lishments increased. Pittsburgh became more 
 than ever the metropolis of the surrounding 
 country. 
 
 Ferries made intercotirse with the districts 
 across the rivers from Pittsburgh easy, except 
 perhaps in winter when ice was in the streams. 
 Three ferries were in operation on the Monon- 
 gahela River. That of Ephraim Jones at the 
 
30 Pittsburgh 
 
 foot of Liberty Street'^ was called the Lower 
 Ferry. A short distance above the mouth of 
 Wood Street was Robert Henderson's Ferry, for- 
 merly conducted by Jacob Bausman. This was 
 known as the Middle Ferry. Isaac Gregg's Ferry, 
 at this time operated by Samuel Emmett,^' also 
 called the Upper Ferry, was located a quarter of 
 a mile above the town, at the head of the Sand 
 Bar. Over the Allegheny River, connecting St. 
 Clair Street with the Franklin Road, now Federal 
 Street, was James Robinson's Ferry. As an in- 
 ducement to settle on the north side of the Alle- 
 gheny River, Robinson advertised that "All 
 persons going to and returning from sermon, and 
 all funerals, ferriage free."''' 
 
 The aspect of the town was changing. It was 
 no longer the village which Lewis Brantz saw on 
 his visit in 1790, when he painted the sketch 
 which is the first pictorial representation of the 
 place extant. 's In the old Military Plan the 
 ground was compactly built upon. Outside of 
 this plan the houses were sparse and few in 
 number, and cultivated grounds intervened. 
 Thomas Chapman who visited Pittsburgh in 
 
A New County and a New Borough 31 
 
 I795i reported that out of the two hundred 
 houses in the village, one hundred and fifty were 
 built of logs. ' ^ They were mainly of rough-hewn 
 logs, only an occasional house being of sawed logs. 
 The construction of log houses was discontinued, 
 the new houses being generally frame. Houses of 
 brick began to be erected, the brick sold at the 
 dismantling of Fort Pitt supplying the first ma- 
 terial for the purpose. The houses buUt of brick 
 taken from Fort Pitt were characterized by the 
 whiteness of the brick of which they were con- 
 structed.'' Brickyards were established. When 
 Chapman was in Pittsburgh, there were two brick- 
 yards in operation in the vicinity of the town.'* 
 With their advent brick houses increased rapidly. 
 With the evolution in the construction of the 
 houses, came another advance conducive to both 
 the health and comfort of the occupants. While 
 window glass was being brought from the East, 
 and was subject to the hazard of the long and 
 rough haul over the Alleghany Mountains, the 
 windows in the houses were few, and the panes 
 of small dimensions; six inches in width by eight 
 inches in length was an ordinary size. The 
 
32 Pittsburgh 
 
 interior of the houses was dark, cheerless, and 
 damp. In the spring of 1797, Albert Gallatin, in 
 conjunction with his brother-in-law, James W. Nic- 
 holson, and two Germans, Christian Kramer and 
 Baltzer Kramer, who were experienced glass-blow- 
 ers, began making window glass at a manufactory 
 which they had established on the Monongahela 
 River at New Geneva in Fayette County." 
 The same year that window glass was first pro- 
 duced at New Geneva, Colonel James O'Hara 
 and Major Isaac Craig commenced the construc- 
 tion of a glass manufactory on the south side of 
 the Monongahela River, opposite Pittsburgh, and 
 made their first window glass in 1800. Both 
 manufactories produced window glass larger in 
 size than that- brought from the East, O'Hara 
 and Craig's glass measuring as high as eighteen 
 by twenty-four inches. ^ ° The price of the Western 
 glass was lower than that brought across the 
 mountains. With cheaper glass, windows became 
 larger and more numerous, and a more cheerful 
 atmosphere prevailed in the houses. 
 
 All that remained of Pittsburgh's former mili- 
 tary importance were the dry ditch and old ram- 
 
A New County and a New Borough 33 
 
 parts of Fort Pitt," in the westerly extremity 
 of the town, together with some of the barracks 
 and the stone powder magazine, and Fort Fayette 
 near the northeasterly limits, how used solely 
 as a military storehouse." Not a trace of archi- 
 tectural beauty was evident in the houses. They 
 were built without regularity and were low and 
 plain. In one block were one- and two-story log 
 and frame houses, some with their sides, others 
 with their gable ends, facing the street. In the 
 next square there was a brick building of two or 
 possibly three stories in height; the rest of the 
 area was covered with wooden buildings of every 
 size and description. The Lombardy poplars and 
 weeping willows which grew along the streets ^^ 
 softened the aspect of the houses before which 
 they were planted. The scattered houses on the 
 sides of the hills which commanded the town on 
 the east^'' were more attractive. 
 
 It was forty years before houses, even on the 
 leading streets, were numbered. ^^ The taverns 
 and many of the stores, instead of being known by 
 the number of their location on the street, or by 
 the name of the owner, were recognized by their 
 
34 Pittsburgh 
 
 signs, which contained characteristic pictures or 
 emblems. The signs were selected because asso- 
 ciated with them was some well-known sentiment; 
 or the picture represented a popular hero. In 
 the latter category was the "Sign of General 
 Washington," conducted by Robert Campbell, 
 at the northeast corner of Wood Street and Dia- 
 mond Alley. Sometimes the signs were of a humor- 
 ous character, as the "Whale and the Monkey" 
 with the added doggerel: 
 
 "Here the weary may rest, 
 The hungry feed, 
 And those who thirst, 
 May quaff the best," 
 
 displayed by D. McLane^* when he conducted 
 the tavern on Water Street, afterward known as 
 the " Sign of the Green Tree." The sign was hung 
 either on the front of the house, or on a board 
 attached to a wooden or iron arm projecting from 
 the building, or from a post standing before it. The 
 last was the manner in which most of the tavern 
 signs were displayed. This continued until 1816, 
 when all projecting or hanging signs were pro- 
 hibited, except to taverns where stabling and other 
 
A New County and a New Borough 35 
 
 accommodations for travelers could be obtained. 
 Only taverns located at street comers were there- 
 after permitted to have signposts. "^ 
 
 Not a street was paved, not even the footwalks, 
 except for such irregular slabs of stone, or brick, 
 or planks as had been laid down by the owners 
 of adjoining houses. Major Thomas S. Forman 
 who passed through Pittsburgh in December, 
 1789, related that the town was the muddiest 
 place he was ever in.^* In 1800, there was little 
 improvement. Samuel Jones was the first Regis- 
 ter and Recorder of Allegheny County, and held 
 those offices almost continuously well into the 
 nineteenth^ century. He resided in Pittsburgh 
 during the entire period, and his opportunities for 
 observation were unexcelled. His picture of the 
 borough in 1800 is far from attractive. "The 
 streets," he wrote, were "filled with hogs, dogs, 
 drays, and noisy children."^' At night the streets 
 were unlighted. "A solitary lamp twinkled here 
 and there, over the door of a tavern, or on a 
 signpost, whenever the moon was in its first or 
 last quarter. The rest of the town was involved 
 in primeval darkness." 
 
REFERENCES 
 Chapter II 
 
 ' Laura G. Sanford. The History of Erie County, Pennsyl- 
 vania, Philadelphia, 1862, p. 60. 
 
 " Judge J. W. P. White. Allegheny County, its Early History 
 and Subsequent Development, Pittsburgh, Pa., 1888, pp. 
 70-71. 
 
 3 Pittsburgh Gazette, December 14, 1793. 
 
 4 Act of April, 22, 1794; Act of September 12, 1782. 
 s Pittsburgh Gazette, November 2, 1793. 
 
 ' Pittsburgh Gazette, November 23, 1793. 
 
 ' Pittsburgh Gazette, May 31, 1794. 
 
 ' Pittsburgh Gazette, June 21, 1794. 
 
 » Pittsburgh Gazette, November 2, 1793; Ibid., June 28, 1794. 
 
 ■" H. M. Brackenridge. Recollections of Persons and Places 
 in the West, Philadelphia, 1868, pp. 44, 68. 
 
 " Pittsburgh Gazette, December 29, 1798. 
 
 " Neville B. Craig. The History of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, 
 1851, p. 295. 
 
 " Pittsburgh Gazette, April 30, 1802; Ibid., April 16, 1802. 
 
 »< Pittsburgh Gazette, May 13, 1803. 
 
 '5 Lewis Brantz. "Memoranda of a Journey in the Wes- 
 terly Parts of the United States of America in 1785." In 
 Henry R. Schoolcraft's Indian Antiquities, Philadelphia, 
 Part III., pp. 335-351- 
 
 «« Thomas Chapman. "Journal of a Journey through the 
 United States," The Historical Magazine, Morrisania, 
 N. Y., 1869, vol. v., p. 359. 
 
 " The Navigator for 1808, Pittsburgh, 1808, p. 33. 
 
 " Thomas Chapman. "Journal of a Journey through the 
 United States," The Historical Magazine, Morrisania, 
 N. Y., 1869, vol. v., p. 359. 
 
 36 
 
A New County and a New Borough 37 
 
 '9 Sherman Day. Historical Collections of the State of Penn- 
 sylvania, Philadelphia, p. 345; Rev. William Hanna: 
 History of Green County, Pa., 1882, pp. 247, 248. 
 
 '"' Pittsburgh Gazette, February i, 1800. 
 
 "' P. Cuming. Sketches of a Tour to the Western Country, 
 in 1807-1809, Pittsburgh, 1810, p. 225. 
 
 " The Navigator for 1808, Pittsburgh, 1808, p. 33. 
 
 =3 F. Cuming. Sketches of a Tour to the Western Country, 
 in 1807-1809, Pittsburgh, 1810, p. 226. 
 
 '* P. A. MiCHAUX. Travels to the Westward of the Alleghany 
 Mountains, London, 1805, p. 30. 
 
 »s Harris's Pittsburgh and Allegheny Directory, ioT 1839, p. 3; 
 ibid., for 1841. 
 
 »' Pittsburgh Gazette, May 3, 1794. 
 
 '1 Ordinance City of Pittsburgh, September 7, 1816, Pittsburgh 
 Digest, 1849, p. 238. 
 
 " Major Samuel S. Foeman. "Autobiography," The 
 Historical Magazine, Morrisania, N. Y., 1869, vol. vi., 
 pp. 324-325- 
 
 '» S. Jones. Pittsburgh in the Year 1826, Pittsburgh, 1826, 
 pp. 39-41- 
 
CHAPTER III 
 
 THE MELTING POT 
 
 THE population of Pittsburgh was composed 
 of various nationalities; those speaking 
 the English language predominated. In 
 addition to the Germans and Swiss-Germans, 
 there were French and a few Italians. The 
 majority of the English-speaking inhabitants were 
 of Irish or Scotch birth, or immediate extraction. 
 Of those bom in Ireland or Scotland, some were 
 old residents — so considered if they had lived in 
 Pittsburgh for ten years or more — while others 
 were recent immigrants. The Germans and 
 French had come as early as the Irish and Scotch. 
 The Italians were later arrivals. There was also 
 a sprinkling of Welsh. The place contained a 
 number of negroes, nearly all of whom were slaves, 
 there being in 1800 sixty-four negro slaves in 
 
The Melting Pot 39 
 
 Allegheny County, ' most of whom were in Pitts- 
 burgh and the immediate vicinity, A majority 
 of the negroes had been brought into the village 
 in the early days by emigrants from Virginia and 
 Maryland. Their number was gradually decreas- 
 ing. By Act of the General Assembly of March 
 I, 1780, all negroes and mulattoes bom after that 
 date, of slave mothers, became free upon arriving 
 at the age of twenty-eight years. Then on March 
 29, 1788, it was enacted that any slaves brought 
 into the State by persons resident thereof, or in- 
 tending to become such, should immediately be 
 free. ^ Also public sentiment was growing hostile 
 to the institution of negro slavery. The few free 
 negroes in Pittsburgh were engaged in menial 
 occupations, and the name of only one, whose 
 vocation was somewhat higher, has been handed 
 down to the present time. This was Charles 
 Richards, commonly called "Black Charley," who 
 conducted an inn in the log house, at the north- 
 west comer of Second and Ferry Streets. 
 
 Among themselves the Germans and the French 
 spoke the language of their fathers, but in their 
 intercourse with their EngHsh-speaking neigh- 
 
40 Pittsburgh 
 
 bors they used English. The language of the 
 street varied from the English of New England 
 and Virginia, to the brogue of the Irish and Scotch, 
 or the broken enunciation of the newer Germans 
 and French. Being in a majority the English- 
 speaking population controlled to a considerable 
 extent the destinies of the community. Their 
 manufactories were the most extensive, the mer- 
 chandise in their stores was in greater variety, 
 and the stocks larger than those carried in other 
 establishments. 
 
 Next in numbers to those whose native language 
 was English, were the German-speaking inhabit- 
 ants. They constituted the skilled mechanics; 
 some were merchants, and many were engaged in 
 farming in the neighboring townships. They 
 were aU more or less closely connected with the 
 German church. Only the names of their lead- 
 ing men have survived the obliterating ravages 
 of time. Among the mechanics of the higher class 
 were Jacob Haymaker, WiUiam Eichbaum, and 
 John Hamsher. The first was a boatbuilder, 
 whose boatyard was located on the south side of 
 the Monongahela River at the Middle Ferry; 
 
: The Melting Pot 41 
 
 Eichbaum was employed by O'Hara and Craig 
 in the construction and operation of their glass 
 works. John Hamsher was a coppersmith and 
 tin-worker, whose diversion was to serve in the 
 militia, in which he was captain. * 
 
 Conrad Winebiddle, Jonas Roup, Alexander Neg- 
 ley, and his son, Jacob Negley, were well-to-do 
 farmers in Pitt Township. Winebiddle was a 
 large holder of real estate, who died in 1795, and 
 enjoyed the unique distinction of being the only 
 German who ever owned negro slaves in Allegheny 
 County. Nicholas Bausman and Melchoir Beltz- 
 hoover were farmers in St. Clair Township; and 
 Casper Reel was a farmer and trapper in Pine 
 Township, where he was also tax collector. 
 Samuel Ewalt kept a tavern in Pittsburgh in 1775, 
 and was afterward a merchant. He was Sheriff 
 of Allegheny County during the dark days of the 
 Whisky Insurrection, and later was inspector of 
 the Allegheny County brigade of militia. He was 
 several times a member of the Pennsylvania House 
 of Representatives. William Wusthoff was Sheriff 
 of Allegheny County in 1801. Jacob Bausman 
 had a varied career. He was a resident of Pitts- 
 
42 Pittsburgh 
 
 burgh as far back as 1771, and was perhaps the 
 most prominent German in the place. As a young 
 man he was an ensign in the Virginia militia, dur- 
 ing the Virginia contention. He established the 
 first ferry on the Monongahela River, which ran 
 to his house on the south side of the stream, where 
 the southern terminus of the Smithfield Street 
 bridge is now located. The right to operate the 
 ferry was granted to him by the Virginia Court 
 on February 23, 1775, and was confirmed by 
 the General Assembly of Pennsylvania ten years 
 later. At his ferry house he also conducted a 
 tavern. His energies were not confined to his 
 private affairs. Under the Act of the General 
 Assembly incorporating Allegheny County, he 
 was named as one of the trustees to select land 
 for a court house in the tract reserved by the 
 State, in Pine Township, and was again, under the 
 Act of April 13, 1 79 1, made a trustee to purchase 
 land in Pittsburgh for the same purpose. He was 
 treasurer of the German church and, jointly with 
 Jacob Haymaker, was trustee, on the part of the 
 church, of the land deeded by the Penns to that 
 congregation for church purposes at the northeast 
 
The Melting Pot 43 
 
 corner of Smithfield and Sixth Streets, where the 
 congregation's second and all subsequent churches 
 were built. Michael Hufnagle was a member of 
 the Allegheny County Bar, being one of the first 
 ten men to be admitted to practice, upon the or- 
 ganization of the county. He was the only lawyer 
 of German nationality in the county. He had 
 been a captain in the Revolution, and prothonotary 
 of Westmoreland County. On July 13, 1782, 
 when the Indians and Tories attacked Hannas- 
 town, he occupied a farm situated a mile and a 
 half north of that place, which has ever since 
 been known in frontier history as the place where 
 the townsfolk were harvesting when the ^attack 
 began.'' 
 
 By their EngUsh-speaking neighbors the Ger- 
 mans were generally designated as "Dutch." In 
 the references to them in the Pittsburgh Gazette and 
 other early publications, they were likewise called 
 "Dutch." Books printed in the German lan- 
 guage were advertised as "Dutch" books. The 
 custom of speaking of the Germans as "Dutch" 
 was however not confined to Pittsburgh, but was 
 universal in America. The Dutch inhabitants 
 
44 Pittsburgh 
 
 of New York and elsewhere, were the first settlers 
 in the colonies, whose language was other than 
 English. The bulk of the English-speaking popu- 
 lation, wholly ignorant of any language except their 
 own, were easily led into the error of confusing 
 the newer German immigrants with the Dutch, 
 the only persons speaking a foreign tongue with 
 whom they had come in contact. Nor were the 
 uneducated classes the only transgressors in this 
 respect. The Rev. Dr. William Smith, the schol- 
 arly Provost of the College of Philadelphia, writing 
 during the French and Indian War, spoke of the 
 Germans as "the Dutch or Germans."^ Also 
 "Dutch" bears a close resemblance to "Deutsch," 
 the German name for people of the German race, 
 which may account, to some extent, for the misuse 
 of the word. 
 
 The Germans were in Pittsburgh to stay. 
 Their efforts were directed largely toward private 
 ends. When men of other blood made records 
 in public life, the Germans made theirs in the 
 limited sphere of their own employment or enter- 
 prises. Owing to their inability to speak the 
 English language, their position was more isolated 
 
The Melting Pot 45 
 
 than that of the greenest English-speaking immi- 
 grant in the village. That they were clannish 
 was a natural consequence. This disposition 
 was accentuated when a newspaper printed in the 
 German language was established on November 
 22, 1800, in the neighboring borough of Greens- 
 burgh, entitled The German Farmers' Register, 
 being the first German paper published in the 
 Western country. Subscriptions were received in 
 Pittsburgh at the office of the Tree oj Liberty, ^ then 
 recently established, and the effort to acquire a 
 knowledge of English in order to be able to read 
 the news of the day in the Pittsburgh newspapers, 
 was for the time being largely abandoned. As 
 the Germans learned to speak and read English, 
 their social intercourse was no longer restricted to 
 persons of their own nationality. With the next 
 generation, intermarriages with persons of other 
 descent took place. The German language ceased 
 to be cultivated; they forsook the German church 
 for one where English was the prevailing language. 
 It is doubtful if a single descendant of the old 
 Germans is now able to speak the language of 
 his forbears unless it was learned at school, or that 
 
46 Pittsburgh 
 
 he is a member of or attends the services of the 
 German church. 
 
 The French element was an almost negligible 
 quantity, yet it exerted an influence far beyond 
 what might be expected when its numbers are 
 considered. So strong was the tide of public 
 opinion in favor of all things French, occasioned 
 by the events of the French Revolution, that Albert 
 Gallatin, a French-Swiss, who had just been nattir- 
 alized, and still spoke English with a decided for- 
 eign accent, attained high political honors. To 
 the people he was essentially a Frenchman, and 
 in 1794, he was elected to the Pennsylvania House 
 of Representatives, from Fayette County where he 
 lived. At the same time he was elected to Con- 
 gress from the district consisting of Allegheny and 
 Washington Counties; and was twice re-elected 
 from the same district, which included Greene 
 County after the separation from Washington 
 County in 1796, and its erection into a separate 
 county. It was while serving this constituency 
 that Gallatin developed those powers in finance 
 and statesmanship which caused his appointment 
 as Secretary of the Treasury by President Jeffer- 
 
The Melting Pot 47 
 
 son, and by Jefferson's successor, President Mad- 
 ison. From the politicians of this Congressional 
 District, Gallatin learned those lessons in diplo- 
 macy which enabled him, while joint commissioner 
 of the United States, to secure the signature of Eng- 
 land to the Treaty of Ghent, by which the War 
 of 1812 was brought to a close, and which led to 
 his becoming United States Minister to France 
 and to England. The training of those early days 
 finally made him the most famous of all Ameri- 
 cans of European birth, and brought about his 
 nomination for Vice-President by the Congres- 
 sional caucus of the Republican party, an honor 
 which he first accepted, but later declined. ^ 
 
 Another prominent Frenchman was John B. C. 
 Lucus. In 1796, he lived on a farm on Coal Hill 
 on the south side of the Monongahela River, in 
 St. Clair Township, five miles above Pittsburgh. 
 It was said of him that he was an atheist and that 
 his wife plowed on Sundays, in spite of which he 
 was several times elected to the General Assembly. * 
 In 1800, he was appointed an associate judge for 
 the county. He quarrelled with Alexander Addi- 
 son, the president judge of the judicial district to 
 
48 Pittsburgh 
 
 which Allegheny County was attached, yet he had 
 sufficient standing in the State to cause Judge 
 Addison's impeachment and removal from the 
 Bench. In 1802, Lucas was elected to Congress 
 and was re-elected in 1804. In 1805, he was ap- 
 pointed United States District Judge for the new 
 Territory of Louisiana, now the State of Missouri. 
 Dr. Felix Brunot arrived in Pittsburgh in 1797. 
 He came from France with Lafayette and was a 
 surgeon in the Revolutionary War and fought in 
 many of its battles. His office was located on 
 Liberty Street, although he owned and lived on 
 Brunot Island. An SmigrS, the Chevalier Dubac, 
 was a merchant.' Dr. F. A. Michatix, the French 
 naturalist and traveler, related of Dubac:" "I 
 frequently saw M. Le Chevalier Dubac, an old 
 French officer who, compelled by the events of the 
 Revolution to quit France, settled in Pittsburgh 
 where he engaged in commerce. He possesses 
 very correct knowledge of the Western country, 
 and is perfectly acquainted with the navigation of 
 the Ohio and Mississippi Rivers, having made 
 several voyages to New Orleans." Morgan Ne- 
 ville a son of Colonel Presley Neville, and a writer 
 
The Melting Pot 49 
 
 of acknowledged ability, drew a charming picture 
 of Dubac's life in Pittsburgh." 
 
 Perhaps the best known Frenchman in Pitts- 
 burgh was John Marie, the proprietor of the tavern 
 on Grant's Hill. Grant's Hill was the eminence 
 which adjoined the town on the east, the ascent 
 to the hill beginning a short distance west of Grant 
 Street. The tavern was located just outside of 
 the borough limits, at the northeast corner of 
 Grant Street and the Braddocksfield Road, where 
 it connected with Fourth Street. The inclosure 
 contained more than six acres, and was called 
 after the place of its location, "Grant's Hill." 
 It overlooked Pittsburgh, and its graveled walks 
 and cultivated grounds were the resort of the 
 townspeople. For many years it was the leading 
 tavern. Gallatin, who was in Pittsburgh, in 1787, 
 while on the way from New Geneva to Maine, 
 noted in his diary that he passed Christmas Day 
 at Marie's house, in company with Brackenridge 
 and Peter Audrian,'" a well-known French mer- 
 chant on Water Street. Marie's French nation- 
 ality naturally led him to become a Republican 
 when the party was formed, and his tavern was 
 
50 Pittsburgh 
 
 long the headquarters of that party. Numerous 
 Republican plans for defeating their opponents 
 originated in Marie's house, and many Republican 
 victories were celebrated in his rooms. Also in 
 this tavern the general meetings of the militia 
 officers were held.'' Michaux has testified that 
 Marie kept a good inn. "• The present court house, 
 the combination court house and city hall now 
 being erected, and a small part of the South School, 
 the first public school in Pittsburgh, occupy the 
 larger portion of the site of "Grant's Hill." 
 
 Marie's name became well known over the State, 
 several years after he retired to private life. He 
 was seventy-five years of age in 1802, when he 
 discontinued tavern-keeping and sold "Grant's 
 Hill" to James Ross, United States Senator from 
 Pennsylvania, who was a resident of Pittsburgh. 
 Marie had been estranged from his wife for a 
 number of years and by some means she obtained 
 possession of "Grant's Hill," of which Ross had 
 difficulty in dispossessing her. In 1808, Ross was 
 a candidate for governor against Simon Snyder. 
 Ross's difference with Mrs. Marie, whose husband 
 had by this time divorced her, came to the 
 
The Melting Pot 51 
 
 knowledge of William Duane in Philadelphia, the 
 brilliant but unscrupulous editor of the Aurora 
 since the discontinuance of the National Gazette, 
 in 1793, the leading radical Republican newspaper 
 in the country. The report was enlarged into a 
 scandal of great proportions both in the Aurora 
 and in a pamphlet prepared by Duane and circu- 
 lated principally in Philadelphia. The title of 
 the pamphlet was harrowing. It was called "The 
 Case of Jane Marie, Exhibiting the Cruelty and 
 Barbarous Conduct of James Ross to a Defence- 
 less Woman, Written and Published by the Object 
 of his Cruelty and Vengeance." Although Marie 
 was opposed to Ross politically, he defended his 
 conduct toward Mrs. Marie as being perfectly hon- 
 orable. Nevertheless, the pamphlet played an im- 
 portant part in obtaining for Snyder the majority of 
 twenty-four thousand by which he defeated Ross. 
 Notwithstanding the high positions which some 
 of the Frenchmen attained, they left no per- 
 manent impression in Pittsburgh. After pros- 
 pering there for a few years, they went away and 
 no descendants of theirs reside in the city unless 
 it be some of the descendants of Dr. Brunot. 
 
52 . Pittsburgh 
 
 Some went south to the Louisiana country, and 
 others returned to France. Gallatin, himself, 
 long after he had shaken the dust of Western 
 Pennsylvania from his feet, writing about his 
 grandson, the son of his son James, said: "He is 
 the only young male of my name, and I have hesi- 
 tated whether, with a view to his happiness, I had 
 not better take him to live and die quietly at 
 Geneva, rather than to leave him to struggle in 
 this most energetic country, where the strong in 
 mind and character overset everybody else, and 
 where consideration and respectability are not at 
 all in proportion to virtue and modest merit." ^^ 
 And the grandson went to Geneva to Hve, and 
 his children were bom there and he died there.'* 
 
 The United States Government was still in 
 the formative stage. Until this time the men who 
 had fought the Revolutionary War to a successful 
 conclusion, held a tight rein on the governmental 
 machinery. Now a new element was growing up, 
 and, becoming dissatisfied with existing conditions, 
 organized for a conflict with the men in power. 
 The rise of the opposition to the Federal party was 
 also the outcome of existing social conditions. Like 
 
The Melting Pot • 53 
 
 the modem cry against consolidated wealth, the 
 movement was a contest by the discontented 
 elements in the population, of the men who had 
 little against those who had more. Abuses com- 
 mitted by individuals and conditions common to 
 new countries were magnified into errors of govern- 
 ment. Also the people were influenced by the 
 radicalism superinduced by the French Revolution 
 and the subsequent happenings in France. "Lib- 
 erty, fraternity, and equality" were enticing 
 catchwords in the United States. 
 
 Thomas Jefferson, on his return from France, 
 in 1789, after an absence of six years, where he 
 had served as United States Minister, during the 
 development of French radicalism, came home 
 much strengthened in his ideas of liberty. They 
 were in strong contrast with the more conserva- 
 tive notions of government entertained by Wash- 
 ington, Vice-President Adams, Hamilton, and the 
 other members of the Cabinet. In March, 1790, 
 Jefferson became Secretary of State in Washing- 
 ton's first Cabinet, the appointment being held 
 open for him since April 13th of the preceding 
 year, when Washington entered on the duties of 
 
54 Pittsburgh 
 
 the Presidency. Jefferson's views being made 
 public, he immediately became the deity of the 
 radical element. At the close of 1793, the dis- 
 sensions in the Cabinet had become so acute that 
 on December 31st Jefferson resigned in order to 
 be better able to lead the new party which was 
 being formed. By this element the Federalists 
 were termed "aristocrats," and "tories." They 
 were charged with being traitors to their country, 
 and were accused of being in league with England, 
 and to be plotting for the establishment of a 
 monarchy, and an aristocracy. The opposition 
 party assumed the title of "Republican." Later 
 the word "Democratic" was prefixed and the 
 party was called "Democratic Republican,"'' 
 although in Pittsburgh for many years the words 
 "Republican," "Democratic Republican," and 
 "Democratic" were used interchangeably. 
 
 Heretofore Pennsylvania had been staunchly 
 Federal. On the organization of the Republican 
 party. Governor Thomas MifHin, and Chief Justice 
 Thomas McKean of the Supreme Court, the two 
 most popular men in the State, left the Federal 
 party and became RepubKcans. There was also 
 
The Melting Pot 55 
 
 a cause peculiar to Pennsylvania, for the rapid 
 growth of the Republican party in the State. The 
 constant increase in the backwoods population 
 consisted largely of emigrants from Europe, 
 chiefly from Ireland, who brought with them a 
 bitter hatred of England and an intense admira- 
 tion for France. They went almost solidly into 
 the Republican camp. The arguments of the 
 Republicans had a French revolutionary coloring 
 mingled with which were complaints caused by 
 failure to realize expected conditions. An address 
 published in the organ of the Republican party in 
 Pittsburgh is a fair example of the reasoning em- 
 ployed in advocacy of the Republican candidates: 
 "Albert Gallatin, the friend of the people, the 
 enemy of tyrants, is to be supported on Tuesday, 
 the 14th of October next, for the Congress of the 
 United States. FeUow citizens, ye who are op- 
 posed to speculators, land jobbers, public plun- 
 derers, high taxes, eight per cent, loans, and 
 standing armies, vote for Mr. Gallatin!"'* 
 
 In Pittsburgh the leader of the Republicans was 
 Hugh Henry Brackenridge, the lawyer and dilet- 
 tante in literature. In the' fierce invective of the 
 
56 Pittsburgh 
 
 time, he and all the members of his party were 
 styled by their opponents "Jacobins," after the 
 revolutionary Jacobin Club of France, to which 
 all the woes of the Terror were attributed. The 
 Pittsburgh Gazette referred to Brackenridge as 
 "Citizen Brackenridge," and after the establish- 
 ment of the Tree of Liberty, added "Jacobin printer 
 of the Tree of Sedition, Blasphemy, and Slander." '» 
 But the Republicans gloried in titles borrowed from 
 the French Revolution. The same year that Gov- 
 ernor Mifflin and Chief Justice McKean went over 
 to the Republicans, Brackenridge made a Fourth 
 of July address in Pittsburgh, in which he advo- 
 cated closer relations with France. This was 
 repubUshed in New York by the Republicans, in 
 a pamphlet, along with a speech made by Maxi- 
 milien Robespierre in the National Convention of. 
 France. In this pamphlet Brackenridge was 
 styled ' ' Citizen Brackenridge. ' ' " ° The Pittsburgh 
 Gazette and the Tree of Liberty, contained numerous 
 references to meetings and conferences held at 
 the tavern of "Citizen" Marie. On March 4, 
 1802, the first anniversary of the inauguration of 
 Jefferson as President, a dinner was given by the 
 
The Melting Pot 57 
 
 leading RepubKcans in the tavern of "Citizen" 
 Jeremiah Sturgeon, at the "Sign of the Cross 
 Keys," at the northwest comer of Wood Street 
 and Diamond Alley, at which toasts were drunk 
 to "Citizen" Thomas Jefferson, "Citizen" Aaron 
 Burr, "Citizen" James Madison, "Citizen" Albert 
 Gallatin, and "Citizen" Thomas McKean." 
 
 In 1799, the Republicans had as their candidate 
 for governor Chief Justice McKean. Opposed 
 to him was Senator James Ross. Ross was re- 
 quired to maintain a defensive campaign. The 
 fact that he was a Federalist was alone sufficient 
 to condemn him in the eyes of many of the electors. 
 He was accused of being a follower of Thomas 
 Paine, and was charged with "singing psalms 
 over a card table." It was said that he had 
 "mimicked" the Rev. Dr. John McMillan, the 
 pioneer preacher of Presbyterianism in Western 
 Pennsylvania, and a politician of no mean in- 
 fluence; that he had "mocked" the Rev. Matthew 
 Henderson, a prominent minister of the Associate 
 Presbyterian Church. ^=' Although Allegheny 
 County gave Ross a majority of over eleven 
 hundred votes, he was defeated in the State by 
 
58 Pittsburgh 
 
 more than seventy-nine hundred. ""^ McKean took 
 office on December 17, 1799,'"' and the next day 
 he appointed Brackenridge a justice of the Supreme 
 Court. All but one or two of the county offices 
 were filled by appointment of the governor, who 
 could remove the holders at pleasure. The idea 
 of public offices being public trusts had not been 
 formulated. The doctrine afterward attributed 
 to Andrew Jackson, that "to the victors belong 
 the spoils of office, " was already a dearly cherished 
 principle of the Republicans, and Judge Bracken- 
 ridge was not an exception to his party. Hardly 
 had he taken his seat on the Supreme Bench, when 
 he induced Governor McKean to remove from 
 office the Federalist prothonotary, James Brison, 
 who had held the position since September 26, 
 1788, two days after the organization of the county. 
 Brison was very popular. As a young man, he 
 had lived at Hannastown, and during the attack 
 of the British and Indians on the place had been 
 one of the men sent on the dangerous errand of 
 reconnoitering the enemy. ==' He was now captain 
 of the Pittsburgh Troop of Light Dragoons, the 
 crack company in the Allegheny County brigade 
 
The Melting Pot 59 
 
 of militia, and was Secretary of the Board of 
 Trustees of the Academy. He was a society 
 leader and generally managed the larger social 
 functions of the town. General Henry Lee, the 
 Governor of Virginia, famous in the annals of the 
 Revolutionary War, as "Light-Horse Harry Lee," 
 commanded the expedition sent by President 
 Washington to suppress the Whisky Insurrection, 
 and was in Pittsburgh several weeks during that 
 memorable campaign. On the eve of his departure 
 a ball was given in his honor by the citizens. On 
 that occasion Brison was master of ceremonies. 
 A few months earlier Brackenridge had termed 
 him "a puppy and a coxcomb." Brackenridge 
 credited Brison with retaliating for the epithet, 
 by neglecting to provide his wife and himself with 
 an invitation to the ball. This was an additional 
 cause for his dismissal, and toward the close of 
 January the office was given to John C. Gilkison. 
 GiUdson who was a relative of Brackenridge, con- 
 ducted the book-store and library which he had 
 opened the year before, and also followed the 
 occupation of scrivener, preparing such legal papers 
 as were demanded of him.^^ 
 
REFERENCES 
 
 Chapter III 
 
 ' Pittsburgh Gazette, January 23, 1801. 
 
 ' CoLLlNSON Read. An Abridgment of the Laws of Pennsyl- 
 vania, Philadelphia, MDCCCI, pp. 264-269. 
 3 Pittsburgh Gazette, December 7, 1799. 
 * Neville B. Craig. The Olden Time, Pittsburgh, 1848, 
 
 vol. ii., pp. 354-355- 
 s A Brief State of the Province of Pennsylvania, London, 1755, 
 
 p. 12. 
 ' Tree of Liberty, December 27, 1800. 
 
 ' John Austin Stevens. Albert Gallatin, Boston, 1895, P- 370- 
 ' Major Ebenezer Denny. Military Journal, Philadelphia, 
 
 1859, p. 21. 
 9 Pittsburgh Gazette, October 23, 1801. 
 
 " Dr. F. a. Michaux. Travels to the Westward of the Alle- 
 ghany Mountains in the Year 1802, London, 1805, p. 36. 
 " Morgan Neville. In John P. Watson's Annals of Phila- 
 delphia and Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, 1891, vol. ii., 
 pp. 132-135- 
 " Henry Adams. The Life of Albert Gallatin, Philadelphia, 
 
 1880, p. 68. 
 '3 Tree of Liberty, November 7, 1800; Pittsburgh Gazette, Febru- 
 ary 20, 1801. 
 •4 Dr. P. A. Michaux. Travels to the Westward of the Alle- 
 ghany Mountains in the Year 1802, London, 1805, p. 29. 
 's Henry Adams. The Life of Albert Gallatin, Philadelphia, 
 
 1880, p. 650. 
 "i Count De Gallatin. "A Diary of James Gallatin in Europe''; 
 Scribner's Magazine, New York, vol. Ivi., September, 
 1914. PP- 350-351- 
 
 60 
 
The Melting Pot 6i 
 
 " Richard Hildreth. The History of the United States of 
 
 America, New York, vol. iv., p. 425. 
 '* Tree of Liberty, September 27, iSoo. 
 " Pittsburgh Gazette, February 6, 1801. 
 '" Political Miscellany, New York, 1793, pp. 27-31. 
 '^ Tree of Liberty, March 13, 1802. 
 " Tree of Liberty, September 19, 1801. 
 " Pittsburgh Gazette, October 26, 1799. 
 '^ William C. Armor. Lives of the Governors of Pennsylvania, 
 
 Philadelphia, 1873, p. 289. 
 "s Neville B. Craig. The Olden Time, Pittsburgh, 1848, 
 
 vol. ii., p. 355. 
 '^ H. M. Brackenridge. Recollections of Persons and Places 
 
 in the West, Philadelphia, 1868, p. 68; Pittsburgh Gazette, 
 
 December 29, 1798. 
 
CHAPTER IV 
 
 LIFE AT THE BEGINNING OF THE NINETEENTH 
 CENTURY 
 
 THE Pittsburgh Gazette was devoted to the 
 interests of the Federal party, and Brack- 
 enridge and the other leading Republicans 
 felt the need of a newspaper of their own. The 
 result was the establishment on August i6, 1800, 
 of the Tree of Liberty, by John Israel, who was al- 
 ready publishing a newspaper, called the Herald 
 of Liberty, in Washington, Pennsylvania. The 
 title of the new paper was intended to typify its 
 high mission. The significance of the name was 
 further indicated in the conspicuously displayed 
 motto, "And the leaves of the tree were for the 
 healing of the nations." The Federalists, and 
 more especially their organ, the Pittsburgh Gazette,'^ 
 charged Brackenridge with being the owner of 
 
 62 
 
At Beginning of Nineteenth Century 63 
 
 the new paper, and with being responsible for its 
 utterances.' Brackenridge, however, has left a 
 letter in which he refuted this statement, and 
 alleged that originally he intended to establish a 
 newspaper, but on hearing of Israel's intention 
 gave up the idea.^ 
 
 The extent of the comforts and luxuries enjoyed 
 in Pittsburgh was surprising. The houses, whether 
 built of logs, or frame, or brick, were comfortable, 
 even in winter. In the kitchens were large open 
 fire-places, where wood was burned. The best 
 coal fuel was plentiful. Although stoves were 
 invented barely half a century earlier, and were in 
 general use only in the larger cities, the houses 
 in Pittsburgh could already boast of many. There 
 were cannon stoves, so called because of their 
 upright cylindrical, cannon-like shape, and Frank- 
 lin or open stoves, invented by Benjamin Franklin; 
 the latter graced the parlor. Grates were giving 
 out their cheerful blaze. They were also in use 
 in some of the rooms of the new court house, and 
 in the new jail. 
 
 The advertisements of the merchants told the 
 story of what the people ate and drank, and of the 
 
64 Pittsburgh 
 
 materials of which their clothing was made. Arti- 
 cles of food were in great variety. In the stores 
 were tea, cofifee, red and sugar almonds, olives, 
 chocolate, spices of all kinds, muscatel and keg 
 raisins, dried peas, and a score of other luxuries, 
 besides the ordinary articles of consumption. The 
 gentry of England, as pictured in the pages of the 
 old romances, did not have a greater variety of 
 liquors to drink. There were Madeira, sherry, 
 claret, Lisbon, port, and Teneriffe wines, French 
 and Spanish brandies, ^ Jamaica and antique 
 spirits." Perrin DuLac, who visited Pittsburgh 
 in 1802, said these liquors were the only articles 
 sold in the town that were dear.^ But not all 
 partook of the luxuries. Bread and meat, and such 
 vegetables as were grown in the neighborhood, 
 constituted the staple articles of food, and home- 
 made whisky was the ordinary drink of the major- 
 ity of the population. The native fruits were 
 apples and pears, which had been successfully 
 propagated since the early days of the English 
 occupation. * 
 
 Materials for men's and women's clothing were 
 endless in variety and design and consisted of 
 
At Beginning of Nineteenth Century 65 
 
 cloths, serges, flannels, brocades, jeans, fustians, 
 Irish linens, cambrics, lawns, nankeens, ging- 
 hams, muslins, calicos, and chintzes. Other 
 articles were tamboured petticoats, tamboured 
 cravats, silk and cotton shawls, wreaths and 
 plumes, sunshades and parasols, black silk netting 
 gloves, white and salmon-colored long and short 
 gloves, kid and morocco shoes and slippers, men's 
 beaver, tanned, and silk gloves, men's cotton and 
 thread caps, and silk and cotton hose. 
 
 Men were changing their dress along with their 
 political opinions. One of the consequences in 
 the United States of the French Revolution was 
 to cause the effeminate and luxurious dress in 
 general use to give way to simpler and less extra- 
 vagant attire. The rise of the Republican party 
 and the class distinctions which it was responsible 
 for engendering, more than any other reason, 
 caused the men of affairs — the merchants, the 
 manufacturers, the lawyers, the physicians, and 
 the clergymen — to discard the old fashions and 
 adopt new ones. Cocked hats gave way to soft 
 or stiff hats, with low square crowns and straight 
 brims. The fashionable hats were the beaver 
 
66 Pittsburgh 
 
 made of the fur of the beaver, the castor made of 
 silk in imitation of the beaver, and the roram 
 made of felt, with a facing of beaver fur felted in. 
 Coats of blue, green, and buff, and waistcoats of 
 crimson, white, or yellow, were superseded by 
 garments of soberer colors. Coats continued to 
 be as long as ever, but the tails were cut away in 
 front. Knee-breeches were succeeded by tight- 
 fitting trousers reaching to the ankles ; low-buckled 
 shoes, by high-laced leather shoes, or boots. Men 
 discontinued wearing cues, and their hair was cut 
 short, and evenly around the head. There were 
 of course exceptions. Many men of conservative 
 temperament still clung to the old fashions. A no- 
 table example in Pittsburgh was the Rev. Robert 
 Steele, who always appeared in black satin knee- 
 breeches, knee-buckles, silk stockings, and pumps. ' 
 The farmers on the 'plantations surrounding 
 Pittsburgh and the mechanics in the borough were 
 likewise affected by the movement for dress re- 
 form. Their apparel had always been less pictur- 
 esque than that of the business and professional 
 men. Now the ordinary dress of the farmers and 
 mechanics consisted of short tight-fitting round- 
 
At Beginning of Nineteenth Century 67 
 
 abouts, or sailor's jackets, made in winter of cloth 
 or linsey, and in summer of nankeen, dimity, 
 gingham, or linen. Sometimes the jacket was 
 without sleeves, the shirt being heavy enough to 
 afford protection against inclement weather. The 
 trousers were loose-fitting and long, and extended 
 to the ankles, and were made of nankeen, tow, or 
 cloth. Some men wore blanket-coats. Overalls, 
 of dimity, nankeen, and cotton, were the especial 
 badge of mechanics. The shirt was of tow or 
 coarse Unen, the vest of dimity. On their feet, 
 farmers and mechanics alike wore coarse high- 
 laced shoes, half-boots, or boots made of neat's 
 leather. The hats were soft, of fur or wool, and 
 were low and round-crowned, or the crowns were 
 high and square. 
 
 The inhabitants of Pittsburgh were pleasiire- 
 loving, and the time not devoted to business 
 was given over to the enjoyments of life. Men 
 and women alike played cards. Whisk, as whist 
 was called, and Boston were the ordinary games. ^ 
 All classes and nationalities danced, and dancing 
 was cultivated as an art. Dancing masters came 
 to Pittsburgh to give instructions, and adults and 
 
68 Pittsburgh 
 
 children alike took lessons. In winter public balls 
 and private assemblies were given. The dances 
 were more pleasing to the senses than any ever 
 seen in Pittsburgh, except the dances of the recent 
 revival of the art. The cotillion was executed by 
 an indefinite number of couples, who performed 
 evolutions or figures as in the modem german. 
 Other dances were the minuet, the menuet d, la 
 cour, and jigs. The country dance, generally per- 
 formed by eight persons, four men and four 
 women, comprised a variety of steps, and a sur- 
 prising number of evolutions, of which liveliness 
 was the characteristic. 
 
 The taverns had rooms set apart for dances. 
 The "Sign of the Green Tree,"' had an "Assembly 
 Room"; the "Sign of General Butler"" and the 
 "Sign of the Waggon"" each had a "Ball Room." 
 The small affairs were given in the homes of the 
 host or hostess, and the large ones in the taverns, 
 or in the grand-jury room of the new court house. 
 
 The dancing masters gave "Practicing Balls" 
 at which the cotillion began at seven o'clock, and 
 the ball concluded with the country dance, which 
 was continued until twelve o'clock." Dancing 
 
At Beginning of Nineteenth Century 
 
 became so popular and to such an extent w( 
 dancing masters in the eyes of the public tl 
 William Irwin christened his race horse " Danci 
 Master."" The ball given to General Lee v 
 talked about for years after the occurrence, 
 beauties were pictured by many fair lips. 1 
 ladies recalled the soldierly bearing of the gu 
 of honor, the tall robust form of General Dar 
 Morgan, Lee's second in command, and the co 
 mander of the Virginia troops, famous as the h 
 of Quebec and Saratoga, who had received 1 
 thanks of Congress for his victory at Cowpe 
 They dwelt on the varicolored uniforms of 1 
 soldiers, the bright colors worn by the civilia 
 their powdered hair, the brocades, and silks, a 
 velvets of the ladies. 
 
 In winter evenings there were concerts a 
 theatrical performances which were genera 
 given in the new court house. A unique cone 
 was that promoted by Peter Declary. It v 
 heralded as a musical event of importance. Ko 
 wara's The Battle of Prague, was performed 
 the "forte piano" by one of Declary's pup 
 advertised as being only eight years of age; P« 
 
70 Pittsburgh 
 
 dent Jefferson's march was another conspicuous 
 feature. The exhibition concluded with a ball.^" 
 
 Comedy predominated in the theatrical per- 
 formances. The players were "the young gentle- 
 men of the town." At one of the entertainments 
 they gave John O'Keefe's comic opera The Poor 
 Soldier, and a farce by Arthur Miurphy called The 
 Apprentice.''^ There were also performances of a 
 more professional character. Bromley and Arnold, 
 two professional actors, conducted a series of the- 
 atrical entertainments extending over a period of 
 several weeks. The plays which they rendered, 
 are hardly known to-day. At a single perform- 
 ance'" they gave a comedy entitled Trick upon 
 Trick, or The Vintner in the Suds; a farce called 
 The Jealous Husband, or The Lawyer in the Sack; 
 and a pantomime, The Sailor's Landlady, or Jack 
 in Distress. Another play in the series was 
 Edward Moore's tragedy. The Gamester.^'' 
 
 Much of Grant's Hill was unenclosed. Clumps 
 of trees grew on its irregular surface, and there 
 were level open spaces; and in summer the place 
 was green with grass, and bushes grew in pro- 
 fusion. Farther in the background were great 
 
At Beginning of Nineteenth Century- 
 forest trees. The hill was the pleasure ground 
 the village. Judge Henry M. Brackenridge, a s 
 of Judge Hugh Henry Brackenridge dwelling 
 the past, declared that "it was pleasing to see 1 
 line of well-dressed ladies and gentlemen a 
 children, . . . repairing to the beautiful gre 
 eminence."'* On this elevation "under a bow 
 on the margin of a wood, and near a delight 
 spring, with the town of Pittsburgh in prospec 
 the Fourth of July celebrations were held.'' ' 
 August 2, 1794, ^he motley army of Insurg© 
 from Braddocksfield rested there, after havi 
 marched through the town. Here they w( 
 refreshed with food and whisky, in order tl 
 they might keep in good humor, and to prev( 
 their burning the town.^° 
 
 Samuel Jones has left an intimate, if sor 
 what regretful account of the early social life 
 Pittsburgh. "The long winter evenings," 
 wrote, "were passed by the humble villagers 
 each other's homes, with merry tale and song, 
 in simple games; and the hours of night sj 
 lightly onward with the unskilled, untiring you 
 as they threaded the mazes of the dance, guic 
 
73 Pittsburgh 
 
 by the music of the violin, from which some good- 
 humored rustic drew his Orphean sounds. In the 
 jovial time of harvest and hay-making, the sprightly 
 and active of the village participated in the rural 
 labors and the hearty pastimes, which distin- 
 guished that happy season. The balls and merry- 
 makings that were so frequent in the village were 
 attended by all without any particular deference 
 to rank or riches. No other etiquette than that 
 which natural pohteness prescribed was exacted 
 or expected. . . . Young fellows might pay their 
 devoirs to their female acquaintances; ride, 
 walk, or talk with them, and pass hours in their 
 society without being looked upon with suspi- 
 cion by parents, or slandered by troUoping 
 gossips. "='' 
 
 The event of autumn was the horse races, 
 which lasted three days. They were held in the 
 northeasterly extremity of the town between Lib- 
 erty Street and the Allegheny River, ^^ and were 
 conducted under the auspices of the Jockey Club 
 which had been in existence for many years. 
 Sportsmen came from all the surrounding country. 
 The races were under the saddle, sulkies not having 
 
At Beginning of Nineteenth Century- 
 been invented. Racing proprieties were observ< 
 and jockeys were required to be dressed in jocl 
 habits.^' Purses were given. The horses co 
 pared favorably with race horses of a much la 
 day. A prominent horse was "Young Messeng( 
 who was sired by "Messenger," the most fame 
 trotting horse in America, which had been impon 
 into Philadelphia from England in 1788, and -v 
 the progenitor of Rysdyk's Hambletonian, i 
 dallah. Goldsmith Maid, and a score of otl 
 noted race horses. 
 
 A third of a century after the race course I. 
 been removed beyond the limits of the mun: 
 pality, Judge Henry M. Brackenridge publisl 
 his recollections of the entrancing sport. ' 
 was then an affair of all-engrossing interest, a 
 every business or pursuit was neglected. ... 1 
 whole town was daily poured forth to witness 1 
 Olympian games. . . . The plain within the cou: 
 and near it was filled with booths as at a it 
 where everything was said, and done, and so 
 and eaten or drunk, where every fifteen or twer 
 minutes there was a rush to some part, to witn 
 a fisticuff — where dogs barked and bit, and hor 
 
74 Pittsburgh 
 
 trod on men's toes, and booths fell down on people's 
 heads I""" 
 
 The social instincts of the people found expres- 
 sion in another direction. The Revolutionary- 
 War, the troubles with the Indians, the more or 
 less strained relations existing between France and 
 England, had combined to inbreed a military 
 spirit. Pennsylvania, with a population, in 1800, 
 of 602,365, had enrolled in the militia 88,707 of 
 its citizens. The militia was divided into light 
 infantry, riflemen, grenadiers, cavalry, and ar- 
 tillery, ^s Allegheny County had a brigade of 
 militia, consisting of eight regiments.^* The com- 
 mander was General Alexander Fowler, an old 
 Englishman who had served in America, in the 
 1 8th, or Royal Irish, Regiment of Foot. On the 
 breaking out of the Revolutionary War, he had 
 resigned his commission on account of his sym- 
 pathy with the Americans. Being unfit for active 
 service, Congress appointed him Auditor of the 
 Western Department at Pittsburgh. 
 
 The militia had always been more or less per- 
 meated with partisan poHtics, During the Revo- 
 lution the American officers wore a cockade with 
 
At Beginning of Nineteenth Century 
 
 a black ground and a white relief, called the bis 
 cockade. This the Federalists had made th 
 party emblem. The Republican party, soon af 
 its organization, adopted as a badge of pai 
 distinction a cockade of red and blue on a wh 
 base, the colors of revolutionary France. The i 
 and blue cockade thereafter became the dist 
 guishing mark of the majority of the Pennsylva] 
 militia, beiag adopted on the recommendati 
 of no less a person than Governor McKe; 
 General Fowler's advocacy of the red and h'. 
 cockade and his disparagement of the bis 
 cockade were incessant. He was an ardc 
 Republican, and his effusions with their clas 
 allusions fiUed many columns of the Tree 
 Liberty and the Pittsburgh Gazette. At a meeti 
 of the Allegheny County militia held at Man 
 tavern, the red and blue cockade had been adopt( 
 Fowler claimed that this was the result of put 
 sentiment. He was fond of platitudes. "1 
 voice of the people is the voice of God," he quoti 
 crediting the proverb to an "English comm( 
 tator," and adding: "Says a celebrated historij 
 'individuals may err, but the voice of the peo; 
 
76 Pittsburgh 
 
 is infallible. ' " ^^ A strong minority in Allegheny- 
 County remained steadfast to the Federal party, 
 and the vote in favor of the adoption of the red 
 and blue cockade was not unanimous. Two of 
 the regiments, not to be engulfed in the growing 
 wave of Republicanism, or overawed by the domi- 
 neering disposition of General Fowler, opposed 
 the adoption of the red and blue cockade, and 
 chose the black cockade.^' 
 
 The equipment furnished to the militia by the 
 State was meagre, but the patriotism which had 
 so lately won the country's independence was still 
 at flood tide, and each regiment was supplied 
 with two silk standards. One was the national 
 flag, the other the regimental colors. The 
 national emblem differed somewhat from the regu- 
 lation United States flag. The word "Pennsyl- 
 vania" appeared on the union, with the number 
 of the regiment, the whole being encircled by 
 thirteen white stars. The fly of the regimental 
 colors was dark blue; on this was painted an eagle 
 with extended wings supporting the arms of the 
 State. The union was similar to that of the 
 national flag. The prescribed uniform which 
 
At Beginning of Nineteenth Century 
 
 many of the men, however, did not possess, wa; 
 blue coat faced with red, with a lining of white 
 red. In Allegheny County a round hat with 1 
 cockade and buck's tail, was wom.^' The para 
 ground of the militia was the level part of Gran 
 Hill which adjoined Marie's tavern on the nor 
 east. Here twice each year, in April and Octob 
 the militia received its training. Of no mil 
 interest, was the social life enjoyed by officers a 
 men alike, during the annual assemblages. 
 
 In the territory contiguous to Pittsburgh 1 
 uprising, for the right to manufacture whis 
 without paying the excise, had its inceptii 
 That taverns should abound in the town v 
 a natural consequence. In 1808 the put 
 could be accommodated at twenty-four diffen 
 taverns. 3° The annual license fee for taver 
 including the clerk's charges, was barely twer 
 dollars. Through some mental legerdemj 
 of the lawmakers it had been enacted that 
 more than a quart was sold no license was 
 quired. Liquors, and particularly whisky, wi 
 sold in nearly every mercantile establishme 
 Also beer had been brewed in Pittsburgh since 
 
78 Pittsburgh 
 
 early day, at the "Point Brewery," which was 
 purchased in 1795 by Smith and Shiras.^' Beer 
 was likewise brewed in a small way by James Yea- 
 man, two or three years later. ^^ In February, 
 1803, O'Hara and Coppinger, who had acquired 
 the "Point Brewery," began brewing beer on a 
 larger scale. '^ 
 
 In the taverns men met to consummate their 
 business, and to discuss their political and social 
 affairs. Lodge No. 45 of Ancient York Masons 
 met in the taverns for many years, as did the Me- 
 chanical Society. Even the Board of Trustees of 
 the Academy held their meetings there. ^'' Re- 
 ligion itself, looked with a ^friendly eye on the 
 taverns. In the autumn of 1785, the Rev. Wilson 
 Lee, a Methodist missionary, appeared in Pitts- 
 burgh, and preached in John Ormsby's tavern, ^^ 
 on Water Street, at his ferry landing,^"* at 
 what is now the northeast corner of that street 
 and Ferry Street. This was the same double 
 log house which, while conducted by Samuel 
 Semple, was in 1770 patronized by Colonel 
 George Washington." 
 
 Tavern keeping and liquor selling were of such 
 
At Beginning of Nineteenth Century- 
 respectability that many of the most esteem 
 citizens were, or had been tavern-keepers, or h 
 sold liquors, or distilled whisky, or brewed be 
 Jeremiah Sturgeon was a member of the sessi 
 of the Presbyterian Church. ^^ John Reed, 1 
 proprietor of the "Sign of the Waggon," in a 
 dition to being a leading member of the Jock 
 Club, and the owner of the race horse "You 
 Messenger," 3' was precentor in the Presbyteri 
 Church, and on Sundays "lined out the hymn 
 and led the singing."" The pew of William M 
 row is marked on the diagram of the ground-p] 
 of the chm'ch as printed in its Centennial Volume 
 The "Sign of the Cross Keys," the emblem 
 Sturgeon's tavern, was of religious origin and v 
 much favored in England. Although used bj 
 Presbyterian, it was the arms of the Papal S 
 and the emblem of St. Peter and his successc 
 That the way to salvation lay through the d( 
 of the tavern, would seem to have been intend 
 to be indicated by the "Sign of the Cross Key 
 William Eichbatim, a pillar in the German chur( 
 after he left the employ of O'Hara and Cra 
 conducted a tavern on Front Street, near Mark 
 
8o Pittsburgh 
 
 at the "Sign of the Indian Queen." The owners 
 of the ferries kept taverns in connection with their 
 ferries, Ephraim Jones conducted a tavern at his 
 ferry landing on the south side of the Mononga- 
 hela River; Robert Henderson had a tavern on 
 Water Street at his ferry landing; Samuel Emmett 
 kept a tavern at his landing on the south side of 
 the Monongahela River ; and James Robinson had 
 a tavern on the Franklin Road at the northerly 
 terminus of his ferry. "=" 
 
 Drinking was universal among both men and 
 women. Judge James Veech declared that whisky 
 "was the indispensable emblem of hospitality and 
 the accompaniment of labor in every pursuit, 
 the stimulant in joy and the solace in grief. It 
 was kept on the counter of every store and in the 
 comer cupboard of every well-to-do family. The 
 minister partook of it before going to church, and 
 after he came back. At home and abroad, at 
 marryings and buryings, at house raisings and 
 log rollings, at harvestings and huskings, it was 
 the omnipresent beverage of old and young, men 
 and women ; and he was a churl who stinted it. 
 To deny it altogether required more grace or 
 
At Beginning of Nineteenth Century 
 
 niggardliness than most men could command, 
 least for daily use."''^ 
 
 A practical joke perpetrated by the Rev. 1 
 John McMillan, on the Rev. Joseph Patterson, i 
 other of the early ministers in this region, ill- 
 trates the custom of drinking among the cler| 
 On their way to attend a meeting of the Sync 
 the two men stopped at a wayside inn and cat 
 for whisky, which was set before them. Mr. P 
 terson asked a blessing which was rather lengtl 
 Dr. McMUlan meanwhile drank the whisky, a 
 to Mr. Patterson's blank look remarked bland 
 "You must watch as well as pray!"*'' 
 
 Families purchased whisky and laid it away 
 their cellars for future consumption, and that 
 might improve with age. Judge Hugh Her 
 Brackenridge declared that the visit of the ' ' Whis 
 Boys" — as the Insurgents from Braddocksfii 
 were called — to Pittsburgh cost him "four barr 
 of old whisky."'" The statement caused Her 
 Adams, in his life of Albert Gallatin, to volunti 
 the assertion that it nowhere appeared "h 
 much whisky the western gentleman usually k( 
 in his house." ''^ 
 
82 Pittsburgh 
 
 There was no legislation against selling liquors 
 on Sundays. The only law on the subject was an 
 old one under which persons found drinking and 
 tippling in ale-houses, taverns, and other public 
 houses on Sundays, were liable to be fined one 
 shilling and sixpence; and the keepers of the 
 houses upon conviction were required to pay ten 
 shillings. The Hne of demarcation between 
 proper and improper drinking being faint, the 
 law proved ineffectual to prevent drinking on 
 Sundays. 
 
 i Religion had not kept pace with material pro- 
 gress. The people had been too much engrossed 
 in secular affairs to attend to spiritual matters. 
 They were withal generous, and practiced the 
 Christian virtues ; and never failed to help their un- 
 fortunate neighbors. This disposition was mani- 
 fested in various ways. Losses by fire were of 
 frequent occurrence and were apt to cause distress 
 or ruin to those affected. In these cases the citi- 
 zens always furnished relief. An instance where 
 this was done was in the case of William Thorn. 
 Thorn was a cabinet-maker on Market Street, 
 and built windmills and Dutch fans."'' When 
 
At Beginning of Nineteenth Century 
 
 the house which he occupied was burned to 1 
 ground and he lost all his tools and valua 
 ready-made furniture, a liberal subscription v 
 made by the citizens, and he was enabled 
 again commence his business. "•* 
 
 But there was little outward observance of 
 ligious forms. The Germans had made some p 
 gress in that direction. The little log buildi 
 where they worshipped had been succeeded b^ 
 brick church. The only English church was 1 
 Presbyterian Meeting House facing on Viri 
 AUey, now Oliver Avenue, erected in 1786. 
 was the same building of squared timbers in wh: 
 the congregation had orginally worshipped. Fr( 
 1789 to 1793, the church had languished great 
 There was no regular pastor; services were h 
 at irregular and widely separated intervals. T 
 of the men who served as supplies left the minisi 
 and became lawyers."' From 1793 to 1800, 1 
 church was aU but dead. The house was deserl 
 and falling into ruin. Only once, so far as tb 
 is any record, were Presbyterian services held 
 the building during this period. It was in i; 
 that the Rev. Francis Herron, passing throt 
 
84 Pittsburgh 
 
 Pittsburgh, was induced to deliver a sermon to a 
 congregation consisting of fifteen or eighteen per- 
 sons "much to the annoyance of the swallows," 
 as Herron ingenuously related, which had taken 
 possession of the premises. 5° 
 
 A light had flashed momentarily in the darkness 
 when John Wrenshall, the father of Methodism in 
 Pittsburgh, settled in the town. Wrenshall was 
 an Englishman who came to Pittsburgh in 1796 
 and established a mercantile business. He was 
 converted to Wesleyanism in England and had 
 been a local preacher there. As there was no 
 minister or preaching of any kind in Pittsburgh, 
 he commenced holding services in the Presbyterian 
 Meeting House. His audiences increased, but 
 after a few Sundays of active effort, a padlock 
 was placed on the door of the church, and he 
 was notified that the house was no longer at 
 his disposal. The Presbyterians might not hold 
 services themselves, but they would not permit 
 the use of their building to adherents of the 
 new sect of Methodists, "the offspring of the 
 devil." 
 
 A great religious revival swept over the Western 
 
At Beginning of Nineteenth Century 85 
 
 country in the concluding years of the eighteenth 
 century. In Kentucky it developed into hys- 
 teria, '' and in Western Pennsylvania the display 
 of religious fervor was scarcely less intense. '' 
 The effect was felt in Pittsburgh. On October 
 24, 1800, the Pittsburgh Gazette was moved to 
 ask the Presbyterian congregation, of which its 
 proprietor was a leading member, a number of 
 pertinent questions: Could they hope for good 
 morals without religion or the fear of God; could 
 religion be maintained without public worship; 
 had they a house in which public worship could 
 be performed with decency and convenience? 
 Were they not able to erect a respectable and com- 
 modious church building, as well as to provide 
 for the maintenance of a minister? Would not 
 money so employed "be more for the benefit of 
 the town than horse racing, billiard playing, etc., 
 etc.?" The answer of the congregation was to 
 procure the appointment of the Rev. Robert 
 Steele as supply and the church began to show 
 signs of life again. In April, 1802, Steele was 
 received as a member of the Presbytery, the action 
 being approved by the Synod in the following 
 
86 Pittsburgh 
 
 September." From that time forward, the church 
 began that spiritual and material advancement 
 — although there were ebbs and flows in its pro- 
 gress — which has continued to this day. 
 
REFERENCES 
 Chapter IV 
 
 ' Pittsburgh Gazette, November 28, 1800. 
 
 ' Tree of Liberty, August 23, 1800. 
 
 3 Pittsburgh Gazette, October 10, 1800. 
 
 < Pittsburgh Gazette, November 2, 1793. 
 
 s Perrin DuLac. Voyage dans les Deux Louisianes, Lyon, 
 
 an xiii. [1805], p. 131. 
 ^ H. H. Brackenridge. Gazette Publications, Carlisle, 1806, 
 
 p. 12. 
 7 Centennial Volume of the First Presbyterian Church of Pitts- 
 burgh, Pa., Pittsburgh, 1884, p. 154. 
 ' Charles J. Sherrill. "Dancing and Other Social Customs," 
 Scribner's Magazine, New York, April, 1915, vol. Ivii., 
 pp. 479-490. 
 ' Pittsburgh Gazette, October 20, 1798. 
 "> Pittsburgh Gazette, January 3, 1800. 
 " Pittsburgh Gazette, October 29, 1802; Pittsburgh Gazette, 
 
 August 25, 1798. 
 '" Pittsburgh Gazette, October 20, 1798. 
 " Pittsburgh Gazette, September 25, 1801. 
 '< Pittsburgh Gazette, November 6, 1801. 
 's Tree of Liberty, February 19, 1803. 
 ^"i Pittsburgh Gazette, January 7, 1803. 
 " Pittsburgh Gazette, January 21, 1803. 
 '' H. M. Brackenridge. Recollections of Persons and Places 
 
 in the West, Philadelphia, 1868, p. 60. 
 '9 Tree of Liberty, July 11, 1801; Pittsburgh Gazette, July 13, 
 
 1793- 
 " H. H. Brackenridge. Incidents of the Insurrection in the 
 Western Parts of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, 1795, p. 66. 
 
 87 
 
88 Pittsburgh 
 
 " S. Jones. Pittsburgh in the Year 1826, Pittsburgh, 1826, 
 
 pp. 43-44. 
 " H. M. Brackenridge. Recollections of Persons and Places 
 
 in the West, Philadelphia, 1868, p. 62. 
 »3 Pittsburgh Gazette, September 9, 1786. 
 »4 H. M. Brackenridge. Recollections of Persons and Places 
 
 in the West, Philadelphia, 1868, p. 62. 
 =5 Pittsburgh Gazette, May 28, 1802. 
 »« Pittsburgh Gazette, September 25, 1801. 
 '1 Tree of Liberty, April 11, 1801. 
 
 " Tree of Liberty, April 11, 1801; ibid., January 9, 1802. 
 »9 Tree of Liberty, December 27, 1800. 
 3° F. Cuming. Sketches of a Tour to the Western Country in 
 
 1807-1809, Pittsburgh, 1810, p. 222. 
 3" Pittsburgh Gazette, November 14, 1795. 
 3' Pittsburgh Gazette, August 28, 1801 ; ibid., August 5, 1803. 
 
 33 Pittsburgh Gazette, February 3, 1803. 
 
 34 Pittsburgh Gazette, November 16, 1799; ibid., May 3, 1800; 
 
 ibid., November 26, 1802. 
 
 3s Centennial Celebration of Pittsburgh Methodism, 1888, p. 63. 
 
 3' Pittsburgh Gazette, August 26, 1786. 
 
 3' James Veech. "The Secular History," Centenary Memorial 
 of the Planting and Growth of Presbyterianism in Western 
 Pennsylvania and Parts Adjacent, Pittsburgh, 1876, p. 320. 
 
 3* Centennial Volume of the First Presbyterian Church of Pitts- 
 burgh, Pa., 1784-1884, Pittsburgh, 1884, p. 212. 
 
 39 Pittsburgh Gazette, April 2, 1802. 
 
 <" Centennial Volume of the First Presbyterian Church of Pitts- 
 burgh, Pa., 1 784-1 884, Pittsburgh, 1884, p. 154. 
 
 <' Centennial Volume of the First Presbyterian Church of Pills- 
 burgh, Pa., 1784-1884, Pittsburgh, 1884, p. 155. 
 
 *' Pittsburgh Gazelle, May 13, 1803. 
 
 <3 James Veech. "The Secular History,'' Centenary Memorial 
 of the Planting and Growth of Presbyterianism in Western 
 Pennsylvania and Parts Adjacent, Pittsburgh, 1876, p. 364. 
 
 44 Rev. D. X. Junkin, D.D. "The Life and Labors of the 
 Rev. John McMillan, D.D.," Centenary Memorial of the 
 planting and Growth of Presbyterianism in Western Penn- 
 sylvania and Parts Adjacent, Pittsburgh, 1876, p. 33. 
 
 43 H. H. Brackenridge. Incidents of the Insurrection in the 
 Western Parts of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, 1795, p. 71. 
 
At Beginning of Nineteenth Century 89 
 
 <« Henry Adams. The Life of Albert Gallatin, Philadelphia, 
 1880, p. 130. 
 
 4' Pittsburgh Gazette, December 12, 1800. 
 
 •t' Pittsburgh Gazette, February 27, 1801. 
 
 49 Centennial Volume of the First Presbyterian Church of Pitts- 
 burgh, Pa., 1784-1884, Pittsburgh, 1884, p. 28. 
 
 5° Rev. William M. Paxton. Two Discourses upon the Life 
 and Character of the Rev. Francis Herron, D.D., Pittsburgh, 
 1861, p. 28. 
 
 S" Richard McNemar. The Kentucky Revival, Albany, 1808, 
 pp. 9-72. 
 
 s» David Elliott. The Life of the Rev. EUsha Macurdy, Alle- 
 gheny, 1848, pp. 55-78. 
 
 5' Centennial Volume of the .First Presbyterian Church of Pitts- 
 burgh, Pa., 1784-1884, Pittsburgh, 1884, p. 32. 
 
CHAPTER V 
 
 THE SEAT OF POWER 
 
 THE year 1800 ushered in more than a new 
 century in Pittsburgh. It heralded the 
 beginning of another era. The decade 
 beginning with that year wUl ever be memorable 
 in the annals of the city. During those ten years 
 the foundation was laid on which the great in- 
 dustrial city was subsequently built. In 1800 the 
 population of Pittsbiurgh was 1565, and in 18 10 
 it had risen to 4768, an increase of 204 per centum, 
 which was the greatest percentage of increase that 
 has ever taken place in its history. This decade 
 marked the dividing line between that which was 
 obsolete and that which was newly-born. 
 
 In 1803, Napoleon Bonaparte, First Consul of 
 France, ceded to the United States the vast Lou- 
 isiana Territory, whereby the area of this country 
 
 90 
 
The Seat of Power 91 
 
 was more than doubled, and commerce between 
 Louisiana and Pittsburgh increased tremendously. 
 As far back as 1791, Alexander Hamilton, the 
 Secretary of the Treasury, had communicated to 
 the House of Representatives his famous report 
 of manufactures. In this far-away community, 
 with coal at its doors, and iron in the near-by 
 mountains, Hamilton's new doctrine found willing 
 disciples and industry had more than a beginning. 
 Soon after the close of the Revolutionary War, 
 iron ore was mined in the Juniata Valley, and 
 furnaces and forges established, and bar iron 
 and castings made. The iron was carried to 
 Pittsburgh, partly on horseback, and partly by 
 water, down the Conemaugh and Allegheny Rivers. 
 Small shops for the manufacture of articles of 
 iron were opened. Shortly afterward iron ore 
 was also mined in the counties of Fayette and 
 Westmoreland and furnaces and forges built and 
 iron produced. The distance being shorter from 
 Fayette and Westmoreland Counties than from 
 the Juniata Valley, iron was thereafter brought 
 to Pittsburgh only from the former districts. 
 The iron shops increased in number. Coal was 
 
92 Pittsburgh 
 
 the pole star which lighted the way to their estab- 
 lishment. A writer who saw the advantages of 
 Pittsbtirgh with the eyes of a Munchausen, writing 
 of the value of its coal, declared, that the blaze 
 afforded "so strong a light, that in winter, . . . 
 neither tailors, or other mechanics burn candles."' 
 At the close of the eighteenth century, the black 
 smoke of the iron shops, the glass manufactory, 
 the boat yards, the distillery, the brewery, the 
 tanneries, the brickyards, and the increasing num- 
 ber of dwelling houses had already given the town 
 a sombre hue. Industry went forward with leaps 
 and bounds, and manufactories on a larger scale 
 were set up. They were insignificant, if compared 
 with even the medium-sized establishments of 
 to-day, but were large and important in the eyes 
 of people who, prior to the American Revolution, 
 had been practically prohibited from engaging 
 in any manufacturing by their English masters. 
 Cotton mills Were established, as were iron found- 
 ries, nail factories, engine shops, a tinware manu- 
 factory, a pipe manufactory, and in 1808 a second 
 glass works, that of Robinson & Ensell.^ The 
 extent of the plants can be gauged, when it is 
 
The Seat of Power 93 
 
 known that one of the nail factories employed 
 thirty men, the tinware manufactory twenty-eight 
 men, and one of the cotton mills twelve men.^ 
 
 In 1804, the Bank of Pennsylvania opened a 
 branch in Pittsburgh. A stage hne from Cham- 
 bersburgh to Baltimore and Philadelphia was 
 placed in operation in the spring of 1803.'' In 
 1804 this was extended to Pittsbtirgh, the first 
 coach from Pittsburgh to Philadelphia being run 
 on July 4th. 
 
 Religion was now keeping pace with the in- 
 crease in population and the growth in material 
 prosperity. Hitherto those who were religiously 
 inclined were obliged to attend the services of 
 either the German or the Presbyterian church. 
 Other churches were now. brought into existence. 
 The Episcopalians formed an organization in 1805, 
 under the name of "Trinity Chtirch, " and began 
 the erection of their brick octagonal building, on 
 the lot bounded by Liberty, Seventh, and Wood 
 streets, which was a landmark in its day. 
 
 Ever since the English occupancy, the popula- 
 tion had been Protestant in religion, although 
 Protestantism in the early days signified little 
 
94 Pittsburgh 
 
 more than a stout opposition to Roman Catholi- 
 cism. The Presbyterians, who constituted the 
 bulk of the English-speaking Protestants, had 
 looked askance when the Episcopalians, whom 
 they regarded as closely akin to Roman Catholics, 
 formed their church organization. When it was 
 rumored that Roman Catholic services were to 
 be held, they shook their heads still more doubt- 
 fully. Prior to 1800 there was hardly a professed 
 Roman Catholic in Pittsburgh. In 1804, the 
 number was still so small that when the mis- 
 sionary priest and former Russian prince and 
 soldier, Demetrius Augustine Gallitzen, came and 
 celebrated mass, there were only fifteen persons 
 present to assist. ' In 1808, a congregation was 
 formed, and the next year a one-story brick 
 chapel was erected* at the southeast corner of 
 Liberty and Washington streets, Washington 
 Street then extending to Liberty Street. The 
 site is now occupied by the entrance to the 
 Pennsylvania Station. Practically all the parish- 
 ioners were Irish, and it was natural that the new 
 edifice should be named "St. Patrick's Church." 
 The Methodists organized a congregation at the 
 
The Seat of Power 95 
 
 same time as the Roman Catholics,' and in 1810 
 erected a small brick building on Front Street 
 below Smithfield, opposite the lower end of the 
 site at present occupied by the Monongahela 
 House.' The Baptists were growing in numbers 
 and, although lacking a chturch organization, met 
 at one another's houses, and listened to the exhor- 
 tations of traveling missionaries of that faith. ' 
 
 The Freemasons must be credited with a move- 
 ment, inaugurated at this time, which was to 
 have a far-reaching effect. The meetings of 
 Lodge No. 45 in the taverns had been conducive 
 of almost everything except sobriety. The effects 
 were degrading, and in many cases injurious, not 
 only to the persons affected but to their dependents 
 as well. Also the evil was growing, and was con- 
 trary to the expressed ideals of the order. Practi- 
 cally all the leaders in the village, whether in pubKc 
 or private life, had been or were still members 
 of the lodge. Among the older members were 
 General Richard Butler and his brother, Colonel 
 William Butler, General John Neville, Judge Hugh 
 Henry Brackenridge, Captain Joseph Ashton, 
 John Ormsby, Colonel James O'Hara, Captain 
 
96 Pittsburgh 
 
 Michael Hufnagle, Major Isaac Craig, Senator 
 James Ross, Samuel Ewalt, and Captain John 
 Irwin. Younger members were Dr. Andrew Rich- 
 ardson, Dr. Hugh Scott, William Wusthoff, 
 Anthony Beelen, Thomas Baird, James Riddle, 
 Tarleton Bates, Rev. Robert Steele, and Henry- 
 Baldwin. It is not surprising that such men 
 should sooner or later realize the calamity which 
 confronted the members of the lodge, and decide 
 upon eliminating the cause. The change was 
 effected upon the completion of William Irwin's 
 brick house, at the southwest corner of Market 
 Street and the West Diamond, just prior to the 
 opening of the new century. Thenceforth the 
 meetings of the lodge were held in a room on 
 the third floor of this building, and the temptation 
 to excessive drinking was at least farther removed 
 than when the sessions were being held in the 
 "Sign of the Green Tree." This was the first 
 practical temperance movement in Pittsburgh. 
 
 Market Street was one of the narrowest streets 
 in the town, but was the principal commercial 
 thoroughfare. Coincidentally it was called " Main 
 Street." It received the name by which it has 
 
The Seat of Power 97 
 
 been known for more than a century and a quarter, 
 from the fact that the first market house, erected 
 in 1787, was located at the northwest corner of 
 this street and Second Street, In 1800 the street 
 was bustHng with life. More drays and carts 
 and wagons were moving over at least a portion 
 of the thoroughfare than is the case to-day. In- 
 termingled with the other vehicles were wagons 
 from the country, drawn by oxen. In wet weather 
 the roadway was ground into mud and thin mire. 
 The merchants generally lived with their families 
 in the houses where their business was conducted. 
 The street was noisy with children. Trees grew 
 on the outer edges of the foot-walks, and in the 
 summer grass and weeds sprang up, watered by 
 the street wells and pumps that supplied the 
 residents with water. 
 
 Most of the prominent people lived on Market 
 Street. Judge Hugh Henry Brackenridge, although 
 often absent from Pittsburgh in the performance of 
 his judicial duties, maintained his residence on 
 the street, until August 24, 1801, when he removed 
 with his family to Carlisle." All but one of the 
 physicians were located there. Here the leading 
 
98 Pittsburgh 
 
 mercantile establishments were concentrated. 
 Open spaces still intervened between the houses, 
 and there were gardens, inclosed with fences 
 painted white, in which flowers bloomed and 
 vegetables floirrished, but the spaces were rapidly- 
 being built upon. Everywhere the sounds of 
 hammer and saw greeted the ear, and heaps of 
 brick and beds of mortar encumbered the street. 
 Public improvements were commenced: Market 
 and Wood streets were being paved, as was Chan- 
 cery Lane from the Monongahela River to Second 
 Street. Front and Third streets were being 
 graveled from Market to Wood Street, as was 
 also Diamond Alley." The price of land was 
 advancing. The Penns had sold most of the lots 
 fronting on Market Street, in 1785, at the average 
 price of ten pounds each in Pennsylvania currency, 
 a pound being equal to two dollars and sixty-six 
 and two-thirds cents in United States money 
 of the present value. The lots were of varying 
 dimensions: some had a front on Market Street 
 of one hundred and sixty feet, and a depth of 
 eighty feet, while others had fronts of from fifty- 
 six to eighty feet, and were of different depths. 
 
The Seat of Power 99 
 
 In 1789 and 1790, respectively, two lots were sold 
 for fifty pounds each. In 1791, two others were 
 sold for one hundred and twenty pounds each. 
 In 1793, a lot on the East Diamond, where values 
 had not appreciated to the same extent as on 
 Market Street, was sold for one hundred pounds. 
 After 1800, the lots began to be subdivided, and 
 still higher prices prevailed, and they continued 
 to advance year by year. 
 
 The Act of Congress of Jtdy 6, 1785, established 
 a national currency, the unit being a dollar, equal 
 in value to the Spanish milled dollar. The Span- 
 ish milled dollar had been in circtilation in this 
 country for many years, and was the expressed 
 unit in the paper money and other obligations, 
 authorized by Congress since the first year of the 
 Revolution. The United States mint, however, 
 was not authorized until the passage of the Act of 
 Congress of April 2, 1792, and the first coinage of 
 silver and gold did not take place until two years 
 later. During this interval the circulating medium 
 was mainly Spanish silver money and the con- 
 sideration mentioned in conveyances was usually 
 in the Spanish milled dollar. In 1801 , a lot having 
 
100 Pittsburgh 
 
 a front on Market Street of thirty feet and a depth 
 of seventy feet, was sold for six hundred and twelve 
 dollars and fifty cents; in 1803, a lot having a front 
 of forty-six feet and a depth of seventy feet was 
 sold for thirteen hundred dollars. In 1804, an 
 undivided fourth interest in a lot having a front 
 of fifty-six feet, and a depth of one hundred and 
 seventy-five feet, was sold for eight hundred and 
 seventy-five dollars. In 1805, a half interest in a 
 lot also having a front of fifty-six feet, and a depth 
 of one hundred and seventy-five feet was sold for 
 twelve hundred dollars. In 1806, an eighth inter- 
 est in a lot having a front of fifty-six feet, and a 
 depth of one hundred and seventy-five feet, was 
 sold for two hundred and seventy-five dollars. 
 In 1807, a sixth interest in a lot having a front 
 of fifty-six feet, and a depth of one hundred and 
 seventy-five feet, was sold for six hundred and 
 sixty-six dollars and sixty-six cents. 
 
 Most of the houses were btiilt on land leased 
 from the owners, or on lots subject to the payment 
 of ground rents, which accounted to some extent 
 for the inferior quality of the improvements. The 
 number of brick houses on Market Street was still 
 
The Seat of Power loi 
 
 so limited that the merchants were fond of refer- 
 ring to the fact that the establishments conducted 
 by them were located in a "brick house" or "next 
 door to," or "across the street from," a "brick 
 house." 
 
 A majority of the merchants and professional 
 men on the street were young, or at least had not 
 arrived at middle age. Like all the men in new 
 communities, they were possessed of unbounded 
 energy, which found vent in their business affairs, 
 in a desire for pleasure, and in an inordinate am- 
 bition for political preferment. Perhaps it was 
 owing to this cause, that the ntimber of town and 
 other offices were so numerous. The town officers 
 were a chief burgess, a burgess and four assistant 
 burgesses, a town clerk, a high constable, two 
 assessors, and two supervisors. The duties of the 
 assistant burgesses were to assist the chief burgess 
 and the burgess in the performance of their duties. ' ' 
 The justices of the peace were even more plentiful 
 than the town officers. They were appointed 
 by the governor and held office during good be- 
 havior, which was practically for Hfe. Appoint- 
 ments were constantly made, usually as a reward 
 
102 Pittsburgh 
 
 for party fealty, and there being a dearth of deaths 
 among those in office, the number of justices of 
 the peace had become inordinately large. There 
 was also a cause peculiar to Pittsburgh, for the 
 craving for office. The legislative acts of the 
 borough were performed at Town Meetings held 
 in the court house by the "Burgesses, Freeholders, 
 and Inhabitants, householders," at which all the 
 male adults whether citizens or aliens'' who had 
 resided in the place for a year, had a voice. 
 In 1800, there were nearly two hundred qualified 
 electors who had a right to participate in the 
 Town Meetings, '"I and practically the entire num- 
 ber were politicians. A desire for the glare of 
 public life developed, and the creation of offices 
 resulted. 
 
 Considering the extent of the town and the 
 number of the inhabitants, the stores were nu- 
 merous, there being, in 1803, forty-nine stores 
 and shops. '5 The explanation was that much 
 of the trade of Pittsburgh was with travelers 
 passing through the place, and with settlements 
 farther west and south. The travelers were fre- 
 quently delayed for long periods. Owing to the 
 
The Seat of Power 103 
 
 lack of a sufficient stage of water in the rivers, 
 as high as a hundred boats, each carrying an 
 average of twelve emigrants, were sometimes tied 
 up along the Monongahela River between Pitts- 
 burgh and New Geneva, and as many more 
 along the Allegheny.'* The various supplies 
 required while there and for the further jour- 
 ney were furnished by the merchants of the 
 town. 
 
 The stores were usually what is termed "general 
 stores," where everything necessary for the use of 
 pioneer families could be purchased. Only a few 
 establishments dealt in special lines. On the 
 shelves were articles that at present are sug- 
 gestive of the day in which they were sold. 
 Taken in connection with the dress of the people, 
 the food they ate, their churches, their societies, 
 their work, and their amusements, they form a more 
 or less complete outline picture of the time. Items 
 which stand out in relief are Franklin stoves, 
 chimney hooks, window weights, brass and stock 
 locks, brass and iron candlesticks, snuffers, horse 
 fleams, iron combs, iron buttons, knee buckles, 
 powder flasks, American and German gunpowder. 
 
104 Pittsburgh 
 
 bar lead and shot, wallowers for Dutch fans, and 
 cards.'' The sale of cards was an industry of 
 importance in agricultural communities. At pres- 
 ent the name is confusing. The civilization of 
 the day had not developed business or visiting 
 cards, and if playing cards were intended they 
 would have been so designated. The cards sold 
 in Pittsburgh were brushes with wire teeth used 
 in disentangling fibers of wool, cotton, and hemp, 
 and laying them parallel to one another prepara- 
 tory to spinning. In 1794, the advertisement of 
 Adgate & Co., "at the card manufactory, corner 
 of Market and Water Streets," appeared in the 
 Pittsburgh Gazette.''^ 
 
 The occupancy of Market Street began at 
 Water Street. Some of the early settlers were 
 still living in "the houses where they began their 
 business life. Samuel Ewalt was among the 
 earliest merchants on the street. His store was 
 at the northeast corner of Market and Water 
 streets. He owned the entire block on the east- 
 erly side of Market Street, between Water and 
 Front streets, his land extending eastwardly a 
 considerable distance. 
 
The Seat of Power 105 
 
 On Water Street, one lot removed from the west 
 side of Market Street, was the home of Colonel 
 Presley Neville. While a very young man, living 
 in his native Virginia, he had served as an officer 
 in the Revolutionary War. During this period 
 he married the eldest daughter of General Daniel 
 Morgan. In Pittsburgh Colonel Neville held 
 many public positions. He had been inspector of 
 the Allegheny County brigade of militia, agent 
 for the United States for receiving and storing 
 whisky taken in kind for the excise, a member of 
 the Legislature, ' ' and was now surveyor of Alle- 
 gheny County,^" and was engaged in selling town 
 lots, and lands in the adjacent townships. ^^ In 
 1803, he was a candidate for chief burgess, but his 
 vote was a tie with that of his opponent. Colonel 
 James O'Hara, who had also been an officer in 
 the Revolution- The determination of the case 
 being with the governor, the decision was in favor 
 of Colonel O'Hara,^" but under the law Colonel 
 Neville became burgess-. ^^ Below Colonel Ne- 
 ville's house, at the northwest corner of Water 
 and Ferry streets, was a large two-story frame 
 bixilding set in a garden. This was the town house 
 
io6 Pittsburgh 
 
 of General John Neville, the father of Colonel 
 NeviUe. Like his son, he was a former Revolu- 
 tionary officer; he had been Inspector of the 
 Revenue under the excise law, during the Whisky- 
 Insurrection. The burning of his country home 
 by the Insurgents was one of the events of the 
 short-lived revolt. On Water Street, one door 
 above Redoubt Alley, was the frame tenement 
 house of Major Isaac Craig. The building had 
 become historic. It was here that Alexander 
 Hamilton, Judge Richard Peters of the United 
 States District Court for Pennsylvania, together 
 with the United States District Attorney, and the 
 United States Marshal, who accompanied the 
 army of General Lee into Western Pennsylvania, 
 held coiurt and interrogated Hugh Henry Brack- 
 enridge, and others suspected of fomenting the 
 Whisky Insurrection. 
 
 ■ West of Major Craig's home, a short distance 
 east of West Alley, was the large frame dwelling 
 of Colonel O'Hara. O'Hara was the most enter- 
 prising citizen in the town, and an important 
 factor in its early development. At one time he 
 was engaged in almost a dozen enterprises. He 
 
The Seat of Power 107 
 
 was also the largest owner of real estate both in 
 Pittsburgh, and Allegheny County, resident in 
 the borough. Among the older merchants were 
 William Christy, John Irwiii, and William Irwin. 
 They had formerly been partners, but the partner- 
 ship had long since been dissolved, '" and each now 
 had a store of his own. Christy's establishment 
 was at the northwest corner of Market and Water 
 streets. He sold all kinds of cloths and velvets, 
 cassimeres, corduroys, and flannels, teas, sugar, 
 and "common groceries of every denomination." '= 
 During the Virginia regime, he was a lieutenant 
 in the Pittsburgh militia, and in 1802 was town 
 clerk. ^"^ Adjoining Christy's store was that of 
 Dr. Andrew Richardson. Richardson was a phy- 
 sician. At this time physicians not only pre- 
 scribed medicines, but prepared and sold them, 
 and Richardson was no exception. His advertise- 
 ment reads like that of a latter-day druggist: "Oil 
 of Vitriol. I have for sale at my medical store a 
 quantity of oil of vitriol which I will sell low for 
 cash. Also a variety of drugs and medicines 
 which I will sell wholesale or retail at the same 
 terms." ="7 
 
io8 Pittsburgh 
 
 He was prominent in many respects. Besides 
 being a physician, he was a justice of the peace, 
 and a leader in politics. In January, 1800, 
 Governor McKean appointed him Register and 
 Recorder of Allegheny County in place of Samuel 
 Jones, his Federalist father-in-law,^' but he soon 
 relinquished the office. He was likewise a promi- 
 nent Freemason, being secretary of Lodge No. 
 45, and was well known as a public speaker. At 
 the dinner given on the first anniversary of the 
 inauguration of President Jefferson he was one of 
 the two presiding officers.^' On St. John the 
 Evangelist's Day, December 27, 1798, he delivered 
 an oration before Lodge No. 45, which was con- 
 sidered of such importance that the lodge procured 
 its publication in the Pittsburgh Gazette. 
 
 The style was florid. Richardson was high in 
 the councils of the Republican party, yet his 
 argument was that of a Federalist. It was a 
 panegyric on Freemasonry, and an expression of 
 hope for universal peace and love. Opening 
 with a review of the conflict convulsing Europe 
 he launched out into a severe denunciation 
 of the course that France was pursuing. "Al- 
 
The Seat of Power 109 
 
 ready hath nation arisen against nation in lawless 
 oppression," the orator proclaimed. "Already 
 hath our infant country been threatened with a 
 final subjugation." Continuing he asked: "And 
 who are those who dare to usurp a superiority 
 over us? The French ! Once the boast of history, 
 the pride of the smiling page; but now a band of 
 robbers, dead to every feeling of humanity, lost 
 to every virtue; a band of robbers whose lawless 
 acts have drawn upon them the just resentment 
 of our virtuous brother, the illustrious Washington, 
 who, though loaded with the oppressive weight of 
 sixty-six years, stands ready once more to un- 
 sheath his conquering sword to save his country 
 from rapine and murder. Shall he stand the 
 war alone? No, every Masonic heart will rush 
 like lightning to his standard, with him conquer, 
 or with him die!"^'' 
 
 Richardson's outspoken views appear to have 
 caused an estrangement with the local Republican 
 leaders, and in 1801, when he was a candidate for 
 the State Senate, they were arrayed against him. 
 He was charged with the unpardonable sin of 
 reviling Thomas Jefferson, the idol of American 
 
I lo Pittsburgh 
 
 public life. The Pittsburgh Gazette and the Tree 
 of Liberty contained frequent references to the 
 incident. Richardson himself published a card, 
 which was at once evasive and apologetic. He 
 was accused of having three years before drunk a 
 toast, "Damnation to Jefferson and his party," 
 in Marie's tavern. He admitted having been in 
 the tavern on the occasion referred to, but added: 
 "This much I will say, that if such a toast was 
 given by me, it was improper, and I must have 
 done so on the impulse of the moment. I can- 
 not say whetfier it was given at all." The 
 Republican tide was too strong and he was de- 
 feated, and was again defeated in 1802, when a 
 candidate for representative to the Pennsylvania 
 House of Representatives,^^ and he met with a 
 like fate when a candidate for the same office 
 in 1803.3^ In August of 1809 he died, a disap- 
 pointed man. 33 
 
 In the same block with Dr. Richardson, at the 
 southwest corner of Market and Front streets, 
 were the cabinet-makers and upholsterers, Dob- 
 bins & McElhinney.3'' Directly across Market 
 Street from Dobbins & McElhinney, was the 
 
The Seat of Power iii 
 
 establishment of the Chevalier Dubac. The sign 
 gave no inkling of the noble birth of the pro- 
 prietor, reading simply, "Gabriel Dubac." 's jje 
 had recently removed to this comer from Front 
 Street. 3* He has been described as the most 
 popiilar citizen of the village." With his wines, 
 dry goods, and groceries, he sold confectionery. 
 His dog "Sultan," and his monkey "Bijou," were 
 the joy of the children. He was an accomplished 
 scholar, and possessed most polished manners. 
 When he closed his shop and entered society, he 
 was the delight of all with whom he associated. 
 He was in the habit of dining on Sundays at 
 the home of General Neville. When the French 
 princes, the Duke of Orleans, afterwards Louis 
 Philippe, King of France, and his two brothers, 
 the Diike of Montpensier and the Count of Beau- 
 jolais, visited Pittsburgh in 1797, it was the Cheva- 
 lier Dubac who assisted in making their stay 
 agreeable. 
 
REFERENCES 
 
 Chapter V 
 
 ' "A Sketch of Pittsburgh," The Literary Magazine, Phila- 
 delphia, October, 1806, p. 252. 
 " Cramer's Pittsburgh Almanac for 180Q. 
 
 3 "A Sketch of Pittsburgh," The Literary Magazine, Phila- 
 
 delphia, October, 1806, p. 254. 
 
 4 Pittsburgh Gazette, May 13, 1803. 
 
 s Rev. a. a. Lambing. A History of the Catholic Church in 
 
 the Dioceses of Pittsburgh and Allegheny, New York, 1880, 
 
 p. 38. 
 ' F. Cuming. Sketches of a Tour to the Western Country in 
 
 i8o7-i8og, Pittsburgh, 1810, p. 69. 
 ' F. Cuming. Sketches of a Tour to the Western Country in 
 
 1807-180Q, Pittsburgh, 1 810, p. 69. 
 ' Centennial Celebration of Pittsburgh Methodism, 1888, pp. 66- 
 
 67. 
 9 F. Cuming. Sketches of a Tour to the Western Country in 
 
 1807-1809, Pittsburgh, 1810, p. 69. 
 '" Tree of Liberty, August 22, 1801. 
 " F. Cuming. Sketches of a Tour to the Western Country in 
 
 1807-180Q, Pittsburgh, 1810, p. 61. 
 " Pittsburgh Gazette, May 22, 1801; Act of September 12, 
 
 1782; Act of April 22, 1794. 
 13 Stewart v. Foster, 2 Binney, no. 
 '4 Tree of Liberty, May 23, 1801. 
 '5 Thaddeus Mason Harris. The Journal of a Tour, Boston, 
 
 1805, p. 41. 
 " "A Sketch of Pittsburgh," The Literary Magazine, Phila- 
 delphia, October, 1806, p. 253. 
 112 
 
The Seat of Power 113 
 
 " Pittsburgh Gazette, August 23, 1794; Pittsburgh Gazette, Octo- 
 ber 10, 1800. 
 
 '* Pittsburgh Gazette, July 26, 1794. 
 
 »9 Pittsburgh Gazette, September 22, 1798. 
 
 "° Pittsburgh Gazette, October 10, 1800. 
 
 " Pittsburgh Gazette, November 28, 1800. 
 
 " Pittsburgh Gazette, May 20, 1803. 
 
 " Tree of Liberty, December 10, 1803. 
 
 »4 Pittsburgh Gazette, May 9, 1789. 
 
 's Pittsburgh Gazette, January 9, l8oi. 
 
 »' Pittsburgh Gazette, May 21, 1802. 
 
 "' Pittsburgh Gazette, April 20, 1799. 
 
 "8 Pittsburgh Gazette, January 25, 1800. 
 
 " Tree of Liberty, March 13, 1802. 
 
 3° Pittsburgh Gazette, January 5, 1799. 
 
 '" Pittsburgh Gazette, October 22, 1802. 
 
 3» Tree of Liberty, October 22, 1803. 
 
 " F. Cuming. Sketches of a Tour to the Western Country in 
 1807-180Q, Pittsburgh, 1810, p. 71. 
 
 3* Pittsburgh Gazette, Spetember 10, 1802. 
 
 35 Pittsburgh Gazette, April 23, 1802. 
 
 3« Pittsburgh Gazette, October 23, 1801. 
 
 3' Morgan Neville. In John P. 'Watson's Annals of Phila- 
 delphia and Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, 1891, vol. ii., 
 pp. 132-135- 
 8 
 
CHAPTER VI 
 
 PUBLIC AND PRIVATE AFFAIRS 
 
 THE news and literary center was between 
 Front and Second streets. Here the two 
 [^ newspapers were published. John Scull, 
 the owner of the Pittsburgh Gazette, lived at the 
 northwest comer of Market and Front streets; 
 and on Front Street, immediately in the rear of 
 his dwelling, stood the small one-story building 
 where the newspaper was printed. In this house 
 the post office had been located until 1794, when 
 Scull was succeeded as postmaster by George 
 Adams, who removed the post office to the log 
 house on Front Street near Ferry. At the norther- 
 ly end of the block, at the comer of Second Street, 
 was the brick house of Dr. Peter Mowry, who had 
 the largest medical practice in the town. Directly 
 
 across Market Street from Dr. Mowry, Judge 
 
 114 
 
Public and Private Affairs 115 
 
 Hugh Henry Brackenridge had erected for the 
 Tree oj Liberty, a one-story ofiSce, and behind this 
 a building where the paper was printed. ' 
 
 Judge Brackenridge's dweUing adjoined the office 
 of the Tree of Liberty on the south. ^ It was a large 
 and commodious blue frame building which had 
 been, until recently, surrounded by a paling 
 fence. The larger part was now given over 
 to trade. It was the best known house in the 
 town. In it General Lee had made his head- 
 quarters while in Pittsburgh during the memora- 
 ble days of November, 1794.^ In front of this 
 building, Brackenridge, according to his own 
 story, braved the indignation of Lee's troops, by 
 parading before them dressed in his "large cocked 
 hat, buff underdress, and coat of military blue."'' 
 On the north side of Second Street, one door west 
 of Chancery Lane, stood William TumbuU's 
 large two-story stone structure, occupied during 
 the Whisky Insurrection by William Semple as a 
 store. 5 Here also resided at that time Colonel 
 Presley Neville.* General Daniel Morgan lived 
 with his son-in-law during the stay of the army 
 in Pittsburgh. From this house~General Morgan 
 
ii6 Pittsburgh 
 
 and Colonel Neville rushed hatless to save Brack- 
 enridge from the fury of the soldiers, who Brack- 
 enridge charged were planning his assassination.' 
 In 1804, the building was occupied by the "Office 
 of Discount and Deposit," as the branch of the 
 Bank of Pennsylvania was called. At the comer 
 of Chancery Lane adjoining the TumbuU house, 
 was the home of Steele Semple, the famous advo- 
 cate and wit, and connoisseur of the polite and 
 fashionable literature of the day.' 
 
 In the center of the block in which Brackenridge 
 lived, was the book store and bindery of Zadok 
 Cramer, at the "Sign of the Franklin Head." 
 " Its ancient appearance, " wrote one of its habitues, 
 "is agreeably associated in the memory of many 
 amongst us with our happiest moments, when the 
 careless, airy hours of youth were passing thought- 
 lessly and cheerfully away."» Men just as sub- 
 stantial, but of less note, also had establishments 
 in this square. At the southerly comer of Front 
 Street was the large store of Abner and Jeflfe Barker 
 who sold bar iron and castings, '° and kept a "gen- 
 eral assortment of merchandise and boulting 
 cloths. " " All the merchants were selling ' ' boult- 
 
Public and Private Affairs 117 
 
 ing cloths," which were cloths used by millers 
 for sifting flour. Adjoining Abner and Jeffe 
 Barker's store on the north was the establishment 
 of Jeremiah Barker who had for sale a "handsome 
 and general assortment of the freshest goods,"" 
 and "a few boxes of glass eight by ten,"'^ In 
 addition to being a merchant, Jeremiah Barker 
 was justice of the peace, and in 1801 burgess.^'' 
 The store of Abner and Jeffe Barker, and the 
 store of Jeremiah Barker, were both on the site 
 formerly occupied by Andrew Watson's tavern. 
 
 On the north side of Front Street, two doors 
 east of Abner and Jeffe Barker's store, was an old 
 two-story log buUding owned by Andrew Watson. 
 It had been formerly occupied as a store by 
 John and Samuel Calhoun, '^ and when Allegheny 
 County was formed, was rented by the county for 
 the use of the courts, and called the " Court House." 
 In this house justice was dispensed for many years. 
 In December, 1788, the first court of quarter 
 sessions for Allegheny County was held there, 
 George Wallace being president judge, and John 
 Scott, John Wilkins, and John Johnson associates. 
 They were all laymen, the constitution in force 
 
ii8 Pittsburgh 
 
 not requiring judges to be learned in the law. 
 The first court of common pleas was held in the 
 building on March 14, 1789. 
 
 The judges of the Supreme Court, or at least 
 two of them, were required to go on the circuit 
 annually, visiting every county during the in- 
 tervals between the regular sessions of the Su- 
 preme Court, and to hold courts of nisi prius and 
 Oyer and Terminer for the trial of capital cases. ' * 
 In Pittsburgh the sessions were held in Andrew 
 Watson's house. Here Chief Justice McKean 
 and Justice George Bryan held the first court of 
 Oyer and Terminer for Allegheny County. Judge 
 Henry M. Brackenridge related that he had been 
 informed that, at this session, they sat in scarlet 
 robes. He stated further that when going to and 
 returning from court the judges were carefully 
 attired in black, with cocked hats, and were pre- 
 ceded by the Sheriff of the County bearing a white 
 wand. Leading the procession was a drummer 
 beating a drum." 
 
 The first court house was memorable for another 
 reason. It was in the court room that the towns- 
 people assembled on that eventful evening of the 
 
Public and Private Affairs 119 
 
 thirty-first day of July, during the stormiest days 
 of the Whisky Insurrection.'* The mail from 
 Pittsburgh to Philadelphia had been robbed by 
 the Insurgents and among the letters taken were 
 several, written by prominent citizens of Pittsburgh, 
 which indicated a hostile spirit toward the insur- 
 rection. The sentiments expressed were consid- 
 ered as reflecting the opinion of the town. The 
 rage of the Insurgents was now directed against 
 Pittsbxirgh. In their wrath they characterized it 
 as another Sodom, and declared that they would 
 come and destroy it with fire, and leave nothing 
 but smoking ruins to mark the spot where it had 
 stood. With this end in view they commenced 
 gathering in force at Braddocksfield. News of 
 the sinister purpose spread to the town. Alarm 
 grew into terror, and a meeting was hastily called 
 to consider measures of protection. The meeting 
 was already in progress, when a committee sent 
 by the Insurgents arrived and announced that the 
 town would be spared if certain obnoxious per- 
 sons, including the writers of the letters found in 
 the mail, were banished from the town. They 
 reported that the task of saving the town would 
 
120 Pittsburgh 
 
 be easier of accomplishment if the inhabitants 
 marched out in a body to meet the Insurgents, 
 and by fraternizing with them show that they 
 were not hostile to the Insurgent cause. The 
 meeting deliberated far into the night, and at two 
 o'clock the next morning arrived at a humiliating 
 conclusion. They agreed to banish the men asked 
 for, and to join the Insurgents at Braddocksfield, 
 "as brethren to carry into effect with them any 
 measure that may seem to them advisable for the 
 common cause." Even then the panic did not 
 subside. The people refused to go to bed ; women 
 wept; valuables were hidden, and lights flickered 
 in the houses all night long. 
 
 At the northwest comer of Market and Second 
 streets, in the three-story double brick building 
 owned by Colonel O'Hara, was the store of Scott 
 & Trotter, where they sold "merchandise of a 
 superior quality suitable to every station, which 
 they are determined to sell on very low terms for 
 cash, peltry,furs, andapprovedcountryproduce. "" 
 Next door to Scott & Trotter was Dr. George 
 Stevenson. Like Dr. Richardson, Stevenson con- 
 ducted an apothecary shop and sold "drugs, medi- 
 
Public and Private Affairs 121 
 
 cines, surgical instruments, etc. "^'' He was a 
 former Revolutionary officer, and had been third 
 lieutenant in the First Pennsylvania Regiment. 
 In 1778, he resigned to study medicine, and re- 
 entered the service in 1779 as surgeon's mate with 
 the rank of ensign. In 1798, he was major in the 
 Tenth United States Regiment. Stevenson was 
 chief burgess in 1801.^' 
 
 At the southwest comer of Market and Third 
 streets was the "hat sales shop" of Thomas and 
 Samuel Magee.** Here they kept for sale the 
 beaver, castor, and roram hats, which they manu- 
 factured at the comer of Front Street and Chan- 
 cery Lane. On the opposite side of Market Street 
 from Scott & Trotter was William Herd's dry 
 goods and grocery store. '^ Also on this side of 
 Market Street, at the northeast comer of that 
 street and Third Street, was another physician, 
 Dr. Hugh Scott. ^ ^ Then came the store of William 
 Gazzam, and adjoining was that of William Bar- 
 rett. Farther on, Fulton & Baird sold "soal 
 and upper leather,"*' and James Riddle had a 
 boot and shoe-making establishment^* and sold 
 "Halifax soal leather, also boot legs, half and 
 
122 Pittsburgh 
 
 whole soals, and boot webbing. "^^ Another es- 
 tablishment was that of William Porter who had 
 a cut and forged nail manufactory. ="* 
 
 Adjoining Porter on the north was the weU- 
 known tavern of Mrs. Mary Murphy, commonly 
 known as "Molly" Murphy, the widow of Patrick 
 Murphy, at the ' ' Sign of General Butler. ' ' Begin- 
 ning on April i, 1800, and for several years after- 
 ward, the tavern was conducted by Richard 
 Hancock. ^9 Next door to the "Sign of General 
 Butler," and extending to Fourth Street at the 
 "Sign of the Negro," Joseph McClurg sold dry 
 goods, hardware, china, and glassware, and con- 
 ducted a tobacco manufactory. ^ ° He also adver- 
 tised as having for sale "a large assortment of 
 window and hoUow glass of a superior quality, from 
 A. Gallatin, Esq's., glass works at New Geneva. "^^ 
 
 The "Sign of General Butler" was named for 
 General Richard Butler who in his day was the 
 most noted character in Pittsburgh. He had 
 been Indian trader and Indian agent. In the 
 Revolution he was second in command to General 
 Daniel Morgan at Saratoga, and second in com- 
 mand to General Anthony Wayne at Stony Point. 
 
Public and Private Affairs 123 
 
 He was a justice of the Court of Common Pleas 
 of Allegheny County ^^ and was the first lieuten- 
 ant of the county, the officer who at that time was 
 commander of the militia.^' He was a member 
 of the General Assembly,^'' and met a glorious 
 death during St. Clair's unfortunate expedition 
 against the Indians on the Miami River, on No- 
 vember 4, 1791.55 His name has been commem- 
 orated in that of Butler County. ^^ His home 
 was in the log house situated on the east side 
 of Marbury, now Third Street, one door south of 
 Penn Street, now Penn Avenue, ^ '' where his widow 
 continued to reside. 
 
 The "Sign of General Butler," like the home of 
 Brackenridge, became famous during the Whisky 
 Insurrection. President Washington had ap- 
 pointed a commission to meet the Insurgents, and 
 procure their submission. It consisted of Senator 
 James Ross, Attorney General WilHam Bradford, 
 also a Pennsylvanian, and Jasper Yeates, a justice 
 of the Supreme Court of this State. The com- 
 missioners on the part of Pennsylvania were Chief 
 Justice McKean and General William Irvine. 
 The commission had arranged to meet representa- 
 
124 Pittsburgh 
 
 tives of those in rebellion, on Wednesday, August 
 20, 1794. Two days before that date, the com- 
 missioners took up their lodgings at the "Sign of 
 General Butler." When it became known that 
 they were at the tavern, a mob gathered before 
 it on Market Street, and made their sentiments 
 apparent by raising a liberty pole, the emblem 
 everyTvhere in the disturbed districts of disaffec- 
 tion toward the national government. A streamer 
 was fastened to the pole on which were inscribed 
 the watchwords of the Insurgents: 
 
 "Liberty and no Excise. 
 Death to Cowards and Traitors." 
 
 Judge Hugh Henry Brackenridge has stated that 
 it was with difficulty that he and others who were 
 influential with the rioters prevailed on them to 
 forego their intention of placing on the pole the 
 flag which had been prepared, bearing six stripes, 
 emblematical of the six counties, five in Pennsyl- 
 vania, and one in Virginia, which were threaten- 
 ing to secede from the United States and set up a 
 government of their own. That the conferences 
 which followed were fruitless is well known. Only 
 
Public and Private Affairs 125 
 
 one man in attendance gained in reputation. 
 Albert Gallatin was on the committee sent by 
 the Insurgents. His ability and his firm stand 
 in favor of law and order won for him everjrwhere, 
 and particularly in Allegheny and Washington 
 counties, the lasting regard of the citizens. Two 
 months later a member of Congress was to be 
 elected in the district composed of these counties, 
 and Insurgents and non-insurgents flocked to 
 Gallatin's support, and to the surprise of Brack- 
 enridge and General John Woods, the other 
 candidates, he was elected. 
 
 During the occupancy of the "Sign of General 
 Butler" by Richard Hancock, James Hilliard 
 had a farrier shop and livery stable, in the stable 
 connected with the tavern.'* The public contro- 
 versy in which Hilliard engaged his wife, is a 
 striking illustration of the mischievous result 
 of the husband's absolute control of his wife's 
 separate estate under the existing laws. Hilliard 
 was married to Elizabeth Bausman, a daughter of 
 Jacob Bausman, who was possessed of property 
 in her own right which she had inherited from her 
 father. Hilliard published a notice 3' advising the 
 
126 Pittsburgh 
 
 public that his wife had "absconded from his bed 
 and board," and declaring that he would not be 
 responsible for debts contracted by her. To this 
 charge Mrs. Hilliard replied in a sharp letter. '^ " She 
 denied her husband's accusation, and stated that 
 she had gone with her children, at his request, on 
 a visit to Jacob Haymaker. She charged Hilliard 
 with having, during her absence, disposed of the 
 household effects, including her wearing apparel, 
 to John Smur, a tavern keeper in the town, and 
 that everything had been taken away after night- 
 fall; that the articles were part of her separate 
 estate; that now she had "no bed nor board to go 
 to." She asked that no credit be extended to 
 Hilliard on the strength of her estate, and declared 
 that thereafter she would decline to pay his debts, 
 but wovild use her estate for her own benefit. 
 "In the future," she concluded, "it shall not be 
 expended in paying his tavern bills. " 
 
 A unique reputation attached to the houses in 
 this block which, while descriptive, was at the 
 same time significant of the political power of 
 the occupants and their associates. Although the 
 houses were built separately, and were of different 
 
Public and Private Affairs 127 
 
 types, they were collectively called by the not- 
 over-euphonious name of "Clapboard Row. " As 
 the name indicated, they were constructed of clap- 
 boards. So well known was "Clapboard Row" 
 that the merchants who had their establishments 
 there were fond of advertising the fact. Prac- 
 tically all the occupants were politicians, and 
 without exception belonged to the Republican 
 party. Also the "Sign of General Butler" was 
 the headquarters of that party. By their op- 
 ponents, these leaders were termed the "Clap- 
 board Row Junto," " junto" being an older word 
 for "ring." General Fowler, after he separated 
 from the Republican party, designated them as 
 the " Clapboardonian Democracy. ""•' The Pitts- 
 burgh Gazette charged that the editor of the Tree 
 of Liberty was controlled by "Clapboard Row. ""i^ 
 Some were officeholders, others desired to be 
 such, and in State and national affairs they were 
 supreme. 
 
 The members of the "Clapboard Row Junto" 
 were men of dual capacity. Their energies were 
 devoted to their private affairs and to politics 
 with equal intensity. In politics the smallest 
 
128 Pittsburgh 
 
 details received careful attention. Many of the 
 methods employed by modern Pittsburgh poli- 
 ticians were inherited from "Clapboard Row." 
 One of the schemes for increasing the party vote, 
 which originated with "Clapboard Row," was 
 to encourage and assist the aliens who settled in 
 Pittsburgh to become naturalized. This was 
 done through the meditim of a committee com- 
 posed of Thomas Baird, James Riddle, and Joseph 
 McClurg.« 
 
 Dr. Scott was high in the favor of the Repub- 
 lican leaders, and on the death of George Adams 
 on April i, i8oi, was appointed postmaster, 
 and established the post office in his store, 
 continuing the practice of medicine and the 
 sale of drugs as before. William Gazzam was 
 an aggressive Irishman, who had been in the 
 country only a few years, but by dint of perse- 
 verance had pressed well forward in politics, 
 perhaps to the detriment of his business, as he 
 failed early in his career. He was brigade in- 
 spector of the Allegheny County militia, and 
 justice of the peace. He aroused the ire of 
 General Fowler, when with other "Clapboard 
 
Public and Private Affairs 129 
 
 Row" politicians he refused to support Fowler 
 for Congress. 
 
 The controversy was amusing. In the com- 
 munications which Fowler published in the Pitis- 
 burgh Gazette about his wrongs, he designated 
 Gazzam as a "little man — in the most emphatic 
 sense." He declared that under "the cloak of 
 Republicanism and religion," Gazzam was "art- 
 fully aiming at offices.""" The allusion to Gaz- 
 zam's "religion" referred to the gentleman's well 
 known activity in the affairs of the Presbyterian 
 Church, which he afterward left, owing, it was 
 alleged, to the fact that the minister, the Rev. 
 Robert Steele, gave out "two lines of a stanza 
 to be sung, instead of the time-honored one."" s 
 Fowler enlarged on Gazzam's reputed yearning 
 for office. He entimerated the offices which 
 Gazzam had held, and the others that he desired. 
 He claimed that Gazzam was an applicant for the 
 post office on the demise of George Adams; that 
 he hoped to be county commissioner; that he was 
 scheming to become a member of the General 
 Assembly."* To this abuse Gazzam replied with 
 equal venom. He said General Fowler had been 
 
130 Pittsburgh 
 
 drunk on the last occasion that he had asked his 
 support for Congress, and that he had abused him 
 in a very.ungentlemanly manner.'" 
 
 Thomas Baird was a member of the firm of Ful- 
 ton and Baird, and was a candidate for burgess in 
 1803, the year that Colonel Neville was elected."* 
 Joseph McClurg was a candidate for supervisor in 
 1803, but was defeated by A. McNickle."' Affili- 
 ated with these men were Samuel Ewalt, Na- 
 thaniel Irish, and Adamson Tannehill, the last two 
 being former Revolutionary officers. Nathaniel 
 Irish was county commissioner, s" and inspector 
 of flour for the Western country.'' Adamson 
 Tannehill had formerly conducted a tavern on 
 Water Street,'^ and had been president of the 
 Pittsburgh Fire Company. '^ In October, 1800, 
 while a justice of the peace, he was tried 
 and convicted of extortion, before Justices Jasper 
 Yeates and Thomas Smith of the Supreme Court 
 while on circtdt in Pittsburgh, that court then 
 having original jurisdiction of this offense, under 
 the constitution of 1790. Tannehill received a 
 reprimand and was fined fifty dollars. The con- 
 viction was thought to disqualify him from further 
 
Public and Private Affairs 131 
 
 exercising the office of justice of the peace. 
 Being a leading Republican, and the offense, which 
 consisted in charging on two probates two shillings 
 more than the law allowed, having been com- 
 mitted five years before, Governor McKean, in 
 January, 1801, remitted the"fine and reappointed 
 Tannehill to the office which he had formerly 
 held. 5 4 Dr. Andrew Richardson belonged to the 
 "Clapboard Row," faction until his desertion of 
 the Republican party. Joseph Davis, who had a 
 grocery store on the other side of Market Street 
 from "Clapboard Row" was another member of 
 the clique, as was Tarleton Bates, the prothono- 
 tary of the county, '^ who had succeeded John C. 
 GiUcison in office. 
 
 "Clapboard Row," was not allowed to win its 
 victories unopposed. The opposition was both 
 able and active. Judge Alexander Addison, Sena- 
 tor James Ross, and General John Woods were 
 the leaders of the Federalists. Colonel O'Hara, 
 General Neville, Colonel Neville, Major Craig, 
 Major Ebenezer Denny, Dr. Stevenson, and most 
 of the former Revolutionary officers were also 
 Federalists. Other FederaHsts were WiUiam 
 
132 Pittsburgh 
 
 Christy, Dr. Mowry, Abner Barker, Jeremiah 
 Barker, and Alexander McLaughlin. They made 
 a gallant fight for their principles, but their voice 
 was usually drowned in the 'mighty chorus of 
 Republicanism that had swept the country from 
 its former conservative moorings. In borough 
 politics only were they successful. 
 
 The views of the rival political parties were 
 echoed with startling frankness in the columns of 
 the Tree oj Liberty and the Pittsburgh Gazette. 
 On October ii, 1800, the Tree of Liberty announced 
 the election of the Republican candidate for in- 
 spector of elections in the borough, and added 
 jubilantly: "The people are no longer to be led 
 up like tame asses to vote against their inclination 
 for the characters that Ross, Woods, and Addison 
 recommend. They now act for themselves." 
 After the presidential election of 1800, it exulted 
 further: "Tt is laughable to hear some of the hot- 
 blooded Federalists moaning and groaning at the 
 result of the last election. They know not what 
 cause to attribute it to. They curse the Tree 
 and all its leaves, they denounce 'Clapboard Row* 
 with the yards and its size sticks. "«* 
 
Public and Private Affairs 133 
 
 The Pittsburgh Gazette was equally outspoken, its 
 ire being particularly directed against Judge Hugh 
 Henry Brackenridge. In an article signed "A 
 Citizen of Washington," it gave what purported 
 to be an account of a drunken escapade of the 
 Judge through Washington and Allegheny Coun- 
 ties, which, if published to-day, would lead to a 
 personal' encounter, s^ On another occasion Scull 
 paid his compliments to Brackenridge in the fol- 
 lowing sarcastic terms: "You who get two or 
 three thousand dollars a year for setting up a 
 slanderous press, and for two or three journeys 
 through the State to sit as a mute on the bench, 
 and wear the new cockade, in your drunken frolics 
 through the country, can afford to buy a press and 
 hire types, and pay under-devils to set types and 
 fetch and carry tales. I cannot afford such things. 
 I have no salary, post, or pension. "=' 
 
 A week later Scull attacked Brackenridge with 
 even more virulence: "Mr. Brackenridge cannot 
 expect to live long. He has already outlived all 
 hope of fame. I doubt whether he feels that there 
 is a God above him. I doubt whether he does not 
 think that he is his own divinity while he lives^ 
 
134 Pittsburgh 
 
 and that when he dies his dust will mingle with 
 that of the beasts that perish. He has labored 
 with industry and success to acquire the contempt 
 and abhorrence of aU whom it was possible for 
 him to esteem."" 
 
REFERENCES 
 Chapter VI 
 
 ' Tree of Liberty, August 23, 1800. 
 
 * Tree 0/ Liberty, August 23, 1800. 
 
 ' H. H. Brackenridge. Incidents of the Insurrection in the 
 Western Parts of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, 1795, vol. 
 
 ii-. PP- 73-74- 
 
 * H. H. Brackenridge. Incidents of the Insurrection in the 
 
 Western Parts of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, 1795, vol. ii., 
 
 p. 72. 
 f s Pittsburgh Gazette, November 16, 1793. 
 [ ' Pittsburgh Gazette, June 28, 1794. 
 ' H. H. Brackenridge. Incidents of the Insurrection in the 
 
 Western Parts of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, 1795, vol. ii. 
 
 p. 61. 
 ' Daniel Agnew. Address Delivered before the Allegheny 
 
 County Bar Association, December i, 1888, p. 14. 
 ' Loomis's Magazine Almanac for 1835, Pittsburgh, pp. 37-40. 
 '° Pittsburgh Gazette, January 30, 1801. 
 " Pittsburgh Gazette, October 10, 1800, 
 " Pittsburgh Gazette, July 10, i8or. 
 ' ' Pittsburgh Gazette, September 25, 1 801 . 
 '< Pittsburgh Gazette, May 22, 1801. 
 '! Pittsburgh Gazette, September 8, 1787. 
 '' William H. Lo YD. The Early Courts of Pennsylvania, "Boi- 
 
 ton, 1910, pp. 94-95. 124-125. 
 '' H. M. Brackenridge. The Literary Examiner and Western 
 
 Monthly Review, Pittsburgh, Pa., 1839, pp. 27-29. 
 '8 John Welkins. "The Western Insurrection." In Contribu- 
 tions to American History, Philadelphia, 1858, pp. 183-184; 
 
 H. M. Brackenridge. History of the Western Insurrection 
 
 in Western Pennsylvania, Pittsburgh, 1859, pp. 93-94. 
 
 135 
 
136 Pittsburgh 
 
 " Pittsburgh Gazette, December 5, 1800. 
 
 '° Pittsburgh Gazette, August 16, 1800. 
 
 " Pittsburgh Gazette, May 22, 1801. 
 
 " Pittsburgh Gazette, June 30, 1798. 
 
 " Tree o/iiJerty, June 18, 1803. 
 
 '^ Pittsburgh Gazette, March 30, 1799. 
 
 '5 Tree 0} Liberty, September 13, 1800. 
 
 '^ Tree of Liberty, April 18, 1801. 
 
 »' Tree of Liberty, August 8, 1801. 
 
 =8 Pittsburgh Gazette, May 11, 1799. 
 
 "9 Pittsburgh Gazette, April 5, 1800. 
 
 3» Pittsburgh Gazette, June I, 1799; Tree of Liberty, August 30, 
 
 1800. 
 
 3' Tree of Liberty, February 28, 1801. 
 
 3= Colonial Records, Harrisburg, 1853, vol. xv., p. 604. 
 
 33 Pittsburgh Gazette, March 20, 1790. 
 
 34 Colonial Records, Harrisburg, 1853, vol. xvi., p. 537 
 
 3s Major Ebenezer Denny. Military Journal, Philadelphia, 
 1859, PP- 16-18. 
 
 3' William H. Egle. History of the Commonwealth of Pennsyl- 
 vania, Philadelphia, 1883, p. 454. 
 
 3' William G. Johnston. Life and Reminiscences, Pittsburgh, 
 MCMI, p. 33. 
 
 3' Tree of Liberty, January 10, 1801. 
 
 39 Tree of Liberty, December 13, 1800. 
 
 *" Pittsburgh Gazette, December 19, 1800; Tree of Liberty, De- 
 cember 27, 1800. 
 
 •«' Pittsburgh Gazette, August 14, 1801. 
 
 4= Pittsburgh Gazette, October 22, 1802. 
 
 " Tree of Liberty, June 2^, iSo^. 
 
 ■" Pittsburgh Gazette, September 4, 180 1. 
 
 •" Centennial Volume of the First Presbyterian Church of Pitts- 
 burgh, Pa., 1784-1884, Pittsburgh, 1884, p. 34. 
 
 •I'' Pittsburgh Gazette, September 4, 1801. 
 
 4' Tree of Liberty, August 29, 1801. 
 
 48 Tree of Liberty, May 21, 1803. 
 
 49 Tree of Liberty, May 21, 1803. 
 
 3° Tree o/Zi6er/y, October 18, 1800. 
 
 SI Pittsburgh Gazette, September 24, 1802. 
 
 ^' Pittsburgh Gazette, September 16, 1786. 
 
 53 Pittsburgh Gazette, October 4, 1794. 
 
Public and Private Affairs 137 
 
 S4 Pittsburgh Gazette, January 30, 1801; Tree of Liberty, Febru- 
 ary 7, 1801. 
 
 ss Pittsburgh Gazette, September 24, 1802. 
 
 56 Tree of Liberty, October 25, 1800. 
 
 5' Pittsburgh Gazette, December 5, l8oo. 
 
 5' Pittsburgh Gazette, February 6, 1801. 
 
 s' Pittsburgh Gazette, February 13, 1801. 
 
CHAPTER VII 
 
 A DUEL AND OTHER MATTERS 
 
 ON July 24, 1805, a third Richmond appeared 
 in the Pittsburgh newspaper field in the 
 person of Ephraitn Pentland. He estab- 
 lished a weekly newspaper called The Common- 
 wealth, which was published in a building situated 
 in the West Diamond, opposite the southwest 
 comer of the new court house. The newspaper 
 resulted from the dissension in the Republican 
 party in Pennsylvania. 
 
 Governor McKean's second term was drawing 
 to a close. For two years prior to 1805, he had 
 disagreed with the Republican General Assem- 
 bly because of its extreme radicalism. It had 
 enacted several revolutionary bills which he 
 vetoed. The members appeared to have an 
 especial aversion to lawyers, and a bill was passed 
 
 138 
 
A Duel and Other Matters 139 
 
 tosubstitute, in civil cases, referees for juries, and 
 prohibiting the employment of counsel. This 
 bill was also vetoed. The House assumed that 
 the Supreme Cotirt was arrogating to itself 
 powers which it did not possess, and on Feb- 
 ruary 28, 1803, scarcely a month after the im- 
 peachment and removal from the bench of Judge 
 Addison, ' the first step was taken in the attempt 
 to impeach three of the judges of] the Supreme 
 Court for alleged arbitrary conduct in com- 
 mitting to prison for contempt, the plaintiff in 
 a suit pending in the court. ^ Brackenridge was 
 absent from the bench when the offender was 
 imprisoned, and although accused of being largely 
 responsible for the impeachment of Judge Ad- 
 dison, was now loyal to his colleagues, and sent 
 a letter to the House in which he declared his full 
 concurrence in the course taken by the other 
 judges, and asked to share their fate. The House 
 replied by addressing the governor, and asking 
 for Brackenridge's removal. McKean refused to 
 comply with the request. On January 28, 1805, 
 the impeachment trial came to an end; a ma- 
 jority of the Senators pronounced the judges 
 
I40 Pittsburgh 
 
 guilty, but as the majority was short of two-thirds, 
 the result was an acquittal. The anger of the 
 radical Republicans was boundless. A division 
 took place in the party, which caused intense 
 feeling throughout the State. McKean's support- 
 ers took the name of "Constitutionalists," while 
 the opposition called themselves "Friends of the 
 People. " The charm of French phrases was still 
 strong. 
 
 The "Friends of the People" now put forward 
 Simon Snyder as a candidate for governor in 
 opposition to McKean. The abuse that was 
 heaped on their former idol was appalling ; threats 
 of_civil war were in the air. McKean was 
 charged with being a demagogue who pandered 
 to the worst elements in the Republican party, 
 while being by education and sentiment an aristo- 
 crat. He was also accused of having gone over 
 to the Federalists. The Tree of Liberty continued 
 a staunch supporter of McKean. Its former 
 violence had given way to an advocacy of 
 "moderation." 
 
 The Commonwealth was established in the inter- 
 est of the faction opposed to McKean, and its 
 
A Duel and Other Matters 141 
 
 attacks on him and his supporter, the Tree of 
 Liberty, were brutal. Israel came in for the most 
 violent abuse. Pentland. accused Israel of being 
 ignorant. "Let a beardless boy instruct you, 
 old goat!" was one of his coarse thrusts. In the 
 sarhe article he designated Israel as "the man with 
 the long beard, but no brains," and concluded 
 crudely, "Let a goslin' instruct you, old goose!"' 
 The campaign teemed with personalities. The 
 Federalists looked on in amusement, but finally 
 came to the support of McKean, and he was 
 elected. Pentland's chagrin knew no bounds, and 
 after the election was over, he continued to attack 
 the Tree of Liberty, the management of which, by 
 this time had changed. He vented his spite on 
 the supposed owners. He charged that, although 
 the newspaper was published in the name of Walter 
 Forward, Tarleton Bates and Henry Baldwin, "• the 
 two most prominent politicians in Pittsburgh, 
 were the real proprietors, and that Bates was the 
 editor, Baldwin, who was not quite twenty-six 
 years of age, later in life became a member of 
 Congress and a justice of the Supreme Court of the 
 United States. Forward was a young man of nine- 
 
142 Pittsburgh 
 
 teen, a law student in Baldwin's office, and sub- 
 sequently attained high political distinction. He 
 was several times a member of Congress, was 
 Secretary of the Treasury under President Tyler, 
 char gS-d' -affaires to Denmark, under President 
 Taylor, and president judge of the District Court 
 of Allegheny County. 
 
 Bates was the oldest and«best known of the three 
 men. His tragic end has caused a halo of romance 
 to be cast about his striking personality. He was a 
 native of Virginia, where he was born on May 22, 
 1775. He was of Quaker origin, his father having 
 lost his membership in the Society of Friends 
 because of his services as a volunteer at the siege 
 of Yorktown. The family seat was Belmont in 
 Goochland County. Tarleton Bates came to 
 Pittsburgh when eighteen years of age. During 
 the early years of his residence he was employed 
 by the national government in the Quarter Mas- 
 ter's Department under Major Isaac Craig, the 
 Deputy Quarter Master and Military Store- 
 keeper at Pittsburgh, with whom for a time he 
 made his home. When the Spaniards surrendered 
 their rights to the country on the lower Missis- 
 
A Duel and Other Matters 143 
 
 sippi in 1798, and the Mississippi Territory was 
 organized with Natchez as the capital, Bates 
 determined to leave Pittsburgh and settle in the 
 southern town, but did not carry his design into 
 execution.' Upon the appointment of John C. 
 Gilkison to the office of prothonotary, he became 
 a clerk under him. 
 
 He had a fair educatiqn, was studiously inclined, 
 and was possessed of considerable culture, including 
 a knowledge of the French language. He owned the 
 best copy of Lavater in Pittsburgh. His letters 
 to members of his family* indicate that he was 
 generous, warm-hearted, and tender. The family 
 fortunes were low. His brother Frederick, just 
 starting out in life, felt the need of money and made 
 his wants known to Tarleton. Although in the 
 habit of speaking of himself as living in "exiled 
 poverty," he responded without hesitation: 
 "Nothing within my ability shall be wanting to 
 smooth the entrance of the rugged path of life"; 
 and he offered to help Frederick to the extent of 
 thirty dollars a month. He led an upright life and 
 ever attempted to deserve the good opinion of his 
 mother and "avoid the imprudencies of youth." 
 
144 Pittsburgh 
 
 Frederick charged him with being engaged to be 
 married. His answer was an admission that he 
 was in love, and a frank intimation that thus far 
 success had not crowned his efforts. That he 
 was fond of the society of ladies appears from a 
 letter in which he tells of the many charming 
 ladies in Pittsburgh. His acrostic on the name of 
 Emily Morgan Neville, the daughter of Colonel 
 Presley Neville, lends color to the imputation that 
 at one time he was in love with that fascinating 
 young woman. His complete obsession with poli- 
 tics was probably responsible for his remaining 
 unmarried. 
 
 He was warmly attached to his party. In a 
 letter written while the Republican party — which 
 he was in the habit of calling the Democratic party 
 — was still in its infancy in Pittsburgh, he said: 
 " I believe I am almost the onlyPittsburgher who 
 is not ashamed to call himself a Democrat, and I 
 am sure the appellation will never discredit me. " 
 He related humorously that on one occasion he 
 attended a Fourth of July celebration, and among 
 the spesikers was Colonel Presley Neville, who, 
 "abhors the Democrats as so many imps of hdl." 
 
A Duel and Other Matters 145 
 
 He was proud and told his family that he acknowl- 
 edged no superior, and "admitted no knave, 
 however bloated with wealth, to be an equal." 
 He was one of several famous brothers. His 
 younger brothers, Frederick, James, and Edward, 
 after his death, emigrated to the Missouri Terri- 
 tory where Frederick was the first secretary 
 of the Territory, and the second governor of 
 the State. James afterward settled in Arkansas 
 and became a delegate to Congress from that 
 Territory. Edward became the friend of Henry 
 Clay and in i860 was a candidate for President 
 before the convention which nominated Abraham 
 Lincoln; he became Attorney-General in Lincoln's 
 Cabinet. 
 
 On Christmas Day, 1805, the article appeared 
 in The Commonwealth, which was the direct cause 
 of the death of Tarleton Bates in a duel. In the 
 course of the incendiary diatribe, Pentland de- 
 clared that Bates and Baldwin were "two of 
 the most abandoned political miscreants that ever 
 disgraced a State." He demanded savagely: 
 " To what party do they belong? " and answered the 
 question himself. "To no party, to all parties. 
 
146 Pittsburgh 
 
 They have been Whigs and Tories, High, or Low 
 Republicans, Democrats or Anti-Democrats, Ja- 
 cobins or Anti- Jacobins, Constitutionalists or 
 Republicans, according to existing circumstances." 
 
 Pentland's pimishment was to be publicly 
 cowhided by Bates on Market Street on January 
 2, 1806. He is said to have fled precipitately 
 when attacked. Pentland gave a darkly colored 
 account of the occurrence: "On Thursday even- 
 ing last, a considerable time after dark, the editor 
 of this paper was waylaid, and attacked in a most 
 outrageous manner, by Tarleton Bates, the pro- 
 thonotary of this coimty, and co-proprietor and 
 editor of the Tree of Liberty. Bates was in com- 
 pany with some persons who were no doubt to act 
 as aids, should their assistance be wanted, but 
 owing to the mistiness of the evening, and their 
 quick disappearance, all of them could not be 
 recognized. Baldwin, Bates's colleague in infamy, 
 and the brave and redoubtable Steele Semple, who 
 never feels afraid but when he is in danger, were 
 in the gang, — ^both limbs of the law, students of 
 morality!"' 
 
 Dueling had been forbidden in Pennsylvania 
 
A Duel and Other Matters 147 
 
 since i794i under penalty of fine and imprison- 
 ment, and loss of citizenship for seven years.* 
 An unconverted public sentiment, however, still 
 approved of the code of honor, and Pentland, who 
 had at first threatened legal proceedings against 
 Bates, challenged him instead. The challenge 
 was carried by Thomas Stewart, a young Irishman 
 who was a merchant in the town. Bates declined 
 to accept, on the ground that Pentland's conduct 
 since his chastisement, had rendered him unworthy 
 of such notice. Pentland then posted Bates as a 
 coward, upon which on January 7, 1806, Bates 
 published a letter in the Tree of Liberty giving his 
 reason for refusing the challenge, in which he 
 reflected on Stewart. Stewart demanded a re- 
 traction, which was refused, whereupon he chal- 
 lenged Bates. This challenge was accepted. 
 
 Bates immediately wrote his will. It was ex- 
 pressive of deep feeling. There was every indica- 
 tion of a premonition of his forthcoming end. He 
 had always led a simple life, and in death he desired 
 to avoid display. In that moment he recalled the 
 discussions in the French Legislative Councils dur- 
 ing the Directory, on the disposal of the dead by 
 
148 Pittsburgh 
 
 burning. "Henry Baldwin, my very dear friend, 
 my sole executor, ... is to burn my body, or at 
 least bury it without any direction," he wrote; 
 then he provided for the education of his brother 
 James, which was to be completed by his studying 
 law. In case the estate proved insufficient for 
 the purpose, his brother Frederick was to provide 
 the deficiency. Any residue, he declared, "is to 
 go to my adored mother." 
 
 The encounter took place the next day in a 
 ravine in Oakland, in what is at present the Fourth 
 Ward of the city of Pittsburgh. The ravine 
 through which a rivulet coursed, called "Three- 
 Mile Run, " long since sewered over, opened on the 
 Monongahela River, at a point now occupied by 
 the lower end of the Jones & Laughlin Steel 
 Company's ore-yard, and by the office of the Eliza 
 Furnace. To-day there are laid out through the 
 ravine several unpaved hillside- streets with nar- 
 row board sidewalks, one of which is the lower 
 portion of Halket Street. On the upper edge of 
 the easterly border of the ravine is Bates Street, 
 named for Tarleton Bates. The duel was fought 
 near the Monongahela River; the distance was 
 
A Duel and Other Matters 149 
 
 ten paces; the weapons were pistols. Both 
 principals displayed undaunted courage. Bates 
 fell at the second fire, shot in the breast, and 
 expired in an hour.' On the day that Bates lay 
 dead in the ravine which ever since has been 
 haunted with his memory, Pentland made another 
 slanderous charge in his newspaper: "I shall not 
 engross the columns of this paper with remarks on 
 the private character of Mr. Bates, because that 
 already appears to the public in colors as dark as 
 the skin of his mistress."" 
 
 The community was shocked at the tragedy. 
 Notwithstanding the directions of Bates's will in 
 regard to the disposal of his body, he was buried 
 in Trinity Churchyard. A great concourse of 
 people attended the funeral, the chief mourner 
 being Henry Baldwin; but the whole town de- 
 plored his death. In its next issue, the Tree of 
 Liberty added to the general gloom, by appearing 
 in mourning dress. Two weeks later the post 
 brought news of the dire calamity to the widowed 
 mother in her Virginia home, and to her children. 
 Amid their tears they rejoiced that the Virginia 
 traditions of honor had not been violated and that 
 
I50 Pittsburgh 
 
 Tarleton Bates had accepted the challenge and pre- 
 ferred "death to a life of infamy and disgrace."" 
 The depth of their attachment appeared in the 
 fact that the family preserved his letters as precious 
 mementoes as long as they survived. For a time 
 the grave was a hallowed spot to be pointed out to 
 visitors, but as Bates's old friends died, and a new 
 generation came on, it was neglected, and now the 
 location is forgotten. Bates's brothers received 
 their inspiration from him. He was the ablest 
 member of the family. Had it not been for 
 his untimely death, the name of Tarleton Bates 
 might have become one of the great names in 
 Pennsylvania history, if not in that of the United 
 States. 
 
 At the northwest corner of Market and I'hird 
 streets, in the house built by Major Ebenezer 
 Denny, of brick taken from Fort Pitt," was the 
 store of Denny & Beelen. The firm was composed 
 of Major Denny and Anthony Beelen. They sold, 
 "dry goods, hardware, groceries, stationery, per- 
 fumery, china, glass, and queensware."'' Major 
 Denny, the senior partner, was a slender, blue- 
 eyed, and red-haired man of thirty-nine. His 
 
A Duel and Other Matters 151 
 
 was a most adventurous career. In the Revo- 
 lution he was ensign in the ist Pennsylvania 
 Regiment, and lieutenant in the 3d and 4th 
 Pennsylvania Regiments. He had served as 
 lieutenant under General George Rodgers Clark 
 in Illinois, was adjutant to General Josiah 
 Harmar in the campaign against the Indians in 
 1790, and aid-de-camp of General Arthur St. Clair 
 in 1 79 1. He was the messenger who carried the 
 news of the rout of St. Clair's army to President 
 Washington at Philadelphia, then the seat of the 
 national government. On returning to private 
 life he had gone into business with Captain 
 Joseph Ashton, a former Revolutionary officer 
 like himself, at the place later conducted by 
 Denny & Beelen. This partnership was dis- 
 solved in 1794 when Denny was again appointed 
 to a military command and placed in charge of an 
 expedition sent to Fort Le Boeuf . In Pittsburgh 
 he took a conspicuous part in public affairs.'" 
 He was a candidate for representative to the Penn- 
 sylvania House of Representatives against Lucus, 
 but was defeated. Later he was elected county 
 commissioner. In 1803 he was treasurer of the 
 
152 Pittsburgh 
 
 county, being the first man to hold that office, 
 and was the first mayor of Pittsburgh upon its 
 becoming a city in 1816. 
 
 Anthony Beelen, Major Denny's partner, was a 
 native of the Austrian Netherlands, now Belgium, 
 and was the son of Francis, Baron de Belen 
 Bartholf, Minister of the King of Austria, Joseph 
 II., to the United States, who, upon the death of 
 the King in 1790, continued a resident of the United 
 States. The Baron seems to have soon discarded 
 his title of nobility, as he was engaged in business 
 in Pittsburgh at an early date, going by the name 
 of Francis Beelen, being a partner in the firm of 
 Amberson, Beelen, & Anshutz which was dis- 
 solved in 1794.'^ Anthony Beelen made the ac- 
 quaintance of Denny in Philadelphia, and became 
 associated with him, and in 1794 settled the affairs 
 of Ashton & Denny. '^ In 1803 he was one of 
 the Pittsburgh assessors. ' ^ In later years he con- 
 ducted an air furnace and other enterprises. Beelen 
 afterward lost his property, but the family for- 
 tunes rose again when Mrs. Mary Miu-phy died. 
 In her will she left all her valuable estate, the 
 principal part of which consisted of the block on 
 
A Duel and Other Matters 153 
 
 Market Street in which "Clapboard Row" was 
 located, to Beelen in trust for his daughter and 
 granddaughter. 
 
 On Third Street a short distance west of Market 
 Street, Andrew Willock, Jr., conducted a baking 
 business, at the "Sign of the Sheaf of Wheat." 
 He also kept a tavern, ' ' taverns and bakeries being 
 frequently carried on together. Alexander Mc- 
 Laughlin, an oldtime merchant, was located at the 
 southwesterly corner of Market and Fourth streets 
 in the same block with Denny & Beelen. He 
 had formerly been on Second Street.'' In 1800 
 he was a candidate for county commissioner, but 
 was defeated by Nathaniel Irish. ^° James Wills, 
 who dealt in "boot and bootee legs," adjoined 
 McLaughlin on the south. '" Next to Wills's 
 house was that occupied by John Wrenshall. 
 Wrenshall was a man of cultiure and, in addition 
 to keeping store and preaching the Gospel when 
 the opportunity was presented, was a writer of 
 ability. His Farewell to Pittsburgh and the Moun- 
 tains, published in Philadelphia in 18 18, was a 
 poem of some merit, and of considerable local in- 
 terest. He was the grandfather of Julia Dent, 
 
154 Pittsburgh 
 
 the wife of General U. S. Grant, eighteenth Presi- 
 dent of the United States. Joseph Davis was 
 located between WrenshaU and Denny & Beelen. 
 He was assessor in 1802." 
 
 John Irwin, one of William Christy's old part- 
 ners, had his store at the northeast corner of 
 Market and Fourth streets. He was a former 
 Revolutionary officer, having been captain in the 
 2nd Pennsylvania Regiment. At the next cor- 
 ner, where Market Street intersected the South 
 Diamond, in the large three-story brick building 
 were the tavern and store of William Irwin, the 
 other partner of Christy. This building was 
 another of the houses built of brick taken from 
 Fort Pitt. ^5 To this house William Irwin had re- 
 moved in 1799''''; and here he furnished public en- 
 tertainment, and sold, in addition to whisky, and 
 other diverting drinks, "kettles, stoves, and dry 
 goods. "°* Dancing classes were also held in the 
 building, those for ladies at three o'clock in the 
 afternoon, and the classes for gentlemen at six 
 o'clock in the evening.''^ More serious business 
 was conducted there. In the large hall in the 
 third story the courts were held for more than a 
 
A Duel and Other Matters 155 
 
 year after being removed from Andrew Watson's 
 house. ^' This was likewise the room in which 
 Lodge No. 45 now held its sessions.^* 
 
 North of the South Diamond the buildings were 
 farther apart. At the southeast corner of the 
 East Diamond and Diamond Alley was the log 
 store of William Woods & Company. ""^ On the 
 opposite side of Market Street from John Irwin 
 and William Irwin's stores, in the middle of the 
 block, was John Hamsher's retail shop, where he 
 sold copper and tin-plate articles, and clover 
 seed. 3° Next door was the store of James Dunlap 
 & Company. 3' In the Diamond, east of Market 
 Street, was the semicircular market house, which 
 covered most of this part of the Diamond. Its 
 wide, projecting roof was supported by a double 
 row of brick pillars. In the interior of the build- 
 ing were rows of stalls, with benches and blocks, 
 for the butchers. Encircling the structure was a 
 brick pavement along the curb of which the fanners 
 and market gardeners were stationed. ^^ In the 
 Market House the borough elections were held.^' 
 
 Across Market Street from the Market House 
 was the new court house. It was the pride of the 
 
156 Pittsburgh 
 
 western country, and the only high building in 
 the town. It was a square, two-story brick struc- 
 ture with one-story wings, for the county offices, and 
 was surmounted by a tall wooden spire. In 1800, 
 the main building was barely completed, some of 
 the upper rooms being yet unplastered, although 
 the county offices had been removed to the wings 
 two years before. ^'i The belfry lacked the bell; 
 and the space before the building was only then 
 being paved. The main entrance was on 
 Market Street, and on either side of the doorway 
 were fluted wooden columns with Corinthian 
 capitals. The court room was on the first floor 
 and was paved with bricks which, like the brick 
 used in the pavement outside, were large and 
 almost square. Supporting the ceiling were Doric 
 pillars resting upon square panelled pedestals. ^^ 
 The judges' bench and the jury box were in the 
 rear of the court room. They faced the entrance, 
 and the judges' bench admitted seating the presi- 
 dent judge and the four lay associate judges, at 
 one time. It was elevated above the floor and 
 was reached by stairs placed at the northerly end. 
 The jury box was southerly of the judges' bench, 
 
A Duel and Other Matters 157 
 
 with a narrow passage between it and the judges' 
 bench. After the bell was placed in the belfry in 
 1 80 1, Joseph Harris became bell-ringer, and rang 
 the bell whenever cottrt was about to convene. 
 
 Back of the court house, one hundred and forty 
 feet west of the West Diamond, and running par- 
 allel with it, was an alley, now called Delray 
 Street. On the westerly side of this alley, a short 
 distance south of Diamond Alley, was the new 
 square two-story stone county jail. It was erected 
 on a lot purchased by Allegheny County in 1793, 
 and was completed at the same time as the 
 court house. The building was surrounded by 
 a stone wall, the entire lot being enclosed by a 
 high board fence. 
 
 Immediately in the rear of the court house, at 
 the southwest corner of the West Diamond and 
 Diamond Alley, was the tavern of John Reed at 
 the "Sign of the Waggon." Here the Allegheny 
 County courts held a few sessions, during the 
 interval between the time of leaving William 
 Irwin's house, and the completion of the court 
 house. 3^ At the northeast corner of Market Street 
 and the North Diamond, was the tavern of Thomas 
 
158 Pittsburgh 
 
 Ferree at the "Sign of the Black Bear. " Directly 
 across Market Street in the new brick building, 
 was the boot and shoemaking establishment of 
 John and Alexander Wills." On the same side of 
 the street, the second door south of Fifth Street, 
 was James Yeaman's brick building, in which he 
 conducted his bakery and brewery. ^^ 
 
REFERENCES 
 Chapter VII 
 
 » Thomas Lloyd. The Trial of Alexander Addison, Esq., Lan- 
 caster, 1803, pp. 1-168. 
 
 • William Hamilton. Report of the Trial and Acquittal of 
 
 Edward Shippen, Chief Justice, and Jasper Yeates and 
 Thomas Smith, Assistant Justices of the Supreme Court of 
 Pennsylvania, on an Impeachment before the Senate of the 
 Commonwealth, January, 1805, Lancaster, pp. 1-587. 
 
 • The Commonwealth, August 28, 1805. 
 
 • The Commonwealth, December 25, 1805. 
 
 s Onward Bates. Bates et al. of Virginia and Missouri, 
 
 Chicago, 1914, p. 45. 
 ' Onward Bates. Bates et al. of Virginia and Missouri, 
 
 Chicago, 1914, pp. 43-52. 
 ' The Commonwealth, January 8, 1806. 
 ' CoLLiNSON Read. Abridgement of the Laws of Pennsylvania, 
 
 Philadelphia, MDCCCI, p. 383. 
 » Tlie Commonwealth, January 15, 1806. 
 " The Commonwealth, January 8, 1806. 
 " Onward Bates. Bates et al. of Virginia and Missouri, 
 
 Chicago, 1914, p. 57. 
 " William G. Johnston. Life and Reminiscences, Pittsburgh, 
 
 MCMI, p. 36. 
 '3 Pittsburgh Gazette, December 22, 1798. 
 '■< Major Ebenezer Denny. Military Journal, Philadelphia, 
 
 1859, pp. 21-30; ibid., pp. 29-30. 
 IS Pittsburgh Gazette, August 2, 1794. 
 '" Pittsburgh Gazette, June 14, 1794. 
 '' Pittsburgh Gazette, May 20, 1803. 
 Tree of Liberty, May 15, 1802. 
 Pittsburgh Gazette, September 6, 1794. 
 159 
 
i6o Pittsburgh 
 
 " Pittsburgh Gazette, October 24, 1800; Trefjof Liberty, October 
 18, 1800. 
 
 " Pittsburgh Gazette, March 30, 1799. 
 
 " Pittsburgh Gazette, May 21, 1802. 
 
 ^3 Isaac Harris. General Business Directory of the Cities of 
 Pittsburgh and Allegheny, Pittsburgh, 1 841, p. 6. 
 
 ^1 Pittsburgh Gazette, April 6, 1799. 
 
 = s Pittsburgh Gazette, July i , 1 799- 
 
 =<■ Pittsburgh Gazette, May 21, 1802. 
 
 "' H. M. Brackenridge. "Pittsburgh in the Olden Time," 
 The Literary Examiner and Western Monthly Remew, Pitts- 
 burgh, Pa., 1839, PP- 27-29. 
 
 =' Centennial Volume of the First Presbyterian Church of Pitts- 
 burgh, Pa., 1784-1884, Pittsburgh, 1884, p. 152. 
 
 =» Pittsburgh Gazette, October 10, 1800; ibid., December 16, 1802. 
 
 3° Pittsburgh Gazette, August 16, 1800. 
 
 3' Pittsburgh Gazette, October 17, 1800. 
 
 3' William G. Johnston. Life and Reminiscences, Pittsburgh, 
 MCMI, p. 68. 
 
 33 Pittsburgh Gazette, May 15, 1801. 
 
 34 Pittsburgh Gazette, October 13, 1798. 
 
 " H. M. Brackenridge. "Pittsburgh in The Olden Time," 
 The Literary Examiner and Western Monthly Review, Pitts- 
 burgh, Pa., 1839, pp. 27-29; William G. Johnston. Life 
 and Reminiscences, Pittsburgh, MCMI, pp. 67-68. 
 
 s* Pittsburgh Gazette, February i, 1800. 
 
 3' Pittsburgh Gazette, November 14, 1800; ibid., July 2, 1802. 
 
 33 Pittsburgh Gazette, August 28, 1801 ; ibid., August 5, 1803. 
 
CHAPTER VIII 
 
 ZADOK CRAMER 
 
 INTO this environment Zadok Cramer had come 
 in the early spring of 1800. He was a young 
 man of twenty-six, and was lured by the 
 promise of fortune and perhaps fame. In the 
 short span of years that he lived and flourished 
 in Pittsburgh, he did more to advance the literary 
 culture of his adopted town, than perhaps all the 
 other educational agencies combined, which came 
 before or after his time. It is customary to glorify 
 statesmen and soldiers; monuments are erected to 
 their memory, eulogies are pronounced in their 
 praise, and memoirs are written setting forth the 
 deeds they have done. But one scarcely ever 
 thinks of the men who made possible the states- 
 men and soldiers : the teachers, the men who con- 
 duct the newspapers, the writers of books, and 
 
 above all, the men who publish and sell books. 
 II 161 
 
1 62 Pittsburgh 
 
 The publishers and sellers of books not only- 
 supply the wants of the reading public, but they 
 lead it into new channels. They place temptingly 
 before it the latest and best productions in every 
 branch of human activity of the brightest minds 
 in the world. 
 
 Cramer was born in New Jersey, in 1773, but 
 spent most of his life since boyhood in Washing- 
 ton, Pennsylvania, where he learned the humble 
 trade of bookbinding. He was of Quaker origin, 
 but had fallen away from the tenets of that 
 faith, although he still affected the drab coat and 
 straight high-crowned, wide-brimmed hat of the 
 sect.' He possessed withal the worldly shrewd- 
 ness that is often an accompaniment of Quaker 
 devoutness. 
 
 On March 30, 1800, he advertised in the Pitts- 
 burgh Gazette that he was about to open a book- 
 bindery. His announcement was couched in 
 somewhat stilted language. "Under a conviction 
 that an establishment of the above business will 
 meet the approbation and encouragement of the 
 inhabitants of Pittsburgh and its vicinity, the 
 undersigned is determined to prosecute it as soon 
 
Zadok Cramer 163 
 
 as he can make the necessary arrangements. His 
 hopes of the success of this undertaking are flat- 
 tering; he hopes likewise, that the public [on 
 whom he is depending for encouragement will not 
 be disappointed in placing in him that confidence 
 merited only by industry and attention to their 
 favors. " 
 
 Cramer's ambition extended beyond the limits 
 of his bookbindery. John C. Gilkison died on 
 March 21, 1800, after having held the office of 
 prothonotary less than two months. The little 
 bookstore which he had established was for sale. 
 Judge Hugh Henry Brackenridge seems to have 
 advanced the money invested by Gilkison in the 
 business, and it devolved on him to settle Gilkison 's 
 affairs. This was Cramer's opportunity, and he 
 purchased Gilkison's business, obtaining favorable 
 terms from Brackenridge. In June he took pos- 
 session. All his life he believed in the efficacy of 
 advertising, and his entry upon this larger field was 
 heralded by a long public notice.^ It was ad- 
 dressed to the people of the "Western Country." 
 He declared that he did not mean to be limited 
 to the confines of the borough, and intended to 
 
164 Pittsburgh 
 
 carry on his business extensively. He empha- 
 sized his ability to make blankbooks and do book- 
 binding "nearly if not quite as cheap" as could 
 be done east of the Alleghany Mountains. He 
 enlarged on the bookstore which he had just 
 opened, and claimed to have a selection of nearly 
 eight hundred volumes. 
 
 His choice of location was fortunate. The 
 business center was changing. Merchants whose 
 establishments had been on Water Street, on 
 Front Street, and on Second Street, were con- 
 gregating on Market Street. Gilkison's store 
 was on the east side of this street. Here Cramer 
 established himself, and after the Tree of Liberty 
 was- founded, advertised as being located "be- 
 tween the two printing offices. "^ To indicate his 
 place of business he hung out the "Sign of the 
 Franklin Head"; Benjamin Franklin was the 
 patron saint of everyone who had any connection, 
 however remote, with printing. Cramer desig- 
 nated himself, "Bookbinder and Publisher," and 
 the word "publisher" did not long remain a 
 misnomer. It was the day of small publishers. 
 Even in the larger cities in the East, books ema- 
 
Zadok Cramer 165 
 
 nated from the printing presses of men whose es- 
 tablishments were of minor importance. Large 
 publishing houses are creatures of the complex 
 civilization of a much later period. Probably 
 from the beginning Cramer contemplated under- 
 taking the publication of books and pamphlets 
 as soon as his means permitted, although it was 
 some months before he actually began publishing. 
 But he was already making preparations to that 
 end, and on October 17, 1800, he announced that 
 in a few weeks almanacs for the year 1801 might 
 be had at Philadelphia prices. " 
 
 At the national election of 1800, the Republicans 
 were successful for the first time, John Adams, the 
 Federal candidate, receiving less electoral votes 
 than either Thomas Jefferson of Virginia or Aaron 
 Burr of New York, the two Republican candidates. 
 The returns of the electoral vote as counted by 
 the Senate, indicated that Jefferson and Burr had 
 each received the same number of votes. The de- 
 cision thereupon devolved under the Constitution 
 upon the House of Representatives, voting by 
 States. The Federalists had a decided majority 
 in the House of Representatives, but could not for 
 
i66 Pittsburgh 
 
 the purposes of this election, control a majority of 
 the States; neither could the Republicans. In 
 the course of the summer the capital had been 
 removed from Philadelphia to the new town of 
 Washington. Only the north wing of the capitol 
 was completed, and this was fitted up for the 
 accommodation of both houses of the Sixth Con- 
 gress. The House of Representatives then became 
 the battle-ground for the presidency and vice- 
 presidency. Jefferson and Burr were both voted 
 for, the Constitution providing that two candi- 
 dates should be voted for, the one receiving the 
 highest number of votes to be president, and the 
 other vice-president. 
 
 The struggle grew in intensity, and the excite- 
 ment became acute. The sick members were 
 brought into the House on beds. Ballot after 
 ballot was taken. The Federalists were mostly 
 voting for Burr. The first day's sess'ion was ex- 
 tended into the next day. The House remained 
 in session seven days, a recess being taken at 
 night after the first day's session. The Federalists 
 were uneasy about several matters, but particu- 
 larly about the continuance in office of their friends. 
 
Zadok Cramer 167 
 
 Finally they secured from Jefferson an expression 
 indicating that meritorious subordinate officers 
 would not be removed merely on account of their 
 political opinion. This settled the question. 
 At noon on February 17th, the thirty-fifth bal- 
 lot was taken with no result as before, but on 
 the thirty-sixth ballot, Jefferson was elected. 
 The vice-presidency thereupon devolved upon 
 Burr. The joy over the election has hardly been 
 equalled in the annals of American political his- 
 tory. This was especially true in the vicinity of 
 Pittsburgh. On the day of^the inauguration 
 of Jefferson and Burr, the inhabitants of the 
 neighboring town Beaver gave vent to their exu- 
 berance by dancing Indian dances, and singing 
 the Ca Ira, and the Carmagnole of the French 
 Revolution, s Cramer saw another business op- 
 portunity and determined on his second publica- 
 tion. It was to be an account of the struggle in 
 the House of Representatives. On March 21, 
 1 801, seventeen days after Jefferson's inaugura- 
 tion, Cramer announced the book. 
 
 Cramer's energies were not to be confined to the 
 business of publishing, of selling books and sta- 
 
i68 Pittsburgh 
 
 tionery, and doing bookbinding. Like John C. 
 Gilkison, he determined to possess a circulating 
 library*; perhaps the nucleus was to be the books 
 received from Gilkison's library. He called it the 
 "Pittsburgh Circulating Library" and it pros- 
 pered, and six months after its establishment, the 
 circulation had nearly doubled.' A catalogue 
 was promised for an early date* and was no doubt 
 issued. The list of the original books in the 
 library appears to have been lost. From notices 
 of the reception of later books' some opinion 
 may be formed of the general character of the 
 reading-matter in the library. The books were 
 mainly romances, and they may have lacked 
 the merit of later-day novels, but there is some- 
 thing about them that touches the heart. Also 
 they recall from the shadows visions of readers 
 long since dead. The books were realistic; they 
 presented the life of a distant past in vivid 
 colors; there is the lingering scent of lavender 
 and bergamot. Delightfully described in their 
 voluminous pages were languishing eyes, tender 
 accents, quaint dances, dreamy music, and start- 
 ling and sometimes unreal adventures. Ladies 
 
Zadok Cramer 169 
 
 were the principal readers; they loved long tales, 
 and the authors supplied them. Novels in three 
 and four volumes were common, and some were 
 divided into as many as six volumes. 
 1 The three most popular writers were the English 
 novelists, Mrs. Ann Ward Radcliffe and William 
 Godwin, and the Philadelphian, Charles Brockden 
 Brown, who was one of America's earliest novelists. 
 Mrs. Radcliffe was the best writer of the three. 
 Her novels fascinated her readers. Cramer's 
 library supplied Romance of the Forest, one of her 
 best books. William Godwin was represented 
 by St. Leon, a tale of the sixteenth century, in 
 which much that is supernatural and terrible is 
 introduced. Two books were by Charles Brock- 
 den Brown, one being a graphic story of Phila- 
 delphia life during the yellow-fever epidemic of 
 1793, called, Arthur Mervin, or Memoirs of the 
 Year 1793, the other was, Edgar Huntly, or Mem- 
 oirs of a Sleep-walker. Montalbert was by that 
 most prolific of English writers, Mrs. Charlotte 
 Turner Srnith, who in her day was criticized and 
 praised with equal vehemence. Mordaunt was 
 perhaps the best novel of Dr. John Moore, who 
 
170 Pittsburgh 
 
 besides being a physician and novelist, wrote 
 books descriptive of manners and customs in 
 England, France, and Italy. 
 
 If the number of the author's books in the li- 
 brary, was the criterion of his popularity, then the 
 palm must be awarded to George Walker, the 
 English bookseller, who was a prolific writer of 
 novels. Three were on Cramer's shelves, Theodore 
 Cyphon, or the Beneveloent Jew, The Vagabond, 
 and Three Spaniards. The last is the only one 
 that may still be met with. A popular book was 
 Children of the Abhey, by Mrs. Regina Maria Roche, 
 who was a rival of Mrs. Radcliffe. Madame de 
 Stael's Delphine, was read in more restricted 
 circles. In the case of Julia and the Illumin- 
 ated Baron, by Miss Sarah Barrell, an encyclopedia 
 would be required to find either the name of the 
 book or of the author. Other books with suggestive 
 titles have become still more obscure. Among 
 them were The Silver Devil, Being the Adventures of 
 an Evil Spirit, related by himself; The Rebel, Being 
 a Memoir of Anthony 4th Earl of Sherwell, Includ- 
 ing an Account of the Rising at Taunton in 1684, 
 Compiled and Set Forth by his Cousin, Sir Hilary 
 
Zadok Cramer 171 
 
 Mace; The Wanderings of William, or the Incon- 
 stancy of Youth, being a sequel to the Farmer of 
 New Jersey. There were few periodicals in the 
 library. The American Museum, emanating from 
 Philadelphia, was a monthly publication, and 
 contained articles on almost every conceivable 
 subject — "agriculture, commerce, manufactures, 
 politics, morals, and manners." The Mirror, was 
 another Philadelphia periodical published semi- 
 weekly, and was a reprint of The Mirror of Edin- 
 burgh. The Philanthropist, appeared weeldy. ;\ 
 The library continued to be an institution in 
 Pittsburgh's intellectual progress for many years. 
 It became the Pittsburgh Library Company, and 
 contained as high as two thousand volumes. 
 On November 27, 1813, after Cramer's death, a 
 new library was organized, also called the "Pitts- 
 burgh Library Company." A committee was 
 appointed to confer with the old Pittsburgh 
 Library Company upon the propriety of forming 
 a coalition of the two institutions." Of this 
 committee, John Spear, who had become a part- 
 ner of Cramer's, was a member. A consolidation 
 was later effected. 
 
173 Pittsburgh 
 
 The publications for which Cramer was best 
 known in the early days, were his almanacs and 
 Navigators. The publication of almanacs was 
 common to all publishers in the border settlements, 
 no less than in the more effete East. In 1803, 
 Cramer's Almanac had developed into a pamphlet 
 which is to-day both curious and valuable. The 
 edition for that year is a fair specimen of the other 
 almanacs which followed it. The astronomical 
 tables, ' ' calculated for the meridian of Pittsburgh, ' ' 
 were said to "serve without any sensible variation 
 for the states of Ohio, Virginia, Kentucky, etc." 
 The almanac also contained selections from the 
 leading English contemporary writers. It neces- 
 sarily followed that the articles were by English 
 writers, as American authors were pitifully scarce. 
 "The Poor Distracted Young Woman," was 
 from Robert Bloomfield's Farmer's Boy. The 
 Farmer's Boy from which the extract was taken 
 had previously had a remarkable success, over 
 twenty-five thousand copies being sold within two 
 years after its publication in 1800. Other selec- 
 tions were, "A Description of a Summer Morning," 
 from James Seattle's poem. The Minstrel; "Sic a 
 
Zadok Cramer 173 
 
 Wife as Willy Had, " from Robert Burns; a biog- 
 raphy of Dr. Isaac Watts, whose version of the 
 Psalms had superseded that of Rouse, and was 
 in general use among the Presbyterians of Western 
 Pennsylvania. There were suggestions on various 
 subjects — "Polonius's Advice to his Son Laertes," 
 and "Dr. Soloman's Observations." The last 
 article was by Dr. Samuel Soloman, a London 
 physician who was termed a quack, but the 
 "Observations" indicate that he had a discrimin- 
 ating knowledge of the rules of health. The 
 ague, while not prevalent in Pittsburgh, was com- 
 mon west and south of the town. For this ail- 
 ment there was a "Receipt to Cure the Ague," and 
 there was an "Advertisement to Farmers." 
 
 The Constitution of the United States had been 
 in force since 1788. Its provisions were little 
 known to the general public and the almanac 
 published it in full. The Constitution became 
 the model for the constitutions of almost all the 
 States, old as well as new. For this much credit 
 was due to Cramer' s Almanac, at least so far as some 
 of the Western and Southwestern States are con- 
 cerned. More valuable than anything contained 
 
174 Pittsburgh 
 
 in the almanacs, from a local point of view, were 
 the lists of marriages and deaths. Nowhere else 
 are they to be found. No record of marriages 
 or deaths was required to be made by either the 
 municipality or the county. The church records 
 were kept intermittently, and were imperfect. 
 Few of the older families have records extending 
 back to the beginning of the nineteenth century, 
 and Cramer's lists furnish the only accurate infor- 
 mation on the subject. In 1 804 he began publishing 
 two kinds of almanacs, the 'Common Almanac" 
 and the "Magazine Almanac." The latter con- 
 tained somewhat more reading matter than the 
 former. The almanacs were sold in large quanti- 
 ties both for local use and for distribution south 
 and west of Pittsburgh. In the almanac for 1804 
 Cramer for the first time gave "a view of the 
 manufacturing trade of Pittsburgh. " From that 
 time forward, for the twenty-seven years that the 
 publication of the almanacs was continued, much 
 valuable local historical matter is to be found in 
 their pages. 
 
 The Navigator was the result of an original idea 
 of Cramer's. He had been in Pittsburgh but a 
 
Zadok Cramer 175 
 
 short time when he realized the necessity for a 
 publication giving detailed information for navi- 
 gating the Western rivers. He daily saw swarms 
 of immigrants pass through the place, bound West 
 and South, who lingered there attempting to learn, 
 not only about navigating the rivers, but of the 
 country to which they were bound. Ke proposed 
 to furnish the information and set about coUect- 
 ing'data for the purpose. He was venturing upon 
 an almost uncharted sea. 
 
 The basis of his work seems to have been Cap- 
 tain Thomas Hutchins's, A Topographical Descrip- 
 tion of Pennsylvania, Maryland, and Virginia, 
 published in London in 1778. Captain Hutch- 
 ins was an American, who had seen much service 
 in the English army before the Revolution, mainly 
 as engineer. At the outbreak of the war he was in 
 London, and owing to his sympathy for his native 
 country, suffered indignities and imprisonment, 
 but found an opportunity to publish his book. 
 Escaping to America, he was in 1781, by the 
 influence of Benjamin Franklin, made "Geogra- 
 pher to the United States of America," which ap- 
 pears to have meant that he was in charge of the 
 
176 Pittsburgh 
 
 government surveys. After the war he lived in 
 Philadelphia, but was well known in Pittsburgh 
 where he often stopped, as he owned considerable 
 land in Allegheny County. These facts and the 
 knowledge that he died in Pittsburgh on April 28, 
 1789, no doubt helped to draw Cramer's attention 
 to Hutchins's book. Other works from which 
 Cramer may have obtained materials were Gilbert 
 Imlay's North America, published in London in 
 1797, and Jedidiah Morse's The American Gaze- 
 ieer, originally published in London in 1789 and 
 republished in Boston in 1797. 
 
 It is generally supposed that the first edition of 
 the Navigator was published in 1801, yet no copy 
 bearing that date is known to be in existence. 
 There are extant several copies of the edition of 
 1802. This edition was called The Ohio and 
 Mississippi Navigator. In the preface dated 
 February, 1802, the statement was made that two 
 former editions had been issued; that they were 
 both confined to the navigation of the Ohio River; 
 and that they were sold in a very short time. No 
 notice appeared in the Pittsburgh Gazette or the 
 Tree of Liberty advertising either of the two 
 
Zadok Cramer 177 
 
 earlier editions. The firstmention of the Nam- 
 gator appeared in the Pittsburgh Gazette on Febru- 
 ary 26, 1802. This notice stated that there was 
 "In the press and speedily will be published by 
 Zadok Cramer, ' The Navigation of the Mononga- 
 hela, Allegheny, Ohio, and Mississippi Rivers.'" 
 The advertisement was continued in several suc- 
 ceeding issues of the paper. Then on March 13, 
 1802, the Tree of Liberty announced that there had 
 been published the day before, "The Navigation of 
 the Monongahela, Allegheny, and Ohio Rivers. " 
 The notice continued, "and in a few days will be 
 added . . . the 'The Navigation of the Mississippi 
 (with an account of the Missouri).'" No other 
 notices appeared at or about this time conveying 
 other information. As the edition of 1802 was 
 called the Ohio and Mississippi Navigator, and the 
 advertisement in the Tree of Liberty, referred to the 
 publication of the "Navigation of the Mononga- 
 hela, Allegheny, and Ohio Rivers," nothing being 
 said of the Mississippi, it might be inferred that 
 it referred to one or both of the earliest editions and 
 that they were published in 1802. The preface 
 to the various editions of the Navigator published 
 
178 Pittsburgh 
 
 after 1802, declared that they were the "sixth," 
 or "seventh" or "eighth" edition, as the case 
 might be, which had appeared "since 1801." 
 Whether this statement is the basis of the claim 
 that the first edition of the Navigator was pub- 
 lished in 1 801, is not known, but the fact remains, 
 that no trace of any Navigator issued in that year 
 can be found. Nor are there any known copies 
 of the two earliest editions, whatever the year 
 of their publication. 
 
 The earlier editions were small octavo pam- 
 phlets bound in coarse paper covers, the third 
 containing forty pages. In this edition Cramer 
 declared that he had obtained the information 
 set forth "From the journals of gentlemen of 
 observation, and now minutely corrected by 
 several persons who have navigated those rivers 
 for fifteen and twenty years." It contained a 
 description of and directions for navigating the 
 Ohio River, with only a description of the Mis- 
 sissippi. Directions for navigating the latter 
 stream came in later editions. When Cramer 
 began publishing his early Navigators, Prance 
 still owned the Louisiana Territory. Louisiana 
 
Zadok Cramer 179 
 
 was considered a great land of promise throughout 
 the United States, and merchants and intending 
 emigrants cast longing eyes in its direction. 
 After Louisiana was purchased, the succeeding 
 editions of the Navigator contained much detailed 
 information regarding it. A flood of emigration 
 to the territory set in, most of the emigrants 
 going by way of Pittsburgh; and there was a 
 pronounced and constant increase in the sales 
 of the Navigators. 
 
 Captain Meriwether Lewis, and Captain Wil- 
 liam Clark made their famous expedition from the 
 .mouth of the Missouri River through the interior 
 of the United States in the years 1804, 1805, 
 and 1806. In 1807 Cramer published the first 
 account of the undertaking, being the Journal 
 of Patrick Gass, a member of the expedition. 
 From this book Cramer compiled an account 
 of the Missouri and Columbia rivers, which 
 appeared in the Navigator for 1808, and in many 
 subsequent editions. Each succeeding edition 
 of the Navigator was an improvement on the 
 one that preceded it. Every edition contained 
 a description, short or long, of the "towns, posts, 
 
i8o Pittsburgh 
 
 harbors, and settlements" on the rivers of which 
 the work treated, the matter relating to Pittsburgh 
 being particularly valuable, and as the editions 
 increased in size, the descriptive matter grew 
 in volume. 
 
 On December 6, 1811, the most destructive 
 earthquake of the century occurred in the country 
 bordering on the lower Ohio River, and on the 
 Mississippi, completely changing the course of the 
 two streams at numerous points. Cramer promptly 
 published a notice of the fact, warning navigators 
 of the danger, and requested newspaper editors 
 to print his notice." The corrections were then 
 made in the next edition of the Navigator which 
 was published in 18 14. The success of the iVaz)«- 
 gatorreached its climax in 18 14, when it contained 
 three hundred and sixty pages. From that time 
 the size of the book gradually decreased, until in 
 1824, when its publication was suspended, it had 
 fallen to two hundred and seventy-five pages. 
 ■ The information relating to Pittsburgh, and to 
 the rivers flowing by and below it, cost Cramer 
 infinite pains to collect. From Cramer's Navi- 
 gators the early travelers and later historians 
 
Zadok Cramer i8i 
 
 drew for facts when writing about the Western 
 country, often without giving credit. Cramer 
 complained of the piracy. In this connection 
 he mentioned the Rev. Thaddeus Mason Harris, 
 whose Journal of a Tour was published in 
 Boston in 1805. He was especially bitter 
 against Thomas Ash, the writer of a book of 
 travel which appeared in London in 1808. He 
 accused Ash of having taken his account of the 
 Allegheny, Monongahela, and Ohio rivers ver- 
 batim from the Navigator for 1806.''' Notwith- 
 standing this charge. Ash's book must have had 
 some merit in Cramer's eyes, as he republished 
 it the same year that it came out in London. 
 Most of the writers, however, who obtained 
 their information from the Navigator, gave it as 
 their authority. John MeUish who was in Pitts- 
 burgh in 181 1, commended the work: "The 
 Pittsburgh Navigator is a little book containing 
 a vast variety of information regarding the West- 
 ern country, the prosperity of which seems to 
 be an object of peculiar solicitude with the edi- 
 tors. " ' 5 Christian Schultz, coming through Pitts- 
 burgh in September, 1807, had this to say: "Before 
 
1 82 Pittsburgh 
 
 I left Pittsburgh I purchased the Navigator, a kind 
 of Blunt, or Hamilton Moore, for these waters; 
 it is a small pamphlet, but contains a great deal 
 of useful and miscellaneous information, and is 
 particularly serviceable to a stranger."''' Blunt 
 was the American Coast Pilot, published in 1796 
 by Edmund Blunt, and still used in recent years; 
 Hamilton Moore was an English work called the 
 Practical Navigator, of which many editions were 
 published in London by Hamilton Moore. 
 
REFERENCES 
 
 Chapter VIII 
 
 ' The Western Gleaner or Repository for Arts, Sciences, and 
 Literature, Pittsburgh, Pa., August, 1814, vol. ii., pp^ 
 
 173-175- 
 
 ' Pittsburgh Gazette, June 28, 1800. 
 
 ' Pittsburgh Gazette, December 4, 1801. 
 
 < Tree of Liberty, October 18, 1800. 
 
 s Pittsburgh Gazette, March 20, 1801. 
 
 ' Tree of Liberty, June 13, 1801. 
 
 ' Pittsburgh Gazette, December 4, 1801. 
 
 ' Tree of Liberty, August 7, 1802. 
 
 9 Pittsburgh Gazette, December 4, 1 801; Tree of Liberty, 
 
 August 7, 1802. 
 '« Pittsburgh Gazette, December 17, 1813. 
 ^' Pittsburgh Gazette, March 27, 1812. 
 " The Navigator, Pittsburgh, 1814, pp. 258-259. 
 " John MeUish: Travels in the United States of America in the 
 years 1806-1807-180Q-1810 and 1811, Philadelphia, vol. 
 
 ii., p. 58. 
 '■< Christian Schultz, Jun.: Travels on an Inland Voyage, New 
 York, 1810, p. 133. ^ 
 
 183 
 
CHAPTER IX 
 
 THE BROADENING OF CULTURE 
 
 CRAMER'S business prospered. His was 
 the only establishment in Pittsburgh 
 where the sale of books was the predomi- 
 nant feature. He had long called it the ' ' Pittsburgh 
 Bookstore."' Oliver Ormsby, whose store was 
 in the brick house on Water Street, at the west- 
 erly side of Chancery Lane, sold "DHworth's 
 and Webster's Spelling books, testaments, and 
 Bibles in Dutch and English, primers, toy books, 
 and a variety of histories, novels, etc. "^ Wil- 
 liam Christy 3 and John Wrenshall'' kept a few 
 books, a special feature of the latter's business 
 being the sale of Dr. Jonathan Edwards's Sermons, 
 but compared with Cramer's stock, the supply of 
 books in other hands was insignificant. Cramer 
 was also practically the only publisher of books 
 
 in the borough. After he had been publishing for 
 
 184 
 
The Broadening of Culture 185 
 
 a few years, others began the business, but their 
 books were few in number and generally unimpor- 
 tant in character. Cramer's advertisements were 
 sometimes amusing. He sold his goods for money, 
 or in trade, and in making the announcement 
 employed the axiomatic language of "Poor Rich- 
 ard. " This was one of his naive notices : "I hope 
 the ladies and all good girls and boys will not for- 
 get to fetch me all the clean linen and cotton rags 
 they possibly can. Save the smallest pieces and 
 put them in a rag bag; save them from the fire 
 and the ash heap. It is both honorable and 
 profitable to save rags, for our country wants 
 them."s 
 
 He added new lines to his business. Articles 
 which tended to elevate and refine the standard 
 of living were introduced. Wall papers had been 
 in use in the East to a limited extent since 1769, 
 and were no longer rare in good homes. In the 
 West they were scarcely known until Cramer 
 advertised his "large stock of hanging or wall 
 papers."^ He sold stationery, writing paper, 
 Italian and hot-pressed letter paper, wafers, quills, 
 camel-hair pencils, inkstands, sealing wax, red 
 
1 86 Pittsburgh 
 
 and black ink powders. Card playing was one 
 of the leading social diversions and he had the 
 best English and American playing cards. Patent 
 medicines were largely used and Cramer found it 
 profitable to supply the demand. He had books 
 of instructions for the flute, the violin, the piano- 
 forte, and books of songs. His stock of English 
 dictionaries included those of Nathan BaUey, Dr. 
 Samuel Johnson, Thomas Sheridan, and John 
 Walker. For the German population he had 
 books in the German language, which he often 
 designated as "Dutch" books. He sold German 
 almanacs, German Bibles and testaments. Many 
 of the German churches, both in Pittsburgh and in 
 the surrounding settlements, had schools attached 
 to their churches, where the German language 
 was taught in connection with English studies. 
 For these schools Cramer supplied the books. 
 Ever since the cession of Louisiana to the United 
 States there had been a great increase in the 
 students of the French language among Ameri- 
 cans, who intended either to engage in commerce 
 with the people of that territory, or expected to 
 settle there. The liberally advertised easy methods 
 
The Broadening of Culture 187 
 
 of learning French^ induced many persons to 
 engage in its study. For these Cramer kept 
 French books. He also sold Greek and Latin 
 schoolbooks, Greek and Latin dictionaries, and 
 Spanish grammars. 
 
 In the early years Cramer had no press of his 
 own. A printing office being located at either 
 end of the block in which he was established, he 
 divided his work between them. The Almanacs 
 were printed by John Israel, and the Navigators, 
 by John Scull. Business increased and he 
 deemed it advisable to do his own printing, and 
 on August 14, 1805, announced that he had 
 "received a press, and a very handsome assort- 
 ment of new type, for the purpose of printing 
 such literary and ecclesiastical works as may be 
 most in demand."* His publications now be- 
 came more numerous and pretentious. 
 
 He was too active to limit his energies to 
 his business. In 1803, he became Secretary of 
 the Mechanical Society, and thenceforth devoted 
 much attention to the office, which he held for 
 several years. He was not an active politician, 
 but was warmly attached to the Republican party, 
 
1 88 Pittsburgh 
 
 and moreover had the respect of the entire com- 
 munity. In 1811, when a division took place in 
 the Republican party in Allegheny County, and 
 two tickets were placed in the field, his standing 
 was such, that he was named as a member of the 
 committee selected to bring about harmony.' 
 Like the modern successful business man, he had a 
 desire for the free life and clear skies of the coun- 
 try, and he engaged in farming and sheep-raising. 
 When he died he had on the plantation of 
 his brother-in-law, Josiah Clark, in Washington 
 County, a flock of one hundred and twenty-eight 
 sheep. 
 
 In 1808, the partnership with John Spear be- 
 gan, and the firm became known as Cramer & 
 Spear. The establishment, however, continued 
 to be called "Zadok Cramer's Bookstore"; some- 
 times it was advertised as "Zadok Cramer's Classi- 
 cal, Literary, and Law Bookstore." In 1810, 
 William Eichbaum was taken into the firm. He 
 had served a seven years' apprenticeship in book- 
 binding with Cramer, and with Cramer & Spear, 
 and was the son of William Eichbaum, the elder. 
 It may be that young Eichbaum was the "active 
 
The Broadening of Culture 189 
 
 youth of good morals and respectable character, 
 wanted to learn the bookbinding and stationery 
 business," for whom Cramer had advertised on 
 November 6, 1802.'° The firm was now Cramer, 
 Spear & Eichbaum, and continued as such until 
 1818, the year of the death of Elizabeth Cramer, 
 the widow of Zadok Cramer, when Eichbaum with- 
 drew and the firm was again changed to Cramer 
 & Spear. 
 
 Cramer had traveled extensively, first in pur- 
 suit of information for his Navigators, and 
 later in search of health. He went down the 
 Ohio in 1806. In 1810, he was in Kentucky." 
 When the New Orleans, the first steamboat that 
 ran on the Western rivers was being operated 
 between Natchez and New Orleans, he de- 
 scended the Mississippi River in it twice, from 
 the former to the latter place. Much of the 
 information in regard to the New Orleans, its 
 structure, cost, earnings, and length of time 
 required between river points, is to be found in the 
 Navigator s.^^ 
 
 ■ It would be impossible at this late day to 
 compile a complete list of Cramer's publications, 
 
190 Pittsburgh 
 
 nor would it serve any useful purpose. He pub- 
 lished many schoolbooks, particularly for chil- 
 dren in the primary grades. His Pittsburgh and 
 New England primers, and the United States 
 Spelling Book, were famous in their day. Ec- 
 clesiastical books were in great demand, and 
 Cramer met it. Catechisms were used as books 
 of primary instruction and were printed in many 
 forms ; there were Larger Catechisms, Shorter Cate- 
 chisms, the Mother's Catechism, and the Child's 
 Catechism. For the Germans he published in 
 German, The Shorter Catechism oj Dr. Martin 
 Luther. The religious books that came from 
 his press would form an endless list. Among 
 those having a bearing on the history of that 
 time was, The Marks of a Work of the Spirit, 
 together with Remarks Respecting the Present As- 
 tonishing Work of God, and Revival of Religion 
 in the Western Country, by J. Hughes of West 
 Liberty. '3 "J. Hughes," was the Rev. James 
 Hughes, pastor of the Presbyterian churches at 
 Lower Buffalo in Washington County, and West 
 Liberty in the adjoining county of Ohio in Virginia, 
 and one of the trustees of the recently estab- 
 
The Broadening of Culture 191 
 
 lished Jefferson College, the pioneer college of the 
 West. 
 
 Cramer lived and flourished in an age when 
 many of the publications sent out in the name of 
 religion contained the merest drivel, or were 
 elaborations of theories in regard to matters 
 infinite held by narrow-minded controversialists. 
 The press was flooded with them. There were 
 publications bearing such depressing titles as 
 The Happy Voyage Completed, and The Sure 
 Anchor Cast. Cramer realized that in publishing 
 works of this character he might be misunder- 
 stood. This sentiment was evident in the adver- 
 tisement of at least one of his publications. On 
 that occasion he prefaced his notice by stating: 
 "On the recommendation of some pious friends, we 
 contemplate printing, A Token for children, Being 
 an exact account of the Conversion, holy and exem- 
 plary Lives and Joyful Deaths of several young 
 children!"'* 
 
 The most pretentious of his works was religious 
 in character, and was published in 1807. It was 
 A Dictionary of the Holy Bible by the Rev. John 
 Brown of Haddington, in Scotland, of which two 
 
192 Pittsburgh 
 
 editions were printed. It was a noteworthy- 
 achievement to be accomplished on the frontier, 
 hundreds of miles from the center of civilization. 
 Many difficulties had to be overcome, not the 
 least of which was the delay occasioned by the 
 difficulty in procuring a regular supply of paper. "' 
 The work was in two large octavo volumes, and 
 was illustrated with engraved pictures and maps 
 that are still desired by collectors. Heading the 
 list of subscribers, was the name of President Jef- 
 ferson, of whom Cramer appears to have been an 
 ardent admirer. In 1810, the firm published the 
 Select Remains of the Rev. John Brown, the author 
 of the Dictionary. 
 
 Cramer's publications covered a wide range. 
 In 1808 The Lawyer, by George Watterson, ap- 
 peared, which was imbued with the current pre- 
 judice against lawyers, and presented a sorry 
 spectacle of the legal profession. The same year, 
 a map of Pittsburgh was published, which, if 
 in existence to-day, would be of great interest. 
 One of his most valuable contributions to the liter- 
 ature of travel, was Sketches of a Tour to the Western 
 Country in iSoy-iSog, by F. Cuming, published 
 
The Broadening of Culture 193 
 
 in 1 810. It contained according to Reuben Gold 
 Thwaites,'^ a "picture of American life in the 
 West at the beginning of the nineteenth century 
 that for clear-cut outlines and fidelity of presen- 
 tation has the effect of a series of photographic 
 representations." Another work of value was 
 Views of Louisiana, by Judge Henry M. Bracken- 
 ridge, published in 1814. Cramer had met 
 Brackenridge in New Orleans, in December, 181 1, 
 while on one of his visits to that city, and arranged 
 with him there for the publication. " ? in 18 13, 
 The Poetical Works of Oliver Goldsmith were 
 brought out. 
 
 One of the most important ventures of Cra- 
 mer's entire publishing experience, the fruition 
 of which he did not live to see, was The Western 
 Gleaner or Repository for Arts, Sciences, and Liter- 
 ature. It was a monthly magazine of sixty- 
 four pages. The first number appeared in 
 December, 1813, four months after Cramer's death. 
 Compared with magazines of the present time, it 
 was not of the highest order of literary merit. 
 In its day, however, it ranked with the best maga- 
 zines published. The excellent literary taste of 
 13 
 
194 Pittsburgh 
 
 the editor also appears from an incident which 
 occurred during the early life of the magazine. 
 The Pittsburgh Gazette published a communication 
 from a disappointed aspirant for literary fame, 
 signing himself "Recluse, " whose poem in fourteen 
 stanzas entitled "The Two Roses," had been 
 declined by the Western Gleaner. "Recluse" 
 referred sarcastically to the "uncommonly pro- 
 found and very discerning editor of the Western 
 Gleaner." 
 
 That the editor of the Western Gleaner was more 
 "discerning" than the editor of thfe Pittsburgh 
 Gazette, which published "Recluse's" effort, along 
 with his letter, is evident from a perusal of the 
 poem. The first stanza, which is also the best, 
 reads : 
 
 ' The sweetest rose that ever bloomed, 
 Was one that, with insidious sip, 
 Beneath Eliza's smiles presumed. 
 To pilfer fragrance from her lip. "^* 
 
 The same persistency which procured the publi- 
 cation of "The Two Roses" in the Pittsburgh Ga- 
 zette, enabled "Recluse" a few years later to find 
 
The Broadening of Culture 195 
 
 a publisher for a volume of his poetry, in which 
 "The Two Roses" was one of the gems/' 
 
 In one of the numbers of the magazine Judge 
 Hugh Henry Brackenridge contributed a poem, 
 descriptive of his feelings on revisiting Pittsburgh, 
 called "On a Circuit at This Place. " 
 
 "What is there in this spot of earth 
 Repellant to all zest of mirth, 
 
 Heart-felt by me. 
 And which on being seen again, 
 The Hill, the River and the Plain 
 
 To sadden, all agree!"" 
 
 Cramer realized that books having a local 
 interest would find a ready sale. One of these was 
 Judge Hugh Henry Brackenridge's Modern Chiv- 
 alry; another was his Incidents of the Insurrection 
 in Western Pennsylvania, which was an effort to 
 vindicate himself for his course in the Whisky 
 Insurrection. Judge Addison's impeachment in 
 1803, by the Republican General Assembly, had 
 created profound interest in Pittsburgh. The 
 account of the trial was immediately published 
 in Lancaster, then the capital of the State, and 
 eagerly read. Another book of local interest 
 
196 Pittsburgh 
 
 was Colonel James Smith's Captivity among the 
 Indians Westward of Fort Pitt in the Year 1755, 
 published at Lexington, Kentucky, in 1799. 
 
 Although a Republican himself, Cramer's mer- 
 cantile instincts led him to sell books written in 
 opposition to that party. A little volume of poems 
 was of this class. David Bruce, a Scotchman 
 living in the adjacent village of Burgettstown, 
 whom Crammer designated as "an ingenious 
 Scotch poet of Washington County," had pub- 
 lished in 1 801, in Washington, Pennsylvania, a 
 book which, while mainly political in character, 
 had considerable merit. Bruce was a strong Fed- 
 eralist, and his volume was dedicated to Judge 
 Addison. To the RepubHcans, Brackenridge, 
 Gallatin, McKean, and other more or less local 
 celebrities. Brace's references were disparaging. 
 To Brackenridge he addressed the cynical 
 lines : 
 
 "When Whisky-Boys sedition sang, 
 An' anarchy strod owre the Ian' 
 
 When Folly led Kebellion's ban' 
 Sae fierce an' doure, 
 
 Po'ks said ye sleely lent a han' 
 To mak the stoure. "^^ 
 
The Broadening of Culture 197 
 
 A book of the same character, but covering a 
 wider range, and of a higher literary tone, was The 
 Echo. It had a local interest in that it contained a 
 number of clever satirical references to Judge Hugh 
 Henry Brackenridge. In the latter part of the 
 eighteenth century, Hartford was the literary center 
 of Federalistic ideas. They were promulgated by a 
 group of young authors known as the "Hartford 
 Wits. ' ' Included in the coterie was Richard Alsop, 
 who was the principal writer of The Echo. The Echo 
 had originally appeared serially, but in 1807, the 
 parts were collected and published in a volume. 
 The allusions to Brackenridge indicated a keen sense 
 of humor and considerable poetic spirit . An article 
 written by Brackenridge had appeared in 1792 in 
 the National Gazette of Philadelphia, then recently 
 established as the organ of the Republicans, in which 
 he urged savage reprisals against the Indians, who 
 were causing trouble west of Pittsburgh. To this 
 screed, The Echo made the mocking reply: 
 
 "I grant my pardon to that dreaming clan, 
 Who think that Indians have the rights of man; 
 Who deem the dark skinn'd chiefs those miscreants 
 base, 
 
198 Pittsburgh 
 
 Have souls like ours, and are of human race; 
 And say the scheme so wise, so nobly plann'd. 
 For rooting out these serpents from the land, 
 To kill their squaws, their children yet unborn, 
 To burn their wigwams, and pull up their corn; 
 By sword and fire to purge the unhallow'd train, 
 And kindly send them to a world of pain, 
 Is vile, unjust, absurd : — as if our God 
 One single thought on Indians e'er bestow'd, 
 To them his care extends, or even knew. 
 Before Columbiis told him where they grew. '"'" 
 
 On another occasion when Brackenridge was a 
 candidate for Congress, he published in the Aurora 
 an appeal to the electors of his Congressional 
 District in which he animadverted harshly on 
 the educational accomplishments of General John 
 Woods, his Federalist opponent. This presented 
 another opportunity for the clever writers of 
 The Echo to burlesque a leading Republican. The 
 Echo gibed: 
 
 "But, to return to Woods, — to speak my mind. 
 His education was of narrow kind; ' 
 Nor has he since to learning much applied, 
 Btit smil'd with calm contempt on pedant pride. 
 His mental powers, howe'er, superior shine. 
 His genius glows with energy divine. 
 But when with mine in competition plac'd. 
 How low his powers, his genius sinks debas'd. 
 
The Broadening of Culture 199 
 
 Has not my genius shone with peerless ray, 
 And o'er Ohio pour'd the blaze of day? 
 Have not my writings spread abroad my name, 
 And bards consign'd me to immortal fame? 
 Then shall John Woods with me presume to vie, 
 The brightest star that decks the western sky?"='' 
 
 Cramer's books covered the entire range of 
 literary endeavor and among them were a majority 
 of the contemporary publications. The French 
 Revolutionary movement was well represented. 
 A work coming under this designation was the 
 Life and Campaigns of General Count Alexander 
 Suwarrow, which was of interest also because 
 Suwarrow's title to fame rested at least partly 
 on the fact that he was the originator of the high 
 tasseled-boot, much worn both in military and civil 
 circles after the year 1800. There was a flood 
 of Bonapartist literature. A book of this class 
 which had a local interest was the Life of General 
 Jean Victor Moreau. After being exiled from 
 France on account of conspiring against Napo- 
 leon, this officer had come to the United States 
 in 1805, and made a tour of the Ohio and 
 Mississippi Valleys. Having passed through 
 Pittsburgh, his name was well known there. Works 
 
200 Pittsburgh 
 
 of travel were numerous. Conspicuous in biog- 
 raphy were the lives of Washington, Franklin, 
 and Kotzebue, the German playright and novelist, 
 then at the height of his career. There were his- 
 tories of various European countries, and William 
 Winterbotham's History of the American United 
 States. The History of Women, if at hand to-day, 
 would be of interest to that large body of women 
 who are making such herculean efforts to obtain 
 greater rights for their sex. Among the notable 
 books of the day was Thomas Jefferson's Notes on 
 the State of Virginia. Two editions had been 
 published prior to Jefferson's becoming President. 
 After the election in 1800, the work was re- 
 published in a large octavo volume, for which 
 Cramer was agent ra Pittsburgh. ^'' Another book 
 which attracted considerable attention was the 
 History of John Adams, Esquire, late president of 
 the United States, by John Wood. It was a rank 
 Republican account of a most interesting period. 
 It was printed and ready for publication in De- 
 cember, 1 801, but was suppressed at the instigation 
 of Aaron Burr, as being incorrect and libelous. 
 The book was finally published in 1802. A com- 
 
The Broadening of Culture 201 
 
 panion-piece to Wood's book, was the one by 
 James Cheetham, which gave an account of the 
 suppression. It was entitled, A Narrative of the 
 Suppression by Col. Burr of the History of the 
 Administration of John Adams, by a Citizen of 
 New York. 
 
 Philosophy was not neglected. Representative 
 of that science were WiUiam Enfield's History 
 of Philosophy, William SmeUie's Philosophy of 
 Natural History, Francis Hutchinson's System 
 of Moral Philosophy, and Count Volney's Law of 
 Nature. Books relating to trades, included the 
 Miller and Millwright's Guide; the Young Carpen- 
 ter's Assistant; the New System of Gardening; the 
 Dictionary of Husbandry; Washington's Letters 
 to Arthur Young; the English Gardener; and Ele- 
 ments of Architecture. Freemasonry was described 
 in William Preston's Illustrations of Masonry. 
 Among books relating to the professions, those 
 pertaining to divinity were most numerous. The 
 Methodists had increased in numbers and were in 
 better standing in the community. John Wren- 
 shall was addressed as the "Rev." John Wrenshall, 
 and Cramer began to sell the Memoirs of George 
 
202 Pittsburgh 
 
 Whitfield, the famous exponent of Methodism. 
 Law books were a close second to those of divinity. 
 There were books on state, national, and inter- 
 national law. In medicine there were books for 
 family use, and books for physicians. 
 
 Belles-lettres and poetry formed an important 
 department. Predominant ia belles-lettres were 
 the writings of Addison, Steele, and Pope in the 
 Spectator, and its successors, the Guardian, and 
 the Tattler; Dr. Johnson, in his "Rambler"; and 
 Salmagundi, when it appeared in 1807. Junius's 
 Letters; the works of Lawrence Sterne ; the Posthu- 
 mous Works of Jonathan Swift ; and Peter Pindar's 
 Satires were other books in this department. In 
 the selection of plays, those of Kotzebue were 
 prominent. The English plays were represented 
 by George Colman, the younger's, The Poor 
 Gentleman, a comedy produced in Covent Gar- 
 den in 1801, and by Thomas Morton's, Speed 
 the Plough, produced in 1798. Because of its 
 authorship. The Battle of Bunker Hill, by Judge 
 Hugh Henry Brackenridge, had a local interest. 
 In the realm of poetry, were the poems of John 
 Pomfret, Robert Burns, Dr. Thomas Brown, 
 
The Broadening of Culture 203 
 
 Alexander Pope, John Milton, Thomas Moore, 
 Allan Ramsay, and Robert Southey. In this 
 class was Thomas Campbell's The Pleasures of 
 Hope; James Beattie's The Minstrel; Samuel 
 Rogers's Pleasures of Memory; William Cowper's 
 Beauties of Cowper, and The Task; Joel Barlow's 
 The Vision of Columbus; Robert Bloomfield's, The 
 Farmer's Boy, and A Song; James Thomson's 
 Seasons. Zaida, by Kotzebue; Charlotte Temple, 
 by Mrs. Susanna Rowson, and Don Quixote were 
 popular romances. In colonial days, and in the 
 early days of the republic, little stitched pamph- 
 lets, called chapbooks, because largely circulated 
 by itinerant vendors, or chapmen, were much in 
 vogue. Books in this form for children had a 
 large circulation, and Cramer carried an inter- 
 esting list. 
 
 Cramer's upright nature often led him to express 
 opinions that were contrary to the views obtaining 
 in publications of his firm. Cuming in his Tour 
 of the Western Country, in the reference to Pitts- 
 burgh had written: "Amusements are also a good 
 deal attended to, particularly the annual horse 
 races. " On this observation Cramer commented 
 
204 Pittsburgh 
 
 in a note: "We are sorry to have to acknowledge 
 that horse racing contrary to the express law of the 
 State, has been more or less practiced within the 
 vicinity of this place for a few years back; but we 
 are pleased with the prospect of having it totally 
 abolished by the influence of its evident impro- 
 priety, danger, and wickedness, operating on the 
 minds of the more thoughtful and judicious. "^^ 
 That Cramer was not alone in condemning the 
 horse races is apparent from a communication 
 which had appeared in the Pittsburgh Gazette six 
 years earlier.^* This writer designated the races 
 as "a fruitful seminary of vice." He declared 
 that the "schools and shops are shut up or de- 
 serted, and the youth of both sexes run to harm, 
 folly, and debauchery. . . . The money, too, which 
 ought to be expended in the honest maintenance of 
 families and the payment of debts is squandered 
 on sharpers, gamblers and sutlers. " 
 
 If some fact or custom was referred to, which 
 Cramer considered morally wrong, or which might 
 disparage Pittsburgh in the eyes of the world at 
 large, he spoke out vigorously in opposition. In 
 the Navigator for iSii,^'^ the statement was 
 
The Broadening of Culture 205 
 
 made that there were "two or three whisky dis- 
 tilleries in the town." This was immediately 
 followed in the text by a disapproval of distilleries, 
 and a quaint homily on the evils of intemperance. 
 "We cannot say anything in praise of these," 
 Cramer wrote. "Whisky as a medicine is good, 
 that is, to take it only when the system requires it 
 and no more than is sufficient to perform the 
 part of a gentle stimulant ; but to drink it as is now 
 universally practiced, is destructive of health, 
 strength, morals, religion, and honesty; and is a 
 serious national calamity, in which man sinks in the 
 estimation of himself, and becomes an abhorrence 
 in the eyes of God. " 
 
 Cramer's career was short. He had never been 
 robust, and close attention to business had un- 
 dermined his constitution; consumption devel- 
 oped. He attempted in vain to obtain relief in 
 southern travel, and died on August i, 18 13, 
 just before reaching his fortieth year, at Pen- 
 sacola, Florida, while on the way to Havana, 
 the journey having been recommended by his 
 physician. In Pensacola his remains were buried 
 and there they lie in an unmarked grave. To 
 
2o6 Pittsburgh 
 
 the last he was planning new business projects, 
 and preserved his cheerfulness to the end. Not 
 once was he known to be fretful or ill-natured. 
 He left his widow and one child, a daughter, 
 Susan. The firm was continued for many years, 
 first by the widow, in conjunction with John Spear, 
 and after her death on May 5, 1818, by the daugh- 
 ter. The affairs of the partnership were not 
 wound up until July 6, 1 835. 
 
 In early life the daughter married Dr. J. B. 
 Cochran in Pittsburgh. Becoming a widow, 
 she removed to Beaver, Pennsylvania, with her 
 three children. Her children were Zadok Cramer 
 Cochran, James Spear Cochran, and Mary 
 Cochran. After their mother's death in 1854, 
 the children removed to Coatesville, Pennsyl- 
 vania. From Coatesville they went to Free- 
 port, Illinois. Here the two sons engaged in 
 teaching and conducted an academy. James 
 later took up the study of the law, and was ad- 
 mitted to the Bar. Drifting into politics he was 
 elected to the State Senate. The two brothers 
 are both dead, but the sister is still living, being 
 the wife of Joseph Emmert, of Freeport, Illinois, 
 
REFERENCES 
 
 Chapter IX 
 
 ' Tree of Liberty, August 7, 1802. 
 " Pittsburgh Gazette, October 10, 1800. 
 3 Tree of Liberty, January 16, 1802. 
 * Tree of Liberty, October 8, 1803. 
 s Pittsburgh Gazette, April 19, 1808. 
 " Tree of Liberty, May 21, 1803. 
 ' Pittsburgh Gazette, January 9, 1801. 
 ' The Commonwealth, August 14, 1805. 
 ' The Commonwealth, September 29, 1811. 
 'o Tree of Liberty, November 6, 1802. 
 '' The Navigator, Pittsburgh, 1814, pp. 272-277. 
 " The Navigator, Pittsburgh, 1814, pp. 31-32. 
 '3 Tree of Liberty, June 4, 1803. 
 '•• The Pittsburgh Magazine Almanac for 1810. 
 's The Pittsburgh Magazine Almanac for 1807. 
 '^ Reuben Gold Thwaites: Fortescue Cuming, Sketches of a 
 Tour to the Western Country in i8oy-i8oQ, Cleveland, 
 Ohio, 1904, p. 9. 
 '' H. M. Brackenridge: Views of Louisiana, Pittsburgh, 
 
 1814, p. 4. 
 "' Pittsburgh Gazette, January 28, 1814. 
 '9 The Recluse: The Art of Domestic Happiness and Other 
 
 Poems, Pittsburgh, 1817, pp. 1-317. 
 "> The Western Gleaner or Repository for Arts, Sciences, and 
 
 Literature, Pittsburgh, 1814, vol. ii., pp. 185-186. 
 " David Bruce: Poems entirely in the Scottish Dialect, origin- 
 ally written under the signature of the Scots-Irishman, 
 Washington, 1801, p. 46. 
 '» The Echo, pp. 32-39- 
 ■3 The Echo, pp. 150-151- 
 
 207 
 
2o8 Pittsburgh 
 
 "• Tree of Liberty, January 24, 1801. 
 
 =s F. Cuming: Sketches of a Tour to the Western Country in i8o7~ 
 
 180Q, Pittsburgh, 1810, p. 231. 
 '^ Pittsburgh Gazette, October 16, 1801. 
 '' The Navigator, Pittsburgh, 1811, p. 63. 
 
INDEX 
 
 Adams, George, 114, 128 
 
 Adams, Henry, 81 
 
 Adams, John, 165; History of, 
 
 200 
 Addison, Alexander, Judge, 
 impeachment of, 47-48, 139, 
 195; FederaHst, 131, 132 
 Adgate & Co., 104 
 Allegheny County, 22, 23 
 Allegheny County Courts, 157 
 Allegheny County Militia, 74, 
 
 75 
 
 Almanacs, 4, 165, 172; Cram- 
 er's, 172-174; "Common," 
 174; "Magazine," 174 
 
 Alsop, Richard, 197 
 
 Amberson, Beelen, & Anshutz, 
 
 152 
 
 American Coast Pilot, 182 
 Amusements, 67-74, 186, 203 
 Arnold, actor, 70 
 Ash, Thomas, 181 
 Ashton, Capt. Joseph, 95, 151 
 Ash ton & Denny, 152 
 Audrian, Peter, 49 
 Aurora, newspaper, 51 
 
 Baird, Thomas, 96, 128, 130 
 Baldwin, Henry, 96, 141, 148, 
 149; attacked by Pentland, 
 
 145. 146 
 Balls, 68, 72 ; for Gen. Lee, 69 
 Bank of Pennsylvania, 
 
 branch, 93, 116 
 Baptists, 95 
 
 Barker, Abner, 116, 117, 132 
 Barker, Jeffe, 116, 117 
 Barker, Jeremiah, 117, 132 
 Barrett, William, 121 
 
 14 5 
 
 Bartholf, Francis, Baron de 
 
 Belen, 152 
 Bates, Edward, 145 
 Bates, Frederick, 143, 145, 148 
 Bates, James, 145, 148 
 Bates, Tarleton, 96, 131, 141 ff.; 
 
 duel, 142-150 
 Bausman, Elizabeth, marriage, 
 
 125 
 
 Bausman, Jacob, 30; varied 
 career, 41-42 
 
 Bausman, Nicholas, 41 
 
 Bayard, Colo. Stephen, 5 
 
 Beaujolais, Count of, 1 1 1 
 
 Bedford County, 2 
 
 Beelen, Anthony, 96, 150, 152 
 
 Beelen, Francis, 152 
 
 Beltzhoover, Melchoir, 41 
 
 "Black Charley," 39 
 
 Blunt, Edmund, American 
 Coast Pilot, 182 
 
 Boat yards, 8, 40, 92 
 
 Books, in households, 14; sale 
 of, 14, 15, 27; interest in, 27; 
 most popular, 169-171; 
 Cramer's publications, 189 
 £f . ; contemporaneous history, 
 190; of local interest, 195- 
 196; contemporary pubHca- 
 tions, 199; in Cramer's book- 
 store, 199 ff. 
 
 Bookstores, 95; first 27; Cram- 
 er's "Pittsburgh Bookstore," 
 116, 163, 186, 188, 199 ff.; 
 Christy's and Wrenshall's, 
 184 
 
 Boyd, John, 15, 16 
 
 B rackenridge, Henry M ., Judge, 
 recollections of Grant's Hill, 
 
 :09 
 
2IO 
 
 Index 
 
 Brackenridge, Henry — Cont'd 
 71; account of horse racing, 
 73; on the Court of Alle- 
 gheny County, 118; Views 
 of Louisiana, 193 
 
 Brackenridge, Hugh Henry, 
 Judge, 49, 71; author, 26 
 195, 197, 198, 202; Modern 
 Chivalry, 26; political leader, 
 55, Fourth of July speech, 
 56 ; Justice of Supreme Court 
 58 ; opposed to Brison, 58 ff. ; 
 and the Tree of Liberty, 
 62-63; and the Whisky 
 Insurrection, 81, 106, 124, 
 195; Freemason, 95; resi- 
 dence, 97, 115; antagonizes 
 soldiers, 115-116; candidate 
 for Congress, 125, 198; at- 
 tacks on, 133-134; and im- 
 peachment of Addison, 139; 
 settles Gilkison's affairs, 163 ; 
 Bruce's lines to, 196; satires 
 on, in The Echo, 197-198 
 
 Braddocksfield, 119 
 
 Brantz, Lewis, notes on Pitts- 
 burgh, 9, 30 
 
 Breweries, 78, 92 
 
 Brickyards, 31, 92 
 
 Brison, James, 58-59 
 
 Bromley, actor, 70 
 
 Bruce, David, author of politi- 
 cal volume, 196 
 
 Brunot, Dr. Felix, 48, 51 
 
 Bryan, George, Justice, 118 
 
 Building lots, value of, 98-99, 
 100 
 
 Burr, Aaron, 57; election of, 
 165-167; suppresses History 
 of John Adams, 200 
 
 Business centre of the town, 
 164 
 
 Butler, General Richard, 95, 
 122-123 
 
 Butler, Colonel William, 95 
 
 Calhoun, John, 117 
 Calhoun, Samuel, 117 
 Campbell, Colonel John, 4, 5 
 Campbell, Robert, 34 
 Card industry, 104 
 
 Card playing, 67, 186 
 
 Carlisle, 2 
 
 Chapman, Thomas, 30-31 
 
 Cheetham, James, 201 
 
 Christy, William, Merchant, 
 107, 131-132, 154. 184 
 
 Church records, 174 
 
 Churches, German, 10, 93, 186; 
 Presbyterian, 83, 93; Episco- 
 palian, 93; Roman Catholic, 
 
 ■ ■ 94; Methodist, 94-95 
 
 City Hall, 50 
 
 "Clapboard Row," 127; politi- 
 cal metliods, 128; opposed, 
 
 131. 132 
 
 "Clapboard Row Junto," 127 
 
 ' ' Clapboardonian Democracy, ' ' 
 127 
 
 Clark, General George Rodgers, 
 141 
 
 Clark, Josiah, 188 
 
 Clothing materials, 64-65 
 
 Coal, 7, 91, 92 
 
 Cochran, Dr. J. B., 206 
 
 Cochran, John Spear, 206 
 
 Cochran, Mary, 206 
 
 Cochran, Susan Cramer, 206 
 
 Cochran, Zadok Cramer, 206 
 
 Comforts and luxuries, 63-64 
 
 Common Almanac, 174 
 
 Commonwealth, The, news- 
 paper, 138, 140 
 
 Concerts, 69 
 
 Constitutionalists, 140 
 
 Coppinger, 78 
 
 Cotton mills, 92, 93 
 
 County jail, 24, 157 
 
 Court House, present, 50 ; first, 
 117, 118; in 1800, 155-156 
 
 Craig, Major Isaac, buys 
 land in Pittsburgh, 5; starts 
 glass factory, 32 ; Freemason, 
 96; tenement of, 106; Feder- 
 alist, 131; Deputy Quarter 
 Master, 142 
 
 Cramer, Elizabeth, 189 
 
 Cramer, Susan, 206 
 
 Cramer, Zadok, 161 ff; birth, 
 162; bookbinding, 116, 162- 
 163, bookstore, 116, 163, 184, 
 188-189; publisher, 164-165, 
 
Index 
 
 211 
 
 Cramer, Za.dok— Continued 
 184, publications, 165, 167, 
 172, 174. 176 B., 179, 180; 
 187, 189; opens Circulating 
 Library, 168-171; partners, 
 171, 188; advertisements, 
 185; accuses Harris and Ash 
 of plagiarism, 181 ; new lines 
 of business, 185-186; print- 
 ing business, 187 ; offices held, 
 187; farming and sheep rais- 
 ing, 188; travels, 189; meets 
 H. M. Brackenridge, 193; 
 mercantile instincts, 196; op- 
 poses moral wrong, 204; con- 
 demns horse racing, 204; on 
 whisky drinking, 205; death, 
 205 
 Cramer, Mrs. Zadok, 206 
 Cramer's Almanac, 172-174 
 Culture, 3, 4, 26, 184 fif. 
 Cumberland County, 2 
 Cuming, F., Tour of the West- 
 ern Country, 192-193 
 
 Dancing, 67-69, 154 
 Davis, Joseph, 131, 154 
 Declary, Peter, 69 
 "Democratic" party, 54 
 "Democratic Republican" 
 
 party, 54 
 Denny, Major Ebenezer, 131, 
 
 150-151 
 Denny & Beelen, 150, 151 
 Dent, Julia, 153 
 Dobbins & McElhinney, no 
 Dress, Freemasons', 12; men's, 
 
 65-67 
 Drinking, 80-82 
 Duane, WiUiam, 51 
 Dubac, Gabriel, Chevalier, 48, 
 
 III 
 Du Lac, Perrin, 64 
 Dunlap (James) & Co., 155 
 "Dutch," 43, 44 
 
 Echo, The, 197-198 
 
 Education, in early days, 3-4; 
 schools established, 14; high- 
 er, 17 
 
 Eichh wax, William, 40, 41, 79 
 
 Eichbaum, William, Jr., 188- 
 
 189 
 Emigration westward, through 
 
 Pittsburgh, 6-8, 29, 175, 179 
 Emmert, Mrs. Joseph, 206 
 Emmett, Samuel, 30, 80 
 English language, 38, 40 
 EngUsh-speaking population, 
 
 38, 40 
 Episcopalians, 93, 94 
 Ewalt, Samuel, 41, 96, 104, 130 
 
 Farmers' dress, 66 
 
 Federal party, opposition to, 
 52-53. 54; supporters of, 62, 
 76, 131-132; emblem of, 74- 
 76; in the House of Repre- 
 sentatives, 165 ! 
 
 Ferree, Thomas, 13, 157-158 
 
 Ferries, over Monongahela 
 River, 29, 42 ; over Allegheny 
 River, 30; and taverns, 80 
 
 Food, 63, 64 
 
 Forman, Major Thomas S., 35 
 
 Fort Fayette, 33 
 
 Port Pitt, 9, 10, 31, 33 
 
 Fort Stanwix, 8 
 
 Forward, Walter, 141-142 
 
 Fowler, General Alexander, 
 commander of militia, 74; 
 republican, 75 ; left Republi- 
 can party, 127; controversy 
 with Gazzam, 128-130 
 
 Francis, Tench, 5 
 
 Freemasons, first lodge in 
 Western country, 11; start 
 temperance movement, 95- 
 96; See also Lodge 45 
 
 French, 38; emigration of, 51- 
 52 
 
 French influence, 46, 51, 65, 
 199 
 
 French language, 39 
 
 French radicalism, influence of, 
 
 53 
 Freneau, Philip, 26 
 "Friends of the People," 140 
 Fulton & Baird, 121, 130 
 
 Gallatin, Albert, 57, 162; glass 
 factory, 32, 122; political 
 
212 
 
 Index 
 
 Gallatin, Albert — Continued 
 honors, 46-47, 125 ; at Marie's 
 tavern, 49; on Western 
 Pennsylvania, 52; candidate 
 for Congress, 55 
 
 Gallitzen, Demetrius Augus- 
 tine, 94 
 
 Gazzam, William, 121; con- 
 troversy with Fowler, 128- 
 130 
 
 German church, organized, 10; 
 conducts schools, 14, 186; 
 treasurer, 42; followers, 40, 
 
 45 
 
 German language, 39, 40, 45, 
 186 
 
 German Farmers' Register, The, 
 newspaper, 45 
 
 Germans, 38; organize church, 
 10; second in numbers to 
 English, 40; confused with 
 the Dutch, 43, 44; social 
 intercourse, 45; establish 
 newspaper, 45; and religion, 
 
 83 
 Gilkison, John C, bookseller, 
 
 27, 163; prothonotary, 59, 
 ' 163; starts library, 168 
 Glass factories, 32, 92 
 Grant's Hill, pleasure ground, 
 
 49, 70-71, 77 
 "Grant's Hill," tavern, 49, 50 
 Gregg's (Isaac) Ferry, 30 
 
 Hall, Joseph, 14 
 Hamilton, report on manufac- 
 tures, 91 
 Hamsher, John, 40, 41, 155 
 Hancock, Richard, 122, 125 
 Hannastown, 2; attacked by 
 British and Indians, 11 43, 
 
 Harmar, General Josiah, 151 
 
 Harris, Joseph, 157 
 
 Harris, Rev. Thaddeus Mason, 
 
 181 
 "Hartford Wits," 197 
 Haymaker, Jacob, 40, 42, 126 
 Henderson, Rev. Matthew, 57 
 Henderson, Robert, 30, 8q 
 
 Herald of Liberty, newspaper, 
 
 62 
 Herd, William, 121 
 Herron, Rev. Francis, 83-84 
 Hilliard, Elizabeth Bausman, 
 
 125-126 
 Hilliard, James, 125, 126 
 Horse racing, 72-73; con- 
 demned, 203-204 
 Houses, construction, 31 3., 
 loi; numbered, 33; com- 
 forts in, 63 
 Hufnagle, Michael, 43, 96 
 Hughes, Rev. James, 190 
 Hutchins, Capt. Thomas, 175- 
 176; Topographical Descrip- 
 tion of Pennsylavnia, Mary- 
 land, and Virginia, 175 
 
 Imlay, Gilbert, North America, 
 
 Incorporation of Pittsburgh, 
 24 
 
 Indians, the Penns' dealings 
 with, 6; treaty with, 8; at- 
 tack Hannastown, 11, 43; 
 recede westward, 13 
 
 Industries, 91-93 
 
 Insurgents, 71, 81, 119-120; 
 conference with, 123-125 
 
 Irish, 38, 55 
 
 Irish, Nathaniel, 130, 153 
 
 Iron industries, 91-92 
 
 Irvine, General William, 123 
 
 Irwin, Captain John, 96, 107, 
 
 154 
 Irwin, William, 69, 96, 107, 154 
 Israel, John, 62, 141, 187 
 Italians, 38 
 
 Jackson, Andrew, doctrine, 58 
 
 "Jacobins," 56 
 
 Jefferson, Thomas, radical 
 ideas of liberty, 53-54; recep- 
 tion of these ideas in Penn- 
 sylvania, 54-55; Republican 
 dinner in honor of, 56-57, 
 108; presidential election of, 
 165-167; Notes on the State 
 of Virginia, 200 
 
 Jockey Club, 72, 79 
 
Index 
 
 213 
 
 Johnson, John, 117 
 Jones, Ephraim, 29, 80 
 Jones, Samuel, 35, 108; on 
 
 social life, 71-72 
 Jones & Laughlin Steel Co., 
 
 148 
 Justices of the peace, loi 
 
 Kramer, Baltzer, 32 
 Kramer, Christian, 32 
 
 Land, sales of, 5-6, 100 
 
 Lawlessness, 25 
 
 Laws, 24 
 
 Lee, General Henry, 59, 69, 
 
 115 
 "Lee, Light-Horse Harry," 
 
 59 
 
 Lee, Rev. Wilson, 78 
 
 Lewis and Clark expedition, 
 179 
 
 Liberty, new ideas of, 53 
 
 Libraries, private, 14; cir- 
 culating, 16, 19, 168-171 
 
 Liquors, 64; manufacture and 
 sale of, 77-79; drinking of, 
 80-82 
 
 "Lodge 45 of Ancient York 
 Masons, " first masonic lodge 
 in Pittsburgh, 11; observ- 
 ance of St. John the Bap- 
 tist's Day, 12 ; observance of 
 St. John the Evangelist's 
 Day, 13, 108; meeting place, 
 78, 95i 15s; temperance 
 movement, 95-96; secretary, 
 108 
 
 Louisiana Purchase, furthers 
 trade, 90; and the Navigator, 
 179 
 
 Lucus,'"John B. C, 47-48, 151 
 
 Luxuries, 63-64 
 
 McClurg, Joseph, 122, 128, 130 
 McKean, Thomas, 108, 118; 
 turns Republican, 54, 56; 
 candidate for Governor, 57, 
 140; takes office, 58; recom- 
 mends militia emblem, 75; 
 Commissioner to meet In- 
 surgents, 123; reappoints 
 
 Tannehill, 131; vetoes revo- 
 lutionary bills, 138; refuses 
 to remove Brackcnridge, 139 ; 
 supporters and opponents of, 
 140, 141 ; alluded to byBruce, 
 196 
 McLane, D., 34 
 McLaughlin, Alexander, 132, 
 
 153 
 McMillan, Rev. Dr. John, 57, 
 
 81 
 AlcNickle, A., 130 
 Madison, James, 57 
 Magazine Almanac, 174 
 Magee, Samuel, 121 
 Magee, Thomas, 121 
 Mail robbed, 119 
 Map of Pittsburgh published, 
 
 192 
 Marie, John, 49, 50 
 Marie, Mrs. John Qane), di- 
 vorce case, 50-51 
 Marie's tavern, 56, 75 
 Market House, 155 
 Market Street, 96-98, 99, 104 
 Mechanical Society of Pitts- 
 burgh, 17-19, 78, 187 
 Mellish, John, 181 
 Methodists, 94-95, 201 
 Michaux, Dr. F. A., 48, 50 
 Mifflin, Thomas, 54, 56 
 Military plan of the town, 
 
 30-31 
 MiUtary spirit, 74 
 Militia of Pennsylvania, 74-77 
 Modern Chivalry, by H. H. 
 
 Brackcnridge, 26 
 Money, circulation of, 15, 28- 
 
 29 
 Montpensier, Duke of, 1 1 1 
 Moore, Hamilton, Practical 
 
 Navigator, 182 
 Moreau, Jean Victor, 199 
 Morgan, General Daniel, 69, 
 
 115-116 
 Morrow, William, 12, 79 
 Morse, Jedidiah, American 
 
 Gazetteer, 176 
 Mowry, Dr. Peter, 114, 132 
 Murphy, Mrs. Mary (Molly), 
 122, 152 
 
214 
 
 Index 
 
 Nail factories, 92, 93 
 National currency established, 
 
 99 
 
 National Gazette, 51 
 
 Nationalities in Pittsburgh, 38 
 
 Navigator, 174, 187; sources 
 of its material, 175, 176, 178; 
 various editions, 176-182; 
 advertised, 177; local in- 
 formation in, 180-182 
 
 Negley, Alexander, 41 
 
 Negley, Jacob, 41 
 
 Negroes, 38-39 
 
 Neville, Emily Morgan, 144 
 
 Neville, General John, Free- 
 mason, 95; residence, 105; 
 offices held, 106; Federalist, 
 
 131 
 
 Neville, Morgan, 48 
 
 Neville, Colonel Presley, public 
 offices, 105, 106; residence, 
 115; saves Brackenridge, 116 
 Federalist, 131; opinion of 
 Democrats, 144 
 
 New Era in 1800, 90 
 
 New Orleans, steamboat, 189 
 
 Newspapers, first, 14; German, 
 45; see also Pittsburgh Ga- 
 zette and Tree of Liberty 
 
 Nicholson, James W., 32 
 
 " Office of Discount .and De- 
 posit," 116 
 
 O'Hara, Colonel James, 95, 
 120, 131 ; glass manufacturer, 
 32; brewer, 78; candidate for 
 burgess, 105 
 
 Ohio and Mississippi Navigator, 
 
 176-177 
 Ohio River, pavigation of, 7, 
 
 176-178 
 Orleans, Duke of, in 
 Ormbsy, John^ 78, 95 
 Ormsby, Oliver, 184 
 
 Patterson, Rev. Joseph, 81 
 
 Penn, John, 4-5, 6 
 
 Penn, John, Jr., 4-5, 6 
 
 Penn, William, 4 
 
 Penns, the, 42, 98 
 
 Pentland, Ephraim, editor 138; 
 
 attacks on Bates and Bald- 
 win, 145-147, 149 
 Peters, Judge Richard, 106 
 Philadelphia, post route from 
 
 Pittsburgh, 17 
 Pipe manufactory, 92 
 Pittsburgh Academy, 17 
 "Pittsburgh Bookstore," 116, 
 
 163, 184, 186 ff. 
 Pittsburgh Circulating Library, 
 
 167-171 
 Pittsburgh Fire Company, 24, 
 
 130 
 Pittsburgh Gazette, established, 
 14; and politics, 56, 62, 133; 
 contributors, 75; in religious 
 revival, 85; owner, 114; 
 Cramer's advertisement in, 
 162-163; advertises Naviga- 
 tor, 177 
 Pittsburgh Library Company, 
 
 171 
 "Pittsburgh" manor, 5 
 Pitt Township, 23, 28 
 Plan of town, 4, 5, 30-31 
 Population, in 1786, 9; na- 
 tionalities, 38; in 1800 and 
 1 8 10, 90; Protestant, 93 
 Porter, William, 122 
 Post office, 17, 114, 128 
 Post route, 17 
 Practical Navigator, 182 
 Presbyterian Church, 9, 10, 
 
 83. 93, 94 
 Printing offices, 1 87 
 Protestants, 10, 93-94 
 Public improvements, 98 
 Publishing business, 164, 184- 
 
 185 
 
 Race horses, 73 
 
 Reed, John, 79, 157 
 
 Reel, Casper, 41 
 
 Religion, 9-1 1, 82-83, 93; re- 
 vival, 84-85; books on, 191 
 
 Republican General Assembly, 
 radical, 138-139 
 
 Republican party, headquar- 
 ters, 50; "Democratic Re- 
 publican," 54; rapid growth 
 in Pennsylvania, 55; leader 
 
Index 
 
 215 
 
 Republican party — Continued 
 in Pittsburgh, 55; French 
 influences, 55, 56; influence 
 on dress, 65 ; spoils doctrine, 
 58; emblem, 75-76; domi- 
 nant throughout country, 
 132; in national election, 
 165-167 
 
 Richards, Charles, 39 
 
 Richardson, Dr. Andrew, Free- 
 mason, 96, 108; conducts 
 drug store, 107; political 
 leader, 108; speech on Free- 
 masonry, 108-109, Isft Re- 
 publican party, 109-110; 
 death, no 
 
 Riddle, James, 96, 121, 128 
 
 Robinson, James, 30, 80 
 
 Robinson and Ensell, 92 
 
 Roman Catholics, 94 
 
 Ross, James, trouble with Mrs. 
 Marie, 50-51; candidate for 
 governor, 50, §7; Freemason, 
 96; Commissioner to meet 
 Insurgents, 123; political 
 leader, 131, 132 
 
 Roup, Jonas, 41 
 
 St. Clair, General Arthur, 151 
 
 St. John the Baptist's Day, 
 observance of, 12-13 
 
 St. John the Evangelist's day, 
 observance of, 12, 13, 108 
 
 St. Patrick's Church, 94 
 
 Schoepf, Dr. Johann David, 7 
 
 Schools, 4, 14, 50, 186 
 
 Schultz, Christian, on Naviga- 
 tor, 181-182 
 
 Scotch, 38 
 
 Scott, Dr. Hugh, 96, 121, 128 
 
 Scott, John, 117 
 
 Scott & Trotter, 120 
 
 Scull, John, establishes Pitts- 
 burgh Gazette, ^4-1 5; post- 
 master, 17; printer, 26, 187; 
 residence, 114; attacks on 
 Brackenridge, I33-I34 
 
 Semple, Samuel, 78 
 
 Semple, Steele, 116 
 
 Semple, William, 27, 115 
 
 Shippinsburg, 2 
 
 "Sign of the Black Bear," 13, 
 
 158 
 "Sign of the Cross Keys," 57, 
 
 79 
 
 "Sign of the Franklin Head," 
 116, 164 
 
 "Sign of General Butler," 125; 
 and social affairs, 68; name, 
 122; during Whisky Insur- 
 rection, 123, 124; political 
 
 ' headquarters, 127 
 
 "Sign of General Washington," 
 
 34 
 "Sign of the Green Tree," 13, 
 
 34, 68; meeting place of 
 
 masonic lodge, 12, 96 
 "Sign of the Indian Queen," 
 
 79-80 
 " Sign of the Negro, " 1 212 
 "Sign of the Sheaf of Wheat," 
 
 153 
 "Sign of the Waggon," 68, 79, 
 
 Six Nations, treaty with, 8 
 Slavery, 38, 39, 41 
 Smith, Thomas, 130 
 Smith, Rev. Dr. William, 44 
 Smith & Shiras, 78 
 Smur, John, 126 
 Snyder, Simon, 50, 51, 140 
 Social Kfe, 71-72, 77 
 South School, 50 
 Spanish milled dollar, 99 
 Spear John, 171, 188, 206 
 Spoils doctrine, 58 
 Steele, Rev. Robert, 13, 96, 
 129; dress, 66; appointment, 
 
 85 
 Stevenson, Dr. George, 120- 
 
 121; 131 
 Stewart, Thomas, 147, 149 
 Stores, 102, 103, 116-117, 120 
 
 ff., 150, 154 ff., 184 
 Streets, 35, 98 
 Sturgeon, Jeremiah, 57, 79 
 Supreme Court, 118, 130, 139 
 Swiss-Germans, 10, 38 
 
 TannehiU, Adamson, 130 
 Tanneries, 92 
 Tavern-keeping, 78, 79 
 
2l6 
 
 Index 
 
 Tavern signs, 33-35 
 Taverns, 33, 68, 77, 78 
 Temperance movement, 96 
 Theatrical performances, 69, 70 
 Thorn, William, 82-83 
 Tinware manufactory, 92 
 Town meetings, 102 
 Town officials, loi 
 Townships, 23, 28 
 Trade, 7, 102 
 Trade centre, 7, 29 
 Transportation, 25, 93 
 Tree of Liberty, established, 62 ; 
 
 contributors, 75; office, 115; 
 
 charge against editor, 127; 
 
 in politics, 132, 140; in 
 
 mourning, 149; advertises 
 
 Navigator, 177 
 Tree 0/ Sedition, Blasphemy, 
 
 and Slander, 56 
 Trees, 33, 97 
 Trinity Church, 93 
 TurnbuU, William, 115 
 
 United States Mint authorized, 
 
 99 
 University of Pittsburgh, 17 
 
 Vcech, Judge James,on whisky, 
 8o-8l 
 
 Wallace, Judge George, 117 
 Washington, George, President, 
 
 78, 123 
 Washington County, 22 
 Water Street residences, 105- 
 
 107 
 Watson, Andrew, tavern, 18, 
 
 117, 118 
 
 Weber, Rev. Johann Wilhelm, 
 
 lO-II 
 
 Welsh, 38 
 
 Western Gleaner, The, maga- 
 azine, 193-195 
 
 Westmoreland County, 2, 22 
 
 "Whale and the Monkey," 
 Sign of, 34 
 Whisky Boys," 81 
 
 Whisky Insurrection, 29, 59, 
 106; cause, 25, 77; expedi- 
 tion against, 29, 59; at its 
 height, 1 19-120; Govern- 
 ment conference with In- 
 surgents, 123-125 
 
 Wilkins, John, 117 
 
 Willock, Andrew, Jr., 153 
 
 Wills, Alexander, 158 
 
 Wills, James, 153 
 
 Wills, John, 158 
 
 Wilson and Wallace, sale of 
 books, 14 
 
 Winebiddle, Conrad, 41 
 
 Wood, John, History of John 
 Adams, 200 
 
 Woods, George, 5 
 
 Woods, General John, 125, 
 131, 132, 198 
 
 Woods (Wm.) & Company, 155 
 
 Wrenshall, John, local preacher, 
 84, 201; Farewell to Pitts- 
 burgh and the Mountains, 153; 
 bookstore, 184 
 Wusthoflf, William, 41, 96 
 
 Yeaman, James, 78, 158 
 Yeates, Jasper, 123, 130 
 "Young Messenger," race 
 horse, 73, 79