Those Places Thursday: Lancaster

Like many cities and towns, war took its toll often on our young cities. While Lancaster did not directly see the war and her battles, the then borough still felt its effects. Goods were manufactured to aid the militia. Those goods included the Conestoga Wagon and the Lancaster Rifle. The Lancaster Rifle is also known as the Pennsylvania Rifle and is sometimes called, in error, the Kentucky Rifle. When the British occupied Philadelphia from September 1777 to June 1778, the Pennsylvania government called Lancaster home. The prison held British soldiers yet their officers were paroled to be allowed to rent space from Lancastrians in their homes.

Some notable dates in Lancaster:
1744 - the Indian treaties were negotiated at the courthouse in Lancaster
1760 - Union Fire Co. #1 formalized
1763 - the Conestoga Indians were mascaraed by the Paxtang Boys on 27 December.
1763 - the Juliana Library opened her doors
1777 - the Continental Congress met in Lancaster on 27 September
1794 - Lancaster Journal started
1799 - Lancaster Intelligencer started
1839 - the two papers merged

To keep up and house the various visitors to Lancaster, due to the state government running out of Lancaster, many hotels grew and flourished for a time.
* Sign of the Leopard Tavern - northeast corner of Duke and King
* Sign of the White Swan - southeast corner of Queen and Center Square

Presidential visits:
* George Washington visited Lancaster at least four times.

Note: This article is a continuation of the 27 June article on Lancaster.

Source: Loose, John Ward Wilson. The Heritage of Lancaster. CA: Windsor Publications, 1978. Chapter II: Lancaster Goes to War, 1760-1817.
Note: borrowed from the Manheim Twp. Public Library (917.815 LOO)

Comments

Coatesville's First Serial Killer

Young Alexander Meyer was a disturbed and angry young man with some major issues. He had failed sixth and seventh grade, and instead of having to repeat eighth grade again, he finally gave up on school. At age 16 he quit Downingtown Junior High. Meyer is not a relative, nor are his victims (that I am aware). I stumbled upon young Alex while reading Tortured Minds: Pennsylvania's Most Bizarre - But Forgotten - Murders by Tammy Mal. On 11 February 1937 Alexander Thweatt Meyer killed young Helen Moyer as she walked home from school in Coatesville along Modena Road. She was not his first. The jury was out only three minutes after hearing Dr. Michael Margolis' testimony on the death of Helen Moyer. The jury determined Meyer had murdered Moyer and should be held for first degree murder. The jury also condemned the parole system which had released Meyer back into the public, after having served just 14 months in Huntingdon Reformatory, for the murder of two other girls - Anna Blasc...

Thaddeus Stevens at the Lancaster Convention Center

Within the Lancaster Convention Center (Lancaster, PA) is a small section dedicated to Thaddeus Stevens and Lydia Hamilton Smith. The section is known as the Stevens & Smith Historic Site. It is scheduled for development this year. At the moment one can only get a glimpse of it through the Convention Center or by peeking in from the outside. Here at Queen and Vine Streets in Lancaster City, Pennsylvania, Thaddeus Stevens had his law office. Stevens was an abolitionist. An abolitionist is a person who favors the abolition of a practice or institution, especially capital punishment or (formerly) slavery. Stevens was born 4 April 1792 to Joshua Stevens and Sarah (Sally) Morrill in Danville Vermont. One of four children, he attended Vermont University from 1810 to 1812 when the War prompted its closure. He then went to Dartmouth, where he graduated in 1814. He then studied law and found himself set up in Gettysburg, PA in 1816. He practiced law there until 1828 when he...

52 Ancestors: Remembering the King

Today is Elvis’ birthday. He would have been 80 today. I was only eight when he died so obviously I am too young to have seen Elvis perform. However, when I hear his music, I go back in time. I am once again that young girl dancing in the living room to Elvis and other greats with my father. Back then girls learned to dance by dancing with their fathers not some video of scantly dressed people doing all sorts of things young ladies should not be doing in public! What is YOUR favorite memory - either of your father or of Elvis? 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks is a weekly genealogical challenge issued by Amy Johnson Crow, of No Story Too Small . Look for my weekly posts each Thursday! © Jeanne Ruczhak-Eckman, 2015

Genealogical Gems

Search This Blog