History of Northumberland Co., PA - Chapter 14 Part A



CHAPTER 14 - Pages 444-514 - Part A
SUNBURY
THE TOWN PLAT - EARLY RESIDENTS - SUNBURY IN 1805 - REMINISCENCES OF DR.
R. H. AWL - PROMINENT MERCHANTS, 1772-1850 - EARLY HOTELS - MUNICIPAL
ORGANIZATION AND GOVERNMENT FACILITIES OF TRAVEL AND TRANSPORTATION -
INDUSTRIAL ACTIVITY - BANKING INSTITUTIONS - GAS, ELECTRIC LIGHT, AND
WATER COMPANIES - LOCAL PAPERS - THE POST OFFICE - SECRET AND OTHER
SOCIETIES - EDUCATIONAL INTERESTS - CHURCHES - CEMETERIES - BOROUGH OF
EAST SUNBURY

SUNBURY

   THE site of Sunbury is an alluvial plain of triangular shape, evidently
an island at some former period in it geological development and eminently
rich in historic interest. At the time when definite knowledge regarding
this region begins it was the site of the Indian village of Shamokin and
the residence of the great chief Shikellimy. Here the Moravian
missionaries preached and taught, and Conrad Weiser met his dusky friends
with that simple ingenuousness which formed the strongest element in his
diplomacy; and here the Provincial Government erected Fort Augusta, the
most formidable defensive work in central Pennsylvania, from which were
directed the military movements throughout the colonial and Revolutionary
periods which form so large a part of the history of the northern frontier
during these eventful times. By the census of 1890 the population of the
borough was five thousand nine hundred thirty.

THE TOWN PLAT

   Pomfret manor, a tract of several thousand acres surveyed for the
Proprietaries in 1768, originally embraced the town site, which was
doubtless selected from pecuniary considerations as well as on account
of its natural eligibility. The survey of the town was determined upon at
a meeting of the Governor and Council on the 16th of June, 1772, when
Surveyor General Lukens was directed to repair to Fort Augusta, and, with
the assistance of William Maclay, "lay out a town for the county of
Northumberland to be called by the name of Sunbury at the most
commodious place between the fort and the mouth of Shamokin creek, into
three hundred lots to be accommodated with streets, lanes, and alleys
and a commodious square in the most convenient place for public
buildings; the two main streets to be eighty feet wide, the others
sixty, and the lanes and alleys twenty feet; the lots to be sixty feet
wide in front and two hundred thirty feet deep if the ground and
situation will conveniently allow that depth. And it is further ordered
that a space of at least one hundred twenty feet be left between the
town line and the bank of the river: every other lot adjoining the
square and fifty commodious lots besides to be reserved for the
Proprietaries." In compliance with these instructions Mr. Lukens set out
for Fort Augusta on the 18th of June, 1772, and the survey was completed
in the following month.
   In the original town plat the streets extending north and south in
order from the river are named Broadway, River, Deer, Fawn, and Short,
intersected at right angles by Cranberry street, Strawberry alley,
Dewberry street, Hulberry alley, Shamokin street, Barberry alley,
Blackberry street, Gooseberry alley, Pokeberry street, Raspberry alley,
Whortleberry street, Billberry alley, and Elderberry street, in order
from the north. For some of these streets popular usage early adopted
other names. Broadway became Water street; Penn, Mud street; Spruce,
Bullet alley; Third, Back alley; Fourth, Hog street, and Shamokin,
Market street. The present system of nomenclature was established by
borough ordinance, June 5, 1866, changing the name of Broadway to Front;
of River, to Second; of Deer, to Third; of Fawn, to Fourth; of Short, to
Fifth; of Elderberry, to Spruce; of Whortleberry, to Walnut; of
Pokeberry, to Penn; of Blackberry, to Chestnut; of Shamokin, to Market;
of Dewberry, to Arch, and of Cranberry, to Race.
   The most extensive addition to the original town plat is that part
of the borough popularly known as Caketown. This land also formed part
of the manor of Pomfret; it embraced the site of Fort Augusta, and was
the residence of Colonel Samuel Hunter until his death, although it does
not appear that he ever acquired a proprietary interest. On the 10th of
April, 1786, John Penn, Jr., and John Penn executed a conveyance to
William Wilson for three hundred forty-two acres of land, "the same
place and tract of land whereon the late Colonel Hunter dwelt and part
of the manor of Pomfret," the consideration being one thousand twenty-
six pounds specie. The purchaser was an American officer during the
Revolution and associate judge of Northumberland county, 1792-1813; a
biographical sketch is given in this work in the chapter on the Bench
and Bar. On the 20th of October, 1700, he sold one moiety or undivided
half part of this tract to Alexander Hunter; the other moiety was deeded
to Mary Scott, June 17, 1811, at a nominal consideration, and from this
time (or possibly at an earlier date), the land was known as the Hunter
and Scott farms. The latter, embracing one hundred forty acres, adjoined
the original northern boundary of Sunbury borough; the former comprised
one hundred fifty-three acres.
   The upper division, taken in execution as the property of Alexander
Hunter at the suit of John Cowden, was sold at sheriff's sale on the 22d
of April, 1814, and purchased by Thomas Grant. In compliance with his
will, his executors and executrix; George, William, and Deborah Grant,
deeded it to Mrs. Nancy Hunter, widow of Alexander Hunter, October 16,
1817. By her will, dated July 26, 1833, Mrs. Nancy Hunter devised the
farm to her son, Samuel Hunter. He died in 1852, and by the terms of his
will it became the property of his sisters, Mary and Nancy Hunter, and
Elizabeth, wife of Henry Billington. One hundred six acres of this tract
eventually came into the exclusive possession of Mary Hunter, by whom it
was conveyed to Benjamin Hendricks by deed of August 9, 1859, and on the
25th of June, 1863, it was purchased from Mr. Hendricks by Joseph W. Cake.
   Mary Scott died intestate, leaving her estate to her children,
Samuel H. Scott, Mrs. Sarah Gobin (nee Scott), wife of Charles Gobin,
and Susan Scott. Samuel H. Scott also died intestate, leaving his estate
to his sisters, Mrs. Sarah Gobin and Susan Scott, who sold the Scott
farm to David Longenecker, of Lancaster, Pennsylvania, February 4, 1854.
It was purchased at sheriff's sale, June 27, 1857, by Joseph S. Silver,
of Philadelphia, who deeded it to Francis W. Hughes, of Pottsville,
August 28, 1857. It was purchased from Mr. Hughes, August 23, 1859, by
Joseph W. Cake.
   Having thus secured both the Scott and Hunter farms, Mr. Cake
proceeded to lay out the addition that bears his name. It was surveyed
in September, 1863, by P. W. Sheafer, of Pottsville, Pennsylvania; the
principal streets extending east and west are Masser, Greenough, Packer,
Amy, Alice, Julia, Joseph, John, and Main, intersected by Fort Augusta
avenue and Susquehanna, Railroad, Scott, Thompson, and Moorehead
streets, of those last mentioned, however, several have not yet been
opened.
   The only other additions of any importance within the borough
limits are those of Benjamin Hendricks, the executors of Henry Masser,
John W. Friling, Dr. R. H. Awl, and William & E. D. Lenker. Hendricks
extended Second street below Spruce and opened Pine between Second and
Third, Friling opened Pine street between Front and Second, and laid out
several blocks below Spruce; Masser's addition comprises Vine street,
which is parallel with Race and immediately north of it; Awl's and
Lenker's additions are in the southeastern part of the borough.

EARLY RESIDENTS

   In a list of the taxables of Augusta township in the year 1774 each
of the following persons is accredited with a house and lot: Sebastian
Crevous, George Cliver, Frederick Dunkelberger, Robert Desha, Martin
Epley, Philip Everhart, David Fowler, Peter Gearhart, Charles Garmont,
Solomon Green, Stophel Gettig, Samuel Harris, Jacob Haverling, Adam
Haverling, Charles Huffy, Nicholas Kofield, William Maclay, Joseph
McCarrell, Robert McBride, David McKinney, Nicholas Miller, Frederick
Reely, Zachariah Robins, Henry Reigert, John Ream (butcher), Gustavus
Ross, Cornelius Row, Stephen Sutton, Thomas Steinbach, Michael Troy,
George Vaughan, George Wolf, Jonas Weaver, John Weitzel, James Wild, John
Wall, and Elias Youngman. As Sunbury was then the only town in Augusta
township, it is fair to presume that this list includes the names of its
principal inhabitants at that time. Colonel Samuel Hunter and Mrs.
Alexander Grant resided north of the town, and Valentine Geiger at
Maclay's mill a mile to the east but within the present limits of the
borough of East Sunbury.
   Colonel Samuel Hunter was born in the North of Ireland in 1732. His
military career began in 1760; on the 2d of May in that year he was
commissioned as lieutenant in Captain Joseph Scott's company of Colonel
Hugh Mercer's battalion of the Pennsylvania regiment, and on the 10th of
November, 1763, as captain in Colonel Turbutt Francis's battalion. He
was at Fort Augusta in June, 1763, when the first intelligence of
Pontiac's conspiracy was received, and initiated the measures
subsequently carried into execution by Colonel Burd for the defense of
that post. In the following year. he joined Colonel Bouquet's
expedition, but was again at Fort Augusta in 1768 and doubtless earlier.
On the 24th of March, 1772, he was commissioned as one of the first
justices for Northumberland county, from which he was elected to the
Assembly, 1772-75, to the Committee, of Safety, 1775-76, and to the
Council of Censors in 1783; and when the militia organized at the
outbreak of the Revolution he was elected colonel of the First
battalion, February 8, 1776. He was appointed county lieutenant, March
21, 1777, and re-appointed, April 6, 1780; in this responsible position
he directed the movements of the local militia during the Revolution,
and his official correspondence is an invaluable contribution to the
history of Northumberland county in that eventful period. He died at
Fort Augusta, April 10, 1784, leaving a widow, Susanna (nee Scott), and
two daughters, Nancy and Mary. The former married Alexander Hunter; the
latter, Samuel Scott.
   Alexander Grant, a native of Scotland, where he resided in the vicinity
of Aberdeen, settled near the Susquehanna river immediately opposite
Shamokin island prior to the organization of Northumberland county, and
was elected the first constable of Augusta township in 1772. He died,
March 21, 1775, leaving a widow and two sons, George and Thomas. Their
mother was born on the 31st of October, 1718, and died on the 26th of
November, 1821, at the great age of one hundred three years. George Grant
was born, August 16, 1755; on the 19th of March, 1776, he was commissioned
as third lieutenant in Captain Weitzel's company; he was promoted captain
in the Ninth regiment, May 3, 1777, and died on the North river three
miles above New Windsor, Connecticut, October 10, 1779. Thomas Grant was
born on the 20th of November, 1758, and died on the 16th of June, 1815. He
served as sheriff of Northumberland county one term, 1785-88, and also as
lieutenant and captain in the local militia. He was an active promoter of
the Centre turnpike and during its construction disbursed the funds in
payment for work, making frequent journeys to different points on the
route with the money in his saddle-bags. He married Deborah, daughter of
Robert Martin, of Northumberland.
   William Maclay, whose connection with the early history of Sunbury
and of Northumberland county was of the most intimate character, was
born in New Garden township, Chester county, Pennsylvania, July 20,
1737, son of Charles and Eleanor (Query) Maclay. His father removed to
Lurgan township, Franklin county, Pennsylvania, in 1742, and there he
grew to manhood. At the outbreak of the French and Indian war he was a
pupil at the classical academy of Rev. John Blair in Chester county;
entering the military service as ensign, he was promoted to the rank of
lieutenant on the 7th of May, 1758, in the Third battalion, and served
with credit in General Forbes's expedition in that year. In 1763 he
participated at the battle of Bushy Run, and during the subsequent
progress of Bouquet's campaign was stationed in command of his company
at one of the stockades on the route of the expedition. In the intervals
of his military service he studied law, and on the 28th of April, 1760,
was admitted to the bar of York county, Pennsylvania, although it is not
probable that he ever engaged actively in the duties of the profession.
He visited England at the close of the French and Indian war, and had an
interview with Thomas Penn, one of the Proprietaries, relative to the
survey of lands on the frontiers of the Province. It was in the capacity
of a surveyor that his first acquaintance with the territory of
Northumberland county began; on the 23d of February, 1769, he made the
first survey in the valley of the West Branch, one of the tracts
apportioned to the officers in the French and Indian war, in which he
participated by virtue of his services. On the 24th of March, 1772, he
was commissioned as first prothonotary, clerk of the several courts,
register of wills, and recorder of deeds for Northumberland county, and
was the incumbent of these respective offices until 1777. He was also
commissioned as justice for the county, March 24, 1772, June 11, 1777,
and January 24, 1785. In 1772 he assisted John Lukens in surveying the
town of Sunbury, and in the following year erected a stone dwelling at
the northeast corner of Arch and Front streets, the most substantial and
pretentious of the early private houses of the county seat. Early in the
Revolutionary struggle he entered actively into the support of the
American cause, marched with the militia to the seat of war and
participated in the battles of Trenton and Princeton, and served as
issuing commissary after his return to Sunbury. In 1781, 1782, 1783, and
1785 he was elected to the Assembly from Northumberland county, and in
1786 to the Supreme Executive Council; in January, 1789, he was elected to
the United States Senate as one of the first members of that body from
Pennsylvania, his colleague being Robert Morris. The latter drew the long
term, and Mr. Maclay accordingly retired on the 3d of March, 1791. His
attitude toward the administration while a member of this body and its far-
reaching results are thus stated by W. H. Egle, M. D.:-

   His election to this body raised him upon a higher plane of
political activity, but contact with the Federal chiefs of the Senate
only strengthened his political convictions, which, formed by long
intercourse with the people of middle Pennsylvania, were intensely
democratic. He began to differ with the opinions of President Washington
very early in the session; he did not approve of the state and ceremony
attendant upon the intercourse of the President with Congress; he flatly
objected to the presence of the President in the Senate while business
was being transacted, and in the Senate boldly spoke against his policy
in the immediate presence of President Washington. The New England
historians, Hildreth and Goodrich, repute Thomas Jefferson as the
"efficient promoter at the beginning and father and founder of the
Democratic party." Contemporary records, however, show beyond the shadow
of a doubt that this responsibility or honor, in whatever light it may
be regarded, can not be shifted from the shoulders or taken from the
laurels of Pennsylvania statesmanship. Before Mr. Jefferson's return
from Europe, William Maclay assumed an independent position, and in his
short career of two years in the Senate propounded ideas and gathered
about him elements to form the opposition which developed with the
meeting of Congress at Philadelphia on the 24th of October, 1791, in a
division of the people into two great parties, the Federalists and
Democrats, when, for the first time appeared an open and organized
opposition to the administration. The funding of the public debt,
chartering the United States Bank, and other measures championed
necessarily by the administration, whose duty it was to put the wheels
of government in motion, engendered opposition. Mr. Maclay, to use his
own language, "no one else presenting himself," fearlessly took the
initiative, and, with his blunt common sense (for he was not much of a
speaker) and democratic ideas, took issue with the ablest advocates of
the administration. Notwithstanding the prestige of General Washington
and the ability of the defenders of the administration on the floor of
the Senate, such was the tact and resolution of Mr. Maclay that when,
after his short service, he was retired from the Senate and succeeded by
James Ross, a pronounced Federalist, their impress was left in the
distinctive lines of an opposition party - a party, which, taking
advantage of the warm feeling of our people toward the French upon the
occasion of Jay's treaty with Great Britain in 1794, and of the
unpopularity of the Alien and Sedition laws, passed under the
administration of President John Adams in 1798, compassed the final
overthrow of the Federal party in 1800.(1)
   Mr. Maclay kept a journal during his senatorial term, in which he
summarized the debates in both open and secret sessions; it has been
published in book form with notes by George Washington Harris, and also
in the New York Sun, and forms a most interesting and valuable
contribution to the history of this country in the period immediately
succeeding the adoption of the Federal Constitution. After his retirement
he resided permanently upon his farm at Harrisburg, and erected the
substantial stone building subsequently occupied by the academy of that
city. He was elected to the lower house of the Pennsylvania legislature in
1795 and 1803; in 1796 he was a presidential elector, and in 1801-03
associate judge of Dauphin county. He died on the 16th of April, 1804, and
was buried at Paxtang church. In 1769 he married Mary, daughter of John
Harris, the founder of Harrisburg, and they were the parents of nine
children, of whom the fourth in order of birth, Mary, married Samuel Awl,
a prominent citizen of Upper Augusta township, Northumberland county. Mrs.
Sarah Welker (nee Awl), Mrs. Hester H. Brindle (nee Awl), and Dr. R. H.
Awl, of Sunbury, and Mrs. Elizabeth J. Rohrbach (nee Awl), of Selinsgrove,
Pennsylvania, are the only living descendants of William Maclay in the
second generation.
   Captain Nicholas Miller was commissioned as an officer in the
Twelfth Pennsylvania regiment, October 4, 1776, and served with it until
it ceased to exist as an organization, July 1, 1778. He died in
Northampton county before the close of the century.
   David McKinney located at Sunbury in the spring of 1772. He was
formerly a resident of New Jersey and Virginia, and, although a miller
by occupation, established one of the first distilleries at Sunbury and
continued in this business some years. Late in life he removed to a farm
on the West Branch near the Great Island, and there he died at an
advanced age. He was the father of nine children: Abraham; Mary; John;
Isaac; Sarah; Jacob; James; Elizabeth, and Rachel. Abraham was born,
November 12, 1762, and died at Sunbury on the 13th of September, 1835;
he built and operated the first mill on Mahanoy creek, Jackson township.
Isaac removed to Centre county, Pennsylvania, established an iron
furnace, and became associate judge.
   "Robert McBride," wrote John Weitzel to the Council of Safety, December
2, 1776, "goes down on purpose to apply for a lieutenancy in the service
of the United States; I therefore take the liberty to recommend him as a
man of spirit and resolution, and have not the least doubt but he will
make a good officer. He served during the last war."(2) He was
commissioned as second lieutenant in the Ninth Pennsylvania regiment,
January 15, 1777. At the close of the war he returned to Sunbury. The
second jail of Northumberland county was built by him as a private
enterprise.
   Thomond Ball performed the duties of prothonotary of Northumberland
county as deputy under David Harris. The latter was appointed,
September 11, 1777; he entered the Continental army as third lieutenant
in Colonel Thompson's battalion and rose to the rank of captain in the
First Pennsylvania regiment, but resigned on the 20th of October, 1777,
and engaged in mercantile pursuits at Baltimore. Mr. Ball was the first
secretary of the Northumberland county Committee of Safety and acted as
paymaster of Colonel Hartley's regiment while it was stationed on the
frontier. He served as deputy prothonotary until his death in 1779.
   John Simpson, the second register and recorder of Northumberland
county, was descended from the Scottish family of that name which
possessed the earldom of Linlithgow in the sixteenth century. He was
commissioned as register and recorder, March 29, 1777, and performed the
duties of those offices more than a score of years. He married Ann
Thompson, a lady of English parentage; Jeremiah Simpson, their son, was
born, October 10, 1773, and died on the 11th of August, 1829. He was
commissioned as register and recorder, July 24, 1798, and served until
1805. He married Mary, daughter of Henry Vanderslice, of Berks county,
and they were the parents of nine children: John; Hannah; Mary; Rachel;
Ann; Jeremiah; Henry V.; Jesse M. M., and Sarah. Jesse M. M. Simpson was
elected treasurer of Northumberland county in 1848 and served one term.
   David Mead was born at Hudson, New York, in 1752, son of Darius
Mead, who settled at Wyoming upon lands obtained under Pennsylvania
title. A conflicting Connecticut claim having obliged him to relinquish
his improvements, he located in Point township six miles above
Northumberland on the North Branch, whence the family removed to Sunbury
at the commencement of the Revolutionary war. There David Mead kept a
hotel and established a distillery. He was elected county commissioner
in 1782 and served one term. In 1787, accompanied by his brother John,
he made a journey to the region west of the Allegheny river; they
returned in the spring of 1788 with seven others, and established the
first settlement in northwestern Pennsylvania at the site of Meadville,
Crawford county. David Mead was actively connected with affairs in that
part of the State until his death, August 23, 1816.
   Christopher Gettig was commissioned as first lieutenant in the Twelfth
Pennsylvania regiment, October 14, 1776. At Piscataway, New Jersey, he was
wounded on the 11th of May, 1777, taken prisoner, and had his leg
amputated. He died at Sunbury, July 2, 1790, leaving a widow, Anna
Dorothy, and seven children: Magdalena; Barbara; Elizabeth; Frederick;
Christopher; Catharine, and Joseph.
   Christian Gettig kept hotel on Front street at a building subsequently
known as "the barracks;" he was commissioned as justice, November 2, 1787,
and the sessions of the court were frequently held at his house. He also
operated a tannery. He died in 1797, leaving a widow, Elizabeth, and five
children: Christian; Henry; Jacob; John, and Elizabeth.
   Laurence Keene was commissioned as captain in Colonel Patton's
regiment, January 13, 1777, and continued with that rank after its
incorporation into the Eleventh; from the latter he was transferred to
the Third, and served for a time as aid-de-camp on the staff of General
Arthur St. Clair. He was appointed prothonotary of Northumberland county,
September 25, 1783, and died at Sunbury in July, 1789. He married Gaynor,
daughter of John Lukens, surveyor general of the State.
   Captain William Gray was born near Belfast, Ireland, in 1750. At
the commencement of the Revolution he resided in Northumberland. county,
and on the 15th of March, 1776, was commissioned as first lieutenant in
Captain Weitzel's company of Colonel Miles's regiment. He was taken
prisoner at the battle of Long Island, August 27, 1776, but was
exchanged on the 8th of December following and promoted to captain in
the Fourth regiment on the 3d of January, 1777. He retired from the
service, January 1, 1781, and returned to Northumberland county, where
he was engaged in merchandising at Sunbury for a time and also held the
office of deputy surveyor. His residence was a log house at the
southeast corner of Second and Walnut streets in that borough. He
married Mary, daughter of John and Mary Brady, in 1784, and they were
the parents of four children: Elizabeth; Mary; William M., and Jackson.
He died on the 18th of July, 1804; the circumstances of his death were
thus stated in Kennedy's Gazette: "On Wednesday the 18th instant, died
suddenly, while superintending the reapers in a field near his house,
Captain William Gray, of Sunbury. He had gone to a spring situated in a
swamp below the field to fetch some water for the men, and probably was
too weak to extricate himself after having fallen into the head of the
spring..... He was found dead with his head in the spring and sunk to
about the middle."
   John Lyon came to Sunbury from the State of Delaware. He was a
shoemaker by trade, but relinquished this occupation for that of brick-
making, and furnished the bricks which entered into the construction of
the court house, "state house," jail, and many of the first brick
residences of Sunbury. He also owned and operated the ferry immediately
prior to its acquisition by the borough. He was elected county
commissioner in 1797, served one term, and died on the 1st of January,
1800. He married Mary, daughter of David McKinney, and they were the
parents of nine children: David; John; Elizabeth; David; James; Mary;
Rebecca; Matthew, and Abram.
   John, Henry, and Dietrich Bucher emigrated from Switzerland to
Pennsylvania: Dietrich established an iron furnace near Reading; John
and Henry located at Sunbury. Henry Bucher was a farmer, and resided at
the southwest corner of Walnut and Third streets; he owned nearly all
that part of the borough between the Susquehanna river and Shamokin
creek from the mouth of the latter to Spruce street, and first reduced
this land to cultivation. He married a Miss Epley, and they had issue
as follows: Henry; Elizabeth, who married George Weiser (tanner); Mary,
who married Jacob Leisenring; Francis; George, a soldier in the war of
1812, and John. Henry had a hotel on Front street and operated the ferry
for some years; Francis was a tanner, and one of the last persons
engaged in that business at Sunbury. He died on the 19th of March, 1875,
at the age of seventy years.

   The first physicians were Doctors William Plunket, Francis Allison,
James Davidson, Solomon Markley, Joseph Thomson, Peter Kraut, William
Westhoven, Isaac Cushman, George Slough, C. H. Bailey, John Y. Kennedy,
Peter Grahl, William T. Morris, etc.; the first lawyers - Casper
Weitzel, Stephen Chambers, Charles Smith, Daniel Levy, Charles Hall,
Evan Rice Evans, Jesse Moore, Enoch Smith, Samuel Roberts, Hugh Bellas,
E. G. Bradford, Ebenezer Greenough, Samuel J. Packer, and others, of
whom extended mention is made in the appropriate chapters of this work

SUNBURY IN 1808

   The first triennial assessment of Sunbury borough was made in 1805,
but the list of taxable inhabitants for that year is incomplete; the
second was made in 1808, and exhibits the following improved property,
with names of respective owners and occupants.
   Front Street.- Frame house and stable, owned by Henry Aurand; log
and brick house and stable, owned and occupied by James Black, weaver;
log house and stable, owned by Conrad Minnich and occupied by John
Baker; stone house and stable, owned and occupied by John Boyd, register
and recorder of the county; brick house and stable, owned and occupied
by John Buyers, merchant and justice of the peace; log house, occupied
by Widow Brown; log house, owned by William Moore and occupied by Andrew
Callum, school master; small log house, owned by James Black and
occupied by William Coldron, baker; frame house, owned by William Witman
and occupied by John Colsher, school master; frame house, owned by John
Buyers and occupied by Philip Cook, tailor; log house, old house, and
stable, owned and occupied by William Dewart, Sr.; log house and stable,
owned and occupied by Henry Goodhart; log house and stable, owned and
occupied by Ann Gettig, widow; log house and stable, owned by Jacob
Kendig and occupied by Peter Grahl, physician; log house and stable,
owned by Henry Shaffer and occupied by Samuel Hahn, weaver; brick house
and stable, owned and occupied by Charles Hall, attorney; log house and
stable owned by Zachariah Robins and occupied by John Kinzer, boatman;
frame house and stable, owned and occupied by Mary Lyon, widow,
innkeeper; frame house and stable, owned and occupied by Daniel Levy,
prothonotary of the county; log house, owned by William Witman and
occupied by Nicholas Mantz, butcher; frame house and stable, owned and
occupied by Widow McKinney, storekeeper; old log house, owned by a Mr.
Hubley and occupied by Adam Snyder; log house and stable, owned by John
Buyers and occupied by Jacob Singer, innkeeper; log house and stable,
owned by a Mr. Fisher and occupied by Joseph Shannon; log house and
stable, owned and occupied by Enoch Smith, attorney; stone house, owned
and occupied by Jeremiah Simpson; small brick house, owned by Elizabeth
Gettig and occupied by William Withington, hatter; frame house, owned by
Margaret Baxter and occupied by Elizabeth Wilet; log house, owned by Widow
Epley and occupied by Adam Snyder, butcher.
   Market Street.- Frame house, occupied by Widow Albright; log house
owned by Christian Shissler and occupied by John Bright, saddler; log
house and stable, owned and occupied by Paul Baldy, blacksmith;
blacksmith shop, owned and occupied by Paul Baldy; frame house and barn,
owned by Jacob Vanderslice and occupied by Hugh Bellas, attorney; brick
house and stable, owned and occupied by Lewis Dewart, merchant; log
house and stable, owned and occupied by Evan R. Evans, attorney; frame
house, owned by Aaron Foulk and occupied by Widow Albright; log house
and stable, owned by C. Wagner and occupied by Stophel Gettig,
innkeeper; log house and stable, owned by Widow Gobin and occupied by
Edward Gobin, joiner; still house, owned and operated by Edward Gobin;
house, owned and occupied by Daniel Hoffman, shoemaker; log house, owned
by a Mr. Graham and occupied by Timothy Harris; stone house and stable,
owned by Charles Hall and occupied by Charles Hegins, innkeeper; brick
house and stable, owned and occupied by Charles Haas, merchant; log
house, owned by Joseph Harris and occupied by Rees Harris, shoemaker;
brick house and stable, owned by Jacob Preisinger and occupied by
Michael Kutzner, innkeeper; log house and stable, owned and occupied by
Theodorus Kiehl, justice of the peace; log house and stable, owned and
occupied by Joseph Lorentz, coroner of the county; brick house and
stable, owned by Jacob and Joseph Sinton and occupied by Daniel Lebo,
innkeeper; log house and stable, owned by Thomas Robins and occupied by
Conrad Minnich; frame house, owned by George Heim and occupied by
Charles Maus, attorney; log house, owned and occupied by Widow Miller;
small brick house and stable, owned and occupied by Henry Masser,
tinsmith; log house and stable, owned by Thomas Robins and occupied by
Henry Ruch, Sr., shoemaker; log house, owned by Thomas Robins and
occupied by Henry Ruch, Jr., shoemaker; log house, owned by Leonard
Epley and occupied by John Richards, mason; log house, tannery, and
barn, owned and occupied by Zachariah Robins, tanner; brick house and
stable, owned by Samuel Roberts and occupied by Henry Shaffer,
innkeeper; small frame house, owned and occupied by Henry Shaffer; brick
house and stable, owned and occupied by James Smith, innkeeper; log
house and stable, owned by Widow Geiger and occupied by Widow Schwartz;
frame house and stable, owned and occupied by Jonas Weaver, innkeeper;
stone house and stable, owned and occupied by Elizabeth Weitzel, widow,
storekeeper; log house and stable, owned by William McAdams and occupied
by Christian Wagner, carpenter.
   Chestnut Street.- Log house, owned and occupied by Joseph Alter,
carpenter; frame house and stable, owned by Andrew Graeff and occupied
by Andrew Albright, merchant; frame house and stable, owned and occupied
by James Alexander, merchant; log house, stable, and pottery, owned and
occupied by Daniel Bogar, potter; log house and shed, owned by George
Bright and occupied by Esther Bright, widow; log and frame house and
stable, owned by O. Bird and occupied by Francis Cook, farmer; log house
and stable, tannery, etc., owned and occupied by William Dewart, farmer;
log house and barn, owned by Christian Miller and occupied by John De
Long, shoemaker; log house and stable, owned by John Weigans and occupied
by Jacob Gass, barber; old log house, owned and occupied by Rebecca
Gorman; log house and stable, owned by John Hauswart and occupied by Simon
Glass, nailer; log house and stable, owned and occupied by Thomas
Giberson; log house and stable, owned and occupied by Daniel Hurley,
merchant; log house and stable, occupied by John Kendig; log house and
stable, owned by Daniel Bogar and occupied by George Martin, Jr.,
shoemaker; brick house and stable, owned and occupied by Solomon Markley,
physician; brick, frame, and log house, owned and occupied by William
McAdams, tailor; log house, owned by Daniel Bogar and occupied by
Frederick Miller, tailor; log house, owned by Joseph Alter and occupied by
John Mangrow; log house, owned by Alexander Hunter and occupied by William
Smith, school master; log house, owned by George Spice and occupied by
Sarah Wharton; log house, tannery, etc., owned and occupied by Jacob
Yoner, tanner; log house and stable, owned and occupied by John Young,
blacksmith.
   Penn Street.- Log house, owned by Daniel Hurley and occupied by
Charles Cameron, tailor; log house and stable, owned and occupied by
Jacob Thirst, blacksmith; old house, owned by Abraham Fry; log house and
stable, owned and occupied by Adam Renn, shoemaker; log house, owned by
U. Billman and occupied by John Sloan, innkeeper; log house and stable,
owned by Daniel Hurley and occupied by Jane Wight; small house, owned by
George Manta and occupied by Widow Ween.   Walnut Street.- Log
house, owned by Martin Epley and occupied by Christian Bower, carpenter;
log house and old barn, owned and occupied by Henry Bucher, farmer; log
house and stable, owned and occupied by Jacob Conrad; log house, owned
by William Dewart, Sr.; frame house, owned by James Silverwood and
occupied by Widow Duncan; log house and barn, owned and occupied by Mary
Gray, widow; log house and stable, owned and occupied by Abraham Kiehl,
carpenter; log house and stable, owned and occupied by George Martin,
Sr., shoemaker; frame house and stable, owned and occupied by Aaron
Robins, mason; old house and stable, owned and occupied by Peter Smith;
log house and stable, owned by Philip Masser and occupied by John
Snyder, blacksmith; old log house, owned by a Mr. Shellhard; old house,
owned and occupied by Jacob Vanderslice; log house, owned and occupied
by Henry Vanderslice, tailor; log house, owned by James Smith; old log
house, owned by William McAdams; small frame house, owned by Jonas
Weaver.   

   Indefinite Locations included the following: frame house adjoining
Andrew Rowe, owned by Daniel Baker and occupied by Jacob Baker; log
house adjoining Martin Epley, owned by John Bucher; log house and barn
adjoining Peter Smith, owned by Andrew Graeff and occupied by Henry
Bucher, farmer; log house adjoining Charles Hall, owned by Jacob
Vanderslice and occupied by Robert Carr, weaver; small log house and
stable adjoining J. Preisinger owned and occupied by Melchoir Deitrich,
carter; small log house adjoining Adam Hileman, owned by Mary Carter and
occupied by John Dentler; log house and stable, owned and occupied by
Widow Geiger; log house and stable adjoining Gear and J. Epley, owned by
Leonard Epley and occupied by Peter Goodhart, hatter; frame house
adjoining Joseph Alter, owned and occupied by Jacob Haines, butcher; log
house and stable adjoining Mary Carter, owned and occupied by Adam
Hileman, tailor; log house and barn adjoining William McAdams, owned and
occupied by George Harrison; house adjoining Owen Foulk, owned and
occupied by Conrad Minnich; log house and stable adjoining Henry Bucher,
owned and occupied by James McEwen, weaver; log house and stable
adjoining John Young, owned and occupied by Mary Martin, widow; log
house and stable adjoining Widow Geiger, owned by Widow Ponteous and
occupied by Peter Gray; old log house adjoining James McEwen, owned by
Andrew Rowe and occupied by Martin Waldorf; house and stable near Thomas
Giberson, owned by Frederick Haas and occupied by Thomas Weaver; log
house adjoining Daniel Hurley, owned by Leonard Epley and occupied by
John Richard, mason; small log house adjoining Adam Hileman; William
Graham, school master, at "point of the creek." Some of these persons
doubtless resided on Second, Third, Fourth, Arch, or Race streets, to
which no locations are definitely assigned.
   The Single Freemen were John Beitzel, clockmaker; Jacob Beck,
blacksmith; John Baldy, blacksmith; John Buyers; David Bright, saddler;
Charles Clark; Henry Donnel, surveyor; William G. Forrest, attorney;
Robert Gray, register's clerk; John Grahl; E. Greenough, attorney;
Cornelius Gorman, tobacconist; John Hurley, farmer; Jared Irwin,
sheriff; William Johnson, clerk; Henry Long, laborer; Martin Millet;
Baltzer Myerly, carpenter; Jacob Mantz; John Mantz; John Nail,
shoemaker; Adam Mantz; Thomas Painter, clerk; John Robins, mason;
Gilbert Robins, hatter; Andrew Rowe, tanner; John Rogers, distiller;
Joseph Richardson; Alexander Strickland, school master, and George
Shuff. It is probable that some of these persons had families, and
appear in this class from the fact that their residence at Sunbury did
not involve the occupancy of improved property.

REMINISCENCES OF DR. R. H. AWL

   The Sunbury of to-day presents a wide contrast with the town of sixty
years ago, not only in its material aspects, but also in the general
characteristics of its people. The following with reference to the social
diversions of a former generation and the appearance of the borough at
the time of his earliest recollection is given as the reminiscences of
Dr. R. H. Awl.
   The State militia organization, which received an impetus in the
war of 1812, was tolerably efficient for some years thereafter.
"Battalion days" occurred annually, and were the great social events of
the county. The Sunbury battalion was composed of the militia of the
surrounding townships; on the morning of the appointed day the companies
formed in line on the public square and adjacent streets, marched to the
parade ground, and engaged in the various military evolutions until
three or four o'clock in the afternoon. The rural population was present
en masse; a line of wagons and booths surrounded the parade ground, and
gingerbread, cakes, ginger ale, oranges, lemonade, pickled oysters,
spruce beer, and various other refreshments were dispensed in great
profusion. Measured by the results in increased efficiency to the
militia organization the "battalion days" were not a pronounced success,
but in the friendly social intercourse fostered by these occasions their
influence was highly beneficial.
   The Sunbury races were widely attended for many years. This form of
diversion was doubtless introduced anterior to the present century; the
manner in which announcements were made at an early date is shown by the
following notice in the Republican Argus of October 23, 1805:-

SUNBURY RACES

Free for any horse, mare, or gelding, will commence on the 27th of
October next. First day's race, four miles and repeat-purse, two hundred
dollars. Second day's race, three miles and repeat-purse, one hundred
twenty dollars. Third day's race, two miles and repeat-purse, one hundred
dollars. Sweepstakes on the fourth day for the entrance money, one mile
and repeat.

   About the time that Judge Cooper was elevated to the bench there was a
general movement against horse-racing, and he issued a proclamation for
its suppression within the counties composing his district. Extensive
preparations were then in progress for a great race at Sunbury; horses
were expected from Philadelphia, the tavern keepers had been to much
expense in providing for the anticipated crowd, and, in view of these
circumstances, the Judge was induced to withdraw his inhibition upon the
personal assurance of the promoters that there should be no gambling or
disorder. The apparent inconsistency of this action was urged against him
in 1811 in the proceedings before the legislature for his removal, and in
reply he stated that the race in question was the last in the county
during his judicial incumbency. The turf was again patronized under the
administrations of his successor's, however, and at the period of Doctor
Awl's earliest recollection there were two courses at Sunbury, one of
which extended along the bank of the river from Spruce street to two trees
near the Shamokin dam, while the other occupied "Back alley" (Third
street) within corresponding limits. Entries were made from distant points
in Pennsylvania and adjacent States, and jockeys were present from all
parts of the country. Considerable money changed hands on these occasions,
and if the local favorite did not happen to be the winner the town was
sometimes almost destitute of cash during the succeeding days.
   The game of long bullets was a popular sport at the beginning of
the present century. Iron balls were used, one of which, four and three
fourths inches in circumference with a weight of twelve and three
fourths ounces, is now in possession of Doctor Awl and was formerly
owned by his father. The regular ground for this game was Spruce street
between Fourth and the river; it was rolled, leveled, and hardened, and
was popularly known as "Bullet alley." In grasping the ball the index
and third fingers were tied in front of the second finger; the ball was
then projected with a jerk and made to bound along upon the ground the
greatest possible distance. If elevated too high, the force was spent
when it reached the earth; the fine art, therefore, consisted in
projecting the ball at the proper angle to secure the least resistance
as it rebounded from the ground. This sport developed great precision in
the muscular action of the arm, and was also calculated to strengthen
the chest and back. It was prohibited by ordinance of the borough in
1803, but the name of "Bullet alley" retained a place in the street
nomenclature of Sunbury many years after that date.(3)
   After the suppression of long bullets the game of ball first
commanded general popular favor. There were four ball alleys, located,
respectively, at Shaffer's hotel, at the old jail (southeast corner of
Market street and Center alley), at the yard of the county prison
(corner of Second and Arch streets), and at a vacant lot on the north
side of Market street east of the building in which Renn's drug store is
situated.
   Foot-races were of frequent occurrence, and were sometimes attended
by distinguished sprinters from other points. The course was usually in
"Bullet alley." Closely allied to these were the jumping matches, in
which five distinct varieties were recognized, viz.: the "single jump,"
"backward jump," "three jumps," " running hop, step, and jump," and "
high jump."
   At that period physical prowess was a prominent factor in the
adjustment of personal difficulties, the settlement of which for some
months previously was usually deferred until "battalion day." Each
community had its local bully, and when a number of the noted fighters
in town and country assembled under the patriotic influences of a
militia muster, the reminder of a past victory or defeat was sufficient
challenge to involve them all in a general melee. While a local code of
rules was generally recognized, these encounters were far more frequently
tests of strength than of skill. Not the fists alone, but also the teeth
and nails, were brought into requisition, and when one of the participants
acknowledged himself beaten it was usually because of thorough exhaustion
on account of the brutal treatment he had received. There were also
wrestling matches, conducted in a spirit of friendly rivalry, but the
skill displayed was of a crude type. The manly art of self-defense was
first regularly expounded at Sunbury in 1839 by a Mr. Reed, who opened a
boxing school on Front street between Walnut and Spruce. It is needless to
remark, however, that Marquis of Queensbury rules have not always been
observed in personal encounters since that date.
   Cock-fighting was also one of the fashionable amusements at Sunbury.
There were two varieties of game-cocks, the" reds" and the "grays;"
tradition asserts that the former were introduced by the Gibersons and the
latter by the Robinses. There were three cock-pits, located, respectively,
at the Blue Ball tavern, at Robins's tannery, and at a cellar on Front
street. The usual amount of betting was connected with exhibitions of this
nature; if the fight occurred at night the odds were generally in favor of
the "reds," as the "grays," owing to their color, could more easily be
distinguished.
   The Terpsichorean art was first scientifically taught in Northumberland
county by a Frenchman named Blondell, and David Hartzhorn was among his
successors at Sunbury in this department of instruction as early as 1802.
Cotillions were not introduced in the rural districts for many years
thereafter, however, and the exercises of "battalion day" regularly closed
with dancing at the various hotels in which the popular figures were
"straight four," "French four," and "the buckwheat thresher."
   At that early date considerable rivalry existed between the towns
of Sunbury and Northumberland, and the partisans on either side were not
slow to devise derisive epithets for the other. In this mutual exchange
of courtesies the people of Sunbury received the collective designation
of "Bullyrums" (bull- frogs), from the amphibious animals of that name
which found a congenial habitation in the marshy ground east of the
town; the corresponding sobriquet of the Northumberlanders was "Pine-
Knots," doubtless suggested by the pine forests that covered the hills
northeast of that borough. Each town was jealous of the prestige of the
other, and this feeling frequently found expression in collisions
between the boys and young men. But the old time antagonism has entirely
subsided, under the close commercial intimacy fostered by the
steamboats, railroad, and street railway.
   Sixty years ago (1830) the streets of Sunbury were green with
grass, upon which sheep, geese, ducks, and cows pastured at will. The
houses were nearly all constructed of wooden materials; the only three-
story buildings were the borough high school on Front street and a brick
structure at the southwest corner of Market and Third. The public
buildings included the court house, at the western end of the inclosure
in Market square; the "state house," at the southeast corner of Market and
Second streets; the jail, at the southwest corner of Second and Arch
streets; the borough market house, on Market square east of the court
house; the Lutheran church, on Third street, and the Reformed and
Presbyterian church, at the site of the present Reformed church.
   Race Street, the northern limit of the town plat, was improved to a
very limited extent. The only houses on the north side were the brick
residence of Jacob Heller at the corner west of Second and a wooden
building owned by Henry Masser and used as a dwelling or school house.
On the south side were the following improvements: a one-story log
building occupied by Mrs. Mollie Carr, the only house between Third and
Fourth; a small frame house west of Center alley, built by John G. Fry,
carpenter and court crier; a large red frame house, at the corner east
of Second, occupied by Henry Beshler, court crier; a small log house
built of unhewn timbers untrimmed at the corners, occupied by James
McEwen, weaver (one of the principal wells of the borough is on these
premises), and an old house at the corner of Front.
   Arch Street.- South side: a brick house at the corner west of Fourth,
built in 1822 by Michael Sanders and occupied by Francis P. Schwartz,
teacher; a log house, erected by George Lawrence, and afterward converted
into a stable by John G. Youngman; the residence of John G. Youngman,
printer, at the corner west of Third; a frame building at the corner west
of Center alley, owned by Lewis Dewart; the shop of Samuel Gobin, wagon
maker; the Follmer property, a small frame house; the brick residence of
Jacob Druckemiller; a red frame barn connected with the jail, at the
corner west of Second; and E. Greenough's residence, at the corner east of
Front.(4)
   North side: a one-story log house with clapboard roof, at the
corner west of Fourth, occupied by Phebe Rowe; a frame house, occupied
by Alexander Strickland; a two-story log house, with brick end at the
east, built for George P. Buyers by Jacob Ruch; a log house at the
corner east of Third, occupied by Andrew McNamara; a frame house west of
Third, removed from Market street by Eli Diemer, register and recorder
of Northumberland county, 1824-27, who died, December 1, 1875, at the
age of eighty-three years, eleven months, and six days; the brick house
of Henry Yoxtheimer, west of Second, with a frame shop adjoining in
which he formerly conducted wagon making, and the old Maclay house, at
the corner east of Front.
   Market Street was then, as now, the business thoroughfare of the
borough. On the south side, the first improvement on the east was the
Robins tannery, at the southeast corner of Market and Fifth. Between Fifth
and Fourth were the log house owned by William Kebler, a German butcher; a
long double log house occupied by Mrs. Kitty Bower; who sold cakes and
beer; the frame house and hatter shop of Edward Kutzner and Benjamin
Robins; the brick residence of Dr. William Robins, and his office at the
present site of D. Heim's store, and Jonas Weaver's hotel, at the east end
of which was Black & Leisenring's store. Between Fourth and Third: Young &
Alter's store and John Young's residence, the former the brick building
in which Reimensnyder's drug store is situated and the latter the frame
house immediately adjoining on the west, both now owned by the Bassler
estate; the frame residence of George Weiser, justice of the peace and
subsequently associate judge; the frame residence of Peter Martz,
afterward associate judge and member of the legislature; George C.
Welker's tailor shop, a small frame structure back from the street; the
present brick residence of Mrs. George C. Welker, then occupied by
Betsey Bright as a millinery store; the saddler shop of Jonathan Weiser;
a frame house occupied by George Gass, whose wife sold cakes and beer; a
frame building in which William Jordan, brother of Judge Jordan, had his
store and residence; a frame house back from the street, occupied by the
Wiggins or Vanderslice family; a frame building at the southeast corner
of Market square, occupied by William Miller as a buhr-making shop, (in
which a bear belonging to a traveling showman and a bull-dog belonging
to Thomas Robins were once pitted against each other, and the stakes,
amounting to five dollars, were awarded to Robins), and the stone house
still standing at the southeast corner of Third and Market. Between
Third and Second: Lorenzo Da Ponte's three-story brick building on the
corner west of Third, and store, a small frame structure adjoining on
the west; Jacob Painter's frame residence and hat shop; Henry Shissler's
residence, now owned by Mrs. Louisa Shissler; the blacksmith shop of
Jesse, David, and John Martz; the old jail building at the corner of
Center alley, then the Farmers' Hotel, kept by William Shannon; a frame
house across the alley; the two-story brick residence of Henry Masser,
still standing, in the cellar of which he had a tin-ware store; a two-
story brick building, in which Henry Yoxtheimer resided and had a large
general store; George Prince's hotel, the Lawrence House, and the old
"state house." Between Second and First: Henry Shaffer's hotel, a brick
building, at the site of the Neff House; James Smith's brick residence,
at the site of Ira T. Clement's; Weitzel's hotel, a stone structure just
west of the alley, and Daniel Levy's law office, a small frame building
at the southeast corner of Market and Front.

   On the north side of Market street the most easterly improvement was a
log house in which James Farrow, blacksmith, resided, situated between
Fifth street and the alley, west of which were the following: a frame
house now occupied by Mrs. George W. Kiehl; several buildings owned by
Henry Weise, sheriff of the county, 1854-57; James Farrow's blacksmith
shop; a frame building, subsequently the office of the Gazette, and
Charles Gobin's tannery, while the corner east of Fourth was owned by Mrs.
Betsey Bright. Between Fourth and Third: a frame shop at the west corner
of Fourth at the site of the bank; the brick residence and store of John
Haas; two small frame buildings, occupied, respectively, as cooper and
shoemaker shops; a large log house, occupied by Jacob Kiehl; a frame
shop; John Boulton's brick hotel, with tailor shop upstairs in an
adjoining frame building; the brick building in which Dr. P. H. Renn's
drug store is situated, then owned by Gideon Markle; the frame house now
owned by Caroline Dalius, formerly occupied by Henry Gobin and Thomas
Billington as a store and by the Dering family as a residence; a frame
building at the northeast corner of Market square, in which Peter
Lazarus conducted a drug store; a blacksmith shop, and Martin Weaver's
brick residence at the site of the Central Hotel. Between Third and
Second: a two-story shop, at the corner west of Third; a frame building
with shed roof, Ezra Grossman's printing office, at the west side of the
lot upon which the Dewart block stands; a wooden building at the site of
Doctor Awl's residence, originally owned by the Keims, of Reading,
Pennsylvania, and occupied by Ezra Grossman in 1830; a wooden building
back from the street, in which Jacob D. Breyvogel, the first printer at
Sunbury, is said to have resided; the brick residence of Samuel J.
Packer, originally built by Paul Baldy, with an addition by John Sinton,
carpenter and school teacher; a one-story frame shop, at the corner east
of Center alley, the site of the Presbyterian church; the present brick
residence of the Dewart family; the present brick residence of George
Hill, erected by Edward Gobin; a frame house, in which Mrs. Henry Donnel
resided, and the present Donnel property, formerly a hotel. Between
Second and Front: a wooden building at the corner west of Second; the
old frame building still standing, formerly the residence of Mrs. Gaynor
Smith, widow of Enoch Smith, and a great place for social gatherings,
and the brick building at the northeast corner of Front and Market,
built by Charles Hall.
   Chestnut Street, on the south side, was not improved east of
Fourth, with the exception of the present brick residence of Mrs. Mary
Lenker, then occupied by George Young. Between Fourth and Third the
improvements comprised a log school house, afterward occupied by John
Hileman, shoemaker, and the brick residence of George Weiser, tanner,
subsequently associate judge. Between Third and Second: a wooden
building, in which Daniel Hoffman, shoemaker and constable, resided; the
frame house and shop of George Weyel, cooper; the frame residence of
Frederick Lazarus, justice of the peace, whose son, Peter Lazarus, was
sheriff of the county, l830-33; a wooden building immediately west of
Center alley, the residence of Alexander Jordan, and the present
residence of Dr. A. S. Cummings, then occupied by the widow of John L.
Finney, ex-register and recorder of this county and prothonotary of the
Supreme court for the Middle district of Pennsylvania, who was born, May
12, 1766, and died on the 24th of October, 1824. Between Second and Front:
the present residence of H. B. Masser, then occupied by Isaac Zeigler,
tanner; a wooden building, in which Jacob Bright, watchmaker, resided;
Henry Bartsher's hotel, a large wooden building; John Bogar's frame
residence and store, just east of the alley, and a small brick building,
belonging to William McCarty.
   On the north side of Chestnut street, the only improvement east of
Fourth was a wooden building at the northeast corner of Chestnut and
Fourth, owned by Peter Hileman. The improvements between Fourth and
Third included Jacob Weimer's brick residence at the corner west of
Fourth; a log school building; the log house of George Hall, maker of
spinning wheels, large and small; the frame house of George Zimmerman,
and his blacksmith shop, and Miss Sallie Giberson's log dwelling, at the
corner east of Third. Between Third and Second: the large frame
residence and cabinet making shop of Charles Dering; west of Center
alley, a log school house subsequently occupied by a German named
Westerman, and Hugh Bellas's frame residence, now occupied by Dr. F. B.
Masser. Between Second and Front: a church building at the corner west
of Second; the present residence of W. I. Greenough, then occupied by
Peter Weimer; Daniel Bogar's pottery and residence, and Daniel Levy's
residence, which fronted, however, toward the river.
   Penn Street had but three houses on the south side: a log structure
between Third and Fourth, occupied by James Butler, colored; a large
frame house at the southeast corner of Penn and Third, occupied by the
widow Miller and daughters Susan and Betsey, and a wooden building at
the southeast corner of Penn and Front, occupied by John Ray. On the
north side, beginning at the east, the succession of improvements was as
follows: Daniel Hurley's log house, at the corner east of Fourth;
Christian Bower's frame house, at the corner west of Fourth; the log
house of Jacob Martin, tinner; a wooden building; the log house of John
Barnes, shoemaker; a log house, occupied by Polly and Ann Hunter; a long
frame house, occupied by Captain Heinen, a veteran of the war of 1812,
and a log house at the northeast corner of Third and Penn, occupied by
Dinah Anderson, a colored woman, and John Boyer, her son-in-law. Mrs.
James Husted resided at the Buyers property on the corner east of Front.
   Walnut Street had a fair complement of improvement. On the south
side, the following were situated between Fourth and Third: the frame
house of Jacob Young, brick-maker; the frame house of Samuel Gobin,
wagon maker; a log school house, and the wooden dwelling of Joseph
Hinton, blacksmith. Between Third and Second: Henry Bucher's residence,
at the corner west of Third (it was customary for funeral processions
from the country to stop at this corner, from which the entire cortege
walked to the cemetery); Leonard Epley's frame house, at the corner east
of Center ally, and the house at the corner east of Second street in which
the Gray family resided. Between Second and First: the house in which John
Schneider resided; a frame house, long occupied by Rev. J. P. Shindel; a
small house, in which Mrs. Reinold lived; a log house, in which Mrs.
Reppert lived, and the hotel and hatter shop of Charles Wharton, at the
corner east of Front.
   On Walnut street, north side, at the corner east of Fourth, was the
log house of Christian Petry. Between Fourth and Third: an old log house
at the corner west of Fourth, occupied by Peter Goodhart, who died on
the 6th of November, 1840, aged seventy years (Mary, his wife, died on
the 11th of January, 1854, at the age of eighty; during the war of 1812,
while standing at the door of her house, which opened in two sections,
as the outer doors of mills usually do, a drunken soldier shot off one
of her fingers); the frame house of John Lyon, now occupied by Miss
Harriet Lyon; Christian Foulk's frame residence; an old log school
house, and Jeremiah Simpson's frame residence, at the corner east of
Third. Between Third and Second: Leonard Montgomery's house, at the
corner east of Center alley; a large frame house, in which Aaron Robins,
brick layer and school master, resided; Jeremiah Shoop's large frame
house, and a wooden building still standing at the corner east of
Second. Between Second and Front: a frame building at the corner west of
Second, which has been in possession of the Martin family since 1816; a
log house, occupied by Mrs. Kate Withington, nee Smith, and a log school
house, one of the earliest in the town.
   Spruce Street was popularly known as "Bullet alloy." A small frame
house stood on the corner west of Third on the north side, owned by
George Weiser and occupied by Peter Thirst, undertaker; between this and
Fourth street were two frame houses owned by William McCarty, both
opposite the cemetery.
   Front Street was undoubtedly the location of many of the first
improvement in the town. The only houses between Race and Arch were the
residence of a Mr. Lukens and the old Maclay house at the corner north
of Arch. At the corner south of Arch is the stone house erected in 1797
by Jeremiah Simpson, register and recorder of the county; it was for
many years the residence of E. Greenough, attorney at law, whose office
was situated at the site of E. W. Greenough's present residence. A two-
story log building, and later an ice-house, occupied the corner south of
the alley, and at the corner north of Market is the brick and stone
structure built by Charles Hall, attorney at law. There were three
houses between Market and Chestnut: Daniel Levy's law office, at the
corner south of Market; Dr. John B. Price's residence, at the corner
north of the alley, and Daniel Levy's residence, a long frame building
with extension to the rear, and grounds extending to Chestnut street. At
the corner south of Chestnut was a small brick house owned by William
McCarty, and originally erected by Christian and Henry Gettig in
compliance with the will of their father, Christian Gettig, as a residence
for their mother, Elizabeth Gettig; and then in order were the following:
an old log house, weather-boarded and painted red, and known as "the
barracks;" Dr. Solomon Markley's brick residence, still standing; the
frame house of James Black, merchant; a three-story brick structure at
the site of the high school building; the Buyers property, occupied for
many years by Mrs. Sarah Husted and demolished by the construction of
the Reading railroad; a wooden building at the corner south of Penn
street, owned by William McCarty and occupied by John Ray; John Lyon's
brick hotel, still standing; the Misses Barringer's candy shop, a small
log house; a house owned by William McCarty; Michael Quin's store; the
hatter shop and hotel of Charles Wharton, at the corner south of Walnut;
the dwelling of Charles Rhinehart, boatman and farmer; the hotels of
George and Jacob Mantz, watermen and pilots, and a large frame house
near the corner of Spruce, subsequently occupied by the borough as a
poor house, and the limit of the town proper. An old log house, owned by
Hugh Bellas; a frame house, occupied by Peter Kerlin, farmer; a frame
house at the dam, occupied by Edward Harrison; a small log house, owned
by George C. Welker and occupied by his father; an old stone hotel,
known as the Oberdorf property, and a frame hotel, near the bridge, kept
by John Miller, were situated at irregular intervals between Spruce
street and the mouth of Shamokin creek.
   Second Street, east side, was improved as follows: a red frame
house at the corner south of Race, the residence of Henry Beshler, court
crier; the "state house," at the corner south of Market; a frame
building at the rear end of the court house lot, occupied by the fire
engines; Hugh Bellas's residence, at the corner north of Chestnut; Mrs.
John L. Finney's residence, at the corner south of Chestnut; a wooden
building still standing at the corner north of Walnut, and Mrs. William
Gray's residence, at the corner south of Walnut.
   On the west side of Second street improvements had been made in the
following order: the brick residence of Jacob Heller, carriage and wagon
maker; his frame shop, afterward a school building, located between Race
and Arch; the red stable connected with the jail, at the corner south of
Arch; the jail; Enoch Smith's law office, a frame building at the corner
north of Market; Henry Shaffer's hotel, at the corner south of Market; a
small frame building at the corner of Barberry alley, formerly occupied
as a printing office and school house; the Reformed and Presbyterian
church, at the corner north of Chestnut; Isaac Zeigler's brick
residence, at the corner south of Chestnut, and tannery, at the southern
end of his lot, and Isaac Martin's residence, at the corner north of
Walnut.
   Third Street.- East side: a small frame house between Race and
Arch, formerly part of a raft or flat-boat, occupied by Hannah Woolsey,
who subsequently removed to the corner of Race and Third; Martin Weaver's
residence, at the corner north of Market; Fox's stone hotel, at the corner
south of Market; Miss Sallie Giberson's residence, at the corner north of
Chestnut; George Weiser's tannery, at the corner south of Chestnut, and
tan house, in which one of the early schools was conducted; Dinah
Anderson's residence, at the corner north of Penn; Widow Miller's
residence, at the corner south of Penn; Jeremiah Simpson's residence, at
the corner north of Walnut, and Joseph Hinton's residence, at the corner
south of Walnut.
   West side: John G. Youngman's residence, at the corner south of
Arch; the two-story brick building between Arch and Market, built by
Andrew Albright and occupied by his widow; Charles Keany's buhr making
shop, at the corner north of Market; Lorenzo Da Fonts's brick building,
at the corner south of Market; Charles Dering's cabinet making shop, at
the corner north of Chestnut; the Lutheran church, between Penn and
Walnut; Henry Bucher's residence, at the corner south of Walnut, and
Peter Durst's residence, at the corner north of Spruce.
   Fourth Street.- East side Mrs. Betsey Bright's residence, at the
corner north of Market; Jonas Weaver's hotel, at the corner south of
Market; Peter Hileman's residence, at the corner north of Chestnut;
George Young's residence, at the corner south of Chestnut; Daniel
Young's residence; a long red house, occupied by John Slutman and Walter
Bell; the residence of Daniel Beck, a soldier in the war of 1812,
immediately north of the Shamokin Valley railroad; the frame residence
of Sebastian Haupt, cabinet maker; the frame residence of Daniel Haupt,
carpenter; Andrew Durst's house; a log house at the corner north of
Penn, occupied by Daniel Hurley, merchant; the large frame house of John
Bucher, at the corner south of Penn; Anthony Weke's residence; Jacob
Crist's residence; a wooden building owned by Lewis Dewart; the frame
house of Henry Petry, carpenter; the frame house of John Petry,
carpenter; the house of John Eisely, school teacher; the log house of
George Hileman, mason; the log house of Christian Petry, laborer, at the
corner north of Walnut; the frame house of John Randles, mason; a frame
house; Mrs. Ann Moore's frame house; the frame house of Charles Beck,
plasterer; a wooden building, occupied by Jacob Beck, butcher, a soldier
of the war of 1812; a frame house occupied by two maiden ladies, Misses
Ann and Kate Snyder, and a log house occupied by several brothers of the
Snyder family.
   West side: the log house of Phebe Rowe, who sold cakes and beer, at
the corner north of Arch; a brick house at the corner south of Arch,
occupied by Francis P. Schwartz, teacher; a small red house, midway
between Arch and Market, occupied by Joseph Gust, saddler; John Young's
brick store, at the corner south of Market; the log house of John Guss,
tailor; Jacob Weimer's residence, at the corner north of Chestnut; a
long frame house below Chestnut; the log house of Samuel Gussler,
tailor, immediately south of the Shamokin Valley railroad; Christian
Bower's residence, at the corner north of Penn; and Jacob Young's
residence, at the corner south of Walnut.
  
PROMINENT MERCHANTS, 1771 to 1850

   It is not possible to compile a list of all the individuals or
firms that were engaged in mercantile pursuits at Sunbury during the
period of its early history and down to the year 1850, however
interesting such an enumeration might be; instead of this, it is
proposed to give biographical sketches of those who were longest and
most prominently identified with the business interests of the community
during the period mentioned.
   John Weitzel, the first merchant at Sunbury, was born at Lancaster,
Pennsylvania, December 30, 1752, son of Paul and Charlotte Weitzel. He
obtained a fair education at his native town, and was sent to
Philadelphia at an early age to learn the business of merchandising. He
opened the first store at the site of Sunbury in 1771 in a log building
near the bank of the river below Market street, and from that time until
his death was prominently and responsibly connected with public affairs.
At the organization of Northumberland county in 1772 he was one of its
first commissioners. On the 29th of July, 1775, he was commissioned as a
justice of the county court; to this office he was re-commissioned on
the 9th of June, 1777, for the term of seven years. At the organization
of the Committee of Safety for Northumberland county, February 8, 1776,
he appeared as a member from Augusta township, and participated in the
deliberations of that body until August 13, 1776. In the Provincial
Conference of June 18, 1776, he was one of the representatives from
Northumberland county; on the 8th of July he was elected to the
Constitutional Convention of 1776, and in that body of ninety-six
members "the representative men of the State," he was the youngest
delegate; and, as a member of the Council of Safety from July 24, 1776,
to March 13, 1777, he participated in its deliberations during the first
months of the State government. On the 22d of January, 1776, he
qualified as county commissioner, in which office and as justice of the
county courts he was actively connected with the conduct of civil
affairs in this county during the Revolution. July 7, 1780, he was
commissioned issuing commissary for this county, and in 1782-84 served
as contractor of supplies for the State troops. In this capacity he
furnished provisions for the detachments stationed at Fort Rice and in
Buffalo valley in 1782 and the companies of Captains Robinson and
Shrawder at Wyoming in 1783-84, performing the duties of his office with
promptness, energy, and fidelity. He was again commissioned as a justice
of the county courts, June 19, 1789, serving until 1791, and in the
autumn of 1789 was elected county commissioner for the term of three
years. In 1794 he was appointed by act of the legislature one of the
commissioners for the erection of public buildings at Sunbury and in
this responsible position acted in a public capacity for the last time,
as his death occurred in 1799. He was twice married; first, to Tabitha,
daughter of John and Rose Morris, of Philadelphia, by whom he had four
children: John; Paul; Charlotte, and Mary. His second wife was Elizabeth
Susanna, daughter of Paul Lebo, of Lancaster, and sister of Henry Lebo,
and by her he had three children: George; Elizabeth, and Tabitha. At the
time of his death John Weitzel resided at a stone dwelling on Market
street, subsequently kept as a hotel by his family many years. In
connection with his business as a merchant he operated a mill two miles
east of Sunbury; it was built by Casper Weitzel, his brother, who died in
1782, and has been run successively by John Weitzel, Jr., and Joseph
Weitzel, his son, the present proprietor, who was born in 1808, and is the
oldest living representative of the family.
   William Dewart, the second merchant of Sunbury, was a native of
Ireland, from whence he emigrated to Chester county, Pennsylvania, in
1765. Being in reduced circumstances, he was obliged to redeem his
passage money, but prosperity at length rewarded his efforts; in 1775 he
opened a store at Sunbury in a log building on Chestnut street between
Second and Center alley, and was constable of Augusta township as early
as 1777. Subsequently he purchased ground on the north side of Market
street and built thereon a brick residence and store He was successful
in business, and amassed considerable property. He died on the 25th of
July, 1814, at the age of sixty-nine years; Eleanor, his wife, died,
September 17, 1805, aged fifty-eight years, ten months, and twenty-four
days. William Dewart, Jr., their son, died on the 12th of November,
1810, at the age of thirty-two years, one month and twenty-three days;
Liberty, his wife, was born on the 9th of August, 1778, son of John and
Mary Brady, and died on the 25th of July, 1851. Their son, William
Dewart, 3d, was born on the 24th of November, 1806, and died, May 18,
1841; he was a well known merchant at Sunbury.
   John and James Black were brothers, natives of Ireland, and early
merchants at Sunbury. John, the elder, was born in 1735, and died on the
13th of November, 1790; he served as supervisor of Augusta township in
1779, and was probably established in business in Sunbury at that date.
Their business was conducted at a frame house which stood on Front
street immediately south of the track of the Shamokin Valley and
Pottsville railroad; there James Black erected the first three-story
brick house in Sunbury, upon the site of the present high school
building. On the 1st of March, 1790, he purchased at sheriff's sale a
tract of two hundred acres on the West Branch near the mouth of
Limestone run, and in 1795 laid out part of it in streets and lots; this
land originally belonged to the estate of Turbutt Francis, and now
constitutes that part of the town of Milton north of Broadway. James
Black was born in Ireland, May 12, 1752, son of James and Rachel Black,
and died at Sunbury on the 30th of November, 1830; Catharine, his wife,
daughter of James and Jane Cochran, who settled in Columbia county,
Pennsylvania, on the Susquehanna river opposite the mouth of Catawissa
creek, in ante-Revolutionary times, was born, July 25, 1766, and died on
the 23d of December, 1843. They were the parents of nine children: Jane;
John; David; John; William; Andrew; James; Jesse, and Rachel.
  
   John Buyers was born, June 9, 1749, son of John and Letitia (Patton)
Buyers, who emigrated from the town of Monaghan, County Monaghan, Ireland,
in 1735 or 1736, and settled in the Pequea valley, Lancaster county,
Pennsylvania. There he was born and reared, and learned the trade of
carpenter. Within a short time after the town of Sunbury was laid out he
removed thither, and was employed upon the erection of many of the first
houses, including the old jail building on Market street. He first resided
at the southeast corner of Race and Second streets, but removed several
years later to the southeast corner of Penn and Front streets, where he
began merchandising; in 1796 he built a brick residence and store room on
the opposite corner of Penn street, and continued business there until
1814 or 1815. His name first appears in local official connection in 1776
as overseer of the poor in Augusta township; on the 28th of September,
1780, he was commissioned as justice of the peace, serving also as justice
of the county court, and frequently presiding in the absence of the
regularly commissioned president; he was commissioned as justice of the
peace for Sunbury and Augusta township, September 1, 1791, serving in that
capacity some years; on the 31st of December, 1784, and the 3d of January,
1786, he was elected county treasurer, which office he also filled in 1787-
88, and in 1800-08, inclusive, he served as county auditor. His death
occurred on the 5th of May, 1821; Ann, his wife, daughter of William
Fullerton, died on the 30th of October, 1808, in the fifty-ninth year of
her age. They were the parents of ten children: Margaret; Letitia; John;
William F.; Sallie; Robert; Samuel; George R.; Alexander F., and
Jeremiah. William F. Buyers was the founder of the Sunbury Times, and is
referred to biographically in this work in the chapter on the Press.
George P. Buyers was engaged in boating on the river before the
construction of the canal; he then built a canal boat, and ran it
between Sunbury and Philadelphia. He married Martha Hunter, a descendant
of Colonel Samuel Hunter; their son, John Buyers, born in 1827, was the
first captain of the Augusta Rangers (Company I, Fifty-eighth
Pennsylvania Volunteers), and was in active service in command of this
company from October, 1861, to the summer of 1863. He now resides at
Selinsgrove, Pennsylvania.
   John Haas came from the Trappe, Montgomery county, Pennsylvania,
and learned the trade of blacksmith with Paul Baldy. He first engaged in
business as a distiller, having built a small distillery on the Centre
turnpike two miles east of Sunbury; after discontinuing operations there
he erected a saw mill on the land now owned by Dr. R. H. Awl, but the
dam was twice washed away, and under the pressure of these reverses he
was obliged to assign all his property for the benefit of his creditors.
In this emergency he applied to a friend of his boyhood, Joseph Hiester,
of Reading (Governor of Pennsylvania, 1820-23), who loaned him one
thousand dollars, and with this capital he embarked in merchandising at
Sunbury before the year 1802 in a small log building on the north side of
Market street. Prior to 1808 he erected the brick house still standing
near the northwest corner of Market and Fourth, and continued business
therein for some years. He built a mill on Little Shamokin creek, Upper
Augusta township, in 1814, and also operated it in connection with his
store. He died on the 17th of January, 1828, at the age of sixty-four;
Maria Elizabeth, nee Druckemiller, his wife, lived to the age of seventy-
five, dying on the 16th of November, 1845. Frederick Haas, their oldest
son, who was treasurer of Northumberland county, 1825-27, auditor, 1831-
33, and commissioner, 1856-59, was born on the 31st of July, 1796, and
died, August 19, 1861; George Haas, another son, was clerk to the board
of county commissioners, 1829-35; and Daniel Haas, also a son of John and
Maria Haas, was born at Sunbury in 1806 and is the oldest native
resident of that borough.
   Henry Masser was born at Oley, Berks county, Pennsylvania, February
11, 1775, son of Matthias and Barbara (Berger) Masser, natives of
Wurtemberg, Germany, and Switzerland, respectively. After learning the
trade of tinsmith he engaged in business for a short time at Gettysburg
and Harris burg, Pennsylvania; in 1801 he came to Sunbury and
established himself in the tinning trade, which, in 1809, expanded into
a general merchandising business. From that date he was continuously
engaged in mercantile pursuits until 1852, and throughout this period
occupied but one location, the two-story brick building on the south
side of Market street on the second lot west of Center alley. He served
as county commissioner, 1808-11, as auditor, 1813-14 and 1820-22, and
was also justice of the peace many years. In 1802 he married Mary
Barbara, daughter of Paul Baldy; she was born, July 11, 1785, and died
on the 24th of June, 1828. His death occurred on the 17th of July, 1853.
They were the parents of twelve children, ten of whom grew to maturity:
Elizabeth, widow of Rev. Jeremiah Shindel, of Allentown, Pennsylvania;
William, retired farmer, residing near Three Rivers, Michigan; Henry B.,
retired publisher, Sunbury; John, deceased; Mary Ann, widow of Francis
Bucher, of Sunbury; Peter B., deceased; Charles, deceased; George W.,
deceased; Jacob B., deceased, and Edward B., deceased.
   John Young was born at Sunbury on the 1st of February, 1793, and
learned the trade of carpenter in early life. In 1817 he started a store
in the east end of Weaver's hotel; his stock was advanced by his
brother-in-law, Jacob Alter, a wholesale grocer of Philadelphia, and on
several occasions he walked to that city to purchase goods. In 1823 he
erected the brick building still standing at the southwest corner of
Market and Fourth streets, and continued business therein until 1859; he
moved to Milton in 1860, and died on the 4th of November, 1862. His wife
was Catharine, daughter of Joseph Alter, and they were the parents of
seven children, four of whom grew to maturity: Mary Sophia, deceased,
who married J. P. Shindle, Jr.; Elizabeth, deceased, who married Samuel
T. Brown, of Milton; S. J., who served as chief burgess of Sunbury in
1857; and Catharine Louisa, deceased, who married Rev. M L. Shindel.
   John Bogar was a son of Paul Bogar, one of the first persons who
engaged in the manufacture of pottery at Sunbury. But little is known
regarding his personal history. He first opened a store on the south
side of Chestnut street immediately east of the alley between Front and
Second; thence he removed to the old jail building, southeast corner of
Market street and Center alley; and after continuing in business at that
place for some years, departed for Freeport, Illinois.
   Henry Yoxtheimer was a native of Northumberland county and a son of
Henry Yoxtheimer, Sr., a pioneer in the valley of Plum creek. He was a
wagon maker by trade, and pursued that calling on Arch street opposite
the jail; there he began merchandising on a small scale. In 1826-27, he
erected a large brick building on the south side of Market street; it
had a frontage of sixty feet, embracing part of the court house yard and
the site of C. R. Savidge's residence. At the eastern side was an
archway, the only one in connection with a mercantile establishment at
Sunbury; it lead to a large warehouse at the rear end of the lot, where
grain and produce were stored. Mr. Yoxtheimer owned one of the first
canal boats regularly engaged in the carrying trade between Sunbury and
Philadelphia, and was also a pioneer coal operator at Shamokin. He died
on the 27th of November, 1849, at the age of fifty-six years; the store
at Sunbury was continued by John W. Friling and William T. Grant, and
was for some years one of the leading business places of that town. Mr.
Yoxtheimer was twice married, first, to Margaret Malick, by whom he had
two children: Margaret, widow of John W. Friling, and William,
deceased. His second wife was Mrs. Nancy Follmer, nee Bacon, and they
were the parents of one child, Rachel, wife of William T. Grant, of
Sunbury.

EARLY HOTELS

   Six persons were licensed as hotel keepers at Sunbury in 1780, viz.:
Christian Gettig, Catherine Shaffer, Adam Walker, John Morrison, Joseph
Lorentz, and David Mead
   Dr. R. H. Awl furnishes the following list of old hotels: Jonas
Weaver's, "Sign of the Buck," a large frame building at the present sits
of the City Hotel; John Boulton's, "Sign of the Red Lion," a brick and
frame building on the north side of Market street between Second and
Third; Jacob Fox's, "Sign of the Bull's Head," the stone building at the
southeast corner of Market and Third streets (Fox became proprietor in
1829; among his predecessors were Jacob Weaver, Charles Hegins, John
Hogan, William T. Brown, and Jacob Oberdorf); George Prince's, "The
Lawrence House," a brick building adjacent to the site of the present
court house, the sign was embellished with a portrait of the naval hero
and his memorable words, "Don't give up the ship;" James R. Shannon's,
"The Farmer's Hotel," the old jail building on Market street; Michael
Kutzner's, the present residence of Mrs. Amelia Donnel on Market street
(It was here that Daniel Levy and General Hugh Brady fought a duel with
swords in 1812; Levy sustained a wound in the shoulder and the loss of his
cue, while Brady broke his sword, and more serious consequences might have
occurred if Michael Kutzner and Samuel Awl had not separated the
combatants); Weitzel's, a large stone house on the south side of Market
street near Front, with a sign emblazoned with an eagle and chain and the
word "Hotel;" the old Maclay house, at the northeast corner of Front and
Arch streets, where Henry Lebo, John Brady, H. W. Villee, and others
conducted a hotel; John Lyon's, "The Indian Queen," on Front street
below Penn; Henry Bartsher's, "Sign of the Black Horse," on the south
side of Chestnut street between Front and Second; Charles D. Wharton's,
at the southeast corner of Walnut and Front; William Mantz's, "Sign of
the Stage Coach," on Front street; Henry Bucher's, "The Ferry House," a
large frame building on Front street subsequently occupied as the
borough poor house; John Cressinger's, at the Shamokin dam; Jacob
Oberdorf's, "Sign of the Cross Keys," at the dam; John Miller's, "Sign
of the Blue Ball," at the "point;" Edward Harrison's, "Sign of the
Rising Sun," at the dam, and Henry Shaffer's, at the present site of the
Neff House.