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



CHAPTER 14 - Pages 444-514 - Part B
SUNBURY

MUNICIPAL ORGANIZATION AND GOVERNMENT

   The borough of Sunbury was incorporated by act of Assembly, March
24, 1797, with the following boundaries:-

   Beginning at the mouth of Shamokin creek where it empties into the
river Susquehanna at low water mark; thence up the said creek, on the
north side thereof, to the mouth of the gut; thence up the same, on the
west side thereof, to the line of Samuel Scott's land, and by the same
to the river aforesaid at low water mark; thence down the same river at
low water mark to the place of beginning.

   Section IId of the act of incorporation provided for the election
on the first Monday in May, 1797, and annually thereafter, of two
burgesses, the one receiving the highest number of votes to be chief
burgess, the other, second burgess; four assistant burgesses, "for
assisting the said burgesses in managing the affairs of the borough, and
in keeping the peace and good order therein," a high constable, and a
town clerk. Section IIId conferred upon the burgesses and inhabitants
the powers of a body corporate and politic; Section IVth authorized the
holding of markets on Wednesday and Saturday of each week, under the
supervision of a clerk appointed by the burgesses and inhabitants;
Section Vth gave the corporation the privilege of making a road across
the public way along the Susquehanna and establishing a landing place
and ferry, and the exclusive right of operating the latter was confirmed
to it by Section VIth. The concluding section gave to the burgesses
and inhabitants the same general privileges enjoyed by the borough of
Reading, within certain restrictions.
   The proceedings of the burgesses and council since the incorporation
of the borough have been regularly entered into minute books by the
successive town clerks; a complete file of these records has recently been
collected by the present efficient clerk, Lewis D. Haupt, and reveals much
that is of interest relating to the official acts of the borough fathers.
   The machinery of local government has been variously modified from
time to time. On the 16th of March, 1803, an amendment to the original
act of incorporation was passed by the legislature, providing for the
election annually of eight inhabitants as a common council with the
general powers of a local legislative body, reserving to the people at
large in their town meetings the privilege of revoking, altering, or
amending the laws and ordinances enacted by the burgesses and council.
At November sessions, 1803, upon the report of John Boyd, Joseph
Priestley, and John Cowden, the territory comprised within the limits of
Sunbury borough was erected into a township under the same name, thus
adding the distinctive township officers to its civil list. The original
charter was materially amended by the act of March 2, 1859, in which the
powers of the burgesses and council in matters relating to grading,
paving, and curbing the streets were extended and defined; the
authorities were also given power to establish regulations for the
levying and collection of taxes, the maintenance of a night watch, etc.
On the 7th of December, 1885, by decree of court, the number of
councilmen was increased to ten, two for each ward; and since that date
one assistant burgess has been elected annually, instead of two second
burgesses and four assistants, as formerly.
   The original boundaries of the borough were so extended by act of
the legislature approved on the 19th of April 1858, as to include the
Scott and Hunter farms, the improved portions of which are known as
Caketown. This territory was re-annexed to Upper Augusta township, April
2, 1860, and again became part of the borough, April 2, 1867, by
legislative enactment in both instances.
   The borough was first divided into wards by act of the legislature,
April 2, 1867; two wards were created, known, respectively, as the East
and West, with the Northern Central and the Philadelphia and Erie
railroads as a mutual boundary. The growth of population at length
demanded further subdivision, and on the 30th of March, 1885, in
response to a petition with that object in view, the court appointed Dr.
R. H. Awl, John Haas, and Nathan Martz as commissioners to consider the
propriety of complying with the wishes of the petitioners. Their report
was confirmed nisi, May 11, 1885; and, an election having expressed the
popular sentiment favorably to the formation of five wards, a decree of
court was promulgated on the 7th of December, 1885, confirming the report
of the commissioners absolutely. As thus constituted, the First and Third
wards comprise territory formerly included in the West ward, with
Gooseberry alley as a mutual boundary; the Second and Fourth comprise
territory formerly included in the East ward, with the center line of
Chestnut street as a mutual boundary; while, the Fifth comprises that part
of the former territory of the East and West north of the southern line of
the outlots numbered 10, 7, 6, 3, and 2.
   The Sunbury Borough Poor District.- Jacob Preisinger, by his will
bearing date of September 24, 1804, devised a two-story brick house (now
the residence of Mrs. Charles G. Donnel, northeast corner of Second and
Market streets) to his wife Catharine during her life, and to the poor
of the borough of Sunbury after her death. By virtue of legislative
authority conferred in an act approved on the 29th of March, 1832, the
burgesses and council transferred the property in question to Charles G.
Donnel for the sum of one thousand dollars, which, however, continued as
a lien upon the property for some years. The income arising from this
source was regularly devoted to the relief of the poor, and after the
extinguishment of the lien the principal was also applied until
exhausted.
   The affairs of the district are administered by two overseers, one
of whom is elected annually for the term of two years. An old wooden
building on Front street between Walnut and Spruce was rented as a poor
house for some years; the present poor house was purchased in 1886; it
is a two-story brick building located in Limestone valley one mile south
of the borough limits on the line of the Northern Central railway, with
an acre and a half of ground adjoining. One acre was originally bought,
to which a half-acre was added in 1890.
   The Sunbury Fire Department had its origin in 1810. At November
term in that year a petition was presented to the court of quarter
sessions, reciting that two barns and two stables had been destroyed at
Sunbury within the last few weeks, and that a few individuals in that
borough had procured an engine and formed themselves into a fire
company; but, as one engine was inadequate for the protection of the
town, the court, grand jury, and commissioners were petitioned to concur
in the appropriation of a sum of money for the purchase of another. The
petition, which is filed in the county archives, had evidently been
industriously circulated, as it bears the signatures of representative
citizens of Sunbury, Northumberland, Milton, Buffalo valley, Danville,
Fishing Creek, the Mahanoy region, and other portions of the extensive
region then embraced in Northumberland county. It received the following
indorsement from the court: "Recommended to the grand jury on condition
that a fire company or body under the present fire company be formed, to
apply the public engine when needful to the security of the public
buildings." Thereupon the Sunbury Fire Company, through a committee
composed of Charles Hall, Hugh Bellas, Andrew Albright, and Enoch Smith,
pledged its membership to "at all times be ready and willing to render
any service in their power, as well to preserve and keep in repair the
public engine as to use and work the same when necessary for the
protection of the public buildings," and with this assurance "the grand
jury unanimously agreed that the sum of six hundred dollars be allowed
for the above laudable purpose." These proceedings occurred at November
sessions, 1810; on the 8th of January, 1811, Messrs. Hall, Bellas,
Albright, and Smith, representing the Sunbury Fire Company, conferred
with the county commissioners regarding the measures to be pursued in
the purchase of the engine, and were given full discretionary powers in
the matter. On the following day they receipted for six hundred dollars,
and with the arrival of the engine at Sunbury a great public enterprise
for the protection of the county buildings was finally consummated. It
is to be hoped that the worthy tax payers received adequate benefit for
the amount expended in the consciousness of increased security to the
public property.
   Of this first local organization, the Sunbury Fire Company, the
secretary in January, 1811, was Dr. Solomon Markley, who probably filled
that position at its organization, while Andrew Albright, Charles Hall,
Enoch Smith, and Hugh Bellas were doubtless prominent among the original
membership. John Buyers was the first treasurer, and filled that
position as late as 1815.
   Space does not permit more than a brief mention of the companies
subsequently formed. The present organizations are the Good Intent Hook
and Ladder Company, Washington Independent Steam Fire Company, Sunbury
Steam Fire Company, No. 1, Washington Junior Hose Company, and Rescue
Hose Company of which the Good Intent, organized (probably reorganized)
October 19, 1889, and incorporated, April 9, 1841, is the oldest.
   Chief Burgesses. The following list of chief burgesses of Sunbury
since its incorporation as a borough is believed to be as complete as
existing records permit: 1798-99, Martin Withington; 1800, Nicholas
Miller; 1801-02, Theodorus Kiehl; 1803, Henry Bucher; 1804, Charles
Hall; 1805-07, Theodorus Kiehl; 1808- 12, Andrew Albright; 1813-14,
Theodorus Kiehl; 1815, Henry Donnel; 1816-17, John Young; 1818-20,
Theorodus Kiehl; 1821, Henry Donnel; 1822, William Shannon; 1823-26,
Alexander Jordan; 1827, James R. Shannon; 1828-29, Alexander Jordan;
1830, William McCarty; 1881-32, Alexander Jordan; 1833, Charles G.
Donnel; 1834, Samuel J. Packer; 1885, George Weiser; 1836, Frederick
Lazarus; 1838, Jacob Painter; 1839, Lewis Dewart; 1840, Charles G.
Donnel; 1841-42, Frederick Lazarus; 1848, John R. Purdy; 1844, Alexander
Jordan; 1845-46, William L. Dewart; 1847, Frederick Lazarus; 1848-49, J.
H. Zimmerman; 1851, John B. Packer; 1852-53, Peter B. Masser; 1854,
George B. Youngman; 1855, William M. Rockefeller; 1856, Charles J.
Bruner; 1857, S. J. Young; 1858-59, J. H. Zimmerman; 1860-61, George B.
Youngman; 1862-65, S. R. Boyer; 1866-67, E. Y. Bright; 1868, J. W.
Bucher; 1869, P. M. Shindel; 1870, P. H. Moore; 1871, D. Heim; 1872-74,
S. P. Malick; 1875-77, John Bourne; 1878-80, A. N. Brice; 1881-83, W. C.
Packer; 1884-86, George M. Renn; 1887, George B. Cadwallader; 1888, H. J.
Waltz; 1889, George B. Cadwallader; 1890, George W. Stroh; 1891, Joseph F.
Cummings.

FACILITIES OF TRAVEL AND TRANSPORTATION

   The old Reading road, the first public highway passing through the
site of Sunbury, was opened in colonial days. A petition for a road
from Reading to Fort Augusta (Sunbury) was petitioned for by a "very
considerable number of the inhabitants of Berks county" in January,
1768, but, as part of the territory through which it would necessarily
pass had not yet been purchased from the Indians, the provincial Council
would not at that time grant it favorable consideration. Two years later
the effort was renewed, and on the 9th of February, 1770, George Webb,
Jonathan Lodge, Henry Miller, Henry Shoemaker, John Webb, Isaac Willits,
and Job Hughes were appointed to lay out the road, in which all
participated except Henry Miller. They returned a report of the courses
and distances, April 14, 1770, which was confirmed, April 23d, when an
order was issued directing that the road should be forthwith "opened and
rendered commodious for public service." It was declared to be a "King's
highway." This was the route by which emigrants from Lehigh,
Northampton, and other southeastern counties of Pennsylvania, and from
New Jersey, reached the "New Purchase," or Shamokin, as the territory
acquired in 1768 was popularly known. Lateral branches diverged at
various points, one leading to Danville, another to Catawissa, etc., and
thus the old Reading road came to be one of the most important interior
highways of the State. Corresponding to the inward current of
inauguration, there was an equally noticeable stream of travel in the
opposite direction, for it was by this route that the products of a
large section of country found their way to a market at Reading or
Philadelphia.
   A road from Sunbury up the West Branch was laid out in 1772; down
the Susquehanna on the west side, in 1773, and on the east side, in
1775; south of the North Branch to the site of Danville, in 1774; up the
valley of Shamokin creek, in 1775, and from Sunbury to the Tulpehocken
road, in 1782. The road last mentioned became the principal highway to
Harrisburg and Lancaster.
   The Centre turnpike was a public improvement from which much local
benefit was derived for a time. It was constructed by a company to the
stock of which the legislature subscribed liberally, and extended from
Sunbury to Reading. The stock of the State was afterward purchased
principally by certain persons at Northumberland, where the officers
resided for some years. It was not a renumerative investment, however,
and that portion between Sunbury and the coal regions was ultimately
abandoned.
   The Stage Coach was for many years the only means of conveyance for
the traveling public. The date of its introduction in this part of the
State has not been ascertained, and but meager information upon the
subject is afforded. In 1801 the mails departed from Sunbury and
Northumberland on Monday of each week for Lycoming, Berwick, and Centre
county. The first stage coach from Reading to Sunbury was probably that of
William Coleman, while the line between Sunbury and Wilkesbarre was
operated at a corresponding period by Miller Horton. In 1816 Mr. Coleman
had two mail stages on the line between Sunbury and Reading, and Jacob
Singer's four-horse mail coach entered Sunbury over the North Branch
bridge, but whether from Wilkesbarre or Williamsport does not appear. In
1820 the stage for Harrisburg left the house of Amelia Hegins (now the
residence of Mrs. Donnel), on Market street, Sunbury, on Monday and Friday
of each week at five o'clock A. M., arriving at Harrisburg at ten o'clock
A. M. on Tuesday and Saturday; returning, the stage for Sunbury left
Harrisburg on Tuesday and Saturday of each week at three o'clock P. M.,
arriving at Sunbury on Wednesday and Sunday at four o'clock P. M. The
fare was four dollars; baggage to the amount of fifteen pounds was
allowed each passenger, and one hundred fifty pounds of baggage were
regarded as equal to a passenger. At that date (1820), the Reading
stage departed and arrived three times a week at Weitzel's hotel on
Market street. The proprietors of this line were John and Nicholas
Coleman.
   The traveling facilities of the period were thus summarized by
Hamlet A. Kerr in the Susquehanna Emporium of August 10, 1829:-

   Many of our friends in the city are not aware of the facility of
traveling in this section of country, thinking this part of the State
too far back to have good roads, horses, and coaches, and on that
account do not visit the beautiful village of the Susquehanna. But we
can boast of as rapid and cheap traveling as any of our neighbors. We
have two daily stages passing through this place twice every day
(Sundays excepted, on which day there is but one), - one by the way of
Pottsville to Philadelphia, the other by the way of Harrisburg to
Philadelphia, Baltimore, etc. - the return stage passing through about
three o'clock in the afternoon, to meet the North and West Branch stages
at Northumberland. Persons leaving Sunbury at nine o'clock in the
morning get into Philadelphia in the afternoon of the next day, passing
through Pottsville, Orwigsburg, Reading, Pottstown, Morristown, and
Germantown. To the painter or poet the country is romantic, being
interspersed with hills and dales; to the capitalist it presents many
inducements, abounding with ore, coal, and other minerals; to the man of
pleasure this route also holds forth objects worthy his attention. The
route passing through Harrisburg and Lancaster is pleasant and
expeditious. You have the Susquehanna gliding along near the road the
whole distance to Harrisburg. There you take the celebrated Lancaster
turnpike and pass over the ground at a very rapid rate, arriving in
Philadelphia in about two days. Gentlemen visiting this country
generally take one line coming and the other going, so as to give both a
fair trial.
   The Construction of the Canal diverted a large share of the traffic
and travel to that avenue of communication. Several of the prominent
merchants of the town owned canal boats, which made frequent trips to
points farther down the river during the season of navigation,
transporting the grain and other produce of the region to market and
returning with articles of general merchandise. The following extract from
the Sunbury Advocate of May 11, 1833, shows the manner in which events of
this nature were chronicled at that date:-

PORT OF SUNBURY

   Arrivals.- Entered our basin, returning home from Philadelphia, on
the 3d of April, the canal boat Sunbury Union, the property of Mr. John
Buyers, laden with merchandise.
   On Saturday, May 4th, the canal boat Augusta, the property of Mr.
George P. Buyers, laden with merchandise.
   Clearances.- Entered the canal on the 8th, on their second trip
this season to Philadelphia, both the Sunbury Union and the Augusta.
   The Captain of the Sunbury Union was G. Lorwick, and of the
Enterprise, a boat similarly employed, J. Kramer. The Sunbury
Partnership was the property of H. Yoxtheimer & Company, while there
were also other merchants who owned boats. For passenger travel packet
boats were in use; regular relays of horses were provided, and in
comfort, safety, and speed, the packet was a formidable competitor of
the stage coach during the season of navigation. It was continued upon
the canals in this part of the State until the opening of railways.
   Railroads.- The Danville and Pottsville railroad was the first
opened at Sunbury; that event occurred on the 20th of November, 1835,
amid the ringing of bells and the acclamations of a large concourse of
people. Horse-power was used on this occasion; the introduction of steam
occurred three years later, when the road was opened to Shamokin.
   Regarding the inauguration of the coal traffic, the Sunbury
Advocate published the following in its issue of Saturday, October 22,
1836:-

   We are much pleased to announce the arrival here on Saturday last
of two cars on the Sunbury railroad laden with coal from the coal mines
of Shamokin. The coal are of the best quality, and were promptly bought
by Charles G. Donnel and George Prince at three dollars and fifty cents
per ton. The cars since run regularly, bringing coal for sale at the
basin in front of Sunbury.

   The following appeared in the same paper under date of November 5,
1830:-

   The coal trade of Sunbury, but just begun and opposed by great
inconveniences, Is already forming a respectable character. The coal
mines, distant eighteen miles from here, are six miles beyond W. Bird's
tavern, where the railroad terminates. To this point the coal are
brought by wagons passing over the incompleted railroad, where they are
put in the cars and started for the Susquehanna. Thus a train of cars,
propelled by horse-power, reach us daily, making the trip in about two
hours. On Fawn and Deer streets, where the railroad crosses, we
constantly see a considerable bustle, caused by the loading of coal into
carts and delivering them to purchasers in this place. Demands for our
coal on the West Branch are about being supplied.

   The Philadelphia and Erie railroad was opened to Sunbury, January
7, 1856; the Northern Central, June 28, 1858; the Sunbury, Hazelton and
Wilkesbarre, November 4, 1869; the Sunbury and Lewistown, November 1,
1871, and the Philadelphia and Reading, in July, 1883.
   The Ferry Franchise was originally granted by the colonial
authorities to Robert King, August 14, 1772, and successively
transferred to Adam Haverling, November 30, 1773; Stophel Gettig, April
17, 1775; Abraham Dewitt, October 9, 1779, and John Lyon, October 25,
17-. In 1787 Lyon petitioned the legislature for a confirmation of the
privilege for a term of years.
   The act of March 24, 1797, incorporating the borough of Sunbury,
vested the exclusive right of operating the ferry in the borough
authorities, who forthwith procured the necessary water craft. Ferry
rates were established by the court of quarter sessions at January term,
1798, and modified from time to time.
   For a number of years the exclusive privilege of operating the
ferry was annually disposed of by the borough authorities to the highest
bidder, and the sum thus realized formed an appreciable contribution to
the public funds of the town. The apparatus at first used was of a
primitive character, consisting only of the flat-boat and poles, and in
seasons of low water a channel had to be dug to permit the passage of
this draft across the river; the erection of the Shamokin dam obviated
this necessity, and the prospect thus assured of good navigation
throughout the year induced the erection of a rope ferry. A tread- mill
horse-power ferry-boat was also operated at one time by Hovey & Wharton.
   The first steam ferry-boat was the Shad Fly, erected in 1853 by Ira
T. Clement; it was a large side-wheel boat, and was built more
particularly for the towing of canal boats across the river to and from
the coal wharves on the Sunbury side. Several years later, while on a
return trip from Clark's Ferry, it stranded on a rock; the machinery was
used in the construction of a second Shad Fly, which was replaced in
1875 by the present steam ferryboat.
   On the 1st of May, 1854, Ira T. Clement leased the wharf at the
terminus of Market street from the borough authority. The exclusive
right of ferriage across the Susquehanna opposite Sunbury was vested in
Dr. Isaac Hottenstein by an act of the legislature approved on the 11th
of April, 1859; the canal had been constructed through his land a
distance of a mile and an abutment of the Shamokin dam was also built
upon it: it was in compensation for damages thus sustained that this
franchise was conferred upon Doctor Hottenstein, from whose heirs it
passed to Ira T. Clement. The Sunbury Steam Ferry and Tow Boat Company,
in which the privileges and franchises previously owned by Ira T.
Clement have become vested, was incorporated by an act of the
legislature approved on the 5th of April, 1870. This company owns two
steamboats and operates the ferry between Sunbury and the opposite side
of the river. Five steamboats, owned by Ira T. Clement individually, ply
regularly between Sunbury, Northumberland, and Shamokin Dam.
   The Sunbury and Northumberland Street Railway Company was
incorporated on the 29th of January, 1885, with a capital of seventy-
five thousand dollars and the following officers: H. E. Davis,
president, L. H. Kase, secretary, and S. P. Wolverton, treasurer. The
line is in operation between the terminal points designated in the
title, a distance of three and two tenths miles. The first car was run
in June, 1890, and the line was opened for travel on the 1st of July in
the same year. The number of passengers carried averages eight hundred
per day. The propelling power is electricity, for the generation of
which a plant has been constructed with two engines of one hundred
horse-power and two dynamos of fifty horse-power each.

INDUSTRIAL ACTIVITY

   Haas's Mill is situated in the borough of East Sunbury on the Shamokin
creek a mile from its mouth. At or near this site the first mill within
the present limits of Northumberland county was built prior to 1774 by
William Maclay; it was first operated by Valentine Geiger, and received
patronage from a large extent of country. The original structure, a two-
story log building with basement, is described as having been twenty by
thirty feet in dimensions. In 1831 McCarty & Davis, who purchased the
property from Maclay's heirs, erected the present substantial brick mill;
they also added saw, plaster, and clover mills, excavated a basin, and
constructed a new dam of sufficient capacity to furnish water-power for
the entire establishment. Gideon Markle became the next proprietor; John
Haas, formerly of Jackson township, purchased the mill from him in 1850,
and in 1870, his son, Hiram Haas, the present owner, acquired possession.
He had the mill remodeled to the roller process in 1887.
   Distilleries.- The assessment of Augusta township for 1781 credits
David McKinney with three stills, and David Mead and Henry Starret each
with two; McKinney's were located on Front street between Penn and
Walnut, but whether those of Mead and Starret were in the town or
country can not be satisfactorily ascertained. In East Sunbury on the
Shamokin Creek road James Towar erected a large stone distillery prior
to 1796; it was the most extensive establishment of the kind in the
county at that date, but does not appear to have been operated very
long. In 1808 Edward Gobin had a distillery on Market street in Sunbury.
A large frame distillery was erected at some time between 1835 and 1838
by Gideon Markle in Chestnut street between Fifth and Spring run; it was
subsequently operated by John Robins, and then abandoned.
   Tanneries were for many years the most important local industrial
feature. Jacob Yoner's, which first appears in the assessment of 1788,
was doubtless the earliest established; it was situated on the west side
of Second street immediately north of the Shamokin Valley railroad. After
pursuing his calling at this place for more than twenty-five years, Mr.
Yoner moved to Selinsgrove, Pennsylvania, in 1818, and sold the property
to Isaac Zeigler. He continued the business until within a short time
before his death, July 25, 1840; Conrad J. Fry and Francis Bucher then
operated the plant several years, and it was subsequently destroyed by
fire.
   The second tannery established was that of Christian Gettig; it was
situated on the south side of Chestnut street at the present site of
James C. Packer's residence and the Reformed parsonage, and first
appears in the assessment of 1793. The first proprietor died in 1797; in
his will he mentions the bark-mill and also a quantity of leather in
various stages of preparation, and devises his establishment to his son,
Christian Gettig, Jr., who continued operations until his death in 1802;
several years later the property was purchased by Dr. Solomon Markley,
by whom the building was adapted to other purposes.
   The Robins tannery, which was also established in the last century,
occupied the southeast corner of Market and Fifth streets. It first
appears in the assessment of 1796, credited to Zachariah Robins; several
years later he was succeeded by Thomas Robins and John Spear, who
dissolved partnership in 1803. Thomas Robins was individual owner in
1805, and Zachariah Robins in 1811; from that time the establishment was
operated by Thomas, John, and Gilbert Robins, and possibly by Gideon
Markle also, until finally abandoned.
   William Dewart, Jr., is credited with a "large tanyard" in the
assessment of 1802; it occupied the southeast corner of Chestnut and
Third streets, and was one of the principal establishments of this
nature for many years. At some time between 1808 and 1811 it was
purchased by George Weiser, subsequently associate judge of
Northumberland county, who continued the business nearly half a century.
The establishment was then operated under lease by Francis Bucher, and
by Bucher Brothers (J. Weiser and E. Masser Bucher) until its
destruction by fire in 1866.
   Frederick Haas established a tannery on the north side of Market
street at the second lot east of Fourth at some time between 1820 and
1823, as evidenced by its first appearance on the assessment books at
the latter date. It was then operated for some years by Charles Gobin
and subsequently by Henry Haas.
   Bucher Brothers (J. Weiser and E. Masser Bucher) built a tannery at
the southeast corner of Center alley and Linden street in 1866. This
partnership was dissolved in 1868, after which the business was
continued by E. Masser Bucher individually until 1871. This was the
last tanning establishment at Sunbury, and the only one that was
equipped with modern appliances.

   Brickmaking was first begun as a regular business at Sunbury by John
Lyon, who had learned the art at his former home in Delaware. His yard
and kilns occupied outlot No. 41, east of Awl street and south of Penn,
and there the brick which entered into the construction of the old court
house, "state house," and many of the first brick houses of Sunbury were
manufactured. John Young, who acquired his knowledge of the business as
an employee of Lyon, established a brick yard at an early date on outlot
No. 42, and eventually, in partnership with his sons, manufactured
nearly all the brick used at Sunbury during the period of their
operations. As early as 1796 Thomas Grant also had a brick yard. This
branch of industry has been uninterruptedly continued, and at the
present time several yards, are in operation.
   Potteries.- Daniel Bogar is credited with a pottery at Sunbury in
the assessment of 1805; he was also one of the first local tobacconists,
and pursued that calling as early as 1817. The pottery, situated on the
north side of Chestnut street between Front and Second, was operated by
Mr. Bogar until within a short time before his death, January 6, 1836.
Jonathan Harp then continued the business several years, after which it
was abandoned.
   Peter Bastian had a pottery on Arch street opposite the county
prison at a building owned by Henry Yoxtheimer; it is mentioned among
the taxable property of the borough for the first time in 1832 and for
the last time in 1838.
   Carriage Building.- The prototype of the modern carriage was
probably first introduced at Sunbury by Joseph Wallis, who is credited
in the assessment of 1791 with one "coachee." Some years elapsed,
however, before the demand for improved vehicles was sufficient to
justify or sustain a local establishment for their manufacture at this
point. John Bright, coach maker, resided at Sunbury in 1826, but whether
actively engaged at his calling can not be satisfactorily determined. In
1829, Jacob Heller, formerly of Harrisburg, erected a shop on the west
side of Second street between Race and Arch and announced through the
local papers his readiness to manufacture stages, carriages, lumber and
pleasure wagons, sulkeys, gigs, sleighs, etc., of any desired
description. He continued the business thus inaugurated for some years.
   Mark P. Scupham, one of the oldest residents of Sunbury at the
present time, began the manufacture of carriages, etc., at the west side
of Fourth street between Arch and Race in 1839, retiring in 1870. The
shop, a frame building one hundred feet long, was then leased to William
Fetter two years, after which the business was discontinued.
   Francis Lerch established the carriage works at the southwest corner of
Fourth and Chestnut in 1870. They were purchased in 1874 by H. K. Fagely
&. Company, who disposed of the plant in 1890 to Isaac Furman, the present
proprietor.
   J. S. Seasholtz began the manufacture of carriages on Market street,
East Sunbury, in 1871, at a frame building now used as a dwelling house.
In 1886 the present frame shop was built.
   H. L. Hauck's carriage works, near Market street, East Sunbury,
comprise a two-story frame building twenty by eighty-five feet in
dimensions, erected in 1887.
   J. S. Stroh & Brother's carriage works are the latest addition to
this branch of local industry. The business was begun by J. S. Stroh
individually in the spring of 1890; two frame buildings, twenty-eight by
forty and twenty-four by thirty, respectively, were erected later in the
same year.
   Boat Building first attained the proportions of a distinct industry
at Sunbury during the construction of the Shamokin dam, when different
varieties of water craft were in demand for the transportation of stone
and other materials. After the opening of the canal the construction of
canal boats was first begun by Charles Gussler, who established a yard
at the bank of the river immediately south of Spruce street and
continued the business for some years. At a later date Samuel Clements
and Samuel Snyder also had a boat yard on Front street between Penn and
Church; it was subsequently removed to the vicinity of Gussler's yard by
Clements individually.
   Dr. R. H. Awl furnishes the following account of the first and only
canal boat ever launched on Shamokin creek: This boat was built in 1832
or 1833 by Adam Shissler, Jacob Martz, and others on the farm now owned
by Benjamin Zettlemoyer at the north side of the creek. It was launched
in the spring when the water was deemed high enough and floated with the
current as far as Leisenring's fording, between L. T. Rohrbach's and
Charles Rhinehart's farms. There the boat stuck, but after considerable
prying it was extricated and reached the mill dam by the close of the
first day. On the following morning an effort was made to get it over
the dam by the use of skids, but without success; William McCarty's jack
was then brought into requisition, after which an attempt was made to
pull it over by means of a rope attached to the boat and connected with
the windlass on the shore, but all without avail. At this juncture a
heavy rain began, and the creek rose rapidly; the boat was borne over
the dam with John Shissler, William Martz, Aaron Vansickle, and others
aboard, and its progress down the stream was witnessed by hundreds of
people on the banks. It ran aground at the island back of Haas's mill,
but was pulled out into the current by means of ropes by persons on the
bank. As it was thought that the stream was too high to permit the
passage of the boat under the bridge near the mouth of the creek, it was
pulled up the tail-race to the mill and loaded with flour; when the
waters had subsided sufficiently it was floated under the bridge and
down the river to Clark's Ferry, where it entered the canal, ultimately
finding its way to the Schuylkill canal, where it was finally completely
wrecked by going over a dam in a freshet without skids, jacks, or ropes
to steady its course.
   The first steamboats built at Sunbury were the Susquehanna and Shad
Fly; both were constructed by Ira T. Clement, the former for the
Shamokin Valley and Pottsville Railroad Company, the latter as a private
enterprise. Mr. Clement has since built six steamboats at Sunbury, five
of which are still in operation. In 1889 Jeremiah Savidge built the
Iona, the last steamboat constructed at this place.
   Breweries.- The old stone building erected by James Towar as a
distillery was converted into a brewery by Philip and Gottlieb Brymier
about the year 1836. After the dissolution of this partnership the
business was continued by Philip Brymier individually for a time and
then abandoned.
   Cold Spring brewery, established in 1865 by Joseph Bacher, was
purchased in 1873 by J. & A. Moeschlin, the present proprietors. The
plant comprises brewing and bottling departments, and has an annual
capacity of five thousand barrels.
   Foundries and Machine Shop's.- In 1838 George Rohrbach, formerly of
Columbia county, Pennsylvania, and one of the oldest citizens of Sunbury
at the present time, established a small foundry a mile east of Sunbury
between the Centre turnpike and Shamokin Valley railroad. Two years
later, having secured a location on the south side of Chestnut street
between Fourth and Fifth, he removed to Sunbury; this was the first
foundry at that place, and was operated for some years by George
Rohrbach, either individually or associated at various times with his
brothers, William, Jacob, and Daniel Rohrbach. They were succeeded by
Clinton D. and Jacob Rohrbach; the latter retired in favor of T. G.
Cooper, and in 1866 the firm of Rohrbach & Cooper gave place to Rohrbach
& Son, of which George and W. H. Rohrbach were the constituent members.
After the admission of Jacob Rohrbach as a partner the style was changed
to Rohrbach & Sons, by whom the business was continued until 1883. The
establishment was then sold to Halfpenny Brothers, and several years
later the plant was purchased by John J. Batman.
   A second foundry was established in 1858 by Edward Y. Bright; it
was located on the north side of Chestnut street between Third and
Fourth. The plant was purchased by William Rennyson, who removed it to
Shamokin in 1864.
   Jacob Youngman started a foundry on the south side of Arch street
between Third and Fourth in 1867 and operated it until January, 1871,
when it was purchased by George B. Youngman. The business was continued
by Haupt & Youngman until the plant was purchased by John J. Batman.
   The Keystone Machine Works, situated in East Sunbury on the south
side of Market street, comprise a two-story frame building sixty-five
feet long and thirty feet wide, occupied as a machine shop, with foundry
thirty by forty feet in dimensions attached, and blacksmith shop thirty
by twenty-four feet on the same lot. The proprietor, John J. Batman,
began business at Sunbury in 1874 as successor to Haupt & Youngman on
Arch street, and removed to his present location in 1880. The Keystone
radial drill press, of which Mr. Batman is the inventor and patentee, is
manufactured as a specialty.
   M. C. Bowlby's foundry and machine shop, a two-story frame building
on Church street near Fourth, was established in 1883 by Bowlby &
Zimmerman, to whom the present proprietor succeeded individually in
1886. The Bowlby lath mill and bolter is manufactured as a specialty.
   The Lumber industry.- The first saw mill at Sunbury was built in
1847 by Ira T. Clement at the site of his table factory on Front street.
In 1867 he sold it to William Reagan; it then passed successively to the
Sunbury Lumber Company and to the firm of Friling, Bowen & Engle, who
became insolvent in 1877. The mill was then conducted under the auspices
of their creditors until 1883, when it was again purchased by Ira T.
Clement and is now occupied as an extension table factory.
   Ira T. Clement's various industries include at the present time a
saw mill, planing mill, table factory, and coffin factory, extending
from Front street to Third, north of Race. The saw mill was established
in 1867 and the planing mill in the following year; the latter was
originally a two-story frame building sixty by eighty feet in
dimensions, but has been materially enlarged. The upper story was
equipped for the manufacture of coffins in 1875, and in 1887 a two-story
frame building forty by one hundred forty feet in dimensions was erected
for the exclusive purposes of a coffin factory. The manufacture of
extension tables was begun at the planing mill in 1880, and in 1887 the
old Friling, Bowen & Engle mill was adapted for use in this department
of work. One hundred twenty-five men are employed as operatives in the
saw mill, planing mill, table factory, and coffin factory, the annual
products of which are valued at two hundred fifty thousand dollars.
   The Sunbury Lumber Company, organized in 1885, was originally
composed of William Whitmer & Sons, to whom Hiram Driesbach was added in
1888 and George W. Rhoads and F. S. Kauffman in 1890. A building at the
intersection of Mulberry and Center alleys, previously occupied by the
Hill & Neff Organ Company, was the first location of the works of this
company; the present site in the southern part of the borough with a
river front of six hundred fifty feet was secured in 1888. The plant
consists of a two-story planing mill, ninety by one hundred forty feet
in dimensions, a saw mill, fifty by one hundred feet, and a kiln capable
of drying eight thousand feet of lumber per day. Seventy operatives are
usually employed.
   Simpson Brothers' planing mill, as originally established in l886
by a firm composed of William Whitmer and John and William Simpson, was
a frame structure forty by one hundred feet situated on Awl street it
was destroyed by fire in November, 1887. The present mill, a frame
building thirty-five by eighty feet, employs eight operatives; John and
William Simpson are the proprietors.
  
   The Pennsylvania Railroad Company's Repair Shops at Sunbury were
originally established in 1866. The plant comprises the following
buildings: a round-house three hundred feet in diameter, with stalls for
forty-four engines; a machine shop and planing mill, which form one
building two hundred twenty by eighty feet, half of which is occupied by
each; a building seventy by one hundred ten feet, occupied as blacksmith
shop, boiler shop, and store-room; a car shop two hundred by one hundred
twenty feet, and other minor buildings used for miscellaneous purposes.
The number of operatives employed in the various departments at this
time (December, 1890), is as follows: machinists and helpers, sixty-
nine; blacksmiths and helpers, thirty-four; boiler-makers, twenty-two;
coppersmiths, four; tin-smiths, five; car inspectors, forty-nine; the
car shop employs one hundred seventy-eight, and the number not included
in the foregoing classification (in which the master mechanic and
foremen, engine cleaners and preparers, clerical force, etc. have not
been embraced) is ninety- seven, a grand total of four hundred fifty-
eight. The stationary engines have a capacity of eighty horse-power.
The entire plant is lighted by electricity, derived from motors
requiring a fifty horse-power engine. The establishment is devoted
exclusively to the repair of locomotives and cars, and receives all the
work of this nature from that part of the Pennsylvania system embraced
in the Eastern and Sunbury divisions of the Philadelphia and Erie
railroad and the Susquehanna division of the Northern Central railway.
The position of master mechanic has been filled successively by T. J.
Hamer, Martin Wall, W. F. Beardsley, and Henry K. Stout, the present
incumbent, who assumed charge in April, 1882.
   The Sunbury Nail, Bar, and Guide Iron Manufacturing Company was
organized in 1883 with a capital of one hundred thousand dollars (since
increased to one hundred fifty thousand), and the following officers:
president, John Haas; vice- president, D. Heim; secretary, E. W.
Greenough, and treasurer, Lloyd T. Rohrbach. The works, situated at the
eastern limits of the borough, were erected during the same year; these
consist of a nail mill two hundred seventy-five by seventy-five feet and
a factory one hundred twenty-five by one hundred feet, equipped with one
heating furnace, three double and three single puddling furnaces, forty-
one nail machines, and six engines aggregating four hundred thirty
horse-power. The cooper shop, hoop and stave sheds, and blacksmith shop
are attached to the main buildings. The mill gives employment to one
hundred twenty-five men, and has a capacity for manufacturing seventy-
five thousand kegs of cut iron and steel nails annually. It has been in
continuous operation since its erection with the exception of three
months in the year 1889; this suspension was caused by the damage
occasioned on the 9th of January in that year by a violent wind-storm.
Mr. Haas, who has been president of the company since its organization,
retired from the active management of the works in April, 1890, when
George B. Cadwallader assumed charge as general manager. D. Heim is the
present vice-president and Lloyd T. Rohrbach the present secretary and
treasurer. William S. Rhoads has been chief clerk and Levi Bussler
superintendent since the works were placed in operation.
   The Sunbury Carpet Cleaning and Novelty Works, were established in
October, 1889, by the present proprietors, C. C. Ray, A. Moulder, and E.
F. Hoover. Novelties of various descriptions are manufactured.
   Defunct Enterprises include, in addition to those mentioned, Young,
Gussler & Company's paint mill, placed in operation in 1856; Snyder &
Harrison's steam flour mill, erected in 1857; Morgan & Masser's linseed
oil mill, placed in operation in 1868; Wolverton & Purdy's phosphate
mill, burned on the 17th of June, 1871; the works of the Sunbury
Smelting Company and of the Hill and Neff Organ Company, etc., etc.
   The Sunbury Canal Company is worthy of notice in this connection.
Its organization was authorized by an action the legislature approved on
the 10th of April, 1826, appointing Lewis Dewart, Hugh Bellas, Alexander
Jordan, Samuel J. Packer, Henry Shaffer, Martin Weaver, Ebenezer
Greenough, John Young, John G. Youngman, George Weiser, and Isaac
Zeigler commissioners for its organization. In 1834 the time for the
completion of the work was extended five years from the expiration of
the period of ten years originally prescribed, and about that time the
canal was partially excavated between the North Branch and Spring run.
In the summer and autumn of 1841 a number of men were employed in
excavating that part of the canal connecting with Shamokin creek. In
1842 William McCarty was president of the company and Kimber Cleaver was
engineer; a prospectus issued in that year indicates the location of the
basin above Race street and connection with the river at that point,
although the plans of the company in this respect were not carried out
until ten or twelve years later. A prospectus issued in 1853 gives the
names of C. Hager, president, and William Riehle, secretary and
treasurer; at that time a reorganization had been effected under the
name of the Sunbury Canal and Water Power Company; the Sunbury Lumber
and Car Manufacturing Company, an affiliated corporation, owned fifty
thousand acres of timber land on the headwaters of the West Branch. It
was proposed to float the logs from this tract to Sunbury, and a large
lumber mill was erected on Shamokin creek, but the project never
materialized and the mill was never placed in operation. What is now
known as the upper basin was excavated by the canal company, and
connection was established with the river by means of an iron lock
designed by Kimber Cleaver; the latter was constructed by the
Philadelphia and Sunbury Railroad Company under terminal privileges
granted by the act of April 2, 1853. When the ground froze in the first
winter after its construction the lateral pressure (for which the
engineer had made no provision) was such as to break its iron sides,
thus rendering it entirely useless. And thus the great canal project
finally collapsed.
  
BANKING INSTITUTIONS

   The first public movement for the establishment of a bank at Sunbury
was made in 1810, when, at a meeting of the taxable inhabitants on the
27th of April, resolutions were unanimously adopted requesting the Bank of
Pennsylvania to locate a branch at Sunbury. "The certain increase of the
trade of this part of the country arising from the turnpike road now in
operation from this place to the borough of Reading, would," the directors
of that institution were assured, "enable the bank to support an
establishment here which will be very productive to their institution." It
is needless to observe that the application was not favorably considered,
and it was through the Bank of Northumberland that the citizens of the
county seat first secured local
banking facilities.

   The First National Bank of Sunbury was originally incorporated under
the title of the Bank of Northumberland, April 1, 1831, with a capital of
two hundred thousand dollars. The first election of directors was held at
the house of James Lee, in the borough of Northumberland, Pennsylvania, on
Thursday, August 1, 1831, and resulted in the choice of the following
gentlemen: John Cowden, John B. Boyd, James Merrill, A. B. Cummings, John
Taggart, Joseph Wallis, Abbot Green, James Hepburn, Daniel Brautigam,
Henry Frick, William Clyde, Alexander Jordan, and Dr. David Petriken. On
the 8th of August, 1831, James Hepburn was elected as president and Joseph
R. Priestley as cashier; and on Monday, September 26, 1831, the business
of the bank was regularly commenced. The stock was originally subscribed
by one hundred fourteen different persons; by the terms of its charter the
institution was located at Northumberland, and its administration was in
the hands of citizens of that borough for some years. James Hepburn, the
first president, resigned, April 23, 1840, and on the 30th of the same
month he was succeeded by John Taggart; he served until November 26. 1855,
when William Cameron was elected by a board of directors composed of
Samuel T. Brown, F. W. Pollock, Paul Masteller, John Walls, William
Cameron, William H. Waples, Amos F. Kapp, Jesse C. Horton, William I.
Greenough, George Schnure, Edward Wilson, C. B. Paxton, and John B.
Packer. A change in the management of the institution was effected by
the election of this board, which occurred at the regular annual meeting
of the stockholders on the 19th of November, 1855. Upon the resignation
of Mr. Cameron as president, June 25, 1857, John B. Packer was elected
as his successor, and has continued in that position until the present
time. Joseph R. Priestley, the first cashier, served in that capacity
until his death, November 10, 1863; Samuel J. Packer, the present cashier,
was elected on the 19th of November, 1863, and has since been the
incumbent of that office. By virtue of an act of the legislature approved
April 16, 1864, the bank was removed from Northumberland to Sunbury on the
25th of July in the same year. There it continued as a State bank until
the 1st of July, 1865; the last directory under the State charter was
composed of John B. Packer, James K. Davis, Jesse C. Horton, William H.
Waples, William M. Rockefeller, George Conrad, Daniel Heim, E. Y.
Bright, Samuel John, Andrew Ditty, John B. Linn, Paul Masteller, and
John Haas.
   On the 1st of July, 1865, the Bank of Northumberland surrendered
its State charter and was organized as a national bank under the title
of "The First National Bank of Sunbury" with an authorized capital of
five hundred thousand dollars, of which two hundred thousand was paid in
in four thousand shares of fifty dollars each. Of this amount the
stockholders paid in thirty-five dollars per share; the balance, fifteen
dollars per share, was derived from the earnings of the bank while it
was a State institution. The present number of shareholders is seventy-
eight The first board of directors after the organization as a national
bank was composed of John B. Packer, James K. Davis, Jesse C. Horton,
William H. Waples, Simon Cameron, William I. Greenough, Alexander
Jordan, John Haas, William M. Rockefeller, George F. Miller, William
Cameron, George Smuller, and A. B. Warford; John B. Packer, James K.
Davis, H E. Davis, William I. Greenough, John Haas, William M.
Rockefeller, George Schnure, James C. Packer, and D. B. Miller
constitute the present directory. The present (1891) officers are as
follows: president, John B. Packer; cashier, Samuel J. Packer;
bookkeeper, A. L. Bastress; teller, George W. Deppen; clerks, W. F.
Rhoads and D. E. Bloom; messenger, Nathaniel Strain. The period for
which the institution was originally incorporated having expired, it was
re-chartered in June, 1885, for another period of twenty years.
   This bank is one of the oldest in central Pennsylvania, and
throughout its entire history has maintained the highest standard of
financial integrity. While the notes of a large number of the banks of
the State were at a discount, the notes of the Bank of Northumberland
were uniformly redeemed at par in gold in Philadelphia; and during the
panic of 1873, when nearly all the banks of the country declined to pay
to their customers more than fifty dollars in currency at one time, this
bank paid all checks without limit, thus demonstrating its ability to
meet promptly all demands of its depositors, although the deposits at
that time averaged three hundred fifty thousand dollars. The
institution has paid in dividends since its organization in 1831 (not
including the fifteen dollars per share previously mentioned) one
million forty thousand dollars, and its undivided profits at the present
time amount to one hundred thirty-five thousand dollars.
   The Augusta Bank was originally incorporated under the name of the
Farmers' Mutual Life Insurance and Trust Company of Upper Augusta
Township, the organization of which was authorized by an act of the
legislature approved on the 13th of April, 1867. The company was not
formed until 1872, however, and the name was subsequently changed to
"The Augusta Bank" by decree of court upon petition of the stockholders.
J. Adam Cake was president and George W. Saylor cashier. The institution
was located in that part of Sunbury known as Caketown; business was
continued four years.
   The Sunbury Trust and Safe Deposit Company was organized on the 15th of
July, 1890, with the following officers: president, Charles W. Nickerson;
vice-president, Hiram Long; secretary and treasurer, J. Weiser Bucher;
directors: Charles W. Nickerson, Hiram Long, Henry Clement, George B.
Reimensnyder, R. F. Wilson, C. H. Dickerman, P. H. Snyder, Adolph
Oppenheimer, A. R. Trexler, S. P. Malick, George B. Cadwallader, John R.
Kauffman, Sr., S. E. Slaymaker, O. R. Drumheller, and Irvin F. Guyer. The
authorized capital is two hundred fifty thousand dollars. A. L. Bastress
became secretary and treasurer on the 1st of March, 1891.

GAS, ELECTRIC LIGHT, AND WATER COMPANIES

   The Sunbury Gas Light Company was incorporated on the 22d of December,
1876, with a capital of twenty-five thousand dollars and the following
corporators: Truman H. Purdy, Hiram Long, S. P. Wolverton, Ira Hile, John
Eckman, and William M. Rockefeller. S. P. Wolverton has served as
president and Truman H. Purdy as treasurer of the company since its
organization. The plant was erected by the Sunbury Gas Company
(incorporated in 1873), purchased by Truman H. Purdy in 1876 at
sheriff's sale, and transferred by him to the present company.
   The Edison Electric Illuminating Company of Sunbury was organized
in 1883; the first directors were Thomas C. Detweiler, James W. Sweely,
Frank H. McCormick, Seth T. McCormick, and Charles B. Story. Light was
first supplied on the 4th of July, 1883.
   The Sunbury Electric Light and Power Company was organized in 1890
with H. E. Davis, president, C. M. Clement, secretary, S. P. Wolverton,
treasurer, and a board of directors composed of H. E. Davis, F. P.
Abercrombie, C. M. Clement, H. A. Schuck, A. R. Trexler, P. P. Smith,
and Thomas Murty. The dynamo has a capacity of fifty arc lights. Light
was first supplied on the 4th of July, 1889.
   The Sunbury Water Company was incorporated on the 2d of March,
1883. The first officers were John Haas, president, L. T. Rohrbach,
treasurer, and S. E. Slaymaker, secretary, who have held their
respective positions to the present time. The capital is thirty-three
thousand dollars. Little Shamokin creek is the source of supply; the
reservoir has a capacity of five million gallons.

LOCAL PAPERS

   Der Freiheitsvogel, the first newspaper published at Sunbury, was
established by Jacob D. Breyvogel in 1800. The succession of local
papers since that time has been as follows: The Times, Publick Inquirer,
The Gazetteer, Der Northumberland Republikaner, Nordwestliche Post,
Shamokin Canalboot, The Workingmen's Advocate, The Sunbury Gazette,
Susquehanna Emporium, Der General Staats Zeitung, The Sunbury American,
Der Deutsche Amerikaner, Der Deutsche Demokrat, The Northumberland County
Democrat, The Sunbury Independent, The Weekly Independent, The Sunbury
Enterprise, The Sunbury Weekly News, The Sunbury Daily, The Daily
American, The Morning Express, The Evening News, and the Northumberland
County Legal News. Three weeklies, the American, Democrat, and Weekly
News, and two dailies, the Daily and News, are published at the present
time.

THE POSTOFFICE

   The following is a list of Sunbury postmasters, with dates of their
respective appointments: Robert Gray, January 1, 1797; John Weitzel,
October 1, 1798; Solomon Markley, July 1, 1802; Lewis Dewart, April 19,
1806; Edward Gobin, March 13, 1816; Thomas Painter, May 14, 1822; Samuel
J. Packer, December 9, 1822; John G. Martin, February 12, 1824; Rachel
B. Packer, March 27, 1835; John Youngman, March 5, 1855; Martin E.
Bucher, December 15, 1856; George M. Renn, March 19, 1861; Jonathan
Bastian, April 26, 1864; John J. Smith, April 19, 1871; Jacob Rohrbach,
May 5,1881; Jacob E. Eicholtz, May 25, 1885; A. N. Brice, March 20,
1890.

SECRET AND OTHER SOCIETIES

   The following is a list of secret and other societies at Sunbury,
with dates of organization or institution: Lodge No. 22, F. & A.M.,
October 4, 1779, and March 26, 1787; Northumberland H. R. A. Chapter,
No. 174, December 27, 1852; Sunbury Lodge, No. 203, I.O.O.F., November
9, 1846; Fort Augusta Lodge, No. 620, I.O.O.F., January 25, 1868; Anna
(Rebekah Degree) Lodge, No. 56, I.O.O.F., May 18, 1871; Washington
Camp, No. 19, P.O.S. of A., March 13, 1869; Washington Camp, No. 149,
P.O.S. of A, July 19, 1873; Susquehanna Commandery, No. 9, P.O.S. of A,
September 10, 1872; Eastern Star Lodge, No. 143, K. of P., March 24,
1869; Cayuga Lodge, No. 416, K. of P., December 6, 1873; Diamond
Division, No. 40, Uniform Rank, K. of P., June 9, 1890; Lance and Shield
Conclave, No. 11, S.P.K., November 11, 1870; Lieutenant William A.
Bruner Post, No. 235, G.A.R., May 21, 1883; Colonel James Cameron Camp,
No. 160, s. of V., July 1, 1887; Woman's Relief Corps, November 2, 1888;
Shamokin Tribe, No. 69, I.O.R.M., 1885; Alphoretta Tribe, No. 98,
I.O.R.M., 1888; Sunbury Council, No. 945, O.U.A.M. June 8, 1886; Ivy
Castle, No. 414, K.G.E., April 6, 1889; W. C. Packer Council, No. 285,
A.O.U.W., July 17, 1889.

EDUCATIONAL INTERESTS

   Nothing definite is known concerning the early educational advantages
of Sunbury, although it is possible that the community was not utterly
destitute of facilities for the instruction of its juvenile population.
How meager was the local provision for this important object at the period
immediately following the close of the Revolutionary war is attested by
an entry in the minutes of the orphans' court of Northumberland county
at September term, 1782, from which it appears that "on account of the
troubles and difficulties attending our situation on the frontier," the
guardians of the orphan children of Simon Cool were permitted to remove
their wards "to some interior part of the country for the better
advantages of their education and maintenance."
   The earliest effort to establish a school at the county seat of
which there is any authentic record was made in 1796, when a number of
prominent citizens formed an association for the erection of a school
building their names, with the number of shares subscribed by each, were
as follows: John Buyers, four; William McAdams, one; Daniel Hurley,
three; William Dewart, four; William Gray, three; John Weitzel, two;
Martin Withington, two; Joseph Wallis, four; Martin Kendig, three; Paul
Baldy, two; James Alexander, one; Christian Gettig, two; John Lyon, one;
Frederick Lazarus, two; Nicholas Miller, one; James Black, three; Joseph
Thompson, one, and Thomas Grant, one. Lot No. 136, situated at the
southeast corner of Arch street and Center alley, was purchased for the
sum of fifty-five pounds from Colonel Thomas Hartley, of York,
Pennsylvania, and on the 19th of October, 1796, he executed a deed(5) to
John Buyers, William Gray, William Dewart, Frederick Lazarus, John
Weitzel, and Daniel Smith, "trustees nominated and appointed by the
persons whose names are hereunto annexed, for the purpose of purchasing
a school house to and for the use of the subscribers according to the
number of shares to each person's name annexed" (the foregoing list). It
is not probable that the school thus planned was ever established; if it
was, it did not continue long enough to secure a place in the traditions
of the community.
   In a contribution to the "Report of the Superintendent of Public
Instruction for 1877," John F. Wolfinger, of Milton, who passed several
years of his early life at Sunbury, states that the first school at that
place was opened in 1800 "on the ground-floor room of a two-story log
house on the south side of Chestnut street" a short distance west of
Second. Among the families who patronized this school he mentions those
of Alter, Baldy, Black, Bogar, Brady, Bucher, Buyers, Coldron, Darch,
Dewart, Gray, Haas, Hall, Harrison, Hileman, Hurley, Irwin, Kiehl,
Lazarus, Lebo, Lyon, Mantz:, Markle, McKinney, Painter, Robins, Scott,
Shaffer, Sinton, Simpson, Smith, Vanderslice, Wallis, Weaver, Weitzel,
Withington, and Young. The first teacher was a Mr. Smith, "a small,
chunky Englishman," and the school continued two or three years. Mr.
Wolfinger also states that the second school was taught by a Mr. Davis,
a middle-aged man, "on the ground-floor of a two-story log house" on the
south side of Arch street between Front and Second.

   Dr. R. H. Awl furnishes the following list of teachers in private
schools at Sunbury, the majority of whom taught before the introduction
of the public school system: Samuel Howe, Mr. Smith, Mr. Davis, Andrew
Callum, William Graham, Thomas Armstrong, James Nolan, Jesse K. Millard,
J. G. Ungerer, Peter Hall, Edward Chapman,(6) E. C. Braden, John Colsher,
Mr. O'Neil, Andrew Kennedy, Alexander Strickland, George Haas, Peter
Shindel, Mr. Grimes, Christian Wood, John Sinton, John Eisely (German),
Robert E. Smith, George A. Snyder, Mr. Carter, Ebenezer Russ, Daniel
Kohler, Jeremiah Shindel, Francis P. Schwartz, Frederick Lebrun, Cale
Pelton, Edward Oyster, Aaron Fisher, Mr. Thayer, Joseph B. McEnally,
Joseph Rhoads, William Jordan, Doctor Huff, Richard Peale, Mr. Dickson,
S. P. Wolverton, L. T. Rohrbach, Mr. Fink, A. N. Brice, Mrs. Irwin, Mrs.
Patch, Mrs. Crosby, Mrs. Margaret Black, Mrs. Dorcas Grant, Mrs. Mary
Eisely (German), Miss Maria Kennedy, Miss Elizabeth Kennedy, Mrs. Ogle
(nee Alexander), Miss Mary Jane Peters, Miss Jane Finney, Miss Sophia
Weimer, Miss Catherine Brooks, Miss Virginia Brooks, Miss Hogar, Miss
Mary Wharton, Miss Elizabeth Breck, Miss Catherine Black, Mrs. Rebecca
A. Awl (nee Pursel), Mrs. Susan Youngman, and Miss Ella Painter.
   The following with reference to the location of the schools
anterior to the introduction of the public school system has also been
compiled by Dr. R. H. Awl: North side of Walnut street between Third and
Fourth - a log building subsequently occupied by Polly Henninger; north
side of Walnut street between Front and Second - a log building
subsequently occupied by John Snyder, fisherman; east side of Third
street between Penn and Chestnut - the second story of Weiser's tannery,
reached by an outside stairway; Chestnut street between Second and Third
- a log house subsequently occupied by a German named Westerman;
southeast corner of Market and Front - a frame building subsequently
occupied by "Het" Colley (colored); Front street between Market and Arch
- the second story of a log building that stood immediately south of the
alley and across from the Episcopal church; south-east corner of Penn
and Front streets, a log building subsequently occupied by John Martin as
a hatter shop; south side of Market street between Third and Fourth, a
frame building subsequently occupied by a Mr. Gulicks, harness maker;
northeast corner of Chestnut and Third - a log building subsequently
occupied by Miss Sallie Giberson, a lady of remarkable avoirdupois;
Chestnut street between Front and Second - a log building subsequently
occupied by Jacob Bright, watchmaker; Second street near its intersection
with Race - "Beshier's red house;" west side of Second near Race - a
building subsequently used as a wagon-making shop by Jacob Heller; south
side of Chestnut street between Third and Fourth - a building subsequently
occupied by John Hileman, shoemaker; north side of Chestnut street between
Third and Fourth - a log building subsequently occupied by Jacob Coble;
north side of Market street between Third and Fourth - a building
subsequently occupied by John Boulton as a hotel; north side of Penn
street between Third and Fourth - a large building subsequently occupied
by "Captain" Heinen, a soldier of the war of 1812; south side of Arch
street between Second and Third - Youngman's printing office; northeast
corner of Front and Arch - the old Maclay house; south side of Market
street between Second and Third - a frame building near Third; northeast
corner of Third and Race; west side of Second street between Market and
Chestnut, a small building nearly opposite the law building of S. P.
Wolverton. The most important of these early locations were the log
building opposite the Episcopal church, where Edward Chapman and Alexander
Strickland taught; the Weiser tannery, where Chapman and Braden taught;
and the log building on the north side of Walnut between Front and Second,
known as "the Dutch school," and used by the German population as a school
house and place of worship. Christopher Wood taught at the north side of
Chestnut street between Second and Third; Robert Smith, brother of Rev.
William B. Smith, at the southeast corner of Market and Front; the Misses
Kennedy, at the south side of Market between Third and Fourth; Mrs.
Ogle, Miss Mary Jane Peters, and Ebenezer Russ, at the south side of
Chestnut street between Third and Fourth; John Colsher (who died on the
25th of May, 1857, at the age of ninety years), at the north side of
Market street between Third and Fourth; Miss Elizabeth Breck, at the
Youngman printing office on Arch street; Lebrun and Pelton, at the south
side of Market just west of Third, from which Pelton moved to the
northeast corner of Third and Race.
   The Sunbury Academy was established in 1835 (as nearly as can be
ascertained) by Cale Pelton, a teacher of much ability, whose school
proved to be a great intellectual stimulus to this community. The
curriculum included the higher mathematics, Latin, and Greek. Mr. Pelton
was a graduate of Yale College, and the author of a series of outline
maps and other aids to the study of geography that once acquired a wide
circulation. His work was ably continued by Frederick Lebrun, a graduate
of the University of Oxford, an accomplished linguist, and a teacher of
the highest reputation, whose last term closed in March, 1839. Among the
subsequent teachers were Joseph C. Rhoads, Aaron C. Fisher, Dr. Isaac
Huff, Henry Donnel, a Mr. Thayer, Joseph B. McEnally, Richard S. Peale,
and S. P. Wolverton. The institution was incorporated in 1838, and efforts
were several times made to erect a building, but without success.
   The Public School System was adopted at Sunbury in 1834. Regarding
the attitude of public sentiment when the vital subject of taxation for
its support was presented, the following extract from the Workingmen's
Advocate (edited by John G. Youngman, who was the secretary of the first
school board) in its issue of December 6, 1834, may be of interest:-

   Upon due notice given by the school directors, a small portion of
the citizens of the borough of Sunbury met on the 29th ultimo in the
court house, and, acting upon the VIth section of the "free school" law,
passed and approved, April 1, 1834, - Henry Reader, in the chair-
   Resolved, That double the amount of the county tax be raised as a
sum in addition to the amount of half the county tax determined upon by
the school delegates on the 4th of November previous.
   These amounts, added to our dividend from the State treasury
(eighty-six dollars, twenty-three and three fourths cents) would amount
to about fourteen hundred fifty dollars. This large sum, to be collected
chiefly from the pockets of persons who either have themselves no
children to send to school, or have intended them for higher schools,
was altogether unexpected, and caused considerable excitement among a
majority of the citizens, which was evident in a subsequent meeting held
on the evening of Tuesday last, Mr. George Prince in the chair. This
meeting, we are told, was attended by upwards of one hundred persons,
all, except two or three, vehemently expressing their determination
against paying anything in addition to the sum agreed upon by the school
delegates; thus leaving no doubt that an attempt to impose and collect
any additional sum would become a very troublesome affair, however
lawful such an addition might be, the nullifiers not coming forward and
expressing their negative sentiments upon this subject in the first
meeting. Under these circumstances, the course left the school directors
to pursue is very doubtful and difficult.
   Under the new regime the first school building, a two-story brick
structure sixty feet long and forty feet wide, was erected in 1886. The
directors at that time were Rev. J. P. Shindel, William M. Robins, Jacob
Painter, George Bright, and Alexander Jordan. The contractors for the
building were Charles Dering and Samuel Fetter. It occupied the site of
the Masonic hall on Third street, and was the only school building in
the borough until 1867, when it was sold to the Masonic order. Two
school houses were erected in 1866-67, one at the southwest corner of
Second and Spruce, the other on the south side of Arch street between
Third and Fourth; both have since been enlarged, and are still occupied
for school purposes. The building on Second street between Market and
Arch was erected in 1868 and enlarged in 1873. The building on the west
side of Fourth street between Penn and Walnut was built in 1868 and
enlarged in 1884. The Fifth ward (Caketown) school house was erected in
1876.
   The high school was established in 1870, when a regular system of
grading was first adopted; the board at that time was composed of L. T.
Rohrbach, Jacob Fetter, M. C. Gearhart, W. Rhoads, M. P. Scupham, and
Henry Y. Friling. The high school organized on the 3d of October, 1870,
with J. B. Miller as principal, at J. M. Bartholomew's store-room on the
west side of Fourth street between Arch and Market; from that place it
was removed to the building on Second street opposite the jail, and
thence to the present substantial three-story structure on Front street.
   The following items have been derived from the official report of
the school board for the year ending on the first Monday in June, 1890:-

Number of schools  18
Average number of months taught  8
Number of male teachers employed  6
Number of female teachers employed  13
Average salary of males per month  $68
Average salary of females per month  $87
Number of male scholars attending school  526
Number of female scholars attending school  535
Whole number in attendance  1,061
Average daily attendance  802
Average percentage of attendance  .95
Cost of each pupil per month  $0.98
Indebtedness of district  $12,352.16
Estimated value of school property  33,000.00

CHURCHES

   Zion Evangelical Lutheran Church is one of the oldest and largest
congregations of that denomination in central Pennsylvania. Its first
place of worship was a log building on the north side of Walnut street
between Front and Second, jointly used for school and church purposes,
and finally sold in 1841 to the Rev. J. P. Shindel. In September 1791,
proposals were received for the erection of a church edifice "forty by
thirty feet and sufficiently high enough for raising a gallery." On the
12th of December, 1793 (as evidenced by a letter from Rev. Christian
Espich, published in Kennedy's Gazette of January 1, 1794), a
congregational meeting was held at which John Painter, Philip Peffer;
Bernard Hubley, and Frederick Lazarus were elected "to meet at the house
of Christian Gettig on Friday, the 20th instant, to settle and adjust
the accounts of the managers appointed to build the church for said
congregation." The auditors met accordingly; their published report
states that "The managers, viz., Christian Gettig, Nicholas Routher,
Paul Baldy, and Peter Smith, merit the thanks of the congregation for
the undertaking of said building, as their trouble must have been great
and arduous; a great part of their time was spent in superintending the
building; from a liberal and Christian spirit they have never charged
anything therefor; the architecture of the building is a masterpiece for
so small a sum of money that was expended." They presented the
following financial summary:-
  
Aggregate cost, including the bell  £497 2s. 4d.
Aggregate receipts                   401 4   2
Aggregate disbursements              399 0   8 1/2
Uncollected subscriptions            105 12  2
Unpaid obligations                    98 1   7 1/2

   This building was situated on the west side of Third street, at or
near the site of the second church edifice of this congregation. It was
constructed of hewn logs. The pews were of the "old-fashioned high-back
order," and the pulpit was of the "wine glass or goblet style." A pipe-
organ of Stall's make, one of the first in central Pennsylvania, was
purchased in 1815, and when first played attracted such a crowd that the
building sustained considerable damage by a collapse of the floor.
During the year 1826 the structure was plastered both inside and
outside, the pulpit and pews were modernized, and the building was
reopened for service September 10th of that year. At a congregational
meeting, June 24, 1841, it was decided to establish a separate
denominational Sunday school, to sell the old school house and lot, and
to erect a Sunday school building on the church lot, for which John
Young, George Martin, and Rev. J. P. Shindel were appointed as a
building committee. A brick structure was accordingly erected, and used
for Sunday school and other purposes as designed. At a congregational
meeting on the 28th of July, 1853, formal action was taken for the
erection of a new church edifice. The corner-stone of the brick
structure which now stands on Third street was laid on the 8th of
September, 1854, and on the 25th of December, 1855, the dedication
occurred. This building was subsequently enlarged; a parsonage was also
erected on Walnut street. The site of the present church edifice at the
southwest corner of Market and Fifth streets was purchased in 1886 at a
cost of five thousand dollars; ground was broken on the 2d of August in
that year, and on the 10th of October following the corner-stone was
laid. John Haas, John L. Miller, John B. Lenker, William H. Rohrbach,
and Solomon Stroh composed the building committee. The edifice was
completed and furnished at a cost of twenty-seven thousand dollars, and
dedicated on the 10th of June, 1888, when Rev. J. H. Menges, D. D.,
delivered the dedicatory sermon. In pursuance of congregational action
taken on the 18th of May, 1887, the present parsonage on Fifth street at
the rear of the church was built at a cost of two thousand dollars.
   Rev. John Herbst is supposed to have been one of the first pastors;
Rev. Chistian Espich was pastor at the time the first church edifice was
erected, and Reverend Unger was also an early incumbent of that office.
Since 1812 the succession has been as follows: J. P. Shindel, June 4,
1812, to July 2, 1850; (Mr. Shindel preached only in German; toward the
close of his pastorate Rev. J. Alleman also conducted English services;)
P. Born, D. D., April, 1851, to September, 1859; P. Rizer, April 1, 1860,
to May 1, 1862; M. Rhodes, D. D., July 1, 1862, to January 1, 1867; G. W.
Hemperley, 1867 to October, 1876; George Parsons, December, 1876, to
October 1, 1884; S. G. Shannon, March 8, 1885, to April 1, 1889; J. H.
Weber, September 1, 1889, present incumbent. The church received two
hundred sixty accessions during the first year of Mr. Weber's pastorate.
   The Sunday school was organized on the 4th of July, 1841, with
William M. Gray as superintendent and one hundred six members. The
present superintendent is John Haas, who has held that position since
1868 with the exception of one year. The official report for 1890
showed a membership of nine hundred twenty-one. A branch school was
organized in the Third ward school house on the 7th of September, 1890,
with sixty-five members.
   The First Reformed Church was organized in 1784. The first church
building at the site of the present edifice, northwest corner of Second
and Chestnut streets, was erected in 1793; it was a wooden building,
with entrances from the east and south; the pulpit was at the north end,
and galleries extended around the remaining three sides. The Reformed
and Presbyterian congregations jointly occupied this building for
religious worship until 1841, when the latter withdrew. In 1847, under
the pastorate of Rev Richard A. Fisher, it was replaced by a substantial
brick structure. In 1885, under the pastorate of Rev. J. Calvin
Leinbach, this congregation laid upon the altar of the church a
centenary offering to the amount of nearly nine thousand dollars, to be
devoted toward enlarging and beautifying their church edifice. The work
was commenced, August 9, 1885, and the cornerstone was laid on the 13th
of September following, Rev. J. A. Peters, D. D., of Danville,
Pennsylvania, preaching the sermon in the Presbyterian church. The
building was completed, and dedicated to the worship of God on Sunday,
May 16, 1886, the pastor being assisted in the services by Rev. J. O.
Miller, D. D., of York, Pennsylvania, and Rev. C. S. Gerhard, of
Reading, Pennsylvania.
   Who organized the congregation in 1784 can not be ascertained; as
far as learned from the very imperfect records, the following ministers
have served the congregation in the order of their names: Rev. Jonathan
Rahauser, 1789-92; George Geistweit, 1794-1804; John Dietrich Adams,
1808-13; Martin Bruner, 1813- 23; Richard A. Fisher, 1826-54; Daniel Y.
Heisler, 1856-58; John W. Steinmetz, 1858-62; William C. Cremer, 1864-
67; Abraham H. Dotterer, 1869-70; Calvin S. Gerhard, 1870-79; Thomas J.
Barkley, 1879-84; and Rev. J. Calvin Leinbach, from 1884 to the present
time.
   The Sunday school was organized by Rev. Richard A. Fisher.
   First Presbyterian Church.- On the 31st of May, 1787, "the united
congregations of Buffalo, Sunbury, and Northumberland, having never in
these places had the stated administration of the Gospel ordinances,"(7)
extended a call to the Rev. Hugh Morrison, a licentiate of the Presbytery
of Root, Ireland, who had been admitted to the Presbytery of Donegal in
1786. The call was intrusted to Reverend Wilson for presentation to the
moderator of Carlisle Presbytery by William Gray and Abraham Scott, of
Sunbury; William Cooke and James Hepburn, of Northumberland, and William
Clark, of Buffalo; it bore eight signatures from Sunbury, from which it is
clearly evident that the church at this place was very weak numerically.
Mr. Morrison became pastor of the Buffalo church in October, 1787, and
continued in that relation until November, 1801; Sunbury was included in
his field of labor during this period, and perhaps later, as he died on
the 13th of September, 1804, and is buried in the Sunbury cemetery. The
next pastor was Rev. Isaac Grier, S. T. D., who died in 1814; since that
date Reverends Robert F. N. Smith, William R. Ashmead, William R. Smith,
Wheelock S. Stone, William R. Smith, William Simonton, James Reardon,
Samuel W. Reigart, Orr Lawson, Samuel J. Milliken, Martin L. Ross, and
Andrew Brydie have successively served as pastors. The church became a
separate pastorate during Mr. Simonton's incumbency; previous to that
time it had been connected with Northumberland, where the pastors, with
the exception of Rev. William R. Smith; resided.
   The Presbyterians worshipped in the old church building at the
north-west corner of Second and Chestnut streets from its erection until
1841, when they built a brick church edifice at the northwest corner of
Third and Chestnut. This was the place of worship until 1870. The deed
for the site of the present church building, a two-story brick structure
on the north side of Market street between Second and Third, was
executed on the 11th of June, 1869, in favor of William L. Dewart,
William M. Rockefeller, A. N. Brice, L. T. Rohrbach, and J. William
Johns, trustees; building operations were begun on the 24th of the same
month, and on the 25th of December, 1870, the completed structure was
dedicated.
   The parsonage, a brick building at the southeast corner of Second
and Race streets, was erected by Rev. William R. Smith. It was long the
residence of Miss Mary Hunter, who devised the property to this church
by her will.
   Judge Alexander Jordan was the first superintendent of the Sunday
school, and filled that position many years.
   St. John's Methodist Episcopal Church.- The Methodists of Sunbury
worshiped at Northumberland for some years after the introduction of
Methodism into this section of the State. The year in which a local
class was first organized can not be definitely stated; it is known,
however, that William Search and wife, Eli Diemer and wife, Mrs. Nancy
Follmer, Solomon Shaffer and wife, Jacob Dawson, and Jacob Heller were
among its members, of whom Mr. Heller was the first leader, and the
class meetings were held at the house of Mr. Shaffer. The grand jury
room in the old court house was the place of public worship until 1838,
when a one-story brick church edifice, now the property of the
Catholics, was erected on Arch street near Third during the pastorate of
Rev. Henry G. Dill. The corner-stone of the present church edifice, a
two-story brick structure on the corner of Arch and Second streets, was
laid, July 2, 1869; the building was rapidly approaching completion when
the tower collapsed, involving a loss of seven thousand dollars; work was
resumed, the tower was rebuilt, and on the 13th of March, 1870, the
lecture room was dedicated, Bishop E. R. Ames, Rev. C. C. McCabe, and
others officiating. The dedication of the entire building occurred on
the 24th of October, 1873.
   The Shamokin circuit, extending from the Susquehanna river to Broad
mountain between Mahantango and Nescopec creeks, was formed in 1812, and
it is quite probable that the preachers appointed to it included Sunbury
in their field of labor. From 1812 to 1830 the following clergymen
successively officiated on this circuit: 1812, James H. Baker, James
Hickcox; 1813, Abraham Dawson, Nathaniel Reeder; 1814, Marmaduke Pearce;
1815-16, Benjamin Bidlack; 1817, Abraham Dawson; 1818, Isreal Cook;
1819, Elisha Bibins; 1820, Marmaduke Pearce; 1821-22, John Rhodes; 1823,
David Steel; 1824, Jacob R. Shepherd; 1825, John Thomas; 1826, John
Taneyhill; 1827, Jonathan Monroe; 1828, Henry Tarring; 1829, Edward E.
Allen. In 1830 the name was changed to Sunbury circuit, which was served
by the following ministers until 1868: 1830, Josiah Forest; 1831, Oliver
Ege, James R Brown; 1832, Wesley Howe, J. Clark; 1833, Thomas Taneyhill,
John R. Tallentyre; 1834, Thomas Taneyhill, John Guyer; 1835, Oliver
Ege, J. Anderson; 1836, Oliver Ege, G. C. Gibbons; 1837, Henry G. Dill,
Charles E. Brown; 1838, Henry G. Dill, John W. Haughawaut; 1839, John
Rhodes, William Hurst; 1840, John Rhodes, John Ball; 1841, John Ball,
Gideon H. Day; 1842, George Bergstresser, William S. Baird; 1843, Alem
Brittain, Jacob Montgomery; 1844, Alem Brittain, John W. Tongue; 1845,
John W Haughawaut, Jacob S. McMurray; 1846, John W. Haughawaut, Thomas
Bernhart; 1847, Peter McEnally, H. Huffman; 1848, James Ewing, J. P.
Simpson; 1849, James Ewing, William Gwynn; 1850, John Stine, William
Gwynn; 1851, John Stine, Albert Hartman; 1852, Joseph A. Ross, T. M.
Goodfeller; 1853, Joseph A. Ross; 1854, J. G. McKeehan, James Curns;
1855, J. G. McKeehan, B. P. King; 1856, Thomas Taneyhill, N. W. Colburn;
1857, Thomas Taneyhill, M. L. Drum; 1858-59, George Warren, P. B.
Riddle; 1860, E. Butler, J. P. Swanger; 1861, E. Butler, J. A. Dixon;
1862, A. M. Creighton, B. F. Stevens; 1863, A. M. Creighton, E. T.
Swartz; 1864, B. P. King, J. M. Akers; 1865, B. P. King, W. H. Norcross;
1866, J. Anderson, E. Shoemaker; 1867, J. Anderson, W. Fritz. Since 1868
Sunbury has been a station with the following pastors: 1868- 70, W. W.
Evans; 1871, J. C. Clark; 1872-73, G. D. Pennepacker; 1874-76, J. A.
DeMoyer; 1877-78, S. W. Sears; 1879-81, Hiles A. Pardoe; 1882, G. T.
Gray; 1883- 84, William G. Ferguson; 1885-87, Reuben E. Wilson; 1888,
William V. Ganoe, present incumbent.
   The Sunday school was organized in 1841 with James Huston as
superintendent and Solomon Shaffer as secretary.

   St. Matthew's Protestant Episcopal Church.- Rev. Caleb Hopkins, who
had organized parishes at Bloomsburg, Milton, and Jerseytown, came to
Sunbury occasionally as early as 1812 and conducted Episcopal services
in the Lutheran church. It is entered of record that Reverend Bacon,
afterward a missionary to Africa, held one service in 1817; that Rev.
Elijah Plumb, who had charge of a classical school at Northumberland,
held regular services, 1819-22, at the public buildings or the Lutheran
church; that Rev. William Eldred, of Muncy, held occasional services in
1825, and that Rev. James Depui, of Bloomsburg, administered the
sacraments and conducted public worship in 1826. In that year, and
doubtless through Mr. Dupui's instrumentality, the parish was organized,
in the parlor of Mrs. Charles Hegins, now the residence of Mrs. Charles
G. Donnel, on the north side of the public square in Sunbury; the
following persons were among those present: Mrs. Charles Dering and her
sister, Miss Giberson, Mrs. Charles G. Donnel (nee Hegins), John D.
Hegins, and William Dewart.
   The first steps toward the erection of a church building were taken
on the 10th of January, 1829, when the vestry authorized Mrs. Catharine
Ogle, of Philadelphia, and William Dewart, of Sunbury, to receive
subscriptions for that purpose. On the 8th of August, 1827, the vestry,
composed of Charles Dering, Ebenezer Greenough, Charles G. Donnel,
William Dewart, Jeremiah Shindel, John D. Hegins, and Jacob Painter,
appointed Mrs. A. Greenough, Mrs. M. Dering, and Miss Amelia Hegins
(Mrs. Charles G. Donnel), to solicit and receive subscriptions. Their
efforts were not rewarded with a large measure of success, however, and,
although it is known that some materials were purchased in 1828, it was
not until 1834 that a contract was entered into with Edward Gobin for
the erection of a church building. The corner-stone was laid on the 2d
of September, 1834, and the dedication occurred on the 7th of December,
1836, Bishop Onderdonk officiating. This was originally a one-story
brick structure fifty feet long and thirty-two feet wide; it is situated
on Front street between Market and Arch and constitutes the front part
of the present church edifice. A brick building twenty by thirty-four
feet in dimensions was erected on the same lot in 1854 as a Sunday
school room, which was further enlarged in 1885 at a cost of fifteen
hundred dollars. An extension fifty by fifty-three feet to the rear of
the original church edifice and connecting that building with the Sunday
school room was erected in 1886-87 at an expenditure of four thousand
six hundred dollars; the audience room and Sunday school apartment thus
constitute a single building one hundred fifty feet in length, which was
formally opened on the 10th of April, 1887.
   The Sunday school was organized on the 1st of January, 1825, by
Mrs. Catharine Ogle and Miss Amelia Hegins at a house on Third street
near Chestnut. This was the first denominational Sunday school at
Sunbury.
   The parish was admitted to the diocesan convention in 1827. The rector
at that time and in the following year was Rev. Lucius Carter, who also
taught a classical school at Sunbury. The first resident rector to devote
his entire time to the parish was Rev. Christian Wiltberger, who was
followed by Reverends Isaac Smith, of Muncy, and Hopkins (not the Rev.
Caleb Hopkins) in the period from 1830 to 1836. The succession of rectors
since 1837 has been as follows: Alfred Lauderbach, July 25, 1837, to June
21, 1841; William S. Walker, October 11,1841, to October 24, 1842; Joshua
Weaver; January 20, 1843, to September 1, 1845; B. Wistar Morris, August
23, 1846, to September 9, 1850; William B. Musgrave, November, 1850, to
December 23, 1851; William Montgomery, October, 1852, to 1855; J. W.
Gougler, 1856 to April 1, 1859; Theo. M. Riley, July to October, 1859;
Lewis W. Gibson, October, 1860, to December 31, 1866; Charles H. Vandyne,
August 26, 1867, to March 23, 1869; Gideon J. Burton, June 26, 1869, to
May 21, 1872; Charles H. Vandyne, May 30, 1872, to June 3, 1873; H.
Hewitt, July 25, 1873, to July 1, 1879; Henry A. Skinner, January 7, 1880,
to April 16, 1882; and Charles Morison, the present incumbent, who took
charge on the 2d of April, 1883.
   The First Baptist Church of Sunbury was organized by Reverends John
H. Worrell and J. B. Cressinger on the 15th of December, 1842, with
eighty-one constituent members, among whom were John Budd, William Reed,
Dennis Wolverton, Washington Newberry, Mary H. Budd, Sarah H. Garrison,
Anna Wolverton, Malinda Wolverton, Rachel Reed, and Susanna Newberry.
The organization increased in numbers until 1850, when its prosperity
began to decline, and from 1860 to 1867 no evidences of active existence
were manifested. In September, 1867, Rev. A. B. Still, of Danville,
Pennsylvania, reorganized the society with fifteen or twenty members;
this number increased to one hundred seventy in 1886 and to two hundred
fifty-four in 1890. Reverends John H. Worrell, L. W. Chapman, A. J.
Collins, A. J. Hay, J. Green Miles, George J. Brensinger, A. C. Wheat,
B. B. Henshey, W. J. Hunter, S. R. Reading, D. W. Shepherd, and F. H.
Shermer, present incumbent, have successively served as pastor.
   The court house of Northumberland county was the place of worship
until January 1, 1843, when services were first held in a church
building forty feet long and twenty feet wide erected on a lot on Fourth
street below Penn, presented by Aaron Robins and now the site of the
public school building. The present brick chapel was erected in 1874,
largely through the instrumentality of Truman H. Purdy and David
Clement, on a lot at the corner of Fourth and Chestnut. The church also
owns a parsonage, and a movement has been inaugurated for the erection
of a church edifice. The present (1891) deacons are Truman H. Purdy, Ira
Hile, J. B. Cressinger, and Erastus Hoffman.
   St. Michael's Catholic Church was organized in the autumn of 1863
by Rev. J. J. Koch, of Milton. Several years before that date, however,
services were held for the few resident Catholic families by visiting
missionaries and the priests of neighboring towns. Father Koch celebrated
Mass a few times in the house of a Mr. McNamara, which stood at the site
of the Pennsylvania railroad depot, and subsequently at John Leary's
residence on Fourth street once a month. This continued until the autumn
of 1866, when he became pastor at Shamokin. During this time he had
collected three hundred dollars toward the erection of a church, and it
was the nucleus of the fund used in purchasing the present property. Rev.
Arthur McGinnis, of Danville, ministered to the mission during the next
two years, and was succeeded by Rev. Mark A. O'Neill, of Milton, now of
Mt. Carmel. Since that time the pastors of Milton have had charge of St.
Michael's, viz.: Reverends Louis Grotemeyer, Thomas J. Fleming, W. F.
McIlhenny, and H. G. Ganns, who assumed charge on the 14th of November,
1881, and is the present incumbent.
   In the meantime, Major James Malone was prominent in an effort to
obtain a permanent place of worship. Accompanied by Rev. Michael
McBride, of Harrisburg, he traveled along the line of the railroads and
collected sufficient money to enable the congregation to purchase the
old Methodist church on Arch street in 1872 for the sum of thirty-five
hundred dollars. It was at once fitted up for Catholic worship and
dedicated by Bishop Shanahan; it has since been used for that purpose,
and services are held twice a month. Father Ganss has collected about
two thousand dollars and has now in contemplation the erection of a new
church edifice, more in harmony with growth and spirit of the
congregation, which numbers about thirty-five families.
   The cemetery of St. Michael's church is located at Northumberland,
and was reserved for that purpose when the town was laid out. It was
inclosed in 1864, during the pastorate of Rev. J. J. Koch.
   The Evangelical Church of Sunbury was organized in March, 1887, by
Rev. G. A. Knerr, under direction of the East Pennsylvania Conference.
The first minister of this denomination to hold regular services at
Sunbury was a Mr. Maxwell, who preached in the Spruce Street school
house in 1873 and organized a class; he was succeeded by Mr. Moore, who
conducted services in the Caketown school house, and thus the work was
continued until 1878, when, owing to a lack of missionary funds, it was
abandoned and not resumed until 1887. The class of twenty members
organized in that year increased to forty-five in 1889, when a
subscription was started for the erection of a church building. This is
a substantial and attractive frame structure, situated at the corner of
Fourth and Vine streets; the corner-stone was laid on the 17th of
August, 1890, and the dedication occurred December 21st in the same
year. Rev. G. A. Knerr was succeeded as pastor by Rev. W. S. Harris, the
present incumbent, in 1890.
   The First Church of Christ of Sunbury had its origin in a meeting
held on the first Lord's day in October, 1885, at the hall of the hook
and ladder company on Fourth street, at which Francis M. Farra, John H.
Shipman, Isaiah W. Hile, Mrs. Alcesta J. Hile, William Lesser, Mr. Kate
Leeser, and Charles M. Park were present. Regular meetings for worship
were continued at that place, and in March, 1890, the following officers
were appointed: Isaiah W. Hile, Francis M. Farra, and William Leeser,
elders; John H. Shipman, Horace Tweed, and George Rundio, deacons. At that
time the church numbered thirty-three members. On the 20th of September,
1890, it was incorporated with thirty-eight members, of whom the
following were the first trustees: Isaiah W. Hile, Francis M. Farra,
John H. Shipman, Horace Tweed, Alonzo L. Hile, James Hileman, John
Masters, and William Leeser. A brick church building is in course of
erection at the corner of Fourth and Arch streets, upon which the work
of construction was begun, September 17, 1890.
   The First Sunday School at Sunbury was organized in 1815 by Mrs.
Daniel Hurley and Miss Blake in the lower story of a building on Third
street near the old Lutheran church. The Presbyterian catechism was
taught and seems to have constituted the only text-book except the
Bible. All the various religious denominations then represented at
Sunbury supported the school, however, and within a few years it secured
permanent quarters in the "state house," as evidenced by the following
entry in the Appearance docket of Northumberland county (No. 92, January
term, 1820):-

   The court, at the request of the male teachers of the Sunday [Sunbury?]
Sabbath school, give their consent that the said teachers hold the Sabbath
school in the grand jury room over the county offices.

   This was continued as a union organization until the formation of
denominational Sunday schools deprived it of supporters and terminated
its usefulness.

   The Caketown Union Sunday School Chapel, a brick building twenty-
five by fifty feet with an L sixteen feet square, was erected in 1887 on
Susquehanna avenue in the Fifth ward upon a lot donated by J. A. Cake
and wife. The title to the property is vested in a board of trustees
composed of S. M. Elliott, J. A. Cake, A. Goughnour, W. J. Cornwell, A.
Traub, Moses Culp, and A. L. Bastress. The Sunday school was organized
at the Fifth Ward school house in 1886 and numbers one hundred fifty
members. A. L. Bastress has been superintendent since its organization.

CEMETERIES

   The old Sunbury cemetery comprises a tract of land situated east of
Third street and south of Spruce, adjacent to the original town plot and
probably reserved for burial purposes at the time the latter was surveyed
(1772). The earliest legible inscription is that upon the tombstone of
Sarah McKinney, daughter of David and Rebecca McKinney, who was born on
the 24th of August, 1769, and died, September 22, 1774. Many of the most
prominent citizens of the county throughout its history are interred here.
   There is also an old cemetery in the Fifth ward; it comprises two
contiguous inclosures, separated by a stone wall and surrounded by a
fence of similar construction. One part was reserved for burial purposes
by the Hunter family and the other by the Grant family, the
representatives of which in several generations are interred here.
   The Pomfret Manor Cemetery Company, was originally incorporated as
the Mt. Pleasant Cemetery Company, August 4, 1870; the name was changed
to its present style, June 9, 1873. The company was organized, August
22, 1870, with Alexander Jordan, president; Lloyd T. Rohrbach,
secretary; J. A. Cake, treasurer, and a board of directors composed of
Alexander Jordan, J. W. Cake, Sr., Rev. W. W. Evans, Rev. George W.
Hemperley, Rev. Samuel K. Milliken, Rev. George J. Brensinger, Rev.
Gideon J. Burton, William M. Rockefeller, and Lloyd T. Rohrbach. The
grounds comprise twenty acres, situated within the borough limits of
East Sunbury at a considerable elevation above the river. Five acres
were improved and adapted to cemetery purposes, and, although some
interments were made, the project was for some years practically
abandoned. A reorganization of the company was effected, August 1, 1890,
with the following officers: president, George B. Reimensnyder;
secretary and treasurer, W. H. Druckemiller; directors: Rev. George
Parson, George B. Reimensnyder, J. H. Alleman, Rev. W. E. Parson, and
Ira Shipman. Under the new management the cemetery promises to become
one of the most attractive places of interment in the county.

BOROUGH OF EAST SUNBURY

   That part of the manor of Pomfret bounded by Shamokin creek, Spring
run, and the Reading road (embracing the borough of East Sunbury within
the same limits and containing three hundred twelve acres) was surveyed
for William Maclay on the 17th of January, 1775, in pursuance of warrant
dated March 10, 1774. The remaining portion of the borough was also
embraced in the manor of Pomfret. For many years this land was used for
agricultural purposes, and in 1865 there were but three improvements
within the borough limits of East Sunbury, viz.: the mill and residence
of John Haas; a frame house on the west side of the Catawissa road, then
occupied by Samuel Bloom and now owned by Benjamin Zettlemoyer, and a
frame house at the northwest corner of Catawissa and Market streets,
then occupied by Charles Wilder and now owned by Daniel Zartman.
   In 1865 Truman H. Purdy purchased one and three fourths acres of
land west of the Catawissa road and laid it out in lots, thus
inaugurating the growth of the village, which was known as Purdytown
until its incorporation as a borough. The principal subdivisions since
that date have been made by Truman H. Purdy, Purdy & Wolverton, John B.
Lenker, George Conrad, John Haas, Lloyd T. Rohrbach, Purdy & Rockefeller,
Reagan & Cake, Ira T. Clement, P. M. Eckman, and Henry Conrad. The plat is
irregular. Market street extends east and west, with Chestnut street
parallel to the south and Arch, Race, Line, Reagan, Masser, Greenough, and
Packer streets parallel to the north. The Catawissa and Creek roads
diverge from Market street in a northeast direction, and are largely
responsible for the irregularity of the plat. The streets extending north
and south are Rockefeller, Conrad, Dewart, Clement, Augusta, High, Fifth,
Sixth, Seventh, Eighth, Ninth, and Augusta avenue, while Wolverton street
coincides with the railroad south of Market.
   The local industrial establishments are the Keystone Machine Works,
Haas's mill, Cold Spring brewery, and the carriage works of J. S.
Seasholtz, H. L. Hauck, and J. S. Stroh & Brother, to which more
extended mention is made in this chapter under the head of "Industrial
Activity."
   The borough was incorporated by decree of court, December 5, 1890;
previous to that date it formed part of Upper Augusta township. It is
bounded on the east and southeast by Shamokin creek, on the west by Spring
run, on the north by a line which coincides with the northern boundary of
Pomfret Manor cemetery, and on the northeast by a line extending
diagonally from the Catawissa road to Shamokin creek. The first election
was held on the 17th of February, l891, and resulted as follows: chief
burgess, George W. Keefer; assistant burgess, Julius Moeschlin; council:
Peter Eckman, John H. Shipman, Hiram M. Haas, Lot Bartholomew, Samuel
Fasold, S. P. Malick; school directors: Sebastian Zimmerman, Jacob
Allison, Charles Fasold, Urias Bloom, John L. Miller, P. M. Eckman;
auditors: Carl Litz, J. A. Miller, J. W. Morgan; justices of the peace:
Ira Shipman, D. M. Schwartz; assessor, Jacob Bartholomew; assistant
assessors, S. P. Savidge, Charles Zerfing; overseers of the poor: Isaac
Bloom, S. L. Keefer; high constable, Daniel Knouse; constable, C. H.
Swank; judge of election, J. H. Slear; inspectors of election: David
Straub, J. W. Campbell; tax collector, John Eckman.

(1) Pennsylvania Genealogies, pp. 357-358.
  
(2) Pennsylvania Archives, Vol. V. pp. 85-86.

(3) An effort was made to revive the game early in the '30's, but it
had been discontinued so long that few persons possessed sufficient
skill to cover the distance from Front to Fourth in three jerks. Harry
Thomas, a tailor, attempted to throw the ball instead of jerking it, but
the muscular contraction was greater than the resistance of the bones of
his arm, which sustained a fracture in consequence.
  
(4) The site of the Catholic church, then a vacant lot, was once
occupied at the period to which this relates by one of the first
circuses that ever visited Sunbury. Notwithstanding inclement weather
there was a large attendance at the evening performance, which had
scarcely begun when the tent collapsed, precipitating a state of
confusion that beggars description. In the melee a certain gentleman,
the father of a family, seized a boy whom he supposed was his son and
carried him several squares before the urchin informed him of his
mistake.

(5) Northumberland County Deed Book I, p173
  
(6) Edward Chapman was a native of Richfield county, Connecticut. In
his "Reminiscences," published in the Northumberland County Legal
New's, John F. Wolfinger describes him as a man of fine appearance,
agreeable manners, and superior intellectual endowments. He read law
with Charles Hall, and was admitted to the bar in April, 1814, but never
engaged in the practice of that profession, and died on the 5th of
April, 1821, at the age of thirty-two. He possessed fine poetic talent,
and was the author of several poems which found their way into the
newspapers of the day, one of which, entitled "Columbia" begins as
follows:-
"Columbia's shores are wild and wide,
Columbia's hills are high,
And rudely planted side by side,
Her forests meet the eye;
But narrow must those shores be made,
And low Columbia's hills,
And low her ancient forests laid,
Ere Freedom leaves her fields;
For 'tis the land where, rude and wild,
She played her gambols when a child."