Selective Extracts From
THE
Sharpsburg HERALD
A Sharpsburg and Etna, Pennsylvania
Weekly Newspaper Publication
January 1st, 1887
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J.A. RATTIGAN, Editor and Proprietor. Unto Others We Do As We Are Done By
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Vol X No. 3 SHARPSBURG, PA, SATURDAY, JANUARY 1st, 1887. Price five cents
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Extracted from
The Sharpsburg Herald
Saturday, January 1st, 1887
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POINTED AND PURELY PERSONAL
-----
A Curt Calender Calculated For Callers
Who Drop In and Out of Town
-----
--Harry REIF is a new addition to plumb-
ing circles.
--Mrs. Joe HOLZHEIMER is expected down-
stairs to-day.
--Mrs. Harry THOMAS is up from Bellaire
omn a holiday visit.
--Collector Henry MORITZ has finished up
a busy term of office.
-- Johnny ZWICK is up and about, after a
severe attack of rheomatism.
--Otis CHESSMAN has returned to the land
of watches and fine brass bands.
--Grandma GARDNER, of Middle street,
celebrated her 83d birth-day on the 22d.
--Doctor DINSMORE sailed for Germany
from New York, Thursday afternoon last.
--George A. KELLY is home from a New
York medical college, to pass the holidays.
--John J. MEEBAU and wife were here
from Cincinnati, spending Christmas week.
--W. H. WACHTER is here from New York,
spending the old and a portion of the new
year.
--Both Peter PRAGER and Doctor SILVEY
have presented their gifts of $100 each to the
hose companies.
--James HAYS was presented with a New
Year's gift in the way of a young heir, early
Wednesday morning.
--James CARSON, Tarentum, nodded to us
Wednesday last. A few hours of business
ended his mission here.
--Freight Agent AYRES is busy as a nailer,
at his new post, near Etna station. But then
he is equal to the emergency.
--Mrs. Rev. STEPHENS, wife of the noted
Adrian College professor, is here with her
son, visiting her parents, Mr. and Mrs. T.
H. GIBSON.
--Miss Edna, daughter to H. J. HEINZ,
was presented with a superb concert grand
upright piano, by her thoughtful papa. It
was a Christmas gift.
--Will J. BARTON, a Harmarville youth,
who has been a diligent student in the law
office of his uncle, at Pittsburg, was on last
Friday admitted to practice at the bar. We
wish him success.
--Benjamin CROWTHER, Sr, J. S. SPEER, Ben.
CROWTHER, Jr., and "Todd" SAINT were a
hunting party, that visited Duck Row, on
the P. & W. last Tuesday. The game was
packed with ease in six large dry goods
boxes.
--"The friends of Robert LYON, Esq., are
urging him for Secretary of the Common-
wealth under Beaver." LYON is a young
and able lawyer of Millvale, who is rated one
of the shrewdest politicians in the county.
If he says the word into the office he will
go, sure.
--Miss Hanna HALLERAN leaves for Cincin-
nati the beginning of next week, to enter the
convent of the Sisters of Charity. She is one
of the talented young lady pupils of the Sis-
ters at St. Joseph's church, and a vocalist
who will be missed from the well-trained
chorus of voices.
--Mrs. T. E. McBRIDE, daughter to Hon.
F. H. COLLIER, is slowly but steadily improv-
ing. Last week her condition remained un-
changed for several days, but Monday the
results were for the better. She has been
on the sidk bed for months, hovering be-
tween life and death.
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SOME OLD SETTLERS.
PERSONS WHO HAVE BEEN RESIDENTS
OF THE TOWNS
-----
For a Generation Back. A Little History
of Their Lives. A Representative Busi-
ness Man of Etna.
There are but few of the early set-
tlers of Sharpsburg, now living, who
do not remember Thomas COOK, one of
the first to make this his home after
James SHARP had settled. COOK came
here in 1828. He was born in Lancaster
county in the year 1800, coming into
this county 7 years later. He mar-
ried a daughter of Henry SHAFFER,
whose father was an early settler in
Western Pennsylvania, and a soldier
of the war of 1812. Not long after
COOK became a resident, he erected a blacksmith and wagon-making shop, on the site now occupied by the pres- ent Gas Works. He followed this business thirty-one years. COOK was the man who built the first brick house in Sharpsburg, so the records show. When he had it completed there was a genuine old fashioned house-warming held, and the event was celebrated by people from all over the country at- tending. In politics he was a Whig, and was one of the leaders in that par- ty to erect the Whig pole that stood opposite BRAWDY's corner, and was planted with such jollification in the campaign of 1840. Those who are alive will remember this occasion by the profusion of hard cider and tin cups that attended it. It was during COOK's residency that the barge acci- dent occurred that killed one man and came near finishing the career of John HANNA. COOK helped to raise the fal- len barge, and it was due mainly to his efforts that HANNA escaped with his life. He held office in the town af- ter its incorporation, and was one of the leaders in all prominent local move- ments. He died in July of 1869, and was the father of nine children. One of them, Adam COOK, still resides in the South Side, city, and makes frequent visits to the burg. Mrs. Cook sur- vived her husband sixteen years, and now the remains of these two old re- spected residenters lay side by side in the Allegheny Cemetery. ___________________ BORN AND BRED ----- IN SHARPSBURG, R. C. COYLE GRADU- ALLY IS REACHING. ----- Few among the bred and born Sharpsburg youths have reached the prominence of he whom our attached sketch is only a partial history of. Robert M. BOYLE is now in the full prime and vigor of life and enjoying that distinction bestowed upon a citizen who has earned a reputation that stands as a figure head; an example of what integrity, uprightness, honesty and honor commands. Mr. COYLE was born at this place August 1, 1839. His father, SAmuel COYLE, who died in 1880, came to Sharpsburg in the year 1839, one year prior to its incorporation as a borough. He was tanner by trade and built a small place where the Joseph DAR- RAGH residence is located, on the little knoll overlooking the junctin of North Canal and Fifteenth streets. Here he carried on business, and when young Robert developed a taste to fol- low in his trade footsteps he adopted him to the trade. The son was a diligent youth and soon became an expert. By and by when the elder COYLE was too old for business the tan- nery was abandoned, and Robert took up his studies. He was one of the first pupils at the school here and when the public school was erected he became enrolled in the classes. When the mill company's store was built he accepted the position of clerk under Henry LEWIS, who had been in charge of this branch up near Fourteenth street. From 1857 he remained in the company's employ, then when the war broke out he went to the city to en- gage in mercantile pursuits. Back to the mill he came and entered the office as assistant, and again we find him in the store as manager. He filled this office until 1878 when the financial troubles of the iron firm terminated his relationship with it. In 1882 he was elected Burgess, and his fight was one of the red hot politi- cal combats. He also served two terms as school director and is now in his third. When the new banking firm was incorporated in 1878 he became cashier, and in the eight years of his connection with that institution he has earned a reputation that places him on the record with staunch, true, ener- getic financiers, here and elsewhere. The institution has flourished under his careful manipulation, and the com- pany, together with its patrons, find ni Robert M. COYLE a servant whose convictions and actions are worthy of the man who controls them so admirably. Some years ago he married a second time. The lady was Miss Annie, daughter to James LOVE, another of the early settlers of this place. Mr. COYLE's residence is the Old COYLE home- stead on the hill, where he spent his boyhood days. He has a family of
two daughters and one son, and a hap-
pier family circle does not exist. True-
ly he is reaping the reward of an early
Christian training in which were em-
bodied the teachings of a father and
mother whose good deeds shall live in
the memory of the community they
so blessed with their presence.
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Here are two old stories from The Sharpsburg
Herald, relating to Daniel Hieber.
From The Sharpsburg Herald, Saturday, January 1st, 1887
The suns of seventy-eight summers
have shown on the head of Daniel
Hieber, one of those whose face and
figure have been familiar on the streets
of Etna since ________________
the time the | Good |
town began as- | Artists |
serting itself in- | sketch |
in the county's | of |
history. Daniel | Daniel |
was born in | Hieber |
Wurtemburg, | here |
Germany, in ----------------
1808. He crossed the water to Phila-
delphia in 1833 and there married.
He was a wagon worker by trade and
having saved some money concluded to
follow the train of Western pilgrims
and come this direction. He reached
Etna, then a township, in 1835, hence
has been a resident 51 years. It was
he who started the first wagon shop,
and this business he followed attentive-
ly up until 18760, when his age inter-
fered and he retired to be succeeded by
his sons. He had six children, four of
whom are still alive, Fred C. Hieber,
John D. Hieber, Mrs. Phillips and
Mrs. Elcessor. His daughter, Mrs.
Philip Young, died some years ago
and W. H. Hieber, his eldest son, suc-
cumed to consumption one year ago,
almost. Grandpap Hieber enjoys ex-
cellent health. His age, 78, interferes
with his getting around with as much
activity as was always his custom, yet
he has a hale appearance and retains
all his faculties, among them a clear
memory. He is an old gentleman
much respected. He has always been
a popular man, having a name for
honesty and uprightness. There is
still a joke in him occasionally and he
has a laugh as hearty as a youth of
twenty. His family of children and
grand children are strongly attached
to their aged relative, and hence his
path is a pleasant one.
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From The Sharpsburg Herald, Saturday, December 25th, 1886
There is sadness in the Phillips
household. Last Tuesday evening,
shortly after seven o'clock, Emma
Phillips breathed her last. She had
been ill but several days. A combined
attack of pneumonia and pleurisy
was the cause of her death. She
seemed better Tuesday evening, early,
and when the change took place her
family could hardly realize that she
was dying. Emma was a model girl;
dutiful to her parents and respected
everywhere. She was aged 17 years;
the eldest in the family. She was a
granddaughter to Daniel Hieber.
___________________
HENRY OCHSE
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At the age of 66 years Henry
OCHSE, one of Etna's aged and repre-
sentative citizens, stil plods along
life's path enjoying good health, spirits
and the pleasures that surround the
existence of one who has been a dutiful
parent, and considerate in his actions
toward the laws of God and man. Etna
had not contemplated casting off its
infant frock when Henry OCHSE came to
make it his home. He settled there
in 1839, and it was all township at
that time. OCHSE was born in Hesse
Castle, Germany, May 18, 1820, so
when he set his foot on Etna's shore
at the age of 19 he was a stout, able-
bodied specimen of the genuine Ger-
man. In 1841 he married Miss Mary
SUTTERS, who was a native of Venango
county. Shortly after his marriage he
went to work at SPANG's mill. He
learned the heating trade and after-
ward left to go to coopering. When
he became so advanced in years that
hard labor was too much for him he
retired. This occurred in 1870. Mr.
OCHSE was the first Burgess elected in
Etna. When the borough was incor-
porated in 1868 that fall the Repub-
licans placed him at the head of the
local government. He served two
terms in succession. Prior to this date
he was school director in the township
and assessor several terms. He also
held the same offices afterward and
was elected to Council not many years
since. One of his sons was killed in
the war, mention of which was made
in the issue of December 11th, and his
three surviving boys are now leading
business men of the town. H. W.
OCHSE, C. D. OCHSE, S. J. OCHSE, all
thriving, energetic members of Etna's
mercantile circles. Mr. OCHSE lives
in a quiet home on Locust street where
most of his family was born. His
wife is a jolly old lady, two years his
junior, and has been a glitter of
sunshine in his home ever since the
day he called her his bride.
___________________
RINKLETS.
The hall of the dull thud and merry
rattle of wheels was the scene of
old-fashioned amusement last Saturday
evening when the doors were opened
to roller skating the first time since
last season. There were 165 paid ad-
missions at 25 cents per head. It was
not possible to get music; stil in all
the rollers enjoyed themselves. Tues-
day night the band played its lively
airs and some 125 skaters kept time to
the strains. In all probability the
dancing will be abandoned. At
present the management seems in-
clined to have brass music on Thurs-
day evening, the only night that the
rink will be open, until further notice.
The 25 cent admission will also be
continued and the indications are that
the sport will be revived ere many
more days; not, it is true, to the ex-
tent it was in 1884, but sufficient to
justify the owners to keep music, at-
tendants, gas, etc.
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TALK ON A TRADESMAN.
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A SKETCH OF ONE OF THE BOROUGH'S
PIONEER MERCHANTS.
-----
Peter Wagner and His Career in Our
Midst. How Success Rewarded a
Diligent Worker.
-----
Sharpsburg has truly some pioneer
business men; men who came here in
the early life of the place and stuck to
trade with grim determination to con-
quer.
There are few more successful
tradesmen along the line of local
marts than Peter WAGNER, still alive
and active to business after 38 years
of studious attention to trade. Mr.
WAGNER is one of the old timers, and
has lived to see many odd changes
since his advent into Sharpsburg in
the spring of 1849, having come direct
from Germany. His birth took place
in a small town in the Prussian dis-
trict, called Bruschied, in the year
of 1829. His father was a shoemaker,
and Peter served some time with him,
so that when he reached Sharpsburg
he was able to occupy a position with
the elder John NEWELL, then the prom-
inent shoe man of this place. The
shop was on the corner of the present
Thirteenth street and Wagner alley.
He worked with him until 1851 when
the city held out inducements for him,
and he settled there until 1854. Re-
turning to Sharpsburg that year he
bought out NEWELL and found himself
in possession of a trade that gave evi-
dence of increasing. In two years he
was necessitated to change quarters to
the brick on the corner of Main and
Thirteenth streets for want of more
room. It was here he laid the founda-
tion of a paying business. He manu-
factured all the shoes sold in the store
and engaged regularly seven to eight
men in the shop for a term of 17 years,
until factories in the East became so
provided with machinery that hand
work was out of the question.
For 27 years he held forth at the
old corner and by his thrift accumu-
lated considerable property. During
that time this location was central,
hence his business flourished and in
1883 he was obliged to change base
again, locating at his present stand on
Main street, below Ninth. This was
a profitable move also, and he and his
sons are among the prosperous dealers
of the street. The sons now in the
store are John, Westy, Peter, Jr., and
Leo.
Mr. Wagner has always been recog-
nized in local financial movements.
He was one of the first directors of
the Sharpsburg and Etna Savings
Bank, and when the first Farmers'
and Mechanics' Savings Bank was
started he held a similar position. In
the new concern he is also a director
and has been since the company was
formed in 1878. He has served in
Council, and was Borough Treasurer
in 1867. He was also interested in
the gas company, and became Treasurer
of the Sharpsburg & Etna Mu-
tual Insurance Company when it was
organized in 1873, holding the posi-
tion eight years, and is still a director
in that company.
Away back in war times when many
a man laid aside business duties to
lend a hand, he was one to take pick
and shovel and aid in digging en-
trenchments over on the Morningside
road, when the rebels were expected
hourly in Pittsburg. In not only this
case has he proved his loyalty. At
all times his aim has been for the good
of fellow men and the laws that gov-
ern them.
His wife dying some time ago leaves
him but one relative in the country, a
brother in Allegheny. He has four
sisters in Germany, but is parents
are both dead. Though not enjoying
robust health, he is alive to business
interests and is at his duties early and
late. His family is an example of pa-
rental devotion, and in his old days he
finds comfort mingled with all the
joys a Creator has been pleased to
shower upon him.
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