The Prince family, that is. A few days ago I wrote and that I thought there were two contemporary David Princes in York. I based that assumption on that two different women married David Prince, and that one David Prince moved to Baltimore and another taught at the York County Academy for around forty-five years.

Click here to read the previous Prince post.

A further search at the York County Heritage Trust Library/Archives of transcribed original records shows that they were indeed the same person, and he did all the things listed above.

Posted in 1820s 1830s 1860s Baltimore Universal York York genealogy teachers

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Part of Freystown, 1876

Maps are fascinating. They document the charges in communities over the years. You can see how residential, social, and industrial patterns evolve as an area grows, or in some cases, retracts.

I recently looked at the when and where of North, South, East, and West streets in York, Pennsylvania. Click here to read that post.

Another look at 1836, 1850, 1876, and 1903 maps of York show changes in street names as well as disappearances of whole villages as they were absorbed into the city. The southeast side of town illustrates that well:

Posted in 1830s 1850s 1870s 1900s Freystown Spring Garden Twp. Universal York York maps roads streets

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Among the marriages announced in an April 1837 York newspaper was that of David B. Prince and Elizabeth Sandoe, on April 6th.

The editors remarked that "accompanying this notice was a liberal slice of the most delicious pound cake for the printer. It was the sweetest communication that we have received for many months, and we inserted it with as much pleasure, as we now do the sincere hope that they, who thus remembered the printer, may long enjoy undisturbed and unalloyed connubial felicity."

Posted in 1830s 1870s Universal York York education genealogy newspapers schools teachers

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What is historical mitigation? A simplified example is that when a structure that might have some historical value is demolished, something is done to compensate for that loss.

When the Sovereign Bank Stadium in York, bounded by George, North, Queen, and Arch streets, quite a few structures were torn down. Some of these were railroad-related, so the York County Industrial Development Authority, with the research assistance of Justine Landis, put together a walking tour History of Rail in York, Pennsylvania. The free brochure, which is available at several sites, including York County Heritage Trust, points out ten sites in the area of historical significance, some of which are no longer standing.

Posted in 1830s Northern Central RR Pennsylvania Railroad Universal York York inventions railroads trains

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Every April our thoughts, mostly bad, turn to taxes. Back in 1833, Peter Bott got really upset when he was passed over for tax collector of West Manchester Township.

Posted in 1830s Universal York W. Manchester Twp. York County local government taxation

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You know my theory that all roads lead back to York? Here is another example. The small city of Galion, with about 11,500 people, sits in the northern part of Ohio, about half way across the state.

They are on U.S. Route 30, like York. They have an industrial past, like York. In fact, they are known for manufacturing road building machinery, just like we used to be.

Galion, however, has an even closer association with York County.

Posted in 1830s Ohio Universal York York County genealogy migration

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Every now and then some people get all bent out of shape because they think there should be no accommodation for anyone that doesn’t speak or read English. Perhaps they should stop and think that their own ancestors might have been out of luck if that was the case in York County in the 1700s and 1800s.

A few weeks ago I quoted some expenditures from the 1837 York County Budget, as it was printed in the York Gazette. Click here to read about Commissioners salaries and fox scalps.

Which language did your family read and speak in 1837?

Posted in 1830s German language Universal York York County local government newspapers

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Hartman Building Revealed March 2008
Miller View With Spectators in the Cupola

You can’t miss the news that the Hartman Building in the Square of York is going to get a drastic facelift. It has been reported in print, on TV and online. I also whipped out my camera when I walked by the other day, struck by the sight of the impressive stone keystone lintels and sturdy bricks that had been covered by metal siding all those years.

I read the news stories that the owner, commendably, plans to restore the building. But then I started to look at the various incarnations and wonder which one will be chosen. Six stories or seven? Cupola or no cupola?

The site has been drawn, photographed, and made into postcards as much as any in York County over the past 200 years. I picked six out of the many views available to share with you. See below for more.

Which Hartman building do you like best?

Posted in 1830s 1880s 1890s 1900s Lewis Miller Universal York York City architecture buildings

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1830 William Wagner watercolor of the York County Almshouse.

Most of you probably cringe along with me when you see some of the figures we spend as a county today. I’m sure the reaction was the same in 1838 when York Countians read the published report for the year before.

By Pennsylvania Law each county had to publish their budget for the year just completed in the local newspapers. Let's look at a few figures from 1837.

Posted in 1830s Carroll Twp. W. Manchester Twp. York County almshouse foxes hunting local government prices

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Lewis Miller drawing of the new courthouse, 1839.

I recently wrote about a thief stealing the copper spouting off the York County courthouse in 1874. That was the York County’s second courthouse, completed in 1840.

Click here to read about the spouting heist.

York County residents, as always, had plenty of opinions where that new courthouse should be and kept a keen eye on the cost. The first courthouse, the one in which Continental Congress met, had to go, they said, because it sat in the middle of Center Square, and traffic was picking up.

I'll tell you more about the cost of the 1840 building itself in a future post, but for now, I’ll quote the Gazette editorial of February 13, 1838 when, after much wrangling, a site was finally chosen:

Posted in 1830s 1870s Lewis Miller Universal York York City York County buildings courthouse local government prices real estate

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