Monthly Archives: July 2008

McGuffey of Reader Fame Has York County Ties

Posted on July 31, 2008 by june lloyd

William Holmes McGuffey (1800-1873) was a professor of languages at Miami University in Ohio when he developed a series of enduring readers for children. Truman and Smith, a small Cincinnati publishing firm, brought out the First Reader in 1836, followed … Continue reading →

Posted in 1790s, 1830s, 1840s, Adams County, books, education, Marsh Creek, Ohio, schools, teachers, Universal York, York County | Leave a comment

Dover, Pennsylvania Doctor Cures All

Posted on July 27, 2008 by june lloyd

In the past I have written about some of the outrageous claims for cures made by York County manufacturers of tonics and by animal doctors. Click here to read about Caldwell’s cure-all tonic. And click here to read about Heffner’s … Continue reading →

Posted in 1810s, advertising, cures, doctors, Dover, medicine, professions, Universal York, York County | Leave a comment

York Water First Flowed Through Log Pipes

Posted on July 24, 2008 by june lloyd

Lewis Miller drawing of the first York water pipes. (See below for Miller’s detailed caption.) Downtown York traffic was recently disrupted by a broken water pipe. Like anything else, pipes do eventually suffer from wear, whether they are made of … Continue reading →

Posted in 1810s, business, Universal York, utilities, water, York | Leave a comment

How Many Revolutionary War Prisoners Were at York’s Camp Security?

Posted on July 22, 2008 by june lloyd

Order to register prisoners paroled to Yorkers I gave a brief overview in my recent York Sunday News column of Camp Security, the 1781-1783 Revolutionary War prisoner of war camp just east of York. The whole column is at the … Continue reading →

Posted in 1780s, Camp Security, Hellam Twp., prisoners, Revolutionary War, soldiers, Springettsbury Twp., Universal York, York | 3 Comments

Bells Go Awry in Dillsburg and York

Posted on July 18, 2008 by june lloyd

York County, Pennsylvania people were having bell trouble, according to the November 20, 1877 issue of the York Gazette. Dillsburg’s St. Paul’s Lutheran Church had a cracked bell, and Mary Mayer of York broke her arm trying to ring a … Continue reading →

Posted in 1870s, accidents, bells, brewers, Dillsburg, lawyers, Universal York, York | Leave a comment

York, PA Had Its Own Wall Street

Posted on July 15, 2008 by june lloyd

Wall Street, 1903 A colleague recently asked me where Wall Street used to be in York. It doesn’t appear on present-day maps. A search through old maps with a magnifying glass located a tiny little Wall Street in the 1903 … Continue reading →

Posted in 1800s, 1850s, 1860s, 1900s, maps, organizations, Secret Societies, streets, Universal York, York | Leave a comment

York Cabinet Maker Invents Bedbug-Proof Bedstead

Posted on July 11, 2008 by june lloyd

An ad in a 1823 York Recorder reminds us again why the good-old-days weren’t so great. Cabinetmaker George Dowdel guaranteed that his improved bedstead was better than any heretofore made.

Posted in 1820s, cabinetmakers, furniture, inventions, manufacturing, Universal York, York, York City | 2 Comments

Front Window Escape from York Jail

Posted on July 9, 2008 by june lloyd

Lewis Miller drawing of York jail on George Street York County has had four prisons in its nearly 260 year history. The present one certainly seems to be the most secure. But reading the newspaper accounts of past jailbreaks, you … Continue reading →

Posted in 1820s, crime, prisons, Universal York, York City, York County | Leave a comment

Panic of Hanover–What Happened to Captain Jenifer?

Posted on July 6, 2008 by june lloyd

I recently recounted the story of the rumors that swept Hanover, PA of a Confederate invasion on April 22, 1861, when the Civil War was barely a week old. Click here to read about the Hanover incident told by eyewitness … Continue reading →

Posted in 1860s, Civil War, Hanover, horses, Universal York, York County | Leave a comment

More on the Princes of York

Posted on July 3, 2008 by june lloyd

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 … Continue reading →

Posted in 1820s, 1830s, 1860s, Baltimore, genealogy, teachers, Universal York, York | Leave a comment