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Civil War Blog

A project of PA Historian

America’s Oldest Theatre is in Philadelphia

Posted By on May 3, 2016

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The Walnut Street Theatre is located at the northeast corner of Walnut and 9th Streets in Philadelphia.

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In front of the theater is a historical marker that reads:

WALNUT STREET THEATRE

Founded in 1809.  The oldest theater in America and the oldest playhouse in continuous use in the English-speaking world.  A National Historical Landmark.  Many of the greatest actors of America and Europe have performed here.

On the side of the building, near what is now the box office, a 200th anniversary plaque reads:

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WALNUT STREET THEATRE

THIS TABLET WAS PLACED ON FEBRUARY 2, 2009 TO MARK THE 200th ANNIVERSARY OF AMERICA’S OLDEST THEATRE.

Some of the uses of the Walnut Street Theatre during the Civil War are shown by news clippings from Philadelphia newspapers during the years 1861-1864:

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Philadelphia Public Ledger, 9 Aug 1861

 

 

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Philadelphia Public Ledger, 21 Aug 1861

 

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Philadelphia Evening Telegraph, 13 Dec 1864

 

David Muir of Foster Township – His Killing in 1865 Attributed to Molly Maguires

Posted By on May 2, 2016

On 25 August 1865, David Muir, a mine superintendent who lived in Foster Township, was murdered near his home in Schuylkill County, Pennsylvania.  A description of his death appeared in the Reading Times, 29 August 1865:

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MURDER — We learn that David Muir, a superintendent of the Forest Improvement Company, was murdered on Friday, on the road from his house to the works. 

From what we have learned the following seem to be the particulars:

It seems from the evidence before the Coroner’s Jury, that after eating his breakfast yesterday morning, Mr. Muir left his residence for the slope.  About fifty yards from his house, there is a curve in the road which is hidden by bushes and banks of coal dirt.  When he reached that point it is thought that he was approached by two men, on the pretense that they wanted work.  The spot gives evidence of a severe struggle.  Dr. Halberstadt who held a post mortem examination of the body, thinks that Mr. Muir, was first struck on the head from behind.  The blow probably knocked him down upon his knees, and partially stunned him.  The Doctor thinks that while he was in that position he was shot by a pistol ball, which passed through his heart and right lungs.  After that he was stabbed three times in the body with a dirk. One of the wounds, a slight one, is in the back, below the shoulder blade.  The others, either of which would have killed him, penetrated the stomach and liver.

The murderers are said to have been strange men.  After committing the act, they were observed passing hurriedly down the railroad from the mines, for some two hundred yards, when they entered the woods, and moved towards York Tunnel, since which time they have eluded pursuit.

Wikipedia describes the Molly Maguires thus:

The Molly Maguires was an Irish 19th century secret society active in Ireland, Liverpool and parts of the eastern United States, best known for their activism among Irish American and Irish immigrant coal miners in Pennsylvania. After a series of often violent conflicts, twenty suspected members of the Molly Maguires were convicted of murder and other crimes and were executed by hanging in 1877 and 1878. This history remains part of local Pennsylvania lore.

According to Kevin Kenny, in Making Sense of the Molly Maguires, 1998, this was the third of sixteen killings attributed to the Molly Maguires.  The group was implicated in these murders in a series of trials that took place in Schuylkill County in the 1870s.

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Kenny gives the following background information on David Muir and his employer on page 104 of Making Sense and relates the murder to the enforcement of the Civil War draft:

David Muir… worked as mine superintendent for the Heckshers, who owned the Forest Improvement Company, the New York and Schuylkill Coal Company, and various other coal owning interests in Schuylkill County.  The Heckshers’ superintendents had incurred the enmity of mine workers in Cass Township during the Civil War for their resistance to labor organizing and their cooperation with the officials in charge of conscription.

A native of Scotland, David Muir had come to Schuylkill County in 1845.  He settled in Hecksherville, where he worked for the Forest Improvement Company.  At the time of his death, he was superintendent at the Otto Colliery in Reilly Township, just west of Cass.  He was killed on 25 August 1865, in Foster Township, which bordered Cass and Reilly Townships.  The president of the New York and Schuylkill Coal Company, O. W. Davis, offered a reward of three thousand dollars for information leading to the arrest and conviction of the assassins, and the Coal Exchange of Philadelphia offered a reward of one thousand dollars.  Six months later, Benjamin Bannan was still lamenting that “the murderers – in consequence of the efficiency of the secret, oath-bound organization that exists in this County [the Molly Maguires] – remain to this day undetected.”  Nobody was ever arrested for the murder of David Muir.  And despite Bannan’s certainty that the Molly Maguires were involved, it is by no means clear why Muir was killed.  The context and location, however, suggest the settling of scores arising from the wartime turmoil in and around Cass Township.

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Wayne G. Broehl Jr., in The Molly Maguires, 1964, gives less detail, on pages 93-95:

With the release of pent-up wartime tensions after Appomattox, the anthracite fields were again shocked by violence and murder.  David Muir, a Schuylkill County mine superintendent, was ambushed in broad daylight two hundred yards from his office on 25 August 1865….

A ground swell of public indignation led to efforts to bring more rigorous law enforcement, and advocated aid from the state….

The Molly Maguire legend… was firmly planted in the minds of the people.  Not one of the crimes had been solved; not one person was publicly linked to the feared secret organization.  No one yet knew if such an organization actually existed, or, if it did, what its purposes and functions were.  But few in the region could have been convinced that the whole story was a myth – a fabrication.  There were too many murdered men… in their coffins.

David Muir is buried at Frieden’s Lutheran Church Cemetery at Minersville, Schuylkill County.  Not much information is currently available on his Findagrave Memorial.  However, his gravestone indicates that he was 60 years, 10 months old at the time of his death – and that he was a native of Scotland.

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A card (from Ancestry.com) listing the passengers of the Brig Atlas,  sailing from Halifax, Nova Scotia, shows that David Muir and his family entered the United States at Boston.

Although David Muir did not see Civil War service – he was too old – he did have one son who was eligible to be drafted and/or volunteer to serve.  To date, no service record has been seen for the son,  Dalrymple Muir (1834-1907), although he did register for the draft in 1863 as a 29 year old resident of Minersville with “restaurant” given as his occupation.

Additional information is sought about David Muir, his connection to the mines in Schuylkill County, his murder (allegedly) by the Molly Maguires, and his descendants.

Fatal Mine Accidents at Short Mountain Colliery, 1878-1903

Posted By on April 29, 2016

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Some time after 1903, the Lykens Standard responded to a request to print a list of all mine-related fatalities at the Short Mountain Colliery, Lykens, Dauphin County, Pennsylvania.  Many of the men named in the fatalities list were Civil War veterans or were the sons of Civil War veterans.  The list is presented below for researchers who wish to locate obituaries, news articles, and other information about the men and their families.

Fatal Mine Accidents Since 2 January 1878

Below will be found a list of fatal accidents at Short Mountain Colliery from 2 January 1878 to 25 November 1903.  We have often been asked when certain accidents occurred, but having no record to refer to, were unable to give the desired information.  By mere accident we came across the list below, compiled by an employee of Short Mountain Colliery, and we would recommend that our local readers cut it out and preserve it for future reference….

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2 January 1878 – Peter Sholley

8 February 1878 – William Messner

12 May 1878 – John Wert

15 June 1878 – Charles Baker

21 November 1878 – Philip Hoffman

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28 March 1879 – John Uhland‘s boy

5 May 1879 – P. Martin

7 May 1879 – William Ely

10 July 1879 – Charles Zerby

23 July 1879 – Thomas Conley

15 September 1879 – Samuel Romberger

2 October 1879 – William Weeklam

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16 March 1880 – Michael Sheboski

3 May 1890 – Simon Kailey, George West, Michael Douglas – Explosion of gas.

5 May 1890 – Robert Williams

10 May 1890 – Thomas Evans

14 September 1890 – John Higgins

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20 October 1881 – Thomas Lord

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3 January 1882 – Peter Eby

2 September 1882 – Robert Snyder

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28 May 1883 – George Shively

13 September 1883 – Thomas Cook

7 November 1883 – Cassimir Hentz

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12 February 1894 – Lowry Shamper

8 April 1884 – Jacob Hoffman

16 September 1884 – Elmar Kocher – Explosion of boilers, top L. V. slope.

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28 May 1885 – Peter Starkowski

13 July 1885 – George Machamer

28 July 1885 – Joseph Dunlap – Caught by cars at Short Mountain scales.

15 October 1885 – Newton Woodside – Fall of rock in No. 1 drift.

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23 August 1886 – Daniel Woland – Explosion of gas; 12 other miners besides Woland were burnt at the same time.

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23 June 1887 – John Cook

13 August 1887 – William Taylor

16 September 1887 – George Kaudridge

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2 May 1888 – William Zarker – Caught by sidehook top of Lookout plane, outside.

14 May 1888 – John C. Zimmerman – Caught by cars on plane in No. 3, west.

12 July 1888 – Harvey Umholtz

12 September 1888 – George Orndorff

21 September 1888 – Elias Esterline – Fall of rock in No. 1 drift.

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22 January 1889 – William Keast

23 January 1889 – Frank Miller

11 February 1889 – Henry Erdman – Fell down S. M. slope.

7 August 1889 – William Davis

25 July 1889 – Claude Commo

15 November 1889 – Philip Hoffman – Fall of rock in No. 1 drift.

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11 July 1890 – John Halick

18 September 1890 – James Rettinger – Caught by locomotive in No. 3, west

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8 April 1891 – Barney Hentz

31 August 1891 – Elias Harman

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24 January 1892 – Albert Horley

30 March 1892 – Reuben Zimmerman – Fall of coal in No. 3 west.

27 October 1892 – Asa Blackway Jr. – Fell down No. 4 slope.

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25 March 1893 – Edward Mark

6 May 1893 – Julius Braener

14 August 1893 – Thomas Acaley – Fall of rock in No. 4 slope.

8 September 1893 – Thomas Wall – Fall of coal in No. 1 drift.

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6 February 1894 – Edward Zerby – Fall of rock in No. 3, west.

23 April 1894 – William O. Bateman – Fall of slate in No. 1 drift.

8 January 1894 – Horace Minnich – Fall of slate at bottom of No. 4 slope.

29 May 1894 – Frank Matter – Caught between cars and top rock in No. 3, west.

13 August 1895 – Joseph Enders – Caught by headblock top of No. 2 plane, No. 1 drift.

11 November 1896 – Charles Sandt – Caught between cars at breaker

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28 January 1897 – Samuel Samuels – Fall of coal in tunnel.

28 January 1897 – Aaron Umholtz – Fall of coal in tunnel.

11 June 1897 – William Lewis – Caught under cars at mouth of tunnel.

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12 April 1898 – Silas Parfet – Explosion of blast.

1 August 1898 – Simon Kniley Jr. – Fall of slate in No. 1 drift.

4 October 1898 – Josiah Werner – Fell down L. V. slope.

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2 July 1899 – Albert Williams – Caught under locomotive.

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16 January 1900 – Arthur Llewellyn – Fall of rock.

12 July 1900 – Theodore Hoffman – Caught between cars, outside.

11 September 1900 – James Higgins – Fall of slate in L. V. drift.

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10 January 1901 – William Longhurst – Caught between side hooks, top of tunnel plane, outside.

6 May 1901 – Uriah Minnich – Fall of slate in No. 3, west.

19 June 1901 – James O’Neil – Fall of rock in No. 4 slope.

26 August 1901 – George W. Fegley – Fell down manway in No. 1 drift, White’s Vein.

24 December 1901 – Andrew Schmich – Fall under trip of cars.

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3 October 1902 – Frank Behney – Caught by prop in No. 1 drift.

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3 August 1903 – Benjamin W. Roe – Fell down counter chute, W. V. counter, No. 1 drift.

29 August 1903 – William W. Hawk – Fall of slate No. 6 counter, S. M. slope.

25 November 1903 – Alain Hoke – Fall of coal in L. V. drift

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Special thanks to Roger Cramer for providing images of the news clipping containing this information.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Update on Hiram Groff – Captured at Gettysburg, Then Parolled

Posted By on April 28, 2016

On 4 November 2014, a post entitled “The Groff Brothers?  Hiram, Valentine and William,” was presented here.  Some questions were asked in that post and readers were asked to submit additional information about the men named Groff.  Note:  A prior post also discussed “Israel M. Groff and Sons – All Civil War Veterans?

The following information was received from Gary Martino, the great-great grandson of Hiram Groff, who served in the 26th Pennsylvania Infantry (Emergency of 1863) and whose name appears on the Pennsylvania Memorial at Gettysburg:

Hiram was with the 26th PVM Emergency Regiment and taken prisoner near Gettysburg on June 27th.  His Regiment actually opened the battle of Gettysburg during a scouting patrol where they ran into Lee’s forces.  They were forced into retreat, some being killed and some, like Hiram, were captured.

I took a photo of the framed documents attached.  They were in our family bible and were professionally mounted and framed so I could not photocopy the original.  Included are Hiram’s parole of honor (signed July 2nd 1863), honorable discharge from the GAR and a photo of him at about 50 years of age with my GG Grandmother Sarah.  They are both buried at Middletown PA cemetery.  He was obviously paroled because every Confederate troop was needed on the line and they couldn’t spare men to guard prisoners, luckily for my Hiram.  Not sure if Jubal Early actually signed it or not, maybe you can tell me?  Probably just by order of….

Also would like to connect to anyone else related to Hiram since they are my bloodline.

The three attached photographs are presented below:

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Hiram and Sarah Groff

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Parole by Order of Jubal Early

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Grand Army of the Republic Certificate

The document from the Simon Cameron Post of the Grand Army of the Republic in Middletown, Dauphin County, is a certificate given to Hiram Groff by that Post which verifies some personal information such as his age and place of birth, Chester County, Pennsylvania, and his military service and dates of service.

As previously mentioned, Hiram Groff does have connections to Millersburg (he joined the local militia there which went to Gettysburg in late June 1863), and Mifflin Township (where he is found in the draft registration records of 1863, working as a saddler).

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However, his name does not appear on the Millersburg Soldier Monument.  Also, he was not included in the 1967 Elizabethville Sesquicentennial List of Civil War veterans, but possibly should be included in the 2017 list being prepared for the Bicentennial – if he lived in 1863 in the Southern part of Mifflin Township which was more closely associated with Elizabethville than Berrysburg.

Two Tragic Veteran Deaths of 1924

Posted By on April 27, 2016

Many veterans died tragic deaths.  These two men, having lived nearly 60 years after the close of the Civil War, died in 1924, one as a result of an accident and one as a result of suicide.

From the Harrisburg Evening News, 20 May 1924:

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Gas from an open house to which he had gone for the purpose of preparing it for occupancy, caused the death of James M. Gibson, of Sunbury, a Civil War veteran.

From the Harrisburg Evening News, 22 March 1924:

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INVALID, CIVIL WAR VETERAN, KILLS HIMSELF

LEWISTOWN, 22 March 1924 — James Maden, 82 year-old veteran of the Civil War, an invalid for years, committed suicide late last night at his home here.

Maden guided his wheel chair to a bureau where he kept an old revolver, a relic he had picked up during the war.  His daughter, Mrs. Beattie Chesney, saw him get out the revolver and she ran screaming to the street.  As neighbors came rushing in response to her calls, the old man fire.  The shot caused instant death.

He had been suffering from melancholia for months because of rapidly failing health. Maden lost a leg during the Gettysburg battle.

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News clippings from Newspapers.com.