Among the rag-tag band of soldiers who made up George Washington’s Continental Army on Christmas night of 1776 in the Battle of Trenton, was Jacob Gearhart, who later settled in Northumberland County, just across the Susquehanna River from Danville, Montour County. I share two other connections between Washington’s crossing and the Susquehanna Valley.
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Christmas during the Civil War served both as an escape from and a reminder of the war which had split the country in two. Soldiers looked forward to a day of rest and relative relaxation but had their moods tempered by the thought of separation from their loved ones. Frederick Laubach of Danville's Company H in the 93rd Pennsylvania Regiment had this diary note for December 24, 25, and 26 of 1863, "The boys of Company H and generally throughout the Regiment was on a general drunk, spending the Christmas in the jolly old way."
One of the recurring themes in soldiers’ letters and diaries during the Civil War was the weather. It had an influence on their daily lives, in camp, on the battlefield, and while on the march.
In Pennsylvania, David Rittenhouse Porter, living in Huntingdon County when elected as Governor in 1838, declared a statewide Thanksgiving in 1843. It was not observed the following year, but in 1845, Governor Francis Shunk established November 27th as a day of Thanksgiving, and it has been observed in the state since then. In 1847, Lewisburg, Pennsylvania Merchants asked customers to shop the day before Thanksgiving and a 1910 Danville newspaper ad touted the benefits of pure spring water with the Thanksgiving dinner.
A 1914 painting, The First Thanksgiving, was the work of artist Jennie August Brownscombe, born in Honesdale, Wayne County, Pennsylvania. Jennie won awards at the Wayne County Fair for her work when she was a high school student. In 1899, the newspaper New York World described her as "one of America's best artists."
Samuel Hazard was born in Philadelphia, the son of the nation’s 3rd U.S. Postmaster, Ebenezer Hazard, Samuel carved out a career as an archaeologist and historian, and was curator of the Historical Society of Pennsylvania. His writings included "Register of Pennsylvania" Devoted To The Preservation Of Facts And Documents And Every Kind Of Useful Information Respecting The State Of Pennsylvania. Stories from the Susquehanna Valley were included in the Register, and here is a sampling of those stories.
Was “Johnny Appleseed” a real person, and did he live in Pennsylvania?” According to the 1887 History of Warren County, John Chapman lived on Brokenstraw Creek from 1795 through 1797. The account of Chapman’s stay in the county was chronicled by Judge Lansing Wetmore in 1853.
Before rising through the ranks of the Pennsylvania legislature, the state's fourteenth governor, William F. Packer was a newspaper man, who apprenticed with publishers in the Susquehanna Valley. He also played an important role that led to the hanging of a woman in Montour County in 1858.
They are remembered as the “Greatest Generation.” These men and women grew up in the Great Depression, fought in World War II, or assisted in keeping the country operating on the home front during the war. Local newspapers often printed letters from men and women serving their country in World War II. Montour County Historian Helen “Sis” Hause had five uncles who served in World War II. One of her uncles, Tony Kosinski, was a field artilleryman, meaning a forward observer, serving with the 7th Army under General George S. Patton. “Sis” received letters from Tony throughout the war and has shared some of those letters in her weekly newspaper column, Moments in Time. Kosinski was also friends with Mac McCloughan, editor of the Danville Morning News, and wrote to Mac, who published some of them in the local newspaper. Tony’s letters reflected a no-nonsense, straightforward look at World War II through the eyes of someone who experienced the hardships.
Robert Wood, of the Goschenhoppen Folk Festival in southeastern Pennsylvania, says “It’s safe to say that in years gone by every Lutheran and Reformed church in Pennsylvania as well as most Mennonite meeting houses celebrated the gathering in of the harvest with a special “Harvest Home” service. The August 07th, 1867, Bloomsburg Democrat reported, “On last Saturday afternoon, according to notice by handbills, the people of this County (Columbia), without respect to class, sex, or party, held a Harvest Home Celebration in Megargell’s Grove near Orangeville."
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