Pennsylvania sent 630,000 soldiers to fight in the Civil War between 1861 and 1865, second only to New York. Oscar Bradford Sharpless of Danville, Montour County was among those caught up in the patriotic fervor and enlisted when the call came for men to step forward. Sharpless enlisted in Company “H” of the 93rd Pennsylvania Regiment in 1861. During his four years of enlistment, Sharpless wrote many letters home to family members in the Danville area.
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A Lewistown Pennsylvania woman, Elizabeth Cogley, was one of the first female telegraphers for the Pennsylvania Railroad. When the Civil War broke out, she handled two important communications, one involving President Lincoln, the second, from Pennsylvania Governor Andrew Curtin.
Joseph Doddridge was a minister and a historian, who was born in western Pennsylvania and died in Brooke County, Ohio. While noted in his day as a minister, Doddridge is remembered now for his writings. His most important work was "Notes on the Settlement and Indian Wars of the Western Parts of Virginia and Pennsylvania from 1763 to 1783", Inclusive. Theodore Roosevelt called this book, commonly known as Doddridge’s Notes, ‘‘the most valuable book we have on old-time frontier ways and customs.’’ Doddridge provides a detailed look at early wedding ceremonies and customs in the backwoods in an 1843 article found in Pennsylvania Historical Collections of the State of Pennsylvania.
Having the opportunity to play major league baseball has been the dream of many young ballplayers. Two Danville, Pennsylvania athletes had careers that were fleeting moments on their “Field of Dreams.” Art "Reddy" McCoy and William Yerrick may have experienced the thoughts of another major league player, who was made famous in the movie "Field of Dreams." Archibald "Moonlight" Graham reminisced, “You know, we just don’t realize the most significant moments of our lives when they’re happening. Back then I thought, well, there’ll be other days. I didn’t realize that that would be the only day.” - Moonlight Graham
Tucked away in a family Bible for many years was a wonderful story of the life of John Alfred Snook, born in 1857, and who, at the age of 87, wrote a descriptive account of growing up in Snyder County, Pennsylvania. A neighbor saw the story, shared by Snook’s daughter, and received permission to copy the account, which was then sent to the Pennsylvania Historical Society in Philadelphia. In later years, John Snook moved to Elkhart Indiana, and spent forty-eight years working for the railroad. This story centers on his early years and the hardships he faced growing up in a single-parent home near Penns Creek, Snyder County.
One of the most telling indications of the toll that the Civil War had on President Abraham Lincoln are before and after pictures, taken when he took office, and after his years in the White House, prior to his assassination. There is no record that “Honest Abe” ever set foot in Montour County, but he crossed paths, and had other unique ties, in both life and death with some of the Danville boys.
Rafting Days in Pennsylvania, written in 1922, contains stories from the men who traveled the Susquehanna River when Pennsylvania’s lumber boom was in its heyday. It was a dangerous job and among those who followed the tales of the raftmen was John H Chatham. Chatham shares some of the rafting terms used by those who eked out a living in northern Pennsylvania.
As the borough of Catawissa in Columbia County celebrates 250 years, the Quaker (Friends) Meeting House has had a significant part in its history. A cemetery contains the graves of some of the earliest Quaker pioneers in that vicinity. The one-story log house was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1978.
The borough of Catawissa in Columbia County is celebrating its 250th Birthday August 7th through the 11th, 2024. Moses Roberts is said to have built the first house in that area, which at the time was part of Northumberland County. On May 14th, 1940, the Morning Press newspaper of Bloomsburg, featured the history of Catawissa in its popular column, The Passing Throng.”
An earlier Susquehanna Footprints post entitled Early Transportation on The North Branch of the Susquehanna River, noted that from 1762 to 1825, most of the conveyance of goods or persons was carried on the Susquehanna River (as well as the Juniata). There were few roads, and the trails along the river and through the wilderness were paths. Those waterways were crucial to the development of Pennsylvania's interior.
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