Myersville-Wolfsville Area Historical Society Research Blog - MYERSVILLE-WOLFSVILLE AREA HISTORICAL SOCIETY

The ABCs of Mr. McGuffey

3/29/2019

By Rebecca Conrad

Most of us probably learned to read using the series of books starring Dick and Jane. These books used a “look and say” approach of learning new words followed by sometimes tedious repetition. “See Dick run. Run, Dick, run. “ Used from the 1930s to the 1970s, children of this time all followed the antics of these characters. The books fell out of favor due to many factors, such as the women’s movement, limited and stereotypical story lines, and the preference to the phonics system of learning to read.

For almost one hundred years prior to Dick and Jane, students had learned using a set of books created by William Holmes McGuffey. McGuffey was an educator and a preacher. He combined these two skills to create a series of textbooks which consisted of basic education in the areas of reading and spelling as well as religious instruction in his compilation of stories. His set of seven books consisted of a Pictorial Eclectic Primer and an Eclectic Primer to be used by beginning readers; four increasingly difficult Readers to be used by more advanced scholars; and an Eclectic Progressive Speller. As their names suggest, the books used a variety of materials gleaned from the Bible and works written by many notable people such as John Milton, Lord Byron, and Noah Webster, along with original essays on a wide range of subjects such as nature and geography.

McGuffey's colleague Joseph Ray published three instructional books on arithmetic in 1834. McGuffey’s series were published between 1836 and 1838. Two later textbooks (the Fifth and Sixth Eclectic Readers) were written by William’s brother, Alexander McGuffey. A study of these books gave any student a thorough knowledge of the three R’s – Reading, ‘Riting, and “Rithmetic - as well as a fourth R, Religion. Many parents who homeschool their children still use these resources today.

MWA Coopers: Rolling Out the Barrels

3/29/2019

By Rebecca Conrad

Have you ever heard “The Beer Barrel Polka?” How about “Roll out the Barrel?” Barrels were such an integral part of life that many songs were written about them. There are also many sayings such as “He is a barrel of laughs” that reference them. We even use the expression “stave off” which refers to the wood pieces used in the barrels. Barrels were used to store essentials such as flour, sugar, and salt. They were very important in the production of beer, whiskey, wine and other liquors. The type of wood used in them was crucial because they lent some of the flavor to the final product. Where did all these barrels come from?

A search of the 1850 Census for the area shows many men listed as coopers. The skill was passed down from father to son. The listing for Jacob Wastler, aged 68, and his son, Jacob, aged 25, shows them both with cooper listed as their occupation. The cooper Joseph Stottlemyer, took an apprentice named Goodlow Hayes into his household and trained him. John Wachter, John Haynes and Henry Gaver were others in the area manufacturing barrels.

The Gaver family was well-known for their cooperage skills. The History of Frederick County, Vol 1 by Thomas John Chew Williams and Folger McKinsey tells of John T. Gaver. He was the great-grandson of the John Gaver who donated land for the church for which Church Hill is named. John T. Gaver’s father was John P. Gaver, who purchased 121 acres of timber land and spent summers peeling bark and getting out materials for his barrel making enterprise. He was so successful that he was able to purchase an additional 60 acres of land.

These barrels were so critical that there was even a magazine called the National Cooper’s Journal that proudly declared itself "Devoted to the Cooperage Industry; A Paper of Great Value to All Stave, Hoop, Heading and Liner Manufacturers; To All Makers and Users of Barrels, Kegs, Casks, Tubs, Pails, Machinery and Mill Supplies." It began publishing in the 1890s and continued into the mid 1900s.

All of this makes me long to have been there when you could sit at the general store, playing checkers on an old cracker barrel and watching little girls roll the hoops down the streets. Ponder on this the next time you hear of politicians "pork-barreling." Just don’t try going over Niagara Falls in one!

When an Apple Falls Far From the Tree: Part One

3/28/2019

The late evening of 3 August, 1904, was hot and sultry, but with a luminous Moon. George Bittle closed up his shop but did not go home. As he had done on multiple recent occasions, Bittle sat on his front porch, armed with a breech-loading gun, to watch over his store. The night song of the cicadas and crickets and the calls of the amphibians at Frog Hollow were thick in the humid air around him.

Two months earlier, on 9 June, someone had burgled his storeroom and taken about $50 in jewelry—more than $1,500 in today’s worth and a significant loss. On 6 July, the storeroom was entered through the cellar, but the thief may have been spooked and fled empty-handed, leaving a lit lantern outside the door.

Sometime between 10 and 11 p.m., Bittle’s neighbor, Joseph Wolf (1850-1911), and another man strolled past the storefront. The second fellow wore a dark slouch hat and dark clothing. Bittle was sure it was George Henry Koogle (1884-1958), son of well-known Captain Jacob Koogle (1841-1915), who had been in the store earlier that evening and who possessed a distinctive gait. Shortly after this, Bittle heard noises at the rear of the building, went there—finding no one—then remained awhile, keeping lookout. At about 12:15 a.m. he heard noises at the front of the building and quietly retraced his steps. Under the bright moonlight, he saw a figure half-crouched, fiddling with the door lock.

Click to read the full article by Ann Longmore-Etheridge at Your Dying Charlotte.

George R.'s Other Girl

3/26/2019

By Ann Longmore-Etheridge

This strange, slightly sinister unstamped postcard was addressed to Nellie Amanda Johnson (1890-1979) of Ellerton. It reads: "Hello Nellie, How are you and George R. getting along. Suppose you are very sleepy this morning. Now don't wait as long as I did to answer. From George R. [sic] other Girl".

The postcard dates to before 1909, when Nellie married Clyde Leatherman Harshman (1885-1978). Nellie was the daughter of farmer Charles Webster Johnson (1857-1918) and Amanda Ellen Wiseman (1860-1934), who had married at the parsonage on Church Hill on 8 January, 1880.

Who was George R.? We don't know. Was this a love triangle? It reads like one, but until more information comes to light, we cannot be sure.

Conrad Maugans

3/11/2019

By Nancy Bruce

The Maugans family cemetery is located off Harp Hill Road. The stones have been removed but the Maugans remain. The first of this clan came from Germany to Pennsylvania in 1695. There were, and are, various spellings of the name: Maugins, Maugin, and even Morgan.

Conrad Maugans, known throughout his life as "Nick," was born in about 1732 and researchers have found records of his father's death in Wolfsville, Frederick County, and have thus attributed Conrad's birth to the Wolfsville area.

Who was Conrad Maugans? He was a man of determination and stamina. At one time, Maugans owned a part of the land grants with the colorful names "I'll Take It All" and "Tom's Farewell." However there was another parcel of land for which he and another man sought a grant. reportedly, Conrad walked all night to Annapolis to beat his competitor to it. When the other man arrived the next morning, he found Conrad at the capitol building with the deed in hand. This parcel became the Maugans' homestead and was known as "Conrad Travels At Night." Their log cabin stood over the spring. The Maugans Family cemetery is adjacent and the Conrad's remains still occupy the land for which he walked so far.

Below: The Will of Conrad Maugans; Right: John Robert Maugans (1860-1940). Resident of Ellerton and descendant of Conrad Maugans.

The Browns Come to America

3/11/2019

By Nancy Bruce

On St. Cecilius Day, 22 November, 1633, the fast and large ship, the London Ark and the smaller, slower ship, the Maryland Dove, set sail from the Cowes, at the lower end of the Isle of Wight. These two ships were on an expedition to found the first Roman Catholic colony and the first of the English proprietary colonies in North America. On 25 March 1634, these two ships landed at St. Clements Island, Maryland.

While there is no documented list of all the passengers on these two ships, there is evidence that one William Browne came on The Ark as a manservant and shoemaker to Captain Thomas Cornwalys. He is believed to be between 10 and 13 years old at the time. William accumulated a large estate. He had many slaves and thirteen hundred acres of land. There are records of William being sued many times and of him suing others frequently.

William Browne died 28 February 1665 leaving a son and a daughter as his heirs.

In the 1720s, a descendant, William Browne, moved to the Monocacy Settlement, where he served as constable. In 1742, this William Browne signed the petition for the formation of Frederick County.

Thomas Brown was the sixth generation of the family in America. Brown was a corporal in the 2nd Maryland Regiment during the Revolutionary War. He married Hannah Pittinger and fathered nine children. Thomas died in the late 1780s; his burial site is unknown.

Following Thomas's death, Hannah and the couple's children built a home along Monahan Road south of Foxville. As the family grew the village became known as Brownsville. When Hannah died she was buried on her homestead which is now known as the Brown's Cemetery. Some of the foundation rocks from her old cottage are still intact there.

Photo: A replica of the Maryland Dove at St. Mary's City, Maryland.

Johann Tobias Horine

3/11/2019

By Nancy Bruce

There were three Horine families who emigrated to America. All passed through or stayed in our area. One Horine who stayed was Johann Tobias Horine. He was born to Hans Adam Horine (1691-1772) and his wife Anna Catherine Crummin (1695-1790) on 5 May, 1725, in Grantschen, Heilbronn, Baden-Wuerttemberg, Germany, and arrived in Philadelphia on 17 November, 1749, on the ship Dragon.

While in Pennsylvania, Horine married Elizabeth Possert (1730-1773), the daughter of Jorg Possert (1700-1733). The couple's first child, Adam, was born 11 January, 1753, in New Hanover Township, Pennsylvania. This was followed by five daughters born between 1754 and 1765, then two more sons in 1766 and 1769, and a final daughter in 1771. Some of the daughters, it appears, did not live to adulthood.

Horine family researcher Eric Davis relays two pieces family lore concerning Horine that are of interest, although probably mostly apocryphal. First, it is said that Horine was the first white man to cross the mountains to the Middletown Valley. Second, after his arrival, Horine found an open meadow. From it, he cut and built a haystack, dug a little den under it, and spent the night with his wife and little child, probably their son Adam. The valley was yet home to Native Americans and during the night, some found the haystack and danced a War Dance around it. Johann and his wife were frightened, fearing that their little child might cry or make a noise that would betray them to the hostile Indians. But the hay house proved a complete deception to the Native Americans, who never suspected that there were white people hiding beneath it. The next morning, they returned to the colony at Frederick, but later established a permanent home near what would become Beallsville, now Harmony, where in 1754 he acquired an 81-acre parcel called "Johnson's Delight" from Thomas Johnson. Additionally, he obtained a 303-acre parcel on 24 May, 1764. Horine also built and ran a distillery for a number of years.

His Will, probated after his death on 21 October, 1773, directed that he be buried in Jerusalem Cemetery. He also directed that his daughters attend a German school until they were able to fully read the language, and that his sons Tobias and Samuel attend an English school "and instructed on the same until they have knowledge of the Rule of Three, commonly called the Golden rule."

Photo: Boyhood home of Johann Tobias Horine in Flien, Germany.

Hannah Cornelia Pryor

3/11/2019

By Ann Longmore-Etheridge

She was born circa 1833 in Wolfsville and died November 5, 1882, in Anderson, Indiana. She married John Henry Kuhn on 10 November, 1855 -- the son of Wolfsville residents John Kuhn and Susan Schroyer.

A love letter from her suitor to Hannah -- who was in Benevolah, Washington County at the time -- still exists: "Aprile 25th 1855 ... John. H. Kuhn; His Love To Miz Hannah. C. Pryor; By these fiew lines I informe you that I am well at this time; And hoping that these fiew lines will finde you in the same state of helth; yet me an you are almost strangers; yet I will state to you that if we are almost strangers yet it is not said that we can not get acquainted if so your wish ma Be; And if my adreses are welcome to you Plese your honour I will heartiley Receive your answer to these Questions. As fare ase I know your friends [in Wolfsville] are all well at this time. As the Evening is short I will close these fiew lines And if to this question you will agree; Plese my Dear Miz and sende me an answer to Wolfsville Frederick County Maryland; Yours With Respect, John. H. Kuhn.'

Photo courtesy Melody Hull.

The Children of George and Rebecca Leatherman

3/11/2019

"Combined Ages of Brothers and Sisters is 407 years. The photograph above represents in the combined ages of the brothers and sisters, 407 years. In the back row are Carlton Leatherman, 81, and John Leatherman, 87, both of Myersville. In the front row from left to right are Mrs. Clara Grossnickle, 79, and Mrs. Melissa Harshman, 77, both of Myersville, and Mrs. Sarah C. Derr, 83, near Frederick. The picture was taken on Good Friday at the home of Mrs. Derr when she was hostess to her brothers and sisters and about 25 relatives and friends at a dinner. Two brothers, Charles Leatherman, 85, Keedyville, and David Leatherman, 73, Myersville, were unable to attend.

"They are the children of the late George and Rebecca Johnson Leatherman, Myersville, and have all been married and outlived their husbands and wives. They are all still active and take a lively interest in everyday affairs. They are all particularly fond of their gardens, which they tend without assistance. When he was 41, Carlton said he was examined by a doctor after an illness and was told he had only a few years to live."

Frederick Post, 28 March, 1940

There Lived an Old Man in Our Little Place

3/8/2019

Every village has its quirky characters. Myersville was once home to a cantankerous teacher, reverend, and still-breaker nicknamed “Buffalo Bill.”

“Myersville—Emphasizing the need for lights in the streets of Myersville, there was a stoning encounter on Saturday night, when Robert J. Ridgely, a school teacher at Burkittsville and a resident of Myersville, was stoned by four or five young men of the town. Reports have it that Mr. Ridgely stoned back, but as the teacher could not be located this morning, this could not be verified.

"Mr. Ridgley has an ugly cut over one eye, which bled profusely, and Wilber Shepley, one of those in the in the party stoning Mr. Ridgley, also has a cut, probably inflicted by a stone, although one report has it that Mr. Shepley sustained the cut by striking a telephone pole, while running.

“The stoning incident has aroused a number of people in the town, and it is stated that there is a stronger sentiment for electric lights, many residents claiming the affair would not have happened had the town been well lighted.”

The victim in this article, Robert Johnson Ridgley was born in Myersville in January 1867 to William Worth Ridgley (1822-1901) and his wife Martha Matilda Johnson (1834-1920). (Note: The family name is spelled variously as Ridgely, Ridgeley, and Ridgley. For consistency only, I am using the latter.) William Ridgley was well-known in the area for his success as a farmer although he was blind. His tenacity and determination were certainly inherited by his son.

As an adult, Robert Ridgley received a scholarship from the Maryland State Normal School in Baltimore, which later became Towson University, starting his studies there in September 1895. Before that, he was a teacher at Loys Public School. After his father’s death, he lived with his mother and a servant, Susan Shank, the latter of whom worked for Ridgley until at least until 1940.

To read the entire article by historian Ann Longmore-Etheridge, click here.