My Old Ohio Home - documents

Harry and Agnes (Gratton) Billups, Letters

2018-10-11T00:00:00-04:00

The Documents section of this website has a transcription of thirty-five letters sent by Henry "Harry" Billups and his wife Agnes Gratton from Mifflin County, Pennsylvania, to Agnes' sister Emily Hall in Derbyshire, England. The first letter was actually written in England on Harry's behalf by Agnes' sister Maria Boswell. They are in a collection entitled Agnes and Harry Billups, Letters from America to Emily and William Hall, at the Derbyshire Record Office, with the Reference Number D2941/2/1/1-35.H.

The early letters reflect the Billups' enchantment with their new country, "all hills and holes where we are." They stayed with Henry's brother Thomas upon arrival, until they got their own home, "for the houses are all wood here and they're carried here." (Letter 6, Oct 20th, 1873).

Henry would send back coins and other "new world" curiosities to Agnes' younger brother. Once Henry sent back a lightning bug to England saying "this little fly is A curiosity for it lights Every time it Draws its breath. the Natives Call them littiningbugs And thay Sleep All Day And fly About All Nite time many A hundred of them" (Letter 3, Aug 4 1873).

Henry never identifies his actual place of employment, but it is some kind of factory. Work seems always to have been scarce, with much talk of half-shifts, weeks laid off and so forth. They had a garden and Henry hunted to supplement their income. The 1870's were difficult times everywhere.

Axe Works at Mann Narrows (ca. 1885)

His first letter home was sent from Freedom Forge, which is in Logan, Pennsylvania. Then in 1880 his place on the census puts him in company owned housing labeled Wm Mann Mfg. & Co. on an 1877 map of Yeagertown, copyright but viewable here: Mifflin County 1877 Pennsylvania Historical Atlas. So he might have changed employment from a factory in Logan to the Mann Axe Works in Yeagertown at point in some time.

There was a lot of discussion about returning to England, either for a visit or temporarily, but they never actually had the money to make the journey. They evidently decided to stick it out in a country where [if Henry went to Indiana with his brother] "i have been [in] this Country long Enuf So that i cood Get 1060 [or 10-60?] Aikers of land free. All it wood cost me is forteen Dollers for the rittens but i have not Got Enuff to Just Give Me A start. And that is More then England wood Do for A pore man."

All talk of returning, moving to Indiana, or improving their situation ended when Agnes was found to have breast cancer. In Letter 19, dated Jan 26, 1878, Henry says "[all is well here] At present Ondly for My Maggys brest And it is very bad And keep Gettin Wors, but i hope it will be better After a wile, for thire is A Old Docter 12 Miles from us that has Cured lotts of boath Men And Wimen of Cancers And i hop And trust in the man Above that he will Cure My Wife of hers for God Above knows best wot i Should Do withOut her for i Do not."

In Letter 24, Yeagertown August 17 1878, Agnes writes: "[we had] the Docter to see it and he sad that cud not be cut out for it is lo on the Brast but he thinks the stuf I ham usen will Cure it." Despite everything they tried, Agnes' condition worsened. They soon needed assistance to care for her and the children. She died in March 1880, a year and a half after her last child's birth.

In Letter 33, edged in black, dated Mar 29 1880, Henry says "now i Sit Down to right to you All with A hard foal of Sorrow And Grief" to inform them of his wife's death. In Letters 33 and 34 he tells them of the arrangements for the funeral and burial '[not] in Yeager but in Lewistown it was the Episcople Church Or the Church Of England Cemitery the best Around heair." And in Letter 35 he includes the inscription for Agnes' headstone.

There are no more letters. Within a few months Henry was forced to start breaking up the family, placing the youngest child, Thomas, with his sister Naomi (Billups )Jackson in Pittsburgh. Their daughter, Jane, was raised by Quakers, apparently in New Jersey. Harry and his two other sons moved to Philadelphia where a son James William died in 1882. Their daughter, Jane, may have stayed with them a while, but was eventually raised by Quakers, apparently in New Jersey. Harry The oldest son John remained in Philadelphia and Henry went to join his sister in Pittsburgh. The three surviving children were reunited as adults.

Harry's date of death and place of burial have not yet been determined. For what is known of Henry Billups later life, see Henry "Harry" Billups, Pittsburgh, 1890.

Credits

The image of the Mann Axe works comes from File:Mann's Narrows upstream.jpg at Wikipedia, and is said to be in the public domain.

Henry and Sarah (Kern) Kiel, Family Bible

2018-10-08T00:00:00-04:00

A transcription of the family Bible of Henry G and Sarah (Kern) Kiel, from a photocopy of the original in the possession of a descendant. A photocopy of the original is in the Documents/Kiel section of this website under bible1.pdf, bible2.pdf, and bible3.pdf.

Family Bible Record of Henry G. and Sarah (Kern) Kiel of Greensburg, Pennsylvania, page 1

The earlier births are recorded in the second column. A copy of the original is in the Documents section of this site.

page 1, first column

Henry G Kiel was married to Sarah Kern on the 24th of June 1824 by the Rev Mr Painter

John Henry Kiel was born on the 7 day of January in the year of our Lord eighteen hundred and thirty eight.

Sarah Elean Kiel, was born on the 22d February, in the year of our Lord, eighteen hundred and forty

Celia Anthus L Kiel was born on the 26 April ad 1843 Baptised by Rev W. [or M.] Long

Elizabeth E. Kiel was Born on the 2th day of March ad 1845

Emma Henry Kiel was Born on the 4th day of Augst 1848

page 1, second column

Margret Elizabeth Kiel was born on the 3th day of May in the year eight hundred and twenty five

Mari Een Kiel was born on the 29[?] of July 1828

Jacob Steinbaugh Kern Kiel was born November 8th 1829

Daniel Morris Kiel was born on the 19th of December in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and th [page torn] one

Joseph White Kiel, [page torn]
September 13, in th [page torn]
of our Lord, one [page torn]
eight hundred [page torn]
four

page 2, first column

Joseph White Kiel, died on the 24th December, in the of our Lord [sic], eighteen hundred and thirty nine

John Henry Kiel, died on the 31st of December in the year of our Lord, eighteen hundred and thirty nine

Celea Anthus L. Kiel was born 26 April A D 1843 Baptised by Rev. W. Long

page 2, second column

Henry G. Kiel Died on the 14th February In the year of our Lord Eighteen Hundred and forty eight

page 3

Married on the 30th October By the Rev Henry R Kern
Mr. Thomas Young to Miss Margaret E Kiel Daughter of H G Kiel and S Kiel all of The Borrow of Greensburgh

Henry and Sarah Kiel, 1847 Letter

2018-10-08T00:00:00-04:00

A transcription of a letter from Henry Kiel to his wife Sarah "Sally" (Kern) Kiel, from a photocopy of the original in the possession of a descendant. A photocopy of the original is in the Documents/Kiel section of this website under Letter1.pdf and Letter2.pdf. In the same folder is another transcription made by another descendant of Henry and Sarah.

[Phila scratched out] New York July 12th 1847

Dear Sally

after spending one Sabbath in New York
i will give you the particulars of what has happened. in the first
place the sabbath is not observd here. the first thing that
saluted my ears after I got up was a parcel[?] of boys in the street
crying out Newspaper for Sale. after while the different church
bells began to chime and play verry buatafull. after that i
wint up stairs to my room waiting for Mr. Souer to come. he did arrive
til eleven o clock. i wondered why he did not come soner. i begin to
think that he had over done himself on Saturday night owing to us
walking about so much for whe wint and paid Dr Vogeley a visit.
he lives about 3 myles from where whe board. whe spent a verry
pleasent evening. the doctor and his lady was very glad to se us. they
are well and doing verry well. whe left that about 10 o clock. it
was after 11 o clock before i got home to my boarding house. wel Mr
Souer had to walk about two myles after that and that was the reason
why I thought he had over done himself. but to return to sunday,
after Mr Souer had arrived he came up to my room and escqused
himself for not coming soner. he said he had overslept himself. he tooked
some tyme and then proposed to take a walk. whe to the Bowery
and from there to Castle Garden. then whe went on board a Dutch
vessel and asked for the Captain. he came forward and was introduced
and whe where invited down in the Captain's cabin. he than brought
out some Dutch beer. after that he brought out his long smoke pipes
and whe began. i wisch you had been here, you would have laught
to kild yourself, and the Dutch had to go it with a perfect rusch after.
staying a while, the Captain took us and showed us every
apartment in his vessel. i was much pleased with my visit. it brought

[page 2]
back the days of my childhood and i thought i was really in Amsterdam.
but to proceed, whe returned to his boarding house after dinner.
Mr Souer took me down to his boording house that was about
two myles and remained there til almosst six o clock. he has
a splendid room fitted up for himself in graat style.
after that whe went to a family by the name off Camp, a
low dutch family, a Merchant that is worth about eight
thousand dollars. whe staid their a little while and than
Mr. Souer and Mr Camp and Jacob and myself started down
Broadway. Mr Souer observed to me he thought that my
supper would be over and proposed to go to a saloon
and take supper. so whe did and called for four suppers
elegantly served up. after that he would have me to go
to the great Castle garden one off the most splendid
places i ever saw. there was at leest about ten thousand
persons there. they played sacred music til ten o clock. after
that i wint home and wint to bed after spending a very
laborious sabbath. Newyork certainly is one off gratest places
in the unitedstates. Jacob is wel and is verry wel
contented. i think that this week or next week he
will git a sattuation. give my best lofe to my children
and a kiss to my little [Eck?]. Newyork is a place to spend money
if a man has it. Nothing more at present, but remain,

Yours, H G Kiel
Mr Souer sends his respects to you all.

Mary Ann Snider, Reminiscences

2018-10-08T00:00:00-04:00

Mary Ann Snider

In March 1907, Jacob S. Royer of Dayton, Ohio, put together a twenty-two page typescript entitled Reminiscences of My Grandmother's Life. It is Mary Ann (Kiel) Snider's account of her life in Greensburg, Pennsylvania, as a young girl, and also of the early years of her married life with Jacob Snider in Waynesboro, Pennsylvania. It covers a time period from before 1833 to after 1865.

In his introduction Mr. Royer says: "I expect few eyes to read these pages save those of her children or grandchildren, and therefore will write in a familiar way of the things that most interest our family relations." I believe he underestimated the value of the manuscript. It should be appealing to anyone with a desire to know what life was like in Western and Central Pennsylvania in the early to mid-1800's.

Mary Ann remembered when the stage coach was the main form of transportation, when Methodist outdoor camp meetings were being held, and when wood was the main fuel in what would soon be coal country. She witnessed President William Harrison's funeral cortege on its way west from Washington, DC. And she had Confederate soldiers knocking on her door during the Civil War.

Mr. Royer's concluding sentence is: "I hope that these stories which I have set down just as she told them without any additions, will prove as interesting to such others as may read them, as they have to me."

I hope so also, and I hope that readers will enjoy having them posted here on this site. The Documents section of this website has the images of Mr Royer's typescript under SniderTranscript.

See also the article A Surname Index to Mary Ann Snider's Reminiscences.

Patrick McQuaid, Jacob Kern, George W Kern, of Greensburgh, PA, Indenture Papers

2018-10-08T00:00:00-04:00

Kern-McQuaid Indenture Papers

Below is a transcription of the indenture papers of Patrick McQuaid, apprentice to Jacob S and George W Kern in Greensburgh, Pennsylvania, beginning April 30, 1827. A link to a digital image of the original is here: Patrick McQuaid, Jacob Kern, George W Kern, of Greensburgh, PA, Indenture Papers.

The transcription was done from the digital image of the original document which I received from a descendant of George W. Kern. It had been passed down through the Kopelin family to Mildred Wagle, who gave it to the father of the person I received it from. The document is posted and transcribed with the permission of the owner.

The original document was a printed "boilerplate" legal form, with spaces for the names of the individuals involved and the details of the apprenticeship.

This Indenture, Witnesseth:

That Patrick McQuaid, the son of Rudy McQuaid dec'd, of Hempfield township, Westmoreland county, and state of Pennsylvania, (by and with the advice and consent of his Mother testified by her signing as a witness hereto) hath bound and put himself, and by these presents doth bind and put himself, apprentice to J & G.W. Kern of the borrough of Greensburgh county, and state aforesaid, Hatters after the manner of an apprentice to dwell with and serve the said J & G.W. Kern their executors, administrators and assigns, from the day of the date hereof, for and during, and until the full end and term of four years and two months thence next ensuing, and fully to be complete and ended: During all which term, the said apprentice his said master faithfully shall serve, and that honestly and obediently in all things, as a dutiful apprentice ought to do: And the said J & G.W. Kern their executors, administrators, or assigns, shall teach, or cause to be taught and instructed, the said apprentice in the art trade, and mystery of a Hatter and shall find him the said apprentice sufficient meat, drink, washing, lodgings, and apparel during said term, shall send him six months to night school and give him a freedom suit worth twenty dollars.

In Witness whereof, we have hereunto set our hands and seals, the thirtieth day of April in the year of our Lord, one thousand eight hundred and twenty seven.

SIGNED AND SEALED
IN PRESENCE OF

her his
Margaret Bussard Patrick McQuaide /Seal/
mark mark

E A. Johnston Jacob S Kern /Seal/
[maybe C A. Johnston] Geo. W. Kern

BEFORE ME, the subscriber, one of the Justices of the Peace, in and for said county, came the parties to the above Indenture, and acknowledged the same to be their act and deed for the purposes therein set forth. WITNESS my hand and seal, this thirtieth day of April in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and twenty seven.

A. Johnston /Seal/