LIFE AT THE BEGINNING OF THE NINETEENTH CENTURY
The _Pittsburgh Gazette_ was devoted to the interests of the Federal
party, and Brackenridge and the other leading Republicans felt the need
of a newspaper of their own. The result was the establishment on August
16, 1800, of the _Tree of Liberty_, by John Israel, who was already
publishing a newspaper, called the _Herald of Liberty_, in Washington,
Pennsylvania. The title of the new paper was intended to typify its
high mission. The significance of the name was further indicated in
the conspicuously displayed motto, “And the leaves of the tree were
for the healing of the nations.” The Federalists, and more especially
their organ, the _Pittsburgh Gazette_,[84] charged Brackenridge with
being the owner of the new paper, and with being responsible for
its utterances. Brackenridge, however, has left a letter in which he
refuted this statement, and alleged that originally he intended to
establish a newspaper, but on hearing of Israel’s intention gave up the
idea.[85]
The extent of the comforts and luxuries enjoyed in Pittsburgh was
surprising. The houses, whether built of logs, or frame, or brick,
were comfortable, even in winter. In the kitchens were large open
fire-places, where wood was burned. The best coal fuel was plentiful.
Although stoves were invented barely half a century earlier, and were
in general use only in the larger cities, the houses in Pittsburgh
could already boast of many. There were cannon stoves, so called
because of their upright cylindrical, cannon-like shape, and Franklin
or open stoves, invented by Benjamin Franklin; the latter graced the
parlor. Grates were giving out their cheerful blaze. They were also in
use in some of the rooms of the new court house, and in the new jail.
The advertisements of the merchants told the story of what the people
ate and drank, and of the materials of which their clothing was made.
Articles of food were in great variety. In the stores were tea, coffee,
red and sugar almonds, olives, chocolate, spices of all kinds, muscatel
and keg raisins, dried peas, and a score of other luxuries, besides the
ordinary articles of consumption. The gentry of England, as pictured
in the pages of the old romances, did not have a greater variety of
liquors to drink. There were Madeira, sherry, claret, Lisbon, port, and
Teneriffe wines, French and Spanish brandies,[86] Jamaica and antique
spirits.[87] Perrin DuLac, who visited Pittsburgh in 1802, said these
liquors were the only articles sold in the town that were dear.[88] But
not all partook of the luxuries. Bread and meat, and such vegetables
as were grown in the neighborhood, constituted the staple articles
of food, and homemade whisky was the ordinary drink of the majority
of the population. The native fruits were apples and pears, which
had been successfully propagated since the early days of the English
occupation.[89]
Materials for men’s and women’s clothing were endless in variety
and design and consisted of cloths, serges, flannels, brocades,
jeans, fustians, Irish linens, cambrics, lawns, nankeens, ginghams,
muslins, calicos, and chintzes. Other articles were tamboured
petticoats, tamboured cravats, silk and cotton shawls, wreaths and
plumes, sunshades and parasols, black silk netting gloves, white
and salmon-colored long and short gloves, kid and morocco shoes and
slippers, men’s beaver, tanned, and silk gloves, men’s cotton and
thread caps, and silk and cotton hose.
Men were changing their dress along with their political opinions. One
of the consequences in the United States of the French Revolution was
to cause the effeminate and luxurious dress in general use to give way
to simpler and less extravagant attire. The rise of the Republican
party and the class distinctions which it was responsible for
engendering, more than any other reason, caused the men of affairs--the
merchants, the manufacturers, the lawyers, the physicians, and the
clergymen--to discard the old fashions and adopt new ones. Cocked hats
gave way to soft or stiff hats, with low square crowns and straight
brims. The fashionable hats were the beaver made of the fur of the
beaver, the castor made of silk in imitation of the beaver, and the
roram made of felt, with a facing of beaver fur felted in. Coats of
blue, green, and buff, and waistcoats of crimson, white, or yellow,
were superseded by garments of soberer colors. Coats continued to be as
long as ever, but the tails were cut away in front. Knee-breeches were
succeeded by tight-fitting trousers reaching to the ankles; low-buckled
shoes, by high-laced leather shoes, or boots. Men discontinued wearing
cues, and their hair was cut short, and evenly around the head. There
were of course exceptions. Many men of conservative temperament still
clung to the old fashions. A notable example in Pittsburgh was the
Rev. Robert Steele, who always appeared in black satin knee-breeches,
knee-buckles, silk stockings, and pumps.[90]
The farmers on the plantations surrounding Pittsburgh and the mechanics
in the borough were likewise affected by the movement for dress reform.
Their apparel had always been less picturesque than that of the
business and professional men. Now the ordinary dress of the farmers
and mechanics consisted of short tight-fitting round-abouts, or
sailor’s jackets, made in winter of cloth or linsey, and in summer of
nankeen, dimity, gingham, or linen. Sometimes the jacket was without
sleeves, the shirt being heavy enough to afford protection against
inclement weather. The trousers were loose-fitting and long, and
extended to the ankles, and were made of nankeen, tow, or cloth. Some
men wore blanket-coats. Overalls, of dimity, nankeen, and cotton, were
the especial badge of mechanics. The shirt was of tow or coarse linen,
the vest of dimity. On their feet, farmers and mechanics alike wore
coarse high-laced shoes, half-boots, or boots made of neat’s leather.
The hats were soft, of fur or wool, and were low and round-crowned, or
the crowns were high and square.
The inhabitants of Pittsburgh were pleasure-loving, and the time not
devoted to business was given over to the enjoyments of life. Men and
women alike played cards. Whisk, as whist was called, and Boston were
the ordinary games.[91] All classes and nationalities danced, and
dancing was cultivated as an art. Dancing masters came to Pittsburgh
to give instructions, and adults and children alike took lessons.
In winter public balls and private assemblies were given. The dances
were more pleasing to the senses than any ever seen in Pittsburgh,
except the dances of the recent revival of the art. The cotillion was
executed by an indefinite number of couples, who performed evolutions
or figures as in the modern german. Other dances were the minuet, the
_menuet à la cour_, and jigs. The country dance, generally performed by
eight persons, four men and four women, comprised a variety of steps,
and a surprising number of evolutions, of which liveliness was the
characteristic.
The taverns had rooms set apart for dances. The “Sign of the Green
Tree,”[92] had an “Assembly Room”; the “Sign of General Butler”[93] and
the “Sign of the Waggon”[94] each had a “Ball Room.” The small affairs
were given in the homes of the host or hostess, and the large ones in
the taverns, or in the grand-jury room of the new court house.
The dancing masters gave “Practicing Balls” at which the cotillion
began at seven o’clock, and the ball concluded with the country
dance, which was continued until twelve o’clock.[95] Dancing became
so popular and to such an extent were dancing masters in the eyes
of the public that William Irwin christened his race horse “Dancing
Master.”[96] The ball given to General Lee was talked about for years
after the occurrence. Its beauties were pictured by many fair lips.
The ladies recalled the soldierly bearing of the guest of honor, the
tall robust form of General Daniel Morgan, Lee’s second in command, and
the commander of the Virginia troops, famous as the hero of Quebec and
Saratoga, who had received the thanks of Congress for his victory at
Cowpens. They dwelt on the varicolored uniforms of the soldiers, the
bright colors worn by the civilians, their powdered hair, the brocades,
and silks, and velvets of the ladies.
In winter evenings there were concerts and theatrical performances
which were generally given in the new court house. A unique concert
was that promoted by Peter Declary. It was heralded as a musical event
of importance. Kotzwara’s _The Battle of Prague_, was performed on
the “forte piano” by one of Declary’s pupils, advertised as being
only eight years of age; President Jefferson’s march was another
conspicuous feature. The exhibition concluded with a ball.[97]
Comedy predominated in the theatrical performances. The players were
“the young gentlemen of the town.” At one of the entertainments they
gave John O’Keefe’s comic opera _The Poor Soldier_, and a farce by
Arthur Murphy called _The Apprentice_.[98] There were also performances
of a more professional character. Bromley and Arnold, two professional
actors, conducted a series of theatrical entertainments extending over
a period of several weeks. The plays which they rendered are hardly
known to-day. At a single performance[99] they gave a comedy entitled
_Trick upon Trick_, or _The Vintner in the Suds_; a farce called _The
Jealous Husband_, or _The Lawyer in the Sack_; and a pantomime, _The
Sailor’s Landlady_, or _Jack in Distress_. Another play in the series
was Edward Moore’s tragedy, _The Gamester_.[100]
Much of Grant’s Hill was unenclosed. Clumps of trees grew on its
irregular surface, and there were level open spaces; and in summer
the place was green with grass, and bushes grew in profusion. Farther
in the background were great forest trees. The hill was the pleasure
ground of the village. Judge Henry M. Brackenridge, a son of Judge
Hugh Henry Brackenridge dwelling on the past, declared that “it was
pleasing to see the line of well-dressed ladies and gentlemen and
children, ... repairing to the beautiful green eminence.”[101] On
this elevation “under a bower, on the margin of a wood, and near a
delightful spring, with the town of Pittsburgh in prospect,” the Fourth
of July celebrations were held.[102] On August 2, 1794, the motley army
of Insurgents from Braddocksfield rested there, after having marched
through the town. Here they were refreshed with food and whisky, in
order that they might keep in good humor, and to prevent their burning
the town.[103]
Samuel Jones has left an intimate, if somewhat regretful account of
the early social life of Pittsburgh. “The long winter evenings,” he
wrote, “were passed by the humble villagers at each other’s homes, with
merry tale and song, or in simple games; and the hours of night sped
lightly onward with the unskilled, untiring youth, as they threaded
the mazes of the dance, guided by the music of the violin, from which
some good-humored rustic drew his Orphean sounds. In the jovial time
of harvest and hay-making, the sprightly and active of the village
participated in the rural labors and the hearty pastimes, which
distinguished that happy season. The balls and merry-makings that were
so frequent in the village were attended by all without any particular
deference to rank or riches. No other etiquette than that which natural
politeness prescribed was exacted or expected.... Young fellows might
pay their _devoirs_ to their female acquaintances; ride, walk, or talk
with them, and pass hours in their society without being looked upon
with suspicion by parents, or slandered by trolloping gossips.”[104]
The event of autumn was the horse races, which lasted three days. They
were held in the northeasterly extremity of the town between Liberty
Street and the Allegheny River,[105] and were conducted under the
auspices of the Jockey Club which had been in existence for many years.
Sportsmen came from all the surrounding country. The races were under
the saddle, sulkies not having been invented. Racing proprieties
were observed, and jockeys were required to be dressed in jockey
habits.[106] Purses were given. The horses compared favorably with race
horses of a much later day. A prominent horse was “Young Messenger” who
was sired by “Messenger,” the most famous trotting horse in America,
which had been imported into Philadelphia from England in 1788, and was
the progenitor of Rysdyk’s Hambletonian, Abdallah, Goldsmith Maid, and
a score of other noted race horses.
A third of a century after the race course had been removed beyond
the limits of the municipality, Judge Henry M. Brackenridge published
his recollections of the entrancing sport. “It was then an affair
of all-engrossing interest, and every business or pursuit was
neglected.... The whole town was daily poured forth to witness the
Olympian games.... The plain within the course and near it was filled
with booths as at a fair, where everything was said, and done, and
sold, and eaten or drunk, where every fifteen or twenty minutes there
was a rush to some part, to witness a fisticuff--where dogs barked and
bit, and horses trod on men’s toes, and booths fell down on people’s
heads!”[107]
The social instincts of the people found expression in another
direction. The Revolutionary War, the troubles with the Indians, the
more or less strained relations existing between France and England,
had combined to inbreed a military spirit. Pennsylvania, with a
population, in 1800, of 602,365, had enrolled in the militia 88,707 of
its citizens. The militia was divided into light infantry, riflemen,
grenadiers, cavalry, and artillery.[108] Allegheny County had a brigade
of militia, consisting of eight regiments.[109] The commander was
General Alexander Fowler, an old Englishman who had served in America,
in the 18th, or Royal Irish, Regiment of Foot. On the breaking out of
the Revolutionary War, he had resigned his commission on account of his
sympathy with the Americans. Being unfit for active service, Congress
appointed him Auditor of the Western Department at Pittsburgh.
The militia had always been more or less permeated with partisan
politics. During the Revolution the American officers wore a cockade
with a black ground and a white relief, called the black cockade. This
the Federalists had made their party emblem. The Republican party,
soon after its organization, adopted as a badge of party distinction a
cockade of red and blue on a white base, the colors of revolutionary
France. The red and blue cockade thereafter became the distinguishing
mark of the majority of the Pennsylvania militia, being adopted on
the recommendation of no less a person than Governor McKean. General
Fowler’s advocacy of the red and blue cockade and his disparagement
of the black cockade were incessant. He was an ardent Republican, and
his effusions with their classic allusions filled many columns of the
_Tree of Liberty_ and the _Pittsburgh Gazette_. At a meeting of the
Allegheny County militia held at Marie’s tavern, the red and blue
cockade had been adopted. Fowler claimed that this was the result of
public sentiment. He was fond of platitudes. “The voice of the people
is the voice of God,” he quoted, crediting the proverb to an “English
commentator,” and adding: “Says a celebrated historian, ‘individuals
may err, but the voice of the people is infallible.’”[110] A strong
minority in Allegheny County remained steadfast to the Federal party,
and the vote in favor of the adoption of the red and blue cockade was
not unanimous. Two of the regiments, not to be engulfed in the growing
wave of Republicanism, or overawed by the domineering disposition of
General Fowler, opposed the adoption of the red and blue cockade, and
chose the black cockade.[111]
The equipment furnished to the militia by the State was meagre, but
the patriotism which had so lately won the country’s independence was
still at flood tide, and each regiment was supplied with two silk
standards. One was the national flag, the other the regimental colors.
The national emblem differed somewhat from the regulation United States
flag. The word “Pennsylvania” appeared on the union, with the number
of the regiment, the whole being encircled by thirteen white stars.
The fly of the regimental colors was dark blue; on this was painted an
eagle with extended wings supporting the arms of the State. The union
was similar to that of the national flag. The prescribed uniform which
many of the men, however, did not possess, was a blue coat faced with
red, with a lining of white or red. In Allegheny County a round hat
with the cockade and buck’s tail, was worn.[112] The parade ground of
the militia was the level part of Grant’s Hill which adjoined Marie’s
tavern on the northeast. Here twice each year, in April and October,
the militia received its training. Of no minor interest, was the social
life enjoyed by officers and men alike, during the annual assemblages.
In the territory contiguous to Pittsburgh the uprising, for the right
to manufacture whisky without paying the excise, had its inception.
That taverns should abound in the town was a natural consequence.
In 1808 the public could be accommodated at twenty-four different
taverns.[113] The annual license fee for taverns, including the clerk’s
charges, was barely twenty dollars. Through some mental legerdemain of
the lawmakers it had been enacted that if more than a quart was sold
no license was required. Liquors, and particularly whisky, were sold
in nearly every mercantile establishment. Also beer had been brewed
in Pittsburgh since an early day, at the “Point Brewery,” which was
purchased in 1795 by Smith and Shiras.[114] Beer was likewise brewed
in a small way by James Yeaman, two or three years later.[115] In
February, 1803, O’Hara and Coppinger, who had acquired the “Point
Brewery,” began brewing beer on a larger scale.[116]
In the taverns men met to consummate their business, and to discuss
their political and social affairs. Lodge No. 45 of Ancient York Masons
met in the taverns for many years, as did the Mechanical Society. Even
the Board of Trustees of the Academy held their meetings there.[117]
Religion itself, looked with a friendly eye on the taverns. In the
autumn of 1785, the Rev. Wilson Lee, a Methodist missionary, appeared
in Pittsburgh, and preached in John Ormsby’s tavern,[118] on Water
Street, at his ferry landing,[119] at what is now the northeast corner
of that street and Ferry Street. This was the same double log house
which, while conducted by Samuel Semple, was in 1770 patronized by
Colonel George Washington.[120]
Tavern keeping and liquor selling were of such respectability that
many of the most esteemed citizens were, or had been tavern-keepers,
or had sold liquors, or distilled whisky, or brewed beer. Jeremiah
Sturgeon was a member of the session of the Presbyterian Church.[121]
John Reed, the proprietor of the “Sign of the Waggon,” in addition to
being a leading member of the Jockey Club, and the owner of the race
horse “Young Messenger,”[122] was precentor in the Presbyterian Church,
and on Sundays “lined out the hymns” and led the singing.[123] The pew
of William Morrow is marked on the diagram of the ground-plan of the
church as printed in its _Centennial Volume_.[124] The “Sign of the
Cross Keys,” the emblem of Sturgeon’s tavern, was of religious origin
and was much favored in England. Although used by a Presbyterian, it
was the arms of the Papal See, and the emblem of St. Peter and his
successors. That the way to salvation lay through the door of the
tavern, would seem to have been intended to be indicated by the “Sign
of the Cross Keys.” William Eichbaum, a pillar in the German church,
after he left the employ of O’Hara and Craig, conducted a tavern on
Front Street, near Market, at the “Sign of the Indian Queen.” The
owners of the ferries kept taverns in connection with their ferries.
Ephraim Jones conducted a tavern at his ferry landing on the south side
of the Monongahela River; Robert Henderson had a tavern on Water Street
at his ferry landing; Samuel Emmett kept a tavern at his landing on the
south side of the Monongahela River; and James Robinson had a tavern on
the Franklin Road at the northerly terminus of his ferry.[125]
Drinking was universal among both men and women. Judge James Veech
declared that whisky “was the indispensable emblem of hospitality and
the accompaniment of labor in every pursuit, the stimulant in joy and
the solace in grief. It was kept on the counter of every store and in
the corner cupboard of every well-to-do family. The minister partook of
it before going to church, and after he came back. At home and abroad,
at marryings and buryings, at house raisings and log rollings, at
harvestings and huskings, it was the omnipresent beverage of old and
young, men and women; and he was a churl who stinted it. To deny it
altogether required more grace or niggardliness than most men could
command, at least for daily use.”[126]
A practical joke perpetrated by the Rev. Dr. John McMillan, on the
Rev. Joseph Patterson, another of the early ministers in this region,
illustrates the custom of drinking among the clergy. On their way to
attend a meeting of the Synod, the two men stopped at a wayside inn
and called for whisky, which was set before them. Mr. Patterson asked
a blessing which was rather lengthy. Dr. McMillan meanwhile drank the
whisky, and to Mr. Patterson’s blank look remarked blandly, “You must
watch as well as pray!”[127]
Families purchased whisky and laid it away in their cellars for future
consumption, and that it might improve with age. Judge Hugh Henry
Brackenridge declared that the visit of the “Whisky Boys”--as the
Insurgents from Braddocksfield were called--to Pittsburgh cost him
“four barrels of old whisky.”[128] The statement caused Henry Adams, in
his life of Albert Gallatin, to volunteer the assertion that it nowhere
appeared “how much whisky the western gentleman usually kept in his
house.”[129]
There was no legislation against selling liquors on Sundays. The
only law on the subject was an old one under which persons found
drinking and tippling in ale-houses, taverns, and other public houses
on Sundays, were liable to be fined one shilling and sixpence; and
the keepers of the houses upon conviction were required to pay ten
shillings. The line of demarcation between proper and improper drinking
being faint, the law proved ineffectual to prevent drinking on Sundays.
Religion had not kept pace with material progress. The people had been
too much engrossed in secular affairs to attend to spiritual matters.
They were withal generous, and practiced the Christian virtues; and
never failed to help their unfortunate neighbors. This disposition was
manifested in various ways. Losses by fire were of frequent occurrence
and were apt to cause distress or ruin to those affected. In these
cases the citizens always furnished relief. An instance where this was
done was in the case of William Thorn. Thorn was a cabinet-maker on
Market Street, and built windmills and Dutch fans.[130] When the house
which he occupied was burned to the ground and he lost all his tools
and valuable ready-made furniture, a liberal subscription was made by
the citizens, and he was enabled to again commence his business.[131]
But there was little outward observance of religious forms. The Germans
had made some progress in that direction. The little log building where
they worshipped had been succeeded by a brick church. The only English
church was the Presbyterian Meeting House facing on Virgin Alley, now
Oliver Avenue, erected in 1786. It was the same building of squared
timbers in which the congregation had originally worshipped. From
1789 to 1793, the church had languished greatly. There was no regular
pastor; services were held at irregular and widely separated intervals.
Two of the men who served as supplies left the ministry and became
lawyers.[132] From 1793 to 1800, the church was all but dead. The
house was deserted and falling into ruin. Only once, so far as there
is any record, were Presbyterian services held in the building during
this period. It was in 1799 that the Rev. Francis Herron, passing
through Pittsburgh, was induced to deliver a sermon to a congregation
consisting of fifteen or eighteen persons “much to the annoyance of the
swallows,” as Herron ingenuously related, which had taken possession of
the premises.[133]
A light had flashed momentarily in the darkness when John Wrenshall,
the father of Methodism in Pittsburgh, settled in the town. Wrenshall
was an Englishman who came to Pittsburgh in 1796 and established
a mercantile business. He was converted to Wesleyanism in England
and had been a local preacher there. As there was no minister or
preaching of any kind in Pittsburgh, he commenced holding services in
the Presbyterian Meeting House. His audiences increased, but after
a few Sundays of active effort, a padlock was placed on the door of
the church, and he was notified that the house was no longer at his
disposal. The Presbyterians might not hold services themselves, but
they would not permit the use of their building to adherents of the new
sect of Methodists, “the offspring of the devil.”
A great religious revival swept over the Western country in the
concluding years of the eighteenth century. In Kentucky it developed
into hysteria,[134] and in Western Pennsylvania the display of
religious fervor was scarcely less intense.[135] The effect was felt
in Pittsburgh. On October 24, 1800, the _Pittsburgh Gazette_ was moved
to ask the Presbyterian congregation, of which its proprietor was a
leading member, a number of pertinent questions: Could they hope for
good morals without religion or the fear of God; could religion be
maintained without public worship; had they a house in which public
worship could be performed with decency and convenience? Were they
not able to erect a respectable and commodious church building, as
well as to provide for the maintenance of a minister? Would not money
so employed “be more for the benefit of the town than horse racing,
billiard playing, etc., etc.?” The answer of the congregation was to
procure the appointment of the Rev. Robert Steele as supply and the
church began to show signs of life again. In April, 1802, Steele was
received as a member of the Presbytery, the action being approved by
the Synod in the following September.[136] From that time forward, the
church began that spiritual and material advancement--although there
were ebbs and flows in its progress--which has continued to this day.
REFERENCES