"President Taylor and his party were, in 1849, conveyed over the road

under the marshalship of that most indefatigable Whig, Thomas Shriver,

who, with some other Cumberlanders, proceeded to the Ohio river and met

the presidential party. Among the party were statesmen, politicians, and

office-hunters, notably Col. Bullet, a brilliant editor from New

Orleans, who was to occupy a relation to President Taylor something like

that of Henry J. Raymond to Lincoln. The road was a perfect glare of

ice, and everything above ground was literally plated with sleeted

frost. The scenery was beautiful; to native mountaineers too common to

be of much interest, but to a Southerner like Gen. Taylor, who had never

seen the like, it was a phenomenon. In going down a spur of Meadow

Mountain, the presidential coach, with the others, danced and waltzed on

the polished road, first on one side and then on the other, with every

sign of an immediate capsize, but the coaches were manned with the most

expert of the whole corps of drivers. Shriver was in the rear, and in

the greatest trepidation for the safety of the President. He seemed to

feel himself responsible for the security of the head of the Nation.

Down each hill and mountain his bare head could be seen protruding

through the window of his coach to discover if the President's coach was

still upon wheels. The iron gray head of the General could almost with

the same frequency be seen outside of his window, not to see after

anybody's safety, but to look upon what seemed to him an arctic

panorama. After a ride of many miles the last long slope was passed and

everything was safe. At twilight the Narrows were reached, two miles

west of Cumberland, one of the boldest and most sublime views on the

Atlantic slope. Gen. Taylor assumed authority and ordered a halt, and

out he got in the storm and snow and looked at the giddy heights on

either side of Wills creek, until he had taken in the grandeur of the

scenery. He had beheld nothing like it before, even in his campaigns in

Northern Mexico. The President-elect was tendered a reception on his

arrival at Cumberland, and the next morning he and his party left on the

cars for Washington."

At an early day there was a coach factory at or near the Little

Crossings, where many of the first passenger coaches used on the road

were made. They were without thorough braces, or springs of any kind.

Their bodies were long, and the inside seats for passengers placed

crosswise. They had but one door, and that was in the front, so that

passengers on entering were compelled to climb over the front seats to

reach those in the rear.

The first coach of the Troy pattern was placed on the road in the year

1829 by James Reeside, and tradition has it that he won this coach with

a bet on Gen. Jackson's election to the presidency. Mr. Reeside was

desirous that Gen. Jackson should be the first person to ride in this

coach, and accordingly tendered it to the President-elect when on his

way to Washington, who true to his habit of refusing gifts, declined the

proffered compliment as to himself, but consented that his family might

occupy the coach. Charley Howell was the driver, and his team was one of

the finest on the road. Many coaches were brought out on the road

afterward from the Troy and Concord factories. These coaches cost

between five and six hundred dollars each.

John Buck was one of the oldest and best stage drivers on the road. He

lived in Washington, Pennsylvania, and drove on the old line in the

life-time of Daniel Moore, and was a great favorite of that ancient

stage proprietor. When Lafayette visited Washington in 1825, Mr. Moore

was active and prominent in arranging for his reception at that place,

and assigned John Buck to drive the coach in which the illustrious

visitor entered the town. It was a proud day for the old driver, who

shared with the hero of the occasion, the plaudits of the people. Buck

subsequently became the senior member of the firm of Buck, Lyon & Wolf,

contractors, who built most of the locks and dams on the Muskingum

river, in the State of Ohio. This old firm was called the "Menagerie

Company," on account of the names of its members.

[Illustration: THE NARROWS.]

William Robinson (not "Billy") suffered an "upset" at Somerfield, in

1832, with a full load of passengers going west. The stage coach had but

one door, and to bring up the door side to the Endsley tavern, in

Somerfield, it was necessary to wheel around. Robinson turned his team

with such rapidity as to overturn the coach, and the passengers were all

tumbled out in a pile, but none of them were seriously hurt. Wash.

Alridge threw a coach over on the Conway hill, near Somerfield,

inflicting a severe spinal injury upon a passenger who lived in

Cincinnati. The sufferer was cared for at the tavern in Jockey

Hollow, kept at the time by Aaron Wyatt. The stage company (old line)

paid the injured passenger a considerable sum in damages, without suit.

A passenger by the name of Merrill, of Indianapolis, had a leg broken by

the upsetting of a coach at the turn of the road, above Somerfield;

Samuel Jaco was the driver. William Roach, a well known driver, was

killed in an "upset" at the Little Crossings bridge, about the year

1837. This seems to have been a different accident from that which

occurred near the same place in 1835, related in the sketch of John

Marker. Marker witnessed the accident of 1835, and states that the

driver who was killed at that time was James Rhodes. David Stinson, an

old driver, was killed by an "upset" on Woodcock Hill. Woodcock Hill is

a short distance west of Thomas Brownfield's old Mt. Augusta tavern, and

is the highest peak on the road in Fayette county, Pennsylvania. Charley

Howell upset in 1835, coming down the Winding Ridge Hill, and was badly

hurt. He had a leg and arm broken, and was nursed at Connelly's tavern,

in Petersburg, for many months before he recovered.

In 1834 or 1835, Mr. Stockton transferred a number of stage teams and

drivers, from the Baltimore and Washington City road, to the National

Road. Two of these teams ran in and out from Somerfield. One called "the

Kangaroo team" was driven by John Mills. They were large, dark bays, and

much admired by lovers of fine horses. Mills knew how to handle them. He

was a superb driver. Another of these "transferred" teams was driven by

William Bishop. The horses in this team were light bays, all

"bob-tails," and notwithstanding there was but one good eye in the whole

team, and all were "sprung in the knees," it is asserted by many old

pike boys that this unique and "blemished" team was the fastest on the

road. It was brought out from the Baltimore and Washington road by

Charles Howell, who drove it a short time before it was turned over to

William Bishop. Bishop was a capital reinsman.

The preservation of the National Road was considered so vital to the

general welfare by everybody living upon its line and adjacent to it,

that the deepest interest was manifested in the success of every measure

proposed for its benefit. There was no powerful and paid "lobby" around

the halls of Congress when the Cumberland Road was the highway of the

Republic, as there is at this day, but all measures planned and

presented for its preservation and repair, were carefully watched and

guarded by such statesmen as Henry Clay, Daniel Sturgeon, Andrew

Stewart, T. M. T. McKennan, Lewis Steenrod, W. T. Hamilton, and Henry W.

Beeson. The following from a Cumberland paper published in that place

sixty years ago shows the popular feeling in behalf of the road at that

date:

"The citizens of the town on the 21st of May, 1832, in demonstration of

their great joy growing out of the appropriation made by the National

Government for the repair of the Cumberland Road, made arrangements for

the celebration of that event. In pursuance of that arrangement, Samuel

Slicer illuminated his large and splendid hotel, which patriotic

example was followed by James Black. In addition to the illumination,

Mr. Bunting (our famous 'old Red'), agent of L. W. Stockton, ordered out

a coach, drawn by four large gray stallions, driven by George Shuck. The

stage was beautifully illuminated, which presented to the generous

citizens of this place a novelty calculated to impress upon the minds of

all who witnessed it the great benefits they anticipated by having the

road repaired. There were also seated upon the top of the vehicle

several gentlemen who played on various instruments, which contributed

very much to the amusement of the citizens and gave a zest to everything

that inspired delight or created feelings of patriotism. They started

from the front of Mr. Slicer's hotel, and as they moved on slowly the

band played 'Hail Columbia,' 'Freemasons' March,' 'Bonaparte Crossing

the Rhine,' 'Washington's March,' together with a new tune composed by

Mr. Mobley, of this place, and named by the gentlemen on the stage, 'The

Lady We Love Best,' and many others, as they passed through the

principal streets of the town. On their return they played 'Home, Sweet

Home,' to the admiration of all who heard it."

David Bonebraker was a stage driver of good reputation, and a general

favorite. While his name would import otherwise, he was a careful driver

and never during his whole service did he break a bone of man or beast.

He was a large, fine looking man, and drove between Somerfield and Mt.

Washington as early as 1831, and for a number of years thereafter.

Hanson Willison was early on the road as a stage driver, and none of his

fellow drivers excelled him in skillfulness. He drove a brief period

between Uniontown and Brownsville, but for the most part in and out from

Cumberland. He is still living in Cumberland, proprietor of the American

House livery stables, and doing a profitable business. He retains the

habits of the early days of the road, generous almost to a fault,

perfectly familiar with the road's history, his memory is well stored

with its exciting incidents and accidents. Hanson Willison and Ashael

Willison before mentioned, are brothers.

[Illustration: HANSON WILLISON.]

The few remaining old folks who witnessed the exciting scenes of the

National Road in its palmy days, will readily recall the following old

stage drivers: John Griffith, William Witham, George Lukens, Wash

Alters, Hank Smith, John Heinselman, Barney Strader, John Munson, West

Crawford, James Chair, William Roberts, Vin Huffman, John Windell, a

small, thin faced man, with rings in his ears, one of the earliest

drivers, William Saint, who was also a blacksmith, and worked,

occasionally, at his trade in Uniontown. He went to Texas before the

civil war, and died there. Lewis Gribble, son of John, the old wagoner

and tavern keeper. He went to Virginia, drove stage in that State, and

died there. John Sparker, John Snell, David Oller, Joseph Henderson, a

steady-going man, mentioned among the old tavern keepers in connection

with the "Gals house," David Armor, William Armor, Samuel Oller, and

William Dickey. The Ollers, the Armors, Dickey and Henderson were of

Washington, Pa. Jacob Snyder, subsequently manager and proprietor of

the Shipley house, in Cumberland. William and George Grim, John Zane,

James Schaverns, Joseph Vanhorn, John McIlree, Jesse Boring, John

Munson, John Ruth, David Jones, Benjamin Miller, subsequently tavern

keeper in the old Mannypenny house, Uniontown. An early line of stages

stopped at Miller's. James Mannypenny, Thomas Fee, Walter Head, educated

for the ministry, Thomas and Edward McVenus, William Totten, William

Vanhorn, Spencer Motherspaw, James Griffith, Abram Dedrick, William

Fowler, Thomas Chilson, William Jones, Andrew Heck, John Fink, William

Irwin, James Sampey, subsequently and for many years owner and manager

of the tavern at Mt. Washington, where the Good Intent line changed

horses and passengers often stopped for meals; Isaac Newton, Robert

Jackson, a young man of diminutive size, from one of the New England

States, whose father came and took him home; James Dennison,

subsequently tavern keeper at Claysville and at Hopwood; Isaac Newton,

died at Mt. Washington when John Foster kept the tavern at that point;

Matthew Byers, Hugh Drum, John Hendrix, Alexander Thompson, William

Hart, Charles Kemp, Ben Watkins, Ben Watson, John and Andrew Shaffer,

Garret Clark, Garret Minster, John Ferrell, James Lynch, John Seaman,

James Reynolds, John Bunting, Lindy Adams, Leander Fisk, James Derlin,

Aaron Wyatt, James Andrews, Alfred Haney, Wash Bodkin, William Crawford,

Charles Cherry, William Hammers, Addis Lynn, Harry, Nelse and Jack

Hammers, Nimrod, Joseph, Jack and William Sopher, John and Joseph

Pomroy, William and Watt Whisson, John McCollough, William Miller, son

of Charley, the old tavern keeper west of Hillsborough; Robert

McIlheney, John McMack, Thomas, Joshua and William Boyd, John Parsons,

Matthew Davis, one of the oldest, and still living at Brownsville; John

W. Boyce, George Wiggins, brother of Harrison, the old fox hunter of the

mountains; Robert Bennett, William White, David Reynolds, James

McIllree, Fred Buckingham, Thomas and William Noble.

William Noble died in Washington, Pennsylvania, Jan. 26, 1894.

Robert McIlheny, after relinquishing the reins and whip, became an agent

for the sale of the celebrated Hayes buggies, of Washington.

John Parsons left the road to take charge of a hotel in Bridgeville,

Allegheny county, Pennsylvania. Alfred Haney went South, became

baggagemaster on a Southern railroad, and was killed in an accident.

Charley Cherry had the manners of a savage, and was called "the big

savage man," but it is not known that he ever wantonly shed the blood of

a fellow being.

James McIlree drove between Washington and Wheeling.

Hugh Drum was called "Mickey Murray." He lingered for a while on the

road after its glory departed, and pushed out for New York, where he

engaged to drive an omnibus. What became of him in the subsequent

shifting sands of time is not known, but presumably he has gone to the

unknown world.

[Illustration: MATT. DAVIS.]

William McCleary, who died recently near Claysville leaving an estate

valued at $50,000; Daniel Dawson, subsequently kept a tavern near

Limestone, Marshall county, West Virginia, and died there; Samuel

Rowalt, Robert Bell, William Watkins, John Ford, still living in

Monongahela city; George Freiger, Barney and Samuel Nunemaker, Thomas

Cox, John Ruth, Abram Boyce, Charles Oulitt, James Dean, William

("Boggy") Moore, when a boy a rider on the pony express; John Schenck,

Thomas Hager, Joseph Ruff, Dandy Jack, James Fisk, Joseph Drake, Andrew

Ferrell, John Fouch, George Walker, George Banford, Joseph Lewis, Larry

Willard, Isaiah Fuller, Davy Crockett, Henry Wagner, John Foster, Henry

Smith, James Foster, John Noble, Edward McGinnis, Thomas McGinnis, John

Johnson (Old Sandy), John Horrell, William Grim, Elias Johnson, Daniel

Boyer, James Bodkin, James Null, William Null, William Clark, David

Brower, Richard Frantz, James Rowe, John Seaman, David Brennard, Henry

Schuck, George Crow, James Andrews (Dutch Jim), drove in and out from

Grantsville; John Huhn, drove in and out from Claysville; Moses

Thornburg, Wylie Baily, James McClung, James, Abraham and Robert Devan,

brothers; Thomas and George Henderson, Stephen Leggett, James Wilson,

Henry Herrick, John Giddings, Ed Washburn, J. S. Beck, Frank White,

Jesse Matthews, Robert Fenton, Jesse Hardin, David Johnson, Archy

McGregor, Samuel Darby, James Moore, Joseph Drake, James Riley, William

Matthews, Edward Hall, James Vancamp, Benjamin Miller, grandson of the

old tavern keeper of Uniontown; Samuel Betts, Calvin Springer,

ex-sheriff of Fayette county; James Noggle, Martin Stedler, William

Wiley, John Wiley, William McGidigen, James McGidigen, Daniel Shriver,

Jerome Heck, Frederic Zimmerman, Robert Bennett, Edward Kelley, John

Clark, Samuel Blair, Ross Clark, George Butts, Beck Kelley, William

Kelley, William Fisher, James and Thomas Bradley, Thomas Johnson,

William Brower, Richard Frazee, Isaac Toner (Dumb Ike), Joseph Jenk,

Evans Holton, Daniel Dean, Jesse Brennard, George Brennard, John Steep,

John Collier, Ben Tracy, George Moore, George Richmire, Charles

Richmire, Thomas McMillen, Samuel Porter, Isaac Flagle, William and Ross

Clark, Richard Butts, Garret and West Crawford, John Brown, subsequently

a clerk in the Wheeling postoffice; Joseph Matthews, John Waugh, William

Hickman, a circus man; George Robbins, Abram Boyce, Oliver Jackson,

Joseph Bishop, Thomas McClelland, Elisha Stockwell, Isaac Denny,

subsequently tavern keeper at the old Griffin house in the mountain,

west of Somerfield; John Harris, drove on the Good Intent line, and died

in Uniontown; Charles and Robert Marquis, James Moore, son-in-law of

James Sampey, of Mount Washington; Perry Sheets, drove west of

Washington; Elmer Budd, drove from Uniontown to Brownsville; Frank

Watson, Bate Smith, Sam Jerome, James Downer, son of William, of the big

water trough on Laurel Hill, when a boy a rider for the pony express;

William Stewart, Caleb Crossland, of Uniontown; William Bogardus, who

lost an eye by coming in contact with a pump handle on Morgantown

street, Uniontown, on a dark night; John Robinson, a very large man;

Samuel Youman, mentioned under the head of old wagoners, next to "Old

Mount" the largest man on the road; Thomas Milligan, Joshua Boyd,

Stephen Leonard, David Johnson, James McCauley, Thomas Boyd, Garret

Clark, Henry Miller, Thomas Moore, William Wilkinson, Galloway Crawford,

Samuel Jaco, Robert Wright, Fred. Buckingham, Jacob Rapp, killed at

Brownsville about 1840 by his team running off; John Rush, Samuel

Holsted, Sandy Connor, living as late as 1882, and carrying the mail in

a two-horse vehicle from Frostburg to Grantsville; John Farrell, farming

near Grantsville in 1882 and at that date eighty-five years old; Jacob

Shock, Eph. Benjamin, William Bergoman, Upton Marlow, subsequently

proprietor of the American and other leading hotels in Denver, Colorado;

Archie McVicker, James Cameron, Charles Enox, Robert Amos, James

Finnegan, drove a bob-tailed team from Somerfield to Keyser's Ridge;

Squire Binch, of Brownsville, well remembered by the old folks of that

place; Richard Harris, Joseph and David Strong, the former for many

years a prominent citizen of Cumberland, and frequently honored by

public trusts; Abe Walls, ---- Bonum, called "Magnum Bonum;" James Gray,

Henry Powell, Henry Bergoman, Rock Goodridge, Sherwood Mott, Daniel

Boyer, Robert Dennis, David James, Thomas Grace, John Lidy, drove a dun

team of bob-tails from Farmington to Somerfield, that formerly belonged

to the Pioneer line; Isaac Frazee, James McLean, Thomas and Henry

Mahany, Baptist Mullinix, Amariah Bonner, B. W. Earl, subsequently a

stage agent, and tavern keeper at the Stone house near Fayette Springs,

and at Brownsville; John and Matthias Vanhorn, Daniel Quinn, James

Corbin, William Corman, of Braddee mail robbery fame; Atwood Merrill, a

fiery partisan of the Good Intent line; William Willis, noted as a fast

driver on the Old line. On one occasion Willis passed Peter Burdine, a

fast driver as before stated of the Good Intent line, which prompted the

partisans of the Old line to get up the little rhyme following to

emphasize and signalize the event:

"Said Billy Willis to Peter Burdine,

You had better wait for the Oyster line."

The fares on the stage lines were as follows:

From Baltimore to Frederic $ 2 00

" Frederic to Hagerstown 2 00

" Hagerstown to Cumberland 5 00

" Cumberland to Uniontown 4 00

" Uniontown to Washington 2 25

" Washington to Wheeling 2 00

------

Through fare $17 25

A paper was prepared by the agent of the line at the starting point of

the coach in the nature of a bill of lading, called the "way bill." This

bill was given to the driver, and by him delivered to the landlord at

the station immediately upon the arrival of the coach. It contained the

name and destination of each passenger, and the several sums paid as

fare. It also bore the time of departure from the starting point, and

contained blanks for noting the time of the arrival and departure at

every station. The time was noted by an agent of the line, if one were

at the station, and in the absence of an agent, the noting was done by

the landlord. If a passenger got on at a way station, and this was of

daily occurrence, he paid his fare to the landlord or agent, which was

duly noted on the way bill, together with the passenger's destination.

In addition to the stage lines hereinbefore mentioned, there was a line

known as the "Landlords' Line," put on the road by tavern keepers,

prominent among whom were William Willis (the old driver before

mentioned), Joseph Dilly, and Samuel Luman. There was also a "Pilot

Line" and a "Pioneer Line." These lines had but a short run. The

railroad managers east of Cumberland favored the older lines, and gave

them such advantages in rates that the new lines were compelled to

retire from the competition. They sold out their stock to the old

companies. James Reeside owned the "Pilot Line," and the "Pioneer Line"

was owned by Peters, Moore & Co.

The compensation paid stage drivers was twelve dollars a month, with

boarding and lodging. They took their meals and lodged at the stage

houses, except the married men, who lodged in their own dwellings when

chance threw them at home.

At Uniontown a number of contiguous frame buildings on Mill and South

streets, in the rear of Brownfield's tavern, known as "Hopwood's Row,"

were occupied almost exclusively by the families of stage drivers. They

were erected and owned by the late Rice G. Hopwood, Esquire, and hence

the name given them. Two or three of these old houses are all that are

left standing, and they are in a dilapidated condition. The spirit of

improvement which in late years entered Uniontown, seems to have

carefully avoided the neighborhood of "Hopwood's Row."

The Good Intent and Stockton lines were taken from the National Road in

1851, and placed on the plank road from Cumberland to West Newton. From

the latter point passengers were conveyed by steamboat to Pittsburg by

way of the Youghiogheny river, which was made navigable at that date by

a system of locks and dams like that of the Monongahela. Upon the

withdrawal of the lines mentioned, a line was put on the National Road

by Redding Bunting and Joshua Marshe, and ran as far west as Washington,

Pennsylvania. William Hall subsequently purchased the interest of Mr.

Marshe in this line, which was kept on the road until about the close of

the year 1852, when the era of four-horse coaches ended.

[Illustration: JOHN McILREE.]

Mr. Endsley, before quoted, furnishes his juvenile opinion of stages and

stage drivers, which was shared in by all the boys of the road, as

follows:

"My earliest recollections are intimately associated with coaches, teams

and drivers, and like most boys raised in an old stage tavern, I

longed to be a man when I could aspire to the greatness and dignity of a

professional stage driver. In my boyish eyes no position in life had so

many attractions as that of driving a stage team. A Judge, a

Congressman, even Henry Clay or President Jackson, did not measure up to

the character of John Mills and Charley Howell, in my juvenile fancy."

The picture of the stage coach era herein drawn may be lacking in vigor

and perspicuity of style, but it contains no exaggeration. Much more

could be written concerning it, and the story would still be incomplete.

It is sad to think that nearly all the old drivers, so full of life and

hope and promise when pursuing their favorite calling on the nation's

great highway, have answered the summons that awaits the whole human

family, and of the vast multitude that witnessed and admired the dashing

exploits of the old drivers, but few remain to relate the story. When

the old pike was superseded by the railroad, many of the stage drivers

went west and continued their calling on stage lines occupying ground in

advance of the approaching railway. Others lingered on the confines of

the familiar road, and fell into various pursuits of common life. Of

these, some achieved success. As drivers they had opportunity for making

acquaintances and friends. Hanson Willison was eminently successful as a

local politician, and achieved the distinction of being twice elected

sheriff of Alleghany county, Maryland.

CHAPTER XXV.

_Distinguished Stage Proprietors, Lucius W. Stockton, James Reeside,

Dr. Howard Kennedy, William H. Stelle--Old Stage Agents, Charley

Rettig, John Risley, William Biddle, James Coudy, Redding Bunting,

Edward Lane, Theodore Granger, Charles Danforth, Jacob Beck, Daniel

Brown, "Billy" Scott, "Lem" Cross, and B. W. Earl--The Pony

Express._

The most conspicuous of all the old stage proprietors of the National

Road was Lucius Witham Stockton. James Reeside was probably an older

stage man, and may have owned and operated more stage lines; but Mr.

Stockton was longer and more prominently identified with the business on

the National Road. He was born at Flemington, New Jersey, September 1,

1799. He was a son of Lucius Stockton, and a grandson of the Rev. Philip

Stockton, known in his day and among his countrymen as "The

Revolutionary Preacher," who was a brother of Richard Stockton, a signer

of the Declaration of Independence from the colony of New Jersey. L. W.

Stockton appeared in Uniontown as a stage proprietor previous to the

year 1824, the exact date not ascertainable. He was twice married. His

first marriage occurred on November 24, 1824, and at that date he was a

resident of Uniontown, and had been previous thereto. His first wife was

Rebecca Moore, a daughter of Daniel Moore, an old stage proprietor who

lived in Washington, Pennsylvania. By his first marriage he had six

children, viz: Richard C., Daniel Moore, Elizabeth C., Lucius Witham,

Margaret, and Rebecca. Richard, Daniel, and Elizabeth, by the first

marriage, are dead; the last named died in infancy. Lucius Witham is

living in Philadelphia. He married Ellen, the youngest daughter of Dr.

John Wishart, an old and distinguished physician of Washington,

Pennsylvania, grandfather on the maternal line of Hon. Ernest F.

Acheson, late Republican nominee for Congress in the Twenty-fourth

district of Pennsylvania. Margaret Stockton became the wife of Dr.

Thomas McKennan, a leading physician at this time of Washington,

Pennsylvania, and a member of the old and distinguished McKennan family

of that place. Rebecca Stockton became the wife of Capt. Alexander

Wishart, and is living in Newark, New Jersey, where her husband is

executive officer of the Law and Order League. Captain Wishart was a

gallant soldier of the Union army in the war between the States.

[Illustration: L. W. STOCKTON.]

Mr. Stockton's second wife was Katharine Stockton, his first cousin. She

is still living, making her home with her son-in-law, Gen. Leiper, of

Philadelphia. By his second marriage Mr. Stockton had four children, as

follows: Katharine, Richard C., Elias Boudinot and Henrietta Maria. Of

these all are dead but Henrietta Maria. She is the wife of Gen. Leiper,

with whom her mother lives, as before stated, in Philadelphia.

It is related as an incident in the early career of Mr. Stockton that he

had a race with a horse and buggy against a locomotive, between the

Relay House and Baltimore, in which he came out ahead. The horse he

drove on that occasion was a favorite gray. He had a pair of "Winflower"

mares, which he drove frequently from Uniontown to Wheeling between

breakfast and tea time, tarrying two or three hours at mid-day in

Washington. At the watering places he ordered a little whisky to be

added to the water given these spirited and fleet animals, and they

became so accustomed to it that, it is said, they refused to drink

unless the water contained the stimulating element. He would also drive

from Uniontown to Cumberland in a day, stopping at the stations to

transact business, and from Cumberland to Hagerstown, sixty-six miles,

was an ordinary day's drive for him. His private carriage was a long

open vehicle which he called "The Flying Dutchman." Hanson Willison, who

has a vivid recollection of Mr. Stockton and his lively trips over the

road, says that the names of his sorrel mares (the "Winflowers") were

"Bet" and "Sal," and that they once ran off. On that occasion Mr.

Stockton was accompanied by his wife and a sister. Miss Stockton was

much alarmed, and pulling the coat-tail of her brother cried out

piteously, "Hold on, brother William, hold on, or we'll all be killed!"

But Mr. Stockton heeded not the cries of his sister, and having no fear

of horses, soon regained control of the runaways without sustaining loss

or injury.

Mr. Stockton died at Uniontown on April 25th, 1844, at "Ben Lomond," the

name he gave his residence, now the property of the widow and heirs of

the late Judge Gilmore. A few years ago the remains of Mr. Stockton were

removed from the old Methodist burying ground in Uniontown, under

direction of his loving daughters, Mrs. Wishart and Mrs. Dr. McKennan,

and deposited in the beautiful cemetery at Washington, Pa.

Mr. Stockton was of Episcopalian lineage, and active in establishing the

services of the church in Uniontown. He brought out Bishop Stone, of

Maryland, to baptize his daughter Rebecca, now Mrs. Wishart. He was a

vestryman, and besides contributing liberally in money to support the

church, donated to the parish of Uniontown the lot on which the new

stone edifice of St. Peter's now stands.

James Reeside, the second son of Edward Reeside and his wife, Janet

Alexander, was born near Paisley, Renfrew, Scotland, and was brought,

when an infant, to Baltimore county, Md., in 1789, where he was raised.

His parents being in humble circumstances, toil was his first estate.

Poor in book learning and in earthly goods, he possessed genius, energy,

executive ability, and an ambition that fitted him to be a leader of

men. Before the war of 1812 he was a wagoner, hauling merchandise from

Baltimore and Philadelphia to Pittsburg and west to Zanesville and

Columbus, Ohio. His promptness and sagacity soon enabled him to own his

own teams, which were employed in hauling artillery to Canada.

Commissioned a forage master under Gen. Winfield Scott, at Lundy's Lane,

his Scottish blood prompted him to seize a musket, as a volunteer, from

which hard fought battle he carried honorable scars. On his return he

settled at Hagerstown, Md., where, in 1816, he married Mary, the

daughter of John Weis, a soldier of the Revolutionary war. Abandoning

wagoning, he ran a stage line, in 1816 to 1818, from Hagerstown _via_

Greencastle and Mercersburg to McConnellstown, there connecting with the

stage line then in operation from Chambersburg to Pittsburg by Bedford,

Somerset, and Mt. Pleasant. In 1818, in connection with Stockton &

Stokes, of Baltimore; Joseph Boyd, of Hagerstown; Kincaid, Beck & Evans,

of Uniontown; George Dawson, of Brownsville; Stephen Hill, of Hillsboro;

and Simms & Pemberton, of Wheeling, he put on the first regular stage

line, carrying the mail, between Baltimore and Wheeling, before the

construction of the turnpikes between Hagerstown and Cumberland. This

division of the route being from Hancock to Frostburg, he removed to

Cumberland, where, in conjunction with his stage line, he kept the

"McKinley Tavern," at the corner of Baltimore and Mechanics streets,

afterward kept by Jacob Fechtig, James Stoddard, John Edwards, and

others, and now known as the "Elberon." In 1820 he quit tavern keeping,

and confined himself to mail contracting and the stage business. In 1827

John McLean, Postmaster General, afterward one of the Justices of the

Supreme Court of the United States, prevailed on him to take the mail

contract between Philadelphia and New York, and he moved from Cumberland

to Philadelphia. In the first year he reduced the time for transporting

the mail between the two cities from twenty-three to sixteen hours, and

soon thereafter to twelve hours. He soon became the owner of most of the

lines running out of Philadelphia and New York, and the largest mail

contractor in the United States. He employed in this service more than

one thousand horses and four hundred men. The wagoner soon became the

"Land Admiral," a title given him by the press in recognition of his

energy and ability.

[Illustration: JAMES REESIDE.]

The Postoffice Department at that time having to rely on its own

resources, and under Major W. T. Barry, then Postmaster-General, the

service had so increased in thinly settled sections it became deeply in

debt. Mr. Reeside raised, on his personal responsibility, large sums of

money to relieve it. His efforts were appreciated, and he was the

esteemed friend of Andrew Jackson, Henry Clay, and other distinguished

men, without regard to politics, although he was a pronounced Democrat.

Of massive frame, six feet five inches in height, yet spare in flesh,

clear cut features, sparkling, clear blue-gray eyes, fair complexion,

with dark, sandy, curly hair, he was a true Highlander in appearance,

genial in disposition, with quick and ready wit. Fond of song and

story, kind, yet strict, with all in his employment, and generous to a

fault, no words can more appropriately describe him than those of his

favorite poet and countryman, Robert Burns:

"For thus the royal mandate ran,

When first the human race began,

The social, friendly, honest man

Where'er he be,

'Tis he fulfills great nature's plan,

An' none but he."

Controversies arising between Amos Kendall, the successor of Barry, and

all the old mail contractors, their pay was suspended upon frivolous

grounds, compelling them to bring suits, among the most celebrated of

which were those of Reeside and Stockton & Stokes. The latter's case was

referred to Virgil Maxy, who found in their favor about $140,000. Mr.

Reeside's claim was tried before Justice Baldwin and a jury in 1841, and

resulted in a verdict for plaintiff of $196,496.06, which, after

seventeen years, was paid, with interest. As soon as his contracts under

Kendall expired he quit the mail service, after putting the Philadelphia

and New York mail on the Camden & Amboy railroad during the residue of

his contract term.

In 1836 he bought the interest of John W. Weaver between Cumberland and

Wheeling, then a tri-weekly line; increased it to a daily, then twice

daily, and added another tri-weekly line, and named the lines "Good

Intent," which was the name he had previously given the fast mail line

between Philadelphia and Pittsburg. In 1839 he sold his entire interest

in the National Road lines, and gave his attention to his suit against

the United States. His health being impaired, he spent the winter of

1842 in New Orleans. Returning in the ensuing spring, without benefit to

his health, he died in Philadelphia on the 3d of September, 1842.

Mr. Reeside attracted attention by reason of the peculiar garb he

appeared in. In the winter season he always wore a long drab overcoat

and a fur cap. Once in passing along a street in Philadelphia in company

with Col. Richard M. Johnson, of Kentucky, Vice-President of the United

States, some scarlet cloth was observed in a tailor's window, which

prompted Col. Johnson to say: "Reeside, as your coaches are all red, you

ought to wear a red vest." Mr. Reeside replied: "I will get one if you

will." "Agreed," said Johnson, and straightway both ordered red vests

and red neckties, and from that time as long as they lived continued to

wear vests and neckties of scarlet colors. James Reeside aided in an

early day to develop the mighty resources of our country, with such

agencies as were then available, and his name and good work deserve to

be perpetuated in history.

Dr. Howard Kennedy, an owner of stock in the National Road Stage

Company, and for a brief period a trustee of the road under the

provisions of a Pennsylvania law, enacted in 1848, repealed in 1856, was

born in Washington county, Maryland, September 15th, 1809. His father

was the Hon. Thomas Kennedy, an illustrious citizen, who figured

conspicuously in the history of Maryland in the olden time. Dr. Kennedy

was a graduate of the Medical University of Baltimore, and a thoroughly

educated physician, but the practice of medicine not proving congenial

to his tastes, he soon abandoned it and embarked in other pursuits.

About the year 1840, or a little before that time, he was appointed a

special, confidential agent of the general postoffice department, in

which relation he achieved distinction by detecting numerous mail

robberies, and bringing the perpetrators before the courts for trial and

punishment. It was through the vigilance of Dr. Kennedy that the mail

robberies of the Haldeman brothers, Pete and Abe, and Pate Sides, at

Negro Mountain, were discovered, and the offenders apprehended and

punished.

The Haldemans and Sides were stage drivers, and their calling through

the dismal shades of death and other dark regions in the mountains with

big, tempting, mail bags in their charge, no doubt turned their minds to

what they considered a speedy, if not altogether a safe method of

getting money. Whispers of suspicion growing out of the vigilance of Dr.

Kennedy in pushing his investigations, reached the ears of the suspected

ones, and they fled to Canada, but not to be thwarted in his purposes,

Dr. Kennedy pursued them thither, had them arrested and brought back to

Baltimore for trial. Abe Haldeman was acquitted, but Pete and Pate Sides

were convicted and sent to the penitentiary. Dr. Kennedy was also the

prime mover in bringing to light the noted mail robberies of Dr. John F.

Braddee, of Uniontown, as will be seen by the following affidavits:

_Pennsylvania, Fayette County, ss._:

The testimony of Dr. Howard Kennedy taken before N. Ewing,

president judge of the 14th Judicial district of Pennsylvania, the

8th day of January, 1841, in reference to the amount of bail to be

required of John F. Braddee, Peter Mills Strayer and William

Purnell. The said Dr. Howard Kennedy being first by me duly sworn

according to law, deposeth and saith: "There will be difficulty in

ascertaining the amount of money stolen from the mails. There have

been six mail pouches or bags stolen, which would average twenty to

thirty thousand dollars each. The whole would, I am satisfied,

amount to one hundred thousand dollars. I saw the money alleged to

have been found in the stable of John F. Braddee. The amount thus

found was $10,098.60. The amount of cash stolen is probably about

$50,000.

"HOWARD KENNEDY."

Taken and subscribed before me, January 8th, 1841.

N. EWING,

P. Judge, 14th Judicial District.

[Illustration: WILLIAM H. STELLE.]

PITTSBURG, January 25, 1841.

"Howard Kennedy, special agent of the postoffice department, in

addition to the testimony given by him before his Honor, Judge

Ewing, further deposes that since that time he has received reports

from various persons and places in the West of letters mailed at

dates which would have, by due course of mail, been in the bags

stolen, containing bank notes, scrip, certificates, drafts, and

checks, amounting to $102,000 and upwards; that every mail brings

him additional reports of losses, and that he believes the amounts

reported will not constitute more than one-half of what has been

lost in the mails between the 16th of November and the 18th of

December, 1840, on the route from Wheeling to New York.

"HOWARD KENNEDY.

"Special Agent Postoffice Department."

Sworn and subscribed before me the 25th day of January, 1841.

T. IRWIN, District Judge.

As before stated, Dr. Kennedy was one of the owners of the line of

coaches known as the National Road Stage Company. This was popularly

known as the Stockton line, called "the old line," because it was the

oldest on the road. Dr. Kennedy managed all the business of this line

relating to the transportation of the mails. He was also one of the

original members of the Western Express Company, doing business between

Cumberland and Wheeling and Pittsburg _via_ the Monongahela river. L. W.

Stockton dying in the spring of 1844, in the fall of that year Dr.

Kennedy brought his family from Hagerstown, Maryland, to Uniontown, and

established his residence in the old Stockton mansion, called "Ben

Lomond," now the home of Mrs. Judge Gilmore. Here Dr. Kennedy resided

until the year 1851, when he returned to Hagerstown, where he died on

the 12th of June, 1855. He was of medium height and delicate form, of

pleasant address, and a gentleman by birth, education, association and

aspiration; in religion an Episcopalian, and in politics a Democrat. His

widow, a sister of the late Alfred Howell, of Uniontown, survives him.

She is enjoying the sunset of a gentle life in Hagerstown, the central

figure of a remnant of that polite and refined society which in the

palmy days of the National Road distinguished all the old towns along

its line.

William H. Stelle was born in New Jersey, and it will be noted that many

of the stage owners, agents, and drivers came out from that State. Two

of Mr. Stelle's partners in the stage business, John A. Wirt and Mr.

Hutchinson, were likewise Jersey men. It is related that Mr. Stelle and

Mr. Acheson were both desirous of selling their interests in the stage

lines, the former being an owner in the Good Intent, and the latter in

the Stockton line. Mr. Stelle one day approached Mr. Acheson in

Wheeling, and told him he would give him five hundred dollars, if he

would sell or buy at a price to be mutually named. Mr. Acheson named a

price which he would give or take, and Mr. Stelle elected to sell, and

promptly paid Mr. Acheson five hundred dollars for acceding to his

proposition. Mr. Stelle located in Wheeling about the year 1841, and

died at Elm Grove, Ohio county, West Virginia, on the 26th of September,

1854, aged about fifty years. He left a son, William H., and a daughter,

Mrs. Susan R. Hamilton, both living in Wheeling.

Agents of the stage lines possessed functions somewhat, but not

altogether, like those of railroad conductors. Some agents passed

constantly over the road, paying bills, providing horses and equipage,

and giving general direction to the running of the lines. Others were

stationary, attending to local business. These agents were prominent

characters of the road, and popularly esteemed as men of high position.

One of the earliest agents was Charles Rettig, who subsequently kept the

tavern two and one-half miles east of Washington, and referred to in a

chapter on taverns and tavern keepers. John Risly, of Frederic, Md., and

William Biddle and James Coudy, of Hancock, were old agents of lines

east of Cumberland. Redding Bunting, Edward Lane, Theodore Granger and

Charles Danforth were agents of the Old line west of Cumberland, with

authority extending to Wheeling. Bunting also kept the National House in

Uniontown, and Lane kept the National House in Washington, which were

headquarters at those points respectively for their line. Charles

Danforth was a leading local agent of the Stockton line at Uniontown. He

was a large, fine looking man, with florid complexion, heavy black

whiskers, and possessed of popular manners. He was a native of New York

State, and died at Bedford, Pa., in 1853. His remains were brought to

Uniontown, and interred in the old Methodist cemetery, near Beeson's old

mill. His widow is living in Chicago. Edward Lane was a man of average

size, of reddish complexion, energetic in motion, and affable in manner.

His tavern in Washington, Pa., was one of the best eating houses on the

road. Granger was a large, dark complexioned man, not well liked by the

people, but a favorite of Mr. Stockton. After the stage lines were taken

from the road, Granger went to Cincinnati, procured employment at a

livery stable, and died in that city in indigent circumstances. Jacob

Beck was an agent for Weaver's line, which was on the road a short time,

and went with that line to Ohio and Kentucky. He returned from the West,

and was a bar-keeper for John N. Dagg, of Washington, Pa., and

subsequently, as elsewhere stated, kept tavern at Rony's Point, Va., and

died there. He was an old stage driver, a good one, and esteemed as an

honest man. Daniel Brown, mentioned among the old tavern keepers, was an

agent of the Good Intent line, and a very competent one. He was a native

of New Jersey, and his sad ending has been alluded to in another

chapter. William Scott, familiarly called "Billy," was a well-known

agent of the Good Intent line. He had been a driver, and was promoted to

an agency on account of his competency and fidelity. He was a master of

his business, a man of small stature, dark hair and complexion, and a

little given to brusqueness of manner, but on the whole rather a popular

agent. He remained an agent of the Good Intent line until business

ceased on the road, when he went to Iowa, and became an agent of a stage

line in that State. From Iowa he went to Texas, and died at Jefferson in

that State. It is said that he was descended from a good family on both

sides, who were wealthy, and that he engaged in stage driving from

choice, rather than necessity, and his friends were disappointed in his

career. Lemuel Cross was an agent of the Old line. He also kept tavern

at Piny Grove, as elsewhere stated, and is well remembered. His

jurisdiction as agent was mainly on the mountain division of the road,

and he thoroughly understood his business, and was familiar with all the

haunts, hills, and hollows of the mountains. B. W. Earl was likewise an

agent for a while of the Good Intent line. He commenced a driver, was

advanced to an agency, and ended a tavern keeper. John Foster, Andrew

Cable, William F. Cowdery, Levi Rose and William Terry were agents at

Wheeling. The latter had charge in part of Neil, Moore & Company's line

in Ohio.

THE PONY EXPRESS.

In the year 1835 or 6, Amos Kendall, being Postmaster-General, placed on

the road a line of couriers, called the "Pony Express." It was intended

to carry light mails with more speed than the general mail was carried

by the coaches. The Pony Express was a single horse and a boy rider,

with a leather mail pouch thrown over the horse's back, something after

the style of the old-fashioned saddlebags. The route for each horse

covered a distance of about six miles on the average. The horse was put

to his utmost speed, and the rider carried a tin horn which was

vigorously blown when approaching a station. William Moore, Thomas

Wooley, subsequently stage drivers, William Meredith, Frank Holly and

James Neese were among the riders on the Pony Express east of

Cumberland, and Sandy Conner, Pate Sides and Thomas A. Wiley, all three

afterward stage drivers, and William Conn rode west of Cumberland. Wiley

rode from Uniontown to Washington, Pennsylvania, and also between

Washington and Wheeling. He went with the log cabin boys from Uniontown

to Baltimore in 1840 as a driver of one of the stage teams employed on

that occasion. He is still living, an employe of the Baltimore & Ohio

Railroad Company at Camden Station, Baltimore, in the service of which

he has been employed since 1852. He was an attendant at the bedside of

L. W. Stockton during that gentleman's last illness. Calvin Morris, a

son of William Morris, the old tavern keeper on the hill west of Monroe,

and William Downer, a son of the old gentleman who lived at and

maintained the big water trough on Laurel Hill, were also riders on the

Pony Express. William Morris was one of the contractors for carrying

this fast mail, and his house was one of the relays of the line. The

relay next west was the old toll house near Searights. Luther Morris, a

brother of Calvin, the Pony Express rider, went to Iowa previous to the

civil war, and was elected State Treasurer on two or three occasions.

John Gilfillan, now, or recently, of Parkersburg, West Virginia, was a

rider on the Pony Express between West Alexander and Wheeling. Bryant

and Craven, of West Alexander, were among the contractors of the Pony

Express line. "The Pony Express" did not remain long on the road, but

when it was on, old pike boys say "it kicked up a dust."

CHAPTER XXVI.

_Old Taverns and Tavern Keepers from Baltimore to Boonsboro--Pen

Picture of an Old Tavern by James G. Blaine--The Maypole--The Hand

in Hand--Earlocker's--Pine Orchard--The Brown Stand--Levi Chambers,

the Nullifier--Old Whalen's Sunfish, Bob Fowler's Goose and

Warfield's Ham--Poplar Springs--Allen Dorsie, Van McPherson, The

Widow Dean, Getzendanner's, Peter Hagan, Riddlemoser and the

McGruder House, Peter Zettle, Emanuel Harr._

"CALDWELL'S TAVERN: We did not use the high sounding _hotel_, but

the good old Anglo-Saxon _tavern_, with its wide open fire in the

cheerful bar room, and the bountiful spread in the dining room, and

the long porch for summer loafers, and the immense stabling with

its wealth of horse-flesh, and the great open yard for the road

wagons. How real and vivid it all seems to me this moment! All the

reminiscences of the old pike, for which you are an enthusiast, are

heartily shared by me."--JAMES G. BLAINE.

Caldwell's tavern, mentioned by Mr. Blaine, is seven miles west of

Washington, Pennsylvania, and will be referred to hereafter in its

proper place. Mr. Blaine's description is appropriate to nearly all the

old taverns of the road.

The outward appearance of an old tavern of the National Road was no

index to the quality of the entertainment it afforded. Many of the least

pretentious houses furnished the best meals, and paid the most agreeable

attention to guests and patrons. It was not unusual to see the wagon

yard attached to a small wooden and apparently decaying tavern crowded

with teams and wagons, while the inviting grounds of the imposing brick

tavern near by were without an occupant.

The May Pole tavern in Baltimore was a favorite stopping place for old

wagoners. It is located on the southwest corner of Paca and German

streets, and still standing, an object of much interest to the old

people of the road. In front of it stands a tall, slim, granite column,

representative of a pole, and preservative of the ancient name. The May

Pole was kept in 1833 by Henry Clark, and in 1836 by James Adams, who

remained in charge until his death. His successor was Isaac Willison, a

Virginian, and before assuming control of the May Pole, an agent of the

Baltimore & Ohio Railroad company, at Frederic City. George Elliott,

subsequently manager for Mrs. Adams, at the Mountain City house in

Cumberland, was at one time a clerk in the May Pole tavern.

The "Hand in Hand" tavern on Paca, between Lexington and Saratoga

streets, and the "White Swan" on Howard street, were likewise old wagon

stands in Baltimore, well patronized in the early days of the National

Road. Thomas Elliott also kept a wagon stand in Baltimore, and enjoyed a

fair share of patronage. He was the father of George Elliott, above

mentioned. The May Pole, however, was the favorite tavern of the old

wagoners of the National Road. The "Three Ton" and "Gen. Wayne" taverns

had each extensive stabling, and furnished accommodations for droves and

drovers. The National Road entered the city of Baltimore by way of West

Baltimore street.

The first wagon stand west of Baltimore, fifty years ago, was kept by a

man whose name was Hawes. It was seven miles from the city, and wagoners

often left it in the morning, drove to Baltimore, unloaded, reloaded,

and returned to it in the evening of the same day, and the next morning

proceeded on the long journey to their western destination. The Hawes

tavern ceased to do business after 1840.

At Ellicott's Mills, ten miles west of Baltimore, there was no wagon

stand, but stage houses were located there, where stage teams were kept

and exchanged.

One mile west of Ellicott's, Frank Earlocker kept a wagon stand, that

was largely patronized. He was rather of an economical turn of mind, and

old wagoners were wont to say of him that he concealed the whisky bottle

behind the counter, against the custom of the road, which was to expose

it to full view; and it is said that the miserly Earlocker lost more

than he gained by his habit, since it induced wagoners to inquire for a

drink, more to worry the landlord than to appease the appetite.

A short distance west of Earlocker's is "Pine Orchard," where a tavern

was kept by one Goslin. He was a goslin only in name. Otherwise, he was

a square man, and knew how to treat strangers and travelers, especially

wagoners, who largely favored him with their patronage. His house was a

brick structure, and stood on the north side of the road, and for aught

known to the contrary, is still standing, a monument commemorative of

the many good old taverns which studded the road in the days of its

glory.

James Dehoff kept a tavern at Pine Orchard as early as 1835. His house

was a wagoners' resort, and stood on the south side of the road.

An old tavern, known as the "Brown Stand," four miles west of "Pine

Orchard," was a popular stopping place for wagoners in its day. In 1838

Levi Chambers took charge of this house, and continued to conduct it

until 1842. He was called "Nullifier" Chambers, because of his adherence

to the nullification doctrine, announced and advocated by John C.

Calhoun. He, however, knew how to keep a tavern, and was a sober and

intelligent man. On the first of January, 1841, John Crampton and

William Orr, old wagoners before mentioned, drove out from Baltimore

with full loads, and put up at the "Brown Stand." During the night a box

of silk goods was stolen from Orr's wagon. The loss was discovered early

in the morning, and Orr and Chambers each mounted a horse and pushed out

in the direction of Baltimore, in search of the stolen goods and the

thief. There was a light snow on the road, and tracks were visible,

indicative of rapid steps toward the east. Reaching Baltimore, Messrs.

Orr and Chambers entered the bar room of the May Pole tavern, in which a

number of persons were drinking, and among them one, who, from his

actions, was suspected as the thief. He was arrested, tried, convicted,

and sent to the penitentiary.

Four miles west of the "Nullifier's," John Whalen kept a wagon stand,

and one of the best on the road. Old wagoners entertain pleasant

recollections of John Whalen, and delight in recounting the good cheer

that abounded and abided in his old tavern. He kept the tavern at this

point up to the year 1842.

One Warfield kept a tavern a short distance west of Whalen's as early as

1835, and had a good wagon custom. Old wagoners had a rough distich on

this section of the road, running something like this:

"Old Wheeler's sunfish,

Bob Fowler's roast goose,

Warfield's ham,

Ain't that jam!"

New Lisbon was an aspiring village, twenty-six miles west of Baltimore,

and the first point of note west of Whalen's. Stages stopped and teams

were changed at New Lisbon, but it had no wagon stand.

At Poplar Springs, one mile west of New Lisbon, there was a wagon stand

kept by Allen Dorsie. Near the old tavern is a large, gushing spring, in

the midst of tall poplar trees, and hence the name "Poplar Springs."

Such was the situation at this point fifty years ago, but alas, fifty

years is a long time, and the "Poplar Springs" may present a different

appearance now. Allen Dorsie, the old proprietor of the tavern here, was

likewise and for many years superintendent of the Maryland division of

the road. He was a very large man, six feet in height, and rounded out

in proportion. He was besides a man of admitted integrity and good

intellect. He ceased keeping tavern at Poplar Springs in 1842.

Seven miles west of Poplar Springs Van McPherson kept a tavern, which

did an extensive business. The proprietor was half Dutch and half Irish,

as his name imports, and he had the faculty of pleasing everybody. His

house was a brick structure on the north side of the road, and is

probably still standing. Van McPherson kept this house from 1836 to

1842, and made money in it.

New Market is a village west of McPherson's old tavern, and in Frederic

county, Maryland. Here the stages stopped and changed teams, and an old

wagon stand was kept by one Shell. It is said of Shell that his name

differed from his table, in that the latter contained no shells, but the

best of savory viands.

Three miles west of New Market, Frank Wharton kept a tavern, and a good

one. He was rough in manner, and could swear longer and louder than

Wilse Clement, but he kept his house in good shape and did an extensive

business.

One mile west of Wharton's the widow Dean kept a tavern. Her house was a

brick structure on the south side of the road, and she owned it and the

ground whereon it stood, in fee simple. She was largely patronized by

wagoners.

Next after passing Mrs. Deans old stand, the city of Frederic is

reached, which fifty years ago was the largest town on the road between

Wheeling and Baltimore. James Dehoof and John Lambert kept old wagon

stands in Frederic City. Lambert died about 1840, and was succeeded by

John Miller, who kept the house down to the year 1853.

Four miles west of Frederic City the old wagoners encountered Cotockton

mountain, and here was a fine old tavern kept by Getzendanner, a German.

His house was a stone building, on the south side of the road,

presumably standing to this day. Getzendanner, true to his native

traits, was the owner of the property. Old wagoners unite in saying that

the old German kept a good house, barring a little too much garlic in

his sausages.

Peter Hagan played the part of host at an old tavern, one mile west of

Getzendanner's. His house was a log building, and stood on the south

side of the road. As before stated, the outward appearance of an old

tavern on the National Road was no index to affairs within; and though

Peter Hagan's house was small and made with logs, the cheer within was

exhilarating. His meals were simple and but little varied, yet so

manipulated in the kitchen, and spread upon the table so tastefully, and

withal so clean, that they were tempting even to an epicure. Peter

Hagan's patrons were for the most part wagoners, and the old wagoners of

the National Road knew what good living was, and "put up" only where the

fare was inviting. Peter Hagan was an uncle of Robert Hagan, a local

politician of South Union township, Fayette county, Pennsylvania.

Proceeding westward from Hagan's old tavern, the next point is the

village of Middletown, which hoped to become a city, and might have

succeeded, had not the steam railway eclipsed the glory of the old pike.

At Middletown the stages had relays of horses. One of the stage houses

at this point was kept by ---- Titlow, a relative of F. B. Titlow, of

Uniontown. Here also there was a wagon stand, kept by Samuel

Riddlemoser. This was in 1840. In the spring of 1841 Riddlemoser moved

to the Widow McGruder house, one mile west of Middletown. The McGruder

house was well conducted, and enjoyed a large patronage.

South Mountain comes next, and here a tavern was kept by one Miller. It

was a wagon stand, a stone building, on the north side of the road. The

battle of South Mountain was fought here, but the roar of the cannon

failed to awaken the departed glories of the old Miller tavern.

One mile west of South Mountain, Petter Zettle, a German, kept a tavern.

It was a wagon stand, and a popular one. The house was of brick, and

stood on the south side of the road. The old landlord was accustomed to

join in the merry-making of the old wagoners, and as the jokes went

around in the old bar room, the German spice was plainly discernible as

well as agreeable, in unison with the familiar notes of the native pike

boys.

One mile west of Zettle's, Robert Fowler kept a wagon stand. Fowler quit

in 1839, and was succeeded by Emanuel Harr, who conducted the house for

many years. Joe Garver, a noted blacksmith, had a shop at this point.

Garver, it is said, could cut and replace as many as a dozen wagon tires

in a single night. It was not an uncommon thing for the old blacksmiths

of the road to work all night at shoeing horses and repairing wagons.

CHAPTER XXVII.

_Old Taverns and Tavern Keepers continued--Boonsboro to

Cumberland--Funkstown, Antietam, Hagerstown, Dirty Spigot, Shady

Bower, Clear Spring, North Mountain, Indian Spring, Hancock--The

House of Nicodemus--Accident on Sideling Hill, the Longest Hill on

the Road--Snib Hollow--Town Hill--Green Ridge--Pratt's Hollow--A

Fugitive Slave--Polish Mountain--Flintstone--Martin's Mountain._

"It stands all alone like a goblin in gray,

The old-fashioned inn of a pioneer day,

In a land so forlorn and forgotten, it seems

Like a wraith of the past rising into our dreams;

Its glories have vanished, and only the ghost

Of a sign-board now creaks on its desolate post,

Recalling a time when all hearts were akin

As they rested at night in that welcoming inn."

JAMES NEWTON MATTHEWS.

Boonsboro is a small town at the foot of South Mountain in Maryland, and

in the palmy days of the National Road was a lively village. Old

wagoners and stage drivers spread its fame, but railroad conductors are

silent as to its memory. The Slifer Brothers kept tavern in Boonsboro in

the olden time. Their house was not a wagon stand. One of the Slifer

brothers, as before stated, claimed to be the inventor of the "rubber,"

brake, as it is commonly called. At the west end of Boonsboro the widow

Galwix kept a wagon stand and did a large business. She was the widow of

John Galwix, hereinbefore mentioned as a fancy wagoner. Robert Fowler

kept a tavern in Boonsboro as early as 1835 and a wagon stand on the

north side of the road.

Three and a half miles west of Boonsboro Henry and Jacob Fosnock,

Germans, kept a wagon stand, which was well patronized. The property was

owned by the Fosnocks, and they made money with their tavern. They were

bachelors, but had an unmarried sister, Susan, who acted in the capacity

of hostess. She subsequently became the wife of the old wagoner, Joseph

Crampton. The Fosnocks were at the point mentioned as late as 1842.

Funkstown appears next in sight. Funkstown, another old village

identified with the by-gone glories of the old pike. The name of this

village brings to mind the once familiar form of John Funk, an old

wagoner. John lived at or near Funkstown, and his family may have given

the name to the village. Funkstown is located on Little Antietam creek,

about seventy miles west of Baltimore. Fifty years ago there was a

paper mill and a grist mill at Funkstown, and they may be there yet, and

others in addition. At the east end of Funkstown, Joseph Watts kept a

wagon stand, and competed for the custom of the wagoners with William

Ashton, who kept a similar tavern at the west end of the town. Each did

a good business. Ashton will be remembered as the athletic wagoner, who

leaped over the top of a road wagon at Petersburg. He knew the wants of

wagoners and served them well at his old tavern. He was the owner of two

fine six-horse teams, and kept them constantly on the road.

After Funkstown, come the classic shades and handsome streets of

Hagerstown. Hagerstown was always a prominent point on the road. It

ranked with Wheeling, Washington, Brownsville, Uniontown, Cumberland,

and Frederic. Hagerstown was a station for the stage lines. It outlived

the road, and flourishes as one of the best towns of Maryland. The only

old wagon stand in Hagerstown was that of John B. Wrench. But Hagerstown

was rather too stylish a place for old wagoners, and Wrench gave up his

house there in 1842, and removed to Piney Grove, where he found a more

congenial atmosphere. He subsequently kept one of the old taverns at

Grantsville, from which point he emigrated to Iowa, and died there.

Four and a half miles west of Hagerstown, an old wagon stand was kept by

David Newcomer. It was a stone house, on the north side of the road.

Newcomer furnished good entertainment, and was well favored with

customers, mostly wagoners. He was a Quaker, and a money maker. He dealt

in horses, in addition to tavern keeping. When offering a horse for

sale, his wife was accustomed to say in the hearing of the person

proposing to buy: "Now, David, thee must not sell that favorite horse."

This, old wagoners say, was a "set-up job" between David and his spouse

to gain a good price. Newcomer was the owner of the property, and as the

house was of stone, is probably standing yet; but the ring of the old

pike has gone from it long since.

Three miles westward from Newcomer's was the imposing and

well-remembered tavern kept by John Miller. It was of brick, a large and

commodious building, situate on the north side of the road. Miller owned

the property, and it may be in the possession of his descendants to this

day. There were large rooms in this house, adapted to dancing purposes,

and young men and maidens of the vicinity frequently tripped to the

notes of the old time music in its spacious halls. The waltz was

unknown, and the figures varied from the "hoe down" to the cotillion,

closing always with the "Virginia Reel." The old wagoners were

invariably invited to participate in these festivities, and engaged in

them with a gusto not excelled by the lads and lasses of the surrounding

neighborhood. Alfred Bailes, the old pike boy of Dunbar, drove a line

team from John S. Miller's to the Nicodemus House, two miles west of

Hancock, as early as the year 1836, and is probably the only survivor of

the young folks who participated in the gayeties of Miller's old

tavern.

One mile west of Miller's is "Shady Bower." There a tavern was kept by

Conrod Wolsey. His house was well favored by wagoners, who sought his

generous board in goodly numbers, and while well liked by his customers,

he got the name of "Dirty Spigot," because the spigot of a whisky barrel

in his house was once besmeared with filth. There was a large distillery

near Wolsey's tavern, operated by Barnes Mason. Mason had two teams on

the road, driven by William Keefer and Joseph Myers.

Clear Spring comes next, and derives its name from the existence of a

large, gushing spring of clear water, in volume sufficient to propel a

mill. An old wagon stand was kept at Clear Spring by Andrew Kershaw, who

died the proprietor of the house, and was succeeded by his son Jonathan.

The house was a large brick building, on the south side of the road.

Stages stopped and exchanged teams at Clear Spring, but not at

Kershaw's. His house, as stated, was a wagon stand. Gusty Mitchell is a

well-remembered character of Clear Spring. He used to steal and drink

the wagoners' whisky, and "bum" around their teams in all sorts of ways.

One night the wagoners poured turpentine over Gusty and set fire to him,

which so frightened him that he never afterward had anything to do with

wagoners.

The next old tavern was on the top of North Mountain, two miles west of

Clear Spring, kept by Joseph Kensel. It was a log house, and on the

north side of the road. Kensel owned the property. While this old tavern

was humble in outward appearance, the fires burned brightly within, and

its patrons, who were numerous, highly extolled the quality of the

viands it spread before them.

Indian Spring comes next, four and a half miles west from Clear Spring.

Here a wagon stand was kept by David Miller. The house is a stone

structure, on the north side of the road, and Miller owned it in fee

simple. This old house was a favorite resort of wagoners, and night

after night echoed the once familiar notes of the great highway, in the

days of its glory.

Three miles west from David Miller's, Anthony Snider, a distant relative

of John Snider of happy memory, kept a wagon stand. It was a frame

building on the north side of the road. Peter Hawes once lived at this

house, and hauled stone for an aqueduct on the adjacent canal.

Four miles west of Snider's, on the north side of the road, stood the

old frame tavern of Widow Bevans. She owned the property, and her house

was a popular stopping place. It will be noted that in many instances

widows kept the best taverns along the road. There is no record of a

widow making a failure as a tavern keeper.

Two miles further on to the westward, and before the once familiar

tavern of Widow Bevans entirely recedes from view, the old wagon stand

of David Barnett is reached. His house was a large log building, on the

north side of the road. Here the first transportation line of six-horse

teams, John Bradfield agent, had relays, its next relay eastward being

the house of John Miller, before mentioned. Barnett was a jolly old

landlord, fond of exchanging jokes with old wagoners and other patrons.

He had a manner and a method of pleasing his guests, and did a large and

profitable business.

Westward, two miles from Barnett's, is the historic town of Hancock,

named in honor of the man who wrote his name in letters so large and

legible, that they were read all round the world. There was no old wagon

stand tavern in Hancock, except for a short time about the year 1838.

John Shane established it, but was not successful, and removed to

Cumberland, where he set up a confectionery shop. Wagoners preferred

country before town taverns, as a rule. Stages stopped and exchanged

horses in Hancock.

Two miles west of Hancock, one Nicodemus kept an old wagon stand. His

first name has not been preserved, owing probably to the sublimity of

his surname. He was known all along the road, but mentioned only as

Nicodemus. His house was a frame building on the north side of the road,

and he owned it, and died in it. He kept a good tavern, and was well

patronized. Widow Downer kept this house before the time of Nicodemus.

Two miles west of the house of Nicodemus is Sideling Hill, so called

from the sloping character of the ground upon which the road is laid. At

the eastern foot of this hill Jacob Brosius kept an old wagon stand, and

had a good share of custom. His house was a frame building and stood on

the south side of the road. The distance from the foot to the summit of

Sideling Hill is four miles, and it is the longest hill on the road. In

1837 Jacob Anderson, an old wagoner, was killed on Sideling Hill. His

team became frightened on the summit and ran down the western slope,

coming in contact with a large tree on the roadside with such force as

to break it down, and falling on Anderson, he was instantly killed.

Isaac Browning, Caleb Langley and Black Westley, with their teams and

wagons, were on the road with Anderson at the time of this accident.

Anderson was a citizen of Loudon county, Virginia. Langley, Browning and

Westley belonged to Fayette county, Pennsylvania. The road crosses a

stream at Sideling Hill, called Sideling Hill creek. There was a covered

bridge over this creek. In 1841 John Moss and Billy George, old

wagoners, drove their teams on this bridge, and stopping a while to rest

under the shade afforded by the roof, the bridge broke down,

precipitating horses, wagons and drivers a distance of fourteen feet to

the water, causing considerable damage to the wagons and the goods

therein, but strange to say inflicting but slight injuries upon the

drivers and teams. The teams and wagons belonged to Robert Newlove, of

Wheeling.

Two miles from the foot of Sideling Hill, and on the north side of the

road, John H. Mann kept a wagon stand. His house was a frame building.

Mann was a citizen of some prominence, and at one time represented his

county (Washington) in the Maryland Legislature. It is not known that

his proclivities in the line of statesmanship impaired in any wise his

talent for tavern keeping.

On the western slope of Sideling Hill, about midway between the summit

and the foot, Thomas Norris kept a tavern, which was a favorite resort

of wagoners. His house was a large stone building, on the north side of

the road. There was a picturesqueness about the location of this old

tavern that imparted a peculiar spice to the ordinary rounds of

entertainment enjoyed by its guests. Samuel Cessna kept this house at

one time.

One mile west of Sideling Hill creek, a wagon stand was kept by the

widow Ashkettle, another widow, and she no exception to the rule before

stated, that the widows all kept good houses. Her name is not

inappropriate to some of the duties of housekeeping, but Mrs.

Ashkettle's forte was not in making lye, but in setting a good, clean

table. She had a son, David, who managed the business of the house for

her. Her house was a frame building, and stood on the north side of the

road.

Two miles west of Mrs. Ashkettle's the wayfarer struck the point bearing

the homely name of "Snib Hollow." These old names never wear out, no

matter how ugly they are, and it is well they do not. They all have a

significance and an interest, local or otherwise, which would be lost by

a change of name. Quidnuncs in history and literature have exerted their

restless talents in efforts to obliterate these seemingly rude, old

names, and substitute fancy ones in their stead, but they have failed,

and their failure is a pleasant tribute to the supremacy of common

sense. As early as 1825 the widow Turnbull kept a tavern at Snib Hollow.

Later, an old wagon stand was kept there by John Alder, who had a large

run of customers. His house was a log building, on the north side of the

road.

Town Hill comes next, a half a mile west of Snib Hollow, at the foot of

which Dennis Hoblitzell kept a tavern as early as the year 1830, and

probably earlier. The house was on the east side of the road, and the

locality is often called Piney Plains. Mrs. McClelland, of the

McClelland House, Uniontown, is a daughter of Dennis Hoblitzell. Samuel

Cessna subsequently kept this house, and stage lines and wagon lines all

stopped at it. It was here, and in Cessna's time, that Governor Corwin,

of Ohio, was treated as a negro servant, mention of which is made in

another chapter. In 1836 John Snider stopped over night at this house,

with a load of emigrants, while Cessna was keeping it, and had to clean

the oats he fed to his horses with an ordinary bed sheet, the windmill

not having reached this point at that early day.

At the foot of Town Hill, on the west side, Henry Bevans kept a tavern.

It was a wagon stand, and likewise a station for one of the stage lines.

The house stood on the north side of the road, and enjoyed a good trade.

Samuel Luman, the old stage driver, kept this house in 1839.

Two miles west from the Bevans house is Green Ridge, where an old wagon

stand was kept by Elisha Collins. His house was a log building, and

stood on the north side of the road. Although this house was humble in

appearance, old wagoners are unstinted in bestowing praises on its

ancient good cheer.

Trudging onward, two miles further to the westward, the old wagoner, and

many a weary traveler, found a pleasant resting place at "Pratt's

Hollow," where Samuel Hamilton kept a cozy old tavern. It was a frame

house, on the north side of the road. Hamilton was a planter as well as

tavern keeper, and raised tobacco and owned and worked negro slaves.

Levi McGruder succeeded Hamilton as the keeper of this house. This

locality derived its name from Pratt, who owned the property at an early

day, and, upon authority of the veteran David Mahaney, kept the first

tavern there. An incident occurred at Pratt's Hollow in the year 1842,

which brings to memory the state of public society in _ante bellum_

times. Among the old wagoners of the road, was Richard Shadburn. He was

a native of Virginia, and born a slave, while his complexion was so

fair, and his hair so straight, that he readily passed for a white man.

When quite young he escaped from his master and struck out for liberty

among the enlivening scenes of the great highway of the Republic. On a

certain evening of the year mentioned, he drove into McGruder's wagon

yard along with a number of other wagoners, to rest for the night. The

sun had not yet disappeared behind the western hills, and a stage coach

pulled up in front of McGruder's tavern, and stopped for water, as was

the custom at that point. Among the passengers in that coach was the

owner of the slave, Shadburn. Looking out through the window of the

coach he observed and recognized Shadburn, and calling to his aid a

fellow passenger, emerged from the coach with a determination to reclaim

his property. Dick was seized, but being a man of great muscular power,

succeeded in releasing himself from the clutches of his assailants and

fled. The disappointed master fired at Dick with a pistol, as he ran,

but he made good his escape. The team driven by Shadburn belonged to

Parson's of Ohio, who shortly after the escapade mentioned, sent another

driver to McGruder's to take charge of it. Shadburn never afterward

reappeared on the road, and it is believed that he found a home and at

last a grave in Canada.

It was near Pratt's Hollow that the Cotrells, father and two sons,

murdered a peddler in 1822, the perpetrators of which crime were all

hung from the same scaffold in Frederic. The old tavern at Pratt's

Hollow was destroyed by fire many years ago, and was never rebuilt.

Two miles west from Pratt's Hollow, John S. Miller conducted an old

tavern, and a good one. His house was a frame building, and stood on the

north side of the road. It was a popular stopping place for wagoners.

Miller kept this house as early as 1836, and subsequently became the

proprietor of the old tavern, five miles west of Washington,

Pennsylvania, where he died.

"Polish Mountain" is reached next, one mile west of the old Miller

stand. On the summit of this little, but picturesque mountain, Philip

Fletcher kept an old tavern, and greeted and treated thousands of old

wagoners and other travelers. His house stood on the north side of the

road, and was made of logs, but the table it furnished was equal to the

best on the road.

And next comes Flintstone, four miles west of Fletcher's. All old pike

boys remember Flintstone. The name has a familiar ring. The stages

stopped at Flintstone, and Thomas Robinson kept the leading tavern

there, in the olden time. His house was a stage station, and a wagon

stand as well. Robinson, the good old landlord, got into a difficulty,

many years ago, with one Silas Twigg, and was killed outright by his

assailant. As early as 1835 Jonathan Huddleson kept a tavern in

Flintstone, and had the patronage of one of the stage lines. He

subsequently kept the old Tomlinson tavern at the Little Meadows. John

Piper was an old tavern keeper at Flintstone. His house was a favorite

summer resort, and also enjoyed the patronage of old wagoners. The Piper

house is a large brick building, and stands on the north side of the

road. John Piper died about the year 1872. The house is continued as a

tavern under the joint management of John Howard, a son-in-law, and an

unmarried daughter of the old proprietor. Henry B. Elbon also kept a

tavern in Flintstone for many years, but his career began after that of

the old road ended. Elbon died about four or five years ago. Fairweather

and Ladew, of New York, own and operate a large tannery at Flintstone.

Two miles west of Flintstone, Martin's Mountain is encountered, at the

foot of which, on the east, Thomas Streets presided over an old tavern,

and welcomed and cared for many a guest. His house was a frame

structure, on the south side of the road.

Two miles further on the westward tramp the widow Osford kept a regular

old wagon stand. She was assisted by her son, Joseph. It is needless to

state that her house was popular. She was a widow. Her house was a log

building, on the south side of the road, with a large wagon yard

attached. Her dining room occupied the greater portion of the ground

floor of her house, and her table was always crowded with hungry guests.

Kitchen and bar room made up the remainder of the first story, and

wagoners' beds covered every inch of the bar room floor at night. Mrs.

Osford retired from this house after a long season of prosperity, and

was succeeded by Peter Hager, an old wagoner, who at one time drove a

team for William Searight.

Two miles west from widow Osford's, Henry Miller kept an old tavern. It

was a brick house, on the south side of the road. It will be noted that

Miller is the leading name among the old tavern keepers of the road. The

Smiths don't figure much in this line.

Two miles west of Henry Miller's an old tavern was kept by Slifer, whose

first name is lost to memory. It is probable he was of the family of

Slifers who kept at Boonsboro. It is said of this Slifer that he was a

good, square dealing landlord, kept a good house and enjoyed a fair

share of patronage.

CHAPTER XXVIII.

_Old Taverns and Tavern Keepers continued--Cumberland to Little

Crossings--The City of Cumberland--Everstine's--The Six Mile House

and Bridge--Clary's--Tragedy in Frostburg--Thomas Beall--Sand

Springs--Big Savage--Little Savage--Thomas Johnson--The Shades of

Death--John Recknor--Piney Grove--Mortimer Cade--Tomlinson's--Widow

Wooding._

The city of Cumberland is the initial point, as before stated, of that

portion of the National Road which was constructed by authority of

Congress, and paid for with funds drawn from the public treasury of the

United States. In 1835 James Black kept the leading tavern in

Cumberland. It was a stage house. In 1836 John and Emory Edwards, of

Boonsboro, leased the Black House, and conducted it as a tavern for many

years thereafter. John Snider, the old pike boy of pleasant memory,

hauled a portion of the household goods of the Edwards' from their old

home in Boonsboro to their new location at Cumberland. At the date last

mentioned there were two wagon stands in Cumberland. One of them was

kept by Thomas Plumer. Plumer had teams on the road. The other was kept

by George Mattingly. Frederic Shipley kept a tavern in Cumberland

previous to the year 1840. It was located on Baltimore street, near the

site of the station first established by the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad

Company. This house was subsequently conducted by George W. Gump, and

after him, in 1857, by David Mahaney. One Kaig, of Bedford county,

Pennsylvania, succeeded Mahaney in the control of this house. It was

called "The American," and entertained wagoners and the traveling public

at large. In 1844 and later, the widow Adams kept a wagon stand in

Cumberland, on the site of the present rolling mill. George Elliott was

manager for Mrs. Adams. The house was a large brick structure, and known

in its day as the "Mountain City House." Lewis Smith kept "The Blue

Springs House" on Mechanics street, and was largely patronized by old

wagoners. Frederic Shipley also kept a tavern on Mechanics street, after

he left the American. John Kelso, the old wagoner, kept a tavern for a

short time on Mechanics street, and was well patronized; and Otho

Barcus, another old wagoner, kept the "Pennsylvania House" on Mechanics

street in 1843, and for a period of three years thereafter. The road

when first laid out, as seen in a previous chapter, passed over Wills

Mountain. In 1834 this location was changed for a better grade, up the

valleys of Wills creek and Braddock's run. To make this change it was

necessary to first obtain the consent of the State of Maryland, which

was granted by an act of her Legislature in 1832. The old Plumer tavern

stood at the eastern end of the old location, and the old Mattingly

tavern at the same end of the new location. George Evans kept a tavern,

also, near the eastern end of the original location.

[Illustration: JOHN KELSO.]

Five miles west of Cumberland, on the new location, a wagon stand was

kept by Joseph Everstine. This was a frame house, and stood on the north

side of the road. It was well conducted, but owing to its proximity to

Cumberland, did not do as large a business as other taverns of the road,

more advantageously located.

Six miles west from Cumberland there was an old tavern known as the "Six

Mile House." It belonged to the Bruces, an old and wealthy family of

Alleghany county, Maryland, and many years ago was destroyed by fire. A

new building was erected on the old site, and remains to this day in the

occupancy of a nephew of the old tavern keeper, Aden Clary. This house

is near the junction of the old and new locations above referred to, and

near the stone bridge over Braddock's run. The sixth mile post from

Cumberland stands on the north wall of this bridge, firm and unshaken.

The bridge is well preserved, and a polished stone thereof bears this

inscription: "1835--Built by Thomas Fealy, Lieut. Jno. Pickell, U. S.

Engineer, H. M. Petitt, Ass't Supt'd."

Eight miles west from Cumberland Aden Clary kept. His house was a large

and commodious brick building on the south side of the road, and is

still standing. There was not a more popular house on the road than Aden

Clary's.

Frostburg is next reached. This was always a prominent point on the

road. It did not derive its name, as many suppose, from the crisp

atmosphere in which it was located, but from the original owner of the

land on which it stands, whose name was Frost. Frostburg was the first

stage station west of Cumberland. The leading taverns of Frostburg in

the palmy days of the road were the "Franklin House" and the "Highland

Hall House." The Franklin House was kept for many years by Thomas Beall,

the father of the Bealls of Uniontown. It was headquarters of the Good

Intent stage line. The Highland Hall House was conducted at different

times by George W. Claybaugh, George Evans, Samuel Cessna and Thomas

Porter. It was the headquarters of the Stockton line of coaches. During

Cessna's time at this house he was the principal actor in a tragedy

which produced considerable commotion in the vicinity. A negro servant

employed by Cessna addressed some insulting remark to his wife, and

immediately upon being informed thereof, Cessna proceeded to dispatch

the negro without ceremony. He was tried in Cumberland for murder and

acquitted, public sentiment very generally acquiescing in the verdict of

the jury. About the year 1850 the Highland Hall House was purchased by

the authorities of the Catholic church, remodeled, improved and

converted to ecclesiastical uses.

About one mile west of Frostburg, and at the foot of Big Savage

mountain, is Sand Springs, so called from the gurgling water in the sand

at that point. In 1836 the widow Ward kept a wagon stand tavern at Sand

Springs. Her house was a favorite resort for old wagoners. On the night

of October 3, 1836, snow fell to the depth of a foot at Sand Springs,

breaking down the timber all through the surrounding mountains. Mrs.

Ward's wagon yard was crowded with teams and wagons that night, and the

snow was so deep the next day that the wagoners deemed it inexpedient to

turn out, and remained at Mrs. Ward's until the following morning. John

Snider was among the wagoners at Mrs. Ward's on the occasion mentioned,

and is authority for the occurrence of the October snow storm. The

tavern at Sand Springs was subsequently kept by John Welsh, an old stage

driver, Hiram Sutton and Jacob Conrod, in the order named. Hiram Sutton

was a son-in-law of Jared Clary. He kept the Sand Springs tavern down to

the year 1852, when he moved to Parkersburg, West Virginia, and may be

living there yet. Philip Spiker, the old blacksmith at Sand Springs, it

is said could shoe more horses in a given time than any other blacksmith

on the road. He had a rival, however, in A. Brice Devan, now of Dunbar,

who, in the palmy days of the road, carried on a shop in Hopwood, and

shod horses for old wagoners all night long on many occasions. Devan's

backers will not concede that Spiker was a speedier shoer than he.

A short distance west of Sand Springs, on the side of Big Savage

mountain, an old wagon stand was kept by one Cheney, afterward by Jacob

Conrod. It is a stone house, on the south side of the road. In Cheney's

time at this house, Henry Clay Bush, who was an old wagoner, says that

metallic mugs were used for drinking purposes, instead of glasses. He

further states that the mugs were clean, and probably used through

deference to the pure whisky of that day. Big Savage mountain is two

thousand five hundred and eighty feet above the Atlantic.

Two miles west from Cheney's, and at the foot of Little Savage mountain,

Thomas Beall kept a tavern as early as 1830. William E. Beall,

superintendent of the Uniontown rolling mill, was born at this old

tavern. Thomas Beall removed from this place to Missouri, but after a

short absence, returned to Western Maryland, and took charge of the

Franklin House in Frostburg. Thomas Johnson succeeded Thomas Beall in

the management of this house. It was a noted place, and Johnson was a

noted character. He was a good fiddler and a good dancer. He owned a

negro named Dennis, who was also a good dancer, and night after night in

the cheerful bar room of the old tavern, Dennis performed the "double

shuffle," responsive to lively music furnished by his old master.

Johnson was small in stature, weighing but little over a hundred pounds.

Although he participated freely in the fun of the old road, he was not

unmindful or neglectful of his business. He owned the old tavern-stand

mentioned and the lands adjacent, and dying, left a comfortable

inheritance to his descendants. Little Savage mountain has an elevation

of two thousand four hundred and eighty feet above the Atlantic, being

one hundred feet lower than Big Savage.

Three miles further westward, and at the eastern approach to the Shades

of Death, John Recknor kept an old wagon stand, well known, and in its

day well patronized. Recknor kept this house as early as 1830, and ended

his days in it. It was a log and frame structure on the north side of

the road, with a commodious wagon yard attached. The thick branches of

the pine trees growing on Shade Hill, hung over this old house,

imparting to it a romantic, as well as an attractive perspective. The

fame of Mrs. Recknor as a purveyor of hot biscuits was co-extensive with

the line of the road. Now,

"The kitchen is cold and the hall is as still,

As the heart of the hostess out there on the hill."

Piney Grove comes next, two miles from Recknor's, so called from the

numerous pine trees growing in the locality in the olden time. At an

early day Joshua Johnson, a wealthy man of Frederic City, owned fifteen

thousand acres of land, embracing Piney Grove and the Shades of Death,

which he held for many years for speculative purposes. Portions of this

large area, it is said, continue in the possession of Johnson's

descendants to this day. The pine trees were cut down many years ago,

sawed up and shipped to market. William Frost, of Frostburg, erected the

first extensive saw mill in the vicinity. At Piney Grove there was an

old tavern, kept at different times by Truman Fairall, Mortimer Cade,

Lemuel Cross, John Wrench and David Mahaney. All the stage lines of the

road stopped at this old tavern, and wagoners in goodly numbers also

congregated there. It was a large frame building on the north side of

the road, and on the opposite side large stables and sheds were erected

for sheltering horses and vehicles.

West of Piney Grove about one-fourth of a mile, an old wagon stand was

kept by a man whose name was Wagoner, and subsequently by Isaac Bell,

and later by Mortimer Cade. Cade kept this house in 1840, and died in

it. His widow continued to keep it as a tavern for a number of years,

and until she became the wife of William Fear, who kept a tavern on

Keyser's Ridge. A daughter of Mrs. Cade is living in Uniontown at this

time.

Two miles west of Piney Grove the celebrated old Tomlinson tavern at

Little Meadows is reached. This is an old stand; as old as the National

Road. Here the lines of the National and the old Braddock roads

coincide. Jesse Tomlinson owned the land at this point, and kept a

tavern on the old Braddock road, before the National Road was made. Upon

the opening of the latter he abandoned his old house and erected a new

one on the new road, which he conducted as a tavern for many years.

After his death the property passed to the hands of Jacob Sides. W. M.

F. Magraw, as before stated, married a daughter of Jacob Sides. This

place is referred to as the Little Meadows in the official record of

Braddock's unfortunate march through the mountains in 1755. The region

at and about Mt. Washington, further westward on the line of the road,

where the conflict between Washington and the French and Indians

occurred, in 1754, is designated by Washington, in his official report

of that engagement, as the Great Meadows. Tomlinson's tavern is a large

stone house, on the north side of the road. After Tomlinson, it was kept

by Thomas Endsley, who was succeeded by Thomas Thistle, Thomas Thistle

by James Stoddard, and he, in turn, by Jesse Huddleson, Truman Fairall,

Lemuel Cross and David Mahaney, all before the railroad was continued

west of Cumberland. It was kept by George Layman after the railroad

absorbed the trade. Layman was afterward sheriff of Alleghany county,

Maryland. In the year 1862, while the property was under the control of

Mr. Magraw, the old Tomlinson tavern was remodeled and much improved.

The contract for the improvements was undertaken by George W. Wyning, a

well known carpenter of Uniontown, who superintended the work in person,

and during its progress he and Magraw together, spent many a pleasant

hour amid the exhilarating atmosphere of the mountains, in the society

of the old pike boys. James K. Polk dined at the Tomlinson house in the

spring of 1845, on his way to Washington to be inaugurated President.

Huddleson was keeping the house at that time. The occasion brought

together a large concourse of mountain people, who were addressed by the

President-elect.

One mile west from Tomlinson's the widow Wooding kept a tavern as early

as 1842, and for some time thereafter. Her house was a frame building,

on the north side of the road, and was largely patronized by old

wagoners. Mrs. Wooding growing old, and wearied by the onerous duties of

tavern keeping, gave up the business, and turned her house over to her

son-in-law. Peter Yeast, who conducted it for a season, and in turn

surrendered it to John Wright.

One mile west of Mrs. Wooding's old stand the traveler reaches the

Little Crossings, a name given to the locality from the circumstance

that here the road crosses the Castleman river; and the prefix "little"

is used because the Castleman is a smaller stream than the Youghiogheny,

which is crossed a few miles further westward, and called the Big

Crossings. There was no tavern at the Little Crossings previous to the

year 1836. Subsequent to that date a tavern was established there by

Alexander Carlisle, who entertained the traveling public in a

satisfactory manner. His house was a large frame structure, on the south

side of the road, subsequently kept by John and Samuel McCurdy, and

later, at different times, by David Johnson, William Dawson, Elisha

Brown, Jacob Conrod and David Mahaney. Although nearly twenty years

elapsed from the building of the road before any old landlord at Little

Crossings beckoned the weary traveler to rest and refreshment,

nevertheless, thereafter, and until business ceased on the line, that

locality presented many and rare attractions, as all old pike boys are

ready to verify.

CHAPTER XXIX.

_Old Taverns and Tavern Keepers continued--Little Crossings to Winding

Ridge--Grantsville--The Old Shultz, Steiner and Fuller Houses--The

Veteran, David Mahaney--Thomas Thistle, Widow Haldeman, Death of

Mrs. Recknor, Negro Mountain, Keyser's Ridge, Log Cabin Boys of

1840, James Stoddard, Dennis Hoblitzell, The Fears, The McCurdys,

Adam Yeast, David Johnson, Perry Shultz, Truman Fairall, John

Woods, The Bane House, Wooing and Wedding of an Old Tavern Keeper,

James Reynolds, Henry Walters._

Next after leaving the Little Crossings on the westward march, comes

Grantsville, a romantic little mountain village in Garrett, formerly

Alleghany, county, Maryland, named long before the hero of Appomattox

was known to fame, and therefore not in his honor. In 1833 Samuel Gillis

kept a tavern in the east end of Grantsville, on the south side of the

road, the same house that in later years was kept by John Slicer. It was

a wagon stand in the time of Gillis, and Slicer did not take charge of

it until business had ceased on the road. John Lehman kept a tavern in

Grantsville in 1836. He was a son-in-law, as was Peter Yeast, of the

good old widow Wooding, before mentioned.

The Lehman House was subsequently kept by Henry Fuller, and after him by

George Smouse. It was a frame building near the center of the village,

on the south side of the street and road. In 1843 Henry Fuller

demolished this old house, and erected a new one in its place. Adam

Shultz kept a tavern at the east end of Grantsville back in the forties,

and dying in charge, was succeeded by his son Perry, who continued it

down to the year 1852, when the ancient glories of the old pike began to

weaken and wane. The Shultz House was an imposing brick structure, on

the south side of the road, and was kept for a while by the veteran

David Mahaney, and at one time by Jesse King. Perry Shultz was

subsequently elected sheriff of Alleghany county, Maryland. Solomon

Steiner also kept a tavern in Grantsville during a portion of the

prosperous era of the road. Grantsville seems to have been a favorite

locality for tavern keepers of German names and antecedents. Steiner's

tavern was a brick building, and stood on the opposite side of the road

from the old Shultz House. Steiner built it, owned it, and died in it,

and his son, Archibald, conducted it for a number of years after his

father's death. It was a wagon stand. The Fuller House was kept at

different times by John D. Wrench, Bazil Garletts, Barney Brown, John

Slicer, William Slicer, William Beffler, John Millinger, and Nathaniel

Slicer. Christian M. Livengood is the present proprietor. Archibald

Steiner was succeeded in his father's old house, first, by William Shaw,

and thereafter in turn by John Millinger and Jonas E. Canagy, the

present proprietor, and it is now called the Farmer's House.

David Mahaney, whose name frequently appears in these pages, is a

remarkable man. A boy when the National Road was made, he has lived on

and near it all his life. His present residence is Dunbar, Fayette

county, Pa., but he is a familiar figure on the streets of Uniontown. He

is the father of Lloyd Mahaney, the well known enterprising owner and

manager of the handsome new Mahaney house in Uniontown, and of George

Mahaney, also a popular hotel man, who at one time kept the Dixon house

in Greensburg, afterward a hotel in Pittsburg, and at the present time

is conducting a house in Latrobe. David Mahaney was born in Washington

county, Md., near Hagerstown, in 1807, and is therefore in his

eighty-sixth year, while he has the appearance of a man not over sixty.

His complexion is swarthy, step elastic, and his memory but slightly

impaired by the inroads of time. His father was a native of Culpeper

county, Va., who met with a melancholy death by drowning in the Potomac

river, on the night of the presidential election of 1856. His polling

place was eight miles from his residence, in Maryland, and to reach it

and vote involved the crossing of the Potomac. It was late in the

evening when he left the polls to return home, and upon reaching the

river, by some untoward accident fell into the water and perished. David

Mahaney's first venture in tavern keeping on his own account was at the

old Shultz house in Grantsville. He was personally acquainted with Henry

Clay, Thomas H. Benton, Lewis Cass, and others of the old time

statesmen, and frequently entertained them.

As early as 1836 Thomas Thistle kept a tavern at the foot of Negro

Mountain, two miles west of Grantsville. With a name somewhat rasping in

its import, Thistle had a smooth tongue, a mild manner, and furnished

excellent entertainment for the traveling public. He was one of the

oldest and best known tavern keepers on the road. His house was a long,

frame wooden building, on the south side of the road, at times a stage

station, and throughout its entire existence a wagon stand. Here the

National Road crosses the line of the old Braddock road. In 1844 William

Dehaven kept the old Thistle tavern, and later it was kept by Levi Dean.

One and a half miles west from the old Thistle house, and on the eastern

slope of Negro Mountain, the widow Haldeman kept a tavern as early as

1840, and like all the widows, had a large patronage. While conducting

this house, Mrs. Haldeman became the wife of Daniel Smouse, who

thereafter took charge of it. The house was a log building, on the south

side of the road, and the spacious grounds surrounding it were crowded,

night after night, with six-horse teams and big, broad wheeled wagons,

covered with canvass, presenting the appearance of a military

encampment. This old house was subsequently kept by George Smouse, and

later by John Wright. The widow Recknor, of savory memory, before

mentioned, died a boarder in this old tavern, much lamented.

[Illustration: DAVID MAHANY.]

Onward, westward and upward, the crest of Negro Mountain is reached.

There are several versions of the origin of the name of this mountain.

Probably the one most worthy of acceptance is that in the early

collisions between the whites and the Indians, a negro appeared as an

ally of the Indians in a conflict on this mountain, and was among the

slain. Negro Mountain is two thousand eight hundred and twenty-five feet

above the level of the Atlantic ocean, and the second highest elevation

on the line of the road. The old commissioners give the height of the

mountain as two thousand three hundred and twenty-eight and twelve

one-hundredths feet, from their base of measurement in the Potomac, near

Cumberland, and as before stated, make no mention of Keyser's Ridge. In

the year 1836 Dennis Hoblitzell kept a tavern near the summit of Negro

Mountain, on the eastern slope. He was the father of Mrs. McClelland, of

the McClelland house in Uniontown. This old tavern is a stone building,

on the north side of the road, and the same that in after years became

celebrated as a resort for hog drovers, under the management of William

Sheets. It was kept as a tavern after Hoblitzell left it, and before the

time of Sheets, by Thomas Beall.

Two miles west from Negro Mountain Keyser's Ridge looms up in view. This

was a famous locality in the prosperous days of the road. It is a bald,

bleak range, not inaptly described as the back-bone of the mountains. It

is two thousand eight hundred and forty-three feet above sea level, and

the highest point on the road. In the olden time snow drifts often

accumulated to the depth of twenty feet on Keyser's Ridge, and stages

and wagons were compelled to take to the skirting glades to avoid them.

Francis McCambridge kept a tavern here as early as 1820, and was

succeeded by Robert Hunter, and he by James Stoddard, some time previous

to 1840. Hunter went from this house to Petersburg. James Stoddard was

the grandfather of Mrs. McClelland, of the McClelland house, Uniontown.

Stages stopped at Stoddard's, as well as wagoners and travelers of every

description. The log cabin boys of Uniontown stopped at Stoddard's the

first night out on their memorable trip to Baltimore, in 1840, to attend

the great Whig mass meeting of that year in that city. They had with

them, on wheels, a regular log cabin, well stored with refreshments of

every kind, and the very best; and every mile of their long journey

resounded with lusty shouts for "Tippecanoe and Tyler, too." E. B.

Dawson, esq., and Lucien B. Bowie, of Uniontown, are the only survivors

of that unique pilgrimage, so far as can be ascertained. The party

consisted of such distinguished and well remembered Whigs, of Uniontown,

as James Veech, Alfred Patterson, Rice G. Hopwood, Thomas R. Davidson,

Lee Haymaker, John Harvey, William McDonald, Robert L. Barry, James

Endsley, William E. Austin, E. B. Dawson and Lucien B. Bowie. There

were doubtless others, but owing to the long lapse of time their names

are not recalled. Redding Bunting drove the team that hauled the cabin,

and Thomas A. Wiley was with the party as an employe of the Stockton

stage line, which furnished four coaches for the transportation of the

political pilgrims. James Endsley was of the Somerfield family of

Endsleys, and died in that place in July, 1893. At Middletown, a short

distance east of South Mountain, in Maryland, the log cabin boys were

confronted with a petticoat suspended from a pole, which excited them to

rage. A collision and a fight ensued. John Harvey, the muscular man of

the log cabin boys, engaged a like representative of the other side, and

it is claimed, by the friends of Harvey, that he vanquished his

antagonist. It is not improbable that both sides claimed a victory. The

party reached Baltimore safely and on time, and were received in that

city with great enthusiasm. They were tendered a reception speech, which

was delivered by "The Milford Bard," a celebrated Baltimore poet and

orator of that day, and the speech responsive was made by William E.

Austin, who was a graceful orator, and his effort on this occasion was

one of his best. The Stoddard House, at Keyser's Ridge, was subsequently

and successively kept by Dennis Hoblitzell, William Fear, one of the

McCurdys, Adam Yeast and David Johnson, the latter the stepfather of

Mrs. McClelland, of the McClelland House, Uniontown, before mentioned,

who was born in this house when it was kept by her father, Dennis

Hoblitzell. William Fear owned the old Stoddard House, and sold it to

Perry Shultz, who conducted it as a tavern for a number of years, in

addition to the parties above named. William and Daniel Fear were

brothers. William, upon quitting the road, removed to Virginia, where he

lived to an old age and died. Daniel exchanged the mountains for the

rich valley of the Monongahela, and ended his days in Brownsville. In

1840 Truman Fairall built a house on Keyser's Ridge, and conducted it as

a tavern down to the year 1853, and a short time thereafter moved to the

State of Iowa, where he spent the remainder of his life. The Stockton

line of coaches stopped at Fairall's. Fairall was a native of Old

Virginia. Samuel Fairall, a son of Truman, the old tavern keeper, at one

time a student in the Dunlap's Creek Academy, near Merrittstown, Fayette

county, Pennsylvania, is a law judge in one of the courts of Iowa.

About half a mile west of Keyser's Ridge, and in the year 1850, John

Woods built a house and conducted it as a tavern until the close of

business on the road. He was an uncle of Henry, Thomas and Alexander

Woods, of Uniontown, and an old wagoner. Sandy Connor, the old

blacksmith of Keyser's Ridge, and occasionally a stage driver, retired

to an humble dwelling on the road side, opposite the Woods House, and

there in the depths of the mountains took final leave of the old road

and all its endearing memories.

Two miles west of Keyser's Ridge an old wagon stand tavern was kept by

Daniel Fear, before mentioned, who was the father of John G. Fear, who

kept the old Workman House, in Brownsville, a few years ago, George W.

Fear, formerly a wholesale liquor merchant in the same place, and Frank

Fear, who once kept the Yough House in Connellsville. The old Fear

tavern referred to was also at one time kept by Harvey Bane and by

William Carlisle, and later by David Johnson. It was a frame house on

the north side of the road. Within the venerable walls of this old

tavern, and amid the romantic walks about it, when it was kept by David

Johnson, Alfred McClelland, the renowned old tavern keeper of Uniontown,

wooed and won his bride, and here in 1856 was happily married to Miss

Sarah E. Hoblitzell, now, and for many years, a widow, and reigning

mistress of the old McClelland House, in Uniontown, one of the most

famous of all the far famed hostelries of the road.

About three-fourths of a mile west from the old Fear House, in later

years better known as the Bane House, James Reynolds established a

tavern as early as the year 1818, and continued to preside over it and

entertain the traveling public until the year 1843. It was a popular

wagon stand in its day. James Reynolds, its old proprietor, was the

father of William Reynolds, elsewhere mentioned as an old wagoner,

tavern keeper and express agent. Daniel Fear succeeded James Reynolds in

the old house mentioned, and conducted it for a term of four years. He

next moved to a wooden house about three hundred yards to the westward,

and kept it as a tavern for two years. This old house was built by Jacob

Frederic Augustine, and known as the Augustine House. From this old

house Daniel Fear moved to Sand Springs, and kept the old Hiram Sutton

house at that point for a term of two years, at the end of which he

moved to Brownsville, and died suddenly in Uniontown on July 7, 1854,

while on a business errand to that place. John Woods succeeded Fear in

the Augustine House.

Within a distance of one hundred yards westward from the old Reynolds

House, and in the year 1845, Henry Walters erected a wooden building and

embarked in the business of tavern keeping. After a brief experience in

this line, he removed to Hopwood, where he operated a blacksmith shop.

While in Hopwood, and from the savings of tavern keeping and

blacksmithing, he purchased the land on Dunbar's Camp, occupied it a

number of years, sold it at an advance to Dr. Waters, of the Soldiers'

Orphans' School, and with his added accumulations, bought the old

Grier-Brown farm on Redstone creek, in Franklin township, Fayette

county, Pennsylvania, founded the village of Waltersburg, and about two

years ago died, leaving his family a comfortable inheritance. He is well

remembered as an amiable, industrious and money accumulating citizen of

German origin.

CHAPTER XXX.

_Old Taverns and Tavern Keepers continued--Winding Ridge to the Big

Crossings--The State Line--How it is Noted--The Old Stone Tavern on

Winding Ridge, John Welsh, Major Paul, The Wables, Edward C. Jones,

The Augustines, Daniel Blucher, Petersburg, Gen. Ross, William

Roddy, Gabriel Abrams, The Risler Family, Col. Samuel Elder, Robert

Hunter, John McMullin, Alfred Newlon, Lott Watson, John Mitchell,

John Bradfield, The Temple of Juno, The Big Crossings, Endsley's

Old Tavern, John Campbell, William Imhoff--An Old Time Fourth of

July Celebration._

From Baltimore to the point last mentioned in the preceding chapter, all

the old taverns on the road are in the State of Maryland. The road

crosses the dividing line between the States of Maryland and

Pennsylvania, near the eastern foot of Winding Ridge. The crossing point

is marked by a metal slab shaped like the ordinary mile post, and bears

this inscription on one side: "State Line, Md. 96-3/4 to Wheeling, to

Petersburg, 2-3/4." On the other side: "State Line, Penna. 34-1/4 to

Cumberland, to Frostburg, 23-1/4."

Near the top of Winding Ridge, and in Somerset county, Pa., there is an

old stone tavern which was built as early as the year 1819, and by John

Welsh, who occupied it and conducted it down to the year 1821, when it

passed to the management of Samuel Dennison, who was succeeded in turn

by M. J. Clark, Isaac Ochletree, Peter Yeast, Maj. William Paul, Michael

Cresap, Robert Boice and William Lenhart. John Welsh, who built this

house and first occupied it, was the father-in-law of Aden Clary, well

known in the early history of the road. Major Paul kept this house in

1836, and for some time thereafter. He subsequently kept a tavern in

Washington, Pa., on Maiden street, opposite the female seminary, and

later in West Brownsville, where he died more than forty years ago. He

was familiarly known from one end of the road to the other. Voluble in

speech, rotund in form, and ruddy in complexion, Major Paul was a fine

type of the jolly landlord of the old road. He had a daughter, the wife

of Aaron Wyatt, an old tavern keeper of the road, who always enjoyed the

reputation of keeping a good house, owing in all probability to the

early and practical training of his wife. Mrs. Patrick at one time owned

and occupied the old stone house on top of Winding Ridge. She was the

mother of W. W. Patrick, now, and for many years, the intelligent head

of the old reputable and successful banking house of R. Patrick & Co.,

of Pittsburg. About the year 1850 the stables, appurtenant to the old

stone tavern, above mentioned, and when it was kept by William Lenhart,

were destroyed by fire, supposed to have been the incendiary work of a

disreputable woman. The loss was serious, and included two fine horses,

the property of William Hall, the typical old regular wagoner,

hereinbefore mentioned. Winding Ridge derives its name from the tortuous

course of the old Braddock road up the mountain, at that point.

[Illustration: JOHN RISLER.]

At the foot of Winding Ridge, on the north side of the road, an old

wagon and drove stand was kept as early as the year 1820, by John Wable.

This old tavern keeper was probably well advanced in years when he first

put out his sign, and from this old house he was summoned to his last

account. He had two sons, John and Jacob, who succeeded him in the

management of the old tavern, as tenants in common. The sons applied

themselves assiduously to the business of entertaining the public, and

after a brief experience, concluded that their father's old house was

too small to meet the demands of the increasing trade and travel of the

road, and accordingly tore it down and erected a new and larger one in

its place. The new house attracted a paying business, and remains a well

known landmark of the road. In course of time the Wables left this

house, and their successor was Edward C. Jones, the grandfather, on the

maternal line, of Caleb and Noble McCormick, of Uniontown. This was more

than fifty years ago. Mr. Jones moved from this old house to Searights,

where he resided for a time, and subsequently located in New Salem,

where he died. The old Wable house next passed to the hands of Jonas

Augustine, who became its owner and conducted it as a tavern for many

years, doing a good business. While in charge of this old tavern he was

elected a member of the legislature of Pennsylvania for Somerset county,

and represented his constituents with recognized fidelity. He died soon

after his legislative career ended, and the old tavern was purchased by

his brother, Daniel Augustine, who kept it for many years, and until

tavern keeping on the road ceased to be profitable. Previous to the

occupancy of Daniel Augustine, this house was kept for brief periods

between 1840 and 1845, first by Michael Cresap, and after him by Joseph

Whetstone. Cresap went from this house to the stone house on Winding

Ridge. The widow of Jonas Augustine, well advanced in years, occupies

this old house at the present time, as a private residence, and Daniel

Augustine is a resident of Petersburg, and regarded as the richest man

in that town.

One mile west of Augustine's, Daniel Blucher kept a tavern as early as

1828. He was a German, and his custom consisted mainly of the patronage

of old wagoners. This house dropped from the roll of taverns long before

the great travel on the road ceased.

The ancient and picturesque village of Petersburg is the next point

reached on the westward march. Petersburg is noted for its healthful

location and the beauty of the surrounding scenery. It has always been a

popular resort for summer tourists seeking exemption from the stifling

heat of crowded cities. Here lives [G]Gen. Moses A. Ross, a retired

merchant, who did business in the village for fifty years, and gained

the confidence and enjoys the esteem of all his neighbors. A number of

years ago his fellow citizens elected him to the legislature, and he

served them intelligently, faithfully and honestly. He is a christian

gentleman, and his long and honest business career on the road entitles

him to be classed as a pike boy, well worthy of honorable mention.

General Ross was born in Masontown, Fayette Co., Pa., in the year 1810.

Here also lived for many years, and died, William Roddy, who was at one

time a superintendent of the road, and a gentleman of unquestioned

integrity. The first tavern ever kept in Petersburg was by Gabriel

Abrams, father of the late Judge Abrams, of Brownsville. It was a frame

house, on the south side of the road, and built by Gabriel Abrams,

aforesaid. This house did a large business throughout the entire career

of the road, as a national highway. Subsequent to the time of Abrams it

was conducted successively and successfully by John Skinner, Daniel

Clary (in 1830), William Reynolds, Thomas Brownfield, James Marlow,

Michael Cresap, Peter Turney, Joseph Hendrickson and Henry Magee. A

frame house on the north side, erected by Henry Wentling, was conducted

by him as a tavern from 1820 to 1829, when he leased it to John Risler,

a celebrated old tavern keeper, who kept at various points on the road

in the days of its glory. Mr. Risler was the father-in-law of the

venerable Harrison Wiggins, Brown Hadden, and the late Stephen W.

Snyder, and it is the tradition of the road that wherever a kitchen and

a dining room were controlled by a female member of the Risler family,

there a well cooked and relishable meal was sure to be obtained. Mr.

Risler was succeeded in the old Wentling house by James Connelly, and

he, in 1835, by the stalwart and popular old wagoner, Matthias Fry. Fry

remained in charge until the spring of 1838, when he turned it over to

John Bell, who was succeeded by his son-in-law, Col. Samuel Elder, who

remained in charge until some time late in the forties, when he moved to

Uniontown and took the management of the National house in that place.

In the year 1832 Robert Hunter opened a tavern in a brick house, on the

south side of the road and street, in Petersburg, and conducted it for

many years with marked success. Mrs. Hunter, the old and amiable hostess

of this house, is remembered as well for her good qualities as a

housekeeper as for her immense size. She weighed two hundred and fifty

pounds. This old house was subsequently kept by John A. Walker, John

McMullin, Alfred Newlon and Lott Watson, in the order given, and was

always well kept. The stage coaches of one of the early lines stopped at

this house, and it has been extensively patronized by summer visitors

and pleasure seekers. It was one of the very best eating houses on the

road, and is continued as a tavern to this day by Mr. Mitchell, who

holds a license and keeps a good house. John E. Reeside married a

step-daughter of John McMullin.

[Footnote G: Died December 12, 1893.]

[Illustration: THE TEMPLE OF JUNO.]

At a very early period in the road's history, John Mitchell kept a

tavern one mile west of Petersburg, on the north side. Besides doing a

general business, this old house was a station for the first line of

stages on the road. It was destroyed by fire on the 31st day of October,

1828, and supplied by a new log structure, which was kept as a tavern

for many years by John Mitchell, jr., who erected near the old site the

present large and substantial brick building in which he is now living,

one of the oldest men on the road. On the opposite side of the road from

this house immense stabling was erected, in after years supplemented by

cattle and hay scales, all of which are still standing, tending slightly

towards dilapidation and decay, but in a much better state of

preservation than most of the old stables of the road. There is a large

and fertile farm connected with this old tavern stand, well managed,

under the direction of its venerable owner, [H]John Mitchell.

[Footnote H: Died in 1892.]

A short distance west from Mitchell's, a large brick house on the north

side of the road, was kept as a tavern by John Bradfield in 1840, and

later. The locality was known as Newbury. John Bradfield was the general

agent of the first heavy freight line put on the road, moved by six

horse teams, stationed at intervals of fifteen miles. He was an old

wagoner, and a good business man, and before going to Newbury kept a

tavern in Wheeling and in Washington, Pennsylvania. After Bradfield's

retirement the Newbury house was continued as a tavern by Moses

Jennings.

Less than a mile west of Newbury, on the north side of the road, an old

building once used as a tavern, attracts special attention by reason of

the singular style of its architecture. It is a wooden structure,

commonly called a frame, with an unusually high portico in front,

supported by four round and tall wooden columns, tapering upward and

downward from the centers. It reminds one of the old pictures of the

temple of Juno, and possibly the designer had that ancient temple in

view when he planned this old tavern. He is said to have been a native

of the vicinity, not likely versed in the classic orders of

architecture, but the style he adopted in this instance might reasonably

be regarded as the Monogynous. Two immense stables appurtenant to this

old tavern, one log, the other frame, both still standing, weather

beaten, empty, and useless, bear silent, but impressive testimony to the

thrift of other days, and impart a tinge of melancholy to the memories

of the old pike. Daniel Show was the original owner of the quaint old

building above described, and its first occupant. He sold it to Samuel

Easter, who conducted it for a brief period, and was succeeded by Peter

Lenhart, mentioned hereinafter as "Shellbark." Samuel Thompson succeeded

Lenhart, and he in 1846 was succeeded by Mrs. Metzgar, who subsequently

became the wife of John Olwine.

[Illustration: THE ENDSLEY HOUSE.]