Source:Fleming-isaac-craig
George T. Fleming. "Isaac Craig is honored by city: Street name recalls deeds of revolutionary hero, patriot and pioneer: His stirring story." Pittsburgh Gazette Times, Aug. 29, 1915, sec. 5, p. 2. Newspapers.com 85764563.
CRAIG street, Oakland, is one of our best-known streets, especially to patrons of Forbes street and Center avenue cars by reason of transfer points at Forbes and Craig, and Center and Craig. The name commemorates a well-known family of Pittsburgh—a pioneer family, whose history is cotemporary and somewhat similar to the Nevilles, as Maj. Isaac Craig was the son-in-law of Gen. John Neville.
Neville B. Craig gives a brief biography of his distinguished father in the "History of Pittsburgh." He tells us Maj. Craig was a native of County Down, Ireland, having been born near Hillsborough of reputable Protestant parents, as certified in a paper in his possession, and that he emigrated to Philadelphia in 1767 at the age of 24.
He was a carpenter by trade and after some years journey work engaged in building operations himself as a master carpenter. He entered the navy in November, 1775, as a lieutenant of marines under the gallant and unfortunate Nicholas Biddle on a vessel named the Andrew Doria. This was one of Commodore Hopkins' squadron in the West Indies, and in the attack on New Providence Craig was probably second in command of the marines under Capt. Nichols.
On the same expedition were several officers whose fame became world wide in subsequent service, John Paul Jones, Commodores Abraham Whipple and Joshua Barney, whose body was interred in the Allegheny Cemetery, Pittsburgh. After the return of this expedition Lieut. Craig, promoted to captain, was transferred with all the marines, and was ordered to join the army as infantry, which duty they performed for some months. Capt. Craig's company was present at the crossing of the Delaware, December 25, 1776; at the capture of the Hessians at Trenton, and at the battle of Princeton. March 3, 1777, Lieut. Craig was appointed captain in the regiment of artillery then formed, the Fourth Pennsylvania Artillery, usually alluded to as Proctor's Artillery from Col. Thomas Proctor, the commander.
Serves at Brandywine.
In September, 1777, Capt. Craig was present and actively engaged in the Battle of Brandywine, where his company suffered severely and he was wounded, but not seriously. He was likewise engaged at Germantown and passed the harrowing winter of 1778 at Valley Forge.
In the spring of 1778 Capt. Craig was sent with others to learn "the art of the military laboratory" at Carlisle, Pa. Here he labored diligently and faithfully until August and his skill in this line stood the young republic in great measure in the preparations of ordnance for the armies of St. Clair, Wayne and William Henry Harrison in their Indian campaigns. By reason of the detached service, Capt. Craig was not present at the battle of Monmouth and the retreat of the Continentals across New Jersey.
In April, 1770, Capt. Craig was in command of the post at Billingsport on the Delaware below Philadelphia. In July he joined Gen. Sullivan's army in the punitive expedition against the Six Nations and their white allies, the British tories, under Chief Brant and the notorious British Butlers. In the engagement at New Town, above Chemung, N. Y., Capt. Craig conducted himself with great gallantry and is mentioned by Chief Justice Marshall in his account of the expedition in the "Life of Washington."
Marshall has this to say of the engagement at New Town:
Gen. Sullivan ordered Gen. Poor, supported by Gen. Clinton, to take possession of a hill which led into the enemy's rear, and thence to turn the left and gain the rear of the breastworks, while Hand and Maxwell, with the artillery, should attack in front. These orders were promptly executed. The artillery opened its fire just as Poor reached the foot of the hill.
William Earl's Story.
William Earl, an old citizen of Pittsburgh, who was in the action, relates the following incident of his first seeing Isaac Craig, who subsequently became his townsman and neighbor:
Earl had been dispatched by Gen. Sullivan with a message to Gen. Hand and on his way passed some pieces of artillery, the soldiers standing by impatiently watching for orders, and close by an officer, looking anxiously at the movements of the hands of his watch. Very soon the appointed time arrived, the officer replaced his watch in his pocket, and the fire commenced.
That officer was Isaac Craig, and the time, no doubt, that above referred to, "just as Poor reached the foot of the hill." The enemy hastily abandoned his breastworks and retreated in confusion.
In the directory of Pittsburgh, 1815, occurs these lines:
Earl Williams, carpenter, bellows maker and chandler, W site of Market between Diamond and 4th.
The streets were not numbered then. Earl's residence is not mentioned by Neville Craig in his list for 1786.
After the return of Sullivan's command, completely humbling the haughty Indians, Capt. Craig rejoined his regiment which served to the end of the war. With it he took part in Lord Sterling's fruitless expedition to Staten Island in January, 1780, and in which he had a narrow escape from capture.
Capt. Craig was ordered to Fort Pitt April 20, 1780, by Col. Timothy Pickering, then head of the War Office, and immediately marched his command with the proper munitions, stores and wagons from Carlisle, notwithstanding the fact Col. Pickering had told him there was no money to pay him or his troops, and none forthcoming. The patriotic craig and his no less patriotic men went regardless of pay, arriving in Pittsburgh, via the Virginia road, June 25, 1780. Henceforth Isaac Craig was of Pittsburgh until his retirement to Neville Island in his declining years.
Activities of Craig.
His long career and most active participation in all the events of this region require too many words to go into here at any length. Under Gen. Irvine he served with his usual vigor and gallantry, strengthening the old fort at Pittsburgh and putting it in proper shape to withstand the attack of Tories and Indians known to be imminent, but thwarted by the ready and complete preparations for defense.
By Gen. Irvine's orders he made a scouting expedition with six men and Lieut. Rose, to the Cuyahoga River at what is now Cleveland, O., and then to the Grand River in Northern Ohio, to discover if the British were establishing any other forts than the one at Sandusky. The journey was made in the depth of winter and was one of great hardship, but the party returned in safety, luckily falling in with a hunting party from the fort, after the disappearance of the man left in charge of their surplus provisions.
Capt. Craig was promoted major October 7, 1781, while enroute to join the projected expedition of Gen. George Rogers Clarke against Detroit—luckily escaping the fate of Col. Lochry and his men. Maj. Craig reached Clarke at the Falls of the Ohio in safety, but the attempt having been given up, Craig returned to Fort Pitt with his command. These facts are recorded in the "History of Pittsburgh," by N. B. Craig, in the "Pennsylvania Archives, Vol. VIII, First Series," and in Hassler's "Old Westmoreland."
Upon the disbandment of the army in 1781 Maj. Craig elected to make his home in Pittsburgh.
Marries in Pittsburgh.
In February that year he was married to Amelia Neville, only daughter of Gen. John Neville, then residing at Bower Hill. With the fast coming Indian troubles there was no chance for quiet and peace. Gen. Henry Knox, secretary of war in Washington's Cabinet, appointed Maj. Craig deputy quartermaster at Pittsburgh, and he served as such through the four Indian campaigns as mentioned, and in various other capacities until the close of the war in 1812.
Under the caption "A Few Documents from the Isaac Craig Collection" in the "Library News and Notices of Pittsburgh Carnegie Library" will be found a short sketch of Maj. Craig, and ltters from Gen. John Neville and Gen. Henry Knox, secretary of war, and Alexander Hamilton and others to Maj. Craig. (Monthly Bulletin, Carnegie Library, etc., April, 1911.)
Maj. Craig was for many years the confidential representative of the government at Pittsburgh. As quartermaster he received and distributed ammunition and stores of every description to the chain of forts and military stations throughout the entire West, reaching Presque Isle on the north and continuing as far down the river as the Falls of the Ohio. He was also the disbursing officer of the Treasury and the accredited agent of the pay department of the army.
It was he who suggested and carried out the plans for the first mail service on the Western rivers. He supervised the construction of boats employed in this hazardous service, hired the crews who manned these primitive vessels and was de facto assistant postmaster general for the territory west of the Alleghanies [sic].
Historic Papers on View.
The correspondence, reports, payrolls and other intensely interesting papers left by this pioneer are now in possession of the Carnegie Library, as are many of the documents accumulated during Maj. Craig's long service as burgess of the borough of Pittsburgh, a position to which he was first elected in 1802, immediately after his resignation from the army. This mass of material has been arranged with a view to rendering it readily accessible to all who are interested in the annals of national and local history.
Maj. Craig finds mention in the "History of Western Pennsylvania and the West," by Isaac D. Rupp; in the "History of Pittsburgh," by N. B. Craig; "The Western Insurrection," etc., by Townsend Ward; in "Memories of the Historical Society of Pennsylvania," and in the "Secular History in Its Connection with the Early Presbyterian Church History of Southwest Pennsylvania," and an address by Judge James Veech in "The Centenary Memorial," 1876. Maj. Craig's fidelity and his part in those perilous days of insurrection are noted in detail.
With Gen. O'Hara, Maj. Ebenezer Denny, Col. Stephen Bayard and Col. John Gibson, Maj. Craig organized the First Presbyterian Church of Pittsburgh in 1784. This same year, with Col. Bayard, he was the purchaser of the first lots in the sale of Penn's Manor in Pittsburgh, about three acres between Fort Pitt and the Allegheny River, as well as the fort itself. He thus came into the ownership of the Bouquet block house. He was a partner of Col. Bayard under the firm name of Craig, Bayard & Co., who became the leading merchants of the embryo city. In 1789 Maj. Craig sold his interest to Philadelphia parties, Turnbull, Marmie & Co., and moved to a farm adjoining his father-in-law at Bower Hill, but did not remain long.
New Fort Built.
Fort Pitt having fallen into decay in 1791, under the superintendence of Maj. Craig, deputy quartermaster general, Fort Fayette was erected facing Penn street, now avenue, on both sides of what has long been known as Garrison alley, the naming having thus arisen. The description of this fort and the eventful period preceding Wayne's expedition are given due space in Pittsburgh histories with extracts and references to Maj. Craig's extensive correspondence with Gen. Henry Knox, secretary of war, and Alexander Hamilton, secretary of the treasury. Mention will be found also in the "Pennsylvania Archives" Vol. VIII, and in the Bulletin of the Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh for April, 1911. The story of Fort Fayette was given in these columns in the account of Fayette's commemoration.
In 1797 Gen. James O'Hara and Maj. Craig erected the first glass works in Pittsburgh which stood on the side of the power house on the south side of the river immediately below the Point Bridge.
Referring to this pioneer venture N. B. Craig tells us his father did not profit. He says:
In the spring of the following year (1797) arrangements began to be made by James O'Hara and Isaac Craig, for the erection of the first Glass-works here. Wm. Eichbaum, Superintendent of Glass-works at the Schuylkill, near Philadelphia, was engaged to direct the erection of the works. As this was an important experiment, the following letter from Major Craig giving an account of the very first movement, may be worth preserving:
"Pittsburgh, June 1, 1797.
"After your departure, I furnished Mr. Eichbaum with laborers and the necessary tools for digging and probing the hills near the Saw-mill and up the run as high as the manor line; considerable time and labor were spent without any other discovery than a stratum of coal from twelve to thirteen inches only. I then took Mr. Eichbaum up the Coal-hill and showed him the coal pits called Ward's pits and the lots on which they are, with all of which, he was well pleased, both as to situation and convenience of materials for building.
Lots Are Bought.
"I, therefore, immediately purchased of Ephraim Jones, the house and lot near the spring for one hundred pounds and have made application to Ephraim Blaine for the two adjoining lots, which no doubt, I will get on reasonable terms. These three lots are quite sufficient, and we are now quarrying lime and building stone, both of which are found on the lot. James Irwin is engaged to do the carpenter work; scantling for the principal building is now sawing, four log house carpenters are employed in providing timber for the other buildings, and I am negotiating with a mason for the stone work.
"COL. JAMES O'HARA, Detroit."
Maj. Craig addressed O'Hara as "Colonel," probably more used to that title. O'Hara is usually given the title of "General," having attained that rank. Ephraim Jones was the pioneer ferryman of Pittsburgh and Ephraim Blaine the grandfather of James G. Blaine, both prominent in the early history of Pittsburgh. Coal Hill was the old name of Mt. Washington. A thin vein of coal outcrops on Mt. Washington yet in places.
Neville B. Craig makes the remarkable explanation of this letter of his father's, and it is remarkable that he should make it, for he is clearly in error.
The sawmill referred to in the above letter must have been up the run at the upper end of Allegheny city, for in no other direction near Pittsburgh could they have failed to find a vein of coal of proper depth. The line called the "manor line" was no doubt the line of the reserved tract. The lots spoken of were those now owned by Frederick Lorenz.
How much of Penn's manor of Pittsburgh extended south of the Monongahela is shown by the maps published today, the southern line reaching to what is now Greentree. All deeds of property on Mt. Washington go back to the Penns. The "Reserve Tract" was a survey by Alexander McClean in April, 1785, on which the original city of Allegheny was built and none of that survey touched the Monongahela at any point.
The Old Saw Mill.
Maps of the Reserve tract are common. One hangs in the Allegheny Carnegie Library. The saw mill may have been as N. B. Craig states, but there was an early saw mill at the mouth of the run still called Saw Mill Run, from whence the name arose.
Frederick Lorenz was the partner of the late Thomas Wightman and the glass house for many years was known as Lorenz & Wightman's, and later Wightman's, and was torn down to erect the power house on its site within a score of years back. Lorenz is commemorated in a street name in the former borough of Elliott, now the Twentieth Ward.
In addition to their mercantile business the firm of Craig, Bayard & Co. owned a distillery, a saw mill, and a salt works. The saw mill was on the Allegheny, the salt works on the Big Beaver. We find the Philadelphia end of the firm, Turnbull, Marmie & Co., anxious about the distillery—location not given. Under date October 28, 1784, they wrote to Pittsburgh:
We are very anxious to hear that the stills have reached you in good order and that you will be able to set them going this fall.
These excerpts from Craig's "History of Pittsburgh" are taken from the volume owned by the late Isaac Craig, son of N. B. Craig, and no doubt an identical copy given him by his father. At the foot of the page containing part of the above quotation, Isaac Craig has penciled in a clear, beautiful hand:
July 30, 1838, Neville B. Craig, the owner and editor, issued it as a daily, the first in Pittsburgh.
Very good history this. Isaac Craig has penciled also an asterisk as a reference mark above and below.
There are other annotations in the book, made in pencil, and his signature on the title page at the top. The book first appeared in 1851, and the copy spoken of is one of the Isaac Craig collection donated to the Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh.
Neville Craig testifies that he tasked his memory severely, and, with the aid of one whose recollection is more distinct than his own, he has made out an enumeration of the houses in Pittsburgh in January, 1796. The Gazette of the 9th of that month having published that "the number of inhabitants as taken by the assessors last week amounts to one thousand three hundred and ninety-five.
Craig puts the numerals in italics and mearks [sic] that it is the earliest authentic account of our population and that it is well to tarry awhile and note the appearance of this place and the condition. Estimating six to a house upon an average, this would make 232 houses in the borough. His memory, he says, goes back "pretty distinctly" to that time and he could not conceive where that number of houses could then be found.
Of course the assessors found the people, and the Gazette published the finding. Good news item of the day. If, not why not?
Neville Craig next proceeds to enumerate the houses by streets, starting on Penn east of Fort Pitt, but just now we will note only that Presley Neville, John Neville, his father, and Maj. Isaac Craig lived on Water street, then the main street of the borough. Next to Craig's is enumerated "the Redout," that of Maj. Grant, at what is now Redoubt alley.
Craig totals 102 houses and appends to 97 residences: "Bouquet's old Redoubt, in Fort Pitt, four or five." And of the 102, Bouquet's old redoubt, the Block-House, we call it, is the only survivor.
Craig is sure that there are not fine houses overlooked and, allowing eight to a house, the population would be little over 800, and he quotes Niles' Register to show that in 1786 Pittsburgh contained 86 log houses, one stone and one frame and five small stores. Craig assumes that the detail and particularity of Niles' statement would seem to give it some credibility.
The inference Craig seeks to have you make is that the assessors lied—"Padded the roll," we say now. In 1800 we know Uncle Sam counted noses here and recorded 1,565, which would be an increase in four years of only 170. Looks as though Craig's point was to be affirmed. Riddle's directory of Pittsburgh for 1815 contains this line:
Craig Isaac, major, Water, between Redoubt alley and Ferry street.
It appears that 19 years after the assessors' list above referred to was published, Maj. Craig was still abiding in the same location.
In 1802, and for several years, Maj. Craig was chief burgess of the borough of Pittsburgh. Soon after the War of 1812 Maj. Craig became financially involved, largely through liabilities assumed for friends and unable to extricate himself from his troubles, retired from all active employment in 1815 and passed his remaining years in the seclusion of his island home. His worth and sturdy qualities as a man, a soldier and a citizen were appreciated in his long career, but today, like others of his period, his name has almost passed into forgetfulness, though no man in the history of the city had a better claim to remembrance, a street in Pittsburgh alone preserving it, the duplicate in former Allegheny city having been changed necessarily.
Error in Book.
The volunminous [sic] history of Allegheny county published in 1889 and known as "Warner's History" from the publishing house, contains a curious error.
Speaking of the Pittsburgh streets commemorating British officers, Forbes, Marbury, Stanwix, et al., the contributor of chapter XXII (Pittsburgh history) states:
It seems odd that while men of no greater prominence than those mentioned have their names perpetuated on street corner signs, men like Neville B. Craig, Brackenridge and many others that could be named are left without recognition. There is, to be sure, a Craig street in Allegheny City, upon which city he had no special claim; but not a street in Pittsburgh is named after him, nor a borough or township in the county. Yet no man had a better claim to such remembrance.
This was written before the day of transfers at Forbes and Craig streets and the contributor had no means of access to a street guide or the city directory, hence he missed Brackenridge avenue also. This is the inference.
The preface of this history states that Russell Errett wrote eight chapters, including chapter XXII and parts of two others. No more careful, painstaking and reliable writer than Maj. Errett ever touched pen in Pittsburgh, and that he did not know better goes without saying. Contemporary with the Craigs, N. B. and his son Isaac, knowing both well, it is inconceivable that Maj. Errett did not know better and we must take these misstatements as interpollated [sic]. As an active politician, knowing every district in Allegheny county, traversing the street often, how could he fail to remember it?
Now the Allegheny Craig street is no more and the Oakland Craig street is the only commemoration of the Craigs and we may add also that were this contributor or interpollator [sic] to happen along now and go delving into street nomenclature in Pittsburgh, he would be struck with an exceedingly great oddness.
Maj. Craig passed his latter days in comfort and died at his home on Neville Island, May 14, 1826, aged 84. He was buried in the graveyard of the First Presbyterian Church, Sixth avenue, and his name is on the bronze tablet on Oliver avenue, recently erected by the Pittsburgh Chapter, Daughters of the American Revolution.
The signatures of Gen. Neville and Maj. Craig are taken from a fac simile reproduction of the original order to pay one month's pay due for services in Revolution to the Pennsylvania State Association of the Society of Cincinnati.
