Source:Fleming-old-ninth
George T. Fleming. "Annals of the old Ninth Ward: Some curious history all the way from Massachusetts—recollections of a real old lady who still loves Pittsburgh—a half century absent, yet a Pittsburgher in heart—memories linger and absence endears: Mrs. Gammons forwards list of residents of her childhood home neighborhood, pupils of schools, Civil War veterans of the district, and much other data of the old Ninth Ward, later the Twelfth—details given." Pittsburgh Gazette Times, Mar. 26, 1922, sec. 5, [p. 2]. Newspapers.com 85409897.
The story that appears this week has come a long distance and has reached The Gazette Times in an indirect way. The material for the story was sent by an old Pittsburgher from her home in Wareham, Mass., where she has resided for many years. The letter accompanying the typewritten manuscript is addressed to George W. McCandless of the Department of Public Safety of Pittsburgh, and was written by Mrs. E. A. Gammons. As an introduction to the story it seems necessary to quote from her letter. She begins:
"Years and years ago I lived in Pittsburgh on Penn street, Ninth Ward; went to the Ninth Ward School. The other day I came across this roll of Pittsburgh names and thinking that some Pittsburgher would like to look them over, wished to send them, but who to send them to I didn't know, and in the evening looking over the Boston paper saw your name, so thought that my chance; so am sending them to you. I loved dear old Pittsburgh, but all my friends are gone. After the Civil War my father came to Wareham and here I married a young man who was in the National Bank of Wareham. He was identified with the bank for 50 years, and until he passed away four years ago. We lived to have our golden wedding anniversary and a long happy life, but I am the only one left of a family of nine and next June, the 25th, I will be 83 years old."
Enjoying Good Health.
Mrs. Gammons writes further that she enjoys good health, has her own car and goes out riding every pleasant day. She thinks often of her youthful days in Pittsburgh, which she thoroughly enjoyed. There was a family by the name of McCandless who lived in the Ninth Ward in those days and she wrote to Director McCandless to know if he belonged to that family. She says that she can remember but one friend now in Pittsburgh, Mr. Frank Crawford, who she says is connected with the Pennsylvania Railroad. The manuscript accompanying the letter is 50 pages of closely typed matter on both sides of the page, only part of which pertains to Pittsburgh. Many names on these records of old Ninth Ward people are duplicated. More than half of the manuscript is concerning Massachusetts history, particularly that pertaining to Salem, and goes back to the days of the Pilgrims. The Pittsburgh matter seems to have been put down at different times from memory. The names and residences of the people enumerated were originally marked "D" in the margin, meaning dead, but interpolations have been made in ink. Whoever did the typing was no expert, nevertheless there are some very clear and interesting annals of a busy and bustling portion of Pittsburgh during the Civil War period. A vein of pathos appears in the prosaic roll of names in such items as, "Ella Brown, killed at the Allegheny Arsenal, September 17, 1862." This item appears more than once because of others who lost their lives on that awful day. Names of Civil War veterans are listed; for instance, "George Brooks, killed on the Rocks at South Mountain; William Porter, killed at Cold Harbor; John Dearing, killed at Williamsburg, Va., May 5, 1862."
Many names of well-known Pittsburghers, their children and grandchildren are to be found on the lists. Lists of the names of the whole neighborhood, the occupations of many and residences are given, and dates of birth as well as death. Lists of the manufacturing industries in the district, and, of course, in many places the records are incomplete; for instance, "Paddy Agens, killed"—time and place not given, presumably in battle for the name is on the soldier's list.
Many Well Known Names.
In the list of the Ninth Ward boys who enlisted in the "Civil War From 1861–65" over 50 names are given on one list and the nicknames of many of them in brackets, and after some names occurs "At Old Soldiers' Home, Dayton, O." Many forgotten names are on this list, while others are exceedingly well known, some having but recently passed away; some are still living and these will be noted. The scholars of the Bayardstown district come in for their share of the records. This district was the old Fifth Ward, afterwards the Ninth and Tenth Wards, or the Ralston School district and the old Ninth Ward, subsequently the Twelfth Ward, or the O'Hara School district, both schools being in use at the present time. Lists of directors, principals, and teachers at various dates are given. Then the school books used as far back as 1850 and long lists of pupils from that time on. The word dead, or letter D, occurs with startling regularity before most of these names, mostly typed but often penned, as if news had just come of the fact. Occasionally the place of interment, or the place of death, and sometimes the occupation of the person is mentioned.
Some odd records occur, for instance, a list of the lots in the Allegheny Cemetery belonging to pupils of the Ninth Ward School; a list of hills and other localities in Pittsburgh; roads, passages, streets and alleys and a list of the volunteer fire companies of Pittsburgh, the old street designations which were afterward changed to numerals, beginning with Point street and ending at Thirty-third street. Some odd spellinigs [sic] occur here, such as "Climber" for "Clymer." These old names will be given also, as few people of today can recite them correctly, such old-timers as the writer hereof, fell down on this list and Postmaster Gosser, having come to his rescue, came to a dead stop at Seventeenth street, a very easy one, by the way. Some steamers on the Allegheny River are mentioned (only two), followed by the names of the games played by the children, names of the locomotives on the Pennsylvania Railroad in 1855 and of the engineers running them. This latter is an especially interesting list. Some names of Pennsylvania Railroad officials occur and the last of the Pittsburgh matter is headed "Marriages of Pupils of the Ninth Ward School." The item is made that the population of Pittsburgh in 1850 was 36,601. Pittsburgh history ends abruptly on page 53 of the roll with the penned note, "End of Pittsburgh Matter." The next line begins the Salem history.
The names of those residents of the old Ninth Ward who lost their lives in the Arsenal explosion as listed are as follows: Ella Brown, Mary Dripps, Sidney Handlin and Ella Rushton.
Not Complete List.
The names assigned as the old Ninth Ward's contribution to the Union Army during the Civil War are, of course, not all those who so served. It is evidently a very good list of those known to the compiler of the list and reads as follows:
Charles Cheney, died May 26, 1885, private, Company G, Ninth Regiment Pennsylvania Reserves. David L. Crawford, died July 4, 1868; George Brooks, killed on the Rocks at South Mountain; William Porter, killed at Cold Harbor; Alexander Bothwell, killed; Joseph McKay, killed; H. W. Billings, Charles Ward, killed; Joseph Wood, died October 9, 1864; William P. Brown, died November 11, 1864; Lewis Brown, died October 1865; Frank Yates, killed; George Maxwell, died in Colorado, January 1, 1881; Richard Rowe, died May 5, 1902; Henry Coates, Andrew M. Moreland, dead; John W. Moreland, died in 1908; Fred Lehman, died 1900, Washington, D. C.; William Cheney, Joseph Knox, lost leg, dead; Albert Liston, died 1871, Tom Norman, 1861; Alexander Price, died February 2, 1871; James Powelson, William Wilson, Tom Rowly, "Polly" Manchester, Morris Carlisle, (Puggy) died in 1895; Harry Anderson, died October 9, 1901; John Hanlon, Claude Moore, dead; James McKenna, dead; Nicholas Hoffman, dead; John Porter, killed in service; "Billy" Feirst, died in 1901; Samuel McKelvey, died November 2, 1894; James McKelvey, Zachariah Watson, died December 1903; John Milton Hill, died October 15, 1900; John McAleese, "killed in Civil War." This is an error. Mr. McAleese was the gardener for the Dennys at their old mansion at Denny's Curve, the Denny home, now the site of the Ward Bakery, at Liberty and Twenty-ninth streets. Mr. McAleese was a soldier in Mexico and the farrier of Hampton's Light Battery during the Civil War. After some two years' service he was mustared [sic] out for disability incurred in the service and died in Pittsburgh some time after the war. He was the father of John McAleese, Jr., of Wilkinsburg, and Mrs. Owen McElroy of Friendship avenue. In the Mexican War, John McAleese, Sr., served in Capt. Guthrie's Pittsburgh company, which was assigned to the Eleventh United States Infantry and served with that noted regiment for a term of one year.
John Morrow is listed in the U. S. Army: "Killed in the seven-days' fight." This was in the spring of 1862 in the Peninsula campaign in Virginia. "Amzi Morrow enlisted in Confederate Army in 1861," is a suggestive line that follows.
Alexander M. and Joseph H. Montgomery, brothers, are not marked as serving in the Civil War, though both were in Company E, One Hundred and Thirty-sixth Pennsylvania Volunteers. Joseph Montgomery is marked: "Born April 18, 1841; died June 28, 1905." He was one of the first pupils of the Pittsburgh Central High School, a graduate of that school in the class of 1860; a teacher in the school after his return from the Army for three years, when he entered the ministry of the Presbyterian Church and attained high distinction. Alexander Montgomery is still living.
There are a number of names not on the Civil War roll of veterans of the ward marked, as "In Soldiers' Home, Dayton, Ohio." These evidently lived in the ward at one time or the other. Jesse Price is one; marked in ink, "Died at Chicago, Ill." James Dripps and Henry Glunt, also. The latter marked: "Died June 27, 1902." Henry Coates is down in several capacities: first, on fire department at the time this list was made out as engineer at No. 19 Company, then on Second avenue; again, as a soldier. He was a brother of the late Chief William Coates, and one of the first firemen on the paid force in 1870. William Clark, called "Gumshon Cute," on the list, is not on the Civil War roll, though he should be, for he served his three years with Hampton's Battery. He is best known from his long service in the mail department of Carnegie Museum and Library. We must admit he had rather an odd nickname, the significance not known to this generation. Perhaps Dr. Louis Arensberg and his brother, Conrad, or "Davy" Lewis, or some other survivor of the old battery, will remember something about this.
Many Localities Mentioned.
George McCandless' name is followed by the line: "Born 1848; died May 31, 1873. Soldier of Company G, One Hundred and Second Pennsylvania Volunteers." Richard Rowe, better known as "Roger," was for 32 years engineer at No. 7 Engine Company. William Dripps is a soldier mentioned as having died in Soldiers' Home, Dayton, O. On another sheet there are a few names of Civil War soldiers, following the names of Price, Dripps and Glunt, as follows: John Handlin, Frank Martin, William Weeks and Charles Weeks—all marked "killed."
These items as a whole strike one as having been inspired by a desire to enumerate as many old localities in Pittsburgh as was possible to bring to mind. It will puzzle some real old timers to locate them all. Some names are familiar and in use to this day as will be noted; others have passed forever. Some odd errors occur: Gertrude's Run evidently refers to Girty's Run, in Millvale borough; "Hard Scrabbles" is unmistakably meant for Hardscrabble, that delightful locality where you jump on to Boyd's Hill from the rampart at Ross street and Second avenue, and go on out to Soho via the Boulevard of the Allies including Nippon. Strange to say Hardscrabble's neighbor Pipetown is not mentioned unless "Piketown" is intended for it. A list of alleys is included, some "ally" and some "alley" which is mixing up the allies regardless of the boulevard. "Cold Hill" requires Coal to effect a change in temperature. This list verbatim reads:
Oakland, Bayardstown, O'Haraville, Minersville, Cold Hill, Grant's Hill, Denny's Hill, Squirrel Hill, Seminary Hill, Troy Hill, Deadman's Hollow, Woolen Mill Hollow, Skunk Hollow, Morning Side Road, Seventh Street Road, Iron City Park, Two-Mile Run, Friendship Park, Baum's Grove, Winebiddle's Woods, Union Park, Hard Scrabbles, Gertrude's Run, Saw Mill Run, Jacks' Run, Piketown, Hatfield, Garrison's Ally, Strawberry Ally, Virgin Ally, Cecil Ally, Diamond Ally, Mulberry Ally, Spring Alley, Jail Alley, Irwin Alley, Clay Alley, Hayscale Alley.
The industrial interests of the old Ninth Ward are indicated by the following list headed, "Factories and Mills, 1850–1855.
Factories of 1850.
Billings, Wilson & Co., tack factory; John Little & Co., gun factory; Pennock & Hart, foundry; Joseph Poor & Co., sawmill; Newmyer & Graff, shovel factory; Agnew & Co., glass factory; the O'Hara Glass Works; White, Berger & Co., bucket factory; Woods' Brewery; Smith's Foundry; McCully's Glass Works; Coleman and Hailman's, iron works; Schoenberger [sic] Iron Works; Zug, Painter & Co., iron works; Hussey, Wells & Co., steel works; Oby's Livery Stable, Liberty street; Baldwin & Cheney Coal Co.; Thos. Dickson, coal yard; Milligan's Lime Yard; James B. Hill, saw and lumber mill, Penn and Twenty-sixth street; Knap & Wade Foundry; Totten's Foundry; Macintosh & Hemphill Foundry; Marshall's Foundry. This latter was on Twentieth street. Some of these works were in the old Fifth ward. Zug and Painter's Mill, the Schoenberger Works, the Knap Fort Pitt Foundry and McIntosh, Hemphill & Co.'s. McCullys had two factories, one at Twenty-second and Smallman street, and one at Liberty and Sixteenth streets. Then there were the old Hamilton bottle houses on Twentieth street.
Some railroad history appears under this heading:
"Names of locomotives on Pennsylvania Railroad in 1855: F. K. Heisley, ⸻; Indiana, engineer, Charles Cheney; Franklin Pierce, Thomas Ridley; Hornet, Richard Allen; Wasp, Shultz Spelman; Latrobe, Thomas Rushton; Clearfield, Peter Coslow; Union, "Bill" Richardson; Conemaugh, "Bill" Williams; Dauphin, "Bill" Gray; Tuscarora, Willis; Kittanning, William A. Shattuck; Allegheny, J. Sweeney; Altoona, William E. Ott; Loyal Hanna, Rick Russell; Bradford, Daniel Bolton; Kiskiminetas, William Colbert; Susquehanna, James Dolan; Baltimore, Frank Neumont. "Billy" Colbert and Frank Neumont will be remembered on the Liberty street run down to the Point.
This line follows the above list:
P. R. R. officials: Thomas A. Scott, Joseph D. Potts, Andrew Carnegie, Robert Pitcairn, George Alexander.
The railroads were great employers of labor, skilled and common. The shopmen, trackmen, those operating trains, round houses and depot employes numbered hundreds of men. The telegraph force at "OD," the old outer depot at Twenty-eighth street, furnished its share of Ninth Ward notables. Few are left. David Homer Bates of New York and George A. Low of Wilkinsburg are recalled as still with us.
Here are the old street names referred to in a foregoing paragraph:
First, Point street; Second, Duquesne; Third, Marbury; Fourth, Hay; Fifth, Pitt; Sixth, St. Clair; Seventh, Irwin; Eighth, Hancock; Ninth, Hand; Tenth, Wayne; Eleventh, Canal; Twelfth, O'Hara; Thirteenth, Walnut, Fourteenth, Factory; Fifteenth, Adams; Sixteenth, Mechanics; Seventeenth, Harrison; Eighteenth, Pine; Nineteenth, Locust; Twentieth, Carson; Twenty-first, Allegheny; Twenty-second, Lumber; Twenty-third, Carrol; Twenty-fourth, Wilkins; Twenty-fifth, Baldwin; Twenty-sixth, Morris, Twenty-seventh, Rush; Twenty-eighth, Morton; Twenty-ninth, Clymer; Thirtieth, Smith; Thirty-first, Taylor; Thirty-second, Wilson; Thirty-third, Boundary street; Thirty-fourth, Toll Gate at Thirty-fourth street, crossing Two-Mile Run. The streets following this to the east were in the borough of Lawrenceville, out to the cemetery gate.
Fire Engine Companies.
The fire engine companies enumerated as existing those years were the Neptune, Relief, Allegheny, Duquesne, Vigilant, Niagara, Eagle, Independence and Good Intent. The Independence was the old Ninth Ward company, now No. 7, at Penn avenue and Twenty-second street. The Niagara was the Bayardstown company on Penn avenue near Fourteenth street, now No. 15. The Relief Company is now No. 4, at Fifth avenue and Miltenberger street. The other companies were downtown. The Good Intent, a hand engine company, was on Wylie avenue below Logan street. It was discontinued in June, 1870, upon the institution of the paid force of firemen. Previously all the companies were volunteers.
The roll of individual names runs alphabetically. There is no date to indicate when the rolls were made. They seem to have been made up at different times, added to and annotated. The duplications of some names are natural enough, coming under several heads, such as pupils in the ward schools, Civil War roster of the ward, lists of marriages, etc., but there occur also distinct duplications showing that no attempt has been made to check up, and beyond a doubt these records grew slowly and were given much though. Some story made up from them is furnished today. Such as it is it will at least start the memories of many hundreds of Pittsburghers backwards today and awaken memories of all kinds. To print the long lists of names of these old-timers in the ward would give too much of a sameness to today's story so only an installment will appear. It is possible that there are some errors, but these will be detected. The remarks in brackets are made by The Gazette Times editors. The letter D preceding most of the names is omitted, so few are living, that where known they have been mentioned.
The alphabetical roll of residents begins with "Kate Altenbaugh, living at Homestead, Pa. Ink lines after "Mrs. James Coyne," followed by the name, Elizabeth Altenbaugh, then the words, "Mr. Altenbaugh died 1898." These names regularly follow:
Other Residents.
Hugh Adams; William Adams; Mrs. Altenbaugh, died in 1896; Annie Altenbaugh; Mary Altenbaugh; Rose Altenbaugh, married Mr. Fullenhouser, Tremont ave.; Elizabeth Altenbaugh; Nealy Brown; "Coney Bety, Hind's Slaughter House who knocked down the cattle with an axe in 1850." (This needs explanation.); Harry Anderson, died in Economy Pa., October 7, 1901, husband of Miss Maggie Brown; lived for a number of years on Big Sewickley Creek; George Bradley, died November 17, 1902. (Well known for many years as a resident and alderman in the old Twenty-first Ward.) Charles Bradley; David Homer Bates; Addison Bowman; George Brewster; Mr. John Brown, born 1811, died May 13, 1871; Ellen Beggs, married Chas. B. Deshon, died 1898; Elvia Beggs; David Crawford, husband of Morse Lightner, died July 4, 1868; William Crawford; Allen Cheney, died in Colorado, January 31, 1880; Charles Cheney, Jr., died in Remington, Pa., May 26, 1885; Emma Cheney, died in June, 1885; William Cheney, Sharon, Pa.; Frank Cheney, Rochester, Pa.; Vennie Cheney, married George Ramsey, Conway, Pa.; Clara Cheney, born September 24, 1864, married Charles Sneed; Charles Sneed died 1894; Clara married again June 16, 1898, to Charles Aurble; Mrs. Charles Cheney, died July 8, 1900; Mrs. Charles Cheney, died May 24, 1893; Miss Iva Cheney, daughter of William Cheney, died July 4, 1897; Fannie Cowper; Joseph Colebaugh; William Colebaugh; George McCandless, born 1848, died May 31, 1873, soldier of Company G, 102d Pennsylvania Volunteers; Samuel Clark, died 1877; William Clark (called "Gumshon Cute"); Griff Clark; Lewis Brown, soldier in Civil War, died October, 1865; William P. Brown, soldier in Civil War, died November 11, 1864; Charles Brown, died February, 1871, born 1845; John Brown, died July, 1899; Alexander Bolton; George Blton, Maple avenue, Edgeworth; Daniel Bolton, died August 30, 1900; Samuel Brown, telegraph operator (P. R. R.); Albert Berger; Charles Berger; William Berger; Dick Brown, died November, 1896; Henry Coates, fireman; Peter Bobie; James L. Black; William Burns; Hutch Bovard, relations No. 70 Twenty-sixth street; Isaiah Bovard, died May 22, 1904, aged 66 years; Ellis Beggs; Maria Bosworth, Bloomfield, Cedar street; Jennie Bates, Homewood, Pa., wife of John Routh 9sister of D. Homer Bates); Maggie Brown, Fair Oaks, Pa.; Delia Brown, married Mr. Taber, died January 31, 1871; Ella Brown, Cora Brown, daughter of Ella Brown, died January 18, 1901; Emergine (Imogene) Brown, now Mrs. Lusk, 3456 Boquet street; William Corbett, died in Memphis, Tenn., 1888; Thomas M. Carnegie, died in Pittsburgh, October 18, 1886; Edward Coates; Henry Coates; David McCargo, died January 25, 1902; Robert McCargo, his brother, music teacher (these names out of place); John Chambers; William McCleary (possibly reference is to William H. McCleary, former sheriff of Allegheny county); John D. Cuddy; Poke Cuddy; Rankin Cuddy; Mrs. Francis Cuddy; Morris Carlisle, called "Puggy;" Rachel Chambers, married Calvin King, died April 15, 1903; John Dearing; James Dripps; Joseph Dripps; William Dripps; George Dobbs, died in 1896, aged 83; William Dobbs, Vanport, O.; Jonathan Dobbs, Vanport, O.; Elizabeth Dobbs; Mrs. Annie L. S. Dobbs, daughter of Jonathan Dobbs; "Billy" Deal; "Freddy" Deal; James Darragh; Scott Debrough (?) telegraph operator; Garry Davidson, actor; John Diamond, proprietor of a tavern; Hugh Diamond; Howell Davis; Richard Doty; Henry Drum; Lucy Drum; Edward Dithridge; Robert Dithridge; Mary Dripps, killed at Arsenal; Kate Dugan, a teacher in Ninth Ward school; James Drummond; Matthew Edwards, married Mary Hayes; John Ettleman, coachman for Mrs. Denny; Dick Ewalt; John Evans; Henry C. Evans, Youngstown, O.; Ruth Evans, New Castle; Clara Evans; Mr. and Mrs. Albert Evans, father of Henry and Ruth Evans, New Castle; Maggie Edwards; William C. Ellery, died December 16, 1898; Addison Flack, living in Bloomfield, 1902; J. B. Flack, attorney; Miranda Flack, married Charles Berger; Benjamin Flack, died in Baltimore, August 14, 1895; Samuel Flack, died in Pittsburgh, October 17, 1892; Joseph Fleming; Fred Fisher; "Billy" Fierst; Thomas Fierst captain Engine Company No. 7.
The remainder of Mrs. Gammons' contribution to the annals of the old Ninth Ward of Pittsburgh will be furnished next week.
(TO BE CONTINUED.)