Cuba Way
Cuba Way | |
---|---|
Neighborhood | Crawford-Roberts |
Origin of name | Shortening of earlier name, Cuba-You-Quit |
Cub-ba-you-quit Alley (until 1881) | |
Origin of name | Cub-ba-you-quit |
Cubba-you-quit Alley (1881–1914) | |
Origin of name | Cub-ba-you-quit |
Cubba-you-quit Way (1914–1926) | |
Origin of name | Cub-ba-you-quit |
Cuba-You-Quit Way (until 1926) | |
Origin of name | Cub-ba-you-quit |
There was once an alley between Jumonville Street and Wyandotte Street, when those streets extended further north than they do today, that was called Cuba-You-Quit Way. This unusual name comes from a Chippewa woman named Cub-ba-you-quit, who was involved in a legal battle over land rights in the 1870s.[1][2][3]
The story begins with an early Pittsburgh physician, Peter Mowry, who by 1830 had acquired 76 acres of land in what is now Upper Lawrenceville. This tract of land stretched from the Allegheny River to about today's Carnegie Street, between 50th and 53rd Streets, including part of the modern Allegheny Cemetery. Mowry died in 1833. His son William moved to Michigan around 1846, where he married Cub-ba-you-quit, the daughter of a Chippewa chief named Perot or Pero. She took the name Mary Mowry. After several years, William returned to Pittsburgh without his family, perhaps intending it to be a brief visit, but there he fell ill and died. The Mowry land deed was forgotten, and in the following decades the land was subdivided, sold to various individuals and businesses, and developed. In the early 1870s, a man named Bernard L. Meister rediscovered Peter Mowry's will of 1833, which bequeathed this land (now worth an estimated $2 million) to William, therefore suggesting that it should have been inherited by his widow. Meister contacted Mary Mowry and offered her $30,000 for three-fourths interest in her claim. She agreed, and Meister went to court in December 1874 to gain control of the property. The sensational case attracted widespread attention in the newspapers and among the public. Mary's original name of Cub-ba-you-quit became known during testimony. So did the fact that she had been married to William according to the Chippewa tradition and had refused a legally recognized ceremony, which damaged her case. The jury ruled against her claim. The case was appealed to the United States Supreme Court, on the grounds that the marriage should be recognized under common law, and in 1877, in Meister v. Moore, that court ordered a new trial. The final outcome is unclear, except that Mary got an alley named after her.[1][3]
Unfortunately Mary's brief local fame quickly faded. In a 1904 column in the Connellsville Courier, just 30 years after Mary's court battles, A. G. McKean relates a "tradition" that the alley was given its name because of a child bully named Cuba to whom other children would complain, "Cuba, you quit."[4]
The alley was named Cub-ba-you-quit Alley in a city ordinance of 1875[5] and Cubba-you-quit Alley in ordinances from 1881 and 1910 establishing the names of all streets in the city.[6][7] It became Cubba-you-quit Way in 1914 when another ordinance changed all alleys to ways.[8] At some point the spelling became corrupted to Cuba-You-Quit Way.
The "Cuba" part of the name was often confused with the island. During the First World War, an anonymous writer praised the name Cuba-You-Quit Alley, under the false belief that it had originated in the Spanish–American War, and called for additional sloganistic street name changes ("'Berlin-or-Bust Alley,' 'Buy-a-Bond Terrace,' 'War-Savings-Stamp Street,' 'Food-Will-Win-the-War,' 'Don't-Waste-It Alley,' 'Over-the-Top Avenue,' or 'Carry-On Boulevard'").[9] The association with the island was strengthened (and the connection to the true origins weakened) when Cuba-You-Quit Way was renamed Cuba Way by a city ordinance in 1926.[10][11][12][13][14][3] Bob Regan mistakenly includes "Cuba" in a list of streets named for countries.[15]
Cuba Way was still listed in a city street guide in 1953,[16] but by 2014 it no longer existed.[3]
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 J. C. Andrews. Untitled letter. Printed in Frank C. Harper, "Pittsburgh day by day," Pittsburgh Press, Jan. 8, 1929, p. 2 (Newspapers.com 146342285). [view source] andrews
- ↑ Gilbert Love. "What's in a name? A lot!: Titles of city streets recall persons famed in U. S. history: From Golden Triangle eastward, thoroughfares list great and near great of colonial and revolutionary days." Pittsburgh Press, Feb. 12, 1944, p. 9. Newspapers.com 147946752. [view source] love-titles
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 Jude Wudarczyk. "Unlikely plaintiff: Lawrenceville historian Jude Wudarczyk unearths the details of a Chippewa woman's legal fight with the city's leading men." Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, Sept. 14, 2014, p. C-7. Newspapers.com 96351259; https://www.post-gazette.com/opinion/Op-Ed/2014/09/14/Next-Page-Unlikely-plaintiff/stories/201408170006. [view source] wudarczyk
- ↑ A. G. McKean. "Our Pittsburg letter." Courier (Connellsville, Penna.), Apr. 28, 1904, p. 6. Newspapers.com 37848766. [view source] mckean
- ↑ "An ordinance authorizing the opening of Wyandotte Lane from Fifth avenue to Cub-ba-you-quit alley." Pittsburgh city ordinance, 1875, no. 7. Passed Feb. 27, 1875; approved Mar. 4, 1875. Ordinance Book 4, p. 26. In Municipal Record: Minutes of the proceedings of the Select & Common Councils of the City of Pittsburgh for the year 1875, p. 24, Herald Printing Company, Pittsburgh, 1876 (Google Books QblEAQAAMAAJ; HathiTrust chi.096598889; Internet Archive pghmunicipalrecord1875). [view source] ordinance-1875-7
- ↑ "An ordinance establishing the names of avenues, streets, lanes and alleys of the City of Pittsburgh." Pittsburgh city ordinance, 1881, no. 33. Passed Feb. 28, 1881; approved Mar. 4, 1881. Ordinance Book 5, p. 212. In Municipal Record: Minutes of the proceedings of the Select and Common Councils of the City of Pittsburgh, for the year 1880, pp. 213–234 (Internet Archive pghmunicipalrecord1880). [view source] ordinance-1881-33
- ↑ "An ordinance establishing the names of the avenues, streets, lanes and alleys in the City of Pittsburgh." Pittsburgh city ordinance, 1910, no. 716. Passed Mar. 31, 1910; approved Apr. 5, 1910. Ordinance Book 21, p. 359. In Municipal Record: Minutes of the proceedings of the [Select and Common Councils] of the City of Pittsburgh for the years 1909–1910, appendix, pp. 328–381, Devine & Co., Pittsburgh, 1910 (Google Books doQzAQAAMAAJ; HathiTrust uiug.30112108223832; Internet Archive Pghmunicipalrecord1909). Reprinted in the Pittsburgh Post, Apr. 29, 1910, pp. 12–16 (Newspapers.com 86616256, 86616285, 86616314, 86616333, 86616343), and Apr. 30, pp. 12–16 (Newspapers.com 86616643, 86616672, 86616694, 86616726, 86616748). [view source] ordinance-1910-716
- ↑ "An ordinance changing the name 'alley' on every thoroughfare in the City of Pittsburgh to 'way.'" Pittsburgh city ordinance, 1914, no. 402. Passed Nov. 10, 1914; approved Nov. 16, 1914. Ordinance Book 26, p. 360. In Municipal Record: Minutes of the proceedings of the Council of the City of Pittsburgh for the year 1914, appendix, p. 226, McClung Printing Co., Pittsburgh (HathiTrust uiug.30112108223899; Internet Archive Pghmunicipalrecord1914). Reprinted in the Pittsburgh Post, Nov. 23, 1914, p. 11 (Newspapers.com 86505785), and Nov. 24, p. 12 (Newspapers.com 86505809). [view source] ordinance-1914-402
- ↑ "'Pittsburgh promotes progress.'" Union Postal Employe, vol. 14, no. 11, Nov. 1918, p. 32. Google Books IEg2AQAAMAAJ. [view source] promotes-progress
- ↑ "Ask council to consider changing of street names." Pittsburgh Gazette Times, Oct. 12, 1926, p. 3. Newspapers.com 86467328. [view source] ask-council
- ↑ Charles F. Danver. Pittsburghesque. Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, Aug. 14, 1933, p. 6. Newspapers.com 88901942. [view source] danver-1933
- ↑ Al Donalson. "Signing in: Names of city streets reflect colorful history." Pittsburgh Press, Mar. 19, 1985, p. A7. Newspapers.com 146595524. [view source] donalson
- ↑ "An ordinance changing the names of certain avenues, streets and ways in the City of Pittsburgh." Pittsburgh city ordinance, 1926, no. 532. Passed Oct. 18, 1926; approved Oct. 20, 1926. Ordinance Book 37, p. 649. In Municipal Record: Minutes of the proceedings of the Council of the City of Pittsburgh: For the year 1926, appendix, p. 393, Smith Bros. Co. Inc., Pittsburgh (Google Books A5zkbeRRvzUC; HathiTrust uiug.30112109819794; Internet Archive Pghmunicipalrecord1926). Reprinted in the Pittsburgh Post, Oct. 23, 1926, p. 19 (Newspapers.com 88200629), and Oct. 25, p. 15 (Newspapers.com 88200723). [view source] ordinance-1926-532
- ↑ George Swetnam. "Here in Pittsburgh." Pittsburgh Press, Sept. 29, 1947, p. 15. Newspapers.com 149729673. [view source] swetnam
- ↑ Bob Regan. The Names of Pittsburgh: How the city, neighborhoods, streets, parks and more got their names, p. 64. The Local History Company, Pittsburgh, 2009, ISBN 978-0-9770429-7-5. [view source] regan
- ↑ Alexander Gross. The Complete Street Guide to Pittsburgh and 16 Nearby Suburbs: With large map of Pittsburgh and suburbs; streets, house numbers, transportation lines, places of interest, churches, etc., etc. Geographia Map Co. Inc., New York, 1953. DonsList.net PghStreets1953M. [view source] gross