George B. Stuart was born on July 31, 1912 in Carlisle to Walter and Laura J. Peffer Stuart Jr. Graduating from Carlisle High School, Stuart attended the University of Pennsylvania Wharton School and Dickinson School of Law to earn his law degree, where he practiced in Carlisle all his life.
James W. Sullivan was born on March 9, 1848, to Timothy and Elizabeth Hagan Sullivan. The family lived at 17-19 North East Street in Carlisle. Sullivan, a good student, finished all but his last year at Carlisle High School.
Many people assume that the history of Cumberland County began with the foundation of towns like Carlisle, Shippensburg, Newville, and Camp Hill by European settlers in the eighteenth century.
Russ Sutton discusses growing up in Carlisle, Pennsylvania for the Elizabeth V. and George F. Gardner Digital Library. Sutton focuses on his days attending local schools in Carlisle as well as his undergraduate days at Dickinson College. Sutton then moves on to discuss his time in the Army as a member of the 2nd Armored Division and his work with the Pennsylvania Department of Education and many charity efforts.
Joseph Swales date and location of birth is unknown. He may have served in Company G of the 83rd Pennsylvania Infantry, although that is unconfirmed, and it may be a different soldier of the same name.1 Nothing is known about his life after service in the military, besides mentions of an Edward Swales, who could be his son, arrested in 1882 for stabbing another boy.2
Swales died sometime before 1884, the cause and exact date are unknown.3 He is buried in Lincoln Cemetery, Carlisle, Pennsylvania.
Agnes Swansey was born on June 30, 1743, grew up on her parent’s farm in West Pennsborough Township, and in 1761 married John Steele a Carlisle tavernkeeper.1 Her husband died sometime between 1769 and 1776 when she appeared on Carlisle tax lists as Agnes Steel, widow.
Founded in 1751 by Proprietor Thomas Penn, the town of Carlisle was erected to meet the mounting social, political, and economic needs of the ever-increasing number of people settling the rich agricultural hinterlands of Pennsylvania's Cumberland Valley. Once established, Carlisle served as both the official political and judicial seat of the newly-formed county of Cumberland and as one of the major social and economic focal points of backcountry Pennsylvania—acting as a major transit point for many westward-bound travellers.
In January 1773, merchant Samuel Wharton wrote the following observations about tea drinking in America.
"The use of teas, and of the black sort in particular, is so common and fashionable in America that it is usually drank twice a day, even by the Frontier inhabitants of all the colonies...
Throughout the nineteenth century and into the early twentieth century, temperance movements were prominent in Cumberland County.