Carlisle was abuzz when the little old lady hit town. But Carlisle was not that much of a back water place in 1828 to get so excited about the arrival of one frail, fifty-nine year old woman. Who was this woman who caused some of the town's leading citizens to either embrace her with enthusiasm or run and hide?
The Carothers or Carruthers families (Carruthers in Scotland, Carothers in America) were among the first settlers in Cumberland County; in 1750 when the county was formed, there were seven established Carothers households in West and East Pennsborough Townships
If one were challenged to name some famous regiments of the British Army, doubtless one would think first of the colorful Guards Regiments, so often photographed at Buckingham Palace, or of the romantically named and accoutered Black Watch with its kilts and pipers.
On April 6, 1789, some seventy-two inhabitants of the Borough of Carlisle met to organize a fire company. The figure is to be deduced from the fact that seventy persons signed the articles of agreement at the organizing session.
Carlisle, the county seat of Cumberland County, was founded in 1751. It is the oldest borough in Cumberland County and the third oldest town in Pennsylvania west of the Susquehannah River.