The Alexanders of Bloserville Give a New Year’s Day Dinner

On January 1, 1876, the Alexander’s of Bloserville gave a dinner to celebrate the beginning of America’s Centennial year. One of their guests was so impressed that he sent a letter describing it to the editor of the Carlisle Weekly Herald who published it.^[1]

“The people of this little village had quite a treat on New Year’s Day, in the shape of a large dinner given by Mr. and Mrs. Samuel Alexander at their house. All the citizens of the town and many from the county were invited…At 11 a.m. the people began to assemble at the house, and by 12 o’clock there were about 50 of the invited guests assembled in their large and magnificent parlor, which was decorated with a handsome Christmas tree, loaded with many varieties of choice candies. Precisely at 1 p.m. Mr. Alexander came into the parlor and asked us all to walk upstairs. After getting there, what a sight we beheld! It almost made one’s ‘mouth water’ to look upon the good things spread out to the delight of the taste. A large turkey was placed at either end of the table. After we were all seated, the Rev. S. Diehl asked God to bless the food spread before us, after which Dr. C. W. Johnston carved the gobblers, and Jerry Sell did honor to the other fowls. And, now, Mr. Editor, if you ever come to Bloserville, stop at Mr. A’s for dinner.”

Bloserville, laid out in 1846 and the only village in Frankford Township, had grown slowly but steadily. The 1880 U. S. Census recorded that the village had a population of 103 and was large enough to support three dry goods merchants, a saddler, wagonmaker, doctor, minister, cabinetmaker, stone mason, blacksmith, shoemaker, cooper, milliner, dressmaker, seamstress, two undertakers and several day laborers.

Samuel Alexander, the host of the New Year’s dinner, was born in Frankford Township in November 1830. He farmed with his brother Elias until the early 1860s when he moved to Bloserville to operate a general store. In 1864, he was appointed the first post master of Bloserville,^[2] and in 1869 he married Margaret Junk of Juniata County.

By 1880, Alexander had retired from storekeeping and was an undertaker; a profession he followed until 1895 when he was again appointed Bloserville’s post master. Although he was ill for the last three-and-a-half years of his life, he was the post master at the time of his death on September 1, 1898.^[3] His widow Margaret assumed his role and was post mistress until the post office was closed around 1912.^[4] Margaret sold her property in Bloserville to the Salisbury’s of McCrea^[5] and moved to her daughter’s home in Dauphin County where she died in 1917.^[6] She is buried next to her husband in Newville’s Prospect Hill Cemetery.

The Alexanders raised five children, W. Carey, Jennie, Cleveland, Thurman and Jasper. Jasper (1875-1941) attended Dickinson College and graduated from its School of Law in 1899. A Democrat and a Mason, he served as District Attorney and as Chief Burgess of Carlisle. He was a member of the Carlisle school board from 1928-1940 and also served as its President.