Hamilton, James, Jr.

Carlisle the “Athens of Pennsylvania,” or Not

Divided back;  B & W sketch of the Carlisle Square as of 1843

In 1844, a Mr. Richards of Reading, Berks County Pennsylvania, having heard from some residents of Reading that Carlisle was called the “Athens of Pennsylvania,” he decided to visit it and see for himself. When he returned to Reading his impressions of Carlisle were published in the April 17, 1844, edition of the “Reading Journal.” The “Carlisle Weekly Herald” published it for “the curiosity of its readers” in the April 24, 1844, edition of the newspaper.

Letter: B. Duffield to Joseph A. Murray, 1833

Letter: B. Duffield to Joseph A. Murray, 1833. The letter is from 12-year-old Divie Bethune Duffield (1821-1891) the son of Rev. George Duffield of the First Presbyterian Church of Carlisle to his friend 18-year-old Joseph Murray. Joseph was brought up a Presbyterian and received his academic training at Henry Duffield’s Carlisle Institute. Joseph went to Pittsburgh to stay with his Denny relatives and to study at the University of Western Pennsylvania.

Hamilton Library Association

Photo of the Hamilton Library Building with group of men in front. Building decorated with bunting for the 1909 Old Home Week.

James Hamilton, Jr., founder of the Hamilton Library and Historical Association, was born in Carlisle, Pennsylvania on October 16, 1793, the only son of Judge James Hamilton (born 1752 in Belfast, Ireland, died February 13, 1819) and his wife Sarah Thomson, daughter of Rev. William and Susanna Ross Thomson.

Emmeline Hamilton (1804-1823)

Emmeline and her brother and sisters lived their lives in this three-story brick house on West High Street near the corner of Pitt Street in Carlisle.

Emmeline Veazey Hamilton, daughter of Judge James and Sarah Hamilton, was born on December 8, 1804, and although she lived for only eighteen years, her name was carried on in her relatives’ families for several generations. (Emmeline Hamilton Parker Grubb, Emmeline Cruse and Emmeline Bradish.)

James Hamilton, Jr. (1793-1873)

Image of James Hamilton Jr.

James Hamilton, Jr., founder of the Hamilton Library Association and what became the Cumberland County Historical Society, was born in Carlisle, Pennsylvania on October 16, 1793, the only son of Judge James Hamilton (born 1752 in Belfast, Ireland, died February 13, 1819) and his wife Sarah Thomson, daughter of Rev. William and Susanna Ross Thomson.

Mary Hamilton (1796-1831)

Scan of a letter from Mary Hamilton to James and Susan Hamilton from Lancaster, PA. 1830

Mary Hamilton, daughter of Judge James and Sarah Hamilton, was born in Carlisle on August 2, 1796. Letters between Mary’s father and his friend John Brown of Philadelphia provide details of her early life. Mary was nine years old in November 1805 when she was sent to Mr. and Mrs.

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