Ephraim Steel, the youngest child of Ephraim and Esther Steel,1 was born in Carlisle on November 13, 1795. His father was a merchant and an Associate Judge of Cumberland County who died in 1814. 2 Ephraim, Jr., likely apprenticed with one of the many silversmiths working in Carlisle in the early decades of the nineteenth century.
Harry Strickler was in possession of a relic from the battlefield at Gettysburg. It was a six-pound bombshell charged with powder and bullets.1 It nearly cost him his life.
An elegant three-story Federal brick town house stands on the south east corner of High and Bedford streets in Carlisle. Known as the Duncan-Stiles House, it was built c. 1811 by Carlisle attorney Thomas Duncan for the marriage of his son Stephen and his bride, Margaretta Love Stiles.
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.
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...
John Trough was the only potter in Carlisle from 1806 through at least 1835. Trough (spelled Drach in German) was the son of Adam and Eve Drach of Haycock Township, Bucks County, Pennsylvania.1 Rudolph Drach, possibly John’s relative, was also a Bucks County potter, and several examples of his signed pieces are known.
As a tribute to Mr. and Mrs. Trout’s standing the community, the Daily Evening Sentinel ran a lengthy obituary on December 28, 1893. “Death of Mrs. Trout. A Prominent Carlisle Woman Passes Away.
Encouraged by the editor of the Carlisle Herald newspaper to submit reminiscences for the entertainment of his readers, James Miller McKim wrote several lengthy articles under the pen name AGC. (A Genuine Carlisler.) The February 8, 1872 edition of the newspaper contained McKim’s reminiscences of Carlisle in the 1820s and 1830s and included memories of Nicholas Ulrich and his tavern. McKim wrote:
There are many theories about the origins of Valentine’s Day. The Romans celebrated a festival called Lupercalia in honor of the gods of love in mid-February. In 496 the Pope declared that the death of St. Valentine should be celebrated on February 14.
In 2015, the Cumberland County Historical Society purchased Christopher Vanlear’s tavern ledger.1 The entries in his ledger provide a new source of information about the Colonial and Revolutionary War eras in Carlisle, a town of major importance on the Pennsylvania frontier.2