The son of Carlisle silversmith George Hendel and his wife Rosanna Jumper, George Hendel, Jr. was born on August 20, 1815. He did not follow his father’s profession, and by 1837 he was in the livery business with James Gaulagher.
While other mills served their local community and if successful, exported some of their products, this nail manufactory in East Pennsboro Township became one of the largest of its kind in the United States.
Churchtown in Monroe Township in Cumberland County was known as “Allen” for 136 years.1 Some current residents persist in using the Churchtown name while others prefer to use Allen.
Interview of Nhan Ai Simms by Amanda Gautier and Megan Osborn on November 1, 2015 for the Elizabeth V. and George F. Gardner Digital Library. The interview focuses on the Simms family and experiences in Carlisle and Cumberland County after Vietnam.
"'Black Jack’ was a famous cook,” wrote Jeremiah Zeamer, editor of the American Volunteer newspaper. “He had a great reputation as a cook and caterer. Whenever in that part of the county there was a wedding, a dance, or a party of any kind for which a feast was to be prepared, ‘Black Jack’ was sent for to superintend the cooking and set the table, and so well did he do this that he was always in high favor with people who had appetites.”
An “honest laborious man” by his own account; a fighting Irishman judging from the number of times he was indicted for assault and battery,1 Guthrie built many houses in Carlisle during the 25 or more years he worked, including the “English” Church (St.
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.)
“John Proctor was a well-known figure in the industrial world of Carlisle in the early days; he made bits when they were made and filed and plated by hand, silver money being melted to get material for the plating.” Proctor was working in Carlisle as early as 1812 according to a bill he submitted to the County Commissioners for work done at the jail and the court house. The work included making locks, keys, and hinges for window shutters.
The story of Molly Pitcher is complex. It is a story that is part fact, part myth, and partly the combination of stories of multiple women during the Revolutionary War.1 Myths were built up and repeated without documented evidence to support the story.
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.