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Archibald Loudon (1754-1840)

Oil on canvas of Archibald Loudon, painted in 1807 by Cezeron.

Printer, publisher, postmaster, bookseller, paper manufacturer and author, Archibald Loudon was “the most interesting of the early printers and publishers of Carlisle.” Archibald, son of James and Christiana Loudon, was reportedly born at sea on August 24, 1754 during his parent’s emigration from Scotland.

J. P. Lyne (1800-1862): Coppersmith and Hardware Merchant

Scan of Lyne advertisement in the American Volunteer, December 19, 1850.

Fifty years after J. P. Lyne went out of business, an elderly man reminiscing about the Carlisle of his youth still remembered that “a mammoth wood and gilded sign of a padlock stood in front of J. P. Lyne’s hardware store.” Lyne worked as a coppersmith in Carlisle in the 1820s and 1830s, but by 1838 he had become a hardware merchant. The 1838 Triennial tax assessment listed “J. P. Lyne & Co., merchants.” A partnership with George W. Sheaffer was dissolved in 1845.

Francis Cezeron

Oil on canvas of Archibald Loudon, painted in 1807 by Cezeron.

Francis Cezeron an itinerant portrait artist was born in Virginia in 1747 and died in Kentucky in 1828. He passed through Western Pennsylvania painting portraits in the first decade of the nineteenth century. He appeared in Lancaster in 1806 as a teacher of dance and French. There he also painted profiles and knew painter, Jacob Eicholtz. In 1806 Cezeron placed ads in the Carlisle Herald stating that he was reopening his Schools for Dance and French. Ads appeared again in 1807 for the school.

Churchtown

Image of the square in Churchtown (Allen), 1909

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.

Nhan Ai Simms

Image of Nhan Ai Simms during Interview

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.

John “Black Jack” Wilkins: Cook, Caterer and Hotel Keeper

Scan of John ‘Black Jack’ Wilkins’ 1844 petition to keep a tavern in Hogestown with the signatures of local men who attested to his ability to do so. Clerk of Courts, Tavern License Petition 1844.060.1-2. Cumberland County Archives.

"'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.”

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.)

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