The recorded history of West Pennsboro Township began in 1735 when it was part of Pennsborough, one of two original townships in the North Valley. This preceded the formation of the county by fifteen years. By 1745, Pennsborough had divided into East and West Pennsboro. In the following years, the township boundaries changed as the population increased and the townships subdivided even more.
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.
The town of Newville lodges in the northwest corner of Cumberland County.1 The first settler, Andrew Ralston, arrived in 1728.2 The town was founded by Scots-Irish when the Big Spring Presbyterian Church, which dates to 1737, sold lots from its 89 acres in 1790.
In April 1839, Sandel Arnold applied to the authorities in Wurttemberg, Germany to immigrate to America.[1] Two years later, he was peddling goods out of his wagon to the residents of Cumberland County. Sandel Arnold was born in 1790 in Jebenhausen in the Goppingen District of (Württemberg) Germany.
Interview of Paul E. Gill for the Elizabeth V. and George F. Gardner Digital Library. Gill discusses his early life in Huntingdon County, his military service, and the changes in Shippensburg and Shippensburg State University.
Interview of Cassie Line for the Elizabeth V. and George F. Gardner Digital Library. Line discusses her early life growing up at Greystone and Pomfret Street as well as the many friends and family she has known including stories of her husband Jim Line.
Interview of James E. Largent Sr. by Randy Watts on July 30, 2015. The interview focuses on the Largent's experiences growing up and his time working for a railroad company.
During the presidency of George Washington one of the early major issues confronting him was raising taxes to pay the debt of the states incurred during the Revolutionary War. Treasury Secretary, Alexander Hamilton in 1790 recommended an excise tax on domestically produced distilled spirits (the Whiskey Act of 1791).1
In 1856, Solomon Gorgas, a successful businessman, state legislator, and influential resident of Mechanicsburg donated land for an institution for the education of women.
George Ross (May 10, 1730—July 14, 1779) was born in New Castle, Delaware, the son of Rev. George and Catherine Van Gezel Ross, studied in Philadelphia, opened his law practice in Lancaster in 1751, and was named the King’s attorney for Cumberland County.