April 2013 Newsletter - Historic Manheim Preservation Foundation

OUR HERITAGE
hmpf@manheim1762.org www.manheim1762.org 717-665-5560
Published by the Historic Manheim Preservation Foundation, Inc.
Volume 11, Number 2
April 2013
increased to 10,454 acres. At that time he was employing 75 workers, and had built 25 workmen’s
houses and the mansion and offices.
On a hill near Elizabeth, somewhat higher than
the surrounding ones, now known as Cannon Hill,
Stiegel built a tower-like structure 20 feet square
on a sandstone base. On top was a gun which announced his comings and goings. He also built
such a tower on Tower Hill near Schaefferstown.
A grist mill at Elizabeth was built from which
flour was shipped to Philadelphia.
In 1763 Stiegel built a "Glass House" at Elizabeth and began blowing glass there in September
of 1763. Later he drew 600 pounds from the
Elizabeth Furnace Company and went to London
to study methods of glass making and to procure
skilled glass blowers. Almost all of his other
workers were German. He then opened a Glass
House in Manheim in 1765 and discontinued the
one at Elizabeth.
In 1765 Alexander Stedman made an assignment
of his 1/3 interest in Elizabeth Furnace to Daniel
Wistar of Philadelphia, and in 1767 he mortgaged
this same interest to Mary and Sarah Norris, spinster sisters of Philadelphia and daughters of Isaac
Norris. In 1768 Stiegel mortgaged his shares in
Elizabeth Furnace and other holdings to Daniel
Benezet, a Quaker of Philadelphia for 3000
pounds, and at the same time leased from Charles
and Alexander Stedman their shares in the furnace
and forge "for a consideration of one ton of bar
iron per month." He always had a sentimental attachment to Elizabeth and usually had one of his
daughters start the furnace going each year quite
ceremoniously. However, in 1767 Stiegel had
considered trying to sell Elizabeth Furnace, but
ELIZABETH FURNACE
This history of Elizabeth Furnace was written by
Mariana G. Coleman and Anne Brock, circa 1959. A copy
of the history, along with a letter to Dr. Herbert H. Beck
concerning proof reading and verifying the facts, was found
in the Keiffer files at HMPF.
John Jacob Huber, a German, built Elizabeth Furnace in 1746 and the one and a half story stone
house. At first it was on the Warwick Township assessor’s list, but was not a part of that township. In
1757 the residents of the area around Elizabeth petitioned to be made into a township, and it became
Elizabeth Township.
Henry William Stiegel arrived in Philadelphia in
August of 1750. In 1752 he went to work for Huber
at Elizabeth Furnace as bookkeeper and married his
daughter, Elizabeth, on November 7 of the same
year. They had two daughters, Elizabeth and Barbara. His wife died after Barbara’s birth in 1758 and
was buried in the cemetery of the Brickerville
Church. Later he married, in the same year, Elizabeth Holtz (Wood) by whom he had a son, Jacob.
Shortly after his second marriage, he took in his
wife’s sister, Anna Catherine, whose husband
George Michael Ege had died, and her two sons
George and Michael. The boys became as close as if
they had been his own children, and he trained them
in the iron business. Elizabeth Stiegel later married
William A. Old, brother of Robert Coleman’s wife
Anne, in the spring of 1773, thereby becoming his
sister-in-law.
Stiegel bought Elizabeth Furnace in 1757 for 500
pounds, his partners being Alexander and Charles
Stedman and John Barr. The estate at the time consisted of 400 acres, but by 1760 it had been
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actually made no efforts to do it.
Stedmans and Stiegel had become owners and developers of the site of Manheim, and on March 24,
1768, the Stedmans advertised a public sale of all
their estate there, as well as inserting a notice that all
people having demands against Elizabeth Furnace
present their claims for settlement. This apparently
was the end of the Stiegel-Stedman business relationship.
In 1768 Isaac Cox foreclosed a mortgage held on
the Stedmans' share in Manheim and on February 1
of the following year sold it to Stiegel for 3000
pounds. Stiegel thus became the sole owner of Manheim. He took out a mortgage of 2500 pounds on
his original share of Manheim and one of 560
pounds on his glass house. He now had debts
amounting to over 10,000 pounds.
In 1770 the Sheriff of Lancaster County sold Alexander Stedman’s interest in Elizabeth Furnace, and it
was purchased by John Dickinson of Philadelphia
who had married Mary Norris. In 1771, on December 8, Stiegel left Elizabeth Furnace to live in Manheim.
In 1772 Stiegel wrote John Dickinson that Charles
and Alexander Stedman had obtained a court order
for the partition of Elizabeth Furnace Estate. From
1770 on, Stiegel had become increasingly in debt,
and in February, 1774, he was declared bankrupt and
all his property except his share in Elizabeth Furnace
was sold. In November or December of 1774 he
was thrown in debtor’s prison, where he remained
for only a short time, and his share in Elizabeth Furnace went to Daniel Benezet, a Quaker of Philadelphia. In the spring of 1775 Stiegel returned to live
in the house at Elizabeth.
In 1776 Robert Coleman leased Elizabeth Furnace.
In the history of his life, in his own handwriting,
Robert Coleman states that he was born near Castlefinn in County Donegal, Ireland, on the fourth day of
November, 1748, and in 1764, when sixteen years of
age, came to America to seek his fortune. His capital then consisted of a sound body and a good education, the latter not a common thing in those days. He
brought a letter of introduction to Blair McClenachan and the Messrs. Biddle, and by them was recommended to Mr. Read, Prothonotary, Reading,
Pennsylvania, in whose employ as clerk he
remained nearly two years. The young man, however, had higher ambitions than being a clerk in an
office, and like many of his day and since, started
out into the wild country to seek his fortune. He
quickly found himself in the iron ore district and obtained work from the Grubbs at Hopewell Forges.
Six months later he got a better position at Quittapahilla Forge, (afterword known as New Market
Forge), about eight miles west of Lebanon, then operated under a lease by James Old, who was also the
owner of Speedwell Forge, located on Hammer
Creek, a short distance below the Hopewell Forges.
Mr. Old found the young man intelligent, industrious
and generally satisfactory, and when he moved to
Reading Furnace on French Creek he gave Coleman
a higher position and took him with him. While at
this furnace, Robert Coleman married Anne Old, a
daughter of his employer, on October 2, 1773. Soon
after, finding that he had accumulated enough capital
to set out for himself, he rented Salford Forge, near
Norristown, for a term of three years.
The fact of Robert Coleman’s connection with this
forge is its chief interest. His first venture for himself, he came here shortly after his marriage when
the trouble with England was brewing. Mr. Coleman’s grandson has a document of rare interest illustrative of Revolutionary experiences at Salford
Forge. It is endorsed "Robert Coleman’s memorial"
presented August 26, 1776, asking permission for
his clerk and three forgemen to be exempted from
marching with the army to "Amboy"; it sets forth
that he had rented a forge for three years at a rental
of 200 pounds a year, the lease of which would expire in three months, and that the principal part of
his workmen were Associators, who, if obliged to
march with the militia, would cause him great loss
and entirely prevent him from working up his stock
in hand. The request of Mr. Coleman was granted
the same day by the Council of Safety to whom it
was addressed. While at this forge he manufactured
chain bars, which were designed to span the Delaware for the defense of Philadelphia against the approach of the enemy’s fleet. From Salford Forge he
removed in 1776 to Elizabeth Furnace, where he
lived until 1809.
There is a private record which says; "In the year
1776, possessed of but a small capital, and recently
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married, I took a lease for the Elizabeth Furnace Estate for the term of seven years, not anticipating at
that before the expiration of the lease I should have
it in my power to become owner in fee simple of the
whole or a greater part of the estate. Success, however, crowned my endeavors. A new and regular
system was adopted, by which the business of ironwork was made to resemble more a well-conducted
manufactory than the scenes of confusion and disorder which had before that time prevailed in that business. During the continuance of the lease I made
several purchases of lands contiguous to the estate
and in the year 1780 I purchased from John Dickinson, Esq., the one undivided third part of the Elizabeth Furnace and lands thereunto belonging, he having before that time become the owner of all the estate and interest which Alexander Stedman held in
the same. In the year 1784 I purchased out Mr.
Charles Stedman, who also held undivided third part
of the estate. The remaining third part of the original estate was not purchased by me from Daniel Benezet until the year 1794, he either not being inclined to sell or asking more than I thought it expedient to give."
Robert Coleman had among his employees 70
Hessians who had been captured at the Battle of
Trenton on Christmas Day, 1776. The prisoners did
not reach Elizabeth until August, 1777. The Continental Congress charged him 32 to 45 shillings a
month for each of them, which amount was paid to
Congress in munitions. Coleman eventually purchased their freedom for 30 pounds each. All during
the time the Hessians were employed Stiegel held a
position of trust and was given the job of supervising
them because of his knowledge of German. Stiegel
at that time was made foreman at Elizabeth. He
wrote Jasper Yeates of his precarious position and
soon after large orders for shot and shell were received from the Government. In the spring of 1777
the Furnace became overtaxed, and he suggested to
the authorities that more power could be had by conducting the water from Saw Hole around the base of
Cannon Hill to Furnace Run. The government sent
him 200 Hessian prisoners, taken at Trenton, to dig
this canal, over a mile in length. Many of them
stayed and became good citizens. In payment for the
work done at the furnace, Hessian prisoners were
sent there. In the Pig Iron Book dated August 14,
the management is credited to 22 prisoners, six
months twenty-four and a half days at 8 shilling per
week, and four prisoners at 45 shillings per month.
In 1779 Stiegel’s employment at Elizabeth ended
and he moved to the parsonage of the Brickerville
Church on April 21, 1779. He had been connected
with Elizabeth Furnace and Brickerville for 28 years.
Robert Coleman was a man of strong character and
great capacity. Hazard’s Register of 1831 says he
became "the most successful proprietor of iron
works". He was an officer in the Pennsylvania militia during the Revolution, a member of the State
Convention which framed the Constitution of 1790,
and a member of the legislature. He raised and commanded a troupe of cavalry during the Whiskey Insurrection, was twice a Presidential elector and an
Associate Judge in Lancaster for nearly twenty
years. At Elizabeth he kept a Sunday School for the
children on the place. When no clergyman was
available, he read the service. When a clergyman
arrived, all the unbaptized children of the place, his
own and his workmen’s were summoned to be christened. As there were no Episcopal bishops until after the Revolution, his wife, Anne, had never been
confirmed. At the age of 80, the first time a bishop
came to Lancaster, she presented herself, with all her
children, for confirmation. Robert Coleman entertained Washington at Elizabeth, as friend and guest,
Washington later sat for a portrait by Gilbert Stuart,
which he presented to Coleman.
In 1785, Robert Coleman started to buy the Cornwall Ore Mines. On April 5, 1734, Peter Grubb had
bought a part of the site of these mines. In 1737, he
completed the purchase of the remainder. Cornwall
furnace was first in blast in 1742. In 1754, the ore
banks went to his sons, Curtis (two-thirds) and Peter
(one-third). In 1783 Curtis conveyed to his eldest
son, Peter Grubb, 3rd, one-sixth of all his estate, including the Cornwall ore banks. Two years later,
Peter Grubb, 3rd deeded his share to Robert Coleman. In 1798, the latter purchased from the other
heirs four-sixth more of the estate, the remaining
sixth being held by Henry Bates Grubb.
On March 13, 1793, Coleman also bought 8/24 of
Martic Forge and Furnace, and on September 30,
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1793, a further eighth part. On July 8, 1803, he
added a further share, which brought his interest to
one half of the property. On January 30, 1804, he
sold his holdings for 6500 pounds. This furnace had
ceased operation in 1793.
In 1809 Robert Coleman retired from business and
went to live in Lancaster where he died August 14,
1825. His house was a center for the social life of
the time. He had three daughters, Margaret, Sarah,
and Anne Caroline. Margaret married Judge Hemphill. Anne Caroline died young after a broken engagement to James Buchanan, the future president,
as did Sarah after a broken engagement to Rev. William A. Muhlenberg, who was later the founder of
St. Luke’s Hospital in New York. Neither of these
two men ever married.
Robert Coleman’s eldest son, James Coleman, inherited Elizabeth. His younger sons, T. Bird Coleman and William Coleman, were settled at Cornwall.
Later after the construction of the Union Canal, his
grandsons, Robert and George Dawson Coleman,
built furnaces at Lebanon on the canal, which was
then the great means of transportation.
Elizabeth Furnace remained in operation until
1856.
The Early Days In Manheim!
This picture, circa 1890, was taken in front of Harry
F. Ruhl’s Drug Store, South Prussian Street (now
Main Street). Note Mr. Ruhl’s trade sign and the
dog riding on the shoulder of the bike rider.
Manheim’s First Indenture
Pictured here, for the first time anywhere, is the indenture which provided Henry William Stiegel and
his wife Elizabeth with 1/3 undivided interest in the
729 acres that would become the town of Manheim.
For more information related to the indenture, please
read the articles in our July and October 2012 newsletters posted on our website. www.manheim1762.org
Profitable Errors
Pictured are a few errors produced by the Bureau of
Engraving and Printing and the United State Mint. If
you find any of them in your possession, they could
be profitable to you.
NICKEL STRUCK ON
PENNY PLANCHET
DIME STRUCK ON A PIECE OF
SCRAP PLANCHET MATERIAL
PENNY STRUCK ON
DIME PLANCHET
Just Acquired: Our organization obtained a map drawn
in 1899 by John Miller, surveyor and school teacher, for
the route from Manheim to Lancaster. The detailed map,
in scroll form, measures 17 inches high by 10 feet long.
We hope to exhibit the map in a special wall case in the
hallway leading to our Ensminger Library.
BACK DESIGN OF NOTE ALSO
PRINTED ON 30% OF FRONT
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In 1950, when the greatly enlarged Rapho and Penn
Townships and Manheim Borough School District
was started (The Manheim Central School District)
the East High Street building became the Stiegel
School.
STIEGEL SCHOOL
The following article concerning the development
of what we know as the Stiegel School was written by John Kendig, in 1986.
"Manheim’s first school building was likely on
lower North Charlotte Street. It became the Central
School, while one on the Lebanon Road, neat Colebrook Street, became the Upper School and one on
West Ferdinand Street was the Lower School. This
was about 1836.
Now, in 1986, the building has been most wonderfully renovated and prepared for even greater service
in the needs of the Manheim Central School district."
Some information related to schools and education in Pennsylvania.
Between 1833 and 1836 Timothy Pickering, Samuel
Breck and Thaddeus Stevens waged a fight for free
elementary schools in Pennsylvania.
In 1868, the use of these buildings was discontinued
and a larger, new building was erected on the southeastern corner of South Hazel and East High Streets.
It included all the grades and Prof. B. D. Danner was
the first principal. The high school was established
in this building in 1884, under the leadership of Prof.
Reiff Nauman. The first class was graduated there
in 1886.
In Pennsylvania, during the early years of the nineteenth century and before, elementary education was
left to individuals and was not provided by the State,
even though schools and teachers were numerous.
Religious denominations and parents established
subscription schools and itinerant schoolmasters established schools where some parents paid a small
tuition fee, many times being in the form of board
and lodging. Schools by private initiative provided
no education for children whose parents were too
poor to provide payment. Because of these condition, the Pennsylvania Legislature passed an early
education act referred to as the Pauper Education
Act, which placed a pauper stigma on the children.
As Manheim grew, this building was made larger
with various additions, from time to time, until it
became outmoded and a new and much larger building was put up there in 1914. This is the present
Stiegel School building, which has just been so
greatly modernized. This building was put up at a
cost of $50,000 and housed the entire Manheim
School system, including the high school. It was
dedicated January 1, 1915.
The Free Public School Act, passed in 1834, read as
follows: "Section 1. The Legislature shall, as soon as
conveniently may be, provide by law for the establishment of schools throughout the State, in such a
manner, that the poor may be taught gratis." The act
provided for school divisions, and every ward, township, or borough a school district. The act also covered school boards and the levying of a tax to support the common schools. An attempt to repeal the
Free Public School Act failed.
When the 1914 building was put up, there were 375
students in the school system and it was thought this
new building would last for a long time. But in 10
years, as greatly increased high school enrollment
showed the need for an even larger building.
So, again, a larger and more modern building was
placed on the southeastern corner of North Hazel
and East Gramby Streets at a cost of $105,000.
This, then, became the High School and the one on
East High Street housed the Elementary School.
The above information was taken from a publication by the
Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, Pennsylvania Historical
and Museum Commission, dated 1953. For more information, a copy of the Leaflet No. 6 can be found in our
Ensminger Library.
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Manheim Merchant & U. S. Patents
The Kline Stopper
Abraham Kline, whose hardware business was located along South Charlotte Street, next to the Reading and Columbia Railroad Co. line, obtained patents for an improved stopper for fruit jars and bottles
(1863), a curry comb (1890) and a twin-pointed pen
(1895).
As can be seen in the Fig. 1 diagram, Mr. Kline’s
stopper design was for a glass stopper with tapered
sides used in combination with a rubber seal. His
application was approved and the United States Patent Office assigned patent No. 40415 to his design.
Pictured below is an early blue fruit jar with one of
Mr. Kline’s stoppers.
Mr. Kline’s beautiful residence on Market Square, at
the corner of East High Street and Prussian Street, is
pictured below. The residence was still standing in
1907. The picture postcard was sent to Jennie
Ensminger, the daughter of Wein Ensminger, who at
the time was the owner and publisher of the Manheim Sentinel.
Gifts
HMPF received two more nice cash donations. One
from Holly Sigman and one from Donald and Lou
Longenecker. Also, from Bob Schneebeli, we received a DVD titled: Mary Virginia "Chi-Chi"
Steck Kern ~ Her First 100 Years. Mrs. Kern’s
grandfather was Wein Ensminger and her mother
was Jennie Ensminger. These gifts are deeply appreciated.
Happy Birthday Mrs. Kern
The above star was copied from Henry Wm.
Stiegel’s Bible Box.
DUES
If a check mark appears here_____, your 2013
membership payment of $20.00 is due. We hope
that you will continue to support the Foundation.
Thank you!
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