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Blair County Newspaper Articles

News, obituaries, birth, marriage and death notices, by date.

Items from The Altoona Tribune, Altoona, Pa.,

Thursday, September 5, 1861

A TALK ABOUT CATS.

Cats are ubiquitous! Every body has one. A household would be without one of its most important outfits if there were none to caper with the little folks. They have become a domestic necessity and a social blessing. In either aspect they may be regarded among the most interesting quadrupedal phenomena of the age. The gentle nature of the female commends her to the highest respect of the housewife, while the irrepressible warfare she wages with those pests of the house, rats and mice, makes her an invaluable treasure. - Among the inmates of the treasury she is an especial favorite, and the young misses are very apt to hug the little pets almost to death. There is something so sympathetic, so harmless and refreshing, in the frolics of a kitten, that no one can wonder at the hold they get upon childhood. A kitten in one hand and a doll in the other make the little girls happy beyond expression. Indulgencies of the social affections though in this small and comparatively insignificant direction, is attended with many advantages. The natural graces need cultivation as well as the intellectual, and whatever tends to enlarge and strengthen either, is worthy of consideration. The tenderness exhibited towards these cunning and lively creatures draws out and develops the characteristics of childhood, and becomes an element of more important moment in after years. - Surround the children with pictures, flowers, or even kittens, and you foster and strengthen the noblest traits of their nature. All these affinities are displayed, or brought out by but one branch of the race. The male animal, however, possesses none of the attractive peculiarities that distinguish his more gentle companion.- He is a character of a far different type, and by no means so amiable. You find him an out door lodger, a sort of rover at large, regardless of all the laws that govern his feline partner, and a foe alike of all human and quadruped kind. His notes pitched in every key of the caterwauling gamut, ring out through all the hours of the night. They won't go home till morning folks generally retire at about the period when Grimalkin's howl has reached its culmination, and amid nocturnal screeching, the yelling herd keep up, the let-to-bed gentry get no rest. If anathemas dire invoked upon their heads would exterminate the race, there would soon be no specimens of the genus alive. Lucky for them is it that curses generally return to afflict their authors, and in these instances, the more they are expostulated with, the more intense becomes their carnival. Gentleman Tom seems to possess a sort of highway commission. Having no home, he makes one wherever he can find a door open, or a larder unlocked. - Regardless as he is of the rights of others, it can be no wonder that every hand is raised against him. Hunted from society for his lawlessness he makes reprisals upon anything that falls in his way. He is an Ishmael among the brutes. When the poet penned those lines, "Night's silvery veil hung low," he never dreamed of the awful perversion of its quiet hours by the shocking cadences of a legion of the squalling, screaming, snarling crew that make night hideous by their unearthly sounds. The most effective antidote for them when thus robbing the night of its dreams for the weary, is the logic of a shower of brickbats; a single application of ten, suffices. The house-dog is no match for him, unless he be a huge mastiff, for the cat's superior agility enables him to keep the most active cur at bay. He needs but a fence to separate him from his foe, and at any advance of the latter, he is sure to give him a touch of his claws. The voice of Tom is like that of Sempronius, ever for war! His daguerreotype, taken at fever heat, would be the impersonation of all the furies. He is the concentration of a Bengal tiger in small clothes, and bears about the same relation to other quadrupeds of his weight, as does a pint of brimstone to a barrel of chaff. But it would require the pen of a Goldsmith or a Buffon to do justice to all the qualities of this rara avis - a few of them only being the burthen of this article. - N. Y. Express.

Altoona Tribune, Altoona, Pa., Thursday, September 5, 1861, page 1

COUNTY CONVENTION.

Agreeably to notice, a Convention of the Peoples' Party of Blair County was held at the Court House, in Hollidaysburg, on Tuesday, September 3d, 1861. Hon. DAVID CALDWELL was called to the Chair, and L. Lowry Moore and ____ Kephart were chosen Secretaries.

After the usual amount of business was gone through with, the Convention then proceeded to nominate candidates for the respective offices, when James Roller, Esq., of Huston township, and J. G. Adlum, Esq., of Altoona, were placed in nomination for

ASSEMBLY.
J. G. Adlum withdrew his name before a ballot was had, when James Roller was re-nominated by acclamation.

SHERIFF.

* withdrawn

Samuel McCamant, of Antis township, having a majority of all the votes, was declared duly nominated.

PROTHONOTARY.

Anthony S. Morrow, of Martinsburg, received 31 votes.
E. M. Jones, of Altoona, " 15 ".

Anthony S. Morrow, receiving a majority of all the votes, was declared to be the nominee.

[We were not furnished with the ballotings for the other offices.]

COMMISSIONER.
James M. Kinkead, of Catharine tp.

DIRECTOR OF POOR.
David Aurant, of Huston township.

AUDITOR.
L. Lowry Moore, of Taylor township.

CORONER.
Dr. Freeman, of Hollidaysburg.

On motion of Jacob Burley, Esq., it was

Resolved, That the ticket this day nominated receives our cordial and united support.

The committee appointed to draft resolutions expressive of the sense of the Convention offered the following, which were unanimously adopted:

WHEREAS, A wicked conspiracy, having for its object the subversion of our Government and the destruction of our liberties, has been inaugurated in certain of the Southern States; AND WHEREAS, In common with our loyal fellow citizens, we hold sacred the Union, liberty, and peace of our beloved Country, Therefore,

Resolved, That all the measures of our National and State Administrations instituted for the suppression of treason and for the effective prosecution of the war against the open and wicked armed rebellion in the South, meet with our hearty and unqualified approval.

Resolved, That in the present struggle between government and treason, there can be but two parties - loyal men and traitors; those who sustain the Union, Constitution, and the enforcement of the laws, and those who oppose, either in open rebellion the enforcement of the laws, or aid and assist the enemies of the Country by sympathizing with treason, or advocating humiliating compromises with traitors.

Resolved, That until the complete subjugation or unconditional submission of the traitors who are carrying on this wicked and causeless rebellion, we pledge the unfaltering support of the People's Party of this County to a bold and vigorous prosecution of this war.

On motion, adjourned.

Altoona Tribune, Altoona, Pa., Thursday, September 5, 1861, page 2

LOCAL ITEMS.
Sword Presentation.

It having been ascertained that the Rev. R. W. Oliver, Rector of St. Luke's Episcopal Church, of this place, was commissioned as Chaplain in the Army of the U. S, and would leave early this week, a number of Masonic and personal friends assembled in the Masonic Hall for the purpose of bidding him farewell and presenting him with a testimonial of their respect and esteem. The meeting being called to order and Mr. Oliver being introduced, the Chairman made a few brief remarks upon the circumstances which had brought them together, and concluded by announcing that Dr. W. R. Findley had been selected to give expression to their feelings on the occasion. The Dr., advancing from the side of the Hall and bearing a beautiful sword, sash and belt, addressed him as follows: -

Reverend Sir and Beloved Brother:

Your brethren of the Masonic order, and other of your personal friends outside of that "mystic circle," have heard with the highest gratification that you have been commissioned, by our Government, a Chaplain in the Federal army.

Most assuredly, sir, to serve in that army, in any position, is sufficient and ought to fill the measure of the ambition of any properly instructed lover of his country. For, since time began, never has there been organized an army to which was entrusted such momentous interests and responsibilities for mankind, as that army which is now presided over by him whom we delight to call "the greatest living General." To that army, under God, is entrusted the mighty work of maintaining that Federal Union and that Constitution of Government which alone can insure civil and religious liberty to our people, and which alone have been and must continue to be a beacon- light of refuge to the oppressed and down-trodden people of the Old World.

It is, sir, of the utmost importance that the citizen soldiers composing this army, accustomed, at their homes, to worship God and receive religious instruction, statedly, on the Sabbath day, and to enjoy the consolations of the appointed ministers of God, in their hours of sorrow, sickness and death, should not be deprived of these spiritual comforts while far from home, and fighting the battles of liberty and religion.

To you, sir, most fitly, has been assigned a part in this beneficent work, and to you, we feel assured, we may look confidently for an example which will put to silence those who foolishly oppose the appointment of religious counsellors for the soldiers.

Pardon me, sir, while I say that very high qualifications are necessary to constitute an efficient Army Chaplain. First, and above all, profound and ardent piety, and entire devotion to the "Great Captain of Salvation" and everything else subsidiary to his service. And then the Chaplain should be upright, off hand, with neither drawl nor twang in his voice, nor cant in his speech, nor that sort of odor of sanctity which is often carried like the perfume of a handkerchief, and which the dullest sense never mistakes for anything natural.

The Chaplain should make himself acquainted personally with every man in his regiment, and win his regard and respect, by being interested, not merely in his spiritual condition, but in his health, physical comforts and amusements. - The less religion is made to appear the Chaplain's trade, and the more he acts the part of a genial friend and adviser, proving in himself the operation of christianity upon character, the more certainly will he accomplish the purposes of his office. himself setting the example of bearing exposure and fatigue, and of cheerfully enduring a soldier's life, its privations and its dangers, he can consistently urge them to do so. Thus to a commanding officer he would be an invaluable aid - securing discipline from an intelligent and conscientious understanding of its necessity; and many a soldier, instead of leaving the army a grade lower in the moral scale than when he entered it, would return to the peaceful pursuits of the citizen, a better man in all respects. Is not such a service worthy of the Christian minister's highest ambition and most strenuous efforts? We feel well assured, my beloved brother, that this will be your ambition and effort.

Heretofore, in your peaceful and holy vocation, you have wielded only the spiritual sword. In your new position you will accompany your regiment to the field of battle, to afford the consolations of religion to the wounded and dying - to hear the last message and close the eyes dimmed by the last, mysterious, unknown agony. But while doing so you may be placed in such peril from the enemy as to require the aid of a material weapon; and that you may be properly prepared and armed for such an emergency, I am appointed by your friends to present you this sword, confident that it will never be drawn or wielded, but in the cause of Justice and Right and the Christian religion; and that you will remember, what you have elsewhere been taught, that if ever you shall find yourself over a disarmed and prostrate foe, "its point shall trend downwards."
Upon receiving the sword Bro. Oliver thanked the donors as well as his feelings would permit. He was much overcome by emotion, but said that in tendering his services to the Government he was acting under what he conscientiously believed to be a sense of duty; he believed that at this time, when our Government was about being overthrown and our flag dishonored, it was the imperative duty of every one to step forth, and, by every means that God has given him, uphold that Government and protect that flag. He alluded to the length of time he had been a resident of this place, and to the many attachments he had formed among the citizens, assuring them that though far away his mind would oft revert back to the many friends he had left behind. The smoke of battle could not obscure from his mind's eye the remembrance of the familiar faces now around him,

nor the thunder of artillery drive from his recollection those kind words of affectionate regard just spoken by friends, tried, true and trusty; he should ever remember them; and no matter how arduous his duties might be, their welfare and happiness should be a matter of daily supplication at his Master's throne

He alluded to the sword, and remarked that he trusted he would never be called upon to use it, except as a badge of a soldier, but that, should the necessity arise - should, in God's providence, the time come when he should be compelled to draw it, he would endeavor to make such a use of it that the donors would not be ashamed of their gift.

In conclusion, he understood full well the meaning of the Dr.'s last remark. He would endeavor to live up to those sublime charges and teachings of the Knights of the Temple and, having done so, would have the satisfaction of believing that he had done his whole duty to his God, his Country and himself.

Each one present then proceeded, personally, to take an affectionate farewell of him, and the meeting then adjourned.

REGULATION UNIFORMS. - Officers frequently arrive in Washington wearing emblems not authorized. The army regulations, issued by the War Department, requires: - First. That general officers and officers of the General staff - the General staff embracing the officers of the Adjutant General's Inspector General's Quartermaster General's subsistence, and other General departments - wear a button having a spread eagle and stars, and a plain border. Second. General officers are to wear no trimming on their trowsers. Third. Officers of the General Staff and Staff Corps - the Staff Corps comprising Engineers, Topographical Engineers and Ordnance - are required to wear a gold cord one eighth of an inch in diameter, let into the outer seam. Shoulder straps for all of the foregoing to be on dark blue cloth. Fourth. Officers of artillery, infantry, riflemen, dragoons and cavalry, and their regimental staff, wear a button similar in shape to the staff button, without the stars or border, and with a letter on the shield to designate the arm of service. Fifth. The colors of cloth for officers' shoulder straps and cord for trowsers, are required to be as follows: - artillery, scarlet; infantry, light or sky blue; riflemen, medium or Emerald green; dragoons, orange; cavalry, yellow.

ADJOURNED COURT. - Judge Taylor held an Argument Court in this place last week, during the sitting of which the two gentlemen (Daughinbaugh and Kays) convicted of larceny at the July Sessions, were sentenced to the penitentiary, the former for three years and the latter for fifteen months. The prisoners were taken to Allegheny City, on Thursday, by Sheriff Funk, who informs us that the officers of the prison were much pleased to see them - especially Daughinbaugh, with whom they were well acquainted, he having already served two terms in their institution and one in the Eastern Penitentiary. - Standard.

SEND NO INTERIOR MEN. - Recruiting agents should be careful to send on no inferior specimens of humanity for soldiers. The cause is worthy of our best men. On arriving at Washington all recruits are subjected to a medical examination, and all who do not pass the test are unceremoniously rejected. This is imperatively necessary. Otherwise the ranks of the army would be burdened with men who would be of no earthly use. As it is, it would be impossible to find a finer body of men, physically speaking, in the world, than those composing the army of the Potomac.

FALSE REPORT. - Whereas, some evil disposed person has circulated a report that the Company under Capt. Henry Wayne has been disbanded and his men placed in other Companies, I desire to say that such is not the case. The company is filling up rapidly and will be attached to the Regiment of Col. Power. - GEORGE H. GWIN, 2d Lieutenant, Altoona, Sept. 4.

SOLDIER DEAD. - Luther Gibboney, of Capt. Holland's Company, 14th Penna Regiment, died at his father's residence in Duncansville, last week. His disease was fever, contracted while in the army. His remains were followed to the grave by a large concourse of people, including the military. - Whig, 27th ult.

BOQUET. - Miss Ellie will please accept the thanks of the Junior for that magnificent boquet received a few evenings since. Flowers are emblems of innocence, and we regard a presentation of them as a compliment.

Proceedings of Council.

A regular meeting of Council was held August 5th, 1861.

Present. - A. A. Smyth, R. Greenwood, Daniel Laughman and N. J. Mervine.

Committee appointed to make a settlement with the Gas and Water Company, reported progress.

On motion, an order was granted to L. W. Hall, Esq., for services rendered in the year 1860, as attorney for the board, for $50.

On motion, an order for $43.13 was granted to Messrs. McCrum & Dern for printing from July 11th, 1860, to July 12th, 1861.

On motion, an order for $2.87 1/2 was granted to Marshal McCormick for hauling for the Borough.

The following orders for labor on streets were also granted: One to W. W. Snyder for $32 50, one to John Haney for $17.00, one to John McCormick for $23.25, one to Daniel Coyle for $25.00 and one to Charles Meloy for $26.00.

On motion, an order for $337.98 was granted to the Penn'a Rail Road Company for half the cost of building sewer, as per contract.

Adjourned to meet on the first Monday in September, 1861. - Extract from the Minutes.
TO MY FELLOW CITIZENS: - I hereby announce myself as an Independent Candidate for the office of Sheriff of Blair County, and if elected will endeavor to discharge the duties of said office faithfully. - FRANCIS MCCOY. Hollidaysburg, Aug. 15, 1861.

DIED.

Near Williamsburg, August 14th, Margaret Focht, wife of George Focht, aged 75 years, 11 months and 5 days.

In Williamsburg, on the 23d, of August, Jacob Duck, aged 71 years, 5 months, and 25 days.

In Williamsburg. August 23d, Anna Elizabeth, child of John and Mary J. Hoover, aged 2 years, 11 months and 13 days.

In Williamsburg, August 27th, Berryhill, son of Joseph Higgins, aged 10 years, 1 month, and 11 days.

In Williamsburg August 31st, Henrietta Elizabeth, infant Daughter of Harrison and Margaret Gorsuch, aged 5 months and 26 days.

Altoona Tribune, Altoona, Pa., Thursday, September 5, 1861, page 3