Churchtown
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.
Recent
Nhan Ai Simms
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
"'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.”
Robert Guthrie, Sr.: Eighteenth Century Joiner
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 Hamilton (1804-1823)
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: Whitesmith (1784-1847)
“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.
Mary Hays McCauley - Carlisle’s Molly Pitcher
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 (1796-1831)
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.
Sarah Howard Thomson Hamilton (1770-1842)
Sarah Hamilton's daughter, Susan Thorn, bequeathed the miniature portrait of her mother “in a square frame” to Mrs. Mary Moore. Its whereabouts are unknown. We are left to form a picture of Sarah Hamilton, or Sally as her husband and her sister Mary Veazey referred to her, from remarks about her in their letters.
Jean Eschenmann
Interview of Jean Eschenmann by Troy Ehrensberger for the Elizabeth V. and George F. Gardner Digital Library. Eschenmann discusses her life in Shippensburg, Pennsylvania and how the borough has changed over the years.