Ledger Post # 11

Surnames also Blacksmitthing

Bottom of Page 5, April 28 & 30, 1830

Yep, we are still on page 5, there are some interesting Black Smithing details I want my readers to understand. if you enlarge the scan picture you will see that the earth digging contractors "Edward and Wm. Fare" purchased 2 new picks from the Blacksmith Shop for $3.00, what is interesting is on the next line down; there you will see that the Fare's paid .50 (cents) for "Steeling Pick". I can't tell if they only had one pick steeled, or both of them, it doesn't seem reasonable that since they were in the excavating business that they would have had only one pick steeled. What Steeling means is that a thin strip of steel was welded onto the end, or ends of a pick to make it last longer; this Steeling procedure was also used on shovels, axes and the bottoms of Farmers plows. At this time in the 1800's steel making was still in it's infancy, it was hard to make and therefore expensive. There is something else interesting in that same section, a Mr. Michael Noland paid $1.00 to have one pick steeled, that's twice what the Fare's paid to have their steeling done, maybe since the Fare's were major contractors on the job they got a discount at the Blacksmith Shop. We will probably have a lot more information concerning the Blacksmith Shop as we get further into the ledger. 

The amount of beef being purchased is going up, E & G bought 209 lbs of beef from Mr. Wonder; 4 3/4 cents a pound, must be more people working at the site now. In the top box, under House charge, John Meas bought "2 Pair Pantaloons  $1.32". 

New Surnames  -  Bottom of Page 5

Michael Noland

Laurence Shouiper,   ???

Peter Millage

Peter Weil

Hopefully some of surnames will turn up again later on in the ledger and be a little easier to read. 

Ledger Post # 10-A

Blacksmith Shop and older Bridge

1947 color transparency by A. W. Grumbine

The above picture is similar to the black and white photo I used in Ledger Post # 6-A. The Swatara Furnace Blacksmith Shop was located on the opposite side of Fishing Creek from the furnace. The shop, ( # 1 in the red rectangle), was built in the area between the creek and the present day road, ( # 3, red semi-circle), that leads from the Cabin to the West end of The Big House. I first heard about the Blacksmith Shop back in the summer of 1946 or 1947; My Mother, Ruth (Williams) Grumbine and my Grandmother, Georgia, (Britton) Williams were getting ready to cook our evening meal, it happened that they were two or three eggs short of what the recipe called for, we usually bought our eggs by the dozen from Austin Stager and his wife who lived in the Western most house up in Outwood, Austin and his wife had a large chicken house and sold eggs to many of the area residents, so, it looked like I was going to have to walk the mile to Outwood for eggs, however, Stell Stager, (Sister-in-law of Austin Stager)  our neighbor who lived with her family in the home directly behind the furnace stack was down at the Big House helping to do some housework for my Grandmother, Stell said she could spare several eggs so that we wouldn't have to go to Outwood before supper. Stell and I then headed for her home, we went on the road that led from The Big House to the cabin, as soon as we got into the wooded section of the  the road Stell told me there used to be a big Blacksmith Shop between the road and the creek, well, me being a very young teenager at the time was not interested in blacksmith shops, forges or furnaces, I guess I just said " huh huh" or something like that, end of conservation; at that time in my life my main interests were baseball, basketball and riding my bicycle to Outwood to visit my friends. When Stell and I got to the Cabin we "jumped the rocks" to cross the creek and go up the path to the Stager home. The reason I remember this incident so clearly is because Mrs Stager gave me a lecture on getting the eggs safely back to my Grandmother and Mother, Stell said, "Don't jump the rocks with these eggs, take them back by the road and over the wooden bridge and up into the yard, if you break them you will have to go to Outwood for eggs as I don't have any more to spare".

The second time I was told about the location of the Blacksmith Shop was in August of 1990, my Dad and I made an appointment with Lloyd Stager, (One of Bob and Stell Stagers Sons) for a tour of the Swatara Furnace/Forge area to get information on what he knew about where things, buildings etc were; the Stager home itself had been torn down by the Lebanon Water Company in the late 1970's or early 80's. We met Lloyd at the Furnace stack, he showed us many things in the area (too many to go into now), one of the first things he mentioned was the Blacksmith Shop, he pointed across the creek and said, "The Blacksmith Shop was in those woods, about a hundred feet South of the cabin".

This is getting a little long now, I better get to # 2, the red line at the right of the picture; there was a bridge here at one time, a road led from the present day road circle at the rear of the Big House, over the bridge, then came out about fifty feet South of the furnace stack; the foundations for this bridge were still visible during the 1940's and 1950's; I think several hurricanes  and the creek dredging did away with the foundations altogether.

Ledger Post # 10

Surnames

Top of Page 5, 28 April, 1830 

Something other than Eckert and Guilford purchasing building materials and foodstuffs has finally happened at the furnace site; the second most important operation other than the furnace itself is now up and running, this is the "Blacksmith Shop", the entry is at the top of page 5, 28 April 1830. Edward & Wm Fare, Dn To Smith Shop for 1 New Pick  $1.50. (the $1.50 is not shown on the above scan, also the "$" sign was used for the first time in the ledger). Go back to my Post # 7, 8 Nov, 1830; this was for excavation work done by the Fare's - It looks like the scribbling of their first names on that post were "E & Wm.", This comes out as Edward & Wm. on the 28 April scan. I'm pretty sure now these were the contractors E&G hired to do the heavy digging work.

Now, back to the Blacksmith Shop, at this period in time no industrial project back in the middle of nowhere could survive without a Blacksmith. The Blacksmith, (maybe more than one) and his helpers made tools, shoes for horses, mules and oxen, tires for wooden wheeled wagons and carts, door hinges, cooking utensils, - this list could go on for pages. 

Drop down now to the second section at the top: Sundries Dn to cash, Buildings, looks like pd for Pickhandles $2.00. John Meas, pd him, .16.

I'm beginning to believe "Dn" might mean "Drawn", unless somebody haws a better explanation.

Third section down - House Charge, whoever is doing the bookkeeping is starting something that is plain nasty. at this time a Mr. Wonder is starting to supply E& G with meat. I went to the Pine Grove Twp Census for 1830, Page 103, and found only one Wonder listed, his first name was Peter. Mr Wonder supplies the Furnace site with meat for month after month. The nasty part comes in when the bookkeeper enters the name "Dumb Wonder" every time a purchase of meat is made; I guess our bookkeeper just didn't like Mr Wonder. 

Other new surnames at the top of page 5   

Jacob Hipple

Michael Uhler,  for cash $10.00

Dave Kelker, for cash $5.00

Fred R Harp, for cash $5.00

Jacob Simpson, for cash .50

More on the Blacksmith Shop in the next post