The Cecil Whig. [volume] (Elkton, Md.) 1841-current, 1879-11-22
LOCAL HISTORY.
TcoPYRlaHrto GEORGE JoHNsTor
HISTORICAL RESEARCHES
THAT QUILP MADE AS A BOHEMIAN
MANUFACTURES AND POLITICAL
DIVISIONS.

, ldh1 QUlIf MALL AS a DUHbMlAE
MANUFACTURES AND POLITICAL
} DIVISIONS.
0ctOraro Forge-Oecil Manufacturing Company
Rev. John Wilson-First Sunday Sohool-Cop-
/, per Mill-Election Districts and Places of
Holding Elections-Boundary Between
Hartford and Cecil-Forges, Mills,
eto.-Elkton and Charlestown.
The First Bank in Elkton.
In 11SS John Churchman, the distin
guished scientist and mathematician of \ OF
tingham, who was the owner of large q llan.
titles of barren land, which he 10 doubt
had purchased because he thought it con-
tanned valuable deposits of mineral, formed
a partnership with Samuel Hughes, of Har-
ford county, who probably was the person
We have noticed in a previous chapter as
one of the original proprietors of the Sus-
quehaHna Canal, for the purpose of erecting
a furnace and such other works as they
might think necessary for the manufacture
Of iron upon n tract of land containing 8, 600
acres which was two-thirds of all the land
owned by Churchman i'll Cecil, Chester and
Lancaster counties, and which seems to have
been embraced in one tract. The tract to
be selected by Hughes for the iron works, it
was stipulated in the article of agreement,
which may be seen among the land records
OF the county, was to embrace the Horse
Shoe bend, in the Octorare creek, near the
| iunrtion of the three ror,ptios hnfnra y, ~, I'd
Hughes was to furnish the capital for the
enterprise, and Churchman was to be resi-
dent manager, the profits being equally di-
| vidcd between them. Nothing is known of
the history of this enterprise, but the land
records OF the county show that the forge
Just below the Horse Shoe bend was built
sometime previous 70 lT95, at which time it
was in the possession of Il certain John
Jones and Thomas Rogers. 1t was subse-
qu-ntly purchased in 1901 by John Frey
and Mathew Irwin, and was known as
Frey's forge
The Cecil manufacturing Company, whose
mill fer the manufacture of linen and wooden
and cotton goods was on the Little Elk
| creek. Just above Marley was organized in
1874. This company is believed to have
been organized by the efforts Of Col. Henry
lIollingSworth, of EllIton, who was, at this
time, the owner of the site of Marley Mill.
This gentleman purchased ten acres of land,
on both sides of the Little Elk, from John
Anderson on the alst of July, i1I4, for 600.
The company, which consisted of tho fol-
lowing members, viz: Col Henry Holdings
worth, of Elkton Levi iIollingsworth and
Paschall Hollingsworth, OF Philadelphia;
Francis Partridge, John Gilpin, Levi Hol-
lingsworth, Jr., and James Mackey, of Cecil
county; and Soloman Maxwell and William
| Cooch, of New Castle county, Del, are be-
lieved 10 have organized on the list Of the
following November, fos on that day Col.
! HollingSworth executed n deed to The 9TH
ers for eight-tenths of the ten acres he had
purchased from Anderson, retaining the
| other two-tenths for his own share The
| company proceeded to build Il stone factory
the walls Of which Were quite thick and are
now standing, though the wood work of the
| building was consumed by fire many years
ago. The durability OF the stone work Of
llIiS MN " dSSel-
ton of an historian, who i'll speaking of it
| in 1907, said it was the best mill of the kind
| in the L nited States. Some of the machin-
cry used in this factory was imported from
Europe. In 1896 the companv purchased
| upwards Of auO acres or land adjoining the
site of the mill, in order to obtain pasturage
for the sheep they intended to keep for the
purpose of obtaining wool to supply their
mill. In 1905 the company obtained the
services of John Wilson. 2 natiye af Yolk-
shire, !-ngland, who had iearnsd the art of
manufacturing hroadc,oth in his native
country, and who had one-tenth interest in
the business This company manufactured
a considerable amount of goods, and it is
said presented President jefferson with cloth
sufficient to make him srit o. Clothes,
| which lie wore when being inauguratcd
President of the United States
Probably owing to the custom which then
prevailed of nearly every family manufac-
turing their cloth by means of the old flash
Toned spinning wheels and hand-looms, the
company did not succeed in finding re.
muneratiye market for their goods, and in
1911 Mr. Wilson severed his connection
with it and purchased the mill property
next above, on the same stream where lie
erected a WOODEN factory. Mr.. Wilson was
Il preacher of the society called Indepen6-
entS, and it was through his exertons that
the New Leeds church was built He also
had the honor OF naming that village after
the manufacturing city oi Leeds, i'll Eng
| land. Mr.. Wilson's daughter (.iannal)
organized the first Sunday school III this
county, probably the first il the State at
| New Leeds, in 1916
John Evans lie grandfather OF the Hon.
Alexander Evans, vas the proprietor Of Il
copper mill on Inc Ii. Elk creek directly
west of Cowantown, 1T the commencement
OF the last war with England. at which the
| copper used iol co, e.in. The null or the L.
). frig;te Cohstitntion and other vessels be-
longing to the [. 5. Navy was rolled. This
rolling mill was built in 1910 for the manu-
| facture of iron, but was afterwards used for
the manufacture of copper John Evans,
| the grandfather OF the proprietor of this
mill, purchased 800 acres of land on the Big
| Elk, i'll l130, which was inherited by his son
Robert, who, we learn from the legal papers
of that time, was Il tanner, He carried on
| that business ct that place. 1ne size OF his
| tan yard was covered by the water of the
old dam, the breast of which is now stand
ing. At this time there was but one other
copper mill in the United States 1t was in
| Massachusetts, and was owned by Paul
Revere, whom Longfellow has immortal
| lied il his Poems as the person who carried
| the news of the advance of the British
troops from Boston upon Lexington and
Concord, in 1715
John Evans obtained valuable informa-
ton from Revere about the manufacture of
copper. Probably owing to the want of
scientific knowledge the business is not be-
lieved to have been very successful, pecu-
niarily. We have been informed by the
| late Robert Gallaher who worked at this
mill and who married 4 daughter of the
| proprietor, That Mr.. Evans procured the ser
vices of a man from Baltimore county who
understood what was called picking the
sheets after they were rolled. This opera
ton consisted in raoistening them with d
liquid which removed the black scale which
covered the surface and brought out the
copper color. Though labor was cheap at
that time this man received sixteen dollars
Il day for the labor he performed, which