The Cecil Whig. [volume] (Elkton, Md.) 1841-current, 1882-08-26
y RARE HISTORY

RARE HISTORY
indeed is that of Joshua H.. or as he is
more familiaily called. Josh King.
and it was to learn something about this
that 4 Village Record reporter. a few
evenings since. sought him out after his
days work was completed. He was
found. as usual, in a pleasant, cheerful
mood, and, although he hcsitated for a
time about allowing his .life's duties =
to be jotted into a newspaper reporters
note book for the purpose of parading
them before the public i'll a column or
two of print, it was not long before a
friendly argument succeeded in getting
the better OF the old engineers preiu-
dices in regard to making brag about
things he did, and the following is what
was learned-the whole. of course. OBJ
tanned in dissected manner in response
10 "A Ling line ~ questions. which ave
MOI nrcassa,y To reproduce here:
| WAS born at, or near. the old Spring
ton Forge. i'll Wallace township. Chester
county. ON The 18Th Of April. 1928 Ny
fathers name was Temple King, aud
was tine youngest of Il family of ten
children born unto him. When ! was
two years of age my father died, and 1T
the age .: six years, owing to the mod
crate circumstances in which my mother
was left. | WAS placed III the family of
Bayard Smedley, father of Dr. Smedley.
now well known IN West Chester. and
whose widow is still living aud resides
in this place. The family then resided
in Willistown township. and soon after
became a member of it I was sent to
school at what was then known as the
"Old Wayne School House" located in
woods on the property Of Isaac Wavne
Oh the Leopard road. ore fourth of mile
east of Paoli station. The teacher who
has now been dead 4 number of years.
was named Underwood, and the spot
where the old school house stood would
be difficult to designate to-day, even by
those still living who attended 1.-THE
woods and building having long been
cleared away and tide spot where it stood
devoted to agriculture. 1t was while |
was attending this school that the
PENNSYLVANIA RAILROAD VAS BUILT.
and ] remember well when the ears pass
ing over it were all drawn by horses and
mules. The freight cars were all fonr
wheelers, and all built alike. and the
passenger coaches. they were not
then called carS--resembled the old-faSh-
Toned stages i'll almost every respect
passengers and it was seldom that more
than this number was seen in them. \
train usually consisted of from two to
four coaches, and when the horses got
properly under way the passengers
thought they were Just flying One
day, toward the close of my school days,
the teacher announced at the morning
session that the dinner hour recess that
was usually taken from II to clock,
would be changed to from TO , o'clock,
in order to enable the entire school to go
to the railroad and see the, as he termed
it, " steam car" go past, as it was an
nounced to do that afternoon. The rail.
road was then built from Philadelphia to
Columbia, and the first trip of the loco
motive was made from the latter to the
former place. The school reached the
depot about fifteen minutes before the
arrival of the wonderful machine "
with three well filled coaches attached.
To the great satisfaction of the scholars.
the train stopped at Paoli the better part
CT IL half hour to enable the passengers
to take dinner, and while they were thus
engaged man named John Campbell
was employed to fill the tank of the en-
CINE with water which he pumped by
hand from well at the side OF the hotel
In company with several of my school
III ties was permitted to get up on the
engine to examine it, and it was while |
was looking at it at that place that !
earnestly resolved that if | lived to be a
man Id be
\ LOCOMOTIVE ENGINEER,
Il resolution which. by the way. | think
| kept right faithfully. 4 few years
after that, after | had quit school and
worked on the farm, became an appren-
ticc to the blacksmithing trade at the
Warren Shops, in East Whiteland. then