Franklin County, Pennsylvania, was still in its infancy in 1803, having been designated and named for Founding Father Benjamin Franklin 19 years earlier. The 773-square-mile territory was formerly part of Lancaster, York and Cumberland Counties before 1784. Approximately 20,000 people lived in Franklin County in 1803, and eight times that number reside there today.
The United States’ territory grew rapidly during the early 1800s. In 1803, President Thomas Jefferson nearly doubled the country’s size when he finalized the famous “Louisiana Purchase.” This gigantic land deal, negotiated with France, included an astounding 530 million acres, adding new U.S. territory from New Orleans to Montana. Also that year, Pennsylvania gained an official neighbor to its west when Ohio became the 17th U.S. state.
Franklin County was a rural territory back then, with Chambersburg honored as the county seat of government. A newspaper called The Franklin Repository originated there in 1796. The publication detailed daily accounts reflecting the agrarian and pastoral atmosphere of Pennsylvania’s society and culture. The following excerpts, some posted by everyday citizens as public notices, were printed in that publication during 1803.
January 5, 1803. $10 Reward Offered
Absconded from the employ of the subscriber in Green-Castle, Franklin County, on the night of the 5th instant, an Apprentice to the Tanning Trade named William Wilson, about five feet 6 or 7 inches high, between 17 and 18 years of age, of a ruddy complexion, active and smart, and a tolerable good scholar; had on and took with him, sundry sorts of clothes, among which are one brown broad-cloth coat and surtout, one pair of bootees, and a pair of shoes. Whoever will secure said Apprentice, so I can get him again, shall have the above reward and reasonable charges if brought home.
April 20, Details of a Robbery
On the night of the 14th, the wagon of David Young of Westmoreland County, was plundered of two bags of silver containing six hundred dollars. The wagon, with several others, had halted for the night at a tavern on South Mountain, and whilst the waggoners were at supper, the thief entered the wagon and secured his prey. An immediate search was made, but no intelligence has yet been obtained, from which the owner can expect to recover his property.
At no period within our recollection, has the perpetration of crimes been so frequent in America, as at the present. It presents an awful picture of the depravity of man – almost every mail furnishes us with an account of some murder, robbery, or attempts to fire some town. The citizens of this place have happily, so far, escaped these evils, but they have had several warnings.
May 25, New Line of Stagecoaches from Baltimore to Chambersburg
The new line will commence running twice a week during the summer and fall seasons on Sundays. The stage will depart Baltimore on Sunday morning from the home of David Hostetter and arrive at the home of Thomas Heitch in Chambersburg on Monday evening. The fare for each passenger will be five dollars and for any shorter distance in proportion with the usual allowance for baggage, which is to be at the risk of the owner. The subscribers being furnished with good horses, careful drivers, and substantial stages, respectively solicit the public’s patronage.
June 1, Counting Sheep
Stray sheep came to the plantation of the subscriber living in Montgomery Township, Franklin County, sometime in December. Five sheep, marked in the right ear, with the top off and a slit. The owner is requested to come prove property, pay charges, and take them away.
August 24, A Day at the Races
Waynesburg races to be run over a handsome course near this town on Wednesday the 31st of this month, a purse of fifty dollars free to any horse, mare or gelding, running three miles and repeat, carrying weight agreeable to the rules of racing. The entrance fee is three dollars. There will be proper judges appointed, who will determine any dispute that may arise. Four horses to start, or no race, precisely half after ten o’clock. The horses to be entered the day before, or double at the post. (Editors note: Waynesburg is now known as Waynesboro)
September 28, Calling the Calvary
The members composing the First Volunteer Troop of Franklin County Light Dragoons, will meet at the home of Mr. Alexander White, on the first Monday of October next, precisely at 10 o’clock with arms and accoutrements in complete order for exercise, according to law. Presented by Joseph Grubb, Captain.
November 30, Fatal Accident
A truly melancholy accident happened a short time since, at the raising of a log barn, on the farm of Robert Shannon, Esq., in Southampton Township in this county. A Mister Robert Sterett, a respectable farmer and neighbor of Mr. Shannon’s, who was assisting at the raising, got his brains knocked out by the accidental fall of one of the pieces of timber. We understand that the deceased has left a wife and children to deplore his early death and their irreparable loss.
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The Franklin Repository published many other accounts of 1803 life that were too lengthy to recall here. They included a reward posted for the capture of a runaway Virginia slave. In future years, Southern Pennsylvania became a vital stopover point on the “Underground Railroad,” an escape route where enslaved peoples attempted to gain freedom in Northern territory.
Various advertisements in 1803 showed how people made their livings or sold unique goods. Gunsmiths, whiskey distillers, dance teachers and a Minister selling a “printed Catechism on the evidence of the Christian religion for the benefit of young people,” placed notices in the newspaper.
Citizens sometimes shamed their neighbors – one writer wrote about a log-chain borrowed four weeks earlier by an unnamed person, and they wanted it returned. Other people used the publication as a lost and found service. One woman searched to find an old leather pocketbook, lost between Chambersburg and Loudon Forge, and offered a $3 reward.
Real Estate listings were a consistent topic as people tried to sell or lease farms. Some of these properties came with perks such as sawmills, access to clean running water and horses ready for stud services. One ad offered a 160-acre plantation with “a good log house, 30 feet by 22, with an excellent well of water at the door, two cabins, a barn, an outhouse and a number of fruit trees.” The property was situated “on the great road leading from Chambersburg to Pittsburg.”
Many heartfelt obituaries were recorded in the paper that year, including a notice for Reverend John Young, who died July 24th in the 40th year of his age. He was described as “a tender loving indulgent husband, an affectionate and endearing parent, an engaging and benevolent friend, an able and exemplary Divine, of extensive talents and literature, a faithful and laborious Pastor, and a worthy citizen.”
The following year, with America’s territorial expansion in full swing, Thomas Jefferson was re-elected for a second presidential term in 1804. Thomas McKean served as Pennsylvania’s second governor during that period. This founding father was instrumental in the new country’s success, as McKean earlier signed the Declaration of Independence and held the position of Pennsylvania chief justice before becoming governor.
The Franklin Repository continued publishing until 1931 when it merged with Chambersburg’s Public Opinion newspaper, which is still in print today.
