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Memories of Gettysburg: Reverend Henry Eyster Jacobs and the Changing Landscape
Reverend Henry Eyster Jacobs took after his father, Dr. Michael Jacobs. He followed him into the Lutheran clergy; he was a teacher, a writer, and a keen observer of the era he lived in. The oldest of four, he was born in 1844 when his parents had been married for 11 years; his father was…
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Dr. Michael Jacobs: Far More than Gettysburg’s Unsung Weatherman
At the conclusion of July 3, 1863, Dr. Michael Jacobs noted dryly in his weather record, “The thunder seemed tame, after the artillery firing of the afternoon.” Of course, the artillery barrage of that afternoon was likely the largest that had occurred in history to that point. Similarly, the thunderstorm was a prelude to a…
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Who Was Reverend David Jacobs?
Casual students of Gettysburg frequently know the name Dr. Michael Jacobs. Lesser known by far is his brother Reverend David Jacobs, but it is the latter’s influence that put Michael where he was in 1863 to record the weather of the battle and publish the first history of the battle. So who is Reverend David…
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The Price Twins: Brothers in the Civil War
The Price twins, James and John, were just nine years old in January 1852 when their father, a modestly well-off plantation owner named William C. Price, attended the Alabama Democratic Convention. He came from deeply patriotic stock. His grandfather Anjer Price was a sergeant in the 8th Virginia in the Revolution. His father, William Vines…
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The Life and Legacy of Dr. J. Lawrence Hill
Dr. J. Lawrence Hill was a nineteenth-century man. Almost every man of the era had to diversify economically—farmers kept woodlots to sell wood, pigs to sell meat, cows to sell milk, and crops of all sorts to sell. Professionals had to diversify similarly. Dr. Hill spent most of his life in Adams County, where he…
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The Life and Legend of Keziah Elizabeth Thomas Kuff
On July 1, 1926, sixty-three years to the day of the start of the Battle of Gettysburg, Keziah Elizabeth Thomas Kuff passed away. She was hailed as the oldest resident of Gettysburg, possibly the oldest in the United States, maybe one of the oldest people ever to live. The headline of the day suggested she…
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The Tragic Legacy of Augustus L. Short’s Family
Corporal Augustus L. Short came from a house divided—his father, Augustus D. Short, was from Bristol County, Massachusetts, while his mother, Jane G. Smith, was from Clarke County, Georgia. The older Augustus and Jane married in 1842 in Clarke County. The oldest boy in their family, James, may have come from a previous marriage: he…
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James Green: Murder, Trial, and Mysterious Aftermath
The trial of James Green was straightforward—after shooting Samuel Mars, he turned himself in to a justice of the peace, acknowledging he had shot Mars but claiming he wasn’t guilty. He was arrested, and in short order, he was brought to trial. A parade of witnesses verified that Green carried a gun and that he…
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The Mysterious Story of Ida Millberry in Gettysburg
An odd headline in Gettysburg popped in 1905 related to Ida Millberry who was buried in the Lincoln Cemetery. Ida was not a longtime resident of Gettysburg but had come north from Maryland to live with her daughter there. The article, in many ways, is sort of mindblowing. None of us really wants to be…
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The Mathews-Biggs Family Legacy in Gettysburg
The Mathews family of Biglerville and the Biggs family of Gettysburg had a strong pre-war bond. At least one source suggested that Edward Mathews and Basil Biggs might have family connections in Maryland. Biggs was known to bring travelers on the Underground Railroad to Edward Mathews who hid them among Quaker friends in Biglerville before…