Source:Fleming-sixth-ward-2

From Pittsburgh Streets

George T. Fleming. "The old Sixth Ward: Another chapter of reminiscences of sixty years ago—old-time residents of Wylie avenue are mentioned—Federal street folks—the Good Intent Engine House—Mayor's Row—Henry Smith, merchant tailor: Franklin street and landmarks—well-known names recalled—Decatur street, now Hazel; school board of 1864—Fullwood family; Sixth Presbyterian Church—Mayor 'Jim' Lowry—Snodgrasses, Congress street." Pittsburgh Gazette Times, Aug. 31, 1924, sec. 5, [p. 4]. Newspapers.com 85852295.

The Old Sixth Ward ∴ ∴ By George T. Fleming
Another Chapter of Reminiscences of Sixty Years Ago—Old-time Residents of Wylie Avenue Are Mentioned—Federal Street Folks—The Good Intent Engine House—Mayors' Row—Henry Smith, Merchant Tailor.
Franklin Street and Landmarks—Well-known Names Recalled—Decatur Street, Now Hazel. School Board of 1864—Fullwood Family. Sixth Presbyterian Church—Mayor "Jim" Lowry—Snodgrasses, Congress Street.

ANOTHER chapter on the original Sixth Ward of Pittsburgh is presented today, a continuation of last week's story of that lage [sic] district. It will be remembered that on Wylie avenue, on one side, the ward line began at Chatham street, and on the other side at Washington street. Below Chatham and Washington streets the territory belonged to the original Third Ward; after 1868 to the Fifth ward and this designation lasted until 1907.

Last week's story closed with mention of some residents of Elm street. Today's story will start at Chatham street. Henry Smith, for fifty years a tailor on the street, had his original shop on the third floor above Chatham at old No. 84. William Cody had a dry goods and trimming store the door below. There also was a store on the corner. Mr. Smith owned the block from Chatham to the alley above. At the corner of the alley was the large brick residence of David Steen, a coal operator. Next door above was the dwelling of the Rev. John Douglass, who was pastor of the Oak Alley Reformed Presbyterian Church, which was razed when the Victoria Theater was built about 10 years ago. At the corner of Federal and Wylie there was a one-story frame building which was used for the storage of ice. This corner was a famous place for marble players, for that game was much more popular than it has been within the last forty years. There was no brick pavement close to the shed and room enough for five or six rings in operation at one time. About the close of the Civil War, Maj. Adam M. Brown bought this corner and built a brick residence on the site, which he occupied for a number of years. After he moved the first floor was converted into a store room as it appears at the present time. Adam Mercer Brown was one of Pittsburgh's leading attorneys. He was the father of Judge Marshall Brown and Thomas M. Brown, and the late John D. Brown. On the opposite corner of Federal street there were three old frame dwellings with store rooms downstairs. Henry Smith, the tailor bought this property and erected the building that is now on the site. There are yet storerooms downstairs. The corner store was occupied by Mr. Smith until 1904, when he erected new buildings on his holdings at Chatham street and moved to his original location.

Schwartz Dwelling.

Above the yellow frames that were razed by Mr. Smith was the brick dwelling of George S. Schwartz. Next to Schwartz's was Samuel Allender's property, two dwelling houses fronting on Wylie. There was an alley between them leading into Allender's court in the rear. When William Eichbaum, city treasurer, died he was succeeded by Samuel Allender, who owned this property.

Old Federal street, now Fernando, was esteemed one of the fine residential streets of old Pittsburgh. Among the residents on the street in the Civil War days there can be mentioned H. Lee Mason, Sr., Robert A. Reed, a painter; A. B. Mills, a clerk, and William B. Scaife, a sheet metal worker. P. H. Hunker, a candy manufacturer, lived on Wylie above Washington. At the corner of Congress and Wylie, across from the David Reed property, was the home of the Snodgrass family. J. H. Snodgrass was a druggist, with his store at the corner of Chatham street. Robert M. Snodgrass, subsequently controller of the city of Pittsburgh, was in the Army during the Civil War, attaining the rank of quartermaster in the Ninth Pennsylvania Reserves. Miss Martha Snodgrass was a teacher in the Franklin School. At the corner of Wylie and Elm there was a grocery kept by J. D. Strouse. Perhaps some of the old Sixth Warders will remember "Katy" Strouse, who rode in state in the parades as the Goddess of Liberty. Across on the other corner there was the colored church, to be strictly correct, the Bethel African Methodist Episcopal Church. This old building was torn down about 25 years ago. Above the church there were a few small frames and then the bakery of Henry Geilfuss, and a few doors above it the Good Intent Engine House, which was ward headquarters in recruiting days of the first year of the Civil War. The old engine house was torn down about 1870. The company, a volunteer organization, was discontinued when the paid fire department was instituted that year. The company never had a steam fire-engine. In the last years of its existence only a hose-reel, drawn by hand, was maintained in the house. It was great sport for the Sixth Ward's young America to pull the bell in the tower of the engine house and the bell-ringing was a continuous performance from the time the first alarm was given until the firemen got home from their run.

Five Became Mayor.

Charles Jeremy kept a butcher shop at the corner of Logan street. On the opposite corner was the residence of George Arthurs, who kept a grocery at the corner of Logan and Franklin streets. On this side of Wylie street, beginning with No. 167, which was opposite the Geilfuss' bakery, was a row of brick dwellings, and of the residents of this row five became mayor of Pittsburgh, James Blackmore, who lived at 167; Jared M. Brush, at No. 175; William McCallin, Henry I. Gourley and William B. Hays, Jr. However, not more than three of them lived in the row at one time.

Franklin street was a residential street altogether. The school house and the Sixth Presbyterian Church, above Logan, were the only exceptions to a succession of dwellings. There were some vacant lots that were built on about 1865–6. Some of these were on the left hand side above Elm street and others between Townsend and Fulton on the other side of Franklin. William Fleming kept a grocery at the corner of Congress and Franklin. Above him was the William McKnight property. Crossing Elm street there was a grocery store on the corner; next door was the residence of Nicholas Stupy; above that the home of the Todd family; then the residence of Ben Kane, a partner of William A. Faber's in the foundry business. There were two Kane boys, Alfred and Howard. Alfred became one of the best known hotel clerks in Pittsburgh; Howard died early in life. Of the Todds, William T. Todd, Sr., one of Pittsburgh's leading business men and prominent in the Chamber of Commerce for many years, is the best remembered. Two two-story bricks stood immediately above the Kane residence. The upper of these, adjoining the school house, was the home of John Fullwood. Three of the Fullwood family were in the army: Capt. Samuel L., Capt. William W. and Charles M. Fullwood, all served in the One Hundred and Second Regiment under Col. Thomas A. Rowley. Thomas S. Fullwood, for many years sporting editor of the Pittsburgh Leader, was a brother of the above-mentioned soldiers.

Scott Structure.

James Logan lived at the corner of Logan and Franklin. There were three boys in the family, J. C., a merchant tailor; William and Robert both died while young. The Sixth Presbyterian Church, at the corner of Townsend street, is now the Synagogue Beth Jacob. The Sixth Church congregation removed to the corner of Murray and Forbes avenues, where they erected a fine stone structure, where they have continued to worship. For many years the Rev. Dr. Samuel J. Wilson was the pastor of this church; he began in 1861 and continued until his death in 1883. Across Townsend street was a two-story brick owned by James B. Scott, who is perhaps best remembered for his services in charge of the Pittsburgh corps of workers in Johnstown after the great flood of May 31, 1889. This brick was the home of the writer hereof for two years and was subsequently purchased by Capt. John D. McFarland, a contracting painter, who resided these [sic] for more than 30 years, until his death. His widow continued to reside there until her death within recent years. On the opposite side of Franklin street were the residences of Henry Mellon and Patrick Burke. Mr. Mellon was a brother of John Mellon, a famous attorney of Pittsburgh. Henry Mellon lost his life in the fire which destroyed his carpenter shop at the corner of Pasture and Townsend streets, in May 1870. He went into the shop to get some papers and was overcome.

Next door to Burke's was the residence of Leander Patterson, one of the best known Cincinnati pilots that shipped out of Pittsburgh; next door was the shoe shop of Charles Martin, who was the father of the late Dr. William Martin, who was one of the leading practitioners in homeopathy on the South Side in Pittsburgh. At the corner of Franklin and Fulton was the grocery of Samuel Warren. One of his boys is recalled, James by name, as having attended the Franklin School about 1865–6. Next to the Warren grocery on Fulton street was the home of "Major" Rush B. Hawkins, who was a passenger conductor on the Pennsylvania Railroad for more than 50 years. Two of his boys were pupils in the Franklin School; Lucian, a retired conductor, now station agent at Wilkinsburg, and Edgar, who was for many years an engineer on the Monongahela Division. Across Fulton street, opposite Franklin, was the large mansion of Capt. William Ward, a retired riverman, and one of the largest property owners in Pittsburgh. The Ward family was grown up except one son and daughter. The son, Madison Ward, and his youngest sister both attended the Franklin School at the time this story refers to; the decade between 1860 and 1870.

Two of Same Name.

Decatur street, subsequently called Hazel, an Franklin street were not paved until 1866, when both were paved with cobblestones from the river. We will take a look at old Decatur street. There was another Decatur street at the same time in the old First Ward, nothing more or less than old Jail alley of Pittsburgh's early days. It is now known as Delray street and extends from Liberty street to Fourth avenue. There are at least three dwellings on it. We will start at the foot of the present Hazel street, formerly Decatur, and present some reminiscences of old residents and old times there. At the corner of Scott street, immediately above Elm, was the grocery store of John R. Niebaum, the father of Capt. John H. Niebaum. Across Decatur street were the residences of William Rossiter, a tailor, and the Henry family, one of whom was Charles R. Henry, who served in the One Hundred and Second Regiment. There were two Rossiter boys, Albert and Charles W. Albert died a few years ago in California. Next to the Rossiters was the Thompson family. Three or four of these boys were in the army. The school house yard and the end of the row fronting on Logan street occupied the remainder of the frontage on this side of Decatur. On the opposite side above Scott street were several brick houses, in one of which there lived Mrs. Jane J. You, who was a teacher in the old Fifth Ward, later the Ralston School. She was the mother of Adolph J. You, who was at one time law librarian of Allegheny county, who entered upon a railroad career and removed to Indiana, where he attained the position of grand chief of the Brotherhood of Locomotive Firemen of the United States. Mrs. You was a sister of the late David P. Corwin, who was one of the promoters of the Pittsburgh, Virginia and Charleston Railroad, now the Monongahela Division of the Pennsylvania Lines. Mrs. You, in later life Gibson, died within the last year at the age of 94.

Board Personnel.

The school board in 1864 was composed of the following: Jared M. Brush, president; Thomas W. Wright, secretary; Thomas Roberts, treasurer; William Collingwood, William B. Hays and Theodore Robbins. Mr. Wright was foreman of a composing room of the Pittsburgh Commercial and resided at 6 Decatur street, which was a few doors above Elm. Mr. Roberts, lived at 112 Elm street. Mr. Collingwood was the father of David F., Robert L., and Lewis W. Collingwood, the family residence in 1864 at 33 Federal street. William B. Hays was the father of William B. Hays, Jr. The Hays' were in the pork packing business on Liberty street opposite Seventh avenue for many years. The family moved to Center avenue about the close of the Civil War and located in about the center of the block between Overhill and Green streets. Mr. Robbins resided at 36 Townsend street; he was a member of the firm of Marshall & Bros., machinists and founders in Diamond alley, below Smithfield street, subsequently known as the Marshall Elevator Works of which the late George V. Marshall was long the head. Several of the Marshall family were old Sixth Warders, residing on Townsend street, among them Hawdon, who was drum major of the One Hundred and Fifty-fifth Pennsylvania Volunteers.

Some well known residents of Congress street were omitted last week, among them, George I. Whitney, in later years a notable man in Pittsburgh financial circles, who lived with his mother at No. 61. He was the son of William H. Whitney, one of the best known newspaper men of Pittsburgh and at one time owner and publisher of the Pittsburgh Chronicle. Alfred Davis, a moulder, lived at No. 20. He was the father of Mrs. William G. Dunseith and the late William B. Davis. William J. Lewis, later of the firm of Lewis, Oliver & Phillips, resided at No. 51.

All the mayors of Pittsburgh elected from the old Sixth Ward, did not live in the "Mayor's Row" on Wylie avenue. In Thurston's Directory of Pittsburgh of 1864 these lines can be found: "Lowry, Hon. James, Jr., Mayor, office Wilkins Hall, Fourth near Smithfield, home 28 Colwell." Mayor Lowry was the father of Will Lowry, veteran letter carrier of Pittsburgh, and Alderman Harvey D. Lowry of East Liberty.

There is much more history of the old Sixth Ward—but it must go over.