Women of the Laurel Hill Settlement
This is a zoomable image of the Brown-Hershberger Family Tree. You can zoom in to better see the names and the connections within the family tree.
Western Pennsylvania frontier/borderlands
When people families struck out to find their own fortune during the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, many men traveled as individuals or with groups of other single men. Men often moved to improve their economic standing and/or for new adventures. Women, however, often relocated as part of a family, and not by individual choice. They moved as wives (and often) mothers, relocating from their home of birth and upbringing. They often moved as the result of male relatives’ desire to cast their lot in a new environment. Men often moved to improve their economic standing and/or for new adventures.
Such migrations were difficult – both physically and emotionally. Travel was not easy, depending upon time and place. In areas where transportation infrastructure was not fully developed, or modes of transportation not advanced, some had to take, with passage along trails over mountains, and across rivers. The far distance traveled often meant that women lost their connections to their families and their past.
Once relocated, they had to create a new life from the ground up – literally. Women were not only expected to help build the homestead, they were also expected to maintain a stable family unit in primitive conditions. The environment was not kind and women had to be strong.
In 1830, a group of travelers set out westward from Virginia, on what is most likely now part of West Virginia, utilizing what was believed to be a military road built during the French and Indian War.
Nancy and John Hershberger were part of a wagon train en route to Ohio. By November they reached what is now the Johnstown area, just as winter weather was settling in. The wagon train stopped for the winter on Laurel Hill Mountain and they stayed with William Hershberger, who was already residing in the area.
This portion of the Brown-Hershberger family tree shows Nancy and her husband John, as well as their daughter Elizabeth, and Elizabeth's great grandmother who she was named after. You can also scroll to the right to see Nancy's sister-in-law Keziah Hershberger Smith.
Nancy and her sister-in-law, Keziah Hershberger Smith, with whom they were traveling, were both pregnant, and could not continue to travel. While staying on the mountain, both gave birth that winter. Nancy named her child Elizabeth. Keziah died shortly after the birth of her child; a son named John Edinburgh Smith. Both children survived, and it is believed that Nancy most likely nursed and cared for both infants.
However, Keziah was not the only person in the group of travelers to die that winter. Elizabeth Hershberger, Elizabeth’s great grandmother, died during the winter at the age of 80. She was the first person buried at Laurel Hill Cemetery or Brown’s Field.
When the weather broke in the spring, many in the wagon train moved on to Ohio. However, the two families stayed with their newborns. while the rest of the party moved westward.
Domestic Economies
Throughout the American narrative, most women who lived in farming communities were not wealthy, and many grew up to work on family farms. Their labor on the farm was critical to the overall day-to-day survival of the family. Sadly, women’s labor was not always seen this way, with society placing more value on men’s labor. Her work was most often viewed in relation to men, as well as her role in the family – mother, sister, daughter. It took time for society to acknowledge how valuable women’s farm labor was.
Annie (Bowser) Brown in front of her house.
Women’s essential labor often provided for the daily subsistence of the family. She grew a kitchen garden, raised chickens and other livestock, and often made butter. Eggs from hens and other fowl, butter, and excess produce, were traded with other nearby farms, or taken into town and sold or traded. As part of the market economy, she traded for or bought goods she did not make, such as candles, cloth (in the 18th and early 19th centuries if she did not spin at home), foodstuffs like sugar, flour and coffee, and household items such as pots and utensils.
Women also maintained the household, keeping the house clean, which was a difficult task in an era before modern conveniences, and still so into the twentieth century in communities where infrastructure like electricity and public water and sewer systems had not yet reached. This work involved sweeping, scrubbing, and washing clothes by hand. Some made soap and sewed clothes. Women cooked and baked, often making meals from wild game. She maintained a root cellar and preserved food to keep the family fed through the winter months, and/or if the crops were not as bountiful as hoped.
The work of the entire family was necessary for survival. However, sometimes daughters were hired out to help in neighboring farm households or sent to town (if nearby) to work in domestic service.
It is almost certain that this is the type of work the women of Laurel Hill did throughout their time on the mountain. The isolation of rural mountain living, and the lack of modern conveniences, ensured that hardships abounded through the twentieth century.
Annie (Bowser) Brown with her livestock.
Some women sought to supplement the family economy by going into town for paid labor. After her father’s (John) death in 1850, Elizabeth sought employment in town to help support her mother and her family. It was said she was a washerwoman or someone who took in laundry for pay. She most likely was paid by the piece or bushel.
Annie (Bowser) Brown maintained the farm throughout the Great Depression in the 1930s. In addition to farming crops, she raised livestock including (cows, pigs, and sheep). The family canned and made wine from grapevines. They allegedly made moonshine. They stored dairy products in their springhouse, which enabled them to enjoy milk and other products throughout the warm summer months.
Marriage and Family Life
Sadly, interracial marriages were not highly regarded in many parts of the country, and interracial couples found it difficult to live in certain communities where prejudice was prevalent. Some couples and their families chose to relocate to new and/or remote locations where they could build a life of their own, or more tolerant or welcoming communities.
This portion of the Brown-Hershberger family tree shows Edenborough Smith and his family.
Edenborough Smith’s (free man of color) first wife may have been Native American, and most likely part of the Delaware Tribe. She and all eight of their children died before 1827. His second wife was Keziah Harshberger.
John Hershberger (free man of color) married Jane (a white woman). Their child Elizabeth was described as “looking like an Indian and talked Irish,” according to granddaughter Annie Brown Fairfax.
Family support was critical during women’s childbearing and childrearing years. Mothers and sisters often played an important role during this time. Farm women, and those recently relocated and living in insular or isolated circumstances, often did not have the support of family and friends. As with today, pregnancy came with challenges, both physical and emotional. If she was fortunate, she had the assistance of a midwife or neighbor.
Childbirth was incredibly difficult and filled with risk. Women died in childbirth, leaving the child to be cared for by extended family members (if present). Children were often at risk of dying from sickness at an early age.
In 1830 a group of those who would be among the original settlers arrived on Laurel Hill. Nancy and sister-in-law Keziah Hershberger Smith, with whom they were traveling, were both pregnant, and could not continue to travel. While staying on the mountain, both gave birth that winter. Nancy named her child Elizabeth. Keziah died shortly after the birth of her child; a son named John Edinburgh Smith. Both children survived, and it is believed that Nancy most likely nursed and cared for both infants.
This portion of the Brown-Hershberger family tree shows Elizabeth "Betsy" Hershberger, her husband John Brown and a portion of their family. If you scroll to the left, you will see Elizabeth's granddaughter Annie (Brown) Fairfax.
Generations later, Elizabeth “Besty” Hershberger’s children to her first husband died very young of whooping cough. Granddaughter Annie (Brown) Fairfax thought the children’s illness was aggravated by the pipe smoking of her father, John Brown, and may have been a cause of their premature death. Annie warned him to stop, and when he refused, she hurled a log at his head. Log put a dent in the wall, and if it had hit him would have caused considerable injury.
Annie also said that her father, an itinerant barber, was absent for most of her childhood. Women were left to be the primary carers for the family in the absence of male relatives.
In the 1860 census, it is noted that Elizabeth’s household included eight people, four of whom were her sister Mary’s children. In the 1870 census, it is noted that Elizabeth’s household comprised seven people, five of whom were her grandchildren. Family units changed given time and circumstances. Women often cared for extended family members as needed.
Women’s Community
This portion of the Brown-Hershberger family tree shows Annie (Bowser) Brown and her large family. You can scroll to the left and right to see all of her children.
Depending on the size of the farm, some women felt isolated by rural life. Women’s relationships were specific to extended family living and working on the same or nearby farms. However, many Pennsylvania farm families engaged in frequent “visitings” with extended family and nearby neighbors.
Annie (Bowser) Brown raised a large family during the Great Depression in the 1930s. She was known “for being a generous hostess and loving and caring mother.” While the family was poor, “if you were a guest at her house – you were treated as gold.”
Farm-town relations (women’s engagement in town/community setting/travels)
This image is of the 1860 U.S. census and shows Elizabeth's occupation as a washerwoman. It also shows that Elizabeth is living on her own with her children as well as her sister's children.
In addition to traveling to town to sell or trade home goods, some women found paid work. For example, some worked as daily domestic servants, and some took in sewing or did laundry.
After her father’s (John) death in 1850, Elizabeth sought employment in town to help support her mother and her family. It was said she was a washerwoman or someone who took in laundry.
Legal Status/Head of Household/Property Ownership
In the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries (and for some, even into the twentieth century), women’s lives and their legal standing were determined by birth and marriage. Her social position and economic security were tied to her father’s or husband’s work and social standing. Even if she inherited property or brought a dowry to the marriage, that property became the property of her spouse.
It was not common for women to own property. However, some men provided for their wives and daughters in their wills, and consequently women inherited property – both goods and land. Depending upon the time and place, this property may have become legally owned by a daughter’s spouse or passed to the husband if a woman remarried. In some cases, however, women retained ownership of inherited property, either by choosing not to marry or in states and territories which had married women’s property laws. In 1845 Pennsylvania passed such a law, though her rights to mortgage or sell her property without her husband’s consent was hindered by the passage of the Married Woman’s Property Act of 1893.
John Hershberg's will and testament.
After his death in 1850, John Hershberger, in his will, provides for his widow, Nancy, with property ultimately going to his daughters Elizabeth (Betsy) and Mary. The house and farm were left to Elizabeth, while the undeveloped larger tract of land was left to Mary. It is believed that the intent was that timber clearing would help provide for their mother, John’s widow, Nancy.
However, John’s debts were so great that Mary’s inheritance was sold to cover them (which they did not). Her land was sold to Potts and Beam in 1854, though Mary continued to live on the land. After some time, the men tried to evict her, damaging her property, and threatening her on multiple occasions. Mary shared this with Elizabeth, who told Mary to contact her when they made another appearance. The men returned and Elizabeth arrived carrying a stick she used to kills snakes. She gave the men a good beating. She wound up appearing before a court for assault, a charge of which she was acquitted “amid the roar of laughter of those assembled, who admired her determination.”
Despite winning the battle, Mary ultimately lost the war as Potts and Beam eventually took physical ownership of the property.
Elizabeth, however, retained ownership of her inherited property, which she eventually passed down to her grandchildren.
This narrative was financed in part by a grant from the Community Conservation Partnerships Program, Keystone Fund, under the administration of the Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources, Bureau of Recreation and Conservation.