It's been an unexpectedly busy week! As I mentioned last time, I was recently interviewed by Alton Northrup of the Harrisburg affiliate of ABC News. He was doing a piece about places that claim that "George Washington slept here" and my pal Kaylee Lindenmuth recommended that he contact me. We had a wonderful conversation and his article is now live, so definitely check it out here.
I also came across a surprising discovery on YouTube. I found a video about Thaddeus Stevens, whom I've often mentioned as being one of my favorite historical figures. Much to my surprise, about a year ago a video was produced about him using this blog as one of the sources! I'm very happy to have contributed, however unknowingly, to helping Thad's legacy spread in this way. You can watch the video here. I guess I'm going to have to create a page for listing places where I find MQ in other media.
Meanwhile, this week we're going to venture back to lovely Bellefonte, in Centre County, and talk about one of the individuals who grew up to be the governor of our fair commonwealth.
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| The marker stands at the intersection of South Allegheny and West Cherry Streets. |
Andrew Curtin is one of the five governors who at some point in their lives called Bellefonte home, and is featured on the governors' memorial statue in the borough. However, I think he's the only one who was born there and also died there, so he's particularly dear to the local sentiment. His father, Roland Curtin, was born in County Clare, Ireland, and moved to Centre County, where he established Curtin Village in 1810; situated in modern Boggs Township, this was the home of the Eagle Ironworks. As I mentioned in the post about Bellefonte, the whole area was a hotbed of iron mining and smelting.
Roland's marital family tree is a little tangled. His first wife was Margery Gregg, a sister of United States Senator Andrew Gregg, with whom he had six sons by the time he founded Curtin Village. She died in 1813, aged about 32. The following year, Roland remarried, and his second wife was Jane Gregg, the daughter of Andrew Gregg. Yeah, his second wife was the niece of his first wife. Jane's stepchildren were also her first cousins, and the two sons and three daughters she had with Roland were both half-siblings and first cousins once removed to their six older brothers. Of course, this was not terribly unusual for the time, and was probably helped by the fact that Jane was only eleven years younger than her Aunt Margery.
Jane's first child was born in Bellefonte a year after the marriage, and named Andrew Gregg Curtin after her beloved father. The historical marker is positioned where his birthplace, the family home, once stood. His parents were very keen on making sure that all of their children were well educated, so to that end, Andrew attended Bellefonte Academy, then a prep school in Harrisburg. He then went to Milton Academy before pursuing a law degree from Dickinson College. (Dickinson College has its own marker, which mentions Andrew, so we'll be visiting that in the future.) After passing the bar in 1837, he returned to Bellefonte and began practicing law there. He also took an interest in politics, as so many lawyers in history seem to do. He joined the Whig Party, and in 1840 was part of the effort to get William Henry Harrison elected President.
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Of course, the biggest issue to arise during Andrew's tenure as governor was that little matter called the Civil War. He threw his support behind his good friend Lincoln, committing Pennsylvania to the war effort, though he had the way too optimistic view that it would be over in a matter of months. If only. He organized the Pennsylvania Reserves for war and oversaw the opening of Camp Curtin, the first Union military camp for the training of militia, in Harrisburg. Andrew also personally recommended George Meade for the rank of brigadier general, which turned out to be an excellent decision since Meade was the one who defeated the southern forces at Gettysburg. Following the devastation of that battle, he was the one who fought the hardest to create the National Cemetery in the community, and it was his friendship with Lincoln that convinced the President to attend the dedication in November 1861. Andrew was among the honored guests at the ceremony, sitting on the platform, meaning he had one of the best vantage points for listening to the Gettysburg Address. The next year, he convened the secret conference of Union governors at Logan House in Altoona, a significant event for turning the tide of war. His efforts also created agencies to aid soldiers wounded in battle and to provide support and education for children whose fathers had died fighting for the Union. For this and all of his other wartime service, Andrew was awarded the honorary rank of 3rd Class Companion of the Military Order of the Loyal Legion of the United States.
Following the war and the assassination of his good friend Lincoln, Andrew stepped down as our sixteenth governor in 1867. He attempted to gain the Republican nomination for the Senate, but lost it to Simon Cameron, for whom Cameron County was later named. Instead, he accepted an appointment from President Ulysses S. Grant as our country's ambassador to Russia, a position he held from 1869 to 1872. Upon returning home, he lived quietly for a few years before seeking a new political office; in 1881, Andrew was elected to the U. S. House of Representatives, where he served Pennsylvania's 20th district until 1872. He finally retired from public life after this term ended, going home to Bellefonte and (I'm guessing) enjoying the company of his wife and their grown children and grandchildren. He died there on October 7, 1894, and is buried with several of his family members in the Union Cemetery. Katharine survived him for less than a decade, dying in 1903 of apoplexy, and is interred beside him.
Bellefonte regards their native son with great affection. In addition to his presence on the governors' memorial, a large statue of him, seen here, holds court in front of the Centre County Courthouse on South Allegheny Street, not far from his historical marker. Along with recognizing his many political appointments and accolades, it identifies him by two lesser known titles: "The Great War Governor" and "The Soldiers' Friend." It's because of him that the honored dead of Gettysburg received their lasting tribute, and wounded soldiers and orphaned children were not left destitute and forgotten after the war that divided a nation. The commonwealth he served remains grateful, and keeps his memory.
Except where indicated, all writing and photography on this blog is the intellectual property of Laura Klotz. This blog is written with permission of the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission. I am not employed by the PHMC. All rights reserved.
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