I wrote about Jacob Hugus in an earlier post. He had several patents about stills or making wine. He also was well known for making Grandfather clocks. There are currently several of his clocks that are still in working order. A number of years ago I missed by a few months a clock that was up for auction. I hope that if any come up for sale in the future that I can afford to purchase it or at the very least see it.
Jacob Hugus died in 1835 and was buried in the Old German Cemetery in Greensburg, Pennsylvania. The German cemetery was probably laid out by the German Reformed and Lutheran congregations1. But if you were to drive to Greensburg today then you won't find the Old German Cemetery. Instead you will find this parking lot.
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In 1890 the city of Greensburg passed an ordinance which prohibited burials inside city limits. After 1890 the cemetery fell into disrepair. Around 1937 the city took possession of the property. After moving some of the remains the land was turned into a city park. An acquaintance of mine used to play at the park when he was young. Around 1957 the park was changed into a parking lot. Photo of Old German cemetery/park
There seems to be some uncertainty whether Jacob and his wife were among those whose remains were moved. There is a list of those not moved. These may not have been moved. However there is a picture of a gravestone for both he and his wife in Saint Claire Cemetery on Findagrave. Jacob Hugus Stone in Saint Claire Cemetery List of old burials. I guess when I visit Greesburg I will need to visit both locations, parking lot and cemetery.
1. Boucher, John N., History of Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania, The Lewis Publishing Company, New York, Chicago, 1906
Most frontier farmers had a difficult time getting their crops to market. The roads were poor and in some cases non-existent. The distances were great and there was always the issue of spoilage. They soon found that if they distilled their grain into whiskey that spoilage was a non-issue. So stills and distilleries were a part of my Kentucky and Pennsylvania roots.
My Pennsylvania ancestors moved into western Pennsylvania about the time of the Whiskey Rebellion. The Whiskey Rebellion was a result of of the federal government’s attempt under George Washington to apply a tax to spirits but not grain. Because of the tax, the frontier farmer carried a disproportional share of the cost of the government and it cut into profits as well. I know that some of the Hugus ancestors must have been distillers, especially since Jacob Hugus was issued a patent for distilling spirits in 1828 and another issued in 1832 for making wine from cider1. Hugus Patents
Distilleries were also an important part of life in Nelson County, Kentucky. The town of Samuels was named for the Samuels Family which has been distilling spirits for hundreds of years. Present day Maker’s Mark Whiskey was founded by members of the Samuels family. Even though we know that John G. Gates worked at a distillery and there was a Mattingly Distillery near Samuels, we are unaware of any family owning distilleries in Nelson County. William R. Gates (the second son of Elisha Gates) married Elizabeth Mattingly. Elizabeth’s brother, Miles P. Mattingly was owner of several distilleries in Owensboro2. There was even a court case as a result of one of his purchases. Old W. S. Stone Distillery; M. P. M. Distiller, Hand Made Sour Mash Whiskey became a famous brand at the time.3
1. Ellsworth, Henry-Leavitt. Unites States. Patent Office. Digest of Patents, Issued by the United States from 1790 to January 1, 1839. Washington D. C.: Peter Force, 1840.
2. The History of Daviess County, Kentucky. Chicago, Illinois: Interstate Publishing Company, 1883.
3. Mattingly v Stone, Court of Appeals of Kentucky, 1889 Southwestern Reporter, Vol 12, page 467-69
