810-Lancaatar Farming, Saturday, November 25, 2000
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Janice White’s grandfather wrote in a diary every day
from 1893 to 1916. The 23 diaries offer personalized
glimpses into the lives of relatives and community histo-
Janice White has managed to preserve her grand
mother’s antique clothing, including a hoop skirt, white
lace Victorian Dress, and a beaded shawl.
A peel was once used to remove pies from an outside
bake oven. Janice White reports that it’s been said that
people often could tell if the temperature was right by
the heat on the cook’s face.
Heirlooms In 1830 Stone Farmhouse
7
Janice and Wilbur White have authentically restored an 1830 stone farmhouse.
They found the original shutters with big strap hinges under a broken down back
porch.
GAIL STROCK
Mifflin Co. Correspondent
REEDSVILLE (Mifflin Co.)
If walls could talk and heirlooms
could tell what they know, imag
ine how colorful and personal
our view of our ancestors could
be. While we know that objects
can’t speak, Janice White of
Reedsville, Mifflin County, has
found the next best thing her
grandfather’s diaries dated 1893
to 1916.
“My grandfather William
Mann Brisbin wrote in them
every day until the day he died.
I’ve read through all 23 diaries. I
know what my father got for
Christmas on his sixth birthday.
“Included also histories of
Yeagertown and surrounding
areas. He tells about the first day
Janice White found old contracts, dating back as far
as the mid-1700s, in an old box belonging to her grandfa
ther. Included is a 1793 indentured servant contract from
England that was signed with a spot of blood.
the trolley went through Yeager
town, the Yeager Mill, and Ax
Factory, and the accidents at
Standard Steel. It really must
have been a dangerous place to
work. This was at a time when
people were giving up farming
and*moving to town.”
Following the death of her first
husband William Whitehead
Brisbin, William Mann’s daugh
ter married J.M. Yeager for
whom Yeagertown is named. A
small power plant at the mill site
furnished power for all of Yea
gertown and had extra to sell.
“I remember my mother say
ing that my great grandmother
was a Mann before she married,
and I could never figure out how
getting married changed her
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from a man to a woman,” Janice
said.
Janice found the diaries in an
old box belonging to her grandfa
ther. She also found a survey (oh 1
sheepskin) for a mid-1700 land
grant for land near Foil Qian-’
ville, Mifflin County.
“Fort Granville was burned in
1756 during the French and Indi
an War (1754-1760). The survey
is signed by a Joseph Swift from
Philadelphia and dated 1768. I
tried to do research but didn’t
find anything more. There must
have been very few people in our
area then.”
The box also contained a 1793
indentured servant contract from
England that was signed with a
spot of blood and an agreement
for a female relative of Janice’s
grandfather’s to borrow $1,600.
“It’s dated 1823. I thought it
was unusual that a woman could
borrow money on her own at that
time.”
Janice, an only child, inherited
her family antiques at age 23
when her parents passed away.
“Fortunately, I appreciated
them. I’ve just always liked an
tiques.
“In 1903, my grandparents
built a new house in Yeagertown,
and people were going crazy dur
ing the turn of the century for
oak furniture. So my grandpar
ents sent to Philadelphia for oak
furniture for their new house and
put the out-of-date furniture in
the attic.
“My mother and father mar
ried in 1930, and, because of the
Depression, my father lost his job
the day they married. They had
no furniture. My mother found
the furniture in the attic and had
a Norwegian named Gus Swan
son in Reedsville refurbish it and
that’s what they used to start up
housekeeping. My favorite is a
walnut Hepplewhite table my
grandmother used to cut pies
on.”
In 1973, Janice and her hus
band, Wilbur, made two dreams
come true when they pur
chased a farm with an 1830
stone farmhouse. Wilbur, now
(Turn to Page B 19)
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