Joshua Gilpin (1765-1840) and his brother Thomas had a business in Philadelphia as general merchants, and on the Brandywine Creek as manufacturers of paper, and woolen and cotton textiles. He travelled quite a bit in Europe at the end of the 18th century seeking to learn about industrial practices. In 1809 Joshua Gilpin combined a famly vacation with a business survey of the Redstone area (the vicinity of Brownsville), Pittsburgh, and Indiana County. He described the country through which he drove from Philadelphia to Pittsburgh and return. He discussed land values and business prospects with innkeepers, businessmen, and legal experts all along the way; noted the presence of natural resources; and spent some time in Pittsburgh in conferences with men who were able to supply him with the ind of information he desired.His route west took him through Lancaster. His return trip east took him through Harrisburg, Lebanon, and Reading.Contents :1. From Philadelphia to the Redstone/ 2. In the Redstone Country/ 3. Pittsburg Business prospects/ 4. Pittsburgh to Bedford via Indiana County/ 5. Bedford to Philadelphia
A book of letters from a soldier in the Civil War. This soldier, Frank McGregor, was born in England and spent his childhood in Scotland. His parents settled in Ohio in the early 1850s. He entered the Union army in 1862. He served in the western theater of the war, spending time in Louisiana, Arkansas, and Texas. He was writing to his 20 year old school teacher girlfriend. The author considers the letters "timeless, because in addition to capturing the spirit and mood of loneliness, camaraderie, boredom and anxiety that soldiers of every era have experienced, Frank raised questions that thousands of Americans asked themselves again in World Wars I and II and in the Korean War, and are asking themselves even more intensely today...whether war is futile or necessary; whether all the suffering is worth it."
