the Old Commoner. During his lifetime, and subsequent to it Thaddeus Stevens (1792-1868) was praised by some and despised by others. On sev- eral points, however, there has been general agreement among his contemporaries and most students of history. Few will argue with the observation that he was the

- caster city's Democrats, who would point out to visitors his house at Queen and Vine Streets as "Old Thad's house." 4 This paper deals with how Thaddeus Stevens became "Old Thad" to the people of Lancaster county. Part One. Stevens the Politician Chapter 1 Without going into detailed biography of Mr

of 1838. During that year he also served as canal commissioner. Stevens moved to Lancaster in 1842 where the skilled lawyer could earn more money. Immediately he became active in Lancaster politics, first as an Anti-Mason, and later as a Whig. His success for a few years in the Anti-Masonic Party

of the Glatfelter bill as well. Lancaster Chamber of Commerce Directors, in a meeting on February 23, 1925, decided to ask the Commissioners of Lancaster County to join with their contemporaries in York and place the ques- tion of floating a bond issue, which would provide funds for building a public

of 1852. 26 As the loyal Whigs of Lancaster County slowly lost ground to a splinter group led by Thaddeus Stevens, they began to realize that the old party could no longer ex- pect to win a national election. The situation created in the early years of the decade demanded a new party under new

10 JOURNAL John Passmore: Lancaster's First Mayor and his Councils by Melvern R. Evans, Jr. From its beginning as a borough in 1742, Lancaster had been under "burgess rule." The early borough government consisted of a high burgess, a deputy called simply a "burgess," and six assistant burgesses