Marcia, Strangely, as complete as Eggert's book is, it does not give dates for Calder's operation. However I consulted the online biographies at Bob Maley's site and pieced together some approximate dates. The biography notes that Calder came to Harrisburg when the state capital was moved here, which was 1812. We know he was already in the stagecoach business at that point, and other biographies note that he promptly became the dominant stagecoach operator when he arrived in Harrisburg. So that pretty much fixes his start in the operation in Harrisburg circa 1812. Eggert's book does mention that Calder sold the business to his son, William Jr., as an enticement to keep him in the family business. Calder Sr. then retired. (Eggert, "Harrisburg Industrializes," page 46) But Eggert does not give a date for this transfer of the business. The Dauphin County Biographies Transcription Project, under the biography of William Calder (Jr.) notes that he assumed management of his father's business in 1851. His father died ten years later, in 1861. So we can set the approximate dates of William Calder, Srs' stagecoach/livery business in Harrisburg as 1812 to 1851. Of course William Calder (Jr.) vastly expanded an already aggressive business, and went into railroad construction and eventually established the Harrisburg Car Works. He expanded his herds of horses and mules across the state, and when Simon Cameron, as Linclon's Secretary of War, needed thousands of horses and mules for the war effort in 1861, he turned to his friend William Calder Jr. to supply the necessary horse flesh for the Union army. -----Original Message----- From: Houston [mailto:[email protected]] Sent: Saturday, January 31, 2004 12:53 PM To: [email protected] Subject: Re: [PADAUPHI] Cars, Canal Boats and Stages in 1829 George, Does the book you mention say what years William Calder was doing business? Marcia Fronk ----- Original Message ----- From: "George F. Nagle" <[email protected]> To: <[email protected]> Sent: Friday, January 30, 2004 3:44 PM Subject: RE: [PADAUPHI] Cars, Canal Boats and Stages in 1829 > Cars may refer to the mail shipments, that William Calder had contracted. Or > perhaps it's the other way around and the "stage" is mail and the cars are > larger passenger coaches. You are right that no rail lines existed in > Harrisburg. The first "railroad" to reach Harrisburg was a horse-drawn > train that made its debut in August 1836. A month later a steam locomotive > made its appearance. > > On the other hand, William Calder had built up his business in Harrisburg to > the point that fifteen coaches were leaving the town daily. All the above > info is from Gerald Eggert's excellent book "Harrisburg Industrializes" > (1993, University Park, The Pennsylvania State University Press), pages 21, > 29-31. > > The other possibility is that the 1829 date is wrong, as happens sometimes > in those older county histories. > > Is there a transportation historian who could shed more light? ==== PADAUPHI Mailing List ==== Post only genealogy related topics

Does anyone know if a map showing stage coach roads still exsists for Dauphin & Schuylkill areas??? Sharon > Marcia, > > Strangely, as complete as Eggert's book is, it does not give dates for > Calder's operation. However I consulted the online biographies at Bob > Maley's site and pieced together some approximate dates. The biography > notes that Calder came to Harrisburg when the state capital was moved here, > which was 1812. We know he was already in the stagecoach business at that > point, and other biographies note that he promptly became the dominant > stagecoach operator when he arrived in Harrisburg. So that pretty much > fixes his start in the operation in Harrisburg circa 1812. Eggert's book > does mention that Calder sold the business to his son, William Jr., as an > enticement to keep him in the family business. Calder Sr. then retired. > (Eggert, "Harrisburg Industrializes," page 46) But Eggert does not give a > date for this transfer of the business. > > The Dauphin County Biographies Transcription Project, under the biography of > William Calder (Jr.) notes that he assumed management of his father's > business in 1851. His father died ten years later, in 1861. So we can set > the approximate dates of William Calder, Srs' stagecoach/livery business in > Harrisburg as 1812 to 1851. > > Of course William Calder (Jr.) vastly expanded an already aggressive > business, and went into railroad construction and eventually established the > Harrisburg Car Works. He expanded his herds of horses and mules across the > state, and when Simon Cameron, as Linclon's Secretary of War, needed > thousands of horses and mules for the war effort in 1861, he turned to his > friend William Calder Jr. to supply the necessary horse flesh for the Union > army. > > -----Original Message----- > From: Houston [mailto:[email protected]] > Sent: Saturday, January 31, 2004 12:53 PM > To: [email protected] > Subject: Re: [PADAUPHI] Cars, Canal Boats and Stages in 1829 > > > George, > Does the book you mention say what years William Calder was doing > business? > > Marcia Fronk > > ----- Original Message ----- > From: "George F. Nagle" <[email protected]> > To: <[email protected]> > Sent: Friday, January 30, 2004 3:44 PM > Subject: RE: [PADAUPHI] Cars, Canal Boats and Stages in 1829 > > > > Cars may refer to the mail shipments, that William Calder had contracted. > Or > > perhaps it's the other way around and the "stage" is mail and the cars are > > larger passenger coaches. You are right that no rail lines existed in > > Harrisburg. The first "railroad" to reach Harrisburg was a horse-drawn > > train that made its debut in August 1836. A month later a steam > locomotive > > made its appearance. > > > > On the other hand, William Calder had built up his business in Harrisburg > to > > the point that fifteen coaches were leaving the town daily. All the above > > info is from Gerald Eggert's excellent book "Harrisburg Industrializes" > > (1993, University Park, The Pennsylvania State University Press), pages > 21, > > 29-31. > > > > The other possibility is that the 1829 date is wrong, as happens sometimes > > in those older county histories. > > > > Is there a transportation historian who could shed more light? > > > ==== PADAUPHI Mailing List ==== > Post only genealogy related topics > > > > > > ==== PADAUPHI Mailing List ==== > To unsubscribe first check and see if you are getting list or digest mode then e-mail [email protected] or [email protected] with unsubscribe in message. >

Sharon, The roads the stage coaches used are most of what we use today, the path of least resistance.I have a few early maps, and looked at the ones on the Map Collections site http://lcweb2.loc.gov/ammem/gmdhtml/gmdhome.html . Most of the roads are marked as state or turnpike roads. I find allot of information in old newspapers since those running the lines would advertise arrivals and departures. Here is an example: The subscribers beg leave to inform the public, that on the 3rd day of May next, their stage will commence running from Harrisburg by way of Clarks Ferry, Millerstown, Thompsontown, Mifflintown, Lewistown, Waynesburg and Huntingdon, to Alexandria, once a week. Leave the house of Mr. Berryhill, Harrisburg, every Tuesday, at 1 o'clock P.M., and arrive at Alexandria on the Friday following...... Dated April 14, 1808. I don't know if you are familiar with the area, but the route described above is basically where Rt. 322 leaves Harrisburg area and follows the Susquehanna and then heads westward. It's probably almost a morning commute for some folks who work in Harrisburg, now that is takes less than four days to travel. Marcia Fronk ----- Original Message ----- From: "Sharon Frank" <[email protected]> To: <[email protected]> Sent: Saturday, January 31, 2004 4:01 PM Subject: Re: [PADAUPHI] Cars, Canal Boats and Stages in 1829 > Does anyone know if a map showing stage coach roads still exsists for > Dauphin & Schuylkill areas??? > Sharon