Letters to the Editor
Written by PA Heritage Staff in the Letters category and the Spring 1985 issue Topics in this article:Schuylkill County
The article in the winter 1985 issue on Schuylkill County is quite interesting, but I would like to alert you to other evidence about the origins of Pottsville. The article contains a portrait of John Potts, Junior, a son of John Potts the ironmaster, founder of Pottstown and builder of Pottsgrove Mansion. The caption calls the subject of the portrait the founder of Pottsville, but there is no basis for this. A certain John Pott (also spelled Put or Putt), son of Wilhelm Putt of Rotterdam, did lay out Pottsville about 1816. The two men are not one and the same, and came from unrelated families. John Potts, Jr., shown in the portrait, was a lawyer, judge and loyalist during the war who had no business interests in the Schuylkill County region. I call attention to this confusion because it is often thought the two towns were founded by the same family.
Mary Brod
Pottstown, Pa.
Ms. Brod is historic site manager at Pottsgrove Mansion, Pottstown.
The Decorated Tree
Thank you for the winter volume of Pennsylvania Heritage. As a Germanist, I found the use of the term glanzbilders (see “Pennsylvania’s Gift: The Decorated Tree“) somewhat confusing, however. First of all, the word glanzbilder in German is already plural; it needs no additional -s to make it plural. Secondly, glanzbild is not a common German word, hence its special use in this context should have been more clearly explained, for a glanzbild literally is a “picture that sparkles” – but this is not the exact meaning implied in the article. Apart from this linguistic confusion in German, this is a most rewarding article and a welcome addition to my file on the Christmas tree in Pennsylvania.
C. Richard Beam
Millersville, Pa.
Mr. Beam is an associate professor of German at Millersville University of Pennsylvania.
The term glanzbilders is one which is commonly accepted by curators and collectors to mean mass-produced, brightly colored embossed die-cuts used originally to decorate spice cookies for tree trimming in the late nineteenth century. Your literal definition of the word helps to explain its derivation and application to this form of Christmas ornament, and will undoubtedly clear up any confusion which might have arisen in other readers’ minds.
An Industrial Camelot
Our office recently received the latest Commission publication, Carl Oblinger’s collection of materials on Cornwall (Cornwall: The People and Culture of an Industrial Camelot). This book is both a pleasure to read and another example of the remarkable parade of Pennsylvania history in recent years. In my opinion no other state or region has received more careful or original historical analysis during the last decade than Pennsylvania. Cornwall is but the latest example of this impressive record, and also an effective use of the oral history medium. The Commission is setting a standard for state and regional history. Congratulations are in order.
Cullom Davis
Springfield, Ill.
Mr. Davis is president of the Oral History Association.
Road to Resorts
The article on Monroe County in Pennsylvania Heritage (Vol. X, No. 4) incorrectly states that Daniel Stroud “also built the ‘Mansion House,’ his home … ” (page 33). Daniel’s father, Jacob Stroud, built that house in 1795 for Daniel’s brother John and family. John Stroud was the first occupant of the Mansion House. When John became unhappy with the location, his father built another house farther out in the country from the Stroud village to which John then moved. (That house is presently the clubhouse of the Glenbrook Country Club.) Only then did Daniel Stroud make the Mansion House his home.
John C. Appel
Stroudsburg, Pa.
Mr. Appel is past-president of the Monroe County Historical Society.
One of the most difficult aspects of preparing captions for historical photographs and illustrations is resolving the authenticity of statements which often accompany them. The preparation of captions is, at best, trying, and the problem of misidentification in this case was due, in part, to the staff’s unfamiliarity with the various members of the prominent Stroud family. I thank you for sharing this information with our readers.
