Cambria County Pioneers, 1910, by James L. Swank, Cambria County, PA - President Zachary Taylor Copyright 2004. All rights reserved. http://www.usgwarchives.net/copyright.htm http://www.usgwarchives.net/pa/cambria/ ________________________________________________ CAMBRIA COUNTY PIONEERS HON. CYRUS L. PERSHING A Collection of Brief Biographical and other Sketches Relating to the Early History of Cambria County, Pennsylvania. by JAMES M. SWANK PHILADELPHIA: No. 261 SOUTH FOURTH STREET, 1910. A REMINISCENCE OF PRESIDENT TAYLOR. 129 A REMINISCENCE OF PRESIDENT TAYLOR. FROM THE BULLETIN OF THE AMERICAN IRON AND STEEL ASSOCIATION, JUNE 15, 1909. ZACHARY TAYLOR, the twelfth President of the United States, occupied this position from the day of his inauguration on March 5, 1849, until his death on July 9, 1850. In August, 1849, just sixty years ago, accompanied by a small party of prominent gentlemen, he journeyed in a carriage over the turnpikes of that day from Washington to Pittsburgh, thence visiting a few other interior cities before returning to Washington. His carriage route through Pennsylvania embraced Bedford, Somerset, Westmoreland, and Allegheny counties and the towns of Bedford, Somerset, Ligonier, and Greensburg. The President's itinerary was duly announced several days in advance, and of course excited much interest. The countryside was on tiptoe to see the hero of Palo Alto, Resaca de la Palma, Monterey, and Buena Vista. The editor of the Bulletin was at that time one of the enthusiastic young Whigs of Johnstown. Learning that the President and his party would be at Ligonier on a certain day and would stop there for dinner we induced two of our friends, boys of about our own age, to go with us to Ligonier and see the President. Now Ligonier was twenty miles away, and the only way to get there was on horseback over a mountain road, and if we were to see the President before dinner it was necessary that we should make an early start. So we started before daylight, three enthusiastic boys, and about 10 o'clock we were in Ligonier, to which historic town many neighboring farmers had preceded us on the same mission. Introducing ourselves to Mr. Mendell, the landlord of the leading public house in the place, we were most hospitably received. He was surprised to learn that we had ridden so far. In less than an hour the car- 130 CAMBRIA COUNTY PIONEERS. riages of the Presidential party were seen approaching in a cloud of dust and in a few minutes we boys first saw a President of the United States and one of our country's greatest soldiers. Preparations for dinner were soon made for the distinguished guests, who were informally welcomed by Mr. Mendell, John Bell, a local ironmaster, and others. When dinner was about to be served we boys obtained a view of the dining room, which would seat about thirty and certainly not more than forty guests at one long table, but we did not think that we could sit at that table until the Presidential party and the local dignitaries had first been served. We were greatly surprised, therefore, when Mr. Mendell came to us and said that boys who had risen so early and ridden so far to see General Taylor should sit at the same table with him. And we did. Mr. Bell sat at the head of the table, the President on his right, and we boys not quite half way down the table on Mr. Bell's left. After dinner General Taylor was induced to mount a chair in a corner of the parlor of the Mendell House and make an address to all who could crowd inside or hear him through the open windows. Soon afterwards the Presidential party took its departure from Ligonier and we boys started homeward. That incident in our lives when we dined with President Taylor occurred just sixty years ago. There can not be many persons now living who can say that they dined with General Taylor that long ago.