There were a lot of Drums in Drums.

#14 – There were a lot of Drums in Drums.

As we have seen in the last post, the popular Abraham Drum and his sister, Margarett, both had a major impact on the community as adults. In researching this family’s history, a few sources told me they thought it was Abraham for whom the village was named! He was well known, ran two hotels, and served for a time as the county sheriff. The news clipping from the time of Abraham’s death that Helman found “in Philip Drum’s Bible”, and as she (possibly incorrectly) copied it, reads:

Abraham Drum, ex-sheriff of Luzerne County, died Nov. 9, 1869, aged 65 years. A widely known and generally esteemed gentleman of this county, Mr. Drum though unpretending, was one of nature’s noble men, an honest man. He was sheriff of Luzerne County several years, and in the discharge of his duties so distinguished himself by his uniform kindness, that he made friends rather than enemies. (Copied by Laura Helman.)[1]  

Mom photocopied this image from a source she failed to identify. If it was a copywritten document I feel certain the document was old enough for the copywrite to have expired.

Abraham married Margaret “Molly” Winters around 1825. Together they had five girls and three boys.[2] Two of the three boys, Josiah and Stephen, with the help of their cousins Redmond and Nathan, opened a store, J. & S. Drum Dry Goods. It was on the same road as, in fact only a few buildings away from, Nathan’s home, the Drums Post Office, and the Drums Hotel, the same one George I opened in 1820 at Drums Corner. An Atlas of Luzerne County from 1873 lists the brothers as “Dealers in fancy and staple dry goods, groceries, hats, caps, boots and shoes, hardware, &c.”[3] Dry goods include items such as fabric, thread, and clothing. 

The brothers had a lot of competition selling these goods for such a small community! Less than a mile to the west, at the crossroads called Beisel’s Corner, across from the Wagon-making and Blacksmith Shop, Joseph Benner had his store, also a dealer in dry goods, groceries, and hardware.

PLUS, just 1.5 miles to the north, in what is now known as St. Johns, Scheidy and Wenner had a shop selling like items![5] 

In today’s world it seems odd to have three establishments each selling the same items in such close proximity, but a mile driven by horse and buggy over unpaved roads must feel a great deal longer than a mile driven in an automobile over the roads of today.

Benner also carried two items not included in the list for J & S Drum, Queensware and Hollow ware.[4] Queensware is a type of Wedgewood Pottery, cream color and very fine. Hollow ware is metal tableware such as coffee pots, sugar bowls, creamers, and so forth.

An example of Wedgewood Queensware from 1887.
These plates may have been purchased from Benner’s store.

I believe this is an example of Hollow ware.
I don’t know the age of this coffee pot
or how it was acquired.
My mom used to use it
when she served “fancy” dinners.

Below is a photo I found hanging on the wall in the Conyngham Historical Society Museum. It is not dated but it still may help us “see” what Drums looked like when the J & S Drum Dry Goods was open for business, even if it isn’t of the location of their store. The question is, where WAS it taken? It is labeled “Drums, PA – WBS” but that doesn’t help – or does it? If only we knew what “WBS” stands for. It might be the photographer’s initials.

By comparing the photo to the 1873 map, I believe we can discern this photo’s location. First, let’s look at the photo and see what we can see.

It appears the photographer was set up in a road, on the left-hand side and we realize there must be a house to his right. We can just see the property’s fence. The next building in line on the right is a house with a sign over the porch. Unfortunately, the sign cannot be read. There is a woman standing on this porch. Next in line is what appears to be a house. However, when we zoom in and look closely at this area of the photo, we realize that there are two houses there in the picture. Next, we see an open area that appears to be another road crossing the road that our photographer is standing in. There is a man crossing the road at this intersection. He is coming toward us. Next on the right is a barn-like structure. There is a wagon and a buggy parked in front of this building. There is a house next to the barn and two more further down the street. In the distance there is a carriage coming toward us on the left-hand side of the road. The left does not appear to be built-up. We come back to the intersection. just past the intersection there is what appears to be another road before we return to the photographer’s location.

After a close examination of the map, I think this may be a photo of the area known as Beisel’s Corner. I further think the photo can be dated to between 1880 and 1900. Here is the Beisel’s Corner portion of the 1873 Atlas map. Let’s see how it matches up with the photo.

On our map, we see a house identified as “J. Walk”. Next to it is a building labeled “Shoe Sh”. I think our photographer was standing in front of the Walk’s house and the Shoe Shop is the building in the photo with the sign over the porch where the woman is standing. The map shows two more houses. Our photo does as well. That brings us to a crossroad in both photo and map. Next, we see “Wagon & B S Sh.” (Blacksmith Shop) on the map. That corresponds to the barn with the wagon in front in the photo. It also could be what “WBS” stands for. The map indicates only one structure at this location, however, it is probable that the shopkeeper had a house as well as the barn or the two were connected. After the shop, the map is empty. The photo has two more houses.

On the left of the photo there appears to be two parallel roads. On the map we see the road and “J. Benner & Co. Store”. I suggest that the “road” closest to the photographer is the driveway/entrance to Benner’s store, the store, itself, being just off the photo to the left.

It is highly likely that this photo was taken at Beisel’s Corner. It appears it was supposed to be of the Wagon & Blacksmith Shop, the barn-like building almost in the center of the photo, especially if that is what “WBS” stands for! The photo is later than 1873 because there are two houses in the distance that do not appear on the 1873 map. It is earlier than 1900 because we see no evidence of the WB&H Railway that will run through this area beginning 1903.

See Addendum added below for another interpretation of this photo.

Although this is not Drums Corner, I imagine Beisel’s Corner looked pretty much the same as Drums Corner, all things considered.

Now, even though the Drums had a lot of competition for their goods, when it came to production of community-citizens, one wonders just how many families were competing with the Drums. In 1830, at a time when the total population of Butler Township was 2,700[6], we know that at least 1% of that population, 33 people, were named “Drum”.[7]  

Furthermore, we can be sure that this number increased as the century moved forward. William, as noted earlier, did not have children. However, between 1832 when his brother, George II’s son, George W. was born, and 1838 when George W’s sister, Rebekah died, just this one Drum household alone accounted for 10 Drum’s. William’s second brother, Abraham, had eight children between 1820 and 1840; his third brother, Jacob, fathered five children between 1820 and 1830 and Philip II, his fourth brother, had ten children that survived infancy (two babies died) between 1820 and 1850. Including the three children he had with his first wife, between 1814 and 1819, the total number of children Philip fathered was 15. The 1873 Atlas map shows 9 Drum households scattered across Butler Township and we can’t forget about the George W. Drum home in Conyngham, making 10; most of which had children.

It is, perhaps, needless to say, but in the 1800’s, there were a lot of Drums in Drums Valley!

I’ve personally always liked being a Drum. Too bad that when I was growing up there weren’t as many of “us” around as there were in the 1800’s. It’s kind of nice being a Drum. Of course, maybe I wouldn’t care for it as much if I’d have known being something else. You see, I’ve never known being anything other then a Drum, but my “Drum-essence” seems pretty good just the same.

Return to the Drums of Drums, PA on the last day of the year, December 31, 2018, to find out just how (#15) Nice being a Drum can be!

Addendum! Addendum! 

But WAIT! I was visiting the Luzerne County Area Agency on Aging Butler Active Adult Center and showed some of the center clients this photograph of "Drums, PA - WBS" with the label removed. Immediately, one man, a life-long resident of Drums, said, "Why that's Drums!" "But where in Drums? I asked. He looked at me like I was silly and pointed toward Drums Corner which is just down the street from the Center. "But where is the Drums Hotel?" I asked. "Behind the photographer." he said and then continued, "This photo is looking toward Fritzingertown direction." That would be Southwest. 

I explained my points made above as to why it is Beisel's Corner and he told me his reasons for it being where he believes it was taken.

If he is right, then the cross road is running on the far side of the barn, not the near side as it seems to me. Even more important to me is that the house beside the "store" in the picture would be Nathan S. Drum's if my friend is correct.

Here is the map of Drums Corner again, enlarged and with numbers to help us line it up with the photo. 

#1 would be the barn in the photo. #2, labeled "P Hess" on the map would be the next house to the right of the barn in the photo. #1 is not labeled on the map so I assume it is either Hess's barn or part of Washburn's "B Sh." which I believe stands for Blacksmith Shop. Note that the original photo is labeled "WBS". #3, labeled "N.S. Drum" on the map is the next in line to the right in the photo. #4, on the map labeled "Andrew's Store and P.O." aligns with the house in the photo with the sign above the porch, and #5, not identified on the map would be the house of which only its fence can be seen in the photo. The houses marked 6&7 on the map might be the two houses that can be seen in the distance in the photo. 

For me, there are issues with both interpretations, however, the original is marked "Drums" and I believe it would have been marked "Beisels Corner" if that was the subject of the photo. We think of a wide area today as "Drums" but that was not the case for much of the valley's existence.

We might be looking at Drum's Corner after all!

---

[1] Helman, Laura M., History and Genealogy of the Drum Family (Allentown, PA: Berkemeyer, Keck & Co., 1927), p 28

[2] Helman, p 28

[3] Atlas of Luzerne County Pennsylvania from actual surveys by and under the direction of D. G. Beers (Phila: A. Pomeroy and Company, 1873), p 39.

[4] Atlas, p 39

[5] Atlas, p 39

[6] Two Hundred Years of Progress: Butler Township, 1784-1984 (Drums, PA: The Drums Lions Club, 1984) p 21.

[7] The 33 include, by my count: 1. George (died 1831), 2. George’s 2^nd wife Rosanna Woodring, George’s children 3. Philip, 4. Jacob (died July 1830), 5. George (died 1831), 6. Elizabeth, 7. William, 8. Abraham, 9. Margarett, 10. Philip’s 2^nd wife Magdalena Beishline, Philip’s children 11. Anna, 12. Sarah, 13. Jacob, 14. Elizabeth (she may have married by 1830), 15. John, 16. Mary Magdalene, 17. Jacob’s wife Anna Margaret Balliett, Jacob’s children 18. Isaac, 19. Julia, 20. Caroline, 21. Anna Margaret Rosina, 22. George’s wife Susanna Winters, George’s children 23. Mary, 24 Eliza, 25. Susan, 26. Laretta, 27. Rebekah, 28. Sarah, 29. Abraham’s wife Margaret “Molly” Winters, Abraham’s children 30. Mary, 31. Magdalene, 32. George, and 33. Josiah (born 1830).