Page:The American Cyclopædia (1879) Volume XI.djvu/411

 MERGER MERCERSBURG 399 nails and spikes, 15 of iron castings, 9 of ma- chinery, 13 tanneries, 3 breweries, 52 saw mills, 9 planing mills, 20 flour mills, and 5 woollen mills. Capital, Mercer. III. A S. county of "West Virginia, bordering on Virginia, bounded E. by the Kanawha and intersected by Blue- stone river; area, 540 sq. m. ; pop. in 1870, 7,064, of whom 394 were colored. A range of the Alleghanies extends along the N". W. bor- der. The chief productions in 1870 were 25,- 756 bushels of wheat, 5,597 of rye, 114,746 of Indian corn, 43,184 of oats, 10,867 of potatoes, 117,429 Ibs. of tobacco, 18,713 of wool, 109,- 355 of butter, and 2,517 tons of hay. There were 1,667 horses, 2,722 milch cows, 3,195 oth- er cattle, 8,293 sheep, and 6,854 swine. Cap- ital, Princeton. IV. A central county of Ken- tucky, bounded N. E. by Kentucky river, and E. by Dick's river, and drained by the head waters of Salt river ; area, 240 sq. m. ; pop. in 1870, 13,144, of whom 3,310 were colored. The surface is undulating and the soil fertile. The chief productions in 1870 were 146,534 bushels of wheat, 23,941 of rye, 495,775 of Indian corn, 66,001 of oats, 14,551 of potatoes, 33,5841bs. of wool, 123,042 of butter, and 2,992 tons of hay. There were 3,733 horses, 2,220 milch cows, 3,753 other cattle, 7,694 sheep, and 18,349 swine ; 3 manufactories of carriages and wagons, 2 of woollen goods, 1 saw mill, and 2 flour mills. Capital, Harrodsburg. T. A W. county of Ohio, bordering on Indiana, drained by the St. Mary's and W abash rivers and branches; area 576 sq. m. ; pop. in 1870, 17,254. It has a level surface heavily timbered, and a fertile soil. The chief productions in 1870 were 338,189 bushels of wheat, 341,775 of Indian corn, 244,289 of oats, 34,298 of po- tatoes, 12,589 of flax seed, 94,742 Ibs. of wool, 373,956 of butter, and 16,527 tons of hay. There were 5,518 horses, 5,816 milch cows, 6,765 other cattle, 26,669 sheep, and 24,496 swine. Capital, Celina. VI. A N. W. county of Illinois, separated from Iowa by the Missis- sippi ; area, 550 sq. m. ; pop. in 1870, 18,768. There are extensive prairies in the county, and it is heavily timbered along the banks of the Mississippi ; the soil is fertile. The Galva and Keithsburg branch of the Chicago, Burlington, and Quincy railroad passes through it. The chief productions in 1870 were 302,494 bushels of wheat, 40,778 of rye, 2,054,962 of Indian corn, 452,889 of oats, 94,241 of potatoes, 52,- 088 Ibs. of wool, 376,727 of butter, and 28,180 tons of hay. There were 10,984 horses, 7,655 milch cows, 15,552 other cattle, 11,278 sheep, and 41,663 swine ; 13 manufactories of car- riages, 7 of saddlery and harness, 9 flour mills, and 1 saw mill. Capital, Aledo. VII. A N. county of Missouri, bordering on Iowa, and drained by Weldon river ; area, 530 sq. m. ; pop. in 1870, 11,557, of whom 93 were colored. It has an undulating surface and fertile soil. It is traversed by the Chicago, Rock Island, and Pa- cific railroad. The chief productions in 1870 were 69,068 bushels of wheat, 472,730 of Indian 547 VOL. xi. 26 corn, 160,081 of oats, 42,969 of potatoes, 17,550 Ibs. of tobacco, 57,000 of wool, 234,074 of but- ter, and 11,662 tons of hay. There were 5,153 horses, 4,416 milch cows, 8,342 other cattle, 25,441 sheep, and 19,627 swine. Capital, Prince- ton. VIII. A N.W. county of Dakota, bounded K and E. by Missouri river ; area, about 900 sq.m. It is intersected by the Big Knife and other affluents of the Missouri. It has been re- cently formed, and is not included in the cen- sus of 1870. The surface is rolling, and the soil moderately fertile. MERCER, Hugh, an American revolutionary soldier, born in Scotland about 1720, died near Princeton, N. J., Jan. 12, 1777. He was edu- cated as a physician, and served as a surgeon's assistant in the army of the young pretender at Culloden. He soon after settled in Virginia, and in 1755 served in the French and Indian war and volunteered in the expedition led by Braddock to Fort Duquesne. At the battle of Monongahela, July 9, he was wounded in the shoulder, and wandered alone through the wilderness to Fort Cumberland, 100 m. distant. He returned to his practice, and was residing in Fredericksburg at the outbreak of the revo- lution, when he was commissioned colonel of one of the regiments authorized in 1775 by the Virginia convention, and through the influence of Washington obtained the rank of brigadier general with the command of the flying camp organized in the spring of 1776. He accom- panied Washington on his retreat through New Jersey, and rendered valuable assistance at the battle of Trenton. In the succeeding action at Princeton he led the vanguard, composed prin- cipally of militia. His men beginning to waver before the attack of the enemy, he made an energetic attempt to rally them, and was felled to the ground by a blow from the butt end of a musket. Though surrounded by British sol- diers, he rose and defended himself with his sword, refusing quarter, and after a brief struggle, in which he was repeatedly bayo- neted, was left for dead upon the field. He was removed soon after the battle to a house in the neighborhood, where about a week after- ward he died. His corpse was followed to the grave in Philadelphia by upward of 30,000 people. In November, 1840, a monument to his memory was dedicated at the Laurel Hill cemetery. Provision was made by congress for the education of his youngest son. MERCERSBIJRG, a borough of Franklin co., Pennsylvania, at the terminus of a branch of the Cumberland Valley railroad, 15 m. S. W. of Chambersburg and 62 m. S. W. of Harris- burg; pop. in 1870, 971. It is the seat of Mercersburg college (Reformed), organized in 1865, and having in 1873-'4 6 professors, 3 tutors, 50 preparatory, 45 collegiate, and 6 theological students, and a library of 2,000 volumes. The theological department was or- ganized in 1872. Marshall college and the theological seminary of the Reformed church, formerly situated here, have been removed to