2003 Mail

I actually have a great deal of respect and fondness for the Haldeman family, and their legacy in Harrisburg. As a local historian, I am part of the staff that leads tours through the Harrisburg Cemetery each September, and we regularly feature Jacob Miller Haldeman and Sara Haldeman Haly on our tours. Interestingly, Richard married Margaretta, daughter of Simon Cameron, whose political views concerning African Americans was almost exactly the opposite of those espoused by his son-in-law.

Thank you very much for including the Brady image of Richard J. Haldeman. You might be interested in having a transcription of the article about the cemetery monument for Jacob Haldeman that appeared in the Harrisburg Daily Herald, May 10, 1858, Handsome Monument, which reads:

The Monument recently erected by the members of the Haldman family in our vicinity to the memory of their father, is one of the handsomest works of art in our Cemetery, and a great ornament to that beautiful spot, as well as a credit to the liberality and taste of those who caused its erection. The Monument is situated in a large lot, nearly at the entrance of the Cemetery and is enclosed by a heavy and handsome iron railing painted green, and surmounted on an appropriate stone base. The Monument stands exactly in the center of this lot, and strikes the eye of the visitor upon his first entrance to that much visited resort. It is built entirely of granite, and consists of a very tall column, upon a heavy square, jointed base the whole crowned with a beautiful Corinthian cap. The style, material and inscription is very appropriate to the character of the stern, high-minded and extraordinary man, whom the Monument commemorates, and its selection is an eloquent testimonial to his merits. Upon the pedestal is the following inscription:
JACOB M. HALDEMAN.
Born March 4, 1781; Died December 15, 1856;
HE WAS JUST.

The height of the base is about 6 feet; that of the column about 30; and the whole, we are informed, cost about $3,000.

There is but one other grave in the same lot a child of Mr. Jacob M. Haldeman,--which is situated in the upper part of the ground, and is also fitted up with a very pretty tomb-stone. The entire lot is beautifully laid out and adorned, and is an object of much attractiveness.

One final note on Jacob Haldman and slavery. There does exist, in the Haldeman-Wright Family Collection, 1789-1899, at the Pennsylvania State Archives (MG-64), a bill of sale, dated December 11, 1809, from Esther Brisben, selling a six-year-old Negro girl named Esther to Jacob Haldeman for the sum of $200. This is the only mention that I have ever seen that Jacob Haldeman, even briefly, may have owned a slave. I don t know what became of the girl named Esther. This information is chronicled in the book Guide to African American Resources at the Pennsylvania State Archives, by Ruth E. Hodge (Harrisburg, PA, 2000, Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission), page 286.