Dear tiger4,
Uniontown in Fayette County was originally named Beesontown, after its
founder Henry Beeson. However, since the town was founded on the very
same day as the Declaration of Independence was signed at Philadelphia
(4 July 1776), Henry Beeson preferred to refer to the newly founded
place as "the town of Union", to honor the Union of federal states
that was born the same day. Following this custom, the town was
already known as "Uniontown" when it became an incorporated borough in
1796.
This 1776 map of the town [1] still refers to the settlement as "Beeson's Town":
http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.com/~beeson/utownplat.html
Hope this answers your question!
Regards,
Scriptor
Sources:
Beeson/Beason Family Homepage: The Founding of Beeson Town/Uniontown, PA
http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.com/~beeson/utown.html
[1] Beeson/Beason Family Homepage: 1776 Map of Beesontown/Uniontown,
Fayette Co., PA
http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.com/~beeson/utownplat.html
Pennsylvania State Archives: Records of the County Governments
http://www.phmc.state.pa.us/bah/dam/rg/sd/r47sd3.htm |
