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BY 

ABDEL  ROSS  WENTZ,  B.D.,  Ph.D. 

Professor  of  History  in  Pennsylvania  College,  Gettysburg,  and  Curator  of  the 

Historical  Society  of  the  Evangelical  Lutheran  Church  in  the 

United  States  of  America 


^3(o 


LANCASTER,  PA. 
1916 


REPRINTED  FROM  VOLUME  XXIV  OF  THE  PROCEEDINGS  OF  THE 
PENNSYLVANIA-GERMAN  SOCIETY 


Copyrighted,  1916 

By  the 

PENNSYLVANIA-GERMAN  SOCIETY 


PRESS  OF 

THE  NEW  ERA  PRINTING  COMPANY 

LANCAUTEK,  PA. 


151 


This  Volume  is  Gratefully  Inscribed  to  the 
Memory  of 

PHILIP    H.    GLATFELTER 


FOREWORD. 


^i^Blj^HE  sources  usually  determine  the  stream.  The 
m  ■  I  beginnings  of  a  movement  generally  contain  a 
All  prophecy  of  its  later  development.  For  that 
^^^^F  reason  it  has  been  thought  worth  while  to 
make  a  study  of  the  origin  of  the  present  Ger- 
man element  in  York  County.  The  position  of  Pennsyl- 
vania in  the  affairs  of  the  nation  and  the  position  of  York 
County  in  the  affairs  of  the  state,  make  it  profitable  to 
investigate  the  earliest  beginnings  of  the  strongest  ele- 
ment in  the  county.  The  study  has  been  fruitful  for  it 
has  dealt  with  virgin  soil. 

It  has  not  been  possible  in  a  single  monograph  like  this 
to  trace  the  history  of  these  settlements  beyond  their  very 
beginnings.  Nor  has  the  attempt  been  made  to  follow  out 
all  possible  lines  of  investigation,  such  as  the  economic,  the 
sociological,  the  political,  the  industrial,  the  religious,  and 
the  linguistic.  To  set  forth  the  full  history  of  the  Ger- 
mans in  the  county  will  require  a  series  of  volumes.  The 
present  treatise  is  merely  a  study  preliminary  to  such  a  full 
presentation  of  their  history.  It  has  been  regarded  as 
suiScient  to  show  in  this  treatise  how  those  German  settle- 
ments took  their  beginnings,  and  to  set  forth  such  char- 
acteristics of  the  original  settlers  and  such  features  of  the 
original  settlements  as  will  enable  the  reader  to  understand 


6  German  Element  in  York  County,  Pa. 

the  relation  of  this  element  to  the  subsequent  history  of  the 
county,  to  the  general  movement  of  Germans  in  this  coun- 
try, to  the  colonial  history  of  the  state  of  Pennsylvania, 
and  to  the  general  course  of  events  in  our  national  history. 
Our  study  therefore  has  barely  covered  two  decades  and 
has  in  no  case  carried  us  beyond  the  middle  of  the  eight- 
eenth century.  But  this  brief  span  of  years  lies  in  the 
most  important  because  the  most  formative  period  of  our 
history. 

The  York  County  with  which  we  deal  is  the  county  as 
bounded  on  the  map  of  today.  Other  geographical  ex- 
pressions also  are  used  with  their  present-day  signijficance. 

An  effort  has  been  made  to  weave  the  body  of  the  text 
into  the  form  of  a  continuous  narrative  and  so  far  as  pos- 
sible to  relegate  to  the  footnotes  all  references  to  sources, 
all  allusions  merely  incidental,  and  all  details  not  directly 
relevant.  Specific  acknowledgment  of  all  sources  is  made 
at  the  places  where  they  are  used  and  these  are  also  col- 
lated in  the  Bibliography  (Appendix  D).  The  Blunston 
letters  that  are  quoted  or  referred  to  are  always  found 
in  the  "  Miscellaneous  Manuscripts  of  York  and  Cumber- 
land Counties,  1738-1806"  (see  Bibliography)  unless 
otherwise  indicated. 

Gettysburg,  Pa., 
April  30,  19 14. 


CONTENTS. 

Foreword  5,6 

Table  of  Contents 7 

Chapter  I. — The  First  White  Men  in  the  County  . . .  9-20 

Chapter  II. — The  First  Settlers 21-36 

Chapter  III. — The  First  Settlement    37-68 

Chapter  IV. — Other  Early  Settlements 69-95 

Chapter  V. — ^Whence  the  Germans  Came  and  Why  .  96-123 

Chapter  VI. — Outstanding  Characteristics 124-147 

Chapter  VII. — ^The   Limestone    Soil    148-174 

Chapter  VIII. — Their  Place  in  Pennsylvania  History  .  175-185 
Chapter  IX. — Their  Place  in  General  American  His- 
tory    186-196 

Appendix  A. — Letter  of  Samuel  Blunston 197-202 

Appendix  B. — Signers  of  Letter  to  Maryland 203,  204 

Appendix  C. — Inventory  of  Jacob  Welshover's  Estate  .  205-207 

Appendix  D. — Bibliography 208-217 


CHAPTER  I. 


The  First  White  Men  in  the  County. 

^^JJ^^'ONG  before  the  white  man  began  to  make  per- 
^ll  manent   settlements    in    what    is    now   York 

^■B  j  County,  its  valleys  were  trodden  by  the  pil- 
^0^m  grim,  the  explorer,  and  the  trader.  Already 
in  the  first  decade  of  the  eighteenth  century 
settlements  had  begun  in  Lancaster  County  just  east  of  the 
Susquehanna  River.  At  the  same  time  or  shortly  before 
that  settlements  began  to  spring  up  on  the  Monocacy  in 
Maryland  and  in  the  Shenandoah  Valley  of  western  Vir- 
ginia. The  settlers  in  these  regions  were  for  the  most  part 
Germans  who  had  left  their  homes  chiefly  on  account  of 
religious  persecutions.  That  there  were  German  settle- 
ments in  Virginia  some  years  before  the  end  of  the  seven- 
teenth century  is  shown  by  an  old  French  map^  of  1687 
which  marks  the  location  of  a  German  settlement  at  the 
headwaters  of  the  Rappahannock  River.  This  is  also  con- 
firmed by  an  English  map  of  about  the  same  time  which 
has  the  words  "  Teutsche  Staat "  on  the  upper  Rappahan- 
nock, and  on  the  upper  James  River  points  out  "  Meister 

1  Now  in  the  collection  of  Dr.  Julius  F.  Sachse  of  Philadelphia.  See 
letter  of  Sachse,  Feb.  10,  1907,  to  Wayland  in  Wayland's  "German  Ele- 
ment in  the  Shenandoah  Valley,"  p.  10. 

9 


10  German  Element  in  York  County,  Pa. 

Krugs  plantasie."  Furthermore  in  1699  Daniel  Falckner, 
one  of  the  pietists  on  the  WIssahickon  Creek,  was  sent  to 
Germany  as  representative  of  the  pietistic  fraternity.  One 
of  the  expressed  objects  of  this  trip  to  the  Fatherland  was 
to  solicit  aid  and  additional  recruits  so  that  the  perfect 
number  of  forty  could  be  kept  intact  and  so  that  the  fra- 
ternity could  extend  their  usefulness  In  educating  their 
neglected  countrymen  in  Pennsylvania  and  Virginia.^ 

It  was  only  natural  that  these  German  pioneers  In  the 
different  colonies  should  early  seek  to  communicate  with 
one  another.  And  so  as  a  matter  of  fact  they  did.  The 
common  bonds  of  nationality  and  of  religious  Interest  soon 
operated  to  bring  about  Intercourse  and  conference  between 
the  German  sectarians  of  eastern  Pennsylvania  and  those 
of  Maryland  and  Virginia  on  the  south.  Letters  were 
written  and  journeys  were  made.  The  journal  of  John 
Kelplus^  shows  that  on  October  10,  1704,  that  philosoph- 
ical mystic  wrote  from  the  banks  of  the  WIssahickon  In 
Pennsylvania  a  twenty-two  page  German  letter  to  Maria 
Ehzabeth  Gerber,*  a  disciple  of  his  in  Virginia.  But  the 
religious  enthusiasm  of  the  sectarians  was  not  satisfied  with 
the  Interchange  of  letters.  Visits  were  made  for  the  purpose 
of  exhorting  and  strengthening  the  brethren  In  the  faith. 
Long  preaching  journeys  were  undertaken.  The  manu- 
script of  Reverend  Petrus  Schaffer  (written  to  Reverend 
August  Hermann  Francke)  now  in  the  archives  at  Halle 
shows  that  before  the  end  of  the  seventeenth  century, 
about  the  time  that  Falckner  went  to  Germany,  both  Petrus 

2  Sachse,  "  Curieuse  Nachricht,"  p.  371;  also  Sachse,  "  German  Pietists 
of  Pennsylvania,"  i^g^i-iyoS,  p.  96  f. 

3  Journal  now  in  the  possession  of  Mr.  Charles  J.  Wistar  of  German- 
town,  Philadelphia. 

*  There  were  Gerbers  also  in  Lancaster  County;  see  Rupp's  "History  of 
Lancaster  County,"  p.  189. 


First  JVhite  Men  in  the  County.  ii 

Schaffer  and  Heinrich  Bernhard  Koster  travelled  from 
Pennsylvania  to  Virginia  on  such  a  mission.^  After  Ger- 
man settlements  had  been  made  in  the  Carolinas  in  1710^ 
the  preaching  and  teaching  trips  of  the  Pennsylvania  Ger- 
man sectarians  extended  beyond  Virginia  to  what  is  now 
North  Carolina,  Thus  in  1722  Michael  Wohlfarth,  a 
pietist  from  Germantown,  journeyed  on  foot  from  Phila- 
delphia by  way  of  Conrad  Beissel's  hut  on  the  Miihlbach 
and  through  the  Valley  of  Virginia  to  preach  a  revival 
among  the  Germans  in  North  Carolina/ 

Now  the  route  of  these  religious  enthusiasts  on  their 
journeys  from  north  to  south  was  a  well-marked  one.  It 
was  the  great  natural  avenue  formed  by  the  valley  between 
the  Blue  Ridge  and  the  Alleghany  Mountains.  This  is 
the  highway  that  from  time  immemorial  had  been  used  by 
the  Indians  in  their  wanderings  from  north  to  south  or 
vice  versa.  It  included  the  series  of  fertile  valleys  now 
known  as  the  Cumberland,  the  Shenandoah,  and  the  Vir- 
ginia Valleys.  The  first  white  men  to  set  foot  upon  these 
regions  were  the  German  pietists  of  Pennsylvania  and  Vir- 
ginia. Before  the  close  of  the  seventeenth  century  the 
German  settlers,  pilgrims,  and  explorers  had  begun  to  pass 
up  and  down  over  this  great  natural  highway  with  its  fer- 
tile soil  and  its  well-watered  bottoms  and  long  before  the 
middle  of  the  eighteenth  century  the  Germans  were  buying 
lands  in  the  Shenandoah  Valley  and  settling  there  as  though 
it  had  been  one  of  the  outlying  districts  of  the  city  of  Phila- 
delphia. 

5  Sachse,  "German  Pietists  of  Pennsylvania,"  i'694-i7o8,  p.  289;  also 
"  Curieuse  Nachricht,"  p.  37,  footnote. 

6  At  Newbern,  North  Carolina,  see  Bernheim,  "  German  Settlements  and 
the  Lutheran  Church  in  the  Carolinas,"  p.  67  ff. ;  also  Williamson's  "  His- 
tory of  North  Carolina." 

"^  Sachse,  "  German  Sectarians  of  Pennsylvania,"  1708^-1742,  p.  80. 


12  German  Element  in   York  County,  Pa. 

York  County  is  not  a  part  of  this  great  highway  but  for 
the  pilgrims  coming  from  Lancaster  County  and  the  coun- 
ties east  and  northeast  of  Lancaster,  York  County  is  the 
gateway  to  the  Cumberland  and  the  Shenandoah  Valleys. 
The  German  evangelists  and  pilgrims  from  eastern  Penn- 
sylvania when  they  set  out  to  visit  their  brethren  in  the 
South  would  usually  call  upon  their  countrymen  in  Lancas- 
ter County  and  then  crossing  the  Susquehanna  River  would 
make  their  way  across  the  entire  breadth  of  York  County 
until  they  reached  the  Cumberland  Valley.^  In  doing  this 
they  followed  the  path  of  the  Indian  trail  which  led  from 
a  point  on  the  Susquehanna  afterwards  known  as  Wrights- 
ville,  westward  along  the  Kreutz  Creek  and  across  the 
Codorus  Creek  to  a  point  one  and  one  fourth  miles  beyond 
the  present  city  of  York  and  thence  northwestward  by 
MacAllister's  Mill  and  through  Wakely's  (Moore's)  Gap 
in  the  South  Mountains  to  Carlisle  on  LeTorts  Spring  in 
the  Cumberland  Valley.  Or  else,  instead  of  turning  north- 
westward after  leaving  the  site  of  York  they  continued 
southwestward  and  thus  followed  the  entire  course  of  the 
valley  which  extends  across  the  width  of  the  county  from 
Wrightsville  through  York  and  Hanover  and  into  Mary- 
land.^ These  were  well  marked  paths.  They  were  in 
almost  constant  use  by  the  aborigines  before  the  white  men 
came  to  America  as  a  thorough-pass  from  the  wilderness 
in  the  south  and  west  to  the  wilderness  in  the  north  and 


8  Heinrich  Sangmeister  in  his  "  Leben  und  Wandel "  tells  how  he  and  his 
companion  Brother  Antonius  left  the  Ephrata  Cloister  and  reached  the 
Cumberland  Valley  in  this  way.     Sachse,  German  Sectarians,  p.  345. 

^  The  diaries  of  the  Moravians  (now  preserved  at  Bethlehem,  Pa.) 
indicate  that  they  usually  employed  the  latter  route  in  their  missionary 
journeys.  And  in  the  Virginia  Magazine,  Vol.  12,  p.  55,  footnote,  we  have 
the  general  statement:  "The  first  part  of  the  journeys  of  these  Moravian 
missionaries  was  always  the  same.  From  Bethlehem  by  way  of  Lebanon, 
Lancaster,  York,  Pa.,  Frederick  and  Hagerstown,  Md.,  to  the  Potomac." 


First  White  Men  in  the  County.  13 

east.  Long  before  permanent  settlements  had  been  made 
along  the  courses  of  this  route  its  paths  were  trodden  by 
the  German  missionaries  and  pilgrims  on  their  way  to  the 
great  valley  highway  that  led  to  their  brethren  in  the  south. 
And  when  the  county  of  York  began  to  be  populated  and 
the  need  of  roads  began  to  be  felt,  a  large  part  of  this  old 
Indian  trail  which  had  furnished  the  route  for  the  mission- 
aries was  constructed  into  the  "  Monacacy  Road  "  ( 1739)  • 
With  the  construction  of  the  " Shippensburg  Road"  in 
1749  and  the  "Carlisle  Road"  in  175 1,  the  several 
branches  of  the  historic  missionary  route  from  the  Susque- 
hanna River  to  the  Cumberland  Valley  disappeared  en- 
tirely beneath  the  roadbed  of  the  public  hlghways.^*^  It  is 
worthy  of  note  that  the  Germans  should  have  been  the  first 
white  men  to  set  foot  upon  these  regions  which  were  to  be 
so  largely  settled  by  Germans  less  than  half  a  century  later 
and  which  were  to  furnish  the  outlet  for  so  large  a  body 
of  German  immigration  to  the  south  and  the  west. 

After  the  valleys  of  York  County  had  been  in  use  for 
some  years  as  a  thoroughfare  for  the  German  pilgrim,  the 
explorer  and  the  trader  began  to  interest  themselves  in 
these  districts.  The  first  traders  appeared  shortly  after 
the  beginning  of  the  eighteenth  century.  John  Harris  an 
Englishman  settled  at  the  site  of  Harrisburg  In  1705.  He 
opened  a  trading  station  and  carried  on  an  extensive  busi- 
ness with  the  Indians  on  both  sides  of  the  Susquehanna 
River  both  north  and  south  of  his  station.  The  Indians 
in  York  County  were  situated  chiefly  along  the  river  and 
Harris  purchased  large  quantities  of  skins  and  furs  from 
them.  But  the  chief  pioneer  Indian  traders  along  the 
lower  Susquehanna  were  French  Canadians.     Prominent 

1°  See,  for  example,  Gibson's  "  History  of  York  County,"  p.  321  f. 


14  German  Element  in  York  County,  Pa. 

among  them  are  the  names  of  Martin  Chartier,  Peter 
Chartier,  Peter  Bazaillon,  and  James  LeTort.  They  all 
had  their  stations  on  the  east  side  of  the  river  but  carried 
on  a  large  business  in  trading  with  the  Indians  west  of  the 
river. 

The  first  man  to  explore  the  county  was  a  representative 
of  the  German  Mennonites  from  Switzerland.  It  was  the 
explorations  of  Lewis  Michelle  from  Bern  that  led  to  the 
first  Pennsylvania  survey  within  the  present  limits  of  York 
County.  Michelle  (or  Mitchel)  was  employed  by  his 
fellow  countrymen  and  co-religionists  of  the  canton  of 
Bern  and  sent  to  America  in  1703  or  1704  to  search  for  a 
convenient  tract  of  vacant  land  in  Pennsylvania,  Virginia, 
or  Carolina,  that  might  serve  as  a  suitable  place  for  the 
settlement  of  a  Swiss  Mennonite  colony.^ ^  In  the  course 
of  this  search  he  came  in  1706  to  the  Conestoga  region  in 
the  western  part  of  Lancaster  County.  On  February  24, 
1707,  the  Conestoga  Indians  made  formal  complaint 
against  Michelle  for  his  wanderings  among  their  lands, 
and  for  having  pressed  their  people  into  service  as  guides 
and  assistants.^ ^ 

Michelle  was  a  miner  according  to  the  testimony  of 
Governor  Evans,  and  for  that  reason  received  the  encour- 
agement and  support  of  the  Pennsylvania  government  in 
his  explorations.^^     For  the  early  colonial  governments 

11  A.  Stapleton  in  his  "  Memorials  of  the  Hugenots  in  America,"  speak- 
ing of  the  French  traders  in  the  Conestoga  Valley  of  Lancaster  County, 
says,  p.  89:  "It  is  worthy  of  note  that  Lewis  Mitchelle  the  advance  agent 
and  prospector  of  the  Bernese  Mennonites,  spent  a  number  of  years  with 
these  traders  (1703^1707)  on  terms  of  intimacy  and  was  accused  by  the 
authorities  on  the  occasion  of  a  misunderstanding  of  having  led  the  French- 
men here." 

12  Colonial  Records,  II :  4x34  f .    Also  Rupp's  "  Lancaster  County,"  p.  54.  f . 

13  "The  Governor  added  that  he  found  he  {i.  e.,  Michelle)  had  some 
notion  of  mines,  and  had  his  thoughts  much  bent  that  way;  that  he  was 


First  White  Men  in  the  County.  15 

were  always  keenly  on  the  alert  for  even  the  slightest  indi- 
cation of  mineral  wealth  in  the  soil  of  the  new  land  and 
they  always  encouraged  the  search  for  mines,  at  the  same 
time  exercising  care  to  pre-empt  for  themselves  the  ex- 
clusive rights  of  exploitation.  At  one  time  Governor 
Evans  was  strongly  suspected  of  conniving  with  Michelle 
to  secure  personal  gain  from  the  discoveries  of  this  roving 
prospector.  In  1708  William  Penn  wrote  from  England 
to  James  Logan,  his  secretary:  "Remember  the  mines 
which  the  Governor  yet  makes  a  secret,  even  to  thee  and 
all  the  world  but  himself  and  Michelle." 
\  But  the  explorations  of  Michelle  west  of  the  Susque- 
hanna bore  their  first  real  fruit  under  the  governorship  of 
Sir  William  Keith,  a  shrewd  and  enterprising  Scotchman 
who  was  quick  to  develop  the  natural  resources  of  the  prov- 
ince and  who  also  was  not  beyond  turning  those  resources 
partly  to  his  own  personal  benefit.  Governor  Keith  was 
the  first  governor  to  lead  the  proprietary  surveyors  beyond 
the  Susquehanna  River  and  into  the  present  limits  of  York 
■  County.  This  first  survey  was  made  in  1722  and  was  one 
of  two  surveys  made  within  the  present  limits  of  our 
county  in  the  month  of  April  of  that  year.  Governor 
Keith's  survey  was  the  first  and  was  made  secretly  on  April 
4  and  5.  The  governor  afterwards  gave  as  his  reason  for 
making  this  survey  that  he  wished  to  prevent  the  obnoxious 
intrusions  of  the  Marylanders  in  this  part  of  Pennsylvania 
soil.  The  circumstances  under  which  this  survey  was  made 
throw  much  light  on  the  historical  background  of  the 
earliest  German  settlements  in  the  county. 

willing  to  let  him  proceed,  and  had  not  discouraged  him;  that  he  advised 
him  to  take  some  Indians  with  him;  that  of  the  persons  before  mentioned, 
the  Governor  had  ordered  two  that  he  could  confide  in  to  be  there,  that  he 
might  have  a  full  account  of  their  proceedings."     Col.  Rec,  II:  405. 


l6  German  Element  in   York  County,  Pa. 

Sir  William,  it  would  seem,  was  amply  justified  in  the 
swift  and  sudden  measures  he  took  to  secure  the  territory 
west  of  the  river.  Delay  might  have  been  costly.  The 
governor  explained  his  action  at  the  meeting  of  the  Pro- 
vincial Council  in  Philadelphia  on  April  i6,  1722,  in  these 
words : 

Upon  some  information  I  lately  received  that  the  Indians  were 
like  to  be  disturbed  by  the  Secret  and  Underhand  Practices  of 
Persons,  both  from  Mary  Land  and  this  Place,  who  under  the 
Pretence  of  finding  a  Copper  Mine,  were  about  to  Survey  and  take 
up  Lands  on  the  other  side  of  the  River  Sasquehannah,  contrary  to 
a  former  Order  of  this  Government;  I  not  only  sent  up  a  Special 
Messenger  with  a  Writ  under  the  Lesser  Seal  to  prevent  them,  but 
took  this  Occasion  to  go  towards  the  Upper  parts  of  Chester  County 
myself  in  order  to  Locate  a  small  quantity  of  Land  unto  which  I 
had  purchased  an  original  Proprietary  Right;  And  understanding 
further  upon  the  Road,  that  some  Persons  were  actually  come  with 
a  Mary  Land  Right  to  Survey  Lands  upon  Sasquehannah,  fifteen 
miles  above  Conestoga,  I  pursued  my  course  directly  thither,  and 
happily  arrived  but  a  very  few  hours  in  time  to  prevent  the  Execu- 
tion of  their  Design.  Having  the  Surveyor  General  of  this  Prov- 
ince along  with  me  in  Company,  after  a  little  Consideration,  I 
ordered  him  to  Locate  and  Survey  some  part  of  the  Right  I  pos- 
sessed, viz. ;  only  five  hundred  acres  upon  that  Spot  on  the  other  Side 
Sasquehannah,  which  was  like  to  prove  a  Bone  of  Contention, 
and  breed  so  much  mischief,  and  he  did  so  accordingly  upon  the  4th 
and  5th  days  of  this  Instant  April,  after  which  I  returned  to  Con- 
estogoe,  in  order  to  discourse  with  the  Indians  upon  what  had 
happened.^* 

He  was  none  too  soon  with  his  scheme  to  forestall  the 
Maryland  survey.  For  a  company  of  people  under  Mary- 
land authority  and  in  partnership  with  the  Maryland  Pro- 
prietor was  busy  sinking  shafts  and  prospecting  for  mines 

"Col.  Rec,  II:  i6o. 


First  White  Men  in  the  County.  17 

in  that  region.  They  were  already  operating  a  mine  far- 
ther south  along  the  Susquehanna  and  had  designs  upon 
the  very  tract  which  Governor  Keith  had  reserved.  Among 
the  unpublished  Calvert  Papers^ ^  is  the  certificate  of  a 
survey  of  200  acres  made  April  24,  1722,  by  Deputy  Sur- 
veyor John  Dorsey  of  Maryland  "by  virtue  of  a  warrant 
granted  unto  Philip  Syng  and  Thomas  Browne  both  of  the 
City  of  Philadelphia  in  the  Province  of  Pennsylvania  out 
of  his  Lordships  Land  Office  bearing  date  of  March  28th, 
1722."  This  tract  was  known  as  "  Partner's  Adventure." 
Another  of  the  Calvert  Papers  gives  an  account  of  the  ex- 
amination of  Philip  Syng,^^  May  28,  1722,  before  the 
Governor  and  Council  of  Pennsylvania,  on  the  charge  of 
having  surveyed  land  under  a  Maryland  warrant  within 
the  bounds  of  the  Keith  tract.^"^  The  evidence  in  this  ex- 
amination shows  that  the  survey  on  account  of  which  Syng 
was  apprehended  and  committed  was  the  Partner's  Ad- 
venture of  200  acres  surveyed  by  John  Dorsey.  For  this 
a  warrant  had  been  issued  as  early  as  March  28,  1722. 
Governor  Keith  therefore  was  just  in  time  with  his  survey 
of  April  4  and  5  to  make  good  the  Pennsylvania  claim. 

The  keen  disappointment  of  the  Marylanders  at  their 
exclusion  from  this  region  and  their  further  designs  upon 
the  land  are  manifest  from  the  following  letter  of  July  19, 
1722,  from  the  Secretary  Philemon  Lloyd  to  Lord  Balti- 
more and  Co-Partners  in  London: 

I  did  myself  the  honor  of  writing  to  you  of  June  1722  .  .  . 
have  seen  Roach,  Sing  and  Brown ;  the  3  remaining  partners  in  the 

15  No.  274.    In  the  Maryland  Historical  Society,  Baltimore,  Md. 

16  No.  273.  The  warrant  for  his  arrest  (among  the  Calvert  Papers)  is 
dated  May  27,  1722,  and  designates  Philip  Syng  as  a  silversmith. 

"  See  also  Col.  Rec,  III:  ijG. 


1 8  German  Element  in   York  County,  Pa, 

adventure.  They  seem  very  much  disconcerted  at  the  loss  of  their 
mine  upon  Susquehannah,  of  which  I  sent  the  ...  in  my  (last). 
I  have  received  at  their  hands  2  ps  of  Oar :  the  one  copper  and  Iron 
the  other  silver  and  iron.  The  mine  is  so  strictly  guarded  that  they 
tell  me  they  could  not  possibly  gett  any  more,  (but)  promise  a 
larger  quantity  against  the  time  that  I  come  up  to  them.  Which  I 
design  in  six  or  seven  days  at  the  farthest  and  will  then  go  to  the 
place  where  they  have  several  men  at  work  in  opening  a  copper 
mine,  much  lower  down  in  Maryland. 

Gentlemen,  According  to  the  worth  and  circumstances  of  this 
and  other  mines,  I  shall  find  myself  under  a  necessity  of  doeing 
something  with  the  discoverers  rather  than  be  wholly  shut  out  from 
these  first  undertakings  in  case  the  land  be  allready  taken  up;  but 
if  not  I  will  then  lay  warrants  wherever  I  can  hear  of  any  probabil- 
ity of  a  mine.  Schylers  and  the  mine  upon  the  Susquehannah  hath 
made  such  a  noise  in  the  world,  that  the  woods  are  now  full  of 
mine  hunters.  Many  discoveries  are  already  made;  but  the  worth 
of  them  unknown  untill  shafts  shall  be  sunk  to  find  out  the  large- 
ness and  quality  of  the  vein.  Upon  which  account  I  humbly  pro- 
pose: [here  follow  four  propositions  to  encourage  the  finding  and 
reporting  of  mines] 

Publick  reports  concerning  the  value  of  the  mine  upon  Susque- 
hannah are  various  and  uncertain,  especially  of  late,  they  have  given 
out  that  the  Governor  &c  after  a  great  deal  of  pains  and  cost  are 
about  to  quit  it.  On  the  other  hand  Sing,  Roach,  and  Brown  tell 
me,  that  such  reports  are  spread  abroad  on  purpose  to  give  .  .  . 
oppertunity  of  conveying  away  the  oar  with  little  or  no  notice,  they 
allso  .  .  .  they  came  from  Philadelphia,  7  Waggons  were  in  wait- 
ing near  .  .  .  transport  the  oar  down  to  New  Castle  which  is  50 
miles  distance,  &  I  had  .  .  .  some  persons  tell  me  allso  that  a  much 
better  way  be  ...  to  the  head  of  one  of  our  rivers  with  30  miles 
land  carriage. 

I  am  not  a  little  concerned  that  the  reserve  of  10,000  Acres 
formerly  advised  of  hath  not  been  executed.  I  know  not  by  what 
means  the  Pennsylvanians  had  notice  of  it,  but  before  our  surveyor 


First  White  Men  in  the  County.  19 

went  up  (he  was  out  of  the  way  for  some  time  after  I  sent  the 
warrant  to  him)  they  had  posted  souldiers  all  about  the  woods  So 
that  our  officer  dared  not  to  go  and  execute  the  warrant.  How- 
ever I  am  resolved  to  be  up  among  them  and  to  lay  the  reserve  if 
possible ;  notwithstanding  if  Sir  William  Keith  hath  laid  out  all  the 
adjacent  lands  for  young  Penn  by  name  of  Springetts  Bury  qr 
75,520  Acres  though  I  believe  twice  that  quantity  may  be  thrust 
into  those  bounds,  by  reason  of  the  terms  more  or  less ;  as  you  will 
see  they  are  there  made  use  of  in  the  enclosed  copy  of  warrant. 

As  soon  as  Sing  Roach  &c  went  up ;  a  warrant  was  issued  out  by 
Sir  William  and  Sing  taken  upon  the  mine :  thence  carried  to  Phil- 
adelphia and  committed  to  the  city  goal,  as  you  will  perceive  by  the 
inclosed  papers  which  I  have  purposely  transmitted  that  the  rigor- 
ous methods  of  these  people  may  be  known.  I  design  however 
to  make  a  survey  there  with  all  imaginable  secrecy,  but  should  be 
heartily  glad  if  a  proper  instrument  were  sent  over  (for)  the  taking 
the  Lat.  of  the  place,  or  that  some  publick  directions  were  given 
to  the  Government  for  the  making  an  (exact)  discovery  of  the 
line  of  40  North.^^ 

The  second  survey  was  made  on  April  10  and  11,  and 
covered  much  the  same  territory  as  Keith's  survey.  It 
was  made  upon  the  order  of  Penn's  Commissioners  of 
Property.  The  Commissioners  afterwards  gave  as  their 
reason  for  making  the  survey  that  they  had  been  "  informed 
that  the  Governor  (Sir  William  Keith)  had  gone  towards 
Susquehanna  and  had  taken  Jacob  Taylor  with  him,  which 
gave  them  some  apprehension  of  a  design  which  he  might 
have  on  a  parcel  of  land  on  the  other  (west)  side  of  the 
Susquehanna  where  was  supposed  to  be  a  copper  mlne."^^ 
The  region  covered  by  these  surveys  afterwards  for  some 
years  bore  the  title  "  Keith's  Mine  Tract."    There  can  be 

18  The  published  Calvert  Papers,  No.  2,  p.  25  ff.     "  Fund  Publications." 

19  Minutes  of  the  meeting  of  the  Commissioners  of  Property  held  in 
Philadelphia,  April  161,  1722. 


20  German  Element  in   York  County,  Pa. 

little  doubt  therefore  that  the  first  authorized  survey  in 
York  County  was  incited  by  the  hope  of  finding  some  min- 
eral or  ore,  either  copper  or  gold,  and  that  attention  was 
directed  to  this  region  by  the  explorations  of  Lewis 
Michelle,  the  Mennonite  miner,  whose  prospecting  for 
mines  in  1706  had  led  to  the  formal  complaint  of  the 
Conestoga  Indians.  It  is  not  at  all  surprising  that  Gov- 
ernor Keith  was  well  informed  of  the  movements  of  this 
advance  agent  of  the  Mennonites.  For  he  was  keenly 
interested  in  the  development  of  the  natural  resources  of 
his  province  and  he  also  seems  to  have  been  generally  on 
\  favoring  terms  with  the  Germans.  For  it  was  he  who  in 
1723,  of  his  own  motion  and  with  the  subsequent  disap- 
proval of  the  Proprietary,  placed  the  Germans  from  Scho- 
harie, New  York,  in  the  Tulpehocken  Valley. 

Just  how  much  of  the  present  area  of  York  County  was 
covered  by  the  explorations  of  Michelle  it  is  not  possible 
to  ascertain  but  it  seems  certain  that  they  extended  over  the 
present  townships  bordering  on  the  river  from  Newberry 
south,  and  at  times  must  have  penetrated  as  far  westward 
as  the  Cumberland  Valley.^^  Much  of  this  territory  after- 
wards became  very  familiar  soil,  not  only  to  the  German 
Mennonites  but  also  to  Germans  of  other  religious  faiths. 

20  For  the  formal  complaint  of  the  Indians  (supra,  p.  5)  stated  that 
"divers  Europeans,  namely:  Mitchel  (a  Swiss),  Peter  Bezalion,  James  le 
Tort,  Martin  Chartiere,  the  French  glover  of  Philadelphia,  Flranck,  a 
young  man  of  Canada,  who  was  lately  taken  up  here,  being  all  French 
men,  and  one  from  Virginia,  who  also  spoke  French,  had  seated  themselves 
and  built  houses  upon  the  branches  of  the  Patowmack,  within  this  govern- 
ment, and  pretended  that  they  were  in  search  of  some  mineral  or  Ore,  &c." 
Col.  Rec,  II:  403  f. 


CHAPTER  II. 


The  First  Settlers. 

^^^■^HE  earliest  attempts  at  settlement  within  the 
i  "m  I  present  limits  of  the  county  were  made  before 
ft  I  L  the  land  had  been  purchased  from  the  Indians, 
^^^^  hence  before  any  kind  of  title  could  be  given 
according  to  established  usage.  Those  who 
thus  entered  unpurchased  Indian  lands  were  known  as 
squatters.  The  first  white  squatter  on  the  territory  west 
of  the  Susquehanna  was  John  Grist  (otherwise  Crist,^ 
Krist,  Greist).  He  was  an  Englishman  who  came 
to  York  County  from  Hempfield  Township,  Lancaster 
County,  in  17 19  or  1720.1  Grist  was  accompanied  in 
this  move  by  several  other  persons.  They  settled  near  the 
mouth  of  Kreutz  Creek  known  In  Keith's  survey  of  1722 

iThe  fact  referred  to  in  footnote  20  of  Chapter  I  that  Michelle  and 
others  had,  according  to  testimony  of  the  Indians  in  1707,  "  seated  them- 
selves and  built  houses  upon  the  branches  of  the  Potowmack  within  this 
Government "  can  hardly  be  taken  to  mean  that  they  were  the  first  squatters 
west  of  the  Susquehanna.  For  they  were  merely  prospectors  and  adventur- 
ers. They  certainly  made  no  substantial  improvements  such  as  would  con- 
stitute their  houses  a  "  settlement "  or  "  plantation."  They  quickly  moved 
on  to  other  fields  of  exploration.  In  fact  Michelle  had  already  many 
weeks  before  the  complaint  of  the  Indians  moved  on  to  Maryland  soil. 
Col.  Rec,  II:  404. 

21 


22  German  Element  in   York  County,  Pa. 

as  "  White  Oak  Branch."  We  are  able  now  to  determine 
very  definitely  the  exact  spot  where  Grist  settled  and 
planted  his  corn.  Two  drafts  of  the  Keith  survey  are  in 
existence,  one  in  York  and  one  in  the  Department  of  In- 
ternal Affairs  at  Harrisburg.  The  draft  at  Harrisburg 
identifies  the  settlement  of  John  Grist  with  the  habitation 
>^  of  Captain  Beaver,  an  Indian.  The  draft  in  York  fixes 
^^  the  habitation  of  Captain  Beaver  at  about  the  spot  now 
covered  by  the  Pennsylvania  Railroad  Station  at  Wrights- 
ville.  This  then  was  the  location  of  Grist's  house  and 
improvement.^ 

But  the  new  settlement  was  very  short-lived.  Grist 
soon  came  into  conflict  with  the  Indians  who  resented  his 
intrusion  upon  their  domain.  And  in  172 1,  upon  com- 
plaint of  the  Indians  and  after  repeated  warnings  and 
threats  from  the  Commissioners  of  Property,  he  was  fined 
and  imprisoned  in  the  jail  at  Philadelphia  and  was  given 
his  liberty  only  out  of  compassion  for  his  poor  family  and 
on  condition  that  he  and  his  "  accomplices"  would  remove 
at  once  from  the  west  side  of  the  river  and  that  he  would 
be  placed  under  heavy  bond  for  his  good  behavior.  This 
was  "judged  absolutely  necessary  for  the  quiet  of  the  In- 
dians, and  also  to  prevent  such  audacious  behavior  in  con- 
tempt of  the  authority  of  this  government  in  the  time  to 
come."^ 


2  It  is  evidently  not  accurate  when  Rupp  says  ("  History  of  Lancaster  and 
York  Counties,"  p.  529)  that  Grist  was  accsmpanied  by  "  divers  other 
families,"  for  the  provincial  authorities  deal  with  Grist  alone  and  the 
"  divers  other  persons  "  mentioned  in  the  Colonial  Records  were  probably 
only  his  associates  in  labor. 

3  Col.  Rec,  III:  137.  This  same  John  Grist  afterwards,  in  1738,  settled 
298  acres  on  the  Bermudian  Creek  in  Manchester  Township  in  the  western 
part  of  York  County,  receiving  his  final  warrants  for  the  same  on  July  23, 
1742  and  October  25,  1747.    Lancaster  County  Records. 


The  First  Settlers.  23 

It  might  seem  that  this  treatment  was  severe  enough  to 
serve  its  purpose  of  preventing  any  further  attempts  at 
squatting  west  of  the  Susquehanna.  Nevertheless  it  was 
not  long  until  others  crossed  the  river  from  Lancaster 
County  and  settled  on  the  west  bank.  In  1722,  shortly 
after  making  the  survey  of  Keith's  Mine  Tract,  Governor 
Keith  made  a  treaty  with  the  Indians  guaranteeing  them 
the  territory  south  and  west  of  the  Susquehanna  for  their 
exclusive  possession.  But  in  spite  of  this  agreement  it  was 
shortly  thereafter,  perhaps  even  beginning  in  that  same 
year,  that  three  Englishmen,  Edward  Pamell,  Paul  Wil- 
liams, and  Jefferey  Sumerford,  and  one  German,  Michael 
Tanner,^  took  up  their  abodes  on  the  west  side  of  the  river 
opposite  the  Indian  town  of  Conojahela,  about  three  and  a 
half  miles  south  of  the  former  settlement  of  John  Grist.^ 
Here  these  intruders  remained  until  late  in  the  year  1727 
and  that  too  not  without  the  knowledge  of  the  Pennsyl- 
vania authorities.^  But  in  the  fall  of  1727  upon  the  com- 
plaint of  the  Conestoga  Indians  they  were  removed  by 
order  of  the  deputy  governor  and  council.     And  again  for 

*  Tanner  could  not  have  joined  the  rest  until  1727,  for  he  did  not  reach 
the  port  of  Philadelphia  until  September  27th  of  that  year. 

5  It  is  a  confusion  of  facts  when  Carter  and  Glossbrenner,  the  first  his- 
torians of  the  County,  assert  that  these  men  had  come  from  Maryland  and 
were  known  as  "  the  Maryland  intruders."  They  were  indeed  intruders 
upon  the  territory  of  the  Indians  but  they  had  come  from  Pennsylvania. 

^  For  Wright  and  Blunston  in  their  report  to  Governor  Gordon  in  1732 
state  that  until  about  two  years  before  1729  Parnell  and  the  others  had 
been  settled  west  of  the  river  and  "  for  several  years  had  paid  uninter- 
rupted acknowledgement  to  this  Province."  Archives,  1 :  3  64  and  Col.  Rec, 
III:  470.  The  deposition  of  Tobias  Hendricks  (Dec,  1732)  states  that 
"  during  the  continuance  of  the  said  Parnel,  Williams  and  Others  there, 
they  paid  taxes  to  this  Province,  Applied  there  for  Justice,  and  in  all  cases 
acknowledged  themselves  Inhabitants  of  Pensylvania,  until  they  were  Re- 
moved from  thence  by  Order  of  the  Governor  of  Pensylvania,  at  the 
Request  of  the  Conestogoe  Indians."    Archives,  I:  362. 


24  German  Element  in  York  County,  Pa. 

a  short  interval  the  lands  west  of  the  broad  river  lay  vacant 
for  the  exclusive  convenience  of  the  Indians. 

By  this  time  it  had  become  evident  that  no  permanent 
or  successful  settlement  could  be  made  west  of  the  river 
without  securing  either  the  consent  of  the  Indians  or  the 
authorization  of  the  colonial  government.  Accordingly 
the  next  effort  at  pioneer  improvement  on  the  new  soil 
proceeds  with  the  consent  of  the  secretary  of  the  province. 
This  first  authorized  settlement  within  the  present  limits 
\  of  our  county  was  made  in  1728,  a  few  months  before 
Lancaster  County  was  organized  and  separated  from  Ches- 
ter County.  In  the  summer  of  that  year  John  Hendricks 
removed  from  the  banks  of  the  Conestoga  about  three 
miles  north  of  the  Susquehanna  and  under  the  authority  of 
government  settled  west  of  the  Susquehanna  upon  the  tracts 
from  which  John  Grist  and  his  companions  had  been  com- 
pelled to  remove  in  1721.  The  circumstances  attending 
this  settlement  will  help  us  to  understand  something  of  the 
conditions  under  which  the  earliest  settlements  in  York 
County  took  their  beginnings. 

Hendricks's  removal  to  the  west  side  of  the  river  had 
been  under  contemplation  for  several  years.  The  hunt- 
ing-trips of  Hendricks  and  his  relations  had  often  taken' 
them  across  the  river  and  thus  they  had  become  fairly 
familiar  with  the  soil  on  the  west  bank.  Early  in  the  year 
1727  John  Hendricks  had  applied  to  James  Logan,  secre- 
tary of  the  Province,  for  permission  to  take  up  land  and 
settle  west  of  the  river.  At  the  same  time  a  similar  appli- 
cation was  made  by  Joseph  Chapham.  Hendricks  told 
Logan  that  the  Indians  west  of  the  river  were  desirous  that 
that  he  should  settle  there.  Now  Logan  had  heard  that 
some  people  from  Maryland  were  about  to  make  surveys 


The  First  Settlers.  25 

on  those  lands.  Accordingly  upon  the  application  of  Hen- 
dricks and  Chapham,  Logan  ordered  Samuel  Blunston,  a 
magistrate  located  on  the  east  bank  of  the  Susquehanna, 
to  survey  a  tract  west  of  the  river  opposite  Hempfield  em- 
bracing about  1,000  or  1,500  acres.  This  was  to  be  sur- 
veyed to  William  Penn,  grandson  of  the  first  proprietor, 
and  was  to  be  regarded  as  part  of  the  10,000  acres  devised 
by  the  proprietor  to  his  grandson.  It  was  hoped  that  this 
arrangement  would  both  forestall  any  claim  to  the  land 
that  the  Marylanders  might  put  forth  and  at  the  same  time 
give  no  offense  to  the  Indians.  Logan  also  instructed 
Blunston  that  if  Hendricks  and  Chapham  could  secure  the 
consent  of  the  Indians,  they  together  with  Hendricks's 
brother  James  should  be  permitted  to  make  settlement  on 
part  of  the  tract  west  of  the  river. 

In  July,  1727,  Blunston  crossed  the  river  and  marked 
the  four  corners  of  a  tract  such  as  he  had  been  ordered  to 
survey.  The  actual  survey  was  not  then  made  because,  as 
he  explained,  "  at  that  time  the  weeds  being  so  high  we 
could  not  chain  it  nor  carry  an  instrument  to  any  purpose." 
Meanwhile  Chapham  had  given  up  his  intention  of  settling 
there  and  had  moved  to  Carolina.  Moreover  the  attitude 
of  the  Indians  had  become  such  that  John  and  James  Hen- 
dricks did  not  regard  it  as  a  safe  venture  to  settle  west  of 
the  river.  For  their  brother  Henry  together  with  one 
Thomas  Linvil  had  during  the  summer  settled  as  squatters 
on  the  Codorus  Creek  at  a  point  twelve  miles  west  of  the 
Susquehanna  but  the  violent  opposition  of  the  Indians  had 
forced  them  to  withdraw.  Thus  no  authorized  settlement 
was  effected  in  that  year. 

But  John  Hendricks  persisted.  In  the  fall  of  the  year 
1727  he  appealed  to  Logan  a  second  time  for  permission 


^ 


26  German  Element  in  York  County,  Pa. 

to  settle  on  the  tract  which  had  been  marked  off.  But  he 
was  now  informed  that  since  the  Indians  insisted  upon 
their  rights  and  were  determined  that  there  should  be  no 
settlements  of  whites  within  their  domain,  no  such  per- 
mission as  Hendricks  sought  could  be  granted  by  the 
authorities.  However  during  the  year  1728  the  Indians 
began  to  grow  cool  in  the  assertion  of  their  rights  as  over 
against  the  Pennsylvanians.  For  they  began  to  realize 
from  sad  experience  that  if  they  hindered  the  citizens  of 
Pennsylvania  from  settling  in  those  parts  the  Mary- 
landers  would  occupy  them  by  force  without  any  consider- 
ation for  the  rights  or  feelings  of  the  Indians.  Marking 
this  change  of  sentiment  among  the  aborigines  John  Hen- 
dricks during  the  summer  of  1728  removed  across  the 
river  with  his  wife  Rebecca  and  took  up  his  abode  upon 
the  former  plantation  of  John  Grist.^  This  he  did  with- 
out any  further  license  than  that  which  he  had  already  re- 
ceived, namely,  permission  of  the  secretary  of  the  Province 
to  settle  on  a  part  of  the  tract  marked  off  for  William 
Penn,  on  condition  that  he  first  secure  the  consent  of  the 
Indians.  As  the  Indians  never  objected  to  Hendricks's 
settlement  there  this  settlement  was  always  regarded  by 
the  authorities  as  legal  and  authorized.^     The  tract  on 


'^  Local  historians  following  Carter  and  Glossbrenner  have  always  as- 
signed 1729  as  the  date  when  both  John  and  James  Hendricks  settled  west 
of  the  river.  But  these  statements  are  erroneous,  as  is  evident  from  the 
clear  and  reliable  account  of  Samuel  Blunston  (see  Appendix  A)  and 
from  the  provisional  warrant  issued  by  Thomas  Penn  in  17133  (vide  infra, 
p.  27).  This  date  is  also  attested  by  a  third  document,  a  letter  from  Samuel 
Blunston  to  Richard  Peters  dated  March  25,  17140,  in  which  he  says: 
"  Inclosed  herewith  is  a  draught  of  the  tract  of  land  I  bought  of  John 
Hendricks  .  .  .  the  land  was  surveyed  to  and  settled  by  John  Hendricks  in 
the  year  1728  by  order  and  consent  of  the  proprietary  commissioners." 
Penna.  Archives,  Second  Series,  Vol.  VH,  p.  219. 

8  For  example,  the  Provincial  Council  makes  reference  in  1737  to  "  John 


TJie  First  Settlers.  27 

which  Hendricks  lived  was  formally  surveyed  to  him  by 
Blunston  during  the  last  week  of  November,  1729.  It 
included  600  acres  and  constituted  about  one  half,  "  the 
uper  side  and  best  part,"  of  the  tract  originally  marked 
off  for  the  proprietor.^ 

The  proprietary  warrant  for  this  survey  and  settlement 
was  not  issued  until  March  20,  1733.  It  was  then  issued 
on  behalf  of  John  Hendricks,  James  Hendricks,  and 
Joshua  Minshall.  For  John  Hendricks  did  not  long  enjoy 
the  distinction  of  being  the  only  authorized  settler  west  of 
the  river.  About  the  year  1731  James  Hendricks,  his 
brother,  came  and  settled  on  a  part  of  the  tract  on  which 
John  lived  "  it  always  being  understood  to  be  their  equal 
right."  But  in  the  early  spring  of  1732  James  was  acci- 
dentally shot  and  killed  by  his  father  while  they  were  hunt- 
ing turkeys,  and  his  widow  sold  out  her  rights  in  the  prop- 
erty to  Joshua  Minshall.  Minshall  settled  on  the  land 
which  he  had  thus  bought  and  when  Thomas  Penn  the 
following  spring  approved  the  survey  and  issued  a  condi- 
tional grant  it  read  as  follows : 

Wheras  upon  the  Application  of  John  &  James  Hendricks  & 
some  others,  Inhabitants  of  Pensilvania  the  Commissioners  of 
Property  did  in  the  year  1728  order  Samuel  Blunston  to  lay  out  a 
Tract  of  Land  of  Twelve  hundred  Acres  lying  on  the  West  Side  of 
Susquehannah  opposite  to  Hempfield ;  which  Land  was  then  settled 
by  the  said  Parties,  and  is  now  in  the  Possession  of  the  said  John 
Hendricks  and  Joshua  Minshall,  who  holds  in  right  of  the  said 

Hendricks,  who  for  some  years  lived  on  the  west  side  of  Susquehannah, 
on  a  Tract  of  Land  laid  out  to  him  by  the  Authority  of  this  Government." 
Col.  Rec,  IV:  150. 

^The  draft  of  this  survey  was  promised  to  Logan  (as  per  Blunston*s 
Letter).  If  it  was  ever  made  it  has  since  been  lost.  But  the  location  of 
the  tract  is  well  known,  being  identical  with  the  former  plantation  of 
John  Grist. 


28  German  Element  in  York  County,  Pa. 

James  Hendricks;  and  it  appearing  to  me  that  the  said  John  Hen- 
dricks &  Joshua  Minshall  are  settled  upon  the  said  Land  by  regular 
Surveys — ordered  to  be  made  in  the  Year  1 728  of  which  I  approve 
and  will  order  a  Patent  or  Patents  to  be  drawn  for  that  share  of  the 
Land  laid  out  to  the  said  John  and  James  Hendricks  to  John  Hen- 
dricks and  Joshua  Minshall  as  soon  as  the  Indian  Claim  thereon 
shall  be  satisfied — on  the  same  Terms  other  Lands  in  the  County 
of  Lancaster  shall  be  granted.  Philadelphia,  20th  March 
1732/3.1° 

It  has  usually  been  assumed  that  these  first  settlers  within 
the  present  limits  of  York  County  were  Englishmen.  It 
is  impossible  to  trace  them  farther  back  than  their  settle- 
ment in  Lancaster  County,  and  in  the  absence  of  informa- 
tion to  the  contrary  they  have  been  regarded  as  English. 
The  earliest  historians  of  the  county,  Carter  and  Gloss- 
brenner,  in  their  "  History  of  York  County  "  take  the  Eng- 
lish nationality  of  the  Hendrickses  for  granted,  "The 
earliest  settlers  were  English;  these  were,  however,  soon 
succeeded  by  vast  numbers  of  German  immigrants."  In 
this  they  are  followed  implicitly  by  all  the  other  historians 
of  the  county  from  Day  to  Gibson  and  Prowell.  Thus 
Day  quotes  the  above  authors  with  approval  and  remarks : 
"John  and  James  Hendricks  in  the  spring  of  1729,  made 
the  first  settlement.  .  .  .  They  were  soon  followed  by 
other  families,  principally  Germans,  who  settled  around 
them  within  ten  or  twelve  miles. "^^  Other  writers  have 
been  content  to  accept  the  statement  of  these  early  authori- 
ties on  the  history  of  the  county.  Their  conclusion  is 
doubtless  drawn  from  the  associations  and  the  names  of 
the  Hendrickses. 

They  came  from  an  English  Quaker  community  in  the 

10  Now  in  the  Land  Office  at  Harrisburg. 

11  Historical  Collections  of  the  State  of  Pennsylvania,  p.  693. 


The  First  Settlers.  29 

township  of  Conestoga.  Here  in  17 15  "James  Hen- 
dricks and  company"  had  taken  up  a  tract  of  1,100  acres 
on  the  Conestoga  Creek.  This  tract  was  divided  out 
among  the  members  of  the  "company"  and  became  a 
strong  Quaker  community.  This  James  Hendricks  was 
the  father  of  James  and  John,  the  earliest  settlers  west  of 
the  river,  and  associated  with  him  In  his  "  company"  were 
such  men  as  Jeremy  Langhorne,  Thomas  Baldwin,  David 
Priest,  and  Tobias  Hendricks.  These  families  were 
closely  intermarried.  Thus  John  Hendricks  was  married 
to  Rebecca,  daughter  of  Thomas  Baldwin.  This  would 
seem  to  indicate  also  religious  affinity  between  the  Hen- 
drickses  and  the  Baldwins,  who  were  English  Quakers.^^ 
Moreover  their  Immediate  associates  east  of  the  river 
were  in  all  cases  English.  The  elder  James  Hendricks 
kept  an  ordinary  where  the  highway  from  Philadelphia 
and  Lancaster  forded  the  Conestoga  Creek.  When  the 
Hendrlckses  migrated  west  of  the  river  their  property 
on  the  Conestoga  was  bought  by  an  Englishman,  John 
Postlethwait.  John  Hendricks's  first  petition  to  settle  west 
of  the  river  was  made  jointly  with  Joseph  Chapham.  Here 
again  the  name  is  unmistakably  English  as  Is  also  the  case 
with  Thomas  LInvil,  the  man  associated  with  Henry  Hen- 
dricks, brother  of  John  and  James,  in  the  effort  made  in 
1727  to  affect  a  settlement  on  the  Codorus  twelve  miles 
west  of  the  Susquehanna.  Moreover  the  widow  of  James 
Hendricks  sold  out  her  rights  to  the  English  Quaker, 
Joshua  Minshall.  And  afterwards  when  John  Hendricks 
removed  from  Hellam  Township  to  Manchester  Town- 
ship he  took  up  land  adjoining  Francis  Worley,  another 
name  prominent  among  the  Quakers.     These  close  asso- 

12  Rebecca  Hendricks  in  her  deposition  of  Dec.  29,   1732,  is  specifically 
designated  "one  of  the  People  called  Quakers."     Archives,  I:  361  f. 


30  German  Element  in  York  County,  Pa. 

ciatlons  of  the  Hendrickses  with  the  Quakers  may  be  held 
to  justify  the  conclusion  that  they  were  themselves  Quakers 
and  Englishmen.  It  can  hardly  be  argued  as  against  this 
conclusion  that  John  Hendricks  took  up  arms  and  partici- 
pated actively  in  the  border  warfare  between  the  Mary- 
landers  and  the  Pennsylvanians.  For  it  is  a  well-known 
fact  that  in  spite  of  their  scruples  against  armed  force,  the 
hardy  pioneer  Quakers  did  sometimes  in  cases  of  emer- 
gency and  for  reasons  of  self-defense  join  in  the  appeal  to 
arms. 

But  when  consideration  is  had  for  the  names  of  these 
earliest  settlers  themselves  the  argument  for  their  English 
nationality  seems  less  conclusive.  The  name  Hendricks 
may  be  either  English  or  German.  It  is  of  frequent  oc- 
currence among  the  pioneer  Germans  of  Pennsylvania. 
The  name  Hendrick  appears  repeatedly,  both  as  Christian 
name  and  as  surname,  in  the  lists  of  German  immigrants 
who  arrived  at  the  port  of  Philadelphia  between  1727  and 
1775.^^  The  transition  from  Hendrick  to  Hendricks, 
like  that  from  Myer  to  Myers,  was  easy  and  quite  usual. 
And  although  John  and  James  Hendricks  were  located  on 
the  banks  of  the  Conestoga  before  these  lists  of  German 
immigrants  began  to  be  kept  in  Philadelphia,  nevertheless 
it  is  an  established  fact  that  there  were  Germans  in  Penn- 
sylvania by  the  name  of  Hendricks  (not  merely  Hendrick) 
early  in  the  eighteenth  century.  For  in  the  list  of  Germans 
naturalized  by  act  of  the  Assembly  September  29,  1709,^* 
are  found  the  names  of  Wilhelm  Hendricks,  Henrich  Hen- 


13  Instances  of  such  names  are  pointed  out  by  H.  L.  Fisher  in  Gibson's 
"  History  of  York  County,"  p.  222.  These  lists  of  immigrants  are  to  be 
seen  in  the  Division  of  Public  Records  at  Harrisburg.  They  were  edited 
and  published  in  substantially  correct  form  in  1856  by  Professor  I.  Daniel 
Rupp,  Rupp's  "  Collection  of  Thirty  Thousand  Names,  etc." 

14  Col.  Rec,  II:  493. 


The  First  Settlers.  31 

drlcks,  Gerhart  Hendricks,  and  Lorentz  Hendricks.^'^  So 
far  therefore  as  the  family  name  of  John  and  James  Hen- 
dricks is  concerned  it  is  altogether  possible  that  they  were 
Germans. 

Nor  does  the  argument  from  their  Christian  names  ex- 
clude the  possibility  of  the  German  nationality  of  these 
first  settlers.  The  Christian  name  James  is  indeed  a  good 
Quaker  name  and  may  be  regarded  as  a  strong  indication 
of  English  heritage.  For  it  occurs  quite  often  among  the 
kin  of  the  pioneer  settlers  west  of  the  Susquehanna.  Their 
father  was  named  James.  And  John  had  a  son  named 
James. ^^  But  too  much  weight  must  not  be  attached  to  the 
inference  from  names  alone  as  they  occurred  in  those  days 
of  commingling  races  and  languages.  For  as  a  matter  of 
fact,  in  the  second  generation  of  Germans  in  America  the 
name  James  does  sometimes  occur.  And  it  may  perhaps 
have  occurred,  by  translation  from  the  German,  even  in 
the  first  generation.  For  instance,  as  early  as  1738,  at  the 
organization  of  the  German  Baptist  Church  of  the  Little 
Conewago,  one  of  the  first  elders  of  the  Church  bears  the 
name  James  Hendrick.^'^ 

isRupp's  "Collection,"  p.  431.  Michael  Hendricks  paid  the  yearly  quit- 
rent  in  Frederick  Township,  Philadelphia  County,  before  1734.  Rupp's 
"  Collection,"  p.  472. 

16  There  was  a  James  Hendricks  in  the  western  part  of  Lancaster 
County  even  after  the  death  of  James  the  brother  of  John  Hendricks  in 
1732.  He  was  connected  with  the  first  use  of  violence  in  the  border  diffi- 
culties west  of  the  river.  He  was  a  carpenter,  lived  east  of  the  river,  and 
was  employed  by  James  Patterson  in  1733  to  make  trips  across  the  river  to 
look  after  Patterson's  horses  there.  We  have  two  depositions  made  by 
him.  In  the  one  he  is  called  a  Quaker  and  makes  affirmation  (Nov.  25, 
17132).  In  the  other  he  takes  oath  (Apr.  7,  1733 ).  In  both  cases  he  makes 
his  mark  for  a  signature.  Archives,  I:  348  f.  and  399  f.  Also  Col.  Rec, 
4:  655. 

17  See  Falkenstein,  "  History  of  the  German  Baptist  Brethren  Church," 
p.  97. 


32  German  Element  in  York  County,  Pa. 

Moreover  It  Is  a  significant  fact  that  James  Logan  in  a 
letter  to  Samuel  Blunston  of  May  lo,  1727/^  when  he  has 
occasion  Incidentally  to  refer  to  the  younger  James  Hen- 
dricks erroneously  calls  him  Hendrick  Hendricks.  This 
is  a  purely  German  name  and  was  the  correct  name  of 
another  brother  of  James  and  John.  Samuel  Blunston 
afterwards  calls  this  third  brother  Henry,  which  is  but  the 
English  translation  of  Hendrick.  Then  too,  In  the  course 
of  their  correspondence  both  Logan  and  Blunston  refer  to 
the  father  of  James  and  John  as  Jacobus.  This  Is  the 
German  for  James  and  this  fact  taken  in  connection  with 
the  occurrence  of  the  German  name  Hendrick  among  the 
sons  of  Jacobus  raises  a  high  degree  of  presumption  In 
favor  of  the  German  nationality  of  these  Hendrlckses. 

Several  years  later  when  the  Germans  west  of  the  river 
felt  that  as  a  class  they  were  being  treated  with  Injustice 
and  subjected  to  Indignities  they  united  among  themselves 
to  assert  their  rights  and  on  this  occasion  their  principal 
leaders  and  spokesmen  were  two  men  named  Henry  Hen- 
dricks and  Michael  Tanner.  These  Samuel  Blunston 
speaks  of  as  "the  most  principal  Note  among  those  Ger- 
mans."^^  The  Identity  of  this  Henry  Hendricks  with  the 
Henry  Hendricks  who  was  a  son  of  Jacobus  Hendricks 
cannot  be  proved  beyond  doubt,  but  neither  can  It  be  suc- 
cessfully denied.  It  is,  however,  quite  conceivable  that 
Henry  Hendricks,  son  of  Jacobus,  having  made  an  unsuc- 
cessful effort  in  1727  to  settle  on  the  banks  of  the  Codorus, 
should  have  repeated  the  effort  after  his  brothers  had  suc- 
ceeded, that  he  should  have  been  among  the  first  to  settle 
in  that  region  when  settlers  began  to  crowd  Into  it,  and 
that  this  priority  as  well  as  his  former  English  associations 

IS  See  Appendix  A. 

i»Col.  Rec,  IV:  57  and  75. 


The  First  Settlers.  33 

should  have  marked  him  together  with  Michael  Tanner, 
another  of  the  earliest  settlers,  as  leaders  among  their 
countrymen. 

A  similar  inference  may  be  drawn  from  the  conduct  of 
John  Hendricks  after  he  settled  on  the  west  bank  of  the 
river.  For  some  years  he  was  quite  content  and  loyal  to 
the  Pennsylvania  government  under  whose  authority  he 
had  settled  there.  But  then  he  became  dissatisfied  with 
the  amount  and  the  location  of  the  land  which  had  been 
assigned  to  him.  In  the  spring  of  1735  he  appeared  be- 
fore the  proprietaries  and  complained  of  the  "unfair  and 
dishonest  usage"  he  had  received  at  the  hands  of  John 
Wright  and  Samuel  Blunston  in  relation  to  the  land  west 
of  the  Susquehanna.  This  was  the  occasion  of  Blunston's 
informing  correspondence  cited  above.  Blunston's  ex- 
planations and  endeavors  evidently  did  not  satisfy  Hen- 
dricks for  from  this  time  forth  he  sympathizes  warmly 
with  the  Marylanders.  In  1736  we  find  him  harboring 
them  on  his  plantation  and  giving  them  aid  in  their  aggres- 
sions. And  in  January,  1737,  we  find  him  imprisoned  in 
the  jail  at  Lancaster  for  "having  unhappily  engaged  him- 
self on  the  side  of  Maryland  and  been  concerned  in  some 
of  their  late  riots.''^^  It  is  highly  improbable  that  if  John 
Hendricks  had  been  an  English  Quaker  in  good  standing 
he  would  have  manifested  such  violent  opposition  to  the 
Quaker  government  or  such  acrimony  against  such  promi- 
nent individuals  among  the  Quakers  as  were  John  Wright 
and  Samuel  Blunston.  Nor  would  It  have  been  necessary 
for  these  Friends  to  bring  about  his  imprisonment  and  to 
bind  him  to  keep  the  peace.  This  would  have  been  a  very 
unusual  proceeding  of  Friends  against  a  Friend.    The  prob- 

20  Col.  Rec,  IV:    150. 


34  German  Element  in  York  County,  Pa. 

ability  Is  that  If  John  was  not  a  German  he  was  at  least  not 
bound  to  the  English  Quakers  of  Lancaster  County  with 
such  strong  bonds  of  intimacy  and  nationality  that  they 
could  not  be  severed. 

Nevertheless  before  the  Hendrlckses  crossed  the  Sus- 
quehanna they  were  evidently  regarded  as  Englishmen  by 
their  fellow-citizens  In  Chester  County.  For  In  an  old 
assessment  list^^  for  "  Conestoga,"  Chester  County,  which 
gives  the  names  of  all  the  Inhabitants  of  the  Conestoga 
district  In  the  year  171 8  together  with  the  rate  for  each, 
the  inhabitants  are  distinguished  as  "English"  and 
"  Dutch."  Here  we  find  the  names  of  James  Hendricks 
and  John  Hendricks  listed  among  the  "English  In- 
habitants." 

A  similar  Inference  may  be  drawn  from  the  case  of  the 
Tobias  Hendricks  mentioned  above  as  one  of  the  mem- 
bers of  "James  Hendricks  and  company"  settled  on  the 
Conestoga  in  17 15.  Here  the  names,  both  Christian  and 
surname,  might  be  either  English  or  German.^^  But  this 
Tobias  Hendricks  was  certainly  regarded  as  English,  for 
he  became  one  of  the  magistrates  of  the  peace  for  Lan- 
caster County  about  1727^^  and  served  repeatedly  in  that 
capacity.  His  signature,  still  to  be  found  on  many  docu- 
ments In  the  Division  of  Public  Records  at  Harrisburg, 
is  always  in  English  script.  From  the  appearance  of  his 
signature  in  1737  and  from  the  fact  that  he  died  as  an  old 
man  In  1739  he  seems  to  have  belonged  to  the  generation 

21  In  the  court  house  at  West  Chester.  Copied  by  Gilbert  Cope,  Esq., 
and  published  in  Egle's  "Notes  and  Queries,"  Second  Series,  p.  131. 

22  The  Christian  name  Tobias  is  of  frequent  occurrence  among  the  Ger- 
mans of  Pennsylvania  and  John  Tobias  is  the  full  name  of  a  German  who 
arrived  in  New  York  port  Sept.  17,  1743'.  See  Pennsylvania  Magazine  of 
History  and  Biography,  Vol.  33,  p.  21321. 

23  According  to  his  own  affirmation.    Archives,  I:  3-62;. 


The  First  Settlers.  35 

of   the   elder   James   Hendricks    and   was   probably   his 
brother.^* 

But  here  again  midst  the  conclusive  evidence  for  the 
English  nationality  of  Tobias  Hendricks  there  are  clear 
indications  of  close  relationship  with  the  Germans.  For 
Tobias  Hendricks,  Jr.,  second  son  of  the  magistrate,  very 
early  associated  himself  with  the  Germans  of  York  County 
in  religious  affairs.  He  was  one  of  the  founders  of  the 
German  Lutheran  Congregation  of  the  Codorus.  In  the 
baptismal  records  of  that  Church  his  name  appears  as  one 
of  the  heads  of  families  in  that  congregation.  All  the 
other  members  of  the  Church  were  pure  Germans.  But  it 
is  a  significant  fact  that  a  slight  distinction  is  made  in  the 
Church  Record  between  Tobias  Hendricks  and  the  other 
members  of  the  Church.  Pastor  Stover,  who  kept  the 
record,  made  all  the  entries  in  deep  German  script  with 
the  sole  exception  of  the  entry  concerning  Hendricks. 
His  name  is  written  in  English  script.  The  words  of  the 
entry  are  written  in  the  German  language  and  in  German 
script  but  the  English  (or  Latin)  name  of  one  of  the 
children  baptized  is  also  in  English  script  like  the  super- 
scription "Tobias  Hendricks. "^^     This  is  a  clear  indica- 

24  He  died  in  the  Cumberland  Valley  west  of  the  river  in  Nov.  1739, 
leaving  a  wife,  Catherine,  one  daughter,  Rebecca,  and  six  sons.  Egle's 
"  Notes  and  Queries,"  Vol.  II,  1896,  p.  264.  He  was  the  ancestor  of  Vice- 
President  Thomas  A.  Hendrix. 

25  This  record  is  in  the  possession  of  Pastor  Enders  of  York.  The  entry 
referred  to  is  as  follows  (the  words  in  English  script  are  here  in  italic) : 

Tobias  Hendrick 
Gab.  Getauft 

[Here  are  records  of  baptisms  of  two  sons, 
Joh.  Jacob  and  Joh.,  and  two  daughters, 
Elizabetha  and  Rebecca.] 

1744  ^744 

Jan.  30. — Eine  tochter  Veronica  zeug.  Joh:  Wolf. — April  15. 


36  German  Element  in  York  County,  Pa. 

tion  that  Tobias  Hendricks,  though  associated  with  the 
Germans  in  their  worship,  was  nevertheless  regarded  by 
Pastor  Stover  as  English. 

What  conclusion  may  we  draw  from  these  considera- 
tions? It  is  highly  probable,  but  remains  without  positive 
proof,  that  these  Hendrickses  were  of  German  descent, 
that  their  ancestors  one  or  two  generations  previous  were 
Mennonites  in  Switzerland  or  in  the  Rhine  Valley  and 
had  fled  before  persecution  and  found  refuge  in  England; 
that  there  they  quickly  associated  themselves  with  their 
English  brethren  in  the  faith,  the  Quakers,  and  with  them 
came  to  America.  In  this  case  they  might  be  called  Eng- 
lishmen of  German  descent,  and  this  would  account  for 
their  German  spirit  of  enterprise  in  pushing  across  the 
Susquehanna  and  locating  where  they  did,  while  at  the 
same  time  it  would  account  for  their  English  associations 
and  the  English  form  of  their  Christian  names.  Certain 
it  is  that  soon  after  their  location  in  York  County  the 
Hendrickses  were  close  associates  of  the  Germans  who 
followed  them  into  the  county.  They  sympathized  with 
them  in  times  of  adversity  and  cooperated  with  them  in 
matters  of  religion.  But  while  there  were  these  strong 
bonds  of  sympathy  and  cooperation,  perhaps  even  ties  of 
blood  between  these  pioneer  Hendrickses  and  the  early 
Germans  in  the  county,  nevertheless  the  places  from  which 
they  came,  their  associates  before  their  migration,  together 
with  the  other  evidence  in  the  case,  seem  to  leave  little 
room  for  doubt  that  John  and  James  Hendricks  were 
regarded  as  Englishmen  when  they  crossed  the  Susque- 
hanna and  that  the  honor  of  the  first  authorized  settle- 
ments in  York  County  cannot  be  claimed  for  the  pure 
Germans. 


CHAPTER  III. 

The  First  Settlement. 


3F  the  first  individual  settler  in  the  county  was  not 
a  German  the  first  community  of  settlements 
did  undoubtedly  consist  of  German  settlers  and 
those  parts  of  the  county  which  were  first 
tamed  and  subdued  to  the  purposes  of  civiliza- 
tion have  from  the  beginning  borne  the  stamp  of  German 
language  and  culture. 

It  was  in  that  same  valley  of  the  Kreutz  Creek  where 
the  Hendrickses  were  settled  and  where  unsuccessful  efforts 
at  permanent  settlement  had  previously  been  made  that 
the  first  stream  of  newcomers  from  the  eastern  side  of  the 
Susquehanna  deposited  itself.  It  followed  very  closely 
upon  the  settlement  of  John  Hendricks  in  1728.  Even 
before  that  settlement  was  consummated  many  of  the  set- 
tlers east  of  the  river  had  begun  to  manifest  a  desire  to 
settle  on  the  west  bank.  The  Shawannah  Indians  of  the 
village  opposite  Hempfield  had  removed  into  the  interior. 
The  false  impression  had  got  abroad  among  the  people 
east  of  the  river  that  the  Indians  of  the  Five  Nations  had 
resigned  their  claims  to  the  lands  on  this  part  of  the  Sus- 
quehanna, and  a  letter  of  August  10,  1727,  from  James 

37 


38  German  Element  in  York  County,  Pa. 

Logan  to  Samuel  Blunston  indicates  that  not  a  few  citizens 
of  Pennsylvania  were  prospecting  daily  on  the  lands  be- 
yond the  river  with  a  view  to  staking  out  claims  and  set- 
tling there.  We  have  one  instance  of  this  in  the  effort  of 
Henry  Hendricks  and  Thomas  Linvil  mentioned  above.* 
Such  settlements  were,  however,  prevented  for  the  time 
being.  But  when  the  opposition  of  the  Indians  subsided 
and  when  Hendricks  had  made  a  beginning,  a  veritable 
tide  of  immigration  began  to  rise  and  sweep  into  the  new 
territory.  Many  of  these  settlers  took  the  trouble  to 
secure  the  permission  of  the  proprietary  representative. 
Others  settled  irregularly  though  not  without  the  knowl- 
edge and  tacit  consent  of  the  government.  It  is  known, 
for  example,  that  Caspar  Spangler  settled  in  the  valley  in 
1729  and  that  Tobias  Frey  had  settled  there  prior  to  1733.^ 
Already  in  November,  1729,  Blunston  could  write  to 
Logan:  "  Many  people  out  of  this  province  are  for  remov- 
ing over  the  River  so  that  I  doubt  not  but  another  year  will 
settle  most  of  the  habitable  land  for  they  flock  over  daily 
in  search.  The  remainder  of  that  by  Hendricks  would 
have  been  settled  before  now  had  they  not  been  prevented."^ 
These  settlers  all  took  up  their  claims  in  the  valley  of 
the  Kreutz  Creek  stretching  westward  and  southwestward 
from  John  Hendricks's  property.  Hendricks's  plantation 
was  the  oldest  and  therefore  the  best  known  of  the  planta- 
tions in  that  neighborhood  and  so  was  used  to  designate 
the  location  of  other  places.  A  number  of  these  settlers 
afterwards  in  their  depositions  in  referring  to  the  location 
of  their  plantations  would  regularly  affirm  that  they  were 

1  Vide  supra,  p.  315'. 

2  "  The  Spengler  Families  With  Local  Historical  Sketches,"  pp.  17  and 
138. 

3  Vide  Appendix  A. 


The  First  Settlement.  39 

situated  a  certain  number  of  miles  westward  or  southwest- 
ward  from  John  Hendricks.*  The  nationahty  of  these 
earliest  settlers  in  the  community  of  the  Kreutz  Creek  was 
almost  without  exception  German,  This  fact  is  important 
for  the  subsequent  history  of  the  county  and  for  a  while  it 
entailed  rather  serious  consequences  upon  the  settlers  them- 
selves. Carter  and  Glossbrenner  remark:  "The  earliest 
settlers  were  English;  these  were  however  succeeded  by  vast 
numbers  of  German  immigrants.  .  .  .  Most  of  the  German 
immigrants  settled  in  the  neighborhood  of  Kreutz  Creek. 
...  In  the  whole  of  what  was  called  the  '  Kreutz  Creek 
Settlement'  (If  we  except  Wrightsville)  there  was  but  one 
English  family,  that  of  William  Morgan."  We  have  it 
upon  the  same  good  authority  that  the  first  tailor  in  the 
county  was  Valentine  Heyer,  that  the  first  blacksmith  was 
Peter  Gardner,  that  the  first  shoemaker  was  Samuel  Lan- 
dis,  who  had  his  shop  somewhere  on  the  Kreutz  Creek, 
that  the  first  stone  dwellings  were  built  in  1735  on  the 
Kreutz  Creek  by  John  and  Martin  Schultz.  The  first 
schoolmaster  was  known  by  no  other  name  than  "  Der 
Dicke  Schulmelster."  Thus  all  the  known  arts  of  that 
primitive  civilization  among  the  county's  first  inhabitants 
were  in  the  hands  of  Germans.  The  number  and  names 
of  these  earliest  German  settlers  In  the  Kreutz  Creek  settle- 
ment, their  legal  status  and  their  distressing  experiences  in 
their  new  homes  we  shall  be  able  to  understand  after  we 
have  taken  a  glance  at  a  parallel  effort  at  settlement  that 
was  being  made  by  Marylanders. 

This  Maryland  settlement  within  the  present  limits  of 
York  County  centered  about  the  spot  from  which  Pamell 
and  others  had  been  compelled  to  remove  in  1728.     The 

*  For  example,  Pennsylvania  Archives,  I:  523,  524;  Col.  Rec,  III:  613. 


\ 


40  German  Element  in  York  County,  Pa. 

settling  of  the  Marylanders  here  began  in  the  year  1729 
and  grew  rapidly  during  the  next  few  years.  Already  on 
November  30,  1729,  Blunston  wrote  to  Logan  "All  the 
land  about  Parnels^  is  surveyed  and  settled  by  Mary- 
landers."  Afterwards  when  the  dispute  concerning  the 
boundary  had  become  acute  the  Marylanders  sought  to 
establish  their  claim  to  the  region  by  proving  their  priority 
in  time  of  settlement.  For  in  1736  after  the  undignified 
controversy  between  the  provinces  had  led  to  forceful  con- 
flicts and  among  other  acts  of  violence  the  house  of  Col. 
Thomas  Cressap,  a  Marylander  settled  at  the  mouth  of 
Cabin  Branch  on  the  west  bank  of  the  Susquehanna,  had 
been  burned  over  his  head,  evidence  was  adduced  to  show 
that  a  number  of  persons  living  in  the  immediate  neighbor- 
hood of  Cressap's  house  had  held  lands  under  Maryland 
warrants  for  several  years.  Thus  the  evidence  of  Stephen 
Onion,  taken  at  Annapolis  on  January  12,  1736,  and  pre- 
served in  the  unpublished  Calvert  Papers,^  indicates  that 
in  1729  Onion  had  secured  a  warrant  from  the  Maryland 
office  for  "Pleasant  Garden"  which  he  sold  to  Thomas 
Cressap  who  settled  and  built  "soon  after  it  was  sur- 
veyed"; that  by  virtue  of  a  warrant  from  the  Maryland 
office  in  the  same  year  Jacob  Herrington  surveyed  and 
"soon  thereafter  settled"  a  tract  of  81  acres  called  "Bul- 
ford";  that  in  1730  by  the  same  authority  Thomas  Bond 
secured  a  tract  of  460  acres  called"  Bond's  Mannour"  and 
settled  thereon  William  Cannon  and  John  Lowe;  that  by 
virtue  of  warrant  dated  December  19,  1729,  Onion  had 
surveyed  on  June  2,  1730,  a  tract  of  600  acres  called 
"  Conhodah "  and  had  occupied  the  same  in  February, 

5  Parnell  evidently  had  been  located  there  long  enough  to  give  his  name 
to  the  place. 

6  No.  319. 


The  First  Settlement.  4^ 

1732;  that  In  173 1  Onion  had  secured  a  tract  of  290  acres 
called  "Smith's  Choice"  which  was  occupied  by  William 
Smith.  "  And  this  deponent  also  saith  that  before  the  im- 
provements made  on  the  said  lands  by  the  said  settlers 
there  were  no  Improvements  on  them  that  this  deponent 
saw  but  a  few  Indian  Cabbins  and  a  little  hutt  made  of  logs 
and  a  small  quantity  of  ground  cleared  by  a  White  Man 
who  was  driven  away  by  the  Indians  as  this  deponent  was 
Informed  and  which  hutt  was  sometimes  empty  and  at 
other  times  possessed  by  the  Indians  and  that  no  white 
person  or  persons  was  or  were  settled  on  any  of  the  lands 
to  this  deponent's  knowledge  or  that  he  hath  heard  of 
when  the  people  herein  beforementioned  settled  and  im- 
proved the  same,  and  further  this  deponent  saith  not." 

Now  Cressap's  log  house  Is  known  to  have  stood  upon 
the  spot  cleared  and  Improved  by  Edward  Parnell  and 
others  and  relinquished  by  them  on  order  of  the  Pennsyl- 
vania government  In  1728.  It  was  therefore  about  three 
and  one  half  miles  south  of  the  property  of  John  and 
James  Hendricks.^  The  other  tracts  referred  to  in  Onion's 
deposition  adjoined  the  Cressap  property.  For  on  March 
I,  1736,  Rachael  Evans  testified  that  her  husband  Edward 
Evans  lived  "  about  one  and  one  half  miles  from  Cressap's 
late  dwelling  house  " ;  that  Jacob  Herrington  lived  one  and 
one  fourth  miles  westward  from  Cressap;  that  William 
Smith  lived  two  miles  westward  from  Cressap ;  and  that 
Robert  Cannon  lived  one  and  one  half  miles  north  from 
Cressap.  Adjoining  Cannon  was  John  Lowe  less  than  a 
mile  westward  from  Cressap's  house.^     No  dates  are  given 

7  The  foundations  and  cellar  of  the  house  are  still  to  be  seen  on  the 
Maish  property  in  Lower  Windsor  Township.  A  photograph  of  these  re- 
mains in  the  possession  of  the  York  County  Historical  Society. 

8  No.  319. 


42  German  Element  in  York  County,  Pa. 

for  the  actual  settlement  of  these  persons  except  in  the 
case  of  Stephen  Onion  himself,  and  this  date  (February, 
1732)  in  all  probability  refers  not  to  his  first  occupation 
but  to  a  later  location.  But  from  other  sources  it  would 
appear  that  Thomas  Cressap  was  the  first  settler  there. 
For  on  September  13,  173 1,  Governor  Gordon  of  Penn- 
sylvania complained  to  Governor  Calvert  of  Maryland 
because  for  several  months  he  had  heard  rumors  about 
grants  from  the  Maryland  Office  for  lands  on  the  west  side 
of  the  Susquehanna.  Two  weeks  later  the  Indian  Cap- 
tain Civility  complained  to  Samuel  Blunston  of  Lancaster 
County  because  Cressap  had  settled  at  Conejohela  and 
had  been  disturbing  the  peace  of  the  Indians  there.  And 
the  following  January  Cressap  himself  declared  under 
oath  that  he  had  been  living  on  the  west  side  of  the  Sus- 
quehanna since  March  16,  1731.^  Stephen  Onion  seems 
therefore  to  have  been  the  first  Marylander  to  take  out  a 
warrant  for  land  in  that  neighborhood  and  Thomas  Cres- 
sap seems  to  have  been  the  first  settler.  But  as  Onion's 
warrant  was  not  secured  until  1729  and  as  Cressap  did  not 
settle  there  until  1 731  it  is  clear  that  the  Maryland  settle- 
ments could  not  have  followed  very  closely  upon  that  of 
John  Hendricks  and  certainly  the  closing  sentence  in  Onion's 
deposition  is  a  mistake.  Priority  of  authorized  settle- 
ment in  the  Kreutz  Creek  Valley  cannot  be  maintained  for 
the  Maryland  settlers  even  if  this  had  constituted  a  valid 
claim  to  the  territory.  But  from  the  foregoing  it  is  evi- 
dent that  the  settlements  under  Maryland  authority  were 
early  enough  and  numerous  enough  and  far  enough  north 
to  constitute  a  real  source  of  apprehension  to  any  others 
who  might  claim  jurisdiction  over  those  parts. 

8  Archives,  I:  291,  295,  and  311. 


The  First  Settlement.  43 

Now  It  was  the  bitter  conflict  between  the  EngHsh  citi- 
zens of  Maryland  gathered  about  Thomas  Cressap  at  the 
mouth  of  Cabin  Branch  and  the  German  citizens  of  Penn- 
sylvania whose  plantations  stretched  westward  and  south- 
westward  from  John  Hendricks  along  the  Kreutz  Creek 
Valley,  that  shaped  events  among  the  very  earliest  inhabi- 
tants of  our  county  and  occupied  the  attention  of  both  the 
settlers  and  the  provincial  authorities  for  several  years. 
And  It  Is  from  the  documents  pertaining  to  this  conflict 
that  we  draw  much  of  our  information  concerning  those 
earliest  settlers.^*^ 


10  This  conflict  was  one  of  the  incidents  in  the  general  contention  between 
the  two  provinces  concerning  the  boundary.  William  Penn  received  his 
title  to  Pennsylvania  from  the  British  Crown  in  i'68i,  and  for  more  than 
eighty  years  thereafter  the  boundary  lines  between  his  province  and  Mary- 
land were  the  source  of  almost  constant  dispute.  There  is  now  a  bulky 
literature  pertaining  to  this  controversy  and  its  tedious  negotiations.  Many 
of  the  documents  bearing  on  the  dispute  are  found  scattered  over  the  Archives 
and  Colonial  Records  of  the  two  provinces,  and  many  of  them  remain  un- 
published among  the  "  Penn  Papers  "  in  the  Historical  Society  of  Pennsylva- 
nia at  Philadelphia,  in  the  Department  of  Internal  Affairs  and  the  Division 
of  Public  Records  at  Harrisburg,  and  in  the  Maryland  Historical  Society  at 
Baltimore  (vide,  e.  g.,  Pennsylvania  Archives,  Second  Series,  Vol.  VH, 
pp.  301-400;  for  other  literary  references  see  Winsor's  "Narrative  and 
Critical  History  of  America,"  Vol.  IH,  p.  5i'4).  A  brief  statement  of  the 
issues  involved  and  the  facts  of  the  negotiations  is  found  in  the  article  by 
J.  Dunlop,  "  The  Controversy  between  William  Penn  and  Lord  Baltimore," 
in  the  "  Memoirs  of  the  Historical  Society  of  Pennsylvania,"  Vol.  I,  pp. 
i63'-204.  A  popular  statement  of  the  case  in  brief  compass  is  Chapter  XI 
of  Sydney  George  Fisher's  "  The  Making  of  Pennsylvania." 

Suffice  it  to  say  here  that  the  whole  difficulty  concerning  the  southern 
boundary  of  Pennsylvania  grew  out  of  ignorance  on  the  part  of  the  pro- 
prietors in  England  as  to  the  location  of  the  40th  degree  of  latitude  in 
America.  Lord  Baltimore's  grant  (1632)  was  merely  for  the  unoccupied 
part  of  Virginia  from  the  Potomac  northward,  a  very  indefinite  description. 
But  in  Penn's  grant  of  1681  the  province  of  Pennsylvania  is  described  as 
bounded  "  on  the  south  by  a  circle  drawn  at  twelve  miles  distance  from 
Newcastle,  northward  and  westward  unto  the  beginning  of  the  40th  degree 
of  north  lattude  and  thence  by  a  straight  line  westward."    Now  the  "  begin- 


44  German  Element  in   York  County,  Pa. 

It  follows  from  the  conditions  of  haste  and  irregularity 
under  which  the  first  surveys  west  of  the  Susquehanna  were 
made  and  from  the  circumstances  of  intercolonial  strife 


ning  of  the  40th  degree  "  from  the  equator  is  the  39th  parallel.  But  the 
39th  parallel  runs  just  north  the  present  city  of  Washington.  And  the  40th 
parallel  runs  somewhat  north  of  Philadelphia.  Neither  of  these  parallels 
falls  within  la  miles  of  Newcastle.  Thus  the  boundary  was  uncertain 
and  while  the  propietary  negotiations  dragged  on  in  England  a  petty 
border  warfare  began  in  America.  The  disturbances  began  east  of  the  Sus- 
quehanna where  the  Pennsylvanians  contended  for  lands  as  far  south  as 
the  mouth  of  the  Octoraro  Creek,  about  51  miles  south  of  the  present  border. 
In  1723  both  proprietors  agreed  to  abstain  from  making  further  grants  in 
the  disputed  territory  for  eighteen  months  or  until  satisfactory  adjustment 
could  be  made.  But  years  passed  and  no  conclusion  was  reached.  By  17132 
the  controversy  was  carried  into  the  region  west  of  the  Susquehanna,  and 
here  the  Marylanders  laid  claim  to  the  lands  at  the  mouth  of  Cabin  Branch 
and  in  the  Kreutz  Creek  Valley,  nearly  thirty  miles  farther  north  than  any 
point  claimed  by  them  east  of  the  river.  Their  object  was  to  extend  the 
Maryland  domain  west  of  the  river  as  far  north  as  the  40th  parallel  of 
latitude.  This  region  west  of  the  river  and  within  the  present  limits  of 
York  County,  was  the  chief  scene  of  the  border  warfare  and  the  disturb- 
ances here  are  known  as  "  Cressap's  War." 

In  1732  the  proprietors  of  the  two  provinces  agreed  to  have  the  boundary 
line  surveyed.  This  agreement  placed  the  southern  boundary  of  Pennsyl- 
vania on  a  parallel  of  latitude  fifteen  miles  south  of  a  parallel  passing 
through  the  most  southerly  point  in  Philadelphia.  But  because  of  other 
stipulations  in  this  agreement  it  proved  distasteful  to  Lord  Baltimore  and 
under  various  pretexts  he  delayed  its  fulfillment  and  refused  to  let  the  sur- 
vey be  made.  So  the  acrimonious  correspondence  between  the  provinces 
continued  but  without  effect.  In  1735'  the  Penns  began  a  suit  in  equity 
against  Baltimore  to  compel  him  to  fulfil  his  contract.  This  was  not  ended 
until  1750,  when  it  was  decided  in  favor  of  the  Penns.  Meanwhile  re- 
peated appeals  came  from  America  asking  that  a  provisional  line  be  run 
in  order  to  allay  the  hostilities  between  the  inhabitants  of  the  provinces. 
This  resulted  in  an  order  from  the  King  establishing  the  "  temporary  line 
of  1739"  fifteen  and  one  fourth  miles  south  of  Philadelphia  on  the  east 
side  of  the  Susquehanna  and  fourteen  and  three  fourths  miles  south  of 
Philadelphia  on  the  west  side  of  that  river.  The  pending  proceedings  in 
chancery  resulted  in  1750  in  a  decree  that  the  agreement  of  17321  should  be 
carried  into  specific  execution.  But  forthwith  a  dispute  arose  as  to  the 
proper  methods  of  mensuration.    This  was  not  settled  until  1760.     In  1736 


The  First  Settlement.  45 

attending  the  first  settlements  there,  that  the  legal  status 
of  the  earliest  settlers  is  not  easy  to  determine.  It  prob- 
ably was  not  in  all  cases  clearly  defined  at  the  time.  The 
Marylanders  took  out  their  claims  and  settled  under  ordi- 
nary warants  from  the  Maryland  Office.  This  gave  them 
a  certain  advantage  over  those  who  came  from  Pennsyl- 
vania. For  according  to  established  custom  and  law  in 
Pennsylvania  no  titles  whatever  could  be  granted  to  lands 
until  they  had  been  purchased  from  the  Indians.  The 
government  of  Pennsylvania  did  not  begin  to  issue  even 
temporary  licenses  until  1733.  John  and  James  Hen- 
dricks had  settled  on  Indian  territory  before  that  time  but 
this  was  by  special  permission  of  the  proprietary  govern- 
ment and  then  only  on  condition  that  they  first  secure  the 
consent  of  the  Indians.  Their  formal  license  was  not  is- 
sued until  March,  1733,  and  even  this  was  only  a  tem- 
porary license.  But  in  Maryland  no  such  custom  obtained 
with  reference  to  the  lands  of  the  Indians  and  the  Mary- 
land authorities  did  not  hesitate  to  grant  permits  to  settle 
on  lands  that  had  never  been  purchased  from  the  natives. 
The  Maryland  government  did  indeed  early  recognize 
such  a  purchase  as  desirable  for  the  security  of  its  people. 
For  Philemon  Lloyd,  the  proprietary  agent  at  Annapolis, 
in  a  letter  of  October  8,  1722,  to  the  "Co-Partners"  in 
London  urges  at  great  length  a  treaty  with  the  Susque- 
hanna Indians  and  then  remarks, 

I  do  assure  you  Gentlemen  that  something  of  this  Nature  is  very 
necessary  to  be  don;  for  now,  that  we  are  about  Lycencing  our 

two  expert  surveyors,  Charles  Mason  and  Jeremiah  Dixon,  were  sent  to 
America  to  supervise  the  survey  of  the  boundary.  This  survey,  carrying 
out  the  agreement  of  17132',  was  completed  on  December  zG,  i-]6j,  and  has 
given  us  the  famous  Mason  and  Dixon  Line,  celebrated  now  as  the  dividing 
line  between  the  two  sections  of  the  country  during  the  Civil  War. 


46  German  Element  in  York  County,  Pa. 

People,  to  make  Remote  Settlements,  we  must  likewise  use  the 
Proper  Measures  to  protect  them;  for  the  Lands  next  above  our 
Settlements  upon  the  west  side  of  the  Susquehannah,  and  all  along 
upon  the  West  side  of  Baltimore  County,  are  cutt  ofE  &  separated 
from  the  Present  Inhabited  Parts  by  large  Barrens,  many  Miles 
over;  so  that  as  yet,  the  setlers  there  can  expect  very  little  Com- 
munication with  us ;  yet  if  they  should  be  Cutt  off  &  Murthered  by 
the  Indians  we  must  insist  upon  Satisfaction  for  the  security  of  our 
present  Outer  Inhabitants ;  which  may  involve  us  in  a  f atall  War. 
But  by  this  Means  of  Purchasing  those  Indian  Rights,  we  may 
think  ourselves  pretty  secure,  as  well  from  those  Indians  them- 
selves as  from  any  strange  Indians  that  shall  traverse  those  Woods." 

Nevertheless  no  such  purchase  was  ever  made  by  Mary- 
land and  hence  the  Marylanders  who  took  up  lands  within 
the  limits  of  our  county  must  be  regarded  as  squatters  and 
not  as  authorized  settlers.  They  had  warrants,  it  is  true, 
>  but  the  validity  of  these  warrants  was  always  denied  by  the 
Pennsylvania  authorities  who  claimed  that  whole  region 
under  the  terms  of  the  royal  grant  to  William  Penn. 

Not  until  January,  1733,  did  the  proprietary  govern- 
ment of  Pennsylvania  begin  to  issue  its  first  licenses  to  take 
up  land  west  of  the  river.  The  settlements  that  had  been 
made  there  by  Pennsylvanians  before  1733  had  been  per- 
mitted by  the  government  authorities  with  the  consent  of 
the  Indians  but  no  titles  had  been  given.  It  was  hoped 
that  the  lands  west  of  the  Susquehanna  would  soon  be  pur- 
chased from  the  aborigines  and  thus  the  Indian  policy  of 
the  Penns  might  be  carried  out.  Thomas  Penn  (son  of 
WiUiam  Penn,  Sr.)  arrived  in  the  province  August,  1732, 
and  John  Penn  (eldest  son  of  William)  came  in  October, 
1734.^2     gut  the  Indian  purchase  west  of  the  river  was 

11  Calvert  Papers,  No.  2,  p.  54. 

12  John  Penn  returned  to  London  the  following  year  to  care  for  the  inter- 
ests of  Pennsylvania  in  the  boundary  dispute  with  Lord  Baltimore.  Thomas 
Penn  remained  in  the  province  until  17411. 


The  First  Settlement.  47 

not  consummated  until  late  in  the  year  1736.  Meanwhile 
the  incursions  of  the  Marylanders  which  Governor  Keith 
more  than  a  decade  before  had  made  the  excuse  for  his 
survey  of  the  "  Mine  Tract,"  were  becoming  a  real  menace 
to  the  proprietary  rights  in  that  region.  The  settlers  from 
Maryland  and  under  Maryland  authority  were  pushing 
farther  and  farther  north  and  were  growing  constantly 
bolder  and  more  annoying  along  the  west  bank  of  the  Sus- 
quehanna, The  provincial  authorities  of  Pennsylvania 
became  convinced  that  active  measures  must  be  taken  to 
secure  the  rights  of  their  province  in  that  region. 

The  Maryland  authorities  had  long  before  felt  that 
special  inducements  ought  to  be  offered  to  settlers  in  that 
region.  Their  custom  did  not  prevent  them  from  issuing 
full  warants  for  settlements  on  Indian  lands.  But  even 
this,  they  felt,  was  not  enough  and  ten  years  before  the 
government  of  Pennsylvania  took  any  measures  to  settle 
the  new  territory  the  proprietary  agent  at  Annapolis  had 
urged  the  granting  of  easy  conditions  for  payment  of  war- 
rants in  order  to  induce  citizens  of  Maryland  to  settle  in 
this  district  west  of  the  Susquehanna.  Thus  Philemon 
Lloyd,  In  the  letter  quoted  above,  writes: 

If  this  Place  were  well  Seated,  it  would  be  a  good  Barrier  unto 
the  Province  on  that  Side  &  doubt  not,  but  that  it  would  in  a  few 
years,  bring  on  the  Planting  of  that  other  Vast  Body  of  Rich  Lands, 
that  lyes  something  more  to  the  Westward;  &  would  likewise 
secure  our  Country  against  the  Claims  of  the  Pensilvanians  on  the 
North  side;  for  we  are  allready  Seated  to  the  Northward  of  that 
Line,  which  I  lay  down  for  the  true  Location  of  Pensllvania 
upon  the  Back  of  the  12  Mile  Circle,  as  they  have  encroached  upon 
us  to  the  Southward  of  that  Line  about  Octeraro,  &  to  the  East- 
ward of  It,  which  seems  to  be  occatloned  by  our  own  too  great 
Suplness;  &  makes  me  so  desirous  now,  of  Seating  farther  up  the 


48  German  Element  in  York  County,  Pa. 

Susquehannah ;  &  if  his  Lordship  should  be  pleased  to  grant  7  or 
10  years  Time  for  the  Payment  of  the  Ffines  for  Lands  in  those 
remote  parts;  he  will,  I  verily  am  perswaded  have  his  back  part 
of  his  Country  Seated,  by  more  than  10  years  the  sooner,  .... 
There  are  other  Advantages,  that  will  Acrrue  from  Setling  the  Re- 
moter Parts  of  the  Province,  by  Conditional  Warrants  as  above 
proposed:  the  Scotts  Irish,  &  Palatines,  after  the  news  of  so  great 
Concessions,  will  I  imagine  fHock  apace  in,  &  Even  some  from 
Pensilvania  it  Self; 

But  even  without  such  special  Inducements  as  were  here 
proposed,  the  Marylanders,  as  we  have  seen,  were  flocking 
to  the  west  bank  of  the  Susquehanna  much  to  the  annoy- 
ance of  the  provincial  government  and  the  Lancaster 
County  authorities  just  east  of  the  river  and  to  the  great 
unrest  of  the  Pennsylvanlans  who  had  settled  west  of  the 
river. 

In  order  to  counteract  these  annoying  encroachments  the 
proprietary  agents  of  Pennsylvania  began  to  adopt  the 
policy  of  encouraging  citizens  of  Pennsylvania  to  cross  the 
Susquehanna  and  settle  west  of  the  river  acknowledging 
the  jurisdiction  of  Pennsylvania  In  that  region.  For  this 
\  purpose  In  January,  1733,  they  commissioned  Samuel 
Blunston,  who  lived  near  the  river, ^^  to  Issue  temporary 
licenses  to  such  persons  as  were  willing  to  take  up  lands  on 
the  west  side  of  the  river  and  settle  there.  These  licenses 
were  afterwards  confirmed  by  the  proprietor  on  October 
30,  1736,  as  soon  as  the  lands  could  be  purchased  from  the 
Indians.  The  full  text  of  one  of  these  confirmed  Blun- 
ston licenses  was  presented  as  evidence  In  the  case  of  Nich- 
olas Perle  In  1748.  It  is  of  special  Interest  because  It  was 
doubtless  the  same  form  that  was  used  by  the  proprietor 

13  At  Wright's  Ferry,  where  Columbia  now  stands. 


The  First  Settlement.  49 

in  confirming  the  licenses  of  all  the  early  German  settlers 
in  the  county. 

Pennsylvnia  ss: 

Whereas,  sundry  Germans  and  others  formerly  seated  them- 
selves by  our  Leave  on  Lands  Lying  on  the  West  side  of  Sasque- 
hanna  River  within  our  County  of  Lancaster,  &  within  the  bounds 
of  a  Tract  of  Land  Survey'd  the  Nineteenth  and  Twentieth  Days 
of  June,  Anno  Domini,  1722,  containing  about  Seventy  thousand 
Acres,  commonly  called  the  Manor  of  Springetsbury ; 

And  Whereas  A  Confirmation  to  the  Persons  seated  on  the  same 
for  their  several  tracts  has  hitherto  been  delayed  by  reason  of  the 
Claim  made  to  the  said  Lands  by  the  Indians  of  the  Five  Nations, 
which  Claim  the  said  Indians  have  now  effectually  released  to  Us 
by  their  Deed  bearing  date  the  Eleventh  Day  of  this  Instant, 
October ; 

And  Whereas  Nicholas  Perie,  one  of  the  Persons  living  within 
the  said  Manor,  hath  now  applied  for  a  Confirmation  of  Two 
Hundred  Acres,  part  of  the  same  where  he  is  now  Seated ; 

I  do  hereby  Certify  that  I  will  cause  a  Patent  to  be  drawn  to  the 
said  Nicholas  Perle  for  the  said  Two  hundred  Acres  (if  so  much 
can  be  there  had  without  prejudice  to  the  other  settlers)  on  the 
common  Terms  other  Lands  on  the  West  side  of  Sasquehanna  River 
are  granted,  so  soon  as  the  said  quantity  shall  be  Survey'd  to  him  & 
a  return  thereof  made  to  me 

October  30th,  1736.  Tho.  Penn." 

The  nature  of  these  licenses  reflects  the  primitive  meth- 
ods of  granting  lands.  They  were  variously  known  by  the 
government  as  "licenses,"  "grants,"  and  "certificates."^^ 
They  were  not  real  warrants  but  merely  approved  the  mak- 
ing of  a  survey  and  promised  to  order  a  patent  to  be  drawn 
at  some  Indefinite  future  time.     They  thus  secured  the 

14  Col.  Rec,  V:  219  f. 

15  Vide  Hamilton's  Warrant  for  Resurvey,  infra,  p.  53  f. 


50  German  Element  in  York  County,  Pa. 

settler  in  his  right  to  his  settlement.  The  licenses  had  all 
the  essential  features  of  warrants  with  the  single  exception 
that  they  showed  no  previous  payment  of  purchase  money. 
In  the  litigations  that  arose  long  afterwards  over  these 
tracts  the  Blunston  licenses  were  regarded  by  some  as  mere 
locations,  by  others  as  actual  warrants.  The  distinction 
was  made  in  the  courts  between  "warrants  on  common 
terms"  and  "warrants  to  agree."  The  former  were  war- 
rants issued  for  lands  that  were  not  reserved  by  the  pro- 
prietor but  were  offered  to  the  public  at  a  fixed  price.  The 
latter  were  contracts  for  the  possession  of  lands  which  had 
been  surveyed  from  the  common  stock  as  manors,  had  thus 
been  withdrawn  from  the  public  market,  and  so  could  be 
acquired  only  by  special  agreement.^®  The  Blunston 
licenses  were  issued  for  lands  that  were  supposed  to  lie 
within  the  Springettsbury  Manor^^  and  so  could  be  acquired 
only  by  special  contract  or  "warrants  to  agree."  But  as 
a  matter  of  practice  they  were  always  issued  on  common 
terms.  Note,  for  example,  the  closing  sentence  in  the 
Hendricks  warrant,  "  on  the  same  Terms  other  Lands  in 
the  County  of  Lancaster  shall  be  granted  "^^  and  the  closing 
sentence  in  the  Perie  warrant,  "  on  the  common  Terms 
other  Lands  on  the  West  side  of  Sasquehanna  River  are 
granted."^^  These  Blunston  licenses  afterwards  played  a 
very  conspicuous  part  in  the  judicial  investigation  into  the 
validity  of  the  claim  to  these  manorial  lands  west  of  the 
river.^*^ 


18  Decisions  of  the  Supreme  Court  of  U.  S.,  Wheaton,  Vol.  IX,  p.  35, 
Curtis  edition. 

i'^  They  were  afterwards  by  the  resurvey  of  171681  actually  comprehended 
in  that  manor. 

18  Vide  supra,  p.  28'. 

18  Vide  supra,  p.  49. 

20  Dallas  Reports,  Circuit  Court,  Pennsylvania  District,  Vol.  IV,  pp.  373- 


The  First  Settlement.  51 

Samuel  Blunston  kept  a  careful  list  of  the  persons  to 
whom  he  issued  permits  to  settle  west  of  the  river  together 
with  the  approximate  number  of  acres  allowed  to  each  one. 
This  list  he  transmitted  from  time  to  time  to  the  Land 
Office  in  Philadelphia.    It  was  preserved  in  that  office  until 
1762  but  has  since  disappeared.^^     There  is,  therefore,  no 
way  of  ascertaining  directly  the  names  and  exact  locations 
of  the  earliest  settlers  in  the  county.     For  no  surveys  of 
their  tracts  were  made  at  the  time.    Blunston  had  surveyed 
in  person  the  tract  upon  which  John  and  James  Hendricks 
had  settled.     He  had  laid  out  a  tract  of  1,200  acres  and 
had  assigned  one  half  of  it  to  Hendricks,  "  the  uper  side 
and  best  part."     This  was  done  by  special  order  of  the 
secretary  of  the  province  and  the  exact  location  of  this 
tract  is  well  known.     But  when  he  issued  his  conditional 
grants   (1733-1736)    he  did  not  undertake  the  work  of 
making  the  surveys  and  the  new  territory  was  well  dotted 
with  settlers  before  any  surveys  were  made.^^     Thus  on 
March  18,  1735,^^  Blunston  wrote  to  Thomas  Penn: 

380.  "  Blunston's  Licenses  have  always  been  deemed  valid:  and  many  titles 
in  Pennsylvania  depend  upon  them.  .  .  ."  Ibid.,  p.  m.  Wheaton's  Reports, 
Vol.  IX,  pp.  34-7'3- 

21  Vide  Governor  Hamilton's  Warrant  for  Resurvey  of  Springettsbury 
Manor,  infra,  p.  513  f.  Perhaps  it  was  on  the  occasion  of  this  resurvey  that 
the  list  of  permits  disappeared. 

22  For  some  years,  in  fact,  it  was  the  express  policy  of  the  Pennsylvania 
government  to  avoid  making  surveys  in  this  region.  For  Governor  Gordon 
wrote  to  Governor  Ogle  on  July  26,  1732,  and  speaking  of  the  agreement 
of  1723  he  said  that  convention  "  notwithstanding  the  numerous  Settlements 
made  by  those  who  forced  themselves  upon  us  from  Ireland  and  Germany, 
has  been  so  punctually  observed  by  our  office  that  there  has  not  been  one 
Survey  made,  as  is  affirmed  to  me  by  Order  of  that  Office,  within  the 
Limits  which  it  was  conceived  Maryland  either  could  or  would  claim." 
Archives,  I:  338. 

23  The  date  of  the  letter  is  March  18,  1734,  but  this  was  under  the  old 
method  of  dating.     Under  the  modern  method  this  would  be  March   18, 


52  German  Element  in  York  County,  Pa. 

Though  as  much  care  as  possible  has  been  taken  to  prevent  dis- 
putes yet  many  are  like  to  arise  which  can  never  be  well  adjusted 
without  surveying  to  each  their  several  tracts.  And  as  warrants 
are  already  lodged  here  for  that  purpose  I  make  bold  to  propose 
that  a  surveyor  of  sense  and  honesty  (if  such  can  be  had)  might  be 
sent  up  as  soon  as  possible  for  that  service,  which  if  done  with  ex- 
pedition I  am  certain  would  be  greatly  for  your  interest  and  the 
only  sure  means  of  a  regular  settlement  for  I  do  not  think  it  proper 
at  this  critical  juncture  to  leave  the  people  room  to  quarrel  among 
themselves.  Beside  in  a  country  so  scarce  of  water  as  that  is  if  the 
people  are  alowed  to  be  their  own  carvers  a  great  part  of  the 
land  will  be  rendred  uninhabitable.  This  as  well  as  the  other 
should  be  timely  prevented.  The  people  are  now  settling  building 
and  improving  daily.  This  is  the  season  for  surveying  which  can- 
not so  well  be  done  in  any  other  season  as  the  six  or  eight  weeks 
coming.  This  I  thought  to  mention  though  I  know  of  no  person  in 
these  parts  to  recommend  yet  doubtless  such  may  soon  be  had.  .  .  . 
I  should  be  glad  to  know  thy  mind  herein  that  I  may  be  able  to  give 
the  people  an  answer  for  they  are  generally  desirous  and  expect  it 
will  be  done. 

It  Is  not  at  all  certain  that  such  surveys  were  ever  made. 
No  drafts  of  these  settlements  are  known  to  exist.  There 
is  no  trace  of  the  confirmed  warrants  in  the  Land  Office 
at  Harrlsburg.  The  individual  surveys  had  evidently  not 
been  made  when  the  Blunston  licenses  were  confirmed  in 
1736,  and  the  words  of  Governor  Hamilton's  warrant  for 
the  resurvey  of  Sprlngettsbury  Manor  leave  little  doubt 
that  at  least  so  far  as  most  of  the  tracts  were  concerned 
no  such  surveys  had  yet  been  made  In  1762.^*    We  are  left 

17135.  We  shall  hereafter  give  all  dates  as  they  would  be  under  the  modern 
method. 

2*  The  original  survey  of  Sprlngettsbury  Manor,  made  in  1722,  is  still  in 
existence.  It  either  had  been  mislaid  or  else  was  being  purposely  sup- 
pressed at  the  time  the  resurvey  was  ordered  in  1762.  It  has  recently  been 
discovered  by  the  Hon.  Robert  C.  Bair,  of  York,  and  was  published  in  the 


The  First  Settlement.  53 

therefore  to  inference  and  Incidental  allusions  for  our  in- 
formation concerning  the  names,  the  nationality,  and  the 
location  of  the  earliest  settlers  in  the  Kreutz  Creek  Valley. 
But  such  sources  of  information  are  not  entirely  lacking. 
It  is  clear  in  the  first  place  that  the  Kreutz  Creek  Valley 
was  from  the  beginning  regarded  as  settled  predominantly 
and  almost  entirely  by  Germans.  For  example,  in  Gov- 
ernor Hamilton's  warrant  of  May  21,  1762,  for  the  resur- 
vey  of  Springettsbury  Manor,  it  is  set  forth  that  the  manor 
was  originally  surveyed  for  the  use  of  the  proprietor  on 
the  19th  and  20th  of  June,  1722,  and  that 

sundry  Germans  and  others  afterwards  seated  themselves  by  our 
leave  on  divers  parts  of  the  said  manor  but  by  reason  of  some  claim 
made  to  those  Lands  by  the  Indians  of  the  Five  Nations  (v^^hich 
they  afterwards  released  to  us  by  their  Deed  of  the  nth  day  of 
October,  1736)  the  confirmations  of  the  parts  so  seated  in  the  said 
manor  were  for  some  time  delayed.  And  whereas,  upon  our  ob- 
taining the  said  Release  from  the  said  Indians  we  did  give  to  each 
of  the  persons  so  as  aforesaid  settled  on  our  said  Manour  License 
or  Certificate  bearing  date  respectively  the  30th  day  of  October  in 
the  year  last  aforesaid,  thereby  promising  that  we  would  order  a 
patent  to  be  drawn  to  each  of  them  for  their  respective  Settle- 
Pennsylvania  Annual  Report  of  the  Secretary  of  Internal  Affairs,  1905, 
Part  I,  Map  E,  where  it  is  shown  to  differ  widely  from  the  relocation  made 
under  Hamilton's  orders.  But  the  words  of  Hamilton's  warrant  indicate 
clearly  that  surveys  for  the  grants  to  individual  settlers  had  not  been  made 
systematically  and  were  really  not  in  existence. 

In  the  Proceedings  of  The  Supreme  Executive  Council,  January  25,  1787 
(Col.  Rec,  XV:  153),  there  is  a  suggestion  as  to  what  became  of  such 
copies  of  patents  for  tracts  within  the  Springettsbury  Manor  as  were  re- 
corded in  the  secretary's  office.  The  secretary  was  there  instructed  to 
deliver  to  the  attorney  of  the  Penns  the  copies  of  warrants  which  had  been 
issued  for  such  tracts,  and  the  proceedings  of  the  council  on  September  22, 
1788^  indicate  that  these  instructions  were  carried  out  and  that  "several 
inclosures  "  had  been  thus  delivered. 


54  German  Element  in   York  County,  Pa. 

merits  and  plantations  in  the  said  Manor  as  soon  as  surveyed  mak- 
ing in  the  whole  by  Computation  i2,ooo  Acres  or  thereabouts,  as 
in  and  by  a  Record  and  particular  list  of  such  Licenses  or  Grants 
remaining  in  our  Land  Office  more  fully  appear.  And  whereas 
the  survey  of  our  said  Manor  is  by  some  accident  lost  or  mislaid  and 
is  not  now  to  be  found  but  by  the  well  known  Settlements  and  Im- 
provements made  by  the  said  Licenced  Settlers  therein  and  the  many 
Surveys  made  round  the  above  said  Manor  and  other  proofs  and 
Circumstances  it  appears  that  the  said  Manor  is  bounded  on  the 
East  by  the  River  Susquehannah,  on  the  West  by  a  North  and 
South  Line  West  of  the  late  Dwelling  plantation  of  Christian 
Esther,  otherwise  called  Oyster  (to  which  said  Christian  one  of 
the  said  Licences  or  Grants  was  given  for  his  Plantation)  North- 
ward by  a  Line  nearest  East  and  West  Distant  about  three  Miles 
North  of  the  present  Great  Road  leading  from  Wright's  Ferry 
through  York  Town  by  the  said  Christian  Oysters  plantation  to 
Monocksay  and  Southward  by  a  Line  near  East  and  West  distant 
about  three  Miles  of  the  Great  Road  aforesaid.  And  whereas 
divers  of  the  said  Tracts  and  Settlements  within  our  Manor  have 
been  surveyed  and  confirmed  by  patents  to  the  said  Settlers  thereof 
or  their  assigns  and  many  of  them  that  have  been  surveyed  yet 
remain  to  be  confirmed  by  patent  and  the  Settlers  or  possessors 
thereof  have  applied  for  such  Confirmation  agreeable  to  our  said 
Licences  or  Grants  whose  requests  we  are  willing  and  desirous  to 
comply  with  and  we  being  also  desirous  that  a  compleat  Draught  or 
Map  and  return  Survey  of  our  said  Manor  shall  be  replaced  and 
remain  for  their  and  our  use  in  Your  Office  and  also  in  our  Secre- 
tary's Office.  .  .  . 

The  "well  known  settlements  and  improvements"  of 
these  "sundry  Germans  and  others"  were  Hamilton's 
chief  means  of  determining  again  the  bounds  of  the  manor, 
the  original  survey  of  which  had  been  temporarily  lost. 
The  Blunston  licenses  confirmed  by  Thomas  Penn  In  1736 


The  First  Settlement.  55 

totaled  about  12,000  acres.^^  The  entire  manor  as  relo- 
cated under  Hamilton's  orders  embraced  64,520  acres. 
The  Blunston  licenses  therefore  covered  about  one  fifth  of 
the  manor.  In  the  subsequent  litigation  concerning  these 
manorial  lands  the  number  of  licenses  confirmed  by 
Thomas  Penn  is  stated  to  be  fifty-two. ^^  Now  there  is 
abundant  evidence  to  show  that  with  very  few  exceptions 
these  fifty-two  licensed  settlers  occupying  one  fifth  of  the 
entire  fertile  valley  afterwards  included  in  the  Springetts- 
bury  Manor  were  Germans. 

25  The  usual  grant  to  each  settler  in  those  days  was  200  acres.  The 
grant  to  John  Hendricks  was  in  this  respect  also  an  exception. 

26  In  February,  1824,  in  the  case  of  Kirk  and  others,  Plaintiffs  in  Error, 
vs.  Smith,  ex.  dem.  Penn,  Defendant  in  Error,  tried  before  the  Supreme 
Court  of  the  United  States,  evidence  was  produced  showing  that  the  num- 
ber of  licensed  settlers  on  Springettsbury  Manor  in  1736  was  fifty-two. 
Chief  Justice  Marshall  delivered  the  opinion  of  the  Court  on  that  occasion 
and  said  among  other  things: 

"  Now  it  appears  from  the  statement  of  the  testimony  made  in  the  charge 
of  the  court  to  the  jury,  which  is  the  only  regular  information  of  the  evi- 
dence given  in  the  case,  that  an  agreement  w^as  entered  into,  in  1736, 
between  the  proprietary  and  a  number  of  the  inhabitants,  by  which  he 
agreed  to  make  them  titles  for  certain  specified  quantities  of  land  in  their 
possession  on  the  common  terms.  This  agreement  is  stated  to  have  been 
afterwards  carried  into  execution.  The  contract,  as  stated,  contains  un- 
equivocal proof  of  having  been  made  under  the  idea  that  the  survey  of  1722 
was  valid,  that  it  related  to  lands  within  the  lines  of  that  survey,  and  that 
the  lands  within  its  lines  were  considered  a  manor.  That  survey  may  not 
have  been  attended  with  those  circumstances  which  would  bring  it  within 
the  saving  act  of  1779,  and  certainly,  in  this  cause,  is  not  to  be  considered 
as  a  valid  survey  of  a  manor.  It  was  nevertheless  believed,  in  1736  by 
the  parties  to  this  contract,  to  be  a  manor:  and  those  proceedings  which  took 
place  respecting  lands  within  it,  are  consequently  such  as  might  take  place 
respecting  lands  within  a  manor.  We  find  sales  of  lands  made  to  fifty- 
two  persons  upon  the  common  terras,  and  grants  made  to  them  according 
to  contract.  When  the  final  survey  was  made,  comprehending  these  lands 
as  being  part  of  the  manor  of  Springettsbury,  were  they  less  a  part  of  that 
manor  because  they  were  granted  as  a  part  of  it  before  the  survey  was 
made  ?  "    Wheaton's  Reports,  Vol.  IX,  February  Session. 


56  German  Element  in  York  County,  Pa. 

For  it  must  be  remembered  that  the  purpose  of  the  pro- 
prietary agents  in  encouraging  settlements  beyond  the  Sus- 
quehanna was  to  preempt  that  soil  for  those  who  acknowl- 
edged the  claims  of  Pennsylvania  as  over  against  the 
claims  of  "the  Maryland  intruders."  This  was  not  an 
afterthought  on  the  part  of  the  Pennsylvania  government, 
as  was  so  often  claimed  by  the  Maryland  authorities  in  the 
trying  times  that  followed.  Pennsylvania's  claim  to  this 
soil  was  a  consistent  one.  From  the  time  of  the  arrest  of 
Philip  Syng  on  Keith's  Tract  in  1722  and  the  original 
survey  of  Springettsbury  Manor  in  that  same  year,  to  the 
final  adjustment  of  the  difficulties  almost  half  a  century 
later,  Pennsylvania  never  relinquished  her  claim  upon  this 
region  and  never  consented  to  recognize  the  Susquehanna 
as  the  boundary  between  herself  and  Maryland.  This 
claim  was  recognized  by  Pamell  and  his  associates  in  1728 
and  it  was  only  with  the  advent  of  Col.  Thomas  Cressap 
that  the  claims  of  Pennsylvania  in  this  region  were  aggres- 
sively denied  and  withstood.  The  property  of  these 
earliest  settlers  in  our  county,  therefore,  became  at  once 
the  immediate  bone  of  contention  between  the  two  colonial 
governments  in  their  border  difficulties.  It  is  through  the 
recorded  transactions  incident  to  these  border  difficulties 
that  we  learn  how  large  a  proportion  of  the  earliest  settle- 
ments in  the  county  were  made  by  Germans,  and  these 
records,  replete  in  their  references  to  the  "unfortunate" 
Germans,  also  tell  us  something  about  their  names,  their 
v^  position  and  their  purposes. 
^  Thus  on  December  10,  1736,  the  deposition  of  Michael 
Tanner  was  taken  by  Magistrate  Tobias  Hendricks  as 
evidence  in  the  case  of  Thomas  Cressap  the  instigator  and 
leader  of  the  Maryland  intruders.     This  Tanner  was  the 


The  First  Settlement.  57 

same  young  German  who  had  settled  west  of  the  river  In 
the  company  of  Edward  Parnell  and  several  other  Eng- 
lishmen and  upon  the  complaint  of  the  Indians  had  been 
expelled  in  1728.  From  his  deposition  we  learn  that  he 
had  persisted  in  his  effort  to  settle  west  of  the  river  and  on 
September  17,  1734,  had  made  an  authorized  settlement 
of  200  acres  six  miles  southwest  of  John  Hendricks. 
This  time  he  was  not  accompanied  by  English  companions 
for  now  it  was  chiefly  the  Germans  who  seem  to  have  been 
attracted  across  the  river.  Tanner  also  declares  that  in 
1734  and  1735  Cressap  with  pretended  authority  from 
Maryland  had  surveyed  upwards  of  40  tracts  of  land  for 
the  Germans  living  in  those  parts.^''^ 

27  Michael  Tanner  (afterwards  Banner)  was  a  native  of  Mannheim, 
Germany.  On  September  27,  1737,  when  he  was  thirty-one  years  of  age,  he 
and  his  wife  arrived  at  the  port  of  Philadelphia.  He  passed  the  winter 
among  his  countrymen  in  the  western  part  of  Lancaster  County.  The  fol- 
lowing spring  he  crossed  the  Susquehanna,  selected  a  tract  of  land  near 
the  mouth  of  Cabin  Branch,  where  Parnell,  Summerford  and  Williams  had 
taken  up  their  abodes.  But  when  he  applied  to  the  government  for  per- 
mission to  settle  there  and  make  improvement,  it  was  refused  and  in  the 
fall  of  the  year  he  was  required  to  remove  from  the  west  bank.  In  1734 
he  secured  a  Blunston  license  and  effected  a  settlement  in  the  Kreutz  Creek 
Valley.  Here  he  soon  became  involved  in  the  Cressap  disturbances.  During 
these  difficulties  and  for  some  years  thereafter  Tanner  was  the  spokesman 
for  his  countrymen  west  of  the  river  (for  example,  Col.  Rec,  IV:  fs)-  He 
stoutly  resisted  the  claims  of  the  Marylanders,  rejecting  their  promises  and 
ignoring  their  threats.  In  ly^^i  he  was  surprised  and  captured  by  the 
Marylanders  while  he  was  helping  to  bur}''  one  of  his  neighbor's  children 
and  was  carried  off  and  Imprisoned  for  a  time  at  Annapolis.  Michael 
Tanner  was  a  leader  of  men.  When  a  measure  of  peace  was  restored  in 
York  County  he  was  one  of  its  most  prominent  citizens.  His  name  appears 
frequently  in  the  records  of  the  County,  as  witness  to  wills,  appraiser  of 
property,  executor  of  estates,  and  viewer  of  roads.  In  1749  he  was  one  of 
the  commissioners  to  lay  off  the  County.  His  signature  grows  constantly 
more  Anglicized  with  the  years,  indicating  the  influence  of  his  contact  with 
English-speaking  officials. 

In  religious  faith  he  was  a  Mennonite,  as  is  evinced  by  the  fact  that 


■^ 


58  German  Element  in   York  County,  Pa. 

From  similar  depositions  we  learn  that  Balzer  Springier 
(otherwise  Spangler)^^  in  the  beginning  of  1733  under  a 
Pennsylvania  grant  had  settled  and  improved  a  tract  of 
land  on  Codorus  Creek  twelve  miles  west  of  John  Hen- 
dricks, but  that  he  had  been  ejected  by  Cressap  to  make 
room  for  another  German,  John  Keller;  that  late  in  1733 

he  "  solemnly  affirmed  according  to  law  "  instead  of  taking  oath.  It  was 
under  his  leadership  that  the  Mennonites  coming  from  Lancaster  County 
began  to  settle  the  rich  farming  lands  in  the  Conewago  Valley  near  Digges' 
Choice  in  17381.  He  was  afterwards  a  close  friend  of  the  Scotchman 
Richard  McAllister,  and  it  was  probably  due  to  Tanner's  influence  that 
McAllisterstown  received  the  name  of  Hanover.  His  son,  Jacob  Danner, 
was  the  first  elder  of  the  German  Baptist  Church  of  Codorus,  I'l  miles 
southeast  of  York,  organized  in  1758,  and  became  involved  in  the  famous 
religious  controversy  with  Jacob  Lischy.  Vide  Archives,  1 :  524  f .  Division 
Public  Records,  Harrisburg,  Provincial  Papers,  Vol.  VI:  4,  15,  z$,  York 
and  Lancaster  County  Records,  passim. 

28  John  Balthasar  Spangler  was  the  eleventh  child  of  Hans  Rudolph 
Spangler.  Born  November  2%  1706,  at  Weiler-Hilsbach  in  the  Palatinate 
on  the  Rhine,  and  married  in  April,  17132,  he  migrated  to  America  and 
arrived  at  the  port  of  Philadelphia  on  October  11,  1732.  The  following 
spring  he  made  his  way  westward  across  the  Susquehanna  armed  with  a 
Blunston  license  for  a  tract  on  the  Codorus  Creek  but  he  was  forcibly  pre- 
vented by  Cessap  from  executing  this  grant.  He  soon  succeeded  however 
in  gaining  permanent  possession  of  another  tract  of  200  acres.  This  he 
purchased  from  his  countryman  Tobias  Frey  and  it  lay  one  mile  east  of 
the  Codorus,  just  south  of  the  Peachbottom  Road  (now  Plank  Road)  where 
it  crosses  the  Mill  Creek,  in  what  is  now  Spring  Garden  Township.  He 
gradually  added  to  his  possessions  until  in  1763  he  owned  483  acres.  Part 
of  this  land  has  been  incorporated  in  the  city  of  York.  Balthasar  Spangler 
had  been  preceded  to  America  and  to  York  County  by  his  elder  brother 
Caspar  and  he  was  accompanied  to  the  New  World  by  his  brothers  George 
and  Henry.  Balthasar  was  one  of  the  patriarchs  in  the  early  history  of  the 
County.  When  the  town  of  York  was  laid  out  in  1741  he  was  one  of  the 
first  persons  to  take  up  a  lot  and  build  a  house.  When  the  first  County 
election  was  held  in  1749  Spangler's  house  was  the  voting-place.  He  after- 
wards kept  a  public  inn  there.  He  was  one  of  the  most  prominent  and 
influential  members  of  the  German  Reformed  Congregation.  He  died  in 
1770  possessed  of  a  large  estate  and  survived  by  six  sons  and  two  daughters. 
"The  Spengler  Families  With  Local  Historical  Sketches,"  pp.  138  ff. 


The  First  Settlement.  59 

Frederick  Lather,  a  German,  had  taken  up  his  abode  near 
the  Codorus  Creek,  though  at  the  persuasion  of  Cressap 
under  a  Maryland  grant;  that  in  1735  Frederick  Ebert, 
a  German,  apparently  without  any  grant  had  settled  and 
improved  a  tract  of  land  near  the  Codorus  only  to  be  ex- 
pelled the  next  year  by  one  of  Cressap's  agents  to  make 
room  for  another  German,  Ffelty  Shults;  that  Martin 
Schultz  and  his  wife  Catherine  were  settled  in  Hellam 
Township  (now  York  County)  prior  to  1736  and  suffered 
violence  at  the  hands  of  the  Marylanders.  These  facts, 
tend  to  confirm  the  impression,  reflected  by  other  public 
instruments,  that  the  first  people  to  settle  in  any  consider- 
able numbers  west  of  the  Susquehanna  were  Germans. 

In  1736  the  "Chester  County  Plot"  was  discovered.-^ 
This  was  a  conspiracy  on  the  part  of  the  Maryland  sym- 
pathizers living  in  Chester  County,  Pennsylvania,  "  for 
ousting  by  force  of  arms  those  German  families  settled  on 
the  west  side  of  the  Susquehanna  within  the  unquestionable 
bounds  of  this  province  \_t.e.,  Pennsylvania]."  Among 
the  court  records  at  West  Chester  is  a  document  which 
contains  the  names  of  many  of  the  German  settlers  west  of 
the  river  in  1736.  It  is  the  record  of  a  "  billa  vera" 
against  Henry  Munday  and  Charles  Higginbotham,  insti- 
gators of  the  "  Chester  County  Plot,"  in  which  they  are 
charged  with  having  conspired  on  October  25,  1736, 
against  "  the  lands  and  tenements  of  the  honorable  pro- 
prietaries, county  of  Lancaster,  on  west  side  of  Susque- 
hanna within  the  province  of  Pennsylvania  then  in  the 
quiet  and  peaceful  possession  of 

Christian  Crawl  Peter  Steinman 

Henry  Libert  Henry  Pann 

Jacob  Huntsecker  Henry  Smith 


6o 


German  Element  in   York  County,  Pa. 


Methusalem  Griffith 
Michael  Tanner 
Henry  Stands 
Martin  Shultz 
Jacob  Welshover 
Paul  Springier 
Andreas  Felixer 
Ulrick  Whistler 
Nicholas  Booker 
Hans  Steinman 
Conrad  Strickler 
Caspar  Springier 
Michael  Walt 
Peter  Kersher 
Reynard  Kummer 
George  Pans  Pancker 
Frederick  Leader 
Michael  Miller 
Martin  Weigle 
Hans  Henry  Place 
Tobias  Fry 
Martin  Fry 


Jacob  Landis 
Henry  Kendrick 
Tobias  Rudisill 
Jacob  Krebell 
Michael  Springle 
Jacob  Singler 
Philip  Ziegler 
Caspas  Krever 
Derrick  Pleager 
George  Swope 
Michael  Krenel 
Thomas  May 
Nicholas  Brin 
Kilian  Smith 
Martin  Bower 
George  Lauman 
Martin  Brunt 
Michael  Allen 
Christian  Enfers 

and 
Nicholas  Cone" 


These  forty-eight  names  are  all  the  names  of  Germans, 
except  one,  that  of  Methusalem  Griffith. 

This  list  indicates  very  clearly,  therefore,  that  as  soon 
as  the  valleys  west  of  the  Susquehanna  were  opened  to  the 
settlement  of  white  people  there  was  a  rapid  influx  of 
Germans  and  that  the  population  there  was  from  the  begin- 
ning preponderatingly  German.  It  is  practically  certain 
also  that  most  of  the  fifty-two  licenses  issued  by  Blunston 
from  1733  to  1736  and  confirmed  by  Thomas  Penn  in 
October,  1736,  were  taken  by  Germans.     But  it  must  not 


The  First  Settlement.  6i 

be  concluded  that  all  of  the  Germans  In  the  Kreutz  Creek 
and  Codorus  Creek  Valleys  had  taken  out  "  Blunston 
licenses."  Most  of  them  undoubtedly  had  secured  these 
conditional  "warrants  to  agree"  before  making  settle- 
ment west  of  the  river.  Some  however  were  not  impressed 
with  the  immediate  necessity  of  securing  such  license.  For 
the  Pennsylvania  government  was  disposed  to  encourage 
the  migration  of  Its  citizens  across  the  Susquehanna  and 
the  easiest  terms  possible  were  granted.  No  purchase 
money  whatever  was  expected  until  the  Indian  claim  had 
been  satisfied  and  In  many  cases  the  purchase  money  was 
not  paid  for  some  years  even  after  1736.  Moreover, 
those  who  chose  to  settle  west  of  the  river  as  squatters 
were  no  longer  sought  out  and  expelled.  The  securing  of 
a  Blunston  license,  therefore,  seemed  a  mere  empty  for- 
mality which  might  easily  be  postponed  to  some  more  con- 
venient time,  and  after  the  migration  had  once  begun 
many  of  the  people  in  Lancaster  County  saw  no  impro- 
priety in  removing  and  settling  west  of  the  Susquehanna 
River  without  even  consulting  the  authorities.  And  so, 
while  most  of  the  settlers  In  the  Kreutz  Creek  settlement 
had  taken  the  precaution  to  secure  a  formal  license  for  their 
land,  a  considerable  number  had  settled  there  without  hav- 
ing secured  any  license  whatever  but  Intending  to  take  out 
license  under  Pennsylvania  as  soon  as  they  should  be  called 
upon  to  do  so. 

It  Is  worthy  of  mention  in  this  connection  also  that  there 
were  quite  a  number  who  secured  Blunston  licenses  to  settle 
west  of  the  river,  but  who  never  availed  themselves  of 
their  permission  and  never  actually  took  up  their  abodes 
beyond  the  Susquehanna.  For  Blunston  remarks  in  his 
letter  to  Thomas  Penn,   March    18,    1735,   "I  had  not 


62  German  Element  in  York  County,  Pa. 

timely  notice  of  this  opportunity  or  I  should  have  sent  a 
list  of  the  persons  licensed  to  settle  over  Susquehanah 
which  amount  to  about  130."^^  Many  of  these  did  not  use 
their  licenses,  at  least  for  some  years,  either  because  they 
could  not  find  such  tracts  as  they  deemed  desirable  or  else 
because  the  growing  hostilities  of  the  Marylanders  de- 
terred them.  Hence  Thomas  Penn  found  it  necessary  to 
confirm  licenses  to  only  fifty-two  persons  and  about  12,000 
acres  was  sufficient  to  satisfy  all  their  claims. 

The  above  list  of  persons  against  whom  Munday  and 
Higginbotham  aimed  their  plot,  cannot,  therefore,  be  re- 
garded as  an  exhaustive  list  of  the  Germans  living  in  that 
region.  It  can  be  supplemented  from  another  source. 
For  many  of  the  settlers  west  of  the  river,  both  such  as 
had  secured  Blunston  licenses  and  such  as  had  not,  were 
for  a  time  induced  by  the  dire  threats  and  the  alluring 
promises  of  the  Maryland  agents  to  accept  Maryland  war- 
rants and  surveys  and  to  acknowledge  Maryland  authority. 
They  soon  found  however  that  they  had  been  deceived, 
that  the  Maryland  authorities  discriminated  against  them 
because  they  were  Germans,  and  that  their  possessions 
were  uncertain  under  the  Maryland  proprietary.  So  they 
made  haste  to  repudiate  their  allegiance  to  Maryland  and 
to  acknowledge  again  the  jurisdiction  of  Pennsylvania  in 
those  parts.  This  action  the  government  of  Maryland 
regarded  as  "the  revolt  of  the  Germans"  and  it  led  to 
serious  disturbances  in  their  neighborhood  including  an 
invasion  of  a  body  of  300  armed  men  from  Maryland 
and  the  Chester  County  plot  to  force  the  Germans  out  of 
their  possessions.  Their  lands  were  surveyed  to  other 
persons.  Their  property  was  stolen,  demolished,  or 
burned.     Their  doors  were  broken  down  with  axes  in  the 

29  Appendix  A. 


The  First  Settlement.  63 

dead  of  winter.  Their  growing  crops  were  destroyed. 
Their  sons  and  fathers  were  captured  and  imprisoned. 
They  were  subjected  to  all  sorts  of  indignities  and  in  some 
cases  were  glad  to  escape  with  their  lives  to  the  east  side 
of  the  river. 

Under  date  of  August  13,  1736,  a  petition  of  the  Ger- 
mans was  delivered  to  the  provincial  council  at  Philadel- 
phia asking  that  their  error  in  accepting  warrants  from 
the  government  of  Maryland  be  imputed  to  want  of  bet- 
ter information,  and  praying  to  be  received  again  under 
the  protection  of  the  government  of  Pennsylvania.     The 
council  unanimously  declared  in  favor  of  receiving  the 
Germans  again  and  of  encouraging  them  in  their  fidelity. 
The  correspondence  concerning  this  return  of  the  Ger- 
mans to  their  allegiance  to  Pennsylvania  helps  us  to  fur- 
ther fix  the  names  and  total  number  of  German  settlers 
within  the  bounds  of  York  County  up  to  the  end  of  1736. 
For  on  August  11,  1736,  just  two  days  before  the  Ger- 
mans petitioned  the  council  at  Philadelphia  for  reinstate- 
ment as  citizens  of  Pennsylvania,  they  wrote  a  somewhat 
similar  letter  to  the  governor  of  Maryland  apprising  him 
of  their  intention  to  acknowledge  the  jurisdiction  of  Penn- 
sylvania.    This  letter  was  suggested  by  Samuel  Blunston 
but  was  not  drawn  up  or  signed  in  his  presence.     After- 
wards in  reporting  in  person  to  the  council  in  Philadelphia 
Blunston  said  that  he  had  learned  since  coming  to  Phila- 
delphia that  the  letter  "  was  signed  by  about  sixty  hands."^^^ 
The  lieutenant  governor  of  Maryland  in  writing  about 
this  letter  shortly  thereafter  said  it  was  "  subscribed  with 
the  names  of  fifty  or  sixty  persons."     This  document  was 
published  in  the  Maryland  Archives.^i     Only  22  of  these 

30  Col.  Rec,  IV:  57L 

31  Md.  Archives,  Vol.  28:  100  f.    Vide  also  Col.  Rec.  Pa.,  IV:  61  f. 


64  German  Element  in  York  County,  Pa. 

names  of  signers  are  preserved  in  the  Archives.^^  But  in 
the  unpublished  Calvert  Papers^^  we  have  a  copy  of  the 
original  document  and  this  includes  also  a  copy  of  the 
signatures.  The  signatures  in  this  copy  number  fifty-six 
and  they  are  identical  with  the  names  of  fifty-six  persons 
whose  arrest  was  ordered  by  the  Maryland  authorities  by 
proclamation  on  October  21,  1736,  "for  contriving  sign- 
ing and  publishing  a  seditious  paper  and  writing  against 
his  Lordship  and  this  government."^*  These  fifty-six 
names  therefore  undoubtedly  constitute  the  full  list  of  the 
signers  of  the  letter  of  August  11,  1736.  This  list  in- 
cludes nearly  all  of  the  names  mentioned  in  the  document 
pertaining  to  the  Chester  County  Plot  (which  took  place 
in  the  Fall  of  that  same  year)  and  in  addition  includes 
such  German  names  as 

George  Scobell  Godfrey  Fry 

Hance  Stanner  Henry  Young 

Tobias  Bright  Eurick  Myer 

Tobias  Henricks  Caspar  Varglass 

Leonard  Immel  '  Nicholas  Peery 

Balchar  Sangar  and 

Peter  Gartner  Martin  Sluys. 
Michael  Reisher 

A  few  more  names  and  locations  of  German  settlers 
may  be  gathered  from  the  depositions  concerning  the  ar- 
rest of  John  Lochman,  a  German  living  west  of  the  river. 
From  the  account  of  Lochman  himself  and  from  that  of 
John  Powell,  undersheriff  of  Lancaster  County,  it  appears 

32  The  original  document  went  to  England  when  the  whole  matter  of  the 
boundary  dispute  was  to  be  reviewed  in  London,  and  there  it  was  lost. 

33  No.  717.     For  the  list  of  signatures  vide  Appendix  B. 

3*  The  proclamation  also  includes  in  a  separate  list  the  names  of  four 
Lancaster  County  officials.    These  are  English. 


The  First  Settlement.  65 

that  on  December  24,  1735,  Robert  Buchanan,  sheriff  of 
Lancaster  County,  and  three  others  had  arrested  Lochman 
on  a  writ  of  debt  at  his  house  about  seven  miles  west  of 
John  Hendricks's  plantation  and  two  miles  south  of  the 
Little  Codorus,  within  100  yards  of  the  main  road  through 
the  valley,  and  had  taken  him  eastward  past  the  home  of 
his  countryman  Peter  Gartner,  "  a  Dutch  Smith,"  when, 
about  four  miles  west  of  Hendricks's,  they  were  suddenly 
set  upon  by  a  number  of  Lochman's  countrymen  living  in 
those  parts.  Lochman  was  rescued  and  the  Lancaster 
County  officers  were  sorely  abused.  Lochman  asserts  that 
there  were  "  5  Dutchmen "  in  the  attacking  party  and 
gives  their  names:  Barnett  Wyemour,  Michl  Risenar, 
Feltie  Craw,  Francis  Clapsaddle,  and  Leonard  Freerour. 
Powell  asserts  that  there  were  about  twenty  or  thirty  in 
the  crowd  but  names  only  six :  Bernard  Weyman,  Michael 
Rysner,  Christian  Croll,  Francis  Clapsaddle,  Nicholas 
Kuhns,  and  Martin  Schultz.  He  says  that  these  six 
together  with  Mark  Evans  "  all  live  on  the  West  side  of 
Susquehannah  River,  not  above  one  Mile  to  the  South- 
ward of  the  house  of  John  Kendricks."  This  incident 
therefore  gives  us  the  location  of  Croll,  Reisher,  Cone 
and  Schultz,  and  adds  the  names  of  Welmer,  Clapsaddle, 
Feerour,  Lochman,  and  Craw  (or  Kroh)^^  to  the  above 
lists  of  names. ^^ 

The   Maryland  authorities   estimated  the  number  of 


'5  Croll's  name  was  often  spelled  Crawl,  especially  by  the  Marylanders. 
But  that  this  is  not  the  same  person  as  the  Feltie  Craw  is  evident  not  only 
from  the  difference  in  surnames  but  also  from  the  Minutes  of  the  Lancaster 
County  Court  for  September  24,  i73'6i,  where  it  appears  that  both  Ffelty 
Crow  and  Christian  Croll  were  tried  for  disturbing  the  peace  of  Lancaster 
County  and  assaulting  Sheriff  Buchanan. 

36  Proceedings  of  the  Council  of  Maryland  for  17135,  P-  83.  Col.  Rec, 
Pa.  Ill:  612  f. 


66  German  Element  in   York  County,  Pa. 

Germans  in  that  region  at  fifty  or  sixty  families.  For  in 
a  communication  of  Friday,  February  i8,  1737  (i.  e.,  the 
spring  following  the  "revolt  of  the  Germans"),  from 
the  Governor  and  Council  of  Maryland  to  the  King  they 
say  "...  accordingly  not  less  than  50  or  60  families  of 
that  nation  immediately  took  possession  of  those  lands  and 
paid  their  proportion  of  the  taxes  and  demeaned  them- 
selves in  every  other  respect  as  peaceable  subjects  of  your 
Majesty  and  unquestionable  inhabitants   and  tenants  of 

.     this  Province  until  very  lately."^"^ 

^  Now  the  petition  of  August  13,  1736,  in  which  the 
Germans  pray  the  Council  of  Pennsylvania  for  reinstate- 
ment as  subjects  of  that  province,  was  signed  by  forty- 
eight  Germans  and  was  entitled  "The  Petition  of  Most 
of  the  Inhabitants  on  the  West  Side  of  the  Susquehanah 
River  opposite  to  Hempfield  in  the  County  of  Lancaster." 
The  list  of  subscribers  to  this  petition^^  must  have  been 
very  much  the  same  as  the  list  of  signers  to  the  letter  of 
two  days  previous,  and  as  this  number  forty-eight  embraces 
"most  of  the  inhabitants  west  of  the  River"  this  document 
serves  to  corroborate  the  conclusion  drawn  from  the  Mary- 
land letter  and  we  have  a  fairly  accurate  idea  of  the  num- 
ber and  the  names  of  the  Germans  in  this  part  of  our 
county  at  the  close  of  1736.^^ 

37  Proceedings  of  the  Council  of  Maryland  for  1737. 

38  The  list  of  signers  was  not  preserved.  The  petition  itself  and  the 
statement  concerning  the  number  of  signers  is  given  in  the  Colonial  Records, 
IV:  64  f.,  and  in  Pennsylvania  Archives,  Second  Series,  Vol.  VII:  2oa. 

39  The  difficulties  grew  worse  during  the  winter  of  173 6-1737.  This  was 
the  height  of  "  Cressap's  War,"  The  "  revolt  of  the  Germans  "  was  made 
the  pretext  for  many  cruelties  that  were  perpetrated  upon  them.  Some  of 
the  Germans  who  had  assisted  in  rescuing  John  Lochman  from  the  Lan- 
caster County  officials  had  been  taken  and  lodged  in  the  Lancaster  County 
jail.  John  Hendricks  was  also  imprisoned  there  for  a  time  because  he  had 
harbored  the  Marylanders  on  his  plantation  which  they  used  as  a  base  of 


The  First  Settlement.  G'j 

The  improvements  of  these  Germans  lay  in  the  fertile 
limestone  valley  of  the  Kreutz  Creek  stretching  southwest- 
ward  from  John  Hendricks's  plantation,  where  Wrights- 
ville  now  stands,  to  the  place  where  the  Kreutz  Creek 
Valley  merges  into  the  Codorus  Creek  Valley,  where  the 
city  of  York  now  stands.  This  is  the  exact  region  that 
was  included  in  the  Springettsbury  Manor  when  it  was 
resurveyed  in  1768  under  Governor  Hamilton's  warrant 

operations  against  the  Kreutz  Creek  Settlement.  On  the  other  hand,  four 
Germans  (Michael  Tanner,  Conrad  Strickler,  Henry  Bacon,  and  Jacob 
Welshover)  as  they  were  in  the  act  of  burying  a  child,  had  been  seized  by 
the  Marylanders  and  carried  ofiE  to  Annapolis.  After  a  strenuous  resist- 
ance, Cressap  had  been  captured  and  was  imprisoned  in  Philadelphia. 
But  Higginbotham  had  succeeded  to  the  leadership  among  the  Marylanders 
at  Cabin  Branch,  whom  Samuel  Blunston  called  "  that  nest  of  Vilains  at 
Conejohala."  Several  lives  had  been  lost  in  the  conflicts.  The  Germans 
were  being  subjected  to  great  inconveniences  and  serious  dangers.  Eighteen 
of  their  number  had  been  seized  and  lodged  in  the  Maryland  jail  (Mary- 
land Archives  for  ifn.  May  23).  The  others  became  terrified  when  their 
leaders  had  been  captured  and  near  the  end  of  December,  1736,  very  many 
of  them  deserted  their  habitations  and  sought  safety  east  of  the  river. 
Early  in  January,  1737,  Blunston  wrote  in  a  letter  to  the  Council  at  Phila- 
delphia: "They  have  left  their  homes  and  are  come  over  the  River  so  that 
there  are  none  left  on  that  side  but  women  and  children.  .  .  .  Before  this 
happened  if  the  sheriff  had  gone  over  he  might  have  had  30  or  40  Dutch 
to  assist  him,  but  now  he  has  none  but  what  he  takes  with  him  if  he  can 
go  over."  Archives,  I:  317  (for  the  date  of  the  letter  vide  Col.  Rec,  IV: 
II49').  This  evidently  refers  to  the  number  of  those  who  lived  nearest  to 
the  river  and  who  could  have  been  counted  on  to  assist  against  the  Mary- 
landers. Measures  were  taken  to  protect  them  and  in  a  few  days  they 
all  returned  again  to  their  homes  and  families.  On  May  23,  1737,  Joseph 
Perry  and  Charles  Higginbotham  reported  to  the  Maryland  Council  that 
they  have  "  apprehended  several  Dutchmen  and  others  set  forth  in  procla- 
mation as  disturbers  of  the  peace."  The  twenty-two  names  which  they 
recite  as  partial  list  of  those  captured  include  the  names  of  Tanner, 
Strickler,  Bacon,  Welshover,  Liphart,  and  others  prominent  in  the  history 
of  the  Kreutz  Creek  Settlement  (vide  Md.  Archives  for  1737).  But  by 
this  time  the  negotiations  between  the  two  provinces  had  advanced  so  far 
in  the  direction  of  peace  that  the  captives  were  not  long  detained  in 
Annapolis. 


68  German  Element  in   York  County,  Pa. 

of  1762.  It  has  been  asserted  that  the  original  survey  of 
the  Springettsbury  Manor  was  purposely  suppressed  at  the 
time  of  the  resurvey  because  the  provincial  authorities 
wanted  to  exchange  bad  land  for  good.*^  However  that 
may  be,  it  is  certain  that  the  resurvey,  differing  widely 
from  the  original,  was  made  to  embrace  part  of  the  most 
fertile  area  in  the  county.  It  comprehended  a  tract  six 
miles  wide  extending  from  Wright's  Ferry  along  the  entire 
length  of  the  Kreutz  Creek  Valley  to  the  plantation  of 
Christian  Eyster  one  and  a  quarter  miles  west  of  the  town 
of  York.  The  resurvey  thus  included  nearly  all  of  the 
plantations  of  the  Germans,  if  not  all,  and  it  thus  bears 
eloquent  witness  to  the  superior  skill  of  the  Germans  in 
the  selection  of  good  soil  for  their  locations. 

40  Dallas  Reports,  IV:  3719.  "It  is  further  argued,  that  the  recital  of  the 
loss  of  the  survey  of  1722^  is  a  mere  pretence,  a  fraud,  to  enable  the  pro- 
prietaries to  exchange  bad  land  for  good." 


CHAPTER  IV. 

Other  Early  Settlements. 

ANOTHER  German  settlement,  among  the 
earliest  of  all  settlements  within  the  present 
limits  of  the  county,  was  that  made  where  the 
city  of  Hanover  is  now  situated.  In  the  time 
of  its  beginnings  it  followed  very  closely  upon 
the  commencement  of  the  Kreutz  Creek  Settlement,  but  In 
its  earlier  years  it  did  not  grow  nearly  so  rapidly  as  its 
sister  settlement  In  the  eastern  part  of  the  county.  The 
history  of  this  settlement  furnishes  striking  instances  of 
the  hardships  which  the  German  pioneers  In  our  county 
were  obliged  to  undergo. 

This  second  German  settlement  was  made  under  a  Mary- 
land grant  and  was  therefore  the  occasion  of  no  little  strife 
between  the  agents  of  Maryland  and  those  of  Pennsyl- 
vania. .  The  original  settlement  was  known  as  "  Digges' 
Choice,"  from  the  owner  of  the  tract  upon  which  the  set- 
tlement grew  up.^  John  Digges  was  a  petty  Irish  noble- 
man of  Prince  George  County,  Maryland.  On  October 
14,   1727,  he  obtained  from  Lord  Baltimore  a  warrant 

^  In  Maryland  a  custom  obtained  of  naming  the  tracts  for  which  warrants 
were  granted.  For  a  few  instances  of  this  vide  supra,  p.  40  f.  These  names 
usually  expressed  either  some  quality  or  circumstance  of  the  tract  or  some 
fancy  of  the  warrantee  or  some  aspect  of  public  opinion  concerning  the 
venture. 

69 


JQ  German  Element  in  York  County,  Pa. 

for  10,000  acres  of  land.  The  warrant  empowered  him 
to  locate  the  grant  "  on  whatsoever  unimproved  lands  he 
pleased  within  the  jurisdiction  of  his  lordship."  No  sur- 
vey was  made  for  four  and  a  half  years  but  the  warrant 
was  kept  in  force  by  repeated  renewals.  Meanwhile 
under  the  direction  of  the  noted  Indian  chief,  Tom,  Digges 
had  selected  for  his  grant  a  promising  tract  of  land  em- 
bracing the  whole  of  Penn  Township,  in  which  Hanover 
is  now  situated,  and  most  of  Heidelberg  Township  but  ex- 
tending also  into  what  is  now  Adams  County  and  includ- 
ing parts  of  Conewago,  Germany  and  Union  Townships. 
The  survey  was  made  in  April,  1732,  and  embraced  6,822 
acres,  although  the  patent  was  not  issued  until  October  11, 
1735.  The  full  title  of  the  tract  in  the  return  of  the 
survey  was  "  Digges  Choice  in  the  Back  Woods."  Un- 
fortunately for  those  who  afterwards  settled  in  those  parts, 
this  tract  had  270  courses  and  these  were  not  marked  ex- 
cept on  paper,  only  the  beginning  boundaries  being  marked 
on  the  tract  itself.^ 

Digges's  Choice  soon  began  to  be  settled,  and  that  too  by 

2  Only  about  120  of  these  courses  were  indicated  on  the  return  of  the 
survey  made  by  the  surveyor,  Edward  Stevenson.  About  150  of  the  courses 
run  on  the  land  were  left  out  of  the  draft  in  order  to  produce  a  more 
regular  figure.  It  was  this  action  on  the  part  of  the  surveyor  that  led  to 
much  of  the  confusion  among  the  settlers  afterwards.  This  confusion 
would  have  been  impossible  under  the  Pennsylvania  system  of  making 
surveys.  For  under  that  system  trees  were  marked  on  the  ground  and 
where  there  were  no  natural  boundaries  artificial  marks  were  set  up  to 
distinguish  the  survey.  Stevenson's  field  notes  of  the  original  Digges's 
survey  contained  270  courses  and  embraced  the  full  grant  of  10,000  acres. 
But  the  return  of  the  survey  did  not  follow  these  field  notes  and  there  was 
nothing  on  the  tract  itself  to  indicate  the  courses.  These  facts  were  brought 
out  in  the  judicial  determination  of  the  matter  in  the  case  of  Thomas  Lilly's 
lessee  vs.  George  Kitzmiller,  tried  before  Justices  Shippen  and  Yeates  at 
York  in  May,  1791.  Vide  Yeates,  "  Reports  of  Cases  in  the  Supreme  Court 
of  Pennsylvania,"  I:  281-33. 


Other  Early  Settlements.  71 

Germans.  Of  the  many  squatters  who  had  begun  to  cross 
the  Susquehanna  about  1730  and  locate  here  and  there  on 
the  lands  of  the  peaceful  Indians,  some  were  attracted  to 
the  DIgges  estate.  The  Pennsylvania  authorities  could 
grant  no  kind  of  license  before  1733  and  then  only  pro- 
visional licenses,  whereas  on  the  Digges  lands,  held  under 
a  Maryland  grant,  full  and  permanent  licenses  could  be 
obtained  at  once.  For  the  charter  of  the  Maryland  pro- 
prietor, as  we  have  seen,  permitted  him  to  authorize  settle- 
ments in  western  Maryland  irrespective  of  the  Pennsyl- 
vania purchase  of  the  Indian  title.  This  fact  undoubtedly 
operated  as  a  special  inducement  to  attract  settlers  to  Dig- 
ges's  Choice.  Then,  too,  Digges  took  active  measures  to 
sell  his  lands  and  to  start  a  settlement  on  his  tract.  Both 
in  person  and  through  his  agents  he  crossed  to  the  east  side 
of  the  Susquehanna  River  where  he  advertised  his  acres 
among  the  citizens  of  Pennsylvania  and  sought  to  make 
sales  of  plantations  under  his  Maryland  patent  west  of  the 
river.  This  he  did  even  before  the  survey  of  his  "  Choice  " 
was  made,  and  this  entire  agitation  among  Pennsylvanians 
was  deeply  resented  by  the  Pennsylvania  authorities.  Thus 
a  letter  from  John  Wright  to  James  Logan,  April  10, 
1731,^  tells  that  the  writer  had  "learned  that  Thomas 
Digges  had  come  over  the  River  and  gone  amongst  the 
Duch  to  sell  lands, "^  that  Digges  had  taken  up  20,000 
acres  of  which  "  8000  lye  between  Conewago  and  Codorus 
Creeks,"  and  that  Wright  had  "openly  resisted"  Digges 
in  his  effort  to  induce  Pennsylvanians  to  remove  to  Mary- 

3  Among  the  "  Official  Penn  Manuscripts "  in  the  Historical  Society  of 
Pennsylvania  at  Philadelphia. 

*  Wright  was  in  error  as  to  the  surname,  and  indeed,  the  entire  letter 
shows  that  Wright's  information  on  the  subject  was  inaccurate,  though 
there  can  be  no  doubt  about  the  main  fact  of  Digges's  propaganda  west  of 
the  river  before  April  lo,  1731. 


72  German  Element  in  York  County,  Pa. 

land.    Nevertheless  Digges's  efforts  west  of  the  river  were 
not  without  avail. 

The  earliest  purchase  of  lands  on  Digges's  Choice  and 
within  the  present  limits  of  York  County^ — the  earliest  of 
which  we  have  any  record — was  made  by  Adam  Forney 
on  October  5,  173 1.  As  Digges  could  not  at  that  time 
give  absolute  title  to  the  land,  no  survey  having  been  made 
and  no  patent  having  been  issued,  he  gave  Forney  his  bond 
for  60  pounds  to  deliver  the  title  at  some  future  time.® 
Forney's  purchase  was  for  150  acres.  It  covered  what 
is  today  the  heart  of  the  city  of  Hanover.  This  was  near 
the  "  Conewago  Settlement "  which  was  also  on  Digges's 
Choice,  but  in  what  is  now  Adams  County,  and  which  had 

5  Other  purchases  had  been  made  from  Digges's  tract  about  a  year  before 
this,  but  they  fall  within  the  present  County  of  Adams  and  they  were  not 
made  by  Germans. 

^  This  bond  is  typical  of  a  number  that  Digges  issued  to  the  earliest 
Germans  who  bought  lands  and  made  settlement  upon  this  tract:  "Know 
all  men  by  these  presents,  that  I,  John  Digges,  of  Prince  George's  County, 
in  the  Province  of  Maryland,  Gent,  am  held  and  firmly  bound  unto  Adam 
Faurney,  of  Philadelphia  County,  in  the  Province  of  Pennsylvania,  Farmer 
and  Taylor,  in  the  full  and  just  sum  of  Sixty  pounds  current  money  of 
Maryland,  to  which  payment  well  and  truly  to  be  made  and  done,  I  bind 
myself,  my  Heirs,  Executors  and  Administrators,  firmly  by  these  presents. 
Sealed  with  my  seal  and  dated  this  fifth  day  of  October,  Anno  Domini,  173 1. 

"  The  Condition  of  the  above  obligation  is  such  that  if  the  above  bound 
John  Digges,  his  Heirs,  Executors  or  Administrators,  shall  and  will  at  the 
reasonable  request  of  the  above  Adam  Faurney,  make  &  order  by  sufficient 
conveyance  according  to  the  custom  and  common  usage  of  the  Province  of 
Maryland,  a  certain  parcell  of  land  containing  one  hundred  and  fifty  acres 
already  marked  out  by  the  above  named  Adam  Faurney,  near  a  place 
known  by  the  name  of  Robert  Owing's  Spring,  and  on  the  same  tract  of 
land  where  the  said  Robert  Owing  now  Dwells  in  the  Province  of  Mary- 
land, then  this  obligation  to  be  void,  otherwise  to  remain  in  full  force  and 
virtue  of  Law. 

"  Sealed  and  delivered  in  the  Presence  of  us,  "  John  Digges." 

George  Douglass, 
JoHANN  Peter  Zarich." 


Other  Early  Settlements.  73 

been  begun  in  1730  by  Robert  Owlngs  and  other  Catholics 
from  MarylandJ 

Adam  Forney  came  to  York  County  from  Philadelphia 
County.  He  was  originally  a  tailor  in  Wachenheim-in- 
the-Haardt  in  the  Palatinate,  whither  his  ancestors  had 
probably  come  as  Hugenot  refugees  from  religious  perse- 
cution in  France.  With  his  wife,  Elizabeth  Lowisa,  and 
four  children  he  arrived  at  the  port  of  Philadelphia  on 
October  16,  1721.^  For  a  decade  he  remained  in  Phila- 
delphia County.  By  the  city  magistrates  in  Germany  he 
was  styled  "citizen  and  tailor."^     In  Digges's  bond  he  is 

''Vide  John  T.  Reily's  "  Conewago:  a  Collection  of  Local  Catholic  His- 
tory," pp.  39  flF. 

8  The  ancestral  family  Bible  of  the  Forneys  at  Hanover  records  this  fact. 
Forney's  name  in  Germany  was  Johann  Adam  Faurney,  but,  like  a  great 
many  other  Germans  with  Johann  or  Hans  as  an  initial  surname,  Forney 
dropped  the  Johann  shortly  after  coming  to  this  country. 

^  The  certificate  of  dismissal  which  he  received  upon  his  departure  from 
Wachenheim  is  still  In  the  possession  of  his  descendants  in  Hanover.  It 
furnishes  evidence  of  his  favorable  standing  among  his  fellow-citizens  in 
Germany.  The  English  translation  published  in  "  The  Forney  Family, 
1690-1893  "  (pages  z  and  3)  is  as  follows: 

"  We,  magistrates,  burgomasters  and  council  of  the  city  of  Wachenheim- 
in-the-Haardt,  certify  herewith  that  before  us  came  the  worthy  Johann 
Adam  Forney,  citizen  and  tailor  here,  the  legitimate  son  of  the  worthy 
Christian  Forney,  also  a  citizen  here,  and  informed  us  that  he,  with  his 
wedded  wife,  Elisabetha  Lowisa,  have  firmly  resolved  to  set  out  with  their 
four  children  and  effects,  on  the  journey  to  the  island  of  Pennsylvania  and 
to  settle  there ;  but  he  stands  in  need  of  an  attested  certificate  of  how  he 
behaved  with  us  and  why  he  departed,  such  as  he  can  show  at  the  place  of 
his  settlement.  Which  we  gave  him  according  to  his  reasonable  desire  and 
truthfully;  moreover  because  we  believe  it  would  really  be  required  in 
order  that  no  one  may  calumniate  our  citizen  or  citizen's  children ;  although 
we  have  indeed  sought  dilgently  and  earnestly  to  dissuade  him  from  such 
departure,  yet  he  remains  of  his  first  intention ;  therefore  after  steadfast 
perseverance  we  have  given  the  said  Johann  Adam  Forney  this  certificate: 
That  as  long  as  we  have  known  him  he  has  behaved  himself  honorably, 
piously  and  honestly,  as  well  becomes  a  citizen  and  artisan,  and  moreover. 


74  German  Element  in   York  County,  Pa. 

described  as  "  farmer  and  tailor."  In  York  County  he 
became  farmer  and  inn-keeper.^^  Forney  made  his  pur- 
chase in  173 1  but  whether  he  settled  at  once  upon  the  tract 
he  bought  cannot  be  ascertained  as  there  Is  no  record  of 
his  settlement.  But  when  in  1734  Andrew  Schreiber  set- 
tled on  the  Conewago  his  nearest  neighbors,  he  tells  us, 
were  the  family  of  Adam  Forney,  four  miles  distant.^^ 
And  as  Forney  marked  off  his  purchase  in  person  In  the 
fall  of  1731,^2  it  is  highly  probable  that  he  settled  there 
Immediately  or  very  shortly  after  that.  The  new  settle- 
ment may  be  said  therefore  to  have  actually  begun  a  little 
more  than  three  years  after  John  Hendricks  took  up  his 
abode  on  the  west  bank  of  the  Susquehanna  and  almost 
simultaneously  with  the  first  influx  of  German  immigrants 
Into  the  Kreutz  Creek  Valley. 

Another  prominent  individual  among  the  first  settlers  in 
this  new  settlement  was  Andrew  Schreiber,  lineal  ancestor 
of  Admiral  WInfield  Scott  Schley.  Andrew  Schreiber  was 
born  at  Alstenborn  In  the  Palatinate  in  17 12.  His  parents, 
Andrew  and  Ann  Margaretha,  together  with  their  chil- 

showed  himself  so  neighborly  that  no  one  has  had  any  complaint  to  make  of 
him;  he  also  is  bound  to  no  compulsory  service  or  serfdom;  he  will  not  be 
unwilling  to  give,  to  show  with  all  readiness  to  those  of  his  intended 
residence  all  affection  and  kindness.  To  this  true  certificate  we,  the 
authorities,  have  affixed  our  city  council's  great  seal  to  this  statement  which 
is  given  at  Wachenheim-ih-the-Haardt,  the  7th  of  May,  17121'." 

10  The  Moravians,  Leonard  Schnell  and  Robert  Hussey  in  the  diary  of 
their  missionary  journey  from  Bethlehem,  Pa.,  to  their  brethren  in  Georgia, 
November  6,  174.3  to  April  10,  1744^,  remark  that  after  leaving  York  on 
November  15,  "Towards  evening  we  came  to  the  district  which  is  called 
after  the  river  "  Canawage."  We  lodged  in  an  inn.  The  name  of  the 
inn-keeper  is  Adam  Forny.  He  complained  much  about  ministers  and  their 
useless  efforts."  Virginia  Magazine  of  History  and  Biography,  Vol.  XI, 
1903-4,  p.  371'. 

"Vide  "The  Shriver  Family,  1684-188)8,"  Samuel  S.  Shriver,  p.  14. 

12  According  to  the  text  of  Digges's  bond  quoted  above,  footnote  6.. 


Other  Early  Settlements.  75 

dren,  after  "having  borne  many  adversities,"^^  emigrated 
to  America  arriving  in  Philadelphia  late  in  the  year  1721. 
The  family  first  settled  at  Goshenhoppen,  near  the  Trappe, 
on  the  Schuylkill  River.  Here  Andrew  the  younger  mar- 
ried Ann  Maria  Keiser  in  the  spring  of  1733  and  in  June 
of  that  year  removed  to  York  County.^^  From  John 
Digges  he  bought  a  tract  of  100  acres  near  what  is  now 
Christ  Church  and  paid  for  it  with  one  hundred  pairs  of 
negro  shoes,  the  price  agreed  upon.  This  location  was 
four  miles  west  of  the  plantation  of  Adam  Forney.  Here 
Schreiber  lived  on  peaceful  terms  with  the  neighboring  In- 
dians and  subsequently  made  additional  purchases  of  land 
from  Digges.  He  hunted  deer  and  tilled  the  soil  by  day 
and  tanned  deerskins  in  the  evenings.  He  became  the  pro- 
genitor of  the  numerous  family  of  Shrivers  who  live  in 
that  community  at  present. 

When  Andrew  Schreiber  set  out  from  Goshenhoppen 
for  the  region  west  of  the  Susquehanna  in  the  summer  of 
1733  he  was  accompanied  by  his  stepbrother  David  Jung 
(Young)  who  remained  with  him  about  three  weeks,  until 
they  had  cleared  a  few  acres  and  planted  corn  on  it,  and 
then  returned  home.  But  shortly  thereafter,  probably  the 
next  year.  Young  also  bought  a  tract  from  John  Digges 
and  took  up  his  abode  not  far  from  his  stepbrother  Schrei- 
ber.^^    Other  neighbors  from  Philadelphia  County  soon 

13  These  words  occur  in  the  certificate  of  dismissal  which  Andrew 
Schreiber  received  from  John  Mueller,  the  Reformed  pastor  of  Alstenborn. 
This  certificate  is  still  in  the  hands  of  the  Shrivers  and  is  reproduced  in 
"  The  Shriver  Family,"  p.  lo. 

1*  A  statement  of  the  late  Hon.  Abraham  Schriver,  resident  judge  of  the 
Frederick  County  court,  is  authority  for  the  information  concerning  the 
original  homestead  on  the  Schuylkill  and  Andrew's  marriage  and  removal 
to  York  County.  Communicated  to  the  "  Star  and  Sentinel "  for  March 
1876'  by  John  A.  Renshaw. 

1^  The  fact  may  be  gathered  from  the  deposition  of  Robert  Owings  on 


^6  German  Element  in  York  County,  Pa. 

followed  these  two  pioneers,  among  them  Ludwig  Schrei- 
ber,  brother  of  Andrew,  Peter  Mittelkauff,  and  Michael 
Will. 

Among  the  other  early  settlers  In  this  new  community 
whose  names  have  been  preserved  were  many  whose  de- 
scendants are  still  to  be  found  In  the  thriving  town  of 
Hanover  and  its  prosperous  vicinity.  As  early  as  1731 
Nicholas  Forney  and  Peter  Zarlch  were  there.  In  1732 
or  1733  we  find  that  John  Lemmon,  Adam  Miller,  and 
Adam  Messier  have  had  surveys  made  to  them  on  DIgges's 
tract.  In  1734  Conrad  Eyler  and  his  son  Valentine  had 
settled  there,  receiving  their  warrants  in  1738.  In  1735 
Henry  Sell  and  the  following  year  Martin  Kitzmlller  had 
joined  the  settlement.  Before  1737  Peter  Jungblut 
( Youngblood) ,  Matthias  Marker,  Jacob  Banker,  William 
Oler,  Peter  Oler,  and  Peter  Welby  had  taken  out  grants. 
In  1737  at  least  two  more  additions  were  made,  Derrick 
Jungblut  and  Peter  Relsher  (Rysher).  In  1738  George 
Evanaar  received  his  warrant  and  by  1741  we  meet  with 
such  names  as  those  of  Herman  Updegraf,  the  shoemaker, 
Peter  Schultz  the  blacksmith,  Matthias  Ulrich,  and  Peter 
Ensmlnger,  and  a  few  years  later  with  Martin  Brin,  Abra- 
ham Sell,  Martin  Ungefare,  and  John  Martin  Inyfoss.^® 

July  181,  1746',  and  the  approximate  date  of  Young's  settlement  is  also  im- 
plied there.     Archives,  I:  6195'. 

1^  These  names  and  dates  are  gathered  by  inference  from  the  Pennsyl- 
vania Archives  and  the  Pennsylvania  Colonial  Records  embodying  the 
negotiations  of  the  proprietaries  concerning  the  boundaries  of  their  respect^ 
ive  provinces.  The  records  of  these  negotiations  are  to  be  found  chiefly  in 
the  Archives,  I:  680-715'  and  Colonial  Records,  V:  51821-597.  The  names 
that  occur  there  cannot  be  regarded  as  at  all  exhaustive  of  the  list  of 
inhabitants  in  the  entire  settlement.  They  are  chiefly  such  as  happened  to 
be  located  on  that  portion  of  the  entire  tract  which  was  in  dispute  between 
the  two  provinces. 

In  the  course  of  the  correspondence  between  the  two  provinces  in  1752, 


Other  Early  Settlements.  77 

But  the  lives  of  these  enterprising  and  industrious  Ger- 
mans were  no  more  peaceful  than  those  of  their  country- 
men who  had  settled  about  the  same  time  or  a  few  years 
earlier  in  the  eastern  part  of  the  county.  This  was 
through  no  fault  of  their  own.  Their  purposes  were  alto- 
gether peaceful  and  their  motives  beyond  reproach.  They 
had  not  even  been  made  the  victims  of  a  scheme  to  pre- 
empt the  soil  for  a  particular  province,  as  was  the  case 
with  most  of  the  early  settlers  in  the  Kreutz  Creek  Valley. 
They  had  ventured  out  upon  those  newlands  in  quest  of 
quiet  homes  where  they  might  worship  without  hindrance 
and  might  work  undisturbed,  sowing  their  crops  and  reap- 
ing the  fruits  of  their  own  labors.  But  they  had  the  mis- 
fortune to  settle  upon  border  land  at  a  time  when  bound- 
aries were  indefinite  and  open  to  dispute.  The  conse- 
quence was,  their  days  were  fraught  with  distraction  and 
their  lives  were  in  many  cases  made  miserable  for  years. 
The  blame  for  this  condition  of  affairs  must  rest  entirely 
with  the  authorities.  The  irregular  and  indefinite  bound- 
aries of  Digges's  reservation  caused  much  uncertainty  as  to 

President  Tasker  of  Maryland  transmitted  to  Governor  Hamilton  of  Penn- 
sylvania a  copy  of  a  warrant  to  collect  taxes  of  persons  settled  on  Digges's 
Choice  under  Maryland  rights  (Col.  Rec,  V:  592;  Archives,  II:  90  f.)- 
Governor  Hamilton  recognized  the  jurisdiction  of  Maryland  over  the 
property  of  the  persons  mentioned  in  that  warrant  and  gave  strict  orders 
to  the  officers  in  York  County  not  to  try  to  collect  from  them  (Archives,  II: 
8191  £.).  The  warrant  had  been  issued  in  January,  1750,  and  gives  the 
names  of  40  persons  who  were  settled  at  that  time  north  of  the  temporary 
line  between  the  provinces  but  under  Maryland  jurisdiction.  In  addition 
to  the  names  already  mentioned  we  have  in  this  list  such  German  names  as 

Martin  Bayers  George  Shrier  Peter  Gerson 

Christian  Stoner  Philip  Kinsfoor  Henry  Null,  Dr. 

Casper  Berkharaer  Jacob  Perts  Michael  Behlar 

Philip  Sower  Andrew  Hanier  Henry  Knouf 

John  Counts  Conrad  Eakron  John  Shreder 

Frederick  Sheets  George  Frusch  George  Coflfman 


78  German  Element  in   York  County,  Pa. 

the  validity  of  their  titles  and  led  to  frequent  disputes  be- 
tween Digges  and  the  settlers  on  his  lands.  The  conflict- 
ing claims  of  the  Penns  and  Lord  Baltimore  to  the  pro- 
prietorship in  that  region  only  served  to  aggravate  the 
difficulties  and  involved  the  inhabitants  In  greater  turmoil. 
The  land  upon  which  many  of  the  Germans  had  settled 
came  to  be  known  as  "the  disputed  land."  Unlawful 
claims  were  made  and  violent  measures  were  resorted  to  in 
enforcing  them.  Jurisdiction  in  criminal  cases  was  diffi- 
cult to  determine,  the  administration  of  justice  was  im- 
peded or  prevented,  and  lawlessness  naturally  flourished. 
For  this  reason  the  community  was  sometimes  referred  to 
as  "  Rogues'  Resort,"  but  this  cannot  be  taken  as  a  reflec- 
tion upon  the  character  of  the  earliest  settlers  and  the 
permanent  residents  In  that  district,  for  it  was  due  to  con- 
ditions brought  about  entirely  by  the  neglect  of  the  distant 
authorities  in  Philadelphia,  in  Baltimore,  and  In  London. 
A  brief  narrative  of  some  of  the  disturbances  In  this 
region  will  help  us  to  understand  something  of  the  adverse 
conditions  under  which  this  settlement  took  its  beginnings. 
Some  of  these  Germans  who  were  settled  on  and  about 
the  Conewago  Creek  on  the  lands  claimed  by  John  Digges 
soon  began  to  suspect  that  his  patent  did  not  cover  all  that 
he  claimed,  that  he  was  not  In  a  position  to  give  valid 
titles,  and  that  some  day  the  proprietary  government  of 
Pennsylvania  might  compel  them  to  pay  a  second  time  for 
the  lands  which  they  occupied.  Digges's  boundaries  were 
not  marked  and  the  Increase  of  settlers  and  the  expanding 
of  the  colony  called  for  a  clear  definition  of  rights.  The 
Germans  therefore  repeatedly  called  on  Digges  to  mark  the 
boundaries  of  his  claim.  This  he  refused  to  do,  and  as  he 
gave  conflicting  accounts  of  the  extent  of  his  patent,  they 
began  to  grow  solicitous  about  the  validity  of  their  deeds. 


Other  Early  Settlements.  79 

Their  suspicions  were  turned  to  certainty  when  in  1743 
they  sent  one  of  their  number,  Martin  Ungefare,  to  An- 
napolis and  secured  an  attested  copy  of  the  courses  of 
Digges's  tract.  Despite  Digges's  protests  and  threats  of 
violence  the  Germans  proceeded  to  have  the  courses  of  his 
tract  run  by  an  authorized  surveyor,  and  then  it  was  plain 
that  he  had  claimed  a  great  deal  more  land  than  he  had  a 
right  to  by  his  patent  and  that  he  had  sold  a  number  of 
tracts  that  lay  without  his  survey  of  6,822  acres. 

Digges  was  greatly  disturbed  by  this  revelation  and  be- 
gan at  once  to  cast  about  for  some  means  of  securing  title 
to  such  lands  as  he  needed  to  fulfill  his  contracts  with  the 
people.  To  secure  an  additional  patent  under  a  new  sur- 
vey from  Maryland  was  now  impossible.  For  a  royal 
order  of  1738^^  had  fixed  a  temporary  line   (called  the 

'^''  This  was  an  order  issued  by  the  King  on  May  25,  17381,  ratifying  an 
agreement  between  Lord  Baltimore  and  the  Penns.  In  this  Order  the  fol- 
lowing paragraphs  are  of  interest  in  this  connection: 

3rd,  "That  all  other  lands  in  contest  between  the  said  proprietors  now 
possessed  by  or  under  either  of  them  shall  remain  in  the  possession  as  they 
now  are  (although  beyond  the  temporary  limits  hereafter  mentioned)  ;  and 
also  the  jurisdiction  of  the  respective  proprietors  shall  be  finally  settled; 
and  that  the  tenants  of  either  side  shall  not  attorn  to  the  other,  nor  shall 
either  of  the  proprietors  or  their  officers  receive  or  accept  of  attornments 
form  the  tenants  of  the  other  proprietors. 

"  4th,  That,  as  to  all  vacant  lands  in  contest  between  the  proprietors,  not 
lying  within  the  three  lower  counties  and  not  now  possessed  by  or  under 
either  of  them,  on  the  east  side  of  the  River  Sasquehannah  down  so  far 
south  as  fourteen  miles  and  three  quarters  of  a  mile  south  of  the  latitude 
of  the  most  southern  part  of  the  city  of  Philadelphia,  the  temporary  juris- 
diction over  the  same  is  agreed  to  be  exercised  by  the  proprietors  of  Penn- 
sylvania, and  their  governor,  courts,  and  officers;  and  as  to  all  such  vacant 
lands  in  contest  between  the  proprietors  and  not  now  possessed  by  or  under 
either  of  them  on  both  sides  of  the  said  River  Sasquehannah  south  of  the 
southern  limits  in  this  paragraph  before  mentioned,  the  temporary  jurisdic- 
tion over  the  same  is  agreed  to  be  exercised  by  the  proprietor  of  Maryland 
and  his  governor,  courts,  and  officers,  without  prejudice  to  either  proprietor 
and  until  the  bounds  shall  be  finally  settled."     Archives,  I:  713  f. 


8o  German  Element  in  York  County,  Pa. 

Temporary  Line  of  1739)  between  the  two  provinces 
west  of  the  Susquehanna  at  fourteen  and  three  fourths 
miles  south  of  Philadelphia  but  provided  that  lands  already 
possessed  in  the  disputed  territory  should  remain  in  the 
possession  and  jurisdiction  in  which  they  then  were.  Now 
Digges's  Choice  lay  four  miles  north  of  the  temporary  line, 
and  while  under  the  provisions  of  the  royal  order  it  re- 
mained in  Digges's  possession  and  continued  under  Mary- 
land jurisdiction,  nevertheless  after  1739  the  province  of 
Maryland  could  claim  no  kind  of  authority  over  any  of  the 
lands  surrounding  Digges's  Choice  north  of  the  temporary 
line  between  the  provinces.  Accordingly  in  November, 
1 743  J  after  the  Germans  had  deliberately  surveyed  the 
boundaries  of  his  claim  and  thus  had  laid  bare  his  false 
pretensions,  Digges  applied  to  the  land  office  of  Pennsyl- 
vania for  permission  to  take  up  enough  land  to  make  his 
tract  a  regular  square.  He  was  told  that  he  might  have 
a  warrant  for  as  much  as  he  pleased,  provided  he  would 
meet  the  common  terms  of  Pennsylvania  and  would  not 
interfere  with  the  rights  of  some  Germans  who  had  regu- 
lar warrants  for  some  of  the  lands  contiguous  to  his  tract. 
These  conditions  he  refused  to  meet  and  he  left  Phila- 
delphia without  coming  to  any  agreement  with  the  secre- 
tary. 

Digges  then  resorted  to  a  new  measure.  He  turned  to 
Maryland  and  determined  to  get  a  Maryland  warrant  to 
complete  his  original  grant  of  10,000  acres.  In  July, 
1745,  a  warrant  was  issued  from  the  office  at  Annapolis 
requiring  the  surveyor  to  correct  the  errors  of  the  original 
survey  and  to  add  any  vacant  land  he  could  find  contiguous 
to  the  tract  originally  patented.  This  survey  was  made 
two  weeks  later  and  embraced  an  additional  3,679  acres. 
For  this  Digges  paid  a  new  consideration  and  a  new  rent. 


Other  Early  Settlements.  8i 

The  patent  therefore  was  In  direct  violation  of  the  royal 
order  of  1738  and  of  the  rights  of  Pennsylvania  in  that 
region.  Digges  claimed  that  he  had  merely  made  a  resur- 
vey  marking  the  true  courses  of  the  10,000  acres  that  had 
been  granted  to  him  originally.  Nevertheless,  his  new 
patent  embraced  several  German  plantations  that  had  not 
been  embraced  in  the  original  survey  and  included  a  num- 
ber of  tracts  for  which  warrants  had  been  granted  to  Ger- 
man settlers  by  the  proprietaries  of  Pennsylvania.^^  All 
of  these  lands  Digges  offered  for  sale  and  thus  we  have 
the  fruitful  cause  of  years  of  conflict  and  turmoil  in  this 
neighborhood. 

There  were  at  least  fourteen  Germans  who  had  settled 
under  Pennsylvania  warrants  outside  of  DIgges's  original 

18  An  instance  of  such  a  grant  is  to  be  found  in  the  following  document 
now  in  the  possession  of  the  York  County  Historical  Society.  It  is  a  land 
warrant  granted  to  George  Evanaar,  a  German,  and  signed  by  Thomas 
Penn,  on  October  5,  17381,  a  year  before  the  temporary  line  was  run  be- 
tween Pennsylvania  and  Maryland. 

"  Whereas  George  Evanaar,  of  the  County  of  Lancaster,  hath  requested 
that  we  would  grant  him  to  take  up  one  hundred  acres  of  land  situated  at 
Conewago,  adjoining  Adam  Forney  and  Nicholas  Forney,  in  the  said  County 
of  Lancaster,  for  which  he  agrees  to  pay  to  our  use  the  sum  of  fifteen  pounds, 
ten  shillings  current  money  of  this  province  for  the  said  one  hundred  acres, 
and  the  yearly  quit-rent  of  one  half  penny  sterling  for  every  acre  thereof. 
This  is  therefore  to  authorize  and  require  you  to  survey  or  cause  to  be 
surveyed  to  the  said  George  Evanaar  at  the  place  aforesaid,  according  to 
the  methods  of  townships  appointed,  the  said  quantity  of  one  hundred  acres, 
if  not  already  surveyed  or  appropriated,  and  make  return  thereof  into  the 
secretary's  office,  in  order  for  further  confirmation;  for  which  this  shall  be 
your  sufficient  warrant;  which  survey  in  case  the  said  George  Evanaar 
fulfill  the  above  agreement  within  six  months  from  the  date  hereof  shall  be 
valid  otherwise  void.  Given  under  my  hand  and  seal  of  the  land  office, 
by  virtue  of  certain  powers  from  the  said  proprietaries,  at  Philadelphia, 
this  fifth  day  of  October,  Anno  Domini,  One  Thousand  Seven  Hundred 
and  Thirty-Eight. 

"To  Benjamin  Eastburn,   Surveyor-General.  Thomas  Penn." 

6 


82  German  Element  in   York  County,  Pa. 

survey  of  1732  but  within  his  resurvey  of  1745.  In  April, 
1746,  these  Germans  sent  a  delegation  to  Philadelphia 
with  a  petition  to  the  Pennsylvania  authorities  asking  for 
protection  in  their  rights  as  against  Digges's  aggressions.^^ 
Thomas  Cookson,  surveyor  of  Lancaster  County,  was  sent 
to  the  Conewago  to  warn  Digges  and  the  people  against 
violations  of  the  royal  order.^^  But  to  no  avail.  Digges 
insisted  that  his  resurvey  and  new  warrant  were  merely 
confirmatory  of  the  originals  and  therefore  no  violations 
of  the  royal  order.  The  governors  of  the  two  provinces 
began  a  correspondence  about  the  matter  but  without  defi- 
nite results  for  many  years.  Meanwhile  the  settlers  in 
the  disputed  land  were  kept  in  constant  uneasiness,  a  num- 
ber of  arrests  were  made  and  violent  conflicts  took  place, 
thus  greatly  retarding  the  growth  of  the  settlement. 

Very  shortly  after  Cookson's  visit  to  Digges's  Choice  in 
April,  1746,  Thomas  Norris,  deputy  sheriff  of  Baltimore 
County,  at  the  suit  of  John  Digges  arrested  Matthias 
Ulrich  and  Nicholas  Forney  (son  of  Adam  Forney),  two 
of  the  German  settlers  on  the  disputed  land.  This  was 
done  because  these  men  failed  to  give  Digges  their  bonds 
for  the  lands  which  they  held.  The  sheriff  took  his  pris- 
oners as  far  as  Adam  Forney's  house.  Here  Adam  Forney 
remonstrated  with  the  sheriff,  insisting  that  the  prisoners 
were  settled  under-  proper  Pennsylvania  warrants  and  of- 
fering to  go  bail  for  them.  This  was  refused,  whereupon 
Forney  boldly  told  the  two  men  to  return  to  their  homes. 
The  sheriff  drew  his  sword  and  Forney's  party  drew  theirs, 
but  without  coming  to  blows  the  sheriff  and  his  assistants, 
Dudley  Digges  and  John  Roberts,  mounted  their  horses 
and  fled  towards  Maryland.     Then  Forney  wrote  an  ac- 

19  Archives,  II:  28). 

20  Archives,  I:  681-683. 


Other  Early  Settlements.  83 

count  of  the  affair  to  Cookson,  pleading  for  his  interven- 
tion and  assistance  and  concluding:  "For  if  this  matter  is 
not  rectified,  &  we  do  not  get  help  speedily,  we  must  help 
ourselves,  &  should  it  be  with  our  last  Drop  of  Blood,  for 
I  am  well  assured  that  we  will  not  be  put  upon  by  no 
Digges  that  ever  lived  under  the  sun.  .  .  .  Digges  also 
troubled  many  more,  in  short  all  them  that  lives  in  his  re- 
survey'd  Additional  Line,  &  was  a  going  to  have  them  ar- 
rested, but  some  sent  them  a  packing  in  the  Striving.  .  .  ."^^ 
The  troubles  grew  worse  and  Digges  discovered  that 
the  Germans  were  as  stubborn  in  maintaining  their  rights 
as  he  was  determined  to  force  them  into  submission.  On 
January  26,  1747,  John  Wilmot,  an  under-sheriff  of 
Maryland,  and  six  others,  all  armed  with  heavy  clubs, 
arrested  Adam  Forney  at  his  home  and  carried  him  off  to 
the  Baltimore  jail  on  the  charge  of  resisting  the  officers  of 
the  law.  Forney  was  subjected  to  very  rough  treatment 
and  in  the  struggle  that  attended  the  arrest  his  wife, 
Louise,  and  his  daughter,  Eve,  were  badly  beaten  with 
clubs.  In  Baltimore  Forney  entered  bail  for  his  appear- 
ance at  court.  The  provincial  authorities  of  Pennsyl- 
vania at  once  took  measures  to  defend  Forney  on  the 
ground  that  the  arrest  was  made  within  the  jurisdiction  of 
Pennsylvania.  A  Maryland  lawyer  was  retained  to  de- 
fend Forney  at  the  trial.  But  a  little  investigation  re- 
vealed the  fact  that  the  house  where  Forney  had  been  ar- 
rested was  actually  within  the  limits  of  Digges's  original 
tract.  The  case  thus  ceased  to  interest  the  Pennsylvania 
authorities  and  Forney  was  left  to  his  own  defense.  How 
the  case  was  settled  is  nowhere  recorded  but  there  was 
probably  nothing  more  than  the  imposition  of  a  fine,  for 
we  soon  find  Forney  at  his  home  again. ^^ 

21  Archives,  I:  685  f.  and  694  f. 

22  Archives,  I:  724-733. 


84  German  Element  in   York  County,  Pa. 

During  the  week  following  Forney's  arrest  a  formal 
complaint  was  drawn  up  by  the  German  settlers  on  the 
"Disputed  Land"  and  sent  to  Thomas  Cookson,  setting 
forth  the  facts  of  Forney's  arrest  and  brutal  treatment  and 
asking  Cookson  to  intercede  with  the  governor  "  that  sum 
Releef  may  be  spedely,  for  it  is  vary  hard  for  us  to  live 
af  ter  this  manner,  to  be  toren  to  pesis."  This  was  signed 
by  Martin  Kitzmiller,  Martin  Brin,  Abraham  Sellen 
(Sell),  Hanry  Sellen,  "and  numerous  others. "^^ 

In  1749  a  petition  was  presented  to  Governor  Hamilton 
signed  by  Hendrick  Seller  (Henry  Sell)  and  thirteen 
others,  stating  that  they  were  all  settled  on  the  tract  in- 
cluded by  Digges  in  his  resurvey  of  1745,  that  they  all 
held  Pennsylvania  warrants  for  their  land,  that  Digges  was 
threatening  to  sue  them  unless  they  would  pay  him  100 
pounds  Maryland  currency,  and  that  they  were  in  con- 
stant danger  of  being  forced  from  their  plantations,  car- 
ried to  Maryland  and  there  confined.  The  petitioners 
asked  that  some  speedy  means  be  devised  for  their  relief .^^ 

This  unsettled  condition  of  affairs  continued  until  in 
1752  it  led  to  the  tragic  shooting  of  Dudley  Digges,  son 
of  John  Digges.  Martin  Kitzmiller,  with  his  wife  and 
three  sons,  Jacob,  Leonard,  and  John,  was  settled  on  a 
tract  of  100  acres  continguous  to  Digges's  Choice.  Kitz- 
miller had  bought  the  improvements  on  this  tract  from 
John  Lemmon  in  1736.  Lemmon  had  recognized  the 
right  of  Digges  to  the  land  but  had  not  yet  paid  Digges 
for  the  land  when  he  sold  the  improvement  to  Kitzmiller. 
When  Kitzmiller  came  into  the  possession  of  the  improve- 
ments he  refused  to  acknowledge  Digges's  right  to  the 
land  and  secured  a  warrant  from  Pennsylvania  for  the  100 

23  Archives,  I:  724  f. 
2*  Archives,  II:  28. 


Other  Early  Settlements.  85 

acres.  This  plantation,  including  a  mill  and  a  blacksmith 
shop,  lay  entirely  outside  the  limits  of  Digges's  original 
survey  but  within  the  bounds  of  his  resurvey.  Accordingly 
Digges  sought  to  force  payment  from  Kitzmiller.  This 
Kitzmiller  resisted.  On  February  26,  1752,  the  sheriff  of 
Baltimore  County  accompanied  by  several  other  persons, 
among  them  Henry  and  Dudley  Digges,  went  to  Kitzmil- 
ler's  mill  and  placed  Martin  under  arrest,  Kitzmiller  re- 
sisted arrest,  his  sons  came  to  his  rescue,  and  in  the  strug- 
gle a  gun  in  the  hands  of  Jacob  Kitzmiller  was  discharged, 
killing  Dugley  Digges.  The  Marylanders  then  left  the 
premises  and  Jacob  Kitzmiller  went  to  York  and  delivered 
himself  into  custody.  John  Digges  represented  that  his 
son  had  been  murdered  and  appealed  to  the  Maryland 
authorities  for  justice.  The  president  of  the  Maryland 
council  at  once  laid  claim  to  jurisdiction  in  the  case  and 
demanded  that  Kitzmiller  be  delivered  to  Maryland  for 
trial.  But  the  council  of  Pennsylvania  established  the  fact 
that  at  the  time  of  the  royal  order  of  1738  Digges  was  not 
in  possession  of  the  land  where  the  tragedy  had  taken 
place  and  that  any  possession  that  he  may  have  acquired 
under  Maryland  authority  subsequent  to  1738  was  in  vio- 
lation of  the  royal  order.  The  case  therefore  was  ordered 
to  be  tried  at  York  on  October  30,  1752,  and  the  province 
of  Maryland  was  invited  to  submit  at  the  trial  whatever 
evidence  they  had  to  show  that  the  place  of  shooting  was 
In  their  jurisdiction.^^  But  at  the  trial  of  the  case  before 
the  court  of  Oyer  and  Terminer  held  by  the  supreme 
judges  at  York  the  jurisdiction  over  the  disputed  land  was 
shown  to  belong  to  Pennsylvania.  It  also  appeared  from 
the  evidence  In  the  case  that  the  shooting  of  Dudley  Digges 
was  in  all  probability  an  accident,  and  Jacob  Kitzmiller 

25  Colonial  Record,  V:  582-597:;  Archives,  II:  70-83. 


86  German  Element  in  York  County,  Pa. 

and  his  father  were  acquitted.^^  But  this  tragedy  helped 
to  sober  the  disputants  somewhat  and  no  further  acts  of 
such  violence  occurred,  although  the  land  disputes  con- 
tinued to  disturb  the  peace  of  the  settlement  for  almost  a 
decade. 

Thus  did  the  German  pioneers  in  York  County  unwit- 
tingly become  the  means  of  resisting  the  encroachments  of 
the  Marylanders  at  both  of  their  points  of  collision  with 
the  Pennsylvania  authorities.  But  both  in  the  eastern 
part  of  the  county  and  in  the  southwestern  part,  they  stood 
their  ground  for  the  most  part  quite  loyally  and  with  true 
German  tenacity  endured  the  hardships  of  improving  their 
lands  and  maintaining  their  rights  until  at  length  the  cum- 
bersome negotiations  of  the  proprietaries  determined  the 
respective  spheres  of  the  two  provinces  and  thus  brought 
to  the  settlers  the  peace  and  prosperity  in  search  of  which 
they  had  left  their  native  land.  The  running  of  the 
"Temporary  Line  of  1739"  according  to  the  royal  order 
of  King  George  II  settled  forever  the  difficulties  in  the 
Kreutz  Creek  Valley.  Thomas  Cressap,  who  had  been 
captured  and  imprisoned  in  Philadelphia,  was  released  and 
returned  to  Maryland.^'''  The  Pennsylvanians  who  had 
been  carried  off  from  that  region  and  imprisoned  in  Balti- 
more jail  were  also  set  free.^^  The  Kreutz  Creek  Settle- 
ment then  began  to  grow  rapidly. 

But  the  German  settlements  on  Digges's  Choice  were 
not  freed  from  the  disturbances  of  border  difficulties  for 
some  years  after  the  royal  order  had  been  issued.  The 
vexed  question  of  the  exact  bounds  of  Digges's  grant  under 

26  From  the  full  account  of  the  trial  which  Richard  Peters,  secretary  of 
the  province,  wrote  to  the  Penns  in  England  immediately  after  the  trial. 

27  Col.  Rec,  IV:  266. 

28  For  example,  Nicholas  Perie,  Col.  Rec,  V:  22-51. 


Other  Early  Settlements.  87 

his  original  survey  and  the  further  question  concerning 
his  right  to  lands  north  of  the  "  temporary  line  "  under  a 
Maryland  "resurvey"  of  1745,  continued  to  disturb  the 
settlers  in  the  southwestern  part  of  the  county  and  tended 
to  discourage  settlement  there.  The  confusion  continued, 
as  we  have  seen,  until  1752  when  at  the  noted  trial  of 
Jacob  Kitzmiller  at  York,  in  the  presence  of  the  attorney- 
generals  of  both  provinces,  the  bounds  of  Digges's  original 
survey  were  accurately  determined  and  the  principle  was 
recognized  that  the  lands  north  of  the  temporary  line  of 
1739  which  Digges  had  added  to  his  original  survey  by 
his  resurvey  of  1745  were  Pennsylvania  property  accord- 
ing to  the  royal  order,  and  that  therefore  the  Pennsylvania 
titles  of  the  German  residents  on  those  lands  were  entirely 
valid.  This  decision,  although  it  did  not  determine  ulti- 
mately in  what  province  those  lands  were,  nevertheless 
served  greatly  to  pacify  the  settlers  In  the  southwestern 
part  of  the  county  and  gave  impetus  to  the  influx  of  immi- 
grants into  that  fertile  region.  Finally  with  the  amicable 
adjustment  of  the  boundary  question  by  the  proprietors  in 
England  in  1763  and  the  completion  of  Mason  and  Dixon's 
line  in  1767  all  the  inhabitants  of  this  neighborhood  of 
Hanover  found  themselves  the  unquestioned  citizens  of  the 
province  of  Pennsylvania. 

Meanwhile  the  two  settlements  whose  beginnings  we 
have  described  were  gradually  growing  in  numbers  and 
extent.  New  accessions  were  being  made  in  constantly 
increasing  numbers.  The  Kreutz  Creek  Settlement  nat- 
urally grew  more  rapidly  than  that  on  Digges's  Choice. 
As  new  immigrants  arrived  in  the  valley  they  pushed 
farther  and  farther  to  the  west  and  southwest,  selecting 
always  the  choicest  farming  lands  for  their  settlements. 
Thus  the  settlement  expanded  from  the  Kreutz   Creek 


88  German  Element  in  York  County,  Pa. 

Valley  into  the  Codorus  Creek  Valley  and  up  this  valley 
until  it  joined  the  German  settlement  at  Hanover.  So  that 
in  1749  when  York  County  was  erected  there  was  an 
almost  continuous  stretch  of  German  plantations  across 
the  entire  breadth  of  the  county  from  the  mouth  of  the 
Kreutz  Creek  in  the  east,  across  the  very  center  of  the 
county,  to  the  banks  of  the  Conewago  in  the  southwest. 
This  stretch  of  valley  has  been  the  home  of  the  German 
element  in  the  county  ever  since  the  planting  of  these 
earliest  settlements.  In  1740  the  number  of  taxables  in 
the  county  is  said  to  have  been  over  six  hundred.  More 
than  three  fourths  of  these  were  Germans,  the  rest  being 
the  English  who  had  settled  in  the  northern  part  of  the 
county  and  the  Scotch-Irish  who  had  taken  up  their  abode 
in  the  southeastern  part.  In  1749  the  number  of  taxables 
reached  almost  fifteen  hundred,  the  same  proportion  of 
Germans  still  obtaining. 

But  more  than  a  decade  before  York  County  was  sepa- 
rated from  Lancaster  County  events  had  begun  to  shape 
themselves  for  the  formation  of  a  third  German  settle- 
ment in  our  county.  Already  in  September,  1733,  Rev. 
John  Caspar  Stoever,  coming  from  Lancaster  County, 
visited  his  German  brethren  west  of  the  Susquehanna, 
gathered  them  together  from  the  whole  district  of  the 
Kreutz  Creek  and  Codorus  Creek  Valleys,  and  organized 
them  into  "  Die  Evangelisch-Lutherische  Gemeinde  an  der 
Kathores."  The  first  Church  Record  of  this  congregation 
contains  on  its  fly-leaf  the  names  of  twenty-four  of  these 
earliest  Germans  who  contributed  to  the  purchase  of  the 
book.^^  Pastor  Stoever  baptized  191  persons  and  married 
34  couples  in  this  congregation  before  the  close  of  his 

29  Now  in  the  possession  of  the  Rev.  Dr.  G.  W.  Enders,  the  present 
pastor  of  the  Church. 


Other  Early  Settlements.  89 

pastorate  at  the  end  of  1743.^^  His  successor,  Rev.  David 
Candler,  organized  the  Lutheran  Church  on  Digges's 
Choice,  "  Die  Evangelisch-Lutherische  Kanawagische  Ge- 
meinde,"  in  April,  1743.  These  organizations  were  some 
of  the  guarantees  of  permanency  and  the  harbingers  of 
healthy  growth  of  these  settlements. 

By  the  year  1739  the  settlements  immediately  west  of 
the  Susquehanna  had  become  so  numerous  and  their  Penn- 
sylvania citizenship  so  obvious  that  the  Provincial  As- 
sembly by  special  act  added  a  new  township  to  Lancaster 
County,  the  township  of  Hellam,  which  included  most  of 
what  is  now  York  County.  In  that  same  year  a  petition 
was  presented  to  the  Lancaster  court  by  the  inhabitants  of 
Hellam  Township  praying  for  the  opening  of  a  public 
road  between  the  Susquehanna  and  the  Potomac.  The 
petition  was  granted  and  of  the  six  viewers  appointed  to 
locate  this  the  first  public  road  in  the  county  at  least  four 
were  Germans,  namely,  Michael  Tanner,  Christian  Croll, 
Henry  Hendricks  and  Woolrich  Whisler.  The  road  be- 
gan at  a  point  between  the  lands  of  James  Wright  and 
Samuel  Tayler  on  the  west  bank  of  the  Susquehanna  im- 
mediately opposite  the  plantations  of  John  Wright^^  and 
extended  thence  along  the  entire  route  of  the  German 
plantations  through  the  Kreutz  Creek  and  Codorus  Creek 
Valleys,  past  Adam  Forney's  land  (now  Hanover)  and 
Kitzmiller's  Mill  on  the  Conewago  Creek,  to  the  provin- 

30  A  history  of  this  Church  is  to  be  found  in  the  article  by  the  Rev.  Dr. 
B.  M.  Schmucker  in  the  Lutheran  Quarterly,  Vol.  XVIII,  i8i88,  pp.  473-5^9, 
"  The  Lutheran  Church  in  York,  Pa."  A  general  history  of  the  Lutherans 
on  the  Codorus  and  the  Conewago  is  presented  in  Schmauk's  "  Lutheran 
Church  in  Pennsylvania,"  Vol.  I,  Chapter  XIV,  pp.  zsT-193' 

31  To  this  point  a  road  had  been  constructed  from  Lancaster  in  1734. 


90  German  Element  in  York  County,  Pa. 

cial  line. ^2     It  was  known  as  the  Monocacy  Road  and 
covered  a  distance  of  34  miles. 

Thus  the  steps  were  taken  in  the  German  valley  which 
were  soon  to  lead  to  a  county-seat  for  a  new  county  and 
ultimately  to  give  to  Pennsylvania  one  of  her  most  flour- 
ishing cities.  For  it  was  only  two  years  after  the  ordain- 
ing of  the  Monocacy  Road  that  a  movement  began  which 
resulted  in  the  establishing  of  a  third  German  settlement 
in  the  county,  destined  in  the  course  of  time  greatly  to  out- 
grow the  other  two  and  to  play  a  significant  role  in  national 
affairs.  This  was  the  town  of  York.  In  October,  1741, 
by  order  of  the  Penns,  Thomas  Cookson,  Surveyor  of 
Lancaster  County,  crossed  the  Susquehanna  River  and  pro- 
ceeded "  to  survey  and  lay  off  in  lots  a  tract  of  land  on  the 
Codorus  where  the  Monocacy  Road  crosses  the  stream." 
This  point  is  as  far  west  of  the  Susquehanna  as  Lancaster 
is  east  of  it.  The  prospective  town  on  the  Codorus  re- 
ceived the  name  York,  a  neighboring  city  of  Lancaster  In 
England.  The  site  selected  for  the  new  town  lay  on  both 
sides  of  the  creek  but  only  the  part  east  of  the  stream  was 
laid  off  Into  lots.  Applications  for  lots  were  then  invited 
and  in  the  month  following  the  survey,  November,  1741, 
twenty-three  lots  were  reserved  by  Intending  citizens.  Of 
these  at  least  twenty-one  were  taken  by  Germans,  George 
Swope  purchasing  four,  George  Hoke  two,  and  the  others 
each  one  as  follows: 

Jacob  Welsh  Michael  Laub 

Baltzer  Spangler  Zacharlah  Shugart 

Michael  Swope  Nicholas  Stuck 

Christian  Croll  Arnold  Stuck 


32  Vide  Gibson's  "  History  of  York  County,"  p.  322.  Michael  Tanner 
was  also  one  of  those  appointed  in  1766  to  view  the  road  southward  from 
Hanover  to  the  line  between  the  provinces. 


Other  Early  Settlements.  91 

Samuel  Hoke  Matthais  Onvensant 

Hermanus  Butt  Martin  Eichelberger 

Jacob  Grebill  Henry  Hendricks 
Joseph  Hinsman  and 

Andrew  Coaler  John  Bishop. 

All  except  the  last  two  are  certainly  German.  Hendricks 
is  probably  German,  and  John  Bishop  Is  very  probably 
the  Anglicized  form  of  Johannes  Blschof,  who  arrived  at 
the  port  of  Philadelphia  October  27,  1739. 

But  an  application  for  a  lot  did  not  in  every  case  mean 
that  residence  in  the  new  town  was  effected.  A  yearly 
quit-rent  of  seven  shillings  sterling  was  required  by  the 
proprietors  for  every  lot  that  was  taken  up.  James  Logan, 
who  was  sent  to  regulate  and  supervise  the  affairs  of  the 
incipient  town.  Imposed  a  condition  upon  the  applicants 
by  which  each  applicant  was  required  within  one  year  of 
the  time  of  his  application  "to  build  upon  his  lot  at  his 
own  private  cost  one  substantial  dwelling-house  of  the 
dimensions  of  sixteen  feet  square  at  least,  with  a  good 
chimney  of  brick  and  stone,  to  be  laid  in  or  built  with  lime 
and  sand" ;  otherwise  his  claim  should  be  void.  This  was 
not  an  easy  condition  for  the  poor  immigrants  of  that  day 
to  comply  with.  Few  of  the  pioneer  settlers  had  the 
means  to  build  such  houses,  and  of  the  few  who  had  the 
means  nearly  all  had  gotten  them  through  farming  and 
this  occupation  they  intended  to  continue  now  that  they 
had  crossed  the  Susquehanna.  Consequently  most  of  the 
newcomers  to  the  county  were  not  disposed  to  take  up 
their  residence  in  town  but  preferred  to  locate  upon  the 
fertile    farms   adjacent.^^      Accordingly   the   town   grew 

33  George  Swope  and  Baltzer  Spangler  afterwards  kept  public  houses  in 
the  town.  But  Adam  Miller  was  the  first  person  to  receive  permission  to 
keep  a  public  house  there.    Vide  Rupp's  "  History  of  Lancaster  and  York 


92  German  Element  in   York  County,  Pa. 

slowly  at  first.  Two  years  after  it  had  been  laid  out 
seventy  lots  had  been  applied  for,  but  many  of  these  had 
been  forfeited  because  of  the  failure  to  build  and  only 
eleven  houses  had  actually  been  built,  although  several 
more  were  in  prospect,  among  them  a  Lutheran  and  a  Re- 
formed house  of  worship.^^  Practically  no  public  im- 
provements had  been  made.  In  1746  forty-four  addi- 
tional lots  were  reserved  and  in  October,  1749,  when 
York  became  a  county-seat,  the  town  consisted  of  sixty- 
three  dwelling  houses  and  two  churches. ^^  During  the 
next  five  years  under  the  efficient  supervision  of  George 
Stevenson  the  town  began  to  thrive  and  by  the  end  of 
1754  contained  210  dwelling  houses.  In  1764  when  the 
town  of  Hanover  was  laid  out,  York  was  already  grow- 
ing rapidly.  It  was  in  the  very  center  of  a  flourishing 
agricultural  community  and  had  attracted  wide  attention. 
Its  population  was  predominantly  German  and  it  was  to 
the  thrifty  German  farms  lying  all  about  it  that  the  town 
owed  its  growth  and  prosperity.^® 

The  origin  and  the  growth  of  this  settlement  at  the 

Counties,"  p.  5714.  In  1754  George  Stevenson  wrote  from  York:  "The 
timber  of  the  town  land  was  all  destroyed  before  I  came  here;  the  inhabi- 
tants ever  since,  have  bought  all  their  timber  for  building  and  firewood, 
very  dear,  of  the  adjacent  farmers,  which  is  discouraging  to  poor  settlers, 
and  few  rich  people  settle  here."  See  letter  of  October  26,  quoted  in 
Gibson,  p,  5161. 

3*  Vide  letter  of  James  Logan  to  Thomas  Penn,  August  30,  17(43.  Among 
the  OfRcial  Penn   Manuscripts, 

35  A  few  persons  had  taken  possession  of  lots  and  built  homes  on  them 
without  securing  a  legal  title.  The  names  of  such  town  squatters  are  Jacob 
Billmeyer,  Jacob  Fakler,  and  Avit  Shall.  They  were  required  to  give  up 
their  possessions  to  the  agent  of  the  proprietaries  in  1751.  Rupp's  "  His- 
tory," p.  575. 

36  Referring  to  the  German  citizens  who  constituted  nearly  the  entire 
population  of  the  town  Thomas  Penn  wrote  in  17615'  of  "  the  flourishing 
state  to  which  the  town  hath  arrived  through  their  industry." 


Other  Early  Settlements.  93 

intersection  of  the  Codorus  Creek  and  the  Monocacy  Road 
cannot  be  understood  entirely  apart  from  the  settlers  in 
the  country  round  about.  Eight  or  nine  years  before 
York  had  been  laid  out  as  a  town  a  number  of  Germans 
had  taken  up  their  abodes  on  the  inviting  lands  in  that 
vicinity.  They  had  not  come  from  the  same  region  as 
that  from  which  the  original  settlers  on  the  Kreutz  Creek 
had  come.  And  in  their  new  homes  in  York  County  they 
were  for  the  most  part  too  far  west  to  be  affected  by  the 
border  disturbances  which  embroiled  the  settlers  in  the 
Kreutz  Creek  Valley,  although  they  had  migrated  into  the 
county  almost  simultaneously  with  the  settlers  on  the  Kreutz 
Creek.  Their  plantations  lay  about  the  point  where  the 
Kreutz  Creek  Valley  ceases  and  merges  into  the  Codorus 
Creek  Valley.  From  that  point  they  stretched  north  and 
northeast  along  the  course  of  the  Codorus  and  some  of 
them  also  stretched  southwest  along  that  creek. 

Here  these  Germans  had  settled  chiefly  as  squatters, 
undisturbed  by  the  Indians  and  tacitly  tolerated  by  the 
Pennsylvania  authorities  who  knew  that  these  settlers 
would  secure  warrants  in  the  course  of  time.  For  a  long 
time  they  constituted  a  group  quite  distinct  from  the  set- 
tlers in  the  Kreutz  Creek  Valley  farther  east.^^  Many  of 
them  had  arrived  here  as  early  as  1733  and  it  was  from 
their  number  that  Pastor  Stoever,  in  September  of  that 
year,  gathered  the  members  for  the  first  church  organiza- 
tion west  of  the  Susquehanna.  The  location  of  the  mem- 
bers of  this  congregation  gave  the  new  organization  its 
name,  the  "Church  on  the  Codorus."     And  the  list  of  the 

37  The  Lancaster  County  authorities  knew  that  there  were  Germans 
settled  at  the  west  end  of  the  Kreutz  Creek  Valley,  for  Blunston  wrote  on 
January  i&,  1737 :  "  Most  of  the  Dutch  not  taken  are  come  away  that  live 
towards  this  end  of  the  valley." 


94  German  Element  in  York  County,  Pa. 

names  of  the  Individuals  who  helped  to  purchase  the  first 
record  book  for  that  Church  doubtless  embraces  the  names 
of  most  of  the  German  settlers  In  that  neighborhood  In 
the  fall  of  1733.  Of  this  list  of  twenty-four  names  only 
four  (Christian  CroU,  Philip  Zlegler,  Jacob  Ziegler,  and 
Michael  Walck)  are  familiar  to  us  from  our  study  of  the 
names  of  settlers  In  the  Kreutz  Creek  Valley.  The 
others^^  were  beyond  the  reach  of  those  disturbances.. 
Some  of  these  German  settlers  along  the  Codorus  after- 
wards drifted  Into  the  town  of  York.  But  most  of  them 
remained  upon  their  thriving  plantations  and  constituted 
the  base  of  supplies  and  the  ground  for  the  prosperity  of 
the  new  town.  These  settlers  and  their  plantations  must 
therefore  be  regarded  as  an  Integral  part  of  the  third 
German  settlement  In  the  county. 

These,  then,  were  the  earliest  German  settlements  In 
York  County.  After  five  years  of  border  difficulties  in  the 
Kreutz  Creek  Valley  and  two  decades  of  turmoil  over  the 
boundaries  of  DIgges's  Choice,  the  development  of  these 

38  These  are  as  follows: 

Martin  Bauer  Christof  Kraut  Heinrich  Schultz 

Johannes  Bentz  Gottfried  Mauch  Valentine  Schultz 

Joseph  Beyer  Nicholas  Koger  George  Schwab 

Paul  Burkhardt  Jacob  Scherer  George  Ziegler 

John  Adam  Diehl  Mathias  Schraeiser  Heinrich  Zanck 

Carl  Eisen  George  Schmeiser  and 

Baltzer  Knetzer  George  Zimmermann  One  illegible. 

A  complete  list  of  males  to  whom  Pastor  Stoever  ministered  during  the 
ten  years  of  his  pastorate  (1733-1743)  as  gathered  from  the  entries  in  his 
record,  includes  exactly  100  names.  Of  these  at  least  14  are  names  that 
occur  in  the  documents  concerning  the  Kreutz  Creek  Settlement.  This 
indicates  that  some  of  the  settlers  in  that  first  settlement,  probably  those 
who  were  Lutherans,  availed  themselves  of  the  ministrations  of  the  pastor 
who  served  the  settlement  on  the  Codorus. 


Other  Early  Settlements. 


95 


German  settlements,  stretching  from  one  end  of  the  county 
to  the  other,  went  steadily  and  peacefully  forward  until 
the  outbreak  of  the  French  and  Indian  War.  They  con- 
centrated, as  we  have  seen,  along  the  line  of  the  Mon- 
ocacy  Road  and  this  In  turn  followed  for  the  most  part 
the  ancient  Indian  trail  which  had  marked  the  course  for 
early  German  missionary  and  pilgrim. 


twenty  Jiollars.  Ko, 

F/^  Bn.L  entities 
r«f -^  Bearer  ftf  neetVe 

ITWENTY  Spanish 
|JMiLLEijDGLLA,RS, 


^^Q!«z  Gold  or  Silver,' 


^^Krr^/rf,  at  Torktowriy 
'^'  'fuf,fApril,j778. 


CHAPTER  V. 

Whence  the  Germans  Came  and  Why. 

^^^rOW  that  we  have  seen  how  the  German  ele- 

I  ^L^         ment  in  York  County  had  its  beginning  there, 

T*«— 5k  we  cannot  fail  to  be  confronted  by  the  larger 

0^  ^k        and  prior  question  as  to  the  origin  of  these 

Germans  before  they  settled  on  the  banks 

of  the  Kreutz   Creek,   the   Codorus  and  the  Conewago. 

Why  did  they  come  to  America?     Where  did  they  come 

from  when  they  settled  in  York  County?     And  how  did 

they  come  to  settle  the  particular  parts  of  the  county  which 

they  did  and  which  their  descendants  have  occupied  to  the 

present  day? 

Of  the  reason  why  the  Germans  left  their  native  homes 
and  braved  the  discomforts  and  dangers  of  an  ocean  voy- 
age to  take  up  their  abodes  upon  the  unsettled  newlands 
of  America  we  have  a  very  clear  intimation  in  a  declara- 
tion wrung  from  them  by  their  distresses  in  our  county 
shortly  after  their  settlement  here.  In  the  course  of  the 
proceedings  concerning  the  "revolt  of  the  Germans"  in 
the  Kreutz  Creek  Valley  from  Maryland  authority  and 
their  return  to  Pennsylvania  allegiance,  the  Germans  had 


^ 


Whence  the  Germans  Came  and  Why.  97 

occasion  to  send  an  answer  to  the  Governor  of  Maryland 
(1736).  In  this  statement  they  take  occasion  to  explain 
why  they  left  Germany  and  how  they  came  to  locate  in 
what  is  now  York  County.     For  they  set  forth 

"  that  being  greatly  oppressed  in  their  native  country,  principally 
on  account  of  their  religion,  they  resolved,  as  many  others  had  done 
before,  to  fly  from  it.  That  hearing  much  of  the  justice  and  mild- 
ness of  the  government  of  Pennsylvania,  they  embarked  in  Holland 
for  Philadelphia,  where  on  their  arrival  they  swore  allegiance  to 
King  George  and  fidelity  to  the  proprietors  of  Pennsylvania  and 
their  government.  That  repairing  to  the  great  body  of  their 
countrymen  settled  in  the  County  of  Lancaster,  on  the  east  side 
of  Susquehannah  they  found  the  lands  there  generally  taken  up 
and  possessed,  and  therefore  some  of  them  by  licenses  from  the  pro- 
prietors of  Pennsylvania,  went  over  that  River  and  settled  there 
under  their  authority,  and  others  according  to  a  common  practice 
then  obtaining  sate  down  with  a  resolution  to  comply  as  others 
should  with  the  terms  of  the  government  when  called  on,  but  they 
had  not  been  long  there  until  some  pretending  authority  from  the 
government  of  Maryland,  insisted  on  it  that  that  country  was  in 
that  province,  and  partly  by  threats  or  actual  force  and  partly 
by  very  large  promises,  they  had  been  led  to  submit  to  the  com- 
mands of  that  government."  Then  they  recount  the  ill  treatment 
they  have  received  at  the  hands  of  the  Marylanders.  "  This  un- 
common and  cruel  usage"  is  only  one  of  a  number  of  arguments 
by  which  "  we  are  persuaded  in  our  own  consciences  we  are  clearly 
within  the  province  of  Pennsylvania."  "  We  could  not  therefore 
but  believe  ourselves  obliged  in  conscience  in  the  honest  discharge 
of  the  solemn  engagements  we  had  entered  into  at  our  first  arrival 
in  Pennsylvania,  to  return  to  our  obedience  to  its  proprietors  as 
soon  as  we  discovered  we  were  truly  seated  within  its  limits."  And 
in  conclusion  they  appeal  to  the  Governor's  consideration  against 
"  the  treating  of  a  parcel  of  conscientious,  industrious,  and  peaceable 
people,  like  rebels,  for  no  other  reason  than  .  .  .  because  we  are 


98  German  Element  in  York  County,  Pa. 

convinced  of  the  mistakes  we  had  been  lately  led  into  by  the  false 
assertions  of  persons  of  no  credit."^ 

From  this  writing  it  is  clear  that  these  Germans  had  left 
their  native  land  for  a  threefold  reason,  partly  because  of 
political  oppression  and  severe  religious  persecutions  at 
home,  partly  because  of  the  example  of  many  who  had 
preceded  them,  and  partly  because  of  the  alluring  accounts 
they  had  heard  about  Pennsylvania.  They  had  gone  first 
to  Lancaster  County  because  most  of  the  Germans  in 
Pennsylvania  were  located  there.  They  had  continued 
through  Lancaster  and  across  the  river  and  into  what  is 
now  York  County  and  had  settled  there,  most  of  them  as 
squatters  without  licenses  but  intending  to  take  out  licenses 
in  course  of  time.  Here  their  ignorance  of  the  language 
of  the  government  and  their  lack  of  acquaintance  with 
political  intrigues  made  them  the  easy  victims  of  evil 
schemes.  Their  own  motives  v/ere  peaceful  but  they  were 
inveigled  into  procedures  which  involved  them  in  strife  and 
unrest.  The  stubborn  dispute  of  the  provincial  govern- 
ments concerning  the  jurisdiction  over  the  lands  on  which 
the  Germans  had  settled  entailed  unhappy  consequences 
for  the  newcomers  and  for  a  time  threatened  seriously  to 
disturb  the  peace  and  permanence  of  their  settlement. 

Now  the  grounds  of  this  religious  persecution  and  the 
other  kinds  of  oppression  which  these  Germans  had  suf- 
fered in  their  native  country  and  which  they  give  as  their 
reason  for  fleeing  from  Germany,  are  of  no  little  impor- 
tance for  our  subject.  They  carry  us  across  the  ocean  and 
back  more  than  two  centuries  into  the  past  but  they  help 
us  to  understand  the  character  and  class  of  the  immigrants, 

1  Archives,  1 :  492  f .    This  statement  was  signed  by  about  sixty  hands. 
Col.  Rec,  IV:  57. 


Whence  the  Germans  Came  and  Why.  99 

the  circumstances  under  which  they  left  their  homes  and 
came  to  the  New  World,  and  the  distinctive  characteristics 
which  they  manifested  in  their  lives  and  habitations  after 
they  arrived  in  York  County.  For  that  reason  we  must 
pause  to  enumerate,  in  outline  at  least,  the  causes  of  the 
German  immigration  to  Pennsylvania  in  the  eighteenth 
century.^ 

The  chief  causes  are  of  two  kinds.     A  long  series  of 
destructive  wars,  continued  religious  persecution,  and  re- 

2  The  sources  of  information  concerning  German  immigration  to  Amer- 
ica are  many  and  varied.  A  complete  bibliography  of  works  relating  to 
Germans  in  the  United  States  far  exceeds  10,000  titles.  The  first  volume 
of  Professor  A.  B.  Faust's  "  The  German  Element  in  the  United  States  " 
(1909)  gives  a  faithful  summary  of  the  history  of  German  immigration 
into  America.  Chapters  II — V  deal  in  a  general  way  with  the  immigra- 
tion into  Pennsylvania.  At  the  close  of  Volume  II  Professor  Faust  pre- 
sents a  rather  full  bibliography  compiled  from  European  and  American 
sources  and  containing  nearly  two  thousand  titles. 

In  the  first  chapter  of  Professor  Oscar  Kuhns's  reliable  volume  on  "  The 
German  and  Swiss  Settlements  of  Pennsylvania"  (1901)  we  have  a  brief 
but  thoroughly  accurate  portrayal  of  "  the  historic  background "  of  the 
immigration,  and  chapter  two  gives  a  very  clear  account  of  "  The  settling 
of  the  German  counties  of  Pennsylvania."  This  work  when  read  in  con- 
nection with  Professor  Faust's  two  volumes  serves  to  impress  the  student 
with  the  distinctive  history  and  the  distinctive  qualities  of  the  Pennsylvania 
Germans  in  contrast  with  the  more  modern  waves  of  German  immigrants. 
This  distinction  is  not  clear  in  Faust.  The  original  Pennsylvania  German 
settlers  were  part  and  portion  of  the  American  colonists  and  their  spirit 
and  ideals  and  characteristics  were  very  diflFerent  from  those  of  the  modern 
German  Americans.  Professor  Kuhns's  volume  also  contains  a  bibliog- 
raphy far  less  extensive  than  Faust's  but  much  more  useful  for  the  general 
student. 

For  our  brief  survey  of  the  story  of  Pennsylvania  German  immigration 
at  the  beginning  of  this  chapter  we  have  used  besides  general  works  like 
those  of  Faust  and  Kuhns  and  besides  the  works  referred  to  in  the  other 
footnotes,  such  special  works  as  Hausser,  "  Geschichte  der  Rheinischen 
Pfalz,"  Heidelberg,  1856;  O.  Seidensticker,  "  Geschichte  der  Deutschen  Ge- 
sellschaft  von  Pennsylvanien,  17164-18716,"  Philadelphia,  1876;  and  the 
volumes  of  "  Proceedings  of  the  Pennsylvania  German  Society." 


loo  German  Element  in  York  County,  Pa. 

lentless  oppression  by  petty  tyrants,  had  rendered  exist- 
ence at  home  almost  unendurable,  while  favorable  reports 
from  earlier  settlers  beyond  the  Atlantic,  more  plentiful 
means  of  transportation,  and  an  innate  desire  for  adven- 
ture (Wanderlust) ,  made  the  attractions  of  the  foreign 
shore  almost  irresistible.  These  two  sets  of  historical 
causes  operated  as  mighty  forces  leading  the  Germans  to 
turn  their  backs  upon  the  homeland  which  they  loved  and 
to  embark  for  a  land  of  peace  and  plenty,  as  they  thought. 
The  first  of  the  series  of  wars  that  rendered  life  in  Ger- 
many intolerable  was  the  Thirty  Years'  War.  This  was 
the  most  awfully  destructive  and  demoralizing  struggle  in 
history.  Its  horrors  beggar  description.  It  set  Germany 
back  in  the  scale  of  civilization  at  least  two  hundred  years, 
so  that  she  is  only  in  the  present  day  recovering  her  pris- 
tine position  in  the  onward  march  of  the  nations.  The 
dire  consequences  of  the  war  fell  most  heavily  upon  the 
peasants,  the  foundation  of  the  nation  and  the  root  of  its 
growth.  In  many  parts  of  the  country  in  the  course  of  the 
war  75  per  cent,  of  the  inhabitants  were  destroyed,  66 
per  cent,  of  the  houses,  85  per  cent,  of  the  horses,  and 
over  80  per  cent,  of  the  cattle.^  These  multiplied  woes  of 
war  fell  with  greatest  force  upon  southwestern  Germany, 
especially  the  Palatinate.  The  Palatinate  may  be  roughly 
defined  as  that  part  of  Germany  which  lies  about  the  left 
bank  of  the  Rhine  between  Mayence  and  Spires.  Two 
centuries  ago  it  was  one  of  the  integral  parts  of  the  empire. 
It  was  this  fair  province  that  suffered  most  from  the 
ravages  of  war  in  the  seventeenth  century.  The  Elector 
Palatine  Frederick  V  himself  precipitated  the  war  and  thus 
attracted  to  his  own  fertile  land  the  full  fury  of  that  awful 

3  Gustav  Freitag,  "  Bilder  aus  der  deutschen  Vergangenheit,"  Vol.  Ill, 
234. 


Whence  the  Germans  Came  and  Why.  loi 

storm.  In  1619  the  Elector  accepted  the  crown  of  Bo- 
hemia and  thus  became  involved  in  war  with  the  strong 
house  of  Austria.  Retribution  came  swiftly  and  terribly. 
He  was  very  quickly  driven  from  his  winter  throne,  de- 
prived of  his  new  crown,  put  to  the  ban,  and  robbed  of  his 
lands  on  the  Rhine,  which  became  at  once  the  object  of 
repeated  spoliation  for  all  the  lawless  hordes  of  dissolute 
soldiery.  For  years  in  succession  the  grim  shadows  of 
famine  and  pestilence  brooded  darkly  over  the  land.  So 
great  was  the  desolation  that  in  the  last  years  of  the  war 
neither  friend  nor  foe  any  longer  entered  the  Palatinate, 
the  melancholy  fact  staring  them  in  the  face  that  there  was 
no  longer  anything  to  steal, — the  most  fertile  area  of  Ger- 
many had  become  a  desert. 

The  peace  of  1648  endured  but  a  few  years  so  far  as 
southwestern  Germany  was  concerned.  The  survivors  of 
the  war  had  begun  the  tedious  work  of  reviving  their 
homes,  their  fields,  and  their  fortunes.  The  new  Elector 
granted  religious  freedom  and  this  fact  together  with  the 
liberal  terms  under  which  lands  were  granted  to  colonists 
attracted  some  of  the  best  products  of  neighboring  coun- 
tries. The  country  began  to  prosper  anew  and  was  well 
on  the  way  to  recovery  from  its  recent  distresses,  when  in 
1674  the  blood-curdling  cry  of  war  rang  out  once  more 
through  the  land,  and  the  painful  efforts  of  more  than  two 
decades  remained  fruitless.  This  time  France  was  the  ag- 
gressor. War  was  on  between  France  and  Holland,  the 
War  of  the  Protestant  Netherlands,  167 2-1 67 8.  From 
its  position  the  Palatinate  was  most  exposed  to  the  ravages 
of  the  contending  armies.  For  it  was  one  of  the  border- 
lands of  the  German  Empire,  fair  and  prosperous,  an  at- 
tractive mark  for  the  marauding  bands  of  military  robbers 


I02  German  Element  in  York  County,  Pa. 

and  therefore  destined  to  be  crushed  between  the  two  mill- 
stones of  the  opposing  powers.  Louis  XIV  ordered  the 
beautiful  Palatinate  to  be  devastated,  to  render  it  useless 
to  his  enemies.  The  work  of  devastation  was  done  thor- 
oughly. Once  more  the  doleful  tale  of  destruction  and 
misery,  of  burning  city  and  homeless  peasant,  is  recorded, 
and  It  was  at  this  point  In  the  history  of  the  Palatinate  that 
the  first  faint  beginnings  of  the  emigration  to  Pennsyl- 
vania took  place.  But  greater  woes  were  yet  to  come  to 
the  Rhineland. 

After  a  brief  respite  of  less  than  ten  years  the  War  of 
the  Palatinate  (1688-1697)  was  begun.  Louis  XIV  had 
laid  claim  to  the  entire  Palatinate  In  the  name  of  his 
sister-in-law.  When  the  countries  of  northern  Europe 
leagued  themselves  together  In  a  mighty  coalition  to  with- 
stand this  new  effrontery  Louis  hurried  a  large  army  Into 
the  country.  Then,  because  he  could  not  hold  the  con- 
quest he  had  made  and  because  the  Palatines  had  har- 
bored the  Huguenots  expelled  from  France,  the  covetous 
French  monarch  gave  summary  orders  to  "burn  the  Pa- 
latinate," Breathing  forth  fire  and  slaughter  his  base 
hyenas  of  war  leaped  wildly  upon  the  defenceless  land. 
Crops  were  destroyed,  villages  and  towns  were  reduced  to 
ashes,  and  more  than  a  hundred  thousand  innocent  and 
helpless  peasants  were  rendered  homeless. 

The  war  lasted  seven  years  and  when  at  length  in  1697 
the  smoke  lifted  from  the  last  glowing  embers  of  the 
various  parts  of  the  Palatinate,  there  sat  upon  the  throne, 
one  John  William,  an  ardent  Romanist.  Now  religious 
persecution  was  added  to  economic  bankruptcy.  The  per- 
secution of  Protestants,  Lutherans  and  Reformeds,  was 
carried   on  systematically.     Their   Church  property  was 


Whence  the  Germans  Came  and  Why.  103 

confiscated  to  a  very  large  extent  and  the  worshippers  in 
many  cases  expelled  from  the  country.  The  sects,  such  as 
the  Mennonites,  Quakers,  and  Huguenots,  were  summarily 
driven  from  the  land.  Hundreds  of  petty  persecutions  on 
person  and  property  were  made.  And  this  continued  for 
nearly  a  century.  The  ravages  of  war  followed  one  an- 
other in  rapid  succession.  The  War  of  the  Palatinate  had 
scarcely  closed  (1697)  when  the  War  of  the  Spanish  Suc- 
cession broke  out  ( 1 701-17 14) .  Then  followed  the  War 
of  the  Austrian  Succession  (1741-1747).  All  of  these 
were  sorely  felt  in  the  Palatinate  and  other  parts  of  south- 
western Germany.  Meanwhile  the  cruelties  of  religious 
persecution  continued  unabated.  For  a  long  period  each 
new  prince  of  the  Palatinate  forced  a  change  of  religion 
on  his  subjects.  The  injustice  and  the  petty  tyrannies  of 
the  rulers  made  life  a  constant  burden  and  fostered  a  wide- 
spread discontent.  The  continued  disturbances  of  war  and 
religious  persecution  soon  began  to  entail  dire  effects  of  a 
social  and  economic  nature.  For  in  the  course  of  the  late 
seventeenth  and  early  eighteenth  centuries  nearly  500,000 
Palatines,  Wuertembergers,  and  Swiss,  were  ruthlessly  ex- 
pelled from  their  homes.  Exile  was  followed  by  famine, 
famine  by  pestilence,  and  at  last  all  the  finer  impulses  of 
the  heart  were  threatened  with  complete  extinction  in  the 
gross  wretchedness  of  brutalizing  despair.  It  is  not  a 
matter  for  surprise,  therefore,  that  the  Germans  in  the 
midst  of  such  trials  set  their  faces  resolutely  towards  the 
west  in  the  hope  of  finding  a  better  land  where  peace  and 
quiet  reigned  and  where  there  was  liberty  of  conscience. 
And  coming  as  they  did  from  such  conditions  of  long-con- 
tinued oppression  and  ruin,  we  cannot  expect  them,  after 
they  arrive  in  the  New  World,  to  take  a  place  at  once  in 
the  forefront  of  social  and  literary  circles. 


104  German  Element  in   York  County,  Pa. 

If  we  take  a  general  view  of  the  streams  of  German  im- 
migration which  flowed  into  Pennsylvania  before  the  Rev- 
olutionary War,  we  can  distinguish  three  well-defined 
periods.*  The  first  period  extends  from  1683  (when  the 
first  settlement  was  made  under  William  Penn  at  German- 
town)  to  17 10.  During  this  period  the  number  of  those 
who  came  was  small,  probably  not  exceeding  in  total  500 
souls.  They  all  remained  in  or  near  Philadelphia,  and 
this  period  of  immigration  had  therefore  no  direct  influence 
upon  York  County.  The  second  period  from  17 10  to 
1727,  is  marked  by  a  considerable  increase  in  the  number 
of  immigrants,  although  there  is  as  yet  no  steady  influx  of 
large  numbers.  Perhaps  14,000  would  be  a  liberal  esti- 
mate for  the  immigration  during  the  second  period.^  The 
year  1727  marks  an  epoch  in  this  matter  for  it  was  then 
that  the  immigration  began  to  assume  large  proportions 
and  that  official  statistics  began  to  be  kept.  The  third 
period  therefore  begins  with  the  year  1727  and  extends 
to  the  outbreak  of  the  Revolutionary  War.  During  this 
period  the  numbers  of  German  immigrants  swell  to  enor- 
mous size,  and  by  the  year  1775  the  grand  total  of  Pennsyl- 
vania Germans  must  have  been  no  less  than  110,000  or 
about  one  third  of  the  total  population  of  the  state,  a  pro- 
portion which  seems  to  have  kept  itself  practically  un- 
changed down  to  the  present  day. 

When  the  Germans  fled  from  the  hardships  of  their  life 
in  southwestern  Germany  and  in  Switzerland  they  invari- 
ably took  their  course  down  the  Rhine.  The  earliest  set- 
tlers of  Germantown  made  their  way  directly  from  Hol- 

*This  division  of  periods  is  the  one  presented  by  Kuhns,  p.  31. 

5  Vide  Kuhns's  refutation  (German  and  Swiss  Settlements,  pp.  52^-54)  of 
Rupp  ("Thirty  Thousand  Names,"  pp.  i  f.)  and  Wayland  ("German 
Element  of  the  Shenandoah  Valley,"  p.  27'). 


Whence  the  Germans  Came  and  Why.  105 

land  to  America.  But  after  a  few  years,  at  the  instigation 
of  Queen  Anne  who  had  compassion  on  the  suffering  exiles 
and  who  was  earnestly  seeking  settlers  for  her  own  Amer- 
ican colonies,  the  exiles  began  to  cross  the  Channel  into 
England  where  they  threw  themselves  upon  the  kindness 
of  the  Queen's  government.  Their  numbers  sometimes 
embarrassed  the  English  government.  In  1709  as  if  by 
sudden  common  impulse  over  13,000  Palatines  swarmed 
into  London  and  asked  to  be  sent  to  America.  Of  this 
number  over  3,000  were  sent  to  the  colony  of  New  York 
and  settled  along  the  Hudson  and  Mohawk  Rivers.^  Here 
after  a  decade  of  varying  fortunes,  insuperable  difficulties 
arose  in  regard  to  the  titles  to  their  land.  They  were 
forced  to  leave  the  homes  which  they  had  built  with  the 
labor  of  many  years  and  in  1723  three  hundred  of  them 
painfully  made  their  way  through  the  wilderness  of  south- 
ern New  York  to  the  headwaters  of  the  Susquehanna  and 
floated  down  the  river  until  they  came  to  the  mouth  of  the 
Swatara  Creek,  opposite  the  northern  part  of  York  County. 
Up  the  Swatara  they  made  their  way  to  the  district  now 
known  as  Tulpehocken,  where  they  settled  Heidelberg  and 
Womelsdorf.^  They  were  followed  In  1728  by  a  large 
party  from  New  York  under  the  leadership  of  Conrad 
Weiser.  Thus  we  have  the  beginnings  of  Pennsylvania 
Germans  in  Berks  and  Lebanon  Counties.  This  became 
one  of  the  gathering  points  for  German  Immigration  into 
Pennsylvania  and  from  this  region  came  not  a  few  of  the 
very  earliest  settlers  In  York  County.     The  Germans  had 

^  The  experiences  of  the  Germans  in  the  colony  of  New  York  are  graph- 
ically depicted  by  Rev.  Sanford  H.  Cobb  in  his  "  The  Story  of  the  Palatines: 
an  Episode  in  Colonial  History,"  18197. 

''  Vide  supra,  p.  20.  For  an  accurate  and  detailed  history  of  the  Tulpe- 
hocken settlement  and  its  subsequent  development,  vide  Schmauk's  "  Lu- 
theran Church  in  Pennsylvania,"  Vol.  I,  pp.  433-576. 


lo6  German  Element  in   York  County,  Pa. 

made  their  first  and  last  effort  in  colonial  New  York. 
They  began  to  advertise  among  their  people  in  the  home- 
land what  ill  treatment  they  had  received  in  New  York 
and  how  favorable  were  the  conditions  for  settlement  in 
Pennsylvania,  and  henceforth  the  Germans  began  assidu- 
ously to  avoid  New  York  and  the  mainstream  of  their  im- 
migration came  to  Pennsylvania. 

Another  important  distributing  center  of  Pennsylvania 
Germans  before  the  Revolution  was  Lancaster  County. 
The  settlement  of  this  county  was  due  primarily  to  the 
religious  persecutions  of  the  emigrants  rather  than  to 
economic  causes.  The  movement  began  in  17 lo  and  had 
its  chief  source  in  Switzerland.  For  nearly  a  century  the 
doctrines  of  the  Mennonites  had  been  flourishing  in  Switz- 
erland.^ But  like  the  Quakers  in  England  and  New  Eng- 
land, the  Mennonites  in  Switzerland  were  the  victims  of 
systematic  persecution.  From  time  to  time  individuals  and 
families  made  their  way  across  the  Swiss  frontiers  and 
sought  refuge  among  their  brethren  in  the  faith  on  the 
banks  of  the  Rhine.  Thus  was  formed  a  chain  of  Men- 
nonites all  the  way  from  Switzerland  to  Amsterdam.  And 
when  these  plain  but  serious  people  heard  the  favorable 
reports  concerning  the  peace  and  prosperity  of  their  breth- 
ren at  Germantown,  Pennsylvania,  and  when  their  awful 
persecutions  in  Switzerland  continued  undiminished,  many 
of  them  resolved  to  try  their  fortunes  in  the  land  of  Wil- 
liam Penn.  Accordingly  in  17 10  some  hundreds,  perhaps 
thousands,  of  the  most  desirable  citizens  of  Switzerland 
and  the  Rhine  Valley  arrived  at  Philadelphia  and  selected 
as  their  settlement  a  tract  of  10,000  acres  on  the  Pequea 
Creek,  Conestoga,  just  east  of  the  Susquehanna  River,  in 
what  is  now  Lancaster  County.     These  industrious  and 

8  D.  Musser,  "The  Reformed  Mennonite  Church,"  1873. 


Whence  the  Germans  Came  and  Why.  107 

gentle  Mennonites  lived  on  good  terms  with  the  Indians 
and  by  the  aid  of  the  German  immigrants  that  soon  poured 
into  the  count}^  they  made  Lancaster  the  garden-spot  and 
pride  of  Pennsylvania. 

After  these  successful  beginnings  had  been  made,  In 
Germantown,  in  the  Lebanon  Valley,  and  in  Lancaster 
County,  the  tide  of  German  immigrants  began  to  flow 
strongly.  The  influence  was  contagious.  The  ancient 
Wanderlust  of  the  Teutons  revived  in  the  breasts  of  their 
descendants.  The  settlers  in  America  returned  favorable 
reports  to  their  friends  and  relatives  still  bearing  their  hard 
conditions  in  the  homeland.  Tracts  were  published  de- 
scribing Utopian  conditions  of  the  New  World.  Ship- 
owners hired  agents  to  stimulate  the  exodus  from  the  val- 
ley of  the  Rhine.  Lands,  farms,  and  plantations  were 
freely  offered  to  every  settler  for  a  small  amount  of  pur- 
chase money.  Many  representatives  of  every  class  of 
society  in  that  overburdened  population  of  Europe  yielded 
to  the  alluring  prospect  held  out  by  the  New  World  so  full 
of  opportunity  for  the  industrious.  Besides  the  great  body 
of  political  refugees  and  those  persecuted  on  account  of 
their  religion  there  were  also  considerable  numbers  of 
others,  such  as  the  Industrious  artisan  seeking  opportunity 
to  maintain  his  family,  the  overburdened  tenant  groaning 
under  a  load  of  taxes  and  labors,  the  unfortunate  merchant 
looking  for  better  Investments  and  more  promising  specu- 
lations, the  impecunious  nobleman  seeking  a  chance  to  re- 
trieve his  lost  fortune,  the  romantic  spirit  in  search  of  ad- 
venture and  desiring  to  hunt  and  trap  unrestrained  in  the 
primeval  forests,  and  the  poverty-stricken  redemptioner 
fleeing  the  starvation  that  threatened  him  at  home.  All 
these  helped  to  swell  the  stream  westward.    With  the  year 


io8  German  Element  in  York  County,  Pa. 

1727  the  Germans  began  to  come  in  such  large  numbers 
that  the  colonial  government  grew  alarmed  and  began  to 
keep  official  lists  of  these  immigrants  exacting  from  each 
man  an  oath  of  allegiance  to  the  British  government.  The 
largest  contingent  of  Germans  continued  to  come  from  the 
Palatinate  but  there  were  also  considerable  numbers  from 
the  neighboring  states  of  Germany. 

If  now  the  question  be  asked  why  this  German  immigra- 
tion focused  thus  upon  Pennsylvania  to  the  exclusion  of 
the  other  provinces  the  answer  is  fourfold.  In  the  first 
place,  before  the  German  immigration  began,  William 
Penn,  himself  half  German  by  birth,  had  made  two  jour- 
neys to  Holland  and  Germany  and  had  made  many  ac- 
quaintances among  those  who  were  the  objects  of  religious 
persecution  in  the  Fatherland.  When  therefore  the  great 
Quaker  received  his  grant  of  land  in  America  these  people 
among  whom  he  had  visited  in  Germany  were  naturally 
interested  in  his  project  to  establish  a  colony  in  the  New 
World  and  specially  susceptible  to  the  arguments  pre- 
sented in  his  pamphlet  calling  for  colonists.  When  they 
crossed  the  ocean  they  were  received  by  Penn  and  settled 
at  Germantown.  Those  who  followed  them  across  the 
ocean  naturally  followed  them  also  into  Penn's  province. 
Thus  the  tide  began  to  flow  into  Pennsylvania.^ 

In  the  second  place,  when  the  stream  of  German  immi- 
gration into  America  grew  stronger  and  the  influence  of 
the  English  government  tried  to  determine  its  direction, 
the  experiment  of  sending  Germans  to  New  York  was 
tried.  But,  as  we  have  seen,  it  was  unsuccessful.  The 
Germans  in  New  York  soon  became  involved  in  serious 


»  John  Fiske  in  his  "Dutch  and  Quaker  Colonies"  (Vol.  I,  p.  351)  agrees 
with  Diifenderffer  in  assigning  Penn's  travels  in  Germany  in  1671  and  1677 
as  the  chief  cause  in  directing  German  immigration  to  Pennsylvania. 


Whence  the  Germans  Came  and  Why,  109 

difficulties  with  the  English  there.  They  became  con- 
vinced that  the  colonial  authorities  were  unjust  to  them, 
and  that,  too,  because  they  were  Germans.  Many  of  them 
removed  to  Pennsylvania  where  they  found  conditions  quite 
satisfying.  Then  they  sent  word  back  to  the  Fatherland 
establishing  a  veritable  prejudice  against  New  York  and 
strongly  urging  their  friends  to  come  to  Penn's  land.^*^ 

Thirdly,  Pennsylvania  was  far  more  widely  advertised 
in  Germany  than  any  other  of  the  thirteen  colonies.  Im- 
mediately after  Penn's  grant  received  the  royal  confirma- 
tion in  1 68 1  he  published  his  ten-page  compilation  en- 
titled "  Some  Account  of  the  Province  of  Pennsylvania  in 
America."  This  was  translated  into  German"  by  his 
counsellor  Benjamin  Furley  and  circulated  broadcast  in 
the  valley  of  the  Rhine.  In  1682  Penn  sent  forth  his 
second  advertisement  of  his  province.  It  is  entitled  "  In- 
formation and  Direction  to  Such  Persons  as  are  inclined  to 
America,  More  Especially  Those  related  to  the  Province 
of  Pennsylvania."  This  was  a  pamphlet  of  three  and  a 
half  pages.  It  was  quickly  translated  into  German  and 
spread  abroad  in  the  hope  of  attracting  colonists  to  Penn- 
sylvania. And  another  work  that  was  translated  and  pub- 
lished in  German^^  was  Penn's  "  Brief  Account  of  the 


10 "  The  Germans,  not  satisfied  with  being  themselves  removed  from 
Nev7  York,  wrote  to  their  relatives  and  friends  and  advised  them,  if  ever 
they  intended  to  come  to  America,  to  avoid  New  York,  where  the  govern- 
ment had  shown  itself  so  unjust.  This  advice  was  of  such  influence  that 
the  Germans  who  afterwards  went  in  great  numbers  to  North  America 
constantly  avoided  New  York  and  always  selected  Pennsylvania  as  the 
place  of  their  settlement." — Peter  Kalm's  "Travels  in  America"  (1747  and 
1748),  Vol.  I:  271.  Kalm  ascribes  the  comparatively  slow  growth  of 
colonial  New  York  to  this  treatment  of  the  Germans. 

11 "  Eine  Nachricht  wegen  der  Landschaft  Pennsylvania  in  America," 
Amsterdam,  i6'8i. 

12  Kurtz,  "  Nachricht  von  der  Araericanischen  Landschaft  Pennsylvania," 
1682. 


no  German  Element  in   York  County,  Pa. 

Province  of  Pennsylvania."  Then  followed  a  number  of 
more  accurate  and  more  detailed  descriptions  from  the 
learned  pen  of  Pastorius,  leader  of  the  original  settlers 
of  Germantown.  These  were  all  intended  to  arouse  inter- 
est in  Penn's  colony  among  mercantile  and  pietistical  cir- 
cles. In  this  they  succeeded,  as  results  show.  The  chief 
of  Pastorius's  contributions  to  the  advertisement  of  early 
Pennsylvania  among  the  Germans  was  his  "Umstandige 
geographische  Beschreibung  der  zu  allerletzt  erfundenen 
Provintz  Pensylvaniae,"  published  in  1700.  But  among 
the  advertising  influences  tending  to  draw  German  immi- 
gration to  Pennsylvania,  more  important  than  any  we  have 
mentioned  is  Daniel  Falckner's  "  Curieuse  Nachricht  von 
Pennsylvania."^^  When  Falckner  returned  to  Halle  after 
some  five  years  of  experience  and  observation  in  Pennsyl- 
vania, his  friend,  August  Hermann  Francke,  who  was  then 
at  the  head  of  the  Pietistic  movement  in  Germany,  pro- 
pounded to  him  one  hundred  and  three  questions  concern- 
ing the  voyage  to  America  and  the  condition  of  the  country 
and  its  inhabitants,  both  European  and  Indian.  To  these 
questions  Falckner  replied  in  writing  with  frank  and  ex- 
haustive answers.  Questions  and  answers  were  published 
in  book  form  at  Frankfurt  and  Leipsic  in  1702,  and  the 
work  constituted  for  years  the  chief  source  of  information 
for  intending  German  immigrants.  It  passed  through 
several  editions,  and  became  a  mighty  factor,  not  only  in 
stimulating  immigration  to  America  but  more  particularly 
in  directing  it  to  the  province  of  Pennsylvania.  This  vig- 
orous advertisement  among  the  Germans  of  the  colony  of 
Pennsylvania  is  entirely  without  a  parallel  in  any  other  of 
the  original  thirteen  colonies  and  it  serves  in  no  small  de- 


13  Edited  by  Julius  F.  Sachse  and  published  in  Volume  XIV  of  the  "  Pro- 
ceedings of  the  Pennsylvania  German  Society,"  1905. 


Whence  the  Germans  Came  and  Why.  in 

gree  to  account  for  the  fact  that  German  immigration  to 
America  concentrated  upon  this  province.^^ 

Finally,  Pennsylvania  made  a  special  appeal  to  such  as 
were  driven  from  their  homes  on  account  of  their  religion. 
And  for  the  majority  of  German  immigrants  to  this  coun- 
try in  the  early  eighteenth  century  the  chief  cause  of  their 
flight  was  religious  persecution  at  home.  The  avowed 
purpose  of  Penn  in  establishing  his  colony  was  to  provide 
religious  freedom  for  the  persecuted.  He  called  his  gov- 
ernment a  "  Holy  Experiment."  His  plan  as  embodied  in 
his  "  Frame  of  Government"  was  to  extend  the  benefits  of 
complete  religious  and  political  liberty  to  all.  This  was 
one  of  the  chief  arguments  advanced  by  Penn  and  his 
agents  in  advertising  his  province.  Freedom  of  conscience 
was  the  glittering  gem  that  they  held  out  before  the  long- 
ing eyes  of  the  oppressed.  It  was  an  argument  that  natu- 
rally appealed  to  multitudes  in  those  days  of  chaotic  re- 
ligious conditions.  Those  who  settled  in  Pennsylvania 
found  their  expectations  In  this  respect  entirely  fulfilled. 
The  result  was  that,  among  the  Germans  at  least,  Pennsyl- 
vania came  to  be  regarded  as  preeminently  a  place  of  reli- 
gious liberty,  a  refuge  for  the  persecuted.  And  thousands 
upon  thousands  of  those  who  were  distressed  in  heart  and 
conscience  looked  longingly  towards  the  west  and  when 

1*  We  have  enumerated  only  the  most  important  of  the  literary  works 
that  helped  to  induce  German  immigration  to  Pennsylvania.  A  detailed 
list  of  such  works  is  found  in  Sachse's  "Pennsylvania:  the  German  In- 
fluence on  its  Settlement  and  Development.  Part  I:  The  Fatherland  (1450- 
1700),"  pp.  i26-i'68i  To  this  is  added  an  Appendix,  pp.  173-228,  con- 
taining fac-similes  of  the  title  pages  of  the  books  and  pamphlets  that  influ- 
enced the  German  emigration.  This  work  is  a  reprint  from  Volume  VII 
(1897)  of  "The  Proceedings  of  the  Pennsylvania  German  Society."  A 
critical  account  of  these  works  is  also  found  in  Winsor's  "  Narrative  and 
Critical  History  of  America,"  Vol.  Ill:  495-516. 


112  German  Element  in   York  County,  Pa. 

the  opportunity  came  to  cross  the  ocean  they  aimed  directly 
for  the  province  of  Pennsylvania.^^ 

Such,  in  brief,  are  the  reasons;  why  Pennsylvania  re- 
ceived the  great  preponderant  mass  of  German  immigra- 
tion in  colonial  times.^®  From  the  very  beginnings  of  the 
history  of  the  commonwealth  the  Germans  have  consti- 
tuted one  third  of  her  total  population  and  have  at  all 
times  exercised  a  profound  influence  upon  her  progress 
and  development.  Other  colonies  had  their  German  set- 
tlements. New  York,  New  Jersey,  Maryland,  Virginia, 
North  and  South  Carolina,  Georgia,  and  Louisiana  were 
not  without  their  representatives  from  the  Fatherland. 
But  none  of  these,  nor  all  of  them  combined,  could  com- 
pare in  number  or  in  influence  with  the  German  settlements 
in  Pennsylvania,  where  they  have  always  been  the  most 

15  Christopher  Saur,  the  celebrated  Pennsylvania  German  printer  and 
publisher,  himself  a  Dunkard,  says  in  his  "  Pennsylvania  Berichte "  of 
October  i6i,  i75'4j: 

Pennsylvania  ist  ein  solches  Land,  von  desgleichen  man  in  der  gantzen 
Welt  nicht  horet  oder  lieset;  viele  tausend  Menschen  aus  Europa  sind  mit 
verlangen  hierher  gekommen,  bloss  um  der  giitigen  Regierung  und  Gewis- 
sensfreyheit  wegen.  Diese  edle  Freyheit  ist  wie  ein  Lockvogel  oder  Lock- 
speisse,  welche  den  Menschen  erst  nach  Pennsylvanien  bringt  und  wann 
der  gute  Platz  nach  und  nach  enge  wird,  so  ziehen  die  Menschen  auch  von 
hier  in  die  angrentzende  englische  Collonien  und  werden  also  die  eng- 
lischen  Collonien  um  Pennsylvanien  willen  mit  vielen  Einwohnern  aus 
Deutschland  besetzt  zum  Nutzen  der  Krone."  Quoted  in  Seidensticker, 
"  Geschichte  der  Deutschen  Gesellschaft,"  p.  I2. 

16  Once  the  stream  of  German  immigration  had  begun  to  flow  strongly 
into  Pennsylvania  this  fact  itself  served  as  an  argument  to  attract  others 
to  this  province.  Thus  in  171 1  Moritz  Wilhelm  Hoen  published  the  advice 
of  the  German  pastor  in  London,  Anton  Wilhelm  Bohme,  under  the  title, 
"  Das  verlangte  nicht  erlangte  Kanaan  by  der  lustgrabern,  etc."  in  which 
it  is  said:  Im  Gegentheil  ist  by  Pennsylvanien  zu  mercken  dass  daselbst 
mehr  Teutsche  Colonien  sich  gesetzt  haben  als  in  einem  einigen  andern 
Theil  der  Englischen  Plantationen  in  America;  welche  die  jenigen  zu- 
mercken  haben  die  etwa  von  Lands-Leuten  einige  Hulfe  und  Hand-Reich- 
ung  bey  ihrer  ersten  Ankunft  erwarten  mochten." 


Whence  the  Germans  Came  and  Why.  113 

important  single  racial  element  within  the  borders  of  the 
state. 

Coming  into  the  province  through  the  port  of  Phila- 
delphia these  immigrants  only  gradually  made  their  way 
into  the  interior.  Step  by  step  they  spread  out  in  all  direc- 
tions from  the  city  of  Philadelphia.  Germantown,  the 
pioneer  of  all  German  settlements  in  America,  now  the 
twenty-second  ward  in  the  city  of  Philadelphia,  remained 
predominantly  a  German  city  for  more  than  a  hundred 
years  after  its  settlement  and  was  chiefly  prominent  during 
the  eighteenth  century  as  the  base  for  distribution  of  Ger- 
man immigration  to  the  interior  counties  in  southeastern 
Pennsylvania.  The  steady  expansion  of  the  German  col- 
ony westward  and  southward  in  the  eighteenth  century  is 
as  interesting  as  the  movements  of  their  Alemannic  ances- 
tors in  the  fourth  century  and  would  be  a  fruitful  theme 
for  study.  At  the  very  beginning  of  the  century  we  see 
the  hardy  German  pioneers  move  out  from  Germantown 
and  enter  the  unbroken  wilderness,  clearing  the  lands  and 
turning  the  primeval  forest  into  grain-covered  fields.  First 
they  were  content  to  remain  in  the  vicinity  of  Philadelphia, 
in  the  counties  of  Montgomery,  Lancaster,  and  Berks. 
Then  as  the  population  increased  they  made  their  way 
further  and  further  to  the  west.  As  good  lands  became 
scarcer  they  crossed  the  Susquehanna  and  founded  the 
counties  of  York,  Adams,  and  Cumberland.  Then  they 
pushed  northward  into  Dauphin,  Lebanon,  Lehigh,  North- 
ampton, and  Monroe  Counties.  Towards  the  middle  of 
the  century  Pennsylvania  herself  became  a  center  of  dis- 
tribution of  German  immigration,  which  spread  out  from 
the  Quaker  commonwealth  to  all  points  south  and  west. 
As  early  as  1732  promising  settlements  had  been  made  by 

8 


114  German  Element  in  York  County,  Pa. 

Pennsylvania  Germans  in  Western  Maryland  and  in  the 
Shenandoah  Valley  of  Virginia. ^''^  Germans  from  Berks 
County  had  settled  at  various  places  in  the  central  and 
western  parts  of  North  Carolina. ^^  When  Ohio  was 
thrown  open  to  colonists  after  the  successful  issue  of  the 
French  and  Indian  War,  Germans  from  Pennsylvania 
were  among  the  enterprising  pioneers  who  settled  there.^^ 
Still  later  they  were  in  the  forefront  of  that  vast  move- 
ment which  wave  by  wave  swept  over  the  broad  expanse 
of  the  west  and  northwest  and  won  it  to  the  purposes  of 
civilization.  The  settlement  of  York  County,  Pennsyl- 
vania, is  therefore  simply  one  small  step  in  the  Teutonic 
occupation  of  colonial  Pennsylvania  and  the  general  west- 
ward expansion  of  American  population  before  the  Revo- 
lution. Its  relation  to  subsequent  American  history  can 
easily  be  seen  when  it  is  regarded  as  one  of  the  very  first 
steps  preliminary  to  the  "  winning  of  the  west,"  an  achieve- 
ment in  which  the  Pennsylvania  Germans  and  the  more 
recent  German-Americans  have  always  borne  a  highly  im- 
portant part. 

More  specifically  it  may  now  be  asked  from  what  part 
or  parts  of  Pennsylvania  the  Germans  came  who  first  set- 
tled York  County.  Few  of  them  came  to  our  county 
directly  from  the  port  of  landing  as  untried  European  im- 
migrants. Most  of  them  had  reached  America  before  the 
official  lists  of  German  arrivals  began  to  be  kept  in  1727 
and  hence  had  some  taste  of  American  life  before  the  val- 


17  J.  W.  Wayland,  "The  German  Element  of  the  Shenandoah  Valley" 
(1907),  p.  33;  Faust,  Vol.  I,  pp.  188  ff. 

18  Williamson,  "  History  of  North  Carolina,"  Vol.  II,  p.  71 ;  Bernheim, 
"German  Settlements  and  the  Lutheran  Church  in  the  Carolinas  "  (1872), 
pp.  150  f. ;  Faust,  Vol.  II,  pp.  2281  ff. 

iS'Vide,  e.  g.,  Roosevelt,  "The  Winning  of  the  West,"  Vol.  I,  Chapter 
V,  pp.  139  f.  (Sagamore  Edition). 


Whence  the  Germans  Came  and  Why.  115 

leys  of  York  County  were  thrown  open  to  settlers.  Then 
in  the  late  twenties  and  early  thirties  when  proprietary  re- 
strictions and  Indian  claims  were  lifted  west  of  the  Sus- 
quehanna, they  were  moved  by  various  considerations  to 
dispose  of  their  former  lands  and  improvements  and  to  be- 
gin life  a  second  time  on  American  soil  by  taking  up  lands 
on  the  inviting  stretches  of  the  newly  opened  county.  It 
was  this  class  of  people,  with  several  years  of  pioneer  ex- 
perience behind  them,  who  constituted  the  great  majority 
of  the  original  German  element  in  York  County. 

Some  of  the  earliest  settlers  did,  indeed,  come  directly 
from  their  landing-place  and  made  our  county  their  first 
American  home,  but  such  are  comparatively  rare  instances. 
Of  the  known  names  of  earliest  settlers  in  the  Kreutz 
Creek  Valley  and  on  Digges's  Choice  more  than  four 
fifths  had  arrived  in  this  country  before  those  settlements 
were  begun  and  hence  must  have  settled  elsewhere  before 
coming  to  York  County.  A  search  of  the  official  lists^*^  of 
German  immigrants  reveals  the  fact  that  less  than  one 
fifth  of  those  mentioned  above  (pp.  59  f,  64,  75  ff )  are  to 
be  found  among  the  arrivals  from  1727  to  1740.  Nor 
does  the  identity  of  name  always  identify  the  person. 
Tobias  Frey,  Philip  Ziegler,  Nicholas  Bucher,  Nicholas 
Perie,  Michael  Miller,  Caspar  Spangler,  and  John  Leh- 
mann  arrived  in  1727.  Peter  Mittelkauf,  Frederick 
Leader  and  John  Morningstar  arrived  in  1728.^^     Jacob 

20  Division  of  Public  Records,  Penns}^lvania  State  Library,  Harrisburg. 
Vide  Rupp's  "  Thirty  Thousand  Names." 

21  Peter  Mittelkauf  is  known  to  have  settled  first  in  Montgomery  County, 
as  did  also  Michael  Will  (Vi^iill)  who  arrived  in  1732.  Vide  supra,  p.  76. 
Johannes  Morgenstern's  name  occurs  as  late  as  June,  i7'34,  on  the  baptismal 
register  of  Pastor  Stoever's  Record  for  the  Lutheran  Church  of  the  Trappe 
in  Montgomery  County.  Vide  "  Proceedings  of  the  Pennsylvania  German 
Society,"  Vol.  VI,  pp.  1781,  179  and  180. 


Ii6  German  Element  in  York  County',  Pa. 

Krebell  and  Christian  CroU  arrived  in  1729.  John  Counts 
and  Henry  Smith  arrived  in  1730.  All  of  these  had  ar- 
rived before  the  German  migration  across  the  Susquehanna 
had  begun.  Hence  they  must  first  have  settled  elsewhere 
in  Pennsylvania.  But  Jacob  Welshover,  Henry  Bann  and 
Martin  Schultz  arrived  in  173 1  and  may  have  gone  directly 
to  York  County.  Likewise  the  following :  Martin  Weigle, 
Martin  Bower,  Adam  Miller  (arrived  1732),  Hans  Stein- 
man  (1733),  Ulrich  Whistler  (1733),  Jacob  Huntzecker 
(1733),  Michael  Spangler  (1737),  Martin  Buyers 
(1738),  and  William  Oler  (1737).  Matthias  Ulrich 
arrived  in  1738  but  from  his  deposition  of  August  29, 
1746,  it  is  evident  that  he  did  not  settle  on  Digges's  Choice 
until  1742,  just  before  making  his  visit  to  Germany.^^ 
Peter  Ensminger  arrived  in  Philadelphia  in  1733  but  first 
settled  in  Lancaster  County  where  he  was  naturalized  in 
1734  or  1735.^^  It  is  clear,  therefore,  that  at  all  times 
the  great  mass  of  the  immigrants  into  our  county  used 
some  other  part  of  Pennsylvania  as  a  stepping-stone,^^ 

Some  few  may  have  come  from  Maryland  but  the  num- 
ber of  those  who  came  from  that  direction  could  not  at 
any  time  have  been  very  considerable.  It  is  known,  for 
example,  that  in  1765  Richard  MacAllister  sold  several 
of  his  town  lots  to  "  George  Naes,  tanner,  of  Baltimore 
town,  in  the  province  of  Maryland,"  and  that  after  that 
the  Nace  family  resided  in  Hanover.^^     The  road  on  the 

22  Archives,  1 :  700. 

23Rupp's  "Thirty  Thousand  Names,"  p.  436. 

2*  In  the  statement  of  the  Germans  of  August  13,  1736,  they  say:  "being 
many  of  us  then  newly  arrived  in  America,"  Col.  Rec,  IV:  64.  But  in  the 
light  of  the  above  facts  this  expression  cannot  be  taken  to  preclude  several 
years  residence  in  this  country.  It  simply  serves  to  explain  their  lack  of 
acquaintance  with  political  conditions  ("  altogether  strangers  to  the  bound- 
aries")  and  accounts  for  their  susceptibility  to  "plausible  pretences." 

25  Lucy  Forney  Bittinger's  "The  Forney  Family,  1690-1893,"  p.  59. 


Whence  the  Germans  Came  and  Why.  117 

line  of  the  present  Hanover  and  Baltimore  turnpike  had 
been  laid  out  by  order  of  the  Baltimore  County  Court  as 
early  as  1736.^^  This  highway  early  established  direct 
communication  between  Baltimore  and  the  Conewago  set- 
tlements. But  there  is  no  evidence  to  indicate  that  such 
transfers  of  German  residence  from  Baltimore  to  York 
County  took  place  earlier  than  that  of  George  Naes  in 

1765  or  that  they  were  at  all  frequent  even  at  so  late  a 
date  as  1765.  The  same  is  true  of  the  Germans  in  the 
Kreutz  Creek  Settlement.  The  Germans  whom  Cressap 
placed  on  the  improvements  of  those  whom  he  succeeded 
in  expelling  from  the  west  side  of  the  Susquehanna  had 
not  been  brought  from  Maryland.  They  were  in  all 
probability  impecunious  Pennsylvania  German  squatters 
from  York  or  Lancaster  County  whom  Cressap  and  his 
agents  had  seduced  by  fa,ir  promises.  For  in  all  the  nego- 
tiations concerning  the  border  difficulties  between  the 
provinces  the  distinction  is  sharply  drawn  between  "the 
Marylanders "  and  "  the  Germans."  The  Maryland 
authorities  assume  that  the  Germans  before  settling  west 
of  the  Susquehanna  had  been  within  the  proper  bounds  of 
Pennsylvania,  they  protest  against  the  action  of  the  Penn- 
sylvania authorities  in  securing  the  sworn  allegiance  of  the 
Germans  to  the  province  of  Pennsylvania  immediately 
upon  their  arrival  at  Philadelphia,  and  they  never  claim, 
as  they  certainly  would  have  done  if  there  had  been  the 
least  semblance  of  support  for  the  claim,  that  the  Ger- 
mans had  come  from  Maryland  before  taking  up  lands  on 
the  controverted  territory.     Everywhere  the  assumption 

26  According  to  a  statement  in  a  petition  of  the  Conewago  citizens  of 

1766  asking  that  the  northern  ten  miles  of  the  road  be  viewed  and  recorded 
in  Pennsylvania.  This  petition  is  quoted  in  Gibson's  "  History  of  York 
County,"  p.  322. 


ii8  German  Element  in  York  County,  Pa. 

is  that  the  Germans  in  that  settlement  had  come  from 
Pennsylvania.^'^ 

It  would  seem  that  as  a  class  the  settlers  on  the  Codorus 
and  about  the  future  site  of  York  had  less  American  ex- 
perience when  they  came  to  our  county  than  those  in  the 
other  German  settlements.  They  had  come  more  directly 
from  the  Fatherland.  An  unusual  proportion  of  those 
gathered  together  by  Pastor  Stoever  in  1733  had  arrived 
in  America  after  September,  1727.  At  least  two  thirds 
of  the  original  members  of  that  congregation  were  recent 
arrivals  (5  of  them  had  arrived  in  1727,  i  In  1729,  5 
in  173 1,  and  6  in  1732)  while  in  the  other  settlements, 
as  we  have  seen,  less  than  one  fifth  of  the  whole  number 
had  come  after  1727.  And  this  settlement  continued  to 
draw  more  extensively  from  the  newest  arrivals  than  the 
other  settlements.  For  of  the  100  names  of  males  entered 
in  Stoever's  baptismal  register  before  1741  at  least  49 
had  come  to  America  since  September,  1727  (5  in  1727, 

1  in  1728,  I  in  1730,  10  in  1731,  23  in  1732,  6  in  1733, 

2  in  1734,  and  i  in  1737).  It  is  safe  to  conclude,  there- 
fore, that  as  a  class  the  German  settlers  in  the  central  part 
of  the  county  had  not  tarried  so  long  after  landing  in 
America  before  they  came  hither.  But  even  they  did  not, 
except  in  a  very  few  instances,  come  to  York  County 
directly  from  the  port  of  landing.  When  the  town  of 
York  was  founded  the  earliest  lot-owners  came  from  among 
the  Germans  already  living  in  the  county.^^  In  the  course 
of  its  growth  and  until  it  became  a  county-seat  the  town 


27  Colonial  Records,  IV:  13a  and  142. 

28  Among  the  names  of  the  first  applicants  for  lots  (p.  90  f)  those  of 
Baltzer  Spangler,  Michael  Swope,  Christian  Croll,  George  Swope,  Jacob 
Grebell,  and  Henry  Hendricks  are  familiar  to  us  as  the  names  of  early 
residents  in  the  Kreutz  Creek  Valley. 


Whence  the  Germans  Came  and  Why.  119 

continued  to  draw  its  citizens  from  the  outlying  districts 
of  the  county  and  from  Lancaster  County.  After  the 
progress  of  the  earliest  settlements  was  well  under  way 
and  after  the  border  difficulties  were  adjusted  it  occurred 
more  frequently  than  earlier  that  Germans  settled  in  York 
County  immediately  upon  their  landing  on  our  shores. 
We  have  one  striking  instance  of  this  in  the  case  of  Lorentz 
Schmal.  He  arrived  in  Philadelphia  on  September  2, 
1743,  and  went  at  once  to  take  up  a  farm  at  what  is  now 
Maish's  Mills,  six  miles  southeast  of  York,  where  he  be- 
came the  progenitor  of  the  numerous  and  influential  Smalls 
of  the  county.^^  But  up  to  the  middle  of  the  century  when 
Yorktown  began  to  attract  attention,  this  class  of  settlers 
directly  from  the  Fatherland  formed  no  considerable  part 
of  the  community. 

The  great  majority  of  the  German  settlers  In  York 
County  came  from  the  fertile  lands  of  Lancaster  County 
just  across  the  Susquehanna.  This  was  the  chief  source 
of  recruits  and  reinforcements  for  the  York  County  settle- 
ments but  it  was  not  the  only  source.  Some  of  them  came, 
as  we  have  seen,  from  Philadelphia  and  Philadelphia 
County.  Such  was  the  case  with  Adam  Forney,  the  con- 
spicuous pioneer  among  the  Germans  on  Digges's  Choice, 
who  had  been  living  in  Philadelphia  County  fully  ten 
years  before  he  removed  to  the  southwestern  part  of  York 
County.^*^  Such  also  was  the  case  with  George  Albright 
and  his  son  Anthony,  who  had  settled  in  Philadelphia  upon 
their  arrival  from  the  Palatinate  and  had  remained  there 
some  eight  years  or  more  before  taking  up  lands  in  the 
valley  of  the  Codorus  near  the  newly  founded  town  of 

2^  "  Genealogical  Records  of  George  Small,  etc.,"  p.  4. 
30  Vide  supra,  p.  73. 


I20  German  Element  in  York  County,  Pa. 

York.^^  Some  of  the  Immigrants  into  York  County  came 
from  the  banks  of  the  Schuylkill  in  Montgomery  County. 
Such  was  the  case  with  Andrew  Schreiber,  also  one  of  the 
earliest  settlers  on  Digges's  Choice,  who  had  been  settled 
at  Goshenhoppen  near  the  Trappe  for  nearly  thirteen  years 
before  he  took  up  his  abode  near  Christ  Church.  His 
brother  Ludwig,  their  stepbrother  David  Young,  Peter 
Mittelkauf,  and  Michael  Will  also  came  from  Mont- 
gomery County.^^  The  Tulpehocken  settlements  in  Berks 
and  Lebanon  Counties  also  made  their  contribution  to  the 
valleys  of  the  Codorus  and  the  Conewago. 

But  while  these  counties  along  the  course  of  the  Schuyl- 
kill sent  of  their  valued  citizens  to  strengthen  the  settle- 
ments of  York  County,  yet  their  combined  total  output  to 
that  county  was  not  nearly  so  great  as  that  of  the  single 
county  of  Lancaster  on  the  Susquehanna.  As  the  eastern 
counties  furnished  the  first  settlers  for  Digges's  Choice 
and  the  Conewago,  so  Lancaster  County  furnished  the 
first  settlers  for  the  Kreutz  Creek  and  Codorus  Valleys. 
And  the  indications  are  that  throughout  the  first  three 
decades  of  the  history  of  these  settlements  the  greater 
number  of  the  Germans  on  the  Conewago  in  the  south- 
western part  of  the  county  came  from  the  more  remote 
regions  of  the  Tulpehocken,  the  Schuylkill,  and  the  Perki- 
omen,  while  the  vast  mass  of  those  in  the  valley  of  the 
Kreutz  Creek  came  from  the  nearby  lands  of  the  Cones- 
toga  and  the  Pequea.^^ 

When  the  German  settlements  in  York  County  began 
Lancaster  County  was  already  well  settled.    Hundreds  of 

31 "  Genealogical    Records    of    George    Small,    Philip   Albright,    Johann 
Daniel  Diinckel,  etc.,"  pp.  991  f. 

32  Vide  supra,  pp.  75. 

33  Of  many  of  these  it  is  definitely  stated  that  they  formerly  resided  in 
Lancaster  County. 


Whence  the  Germans  Came  and  Why.  121 

Swiss  Mennonites  had  settled  in  the  western  part  of  the 
county  in  17 10  and  for  several  decades  thereafter  their 
brethren  in  the  faith,  both  in  Switzerland  and  along  the 
Rhine,  made  Lancaster  County  their  objective  when  they 
decided  to  forsake  their  European  homes.  Then  people 
of  other  religious  persuasions  who  were  persecuted  on  ac- 
count of  their  faith,  Lutherans  and  Reformeds,  joined  the 
stream  to  Lancaster  County.  Its  picturesque  seclusion 
made  it  appeal  also  to  that  class  of  religionists  who  were 
given  to  extreme  pietism  and  a  semi-weird  mysticism.  The 
reputation  of  its  fertile  soil  made  it  specially  attractive  to 
people  who  must  needs  devote  themselves  to  agriculture.^* 
All  of  these  factors  helped  to  swell  the  procession  of  Ger- 
mans from  the  port  of  Philadelphia  to  the  fertile  soil  of 
Lancaster  County.  Thus  in  course  of  time  this  county 
came  to  be  known  as  the  chief  gathering-place  of  Ger- 
mans in  the  province,  the  location  of  "  the  great  body  "  of 
them,  and  hence  most  of  the  newcomers  in  those  early  dec- 
ades began  their  experience  in  America  by  "  repairing  to 
the  great  body  of  their  countrymen  settled  in  the  county  of 
Lancaster  on  the  east  side  of  the  Susquehanna."^^  The 
York  County  Germans  were  simply  doing  what  "  many 
others  had  done  before  "  them  when  they  set  out  for  Lan- 
caster County  immediately  upon  their  arrival  in  America. 
What  the  causes  were  that  led  the  German  people  to 

34  George  Ford's  MSS.,  quoted  in  Rupp's  "  History  of  Lancaster  County," 
p.  115,  says:  "Their  success,  the  glowing,  yet  by  no  means  exaggerated 
accounts  given  by  them,  of  the  scenery  of  the  country,  the  fertility  of  the 
soil  they  cultivated,  the  abundance  of  game  with  which  the  forest  teemed, 
the  quantity  and  delicacy  of  the  fish  which  the  rivers  yielded;  but  above 
all,  the  kind  and  amicable  relationship  they  cultivated  and  maintained 
with  their  Indian  neighbors,  all  conspired  to  make  them  the  objects  of 
attention,  and  afterwards  one  of  the  prominent  points  whither  immigra- 
tion tended  in  an  increasing  and  continued  stream." 

35  See  the  statement  of  the  Germans  quoted  above  pp.  97  f. 


122  German  Element  in  York  County,  Pa. 

cross  the  Susquehanna  River  into  the  bounds  of  York 
County  they  themselves  imply  in  their  statement  that  "  they 
found  the  lands  there  [i.  e.,  east  of  the  River]  generally 
taken  up  and  possessed  and  therefore  .  .  .  went  over  the 
River."  It  was  not  because  of  political  oppression  or  un- 
satisfactory religious  conditions  such  as  had  moved  them 
to  leave  the  Palatinate.  It  was  not  because  of  dire  eco- 
nomic necessity,  such  as  had  impelled  the  Germans  of  New 
York  to  leave  the  Mohawk  Valley  and  settle  in  the  Leba- 
non Valley,  Pennsylvania.  It  was  not  race  prejudice  such 
as  helped  to  determine  the  movements  of  the  early  Scotch- 
Irish  in  America.  It  was  not  the  love  of  adventure,  such 
as  operated  in  the  settlement  of  Ohio.  Nor  was  it  the 
desire  for  great  financial  gain  through  speculation  in  lands, 
such  as  contributed  to  the  German  settlement  of  the  Shen- 
andoah Valley  of  Virginia.  But  it  was  simply  the  next  and 
most  natural  step  in  the  expansion  of  the  population  in  the 
search  of  the  most  comfortable  means  of  subsistence  and 
the  most  convenient  soil  upon  which  to  invest  their  meager 
savings  and  fix  their  humble  dwellings.  The  continuous 
stream  of  German  farmers  into  the  territory  just  east  of 
the  Susquehanna  had  occupied  the  best  and  most  conven- 
ient farming  districts  there  and  in  the  third  decade  of  the 
century  many  of  those  who  had  settled  there  found  them- 
selves crowded  and  so  sold  their  lands  and  improvements 
to  their  neighbors  or  to  newcomers  and  moved  on  to  where 
lands  were  more  plentiful  and  convenient.^^  It  was  a 
short  step  across  the  Susquehanna.^^     The  soil  promised 

36  "  Dahero  gehen  sie  iramer  weiter  fort  in  das  wilde  Gebiische.  Solche 
die  .  .  .  aus  Noth  weiter  fortgehen  miissen  in  die  noch  ungebauten  Einoden, 
schreiben  bisweilen  die  beweglichsten  Briefe,  sie  erzahlen  wie  gut  sie  es 
gehabt."     H.  M.  Muhlenberg  in  his  Hallesche  Nachrichten,  I:  342. 

37  As  the  Susquehanna  could  not  be  forded,  ferries  were  established  at 


Whence  the  Germans  Came  and  Why.  123 

well.  Fathers  saw  better  prospects  there  for  securing 
lands  for  their  growing  sons.  They  had  spent  several 
years  in  the  New  World  and  had  become  accustomed  to 
the  pioneer  life.  The  period  of  stress  in  their  history 
was  passed  and  they  were  now  in  a  better  position  to  en- 
dure the  struggle  with  the  untamed  forests  than  they  would 
have  been  immediately  after  their  arrival  in  the  country. 
And  above  all  the  persuasions  and  inducements  held  out  to 
them  by  the  proprietary  agents  who  wished  to  preempt 
the  soil  west  of  the  river  under  Pennsylvania  authority, 
helped  to  encourage  them  in  their  expansion  and  furnished 
the  immediate  occasion  for  it. 

Such  was  the  combination  of  immediate  causes  that 
brought  the  Germans  to  the  Kreutz  Creek  Settlement.  And 
very  similar  must  have  been  the  motives  of  those  who  settled 
Digges's  Choice.  There  is  evidence  that  these  settlers  in 
the  southwestern  part  of  the  county  also  had  gathered 
somewhat  of  possessions  in  the  way  of  farming  imple- 
ments and  equipment  before  emigrating  from  their  former 
abodes,  so  that  they  too  had  some  experience  and  were  not 
the  raw  and  unprepared  victims  of  pioneer  conditions.  It 
is  worthy  of  note  also  that  in  the  case  of  these  settlers  on 
Digges's  Choice  we  must  count  as  a  contributory  cause,  in 
addition  to  the  causes  mentioned  above,  the  personal  work 
of  John  Digges  through  his  soliciting  agents. 

an  early  date.  The  earliest  and  most  important  of  these  was  John 
Wright's  Ferry,  chartered  in  ly'so.  It  crossed  the  river  at  the  point  where 
the  road  from  Lancaster  and  the  Monocacy  Road  afterwards  met  the  river. 
Wright's  Ferry  was  established  to  meet  the  needs  of  intending  settlers  in 
York  County.  But  once  established  it  also  helped  to  give  direction  to 
subsequent  immigration  into  those  parts  by  providing  the  only  convenient 
crossing-place.  For  more  than  a  century  it  was  part  of  the  great  highway 
from  Philadelphia  to  the  West.  In  i8ii4  it  was  converted  into  the  Colum- 
bia bridge. 


CHAPTER  VI. 

Outstanding  Characteristics. 


^^^^^ROM  the  foregoing  account  of  the  steps  in  the 
^M  B  movements  of  the  Germans  from  the  time 

^m  r         they  left  their  native  land  until  they  reached 
j^^^  York  County,  it  must  be  evident  that  the 

original  element  in  our  county  had  two  out- 
standing characteristics,  namely,  that  by  occupation  they 
were  almost  exclusively  farmers,  and  that  in  character  they 
were  hardy,  aggressive  and  self-reliant.  Both  of  these 
characteristics  serve  to  indicate  the  distinctive  relation  of 
the  German  element  in  York  County  to  the  general  move- 
ment of  Germans  in  this  country  and  help  to  determine 
their  distinctive  contribution  to  American  civilization. 

The  resoluteness  and  independence  of  spirit  which  char- 
acterized the  York  County  Germans  from  the  very  begin- 
ning distinguishes  them  from  most  of  the  other  German 
settlements  in  America  at  the  time  of  their  beginnings. 
For  as  a  rule  the  German  pioneers  in  this  country  had  fled 
from  their  homes  and  had  reached  our  shores  under  cir- 
cumstances that  left  them  broken  in  spirit,  practically  desti- 
tute of  means,  satisfied  with  a  mere  livelihood,  and  not  at 
all  disposed  to  resist  the  injustice  of  the  authorities  or  the 

124 


Outstanding  Characteristics.  125 

impositions  of  their  neighbors.  Neither  their  class  nor 
their  condition  permitted  them  to  make  any  immediate 
contribution  to  the  stream  of  American  civilization. 

The  very  earliest  settlement,  that  of  Germantown,  had, 
it  is  true,  manifested  a  high  degree  of  aggressiveness  and 
self-confidence  and  had  attracted  the  respectful  attention 
of  all  the  other  colonists.  But  that  was  due  not  only  to 
the  more  favorable  conditions  under  which  these  settlers 
had  emigrated  but  also  to  the  fact  that  the  members  of  this 
closed  German  community  on  the  banks  of  the  Delaware 
enjoyed  the  personal  acquaintance  and  the  special  favor  of 
the  great  founder  of  Pennsylvania,  who  was  their  brother 
in  the  faith  and  who  had  been  their  companion  in  persecu- 
tion. Moreover,  for  a  whole  generation  this  settlement 
had  the  great  benefit  of  the  leadership  of  the  learned  and 
distinguished  Pastorius.  For  these  reasons  the  inhabitants 
of  Germantown  were  able  to  begin  at  once  and  to  maintam 
throughout  a  flourishing  German  civilization  and  at  the 
same  time  compel  the  esteem  and  respect  of  their  English- 
speaking  neighbors. 

But  quite  different  was  the  experience  of  the  other  Ger- 
man settlements  in  America.  The  thousands  of  Palatines 
who  came  to  New  York  in  17 10  were  not  the  bold,  self- 
reliant  souls  who  go  forth  in  search  of  religious  freedom, 
else  their  history  in  New  York  might  have  been  very  dif- 
ferent from  what  it  was.  Rather  were  they  the  pitiable 
victims  of  economic  bankruptcy,  fleeing  from  their  homes 
in  search  of  the  necessaries  of  life.  They  were  willing 
and  able  to  work  and  some  years  later,  when  they  could 
make  the  opportunity,  they  proved  themselves  to  be  really 
expert  farmers.  But  when  they  first  arrived  in  this  coun- 
try, through  no  fault  of  their  own  they  were  placed,  in 


126  German  Element  in  York  County,  Pa. 

circumstances  that  precluded  the  free  exercise  of  their 
agricultural  talents  and  compelled  them  to  engage  In  an 
ungrateful  task  and  one  to  which  they  were  not  at  all 
adapted.  Their  unhappy  past  had  filled  them  with  in- 
finite patience  and  endurance  and  had  made  them  all  too 
wining  to  be  led  and  ruled,  though  they  were  without 
leaders  and  rulers  among  their  own  ranks.  Even  before 
crossing  the  ocean  they  had  become  the  objects  of  English 
scorn.  For  when  In  1709  some  14,000  of  these  economic 
fugitives  from  the  Palatinate  and  from  Wiirtemberg 
flocked  aimlessly  into  London,  their  destitute  condition 
aroused  the  pity  of  the  English  and  even  of  the  visiting 
Indian  chiefs,  and  out  of  commiseration  for  the  "poor 
miserable  Germans"  a  camp  was  provided  for  them  on 
Black  Heath  where  as  the  objects  of  charity  they  were  kept 
from  starvation  during  the  winter.  And  when  in  the 
spring  they  were  sent  by  thousands  to  Ireland  and  to  the 
American  colonies,  3,000  of  them  were  dispatched  to  New 
York.  Those  who  survived  the  horrors  of  transportation 
across  the  ocean  were  driven  into  veritable  slavery  on  the 
banks  of  the  Hudson  and  set  to  work  under  government 
overseers  to  make  tar  for  the  English  navy.  This  colony 
the  English  settlers  had  once  entered  on  their  own  Initia- 
tive and  with  high  and  hopeful  mien.  The  German  immi- 
grants now  came  to  it  as  hirelings,  almost  as  slaves,  hum- 
bled and  bent,  led  by  taskmasters  and  under  the  paternal 
direction  of  the  government  even  In  the  details  of  their 
lives.  With  great  humility  and  with  a  deep  sense  of  their 
Inferiority  to  their  English  masters,  as  faithful  "  bounden 
servants  of  His  Majesty,"  they  drew  out  their  weary  lives 
and  constantly  measured  their  strength  against  poverty  and 
want.    Flight  from  the  valley  of  the  Hudson  availed  them 


Outstanding  Characteristics.  127 

little,  for  the  English  authorities  pursued  them  to  the  val- 
leys of  the  Schoharie  and  the  Mohawk  and  there  continued 
to  embitter  their  hves.  But  the  constant  dangers  of  life 
in  the  wilderness  developed  among  them  men  of  leader- 
ship like  the  Welsers,  strong  spirits  capable  of  breaking 
the  net  that  had  been  thrown  over  them.  And  when  after 
two  decades  of  American  bondage  the  New  York  Ger- 
mans finally  gained  the  right  to  hold  their  lands  with  a 
sense  of  security  and  to  enjoy  the  fruits  of  their  labors, 
they  swung  themselves  higher  and  steadily  higher  to  posi- 
tions of  useful  and  independent  citizenship  and  in  the 
course  of  time  took  their  places  alongside  of  the  best  in 
their  province.  Their  early  misfortunes  had  only  delayed 
the  inevitable  development  of  their  German  culture  on 
American  soil. 

The  German  settlements  in  Pennsylvania,  east  of  the 
Susquehanna,  had  preliminaries  far  less  dismal  than  those 
antecedent  to  the  German  settlements  in  New  York.  The 
conditions  under  which  the  Pennsylvania  Germans  came  to 
our  country  were  not  nearly  so  hopeless  for  the  future,  the 
circumstances  under  which  they  settled  In  the  new  country 
were  not  nearly  so  humiliating  nor  so  compromising  of 
their  personal  dignity,  as  was  the  case  with  their  country- 
men in  the  neighboring  province  to  the  north.  Neverthe- 
less the  early  Germans  in  eastern  Pennsylvania  were  char- 
acterized by  great  modesty  and  reserve.  They  asked 
only  to  be  left  alone.  They  had  no  desire  to  impress 
themselves  upon  their  neighbors.  They  seemed  to  stand 
in  awe  of  their  more  numerous  and  more  aggressive  Eng- 
lish neighbors.  Theirs  was  not  the  cringing  attitude  of 
those  who  are  reduced  to  dire  economic  necessity.  They 
were  for  the  most  part  religious  refugees  fleeing  before 


128  German  Element  in  York  County,  Pa. 

the  oppression  of  intolerant  rulers  and  seeking  their  in- 
alienable right  of  freedom  to  worship  God.  They  devoted 
themselves  diligently  to  their  work  and  to  their  worship. 
But  they  led  a  quiet,  unobtrusive  life,  yielding  a  passive 
obedience  as  citizens  but  allowing  others  to  have  charge  of 
public  affairs,  living  at  peace  with  all  men  and  preferring 
to  yield  every  point  rather  than  to  become  involved  in 
strife.  Their  entire  bearing  in  those  early  years  of  their 
life  in  the  New  World  was  not  the  bearing  of  aggressive 
American  citizens  but  that  of  a  people  who,  for  the  time  at 
least,  seemed  to  regard  themselves  as  strangers  in  an  Eng- 
lishman's country. 

This  attitude  of  apathy,  this  lack  of  aggression  on  the 
part  of  the  Germans  when  they  arrived  in  southeastern 
Pennsylvania,  was  not  due  entirely  to  the  quietistic  prin- 
ciples of  their  religion.  It  is  to  be  explained  also  on  the 
ground  that  the  English  in  those  parts  could  claim  priority 
of  settlement  and  great  preponderance  of  numbers.  The 
English  had  determined  the  language  of  the  province  and 
the  Germans  were  regarded  as  "foreigners"  in  the  land 
even  after  they  had  taken  up  their  abodes  in  due  legal 
form.  The  first  generation  of  newcomers  naturally  did 
not  learn  to  speak  English  and  this  made  them  the  objects 
of  connivance  and  suspicion  not  only  on  the  part  of  their 
English-speaking  neighbors  but  also  on  the  part  of  the 
proprietary  authorities.  Even  the  Quaker  Assemblymen 
were  persuaded  to  enact  special  legislation  in  the  case  of 
these  Germans,  because  they  felt  that  such  special  meas- 
ures were  necessary  to  secure  the  allegiance  of  the  Ger- 
mans to  the  British  King  and  to  the  proprietors  of  Penn- 
sylvania.^    After  submitting  to  such  measures  the  Ger- 

1  On  September  14,  1727,  Governor  Gordon  called  a  special  meeting  of 
the  council  to  report  that  large  numbers  of  Palatines  were  arriving  from 


Outstanding  Characteristics.  129 

mans  in  those  early  decades  of  their  American  life  could 
not  but  feel  that  they  were  guests  in  the  English  colony 
and  that  their  presence  there  was  largely  by  sufferance  of 
the  English  authorities. 

Another  reason  for  the  unequal  position  of  the  Germans 
among  the  English  in  southeastern  Pennsylvania  during 
the  first  half  of  the  eighteenth  century  Is  to  be  found  in  the 
extreme  poverty  in  which  most  of  them  arrived  in  this 
country.  Most  of  the  German  emigrants  had  not  the 
means  to  pay  their  ocean  passage.  They  were  persuaded 
therefore  by  the  agents  of  the  ship-owners  to  take  trans- 
portation on  the  basis  of  a  contract  binding  them  to  a  cer- 
tain period  of  service  (usually  from  five  to  seven  years) 
after  they  should  arrive  In  America.  On  reaching  America 
these  contracts  were  offered  at  public  sale  by  the  ship- 
owners and  the  scenes  enacted  at  the  port  of  landing  were 
often  pathetic  and  revolting  and  always  humiliating  to  the 
German  colonists  In  America.  Those  who  thus  sold  them- 
selves into  service  were  known  as  "  redemptloners."  Their 
fate  usually  amounted  to  practical  slavery.^  Comparatively 
very  few  of  this  class  of  immigrants  came  from  any  other 
country  than  from  Germany.  Another  class  of  German 
Immigrants,   but  less  numerous  than  the  redemptloners, 

Holland  and  advised  them  that  "  it  would  be  highly  necessary  to  concert 
proper  measures  for  the  peace  and  security  of  the  province,  which  may  be 
endangered  by  such  numbers  of  Strangers  daily  poured  in,  who  being 
ignorant  of  our  Language  &  Laws,  and  settling  in  a  body  together,  make, 
as  it  were,  a  distinct  people  from  his  Majesties  Subjects."  One  week 
later  the  Council  approved  the  oath  of  allegiance  which  all  of  "  those 
Palatines"  arriving  thereafter  were  required  to  sign.  Col.  Rec,  III:  282  f. 
2  The  revolting  experiences  of  the  redemptloners,  both  on  shipboard  and 
after  their  arrival  in  America,  are  vividly  portrayed  by  Gottlieb  Mittel- 
berger  in  his  "  Reise  nach  Pennsylvanien  in  Jahre  1750  "  and  "  Riickreise 
nach  Deutchland  ira  Jahre  1754"  (Stuttgart,  I75'6)  and  by  Heinrich 
Melchior  Muhlenberg  in  Die  Hallesche  Nachrichten,  page  997. 

9 


130  German  Element  in  York  County,  Pa. 

had  sold  all  of  their  possessions  to  pay  for  their  transpor- 
tation. Arriving  in  this  country  penniless  they  would 
make  their  way  through  the  inhabited  parts  of  the  land, 
begging  as  they  went,  until  they  reached  the  borders  of 
civilization  where  they  would  settle  as  squatters.^  This 
made  a  very  unfavorable  impression  upon  the  early  in- 
habitants of  English  blood,  who  enjoyed  the  utmost  per- 
sonal freedom  and  a  satisfying  abundance  of  this  world's 
goods  and  who  in  addition  were  well  provided  with  lead- 
ers. This  moving  picture  of  time-serving  and  poverty- 
stricken  Germans,  in  groups  and  in  companies,  an  army 
without  officers,*  greatly  reduced  the  favorable  impression 
that  had  been  made  by  the  Germantown  community  under 
Pastorius.  Their  resigned  attitude  and  the  utter  help- 
lessness of  their  position  gradually  brought  the  Germans 
into  the  contempt  of  their  English  lawgivers  and  in  every 
measurement  they  were  placed  at  least  one  degree  lower 
than  those  who  spoke  English.  When  they  finally  brought 
themselves  into  positions  of  prominence  and  equal  influ- 
ence with  the  English  they  did  so  against  great  odds. 

These  facts  just  related  furnish  the  necessary  perspec- 
tive in  which  to  view  the  York  County  Germans  if  we  wish 
to  determine  their  place  in  the  general  history  of  Germans 
of  America  and  in  the  development  of  our  national  char- 
acter. For,  to  this  inferior  standing  of  the  earliest  Ger- 
mans among  their  neighbors  in  their  original  settlements 
in  New  York  and  in  eastern  Pennsylvania,  the  German 

3  It  is  from  these  conditions  that  Charles  Sealsfield  has  drawn  his  doleful 
picture  of  the  early  Germans  in  his  voluminous  works  on  America  and 
Americans. 

*  Friedrich  Kapp  in  his  "  Geschichte  der  Deutschen  im  Staate  New  York 
bis  zum  Anf  ange  des  19.  Jahrhunderts "  has  said :  "  Zur  Eroberung  des 
neuen  Weltteils  stellten  die  Romanen  OfEziere  ohne  Heer,  die  Deutschen 
ein  Heer  ohne  Offiziere,  die  Englander  dagegen  ein  Heer  mit  Offizieren." 


Outstanding  Characteristics.  131 

settlement  of  York  County  presents  a  striking  contrast. 
It  marks  a  ntw  step,  one  of  the  first  in  the  Americanization 
of  the  Germans  in  this  country.^  In  the  settlement  of 
York  County  we  have  a  stage  in  the  political  and  cultural 
evolution  of  the  Germans  in  our  country  that  was  not  at- 
tained in  other  German  communities  until  the  middle  of 
the  eighteenth  century  or  until  the  Revolutionary  War. 
The  first  generation  in  this  county  occupied  a  position  and 
influence  and  manifested  an  aggressiveness  of  character 
that  was  only  attained  by  the  second  or  even  the  third 
generation  of  their  countrymen  east  of  the  river.  From 
the  beginning  of  their  history  York  County  affairs  received 
their  color  and  their  trend  from  the  German  element  in 
the  county,  and  from  the  beginning,  too,  German  customs 
and  peculiarities  have  shown  great  tenacity  here. 

The  Germans  who  first  settled  in  York  County  belonged 
to  that  hardy  class  of  individuals  who  are  not  afraid  to 
venture  forth  even  in  the  face  of  danger.  When  they 
came  to  this  county  they  placed  the  broad  Susquehanna 
between  themselves  and  the  great  body  of  their  country- 
men and  in  many  instances  they  separated  themselves  by 
wide  stretches  of  wilderness  from  the  habitations  of  civil- 
ized man.  Men  of  daring  and  men  of  brawn  they  were, 
determined  to  stand  on  their  rights  and  to  resist  any  en- 
croachments upon  their  liberties.  Nearly  all  of  them  had 
spent  several  years  upon  American  soil  and  were  now  be- 
ginning life  anew.  Their  experience  had  been  valuable. 
They  had  become  acclimated  to  America  and  inured  to  the 
soil  of  the  New  World.  They  had  passed  the  period  of 
strain  and  stress  which  always  came  to  every  immigrant 
when  he  first  arrived.    Though  by  no  means  rich,  they  had 

s  It  was  paralleled  perhaps  by  the  case  of  those  New  York  Germans 
who  had  fled  to  the  Lebanon  Valley. 


132  German  Element  in   York  County,  Pa. 

passed  beyond  straitened  circumstances  and  had  usually 
accumulated  enough  to  provide  their  own  equipment  and 
a  fair  degree  of  comfort.  They  had  not  been  preceded 
west  of  the  river  by  a  large  number  of  English-speaking 
neighbors  who  could  thus  lord  it  over  them.  The  settle- 
ments of  the  English  in  the  northern  part  of  the  county 
and  those  of  the  Scotch-Irish  in  the  southeastern  part  had 
begun  almost  simultaneously  with  their  own,  certainly  not 
earlier,  and  these  settlements  had  not  grown  nearly  so 
rapidly  as  their  own.  The  Germans  were  able  therefore 
to  make  York  County  predominantly  a  German  county 
and  their  life  manifested  an  independence  of  spirit  ;and  a 
self-reliance  that  was  quite  unknown  in  the  incipient  stages 
of  other  German  settlements. 

This  view  is  amply  substantiated  by  a  scrutiny  of  their 
conduct  during  the  early  years  of  their  settlement  in  York 
County.  The  difficulties  occasioned  by  the  border  con- 
troversy between  the  two  provinces  concerning  the  lands 
in  the  Kreutz  Creek  Valley  furnished  abundant  oppor- 
tunity to  show  the  mettle  of  the  Germans  who  had  settled 
there.  They  had  been  invited  into  those  parts  as  a  buffer 
against  the  intrusion  of  Marylanders  and  they  served  this 
purpose  well.  Their  tenacity  of  purpose  and  their  stout 
resistance  was  a  matter  of  no  little  surprise  to  those  who 
sought  to  intrude  upon  their  domain.  It  cost  them  many 
conflicts  and  not  a  few  real  hardships  but  under  the  ca- 
pable leadership  of  men  like  Michael  Tanner,  Henry  Hen- 
dricks, Christian  Croll,  and  Henry  Liphart,  they  succeeded 
In  maintaining  themselves  and  preserving  their  allegiance 
to  Pennsylvania  until  the  exact  determination  of  the  bound- 
ary line  settled  the  whole  difficulty.  Some  of  their  num- 
ber had  been  persuaded  or  forced  to  acknowledge  the 


Outstanding  Characteristics.  133 

authority  of  Maryland  for  a  while  but  they  were  quick  to 
observe  that  the  Maryland  government  discriminated 
against  them  In  its  dealings  with  its  subjects,  and  their 
resentment  at  this,  together  with  other  arguments  of  rea- 
son,*^ led  them  fearlessly  to  disown  the  authority  of  Mary- 
land, to  refuse  payment  of  taxes  to  Maryland  agents,  and 
to  prepare  to  stand  their  ground  as  citizens  of  Pennsyl- 
vania. In  their  statements  to  the  governor  of  Maryland 
they  give  unmistakable  evidence  of  their  fortitude  and 
determination.  In  their  communication  to  him  under  date 
of  August  II,  1736,  they  protest  against  being  "seduced 
and  made  use  of,  to  answer  purposes  which  are  unjusti- 
fiable."^ And  In  a  subsequent  reply  to  the  governor  they 
firmly  declare  themselves  unwilling  to  tolerate  the  "  impo- 
sitions" of  the  Maryland  agents  and  "  the  uncommon  and 
cruel  usage  "  to  which  they  had  been  subjected.  They  re- 
count their  reasons  for  concluding  "  upon  their  own  obser- 
vations "  that  they  are  within  the  rightful  bounds  of  the 
province  of  Pennsylvania,  and  then  register  an  emphatic 
refusal  to  act  "  against  the  manifest  convictions  of  our 
consciences."^  Later  they  explain  their  action  on  the  ground 
that  "we  believed  in  our  consciences  it  was  our  duty."^ 
For  freedom  of  conscience  they  had  come  to  America  and 

6  Among  these  other  considerations  which  weighed  with  the  Germans  to 
convince  them  that  they  were  within  the  proper  bounds  of  Pennsylvania 
was  the  fact  that  the  Maryland  government  persistently  failed  to  give 
them  certificates  or  warrants  for  their  lands,  the  observation  that  their 
own  countrymen  east  of  the  river  were  settled  may  miles  farther  south 
than  they  themselves  and  had  been  settled  there  for  twenty-five  years 
under  the  undisputed  jurisdiction  of  Pennsylvania,  and  the  conclusion  that 
it  was  impossible  for  the  Susquehanna  to  be  the  boundary  between  the 
provinces.     Col.  Rec,  IV:  493. 

7Md.  Archives,  Vol.  281:  100  f.;  also  Col.  Rec.  Pa.,  IV:  61  f. 

8  Col.  Rec,  IV :  492  f . 

»Col.  Rec,  IV:  75- 


134  German  Element  in  York  County,  Pa. 

freedom  of  conscience  they  are  now  determined  to  main- 
tain in  York  County  though  it  be  necessary  tO'  fight  for  it. 
They  were  accused  of  having  revolted  from  their  allegiance 
to  Maryland  because  of  the  influence  and  persuasion  of  the 
agents  of  Pennsylvania.  This  they  deny  very  emphat- 
ically. They  stoutly  insist  that  they  have  acted  solely  upon 
their  own  initiative  and  in  a  special  statement  they  set 
forth  at  length  that  they  have  taken  these  measures  entirely 
"  of  our  own  mere  motion  and  freewill,  without  any  pre- 
vious persuasion,  threatening  or  compulsion. "^^  And  this 
there  is  every  reason  to  believe.  It  was  always  doubted 
by  the  Maryland  authorities,  but  it  is  substantiated  both 
by  direct  statements  and,  what  is  more,  by  the  clearest  of 
implications  on  the  part  of  the  Pennsylvania  authorities.^^ 

10  Ibid. 

11  The  full  and  confidential  statement  of  Blunston  gives  no  intimation  that 
he  has  persuaded  them  to  this  action  but  plainly  Implies  that  they  have 
taken  the  initiative  in  the  matter  (Col.  Rec,  IV:  57),  and  the  personal 
appeal  of  the  Germans  in  Philadelphia  (Col,  Rec,  IV:  188'  f.)  shows  their 
sincerity  in  their  move.  Furthermore  the  unmistakeable  implications  of 
several  private  letters  from  Blunston  allow  no  reasonable  doubt  that  the 
Germans  proceeded  without  his  Instigation.  Already  on  January  2,  1735, 
almost  eighteen  months  before  the  Germans  actually  transferred  their 
allegiance  to  Pennsylvania,  Blunston  wrote  to  the  proprietary:  "A  few 
days  since  twelve  or  fourteen  Dutch  Inhabitants  on  the  other  side  opposite 
to  us  were  here  and  desired  to  be  admitted  to  take  licence  under  you. 
They  think  they  have  been  imposed  upon  by  the  Marylanders  and  most  of 
Em  incline  to  be  Pennsylvanlans."  Afterwards  during  the  difficulties  that 
followed  upon  the  "  revolt  of  the  Germans  "  there  arose  between  Blunston 
and  Penn  a  slight  difference  of  opinion  as  to  the  policy  that  ought  to  be 
pursued  and  on  January  I's,  i7'37,  Blunston  wrote  to  Penn  protesting  that 
Penn's  letters  implied  a  conviction  "  that  he  receiving  the  Dutch  as  tenants 
to  this  government  (who  had  once  been  under  that  of  Maryland)  was  an 
act  of  favor  to  them  and  not  a  benefit  to  your  proprietary  interest.  .  .  . 
Now  if  that  be  the  case  I  must  acknowledge  the  principles  1  have  acted 
on  have  been  wrong,  for  when  the  Dutch  informed  me  of  their  inclinations 
to  change  I  believed  it  would  be  for  your  benefit."  This  clearly  indicates 
that  the  Germans  had  taken  the  initiative,  for  if  Blunston  had  tried  to 


Outstanding  Characteristics.  135 

The  action  of  the  Germans  in  refusing  to  pay  taxes  to 
Maryland  and  In  declaring  themselves  citizens  of  Penn- 
sylvania called  forth  retaliatory  measures  from  the  Mary- 
landers.  They  sought  to  collect  taxes  from  them  by  force. 
They  harassed  and  plundered  them  and  threatened  them 
with  fire  and  ejectment.  The  Germans  used  peaceful 
means  of  defence  as  long  as  that  course  seemed  feasible. 
On  one  occasion  when  the  Marylanders  were  seizing  the 
goods  of  some  of  the  Germans  "  under  pretence  of  publick 
Dues"  the  Germans  sent  Michael  Tanner  to  remonstrate 
with  them.  He  went  alone  and  met  them  "  six  miles  back 
from  the  River"  and  by  reasoning  with  them  succeeded  in 
getting  them  to  withdraw  under  a  truce  of  two  weeks.^^ 

In  the  hope  of  adjusting  the  difficulties  without  resort- 
ing to  force  they  sent  to  the  Council  at  Philadelphia  and 
asked  that  their  tracts  be  laid  out  In  accurate  surveys  so 
that  they  might  have  clear  titles  under  Pennsylvania.^^ 
Later  they  proposed  to  go  In  a  body  to  Annapolis  and  lay 
their  case  before  the  Governor  In  person,  acquainting  him 
with  the  violence  and  the  Inconveniences  to  which  they 
were  exposed  by  "  HIgginbotham  and  his  lawless  crew," 
and  seeking  his  Intervention  for  the  betterment  of  their 
conditions.^*  And  they  even  took  measures  to  apply  to  the 
King  himself  for  the  redress  of  their  grievances,^^  But 
neither  of  these  latter  proposals  seem  to  have  been  carried 
into  execution. 


persuade  them  to  disown  Maryland  and  to  acknowledge  Pennsylvania  he 
would  certainly  have  used  this  fact  as  an  argument  here  in  this  confidential 
letter.  And  Penn  evidently  knew  nothing  of  such  efforts  to  persuade  the 
Germans  and  even  doubted  the  expediency  of  receiving  them  when  they 
had  applied. 

12  Col.  Rec,  IV:  69;  also  a  Blunston  letter  to  Penn  of  Sept.  8,  1736. 

13  Col.  Rec,  IV:  70. 
"Col.  Rec,  IV:  155. 
"Col.  Rec,  IV:  156. 


136  German  Element  in   York  County,  Pa. 

The  Germans  sought  first  of  all  to  keep  the  peace  so 
long  as  that  was  possible  without  doing  violence  to  their 
consciences,  but  when  peaceful  measures  did  not  avail  and 
when  they  were  threatened  with  attack  they  did  not  scruple 
to  employ  more  strenuous  measures  of  defense.^®  When 
the  governor  of  Maryland  threatens  to  treat  them  like 
rebels  and  enemies  they  prepare  to  defend  their  homes. 
They  meet  force  with  force.  When  unable  to  do  this  alone 
they  call  for  constables  and  assistance  from  the  other  side 
of  the  river.  When  Cressap  captures  one  of  these  con- 
stables and  is  hurrying  off  with  him  towards  Maryland  he 
is  "  warmly  pursued  "  and  the  constable  is  rescued.^'^  When 
the  outrages  of  the  Marylanders  continue  without  abate- 
ment they  send  a  delegation  of  their  number  to  Phila- 
delphia with  representations  to  the  provincial  council  con- 
cerning their  distresses  and  praying  for  aid  against  the 
turbulent  enemy.^^  When  a  force  of  300  comes  from 
Maryland  the  provincial  government  of  Pennsylvania 
takes  a  hand  in  the  defense  but  not  without  the  valiant  aid 
of  the  Germans  themselves. ^^ 

By  the  beginning  of  1737  several  of  their  leaders  had 
been  taken  captive  and  the  guerilla  tactics  of  the  Mary- 
landers  had  so  depleted  the  numbers  of  the  Germans  that 
the  rest  of  them  became  terrified  and  fled  across  the  Sus- 
quehanna for  safety.^^  In  May,  1737,  many  of  them  are 
reported  in  prison  at  Annapolis.^^  But  meanwhile  their 
stout  resistance  west  of  the  Susquehanna  had  permitted 
the  cumbersome  negotiations  between  the  two  provinces 

"Col.  Rec,  IV:  148. 

17  Col.  Rec,  IV:  58,. 

18  Col.  Rec,  IV:  i8S>  f. 
i»Col.  Rec,  IV:  63  fiF. 

20  Col.  Rec,  IV:  1491. 

21  Vide  supra,  p.  681,  footnote  39. 


Outstanding  Characteristics.  137 

and  between  the  proprietors  in  England  to  take  their 
course  without  prejudice  to  Pennsylvania  and  their  service 
to  their  state  had  been  rendered  even  though  they  were 
now  for  a  time  driven  from  the  field.  Another  year  saw 
the  royal  order  of  1738  and  its  temporary  conditions  after- 
wards led  to  the  permanent  jurisdiction  of  Pennsylvania 
over  all  that  disputed  region. 

The  Germans  were  always  encouraged  by  the  Lancaster 
County  authorities  and  by  the  provincial  council  of  Penn- 
sylvania^^  and  their  firm  unyielding  attitude  was  appre- 
ciated by  those  authorities.  The  council  sympathized  with 
the  Germans  in  the  hardships  and  distresses  to  which  they 
were  exposed  but  at  the  same  time  they  felt  that  for  the 
Germans  to  yield  to  their  adversaries  and  quit  their  habi- 
tations west  of  the  Susquehanna  would  mean  the  over- 
throw of  an  important  principle  and  might  involve  serious 
consequences  for  the  future  of  the  province  of  Pennsyl- 
vania. For  when  Samuel  Blunston  raises  the  question  be- 
fore the  council  "whether  it  may  be  more  elegible  to  order 
the  Removal  of  all  those  who  are  seated  under  Pennsyl- 
vania on  the  west  side  of  Susquehanna,  than  to  use  further 
Endeavours  for  their  Defence,  since  it  is  now  apparent 
these  cannot  be  effectual  without  coming  to  Blows,"  the 
council  sets  itself  strongly  against  the  suggestion,  on  the 
ground  that  "  it  is  not  consistent  either  with  the  Honour 
or  Safety  of  this  Province,  to  remove  those  of  its  Inhabi- 
tants who  are  seated  within  its  unquestionable  Bounds, 
since  such  an  Act  might  be  construed  a  Cession  of  those 
parts  to  Maryland,  who  would  not  fail  thereupon  to  take 
possession  of  them;  and  in  all  probability  from  such  ar^ 
Encouragement,  would  endeavour  at  further  Encroach- 
ments on  this  side  of  the  River,  in  pursuance  of  their  late 

22 £.  g..  Archives,  I:  317;  Col.  Rec,  IV:  195. 


138  German  Element  in   York  County,  Pa. 

exorbitant  Claims. "^^  It  was  felt  that  the  honor  and 
authority  of  the  province  depended  upon  the  tenacity  of 
the  German  settlers.^*  This  responsibility  they  discharged 
by  insisting  upon  recognizing  the  jurisdiction  of  Pennsyl- 
vania until  the  crisis  of  the  controversy  between  the  prov- 
inces was  passed.  This  function  they  performed  for  the 
history  of  Pennsylvania  not  so  much  out  of  a  consciousness 
of  their  mission  as  out  of  their  native  hardiness  and  ag- 
gressiveness of  spirit.  And  these  qualities  of  character 
were  a  source  of  no  little  gratification  to  the  provincial 
authorities.  For,  says  James  Logan,  President  of  the 
Council,  in  a  writing  to  Governor  Ogle  dated  September 
18,  1736,  in  which  he  speaks  of  the  encroachments  and  the 
hostilities  west  of  the  river:  "This  province,  especially 
those  parts  are  filled  with  people  of  more  spirit  than  to 
brook  such  treatment,  and  if  any  mischief  ensue  on  their 
opposition  to  your  attacks,  you  cannot  but  well  know  who 
must  be  accountable  for  it."^^    Where  the  poverty-stricken 

23  Col.  Rec,  IV:  150  f. 

24  Blunston  wrote  to  the  proprietary  on  October  17,  1734,  suggesting  that 
the  tracts  of  the  Germans  be  laid  out  to  them  and  that  they  be  given  sur- 
veys, and  observing:  "  Tis  true  the  sellers  are  at  present  generally  poor 
and  unable  to  pay  for  their  lands  (or  even  the  surveys)  but  we  look  on 
them  as  persons  suitable  to  keep  possession."  The  sentiments  of  this  letter 
were  endorsed  by  John  Wright.  The  Lancaster  County  officials  evidently 
appreciated  the  resoluteness  and  tenacity  of  these  Germans,  and  two  years 
later  when  the  forceful  Conflicts  west  of  the  river  have  begun  and  when 
Thomas  Penn  suggests  that  some  of  the  Germans  be  removed,  Blunston 
sets  himself  against  the  suggestion  and  remarks  (letter  received  by  Penn 
on  December  i,  1736) :  "  For  those  who  are  most  in  danger  by  staying 
are  those  who  are  most  resolute  and  active  and  by  whom  the  rest  are 
directed."  The  York  County  Germans  evidently  did  not  lack  aggressive 
leaders  among  their  own  numbers. 

25  Col.  Rec,  IV:  78^  This  sentiment  concerning  the  "spirit"  of  the 
Germans  was  echoed  a  few  months  later  by  the  governor  and  council  of 
Maryland  in  a  communication  to  the  King  dated  February  i8,  1737',  in 
which  they  say  the  government  of  Pennsylvania  "  was  pleased  to  issue  a 


Outstanding  Characteristics.  139 

squatters  would  not  have  ventured  In  the  first  place,  where 
the  enslaved  redemptioners  could  not  have  gone,  where 
the  Germans  of  New  York  would  have  been  compelled  to 
flee,  and  where  the  peaceful  Mennonites  east  of  the  Sus- 
quehanna because  of  their  religious  convictions  would  have 
refused  to  resort  to  force,  the  Germans  of  York  County 
firmly  stood  their  ground  in  the  maintenance  of  their  rights 
and  In  following  the  dictates  of  their  consciences.  Their 
Independence  and  aggressiveness  of  spirit  is  therefore  of 
no  small  importance  In  the  history  of  their  county  and 
state  and  In  the  history  of  German  Americans  in  general. 

Similar  qualities  of  character  and  disposition  are  found 
in  prominence  also  among  the  early  German  settlers  on 
DIgges's  Choice.  This  is  evident  from  the  account  of  the 
beginnings  of  that  settlement  as  given  In  Chapter  IV.^® 
These  settlers  had  ventured  farther  out  on  the  frontier, 
but  In  many  respects  their  fortunes,  as  we  have  seen,  paral- 
leled those  of  their  countrymen  In  the  eastern  part  of  the 
county.  A  few  references  will  suffice  to  indicate  the  same 
unquenchable  spirit  of  independence  and  the  same  unwill- 
ingness to  endure  imposition. 

With  keen  discernment  they  conclude  from  Digges's 
conduct  in  refusing  to  survey  the  bounds  of  his  tract  and 
from  Inconsistencies  in  his  utterances,  that  he  cannot  make 


proclamation  under  the  specious  color  of  preserving  peace,  but  really  to 
inflame  and  incite  the  inhabitants  of  those  borders  (which  that  government 
then  acknovyledged  vras  filled  with  people  of  more  than  ordinary  spirit) 
to  the  commission  of  horrid  and  cruel  violences." 

The  Lancaster  County  authorities  had  had  occasion  to  test  this  spirit  of 
the  Germans.  For  during  the  short  time  that  they  had  acknowledged  the 
jurisdiction  of  Maryland  the  German  settlers  did  not  scruple  to  resist  the 
Lancaster  County  officers  when  they  felt  they  were  being  imposed  upon. 
See,  for  example,  the  incident  of  the  rescue  of  John  Lochman  from  Sheriff 
Buchanan,  supra,  p.  56;  also  Col.  Rec,  IV:  194. 

26  Vide  supra,  pp.  69-85,  for  the  facts  referred  to  here. 


140  German  Element  in  York  County,  Pa. 

good  all  of  his  claims.  They  coolly  plan  to  have  his 
bounds  surveyed  on  their  own  account,  and  this  determina- 
tion they  carry  into  effect  despite  Digges's  opposition. 
When  it  thus  becomes  clear  that  they  had  been  imposed 
upon,  they  proceed  to  take  out  warrants  under  Pennsyl- 
vania. Then  when  their  lands  are  still  claimed  by  Digges 
under  a  resurvey,  they  petition  the  Pennsylvania  author- 
ities for  advice  how  to  proceed.^''  A  warning  from  the 
secretary  of  the  province  does  not  deter  Digges  from  try- 
ing to  force  some  of  the  Germans  to  pay  him  for  their 
lands.  Then  they  meet  force  with  force,  and  drive  off  the 
officers  that  try  to  carry  them  to  Maryland.  They  ex- 
press in  no  uncertain  terms  their  determination  to  stand 
on  their  defense  and  to  insist  upon  their  rights.^^  Several 
times  they  make  petition  for  authoritative  adjustment  of 
matters,  on  the  ground  that  they  do  not  wish  to  be  put  in 
the  position  of  resisting  government  but  that  they  cannot 
tolerate  the  abuses  which  are  being  practiced  on  them.^^ 
And  several  instances  are  on  record  of  strenuous  resistance 
to  what  they  regarded  as  the  injustice  of  Digges.  The 
dealings  of  Adam  Forney  with  the  Maryland  officers  and 
the  shooting  of  Dudley  Digges  may  serve  as  examples  of 
the  tenacity  of  these  Germans  in  maintaining  their  rights. 
Thus  they  manifest  much  the  same  stern  qualities  of  char- 
acter which  their  countrymen  in  the  Kreutz  Creek  Valley 
manifested,  though,  of  course,  with  less  vital  consequences 
for  the  future  of  the  province. 

27  Archives,  I:  680  f.  and  6813.  "The  people  hope  that  Your  Honor  [i.  e., 
the  governor]  will  direct  inquiries  to  me  made  into  the  true  state  of  this 
matter  and  give  them  your  directions  for  their  behavior  with  Mr.  Digges." 

28  Vide  supra,  p.  83  f. 

29  "  For  -ppe  are  no  people  that  are  willing  to  Resist  government,  but 
rather  to  semit,  if  we  do  but  know  how,  and  whare;  and  further  Beg  you 
would  advise  us  how  to  behave  most  safely  in  the  main  Time."  Archives, 
I:  724. 


Outstanding  Characteristics.  141 

Another  characteristic  of  the  early  Germans  in  York 
County  is  worthy  of  note  in  this  connection.  It  was  one 
that  they  shared  with  all  of  the  early  Germans  in  this 
country  with  the  possible  exception  of  the  Germantown 
settlement.  They  were  at  a  great  disadvantage,  both  so- 
cially and  politically,  because  they  could  not  speak  the 
English  language.  For  while  the  provincial  authorities  of 
Maryland  recognized  the  Germans  of  our  county  as  a 
resolute,  determined  people  whose  resistance  it  was  almost 
impossible  for  them  to  break,  and  while  the  provincial 
authorities  of  Pennsylvania  recognized  those  hardy  Ger- 
mans as  a  very  fit  element  with  which  to  withstand  the 
encroachments  of  the  Marylanders,  nevertheless  there  is 
unmistakable  evidence  that  on  both  sides  of  the  line  those 
who  made  the  laws  and  enforced  them  looked  down  upon 
these  Germans  with  a  certain  degree  of  contempt  and  dis- 
dain. The  records  of  the  unhappy  incidents  growing  out 
of  the  boundary  dispute  between  the  provinces  indicate  very 
clearly  that  the  spirit  of  nativism  was  already  at  work  in 
that  early  day  and  that  the  Germans  were  regarded  as 
"ignorant  and  unfortunate  Dutchman,"  the  helpless  vic- 
tims of  circumstances  and  suitable  objects  for  the  com- 
miseration of  their  English-speaking  superiors. 

In  a  deposition  of  December  2,  1736,  John  Starr  relates 
an  interview  that  he  had  with  the  governor  of  Maryland  a 
few  months  previous  in  the  course  of  which  "  the  Gover- 
nor said  that  there  were  some  Unfortunate  Dutch  Men 
that  had  lately  Apply'd  themselves  to  him  for  those  Lands, 
&  that  he  went  there  &  Settled  them,  &  and  that  he  con- 
doled the  Misfortune  of  the  sd  Dutch  Men  for  declining 
to  be  Subject  to  the  Government  of  Maryland,  &  turning 
to  the  Proprietors  of  Pennsylvania,  And  that  the  sd  Dutch 


142  German  Element  in  York  County,  Pa. 

Men  had  Revolted  through  Ignorance  or  Perswasion,  And 
that  the  Governor  further  said  that  if  the  sd  Dutch  Men 
did  not  Return  again  to  the  Government  of  Maryland 
he  would  not  Suffer  them  to  Live  on  those  Lands  any 
Longer.  .  .  ."^°  This  was  evidently  the  general  attitude 
of  the  Marylanders  towards  the  Germans.  For  ten  days 
later  Edmund  Jennings  and  Daniel  Dulaney,  the  two 
Maryland  commissioners  who  had  come  to  Philadelphia 
to  treat  with  the  Pennsylvania  council  concerning  the 
troubles  west  of  the  Susquehanna,  in  the  course  of  a  lengthy 
communication  to  Logan  and  his  council  observe  concern- 
ing the  Germans :  "  they  must  certainly  be  ignorant  For- 
reigners  or  they  would  never  have  been  so  far  deluded  as 
to  imagine  it  to  be  in  their  power  to  divest  the  Lord  Pro- 
prietary of  Maryland  of  whom  they  received  their  posses- 
sions, of  the  Rents  and  Services  due  from  them  as  Ten- 
ants."^^  And  in  the  communication  of  the  Maryland 
authorities  to  the  King  on  February  18,  1737,  they  declare 
that  they  have  exercised  "  the  utmost  care  to  disabuse  these 
deluded  people,"  and  that  "  this  government  might  reason- 
ably conclude  these  unfortunate  people  had  been  privately 
encouraged  by  some  persons  daring  enough  to  protect  them 
against  any  prosecution. "^^ 

Much  the  same  attitude  of  lofty  superiority  towards  the 
Germans  was  held  by  their  fellow-citizens  in  Lancaster  and 
Philadelphia,  though  without  the  element  of  bitterness 
which  naturally  entered  into  the  feelings  of  the  Mary- 
landers.  When  in  August,  1736,  they  decided  to  re- 
nounce the  authority  of  Maryland  in  the  Kreutz  Creek 

30  Archives,  1 :  509. 

31  Col.  Rec,  IV:  132. 

32  Md.  Archives,  for  1736. 


Outstanding  Characteristics.  143 

Valley  and  to  acknowledge  the  jurisdiction  of  Pennsyl- 
vania in  those  parts,  they  sent  several  representatives  to 
state  their  case  to  Samuel  Blunston  and  to  ask  his  advice. 
Shortly  thereafter  Blunston  reported  the  matter  in  person 
to  the  provincial  council  at  Philadelphia  and  in  explanation 
of  their  conduct  stated  that  they  were  "  ignorant  people 
who  had  been  seduced,  and  now  being  sensible  of  it,  were 
desirous  to  return  and  live  under  our  proprietor  who  alone 
they  believed  could  truly  be  their  landlord."  He  said  that 
he  "  told  them,  since  it  was  their  ignorance,  and  the  false 
information  of  others,  and  not  malice  by  which  they  had 
been  misled,  they  need  not  doubt  but  they  would  be  re- 
ceived and  treated  as  the  other  inhabitants."^^  ^  fg^ 
weeks  later  the  Pennsylvania  council  in  a  letter  to  Gov- 
ernor Ogle  of  Maryland  remarked  concerning  the  "  natu- 
ral Honesty  and  Simplicity"  of  "those  Palatines"  and 
then  added:  "they  have  been  made  Sufferers  by  their 
Weakness  and  Credulity  in  believeing  those  busie  Emis- 
saries."^* Repeatedly  they  are  referred  to  by  the  council 
simply  as  "those  poor  people. "^^  And  on  one  occasion 
the  council  wrote  of  them  as  "  those  poor  ignorant  for- 
eigners who  had  transported  themselves  from  Germany 
into  Pennsylvania."^^ 

In  a  petition  to  the  King,  dated  December  11,  1736, 
the  Pennsylvania  council  charged  Cressap  with  having 
persuaded  "some  innocent  German  people  lately  come 
into  Pennsylvania,  who  were  ignorant  of  our  Language 
and  Constitution  "  to  take  possession  of  Lancaster  County 
lands  under  Maryland  jurisdiction,  and  in  the  same  docu- 

33  Col.  Rec,  IV:  57. 
3*  Col.  Rec,  IV:  77. 

35  £.  g.,  Col.  Rec,  IV:  114,  12a. 

36  Col.  Rec,  IV:  122, 


144  German  Element  in  York  County,  Pa. 

ment  these  Germans  are  referred  to  as  *'  the  miserable 
people."^''' 

It  would  appear  then  that  the  "misfortunes"  of  these 
"poor  Dutchmen"  were  due  primarily  to  their  "igno- 
rance" (they  themselves  called  it  "want  of  better  infor- 
mation") and  this  in  turn  was  due  to  their  lack  of  famil- 
iarity with  the  English  language. ^^  This  ignorance  made 
them  susceptible  to  plausible  pretences  and  the  objects  of 
wilful  machinations.  Their  ignorance  of  the  language  of 
the  government  had  led  the  government  authorities  to 
take  special  precautions  to  secure  their  allegiance.  Hence 
the  oath  of  allegiance  to  which  they  were  obliged  to  sub- 
scribe upon  landing  at  the  port  of  Philadelphia.  When 
in  the  course  of  the  negotiations  concerning  the  difficulties 
in  the  Kreutz  Creek  Valley  the  Maryland  commissioners 
protested  against  these  previous  "  engagements  of  Fidelity 
to  the  Proprietor  of  Pennsylvania  "^®  the  Council  of  Penn- 
sylvania made  reply: 

The  Germans  who  yearly  arrive  here  in  great  numbers,  wholly 
ignorant  of  the  English  Language  &  Constitution,  are  obliged,  on 

37  Col.  Rec,  ia6  f. 

38  In  all  their  negotiations  with  the  authorities  in  those  first  few  years 
of  their  settlement  in  York  County,  their  leader  and  spokesman  was 
Michael  Tanner.  He  was  a  young  man,  had  been  associated  with  the 
English  at  Parnell's  in  1728,  and  certainly  was  better  acquainted  with  the 
language  of  the  government  than  most  of  his  countrymen.  This  quality 
alone  was  sufficient  to  make  him  one  of  their  chief  leaders. 

The  Germans  as  a  rule  employed  an  interpreter  in  their  dealings  with 
the  authorities.  As  late  as  1747  before  the  Provincial  Council  in  Phila- 
delphia, "  Nicholas  Perie  desired  that  as  he  was  a  German  &  did  not 
understand  the  English  Language,  that  he  might  be  permitted  to  speak 
by  an  interpreter "  and  received  the  assistance  of  "  Mr.  Christian  Grass- 
hold,  who  is  usually  employed  in  this  Service  by  the  Germans."  The 
"  incivility  of  his  Language "  was  excused  on  the  ground  that  "  it  was 
owing  to  his  Ignorance  of  the  English  Language."     Col.  Rec,  V:  2i8'  f. 

39  Col.  Rec,  IV:  132. 


Outstanding  Characteristics.  145 

Account  of  our  too  near  northern  Neighbors,  the  French,  whose 
Language  many  of  them  understand,  not  only  to  swear  Allegiance 
to  our  Sovereign,  but  as  a  farther  Tie  upon  them  they  promised 
Fidelity  to  our  Proprietors  &  this  Government,  a  Practice  only 
used  with  them  &  no  others.'*'^ 

Their  chief  offense  therefore  seems  to  have  been  in  the 
fact  that  they  could  not  speak  English  immediately  upon 
their  arrival  from  Germany,  and  that  some  of  them  knew 
somewhat  of  French. 

Very  similar  was  the  attitude  towards  the  Germans  in 
the  southwestern  part  of  the  county.  In  1747,  when 
Adam  Forney  was  arrested  on  Digges's  Choice  by  a  Bal- 
timore County  sheriff, ^^  the  correspondence  indicates  that 
the  secretary  of  Pennsylvania,  Richard  Peters,  after  a 
personal  examination  of  Forney,  is  not  a  little  fearful  that 
the  witnesses  who  will  attend  the  Annapolis  court  will  be 
Unable  to  make  themselves  understood.  He  writes  to 
Thomas  Cookson,  surveyor  of  Lancaster  County,  that  the 
witnesses  who  are  to  accompany  Forney  to  his  trial  must 
be  able  to  testify  "  in  a  clear,  positive  manner,  and  there- 
fore they  must  be  sensible  people,  and  people  who  know 
Digges'  tract  well,  and  Adam  Furney's  house,  and  can 
give  a  satisfactory  account  of  things,  so  that  the  Court 
may  understand  them.  I  must,  therefore,  beg  of  you  to 
attend  Adam  Furney  in  finding  out  such  persons,  and 
examine  them  yourself  and  be  satisfied  that  they  will 
answer  the  purpose  effectually  by  giving  a  plain  evi- 
dence."*^ The  difficulty,  it  would  seem,  was  to  get  per- 
sons as  witnesses  who  would  be  able  to  speak  English  well 
enough  to  be  understood  in  Maryland.     For,  a  few  days 

40  Col.  Rec,  IV:  1381. 

41  Supra,  page  83. 

42  Archives,  I:  728. 

ID 


146  German  Element  in   York  County,  Pa. 

later  Cookson  replies  to  Peters  that  he  has  now  had  op- 
portunity to  examine  certain  citizens  from  Forney's  gen- 
eral neighborhood.  "They  are  clear,  intelligible  men, 
and  speak  English  well."  This  leads  Cookson  to  a  differ- 
ent conclusion  from  that  which  had  been  reached  upon 
examining  Forney  himself.^^  Whereupon  Peters  writes 
to  Annapolis  and  dismisses  the  counsel  he  had  retained  for 
Forney's  case  and  says:  "Mr.  Cookson  had  examination 
of  some  sensible  people  in  Furney's  neighborhood."*^  The 
inference  is  that  Forney  was  not  sensible,  clear  or  intelli- 
gent. This  was  because  of  his  lack  of  facility  with  the 
English  language,  a  fact  that  is  very  manifest  from  his 
own  letter  to  Cookson  on  this  occasion.*^  This  corre- 
spondence, therefore,  is  one  instance  of  several  which 
show  that  the  Germans  were  often  regarded  by  the  gov- 
ernment officials  and  by  their  English-speaking  neighbors 
as  unintelligent  and  unreasonable,  simply  because  they 
were  unskilled  in  English. 

The  Governor  of  Maryland  had  thought  that  "the 
Dutch  Men  had  revolted  through  Ignorance  or  Perswa- 
sion."  But  the  clear  logical  arguments  which  they  put 
forth  in  support  of  their  action,  and  their  emphatic  dis- 
avowal of  outside  persuasion,  showed  that  they  were  not 
so  ignorant  or  so  ^easily  persuaded  as  the  governor  had 
supposed.  And  the  subsequent  determination  of  the 
boundary  by  the  highest  authorities  completely  vindicated 
them  in  this  action.  The  governor  had  spoken  of  them 
as  "unfortunate  Dutch  Men"  whose  misfortunes  he  con- 


43  "  Let  Adam  Forney  defend  his  own  Cause,  since  he  has  entirely  mis- 
represented the  situation  of  the  place  where  he  was  arrested."  Archives, 
I:  731. 

4*  Ibid. 

45  Archives,  I:  725. 


Outstanding  Characteristics.  147 

doled.  But  the  decision  of  conduct  and  the  tenacity  of 
purpose  which  they  manifested  in  the  course  of  the  con- 
troversy, as  well  as  the  outcome  of  the  whole  difficulty, 
showed  that  his  commiseration  was  quite  superfluous. 

The  conditions  imposed  upon  them  by  their  pioneer  life 
and  their  critical  position  in  the  conflict  between  the  two 
provinces,  together  with  the  fact  that  they  did  not  as  a 
class  speak  the  language  of  the  governments  under  which 
they  lived,  naturally  tended  to  diminish  the  respect  in 
which  they  were  held  by  those  in  the  distance  who  were 
more  comfortably  established.  But  their  "natural  hon- 
esty and  simplicity"  and  the  fortitude  and  hardiness  which 
they  manifested  in  their  difficult  circumstances  did  not  fail 
of  appreciation,  and  those  who  knew  these  Germans  well 
did  not  regard  them  as  helpless  creatures  and  objects  of 
pity.  For  in  their  own  county  they  have  from  the  begin- 
ning been  the  most  important  single  racial  factor,  polit- 
ically, socially,  and  industrially. 


CHAPTER  VII. 

The  Limestone  Soil. 


3N  setting  forth  the  original  settlement  of  the 
primitive  soil  in  this  country  and  the  subse- 
quent readjustment  of  communities  the  effort 
is  not  infrequently  made  to  show  a  relation 
between  the  preponderating  nationality  of  a 
given  settlement  and  the  geological  formation  of  its  soil. 
The  attempt  has  sometimes  been  made  to  indicate  that 
such  a  general  relationship  applies  to  the  German  farmers 
of  the  eighteenth  century.  Thus  it  has  occasionally  been 
asserted  in  a  general  way  that  the  Germans  who  came  to 
this  country  before  the  Revolution  regularly  settled  on 
limestone  soil.  Professor  Faust  says  that  when  we  study 
on  a  map  the  location  of  the  Germans  in  America  before 
the  Revolution  we  are  impressed  with  the  fact  that  "  the 
Germans  were  in  possession  of  most  of  the  best  land  for 
farming  purposes.  They  had  cultivated  the  great  lime- 
stone areas  reaching  from  northeast  to  southwest,  the  most! 
fertile  land  in  the  colonies.  The  middle  sections  of  Penn- 
sylvania were  in  their  possession,  those  which  became  the' 
granaries  of  the  colonies  in  the  coming  Revolutionary; 
War,   and  subsequently  the   foundation  of  the  financial" 

148 


The  Limestone  Soil.  149 

prosperity  of  the  new  nation."^  This  tendency  to  settle' 
a  particular  kind  of  soil,  he  says,  was  manifest  among  the 
Germans  in  other  colonies  as  well  as  in  Pennsylvania.' 
"They  continued  to  settle  in  limestone  areas  in  every  new 
territory,  as  for  instance  in  Kentucky,  where  they  entered 
the  Blue-Grass  Region  in  very  large  numbers  during  and 
immediately  after  the  Revolutionary  War.  It  is  an  inter- 
esting experiment  to  examine  the  geological  maps  of  the 
counties  in  Pennsylvania  where  there  were  both  German 
and  Irish  settlers,  such  as  Berks  or  Lancaster  counties. 
The  Germans  are  most  numerous  where  the  limestone  ap- 
pears, while  the  Irish  are  settled  on  the  slate  formations. 
This  phenomenon  is  repeated  so  often  that  it  might  create 
the  impression  that  the  early  settlers  had  some  knowledge 
of  geology."^ 

Professor  F.  J.  Turner  is  a  little  more  specific  when  he 
says:  "The  limestone  areas  in  a  geological  map  of  Penn- 
sylvania would  serve  as  a  map  of  the  German  settlements. 
First  they  filled  the  Limestone  Island  adjacent  to  Phila- 
delphia, in  Lancaster  and  Berks  counties;  then  they  crossed 
the  Blue  Ridge  into  the  Great  Valley,  floored  with  lime- 
stone. This  valley  is  marked  by  the  cities  of  Easton, 
Bethlehem,  AUentown,  Reading,  Harrisburg,  etc.  Fol- 
lowing it  towards  the  southwest  along  the  trough  between 
the  hills,  they  crossed  the  Potomac  into  Central  Maryland 
and  by  1732  following  the  same  formation  they  began  to 
occupy    the    Shenandoah    Valley    in    Virginia."^     "  The 

i"The  German  Element  in  the  United  States,"  Vol.  I,  p.  2165. 

2  Ibid.,  Vol.  II,  p.  34. 

3  "  Studies  of  American  Immigration,"  by  Frederick  Jackson  Turner,  in 
the  Record-Herald's  "  Current  Topics  Club,"  Record-Herald,  Chicago, 
August  28  and  September  4,  1901,  "  German  Immigration  in  the  Colonial 
Period."     Cited  in  Faust,  Vol.  I,  p.  138. 


150  German  Element  in  York  County,  Pa. 

limestone  farms  of  the  [Pennsylvania]  Germans  became 
the  wheat  granaries  of  the  country."* 

Another  keen  observer  of  conditions  among  the  Penn- 
sylvania Germans,  Professor  Oscar  Kuhns,  testifies  to  this 
same  general  fact.  "The  best  soil  in  Pennsylvania  for 
farming  purposes  is  limestone,  and  it  is  a  significant  fact 
that  almost  every  acre  of  this  soil  is  in  possession  of  Ger- 
man farmers.  ...  It  is  due  to  the  fact  that  Lancaster 
County  is  especially  rich  in  limestone  soil  and  is  largely 
inhabited  by  Mennonites  that  it  has  become  the  richest 
farming  county  in  the  United  States."^  This  author  also 
cites  in  this  connection  the  statement  of  the  late  Eckley  B. 
Coxe  that  a  letter  from  Bethlehem  written  to  his  grand- 
father asserts  that  in  Pennsylvania,  if  you  are  on  limestone 
soil,  you  can  open  your  mouth  in  the  Pennsylvania  Dutch 
dialect  and  you  will  always  be  understood.® 

Still  another  writer  points  out  this  same  general  fact 
and  shows  its  effect  upon  the  Lutheran  Church  in  the 
United  States.  Dr.  Sylvanus  Stall  in  an  article  on  "  The 
Relation  of  the  Lutheran  Church  in  the  United  States  to 
the  Limestone  Districts,"^  shows  how  the  Germans  who 


4  Faust,  Vol.  II,  p.  34. 

5  "  German  and  Swiss  Settlements  of  Pennsylvania,"  p.  86  f. 

6  Sometimes  this  observation  that  the  Germans  followed  certain  natural 
features  of  the  country  is  expressed  in  terms  of  timber  rather  than  in 
terras  of  soil.  Then  the  comment  is  that  the  Germans  selected  districts 
that  are  heavily  wooded.  Mrs.  Kate  Asaphine  Everest  Levi,  in  "  How 
Wisconsin  Came  by  Its  Large  German  Element"  (1892),  p.  17,  says: 
"  Thus  the  Germans  are  seen  to  be  massed  in  the  eastern  and  north  central 
counties,  a  position  that  corresponds  markedly  with  that  of  the  heavily- 
wooded  districts;  they  have  shown  their  preference  first  for  the  wooded 
lands  near  the  main  routes  to  travel,  namely  the  eastern  counties,  and 
from  there  have  spread  to  the  north  central  parts  of  the  State  into  the 
deeper  forests." 

''Lutheran  Quarterly,  Vol.  XIII,  1883,  pp.  509  fiE. 


The  Limestone  Soil.  151 

had  been  placed  at  Newburgh  on  the  west  bank  of  the 
Hudson  In  1708  were  dissatisfied  with  the  soil  there  and 
gradually  migrated  to  the  limestone  districts  of  that  state. 
He  also  shows  how  the  Palatine  refugees  whom  the  Eng- 
lish government  had  located  on  the  east  bank  of  the  Hud- 
son In  17 10,  speedily  removed  to  the  Schoharie  and  Mo- 
hawk valleys  with  their  clear  water  and  their  limestone 
rock.  "  When  the  migrations  of  this  colony  of  Germans 
who  constituted  the  beginnings  of  the  Lutheran  Church  in 
the  state  of  New  York  are  followed,  It  will  be  found  that 
when  they  moved  In  any  considerable  numbers  their  even- 
tual settlement  was  upon  the  choicest  lands,  and  when 
uncontrolled  by  foreign  circumstances.  It  was  upon  lime- 
stone bottom.  The  same  Is  true  in  Pennsylvania.  .  .  . 
These  tendencies  of  the  earlier  Immigrants  are  to  be  found 
not  only  in  Lancaster  County,  but  are  clearly  defined  In 
the  broad  limestone  belt  which  sweeps  across  the  State, 
including  In  Its  area  the  cities  of  Easton,  AUentown,  Read- 
ing, Lebanon,  Lancaster,  York  and  Harrlsburg.  The  in- 
fluences may  alike  be  followed  In  Ohio,  Illinois,  Indiana 
and  other  States,  and  may  account  in  a  large  measure  for 
the  absence  of  Lutheran  congregations  In  New  England." 
Now  these  general  statements  concerning  the  prefer- 
ences of  the  Germans  for  the  limestone  soil  have  never 
been  verified  by  more  exact  determination.  They  are, 
however,  confirmed  in  a  remarkable  way  by  the  location 
and  distribution  of  the  Germans  In  York  County.  A  study 
of  the  German  settlements  In  this  county  In  their  relation 
to  the  geology  of  the  county  and  In  their  relation  to  other 
nationalities,  reveals  the  fact  that  ethnologlcally  York 
County  is  an  epitome  of  the  country  at  large.  The  rela- 
tions of  the  Germans  in  our  county  serve  to  bear  out  the 


152  German  Element  in   York  County,  Pa. 

general  observations  noted  above  concerning  the  Germans 
in  other  parts  of  Pennsylvania  and  in  other  states  of  the 
union. 

The  geological  map  of  York  County  furnishes  an  inter- 
esting analogy  to  the  geological  map  of  the  whole  United 
States.^  Each  of  the  five  great  areas  of  geological  time 
has  its  representatives  within  the  borders  of  our  county 
and  they  occur  in  much  the  same  order  and  the  same 
manner  of  contact  in  which  they  occur  in  the  country  at 
large.  We  have  in  this  small  compass  parts  of  the  ocean 
bottoms  that  were  formed  during  each  of  the  five  geolog- 
ical ages.  The  general  trend  of  the  formations  is  from 
northeast  to  southwest.  They  are,  in  a  general  way,  the 
continuation  of  the  geological  plains  of  Lancaster  County 
and  in  their  turn  they  merge  into  the  formations  in  Adams 
County  and  Maryland.  A  brief  survey  of  the  geology 
and  topography  of  the  county  is  necessary  to  an  under- 
standing of  the  early  German  settlements  in  their  relation 
to  the  soil  and  to  other  nationalities. 

The  oldest  part  of  the  county  belongs  to  the  Eozoic 
period.  It  constitutes  a  broad  belt  in  the  southern  part  of 
the  county.  Its  southeastern  boundary  is  on  a  line  with 
the  last  course  of  the  Muddy  Creek.  Its  northwestern 
boundary  lies  approximately  on  a  line  beginning  at  the 
southeastern  extremity  of  Lower  Windsor  Township  ex- 

8  Professor  Persifor  Frazer  (professor  of  chemistry,  Franklin  Institute, 
Philadelphia)  who  supervised  the  Second  U,  S.  Geological  Survey  of  York 
County,  says,  "  In  a  rough  and  general  way,  York  County  is  a  partial 
imitation,  on  a  very  small  scale,  of  the  United  States;  inasmuch  as,  like 
that  part  of  the  American  continent,  it  consists  of  a  belt  of  Archaean  rocks 
in  the  northwest,  of  another  in  the  southeast,  and  its  intermediate  portions 
are  made  up  of  newer  formations  containing  fossils."  And  this  analogy 
he  carries  into  great  detail.  Vide  Gibson's  "  History  of  York  County," 
p.  463. 


The  Limestone  Soil.  153 

tending  thence  westward,  passing  north  of  Windsor  Post 
Office  and  then  due  southwestward  between  Dallastown 
and  Red  Lion,  through  the  center  of  Glen  Rock  and  north 
of  Black  Rock.  It  thus  includes  all  of  Upper  Chance- 
ford,  Lower  Chanceford,  Hopewell,  Fawn  and  Shrews- 
bury Townships,  the  western  part  of  Peach  Bottom  Town- 
ship, and  parts  of  Windsor,  Lower  Windsor,  Springfield, 
Codorus  and  Manheim  Townships.  This  part  of  the 
county  constitutes  the  geological  floor  upon  which  the 
other  parts  were  laid. 

These  Eozoic  rocks  are  destitute  of  valuable  minerals 
in  York  County  but  the  soil  formed  from  them  is  com- 
paratively fertile,  second  only  to  the  fertility  of  the  lime- 
stone soil.  Its  composition  is  generally  slaty.  It  is  ca- 
pable of  sustaining  heavy  timber  growths  and  contains  at 
present  large  woods  of  strong  trees.  When  the  earliest 
settlers  came  to  the  county  there  were  large  tracts  in  the 
southeastern  part  that  were  bare  of  all  timber.  This  is 
accounted  for  by  the  Indian  custom  of  burning  the  trees 
and  other  vegetation  in  certain  sections  either  for  the  pur- 
pose of  increasing  the  facilities  of  hunting  or  to  provide 
land  for  the  cultivation  of  beans  and  corn.^  This  Eozoic 
belt  of  the  county  has  received  in  history  the  uncompli- 
mentary title  of  "  The  Barrens."  This  was  not  due  to  the 
character  of  the  soil  but  to  the  absence  of  trees  in  the  early 
days  and  to  the  methods  of  agriculture  afterwards  employed 
there.^*^    The  earliest  settlers  who  took  up  their  abodes  on 

^  Carter  and  Glossbrenner  say  that  this  was  done  to  provide  hunting 
grounds,  but  it  seems  more  probable  that  these  bare  spaces  in  York  County 
may  be  accounted  for  by  the  general  observation  of  William  Penn,  "  There 
are  also  many  open  places  that  have  been  old  Indian  fields."  In  a  letter 
written  to  the  Duke  of  Ormunde  in  i'68'3,  quoted  from  Egle's  "  Notes  and 
Queries  "  by  Swank,  "  Progressive  Pennsylvania,"  p.  76. 

1° Philemon  Lloyd  says  in  his  letter  of  October  8,  1722,  "But  from  the 


154  German  Element  in   York  County,  Pa. 

this  belt  were  unskilled  in  the  art  of  agriculture  and  in  the 
proper  rotation  of  crops.  They  would  select  a  tract  of  land 
and  put  out  their  crops  but  by  unwise  methods  of  culture 
would  soon  drain  the  soil  of  its  substance.  When  one 
tract  was  exhausted  they  would  desert  it  and  move  on  to 
new  tracts.  Thus  in  the  course  of  time  there  came  to  be 
a  number  of  tracts  In  this  region  that  were  deserted  on 
account  of  their  sterility.  Thus  was  perpetuated  the  name 
of  "  Barrens,"  a  name  that  is  quite  at  variance  with  the 
present  flourishing  condition  of  the  soil  brought  about  by 
the  importation  of  wiser  methods  of  cultivation.^^ 

The  next  oldest  geological  formation  in  the  county  Is 
found  just  north  of  the  Eozoic  belt.  This  belongs  to  the 
Cambrian  period  of  the  Paleozoic  era.  It  is  only  about 
three  fourths  as  wide  as  the  Eozoic  belt,  but  stretching  as 
It  does  across  the  central  part  of  the  county  it  has  a  much 
greater  length  than  the  older  belt  and  embraces  a  larger 
area  In  the  county.  Its  northern  boundary  begins  at  the 
southern  mouth  of  the  Conewago  Creek  and  extends  with 

Heads  of  Patapsco,  Gunpowder,  &  Bush  Rivers,  over  to  Monockasey  is  a 
Vast  Body  of  Barrens;  that  is,  what  is  called  so,  because  there  is  no  wood 
upon  it,  besides  Vast  Quantities  of  Rockey  Barrens."  Calvert  Papers, 
No.  2,  p.  56. 

11  Christoph  Daniel  Ebeling  in  his  "  Erdbeschreibung  und  Geschichte 
von  America,"  Vol.  4,  1797,  p.  681,  speaking  of  York  County,  says,  "  Das 
Land  ist  ziemlich  angebaut,  und  man  rechnete  vor  einigen  Jahren  schon, 
dass  an  drei  Viertel  desselben  von  Pflanzern  besezt  waren.  Allein  ihre 
Besitzungen  sind  lange  nicht  alle  urbar  gemacht,  sondern  viele  davon  noch 
mit  dicken  Waldungen  besezt.  Jedoch  treiben  viele,  sonderlich  die 
Deutschen,  guten  Kornbau,  haben  grosse  Obstgarten  mit  Aepfeln,  Pfir- 
sichen,  etc.  und  weitlaufige  Wiesen  mit  Timotheusgras  etc.,  zum  Theil  auch 
etwas  Kleebau.  Hopfengarten  giebt  es  gleichfals  hie  und  da.  Die  Acker- 
pferde,  welche  hier  fallen,  werden  wegen  ihrer  Starke  und  Grosse  ge- 
schatzt."  These  efficient  methods  of  the  Germans  afterwards  spread  to 
other  nationalities  in  the  County  and  helped  to  abolish  the  wasteful  con- 
ditions and  inefficient  methods  of  which  Ebeling  writes. 


The  Limestone  Soil.  155 

much  irregularity  in  a  general  southwesterly  direction  to 
Abbotstown  just  beyond  the  Adams  County  line.  It  thus 
embraces  the  whole  of  Hellam,  Spring  Garden,  North 
Codorus,  Heidelberg,  Penn,  and  West  Manheim  Town- 
ships, and  most  of  Manchester,  West  Manchester,  Jack- 
son, Paradise,  Lower  Windsor,  Windsor,  York,  Spring- 
field, Codorus,  and  Manheim  Townships.  It  also  in- 
cludes Conewago  and  Union  Townships  in  the  south- 
eastern part  of  Adams  County.  This  kind  of  rock  Is 
also  found  on  the  southern  side  of  the  Eozoic  floor  and 
covers  a  large  part  of  Peach  Bottom  Township. ^^ 

This  Cambrian  belt  consists  of  four  fairly  distinct  layers 
of  rocks.  The  oldest  of  these  are  the  chlorite  schists,  com- 
posing about  one  third  of  the  entire  belt  and  stretching 
along  the  southern  portion  of  the  area.  Next  in  order  Is 
the  Hellam  quartzite,  found  chiefly  in  the  township  of 
that  name  but  with  outcroppings  at  many  other  places  In 
this  belt.  Then  come  the  hydro-mica  schists,  or  limestone 
schists  as  they  are  sometimes  called.  These  occupy  In 
general  the  central  and  northern  portion  of  the  belt  and 
encase  the  fourth  and  most  recent  layer  which  is  the  nar- 
row ribbon  of  limestone  stretching  across  the  entire  length 
of  the  Cambrian  belt. 

The  presence  of  the  Hellam  quartzite  lends  an  undulat- 
ing effect  to  the  landscape  here.  For  the  quartzite  is  very 
hard  and  enduring  In  composition.  It  undergoes  but  little 
decomposition  either  through  chemical  or  mechanical 
action.    Thus  the  less  durable  rocks,  the  argillltes  and  the 

12  This  rock  in  the  southeastern  extremity  of  our  county  is  the  source  of 
the  celebrated  Peach  Bottom  roofing  slate.  This  economic  value  of  the 
Cambrian  rock  as  found  in  this  Township  grows  out  of  the  fact  that  it 
occurs  there  with  a  fine  grain,  an  even  texture,  and  an  almost  perfect 
cleavage. 


156  German  Element  in   York  County,  Pa. 

calcltes,  are  disintegrated  and  carried  away,  leaving  the 
quartzlte  outstanding  In  the  form  of  hills.  But  the  most 
important  part  of  the  Cambrian  belt,  so  far  as  the  history 
of  the  county  Is  concerned,  Is  the  limestone  formation. 
This  is  but  a  continuation  west  of  the  Susquehanna  of  that 
limestone  formation  which  constitutes  the  major  portion 
of  Lancaster  County.  It  is  a  comparatively  narrow  strip 
and  extends  continuously  across  the  center  of  the  county 
and  Into  the  southeastern  corner  of  Adams  County.  The 
tract  embracing  the  pure  limestone  soil  is  not  more  than 
two  miles  wide  on  an  average,  though  at  a  few  points  It 
reaches  a  width  of  four  miles.  It  begins  at  the  mouth  of 
the  Kreutz  Creek  on  the  Susquehanna  and  extends  along 
the  whole  length  of  that  creek  from  the  town  of  Wrlghts- 
ville  to  the  city  of  York.  From  York  there  Is  a  narrow 
extension  northeastward  along  the  Codorus  to  Its  mouth, 
and  one  directly  west  among  the  sources  of  the  Little 
Conewago.  But  the  general  direction  of  the  limestone 
strip  continues  from  York  southwestward  up  the  valley  of 
the  West  Branch  of  the  Codorus  Creek  and  including 
Hanover,  McSherrystown  and  LIttlestown.  An  isolated 
tract  of  this  formation  also  occurs  at  the  mouth  of  Cabin 
Branch  In  Lower  Windsor  Township. 

This  limestone  is  a  dolomltic  composition  containing 
varying  amounts  of  carbonate  of  magnesia.  It  is  popu- 
larly known  as  the  "York  limestone."  Some  of  it  is  so 
hard  as  to  furnish  excellent  building  material.  But  most 
of  it  decomposes  and  mingles  with  the  soil.  Thus  it  has 
produced  the  most  fertile  soil  in  the  county  and,  together 
with  the  related  soil  that  was  formed  from  the  neighboring 
schists,  it  constitutes  the  richest  farming  area  in  the  county, 
not  unlike  that  of  Lancaster  County  east  of  the  river.     It 


The  Limestone  Soil.  157 

Is  well  watered  and  the  rolling  contour  of  the  ground 
makes  It  exceptionally  well  adapted  to  agricultural  pur- 
poses. When  the  first  settlers  came  to  the  county  these 
limestone  hills  and  valleys  were  covered  with  heavy  tim- 
ber, and  under  wise  methods  of  culture  the  soil  has  con- 
tinued highly  productive  ever  since,  and  this  belt  has 
always  been  the  scene  of  the  county's  chief  industry  and 
activity. 

A  third  main  geological  division  of  York  County  em- 
braces practically  the  entire  northern  part  of  the  county. 
This  belongs  to  the  Triassic  period  of  the  Mesozolc  era. 
It  Is  very  sharply  defined  from  the  Cambrian  belt  just 
south  of  It.  It  is  that  same  red  sandstone  formation  which 
begins  in  the  extreme  northern  part  of  Lancaster  County 
and  covers  nearly  all  of  Adams  County  on  the  west.  The 
line  of  demarcation  from  the  Paleozoic  era  Is  quite  clear 
and  distinct  because  there  are  no  traces  whatever  of  the 
Silurian,  the  Devonian,  or  the  Carboniferous  periods  of 
that  era.  The  soil  of  this  region  differs  widely  from  that 
of  the  other  parts  of  the  county.  It  is  composed  primarily 
of  beds  of  red  shale,  red  sandstone,  and  quartzlte  con- 
glomerate. Extensive  areas  of  trap  also  occur,  and  this 
Is  practically  Identical  with  the  so-called  "Gettysburg 
Granite  "  In  Adams  County.  This  material  offers  strong 
resistance  to  disintegrating  forces  and  this  has  produced 
a  number  of  elevated  ridges  and  hills  in  this  part  of  the 
county.  It  Is  also  the  geological  cause  of  the  bothersqme 
falls  In  the  Susquehanna  near  York  Haven.  Everywhere 
traces  of  Iron  abound,  and  It  Is  this  that  gives  the  soil  of 
the  region  its  characteristically  red  color.  On  the  rocks 
In  this  region  occasionally  occur  deceptive  stains  of  green 
and  blue  carbonates  of  copper.  These  were  doubtless  the 
cause  of  those  nervous  and  Illusive  searches,  surveys,  and 


158  German  Element  in  York  County,  Pa. 

mining  shafts,  made  by  Sir  William  Keith  and  the  Mary- 
land adventurers  in  the  hope  of  obtaining  copper  or  some 
other  valuable  metal.  There  are  many  evidences  of 
brownstone  in  this  Triassic  region  of  somewhat  the  same 
quality  as  the  celebrated  Hummelstown  variety,  but  it  has 
not  yet  been  discovered  west  of  the  river  in  sufficient  quan- 
tities to  give  it  commercial  value.  Farming  has  always 
been  the  chief  industry  in  this  part  of  the  county  as  in  the 
other  parts,  although  from  the  above  description  of  the 
geology  it  must  be  clear  that  the  soil  here  is  not  nearly  so 
well  adapted  to  agriculture  as  In  other  parts  of  the  county.^^ 
These  are  the  three  main  geological  divisions  of  our 
county.  If  now  we  examine  the  nationality  of  the  earliest 
settlers  In  the  county  we  find  that  they  are  three  In  number 
and  that  each  one  of  them  gravitated  strongly  towards  one 
of  the  three  general  kinds  of  soil  furnished  by  the  geolog- 
ical divisions.  Germans,  Scotch-Irish,  and  English  crossed 
the  Susquehanna  in  rapid  succession  and  settled  within  the 
limits  of  York  County  in  the  fourth  and  fifth  decades  of 
the  eighteenth  century.  Of  these  the  Scotch-Irish  took  up 
their  abodes  on  the  Eozoic  belt  in  the  southeastern  part  of 
the  county  where  the  ground  required  little  clearing  and 
where  the  soil  was  ready  to  produce  at  once.  The  Ger- 
mans laid  out  their  plantations  on  or  near  the  limestone 
ribbon  of  the  Cambrian  belt  in  the  central  part  of  the 
county  with  Its  heavy  timber,  Its  rolling  hills  and  Its  many 
streams.  While  the  English  Quakers  chose  to  settle  the 
Triassic  region  In  the  northeastern  part  of  the  county  with 
its  secluded  lands,  its  red  soil,  and  its  mining  prospects. 

13  To  complete  our  outline  of  the  geology  of  the  county  it  should  be 
mentioned  that  the  Cenozoic  era  is  represented  in  the  county  principally 
by  the  marl  bed  north  of  Dillsburg  in  Carroll  Township.  Thus  the  great 
eras  of  geology  are  all  present  in  some  form  or  other. 


The  Limestone  Soil.  159 

These  choices  were  not  promiscuous.  But  we  are  con- 
cerned here  only  to  establish  in  detail  the  correctness  of 
the  statement  concerning  the  Germans,  and  to  indicate  its 
probable  causes  and  its  results. 

In  the  absence  of  individual  surveys  for  the  plantations 
of  the  earliest  Germans  in  the  county  we  are  left  to  infer- 
ence and  general  statements  to  show  where  they  were. 
But  these  are  so  many  and  so  varied  as  to  permit  a  high 
degree  of  accuracy  in  locating  the  early  German  settle- 
ments upon  the  map.  The  very  name  of  the  Kreutz  Creek 
Settlement  indicates  its  general  location.  And  the  Kreutz 
Creek  Valley,  as  we  have  seen,  belongs  entirely  to  the 
Cambrian  belt  and  is  composed  almost  exclusively  of  pure 
limestone  soil.  The  pioneer  plantation  of  this  settlement 
was  that  of  John  Hendricks.  He  occupied  a  part  of  that 
1,200-acre  tract  which  was  marked  off  for  the  younger 
William  Penn  in  July,  1727,  and  surveyed  in  November, 
1729.  The  whole  tract  is  described  In  the  warrant  as 
"  opposite  to  Hempfield,"  that  is,  due  west  of  the  town  of 
Lancaster.  Hendricks's  part  of  this  tract  embraced  600 
acres  and  it  is  described  by  the  surveyor  as  "  the  uper 
side  and  best  part  of  the  tract."  The  lower  part,  i.  e.,  the 
part  nearest  to  the  mouth  of  the  Kreutz  Creek,  was  occu- 
pied several  years  later  by  James  Wright,  son  of  John 
Wright.  This  embraced  the  landing-place  of  Wright's 
Ferry,  the  heart  of  the  present  town  of  Wrightsville.  The 
entire  tract  therefore  lay  just  north  of  the  future  "  Mon- 
ocacy  Road,"^'^  the  present  turnpike  from  Wrightsville  to 
York,  and  Hendricks's  600  acres  on  the  upper  part  of  the 
tract  was  therefore  but  a  short  distance  north  of  Wright's 

1*  This  road  is  described  as  beginning  between  the  lands  of  James 
Wright  and  Samuel  Tayler  on  the  west  bank  of  the  Susquehanna  immedi- 
ately opposite  the  plantations  of  John  Wright.    Vide  supra,  p.  89. 


i6o  German  Element  in   York  County,  Pa. 

Ferry  and  embraced  the  plantation  from  which  the  squat- 
ter John  Grist  was  compelled  to  remove  in  1721.^^  This 
is  entirely  within  the  limestone  ribbon,  as  a  reference  to 
the  geological  map  shows. 

The  other  plantations  in  the  Kreutz  Creek  Settlement 
are  determined  chiefly  with  reference  to  the  Hendricks 
plantation.  Michael  Tanner,  we  have  seen,  was  settled  on 
a  tract  of  200  acres  six  miles  southwest  of  John  Hen- 
dricks.^^ He  had  previously  been  seated  for  a  short  time 
near  the  mouth  of  Cabin  Branch,  which  is  also  limestone 
soil,  but  from  this  location  he  was  obliged  to  remove  in 
1728  together  with  several  English  squatters  there.  In 
1734,  however,  he  took  up  his  permanent  abode  on  the 
limestone  of  the  Kreutz  Creek.  Among  his  immediate 
neighbors  were  Conrad  Strickler,  Henry  Bacon  (Bann  or 
Bahn),  and  Jacob  Welshover.  With  these  persons  Tan- 
ner was  engaged  in  burying  another  neighbor's  child  when 
they  were  all  taken  captive  by  the  Marylanders.  Another 
close  neighbor  of  Tanner  was  John  Lochman  who  said 
that  his  house  was  seven  miles  west  of  Hendricks,  about 
two  miles  south  of  the  "little  Codorus  "  and  within  100 
yards  of  the  main  road  through  the  valley.  About  one 
and  one  half  miles  east  of  Lochman  along  the  main  road 
lived  the  blacksmith,  Peter  Gardner.  Farther  east  in  the 
same  limestone  valley  and  on  both  sides  of  the  road  were 
the  dwellings  of  Bernard  Wiemar,  Michael  Reisher, 
Christian    Croll,    Francis    Clapsaddle,    Nicholas    Kuhns, 


15  The  exact  location  of  Grist's  improvements  is  fixed  by  the  two  drafts 
mentioned,  supra,  p.  22.  Blunston's  letter  of  January  z,  1737  (Archives, 
I:  319),  says:  "I  suppose  you  know  Hendrix's  House  stands  just  by  John 
Wright's." 

i^Vide  supra,  p.  57',  and  Archives,  I:  524. 


The  Limestone  Soil.  i6i 

Valentine  Kroh,  and  Martin  Schultz.^"^  Samuel  Landis, 
the  German  shoemaker,  had  his  shop  on  the  Kreutz 
Creek.^^  This  valley  was  also  the  home  of  the  other 
Germans  in  that  first  settlement.  It  is  not  possible  now  to 
locate  precisely  the  individual  claims  of  each  one  of  the  50 
or  60  German  planters  who  settled  in  this  part  of  the 
county  before  1737,  but  it  is  clear  that  they  lay  in  the  same 
general  valley  with  those  we  have  already  fixed.  For 
Michael  Tanner  in  his  solemn  affirmation  declares  that  in 
1734  and  1735  Thomas  Cressap  "  came  into  the  neighbor- 
hood of  this  Affirmant  and  Surveyed  upwards  of  forty 
tracts  of  Land  for  this  Affirmants  Countrymen,  the  Ger- 
mans living  in  those  Parts."^^  This  same  idea  is  expressed 
or  implied  in  a  number  of  other  depositions  and  docu- 
ments relating  to  the  border  difficulties.  The  Germans 
who  signed  the  papers  to  the  governor  of  Maryland  and 
to  the  council  of  Pennsylvania  in  August,  1736,  spoke  of 
one  another  as  "neighbors."  Their  place  of  assembling 
in  self-defense  was  John  Hendricks's  house  at  the  foot  of 
their  valley.  They  regularly  referred  to  their  individual 
plantations  as  lying  southwest  of  John  Hendricks.  The 
Marylanders  in  their  attacks  upon  the  Germans  never  met 
any  opposition  nor  found  any  victims  until  they  had  come 
into  the  immediate  neighborhood  of  the  Kreutz  Creek, 

17  Vide  supra,  p,  651.  When  John  Powell,  under-sheriff  of  Lancaster 
County,  affirms  that  these  men  lived  "  on  the  West  side  of  the  Sasquehannah 
River,  not  above  one  Mile  to  the  Southvpard  of  the  house  of  John  Hen- 
dricks" (Col.  Rec,  III:  613),  he  evidently  does  not  mean  to  say  that  they 
all  lived  within  one  mile's  distance  of  Hendricks's  house,  but  merely  that 
they  were  within  the  undoubted  bounds  of  Pennsylvania  because  they  all 
lived  north  of  a  line  passing  east  and  west  through  a  point  one  mile  south 
of  Hendricks's  house.  Thus  they  lived  in  the  valley  just  north  of  the 
Kreutz  Creek. 

18  According  to  Carter  and  Glossbrenner,  vide  supra,  p.  391. 
i»  Archives,  1 :  5215. 

II 


l62  German  Element  in   York  County,  Pa. 

and  they  never  proceeded  farther  north  than  that  valley. 
The  Springettsbury  Manor,  whose  bounds  were  relocated 
In  1762  by  means  of  the  German  plantations,  lay  wholly 
within  the  Cambrian  belt  spreading  a  short  distance  on 
each  side  of  the  limestone  ribbon  in  the  Kreutz  Creek 
Valley.  And  at  the  judicial  Investigation  In  1824  evidence 
was  presented  proving  that  in  1736  at  least  52  Germans 
had  settled  on  that  area  In  a  regular  manner.  There  can 
be  no  doubt  therefore  that  most  of  the  original  German 
settlers  In  the  eastern  part  of  the  county  were  located  on 
the  pure  limestone  just  north  of  the  Kreutz  Creek,  that 
the  rest  of  them  were  settled  on  the  fertile  soil  of  the  ad- 
jacent limestone  schists,  and  that  practically  all  of  them, 
If  Indeed  we  may  not  say  all  of  them  without  exception, 
were  seated  within  the  Cambrian  belt. 

The  same  kind  of  soil  continues  to  be  the  abode  of  the 
Germans  as  we  follow  their  settlements  westward  across 
the  county.  The  settlement  which  had  gathered  on  the 
Codorus  about  the  future  site  of  York,^^  occupied  the 
limestone  strip  at  its  place  of  greatest  breadth.  Here  the 
limestone  valley  of  the  Codorus  meets  the  prolongation 
of  the  Kreutz  Creek  Valley  and  the  combination  produces 
an  unusually  favorable  location  for  a  flourishing  farming 
community.  This  region  therefore  supports  the  densest 
population  in  the  county  and  the  original  German  settle- 
ment here  flourished  from:  the  beginning. 

Among  the  most  prominent  families  In  the  early  history 
of  this  settlement  on  the  Codorus  were  the  Spanglers. 
About  1730  Caspar  Spangler  settled  711  acres  about  a 
mile  and  a  half  east  of  the  Codorus  and  extending  across 
the  future  Monocacy  Road  but  lying  chiefly  north  of  that 

20  Vide  supra,  p.  90. 


The  Limestone  Soil.  163 

road.^^  His  brother  Baltzer  arrived  in  the  community  in 
'1732  and  took  up  200  acres  about  a  mile  east  of  the 
Codorus  somewhat  to  the  south  of  Caspar's  land  about 
the  spot  where  the  present  Plank  Road  intersects  with  the 
first  run. 22  Contiguous  to  this  was  the  abode  of  Tobias 
Frey.  About  a  mile  north  of  Tobias  Frey  was  the  land 
of  his  father  Martin  Frey,  who  had  settled  there  in  1734 
and  whose  property  is  now  embraced  in  the  northeastern 
part  of  the  city.^^  Before  1738,  Caspar  Spangler's  sons, 
Jonas  and  Rudolph,  settled  upon  a  tract  of  719  acres  seven 
miles  west  of  the  Codorus  "near  the  Little  Conewago 
Creek  on  the  Conogocheague  Road,"  now  the  York  and 
Gettysburg  turnpike.  This  was  a  part  of  the  westward 
extension  of  the  limestone  ribbon,  which  forms  as  it  were 
an  offshoot  from  the  main  southwestward  direction,  and 
which  contains  many  of  the  large  springs  that  supply  the 
sources  of  the  Conewago.  Another  settler  in  this  com- 
munity and  "near  Codorus  Creek"  was  Frederick  Ebert, 
whose  lands  were  in  1736  possessed  by  Valentine  Schultz. 
About  three  miles  northwest  of  the  present  site  of  York 

21  Edward  W,  Spangler,  Esq.,  describes  this  land  as  follows:  "seven 
hundred  and  eleven  acres  of  limestone  land  about  one  and  a  half  miles 
east  of  that  portion  of  the  banks  of  the  '  Katores '  on  which  Yorktown  was 
thirteen  years  later  laid  out.  The  plantation  began  at  the  northern  range 
of  hills  and  extended  across  what  was  later  designated  as  the  '  Great 
Road  leading  from  York-town  to  Lancaster.'  ...  A  deed  for  385  acres 
thereof  was  executed  by  Thomas  Penn  to  Caspar  Spengler  October  30, 
17136.  .  .  .  The  southern  portion,  bisected  by  the  '  Great  Road,'  was  con- 
ducted by  Caspar  in  conjunction  with  his  youngest  son  Philip  Caspar 
Spengler."     "  The  Spengler  Families  with  Local  Historical  Sketches,"  p.  18. 

^"^Ibid.,  p.  1381 

23  This  land  was  afterwards  owned  in  turn  by  Isaac  Rondebush  (174.1), 
Michael  Schwack  (1741),  and  Bartholemew  Maul,  the  schoolmaster  (1743). 
By  1750  Hermanus  Bott,  one  of  the  earliest  lot-owners  in  York,  also  pos- 
sessed about  300  acres  on  the  west  bank  of  the  Codorus  adjoining  the 
town  on  the  northwest.     Gibson,  p.  514. 


164  German  Element  in  York  County,  Pa. 

lay  the  adjoining  lands  of  Michael  Walck  and  Martin 
Bauer,  and  about  five  miles  southwest  of  the  town  were  the 
properties  of  George  and  Jacob  Ziegler.^*  From  this 
point  the  German  plantations  stretched  off  northeastward 
down  the  Codorus  Valley  and  southwestward  up  the  val- 
ley of  the  west  branch  of  the  Codorus,  and  these  limestone 
bottoms  were  the  main  support  of  the  town  of  York  dur- 
ing its  early  years. 

Precisely  the  same  rule  obtains  with  reference  to  the 
German  settlements  on  Digges's  Choice  in  the  south- 
western part  of  the  county.  This  tract  was  chiefly  lime- 
stone soil  and  it  was  settled  chiefly  by  the  Germans.  From 
the  definition  of  Digges's  Choice  already  given^^  and  by 
reference  to  the  geological  maps  of  York  and  Adams 
Counties  it  will  be  observed  that  these  10,000  acres  lay 
wholly  within  the  Cambrian  belt  and  almost  wholly  on  the 
limestone  ribbon,  embracing  all  of  its  southwestern  ex- 
tremity. About  six  miles  of  the  end  of  this  strip  was  cut 
off  from  York  County  when  Adams  County  was  erected 
in  1800,  and  thus  a  few  of  the  original  plantations  now 
fall  within  the  bounds  of  Adams  County.  But  this  fact 
only  serves  to  impress  upon  the  historian  the  regularity 
with  which  the  Germans  settled  upon  the  limestone,  for 
this  southeastern  extremity  of  Adams  County  is  the  only 
limestone  soil  in  the  whole  county  and  to  this  day  is  the 
only  German  community  in  the  county.  The  limestone 
ribbon  across  York  County  reaches  a  greater  width  on 
Digges's  Choice,  the  present  neighborhood  of  Hanover, 
than  at  any  other  point  except  where  it  crosses  the  Codo- 
rus, the  present  site  of  York.    And  the  farms  adjacent  to 

2*  Vide  Map  F,  Report  of  Secretary  of  Internal  AflFairs  of  Pennsylvania, 
190S',  Part  I. 
25  Supra,  p.  70. 


The  Limestone  Soil.  165 

Hanover  are  among  the  most  beautiful  and  prosperous  In 
the  county. 

Adam  Forney,  the  first  German  settler  in  this  settle- 
ment, located  his  claim  on  the  present  site  of  Hanover. 
Andrew  Schreiber  soon  thereafter  settled  near  what  is  now 
Christ  Church,  about  four  miles  southwest  of  Hanover. 
This  is  also  on  pure  limestone  soil,  though  now  in  Adams 
County.  The  German  neighbors  of  these  two  pioneers 
located  on  the  fertile  lands  between  them  and  just  north 
of  them.  Digges's  original  survey  of  6,822  acres  extended 
four  miles  north  of  the  temporary  line  of  1738  and  in- 
cluded the  present  site  of  Hanover.  His  addition  of  3,679 
acres  adjoined  his  original  survey  on  its  north  side  and 
was  situated  therefore  wholly  on  the  limestone  formation, 
as  a  reference  to  the  geological  map  will  Indicate.  This 
inviting  soil  was  the  disputed  land  and  on  this  area  lay  the 
plantations  of  most  of  those  whom  we  have  learned  to 
know  as  the  earliest  settlers  of  Digges's  Choice. 

From  the  recorded  incidents  In  the  early  history  of  this 
settlement  it  Is  clear  that  Adam  Forney's  land  lay  within 
Digges's  original  survey  and  just  south  of  his  addition, 
that  Schreiber's  land  and  that  of  his  neighbors  from  Phila- 
delphia County  also  lay  within  Digges's  first  survey  and 
that  Martin  Kitzmiller,  John  Lemon,  Nicholas  Forney, 
Matthias  Ulrlch  and  practically  all  the  other  Germans 
whose  names  are  mentioned  In  the  course  of  the  disturb- 
ances, were  settled  upon  Digges's  additional  survey  on  soil 
contiguous  to  his  original  survey.  Their  location  there 
was  the  reason  why  they  were  involved  in  disturbance  and 
why  their  names  are  preserved  for  us.  The  Germans  had 
been  induced  to  begin  their  immigration  into  this  com- 
munity partly  by  the  personal  persuasions  of  DIgges  and 


i66  German  Element  in  York  County,  Pa. 

his  agents.  But  the  location  of  their  Individual  tracts 
they  determined  for  themselves.  They  invariably  located 
on  the  limestone  bottom.  DIgges's  misfortune,  therefore, 
lay  In  the  fact  that  he  had  not  at  once  Included  In  his  orig- 
inal survey  all  the  limestone  soil  in  that  neighborhood. 
For  this  German  settlement  on  the  Conewago  would  have 
been  spared  many  years  of  strife  and  contention  If  the 
bounds  of  DIgges's  Choice  had  coincided  throughout  with 
the  limestone  belt. 

There  is  therefore  a  remarkable  coincidence  between 
the  location  of  the  early  German  settlers  In  the  county  and 
the  length  and  breadth  of  the  limestone  ribbon  that  runs 
across  the  county.  In  the  few  instances  where  the  German 
plantations  did  not  perhaps  lie  directly  on  the  pure  lime- 
stone soil,  they  coincided  with  the  nearby  limestone  schists 
or  hydro-micas,  also  a  part  of  the  Cambrian  belt.  From 
this  the  original  home  of  the  German  element  in  York 
County  It  has  since  spread  out  over  the  entire  Cambrian 
belt  with  Its  fertile  soils  related  to  limestone.  And  even 
on  the  isolated  outcropplngs  of  limestone  rock  near  New 
Market  in  the  extreme  northern  end  of  the  county,  and  on 
the  small  district  north  of  Dlllsburg  In  Carroll  Township, 
we  have  today  the  homes  of  German  communities.  A 
more  striking  Illustration  than  York  County  affords  of  the 
tendency  of  German  settlers  to  occupy  limestone  soil  can 
probably  nowhere  be  found. 

English  speculators  took  out  large  tracts  of  land  In  these 
valleys  of  our  county  but  It  was  the  Germans  who  settled 
them.  The  Englishman,  Samuel  Blunston,  issued  the 
licenses  and  English  surveyors  laid  off  the  tracts,  but  Ger- 
man immigrants  occupied  them.  Englishmen  supervised 
the  affairs  of  Yorktown  but  Germans  were  the  lot-owners 
and  the  citizens.    An  Irishman  held  the  claim  to  DIgges's 


The  Limestone  Soil.  167 

Choice  but  it  was  chiefly  the  Germans  who  settled  the 
tract.  Both  English  and  Irish  sought  to  establish  them- 
selves on  the  limestone  island  at  the  mouth  of  Cabin 
Branch  south  of  the  Kreutz  Creek  Valley,  but  in  the 
course  of  time  the  Pennsylvania  claim  to  that  neighbor- 
hood prevailed  and  the  limestone  island  was  swallowed 
up  and  assimilated  into  the  general  German  belt.  On  this 
kind  of  soil  the  Germans  took  up  their  abodes  in  the  begin- 
ning, from  this  soil  they  excluded  practically  all  represen- 
tatives of  other  nationalities,  and  to  this  soil  they  have 
themselves  clung  most  tenaciously  to  the  present. 

The  frequent  recurrence  of  this  phenomenon  in  eastern 
Pennsylvania  and  the  striking  regularity  and  precision 
with  which  it  occurs  in  York  County  encourages  us  to  seek 
for  its  causes  here.  It  appears  then  that  the  reasons  for 
this  rule  of  choice  among  the  Germans  in  our  county  are 
two.  In  the  first  place,  the  Germans  chose  good  farming 
land  and  in  Pennsylvania  the  best  soil  for  agriculture  is 
limestone  soil.  It  is  highly  improbable  that  the  German 
immigrants  had  any  knowledge  or  concern  about  the  geo- 
logical formations  of  the  different  districts.  They  had 
regard  first  of  all  to  the  vegetation  which  the  different 
sections  had  produced  in  their  natural  state  and  they  made 
choice  of  those  regions  where  the  trees  were  largest,  the 
timber  the  thickest,  and  where  the  vegetation  was  most 
luxuriant.  Then,  too,  the  German  insisted  that  his  pro- 
spective farm  must  be  well  watered.  These  marks  he 
always  found  on  the  acres  that  were  underlaid  with  lime- 
stone. 

The  German  instinct  for  the  selection  of  good  soil  is 
traditional.  It  was  soon  observed  by  their  neighbors  in 
eastern  Pennsylvania.  The  eminent  Quaker,  Dr.  Ben- 
jamin Rush,  the  Tacitus  of  early  Pennsylvania,  has  noted 


l68  German  Element  in   York  County,  Pa. 

the  fact  In  his  classic  pamphlet  entitled!  "An  Account  of 
the  Manners  of  the  German  Inhabitants  of  Pennsylva- 
nia."^^ Speaking  of  the  German  farmer  he  says:  "They 
always  prefer  good  land  or  that  land  on  which  there  is  a 
large  quantity  of  meadow  ground.  From  an  attention  to 
the  cultivation  of  grass,  they  often  double  the  value  of  an 
old  farm  in  a  few  years,  and  grow  rich  on  farms,  on  which 
their  predecessors  of  whom  they  purchased  them  nearly 
starved."^^  This  intuitive  knowledge  of  good  land  and 
this  agricultural  success  was  the  inheritance  of  thirty  gen- 
erations of  ancestors.  The  crowded  conditions  of  life  in 
the  Rhine  Valley  had  led  to  very  intensive  methods  of  cul- 
tivation, a  fine  skill  in  agriculture,  and  the  highest  degree 
of  wisdom  in  the  husbanding  both  of  soil  and  of  crops. 
These  qualities  had  made  the  Palatinate  the  "garden 
spot"  of  Germany,  and  transferred  to  the  rich  soil  of 
eastern  Pennsylvania  they  made  It  the  pride  of  the  Key- 
stone State. ^^     The  native  tenacity  and  the  indomitable 

26  This  essay  was  written  in  1789,  edited  and  republished  by  I.  D.  Rupp 
in  18715,  and  revised  with  a  full  introduction  and  copious  annotations  by 
Theodore  E.  Schmauk  in  19 10.  Dr.  Schmauk's  edition  appeared  as  Part 
XXI  of  "Pennsylvania:  The  German  Influence  on  its  Settlement  and  De- 
velopment" in  the  Proceedings  of  the  Pennsylvania  German  Society,  Vol. 
XIX.  In  his  discerning  account  Dr.  Rush  gives  many  interesting  details 
concerning  the  methods  which  the  early  Pennsylvania  Germans  employed 
in  their  farming  and  of  the  characteristics  which  distinguished  them  from 
other  nationalities  in  Pennsylvania. 

27  Pp.  516  f.  Schmauk  edition.  Sydney  George  Fisher  in  his  "  The  Mak- 
ing of  Pennsylvania  "  gives  a  brief  resume  of  Dr.  Rush's  observations  on 
this  subject.  He  puts  it  thus:  "They  [the  Germans]  were  good  judges 
of  land,  always  selected  the  best,  and  were  very  fond  of  the  limestone 
districts."  But  Dr.  Rush  made  no  mention  whatever  of  "  limestone  "  and 
there  is  no  evidence  that  the  Germans  consciously  and  purposely  sought 
out  this  particular  geological  formation.  They  were  only  looking  for  good 
land  and  if  this  could  have  been  found  on  any  other  kind  of  rock  they 
would  have  been  attracted  thither. 

28  This  inherited  agricultural  skill,  together  with  the  regular  selection 


The  Limestone  Soil.  169 

industry  of  the  Germans,  together  with  the  hard  condi- 
tions under  which  they  left  their  native  land,  made  them 
willing  to  undertake  heroic  tasks  when  they  arrived  in  the 
New  World.  Undaunted  by  the  size  of  the  trees  or  the 
thickness  of  the  wilderness  they  boldly  attacked  the 
forests,  for  they  realized  that  where  the  heaviest  timber 
grew  the  soil  must  be  most  capable  of  producing  rich 
crops.  This  was  undoubtedly  the  guiding  principle  that 
led  the  Germans  to  the  limestone  soil.  Other  nationalities 
such  as  the  Scotch-Irish  clung  to  the  lands  that  were  more 
easily  cleared.  They  were  less  inured  to  heavy  manual 
labor  and  were  guided  by  their  bucolic  instincts,  while  the 
slowly  plodding  German  looked  farther  into  the  future 
and  was  guided  entirely  by  his  sharper  eye  for  good  soil.^^ 
Thus  in  Pennsylvania  he  invariably  preferred  the  lime- 
stone regions  and  in  York  County  this  preference  always 
placed  him  on  or  near  the  fertile  ribbon  that  stretches 
along  the  central  Cambrian  belt. 

After  the  Germans  had  begun  their  settlement  in  these 

of  good  soil,  made  the  limestone  farms  of  the  German  farmers  in  Lancaster, 
York  and  the  other  German  counties  without  a  superior  in  this  country. 
Their  value  to  the  State  of  Pennsylvania  was  early  recognized  by  Governor 
Thomas  who  said  to  his  council  on  January  2,  1739:  "This  Province  has 
been  for  some  years  the  Asylum  of  the  distressed  Protestants  of  the 
Palatinate,  and  other  parts  of  Germany,  and  I  believe  it  may  with  truth 
be  said  that  the  present  flourishing  condition  of  it  is  in  a  great  measure 
owing  to  the  Industry  of  those  People;  and  should  any  discouragement 
divert  them  from  coming  hither,  it  may  well  be  apprehended  that  the 
value  of  your  Lands  will  fall,  and  your  Advances  to  wealth  be  much 
slower;  for  it  is  not  altogether  the  goodness  of  the  Soil  but  the  Number  and 
Industry  of  the  People  that  make  a  flourishing  Country."  Col.  Rec,  IV:  315, 
29  Dr.  George  Mays  refers  to  this  contrast  between  the  German  farmer 
and  the  Scotch-Irish  farmer  in  a  brief  and  popular  article  on  "  The  Early 
Pennsylvania  German  Farmer "  in  the  Pennsylvania  German  magazine, 
Vol.  II,  No.  4,  October,  1901,  pp.  184  f.  Vide  also  Kuhns,  "  German  and 
Swiss  Settlements,"  p.  85,  and  Lutheran  Quarterly,  Vol.  XIII,  1883,  p.  509  f. 


170  German  Element  in  York  County,  Pa. 

fertile  valleys  other  nationalities  also  began  to  recognize 
their  value  and  in  some  instances  looked  upon  them  with 
covetous  eyes.  As  early  as  1733,  when  Cressap  and  some 
of  his  associates  were  trying  to  fix  their  abodes  and  estab- 
lish their  claims  upon  the  cleared  limestone  lands  at  the 
mouth  of  Cabin  Branch,  Governor  Gordon  of  Pennsyl- 
vania wrote  to  Lord  Baltimore,  "  I  could  not  but  be  of 
opinion  that  as  some  Gentlemen  of  your  Lordship's  Prov- 
ince, who,  casting  an  Eye  on  those  Lands,  now  rendered 
more  valuable  by  the  Neighbourhood  of  our  Inhabitants, 
had  attempted  so  unjustifiable  a  Survey,  it  might  suit  their 
purposes  to  have  Cressop  and  some  others  of  the  like 
turbulent  Dispositions  settled  there,  to  give  some  Coun- 
tenance to  their  claim. "^"^  Others  recognized  also  the 
value  of  the  arable  lands  in  the  Kreutz  Creek  Valley  and 
were  very  willing  to  take  charge  of  them  after  the  Ger- 
mans had  cleared  them  with  the  heavy  toil  of  years,  had 
made  improvements  upon  them,  and  had  begun  their  cul- 
tivation. In  the  fall  of  1736,  when  the  Germans,  as  we 
have  seen,  were  already  occupying  many  tracts  west  of  the 
Susquehanna,  and  when  the  Chester  County  Plot  was  laid 
against  their  lands,  the  impelling  motive  of  the  plotters 
was  to  secure  possession  of  the  "good  land"  which  the 
Germans  occupied.  This  is  indicated  repeatedly  by  the 
affidavits  concerning  the  incident.^^  These  efforts  to  seize 
the  lands  of  the  German  are  real  compliments  to  his  wis- 

30  Pennsylvania  Archives,  Fourth  Series,  Papers  of  the  Governors,  Vol. 
I:  505. 

31  For  example,  Henry  Munday,  one  of  those  implicated  in  the  plot, 
testified  before  the  Pennsylvania  Council  on  November  27,  1736,  that  he 
and  others  had  met  Cressap  and  "  that  Cressap  had  shown  them  some 
vacant  Plantations,  and  Some  that  vpere  inhabited  by  Dutch  People,  with 
a  very  large  Tract  of  good  Land."  Col.  Rec,  IV:  1071.  This  idea  recurs 
frequently. 


The  Limestone  Soil.  171 

dom  in  the  choice  of  soil  and  to  his  skill  in  methods  of 
clearing  and  cultivating.^^ 

But  there  is  also  a  second  reason  why  the  Germans  in 
York  County  settled  with  such  regularity  upon  the  kind 
of  land  that  they  did.  This  is  found  in  the  general  ethno- 
logical principle  that  when  people  migrate  from  one  coun- 
try to  another,  or  even  from  one  neighborhood  to  another, 
they  tend  to  take  up  their  new  abodes  upon  land  whose 
natural  features  resemble  those  of  the  abodes  they  have 
left.  This  tendency  has  often  been  observed  and  it  has 
been  evidenced  by  many  nationalities.^^  It  applies  notably 
to  the  many  Scotch-Irish  in  Pennsylvania  and  it  applies  to 
the  Germans.  These  early  German  immigrants  into  our 
state  were  chiefly  Palatines.  Their  native  land  lay  about 
the  banks  of  the  middle  and  upper  Rhine.  It  included 
more  than  the  present  Bavarian  Palatinate;  it  stretched 
across  to  the  eastern  side  of  the  river  and  embraced  parts 

32  In  1744  Daniel  Dulany  of  Annapolis  made  a  trip  to  the  more  remote 
parts  of  his  province,  evidently  the  neighborhood  of  Digges's  Choice,  and 
upon  his  return  wrote  a  letter  to  Lord  Baltimore  which  indicates  that  he 
valued  the  limestone  soil  of  that  region. 

"  I  have  not  been  long  returned  from  a  journey  into  the  back  woods,  as 
far  as  to  the  Temporary  line  between  this  province  and  Pennsylvania, 
where  I  had  the  pleasure  of  seeing  a  most  delightful  Country,  A  Country 
my  Lord,  that  equals  (if  it  does  not  exceed)  any  in  America  for  natural 
advantages,  such  as  a  rich  &  fertile  soil,  well  furnished  with  timber  of  all 
sorts  abounding  with  limestone,  and  stone  fit  for  building,  good  slate  & 
some  marble,  and  to  crown  all,  very  healthy.  The  season  of  the  year  was 
so  far  advanced  towards  Winter  that  I  could  not  possibly  go  to  the  neck 
of  land  in  the  fork  of  the  Patomack.  .  .  ."     Calvert  Papers,  No.  z,  p.  ii6. 

33  Faust  calls  attention  to  it  briefly  thus:  "This  principle  of  selecting 
land  similar  to  that  which  was  found  good  at  home  prevailed  even  on  a 
second  and  third  choice.  Remarkable  instances  have  occurred  in  the  cases 
of  families  who  have  migrated  farther  and  farther  westward,  generation 
after  generation,  of  the  choice  of  a  farm  or  homestead  almost  identical  in 
appearance  with  the  one  owned  by  them  in  the  original  locality."  Vol. 
II.  P-  3S- 


172  German  Element  in  York  County,  Pa. 

of  Hesse,  Baden,  and  Wiirtemberg.  From  all  parts  of 
southwestern  Germany  they  came.  Now  If  we  examine 
the  topography  of  this  part  of  Germany  we  find  that  It 
resembles  closely  the  topography  of  the  limestone  districts 
of  southeastern  Pennsylvania  including  the  Cambrian  belt 
of  York  County.^^ 

The  geological  formation  of  the  Rhenish  Palatinate  and 
her  nearest  neighbors,  It  Is  true,  Is  not  limestone.  The 
Bavarian  Palatinate  consists  of  four  distinct  sections 
measuring  north  and  south,  the  level  plain  nearest  the 
Rhine,  the  rolling  hills  which  mark  the  approach  to  the 
Haardt,  the  wooded  heights  of  the  Haardt  itself,  and  the 
foothills  of  the  western  district.  Southwards  all  of  these 
sections  merge  into  the  forests  of  the  Vosges.  The  geol- 
ogist discerns  three  geological  groups,  the  alluvial  deposits 
on  the  plain,  the  red  sandstone  soil  of  the  rising  hills,  and 
the  coal  regions  of  the  third  section.  In  the  countries  just 
east  of  the  Rhine  the  red  shale  of  the  Triassic  period  pre- 
dominates again  and  lends  the  soil  its  chief  character- 
istics.^^    This  part  of  Germany  is  not  entirely  without  its 


3*  An  understanding  of  the  geology  and  topography  of  the  Palatinate 
and  southwestern  Germany  may  best  be  gathered  from  the  following  works : 
W.  H.  Reihl,  "  Die  Pfalzer,"  pp.  1^691.  E.  von  Seydlitz,  "  Handbuch  der 
Geographie,"  25th  edition,  pp.  4515-462.  Cf.  map  of  forests,  p.  432.  F. 
Ratzel,  "  Deutschland,"  pp.  23-132. 

"  Deutschland  als  Weltmacht,"  pp.  4^-27',  Chapter  on  "  Deutsche  Erde 
und  Deutsches  Volk,"  by  Professor  W.  Goetz. 

Franz  Heiderich,  "  Landerkunde  von  Europa,"  pp.  94-112. 

35  Ratzel  says :  "  Weit  verbreitet  sind  von  den  nordlichen  Vegesen  an 
durch  den  nordlichen  Schwarzwald,  den  Odenwald,  Spessart,  das  hessische 
Bergland,  Thiiringen  und  das  obere  Wesergebeit  die  roten,  oft  leuchtend 
purpurbraunen  Gesteine  des  Rotliegenden  und  des  bunten  Sandsteins,  eine 
machtige,  aber  einformige  Bildung,  die  dem  Walde  giinstiger  als  dem 
Acker  ist.  In  weiten  Gebeiten  Mittel-  und  Siidwestdeutschlands  breitet 
sich  iiber  Ackerland  und  Stadtarchitektur  einen  rotlichen  Hauch.  Von 
Basel  bis  Frankfurt  sind  die  Miinster  und  Dome  aus  rotem  Sandstein 
gebaut."     "  Deutschland,"  p.  30. 


The  Limestone  Soil.  173 

limestone  but  It  Is  almost  negligible  in  quantity  and  It  Is  of 
that  firm  unyielding  variety  which  only  constitutes  a  bar- 
rier to  the  farmer.  Thus  the  Rhenish  province  of  Hesse 
contains  a  considerable  region  of  durable  limestone  with  a 
strong  dolomitic  admixture  and  a  very  narrow  strip  of  this 
rock  extends  across  the  Rhine  and  southwards  acrosis  most 
of  the  Palatinate,  appearing  here  in  the  form  of  brec- 
clated  limestone  conglomerate.  So  that  nearly  every- 
where It  Is  the  Trias  of  the  Mesozoic  era  which  gives 
color  to  the  soil.  Geologically,  therefore,  it  cannot  be 
maintained  that  the  Germans  in  our  county  settled  upon 
the  same  kind  of  formation  as  that  from  which  they  had 
come  when  they  left  Europe.  And  herein  lies  a  very 
strong  indication  that  these  people  did  not  consciously  seek 
out  the  limestone  tracts  when  they  settled  in  the  New 
World. 

But  when  we  turn  from  the  geology  to  the  topography 
of  the  middle  Rhine  valleys  and  of  southwestern  Germany 
we  find  that  It  Is  very  much  like  that  of  the  districts  upon 
which  the  German  Immigrants  settled  In  York  County. 
Not  level  like  north  Germany,  not  mountainous  like  south 
Germany,  but  a  medium  between  the  two,  an  undulating 
plain  and  easy  rolling  hills.  The  most  familiar  features 
in  the  configuration  of  the  country  are  the  gradual  emi- 
nences which  mark  the  steps  In  the  elevation  from  the 
level  of  the  Rhine  in  the  center  to  the  heights  of  the  Haardt 
In  the  west  and  the  Vosges  In  the  southwest  and  to  the 
Swablan  Jura  in  the  east  and  southeast.^^  The  numerous 
valleys  between  are  well  watered  by  the  many  streams  that 
ultimately  empty  Into  the  Rhine.  The  red  soil  of  the 
Trias  is  not  so  well  adapted  to  agriculture  as  some  other 

36  "  Wellenformige  Flache  "  and  "  Hugellandschaft "  are  the  expressions 
most  frequently  used  to  describe  the  rolling  surface  of  this  country. 


174  German  Element  in   York  County,  Pa. 

kinds  of  soil  and  in  this  part  of  Germany  it  required  a 
hand  that  was  highly  skilled  in  agriculture  to  make  the 
soil  yield  sustenance  for  its  dense  population.  But  this 
soil  is  well  adapted  to  forest  growths  and  to  this  day  it 
contains  large  stretches  of  sturdy  timber.  Its  dense  forests 
with  their  luxuriant  foliage  constitute  one  of  the  most 
striking  characteristics  of  the  Palatine  hills  and  indeed  of 
southwestern  Germany  in  general.  From  the  Odenwald 
in  the  north  they  stretch  to  the  Black  Forest  in  the  south 
and  across  the  Rhine  to  the  Vosges  Forest  in  the  west. 
In  the  seventeenth  and  eighteenth  centuries  this  region 
must  have  been  even  more  heavily  wooded  and  it  was  only 
natural  for  the  Palatines  when  they  reached  York  County 
to  welcome  the  sight  of  the  thick  timber  growths  on  the 
central  belt.  The  general  contour  of  the  Palatinate  the 
Germans  found  reproduced  in  the  undulating  central  re- 
gion in  York  County  with  its  rich  forests  and  its  many 
springs  and  streams.^^  The  unconscious  charm  of  the 
homeland  and  an  instinct  for  the  best  soil  led  them  there- 
fore to  fix  their  abodes  upon  the  limestone  soil  and  begin 
the  work  of  taming  the  wilderness.  And  this  fact  has 
had  a  marked  significance  in  their  subsequent  fortunes  in 
this  county. 

87  The  writer  can  testify  from  personal  observation  to  the  striking  simi- 
larity between  the  configuration  of  the  land  in  the  Rhenish  Palatinate  and 
that  of  the  limestone  valleys  in  York  County. 


CHAPTER  VIII. 


Their  Place  in  Pennsylvania  History. 

SHE  part  which  the  York  County  Germans  of 
that  early  period  played  in  the  history  of 
colonial  Pennsylvania  and  in  the  general  course 
of  American  history  may  be  gathered  from 
the  facts  and  events  already  narrated.  They 
were  a  valuable  support  to  the  provincial  authorities  of 
Pennsylvania  at  a  time  when  that  Im'portant  province 
was  passing  through  its  most  formative  period.  The 
Germans  of  York  County  contributed  in  their  small  meas- 
ure to  the  support  and  strength  of  the  provincial  govern- 
ment both  In  Its  conflicts  with  Maryland  and  in  its  con- 
test with  certain  opposing  elements  among  its  own  popu- 
lation. Then,  too,  these  pioneer  settlements  stretching 
out  into  the  primeval  forest  seem  like  an  index  finger 
pointing  westward  to  an  empire  of  land  and  wealth  whose 
conquest  and  acquisition  by  successive  steps  of  similar 
communities  was  to  make  the  future  greatness  of  our 
nation.  And  finally,  these  first  German  settlers  In  York 
County  constituted  a  small  but  relatively  Important  part 
of  that  numerous  and  growing  body  of  farmers  In  our 
province  who  early  got  into  the  native  soil  and  drew  from 

175 


176  German  Element  in  York  County,  Pa. 

it  the  materials  that  formed  the  basis  for  the  prosperity 
of  colonial  Pennsylvania,  even  as  today  they  constitute  the 
backbone  of  the  nation. 

In  the  first  place  their  significance  for  the  political  his- 
tory of  the  province  during  those  early  years  grows  out 
of  the  fact  that  they  were  on  friendly  terms  with  the 
Quaker  Assembly  at  Philadelphia.  The  province  of  Penn- 
sylvania shared  with  New  York  the  place  of  greatest 
prominence  and  importance  among  the  middle  colonies  of 
the  North  American  coast.  Now  the  government  of 
Pennsylvania,  though  at  first  apparently  under  the  abso- 
lute control  of  one  individual,  was  nevertheless  in  reality 
more  completely  democratic  than  any  other  in  America. 
In  this  respect  Penn's  province  presented  a  striking  con- 
trast to  the  government  of  the  Puritans  in  New  England, 
that  of  the  Episcopalians  in  Virginia,  and  that  of  the 
Catholics  in  Maryland.  Government  in  Pennsylvania 
was  thoroughly  representative.^  Other  colonies,  notably 
Massachusetts  and  Virginia,  had  enjoyed  a  fair  degree  of 
self-government  at  first  but  had  later  forfeited  their  priv- 
ileges into  the  hands  of  tyranny.  But  the  history  of 
Pennsylvania  before  the  Revolution  is  a  continuous  story 
of  the  unintermittent  development  of  civil  liberty.  This 
contrast  is  due  to  the  complete  ascendancy  of  the  Quakers 
in  Pennsylvania  during  that  long,  formative  period  from 
1682   to    1776,  when  they  suddenly  disappeared  from 

1  This  is  only  cited  as  one  of  the  achievements  of  the  Quakers  in  colonial 
Pennsylvania.  Others  may  be  gathered  from  Chapters  IV-VII  of  Isaac 
Sharpless'  "  A  Quaker  Experiment  in   Government." 

W.  A.  Wallace  in  a  lecture  before  the  Pennsylvania  Historical  Society  in 
i8Sz  on  "  Pennsylvania's  Formative  Influence  upon  Federal  Institutions, 
i6Sz-i7'Zfj  "  shows  by  a  clear  statement  of  actual  facts  what  remarkable 
results  colonial  Pennsylvania  achieved  for  the  nation.  Vide  also  Penny- 
packer,  "Pennsylvania  in  American  History,"  pp.  202  ff. 


Their  Place  in  Pennsylvania  History.  177 

power.  Until  the  middle  of  the  eighteenth  century  the 
political  history  of  Pennsylvania  is  a  history  of  the  Quakers 
and  from'  1755  to  the  Revolution  it  is  a  history  of  the  un- 
successful efforts  on  the  part  of  the  Scotch-Irish  and  the 
Church  of  England  people  to  displace  the  Quakers. 
Throughout  the  period  of  their  ascendancy  the  Quakers 
were  warmly  supported  by  the  numerous  German  element 
in  the  province.^  For  the  Germans  never  forgot  the  debt 
of  gratitude  they  owed  to  the  Quakers,  and  then,  too,  they 
had  their  own  grounds  of  animosity  against  the  other  ele- 
ments in  the  colony.  After  the  middle  of  the  century  it 
was  only  the  vigorous  support  of  the  Germans,  who  held 
the  balance  of  power,  that  enabled  the  Quakers  to  main- 
tain their  hold  upon  the  political  helm.^  But  decades  be- 
fore that  the  Germans  were  cooperating  with  the  Quakers 
and  supporting  them  In  their  government.  Palatine  and 
Quaker  labored  together  as  builders  of  the  common- 
wealth.*   And  herein  lies  the  significance  of  the  first  two 

2  Rufus  M.  Jones  says:  "Until  the  Revolution  the  Quakers  and  the 
Presbyterians  constituted  the  rival  political  forces  of  the  provinces.  The 
Episcopalians  tended  towards  the  Friends  and  the  Germans  were  also 
usually  sympathetic."  "  The  Quakers  in  the  American  Colonies,"  pp.  494 
et  passim. 

8 "  Parties  were  now  [after  i7'63]  formed  on  new  lines.  They  had 
largely  disappeared  during  the  twenties  and  thirties,  but  at  this  time  we 
find  a  marked  difference,  growing  more  emphatic  with  the  years  between 
the  proprietary  party  and  the  *  country '  party.  The  Quakers  were  now 
in  considerable  minority  in  the  Province,  but  were  practically  all  on  one 
side.  The  Proprietors  had  left  the  Society  and  joined  the  Episcopal 
Church  and  that  body  rallied  around  them.  So  also  did  the  Presbyterians, 
and  all  who  believed  in  a  vigorous,  warlike  policy.  These  stood  together 
for  proprietary  rights  and  interests,  and  had  as  their  stronghold  the  Gov- 
ernor and  Council.  The  Friends  and  the  Germans  and  their  sympathizers 
maintained  their  ascendancy  in  the  popularly  elected  Assembly,  where  they 
did  practically  as  they  pleased."  Sharpless,  "  A  Quaker  Experiment  in 
Government,"  pp.  103  f. 

* "  The  Palatine  and  Quaker  as  Commonwealth  Builders,"  by  Frank 
12 


178  German  Element  in   York  County,  Pa. 

decades  of  York  County  Germans  for  the  early  political 
history  of  Pennsylvania. 

The  York  County  Germans,  like  the  great  body  of  their 
countrymen  east  of  the  Susquehanna  and  between  the 
Schuylkill  and  the  Delaware,  were  generally  on  good  terms 
with  the  provincial  assembly.  And  these  kindly  feelings 
were  mutual.  They  are  reflected  in  the  above  narrative 
of  the  earliest  German  settlements  in  the  county.  The 
provincial  authorities  favored  these  Germans  where  they 
could  and  these  Germans  for  the  most  part  loyally  sup- 
ported the  authority  of  the  provincial  government.  The 
government  allowed  the  Germans  very  easy  terms  of  pur- 
chase for  their  lands  west  of  the  river.  So  long  as  the  In- 
dians did  not  complain  the  board  of  property  winked  at 
the  settlement  of  squatters  upon  unpurchased  lands.  And 
finally  in  1733,  in  the  matter  of  the  Blunston  licenses,  the 
provincial  authorities  even  strained  a  point  in  their  tradi- 
tional Indian  policy  in  order  to  accomplish  the  settlement 
of  the  Germans  in  the  Kreutz  Creek  Valley  without  delay. 
Afterwards  when  the  Germans  recovered  from  the  illu- 
sion into  which  some  of  them  had  been  misled  concerning 
the  jurisdiction  over  their  lands  and  when  they  frankly 
acknowledged  their  error  and  asked  to  be  restored  to 
citizenship  in  Pennsylvania,  the  Council  of  Pennsylvania 
received  them  promptly  and  kindly,  encouraged  them  in 
their  allegiance  and  took  measures  to  help  them  defend 
themselves.  On  this  occasion  the  discussions  in  the  pro- 
vincial council  and  their  letters  to  the  governor  of  Mary- 
land indicated  very  kindly  feelings  towards  the  Germans 
west  of  the  river  and  a  sincere  sympathy  for  them  in  their 

Ried  DiffenderflFer,  is  a  very  discerning  discourse,  showing  the  immense 
significance  of  colonial  Pennsylvania  in  American  history  and  the  mo- 
mentous influence  which  the  combined  forces  of  Germans  and  Quakers  were 
able  to  exert  upon  that  crucial  colony. 


Their  Place  in  Pennsylvania  History.  179 

trying  circumstances.  And  from  that  time  forward  none 
of  these  Germans  ever  again  swerved  in  their  loyalty  to 
the  Quaker  government,  though  It  cost  them  many  serious 
annoyances. 

It  was  the  tenacity  of  the  Germans  in  insisting  upon 
their  rights  and  in  maintaining  the  Pennsylvania  claims 
over  those  parts  that  prevented  the  Marylanders  from 
taking  possession  of  their  lands  and  thus  giving  a  large 
semblance  of  correctness  to  the  Maryland  claim  of  juris- 
diction in  the  Kreutz  Creek  and  Codorus  Creek  valleys. 
Whatever  the  Quaker  officials  may  have  thought  about 
the  Intelligence  and  culture  of  these  Germans  they  recog- 
nized them  as  a  good  element  to  serve  the  Important  pur- 
pose of  resisting  the  encroachments  of  the  Marylanders. 
This  service  they  performed  and  It  was  recognized  by  the 
government.  But  for  the  good  understanding  between 
these  Germans  and  the  Quaker  government  the  boundary 
history  of  Pennsylvania  might  be  very  different  from 
what  It  Is. 

Moreover,  the  substantial  support  which  the  York 
County  Germans  in  company  with  the  great  body  of  their 
countrymen  throughout  the  colony  gave  to  the  Quaker 
government  was  the  decisive  factor  In  helping  the  Quakers 
to  maintain  their  ascendancy  In  the  legislative  assembly. 
For  the  Quakers  had  their  political  opponents  within  their 
own  province.  At  first  these  consisted  chiefly  of  the  ad- 
herents of  the  Church  of  England,  a  class  that  was  not 
numerous  enough  to  be  troublesome.  But  after  the  third 
decade  of  the  eighteenth  century  the  Scotch-Irish  began  to 
pour  into  the  province  In  Increasing  numbers  and  as  a  class 
they  aligned  with  the  political  enemies  of  the  Quakers. 
Then  began  the  political  contest  against  the  power  of  the 
peaceful  Quakers  which  dragged  on  until  the  Revolution 
when  the  Scotch-Irish  finally  triumphed.     But  meanwhile 


i8o  German  Element  in  York  County,  Pa. 

the  Quakers  had  achieved  remarkable  results.  Slowly, 
very  slowly,  through  their  continual  disputes  with  the  gov- 
ernors and  proprietors,  they  had  evolved  for  their  province 
a  body  of  constitutional  liberty.  Patiently,  persistently, 
unconsciously  they  wrought,  striving  to  maintain  the  honor 
of  Christian  civilization  in  the  province's  dealings  with  the 
Indians,  and  gradually  working  out  the  great  constitutional 
principles  which  were  the  political  pride  of  provincial 
Pennsylvania.  This  they  accomplished  in  spite  of  the  op- 
position of  the  Scotch-Irish  and  the  Church  of  England 
people.  And  they  accomplished  it  because  they  were  regu- 
larly supported  by  the  ballot  of  the  Germans.  The  Ger- 
mans had  no  political  ambitions  for  themselves.  As  a 
class  they  were  politically  indifferent.^  They  were  satis- 
fied with  the  government  of  the  Friends,  they  had  their 
own  grounds  for  gratitude  to  them,  they  disliked  the 
Scotch-Irish  and  they  regularly  voted  with  the  established 
power.  A  great  many  of  the  Germans  were  religiously 
akin  to  the  Quakers,  and  everywhere  they  came  into  con- 
flict with  the  Scotch-Irish.  The  Scotch-Irish  as  a  class 
were  settling  on  the  outer  belt  of  civilization  on  lands 
contiguous  to  the  Germans  and  this  brought  about  many 
conflicts  between  the  two  nationalities.  And  it  has  been 
suggested  that  it  was  these  conflicts  that  eventually  evolved 
a  political  self-consciousness  on  the  part  of  the  Germans 
themselves.® 

s  They  were  capable  of  being  stirred  by  great  principles,  as  is  abundantly 
evidenced  by  their  brilliant  part  in  the  French  and  Indian  War  and  by 
their  early  rush  to  the  cause  of  the  Revolution,  where  they  proved  to  be  the 
most  skilled  soldiers  in  the  Continental  Army.  And  they  soon  developed 
great  leaders  among  themselves  and  men  of  political  influence,  like  Weiser 
and  the  Muhlenbergs.  Nevertheless,  the  very  earliest  German  settlers  as  a 
class  had  no  ambitions  to  interfere  in  the  affairs  of  others  or  to  participate 
actively  in  public  politics,  and  years  elapsed  before  they  developed  a 
political  self-consciousness. 

^  This  suggestion  is  made  by  Julius  Goebel,  who  says :  "  Es  scheint  dass 


Their  Place  in  Pennsylvania  History.  i8l 

This  is  the  perspective  in  which  to  view  the  relation  of 
the  York  County  Germans  to  the  colonial  history  of  Penn- 
sylvania. For  the  documents  concerning  the  early  settle- 
ments in  York  County  and  the  difficulties  with  the  Mary- 
landers  reflect  not  a  few  instances  of  this  partisan  national 
spirit.  When  the  German  settlements  in  York  County 
were  taking  their  beginnings  the  Scotch-Irish  had  not  yet 
arrived  there  and  the  chief  opposition  to  the  Quaker  gov- 
ernment and  their  faithful  subjects  west  of  the  river  came 
from  Irish  Catholics  and  from  adherents  of  the  Church  of 
England.  Thomas  Cressap  was  an  Irish  Catholic  from 
Maryland  and  so  were  his  close  associates  at  the  mouth  of 
Cabin  Branch.'''  When  Cressap  was  captured  and  im- 
prisoned In  Philadelphia  the  troubles  west  of  the  river 
were  continued  and  even  intensified  under  the  leadership 
of  another  Irishman,  Charles  Higginbotham.  Shortly 
thereafter  Samuel  Blunston  wrote  to  President  Logan  that 
there  Is  now  not  so  much  to  fear  from  the  Marylanders  as 
from  "  our  own  people,"  that  band  of  "  Irish  ruffians  with 
Higginbotham."  The  reference  Is  to  the  aftermath  of 
the  unsuccessful  Chester  County  Plot.  That  plot  had  been 
headed  by  three  Irishmen,  Charles  Higginbotham,  Henry 
Munday,  and  Edward  Leet,  and  was  participated  In  by 
others  with  Irish  names. ^  But  the  great  majority  of  the 
participants  were  English  or  Scotch  and  the  entire  plot  was 

sich  die  Deutschen  am  politischen  Leben  der  neuen  Heimat  vor  der  Mitte 
des  i8,  Jahrhunderts  wenig  beteiligten.  Wie  Hesse  sich  auch  von  den 
Verfolgten  und  Gedriickten,  die  aus  dem  Vaterland  kein  politisches  Em- 
pfinden  mitbrachten,  anderes  erwarten?  Erst  langsam,  wohl  im  Kampfe 
mit  den  Irlandern  und  Schotten,  die  seit  den  zwanziger  Jahren  nach  Penn- 
sylvanien  zu  stromen  beginnen  hat  sich  ihr  poltitisches  Selbstbewusstsein 
entwickelt."  "  Das  Deutschtum  in  den  Vereinigten  Staaten  von  Nord- 
Amerika,"  p.  sz. 

■^  Vide,  e.  g.,  Archives,  I:  516. 

8  Vide  the  list  of  those  involved,  Col.  Rec,  IV:  102. 


1 82  German  Element  in  York  County,  Pa. 

carried  by  the  Pennsylvania  enemies  of  the  Quaker  govern- 
ment. It  was  a  minister  of  the  Church  of  England  who 
conceived  the  plot  and  directed  its  execution.^  The  gov- 
ernor and  council  of  Maryland  wrote  to  the  King,  Feb- 
ruary 1 8,  1737,  relating  how  the  Germans  on  the  Kreutz 
Creek  had  renounced  the  authority  of  Maryland  and  add- 
ing this  comment:  "  and  in  order  to  account  for  this  their 
extraordinary  proceeding  they  declared  their  unwillingness 
to  contribute  towards  the  support  of  the  ministers  of  the 
Church  of  England  by  law  established  in  this  province." 
And  about  a  month  later  Governor  Ogle  of  Maryland 
wrote  to  the  Pennsylvania  authorities :  "  Suppose  a  num- 
ber of  your  Inhabitants  touched  with  a  tender  Regard  for 
the  Church  of  England  and  the  support  of  its  Ministers 
(and  such  a  Case  certainly  is  not  impossible,  however  im- 
probable it  may  be  judged  to  be)  should  all  of  a  sudden 
renounce  your  Government  in  the  same  formal  manner 
that  these  People  did  ours  for  contrary  Reasons,  pray  what 
would  your  Government  do  in  such  a  Case?"^^  These 
expressions  serve  to  indicate  the  national  and  ecclesiastical 
element  that  entered  into  the  conflict. 

Moreover  in  the  face  of  the  Chester  County  Plot  Samuel 
Blunston  wrote  to  Thomas  Penn,  October  21,  1736,  re- 
questing that  vigorous  efforts  be  made  to  prevent  "the 
Irish  from  Chester  County"  from  helping  to  dispossess 
"  the  Dutch  west  of  Sasquehannah "  on  the  ground  that 
"  it  might  be  difficult  to  get  the  Donegal  people  to  go 
against  their  country  men."  The  Donegal  people  and 
others  east  of  the  Susquehanna  were  expected  to  help  de- 

^  Henry  Munday  wrote  to  Rev.  Jacob  Henderson,  November  14,  17136, 
"You  being  the  first  that  projected  the  settling  the  said  Lands  and  Plan- 
tations." Col.  Rec,  IV:  103^  Henderson  was  also  one  of  the  Commis- 
sioners for  Maryland. 

10  Col.  Rec,  IV:  188. 


Their  Place  in  Pennsylvania  History.  183 

fend  the  Germans  if  necessary  even  as  they  had  helped  to 
capture  Cressap  and  four  of  his  associates.  Now  the  posse 
of  25  persons  who  had  effected  the  capture  of  Cressap  and 
his  associates  was  officially  described  as  consisting  "mostly 
of  German  Protestants  &  other  Europeans  of  the  Com- 
munion of  the  Churches  of  England  and  Scotland,  of  late 
years  arrived  here."^^  Hence  it  is  clear  that  Blunston, 
himself  a  Friend,  realized  that  he  could  not  depend  upon 
the  aid  of  the  Church  of  England  people  and  the  Presby- 
terians to  support  the  authority  of  the  Quaker  govern- 
ment when  that  authority  conflicted  with  the  wish  of  other 
members  of  those  faiths.  No  love  was  lost  between  the 
Germans  west  of  the  river  and  those  of  the  English  just 
east  of  the  river  who  were  not  Quakers.  In  one  of  the 
forceful  conflicts  between  these  two  parties  in  1735  one 
of  the  Germans  specially  laments  the  fact  that  he  "was 
knocked  down  by  an  Irishman. "^^ 

The  contest  with  the  Scotch-Irish  in  York  County  did 
not  begin  until  after  the  period  which  we  have  studied  but 
the  coming  feuds  were  foreshadowed.  Very  shortly  after 
the  Germans  had  made  a  beginning  of  their  settlements  in 
York  County  the  Scotch-Irish  had  begun  to  settle  in  that 
part  of  the  Cumberland  Valley  which  drains  into  the 
Potomac.  And  they  were  making  an  unfavorable  im- 
pression. Scotch-Irish  immigration  into  Pennsylvania  had 
begun  about  17 15.  James  Logan  had  early  complained 
to  the  proprietor  against  this  class  of  Immigrants,  their 
crowding  In  where  they  are  not  wanted,  and  their  cruel 
treatment  of  the  Indians.  "  It  looks  as  if  Ireland  Is  to 
send  all  her  Inhabitants."  But  with  1734  the  Scotch- 
Irish  began  to  come  In  much  larger  numbers.  In  that  year 
they  first  settled  In  the  Cumberland  Valley,  and  already 

11  Col.  Rec,  IV:  12S. 

12  John  Lochman  in  Proceedings  of  Council  of  Maryland  for  1735,  p.  83. 


184  German  Element  in  York  County,  Pa. 

on.  August  1 5  of  that  same  year,  Samuel  Blunston,  writing 
to  Thomas  Penn  concerning  the  terms  for  warrants  west 
of  the  river,  expresses  his  opinion  of  these  Scotch-Irish  in 
these  words : 

How  far  these  terms  may  be  liked  by  the  loose  setlers  on  potomac 
I  know  not,  for  though  they  may  be  easy  in  themselves,  yet  to  them 
who  were  always  a  sort  of  free-booters  they  may  seem  strict  enough 
for  tis  generally  at  present  settled  by  such  people  who  in  all  prob- 
ability wil  never  be  able  to  comply  with  the  terms  prescribed,  nor 
are  many  of  them  at  present  able  to  pay  for  their  warrants  or 
surveys;  nevertheless  I  think  considering  the  dispute  between  the 
provinces  they  ought  to  be  encouraged  &  I  am  of  opinion  it  would  be 
well  they  had  warrants  &  surveys  though  it  remained  a  debt  on 
the  place  for  those  who  come  after  to  pay,  for  tis  very  probable 
few  now  settled  there  will  be  the  possessors  at  the  end  of  seven 
years  But  for  some  consideration  assigning  their  rights  to  more 
industrious  &  able  persons  will  stil  remove  further,  such  idle  trash 
being  generally  the  frontiers  of  an  improving  colony.  However 
poor  as  they  are  since  they  are  the  present  Inhabitants  as  I  said 
before  I  think  they  should  be  encouraged  to  keep  them  in  possession, 
but  I  only  speak  this  of  those  Inhabitants  towards  Potowmac. 

Blunston  evidently  wishes  to  draw  a  sharp  distinction  be- 
tween the  earliest  settlers  in  the  Cumberland  Valley  and 
his  German  neighbors  just  west  of  the  Susquehanna. 

Blunston's  expectations  that  these  earliest  Scotch-Irish 
settlers  among  the  headwaters  of  the  Conococheague  would 
not  long  remain  there  but  would  soon  be  succeeded  by  a 
different  class  of  settlers,  were  abundantly  fulfilled  by  the 
subsequent  course  of  events.  For  when  the  Scotch-Irish 
began  to  settle  in  York  County  violent  conflicts  took  place 
between  them  and  the  Germans.^  ^  For  the  sake  of  the 
peace  of  the  province,  therefore,  the  proprietors  in  1749 

13  Vide,  e.  g.,  Rupp's  "  History  of  Lancaster  and  York  Counties,"  pp. 
581-585. 


Their  Place  in  Pennsylvania  History.  185 

instructed  their  agents  not  to  sell  any  more  lands  in  York 
County  to  the  Irish  but  to  hold  out  strong  inducements  to 
people  of  that  nationality  to  settle  further  north.     This 
suggestion,  however,  seems  to  have  had  little  effect  in  the 
way  of  diverting  the  stream  of  Scotch-Irish  immigration 
from  the  immediate  neighborhood  of  the  Germans.     But 
meanwhile  the  Germans  themselves  had  begun  to  sup- 
plant the  Scotch-Irish,  so  far  as  they  were  settled  upon 
good  soil,  by  buying  out  their  lands  and  improvements. 
From  York  and  Lancaster  Counties  and  the  counties  far- 
ther east  they  crossed  Adams  County  and  the  South  Moun- 
tain into  the  Cumberland  Valley  and  purchased  the  hold- 
ings of  the  Scotch-Irish  there,  while  these  removed  north 
across  the  Susquehanna  or  west  beyond  the  Blue  Ridge. 
This  process  of  supplanting  the  Scotch-Irish  began  as  early 
as  1757  and  by  the  time  of  the  Revolution  the  limestone 
Cumberland  Valley  was  occupied  predominantly  by  Ger- 
mans.^* 

The  significance  of  the  early  York  County  Germans 
for  contemporary  history  of  Pennsylvania,  therefore,  grows 
out  of  their  warm  support  of  the  Quaker  regime,  their 
stout  opposition  to  the  Maryland  claims,  and  their  contact 
and  conflicts  with  the  Scotch-Irish.  And  this  last,  as  we 
have  seen,  is  involved  in  their  regular  choice  of  limestone 
lands. 

14  Egle's  "  History  of  Pennsylvania,"  p.  615.  Rupp  has  also  noted  this 
same  process  of  Germans  supplanting  Scotch-Irish  in  Northampton  County, 
Rush's  "Account  of  the  Manners  of  the  German  Inhabitants  of  Pennsyl- 
vania," Schmauk  edition,  p.  57',  footnote  35-  Also  Rupp's  "History  of 
Lancaster  and  York  Counties,"  p.  57^',  footnote. 

Ascherwall  in  his  "Observations  on  North  America"  in  zj^7  says: 
"  Scotch  and  Irish  often  sell  to  the  Germans,  of  whom  from  90  to  100,000 
live  in  Pennsylvania,  and  prefer  to  put  all  their  earnings  into  land  and 
improvements.  The  Scotch  or  Irish  are  satisfied  with  a  fair  profit,  put 
the  capital  into  another  farm,  leaving  the  Germans  owners  of  the  old 
farms."  Ascherwall  received  his  information  from  Franklin  the  year 
previous.    Pennsylvania  Magazine  of  History  and  Biography,  Vol.  27,  p.  5: 


CHAPTER  IX. 
Their  Place  in  General  American  History. 


3T  remains  but  to  Indicate  with  a  few  strokes  the 
position  of  these  early  communities  in  the 
general  course  of  American  civilization.  Of 
course  in  so  far  as  colonial  Pennsylvania  was 
a  formative  factor  in  American  history  and 
in  so  far  as  these  Germans  helped  to  give  direction  to 
events  in  colonial  Pennsylvania,  their  place  In  American 
history  may  be  gathered  from  the  preceding  chapter.  But 
they  have  also  another  significance  for  American  history, 
a  significance  that  comes  not  indirectly  from  the  part  they 
played  in  the  history  of  their  own  province  but  directly 
from  their  own  Influence  upon  American  life  and  civili- 
zation. 

So  far  as  numbers  and  possessions  are  concerned  they 
constituted  only  a  very  small  part  of  the  American  nation 
and  their  significance  In  themselves  when  weighed  in  the 
balances  of  the  whole  continent  must  necessarily  be  very 
small  except  In  so  far  as  they  are  Indicative  of  a  larger 
movement  and  prognostic  of  a  greater  future.  In  fact 
they  constitute  but  a  small  portion  even  of  the  German 

i86 


Their  Place  in  General  American  History.       187 

element  in  the  population  of  colonial  America.  But  when 
viewed  in  the  perspective  of  nearly  two  centuries  they  are 
seen  to  be  the  very  van  of  a  great  movement  that  has  made 
the  American  nation  and  moulded  the  American  character 
and  fixed  American  institutions.  In  the  light  of  what  has 
already  been  said  concerning  their  distinguishing  charac- 
teristics it  must  appear  that  their  national  significance  is 
entirely  disproportionate  to  their  numbers  and  their  hold- 
ings. Their  significance  for  the  history  of  American  civil- 
ization and  the  evolution  of  American  institutions  lies 
partly  in  their  location,  partly  in  their  occupation,  and 
partly  in  their  quahties  of  character. 

In  the  first  place,  the  Germans  in  York  County  before 
the  middle  of  the  eighteenth  century  were  upon  the  very 
frontier  of  American  civilization.  Now  the  whole  his- 
tory of  the  American  advance  even  down  to  our  day  is  the 
history  of  the  western  frontier.  The  peculiarity  of  Amer- 
ican institutions  is  the  result  of  successive  waves  of  west- 
ward expansion.  The  forces  dominating  American  char- 
acter today  are  the  outgrowth  of  the  gradual  development 
from  the  simplicity  of  primitive  industrial  society  to  the 
complexity  of  modern  manufacturing  civilization.  Over 
and  over  again  this  process  has  been  repeated  on  each  new 
frontier  line  as  the  population  from  decade  to  decade  has 
marched  with  steady  step  across  the  American  expanse. 
This  continual  rebirth  of  American  life  has  given  Indelible 
stamp  to  our  national  character  and  our  national  institu- 
tions. The  European  has  conquered  the  wilderness  but 
during  the  process  the  wilderness  has  reacted  upon  the 
European  and  made  him  over  into  a  new  character  with 
new  Ideas  and  new  Ideals.  The  frontier  has  been  the 
meeting-point  between  civilization  and  savagery  and  thus 
it  has  constituted  the  crucible  in  which  the  different  Euro- 


1 88  German  Element  in  York  County,  Pa. 

pean  nationalities  have  been  moulded  into  an  entirely  new 
product  known  as  the  American. 

The  westward  advance  of  the  frontier  has  taken  place 
in  well-defined  stages  marked  by  natural  boundary  lines. 
At  the  end  of  the  seventeenth  century  the  frontier  was  the 
fall  line,  the  edge  of  the  tide-water  region  of  the  Atlantic 
coast.  By  the  middle  of  the  eighteenth  century  it  had  ad- 
vanced to  the  Alleghanles.  During  the  Revolution  the 
frontier  crossed  the  Alleghanies  and  by  the  end  of  the 
century  reached  the  Ohio.  At  the  end  of  the  first  quarter 
of  the  nineteenth  century  it  had  advanced  to  the  Missis- 
sippi. By  the  middle  of  the  nineteenth  cenutry  it  lay 
along  the  Missouri.  Shortly  thereafter  it  leaped  across 
the  Rockies  and  by  the  centennial  year  it  had  reached 
the  Pacific  and  had  begun  to  swerve  northward  towards 
Canada  and  Alaska.  Thus  has  the  retreating  frontier 
marked  the  stages  in  the  growth  of  the  nation. 

At  each  of  these  boundary  lines  the  process  of  Amer- 
ican transformation  has  been  very  similar.  First  came 
the  Indian  trader's  frontier.  The  Indian  had  followed 
the  buffalo  trail.  Now  the  trader,  the  pathfinder  of  civili- 
zation, follows  the  Indian  trail  and  begins  the  disintegra- 
tion of  savagery.  He  is  soon  followed  either  by  the  miner 
or  the  rancher,  and  the  trail  is  widened  into  a  road.  Then 
comes  the  pioneer  farmer  to  exploit  the  soil,  render  it 
"barren,"  and  then  move  on  to  virgin  lands.  He  is  fol- 
lowed by  the  steady  farmer  who  devotes  himself  to  inten- 
sive culture  and  permanent  settlement,  and  he  converts  the 
road  into  a  turnpike.  This  denser  farm  settlement  is  fol- 
lowed by  city  and  factory  with  all  the  complexity  of  manu- 
facturing organization.  The  turnpike  has  now  been  trans- 
formed into  a  railroad  and  the  process  of  Americanization 
is  complete.     Each  of  these  stages  has  wrought  political 


Their  Place  in  General  American  History.       189 

and  economic  transformations  and  has  contributed  some- 
thing towards  the  finished  American  product.^ 

In  this  process  of  American  history  it  is  not  difficult  to 
determine  the  place  of  the  York  County  Germans  as  they 
appeared  during  the  period  which  has  come  under  our 
view.  They  fall  within  that  stage  when  the  Atlantic  coast 
was  yet  the  only  settled  area  and  when  the  frontier  was 
slowly  advancing  up  the  courses  of  the  Atlantic  rivers 
towards  their  headwaters  and  towards  the  Alleghanies. 
But  in  this  transition  from  the  coast  to  the  mountains  the 
York  County  settlements  constitute  an  important  step. 
The  first  to  settle  west  of  the  Susquehanna  in  this  region, 
and  among  the  first  of  all  the  settlements  west  of  this 
natural  dividing-line,  the  early  German  communities  of 
York  County  stand  like  an  auspicious  prognosticator  point- 
ing westward  beyond  the  South  Mountain  and  the  Blue 
Ridge  and  inviting  to  the  conquest  of  the  Alleghanies  and 
the  promising  lands  beyond.  Like  an  entering  wedge  into 
the  Indian  country  this  tongue  of  German  settlements 
pushed  forward  indenting  the  wilderness,  broadening  the 
national  horizon,  and  inspiring  to  almost  limitless  acqui- 
sition of  empire. 

When  the  Germans  settled  in  York  County  the  Indian 
trader's  frontier  had  passed.  The  Indian  had  withdrawn 
Into  the  interior  and  with  him  had  gone  the  trader.  The 
mining  explorer  had  also  had  his  day  in  York  County.  It 
was  time  for  the  farmer's  frontier  and  this  was  the  posi- 

1  For  this  view  of  American  history  we  are  indebted  to  Professor  F.  J. 
Turner,  of  Harvard.  A  brief  statement  of  Professor  Turner's  philosophy 
of  American  history  together  with  valuable  suggestions  as  to  the  concrete 
influence  of  the  frontier  upon  certain  phases  of  American  character  and 
American  institutions,  is  found  in  his  article  "  The  Significance  of  the 
Frontier  in  American  History "  in  the  Annual  Report  of  the  American 
Historical  Association  for  the  year  iS^S,  pp.  i97'-247'. 


igo  German  Element  in   York  County,  Pa. 

tlon  occupied  by  the  Germans.  Throughout  colonial  times 
Pennsylvania  was  the  basis  of  distribution  of  frontier 
emigration  and  the  settlement  of  York  County  is  signifi- 
cant as  one  of  the  earliest  steps  in  this  Pennsylvania  ex- 
pansion southward  and  westward.  The  observer  who 
takes  his  stand  among  the  Delaware  and  Shawnese  Indians 
on  the  west  bank  of  the  Susquehanna  at  the  opening  of  the 
eighteenth  century  will  see  the  successive  stages  of  the 
American  frontier  passing  before  his  view  in  exactly  the 
same  order  in  which  they  afterwards  pass  the  many  nat- 
ural boundaries  in  their  westward  course  to  the  Pacific. 
With  the  beginning  of  the  fourth  decade  of  that  century 
Indian  resistance  will  have  ceased,  the  farmer  with  inten- 
sive methods  of  culture  will  have  arrived,  the  next  to  the 
last  stage  in  the  process  of  complete  Americanization  will 
have  been  reached,  and  there  will  remain  but  one  more 
step  to  make  this  region  one  of  the  most  populous  and 
thriving  communities  in  the  New  World.  The  place  of 
the  first  decades  of  York  County  Germans  in  general 
American  history  may  be  seen  from  the  fact  that  they  con- 
stituted the  farmer  stage  of  the  American  frontier  during 
a  critical  period  in  the  frontier  advance.  The  settling  of 
these  Germans  was  like  the  formation  of  an  artery  in  the 
embryo  of  the  nation  that  was  yet  to  be. 

The  movement  of  the  Germans  across  the  Susquehanna 
was  a  decided  step  in  advance.  Others  had  come  as  far  as 
that  river  but  had  halted  and  hesitated  to  cross.  Before 
the  first  authorized  settlement  had  been  made  in  York 
County  the  Quaker  settlements  had  been  slowly  pushing 
westward  along  the  northern  part  of  Lancaster  County. 
In  1727  a  number  of  Quakers,  among  them  Samuel  Blun- 
ston,  John  Wright,  and  Robert  Barber,  had  settled  at 
Hempfield,  on  the  east  bank  of  the  Susquehanna.     But 


Their  Place  in  General  American  History,       191 

here  the  westward  migration  of  the  Friends  halted  for 
more  than  a  decade.  The  cause  of  this  delay  in  their  prog- 
ress was  the  boundary  dispute  with  Maryland  and  the 
Cressap  War  which  resulted  from  that  dispute.  Not  until 
1738  did  the  Quaker  movement  continue  across  the  river 
and  begin  the  belt  of  Quaker  settlements  which  extends 
across  the  northern  part  of  York  County.^  Meanwhile 
the  German  wave  of  westward  immigration  had  arrived. 
This  tide  suffered  no  serious  check  either  from  the  river  or 
from  the  Cressap  War.  These  hardy  and  resolute  Ger- 
mans quickly  crossed  the  river,  plunged  boldly  into  the 
forest,  and  bore  the  brunt  of  the  border  difficulties  with  the 
Maryland  intruders.  Not  until  this  critical  and  difficult 
stage  in  the  history  of  that  frontier  had  been  passed  and 
quiet  had  been  restored  did  the  other  nationalities  sweep 
into  the  county  after  them.  To  the  Germans,  therefore, 
was  reserved  the  special  mission  of  occupying  in  a  peculiar 
sense  the  very  forefront  of  the  farmer  stage  of  the  frontier 
In  this  part  of  the  American  advance  beyond  the  Susque- 
hanna. 

But  even  within  the  farmer  stage  of  the  American  ad- 
vance there  are  usually  two  or  three  distinct  periods  In  each 
case.  Two  or  three  classes  of  farmers  follow  one  another 
across  the  frontier.  First  is  the  pioneer  farmer  whose 
wants  are  few  but  who  seeks  quick  results.  He  searches 
out  the  bare  spots  or  those  most  easily  cleared  and  begins 
to  exploit  the  virgin  soil.  He  has  no  ambition  to  become 
the  owner  of  his  holding  for  he  expects  soon  to  take  up  his 
march  again.  With  the  simplest  implements  of  agricul- 
ture, a  rude  log  cabin,  and  a  rough  shed  for  a  stable,  he 
occupies  his  range  until  he  has  completely  drained  the  soil 

2  Albert   Cook    Myers,    "  The    Immigration    of   the    Irish    Quakers   into 
Pennsylvania,  168121-17'So,"  pp.  1612  and  180. 


192         German  Element  in  York  County,  Pa. 

of  its  strength  or  until  he  is  crowded  by  neighbors.  Then 
he  disposes  of  his  "improvements"  and  moves  on  to  new 
soil  to  carry  out  the  same  process  again. 

The  second  class  of  farmer  is  the  settler  who  stakes  out 
his  claim,  takes  measures  to  secure  a  survey,  and  negotiates 
for  the  purchase  of  that  which  he  occupies.  He  welcomes 
neighbors  into  his  community,  builds  a  church  and  school- 
house,  and  practices  the  arts  of  civilized  life.  He  builds  a 
substantial  house  and  often  a  more  substantial  barn.  His 
house  is  of  hewn  logs,  with  windows  of  glass  and  a  chimney 
of  brick  or  stone.  His  barn  is  made  to  shelter  a  large 
number  of  domestic  animals  and  to  store  the  products  of 
careful  cultivation.  He  rotates  his  crops  and  fertilizes  his 
lands  so  as  not  to  exhaust  the  soil.  He  adds  to  his  fields 
from  year  to  year  and  settles  down  to  plain  and  frugal  but 
contented  living.  This  is  the  class  of  farmer  that  usually 
continues  to  occupy  his  improvements  and  thus  forms  the 
nucleus  of  permanent  settlement. 

Sometimes  this  second  class  is  followed  by  a  third  class, 
the  capitalist.  This  man  of  enterprise  buys  out  some  of 
the  substantial  properties  of  the  second  class.  Industrial 
enterprises  are  begun  on  a  larger  scale.  Villages  are  laid 
out  and  soon  grow  into  town,s.  Large  edifices  arise; 
higher  education  begins;  the  finer  arts  of  civilization  are 
practiced;  and  above  all  manufacturing  industries  begin, 
factories  loom  into  view,  and  the  community  has  brought 
forth  a  city.  This  class  marks  the  transition  to  the  final 
stage  of  the  American  frontier. 

Now  the  York  County  Germans  before  the  middle  of 
the  century  belong  almost  exclusively  to  the  second  class 
of  the  farmer  stage.  The  third  class  did  not  make  its  ap- 
pearance among  them  until  somewhat  later.  And  the 
first  class  mentioned  above  never  did  have  a  place  in  the 


Their  Place  in  General  American  History.       193 

German  belt  of  York  County.  The  typical  pioneer  farmer 
with  his  superficial  methods  of  cultivation  was  well  repre- 
sented, as  we  have  seen,  among  the  earliest  inhabitants  of 
the  southeastern  part  of  the  county.  But  the  German  set- 
tlers on  the  limestone  belt  belonged  entirely  to  the  second 
class.  They  came  intending  that  their  settlements  should 
be  permanent  and  they  proceeded  accordingly  in  their 
methods  of  clearing  and  improving.^  And  it  is  a  remark- 
able fact  that  these  early  settlers  usually  continued  to  oc- 
cupy their  original  possessions  until  their  death.  They 
added  to  their  belongings  but  in  very  few  cases  did  they 
migrate  from  their  settlements.  The  good  soil  had  at- 
tracted them  to  these  valleys  and  their  own  skillful  meth- 
ods of  cultivation  kept  them  there.  As  their  growing 
families  demanded  more  lands  they  spread  out  and  occu- 
pied more  and  more  of  the  Cambrian  belt  but  usually  re- 
mained In  the  same  general  neighborhood. 

Despite  the  difficulties  that  confronted  them  in  their  new 
homes  these  German  farmers  in  the  first  half  of  the  eight- 
eenth century  flourished  rapidly.  Many  of  them  when 
they  died  were  possessed  of  property  whose  value  is  a 

3  These  intensive  methods  were  the  result  of  inheritance  and  of  experi- 
ence and  hence  it  was  a  rare  thing  to  find  a  German  exhibiting  the 
characteristics  of  the  earliest  class  of  pioneer  farmers.  Where  the  Ger- 
mans have  gradually  occupied  large  farming  areas  they  have  done  so  not 
by  migration  but  by  expansion.  An  appreciative  description  of  the  char- 
acteristics of  the  German  farmer  in  colonial  Pennsylvania  is  that  from 
the  pen  of  their  contemporary,  Dr.  Rush,  in  his  "  Account,"  Schmauk 
edition,  pp.  54-73- 

The  preference  of  the  German  farmer  for  forest  land,  his  intensive 
methods  of  culture,  and  the  consequences  of  this  combination  in  the  sub- 
sequent prosperity  of  the  German  farmer  in  the  northwest,  are  described  by 
Emil  Rothe  in  his  article  on  "  Die  Entwicklung  des  Deutschtums  im  Nord- 
westen,"  in  Jahrgang  II,  z.  Heft  (April  1870),  p.  55  et  passim,  of  "  Der 
Deutsche  Pioneer." 

13 


194  German  Element  in   York  County,  Pa. 

splendid  monument  of  their  industry  and  economy.*  In 
their  position  as  a  flourishing  farming  community  they 
were  not  without  significance  not  only  for  the  early  history 
of  Pennsylvania  but  even  for  the  general  course  of  Ameri- 
can history.     It  has  been  asserted  that  these  "  farms  of  the 

*  This  rapid  prosperity  of  the  original  settlers  is  abundantly  proved  by  a 
study  of  their  wills  and  by  the  inventories  of  their  property  at  their 
death.  Thus  the  inventory  of  Christian  Croll  (completed  on  August  22, 
17581)  indicates  a  remarkable  growth  to  wealth  during  the  25  years  of  his 
settlement  in  York  County.    Among  his  possessions  are  the  following: 

"  Houses  and  Lots  in  Yorktown 

2  Houses  and  lots  in  High  Street £490 

House  and  lot  at  the  North  and  Water  Street £50 

One  do  at  the  east  end  of  Race  Street £451 

One  do  adjoining  Jos  Adlums  House   £80 

Improvement  bought  of  Geo  Albright £380 

Improvement  bought  of  Jacob  Hoague £120 

Patent  Lands  on  west  side  Conewago £140 

Part  of  the  improvement  in  partnership  with  Mr.  Stevenson.  £70  " 

The  list  of  "  chattels "  covers  19  pages.  Of  these  there  are  articles  to  the 
value  of  £  351  10  s.  81  p.  in  "the  Shop,"  and  others  to  the  value  of  £  4 
I  s.  6  p.  in  "  the  Bar."  The  "  book  debts  "  cover  9  pages  and  amount 
to  about  £  750.  Two  pages  of  these  are  called  "  debts  due  for  smith 
work."  The  inventory  indicates  that  the  total  of  his  possessions  at  his 
death  amounted  to  £3,476  8  s.  9  p. 

But  Christian  Croll  had  become  a  blacksmith  in  York  and  his  extra- 
ordinary prosperity  may  have  been  due  partly  to  that  fact.  More  typical 
perhaps  is  the  inventory  of  Jacob  Welshover  (17518)  and  for  that  reason  this 
inventory  is  reproduced  in  full  in  Appendix  C. 

The  inventory  of  the  property  of  John  Jacob  Kuntz  (September  171, 
17154)  estimates  his  plantation  alone  at  £  320.  The  inventory  of  Fred- 
erick Lether  (made  July  8,  1746,  that  is,  before  York  County  was  estab- 
lished) estimates  his  "  Blandation  or  Improvement"  at  £150  and  his 
total  possessions  at  £  232  6  s.  6  p.  For  Micheal  Spengler  whose  inventory 
was  made  on  March  20,  1748^  the  "Big  Plantation"  is  placed  at  £350 
and  his  "  Chattels"  at  £292.  The  inventory  of  Balser  Shamberger  (made 
April  28,  1751)  estimates  his  "improvement  and  winter  grain"  at  £  2CX3. 
John  Kuhns  (inventory  dated  May  26,  1753)  had  personal  estate  alone 
valued  at  £  371  5  s.  8  p.  These  inventories  are  thoroughly  typical  and 
indicate  a  remarkable  degree  of  early  prosperity  on  the  part  of  these  first 
settlers. 


Their  Place  in  General  American  History.       195 

Germans  became  the  wheat  granary  of  the  world."^  From 
this  point  of  view  their  significnce  might  be  traced  in  a 
great  many  directions.  Suffice  it  to  say  here  that  not  until 
we  have  formed  a  correct  estimate  of  the  service  of  the 
American  farmer  to  the  American  nation  will  we  be  able 
to  determine  with  precision  the  place  of  the  early  York 
County  Germans  in  general  American  history.  As  a  p^rt 
of  that  great  body  of  prosperous  farmers  who  have  always 
constituted  the  very  bone  and  sinew  of  our  national  exist- 
ence, the  York  County  Germans  of  the  first  half  of  the 
eighteenth  century  have  more  than  ordinary  significance 
for  the  national  history  of  their  times. 

And  finally,  the  Germans  of  York  County  before  the 
middle  of  the  eighteenth  century  occupy  a  distinct  place  in 
general  American  history  because  they  fulfilled  a  special 
mission  In  the  general  movement  of  Germans  in  this  coun- 
try. That  the  great  body  of  Germans  In  the  United  States 
has  at  all  periods  of  our  history  had  a  decided  cultural  In- 
fluence upon  American  institutions  is  now  freely  recog- 
nized on  all  sldes.^  The  relation  of  the  early  German  set- 
tlements of  York  County  to  the  other  German  settlements 
of  that  time  has  already  been  set  forth  In  detail.'^  Their 
significance  lies  in  the  fact  that  they  occupied  advance 
ground.     They  had  moved  out  on  the  frontier  farther 

5  By  Professor  Turner  as  quoted  in  Faust,  I:  138  and  II:  36. 

6  For  a  general  evaluation  of  the  German  element  in  this  country  see 
Faust,  "The  German  Element  in  the  United  States,"  Vol.  II;  Rudolf 
Cronau,  "  Drei  Jahrhunderte  Deutschen  Lebens  in  Amerlka " ;  and  Bosse, 
"  Das  Deutsche  Element  in  den  Vereinigten  Staaten." 

■^  Supra,  Chapter  VI. 

The  position  of  the  Pennsylvania  Germans  in  general  among  the  other 
nationalities  in  colonial  Pennsylvania,  and  the  circumstances  that  led  to 
the  prominent  part  of  the  Germans  in  the  Revolution  from  England,  are 
suggested  in  Pfister,  "  Die  Amerikanische  Revolution  17715-1783,"  pp.  51-97 
and  1281-170. 


196  German  Element  in  York  County,  Pa. 

than  any  other  of  the  numerous  German  settlements  In 
Pennsylvania.  This  was  both  a  result  and  a  cause  of  cer- 
tain distinguishing  elements  of  character  which  they  mani- 
fested in  their  lives  and  conduct.  These  Germans  made 
a  new  frontier  but  the  frontier  made  them  over  into  a  new 
nationality.  The  peculiarity  of  their  position  coupled  with 
their  previous  experience  and  their  special  characteristics 
gave  them  freer  rein  for  self-government  than  any  other 
German  community  had  and  it  made  them  more  susceptible 
to  the  reflex  influence  of  the  New  World.  Separated  from 
the  great  body  of  their  countrymen  in  America  and  free 
from  all  ties  that  might  bind  them  to  the  Fatherland,  they 
soon  began  the  process  of  Americanization.  The  uncon- 
scious charm  of  the  locality  quickly  made  its  impress  upon 
their  plastic  German  souls.  The  length,  the  breadth,  the 
giant  height  and  the  rich  depth  of  the  new  continent  left 
an  indelible  stamp  upon  their  characters  and  quietly  trans- 
formed them  into  a  new  people.  From  the  soil  of  their 
new  homes  and  from  the  incidents  and  circumstances  of 
their  new  life  arose  the  inexorable  forces  that  compelled 
them  to  stand  forth  a  new  type  of  world's  citizen.  The 
period  which  we  have  studied  marks  little  more  than  the 
beginning  of  this  important  process  of  transformation. 
But  already  at  the:  time  of  the  Revolution  the  process  is 
fairly  complete.  At  the  report  of  the  first  shot  at  Lexing- 
ton they  showed  themselves  the  best  Americans  of  us  all 
and  when  General  Washington  in  camp  at  Valley  Forge 
felt  that  he  was  in  the  enemy's  country  the  center  of  the 
German  belt  in  York  County  was  the  home  of  the  national 
capital.  The  first  two  decades  of  York  County  Germans 
constituted  one  of  the  first  chapters  in  the  Americanization 
of  the  great  and  influential  German  element  in  this  country. 


^  O  <!&  O 

appeuMy  a. 


Letter  of  Samuel  Blunston  to  the  Proprietors, 
April  9,  1735. 

May  it  please  the  proprietors: 

By  John  Hendricks  I  received  a  letter  which  informs  me  of  his 
complaint  of  the  unfair  &  dishonest  usage  he  has  met  with  from 
John  Wright  &  me  in  relation  to  the  land  opposite  to  us.  As  I 
well  know  we  are  clear  of  any  such  charge  I  shal  according  to  your 
desire  give  a  full  relation  to  the  whole  affair  &  coppys  of  letters 
sufficient  I  hope  to  satisfy  you  that  no  imputation  of  unfair  practice 
can  justly  be  charged  on  either  of  us. 

In  the  later  part  of  the  year  1 726  John  Hendricks  being  over  the 
river  Turkey  Hunting  with  some  of  his  relations  through  a  stupid 
carelessness  or  fatal  mistake  shot  a  young  man  his  first  cousen  & 
killed  him.  This  accident  &  some  ill  management  of  his  affairs 
put  him  upon  selling  the  place  where  he  lived  &  to  gain  a  new 
settlement  in  the  spring  of  the  year  1727  he  applyed  to  J:  Logan 
for  leave  to  settle  over  the  river  oposite  to  us  teling  him  the  In- 
dians were  desirous  he  &  his  brother  James  should  settle  there.  J : 
Logan  haveing  heard  the  Marylanders  designed  to  survey  that  land 
upon  this  application  of  John  &  also  of  one  Jos :  Chaphem  wrote  me 
the  following  letter:  Friend  Saml  Blunston:  I  am  informed  that 
some  persons  from  Maryland  have  proposed  to  survey  &  take  up 
that  tract  of  land  where  the  Shawanna  Indians  were  lately  settled 
on  the  west  side  of  Sasquehannah  opposite  to  Hempfield  to  pre- 
vent which  &  for  their  own  accomodation  John  Hendricks  &  Hen- 
drick  Hendricks  sons  of  Jacobus  Hendricks  are  desirious  to  seat 
themselves  there  as  also  Joseph  Chapham  would  willingly  make 
some  settlement.     Therefore  if  thou  please  to  run  lines  about  the 

197 


198  German  Element  in  York  County,  Pa. 

best  part  of  that  tract  taking  in  about  1000  or  1500  As  or  more  for 
William  Penn  grandson  to  the  late  proprietor  who  devised  10,000 
acres  of  land  in  this  province  to  his  grandson  by  will.  And  return 
the  draught  thereof  to  me,  I  shall  satisfie  thee  for  thy  trouble 
therein.  And  if  the  sd  Brothers  &  Jos  Chapham  can  obtain  the 
consent  of  the  Shawannah  the  chief  of  those  Indians  we  should  be 
willing  they  should  make  settlements  on  those  parts  of  the  tract  as 
may  be  convenient  for  themselves  &  at  the  same  time  the  least  in- 
jurious to  the  remainder  of  it  &  be  pleased  to  inform  me  what 
thou  does  herein  who  am  with  respect  thy  loving  friend  J  Logan 
Philadelphia  May  10,  1727. 

This  is  the  letter  &  the  only  letter  or  pretense  on  which  J  Hen- 
dricks founds  his  claim  &  by  this  you  will  see  the  land  was  not 
apparently  laid  out  for  him,  &  by  this  both  he  and  his  brother 
James  (who  is  there  called  Hendrick)  &  Jos  Chapham  were  but 
to  settle  on  part  of  it  the  least  Injurious  &c  But  the  letter  speaks 
for  itself  &  I  proceed.  In  the  month  of  July  following  pursuant 
to  sd  order  I  went  over  &  marked  four  corners  including  the 
greatest  part  of  the  tract  after  surveyed  &  no  more  was  done  at 
that  time  the  weeds  being  so  high  we  could  not  chain  it  nor  carry 
an  instrument  to  any  purpose. 

About  this  time  or  a  little  before  the  afsd  Henry  Hendricks  & 
one  Thomas  Linvil  went  &  settled  at  Codorus  a  Creek  about  I2 
miles  west  of  sd  River  which  settlements  disturbing  the  Indians 
they  threatened  to  burn  their  houses  and  obliged  Em  to  quit  their 
settlements  &  return  back  to  this  side.  The  Indians  opposing  the 
peoples  settling  hindered  John  Hendricks  from  removing  thither 
that  year  as  he  had  intended  for  as  some  of  the  chief  of  the  Indians 
told  me  John  had  no  liberty  from  them  as  he  had  falsely  reported 
to  J:  Logan  Now  as  all  the  3  persons  before  mentioned  were  to 
have  but  part  of  that  tract  &  Jos  Chapham  wholy  declined  settling 
there  &  went  to  Carolina  John  Wright  &  I  thought  we  might 
without  any  injustice  ask  leave  to  secure  a  part  of  it  for  ourselves, 
some  further  attempts  being  made  to  settle  it.  Accordingly  when 
John  Wright  went  to  town  the  August  following  &  spoke  to  J: 


Letter  of  Samuel  Blunston  to  Proprietors.       199 

Logan  in  behalf  of  himself  upon  which  &  some  other  affairs  J  L 
wrote  the  following  part  of  a  letter : 

Phila  10  August  1727 

My  f rd  S.  B :  J  Wright  spent  the  last  evening  with  me  &  informs 
me  that  the  people  having  got  a  notion  that  those  Indians  of  the 
5  nations  who  were  here  lately  had  assigned  all  their  claim  to  the 
lands  about  Sasquehannah  were  now  crowding  upon  those  lands 
beyond  the  River  in  order  to  settle  them  though  this  part  of  the 
Indians  is  surely  a  mistake.  As  he  desires  a  part  of  that  lOOO 
acres  formerly  mentioned  to  be  secured  for  one  of  his  boys.  I  am 
very  willing  he  should  be  favoured  in  any  thing  that  is  practicable 
of  that  kind,  and  that  the  land  should  be  kept  for  him  from  all  others, 
if  it  may  be  done  &  in  order  to  it  would  have  him  take  some 
proper  methods  to  secure  it.  But  people  must  be  no  means  be 
allowed  to  take  up  lands  &  make  settlements  on  that  further  side, 
otherwise  then  as  it  may  answer  some  other  necessary  end.  Nor 
would  we  by  any  means  have  the  Indians  to  quit  their  settlements 
there  or  abandon  those  parts  of  Sasquehannah.  I  mean  princi- 
pally the  other  side  of  it. 

In  the  fall  of  the  year  the  Marylanders  continuing  their  in- 
croachments  Jno  Wright  &  I  in  a  letter  joyntly  to  J  Logan  gave 
him  an  account  thereof  &  made  request  that  we  might  have  some- 
thing from  them  to  show  a  right  to  part  of  the  afsd  land  (which 
then  all  lay  vacant)  that  we  might  be  the  better  able  to  prevent 
others  who  had  designs  to  come  there.  John  Hendricks  also 
being  with  him  about  that  time  to  make  a  second  request  for  leave 
to  go  to  that  tract  J  Logan  thereupon  wrote  to  us  joyntly  a  letter 
upon  the  subject  of  the  Maryland  incroachments,  &  upon  the  pres- 
ent affair,  the  part  thereto  relating  as  follows: 
Phila  30/8/1727/  Jno  Wright  &  Sam'l  Blunston:  Loving  frds: 
In  answer  to  yours  of  the  28th  instant  I  must  observe  &c  here  he 
gives  a  pretty  large  account  of  a  former  agreement  between  the  two 
provinces  about  the  boundaries  &  then  says  ...  I  wish  we  could  fal 
on  any  possible  measures  to  prevent  their  settlements,  if  you  can 


200  German  Element  in  York  County^  Pa. 

think  of  any  it  would  be  very  acceptible,  if  at  the  desire  of  the 
Commisioners  which  you  may  take  as  expressed  in  this  letter  you 
would  be  pleased  to  put  Em  in  practice.  I  prompted  John  Hen- 
dricks to  write  of  his  affair  to  you  though  I  can  say  nothing  further 
than  what  I  told  himself  viz :  that  since  he  has  not  yet  settled  which 
I  thought  he  had  done  long  since,  &  the  Indians  insist  on  our 
former  agreement  not  to  suffer  any  such,  it  woud  be  extremely 
Irregular  in  us  at  this  time  to  agree  to  it.  As  to  the  land  opposite 
agt  you  I  believe  we  shal  all  be  very  willing  that  you  should  take 
any  measures  to  secure  it  without  giving  offence  to  the  natives  we 
can  make  no  grant  at  present  but  any  thing  else  in  our  power  we 
should  readily  consent  to. 

From  the  concessions  or  promises  in  these  letters  mentioned  rose 
our  expectations  that  in  a  proper  time  we  might  be  able  to  make 
some  of  that  land  our  own  upon  the  credit  hereof  with  much  care  & 
pains  prevented  it  from  being  settled  by  others  which  we  till  this 
time  have  done. 

In  the  year  1728  the  Indians  grew  more  cool  as  they  perceived 
if  they  hindered  our  people  the  Marylanders  would  have  it.  John 
Hendricks  without  any  further  licence  removed  over  and  took  his 
choice  of  the  whole  tract  settling  where  he  now  lives  Now  though 
by  the  first  letter  of  J  L  it  plainly  appears  that  ( i )  the  whole  tract 
was  never  intended  to  be  the  sole  property  of  J  Hendricks.  So  it 
also  appears  by  that  &  the  other  letters  already  quoted  which  will 
also  be  corroborated  by  what  follows  that  the  tract  though  ordered 
to  be  surveyed  for  the  use  of  W.  Penn  was  not  strictly  so  intended, 
that  survey  then  made  (&  his  name  used  as  most  proper  to  secure  it 
from  the  Marylanders  they  not  being  then  willing  to  have  any  sur- 
vey made  to  private  persons  lest  others  might  claim  the  like  power. 

In  the  year  1 729  the  Marylanders  made  a  fresh  attempt  upon  us 
&  that  produced  the  following  paragraph  in  a  letter  from  J  Logan 
to  me  bearing  date  the  29th  of  Novemb  1729  where  he  thus  con- 
cludes :  "  I  am  told  just  now  here  that  they  are  surveying  all  the 
Land  over  Sasquehannah  from  Maryland  and  sel  it  again  to  our 
people.  Pray  discourage  it  to  the  utmost  &  do  thou  also  survey 
to  perplex  Em.     And  in  another  letter  dated  the  4th  of  December 


Letter  of  Samuel  Blunston  to  Proprietors.       201 

following  are  these  words :  I  wish  thou  would  exert  thyself  &  make 
surveys  in  any  name  whatsoever  Sec  From  all  which  the  intention 
of  these  surveys  I  think  plainly  appear;  according  to  the  fore- 
going orders  &  some  others  I  wrote  him  a  letter  dated  the  30th 
of  November  Afsd  which  among  other  things  contains  what  fol- 
lows: I  have  laid  out  the  Land  for  the  Donegal  Congregation  ac- 
cording to  thy  order  &  I  think  to  the  satisfaction  of  all  parties  & 
have  given  them  a  draught  thereof.  I  have  also  this  week  per- 
fected a  Survey  of  that  piece  of  Land  over  the  River  on  which 
J.  Hendricks  is  settled  of  which  I  shall  return  thee  a  draught  by 
the  first  opportunity.  The  whole  contains  about  1200  Acres,  Six 
Hundred  whereof  regularly  divided  being  the  uper  side  &  best  part 
of  the  tract  and  on  which  J.  Hendricks  has  settled  we  have  left  to 
him  But  he  is  so  far  from  being  satisfied  with  it  that  Except  he 
could  have  it  so  as  to  spoil  the  whole  tract  he  will  I  suppose  apply 
for  a  Maryland  right  for  redress.  All  the  land  about  Parnels  is 
surveyed  &  settled  by  Marylanders  &  many  people  out  of  this  prov- 
ince are  for  removing  over  the  river  so  that  I  doubt  not  but  another 
year  will  settle  most  of  the  habitable  land  for  they  flock  over  daily  in 
search.  The  remainder  of  that  by  Hendricks  would  have  been 
settled  before  now  had  they  not  been  prevented.  John  Wright  & 
I  desiring  it  may  be  kept  vacant  at  present  that  when  opportunity 
presents  we  may  obtain  grants  for  it.  .  .  . 

About  the  year  1 73 1  the  before  mentioned  James  Hendricks  went 
&  settled  on  the  back  part  of  the  tract  on  which  John  lived  It  always 
being  understood  to  be  their  equal  right  &  early  in  the  Spring 
1732  John  &  James  and  their  father  Jacobus  went  down  together 
on  that  side  with  their  Guns  intending  to  shoot  some  turkeys  at  the 
place  where  John  had  before  shot  his  cousin,  and  in  the  way  the  old 
man's  Gun  went  of  by  accident  &  killed  James  Dead  on  the  Spot  his 
Death  occasioned  his  widdow  to  leave  the  place  which  she  after  sold 
to  Joshua  Minshal  who  now  lives  on  it.  Nothing  more  was  done 
till  after  the  first  of  you  arrived  when  J  Hendricks  Jos  Minshal 
John  Wright  &  myself  altogether  applied  to  the  Honourable  Pro- 
prietary for  the  Grants  for  our  several  parts  of  the  sd  tracts  as  itt 
had  been  last  surveyed  and  divided  &  John  Hendricks  then  made  no 


202  German  Element  in  York  County,  Pa. 

demand  or  claim  to  any  more  then  his  share  with  Jos  Minshal  in 
the  six  hundred  acres.  How  the  other  wild  notion  since  got  into 
his  head  I  know  not. 

Thus  having  traced  it  down  from  the  first  beginning  to  this 
present  it  is  time  so  conclude.  And  I  hope  enough  is  said  to  con- 
vince you  that  we  never  had  any  the  least  intention  to  act  an  unjust 
part  therein  towards  J  Hendricks  or  any  other  person.  And  as  you 
desired  an  account  from  me  I  hope  you  will  be  so  kind  as  to  let 
me  know  your  sentiments  of  our  Behavior  therein.  And  if  any 
Scruple  yet  remains  with  you  that  the  licence  or  grant  which  I 
rec'd  is  on  a  bad  foundation  I  am  ready  to  resign  it.  Though  the 
pains  I  have  taken  to  secure  it  &  my  endeavours  to  prevent  the  mis- 
chiefs which  have  hapened  on  that  side  has  been  to  me  a  source 
of  continued  care  and  trouble.  I  do  not  mention  this  to  make  merit 
of  any  thing  I  have  done  nor  do  I  expect  or  desire  any  reward  but 
what  proceeds  from  a  consciousness  of  having  done  my  duty.  The 
land  I  am  ready  at  all  times  to  pay  for  if  it  be  thought  I  am  honestly 
in  possession  of  it,  otherway  I  made  no  claim. 

For  the  rest  of  the  letter  I  need  only  say  I  have  not  heard  of  the 
taxgathers  being  up.  If  they  come  with  an  evil  intent  I  shall  us 
my  endeavours  to  circumvent  Em. 

As  to  the  Behavior  of  John  Wrights  Sons  or  any  other  persons 
on  this  side  towards  Hendricks  he  is  so  far  from  having  any  Ground 
for  complaint  that  they  and  many  others  have  long  borne  &  yet  do 
bear  his  intolerable  abuses  &  insults  purely  upon  your  account  which 
else  would  never  be  suffered. 

As  to  Cressops  Complaint  agt  the  Magistrates  the  Charge  is  too 
General  to  receive  any  other  answer  than  that  I  know  nothing  of  it. 
I  am  with  great  regard  your  assured  ffrd 

Sa  Blunston 

Apr.  9th  in  the  evening  1735 

The  Messenger  staid  a  little  longer  than  expected  which  gave  me 
time  to  finish  this. 


Names  of  Those  Who  Signed  the  Letter  of  the 
Germans  to  the  Governor  of  Maryland, 
August  ii,   1736   (Calvert  Papers, 
No,  717). 

These  names  are  all  included  In  the  list  of  those  for 
whose  arrest  a  warrant  was  issued  on  October  21,  1736, 
"  for  contriving  signing  and  publishing  a  seditious  paper 
and  writing  against  his  Lordship  and  this  government." 
The  names  are  here  given  as  copied  by  the  clerk  in  Mary- 
land and  that  accounts  for  the  peculiar  spelling. 


Jacob  Grable 
Jacob  Seglaer 
Conrade  Lowe 
Christian  Lowe 
Jacob  Seglaer,  jr. 
Michael  Aringall 
Philip  Seglaer 
Dennis  Myer 
Hans  Stanner 
Tobias  Sprlght 
Tobias  Hendricks 
Leonard  Immel 
Balchar  Sangar 
Methusalem  Griffith 


Gorrick  Cobell 
Kelyon  Smith 
Nicholas  Peery 
Micheal  Tanner 
Micheal  Wallack 
Micheal  Evat 
Micheal  Miller 
Jasper  Carvel 
George  Swope 
George  Philier 
Nicholas  Butchier 
Andrew  Phlavlere 
Henry  Stantz 
Henry  Lephart 
203 


204  German  Element  in  York  County,  Pa. 


Peter  Gardiner 
Jacob  Lonus 
Nicholas  Conn 
Bartholemew  Shambarrier 
Henry  Young 
Caspar  Varglass 
Bryonex  Tander 
Christian  Crowle 
Conrade  Stricklaer 
Henry  Bowen 
Francis  Worley,  jr. 
Martin  Sluys 
Jacob  Hoopinder 


Michael  Raisher 
Tobias  Fray 
Martin  Fray 
Henry  Smith 
Jacob  Welchhutter 
Henry  Henricks 
Charles  Jones 
Adam  Byer 
Godfrey  Fray 
Nicholas  Hatchley 
Micheal  Waltz 
Martin  Wyngall 
Eurick  Myer 


Inventory  of  the  Estate  of  Jacob  Welshover. 

Jacob  Welshover's  will  was  made  on  November  15, 
1757,  and  witnessed  by  Heinrich  Schmidt  and  Heinrich 
Libhart.  It  was  probated  on  June  29,  1758.  The  ap- 
praisement was  made  on  August  24,  1758,  by  Heinrich 
Schmidt  and  another  German.  The  inventory  totals  £495 
18  s.  o  p.     The  items  are  as  follows: 

£  —  s  —  p 

7  Cows   1 7 —  o — o 

the  other  young  horn  Cattle    12 —  o — o 

5  sheep    I — 10 — o 

2  Wagon  horses 20 —  o — o 

I  Meare 6 —  o — o 

thre  Hogs    o — 15 — o 

10  Hives  of  Bees 3 — 10 — o 

1  high  Wagon    1 3 —  o — o 

6  ould  wagon  wheals    5 —  o — o 

2  Blows   I — 10 — o 

I  Iron  Harrow i —  5 — o 

5   braks    o — 10 — o 

4  collers  Iron  trasis  brich  bands  bridle 4 — 10 — o 

Doung  plows  forks  Shoffels  pitch  forks o — 17 — o 

the  wind  mill  &  Sives  Riddels    i — 10 — o 

the   thrash   mill    o — 18 — o 

205 


2o6  German  Element  in  York  County,  Pa. 

the  cottin  box 

2  large  Roaps  and  a  blow  line O —  4 — O 

Wheat  and  Rey  of  16  Acre  of  ground 16 —  o — O 

2  acre  of  Hemp  in  the  field 3 — 10 — O 

the  Still  &  the  Iron  &  worm  blongin  to  it 18 —  O — O 

9  Tobs  in  the  Still  house i — 12 — o 

a  box  where  the  keep  the  Chopt  Rey  in   o —  5 — O 

washing  Tobs  &  other  tobs  &  rails  &  Halbushel  .  .  i —  o — o 

Clean  Hemp    6 —  O — O 

Earthen  pots  dishes  &  plats o —  6 — o 

the  hogsheds  &  other  casks  in  the  Seller   3 — 10 — o 

Rey  Liquer  four  Barrels 9 — 10 — o 

Talow  about  15  pound O —  6 — O 

butter  Cands  or  boxis  &  pokeds O —  5 — O 

meal  and  wedges  from  broad  ax i — 10 — O 

Draw  Knife  Oagers  Chisels i —  5 — O 

four  plains  and  2  Saws O —  9 — o 

2  Cross  Cut  Saw  &  the  Brand  mark i — 10 — o 

the  wagon  or  hand  screw i — 15 — O 

2  old  bells  &  a  pair  of  Stilliels o —  9 — O 

2  Hatchets i —  2 — o 

Brass  Cettels  &  other  Brass 5 —  O — O 

2  Tables  &  4  Chairs i — 10 — o 

the  Iron  of  an  ould  Chist  a  Cobbert  &  Doadrough  .  i —  O — O 

Dresser  in  the  kitchen i — 10 — o 

a  Cloathbed  2 — 10 — o 

A  Clock : 4 —  o — o 

A  water  Cand  &  baskeds o —  8 — o 

Iron  pots  &  pans  &  other  things 2 —  o — O 

Tea  pot  a  pair  of  Ballons   o — 12 — o 

All  the  Beuter  plats  dishis  spoons  &c    2 — 15 — O 

Tinn  quarts  fonnel  &  other  things O —  6 — o 

Bowls  tea  Cups  &c o —  3 — o 

Bibles  &  other  books  2 —  o — o 

Sacks  &  Cloth  for  a  wagon  Cloth 3 —  i — O 

Blankets  vinegar  Cask  a  gun  Spining  wheals 2 —  O — O 


Inventory  of  Estate  of  Jacob  Welshover.       207 

2  Beds  &  bed  Sted  Slats   5—  0—0 

a  Flower  Chist  15—  o — o 

Coat  &  Chacket  britches  &  Shirts 2 —  5 — o 

Table  Cloth  Sheets  &  other  lining i —  o — o 

Linsy  woolsy   i —  4 — o 

2  Chains    o — 1 5 — o 

Bees  wax   o — 10 — o 

an  ould  Spining  wheal  &  sum  yearn o — 12 — o 

30  bushel  of  Wheat  3 — 15 — o 

20  bushel  of  Rey i — 13 — o 

40  bushel  of  oats   2 — 10 — o 

5  bushel  of  flax  Seed    o — 12 — o 

a  mans  Sattle  &  a  womens  Saddle i —  5 — O 

Tenn  Pounds  in  money 10 —  o — o 

One  Stove   3 — 15 — o 

for  the  improvement 250 —  o — o 


Bibliography. 


I.     Primary   Sources. 

The  Pennsylvania  Archives. — Of  direct  value  for  our  subject 
among  these  are  chiefly  the  early  volumes  of  the  First  Series, 
Volumes  I-III.  The  designations  in  the  text,  Archives  I,  Archives 
II,  etc.,  always  refer  to  the  corresponding  volume  of  the  First 
Series.  These  were  selected  and  arranged  from  original  docu- 
ments in  the  Office  of  the  Secretary  of  the  Commonwealth  by 
Samuel  Hazard  in  1851  and  1852.  Some  of  the  others  that  come 
into  consideration  for  our  suSject  are  Volume  VII  of  the  Second 
Series,  containing  "  Papers  relating  to  Provincial  Affairs  in  Penn- 
sylvania, 1 682-1 750,"  edited  by  John  B.  Linn  and  W.  H.  Egle, 
1878;  and  Volumes  I  and  II  of  the  Fourth  Series,  containing  the 
Papers  of  the  Governors,  edited  by  George  E.  Reed,  1900. 

The  Colonial  Records;  or  Minutes  of  the  Provincial  Council 
of  Pennsylvania  from  the  Organization  to  the  Termination  of  the 
Proprietary  Government. — Materials  bearing  directly  on  our  sub- 
ject are  found  principally  in  Volumes  II-V  containing  the  acts  of 
the  Council  from  1700  to  1754.  These  records  were  published  by 
the  State  in  1851  and  1852.  The  designation  in  the  text  "Col. 
Rec."  always  refers  to  the  Colonial  Records  of  Pennsylvania. 

The  Proceedings  of  the  Provincial  Council  of  Maryland,  pub- 
lished as  the  Maryland  Archives  under  the  auspices  of  the  Mary- 
land Historical  Society. — Of  chief  interest  for  our  subject  are  the 
proceedings  for  the  years  1 735-1 737. 

208 


Bibliography.  209 

York  County  Court  Records. — Deeds,  wills,  and  inventories, 
beginning  with  the  year  1749. 

Lancaster  County  Court  Records. — Deeds,  wills,  and  inven- 
tories, beginning  with  the  year  1729. 

The  Calvert  Papers. — These  are  deposited  in  the  Historical 
Society  of  Maryland,  Baltimore.  Most  of  these  remain  unpub- 
lished but  some  were  published  in  the  Maryland  Archives,  and  the 
No.  2  which  contains  materials  bearing  on  our  subject  was  published 
separately  as  one  of  the  Fund  Publications. 

The  Original  Church  Record  of  Christ  Church,  York,  Pa. 

The  original  Church  Record  of  St.  Matthew's  Church,  Han- 
over, Pa. 

Documents  in  the  Department  of  Internal  Affairs  (Land  Office) 
at  Harrisburg.  Letters,  Ledgers,  Journals,  and  Day-Books,  De- 
positions in  Internal  Affairs,  Personal  Papers,  Warrants  and 
Patents,  and  files  of  old  Grants  and  Drafts. 

Documents  in  the  Division  of  Public  Records,  State  Library, 
Harrisburg.  Especially  the  Provincial  Papers  (1681-1776)  and 
the  lists  of  names  of  German  immigrants  from  1727  to  i775- 

"  Miscellaneous  Manuscripts  of  York  and  Cumberland  Counties, 
1 738-1 806,"  in  the  Historical  Society  of  Pennsylvania,  Philadel- 
phia. One  letter  from  this  collection  is  reproduced  in  full  in 
Appendix  A. 

"  The  Penn  Papers  " — Historical  Society  of  Pennsylvania. 

"  The  Logan  Papers  " — Historical  Society  of  Pennsylvania. 

The  Collections  of  the  York  County  Historical  Society  gathered 
in  the  Court  House  at  York.  This  includes  a  host  of  valuable 
manuscripts,  historical  objects,  maps,  and  drawings,  which  have 
here  been  used  directly  or  indirectly. 

A  Scrap-Book  of  Mr.  M.  O.  Smith  of  Hanover,  Pennsylvania, 
containing  newspaper  articles  constituting  his  "  History  of  York 
County,"  1869-1875. 

II.     Secondary  Sources. 

Following  is  a  list  of  the  books  that  have  been  used   in   the 
preparation  of  this  study  and  cited  in  its  presentation: 
14 


2IO  German  Element  in   York  County,  Pa. 

Bernheim,  Gotthardt  Dellmann.  History  of  the  German  settle- 
ments and  of  the  Lutheran  Church  in  North  and  South  Caro- 
lina, from  the  earliest  period  of  the  colonization  of  Dutch, 
German,  and  Swiss  settlers  to  the  close  of  the  first  half  of  the 
present  century.  Philadelphia:  The  Lutheran  book  store,  1872. 
xvi,  557  PP-     12°. 

Bittinger,  Lucy  Forney.  The  Forney  Family  of  Hanover,  Penn- 
sylvania, 1690-1893.     Pittsburgh:  1893.     iv,  59  pp.  4°. 

Bosse,  George  von.  Das  deutsche  Element  in  den  Vereinigten 
Staaten.     Stuttgart,   1908. 

Carter,  W.  C.  and  A.  J.  Glossbrenner.  History  of  York  County 
from  its  erection  to  the  present  time.     York,  1834.     16°. 

Cobb,  Sanford  H.  The  Story  of  the  Palatines.  An  episode  in 
colonial  history.  New  York  and  London :  G.  P.  Putnam's  Sons, 
1897.     ix,  319  pp.     Maps.     8°. 

Cronau,  Rudolf.  Drei  Jahrhunderte  Deutschen  Lebens  in  Amer- 
ika.  Eine  Geschichte  der  Deutschen  in  den  Vereinigten  Staaten : 
mit  210  Illustrationen.  Berlin,  D.  Reimer  (Ernst  Vohsen), 
1909.     xiii,  640  pp.     4°. 

Day,  Sherman.  Historical  Collections  of  the  State  of  Penn- 
sylvania, containing  a  copious  selection  of  the  most  interesting 
facts,  traditions,  biographical  sketches,  anecdotes,  etc.  Philadel- 
phia; George  W.  Gorton,  1843.     708  pp.     8°. 

Dallas,  George  Mifflin.  Reports  of  the  proceedings  of  the  Circuit 
Court  of  the  district  of  Pennsylvania.     Volume  VL 

Der  Deutsche  Pioneer.  Eine  Monatsschrift  fiir  Erinnerungen  aus 
dem  Deutschen  Pioneer-Leben  in  den  Vereinigten  Staaten.  Cin- 
cinnati: 1870.  Jahrgang  H.  2.  Heft.  Article  by  Emil  Rothe, 
"  Die  Entwicklung  des  Deutschtums  im  Nordwesten,"  pp.  50-54 
and  84-89. 

Diffenderffer,  Frank  Ried.  The  Palatine  and  Quaker  as  Com- 
monwealth Builders.  An  Address  delivered  before  the  Penn- 
sylvania Historical  Society  at  Philadelphia,  March  14,  1898. 
Lancaster:  1899.     30  pp.     8°. 

Ebeling,  Christoph  Daniel.     Erdbeschreibung  und  Geschichte  von 


Bibliography.  211 

Amerika.  Die  Vereinigten  Staaten  von  Nordamerika.  Vierter 
Band.     Hamburg:  1797.     914  pp.     12°. 

Egle,  William  Henry,  (i)  Notes  and  Queries,  Historical  and 
Genealogical, — chiefly  relating  to  Interior  Pennsylvania.  In  two 
volumes.  Harrisburg:  1895  and  1896.  Volume  I.  1895.  Vol- 
ume II.  1896.  ix,  471  pp.  (2)  An  Illustrated  History  of  the 
Commonwealth  of  Pennsylvania,  civil,  political  and  military, 
from  its  earliest  settlement  to  the  present  time,  including  histor- 
ical descriptions  of  each  county  in  the  State.  Harrisburg:  1876. 
xii,  1 186  pp.     8°. 

Falkenstein,  George  N.  History  of  the  German  Baptist  Brethren 
Church.  Illustrated.  A  reprint  from  the  proceedings  of  the 
Pennsylvania  German  Society  for  1900.  Lancaster:  1901. 
X,  154  pp.     8°. 

Faust,  Albert  Bernhardt.  The  German  Element  in  the  United 
States,  with  special  reference  to  its  political,  moral,  social,  and 
educational  influence.  Illustrations.  Maps.  Boston  and  New 
York:  1909.  Volume  I,  xxvi,  591  pp.  Volume  II,  xvi,  605 
pp.     8°. 

Fisher,  Sydney  George,  (i)  The  Making  of  Pennsylvania.  (2) 
Pennsylvania,  Colony  and  Commonwealth.  Philadelphia:  1897. 
xiii,  442  pp.     8°. 

Fiske,  John.  The  Dutch  and  Quaker  Colonies  in  America.  In 
two  volumes.  Boston  and  New  York:  1901.  Volume  II,  xvi, 
294  pp.     8°. 

Freytag,  Gustav.  Bilder  aus  der  Deutschen  Vergangenheit.  5. 
Aufl.     Leipzig:  1867.     Volume  III. 

Gibson,  John.  History  of  York  County,  Pennsylvania,  from 
the  earliest  period  to  the  present  time,  divided  into  general, 
special,  township  and  borough  histories,  with  a  biographical  de- 
partment appended.  Illustrated.  Chicago:  1886.  ix,  772  and 
207  pp.     4°. 

Glossbrenner,  A.  J.  and  W.  C.  Carter.  History  of  York  County 
from  its  erection  to  the  present  time.     York:  1834.     16°. 

Goebel,  Julius.     Das  Deutschtum  in  den  Vereinigten  Staaten  von 


212  German  Element  in  York  County,  Pa. 

Nord-Amerika.     i6.  Heft.     Der  Kampf  um  das  Deutschtum. 

Miinchen:  1904.     90  pp.     8°. 
Goetz,  W.     Deutsche  Erde  und  Deutsches  Volk.     Chapter  two 

in  the  collection  "  Deutschland  als  Weltmacht."     Berlin:  vii, 

848  pp.     Chapter  two,  pp.  4-27.     8°. 
Hallesche  Nachrichten.     Nachrichten  von  den  Vereinigten  Deut- 

schen   Evangelische-Lutherischen   Gemeinen   in   Nord-Amerika, 

absonderlich  in  Pennsylvanien.  Mit  einer  Vorrede  von  D.  Johann 

Ludwig  Schulze,  Halle,  in  Verlegung  des  Waisenhauses,  1787. 

Neu  herausgegeben  von  W.  J.  Mann,  B.  M.  Schmucker,  unter 

Mitwirkung  von  W.  Germann,  Erster  Band.     Allentown,  Pa: 

Verlag  von  Brobst,  Diehl  &  Co.,  1886.     x,  723  pp.     8°. 
Hausser,   Ludwig.     Geschichte  der  Rheinischen   Pfalz.     Heidel- 
berg, 1856. 
Heiderich,   Franz.     Landerkunde  von   Europa.     Sammlung   Go- 

schen.     Leipzig:  1897.     182  pp.     12°. 
Hoen,  Moritz  Wilhelm.     Das  Verlangte  nicht  erlangte  Canaan 

bey    den    Lustgrabern.     Franckfurt    und    Leipzig:    (Andrea), 

1711.      (16),  127  pp.     16°. 
Jones,  Rufus  M.     The  Quakers  in  the  American  Colonies ;  assisted 

by  Isaac  Sharpless  and  Amelia  M.  Gummere.     London:  191 1. 

xxxii,  603  pp.     8°. 
Kalm,   Peter.     Reise  durch  Nordamerika.     Translated  by  J.  R. 

Forster.    Warrington;  1 770-1 771.    In  3  volumes.    Illustrated. 

Volume  I. 
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