HISTORT
T
OF
FRANKLIN COUNTY,
PENNSYLVANIA,
Containing a History of the County, Its Townships, Towns,
Villages, Schools, Churches, Industries, Etc.; Portraits of
Early Settlers and Prominent men; Biographies;
History of Pennsylvania, Statistical and
Miscellaneous Matter, etc., etc.
ILLUSTRATED.
CHICAGO:
WAKNER, BEERS & CO.,
1887.
The reproduction of this book has been
made possible through the sponsorship
of the Greencastle-Antrim Civil War
Roundtable, Greentastle, Pennsylvania.
%
The New York
Public Library
^UWBAKO TILDEM
'OufclMJIQHj
Reproduction by Unigraphic, Inc.
1401 North Fares Avenue
Evansville, Indiana 47711
Nineteen Hundred Seventy Five
PREFACE.
In submitting the History of Franklin County to the public, it may not
be improper to state, briefly, a few of the characteristics of the work:
I. The special prominence given to the pioneer times of the county
— Hence a record of the persons, organizations, and events of the days
anterior to 1820 has been given as fully as available data would war-
rant.
II. The fullness with which the various religious, educational and
society organizations have been presented, due allowance being made, of
course, for the destruction or absence of proper records.
III. The completeness of the official and postal records, the latter
having been obtained direct from the proper department at Washington.
IV. The importance attached to the various military organizations
and their movements, in all the wars in which the people of the county
have participated.
V. The biographical sketches of many of the most prominent per-
sonages, living and dead, which make the book valuable for reference
purposes to all classes.
VI. The classification of material under appropriate heads, which -
facilitates the easy finding of any desired information.
The outline history of the State, contained in Part I is from the pen
of Prof. Samuel P. Bates, of Meadville. The history of Franklin County
in Part II was compiled chiefly by Prof. J. Fraise Richard, who has
striven to give an accurate and reliable account of the county's origin, prog
ress and development; and, for that purpose, has laid under contribution the
data afforded by historic sketches, newspaper articles, public and private
records, personal interviews and correspondence, tombstones and other reli-
able sources. The biographical sketches in Part III were, for the most
part, collected by a corps of solicitors, and a proof of each sketch submitted
by mail to each subject for correction.
To repay, in detail, all the kindnesses manifested by Franklin County
citizens to the writers and solicitors would compel involuntary bankruptcy.
The special gratitude of the publishers, however, is due and is hereby ex-
tended to the press of Chambersburg, Waynesboro, Greencastle and Mer-
iv PREFACE.
cersburg for the use of their files, and for other courtesies; to the county
officials and to Hons. F. M. Kimmell, D. Watson Rowe and John Stewart
for personal aid and favors; to Jacob Hoke, Esq., Drs. W. C. Lane, S. G.
Lane, Chas. T. Maclay and W. H. Egle, State Historian; Capt. J. H.
Walker, John B. Kaufman, J. W. Douglas and George S. Kyle for contri-
butions and special aid; and to the pastors of the various churches, and
secretaries of different orders for reports of their organizations.
With due appreciation of the liberal patronage received, the publishers
beg to present this volume to their patrons in the highly favored county of
Franklin.
THE PUBLISHERS.
CONTENTS.
PART I.
HISTORY OF PENNSYLVANIA.
PAGK.
CHAPTER I.— Introductory.— Cornells Jacob-
son Mey, 1624-25. William Van Hulst, 1626
-26. Peter Minuit, 1626-33. David Peter-
sen de Vries, 1632-33. VVouter Van Twiller,
1633-38 15-23
CHAPTER II.— Sir William Keift, 1638-47.
Peter Minuit, 1638-41. Peter Hollandaer,
1641-43. John Printz, 1643-53. Peter Stuy-
vesant. 1647-64. John Pappagoya, 1653-64.
John Claude Rysingh, 1654-56 23-33
CHAPTER III.— John Paul Jacquet, 1655-57.
Jacob Alrichs, 1657-59. Goeran Van Dyck.
1657-58. William Beekmau, 1658-63. Alex.
D'Hinoyossa, 1659-64 33-35
CHAPTER IV.— Richard Nichols, 1664-67. Rob-
ert Needhaui, 1664-68. Francis Lovelace,
1667-73. John Carr, 1668-73. Anthony
Colve, 1673-74. Peter Alrichs, 1673-74 35-41
CHAPTER V.— Sir Edmund Andros, 1674-81.
Edmund Cantwell, 1674-76. John Collier,
1676-77. Christopher Billop, 1677-81 41-50
CHAPTER VI.— William Markham, 1681-82.
William Penn, 1682-84 51-61
CHAPTER VTL— Thomas Lloyd, 1684-86. Five
Commissioners, 1686-88. John Blackwell,
1688-90. Thomas Lloyd, 1690-91. William
Markham. 1691-93. Benjamin Fletcher,
1693-95. William Markham, 1693-99 61-69
CHAPTER VIII.— William Penn, 1699-1701.
Andrew Hamilton, 1701-03. Edward Ship-
pen, 1 703-04. John Evans, 1704-09. Charles
Gooken, 1709-17 69-75
PAGE.
CHAPTER IX.— Sir William Keith, 1717-26.
Patrick Gordon, 1726-36. James Logan,
1736-38. George Thomas, 1738-47. Anthony
Palmer, 1747-48. James Hamilton 1748-54
75-89
CHAPTER X.— Robert H. Morris, 1754-56. Wil-
liam Denny, 1756-59. James Hamilton,
1759-63 89-97
CHAPTER XL— John Penn. 1763-71. James
Hamilton, 1771. Richard Penn, 1771-73.
John Penn, 1773-76 98-104
CHAPTER XII.— Thomas Wharton, Jr., 1777-
78. George Bryan, 1778. Joseph Reed, 1778
-81. William Moore, 1781-82. John Dickin-
son, 1782-85. Benjamin Franklin, 1785-88
104-114
CHAPTER XIII.— Thomas Mifflin, 1788-99.
Thomas McKean, 1799-1808. Simon Snyder,
1808-17. William Findlay, IS 17-20. Joseph
Heister, 1820-23. John A. Shulze, 1823-29.
George Wolfe, 1829-35 Joseph Ritner,
1835-39 114-121
CHAPTER XIV— David R. Porter, 1839-45.
Francis R. Shunk, 1845^8. William F.
Johnstone, 1848-52. William Bigler.l 852-55.
James Pollock, 1855-58. William F. Packer,
1858-61. Andrew G. Curtin, 1861-67. John
W. Geary, 1867-73. John F. Hartranft,
1873-78. Henry F. Hovt, 1878-82. Robert
E. Pattison, 1882-86. "James A. Beaver,
1886 122 131
Gubernatorial Table 132
PART II.
HISTORY OF FRANKLIN COUNTY.
PAGE.
CHAPTER I.— Physical Description 137-141
The Great Eastern Valley— The Path of a
Probable Gulf Stream — The Mountain
Ranges and their Appendages — Systems of
Drainage — Geological and Mineralogical As-
pects—Character of Soil — Vegetation — Cli-
mate.
CHAPTER II.— Pioneer Settlers i41-159
Two Classes: Scotch-Irish, their Origin,
Arrivals, Character and Locations—Germans,
Sketch of Persecutions, Arrival, Trials, etc.
— Trend of Settlements in Cumberland Val-
ley Westward — Shippensburg a Distributing
Point — Settlements at Falling Spring —
Sketch of Benjamin Chambers — Other Set-
tlements and Settlers in Various Parts of
the County — List of Taxables.in 1751-52 —
Mason andDixon's Line.
CHAPTER III.— Indian War 159-175
Indian Nations Described — VVar Between
French and English — Colonies Involved —
Braddock's Defeat and its Effects — Forts
Located and Described — Massacres from 1754
to 1785 — Conflict Between the Civil and
Military at Fort Loudoun.
PAGE.
CHAPTER IV.— The Revolution 175-190
Its Causes — Loyalty to the Mother Coun-
try — Early Military — Roster and Roll of
Franklin Men — From Colonies to States —
Heroes from Franklin County — One of the
First American Cannons, etc.
CHAPTER V— Whisky War 190-191
Eleven Years of Peace — Causes of the
Whisky Insurrection — Its Prosecution and
its Subversion — Sympathy of the Militia,
etc.
CHAPTER VI. — Franklin County Organ-
ized 192-214
Date of Erection — Petitions in Favor of
and in Opposition to the Project — Fight over
the County Seat — The First Court House
and First Jail — Early County Officers — Esti-
mate of Population — First General Elec-
tion — Officials, etc.
CHAPTER VII.— Internal Affairs 214-235
Lands and Land Titles— Indian Trails —
Roads — Bridges — Turnpikes — Inns or Tav-
erns — Militia — Muster Days — Mail Routes
and Post-offices — Postmasters — Railroads
VI
CONTENTS.
PAGE.
— Cumberland Valley Railroad — First Sleep-
ing Car Ever Made — Franklin Railroad —
Shenaudoah Valley Railroad — Harrisburg
.t Potomac Railroad — Western Maryland
Railroad — Baltimore ct Cumberland Valley
Railroad— Mont Alto Railroad — Mont Alto
Iron Works, etc.
CHAPTER VIII.— War of 1812-15 235-245
Cause of the War — Declaration of War —
Franklin County Companies — Incidents of
the War.
CHAPTER IX.— Mexican War 245-249
Texas and Mexico— Whig and Democrat
— Counter Arguments — Declaration of War
— Franklin County Company — Its Services.
CHAPTER X.— The Press 249-260
Introductory — First Newspaper — Press of
Chambersburg — Press of Waynesboro —
Press of Mercersburg— Press of Greencastle.
CHAPTER XL— Agriculture 260-266
A Business of First Importance — Its Prom-
ising Future — Improvements Introduced —
Judge Watts — The First Reaper — First
Stock in the Country — Wheat and Corn-
Hessian Fly — Improved Implements — A
Wonderful Fsat with the Scythe — Agri-
cultural Societies, Officers, etc.
CHAPTER XII.— The Medical Profession
269-294
Introductory View of the Human Structure
— Sketches of Prominent Deceased Physi-
cians — Epidemics — Medical Societies — Ros-
ter of Present Physicians.
CHAPTER XIII.— Educational and Relig-
ious Z95-316
Educational — Education Defined —
Teaching Defined — Early Schools and their
Equipments— John B. Kaufman's Account
of Early Schools and Teachers — History of
School Legislation— Comparative Statistics —
County Superintendents— County Institutes
—Letter from Ex-Co. Supt. A. J. McElwain
— List ol County Superintendents — Relig-
ious—Early Settlers' Religions — Presbyie-
rians — Lutherans— Reformed — Methodists —
Fnited Brethren — Roman Catholic— Episco-
palian— Church of Cod— German Baptists —
River Brethren — Menuonites — Retormed
Meunonites— Colored Churches— Mormon-
ism.
CHAPTER XIV.— Popular Agitations and
Philanthropic Reforms 319-331
Human Society Compared to the Ocean —
Early Outlaws— The Nugents— Slavery in
Franklin County— A Curious Will— Gradual
Abolition of Slavery— Runaway Slaves— The
Underground Railroad— Capture of Bob and
I :avc— History of John Brown's Raid on Har-
per's Ferry— Fate of His Coadjutors— Wen-
dell Phillips' Speech— curious Prophecies-
History of Know-nothingism iu Chambers-
burg— -Sketches of Early Temperance Move-
ments in the County— Tidal- Waves— W ash-
ingtonian Movement— Father Mathew's Ef-
forts—Sons of Temperance -Good Temp-
lars— Woman's Crusade- -National Woman's
Christian Temperance Union — Murphy
Movement- Prohibition— Franklin County
Bible Society -Children's Aid Society.
en \pter XV.— The Great Rebellion of
1861-65 33U-390
introduction — Civil War an Interest-
ing study— Its Antecedents Must be Con-
sidered— Jamestown and Plymouth Typical
of I' wo Antagonistic Civilizations— Practical
Inferences— War Statistics— Firing on Fort
Sumter and its Effects— Patriotic Meetings
— Hearty Response to President's Call for
roops— Incidents of 1861— Complete Ro3ter
page.
of Troops Furnished by the County— Stuart's
Raid in 1862— Lee's Invasion, Preceded by
Jenkins' Raid— Rebel Occupation of Cham-
bersburg and Its Events— Advance on Get-
tysburg—Battle—Retreat—Lee's Train of
Wounded — Burning of EwelPs Supplv Train
and capture of Prisoners by Kilpatrick—
McCausland's Raid and Burning of Cham-
bersburg.
CHAPTER XVI.— Law Makers and Law In- â–
terpretess 390-422
Law Defined and Analyzed — Founded in
Natural Justice— Mental Requirements for
its Study — Various State Conventions —
Franklin's Representatives in National Con-
gress, in State Senate and House — Early
Bench and Bar— List of President and Asso"-
eiate Judges— List of Attorneys from Organ-
ization of County.
CHAPTER XVII.— Master Spirits 422-433
Uses and Abuses of Greatness— Character
of Genius— Greatness— Its Elements— Power
of Mothers— Sketches of Master Spirits : ,'l)
Military, (2) Political, (3) Railroad Mana-
gers, (4) Theologians, (5) County Officials, (6)
Medical, (7.) Educational, (8) Press, (9) Legal
—Franklin County's Roll of Honor.
CHAPTER XVIIL— The County's First Cen-
tennial 433-451
Introductory— Value of Anniversaries-
Triumphs of the Century— Preparations for
the Coming Anniversary — Executive Com-
mittee—Township Committees — Account of
the Two Days' Doings — Extracts from Ad-
dresses and Poems Delivered.
CHAPTER XIX.— Borough of Chambers-
burg 451-504
Description— Early History — Incorpora-
tion — Banks— First Market Houses— Present
Market. House— Water-works— Gas Works
—Fire Department— Manufactories— Secret
Societies— Churches— Cemetery— Schools.
CHAPTER XX.— Borough of mercersburg
505-530
Location — Settlement — James Black-
Early Traffic— Original Plat— Derivation of
Name— Sketch of Dr. Mercer— Past and
Present Business Interests— Incorporation
—Prominent Residents— Birthplace of Presi-
dent Buchanan— Mercersburg College and
Public Schools— Church History— Cemetery
—Banks— Fire Company— Secret Societies.
CHAPTER XXI.— Borough of Waynesboro
530-541
Origin of the Name— Location— The Plat-
Original Lot Owners— Incorporation — Banks
— Manufactories — Water-works — Societies
—Churches— Temperance Union— Schools-
Cemetery— Famous Sewing Machine.
CHAPTER XXIL-Borough of Greencastle
542-554
Site of the Borough — Ancient Burving
Grounds— Plat of the Town, and iurst Resi-
dents—Early Reminiscences and Anecdotes
—Old Churches— Cemeteries and Epitaphs
— Incorporation of Borough— Its Centen-
nial—The Turnpike — Church Hi-tory—
< emetery— The Schools — Industries— Bor-
ough Officers— Bank— Town Hall Company
— Societies.
CHAPTER XXIII. —Townships 554-614
Antrim 555
Formation —Name— First Settlers— Early
Land Titles— Old Graveyard Transcription's
—List of Taxables, 1786— Early Settlements
— Borough and Villages — The Mormons.
Lurgan 504
Formation— Topography— Earlv Land Ti-
tles—List of Taxables, 1786— The' Pomeroys
— Villages.
CONTENTS.
â–¼n
PACK.
Pkters 567
Name — Formation — First Settlers — Early
Laud Titles— List of Taxables, 1786 — Loudon
— Leiuasters — Upton — Bridgeport — Cove
Gap.
GUILFORD 573
Formation — Name — Early Land Entries —
List of Taxables — Manors — Churches — Vil-
lages.
Hamilton 577
Name, etc. — Earliest Land Entries — List of
Taxables, 1786 — Cashtown.
Fannett 578
Formation — The Indians and First Imnii-
f rants — Name — Early Land Purchases —
)arly Land Entries— List of Taxables, 1786
—Villages.
Lktterkenny 583
Formation — Bou ndary — Early Settlements
— Earliest Land Titles — List of Taxables,
1786— Early School Teaahers— Village-
Churches.
Washington 588
Formation — Name — Early Land Titles-'-
List of Taxables, 1786— Villages.
Montgomery 591
Formation — Name — Early Land Entries —
List of taxables, 1786 — Villages.
PAGE.
Southampton 593
Kormation,elc. — Early Land Entries — List
of Taxables, 1786- Borough of Orrstown —
Villages.
Franklin 596
Absorption of Township by Chambers-
burg — List of Taxables, 1786.
Greene 596
Formation — Name — Early Settlement —
Early Land Entries — Early Uemiuiscences
Greenvillage — Scotland — Fayetteville —
Black's Gap — Sruoketown.
Metal 604
Boundary — Formation — Topography —
Early Settlers — Early Land Entries — Promi-
nent First Settlers — Taxables in 1786— F'irst
Justices of the Peace — Villages — Churches.
Wakren Su7
Location — Its Early History — Name— Ear-
liest Land Entries â €” Early Settlers— Old Doc-
uments — Churches.
St. Thomas 609
Formation — Its Early History — Name —
Immigration — Early Land Entries — Taxa-
bles, 1786— Villages.
Ql'INCY 611
Formation — Its settlements — Its Wealth —
Name — Early Settlers — Early Laud Entries
— Transcriptions from Early Tombstones —
Taxables iu 1786— Villages.
part in.
BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES.
PAGE.
Chambersburg, Borough of 617
Antrim Township and Borough of Greencastle.. 700
Fannett Township 737
Greene Township 763
Guilford Township 795
Hamilton Township 803
Letterkenny Township 809
Lurgan Township 817
Metal Township 834
PAGE.
Montgomery Township and Borough of Mercers-
burg 845
Peters Township 873
Quincy Township 887
St. Thomas Township 897
Southampton Township and Borough of Orrs-
town 917
Warren Township 926
Washington Township and Borough of Waynes-
boro 927
PORTRAITS.
PAGE.
Alexander, Rev.S. C 417
Amberson, W. S 267
Bard, Robert M 207
Besore, George 167
Bonbrake, E. J 387
Brotherton, Col. D. H 407
Buhrman, C. H 497
('arson, JamesO 157
Chambers, George 79
Chritzman, H. G., M. D 477
Clayton, James H 367
Crowell, J. B 277
Davison, J. A 507
Fleming, Archibald 177
Foltz, M. A 487
Garver, Samuel 307
Good, Jacob S 297
Hammond, Lawrence 187
Hammond, M. L 427
Harbaugh, Rev. H 257
Harnish, H. R 347
Hassler, Rev. J 317
PAGE.
Hawbecker, S .Z 527
Hoke, Jacob 327
Hoover, Daniel 447
Keefer, William S 337
Kerlin, P 437
Lamaster, J. R 537
McDowell, A. B 357
McKinstry, William 45
Orr, William 197
Rowe, D. Watson 397
Rowe, John 217
Sentman. S. L 227
Sharpe, J. McD 377
Shockey, Daniel 547
Shoemaker, John A 557
Skinner, S. M 287
Snively, I. N.,M. D 517
Snively, Joseph 147
Walker, Capt. John H 457
Winger, Joseph 237
Winger, Col. B. F 467
Ziegler, George W 247
MISCELLANEOUS.
PAGE.
Map of Franklin County 10, 11
Map showing various purchases from Indians - 113
Diagram showing proportionate Annual Production of Anthracite Coal since 1820 118
Table showing amount of Anthracite Coal produced in each region since 1820 119
Table showing vote for Governors of Pennsylvania since Organization of State 132
Relief Map of Cumberland Valley 134, 135
PART I.
rilSTORY-rENNSYLVANIA
BY SAMUEL P. BATES.
"God, that has given it me through many difficulties, will, I believe,
bless and make it the seed of a nation. I shall have a tender care to the
government that it be well laid at first. ----- I do, therefore,
desire the Lord's wisdom to guide me, and those that may be concerned
with me, that we may do the thing that is truly wise and just."
WILLIAM PENN.
HISTORY OF PENNSYLVANIA.
CHAPTER I.
Introductory — Cornelis Jacobson Mey, 1624-25— William Van Httlst, 1625-
26— Peter Mintjit, 1626-33— David Petersen de Vries, 1632-33— Wouter
Van Twiller, 1633-38.
IN the early colonization upon the American continent, two motives were
principally operative. One was the desire of amassing sudden wealth
without great labor, which tempted adventurous spirits to go in search of gold,
to trade valueless trinkets to the simple natives for rich furs and skins, and even
to seek, amidst the wilds of a tropical forest, for the fountain whose healing
waters could restore to man perpetual youth. The other was the cherished
purpose of escaping the unjust restrictions of Government, and the hated ban
of society against tne worship of the Supreme Being according to the honest
dictates of conscience, which incited the humble devotees of Christianity to
forego the comforts of home, in the midst of the best civilization of the age,
and make for themselves a habitation on the shores of a new world, where they
might erect altars and do homage to their God in such habiliments as they
preferred, and utter praises in such note as seemed to them good. This pur-
pose was also incited by a certain romantic temper, common to the race, es-
pecially noticeable in youth, that invites to some uninhabited J spot, and Ras-
selas and Robinson Crusoe- like to begin life anew.
William Penn, the founder of Pennsylvania, had felt the heavy hand of
persecution for religious opinion's sake. As a gentleman commoner at Ox-
ford, he had been fined, and finally expelled from that venerable seat of learn-
ing for non-comformity to the established worship. At home, he was whipped
and turned out of doors by a father who thought to reclaim the son to the
more certain path of advancement at a licentious court. He was sent to prison
by the Mayor of Cork. For seven months he languished in the tower of Lon-
don, and, finally, to complete his disgrace, he was cast into Newgate with com-
mon felons. Upon the accession of James II, to the throne of England, over
fourteen hundred persons of the Quaker faith were immured in prisons for a
conscientious adherence to their religious convictions. To escape this harassing
persecution, and find peace and quietude from this sore proscription, was the
moving cause which led Penn and his followers to emigrate to America.
Of all those who have been founders of States in near or distant ages, none
have manifested so sincere and disinterested a spirit, nor have been so fair ex-
emplars of the golden rule, and of the Redeemer's sermon on the mount, as
William Penn. In his preface to the frame of government of his colony, he
says: " The end of government is first to terrify evil-doers; secondly, to cher-
ish those who do well, which gives government a life beyond corruption, and
16 HISTORY GF PENNSYLVANIA.
makes it as durable in the world, as good men shall be. So that government
seems to be a part of religion itself, a thing sacred in its institution and end.
For, if it does not directly remove the cause, it crushes the effects of evil, and
is an emanation of the same Divine power, that is both author and object of
pure religion, the difference lying here, that the one is more free and mental,
the other more corporal and compulsive in its operations; but that is only to
evil-doers, government itself being otherwise as capable of kindness, goodness
and charity, as a more private society. They weakly err, who think there is no
other use of government than correction, which is the coarsest part of it.
Daily experience tells us, that the care and regulation of many other affairs
more soft, and daily necessary, make up much the greatest part of government.
Governments, like clocks, go from the motion men give them, and as govern-
ments are made and moved by men, so by them are they ruined, too. Where-
fore, governments rather depend upon men, than men upon governments. Let
men be good, and the government cannot be bad. If it be ill, they will cure
it. But if men be bad, let the government be never so good, they will endeavor
to warp and spoil to their turn. * * * That, therefore, which makes a good
constitution, must keep it, men of wisdom and virtue, qualities, that because they
descend not with worldly inheritances, must be carefully propagated by a vir-
tuous education of youth, for which, after ages will owe more to the care and
prudence of founders and the successive magistracy, than to their parents for
their private patrimonies. * * * We have, therefore, with reverence to God,
and good conscience to men, to the best of our skill, contrived and composed the
Frame and Laws of this government, viz. : To support power in reverence
with the people, and to secure the people from the abuse of power, that they
may be free by their just obedience, and the magistrates honorable for their
just administration. For liberty without obedience is confusion, and obedi-
ence without liberty is slavery."
Though born amidst the seductive arts of the great city, Penn's tastes were
rural. He hated the manners of the corrupt court, and delighted in the homely
labors and iunocent employments of the farm. " The country," he said, "is
the philosopher's garden and library, in which he reads and contemplates the*
power, wisdom and goodness of God. It is his food as well as study, and gives
him life as well as learning." And to his wife he said upon taking leave of
her in their parting interview: " Let my children be husbandmen, and house-
wives. It is industrious, healthy, honest, and of good report. This leads to
consider the works of God, and diverts the mind from being taken up with vain
arts and inventions of a luxurious world. Of cities and towns of concourse,
beware. The world is apt to stick close to thos9 who have lived and got wealth
there. A country life and estate I love best for my children."
Having thus given some account at the outset of the spirit and purposes of
the founder, and the motive which drew him to these shores, it will be in
place, before proceeding with the details of the acquisition of territory, and
the coming of emigrants for the actual settlement under the name of Pennsyl-
vania, to say something of the aborigines who were found in possession of the
soil when first visited by Europeans, of the condition of the surface of the
country, and of the previous attempts at settlements before the coming of Pehn.
The surface of what is now known as Pennsylvania was, at the time of the
coming of the white men, one vast forest of hemlock, and pine, and beech,
and oak, unbroken, except by an occasional rocky barren upon the precipitous
mountain side, or by a few patches of prairie, which had been reclaimed by
annual burnings, and was used by the indolent and simple-minded natives for
the culture of a little maize and a few vegetables. The soil, by the annual
HISTORY OF PENNSYLVANIA. 17
accumulations of leaves and abundant growths of forest vegetation, was luxu-
rious, and the trees stood close, and of gigantic size. The streams swarmed
with fish, and the forest abounded with game. Where now are cities and
hamlets filled with busy populations intent upon the accumulation of wealth,
the mastery of knowledge, the pursuits of pleasure, the deer browsed and
sipped at the water's edge, and the pheasant drummed his monotonous note.
Where now is the glowing furnace from which day and night tongues of flame
are bursting, and the busy water wheel sends the shuttle flashing through the
loom, half-naked, dusky warriors fashioned their spears with rude implements
of stone, and made themselves hooks out of the bones of animals for alluring
the finny tribe. Where now are fertile fields, upon which the thrifty farmer
turns his furrow, which his neighbor takes up and runs on until it reaches
from one end of the broad State to the other, and where are flocks and herds,
rejoicing in rich meadows, gladdened by abundant fountains, or reposing at the
heated noontide beneath ample shade, not a blow had been struck against the
giants of the forest, the soil rested in virgin purity, the streams glided on in
majesty, un vexed by wheel and unchoked by device of man.
Where now the long train rushes on with the speed of the wind over
plain and mead, across streams and under mountains, awakening the echoes of
the hills the long day through, and at the midnight hour screaming out its
shrill whistle in fiery defiance, the wild native, with a fox skin wrapped about
his loins and a few feathers stuck in his hair, issuing from his rude hut, trot-
ted on in his forest path, followed by his squaw with her infant peering forth
from the rough sling at her back, pointed his canoe, fashioned from the barks
of the trees, across the deep river, knowing the progress of time only by the
rising and setting sun, troubled by no meridians for its index, starting on his
way when his nap was ended, and stopping for rest when a spot was reached
that pleased his fancy. Where now a swarthy population toils ceaselessly deep
down in the bowels of the earth, shut out trom the light of day in cutting out
the material that feeds the fifes upon the forge, and gives genial warmth to the
lovers as they chat merrily in the luxurious drawing room, not a mine had
been opened, and the vast beds of the black diamond rested unsunned beneath
the superincumbent mountains, where they had been fashioned by the Creator's
hand. Rivers of oil seethed through the impatient and uneasy gases and vast
pools and lakes of this pungent, parti -colored fluid, hidden away from the
coveting eye of man, guarded well their own secrets. Not a derrick protruded
its well-balanced form in the air. Not a drill, with its eager eating tooth de-
scended into the flinty rock No pipe line diverted the oily tide in a silent,
ceaseless current to the ocean's brink. The cities of iron tanks, filled to burst-
ing, had no place amidst the forest solitudes. Oil exchanges, with their vex-
ing puts and calls, shorts aud longs, bulls and bears, had not yet come to dis-
turb tbe equanimity of the red man, as he smoked the pipe of peace at the
council fire. Had he once seen the smoke and soot of the new Birmingham of
the West, or snuffed the odors of an oil refinery, he would willingly have for-
feited his goodly heritage by the forest stream or the deep flowing river, and
sought for himself new hunting grounds in less favored regions.
It was an unfortunate circumstance that at the coming of Europeans the
territory now known as Pennsylvania was occupied by some of the most bloody
and revengeful of the savage tribes. They were known as the Lenni Lenapes,
and held sway from- the Hudson to the Potomac. A tradition was preserved
among them, that in a remote age their ancestors had emigrated eastward from
beyond the Mississippi, exterminating as they came the more civilized and
peaceful peoples, the Mound-Builders of Ohio and adjacent States, and who
18 HISTORY OF PENNSYLVANIA.
were held among the tribes by whom they were surrounded as the progenitors,
the grandfathers or oldest people. They came to be known by Europeans as
the Delawares, after the name of the river and its numerous branches along
which they principally dwelt. Tbe Monseys or Wolves, another tribe of the
Lenapes, dwelt upon the Susquehanna and its tributaries, and, by their war-
like disposition, won the credit of being the fiercest of their nation, and the
guardians of the door to their council housp from the North.
Occupying the greater part of the tevitory now known as New York, were
the five nations — the Senacas, the Mohawks, the Oneidas, the Cayugas, and
the Onondagas, which, from their hearty union, acquired great strength and
came to exercise a commanding influence. Obtaining firearms of the Dutch
at Albany, they repelled the advances of the French from Canada, and by
their superiority in numbers and organization, had overcome the Lenapes,
and held them for awhile in vassalage. The Tuscaroras, a tribe which had
been expelled from their home in North Carolina, Avere adopted by the Five Na-
tions in 1712, and from this time forward these tribes were known to the English
as the Six Nations, called by the Lenapes, Mingoes, and by the French, Iroquois.
There was, therefore, properly a United States before the thirteen colonies
achieved their independence. The person and character of these tribes were
marked. They were above the ordinary stature, erect, bold, and commanding,
of great decorum in council, and when aroused showing native eloquence. In
warfare, they exhibited all the bloodthirsty, revengeful, cruel instincts of the
savage, and for the attainment of their purposes were treacherous and crafty.
The Indian character, as developed by intercourse with Europeans, exhibits
some traits that are peculiar. While coveting what they saw that pleased
them, and thievish to the last degree, they were nevertheless generous. This
may be accounted for by their habits. "They held that the game of the for-
est, the tish of the rivers, and the grass of the field were a common heritage,
and free to all who would take the trouble to gather them, and ridiculed the
idea of fencing in a meadow." Bancroft says: " The hospitality of the Indian
has rarely been questioned. The stranger enters his cabin, by day or by
night, without asking leave, and is entertained as freely as a thrush or a
blackbird, that regales himself on the luxuries of the fruitful grove. He
will take his own rest abroad, that he may give up his own skin or mat of
sedge to his guest. Nor is the traveler questioned as to the purpose of his
visit. He chooses his own time freely to deliver his message." Penn, who,
from frequent intercourse came to know them well, in his letter to the society
of Free Traders, says of them: "In liberality they excel; nothing is too good
for their friend. Give them a fine gun, coat or other thing, it may pass
twenty hands before it sticks; light of heart, strong affections, but soon spent.
The most merry creatures that live; feast and dance perpetually. They never
have much nor want much. Wealth circulateth like the blood. All parts
partake; and though none shall want what another hath, yet exact observers
of property. Some Kings have sold, others presented me with several .parcels
of land. The pay or presents I made them, were not hoarded by the particu-
lar owners, but the neighboring Kings and clans being present when the
goods were brought out. the parties chiefly concerned consulted what and to
whom they should give them. To every King, then, by the hands of a per-
son for that work appointed is a proportion sent, so sorted and folded, and
with that gravity that is admirable. Then that King subdivideth it in like man-
ner among his dependents, they hardly leaving themselves an equal share
with one of their subjects, and be it on such occasions as festivals, or at their
common mealB, the Kings distribute, and to themselves last. They care for
HISTORY OF PENNSYLVANIA. 19
little because they want but little, and the reason is a little contents them. In
this they are sufficiently revenged on us. They are also free from our pains.
They are not disquieted with bills of lading and exchange, nor perplexed
with chancery suits and exchequer reckonings. "We sweat and toil to live;
their pleasure feeds them; I mean their hunting, fishing and fowling, and
this table is spread everywhere. They eat twice a day, morning and evening.
Their Heats and table are the ground. Since the Europeans came into these
parts they are grown great lovers of strong liquors, rum especially, and for it
exchange the richest of their skins and furs. If they are heated with liquors,
they are restless till they have enough to sleep. That is their cry, ' Some
more and I will go to sleep; ' but when drunk one of the most wretched spec-
tacles in the world."
On the 28th of August, 1609, a little more than a century from the time
of the first discovery of the New World by Columbus, Hendrick Hudson, an
English navigator, then in the employ of the Dutch East India Company, hav-
ing been sent out in search of a northwestern passage to the Indies, discovered
the mouth of a great bay, since known as Delaware Bay, which he entered and
partially explored. But finding the waters shallow, and being satisfied that
this was only an arm of the sea which received the waters of a great river,
and not a passage to the western ocean, he retired, and, turning the prow of
his little craft northward, on the 2d of September, he discovered the river
which bears his name, the Hudson, and gave several days to its examination.
Not finding a passage to the "West, which was the object of his search, he returned
to Holland, bearing the evidences of his adventures, and made a full report of
his discoveries in which he says, " Of all lands on which I ever set my foot,
this is the best for tillage."
A proposition had been made in the States General of Holland to form a
West India Company with purposes similar to those of the East India Com-
pany; but the conservative element in the Dutch Congress prevailed, and while
the Government was unwilling to undertake the risks of an enterprise for
which it would be responsible, it was not unwilling to foster private enter-
prise, and on the 27th of Mai'ch, 1614, an edict was passed, granting the
privileges of trade, in any of its possessions in the New World, during four
voyages, founding its right to the territory drained by the Delaware and
Hudson upon the discoveries by Hudson. Five vessels were accordingly
fitted by a company composed of enterprising merchants of the cities of Am-
sterdam and Hoorn, which made speedy and prosperous voyages under com-
mand of Cornells Jacobson Mey, bringing back with them fine furs and rich
woods, which so excited cupidity that the States General was induced on the
14th of October, 1614, to authorize exclusive trade, for four voyages, extend-
ing through three years, in the newly acquired possessions, the edict designat-
ing them as New Netherlands.
One of the party of this first enterprise, Cornells Hendrickson, was left
behind with a vessel called the Unrest, which had been built to supply the
place of one accidentally burned, in which he proceeded to explore more fully
the bay and river Delaware, of which he made report that was read before the
States General on the 19th of August, 1616. This report is curious as dis-
closing the opinions of the first actual explorer in an official capacity: " He
hath discovered for his aforesaid masters and directors certain lands, a bay,
and three rivers, situate between thirty-eight and forty degrees, and did their
trade with the inhabitants, said trade consisting of sables, furs, robes and
other skins. He hath found the said country full of trees, to wit, oaks, hick-
ory and pines, which trees were, in some places, covered with vines. He hath
20 HISTORY OF PENNSYLVANIA.
seen in said country bucks and does, turkeys and partridges. He hath found
the climate of said country very temperate, judging it to be as temperate as
this country, Holland. He also traded for and bought from the inhabitants,
the Minquas, three persons, being people belonging to this company, which
three persons were employed in the service of the Mohawks and Machicans,
giving for them kettles, beads, and merchandise."
This second charter of privileges expired in January, 1618, and daring its
continuance the knowledge acquired of the country and its resources promised
so much of success that the States General was ready to grant broader privi-
leges, and on the 3d of June, 1621, the Dutch West India Company was in-
corporated, to extend for a period of twenty-four years, with the right of
renewal, the capital stock to be open to subscription by all nations, and
"privileged to trade and plant colonies in Africa, from the tropic of Cancer
to the Cape of Good Hope, and in America from the Straits of Magellan to the
remotest north." The past glories of Holland, though occupying but an in-
significant patch of Europe, emboldened its Government to pass edicts for the
colonizing and carrying on an exclusive trade with a full half of the entire
world, an example of the biting off of more than could be well chewed. But
the light of this enterprising people was beginning to pale before the rising-
glories of the stern race in their sea girt isle across the channel. Dissensions-
were arising among the able statesmen who had heretofore guided its affairs,
and before the periods promised in the original charter of this colonizing com-
pany had expired, its supremacy of the sea was successfully resisted, and its
exclusive rights and privileges in the New World had to be relinquished.
The principal object in establishing this West India Company was to-
secure a good dividend upon the capital stock, which was subscribed to by the
rich old burgomasters. The fine furs and products of the forests, which had
been taken back to Holland, had proved profitable. But it was seen that »*
this trade was to be permanently secured, in face of the active competition of
other nations, and these commodities steadily depended upon, permanent set-
tlements must bo provided for. Accordingly, in 1623, a colony of about forty
families, embracing a party of Walloons, protestant fugitives from Belgium,
sailed for the new province, under the leadership of Cornells Jacobson Mey and
Joriz Tienpont. Soon after their arrival, Mey, who had been invested with
the power of Director General of all the territory claimed by the Dutch, see-
ing, no doubt, the evidences of some permanence on the Hudson, determined
to take these honest minded and devoted Walloons to the South River, or Del-
aware, that he might also gain for his country a foothold there. The testi-
mony of one of the women, Catalina Tricho, who was of the party, is
curious, and sheds some light upon this point. M That she came to this prov-
ince either in the year 1623 or 1624, and that four women came along with
her in the same ship, in which Gov. Arien Jorissen came also over, which four
women were married at sea, and that they and their husbands stayed about
three weeks at this place (Manhattan) and then they with eight seamen more,
went in a vessel by orders of the Dutch Governor to Delaware River, and
there settled." Ascending the Delaware some fifty miles, Mey landed
on the eastern shore near where now is the town of Gloucester, and built a
fort which he called Nassau. Having duly installed his little colony, he re-
turned to Manhattan; but beyond the building of the fort, which served as a
trading post, this attempt to plant a colony was futile; for these religious
zealots, tiring of the solitude in which they were left, after a few months*
abandoned it, and returned to their associates whom they had left upon the
Hudson. Though not successful in establishing a permanent colony upon the
HISTORY OF PENNSYLVANIA. 21
Delaware, ships plied regularly between the fort and Manhattan, and this
became the rallying point for the Indians, who brought thither their commodi-
ties for trade. At about this time, 1626, the island of Manhattan estimated
to contain 22,000 acres, on which now stands the city of New York with its
busy population, surrounded by its forests of masts, was bought for the insig-
nificant sum of sixty guilders, about $24, what would now pay for scarcely a
square inch of some of that very soil. As an evidence of the thrift which had
begun to mark the progress of the colony, it may be stated that the good ship
" The Arms of Amsterdam," which bore the intelligence of this fortunate pur-
chase to the assembly of the XIX in Holland, bore also in the language of
O'Calaghan, the historian of New Netherland, the " information that the col-
ony was in a most prosperous state, and that the women and the soil were
both fruitful. To prove the latter fact, samples of the recent harvest, consist-
ing of wheat, rye, barley, oats, buckwheat, canary seed, were sent forward,
together with 8,130 beaver skins, valued at over 45,000 guilders, or nearly
$19,000." It is accorded by another hisiorian that this same ship bore also
" 853J otter skins, eighty-one mink skins, thirty-six wild cat skins and thirty-four
rat skins, with a quantity of oak and hickory timber." From this it may be
seen what the commodities were which formed the subjects of trade. Doubt-
less of wharf rats Holland had enough at home, but the oak and hickory tim-
ber came at a time when there was sore need of it.
Finding that the charter of privileges, enacted in 1621, did not give suffi-
cient encouragement and promise of security to actual settlers, further con-
cessions were made in 1629, whereby " all such persons as shall appear and
desire the same from the company, shall be acknowledged as Patroons [a sort
of feudal lord] of New Netherland, who shall, within the space of four years
next after they have given notice to any of the chambers of the company here,
or to the Commander or Council there, undertake to plant a colony there of
fifty souls, upward of fifteen years old; one- fourth part within one year, and
within three years after sending the first, making together four years, the re-
mainder, to the full number of fifty persons, to be shipped from hence, on pain,
in case of willful neglect, of being deprived of the privileges obtained." * *
" The Patroons, by virtue of their power, shall be permitted, at such places as they
shall settle their colonies, to extend their limits four miles along the shore, or
two miles on each side of a river, and so far into the country as the situation
of the occupiers will permit."
Stimulated by these flattering promises, Goodyn and Bloemmaert, two
wealthy and influential citizens, through their agents — Heyser and Coster —
secured by purchase from the Indians a tract of land on the western shore,
at the mouth of the Delaware, sixteen miles in length along the bay front, and
extending sixteen miles back into the country, giving a square of 256 miles.
Goodyn immediately gave notice to the company of their intention to plant a
colony on their newly acquired territory as patroons. They were joined by an
experienced navigator, De Vries, and on the 12th of December, 1630, a vessel,
the Walrus, under command of De Vries, was dispatched with a company of
settlers and a stock of cattle and farm implements, which arrived safely in
the Delaware. De Vries landed about three leagues within the capes, " near
the entrance of a fine navigable stream, called the Hoarkill," where he pro-
ceeded to build a house, well surrounded with cedar palisades, which served
the purpose of fort, lodging house, and "trading post. The little settlement,
which consisted of about thirty persons, was christened by the high sounding
title of Zwanendal — Valley of Swans. In the spring they prepared their fields
and planted them, and De Vries returned to Holland, to make report of his
proceedings.
22 HISTORY OF PENNSYLVANIA.
But a sad fate awaited the little colony at Zwanendal. In accordance with
the custom of European nations, the commandant, on taking possession of the
new purchase, erected a pust, and affixed thereto a piece of tin on which was
traced the arms of Holland and a legend of occupancy. An Indian chieftain,
passing that way, attracted by the shining metal, and not understanding the
object of the inscription, and not having the fear of their high mightinesses,
the States General of Holland before his eyes, tore it down and proceeded to
make for himself a tobacco pipe, considering it valuable both by way of orna-
ment and use. When this act of trespass was discovered, it was regarded by
the doughty Dutchman as a direct insult to the great State of Holland, and
so great an ado was raised over it that the simple minded natives became
frightened, believing that their chief had committed a mortal offense, and in
the strength and sincerity of their friendship immediately proceeded to dis-
patch the offending chieftain, and brought the bloody emblems of their deed to
the head of the colony. This act excited the anger of the relatives of the mur-
dered man, and in accordance with Indian law, they awaited the chance to
take revenge. O'Calaghan gives the following account (if this bloody massa-
cre which ensued: "The colony at Zwanendal consisted at this time of thirty-
four persons. Of these, thirty- two were one day at work in the fields, while
Commissary Hosset remained in charge of the house, where another of the set-
tlers lay sick abed. A large bull dog was chained out of doors. On pretence
of selling some furs, three savages entered the house and murdered Hosset
and the sick man. They found it not so easy to dispatch the mastiff. It was
not until they had pierced him with at least twenty-five arrows that he was
destroyed. The men in the fields were then set on, in an equally treacherous
manner, under the guise of friendship, and every man of them slain." Thus
was a worthless bit of tin the cause of the cutting off and utter extermination
of the infant colony.
De Vries was upon the point of returning to Zwanendal when he received
intimation of disaster to the settlers. With a large vessel and a yacht, he set
sail on the 24th of May, 1632, to carry succor, provided with the means of
prosecuting the whale fishery which he had been led to believe might be made
very profitable, and of pushing the production of grain and tobacco. On ar-
riving in the Delaware, he fired a signal gun to give notice of his approach.
The report echoed through the forest, but, alas! the ears which would have
been gladened with the sound were heavy, and no answering salute came from
the shore. On landing, he found his house destroyed, the palisades burned,
and the skulls and bones of his murdered countrymen bestrewing the earth,
sad relics of the little settlement, which had promised so fairly, and warning
tokens of the barbarism of the natives.
De Vries knew that he was in no position to attempt to punish the guilty
parties, and hence determined to pursue an entirely pacific policy. At his
invitation, the Indians gathered in with their chief for a conference. Sitting
down in a circle beneath the shadows of the somber forest, their Sachem in
the centre, De Vries, without alluding to their previous acts of savagery,
concluded with them a treaty of peace and friendship, and presented them in
token of ratification, "some duffels, bullets, axes and Nuremburg trinkets."
In place of finding his colony with plenty of provisions for the immediate
needs of his party, he could get nothing, and began to be in want. He accord-
ingly sailed up the river in quest t>f food. The natives were ready with
their furs for barter, but they had no supplies of food with which they wished
to part. Game, however, was plenty, and wild turkeys were brought in weigh-
ing over thirty pounds. One morning after a frosty night, while the little
HISTORY OF PENNSYLVANIA. 23
craft was up the stream, tho party was astonished to find the waters frozen
over, and their ship fast in the ice. Judging by the mild climate of their own
country, Holland, they did not suppose this possible. For several weeks they
were held fast without the power to move their floating home. Being in need
of a better variety of food than he found it possible to obtain, De Vries sailed
away with a part of his followers to Virginia, where he was hospitably enter-
tained by the Governor, who sent a present of goats as a token of friendship to
the Dutch Governor at Manhattan. Upon his return to the Delaware, De
Vries found that the party he had left behind to prosecute the whale fishery
had only taken a few small ones, and these so poor that the amount of oil ob-
tained was insignificant. He had been induced to embark in the enterprise of
a settlement here by the glittering prospect of prosecuting the whale fishery
along the shore at a great profit. Judging by this experience that the hope
of great gains from this source was groundless, and doubtless haunted by a
superstitious dread of making their homes amid the relics of the settlers of the
previous year, and of plowing fields enriched by their blood who had been
so utterly cut off, and a horror of dwelling amongst a people so revengeful and
savage, De Vries gathered all together, and taking his entire party with him
sailed away to Manhattan and thence home to Holland, abandoning utterly the
settlement. .
The Dutch still however sought to maintain a footnold upon the Dela-
ware, and a fierce contention having sprung up between the powerful patroons
and the Director General, and they having agreed to settle differences by
the company authorizing the purchase of the claims of the patroons, those upon
the Delaware were sold for 15,600 guilders. Fort Nassau was accordingly re- oc-
cupied and manned with a small military force, and when a party from Con-
necticut Colony came, under one Holmes to make a settlement upon the Dela-
ware, the Dutch at Nassau were found too strong to be subdued, and Holmes
and his party were compelled to surrender, and were sent as prisoners of war
to Manhattan.
CHAPTER II.
Sir William Keift, 1638-47— Peter Minttit, 1638-41— Peter Hollandaer, 1641-43—
John Printz, 1648-53— Peter Stuyvesant, 1647-64— John Pappagoya, 1653-54 —
John Claude Rysingh, 1654-55.
AT £his period, the throne of Sweden was occupied by Gustavus Adolphus,
a monarch of the most enlightened views and heroic valor. Seeing the
activity of surrounding nations in sending out colonies, he proposed to his
people to found a commonwealth in the New World., not for the mere purpose
of gain by trade, but to set up a refuge for the oppressed, a place of religious
liberty and happy homes that should prove of advantage to " all oppressed
Christendom. " Accordingly, a company with ample privileges was incorpo-
rated by the Swedish Government, to which the King himself pledged $400,00(
of the royal treasure, and men of every rank and nationality were invited to
join in the enterprise. * Gustavus desired not that his colony should depend
upon serfs or slaves to do the rough work. " Slaves cost a great deal, labor
with reluctance, and soon perish from hard usage. The Swedish nation is
laborious and intelligent, and surely we shall gain more by a free people with
wives and children."
24 HISTORY OF PENNSYLVANIA.
In the meantime, the fruits of the reformation in Germany were menaced,
and the Swedish monarch determined to unsheath his sword and lead his
people to the aid of Protestant faith in the land where its standard had been
successfully raised. At the battle of Lutzen, where for the cause which he had
espoused, a signal victory was gained, the illustrious monarch, in the flower
of life, received a mortal wound. Previous to the battle, and while engaged in
active preparations for the great struggle, he remembered the interests of his.
contemplated colony in America, and in a most earnest manner commended
the enterprise to the people of Germany.
Oxenstiern, the minister of Gustavus, upon whom the weight of govern-
ment devolved during the minority of the young daughter, Christina, declared
that he was but the executor of the will of the fallen King, and exerted him-
self to further the interests of a colony which he believed would be favorable to
"all Christendom, to Europe, to the whole world." Four years however
elapsed before the project was brought to a successful issue. Peter Minuit,
who had for a time been Governor of New Netherlands, having been displaced,
sought employment in the Swedish company, and was given the command of
the first colony. Two vessels, the Key of Calmar and the Griffin, early in the
year 1638, with a company of Swedes and Fins, made their way across the
stormy Atlantic and arrived safely in the Delaware. They purchased of the
Indians the lands from the ocean to the falls of Trenton, and at the mouth of
Christina Creek erected a fort which they called Christina, after the name of
the youthful Queen of Sweden. The soil was fruitful, the climate mild, and
the scenery picturesque. Compared with many parts of Finland and Sweden,
it was a Paradiso, a name which had been given the point at the entrance of
the bay. As tidings of the satisfaction of the first emigrants were borne back
to the fatherland, the desire to seek a home in the new country spread rap-
idly, and the ships sailing were unable to take the many families seeking pas-
sage.
The Dutch were in actual possession of Fort Nassau when the Swedes
first arrived, and though they continued to hold it and to seek the trade of the
Indians, yet the artful Minuit was more than a match for them in Indian bar-
ter. William Keift, the Governor of New Netherland, entered a vigorous
protest against the encroachments of the Swedes upon Dutch territory, in
which he said " this has been our property for many years, occupied with
forts and sealed by our blood, which also was done when thou wast in the
service of New Netherland, and is therefore well known to thee." But Minuit
pushed forward the work upon his fort, regardless of protest, trusting to the-
respect which the flag of Sweden had inspired in the hands of Banner and
Torstensen. For more than a year no tidings were had from Sweden, ,and no
supplies from any source were obtained; and while the fruits of their labors
were abundant there were many articles of diet, medicines and apparel, the-
lack of which they began to sorely feel. So pressing had the want become,
that application had been made to the authorities at Manhattan for permission
to remove thither with all their effects. But on the very day before that on
which they were to embark, a ship from Sweden richly laden with provisions,
cattle, seeds and merchandise for barter with the natives came joyfully to their
relief, and this, the first permanent settlement on soil where now are the States
of Delaware and Pennsylvania, was spared. The success and prosperity of the-
colony during the first few years of its existence was largely due to the skill
and policy of Minuit, who preserved the friendship of the natives, avoided an
open conflict with the Dutch, and so prosecuted trade that the Dutch Governor
reported to his government that trade had fallen off 30,000 beavers. Minuit
HISTORY OF PENNSYLVANIA 25
was at the head of the colony for about three years, and died in the midst
of the people whom he had led.
Minuit was succeeded in the government by Peter Hollandaer, who had
previously gone in charge of a company of emigrants, and who was now, in
1641, commissioned. The goodly lands upon the Delaware were a constant
attraction to the eye of the adventurer; a party from Connecticut, under the lead-
ership of Robert Cogswell, came, and squatted without authority upon the site
of the present town of Salem, N. J. Another company had proceeded up the
river, and, entering the Schuylkill, had planted themselves upon its banks.
The settlement of the Swedes, backed as it was by one of the most powerful
nations of Europe, the Governor of New Netherland was not disposed to
molest; but when these irresponsible wandering adventurers came sailing past
their forts and boldly planted themselves upon the most eligible sites and fer-
tile lands in their territory, the Dutch determined to assume a hostile front,
and to drive them away. Accordingly, Gen. Jan Jansen Van Ilpendam — his
very name was enough to frighten away the emigrants — was sent with two
vessels and a military force, who routed the party upon the Schuylkill, destroy-
ing their fort and giving them a taste of the punishment that v was likely to be
meted out to them, if this experiment of trespass was repeated. The Swedes
joined the Dutch in breaking up the settlement at Salem and driving away the
New England intruders.
In 1642, Hollandaer was succeeded in the government of the Swedish
Colony by John Printz, whose instructions for the management of affahs were
drawn with much care by the officers of the company in Stockholm. - He was,
first of all, to maintain friendly relations with the Indians, and by the advan-
tage of low prices hold their trade. His next care was to cultivate enough
grain for the wants of the colonists, and when this was insured, turn his atten-
tion to the culture of tobacco, the raising of cattle and sheep of a good species,
the culture of the grape, and the raising of silk worms. The manufacture of
salt by evaporation, and the search for metals and minerals were to be prose-
cuted, and inquiry into the establishment of fisheries, with a view to profit,
especially the whale fishery, was to be made." It will be seen from these in-
structions that the far-sighted Swedish statesmen had formed an exalted con-
ception of the resources of the new country, and had figured to themselves
great possibilities from its future development. Visions of rich silk products,
of the precious metals and gems from its mines, flocks upon a thousand hills
that should rival in the softness of their downy fleeces the best products of the
Indian looms, and the luscious clusters of the vine that could make glad the
palate of the epicure filled their imaginations.
With two vessels, the Stoork and Renown, Printz set sail, and arrived at
Port Christina on the 15th of February, 1643. He was bred to the profession
of arms, and was doubtless selected with an eye to his ability to holding posses-
sion of the land against the conflict that was likely to arise. He had been a
.Lieutenant of cavalry, and was withal a man of prodigious proportions, " who
weighed," according to De Vries, " upward of 400 pounds, and drank three
â– drinks at every meal." He entertained exalted notions of his dignity as Govern-
or of the colony, pr>d prepared to establish himself in his new dominions with
some degree of magnificence. He brought with bim from Sweden the bricks
to be used for the construction of his royal dwelling. Upon an inspection of
the settlement, he detected the inherent weakness of the location of Fort
Christina for commanding the navigation of the river, and selected the island
of Tinacum for the site of a new fort, called New Gottenburg, which was
speedily erected and made strong with huge hemlock logs. In the midst of
26 HISTORY OF PENNSYLVANIA.
the island, he built his royal residence, which was surrounded with trees and
shubbery. He erected another fort near the mouth of Salem Creek,
called Elsinborg, which he mounted with eight brass twelve- pounders,
and garrisoned. Here all ships ascending the river were brought to,
and required to await a permit from the Governor before proceeding
to their destination. Gen. Van Ilpendam, who had been sent to drive
away the intruders from New England, had remained after executing
his commission as commandant at Fort Nassau; but having incurred the dis-
pleasure of Director Keift, be had been displaced, and was succeeded by An-
dreas Hudde, a crafty and politic agent of the Dutch Governor, who had no
sooner arrived and become settled in his place than a conflict of authority
sprang up between himself and the Swedish Governor. Dutch settlers secured
a grant of land on the west bank of Delaware, and obtained possession by pur-
chase from the Indians. This procedure kindled the wrath of Printz, who
tore down the ensign of the company which had been erected in token of
the power of Holland, and declared that he would have pulled down the
colors of their High Mightinessps had they been erected on this the Swed-
ish soil. That there might be no mistake about his claim to authority, the
testy Governor issued a manifesto to his rival on the opposite bank, in which
were these explicit declarations:
" Andreas Hudde! I remind you again, by this written warning, to discon-
tinue the injuries of which you have been guilty against the Royal Majesty
of Sweden, my most gracious Queen; against Her Royal Majesty's rights, pre-
tensions, soil and land, without showing the least respect to the Royal Majes-
ty's magnificence, reputation and dignity; and to do so no more, considering
how little it would be becoming Her Royal Majesty to bear such gross violence,
and what great disasters might originate from it, yea, might be expected. *
* * All this I can freely bring forward in my own defense, to exculpate me
from all future calamities, of which we give you a warning, and place it at
your account. Dated New Gothenburg, 3d September, stil, veteri 1646."
It will be noted from the repetition of the high sounding epithets applied
to the Queen, that Printz had a very exalted idea of his own position as the
Vicegerent of the Swedish monarch. Hudde responded, saying in reply: " The
place we possess we hold in just deed, perhaps before the name of South River
was heard of in Sweden." This paper, upon its presentation, Printz flung to
the ground in contempt, and when the messenger, who bore it, demanded an
answer, Printz unceremoniously threw him out doors, and seizing a gun would
have dispatched the Dutchman had he not been arrested; and whenever any of
Hudde's men visited Tinicum they were sure to be abused, and frequently came
back " bloody and bruised. " Hudde urged rights acquired by prior posses-
sion, but Printz answered: " The devil was the oldest possessor in hell, yet he,
notwithstanding, would sometimes admit a younger one." A vessel which had
come to the Delaware from Manhattan with goods to barter to the Indians, was
brought to, and ordered away. In vain did Hudde plead the rights acquired
by previous possession, and finally treaty obligations existing between the
two nations. Printz was inexorable, and peremptorily ordered the skipper
away, and as his ship was not provided with the means of fighting its way up
past the frowning battlements oE Fort Elsinborg, his only alternative was to
return to Manhattan and report the result to his employers.
Peter Stuyvesant, a man of a good share of native talent and force of char-
acter, succeeded to the chief authority over New Netherland in May, 1647.
The affairs of his colony were not in an encouraging condition. The New
England colonies were crowding upon him from the north and east, and the
HISTORY OF PENNSYLVANIA. 27
Swedes upon the South River were occupying the territory which the Dutch
for many years previous to the coining of Christina's colony had claimed.
Amid the thickening complications, Stuyvesant had need of all his power of
argument and executive skill. He entered into negotiations with the New En-
gland colonies for a peaceful settlement of their difficulties, getting the very
best terms he could, without resorting to force; for, said his superiors, the>
officers of the company in Holland, who had an eye to dividends, " War can-
not be for our advantage; the New England people are too powerful for us.'*
A pacific policy was also preserved toward the Swedes. Hudde was retained
at the head of Dutch affairs upon the Delaware, and he was required to inake
full reports of everything that was transpiring there in order that a clear in-
sight might be gained of the policy likely to be pursued. Stuyvesant was en-
tirely too shrewd a politician for the choleric Printz. He recommended to the
company to plant a Dutch colony on the site of Zwanendal at the mouth of
the river, another on the opposite bank, which, if effectually done, would com-
mand its navigation; and a third on tho upper waters at Beversreede, which
would intercept the intercourse of the native population. By this course of
active colonizing, Stuyvesant rightly calculated that the Swedish power would
be circumscribed, and finally, upon a favorable occasion, be crushed out.
Stuyvesant, that he might ascertain the nature and extent of the Swedish
claims to tho country, and examine into the complaints that were pouring in
upon him of wrongs and indignities suffered by the Dutch at the hands of the
Swedish power, in 1651 determined to visit the Delaware in his official capac-
ity. He evidently went in some state, and Printz, who was doubtless impressed
with the condecension of the Governor of all New Netherland in thus coming,
was put upon his good behavior. Stuyvesant, by his address, got completely
on the blind side of the Swedish chief, maintaining the garb of friendship
and brotherly good-will, and insisting that the discussion of rights should be
carried on in a peaceful and friendly manner, for we are informed that they
mutually promised " not to commit any hostile or vexatious acts against one
another, but to maintain together all neighborly friendship and correspond-
ence, as good friends and allies aro bound to do." Printz was thus, by this
agreement, entirely disarmed and placed at a disadvantage; for the Dutch
Governor took advantage of the armistice to acquire lands below Fort Chris-
tina, where he proceeded to erect a fort only five miles away, which he named
Fort Casimir. This gave the Dutch a foothold upon the south bank, and in
nearer proximity to the ocean than Fort Christina. Fort Nassau was dis-
mantled and destroyed, as being no longer of use. In a conference with the
Swedish Governor, Stuyvesant demanded to see documental proof of his right
to exercise authority upon he Delaware, and the compass of the lands to
which the Swedish Government laid claim. Printz prepared a statement in
which he set out the "Swedish limits wide enough." But Stuyvesant de-
manded the documents, under the seal of the company, and characterized this
writing as a "subterfuge," maintaining by documentary evidence, on his part,
the Dutch West India Company's right to the soil.
Printz was great as a blusterer, and preserver of authority when personal
abusa and kicks and cuffs could be resorted to without the fear of retaliation;
but no match in statecraft for the wily Stuyvesant. To the plea of pre-occu-
pancy he had nothing to answer more than he had already done to Hudde'f
messenger respecting the government of Hades, and herein was the cause oi
the Swedes inherently weak. In numbers, too, the Swedes were feeble com-
pared with the Dutch, who had ten times the population. But in diplomacy
he had been entirely overreached. Fort Casimir, by its location, rendered
28 HISTORY OF PENNSYLVANIA
the rival Fort Elsinborg powerless, and under plea that the mosquitoes had be-
come troublesome there, it was abandoned. Discovering, doubtless, that a cloud
of complications was thickening over him, which be would be unable with the
forces at his commaud to successfully withstand, he asked to be relieved, and,
without awaiting an answer to his application, departed for Sweden, leaving
his son-in-law, John Pappegoya, who had previously received marks of the
royal favor, and been invested with the dignity of Lieutenant Governor, in
supreme authority.
The Swedish company had by this time, no doubt, discovered that forcible
opposition to Swedish occupancy of the soil upon Delaware was destined soon
to come, and accordingly, as a precautionary measure, in November, 1653, the
College of Commerce sent John Amundson Besch, with the commission of
Captain in the Navy, to superintend the construction of vessels. Upon his
arrival, he acquired lands suitable for the purpose of ship-building, and set
about laying his keels. He was to have supreme authority over the naval force,
and was to act in conjunction with the Governor in protecting the interests of
the coiony, but in such a manner that neither should decide anything without
â– consulting the other.
On receiving the application of Printz to be relieved, the company ap-
pointed John Claude Bysingh, then Secretary of the Chamber of Commerce,
as Vice Director of New Sweden. He was instructed to fortify and extend
the Swedish possessions, but without interrupting the friendship existing
â– with the English or Dutch. He was to use his power of persuasion in induc-
ing the latter to give up Fort Casimir, which was regarded as an intrusion
upon Swedish possessions, but without resorting to hostilities, as it was better
to allow the Dutch to occupy it than to have it fall into the hands of the En-
glish, "who are the more powerful, and, of course, the most dangerous in that
country." Thus early was the prowess of England foreshadowed. Gov.
Bysingh arrived in the Delaware, on the last day of May, 1654, and immediately
demanded the surrender of Fort Casimir. Adriaen Van Tienhoven, an aide-
de-camp on the staff of the Dutch commandant of the fort, was sent on board
the vessel to demand of Gov. Bysingh by what right he claimed to dis-
possess the rightful occupants; but the Governor was not disposed to discuss
the matter, and immediately landed a party and took possession without more
opposition than wordy protests, the Dutch Governor saying, when called on to
make defense, "What can I do? there is no powder." Bysingh, however, in
justification of his course, stated to Teinhoven, after he had gained possession
of the fort, that he was acting under orders from the crown of Sweden, whose
embassador at the Dutch Court, when remonstrating against the action of Gov.
Stuyvesant in erecting and manning Fort Casimir had been assured, by
the State's General and the offices of the West India Company, that they had
not authorized the erection of this fort on Swedish soil, saying, " if our people
are in your Excellency's way, drive them off." "Thereupon the Swedish
Governor slapped Van Teinhoven on the breast, and said, ' Go! tell your Gov-
ernor that.'" As the capture was made on Trinity Sunday, the name was
changed from Fort Casimir to Fort Trinity.
Thus were the instructions of the new Governor, not to resort to force, but
to secure possession of the fort by negotiation, complied with, but by a forced
interpretation. For, although he had not actually come to battle, for the very
good reason that the Dutch had no powder, and were not disposed to use
their fists against fire arms, which the Swedes brandished freely, yet, in mak-
ing his demand for the fort, he had put on the stern aspect of war.
Stuyvesant, on learning of the loss of Fort Casimir, sent a messenger to the
HISTORY OF PENNSYLVANIA. 29
Delaware to invite Gov. Rysingh to come to Manh attan to hold friendly confer-
ence upon the subject of their difficulties. This Rysingh refused to do, and tht
Dutch Governor, probably desiring instructions from the home Government be-
fore proceeding to extremities, made a voyage to the West Indies for the purpose
of arranging favorable regulations of trade with the colonies, though without
the instructions, or even the knowledge of the States- General. Cromwell,
who was now at the head of the English nation, by the policy of his agents,
rendered this embassy of Stuyvesant abortive.
As soon as information of the conduct of Rysingh at Zwanendal was
mown in Holland, the company lost no time in disclaiming the representa-
tions which he had made of its willingness to have the fort turned over to the
Swedes, and immediately took measures for restoring it and wholly dispossess-
ing the Swedes of lands upon the Delaware. On the 16th of November, 1655,
the company ordered Stuyvesant "to exert every nerve to avenge the insult,
by not only replacing matters on the Delaware in their former position, but
by driving the Swedes from every side of the river," though they subsequent-
ly modified this order in such manner as to allow the Swedes, after Fort Casi-
mir had been taken, "to hold the land on which Fort Christina is built," with
a garden to cultivate tobacco, because it appears that they had made the pur-
chase with the previous knowledge of the company, thus manifesting a disin-
clination to involve Holland in a war with Sweden. "Two armed ahips were
forthwith commissioned; 'the drum was beaten daily for volunteers' in the
streets of Amsterdam; authority was sent out to arm and equip, and if neces-
sary to press into the company's service a sufficient number of ships for the
expedition." In the meantime, Gov. Rysingh, who had inaugurated his
reign by so bold a stroke of policy, determined to ingratiate himself ido the
favor of the Indians, who had been soured in disposition by the arbi-
trary conduct of the passionate Printz. He accordingly sent out on all sides
an invitation to the native tribes to assemble on a certain day, by their chiets
and principal men, at the seat of government on Tinicum Island, to brighten
the chain of friendship and renew their pledges of faith and good neighbor-
hood.
On the morning of the appointed day, ten .grand sachems with their at-
tendants came, and with the formality characteristic of these native tribes, the
council opened. Many and bitter were the complaints made against the Swedes
for wrongs suffered at their hands, " chief among which was that many of
their number had died, plainly pointing, though not explicitly saying it, to the
giving of spirituous liquors as the cause." The new Governor had no answer
to make to these complaints, being convinced, probably, that they were but too
true. Without attempting to excuse or extenuate the past, Rysingh brought
forward the numerous presents which he had taken with him from Sweden for
the purpose. The sight of the piled up goods produced a profound impression
upon the minds of the native chieftains. They sat apart for conference before
making any expression of their feelings. Naaman, the fast friend of the white
man, and the most consequential of the warriors, according to Campanius,
spoke: ' Look," said he, "and see what they have brought to us." So say-
ing, he stroked himself three times down the arm, which, among the Indians,
was a token of friendship; afterward he thanked the Swedes on behalf of his
people for the presents they had received, and said that friendship should be
observed more strictly between them than ever before; that the Sweden and
the Indians in Gov. Printz's time were as one body and one heart, striking his
breast as he spoke, and that thenceforward they should be as one head; in
token of which he took hold of his head with both hands, and made a motion
2
30 HISTORY OF PENNSYLVANIA.
as if he were tying a knot, and then he made this comparison: " That, as the
calabash was round, without any crack, so they should be a compact body with-
out any fissure; and that if any should attempt to do any harm to the Indians,
the Swedes should immediately inform them of it; and, on the other hand, the
Indians would give immediate notice to the Christians, even if it were in the
middle of the night." On this they were answered that that would be indeed
a true and lasting friendship, if every one would agree to it; on which they
gave a general shout in token of consent. Immediately on this the great guns
were fired, which pleased them extremely, and they said, "Poo, hoo, hoo;
mokerick picon," that is to say "Hear and believe; the great guns are fired."
Rysingh then produced all the treaties which had ever been concluded between
them and the Swedes, which were again solemnly confirmed. " "When those
who had signed the deeds heard their names, they appeared to rejoice, but,
when the names were read of those who were dead, they hung their heads in
sorrow."
After the first ebulition of feeling had subsided on the part of the Dutch
Company at Amsterdam, the winter passed without anything further being
done than issuing the order to Stuyvesant to proceed against the Swedes. In
the spring, however, a thirty-six-gun brig was obtained from the burgomasters
of Amsterdam, which, with four other crafts of varying sizes, was prepared for
duty, and the little fleet set sail for New Netherland. Orders were given for
immediate action, though Director General Stuyvesant had not returned from
the West Indies. Upon the arrival of the vessels at Manhattan, it was an-
nounced that " if any lovers of the prosperity and security of the province of
New Netherland were inclined to volunteer, or to serve for reasonable wages,
they should come forward," and whoever should lose a limb, or be maimed, was
assured of a decent compensation. The merchantmen were ordered to furnish
two of their crews, and the river boatmen were to be impressed. At this junct-
ure a grave question arose: "Shall the Jews be enlisted?" It was decided
in the negative; but in lieu of service, adult male Jews were taxed sixty five
stivers a head per month, to be levied by execution in case of refusal.
Stuyvesant had now arrived from his commercial trip, and made ready for
opening the campaign in earnest. A day of prayer and thanksgiving was held
to beseech the favor of Heaven upon the enterprise, and on the 5th of Septem-
ber, 1655, with a fleet of seven vessels and some 600 men, Stuyvesant hoisted
sail and steered for the Delaware. Arrived before Fort Trinity (Casimir), the
Director sent Capt. Smith and a drummer to summon the fort, and ordered a
flank movement by a party of fifty picked men to cut oft* communication with
Fort Christina and the headquarters of Gov. Rysingh. Swen Schute, the com-
mandant of the garrison, asked permission to communicate with Rysingh,
which was denied, and he was called on to prevent bloodshed. An interview
in the valley midway between the fort and the Dutch batteries was held, when
Schute asked to send an open letter to Rysingh. This was denied, and for a
third time the fort was summoned. Impatient of delay, and in no temper for
parley, the great guns were landed and the Dutch force ordered to advance.
Schute again asked for a delay until morning, which was granted, as the day
was now well spent and the Dutch would be unable to mako the necessary
preparations to open before morning. Early on the following day, Schute went
on board the Dutch flag- ship, the balance, and agreed to terms of surrender
very honorable to his flag. He was permitted to send to Sweden, by the first
opportunity, the cannon, nine in number, belonging to the crown of Sweden,
to march out of the fort with twelve men, as his body guard, fully aceoutered,
and colors flying; the common soldiers to wear their side arms. The com-
HISTORY OF PENNSYLVANIA. 31
ruandant and other officers were to retain their private property, the muskets
belonging to the crown were to be held until sent for, and finally the fort was
to be surrendered, with all the cannon, ammunition, materials and other goods
belonging to the West India Company. The Dutch entered the fort at noon
with all the formality and glorious circumstance of war, and Dominie Megap-
olensis, Chaplain of the expedition, preached a sermon of thanksgiving on the
following Sunday in honor of the great triumph.
While these signal events were transpiring at Casimir, Gov. Rysing, at his
royal residence on Tinicum, was in utter ignorance that he was being despoiled
of his power. A detachment of nine men had been sent by the Governor to
Casimir to re-enforce the garrison, which came unawares upon the Dutch lines,
and after a brief skirmish all but two were captured. Upon learning that the
fort was invested, Factor Ellswyck was sent with a flag to inquire of the in-
vaders the purpose of their coming. The answer was returned " To recover
and retain our property." Rysingh then communicated the hope that they
would therewith rest content, and not encroach further upon Swedish territory,
having, doubtless, ascertained by this time that the Dutch were too strong for
him to make any effectual resistance. Stuyvesant returned an evasive answer,
but made ready to march upon Fort Christina. It will be remembered that
by the terms of the modified orders given for the reduction of the Swedes,
Fort Christina was not to be disturbed. But the Dutch Governor's blood was
now up, and he determined to make clean work while the means were in his
haods. Discovering that the Dutch were advancing, Rysingh spent the whole
night in strengthening the defenses and putting the garrison in position to
make a stout resistance. Early on the following day the invaders made their
appearance on the opposite bank of Christina Creek, where they threw up de-
fenses and planted their cannon. Forces were landed above the fort, and the
place was soon invested on all sides, the vessels, in the meantime, having beon
brought ioto the mouth of the creek, their cannon planted west of the fort and
on Timber Island. Having thus securely shut up the Governor and his garri-
son, Stuyvesant summmoned him to surrender. Rysingh could not in honor
tamely submit, and at a council of war it was resolved to make a defense and
" leave the consequence to be redressed by our gracious superiors." But their
supply of powder barely sufficed for one round, and his force consisted of only
thirty men. In the meantime, the Dutch soldiery made free with the property
of the Swedes without the fort, killing their cattle and invading their homes.
"At length the Swedish garrison itself showed symptoms of mutiny. The
men were harassed with constant watching, provisions began to fail, many
were sick, several had deserted, and Stuyvesant threatened, that, if they held
out much longer, to give no quarter." A conference was held which ended
by the return of Rysingh to the fort more resolute than ever for defense.
Finally Stuyvesant sent in his trftimahim and gave twenty-four hours for a
final answer, the generous extent of time for consideration evincing the humane
disposition of the commander of the invading army, or what is perhaps more
probable his own lack of stomach for carnage. Before the expiration of the
time allowed, the garrison capitulated, " after a siege of fourteen days, dur-
ing which, very fortunately, there was a great deal more talking than cannon-
ading, and no blood shed, except those of the goats, poultry and swine, which
the Dutch troops laid their hands on. The twenty or thirty Swedes then
marched out with their arms; colors flying, matches lighted, drums beating,
and fifes playing, and the Dutch took possession of the fort, hauled down the
Swedish flag and hoisted their own."
By the terms of capitulation, the Swedes, who wished to remain in the
32 HISTORY OF PENNSYLVANIA.
country, were permitted to do so, od taking the oath of allegiance, and rights
of property were to be respected under the sway of Dutch law. Gov. Ry-
singh, and all others who desired to return to Europe, were furnished passage,
and by a secret provision, a loan of £300 Flemish was made to Rysingh, to be
refunded on bis arrival in Sweden, the cannon and other property belonging
â– to the crown remaining in the hands of the Dutch until the loan was paid.
Before withdrawing Stuyvesant offered to deliver over Fort Christina and the
lands immediately about it to Rysingh, but this offer was declined with dig-
nity, as the matter had now passed for arbitrament to the courts of the two na-
tions.
The terms of the capitulation were honorable and liberal enough, but the
Dutch authorities seem to have exercised little care in carrying out its provis-
ions, or else the discipline in the service must have been very lax. For Ry-
singh had no sooner arrived at Manhattan, than he entered most vigorous pro-
tests against the violations of the provisions of the capitulation to Gov. Stuy
vesant. He asserted that the property belonging to the Swedish crown had
been left without guard or protection from pillage, and that he himself had
not been assigned quarters suited to his dignity. He accused the Dutch
with having broken open the church, and taken away all the cordage and sails
of a new vessel, with having plundered the villages, Tinnakong, Uplandt, Fin-
land, Printzdorp and other places. " In Christina, the women were violently
torn from their houses; whole buildings were destroyed; yea, oxen, cows, hogs
and other creatures were butchered day after day; even tbe horses were nol
spared, but wantonly shot; the plantations destroyed, and tbe whole country
so desolated that scarce any means were left for the subsistence of the inhab-
itants." "Your men carried off even my own property, " said Rysingh,
" with that of my family, and we were left like sheep doomed to the knife,
without means of defense against the wild barbarians."
Thus the colony of Swedes and Fins on the South River, which had been
planned by and had been the object of solicitude to the great monarch himself,
and had received tbe fostering care of the Swedish Government, came to an
end after an existence of a little more than seventeen years — 1638-1655. But
though it no longer existed ao a colony under the government of the crown of
Sweden, many of the colonists remained and became the most intelligent and
law-abiding citizens, and constituted a vigorous element in the future growth
of the State. Some of the best blood of Europe at this period flowed in the
veins of the Swedes. "A love for Sweden," says Bancroft, "their dear
mother country, the abiding sentiment of loyalty toward its sovereign, con-
tinued to distinguish the little band. At Stockholm, they remained for a
century the objects of disinterested and generous regard; affection united them
in the New World; and a part of their descendants still preserve their altar
and their dwellings around the graves of their fathers."
This campaign of Stuyvesant, for tbe dispossessing of the Swedes of terri-
tory upon the Delaware, furnishes Washington Irving subject for some of the
most inimitable chapters of broad humor, in his Knickerbocker's N9W York, to
be found in the English language. And yet, in the midst of his side-splitting
paragraphs, he indulges in a reflection which is worthy of remembrance.
" He who reads attentively will discover the threads of gold which run
throughout the web of history, and are invisible to the dull eye of ignorance.
* * * By the treacherous surprisal of Fort Casimir, then, did the crafty
Swedes enjoy a transient triumph, but drew upon their heads the vengeance
of Peter Stuyvesant, who wrested all New Sweden from their hands. By the
conquest of New Sweden, Peter Stuyvesant aroused the claims of Lord Balti-
HISTORY OF PENNSYLVANIA. 33
more, who appealed to the cabinet of Great Britain, who subdued the whole
province of New Netherlands. By this great achievement, the whole extent of
North America, from Nova Scotia to the Floridas, was rendered one entire
dependency upon the British crown. But mark the consequence: The hith-
erto scattered colonies being thus consolidated and having no rival colonies to
check or keep them in awe, waxed great and powerful, and finally becoming
too strong for the mother country, were enabled to shake off its bonds. But
the chain of effects stopped not here; the successful revolution in America pro-
duced the sanguinary revolution in France, which produced the puissant
Bonaparte, who produced the French despotism."
In March, 1656, the ship "Mercury," with 130 emigrants, arrived, the
government at Stockholm having had no intimation of the Dutch conquest.
An attempt was made to prevent a landing, and the vessel was ordered to
report to Stuyvesant at Manhattan, but the order was disregarded and the col-
onists debarked and acquired lands. The Swedish Government was not dis-
posed to submit to these high-handed proceedings of the Dutch, and the min-
isters of the two courts maintained a heated discussion of their differences.
Finding the Dutch disposed to hold by force their conquests, the government
of Sweden allowed the claim to rest until 1664. In that year, vigorous meas-
ures were planned to regain its claims upon the Delaware, and a fleet bearing
a military force was dispatched for the purpose. But, having been obliged to
put back on account of stress of weather, the enterprise was abandoned.
CHAPTEE III.
John Paul Jacquet, 1655-57— Jacob Alrichs, 1657-59— Goeran Van Dyck, 1657
-58— William Beekman, 1658-63— Alexander D'Hinoyossa. 1659-64.
TT^HE colonies upon the Delaware being now under exclusive control of the
_L Dutch, John Paul Jaquet was appointed in November, 1655, as Vice
Director, Derek Smidt having exercised authority after the departure of Stuy-
vesant. The expense of fitting out the expedition for the reduction of the
Swedes was sorely felt by the West India Company, which had been obliged
to borrow money for the purpose of tae city of Amsterdam. In payment of.
this loan, the company sold to the city all the lands upon the south bank of
the Delaware, from the ocean to Christina Creek, reaching back to the lands
of the Minquas, which was designated Nieur Amstel. Again was there di-
vided authority upon the Delaware. The government of the new possession
was vested in a commission of forty residents of Amsterdam, who appointed
Jacob Alrichs as Director, and sent him with a force of forty soldiers and 150
colonists, in three vessels, to assume the government, whereupon Jaquet relin-
quished authority over this portion of his territory. The company in commu-
nicating with Stuyvesant upon the subject of his course in dispossessing the
Swedes, after duly considering all the complaints and remonstrances of the
Swedish government, approved his conduct, "though they would not have been
displeased had such a formal capitulation not taken place," adding as a paren-
thetical explanation of the word formal " what is written is too long preserved,
and may be produced when not desired, whereas words not recorded are, in the
lapse of time, forgotten, or may be explained away."
34 HISTORY OF PENNSYLVANIA
Stuyvesant still remained in supreme control over both the colony of the
city and the colony of the company, to the immediato governorship of the lat-
ter of which, Goeran Van Dyck was appointed. But though settlements in
the management of affairs were frequently made, they would not remain set-
tled. There was conflict of authority between Alrichs and Van Dyck. The
companies soon found that a grievous system of smuggling had sprung up.
After a searching examination into the irregularities by Stuyvesant, who vis-
ited the Delaware for the purpose, he recommended the appointment of one
general agent who should have charge of all the revenues of both co'onies,
and "William Beekman was accordingly appointed. The company of the city
soems not to have been satisfied with the profits of their investment, and ac-
cordingly made new regulations to govern settlement, by which larger returns
would accrue. This action created discontent among the settlers, and many
who were meditating the purchase of lands and the acquisition of homes, de-
termined to go over into Maryland where Lord Baltimore was offering far more
liberal terms of settlement. To add to the discomforts of the settlers, " the
miasms which the low alluvial soil and the rank and decomposed vegetation
of a new country engenders, ' ' produced wasting sicknesses. When the planting
was completed, and the new soil, for ages undisturbed, had been thoroughly
stirred, the rains set in which descended almost continuously, producing fever
and ague and dysentery. Scarcely a family escaped the epidemic. Six in
the family of Director Alrichs were attacked, and his wife died. New colo-
nists came without provisions, which only added to the distress. " Scarcity of
provisions," says O'Calaghan, " naturally followed the failure of the crops;
900 schepels of grain had been sown in the spring. They produced scarcely
600 at harvest. Rye rose to three guilders the bushel; peas to eight guilders
the sack; salt was twelve guilders the bushel at New Amsterdam; cheese and
butter were not to be had, and when a man journeys he can get nothing but
dry bread, or he must take a pot or kettle along with him to cook his victuals."
" The place had now got so bad a name that the whole river could not wash it
clean." The exactions of the city company upon its colony, not only did not
bring increased revenue, but by dispersing the honest colonists, served to
notify Lord Baltimore — who had laid claim to the lands upon Delaware, on
account of original discovery by Lord De la War, from whom the river takes
its name, and from subsequent charter of the British crown, covering territory
from the 38th to the 40th degree of latitude — of the weakness of the colonies,
and persuade him that now was a favorable opportunity to enforce his claims.
Accordingly, Col. Utie, with a number of delegates, was dispatched to demand
that the Dutch should quit the place, or declare themselves subjects of Lord
Baltimore, adding, " that if they hesitated, they should be responsible for
whatever innocent blood might be shed."
Excited discussions ensued between the Dutch authorities and the agents
of the Maryland government, and it was finally agreed to refer the matter to
Gov. Stuyvesant, who immediately sent Commissioners to the Chesapeake to
settle differences, and enter into treaty regulations for the mutual return of
fugitives, and dispatched sixty soldiers to the Delaware to assist in preserving
order, and resisting the English, sbould an attempt be made to dispossess the
Dutch.
L'pon the death of Alrichs, which occurred in 1659, Alexander D'Hinoyossa
was appointed Governor of the city colony. The new Governor was a man of
good business capacity, and sought to administer the affairs of his colony for
the best interests of the settlers, and for increasing the revenues of the com-
pany. To further the general prosperity, the company negotiated a new loan
HISTORY OF PENNSYLVANIA. 85
with which to strengthen and improve its resources. This liberal policy had
the desired effect. The Swedes, who had settled above od the river, moved
down, and acquired homes on the lands of the city colony. The Fins and dis-
contented Dutch, who had gone to Maryland, returned and brought with them
some of the English settlers.
Discouraged by the harassing conflicts of authority which seemed inter-
minable, the West India Company transferred all its interests on the east side
of the river to the colony of the city, and upon the visit of D'Hinoyossa to
Holland in 1663, he secured for himself the entire and exclusive government
of the colonies upon the Delaware, being no longer subject to the authority of
Stuyvesant.
Encouraged by liberal terms of settlement, and there being now a prospect
of stable government, emigrants were attracted thither. A Mennonite commu-
nity came in a body. " Clergymen were not allowed to join them, nor any
* intractable people such as those in communion with the Roman See, usurious
Jews, English stiff-necked Quakers, Puritans, foolhardy believers in the mil-
lennium, and obstinate modern pretenders to revelation.' " They were obliged
to take an oath never to seek for an office; Magistrates were to receive no com-
pensation, " not even a stiver." The soiJ and climate were regarded as excel-
lent, and when sufficiently peopled, the country would be the " finest on the
face of the globe."
CHAPTER IV.
Richard Nichols, 1664-67— Robert Neebham, 1664-68— Francis Lovelace,
1667-73— John Carr, 1668-73— Anthony Colve, 1673-74— Peter Alrichs,
167S-74.
AFFAIRS were scarcely arranged upon the Delaware, and the dawning of
a better day for the colonists ushered in, before new complications
began to threaten the subversion of the whole Dutch power in America. The
English had always claimed the entire Atlantic seaboard. Under Cromwell,
the Navigation act was aimed at Dutch interests in the New World. Captain
John Scott, who had been an officer in the army of Charles I, having
obtained some show of authority from the Governor of Connecticut, had visited
the towns upon the west end of Long Island, where was a mixed population of.
Dutch and English, and where he claimed to have purchased large tracts of
land, and had persuaded them to unite under his authority in setting up a
government of their own. He visited England and " petitioned the King to be
invested with the government of Long Island, or that the people thereof be
allowed to choose yearly a Governor and Assistants." By his representation,
an inquiry was instituted by the King's council, "as to his majesty's title to the
premises; the intrusions of the Dutch; their deportment; management of the
country; strength, trade and government; and lastly, of the means necessary
to induce or force them to acknowledge the King, or if necessary, to expel
them together from the country. " The visit of Scott, and his prayer to the
King for a grant of Long Island, was the occasion of inaugurating a policy,
which resulted in the overthrow of Dutch rule in America. But the attention
of English statesmen had for some time been turned to the importance of the
territory which the Dutch colonies had occupied, and a belief that Dutch trade
in the New World was yielding great returns, stimulated inquiry. James,
36 HISTORY OF PENNSYLVANIA
Duke of York, brother of the King, who afterward himself became King, was
probably at this time the power behind the- throne that was urging on action
looking to the dispossession of the Dutch. The motive which seemed to actuate
him was the acquisition of personal wealth and power. He saw, as he
thought, a company of merchants in Amsterdam accumulating great wealth out
of these colonies, and he meditated the transfer of this wealth to himself. He
was seconded in this project by the powerful influence of Sir George Downing,
who had been Envoy at The Hague, under Cromwell, and was now under Charles
II. "Keen, bold, subtle, active, and observant, but imperious and unscrupulous,
disliking and distrusting the Dutch," he had watched every movement of the
company's granted privileges by the States General, and had reported every-
thing to his superiors at home. "The whole bent," says O'Calaghan,'' of this
man's mind was constantly to hold up before the eyes of his countrymen the
growing power of Holland and her commercial companies, their immense
wealth and ambition, and the danger to England of permitting these to pro-
gress onward unchecked.''
After giving his testimony before the council, Scott returned to America
with a letter from the King recommending his interests to the co-operation and
protection of the New England colonies. On arriving in Connecticut, he was
commissioned by the Governor of that colony to incorporate Long Island under
Connecticut jurisdiction. But the Baptists, Quakers and Menuonites, who formed
a considerable part of the population, " dreaded falling into the hands of the
Puritans." In a quaint document commencing, "In the behalf e of sum hun-
dreds of English here planted on the west end of Long Island wee address, ' r
etc. , " they besought Scott to come and settle their difficulties. On his arrival
he acquainted them with the fact, till then unknown, that King Charles had
granted the island to the Duke of York, who would soon assert his rights.
Whereupon the towns of Hemstede, Newwarke, Crafford, Hastings, Folestone
and Gravesend, entered into a "combination" as they termed it, resolved to
elect deputies to draw up laws, choose magistrates, and empowered Scott to
act as their President; in short set up the first independent State in America.
Scott immediately set out at the head of 150 men, horse and foot, to subdue
the island.
On the 22d of March, 1664, Charles II made a grant of the whole of Long
Island, and all the adjoining country at the time in possession of the Dutch,
to the Duke of York. Borrowing four men-of-war of the king, James sent
them in command of Col. Richard Nicholls, an old officer, with whom was as-
sociated Sir Robert Carr, Sir George Cartwright, and Samuel Maverick, Esq.,
and a force of 450 men, to dispossess the Dutch. To insure the success of the
expedition, letters were addressed to each of the Governors of the New England
colonies, enjoining upon them to unite in giving aid by men and material to
Nicholls. The fleet sailed directly for Boston, where it was expected, and
whence, through one Lord, the Dutch were notified of its coming. The great-
est consternation was aroused upon the receipt of this intelligence, and the
most active preparations were making for defense. But in the midst of these
preparations, notice was received from the Chambers at Amsterdam, doubtless
inspired by the English, that " no apprehension of any public enemy or dan-
ger from England need be entertained. That the King was only desirous to
reduce the colonies to uniformity in church and state, and with this view was
dispatching some Commissioners with two or three frigates to New England to
introduce Episcopacy in that quarter. " Thrown completely off his guard by
this announcement, the Director General, Stuyvesant abandoned all preparations
for resistance, and indulged in no anticipations of a hostile visitation. Thus
HISTORY OF PENNSYLVANIA. 37
were three full weeks lost in which the colonies might have been put in a very-
good state of defense.
Nicholls on arriving in American waters, touched at Boston and Connecti-
cut, where some aid was received, and then hastened foward to Manhattan.
Stuyvesant had but a day or two before learned of the arrival, and of tbe hos-
tile intent. Scarcely had he issued orders for bringing out his forces and for
fortifying before Nicholls scattered proclamations through the colony promis-
ing to protect all who submitted to his Brittanic majesty in the undisturbed
possession of their property, and made a formal summons upon Stuyvesant to
surrender the country to the King of Great Britain. The Director found that
he had an entirely different enemy to treat with from Rysingh, and a few half-
armed Swedes and Fins upon the Delaware. Wordy war ensued between the
Commissioners and the Director, and the English Governor finding that Stuy-
vesant not in the temper to yield, landed a body of his soldiers upon the lower end
of the island, and ordered Hyde, the commander of the fleet, to lay the frigates
broadside before the city. It was a critical moment. Stuyvesant was stand-
ing on one of the points of the fort when he saw the frigates approaching.
The gunner stood by with burning match, prepared to lire on the fleet, and
Stuyvesant seemed on the point of giving the order. But he was restrained,
and a further communication was sent to Nicholls, who would listen to nothing
short of the full execution of his mission. Still Stuyvesant held out. The
inhabitants implored, but rather than surrender " he would be carried a corpse
to his grave." The town was, however, in no condition to stand a siege. The
powder at the fort would only suffice for one day of active operations. Pro-
visions were scarce. The inhabitants were not disposed to be sacrificed, and
the disaffection among them spread to the soldiers. They were overheard mut-
tering, " Now we hope to pepper those devilish traders who have so long
salted us; we know where booty is to be found, and where the young women
live who wear gold chains. "
The Rev. Jannes Myapoleuses seems to have been active in negotiations and
opposed to the shedding of blood. A remonstrance drawn by him was finally
adopted and signed by the principal men, and presented to the Director Gen-
eral, in which the utter hopelessness of resistance was set forth, and Stuyve-
sant finally consented to capitulate. Favorable terms were arranged, and
Nicholls promised that if it should be finally agreed between the English and
Dutch governments that the province should be given over to Dutch rule, he
would peacefully yield his authority. Thus without a gun being fired, the En-
glish made conquest of the Manhattoes.
Sir Robert Carr, with two frigates and an ample force, was dispatched to-
the Delaware to reduce the settlements there to English rule. The planters,
whether Dutch or Swedes, were to be insured in the peaceable possession of
their property, and the magistrates were to be continued in office.
Sailing past the fort, he disseminated among the settlers the news of the
surrender of Stuyvesant, and the promises of protection which Nicholls had
made use of. But Gov. D'Hinoyossa was not disposed to heed the demand
for surrender without a struggle. "Whereupon Carr landed his forces and
stormed the place. After a fruitless but heroic resistance, in which ten were
wounded and three were killed, the Governor was forced to surrender. Thus
was the complete subversion of the State's General in America consummated,
and the name of New Amsterdam gave place to that of New York, from the
name of the English proprietor, James, Duke of York.
The resistance offered by D'Hinoyossa formed a pretext for shameless
plunder. Carr, in his report which shows him to have been a lawless fel-
38 HISTORY OF PENNSYLVANIA.
low, says, " Ye soldiers never stoping untill they stormed ye fort, and sae con-
sequently to plundering; the seamen, noe less given to that sport, were quickly
within, and have giton good store of booty." Carr seized the farm of
D'Hinoyossa, hir brc&er, John Carr, that of Sheriff Sweringen, and Ensign
Stock that of Peter Alrichs. The produce of the land for that year was seized,
together with a cargo of goods that was unsold. " Even the inoffensive Men-
nonists, though non-combatant from principle, did not escape the sack and
plunder to which the whole river was subjected by Carr and his marauders.
A boat was dispatched to their settlement, which was stripped of everything,
to a very naile."
Nieholls, on hearing of the rapacious conduct of his subordinate, visited
the Delaware, removed Carr, and placed Kobert Needham in command. Pre-
vious to dispatching his fleet to America, in June, 1664, the Duke of York had
granted to John, Lord Berkeley, Baron of Stratton, and Sir George Carteret,
of Saltrum in Devon, the territory of New Jersey, bounded substantially as the
present State, and this, though but little settled by the Dutch, had been in-
cluded in the terms of surrender secured by Nieholls. In many ways, he
showed himself a man of ability and discretion. He drew up with signal
success a body of laws, embracing most of the provisions which had been in
force in the English colonies, which were designated the Duke's Laws.
In May, 1667, Col. Francis Lovelace was appointed Governor in place of
Nieholls, and soon after taking charge of affairs, drew up regulations for the
government of the territory upon the Delaware, and dispatched Capt. John
Carr to act there as his Deputy Governor. It was provided that whenever
complaint duly sworn to was made, the Governor was to summon " the schout,
Hans Block, Israel Helm, Peter Rambo, Peter Cock and Peter Alrichs, or any
two of them, as counsellors, to advise him, and determine by the major vote
what is just, equitable and necessary in the case in question. " It was further
provided that all men should be punished in an exemplary manner, though
with moderation; that the laws should be frequently communicated to the
counsellors, and that in cases of difficulty recourse should be had to the Gov-
ernor and Council at New York.
In 1 668, two murders were perpetrated by Indians, which caused consider-
able disturbance and alarm throughout the settlements. These capital crimes
appear to have been committed while the guilty parties were maddened by
liquor. So impressed were the sachems and leading warriors of the baneful
effects of strong drink, that they appeared before the Council and besought its
authority to utterly prohibit the sale of it to any of their tribes. These re-
quests were repeated, and finally, upon the advice of Peter Alrichs, " the
Governor (Lovelace) prohibited, on pain of death, the selling of powder, shot
and strong liquors to the Indians, and writ to Carr on the occasion to use the
utmost vigilance and caution."
The native murderers were not apprehended, as it was difficult to trace
them; but the Indians themselves were determined to ferret them out. One
was taken and shot to death, who was the chief offender, but the other escaped
and was never after heard of. The chiefs summoned their young men, and in
presence of the English warned them that such would be the fate of all offend-
ers. Proud justly remarks: "This, at a time when the Indians were numer-
ous and strong and the Europeans few and weak, was a memorable act of jus-
tice, and a proof of true friendship to the English, greatly alleviating the
fear, for which they had so much reason among savages, in this then wilder-
ness country."
In 1669, a reputed son of the distinguished Swedish General, Connings-
HISTORY OF PENNSYLVANIA, 39
marke, commonly called the Long Fin, with another of his nationality, Henry
Coleman, a man of property, and familiar with the language and habits of the
Indians, endeavored to incite an insurrection to throw off the English rule and
establish the Swedish supremacy. The Long Fin was apprehended, and was
condemned to die; but upon reconsideration his sentence was commuted to
whipping and to branding with the letter B. He was brought in chains to
New York, where he was incarcerated in the Stadt-house for a year, and was
then transported to Barbadoes to be sold. Improvements in the modes of
administering justice were from time to time introduced. New Castle was
made a corporation, to be governed by a Bailiff and six associates. Duties on
importations were laid, and Capt. Martin Pringer was appointed to collect and
make due returns of them to Gov. Lovelace.
In 1673, the French monarch, Louis XIV, declared war against the Neth-
erlands, and with an army of over 200,000 men moved down upon that de-
voted country. In conjunction with the land force, the English, with a power-
ful armament, descended upon the Dutch waters. The aged Du Buyter and
the youthful Van Tromp put boldly to sea to meet the invaders. Three great
naval battles were fought upon the Dutch coast on the 7th and 14th of June,
and the 6th of August, in which the English forces were finally repulsed and
driven from the coast. In the meantime, the inhabitants, abandoning their
homes, cut the dikes which held back the sea, and invited inundation. Deem
ing this a favorable opportunity to regain their possessions wrenched from them
in the New World, the Dutch sent a small fleet under Commodores Cornelius
Evertse and Jacobus Benkes, to New York, to demand the surrender of all
their previous possessions. Gov. Lovelace happened to be absent, and his
representative, Capt. John Manning, surrendered with but brief resistance,
and the magistrates from Albany, Esopus, East Jersey and Long Island, on
being summoned to New York, swore fealty to the returning Dutch power.
Anthony Colve, as Governor, was sent to Delaware, where the magistrates
hastened to meet him and submit themselves to his authority. Property in
the English Government was confiscated; Gov. Lovelace returned to England,
and many of the soldiers were carried prisoners to Holland. Before their de-
parture, Commodores Evertse and Benkes, who styled themselves "The honora-
ble and awful council of war, for their high mightinesses, the State's General
of the United Netherlands, and his Serene Highness, the Prince of Orange,"
commissioned Anthony Colve, a Captain of foot, on the 12th of August, 1673,
to be Governor General of "New Netherlands, with all its appendences, "
and on the 19th of September following, Peter Alrichs, who had manifested
his subserviency and his pleasure at the return of Dutch ascendancy, was ap-
pointed by Colve Deputy Governor upon the Delaware. A body of laws was
drawn up for his instruction, and three courts of justice were established, at
New Castle, Chester and Lewistown. Capt. Manning on his return to En-
gland was charged with treachery for delivering up the fort at New York with-
out resistance, and was sentenced bv a court martial "to have his sword broken
over his head in public, before the city hall, and himself rendered incapable
of wearing a sword and of serving his Majesty for the future in any public
trust in the Government. "
But the revolution which had been affected so easily was of short duration.
On the 9th of February, 1674, peace was concluded between England and
Holland, and in the articles of pacification it was provided "that whatsoever
countries, islands, towns, ports, castles or forts, have or shall be taken, on both
sides, since the time that the late unhappy war broke out, either in Europe, or
elsewhere, shall be restored to the former lord and proprietor, in the same con-
40 HISTORY OF PENNSYLVANIA.
dition they shall be in when the peace itself shall be proclaimed, after which
time there shall be no spoil nor plunder of the inhabitants, no demolition
of fortifications, nor carrying away of guns, powder, or other military stores
which belonged to any castle or port at the time when it was taken." This
left no room for controversy about possession. But that there might be no legal
bar nor loophole for question of absolute right to his possessions, the Duke of
York secured from the King on tbe 29th of June following, a new patent cov-
ering the former grant, and two days thereafter sent Sir Edmund Andros, to
possess and govern the country. He arrived at New York and took peaceable
possession on the 31st of October, and two days thereafter it was resolved in
council to reinstate all the officers upon Delaware as they were at the surrender
to the Dutch, except Peter Alrichs, who for his forwardness in yielding his
power was relieved. Capt. Edmund Cantwell and William Tom were sent to
occupy the fort at New Castle, in the capacities of Deputy Governor and Sec-
retary. In May, 3675, Gov. Andros visited the Delaware, and held court at
New Castle " in which orders were made relative to the opening of roads, th»»
regulation of church property and the support of preaching, the prohibition
of the sale of liquors to the Indians, and the distillation thereof by the inhab-
itants.'' On the 23d of September, 1676, Cantwell was superseded by John
Collier, as Vice Governor, when Ephraim Hermans became Secretary.
As was previously observed, Gov. Nicholis, in 1664, made a complete di-
gest of all the laws and usages in "force in the English-speaking colonies in
America, which were known as the Duke's Laws. That these iniodit now be
made the basis of judicature throughout the Duke's possessions, they were, on
the 25th of September, 1676, formally proclaimed and published by Gov.
Lovelace, with a suitable ordinance introducing them. It may here be ob-
served, that, in the administration of Gov. Hartranft, by act of the Legislature
of June 12, 1878, the Duke's Laws were published in a handsome volume, to-
gether with the Charter and Laws instituted by Perm, and historical notes
covering the early history of the State, under the direction of John B. Linn,
Secretary of the commonwealth, edited by Staughton George, Benjamin M.
Nead, and Thomas McCamant, from an old copy preserved among the town rec-
ords of Hempstead, Long Island, the seat of the independent State which
had been set up there by John Scott before the coming of Nicholis. The num-
ber of taxable male inhabitants between ihn ages of sixteen and sixty years,
in 1677, for Uplandt and New Castle, was 443, which by the usual estimate of
seven to one would give the population 3,101 for this district. Gov. Collier
having exceeded his authority by exercising judicial functions, was deposed
by Andros, and Capt. Christopher Billop was appointed to succeed him. But
the change resulted in little benefit to the colony; for Billop was charged
with many irregularities, " taking possession of the fort and turning it into
a stable, and the court room above into a hay and fodder loft; debarring the
court from sitting in its usual place in the fort, and making use of soldiers for
his own private purposes."
The hand of the English Government bore heavily upon the denomination
of Christians called Friends or Quakers, and the earnest-minded, conscientious
worshipers, uncompromising in their faith, were eager for homes in a land
where they should be absolutely free to worship the Supreme Being. Berke-
ley and Carteret, who had bought New Jersey, were Friends, and the settle-
ments made in their territory were largely of that faith. In 1675, Lord Ber-
keley sold his undivided half of the province to John Fenwicke, in trust for
EHward Byllinge, also Quakers, and Fenwicke sailed in the Griffith, with a
company of Friends who settled at Salem, in West Jersey. Byllinge, having
HISTORY OF PENNSYLVANIA. 41
become involved in debt, made an assignment of his interest for the benefit of
his creditors, and William Penn was induced to become trustee jointly with
Gowen Lawrie and Nicholas Lucas. Penn was a devoted Quaker, and he was
of that earnest nature that the interests of his friends and Christian devotees
were like his own personal interests. Hence he became zealous in promoting
the welfare of the colony. For its orderly government, and that settlers might
have assurance of stability in the management of affairs, Penn drew up " Con-
cessions and agreements of the proprietors, freeholders and inhabitants of West
New Jersey in America" in forty- four chapters. Foreseeing difficulty from
divided authority, Penn secured a division of the province by " a line of par-
tition from the east side of Little Egg Harbor, straight north, through the
country to the utmost branch of the Delaware River." Penn's half was called
New West Jersey, along the Delaware side, Carteret's New East Jersey along the
ocean shore. Penn's purposes and disposition toward the settlers, as the
founder of a State, are disclosed by a letter which he wrote at this time to a
Friend, Richard Hartshorn, then in America: "We lay a foundation for
after ages to understand their liberty, as men and Christians; that they may
not be brought into bondage, but by their own consent; for we put the power
in the people. * * So every man is capable to choose or to be chosen ; no man
to be arrested, condemned, or molested, in his estate, or liberty, but by twelve
men of the neighborhood; no man to lie in prison for debt, but that his estate
satisfy, as far as it will go, and he be set at liberty to work; no man to be
called in question, or molested for his conscience " Lest any should be in-
duced to leave home and embark in the enterprise of settlement unadvisedly,
Penn wrote and published a letter of caution, " That in whomsoever a desire to
be concerned in this intended plantation, such would weigh the thing before
the Lord, and not headily, or rashly, conclude on any such remove, and that
they do not offer violence to the tender love of their near kindred and relations,
but soberly, and conscientiously endeavor to obtain their good wills; that
whether they go or stay, it may be of good savor before the Lord and good
people."
CHAPTER V.
Sir Edmund Andros, 1674-81— Edmund Cantwell, 1674-76— John Collier, 1676-
77— Christopher Billop, 1677-81.
WILLIAM PENN, as Trustee, and finally as part owner of New Jersey,
became much interested in the subject of colonization in America.
Many of his people had gone thither, and he had given much prayerful study
and meditation to the amelioration of their condition by securing just laws for
their government. His imagination pictured the fortunate condition of a
State where the law-giver should alone study the happiness of his subjects, and
his subjects should be chiefly intent on rendering implicit obedience to
just laws. From his experience in the management of the Jerseys, he had
doubtless discovered that if he would carry out his ideas of government suc-
cessfully, he must have a province where his voice would be potential and his
will supreme. He accordingly cast about for the acquirement of such a land in
the New World.
Penn had doubtless been stimulated in his desires by the very roseate ac-
counts of the beauty and excellence of the country, its salubrity of climate, its
42 HISTORY OF PENNSYLVANIA.
balmy airs, the fertility of its soil, and the abundance of the native fish, flesh
and fowl. In 1680, one Malhon Stacy wrote a letter which was largely circu-
lated in England, in which he says: "Ifcisa country that produceth all things
for the support and furtherance of man, in a plentiful manner. * * * I
have seen orchards laden with fruit to admiration; their very limbs torn to
pieces with weight, most delicious to the taste, and lovely to behold. I have
seen an apple tree, from a pippin-kernel, yield a barrel of curious cider; and
peaches in such plenty that some people took their carts a peach gathering; I
could not but smile at the conceit of it; they are very delicious fruit, and hang
almost like our onions, that are tied on ropes. I have seen and know, this
summer, forty bushels of bold wheat of one bushel sown. From May till
Michaelmas, great store of very good wild fruits as strawberries, cranberries
and hurtleberries, which are like our billberries in England, only far sweeter;
the cranberries, much like cherries for color and bigness, which may be
kept till frnit comes again; an excellent sauce is made of them for venison,
turkeys, and other great fowl, and they are better to make tarts of than either
gooseberries or cherries; we have them brought to our houses by the Indians
in great plenty. My brother Robert had as many cherries this year as would
have loaded several carts. As for venison and fowls, we have great plenty;
we have brought home to our countries by the Indians, seven or eight fat bucks
in a day. We went into the river to catch herrings after the Indian fashion.
* * * We could have filled a three-bushel sack of as good large hei'rings
as ever I saw. And as to beef and pork, here is great plenty of it, and good
sheep. The common grass of this country feeds beef very fat. Indeed, the
couatry, take it as a wilderness, is a brave country."
The father of William Perm had arisen to distinction m tne British Navy.
He was sent in Cromwell's time, with a considerable sea and land force, to the
West Indies, where he reduced the Island of Jamaica under English rule. At
the restoration, he gave in his adhesion to the royal cause. Under James,
Duke of York, Admiral Penn commanded the English fleet which descended
upon the Dutch coast, and gained a great victory over the combined naval
forces led by Van Opdam. For this great service to his country, Penn was
knighted, and became a favorite at court, the King and his brothor, the Duke,
holding him in cherished remembrance. At his death, there was due him
from the crown the sum of £16,000, a portion of which he himself had ad-
vanced for the sea service. Filled with the romantic idea of colonization, and
enamored with the sacred cause of his people, the son, who had come to be re-
garded with favor for his great father's sake, petitioned King Charles II to
grant him, in liquidation of this debt, " a tract of land in America, lying
north of Maryland, bounded east by the Delaware River, on the west limited
as Maryland, and northward to extend as far as plantable." There were con-
flicting interests at this time which were being warily watched at court. The
petition was submitted to the Privy Council, and afterward to the Lords of
the committee of plantations. The Duke of York already held the counties of
New Castle, Kent and Sussex. Lord Baltimore held a grant upon the south,
with an indefinite northern limit, and the agents of both these territories
viewed with a jealous eye any new grant that should in any way trench upon
their rights. These claims were fully debated and heard by the Lords, and,
being a matter in which the King manifested special interest, the Lord Chief
Justice, North, and the Attorney General, Sir William Jones, were consulted
both as to the grant itself, and the form or manner of making it. Finally,
after a careful study of the whole subject, it. was determined by the highest
authority in the Government to grant to Penn a larger tract than he had asked
HISTORY OF PENNSYLVANIA. 43
for, and the charter was drawn with unexampled liberality, in unequivocal
terms of gift and perpetuity of holding, and with remarkable minuteness of
detail, and t'hat Penn should have the advantage of any double meaning con-
veyed in the instrument, the twenty-third and last section provides: "And,
if perchance hereafter any doubt or question should arise concerning the true
sense and meaning of any word, clause or sentence contained in this our present
charter, we will ordain and command that at all times and in all things such
interpretation be made thereof, and allowed in any of our courts whatsoever
as shall be adjudged most advantageous and favorable unto the said William
Penn, his heirs and assigns."
It was a joyful day for Penn when he finally reached the consummation of
his wishes, and saw himself invested with almost dictatorial power over a
country as large as England itself, destined to become a populous empire.
But his exultation was tempered with the most devout Christian spirit, fearful
lest in the exercise of his great power he might be led to do something that
should be displeasing to God. To his dear friend, Robert Turner, he writes
in a modest way: " My true love in the Lord salutes thee and dear friends
that love the Lord's precious truth in those parts. Thine I have, and for my
business here know that after many waitings, watchings, solicitings and dis-
putes in council, this day my country was confirmed to me under the great seal
of England, with large powers and privileges, by the name of Pennsylvania, a
name the King would give it in honor of my father. I chose New Wales, be-
ing, as this, a pretty hilly country; but Penn being Welsh for a head, as Pen-
manmoire in Wales, and Penrith in Cumberland, and Penn in Buckingham-
shire, the highest land ia England, called this Pennsylvania, which is the high
or head woodlands; for I proposed, when the Secretary, a Welshman, refused
to have it called New Wales, Sylvania, and they added Penn to it; and though
I much opposed it, and went to the King to have it struck out and altered, he
said it was past, and would take it upon him; nor could twenty guineas move
the Under Secretary to vary the name ; for I feared iest it should be looked on
as a vanity in me, and not as a respect in the King, as it truly was to my
father, whom he often mentions with praise. Thou mayest communicate my
grant to Friends, and expect shortly my proposals. It is a clear and just
thing, and my God, that has given it me through many difficulties, will, I be-
lieve, bless and make it the seed of a nation. I shall have a tender care to the
government, that it be well laid at first."
Penn had asked that the western boundary should be the same as that of
Maryland; but the King made the width from east to west five full degrees.
The charter limits were " all that tract, or part, of land, in America, with the
islands therein contained as the same is bounded, on the east by Delaware
River, from twelve miles distance northwards of New Castle town, unto the
three and fortieth degree of northern latitude. * * * *
The said land to extend westward five degrees in longitude, to be computed
from the said eastern bounds; and the said lands to be bounded on the north
by the beginning of the three and fortieth degree of northern latitude, and,
on the south, by a circle drawn at twelve miles distance from New Castle
northward and westward unto the beginning of the fortieth degree of northern
latitude; ^nd then by a straight line westward to the limits of longitude above
mentioned."
It is evident that tne royal secretaries did not well understand the geogra-
phy of this section, for by reference to a map it will be seen that the begin-
ning of the fortieth degree, that is, the end of the thirty-ninth, cuts the
District of Columbia, and hence Baltimore, and the greater part of Maryland
44 HISTORY OF PENNSYLVANIA.
and a good slice of Virginia would have been included in the clear terras of
the chartered limits of Pennsylvania. But the charters of Maryland and Vir-
ginia antedated this of Pennsylvania. Still, the terms of the Penn charter
wei-e distinct, the beginning of the fortieth degree, whereas those of Maryland
were ambiguous, the northern limit being fixed at the fortieth degree; but whether
at the beginning or at the ending of the fortieth was not stated. Penn
claimed three full degrees of latitude, and when it was found that a contro-
versy was likely to ensue, the King, by the hand of his royal minister, Con-
way, issued a further declaration, dated at Whitehall, April 2, 1681, in which
the wording of the original chartered limits fixed for Pennsylvania were
quoted verbatim, and his royal pleasure declared that these limits should be
respected " as they tender his majesty's displeasure." This was supposed to
settle the matter. But Lord Baltimore still pressed his claim, and the ques-
tion of southern boundary remained an open one, causing much disquietude
to Penn, requiring watchful care at court for more than half a century, and
until after the proprietor's death.
We gather from the terms of the charter itself that the King, in making
the grant, was influenced "by the commendable desire of Penn to enlarge our
British Empire, and promote such useful commodities as may be of benefit
to us and our dominions, as also to reduce savage nations by just and gentle
manners, to the love of civil society and Christian religion," and out of "re-
gard to the memory and merits of his late father, in divers services, and par-
ticularly to his conduct, courage and discretion, under our dearest brother,
James, Duke of York, in the signal battle and victory, fought and obtained,
against the Dutch fleet, commanded by the Herr Van Opdam in 1665."
The motive for obtaining it on the part of Penn may be gathered from the
following extract of a letter to a friend: " For my country I eyed the Lord in
obtaining it; arid more was I drawn inward to look to Him, and to owe it to His
hand and power than to any other way. I have so obtained and desire to keep
it, that I may be unworthy of His love, but do that which may answer His
kind providence and people."
The charter of King Charles II was dated April 2, 1681. Lest any
trouble might arise in the future from claims founded on the grant previously
made to the Duke of York, of <<r Long Island and adjacent territories occupied
by the Dutch," the prudent forethotight of Penn induced him to obtain a deed,
dated August 31, 1682, of the Duke, for Pennsylvania, substantially in the
terms of the royal charter. But Penn was still not satisfied. He was cut off
from the ocean except by the uncertain navigation of one narrow stream. He
therefore obtained from the Duke a grant cf New Castle and a district of
twelve miles around it, dated on the 24th of August, 1682, and on the same
day a further grant from the Duke of a tract extending to Cape Henlopen,
embracing the two counties of Kent and Sussex, the two grants comprising
what were known as the territories, or the three lower counties, which were
for many years a part of Pennsylvania, but subsequently constituted the State
of Delaware.
Being now satisfied with his province, and that his titles were secure, Penn
drew up such a description of the country as from his knowledge he was able
to give, which, together with the royal chaiter and proclamation, terms of
settlement, and other papers pertaining thereto, he published and spread
broadcast through the kingdom, taking special pains doubtless to have the
documents reach the Friends. The terms of sale of lands were 40 shillings for
100 acres, and 1 shilling per acre rental. The question has been raised, why
exact the annual payment of one shilling per acre. The terms of the grant by
•-<.-
W
Z4&.
HISTORY OF PENNSYLVANIA. 47
the royal charter to Perm were made absolute on the " payment therefor to us,
our heirs and successors, two beaver skins, to be delivered at our castle in
"Windsor, on the 1st day of January in every year," and contingent payment
of one-fifth part of all gold and silver which shall from time to time happen
to be found clear of all charges." Penn, therefore, held his title only upon
the payment of quit-rents. He could consequently give a valid title only by
the exacting of quit -rents.
Having now a gveat province of his own to manage, Penn was obliged to
relinquish his share in West New Jersey. He had given largely of his time and
energies to its settlement; he had sent 1,400 emigrants, many of them people
of high character; had seen farms reclaimed from the forest, the town of
Burlington built, meeting houses erected in place of tents for worship, good
Government established, and the savage Indians turned to peaceful ways.
With satisfaction, therefore, he could now give himself to reclaiming and set-
tling his own province. He had of coarse in his published account of the
country made it appear a desirable place for habitation. But lest any should
regret having gone thither when it was too late, he added to his description a
caution, " to consider seriously the premises, as well the inconveniency as
future ease and plenty; that so none may move rashly or from a fickle, but from
a solid mind, having above all things an eye to the providence of God in the
disposing of themselves." Nothing more surely points to the goodness of
heart of William Penn, the great founder of our State, than this extreme
solicitude, lest he might induce any to go to the new country who should af-
terward regret having gone.
The publication of the royal charter and his description of the country
attracted attention, and many purchases of land were made of Penn before
leaving England. That these purchasers might have something binding to
rely upon, Penn drew up what he termed " conditions or concessions " between
himself as proprietor and purchasers in the province. These related to the
settling the country, laying out towns, and especially to the treatment of the
Indians, who were to have the same rights and privileges, and careful regard
as the Europeans. And jvhat is perhaps a remarkable instance of provident
forethought, the eighteenth article provides " That, in clearing the ground,
care be taken to leave one acre of trees for every five acres cleared, especially
to preserve oak and mulberries, for silk and shipping." It could be desired
that such a provision might have remained operative in the State for all
time.
Encouraged by the manner in which his proposals for settlement were
received, Penn now drew up a frame of government, consisting of twenty-
four articles and forty laws. These were drawn in a spirit of unexampled
fairness and liberality, introduced by an elaborate essay on the just rights of
government and governed, and with such conditions and concessions that it
should never be in the power of an unjust Governor to take advantage of the
people and practice injustice. " For the matter of liberty and privilege, I pur-
pose that which is extraordinary, and leave myself and successors no power of
doing mischief, that the will of one man may not hinder that of a whole coun-
try. This frame gave impress to the character of the early government. It im-
planted in the breasts of the people a deep sense of duty, of right, and of obli-
gation in all public affairs, and the relations of man with man, and formed a
framework for the future constitution. Penn himself had felt the heavy hand
of government for religious opinions and practice' sake. He determined, for
the matter of religion, to leave all free to hold such opinions as they might
elect, and hence enacted for his State that all who " hold themselves obliged
3
48 HISTORY OF PENNSYLVANIA.
in conscience, to live peaceably and justly in civil society, shall, in no "ways,
be molested, nor prejudiced, for their religious persuasion, or practice, in mat-
ters of faith and worship, nor shall they be compelled, at any time, to fre-
quent, or maintain, any religious worship, place, or ministry whatever. " At
this period, such governmental liberality in matters of religion was almost un-
known, though Roger Williams m the colony of Rhode Island had previously,
under similar circumstances, and having just escaped a like persecution, pro-
claimed it, as had likewise Lord Baltimore in the Catholic colony of Mary-
land
The mind of Penn was constantly exercised upon the affairs of his settlement
Indeed, to plant a colony in a new country had been a thought of his boyhood,
for he says in one of his letters: "I had an opening of joy as to these parts in
the year 1651, at Oxford, twenty years since." Not being in readiness to go
to his province during the first year, he dispatched three ship loads of set-
tlers, and with them sent his cousin, William Markham, to take formal pos-
session of the country and act as Deputy Governor Markham sailed for New
York, and upon his arrival there exhibited his commission, bearing date March
6, 1681, and the King's charter and proclamation. In the absence of Gov. An-
dros, who, on having been called to account for some complaint made against
him, had gone to England, Capt. Anthony Brockholls, Acting Governor, re-
ceived Markham's papers, and gave him a letter addressed to the civil officers
on the Delaware, informing them that Markham's authority as Governor had
been examined, and an official record made of it at New York, thanking them
for their fidelity, and requesting them to submit themselves to the new author-
ity. Armed with this letter, which was dated June 21, 1681, Markham pro-
ceeded to the Delaware, where, on exhibiting his papers, he was kindly re-
ceived, and allegiance was cheerfully transferred to the new government. In-
deed so frequently had the power changed hands that it had become quite a
matter of habit to transfer obedience from one authority to another, and they
had scarcely laid their heads to rest at night but with the consciousness that
the morning light might bring new codes and new officers.
Markham was empowered to call a council of nine citizens to assist him in
the government, and over whom he was to preside. He brought a letter ad-
dressed to Lord Baltimore, touching the boundary between the two grants, and
exhibiting the terms of the charter for Pennsylvania. On receipt of this let-
ter, Lord Baltimore came to Upland to confer with Markham. An observation
fixing the exact latitude of Upland showed that it was twelve miles south of
the forty-first degree, to which Baltimore claimed, and that the beginning of
the fortieth degree, which the royal charter explicitly fixed for the southern
boundary of Pennsylvania, would include nearly the entire State of Maryland,
and cut the limits of the present site of the city of Washington. "If this be
allowed," was significantly asked by Baltimore, "where is my province?"
He returned to his colony, and from this time forward an active contention
was begun before the authorities in England for possession of the disputed
territory, which required all the arts and diplomatic skill of Penn.
Markham was accompanied to the province by four Commissioners sent
out by Penn — William Crispin, John Bezer, William Haige and Nathaniel
Allen. The first named had been designated as Surveyor General, but he
having died on the passage, Thomas Holme was appointed to succeed him.
These Commissioners, in conjunction with the Governor, had two chief duties
assigned them. The first was to meet and preserve friendly relations with the
Indians and acquire lands by actual purchase, and the second was to select the
site of a great city and make the necessary surveys. That they might hnve a
HISTORY OF PENNSYLVANIA. 49
suitable introduction to the natives from him, Penn addressed to them a dec-
laration of his purposes, conceived in a spirit of brotherly love, and expressed
in such simple terms that these children of the forest, unschooled in book
learning, would have no difficulty in apprehending his meaning. The refer-
ring the source of all power to the Creator was fitted to produce a strong im-
pression upon their naturally superstitious habits of thought. "There is a
great God and power, that hath made the world, and all things therein, to
whom you and I, and all people owe their being, and well being; and to whom
you and I must one day give an account for all that we do in the world. This
great God hath written His law in our hearts, by which we are taught and com-
manded to love, and help, and do good to one another. Now this great God hath
been pleased to make me concerned in your part of the world, and the King
of the country where I live hath given me a great province therein; but I de-
sire to enjoy it with your love and consent, that we may always live together,
as neighbors and friends; else what would the great God do to us, who hath
made us, not. to devour and destroy one another, but to live soberly and kindly
together in the world? Now I would have you well observe that I am very
sensible of the unkindness and injustice that have been too much exercised
toward you by the people of these parts of the world, who have sought them-
selves, and to make great advantages by you, rather than to be examples of
goodness and patience unto you, which I hear hath been a matter of trouble
to you, and caused great grudging and animosities, sometimes to the shedding
of blood, which hath made the great God angry. But I am not such a man,
as is well known in my own country. I have great love and regard toward
you, and desire to gain your love and friendship by a kind, just and peaceable
life, and the people I send are of the same mind, and shall in all things be-
have themselves accordingly; and if in anything any shall offend you or
your people, you shall have a full and speedy satisfaction for the same by an
equal number of just men on both sides that by no means you may have just
occasion of being offended against them. I shall shortly come to you myself,
at which time we may more largely and freely confer and discourse of these
matters. In the meantime, I have sent my Commissioners to treat with you
about land, and form a league of peace. Let me desire you to be kind to
them and their people, and receive these presents and tokens which I have sent
you as a testimony of my good will to you, and my resolution to live justly,
peaceably and friendly with you."
In this plain but sublime statement is embraced the whole theory of Will
iam Penn's treatment of the Indians. It was the doctrine which the Savior
of mankind came upon earth to promulgate — the estimable worth of every
human soul. And when Penn came to propose his laws, one was adopted
which forbade private trade with the natives in which they might be overreached;
but it was required that the valuable skins and furs they had to sell should be
hung up in the market place where all could see them and enter into compe-
tition for their purchase. Penn was offered £6,000 for a monopoly of trade.
But he well knew the injustice to which this would subject the simple-minded
natives, and he refused it saying: "As the Lord gave it me over all and
great opposition, I would not abuse His love, nor act unworthy of His provi-
dence, and so defile what came to me clean " — a sentiment worthy to be treas-
ured with the best thoughts of the sages of old. And to his Commissioners he
gave a letter of instructions, in which he says: "Be impartially just to all;
that is both pleasing to the Lord, and wise in itself. Be tender of offending
the Indians, and let them know that you come to sit down lovingly among
them. Let my letter and conditions be read in their tongue, that they may see
50 HISTORY OF PENNSYLVANIA.
we have their good in our eye. Be grave, they love not to be smiled on."
Acting upon these wise and just considerations, the Commissioners had no diffi-
culty in making large purchases of the Indians of lands on the right bank' of
the Delaware and above the mouth of the Schuylkill.
But they found greater difficulty in settling the piace for the new city.
Penn had given very minute instructions about this, and it was not easy
to find a tract which answered all the conditions. For seven weeks they kept
up their search. Penn had written, " be sure to make your choice where it is
most navigable, high, dry and healthy; that is, where most ships may bestride,
of deepest draught of water, if possible to load and unload at the bank or
key's side without boating and lightening of it. It would do well if the river
coming into that creek be navigable, at least for boats up into the country,
and that the situation be high, at least dry and sound and not swampy, which
is best known by digging up two or three earths and seeing the bottom." By
his instructions, the site of the city was to be between two navigable streams,
and embrace 10,000 acres in one block. " Be sure to settle the figure of the
town so that the streets hereafter may be uniform down to the water from the
country bounds. Let every house be placed, if the person pleases, in the
middle of its plat, as to the breadth way of it, that so there may be ground on
each side for gardens or orchards or fields, that it may be a green country town,
which will nef^er be burnt and always wholesome." The soil was examined,
the streams were sounded, deep pits were dug that a location might be found
which should gratify the desires of Penn. All the eligible sites were inspected
from the ocean far up into the country. Penn himself had anticipated that
Chester or Upland would be adopted from all that he could learn of it; but
this was rejected, as was also the ground upon Poquessing Creek and that at
Pennsbury Manor above Bristol which had been carefully considered, and the
present site of Philadelphia was finally adopted as coming nearest to the
requirements of the proprietor. It had not 10,000 acres in a solid square, but
it was between two navigable streams, and the soil was high and dry, being for
the most part a vast bed of gravel, excellent for drainage and likely to prove
healthful. The streets were laid out regularly and crossed each other at
right angles. As the ground was only gently rolling, the grading was easily
accomplished. One broad street, Market, extends from river to river through
the midst of it, which is crossed at right angles at its middle point by Broad
street of equal width. It is 120 miles from (he ocean by the course of the
river, and only sixty in a direct line, eighty-seven miles from New York,
ninety-five from Baltimore. 136 from Washington, 100 from Harrisburg and
300 from Pittsburgh, and lies in north latitude 39° 56' 54", and longitude 75°
8' 45" west from Greenwich The name Philadelphia (brotherly love), was
one that Penn had before selected, as this founding a city was a project which
he had long dreamed of and contemplated with never-ceasing interest.
HISTORY OF PENNSYLVANIA. 51
CHAPTER VI.
William Markham, 1681-82— William Penn, 1682-84.
HAVING now made necessary preparations and settled his affairs in En-
gland, Penn embarked on board the ship Welcome, in August, 1682, in
company with about a hundred planters, mostly from his native town of Sussex,
and set his prow for the New "World. Before leaving the Downs, he addressed
a farewell letter to his friends whom he left behind, and another to his wife
and children, giving them much excellent advice, and sketching the way of
life he wished them to lead. With remarkable care and minuteness, he points
out the way in which he would have his children bred, and educated, married,
and live. A single passage from this remarkable document will indicate its
general tenor. " Be sure to observe," in educating his children, " their genius,
and do not cross it as to learning ; let them not dwell too long on one thing ;
but let their change be agreeable, and let all their diversions have some little
bodily labor in them. When grown big, have most care for them ; for then
there are more snares both within and without. When marriageable, see that
they have worthy persons in their eye ; of good life and good fame for piety
and understanding. I need no wealth but sufficiency ; and be sure their love
be dear, fervent and mutual, that it may be happy for them." And to his
children he said, " Betake yourselves to some honest, industrious course of
life, and that not of sordid covetousness, but for example and to avoid idle-
ness. ***** Love not money nor the world ; use them only,
and they will serve you ; but if you love them you serve them, which will
debase your spirits as well as offend the Lord. ***** Watch
against anger, neither speak nor act in it ; for, like drunkenness, it makes a
man a beast, and throws people into desperate inconveniences." The entire
letters are so full of excellent counsel that they might with great profit be
committed to memory, and treasured in the heart.
The voyage of nearly six weeks was prosperous ; but they had not been
long on the ocean before that loathed disease — the virulent small-pox — broke,
out, of which thirty died, nearly a third of the whole company. This, added
to the usual discomforts and terrors of the ocean, to most of whom this was
probably their first experience, made the voyage a dismal one. And here was
seen the nobility of Penn. " For his good conversation " says one of them,
" was very advantageous to all the company. His singular care was manifested
in contributing to the necessities of many who were sick with the small-pox
then on board."
His arrival upon the coast and passage up the river was hailed with dem-
onstrations of joy by all classes, English, Dutch, Swedes, and especially by his
own devoted followers. He landed at New Castle on the 24th of October, 1682,
and on the following day summoned the people to the court house, where pos-
session of the country was formally made over jo him, and he renewed the
commissions of the magistrates, to whom and to the assembled people he an-
nounced the design of his coming, explained the nature and end of truly good
government, assuring them that their religious and civil rights should be re-
spected, and recommended them to live in sobriety and peace. He then pro-
52 HISTORY OF PENNSYLVANIA.
ceeded to Upland, hencefoward known as Chester, where, on the 4th of Novem-
ber, he called an assembly of the people, in which an equal number of votes
was allowed to the province and the territories. Nicholas Moore, President of
the Free Society of Traders, was chosen speaker. As at New Castle, Penn
addressed the assembly, giving them assurances of his beneficent intentions,
for which they returned their grateful acknowledgments, the Swedes beio.g
especially demonstrative, deputing one of their number, Lacy Cock, to say
" That they would love, serve and obey him with all they had, and that this
was the best day they ever saw. " We can well understand with what satisfac-
tion the settlers upon the Delaware hailed the prospect of a stable government
established in their own midst, after having been so long at the mercy of tne
government in New York, with allegience trembling between the courts of
Sweden, Holland and Britain.
The proceedings of this first assembly were conducted with great decorum,
and after the usages of the English Parliament. On the 7th of December,
1682, the three lower counties, what is now Delaware, which had previously
been under the government of the Duke of York, were formerly annexed to the
province, and became an integral part of Pennsylvania. The frame of govern-
ment, which had been drawn with much deliberation, was submitted to the
assembly, and, after some alterations and amendments, was adopted, and be-
came the fundamental law of the State. The assembly was in session only
three days, but the work they accomplished, how vast and far-reaching in its
influence !
The Dutch, Swedes and other foreigners were then naturalized, and the
government was launched in fair running order: That some idea may be had
of its character, the subjects treated are here given: 1, Liberty of conscience;
2, Qualification of officers; 3, Swearing by God, Christ or Jesus; 4, Swearing
by any other thing or name; 5, Profanity; 6, Cursing; 7, Fornication; 8, In-
cest; 9, Sodomy; 10, Rape; 11, Bigamy; 12, Drunkenness; 13, Suffering
drunkenness; 14, Healths drinking; 15, Selling liquor to Indians; 16, Arson;
17, Burglary; 18, Stolen goods; 19, Forcible entry; 20, Riots; 21, Assaulting
parents: 22, Assaulting Magistrates; 23, Assaulting masters; 24, Assault and
battery; 25, Duels; 26, Riotous sports, as plays; 27, Gambling and lotteries;
28, Sedition; 29, Contempt; 30, Libel; 31, Common scolds; 32, Charities;
33, Prices of beer and ale; 34, Weights and measures; 35, Names of days and
months; 36, Perjury; 37, Court proceedings in English; 38, Civil and crim-
inal trials; 39, Fees, salaries, bribery and extortion; 40, Moderation of fines;
41, Suits avoidable; 42, Foreign arrest; 43, Contracts: 44, Charters, gifts,
grants, conveyances, bills, bonds and deeds, when recorded; 45, Wills; 46,
Wills of non compos mentis; 47, Registry of Wills; 48, Registry for servants;
49, Factors; 50, Defacers, corruptors and embezzlers of charters, conveyances
and records; 51, Lands and goods to pay debts; 52, Bailable offenses; 53,
Jails and jailers; 54, Prisons to be workhouses; 55, False imprisonment; 56,
Magistrates may elect between fine or imprisonment; 57, Freemen; 58, Elec-
tions; 59, No money levied but in pursuance of law; 60, Laws shall be printed
and taught in schools; 61, All other things, not. provided for herein, are re-
ferred to the Governor and freemen from time to time.
Very soon after his arrival io the colony, after the precept had been issued,
but before the convening of the Assembly, Penn, that he might not be wanting
in respect to the Duke of York, made a visit to New York, where he was kind-
ly received, and also after the adjournment of the Assembly, journeyed to Mary-
land, where he was entertained by Lord Baltimore with great ceremony. The
settlement of the disputed boundaries was made the subject of formal confer-
HISTORY OF PENNSYLVANIA 53
ence. But after two days spent in fruitless discussion, the weather becoming
severely cold, and thus precluding the possibility of taking observations or
making the necessary surveys, it was agreed to adjourn further consideration
of the subject until the milder weather of the spring. We may imagine that
the two Governors were taking the measure of each other, and of gaining all
possible knowledge of each other's claims and rights, preparatory to that
struggle for possession of this disputed fortieth degree of latitude, which was
desiined to come before the home government.
With all his cares in founding a State and providing a government over a
new people, Penn did not forget to preach the "blessed Gospel," and wherever
he went he was intent upon his " Master's business." On his return from
Maryland, Lord Baltimore accompanied him several miles to the house of
William Richardson, and thence to Thomas Hooker's, where was a religious
meeting, as was also one held at Choptauk. Penn himself says: " I have
been also at New York, Long Island, East Jersey and Maryland, in which I
have had good and eminent service for the Lord." And again he says; "As to
outward things, we are satisfied — the land good, the air clear and sweet, tho
springs plentiful, and provisions good and easy to come at, an innumerable
quantity of wild fowl and fish; in fine, here is what an Abraham, Isaac and
Jacob would be well contented with, and service enough for God: for the
fields are here white for the harvest. O, how sweet is the quiet of these parts,
freed from the anxious and troublesome solicitations, hurries and perplexities
of woeful Europe! * * * Blessed be the Lord, that of twenty-three ships,
none miscarried; only two or three had the small- pox; else healthy and swift
passages, generally such as have not been known; some but twenty-eight days,
and few longer than six weeks. Blessed be God for it; my soul fervently
breathes that in His heavenly guiding wisdom, we may be kept, that we may
serve Him in our day, and lay down our heads in peace." And then, as if re-
proached for not having mentioned another subject of thankfulness, he adds in
a postscript, " Many women, in divers of the ships, brought to bed; they and
their children do well."
Penn made it his first care to take formal possession of his province, and
adopt a frame of government. When this was done, his chief concern was
to look to the establishment of his proposed new city, the site of which had
already been determined on by his Commissioners. Accordingly, early in
November, at a season when, in this section, the days are golden, Penn em-
barked in an open barge with a number of his friends, and was wafted
leisurely up the Delaware to the present site of the city of Philadel-
phia, which the natives called Coaquannock. Along the river was a bold shore,
fringed with lofty pines, which grew close down to the water's edge, so much
so that when the first ship passing up with settlers for West Jersey had brushed
against the branches, the passengers remarked that this would be a good place
for a city. It was then in a wild state, the deer browsing along the shore and
sipping the stream, and the coneys burrowing in the banks. The scattered
settlers had gathered in to see and welcome the new Governor, and when he
stepped upon the shore, they extended a helping hand in assisting him up the
rugged bluff. Three Swedes had already taken up tracts within the limits of
the block of land chosen for the city. But they were given lands in exchange,
and readily relinquished their claims. The location was pleasing to Penn, and
was adopted without further search, though little could be seen of this then
forest-encumbered country, where now is the home of countless industries, the
busy mart, the river bearing upon its bosom the commerce of many climes,
and the abiding place of nearly a million of people. But Penn did not con-
54 HISTORY OF PENNSYLVANIA.
sider that he had as yet any just title to the soil, holding that the Indians
were its only rightful possessors, and until it was fairly acquired by purchase
from them, his own title was entirely void.
Hence, he sought an early opportunity to meet the chiefs of the tribes and
cultivate friendly relations with them. Tradition fixes the first great treaty
or conference at about this time, probably in November, and the place under
the elm tree, known as the " Treaty Tree," at Kensington. It was at a sea-
son when the leaves would still be upon the trees, and the assembly was called
beneath the ample shade of the wide-sweeping branches, which was pleasing
to the Indians, as it was their custom to hold all their great deliberations and
smoke the pipe of peace in the open air. The letter which Penn had sent had
prepared the minds of these simple-hearted inhabitants of the forest to regard
him with awe and reverence, little less than that inspired by a descended god.
His coming had for a long time been awaited, and it is probable that it had
been heralded and talked over by the wigwam fire throughout the remotest
bounds of the tribes. And when at length the day came, the whole popula-
tion far around had assembled.
It is known that three tribes at least were represented — the Lenni Lenape,
living along the Delaware; the Shawnees, a tribe that had come up from the
South, and were seated along the Lower Susquehanna; and the Mingoes,
sprung from the Six Nations, and inhabiting along the Conestoga. Penn was
probably accompanied by the several officers of his Government and his most
trusted friends. There were no implements of warfare, for peace was a cardi-
nal feature of the Quaker creed
No veritable account of this, the great treaty, is known to have been made;
but from the fact that Penn not lung after, in an elaborate treatise upon the
country, the inhabitants and the natives, has given the account of the manner
in which the Indians demean themselves in conference, we may infer that he
had this one in mind, and hence we may adopt it as his own description of the
scene.
" Their order is thus: The King sits in the middle of a half moon, and
hath his council, the old and wise, on each hand; behind them, or at a little
distance, sit the younger fry in the same figure. Having consulted and re-
solved their business, the King ordered one of them to speak to me. He stood
up, came to me, and, in the name of the King, saluted me; then took me by
the hand and told me he was ordered by the King to speak to me; and now it
was not he, but the King that spoke, because what he would say was the
King's mind. * * * * During the time that this person spoke, not
a man of them was observed to whisper or smile; the old grave, the young
reverant, in their deportment. They speak little, but fervently, and with ele-
gance. "
In response to the salutation from the Indians, Penn makes a reply in
suitable terms: "The Great Spirit, who made me and you, who rules the
heavens and the earth, and who knows the innermost thoughts of men, knows
that I and my friends have a hearty desire to live in peace and friendship
with you, and to serve you to the uttermost of our power. It is not our custom
to use hostile weapons against our fellow- creatures, for which reason we have
come unarmed. Our object is not to do injury, and thus provoke the Great
Spirit, but to do good. We are met on the broad pathway of good faith and
good will, so that no advantage is to be taken on either side; but all to be open-
ness, brotherhood and love." Having unrolled his parchment, he explains to
them through an interpreter, article by article, the nature of the business, and
laying it upon the ground, observes that the ground shall be for the use of
HISTORY OF PENNSYLVANIA. 55
both people. "I will not do as the Marylanders did, call you children, or
brothers only; for parents are apt to whip their children too severely, and
brothers sometimes will differ; neither will I compare the friendship between
us to a chain, for the rain may rust it, or a tree may fall and break it; but. I
will consider you as the same flesh and blood with the Christians, and the same
as if one man's body were to be divided into two parts." Having ended his
business, the speaker for the King comes forward and makes great promises
"of kindness and good neighborhood, and that the Indians and English must
live in love as long as the sun gave light." This ended, another Indian makes
a speech to his own people, first to explain to them what had been agreed on,
and then to exhort them "to love the Christians, and particularly live in peace
with me and the people under my government, that many Governors had been
in the river, but that no Governor had come himself to live and stay here be-
fore, and having now such an one, that had treated them well, they should never
do him nor his any wrong." At every sentence they shouted, as much as to
say, amen.
The Indians had no system of writing by which they could record their
dealings, but their memory of events and agreements was almost miraculous.
Heckewelder records that in after years, they were accustomed, by means of
strings, or belts of wampum, to preserve the recollection of their pleasant in-
terviews with Penn, after he had departed for England. He says, " They fre-
quently assembled together in the woods, in some shady spot, as nearly as pos-
sible similar to those where they used to meet their brother Miquon (Penn), and
there lay all his words and speeches, with those of his descendants, on a
blanket, or clean piece of bark, and with great satisfaction go successively
over the whole. This practice, which I have repeatedly witnessed, continued
until the year 1780, when disturbances which took place put an end to it,
probably forever."
The memory of this, the "Great Treaty," was long preserved by the na-
tives, and the novel spectacle was reproduced upon canvas by the genius of
Benjamin West. In this picture, Penn is represented as a corpulent old man,
whereas he was at this time but thirty-eight years of age, and in the very
height of manly activity. The Treaty Tree was preserved and guarded from
injury with an almost superstitious care. During the Revolution, when Phila-
delphia was occupied by the British, and their parties were scouring the coun-
try for firewood, Gen. Simcoe had a sentinel placed at this tree to protect it
from mutilation. It stood until 1810, when it was blown down, and it was
ascertained by its annual concentric accretions to be 283 years old, and was,
consequently, 155 at the time of making the treaty. The Penn Society erected
a substantial monument on the spot where it stood.
Penn drew up his deeds for lands in legal form, and had them duly exe-
cuted and made of record, that, in the dispute possible to arise in after times,
there might be proof definite and positive of the purchase. Of these purchases
there are two deeds on record executed in 1683. One is for land near Nesha-
miny Creek, and thence to Penypack, and the other for lands lying between
Schuylkill and Chester Rivers, the first bearing the signature of the great
chieftain, Taminend. In one of these purchases it is provided that the tract
" shall extend back as far as a man could walk in three days. " Tradition
runs that Penn himself, with a number of his friends, walked out the half this
purchase with the Indians, that no advantage should be taken of them by mak-
ing a great walk, and to show his consideration for them, and that he was not
above the toils and fatigues of such a duty." They began to walk out this
land at the mouth of the Neshaminy, and walked up the Delaware; in one day
56 HISTORY OF PENNSYLVANIA.
and a half they got to a spruce tree near the mouth of Baker's Creek, when
Penn, concluding that this would include as much land as he would want at
present, a line was run and marked from the spruce tree to Neshaminy, and
the remainder left to be walked when it should be wanted. They proceed-
ed after the Indian manner, walking leisurely, sitting down sometimes to
smoke their pipes, eat biscuit and cheese, and drink a bottle of wine. In the
day and a half they walked a little less than thirty miles. The balance of the
purchase was not walked until September 20, 11'6'd, when the then Governor of
Pennsylvania offered a prize of 500 acres of land and £6 for the man who
would walk the farthest. A distance of eighty-six miles was covered, in
marked contrast with the kind consideration of Penn.
During the first year, the country upon the Delaware, from the falls of
Trenton as far as Chester, a distance of nearly sixty miles, was rapidly taken up
and peopled. The large proportion of these were Quakers, and devotedly attached
to their religion and its proper observances. They were, hence, morally, of the
best classes, and though they were not generally of the aristocracy, yet many
of them were in comfortable circumstances, had valuable properties, were of
respectable families, educated, and had the resources within themselves to live
contented and happy. They were provident, industrious, and had come hither
with no fickle purpose. Many brought servants with them, and well supplied
wardrobes, and all necessary articles which they wisely judged would be got
in a new country with difficulty.
Their religious principles were so peaceful and generous, and the govern-
ment rested so lightly, that the fame of the colony and the desirableness of
settlement therein spread rapidly, and the numbers coming hither were unpar-
alleled in the history of colonization, especially when we consider that a broad
ocean was to be crossed and a voyage of several weeks was to be endured. In
a brief period, ships with passengers came from London, Bristol, Ireland,
Wales, Cheshire, Lancashire, Holland, Gerinan} r , to the number of about fifty.
Among others came a company of German Quakers, from Krisheim, near
Worms, in the Palatinate. These people regarded their lot as particularly
fortunate, in which they recognized the direct interposition and hand of Provi-
dence. For, not long afterward, the Palatinate was laid waste by the French
army, and many of their kindred whom they had left behind were despoiled of
their possessions and reduced to penury. There came also from Wales a com-
pany of the stock of aucient Britons.
So large an influx of population, coming in many cases without due pro-
vision for variety of diet, caused a scarcity in many kinds of food, especially
of meats. Time was required to bring forward flocks and herds, more than
for producing grains. But Providence seemed to have graciously considered
their necessities, and have miraculously provided for them, as of old was pro
vision made for the chosen people. For it is recorded that the "wild pigeons
flame in such great numbers that the sky was sometimes darkened by their
flight, and, flying low, they were frequently knocked down as they flew, in
great quantities, by those who had no other means to take them, whereby the)
supplied themselves, and, having salted those which they could not immedi-
ately use, they preserved them, both for bread and meat." The Indians were
kind, and often furnished them with game, for which they would receive no
compensation.
Their first care on landing was to bring their household goods to a place
of safety, often to the simple protection of a tree. For some, this was their
only shelter, lumber being scarce, and in many places impossible to obtain.
HISTORY OF PENNSYLVANIA. 57
Some made for themselves caves in the earth uritil better habitations could be
secured.
John Key, who was said to have been tho first child born of English par-
ents in Philadelphia, and that in recognition of which William Penn gave
him a lot of ground, died at Kennet, in Chester County, on July 5, 17G8,
in tho eighty-fifth year of his age. He was born in one of these caves upon
the river bank, long afterward known by the name of Penny-pot, near Sassa-
fras street. About six years before his death, he walked from Kennot to the
city, about thirty miles, in one day. In the latter part of his life he went
under the name of D'irst Born.
The contrasts between the comforts and conveniences of an old settled
country and this, where the heavy forests must be cleared away and severe la-
bors must be endured before the sun could be let in sufficiently to produce
anything, must have been very marked, and caused repining. But they had
generally come with meek and humble hearts, and they willingly endured
hardship and privation, and labored on earnestly for the spiritual comfort
which they enjoyed. Thomas Makin, in some Latin verses upon the early set-
tlement, says (we quote the metrical translation):
"Its fame to distant countries far has spread,
And some for peace, and some for profit led,
Born in remotest climes, to settle here
They leave their native soil and all that's dear,
And still will flock from far, here to be free,
Such powerful charms has lovely liberty."
But for their many privations and sufferings there were some compensat-
ing conditions. The soil was fertile, the air mostly clear and healthy, the
streams of water were good and plentiful, wood for fire and building unlimit-
ed, and at certain seasons of the year game in the forest was abundant. Rich-
ard Townsend, a settler at Germantown, who came over in the ship with Penn,
in writing to his friends in England of his first year in America, says: "I,
with Joshua Tittery, made a net, and caught great quantities of fish, so that,
notwithstanding it was thought near three thousand persons came in the first
year, we were so providentially provided for that we could buy a deer for
about two shillings, and a large turkey for about one shilling, and Indian corn
for about two shillings sixpence a bushel."
In the same letter, the writer mentions that a young deer came out of the
forest into the meadow where he was mowing, and looked at him, and when
he went toward it would retreat; and, as he resumed his mowing, would come
back to gaze upon him, and finally ran forcibly against a tree, which so
stunned it that he was able to overmaster it and bear it away to his home, and
as this was at a time when he was suffering for the lack of meat, he believed
it a direct interposition of Providence.
In the spring of 1683, there was great activity throughout the colony, and
especially in the new city, in selecting lands and erecting dwellings, thb Sur-
veyor General, Thomas Holme, laying out and marking the streets. In the
center of tho city was a public square of ten acres, and in each of the four
quarters one of eight acres. A large mansion, which had been undertaken be-
fore his arrival, was built for Penn, at a point twenty-six miles up the river,
called Pennsbury Manor, where he sometimes resided, and where he often met
the Indian sachems. At this time, Penn divided the colony into counties,
three for the province (Bucks, Philadelphia and Chester) and three for the
Territories (New Castle, Kent and Sussex). Having appointed Sheriffs and
other proper officers, he issued writs for the election of members of a General
58 HISTORY OF PENNSYLVANIA.
Assembly, three from each county for the Council or Upper House, and cine
from each county for the Assembly or Lower House.*
This Assembly convened and organized for business on the 10th of Jan-
uary, 3683, at Philadelphia. One of the first subjects considered was the
revising some provisions of the frame of government which was effected, re-
ducing the number of members of both Houses, the Council to 18 the As-
sembly to 36, and otherwise amending in unimportant particulars. In
an assembly thus convened, and where few, if any, had had any experience in
serving in a deliberative body, we may reasonably suppose that many crude
and impracticable propositions would be presented. As aD example of these
the following may be cited as specimens: That young men should be obliged
to marry at, or before, a certain age; that two sorts of clothes only shall be
worn, one for winter and the other for summer. The session lasted twenty two
days.
The first grand jury in Pennsylvania was summoned for the 2d of Feb-
ruary, 1683, to inquire into the cases of some persons accused of issuing
counterfeit money. The Governor and Council sat as a court. One Picker-
ing was convicted, and the sentence was significant of the kind and patriarchal
nature of the government, "that he should make full satisfaction, in good
and current pay, to every person who should, within the space of one month,
bring in any of this false, base and counterfeit coin, and that the money
brought in should be melted down before it was returned to him, and that he
should pay a fine of forty pounds toward the building a court huuse, stand
committed till the same was paid, and afterward find security for his good
behavior."
The Assembly and courts having now adjourned, Penn gave his attention
to the grading and improving the streets of the new city, and the managing
the affairs of his land office, suddenly grown to great importance. For every
section of land taken up in the wilderness, the purchaser was entitled to a
certain plot in the new city. The .River Delaware at this time was nearly a
mile broad opposite the city, and navigable for ships of the largest tonnage.
The tide rises about six feet at this point, and flows back to the falls of
Trenton, a distance of thirty miles. The tide in the Schuylkill flows only
about five miles above its confluence with the Delaware. The river bank along
the Delaware was intended by Penn as a common or public resort. But in
his time the owners of lots above Front street pressed him to allow them to
construct warehouses upon it, opposite their properties, which importunity in-
duced him to make the following declaration concerning it: "The bank is a
top common, from end to end; the rest next the water belongs to front- lot
men no more than back-lot men. The way bounds them; they may build stairs,
and the top of the bank a common exchange, or wall, and against the street,
common wharfs may be built freely; but into the water, and the shore is no
purchaser's." But in future time, this liberal desire of the founder was dis-
regarded, and the bank has beeu covered with immense warehouses.
*It may be a matter of curiosity to know the names of the members of this first regularly elected Legis-
lature in Pennsylvania, and they are accordingly appended as given in official records:
Council: William Markham, Christopher Taylor, Thomas Holme, Lacy Cock, William Ilaige, John Moll,
Raiph Withers, John Simcock, Edward Cant well, William Clayton, William Biles, James Harrison, William
Clark, Francis Whitewell, John Richardson. John Hillyard.
Assembly: From Bucks, William Yardly, Samuel Darke, Robert Lucas, Nicholas Walne, John Wood, John
Howes, Thomas Fitzwater, Robert Hall, James Boyden ; from Philadelphia. John Longhurst, John Hart, Wal-
ter King, Andros Binkson, John Moon, Thomas Wynne (Speaker), Griffith Jones, William Warner, Swan Swan-
son; from Chester, John Hoskius, Robert Wade, George Wood, John Blunston, Dennis Rochford, Thomas
Bracy, John Bezer, John Harding, Joseph Phipps ; from New Castle, John Cann, John Darby, Valentine Holl-
ingswovth, Gasparus Herman John Dehoaef, James Williams, William Guest, Peter Alrich, Henrick Williams;
from Kent, John Biggs, Simon Irons, Thomas HafTbld John Curtis, Bobert Bedwell, William Windsmore, John
Brinkloe, Daniel Brown, Benony Bishop; from Sussex, Luke Watson, Alexander Draper, William Futcher,
Henry Bowman, Alexander Moleston, John Hill, Robert Bracy, John Kipshaven, Cornelius Verhoof.
HISTORY OF PENNSYLVANIA. 59
Seeing now his plans of government and settlement fairly in operation, as
autumn approached, Penn wrote a letter to the Free Society of Traders in
London, which had been formed to promote settlement in his colony, in which
he touched upon a great variety of topics regarding his enterprise, extending to
quite a complete treatise. The great interest attaching to the subjects dis-
cussed, and the ability with which it was drawn, makes it desirable to insert
the document entire; but its great length makes its use incompatible with the
plan of this work. A few extracts and a general plan of the letter is all that
can be given. He first notices the injurious reports put in circulation in En-
gland during his absence: " Some persons have had so little wit and so much
malice as to report my death, and, to mend the matter, dead a Jesuit, too.
One might have reasonably hoped tha^ this distance, like death, would have
been a protection against spite and envy. * * * However, to the great sorrow
and shame of the inventors, I am still alive and no Jesuit, and, I thank God,
very well." Of the air and waters bH says: " The air is sweet and clear, the
heavens serene, like the south parts of France, rarely overcast. The waters
are generally good, for the rivers and brooks have mostly gravel and stony bot-
toms, and in number hardly credible. We also have mineral waters that
operate in the same manner with Barnet and North Hall, not two miles from
Philadelphia." He then treats at length of the four seasons, of trees, fruits,
grapes, peaches, grains, garden produce: of animals, beasts, birds, fish, whale fish
ery, horses and cattle, medicinal plants, flowers of the woods; of the Indians
and their persons. Of their language he says: "It is lofty, yet narrow; but,
like the Hebrew, in signification, full, imperfect in their tenses, wanting in their
moods, participles, adverbs, conjunctions, interjections. I have made it my busi-
ness to understand it, and I must say that I know not a language spoken in Europe
that hath words of more sweetness or greatness in accent and emphasis than
theirs." Of their customs and their children : " Tbe children will go very young,
at nine months, commonly; if boys, they go a fishing, till ripe for the woods, which
is about fifteen; then they hunt, and, after having given some proofs of their
manhood by a good return of skins, they may marry, else it is a shame to think
of a wife. The girls stay with their mother and help to hoe the ground, plant
corn and carry burdens. When the young women are fit for marriage, they
wear something upon their heads as an advertisment; but so, as their faces hardly
to be seen, but when they please. The age they marry at, if women, is about
thirteen and fourteen; if men, seventeen and eighteen; they are rarely elder."
In a romantic vein he speaks of their houses, diet, hospitality, revengefulness
and concealment of resentment, great liberality, free manner of life and
customs, late love of strong liquor, behavior in sickness and death, their re-
ligion, their feastings, their government, their mode of doing business, their
manner of administering justice, of agreement for settling difficulties entered into
with the pen, their susceptibility to improvement, of the origin of the Indian race
their resemblance to the Jews. Of the Dutch and Swedes whom he found set-
tled here when he came, he says: " The Dutch applied themselves to traffick.
the Swedes and Finns to husbandry. The Dutch mostly inhabit those parts
that lie upon the bay, and the Swedes the freshes of the Delaware. They are
a plain, strong, industrious people; yet have made no great progress in culture
or propagation of fruit trees. They are a people proper, and strong of body,
so they have fine children, and almost every house full; rare to find one of them
without three or four boys and as many girls — some, six, seven and eight sons,
and I must do them that right, I see few young men more sober and laborious."
After speaking at length of the organization of the colony and its manner of
government, he concludes with his own opinion of the country: "I say little
60 HISTORY OF PENNSYLVANIA.
of the town itself; but this I will say, for the good providence of God, that
of all the many places I have seen in the world, I remember not one better
seated, so that it seems to me to have been appointed for a town, whether we
regard the rivers or the eonvenieney of the coves, docks, springs, the loftiness
and soundness of the land and the air, held by the people of these parts to be
very good. It is advanced within less than a year to about fourscore bouses
and cottages, where merchants and handicrafts are following their vocations
as fast as they can, while the countrymen are close at their farms. * * * I
bless God I am fully satisfied with the country and entertainment I got in it;
for I find that particular content, which hath always attended me, where God in
His providence hath made it my place and service to reside."
As we have seen, the visit of Penn to Lord Baltimore soon after his arrival
in America, for the purpose of settling the boundaries of the two provinces, after
a two days' conference, proved fruitless, and an adjournment was had for the
winter, when the efforts for settlement were to be resumed. Early in the
spring, an attempt was made on the part of Penn, but was prevented till May,
when a meeting was held at New Castle. Penn proposed to confer by the aid
of counselors and in writing. But to this Baltimore objected, and, complain-
ing of the sultryness of the weather, the conference was broken up. In the
meantime, it had come to the knowledge of Penn that Lord Baltimore had
issued a proclamation offering settlers more land, and at cheaper rates than
Penn had done, in portions of the lower counties which Penn had secured
from the Duke of York, but which Baltimore now claimed. Besides, it was
ascertained that an agent of his had taken an observation, and determined the
latitude without the knowledge of Penn, and had secretly made an ex parte
statement of the case before the Lords of the Committee of Plantations in En-
gland, and was pressing for arbitrament. This state of the case created much
uneasiness in the mind of Penn. especially as the proclamation of Lord Balti-
more was likely to bring the two governments into conflict on territory mutu-
ally claimed. But Lord Baltimore was not disposed to be content with diplo-
macy. He determined to pursue an aggressive policy. He accordingly com-
missioned his agent, Col. George Talbot, under date of September 17, 1683,
to go to Schuylkill, at Delaware, and demand of William Penn " all that part
of the land on the west side of the said river that lyeth to the southward of
the fortieth degree." This bold demand would have embraced the entire colony,
both the lower counties, and the three counties in the province, as the fortieth
degree reaches a considerable distance above Philadelphia. Penn was absent
at the time in New York, and Talbot made his demand upon Nicholas Moore,
the deputy of Penn. Upon his return, the proprietor made a dignified but
earnest rejoinder. While he felt that the demand could not be justly sus-
tained, yet the fact that a controversy for the settlement of the boundary was
likely to arise, gave him disquietude, and though he was gratified with the
success of his plans for acquiring lands of the Indians and establishing friendly
relations with them, the laying-out of his new city and settling it, the adop-
tion of a stable government and putting it in successful operation, and, more
than all, the drawing thither the large number of settlers, chiefly of his own
religious faith, and seeing them contented and happy in the new State, he
plainly foresaw that his skill and tact would be taxed to the utmost to defend
and hold his claim before the English court. If the demand of Lord Balti-
more were to prevail, all that he had done would be lost, as his entire colony
would be swallowed up by Maryland.
The anxiety of Penn to hold from the beginniug of the 40 D of latitude was
not to increase thereby his territory by so much, for two degrees which he
HISTORY OF PENNSYLVANIA. 'Jl
securely had, so far as amount of land was concerned, would have entirely
satisfied him; but he wanted this degree chiefly that he might have the free
navigation of Delaware Bay and River, and thus open communication with the
ocean. lie desired also to hold the lower counties, which were now well
settled, as well as his own counties rapidly being peopled, and his new city of
Philadelphia, which he regarded as the apple of his eye. So anxious was he
to hold the land on the right bank of the Delaware to the open ocean, that at
his second meeting, he asked Lord Baltimore to set a prico per square mile on
this disputed ground, and though he had purchased it once of the crown and
held the King's charter for it, and the Duke of York's deed, yet rather than
have any further wrangle over it, he was willing to pay for it again. But this
Lord Baltimore refused to do.
Bent upon bringing matters to a crisis, and to force possession of his
claim, early in the year 1684 a party from Maryland made forcible entry
upon the plantations in the lower counties and drove off the owners. The
Governor and Council at Philadelphia sent thither a copy of the answer of
Penn to Baltimore's demand for the land south of the Delaware, with orders
to William Welch, Sheriff at New Castle, to use his influence to reinstate the
lawful owners, and issued a declaration succinctly stating the claim of Penn,
for the purpose of preventing such unlawful incursions in future.
The season opened favorably for the continued prosperity of the young
colony. Agriculture was being prosecuted as never before. Goodly flocks
and herds gladdened the eyes of the settlers. An intelligent, moral and in-
dustrious yeomanry was springing into existence. Emigrants were pouring
into the Delaware from many lands. The Government was becoming settled
in its operations and popular with the people. The proprietor had leisure to
attend to the interests of his religious society, not only in his own dominions,
but in the Jerseys and in New York.
CHAPTER VII.
Thomas Lloyd, 1684-86— Five Commissioners, 1686-88— John Blackwell, 1688
-90— Thomas Lloyd, 1690-91— William Markham, 1691-93— Benjamin
Fletcher, 1693-95— William Markham, 1693-99.
BUT the indications, constantly thickening, that a struggle was likely soon
to be precipitated before the crown for possession of the disputed terri-
tory, decided Penn early in the summer to quit the colony and return to En-
gland to defend his imperiled interests. There is no doubt that he took this
step with unfeigned regret, as he was contented and happy in his new country,
and was most usefully employed. There were, however, other inducements
which were leading him back to England. The hand of persecution was at
this time laid heavily upon the Quakers. Over 1,400 of these pious and in-
offensive people were now, and some of them had been for years, languishing
in the prisons of England, for no other offense than their manner of worship.
By lis friendship with James, and his acquaintance with the King, he might
do sc icething to soften the lot of these unfortunate victims of bigotry.
Hi accordingly empowered the Provincial Council, of which Thomas
Lloyd was President, to act in his stead, commissioned Nicholas Moore, Will-
iam Welch, William Wood, Robert Turner and John Eckley, Provincial
62 HISTORY OF PENNSYLVANIA.
Judges for two years; appointed Thomas Lloyd, James Claypole and Robert
Turner to sign land patents and warrants, and William Clark as Justice of
the Peace for all the counties; and on the 6th of June, 1684, sailed for Europe.
His feelings on leaving his colony are exnibited by a farewell address which
he issued from on board the vessel to his people, of which the following are
brief extracts: "My love and my life is to you, and with you, and no water
can quench it, nor distance wear it out, nor bring it to an end. I have been
with you, cared over you and served over you with unfeigned love, and you
are beloved of me, and near to me, beyond utterance. I bless you in the
name and power of the Lord, and may God bless you with His righteousness,
peace and plenty all the land over. * * * Oh! now are you come to a
quiet land; provoke not the Lord to trouble it. And now liberty and author-
ity are with you, and in your hands. Let the government be upon His
shoulders, in all your spirits, that you may rule for Him, under whom the
princes of this world will, one day, esteem their honor to govern and serve in
their places * * * And thou, Philadelphia, the virgin settlement of
this province, named before thou wert born, what love, what care, what serv-
ice and what travail has there been, to bring thee forth, and preserve thee from
such as would abuse and defile thee! * * * So, dear friends, my love
again salutes you all, wishing that grace, mercy and peace, with all temporal
blessings, may abound richly among you — so says, so prays, your friend and
lover in the truth. William Penn."
On the 6th of December of this same year, 1684, Charles II died, and was
succeeded by his brother James, Duke of York, under the title of James II.
James was a professed Catholic, and the people were greatly excited all over
the kingdom lest the reign of Bloody Mary should be repeated, and that the
Catholic should become the established religion. He had less ability than
his brother, the deceased King, but great discipline and industry. Penn en-
joyed the friendship and intimacy of the new King, and he determined to use
his advantage for the relief of his suffering countrymen, not only of his sect,
the Quakers, but of all, and especially for the furtherance of universal liberty.
But there is no doubt that he at this time meditated a speedy return to his
province, for he writes: "Keep up the peoples' hearts and loves; I hope to be
with them next fall, if the Lord prevent not. I long to be with you. Nc
temptations prevail to fix me here. The Lord send us a good meeting." By
authority of Penn, dated 18th of January, 1685, William Markham, Penn's
cousin, was commissioned Secretary of the province, and the proprietor's Sec-
retary.
That he might be fixed near to court for the furtherance of his private as
well as public business, he secured lodgings for himself and family, in 1685, at
Kensington, near London, and cultivated a daily intimacy with the King, who,
no doubt, found in the strong native sense of his Quaker friend, a valued ad-
viser upon many questions of difficulty. His first and chief care was the set-
tlement of his disagreement with Lord Baltimore touching the boundaries of
their provinces. This was settled in November, 1685, by a compromise, by
which the land lying between the Delaware and Chesepeake Bays was divided
into two equal parts — that upon the Delaware was adjudged to Penn, and that
upon the Chesapeake to Lord Baltimore. This settled the matter in theory;
but when the attempt was made to run the lines according to the language of
the Royal Act, it was found that the royal secretaries did not understand the
geography of the country, and that the line which their language described was
an impossible one. Consequently the boundary remained undetermined till
1732. The account of its location will be given in its proper place.
HISTORY OF PENNSYLVANIA. 63
Having secured this important decision to his satisfaction, Penn applied
himself with renewed zeal, r>ot only to secure the release of his people, who
were languishing in prisons, but to procure for all Englishmen, everywhere,
enlarged liberty and freedom of conscience. His relations with the King fa-
vored his designs. The King had said to Penn before he ascended the throne
that he was opposed to persecution for religion. On tho first day of his reign,
he made an address, in which he proclaimed himself opposed to all arbitrary
principles in government, 'and promised protection to the Church of England.
Early in the year 1686, in consequence of the King's proclamation for a gen-
eral pardon, over thirteen hundred Quakers were set at liberty, and in April,
1687, the King issued a declaration for entire liberty of conscience, and sus-
pending the penal laws in matters ecclesiastical. This was a great step in ad-
vance, and one that must ever throw a luster over the brief reign of this un-
fortunate monarch. Penn, though holding no official position, doubtless did
as much toward securing the issue of this liberal measure as any Englishman.
Upon the issue of these edicts, the Quakers, at their next aonual meeting,
presented an address of acknowledgment to the Ring, which opened in these
words: " We cannot but bless and praise the name of Almighty God, who
hath the hearts of princes in His hands, that He hath inclined the King to hear
the cries of his suffering subjects for conscience' sake, and we rejoice that he
hath given us so eminent an occasion to present him our thanks." This ad-
dress was presented by Penn in a few well -chosen words, and the King re-
plit d in the following, though brief, yet most expressive, language: " Gentle-
men — I thank you heartily for your address. Some of you know (I am sure
you do Mr. Penn), that it was always my principle, that conscience ought not
to be forced, and that all men ought to have the liberty of their consciences.
And what I have promised in my declaration, I will continue to perform so
long as I live. And I hope, before I die, to settle it so that after ages shall
have r>o reason to alter it."
It would have been supposed that such noble sentiments as these from a
sovereign would have been hailed with delight by the English people. But
they were not. The aristocracy of Britain at this time did not want liberty of
conscience. They wanted nomformity to the established church, and bitter
persecution against all others, as in the reign of Charles, whi.-h filled the
prisons with Quakers. The warm congratulations to James, and fervent prayers
for his welfare, were regarded by them with an evil eye. Bitter reproaches
were heaped upon Penn, who was looked upon as the power behind the throne
that was moving the King to the enforcing of these principles. He was ac-
cused of having been educated at St. Omer's, a Catholic college, a place which
he never saw in his life, of having taken orders as a priest in the Catholic
Church, of having obtained dispensation to marry, and of being not only a
Catholic, but a Jesuit in disguise, all of which were pure fabrications. But in
the excited state of the public mind they were believed, and caused him to be
regarded with bitter hatred. The King, too, fell rapidly into disfavor, and so
completely had the minds of his people become alienated from him, that upon
the coming of the Prince of Orange and his wife Mary, in 1688, James was
obliged to flee to France for safety, and they were received as the rulers of
Britain.
But while the interests of the colony were thus prospering at court, they
were not so cloudless in the new country. There was needed the strong hand
of Penn to check abuses and guide the course of legislation in proper chan-
nels. He had labored to place the government entirely in the hands of the
people — an idea, in the abstract, most attractive, and one which, were the entire
4
64 HISTORY OF PENNSYLVANIA.
population wise and just, would result fortunately: yet, in practice, he found
to his sorrow the results most vexatious. The proprietor had not long been
gone before troubles arose between the two Houses of the Legislature relative
to promulgating the laws as not being in accordance with the requirements of
the charter Nicholas Moore, the Chief Justice, was impeached for irregular-
ities in imposing fines and in other ways abusing his high trust. But though
formally arraigned and directed to desist from exercising his functions, he suc-
cessfully resisted the proceedings, and a final judgment was never obtained.
Patrick Robinson, Clerk of the court, for refusing to produce the records in the
trial of Moore, was voted a public enemy. These troubles in the government
were the occasion of much grief to Penn, who wrote, naming a number of the
most influential men in the colony, and beseeching them to unite in an endeavor
to check further irregularities, declaring that they disgraced the province,
" that their conduct had struck back hundreds, and was £10,000 out of his
way, and £100,000 out of the country."
In the latter part of the year 1686, seeing that the whole Council was too
unwieldy a body to exercise executive power, Penn determined to contract the
number, and accordingly appointed Thomas Lloyd, Nicholas Moore, James
Claypole, Robert Turner and John Eckley, any three of whom should consti-
tute a quorum, to be Commissioners of State to act for the proprietor. In
place of Moore and Claypule, Arthur Cook and John Simcock were appointed.
They were to compel the attendance of the Council; see that the two Houses
admit of no parley; to abrogate oil laws except the fundamentals; to dismiss
the Assembly and call a new one, and finally he solemnly admonishes them,
" Be most just, as in the sight of the all-seeing, all-searching God." In a
letter to these Commissioners, he says: "Three things occur to me eminently:
First, that you be watchful that none abuse the King, etc. ; secondly, that you
get the custom act revived as being the eqnalest and least offensive way to
support the government; thirdly, that you retrieve the dignity of courts and
sessions."
In a letter to James Harrison, his confidential agent at Pennsbury Manor,
he unbosoms himself more freely respecting his employment in London than
in any of his State papers or more public communications, and from it can be
seen how important were his labors with the head of the English nation. " I
am engaged in the public business of the nation and Friends, and those in au-
thority would have me see the establishment of the liberty, that I was a small
instrument to begin in the land. The Lord has given me great entrance and
interest with the King, though not so much as is said; and I confess I should
rejoice to see poor old England fixed, the penal laws repealed, that are now
suspended, and if it goes well with England, it cannot go ill with Pennsyl-
vania, as unkindly used as I am: and no poor slave in Turkey desires more
earnestly, I believe, for deliverance, than I do to be with you." In the sum-
mer of 1687, Penn was in company with the King in a progress through the
counties of Berkshire, Glocestersuire, Worcestershire, Shropshire, Cheshire,
Staffordshire, Warwickshire, Oxfordshire and Hampshire, during which he
held several religious meetings with his people, in some of which the King ap-
pears to have been present, particularly in Chester.
Since the departure of Penn, Thomas Lloyd had acted as President of
the Council, and later of the Commissioners of State. He had been in effect
Governor, and held responsible for the success of the government, while pos-
sessing only one voice in the disposing of affairs. Tiring of this anomalous
position, Lloyd applied to be relieved. It was difficult to find a person of
sufficient ability to fill the place: but Penn decided to relieve him, though
HISTORY OF PENNSYLVANIA. 65
showing his entire confidence by notifying him that he intended soon to ap-
point him absolute Governor. In his place, he indicated Samuel Carpenter,
or if he was unwilling to serve, then Thomas Ellis, but not to be President, his
will being that each should preside a month in turn, or that the oldest mem-
ber should be chosen.
Perm foresaw that the executive power, to be efficient, must be lodged in
the hands of oue man of ability, such as to command the respect of his people.
Those whom he most trusted in the colony had been so mixed up in the wran-
gles of the executive and legislative departments of the government that he
deemed it advisable to appoint a person who had not before been in the col
ony and not a Quaker. He accordingly commissioned John Blackwell, July
27, 1688, to be Lieutenant Governor, who was at this time in New England,
and who had the esteem and confidence of Penn. With the commission, the
proprietor sent full instructions, chiefly by way of caution, the last one being:
" Rule the meek meekly; and those that will not be ruled, rule with authority."
Though Lloyd had been relieved of power, he still remained in the Council,
probably because neither of the persons designated were willing to serve.
Having seen the evils of a many-headed executive, he had recommended the
appointment of one person to exercise executive authority. It was in con
formity with this advice that Blackwell was appointed. He met the Assembly
in March, 1689; but either his conceptions of business were arbitrary and im-
perious, or the Assembly had become accustomed to great latitude and lax
discipline; for the business had not proceeded far before the several branches
of the government were at variance. Lloyd refused to give up the great seal,
alleging that it had been given him for life. The Governor, arbitra-
rily and without warrant of law, imprisoned officers of high rank, denied the
validity of all laws passed by the Assembly previous to his administration, and
set on foot a project for organizing and equipping the militia, under the plea
of threatened hostility of France. The Assembly attempted to arrest his
proceedings, but he shrewdly evaded their intents by organizing a party
among the members, who persistently absented themselves. His reign
was short, for in January, 1690, he left the colony and sailed away for En-
gland, whereupon the government again devolved upon the Council, Thomas
Lloyd, President. Penn had a high estimation of the talents and integrity
of Blackwell, and adds, " He is in England and Ireland of great repute for
ability, integrity and virtue."
Three forms of administering the executive department of the government
had now been tried, by a Council consisting of eighteen members, a commission of
five members, and a Lieutenant Governor. Desirous of leaving the government
as far as possible in the hands of the people who were the sources of all
power, Penn left it to the Council to decide which form should be adopted.
The majority decided for a Deputy Governor. This was opposed by the mem-
bers from the provinces, who preferred a Council, and who, finding themselves
outvoted, decided to withdraw, and determined for themselves to govern the
lower counties until Penn should come. This obstinacy and falling out be-
tween the councilors from the lower counties and those from the province
was the beginning of a controversy which eventuated in a separation, and
finally in the formation of Delaware as a separate commonwealth. A deputa-
tion from the Council was sent to New Castle to induce the seceding members
to return, but without success. They had never regarded with favor the re-
moval of the sittings of the Council from New Castle, the first seat of gov-
ernment, to Philadelphia, and they were now determined to set up a govern-
ment for themselves.
66 HISTORY OF PENNSYLVANIA.
In 1689, the Friends Public School in Philadelphia was first incorporated,
confirmed by a patent from Penn in 1701, and another in 1708, and finarlly,
with greatly enlarged powers, from Penn personally, November 29, 171 1. The
preamble to the charter recites that as "the prosperity and welfare oE any
people depend, in great measure, upon the good education of youth, and their
early introduction in the principles of true religion and virtue, and qualifying
them to serve their country and themselves, by breeding them in reading,
writing, and learning of languages and useful arts and sciences suitable to
their sex, age and degree, which cannot be effected in any manner so well as
by erecting public schools," etc. George Keith was employed as the first mas-
ter of this school. He was a native of Aberdeen, Scotland, a man of learning,
and had emigrated to East Jersey some years previous, where he was Surveyor
General, and had surveyed and marked the line between East and West New
Jersey. He only remained at the head of the school one year, when he was
succeeded by his usher, Thomas Makin. This was a school of considerable
merit and pretension, where the higher mathematics and the ancient lan-
guages were taught, and was the first of this high grade. A school of a pri-
mary grade had been established as early as 1683, in Philadelphia, when
Enoch Flower taught on the following terms: "To learn to read English,
four shillings by the quarter; to write, six shillings by ditto; to read, write and
cast accounts, eight shillings by the quarter; boarding a scholar, that is to
say, diet, lodging, washing and schooling, £10 for one whole year,"' from which
it will be seen that although learning might be highly prized, its cost in
hard cash was not exorbitant.
Penn's favor at court during the reign of James II caused him to be sus-
pected of disloyalty to the government when William and Mary had come to
the throne. Accordingly on the 10th of December, 1688, while walking in
White Hall, he was summoned before the Lords of the Council, and though
nothing was found against him, was compelled to give security for his appear-
ance at the next term, to answer any charge that might be made. At the sec-
ond sitting of the Council nothing having been found against him, he was
cleared in open court'. In 1690, he was again brought before the Lords on
the charge of having been in correspondence with the late King. He ap-
pealed to King William., who, after a hearing of two hours, was disposed to
release him, but the Lords decided to hold him until the Trinity term, when
he was again discharged. A third time he was arraigned, and this time with
eighteen others, charged with adhering to the kingdom's enemies, but was
cleared by order of the King's Bench. Being now at liberty, and these vexa-
tious suits apparently at an end, he set about leading a large party of settlers
to his cherished Pennsylvania. Proposals were published, and the Govern-
ment, regarding the enterprise of; so much importance, had ordered an armed
convoy, when he was again met by another accusation, and now, backed by
the false oath of one William Fuller, whom the Parliament subsequently de-
clared a "cheat and an imposter." Seeing that he must prepare again for his
defense, he abandoned his voyage to America, after having made expensive
preparations, and convinced that his enemies were determined to prevent his
attention to public or privato affairs, whether in England or America, he with-
drew himself during the ensuing two or three years from the public eye.
But though not participating in business, which was calling loudly for his
attention, his mind was busy, and several important treatises upon religious
and civil matters were produced that had great influence upon the turn of
public affairs, which would never have been written but for this forced retire-
ment. In his address to the yearly meeting of Friends in London, he says:
HISTORY OF PENNSYLVANIA. Qj
" My enemies are yours. My privacy is not because men have sworn truly,
but falsely against me. "
His personal grievances in England were the least which he suffered. For
lack of guiding influence, bitter dissensions had sprung up in his colony,
which threatened the loss of all. Desiring to secure peace, he had commis-
sioned Thomas Lloyd Deputy Governor of the province, and William Mark-
ham Deputy Governor of tbe lower counties. Penn's grief on account of this
division is disclosed in a letter to a friend in the province: "I Jeft it to them,
to choose either the government of the Council, five Commissioners- or a deputy.
What could be tenderer? Now I perceive Thomas Lloyd is chosen by the
three upper, but not the three lower counties, and sits down with this broken
choice. This has grieved and wounded me and mine, I fear to the hazard of
a U I * * * for else the Governor of New York is like to have all, if he
has it not already."
But the troubles of Penn in America were not confined to civil affairs'
His religious society was torn with dissension. George Keith, a man of con-
siderable power in argumentation, but of overweaning self -conceit, attacked the
Friends for the laxity of their discipline, and drew off some followers. So
venomous did he become that on the 20th of April, 1692, a testimony of de-
nial was drawn up against him at a meeting of ministers, wherein he and his
conduct were publicly disowned. This was confirmed at the next yearly meet-
ing. He drew off large numbers and set up an independent society, who
termed themselves Christian Quakers. Keith appealed from this action of the
American Church to the yearly meeting in London, but was so intemperate in
speech that the action of the American Church was confirmed. Whereupon
he became the bitter enemy of the Quakers, and, uniting with the Church of
England, was ordained a Vicar by the Bishop of London. He afterward re-
turned to America where he wrote against his former associates, but was final-
ly fixed in a benefice in Sussex, England. On his death bed, he said, " I wish
I had died when I was a Quaker, for then I am sure it would have been well
with my soul."
But Keith had not been satisfied with attacking the principles and prac-
tices of his church. He mercilessly lampooned the Lieutenant Governor, say-
ing that :j He was not fit to be a Governor, and his name would stink," and of
the Council, that "He hoped to God he should shortly see their power taken
from them." On another occasion, he said of Thomas Lloyd, who was reputed
a mild-tempered man, and had befriended Keith, that he was " an impu-
dent man and a pitiful Governor,'' and asked him "why he did not send him
to jail," saying that "his back (Keith's) had long itched for a whipping, and
that he would print and expose them all over America, if not over Europe. "
So abusive had he finally become that the Council was obliged to take notice
of his conduct and to warn him to desist.
Penn, as has been shown, was silenced and thrown into retirement in En-
gland. It can be readily seen what an excellent opportunity these troubles
in America, the separation in the government, and the schism in the church,
gave his enemies to attack him. They represented that he had neglected his
colony by remaining in England and meddling with matters in which he had
no business-, that the colony in consequence had fallen into great disorder,
and that ho should be deprived of his proprietary rights. These complaints
had so much weight with William and Mary, that, on the 21st of October, 1692,
they commissioned Benjamin Fletcher, Governor of New York, to take the
province and territories under his government. There was another motive
operating at this time, more potent than those mentioned above, to induce the
68 HISTORY OF PENNSYLVANIA.
King and Queen to put the government of Pennsylvania under the Governor
of New York. The French and Indians from the north were threatening the
English. Already the expense for defense had become burdensome to New
York. It was believed that to ask aid for the common defense from Penn,
with his peace principles, would be fruitless, but that through the influence of
Gov. Fletcher, as executive, an appropriation might be secured.
Upon receiving his commission, Gov. Fletcher sent a note, dated April 19,
1693, to Deputy Gov. Lloyd, informing him of the grant of the royal commis-
sion and of his intention to visit the colony and assume authority on the 29th
inst. He accordingly came with great pomp and splendor, attended by a
numerous retinue, and soon after his arrival, submission to him having been
accorded without question, summoned the Assembly. Some differences having
arisen between the Governor and tbe Assembly about the manner of calling and
electing the Representatives, certain members united in an address to the Gov-
ernor, claiming that the constitution and laws were still in full force and
must be administered until altered or repealed; that; Pennsylvania had just as
good a right to be governed according to the usages of Pennsylvania as New
York had to be governed according to the usages of that province. The Leg-
islature being finally organized, Gov. Fletcher presented a letter from the
Queen, setting forth that the expense for the preservation and defense of Albany
against the French was intolerable to the inhabitants there, and that as this
was a frontier to other colonies, it was thought but just that they should help
bear the burden. The Legislature, in firm but respectful terms, maintained
that the constitution and laws enacted under them were in full force, and
when he, having flatly denied this, attempted to intimidate them by the threat
of annexing Pennsylvania to New York, they mildly but firmly requested that
if the Governor had objections to the bill which they had passed and would
communicate them, they would try to remove them. The business was now
amicably adjusted, and he in compliance with their wish dissolved the Assembly,
and after appointing William Markham Lieutenant Governor, departed to his
government in New York, doubtless well satisfied that a Quaker, though usu-
ally mild mannered, is not easily frightened or coerced.
Gov. Fletcher met the Assembly again in March, 1694, and during this
session, having apparently failed in his previous endeavors to induce the Assem-
bly to vote money for the common defense, sent a communication setting forth
the dangers to be apprehended from the French and Indians, and concluding in
these words : "That he considered their principles ; that they could not carry arms
nor levy money to make war, though for their own defense, yet he hoped that
they would not refuse to feed the hungry and clothe the naked; that was to
supply the Indian nations with such necessaries as may influence their contin-
ued friendship to their provinces." But notwithstanding the adroit sugar-
coating of the pill, it was not acceptable and no money was voted. This and a
brief session in September closed the Governorship of Pennsylvania by
Fletcher. It would appear from a letter written by Penn, after hearing of
the neglect of the Legislature to vote money for the purpose indicated, that
he took an entirely different view of the subject from that which was antici-
pated; for he blamed the colony for refusing to send money to New York for
what he calls the common defense.
Through the kind offices of Lords Rochester, Raoelagh, Sidney and Somers,
the Duke of Buckingham and Sir John Trenchard, the king was asked to
h^ar the case of William Penn, against whom no charge was proven, and who
would two years before have gone to his colony had he not supposed that he
would have been thought to go in defiance of the government. King William
HISTORY OF PENNSYLVANIA. 69
answered that William Penn was his old acquaintance as well as theirs, that
he might follow his business as freely as ever, and that he had nothing to say
to him. Penn was accordingly reinstated in his government by letters patent
dated on the 20th of August, 1694, whereupon he commissioned William Mark-
ham Lieutenant Governor.
When Markham called the Assembly, he disregarded the provisions of the
charter, assuming that the removal of Penn had annulled the grant. The
Assembly made no objection to this action, as there were provisions in the old
charter that they desired to have changed. Accordingly, when the appropria-
tion bill was considered, a new constitution was attached to it and passed.
This was approved by Markham and became the organic law, the third consti-
tution adopted under the charter of King Charles. By the provisions of this
instrument, the Council was composed of twelve members, and the Assembly
of twenty-four. During the war between France and England, the ocean
swarmed with the privateers of the former. When peace was declared, many of
these crafts, which had richly profited by privateering, were disposed to con-
tinue their irregular practices, which was now piracy. Judging that the peace
principles of the Quakers would shield them from forcible seizure, they were
accustomed to run into the Delaware for safe harbor. Complaints coming
of the depredations of these parties, a proclamation was issued calling oa
magistrates and citizens to unite in breaking up practices so damaging to the
good name of the colony. It was charged in England that evil-disposed per-
sons in the province were privy to these practices, if not parties to it, and that
the failure of the Government to break it up was a proof of its inefficiency,
and of a radical defect of the principles on which it was based. Penn was
much exercised by these charges, and in his letters to the Lieutenant Governor
and to his friends in the Assembly, urged ceaseless vigilance to effect reform.
CHAPTER TLTL
William Penn, 1699-1701— Andrew Hamilton, 1701-3— Edward Shippen
1703-4— John Evans, 1704-9— Charles Gookin, 1709-17.
BEING free from harassing persecutions, and in favor at court, Penn de-
termined to remove with his family to Pennsylvania, and now with the ex-
pectation of living and dying h«re. Accordingly, in July, 1699, he set sail,
and, on account of adverse winds, was three months tossed about upon the
ocean. Just before his arrival in his colony, the yellow fever raged there with
great virulence, having been brought thither from the West Indies, but had
been checked by the biting frosts of autumn, and had now disappeared. An
observant traveler, who witnessed the effects of this scourge, writes thus of it
in his journal: " Great was the majesty and hand of the Lord. Great was
the fear that fell upon all flesh. I saw no lofty nor airy countenance, nor
heard any vain jesting to move men to laughter, nor witty repartee to raise
mirth, nor extravagant feasting to excite the lusts and desires of the flesh
above measure; but every face gathered paleness, and many hearts were hum-
bled, and countenances fallen and sunk, as such that waited every moment to
be summoned to the bar and numbered to the grave. "
Great joy was everywhere manifested throughout the province at the arriv-
70 HISTORY OF PENNSYLVANIA.
al of the proprietor and his family, fondly believing that he had now come to
stay. He met the Assembly soon after landing, but, it being an inclement
season, he only detained them long enough to pass two measures aimed against
piracy and illicit trade, exaggerated reports of which, having been spread
broadcast through the kingdom, had caused him great uneasiness and vexation.
At the first monthly meeting of Friends in 1700, he laid before them his
concern, which was for the welfare of Indians and Negroes, and steps were
taken to instruct them and provide stated meetings for them where they could
hear the "Word. It is more than probable that he had fears from the first that
his enemies in England would interfere in his affairs to such a degree as to re-
quire his early return, though he had declared to his friends there that he
never expected to meet them again. His greatest solicitude, consequently,
was to give a charter to his colony, and also one to his city, the very best that
human ingenuity could devise. An experience of now nearly twenty years
would be likely to develop the weaknesses and impracticable provisions of the
first constitutions, so that a frame now drawn with all the light of the past,
and by the aid and suggestion of the men who had been employed in admin-
istering it, would be likely to be enduring, and though he might be called
hence, or be removed by death, their work would live on from generation to
generation and age to age, and exert a benign and preserving influence while
the State should exist.
In February, 1701, Penn met the most renowned and powerful of the In-
dian chief tains, reaching out to the Potomac, the Susquehanna and to the Ononda-
goes of the Five Nations, some forty in number, at Philadelphia, where he
renewed with them pledges of peace and entered into a formal treaty of active
friendship, binding them to disclose any hostile intent, confirm sale of lands,
be governed by colonial law, all of which was confirmed on the part of the In-
dians "by five parcels of skins;" and on the part of Penn by "several English
goods and merchandises."
Several sessions of the Legislature were held in which great harmony pre-
vailed, and much attention was giving to revising and recomposing the consti-
tution. But in the midst of their labors for the improvement of the organic
law, intelligence was brought to Penn that a bill had been introduced in the
House of Lords for reducing all the proprietary governments in America to
regal ones, under pretence of advancing the prerogative of the crown, and
the national advantage. Such of the owners of land in Pennsylvania as hap-
pened to be in England, remonstrated against action upon the bill until Penn
could return and be heard, and wrote to him urging his immediate coming
hither. Though much to his disappointment and sorrow, he determined to
go immediately thither. He promptly called a session of the Assembly, and
in his message to the two Houses said, "I cannot think of such a voyage
without great reluctancy of mind, having promised myself the quietness of a
wilderness. For my heart is among you, and no disappointment shall ever be
able to alter my love to the country, and resolution to return, and settle my
family and posterity in it. * * Think therefore (since all men are mortal),
of some suitable expedient and provision for your safety as well in your privi-
leges as property. Review again your laws, propose new ones, and you will
find me ready to comply with whatsoever may render us happy, by a nearer
union of our interests." The Assembly returned a suitable response, and then
proceeded to draw up twenty-one articles. The first related to ttie appoint-
ment of a Lieutenant Governor. Penn proposed that the Assembly should
choose one. But this they declined, preferring that he should appoint one.
Little trouble was experienced in settling everything broached, except the
HISTORY OF PENNSYLVANIA. 71
union of the province and lower counties. Penn used his best endeavors to
reconcile them to the union, but without avail. The new constitution was
adopted on the 28th of October, 1701. The instrument provided for the
union, but in a supplementary article, evidently granted with great reluctance,
it was provided that the province and the territories might be separated at any
time within three years. As his last act before leaving, he presented the city
of Philadelphia, now grown to be a considerable place, and always an object
of his affectionate regard, with a charter of privileges. As his Deputy, ho ap-
pointed Andrew Hamilton, one of the proprietors of East New Jersey, and
sometime Governor of both East and AY est Jersey, and for Secretary of the
province and Clerk of the Council, he selected James Logau, a man of sin-
gular urbanity and strength of mind, and withal a scholar.
Penn set sail for Europe on the 1st of November, 1701. Soon after his
arrival, on the 18th of January, 1702, King William died, and Anne of Den-
mark succeeded him. He now found himsolf in favor at court, and that he
might be convenient to the royal residence, he again took lodgings, at Kensing-
ton. The bill which had been pending before Parliament, that had given him
so much uneasiness, was at the succeeding session dropped entirely, and was
never again called up. During his leisure hours, be now busied himself in
writing "several useful and excellent treatises on divers subjects."
Gov. Hamilton's administration continued only till December, 1702, when
he died. He was earnest in his endeavors to induce the territories to unite
with the province, they having as yet not accepted the new charter, alleging
that they had three years in which to make their decision, but without success.
He also organized a military force, of which George Lowther was commander,
for the safety of the colony.
The executive authority now devolved upon the Council, of which Edward
Shippen was President. Conflict of authority, and contention over the due in-
terpretation of some provisions of the new charter, prevented the accomplish-
ment of much, by way of legislation, in the Assembly which convened in 1703;
though in this body it was finally determined that the lower counties should
thereafter act separately in a legislative capacity. This separation proved
final, the two bodies never again meeting in common.
Though the bill to govern the American Colonies by regal authority failed,
yet the clamor of those opposed to the proprietary Governors was so strong
that an act was finally passed requiring the selection of deputies to have the
royal assent. Hence, in choosing a successor to Hamilton, he was obliged to
consider the Queen's wishes. John Evans, a man of parts, of Welsh extrac-
tion, only twenty-six years old, a member of the Queen's household, and not a
Quaker, nor even of exemplary morals, was appointed, who arrived in the col-
ony in December, 1703. He was accompanied by William Penn, Jr., who was
elected a member of the Council, the number having been increased by author-
ity of the Governor, probably with a view to his election.
The first care of Evans was to unite the province and lower counties,
though the final separation had been agreed to. He presented the matter so
well that the lower counties, from which the difficulty had always come, were
willing to return to a firm union. But now the provincial Assembly, having
become impatient of the obstacles thrown in the way of legislation by the dele-
gates from these counties, was unwilling to receive them. They henceforward
remained separate in a legislative capacity, though still a part of Pennsylvania,
under the claim of Penn, and ruled by the same Governor, and thus they con-
tinued until the 20th of September, 1776, when a constitution was adopted,
and they were proclaimed a separate State under the name of Delaware,
72 HISTORY OF PENNSYLVANIA.
During two years of the government of Evans, there was ceaseless discord be-
tween the Council, headed by the Governor and Secretary Logan on the one
side, and the Assembly led by David Lloyd, its Speaker, on the other, and
little legislation was effected.
Realizing the defenseless condition of the colony, Evans determined to
organize the militia, and accordingly issued his proclamation. "In obedience
to her Majesty's royal command, and to the end that the inhabitants of this
government may be in a posture of defense and readiness to withstand and
repel all acts of hostility, I do hereby strictly command and require all per-
sons residing in this government, whose persuasions will, on any account, per-
mit them to take up arms in their own defense, that forthwith they do pro-
vide themselves with a good firelock and ammunition, in order to enlist them-
selves in the militia, which I am now settling in this government. " The Gov-
ernor evidently issued this proclamation in good faith, and with a pure pur-
pose. The French and Indians had assumed a threatening aspect upon the north,
and while the other colonies had assisted New York liberally, Pennsylvania had
done little or nothing for the common defense. But his call fell stillborn.
The " fire-locks" were not brought out, and none enlisted.
Disappointed at this lack of spirit, and embittered by the factious temper of
the Assembly, Evans, who seems not to have had faith in the religious prin-
ciples of the Quakers, and to have entirely mistook the nature of their Christian
zeal, formed a wild scheme to test their steadfastness under the pressure of
threatened danger. In conjunction with his gay associates in revel, he agreed
to have a false alarm spread of the approach of a hostile force in the river,
whereupon he was to raise the alarm in the city. Accordingly, on the day of
the fair in Philadelphia, 16th of March, 1706, a messenger came, post haste
from New Castle, bringing the startling intelligence that an armed fleet of the
enemy was already in the river, and making their way rapidly toward the city.
Whereupon Evans acted his part to a nicety. He sent emissaries through the
town proclaiming the dread tale, while he mounted his horse, and in an ex-
cited manner, and with a drawn sword, rode through the streets, calling upon all
good men and true to rush to arms for the defense of their homes, their wives
and children, and all they held dear. The rase whs so well played that it
had an immense effect. " The suddenness of the surprise,'" says Proud, " with
the noise of precipitation consequent thereon, threw many of the people into
very great fright and consternation, insomuch that it is said some threw their
plate and most valuable effects down their wells and little houses; that others
hid themselves, in the best manner they could, while many retired further up
the river, with what they could most readily carry off; so that some of the
creeks seemed full of boats and small craft; those of a larger size running as
far as Burlington, and some higher up the river; several women are said to
have miscarried by the fright and terror into which they were thrown, and
much mischief ensued."
The more thoughtful of the people are said to have understood the
deceit from the first, and labored to allay the excitement; but the seeming
earnestness of the Governor and the zeal of his emissaries so worked upon the
more inconsiderate of the population that the consternation and commotion
was almost past belief. In an almanac published at Philadelphia for the next
year opposite this date was this distich:
"Wise men wonder. good men grieve,
Knaves invent find tools believe."
Though this ruse was played upon all classes alike, yet it was generally
believed to have been aimed chiefly at the Quakers, to trv the force of their
HISTORY OF PENNSYLVANIA. 73
principles, and see if they would not rush to arms when danger should really
appear. But in this the Governor was disappointed. For it is said that only
four out of the entire population of this religious creed showed any disposition
to falsify their faith. It was the day of their weekly meeting, and regardless
of the dismay and consternation which were everywhere manifest about them,
they assembled in their accustomed places of worship, and engaged in their
devotions as though nothing unusual was transpiring without, manifesting
such unshaken faith, as Whittier has exemplified in verse by his Abraham
Davenport, on the occasion of the Dark Day :
Meanwhile in the old State House, dim as ghosts,
Sat the law-givers of Connecticut,
Trembling beneath their legislative robes.
It is the Lord's a;reat day! Let us adjourn,'
Some said; and then, as with one accord,
All eyes were turned on Abraham Davenport.
He rose, slow, cleaving with his steady voice
The intolerable hush. ' This well may be
The Day of Judgment which the world awaits;
But be it so or not, I only know
My present duty, and my Lord's command
To occupy till He come. So at the post.
Where He hath set me in His Providence,
I choose, for one, to meet Him face to face.
No faithless servant frightened from my task,
But ready when the Lord of the harvest calls;
And therefore, with all reverence, I would say,
Let God do His work, we will see to ours.
Bring in the candles.' And thej r brought them in."
In conjunction with the Legislature of the lower counties, Evans was in-
strumental in having a law passed for the imposition of a tax on the tonnage
of the river, and the erection of a fort near the town of New Castle for com-
pelling obedience. This was in direct violation of the fundamental compact,
and vexatious to commerce. It was at length forcibly resisted, and its impo-
sition abandoned. His administration was anything but efficient or peaceful,
a series of contentions, of charges and counter-charges having been kept up
between the leaders of the two factions, Lloyd and Logan, which he was pow-
erless to properly direct or control. " He was relieved in 1709. Possessed of
a good degree of learning and refinement, and accustomed to the gay society
of the British metropolis, he found in the grave and serious habits of the
Friends a type of life and character which he failed to comprehend, and with
which he could, consequently, have little sympathy. How widely he mistook
the Quaker character is seen in the result of his wild and hair- brained experi-
ment to test their faith. His general tenor of life seems to have been of a
piece with this. Watson says: 'The Indians of Connestoga complained of
him when there as misbehaving to their women, and that, in 1709, Solomon
Cresson, going his rounds at night, entered a tavern to suppress a riotous as-
sembly, and found there John Evans, Esq. , the Governor, who fell to beat-
ing Cresson.' "
The youth and levity of Gov. Evans induced the proprietor to seek for a
successor of a more sober and sedate character. He had thought of proposing
his son, but finally settled upon Col. Charles Gookin, who was reputed to be a
man of wisdom and prudence, though as was afterward learned, to the sorrow
of the colony, he was subject to fits of derangement, which toward the close of
his term were exhibited in the most extravagant acts. He had scarcely ar-
rived in the colony before charges were preferred against the late Governor,
and he was asked to institute criminal proceedings, which he declined. This
74 HISTORY OF PENNSYLVANIA.
was the occasion of a renewal of contentions between the Governor and his
Council and the Assembly, which continued during the greater pare of his ad-
ministration. In the midst of them, Logan, who was at the head of the Coun-
cil, having demanded a trial of the charges against him, and failed to secure
one, sailed for Europe, where he presented the difficulties experienced in ad-
ministering the government so strongly, that Penn was seriously inclined to
sell his interest in the colony. He had already greatly crippled his estate by
expenses he had incurred in making costly presents to the natives, and in set-
tling his colony, for which he had received small return. In the year 1707,
he had become involved in a suit in chancery with the executors of his former
steward, in the course of which he was confined in the Old Baily during this
and a part of the following year, when he was obliged to mortgage his colony
in the sum of £6,600 to relieve himself. Foreseeing the great consequence
it would be to the crown to buy the rights of the proprietors of the several
English colonies in America before they would grow too powerful, negotia-
tions had been entered into early in the reign of William and Mary for their
purchase, especially the ''fine province of Mr. Penn." Borne down by these
troubles, and by debts and litigations at home, Penn seriously entertained the
proposition to sell in 1712, and offered it for £20,000. The sum of £12,000
was offered on the part of the crown, which was agreed upon, but before the
necessary papers were executed, he was stricken down with apoplexy, by which
he was incapacitated for transacting any business, and a stay was put to fur-
ther proceedings until the Queen should order an act of Parliament for con-
summating the purchase.
It is a mournful spectacle to behold the great mind and the great heart of
Penn reduced now in his declining years, by the troubles of government and
by debts incurred in the bettering of his colony, to this enfeebled condition.
He was at the moment writing to Logan on public affairs, when his hand was
suddenly seized by lethargy in the beginning of a sentence, which he never
finished. His mind was touched by the disease, which he never recovered,
and after lingering for six years, he died on the 30th of May, 1718, in the
seventy- fourth year of his age. With great power of intellect, and a religious
devotion scarcely matched in all Christendom, he gave himself to the welfare
of mankind, by securing civil and religious liberty through the operations of
organic law. Though not a lawyer by profession, he drew frames of govern-
ment and bodies of laws which have been the admiration of succeeding gener*
ations, and are destined to exert a benign influence in all future time, and by
his discussions with Lord Baltimore and before the Lords in Council, he
showed himself familiar with the abstruse principles of law. Though but a
private person and of a despised sect, he was received as the friend and confi-
dential advisee of the ruling sovereigns of England, and some of the princi-
ples which give luster to British law were engrafted there through the influ-
ence of the powerful intellect and benignant heart of Penn. He sought to
know no philosophy but that promulgated by Christ and His disciples, and
this he had sounded to its depths, and in it were anchored his ideas of public
law and private and social living. The untamed savage of the forest bowed in
meek and loving simplicity to his mild and resistless sway, and the members
of the Society of Friends all over Europe flocked to his City of Brotherly Love.
His prayers for the welfare of his people are the beginning and ending of all
his public and private correspondence, and who will say that they'have not
been answered in the blessings which have attended the commonwealth of his
founding? And will not the day of its greatness be when the inhabitants
throughout all its borders shall return to the peaceful and loving spirit of
HISTORY OF PENNSYLVANIA. 75
Penn? In the midst of a licentious court, and with every prospect of advance-
ment in its sunshine and favor, inheriting a great name and an independent
patrimony, he turned aside from this brilliant track to make common lot with
a poor sect under the ban of Government; endured stripes and imprisonment
and loss of property; banished himself to the wilds of the American continent
that he might secure to his people those devotions which seemed to them re-
quired by their Maker, and has won for himself a name by the simple deeds of
love and humble obedience to Christian mandates which shall never perish.
Many have won renown by deeds of blood, but fadeless glory has come to
William Penn by charity.
CHAPTER IX.
Sir William Keith, 1717-2 >— Patrick Gordon, 1726-36— James Logan, 1736-38
—George Thomas, 1738-47— Anthony Palmer, 1747-48— James Hamilton,
1748-54.
IN 1712, Penn had made a will, by which he devised to his only surviving
son, William, by his first marriage, all his estates in England, amounting
to some twenty thousand pounds. By his first wife, Gulielma Maria Springett,
he had issue of three sons — William, Springett and William, and four daugh-
ters — Gulielma, Margaret, Gulielma and Letitia; and by his second wif§,
Hannah Callowhill, of four sons — John, Thomas, Richard and Dennis. To
his wife Hannah, who survived him, and whom he made the sole executrix of
his will, he gave, for the equal benefit of herself and her children, all his
personal estate in Pennsylvania and elsewhere, after paying all debts, and
alloting ten thousand acres of land in the Province to his daughter Letitia, by
his first marriage, and each of the three children of his son William.
Doubts having arisen as to the force of the provisions of this will, it was
finally determined to institute a suit in chancery for its determination. Before
a decision was reached, in March, 1720, William Penn, Jr., died, and while
still pending, his son Springett died also. During the long pendency of this
litigation for nine vears, Hannah Penn, as executrix of the will, assumed the
proprietary powers, issued instructions to her Lieutenant Governors, heard
complaints and settled difficulties with the skill and the assurance of a veteran
diplomatist. In 1727, a decision was reached that, upon the death of William
Penn, Jr., and his son Springett, the proprietary rights in Pennsylvania de
scended to the three surviving sons — John, Thomas and Richard — issue by the
second marriage; and that the proprietors bargain to sell his province to the
crown for twelve thousand pounds, made in 1712, and on which one thousand
pounds had been paid at the confirmation of the sale, was void. Whereupon
the three sons became the joint proprietors.
A year before the death of Penn, the lunacy of Gov. Gookin having be-
come troublesome, he was succeeded in the Government by Sir William Keith,
a Scotchman who had served as Surveyor of Customs to the English Govern
ment, in which capacity he had visited Pennsylvania previously, and knew
something of its condition. He was a man of dignified and commanding
bearing, endowed with cunning, of an accommdating policy, full of faithful
promises, and usually found upon the stronger side. Hence, upon his
arrival in the colony, he did not summon the Assembly immediately,
76 HISTORY OF PENNSYLVANIA.
assigning as a reason in his first message that he did not wish to inconvenience
the country members by calling them in harvest time. The disposition thus
manifested to favor the people, and his advocacy of popular rights on several
occasions in opposition to the claims of the proprietor, gave great satisfaction
to the popular branch of the Legislature which manifested its appreciation of
his conduct by voting him liberal salaries, which had often been withheld from
his less accommodating predecessors. By his artful and insinuating policy,
he induced the Assembly to pass two acts which had previously met with un-
compromising opposition — one to establish a Court of Equity, with himself as-
Chancellor, the want of which had been seriously felt; and another, for organ-
izing the militia. Though the soil was fruitful and produce was plentiful,
yet, for lack of good markets, and on account of the meagerness of the cir-
culating medium, prices were very low, the toil and sweat of the husbandman
being little rewarded, and the taxes and payments on land were met with great
difficulty. Accordingly, arrangements were made for the appointment of in-
spectors of provisions, who, from a conscientious discharge of duty, soon
caused the Pennsylvania brands of best products to be much sought for, and
to command ready sale at highest prices in the West Indies, whither most of
the surplus produce was exported. A provision was also made for the issue of
a limited amount of paper money, on the establishment of ample securities,
which tended to raise the value of the products of the soil and of manufact-
ures, and encourage industry.
By the repeated notices of the Governors in their messages to the Legis-
lature previous to this time, it is evident that Indian hostilities had for some-
time been threatened. The Potomac was the dividing line between the
Northern and Southern Indians. But the young men on either side, when out
in pursuit of game, often crossed the line of the river into the territory of the
other, when fierce altercations ensued. This trouble had become so
violent in 1719 as to threaten a great Indian war, in which the pow-
erful confederation, known as the Five Nations, would take a hand.
To avert this danger, which it was foreseen would inevitably involve
the defenseless familes upon the frontier, and perhaps the entire colony,
Gov. Keith determined to use his best exertions. He accordingly made
a toilsome journey in the spring of 1721 to confer with the Governor of
Virginia and endeavor to employ by concert of action such means as would
allay further cause of contention. His policy was well devised, and enlisted
the favor of the Governor. Soon after his return, he summoned a council of
Indian Chieftains to meet him at Conestoga, a point about seventy miles west
of Philadelphia. He went in considerable pomp, attended by some seventy
or eighty horsemen, gaily caparisoned, and many of them armed, arriving
about noon, on the 4th of July, not then a day of more note than other days.
He went immediately to Capt. Civility's cabin, where were assembled four
deputies of the Five Nations and representatives of other tribes. The Gov-
ernor said that he had come a long distance from home to see and speak to
representatives of the Five Nations, who had never met the Governor of Penn-
sylvania. They said in reply that they had heard much of the Governor, and
would have come sooner to pay him their respects, but that the wild conduct of
some of their young men had made them ashamed to show their faces. In the
formal meeting in the morning, Ghesaont, chief of the Senecas, spoke for all
the Five Nations. He said that they now felt that they were speaking to the
same effect that they would were William Penn before them, that they had not
forgotten Penn, nor the treaties made with him, and the good advice he gave
them; that though they could not write as do the English, yet they could keep
HISTORY OF PENNSYLVANIA. 77
all these transactions fresh in their memories. After laying down a belt of
wampum upon the table as if by way of emphasis, he began again, declaring
that "all their disorders arose from the use of rum and strong spirits, which
took away their sense and memory, that they had no such liquors," and desired
that no more be sent among them. Here he produced a bundle of dressed
skins, by which he would say, "you see how much in earnest we are upon this
matter of furnishing fiery liquors to us." Then he proceeds, declaring that
the Five Nations remember all their ancient treaties, and they now desire that
the chain of friendship may be made so strong that none of the links may
ever be broken. This may have been a hint that they wanted high-piled
and valuable presents; for the Quakers had made a reputation of brightening
and strengthening the chain of friendship by valuable presents which had
reached so far away as the Five Nations. He then produces a bundle of raw
skins, and observes "that a chain may contract rust with laying and become
weaker; wherefore, he desires it may now be so well cleaned as to remain
brighter and stronger than ever it was before." Here he presents another par-
cel of skins, and continues, " that as in the firmament, all clouds and dark-
ness are removed from the face of the sun, so they desire that all misunder-
standings may be fully done away, so that when they, who are now here, shall
be dead aDd gone, their whole people, with their children and posterity, may en-
joy the clear sunshine with us forever." Presenting another bundle of skins,
he says, "that, locking upon the Governor as if William Penn were present,
they desire, that, in case any disorders should hereafter happen between their
young people and ours, we would not be too hasty in resenting any such acci-
dent, until their Council and ours can have some opportunity to treat amicably
upon it, and so to adjust all matters, as that the friendship between us may
still be inviolably preserved." Here he produces a small parcel of dressed
skins, and concludes by saying " that we may now be together as one people,
treating one another's children kindly and affectionately, that they are fully
empowered to speak for the Five Nations, and they look upon the Governor as
the representative of the Great King of England, and therefore they expect
that everything now stipulated will be made absolutely firm and good on both
sides." And now he presents a different style of present and pulls out a
bundle of bear skins, and proceeds to put in an item of complaint, that " they
get too little for their skins and furs, so that they cannot live by hunting ;
they desire us, therefore, to take compassion on them, and contrive some way
to help them in that particular. Then producing a few furs, he speaks only
for himself, "to acquaint the Governor, that the Five Nations having heard
that the Governor of Virginia wanted to speak with them, he himself, with
some of his company intended to proceed to Virginia, but do not know the
way how to get safe thither."
To this formal and adroitly conceived speech of the Seneca chief, Gov.
Keith, after having brought in the present of stroud match coats, gunpowder,
lead, biscuit, pipes and tobacco, adjourned the council till the following day,
when, being assembled at Conestoga, he answered at length the items of the
chieftain's speech. His most earnest appeal, however, was made in favor of
peace. " I nave persuaded all my [Indian] brethren, in these parts, to con-
sider what is for their good, and not to go out any more to war ; but your
young men [Five Nations] as they come this way, endeavor to force them ;
and, because they incline to the counsels of peace, and ihe good advice of their
true friends, your people use them ill, and often prevail with them to go out
to their own destruction. Thus it was that their town of Conestoga lost their
good king not long ago. Their young children are left vvithout parents ;
78 HISTORY OF PENNSYLVANIA.
their wives without husbands ; the old men, contrary to the course of nature,
mourn the death of their young ; the people decay and grow weak ; we lose
our dear friends and are afflicted. Surely you cannot propose to get either
riches, or possessions, by going thus out to war ; for when you kill a deer, you
have the flesh to eat, and the skin to sell ; but when you return from war, you
bring nothing home, but the scalp of a dead man, who perhaps was husband
to a kind wife, and father to tender children, who never wronged you, though,
by losing him, you have robbed them of their help and protection, and at the
same time got nothing by it. If I were not your friend, I would not take the
trouble to say all these things to you." When the Governor had concluded
his address, he called the Senaca chieftain (Ghesaont) to him, and presented a
gold coronation medal of King George I, which he requested should be taken
to the monarch of the Five Nations, " Kannygooah," to be laid up and kept as
a token to our children's children, that an entire and lasting friendship is now
established forever betwean the English in this country and the great Five
Nations." Upon the return of the Governor, he was met at the upper ferry of
the Schuylkill, by the Mayor and Aldermen of the city, with about two hun-
dred horse, and conducted through the streets after the manner of a conqueror
of old returning from the scenes of his triumphs.
Gov. Keith gave diligent study to the subject of finance, regulating the
currency in such a way that the planter should have it in his power to dis-
charge promptly his indebtedness to the merchant, that their mutual interests
might thus be subserved. He even proposed to establish a considerable settle-
ment on his own account in the colony, in order to carry on manufactures, and
thus consume the grain, of which there was at this time abundance, and no
profitable market abroad.
In the spring of 1722, an Indian was barbaromsly murdered within the
limits of the colony, which gave the Governor great concern. After having
cautioned red men so strongly about keeping the peace, he felt that the honor
of himself and all his people was compromised by this vile act. He immedi-
ately commissioned James Logan and John French to go to the scene of the
iQurder above Conestoga, and inquire into the facts of the case, quickly appre-
hended the supposed murderers, sent a fast Indian runner (Satcheecho), to
acquaint the Five Nations with his sorrow for the act, and of his determination
to bring the guilty parties to justice, and himself set out with three of his
Council (Hill, Norris and Hamilton), for Albany, where he had been invited
by the Indians for a conference with the Governors of all the colonies, and
where he met the chiefs of the Five Nations, and treated with them upon the
subject of the murder, besides making presents to the Indians. It was on this
occasion that the grand sachem of this great confederacy made that noble,
and generous, and touching response, so different from the spirit of revenge
generally attributed to the Indian character. It is a notable example of love
that begets love, and of the mild answer that turneth away wrath. He said :
" The great king of the Five Nations is sorry for the death of the Indian
that was killed, for he was of his own flesh and blood. He believes that the
Governor is also sorry ; but, now that it is done, there is no help for it, and
he desires that Cartlidge [the murderer] may not be put to death, nor that he
should be spared for a time, and afterward executed ; one life is enough to be
lost ; there should not two die. The King's heart is good to the Governor and
all the English."
Though Gov. Keith, during the early part of his term, pursued a pacific
policy, yet the interminable quarrels which had been kept up between the As-
sembly and Council during previous administrations, at length broke out with
_ , g, â– trgw â– ''â– â–
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HISTORY OF PENNSYLVANIA. 81
more virulence than ever, and he who in the first flush of power had declared
"That he should pass no laws, nor transact anything of moment relating to
the public affairs without the advice and approbation of the Council," took it
upon himself finally to act independently of the Council, and even went so
far as to dismiss the able and trusted representative of the proprietary inter-
ests, James Logan, President of the Council and Secretary of the Province,
from the duties of his high office, and even refused the request of Hannah
Penn, the real Governor of the province, to re-instate him. This unwarranta-
ble conduct cost him his dismissal from office in July, 1726. Why he should
have assumed so headstrong and unwarrantable a course, who had promised at
the first so mild and considerate a policy, it is difficult to understand, unless it
be the fact that he found that the Council was blocking, by its obstinacy,
wholesome legislation, which he considered of vital importance to the pros-
perity of the colony, and if, as he alleges, he found that the new constitution
only gave the Council advisory and not a voice in executive power.
The administration of Gov. Keith was eminently successful, as he did not
hesitate to grapple with important questions of judicature, finance, trade,
commerce, and the many vexing relations with the native tribes, and right
manfully, and judiciously did he effect their solution. It was at a time when
the colony was filling up rapidly, and the laws and regulations which had been
found ample for the management of a few hundred families struggling for a
foothold in the forest, and when the only traffic was a few skins, were entirely
inadequate for securing protection and prosperity to a seething and jostling
population intent on trade and commerce, and the conflicting interests which
required wise legislation and prudent management. No colony on the Ameri-
can coast made such progress in numbers and improvement as did Pennsylvania
during the nine years in which William Keith exei'cised the Gubernatorial
office. Though not himself a Quaker, he had secured the passage of an act of
Assembly, and its royal affirmation for allowing the members of the Quaker
sect to wear their hats in court, and give testimony under affirmation instead
of oath, which in the beginning of the reign of Queen Anne had been with-
held from them. After the expiration of his term of office, he was immedi-
ately elected a member of the Assembly, and was intent on being elected
Speaker, " and had his support out- doors in a cavalcade of eighty mounted
horsemen and the resounding of many guns fired;" yet David Lloyd was
elected with only three dissenting voices, the outdoor business having perhaps
been overdone.
Upon the recommendation of Springett Penn, who was now the prospective
heir to Pennsylvania, Patrick Gordon was appointed and confirmed Lieutenant
Governor in place of Keith, and arrived in the colony and assumed authority
in July, 1726. He had served in the army, and in his first address to the
Assembly, which he met in August, he said that as he had been a soldier, he
knew nothing of the crooked ways of professed politicians, and must rely on a
straightforward manner of transacting the duties devolving upon him. George
I died in June, 1727, and the Assembly at its meeting in October prepared
and forwarded a congratulatory address to his successor, George II. By the
decision of the Court of Chancery in 1727, Hannah Penn's authority over the
colony was at an end, the proprietary interests having descended to John,
Richard and Thomas Penn, the only surviving sons of William Penn, Sr.
This period, from the death of Penn in 1718 to 1727, one of the most pros-
perous in the history of the colony, was familiarly known as the " Reign of
Hannah and the Boys."
Gov. Gordon found the Indian troubles claiming a considerable part of his
f
82 HISTORY OF PENNSYLVANIA.
attention. In 1728, worthless bands, who had strayed away from their proper
tribes, incited by strong drink, had become implicated in disgraceful broils, in
which several were killed and wounded. The guilty parties were apprehended,
but it was found difficult to punish Indian offenders without incurring the
wrath of their relatives. Treaties were frequently renewed, on which occa-
sions the chiefs expected that the chain of friendship would be polished " with
English blankets, broadcloths and metals." The Indians found that this
"brightening the chain" was a profitable business, which some have been un-
charitable enough to believe was the moving cause of many of the Indian diffi-
culties.
As early as 1732, the French, who were claiming all the territory drained
by the Mississippi and its tributaries, on the ground of priority of discovery
of its mouth and exploration of its channel, commenced erecting trading posts
in Pennsylvania, along the Allegheny and Ohio Rivers, and invited the Indians
living on these streams to a council for concluding treaties with them at Mon-
treal, Canada. To neutralize the influence of the French, these Indians were
summoned to meet in council at Philadelphia, to renew treaties of friendship,
and they were invited to remove farther east. Bat this they were unwill-
ing to do. A treaty was also concluded with the Six Nations, in which they
pledged lasting friendship for the English.
Hannah Penn died in 1733, when the Assembly, supposing that the pro-
prietary power was still in her hands, refused to recognize the power of Gov. Gor-
don. But the three sons, to whom the proprietary possessions had descended,
in 1727, upon the decision of the Chancery case, joined in issuing a new com-
mission to Gordon. In approving this commission the King directed a clause
to be inserted, expressly reserving to himself the government of the lower
counties. This act of the King was the beginning of those series of encroach-
ments which finally culminated in the independence of the States of America.
The Judiciary act of 1727 was annulled, and this was followed by an attempt
to pass an act requiring the laws of all the colonies to be submitted to the
Crown for approval before they should become valid, and that a copy of all
laws previously enacted should be submitted for approval or veto. The agent
of the Assembly, Mr. Paris, with the agents of other colonies, made so vigor-
ous a defense, that action was for the time stayed.
In 1732, Thomas Penn, the youngest son, and two years later, John Penn,
the eldest, and the only American born, arrived in the Province, and were re-
ceived with every mark of respect and satisfaction. Soon after the arrival of
the latter, news was brought that Lord Baltimore had made application to have
the Provinces transferred to his colony. A vigorous protest was made against
this by Quakers in England, headed by Richard Penn; but lest this protest
might prove ineffectual, John Penn very soon went to England to defend the
proprietary rights at court, and never again returned, he having died a bach-
elor in 1746. In August, 1736, Gov. Gordon died, deeply lamented, as an
honest, upright and straightforward executive, a character which he expressed
the hope he would be able to maintain when he assumed authority. His term
had been one of prosperity, and the colony had grown rapidly in numbers,
trade, commerce and manufactures, ship-building especially having assumed ex-
tensive proportions.
James Logan was President of the Council and in effect Governor, during
the two years which elapsed between the death of Gordon and the arrival of
his successor. The Legislature met regularly, but no laws were passed for
lack of an executive. It was during this period that serious trouble broke out
near the Maryland border, west of the Susquehanna, then Lancaster, now
HISTORY OF PENNSYLVANIA. 83
York County. A number of settlers, in order to evade the payment of taxes,
had secured titles to their lands from Maryland, and afterward sought to be
reinstated in their rights under Pennsylvania authority, and plead protection
from the latter. The Sheriff of the adjoining Maryland County, with 300
followers, advanced to drive these settlers from their homes. On hearing of
this movement, Samuel Smith, Sheriff of Lancaster County, with a hastily sum-
moned posse, advanced to protect the citizens in their rights. Without a con-
flict, an agreement was entered into by both parties to retire. Soon afterward,
however, a band of fifty Mary landers again entered the State with the design
of driving out the settlers and each securing for himself 200 acres of land.
They were led by one Cressap. The settlers made resistance, and in an en-
counter, one of them by the name of Knowles was killed. The Sheriff of
Lancaster again advanced with a posse, and in a skirmish which ensued one
of the invaders was killed, and the leader Cressap was wounded and taken
prisoner. The Governor of Maryland sent a commission to Philadelphia to
demand the release of the prisoner. Not succeeding in this, he seized four of
the settlers and incarcerated them in the jail at Baltimore. Still determined
to effect their purpose, a party of Mary landers, under the leadership of one
Higginbotham, advanced into Pennsylvania and began a warfare upon the
settlers. Again the Sheriff of Lancaster appeared upon the scene, and drove
out the invaders. So stubbornly were these invasions pushed and resented
that the season passed without planting or securing the usual crops. Finally
a party of sixteen Marylanders, led by Richard Lowden, broke into the Lan-
caster jail and liberated the Maryland prisoners. Learning of these disturb-
ances, the King in Council issued an order restraining both parties from fur-
ther acts of violence, and afterward adopted a plan of settlement of the vexed
boundary question.
Though not legally Governor, Logan managed the affairs of tbe colony
with great prudence and judgment, as he had done and continued to do for a
period of nearly a half century. Ho was a scholar well versed in the ancient
languages and the sciences, and published several learned works in the Latin
tongue. His Experimenta Meleiemata de plantarum generatione, written in
Latin, was published at Leyden in 1739, and afterward, in 1747, republished
in London, with an English version on the opposite page by Dr. J. Fothergill.
Another work of his in Latin was also published at Leyden, entitled, Canonum
pro inveniendis refraction um, turn simplicium turn in lentibus duplicum focis,
demonstrations geometricae. After retiring from public business, he lived at
his country seat at Stenton, near Germantown, where he spent his time among
his books and in correspondence with the literati of Europe. In his old age
he made an English translation of Cicero's De Senectute, which was printed at
Philadelphia in 1744 with a preface by Benjamin Franklin, then rising into
notice. Logan was a Quaker, of Scotch descent, though born in Ireland, and
came to America in the ship with William Penn, in his second visit in 169'J,
when about twenty-five years old, and died at seventy-seven. He had held the
offices of Chief Commissioner of property, Agent for the purchase and sale of
lands, Receiver General, Member of Council, President of Council and Chief
Justice. He was the Confidential Agent of Penn, having charge of all his vast
estates, making sales of lands, executing conveyances, and making collections.
Amidst all the great cares of business so pressing as to make him exclaim, "I
know not what any of the comforts of life are," he found time to devote to the
delights of learning, and collected a large library of standard works, which he
bequeathed, at his death, to the people of Pennsylvania, and is known as the
Loganian Library.
84 HISTORY OF PENNSYLVANIA.
George Thomas, a planter from the West Indies, was appointed Governor
in 1737, but did not arrive in the colony till the following year. His first care
was to settle tne disorders in the Cumberland Valley, and it was finally agreed
that settlers from either colony should owe allegiance to the Governor of that
colony wherever settled, until the division line which had been provided for
was surveyed and marked. War was declared on the 23d of October, 1739,
between Great Britain and Spain. Seeing that his colony was liable to be
encroached upon by the enemies of his government, he endeavored to organ-
ize the militia, but the majority of the Assembly was of the peace element, and
it could not be induced to vote money. Finally he was ordered by the home
government to call for volunteers, and eigbt companies were quickly formed,
and sent down for the coast defense. Many of these proved to be servants for
whom pay was demanded and finally obtained. In 1740, the great evangelist,
Whitefield, visited the colony, and created a deep religious interest among all
denominations. In his first intercourse with the Assembly, Gov. Thomas en-
deavored to coerce it to his views. But a more stubborn set of men never met
in a deliberative body than were gathered in this Assembly at this time.
Finding that he could not compel action to his mind, he yielded and con-
sulted their views and decisions. The Assembly, not to be outdone in mag-
nanimity, voted him £1,500 arrearages of salary, which had been withheld bo-
cause he would not approve their legislation, asserting that public acts should
take precedence of appropriations for their own pay. In March, 1744, war
was declared between Great Britain and France. Volunteers were called
for, and 10,000 men were rapidly enliste^ and armed at their own expense.
Franklin, recognizing the defenseless condition of the colony, issued a pamph-
let entitled Plain Truth, in which he cogently urged the necessity of organ-
ized preparation for defense. Franklin was elected Colonel of one of the
regiments, but resigned in favor of Alderman Lawrence. On the 5th of May,
1747, the Governor communicated intelligence of the death of John Penn, the
eldest of the proprietors, to the Assembly, and his own intention to retire from
the duties of his office on account of declining health.
Anthony Palmer was President of the Council at the time of the with-
drawal of Gordon, and became the Acting Governor. The peace party in the As-
sembly held that it was the duty of the crown of England to protect the colony,
and that for the colony to call out volunteers and become responsible for their
payment was burdening the people with an expense which did not belong to
them, and which the crown was willing to assume. The French were now
deeply intent on securing firm possession of the Mississippi Valley and the en-
tire basin, even to the summits of the Alleghanies in Pennsylvania, and were
busy establishing trading posts along the Ohio and Allegheny Rivers. They
employed the most artful means to win the simple natives to their interests,
giving showy presents and laboring to convince them of their great value.
Pennsylvania had won a reputation among the Indians of making presents of
substantial worth. Not knowing the difference between steel and iron, the
French distributed immense numbers of worthless iron hatohets, which the
natives supposed were the equal of the best English steel axes. The Indians,
however, soon came to distinguish between the good and the valueless. Un-
derstanding the Pennsylvania methods of securing peace and friendship, the
the natives became very artful in drawing out " well piled up " presents. The
government at this time was alive to the dangers which threatened from the
insinuating methods of the French. A trusty messenger, Conrad Weiser, was
sent among the Indians in the western part of the province to observe the
plans of the French, ascertain the temper of the natives, and especially to
HISTORY OF PENNSYLVANIA. 85
magnify the power of the English, and the disposition of Pennsylvania to give
great presents. This latter policy had the desired effect, and worthless and
wandering bands, which had no right to speak for the tribe, came teeming in,
desirous of scouring the chain of friendship, intimating that the French were
making great offers, in order to induce the government to large liberality,
until this " brightening the chain," became an intolerable nuisance. At a sin-
gle council held at Albany, in 1747, Pennsylvania distributed goods to the
value of £1,000, and of such a character as should be most serviceable to the
recipients, not worthless gew-gaws, but such as would contribute to their last-
ing comfort and well being, a protection to the person against the bitter frosts
of winter, and sustenance that should minister to the steady wants of the
body and alleviation of pain in time of sickness. The treaty of Aix-la-Cha-
pelle, which was concluded on the 1st of October, 1748, secured peace between
Great Britain and France, and should have put an end to all hostile encoun-
ters between their representatives on the American continent. Palmer re-
mained at the head of the government for a little more than two years. He
was a retired merchant from the West Indies, a man of wealth, and had come
into the colony in 1708. He lived in a style suited to a gentleman, kepi a
coach and a pleasure barge.
On the 23d of November, 1748, James Hamilton arrived in the colony from
England, bearing the commission of Lieutenant Governor. He was born in
America, son of Andrew Hamilton, who had for many years been Speaker of
the Assembly. The Indians west of the Susquehanna had complained that set-
tlers had come upon their best lands, and were acquiring titles to them, where-
as the proprietors had never purchased these lands of them, and had no claim
to them. The first care of Hamilton was to settle these disputes, and allay the
rising excitement of the natives. Richard Peters, Secretary of the colony, a
man of great prudence and ability, was sent in company with the Indian in-
terpreter, Conrad Weiser, to remove the intruders. It was firmly and fear-
lessly done, the settlers giving up their tracts and the cabins which they had
built, and accepting lands on the east side of the river. The hardship was in
many cases great, but when they were in actual need, the Secretary gave
money and placed them upon lands of his own, having secured a tract of
2,000,000 of acres.
But these troubles were of small consequence compared with those that
were threatening from the West. Though the treaty of Alx was supposed to
have settled all difficulties between the two courts, the French were determined
to occupy the whole territory drained by the Mississippi, which they claimed
by priority of discovery by La Salle. The British Ambassador at Paris entered
complaints before the French Court that encroachments were being made by
the French upon English soil in America, which were politely heard, and
promises made of restraining the French in Canada from encroaching upon
English territory. Formal orders were sent out from the home government to
this effect; but at the same time secret intimations were conveyed to them that
their conduct in endeavoring to secure and hold the territory in dispute was
not displeasing to the government, and that disobedience of these orders would
not incur its displeasure. The French deemed it necessary, in order to estab-
lish a legal claim to the country, to take formal possession of it. Accordingly,
the Marquis de la Galissoniere, who was at this time Governor General of
Canada, dispatched Capt. Bienville de Celeron with a party of 215 French and
lifty-tive Indians, to publicly proclaim possession, and bury at prominent
points plates of lead bearing inscriptions declaring occupation in the name of
the French King. Celeron started on the loth of Juno, 1749, from La Chine,
86 HISTORY OF PENNSYLVANIA.
following the southern shores of Lakes Ontario and Erie, until he reached a
point opposite Lake Chautauqua, where the boats were drawn up and were taken
bodily over the dividing ridge, a distance of ten miles, with all the impedimenta
of the expedition, the pioneers havin >â– first opened a road. Following on down
the lake and the Conewango Creek, they arrived at Warren near the confluence
of the creek with the Allegheny River. Here the first plate was buried.
These plates were eleven inches long, seven and a half wide, and one-eighth
of an inch thick. The inscription 7 was in French, and in the following terms,
as fairly translated into English: "In the year 1749, of the reign of Louie
XIV, King of France, We Celeron, commander of a detachment sent by
Monsieur the Marquis de la Galissoniere, Governor General of New France,
to re-establish tranquillity in some Indian villages of these cantons, have
buried this plate of lead at the confluence of the Ohio with the Chautauqua,
this 29th day of July, near the River Ohio, otherwise Belle Riviere, as a mon-
ument of the renewal of the possession we have taken of the said River Ohio,
and of all those which empty into it, and of all the lands on both sides as far
as the sources of the said river, as enjoyed or ought to have been enjoyed by
the King of France preceding, and as they have there maintained themselves
by arms and by treaties, especially those of Ryswick, Utrecht and Aix-la-
Chapelle." The burying of this plate was attended with much form and cer-
emony. All the men and officers of the expedition were drawn up in battle
array, when the Commander, Celeron, proclaimed in a loud voice, '"Vive le
Roi," and declared that possession of the country' was now taken in the name
of the King. A plate on which was inscribed tne arms of France was affixed
to the nearest tree.
The same formality was observed in planting each of the other plates, the
second at the rock known as the "Indian God," on which are ancient and un-
known inscriptions, a few miles below Franklin, a third at the mouth of
Wheeling Creek: a fourth at the mouth of the Muskingum; a fifth at the mouth
of the Great Kanawha, and the sixth and last at the mouth of the Great Miami.
Toilsomely ascending the Miami to its head- waters, the party burned their
canoes, and obtained ponies for the march across the portage to the head- waters
of the Maumee, down which and by Lakes Erie and Ontario they returned
to Fort Frontenac, arriving on the Cth of November. It appeal's that the In-
dians through whose territory they passed viewed this planting of plates with
great suspicion. By some means they got possession of one of them, gener-
ally supposed to have been stolen from the party at the very commencement of
their journey from the mouth of the Chautauqua Creek.
Mr. O. H. Marshall, in an excellent monograph upon this expedition, made
up from the original manuscript journal of Celeron and the diary of Father
Bonnecamps, found in the Department de la Marine, in Paris, gives the fol-
lowing account of this stolen plate:
" The first of the leaden plates was brought to the attention of the public
by Gov. George Clinton to the Lords of Trade in London, dated New York,
December 19, 1750, in which he states that he would send to their Lordships
in two or three weeks a plate of lead full of writing, which some of the upper
nations of Indians stole from Jean Coeur, the French interpreter at Niagara.
on his way to the River Ohio, which river, and all the lands thereabouts, the
French claim, as will appear by said writing. He further states 'that the lead
plate gave the Indians so much uneasiness that they immediately dispatched
some of the Cayuga chiefs to him with it, saying that their only reliance was
on him, and earnestly begged he would communicate the contents to them
which he had done, much to their satisfaction and the interests of the English.
HISTORY OF PENNSYLVANIA. 87
The Governor concludes by saying that ' the contents of the plate may be of
great importance in clearing up the encroachments which the French have
made on the British Empire in America.' The plate was delivered to Colonel,
afterward Sir William Johnson, on the 4th of December, 1750, at his resi-
dence on the Mohawk, by a Cayuga sachem, who accompanied it by the follow-
ing speech:
"' Brother Corlear and War-ragh-i-ya-ghey! I am sent here by the Five
Nations with a piece of writing which the Senecas, our brethren, got by some
artifice from Jean Coeur, earnestly beseeching you will let us know what it
means, and as we put all our confidence in you, we hope you will explain it
ingeniously to us.'
" Col. Johnson replied to the sachem, and through him to the Five Na-
tions, returning a belt of wampum, and explaining the inscription on the
plate. He told them that 'it was a matter of the greatest consequence, involv-
ing the possession of their lands and hunting grounds, and that Jean Coeur
and the French ought immediately to be expelled from the Ohio and Niagara.'
In reply, the sachem said that 'he had heard with great attention and surprise
the substance of the "devilish writing " he had brought, and that Col. Johnson's
remarks were fully approved.' He promised that belts from each of the Five
Nations should be sent from the Seneca's castle to the Indians at the Ohio, to
warn and strengthen them against the French encroachments in that direc-
tion." On the 29th of January, 1751, Clinton sent a copy of this inscription
to Gov. Hamilton, of Pennsylvania.
The French followed up this formal act of possession by laying out a line
of military posts, on substantially the same line as that pursued by the Cele-
ron expedition; but instead of crossing over to Lake Chautauqua, they kept
on down to Presque Isle (now Erie), where was a good harbor, where a fort
was established, and thence up to Le Boeuf (now Waterford), where another
post w;*s placed; thence down the Venango River (French Creek) to its month
at Franklin, eptablishing Fort Venango there; thence by the Allegheny to
Pittsburgh, where Fort Du Quesne was seated, and so on down the Ohio.
To counteract this activity of the French, the Ohio Company was char-
tered, and a half million of acres was granted by the crown, to be selected
mainly on the south side of the Ohio, between the Monongalia and Kanawha
Rivers, and the condition made that settlements (100 families within seven
years), protected by a fort, should he made. The company consisted of a
number of Virginia and Maryland gentlemen, of whom Lawrence Washington
was one, and Thomas Hanbury, of London.
In 1752, a treaty was entered into with the Indians, securing the right of
occupancy, and twelve families, headed by Capt. Gist, established themselves
upon the Monongalia, and subsequently commenced the erection of a fort,
where the city of Pittsburgh now is. Apprised of this intrusion into the
very heart of the territory which they were claiming, the French built a fort
at Le Boeuf, and strengthened the post at Franklin.
These proceedings having been promptly reported to Lieut. Gov. Dinwid-
die, of Virginia, where the greater number of the stockholders of the Ohio
Company resided, he determined to send an official communication — protesting
against the forcible interference with their chartered rights, granted by the
crown of Britain, and pointing to the late treaties of peace entered into be-
tween the English and French, whereby it was agreed that each should respect
the colonial possessions of the other — to the Commandant of the French, who
had bis headquarters at Fort Le Boeuf, fifteen miles inland from the present
site of the city of Erie.
88 HISTORY OF PENNSYLVANIA.
But who should be the messenger to execute this delicate and responsible
duty? It was winter, and the distance to be traversed was some 500 miles,
through an unbroken wilderness, cut by rugged mountain chains and deep and
rapid streams. It was proposed to several, who declined, and was finally
accepted by George Washington, a youth barely twenty-one years old. On
the last day of November, 1753, he bade adieu to civilization, and pushing on
through the forest to the settlements on the Monongalia, where - he was joined
by Capt. Gist, followed up the Allegheny to Fort Venango (now Franklin);
thence up the Venango to its head-waters at Fort Le Boeuf, where he held
formal conference with the French Commandant, St. Pierre. The French
officer had been ordered to hold this territory on the score of the dis-
covery of the Mississippi by La Salle, and he had no discretion but to execute
his orders, and referred Washington to his superior, the Governor General of
Canada. Making careful notes of the location and strength of the post and
those encountered on the way, the young embassador returned, being twice
fired at on his journey by hostile Indians, and near losing his life by being
thrown into the freezing waters of the Allegheny. Upon his arrival, he made
a full report of the embassage, which was widely published in this country
and in England, and was doubtless the basis upon which action was predicted
that eventuated in a long and sanguinary war, which finally resulted in the
expulsion of the power of France from this continent.
Satisfied that the French were determined to hold the territory upon the
Ohio by force of arms, a body of 150 men, of which Washington was second
in command, was sent to the support of the settlers. But the French, having
the Allegheny River at flood-tide on which to move, and Washington, without
means of transportation, having a rugged and mountainous country to over-
come, the former first reached the point of destination. Contracoeur, the
French commander, with 1,000 men and field pieces on a fleet of sixty boats and
300 canoes, dropped down the Allegheny and easily seized the fort then being
constructed by the Ohio Company at its mouth, and proceeded to erect there
an elaborate work which he called Fort Da Quesne, after the Governor Gen-
eral. Informed of this proceeding, Washington pushed forward, and finding
that a detachment of the French was in his immediate neighborhood, he made
a forced march by night, and coming upon them unawares killed and captured
the entire party save one. Ten of the French, including their commander,
Jumonville, were killed, and twenty-one made prisoners. Col. Fry, the com-
mander of the Americans, died at Will's Creek, where the command devolved
on Washington. Though re -enforcements had been dispatched from the sev-
eral colonies in response to the urgent appeals of Washington, none reached
him but one company of 100 men under Capt. Mackay from South Carolina.
Knowing that he was confronting a vastly superior force of the French, well
supplied with artillery, he threw up works at a point called the Great
Meadows, which he characterizes asa" charming field for an encounter," nam-
ing his hastily built fortification Fort Necessity. Stung by the loss of their
leader, the French came out in strong force and soon invested the place. Unfor-
tunately onepartof Washington's position was easily commanded by the artil-
lery of the French, which they were not slow in taking advantage of. The ac-
tion opened on the 3d of July, and was continued till late at night. A capit-
ulation was proposed by the French commander, which Washington reluctantly
accepted, seeing all hope of re-enforcements reaching him, cut off, and on the
4th of July marched out with honors of war and fell back to Fort Cumberland.
Gov. Hamilton had strongly recommended, before hostilities opened, that the
Assembly should provide for defense and establish a line of block-houses alongr
HISTORY OF PENNSYLVANIA. 89
the frontier. But the Assembly, while willing to vote money for buying peace
from the Indians, and contributions to the British crown, from which protec-
tion was claimed, was unwilling to contribute directly for even defensive war-
fare. Id a single year, £8,000 were voted for Indian gratuities. The proprie-
tors werb appealed to to aid in bearing this burden. But while they were
willing to contribute liberally for defense, they would give nothing for Indian
gratuities. They sent to the colony cannon to the value of £400.
In February, 1753, John Penn, grandson of the founder, son of Richard,
arrived in the colony, and as a mark of respect was immediately chosen a mem-
ber of the Council and made its President. In consequence of the defeat of
Washington at Fort Necessity, Gov. Hamilton convened the Assembly in extra
session on the 6th of August, at which money was freely voted; but owing to
the instructions given by the proprietors to their Deputy Governor not to sign
any money bill that did not place the whole of the interest at their disposal,
this action of the Assembly was abortive.
The English and French nations made strenuous exertions to strengtnen
their forces in America for the campaigns sure to be undertaken in 1754. The
French, by being under the supreme authority of one governing power, the
Governor General of Canada, were able to concentrate and bring all their
power of men and resources to bear at the threatened point with more celerity
and certainty than the English, who were dependent upon colonies scattered
along all the sea board, and upon Legislatures penny-wise in voting money.
To remedy these inconveniences, the English Government recommended a con-
gress of all the colonies, together with the Six Nations, for the purpose of con-
certing plans for efficient defense. This Congress met on the 19th of June,
1754, the first ever convened in America. The Representatives from Pennsyl-
vania were John Penn and Richard Peters for the Council, and Isaac Norris
and Benjamin Franklin for the Assembly. The influence of the powerful
mind of Franklin was already beginning to be felt, he having been Clerk of
the Pennsylvania Assembly since 1736, and since 1750 had been a member.
Heartily sympathizing with the movers in the purposes of this Congress, he
came to Albany with a scheme of union prepared, which, having been pre-
sented and debated, was, on the 10th of July, adopted substantially as it came
from his hands. It provided for the appointment of a President General by
the Crown, and an Assembly of forty-eight members to be chosen by the sev-
eral Colonial Assemblies. The plan was rejected by both parties in interest,
the King considering the power vested in the representatives of the people too
great, and every colony rejecting it because the President General was given
" an influence greater than appeared to them proper in a plan of government
intended for freemen."
CHAPTER X.
Robert H. Morris, 1754^56— William Denny, 1756-59— James Hamilton, 1759-63.
FINDING himself in a false position by the repugnant instructions of the
proprietors, Gov. Hamilton had given notice in 1753, that, at the end ot
twelve months from its reception, he would resign. Accordingly in October,
1754, he was succeeded by Robert Hunter Morris, son oi Lewis Morris, Chief
Justice of New York and New Jersey, and Governor of New Jersey. The son
SO HSTORY OF PENNSYLVANIA.
was bred a lawyer, and was for twenty-six years Councilor, and twenty Chief
Justice of New Jersey. The Assembly, at its lirst session, voted a money bill,
for £40,000, but not having the proviso required by the proprietors, it was
vetoed. Determined to push military operations, the British Government had
called early in the year for 3,000 volunteers from Pennsylvania, with subsis-
tence, camp equipage and transportation, and had sent two regiments of the
line, under Gen. Braddock, from Cork, Ireland. Landing at Alexandria,
Va., he marched to Frederick, Md., where, finding no supplies of
transportation, he halted. The Assembly of Pennsylvania had voted to borrow
£5,000, on its own account, for the use of the crown in prosecuting the cam-
paign, and had sent Franklin, who was then Postmaster General for the colo-
nies, to Braddock to aid in prosecuting the expedition. Finding that the army
was stopped for lack of transportation, Franklin returned into Pennsylvania,
and by his commanding influence soon secured the necessary wagons and beasts
of burden.
Braddock had formed extravagant plans for his campaign. He would
march forward and reduce Fort Du Quesne, thence proceed against Fort Ni-
agara, which having conquered he would close a season of triumphs by the
capture of Fort Frontignace. But this is not the first time in warfare that
the result of a campaign has failed to realize the promises of the manifesto.
The orders brought by Braddock giving precedence of officers of the line over
provincials gave offense, and Washington among others threw up his commis-
sion; but enamored of the profession of arms, he accepted a position offered
him by Braddock as Aide-decamp. Accustomed to the discipline of military
establishments in old, long-settled countries, Braddock had little conception of
making war in a wilderness with only Indian trails to move upon, and against
wily savages. Washington had advised to push forward with pack horses, and,
by rapidity of movement, forestall ample preparation. But Braddock had but
one way of soldiering, and where roads did not exist for wagons he stopped to
fell the forest and construct bridges over streams. The French, who were
kept advised of every movement, made ample preparations to receive him. In
the meantime, Washington fell sick; but intent on being up for the battle, he
hastened forward as soon as sufficiently recovered, and only joined the army
on the day before the fatal engagement. He had never seen much of the pride
and circumstance of war, and when, on the morning of the 9th of July, the
army of Braddock marched on across the Monongahela, with gay colors flying
and martial music awakening the echoes of the forest, he was accustomed in
after years to speak of it as the "most magnificent spectacle" that he had ever
beheld. But the gay pageant was destined to be of short duration; for the
army had only marched a little distance before it fell into an ambuscade skill-
fully laid by the French and Indians, and the forest resounded with the un-
earthly whoop of the Indians, and the continuous roar of musketry. The
advance was checked and thrown into confusion by the French from their well-
chosen position, and every tree upon the flanks of the long drawn out line con-
cealed a murderous foe, who with unerring aim picked off the officers. A res-
olute defense was made, and the battle raged with great fury for three hours;
but the fire of tbe English was ineffectual because directed against an invisi-
ble foe. Finally, the mounted officers having all fallen, killed or wounded,
except Washington, being left without leaders, panic seized the survivors and
"they ran," says Washington, "before the French and English like sheep be-
fore dogs." Of 1,460, in Braddock's army, 456 were killed, and 421 wounded,
a greater mortality, in proportion to the number engaged, than has ever oc-
curred in the annals of modern warfare. Sir Peter Halkett was killed, and
HISTORY OF PENNSYLVANIA. 91
Braddock mortally wounded and brought off the field only with the greatest
difficulty. When Orine and Morris, the other aids, fell, Washington acted
alone with the greatest gallantry. In writing to his brother, he said: "I have
been protected beyond all human probability or expectation; for I had four
bullets through my coat, and two horses shot under me; yet I escaped unhurt,
though death was leveling my companions on every side." In after years,
when Washington visited the Great Kanawha country, he was approached by
an Indian chieftain who said that in this battle he had fired his rifle many
times at Washington and had told his young men to do the same; but when he
saw that his bullets had no apparent effect, he bad bidden them to desist, be-
lieving that the Great Spirit was protecting him.
The panic among the survivors of the English carried them back upon the
reserve, commanded by Gen. Dunbar, who seems himself to have been seized
with it, and without attempting to renew the campaign and return to the en-
counter, he joined in the flight which was not stayed until Fort Cumberland
was reached. The French were* anticipating a renewal of the struggle; but
when they found that the English had fled leaving the frontier all unprotected,
they left no stone unturned in whetting the minds of the savages for the
work of plunder and blood, and in organizing relentless bands to range at
will along all the wide frontier. The Indians could not be induced to pursue
the retreating English, but fell to plundering the field. Nearly everything
was lost, even to the camp chest of Braddock. The wounded General was
taken back to the summit of Laurel Hill, where, four days after, he breathed
his last. He was buried in the middle of the road, and the ariny marched
over his grave that it might not be discovered or molested by the natives.
The eajy victory, won chiefly by the savages, served to encourage them in
their fell work, in which, when their passions were aroused, no known people
on earth were less touched by pity. The unprotected settler in his wilder-
ness hrme was the easy prey of the torch and the scalping knife, and the burn-
ing cabin lit up the somber forests by their continuous blaze, and the shrieks
of women and children resounded from the Hudson to the far Potomac Be-
fore the defeat of Braddock, there were 3,000 men capable of bearing arms
west of the Susquehanna. In six months after, there were scarcely 100.
Gov. Morris made an earnest appeal to the Assembly for money to ward off
the impending enemy and protect the settlers, in response to which the As-
sembly voted £50,000; but having no exemption of the proprietor's estates,
it was rejected by the Governor, in accordance with his original instructions.
Expeditions undertaken against Nova Scotia and at Crown Point were more fortu-
nate than that before Du Quesne, and the Assembly voted £15,000 in bills of credit
to aid in defraying the expense. The proprietors sent £5,000 as a gratuity,
not as any part of expense that could of right be claimed of them.
In this hour of extremity, the Indians for the most part showed themselves
a treacherous race, ever ready to take up on the stronger side. Even the Shaw-
anese and Delawares, who had been loudest in their protestations of friendship
for the English and readiness to fight for them, no sooner saw the French vic-
torious than they gave ready ear to their advice to strike for the recovery of
the lands which they had sold to the English.
In this pressing emergency, while the Governor and Assembly were waging
a fruitless war of words over money bills, the pen of Franklin was busy in in-
fusing a wholesome sentiment in the minds of the people. In a pamphlet
that he issued, which he put in the familiar form of a dialogue, he answered the
objections which had been urged to a legalized militia, and willing to show
his devotion by deeds as well as words, he accepted the command upon the
92 HISTOllY OF PENNSYLVANIA.
frontier. By his exertions, a respectable force was raised, and though in the
dead of winter, he commenced the erection of a line of forts and block-houses
along the whole range of the Kittatinny Hills, from the Delaware to the Po-
tomac, and had them completed and garrisoned with a body sufficient to with-
stand any force not provided with artillery. In the spring, he turned over the
command to Col. Clapham, and returning to Philadelphia took his seat in the
Assembly. The Governor now declared war against the Indians, who had es-
tablished their headquarters thirty miles above Harris' Ferry, on the Susque-
hanna, and were busy in their work of robbery and devastation, having se-
cured the greater portion of the crops of the previous season of the settlers
whom they had killed or driven out. The peace party strongly objected to the
course of the Governor, and voluntarily going among the Indians induced
them to bury the hatchet. The Assembly which met in May, 1756, prepared a
bill with the old clause for taxing the proprietors, as any other citizens, which
the Governor was forbidden to approve by his instructions, "and the two
parties were sharpening their wits for another wrangle over it," when Gov.
Morris was superseded by William Denny, who arrived in the colony and as-
sumed authority on the 20th of August, 1756. He was joyfully and cordially
received, escorted through the streets by the regiments of Franklin and Duche\
and royally feasted at the State House.
But the promise of efficient legislation was broken by an exhibition of the
new Governor's instructions, which provided that every bill for the emission of
money must place the proceeds at the joint disposal of the Governor and As-
sembly; paper currency could not be issued in excess of £40,000, nor could ex-
isting issues be confirmed unless proprietary rents were paid in sterling
money : proprietary lands were permitted to be taxed which had been actually
leased, provided that the taxes were paid out of the rents, but the tax could
not become a lien upon the land. In the first Assembly, the contention be-
came as acrimonious as ever.
Previous to the departure of Gov. Morris, as a retaliatory act he had
issued a proclamation against the hostile Indians, providing for the payment
of bounties: For every male Indian enemy above twelve years old, who shall
be taken prisoner and delivered at any forts, garrisoned by troops in pay
of this province, or to any of the county towns to thu keepers of the common
jails there, the sum of one hundred and fifty Spanish dollars or pieces of eight;
for the scalp of every male Indian above the age of twelve year's, produced as
evidence of their being killed, the sum of one hundred and thirty pieces of
eight; for every female Indian taken prisoner and brought in as aforesaid,
and for every male Indian under the age of twelve years, taken and brought
in, one hundred and thirty pieces of eight; for the scalp of every Indian
woman produced as evidence of their being killed, the sum of fifty pieces of
eight/' Liberal bounties were also offered for the delivering up of settlers who
had been carried away captive.
But the operation which had the most wholesome and pacifying effect upon
the savages, and caused them to stop in their mad career and consider the
chances of war and the punishment they were calling down upon their own
heads, though executed under the rule of Gov. Denny, was planned and
provided for, and was really a part of the aggressive and vigorous policy of
Gov. Morris. In response to the act of Assembly, providing for the calling
out and organizing the militia, twenty-five companies were recruited, and had
been stationed along the line of posts that had been established for the defense
of the frontiers. At Kittanning, on the Allegheny River, the Indians had one
of the largest of their towns in the State, and was a recruiting station and
HISTORY OF PENNSYLVANIA. 93
rallying point for sending out their murderous bands. The plan proposed and
adopted by Gov. Morris, and approved and accepted by Gov. Denny,
was to send out a strong detachment from the militia for the reduction of this
stronghold. Accordingly, in August, 1756, Col. Armstrong, witb a force of
three hundred men, made a forced march, and, arriving unperceived in the neigh-
borhood of the town, sent the main body by a wide detour from above, to come
in upon the river a few hundred yards below. At 3 o'clock on the morning of
the 7th of September, the troops had gained their position undiscovered, and
at dawn the attack was made. Shielded from view by the tall corn which cov-
ered all the flats, the troops were able to reach in close proximity to the cabins
unobserved. Jacobs, the chief, sounded the war-whoop, and made a stout re-
sistance, keeping up a rapid tire from wfco loop holes in his cabin. Not desir-
ing to push his advantage to the issue of no quarter, Armstrong called on the
savages to surrender: but this they refused to do, declaring that they were
men and would never be prisoners. Finding that they would not yield, and
that they were determined to sell their lives at the dearest rate, he gave orders
to tire the huts, and the whole town was soon wrapt in flames. As the heat
began to reach the warriors, some sung, while wrung with the death agonies;
others broke for the river and were shot down as they fled. Jacobs, in attempt-
ing to climb through a window, was killed. All calls for surrender were re-
ceived with derision, one declaring that he did not care for death, and that he
could kill four or five before he died. Gunpowder, small arms and valuable
goods which had been distributed to them only the day before by the French,
fell into the hands of the victors. The triumph was complete, few if any
escaping to tell the sad tale. Col. Armstrong's celerity of movement and
well conceived and executed plan of action were publicly acknowledged, and
he was voted a medal and plate by the city of Philadelphia.
The finances of the colony, on account of the repeated failures of the
money bills, were in a deplorable condition. Military operations could not
be carried on and vigorous campaigns prosecuted without ready money. Ac-
cordingly, in the first meeting of the Assembly after the arrival of the new
Governor, a bill was passed levying £100,000 on all property alike, real and
personal, private and proprietary. This Gov. Denny vetoed. Seeing that
money must be had, the Assembly finally passed a bill exempting the proprie-
tary estates, but determined to lay their grievances before the Crown. To
this end, two Commissioners were appointed, Isaac Norris and Benjamin
Franklin, to proceed to England and beg the interference of the royal Gov-
ernment in their behalf. Failing health and business engagements of Norris
prevented his acceptance, and Franklin proceeded alone. He had so often de-
fended the Assembly in public and in drawing remonstrances that the whole
subject was at his fingers' ends.
Military operations throughout the colonies, during the year 1757, con-
ducted under the command of the Earl of Loudoun were sluggish, and resulted
only in disaster and disgrace. The Indians were active in Pennsylvania, and
kept the settlers throughout nearly all the colonies in a continual ferment,
hostile bands stealing in upon the defenseless inhabitants as they went to
their plantings and sowings, and greatly interfering with or preventing alto-
gether the raising of the ordinary crops. In 1758, Loudoun was recalled,
and Gen. Abercrombie was given chief command, with Wolfe, Amherst and
Forbes as his subordinates. It was determined to direct operations simul-
taneously upon three points — Fort Du Quesne, Louisburg and the forts upon
the great lakes. Gen. Forbes commanded the forces sent against Fort Du
Quesne. With a detachment of royal troops, and militia from Pennsylvania
94 IIISTOlll OF PENNSYLVANIA.
and Virginia, under command of Cols. Bouquet and Washington, his column
moved in July, 1758. The French were well ordered for receiving the attack,
and the battle in front of the fort raged with great fury; but they were finally
driven, and the fort, with its munitions, fell into the hands of the victors, and
was garrisoned by 400 Pennsylvanians. Returning, Forbes placed his remain-
ing forces in barracks at Lancaster.
Franklin, upon his arrival in England, presented the grievances before the
proprietors, and, that he might get his case before the royal advisers and the
British public, wrote frequent articles for the press, and issued a pamphlet
entitled " Historical Review of the Constitution and Government of Pennsyl-
vania." The dispute was adroitly managed by Franklin before the Privy
Council, and was finally decided substantially in the interest of the Assem-
bly. It was provided that the proprietors' estates should be taxed, but that
their located uncultivated lands should be assessed as low as the lowest uncul-
tivated lands of the settlers, that bills issued by the Assembly should be re-
ceivable in payment of quit rents, and that the Deputy Governor should have
a voice in disposing of the revenues. Thus was a vexed question of loDg
standing finally put to rest. So successfully had Franklin managed this con-
troversy that the colonies of Massachusetts, Maryland and Georgia appointed
him their agent in England.
In October, 1759, James Hamilton was again appointed Governor, in place
of Gov. Denny, who had by stress of circumstances transcended his instruc-
tions. The British Government, considering that the colonies had borne more
than their proportionate expense in carrying on the war against the French
and Indians, voted £200,000 for five years, to be divided among the colonies,
the share falling to Pennsylvania being £26,000. On the 25th of October,
1760, George II died, and was succeeded by his grandson, George III. Early
in 1762, war was declared between Great Britain and Spain, but was of short
continuance, peace having been declared in November following, by which
Spain and France relinquished to the English substantially the territory east
of the Mississippi. The wise men of the various Indian nations inhabiting
this wide territory viewed with concern this sudden expansion of English
power, fearing that they would eventually bo pushed from their hunting
grounds and pleasant haunts by the rapidly multiplying pale faces. The In-
dians have ever been noted for proceeding against an enemy secretly and
treacherously. Believing that by concerted action the English might be cut
off and utterly exterminated, a secret league was entered into by the Shawa-
nese and the tribes dwelling along the Ohio River, under the leadership of a
powerful chieftain, Pontiac, by which swift destruction was everywhere to be
meted out to the white man upon an hour of an appointed day. The plan was
thoroughly understood by the red men, and heartily entered into. The day
dawned and the blow fell in May, 1763. The forts at Presque Isle, Le Boeuf,
Venango, La Ray, St. Joseph's, Miamis, Onaethtanon, Sandusky and Michili-
mackinack, all fell before the unanticipated attacks of the savages who were
making protestations of friendship, and the garrisons were put to the slaugh-
ter. Fort Pitt (Du Quesne), Niagara and Detroit alone, of all this line of
forts, held out. Pontiac in person conducted the siege of Detroit, which he
vigorously pushed from May until October, paying his warriors with promises
written on bits of birch bark, which he subsequently religiously redeemed. It is
an evidence of his gieat power that he could unite his people in so gen-
eral and secretly kept a compact, and that in. this siege of Detroit he was able
to hold his warriors up to the work so long and so vigorously even after all hope
of success must have reasonably been abandoned. The attack fell with great
HISTORV OF PENNSYLVANIA. 95
severity upon the Pennsylvania settlors, and they continued to be driven in
until Shippensbung, in Cumberland County, became the extreme outpost of
civilization. The savages stole unawares upon the laborers in the tields, or
came stealthily in at the midnight hour and spared neither trembling age nor
helpless infancy, firing houses, barns, crops and everything combustible.
The suffering of the frontiersmen in this fatal year can scarcely be conceived.
Col. Armstrong with a hastily collected force advanced upon their towns
and forts at Muncy and Great Island, which he destroyed; but the Indians
escaped and withdrew before him. He sent a detachment under Col. Bouquet
to the relief of Fort Pitt, which still held out, though closely invested by the
dusky warriors. At Fort Ligonier, Bouquet halted and sent forward thirty
men, who stealthily pushed past the Indians under cover of night, and reached
the fort, carrying intelligence that succor was at hand. Discovering that a
force was advancing upon them, the Indians turned upon the troops of Bou-
quet, and before he was aware that an enemy was near, he found himself sur-
rounded and all means of escape apparently cut off. By a skillfully laid
ambuscade, Bouquet, sending a small detachment to steal away as if in retreat,
induced the Indians to follow, and when stretched out in pursuit, the main
body in concealment fell upon the unsuspecting savages, and routed them with
immense slaughter, when he advanced to the relief of the fort unchecked.
As we have already seen, the boundary line between Maryland and Penn-
sylvania had long been in dispute, and had occasioned serious disturbances
among the settlers in the lifetime of Penn, and repeatedly since. It was not
definitely settled till 1760, when a beginning was made of a final adjustment,
though so intricate were the conditions that the work was prosecuted for seven
years by a large force of surveyors, axmen and pioneers. The charter of Lord
Baltimore made the northern boundary of Maryland the 40th degree of lati-
tude; but whether the beginning or end of the 40th was not specified. The
charter of Penn, which was subsequent, made his southern boundary the
beginning of the 40th parallel. If, as Lord Baltimore claimed, his northern
boundary was the end of the 40th, then the city of Philadelphia and all the
settled parts of Pennsylvania would have been included in Maryland. If, as
Penn claimed by express terms of his charter, his southern line was the begin-
ning of the 40th, then the city of Baltimore, and even a part of the District of
Columbia, including nearly the whole of Maryland would have been swal-
lowed up by Pennsylvania. It was evident to the royal Council that neither
claim could be rightfully allowed, and nence resort was had to compromise.
Penn insisted upon retaining free communication with the open ocean by the
Delaware Bay. Accordingly, it was decided that beginning at Cape Henlopen,
which by mistake in marking the maps was fifteen miles below the present
location, opposite Cape May, a line should be run due west to a point half way
between this cape and the shore of Chesapeake Bay; from this point " a line
was to be run northerly in such direction that it should be tangent on the west
side to a circle with a radius of twelve miles, whose center was the center of
the court house at New Castle. From the exact tangent point, a line was to be
run due north until it should reach a point fifteen miles south on the parallel
of latitude of the most southern point in the boundary of the city of Phila-
delphia, and this point when accurately found by horizontal measurement, was
to be the corner bound between Maryland and Pennsylvania, and subsequently,
when Delaware was set off from Pennsylvania, was the boundary of the three
States. From this bound a line was to be run due west five degrees of longi-
tude from the Delaware, which was to be the western limit of Pennsylvania,
and the line thus ascertained was to mark the division between Maryland and
96 HISTORY OF PENNSYLVANIA.
Pennsylvania, and forever settle the vexed question. If the due north line
should cut any part of the circle about New Castle, the slice so cut should be-
long to New Castle. Such a segment was cut. This plan of settlement was
entered into on the 10th of May, 1732, between Thomas and Richard, sons of
William Penn, on the one part, and Charles, Lord Baltimore, great grandson
of the patentee. But the actual marking of the boundaries was still deferred,
and as the settlers were taking out patents for their lands, it was necessary
that it should be definitely known in which State the lands lay. Accordingly,
in 1739, in obedience to a decree in Council, a temporary line was run upon a
new basis, which now often appears in litigations to plague the brain of the
attornev.
Commissioners were again appointed in 1751, who made a few of the
measurements, but owing to objections raised on the part of Maiyland, the
work was abandoned. Finally, the proprietors, Thomas and Kichard Penn,
and Frederic, Lord Baltimore, entered into an agreement for the executing of
the survey, and John Lukens and Archibald McLean on the part of the Penns,
and Thomas Garnett and Jonathan Hall on the part of Lord Baltimore, were
appointed with a suitable corps of assistants to lay off the lines. After these
surveyors had been three years at work, the proprietors in England, thinking
that there was not enough energy and practical and scientific knowledge mani-
fested by these surveyors, appointed Charles Mason and Jeremiah Dixon, two
mathematicians and surveyors, to proceed to America and take charge of the
work. They brought with them the most perfect and best constructed instru-
ments known to science, arriving in Philadelphia on the 15th of November,
1763, and, assisted by some of the old surveyors, entered upon their work. By
the 4th of June, 1766, they had reached the summit of the Little Allegheny,
when the Indians began to be troublesome. They looked with an evil eye on
the mathematical and astronomical instruments, and felt a secret dread and
fear of the consequences of the frequent and long continued peering into the
heavens. The Six Nations were understood to be inimical to the further prog-
ress of the survey. But through the influence of Sir William Johnson a
treaty was concluded, providing for the prosecution of the work unmolested,
and a number of chieftains were sent to accompany the surveying party.
Mason and Dixon now had with them thirty surveyors, fifteen axmen, and fif-
teen Indians of consequence. Again the attitude of the Indians gave cause of
fear, and on the 29th of September, twenty-six of the surveyors abandoned the
expedition and returned to Philadelphia. Having reached a point 244 miles
from the Delaware, and within thirty-six miles of the western limit of the
State, in the bottom of a deep, dark valley, they came upon a well-worn
Indian path, and here the Indians gave notice that it was the will of the Six
Nations that this survey proceed no further. There was no questioning this
authority, and no means at command for resisting, and accordingly the party
broke up and returned to Philadelphia. And this was the end of ^e labors of
Mason and Dixon upon this boundary. From the fact that this was subse-
quently the mark of division between the Free and Slave States, Mason and
Dixon's line became familiar in American politics. The line was marked by
stones which were quarried and engraved in England, on one side having the
arms of Penn, and on the opposite those of Lord Baltimore. These stones
were firmly set every five miles. At the end of each intermediate mile a
smaller stone was placed, having on one side engraved the letter P., and on the
opposite side the letter M. The remainder of the line was finished and marked
in 1782-84 by other surveyors. A vista was cut through the forest eight yards in
width the whole distance, which seemed in looking back through it to come to a
HISTORY OF PENNSYLVANIA. 97
point at the distance of two miles. In 1849, the stone at the northeast corner
of Maryland having been removed, a resurvey of the line was ordered, and
suryeyors were appointed by the three States of Pennsylvania, Delaware and
Maryland, who called to their aid Col. James D. Graham. Some few errors
were discovered in the old survey, but in the main it was found to be accurate.
John Penn, grandson of the founder, and son of Richard, had come to the
colony in 1753, and, having acted as President of the Council, was, in 1763,
commissioned Governor in place of Hamilton. The conspiracy of Pontiac,
though abortive in the results contemplated, left the minds of the Indians in
a most dangerous state. The more resolute, who had entered heartily into the
views of their leader, still felt that his purposes were patriotic, and hence
sought, by every means possible, to ravage and destroy the English settlements.
The Moravian Indians at Nain and Wichetunk, though regarded as friendly,
were suspected of indirectly aiding in the savage warfare by trading firearms
and ammunition. They were accordingly removed to Philadelphia that they
might be out of the way of temptation. At the old Indian town of Conestoga
there lived some score of natives. Many heartless murders had been com-
mitted along the frontier, and the perpetrators had been traced to this Con-
estoga town ; and while the Conestoga band were not known to be impli-
cated in these outrages, their town was regarded as the lurking place of roving
savages who were. For protection, the settlers in the neighboring districts of
Paxton and Donegal, had organized a band known as thePaxton boys. Earnest
requests were made by Kev. John Elder and John Harris to the Government
to remove this band at Conestoga ; but as nothing was done, and fearful
depredations and slaughter continued, a party of these Paxton rangers attacked
the town and put the savages to the sword. Some few escaped, among them a
known bloodthirsty savage, who were taken into the jail at Lancaster for pro-
tection ; but the rangers, following them, overpowered the jailer, and breaking
into tba jail murdered the fugitives. Intense excitement was occasioned by
this outbreak, and Gov. Penn issued his proclamation offering rewards for the
apprehension of the perpetrators. Some few were taken ; but so excel lent was
their character and standing, and such were the provocations, that no convic-
tions followed. Apprehensions for the safety of the Moravian Indians induced
the Government to remove them to Province Island, and, feeling insecure
there, they asked to be sent to England. For safety, they were sent to New
York, but the Governor of that province refused them permission to laud, as
did also the Governor of New Jersey, and they were brought back to Philadel-
phia and put in barracks under strong guard. The Paxton boys, in a consider-
able body, were at that time at Germantown interceding for their brethren,
who were then in durance and threatened with trial. Franklin was sent out
to confer with them on the part of the Government. In defending their course,
they said : " Whilst more than a thousand families, reduced to extreme dis-
tress, during the last and present war, by the attacks of skulking parties of
Indians upon the frontier, were destitute, and were suffered by the public to
depend on private charity, a hundred and twenty of the perpetrators of the
most horrid barbarities were supported by the province, and protected from
the fury of the brave relatives of the murdered." Influenced by the persua-
sions of Franklin, they consented to return to their homes, leaving only
Matthew Smith and James Gibson to represent them before the courts.
98 HISTORY OF PENNSYLVANIA.
CHAPTEE XL
John Penn, 1763-71— James Hamilton, 1771— Richard Penn, 1771-73— John
Penn, 1773-76.
A DIFFERENCE having arisen between the Governor and Assembly on the
vexed question of levying money, the Assembly passed a series of reso-
lutions advocating that the " powers of government ought to be separated from
the power attending the immense proprietary property, and lodged in the
hands of the King. " After an interval of fifty days — that time for reflection
and discussion might be given — the Assembly again convened, and adopted a
petition praying the King to assume the direct government of the province,
though this policy was strongly opposed by some of the ablest members, as
Isaac Norris and John Dickinson. The Quaker element was generally in
favor of the change.
Indian bai'barities still continuing along the frontier, Gov. Penn declared
war against the Shawanese and Delawares in July, 1765, and sent Col. Bouquet
with a body of Pennsylvania troops against them. By the 3d of October, he
had come up to the Muskingum, in the heart of the most thickly peopled
Indian territory. So rapid had been the movement of Bouquet that the savages
had no intelligence of his advance until he was upon them with no preparations
for defense. They sued for peace, and a treaty was entered into by which the
savages agreed to abstain from further hostilities until a general treaty could
be concluded with Sir William Johnson, the general agent for Indian affairs
for all the colonies, and to deliver up all English captives who had been carried
away during the years of trouble. Two hundred and eight were quickly
gathered up and brought in, and many others were to follow, who were now
widely scattered. The relatives of many of these captives had proceeded with
the train of Bouquet, intent on reclaiming those who had been dear to them.
Some were joyfully received, while others who had been borne off in youth had
become attached to their captors, and force was necessary to bring them away.
" On the return of the army, some of the Indians obtained leave to accompany
their former captives to Fort Pitt, and employed themselves in hunting and
carrying provisions for them on the road. "
The great struggle for ihe independence of the colonies of the British
crown was now close at hand, and the first sounds of the controversy were be-
ginning to be heard. Sir William Keith, that enterprising Governor whose
head seemed to have been full of new projects, as early as 1739 had proposed
to lay a uniform tax on stamped paper in all the colonies, to realize funds for
the common defense. Acting upon this hint, Grenville, the British Minister,
notified the colonists in 1763 of his purpose to impose such a tax. Against
this they remonstrated. Instead of this, a tax on imports, to be paid in coin,
was adopted. This was even more distasteful. The Assembly of Rhode
Island, in October, 1765, submitted a paper to all the colonial assemblies, with
a view to uniting in a common petition to the King against parliamentary
taxation. This was favorably acted on by the Assembly of Pennsylvania, and
Franklin was appointed agent to represent their cause before the British Par-
liament. The Stamp Act had been passed on the 22d of March, 1765. Its
passage excited bitter opposition, and a resolution, asserting that the Colonial
HISTORY OF PENNSYLVANIA 99
Assemblies had the exclusive right to levy taxes, was passed by the Virginia
Assembly, and concurred in by all the others. The Massachusetts Assembly
proposed a meeting of delegates in New York on the second Tuesday of October,
1765, to confer upon the subject. The Pennsylvania Assembly adopted the
suggestion, and appointed Messrs. Fox, Morton, Bryan and Dickenson as dele-
gates. This Congress met according to the call and adopted a respectful pe-
tition to the King, and a memorial to Parliament, which were signed by all
the members and forwarded for presentation by the Colonial Agents in En-
gland. The Stamp Act was to go into effect on the 1st of November. On the
last day of October, the newspapers were dressed in mourning, and suspended
publication. The publishers agreed not to use the stamped paper. The
people, as with one mind, determined to dress in homespun, resolved not to
use imported goods, and, to stimulate the production of wool the colonists cov-
enanted not to eat lamb for the space of one year. The result of this policy
was soon felt by British manufacturers who became clamorous for repeal of
the obnoxious measures, and it was accordingly repealed on the 18th of March,
1766.
Determined in some form to draw a revenue from the colonies, an act was
passed in 1767, to lay a duty on tea, paper, printers' colors, and glass. The As-
sembly of Pennsylvania passed a resolution on the '20th of February, 1768,
instructing its agent in London to urge its repeal, and at the session in May
received and entered upon its minutos a circular letter from the Massachusetts
Assembly, setting forth the grounds on which objection to the act should be
urged. This circular occasioned hostile feeling among the ministry, and the
Secretary for foreign affairs wrote to Gov. Penn to urge the Assembly to
take no notice of it; but if they approved its sentiments, to prorogue their
sittings. This letter was transmitted to the Assembly, and soon after one
from the Virginia Assembly was presented, urging union of all the colonies
in opposing the several schemes of taxation. This recommendation was
adopted, and committees appointed to draw a petition to the King and to each
of the Houses of Parliament. To lead public sentiment, and have it well
grounded in the arguments used against taxation, John Dickinson, one of the
ablest of the Pennsylvania legislators at this time, published a number of
articles purporting to come from a plain farmer, under the title of the Farmer's
Letters, which became popular, the idea that they were the work of one in
humble life, helping to swell the tide of popularity. They were republished
in all the colonies, and exerted a commanding influence. Alarmed at the
unanimity of feeling against the proposed schemes, and supposing that it was
the amount of the tax that gave offense, Parliament reduced the rate in 1769
to one sixth of the original sum, and in 1770 abolished it altogether, except
three pence a pound on tea But it was the principle, and not the amount
that was objected to, and at the next session of the Assembly in Pennsylvania,
their agent in London was directed to urge its repeal altogether.
It would seem incredible that the colony of Connecticut should lay claim
to any part of the territory of Pennsylvania, but so it was. The New En-
gland charters gave limitless extent westward even to the shores of the Pacific
Ocean, and south to the northern limits of the tract ceded to Lord Baltimore —
the territory between the 40th and 46th degrees of north latitude, and from
ocean to ocean. To encroach upon New York with its teaming popu-
lation was not calculated to tempt the enterprise of the settler; but
the rich virgin soil, and agreeable climate of the wide Wyoming Val-
ley, as yet unappropriated, was likely to attract the eye of the explorer.
Accordingly, at the general conference with the Indians held at Albany
100 HISTORY OF PENNSYLVANIA
in 1754, the Connecticut delegates made a purchase of a large tract in
this valley ; a company, known as the Susquehanna Company, was formed in
Connecticut to promote the settlement of these lands, and a considerable im-
migration commenced. The proprietors of Pennsylvania had also made pur-
chase of the Indians of these identical lands, and the royal charters of Charles
and James covered this ground. But the Plymouth Charter antedated Penn's.
Remonstrances were made to the Governor of Connecticut against encroach-
ments upon the territory of Pennsylvania. The answer returned was under-
stood to disclaim any control over the company by the Connecticut authorities;
but it subsequently appeared that the Government was determined to defend
the settlers in the possession of their lands. In 1768, the proprietors of Penn-
sylvania entered into treaty stipulations with the Indians for all this tract cov-
ered by the claim of the Susquehanna Company. Pennsylvania settlers,
attracted by the beauty of the place, gradually acquired lands under Penn-
sylvania patents, and the two parties began to infringe on each other's claims.
Forts and block-houses were erected for the protection of either party, and a
petty warfare was kept up, which resulted in some loss of life. Butler, the
leader of the Connecticut party, proposed to settle their differences by per-
sonal combat of thirty picked men on each side. In order to assert more direct
legal control over the settlers, a new county was formed which was called
Northumberland, that embraced all the disputed lands. But the Sheriff, even
with the aid of the militia, which he called to his assistance, was unable to
execute his processes, and exercise legal control, the New Englanders, proving
a resolute set, determined to hold the splendid farms which they had marked
out for themselves, and were bringing rapidly under cultivation. To the re-
monstrances of Gov. Penn, Gov. Trumbull responded that the Susquehanna Com-
pany was proceeding in good faith under provisions secured by the charter of
the Plymouth Colony, and proposed that the question be submitted to a com-
petent tribunal for ai'bitrament. An ex parte statement was submitted to
Council in London by the Connecticut party, and an opinion was rendered
favorable to its claims. In September, 1775, the matter was submitted to the
Continental Congress, and a committee of that body, to whom it was referred,
reported in favor of the Connecticut claim, apportioning a tract out of the
very bowels of Pennsylvania nearly as large as the whole State of Connecticut.
This action was promptly rejected by the Assembly of Pennsylvania, and a
final decision was not reached until 1802, when Congress decided in favor of
the integrity of the chartered rights of Penn.
Richard Penn, son of the founder, died in 1771, whereupon Gov. John
Penn returned to England, leaving the President of the Council, James Ham-
ilton, at the head of the Government. John Penn, eldest son of Richard, suc-
ceeded to the proprietary interests of his father, which he held in conjunction
with his uncle, Thomas, and in October of the same year, Richard, the second
son, was commissioned Governor. He held the office but about two years, and
in that time won the confidence and esteem of the people, and so much attached
was he to the popular cause, that upon his return to England, in 1775, he was
intrusted by Congress with the last petition of the colonies ever presented to
the King. In August, 1773, John Penn returned with the commission of
Governor, superseding his brother Richard. Soon after his arrival, the Gov-
ernor of Virginia, Lord Dunmore, issued his proclamation, laying claim to a
vast territory in the Monongalia Valley, including the site of the present
city of Pittsburgh, and upon the withdrawal of the British garrison, one Con-
nolly had taken possession of it in the name of Virginia. Gov. Penn issued a
counter-proclamation, calling on all good citizens within the borders of Penn-
HISTORY OF PENNSYLVANIA. 101
Bylvania, to preserve their allegiance to his (government, seized and imprisoned
Connolly, and sent Commissioners to Virginia to effect an amicable settlement.
These, Dunmore refused to hear, and was preparing to assert his authority by
force; but his Council refused to vote him money for this purpose.
To encourage the sale of tea in the colonies, and establish the principle of
taxation, the export duty was removed. The colonies took the alarm. At a
public meeting called in Philadelphia to consider the subject, on the 18th of
October, 1773, resolutions were adopted in which it was declared : " That the
disposal of their own property is the inherent right of freemen; that there can
be no property in that which another can, of right, take from us without our
consent; that the claim of Parliament to tax America, is, in other words, a claim
of right to levy contributions on us at pleasure.'' The East India Company
now made preparations for sending large importations of tea into the colonies.
The ships destined for Philadelphia and New York, on approaching port, and
being advised of the exasperated state of public feeling, returned to England
with their cargoes. Those sent to Boston came into the harbor; but at night a
party disguised as Mohawk Indians boarded the vessels, and breaking open
the packages, emptied 300 chests into the sea. The ministry, on being apprised
of this act, closed the port of Boston, and subverted the colonial charter.
Early in the year, committees of correspondence had been established in all
the colonies, by means of which the temper and feeling in each was well un-
derstood by the others, and concert of action was secured. The hard condi-
tions imposed on the town of Boston and the colony of Massachusetts Bay,
aroused the sympathy of all ; for, they argued, we know not how soon the heavy
hand of oppression may be felt by any of us. Philadelphia declared at a pub-
lic meeting that the people of Pennsylvania would continue firmly to adhere
to the cause of American liberty, and urged the calling of a Congress of dele-
gates to consider the general interests.
At â– : meetiug held in Philadelphia on the 18th of June, 1774, at which
nearly 8,000 people were convened, it was decided that a Continental Congress
ought to be held, and appointed a committee of correspondence to coramuni-
cate with similar committees in the several counties of Pennsylvania and in the
several colonies. On the 15th of July, 1774, delegates from all the counties,
summoned by this committee, assembled in Philadelphia, and declared that
there existed an absolute necessity for a Colonial Congress. They accordingly
recommended that the Assembly appoint delegates to such a Congress to
represent Pennsylvania, and Joseph Galloway, Samuel Rhoads, George Ross,
Edward Biddle, John Dickinson, Charles Humphries and Thomas Mifflin were'
appointed.
On the 4th of Septemoer, 1774, the first Continental Congress assembled in
Philadelphia. Peyton Randolph, of Virginia, was called to preside, and
Charles Thomson, of Pennsylvania, was appointed Secretary. It was resolved
that no more goods be imported from England, and that unless a pacification
was effected previously, no more Colonial produce of the soil be exported
thither after September 10, 1775. A declaration of rights was adopted, and
addresses to the King, the people of Great Britain, and of British America
were agreed to, alter which the Congress adjourned to meet again on the 10th
of May, 1775.
In January, 1775, another meeting of the county delegates was held in
Philadelphia, at which the action of the Colonial Congress was approved, and
while a restoration of harmony with the mother country was desired, yet if
the arbitiary acts of Parliament were persisted in, they would at every hazard
defend the "rights and liberties of America." The delegates appointed to
102 HISTORY OF PENNSYLVANIA.
represent the colony in the Second Congress were Mifflin, Humphries, Biddle,
Dickinson, Morton, Franklin, Wilson and Willing.
The government of Great Britain had determined with a strong hand to
compel obedience to its behests. On the 19th of April, 1775, was fought the
battle of Lexington, and the crimson fountain was opened. That blow was
felt alike through all the colonies. The cause of one was the cause of all.
A public meeting was held in Philadelphia, at which it was resolved to organize
military companies in all the counties. The Assembly heartily seconded these
views, and engaged to provide for the pay of the militia while in service.
The Second Congress, which met in May, provided for organizing a continental
army, fixing the quota for Pennsylvania at 4,300 men. The Assembly adopted
the recommendation of Congress, provided for arming, disciplining and pay-
ing the militia, recommended the organizing minutemen for service in an
emergency, made appropriations for the defense of the city, and offered a pre-
mium on the production of salt peter. Complications hourly thickened. Ticon-
deroga was captured on the 10th of May, and the battle of Bunker Hill was
fought on the 17th of June. On the 15th .of June, George Washington was
appointed Commander-in-chief of the Contiuental Army, supported by four
Major Generals and eight Brigadiers.
The royal Governors were now an incumbrance greatly in the way of the
popular movement, as were also the Assemblies where they refused to represent
the popular will. Accordingly, Congress recommended that the several col-
onies should adopt such government as should " best conduce to the happiness
and safety of their constituents in particular and America in general." This
meant that each colony should set up a government for itself independent of
the Crown. Accordingly, a public meeting was held in Philadelphia, at
which it was resolved that the present Assembly is " not competent to the pres-
ent exigencies of affairs," and that a new form of government ought to be
"adopted as recommended by Congress. The city committee of correspondence
called on the county committees to secure the election of delegates to a colonial
meeting for the purpose of considering this subject. On the 18th of June,
the meeting was held in Philadelphia, and was organized by electing Thomas
McKean President. It resolved to call a convention to frame a new con-
stitution, provided the legal forms to be observed, and issued an address to
the people.
Having thus by frequent argumentation grown familiar with the declara-
tion of the inherent rights of every citizen, and with flatly declaring to the
government of Great Britain that it had no right to pursue this policy or that,
and the several States having been recommended to absolve themselves from
allegience to the royal governments, and set up independent colonial govern-
ments of their own, it was a natural inference, and but a step further, to de-
clare the colonies entirely independent of the British Government, and to or-
ganize for themselves a general continental government to hold the place of King
and Parliament. The idea of independence had been seriously proposed, and
several Colonial Assemblies had passed resolutions strongly recommending it.
And yet there were those of age and experience who had supported independ-
ent principles in the stages of argumentation, before action wa3 demanded,
when they approached the brink of the fatal chasm, and had to decide
whether to take the leap, hesitated. There were those in the Assembly of
Pennsylvania who were reluctant to advise independence; but the majority
voted to recommend its delegates to unite with the other colonies for the com-
mon good. The convention which had provided for holding a meeting of del-
egates to frame a new constitution, voted in favor of independence, and au-
thorized the raising of 6,000 militia.
HISTORY OF PENNSYLVANIA. 103
On the 7th of June, 1776, Richard Henry Lee, of Virginia, introduced in
Congress the proposition that, "the United Colonies are, and of right ought to
be, free and independent States, and that all political connection between
them and the State of Great Britain is, and ought to be, totally dissolved."
It was impossible to mistake or misinterpret the meaning of this language.
The issue was fairly made up. It was warmly discussed. John Dickinson,
one of the Pennsylvania delegates, and one who had been foremost in speak-
ing and writing on the popular side, was not ready to cut off all hope of rec-
onciliation, and depicted the disorganized condition in which the colonies
would be left if the power and protection of Britain were thus suddenly re-
moved. The vote upon the resolution was taken on the 2d of July, and re-
sulted in the affirmative vote of all the States except Pennsylvania and
Delaware, the delegates from these States being divided. A committee con-
sisting of Adams, Franklin, Jefferson, Livingston and Sherman had been, some
time previous, appointed to draw a formal statement of the Declaration, and
the reasons "out of a decent respect to the opinions of mankind," which led
to so important an act. The work was intrusted to a sub-committee consisting of
Adams and Jefferson, and its composition was the work of Mr. Jefferson, though
many of the ideas, and even the forms of expression, had been used again and
again in the previous resolutions and pronunciamentoes of the Colonial Assem-
blies and public meetings. It had been reported on the 28th of June, and was
sharply considered in all its parts, many verbal alterations having been made in
the committee of five; but after the passage of the preliminary resolution, the
result was a foregone conclusion, and on the 4th of July it was finally adopted
and proclaimed to the world. Of the Pennsylvania delegation, Franklin,
Wilson and Morton voted for it, and Willing and Humphrey against, Dickin-
son being absent. The colonial convention of Pennsylvania, being in session
at the time, on receiving intelligence that a majority of its delegates in Con-
gress had voted against the preliminary resolution, named a new delegation,
omitting the names of Dickinson, Willing and Humphrey, and adding othere
which made it thus constituted — Franklin, Wilson, Morton, Morris, Clvmer,
Smith, Taylor and Ross. An engrossed copy of the Declaration was made,
which was signed by all the members on the 2d of August following, on
•which are found the names from Pennsylvania above recited.
The convention for framing a new constitution for the colony met on the
15th of July, and was organized by electing Franklin President, and on the
28th of September completed its labors, having framed a new organic law
and made all necessary provisions for putting it into operation. In the mean-
time the old proprietary Assembly adjourned on the 14th of June to the 26th
of August. But a quorum failed to appear, and an adjournment was had to
the 23d of September, when some routine business was attended to, chiefly
providing for the payment of salaries and necessary bills, and on the 28th of
September, after a stormy existence of nearly a century, this Assembly, the
creature of Penn, adjourned never to meet again. With the ending of the As-
sembly ended the power of Gov. Penn. It is a singular circumstance, much
noted by the believers in signs, that on the day of his arrival in Amerioa,
which wa.s Sunday, the earth in ttiat locality was rocked by an earthquake,
which was interpreted as an evil omen to his administration. He married the
daughter of William Allen, Chief Justice of the colony, and, though at times
falling under suspicion of favoring the royal cause, yet, as was believed, not
with reason, he remained a quiet spectator of the great struggle, living at his
country seat in Bucks County, where he died in February, 1795.
The titles of the proprietors to landed estates were suspended by the action
104 HISTORY OF PENNSYLVANIA.
of the convention, and on the 27th of November, 1779, the Legislature passed
an act vesting these estates in the commonwealth, but paying the proprietors a
gratuity of £130,000, " in remembrance of the enterprising spirit of the-
Founder." This act did not touch the private estates of the proprietors, nor
the tenths of manors. The British Government, in 1790, in consideration of
the fact that it had been unable to vindicate its authority over the colony, and
afford protection to the proprietors in the enjoyment of their chartered rights,
voted an annuity of £4,000 to the heirs and descendants of Penn. This annuity
has been regularly paid to the present time, 1884.
CHAPTER XII
Thomas Wharton, Jr., 1777-78— George Bryan, 1778— Joseph Reed, 1778-81—
William Moore, 1781-82— John Dickinson, 1782-85— Benjamin Franklin,
1785-88.
THE convention which framed the constitution appointed a Committee of
Safety, consisting of twenty-five members, to whom was intrusted the
government of the colony until the proposed conetitution should be framed and
put in operation. Thomas Rittenhouse was chosen President of this body,
who was consequently in effect Governor. The new constitution, which was
unanimously adopted on the 28th of September, was to take effect from its
passage. It provided for an Assembly to be elected annually; a Supreme Ex-
ecutive Council of twelve members to be elected for a term of three years; As-
semblymen to be eligible but four years out of seven, and Councilmen but
one term in seven years. Members of Congress were chosen by the Assembly.
The constitution could not be changed for seven years. It provided for the
election of censors every seven years, who were to decide whether there was
a demand for its revision. If so, they were to call a convention for the pur-
pose. On the 6th of August, 1776, Thomas Wharton, Jr., was chosen Presi-
dent of the Council of Safety.
The struggle with the parent country was now fully inaugurated. The
British Parliament had declared the colonists rebels, had voted a force of
55,000 men, and in addition had hired 17.000 Hessian soldiers, to subdue them.
The Congress on its part had declared the objects for which arms had been
taken up, and had issued bills of credit to the amount of $6,000,000. Par-
liament had resolved upon a vigorous campaign, to strike heavy and rapid
blows, and quickly end the war. The first campaign had been conducted in
Massachusetts, and by the efficient conduct of Washington, Gen. Howe, the
leader of the British, was compelled to capitulate and withdraw to Halifax in
March, 1776. On the 28th of June, Sir Henry Clinton, with a strong detach-
ment, in conjunction with Sir Peter Parker of the navy, made a combined
land and naval attack upon the defenses of Charleston Harbor, where he was
met by Gen. William Moultrie, with the Carolina Militia, and after a severe
battle, in which the British fleet was roughly handled, Clinton withdrew and
returned to New York, whither the main body of the British Army, under Gen.
Howe, had come, and where Admiral Lord Howe, with a large fleet directly
from England, joined them. To this formidable power led by the best talent
in the British Army, Washington could muster no adequate force to oppose,
and he was obliged to withdraw from Long Island, from New York, from
HISTORY OF PENNSYLVANIA 105
Harlem, from White Plains, to cross into New Jersey, and abandon position
after position, until he had reached the right bank of the Delaware on Penn-
sylvania soil. A heavy detachment under Cornwallis followed, and would
have crossed the Delaware in pursuit, but advised to a cautious policy by
Howe, he waited for ice to form on the waters of the Delaware before passing
over. The fall of Philadelphia now seemed imminent. Washington had not
sufficient force to face the whole power of the British Army. On the 2d of
December, the Supreme Council ordered all places of business in the city to
be closed, the schools to be dismissed, and advised preparation for removing
the women and children and valuables. On the 12th, the Congress which was
in session here adjourned to meet in Baltimore, taking with them all papers
and public records, and leaving a committee, of which Robert Morris was
Chairman, to act in conjunction with Washington for the safety of the place.
Gen. Putnam was dispatched on the same day with a detachment of soldiers
to take command in the city.
In this emergency the Council issued a stirring address: "If you wish
to live in freedom, and are determined to maintain that best boon of heaven r
you have no time to deliberate. A manly resistance will secure every bless-
ing, inactivity and sloth will bring horror and destruction. * * * May
heaven, which has bestowed the blessings of liberty upon you, awaken you to
a proper sense of your danger and arouse that manly spirit of virtuous resolu-
tion which has ever bidden defiance to the efforts of tyranny. May you ever
have the glorious prize of liberty in view, and bear with a becoming fortitude
the fatigues and severities of a winter campaign. That, and that only, will
entitle you to the superlative distinction of being deemed, under God, the
deliverers of your country." Such were the arguments which our fathers
made use of in conducting the struggle against the British Empire.
Washington, who had, from the opening of the campaign before New
York, haen obliged for the most part to act upon the defensive, formed the
plan to suddenly turn upon his pursuers and offer battle. Accordingly, on
the night of the 25th of December, taking a picked body of men, he moved up
several miles to Taylorsville, where he crossed the river, though at flood tide
and filled with floating ice, and moving down to Trenton, where a detachment
of the British Army was posted, made a bold and vigorous attack. Taken by
surprise, though now after sunrise, the battle was soon decided in favor of
the Americans. Some fifty of the enemy were slain and over a thousand
taken prisoners, with quantities of arms, ammunition and stores captured. A
triumphal entry was made at Philadelphia, when the prisoners and the spoils,
of war moved through the streets under guard of the victorious troops, and
were marched away to the prison camp at Lancaster. Washington, who was
smarting under a forced inactivity, by reason of paucity of numbers and lack
of arms and material, and who had been forced constantly to retire before a
defiant foe, now took courage. His name was upon every tongue, and foreign
Governments were disposed to give the States a fair chance in their struggle
for nationality. The lukewarm were encouraged to enlist under the banner of
freedom. It had great strategic value. The British had intended to push
forward and occupy Philadelphia at once, which, being now virtually the cap-
ital of the new nation, had it been caotured at this juncture, would have given
them the occasion for claiming a triumphal ending of the war. But this ad,
vantage, though gained by a detachment small in numbers yet great in cour-
age, caused the commander of a powerful and well appointed army to give up
all intention of attempting to capture the Pennsylvania metropolis in this
campaign, and retiring into winter cantonments upon the Raritan to await
106 HISTORY OF PENNSYLVANIA.
the settled weather of the spring for an entirely new cast of operations.
Washington, emboldened by his success, led all his forces into New Jersey,
and pushing past Trenton, where Cornwallis, the royal leader, had brought
his main body by a forced march, under cover of darkness, attacked the
British reserves at Princeton. But now the enemy had become wary and vig-
ilant, and, summoned by the booming of cannon, Cornwallis hastened back to
the relief of his hard pressed columns. Washington, finding that the enemy's
whole army was within easy call and knowing that he had no hope of success
with his weak army, withdrew. Washington now went into winter quarters at
Morristown, and by constant vigi lance was able to gather marauding parties
of the British who ventured far away from their works.
Putnam commenced fortifications at a point below Philadelphia upon the
Delaware, and at commanding positions upon the outskirts, and on being
summoned to the army was succeeded by Gen. Irvine, and he by Gen. Gates.
On the 4th of March, 1777, the two Houses of the Legislature, elected under
the new constitution, assembled, and in joint convention chose Thomas
Wharton, Jr., President, and George Bryan Vice President. Penn had expressed
the idea that power was preserved the better by due formality and ceremony,
and, accordingly, this event was celebrated with much pomp, the result being
declared in a loud voice from the court house, amid the shouts of the gathered
throngs and the booming of the captured cannon brought from the field of
Trenton. The title bestowed upon the new chief officer of the State was fitted
by its length and high-sounding epithets to inspire the multitude with awe and
reverence: "His Excellency, Thomas Wharton, Junior, Esquire, President of
the Supreme Executive Council of Pennsylvania, Captain General, and Com-
mander-in-chief in and over the same. "
While the enemy was disposed to be cautious after the New Jersey cam-
paign so humiliating to the native pride of the Britain, yet he was determined
to bring all available forces into the field for the campaign of 1777, and to
strike a decisive blow. Early in April, great activity was observed among the
shipping in New York Harbor, and Washington communicated to Congress his
opinion that Philadelphia was the object against which the blow would be
aimed. This announcement of probable peril induced the Council to issue a
proclamation urging enlistments, and Congress ordered the opening of a camp
for drilling recruits in Pennsylvania, and Benedict Arnold, who was at this
time a trusted General, was ordered to the command of it. So manv new ves-
sels and transports of all classes had been discovered to have come into New
York Harbor, probably forwarded from England, that Washington sent Gen.
Mifflin, on the 10th of June, to Congress, bearing a letter in which he ex-
pressed the settled conviction that the enemy meditated an immediate descent
upon some part of Pennsylvania. Gen. Mifflin proceeded to examine the de-
fensive works of the city which had been begun on the previous advance of
the British, and recommended such changes and new works as seemed best
adapted for its protection. The preparations for defense were vigorously pros-
ecuted. The militia were called out and placed in two camps, one at Chester
and the other at Downington. Fire ships were held in readiness to be used
against vessels attempting the ascent of the river.
Lord Howe, being determined not to move until ample preparations were
completed, allowed the greater part of the summer to wear away before he
advanced. Finally, having embarked a force of 19,500 men on a fleet of 300
transports, he sailed southward. Washington promptly made a corresponding
march overland, passing through Philadelphia on the 24th of August. Howe,
suspecting that preparations would be made for impeding the passage of the
HISTORY OF PENNSYLVANIA. 107
Delaware, sailed past its mouth, and moving up the Chesapeake instead, de-
barked fifty-four miles from Philadelphia and commenced the march north-
ward. Great activity was now manifested in the city. The water-spouts were
melted to furnish bullets, fair hands were busied in rolling cartidges, power-
ful chevaux-de-frise were planted to impede the navigation of the river, and
the last division of the militia of the city, which had been divided into three
classes, was called out. Washington, who had crossed the Brandywine, soon
confronted the advance of Howe, and brisk skirmishing at once opened. See-
ing that he was likely to have the right of his position at Red Clay Creek,
where he had intended to give battle, turned by the largely superior force of
the enemy, under cover of darkness on the night of the 8th of September, he
withdrew across the Brandywine at Chad's Ford, and posting Armstrong with
the militia upon the left, at Pyle's Ford, where the banks were rugged and pre-
cipitous, and Sullivan, who was second in command, upon the right at Brin-
ton's Ford under cover of forest, he himself took post with three divisions,
Sterling's, Stephens', and his own, in front of the main avenue of approach at
Chad's. Howe, discovering that Washington was well posted, determined to
flank him. Accordingly, on the 11th, sending Knyphausen with a division of
Hessians to make vigorous demonstrations upoQ Washington's front at Chad's,
he, with the corps of Cornwallis, in light marching order, moved up the Brandy-
wine, far past the right flank of Washington, crossed the Brandywine at the
fords of Trumbull and Jeffrey unopposed, and, moving down came upon
Washington's right, held by Sullivan, all unsuspecting and unprepared to re-
ceive him. Though Howe was favored by a dense fog which on that morning
hung on all the valley, yet it had hardly been commenced before Washingtou
discovered the move and divined its purpose. His resolution was instantly
taken. He ordered Sullivan to cross the stream at Brinton's, and resolutely
turn the left flank of Knyphausen, when he himself with the main body would
move ever and crush the British Army in detail. Is was a brilliant conception,
was feasible, and promised the most complete success. But what chagrin and
mortification, to receive, at the moment when he expected to hear the rauf ic of
Sullivan's guns doubling up the left of the enemy, and giving notice to him
to commence the passage, a message from that officer advising him that he had
disobeyed his orders to cross, having received intelligence that the enemy were
not moving northward, and that he was still in position at the ford. Thus
balked, Washington had no alternative but to remain in position, and it was not
long before the guns of Howe viere heard moving in upon his all unguarded
right flank. The best dispositions were made which time would permit. His
main body with the force of Sullivan took position along the brow of the hill
on which stands the Birmingham meeting house, and the battle opened and
was pushed with vigor the whole day. Overborne by numbers, and weakened
by losses, Washington was obliged to retire, leaving the enemy in possession
of the field. The young French nobleman, Lafayette, was wounded while gal-
lantly serving in this fight. The wounded were carried into the Birmingham
meeting house, where the blood stains are visible to this day, enterprising
relic hunters for many generations having been busy in loosening small slivers
with the points of their knives.
The British now moved cautiously toward Philadelphia. On the 16th of
September, at a point some twenty miles west of Philadelphia, Washington
again made a stand, and a battle opened with brisk skirmishing, but a heavy
rain storm coming on the powder of the patriot soldiers was completely ruined on
account of their defective cartridge boxes. On the night of the 20th, Gen.
Anthony Wayne, who had been hanging on the rear of the enemy with his
108 HISTORY OF PENNSYLVANIA.
detachment, was surprised by Gen. Gray with a heavy column, who fell sud-
denly upon the Americans in bivouac and put them to the sword, giving no
quarter. This disgraceful slaughter which brought a stigma and an indelible
stain upon the British arms is known as the Paoli Massacre. Fifty-three of
the victims of the black flag were buried in one grave. A neat monument
of white mai'ble was erected forty years afterward over their moldering
remains by the Republican Artillerists of Chester County, which vandal hands
have not spared in their mania for relics.
Congress remained in Philadelphia while these military operations were
going on at its very doors; but on the 18th of September adjourned to meet
at Lancaster, though subsequently, on the 30th, removed across the Susque-
hanna to York, where it remained in session till after the evacuation in
the following summer. The Council remained until two days before the fall
of the city, when having dispatched the records of the loan office and the more
valuable papers to Easton, it adjourned to Lancaster. On the 26th, the British
Army entered the city. Deborah Logan in her memoir says : " The army
marched in and took possession in the city in the morning. We were up-stairs
and saw them pass the State House. They looked well, clean and well clad,
and the contrast between them and our own poor, bare-footed, ragged troops
was very great and caused a feeling of despair. * * * * Early
in the afternoon, Lord Cornwallis' suite arrived and took possession of
my mother's house." But though now holding undisputed possession of the
American capital, Howe found his position an uncomfortable one, for his fleet
was in the Chesapeake, and the Delaware and all its defenses were in posses-
sion of the Americans, and Washington had manned the forts with some of
his most resolute troops. Varnuni's brigade, led by Cols. Angell and Greene,
Rhode Island troops, were at Fort Mercer, at Red Bank, and this the enemy
determined to attack. On the 21st of October, with a force of 2,500 men, led
by Count Donop, the attack was made. In two colums they moved as to an
easy victory. But the steady tire of the defenders when come in easy range,
swept them down with deadly effect, and, retiring with a loss of over 400 and
their leader mortally wounded, they did not renew the fight. Its reduction was
of prime importance, and powerful works were built and equipped to bear upon
the devoted fort on all sides, and the heavy guns of the fleet were brought up
to aid in overpowering it. For six long days the greatest weight of metal was
poured upon it from the land and the naval force, but without effect, the
sides of the fort successfully withstanding *the plunging of their powerful
missiles. As a last resort, the great vessels were run suddenly in close under
the walls, and manning the yard-arms with sharp-shooters, so effectually
silenced and drove away the gunners that the fort fell easily into the Brit-
ish hands and the river was opened to navigation. The army of Washing-
ton, after being recruited and put in light marching order, was led to German-
town where, on the morning of the 3d of October the enemy was met. A
heavy fog that morning had obscured friend and foe alike, occasioning con-
fusion in the ranks, and though the opening promised well, and some progress
was made, yet the enemy was too strong to be moved, and the American leader
was forced to retire to his camp at White Marsh. Though the river had now
been opened and the city was thoroughly fortified for resisting attack, yet
Howe felt not quite easy in having the American Army quartered in so close
striking distance, and accordingly, on the 4th of December, with nearly his
entire army, moved out, intending to take Washington at White Marsh, sixteen
miles away, by surprise, and by rapidity of action gain an easy victory. But
1 i3 heroism and fidelity of Lydia Darrah, who, as she had often done before
HISTORY OF PENNSYLVANIA. 109
passed the guard? to go to the mil] for flour, the news of the coming of Howe
wap communicated to Washington, who was prepared to receive him. Finding
that he could effect nothing. Howe returned to the city, having had the weari-
some march at this wintry season without effect.
Washington now crossed the Schuylkill and went into winter quarters at
Valley Forge. The cold of that winter was intense; the troopH, half clad and
indifferently fed, suffered severely, the prints of their naked feet in frost and
snow being often tinted with patriot blood. Grown impatient of the small
results from the immensely expensive campaigns carried on across the ocean,
the Ministry relieved Lord Howe, and appointed Sir Henry Clinton to the
chief command.
The Commissioners whom Congress had sent to France early in the fall of
1776 — Franklin, Dean and Lee had been busy in making interest for the
united colonies at the French Court, and so successful were they, that arms and
ammunition and loans of money were procured from time to time. Indeed, so
persuasive had they become that it was a saying current at court that, "It was
fortunate for the King that Franklin did not take it into his head to ask to
have the palace at Versailles stripped of its furniture to send to his dear
Americans, for his majesty would have been unable to deny him." Finally,
a convention was concluded, by which France agreed to use the royal army and
navy as faithful allies of the Americans against the English. Accordingly, a
fleet of four powerful frigates, and twelve ships were dispatched under com-
mand of the Count D'Estaing to shut up the British fleet in the Delaware. The
plan was ingenious, particularly worthy of the long head of Franklin. But
by some means, intelligence of the sailing of the French fleet reached Che
English cabinet, who immediately ordered the evacuation of the Delaware,
whereupon the Admiral weighed anchor and sailed away with his entire fleet to
New York, and D'Estaing, upon his arrival at the mouth of the Delaware, found
that the bird had flown.
Clinton evacuated Philadelphia and moved across New Jersey in the direc-
tion of New York. Washington closely followed and came up with the enemy
on the plains of Monmouth, on the 28th of June, 1778, where a sanguin-
ary battle was fought which lasted tha whole day, resulting in the triumph of
the American arms, and Pennsylvania was rid of British troops.
The enemy was no sooner well away from the city than Congress returned
from York and resumed its sittings in its former quarters, June 24, 1778, and
on the following day, the Colonial Legislature returned from Lancaster. Gen
Arnold, who was disabled by a wound received at Saratoga, from tield duty,
was given command in the city and marched in with a regiment on the day
following the evacuation. On the 23d of May, 1778, President Wharton died
suddenly of quinsy, while in attendance upon the Council at Lancaster, when
George Bryan, the Vice President, became the Acting President. Bryan was a
philanthropist in deed as well as word. Up to thi3 time, African slavery had
been tolerated in the colony. In his message of the 9th of November, he said :
" This or some better scheme, would tend to abrogate slavery — the approbrium
of America — from among us. * * * In divesti&g the State of slaves, you
will equally serve the cause of humanity and policy, and offer to God one of
the most proper and best returns of gratitude for His great deliverance of us
and our posterity from thraldom; you will also ser, your character for justice
and benevolence in the true point of view to Europe, who a«.-e astonished to see
a people eager for liberty holding negroes in bondage." He perfected a bill
for the extinguishment of claims to slaves which was passed by the Assembly,
March 1, 1780, by a vote of thirty-four to eighteen, providing that no child
110 HISTORY OF PENNSYLVANIA.
of slave parents born after that date should be a slave, but a servant till the
age of twenty-eight years, when all claim for service should end. Thus by a
simple enactment resolutely pressed by Bryan, was slavery forever rooted out
of Pennsylvania.
In the summer of 1778, a force of savages and sour- faced tories to the num-
ber of some 1,200, under the leadership of one Col. John Butler, a cruel and in-
human wretch, descending from the north, broke into the Wyoming Valley on
the 2d of July. The strong men were in the army of Washington, and the
only defenders were old men, beardless boys and resolute women. These, to
the number of about 400, under Zebulon Butler, a brave soldier who had won
distinction in the old French war, and who happened to be present, moved
resolutely out to meet the invaders. Overborne by numbers, the inhabitants
were beaten and put to the sword, the few who escaped retreating to Forty
Fort, whither the helpless, up and down the valley, had sought safety. Here
humane terms of surrender were agreed to, and the families returned to
their homes, supposing all danger to be past. But the savages had
tasted blood, and perhaps confiscated liquor, and were little mindful of capitu-
lations. The night of the 5th was given to indiscriminate massacre. The
cries of the helpless rang out upon the night air, and the heavens along all
the valley were lighted up with the flames of burning cottages; " and when the
moon arose, the terrified inhabitants were fleeing to the Wilkesbarre Mount-
ains, and the dark morasses of the Pocono Mountain beyond. " Most of these
were emigrants from Connecticut, and they made their way homeward as fast
as their feet would carry them, many of them crossing the Hudson at Pough-
keepsie, where they told their tales of woe.
In February, 1778, Parliament, grown tired of this long and wasting war,
abolished taxes of which the Americans had complained, and a committee,
composed of Earl Carlisle, George Johnstone and William Eden, were sent
empowered to forgive past offenses, and to conclude peace with the colonies,
upon submission to the British crown. Congress would not listen to their
proposal?, maintaining that the people of America had done nothing that
needed forgiveness, and that no conference could be accorded so long as the
English Armies remained on American soil. Finding that negotiations could
not be entered upon with ihe government, they sought to worm their way by
base bribes. Johnstone proposed to Gen. Reed that if he would lend his aid
to bring about terms of pacification, 10,000 guineas and the best office in the
country should be his. The answer of the stern General was a type of the
feeling which swayed every patriot: " My influence is but small, but were it
as great as Gov. Johntone would insinuate, the King of Great Britain has noth-
ing in his gift that would tempt me. "
At the election held for President, the choice fell upon Joseph Reed, with
George Bryan Vice President, subsequently Matthew Smith, and finally Will-
iam Moore. Reed was an erudite lawyer, and had held the positions of Pri-
vate Secretary to Washington, and subsequently Adjutant General of the
arm} 7 . He was inaugurated on the 1st of December, 1778. Upon the return
of the patriots to Philadelphia, after the departure of the British, a bitter
feeling existed between them and the tories who had remained at their homes,
and had largely profited by the British occupancy. The soldiers became dem-
onstrative, especially against those lawyers who had defended the tories in
court. Some of those most obnoxious took refuge in the house of James Wil-
son, a signer of the Declaration. Private soldiers, in passing, fired upon it,
and shots were returned whereby one was killed and several wounded. The
President on being informed of these proceedings, rode at the head of the
HISTORY OF PENNSYLVANIA. Ill
eity troop, and dispersed the assailants, capturing the leaders. The Academy
and College of Philadelphia required by its charter an oath of allegiance to
the King of Great Britain. An act was passed November 27, 1779, abrogating
the former charter, and vesting its property in a new board. An endowment
from confiscated estates was settled upon it of £15,000 annually. The name
of the institution was changed to the " University of the State of Pennsyl-
vania."
France was now aiding the American ca\ise with money and large land
and naval forces. While some of the patriots remained steadfast and were
disposed to sacrifice and endure all for the success of the struggle, many, who
should have been in the ranks rallying around Washington, had grown luke-
warm. The General was mortified that the French should come across the
ocean and make great sacrifices to help us, and should find so much indiffer-
ence prevailing among the citizens of many of the States, and so few coming
forward to fill up the decimated ranks. At the request of Washington, Presi-
dent Keed was invested with extraordinary powers, in 1780, which were used
prudently but effectively. During the winter of this year, some of the veteran
soldiers of the Pennsylvania line mutinied and commenced the march on
Philadelphia with arms in their hands. Some of them had just cause. They
had enlisted for "three years or the war," meaning for three years unless
the war closed sooner. But the authorities had interpreted it to mean, three
years, or as much longer as the war should last. President Reed immediately
rode out to meet the mutineers, heard their cause, and pledged if all would re-
turn to camp, to have those who had honorably served out the full term of
three years discharged, which was agreed to. Before the arrival of the Presi-
dent, two emissaries from the enemy who had heard of the disaffection, came
into camp, offering strong inducements for them to continue the revolt. But
the mutineers spurned the offer, and delivered them over to the officers, by
whom they were tried and executed as spies. The soldiers who had so patriot-
ically arrested and handed over these messengers were offered a reward of fifty
guineas; but they refused it on the plea that they were acting under authority
of the Board of Sergeants, under whose order the mutiny was being conducted.
Accordingly, a hundred guineas were offered to this board for their fidelity.
Their answer showed how conscientious even mutineers can be: "It was not
for the sake, or through any expectation of reward; but for the love of our
country, that we sent the spies immediately to Gen. Wayne; we therefore
do not consider ourselves entitled to any other reward but the love of our
country, and do jointly agree to accept of no other."
William Moore was elected President to succeed Joseph Reed, from No-
vember 14, 1781. but held theoffice less than one year, the term of three years
for which he had been a Councilman having expired, which was the limit of
service. James Potter was chosen Vice President. On account of the hostile
attitude of the Ohio Indians, it was decided to call out a body of volunteers,
numbering some 400 from the counties of Washington and Westmoreland,
where the outrages upon the settlers had been most sorely felt, who chose for
their commander Col. William Crawford, of Westmoreland. The expedition
met a most unfortunate fate. It was defeated and cut to pieces, and the
leader taken captive and burned at the stake. Crawford County, which was
settled very soon afterward, was named in honor of this unfortunate soldier.
In the month of November, intelligence was communicated to the Legislature
that Pennsylvania soldiers, confined as prisoners of war on board of the Jer-
sey, an old hulk tying in the New York Harbor, were in a starving condition,
receiving at the hands of the enemy the most barbarous and inhuman treat-
112 HISTORY OF PENNSYLVANIA.
ruent. Fifty barrels of flour and 300 bushels of potatoes were immediately
sent to them.
In the State election of 1782, contested with great violence, John Dickin-
son was chosen President, and James Ewing Vice President. On the 12th of
March, 1783, intelligence was first received of the signing of the preliminary
treaty in which independence was acknowledged, and on the 11th of April
Congress sent forth the joyful proclamation ordering a cessation of hostilities.
The soldiers of Burgoyne, who had been confined in the prison camp at Lan-
caster, were put upon the march for New York, passing through Philadelphia
on the way. Everywhere was joy unspeakable. The obstructions were re-
moved from the Delaware, and the white wings of commerce again came flut-
tering on every breeze. In June, Pennsylvania soldiers, exasperated by delay
in receiving their pay and their discharge, and impatient to return to their
homes, to a considerable number marched from their camp at Lancaster, and
arriving at Philadelphia sent a committee with arms in their hands to the
State House door with a remonstrance asking permission to elect officers to
command them for the redress of their grievances, their own having left them,
and employing threats in case of refusal. These demands the Council rejected.
The President of Cougress, hearing of these proceedings, called a special ses-
sion, which resolved to demand that the militia of the State should be called
out to quell the insurgents. The Council refused to resort to this extreme
measure, when Congress, watchful of its dignity and of its supposed supreme
authority, left Philadelphia and established itself in Princeton, N. J., and
though invited to return at its next session, it refused, and met at Annapolis.
In October, 1784, the last treaty was concluded with the Indians at Fort
Stanwix. The Commissioners at this conference purchased from the natives
all the land to the north of the Ohio River, and the line of Pine Creek, which
completed the entire limits of the State with the exception of the triangle at
Erie, which was acquired from the United States in 1792. This purchase
was confirmed by the Wyandots and Delawares at Fort Mcintosh January 21,
1785, and the grant was made secure.
In September, 1785, after a long absence in the service of his country
abroad, perfecting treaties, and otherwise establishing just relations with other
nations, the venerable Benjamin Franklin, then nearly eighty years old, feel-
ing the infirmities of age coming upon him, asked to be relieved of the duties
of Minister at the Court of France, and returned to Philadelphia. Soon after
his arrival, he was elected President of the Council. Charles Biddle was
elected Vice President. It was at this period that a citizen of Pennsylvania,
John Fitch, secured a patent on his invention for propelling boats by steam.
In May, 1787, the convention to frame a constitution for the United States
met in Philadelphia. The delegation from Pennsylvania was Benjamin Frank-
lin, Robert Moms, Thomas Mifflin, George Clyraer, Thomas Fitzsimons, Jared
Ingersoll, James Wilson and Gouverneur Morris. Upon the completion of
their work, the instrument was submitted to the several States for adoption. A
convention was called in Pennsylvania, which met on the 21st of November, and
though encountering resolute opposition, it was finally adopted on the 12th of De-
cember. On the following day, the convention, the Supreme Council and offi-
cers of the State and city government, moved in procession to the old court
house, where the adoption of the constitution was formally proclaimed amidst
the booming of cannon and the ringing of bells.
On the 5th of November, 1788, Thomas Mifflin was elected President, and
George Rosa Vice President. The constitution of the State, framed in and
adapted to the exigencies of an emergency, was ill suited to the needs of State
114 HISTORY OF PENNSYLVANIA.
in its relations to the new nation. Accordingly, a convention assembled for
the purpose of preparing a new constitution in November, 1789, which was
finally adopted on September 2, 1790. By the provisions of this instrument,
the Executive Council was abolished, and the executive duties were vested in
the hands of a Governor. Legislation was intrusted to an Assembly and a
Senate. The judicial system was continued, the terms of the Judges extend-
ing through good behavior.
CHAPTER XIII.
Thomas Mifflin, 1788-99— Thomas McKean, 1799-1808— Simon Snyder, 1808-17—
William Findlay, 1817-20— Joseph Heister. 1820-23— John A. Shulze, 1823
-29— George Wolfe, 1829-35— Joseph Ritner, 1835-39.
THE first election under the new Constitution resulted in the choice of
Thomas Mifflin, who was re-elected for three successive terms, giving him
the distinction of having been longer in the executive chair than any other
person, a period of eleven years. A system of internal improvements was now
commenced, by which vast water communications were undertaken, and a moun-
tain of debt was accumulated, a portion of which hangs over the State to this
day. In 1793, the Bank of Pennsylvania was chartered, one-third of the cap-
ital stock of which was subscribed for by the State. Branches were established
at Lancaster, Harrisburg, Reading, Easton and Pittsburgh. The branches
were discontinued in 1810; in 1843, the stock held by the State was sold, and
in 1857, it ceased to exist. In 1793, the yellow fever visited Phila-
delphia. It was deadly in its effects and produced a panic unparalleled.
Gov. Mifflin, and Alexander Hamilton, Secretary of the United States Treasury,
were attacked. " Men of affluent fortunes, who gave daily employment and
subsistence to hundreds, were abandoned to the care of a negro after their
wives, children, friends, clerks and servants had fled away and left them to
their fate. In some cases, at the commencement of the disorder, no money
could procure proper attendance. Many of the poor perished without a hu-
man being to hand them a drink of water, to administer medicines, or to per-
form any charitable office for them. Nearly 5,000 perished bv this wasting
pestilence."
The whisky insurrection in some of the western counties of the State,
which occurred in 1794, excited, by its lawlessness and wide extent, general
interest. An act of Congress, of March 3, 1791, laid a tax on distilled spirits
of four pence per gallon. The then counties of Washington, Westmoreland,
Allegheny and Fayette, comprising the southwestern quarter of the State,
were almost exclusively engaged in the production of grain. Being far re-
moved from any market, the product of their farms brought them scarcely any
returns. The consequence was that a large proportion of the surplus grain
was turned into distilled spirits, and nearly every other farmer was a distiller.
This tax was seen to bear heavily upon them, from which a non-producer of
spirits was relieved. A rash determination was formed to resist its collection,
and a belief entertained, if all were united in resisting, it would be taken oft.
Frequent altercations occurred between the persons appointed United States
Collectors and these resisting citizens. As an example, on the 5th of Septem-
HISTORY OF PENNSYLVANIA. 115
ber, 1791, a party in disguise set upon Robert Johnson, a Collector fur Alle-
gheny and Washington, tarred and feathered him, cut off his hair, took away
his horse, and left him in this plight to proceed. Writs for the arrest of the
perpetrators were issued, but none dared to venture into the territory to serve
them. On May 8, 1792, the law was modified, and the tax reduced. In Septem-
ber, 1792, President Washington issued his proclamation commanding all per-
sons to submit to the law, and to forbear from further opposition. Bnt these meas-
ures had no effect, and the insurgents began to organize for forcible resist-
ance. One Maj. Macfarlane, who in command of a party of insurrectionists,
was killed in an encounter with United States soldiers at the house of Gen.
Neville. The feeling now ran very high, and it was hardly safe for any per-
son to breathe a whisper against the insurgents throughout all this district.
" A breath," says Brackenridge, " in favor of the law, was sufficient to ruin
any man. A clergyman was not thought orthodox in the pulpit unless against
the law. A physician was not capable of administering medicine, unless his
principles were right in this respect. A lawyer could get no practice, nor
a merchant at a country store get custom if for the law. On the contrary, to
talk against the law was the way to office and emolument. To go to the
Legislature or to Congress you must make a noise against it. It was the Shib-
boleth of safety and the ladder of ambition " One Bradford had, of his own
notion, issued a circular letter to the Colonels of regiments to assemble with
their commands at Braddock's field on the 1st of August, where they appoint-
ed officers and moved on to Pittsburgh. After having burned a barn, and
made some noisy demonstrations, they were induced by some cool heads to re-
turn. These turbulent proceedings coming to the ears of the State and Na-
tional authorities at Philadelphia, measures were concerted to promptly and
effectually check them. Gov. Mifflin appointed Chief Justice McKean, and
Gen. William Irvine to proceed to the disaffected district, ascertain the facts,
and try to bring the leaders to justice. President Washington issued a proc-
lamation commanding all persons in arms to disperse to their homes on or be-
fore the 1st of September, proximo, and called out the militia oli four States
— Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Maryland and Virginia — to the number of 13,000
men, to enforce his commands. The quota of Pennsylvania was 4,500 infan-
ts, 500 cavalry, 200 artillery, and Gov. Mifflin took command in person.
Gov. Richard Howell, of New Jersey, Gov. Thomas S. Lee, of Maryland, and
(lien. Daniel Morgan, of Virginia, commanded the forces from their States,
and Gov. Henry Lee, of Virginia, was placed in chief command. President
Washington, accompanied by Gen. Knox, Secretary of War, Alexander Hamil-
ton, Secretary of the Treasury, and Richard Peters, of the United States Dis-
trict Court, set out on the 1st of October, for the seat of the disturbance. On
Friday, the President reached Harrisburg, and on Saturday Carlisle, whither
the army had preceded him. In the meantime a committee, consisting of
James Ross, Jasper Yeates and William Bradford, was appointed by President
Washington to proceed to the disaffected district, and endeavor to persuade
misguided citizens to return to their allegiance.
k meeting of 260 delegates from the four counties was held at Parkinson's
Ferry on the 14th of August, at which the state of their cause was considered,
resolutions adopted, and a committee of sixty, one from each county, was ap-
pointed, and a sub-committee of twelve was named to confer with the United
States Commissioners, McKean and Irvine. These conferences with the State
and National Committees were successful in arranging preliminary conditions
of settlement. On the 2d of October, the Committee of Safety of the insur-
gents met at Parkinson's Ferry, and having now learned that a well-organized
116 HISTORY OF PENNSYLVANIA.
army, with Washington at its head, was marching westward for enforcing
obedience to the laws, appointed a committee of two, William Findley and
David Reddick, to meet the President, and assure bim that the disaffected were
disposed to return to their duty. They met Washington at Carlisle, and sev-
eral conferences were held, and assurances given of implicit obedience; but
the President said that as the troops had been called out, the orders for the
march would not be countei'manded. The President proceeded forward on the
11th of October to Chambersburg, reached Williamsport on the 13th and Fort
Cumberland on the 14th, where he reviewed the Virginia and Maryland forces,
and arrived at Bedford on the 19th. Remaining a few days, and being satis-
fied that the sentiment of the people had changed, he returned to Philadel-
phia, arriving on the 28th, leaving Gen. Lee to meet the Commissioners and
make such conditions of pacification as should seem just. Another meeting of
the Committee of Safety was held at Parkinson's Ferry on the 24th, at which
assurances of abandonment of opposition to the laws were received, and the
same committee, with the addition of Thomas Morton and Ephriam Douglass,
was directed to return to headquarters and give assurance of this disposition.
They did not reach Bedford until after the departure of Washington. But at
Uniontown they met Gen. Lee, with whom it was agreed that the citizens
of these four counties should subscribe to an oath to support the Constitution
and obey the laws. Justices of the Peace issued notices that books were opened
for subscribing to the oath, and Gen. Lee issued a judicious address urging
ready obedience. Seeing that all requirments were being faithfully carried
out, an order was issued on the 17th of November for the return of the army
and its disbandment. A number of arrests were made and trials and convic-
tions were had, but all were ultimately pardoned.
With the exception of a slight ebulition at the prospect of a war with France
in 1797, and a resistance to the operation of the " Homestead Tax '' in Lehigh,
Berks and Northampton Counties, when the militia was called out, the re-
mainder of the term of Gov. Mifflin passed in comparative quiet By an act
of the Legislature of the 3d of April, 1799, the capital of the State was re
moved to Lancaster, and soon after the capital of the United States to Wash-
ington, the house on Ninth street, which had been built for the residence of the
President of the United States ; passing to the use of the University of Pennsyl-
vania.
During the administrations of Thomas McKean, who was elected Governor
in 1799, and Simon Snyder in 1808, little beyond heated political contests
marked the even tenor of the government, until the breaking-out of the troub-
les which eventuated in the war of 1812. The blockade of the coast of France
in 1806, and the retaliatory measures of Napoleon in his Berlin decree, swept
American commerce, which had hitherto preserved a neutral attitude and prof-
ited by European wars, from the seas. The haughty conduct of Great Britain
in boarding American vessels for suspected deserters from the British Navy,
under cover of which the gi'ossest outrages were committed, American seaman
being dragged from the decks of their vessels and impressed into the English
service, induced President Jefferson, in July, 1807, to issue his proclamation
ordering all British armed vessels to leave the waters of the United States, and
forbidding any to enter, until satisfaction for the past and security for the
future should be provided for. Upon the meeting of Congress in December,
an embargo was laid, detaining all vessels, American and foreign, then in
American waters, and ordering home all vessels abroad. Negotiations were
conducted between the two countries, but no definite results were reached, and
in the meantime causes of irritation multiplied until 1812, when President
HISTORY OF PENNSYLVANIA. 117
Madison declared war against Great Britain, known as the war of 1812.
Pennsylvania promptly seconded the National Government, +he message of
Gov. Snyder on the occasion ringing like a silver clarion. The national call
for 100,000 men required 14,000 from this State, but so great was the enthu-
siasm, that several times this number tendered their services. The State force
was organized in two divisions, to the command of the first of which Maj
Gen. Isaac MorrellNvas appointed, and to the second Maj. Gen. AdamsonTan-
nehill. Gunboats and privateers were built in the harbor of Erie and on the
Delaware, and the defenses upon the latter were put in order and suitable
armaments provided. At Tippecanoe, at Detroit, at Queenstown Heights, at
the River Raisin, at Fort Stephenson, aud at the River Thames, the war was
waged with varying success. Upon the water, Commodores Decatur, Hull,
Jones, Perry, Lawrence, Porter and McDonough made a bright chapter in
American history, as was to be wished, inasmuch as the war had been under-
taken to vindicate the honor and integrity of that branch of the service. Napo-
leon, having met with disaster, and his power having been broken, 14,000 of
Wellington's veterans were sent to Canada, and the campaign of the next year
was opened with vigor. But at the battles of Oswego, Chippewa, Lundy's
Lane, Fort Erie and Plattsburg, the tide was turned against the enemy, and
the country saved from invasion. The act which created most alarm to
Pennsylvania was one of vandalism scarcely matched in the annals of war-
fare. In August, 1814, Gen. Ross, with 6,000 men in a flotilla of sixty sails,
moved up Chesapeake Bay, fired the capitol, Pre3ident's house and the various
offices of cabinet ministers, and these costly and substantial buildings, the nation-
al library and all the records of the Government from its foundation were utterly
destroyed. Shortly afterward, Ross appeared before Baltimore with the design
of multiplying his barbarisms, but he was met by a force hastily collected under
Gen. Samuel Smith, a Pennsylvania veteran of the Revolution, and in the brief
engagement which ensued Ross was killed. In the severe battle with the
corps of Gen Strieker, the British lost some 300 men. The fleet in the mean-
time opened a fierce bombardment of Fort McHenry, and during the day and
ensuing night 1,500 bombshells were thrown, but all to no purpose, the gal-
lant defense of Maj. Armistead proving successful. It was during this awful
night that 'Alaj. Key, who was a prisoner on board the fleet, wrote the song of
the Star Spangled Banner, which became the national lyric. It was in the ad-
ministration of Gov. Snydei in February, 1810, that an act was passed making
Harrisburg the seat of government, and a commission raised for erecting public
buildings, the sessions of the Legislature being held in the court house at Har-
risburg from 1812 to 1821.
The administrations of William Findley, elected in 1817, Joseph Heister,
in 1820, and John Andrew Schulz in 1823, followed without marked events.
Parties became very warm in their discussions and in their management of po-
litical campaigns. The charters for the forty banks which had been passed in
a fit of frenzy over the veto of Gov. Snyder set a flood of paper money afloat.
The public improvements, principally in opening lines of canal, were prose-
cuted, and vast debts incurred. These lines of conveyances were vitally need-
ful to move the immense products and vast resources of the State
Previous to the year 1820, little use was made of stone coal. Judge
Obediah Gore, a blacksmith, used it upon his forge as early as 1769, and
found the heat stronger and more enduring than that produced by charcoal.
In 1791, Phillip Ginter, of Carbon County, a hunter by profession, having on
one occasion been out all day without discovering any game, was returning at
night discouraged and worn out, .\cross the Mauch Chunk Mountain, when, in
HISTORY OF PENNSYLVANIA.
119
TABLE SHOWING AMOUNT OF ANTHRACITE COAL PRODUCED IN
EACH REGION SINCE 1820.
YEAR.
1820.
1821.
1822.
1823.
1824.
1825.
1826.
1827.
1828.
1829.
1830.
1831.
1832.
1833.
1834.
1835.
1836.
1837.
1838.
1889.
1840.
1841.
1842.
1843.
1844.
1845.
1846.
1847.
1848.
1849.
1850.
1851.
1852.
1853.
1854.
1855.
1856.
1857.
1858.
1859.
1860.
1861.
1862.
1863.
1864.
1865.
1866.
1867.
1868.
1869.
1870.
1871.
1872.
1873.
1874.
1875.
1876.
1877.
1878.
1879.
1880.
1881.
1882.
1883.
Lehigh,
Tons.
365
1,073
2,240
5,823
9,541
28,393
31,280
32,074
30,232
25,110
41,750
40,966
70,000
123,001
106,244
131,250
148,211
223,902
213,615
221,025
225,313
143,037
272,540
267.793
377,002
429,453
517,116
633,507
670,321
781,656
690,456
964,224
072,136
054,309
207,186
284,113
351,970
318,541
380,030
628,311
821,674
738,377
351,054
894,713
054,669
040,913
179,364
502,054
507,582
929,523
172,916
235,707
873,339
705,596
773,836
834.605
854.919
332,760
237,449
595,567
1 63, 221
294,676
689,437
113,809
Schuylkill
Tons.
Wyoming,
Tons.
1,480
1,128
1,567
6,500
16,767
31,360
47,284
79,973
89,934
81,854
209,271
252,971
226,692
339,508
432,045
530,152
446,875
463,147
475,091
603,003
573,273
700,200
874,850
1,121,724
1,295,928
1,650,831
1,714,365
1,683,425
1,782,936
2,229,426
2,517,493
2,551,603
2,957,670
3,318.555
3,289,585
2,985,541
2,902,821
3,004,953
3,270,516
2,697,439
2,890,593
3,433,265
3,642,218
3,755,802
4,957,180
4,334,820
4,414,356
4,821,253
3,853,016
6,552,772
6,694,890
7,212,601
6,866,877
6,281,712
fi 221,934
8,195,042
6.282,226
8,960.329
7,554.742
9,253.958
9,459,2*8
10,074,726
7,000
43,000
54,000
84,000
111,777
43,700
90,000
103,861
115,387
78,207
122,300
148,470
192,270
252,599
285,605
365,911
451,836
518,389
583,067
685,196
732,910
827,823
1,156,167
1,284,500
1,475,732
1,603,473
1,771,511
1,972,581
1,952,603
2,186,094
2,731,236
2,941,817
3,055,140
3,145,770
3,759,610
3,960,836
3,254,519
4,736,616
5,325,000
5,990,813
6.068,369
7,825,128
6,911,242
9,101,549
10,309,755
9,504,408
10,596,155
8,424,158
8.300,377
8,085,587
12,586,298
11.419,279
13,951.383
13,971,371
15,604,492
Lyken's
Valley,
Shamokin,
etc.,
Tons.
Total Tons.
11,930
15,505
21,463
10,000
10,000
13,087
10,000
12,572
14,904
19,356
45,075
57,684
99,099
119,342
113,507
234,090
234,388
313,444
388,256
370,424
443,755
479,116
463,308
481,990
478,418
519,752
621,157
830,722
826,851
921,381
903,885
998,839
365
1,073
3,720
6,951
11,108
34,893
48,047
63,434
77,516
112,083
174,734
176,820
363,871
487,748
376,636
560,758
684,117
879,441
738,697
818,402
864,384
959,973
1,108,418
1,263,598
1,630,850
2,013,013
2,344,005
2,882,309
3,089,238
3,242,966
3 358,899
4,448,916
4,993,471
5,195,151
6,002,334
6.608,517
6,927,580
6,664,941
6,759,369
7,808,255
8,513,123
7,954,314
7,875,412
9,566,006
10,177,475
9,652,391
12,703,882
12.991,725
13,834,132
13,723,030
15,849,899
15,699,721
19,669,778
21,227,952
20,145,121
19,712,472
18,501,011
20,828,179
17,605,262
26,142,689
23,437,242
28,500,016
29,120,096
31,793,029
120 HISTORY 07 PENNSYLVANIA.
the gathering shades he stumbled upon something which seemed to have a
glistening appearance, that he was induced to pick up and carry home. This
specimen was takea to Philadelphia, where an analysis showed it to be a good
quality of anthracite coal. But, though coal was known to exist, no one knew
how to use it. In 1812, Col. George Shoemaker, of Schuylkill County, took
nine wagon loads to Philadelphia. But he was looked upon as an imposter
for attempting to sell worthless stone for coal. He finally sold two loads for
the cost of transportation, the remaining seven proving a complete loss. In
1812, While & Hazard, manufacturers of wire at the Falls of Schuylkill, in-
duced an application to be made to the Legislature to incorporate a com-
pany for the improvement of the Schuylkill, urging as an inducement the im-
portance it Would have for transporting coal; whereupon, the Senator from
that district, in his place, with an air of knowledge, asserted "that there was
no coal there, that there was a kind of black stone which was called coal, but
that it would not burn."
White & Hazard procured a cart load of Lehigh coal that cost them $1 a
bushel, which was all wasted in a vain attempt to make it ignite. Another
cart load was obtained, and a whole night spent in endeavoring to make a fire-
in the furnace, when the hands shut the furnace door and left the mill in de-
spair. "Fortunately one of them left his jacket in the mill, and returning for
it in about half an hour, noticed that the door was red hot, and upon opening
it, was surprised at finding the whole furnace at a glowing white heat. The
other hands were summoned, and four separate parcels of iron were heated
and rolled by the same fire before it required renewing. The furnace was
replenished, and as letting it alone had succeeded so well, it was concluded to
try it again, and the experiment was repeated with the same result. The
Lehigh Navigation Company and the Lehigh Coal Company were incorporated
in 1818, which companies became the basis of the Lehigh Coal and Naviga-
tion Company, incorporated in 1822. In 1820, coal was sent to Philadelphia
by artificial navigation, but 365 tons glutted the market." In 1825, there
were brought by the Schuylkill 5,378 tons. In 1826, by the Schuylkill,
16,265 tons, and by the Lehigh 31,280 tons. The stage of water being in-
sufficient, dams and sluices were constructed near Mauch Chunk, in 1819, by
which the navigation was improved. The coal boats used were great square
arks, 16 to 18 feet wide, and 20 to 25 feet long. At first, two of these were
joined together by hinges, to allow them to yield up and down in passing over
the dams. Finally, as the boatmen became skilled in the navigation, several
were joined, attaining a length of 180 feet. Machinery was used for jointing
the planks, and so expert had the men become that five would build an ark
and launch it in forty-five minutes. After reaching Philadelphia, these boats
were taken to pieces, the plank sold, and the hinges sent back for constructing
others. Such were the crude methods adopted in the early days for bringing
coal to a market. In 1827, a railroad was commenced, which was completed
in three months, nine miles in length. This, with the exception of one at
Quincy, Mass., of four miles, built in 1826, was the first constructed in the
United States. The descent was 100 feet per mile, and the coal descended by
gravity in a half hour, and the cars were drawn back by mules, which rode
down with the coal. "The mules cut a most grotesque figure, standing three
or four together, in their cars, with their feeding troughs before them, appar-
ently surveying with delight the scenery of the mountain; and though they
preserve the most profound gravity, it is utterly impossible for the spectator
to maintain his. It is said that the mules, having once experienced the com-
fort of riding down, regard it as a right, and neither mild nor Bevere measures
HISTORY OF PENNSYLVANIA. 121
will induce them to descend in any other way." Bituminous coal was discov-
ered and its qualities utilized not much earlier than the anthracite. A tract
of coal land was taken up in Clearfield County in 1785, by Mr. 8. Boyd, and
in 1804 he sent an ark down the Susquehanna to Columbia, which caused
much surprise to the inhabitants that "an article with which they were wholly
unacquainted should be brought to their own doors."
During the administrations of George Wolf, elected in 1829, and Joseph
Ritner, elected in 1835, a measure of great beneficence to the State was passed
and brought into a good degree of successful operation — nothing less than a
broad system of public education. Schools had been early established in
Philadelphia, and parochial schools in the more populous portions of the
State from the time of early settlement. In 1749, through the influence of
Dr. Franklin, a charter was obtained for a "college, academy, and charity
school of Pennsylvania," and from this time to the beginning of the present
century, the friends of education were earnest in establishing colleges, the
Colonial Government, and afterward the Legislature, making liberal grants
from the revenues accruing from the sale of lauds for their support, the uni-
versity of Pennsylvania being chartered in 1752, Dickinson College in 1783,
Franklin and Marshall College in 1787, and Jefferson College in 1802. Com-
mencing near the beginning of this century, and continuing for over a period
of thirty years, vigorous exertions were put forth to establish county acad-
emies. Charters were granted for these institutions at the county seats of
forty-one counties, and appropriations were made oE money, varying from
$2,000 to $6,000, and in several instances of quite extensive land grants. In
1809, an act was passed for the education of the "poor, gratis." The Asses-
sors in their annual rounds were to make a record of all such as were indi-
gent, and pay for their education in the most convenient schools. But few
were found among the spirited inhabitants of the commonwealth willing to
admit that they were so poor as to be objects of charity.
By the act of April 1, 1834, a general system of education by common
schools was established. Unfortunately it was complex and unwieldy. At the
next session an attempt was made to repeal it, and substitute the old law of
1809 for educating the " poor, gratis," the repeal having been carried in the
Senate. But through the appeals of Thaddeus Stevens, a man always in the
van in every movement for the elevation of mankind, this was defeated. At
the next session, 1836, an entirely new bill, discarding the objectionable feat-
ures of the old one, was prepared by Dr. George Smith, of Delaware County,
and adopted, and from this time forward has been in efficient operation. It may
seem strange that so long a time should have elapsed before a general system of
education should have been secured. But the diversity of origin and lan-
guage, the antagonism of religious seats, the very great sparseness of popula-
tion in many parts, made it impossible at an earlier day to establish schools.
In 1854, the system was improved by engrafting upon it the feature of the
County Superintendency, and in 1859 by providing for the establishment of
twelve Normal Schools, in as many districts into which the State was divided,
for the professional training of teachers.
122 HISTORY OF PENNSYLVANIA.
CHAPTEE XIV.
David R. Porter, 1839-45— Francis R. Shone, 1845-48— William F. Johnstone
1848-52— William Bigler, 1853-55— James Pollock, 1855-58— William F.
Packer, 1858-61— Andrew G. Curtin, 1861-67— John W. Geary, 1867-73—
John F. Hartranft, 1873-78— Henry F. Hoyt, 1878-82— Robert E. Pat-
tison, 1882.
IN 1837, a convention assembled in Harrisburg, and subsequently in Philadel-
phia, for revising the constitution, which revision was adopted by a vote of
the people. One of the chief objects of the change was the breaking up of
what was known as "omnibus legislation." each bill being required to have
but one distinct subject, to be definitely stated in the title. Much of the pat-
ronage of the Governor was taken from him, and he was allowed but two terms
of three years in any nine years. The Senator's term was fixed at three years.
The terms of Supreme Court Judges were limited to fifteen years, Common
Pleas Judges to ten, and Associate Judges to five. A step backward was taken
' i limiting suffrage to white male citizens twenty-one years old, it having pre-
viously been extended to citizens irrespective of color. Amendments could be
proposed once in five years, and if adopted by two successive Legislatures,
and approved by a vote of the people, they became a part of the organic law.
At the opening of the gubernatorial term of David R. Porter, who was
chosen in October, 1838, a civil commotion occurred known as the Buckshot
War, which at one time threatened a sanguinary result. By the returns,
Porter had some 5,000 majority over Ritner, but the latter, who was the in-
cumbent, alleged frauds, and proposed an investigation and revision of the
returns. Thomas H. Burrows was Secretary of State, and Chairman of the
State Committee of the Anti-Masonic party, and in an elaborate address to the
people setting forth the grievance, he closed with the expression " let us treat
the election as if we had not been defeated. " This expression gave great
offense to the opposing party, the Democratic, and public feeling ran high
before the meeting of the Legislature. Whether an investigation could be had
would depend up'on the political complexion of that body. The Senate was
clearly Anti-Masonic, and the House would depend upon the Representatives of
a certain district in Philadelphia, which embraced the Northern Liberties.
The returning board of this district had a majority of Democrats, who pro-
ceeded to throw out the entire vote of Northern Liberties, for some alleged
irregularities, and gave the certificate to Democrats. Whereupon, the minor-
ity of the board assembled, and counted the votes of the Northern Liberties,
which gave the election to the Anti -Masonic candidates, and sent certificates
accordingly. By right and justice, there is no doubt that the Anti-Masons
were fairly elected. But the majority of a returning board alone have
authority to make returns, and the Democrats had the certificates which bore
prima facie evidence of being correct, and should have been received and
transmitted to the House, where alone rested the authority to go behind the
returns and investigate their correctness. But upon the meeting oE the House
the Secretary of the Commonwealth sent in the certificates of the minority of
the returning board of the Northern Liberties district, Which gave the major-
ity to the Anti -Masons. But the Democrats were not disposed to submit, and
HISTORY OF PENNSYLVANIA. 123
the consequence was that two delegations from the disputed district appeared,
demanding seats, and upon the organization, two Speakers were elected and
took the platform — Thomas S. Cunningham for the Anti-Masons, and Will-
iam Hopkins for the Democrats. At this stage of the game, an infuriated
lobby, collected from Philadelphia and surrounding cities, broke into the
two Houses, and, interrupting all business, threatened the lives of members,
and compelled them to seek safety in flight, when they took uncontrolled pos-
session of the chambers and indulged in noisy and impassioned harangues.
From the capitol, the mob proceeded to the court houso, where a "committee
of safety" was appointed. For several days the members dared not enter
either House, and when one of the parties of the House attempted to assemble,
the person who had been appointed to act as Speaker was forcibly ejected. All
business was at an end, and the Executive and State Departments were closed.
At this juncture, Gov. Ritner ordered out the militia, and at the same time
called on the United States authorities for help. The militia, under Gens.
Pattison and Alexander, came promptly to the rescue, but the Presidentrefused
to furnish the National troops, though the United States storekeeper at. the
Frankford Arsenal turned over a liberal supply of ball and buckshot cartridges.
The arrival of the militia only served to tire the spirit of the lobby, and they
immediately commenced drilling and organizing, supplying themselves with
arms and fixed ammunition. The militia authorities were, however, able to
clear the capitol, when the two Houses assembled, and the Senate signified the
willingness to recognize that branch of the House presided over by Mr. Hop-
kins. This ended the difficulty, and Gov. Porter was duly inaugurated.
Francis R. Shunk was chosen Governor in 1845, and during his term of
office the war with Mexico occurred. Two volunteer regiment?, one under
command of Col. Wynkoop, and the other under Col. Roberts, subsequently
Col. John W. Geary, were sent to the field, while the services of a much
larger number were offered, but could not be received. Toward the close of
his first term, having been reduced by sickness, and feeling his end approach-
ing, Gov. Shunk resigned, and was succeeded by the Speaker of the Senate,
William F. Johnston, who was duly chosen at the next annual election. Dur-
ing the administrations of William Bigler, elected in 1851, James Pollock in
1854, and William F. Packer in 1857, little beyond the ordinary course of
events marked the history of the State. The lines of public works undertaken
at the expense of the State were completed. Their cost had been enormous,
and a debt was piled up against it of over $40,000,000. These works, vastly
expensive, were still to operate and keep in repair, and the revenues therefrom
failing to meet expectations, it was determined in the administration of Gov.
Pollock to sell them to the highest bidder, the Pennsylvania Railroad Com-
pany purchasing them for the sum of $7,500,000.
In the administration of Gov. Packer, petroleum was first discovered in
quantities in this country by boring into the bowels of the earth. From the
earliest settlement of the country it was known to exist. As early as July 18,
1627, a French missionary, Joseph Delaroche Daillon, of the order of Recol-
iets, described it in a letter published in 1632, in Segard's L'Histoire du
Canada, and this description is confirmed by the journal of Charlevois, 1721.
Fathers Dollier and Galinee, missionaries of the order of St. Sulpice, made a
map of this section of couutry, which they sent to Jean Talon, Intendent of
Canada, on the 10th of November, 1670, on which was marked at about the
point where is now the town of Cuba, N. Y. , "Fontaine de Bitume." The
Earl of Belmont, Governor of New York, instructed his chief engineer,
Wolfgang W. Romer, on September 3, 1700, in his visit to the Six Nations,
124 HISTORY OF PENNSYLVANIA.
" To go and view a well or spring which is eight miles beyond the Seneks*
farthest castle, which they have told me blazes up in a flame, when a lighted
coale or firebrand is put into it; you will do well to taste the said water, and
give me your opinion thereof, and bring with you some of it." Thomas Cha-
bert de Joncaire, who died in September, 1740, is mentioned in the journal of
Charlevoix of 1721 as authority for the existence of oil at the place mentioned
above, and at points further south, probably on Oil Creek. The following
account of an event occurring during the occupancy of this part of the State
by the French is given as an example of the religious uses made of oil by the
Indians, as these fire dances are understood to have been annually celebrated:
''While descending the Allegheny, fifteen leagues below the mouth of the
Connewango (Warren) and three above Fort Venango (Oil City), we were
invited by the chief of the Senecas to attend a religious ceremony of his tribe.
We landed and drew up our canoes on a point where a small stream entered
the river. The tribe appeared unusually solemn. We marched up the stream
about a half a league, where the company, a large band it appeared, had
arrived some days before us. Gigantic hills begirt us on every side. The
scene was really sublime. The great chief then recited the conquests and
heroisms of their ancestors. The surface of the stream was covered with a
thick scum, which burst into a complete conflagration. The oil had been
gathered and lighted with a torch. At sight of the flames, the Indians gave
forth a triumphant shout, and made the hills and valley re-echo again."
In nearly all geographies and notes of travel published during the early
period of settlement, this oil is referred to, and on several maps the word petro-
leum appears opposite the mouth of Oil Creek. Gen. Washington, in his will,
in speaking of his lands on the Great Kanawha, says: " The tract of which the
125 acres is a moiety, was taken up by Gen. Andrew Lewis and myself, for and
on account of a bituminous spring which it contains of so inflammable a nat-
ure as to burn as freely as spirits, and is as nearly difficult to extinguish."
Air. Jefferson, in his Notes on Virginia, also gives an account of a burning
spring on the lower grounds of the Great Kanawha. This oil not only seems
to have been known, but to have been systematically gathered in very early
times. Upon the flats a mile or so below the city of Titusville are many acres
of cradle holes dug out and lined with split logs, evidently constructed for
the purpose of gathering it. The fact that the earliest inhabitants could
never discover any stumps from which these logs were cut. and the further fact
that trees are growing of giant size in the midst of these cradles, are evidences
that they must have been operated long ago. It could not have been the work
of any ol the nomadic Indian tribes found here at the coming of the white
man. for they were never known to undertake any enterprise involving so
much labor, and what could they do with the oil when obtained.
The French could hardly have done the work, for we have no account of
the oil having been obtained in quantities, or of its being transported to
France. May this not have been the work of the Mound- Builders, or of colo-
nies from Central America? When the writer first visited these pits, in 1855,
he found a spring some distance below Titusville, on Oil Creek, where the
water was conducted into a trough, from which, daily, the oil, floating on its
surface, was taken off by throwing a woolen blanket upon it, and then wring-
ing it into a tub, the clean wool absorbing the oil and rejecting the water, and
in this way a considerable quantity was obtained.
In 1859, Mr. E. L. Drake, at first representing a company in New York,
commenced drilling near the spot where this tub was located, and when the
company would give him no more money, straining his own resources, and his
HISTORY OF PENNSVLVANIA. 125
credit with his friends almost to the breaking point, and when about to give
up in despair, finally struck a powerful current of pure oil. From this time
forward, the territory down the valley of Oil Creek and up all its tributaries
was rapidly acquired and developed for oil land. In some places, the oil was
sent up with immense force, at the rate of thousands of barrels each day, and
great trouble was experienced in bringing it under control <md storing it. In
some cases, the force of the gas was so powerful on being accidentally fired,
as to defy all approach for many days, and lighted up the forests at night
with billows of light.
The oil has been found in paying quantities in McKean, Warren, Forest,
Crawford, Venango, Clarion, Butler and Armstrong Counties, chiefly along
the upper waters of the Allegheny River and its tributary, the Oil Creek. It
was first transported in barrels, and teams were kept busy from the first dawn
until far into the night. As soon as practicable, lines of railway were con-
structed from nearly all the trunk lines. Finally barrels gave place to im-
mense iron tanks riveted upon cars, provided for the escape of the gases, and
later great pipe lines were extended from the wells to the seaboard, and to the
Great Lakes, through which the fluid is forced by steam to its distant destina-
tions Its principal uses are for illumination and lubricating, though many
of its products are employed in the mechanic arts, notably for dyeing, mixing
of paints, and in the practice of medicine. Its production has grown to be
enormous, and seems as yet to show no sign of diminution. We give an ex-
hibit of the annual production since its discovery, compiled for tbis work by
William II. Siviter, editor of the Oil City Derrick, wh'^h is the acknowledged
authority on oil matters:
Production of the Pennsylvania Oil Fields, compiled from the Derrick's
Hand-book, December, 1883:
Barrels, Barrels.
1859 82,000 1873 9,849,508
1860 500,000 1874 ...11,102,114
1861 2,113,U00 1875 8,948,749
1862 3.056,606 1876 9,142,940
1863 2.611,399 1877 13,052,713
1864 2,116,182 1878 15,011,425
1865 3.497,712 1879 20.085,716
1866 3,597,512 1880 24,788,950
1867 3.347,306 1881 29,674,458
1868 3. 715, 741 1882 31,789, 190
1869 4,186,475 1883 24,385,966
1870 5,308,046
1871 5,278,076 A grand total of 13,749,558
1872 6,505,774
In the fall of 1860, Andrew G. Curtin was elected Governor of Pennsyl-
vania, and Abraham Lincoln President of the United States. An organized
rebellion, under the specious name of secession, was thereupon undertaken,
embracing parts of fifteen States, commonly designated the Slave States, and
a government established under the name of the Confederate States of America,
with an Executive and Congress, which commenced the raising of troops for
defense.
On the 12th of April, an attack was made upon a small garrison of United
States troops shut up in Fort Sumter. This was rightly interpreted as the
first act in a great drama. On the 15th, the President summoned 75,000 vol-
unteers to vindicate the national authority, calling for sixteen regiments from
Pennsylvania, and urging that two be sent forward immediately, as the capital
was without defenders.
The people of the State, having no idea that war could be possible, had no
126 HISTORY OF PENNSYLVANIA.
preparation for the event, There chanced at the time to be five companies in
a tolerable state of organization. These were the Ringold Light Artillery,
Capt. McKnight, of Reading; the Logan Guards, Capt. Selheirner, of Lewis-
town; the Washington Artillery, Capt. Wren, and the National Light Infan-
try, Capt. McDonald, of Pottsville; and the Allen Rifles, Capt. Yeager, of
Allentown.
On the 18th, in conjunction with a company of fifty regulars, on their way
from the West to Fort McHenry, under command of Capt. Pemberton, after-
ward Lieut. Gen. Pemberton, of the rebel army, these troops moved by rail
for Washington. At Baltimore, they were obliged to march two miles through
a jeering and insulting crowd. At the center of the city, the regulars filed
off toward Fort McHenry, leaving the volunteers to pursue their way alone,
when the crowd of maddened people were excited to redoubled insults. In the
whole battalion there was not a charge of powder; but a member of the Logan
Guards, who chanced to have a box of percussion caps in his pocket, had dis-
tributed them to his comrades, who carried their pieces capped and half
cocked, creating the impression that they were loaded and ready for service.
This ruse undoubtedly saved the battalion from the murderous assault made
upon the Massachusetts Sixth on the following day. Before leaving, they were
pelted with stones and billets of wood while boarding the cars; but, fortu-
nately, none were seriously injured, and the train finally moved away and
reached Washington in safety, the first troops to come to the unguarded and
imperiled capital.
Instead of sixteen, twenty-five regiments were organized for the three months'
service from Pennsylvania. Judging from the threatening attitude assumed
by the rebels across the Potomac that the southern frontier would be con-
stantly menaced, Gov. Curtin sought permission to organize a select corps,,
to consist of thirteen regiments of infantry, one of cavalry, and one of artillery r
and to be known as the Pennsylvania Reserve Corps, which the Legislature, in
special session, granted. This corps of 15,000 men was speedily raised, and the
intention of the State authorities was to keep this body permamently within
the limits of the Commonwealth for defense. But at the time of the First
Bull Run disaster in July, 1861, the National Government found itself with-
out troops to even defend the capital, the time of the three months' men being
now about to expire, and at it3 urgent call this fine body was sent forward and
never again returned for the execution of the duty for which it was formed,
having borne the brunt of the fighting on many a hard- fought field during the
three years of its service.
In addition to the volunteer troops furnished in response to the several
calls of the President, upon the occasion of the rebel invasion of Maryland in
September, 1862, Gov. Curtin called 50,000 men for the emergency, and
though the time was very brief, 25,000 came, were organized under command
of Gen. John F. Reynolds, and were marched to the border. But the battle of
Antietam, fought on the 17th of September, caused the enemy to beat a hasty
retreat, and the border was relieved when the emergency troops were dis-
banded and returned to their homes. On the 19th of October, Gen. J. E. B.
Stewart, of the rebel army, with 1,800 horsemen under command of Hampton,
Lee and Jones, crossed the Potomac and made directly for Chambersburg,
arriving after dark. Not waiting for morning to attack, he sent in a flag of
truce demanding the surrender of the town. There were 275 Union soldiers in
hospital, whom he paroled. During the night, the troopers were busy picking
up horses — swapping horses perhaps it should be called — and the morning saw
them early on the move. The rear guard gave notice before leaving to re-
HISTORY OF PENNSYLVANIA. 127
move all families from the neighborhood of the public buildings, as they in-
tended to lire them. There was a large amount of fixed ammunition in them,
which had been captured from Longstreet' s train, besides Government stores
of shoes, clothing and muskets. At 11 o'clock the station house, round house,
railroad machine shops and warehouses were fired and consigned to
destruction. The fire department was promptly out; but it was dangerous to
approach the burning buildings on account of the ammunition, and all
perished.
The year 1862 was one of intense excitement and activity. From about the
1st of May, 1861, to the end of 1862, there were recruited in the State of Penn-
sylvania, one hundred and eleven regiments, including eleven of cavalry and
three of artillery, for three years' service; twenty-five regiments for three months;
seventeen for nine months; fifteen of drafted militia; and twenty-five called out
for the emergency, an aggregate of one hundred and ninety- three regiments — a-
grand total of over 200,000 men — a great army in itself.
In June, 1863, Gen. ttobert E. Lee, with his entire army of Northern Vir-
ginia, invaded Pennsylvania. The Army of the Potorrfac, under Gen. Joseph
Hooker, followed. The latter was superseded on the 28th of June by Gen. George
G. Meade. The vanguards of the army met a mile or so out of Gettysburg on the
Chambersburg pike on the morning of the 1st of July. Hill's corps of the
rebel army was held in check by the sturdy fighting of a small division of
cavalry under Gen. Buford until 10 o'clock, when Gen. Reynolds came to his
relief with the First Corps. While bringing his forces into action, Reynolds
was killed, and the command devolved on Gen. Abner Doubleday, and the
fighting became terrible, the Union forces being greatly outnumbered. At 2
o'clock in the afternoon, the Eleventh Corps, Gen. O. O. Howard, came to the
support of the First. But now the corps of Ewell had joined hands with Hill,,
and a full two-thirds of the entire rebel army was on the field, opposed by
only the two weak Union corps, in an inferior position. A sturdy fight was
however maintained until 5 o'clock, when the Union forces withdrew through
the town, and took position upon rising ground covering the Baltimore pike.
During the night the entire Union army came up, with the exception of the
Sixth Corps, and took position, and at 2 o'clock in the morning Gen. Meade
and staff came on the field. During the morning hours, and until 4 o'clock in
the afternoon, the two armies were getting into position for the desperate
struggle. The Third Corps, Gen. Sickles, occupied the extreme left, his corps
abutting on the Little Round Top at the Devil's Den, and reaching, en echelon,
through the rugged ground to the Peach Orchard, and thence along the Em-
mettsburg pike, where it joined the Second Corps, Gen. Hancock, reaching
over Cemetery Hill, the Eleventh Corps, Gen. Howard, the First, Gen. Double-
day, and the Twelfth, Gen. Slocum, reaching across Culp's Hill — the whole
crescent shape. To this formation the rebel army conformed, Longstreet op-
posite the Union left, Hill opposite the center, and Ewell opposite the Union
right. At 4 P. M. the battle was opened by Longstreet, on the extreme left of
Sickles, and the fighting became terrific, the rebels making strenuous efforts
to gain Little Round Top. But at the opportune moment a part of the Fifth
Corps, Gen. Sykes, was brought upon that key position, and it was saved to
the Union side. The slaughter in front of Round Top at the wheat-field and
the Peach Orchard was fearful. The Third Corps was driven back from its
advanced position, and its commander, Gen. Sickles, was wounded, losing a
leg. In a more contracted position, the Union lino was made secure, where it
rested for the night. Just at dusk, the Louisiana Tigers, some 1,800 men,
made a desperate charge on Cemetery Hill, emerging suddenly from a hillock
128 HISTORY OF PENNSYLVANIA.
just back of the town. The struggle was desperate, but the Tigers being
weakened by the fire of the artillery, and by the infantry crouching behind the
stone wall, the onset was checked, and Carroll's brigade, of the Second Corps,
coming to the rescue, they were finally beaten back, terribly decimated. At
about the same time, a portion of Etvell's corps made an advance on the ex-
treme Union right, at a point where the troops had been withdrawn to send to
the support of Sickles, and unopposed, gained the extremity of Culp's Hill,
pushing through nearly to the Baltimore pike, in dangerous proximity to the
reserve artillery and trains, and even the headquarters of the Union com-
mander. But in their attempt to roll up the Union right they were met by
Green's brigade of the Twelfth Corps, and by desperate fighting their further
progress was stayed. Thus ended the battle of the second day. The Union left
and right had been sorely jammed and pushed back.
At 4 o'clock on the morning of the 3d of July, Gen. Geary, who had been
ordered away to the support of Sickles, having returned during the night and
taken position on the right of Green, opened the battle for the recovery of his
lost breastworks on the right of Culp's Hill. Until 10 o'clock, the battle raged
with unabated fury. The heat was intolerable, and the sulphurous vapor
hung like a pall over the combatants, shutting out the light of day. The
fighting was i n the midst of the forest, and the echoes resounded with fearful
distinctness. The Twelfth Corps was supported by portions of the Sixth,
which had now come up. At length the enemy, weakened and finding them-
selves overborne on all sides, gave way, and the Union breastworks were re-
occupied and the Union right made entirely secure. Comparative quiet now
reigned on either side until 2 o'clock in the afternoon, in the meantime both
sides bringing up fresh troops and repairing damages. The rebel leader hav-
ing brought his best available artillery in upon his right center, suddenly
opened with 150 pieces a concentric fire upon the devoted Union left center,
where stood the troops of Hancock and Doubleday and Sickles. The shock
was terrible. Rarely has such a cannonade been known on any field. For
nearly two hours it was continued. Thinking that the Union line had been
broken and demoralized by this fire, Longstreet brought out a fresh corps of
some 18,000 men, under Pickett, and charged full upon the point which had
been the mark for the cannonade. As soon as this charging column came into
view, the Union artillery opened upon it from right and left and center, and
rent it with fearful effect. When come within musket range, the Union
troops, who had been crouching behind slight pits and a low stone wall,
poured in a most murderous fire. Still the rebels pushed forward with a bold
face, and actually crossed the Union lines and had their hands on the Union
guns. But the slaughter was too terrible to withstand. The killed and
wounded lay scattered over all the plain. Many were gathered in as prisoners.
Finally, the remnant staggered back, and the battle of Gettysburg was at an
end.
Gathering all in upon his fortified line, the rebel chieftain fell to strength-
ening it, which he held with a firm hand. At night-fall, he put his trains
with the wounded upon the retreat. During the 4th, great activity in build-
ing works was manifest, and a heavy skirmish line was kept well out, which
resolutely met any advance of Union forces. The entire fighting force of the
rebel army remained in position behind their breastworks on Oak Ridge, until
nightfall of the 4th, when, under cover of darkness, it was withdrawn, and
before morning was well on its way to Williamsport. The losses on the Union
side were 2,834 killed, 13,709 wounded, and 6,643 missing, an aggregate of
23,186. Of the losses of the enemy, no adequate returns were made. Meade
HISTOKY OF PENNSYLVANIA. 129
reports 13.621 prisoners taken, and the losses by killed and wounded must
have been greater than on the Union side. On the rebel side, Maj. Gens.
Hood, Pender, Trimble and Heth were wounded, Pender mortally. Brig.
Gens. Barksdale and Garnett were killed, an 1 Semms mortally wounded.
Brig. Gens. Kemper, Armistead, Scales, G. T. Anderson, Hampton, J. M.
Jones and Jenkins were wounded; Archer was taken prisoner and Pettigrew
was wounded arid subsequently killed at Falling Waters. In the Union army
Vlaj. Gen. Reynolds and Brig. Gens. Vincent, Weed, Willard and Zook were
iilled. Maj. Gens. Sickles, Hancock, Doubleday. Gibbon, Barlow, Warren
md Butterfield, and Brig. Gens. Graham, Paul, Stone, Barnes and Brooke
were wounded. A National Cemetery was secured on the center of the field,
where, as soon as the weather would permit, the dead were gathered and care-
fully interred. Of the enl.ire number interred, 3,512, Maine had 104; New
Hampshire, 49; Vermont, 61; Massachusetts, 159; Rhode Island, 12; Con-
necticut, 22; New York, 867; New Jersey, 78; Pennsylvania, 534; Delaware,
15; Maryland^ 22; West Virginia, 11; Ohio, 131; Indiana, 80; Illinois, 6;
Michigan, 171; "Wisconsin, 73; Minnesota, 52; United States Regulars, 138;
unknown, 979. In the center of the field, a noble monument has been erect-
ed, and on the 19th of November, 1864, the ground was formally dedicated,
when the eminent orator, Edward Everett, delivered an oration, and President
Lincoln delivered the following dedicatory address:
"Fourscore and seven years ago, our fathers brought forth upon this conti-
nent a new nation, conceived in liberty, and dedicated to the proposition that
all men are created equal. Now we are engaged in a great civil war, testing
whether that nation or any nation so conceived and so dedicated, can long en-
dure. W 7 e are met on a great battle field o£ that war. We are met to dedi-
cate a portion of it as the final resting place of those who here gave their
lives that this nation might live. It is altogether fitting and proper that we
should do this. But in a larger sense we cannot dedicate, we cannot conse-
crate, we cannot hallow this ground. The brave men, living and dead, who
struggled here have consecrated it far above our power to add or detract.
The world will little note nor long remember what we say here, but it can
never forget what they did here. It is for us, the living, rather to be dedi-
cated here to the unfinished work that they have thus far so nobly carried on.
It is rather for us to be here dedicated to the great task remaining before us—
,hat from these honored dead we take increased devotion to the cause for which
they here gave the last full measure of devotion — that we here highly resolve
that the dead shall not have died in vain; that the nation shall, under God,
have a new birth of freedom, and that the government of the people, by the
people, and for the people shall not perish from the earth.''
So soon as indications pointed to a possible invasion of the North by the
rebel army under Gen. Lee, the State of Pennsylvania was organized in two
military departments, that of the Susquehanna, to the command of which
Darius N. Couch was assigned, with headquarters at Harrisburg, and that ot
the Monongahela, under W. T. H. Brooks, with headquarters at Pittsburgh.
Urgent calls for the militia were made, and large numbers in regiments, in
companies, in squadrons came promptly at the call to the number of over 36,-
000 men, who were organized for a period of ninety days. Fortifications
were thrown up to cover Harrisburg and Pittsburgh, and the troops were moved
to threatened points. But before they could be brought into action, the great
decisive conflict had been fought, and the enemy driven from northern soil.
Four regiments under Gen. Brooks were moved into Ohio to aid in arresting a
raid undertaken by John Morgan, who, with 2,000 horse and four guns, had
crossed the Ohio River for a diversion in favor of Lee. o
130 HISTORY OF PENNSYLVANIA.
In the beginning of July, 1864, Gen. Early invaded Maryland, and rnado
his way to the threshold of Washington. Fearing another invasion of the
State, Gov. Curtin called for volunteers to serve for 100 days. Gen. Conch
was still at the head of the department of the Susquehanna, and six regiments
and six companies were organized, but as fast as organized they were called to
the front, the last regiment leaving the State on the 29th of July. On the
evening of this day, Gens. McCausland, Bradley Johnson and Harry Gilmore,
with 3,000 mounted men and six guns, crossed the Potomac, and made their
way to Chambersburg. Another column of 3,000, under Vaughn and Jackson
advanced to Hagerstown, and a third to Leitersburg. Averell, with a small
force, was at Hagerstown, but finding himself over-matched withdrew through
Greencastle to Mount Hope. Lieut. McLean, with fifty men in front of Mc-
Causland, gallantly kept his face to the foe, and checked the advance at every
favorable point. On being apprised of their coming, the public stores at Cham-
bersburg were moved northward. At six A. M. , McCausland opened his bat-
teries upon the town, but, finding it unprotected, took possession. Ringing the
court house bell to call the people together, Capt. Fitzhugh read an order to
the assembly, signed by Gen. Jubal Early, directing the command to proceed
to Chambersburg and demand $100,000 in gold, or $500,000 in greenbacks,
and, if not paid, to burn the town. While this parley was in progress, hats,
caps, boots, watches, clothing and valuables were unceremoniously appropriated,
and purses demanded at the point of the bayonet. As money was not in hand
to meet so unexpected a draft, the torch was lighted. In less than a quarter
of an hour from the time the first match was applied, the whole business part
of the town was in flames. No notice was given for removing the women and
children and sick. Burning parties were sent into each quarter of the town,
which made thorough work. With the exception of a few houses upon the
outskirts, the whole was laid in ruins. ^ Retiring rapidly, the entire rebel
command recrossed the Potomac before any adequate force could be gathered
to check its progress.
The whole number of soldiers recruited under the various calls for troops
from the State of Pennsylvania was 366,000. By authority of the common-
wealth, in 1866, the commencement was made of the publication of a history
of these volunteer organizations, embracing a brief historical account of the
part taken by each regiment and independent body in every battle in which it
was engaged, with the name, rank, date of muster, period for which he en-
listed, casualties, and fate of every officer and private. This work was com-
pleted in 1872, in five imperial octavo volumes of over 1,400 pages each.
In May, 1861, the Society of the Cincinnati of Pennsylvania, an organiza-
tion of the officers of the Revolutionary war and their descendants, donated
$500 toward arming and equipping troops. By order of the Legislature,
this sum was devoted to procuring flags for the regiments, and each organiza-
tion that went forth, was provided with one emblazoned with the arms of the
commonwealth. These flags, seamed and battle stained, were returned at the
close of the war, and are now preserved in a room devoted to the purpose in
the State capitol — precious emblems of the daring and suffering of that great
army that went forth to uphold and maintain the integrity of the nation.
When the war was over, the State undertook the charge of providing for
all soldiers' orphans in schools located in different parts of its territory, fur-
nishing food, clothing, instruction and care, until they should be grown to
manhood and womanhood. The number thus gathered and cared for has been
some 7,500 annually, for a period of nineteen years, at an average annual ex-
pense of some $600,000.
HISTORY OF PENNSYLVANIA. 131
At the election in 1866, John W. Geary, a veteran General of the late war.
was chosen Governor. During his administration, settlements were made with
the General Government, extraordinary debts incurred during the war were
paid, and a large reduction of the old debt of $40,000,000 inherited from the
construction of the canals, was made. A convention for a revision of the con-
stitution was ordered by act of April 11, 1872. This convention assembled in
Harrisburg November 18, and adjourned to meet in Philadelphia, where it
convened on the 7th of January, 1873, and the instrument framed was adopted
on the 18th of December, 1873. By its provisions, the number of Senators
was increased from thirty-three to fifty, and Representatives from 100 to 201,
subject to further increase in proportion to increase of population; biennial,
in place of annual sessions? making the term of Supreme Court Judges twenty-
one in place of fifteen years; remanding a large class of legislation to the ac-
tion of the courts; making the term of Governor four years in place of three,
and prohibiting special legislation, were» some of the changes provided for.
In January, 1873, John F. Hartranft became Governor, and at the election
in 1878, Henry F. Hoyt was chosen Governor, both soldiers of the late war.
In the summer of 1877, by concert of action of the employes on the several
lines of railway in the State, trains were stopped and travel and traffic were in-
terrupted for several days together. At Pittsburgh, conflicts occurred between
the railroad men and the militia, and a vast amount of property was destroyed.
The opposition to the local military was too powerful to be controlled, and
the National Government was appealed to for aid. A force of regulars was
promptly ordered out, and the rioters finally quelled. Unfortunately, Gov.
Hartranft was absent from the State at the time of the troubles.
At the election in 1882 Robert -E. Pattison was chosen governor. The Legis-
lature, which met at the opening of 1883, having adjourned after a session of
156 days, without passing a Congressional apportionment bill, as was required,
was immediately reconvened in extra session by the governor, and remained
in session until near the close of the year, from June 1 to December 5, without
coming to an agreement upon a bill, and finally adjourned without having
passed one. This protracted sitting is in marked contrast to the session of that
early Assembly in which an entire constitution and laws of the province were
framed and adopted in the space of three days.
November 2, 1886, James A. Beaver was elected governor.
132
HISTORY OF PENNSYLVANIA.
TABLE SHOWING THE VOTE FOR GOVERNORS OF PENNSYLVANIA SINCE THE ORGAN-
IZATION OF THE STATE.
1790.
Thomas Mifflin 27,725
Arthur St. Clair 2,802
1793.
Thomas Mifflin 18,590
F. A. Muhlenberg 10,706
1796.
Thomas Mifflin 30,020
F. A. Muhlenberg 1,011
1799.
Thomas McKean 38,036
James Ross 32,641
1802.
Thomas McKean 47,879
James Ross, of Pittsburgh 9,499
James Ross 7,538
1808.
Simon Snyder 67,975
James Riss 39,575
John Spayd 4,006
W. Shields 2
Charles Nice 1
Jack Koss 2
W. Tilghman 1
1811.
Simon Snyder 52,319
William Tighlman 3,609
Scatt'ring,no record for whom 1,675
1814.
Simon Snyder 51,099
Isaac Wayne 29,566
G. Lattimer 910
J. R. Rust 4
1817.
William Findlay 66,331
Joseph Hiester 59,272
Moses Palmer 1
Aaron Hanson 1
John Seffer - I
Seth Thomas 1
Nicholas Wiseman 3
Benjamin R. Morgan 2
William Tilghman 1
Andrew Gregg 1
1820.
Joseph Hiester 67,905
William Findlay 66,300
Scattering (no record) 21
1823.'
J. Andrew Shulze 81,751
Andrew Gregg 64,151
Andrew Shulze 112
John Andrew Shulze 7,311
Andrew Gragg 53
Andrew Greg 1
John A. Shulze 754
Nathaniel B. Boileau *.... 3
Capt. Glosseader 3
John Gassender 1
Isaac Wayne 1
George Bryan 1
1826.
J. Andrew Shulze 72,710
John Sergeant 1,175
Scattering (no record) 1,174
1829.
George Wolf. 78,219
Joseph Ritner 51,776
George E. Baum 6
Frank R. Williams 3
1832.
George Wolf. 91,335
Joseph Ritner 88,165
1835.
Joseph Ritner 94,023
Goorge Wolf. 65,804
Henry A. Muhlenberg 40,586
1838.
David R. Porter 127,827
Joseph Ritner 122,321
1841.
David R. Porter 136,504
John Banks 113,473
T.J. Lemoyne 763
George F. Horton 18
Samuel L. Carpenter 4
Ellis Lewis 1
1844.
Francis R. Shunk 160,322
Joseph Markle 156,040
Julius J. Lemoyne 10
John Haney 2
James Page 1
1847.
Francis R. Shunk 146,081
James Irvin 128,148
Emanuel 0. Reigart 11,247
F. J. Lemoyne 1,861
George M. Keim 1
Abijah Morrison 3
1848.
William F. Johnston.... 168,522
Morris Longstreth 168,225
E. B. Gazzani 48
Scattering (no record) 24
1851.
William Bigler. 186,489
William F. Johnston 178,034
Kimber Cleaver 1,850
1854.
James Pollock 203,822
William Bigler 166,991
B. Rush Bradford 2,194
1857.
William F. Packer 188,846
David Wilmot 149,139
Isaac Hazlehurst 28,168
James Pollock
George R. Barret
William Steel
F. P. Swartz
Samuel McFarland
George F. Horton
1860.
Andrew G. Curtin 262,346
Henry D. Foster 230,239
1863.
A. G. Curtin 269,506
George W. Woodward 254,171
John Hickman .' 1
Thornau M. Howe -.. 1
1866.
John W. Geary 307,274
Hiester Clymer 290,097
Giles Lewis 7
1869.
John W. Geary 290,552
Asa Packer 285,956
W. D. Kelly ]
W. J. Robinson 1
1872.
John F. Hartranft 353,387
Charles R. Buckalen 317,760
S. B.Chase 1,197
William P. Schell 12
1875.
John F. Hartranft 304,175
Cyrus L. Pershing 292,145
R. Audley Brown 13,244
James S. Negley 1
Phillip Wendle 1
J. W. Brown X
G. F. Reinhard 1
G. D. Coleman 1
James Staples 1
Richard Yaux 1
Craig Biddle 1
Francis W. Hughes 1
Henry C. Tyler 1
W. D. Brown 1
George V. Lawrence 1
A. L.Brown 1
1878.
H. M. Hoyt 319,490
Andrew H. Dill 297,137
Samuel R. Ma3on 81,758
Franklin H. Lane 3,753
S. Matson 2
John McKee 1
D. Kirk 1
R. L. Miller 1
J. H. Hopkins 1
A. G. Williams 1
Samuel H. Lane 1
John Fertig 1
James Musgrove 1
Silas M. Baily 1
A. S. Post 9
C. A. Cornen 3
Seth Yocum 1
Edward E. Orvis 1
1882.
Robert E. Pattison 355,791
James A. Beaver 315,589
John Stewart 43,743
Thomas A. Armstrong 23,996
Alfred C. Pettit 5,196
Scattering SS
1886.
James A. Beaver 412,285
Chauncey F. Black 369,634
CharlesS. Wolfe 32,458
Robert J. Houston 4,835
Scattering 66
PART II.
m
rt
H
klin County.
History of Franklin County,
CHAPTER I.
PHYSICAL DESCRIPTION.
The Great Eastern Valley— The Path of a Probaele Gulf Stream— The
Mountain Ranges and their Appendages— Systems of Drainage — Geo-
logical AND MlNERALOGICAL ASPECTS— CHARACTER OF SOIL— VEGETATION—
Climate.
THE beautiful valley, of which Franklin County forms but a small part,
sweeps along the entire eastern coast of the United States, extending,
under different names, from the southern extremity of Vermont across the
Hudson at Newburgh, the Delaware at Easton, the Susquehanna at Harris-
burg, the Potomac at Harper's Ferry, the James at Lynchburg, the Tennes-
see at Chattanooga, and losing itself in Alabama and the southwest. By some
it is claimed to have been the path along which an ocean current, possibly the
beneficent Gulf Stream, whose influence changes the natural and social con-
ditions of both American and European civilization, flowed long prior to the
present order of things, in either the old or the new world. It is bounded on
either side by a chain of the great Appalachian Mountain system, running
from the northeast to the southwest, and is of nearly uniform width, from
twelve to twenty miles — the whole distance. It is broken into fertile agricult-
ural sections by the beautiful streams already mentioned, apparently to meet
the diversified wants of its future occupants.
The section lying between the Susquehanna and the Potomac is usually
designated as the Cumberland Valley. The valley west of ' ' Harris Ferry, ' '
as Harrisburg was originally known, was called by some ' ' Kittochtinny, ' ' by
others "North " Valley. The northwestern boundary is known in Pennsylva-
nia as North Mountain, or the Kittatinny Mountain, the latter name, signify-
ing endless, being an euphonic change from Kekachtannin, by which the Del-
aware Indians called it. The southwestern boundary is South Mountain, a
beautiful range, parallel with the Kittatinny. From the Susquehanna to the
Potomac, the Kittatinny maintains an almost uniform summit line, ranging
from 700 to 1,200 feet above the valley beneath. Several picturesque points or
projections, known as Clark's, Parnell's, Jordan's and Casey's Knobs, and
Two-Top Mountains, give fine relief to the range. Of these, Parnell's and
Casey' s were used, during the civil war, as union signal stations. Between Kit-
tatinny and Tuscarora, lying still farther to the west, are several beautiful
and productive valleys: Path Valley, terminating at the extreme north end in
Horse Valley, and sending off to the right of Knob Mountain another known
as Amberson's Valley; Bear and Horse Valleys, elevated and of smaller extent,
having a trend northeastward ; Cove Gap, a picturesque opening, through which
packers in the olden, and vehicles in the modern time, pass across the moun-
138 HISTOEY OF FEANKLIN COUNTY.
tain westward, and Little Cove, a long narrow valley, that slopes southwestward
toward the Potomac. In the southwestern part of what is now Franklin Coun-
ty, formed by Kittatinny on the west, Cross Mountain on the south, and Two-
Top Mountain on the east, lies a relic of the mythical days, when the giants
piled Ossa on Pelion, and known as the Devil's Punch Bowl. From its spa-
cious receptacle the gods, in their Bacchanalian revelry, quaffed their intoxi-
cating drinks.
South Mountain, less picturesque in its scenery, is covered with a good
supply of valuable timber. Like Kittatinny range, its table-lands are valu-
able for the fuel supplies they furnish to the inhabitants of the valley, as well
as for the diversified scenery they afford to the passers-by. The richness of
view afforded by these two mountain ranges is calculated to inspire a remark-
able love for the beautiful in nature, and to develop the poetic sentiment in
man.
The drainage of Franklin County is most perfect, and consists of two sys-
tems. The first, flowing northeastward in a tortuous course, and empyting
into the Susquehanna Kiver at "West Fairview, two miles above Harrisburg,
embraces the Conodoguinet and its tributaries, viz. : Spring Creek and its
branches, Furnace and Main's, Muddy, Keasey's, Lehman's, Paxton's, Clip-
pinger's and Trout Runs. The northern portion of the county, particularly
Southampton, Letterkenny, Lurgan, and portions of St. Thomas, Peters, Metal
and Fannett, is thus provided with good drainage and the means of preserving
animals and plants against drouth.
The second system, embracing all those water-courses which flow south-
ward, and finally discharge their contents into the Potomac River, includes the
following streams:
1. The Conococheague with two distinct branches, East Conococheague and
West Conococheague, which unite near the southern part of the county on the
farm of Mr. Lazarus Kennedy, empties into the Potomac at "Williamsport.
East Conococheague receives from the central portion of the county the con-
tributions of Rocky Creek, Falling Spring, Back Creek, Campbell's Run and
Muddy Run. Several of these streams are supplied with abundant mill power,
which is Titilized to the best advantage. West Conococheague, traversing the
whole extent of Path Valley, leaps into the broad open valley from between
Cape Horn and Jordan's Knob, and, gathering in the waters of Broad and
Trout Runs, Licking Creek, Welsh Run and other small streams, hastens to
join its twin sister at their junction on the Kennedy place.
2. Marsh Run, which divides, a part of the way, the present townships of
Antrim and Washington.
3. Little Antietam, which with its two branches, East Antietam and W T est
Antietam, thoroughly drains the southeastern part of the county, carrying its
sparkling waters finally into the Potomac River near Sharpsburg, Md.
All these streams are fed by beautiful springs, whose sparkling waters
come gushing forth from mountain and hillside, and many of them, in addition
to supplying pure cold water for man and beast, are richly provided with an
excellent quality of fish. They supply a water-power, which has long been
utilized for milling and manufacturing purposes. Chambersburg and Waynes-
boro supply their own citizens with the clear refreshing water found in these
mountain streams.
An observing traveler will notice that the ledges or beds of rocks trend
from northeast to southwest, corresponding with the course of the mountain
ranges; likewise that the various layers have positions one above another at
different angles to the horizon. They have been broken up by some disturbing
HISTOKY OF FRANKLIN COUNTY. 139
element beneath, and have left their edges outcropping at various angles from
a level to a perpendicular. Along the range of South Mountain he will find
the rocks of a different character from those in the valley, being a hard, com-
pact, white sandstone, which rings when it is struck, and when broken has a
splintery and sometimes discolored appearance. At the northern base of South
Mountain he encounters the great limestone formation, which obtains through-
out the whole length of Cumberland Valley. "It is usually of a bluish but
occasionally of a grey and nearly black color, generally pure enough to yield
excellent lime, but not unfrequently mixed with sand, clay, and oxide of iron.
Flint stones and fossils are also occasionally met with in some parts of this
formation. In the soil above it, iron ore is sometimes abundant enough to be
profitably worked; and indeed some of the most productive ore banks in the
State are found in it and its vicinity. Pipe ore and kindred varieties of that
material have been obtained of good quality in several localities in this lime-
stone region. About the middle of the valley, though with a very irregular
line of demarcation, we meet with a dark slate formation extending to the foot
of North Mountain; though its usual color is brown or bluish, it is sometimes
reddish and even yellow. Lying between the great limestone and the coarse
grey sandstone, it is sometimes intermingled with sandstone which contains
rounded pebbles forming conglomerate, but this is too silicious to receive a good
polish. The rocks of Kittatinny or North Mountain consist almost exclusively
of this massive grey limestone of various degrees of coarseness. They are not
valuable for either building or mineral purposes."*
Iron ore in extensive, and copper in limited quantities have been found;
' ' beneath the surface ore, inexhaustible deposits of magnetic iron conveniently
near to valuable beds of hematite, which lie either in fissures between the rocky
strata or over them in a highly ferruginous loam. This hematite is of every
possible variety and of immense quantities. When it has a columnar stalactite
structure it is known under the name of pipe ore. It usually yields a superior
iron, and at the same time is easily and profitably smelted. It generally pro-
duces at least fifty per cent of metallic iron. ' '
The nature and fertility of soil are determined by the character of the un-
derlying rocks by whose disintegration it is produced. The limestone lands
are very productive. The slate lands, well improved by lime and other fertil-
izers, and properly cultivated by skilled labor, yield abundant crops. These
two kinds of soil, the limestone and the slate, are both rendered product-
ive. In fact, the entire belt of land in the valley is susceptible of the highest
cultivation, the only unproductive land lying along the sides of the mountain..
And even this is prized highly for its timber; or, when cleared, for its graz-
ing and fruit-growing qualities.
Says Dr. Wing: " The natural productions of the soil, when it was first dis-
covered by white men, awakened admiration quite as much as the meadows
and the fields of grain have done at a later period. A rich luxuriance of grass
is said to have covered the whole valley, wild fruits abounded, and in some
parts the trees were of singular variety. Of the trees there were many species
of oak, white and black walnut, hickory, white, fed and sugar maple, cherry,
locust, sassafras, chestnut, ash, elm, linden, beech, white and scrub pine,
dogwood and iron-wood. The laurel, plum, juniper, persimmon, hazel,
wild currant, gooseberry, blackberry, raspberry, spice bush, sumac and the
more humble strawberry and dewberry and wintergreen almost covered the
open country; and their berries, in some instances, constituted no small por-
tion of the food of the Indians and the early settlers."
*State Geological Survey.
140 HISTOEY OF FEANKLIN COUNTY.
The climate of Cumberland Valley does not differ essentially from that
which prevails in the southeastern portion of the State. Hedged in by moun-
tains, the keenness and force of the Atlantic winds are necessarily somewhat
broken and modified; and yet strong mountain storms occasionally break in
upon its peaceful habitations. The statements of careful observers in-
duce the belief that perceptible changes in climate have occurred in the valley
since its first settlement. Owing, it is thought, to the disappearance of for-
ests and the consequently increased drainage of the lands, many streams are
less copious and violent, the averages of cold and heat are decreased, and the
moisture of the atmosphere is perceptibly diminished. Dr. Rush, of Phila-
delphia, a close observer of the climatology of the State from 1789 to 1805,
remarked that a material change had taken place since the days of the found-
ers: the cold of winters and the heat of summers were less uniform than they
had been for forty or fifty years before * * "The .variableness of
weather in our State," he continued, " is found south of 41° of latitude,
and north of that the winters are steady and in character with the Eastern and
Northern States; but no two successive seasons are alike, and even the same
months differ from each other in different years. There is but one steady
trait, and that is, it is uniformly variable "
What Dr. C. P. Wing wrote in 1879, concerning Cumberland County, may
be applied with equal force to its daughter, Franklin County. Hear him:
' 'Within the past thirty years, there have not been more than a score of days
when the thermometer fell below zero, and about as many when it rose above
ninety-seven.
" The summers more nearly resemble each other than do either of the other
seasons ; most of the days are hot and clear, but interrupted by violent thunder
gusts, heavy rains from the northeast and warm showers from the south.
Snow sometimes covers the ground in winter for months, and at other times
there is scarcely enough for sleighing. The prevailing winds are, in summer,
from the northwest and southwest, the former bringing clear and the latter
cloudy weather; in winter, the northwest winds bring clear, cold weather, and
the northeastern, snow, storms and rain. The winter seldom sets in with sever-
ity until the latter part of December and commonly begins to moderate in Feb-
ruary.* Near the close of this latter month, or early in March, the snow dis-
appears, and in the beginning of April the fruit trees blossom and vegetation
commences. At this season, however, the atmosphere is often damp, chilly
and stormy, and until the beginning of May, there are frequent returns of wet
and disagreeable weather, Owing to these changes, vegetation advances very
unequally in different years, and the promising blossoms of the early spring are
often blasted by the frosts of April and May. The average of rain and snow
fall for three years was found to be, for the spring, 9. 05 inches ; for the sum-
mer, 9.67; for the autumn, 7.68; for the winter, 7.61, and for the whole year,
34.01. The autumn is usually the most agreeable season. The mornings and
evenings become cool about the middle of September, and soon after the equi-
noctial rain and after the first frosts of November commences that remarkable
peculiarity of our climate, the ' Indian summer. ' The name is probably de-
rived from the Indians, who were accustomed to say they always had a second
summer of nine days just before the winter set in. It was the favorite time for
their harvest, when they looked to gather in their corn, and when, from acci-
dent or design, on their hunting excursions, the woods and grass of the moun-
tains and prairies were burned and their game was driven from concealment.
*The compiler of this history spent the time from February 11 to December 14, 1886, in Franklin
County, during which he did not find it necessary to wear an overcoat.
HISTORY OF FRANKLIN GOUNTY. 141
Certainly a more delightful climate, all things considered, it would be difficult
to find in the United States. A stagnant pool or swamp, sufficient to produce
malarious disease, is probably not known, and is scarcely possible on account
of the peculiar drainage of the soil."
CHAPTER II.
PIONEER SETTLEKS.
Two Classes: Scotch-Irish, their Origin, Arrivals, Character and Loca-
tions—Germans, Sketch of Persecutions, Arrivals, Trials, etc.— Trend
of Settlements in Cumberland Valley Westward— Shippensburg a Dis-
tributing Point— Settlements at Falling Spring— Sketch of Benjamin
Chambers— Other Settlements and Settlers in Various Parts of the
County— List of Taxables in 1751-52— Mason and Dixon's Line.
Ye pioneers, it is to you
The debt of gratitude is due;
Ye builded wiser than ye knew
The broad foundation
On which our superstructure stands;
Your strong right arms and willing hands,
Your earnest efforts still command
Our veneration. — Pearre.
TWO general classes of people constituted the early settlers of Cumberland
Valley, viz: the Scotch -Irish and the Germans.
The Scotch- Irish were a numerous but honorable class who migrated to
Pennsylvania and other Eastern States at an early day. The origin of the term
is traceable to events that occurred early in the seventeenth century. James
I, of England [reign 1603-25], was very desirous of improving the civiliza-
tion of Ireland. The Irish Earls of Tyrone and Tyrconell having conspired
against the English Government, and been compelled to flee the country, their
estates, consisting of about 500, 000 acres, were confiscated. These estates the
king divided into small tracts, and induced many Protestant people from his
own country (Scotland) to locate upon them on condition that possession should
be taken within four years.
A second revolt occurring soon after, another large forfeiture of the six
counties in the Province of Ulster followed, the confiscated property being
seized by Government officials. The King, being a zealous Protestant, aimed
to root out the native Irish who were all Catholic, hostile to his government and
incessantly plotting against it. Their places he intended to supply with peo-
ple concerning whose loyalty he had no doubt, the sturdy inhabitants of his
own land, Scotland. Encouraged and aided by the Government, these Scotch
went in great numbers across to the near Province of Ulster, and took posses-
sion of the lamp, which had been hitherto neglected and almost ruined by their
indolent occupants. They addressed themselves, at once, with intelligence
and industry, to reclaim the country and introduce a higher material and social
order of things. The counties of Antrim, Armagh, Caven, Donegal, Down,
Fermanagh, Londonderry, Monaghan and Tyrone — names familiar to all intel-
ligent Pennsylvanians — soon became prominent because of the new blood and
brains introduced.
142 HISTORY OF FRANKLIN COUNTY.
Thus Protestantism was planted in Ireland. Its Scotch advocates, like
the Jews, have maintained a separate existence, refusing to intermarry with
their Irish neighbors. Protestant in religion, they have steadily refused to
unite with the Irish, Celtic in origin and Roman Catholic in faith. This
marked isolation has continued through a period of more than 250 years.
In the succeeding reign of Charles I (1625-49), a spirit of bitter retalia-
tion was engendered, on the part of the native Irish, against this foreign
element, resulting in a most deplorable condition of affairs. Incited by two
ambitious and unscrupulous leaders, Roger More and Philim O'Neale, the
Irish Catholics began, October 27, 1741, a massacre which continued until
more than 40,000 victims were slaughtered.
Owing to these persecutions and others of similar nature during the suc-
ceeding century, owing to the want of religious toleration by the reigning
powers, owing to their inability to renew their land rents on satisfactory
terms and owing to the general freedom offered them by William Penn in his
new American colony — free lands, free speech, free worship and free govern-
ment — these Scotch settlers left the north of Ireland and came to America by
thousands, where they are known as Scotch-Irish.
According to Watson, these ' ' immigrants did not come to Pennsylvania as
soon as the Germans," few, if any, arriving prior to 1719. The first arrivals
usually settled near the disputed line between Maryland and Pennsylvania.
James Logan (an intelligent and influential representative of the Penn govern-
ment, and though of Irish extraction thoroughly in sympathy with the Quaker
principles) complains, in 1724, to the proprietaries of these people as "bold
and indigent strangers ' ' because they had taken up lands near the disputed
line without securing proper authority from him as the representative of the
Government. In 1725 he stated that at least 100,000 acres of land were
possessed "by persons (including Germans) who resolutely set down and
improved it without any right to it," and that he was "much at a loss to deter-
mine how to dispossess them. ' ' In 1728, 4, 500 persons, chiefly from Ireland,
arrived in New Castle. In 1729 Logan expressed his gratification that parlia-
ment was ' ' about to take measures to prevent the too free emigration to this
country," intimating that the prospects were that Ireland was about "to send
all her inhabitants hither, for last week not less than six ships arrived. " "It
is strange," continued he, "that they thus crowd where they are not wanted.
The common fear is that if they continue to come, they will make themselves
proprietors of the province. " In 1730 he again complains of them as " auda-
cious and disorderly " for having, by force, taken possession of the Conestoga
Manor, containing 15, 000 acres of the ' ' best land in the country. ' ' Of this they
were, by the sheriff, subsequently dispossessed and their cabins burned.
About the same time, he says, in another letter, "I must own, from my own
experience in the land ofiice, that the settlement of five families from Ireland
gives me more trouble than fifty of any other people."
The captious spirit manifested by Logan against both German and Scotch-
Irish settlers, and especially the latter, and which was subsequently shared, to
some extent, by Peters, Dickinson and Franklin, is readily accounted for by
his fear of losing his position in the Government, should any other than the
Quaker influence prevail.
From 1730 to 1740 the influx was great. Settlements were commenced in
Cumberland (then Lancaster) County in 1730 and 1731, the Chambers broth-
ers having crossed west of the Susquehanna about that time. After 1736,
during the month of September, in which year alone 1,000 families are said
to have sailed from Belfast, the influx into the Kittochtinny Valley, west of
HISTORY OF FRANKLIN COUNTY. 143
the Susquehanna, increased rapidly; for, in 1748, the number of taxables, not
counting the fifty Germans, was about 800.
Soon after the erection of Cumberland County (1750), " in consequence of
the frequent disturbances between the governor and Irish settlers, the proprie-
taries gave orders to their agents to sell no lands in either York or Lancaster
Counties to the Irish; and also to make to the Irish settlers in Paxton, Swa-
tara and Donegal Townships advantageous offers of removal to Cumberland
County, which offers being liberal were accepted by many."
Injustice has been done to the Scotch-Irish settlers of these early days by
two classes of writers: first, those who were actuated by jealousy, as was Lo-
gan, in his inability to see good in any classes not directly connected with the
original Friend or Penn element; secondly, those who have failed to study
carefully the circumstances which surrounded the Scotch-Irish immigrants in
their settlements and conduct toward the Indians. Under these circumstances
we are not surprised to hear Mr. Sherman Day, in his Historical Collections
of Pennsylvania, call them " a pertinacious and pugnacious race," ''pushing
their settlements upon unpurchased lands about the Juniata, producing fresh
exasperation among the Indians. " "As the result of this, ' ' he continues,
" massacres ensued, the settlers were driven below the mountains, and the
whole province was alive with the alarms and excitements of war."
In reply to these serious charges, Judge George Chambers, in his "Tribute
to the Principles, Virtues, Habits and Public Usefulness of the Irish and
Scotch Early Settlers of Pennsylvania," a carefully written and most admira-
ble little book, enters a most emphatic protest. Without attempting to pre-
sent in detail the facts which enable him to reach his conclusions, we give a
brief summary of his argument: Admitting the aggressive character of the
early Scotch-Irish settlers in pushing into the forests and occupying lands, the
outrages and massacres by the Indians were, nevertheless, not the direct result
of these encroachments, but a retaliatory protest against the unjust manner in
which tneir lands and hunting grounds had been taken from them by so-called
purchases and treaties with the government. By the cession of 1737, the Indi-
ans were to convey lands on the Delaware to extend back into the woods as
far as man can go in one day and a half. By the treaty of Albany, in 1754,
between the Proprietary of Pennsylvania and the Six Nations, nearly all the
lands claimed by them in the province were ceded for the small sum of £400.
The dissatisfaction produced by this cession, which the Indians claim they did
not understand, was fanned by the French into open hostility, manifesting
itself in the indiscriminate and wholesale devastation and massacres following
the Braddock campaign. The wrongs of the government, and not the en-
croachments of a few daring settlers, it is claimed by Mr. Chambers, produced
these destructive Indian outrages. Gov.Morris, in his address to the Assembly,
of November 3, 1755, clearly reminds them ' " that it seemed clear, from the
different accounts he had received, that the French had gained to their interest
the Delaware and Shawnese Indians, under the ensnaring pretense of restoring
them to their country."
The Assembly, in their reply to Gov. Denny, in June, 1757, say: "It is
rendered beyond contradiction plain, that the cause of the present Indian in-
cursions in this province, and the dreadful calamities many of the inhabitants
have suffered, have arisen, in a great measure, from the exorbitant and unrea-
sonable purchases made, or supposed to be made of the Indians, and the man-
ner of making them — so exorbitant, that the natives complain that they have
not a country left to subsist in." — Smith's Laws.
A careful study of these people clearly shows that, while they were aggress-
144 HISTORY OF FRANKLIN COUNTY.
ive, they moved along the line of a higher civilization; while they were firm
in their convictions, they advocated the rights of man to liberty of thought and
action; while they cherished many of the institutions and beliefs of the old
country, they were intensely patriotic and loyal to the new; and while they
possessed what they regarded the best lands, they were just in their dealings
with the untutored red man. These were the people who laid broad and deep
the foundations of social, educational and religious liberty in America.
The German immigrants, as a class, were hardy, industrious, honest and
economical, retaining, to a great extent, the prejudices, superstitions, manners,
language and characteristics of the fatherland. Like the Scotch-Irish, their
migration to America was the result of a deprivation of certain religious rights
in their native countries, and a desire to improve their physical condition in
the new world.
Like the Scotch-Irish, they, too, were Protestants, belonging to different
denominations: (1) The Swiss Mennonites were among the earliest to come,
about the beginning of the last centuiy, and settled in the neighborhood of
Philadelphia and at Pequea and other points in what is now Lancaster County.
They were orderly, honest, peaceable and advocates of non-resistant or peace
principles. (2) German Baptists (Dunkards), Moravians, Seventh-day Bap-
tists. (3) Lutherans and German Beformed, the latter two constituting the
great body of the arrivals, and furnishing the aggressive element of the new
settlers. They came later than the others and entered new fields.
Many of these early Germans, having first located In the State of New
York, were dissatisfied with the unjust treatment received at the hands of the
authorities, and therefore came to Pennsylvania. They wrote messages to
their friends in Europe, advising them to shun New York and come direct to
the province of Penn, which afforded superior inducements.
Their arrivals in the province were, briefly: Henry Frey came two years
earlier than William Penn and one Platenbach a few years later. In 1682 a
colony arrived and formed a settlement at Germantown; and in 1684-85, a com-
pany of ten persons was formed in Germany, called the Frankfort Land Com-
pany, of which F. D. Pastorius was appointed attorney. They bought 25,000
acres of land from Penn, in addition to other tracts. From 1700 to 1720, the
Palatines, so called because they sprang principally from the Palatinate in Ger-
many, whither they had been driven by persecutions in various parts of Europe,
came in vast numbers. They suffered great privations. In 1708-09, more than
10,000 went to England, where, in a sickly and starving condition, they were
cared for by the generous Queen Anne who, at an expense to herself of
£135,775, alleviated their sufferings in that country and assisted them to come
to New York and Pennsylvania. Their number was so great as to draw from
James Logan, secretary of the province of Pennsylvania in 1717, the remark:
" We have, of late, a great number of Palatines poured in upon us without any
recommendation or notice, which gives the country some uneasiness; for for-
eigners do not so well among us as our own English people." In 1719 Jona-
than Dickinson said: "We are daily expecting ships from London, which bring
over Palatines, in number about six or seven thousand. "
The arrivals from 1720 to 1730 were so numerous as to produce some
alarm lest the colony should become a German one. Says Bupp : "To arrest
in some degree the influx of Germans, the assembly assessed a tax of twenty
shillings a head on newly arrived servants; for as early as 1722 there were a
number of Palatine servants or Bedemptioners sold to serve a term of three or
four years at £10 each to pay their freight. ' '
From 1730 to 1740, about sixty-five vessels well filled with immigrants,
HISTORY OF FRANKLIN COUNTY. 145
having with them their own preachers and teachers, landed at Philadelphia,
from which they scattered in various directions ; many of these located in York
County.
From 1740 to 1755, more than a hundred vessels arrived, some of them,
though small, containing from 500 to 600 passengers. In the summer and
autumn of 1749, not less than 12,000 came. This period— 1740 to 1755—
witnessed many outrages upon the unsuspecting passengers. Within the State
were certain Germans known as neulaenders, who, having resided in this
country long enough to understand the business, profited by the ignorance and
credulity of their own people abroad. Going to various parts of Germany and
presenting the new world in glowing colors, they induced, by misrepresenta-
tions and fraudulent practices, many of their friends and kinsmen to sell, and
in some cases even to abandon their property and forsake their firesides in
order to reach this new land of promise. Many, starting with inadequate
means, were unable to pay their passage, and on arriving were sold for a series
of years as servants, to liquidate their claims. These were called redemption-
ers, or Palatine servants.
The number of Germans in Pennsylvania about 1755 was from 60,000 to
70,000. About nine-tenths of the first settlers of York County, then including
Adams, were Germans. The great influx into Cumberland County which, with
the exception of a few English, was settled almost exclusively by Scotch and
Scotch -Irish, began about 1770; though as early as the period from 1736 to
1745, there were found in the Conococheague settlements, the Snivelys, Schnei-
ders, Piscackers, Liepers, Ledermans, Haricks, Laws, Kolps, Gabriels, Ring-
ers, Steiners, Senseneys, Radebachs, Reischers, Wolffs, Schneidts.* Rev.
Michael Schlatter, a German reformed minister, in a letter dated May 9, 1748,
thus describes a visit through the valley : ' ' On the Conogogig we reached the
house of an honest Schweitzer [supposed to be Jacob Snively, of Antrim
Township,] where we received kind entertainment with thankfulness. In this
neighborhood there are very fine lands for cultivation and pasture, exceedingly
fruitful without the application of manures. Turkish corn (Indian maize)
grows to the height of ten feet and higher, and the grasses are remarkably
fine. Hereabout, there still remain a good number of Indians, the original
dwellers of the soil. They are hospitable and quiet, and well affected to the
Christians until the latter make them drunk with strong drink."
The original German has, by imperceptible changes, been gradually trans-
formed into a being very unlike the original, known as the Pennsylvania
Dutch. The latter has in him more of the democratic spirit, which ignores
the clannishness of the olden time and forms friendships and alliances with
people of other nationalities. The dialect, Pennsylvania Dutch, is sui generis
an anomaly in the domain of language. Its possessor is a cosmopolitan, fond
of social life, ambitious and industrious, and in these latter days quite fond of
public office and other ' ' soft places. ' ' He is destined to take the land.
The three original counties of Pennsylvania, established by William Penn
in 1682, were Chester, Philadelphia and Bucks. Chester County included all
the land (except a small portion of Philadelphia County) southwest of the
Schuylkill Lo the extreme limits of the State. Lancaster County was formed
and taken from Chester May 10, 1729; York was taken from Lancaster August
9, 1749. Cumberland County remained a part of Lancaster until it was itself
erected a separate county, January 27, 1750. Franklin County, the then
southwestern part of Cumberland, and known as the ' ' Conococheague Settle-
ment," was established September 9, 1784. To understand the early history
of this county, the reader will need, therefore, to bear in mind two facts :
♦Rupp.
146 HISTORY OF FRANKLIN COUNTY.
1. Prior to January 27, 1750, its territory (with the exception of Warren
Township) was found in the county of Lancaster.
2. From January 27, 1750, to September 9, 1781, it belonged to Cumber-
land County. Since the latter date (September 9, 1784,) it has had a distinct
organization of its own.
Long prior to Greeley' s famous advice, ' ' Go west, young man, ' ' or Bishop
Berkley's oft-quoted "Westward the course of empire takes its way," the
tide of migration was toward the setting sun. Since the race began, the line
of movement has been along the parallels, and in the direction of the receding
darkness. The early settlers of the Kittatinny or Cumberland Valley came
from the older eastern counties, where they located soon after their landing on
the Atlantic coast. No record exists of those who may have wandered through
this region on prospecting or hunting tours, if any such adventurers ever did
make these hazardous trips. As early as 1719, John Harris had commenced a
settlement near the present site of Harrisburg, and for many years afterward
ran a ferry across the Susquehanna at that point known as Harris' Ferry. On
either side of the river were Indian villages, the one where Harris lived being
known as Peixtan or Paxtan. On the western side of the river, at the mouth
of the Conodoguinet, at the present site of Bridgeport, and at the mouth of
the Yellow Breeches, were three Indians towns, at which trading posts were
established. At the last-named place, James Chartier, an Indian trader, had
a store and landing place. It is claimed by some that James Le Tort, one of
these traders, after whom the beautiful stream in Cumberland County was
named, lived at a very early period at a place called Beaver Pond, near the
present site of Carlisle.
What is now Cumberland County had settlements at various points away
from the river. Richard Parker and his wife settled three miles north of Car-
lisle in 1724. His application at the land office in 1734 was for a warrant to
land on which he "had resided ye ten years past." George Croghan, an
Indian trader, whose name occurs frequently in early records, lived about five
miles from the river on the north side of the Conodoguinet. He owned tracts
in various parts of the county, a large one being north of Shippensburg. He
did not cultivate all these, but changed about as his convenience and trade
demanded. He was an Irishman of common education, and in later years
lived at Aughwick or Old Town, west of the North Mountains, where he was
trusted as an Indian agent. In the settlement commenced by James Cham-
bers near Newville, then known as Big Spring, a group of inhabitants, so
numerous as to form and support a religious society as early as 1738, was
found, consisting of David Ralston, Robert Patterson, James McKehan, John
Carson, John Erwin, Richard Fulton, Samuel McCullough and Samuel Boyd.
Robert Chambers, brother of the preceding, as well as of Benjamin, who
located at Falling Spring, formed a prosperous settlement near Middle Spring,
about two miles north of Shippensburg, at the same early date. The first set-
tlers were such men as Hugh and David Herron, Robert McComb, Alexander
and James Young, Alexander McNutt, Archibald, John and Robert Machan,
James Scott, Alexander Sterrett, Wm. and John Piper, Hugh and Joseph
Brady, John and Robert McCune and Charles Morrow. In asking that the
State road, which was laid out in 1735-36, might be directed through that
neighborhood rather than through Shippensburg, the petitioners claimed that
theirs was the more thickly settled part. By some* it is claimed that in the
Middle Spring settlement the first land in the Cumberland Valley taken under
♦Historical discourse of Rev. S. S. Wyiie at the Centennial celebration of Middle Spring. This claim, how-
ever, is incorrect. Blunston's license to Benjamin Chambers at Falling Spring was dated March 30, 1734.
y
HISTORY OF FRANKLIN COUNTY. 140
authority of the "Blunston Licenses*" and assigned to Benjamin Furley, was
located. According to the record in the county surveyor's office at Chambers-
burg, this tract, embracing some 1,094 acres and allowances, warranted De-
cember 18, 1735, and surveyed April 15, 1738. was situated on the Conodoguinet
Creek in what was then Pennsborough Township, Lancaster County, but now
Southampton Township, Franklin County. It was subsequently occupied by
William, David, James and Francis Herron. William Young and John Watt.
Where Shippensburg now stands, a settlement was made as early as 1730.
In June of that year, according to Hon. John McCurdy, the following persons
came to that locality and built their habitations: Alexander Steen, John
McCall, Richard Morrow, Gavin Morrow, John Culbertson, Hugh Rippey,
John Rippey, John Strain, Alexander Askey, John McAllister, David Magaw
and John Johnston. They were soon followed by Benjamin Blythe, John
Campbell and Robert Caskey. From this settlement ultimately sprang a vil-
lage older than any other in the Cumberland Valley. It was a distributing
point for settlers, and hence important, as will be shown by the following let-
ter written therefrom:
May 21, 1733.
Dear John: I wish you would see John* Harris, 'at the ferry, and get him to write
to the Governor, to see if he can't get some guns for us; there's a good wheen of ingns
about here, and I fear they intend to give us a good deal of troubbel, and may do us a grate
dale of harm. We was three days on our journey coming from Harrisses ferry here. We
could not make much speed on account of the childer; they could not get on as fast as
Jane and me. I think we will like this part of the country when we get our cabbiu built..
I put it on a level peese of groun, near the road or paih in the woods at the fut of a hill.
There is a fine stream of watter that comes from a spring a half a mile south of where
our cabbin is bilt. I would have put it near the watter, but the land islo and wet. John
McCall, Alick Steen and John Rippey bilt theirs near the stream. Hu<dV Rippey's daugh-
ter Mary (was) berried yesterday; this will be sad news to Andrew Simpson, when it
reaches Maguire's bridge. He is to come over in the fall when they were to be married,
Mary was a verry purty gerl; she died of a faver, and they berried her up on rising groun,
north of the road or path where we made choice of a peese of groun for a graveyard.
She was ihe furst berried there. Poor Hugh has none left now but his wife, Sam and lit-
tle Isabel. There is plenty of timmer south of us. We have 18 cabbins bilt here now.
and it looks (like) a town, but we have no name for it. I'll send this with .John Sin'pson.
when he goes back to paxtan. Come up Soon; our cabbin will be ready to go into a week
and you can go in till you get wan bilt; we have planted some corn and potatoes. Dan
McGee, John Sloan and Robert Moore was here and left last week. Remember us to Mary
and the childer; wc are all well. Tell Billy Parker to come up soon and bring Nancy
with him. I know he will like the countr}\ I forgot to tell you that Sally Brown was
bit by a snaik, but she is out of danger. Come up soon.
Yr. aft. brother,
James Maohaw
The first settlement, in what is now Franklin Countv, was made in 1730, at
Falling Spring (now Chambersburg) — the confluence of the two streams, Fall-
ing Spring and Conococheague — by Col. Benjamin Chambers and his older
brother, Joseph. Between 1726 and 1730, four brothers, James, Robert, Jo.
seph and Benjamin Chambers, emigrated from the county of Antrim, Ireland,
to the province of Pennsylvania. They settled and built a mill shortly after
their arrival, at the mouth of Fishing Creek, in what is now Dauphin County,
♦Samuel Blunston of Wright's Ferry 'now Columbia) was authorized by the proprietaries?^! make a par-
tial survey of ; :>ud and to grant to settlers permission to take up and improve, or continue to improve, such
lands as they desired, with the promise that a more perfect title should be given them when the Indian claims
should be extinguished. The Indians were also assured that these claims would be satisfied as soon as the
pemliug Indian treaties should be completed. The first of these licenses was dated January 24, 1733-34 and
the last October 31, 1737. Appended is a copy of one of these:
"Lancaster County, ss. — By the Proprietary: These are to license, and allow Andrew Ralston to run,
tiuue to improve and dwell on a tract of two hundred acres of land on the Great Spring, a branch of the ( Vine*
doguinet, joyning to the upper side of a tract granted to Handle Chambers for the use of his son, .lames Cham.-
bers; to be hereafter surveyed to the said Ralston on the common terms other lands in those parts are sold;
provided the same has not been already granted to any other person and so much can be had without prejudice
to other tracts before granted. Given under my hand this third day of January, Anno Domini, 1736-7.
Pennsylvania, ss. Sa. Blunston."
9
150 HISTORY OF FRANKLIN COUNTY.
where they occupied a tract of fine land. These brothers were among the
first to explore and settle the valley. James made a settlement at the head of
Great Spring, near Newville; Robert, at the head of Middle Spring, near
Shippensburg, and Joseph and Benjamin at Falling Spring, where Chambers-
burg now stands.
By an arrangement among the brothers, Joseph returned to supervise their
property at the mouth of Fishing Creek, and Benjamin remained to develop
the settlement at Falling Spring. He built a one-storied hewed-log house
which he covered with lapped cedar shingles secured by nails — an innovation
upon the prevailing style of architecture, which consisted of a round log struct-
ure covered with a roof of clapboards, held in position by beams and wooden
pins. Having completed this, the finest .residence in the settlement, he ad-
dressed himself to clearing land, erecting necessary buildings and planning
the future growth of the colony. Some time after this, Benjamin had occa-
sion to visit his former homestead at Fishing Creek. Returning, he found his
house had been burned by some avaricious person for the " sake of the nails,"
which were a rarity in those days.
Subsequently Mr. Chambers received what was then the only authority
for the taking up and occupying of land. The following is a copy of the inter-
esting instrument, which was a narrow strip of common writing paper, the
chirography on which would not stand the crucial test of modern straight
lines, ovals and right and left curves.
Pennsylvania, ss.
By order of the Proprietary. These are to License and allow Benjamin Chambers to
take and settle and Improve of four hundred acres of Land at the falling spring's mouth
and on both sides of the Conegochege Creek for the conveniency of a Grist Mill and plan-
tation. To be hereafter surveyed to the said Benjamin on the common terms other Lands
in these parts are sold. Given under my hand this thirtieth day of March, 1734.
Lancaster County. Samuel Blunston.
A rnill-wright by occupation, he at once erected a saw-mill and subsequently
a flouring-mill. These were both indispensable to the comfort and growth of the
settlement, and were evidently heralded as strong inducements for others to cast
in their lot with this growing colony. The saw-mill stood on what is known as
the " Island," a few rods northwest of where the woolen-mill now stands; the
flouring-mill, constructed mainly of logs, stood near the residence of its owner.
It was shortly destroyed by fire, but its place was occupied by a new one, whose
walls were made of stone.
Benjamin Chambers was upward of twenty one years of age when he settled
at Falling Spring. His death occurring February 17, 1788, in his eightieth year,
he must have been born about 1708 or 1709. Shortly after (1741), he married a
Miss Patterson, residing near Lancaster, who was the mother of his eldest son,
James. She lived but a few years. In 1748 he married a second time, his
choice being a Miss Williams, the daughter of a Welsh clergyman living in
Virginia. She bore seven children, viz. : Ruhamah, married to Dr. Calhoun ;
William; Benjamin; Jane, married to Adam Ross; Joseph, George and Hetty,
married to Wm. M. Brown. Esq.
He used his influence with his acquaintances to settle in his neighborhood,
directing their attention to desirable locations for farms. He was early com-
missioned a justice of the peace, and later a colonel of the militia organized.
He served as a daysman to adjust many controversies between his neighbors,
and thus became a general counselor in the community. During the contro-
versy between Lord Baltimore and the Penns, concerning the boundary between
Pennsylvania and Maryland, he went to England to assist, by his evidence and
advice, in the adjustment of the difficulties involved. From England he went
HISTORY OF FRANKLIN COUNTY. 151
to Ireland, his native soil, where he induced many acquaintances with their
families to remove to his new settlement.
In 1764 Col. Chambers laid out the town of Chambersburg, whose history
is sketched elsewhere in this volume. The history of this sturdy early settler
is the history of the county and of the commonwealth for more than half a
century. From the time he landed at the Falling Spring till his declining
health rendered further activity impossible, he was the acknowledged leader of
the people in all civil, military and religious movements.
We have no means of determining the exact order of settlements in other
parts of the county.
In what is Antrim Township there must have been settlers as early as
1734. In the Johnston graveyard, near Shady Grove, is a tablet bearing the
name of James Johnston, who died in 1765. " From documents still extant,"
says the inscription, ' ' he settled on the land on which he died as early as
1735, and was probably the first white settler in what is now Antrim Township,
Franklin County." He had two sons, James and Thomas, both of whom
were colonels in the Revolutionary war. About the same time settlements
were made near the present site of Green Castle, by Joseph Crunkleton, Jacob
Snively and James Rody. Snively was the progenitor of a large and respecta-
ble family, many of whom still live in the township, concerning whom much
will be said in the township and biographical sketches. *
At that time the settlements in the county were known in the aggregate as
the " Conococheague Settlement. " Owing to the peculiar condition of land
arrangements, settlers occupied certain tracts by virtue of a sort of "squatter
possession," each one choosing a site according to his taste. Hence, families
lived, often, for a series of years on tracts before they received proper legal
authority for the same.
On the west bank of the Conococheague, near the present site of Bridge-
port, in Peters Township, settled William McDowell in 1730 or 1731. He had
a large family of sons and daughters, who became prominent in the subsequent
development of the country. The records of the surveyor's office show that
warrants for land were held in what is Peters Township, as early as 1737, by
Rev. John Black and Samuel Han-is; 1738, Andrew McCleary; 1742, Henry
Johnston and John Taylor; 1743, James Glenn, William Burney and James
McClellan; 1744, Robert McClellan. By McCauley it is claimed that some of
these were settlers as early as 1730. They were mainly Scotch-Irish, as will be
seen by the names.
Path Valley had early settlers, likewise. The records of the surveyor's
office show that Samuel Bechtel had a warrant in what is now Fannett Town-
ship, for 176 acres, which bore date January 24, 1737, and was surveyed the
24th of the following May by Zach. Butcher, deputy surveyor. At that time
it was in Hopewell Township, Lancaster County. The same records show that
Thomas Doyle had a warrant in same region for 530 acres, dated November
29, 1737, and surveyed December 30 following. Neither of these men had
neighbors immediately adjoining them, showing the settlements to be sparse.
Settlements must have been made quite rapidly in the valley, notwithstanding
its ownership by the Indians; for in 1750 Richard Peters, secretary of the com-
monwealth, in a letter to the governor dated July 2, in which he gives an
account of the removal of certain citizens because of their encroachments on
interdicted territory, says: "On Wednesday, the 30th of May, the magis-
*Some of the earliest warrants found in the surveyor's office hear date as follows: 1737, John Mitchell,
David McGaw ; 1738, David Scott, George Reynolds ; 1740-42, David Kennedy, Humphrey Jones ; 1743-50, John
Potter, Samuel McPherren, John Brotherton, Hohert Wallace. William Magaw, Thomas Poe, George Gibson,
William Smith, Jacob Snively, William Allison, Abraham Gable and John Davison.
152 HISTORY OF FRANKLIN COUNTY.
trates* and company*} - , being detained two days by rain, proceeded over the
Kittochtinny Mountains, and entered into Tuscara [Tuscarora] Path or Path
Valley, through which the road to Alleghany lies. Many settlements were
formed in this valley, and all the people were sent for, and the following per-
sons appeared, viz. : Abraham Slach, James Blair, Moses Moore, Arthur Dun-
lap, Alexander McCartie, David Lewis, Adam McCartie, Felix Doyle, Andrew
Dunlap, Robert Wilson, Jacob Pyatt, Jacob Pyatt, Jr. , William Ramage, Rey-
nolds Alexander, Samuel Patterson, Robert Baker, John Armstrong and John
Potts, who were all convicted, by their own confession to the magistrates, of the
like trespasses with those at Shearman's Creek, and were bound in the like
recognizances to appear at court, and [give] bonds to the proprietaries to remove,
with all their families, servants, cattle and effects, and having all voluntarily
given possession of their houses to me, some ordinary log houses, to the num-
ber of eleven, were burnt to the ground, the trespassers, most of them cheer-
fully and a very few of them with reluctance, carrying out all their goods.
Some had been deserted before, and lay waste. ' '
John Hastin was one of the early settlers on the line of Lurgan and Letter -
kenny Townships. He may have radiated from Shippensburg as a center.
The statement of his survey, made by Zach. Butcher, D. S. , November 4, 1736,
says: "By virtue of a warrant from the honorable proprietaries, bearing date
, I have surveyed and laid out unto John Hastin, in the township
of Hopewell, in the county of Lancaster, on the west side of the Susquehanna
River, six hundred and three acres of land with allowance of six per cent. ' '
The warrant, it seems, though no date is given, was of prior time. Francis
and Samuel Jones are represented as neighbors.
John Reynolds had a warrant for land, in what is now Lurgan Township,
dated October 6, 1738, and surveyed May 16, 1743. His neighbors at the
time were Robert Edmonson, Samuel Reynolds and Edward Shippen, Esq.
In what is now Hamilton Township, warrants were issued in 1737 to Matthew
Patton and George Leonard; in 1738 to David Black and Samuel Morehead.
Their neighbors at the time were Samuel Jones, Nathaniel Newlins, Robert
Patton, James Brotherton, Adam Hoops, Benjamin Gass, James Young,
Thomas Morehead and Thomas Patterson. In Montgomery, as it now exists,
was Philip Davis in 1737; James Harland and John Davyrich were his neigh-
bors; in 1740, Thonlas Evans, with David Alexander, John Davis and Aaron
Alexander as neighbors; in 1743, William Maxwell, with John McLellandand
Robert McCoy as neighbors; and in same year, Robert Culbertson, with Will-
iam and Thomas Dinwiddy and James Gardner as neighbors. About the same
time, also, Alexander Brown, Thomas Sellers, John McClellan, Walter Beatty,
Alex White, Wilson Halliday and Martha Howry were settlers. In the
present Southampton, Rev. John Blair and Thomas Edmundson had warrants
as early as 1743.
In St. Thomas were, 1738, Thomas Armstrong ; in 1742, John Holliday;
1743 and 1744, Robert Clugadge, James Campbell, George Galloway, Michael
Campbell, William Campbell, George Cuming, John McConnell, Samuel Mc-
Clintock, Robert Ritchey.
In Greene the oldest warrant found was that of Joseph Culbertson, in 1744.
Alexander Culbertson had one dated 1749. Their neighbors at the time were
John Neal, William Carr, Reuben Gillespie, John Stump. This settlement
was known as Culbertson' s Row.
At the early period we have thus far borne in mind, Little Cove seems not
♦Matthew Dill, George Croghan, BeDjamin Chambers, Thomas Wilson, John Findlay and James Galbreath,
Esqs., justices of the county of Cumberland.
•"■Under-sheriff of Cumberland County.
HISTORY OF FRANKLIN COUNTY. 153
to have been settled, it being greatly exposed to Indian depredations. As a
rule, warrants date from 1755, the earliest one found, to 1769, between which
dates are found Enoch Williams, Rees Shelby, "William Smith, William Pin-
dell, Evan Phillips, Samuel Owen, James McClellan, Hugh Martin, John Mar-
tin, David Huston, Lewis Davis and David Brown.
Washington Township, it seems, was not settled so early as some of the
eastern and southwestern districts. It and Quincy Township became largely
the homes of the Germans, who crossed South Mountain from York and Ad-
ams Counties. Warrants from 1743 to 1750 embrace Michael Legate, John
Markley, John Moorhead, James Johnston, Jacob Beesecker, Edward Nichols,
Michael Raumsawher, Mathias Ringer, John Stoner, John Steiner, John Snow-
berger, James Whitehead and John Wallace.
In Quincy, between same dates, George Cook, William Patrick, John
Leeper, James Jack.
It is much to be regretted that the names of these early pioneers, who
struggled so heroically against the wilds of the forest and the depredations of
the savages, have not been more carefully preserved. We append, however, a
list of taxable names in 1751 and 1752. From it may be learned the general
locations of these settlers:
TAXABLES' NAMES, 1751 AND 1752.
In Antrim Township — which embraced the territory now in Antrim, Wash-
ington and Quincy Townships — the taxables' names were as follows: William
Allison, Widow Adams, Joshua Alexander, Thomas Brown, Jacob Batterly,
William Brotherton, John Chambers, George Cassil, William Clark, William
Cross, Joshua Coal, Josh. Crunkleton, Jr., Peter Craul, John Crunkleton,
William Dunbar, Thomas Davis, John Davies, Henry Dutch, David Dun-
can, William Erwin, Robert Erwin, James Finley, William Grimes, Nicholas
Gulp, John Gyles, Lorance Galocher, Thomas Grogan, George Gordon, Abra-
ham Gabriel, Paulus Harick, Robert Harkness, William Hall, Nath. Harkness,
Christian Hicks, Robert Hamilton, Adam Hoops, James Jack, James Johnston,
Peter Johnston, Henry Kefort, James Kerr, David Kennedy, Widow Leiper,
Peter Leiper, Kath. Leatherman, Dietrich Lauw, James Lilon, Thomas
Long, William McGaw, Samuel McFaran, John Mitchel, William McAlmory,
William Mearns, William McLean, George Martin, John Monk, John Moor-
head, John McMath, William McBriar, David McBriar, James McBride, Josh.
McFaran, David McClellan, James McClanahan, Hugh McClellan, Patrick
Mclntire, Arch. McClean, Samuel Monagh, William McClellan, John Moor,
John McCoon, John McDowell, Alexander Miller, James McKee, Patrick Mc-
Clarin, Edward Nichols, Thomas Nisbit, Jacob Pisacker, Thomas Patterson,
John Pritchet, Thomas Poa, Henry Pauling, John Potter, James Paile, Will-
iam Patrick, James Pattro, John Reynolds, William Rankin, William Ram-
sey, James Ramsey, John Roass, Mathias Ringer, Joseph Roddy, John Roal,
Samuel Smith, John Scott, Robert Southerland, John Smith, James Scott,
Daniel Scott, John Staret, Henry Stall, Jacob Snider, William Shanon, Jacob
Snively, John Stoaner, Katharine Thomson, Anthony Thomson, Moses Thom-
son, Joseph Walter, John Wlllocks, John Wallace. Freemen: E. Alexander,
Alex. Cook, W. Campbel, Jacob Gabrial, Hugh Galocher, Adam Murray,
Hugh McKee, Daniel McCoy, Daniel McCowan, Wm. McGaughey, James
McGowan, Joseph Morgan, James Ross, John Snively, Charles White, James
Young— 128.
In Guilford — including what is now Chambersburg — John Anderson, Wm.
Adams, Thomas Baird, George Cook, Benjamin Chambers, Frederick Croft,
154 HISTOEY OF FRANKLIN COUNTY.
Peter Coaset, James Crawford, Edward Crawford, Mayant Duff, John For-
syth, Benjamin Gass, John Henderson, James Jack, Patrick Jack, James Lind-
say, John Lindsay, Charles McGill, Wm. McKinney, John Mushet, John
Noble, William Nujant, John O'Cain, Solomon Patterson, Robert Patrick,
Nathaniel Simpson, Henry Thomson. Freemen: Archibald Douglass, Henry
Black, Alexander McAlister, Robert Uart, 31.
In Hamilton— which then included the present township of Hamilton and
about one-half of the present township of St. Thomas — Joseph Armstrong,
Matthew Arthur, Josh. Barnet, James Barnet, Thomas Barnet, Jr., James
Boyd, Thomas Barnet, Andrew Brattan, John Blain, Wm. Boal, Robert Bar-
net, John Campbell, Adam Carson, James Denny, Robert Donelson, John
Dixon, Matthew Dixon, John Eaton, Josh. Eaton, James Eaton, Robert Elliot,
Johnston Elliot, Wm. Eckery, John Galaway, James Hamilton, John Hind-
man, Alex. Hamilton, Edward Johnston, Patrick Knox, William McCord, Sam-
uel McCamish, Samuel Moorhead, Thomas Patterson, Joshua Pepper, George
Reynolds, William Rankin, John Swan, Widow Swan, Edward Thorn, Aaron
Watson. Freemen: Dennis Kease, Josh. McCamish, 42.
In Lurgan — which then included the present townships of Lurgan, Letter -
kenny, Southampton and Greene — Benjamin Allworth, James Allison, Thos.
Alexander, Andrew Baird, Jr. , James Breckenridge, John Boyd, James Boall,
James Boyd, Laird Burns, Robert Boyd, Samuel Buckenstos, William Barr,
William Baird (turner), William Baird (at Rocky Spring), John Burns, Fran-
cis Brain, William Breckenridge, Alexander Culbertson, Archibald Campbell,
Dennis Cotter, Joseph Culbertson, John Cessna, James Calwell, John Craw-
ford, John Cumins, James Culbertson, Nathaniel Cellar, Oliver Culbertson,
Samuel Culbertson, Samuel Cochran, Steven Colwell, William Cox, William
Cochran, William Chambers, David Carson, Wm. Devanner, Jacob Donelson,
William Erwin, John Evans, John Erwin, Andrew Finley, John Finley, Sr.,
John Finley, Esq. , John Finley (sawyer), James Finley, Robert Finley, George
Ginley, John Graham, Robert Gabie, Thomas Grier, William Greenlee, Will-
iam Guthrie, John Grier, Arthur Graham, Isaac Grier, John Gaston, David
Heron, Francis Heron, Gustavus Henderson, James Henderson, Joshua Hen-
derson, James Henry, John Hawthorn, Christian Irwin, William Jack, Samuel
Jordan, John Jones, Nathaniel Johnson, David Johnson, John Johnson, Thomas
Jack, John Kirkpatrick, John Kirkpatrick, Jr., John Kerr, John Kennedy,
James Kirkpatrick, John Lowrie, John Leckey, James Lawder, Robert Long,
Samuel Laird, William Linn, William Linn, Jr., David Linn, Archibald
Machan, Arthur Miller, Andrew Murphey, Alexander Mitchell, Alexander
McNutt, Charles McGlea, David McCright, George Mitchell, Gavin Mitchell,
Humphrey Montgomery, Henry Machan, John Miller, Esq., James McCamant,
John McKeany, John McCall, James McCall, John McCrea, John McKee, John
Mitchel, James Mitchel, John Mitchel, Jr., John McCrea, John Machen,
Joseph McKibben, John McNaught, John McCappin, John Montgomery, John
McCombs, Machan McCombs, Mat. McCreary, Robert McConnell, Robert Mil-
ler, Robert Machan, Thomas McComb, Thomas Miner, William McConnell,
William Mitchell, William McNutt, William McCall, Charles Murray, Joseph
Mitchell, Andrew Neal, James Norrice, Thomas Neal, James Ortan, David
Paxon, George Pumroy, James Patterson, Mr. Riley (at Mr. Hoops'),
John Rippie, Josiah Ramage, James Reed, Sr. , James Reed, Jr. , James Reed,
Samuel Rippie, Wm. Reed, Robert Reed (cordwainer), Charles Stewart, James
Sharp, Robert Scott, Ranald Slack, William Turner, Alvard Terrence, Joseph
Thomson, James Tait, Robert Urie, Thomas Urie, Abm. Wier, David Watson,
Hugh Wier, John Weyley, John Weir, James Waid, John Wilson, Nathaniel
HISTORY OF FRANKLIN COUNTY. 155
Wilson, Oliver Wallace,* Wm. Withrow, Wm. Woods, Wm. Walker, Alexander
Walker, William Young. Freemen: James Hawthorne, Morgan Linch, Geo.
McKeaney, William Milrea, Charles Moor, George Ross, John Tait — 176.
In Peters Township — which then included the present townships of Peters
and Montgomery, and that part of St. Thomas Township west of Campbell's
Run — Daniel Alexander, Andrew Alexander, Wm. Armstrong, Hezekiah Alex-
ander, Adam Armstrong, Arthur Alexander, John Baird, James Blair, Alex.
Brown, Thomas Barr, Ann Black (widow,) Thomas Boal, Samuel Brown, Wm.
Barnett, Joshua Bradner, John Black, John Baird, James Black, Widow
Brown, Robert Barnet, David Bowel, John Blair, George Brown, Wm. Clark,
Robert Clugage, AVm. Campbell, Michael Carsell, Samuel Chapman, Thomas
Calhoun, Michael Campbell, Robert Crawford, Patrick Clark, Wm. Campbell,
Robert Culbertson, Charles Campbell, Thomas Clark, John Dickey, James
Dickey, Widow Donelson, Wm. Dunwood, John Docherty, Samuel Davis,
David Davis, James Davis, Widow Davis, Philip Davis, Joseph Dunlop, Ar-
thur Donelson, David Davis, Nath. Davis, Josh. Davis, Thomas Davis, James
Erwin, Widow Farier, John Flanaghin, James Flanaghin, Moses Fisher, James
Galbreath, John Gilmore, Widow Garison, Samuel Gilespie, James Galaway,
Josh. Harris, John Harris, Jeremiah Harris, Charles Harris, Widow Huston,
James Holland, John Huston, John Hamilton, Joseph How, John Holyday,
Wm. Holyday, Wm. Hanbey, David Huston, John Hill, James Holiday, Alex.
Hotchison, Mesech James, Hugh Kerrell, Wm. Lowrie, Henry Larkan, Wm.
Maxwell, James Mitchell, John Morlan, John Martin, James Mercer, John
Mercer, Wm. Marshall, Wm. Moor, Widow McFarland, Andrew Morison,
John McDowell, Alex. McKee, Robert McClellan, Wm. McDowell, Jr. , Wm.
McClellan, John McClellan, Andrew Moor, Wm. McDowell, James McConnell,
Robert McCoy, Wm. McHlhatton, James McMahon, James Murphy, Wm.
Morrison, James McClellan, Robert Newell, Victor Neely, James Orr, Thomas
Orbison, Thomas Owins, Nathan Orr, Matthew Patton, John Patton, Francis
Patterson, David Rees, James Rankin, Alex. Robertson, Wm. Semple, James
Sloan, Richard Stevens, Andrew Simpson, Wm. Shannon, Hugh Shannon,
Widow Scott, Alex. Staret, Collin Spence, John Taylor, James Wright, Wm.
Wilson, John Wilson, John Winton, James Wilkey, James Wilson, Matthew
Wallace, Moses White, John Wasson, Joseph Williams, John Wood, Joseph
White, Thomas Waddle. Freemen: Robert Anderson, David Alexander, Rob-
ert Banefield, James Brown, James Blair, Gavin Cluggage, James Carswell,
James Coyle, William Gueen, Alex. Hutchison, Ed. Horkan, John Laird, Alex.
McConnell, Samuel Templeton, Wm. Tayler, James Wilson, James Wallace,.
Andrew Willabee, Oliver Wallace, David Wallace — 162.
One of the complications in earlier times, along the southern portion of the
county, was the difficulty which settlers had in determining whether their pos-
sessions were in Pennsylvania or Maryland. This involved the famous Mason
and Dixon's line.
This remarkable line, alluded to by political writers and speakers through
the whole period of our national existence, and even anterior to it, is named
in honor of its surveyors, and marks the boundary between Pennsylvania and
Maryland. Since 1820, when John Randolph was continually harping on the
words " Mason and Dixon' s Line, " as Felix Walker, of North Carolina, was
on ' ' Buncombe, " one of the counties of his district, it has been the line of
demarkation between two distinct schools of politicians, the representatives of
two opposing sections of territory.
The original controversy between the States, thus lying side by side, was
waged with great spirit and varying results between the Lords Baltimore
156 HISTORY OF FRANKLIN COUNTY.
and the Perm family, from 1682 to 1767. These various phases, interesting
and exciting in themselves, can not here be given. The reader is referred to
the special works which trace the controversy. It needs simply to be stated
briefly that "on the 4th of August, 1763, the Penns — Thomas and Eichard,
and Frederick Lord Baltimore, then being .together in London, agreed with
7 O * O 7 &
Charles Mason and Jeremiah Dixon, two mathematicians and surveyors, to
mark, run out, settle, fix and determine all such parts of the circle, marks,
lines and boundaries, as were mentioned in the several articles or commissions,
and were not yet completed; that Mason and Dixon arrived in Philadelphia,
November 15, 1763, received their instructions from the commissioners of the
two provinces, December 9, 1763, and forthwith engaged in the work assigned
them; that they ascertained the latitude of the southernmost part of the city of
Philadelphia (viz. : 39° 56' 29. 1" north — or, more accurately, according to Col.
Graham, 39° 56' 37.4"), which was agreed to be in the north wall of the house
then occupied by Thomas Plumstead and Joseph Huddle, on the south side of
Cedar Street; and then, in January and February, 1764, they measured thirty-
one miles westward of the city to the forks of the Brandy wine, where they
planted a quartzose stone, known then, and to this day, in the vicinage, as the
star-gazer's stone; that, in the spring of 1764, they ran, from said stone, a
due south line fifteen English statute miles, horizontally measured by levels,
each twenty feet in length, to a post marked ' west;' that they then repaired to
a post marked 'middle.' at the middle point of the peninsula; west
line running from Cape Healopen to Chesapeake Bay, and thence, during
the summer of 1764, they ran, marked and described the tangent line agre d
on by the proprietaries. Then, in the autumn of 1764, from the post marked
'west,' at fifteen miles south of Philadelphia they set off and produced a
parallel of latitude westward, as far as the river Susquehanna ; then they went
to the tangent point, and in 1764-65 ran thence a meridian line northward until
it intersected the said parallel of latitude, at the distance of five miles, one
chain and fifty links — thus and there determining and fixing the northeast
corner of Maryland. Next, in 1765, they described such portion of the semi-
circle around New Castle, as fell westward of the said meridian, or due north
line from the tangent point. This little bow, or arc, reaching into Maryland,
is about a mile and a half long, and its middle width, 116 feet; from its upper
end, where the three States join, to the fifteen-mile point, where the great Ma-
son and Dixon's line begins, is a little over three and a half miles; and from
the fifteen-mile corner due east to the circle, is a little over three-quarters of
a mile — room enough for three or four good Chester County farms. This was
the only part of the circle which Mason and Dixon ran."
In 1766-67 they continue! the west line beyond the Susquehanna, extending
the same to the distance of 230 miles, IS chains and 21 links from the northeast
corner of Maryland near to an Indian war-path, on the borders of a stream
called Dunkard Creek. The hostile attitude of the Indians prevented Mason
and Dixon from continuing the line to the western boundary of Pennsylvania.
The remainder of the line, less than twenty miles, was subsequently run (1782)
by other surveyors. The portion run by Mason and Dixon was certified by
commissioners November 9, 1768, as having been properly marked by stones
distant one mile from each other, every fifth mile-stone having on the north
face the arms of Thomas and Richard Penn, and on the south face the arms of
Lord Baltimore. These stones were oolitic rock, imported for the purpose
from England.
These surveyors were paid twenty-one shillings eaco per day for services
and expenses, from the time they came to this country till they reached Eng-
7 ^^^-zJ
HISTORY OF FRANKLIN COUNTY. 159
land. The amount paid by the Penns from 1760 to 1768 was £34,200, Penn-
sylvania currency.
CHAPTER III.
INDIAN WAR.
Indian Nations Described — War Between French and English — Colonies In-
volved — Braddock's Defeat and its Effects — Forts Located and De-
scribed — Massacres from 1754 to 1765 — Conflict Between the Civil
and Military at Fort Loudoun.
AT the time the Cumberland Valley was opened up to the colonization of the
white race, it was virtually in possession of the aggregation of tribes known
as the Six Nations. At the opening of the seventeenth century, it is declared,
"the lower valley of the Susquehanna appears to have been a vast uninhabited
highway, through which hordes of hostile savages were constantly roaming be-
tween the northern and southern waters, and where they often met in bloody
encounters. The Six Nations were acknowledged as the sovereigns of the
Susquehanna, and they regarded with jealousy and permitted with reluctance
the settlement of other tribes upon its margin. ' ' *
The Six Nations were the Onondagas, Cayugas, Oneidas, Senecas, Mo-
hawks and the Tuscaroras, the last-named tribe joining the other five from North
Carolina in 1712. By the French they were called the Iroquois. The Lenni
Lenape, another powerful Indian confederacy, disputed the claim of the Six
Nations to this rich territory, and professed to be, as their name implies, "the
original people." The Lenni Lenape were known among the white settlers as
the Delaware Indians. They were divided into three principal tribes viz. :
the Turtle, the .Turkeys and Monseys or Wolf tribes. Monseys or Wolf tribe
occupied the country between the Kittatinny or Blue Mountain, and the sources
of the Susquehanna and Delaware Rivers, and had settlements also on the
banks of the Susquehanna. The Shawanees, also, by the permission of the
Six Nations, held for a time the Cumberland Valley as a hunting-ground.
This rivalry between these two great Indian Confederacies, the Lenni Lenape
and the Six Nations, both of which laid claim to the original right to the soil
of Pennsylvania, and hence to the Cumberland Valley, led to bloody conflicts,
and greatly retarded the permanent settlement of the region between the Sus-
quehanna and the Potomac. It led, also, to unpleasant complications in the
securing of legal titles. The Indians had as serious disputes among them-
selves relative to their lands as the inhabitants of Pennsylvania and Maryland
subsequently did. The result of this quarrel among the Indians was that the
Six Nations overcame the Lenni Lenape and held them in a state of vassalage
until the year 1756. The Shawanees ultimately proved bad neighbors to both
the Delawares and the Iroquois, and were removed by the latter, in 1755, to
the head waters of the Ohio.
For the reasons previously given, Kittatinny or Cumberland Valley was a
hunting-ground for the Indians, and highly prized by them. None of the
tribes made permanent settlement in its forests, which accounts for the absence
♦Historical Collections of Pennsylvania.
160 HISTORY OF FRANKLIN COUNTY.
of Indian relics so numerous in certain western and southern localities. With
reluctance, therefore, did they leave this beautiful valley, and seek their wild
game and fish elsewhere, and yet they finally consented to dispose of their
cherished possessions. On the 11th of October, 1736, the chiefs of the Six,
Nations met in Philadelphia, and, reviving all past treaties of friendship, ex-
ecuted a deed conveying to John, Thomas and Richard Penn and their heirs,
"all the said river Susquehanna, with the lands lying on both sides thereof, to
extend eastward as far as the head of the branches or springs which run into
the said Susquehanna, and all the land lying on the west side of the said river
to the setting sun." The indefiniteness of this language was destined to re-
sult in serious trouble. Advantage of the ambiguity of treaties made with
the Indians was taken by unscrupulous white men, and thus gradually the
red man saw himself deprived of all he held dear; and yet it is true that no
serious complaints were made by him until about 1742, and were then con-
fined to unlawful settlements on lands in Tulpehocken, on the Juniata, Augh-
wick, Path Valley and on Licking Creek near the Potomac, which embraced
the Big and Little Coves.
The French were eager and successful, too, in poisoning the Indian mind
with a sense of their gross wrongs, and thus secured their co-operation against
the regular British soldiers. The animosities existing between the two Euro-
pean governments were readily transferred to the rival colonies in the new
world. Twenty years of cunning effort on the part of the French had re-
sulted in winning the Indians to them- as allies, in endeavoring to establish
French supremacy in America. Since 1744, war had existed between Eng-
land and France, but its effects had not been felt in the colonies. The set-
tlers of this valley, isolated as they were, did not exhibit any fears of attack
till 1748, when they banded together for the support of their home and for-
eign governments. Loyalty to his English majesty reigned in every heart.
An associated regiment was formed in the valley and included among its of-
ficers the following from what is now Franklin County: Col. Benjamin Cham-
bers, of Chambersburg ; Maj. William Maxwell, of Peters; Lieuts. William
Smith, of Peters; Andrew Finley, of Lurgan; John Potter, of Antrim;
Charles McGill, of Guilford; John Winton, of Peters; Ensign John Rand-
alls, of Antrim. At first some doubts existed as to the legality and expediency
of these organizations, but these doubts were finally removed by a letter from
the council to the proprietaries, dated July 30, 1748. " The zeal and industry,
the skill and regularity of the officers have surprised every one, though it has
been for them a hard service. The whole has been attended by such expense,
care and fatigue, as would not have been borne or undertaken by any who
were not warm and sincere friends of the Government, and true lovers of their
country. In short, we have by this means, in the opinion of most strangers,
the best militia in America; so that, had the war continued, we should have
been in little pain about any future enterprises of our enemies. Whatever
opinions lawyers or others, not fully acquainted with our unhappy circum-
stances, may entertain of it, it is, in our opinion, one of the wisest and most
useful measures that was ever undertaken in any country."
The lull was but temporary. In 1753 war broke out in earnest. The
French established a line of forts from the lakes to the sources of the Ohio,
and thence along it to the Mississippi and down it to its mouth. They held
the bow of the country, while the English held the string along the Atlantic.
One of these strongholds was Fort Du Quesne, at Pittsburgh. Against it, in
1755, marched the English and provincial troops under command of Gen.
Braddock, a skillful and experienced officer in ordinary warfare, but
HISTORY OF FRANKLIN COUNTY.
161
unacquainted with the nature and intrigues of the Indian. Disregarding the
wise suggestions of his subordinates, he was thoroughly routed by the French
and Indians on the Monongahela July 9, 1755, and his demoralized and strag-
gling army hurled back along the line of its advance, the merciless enemy
hanging on flank and rear to increase the consternation and destruction.
The effect of this retreat can be better imagined than told. ' ' News of
contemplated attacks upon the settlements along the frontier from the Dela-
ware to the Maryland and Virginia line came upon the people in quick succes-
sion, and some actual massacres, burnings and captivities were reported from
the south, west and north. Even before Braddock's defeat, and when that
General with his army had gone only thirty miles from Fort Cumberland, a
party of 100 Indians, under the notorious Shingas, came to the Big Cove and
to the Conolloways (creeks on the border of Maryland, in what is now Fulton
County) and killed and took prisoners about thirty people, and drove the
remainder from their homes. ' ' [Penn. Archives, Vol. II. ]
The consternation which succeeded the defeat was inexpressible. The
retreat left the whole frontier uncovered. The inhabitants, unprotected and
undisciplined, were compelled to flee hastily or use such means of defense as
were at hand. Men, women and children were ruthlessly slaughtered like dumb,
animals. A reign of terror prevailed everywhere. The occupations of civil
life were suspended, and all efforts to secure safety by flight or resistance were
resorted to. Gov. Morris, moved by the piteous appeals from the frontier,
summoned the Assembly to convene November 3, when he presented the case
clearly and demanded men and a law for calling out the militia. Petitions
were pouring in upon him, asking for men and the munitions of war, and
beseeching protection from the destruction raging on every hand. The Assem-
bly was tardy. The people, to impress its members with the folly of the
1 ' non-resistance policy, ' ' actually sent some of the dead and mangled victims
of savage cruelty to Philadelphia to be exhibited on the streets. Everywhere
men flew to arms. Twenty-five companies of militia, numbering about 1,400
men, were raised and equipped for the defense of the frontier. The second
battalion, comprising 700 men and stationed west of the Susquehanna, was
commanded by Col. John Armstrong, of Carlisle. His subordinates were
Capts. Hance Hamilton, John Potter, Hugh Mercer, George Armstrong,
Edward Ward, Joseph Armstrong and Robert Callender. Of these, Joseph
Armstrong was an early settler of Hamilton Township, this county. The fol-
lowing is the roster of his private soldiers, the names of the subordinate
officers not being known:
John Armstrong.
Thomas Armstrong.
James Barnet.
John Barnet.
Joshua Barnet.
Thomas Barnet, Sr.
Thomas Barnet, Jr.
Samuel Brown.
John Boyd.
Alexander Caldwell.
Robert Caldwell.
James Dinney.
William Dinney.
Robert Dixson.
William Dixson.
James Eaton.
John Eaton.
Joshua Eaton.
James Elder.
George Gallery.
Robert Groin.
James Guthrie.
John Hindman.
Abram Irwin.
Christopher Irwin.
John Jones.
James McCamant, Sr.
James McCamant, Jr.
Charles McCamant.
James McCamish.
John McCamish.
William McCamish.
Robert McConnell.
John McCord.
Jonathan McKearney.
John Machan.
James Mitchell.
Joshua Mitchell.
William Mitchell.
Jon. Moore.
James Norrice.
John Norrice.
James Patterson.
Joshua Patterson.
William Rankin.
162 HISTOEY OF FRANKLIN COUNTY.
Jon. Rippey. Matthew Shields, Sr. "William Swan.
Barnet Robertson. Matthew Shields, Jr. Charles Stuart.
Francis Scott. Robert Shilds, Sr. Daniel Stuart.
Patrick Scott. Robert Shilds, Jr. Devard Williams.
William Scott. Jon. Swan. Jon. Wilson.
David Shields. Joshua Swan.
The intense feeling of the time is shown by the following letters, which
speak for themselves:
Falling Springs, Sabbath morning, Nov. 2, 1755.
To the inhabitants of the lower part of the county of Cumberland:
Gentlemen —
If you intend to go to the assistance of your neighbors, you need wait no longer for
the certainty of the news. The Great Cove is destroyed. James Campbell left his com-
pany last night and went to the fort at Mr. Steel's meeting house, and there saw some of
the inhabitants of the Great Cove who gave this account, that as they came over the Hill
they saw their houses in flames. The messenger says that there are but one hundred, and
that they are divided into two parts; the one part to go against the Cove and the other
against the Conollaways, and that there are two French among them. They are Dela-
wares and Shawnese. The part that came against the Cove are under the command of
Shingas, the Delaware King. The people of the Cove that came off saw several men lying
dead; they heard the murder shout and the firing of guns, and saw the Indians going into
their houses that they had come out of before they left sight of the Cove. I have sent
express to Marsh creek at the same time I send this; so I expect there will be a good com-
pany there this day, and as there are but one hundred of the enemy, I think it is in our
power, if God permit, to put them to flight, if you turn out well from your parts. I
understand that the West settlement is designed to go if they can get any assistance to
repel them.
All in haste, from
Tour humble servant,
Benjamin Chambers.
Shippensburg, 2d November, 1755.
To Hon. Edward Shippen, Esq., at Lancaster:
Dear and Honored Sir:
We are in great confusion here at present — We have received express last night that
the Indians and French are in a large body in the Cove, a little way from William Max-
well, Esq. ; and that they immediately intend to fall down upon this county. We, for these
two days past, have been working at our Fort here, and believe shall work this day (Sun-
day). This town is full of people, they being all moving in with their families — five or
six families in a house. We are in great want of arms and ammunition; but with what
we have we are determined to give the enemy as warm a reception as we can. Some of
our people had been taken prisoners by this party, and have made their escape from them,
and came in to us this morning.
As our Fort goes on here with great vigor, and expect it to be finished in fifteen days,
in which we intend to place all the women and children; it would be greatly encouraging,
could we have reason to expect assistance from Philadelphia by private donation of
Swivels, a few great guns, small arms and ammunition, we would send our own wagons
for them; and we do not doubt that upon proper application but something of this kind
will be done for us from Philadelphia.
We have one hundred men working at Fort Morris with heart and hand every day.
Dear Sir, yours, &c,
James Burd.
Conococheague,. Nov 6, 1755.
May it please your Honor:
I have sent enclosed two qualifications, one of which is Patrick Burns', the bearer,
and a tomahawk which was found sticking in the breast of one David McClellan.
The people of Path Valley are all gathered in a small foivt, and according to the last
account, were safe. The Great Cove and Conolloways are all buried to ashes, and about
fifty persons killed or taken. — Numbers of the inhabitants of this county have moved their
families, some to York county, some to Maryland.
Hance Hamilton, Esq., is now at John McDowell's mill, with upwards of two hun-
dren men (from York county) and two hundred from this county, in all about four hun-
dred. To-morrow we intend to go to the Cove and Path Valley, in order to bring what
cattle and horses the Indians let live. We are informed by a Delaware Indian, who lives
amongst us, that on the same da\ _ the murder was committed, he saw four hundred In-
dians in the Cove; and'we have some reason to believe they are about there yet.
HISTORY OF FRANKLIN COUNTY. 163
The people of Shearman's creek and Juniata have all come away and left their
horses; and there are now about thirty miles of this county laid waste. I am afraid
there will soon be more.
I am your Honor's most
Humble servant,
Adam Hoops.
P. S. I have just received the account of one George McSwane, who was taken cap-
tive about 14 days ago, and has made his escape, and brought two scalps and a toma-
hawk with him.
Shortly after the Indians had made hostile incursions into the Great Cove
and commenced their devastation, Sheriff Potter was in Philadelphia, as ap-
pears from the following extract, under date of November 14, 1755. — [Prov.
Rec. N. 289.]
Mr. Potter, the sheriff of Cumberland being in town was sent for, and desired to give
an account of the upper part of that county in which the Indians had committed their late
ravages; and he said that twenty-seven plantations were burnt and a great quantity of
cattle killed; that a woman ninety-three years of age was found lying killed with her
breast torn off and a stake run through her body. That of ninety-three families which
were settled in the two Coves and the Conolloways, forty-seven were either killed or
taken, and the rest deserted.
The names of those murdered and abducted, besides those already men-
tioned, are given in the Pennsylvania Gazette of November 13, 1755, and are
as follows:
Elizabeth Gallway, Henry Gilson, Robert Peer, William Berryhill and
David McClelland were murdered. The missing are John Martin's wife and
five children; William Gallway' s wife and two children, and a young woman;
Charles Stewart's wife and two children; David McClelland' s wife and two
children. William Fleming and wife were taken prisoners. Fleming's son
and one Hicks were killed and scalped.
But the times demanded more than men and ammunition. Families needed
to be put into some place of safety while their natural protectors were gone to
overtake the cruel savages, who had burned houses and destroyed helpless
women and children. This necessitated the building of private and public
forts at such natural points as would best accommodate the people. Wisely
these were distributed along the western line of the valley to guard against the
hostile invasions from the west, and notably from Path Valley, Cove Gap and
the Little Cove.
These forts answered several purposes: 1. They were places for the con-
centration of defenseless and helpless women and children while their natural
protectors were absent from home. 2. They served as deposits for the sur-
plus ammunition and other valuable stores needed in the settlements. 3. They
served as rallying points, for protection and defense, to the frightened inhabi-
tants.
At a meeting of the general committee of Cumberland County, convened
by order of John Potter, sheriff of the county, at the house of Edward Ship-
pen, October 30, 1755, at which eighteen persons*, including Col. Benjamin
Chambers, were present, it was resolved to build immediately five large
forts, viz.: at Carlisle, Shippensburg, Col. Chambers', Mr. Steele's meeting-
house and William Allison, Esq. 's, in which the women and children were to
be deposited, from which, on any alarm, intelligence was to be sent to the other
forts. It is thought to be doubtful whether this plan was executed in full.
Chambers' Fort. — This fort was erected by Col. Benjamin Chambers and
located at the confluence of the Falling Spring and the Conococheague Creek,
♦Names: William Allison, John Irwin, Adam Hoops, James Burd, William Smith, James McCormick
Benjamin Ohamhers, Robert rhambers, H. Alexander, John Findlay, John Potter, Rev. Mr. Bay, John Mush-
ett, Samuel Reynolds, Rev. John Blair, John Smith, Alex Culbertson, John Armstrong.
164 HISTORY OF FKANKLIN COUNTY.
"where Chambersburg now stands. Hon. George Chambers said: "It was
erected in the winter and spring of 1756, being a stockade, including the
dwelling house, flour and saw-mills of the proprietor (Col. Chambers) ; within
the fort he erected a large stone building two stories in height, the waters of
the Falling Spring running under part of it; for safe access to the water, its
windows were small, and adapted to defense; the roof of it was covered with
sheet-lead, to protect it against fire from the savages. In addition to
small arms, Col. Chambers had supplied himself with two four-pound cannon
which wore mounted and used. Within the fort he remained in safety with his
family throughout the whole .series of Indian wars. It was also a place of
shelter and security to many of the neighboring families in times of alarm.
In a letter dated Harris' Ferry, October 17, 1756, Jas. Young pronounces it
" a good Private Fort, and on an Exceeding good situation to be made very De-
fenceable. " He feared lest the fort, with its two four-pound cannon, with "no-
body but a few Country People to defend it, ' ' should be captured, and they
used against Shippensburg and Carlisle. He recommended the removal of the
guns, or a proper force stationed for their protection. When Gov. Denny
directed these guns to be removed from Fort Chambers, he found his orders
disregarded, as was proper under the circumstances,
Davis' Fort was erected by Philip Davis in 1756. It was about nine miles
south of Fort Loudoun, near the Maryland line, at the northern termination of
one of the Kittochtinny ranges, known in early times and since as Davis'
Knob. It was sixteen and one-half miles from Chambers' Fort, and eight
from McDowell' s mill.
McDowell's Mill. — This fort was known by several names, as "Fort at Mc-
Dowell's Mill," " McDowell's Mill," or " McDowell's." It was named in hon-
or of its founder, John McDowell, who settled at and around the present site
of Bridgeport, shortly after the Chambers settlement was made at Falling
Spring. He erected a mill of logs, and some thirty yards from it a rude two
story log house with a liberal supply of port holes. The mill and fort sites
are now owned by Mr. Jacob Wister.
This fort, which occupied such a conspicuous place in the early history
of the province for the period of only about two or three years, was built as
early as 1754: for Col. John Armstrong, then stationed at Carlisle, in a "plan
for the defence of the Frontier of Cumberland County from Philip Davies' to
Shippensburg," issued in 1754, " ordered that one company cover from Philip
Davies' to Thomas Waddel's; And as John McDowell's mill is at the most im-
portant Pass, most exposed to danger, has a fort already made about it, and there
provisions may be most easily had — for these Reasons let the Chief Quarters be
there; let five men be Constantly at Philip Davies', William Marshall's and
Thomas Waddle's, which Shall be relieved every day by the patrolling guards;
let Ten men be sent early every morning from the Chief Quarters to Thomas
Waddle's, and Ten return from thence back in the evening. A likewise Ten
men Sent from the Chief Quarters to the other extremity daily, to go by Will-
iam Marshall's to Philip Davies', and return the same way in the afternoon.
By this Plan the Whole Bounds will be patrolled every Day; a Watch will be
constantly kept at four most important Places, and there will be every night
forty-five men at ye Chief Quarters ready for any Exigence. " The impor-
tance of the place is further seen in the fact that, when Gen. Braddock, in the
spring of 1755, was passing on his way for the reduction of Fort DuQuesne,
he urged Gov. Morris to hurry up the army supplies along the public road
that passed near McDowell' s mill. On the 3d of July, 1755, the Governor
announces his compliance with the request and his purpose to ' ' form the mag-
HISTORY OF FRANKLIN COUNTY. 165
azine at or near McDowell' s mill, and put some Stuccados around it to protect
the Magazine and the people that will have the Care of it. " In response, Gen.
Braddock indicated his "Approbation of the Deposits being made at McDow-
ell's Mill." In November of this year (1755), as we learn from a letter by
Adam Hoops, commissary to Gov. Morris, "Hance Hamilton, Esq., was at
John McDowell's Mill with about 400 men," to be used in gathering up the
cattle and horses not destroyed by the Indians in Path Valley.
In consequence of the cutting of a new road to the Ohio, about two miles
north, and in view of the indefensibility of McDowell's, it was determined to
chancre the location of the fort; hence its successor.
Fort Loudoun. — In the autumn of 1756, Col. John Armstrong began the
construction of this place of defense. Some difficulty was experienced in se-
curing a suitable site. At last one was chosen near to Parnell's Knob, where
one Patton lived, ' 'near the new road, ' ' making the ' 'distance from Shippens-
burg to Fort Lyttleton two miles shorter than by McDowell' s. " In a letter
to Gov. Denny, dated at McDowell's, November 19, 1756, Col. Armstrong
says: "I'm makeing the best preparation in my power to forward this Fort
(Loudon), as well as to prepare by barracks, etc. , all the others for the ap-
proaching winter. * * To-day we begin to Digg a Cellar in the New Fort, the
Loggs and Roof of a new House having there been erected by Patton before the
Indians burn' d his Old One. We shall apprise this House, and then take the
benefit of it, either for Officers' Barracks or a Store-House ; by which Means the
Provisions may the sooner be mov'd from this place, which at present divides
our strength." December 22, 1756, A. Stephens says: "The public stores
are safely removed from McDowell' s mill to Fort Loudoun — the barracks for the
soldiers are built, and some proficiency made in the Stockado, the finishing of
which will doubtless be retarded by the in clemency of the weather. ' ' Capt.
Thompson, in a letter dated at Loudoun, April 7, 1758, mentions the arrival
of forty Cherokee Indians at the fort, and that more were daily expected. He
desires Gov. Denny' s immediate directions as to how they were to be treated
and supplied, as they had come without arms or clothes; they had come for
service in the colonies.
Gen. Forbes, while on his expedition to Fort Du Quesne to expel the
French and their Indian allies from the frontiers, addressed a letter from Lou-
doun (the town being distant a mile from the fort) to Gov. Denny, urging the
hearty co operation of the authorities and people to secure the desired success.
September 9, 1758, he wrote: "Everything is ready, for the army is advanc-
ing; but that I cannot do, unless I have a sufficient quantity of provisions in
the magazines at Raystown. " His march was resumed soon afterward, and
continued till he reached Fort Du Quesne, which the enemy evacuated Novem-
ber 24, 1758. In October of the same year, Forbes recommended to the gov-
ernor the necessity of distributing 1,200 men among the different forts, 100 of
whom were to be stationed at Fort Loudoun.
Col. Bouquet having assumed command of the regular and provincial
troops, left Carlisle (whither Gov. Penn had accompanied him) on his expedi-
tion westward early in August. "On August 13 their small army got to Fort
Loudoun; but notwithstanding all the precautions taken to prevent desertions,
the Pennsylvania troops were now reduced to 700 men. Further ad-
ditions were therefore requested, and furnished by the governor. While
here he received an account from Presque Isle, by Capt. Bradstreet, of peace
being made with the Delawares and Shawnese; but Col. Bouquet, not believing
they were sincere, proceeded forward from Fort Loudoun to Fort Pitt, where
he arrived on September 17." — [Bouquet's Hist. Account.]
166 HISTORY OF FRANKLIN COUNTY.
The name Pomfret Castle was first suggested, but was dropped and that
of Loudoun (spelled Loudon at present) in honor of the Earl of Loudoun,
lately arrived as commander-in-chief of His Majesty's forces, was adopted.
It embraced over an acre of ground. The foundations were of stone, the su-
perstructure of logs, bastions being placed in each corner. No vestiges of it
remain at present. The site of the fort is owned by Mr. J. H. Horner of the
village of Loudon.
McCord's was a private fort, erected probably in 1755 or 1756, along the
base of Kittochtinny Mountains, north of Parnell's Knob, and intended, doubt-
less, for temporary occupation during the early Indian wars. It is believed
to have been not many miles from Fort Loudoun, but its precise location can
not be definitely fixed. It was attacked and burned by the Indians in April,
1756, and many captives taken and carried off. This circumstance greatly
impaired confidence in private forts, and led to the early erection of those of
greater security.
Steele's Meeting-house. — Judge Chambers, in a note published in the Ap-
pendix to Pennsylvania Archives, says : ' ' The first fort of which I have infor-
mation, in the Conococheague Settlement, which comprised nearly the whole
of the County of Franklin, was at the Rev. John Steele's meeting house,
which was surrounded by a rude Stockade Port in 1755. It was erected shortly
after Braddock' s defeat, we suppose, as it was referred to in the Indian Inva-
sion in November, 1755.* It was situated where what is called The Presby-
terian White Church, south of Fort Loudoun about five miles, and east of
Mercersburg three miles.. It was a place of notoriety during the Indian Wars."
Upon a visit of the Indians to this settlement, in November, 1755," the Rev.
Mr. Steele, with others, to the number of about 100, went in quest of them,
but with ho success. " In a letter from Peters Township to Gov. Morris, dated
April 11, 1756, Mr. Steele says: " As I can neither have the men, arms nor
blankets, I am obliged to apply to your Honor for them ; the necessity of the cir-
cumstances has obliged me to muster before two magistrates the one-half
of my company whom I enlisted, and am obliged to order guns. I pray that
with all possible expedition, 54 fire arms and as many blankets, and a quan-
tity of flints, may be sent to me: for since McCord's Fort has been taken, and
the men defeated and pursued, our county is in the utmost confusion, great
numbers have left the county, and many are preparing to follow. May it
please your honor to allow me an ensign, for I find a sergeant's pay will not
prevail with men to enlist in whom much confidence is reposed." — [Penn.
Arch., Vol. II, p. 623.]
Waddle's is sometimes referred to in the old records. It must have been a
private fort built about the same time with the others, probably near what is
now called Waddle's (sometimes Eckert's) graveyard.
Allison's was also a private fort near Greencastle, and served its purpose.
Maxwell's. — Where this was located the writer has not been able to
ascertain. It was evidently a private fort or block-house in the general line of
defense against the incursions of Indians from the west.
Elliott's stood in Path Valley, about a mile north of Fannettsburg, at the
place now known as Springtown. It was erected in 1754 or 1755. At this
place are half a dozen limestone springs, one of which was enclosed by the
fort. At the time the barn of James and Samuel Walker, one mile south of
Fannettsburg, was burned by the Indians, viz. : On the night of March 22,
1763, the neighbors collected together and scouts were sent by a by-path to
♦"November ye 25, 1755. The Reverand John. Steele at Conegochig: 2 quarter casks of powder; 2 cwt. of
Lead." — [Government Account.]
'j^^-^c
HISTORY OF FRANKLIN COUNTY.
109
give alarm at the fort, so that it must have been still occupied by British
soldiers.
Baker's is supposed to have been at or near the village of Dry Run.
The foregoing is by no means an enumeration of all the forts of a private
character in Franklin County. The great danger, however, was to be appre-
hended from the west, and hence the wisdom of locating a line of these
defenses from Parnell's to Casey's Knobs, and patrolling them regularly.
From Path Valley and through Cove Gap the greatest danger was to be
apprehended.
The massacres mentioned in the following pages are found in various
records, which can not here be specified. It will be seen that they occurred
more frequently and with greater malignity shortly after the defeat of Brad-
dock' s army.
In September, 1754, Joseph Campble was killed, near Parnell's Knob, by
an Indian of the Six Nations, named Israel.
In February, 1756, two lads were taken at Widow Cox's, near Parnell's
Knob, also a man named John Craig. They afterward escaped.
February 29, 1756, two boys were fired at by the Indians in the Little
Cove. One was killed but the other alarmed the fort, and the Indians were
pursued and driven away after a loss of four soldiers.
On the same day, a man named Alexander discovered a party of Indians
near Thomas Barr's place, in Peters Township. The alarm was given, and
an engagement ensued, in which several citizens were killed, one being Barr's
son.
April 5, 1756, McCord's Fort was burned and many inhabitants killed and
captured by the Indians. Immediately upon receipt of the news, Capt.
Alexander Culbertson, with a company of fifty men, set out in pursuit, and
overtook them at Sidling Hill, where a serious contest ensued, in which Capt,
Culbertson was slain. So many were wounded, that a surgeon, living in
Carlisle, was sent for, and even then much inconvenience was experienced.
Following is a list of killed and wounded:
KILLED.
Alexander Culbertson, Francis Scott.
captain. William Boyd.
John Reynolds, ensign, Jacob Payntor.
Capt. Chambers' Co. Jacob Jones.
William Kerr.
James Blair.
John Layson.
William Denny.
Robert Kerr.
William Chambers.
Daniel McCoy.
James Robertson, tailor.
James Robertson, weaver.
James Peace.
John Blair.
Henry Jones.
John McCarty.
John Kelly.
James Lowder.
William Hunter.
Matthias Ganshorn.
William Swailes.
WOUNDED.
Abraham Jones. Benjamin Blyth.
Francis Campbell. John McDonald.
William Reynolds. Isaac Miller.
John Barnet. Ensign Jamieson.
Shortly after, Capt. Jacobs (Indian chief), with a band of forty savages,
made an expedition into the Coves, burning and scalping. Hugh McSwine
was taken prisoner, and afterward escaped on the leader's horse. This he
took to Col. Washington, who gave him a commission as lieutenant.
William Mitchel, living in Conococheague, was shot and killed by a band
of Indians, while at work in the harvest field.
10
170 HISTORY OF FRANKLIN COUNTY.
On the 26th of May, 1756, John Wasson, a farmer living in Peters Town-
ship, was horribly mangled and scalped by a small party of Indians. His
house was burned and his wife taken captive.
July 26, 1756, Joseph Martin was killed, and John and James McCollough
captured in the Conococheague settlement.
August 27, 1756, William Morrison was captured and his house burned.
August 28, Betty Ramsey, her son and the cropper were killed and daugh-
ter taken prisoner.
November, 1756, in the upper part of the county, near Conococheague, a
party of savages barbarously mangled a number of the inhabitants, and took
many women and children captives. Following is a list of killed and missing :
KILLED.
James McDonald. John Woods, with his wife John Culbertson.
William McDonald. and mother- in law. Elizabeth, wife of John
Bartholomew McCafferty. Samuel Perry. Archer.
Anthony McQuoid. Hugh Kerrel.
MISSING.
James Corkem. John Archer's four chil- Samuel Neely.
William Cornwall. dren. James McCoid.
March 29, 1757, the Indians made a breach at Rocky Springs, where one
woman was killed and eleven taken prisoners.
April 2, 1757, William McKinley and son were killed. He had left Cham-
bers' Fort to visit his farm on the creek below Chambersburg, but was dis-
covered and scalped by the Indians.
April 7, 1757, three families, two named Campbell and Patterson, were cut
off at Conococheague, and barbarously treated.
April 23, 1757, John Martin and William Blair were killed at Conocochea-
gue, and Patrick McClelland wounded by savages.
May 13, 1757, William Walker and an unknown man killed at Conodo-
guinet.
June 24, 1757, Alexander Miller killed, and his two daughters captured
at Conococheague.
July 2, 1757, a man named Springson killed near Logan's mill.
July 8, two boys taken prisoners at Cross's Fort, Conococheague.
July 27, man named McKisson wounded, and son captured at South Moun-
tain.
August 17, 1757, William Manson and son killed at Cross's Fort, Conoco-
cheague.
September 26, 1757, Robert Rush, John McCracken killed, and five others
captured near Chambersburg.
May 23, 1758, Joseph Galady killed, and his wife and child captured at
Conococheague.
November 9, 1757, John Woods, his wife and mother-in-law, and the wife
of John Archer, were killed, four children taken captives, and nine men killed
near McDowell's mill.
April 5, 1758, one man killed and ten taken near Black's Gap, South
Mountain.
April 13, 1758, one killed and nine taken near Archibald's, South Mountain.
For a long time after this no record of any massacres has been found; but
doubtless many were committed, and many outrages perpetrated, of which
nothing is known.
HISTORY OF FRANKLIN COUNTY. 171
We are indebted to Capt. J. H. Walker, a descendant of James Walker,
for the following well authenticated and detailed account of his captivity and
escape from the Indians.
"About the middle of August, 1762, James Walker, who lived on the
farm where John D. Walker now resides, near Fannettsburg, was on his way
home from the fort at Loudon, and when near Richmond, on the old Braddock
road, was fired at by a party of Indians. His horse was killed under him,
and in falling the horse fell on him in such a way that before he could extricate
himself the Indians captured him. They then took the saddle off his horse,
and fastening it on his back compelled him to carry it, and started over the
mountain westward. The first night they stopped near Fort Littleton, and to
make their prisoner secure, they tied his hands and an Indian slept on each
side of him. The next morning, discovering some horses grazing in the neigh-
borhood of the fort, they made several attempts to capture them, but without
success. After repeated failures they determined that their prisoner should
make a trial of it, and lest he might wander off too far, or attempt his escape,
they made a rope or line of hickory bark, and fastened to his leg, the Indians
holding one end of the line, but the horses were shy, he met with no better
success, and they were compelled to give it up, being fearful that they might
be discovered from the fort. After remaining nearly the whole day and
watching the operations at the fort, they again started westward. For several
days they traveled by easy stages, crossing on their way the South or Kays-
town branch of the Juniata Eiver. At length, as they seemed to approach the
Indian settlement, the party divided one evening, and left their prisoner in
charge of two of their company for the night. Taking the precaution to tie
him safely as before, they lay down, one on each side of him, and soon were in
a sound sleep. The apparently sound sleep of their prisoner, however, was
not real, as he had fully determined that now, if ever, was his opportunity to
try to make his escape. He had a knife secreted about his person, which for-
tunately his captors had failed to discover. After long and patient effort, he
succeeded in getting one of his hands loosed. He then worked his knife out
of its hiding place, and cut the cords with which he was fastened. During
this operation one of the Indians started as if about to rouse up, but their
prisoner affected such soundness of sleep that his suspicions were allayed, and
he soon went to sleep again.
' ' But this being too critical a position in which to remain very long, Mr.
Walker, as soon as he thought it safe to do so, raised cautiously to his feet, but
in doing so the same wily savage again awoke, and this time realizing the
situation, grasped his tomahawk, and was about to spring to his feet, and
while in the act of doing so Mr. Walker seized him by the hair, and quick as
thought plunged his knife into the throat of his antagonist, who fell mortally
wounded at his feet. The other Indian, being awakened by the scuffle, and
the death knell of his companion, and supposing doubtless that they had been
pursued by a party of whites, hastily fled, leaving Mr. Walker master of the
situation. He knew too well the importance of having as great a space
between himself and the scene of his encounter as practicable before daylight,
and made all possible speed in the homeward direction. When daylight came
he sought a secure hiding place, and remained there all day. His journey
eastward was attended with many difficulties, and much suffering, as he trav-
eled mostly by night to avoid recapture, and the country being a dense wilder-
ness, he frequently became bewildered, and sometimes traveled in a wrong
direction. Besides subsisting chiefly on roots, berries, etc., his flesh was torn
with briars, and badly bruised when crossing the mountains, and forcing his
172 HISTORY OF FRANKLIN COUNTY.
way through the thickets. At length, after many weary days and nights, he
found his way back to the fort at Littleton, where he received the medical
attention that his situation demanded. He was greatly weakened by the
exposure and suffering, and the condition of his sores was so horrible, the
worms having already got into them, that he was compelled to remain there
for some time before he could be removed to his home."
In 1764, however, on July 26, three miles northwest of Greencastle, was
perpetrated what Parkman, the great historian of colonial times, pronounces
"an outrage unmatched in fiend-like atrocity through all the annals of the war. "
This was the massacre of Enoch Brown, a kind-hearted exemplary Christian
schoolmaster, and ten pupils — eight boys and two girls. Ruth Hart and Ruth
Hale were the names of the girls. Among the boys were Eben Taylor, George
Dunstan and Archie McCullough. All were knocked down and scalped by the
merciless savages. Mourning and desolation came to many homes in the val-
ley, for each of the slaughtered innocents belonged to a different family. The
last named boy indeed survived the effects of the scalping knife, but in a some-
what demented condition.
The teacher offered his life and scalp in a spirit of self-sacrificing devotion,
if the savages would only spare the lives of the little ones under his charge
and care. But no ! the tender mercies of the heathen are cruel, and so a per-
fect holocaust was made to the Moloch of war by the relentless fiends in hu-
man form. The school -house was located on the farm now owned by Mr.
Henry Diehl, and formerly owned by Mr. Christian Koser. It stood in a
cleared field at the head of a deep ravine, surrounded by dense forests. Down
this ravine the savages fled a mile or two until they struck Conococheague Creek,
along the bed of which, to conceal their tracks, they traveled to the mouth of
Path Valley up which and across the mountains they made good their escape
to their village near the Ohio. The bodies were given, at the time, a burial
in a common grave — a rude box containing the forms of the teacher and his as-
sociate victims.
August 4, 1843, or seventy nine years after the slaughter, a number of the
principal citizens of Greencastle made excavations to verify the traditional ac-
count of the place and manner of burial. Some remains of the rough coffin
were found at quite a depth from the surface, and then the skull and other re-
mains of a grown person, alongside of which were remains of several children.
Metal buttons, part of a tobacco box, teeth, etc. , were picked up as relics by
those present, among whom were some of our citizens still living with us in a
green old age, viz. : Dr. Wm. Grubb,* Dr. J. K. Davison, George W. Ziegler,
Esq. , and Gen. David Detrich.
The question of erecting a monument to the memory of these unfortunates
was agitated at different times, but never reached a tangible solution till 1885,
when, as the result of a very spirited canvass of schools, Sunday-schools,
churches, and private individuals, as well as by excursions and other legitimate
agencies, about $1,400 was raised for the purpose. Twenty acres of land was
purchased, and the monument was finally unveiled August 4, 1885, in the pres-
ence of 5,000 people.
The meeting was called to order by Col. B. F. Winger, chief marshal.
Mounting the base of the monument the Rev. Cort made a few preliminary re-
marks, and then four little girls and nine boys pulled the cords, the mantle of
red, white and blue fell, and the monument stood forth a thing of beauty and
strength, the delight of all beholders. It is indeed a massive affair. On the
top of four feet of solid masonry underneath the ground are nearly four feet of
* Since deceased.
HISTORY OF FRANKLIN COUNTY. 173
dressed limestone of immense proportions from Hawbecker's Williamson
quarry. On the top of this limestone foundation, which is five feet square, is
placed the granite base of the monument, four feet square and seventeen inch-
es high, and weighing 4,600 pounds. Next comes the polished die or sub-
base, three feet square and two feet high, on the four sides of which are en-
graved the inscriptions. On the top of this stands the shaft of the monument,
two feet square at the base, ten feet high and tapering gracefully to a pyrami-
dal apex. The shaft weighs 4, 100 pounds. Inclosing the monument is a
very substantial iron fence, fifteen feet square. The following are the in-
scriptions :
On the east side:
Sacred to the Memory of School-master Enoch
Brown and Eleven Scholars, viz. : Ruth Hart, Ruth
Hale, Eben Taylor, George Dunstan, Archie Mc-
Cullough, and Six Others (Names Unknown), who
were Massacred and Scalped by Indians on this
Spot, July 26, 1764, During the Pontiac War.
On the north side:
Erected by Direction of the Franklin County
Centennial Convention of April 22, 1884, in the
Name of the Teachers and Scholars of All the
Schools in the County, Including Common Schools,
Select Schools and Sunday Schools. For a Full
List of Contributors see Abchives of Franklin
County Historical Society or Recorder's Office.
West side inscription, next to grave:
The Remains of Enoch Brown and Ten Scholars
(Archie McCullough Survived the Scalping) Lie
Buried in a Common Grave, South 62£ Degrees,
West 14| Rods from this Monument. They Fell
as Pioneer Martyrs in the Cause of Education
and Christian Civilization.
On the south side:
The ground is holy where they fell.
And where their mingled ashes lie,
Ye Christian people, mark it well
With granite columns strong and high;
And cherish well forevermore
The storied wealth of early years,
The sacred legacies of yore,
The toils and trials of pioneers.
The small monument was unveiled at the grave by Rev. Cort after a few
preliminary remarks. It is a very chaste and pretty structure, composed, like
the larger monument, of Concord granite. It is about seven feet high and
two feet square at the base. On the side facing the grave is this inscription:
" The grave of Schoolmaster Enoch Brown and Ten Scholars, massacred by
the Indians July 26, 1764." Around it is also a solid iron fence ten feet square.
George W. Ziegler, Esq., was chosen president for the day, and made a
short address, heartily approving the cause which had brought the people to-
gether and commending the monument committee for its faithful and energet-
ic labors. Rev. J. D. Hunter then offered a very appropriate prayer. The
Reformed Church choir, under the lead of Prof. Collins, assisted by a few am-
ateurs, sang " America, " " My Country, 'tis of Thee, " and afterward " The
Infant Martyrs," a hymn composed by Dr. Henry Harbaugh on the martyred
babes of Bethlehem, who were slain by King Herod. The organization was
completed by the election of the vice-presidents and secretaries, viz. :
174 HISTORY OF FRANKLIN COUNTY.
Vice-presidents : Rev. J. Spangler Kief er, Hagerstown, Md. ; Gen. David
Detrich, Dr. James K. Davidson, Capt. Jacob Diehl, Antrim; Jacob Hoke,
Judge Kimmel, Rev. Herbert, Chambersburg ; Jacob B. Brumbaugh., Peters;
Simon Lecron, D. C. Shank, George J. Balsley, D. O. Nicodemus, Washing-
ton; Joseph Winger, Montgomery; Dr. Frick, Quincy; Rev. Knappenberger,
John Hoch, Mercersburg; Rev. Banner, Waynesboro; Rev. Riddle, Fairfax,
Va. ; Andrew K. Kissecker, Tiffin, Ohio. Secretaries: W. G. Davison, W.
C. Kreps, Greencastle; Bruce Laudebaugh, G. W. Atherton, Mercersburg;
William A. Ried, Antrim; A. N. Pomeroy, Chambersburg.
Rev. Cyrus Cort, chairman of the monument committee, then made the
presentation speech, which was well received.
After a sumptuous dinner, Rev. J. W. Knappenberger, of Mercersburg, of-
fered a short but appropriate prayer. Peter A. Witmer, of Hagerstown, Md.,
made an address heartily approving the work. He was followed by Rev. F. M.
Woods, of Martinsburg, W. Va. John M. Cooper, of Harrisburg, read a very
fine poem appropriate to the occasion. Dr. W. H. Egle, of Harrisburg, de-
livered the historical address of the occasion on " Pontiac and Bouquet. " He
complimented, in eloquent terms, Rev. Cyrus Cort* for the intense zeal he had
manifested in the erection of this, the people' s monument — a tribute to the ed-
ucational martyrs of the county. The benediction was pronounced by Rev.
John R. Agnew.
One of the last massacres committed by the Indians in Franklin County,
probably about the time of the Revolutionary war, was that of the Renfrew
sisters (Sarah and Jane), on what is now the farm of A. J. Fahnestock, near
Waynesboro. The girls, it is said, were washing clothes on the bank of the
Little Antietam, when two Indians came upon them, and having stricken them
down and taken their scalps, went to the little cabin standing on the hill and
killed an infant, dashing its brains out against a tree. They then betook
themselves in flight to the mountains, westward, but were pursued by two ex-
perienced hunters living in the neighborhood. The savages were finally over-
taken in an open forest, in the Big Cove, engaged in eating wild plums. Ac-
cording to previous plans, the wary hunters approached sufficiently close to see
the seeds of the plums drop, one by one. Raising their trusty guns, they
fired, each bringing his victim to the ground. Scalping the savages and re-
covering the scalps of the girls, they hastily retraced their steps and reached
the Renfrew home in time to deposit all four scalps by the coffin ready to be
buried. The dust of the Renfrews now rests in an humble grave in what is
known as the Burns grave-yard, on the Fahnestock place, and is marked by a
simple slab of rough sandstone.
In 1765 a difficulty occurred between the military authorities at Fort
Loudoun, under command of Lieut. Charles Grant, and certain citizens in
Peters Township, under the leadership of James Smith. The whole affair
grew out of the fact that certain Indian traders from Philadelphia were in the
habit of smuggling lead, tomahawks, scalping knives, etc. , through the lines
and disposing of the same to the ruthless savages. With a band of men,
blacked and painted, Smith, highly incensed at these damnable acts, ambushed
and waylaid a company of traders, killing their ponies, capturing certain sup-
plies and burning others. The traders repaired to the fort, and secured the
services of a squad of Highland soldiers, under command of Sergt. Leonard
McGlashan, to arrest the robbers, as the citizens were called. A number of in-
nocent men were apprehended and thrown into the guard-house at the fort.
♦The writer is indebted for tbe facts contained in this account of the Enoch Brown massacre to Rev. Cort's
excellent little volume, " Enoch Brown Memorial."
HISTORY OF FRANKLIN COUNTY. 175
Smith raised 300 riflemen and marched to the fort, encamping on a high hill in
sight of the works. "We were not long there," says Smith, " until we had
more than double as many of the British troops prisoners in our camp, as they
had of our people in the guard-house. Capt. Grant, a Highland officer
who then commanded Fort Loudoun, then sent a flag of truce to our camp,
where we settled a cartel and gave them above two for one, which enabled us
to redeem all our men from the guard-house without further difficulty. ' '
Grant retained a number of rifle guns which his men had taken from the
citizens, refusing to deliver them until he had explicit orders from his superior,
Gen. Gage. "As he was riding out one day, ' ' continues Smith, ' ' we took
him prisoner, and detained him until he delivered up the arms; we also de-
stroyed a large quantity of gunpowder that the traders had stored up, lest it
might be conveyed privately to the Indians. The king' s troops and our party
had now got entirely out of the channel of the civil law, and many unjustifiable
things were done by both parties. This convinced me, more than ever I had
been before, of the absolute necessity of the civil law in order to govern man-
kind. "
This conflict between the civil and military authorities, the outgrowth of
Indian difficulties, involved the magistrates of the township, the governor of
the State and the commander-in-chief of the British forces in America. It was
finally settled, but not without much difficulty and ill-feeling.
CHAPTER IV.
THE REVOLUTION.
Its Causes— Loyalty to the Mother Country— Early Military— Ros-
teu and Roll of Franklin Men— From Colonies to States— Heuoes
from Franklin County— One of the First American Cannons, etc.
THE colonists had hardly recovered from the cruelties and sufferings of
the French and Indian war and the ensuing raids of the savages upon
the scattered and defenseless settlers, when dark clouds began to gather in
the distance, that were portentous of a coming storm of seven long years of
cruel and bitter war between the feeble colonies and the mother country.
The century and a half preceding the breaking out of the Revolutionary
war had been a long and severe school for the colonists and their ancestors to
prepare them for the coming ordeal. Most of the immigrants were fugitives
from cruel religious persecutions, and outlaws from their native lands. Those
who escaped death emerged from dismal dungeons to skulk in caves and out-
of-the-way places, and to hide, by strange disguises, from the inappeasable
wrath of man, guilty of no crime save that of a determination to be free "to
think, act and serve their Divine Master in accordance with the dictates of
their own consciences. This was a trying school in which to rear a people — -
it was the ordeal of fire, the baptism of blood; but it tended to mold charac-
ters of iron, to instill heroic blood, to plant the seed of liberty in the hearts of
the people thus relentlessly pursued, and raise up heroes who feared nothing
but their God. These poor, suffering victims had heard of the New World;
and, in the dark perspective, it was to them the guiding star of promise, bid-
ding them come.
176 HISTORY OF FRANKLIN COUNTY.
They gladly fled from their native country and landed upon the shores
of this continent — the land of the ignorant and treacherous savages. They
were in the direst extremities of poverty, but rich in hope and deeply imbued
with the first lessons in the love of freedom. Their awful persecutions,
instead of driving them away from their religion and its practices, only made
them the more determined in their convictions and more fearless in proclaiming
their faith.
Nothing that has occurred in this world has had so powerful an influence upon
mankind as the war for independence. All men realize that it made this a great,
free and independent people. But this was only a part of what that righteous
war effected. It gave liberty to mankind. It was the turning point in man' s
destiny upon earth. It was the enduring and ever-growing triumph in the
struggle between right and wrong. It lifted up the human race, and, as an
instance of how strong and wide -reaching its effects were, it need only be
noticed that its good results were, and have been, as strong in Great Britain
as they have been anywhere else, and the blessings of freedom she so strove to
crush have penetrated her entire realms, and, like the gentle dews from heaven,
have blessed all alike. Since the earliest traditions the earth has been chiefly
the theater of bloody wars — wars of tribes ; wars of nations ; civil wars ; wars
for pelf, for power, for the ambition of rulers, and religious wars and crusades
for sentiment. What a stream of blood it was! What a world of wo this
raging stream bore upon its bosom ! Rulers, besotted and beastly, made war ;
men were simply food-powder-victims driven to the bloody shambles; until the
American Revolution, no war had. been successfully waged for the rights of
the people — for liberty of the souls and bodies of men.
In 1765 the people of Pennsylvania began to enter their first protest
against the oppressive action of the mother country. At first these could not
be called mutterings — they were merely the mild expressions of a loyal people
against the manifold acts of injustice, with no thought of any one going fur-
ther than words of the most respectful and loyal dissent. Their words fell up-
on dull ears; they were not heeded, and, even if noticed at all, they were only
answered with silent contempt. In the course of time a public sympathy
sprang up for the people of Boston. The outrages grew in numbers and severity,
and in the course of the next decade men became alarmed, and then public ex-
pression and public action began to take place.
July 12, 1774, the people of Cumberland County met at Carlisle. John
Montgomery presided over the meeting. The state of the country was briefly,
very briefly, it seems, discussed, and steps were promptly taken that showed the
temper of the men of those times. They unanimously passed resolutions con-
demning Parliament for closing the port of Boston; recommending a General
Congress of the colonies; the abandonment of the use of British merchandise,
and finally for the appointing of deputies to concert measures for the meeting
of the General Congress. As emphatic as were the people of this meeting,
there was no sentiment of revolt or war upon the mother country. Even af-
ter the war had actually commenced and the battle of Lexington had been fought,
the loyalty of the people to their government is manifested by the action of
the Assembly of Pennsylvania, in November, 1775, appointing delegates to
represent the province in Congress, and expressly instructing them ' ' that they,
in behalf of this colony, dissent from, and utterly reject any proposition, should
such be made, that may cause or lead to a separation from our mother country,
or a change of the form of this government." This was in November, but the
battle of Lexington occurred in the preceding April.
In Vol. II, page 516, " American Archives" of date May 6, 1775, seventeen
K^^ie^^tx
HISTORY OF FRANKLIN COUNTY.
179
•days after the battle of Lexington, occurs the following: "Yesterday the
county committee of Cumberland County, from nineteen townships, met on the
short notice they had. About 3,000 have already associated. The arms re-
turned are about 1,500. The committee have voted 500 men, besides com-
missioned officers, to be taken into pay, armed and disciplined, to march on the
first emergency ; to be paid and supported as long as necessary, by a tax on all
estates real and personal. " The next day they again met and unanimously
voted they "were ready to raise 1,500 or 2,000 men," should they be needed,
and also were ready and willing to put a debt of £27,000 per annum on the
county. A number of companies from Cumberland County were soon ready,
and marched to join Washington's army at the siege of Boston. One of these
companies, it is known, was from what is now Franklin County. This was
Capt. James Chambers' company. He was soon promoted colonel, and after-
ward became a brigadier-general; he and his company continued in the service
during nearly all the seven years' war. Gen. James Chambers was the eldest
son of Col. Benjamin Chambers, the founder of Chambersburg. His company
joined Pennsylvania's first rifle regiment, under Col. William Thompson, of
Cumberland County. This was the first regiment south of the Hudson that
marched to the relief of Boston, and the historian says ' ' their arrival attracted
much attention; they were stout and hardy yeomanry, the flower of Pennsyl-
vania's frontiersmen and remarkable for the accuracy of their aim 11 — an im-
portant desideratum at that time. This regiment had been enlisted under the
resolution of, Congress, July 14, 1775, authorizing the raising of six companies
of expert riflemen in Pennsylvania, ten in Maryland, and two in Virginia.
Each company was to contain 68 privates, 1 captain, 3 lieutenants, 4 sergeants,
1 corporal and 1 drummer. They rendezvoused at Reading, where the regi-
ment was organized by the election of William Thompson, of Carlisle, colonel;
Edward Hand, of Lancaster, lieutenant-colonel; and Robert Magaw, of Car-
lisle, major.
ROSTEK OP CAPT. JAMES CHAMBERS' COMPANY.
Captain — James Chambers.
First lieutenant — James Grier.
Second lieutenant — Nathan McConnell.
Third lieutenant — Thomas Buchanan.
Sergeants — David Hay, Arthur Andrews, Alex. Crawford.
David Boyd.
John Brandon.
Johnson Brooks.
James Black.
Thomas Beatty.
David Biddle.
Michael Benker.
Archibald Brown.
Black Brown.
John Brown.
William Barnett.
Timothy Campbell.
William Campbell.
Benjamin Carson.
William Chestney.
John Dermont.
Joseph Eaton.
Joljn Everly.
Abijah Fairchild.
James Furmoil.
John Fidd.
William Gildersleeve.
PRIVATES.
Richard Henny.
Peter Hogan.
Geo. Houseman.
John Hutchinson.
Thomas Hutchinson.
Charles Irwin.
Francis Jamieson.
Robert Joblier.
Andrew Johnston.
George Justice.
Andrew Keith.
Lewis Kettling.
Michael Kelly.
Thomas Kelly.
Silas Leonard.
David Lukens.
Thomas Lochry.
Patrick Logan.
Nicholas Lowrie.
John Lynch.
John McCosh.
James McEleve.
John McDonald.
Michael McGibson.
Cornelius McGiggin.
James McHaffey.
John McMurtrie.
Patrick McGaw.
Thomas Mason.
Patrick Neale.
William Parker.
David Riddle,
Thomas Rogers.
Nicholas Sawyer.
Joseph Scott.
Jacob Shute.
Moses Skinner.
Timothy Styles.
Patrick Sullivan.
James Sweeny.
James Symns.
Thomas Vaughn.
180 HISTOKY OF FRANKLIN COUNTY.
This was not only the first company of infantry that went to the war from
what is now Franklin, but it was the first from this valley. The account of
the patriotic Chambers family, in the Indian wars and in the war of the Revo-
lutidn, is very nearly as complete an account of the doings of the people of the
county as can now be learned. Col. Benjamin Chambers had been the most
conspicuous figure in southern Pennsylvania in the first Indian wars and raids
in the valley. When the war for independence broke out, he was then
too old to go to the battle-field, but his three sons, all of whom became emi-
nent in the ranks of the colonial armies, were the first to heed the call of duty
and rally the people around the flag of liberty. These were James, Will-
iams and Benjamin. James, as related above, by rapid promotion for gallantry,
was soon made brigadier-general. Williams and Benjamin were each pro-
moted to captain, and all served during nearly the entire war.
A full account of the Chambers family may be found in the biography
given elsewhere, but a brief resume is here given of the services in the field of
Gen. Chambers, as it is, in a large measure, now the best account we can
obtain of the part taken by the people in the war.
August 26, 1775, 400 men drawn from Cumberland County companies were
placed under the command of Capt. James Chambers, and sent to Prospect and
Ploughed Hill, near Boston, to protect a force of nearly 2,000 men, who were
erecting a redoubt near the latter hill. Here they performed some hard and
efficient service. In March, 1776, he was promoted lieutenant-colonel vice
Col. Hand, appointed colonel in the place of Col. Thompson, who had been
made a brigadier-general. Col. Chambers was ordered to Long Island, was
in the battle of Flat Bush August. 22, 1776, and also in the fight at King' s
Bridge. In his report of the operations at Flat Bush, among other things, he
says: "Capt. John Steele acted with great bravery. " In August, 1776, the
Pennsylvania troops were selected as a reserve to cover the retreat of our army
from Long Island. That body was composed mostly of troops from Cumberland
and what is now Franklin County. September 26, 1776, Lieut. Col. Chambers
was made colonel of his regiment, Col. Hand having been promoted. In June,
1777, his command was in New Jersey, and was among the first to enter New
Brunswick, driving the enemy before it. September 11, 1777, his command
was opposed to the Hessians, under Gen, Knyphausen, at Chadd's ford
and Brandywine, where Col. Chambers was wounded in the side, Lieut. Holli-
day was killed, and Capts. Grier and Craig were wounded. With his command
he was also in the battle of Germantown October 4, 1777, and in the fight at
Monmouth June 28, 1778. He led the attack of Bergen Point July 20, 1780,
and the command was highly complimented by Gen. Wayne, for gallantry in
this charge. He, with his command, was at White Plains, West Point, and in
many other minor battles up to the time of his resignation in 1781. After his
retirement he was three different times appointed to the command of a battalion
in his native county. In 1794 he was appointed to command the Third Brig-
ade of Pennsylvania troops, called out to quell the whisky insurrection. In
1798 he was again appointed to a similar command in anticipation of a war
with France.
The substance of an article from the pen of Hon. John B. Linn, deputy
secretary of the commonwealth, that appeared in the Philadelphia Weekly
Times of April 14, 1878, is given below, confined as much as possible to
those parts that refer to this action of the Franklin County men: "The His-
torical Society of Pennsylvania has in its temporary possession a very inter-
esting relic of the revolution. It is the standard of the First Pennsylvania
Rifle Battalion. * * * This regiment was raised on the reception of the
HISTORY OF FRANKLIN COUNTY. 181
news of the battle of Bunker Hill, and entered the trenches in front of Boston,
August 8, 1775. It was in the skirmishes in front of Boston, and before
the British evacuated that city it was ordered to New York to repel their land-
ing there. * * * The term of the battalion expired June 30, 1776, but
officers and men in large numbers re-enlisted for three years, or during the
war. * * * It was at Long Island, White Plains, Trenton and Princeton
under command of Col. Hand, and under the command of Col. Chambers, at
Brandywine, Germantown, Monmouth, and in every other battle and skirmish
of the main army until Col. Chambers' resignation in 1781.
Col. Chambers was succeeded by Col. Daniel Broadhead, May 26, 1781. The
regiment, after this long service under Gen. Wayne, joined Gen. Lafayette at
Raccoon Ford on the Rappahannock, June 10; fought at Green Springs, July
6; opened the second parallel at Yorktown. Gen. Steuben, in his orders dated
October 21, says of this movement that he considered it the most important
part of the siege. The regiment then went south with Gen. Wayne and fought
in the last battle of the war at Sharon, Ga., May 24, 1782; entered Savannah in
triumph July 11, and Charleston December 14, 1782; went into camp on James
Island, S. C, May 11, 1783, and when the news of the cessation of hostilities
reached there, they embarked for Philadelphia. In its services it traversed
every one of the original thirteen States of the Union; for while in Boston
Capt. Parr was ordered with a battalion to Portsmouth, N. H. , to defend that
point." In December, 1775, the Second Pennsylvania Regiment was formed.
It was at first under the command of Col. John Bull, afterward under Col.
John Philip De Haas.
Under a call from Congress for four more battalions, in January, 1776,
Col. Irvine's Sixth Regiment was formed. It was composed of eight com-
panies; and of these, three companies were mostly from Franklin County
territory, to- wit: Company 3, Capt. Abraham Smith. There is some dispute
as to whether Capt. Smith's company was from what is now Cumberland
County, or from this county. The truth probably is, it was made up of men
from both of them. The others were Company 4, Capt. William Rippey, and
Company 8, Capt. Jeremiah Talbott.
It is now believed that Capt. Smith was from Lurgan Township, just north
of the Franklin County line. There evidently were two Capt. Abraham Smiths
from this and Cumberland County. One was a civilian; but which was
which, the confusion in the records does not always make plain. One was of
Lurgan and the other of Antrim Township. This fact is now evident.
The following are the names of the officers and men:
COMPANY NO. 3. OP IRVINE'S REGIMENT.
Captain — Abraham Smith, commissioned January 9, 1776.
First lieutenant — Robert White.
Second lieutenants — John Alexander, Andrew Irvine.
Ensigns — Samuel Montgomery, Samuel Kennedy.
Sergeants— John Beatty, Samuel Hamilton, Hugh Foster, William Scott, William
Burke.
Corporals— William Burke, George Standley, John Moore, William Campbell. Seth
Richey, William McCormick, William Drennon; William Cochran, fifer; John Fannon,.
drummer.
PRIVATES.
David Armor. Josiah Cochran. William Downey.
John Brown. Robert Craighead. Hugh Drennon.
Patrick Brown. Anthony Creevy. Daniel Divinney.
John Blakeley. William Cochran. Pat. Fleming.
John Brannon. James Dunlap. William Gwin.
Philip Boyle. Thomas Drennon. Alex. Gordon,
182
HISTOEY OF- FRANKLIN COUNTY.
Robt. Gregg.
Thomas Higgins.
James Holhday.
Thomas Holmes.
John Hendricks.
Benj. Ishmail.
Robert Jarrett.
Thomas Johnson.
Samuel Love.
Geo. Lucas.
Nicholas Little.
James Lowrey.
Daniel McKusick.
John McCollam.
William McCormick.
Michael McGarea.
Bryan McLaughlin.
John McFetridge.
Michael McMullin.
James McKissock.
Adam McBreas.
John McDowell.
Samuel McBrea.
Robert Mcllno.
Alex. McKenny.
John McKingham.
John Montgomery.
Alex. Moore.
Robert Miller.
Hugh Milligan.
Moses Powell.
Nathan Points.
John Rannell.
Seth Richey.
Patrick Rogers.
John Rannell, Jr.
Peter Runey.
Alex. Reid.
Borthal Roharty.
Thomas Smith.
Patrick Silvers.
Thomas Scott.
George Simpson.
Robert Swinie.
John Stoops.
Ad. Sheaver.
William Stitt.
Peter Sheran.
Charles Tipper.
John Todd.
Mich. White.
James White.
John Wilson.
John Young.
COMPANY NO. 4. OF IRVINE'S REGIMENT.
Captain— William Rippey.
First lieutenants — William Alexander, Alexander Parker.
Second lieutenant — John Brooks.
Ensign — William Lusk.
Sergeants — John Hughes, Robert Watt, John McClelland, William Anderson.
Corporals — William Gibbs, Jeremiah McKibben, James McCulloh, George Gordon,
Nath Stevenson; William Richards, fifer; Daniel Peterson, drummer.
Jacob Anderson.
Robert Barckley.
Bernerd Burns-
Robert Caskey.
Henry Cartright.
Robert Cortney.
Jacob Christyardinger.
Benjamin Cochran.
Hugh Call.
John Collins.
William Dougherty.
John Davison.
Joseph Devine.
Anthony Dawson.
Thomas Dycke.
James Fiherty.
Hugh Forsyth.
Hugh Ferguson.
Thomas Falls.
William George.
Henry Girden.
Thomas Gell.
Jacob Glouse.
Nathan Hemphill.
Robert Haslet.
John Hendry.
William Henderson.
James Hervey.
PRIVATES.
Cumberland Hamilton.
Neal Hardon.
George Hewitt.
Robert Irvine.
Jacob Justice.
John Johnston.
Christopher Kechler.
Francis Kain.
John Kelly.
William Lowry.
Daniel Lavery.
David Linsey.
James Lynch.
John Madden.
Josiah McCall.
John McMicheal.
James McComb.
William Mclntyre.
John Moore.
James Mullin.
Thomas McCall.
Philip Melon.
Alexander McNichols.
James McCoy.
James McCon.
David McClain.
John McDonell.
Daniel McClain.
John McGaw.
Charles Malone.
George McFerson.
William Nicholson.
John Ortman.
John O'Neal.
Thomas Pratt.
Thomas Parsons.
Aaron Patterson.
Charles Rasbrough.
John Rasbrough.
John Rogers.
Thomas Reed.
Robert Robeson.
Basil Regan.
John Stoner.
Henry Scott.
Alexander Stephenson.
Nathan Stephenson.
James Smiley.
William Thompson.
John Tribele.
' Jacob Trash.
John Van Kirk.
William Winn.
John Wright.
Peter Young.
COMPANY NO. 8, OP IRVINE'S REGIMENT.
Captain — Jeremiah Talbott.
First lieutenant — John McDonald.
Second lieutenant — Alexander Brown.
Ensign — William Graham.
Sergeants — John McCollam, John Wilson, James Cupples, Samuel Mitchell.
Corporals — William Campbell, Robert Hunter, John Chain, John Reniston and John
Milton, drummer; John Killin, fifer.
HISTORY OF FRANKLIN COUNTY.
183
Robert Asten.
John Bradley.
William Black.
John Church.
George Coghren.
Francis Clark.
Robert Carnahan.
Charles Conna.
John Campbell.
Joseph Chambers.
John Dinning.
William Evans.
John Faulkner.
Hugh Fairess.
James Gardner.
Daniel Gibson.
William Heaslett.
John Heatherington.
PRIVATES.
Duke Handlon.
John Higgens.
Kern Kelley.
Stephen Lyon.
Jacob Lewis.
Hugh Lilley
John Marten.
Robert Mollon.
Benj. Morrison.
James McFarlan.
Charles McRoun.
Archibald McDonald.
Matthew McConnell.
Thomas McCreary.
Charles McMullen.
Thomas Mitchell.
Charles Marry.
Patrick Marry.
Able Morgan.
Archibald Nickel.
Andrew Pinkerton.
Samuel Power.
John Pollock.
James Quarre.
William Shaw.
Mike Sesalo.
John Shoemaker.
James Sloan.
JohnTotton.
John Thompson.
Hugh Thompson.
William White.
John White.
John Welch.
Robert Watson.
Isaac Wiley.
In April, 1777, Capt. Talbott's company had been so reduced by hard serv-
ice that it was recruited up to the required number. The following are the
recruits that were then added:
John McKinley.
Charles Kelly.
John Johnson.
William Antrican.
Michael Brown.
John Milton.
Henry Vaughan.
James Ralls.
Patrick Doyle.
William McDonald.
Michael Danfee.
John Kellenough.
Patrick Murrey.
Conrad Carcass.
William Gibbs.
Thomas Whitely.
Hugh Thompson.
William Foster.
Phelix O'Neal.
John Crowl.
John Fullerton.
Pat Boyle.
Thomas Sherry.
John Cavenaugh.
Robert Burns.
Andrew McGahey.
William McCalley.
Isaac Shockey.
Christopher Row.
Francis O'Harrah.
Thomas Dunn.
Daniel McCartey.
Barney McGilligen.
Thomas Aston.
John Smith (tanner).
Patrick McKinley.
John Robinson.
John Feaghander.
William Campbell.
Patrick McCullum.
John McCullum.
John Foster.
John Ferguson.
Michael Black.
John Wilson.
Robert Hunter.
John Brown.
Gilbert Berryhill.
Hugh Casserty.
Charles Conner.
George Corohan.
Edward Hart.
John Shoemaker.
James Garlant.
James Loe.
Jacob Weaver.
Patrick Guinn.
Joseph West.
Peter Smith.
John Smith.
Michael Sitsler.
In addition to the companies enumerated above, it is an established fact
that there were the companies of Capts. James McConnell, William Huston,
Robert Culbertson and Conrad Schneider — four full companies — that were
from what is now Franklin County. These were recruited and all prepared to
go to the front, but as they were among the last men enlisted, it is not posi-
tively known, nor are there any records by which the fact can be exactly stated,
that they were ordered from the county and were in the field. Possibly they
did not really join the Colonial Army, and this may account for the absence of
them on the army rolls.
In the early part of 1777, the first battalion of Cumberland County mili-
tia was formed; commanded by Col. James Dunlap. The lieutenant- colo-
nel was Robert Culbertson, of Franklin County. In this battalion were three
companies that were from what is now Franklin County — the companies of
Capts. Noah Abraham, of Path Valley; Patrick Jack, of Hamilton, and
Charles Maclay, of Lurgan. The roster of Capt. Abraham's company was as
follows :
Captain — Noah Abraham.
First lieutenant — Archibald Elliott.
184
HISTOBY OF FRANKLIN COUNTY.
Second lieutenant— Samuel Walker.
Sergeants — James McConnaughy, Joseph Noble, Robert McConnell, Thomas Clark.
John Garven.
George Farmer.
Samuel Elder.
William Elliott.
Francis Elliott.
Abram Elder.
George Dixson.
Alex. Douglas (weaver).
Henry Delmer.
Patrick Dougherty.
Andrew Douglas, Sr.
Samuel Campbell.
James Carmady.
Hugh McCurdy.
Robert Alexander.
Alexander McConnell.
James Alexander.
Charles Gibson.
James Harvey.
James Howe.
Andrew Hemphill.
PRIVATES.
James Mitchell.
David Armstrong.
John Mclellan, Jr.
John Adams.
Samuel Mears.
William Adams.
James Mackey.
James Allen.
Robert McGuire.
John Brown.
Henry McGee.
James Boggs.
John Mackey.
Nathaniel Bryan.
John Montgomery.
Allen Brown.
James Nealy.
Alex. Hopper.
Adam Humberg.
John Johnson.
Joseph Kilgore.
Alex. Long.
John McLellan.
William Buchanan.
David Neal.
John Bell.
James Park.
Daniel Colbert.
Henry Varner.
William Cortz.
William Wright.
John Canady.
Robert Walker.
Samuel Watson.
William Woodrow.
Alexander Mear.
Samuel McCauley.
Samuel Woodrow.
James McLellan.
Patrick Davidson.
Wm. McLellan.
Wm. Mclbbins.
John Means.
Nathan McColley.
James Montgomery.
Alex. Meor.
William Harvey.
Henderson Harvey.
In Col. John Davis' Second Battalion, was Capt. Charles Leeper's com-
pany, of Lurgan Township. Capt. James McConnell, of Letterkenny, with
his company, was in the Fourth Battalion.
The Sixth Battalion was mostly officered by Franklin County men, as fol-
lows: Colonel, Samuel Culbertson; lieutenant-colonel, John Work; major, James
McCammont (McCalmont) ; adjutant, John Wilson; quartermaster, Samuel
Finley ; surgeon, Richard Brownson. The officers in Company No. 2, of this
battalion were the following: Captain, Patrick Jack; first-lieutenant William
Reynolds ; second lieutenant, James McLene ; ensign, Francis Gardner. This
company was recruited from Hamilton Township.
Company 3 in this battalion, was from Letterkenny Township, and the fol-
lowing officers: Captain, Samuel Patt on; first lieutenant, John Eaton; second
lieutenant, David Shields ; ensign, William Ramsey. A company from Peters
Township, No. 4, had the following: Captain, James Patton; first lieutenant,
Thomas McDowell; second lieutenant, John Welsh; ensign, John Dickey.
Company No. 5: Captain, Joseph Culbertson; first lieutenant, John Barr; sec-
ond lieutenant, William Cessna; ensign, Hugh Allison. This company was from
Lurgan Township. Company 6 as follows: Captain, William Huston; first
lieutenant, William Elliott; second lieutenant, James McFarland; ensign, Robert
Kyle. It is said this company was recruited from Montgomery, Peters and
Hamilton Townships. To this company Rev. Dr. John King delivered a pa-
triotic-address as they were about starting for the field.*
Company 7 the following: Captain, Robert McCoy; first lieutenant, James
Irwin; second lieutenant, Samuel Dunwoody; ensign, Walter McKinney —
from Peters Township. Company No. 8 as follows: Captain, John McCon-
nell; first lieutenant, Joseph Stevenson; "second lieutenant, Geo. Stevenson;
ensign, James Caldwell, from Letterkenny Township.
In the Eighth Battal-
* - 'The case is plain; life must be hazarded or all is gone. You must go and fight, or send your humble
submission, and bow as a beast to its burden, or as an ox to the slaughter. The king of Great Britain has de-
clared us rebels, a capital crime; submission therefore consents to the rope or the ax. Liberty is doubtless gone;
none could imagine a tyrant king should be more favorable to conquered rebels, than he was to loyal, humble,
petitioning subjects. No! No! If ever a people lay in chains we must, if our enemies carry their point against
us, and oblige us to unconditional submission. This is not all. Our Tory neighbors will be our proud and tor-
menting enemies."
HISTORY OF FRANKLIN COUNTY. 185
ion, colonel, Abraham Smith, of Franklin County. There were four other
field officers from this county, named: Lieutenant-colonel, James Johnston;
major, John Johnston; adjutant, Thomas Johnston; and quartermaster, Ter-
rance Campbell.
Four companies in the Eighth Battalion were Franklin County men as fol-
lows: Company No. 1. of Waynesboro — Captain, Samuel Royer; first lieu-
tenant, Jacob Foreman; second lieutenant, John Riddlesberger; ensign,
Peter Shaver. Company 2, Lurgan Township — Captain, John Jack; first
lieutenant, James Brotherton; second lieutenent, Daniel McLene; ensign,
James Drummond. Company 3, from Antrim Township — Captain, James
Poe; first lieutenant, Joseph Patterson; second lieutenant, Jacob Stotler;
ensign, James Dickson. Company 8, Lurgan Township — Captain, John
Rea; first lieutenant, Albert Torrence; second lieutenant, Alexander Thom-
son; ensign, Hugh Wiley. This is all the record now accessible concerning
these companies.
In 1779 a company recruited from Path Valley was mustered into the
service, and sent west to quell an Indian disturbance. This was Capt. Noah
Abraham's company — First-lieutenant, Nathaniel Stevenson; second lieuten-
ant, Adam Harman; sergeants, Joseph Ferguson, Campbell Lefever, James
Hamilton, John Roatch; privates, Daniel Colbert, Neal Dougherty, Frederick
Dougherty, Patrick Dougherty, Thomas Knox, Daniel Lavrey, William Love,
Redmond McDonough, Mathias Maers, John Maghan, John Millison, James
Megraw, Isaac Miner, James Russell, John Robinson, James Ray and
W T illiam Walker.
At the same time another company went from Letterkenny Township: Cap-
tain, Samuel Patton; first lieutenant, Ezekiel Sample; sergeants, John Kin-
caid, William Spear; privates, John Bran, Thomas Crotley, Richard Cooper,
George Hunter, Samuel Howard, John Hart, AVilliam Lowry, George Lamb,
John Lytle, Henry Marshal, John Mathias (weaver), Lorans McReady, John
Parker, William Patterson, Abram Rosenberry, William Sharp, John Welsh,
Henry Williamson.
It is supposed the above enumeration includes all of the separate organiza-
tions that went to the war from what is now Franklin County. Just how many
men did go cannot now be accurately told. That there were many who joined
commands from other counties in small squads and singly, cannot be doubted;
but on the rolls their identity is lost, and it is greatly to be regretted their
names cannot be properly placed on the roll of the immortals.
There were men who enacted a conspicuous part in the Revolution outside
of the line of military duty. For instance, in the Provincial Conference, 1776,
the Province of Pennsylvania sent a full delegation, which met in Carpenter's
Hall, in the city of Philadelphia. The delegates from Franklin were McLene,
Allison, Maclay, Calhoun and Creigh.
Here and there, through all the annals of the Revolution, is to be found a
hero, who was a native of what is now Franklin County. Of these Col. James
Smith, a native of Peters Township, has left an illustrious record. As early
as 1755, while engaged in opening a road from Fort Loudoun to Bedford, he
was captured by the Indians. He was adopted in the Conewago tribe and re-
mained with them until 1759, when he escaped to Montreal, and reached his
home in 1760. In 1763 he was actively engaged against the Indians, as
captain of a company of rangers. He then became an ensign in the English
provincial army. In 1764 he served under Gen. John Armstrong, and was a
lieutenant in Bouquet's expedition against the savages. In 1765 he was the
leader of a band of settlers, who attacked the Indians, drove them off and burned
186 HISTORY OF FRANKLIN COUNTY.
the goods of some Indian traders, because they were selling, to the savages,
powder and lead. Some of Col. Smith's neighbors, who had nothing to do
with this burning, were arrested by British officers and locked up in Fort
Loudoun. Smith and his sturdy and fearless gang went to the resciie of their
neighbors, captured the fort, released their friends and took more English sol-
diers prisoners than Smith' s command numbered. Afterward more of Smith' s
neighbors were arrested for the burning of the Indian traders' goods, and this
time confined in Fort Bedford. Again, Smith rallied his neighbors, assaulted
the fort, captured the garrison and liberated the prisoners. Some time after,
Smith was arrested for this. In making the arrest a struggle ensued and
Smith's companion was killed. He was then charged with the killing and
thrown in prison. A body of 600 of his neighbors gathered and marched
to Carlisle and demanded his release. He made an address to his friends,
refused to be released, and counseled them to peacefully go home. He was
kept in prison four months, tried and acquitted. At once he was elected
commissioner of Bedford County. He then removed to Westmoreland,
and there was elected to the same office. In 1774, he was again a captain of
rangers in the field, serving against the Indians. In 1776, he, in command of
a company of rangers serving in the Revolutionary war, and with thirty- six men,
defeated 200 Hessians, taking the most of them prisoners. Then for two years
he was in civil offices. In 1777 Gen. Washington offered him a major's commis-
sion, but not liking the colonel of the regiment, he declined to accept, it. He
asked and was given permission to raise a battalion of rifle rangers to serve
against the British in New Jersey. His major was James McCammont, a
Franklin County man. When Col. Smith was disabled by disease, McCammont
became commanding colonel. Col. James McCalmont (originally spelled
McCammont), was born in Letterkenny Township, in 1739 — a typical fron-
tiersman, wonderfully made for the troublous time i i which he was born. He
was a brave man and an ardent patriot. His services to his country, in the Revo-
lution, were invaluable. When the British occupied Philadelphia he was com-
manding a troop of rangers, and assigned to the duty of preventing the Tories
of the interior from furnishing the enemy with supplies. While on this
duty he captured a lot of Hessians in New Jersey; he not only made prisoners
of them, but induced them to become settlers near Strasburg, where may be
found their descendants to this day. He served as major in the Sixth Battalion
of the Cumberland County troops under command of Col. Samuel Culbert-
son, another native of Franklin County, and an eminent Revolutionary soldier
and patriot. After the war he was for many succeeding terms elected to the
House of Representatives; in 1789, appointed judge, which position he held
until his death, July 19, 1809.
Capt. Samuel Brady, already celebrated before the Revolution as an In-
dian scout, was, of course, the first to respond to his country's call to fight
for liberty. He was under command of Col. Hand, at Princeton, and
at the massacre of Paoli he barely escaped. He was promoted for bravery
after the battle of Monmouth, and then was ordered to Fort Pitt (Pittsburg),
to join Gen. Broadhead, with whom he soon became a great favorite, and was
almost constantly employed as a scout. His father and brother had been mas-
sacred in 1778-79 by the Indians, and he never failed to wreak vengeance upon
the savages at every opportunity. His name was a terror to the Indians.
He died in West Liberty, Va. , in 1800.
Col. Joseph Armstrong was one of the early settlers in Hamilton Town-
ship. He was a brave and fearless Indian fighter, commanding a company of
rangers in 1755. After much service in the Indian wars, in 1776 he raised a
CU4Aj&nc£<
y&as/tf^ri^Ti-c)
HISTOEY OF FRANKLIN COUNTY. 189
battalion (the Fifth Cumberland Company), and marched to the defense of
Philadelphia. Among his captains were John Andrew, Samuel Patton, John
McConnell, William Thompson (became brigadier-general), Charles Maclay,
James McKee, John Martin, John Rea (afterward brigadier-general), John
Murphy, George Mathews and John Boggs. This command had been chiefly
recruited from Lurgan, Letterkenny and Hamilton Townships. They were
noted for their activity, bravery and alertness in punishing the country's ene-
mies, as well as their rigid faith in Presbyterianism. It is said that a majority
of them had been members of the old Rocky Spring Church. Capt. Charles
Maclay' s company, which numbered 100, was raised in Lurgan Township, andi
every man said to be six feet in height. This company suffered severely in the?
surprise of Gen. Lacy' s command at Crooked Billet, Bucks County, May 4,
1778. Capt. Maclay and about half his company were killed. "Gen. Lacy,
in his report, says: " The wounded were treated in a manner the most brutal
savages could not equal ; even while living, some were thrown into buckwheat,
straw, the straw set on fire and burned. ' '
In addition to these great Revolutionary heroes, there were noted: Rev-
John Steele and Dr. Robert Johnston, his son, John Johnston, and many others.
ONE OF THE FIRST AMERICAN CANNON.
There are conflicting accounts, in different histories, on the subject of the*
making of the first cannon in this country. We are indebted for this account of
the making of, if not the first certainly very close to being, the first wrought iron
cannon in the world, to Mr. J. C. Burns, who writes from " near Waynesboro,
May 3, 1886." He gives the current history of this successful effort at making
a wrought iron cannon, omitting such portions of the generally published ac-
counts, and making such additions as his information made necessary to-
arriving at the truth of the matter. 'Another man in Cumberland County,,
about the same time, made two cannon, and one of these two was also>
captured at Brandy wine, and, quoting from Hazard's Register, "is now in>
the Tower of London." He then alludes to a letter written by a British sol-
dier soon after the battle of Brandy wine, in which the writer refers to " two
cannon of singular appearance and construction, captured ' ' from the Amer-
icans. Evidently one of these cannon was the one of the two made by the
Cumberland County man, and the other, the one made by Mr. Bourns. In-
further explanation, it may be stated, that John Bourns was the grandfather-
of J. C. Burns, whose account of the cannon is given, as taken from ' ' McCan-
ley's Historical Sketch of Franklin County," with Mr. Burns' corrections:
"A century ago near the banks of the Antietam, three miles east of
Waynesboro, Penn. , stood a blacksmith shop. Here, in 1775, worked Johns
Bourns, at his trade of sickle making. The war alarum rang over the country,,
and to John Bourns it brought the tidings that he, too, must do his share to»
free his fair land from the tyrant's yoke. He determined to try his skill on a
wrought iron cannon. An extra pair of bellows was set up, and his brother —
James Bourns — together with some neighbors, being called -upon to give ali
necessary aid in keeping up a continuous hot fire for the purpose of welding,
the work was begun. A core of iron was first prepared, and bars of iron were
welded together one by one longitudinally around this core. The
welding having been accomplished successfully, and the core withdrawn,
the bore was brought to as perfect a degree of smoothness and circularity as
was possible with the tools accessible. It is likely this was one of the first
successful attempts ever made to manufacture a wrought iron cannon.
"This small cannon was taken to the army, and doubtless gave no uncertain
190 HISTORY OF FRANKLIN COUNTY.
voice in freedom's favor. On the 11th of September, 1777, the battle of
Brandywine was fought, and this cannon was captured and taken to
England.
' ' John Bourns was drafted into the army previously to the battle of Brandy-
wine, was in the battle himself, and no doubt regretted the loss of his pet
when he learned that it had fallen into the hands of the enemy. On account
of his superior skill as a smith, he was detached from active service and de-
tailed to repair gunlocks and make bayonets for the use of the army.
"John Bourns was the father of the late Gen. James Burns, of Waynes-
boro, and he and William Burns — his brother — frequently related the story,
heretofore given, to different persons. Readers will notice the change in the
orthography of the names of the father and son."
CHAPTER V.
WHISKY WAR.
Eleven Years of Peace — Causes of the Whisky Insurrection— Its Pros-
ecution and Its Subversion— Sympathy of the Militia, etc.
FOR eleven long years after the close of the Revolution, or until 1794, the
country was at peace, save a few unimportant Indian troubles, and as
there was no one else to fight convenient to hand, some of the people of Fay-
ette, Allegheny, Westmoreland and Washington Counties, of this State, con-
cluded to get up an insurrection. Open rebellion was, therefore, proclaimed
against the Government because of the excise tax on whisky. It was not the
amount of tax on the whisky, but the principle and the Government' s selection
of that favored product of the land that fired the warlike souls of these good
people. It was not any especial love of the ' ' craythur " as an article of regu-
lar diet that caused these threatenings of internal war, but the fact that at that
time pack-horses were the only mode of transportation, and the raw products
of the farms could not be carried to the distant markets, except when reduced
by distillation into whisky, the people felt that the excise tax was a blow at
their industry that free men should not in any way tolerate. Hence, near-
ly every farmer had his still — often this was put up before he was able to
erect his barn. Whisky was made everywhere, and, in a moderate degree,
used in nearly every family. The evidence of the public sense on this subject
of the use of intoxicants is furnished in a church trial. A preacher was tried
for drunkenness; the proof was strong and clear; but the sessions let him off
with a gentle reprimand, and returned him to his desk. The next year the
same man was put upon trial for whistling on Sunday — conduct "unbecoming
a minister, and showing a vacuity of mind. ' ' The sessions convicted, deposed
him, and sent him from his church in disgrace. The wits of the day said he
might ' ' whistle for his back pay. ' '
The spirit of insurrection was not wholly confined to the western part of
the State — there were many warm sympathizers east of the mountains. Gen.
James Chambers, in a letter to A. J. Dallas, from Loudon Forge, September
22, 1794, says: " On the 16th inst. I arrived in Chambersburg, and to my great
astonishment I found the Rabble had raised what they Called a Liberty pole.
HISTORY OF FRANKLIN COUNTY. 191
Some of the most active of the inhabitants were at that time absent, and, upon
the whole, perhaps it was best, as matters has Since taken a violent change.
When I came here I found the magistrates had opposed the sitting of the pole
up, to the utmost of their power, but was not supported by the majority of the
Cittyzens. They wished to have the Royators Subject to the Law, and (Mr.
Justice John Riddle, John Scott and Christian Oyster) the magistrates of this
place, informed of their zealous wish to have them brought to justice, I ad-
vised them to call a meeting of the inhabitants of the town on the next morn-
ing, and we would have the matter opened to them and Show the necessity of
Soporting Government, Contrassed with the destruction of one of the best gov-
ernments in the world. ' '
The meeting was duly convened in the " Coorthouse, " and John Riddle
made a * ' very animating address " to the people. Resolutions were drawn
pledging them to support the justices in their efforts to bring the " Royaters
to Tryal." Gen. Chambers then further writes to the governor: "I am now
happy to have in my power to request you, Sir, to inform his Excellency, the
Governour, that these exertions has worked the desired change. The magis-
trates has sent for the men, the very same that erected the pole, and I had the
pleasure of seeing them, on Saturday Evening, Cut it down; and with the
same wagon that brought it into town they were oblidgeed to draw the remains
of it out of town again. The Circumstance was mortifying, and they behaved
very well. They seem very penetent, and no person offered them any insult.
It has worked such a change, I believe we will be able Shortly to Send our
Quota to Carlisle. " This letter shows the temper of the people very plainly.
It was only the great influence and firm stand by such men as Gen. Cham-
bers that prevented the spirit of insurrection from becoming general all over
the State. The people were very loth to respond to President Washington's
call for troops to quell the turbulent elements of society. Secretary Dallas,
September 10, 1794, says: "According to the information I have from several
parts of the country, it appears that the militia are unwilling to march to quell
the insurrection. They say that they are ready to march against a foreign
enemy, but not against the citizens of their own State. ' '
August 7, 1794, President Washington called for 12,950 troops, from Vir-
ginia, Maryland, New Jersey and Pennsylvania. The New Jersey and Penn-
sylvania troops assembled at Carlisle. Gov. Mifflin, of Pennsylvania, and
Gov. Richard Howell, of New Jersey, commanded the respective troops of
their State. The quota of this State was 5, 196 men. The quota of Frank-
lin County was 281 men. It was difficult to fill these quotas, but this
county recruited its number and sent them to Carlisle. There they were
met by President Washington,* and the army reviewed by him. The Penn-
sylvania troops were in one division, under command of Maj. -Gen. William
Irvine. It was divided into three brigades: the first commanded by Gen.
Thomas Proctor, the second by Brig. -Gen. Francis Murray, the third by Brig. -
Gen. James Chambers. In Chambers' brigade were the men from Franklin
County. The troops passed through this county, by way of Strasburg, and
crossed the mountains, passed through Fort Lyttleton, and reached Pittsburgh
in November. This display of force by the Government ended the cruel war,
and in ten days after their arrival in Pittsburgh, they started on their return
home. They came by way of Greensburg, Ligonier. Bedford, Sideling Hill,
Fort Lyttleton, Strasburg and Shippensburg, to Carlisle, where they were
disbanded. Their entire term of service was about one month.
*In his route to the western part of the State, Washington tarried over night, some say over Sunday, in
Chambersburg, October 11, 1794, stopping with William Morrow in a stone hotel on South Main Street. Pass-
ing through Greencastle he was the guest of Dr. Robert Johnston.
192 HISTOEY OF FRANKLIN COUNTY.
CHAPTER VI.
FRANKLIN COUNTY ORGANIZED.
Date or Erection — Petitions in Favor of and in Opposition to the
Project — Fight Over the County Seat— The First Cottrt-Hotjse ani>
First Jail— Early County Officers— Estimate of Population— First
General Election— Officials, etc.
THE act of the Assembly creating Franklin County, was passed Septem-
ber 9, 1784. The county of Cumberland, the sixth formed in the prov-
ince of Pennsylvania, was erected in 1750. It embraced ' all and singu-
lar the lands lying within the said Province to the westward of Susquehanna,
and northward and westward of the county of York" (organized the year pre-
vious). It was ' 'bounded northward and westward with the line of the Prov-
ince." From this vast area and ample limits were subsequently constructed
Bedford in 1771 ; a portion of Northumberland in 1772; Westmoreland' from
Bedford in 1773; Washington in 1781, and Fayette in 1783 from Westmore-
land. Originally comprising two-thirds of the area of Pennsylvania, the
county of Cumberland is well deserving the name " Old Mother Cumberland. ' y
We first hear of efforts for the formation of the county of Franklin during
the closing years of the struggle for independence in petitions therefor in 1780;
but remonstrances were poured in upon the Assembly to postpone the subject
until the Revolutionary war was over. No sooner was the prospect of peace
heightened than renewed efforts were made by the inhabitants of the western
parts of the county of Cumberland for a division, representing "the incon-
veniences and hardships which they suffer by the large extent of the said coun-
^j. * * * * the great distance at which the said petitioners dwell from
the town of Carlisle, where the courts of justice and the public offices of the
same county are held and kept." On the 25th of March, 1782, the petitions
therefor were ordered by the Oeneral Assembly to be referred to Moses Mac-
lean, Mr. Agnew and Mr. Maclay, with directions to bring in a bill. A bill
was subsequently reported and passed second reading, but the inhabitants of
" New Town " Township petitioning to have Shippensburg included in the new
county, while the inhabitants of Lurgan Township remonstrated forcibly against
a division — the whole subject was dropped until the following Assembly. The
next Assembly were not favorable to the new county project, and the matter
was referred by them to their successors. The new Assembly had scarcely or-
ganized when a petition was received from John Clark for the appointment of
register for the probate of wills for the new county to be erected out of Cum-
berland. This was Col. John Clark, of the town of York, a brave officer of
the Revolution. His application was premature. Numerous petitions for the
division of the county of Cumberland poured in upon the, legislative body,
with not a few remonstrances against the same. The latter were chiefly from
Shippensburg and Lurgan Township, a portion of whose inhabitants preferred,
since the former place was not considered eligible for the county seat, to re-
main with the old county. On the 16th of March, 1784, the committee to
whom the petitions and remonstrances were referred reported the following:
HISTORY OF FRANKLIN COUNTY. 193
Resolved, That a new county be granted and laid out, to be'gin on the York County
line on the South Mountain; thence by a square line to be run from the said beginning to
the North or Blue Ridge, leaving Shippensburg to the east of said line; thence from the
summit of the said North Mountain by the ridges dividing the waters of Shearman's Val-
ley from the waters of the Path Valley, to the Gap, near the heads of the said Path Val-
ley joining Bedford County; thence by the Bedford County line to the Maryland line;
thence by said line to the line of York County; thence by said county line to the place of
beginning; to be called county; and that the said new county town shall be estab-
lished by law, at the well-known place called Chambers Town, and not elsewhere; and
that a committee be appointed to bring in a bill accordingly.
On the 18th of March the resolution was read the second time, and Messrs.
Rush, Coleman and McPherson were appointed a committee to bring in a bill.
As yet it will be seen no name was mentioned in connection with the new
county project. The committee appointed were Jacob Rush, of Philadelphia,
subsequently president judge of the courts of that city; Robert Coleman, of
Lancaster, the great iron master, and the head of that family so intimately
connected with the iron trade of Pennsylvania, and Col. Robert McPherson, of
York County, a brave soldier of the Revolution, and the grandfather of Hon.
Edward McPherson, of Gettysburg; a remarkable committee — gentlemen of
culture, and eminent in public affairs. To them must the credit be given of
naming the county Franklin for that patriot, sage and philosopher, whose rep-
utation was even then world-wide. It was a deserving honor, and the first in
successive ones which, next to the immortal Washington, has given name to more
towns and counties than any other in the American Union.
On the 25th of March the bill was reported and read the first time. Four
days after, it was read the second time and ordered to be printed. Then fol-
lowed a flood of petitions, for and against not only the division of the county,
but the location of the county seat. For the latter, Greencastle and Ship-
pensburg were anxious to be selected, although the latter was unwilling to be
included within the limits of the new county unless it was thus honored.
Greencastle contended that it was equally as central as Chambers' Town, and
much better situated with reference to the back counties and to Maryland.
On the 25th of August, the Assembly took up the bill and debated it at
length, which was continued on the 30th. On the 6th of September a clause
was adopted to the effect "that the inhabitants of the new county of Franklin
should have their full proportion or share of what moneys were raised for Cum-
berland County uses, after all just demands against said county of Cumberland,
before passing this act, are paid. ' '
On the 9th of September, 1784, the bill "was enacted, and signed by the
speaker," and thus was erected the county of Franklin with Chambers' Town
as the seat of justice, ' ' and not elsewhere. ' '
The active parties in petitioning the Assembly for the new county and to fix
the northern boundary line at Big Spring (now Newville), so as to include all of
Hopewell Township in the county to be formed, were John Rannells, John John-
son, James McCammont, John Scott, Dr. George Clingin, Samuel Royer, Pat
Campbell, Patrick Vance, Nat McDowell, Richard Brownson, George Math-
ews, Oliver Brown, James Campbell, Thomas Campbell, John Colhoun, John
Holliday, John Crawford, Josiah Crawford, Edward Crawford, John Boggs,
Jeremiah Talbot, William Rannells, Joseph Armstrong, James Brotherton,
Benjamin Chambers, Benjamin Chambers, Jr., Joseph Chambers, James
Chambers, AVilliam Chambers and others.
During the progress of the struggle to strike off the new county, some of
the people of Lurgan Township opposed the measure in toto " because the mi-
litia battalion, and the religious societies to which they belonged, would be divid-
ed and thrown into different counties, and the social intercourse requisite
194 HISTORY OF FRANKLIN COUNTY.
in these respects would be greatly obstructed, ' ' not to mention the burdens that
would come of having to erect a new court-house, etc. They therefore
prayed to be left quietly in Cumberland County. The people of Greencastle
wanted their town to be the county seat, but Chambers' Town prevailed, and
soon all was well, and the new county was thus started upon her long career
of prosperity and glory.
The act of the Assembly, organizing the county, appointed James Maxwell,
James McCammont, Josiah Crawford, David Stoner and John Johnston trus-
tees, to procure ground for county buildings. The act also provided for the
county commissioners to pay over to the trustees $3, 200, to be expended in
erecting a court house and jail.
September 28, 1774, Col. Benjamin Chambers, by deed, for the nominal
consideration of $26.66§, conveyed to the county the parcel of ground on
which the court-house stands, " to be used as a site for a court -house and pub-
lic buildings and no other, ' ' and in the same deed conveyed to the county the
lot on the north side of East Market Street, opposite the " Washington House,"
for a jail.
The trustees contracted with Capt. Benjamin Chambers to build the court-
house, and with David and Joshua Riddle to build the jail. The cost of the
court house, which was not entirely finished until 1794, was $4, 100. The
work on the jail progressed even more slowly, it not being completed until 1797.
The old court-house was of brick, two stories high, and about fifty feet
square. It stood immediately west of the present building, its eastern wall being-
about four or five feet distant from the western end of the present court house,
and it was occupied by the courts and public offices whilst the new building
was being erected. It was then torn down and the portico and steps of the
present building were put up on a part of its site. It was well and substan-
tially built, presented a rather pleasing appearance, and was fully sufficient
for those early times. The main front faced Market Street, and there was a
heavy cornice all around the building. There were a cupola and bell on the
building. The spire was surmounted by an iron rod with a large copper ball
on it' next the top of the spire; then above that a rooster, and above the latter a
smaller ball. The main entrance was on the southern front, but it was not
used for many years. A door in the western end, near the southern corner, was
the usual place of entrance. Opposite this last door was another door in the
eastern end, opening into the yard. The court hall occupied all the lower
floor. Along its southern side was a tier of seats for spectators, some three
or four in number, rising high up on the wall. These were put in after the
building was completed, and they crossed over and closed up the main door in
the south side of the room. Between these seats and the bar (which occupied
nearly one half of the floor) there was a space of about ten feet in width, paved
with red brick. The bar was raised some two or three feet above this pave-
ment, and the judge' s seat, which was on the north side of the room, was
some two or three steps above the bar. The traverse jury box was on the east
side of the bar, and the grand jury box on the west side, adjoining the stairs
leading to the second story, in which there was a grand jury room and two
traverse jury rooms. The floor of the court-room was paved with brick. It
was warmed by two ten-plate stoves, into which full length cordwood could be
put. In one corner stood an old hydrant, the solitary visible memorial of the
old water- works.
The old court-house was torn down in 1842, and a new one erected at a cost
of $45,545. The contractors were Philip Miterhouse, carpenter, and Silas
Havy, mason. This building was totally destroyed by the rebels in 1864,
HISTORY OF FRANKLIN COUNTY. 195
and the next year the work on the new and present elegant building was com-
menced. It was completed at a cost of $52,683.25.
The old jail was of stone, two stories high, about 40x60 feet in size, and
stood on the northeast corner of Second and Market Streets, where Judge
Rowe' s residence now stands. It was often crowded with poor debtors in those
early days, men who were so unfortunate as to be in debt and had neither goods
nor money with which to pay their liabilities. To honest men it was a fearful
place; but rogues laughed at its nail -studded doors, iron bars, and thick but
poorly -constructed walls. Between the date of the formation of the county,
in 1784, and the completion of the old stone jail, in 1798, persons charged
with the commission of grave offenses were kept in the jail at .Carlisle. The
county accounts for those years contained many items for the expenses of tak-
ing prisoners to Carlisle, keeping them there and bringing them here for trial.
Persons charged with offenses of a minor grade were kept in a temporary prison,
and there are also numerous charges for " repairs ' ' to that prison — for ' ' iron
for bars, ' ' for ' ' leg bolts, manacles, etc. ' ' and for the pay of those who acted
as " guards ' ' at the prison. Tradition says that this prison was an old log house
on the lot now the property of Levi D. Hummelsine, on the west side of South
Main Street. That it was some such insecure place is evidenced by the ex-
penditures made upon it above referred to, and also from the fact that, in 1785,
the commissioners of the county paid Samuel McClelland £2 5s. 6d. for "un-
derpinning the prison." Thei'e were no brick buildings here in 1785, and only
three stone ones, viz. : Chambers' Fort, John Jack's tavern and Nicholas Sni-
der' s blacksmith shop. All the rest were of logs, small and inconvenient, and
it must have been one of the worst of these that was used as a prison, as only
such a one could have needed " underpinning, ' ' and require bars, leg bolts,
manacles and guards to keep its inmates safely. The first jailor was Owen
Aston, who lived in a small house east of the prison. In 1818 the New jail
was erected to supply a long-felt want. This is the present jail building.
County Officers. — From 1784 to 1809 Edwa/d Crawford was, by appoint-
ment, prothonotary, register, recorder and clerk of the court. He had erected
a building for an office on East Market Street — the site now occupied by the
law office of Kennedy & Stewart. The old county offices were not completed
until October, 1806. This building stood about twenty feet east of the old
court-house, facing Market Street; cost, $2,500. It was of brick, two stories,
40x25 feet. The prothonotary ' s and clerk's offices were in the west end, the
register's and recorder's in the east end, a division hall in the center. In the
rear of each office was a narrow vault for the records. On the second story
were the offices of the county commissioners, county treasurer, deputy sur-
veyor, etc. This building was torn down when the new court-house was com-
menced, in 1842.
The act erecting the county provided that the court of common pleas and
quarter sessions should be held four times a year, and that the quarter sessions
should sit ' ' three days each term, and no more. ' ' Edward Crawford was in
Philadelphia when the act was passed creating the county, and was the same
day appointed and sworn in as prothonotary, etc.
The following papers are the first of their kind found in the records of
Franklin County after its erection, September 9, 1784. The books from which
they were taken were opened by the skilled and long-continued officer whose
modest preface to Deed-book A was as follows: "Franklin County erected by
Act of Assembly passed 9th September, 1784, and this Record Book A begun
in pursuance thi -eof.
Edw. Crawford."
196 HISTOKY OF FRANKLIN COUNTY.
FIRST DEED RECORDED.
1. Date of instrument: April 18, 1782.
2. Parties: Root. Dixson, Hamilton Township, Cumberland Co., Pa., to William
Dixson, his son, same twp.
3. Property: 276 acres and 64 perches, and usual allowances in Hamilton Township.
4 - Consideration £15 specie, as well as natural love and affection.
5. Witnesses: Robert Boyd and John Dickson.
6. Acknowledged before Jno. Rannell3, Justice of Cumberland Co.
7. Recorded 13 day of December, 1784.
FIRST MORTGAGE RECORDED.
1. Date: April 20, 1784.
2. Parties: Jacob Ziegler Carpenter, of Guilford Township, Cumberland Co., to
Jabob Schmiesser and Peter Menges, of York County.
3. Property: Lot 246 and buildings tbereon, in town of Chambersburg.
4. Consideration: £17, 7s. lOu.
5 Witnesses- 3 Philip Ziegler,
o. \Y ltnesses. -j George Philip Zieg i er .
6. Recorded Oct. 11, 1784.
FIRST RECORDED WILL.
%Xt the Hame Of (&a&, ^mzU.—l Hanse Michael Millar of Antrim
Township County of Franklin and State of Pennsylvania being weak in body but
•of sound Memory (Blessed.be God) do make and Publish this my last Will and Testa-
ment in Manner following that is to say, all my Just Debt & Funeral Expenses, be
paid by my Executors hereafter mentioned. First I give- and Bequeath unto my Be-
loved Wife Elizabeth the sum of two hundred Pounds of good and lawfull money of
Pennsylvania specie all my household Furniture one Bay Mare and two Cows which she
shall Choose. In case my wife Elizabeth should marry the above sum' of Two hundred
pounds to be Equally Divided among my sons and daughters. . Secondly I give and Be-
queath to my son Daniel that Plantation he lives on lying and Being in Frederick County
Maryland Two hundred and thirteen acres to him his Heirs and assigns forever, he paying
the sum of four Hundred Pounds good and lawfull money of Pennsylvania specie in five
years after my Decease to my executors. Thirdly I give and Bequeath unto my daugh-
ter Rebecca Rence Two hundred Pounds good and lawful money of Pennsylvania specie
to be paid in one year after my Decease. Fourthly I give and Bequeath unto my Daughter
Hannah Cigar the one-half of the Plantation she now lives on it being upon New Creek
•which emptys into the North Branch of Potomack in Virginia under the Allygany Moun-
tains in Hampshire County. Fifthly I give and Bequeath unto Christian Baker The sum
of forty Pounds in one year after my Decease, and also one Hundred and Sixty Pounds
•specie . which Peter Baker stands due to me at this time. Sixthly I give and Bequeath
unto my Daughter Maryann Stoner the sum of two Hundred and Ten pounds lawful
money of Pennsylvania specie in one year after my Decease. Seventhly I give and
Bequeath unto my Daughter Susanna Stover the sum of two Hundred and Ten Pounds
good and lawfull money of Pennsylvania specie to be paid in one year after my decease.
Eighthly I give and Bequeath unto my son John the Farm and Plantation it being in
Antrim Township Franklin County, which I now live on. Also a Negro Boy named
'Charles one sorrell mare and Colt and all my farming utensils. Ninthly I give and
Bequeath unto my son Michael the one-half of the Plantation that John Cigar lives on
to him and his heirs and assigns, to be divided equally between my Daughter Hannah
Cigar and my son Michael at the Discretion of my executors. All my movable stock
that is not Bequeathed I give unto my son John, also any sum or sums of Money
that should remain as over-plush after the Discharging of the Bequeathments to be
equally divided amongst my sons and Daughters. My son John and my son in law
Abraham Stofier to be my whole and sole executors of my last Will and Testament, in
Witness whereof I have hereunto set my hand and seal this twenty-eighth Day of Sep-
tember, one thousand seven hundred and eighty-four 1784.
Signed Sealed in the Presence of his
Elias Davison Hans Michael x Millar
mark
her
Henry Pawling Elizabeth x Millar
mark
Edward Crawford was also commissioned justice of the county, Septem-
ber 3 5, 1784. Six days after the county was formed, the first county court
convened, the justices being Humphrey Fullerton and Thomas Johnston, for
4^l£e<^~- ov^
HISTORY OF FRANKLIN COUNTY. 199
Antrim Township, and James Finley, of Letterkenny Township — all of them
formerly justices of Cumberland County. There were no jurors summoned to
this first court, no causes for trial, and the strong inference is, no lawyers were
present, except John Clark, of the York bar, who appeared to plead guilty to
the crime of matrimony, and by the court was married to Miss Bittinger,
daughter of Nicholas Bittinger, of Mont Alto Furnace. He appeared in
court, and upon his own request was admitted to the bar, the first attorney
so admitted in the county.
The second session of the county court convened Thursday, December 2,
1784, in the second story of John Jack's stone tavern, which stood where
Miller's drugstore now is. This building was burnt in 1864. The judges pres-
ent were William McDowell, of Peters; Humphrey Fullerton, of Antrim; James
Finley, of Letterkenny. Crawford was clerk. Talbot was sheriff. The grand
jurors were James Poe, Henry Pawling, William Allison, William McDowell,
Robert Wilkins, John McConnell, John McCarney, John Bay, John Jack, Jr.,
John Dickson, D. McClintock, Joseph Chambers and Joseph Long.
The courts were held up stairs, and tradition says the crowd was so great
as to strain the joists of the floor, causing great alarm to the court and bar,
and others in the house. That the courts were held in John Jack's house for
several years, while the court-house was being built, and up until 1789, inclu-
sive, is conclusively shown by the following extracts from the county expendi-
tures, found in the annual accounts of the commissioners for the years named,
viz:
1785 — By an order to John Jack for the use of his house to
hold courts in, etc £12 7s. 6d.
1789 — By a draw given to Margaret Jack (John's widow), for
the use of house to hold courts in £9
1790 — Order to Mrs. Jack for fire wood and candles for the
court £4 4s. 5d.
A change was then made, for in —
1790 — An order was issued to Walter Beatty for preparing a
place for court £15 6s.
This place was no doubt some temporary selection. Walter Beatty was the
sub -contractor, under Benjamin Chambers, for the building of the court-house.
The court-house and the old stone jail were then being built. The latter must
have been gotten under roof at least in 1791, for that year the commissioners
paid Walter Beatty "for preparing for the court to sit in the prison, £15 19s."
In 1793 the commissioners, by order of the court, paid to Walter Beatty, £10
10s. ' ' for detaining his hands from work on the court-house. ' ' The judges
took possession and occupied the court-house for county purposes before it
was finished, and ordered Mr. Beatty to be paid for the lost time of his hands,
as aforesaid.
County courts, as thus constituted, continued to administer justice until the
adoption of the constitution of 1790. That instrument went into force, for
most purposes, on the 2d of September, 1790, but the third section of the
schedule to it extended the commissions of the justices of the peace and judges
then in office until the first day of September, 1791.
JUSTICES WHO WEEE JUDGES.
The following list gives the names of the justices of the peace who were
judges of the county courts for this county, from the 9th of September, 1784,
to the 2d of September, 1791, with the townships they were appointed from
and the dates of their respective commissions, which ran for seven years:
200
HISTOEY OF FRANKLIN COUNTY.
William McDowell , , Peters November 13, 1778.
.April 18, 1782.
.April 18, 1782.
.March 1, 1783.
Humphrey Fullerton Antrim.
Thomas Johnston Antrim
James Finley Letterkenny ,
Edward Crawford, Jr Chambersburg September 11, 1784.
James Chambers Peters September 17, 1784,
George Matthews Hamilton February 4, 1785.
John Rannels. Guilford.. March 1. 1785.
Noah Abraham Fannett October 31, 1785.
John McClay Lurgan November 2, 1785.
Richard Bard Peters March 15, 1786.
Samuel Royer Washington March 27, 1786.
John Scott Chambersburg.
John Boggs Chambersburg
James Maxwell* Montgomery . .
John Barring Southampton . .
John Andrew Guilford
John Martin Chambersburg.
James Maxwell Montgomery.
August 4, 1786.
August 4, 1786.
August 26, 1786.
November 1, 1786.
April 16, 1787.
December 8, 1787.
September 17, 1788.
William Henderson .Greencastle September 25, 1788
James M'Calmont Letterkenny.
Christian Oyster Chambersburg.
Thomas Johnston Antrim
.September 23, 1789.
.July 16, 1790.
.September 29, 1790.
The population in the new county can only be arrived at approximately. In
1786 the records show there were taxables in the county 2,291, divided among
the townships as follows:
TOWNSHIPS.
Free-
holders.
Non-Free-
holders.
Freemen.
Total.
195
99
119
102
145
159
57
136
108
86
151
83
8
55
38
53
47
24
55
72
27
60
53
54
34
30
39
39
21
29
37
27
49
331
Franklin
161
Fannett
208
Guilford
170
Hamilton
237
Letterkenny , â–
^45
Lurgan
102
220
Peters
217
140
260
Totals
1,357
522
412
2,291
From this can be estimated the total population at about 13,000 at the time
the county was formed. By the census of 1790, the first taken of the county,
the population was .15,655; in 1800, 19,638; 1810, 23,173; 1820, 31,892;
1830, 35,037; 1840, 37,793; 1850, 37,956; 1860, 42,121; 1870, 45,365;
1880, 49,855.
The first general election in the county was held October 12, 1784, in
Chambersburg, that being the only polling place in the county. The county
was entitled to elect one member of the Supreme Executive Council, and three
representatives in the Legislature. James McLene was elected councilor, to-
serve three years; James Johnston, Abraham Smith and James McCalmont
were elected representatives; Jeremiah Talbot, sheriff; John Rea, coroner;
James Poe, John Work, John Beard, county commissioners. As some index
of the number of votes the new county was able to poll, it may be stated that
the vote on county commissioners was as follows : James Poe, 822 ; John
"Work, 421; John Beard, 339.
By act of the Assembly, September 13, 1785, the county was divided into
♦Commissioned president of the courts.
HISTOKY OF FEANKLIN COUNTY.
201
two election districts: the first district, composed of the townships of Antrim,
Peters, Guilford, Lurgan, Hamilton, Letterkenny, Franklin (Chambersburg),
Washington, Southampton and Montgomery, to vote at the court-house, in
Chambersburg; the second district was Fannett Township, to vote at the house
of Widow Elliott.
In 1787 the county was divided into four election districts: the First to be
composed of the townships of Guilford, Franklin, Hamilton, Letterkenny,
Lurgan and Southampton, to vote at the court-house, in Chambersburg; the
Second District, Fannett Township, to vote at Widow Elliott's; the Third Dis-
trict, composed of Antrim and Washington Townships, to vote at the house of
George Clark, in Greencastle; the Fourth District, Peters and Montgomery
Townships, to vote at James Crawford's, in Mercersburg.
The first tax collected in the county was for the year 1785, and by town-
ships is as follows:
Districts.
Collectors.
State Tax.
County Tax.
Antrim
Samuel McCullock. .
Nathaniel Paul
Peter Fry
£365 5s.
69 1
179 4
223 6
207 7
320 11
298
312 6
272 10
262 16
7d.
7
8
9
10
7
5
5
.1
11
£57 Is. 4d,
Franklin
11 19 11
Fannett
30 19 10
Guilford
36 8 2
Letterkenny
William Dickson. . . .
» George Stinger
Gavin Morrow
Thomas Kennedy. . . .
Frederick Foreman. .
*
35 7 8
54 18 9
Lurgan
50 16 4
Montgomery 7T^ .
51 7 4
Peters
44 10
Washington
44 15 2
£2,510 11
10
£418 4 6
Being, for State purposes.
For county purposes
.$6,694 91
. 1,115 27
PROTHONOT ARIES.
1784-1809— Edward Crawford, Jr. 1854-57-
1809-21— John Findlay. 1857-60-
1821-24— John Shryock. 1860-63-
1824-30— John Hershberger. 1863-66-
1830-36— John Flanagan. 1866-69-
1836-39^Joseph Minnich. 1869-72-
1839-45— Mathias Nead. 1872-79-
1845-48— Thomas P. Bard. 1879-82-
1848-51— James Wright.. 1882-85-
1851-54— Isaac H. McCauley. 1885
-Abraham K. Wier.
-Hiram C. Keyser.
-Abram C. Kaufman.
-K. S. Taylor.
-William H. McDowell.
-George W. Welch.
-John A. Hyssong.
-John M. McDowell,
-James Sweney.
-M. E. Brown.
REGISTERS AND RECORDERS.
1784-1809— Edward Crawford.
1809-18— John Findlay.
1818-21^Peter Spyker Dechert.
1821-24— Joseph Culbertson.
REGISTER AND RECORDER AND CLERK OF ORPHANS' COURT.
1824-30— John Findlay, Jr.
202
HISTORY OF FRANKLIN COUNTY.
REGISTERS AND RECORDERS.
1830-36— Paul I. Hetich.
1836-39— Joseph Pritts.
1839-42— Henry Ruby.
1842-45— John W. Reges.
1845-48 — James Watson.
1848-51 — Benjamin Mentzer.
1851-54— David Oaks.
1854-57— George H. Merklein.
1857-60— George W. Toms.
1860-63— Edward C. Boyd.
1863-69— Henry Strickler.
1869-72— Hiram T. Snyder.
1872-79— Adolphus A. Skinner.
1879-82— John S. Sollenberger.
1882-85— C. H. Fulweiler.
1885 —Frederick T. Snyder.
CLERK OF THE COURT OF QUARTER SESSIONS, OYER AND TERMINER AND ORPHANS COURT.
1784-1809— Edward Crawford.
1809-21— John Findlay.
1821-24— John Shryock.
CLERK OF QUARTER SESSIONS AND OYER AND TERMINER.
1824-30— John Hershberger.
CLERK 'OF QUARTER SESSIONS,
1830-36— Richard Morrow.
1836-39 — Joseph Morrow.
1839-45— John Wood.
1845-48— John M. Fisher.
1848-51— Josiah W. Fletcher.
1851-57 — Henry S. Stoner.
1857-60— B. Y. Hamsher.
OYER AND TERMINER AND ORPHANS COURT.
1860-66— William G. Mitchell.
1866-69— Thaddeus M. Mahon.
1869-72— Bernard A. Cormany.
1872-75— Lewis W. Detrich. '
1875-79— W. Rush Gillan.
1879-85— Van T. Haulman.
1885 —J. A. Benedict.
SHERIFFS.
1784-87— Jeremiah Talbot.
1835-38 — James Burns.
1787-90 — John Johnston.
1838-41— George Hoffman.
1790-93— Henry Work.
1841-44— William Gilmore.
1793-96— Robert Shannon.
1844-47— Adam McKinnie.
1796-99— George Hetich.
1847-50— John W. Taylor.
1799-1802— John Hetich.
1850-53— Thomas J. Earley.
1802-05— John Brotherton.
1853-56— William Skinner.
1805-08— Jacob Snider.
1856-59— Jacob S. Brown.
1808-11— Jacob Merkle.
1859-62— William McGrath.
1811-14— William Alexander.
1862-65— Samuel Brandt.
1814-17 — Thomas Alexander.
1865-68— John Doebler.
1817-20— Jeremiah Snider.
1868-71— J. W. Fletcher.
1820-23— John McClay.
1871-75— S. F. Greenawalt.
1823— David Washabaugh.*
1875-78— John Sweney.
1823-26— Archibald Fleming.
1878-81— Michael Gable.
1826-29— Joseph Culbertson.
1881-84— W. G. Skinner.
1829-32— David Washabaugh.
1884-87— Luther B. Kurtz.
1832-35— Ennion Elliott.
1887 —Jacob S. Mowery.
CORONERS, f
1784— John Rea.
1789— George Clark.
1785 — John Johnston.
1790— George Clark.
1786— Conrad Snider.
1793— Matthew Duncan.
1787— Conrad Snyder.
1796 — Archibald Rankin.
1788— George Clark.
1801— Archibald Rankin.
*.Tune to November, 1823.
t Years named indicate date of appointment.
HISTORY OF FRANKLIN COUNTY. 203
1805— James Campbell. 1829— Allen K. Campbell.
1809— Andrew Eobeson. 1832— John Tritle.
1812— Robert Liggett. 1835— James McDowell.
1815— William Young. 1838— William Slyder.
1817 — Thomas McKinstry. 1841 — Alexander Hamilton.
1820— William Young. 1844— John M. McDowell.
1824 — David Washabaugh. 1849 — James Burns.
1827 — James Burns.
For a long period coroners refused to qualify, their work being performed
by justices of the peace in their several townships. No records of the cor-
oners therefore appear.
1864— Victor D. Miller. 1882— Geo. S. Hull.
1867— Victor D. Miller. 1885— Geo. S. Hull, present incumbent.
1879-Robt. W. Ramsey.
COUNTY TREASURERS.
County treasurers were appointed by the county commissioners until the
act of May 27, 1841, provided for their election, in October of that year, to
hold office for two years from the first Monday in January after their election.
The following is a list of the names of those persons who have been treas-
urers of this county, with their years of service:
1785-90— Dr. George Clingan. 1839-42— Henry Smith.
1790-93— Matthew Wilson. 1842-44— Joseph Pritts.
1793-96— John Ridc.le. 1844-46— George K. Harper.
1796-1806— Pal rick • Campbell. 1846-48— George Garlin.
1806-09— Davia Denny. 1848-50— William McLellan.
1809-12— Jacob Heyser. 1850-52— Lewis Denig.*
1812-14— Henry Reges. 1852-54— Washington Crooks.
1814-17— John Hershbergor. 1854-56— Daniel K. Wunderlich.
1817-20— Jacob Heyser. 1856-58— J. Smith Grier.
1820-23— William Heyser. 1858-60— William D. McKinstry.
1823-24— Samuel G. Calhoun. 1860-62— John Stouffer.
1824-25— Dr. John Sloan. 1862-64— George J. Balsley.
1825-27— Hugh Greenfield. 1864-66— James G. Elder.
1827— William Hamilton. 1866-68— John Hassler.
1827-30— Daniel Spangler. 1868-70— George W. Skinner.
1830-32— Joseph Pritts. 1870-72— William Reber.
1832— Henry Smith. 1872-74— Samuel Knisley.
1833-36— Jasper E. Brady. 1874-76— Hiram M. White.
1836-39— George Garlin, Jr.
FOR THREE YEARS UNDER NEW CONSTITUTION.
1876-79— Elias K. Lehman. 1882-85— W. H. H. Mackey.
1879-82— John L. Grier. 1885-88— Jacob N. Flinder.
COUNTY COMMISSIONERS.
1785 — James Poe, John Work, John Beard.
1786 — John Work, James Poe, John Beard.
1787 — John Beard, James Poe, John Work.
1788 — Robert Boyd, James McConnell, William Allison.
1789 — James McConnell, William Allison, Josiah Crawford.
1790 — William Allison, Josiah Crawford, Matthew Wilson.
♦Jeremiah Snider was^elected treasurer in October, 1849, but not being able to give the bond required by
law, he resigned January 7, 1850, and the county commissioners that day appointed Lewis Denig to fill the va-
cancy.
204 HISTOEY OF FRANKLIN COUNTY.
1791 — Matthew Wilson, James Poe, Daniel Royer.
1792 — Matthew Wilson, James Poe, John Work.
1793 — James Poe, Daniel Royer, James Chambers.
1794 — Daniel Royer, James Chambers, George Hetich.
1795 — James Chambers, George Hetich, Henry Work.
1796— George Hetich, Henry Work, William Scott.
1797— Henry Work, William Scott, William Allison.
1798 — William Scott, William Allison, James Irvin.
1799 — William Allison, James Irvin, John Holliday.
1800 — James Irvin. John Holliday, Nathan McDowell.
1801 — John Holliday, Robert McDowell, David Maclay.
1802 —Robert McDowell, David Maclay.
1803 — Robert McDowell, David Maclay, William Rankin.
1804 — Robert McDowell, David Maclay, Archibald Rankin, Jacob Heyser.
1805 — William McClay, Archibald Rankin, Jacob Heyser.
1806 — William McClay, Jacob Heyser, Patrick Campbell.
1807 — Jacob Heyser, Patrick Campbell, John Royer.
1808 — Patrick Campbell, James Smith, Jacob Dechert.
1809 — Jacob Dechert, John Rothbaust, Robert Crooks.
1810-11 — John Rothbaust, Robert Crooks, William Alexander.
1812-13 — David Rankin, John Cox, Ludwig Heck.
1814 — John Cox, Ludwig Heck, Isaac Eaton.
1815 — Ludwig Heck, James McDowell, John M. Maclay.
1816— James McDowell, John M. Maclay, William Bleakney.
1817 — John M. Maclay, William Bleakney, Philip Berlin.
1818 — William Bleakney, Philip Berlin, William Rippey, Jr.
1819 — Philip Berlin, William Rippey, Jr., David Besore.
1820 — William Rippey, Jr. , David Besore, Frederick Miller.
1821 — Frederick Miller, David Besore, Andrew Thomson.
1822 — David Besore, Frederick Miller, Andrew Thomson.
1823 — Andrew Thomson, James Walker, Jacob Wunderlich.
1824 — Jacob Wunderlich, Philip Laufman, David Fullerton.
1825 — Jacob Wunderlich, Philip Laufman, Benjamin Keyser.
1826 — Philip Laufman, Benjamin Keyser, William Heyser.
1827 — William Heyser, Benjamin Keyser, John Walker.
1828— William Heyser, John Walker, Daniel Shaffer.
1829 — John Walker, Daniel Shaffer, John Radebaugh.
1830 — Daniel Shaffer, John Radebaugh, John Walker.
1831 — Daniel Shaffer, John Radebaugh, Jacob Walter.
1832 — John Radebaugh, Jacob Walter, Samuel Duim.
1833 — Samuel Dunn, Joseph Culbertson, John Cox.
1834 — Joseph Culberston, John Cox, Tobias Funk.
1835 — John Cox, Tobias Funk, George Hoffman.
1836 — Tobias Funk, George Hoffman, George Johnston.
1837 — George Hoffman, John Johnston, John Johnston (of George).
1838 — John Johnston, John Johnston (of George), George Hoffman.
1839-40 — John Johnston (of George), D. Washabaugh, Emanuel Hade.
1841 — D. Washabaugh, Emanuel Hade, William Seibert.
1842 — Emanuel Hade, William Seibert, Gai'land Anderson.
1843 — William Seibert, G. Anderson, James Burns.
1844 — G. Anderson, James Burns, Jacob Oyster.
1845 — James Burns, Jacob Oyster, Thomas Pumroy.
846 — Jacob Oyster, Thomas Pumroy, James Davison.
HISTORY OF FRANKLIN COUNTY.
205
1847 — Thomas Puuiroy, James Davison, George A. Madeira.
1848 — James Davison, George A. Madeira, Dewalt Keefer.
1849— G. A. Madeira, Dewalt Keefer, John A. Shank.
1850— D. Keefer, John A. Shank, George S. Eyster.
1851 — John A. Shank, George S. Eyster, James Lowe.
1852 — George S. Eyster, James Lowe, John Alexander.
1853 — James Lowe, John Alexander, John Huber.
1854 — John Alexander, John Huber, Jos. Johnston.
1855 — John Huber, Jos. Johnston, Robert Mcllvaney.
1856 — Jos. Johnston, Robert Mcllvaney, Samuel Myers.
1857 — Robert McHvaney, Samuel Myers, D. M. Leisher.
1858 — Samuel Myers, D. M. Leisher, John S. Nimmon.
1859 — D. M. Leisher, John S. Nimmon, J. A. Eyster.
1860 — J. S. Nimmon, J. A. Eyster, Jacob S. Good.
1861 — J. A. Eyster, Jacob S. Good, James D. Scott.
1862 — Jacob S. Good, James D. Scott, John Nitterhouse.
1863 — James D. Scott, John Nitterhouse, John Downey.
1864 — John Nitterhouse, John Downey, Henry Good.
1865 — John Downey, Henry Good, John Armstrong.
1866 — Henry Good, John Armstrong. Daniel Skinner.
1867 — John Armstrong, Daniel Skinner, Jonas C. Palmer.
1868— Daniel Skinner, J. C. Palmer, William Shinafield.
1869— J. C. Palmer, William Shinafield, E. K. Lehman.
1870 — William Shinafield, E. K. Lehman, J. B. Brumbaugh.
1871— E. K. Lehman, J. B. Brumbaugh, S. M. Worley.
1872— J. B. Brumbaugh, S. M. Worley, R. J. Boyd.
1873— S. M. Worley, R. J. Boyd, Jacob Kauffman.
1874— R. J. Boyd, Jacob Kauffman, W. D. Guthrie.
1875— Jacob Kauffman, W. D. Guthrie, Samuel Coble.
1876-79 — Daniel Gelwix, James Patton, J. Watson Craig.
1879-82 — Wm. S. Reed, John Kyner, Frank Creamer.
1882-85 — Daniel Potter, Henry Omwake, Martin Miller.
1885-88— Jacob Middour, Jacob S. Snively, John Waidlich.
CLERKS TO COMMISSIONERS.
1784-88— Unknown.
1788— Robert Boyd.
1789-96— Unknown.
1796-99--James Parks.
1799— William Scott.
1800— William Orbison.
1801-04— William Ward, Jr.
1804-06— Thomas G. McCulloh.
1806— J. M. Russell.
1807— E. B. Mendenhall.
1808-11 — Henry Reges.
1811-15— William M. McDowell.
1815-18— Peter S. Deckhert.
1818-27 — Daniel Spangler.
1827 — Hiram Cox.
1828-36— John Colhoun.
1836-42— Richard Morrow.
1842— Henry Smith.
1843— James R. Kirby.
1844-46—1. H. McCauley.
1846-50— A. H. McCulloh.
1850-53— John M. Fisher.
1853-56— Thomas L. Fletcher.
1856— Jacob Sellers.
1857— William Gelwicks.
1858 — Jacob Sellers.
1859 — Samuel Longenecker.
1860-71 — George Foreman.
1871— H. C. Koontz.
1872— H. C. Keyser.
1873-75— H S. Shade.
1875— H C. Keyser.
1876— Thomas M. Nelson.
1876-77— T. M. Nelson.
1880— E. G. Etter.
1886— D. S. Hager.
206 HISTOEY OF FRANKLIN COUNTY.
PARTIAL LIST OF COUNTY AUDITORS.
1785-88— Unknown.
1788 — James Johnston, Benjamin Chambers, James Irwin.
1789-93— Unknown.
1793-94 — Benjamin Chambers, James Irwin, John Rea.
1794-98— Unknown.
1798-1800 — James Ramsey, John Brown.
1800-01 — John Brown, James Buchanan.
1802 — James Buchanan, Nicholas Clopper.
1803 — Nicholas Clopper, George Hetich.
1804 — George Hetich, William Scott.
1805 — Nicholas Clopper, William Scott, Robert Smith.
1806 — William Scott, Robert Smith, Thomas Brown.
1807 — Robert Smith, Thomas Brown, John Gilmor.
1808 — Thomas Brown, John Gilmor, John Holliday.
1809 — John Gilmor, John Holliday, David Rankin.
1810 — D. Fullerton, David Maclay, Henry Thompson.
1811 — Henry Thompson, David Fullerton, D. Maclay.
1812 — Henry Thompson, Robert Robison, Joseph Scott.
1813 — Robert Robison, Joseph Scott.
1814— Patrick Campbell, David Eby, W T illiam Scott.
1815 — David Eby, Andrew Robison, William Alexander.
1816 — William Alexander, Sr. , Andrew Robison, John Walker.
1817 — John Walker, John Culbertson.
1818 — John Walker, John Culbertson, James McCoy.
1819— John Culbertson, James McCoy, John Flanagan.
1820 — James McCoy, John Flanagan, Thomas McClelland.
1821 — John Flanagan, George Hetich.
1822— Thomas McClelland, George Hetich, Thomas Waddell.
1823 — George Hetich, Joseph Grubb.
1824 — Thomas Waddell, Joseph Grubb, William Gamble.
1825 — Joseph Grubb, William Gamble, Thomas Carson.
1826 — William Gamble, Thomas Carson, John Walker.
1827 — Thomas Carson, John Walker, Isaac Ward.
1828 — John W T alker, Jacob Negley, John Findlay, Sr.
1829 — Isaac Ward, Jacob Neglev, John McClintock.
1830— Jacob Negley, Archibalds. McCune.
1831— Archibald S. McCune, J. Allison.
1832 — J. Allison, James Colhoun.
1833 — Jacob Heyser, Joseph Pumroy.
1834— Jacob Heyser, Joseph Pumroy, John McClintock.
1835 — Joseph Pumroy, John McClintock, John Witherow.
1836 — John McClintock, John Witherow, Jacob Negley.
1837 — John Witherow, Jacob Negley.
1838 — Jacob Negley, William Fleming, David Lytle.
1839— William Fleming, David Lytle, John Orr.
1840— David Lytle, John Orr, J. B. Guthrie.
1841— John Orr, J. B. Guthrie, John Deardorff.
1842— J. B. Guthrie, John D. Work. John Deardorff.
1843— John Deardorff, John D. Work, Robert Wallace.
1844 — Samuel Lehman, Robert Wallace, John Tritle.
1845— Robert Wallace, John Tritle.
1846 — John Tritle, John Johnston, Abram Stouffer.
hyBGWJha • ■"
trf<^J^^JJ
HISTORY OF FRANKLIN COUNTY. 209
1847 — John Johnston, Abram Stouffer, Joseph Snively.
1848 — Abraui Stouffer, Joseph Snively, Thomas Carson.
1849— Joseph Snively, Thomas Carson, B. A. Doyle.
1850 — Thomas Carson, B. A. Doyle, George W. Zeigler.
1851 — B. A. Doyle, George W. Zeigler, James L. Black.
1852— G. W. Zeigler, James L. Black, W. A. Shields.
1853 — William A. Shields, William Armstrong, David Spencer.
1854 — William Armstrong, David Spencer, W. S. Amberson.
1855 — D. Spencer, W. S. Amberson, John Bowman.
1856 — W. S. Amberson, John Bowman, C. W. Burkholder.
1857— John Bowman, C. W. Burkholder, D. H. McPherson.
1858— C. W. Burkholder, D. H. McPherson, William Fleagle.
1859— D. H. McPherson, William Fleagle, J. E. Brewster.
1860 — William Fleagle, Andrew Davison, John Downey.
1861 — John Downey, Andrew Davison, George Jarrett.
1862 — John Downey, George Jarrett, D. K. Wunderlich.
1863— George Jarrett, D. K. Wunderlich.
1864— D. K. Wunderlich, D. B. Martin, W. S. Amberson.
1865— D. B. Martin, W. S. Amberson, M. Martin.
1866— W. S. Amberson, D. B. Martin, Samuel W. Nevin.
1867 — M. Martin, Samuel W. Nevin, Samuel Myers.
1868-69 — Samuel W. Nevin, Samuel Myers, Joseph Mowers.
1870 — Samuel Myers, Joseph Mowers, J. W. Winger.
1871— Joseph Mowers, J. W. Winger, John C. Tritle.
1872— J. W. Winger, John C. Tritle.. John A. Sellers.
1873 — John A. Sellers, John Cressler, Samuel Taylor.
1874 — John A. Sellers, John Cressler, H. R. Harnish.
1875 — J. Cressler, H. R. Harnish, Samuel Taylor.
1876— Samuel Taylor, W. H. Blair, William M. Gillan.
1876-79— Samuel Taylor, W. H. Blair, Wm. M. Gillan.
1879-82— Simon Lecron, James W. Duffield, AVilliam Frye.
1882-85— Aaron F. Snoke, D. C. Clark, Lemuel Snively.
1885-88 — Samuel S. Reisher, John Pensinger, George W. Johnston.
POOR-HOUSE.
The Act of Assembly for the erection of the ' ' House for the employment
and support of the poor ' ' of the county was approved by the governor, March/
11, 1807. The second section of the act provided that at the election to be
held in October, 1807, five persons should be elected "to determine upon and;
fix the place on which the buildings should be erected," and also that there
should be elected ' ' three persons to be directors of the poor, ' ' one to serve
for one year, one for two years, and one for three years, their terms to be de-
termined by lot.
William Allison, David Fullerton, John Colhoun, Col. Joseph Culbertsoc
and John Maclay, were elected the commissioners to fix the site for the poor-
house, and Robert Liggett, James Robinson and Ludwig Heck were elected
directors of the poor.
The commissioners selected the farm of Thomas Lindsay (the site of the
present poor-house) as the place where the poor-house should be erected, and
in the year 1808 the directors purchased it for the stun of $8,200. Tne farm
then contained 165 acres, and had a stone farm house, barn, etc., upon it.
This house was somewhat enlarged, and used until the year 1811, when the
large stone building, now standing, was put up.
12.
210 HISTORY OF FRANKLIN COUNTY.
In the years 1853-54, the large brick house was erected at a cost of about
$12,000. The farm now contains about 210 acres.
The following lists contain the names of the directors of the poor-house, its
stewards, treasurers, attorneys, clerks and physicians, from the year 1807 to
the present time, so far as they could be ascertained:
DIEECTOES OF POOE-HOUSE.
1808 — James Robinson, Robert Liggett, Ludwig Heck.
1809 — Robert Liggett, Ludwig Heck, Henry Etter.
1810 — Ludwig Heck, Henry Etter, Isaac Eaton.
1811 — Henry Etter, Isaac Eaton, Samuel Radebaugh.
1812 — Isaac Eaton, Samuel Radebaugh.
1813 — Samuel Radebaugh, Matthew Lind.
1814 , Matthew Lind, John Vance.
1815 — Matthew Lind, John Vance, Philip Berlin.
1816 — John Vance, Philip Berlin, John Snider.
1817 — Philip Berlin, John Snider, John Rudisil.
1818 — John Snider, John Rudisil, Matthew Patton.
1819 — John Rudisil, Matthew Patton, D. Washabaugh.
1820— Matthew Patton, D. Washabaugh, J. Stouffer.
1821 — D. Washabaugh, J. Stouffer, William McKesson.
1822— J. Stouffer, William McKesson, John Snider.
1823 — William McKesson, John Snider, Thomas Yeates.
1824 — John Snider, Thomas Yeates, Jacob Heck.
1825 — Thomas Yeates, Jacob Heck, A. Thompson.
1826 — Jacob Heck, A. Thompson, John Davison.
1827 — A. Thompson, John Davison, Thomas Yeates.
1828 — John Davison, Thomas Yeates, John Vance.
1829 — Thomas Yeates, John Vance, John Coble.
1830 — John Vance, John Coble, Samuel Dechart.
1831 — John Coble, Samuel Dechart, Nicholas Baker.
1832 — Samuel Dechart, Nicholas Raker, James Davison.
1833 — Nicholas Baker, James Davison, John Radebaugh.
1834 — James Davison, John Radebaugh, John Orr.
1835 — John Radebaugh, John Orr, Jacob Oyster.
1836 — John Orr, Jacob Oyster, John Whitmore.
1837 — Jacob, Oyster, John Whitmore, William Linn.
3838 — John Whitmore, William Linn, Samuel Campbell.
1839 — William Linn, Samuel Campbell, Philip Nitterhouse.
1840 — Samuel Campbell, Philip Nitterhouse, James Davison.
1841 — Philip Nitterhouse, James Davison, Matthew Patton.
1842 — James Davison, Matthew Patton, Upton Washabaugh.
1843 — Matthew Patton, Upton Washabaugh, John Monn, Jr.
1844 — Upton Washabaugh, John Monn, Jr., Samuel Lehman.
1845 — John Monn, Jr., Samuel Lehman, John S. Detwiler.
1846— Samuel Lehman, John L. Detwiler, Daniel Bonebrake.
1847 — John L. Detwiler, Daniel Bonebrake, Fred. Boyer.
1848 — Daniel Bonebrake, Fred. Boyer, John Wise.
1849 — Fred. Boyer, John Wise, David Hays.
1850 — John Wise, David Hays, S. Detwiler.
1851 — David Hays, S. Detwiler, Jacob Garver.
1852 — Samuel Lehman, Jacob Garver, Martin Newcomer.
1853 — Jacob Garver, Martin Newcomer, D. O. Gehr.
HISTORY OF FRANKLIN COUNTY.
211
1854 — Martin Newcomer, D. O. Gehr, James Ferguson.
1855 — D. O. Gehr, James Ferguson, Josiah Besore.
1856— James Ferguson, Josiah Besore, Jacob Weaver.
1857 — Josiah Besore, Jacob "Weaver, M. Gillan.
1858 — Jacob Weaver, M. Gillan, Jacob Strickler.
1859 — M. Gillan, Jacob Strickler, David Spencer.
1860 — Jacob Strickler, David Spencer, J. S. Latshaw.
1861 — David Spencer, J. S. Latshaw, William Harris.
1862 — J. S. Latshaw, William Harris, Samuel Seacrist.
1863 — William Harris, Samuel Seacrist, John Doebler.
1864 — Samuel Seacrist, John Doebler, John H. Criswell.
1865 — John H. Criswell, James H. Clayton, Martin Heintzelman.
1866 — John H. Criswell, James H. Clayton, Martin Heintzelman.
1867 — James H. Clayton, Martin Heintzelman, John Gillan, Jr.
1868-69 — Martin Heintzelman, John Gillan, Jr., J. R. Smith.
1870- John Gillan, John Smith, Fred. Long.
1871— J. R. Smith, Fred. Long, Peter McFerren.
1872 — Fred. Long, Peter McFerren, David Deatrick.
1873 — Peter McFerren, David Deatrick, Jacob Kreider.
1874 — David Deatrick, Jacob Kreider, Amos Stouffer.
1875 — Jacob Kreider, Amos Stouffer, William Bossart.
1876 — Amos Stouffer, William Bossart, Henry Lutz.
1877— William Bossart, Henry Lutz, B. F. Funk.
1878— Henry Lutz, B. F. Funk, Jacob Frick.
1879— B. F. Funk, Jacob Frick, John Lindsay.
1880 — Jacob Frick, John Lindsay, Benjamin Lehman.
1881 — John Lindsay, Benjamin Lehman, H. B. Angle.
1882 — Benjamin Lehman, H. B. Angle, John E. Maclay.
1883— H. B. Angle, John E. Maclay, Geo. W. Brindle.
1834— John E. Maclay, Geo. W. Brindle, Charles A. Clark.
1885 — Geo. W. Brindle, Charles A. Clark, John A. Witherspoon.
1886-*Charles A. Clark,* John A. Witherspoon, H. C. Funk.f
1887 — John A. Witherspoon, John H. Crisswell, Levi D. C. Houser.
STEWARDS OF POOR-HOUSE.
1808-14— Daniel Shrceder.
1814-21 — Benjamin Graver.
1821-27— Richard Morrow.
1827-30— Philip Lauffman.
1830-33— Andrew McLellan.
1833-39— Col. John Snider.
1839— David Fegley.
1840-43— WiUiam J. Morrow.
1843-45 — Emanuel Crosland.
1845-54 — Samuel Jeffries.
1854-56— David Piper.
1856-59— William Shinafield.
1859 — John Bowman.
1860-64 — James Chariton.
1864-66— William McGrath.
1866-68— John Ditzlear.
1868— David Piper.
1869-73— Samuel Brandt.
1873-84— Joseph Middouer.
1884-87— Augustus H. Etter.
TREASURERS OF POOR-HOUSE.
1808-14— David Denney. 1823— John Sloan.
1814-21— Unknown. 1824-27— Hugh Greenfield.
1821-23— William Heyser. 1827-30— Daniel Spangler.
*Died, and vacancy filled April 27 until January, 1886, by the appointment of Levi D. C. Houser, who, at
the November election, was elected for a full term of three years.
tDied and vacancy filled July 17 by the appointment of John H. Crisswell until January 1, 1886, who, at
the November election, was elected for two years, Mr. Funk's unexpired term.
212
HISTOEY OF FRANKLIN COUNTY.
1830-32— Joseph Pritts.
1832-35— Henry Smith.
1835 — Jasper E. Brady.
1836-38— William Bard.
1838— Henry Kuby.
1839-43— Daniel Dechert.
1843-45— William Flory.
1845-48— Daniel S. Fahnestock
1848— James Wright.
1849-56-
1856-58-
1858-61-
1861-69-
1869-72-
-D. S. Fahnestock.
-J. Smith Grier.
-John W. Reed.
-Charles Gelwicks.
-Alex. Martin.
1872— Thomas Metcalfe.
1873-80— Hugh B. Davison.
1881-87— S. Miller Shillito.
KLERKS TO DIBECTOES OF POOE-HOUSE.
1808-
1814-
1815-
1816-
1817-
1818-
1821-
1823-
1827-
1828-
14— Elijah B. Mendenhall.
-F. Hershberger.
—Matthew Lind.
-D. C. Dehart.
-James McKay.
21 — Henry Reges.
23 — Daniel Spangler.
27 — Richard Morrow.
—Hiram Cox.
31— William S. Davis.
1831— John Colhoun.
1832— James R. Kirby.
1833-35— John Smith.
1835-37— John W. Reges.
1837^L0— Richard Morrow.
1840-43— Jacob Heck.
1843-45— Hugh B. Davison.
1845-48— Charles W. Heart.
1848-50— John W. Reges.
A.TTOBNEYS AND CLEEKS OF POOE-HOUSE.
1851-56-
1856-59-
1859-62-
1862-66-
1866-69-
1869-73-
-Lyman S. Clarke.
-J. Wyeth Douglass.
-Snively Strickler.
-William S. Everett.
-E. J. Bonebrake.
-John R. Orr.
PHYSICIANS
1808 — Abraham Senseny.
1809-14— John Sloan.
1815-18— Andrew McDowell.
1819-20— George B. McKnight.
1821-23— A. J. Dean.
1824-26— Samuel D. Culbertson.
1827— Peter Fahnestock.
1828— N. B. Lane.
1829-30— Andrew McDowell.
1831 J 32 — Jeremiah Senseny.
1833— D. S. Byrne.
1834-35— J. Bayne.
1836-37— A. H. Senseny.
1838 — John Lambert.
1839^1— J. Evans.
1842-43— J. C. Richards.
1844— William H. Boyle.
1845-47— John Lambert.
1873-76— James A. McKnight.
1876-77— Frank Mehaffey.
1878— John M. McDowell.
1879-82— N. Bruce Martin.
1882-85— Loren A. Culp.
1885-87— J. F. Linn Harbaugh.
OF POOE-HOUSE.
1848-49— N. B. Lane.
1850-52— John King.
1853 — -John Lambert.
1854— A. H. Senseny.
1855— S. G. Lane.
1856-57— A. H. Senseny.
1858— W. H. Boyle.
1859-61— S. G. Lane.
1862-63 — James Hamilton.
1864-65— J. L. Suesserott.
1866-67— J. C. Richards.
1868— C.L. Bard, T.J. McLanahan.
1869-72— W. H. Boyle.
1873-75— T. J. McLanahan.
1876-77— Samuel G. Lane.
1878-81— T. J. McLanahan.
1882-85— Charles F. Palmer.
1886-87— John P. Seibert.
CHAPLAINS OF POOE-HOUSE.
1872-78— Augustus Bickley.
1879-80— Philip Hamman.
1881-87— Augustus Bickley.
*Mr. Davison died, and on April 5, 1880, S. Miller Shillito was elected to fill remainder of year.
HISTORY OF FRANKLIN COUNTY. 213
Mr. j?iekley commenced holding religious service at the poor-house in
1836, and continued with few interruptions until 1872, when he was regular-
ly elected chaplain, witn d salary.
DEPUTY SURVEYORS UNDER APPOINTMENT FROM THE SURVEYOR-GENERAL.
1736 — Zachariah Butcher, Lancaster County.
1743-1746 — Thomas Cookson, Lancaster County
1750 — Col. John Armstrong, Cumberland County.
1784 — Matthew Henderson, of Cumberland County, to
1784-96 — Matthew Henderson, of Lurgan Township.
1796-1804— Daniel Henderson.
1804-09— Thomas Kirby, Chambersburg.
1809-13— Thomas Poe, Antrim.
1813-21 — Archibald Fleming, Antrim.
1821-24— William S. Davis.
1824-29 — William Hamilton, Peters or Montgomery.
1830-34— William S. Davis, Chambersburg.
1834-36— Seth Kline, Greene.
1836-37 — William S. Davis, Chambersburg.
1837-39— Samuel M. Armstrong.
1839-45 — Hugh Auld, Chambersburg.
1845-47 — Augustus F. Armstrong, Chambersburg.
1847-50— Hugh Auld, Chambersburg.
COUNTY SURVEYORS.
By the act of the 9th of April, 1850, county surveyors were directed to
be elected to serve for the term of three years each.
The following persons have filled the office:
1850-56— Emanuel Kuhn, St. Thomas.
1856-62 — John B. Kaufman, Letterkenny.
1862-71 — Emanuel Kuhn, Chambersburg.*
1871-75 — John B. Kaufman, Letterkenny.
1875-78— John W. Kuhn, Peters.
1878-87 — John B. Kaufman, Letterkenny (present incumbent).
PROSECUTING ATTORNEYS.
Prior to the passage of the act of 1850, providing for the election of dis-
trict attorneys, the State's attorney or prosecuting attorneys were the
deputies of the attorney-general for the time being, appointed by him,
and removable at his pleasure. The court records prior to 1842 having
been burned, it is not possible to make more than a partial list of the former
prosecuting attornevs, as follows:
1789-90— John Clark. 1824— Frederick Smith.
1790-1802— William Brown. 1842-45— Wilson Reilly.
1802-12— William Maxwell, Gettysburgl845-47— William R. Rankin.
1813— William M. McDowell. 1847-49— George W. Brewer.
1819— Matthew St. Clair Clarke. 1849-51— Hugh W. Reynolds.
DISTRICT ATTORNEYS.
Elected under the act of 3d of May, 1850, to serve three years, from first
Monday in November after election.
♦Resigned April, 1871, and John B. Kaufman was appointed for the unexpired term. Mr. Kaufman
was also elected for the full term in October, 1871.
214 HISTORY OF FRANKLIN COUNTY.
1851-54— James S. Ross. 1872-75— Theodore McGowan.
18^1-^7- i Thomas B. Kennedy. 1875-78 — Oliver C. Bowers.
° ( Lyman S. Clarke. 1878-81— Oliver C. Bowers.
1857-60— Lyman S. Clarke. 1881-84— Chas. A. Suesserott.
1860-63— George Eyster. 1884-87— W. J. Zacharias.
1863-72— William S. Stenger. 1887 —Hiram J. Plough.
JURY COMMISSIONERS.
Elected under the act of 10th of April, 1867, to serve for three years.
1867-70 — Addison Imbrie, William Boyd.
1870-73— W. H. H. Mackey, Elias Patton.
1873-76— John Gilbert, A. H. Etter.
1876-79— J. C. McCulloh, Lewis Lecron.
1883 — George S. Coover, David M. Lowry.
1886— John E. Harvey, L. H. Henkell.
COUNTY SUPERINTENDENTS OF COMMON SCHOOLS.
Selected under act of May 8, 1854, to serve for three years.
1854-57— James McDowell, Hugh 1869-72— Samuel Gelwix.
J. Campbell. 1872-75— Jacob S. Smith.
1857-63— Philip M. Shoemaker. 1875-81— S. H. Eby.
1863-66— Andrew J. McElwain 1881-87— Harry A. Disert.
1866-69— Philip M. Shoemaker.
CHAPTER VII.
INTERNAL AFFAIRS.
Lands and Land Titles— Indian Trails— Roads— Bridges— Turnpikes— Inns
or Taverns — Militia— Muster Days— Mail Routes and Postoffices—
Postmasters — Railroads — Cumberland Valley Railroad — First
Sleeping Car Ever Made— Franklin Railroad— Shenandoah Valley
Railroad— Harrisburg & Potomac Railroad— Western Maryland Rail-
road — Baltimore & Cumberland Valley" Railroad— Mont Alto Rail-
road — Mont Alto Iron Works, etc.
WHEN the white man came here he found all the lands in the possession of
the Indians. Their title was simply that of tribal possession. There was
no individual ownership, and to this day that race spurns the idea of individual
property in land. When civilization put its foot down to stay upon this con-
tinent it taught these children of the forest the sad lesson to them, of not only
individual title to land but title acquired by right of discovery and con-
quest.
By grant from England, William Penn became the proprietary of the lands
that constitute the commonwealth of Pennsylvania. The spendthrift king
was in debt to the Penn estate something over £16,000, and it was an easy
matter for him to pay his debts by granting anything the creditor might want
in the New World. Penn, by his agents first, and then in person, came on and
entered upon his possessions. He used every means to bring immigrants here,
and was very liberal in conferring titles to all who wished to occupy land.
HISTORY OF FRANKLIN COUNTY. 215
After Perm had purchased of the English Government what he had supposed
was an indefeasible title to the land described in his grant, and his agents
came to occupy the same, he found that his title was disputed by tribes of In-
dians — first the Five Nations and afterward the Six Nations. He met them in
the spirit of the utmost fairness, and again purchased what he had already
paid his king in full for. And more than once he had to buy the title to the
same property from new claimant tribes, and in some instances, where the same
tribe had sold and spent the proceeds of the sale, they demanded a second
payment. Even these unreasonable claims were attended to and the second
payments cheerfully made.
Penn sold at very cheap rates to immigrants wanting to settle upon lands.
He was as lenient to the absurd claims of some squatters, who here and there
took possession and resisted his rights, as he had been to the ignorant Indians,
in his sales generally reserving a small quit rent per acre, or in case of town
lots, per lot, to be paid to proprietary per annum. In this way came all the
titles to lands in Pennsylvania prior to the Revolution. When the independ-
ence of the colonies was established, the right of eminent domain and the title
to all lands, not transferred to individuals, rested in the General Government, a
satisfactory compensation having been made the proprietaries in the adjust-
ment of the subject.
The modern convenient plan of sectionizing land was then unknown.
A purchaser would get a grant for so much land in a certain locality, and then
locate it and mark it out as his judgment dictated, his first consideration being
a spring of water, and then to curve and crook his lines to get where he sup-
posed would be the best land.
TRAILS.
The setting sun, the mountain passes, and the topography of mountain and
valley, determined the course of the Indian trails — the only highways known
to the savages. The " war-path" was a term full of meaning. Bloody and
senseless wars were the chief end in life of the most of them, and the trails
from tribe to tribe usually meant " the war-path " — the thin trails worn in the
primeval rocks by the generations of painted braves on their bloody missions.
These Indian trails directed the white man to the heart of the wilderness.
They were the primitive roads pointing his course in his slow voyage from
the Atlantic to the Pacific. The adventurous hunters would discover and
first follow up these trails, and then tell the young immigrants of the wonders of
the country they had seen. It was a hunter, that had looked upon Falling
Springs and the surrounding beautiful land, who told young Chambers about
it, and determined him to come here. By following the trail leading from
about Harrisburg toward the Potomac, as directed by the hunter, the Cham-
berses were led to the spot that will ever be a monument to the memory of that
illustrious family.
ROADS.
In 1736 the first road was laid out in the Cumberland Valley. It would be
most probably termed in these days a bridle road, that is, a road over which
the trains of pack-horses could travel and carry, as they did, the articles of
commerce of that day. In the year named, the court of Lancaster appointed
Col. Chambers, and five others, to view roads and survey important lines. In
1735 a road had been ordered to be made from Harris' Ferry toward the Po-
tomac River, and Col. Chambers and party surveyed the route and ' ' blazed it
out." This first road, strange as it seems now, met with considerable opposi-
tion ' ' from a number of inhabitants on the west side of the Susquehanna. ' ' It
216 HISTOKY OF FEANKLIN COUNTY.
was originally intended to extend only from Harris' Ferry to Letort Springs,
(Carlisle. )
Military Road, 1755. — This road extended from McDowell's Mill, near
Chambersburg, "over the mountains to Raystown (Bedford), by the forks of
the Youghiagheny, to intersect the Virginia road somewhere on the Mononga-
hela," being supposed indispensable for the supply of Braddock's troops on
the route to Fort Du Quesne, and after their arrival. One of the commission-
ers to lay out this road was Adam Hoops, of Antrim. A route was surveyed
from a gap in the mountain near Shippensburg over an old Indian trail to
Raystown. The road was from ten to thirty feet wide, according to the work
necessary ti construct it; it was completed to Baystown in June. Braddock's
defeat rend vred further work unnecessary, and it was stopped.
In 1768 he first public road extending through this county and into Fulton
County was ordered by the court of quarter sessions of Cumberland County.
It was an extension of the old ''Harris' Ferry toward the Potomac " road.
When made, it ran through Peters, Antrim and Washington Townships, as they
are now formed.
At the April session of the court of Cumberland County, 1761, a petition
of the people of Peters Township was presented, asking for a road, saying that
they have no prospect for a standing market for the produce of the county,
only at Baltimore, and having no road leading from their township to said
town of Baltimore, and flour being the principal commodity their ' ' township
produceth, and having two mills in said township, viz. : John McDowell's and
William Smith' s, ' ' they pray the court to appoint men to view and lay out a
road from each of said mills to meet at or near the house of William Maxwell,
and from thence to run by the nearest and best way toward said town of Bal-
timore, until it intersects the ' ' temporary line, ' ' or the line of York County.
The court appointed Henry Pawling, James Jack, John Allison, Joseph Brad-
ner, John McClellan, Jr. , and William Holliday, viewers, any four of them to
make a report. No report was made until April, 1768, when the viewers re-
ported in favor of granting the petition of the people of Peters and Hamilton
Townships. But the branch roads to the mills were restricted to be bridle
roads. They were to unite at or near James Irwin's mill, in Peters Town-
ship; thence crossing to the Conococheague Creek, at the mouth of Muddy Run;
thence through Antrim Township to Nicholson's Gap, in the South Mountain,
from there to Baltimore. Thus it mainly followed the old trail ; the trail being
superseded by a bridle road, and this by a wagon road, and the last by a
turnpike. This was the regular order of development that has now resulted
in the railroads — the first and main lines of which substantially follow the great
Indian trails.
In 1 768 the court appointed Edward Crawford, Jonah Cook, George Brown,
AVilliam McBrier, William Holliday and William McDowell, viewers, to locate
a road from James Campbell's, near Loudon, through Chambersburg, to the
county line in Black' s Gap. This is now substantially the route of the present
turnpike road.
When Chambersburg was laid out as a town, the road toward Shippensburg
crossed the spring at the present fording on King Street, and following its
course through the Indian burial place and the yard of the Presbyterian
Church, finally joined the present road in front of the church, and pursued its
eastward course several rods distant from the present turnpike, but nearly
parallel with it. The only place where the Conococheague could be crossed
near the southern limit of the town was . at the lower fording, at Lemon' s
factory, where the bridge now is. At this ancient fording Col. Chambers once
///
HISTORY OF FRANKLIN COUNTY. 219
kept a fiat-boat for carrying foot passengers. Two roads ran westward from
the ford, one of which, now Franklin Street, wound over the hill to Market
Street, and then proceeded directly west. The other ran through "Wolfstown
and formed a junction with the former at Western Point, about a mile from
town.
Of the roads in early times in the county, Dr. W. C. Lane, in Public
Opinion, June 20, 1877, says: "In the infancy of the settlement the facilities
which merchants now enjoy for bringing their goods from the eastern cities
were unknown. Then we were not within a few hours' ride of Philadelphia,
and could riot order goods one day and receive them the next. Turnpikes were
yet among the things of the future, and goods from the East were slowly drawn
over the rough roads, in small and lumbering wagons, and many days were re-
quired for the journey. Commercial intercourse with the West was carried on
exclusively by means of pack-horses, and the process of sending goods to, Or
bringing them from, this remote part of the State, was both slow and expen-
sive; as a necessary consequence, merchandise of all varieties then commanded
a much higher price than it does now. This mode of transporting goods on
pack-horses from Chambersburg ran into the beginning of the present century.
The roads from Chambersburg to the West were then narrow and rough, and
wagons could hardly be drawn over them, and pack-horses were, necessarily,
almost exclusively used as a means of transportation. Long strings of these
horses, with small bells suspended from their necks, and laden with salt, iron
and goods of various kinds, were accustomed to start from the town on their
weary march to their distant destination. A wooden pack-saddle was fastened
on the back of the horse, and over this was placed bent bars of iron, on the
curved and projecting ends of which sacks of salt, iron bars and cast iron uten-
sils of various kinds were strapped. Each horse carried about 200 pounds, and
many weary days were spent in traversing the country over which they passed.
It will not be forgotten that, at this early date, the western counties of the
State were sparsely settled, and that the manufacture of iron, salt and different
other commodities, was yet undeveloped. Hence, the people of these sections
were entirely dependent upon the East for these indispensable articles of daily
use. We may incidentally remark that, about the year 1790, Mr. John Gil-
more, of Strasburg, sold salt at his store in that town, for transportation to
Washington County, on pack-horses, at $8 per bushel. Other articles of trade
brought correspondingly high prices. In the few following years the roads
over the mountains were widened and otherwise improved, and wagons then
took the places of pack-horses. The usual time required for a loaded wagon
to make the trip from Chambersburg to Pittsburg, and return, was three
weeks. The average price of freight between these places was $10 per hun-
dred.
BRIDGES.
The first consideration to the settlers, in order to live at all, was roads.
They had to have salt and iron. These they could, after a fashion, carry over
the rough and narrow roads they made. The growth of their wants soon com-
pelled the making of wagon ways, and then it was some time before they felt
compelled to put bridges across the streams. They contented themselves with
* ' fords ' ' — shallow places — where, by a little work in digging the banks, it was
possible to cross on the wagons with light loads, but here, as in many places
in the mountain passes, they would "double teams," and in mud and water,
and in sore trials and labor, after spending the most of a day at a bad cross-
ing, they would pass over. Then selecting places of narrow and steep banks
they would make rude bridges. These were very imperfect affairs — often
220 HISTORY OF FRANKLIN COUNTY.
washed away by the freshets that went raging down the mountain streams, and
many were the freighters and travelers who had to go into camp and patiently
wait the subsidence of the waters. When the waters had gone down, the people
would replace the washed- away first bridge with one better constructed, but
still their inexperience often deceived them as to what the stream could do the
next effort it made, and sometimes the second and third bridges would follow
down the stream like the first one.
TURNPIKES.
The building of the first turnpike road was an era in the history of the de-
velopment of the county. The people heard of its promised advantages, and
the probabilities of its ever being really made, with some incredulity. The
national and State governments willingly lent their aid to the construc-
tion of these important improvements. Better ways for commercial inter-
course among the distant communities were imperative. The great Mis-
sissippi Valley was being rapidly taken up by settlers, and the stupendous
national project was conceived of a great highway from Baltimore to
the Mississippi River, through the States of Maryland, Pennsylvania, Ohio,
Indiana and Illinois. The work upon this enterprise was carried on for
nearly a generation. It was never completed to the Mississippi River, but waa
built to Vandalia, the then capital of Illinois. It was the wants, the foresight
and energy of the people of Franklin that caused the commencement of this
national road.
The turnpike road from Chambersburg to Baltimore was made in 1809, and
the first broad- wheeled wagon which passed over it was made by Mr. Philip
Berlin, of Chambersburg in that year.
The Pittsburgh turnpike was made about 1820. The first stage coach from
Chambersburg to Pittsburgh ' l passed over a rough and narrow mountain road
in the year 1804"
The construction of the Western turnpike gave an active impulse to trade,
and goods were shipped over it in great broad-wheeled wagons in large quan-
tities. The business activity of Chambersburg and the surrounding country
then greatly increased. Several lines of stages started daily for Philadelphia,
Pittsburgh and Baltimore, besides other lines, which reached less distant places.
The town then was a great thoroughfare for travel, and at all seasons the town's
hotels were filled with travelers. The public highways were soon lined with
blacksmith and wagon-makers' shops, stage and hack stands, and trading
places. The tavern yards were crowded with wagons, and merchants were busily
engaged receiving and shipping goods. Large numbers of men were thus em-
ployed. The road from Chambersburg to Pittsburgh was often lined with long
files of broad-wheeled wagons, with their high bows covered with heavy can-
vas, and drawn by those teams of powerful draught horses, for which Pennsyl-
vania was once famous, many of whose necks were mounted with bearskin
housings and tinkling bells.
The following account kept by Henry R. F. Mollwitz, keeper of the North
Mountain turnpike gate, leading from Loudon to McConnellsburg, for the years.
1830 and 1834, exhibits at one view the amount of traveling, etc., on the
turnpike, during those years.
During the year 1830 1834 1830 1834
Broad wheeled wagons 6641 6359 Riding horses 3116 2817
Narrow wheeled " 495 374 Draft horses 39824 42330'
Single horse " 761 1243 Heads of cattle 5834 6457
Carriages 138 107 Sheep 2180 2852
Two horse wagons 318 779 Hogs 1180 40
Gigs 18 00 Carts 18 00
HISTORY OF FRANKLIN COUNTY. 221
The first turnpike company in the State was incorporated in April, 1792;
but it was not built till about 1814, when many similar companies were char-
tered, and the public mind became deeply interested in their building. The
State was a liberal subscriber to such enterprises. Every State in the Union
subscribed largely to its enterprises of internal improvements. During these
times three important turnpike roads were constructed into Franklin County,
and to each of these the State contributed liberally. The three roads were:
The Carlisle and Chambersburg road (this received from the State $100,000);
the Chambersburg and Bedford road ($175,000); and the Waynesboro, Green-
castle and Mercersburg road ($25,000).
INNS OR TAVERNS.
Inns or taverns were numerous in those days. It is said that nearly
every tenth house along the turnpike was a hostelry, whose yards were night-
ly filled with wagons, and whose tap-rooms were thronged with noisy and
hilarious teamsters. A violin was then considered an indispensable adjunct to
a country tavern; and, moved by its inspiring notes, the jolly crowd often
stamped and thundered through the ' ' stag dance, ' ' the Virginia reel, and the
" hoe down." The fun was fast and furious, especially when the throng was
maddened by their frequent and generous potations of the "worm of the
still;" then a brawl and promiscuous fight was not unfrequent, and bloody
noses and blackened eyes were the proud badges of the royal fun they had
had. Certainly these were wild times — but they were jolly. The good old
days of the wayside taverns ; the era of Concord coaches and their ' ' great men' '
drivers, who were the heroes par excellence, whether mounted upon their box,
the "ribbons" guiding the prancing horses, the long whip, and the winding
horns blowing defiance and triumph in the face of a gaping world, like the
heralds of the plumed knights of old; or in the bar-room, the center of an ad-
miring crowd, to which they gave their condescending and oracular "Yes;
with a little sugar, please." They were the country taverns' truly great men.
The flattering "treats" of the men, the gracious smiles of the blooming bar-
maid, were theirs exclusively. What a picture of rural life and happy con-
tent your recollection conjures up! Now all is gone. The shrill whistle of
the flying engine has blown out of this world even those great heroes, the
stage- drivers. Your memory lingers now like a fading tradition — ye have
passed away, like a dissolving view — a silent tear to your shades.
MILITIA.
The earliest settlers were, soon after landing here, compelled to resort
to some mode of military organization, by the action of the Indians. Then
there were the conflicting claims to the country by the Spaniards, French and
English. The different settlements, as they happened to be from different
nations of Europe, were often given to raids upon neighboring colonies, and
sometimes drove them off and destroyed their property; at other times they
were content to take the colony under their authority, and incorporate the
conquered colonists with their own society. Except the Quakers, all the peo-
ple were more or less militant. As early as 1750, nearly every able-bodied
man was in some way or other connected with the militia of his county. The
Indians had become so troublesome that parties, when they went out to open
new roads, had to go as armed squads of militia. In 1755 Col. James Smith,
who afterward became eminent in the wars of the country, was captured by
the Indians while in the act of opening a road from Loudon to Bedford.
After the Revolution the Assembly enacted laws for the regular organiza-
222 HISTORY OF FRANKLIN COUNTY.
tion of the militia, and appointed officers to take charge thereof, and to hold
regular encampments and muster days. All the people of the county en-
rolled in the militia were required to meet upon the muster days, and to
bring their guns and learn the drill of arms. Those who had no guns, the
State being too poor to supply any, were requested to use a stick or, as some
did, a corn stalk; and, hence, the name of " cornstalk militia" was at onetime
a term quite common. These muster days were eventually great annual events in
the county. Here the people met, discussed political and current events, arbitrated
disputes, fought out old quarrels, and some drank whisky and rather indiscrim-
inately frolicked and fought, as opportunity offered. In the early part of the cen-
tury the authorities ordered a change in the uniform from a black to a white cock-
ade in the hats of the militia. In counties where the Federal party was the
stronger, this order created in some places almost riots, and in many there
were acts of insubordination and open denunciation of the order. Companies
would put on the required cockade while in the ranks drilling, but, the moment
the commanding officer would say ' ' dismiss, ' ' they would tear off the regular
cockades and trample them under foot, and from their pockets produce and
place in their hats the other color cockade, and thus boisterously parade the
town. Many court-martials of militia officers occurred for insubordinations,
and the two political parties for a while were the "white cockades " and the
' ' black cockades. ' '
POSTOFFICES, MAIL KOUTES, ETC.
It sounds strange to the people of to-day, to say that, for six years
after the formation of the county, there was not a postoffice, or mail
facilities of any kind, in the county, or in this part of the common-
wealth. People in those days wrote letters and watched for opportuni-
ties to send them by the hands of some party going to their destination. The
Government sent letters to its army officers only by special couriers. Busi-
ness men sent and received important business letters, and remitted and re-
ceived money by the hands of persons going from one to the other. The
freighters were, of course, a common convenience in this respect. But off
these routes of general travel, it was a very difficult matter to communicate
with friends. Practically then at one time, after there were certainly as
many as 10,000 people in what is now Franklin County, neither letters nor
papers were brought into the county. The first provision of the Government au-
thorities, that refers to this county, was a resolution of Congress, passed May 20,
1788. It provided that the Postmaster- General be directed to employ posts
for the regular transportation of the mails between the city of Philadelphia,
and the town of Pittsburgh, ' ' by the route of Lancaster, Yorktown, Carlisle,
Chambers' Town and Bedford," and that the mail be dispatched, "once in
each fortnight from the said postoffices respectively. ' '
The first postoffice in the county was established in Chambersburg in June,
1790. The settlement was then sixty years old, and all this time the people
had to supply their imperative necessities by such means as they could find.
For many years thereafter, as the reader will see by reference to the dates of
the establishment of the postoffices as given below, it was only the few princi-
pal offices in the county that had any mail connections with one another. For
a long time regular mails could only be sent from Chambersburg to Shippens-
burg ; Chambersburg to Greencastle ; Chambersburg to Mercersburg, and Mer-
cersburg to Hagerstown. Papers, circulars and political addresses preceding
a hotly contested election were distributed by horseback couriers, each political
party sending oat its distributors. These pony riders would usually start
from the county seat on the first of the week, each provided with horns to
HISTORY OF FRANKLIN COUNTY. 223
blow when he would approach a hamlet or some leading citizen's house. The
people would gather, they would distribute their important mail matter, and
in this way go all over the county. These trips would occupy about the en-
tire week. Barney O' Neil and Theo. Ditz, both living near Chambersburg,
were such mail carriers.
A copy of the Chambersburg Gazette of June 19, 1793, contains a list of
settlers in the Chambersburg postoffice as follows: David Adams, Falling
Springs; Patrick Boyle; Mathew Brown; Mary Brettow, care John Scott,
Esq. ; John Bigham, care Hugh Bigham ; Thomas Cooper, James Crawford,
Greencastle; Archibald Cunningham, care James Finley, Esq.; Andrew
Dougherty, care J. Mahoney; James Dodds, care James Ramsey; John Mc-
Donald, care John Gilmore; John Dorans, care John King; Thomas Downing,
care Dr. Huey; David Ewing, care Andrew Kennedy; Christopher Ferris,
Greencastle; Mathew Fleming, care Rev. John King; John Grimes, care John
Martin; Andrew Givins, Tuscarora Valley; John Glenn, Mercersburg; William
Guthrie, Southampton Township ; John Gilmore, Strasburg ; James Gregg,
care John Calhoun; Thomas Henderson, hatter; Eleanor Hayes, care Samuel
Calhoun; James Henderson, care John Scott; Charles Hunter, care James
Ramsey or John Parkhill ; Lenox Hallam, care Capt. Beatty; James Hender-
son; Andrew Irwin, care Samuel Quigley ; Robert Kidd, care Alexander Dobbin;
John Kennon, care James Gailey; James Kelly, care James Ramsey; John Mil-
ler, Coyler's Creek; William McKee, James McCaslin, John McCurdy, John
McKillop, Alexander McCracken, care James Ramsey; William McCleneghan,
care James McCleneghan; Samuel McMillin, Burnt Cabins; Robert Martin
Cooper, care Geo. Clark; Thomas Mitchell, Susanah McShane, care Rev.
John King; William Martin, Sherman's Valley; Walter McKinney, care John
King; John Neal, care Thomas Lucas; Robert Porter, Robert Peebles,
Hamilton Township; Archibald Patterson, shoe-maker; Robert Patterson,
cooper; Nathaniel Rankin, Greencastle; Thomas Stewart, James Semple,
Mrs. Polly Stokes, Charles Victor Shook, Peter Shields, Joseph Thompson,
Henry Work, Esq., M. Williams, Peter Walter, Jacob Year, John Urr.
The following is an alphabetical list of the postoffices in the county and
the postmasters, with dates of appointments:
Altenwald. — Jacob B. Cook, December 21, 1881.
Amberson's Valley. — Benjamin J. Culbertson, December 16, 1850; Samuel
Shearman, June 21, 1852; John Creamer, June 25, 1853; Jeremiah B. Jones,
March 29, 1865; John M. Shearer, July 2, 1866; John A. Shoemaker, April
28, 1874; Francis L. Shoemaker, August 3, 1885.
Antietam (late Quincy). — Abraham Stoner, July 16, 1839; changed to
Quincy September 2, 1841.
Black's Gap. — Robert Black, June 15, 1869; changed to Greenwood Mills,
September 29, 1869.
Black's Gap (late Greenwood Mills). — Robert Black, February 9, 1870;
Nannie C. Bohn, September 23, 1885.
Blue Ridge Summit (late Monterey Springs). — A. C. Roosman, April 5,
1876; Maggie L. Chapman, January 7, 1881.
Bridgeport Mills. — Martin Hoover, February 15, 1837; discontinued May
10, 1842; re-established with Jacob Phillipi, December 19, 1873; changed to
Lemasters, April 6, 1877.
Brown' s Mills, — Andrew Dalrymple, May 14, 1867; Hiram Young, April 15,
1869; John H. Grayson, April 1, 1870; John T. Valentine, March 31, 1871;
Jeremiah R. Young, February 25, 1876; Hiram Young, January 15, 1878:
Henry C. Gelwicks, April 14, 1882; James B. Weicht, March 17, 1886.
224 HISTORY OF FRANKLIN COUNTY.
Carrick. — Samuel Dunn, April 16, 1834; John Dunn, May 8, 1843; Ben-
jamin H. Eshleman, February 8, 1849; discontinued December 24, 1849.
Carrick Furnace. — George W. Swank, July 5, 1860; William Noonan, Feb-
ruary 26, 1864; discontinued, January 19, 1865; re-established with Samuel
H. Brown, postmaster, October 23, 1872; Alvin W. Horning, January 12,
1874; changed to Metal, May 19, 1884.
Chambersburgh. — John Martin, June 1, 1790; Patrick Campbell, July 1,
1795; Jeremiah Mahoney, January 1, 1796; John Brown, July 5, 1802; Jacob
Deckert, April 7, 1818; John Findlay, Sr., March 30, 1829; John Findlay,
July 9, 1836; William Gilmore, November 24, 1838; George H. Harper, April
3, 1841; David D. Durboran, July 8, 1842; John McClintock, February 3,
1846; Nicholas Pearse, April 18, 1849; John Noel, May 13, 1853; John Lig-
gett, April 13, 1858; John W. Deal, April 15, 1861; Mathew P. Welsh, Sep-
tember 19, 1866; John A. Seiders, April 8, 1869; Daniel O. Gehr, April 21,
1877. E. W. Curriden, November 14, 1884; James Sweney, October 19, 1886.
Clay Lick.— Elam B. Winger, April 21, 1862; Joseph W. Winger, Febru-
ary 17, 1866; Jacob M. Winger, December 2, 1874; Albert C. Winger, March
21, 1881; Jacob M. Winger, February 11, 1885; William B. Zullinger, July
24, 1886.
Concord. — Edward W. Doyle, April 1, 1811; Edward Doyle, January 16,
1816; James Wilson, April 3, 1826; William E. Pumroy, June 15, 1849; Will-
dam Johnston, June 10, 1853; Solomon B. Hockenberg, March 13, 1861; Til-
lie E. McElheny, March 20, 1886; Rachel J. McElheny, April 10, 1886.
Doylesburgh.— Philip T. Doyle, May 23, 1854; Joseph M. Doyle, April 29,
1856; John Goshorn, February 11, 1865; Isaac Clugston, December 15, 1869;
Alva C. Clugston, February 6, 1879.
Dry Run. — William Campbell, Jr., February 5, 1825; James Ferguson,
May 27, 1839; Thomas Wilson, April 27, 1849; John E. Kerr, December 1,
1853; William W. Piles, January 16, 1854; Henry S. Doyle, June 21, 1856;
James H. Craig, February 23, 1859; James M. Rankin, June 29, 1861; George
E. Stewart, September 27, 1866; William H. H. McCoy, March 19, 1869;
Wilson H. Coons, January 6, 1882; J. B. Elder, July 30, 1885.
Edenville. — Levi L. Springer, December 21, 1882; William C. Hartman,
November 9, 1885.
Fannettsburgh — James Sweeney, March 30, 1809; Chamber Anderson, April
11, 1820; James Brewster, December 19, 1834; Jacob Flickinger, April 14,
1838; William Uttz, June 14, 1839; John Kyle, May 16, 18.45; Mary Kyle,
October 5, 1848; William W. Skinner, September 23, 1850; John S. Skinner,
May 1, 1854; Mary Kyle, July 19, 1853; John S. Skinner, May 1, 1854; George
W. Swank, February 6, 1855; John Kegerries, November 1, 1855; Mary A.
Kegerries, June 7, 1860; George A. Miller, December 22, 1870; Robert E.
Typer, October 23, 1873; John J. Basore, January 6, 1875; Jacob B. Wine-
man, December 9, 1885.
Fayetteville. — John Darby, September 4, 1826; Frederick Ashbaugh,
March 20, 1827; James D. Rea, December 27, 1831; Charles P. Cummings,
June 14, 1832; William B. Cummings, October 21, 1835; R. M. French, Jan-
uary 24, 1837; Joseph Boggs, June 22, 1841; R. M. French, July 29, 1845;
Mary A. French, April 8, 1846; Hiram Heysinger, September 27, 1855; Will-
iam Richey, April 24, 1857; David F. Richey, October 18, 1859; Joseph Boggs,
June 17, 1861; Upton J. Cook, January 23, 1866; Jacob Oyler, August 29,
1866; William N. Horner, March 19, 1869; John D. Boggs, January 6, 1882;
John N. Baxter, September 14, 1885.
Five Forks.— William H. Brown, March 5, 1873.
HISTORY OF FRANKLIN COUNTY. 225
Foltz. — Appleton Berger, April 2, 1880; Thomas O. Bradley, November 1,
1882; George F. Grove, May 15, 1884; John A. Wister, August 24, 1885.
Fort Loudon (late Loudon). — Thomas G. McGuire, June 22, 1883; John
H. Metz, July 30, 1885.
Greencastle. — John Watson, April 4, 1797; David Watson, June 29, 1837;
Jacob F. Kreps, July 7, 1845; George Eby, February 27, 1849; William W.
Fleming, April 9, 1849; William McCrary, June 11, 1853; George Eby, May
28, 1861; Eli Fuss, July 29, 1868; George H. Miller, May 6, 1869; Henry P.
Prather, December 18, 1871.
Green Village. — James McAnulty, September 12, 1827; John E. McGaw,
March 9, 1832; Thomas Sturgis, April 16, 1832; William Blankney, February
22, 1833; Charles W. Lego, June 18, 1841; William Blankney, February 3,
1843; John P. Wallace, May 4, 1849; Thomas H. Wallace, November 28, 1881;
John Ditzlear, September 23, 1885.
Greenwood Mills, (late Black's Gap). — Bobert Black, September 29, 1869;
changed to Black's Gap, February 9, 1870.
Jackson Hall. — John S. Kerr, May 12, 1827; Frederick Koemer, Febru-
ary 2, 1830; John P. Baker, March 16, 1835; William McCleary, May 30,
1837; John Underlich, April 11, 1839; John C. Tritle, June 21, 1853;
Thomas C. Fitzgerald, September 19, 1854; Jacob C. Snyder, July 5, 1860;
John McKnight, May 8, 1861; Jeremiah Y. Herman, March 30, 1868; James
A. Davidson, December 22, 1870; Charles A. W. Baker, March 20, 1872; Fred-
erick J. Pfoutz, March 27, 1879 ; changed to New Franklin August 21, 1882.
Keeffer's Store. — Lewis Keeffer, August 25, 1849; Isaac H. Thompson,
July 29, 1853; Lewis Keeffer, December 29, 1854; Jonathan Strine, Decem-
ber 20, 1855; discontinued, December 5, 1856; re-established, with Philip
D. Weaver, postmaster, May 13, 1858; George Westhafer, December 12,
1859; discontinued, April 18, 1864; re-established with Wlliam Karper,
postmaster, October 20, 1864; discontinued, February 9, 1871.
Keef ers. — Jacob A. Karper, December 9, 1879 ; Daniel G. Hoover, March
10, 1882; Jacob A. Karper, September 24, 1883; Joshua A. Phillips, Novem-
ber 19, 1884.
Lemasters (late Bridgeport Mills). — Samuel Plum, April 6, 1877; Edgar
B. Diehl, May 11, 1885.
Loudon. — Nicholas Baker, May 2, 1814; William H. Brotherton April 8,
1817; Alexander Elder, February 1, 1819; William H. Brotherton, , June 27,
1821; JohnEaston, October 18, 1823; Benjamin Stinger, December 24, 1828;
Hugh L. McGaw, February 14, 1831; William Minich, October 11, 1833;
Jane Minich, August 5, 1850; John Mullan, December 10, 1852; Jacob Sny-
der, July 5, 1860; Eliza L. B. Madden, December 4, 1861; John Thompson,
December 14, 1863; John H. Jarrett December 28, 1866; William Burgess,
March 19, 1869; Hettie A. Easton, June 28, 1872; Thomas G. Maguire,
October 2, 1878; changed to Fort Loudon, June 22, 1883. (This office was
at one time called Loudontown. )
Lurgan. — D. D. Swanger, February 27, 1886; MaryE. Swanger, April 14,
1886.
Marion. —William Martin, March 2, 1833; Abraham Scott, April 5, 1834;
Emanuel Kuhn, January 21, 1835; John S. Scheible, March 29, 1837; John
Clugston, April 2, 1838 ; Jacob Greenawalt, July 9, 1847 ; Jacob A. Swigert,
October 9, 1865; Andrew Statler, March 10, 1874; Samuel S. Ledy, October
19, 1885.
Mason & Dixon. — Abraham B. Barnhart, May 15, 1868; Jacob H. Brewer,
April 25, 1871; Huron A. Huyett, July 17, 1872; Henry B. Harnish, Octo-
226 HISTORY OF FRANKLIN COUNTY.
ber 9, 1875; Frank H. McLaughlin, May 25, 1877; Henry P. McLaughlin,
March 25, 1886.
Mercersburgh. — James Bahn, January 1, 1803; George King, October 1,
1803; James McCoy, January 1, 1808; William B. Guthrie, January 22,
1813; Peter W. Little, February 11, 1822; Robert King, May 5, 1827;' Elli-
ott T. Lane, July 15, 1829; Daniel Shaffer, April 30, 1834; Thomas P. Bard,
June 24, 1841; Daniel Shaffer, January 21, 1845; Sarah H. Findlay, April
18, 1849; Eliza Carson, April 14, 1853; Maggie G. Grove, March 29, 1861;
JohnHoch, September 26, 1866; Elizabeth Rice, March 6, 1867; Wilson L.
Harbaugh, February 17, 1879; W. A. Shannon, July 24, 1885 (at first called
Messerburgh).
Metal (late Carrick Furnace). — Alvin W. Horning, May 19, 1884; George
W. Swank, April 16, 1886.
Midvale.— M. R. Nevin, February 24, 1881; Oscar W. Good, March 24,
1881; Jacob F. Good, November 28, 1881.
Mongul.— William A. Baer, April 14, 1882.
Mont Alto. — John Kuhn, December 14, 1843; discontinued, December 9,
1845; re-established with Peter Heefner, August 15, 1846; Joseph F. Walter,
April 21, 1848; Ephraim J. Small, May 29, 1849; Peter Heefner, July 15,
1853; George W. Toms, August 27, 1853; discontinued, June 22, 1855; re-
established with George W. Toms, June 30, 1855; Ephraim J. Small, Octo-
ber 6, 1855; John Small, November 21, 1857; John Keis, May 28, 1861;
Ralph Smith, May 17, 1866; Henry Shiery, October 17, 1866; Ephraim J.
Shank, April 10, 1869; David Ziegler, April 24, 1873; David Knepper, Janu-
ary 9, 1882; Edward M. Small, July 24, 1885.
Monterey Springs. — Henry Yingling, September 28, 1870; changed to Blue
Ridge Summit, April 5, 1876.
Mount Parnell. — John Mullan, April 3, 1862; Charles Gillan, April 6,
1866; James D. McDowell, April 1, 1878; John A. Gillan, March 2, 1880;
Alexander Dale, March 28, 1881; discontinued, August 19, 1881.
Mowers ville. — Jacob H. Snoke, March 3, 1868; A. S. Bashore, February
8, 1875; Andrew B. Gross, October 15, 1879; Samuel Taylor, March 15, 1881;
David R. Frehn, September 23, 1885; James F. Geyer, March 25, 1886.
New Bridge. — Harmon P. Piper, September 8, 1868.
New Franklin (late Jackson Hall). — Jeremiah Hoover, August 21, 1882.
New Guilford. — George Trittle, December 17, 1849; discontinued, August
31, 1852; re-established with Jacob Snyder, December 17, 1852; Nathan R.
Hutchinson, January 9. 1856; John L. Wingert, December 27, 1856; John.
Wolfkill, October 17, 1859; discontinued, February 27, 1866.
Opher. — John H. McMullen, April 16, 1883; discontinued, January 12,
1885.
Orrstown. — James B. Orr, June 26, 1836; William L. Smith, March 19,
1849; Ephraim Bear, April 26, 1850; Jacob R. Zearfoss, March 4, 1852; Henry
Ruby. January 18, 1853; Cyrus B. Ruby, October 9, 1855; James B. Orr,
May 24, 1857; William Orr, Jr., March 12, 1858; David T. Bard, December
18, 1860; Jacob Kindig, March 25, 1861; Samuel Knisley, March 16, 1864;
David L. Powders. January 9, 1872; Samuel Knisley, April 20, 1874; David
E. Kendig, December 9, 1875; Lottie A. Kendig, January 5, 1883; Samuel
Knisley, July 7, 1884; John A. Zullinger, July 20, 1885.
Pen Mar.— Charles A. Rouzer, April 16, 1883.
Pleasant Hall. — Charles Whealan, August 28, 1851; Jonathan Strine, May
9, 1855; Charles Whealan, December 14, 1855; John S. Myers, May 11,
1859; Albert M. Hunter, May 1, 1860; Abraham Keefer, April 20, 1863;
HISTORY OF FRANKLIN COUNTY. 229
discontinued October 20, 1873; re-established with Isaac Burkholder, post-
master, January 13, 1876; Abraham W. Hoover, February 14, 1882.
Quincy. —Jacob Byer, March 27, 1830; George Wertz, November 2, 1832;
changed to Antietam July 16, 1839.
Quincy (late Antietam). — James McKinley, September 2, 1841; Jacob
Firor, May 28, 1846; William B. Raby, December 15, 1846; John B. Way-
nant, December 14, 1848; Jacob S. Zeigler, March 22, 1849; David Piper,
August 12, 1852; Hugh Logan, June 11, 1853; John R. Smith, December 21,
1853; George A. Anderson, May 2, 1854; discontinued October 12, 1860; re-
established with David Wertz, October 31, 1860; John R. Smith, October
3, 1866; Samuel Secrist, October 24, 1866; William B. Raby, January 20,
1868; Elam B. Wingar, March 19, 1869; David Sommers, May 8, 1871;
Christian W. Good, July 1, 1874; Levi C. Kefmer, January 16, 1878; Benja-
min R. Summer, August 6, 1885.
Richmond Furnace. — William Burgess, May 23, 1872; Charles Hoffman,
December 7, 1876; John A. Diehl, March 18, 1878.
Rocky Spring.— Barnard Fohl, May 4, 1839; Robert E. Tolbert, March
7, 1844; discontinued April 1, 1847.
Rowzersville.— Samuel Gonder, January 22, 1873; Charles H. Buhrman,
June 26, 1873; Anie E. Gresanam, December 13, 1880.
Roxbury. — William^Reynolds, February 5, 1822; Godlieb Wunderlich, Jan-
uary 17, 1823; Thomas' Rumroy, May 1, 1826; William I. Thompson, March
12, 1832; George A. Dougherty, February 3, 1837; Robert Gilmore, March
14, 1839; Samuel Stailey, June 24, 1841; William Deardorff, April 1, 1851;
William J. G. Thompson, April 7, 1852; John Taylor, January 20, 1853;
Esrom D. Weaver, October 9, 1855; George W. Saltsman, April 9, 1861; John
M. Saltsman, December 18, 1862; Robert A. Hamilton, November 23, 1885.
Saint Thomas. — James Edwards, February 21, 1824; William G. Sterrett,
March 20, 1832; James Edwards, April 20, 1835; Henry Smith, April 18,
1837; Daniel S. Hossler, December 7, 1848; Barnard Fohl, May 4, 1849;
Christian W. Burkholder, July 7, 1853; William D. Dickson, January 14,
1858; Barnard Fohl, March 29, 1861; Michael H. Keyser, September 22,
1862; William D. Dickson, March 19, 1869; William L. Gillem, October 10,
1872; Cyrus C. Gelwicks, August 14, 1885.
Scotland. — George R. Mcllroy, June 29, 1849; James W. Dunmire, April
15, 1854; James S. Chambers, July 5, 1861; William Wallace, Jr., April 25,
1866; Henry Sleichter, June 15, 1869; John G. Youst, April 4, 1881; Will-
iam L. Craig, August 4, 1885.
Shady Grove. — Charles McCauiey v April 15, 1852; Jacob B. Waynant,
May 13, 1854; discontinued, April 25. 1856.
Shady Grove. — Frank B. Snively, December 7, 1860; Melchi Snively, May
4, 1879; William T. Phillips, August 24, 1885; John F. Wilt, April 29, 1886.
Spring Run. — William A. Mackey, November 13, 1850; Isaac Clugston,
November 22, 1858; William A. Mackey, July 5, 1861; William M. Nesbitt,
August 21, 1877; William S. Elliott, September 7, 1880; Daniel Wolff, March
20, 1883.
State Line. — David Brumbaugh, Jr., February 9, 1830; Joseph Gilbert,
May 28, 1634; Jacob Felmlee, April 2, 1838; Gearhart Brenner, April 1, 1843;
William Martin, June 12, 1843; Jacob Felmlee, August 15, 1844; discontin-
ued, FeV a "'3, 1845; re-established with John Rearick, postmaster, Jan-
uary 6, lv 1 aiel S. Barnhart, June 20, 1857; John Rearigh, August 15,
1859; John A. Orr, September 10, 1861; Daniel B. Hade, June 17, 1869;
13
230 HISTORY OF FRANKLIN COUNTY.
George W. Harbaugh, June 15, 1874; Jacob A. Witmer, September 10, 1875?
Henry R. Harnish, Jnne 7, 1877; Philip N. Brumbaugh, August 24, 1885.
Stone Bridge. — -Isaac Kuhn, September 22, 1873; discontinued May 6,
1875.
Strasburgh. — George Beaver, July 1, 1797; George McClellan, April 23,
1798; William McClellan, August 4, 1823; changed to Upper Strasburgh
February 28, 1829.
Sylvan. — John Zimmerman, June 6, 1843.
Svlvan. — William Bowers, February 3, 1837; discontinued, February
9, 1842.
Upper Strasburgh (late Strasburgh). — William McClellan, February 28,
1829; James McFarland, March 14, 1839; John Grove, July 2, 1841; William
Gilmor, December 26, 1844; William S. Doyle, May 9, 1849; John Grove,
June 10, 1850; Philip Karper, July 14, 1853; Josephus M. Wolf kill, November
2, 1855; Samuel Gilmore, June 9, 1858; James S. Slyder, July 5, 1861;
William W. Britton, March 24, 1865; Frederick C. Karper, December 10,
1880; Jacob V. B. Leedy, May 11, 1885.
Upton (late Whitestown). — George Cook, July 24, 1837; Robert J. Boyd,
November 15, 1867.
Warren Point. — Archibald S. Winger, February 11, 1878; discontinued
August 26, 1878.
*Waynesborough. — Michael Stoner, December 19, 1807; Joseph Deardorf,
September 22, 1830; Thomas Walker, February 28, 1833; Michael M. Stoner,
May 2, 1837; John W. Stoner, December 17, 1840; James Brotherton, July
19, 1845; James Brotherton, Jr., February 15, 1849; Jacob R. Welsh, June
13, 1853; Thomas G. Pilkington, May 28, 1861; Nancy Pilkington, February
10, 1863; Andrew G. Nevin, September 30, 1864; Jacob R. Welsh, November
26, 1866; Andrew G. Nevin, May 6, 1869; Matilda R. Nevin, February 5,
1875; George Middow, January 19, 1882; James P. Lowell, March 12, 1886.
Welsh Run. —John Eldon,May 17,1830; James Watson, February 16, 1832;
Thomas Bowles, February 16, 1839; William H. Craig, June 18, 1859; Thomas
Bowles, February 18, 1862; John R. Stover, December 27, 1877; Henrv G.
Chritzman, December 12, 1881; Frank T. Elliott, December 3, 1884.
Whitestown. — George Cook, July 10, 1837; changed to Upton, Julv 24,
1837.
Williamson. — E. H. Hagerman, August 20, 1872; Upton G. Hawbecker,
September 23, 1885.
Willow Kill.— Charles Fleming, September 24, 1878; Edgar S. Bock,
April 24, 1882.
Wingerton. — Philip Wiesner, January 22, 1884.
Yetter. — Christian Yetter, May 17, 1881; discontinued February 16, 1882.
Zullinger.— David Zullinger, February 23, 1882.
Zero.— Lewis Ripple, February 7, 1837; John P. Baker, July 28, 1838;.
discontinued, April 10, 1839.
RAILROADS.
The Cumberland Valley Railroad is the oldest road in this section, and
among the pioneer roads of the country. Its history is the history of the rail-
roads of this valley, as well as the interesting story of the simpler, crude-
beginnings that have grown into the great railroad system of the country.
The simplest statement of the facts is a story full of interest to the general
reader.
The Cumberland Valley Railroad Company was chartered by the Legisla-
ture of Pennsylvania on the 2d of April, 1831, to construct a railroad from
*First called " Waynesburgh or Waynesboro."
HISTORY OF FRANKLIN COUNTY. 231
Carlisle to a point on the Susquehanna Eiver at or near Harrisburg. The
charter, having expired by limitation of time, was revived by an act of Assem-
bly of the 15th of April, 1835, and authority extended to construct the road
from the Susquehanna River to Shippensburg and Chambersburg. In accord-
ance with the provisions of the charter, in order to organize the company, an
election for officers and managers was held on the 27th of June, 1835. in
the borough of Carlisle with the following results: President, Thomas G. Mc-
Colloh, of Chambersburg; treasurer, Joseph B. Mitchell, of Philadelphia;
secretary, Abraham Hendel, of Carlisle; managers, Samuel Alexander,
Charles B. Penrose, Lewis Harlan, Frederick Watts, John K. Neff, John
Grigg, David Mahon, Frederick Byers, Philip Berlin, Thomas Chambers,
Charles S. Border, George W. Himes. The board of managers, at a meeting
held on the 21st of August, 1835, selected William Milner Roberts for chief
engineer.
On the 23d of October, 1835, Mr. W. Milner Roberts reported to the
board of directors the results of his survey of the line from the Susquehanna
River, opposite Harrisburg to Chambersburg. He estimated the cost of build-
ing the road to a connection with the Harrisburg & Lancaster Railroad,
including the bridge across the Susquehanna at $564,064, and the average
annual receipts of the road at $284,617.50. He calculated on 100
passengers each way per day at 3 cents per mile, and 35,000 tons of through
freight and 51,950 tons of local freight, all at the rate of 4^ cents per ton per
mile.
On February 21, 1836, the Pennsylvania Legislature granted authority to
bridge the Susquehanna and connect with the Pennsylvania Canal, and the
Harrisburg, Portsmouth, Mount Joy & Lancaster Railroad, and authorized
the managers of the Cumberland Valley Railroad to manage for uninterrupted
communication of trade and travel between Chambersburg and Philadelphia.
The Cumberland Valley Railroad was opened for travel from White Hill to
Carlisle in August, 1837, and through to Chambersburg in November of the
same year. The first locomotive and cars were hauled across the Harrisburg
Bridge (a part of which still stands), and over the turnpike to White Hill.
The locomotive had two driving wheels, wooden spokes, was named " Cumber-
land Valley," and was built by William Norris in Philadelphia. The passen-
ger cars were like the old stage coaches. They had been run on the State road
from Philadelphia to Columbia, and would seat, inside and out, fourteen pas-
sengers each. The railroad track consisted of cross ties laid four and a half
feet apart upon the ground without ballast, upon which were laid oak stringers
5x9 inches, on which bar iron five-eighths of an inch thick and two and a
quarter inches wide was spiked. The ends of the iron bars were mitred, and
the bar which extended on the inside of the track would become pressed
away from its connection, so as to be caught on the flange of the wheels
going in an opposite direction, causing them to turn up against the bottom,
and sometimes through the car. As a protection against the turning up of
bars, the bottoms of the cars, were covered with two- inch plank, inside of
which was a lining of boiler plate, and at the time the road was opened to
Chambersburg, the iron was not laid for about three miles from Chambersburg,
and the cars were run in on the wooden stringers.
The railroad bridge across the Susquehanna was built in 1837-38, and
completed in January, 1839, when on the 16th of that month it was opened for
travel and connection made with the Harrisburg & Lancaster Railroad. A
poster, bearing pictures of the primitive locomotive and train, was issued by
Mr. T. G. McColloh, president of the Cumberland Valley Railroad, January
232 HISTORY OF FRANKLIN COUNTY.
25, 1839, announcing that "on the first day of the next February the regular
train of passenger cars would commence running as follows:
" Leave Chambersburg at 4 o' clock in the morning; arrive at Harrisburg
at 8, at Lancaster at 12, and at Philadelphia before 6 P. M. Returning, it
will leave Harrisburg as soon as the cars from Philadelphia arrived, about 5
o'clock in the evening, and arrive at Chambersburg at 10 P. M. "
The first sleeping-car ever used on any railroad was put in use on the Cum-
berland Valley Railroad in the spring of 1839, a historical fact of great import-
ance, because it was the first of the kind in the world. The berths were
upholstered boards, in three rows, one above the other, held by leather straps,
and in the daytime were folded back against the walls — very simple and plain
in construction, but comfortable, and in all essential features the germ of the
luxurious sleeper of the present day. At that time travel between Philadel-
phia and Pittsburgh was by rail to Chambersburg, and stage from Chambers-
burg to Pittsburgh. Passengers going east reached Chambersburg about mid-
night, and left about 1 A. M. , reaching Harrisburg about 5 A. M.
The oldest extant report of the operations of the Cumberland Valley
Railroad was made by President McColloh for the year 1839. In it he deplores
' ' the general financial depression of the country, due to the error which has
everywhere prevailed, of forcing public improvements further than the means
of the countiy would justify." ".We start," he says, "with half means, and
are then forced to finish on credit at a ruinous cost, and one experience has
been an example of this prevailing error." He finds hope, however, in the
fact that ' ' we are an energetic and elastic people, and with care and economy
our wonted prosperity will soon be attained." He announces the purchase of
three locomotives for $21,250, and two passenger cars at $4,175; that two
passengers and one freight train are run each day between Chambersburg and
Harrisburg, and that no injury has been done to any passenger since the road
has been operated — two and one-half years.
On the 27th of April, 1840, Thos. G. McColloh tendered his resignation as
president of the company, and on the same day Chas. B. Penrose, of Carlisle,
was elected by the board of managers to fill his place.
On the 26th of April, 1841, Chas. B. Penrose tendered his resignation of
the presidency of the company, having accepted the position of solicitor of
the treasury, under the administration of Gen. Harrison, at Washington.
Upon its acceptance, on the same day Frederick Watts was unanimously
chosen by the board to fill the position, which he held for thirty-two continu-
ous years.
The next report of which we find a copy was made by Hon. Frederick
Watts, president for the year 1842, in which he states that the universal de-
pression of the last few years has had its effect upon the business of the com-
pany; but that it is hoped that prosperity will again bless the country, and if
it does, he is confident that the stock of the Cumberland Valley Railroad will
be profitable to its owners. The total earnings for the year were $70,116.82.
For the year 1849 the earnings were $101,084.77, and the tonnage, which
is for the first time shown, was 37,439, of which 7,818 was flour, 5,126 ore,
4,247 coal, 2,123 grain, 2,237 lumber. It is stated in the report for the year
1849 that " arrangements have been made to relay the road with heavy T
rail."
In March, 1832, the Franklin Railroad was chartered by the Pennsylvania
Legislature, and on January 16, 1837, by the Legislature of Maryland. The
road was built from Chambersburg to Greencastle in 1837, and to Hagerstown
in 1841. It was run by steam-power for two years, when an arrangement was
HISTORY OF FRANKLIN COUNTY. 233
made with the Cumberland Valley Kailroad to operate the line and its own motive
power was sold. It is worthy of note that the first cab ever put on a locomo-
tive was placed on one of the Franklin Railroad locomotives, named "'Wash-
ington," at the shops of the Cumberland Valley Railroad, in Chambersburg,
in 1841. The Franklin Railroad was only operated a short time by the Cum-
berland Valley Railroad, when steam-power was withdrawn, and it was then
operated by Mr. D. O. Gehr, of Chambersburg, with horse-power. It was
never profitable, and was sold several times, until, in i860,- it was rebuilt and
laid with T rails. The Cumberland Valley then contracted to run it, and,
with some changes in the contract, continued to do so, except during the time
of its possession and partial destruction by the rebels, until 1865, when the
two roads consolidated.
In October, 1862, the rebels destroyed the shops and depot buildings in
Chambersburg, and on June 15, 1863, they made another raid, destroying all
company property in the town, and tearing up and destroying five miles of the
track of the Franklin Railroad.
The rebel raid and burning of Chambersburg July, 1864, also caused the
company great inconvenience and loss.
In 1871 the Southern Pennsylvania Railroad was opened from Marion to
Richmond, Penn. , and leased by the Cumberland Valley Railroad.
In the year 1872 the Mont Alto Railroad was completed from a point near
Scotland to Mont Alto.
In 1873 the Hon. Frederick Watts, who had been president of the Cum-
berland Valley Railroad for thirty-two years, declined a re-election, as he had
accepted the position of commissioner of agriculture at Washington, and Mr.
Thomas B. Kennedy, of Chambersburg, was elected president. In this year
the Martinsburg & Potomac Railroad was completed, and leased by the Cum-
berland Valley Railroad.
In June, 1882, the Shenandoah Valley Railroad was opened from Hagers-
town to a connection with the Norfolk & Western Railroad, at Roanoke, Va. ,
making a through line via the Cumberland Valley, between the northeast and
southwest. From the year 1837 up to this time the business of the Cumber-
land Valley Railroad had been entirely local, that is, it had originated or ter-
minated at local points on its road.
The management of the Cumberland Valley Railroad has always been in
close sympathy with the patrons of the road, giving all possible accommoda-
tions, and the benefit of the best transportation facilities of the times, keeping
pace in improvements with the best and most enterprising railroad companies
of the country.
The Old "Tape Worm 1 '' Line was chartered about the same time the Cum-
berland Valley Railroad was — or in 1 835. This was the day of the rage of
internal improvements in the country. Thad. Stevens stood sponsor to this
enterprise for many years. He was then a resident of Gettysburg, and had
iron mills in Franklin County, and he wanted a railroad to his mills. The
charter was for a road to start at Gettysburg, to run into Franklin County and
then turn south, tapping the heart of the southern country wherever it was
advisable and most convenient. The State made a large appropriation to the
road, and the managers, when they came to spend the money, commenced
all along the line. The result was, a great deal of money was expended,
the appropriations were exhausted, the State internal improvement scheme
collapsed, and the work stopped, and not a mile of the road was completed,
and practically this was the end of the ' ' Tape Worm. ' '
The Harrisburg & Potomac Railroad was chartered in 1870, as the
234 HISTOKY OF FRANKLIN COUNTY.
Mermar Iron & Railroad Company. Its chief promoters were Daniel V. and
Peter A. Ahl, of Newville. It was originally intended to pass through the
county via Shippensburg, Mont Alto, Quincy and Waynesboro, but owing to
financial difficulties was never completed.
The Baltimore & Cumberland Valley Railroad was organized in 1876, to
run from Chambersburg by a direct line through Waynesboro to a junction
with the Western Maryland Railroad, at a point on the west slope of the
Blue Ridge, two and one-half miles east of Smithsburg, and seventy-two miles
west from Baltimore, the line to be built in the interest of the Western
Maryland Road, and, when constructed, leased by it and operated. The length
of the line, twenty-one miles, made the distance from Chambersburg to
Baltimore ninety-three miles, thus lessening the old route, via Harrisburg,
forty miles. The road was built, and May 18, 1886, the Cumberland Valley
Railroad Extension Company leased the line to the Western Maryland Rail-
road, at an annual rental of $32, 700. This is one of the most valuable lines
now in Franklin County. It opens up to the trade of the county, not only a
competing line to the eastern ports, but is the great highway to the South —
to Memphis, New Orleans, Savannah and all southern points.
Mont Alto Railroad. — In 1872 the Mont Alto Railroad, extending from Mont
Alto to a connection with the Cumberland Valley Railroad at a point three
and one-half miles northeast of Chambersburg, was built by the Mont Alto
Railroad Company, Geo. B. Wiestling, engineer and superintendent.
It was opened for business on October 2, 1872. It was ten and one-
quarter miles in length. During 1878 and 1879 the line was extended to
Waynesboro, Penn. , making the entire line eighteen miles in length. The
extensive iron ore fields in the Mont Alto region were largely depended upon
to furnish tonnage to the railroad, and it is only in prosperous stages of the
iron business that this can be realized.
In 1875 the magnificent summer resort, Mont Alto Park, was improved
and opened by Geo. B. Wiestling, and has received the evidence of high
appreciation by the liberal patronage bestowed upon it by the public.
Mont Alto Iron Works consist of a blast-furnace, steam bloomary, re-
finery, machine shops, foundry, blacksmith, carpenter and wheel -wright shops,
charcoal kilns, two saw- mills, seventeen developed iron mines, seven farms and
20,000 acres of ore and timber lands. In prosperous times it employs 500
men, 75 horses and mules and 21 steam engines.
The furnace was built in 1807-08, by Daniel and Samuel Hughes, of
Maryland. At first it was what is known as a " quarter stack," and was 31
feet high, and 8 feet diameter of boshes. It was operated with cold blast;
the water-wheel was 30 feet in diameter. The first output was from two to three
tons per day of pig iron, but this only accumulated hands for want of transpor-
tation. To reach markets, the pig iron was hauled by wagon to the Potomac
River, at Williamsport, and then waited for a rise in the water, to be taken
down on flat-boats.
A foundry was built in 1815, and then the pig iron was made into stoves
and hollow ware on the grounds, which were then wagoned to Baltimore. For
some time the iron was not remelted to cast, but was dipped out of the fur-
nace and poured into the molds. A cupola furnace was put up, and then the
iron was remelted.
In 1811 the Messrs. Hughes brought over an expert, Mr. Overmeyer. He
leased land in East Antietam Valley, five miles from Mont Alto, and erected a
bloomary, forge and saw-mill, and commenced manufacturing hammered bar
iron. In 1832 a rolling-mill was put up near the bloomary, on East Antietam
HISTORY OF FRANKLIN COUNTY. 235
Creek. This was at that time supposed to have the best power of any mill in
the country, and therefore could roll the largest bars of iron.
In 1835 the Messrs. Hughes built nail works near the above rolling-mill.
These were eventually burned.
In 1864 the entire Mont Alto plant was purchased by the Mont Alto
Iron Company, Geo. B. Weistling, superintendent. The furnace was enlarged
to 37 feet high, and nine feet diameter of boshes; two additional tuyeres were
introduced, making it a three-quarter stack, and steam-power was introduced.
The output was fifteen tons a day of pig iron. Another enlargement was made
in 1880; the stack increased in height, the boshes made nine and one-half
feet, and other modern improvements were introduced. Capacity then be
came thirty-five tons of pig iron per day.
The Caledonia Iron Works were constructed in 1837, by Thad. Stevens
and James D. Paxton, in Greene Township. These men were the firm until 1848,
when a heavy indebtedness caused a change, and Stevens bought out Paxton,
and assumed the entire indebtedness. The new proprietor put Mr. Wm.
Hammett in charge as superintendent, who filled the place for twenty years,
and was succeeded by Mr. John Swaney who had charge of them at the time of
their destruction in 1863. In the plant were about 20,000 acres of good ore
and lumber land. The ore was converted into blooms and marketed in the
eastern cities — average price $65 to $75 per ton. It is supposed that Stevens
lost considerable money by his iron-mills. The mill and machinery were en-
tirely destroyed during the war, by order of Gen. Early.
Mount Pleasant Iron Works were established by the Chambers, about
1783. They afterward passed into the possession of the Kings, Dunns and
Doyles, respectively. Through all these various changes, they were operated
more or less successfully, until 1829, when they were permanently closed.
Being among the earliest of iron-mills in the country, they served in their time
a valuable purpose.
The Carrick furnace, four miles north of the Mount Pleasant works, was
the substitute that made the latter such a prime necessity. The Carrick fur-
nace was erected about 1830, and continued to be operated through various
changes, until 1844, when it closed down for want of patronage.
The Richmond furnace, in Metal Township, at the time of the general de-
pression of the iron trade of the country, banked its furnaces and closed up. It
is fully equipped for the production of iron, and it is the intention to start
it again into full operation as soon as a change in the trade will warrant it.
CHAPTER VIII.
WAR OF 1812-15.
Cause of the War— Declaration of War— Franklin County Companies-
Incidents of the War.
FREE trade and sailors' rights" was the Nation's watch -word, that
culminated in the second war with Great Britain. The mother country
seems to have forgotten that the colonies had relinquished maternal depen-
dence, and were living a national existence of their own. The right to search
236 HISTORY OF FRANKLIN COUNTY.
our merchant vessels upon the high seas, and also the right to impress seamen r
found in such merchant service, was the provoking cause to the national
motto given above.
June 12, 1812, Congress declared war against Great Britain, and the Presi-
dent called upon the people to take up arms.
It is not proposed here to give a history of the ensuing war. That is a
part of the general history of our country. The part taken therein by Franklin
County is the boundary limit of this chapter.
During the three years of hostilities thirteen companies of Franklin
County men were recruited and sent to the field of action. Some time before
actual hostilities were declared our people anticipated the coming struggle,
and in the towns, villages and rural districts the nuclei of military organiza-
tions were formed. A large number of these was found in this county,
many of them ready on short notice to march in effective martial display to the
front. We have the names of the Antrim Greens, a rifle company of 60
men; Franklin County Light Dragoons, 41 men — captain, Mathew Patton;.
Mercersburg Rifles, 72 rank and file — captain, James McDowell; Concord
Light Infantry, 30 men — captain, Michael Harper; Chambersburg Union Vol-
unteers, 51 men — captain, Jeremiah Snider. These companies at once ten-
dered their services, through County Brigade Inspector William McClellan, to>
the Government.
The first detachment of troops left the county September 5, 1812. This
was composed of the Union Volunteers, the Franklin Riflemen, the Concord
Light Infantry, the Mercersburg Rifles and the Antrim Greens — total, 264,
officers and men. The quota of the county was 507, and the deficiency was
made up by draft from the militia. Maj. William McClellan was in command of
the detachment. They were sent to the northwest frontier, proceeding there
by way of Bedford, Pittsburgh and Meadville, reaching the latter place in
September. The troops were there re-organized into four regiments — two of
rifles and two of infantry. Jeremiah Snider was elected colonel of the First
Regiment, John Purviance, of the Second Regiment. The four regiments being
formed into a brigade, under Gen. Tannahill, Dr. Samuel D. Culbertson, of
Chambersburg, was appointed surgeon-in-chief; John McClintock became cap-
tain of Snider' s company, on latter being made colonel, and G eo. K. Harper was
promoted to the vacant lieutenancy in Snider' s company. The companies of
Capts. McClintock, Reges and Harper were in Col. Snider' s regiment, and those
of Capts. Oaks and Hays in Col. Jared Irwin's regiment. Immediately after
the re- organization, the command marched to Buffalo, reaching there in No-
vember, where it went into winter quarters, and remained until discharged, their
term of enlistment expiring in January, 1813.
CHAMBERSBURO COMPANY.
Captain — Jeremiah Snider.
Lieutenant — John McClintock.
Ensign — Owen Astoq.
Sergeants — John Stevenson, Alexander Allison, John Calhoun, Andrew Calhoun.
Corporals— Robert Haslett. William Tillard, H. Ruthrauff, John Reed.
Musicians— William Donaldson, Henry Bickney.
PRIVATES.
Timothy Allen. A. L. Crain. Robert Foote.
John Andrews. Andrew Clunk. Hugh Greenfield.
Joseph Barnett. David Clouser. Isaac Grier.
Samuel Beatty. John Cummings. Peter Glossbrenner.
David Blythe. George Faber. John Hunter.
HISTORY OF FRANKLIN COUNTY.
239
George Heist.
Horace Hill.
John Hutchinson.
Thomas Harvey.
Daniel Hood.
Andrew Lindsay.
James Murray.
Alexander McConnell.
Spencer McKinney.
Elisha Nahh.
John Phillipy.
John Plummer.
Stephen Ritrler.
William Shannon.
George Sampson.
Moses H. Swan.
William Taylor.
Joshua Wilson.
James Wilson.
Bernard Wolf.
CAPT. REGES COMPANY.
Captain — Henry Reges.
First lieutenant — Jeremiah Senseny.
Second lieutenant — John Musser.
First sergeant — Peter Flack.
John Bayle.
John Baughman.
Robert Cunningham.
John Cook.
Edward Crawford.
Arthur Dobbin.
John Denig.
John Essig.
Isaac Erwin.
John Favorite.
John Gilwicks.
William Grice.
Joseph Good.
John Gilmore.
PRIVATES.
Philip Grim.
Christian John.
George W. Lester.
Josiah Lemon.
Isaiah Lamer.
Robert. McMurry.
John Mumma.
Hugh Marmon.
Hugh McConnell.
Hugh McNulty.
John Martin.
Benjamin Matthews.
James McConnell.
William Pollock.
Richard Runnion.
John Radebaugh.
John Robinson.
John Reilly.
Jacob Snyder.
Joseph State.
Henry Smith.
Thomas Schools.
Joseph Severns.
Daniel Sailer.
John Whitney.
James Wise.
George Wilson.
George Zimmerman.
CAPT. OAKES' COMPANY.
Captain— Andrew Oakes.
Lieutenant — Thomas Wilson.
Ensign— George Zeigler.
Sergeants — Peter Cramer, Jacob Gudtner, Jacob Fletter, James Pennell.
Corporals — William Dugan, George Sharer, Henry Sites, Jacob Garresene, Thomas-
Brady, John Poper.
William Bolton.
George Bettes.
Henry Brendlinger.
Joseph Byerly.
Samuel Bender.
William Carroll.
Patrick Dugan.
Evan Evans.
William Foster.
Thomas Fletcher.
PRIVATES.
John Gaff.
John Garner.
William Gordon.
Richard Keller.
Samuel Martin.
James McCurdy.
Samuel McLaughlin.
William Ovelman.
Thomas Plummer.
William Scully.
George Shaffer.
Samuel Smith.
John Snyder.
John Sreader.
George Stuff.
George Uller.
Samuel Weidner.
Daniel Weidner.
Christian Willhelm.
CAPT. HAY S COMPANY.
Captain — Patrick Hays.
Lieutenant — John Small.
Ensign — Samuel Elder.
Sergeants — James McQuown, Jacob Small, Jacob Williams, George Spangler.
Corporals — Joseph Herrington, John Donothen, John Mull, Daniel Leer, Jacob Cain,
Jacob Wise.
James Bennett.
Isaac Brubaker.
Samuel Campbell.
Joseph Cunningham.
Henry Cline.
John Crouch.
William Cooper.
Samuel Craig.
John Clapsaddle.
Alexander Dunlap.
PRIVATES.
John Dunlap.
Fredik Divelbiss
David Deitrick.
James Elder.
Jacob Groscope.
Peter Gaster.
Jonas Hissong.
John Hastier.
Abraham Hodskins.
John Harris.
William Hart.
John Heart.
Jacob Hodskins.
John Hallin.
James Halland.
John King.
Peter Kyler.
Robert McFarland.
James McDowell.
William McCurdy.
1240 HISTOEY OF FRANKLIN COUNTY.
Robert McQuown. Samuel Martin. Peter Teach.
John Mowry. Charles Pettet. James Walker.
Campbell Montgomery. Henry Suffecool. Henry Weaver.
William McQuown. William Stewart. Daniel Welker.
Charles McPike.
harper's company from path valley.
Captain— Michael Harper.
Lieutenant — William McKinzie.
Ensign — John Campbell.
Sergeants— William Irwin. James McKinzie, John Widney, Hugh Barrack.
Corporals— Jeremiah Baker, Francis McCullogh, Samuel Campbell, James Girmeren.
PRIVATES.
John Cannon.' James Hockenberry. Isaac Scooly.
James Dever. Peter Hockenbery. William Smith.
Barnabas Donnelly. George Irwin. Richard Scott.
David Evans. James Linn. James Taylor.
Barnabas Fegan. Samuel Phillips. Peter Timmons.
Jere Hockenberry.
In 1814, in obedience to orders from the Government, Gov. Snyder ordered
a draft upon the State for troops. Franklin, Cumberland, York and Adams
Counties' quota under the call was 1,000 men, the men from this county to
assemble in Loudon on the 1st of March. Capt. Samuel Dunn, of Path Val-
ley, had a company of forty men. These at once volunteered. The balance
of the county's quota was 175 men. Capt. Samuel Gordon's full company from
Washington, and Capt. Stake's partial company from Lurgan, rendezvoused at
Loudon, Wm. McClellan in command, who took them to Erie, leaving Loudon
March 4. Maj. McClellan' s official report says the command, 221 privates, was
officered by one major, three captains, five lieutenants, and two ensigns. At
Erie they were put in the Fifth Eegiment, commanded by Col. James Felton;
James Wood, of Greencastle, was major; Thomas Poe, of Antrim, adjutant.
The latter was a brave and gallant soldier. He was a man born to command.
It is told of him that by the mere power of his presence he quelled an outbreak
of his men in camp, and by a word forced them to go quietly to their quarters.
He fell mortally wounded at the battle of Chippewa, July 6, 1814.
Capt. Jacob Stake lived between Eoxbury and Strasburg. Dr. W. C.
Lane says of his command: ''He went as a captain of drafted men as far as
Erie, at which place his company was merged into those of Capts. Dunn
and Gordon. "
dunn's company.
Captain — Samuel Dunn.
First lieutenant — James McConnell.
Second lieutenant — Robert Foote.
Third lieutenant — John Favorite.
Ensign — William Geddes.
Sergeants— John Snively, Samuel Baker, James McHenry, John M. Shannon.
PRIVATES.
Levi Black. James Connor. Abraham Flagle.
John Brandt. Samuel Creamer. Jacob Frush.
Jesse Beams. John Cunningham. Jere Gift.
George Bryan. James Compton. Hugh Henderson.
Fredk. Boreaugh. Barnabas Clark. Nehemiah Harvey.
Anthony Bates. Thomas Cummings. Edward Heil.
John Barclay. Benj. Davis. Henry Halby.
John Brewster. Samuel Davenport. Thomas Hays.
Hugh Baker. John Doyle. Robert Hunter.*
John Beatty. James Elliott. John Humbert.
William Buchanan. Robert Elder. _ Henry Hess.
Andrew Barclay. Joseph Fingerty. Robert Johnston.
♦Afterward colonel of the Fiftieth Regiment.
HISTORY OF FRANKLIN COUNTY.
241
Enoch Johns.
John Krotzer.
James Keever.
Michael Kester.
James Kirkwood.
Benjamin Long.
David Lightner.
Tobias Long.
Noah Macky.
John McConnell.
Robert McConnell.
James Morhead.
John McDowell.
Adam Meyers.
George Macomb.
John Miller.
William McClure.
Samuel Mateer.^
William Moore.
John Marshal.
James McKim.
Absalom Mcllwee.
John Murray.
Joseph Noble.
John Noble.
John Over.
Joseph Phipps.
Thomas Penwell.
George Plucher.
Mathias Panther.
William Reed.
Charles Runion.
William Ramsay.
Philip Roan.
Jacob Stevick.
Peter Schell.
Samuel Swope.
John Shell.
John Smith.
John Swanger.
Jacob Staley.
William Sheets.
John Stewart.
Barney Shiptou.
John Stake.
David Trindle.
William Woods.
Richard Wright.
John Walker.
George Wrist.
William Williams.
William Westcott.
John Young.
Robert Young.
John Young.
Jacob Zettle.
This company was in service seven months, in the battles of Chippewa and
Lundy's Lane; guarded prisoners captured on the frontier to Albany, N. Y.
They were mustered out at Albany.
Gordon's company, march 1, 1814.
Captain — Samuel Gordon.
First lieutenant — William Dick.
Second lieutenant — William Patton.
Third lieutenant — James Burns.
Ensign — William Miller.
Sergeants — Hugh Davison, Charles Miller, James Scott, Josiah Gordon.
Corporals — Joseph Arthur, James Hall, Joseph Shilling, John Podman, Philip Mason,
William Burgiss.
Thomas Allen.
William Alsip.
Martin Beard.
Henry Baugher.
Benjamin Bump.
George Burr.
Fred'k Beverson.
John Baker.
Michael Borer.
Jacob Baker.
Peter Baker.
Michael Bear.
Adam Brown.
Conrad Croft.
John Coon.
John Craig.
Richard Cahil.
William Clem.
John Carver.
William Clark.
Richard Donahoe.
William Divelbiss.
John Dowman.
Edward Detrick.
Geo. Davis.
Saml. Dean.
Jacob Deemer.
John Davis.
Adam Duncan.
Jacob Eby.
George Ensminger.
William Edwards.
Nathaniel Fips.
PRIVATES.
Joseph Flora.
John Fisher.
Michael Fritz.
Henry Geiger.
George Glaze.
Moses Getrich.
John Greenly.
John Graham.
John Huber.
Joseph Hoffman.
William Hardin.
Geo. Harmony.
James Hardy.
John Hawk.
Peter Harger.
John Irwin.
David Johnston.
John Jeffery.
Nathaniel King.
Jacob Keefer.
William Kline.
William King.
Peter Keefer.
Mathew King.
James Logan.
Benj. Lewis.
Jacob Liepert.
John McColley.
John McConnell.
Alexander McMullen.
Peter Myers.
William'Miller.
John McNeal.
John McClay.
Phillip Myers.
William Mahaffy.
Murdock Mitchell.
John McCurdy.
Robt. McClelland.
Daniel Mentzer.
G. M. Miller.
George Miller.
George Neff.
Joseph Neal.
Nathan Phipps.
Abraham Piaceare.
William Pearslake.
Thomas Poe.
Erasmus Quarters.
Andrew Robertson.
William Reesemen.
John Ritter.
Adam Rankin.
Adam Ream.
Christopher Sites.
Fredk. Stumbaugh.
Jacob Stauffer.
Nicholas Smith.
Jacob Smith.
Henry Satin.
Joseph Tic'e.
James Thompson.
Henry Unger.
William Wolf.
William Whitman.
Henry Weaver.
242
HISTOKY OF FRANKLIN COUNTY.
August 24, 1814, the Americans, under Gen. Winder, were defeated at the
battle of Bladensburg; the same day the British entered Washington and
burned the capitol and other buildings. This fired anew the hearts of the peo-
ple. The people by common impulse rang the bell and assembled in meetings.
The people at one of these meetings, in Franklin County, dispatched one of
their number as a messenger to the national authorities to learn if more troops
were wanted or would be accepted. The news borne by the messenger was-
gladly received, and word returned that the Government wanted more troops.
When the people learned this they gave expressions to their joy, and all the
bells of the town were rung, drum and fife corps paraded the streets, and in a
few days seven companies were organized, equipped, and on their way to Bal-
timore. One of them was a troop of cavalry, from Mercersburg, under Capt.
Mathew Patton, which marched to Baltimore, but their services were not
accepted as cavalry were not needed, but the majority of the troops determined
to go to the war, disposed of their horses, and joined different companies of
infantry.
The following are the rosters of the companies that left the county in the-
early part of September, 1814:
CHAMBERSBURG COMPANY.
Captain — John Findlay.
First lieutenant — John Snider.
Second lieutenant — Greenberry Murphy.
Ensign — John Hershberger.
Sergeants — Joseph Severns, Andrew Rea, Henry Smith, Jeremiah Senseny, Jacob
Fedder.
Corporals— John Robison, Geo. W. Lester, Jacob Heck, Jacob Bickley.
Jacob Abrahams.
John Berlin.
Peter Bonebrake.
John Baxter.
James Buchanan.
John Brindle.
William Bratten.
Benj. Blythe.
John Baughman.
John Bucher.
Jacob Bittinger.
Abraham Burkholder.
Fred'k Best.
John Campbell.
James Carberry.
Conrad Clouse.
Daniel Crouse.
Joseph Cope.
John Clugston.
McFarlin Cammel.
Conrad Draher.
Daniel Dechert.
"William Dugan.
James Dixon.
John Eaton.
Simon Eaker.
Benj. Firnwalt.
Henry Fry.
Thomas Fletcher.
Henry Gauter.
PRIVATES.
Jacob George.
John Gillespy.
Jacob Glosser.
John Gelwicks.
Michael Helman.
Thomas Hall.
William Harman.
James Huston.
Daniel Helman.
Isaac Irvin.
Thomas Jones.
William Kinneard.
David Keller.
Thomas Kaisey.
Jacob Laufman.
John Lucas.
Reuben Monroe.
Robert McAfee.
Daniel McAllister.
William McKesson.
William McKean.
William Mills.
Samuel McElroy.
Soyer McFaggen.
John Milone.
David Mentzer.
Jacob McFerren.
Cammel Montgomery.
David Mumma.
Ludwick Nitterhouse.
CULBERTSOn's COMPANY.
Samuel Nogel.
John Nitterhouse.
Jacob NefE.
John Nixon.
John Porter.
Edward Ruth.
Jacob Reichert.
John Radebaugh.
Elijah Sargeant.
Charles Stuard.
Samuel Shillitto.
Daniel Sharp.
William Sipes.
Jacob Spitel.
Ross Sharp.
Joseph Suttey.
John Tritler.
John Todd.
Joseph Wilson»
Benj. Wiser.
James Walker.
Jacob Wolfkill.
Josiah Wallace.
David White.
Matthew Wright.
James Westbay.
Hugh Woods.
William White.
George Young.
George Zimmerman.
Captain — Samuel D. Culbertson.
First lieutenant — John McClintock.
HISTORY OF FRANKLIN COUNTY.
243
Second lieutenant — George K. Harper.
Ensign — John Stevenson.
Sergeants — Andrew Calhoun, John Calhoun, Stephen Rigler, Alex Allison.
Corporals — Hugh Greenfield, James Wilson, Samuel Beatty, John Andrew.
John Arntt.
Henry Burchett.
John Besore.
Samuel Brand.
Mathew Besore.
George Beaver.
James Crawford.
Augustus Capron.
William Cook.
James Campbell.
Edward Crawford.
Edward Capron.
Peter Crayton.
John Devine.
William Denny.
Joseph Duffield.
John Denig.
John Daugherty.
Joseph Erven.
Benj. Fahnestock.
William Ferry.
Isaac Grier.
Jacob Grove.
Henry Greenawalt.
William Grove.
Paul Heoflich.
PRIVATES.
John Holmes.
William Heyser.
Joseph Housem.
John Hutchinson.
George Harris.
Herman Helfmire.
John Hinkle.
Michial S. Johns.
William Jamison.
George Jasonsky.
John Kindline.
Jacob Kelker.
Andrew Lindsay.
William M. McDowell
John McBride.
Patrick Murray.
John McCormick.
George B. McKnight.
Thds. G. McCulloh
Henry Merklein.
John Nunemacher.
Wm. Nochtwine.
George Oyster.
John O'Neal.
Samuel Porter.
William Reynolds.
James D. Riddle.
Phillip Reges.
John Reed.
Samuel Ruthrauff.
William Richey.
Adam Rcemer.
George Simpsou.
William Schoeplin.
John Snider.
Samuel Shillitt.
William Shane.
Daniel Stevenson.
Jacob Smith.
David Trittle
Robert Thompson.
Abraham Voress.
Bernard Wolff.
Jacob Widefelt.
John Weaver.
John Whitmore.
John B. Watts.
James Warden.
Joseph Wallace.
George Wilson.
BARD S COMPANY.
Captain — Thomas Bard.
First lieutenant — James McDowell.
Second lieutenant — John Johnston.
Ensign — Joseph Bowers.
Sergeants — A. T. Dean, G. Duffield, Thomas Smith, G. Spangler.
Corporals — William Smith, Thomas Grubb, William McDowell, Thomas Johnston.
Fifer— John Mull.
John Abbott.
John Brown.
Archibald Bard.
Robert Carson.
Samuel Craig.
John Coxe.
John Cox, Jr.
John Campbell.
Joseph Dick.
Joseph Dunlap.
JohnDonyhon.
Jeremiah Evans.
Peter Elliott.
John Furley.
John Glaz-/.
William Glass.
Joseph Garvin.
Henry Garner.
Leonard Gaff.
James Garver.
William Hart.
James Harrison.
PRIVATES.
William Houston.
Joseph Harrington.
Fred'k Henchy.
James Hamilton.
John Harrer.
Samuel Johnson.
John King.
John Liddy.
James McDowell.
William McDowell, Sr.
James McNeal.
John McCurdy.
John Maxwell.
John McClelland.
George McFerren.
Augustus McNeal.
Robert McCoy.
William McKinstry.
Thomas C. McDowell.
James Montgomery.
Samuel Markle.
John McCulloch.
Charles Pike.
Mathew Patton.
David Robston.
William Rankin.
Thomas Speer.
George Stevens.
Conrad Stinger.
James Sheilds.
John Sybert.
William Stewart.
David Smith.
Thomas Squire.
William Wilson.
James Walker.
Christopher Wise.
Samuel Witherow.
John Werlby.
Thomas Williamson.
John Witherow.
Thomas Waddle.
244
HISTOBY OF FRANKLIN COUNTY.
ROBISON S COMPANY.
Captain — Andrew Robson.
First lieutenant — John Brotherton.
Second lieutenant — James Mitchell.
Ensign — JacoB Besore.
Sergeants— James Walker, Andrew Snively, Thomas Wilson, Archibald Fleming
Corporals — John Randall, George Bellows, George Sackett, Alex Aiken.
Paymaster — William Carson.
William Armstrong, Jr.
John Allison.
Robert Bruce.
Samuel Bradley.
Robert Brotherton.
John Billings.
William H. Brotherton.
Frederick Baird.
William Bratten.
Henry Beatty.
James Brotherton.
John Boggs.
Benjamin Core.
George Clark.
James Camion.
Walter B. Clark.
Frederick Carpenter.
William Clark.
William Coffroth.
James Davison.
Jesse Deman.
William T. Dugan.
John Dennis.
George Flora.
David Fullerton.
Samuel Foreman.
Robert Guinea.
William Gallagher.
Peter Gallagher.
Hugh Guinea.
PRIVATES.
John Gaff.
John Garner.
Edward Gordon.
Fred'k Gearhart.
Joseph Hughes.
William Harger.
John Henneberger.
William Irwin.
James Johnston.
William Krepps.
Jonathan Keyser.
George Kuy.
Mathew Kennedy.
James McGaw,
William H. Miller.
Samuel McCutchen.
Abraham McCutchen.
John McClellan.
John McCune.
James McCord.
William Moreland.
John Miller.
John McCoy.
Adam McCallister.
William McGraw.
John McConnell.
Archibald McLane.
John B. McLanahan.
Samuel Nigh.
Robert Owen.
Jacob Poper.
James Poe.
J. Piper.
John Park.
A. B. Rankin.
John Reed.
John Rowe, Sr.
Roger Rice.
John Rogers.
John Shira.
John Shearer.
Henry Sites.
Robert Smith.
Charles Stewart.
Samuel Statler.
George Speckman.
John Shaup.
Adam Sayler.
George Schreder.
John Snyder.
George Uller.
William Vanderaw.
George Wallack.
John Weaver.
Thomas Welsh.
Christian Wilhelm.
Thomas Walker.
James Wilson.
Christian Wise.
Alexander Young.
FLANAGAN S COMPANY.
Captain — John Flanagan.
Lieutenant — William Bivins.
Ensign — Daniel McFarlin.
Sergeants — Robert Gordon, George Cochran, William Downey and George Foreman.
Samuel Allison.
Christian Bechtel.
Hugh Blair.
John Bowman.
David Beaver.
John Bormest.
William Barnet.
William Call.
James Duncan.
Joseph Fulton.
James Fullerton.
Jacob Fry.
Loudon Fullerton.
Samuel Green.
PRIVATES.
James Gettys.
George Gettys.
Daniel Haulman,
David Heffner.
Peter Haulman.
Daniel Hartman.
James Harshman.
James Hayden.
George Koontz.
John Logan.
Daniel Logan.
James McCray.
William Mooney.
William McDowell.
Joseph Misner.
John Oellig.
Maximillian Obermeyer.
George Price.
Robert Ray.
Abraham Roberson.
John Sheffler.
Alex. Stewart.
John Stoner.
Adam Stonebraker.
David Springer.
George Weagley.
David Weaver.
ALEXANDER S COMPANY.
Captain — William Alexander.
Lieutenant — Francis McConnell.
Ensign — James Barkley.
HISTORY OF FEANKLIN COUNTY. 245
Sergeants — John Maclay, Richard Childerson, Peter Foreman, William Young.
Corporal — John Sterrett.
PRIVATES.
James Alexander. George Houston. Hugh Maxwell
Thomas Childerstone. James Irwin. John McRee.
Edward Dunn. James Jones. John Neal.
John Elder. David Kyle. Peter Piper.
Noah Elder. James KcConnell. John Patterson.
Andrew Foreman. John Little. John Ryan.
William Finnerty. Robert Lewis. William Shutter.
Thomas Geddis. Robert McMillon. Arthur Sheilds.
John Harry. James McKibben. John Vanlear.
Samuel Hockenberry. Robert McCleary. David Witherow.
John Hill. John McAllen. James Wallace.
Thomas Harry. Joseph McKelvy. Peter Wilt.
These companies formed a regiment, Col. John Findlay commanding.
After Findlay' s promotion Lieut. William Young became captain. The
other field officers of this regiment were major, David Fullerton; surgeon,
John McClelland; first mate, Dr. JohnBoggs; second mate, Dr. Jesse McGaw;
adjutant, James McDowell; quartermaster, Thomas G. McCulloh; sergeant-
major, Andrew Lindsay; quartermaster- sergeant, William Carson; paymaster-
general, George Clark.
These troops continued in active service until September 23 following when
they were mustered out. •
CHAPTER IX.
MEXICAN WAR.
Texas and Mexico— Whig and Democrat — Counter Arguments— Declara-
tion of War—Franklin County Company— Its Services.
TEXAS had revolted and conquered its independence from Mexico, and asked
to become a part of the Union. The Lone Star State was of herself a great
and rich empire in territory, and when she knocked at the doors of the United
States for admission as one of the sister States, to the average American there
was a strong desire to bid her come and welcome. Had Mexico quietly con-
sented at that time, and abandoned all claims to still control the independent
State, it is highly probable it would have peacefully become a member of the
Union, and Mexico would have avoided a disastrous war with this country, and
the consequent loss of her immense territories north of the Rio Grande; and
then, too, it is probable that the annexation of Texas would not have caused a
political feud in the United States, over which discussion became heated, and
new political issues were made — presidents were elected, and eminent politi-
cians were defeated in their ambitious purposes.
When a national question in this country assumes a political phase it is
curious to watch its accidental outcomes. Men apparently shut their eyes and
rush forward in spite of the most solemn warnings of their neighbors. They
care only to know what their political rival wants them to do, and then they
set their faces like steel to accomplish the very opposite. Thus, by curious ac-
cident, the Mexican war became, in the minds of men of that time, a Democratic
war; and the Whigs, as a party, were placed in the position as opposed to the
246 HISTORY OF FRANKLIN COUNTY.
annexation of Texas. To demonstrate how purely accidental were the controll-
ing influences among men, we give an incident that occurred between a Demo-
cratic and a Whig politician in Illinois in 1844. They were two bright and
ambitious young men — both, afterward, becoming eminent in the Nation' s coun-
cils. They lived in the same village in southern Illinois, and each was striv-
ing for his party nomination for congressman. In order to advertise their
claims they agreed to travel together over the vast district, and hold in each
county joint discussions. They started out on the absorbing topic of both
Whig and Democrat, the annexation of Texas, ranged on different sides. They
were bright, witty, brilliant and eloquent, and they drew nearly equal to a
circus in the Illinois back counties. But, in taking sides, the Whig favored
annexation, and the Democrat opposed it. Thus they had passed over about
two-thirds of the district, when the long delayed news from the National
Democratic Convention reached them, and lo, it had nominated Polk, and upon
the strongest kind of a Texas annexation platform. Here, indeed, was a kettle
of fish. What. could they do? Why, simply, just what they did do — swap
sides and continue their trip and discussion through the remainder of the
district, hammering each other over the heads, each with the other's own
arguments.
Congress passed a bill admitting Texas into the union of States, and on the
4th of July, 1845, the Legislature of Texas, by solemn act, approved of the
measure, and the union was consummated. Mexico considered this as an act
of war; and withdrew her minister from Washington. Some feeble and pos-
sibly half-hearted attempts to tide over the threatened conflict were made by
the United States, and then the two nations declared war, and at once began
marshalling their armies. In the early part of 1846 our armies had marched to
the border lines of Mexico, and after a brief halt they invaded the country of
the enemy. The declaration of war was made by Congress, May 11, 1846,
and $10,000,000 voted to furnish the army, and the President was authorized
to call for 50,000 volunteers. The temper of our people is shown by the fact,
that at once 200,000 volunteers offered themselves, and from every part of the
Union it was a race among companies and regiments to get in first. Every-
where companies were formed that the Government was compelled to reject.
Franklin County sent one company. This was recruited in 1847, by Mar-
tin M. Moore, of Washington, who had procured authority to enlist a Pennsyl-
vania company for the Mexican war. He opened a recruiting office in Cham-
bersburg, and soon filled his company, and it left Chambersburg, March 17,
1847, for the seat of war, numbering 122 men, rank and file, officered as fol-
lows:
Captain — Martin M. Moore.
First lieutenant — Charles T. Campbell.
Second lieutenants — Horace Haldeman, Washington Meads.
Third sergeant — James S. Gillan.
Corporals — Michael W. Houser, J. R. Thompson, Henry Remley.
PBIVATES PROM FRANKLIN COUNTY.
Jacob Arbaugh. George Barmord. William Fisher.
James S. Bigger. Emanuel Burns. William Johnson.
John Bricker. Davrd Beard. Jeremiah Keefer.
Joseph Bricker. Hugh P. Coxe. Henry Koyler.
Fredrick Berkle. Washington Cramer. Samuel Kraft.
Fredrick Baker. Jeremiah Douglas. Amos Lightner.
William Bittinger. Mathew Downs. George Miller.
James Briley. John Davis. Daniel Miller.
John Beamhop. George Eldridge. James McCullough.
' - ^ : Wi
HISTORY OF FRANKLIN COUNTY. 249
John Mehaffey. Henry Ray. Thomas Shoemaker.
Alexander McCarthey. Lewis Rummel. John Sheaffer.
John McCumseh. William Retter. Joseph Welch.
William I. McClellan. Heury Reafsnider. Jacob West.
Joseph McMahan. Hezekiah Stuff. Jacob Williams.
Joseph Nave. John C. Sheffield. John Zumbro.
John A. Pierson. David M. Stump. John Harnish.
Jacob Pentz. John Suders. Joseph Grimes.
William Robison. Henry Sheafer. David Cordell.
Although we have no complete list of the men of Company B, Eleventh
United States Infantry, as furnished by the War Department, yet we give only
those that were known to be from Franklin County.
This company marched to Pittsburgh, by way of Bedford, where it received
some additional recruits. It arrived with the army at Brazos Santiago, in
April, 1847, and for some time was in garrison at Tampico, where a number of
men died of yellow fever. From here it went to Vera Cruz, and from there to
the City of Mexico. The company was in active service until the close of the
war, July 4, 1848.
Capt. Moore was dismissed from the service at Tampico, and Charles T.
Campbell was promoted to captain, and was in command until our army was
mustered out. At the time of the close of the war it was in the interior of
the country, about seventy-five miles from the City of Mexico. When the
company reached New York on its return home in July, 1848, its force of 100
men had been reduced to about twenty-four men in the line.
There were other men recruited who went to the war from this county in ad-
dition to those given above in Company B. Capt. Whipple and Lieut.
Hanson got recruits for their command here. Then we are informed that
there were several Franklin County men who joined commands that went out
from Cumberland County, and their identity as Franklin County men was
thereby lost.
Captain Charles T. Campbell is now a resident of Scotland, Dak. , to which
point he removed from Franklin Countv, some years ago.
CHAPTER X.
THE PRESS.
Introductory — First Newspaper — Press of Chambersburg — Press of
Waynesboro — Press of Mercersburg — Press of Greencastle.
THE corner-stones of modern civilization are the family, the school, the
church and the state.
The family is the origin of all government — the germ of all organization.
Upon it all social and political institutions rest. From it all others derive
their vitality and inspiration. Without its economy, the body politic and the
social fabric could not exist. The family may be regarded a preparatory
university, whose president is the father, and whose chief instructor is the
loving and faithful mother. All science and all art are taught in this univer-
sity. The most important lessons in life are the "things learned at that best
14
250 HISTOKY OF FEANKLIN COUNTY.
academy, a mother's knee," embracing the names and qualities of objects and
actions; government, philosophy, religion, political economy, theology, poetry,
literature, music — all the gems of an encyclopedic education.
From this preparatory school pupils are admitted to the conventional
school under the control of a licensed master or mistress. New lessons and
new duties are to be learned. Certain personal rights must be sacrificed to
enjoy certain privileges that are desired. True republicanism is cultivated.
Genuine philanthropy is developed, and the pupil qualified to enter intelligently
the next grade — the church. It is the great theological institution intended
to teach the higher duties and responsibilties of a moral and pious life. Self-
control, charity, benevolence, consecration, devotion, unselfishness — all these
are its legitimate purposes to accomplish. Its work done efficiently, the
subject is prepared to occupy his appropriate position in the state; in other
words, to become an intelligent, conscientious citizen. Three sets of agencies,
each working efficiently in its own sphere, have co-operated to produce the
highest type of manhood, the conception which inspired Holland to write :
"God gives us men! a time like this demands
Strong minds, great hearts, true faith and ready hands;
Men whom the lust of office does not kill;
Men whom the spoils of office can not buy;
Men who possess opinions and a will,
Men who have honor — men who will not lie;
Men who can stand before a demagogue
And damn his treacherous flatterers without winking,
Tall men, sun-crowned, who live above the fog
In public duty, and in private thinking."
Men may condemn the evils of church and state; they can not be divorced.
As well attempt to separate youth and manhood, the soil and its crop, or any
cause from its effect. If the child is the father of the man, the family, the
school and the church are the progenitors of the state.
But as society is organized, the life-blood of all these institutions is the
modern newspaper. It is the food of all. In its greed it has usurped the
prerogative formerly enjoyed by the oral teacher, secular and religious. It
is the accepted text-book of the ordinary laborer, the learned divine and the
profoundest statesman. It is more powerful than the throne, which it makes
and unmakes at will. It is, in our modern civilization, the life-blood of the
body politic. Hence the power and the responsibility of the press.
In the history of English journalism occurs this account of the growth of
the newspaper : ' ' First we have the written news letter, furnished to the
wealthy aristocracy; then, as the craving for information spread, the ballad of
news, sung or recited; then the news pamphlet, more prosaically arranged;
then the periodical sheet of news ; and lastly, the newspaper. ' '
The English newspaper was born in London, in 1622. Its liberty at first
was greatly restricted, nothing being allowed publication until it had passed
proper official inspection. In its struggle for independence, the press had to
undergo many prosecutions and trials unknown to the present generation.
The blood of martyrs is the seed not only of the church, but of the press as
well. Governmental influence with the subject-matter of the newspaper was
regarded a divine right; hence we are not astonished to find the House of
Commons resolving, in 1729, that "it is an indignity and a breach of privilege
of the House of Commons for any person to presume to give, in written or
printed newspapers, any account or minutes, of the debates or other proceed-
ings of this House or any committee thereof." In 1764 the editor of the
Evening Post, of London, was fined £100 by the House of Lords, for mention-
HISTORY OF FRANKLIN COUNTY. 251
ing the name of Lord Hereford in his paper. The good work continued, how-
ever, till the press was disenthralled.
France had much difficulty in liberating the press. Daring the reign of
Louis Napoleon there were 6,000 prosecutions of publishers; but they finally
succeeded, and France can hear from plebeians, sentiments which the throne
did not dare to utter. Not by German battalions only was the usurper over-
thrown. He was shot through and through by the paper bullets of a hostile
and enraged public press.
In America the first neAvspaper was published at Boston, September 25,
1090, by Benjamin Harris, the printing being done by Richard Pierce. Its
name, Public Occurrences, both Foreign and Domestick, was very significant.
The only copy now in existence is preserved in the State office in London.
Others sprang up in regular order, until to-day the American press stands
forth as one of the greatest bulwarks of national liberty — the proudest monu-
ment of the progressive spirit of the age.
A sentence or two may serve to sketch the editor who realizes the nature
of the trust he holds.
1. An editor, like a poet, is born, not made. A plug hat, a waxed mustache,
a cigar and a goose quill, will not necessarily edit a paper successfully. Pro-
fanity, bad grammar, excessive slang and whisky, are not the indispensable
requisites of modern journalism.
2. He has an inherent right to be both a gentleman and a scholar. He
should be sufficiently educated, at least, to express an original thought occa-
sionally, in good Anglo-Saxon. Scissors and paste have their legitimate sphere,
but this does not imply that he should have "just enough learning to mis-
quote," nor does it require that he should demonstrate in his own case that,
' ' to follow foolish precedents, and wink with both eyes, is easier than
to think."
3. He should be a leader in public sentiment. It is his province to
mould the thought of his constituents. On every new issue he should be able
to sound forth the clarion notes of truth and progress, and lead his readers to
occupy advanced grounds in the face of ignorant. opposition. Some one has
truly said : "To know hoiv to say what others only know how to think, is what
makes men poets and sages ; but to dare to say what others only dare to think,
is what makes them heroes or reformers or both."
4. He should have a conscience on matters that affect the public weal.
A newspaper is not private property in the sense that it is to reflect only the
wishes and piques of its manager. It represents a constituency whose con-
sciences it ought to respect, while it aims to educate them. It can not be
made the vehicle for giving vent to private ill-will. For that reason it ought
to treat an opponent with courtesy, so long as he exhibits marks of sincerity.
The press of Franklin County has had an existence since the opening of the
last decade of the eighteenth century and has had some able representatives in the
ranks of journalism. As will be seen from the lists that are to follow, these daily,
weekly and monthly heralds of light and life, have been exceedingly numer-
ous, but many of them, having accomplished their mission, did obeisance to
an apparently disinterested public, and silently departed to enjoy the rewards
of achieved fame. For the information, and in many cases, the language
contained in these brief sketches, obligation is publicly acknowledged to those
faithful chroniclers of Franklin County History, Dr. W. C. Lane,* Judge
Henry Rubyj and I. H. McCauley, Esq. J
*[n Public Opinion of January 1, 1878.
fin Shippensburg News of October 16, 1875.
^Historical Sketch of Franklin County.
252 HISTORY OF FRANKLIN COUNTY.
PRESS OF CHAMBERSBURG.
From the organization of the county, in September. 1784, to July 14,
1790, no newspaper was published in Franklin County, all sheriffs' proclama-
tions, notices of candidates for office, offers of real estate for sale, estrays,
runaway negroes, desertions of bed and board by wives, obituaries, divorce
and sale notices, etc. , being printed in the Carlisle Gazette and Repository of
Knowledge.
As the population of Chambersburg increased, one of its chief wants was a
weekly journal, to " note the passing tidings of the times." This want was
eventually supplied by the advent of Mr. William Davison, from Philadelphia,
who, in the month of June, 1790, issued the first number of the first news-
paper published in Franklin County. The name of this primitive journal was
The Western Advertiser and Chambersburg Weekly Newspaper. It was a small,
dingy sheet of three columns to the page, and 10x15 inches in size. Its con-
tents consisted mainly of advertisements and a few extracts from London and
Eastern journals, and an occasional ponderous and drowsy original communi-
cation upon some political or literary subject. It was singularly dignified
and dull. The price of the paper was 15 shillings per annum. Mr. Davison did
not more than fairly start his enterprise, before his health began to decline, and he
was obliged to call to his assistance Mr. Eobert Harper, brother of the late George
Kenton Harper. Mr. Harper came to Chambersburg in 1792, and took charge
of the paper. Mr. Davison dying soon afterward, Mr. Harper then became
its sole proprietor. In 1793 Mr. Harper changed the elaborate title of the
journal to the simpler one of The Chambersburg Gazette. This name it re-
tained until the year 1796, when it was further changed to The Franklin Reposi-
tory. Soon after Mr. Robert Harper became the owner of the paper, he associated
with himself in its publication a gentleman named Dover. This connection ex-
isted only a few months, and was severed by Mr. Dover' s withdrawal. In the year
1800, Robert Harper sold the establishment to his brother, George Kenton
Harper. * The latter gentleman had previously learned the art of printing in
the office in Chambersburg, although, at the time of the purchase, he was a
resident of Philadelphia. Under the able and judicious management of George
K. Harper, the Repository became one of the most extensively circulated and
influential journals in the interior of the State. The Repository was published
by Mr. George K. Harper for a period of thirty-nine years, and was then sold
to Joseph Pritts, who was publishing the Chambersburg Whig, and by whom
the two papers were united under the title of the Repository and Whig.
This venerable and influential old journal was successively owned by many
companies and individuals, until it fell into the most competent hands of Col.
Alexander K. McClure, by whom it was enlarged and otherwise improved. Its
title was, by this gentleman, again changed, and its old and honored name of
The Franklin Repository most appropriately given it. Under Col. McClure' s
proprietorship, it became an acknowledged political power in the State. The
paper is now ownedf and edited by Maj. John M. Pomeroy, and it may be said with
perfect truth and candor, and without any invidious disparagement of the very
many able gentlemen by whom it had formerly been conducted, that its present
proprietor exhibits in its management a combination of energy, enterprise, tact
and ability which, at least, have never been exceeded in its past history. The
Repository has always been a fearless and able defender of the principles of the
*D. P.. Kirby, of Chambersburg, has a copy of the Repository, dated February 20, 1800, which was marked
No. 44 of Vol. IV. Its subscription price is put at $2.25 per year. G. K.Harper is its owner and publisher.
In Us columns is a notice that Geo. K. Harper had bought of Robert Harper the Minerva, showing its publi-
cation in the last century. See McCauley's denials, in loco.
tSee statement at close of this sketch of the press of Chambersburg.
HISTORY OF FBANKLIxN COUNTY. 253
old Whig and Republican parties, in whose defense it has been compelled to
break many a lance; and, in its mature age of eighty-seven years, it exhibits
more than the vigor and energy which characterized its earlier days.
The Repository was first issued from an old log house, originally built and
used for a blacksmith shop, which stood on the lot now occupied by Mr. Jacob
Snider' s book store. It was then removed to a small one-story weatherboarded
building, which stood on Main Street, near the corner of the Diamond, on the
lot on Which Mr. Thomas E. Paxton's store now stands.
For many years the Repository was the only newspaper published in Frank-
lin County. At length, about the year 1809, a Democratic rival, called the
Franklin Republican, was issued by Mr. John Hershberger. Previously, how-
ever, two papers, one in English and the other in the German language,* had
been published for a few years. The names of these papers have not been
ascertained, although extended inquiry has been made. The English paper
was now united with the Franklin Republican. On relinquishing the business
of printing in 1816, Mr. Hershberger sold his office to John McFarland, by
whom the publication of the English journal was continued; but who discon-
tinued the German paper for want of adequate support. McFarland sold the
paper to John Sloan, who published it until his death, a few years after the
purchase. Mr. Sloan died about the year 1824. The late Joseph Pritts, who
had been employed in the office of Sloan, married his widow, and thus became
the owner of the printing establishment. Mr. Pritts continued to publish the
paper in the interest of the Democratic party, until the anti-Masonic excite-
ment in 1834, when he became a member of that organization, and purchased
an anti-Masonic newspaper which had previously been established by James
Culbertson. The two papers were then conjoined and the name changed to
The Chambersburg Whig, which it bore until it was merged into the Franklin
Repository, in 1889. Mr. Pritts having thus abandoned the Democratic party,
that organization was left without an organ, until the Franklin Telegraph was
started about the year 1831, by Messrs. Ruby & Maxwell. This partnership
continued but six weeks, at the end of which time James Maxwell withdrew.
Mr. Ruby then selected another partner named Hatnick. Mr. Hatnick dying
after a partnership of only nine months, Mr. Ruby became sole proprietor of
the paper, and continued its publication until the year 1840, making it an able
and successful exponent of the principles of the party in whose interests it was
established. Having been appointed one of the associate judges of Franklin
County, Judge Ruby sold his journal to Messrs. Brown & Casey. These gen-
tlemen, after conducting it for several years, sold it to John Brand, who
changed its name to the Chambersburg Times. Mr. Franklin G. May bought
the paper from Mr. Brand, and held it until April 6, 1846, when he transferred
it to E. R. Powell. Daring the proprietorship of Mr. Powell, its name was
changed to the Valley Sentinel. In January, 1850, it was purchased by Fred-
erick Smith, Esq., and edited by his son, Alfred H. Smith, until April, 1851,
when this gentleman moved to Philadelphia. Messrs. Nead & Kinneard then
became the owners of the Sentinel, under whose management it remained until
late in the year 1852, when it was sold to Messrs. P. S. Dechert & Co. ; and,
*One of these was called Der Redliche Registrator. Its publisher and editor, F. W. Nihoeplin, announced in
the Repository of December 21, 1813: "The first number of this paper will be issued from this office to-morrow."
lie says, further: "Nearly the whole contents of this paper is weekly translated from the latest English papers,
which, together with the quick conveyance by mails running in all directions from Chambersburg, enables its
patrons to receive information of the occurrences of our own and foreign countries as early as they could
through any of the English weekly papers." It must be remembered, that at that time all mail matter was dis-
tributed by carriers but once a week, and yet these crude facilities were highly appreciated. The German pop-
ulation in the county, too, was an important factor at this eai ly date. *ays .fudge Ruby : " There were but few
families in the town or country that did not then understand the German language, which accounts for two
weekly papers being sustained in that language." After Mr. Schoeplin's death, in 1825, the office was sold to
Henry Ruby.
254 HISTORY OF FRANKLIN COUNTY.
its apposite name, after appearing for a season in company with the Spirit, as
the Spirit and Sentinel, died away.
The Valley Spirit was started in Shippensburg, by John M. Cooper and
Daniel Dechert, in July, 1847, under the title of the Valley Spirit and Cum-
berland and Franklin County Democrat. In July, 1848, it was moved to
Chambersburg, and conducted under the firm of P. S. Dechert & Co. , with Mr.
Cooper as editor. In 1852 the firm bought the Sentinel, and united the two
papers. In 1857, the Valley Spirit, which had dropped part of its original
name, became the property of George H. Mengel & Co. , and was published by
them until 1862, when it was purchased by B. Y. Hamsher & Co. , who retained
it until 1867, when it passed into the hands of Messrs. J. M. Cooper & Co. ,
and in 1868 Mr. Cooper withdrew from the establishment, Messrs. Wm. S.
Stehger and Augustus Duncan becoming its proprietors. In 1876 Mr. Joseph
C. Clugston purchased the paper, and reinstated its old and popular editor,
Mr. Cooper, in the editorial chair.
The Valley Spirit is an ably-managed and vigorous publication, and is an
able and fearless advocate of the principles of the great party to which it be-
longs; and its influence is not limited merely to the locality in which it is pub-
lished, but is sensibly felt in the politics of the State. In that peculiar tact,
as well as talent, so essential to the successful editor, Mr. Cooper was gifted
in an eminent degree. October 1, 1879, the paper was purchased by its pres-
ent owners, John GK & D. A. Orr, from J. H. Wolf kill, through whom it had
come from Clugston and Cooper. On the 2d of August, 1886, John Gr.
and D. A. Orr purchased at sheriff's sale the Franklin Democrat and Daily
Herald, and immediately began the publication of a morning daily known
as the Valley Spirit. In a prominent position on its second page stands
this epitome of its own history: "Established, 1847. Founded in 1831, merged
in Valley Spirit, 1852 — Franklin Telegraph, Chambersburg Times, Cumber-
land Valley Sentinel. Founded in 1858; merged in Valley Spirit, 1862 — the
Independent, the Times. Founded in 1878; merged in Valley Spirit, 1886 — the
Daily Herald. Founded in 1882; merged in Valley Spirit, 1886 — the Frank-
lin County Democrat. ' ' Both daily and weekly editions show the highest style
of mechanical execution, and the contents of each are newsy and spicy, evi-
dencing careful and painstaking research. It is a pronounced anti-Randall
Democratic exponent of the theories of government.
In July, 1853, Mr. Robert P. Hazelet started a folio sheet, devoted more
especially to literature, which he called the Transcript. It became the Know-
Nothing organ in the fall of 1854, and was subsequently merged into the
Repository, under the title of the Repository and Transcript, and, after a titular
fellowship of a few years, ultimately perished.
In 1854, Messrs. Kell & Kinneard started an educational monthly, called
the Tutor and Pupil, which had an ephemeral existence.
David A. Werz instituted The Independent in 1858, a handsome and able
paper, which attracted much attention for its literary ability, but sold it in
April, 185 ( J, to William I. Cook and P. Dock Frey. A few months later,
namely, on the 7th of October, 1859, they transferred it to Frey & Foltz, who
converted it from a neutral into a Republican paper. On the 31st of August,
1860, it again changed owners, and Messrs. William Kennedy and Jacob Sellers
converted it into a Democratic organ, as an exponent of the principles of the
Douglas wing of the party, in opposition to the Valley Spirit, which sup-
ported Breckenridge. After holding it a few years it was united with the
Valley Spirit, as the Valley Spirit and Times, and, a short time after, its dis-
tinctive title passed into oblivion.
HISTORY OF FRANKLIN COUNTY. 255
In the year 1814, the Hon. Henry Rnby moved to Chanibersburg, and was
apprenticed to a German printer named F. W. Schoflin, who was publishing a
German paper in connection with Mr. Geerge K. Harper. This paper was
soon afterward sold to Mr. Schoflin. Mr. Schoflin died in 1825, and his paper
was managed by Mr. Ruby, for his widow, for a period of six months, at the
expiration of which time he bought the office. He continued its publication for
some time after the publication of the Franklin Telegraph, but under a new
name, and eventually sold it to Mr. Victor Scriba, by whom it was removed to
Pittsburgh. Mr. Scriba changed its name to Freiheif s Freund, and it soon
attained a large circulation and much influence among the German population
of Pittsburgh. Another German paper was started in Chambersburg, by John
Dietz, in 1824, but enjoyed a very brief existence, dying in its second year.
During the time embraced by these publications, a large number of papers
were launched upon the treacherous waves of popular favor, but soon stranded
on the hidden rock of impecuniosity, and sank even beneath public recollection.
A notable exception to this statement, however, was the Transcript, estab-
lished in 1853 by Robert P. Hazelet. This paper aspired to the establish-
ment of a literary reputation, in which it secured a marked degree of success.
It was then purchased by the Know-Nothings, and upon the sudden collapse
of that political monstrosity, was merged into the Repository, and lived a short
time longer in the Repository and Transcript.
The Despatch, a semi-weekly paper, was started in the spring of 1861, by
George H Merklein and P. Dock Frey, under the firm of George H. Merk-
lein & Co., and lived until the spring of 1863.
The Country Merchant, an advertising sheet, was issued in July, 1866, by
M. A. Foltz, and was succeeded, in 1869, by Public Opinion, a progressive
weekly newspaper, devoted to advanced Republican principles. It deals es-
pecially with news of a local nature, always giving the preference to such, but,
at the same time, it never neglects matters of national or State import or in-
formation of general interest. The people of Franklin County have always
had in it a true friend. Their interests have been its interests, and it has
fought their battles with vigor from the moment that it first saw the light.
The first issue appeared on the 20fch of July, in the year above named, and
met with immediate success. It rapidly became a leading paper, not only in
its own county, but throughout the whole of the Cumberland Valley, its views
being quoted far and wide. It has continued to hold this prominence, and is
to-day one of the most influential newspapers in southern Pennsylvania. And
at the present time, as in the past, it is representative of its title, and is truly a
reflex of public opinion.
With the commencement of its third volume, in July, 1871, the Opinion
enlarged, and in 1885 it re-enlarged, thus becoming one of the largest week-
lies published in its section of the State. It has now a circulation of about
2, 500, and goes into the best families in the county.
The Silver Cornet, a monthly musical journal, was published by P. Dock
Frey & Co. , coming into the world of letters in September, 1869, ' ' and piping
out ' ' at the somewhat immature age of seven months.
The People's Register was started in 1876 as the Centennial Register. It
is a patent outside, and was edited by Rev. J. G. Schaff until the time of his
death, when it passed into the hands of his sons, who are still publishing it.
In the summer of 1886, they began the publication of an evening daily which
has met with a favorable reception. The Register has given special attention
to educational news and articles, and thus has become the teachers' friend in
the county.
256 HISTORY OF PEANKLIN COUNTY.
The Farm Journal and Experimental Farm Journal were issued success-
ively by George A. Dietz & Co., and were extensively circulated.
The first religious journal published by the German Reformed Church was
a monthly pamphlet called The Magazine of the German Reformed Church,
and was issued at Carlisle, Penn. , under the editorship of Rev. Dr. Lewis Mayer.
It appeared in November, 1827. In 1829 it was removed to York, Penn. In
1832, its title was changed to The Messenger of the German Reformed Church,
and the numbers were designated as the New Series. In 1834 it was
changed to a semi-monthly, in a quarto form, which was continued until July,
1835, at which time it was removed to Chambersburg. Its title was now
changed to the Weekly Messenger and was issued weekly. A specimen number
of the paper was published in July, but the regular issue did not begin until
the September following. The numbering as a new series again com-
menced, which has been continued to the present date. In December, 1848,
the name of the paper was further changed to that of The German Reformed
Messenger. In September, 1867, the title was again changed to The Reformed
Church Messenger, because the word " German ' ' had been omitted in the church
itself. The office in Chambersburg was destroyed by the rebels in 1864, and
its place of publication was then transferred to Philadelphia. Its name is
now simply The Messenger, and it is edited by the accomplished and scholarly
divine, Rev. P. S. Davis, D. D. , ably assisted by Samuel R. Fisher, D. D.,
and others. For a time after the removal of the paper to Chambersburg, it
was published by Joseph Pritts, and subsequently by Henry Ruby, until the
church established a printing office of her own, in the Masonic Hall, on
Second Street, in 1840. The old Mansion House on the east side of the public
square was then purchased, refitted, and the office removed into it.
The late Rev. Benjamin S. Schneck, D. D. , became editor of the Messenger
in 1835, after its removal to Chambersburg, and occupied this position until
the year 1844. In the beginning of 1840, the Rev. Samuel R. Fisher, D. D.,*
became associated with him in its editorial management. Dr. Schneck' s
relation to the paper, which was suspended in 1844, was resumed in the fall
of 1847, and continued until the year 1852. During Dr. Schneck' s pastorate
in Gettysburg, Penn. , in 1834, he began the publication of a semi-monthly in
the German language, styled the Christliche Herold. The publication of this
journal was transferred to Chambersburg in 1840, and issued under the name
of the Christliche Zeitschrift. Dr. Schneck then took charge of it, changing
its name to that of Reformirte Kirchenzeitung, and continued this relation
until the destruction of the office in 1864, when it was removed to Philadelphia,
with the exception of an interval of five years, from 1852 to 1857, when it was
edited by the Rev. Samuel Miller.
For a time the Saturday Local was published by Joseph Pomeroy & Co.
Having accomplished its mission, it quietly took its departure to the sweet
by-and-by.
In the foregoing sketch it is stated that the Repository is owned and
edited by Maj. John M. Pomeroy, and a merited compliment is paid him.
Since that was written by Dr. W. C. Lame, the daily Franklin Repository has
been established, which is now in its fourth volume. It has, like the weekly,
attained a large circulation, and is, with the People's Register, an evening
paper. Until November 26, 1886, it was published and edited by the Pomeroy
Bros. ; but owing to certain complications, growing out of the right of title,
it was sold by Sheriff Kurtz to T. M. Mahon and H. Gehr for $2,200, and
immediately leased by them to its former managers. The paper is now under
*Since deceased.
,v W: . ,j ,,,p
HISTORY OF FRANKLIN COUNTY. 259
the management of John H. Pomeroy and A. Nevin Pomeroy, lessees and
publishers.
The Repository is the oldest paper in the Cumberland Valley, and its pages,
from 1793 to the present, contain the substantial history of the county. Its
influence upon the population of the cotinty through these years has been
wonderful. It requires little sacrifice to be able to concur in the sentiment of
Hon. Henry Ruby, himself an old printer and a competent judge, "that few
towns in Pennsylvania have newspaper establishments conducted with as much
ability as the Franklin Repository, Valley Spirit and Public Opinion of
Chambersburg. ' '
PRESS OF WAYNESBORO.
In Rupp's " History of the Five Counties," 1846, is this simple statement:
"A weekly paper — Waynesboro Circulator — is published by M. C. Grote."
The Village Record, weekly, was founded March 13, 1847, by D. O. & W.
Blair. D. O. Blair afterward studied medicine and went to Abingdon, 111.,
where he died. W. Blair had sold his interest to his brother, but in 1851
repurchased it and has retained it every since. It was during the war published
regularly till the time of Lee's invasion in 1863, when an interruption
occurred. The outside was printed June 19, and the inside July 31. Rebel
soldiers pied his type and overturned his cases, producing confusion which
required several weeks to overcome.
By virtue of continuous services, Mr. Blair is entitled to be known as the
Nestor of the Franklin County press.
The Keystone Gazette was established in 1876, as a Democratic weekly, bv
J. C. West and W. C. Jacobs. In 1878 Jacobs retired. In 1880, S. M.
Robinson bought it, but in 1882 sold to N. Bruce Martin and Jas. B. Fisher,
who conducted it as an independent paper till January 1, 1885. At the last
date, Mr. Fisher bought Martin's interest, and conducted the paper till March,
1886, when D. B. Martin assumed editorial control, with Fisher as manager.
The Brethren Advocate, a religious weekly periodical, was published at
Waynesboro from August 5, 1879, to July 5, 1882. It was published in the
interests of the German Baptist or Brethren Church. The contributors to its
columns were some of the ablest writers of the sect. D. H. Fahrney was
publisher. Size of sheet, 22x32.
PRESS OF MERCERSBURG.
In 1846, The Mercersburg Visitor, weekly, was published by McKinstry and
Doyle.
The Mercersburg Journal was established in 1846. It is a weekly, neutral
in politics and has a good local circulation. Its present owners and managers
are M. J. Slick and George Hornbraker. It has passed through a number of
changes, which can not be given.
In 1851-52, the Mercersburg Review was published in the interests of
Marshall College. It was a bi-monthly, and sold at $3 per year.
PRESS OF GREENCASTLE.
The first paper started in the town was called the Conococheague Herald,
and was published by E. Robinson, August, 1848. In a few months it was
sold by him to Charles Martin. After running it a year, he sold it to A. N.
Rankin, who in turn disposed of it to Elliott B. Detrich, by whom the name
was changed to the Franklin Intelligencer. At his death the paper passed into
the hands of McCrory and Bonner, who named it the Franklin Ledger. When
260 HISTORY OF FRANKLIN COUNTY.
Bonner died, the new firm, Strickler & McCrory changed the name to The Pi-
lot. Mr. Strickler retiring, McCrory ran the paper on his own responsibility
for several years, when he sold it to Robert and William Crooks. The first
brother soon withdrawing from the firm, the other continued the paper till
1867, when he sold to Rev. John R. Gaff, who associated M. D. Reymer with
himself, and changed the name to The Valley EcJio. In 1867 Col. B. F.
Winger purchased the paper and, with the aid of Geo. E. Haller, the present
proprietor, ran it till January 6, 1876, at which time he sold the establishment
to the present owner and manager.
The Greencastle Press was established by Col. B. F. Winger, after retiring
from The Valley Echo, in 1876, and has been controlled by him ever since.
At present his associate in the management and editorial work is J. C. Seacrest.
It is a weekly, and has a good circulation in that portion of the county.
About the opening of the war, a small paper was published at Concord by
a brother of J. W. C. Goshorne, but after a time it was removed to the West.
In 1886 the Path Valley News was established at Fannettsburg, and is
still in existence.
CHAPTER XI.
AGRICULTURE.
A Business of First Importance— Its Promising Future— Improvements
Introduced — Judge Watts — The First Reaper — First Stock in the
Country— Wheat and Corn— Hessian Fly— Improved Implements— A
Wonderful Feat With the Scythe Agricultural Societies, Offi-
cers, Etc.
I PROM the land comes the life of every living, breathing, thing. It is the
nourishing mother of animal and vegetable life. It is the beginning of all
existence, and " dust to dust" is the common end. The soil and the climate
are the determining factors in the growth and quality of the world' s civilization.
From the soil comes all that we can possess — the best type of manhood, the
great cities with their spires and minarets gleaming in the morning sun, the
army with banners, the armadas whose sails fleck every sea, the maiden's
blush, the bubbling laughter of childhood, the sweet bondage of love, the
restful haven of home, are all from this one common, fruitful source. The
dull soil, the primeval rocks from which all soils are made, bore the great
secrets of life.
It has been well said that were you to show a man, sufficiently versed in
the subject of the rocks, a new world, that by an examination of the soil and
rocks he could tell exactly what kind of men, the degree of civilization, the
boundary line of their improvements, in farming and in all other industries,
the new world would eventually evolve. This might seem to some a sweeping
assertion, but by all men of tolerable culture it is accepted without further
question.
Of all vocations in life that of the farmer brings him in closer relations to
the land than that of any other class of men. To perfect his education, prac-
tically and scientifically, is to make him the master of the philosophy of the most
vital subject that can affect life, because he is in the position of first import-
HISTORY OF FRANKLIN COUNTY. 261
ance, and when his energies are properly directed, it will of itself place him
high and supreme above all others. The fundamentals of our physical life
have always rested primarily upon the tillers of the soil, and to the coming
farmer will mankind go for the higher qualities of mental life as they have
already gone for their physical existence. The rudest tillers of the soil in the
darkest ages learned, by patient experiments, some of the lessons the land had
to give its children. However limited their acquirements may have been, they
were the first lessons in nature's supreme university, whose final diplomas will
attest to the best type of minds the earth can produce. The coming farmer
will understand the physical laws of this fountain of life at which he toils, sows
and reaps. The schools will then teach that all knowledge is simply under-
standing the mental and physical laws that hedge us about, that form and shape
us in every way from the cradle to the grave. Then, too, will be revealed to the
world the important secret that there is nothing so wholly practical as real
knowledge. When this great age shall dawn upon the race, then will the
unfortunate city boy go to the farmer's school to learn the true knowledge — to
be educated. In that age the great man, "the sun crowned," to whom is
accorded universal respect and honors, will be that farmer with the most knowl-
edge of the soils he tills.
The improvement in the manner of cultivating the soil — the introduction of
machinery — has distinguished the last half of this century. It is not a great
while ago that farming, stock raising and all branches of the business, were
greatly matters of chance. Mostly the farmer would plow and sow, and gather
his crops after the manner of his ancestors. He then did not concern himself
about drainage, or fertilizing, or improving his stock, or better implements of
husbandry. Now the poorest farmer makes some effort to inform himself. He
has learned to read agricultural papers and books, to meet and interchange
ideas with his fellow- farmers, and thus he bestows and receives valuable hints
and a more accurate knowledge of his own affairs. Agricultural schools are
the evidences of what this important class are beginning to do for themselves.
These steps along the line of advancement once came very slow, but now they
are keeping abreast with the age. These are the most cheering signs of our
times. Already he realizes fully that he is in a position to experiment and
study cause and effect. This is the beginning of his real school, and once
in the right path he will never turn aside. By these means he lifts himself
above the narrow selfishness that too often characterizes nearly all other classes
of men.
IMPROVEMENTS INTRODUCED.
Reforms move slowly. They are required, as Herbert Spencer says, to pass
through three stages: First, that of indifference; second, that of violent opposi-
tion; third, that of adoption. Improvements in the material and methods of
farming are, by no means, an exception to this general law.
It was the writer's good fortune lately to have a pleasant interview with
Hon. Fred. Watts, of Carlisle, touching the changes in farming that have char-
acterized the community. Said he: "About the middle of June, 1839, I was
driving in a carriage with my wife from New York to Philadelphia, there being
at that time no railroad communication. Near Trenton, N. J. , I was met in
the road by a former resident of Carlisle Barracks, Lieut. Wm. lnman t of the
United States Navy, who invited us to spend the night at his house on the farm.
We went over. The next day he showed me a field of beautiful wheat which was
rapidly ripening for the harvest. He told me that two years prior to that time
he had procured three bushels of the seed near Leghorn, Italy, and was now
raising his second crop. I obtained from him six barrels of the same kind, and
262 HISTOKY OF FRANKLIN COUNTY.
sowed it on my farm near Carlisle. This was the introduction into the United
States of the beautiful variety of wheat for a long time very popular and known
as Mediterranean. From the six barrels which I sowed it was spread through
the Cumberland Valley, and into other portions of the State.
' ' It was in the summer of 1840, ' ' continued the judge, ' ' I bought a McCor-
mick reaper, and brought it to my farm. When harvest came I determined to
test its power in a twelve-acre field that would yield at least thirty -five bushels
per acre. When the appointed time came there were present from five hun-
dred to a thousand persons anxious to witness the signal failure of ' Watts'
folly, ' as they called the machine.
"The wheat stood well. The team was started, the cutting was excellent;
the draught was not heavy, but the general decision was that one man could not
remove the wheat rapidly enough from the machine. The team could not be
driven more than ien or twelve rods till it was necessary to stop and rest the
raker and straighten up his sheaves. Finally a well-dressed gentleman, of or-
dinary size and pleasant demeanor, came up and asked whether he might be
permitted to remove the wheat for a few rounds. Being answered in the affirm-
ative, he mounted the machine, and took the raker' s stand. With perfect ease
he raked off the wheat, nor did he seem to labor hard. After two or three
rounds the spectators reversed their former decision and unanimously agreed
that the machine was a complete success. ' Watts' folly ' became a favorite,
and thus was introduced into the Cumberland Valley the first McCormick, the
original reaping machine of the United States. The well-dressed gentleman
who did the raking was Cyrus H. McCormick, the inventor of the American
reaper. ' '
Similar illustrations might be adduced relative to the difficulties that at-
tended the introduction of left-handed steel plows, threshing machines, im-
proved varieties of fruit and stock, and the general elements of agricultural
improvements. The organization of agricultural and horticultural societies,
the publication of State and National reports, the teaching of botany, physi-
ology, geology and agricultural chemistry, the wide-spread distribution of
farm journals, and the general education of the people by all rational means
have tended to hasten reforms. The good work is going on. Scientific farm-
ing is destined to be not only a lucrative calling, but an intensely interesting
intellectual one.
FIRST STOCK INTRODUCED.
The first animals brought to America from Europe were imported by Colum-
bus, in his second voyage in 1493. He brought over seventeen ships,
laden with European trees, plants and seeds of various kinds, and a number
of horses, a bull and several cows. The second lot of horses, the first hav-
ing all been destroyed soon after landing, was in 1539, by De Soto — a large
lot of horses and thirteen cows. The Portugese took cattle and swine to
Nova Scotia and Newfoundland in 1553. Thirty years after, they had in-
creased so much that Sir Richard Gilbert was tempted to land there to get
supplies of cattle and hogs, but his vessel was wrecked. In 1609 three ships
landed at Jamestown, with many emigrants and the following domestic ani-
mals: 6 mares, 1 horse, 600 swine. 500 domestic fowls, and a few sheep and
goats. Other domestic animals had, however, been introduced there. In
1610, an edict was issued in Virginia, prohibiting the killing of domestic ani-
mals, on penalty of death. By 1617 the swine had increased so rapidly that
the people were obliged to palisade Jamestown to prevent being overrun by
them. In 1627, the Indians in Virginia subsisted mostly upon wild hog meat.
HISTORY OF FRANKLIN COUNTY. 263
In 1648, some of the settlers had a good stock of bees. In 1657, sheep and
mares were by law forbidden to be exported from the colony.
The first importation of domestic animals into New York was in 1625, by
the West India Company. These consisted of horses, cattle, sheep and swine.
In 1750, the French in Illinois had numbers of horses, cattle and swine.
WHEAT.
The first raising of wheat antedates history. Its native country even is
not known. It was brought to this country by the earliest settlers, and
was first sown in Massachusetts by a man named Gosnold in 1602. It is
known that it was raised in Virginia in 1611, but here it was for many years
neglected forthe cultivation of tobacco. Prior to the Revolution, Pennsylvania,
among a few other provinces, raised enough for the home market and shipped
wheat to the West Indies.
In 1776 there was entailed upon the country the enduring calamity — the
Hessian or wheat fly, which it is supposed came from Germany, in some straw
employed in the debarkation of Howe's troops, on the west end of Long Is-
land,
COKN.
This was called sometimes maize, and for a long time was called Indian
corn. But now it is corn and is known, used and cultivated throughout the
civilized world. It is indigenous to the Western Hemisphere. Once it was
the accepted saying in this country, "cotton is king, " but in the past quar-
ter of a century, cotton has abdicated, and now " corn is king. ' '
Corn is still found growing in its wild state from the Rocky Mountains in
the north to the humid forests of Paraguay, where, instead of having each
grain naked, as is always the case after long cultivation, it is completely cov-
ered with glumes or husks. Columbus found corn cultivated on the island of
Cuba a+ the time of discovery.
The first successful attempt to raise it by the English in this country was
in 1608, on the James River, by the colonists sent over by the London Com-
pany. They pursued the mode that they saw the Indians practice.
OATS.
It is known that oats have been raised at least from the times of Pliny.
The plant was introduced in North America early in the seventeenth century.
In the early years of this century, the farming implements used were of the
primitive kind. The old wooden plow was the means of preparing the ground;
then came the Carey plow, and finally the iron moldboard was introduced with
constant improvements to date, and we now have the gang plow, the sulky plow
and others in almost endless variety. Men of middle age now can easily re-
member when there was no corn planted except that dropped from the hand.
The mower and reaper came, and then the reaper and binder, until now a well
stocked agricultural store would be a veritable curiosity — a world's agricult-
ural implement fair — to those who left the farm only a few years ago. There
are men now living who can remember when grain was cut only by the ancient
sickle — the scythe and cradle were in their day a great invention. They were
an advance like the reaper and binder are to the scythe.
THE CHAMPION CRADLER.
In putting away the old " cradle " it is appropriate to here record what may
be considered an extraordinary feat by a gentleman now living, and the truth
of which is so well attested that its correctness cannot be questioned.
264 HISTOEY OF FRANKLIN COUNTY.
During the harvest of 1858, the gentleman in question, an expert cradler,
cut ten acres of grain in a single day. The feat being noised abroad, some-
newspaper ridiculed the statement as being absurdly ridiculous. In the mean-
time, the report reached the ears of a firm in the Empire State, the proprie-
tors of the Millard Fillmore Manufacturing Company, of Claysville, N. Y.,
who wrote him to inquire whether he could cut ten acres of wheat provided
they should make a cradle just to suit his wants; if so, they would be pleased
to make him the implement, and present it to him with their compliments. He
responded to the effect that if they would make an implement as ordered, he
would undertake to cut twelve acres. They agreed. In due time his cradle
came, a marvel of beauty and strength.' The blade was sixty-five inches in
length, and made of silver steel, cost alone $25. The only difference between
this cradle and the ordinary one, was in point of size and the slight curvature
of the blade at its heel.
The long-expected time finally arrived, judges were appointed, and the
champion was authorized to begin his day' s task, the limits being from sunrise
to sunset. From far and near the people came, some to witness, as they, pre-
dicted, a failure; some to gratify idle curiosity, and others to see the modern
Hercules actually accomplish his thirteenth wonder.
He had employed a physician to traverse the field with him, and to give
such medical advice as circumstances required. Under the physician' s advice
he worked bareheaded, cutting the grain regularly by going around the field.
He was clad in linen pants and shirt and ordinary slippers. He took no solid
food during the day, nor halted at noon. Once every two hours he stopped
briefly to whet his scythe, and then pushed ahead, cutting a swath eleven feet
wide and five feet deep at every clip. He made, on an average, twenty -two
clips per minute.
About 2 o' clock in the afternoon, a heavy thunder storm came up, the rain
falling in torrents. The lightning flashed, the blade gleaming as it was
thrust into the heavy grain. Slippers were thrown aside, and still the heroic
man pushed on, determined to redeem his pledge or die in his tracks. No
solid food was taken, but liquid nourishment was consumed under the advice of
the physician. Sometime during the afternoon, an old hunter suggested to
the physician that a piece of raw beef taken between the teeth would benefit
the man. It was done, a man being dispatched to Mercersburg to procure a
piece which was held and the juice absorbed. At night only the fibres re-
mained.
As the sun sank behind the western hills the judges called time. His task
was done. The field was subsequently surveyed, and measured something
over twelve acres and a half. It is located near the village of Mercersburg,
Franklin Co. , Penn. The product of this remarkable day' s cradling was 365
dozen shocks of wheat, yielding, when thresbed, 262 bushels of grain. The la-
bor of four men was required to bind after him.
The gentleman who did this work, and whose constitution was thoroughly
shattered by it, is Michael Cromer, at present the genial and popular conduct-
or on the South Penn Railroad from Chambersburg to Richmond. He never
speaks of it with pride, the honor having been gained by wrecking a constitu-
tion of unusual vigor and power. A more accommodating railroad official it
has not been our good fortune to meet anywhere. At the age of fifty-eight
years he still has the respect of everybody who is acquainted with him.
In the early part of this century the farmers of Franklin County began
agitating the subject of forming county agricultural societies. Exactly what
year the first meetings of the people were held, looking toward organizing, is
HISTORY OF FRANKLIN COUNTY. 265
not definitely known. The following is found in a chance copy of an old paper:
' ' The Agricultural Society of Franklin County held a meeting at the
court-house the 1st day of June, 1824. James Riddle, Prest. ; T. G. McCul-
lough. Secy.
"Note — The members of the society are expected to pay up their annual
contribution on or before the day of meeting at Chambersburg.
"Tuesday, June 5, 1827, a meeting of the Agricultural Society of Franklin
was held. T. G. McCullough, Secy."
Exactly when these society meetings were organized, how long they con-
tinued, or exactly their manner of organization is not definitely known. The
organization was in advance of the county agricultural societies as they now
exist.
The first regular organization was in the year 1853 — the charter members
being Judge James Kennedy; George Chambers, vice president, S. M. Arm-
strong, recording secretary; James Mills, corresponding secretary; Alex. K.
McClure, treasurer.
The grounds were fifteen acres, about one mile west of Chambersburg,
which is now the colored cemetery. It belonged to Judge Kennedy.
In 1854 the society held a most successful fair. To the novelty of the oc-
casion, Alex. K. McClure succeeded by personal efforts in securing Horace
Greeley to come and deliver an address on agriculture. The address was of
course able, edifying and interesting. Col. McClure was at that time pub-
lishing the Repository and was so pleased with the address that he appealed
to Mr. Greeley to permit him to publish it. The great editor placed the manu-
script in his hands and the hieroglyphics were as inscrutable as the characters
on a tea-chest. After many patient efforts the services of D. S. Early (who
was drowned in Philadelphia in 1855) were called in, and he finally translated
the strange characters into English, and the address was printed. But when
once in print it richly repaid the labor it had cost. Its advice to the farmers
deserved to be not only printed in Col. McClure' s paper, but also to have
been hung up over the portals of every farm house in the country, and to be
read and re-read at least once every year.
The second list of officers for the society, elected in 1853, for the year 1854,
were: President, George Chambers; vice-president, William Heyser; record-
ing secretary, S. M.Armstrong; corresponding secretary, James Nil!; treas-
urer, Alex. K. McClure. At the fair in 1853, Daniel F. Robenson delivered an
address on agriculture.
The following officers were elected for the Franklin County Agricultural
Society for the year 1855: President, William Heyser; vice-presidents, Will-
iam McDowell, James Davidson, James Lowe, Samuel Thompson ; managers,
Daniel Trostle, F. S. Sambaugh, George Aston, Jacob Heyser, William Bos-
sert, Hez. Easton, Peter Brough, Martin Newcomer, Christian Stouffer, Jacob
Garver, Benjamin Snively and James Crawford; recording secretary, S. M.
Armstrong; corresponding secretary, Jacob Heyser; treasurer, A. K. Mc-
Clure.
Farmers and Mechanics Industrial Association was the third agricultural
association formed in the county. A meeting was called in Chambersburg,
Tuesday, January 18, 1859. Col. James B. Orr, president, John Ruthrauff,
J. Watson Craig, William Bossert, Capt. Samuel Walker, David Spencer,
Esq. , John Ditch, John W. Taylor, Joseph G. Cressler, Samuel Gilmore, Sam-
uel Alexander, Jacob B. Cook, John Thomas, Benjamin Chambers and Hon.
James J. Kennedy, vice-presidents; Francis North craft and William D. McKin-
stry, secretaries. A committee of two from each township, and two from Cham-
bersburg, appointed to solicit membership for the new organization, as follows :
266 HISTORY OF FRANKLIN COUNTY.
Antrim — John Ruthrauff, Benjamin Snively; Chambersburg — J. W. Taylor, A.
R. Hurst; Fannett — Samuel Holliday, Simon Miller; Greene — Jacob Garver, S.
Breckenridge; Guilford — G. W. Immell, F. Walk; Hamilton — William Bos-
sert, Henry Keefer; Letter kenny — S. Gilmore, Samuel Lehman; Lurgan —
Thomas Pumroy, D. C. Byers; Metal — Capt. S. Walker, Jacob Flickinger;
Montgomery — J. Watson Craig, J. L. Rhea; Peters — A. E. McDowell, S. Al-
exander; Quincy — Jacob Secrist, John A. Shank; Southampton — D. Hays,
David Spencer, Esq.; St. Thomas — Charles Gillan, John Miller; Warren —
A. H. McCulloh, Jacob Zimmerman; Washington— Abraham Bar, H. X.
Stoner.
On motion, Hon. John Orr, John W. Taylor, and David M. Lesher were
appointed a committee to wait upon the last board of managers of the de-
funct old Agricultural Society of Franklin County, and learn if they will con-
tribute to the present company as soon as formed, the funds, lands, and other
property of said defunct body.
Andrew N. Rankin, Col. James B. Orr, and Mr. John Ruthrauff appointed
a committee to draft a constitution.
An able and highly instructive address was delivered by William McLellan.
A constitution was adopted.
Andrew N. Rankin, Dr. Samuel G. Lane, Jacob Henninger, Jacob N. Sni-
der and Peter B. Housum were appointed the county executive committee.
Officers elected at a meeting, June 7, 1859, to serve the ensuing year, as
follows: President, Col. James B. Orr; vice-presidents, William Bossert,
James Davison, S. Armstrong, Bradley and Henry Keefer; recording secre-
tary, Wm. S. Everett; corresponding secretary, Andrew N. Rankin; treas-
urer, Emanuel Kuhn; managers, John Ruthrauff, J. Watson Craig, Benjamin
Chambers, Esq., Jacob Heyser, Peter Stenger, Esq., Capt. Samuel Walker,
David M. Lesher, William Cline, David A. Wertz, William B. Gabby, Robert
Clugston, and James G. Elder.
A fair to be held in October, continuing four days, was provided for.
The old society promptly turned over their assets to the new society.
The Franklin County Agricultural Society was organized October 19, 1875.
The board of directors were; James Scott, president; Dr. J. L. Suesserott,
vice-president; Calvin Gilbert, secretary; William Heyser, treasurer; Dr. E.
Culbertson, James A. McKnight, John P. Culbertson, M. A. Keefer. Dr. A.
H. Senseny, E. J. Bonebrake, Peter Kreighbaum, M. A. Foltz, W. F. Eyster,
and John Forbes,
The last board: Dr. J. L. Suesserott, president; A. H. Etter, vice-pres-
ident; Calvin Gilbert, secretary; William Heyser, treasurer; John P. Cul-
bertson, James A. McKnight, M. A. Keefer, E. J. Bonebrake, M. A. Foltz,
Jere Rhoadarmer, N. P. Grove, A. A. Skinner, John Gerhig and W. P.
Slaughenhaupt. It ceased to exist in 1882 or 1883.
Pet Stock Association in 1879-80 was in a nourishing condition. Its meet-
ings were held in Repository Hall, Chambersburg. The following were the
officers: President, L. L. Springer. Vice-Presidents,. Rev. F. F. Bahner,
Waynesboro; K. C. Greenawalt, Fayetteville; J. M. Long, Loudon; Solomon
Sellenberger, Guilford; Dr. W. C. Lane, Orrstown; John Croft, St. Thomas;
P. E. Kreps, Greencastle; Dr. Martin, Mercersburg; H. S. Gilbert, Cham-
bersburg; C. C. Schrebler, Chambersburg; G. R. Colliflower, Chambersburg;
Dr. B. Bowman, Chambersburg. Recording Secretary, W. E. Tolbert. Cor-
responding Secretary, T. M. Nelson. Treasurer, A. H. McCulloh. Auditor,
J. P. Keefer. Executive Board, N. P. Grove, J. N. Snider, Rev. A. S. Hart-
man, J. M. Gable, J. L. Senseny, H. C. Seibert. Superintendent, N. P.
Grove.
'M/ri -l|#
'A^y '-•'-'
'isfe&z/
HISTORY OF FRANKLIN COUNTY. 269
CHAPTER XII.
THE MEDICAL PEOFESSION.
Introductory View of the Human Structure— Sketches of Prominent
Deceased Physicians— Epidemics— Medical Societies— Roster of Pres-
ent Physicians.
THE proper study of mankind is man " is a truth very generally conceded.
This embraces a knowledge Of man in all his departments and relations
— his origin, his mental and physical structure, his duties to himself, to his
kind and to his creator, and his destiny.
Our subject has to do mainly with but one principal department, man's
physical nature, " the house I live in." This house is truly a complex and
interesting structure, two stories and a half in height, the windows all being
in the half story or cupola. Its frame-work is such as to compel an inspired
man to say admiringly of his own body: "lam fearfully and wonderfully
made. ' ' It has the power of locomotion, being removed from one point to
another with ease and rapidity. This house has a firm and perfectly fitted
framework, well covered with weather-boarding, and thoroughly joined to-
gether by cords properly adapted to their purpose. Within it has a most re-
markable system of machinery, consisting of engines and fans and boilers and
tubes and valves, and all the arrangements to run it successfully. The ex-
pression, " the house I live in, " implies two beings, the house and its occu-
pant. We are all renters. Like the snail, we carry about us and with us,
everywhere, a temporary dwelling place. With ordinary care, it may be held
seventy years, the allotted period of life. With abuse, it must be vacated on
short notice — often without any notice.
There are comparatively few good housekeepers. Carlyle, learned and
caustic, confessed that when seventy years old he discovered he had a stomach.
Sidney Smith said every man living to the age of seventy had eaten forty
wagon loads more than he needed. The majority of mankind live from day to
day in utter ignorance and in many cases utter defiance of the simplest laws
of their being. Strange as it may seem, the race was not aware till it had
reached the opening of the seventeenth century that the heart sends a life-fluid
coursing through the system; and but for the courage of Dr. Harvey, in an-
nouncing and defending the doctrine of the constant circulation of the blood,
mankind would, doubtless, be to-day enveloped in like ignorance.
It is within the memory of not the oldest inhabitant, that all sorts of
diseases were cured by the sorcerer's incantation or pow-wow; that the use of
a buzzard's gizzard, immersed in vinegar, would cure every species of snake
bite; that rubbing of skunk oil or goose fat upon the side would cure pleurisy;
that the hanging about the neck of a spider incased in a thimble would cure
whooping-cough; that the letting of a small quantity of blood from the chief
vein of the arm would relieve the patient from earthly ills ; that the sight of
the moon over the left shoulder was indicative of good luck; that the washing
of the cat's face indicated the approach of visitors; that vegetables planted in
the dark of the moon would produce rank tops but no fruit; that the paring
of finger nails on Friday was indicative of ill-luck, etc.
The age of superstition is not wholly past when people imagine that the
15
270 HISTOEY OF FEANKLIN COUNTY.
ills of mankind may be removed by charms and spells and certain faith cures.
Until people realize that certain causes produce certain effects and that noth-
ing short of the removal or modification of the cause can produce any perma-
nent change, no marked reform can be hoped for.
One of the hopeful signs of the times is the fact that the rudiments of anat-
omy, physiology and hygiene are being introduced into our common school
courses of study. Children need to learn that sound health depends upon
proper eating, sleeping, drinking and exercising, and not upon the particular
locality occupied, or the amount of foreign substances taken into the system;
that good habits of life, early established, will continue steadfast friends all along
the journey and insure happiness; that a vigorous and pleasant old age depends
upon the foundation laid in youth; and that not by a change of climate neces-
sarily, but by heeding nature' s laws, perfect health is secured.
Physicians will have an easier and pleasanter practice when their patients,
are intelligent in these fundamental matters. Doctors will then become what
they were intended to be, and what the good sense of all intelligent ones sug-
gests they should be, the confidential and successful health advisers of the
people. An intelligent obedience to health laws will supplant the indiscrimin-
ate and often hurtful use of patent nostrums and strong medicines.
Through all these difficulties medical science has had to advance. Its po-
sition to-day is the result of much empiricism, and the recording of observa-
tions made. It must of necessity be a growth, the concentrated wisdom of
the ages.
It is much to be regretted that no records of the early medical practice in.
the county are accessible. Rebel flames consumed, in 1864, much of what had
been collected in that line. In the following pages will be found such facts
as could be gathered from a variety of sources. Dr. W. C. Lane, of Mercers-
burg, has kindly contributed the personal sketches of a number of prominent
physicians, all written in his inimitable style. His brother, Dr. S. Gr. Lane,
has furnisned the material relative to the early diseases and epidemics of the
county.
Had the registration now in force existed from the early settlement, many
facts connected with the profession, which are now wholly lost, would have
been preserved, The past may not be remedied: the future may be secured by
an adoption of the wise policy of preserving records carefully and fully.
EARLY MEDICAL HISTOEY OF CHAMBEESBUEG.
The first physician who ever practiced medicine within the present limits
of Franklin. County was Dr. Hugh Mercer, subsequently the distinguished
general of the Revolution.
DK. HUGH MEKCEE.
Hugh Mercer was born in Aberdeen, Scotland, in 1721, and, after receiv-
ing a liberal education, devoted himself to the study of medicine. At the
memorable battle of Culloden, between the forces of Charles Edward and the
Duke of Cumberland, Dr. Mercer served as a surgeon's assistant; and, after
the defeat of the Scotch army, and the flight of the Pretender, he left his na-
tive country, a refugee, and came to America. He settled near Greencastle,
Franklin Co., Penn. , about the year 1750. At that early date, this region was
an almost unexplored wilderness, and it is difficult to understand why the cul-
tivated young physician should select so wild a location, in which few white
men were yet to be found. He remained there until the Indians, emboldened
by the defeat of Braddock, in 1755, made frequent and bloody forays into the
country east of the Kittatinny Mountain. To protect themselves from these
HISTOEY OF FRANKLIN COUNTY. 271
murderous irruptious, the settlers formed themselves into several companies of
rangers, of one of which Dr. Mercer was appointed captain. His commission
is dated March 6, 1756. His held of operation extended from the Welsh
Run District, and Mercersburg, into remote regions along the foot of the moun-
tain. His headquarters were frequently at McDowell's Fort, situated at the
present village of Bridgeport. Dr. Mercer's company formed a part of the
force of Col. John Armstrong, with which he surprised and destroyed the In-
dian village at Kittatinny, in the fall of 1756. On this occasion, he marched
from Fort Shirley, in Huntingdon County, at which post he discharged the
duties of surgeon to the garrison, as well as those pertaining to his military
station. At Kittanning, he was severely wounded in the shoulder, by a rifle
bullet, and was carried from the field to a place of safety. But becoming sep-
arated from his comrades, he was soon surrounded by the savages, and saved
himself from capture by crawling into the trunk of a fallen and hollow tree.
During the progress of the fight, the Indians passed over the tree in which he
was concealed; but, not suspecting his presence, he remained undiscovered.
After the rout of the foe, Mercer crept from his hiding place, and found that
his friends had also left the field of battle. His situation was now one of no
ordinary embarrassment and danger. Faint from the loss of blood, and suf-
fering from a severe wound, he was alone in the wilderness, surrounded by a
savage foe, at a distance of more than one hundred miles from any settlement,
and without the means of procuring subsistence. Under these trying and
discouraging circumstances, the dauntless courage of the heroic soldier did not
desert him. He determined to pursue his way as best he could toward Fort
Cumberland, which then stood where the town of Cumberland, Md. , was sub-
sequently built. On his slow and painful journey he lived on roots, berries
and the body of a rattlesnake, which, with much difficulty, he managed to kill
and skin, in consequence of the wound received at Kittanning having rendered
his right arm powerless. After encountering many and great privations, he at
length reached the Fort, just as his strength was about sinking under the fa-
tigue and suffering he had so long endured. He slowly recovered from his
wound, and, in the summer of the following year, 1757, he was commander
of the garrison in the fort at Shippensburg, then the verge of the frontier of
the province. On December 4, 1757, he was commissioned major in the
"forces of the Province of Pennsylvania," and "was posted west of the
Susquehanna. ' ' Mercer accompanied the command of Gen. John Forbes, in
his expedition in the following year, against Fort Du Quesne. During this
march he first met Washington, then a brigadier- general of Virginia troops;
and, at this period, began the intimate and enduring friendship which existed
between these two distinguished men. After the evacuation and burning of
Fort Du Quesne, by the French and Indians, Mercer, now promoted to colonel,
was left in command of the post, and by him the fortification was partially re-
built. Two hundred of Washington's Virginia troops formed part of the
garrison, which comprised in all 409 men.
After the conclusion of the French and Indian war and the evacuation of
the Western forts by their French garrisons, Col. Mercer temporarily retired
from military life, and, at the solicitation of Washington, left his home in the
wilds of Pennsylvania, taking up his abode at Fredericksburg, Va. , where he
resumed the practice of medicine. He was living in Fredericksburg at the be-
ginning of the Revolution, and was commissioned colonel of one of the Vir-
ginia regiments in the patriot army. Through the influence of Washington he
received the appointment of brigadier- general. He accompanied Washington
on his retreat through New Jersey, and " rendered him valuable aid at the
272 HISTORY OF FRANKLIN COUNTY.
battle of Trenton." At the battle of Princeton in 1777, Mercer led the van-
guard of the American army, and, while exhibiting admirable skill and courage
in the management of his command, his horse was shot under him and he was
forced to continue the fight on foot. He was quickly surrounded by a number
of British soldiers and ordered to surrender. Unheeding the summons he drew
his sword and vigorously began the unequal contest with his overpowering
foes. At length he was beaten to the ground with their muskets, and, after
brutally thrusting him with their bayonets, they left him, supposing life had
fled. He was carried to a neighboring house by Maj. Armstrong, a son of
his old commander, Col. John Armstrong. When Washington heard the sad
fortune of his friend and compatriot, he sent his nephew, Maj. Lewis, to watch
over the last hours and minister to the wants of the dying hero. A few
days after the battle, Mercer died in the arms of Maj. Lewis. In private life
Mercer was mild and retiring, and his gentle and amiable deportment gave no
indication of the dauntless bravery he so often displayed in sanguinary con-
flicts with savage and civilized foes.
Whether the professional visits of Dr. Mercer extended to the settlement
at the Falling Spring, we have no means of ascertaining; but beyond doubt
they did, as there was at that time no physician but himself in the Conoco-
cheague settlement, which then included the district between Chambersburg
and his place of residence. At a much later day .the physicians of Cham-
bersburg were in the habit of making much longer professional rides.
In the early days of Chambersburg, the hardy settlers were unacquainted
with the luxuries and refinements of more cultivated society, and their primi-
tive habits and modes of living rendered the services of a physician rarely
necessary. In most new settlements of that day, there were men among the
sturdy pioneers who possessed some general knowledge of the more simple
diseases, and the means by which they could be successfully treated. Thus,
they were enabled to dispense with the services of the medical man, until the
growth of the community, and the introduction of the many enervating
customs of fashionable life, multiplied their diseases, and required the aid of
those who made diseases and their treatment their special study. The people
of the Conococheague formed no exception to this rule.
Many years ago, the Hon. George Chambers told the writer that his
grandfather, Col. Benjamin Chambers, the founder of the settlement, was
in the habit of gratuitously prescribing for his neighbors, and performing the
operations of extracting teeth and bleeding when they were required.
DE. JOHN CALHOON.
However, as the settlement increased in numbers, and the habits of the
people changed, a physician was needed, and Dr. John Calhoon came to the
place. We know little about Dr. Calhoon' s early life, further than that he
was a native of Cumberland County, and a gentlemen of education who had
been regularly instructed in the' science of medicine. He married Miss
Kuhamah, daughter of Col. Chambers, and lived in the white weather-boarded
house on the northeast corner of Main and King Streets. He lived there for
some years, and, in 1782, began the erection of the fine stone building north
of the Falling Spring Church, now owned and occupied by William L.
Chambers, Esq. Dr. Calhoon died in the same year, in the forty-second year
of his age. The building was completed and occupied by his widow. During
a visit to his daughter, Mrs. Calhoon, Coh Benjamin Chambers received his
summons to depart; and, after an illness of a few hours, died on the 17th of
February, 1788, aged about eighty years. The departure of this noted man
was calm and peaceful, and free from physical suffering.
HISTORY OF FRANKLIN COUNTY. 273
DR. ABRAHAM SENSENY.
The next physician who settled in Chambersburg was Dr. Abraham Sen-
seny, the first of a family of physicians who adorned the medical profession
and whose professional labors extended through a century of the history of
Chambersburg. It is sad to remember that, only now, this conspicuous
family has no medical representative in the community in whose growth and
interest they were so prominently identified for so long a period. Dr.
Senseny was born in New Holland, Lancaster County, in 1761. At an early
age he went to York and began the study of his profession. In 1799, he went
to Hagerstown, Md. , with the design of locating in that town. But, not
liking the place, he came to Chambersburg, where he remained a short time,
and then returned to York, and recommenced his medical studies, and
remained in that town until the fall of 1781, when he finally settled perma-
nently in Chambersburg. At that early date the town was small and the
inhabitants few in number. The only street then laid out was Main Street,
which extended from the site of the Reformed Church to the residence of Dr.
Calhoon, which was some distance beyond the majority of the buildings. Dr.
Senseny lived in a small log house, which stood near the residence of the late
Dr. B. S. Schneck, on East Market Street. Between his house and the Public
Square were only three or four small log houses, mostly surrounded by woods.
Near the residence of Dr. Senseny was a considerable hill, on part of which
the academy now stands. This hill, which was largely removed by the
grading of the streets and the making of the railroad, was covered with
thick woods, which abounded in wild animals of different varieties. Mrs.
Senseny told the writer, many years ago, that the wolves could be heard howling
upon the hill at nightfall, and that they often ve'ntured near enough to the
margin of the woods to enable her to see their lank and grisly forms from her
door. On Market Street, between the Diamond and the Conococheague
Creek, no houses had been built, and the original forest yet remained. Col.
Chambers lived on the bank of the creek, near the western extremity of the
King Street bridge, and his orchard covered many acres, extending to Market
Street on the south, and to Franklin Street on the west. The only place
where the creek could be crossed was at the ford, where the fine bridge now
spans the stream at the western end of Queen Street. This ford was crossed
by means of a flat boat belonging to Col. Chambers. Dr. Senseny practiced
his profession in Chambersburg and the surrounding country for a period of
sixty- three years, and had a large practice, and was considered a safe and
judicious practitioner. He was the first physician to the Franklin County
Alms House, his term of service beginning in 1808, the year in which the
institution was built. Dr. Senseny died suddenly, of apoplexy, in February,
1844, when he had nearly completed his eighty -third year.
DR. ALEXANDER STEWART.
Dr. Alexander Stewart was a native of Edinburgh, Scotland, and received
his medical education at the celebrated university of that city. We know noth-
ing of hie early life. He was appointed surgeon's mate in the Third Pennsyl-
vania Regiment, in the Continental Army, and served in the general hospital
for three years, from 1776 to 1779. On the 16th of October, 1779, he'was
appointed surgeon of the regiment. He resigned his position January 1, 1783,
and settled in Chambersburg. He was induced to go there by the influence of
Maj. Allison, a soldier of the Revolution, and then a resident of the town.
Many of the older citizens will remember the brave old soldier who lived so
long among them. The writer has had access to an old day-book which
274 HISTORY OF FRANKLIN COUNTY.
belonged to Dr. Stewart, and which contains charges against many of the old
and most influential citizens of Chambersburg and its neighborhood. It will
be observed that the professional visits of the Doctor extended many miles
from his home, and into remote regions whose people wished to avail themselves
of his professional skill. The charges extend through the years 1783-84-85-
86. A few of these entries we will transcribe. On the 13th of March, 1783,
appear the following items: "Col. Benjamin Chambers, To Miss Hetty, Sal.
Glaub. 1 oz." "Col. James Chambers, To family visit, 15 shillings; August
17th, 1783, To Betsy, 12 pil. Mercury, 2s. Gd." "Col. Crawford (at creek),
23 September, 1783, To 6 vomits, 4s." "Andrew Phillips (cross the ford),
To son, vomit, 2s." "John Andrew (spring), Dec. 8, 1783, to the Schoolmas-
ter, Cath. Is." "Samuel Ireland (Fort London), July 16, 1783, To son,
vomit, Is. 3d." "Mr. Lang (Minister), June 26, 1784, To a poor man a
vomit and cathartic, by your desire." "Capt. Benjamin Chambers, Nov. 23,
1783, To 1 dr. Camphor Is. 6d.'" "Col. Culbertson, May 5, 1783, To son,
visit and dressing toe, 8 shillings." Among other names appear those of
William Chambers, Col. James Young. John Calhoon, Mr. McCulloh (at
Fullerton's Mill, father of the late Thomas G McCulloh, Esq.), Edward Craw-
ford, Sr,, Samuel Dryden, Walter Beatty, George Chambers, Joseph Cham-
bers, Maj. Boggs, Alexander Culbertson, John Eaton (mountain fort), William
Wier (below Claren's gap), John Ramsey (Tuscarora Yalley), against whom
the following entry is made on the 28th of September, 1783, " To visit, reduc-
ing fractured tibia and fibula 1£ — 10 shillings." Nathan McDowell, John
Kerr (near Town), James Crawford (in the corner), Mr. Brown (Big Spring),
Capt. Piper (near Fort Loudon), Humphrey Fullerton, Esq., Fergus Moor-
head, Jeremiah Galvin (Rocky Spring), Col. John Thomson, John Morton
(Tuscarora Valley), Nicholas Snider, Alexander Crawford, Mr. Elliott (Path
Yalley), Josiah Allen, William Wallace (in town), Capt. Conrad Snider, John
Moor (Back Creek), Maj. Talbot, Col. Watson, M. Fawver (minister), John
Jack, John Yance and William Dickie (West Conococheague). These, as
well as many other names in this quaint old book, are conspicuously distin-
guished in the early history of Franklin County, and many of them were brave
soldiers in the Revolution. The Doctor's practice was large, and, as is obvi-
ous from the extracts from his account book, of the highest respectability.
Citizens of Bedford, McConnellsburg, Big Spring and other equally dis
fcant localities, were also among the Doctor's large clientage. Dr. Stewart
built and resided in the white rough-cast house, on the corner of Queen and
Water Streets, which, after his death, was for many years occupied by his
brother-in-law, the late Maj. Allison. Dr. Stewart died in 1793.
DR. ANDREW m' DO WELL.
Dr. Andrew McDowell was brought up in the neighborhood of Mercersburg,
and prosecuted his medical studies at the University of Pennsylvania, from
which institution he received the degree of M. B. . in the vear 1787.
Soon after the completion of his studies, he located in Chambersburg, and
entered upon the active practice of his profession. He remained here
until the year 1831, when he relinquished his profession, moved to Mer-
cersburg, Penn. , and lived with his son, Dr. John McDowell, a prominent
practitioner of that town, until the occurrence of his death, at an advanced
age. in the year 1846. Dr. McDowell had another son, Dr. Andrew, who re-
sided in Pittsburgh, and ranked among the most prominent physicians of
Western Pennsylvania. Dr. McDowell was a fine classical scholar, and,
during his residence in Chambersburg, enjoyed a large and respectable practice.
HISTORY OF FRANKLIN COUNTY. 275
DR. CLINGMAN.
A Dr. Clingman lived in Chambersburg for six or seven years, between the
years 1788 and 1798. He was a man of fine ability and character, and stood
high in the estimation of the public. His manners were agreeable and his
address very pleasing. Yet, he made little effort to secure a medical practice,
and, consequently, his success was rather limited.
DR. ANDREW BAUM.
Dr. Andrew Baum, a native of Germany, lived in Chambersburg in the
year 1790, and occupied the house owned by the late Col. Elder, nearly oppo-
site the Falling Spring Church. He was a graduate of one of the celebrated
German universities, and was a fine scholar and an accomplished physician.
He remained in Chambersburg only two or three years, and then removed to
Demarara, where he died, after the accumulation of a very large fortune.
DR. WILLIAM B. SCOTT.
The next physician in regular succession was Dr. William B. Scott. Dr.
Scott was a son of Judge Scott, of Hunterstown, Adams Co. , Penn. , and set-
tled in Chambersburg about the year 1793. He was certainly here very early
in the following year, because his name frequently occurs in an old day-book
of 1794, which the writer had in his possession. He left town probably in
1804 or 1805. Dr. Scott was highly respected and was very popular on ac-
count of his fine social qualities and professional attainments. His friends
were many, and his practice was large.
DR. JOHN SLOAN.
Dr. John Sloan was born in the County Tyrone, Ireland, in the year
1760. Of his early years, no information can now be obtained, but the fact
that he was a licentiate of Dublin College of Surgeons, and the additional ,
assurance presented in his advertisement, when he movec 1 to Chambersburg,
"that he had attended the different classes in the profession, for nine years in
London, with the practice of their hospitals for that time;" and, further,
that he had ' ' practiced ten years in Europe, and four years in the city of
Philadelphia." Dr. Sloan acted a prominent part in the Irish rebellion of
1798, and was seized by the British Government and confined in the military
barracks at Claremont. After a few days' confinement in that place, he was
tried for treason, convicted and sentenced to death. Through the intercession
of the Rev. Hugh Boleyn, a Presbyterian divine, with his friend, Lord Caledon,
the latter exerted his influence with Lord Henry Murray, the commander of
of the force engaged in the suppression of the rebellion, and thus secured a
commutation of the sentence to one of one thousand lashes and banishment
from the country, within fourteen days, the original sentence to be en-
forced, provided he should ever return. The execution of this inhuman sen
tence was begun; but, before receiving one half of the number of lashes or-
dered, the surgeon of the station declared that his life would be forfeited,
should the whole number be inflicted. He was, accordingly, released, and left
Ireland as soon as he had recovered sufficiently to embark for America. He
arrived in Philadelphia in the beginning of the year 1799, with his body
cruelly lacerated by the brutal punishment he had received, by order of the
British Government. He remained in Philadelphia, and practiced hi s profes-
sion until 1803, when, on November 22, of that year, he moved to Chambers-
burg. Dr. Sloan died in August, 1831, aged seventy-one years.
276 HISTOKY OF FRANKLIN COUNTY.
DR. THOMAS WALMSLEY.
Dr. Thomas Walmsley completed his medical studies in Philadelphia, in
1803, and moved to Chambersburg soon afterward. He remained there only
a short time, and went to Hagerstown in the summer of 1805. He died soon
after his settlement in his new home. Dr. Walmsley was a gentleman of fine
intellect, and possessed a fondness for scientific investigations, which he pur-
sued with ardor and enthusiasm. As a physician he occupied the highest rank
among his brother physicians, both in Philadelphia and Chambersburg, while
with some of the most distinguished of the former he was associated in his
medical pupilage. In his death science lost an ardent and devoted follower.
DB. SAMUEL D. CTJLBERTSON.
Among the most distinguished men of the Cumberland Valley, the late Dr.
Samuel Duncan Culbertson holds a conspicuous place. Dr. Culbertson' s ances-
tors belonged to the famous Scotch-Irish, who were chiefly instrumental in res-
cuing the beautiful valley from its savage invaders in the old French and Indian
wars, and were ardent and uncompromising patriots all through the dark days
of the Revolution. Robert Culbertson, the father of the Doctor, was captain
of a company of Cumberland County troops in the Fifth Battalion of Col.
Joseph Armstrong, as early as the summer of 1776. On the 14th day of Au-
gust, at a meeting of the supreme executive council of Pennsylvania, held in
Philadelphia, it was "ordered, that Robert Culbertson, Esq'r. be appointed
Waggon Master of said county (Cumberland), in the room of the said Matthew
Gregg," resigned. This was a responsible position in the military service of
the State, and its duties were by no means indicated by its title. Previous to
this date he had been promoted to lieutenant-colonel. This promotion had been
made as early as April, 1778. Samuel D. Culbertson was born on his father's
farm, at the head of " Culbertson' s Row," on the 21st of February, 1786. He
was educated at Jefferson College, Canonsburg, Pa. After the completion of
his college course he began the study of medicine in the office of Dr. Walmsley,
in Chambersburg. When that gentleman moved to Hagerstown, in 1805,
young Culbertson accompanied him; and, when the death of Dr. Walmsley oc-
curred soon afterward, the young student continued his studies in the office of
Dr. Young, with whom his deceased preceptor had formed a partnership. He
returned to Chambersburg in 1807, and began the practice of medicine, and
soon secured a very large and respectable business. Before his settlement in
Chambersburg, he attended one course of lectures in the University of Penn-
sylvania.
In 1836, as an acknowledgment of his professional skill and attainments,
he received the honorary degree of M. D. When the President made a requi-
sition on Pennsylvania for her quota of troops to resist the invasion of the
British army in 1812, the Doctor marched as first lieutenant of Capt. Jere-
miah Snider' s company of volunteers. When the troops had all assembled at
Meadville, the place of rendezvous, and were formed into a brigade, he was-
appointed surgeon-in-chief of the brigade, and remained in the field until the
expiration of the time for which the troops had enlisted, and then returned
home and resumed his practice. The peaceful vocation of a physician' s life
was, however, soon again interrupted by the rude alarm of war. When the
news of the threatened attack of the British on Baltimore, in 1814, reached
Chambersburg, Dr. Culbertson immediately raised a company of volunteers,
of which he was unanimously chosen captain, and marched without delay to>
the relief of that city. When the enemy retired and the services of the com-
pany were no longer needed, he marched it home, and again resumed his pro-
HISTORY OF FRANKLIN COUNTY. 279
fessional labors. He continued in active and laborious practice until the year
1832, when he retired from the ranks of a profession which he had so signally-
adorned, in favor of Drs. Lane and Bain, whom he had associated with him-
self a few months previously. After his retirement from practice, he did not
lose his interest in medical affairs, and was habitually consulted by his medical
brethren in emergencies and difficult or obscure cases. His wise counsel was
always cheerf ully rendered whenever sought. After his retirement from his
profession, he became extensively engaged in the manufacture of straw boards,
in conjunction with G. A. Shryock and several other gentlemen of Chambers-
burg. Subsequently he bought the interests of his partners, and, the business
proving highly lucrative and successful, he finally retired with a large fortune.
Dr. Culbertson' s contributions to medical literature were not extensive, but
they were original and valuable. ' ' A lengthy report of a case treated by him
was deemed of sufficient value to be appended to a work on kindred diseases
by a writer of authority; and a communication of his on a vexed question in
physiology attracted the hearty commendations of the celebrated Prof. Chap-
man, ' ' so long the most eminent member of the medical profession in America.
Dr. Culbertson died August 25, 1865, aged seventy-nine years, leaving a
reputation, possibly yet unrivaled, certainly unexcelled, in the medical his-
tory of Franklin County.
DR. JEBKMIAH SENSENT.
Dr. Jeremiah Senseny was a native of Chambersburg, and a son of Dr.
Abraham Senseny. He studied medicine under the instruction of his father,
and began the practice of it in the year 1809. Dr. Senseny pursued his pro-
fessional business with much ardor and enthusiasm until the beginning of the-
war with England, in 1812, when he promptly enlisted as a private in th»
company of Capt. Henry Reges, in the fall of that year. At Meadville, when
the brigade was formed, he was appointed assistant to Dr. S. D. Culbertson,
the surgeon-in-chief, but was soon compelled to resign the office in conse-
quence of failing health. In 1814 he again volunteered in his country's de-
fense, and went with Capt. John Findlay to Baltimore, as one of the officers
of the company commanded by that gentleman. At the close of the war he
resumed his practice in Chambersburg, which, for many years, was very large
and lucrative. He died August 6, 1863, at an advanced age.
DR. ALEXANDER T. DEAN.
Dr. Alexander T. Dean located in Chambersburg in 1815, after the close
of the war, in which he had taken an active part as a volunteer. He was a
member of a company that was formed in the neighborhood of Mercersburg,
and proceeded to Buffalo, in 1812. Previous to his removal to Chambersburg
he had resided for a short time in Huntingdon, Penn. , his native county. In
1816 he formed a partnership with Dr. Watkins, which, however, was not
long continued. In 1824 he and Dr. N. B. Lane formed an association,
which continued until 1826, and was dissolved by the contemplated removal
of Dr. Dean to Harrisburg, which event occurred in 1828. Dr. Dean was a
gentleman of very superior intellect, and possessed varied and extensive ac-
quirements. In medical lore, especially, he was thoroughly skilled. Although
possessing a great fondness for the literature of his profession, his mind was,
perhaps, rather too metaphysical and speculative for the dry details and un-
bending facts of medicine. He was a fluent and graceful speaker, and an
elegant and accomplished writer. Having suffered from severe attacks of
rheumatism, as well as from occasional hemorrhages from the lungs, he was,
to a considerable degree, unfitted for encountering the arduous duties per-
280 HISTORY OF FRANKLIN COUNTY.
taming to the practice of medicine. Dr. Dean practiced in Harrisbnrg from his
removal from Chambersburg, in 1828, until the autumn of 1834, when his valu-
able life was destroyed by cholera. Dr. Dean was forty-six years old when so
suddenly called away, and he died much lamented by a large circle of admir-
ing friends, to whom his many estimable qualities, of both head and heart,
had greatly eDdeared him.
DE. THOMAS G. WATKINS.
Dr. Thomas G. Watkins lived and practiced in Chambersburg from the
autumn of 1814 to the close of the year 1816. He then returned to Virginia,
in which State he had previously resided. He was a gentleman of fine appear-
ance and address, and was the possessor of much medical knowledge and skill.
However, he soon became unpopular with the people of the town, in conse-
quence of the exorbitant fees which he demanded for his professional services.
DE. GEOEGE B. m' KNIGHT.
Dr. George B. McKnightwas a native of Chambersburg, and the son of the
Rev. Dr. John McKnight, for some years pastor of Rocky Spring Church. Dr.
McKnight was also engaged in the war of 1814, and was a member of the vol-
unteer company commanded by Dr. Culbertson. At the close of the war he
was appointed surgeon in the army, in which capacity he served until the year
1824, when he resigned and settled in Chambersburg. He remained in prac-
tice there until 1829, when he received an appointment in the navy.
DE. PETEE EAHNESTOCK.
Dr. Peter Fahnestock practiced in Chambersburg from 1825 to 1837, re-
moving to Pittsburgh in the latter year. After residing in that city for several
years, he went to Indiana, in which State he died many years ago.
DE. JOSEPH LANG8TON.
In the year 1830, Dr. Joseph Langston went to Chambersburg and en-
gaged in the practice of his profession. He was an Englishman, and had
been licensed by the College of Apothecaries, of London, but had not received,
as that association does not confer, the title of doctor of medicine. After-
ward he devoted his attention particularly to surgery, and, as a practical sur-
geon, his acquirements were considered quite respectable. He was a skill-
ful operator, and, had sufficient opportunities offered, he would, doubtless,
have distinguished himself in that branch of medical science. He left town in
1883, and returned to England.
DE. WM. ELDEE AND DE. ALEX. SHIELDS.
Dr. William Elder and Dr. Alexander Shields began the practice of medi-
cine in Chambersburg nearly at the same time. Dr. Elder began in 1834,
and remained until 1836, and then moved to the western part of the State,
and, we believe, lived at one time in the city of Pittsburgh. Dr. Shields prac-
ticed between the years 1833 and 1835, and then went to Springfield, HI. ,
where he entered into a medical partnership with the late Dr. Edmund Cul-
bertson, of Chambersburg. Dr. Elder had a fine literary taste, which he assid-
uously improved, and became a lecturer on slavery and temperance, of much
power and acceptance. He was an able, eloquent and effective speaker.
DE. DAVID JAMISON.
Dr. David Jamison, a young physician of Baltimore, located in Chambers-
burg in 1832, with the design of making that town the theater of his future
HISTORY OF FRANKLIN COUNTY. 281
professional labors. But his hopes were destined to an early and fatal disap-
pointment. A short time after his arrival, in the night of October 13, 1832,
he was seized with cholera, during its first visitation to Chambersburg, and,
before the dawn of the morrow, his spirit had fled to another sphere, beyond
the grave.
DK. WILLIAM A. FINLEY.
Dr. William A. Finley, after having been largely engaged in the practice
of his profession for more than twenty years in Shippensburg, Penn. , moved to
Chambersburg in 1836. His career was lamentably short, as he died suddenly
in the next year. Dr. Finley was a gentleman of fine literary cultivation and
general acquirements, and was very popular as a man, as well as a physician.
His acquaintance with history, both ancient and modern, sacred and profane,
was large and accurate. He had a special fondness for poetry, and, among
modern poets, Burns was his favorite, most of whose poems he had committed
to memory, and extracts from which, on proper occasions, he was fond of quot-
ing. He was a gentleman of imposing presence; and, in manner, was courte-
ous and attractive. As a physician he was held in high esteem by his medi-
cal brethren, as well as by the community at large.
DR. WILLIAM H. BOYLE.
Dr. William H. Boyle was born on Rathlin Island, off the northern coast of
Ireland. In his infancy his family came to America, and lived successively in
Upper Strasburg, Shippensburg, and, finally, in Chambersburg- In his boy-
hood it was the intention of his father that his son should adopt the trade fol-
lowed by himself, that of the tailor. Accordingly William took his place upon
the board, and worked industriously at his calling, and gradually became in-
ducted into the mystery of cutting and making garments. He soon found that
his trade was not quite congenial, and longed for a larger and more conspicu-
ous sphere of usefulness. Dr. William A. Finley, of Shippensburg, a former
friend of the family, moved to Chambersburg, and furnished the opportunity.
The young aspirant for medical fame entered the office of Dr. Finley, and pur-
sued his studies with untiring zeal and assiduity. The pleasant relations be-
tween the young student and his preceptor were, unfortunately, terminated
by the sudden death of Dr. Finley, in 1837. Soon after that untoward event,
he entered the office of Dr. N. B. Lane, under whose direction his studies were
continued and his pupilage ended. In 1841, Dr. Boyle began the practice of
medicine in Chambersburg. In recognition of his high professional character
and attainments, the Pennsylvania Medical College conferred on him the hon-
orary degree of M. D. Dr. Boyle was distinguished for the versatility of his
talents, and was a remarkably fluent and piquant writer. During the years
1851-52 he was editor of the Valley Sentinel, a Democratic newspaper, which
was subsequently merged into the Valley Spirit. Dr. Boyle was a most kind
and generous friend. Those who applied to him for sympathy or relief, were
never sent away empty. The work of charity and of love, which is compre-
hended in nearly a half-century of a life devoted to the amelioration of
human infirmity and suffering in their diversified forms, can iiot be fully appre-
ciated here, but must wait for its full revelation in eternity. Dr. Boyle was,
in the truest sense, a self-made man. He had not the advantages of an early
education, and his pathway through life was rugged, and, often, beset with
thorns. But he trod it bravely, and grew stronger as he walked, and strewed it
with blessings upon the poor, the lowly and the sorrowing, who were soothed and
comforted by the kind ministrations of this " beloved physician." Dr. Boyle
died on the 9th of April, 1877, aged about sixty years.
282 HISTORY OF FRANKLIN COUNTY.
DR. JOHN LAMBERT.
Dr. John Lambert moved to Chambersburg in the year 1837, from Waynes-
boro, where he had been engaged in practice. He had also previously prac-
ticed in Maryland. Dr. Lambert was an energetic and capable physician, and
soon acquired a respectable share of the practice of the town and neighborhood.
His manners were hearty and pleasing, and his acquaintance rapidly grew into
large proportions. After an active life of many years, Dr. Lambert died Sep-
tember 27, 1872.
DR. JOHN M'CLELLAN.
There is another distinguished physician, without some reference to whom
this sketch would be singularly incomplete. We refer to the late Dr. John
McClellan, of Greencastle. Although Dr. McClellan was never a resident of
Chambersburg, yet, living so near it and visiting it so often, professionally,
as he did, and exercising so large an influence over its medical affairs, we
may, without violence to the unity of our task, speak of him among the promi-
nent physicians of the town. Dr. McClellan was a native of Franklin County,
and was brought up near the place where his long and useful life was spent.
At an early age he went to Philadelphia and began the study of medicine in the
office of the celebrated Dr. Benjamin Rush, one of the most illustrious names in
American history. Dr. McClellan remained in the office of his distinguished
preceptor for nearly three years, during which time he also attended the lec-
tures delivered in the University of Pennsylvania, and, in due time, received
from that institution, then the only medical school in America, the degree of
Bachelor of Medicine, as, at that date, the degree of M. D. was not yet con-
ferred by the university on its graduates. After the completion of his pupil-
age under Dr. Rush, he received from him the following flattering testimonial:
I do hereby certify that Dr. John McClellan hath studied Physic under my care as an
apprentice near three years, during which time he hath diligently and punctually attended
all the Medical Lectures given in the University; also the Pennsylvania Hospital. He
hath since undergone the usual examination, public and private, and hath entitled himself,
with reputation, to a Degree in Medicine. I beg leave to recommend him as a gentleman
of abilities and knowledge in his profession — of great integrity — of amiable manners —
and of irreproachable moral character. He carries with him not only the esteem of his
preceptors in Physic, but of all who have known him in the course of his studies.
Benjamin Rush, M. D.,
Professor of Chemistry in the University of Pennsylvania.
Philadelphia, April 30th, 1788.
The same year in which Dr. McClellan received this flattering recommenda-
tion he settled in Greencastle, and unremittingly practiced his arduous and
exacting profession for the long period of fifty- eight years. For ten or twelve
years before his death he partially withdrew from the general labors of the
profession, and devoted his time particularly to the more intricate duties of a
physician's life, such as consultations and the more important surgical opera-
tions. Dr. McClellan was a man of sound judgment, and thoroughly ac-
quainted with medical science in its widest range. He was, of course, a judi-
cious and successful practitioner, He had, however, an especial fondness for
the practice of surgery, for which his steady hand and firm nerve and exten-
sive knowledge of anatomy admirably fitted him. He was a bold and dextrous
operator, and, among others, successfully performed most of the more difficult
and hazardous operations of the art. In private life Dr. McClellan was kind,
courteous and unaffected. His manners were hearty and sympathetic, and his-
fine moral character and great professional ability have made him one of
Franklin County's greatest and most esteemed citizens. He died in June,,
1846, at the advanced age of eighty-four years.
HISTORY OF FRANKLIN COUNTY. 283
DR. JOHN CUSTIS RICHABDS.
One of the cultivated and successful physicians of Chambersburg, whom
his medical brethren and the people generally delight to honor, was the dis-
tinguished and lamented subject of our sketch. Born in Baltimore, Md., June
1, 1812, of highly reputable Welsh ancestry, and possessed in his childhood of
superior social advantages, he began life with all the preparation which a care-
ful and systematic education could furnish. Under the admirable scholastic
training, for five years, of Rev. R. H. Davis, in charge of an academy at Bell
Air, Md., and six months' practical instruction at Burlington, N. J., he was ad-
mirably qualified to enter the Sophomore class at Yale College in 1830. After
•eighteen months he was called home by the severe illness of his mother and
brother, both of whom died soon after his return. He at once began his
studies for the medical profession under the direction of Dr. Samuel Baker,
professor of anatomy in the Medical University of Maryland, and graduated
in 1834, his diploma being issued by the university just mentioned. After
his graduation he began a very successful professional career in Baltimore,
but the city practice being distasteful to him, he removed to Chambersburg in
1837. His professional skill, combined with unusual personal graces, soon se-
cured an extensive and lucrative practice in the best families of the town
and adjoining country.
During the war of the Rebellion he was unswerving in his attachment to
the Government, and willingly made any personal sacrifice for its defense and
support. In the early part of the war he had charge of a soldiers' hos-
pital in Chambersburg, and later held the position of aid on the staff of the
surgeon-general of the State. At the burning of the town in 1864 he lost all
his property, the accumulation of many years of patient toil. He regretted
most, however, the destruction of his papers and his well-stocked library. The
Doctor was one of the organizers of the first medical society of the county in
1854, and always held a prominent place in its list of officials and active
workers. When its successor was established, he took an equally active part
in its affairs. He was twice married, and left a widow, three daughters
and one son, at the time of his death, June 11, 1874. His family life was
a most happy one — the sunlight so freely exhibited in his intercourse with
people generally being particularly manifested in the domestic circle. He
was careful and conscientious in his practice. His diagnosis of disease was
rational and thorough; his treatment prompt to the demands of duty, and
his intercourse with other physicians always in harmony with the most rigid
code of professional ethics. His presence with the sick was the impartation of
joyful hope, his whole expression being of the inspiring class. His varied ex-
perience in life, his retentive memory, his fine conversational powers, which
utilized his vast store of reminiscences and pleasing anecdotes, made him an
agreeable companion.
Dr. S. G. Lane, who knew him long and intimately, thus speaks of him:
"Dr. Richards was a notable man in many respects. He was remarkably
handsome; his fine physique was developed and invigorated by athletic training
in his youth, and by field sports, which he enjoyed throughout his life; he was
a splendid type of elastic strength. Added to his fine presence were rare
graces of address and demeanor, courtesy, affability, refinement — all the pleas-
ing traits which constitute the gentleman. His disposition was kind and affec-
tionate; he was warmly attached to his friends; of a gentle, forbearing tem-
perament, averse to contentions and controversies, yet compelling respect. Dr.
Richards was a higher style of man still; he was a faithful Christian — a full
member of the Falling Spring Presbyterian Church. In the public progress,
284 HISTORY OF FRANKLIN COUNTY.
and in the limited movements of the community about him, he took an active
interest. During the rebellion his heart was loyal to the government, and his-
sympathies and anxieties were keenly enlisted in the cause of the Union and
freedom. ' '
DR. WILLIAM MAGAW.
Among the distinguished men of Franklin County was Dr. William Magaw,
of Revolutionary fame. He was a native of Carlisle, and a brother of Col.
Robert Magaw, commander of the Fifth Pennsylvania Battalion, which was-
captured by the British at Fort Washington, on November 16, 1776. In_
June, 1775, James Chambers, son of Col. Benjamin Chambers, of Cham-
bersburg, enlisted a company of volunteers in the town and neighborhood, and
marched at once to join the American Army, then lying before Boston. This
was styled the First Company of the First Pennsylvania Rifle Battallion,
which was commanded by Col. William Thompson, of Carlisle. Subsequent-
ly, Edward Hand, of Lancaster, became its colonel, and the battalion was
known as Hand's Rifle Battalion in the army at Cambridge. Of this
battalion Dr. Magaw was appointed surgeon, his commission bearing date
June 25, 1775.
The Rifle Battalion enlisted for one year, at the expiration of which time
it re-enlisted as the First Regiment of the Pennsylvania Line, with Col. Ed-
ward Hand as its commander. This brave officer was soon afterward ap-
pointed brigadier-general, and Col. Chambers succeeded to the command of
the regiment on the 26th of September, 1776. Dr. Magaw re-enlisted as
third lieutenant, and also surgeon, August 10, 1776, and was promoted to a
second lieutenantcy January 16, 1777, thus acting in a two-fold capacity, as
a military and medical officer. He was then transferred to the Ninth Penn-
sylvania Regiment and finally to the Fourth Pennsylvania, January 17, 1781.
It appears from the record (Pennsylvania Archives, Second Series, Vol. X),
that he was also surgeon of the Fourth Pennsylvania, before receiving his ap-
pointment as surgeon of the First, on its organization in 1776.
After leaving the army he settled in Mercersburg, practiced medicine-
for many years, and became the owner of much valuable land near the
town. At length, when well stricken in years, he was taken to Meadville by
his son, William, in whose family he lived the residue of his days, which, how-
ever, were not many.
DR. EOBEET JOHNSTON.
An equally distinguished man was Dr. Robert Johnston, a native of Antrim
Township, and also a surgeon in the Revolution. Col. James Johnston, the
eldest brother of Robert, was a soldier in the Revolution. " Col. Thomas John-
ston, the second brother, was adjutant of the detachment of troops under Gen.
Wayne which was surprised and slaughtered at Paoli, September 20, 1777.
He twice served as colonel in the Revolutionary war." [McCauley.] The
third son, Robert, entered the medical profession. At a meeting of the com-
mittee of safety, held in Philadelphia, January 16, 1776, it was resolved,
' ' that Dr. Robert Johnston, recommended by Drs. Thomas Cadwallader,
Thomas Bond, Adam Kuhn and William Shippen, Jr., according to a former
resolve of this board (January 4, 1776,) is hereby appointed surgeon to the Sixth,
or Col. William Irvine's Battalion, to be raised by order of the Congress."
He continued in service until 1781, "when he was ordered by Gen. Greene, to
leave the regimental service and assist the wounded officers and soldiers of
the American Army, prisoners in the British hospital in Charleston, S. C. Dr.
Johnston died November 25th, 1808, near Waynesboro, Franklin County,
Penn., and is buried in the Johnston graveyard, now (November, 1879), on
HISTORY OF FRANKLIN COUNTY. 285
the Whitmer farm near that place." [Pennsylvania Archives, New Series,
Vol. X.]
DE. JESSE MAGAW.
Dr. Jesse Magaw, son of Dr. William Magaw, was born and brought up
in Mercersburg. He studied medicine with his father, and began the practice
of his profession in his native town. He was a medical officer in the American
Army in the last war with England. He was married to Maria, widow of
Samuel Johnson, and sister of the Hon. James Buchanan, late President of
the United States. He died September 29, 1823. He is buried in a neg-
lected graveyard, situated a short distance east of the town of Mercersburg.
DR. D. HAYES AGNEW.
This eminent surgeon of Philadelphia, who was one of the prominent physi-
cians called to the bedside of President Garfield during his eighty days' strug-
gle with the assassin's mortal wound, was at one time a practicing physician
of Franklin County, as will appear from the following letter in reply to an
interrogatory submitted him.
1611 Chestnut St., Philadelphia. Penn.
May 10, 1886.
Mr. J. Fraise Richard,
Dear Sir: — Immediately after I graduated, I settled for a very short time near Up-
ton, contemplating, if the locality promised well, to remain permanently. My stay was
brief. Yours truly.
D. Hayes Agnew.
The Doctor graduated about 1838, and shortly afterward published in the
Repository the following card:
Dr. D. H. Agnew offers his professional services to all who may favor him with their
calls. He may be found at Mr. Thomas McCausland's. near the Greencastle and Mer-
cersburg turnpike, midway between the above named places.
May 10, 1839.
Probably some of the older citizens in Peters, Montgomery and Antrim
Townships remember him well as their family physician.
EXPLANATORY.
A few words explanatory of the above may be in order, if not absolutely re-
quired. It was not the design of the writer to present a full and complete
medical biography of the physicians of Chambersburg. His purpose was to
sketch those who lived and practiced there in the early years of *its settlement
and growth, and to embrace a period terminating a half century ago. In short,
his main object was to rescue from oblivion those pioneers in the profession
who were identified with the early history of the town. It would have been a
pleasing task for him to have followed the history down to the present day;
but this was obviously impossible, and would for many reasons, have been
impracticable. This is the less to be regretted, as it is to be presumed that
sketches of Drs. N. B. Lane, A. H. Senseny and most, if not all, of the accom-
plished medical gentlemen of Chambersburg will appear in the special bio-
graphical department. — W. C. L.
epidemics.
In 1821 an epidemic of fever prevailed in Franklin County. It is thus
described in the graduating essay of Dr. N. B. Lane, which was published by
the faculty of the University of Pennsylvania, and can be found on the pages
of The American Medical Recorder, July, 1823 :
" The disease was distinguished by the following symptoms: Dullness, lan-
guor, lassitude, pains in the bones, sickness of stomach, coldness, a creeping
286 HISTORY OF FRANKLIN COUNTY.
sensation along the back, and pain in the side; the tongue was natural; vomit-
ing sometimes appeared in the first stage, and the bowels were costive; the
skin was dry, shriveled and cold. These symptoms were soon followed by
the fever, during which the pulse was not very full, but quick and frequent ;
the skin very hot and dry, and the fever high, often continuing for twenty -
four hours ; the tongue was parched, and furred in the middle, and of a brown
color; the thirst was excessive, and drinks taken into the stomach were fre-
quently rejected; the bowels were torpid; the eyes wild and sometimes fixed
and dull; the countenance gloomy and clouded; great debility and inclination
to sleep prevailed, with the mind often disordered and delirious and the res-
piration anxious and uneasy. The third stage commenced, sometimes in
twelve, and often not till twenty-four hours had elapsed. The perspiration
was sometimes free, at others cold and clammy, and, in general, partial and
imperfect. The patient aften complained of illness for several days; but, in
many instances, was taken suddenly after slight exercise. They were at-
tacked equally in the day and night. The disease assumed the intermittent,
remittent and continued types; it first appeared in the quotidian, tertian, quar-
tan and double tertian forms, and its type was sometimes characterized by
coma and convulsions of an hysterical and epileptic character. It was, how-
ever, generally tertian in its type and continued so. It sometimes varied, be-
coming quartan, quotidian and very often remittent. The changes at times
were sudden, but not unfrequently protracted and slow, before they exhibited
the symptoms of the new type; the intermissions were rather feverish and
short. In the neighborhood of Chambersburg, this epidemic first appeared in
the latter part of July, spread more extensively in August, gained its height
in September and finally terminated in November. It was general; whole
families were confined at once. It did not, however, prove fatal, few deaths
only occurring, and those taking place after the third paroxysm in the sopor-
ose form of the disease, or after relapses, which were frequent, occurring three
or four times in the same person, and were sometimes produced by the slight-
est exposure.
" In other parts of the county, for instance in the neighborhood of Mercers-
burg, a small town sixteen miles southwest of Chambersburg, the disease pre-
vailed to a more alarming extent, as also in the neighborhood of Greencastle
and Waynesburg, both small towns situated in a southern direction; the former
distant eleven and the latter fifteen miles. From a very respectable practi-
tioner of the former place, I understood the disease first made its appearance
in his neighborhood in harvest, and was likewise very destructive. Imme-
diately in our borough, it was as healthy as usual; the cases which occurred
were principally confined to its suburbs, and along the water- courses. ' ' The dis-
ease was recognized as miasmatic, and treated accordingly.
From a letter of Dr. N. B. Lane, written to his sister, Mrs. Hayman of
Georgetown, D. C, dated September 30, 1823, we make the following quota-
tions: " There has been much sickness in Franklin County this season, but
particular in this neighborhood. Dr. Culbertson ' ' (the leading, but not the
most employed physician in the town) ' ' has ridden from four o' clock in the
morning, till three o'clock, three nights in succession; his shop was often so
full that many could not get speaking to him for hours after being in. There
have not been many deaths in proportion to the number sick, but many have
died notwithstanding. Business never was so dull in our place since my first
recollection of it; but it is owing to the sickness. The diseases are bilious fe-
ver, ague and fever and dysentery; the last has been most obstinate, and has
but lately made its appearance."
IMS
'-4-' i '
i. .--.',â– â–
2/ ^f (JJu^t^uaJ
HISTORY OF FRANKLIN COUNTY. 289
Cholera has twice invaded Chambersburg, in 1832 and in 1852, and proved
very destructive. It is a striking fact that the first case, in each visitation,
occurred in the same house, located in a healthy and central part of the town.
Such instances, however, have been reported in the history of the pestilence.
The first case in the epidemic of 1832 was a boy who had just returned home
from Hagerstown, Md., where the cholera was prevailing. Excepting persons
who had visited Chambersburg, no cases, we believe, occurred in the country.
Dysentery prevailed endemically in Chambersburg in 1850, and carried
off several of our foremost citizens. In 1850 it raged along the foot of the
North Mountain, and in 1885 it appeared violently in the same region, having
its center in Mercersburg.
Typho-malarial fever frequently spreads along the mountain side, and ery-
sipelas and puerperal diseases are more frequent there than in the center of
the valley. With the exceptions noted, Franklin County has had no epidemics
or endemics, worthy of special record.
MEDICAL ASSOCIATIONS.
Franklin County has had several medical societies. Owing to the destruc-
tion of newspaper files and the records of these societies, we can give but an im-
perfect sketch of them as obtained frorn various sources.
In the FrankliD Repository of January 4, 1825, we find the following rec-
ord. The previous notice could not be found, but its nature may readily
be inferred.
"la pursuance of previoas notice, a large number of the physicians of Frank-
lin County and its neighborhood met at the house of Col. John Findlay; and
upon having organized themselves by calling Dr. Culbertson to the chair, and
appointing Dr. Dean and Dr. Findlay, of Shippensburg, secretaries, adopted
the following resolutions:
R 'solved (1st), That a nodical society be established in Chambersburg, to meet semi-
anually, and that Dcs. Dean, Culbertson, McKnight, Lane and McDowell, be appointed
a committee to draft a constitution, and make a report thereof at the first meeting of the
society, which will be held on the 7th of February, at early candle light.
R S)lv3d (21), That one of the objects of this convention is to establish a uniform
and fixed mode of charging, suited to the state of the times, the publication of the bill of
rates, which has been agreed upon, be delayed until after the meeting in February next,
in order that tlie physicians who could not mak ; it convenient to attend, may again have
an opportunity of being present, and voting upon a revision of its several items.
Resolved (3d), That the nude of charging which shall have been agreed upon and
published, be considered as the standard by winch all contested accounts shall thereafter
be settled in case they are referred to any of the members of this society.
Resolved (4th), That the annexed regulations, which have been read to the conven-
tion, be published as the Rule of Conduct by which the members of this society shall be
governed in their intercourse with each other and the sick. [Not found in my text. — R.]
Resolved (5th), That all those members of the medical profession in Franklin Coun-
ty, and its immediate neighborhood who do not attend the next meeting, or express their
approbation of its proceedings, by letter or otherwise, be considered as inimical to the
objects of the society, and unwilling to subject themselves to the government of the set of
rules to which the convention feel fully persuaded every honorable minded physician will
at once subscribe.
Resolved, That the above proceedings be signed by the chairman and secretaries,
and be published.
S. D. Culbertson, Chairman.
A. T. Dean, W. A. Finley — Secretaries.
This meeting is thus reported:
"An adjourned meeting of the physicians of Franklin County, and else-
where, was held at Col. John Findlay' s, in Chambersburg, on Monday even-
ing, the 7th of February, and after organizing themselves for business, by
calling Dr. John McClellan to the chair, and appointing Drs. McDowell and
16
290 HISTORY OF FRANKLIN COUNTY.
Lane, secretaries, the constitution for a medical society, to be called the Medi-
cal Society of Franklin County, was reported and adopted. The following-
gentlemen were then elected officers for the ensuing year, viz.: "Dr. John
McClellan, president; Drs. S. D. Culbertson and A. Heatherington, * vice-
presidents; Dr. A. T. Dean, corresponding secretary; Dr. N. B. Lane, re-
cording secretary; Dr. A. N. McDowell, treasurer; Drs. A. McDowell, Sr., G.
B. McKnight and L. Byrne, standing committee.
It was then resolved:
First, That the fee-bill, which had been reduced to suit the state of the times, be-
signed by all the physicians belonging to the society, and take effect from the 1st of Janu-
ary next.
Second, That all medical bills be presented for settlement, as far as practicable, at the
expiration of every year, and where any account is settled within six months after it haa
been contracted, a discretionary power be left with the physician to make a discount.
Third, That all physicians who belong to this society shall proceed to settle up their
back accounts as soon as practicable.
Fourth, That Dr. A. T. Lane, the corresponding secretary, be authorized to open a
correspondence with the different medical societies which are now in existence in the
State of Pennsylvania, or which may be hereafter organized, in order that such measures
may be devised and adopted as will be best calculated to suppress quackery, not only
within the immediate neighborhoods of such societies, but over the whole State; and that
in order to the more effectual attainment of this end, the combined talents and influence
of such societies be so directed as will be most likely to procure the enactment of a law for
the regulation of the practice of medicine in this Commonwealth.
Fifth, That the corresponding secretary be further authorized to open such corre-
spondence with individuals, 'andjwith the different medical associations, as will best tend to-
the advancement of medical science, or in any way promote the honor, usefulness or dig-
nity of the medical profession.
" Sixth, That we, the members of the Medical Society of Franklin County, agree to-
subject ourselves to be governed by, and most rigidly adhere to, all the rules and regula-
tions which are laid down in the Medical Ethics of Dr. Percival, and which have already
been published in the papers of this place.
Seventh, That these proceedings be signed by the president and secretaries.
Jno. McClellan, President.
N. B. Lane, A.. N. McDowell — Secretaries.
Chambersburg, February 15, 1825.
No further reports of the proceedings of this association can be found,
except this little extract from an old paper, which shows that the organization
was still in existence in the year 1829:
On the 16th of December, 1828, notice was given by N. B. Lane, Recording Secretary,
of a meeting to be held first Monday in January for the election of officers for ensuing
year.
The next account we find of any meeting of the disciples of iEsculapius is
taken from the Transcript of November 21, 1853, as follows:
At an incidental meeting of many of the physicians of the county in Chambers-
burg, on the 26th ult., E. Negley, M. D., of Mercersburg, having been called to the chair,
and A. H. Senseny, M. D., appointed secretary, it was resolved that a meeting of the
physicians of Franklin County be held at Chambersburg on the 8th of January next, for
the purpose of organizing a county medical society, as an auxiliary of the State Medical
Association. A. H. Sensent, Secretary.
At the appointed time the medical society convened (7thf January, 1854)
when Dr. E. Negley, of Mercersburg, was called to the chair, and Dr. S. G.
Lane, of Chambersburg, was appointed secretary. A committee on constitu-
tion and by-laws made a report, which was unanimously adopted. Adjourned
to meet the first Tuesday of the following April.
On the 4th of April, 1854, the first regular meeting of the medical society
of Franklin County was held, and the following officers elected: President,
S. D. Culbertson; vice-presidents, Dr. T. Hunter, Dr. Jno. Lambert; cor-
*Greencastle.
tThe call was made for the 8th. Probably the change was made to accommodate those who desired to cele-
brate Jackson's birthday.
HISTOHY OF FRANKLIN COUNTY.
291
responding secretary, Dr. Eliab Negley; recording secretaries, Dr. E. D.
Rankin, Dr. S. G. Lane; treasurer, Dr. J. C. Richards; censors, Drs. A. H.
Senseny, T. Hunter and Win. Grubb; board of examiners, Dr. J. C. Rich-
ards, Dr. J. K. Davidson.
This society continued for a term of years, doing efficient service to the
members of the profession in the county. It did not survive the war. Its
successor is the present organization.
We find from the minutes that on January 19, 1869, in pursuance of a call
signed generally by the physicians of the county, a meeting was held for the
purpose of forming a county medical society in connection with the State Med-
ical Society and National Medical Association. There were present Drs. W.
A. Hunter, J. M. Gelwix, I. N. Snively, E. A. Herring, J. B. Amberson, John
Lambert, J. C. Richards, A. H. Senseny, J. L. Suesserott, S. G. Lane, T.
J. McLanahan, Thos. M. Kennedy, John Montgomery, and W. H. Boyle.
A constitution and by-laws were adopted. From this we select the section
which defines the terms of membership as follows:
A candidate for membership must be a graduate of a reputable medical
college, must have practiced medicine in Franklin County for at least one year,
must be recommended by two members in good standing, and must pay an
admission fee of $3 and sign the constitution.
The following is the list of officers from the organization to the present
time:
1869. 1873.
President. A. H. Senseny.
Vice Presidents, J. K. Davidson, A. H.
Strickler.
Treasurer, J. C. Richards.
Recording Secretary, Wm. H. Boyle.
Corresponding Secretary, Sam. G. Lane.
Censors, J. L. Suesserott, Benj. Frantz,
Wm. A. Hunter.
1870.
President, J. K. Davidson.
Vice-Presidents, Robert S. Brownson,
J. L. Suesserott.
Recording Secretary, Wm. H. Boyle.
Corresponding Secretary, S. G. Lane.
Treasurer, John Montgomery.
Censors, J. L. Suesserott, Wm. A. Hunter,
R. S. Brownson.
1871.
President, John C. Richards.
Vice-Presidents, I. N. Snively, Wm. A.
Hunter.
Recording Secretary, Wm. H. Boyle.
Corresponding Secretary, Samuel G. Lane.
Treasurer, John Montgomery.
Censors, J. L. Suesserott, Wm. A. Hunter.
R. S. Brownson.
1872.
President, Wm. A. Hunter.
Vice Presidents, T. M. Kennedy, John H.
Flickinger.
Treasurer, T. J. McLanahan.
Recording Secretary, Wm. H. Boyle.
Corresponding Secretary, I. N. Snively.
Censors, Wm. A. Hunter, Geo. Cleery,
E. N. Senseny.
President, I. N. Snively.
Vice-Presidents, J. M. Gelwix, T. M.
Kennedy.
Recording Secretary, Wm. H. Boyle.
Corresponding Secretary, Samuel G. Lane.
Treasurer, T. J. McLanahan.
Censors, George Cleery, E. N. Senseny,
A. H. Strickler.
1874.
President, Samuel G. Lane.
Vice-Presidents, Jno. Montgomery, Wm.
P. Noble.
Recording Secretary, Wm. H. Boyle.
Corresponding Secretary, J. L. Suesserott.
Treasurer, T. J. McLanahan.
Censors, E. N. Senseny, A. H. Strickler,
John C. Richards.
1875.
President, Wm. H. Boyle.
Vice-Presidents, Wm. A. Hunter, 1. N.
Snively.
Treasurer, E. N. Senseny.
Recording Secretary, Samuel G. Lane.
Corresponding Secretary, John Mont-
gomery.
Censors, A. H. Strickler, Wm. P. Noble,
T. M. Kennedy.
1876.
President, John Montgomery.
Vice-Presidents, A. H. Strickler, Wm.
P. Noble.
Recording Secretary, Samuel G. Lane.
Corresponding Secretary, J. L. Suesserott.
Treasurer, E. N. Senseny.
Censors, Wm. P. Noble, T. M. Kennedy,
J. L. Suesserott.
292
HISTORY OF FRANKLIN COUNTY.
1877.
President, J. L. Suesserott.
Vice-Presidents, Thomas H. Walker, E.
Hartzell.
Recording Secretary, John Montgomery.
Corresponding Secretary, A. H.' Strickler.
Treasurer, E. N. Senseny.
Censors, Wm, H. Boyle.'J. L. Suesserott,
R. W. Ramsey.
1878.
President, T. J. McLanahan.
Vice-Presidents, H. G. Chritzman, J. K.
Davidson.
Recording Secretary, John Montgomery.
Corresponding Secretary. W. P. Noble.
Treasurer, E. N. Senseny.
Censors, J. L. Suesserott R. W. Ramsey,
T. J. McLanahan.
1879.
President, A. H. Strickler.
Vice-Presidents, R. W. Ramsey, H. G.
Chritzman.
Recording Secretary, John Montgomery.
Corresponding Secretary, C. H. Merklein.
Treasurer, J. L. Suesserott,
Censors, R. W. Ramsey, T. J. McLana-
han, S. G. Lane.
1880.
President, H. G. Chritzman.
Vice-Presidents, E. Hartzell, Chas. Gar-
ver.
Recording Secretary, John Montgomery.
Corresponding Secretary, C. H. Merklein.
Treasurer, J. L. Suesserott.
Censors, T. J. McLanahan, S. G. Lane.
D. F. Unger.
1881.
President, W. P. Noble
Vice-Presidents, D. F. Unger/ J. C. Gil-
land.
Recording Secretary, J. Montgomery.
Corresponding Secretary, S. G. Lane.
Treasurer, J. L. Suesserott.
Censors, S. G. Lane, D. F. Unger, R. W.
Ramsey.
1882.
President, R. W. Ramsey.
Vice-Presidents, D. Maclay, E. Hartzell.
Recording Secretary, J. Montgomery.
Corresponding Secretary, S. G. Lane.
Treasurer, J. L. Suesserott.
Censors, D. F. Unger, R. W. Ramsey, H.
G. Chritzman.
1883.
President, D. F. Unger.
Vice-Presidents, J. C. Gilland, G. S. Hull.
Recording Secretary, J. Montgomery.
Corresponding Secretary, L. F. Suess-
erott.
Treasurer, J. L. Suesserott.
Censors, R. W. Ramsey, H. G. Chritz-
man, David Maclay.
1884.
President, J. M. Gelwix.
Vice-Presidents, D. Maclay, J. P. Seibert.
Recording Secretary, C. F. Palmer.
Corresponding Secretary, H. G. Chritz-
man.
Treasurer, L. F. Suesserott.
Censors, H. G. Chritzman, David Maclay,
T. J. McLanahan.
1885.
President, David Maclay.
Vice-Presidents, J. B. Amberson, J. P.
Seibert.
Recording Secretary, C. F. Palmer.
Corresponding Secretary, G. S. Hull,
Treasurer, L. F. Suesserott.
Censors, H. G. Chritzman, T. J. McLana-
han, R. W. Ramsey.
1886.
President, E. Hartzell.
Vice-Presidents, J. P. Seibert, J. B. Am-
berson.
Recording Secretary, C. F. Palmer.
Corresponding Secretary, G. S. Hull.
Treasurer, L. F. Suesserott.
Censors, T. J. McLanahan, D. F. Unger,
R. W. Ramsey.
LIST OF PHYSICIANS.
The following is a list of physicians in Franklin County, who have register-
ed in the office of the county prothonotary, in the order of record. The law
requires a number of facts to be stated. In the following list, the order pur-
sued is the name of physician, residence, date of registration, name of college
from which graduated and date thereof; or in case of nongraduates, the time
of service; together with literary degrees in certain instances.
George M. Merz, Chambersburg, June 23, 1881; ten years practice.
Aaron B. Gingrich, Altodale, June 24, 1881; Univ. Penn.. Mch. 10, 1876.
Jas. K. Davidson, Greencastle, July 2, 1881; Jeff. Med. Col.. Phila., Mch., 1833. A.
M. by Dickenson College.
Abraham H. Strickler, Waynesboro, July 5, 1881; Bellevue Hosp. Med. Col., N. Y.,
Jan. 1, 1866. A. B. and A. M. College, Princeton, N. J.
Michael M. Garry, Warren Twp., July 5. 1881; Univ. Md., Mch. 10, 1846.
Jno. C. Gilland, Greencastle, July 5, 1881; Jeff. Med. Col., Mch. 11, 1876.
Robert W. Ramsey, St. Thomas, July 5, 1881; Jeff. Med. Col., 1874.
HISTOBY OF FBANKLIN COUNTY. 293
Horace M. Fritz, Quincy, July 6, 1881; Jeff. Med. Col., Mch. 12, 1879.
Joseph L. Suively, Shady Grove, July 13, 1881; Jeff. Med. Col., Mch. 12, 1877. A. B.
Franklin and Marshall College.
Benjamin Bowman, Chambersburg, July 13, 1881; New York Homoeopathic Med. Col.
Feb. 28, 1865.
Emanuel Brallier, Chambersburg, July 14, 1881; Jeff. Med. Col., Mch. 7; 1868.
Aaron B. Grove, New Franklin. July 16, 1881; Jeff. Med. Col., Mch. 13, 1880.
Franklin A. Bushey, Greencastle, July 19, 1881; Univ. Md., Mch. 2, 1861.
Adam Carl, Greencastle, July 20, 1881; Washington Med. Col., Balto., Mch., 1829.
Practiced in Greencastle since 1829.
John S. Flickinger, Dry Run, July 21, 1881; Penn. Med. Col., Mch. 8, 1850.
Geo. D. Carl, Greencastle, July 22, 1881; Penn. Med. Col., Phila., Mch. 3, 1855.
Jno. F. Nowell, Greencastle, July 23, 1881; Hahnemann Med. Col., Phila., Mch., 1875.
Henry G. Chritzman, Welsh Run, July 29, 1881; Penn. Med., Col., Phila., 1859.
Robt. S. Brownson, Mercersburg, July 29, 1881; Univ. Penn., 1851. A. B. and A. M.,
Marshall College of Mercersburg, 1847 and 1851.
William C. Lane, Mercersburg, July 29, 1881; Univ. Penn., 1851. Greensburg, Rox-
bury, Strasburg, Orrstown and Mercersburg.
Oliver F. Jones. Mercersburg, July 29, 1881; Univ. of Md*, Mch. 6, 1880.
David F. Unger, Mercersburg, July 29, 1881; Bellevue Hosp. Med. Col., N. Y., 1869.
Wm. P. Noble, Upton, July 29, 1881; Jiff. Med. Col.. Phila., Mch. 12, 1869.
John Montgomery, Chambersburg, July 30, 1881; Jeff. Med. Col., 1858.
Charles F. Palmer, Chambersburg, Aug. 8, 1881; Univ. Penn., Mch. 15, 1878.
Daniel C. Leberknight, Lemaster's Station, Aug. 16. 1881; Jeff. Med. Col., 1880.
James H. Dyarmao, near Spring Run, Aug. 18, 1881.
Francis Reifsnyder, Scotland, Aug. 19, 1881; Phil. Univ. Med. and Surg., Feb. 23, 1869.
Geo. S. Hull, Chambersburg, Aug. 19, 1881; Univ. Penn., Mch. 10, 1876.
Joseph Frantz, Waynesboro, Aug. 23, 1881; Jeff. Med. Col., Phila., Mch., 1878.
Johnston McLanahan, Chambersburg, Aug. 25. 1881; Jeff. Med. Col., Mch. 10, 1865.
Wm. A. Hinchman, Dry Run, Aug. 25, 1881; Univ. Aid., Baltimore, Mch. 1, 1873.
Thos. M. Kennedv, Greencastle, Aug. 26, 1881; Bellevue Hosp. Med. Col.,N. Y., Mch.
1, 1866.
John H. Koons, Waynesboro, Aug. 26, 1881; Jeff. Med. Col., 1881.
Geo. W. Boteler, Waynesboro, Aug. 26, 1881; Univ. Md., Baltimore, 1868.
Isaac N. Snively, Waynesboro, Aug. 26, 1881; Jeff. Med. Col., Mch., 1863.
John M. Ripple, Waynesboro, Aug. 26, 1881; Jeff. Med. Col., 1868.
J. Burns Amberson, Waynesboro, Aug. 26, 1881; Univ. Penn., Mch., 1868; A. B.
Westminster College, Penn., I860.
Edmund G. Shower, Waynesboro, Aug. 26, 1881; Hahnemann Med. Col., Phila., Mch.
12, 1878.
Benj\ Frantz, Waynesboro. Aug. 26, 1881; Jeff. Med. Col.. Mch. 4, 1846.
Jacob L. Suesserott, Chambersburg, Aug. 27, 1881; Jeff. Med. Col., 1851; D. D. S., by
Penn. College, of Dent. Surg.
A. U. Holland, Fayetteville, Sept. 5, 1881.
Henry X. Bonebrake, Montalto, Sept. 5, 1881; Bellevue Hosp. Med. Col., Feb. 25, 1865.
Lewis F. Suesserott, Chambersburg, Sept. 8, 1881; Univ. Penn., Mch. 14, 1879.
Samuel G. Lane, Chambersburg, Sept. 8, 1881; Univ. Penn., 1849.
Adam K. Leberknight, Orrstown, Sept. 17, 1881; Jeff. Med. Col. 1878.
Eli J. Zook, Fannettsburg, Sept. 20, 1881; Jeff. Med. Col., 1878; B. S., by National
Normal Univ., Lebanon, Ohio.
Thos. H. Walker, Mercersburg, Sept. 23, 1881; Pennsylvania College, Phila., 1846.
John P. Seibert, Chambersburg, Oct. 4, 1881; Jeff. Med. Col., 1875.
Joseph H. McCintock, Loudon, Oct. 5, 1881; Columbia College, Washington, D.
C, 1845.
Jeremiah Hess, Quincy, Oct. 6, 1881; practiced nineteen years.
D. Reutch Miller, Greencastle, Oct. 7, 1881; Jeff. Med. Col., Phila., 1874.
John S. Flickinger, near Fannettsburg, Oct. 12, 1881; Penn. Med. Col., Phila., 1850.
Edgar N. Senseny, Chambersburg, Oct. 17, 1881; Jeff. Med. Col, 1870.
Henry K. Byers, Fayetteville, Oct. 18, 1881; Washington Med. College, Baltimore, 1845.
Ezekiel Hartzell, Fayetteville, Oct. 21, 1881; Penn/Med. College, Phila., 1847.
David L. McDonald, Concord, Oct. 21. 1881; Columbus Med. College, 1881.
Wm. A. Hunter, Strasburg, Oct. 21, 1881; practiced since 1847.
James M. Gelwix, Strasburg, Oct. 21, 1881; Jeff. Med. College 1866.
Geo. R. Kauffman, Antrim Township, Oct. 22, 1881; Bellevue Med. Col., N. Y., 1867.
Charles T. Maclay, Green Village, Nov. 2. 1881; practiced forty- two years.
David Maclay, Green Village, Nov. 2, 1881; Univ. Penn., Mch. 12, 1875.
Daniel F. Royer, Shady Grove, Oct, 25, 1881; Jeff. Med. Col. Mch., 1875.
Oliver P. Stoey, Roxbury, Nov. 17, 1881; Jeff. Med. Col. 1881.
Nancy Hoover, Stoufferstown, Dec. 16, 1881; twenty-two years.
294 HISTOEY OF FEANKLIN COUNTY.
Benj. L. Ryder, Chambersburg, Dec. 23, 1881; Hygeis Therapeutic College, N. Y.,
Mch. 21, 1870.
Jno. L. Blair, Mercersburg, February 27, 1882; Univ. Md., Mch., 1868.
Theo. H. Weagley, Greencastle, Mch. 13, 1882; College Phys. and Surg., Baltimore,
Mch. 1, 1882.
James S. Kennedy, Chambersburg, Mch. 20, 1882; Jeff. Med. Col. 1879.
Charles Lanteline, Chambersburg. Apr. 6, 1882; Jeff. Med. Col. Mch. 30, 1882.
Dan'l Eckerman, Salem Church, April 19, 1882; twenty years.
Henry C. Lessig, Chambersburg, May 9. 1882; Jeff. Med. Col., Mch. 12, 1878.
J. J. Pierce, Chambersburg, May 15, 1882; twelve years.
Francis A. Oellig, Upton, May 15, 1882; attended Univ. Md., 1846-47; thirty-six years'
Henry S. Herman, State line, May 17, 1882; Maryland Univ., Feb. 29, 1876.
Randall M.. Alexander, Fannettsburg. May 23, 1882; twelve years.
Alex. E. Cresswell, St. Thomas, May 26. 1882; practice 1869.
V. D. Miller, Mason and Dixon, Penn., June 7, 1882; Jeff. Med, Col., 1861.
James A. Vinson, Clayliek. June 20, 18S2; Louisville Med. Col., June, 1838.
Jno. E. Kline, Chambersburg, June 28, 1882; Jeff. Med. College, Mch. 27, 1882.
Alanson W. Kelley, Wavuesboro, Sept, 9, 1882; Castleton Med. College, 1860.
Edwin Bergstresser, Waynesboro, Sept, 21, 1882; Jeff. Med. Col., Mch. 30, 1882.
J. R. Bemisdarfer, Shady Grove, Mch. 3, 1883; Col. Phys. and Surg., Mch. 1, 1883.
Jno. H. Young, Waynesboro, Apr. 9. 1883; since 1870.
M. H. Miller, Roxbury, Apr. 14, 1883; Jeff. Med. Cob, 1883.
David A. Strickler, Chambersburg, Apr. 17, 1883; Hahnemann College, Philadelphia,
Mch. 10, 1881.
Christian R. Scheller, Shady Grove, Apr. 21, 1883; Jeff. Med. College, Apr. 2, 1883. .
Henry C. Devilbiss, Chambersburg, Apr. 14. 1883; College Phys. and Surg., 1877.
Wm. O. Lantz, Lemaster's Sta., July 12. 1883; Jeff. Med. Col., Mch. 30, 1882.
Jno. A. Bause, AVaynesboro, Nov. 20, 1883; Univ. Penn., Mch. 1875.
B. F. Shope, Dry Run, Mch. 1, 1884;Bellevue Hosp. Med. Col., N. Y, Mch. 16, 1882.
George G. Shively, Waynesboro, Mch. 19, 1884: Jeff. Med. Col.. Mch., 1877.
Edwin F. Lehman, Chambersburs, April 12. 1884; Jeff. Med. Col., Mch. 29, 1884.
S. Snively Bishop, Greencastle, May 12, 1884; Jeff. Med. Col., 1884.
Chas. B. West, Strasburg, Mav 26, 1884; Jeff. Med. Col., 1883. â–
Eldredge C. Price, Monterey, June 28, 1884; Hahnemann Med. Col., Phila,, Mch. 10,
1875.
Chas. H. Lane, Chambersburg, July 15, 1884; Univ. Penn., 1870.
Wm. T. Phillippv, Shady Grove, June 30, 1884; Jeff. Med. Col., Mch. 29, 1884.
Elias C. Price, Monterey, Penn., July 31, 1884; Univ. Md., Balto., 1848.
A. Sargeant Tinges, Waynesboro, Sept. 6, 1884; Univ. Md., 1872.
Geo. W. Zeigler, Carlisle. Temporarv practice, Nov. 4, 1884; Univ. Penn., Mch. 12,
1874.
M. J. Jackson, New York City, Feb. 26, 1885; Eclectic Med. Col., Mch. 1, 1884. Tem-
porary.
J. H. Devor, Ft. Loudon, April 29, 1885; Col. Phys. and Surg., Balto., Mch. 13, 1885.
Katharine M. Crawford, Fayetteville, June 24, 1885; Hahnemann Med. Col., Mch. 20,
1885.
John J. Coffman, Scotland, Julv 10, 1885; Dartmouth Med. Col., Nov. 15, 1881.
W. J. Coleman, Huntingdon Co., Penn., Aug. 5, 1885; Med. Col. Va,, Mch. 4, 1879.
Temporary.
James F. Tate, Roxbury, Aug. 6, 1885; Univ. N. Y., 1869.
Geo. E. Stewart, Dry Run, Dec, 23, 1885; practiced from April 1. 1863.
Wm. M. Shull, Concord, Penn., Feb. 10, 1886; Jeff. Med. Col., April 2, 1885.
Peter B. Montgomery, Chambersburg, Mch. 24, 1886; Bellevue Hosp. Med. Col., Mch.
15, 1886.
Wm. II. Brjsius, Greencastle, April 21, 1886; Jeff. Med. Col., April 2, 1886.
HISTORY OF FRANKLIN COUNTY. 295
CHAPTER XIII.
EDUCATIONAL AND KELIGIOUS.
Educational.— Education Defined — Teaching Defined— Early Schools
and their equipments— j ohn b. kaufman's account of early schools
and Teachers— History of School Legislation— Comparative Statis-
tics — County Superintendents— County Institutes— Letter from Ex-
Co. Supt. A. J. McElwain— List of County Superintendents.
Eeligious. — Early Settlers' Eeligions — Presbyterians— Lutherans— Ee-
formed —Methodists — United Brethren— Eoman Catholic— Episcopa-
lian— Church of God— German Baptists — Eiver Brethren— Mennonites
— Eeformed Mennonites— Colored Churches — Mormonism.
EDUCATIONAL.
EDUCATION, as the derivation of the term implies, is a leading out of
the powers and capacities of the individual. It is training, developing,
inspiring, guiding, refining and elevating the being wrought upon. It makes
of the being all that he is capable of becoming, working always, of course,
upon the capital stock of brain and muscle and heart possessed. Out of crude
material it can not make a perfect product. A diamond can not be developed
unless it exist in the rough quartz presented. Statesmen can not be fash-
ioned from crude pigmies. Education is not a pouring-in or cramming pro-
cess, but a leading out and unfolding of all the powers — physical, intellectual,
moral and social — which the being possesses. Every parent, every child,
every book, every paper, every street, every association, every experience,
favorable or otherwise, every joy and every defeat is an educator. Life from
the cradle to the grave is but so much time spent in the preparatory school of
eternity, the lessons of which are often imperfectly learned. The old adage,
"Experience teaches a dear school, but fools will learn in no other," is un-
true. Experience teaches a good school, the best, and wise people will learn
in it; fools in none.
Teaching, then, is not telling simply; it is not questioning simply; it is not
frowning or smiling and correcting only. It is more. Viewed from a rational
standpoint, teaching is the science which trains the mind to think clearly and
earnestly, the heart to feel keenly and rationally, and the hand to execute
what the mind and the heart have approved. With this in mind we are prepared
to understand, the statement of the wise man: " Train up a child in the way he
should go, and when he is old he will not depart from it. ' ' Train by telling,
by questioning, by suggesting, by repressing, by stimulating, by all the means
which a fruitful ingenuity can invent.
In a new country, and in fact everywhere, the best school, the most valuable
lessons learned are those found ' ' at the best academe, a mother' s knee. ' '
Family instruction was the primitive kind; and, when the mother was intelli-
gent and wise, it laid the foundation for whatever might be subsequently
furnished by the higher order of schools. The records of this faithful work,
however, have not been preserved in tables and reports and percentages at
the State capital. Only in the noble lives and matchless characters given to
the world can the records be read. The silent lessons taught in the little
•cabin, by the wayside, or in the lonely forest were not forgotten, but mani-
296 HISTORY OF FRANKLIN COUNTY.
fested themselves in life's "late afternoon." Only when the veil of eternity is
lifted, and things can be seen in their true light, will be understood fully the
nature and potency of the valuable home school.
But the early cabin school, built by the joint efforts of the neighborhood,
legitimately followed the family school. With its rude logs, puncheon floor,
slab benches, open-throated chimney, it served as a people' s college to prepare
boys and girls to become the future men and women of the neighborhood, the
citizens of the commonwealth. Methods of instruction were not discusse'd in
those primitive days. Knowledge was power. Facts and principles were
supposed to have a transforming influence upon the minds and lives of the
young. The what or subject matter was first in importance; then came the
how or the methods of instruction; and later, the why or the philosophy of
teaching.
Text-books were rare and simple. The spelling-book, the English reader,
the New Testament, some simple text in arithmetic which would enable the
pupil to "do sums ' ' as far as the ' ' double rule of three, ' ' or perchance, in rare
cases, to include double position, and, later, a manual of United States history.
Grammar and geography were not taught at first. They were higher branches,
whose study gave position in the community, and indicated unusual learning.
When Lindley Murray's or Kirkham's grammar first appeared, an innovation
was announced. Daboll's or Pike's or Dill worth's arithmetic afforded the
knowledge of mathematics deemed essential. Slates and black-boards were,
at first, unknown; and steel pens likewise. The ever-faithful goose quill,
made and sharpened by the master's skillful knife, supplied the penmanship
of the times. No Spencerian or Eclectic or other modern system of pen-
manship knocked at the school-room door for recognition. No book agent
ready to introduce a new series, perambulated those early school districts. No
globes or wall maps, no numeral frames or other objects of illustration, cum-
bered the humble log schoolhouse. Work was done in a humble manner, and
good work too. Pupils learned because they appreciated their opportunities.
No graded course of study presented its charms or its terrors to the young
urchin. Individual work and personal progress were the rule. How faithfully
those early schools served their purpose is attested by the numerous specimens
of grand men and women, the pride of the land, they turned out. "There were
giants in those days."
We shall be pardoned for introducing here the testimony of one of Frank-
lin County' s worthy and honored sons, John B. Kaufman, a pupil and teacher
both of "ye olden time. ' ' His picture will doubtless be familiar to many who
were once rustics. ' ' Going back some fifty odd years, I have a distinct rec-
ollection of my old teacher, Daniel Eckerman, an excellent instructor, who
wrote a hand like copper plate; spelled correctly; whose pronunciation was
faultless and distinct; a good arithmetician; understood grammar and geogra-
phy, and wouldn't lick me, because I had spoken truthfully when I had got-
ten into a little scrape. His kindly admonition is by no means forgotten,
though it was given fifty-two years ago. The lesson was a valuable one.
' ' Next in order was Capt. Thomas Anderson, who was very particular, and
somewhat stern in his discipline. He quit teaching in 1836, and now resides
in Knox County, Ohio. Then there was Benjamin Davis, who stood high as
to qualifications, and his ability to vigorously apply the rod and ferule. He
moved to the West soon after 1850. He was well up in years at that time.
Eugene Owens, a brilliant scholar and surveyor, flourished somewhat earlier
than my time, but was highly spoken of. Then I mention Capt. Isaac Miller,
who taught, probably, over half a century, and died only a few years ago.
£r&~&^
HISTORY OF FRANKLIN COUNTY. 299
Who didn't know him? A good penman, and the very man who conld manage
schools with a hard reputation. He had an abiding faith in a liberal applica-
tion of Solomon's celebrated cure for a fool's back, and at the same time could
work out any number of knotty problems. As he taught many years, ho was
also contemporaneous as a teacher during my career. Beginning in 1849,
your humble friend figured in a modest way, trying ' to teach the young idea
how to. shoot,' and to keep the boys of that day from carrying me out of the
schoolroom. That would not be an easy job now, but in those days I was ex-
tremely spare — in fact, lean — so my weight could not have been a great matter,
but I was active and rather muscular, so they never tried it. However, I was
elected county surveyor in 1856, and in those days there was more official bus-
iness than now. I resigned mv school after a short career, though I have
taught fractional terms since. I was one of the first two who introduced men-
tal arithmetic in the schools of our township, and belonged to one of the first,
if not the first township institute (at least in the rural districts), in the county
This was composed of P. M. Shoemaker, since county superintendent three oi
four terms; Capt. E. K. Lehman, Hon. W. W. Britton, late member of Legis-
lature; John W. De Haven, at present teaching in Greene Township; B. A.
Cormany, Esq. , clerk of the courts, and now of Junction City, Kas. ; A. B.
Wingert, a splendid young teacher then, who followed the business very suc-
cessfully for a number of years, but is in other business now, and your humble
servant. Nearly all of these had, or afterward obtained, professional certifi-
cates. Montgomery Martin and Henry A. Thomas also figured prominently in
those days as teachers. Then there was, a little later, D. D. Swanger, of
Lurgan Township, but he is a merchant now and a justice of the peace. I
must not omit Saml. Gelwix, ex-county superintendent, and his brother, Dr.
J. M. Gelwix. I feel a little proud of some of my school boys, who afterward
taught awhile successfully. First I would name Prof. Wm. C. McClelland, of
Shippensburg High School; A. G. Huber, Esq., principal of a soldiers' orphans'
school, of Philadelphia. He was a graduate of the Michigan University, at
Ann Arbor. His brother, Rev. B. G. Huber, also, was one of my little school
mischiefs thirty-four years ago. Rev. S. B. McClelland, a Presbyterian minister,
is a younger brother of W. C. McClelland. Rev. Jonathan A. West, Jr., now a
resident of your State, but his charge extending into Ohio, was one of my bright-
est boys in the first class in mental arithmetic, and in the advanced class in gram-
mar. Then I had aD other quiet boy in Greenleaf's National, who seldom
required help; it was R. Walker Ramsey, who, after teaching awhile, studied
medicine, and is one of our best physicians in the county. He has a large
practice in and around St. Thomas. Then Rev. H. A. Schlichter, presiding
elder, and Danl. W. Sollenberger, who was deputy recorder, are ministers in
the United Brethren Church. The latter was a very successful teacher, and all
these were pupils of mine. Of course they became what they are, since they
left my school, but I can not help feeling some pride in them; I feel as if I had,
perhaps, helped to put a stone in the foundation. But to come down still further;
we have had D. A. Flora, B. F. Newton, L. F. Creamer, now of Dayton,
Ohio, and Frank H. Slyder, the latter a prospective candidate for county
superintendent, and Misses Emma and Naomi Minehart, all splendid teachers.
Most of them had permanent, and all of them professional certificates, but
there is not one of them teaching here. A few of them teach elsewhere, and
the rest are engaged in other business. Why are they no longer teaching
here? The case is plain enough. School directors are generally selected
because they pay a good deal of school tax, or such as are in favor of low
taxes for school purposes, and such as favor low salaries and short school
300 HISTORY OP FRANKLIN COUNTY.
terms. The natural consequences have followed. Salaries from $20 to
per month for five or six months are not exactly calculated to keep in the
raaks, or in the district, teachers with professional papers. Comment is unnec-
essary.
' ' I told you something of our teachers of 'ye olden time, ' and I imagine I
see the schoolhouse of the same ancient day. It is a log house in the midst
of the woods; board roof; low room; low window-sash, sliding sidewise; joist
unhewed on lower side; slab benches, pin feet, like a meat bench; desks of slabs
along walls, suppoi*ted by sticks driven into two-inch holes in the logs of the
wall, and a stove of the most primitive kind. The house crouches modestly in
the woods, sheltered from the chilly blast, and forming play grounds unlimited
in dimensions. Here we played town ball, corner ball, sow ball and long ball.
Sometimes we would jump, to see how high we could leap; then it was hop, step
and jump. Once in a while we played ring, provided the girls would help,
and generally they would. As far as it goes we were learning, too. We had
but little grammar or geography, and we hardly knew what algebra meant,
only that it was much harder than arithmetic; but our spelling class would not
need to blush in m6dern days. Nary blackboard nor other appliance; only two
things were prominently in view — the old schoolmaster's pipe, the cloud of
6moke almost hiding the inevitable, the ever present birch. Then the rosy-
cheeked, home-spun, flannel-bedecked little maidens, to whom we wrote little
missives, though it was strictly forbidden; yet we found means to slyly con-
vey them unobserved by the teacher, and the tender replies were just as slyly
brought to our side. Just think of it. Such wonderful effusions as,
The rose is red, the vilets blew,
Shooger is sweat, and so ar you.
" Then what heart beatings there would be to get, the same hour, a reply
something like this.
o
the ring is round, it has no end
So is my love to you, my friend.
or
My pen is bad, my ink is pail
My Love to you Shall never f ale.
' ' Not very good spelling to be sure, but human nature, among children as
well as men, fifty years ago, was much as now. Ah! those days are past a
long, long time ago for us. The parents who sent us to school with our small
dinner baskets and a few books, are nearly all gone, and if here yet, are in
their second childhood.
' ' Nearly every one of our old-style teachers are gone to their reward. May
they wear an extra bright crown in the celestial city. The old log school-
house has long ago given way to the larger and better ventilated and well-
furnished room, with blackboards and other aids to efficient and intelligent
instruction. Schoolhouses are nearer together, so children have not so far
to go, and, when there, find comfortable seats and desks, etc. Additional
branches are taught in a scientific and common-sense manner, and yet some of
us sigh for the good old times of yore. What unreasonable creatures we are!
' I commenced to study surveying from an old ' Gibson, ' in the fall of
1348, and undertook to survey a farm of over 200 acres on the 9th of Febru-
ary, 1349. This I did with a set of borrowed instruments, but I had remark-
able success that day, and it brought me other work. I had never seen any one
survey, had no living teacher, but I struggled onward, and, when I floundered
among difficulties, I struggled, as did Christian in the slough of despond, toward
the far side, or the side toward which I had been traveling. The instruments
HISTORY -OF FRANKLIN COUNTY. 301
â– were old and worn, and I had a good deal of trouble with thern at times, es-
pecially the compass, but these very difficulties proved of value in after life. I
watched the movements of the needle very closely, to detect, if possible, irreg-
ularities in its movements. I was always on the alert, a habit that sticks to
me to this day; and I natter myself I can notice such vagaries as the needle
often displays as soon, perhaps, as any one, and should it be out of order
apply the remedy as soon as possible. My parents would have preferred that
I should let surveying alone, and threw many discouragements in my way —
sometimes I did become discouraged for a time — but I had a good deal of per-
severence and enthusiasm for the business, which sometimes amounted to a
passion, but I went on, got other books and other instruments by degrees, so
I at last became established as a surveyor. When I taught school I took up
algebra and in a year or two had acquired a very good knowledge of the
elements of that useful branch, which aided me in understanding better the
later works on surveving. I have constructed several useful tables for use in
the field. One is a table of the amount of declination, or popularly the varia-
tion, of the needle for each year from 1736 to the present time. It is very use-
ful and convenient. To find an analytical expression to compute the numerical
values for each year was a tedious and difficult matter, but I succeeded in ob-
taining an empirical expression that fits in nicely. I would have published
it, but it is only of local value, the needle not pointing the same except in a nar-
row belt of territory, and the rates of changes in different localities not being
the same. Another table is to find the amount of refraction to allow on my
solar transit in setting off the declination arc of the instrument, the amount for
different hours of the day, during the different seasons of the year, depending
upon the elevation of the sun. This had to be ascertained by spherical trigo-
nometry and a little practical astronomy. It involved more labor than I ex-
pected when I began, or I would certainly have left it alone, but having made
a beginning I did not like to give up, and I didn't. The table is found in
my field books, and when I use the solar attachment I can depend on it
pretty well. It would do very well, but the refraction of the atmosphere varies
with the temperature, as well as barometrical changes, etc., and I don't carry
either a thermometer or barometer with me; am too poor."
A provision was contained in the constitution of 1776 to the effect that
"A school or schools shall be established in each county by the Legislature
for the convenient instruction of youth, with such salaries to the masters paid
by the public as may enable them to instruct youth at low prices. " This
was a step toward popular education as a condition of worthy citizenship, but
it indicated no precise way in which the desirable result was to be accom-
plished. For many years this provision of the constitution seems to have
been a dead letter, the Legislature exercising its discretionary power w 7 ith no
perceptible results.
The constitution of 1790 proceeded a step farther and required that "the
Legislature should, as soon as conveniently might be, provide by law for the
establishment of schools throughout the State in such manner that the poor
might be taught gratis. " But no scheme which makes an odious discrimina-
tion between the children of the poor and those of the rich can hope to be
worthy of popular favor, being diametrically opposed to the genius of our
civil institutions. Neither by the organic law nor by the law of 1809, which
failed to avoid the same difficulty, did relief come. It came only when pro-
vision for the education of rich and poor was equally gratuitous.
In the constitution of 1838 the odious feature of 1790 was re-enacted; but
in that of 1873 it was declared that "the General Assembly shall provide
302 HISTORY OF FRANKLIN COUNTY.
for the maintenance and support of a thorough and efficient system of public
schools, wherein all the children of this Commonwealth, above the age of six
years, may be educated, and shall appropriate at least one million of dollars each
year for that purpose. No money raised for the support of the public schools of
the Commonwealth shall be appropriated to or used for the support of any
sectarian school. Women twenty-one years of age and upward shall be eli-
gible to any office of control or management under the school laws of this
State."
From the foregoing constitutional and statutory provisions it will be
clearly seen that the public-school system, like the methods of instruction and
the character of private schools briefly referred to in the first part of this
chapter, has been a gradual growth. School systems, like the best men, are
molded out of faults.
The act of the Assembly establishing the free schools of the common-
wealth of Pennsylvania, was approved by the governor on the 1st of
April, 1834. Under its provisions the first election for school directors in
each district was held on the third Friday of September following, and on
the first Tuesday of November was appointed a joint meeting in each county of
a delegate from the several boards of school directors and the county commis-
sioners, for the purpose of deciding whether or not a tax should be levied for
the support of schools. At an election held on the 19th of September, 1834,
under the above provisions, the following persons were elected school directors
for Chambersburg District: Samuel D. Culbertson, Thomas Chambers,
Jacob Heart, William Seibert, Frederick Smith and William Heyser.
On Tuesday, the 4th of November, 1834, the joint meeting of the
delegates from the different boards of school directors and county commis-
sioners of Franklin County was held in the court-house, in Chambersburg, and
was organized by electing Andrew Thomson, president, and Thomas Chambers,
secretary. The following townships had accepted the provisions of the school
law and were represented by delegates: Antrim, George W. Hewett; Cham-
bersburg, Thomas Chambers; Fannett, William Campbell; Greene, Andrew
Thomson; Guilford, Samuel Wingerd; Hamilton, David Lytle; Letter kenny,
Benjamin Hoover; Lurgan, John Reynolds; Me.tal, Joseph Flickinger; Peters,
Nicholas^Baker ; Southampton, Jonathan Peal; Warren, John Thomas; Wash-
ington, David Wertz; county commissioners, Joseph Culbertson and John
Cox.
The convention resolved that a tax be levied, not exceeding in amount
double the funds appropriated by the State to each school division; Saturday,
December 4, was fixed on as the day on which the people of the several school
districts should assemble, at the usual place of holding township elections, to
decide whether they would raise, for the current year, a sum in addition
to that determined on by this meeting. At the meeting of the citizens of
Chambersburg District, held in conformity with the above resolution, it was
decided not to raise any additional sum for school purposes. There are no
records in existence to show when the schools were opened, but likely about
he 1st of January, 1835, as the following appropriations by the State for that
ye ar are the first that can be found :
Antrim $225 80 Lurgan $ 65 44
Chambersburg 143 08 Metal 74 29
Fannett 64 90 Peters 12116
Greene 162 06 Southampton 78 50
Guilford 154 56 St. Thomas 96 20
Hamilton 75 65 Warren ' 5155
Letterkenny 112 50 Washington 218 45
HISTORY OF FRANKLIN COUNTY. 303
Though the records are very meager, we are convinced that the educational
sentiment was slowly developing. In his history of Franklin County, Rupp
has this paragraph in 1846:
'"The state of education is improving. The common-school system has
been adopted in every district except one township — Warren. The schools are
in operation in 13 districts, in which 112 schools are open about five months
and a half in the year, employing 96 male and 17 female teachers, at an aver-
age salary of $17.72, of the latter $11.21 per month; in these schools 3,282
male and 2,711 females are taught, 70 of whom are learning German. A
district tax has been raised of $11,781.74 — the State appropriation was $8,-
136 — cost of instruction $10,490.74; fuel and contingencies $904.70, for
the year 1844. Besides the public schools, other literary institutions, already
noticed, exert a salutary influence upon the several classes of society. ' '
Comparatively little can be found concerning the common schools up to
1857, all the records prior to that date having been destroyed in the Chambers-
burg fire. In the following table, taken from the report of the State school super-
intendent for 1885, is exhibited a condition of things very favorable as com-
pared with the imperfect showing in the reports of 1835 and 1846. The attend-
ance is increased, wages advanced and a spirit of growing liberality exhibited:
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HISTORY OF FRANKLIN COUNTY. 305
The county superintendency was established under the following section of
the law of May 8, 1854:
"The school directors of the several counties of the commonwealth shall
meet in convention at the seat of justice of the proper county, on the first
Monday of June next, and on the third Monday of May in each third year
thereafter, and select viva voce by a majority of the whole number of direc-
tors present, one person of literary and scientific acquirements, and of skill and
experience in the art of teaching, as county superintendent for three succeeding
school years; and the school directors or a majority of them in such conven-
tion, shall determine the amount of compensation for the county superinten-
dent, which said compensation shall be paid by the superintendent of common
schools, by his warrant drawn upon the State treasurer, in half yearly install-
ments if desired, and shall be deducted from the amoxmt of the State appro-
priation to be paid to the several school districts for said county."
Under the law the directors met in the court-house, Chambersburg, Mon-
day, June 5, 1854, choosing James O. Carson, president, and Geo. Cook and
Wm. B. Gabby, secretaries. Nominees for county superintendent were: Rev.
B. S. Schneck, Chambersburg; James McDowell, Antrim; Joseph Eckhart,
Guilford; Matthew Irwin, Montgomery; Rev. Joshua Kennedy, Fayetteville;
Jas. D. McDowell, Peters; Rev. J. F. Kennedy, Chambersburg. On the
fourth ballot James McDowell was selected, and his salary fixed, after much
controversy, at $600 per annum for the next three years. One of the first
acts of a general character, after Mr. McDowell's election, was the organiza-
tion of a county teachers' institute. In the Franklin Repository of December
13, 1854, appears the following sensible call:
"To the friends of education: With a view the more successfully to carry out
the design of the common school system, and to advance the cause of educa-
tion in general, we respectfully invite and earnestly request a convention of
teachers, school directors and the friends of education generally, to meet in
Chambersburg, on Friday, £ke 29th inst. , at 10 o'clock, in order to make ar-
rangements for the organization of a county association for the improvement
of teachers and to aid each other in the management and government of
schools and the art of teaching, and for the dissemination of correct views
and information on the subject of education, and the best methods of pro-
moting it. And we hope that all interested will give us their countenance in
the movement; that our lady teachers will not be backward to cheer us with
their presence and support us by their very efficient aid, and that none of the
teachers will absent themselves who can attend, and also that directors will
encourage the attendance of teachers by all means, if, even to the exoneration
of them from replacing the time which they may occupy in attendance on this
matter; as it may, and no doubt will, result in a general and lasting benefit
to the schools within the county.
' ' Addresses and essays appropriate to the occasion may be expected.
"J. McDowell,
" Greencastle, December 13, 1854. County Superintendent. '.'
It is doubtful whether any teacher or superintendent anywhere, has had a
more intelligent conception of the legitimate sphere of the teacher's work
and responsibilities than is indicated in the foregoing announcement. It
must be remembered that at that time, with probably the exception of " Page's
Theory and Practice of Teaching, " no professional text books on the science of
education had been published, and yet this proclamation implies an acquaint-
ance with the advanced views of educational writers and thinkers.
Mr. McDowell lived but a portion of his term, and was succeeded by Hugh
306 HISTORY OF FRANKLIN COUNTY.
J. Campbell who filled out the unexpired term. No records of the institutes
and county superintendent's work having been accessible, we give the fol-
lowing interesting report, prepared at our request by one of the old teachers
and superintendents of the county, Mr. A. McElwain, * now of Fannettsburg :
" My first knowledge of the schools of Franklin County was prior to the
creation of the office of county superintendent, which was in 1854. I taught a
term of five or six months in Green Village, and lived in Scotland, Greene Town-
ship, in the winter of 1851-52. Dr. Charles Howland, during the same winter,
taught, the Scotland school. In the winter of 1852-53 I taught the grammar
school in Mercersburg, which had for several years been taught by Mr. Thos.
Richards. I then left Franklin County and, from the fall of 1854, to that of
1858, in Shippensburg. In the fall of 1858 1 was elected principal of the schools
of Chambersburg, which post I held for five years, when I was elected in May,
1863, county superintendent. P. M. Shoemaker, Esq. , was county superin-
tendent during the five years of my teaching in Chambersburg. My relations
with him were of a pleasant character. He was an efficient officer and had
inaugurated both annual meetings of the teachers in Chambersburg, and semi-
annual meetings to be held in the other towns and villages in the county.
These meetings were carried on mainly by home workers, the county super-
intendent being one of them, with an occasional lecture by a member of the
Chambersburg bar. During the day sessions the exercises were conducted by
the teachers, led generally by some one appointed by a committee or the
county superintendent to open the subject, which was generally some
branch of education then in the schools. Greencastle, Waynesboro, St.
Thomas, Strasburg and Mercersburg were points of meeting for the semi-
annual gathering. These points, though not calling out so many of the
teachers of the county, always manifested a deep interest in the proceedings,
and the practice of the institute was, I believe, uniformly to elect, as a presid-
ing officer, some citizen, director or otherwise, to serve during our session. The
branches received that attention which we thought they required in order to
a uniformity of method in teaching, as well as a more thorough scholar-
ship of the teachers. Mental arithmetic, or the analysis of problems
orally under certain formulas, was a frequent exercise, and few teachers were
disposed to shirk their duties when called upon. Algebra was frequently
presented by some one or other in a fair degree of clearness.
' ' The institutes in Chambersburg scarcely ever called out the citizens to any
great degree. "Whether this was favorable or unfavorable to the cause of edu-
cation, each one, I presume, will judge for himself. Our object in meeting
was our mutual improvement, and our attendance was altogether voluntary.
No legislative enactment provided for such meetings or provided for the ex-
penses. That many teachers profited by the exercises, when conducted by
those teaching the elementary schools, as well as those teaching the schools of
higher grade, was a matter not doubted at the time : however, it may be looked
upon now as " a day of small things" by those who are the quiet recipients
and passive auditors in our now journal-trumpeted institutes, which, by legis-
lative enactments, can draw to the extent of $200 from the county treasurer to
help pay instructors from other parts of the world for what could be as well ob-
tained from our own teachers. It will be understood that the breaking out of
the war in 1861 was terribly inimical to school interests in Frpnklin County.
*During the burning of Chambersburg, Mr. McElwain was living two and a. half miles west of the town.
Rebel soldiers stopped in large numbers at his house. Among them was a chaplain who inquired of the
superintendent whether he had ever been a teacher of " niggers." Mr. McElwain replied that he had oca«-
sionally been. This was enough. When the troops retired, they fired his house, and, permitted nothing to be
removed under penalty of death. The loyalty, honesty and philanthropy of the school-master caused the
loss of his property. The oflense was — he had taught "niggers."
HISTORY OF FRANKLIN COUNTY. 309
The attention of its citizens was too much engrossed with the threatened destruc-
tion of their property and their government to be easily gained to school inter-
ests, and on entering upon my duties of county superintendent I found
myself handicapped in my efforts to secure attention to school interests, in the
face of superior claims upon the attention to homes and property. I insti-
tuted no new policy, except that I declined to accept the proffered help of
fledgeling attorneys of the law and politicians to build up an institute of pro-
fessional teachers. I regarded it then, as I do now, an opportunity for devel-
opment of the qualities which the teachers need, if only they could be trained
to do as all other professions do — hold their own conventions and conduct
them themselves. The first institute held during my incumbency was held in the
Washington Street School building, in Chambersburg. State Superintendent
Coburn was invited to attend, and met with us there. He gave us encourage-
ment, and the response made to my requests to teachers to aid in making our
institute profitable was very gratifying. I have no preserved data from which
to give a full account of our proceedings, but my memory reverts with pleasure
to many teachers who contributed valuable aid to your humble servant in hi9
efforts to assist young and earnest teachers in qualifying themselves for their
duties. 1 trust it will not be regarded as invidious to name those who took a
deep interest in our discussions and investigations of the topics brought before
the institutes: Messrs. Eby, Omwake, Smith and Weir, of Antrim and Green-
castle; Gaff, Stoler and Brown, of Washington and Waynesboro; Richards,
McElwain, Hockenberry. McFadden, Eckhart and Moore, of Chambersburg;
Moore, Croft and Kendig, of Hamilton; Shoemaker, Gelwix, Winger, Leh-
man and Kaufman, of Letterkenny; De Haven, Swanger, Shoemaker and
Martin, of Lurgan; Blair, McClelland, Mc Mullen and Orr, of Southampton;
Thompson, Sollenbergers and Bollinger, of Greene; Shaffer, Snyder, Shriver,
Cook and Wolf kill, of Guilford; Keyser, Hays, Detrichs, Wolf, Jones, Mc-
Clean, and others, who taught in different townships. Some of these are still
teachers in the county, some following other pursuits in life, and quite a num-
ber have passed beyond the dark river, toward which most of them are rapidly
moving. Many ladies also attended our institutes, and only a want of mem-
ory prevents a mention of the particular exercises in which they engaged.
"Our second annual institute, during my term of office, was held in the
basement of the Lutheran Church, it being in the year 1864. Chambersburg
had been laid in ashes by the rebels on the 30th of July preceding, and the
educational fires burned low. I can give nothing definite of our proceedings.
The semi-annual meetings also were abandoned on account of the distraction
occasioned by the war. A meeting was held in the Masonic Hall, I believe, in
1865, which was tolerably well attended. During the year 1865, a move was
made to secure the Normal School of the Seventh District of Pennsylvania in
Chambersburg. Notice of a meeting to be held in Chambersburg, was given to
the counties embraced iu the district to send representatives to the meeting.
Cumberland County and Franklin County only were represented. State Supt.
Coburn was present as chairman of the meeting. It was settled on the basis of
the number of schools of the two counties that Franklin County have nine, and
Cumberland County eight, delegates. An effort had been made to secure pledges
of stock in Shippensburg, Newville, Mechanicsburg and Shiremanstown, aDd
they had agreed to pool their interests so as to secure the school either in Ship-
pensburg or Newville. On motion of F. M. Gilliland, a delegate from Cum-
berland County, Shippensburg was nominated as the seat of the school. This
motion was amended by A. M. McElwain, a delegate from Franklin County,
that action in the premises be postponed, on account of the depleted condition
17
310 HISTORY OF FRANKLIN COUNTY.
â– of Chambersburg' s finances in consequence of the burning of the town the
year previous. This amendment was carried by a vote of 9 to 8. Thus
ended all efforts on the part of the several counties to locate the school. It
was subsequently located at Shippensburg, through individual enterprise of
citizens of that place, and recognized by the State as the Seventh District
School. This meeting was called at the instance of George Swartz, Esq.,
superintendent of Cumberland County. I made some efforts to secure the
school in Chambersburg. Hon. F. M. Kimmel and J. Wythe Douglas, Esq.,
were delegates in behalf of Franklin County. In my preparation for the
meeting I called on a number of the leading business men of Chambersburg, to
get them to attend the meeting. Among them was Mr. William Wallace, mer-
chant, now deceased, who said he could not attend, but that I might say for
him that he would give $500 toward the enterprise.
" During my incumbency, on account of the war prices bearing hard on
salaried officers, a meeting of the school directors was called about the middle
of my term to increase my salary, which was then $600. The directors met
in convention in the public school building, on King Street, Qhambersburg.
Mr. Craig McLanahan was called to the chair. A motion to increase the salary
to $1,000 was lost; $950 was a tie, and on second vote was lost; $800 was
then fixed as my salary for the remainder of my term. This continued to be
the salary of P. M. Shoemaker, Esq., my successor, for part of his term,
when by a convention called it was raised to $1,200, and thus remained until,
by legislative enactment, it was fixed on the present basis of $4. 50 for each
school of the county. I was not a candidate for re-election; other business
took my attention from the schools to some extent, but I remained in the
county till 1871. The law, giving financial aid to the institute and the time to
the teachers, increased the attendance of teachers and introduced hiring of
instructors. ' '
LIST OF COUNTY SUPERINTENDENTS.
1854-57— James McDowell, Hugh J. Campbell.
1857-60— Philip M. Shoemaker.
1860-63— Philip M. Shoemaker.
1863-66— Andrew J. McElwain.
1866-69— Philip M. Shoemaker.
1869-72— Samuel Gelwix.
1872-75— Jacob S. Smith.
1875-81— S. H. Eby.
1881-87— H. A. Disert.
RELIGIOUS.
The early settlers of Franklin County were, as a rule, members of the
â– church, and took immediate steps not only for the preaching of the Word, but
for the erection of suitable places of worship. While "the groves were God's
first temples, " the people of the valley were not content until the log meeting
house, located near some sparkling spring, was erected. To them the dearest
place on earth, next to the humble log dwelling, was the little meeting-house
where, often under most trying circumstances, they were accustomed to meet
for divine worship.
The early Scotch-Irish settlers were Presbyterians. Their churches are
the oldest, dating back to within a few years of the first settlements made.
Rocky Spring, in Letterkenny Township, Falling Spring, at Chambersburg,
Mossy Spring, at Greencastle, Upper West Conococheague, formerly at Church
HISTORY OF FRANKLIN COUNTY. 311
Hill, but now at Mercersburg, Welsh Run, and the congregation in Upper
Path Valley are the primitive congregations, built on the teachings of the con-
fession of faith. Their origin and history are given in the several boroughs
and townships to which they belong and need not be repeated.
As early as November, 1734, the presbytery of Donegal, which had the charge
of the territory west of the Susquehanna, sent Rev. Alexander Craighead to
preach to the scattered Presbyterian settlers over the river. His labors were con-
fined to two or three Sabbaths. The succeeding year, Revs. Craighead, Thomp-
son, James Anderson and William Bertram, all ministered to the same people,
their labors, however, being confined to Silver Spring and other points in Cumber-
land County. The earliest reference to Presbyterians in what is now Frank-
lin County, is found in the records of Donegal Presbytery during its sessions
at Derry, September 2, 1736, as follows: " It being represented by Thomas
Brown from Conococheague N that Mr. W'r, lately from England, who was re-
jected by our presbytery, is likely to do harm to our interests by inveigling
the people, Mr. Anderson is ordered to visit said people in order to dissuade
them from entertaining him as a minister. ' ' Who this ' ' Mr. W'r' ' was, or what
became of his efforts to turn the elect from the faith, is not known, all conjec-
tures to the contrary notwithstanding. The expression, ' ' Conococheague, ' '
embraced all Presbyterians scattered over a large territory, including those
who became the nuclei of the congregations at Falling Spring, Greencastle,
Mercersburg and Rocky Spring.
At the same session at Derry, September 2, 1736, it was decreed: "Mr.
Samuel Gelston is ordered to supply the people of Monada on the third Sab-
bath instant, the second at Conodoguinet, and the 1st and 2d of October at
Conococheague." In April, 1737, Messrs. Samuel Caven and Samuel Thomp-
son were both sent to Conococheague. By the presbytery, held November
17, 1737, Mr. Samuel Caven was ordered to supply, at Conococheague, the
first and fourth Sabbath to come, and so alternately until our next. At the
next meeting of presbytery, June 29, 1738, Benjamin Chambers and Thomas
Brown both presented petitions for ministerial aid to inspect into their dis-
orders, * and supply their needed spiritual wants. ' ' After a pretty deal of time
in consulting as to the matter, ' ' Mr. Samuel Black was directed to go on the
expedition, and to answer the demands of both petitions. It was ordered by
the presbytery at its session, August 31, 1738, that "Mr. Caven supply every
third Sabbath on the west side of Conococheague, till our next. ' '
Finally, after much delay and difficulty, Mr. Caven was installed as pastor
of the people of Conococheague November 16, 1739, Messrs. Anderson, Boyd,
Craighead and Thompson officiating. At this meeting it was announced that
"Joseph Armstrong, Richard O'Cahan, Patrick Jack and Benjamin Chambers
have agreed to pay Mr. Samuel Thompson the sum of £1 5s., at or before
next meeting of presbytery, as being the whole of arrears due him by the
people at Conococheague. " The duration of Mr. Caven' s service was determined
by some difficulty which arose between him and his people, leading him to
request his removal by the presbytery. The time of his service is specified
in the sketch of Falling Spring Church, at Chambersburg, which the reader is
requested to see.
The first meetings of the Falling Spring people were held in the saw-mill
of Benjamin Chambers. About 1739, a small structure of rough hewn logs
was erected. It was used also as a schoolhouse, and in later years became the
study house. In 1767 a large and more convenient one was erected on the
*These disorders were the difficulties which separated the Presbyterians into two divisions, East Conoco-
cheague joining with Falling Spring, and West Conococheague.
312 HISTOKY OF FRANKLIN COUNTY.
same site. The following was the agreement between the trustees of the
congregation and the builder:
We, in the name of the Falling Spring congregation, do promise to pay, or cause to
be paid, to James Shanks, or his assigns, the sum of forty-five pounds of the currency of
Pennsylvania, for the building for a meeting-house at the Falling Spring, and when said
house is built and sufficiently done, the money is to be paid, as witness our hands and
his, 5th day of July, 1767.
Benjamin Chambers,
John Dixon,
his
Richard X Venable,
mark.
Matthew Wilson,
Wm. Gass,
Patrick Vance,
Test: Benjamin Gass,
George Latmer, Robert Jack,
Archibald Brown. Thomas Burnet.
In the following year Col. Chambers presented the congregation the
ground on which the house was built, the consideration being the annual pay-
ment of ' ' one rose, if required. ' ' The subsequent history of Presbyterian-
ism in the county is known, and will be read in the leading congregations
sketched elsewhere. Its members have ever been honest and industrious, in-
telligent and patriotic, religious and aggressive, the leaders in all the advance
movements of the people.
The Seceders, or Associates, and Associate Reformed Presbyterians had
several congregations in primitive times, at Greencastle, Mercersburg, Cham-
bersburg, and several other points. These good people have been absorbed
by the United Presbyterians and other religious people, and are known only
as churches of the past. Among the early ministers were such devoted
men as John Cuthbertson, who preached in Franklin County as early as 1751 ;
Matthew Lind, who died at Greencastle at the age of sixty-nine, after a
ministry of some forty years; John Young, who died in 1803, having acted as
pastor at Greencastle, West Conococheague and the Great Cove; John Lind,
s >n of Matthew, who succeeded Mr. Young in October, 1808, and was a popu-
lar preacher and pastor; James Walker who preached at Chambersburg as early
as September, 1799, and continued till 1820; Thomas N. Strong, who succeeded
Walker and continued a year or two; Thomas McPherrin, in the Welsh Run
region from 1774 to 1779.
The United Presbyterian Church is the result of a union, in 1858, between
the Associate, or Seceder, and Associate Reformed Churches. Its origin in
the county is accounted for by what is said concerning the absorption and dis-
appearance of the other two denominations just mentioned. In his excellent
' ' History of Big Spring Presbytery, ' ' in which he gives ' ' not merely the his -
tory of the presbytery of Big Spring, but of all the churches, whether Re-
formed Presbyterian, or Associate, or Associate Reformed, or United Presbyte-
rian, which have existed or do still exist, * * so intimately related to each
other that their histories cannot well be separated," the author, Rev. J. B.
Scouller, gives a list of the following named ministers who have been born within
the limits of Franklin County: David Carson, Greencastle; John X. Clark;
Robert G. Ferguson, near Concord; Matthew L. Fullerton, Greencastle; Jere-
miah R. Johnson, D. D. ; Joshua Kennedy; John Lind; George McCormick, near
Concord; George Stewart, Greencastle; T. J. C. Webster, near Mercersburg;
John C. Young, D.D., Greencastle. They all became learned, popular
preachers.
The Lutherans began to occupy the field very early, as will be seen by
HISTORY OF FRANKLIN COUNTY. 313
examining the history of some of the older churches. The first Lutheran
family in the Grindstone Hill settlement, one of the oldest of German settle-
ments in the county, was that of Matthias George, in 1742. Even at that
early day, Lutheran itinerant ministers preached occasionally to their people,
but history has not recorded their names. One of the earliest on record was the
Rev. John G. Bager, ' ' a pious and learned man, ' ' who preached at Grindstone
Hill between 1765 and 1770. Other early preachers, of the last century,
whose labors did much to establish Lutheran congregations in the county,
were John George Young, John Michael Steck, Anthony U. Ludgen and John
Ruthrauff.
Through the efforts of these tireless workers and their successors, the
Lutheran Church has become the largest organization, in point of numbers, in
the county, its membership exceeding 2,500.
Contemporaneous with the Lutherans, and allied to it in language, sympathy
and national characteristics, is the Reformed Church, formerly called German
Reformed. In the beginning of German settlements, and in many instances
still, the Lutherans and Reformed built houses of worship conjointly, and had
their separate congregations and pastors. With many it is a question why
those two strong denominations, with but slight differences to separate them,
should not have united in organization as well as in their business enterprises.
As early as 1748, Rev. Michael Schlatter, of Philadelphia, made a mission-
ary tour through the county, visiting and instructing his scattered brethren.
It was during this trip he visited Jacob Snively, in Antrim, and wrote a
description of the rich country visited. So far as the records show, however,
the first preacher regularly in charge of the Reformed congregations of the
county was Rev. Jacob Weymer, of Hagerstown, or Elizabethtown, as it was
called at the time. He was a zealous and devoted man. His remains are
buried at Hagerstown, unmarked by any monument, his dying request being
that his grave should have no tablet.
Mercersbui-g early became the Mecca of the Reformed church in the county.
In the college and the seminary were to be found some of the greatest scholars
and thinkers of either continent; but Ichabod has unfortunately been written
upon the walls of these institutions, and the memories of the past are largely all
that is left. The church has prospered, however, and Mercersburg Classis, of
which Rev. Wm. M. Deatrich is clerk, reports twenty-two organized congre-
gations, twenty-two church edifices, six of which are union churches, and a
membership of 2, 360. In point of numbers it is next to the Lutheran Church.
The Methodists, the aggressive church of the country, began to take pos-
session of the field toward the close of the last century. Their first members
in the borough of Chambersburg were Daniel Madeira and his wife Eleanor.
They came from Reistertown, Md. , in 1793. The first preacher who visited
them was Rev. Charles Burgoon, then on the Frederick circuit. This occurred
in 1794. He was succeeded in 1799 by Seely Bunn. For history of these
men and their labors, the reader is referred to the chapter on Chambersburg.
With its thorough system of organization and supply, the church extended its
dominion extensively and rapidly until it had in 1884. twelve organizations
and about 1,500 members in the county. Though recent statistics have not
been had, its membership has greatly increased. This denomination in the
North has always been noted for its opposition to slavery, its ardent support of
the Government, and its earnest advocacy of the principles of temperance.
Candidates for admission to the ranks of the ministry are required, in addition
to literary and theological attainments, to be exempt from the use of intoxi-
cating drink and its kindred, tobacco. It is decidedly a reform church.
314 HISTORY OF FRANKLIN COUNTY.
The United Brethren in Christ is a church that was founded toward the close
of the last century by Rev. William Otterbein, a learned minister of the
Reformed Church. From the centennial sermon of Rev. J. P. Miller, of
Charobersburg, as well as from the autobiography of Rev. Samuel Huber, the
following facts are gathered: The first preacher in the county was Rev. Chris-
tian Newcomer. As early as 1796 he preached in John Huber' s house at
Rocky Spring. On Christmas day of the same year he preached in Chambers-
burg, and in 1797 at Henry Kumler's, four miles from Greencastle; in 1799,
in Mercersburg; in 1802 at John Crider's, in the neighborhood of Crider's.
Church; in 1803, at Lemaster's, near White Church, and in 1804 at
George Fetterhoff ' s, near Fetterhoff Chapel. Rev. George A. Guething was
his coadjutor in 1797. The following were some of the early preachers in the
county: William Otterbein, Christian Newcomer, George A. Guething, Martin
Boehm, Joseph Hoffman, John Neiding, Martin Crider, Abraham Draksel,
Christian Grosh, Felix Light, Christian Smith, Samuel Huber, Jacob Wingert,
J. S. Kessler, John Fohl, J. M. Bishop, E. Hoffman, W. Owens. Some of
these are yet doing valiant service.
The first class in the county was organized by Rev. Newcomer at Green-
castle in April, 1815; the second at Rocky Spring in 1817; Chambersburg was
organized in 1818. Preaching in Amberson's Valley began in 1819; in 1820
at John Mower's, in the vicinity of Mowersville, the first house being erected
in 1845, the second (Otterbein Church) in 1867; first Fetterhoff Chapel was
built in 1834; Crider's Church in 1840.
The following statement is taken from Mr. Miller's address in 1884: "To
show the growth of the church in the county I will quote a few statistics
taken from the record of Pennsylvania Conference: In 1847 we had in Frank-
lin County 3 pastoral charges, 34 appointments, 740 members, and contrib-
uted that year $28.61 for missionary purposes. In 1857 we had 5 pastoral
charges, 15 churches, 54 appointments, about 1,000 members, 11 Sunday-
schools, 450 children in Sunday-schools, and contributed for missions $136.50.
In 1886 we had 7 pastoral charges, 18 churches, 44 appointments, about
1,200 members, 15 Sunday-schools, 950 children in Sunday-schools, and con-
tributed $434 for missions. At present, according to the statistics of our
last conference, we have in Franklin County 9 pastoral charges, 30 churches,
valued at $60,000, 47 appointments, 2,500 members, 35 Sunday-schools, 2,700
children in Sunday-schools, and contributed for missionary purposes $1,500.
Our church in the county last vear contributed for all church purposes little
less than $25,000."
The Roman Catholic Church in the county had preaching during the
close of the last century, Chambersburg being the oldest organization. W'aynes-
boro and Doylesburg have congregations.
The Episcopal Church has but one congregation, whose history is given
in the chapter on Chambersburg.
The Church of God, organized by Rev. John Winebrenner about 1830,
has some three or four congregations in the county, the oldest being the one at
Orrstown, the next the one at Chambersburg, and last Fayetteville. Its exist-
ence in the county is subsequent to 1840.
The German Baptists, or Brethren, constitute a numerous and respectable
part of the religious element in the county. Like some other denominations,
they are averse to giving any statistics, or making any exhibition of a worldly
character. From an article published in 1884 in The Vindicator by Judge
F. M. Kimmel, a great admirer of these people, some facts are gathered.
They were founded by Alexander Mack, a native of the Palatinate in Germany,
HISTORY OF FRANKLIN COUNTY. 315
in 1708. The first congregation, consisting of six immersed members, "cove-
nanted together to walk in all the commands of the Lord." The entire devo-
tion of these people to the canse which they espoused, their practical and
peaceful lives, their purity and integrity, won many to their cause. They
practice trine immersion, feet-washing, and salute one another with the holy
kiss. They are earnest advocates of simple Bible teaching, and constitute an
earnest division of the band of Christian workers. Their churches are largely
in the country. Their first entrance into Franklin County was early in the
last century. One of the oldest congregations in the county is one that was
organized near Waynesboro, and is sketched in the chapter on that borough.
The River Brethren came into the county about 1831), divided into several
branches ; they have a number of congregations in different parts of the coun-
try. They constitute a quiet and industrious portion of the p'eople.
The Mennonites are thus described by John B. Kaufman, county surveyor,,
who is one of their prominent members. They keep no records.
"A few Mennonites found their way to the southern part of Franklin
County, as early as 1735. Among these were Jacob Schnebele, my great-great-
grandfather; Samuel Bechtel, my great -grand- uncle, and others. Samuel
Bechtel, was for many years a Mennonite minister, but whether he was at
this early date or not, it is pretty certain that there were preaching and other
religious exercises in the dwellings of these early settlers soon after they
reached their new homes.
" I do not know that many of our people came to this county, at least not
where they are now most numerous, till some time after the close of the Rev-
olution, when there was a large influx of them, as well as of other Germans, from;
the lower counties, especially from Lancaster. It was then that the Sherks^
Stouffers, Lehmans, Freys, Wingerts, Eberlys, Rissers, Hubers and Sollen-
bergers settled in Greene, Guilford and Letterkenny Townships, taking the
places of many of the Scotch-Irish. There is reason to believe that the largest
influx was between 1790 and 1800. For many years they had no churches, but so
arranged their dwellings that they held services in them by turns, and it was
about 1810, or soon after, when they erected a church, about one mile north
east of Chambersburg, in Greene Township, where the brick church now stands,
and a small log church in Letterkenny Township, about two and one-quarter
miles south of Strasburg. The present structure, built in 1859, is about a
mile and a half farther south than the old one. The church near Brown's
Mill was erected years ago. It was discontinued and a new one built, in 1867,
about one mile north of Marion, on the road leading from that place to Cham-
bersburg. In 1860 another church was erected in Southampton Township, at
the lower end of Culbertson's Row, and is known as the Row Church. It is
near the Southampton Station, on the Baltimore & Cumberland Valley Rail-
road extension.
"A fifth congregation built a church on the Warm Spring road, in Peters-
Township, soon after the rebellion, called Hege's Church. The last named
three congregations are quite small in numbers. Next come the ministers.
I begin with those of the Letterkenny congregation, within the limits
of which I have lived all my life. Christian Sherk, of Letterkenny Town-
ship, officiated many years; died in 1832 or 1833. Jacob Lehman, of Letter-
kenny Township, officiated many years; died near the same time. John Gsell,
of Letterkenny Township, was installed some years after the death of above, and
died about 1872. John Himsecker, now bishop, was installed in 1858; bishop
in 1872 or 1873, and holds the same office. John O. Lehman, of Letterkenny,
was installed as minister in Cumberland County; has been here about twenty
316 HISTORY OF FRANKLIN COUNTY.
years. The ministers of the church, near Chambersburg, have been Daniel
Lehman, of Greene Township, was many years a minister, died about 1850;
Peter Lehman of Greene Township, died about 1836 or 1837; David Horst,
of Greene Township, several years a minister, died in 1857 ; Philip H. Par-
ret, of Greene Township, perhaps twelve or fifteen years, still serves; Samuel
D. Lehman was installed a little over a year ago. Those of the Row Church
co agregation have been Joseph Bomberger, of near Middlespring, served
m my years, died nearly twenty years ago; Peter Wedel succeeded him soon after
his death and still officiates. The ministers serving Marion congregation
have been Jacob Hege, of Guilford Township, many years a minister, died
some twenty years ago; Benj. Lesher, of Peters Township, installed nearly
thirty years ago, has charge yet. Hege's Church, near Williamson, has been
under charge of Benjamin Leslie r. same as above.
"The bishops of this denomination have been John Gsell (deceased); John
Hunsecker, as above, has charge of the five churches. The others have only
local preachers. There is a very close relation between the Chambersburg
and Letterkenny congregations. The same ministers officiate in both. The
congregations commune together twice a year: in the spring at the Letter-
kenny Church, and in the autumn at the Chambersburg Church. I am unable
to give the number of members. ' '
The Reformed Mennonites are thus sketched by H. B. Strickler, a member at
Waynesboro : ' ' The Reformed Mennonite Church does not keep records of
admission to membership, nor of deaths; neither does it record any matters
referring to ordination of ministers or bishops, nor such as a'efer to building
houses for worship Hence these matters can not be given in full. The
doctrine of the church was first regularly advocated by Christian Frantz, who
migrated to the county from Lancaster County in the year 1825, and settled
on a farm near Waynesboro. He had been ordained to the ministry while he
yet resided in Lancaster County, and after his removal to Franklin County,
exercised himself in preaching as opportunities presented themselves. A
house was built about 1827, near Ringgold, Md. , just at the State line between
Pennsylvania and Maryland. Here regular services have been held from that
time to the present. In 1876 a house was erected in Waynesboro. About
1850 a house was built on the Falling Spring, near Chambersburg. These, with
a house near Upton, Penn., constitute the houses erected by the membership
of the church for public worship. Services are held at a number of places
where members of the church are located but have no houses of their own.
Ministers are called by the voice of the church from the membership. After
serving for a season on probation, if found acceptable, they are ordained to
the ministry, and give their services without compensation. Ministers are not
stationed to fill particular charges, but serve in the locality where they reside,
and fill such appointments as may be within reach. There are four regularly
ordained ministers in the county, and two more who are serving on probation.
The doctrine advocated is known as non-resistant, because its members do not
engage in litigation nor bear arms. ' '
A number of colored churches are found in the county. They belong mainly
to the Methodist Church, and are under pastoral and conference care. Mention
is made of those in Chambersburg, Greencastle and Mercers-burg.
An attempt to establish Mormonism, in Antrim Township, was made in
1845-17, but failed. The particulars are given in the History of Antrim
Township.
^<^£^Av
HISTORY OF FRANKLIN COUNTY. 319
CHAPTER XIV.
POPULAR AGITATIONS AND PHILANTHROPIC REFORMS.
Human Society Compared to the Ocean— Early Outlaws— Tiie Nugents—
Slavery in Franklin County— A Curious Will— Gradual Abolition of
Slavery— Runaway Slaves— The Underground Railroad— Capture of
Bob and Dave— History of John Brown's Raid on Harper's Ferry-
Fate of His Coadjutors— Wendell Phillips' Speech— Curious Prophe-
cies—History of Knownotiiingism in Chambersru kg— Sketches of Early
Temperance Movements in the County— Tidal Waves— Wamiing-
tonian Movement— Father Matilew's Efforts— Sons ok Temperance-
Good Templars— Woman's Crusade— National Woman's Christian Tem-
perance Union— Murphy Movement— Prohibition-Franklin County
Bible Society— Children's Aid Society.
HUMAN society is fitly and often compared to the great deep, whose
bosom at times is perfectly placid and anon agitated by fierce winds.
The longer continued and the deeper the condition of peace, the more noticeable
will be any disturbing element. A single interval of malignant disease will
be remarked longer and more carefully than all the preceding period of health.
Public agitations are but landmarks along the pathway of human progress,
serving to give relief from the wearying monotouy.
Honest industry did not mark all the early settlers of this beautiful valley.
As in every community, there were some who, rather than secure their food
by honest toil, were disposed to prey upon the dearly- earned accumulations of
others. Infatuated with the idea that the world owes them a living, they were
disposed to obtain the means of earthly subsistence by processes wholly
beyond the realm of justice and integrity. We are not surprised, therefore,
to learn that toward the close of the last century a band of desperadoes,
known by the name ' ' Nugents, ' ' infested the Cumberland Valley, and preyed
upon the people, whom they terrorized. Organized and systematic in their
operations, they swooped down upon hamlet and rustic homestead, taking
horses or whatever else of plunder they could most conveniently seize, and
hurrying to their dens in the mountains. Law and official authority were defied;
the people yielded their property voluntarily, often, rather than be subjected
to greater outrages at an unexpected hour, and, for a time, the peace and
prosperity of the community were at the mercy of these reckless banditti. The
colonial records are nut wanting in accounts like the following of the proceedings
of the Supreme Executive Council, dated January 14, 1784: " Ordered, that the
case of William Nugent, now confined in the gaol of York County, be referred to
the Magistracy of the said county, and that the remission of the fine imposed
upon him be liable to such conditions as they may think proper to direct. ' ' Will-
iam, it seems, was the leader of this notorious gang. A little later, when Franklin
County had been organized, a reward of £100 was offered for his apprehension.
It is understood that in expiation of his crimes he was finally executed, thus
ending the career of one who had been the chief of a band of outlaws con-
cerning which some marvelous tales were told.
It is known to but few, probably, of the younger class of our citizens that
African slavery at one time existed in Franklin County as it did throughout
the State, but never in the malignant form which characterized the Southern
320 HISTORY OF FRANKLIN COUNTY.
States. The early Scotch-Irish did not entertain the same sentiment of oppo-
sition to the institution which distinguished the Quakers; hence many of them,
even the leading members of church and state, held slaves. No evidence
exists, however, that they were ever treated with any other conduct than would
have been extended to ordinary white servants, except that they were subject
to sale or bequest just as other property was. With this knowledge in mind, we
need not be surprised to find in the records of the county the following docu-
ment:
Know ye that I Benjamin Chambers of Franklin County, in the State of Pennsyl-
vania for and in consideration of Filial affection and divers other good reasons and
causes mo thereunto moving, Do by these Presents voluntarily give, bestow and transfer
to my Daughter, Ruhamah Calhoon and her assigns, a certain Mulatto girl, a slave,
named Phebe, about thirteen years of age and by these presents do confirm to my said
daughter Ruhanlah and her assigns all my right, title and property in or to the said slave
Phebe from myself, my heirs, executors, administrators or assigns. In witness whereof I
have hereunto set my hand and seal this first day of August in the year of our Lord One
Thousand Seven Hundred and Eighty five. Signed, sealed and delivered in presence of
Jno. Boyse, George Armstrong.
Acknowledged May 12, 1797. Benjamin Chambers.
Pennsylvania, however, was the first State to take steps for the abolition
of slavery. Even during the stormy days of the Revolution, the question
presented itself for solution. The Colonial Records, Vol. XI, page 688, has
the following minutes of the Supreme Executive Council of which James Mc-
Lene, of Antrim Township, was a member, the date being February 15, 1779:
" We would also again bring into your view a plan for the abolition of
slavery, so disgraceful to any people and more especially to those who have
been contending in the great cause of liberty themselves, and upon whom Prov-
idence has bestowed such eminent marks of its favor and protection. We think
we are loudly called upon to evince our gratitude in making our fellow men
joint heirs with us of the same inestimable blessings, under such restrictions
and regulations as will not injure the community and will imperceptibly enable
them to relish and improve the station to which they will be advanced. Hon-
ored will that State be in the annals of history which shall first abolish this
violation of the rights of mankind, and the memories of those will be held in
grateful and everlasting remembrance who shall pass the law to restore and
establish the rights of human nature in Pennsylvania. We feel ourselves so
interested on this point, as to go beyond what may be deemed by some the
proper line of our duty, and acquaint you that we have reduced this plan to
the form of a law, which, if acceptable, we shall in a few days communicate to
you."
This, addressed to the Assembly, was not acted upon at the time. The
proposed law, however, was presented and passed on the 1st of March,
1780, by a vote of 34 yeas to 21 nays. Thus began gradual emancipation in the
State, which finally became complete, leaving only historic traces of its exist-
ence.
Not by her own slavery, however, but by that of her neighboring States on
the south, was the commonwealth agitated. Mason and Dixon's line afforded
a sufficient boundary to determine the rights of realty in Pennsylvania and
Maryland, but was no barrier to the fugitive from Southern bondage, inspired
with the notion of liberty and the rights of man. The Cumberland and Shen-
andoah Valleys, with their lofty and heavily timbered mountains on either
side, afforded ample opportunities for the escape of negroes from their cruel
masters. In eveiy community, too, were those who sympathized with the fu-
gitives and afforded them every possible aid to escape from their bondage.
This naturally developed two classes of people in Pennsylvania: first, those
HISTORY OF FRANKLIN COUNTY. 321
who felt for the runaway, and aided him in his escape; secondly, those who,
from a desire to obey the fugitive slave law, or from a selfish wish to obtain
the heavy reward offered for the return of the bondman, made every effort
possible to capture the dusky unfortunate. Between these two parties strife
necessarily arose. Anti-slavery and pro-slavery were terms that represented
very clearly the feelings of the two classes. Political parties for years would
have had no issues to present to the people, had not the existence of the slavery
problem furnished them.
The operations of the Underground Railroad, were they written in detail,
would fill volumes. This expression, purely historic, represents the line along
which negro refugees passed from bondage to liberty. At convenient points
tbey found sympathizers who aided them with food and clothing, and such in-
formation as would carry them safely to the next station. These anti-slavery
aids were usually denominated abolitionists, and rapidly won the absolute de-
testation of the pro-slavery advocates North and South. Under the operation
of the fugitive slave law, they were law-breakers, and subject to both fine and
imprisonment, if they refused to give assistance in returning slaves to their
masters.
It is not possible to give the thrilling cases that the records afford of runa-
ways returned again to bondage. The press of those days gives numerous cards
advertising the runaway of some slave, and offering a large reward for his ar-
rest and return. Some thirty years prior to the war of the Rebellion, a
wealthy man living at Winchester, Va. , named Flood, and by occupation an
insurance agent, advertised that two of his negro servants, Bob and Dave, had
absconded, and offered $600 for their recovery. Mr. John Grove, constable
at Chambersburg, wrote Mr. Flood that he would assist in returning the fugi-
tives for the promised sum. Flood came, and the two went out and found
them near Bossart's mill, and brought them to town. They were cast into
prison, but on trial denied their names. Reade Washington, attorney for
Flood, tried a peculiar device to ascertain whether the prisoners were really
Bob and Dave as alleged.- Turning his back upon them, be began to write.
Suddenly wheeling about he said, ' ' Bob ! ' ' The negro unthinkingly replied,
"Sir." This was evidence. The poor fellows were taken back as captives, and
Grove received his reward, but with it the imprecations of Flood, who regarded
the affair a mercenary one.
Along the valley were men who made it a business, not of conscience but
of sordid gain, to arrest runaways and return them for the rewards offered.
To this class belonged the Logans and Fitzhughs who afterward became so
conspicuous in the capture of John Brown's associates in the Harper's Ferry
raid.
In the summer of 1859. a strange man had his quarters at a frame house,
still standing, on King Street in Chambersburg, nearly opposite the present
Cumberland Valley depot. This strange man had. in early life, imbibed an
intense dislike for human slavery. Every fiber of his nature was conscien-
tiously opposed to the system. It is not strange, therefore, that during the
trials of Kansas in the days of border ruffianism, he should espouse the cause
of the free State party, and become generally known as " Ossawatomie Brown. "
To perfect his scheme for overthrowing slavery in the United States, said
John Brown held a convention in Canada during the month of May, 1858,
which made an elaborate constitution and a schedule ' ' for the proscribed and
oppressed people of the United States.'.' This convention, on the 8th of May,
elected John Brown commander-in-chief of all the forces that should be
secured under this constitution. His staff officers were J. H. Kagi, Secre-
322 HISTOKY OF FEANKLIN COUNTY.
tary of War; Richard Realf, Secretary of State; George B. Gill, Secretary of
Treasury; Owen Brown, Treasurer, and Alfred M, Ellsworth and Osborn An-
derson, members of Congress.
The interval from May, 1858, to June, 1859, was occupied largely in devel-
oping plans and collecting funds for the philanthropic scheme. Men were en-
listed and Brown, under the assumed name of Smith, with three of his sons,
made several visits to Virginia, in the meantime, to examine the field. Harper's
Ferry was finally selected as the keynote to the situation. Chambersburg was
made the base from which to further his operations. Hence, in July, 1859,
Brown and his three sons appeared on the streets of Chambersburg, and
secured boarding, first at a hotel, and then at the private house on King
Street already mentioned. His real mission was unknown to the people, his
announced purpose being that of a prospector for minerals in the mountains
of Maryland and Virginia, skirting the Potomac. He paid his board regu-
larly, and was treated as any other well-behaved stranger would be, the peo-
ple of the town never suspecting that in their midst a conspiracy was plotting.
A little later, boxes securely packed and addressed to I. Smith & Sons
were received through the commission house of Oakes & Caufman. By teams
provided by Smith, they were immediately taken up the valley and finally de-
posited on the Kennedy farm, rented for the purpose in Maryland, some five
miles from Harper's Ferry. The contents of these boxes were carefully con-
cealed, or if announced at all, were said to embrace agricultural and mining
implements. The sequel showed, however, that they contained Sharpe' s rifles
and pistols, swords, carbiDes, pike heads and the requisite ammunition. These
weapons he ultimately placed in the hands of the small band of men whom he
had collected, twenty-one in number, and with them he hoped to secure pos-
session of the arsenal and stores at the ferry and thus provide arms for the
uprising negroes in the State, whose cause he had espoused.
His first effort was made on Sunday evening, October 1(3, 1859. Before
leaving his rendezvous on the farm, this intrepid leader addressed his fol-
lowers, closing with this paragraph. "Now, gentlemen, let me press one
thing on your minds. You all know how dear life is to you, and how dear
your lives are to your friends; and in remembering that, consider that the lives
of others are as dear to them as yours are to you. Do not, therefore, take the
life of any one if you can possibly avoid it; but if it is necessary to take life
in order to save your own, then make sure work of it."
The attack upon the guards was so sudden and unexpected, that it startled
every one in the village. Men were captured and held as prisoners of war.
When Bi'own was asked what it all meant, his reply was: " To free the slaves,"
and when further interrogated as to his authority for these acts, he said. '"'By
the authority of God Almighty. ' ' Guards and night watchmen were seized
and held. The utmost consternation prevailed everywhere. On Monday fore-
noon, however, the people of the village and surrounding country, having or-
ganized themselves into companies, took positions on all sides of the invaders
and kept up. through the day, continual firing upon the raiders, with severe
loss in killed and wounded on both sides. Brown' s party was finally compelled
to seek refuse in the small brick building known then as the engine house, but
now as John Brown's fort, through whose walls, by the removal of bricks,
they made port-holes. Through these a constant firing was kept up against
any one seen on the streets, or in the houses. The prisoners captured were
also kept in this building, thus endangering the lives of non-combatants.
Daring the day and night of Monday, October 18, militia troops from
Winchester, Frederick, Baltimore and other places began to arrive. Col.
HISTORY OF FRANKLIN COUNTY. 323
Robert E. Lee and Lieut. J. E. B. Stuart, both subsequently conspicuous
generals in the Confederacy, arrived from Washington in charge of the United-
States Marines, to take command, and either to capture or kill the insurgents.
After fruitless efforts by Lieut. Stuart to secure the surrender of Brown and
his party, an assault of the place was made by the marines under command of
Lieut: Green, and all the inmates were captured. Brown received two wounds,
one in the head and one in the shoulder. Thus ended the attack on Harper's
Ferry.
The following is a list of Brown's party: John Brown, and his three sons,
Watson, Oliver and Owen; Aaron D. Stevens, Edwin and Barclay Coppic,
Albert Hazlett, John E. Cook, Stuart Taylor, William Lehman, William
Thompson, John Henri Kagi, Charles P. Tydd, Oliver Anderson, Jeremiah
Anderson, Dolph Thompson, Dangerfield Newby, Shields Greene, John Cope-
land and Lewis Leary. The last four were negroes.
Of the foregoing, Wm. Thompson, Lehman, Oliver and Watson Brown,
Taylor, Kagi, Newby, Leary and one of the Andersons were killed; Dolph
Thompson, Owen Brown, Barclay Coppic, Tydd and one of the Andersons
escaped, and were never captured; John Brown was imprisoned at Charles-
town, Va. , and executed December 2, 1859; Cook and Hazlett escaped, but
were recaptured in Pennsylvania and executed (the former on December 16,
1859, with Edwin Coppic). Greene and Copeland; the latter March 10, 1860,
with Stevens who had received nine wounds.
John E. Cook was captured near Mont Alto, while endeavoring to escape
with several others along South Mountain. Coming down to the settlement
to get food for his hungry party, he was betrayed and apprehended by Daniel
Logan and several accomplices, hurried to Chambersburg jail, and given a
trial before Samuel Reisher, Esq. Public sympathy was strongly in his favor;
but in his pocket book was found the following commission which proved to
be damaging testimony against him:
No. 4. No. 4.
Headquarters War Dep't.,
Near Harper's Ferry, Md.
Whereas, John E. Cook has been nominated a captain in the army established under
the provisional government;
Now, therefore, in pursuance of the authority vested in us, we do hereby appoint
and commission said John E. Cook, Captain.
Given at the office of the Secretary of War, this day, October 15, 1859.
H. Kagi, John Brown,
Secretary of War. Commander-in-Chief.
The preliminary examination being against him, he was taken to Virginia
and tried. Being a brother-in-law of Gov. Willard of Indiana, every effort
was mado to clear him, Hon. Daniel W. Voorhes, at present senator from
that State, appearing as counsel for his defense. All availed nothing,
however, and the brilliant young man paid the death penalty. His captor,
Logan, received the $1,000 " blood money " which was offered for his arrest,
and divided it among his associates. Albert Hazlett rode into the town
of Chambersburg with a man who. had he then known him, might have
saved his life, Mr. H. E. Wertz, of Quincy. When he found in town the
unusual excitement resulting from the Harper's Ferry raid, and the state-
ment that some of the conspirators were in Pennsylvania, he suggested that
one of them had probably ridden with him to town that morning. This clew
led to the arrest of Hazlett at Carlisle, whither he had fled from Chambers-
burg.
Brown's imprisonment in the Chariest own jail was full of thrilling interest.
He received letters from friends all over the land, containing words of cheer,
324 HISTORY OF FRANKLIN COUNTY.
and money for his dependent family. Notwithstanding the strong efforts of
the counsel for the prosecution to induce him to confess the co-operation
of leading Northern abolitionists, he stood firm, assuming all responsibility
for his acts, and meeting his fate heroically. His conduct was admitted, even
by his most inveterate enemies, to be brave in the extreme. He was finally
executed and his body sent for burial to North Elba, Essex Co., N. Y. On
December 8, 1859, the funeral occurred, Wendell Phillips pronouncing the
oration. From that address we make one quotation, prophetic of the work ac-
complished by this intrepid man : ' ' He has abolished slavery in Virginia.
You may say this is too much. Our neighbors are the last men we know.
The hours that pass us are the ones we appreciate the least. Men walked
Boston streets when night fell on Bunker's Hill, and pitied Warren, saying,
'Foolish man! Thrown away his life! Why didn't he measure his means
better?' Now we see him standing collossal on that blood-stained sod, and
severing that day the tie which bound Boston to Great Britain. That night
George III ceased to rule in New England. History will date Virginia
emancipation from Harper's Ferry. True, the slave is still there. ' So, when
the tempest uproots a pine on your hills, it looks green for months — a year or
two. Still it is timber, not a tree. John Brown has loosened the roots of the
slave system; it only breathes, it does not live hereafter."
Three things deserve to be noted: First. In his interview with Gov. Wise,
John Brown predicted the utter destruction of Harper's Ferry at an early
date. This prophecy was fulfilled. The writer found on the walls of one of
its public buildings in April, 1886, the following, written by some wag:
Here lies the town
That was killed by John Brown.
It was once very tine
Bnt not since 1859.
Second. All those engaged in arresting and executing John Brown subsequently
committed a like crime against the government of the United States by join-
ing in the Southern Rebellion. Third. Wendell Phillips' prophecy as to the
abolition of slavery was verified.
Without attempting to trace the various political movements, it may be
proper to notice briefly one that arose simultaneously in all parts of the coun-
try, and for a time agitated political organizations with its curious sign of in-
quiry: " Have you seen Sam?" Its motto " Let Americans rule America,"
seemed to strike a popular chord, and during its two years of active existence
it grew rapidly, and in many cases held the balance of power between the
Democratic and Whig parties. Reference is had to American Know-noth-
ingism.
This organization began its county existence in Chambersburg, May 11,
1851, mainly through the efforts of its leader, A. H. McColloh, the first mem-
ber in the county and its first district deputy. Some of the leading spirits
in those days were Charles W. Clyne, Thos. M. Carlile, Henry Merklein,
John Leggett, Upton Washabaugh, O. N. Lull, Alexander Grove, Michael
Houser, J. N. Snider, Geo. S. Eyster, F. S. Stumbaugh, John Ditzler,
Jacob Straley and David F. Robinson.
The history of temperance agitation in its various phases is fraught with
interest. Traces of movements in the early part of the present century are to
be noticed in the imperfect newspaper files to be seen. In the Repository of
1837, is found this statement of sound principles: " Many of the citizens of
Mercersburg believing the use of alcohol, in any form as a drink, to be not
only unnecessary but exceedingly dangerous, met on the evening of the 10th
HISTORY OF FRANKLIN COUNTY. 325
of March, for the purpose of forming a temperance society on the principle
of total abstinence." At their meeting on the 27th inst., a large attendance
was present, and the following officers were elected: President, Rev. Thomas
Creigh; vice president, Rev. J. Clary; secretary, H. J. Brown; treasurer,
George Pearson; managers, Wm. Phillips, I. Minnick, W. C Webb, D.
Kroly, G. W. Walker and J. Spare. Its subsequent work is unknown. In
the same paper occurs this: "A meeting of the Franklin County Temper
ance Society will be held at the hall, in Chambersburg, on Saturday, 15th
April, 1837." In 1838 a "Convention of delegates from the different
temperance societies of Franklin County" was appointed to be held Septem-
ber 7 at Chambersburg, Frederick Smith, Philip Berlin, Richard Bond,
James Morrow and John Smith acting as committee. The same year we find
a brief account of the ' ' Chambersburg Temperance Society ' ' with a member-
ship of 281, embracing the names of such prominent men as Geo. S. Eyster,
G. A. Shryock, Robert M. Bard, William Seibert, M. Nead, Wilson Reilley,
Joseph Pritts and George Heck.
These efforts seem to have been made prior to the sweeping over the coun-
ty of what are known as the "tidal waves" of temperance. In April, 1840,
six day laborers in the city of Baltimore signed this pledge: "We whose
names are annexed, desirous of forming a society for our mutual benefit, and
to guard against a pernicious practice which is injurious to our health,
standing and families, do pledge ourselves as gentlemen, that we will not
drink any spirituous or malt liquors, wine or cider." This originated what
was known as the Washingtonian movement that swept over the land from
east to west, and enlisted its thousands. Its influence was felt everywhere.
The same year a new impetus was given the temperance cause by the ap-
pearance in America of Father Matthew, the world renowned apostle of
temperance in Ireland. For ten years he had labored among -his own peo-
ple on the island of Erin, securing 150,000 converts in Cork in five months,
and administering the pledge in Galway to 100,000 in two days. Given a
public reception by the civil authorities on his landing in New York, he visited
the principal cities of the land. Everywhere he was royally received, and
during his visit to this country enrolled over 600,000 converts to the good
cause. His pledge was simple: "I promise, with Divine assistance, to ab-
stain from all intoxicating liquors, cordials, cider, and fruit liquors, and pre-
vent, as much as possible, intemperance in others, by advice and example."
The next ' ' wave ' ' of any importance, was that of the Sons of Temperance.
Its advent into Franklin County was marked by the organization in 1845 of
the Evening Star Division, No. 70, of the Sons of Temperance, on the pledge:
' ' No brother shall make, buy, sell, or use, as a beverage, any spirituous or
malt liquors, wine or cider." Its membership reached 140 or more, embrac-
ing some of the principal citizens of Chambersburg: George S. Eyster, George
Heck, Matthias Nead, Fred. Smith, P. W. Seibert, W. G. Reed, I. H. Mc-
Cauley, J. Allison Eyster, C. W. Eyster, Jas. R. Kirby, Wilson Reilly, John
W. Reges, Henry Greenawalt, Geo. R. Messersmith, J. W. Douglas, Jacob S.
Nixon, Saml. G. Lane, John K. Shryock, A. H. Senseny, S. R. Fisher, B. S.
Schneck, J. L. Suesserott, Edmund Culbertson, D. K. Wonderlich and others.
In a short time a second lodge, the Siloam, was formed. After a period of
five or six years these organizations fell into ' ' innocuous desuetude, ' ' from which
they did not revive till about 1866, when the forming of lodges of Good Tem-
plars gave an impetus to temperance work.
The next "wave" was that inaugurated by the Good Templars throughout
the land. This occurred about the close of the war, when the excitement oi
326 HISTORY OF FRANKLIN COUNTY.
military life gave way to the more lasting divertisements of civil life. The
order was introduced into Chambersburg through the efforts of Rev. S. H. C.
Smith, then pastor of the Methodist Episcopal Church, assisted by John Gil-
more, Mrs. Rachel Sloan, Mrs. Joseph Sierer, Miss Lide Welsh and other
philanthropic spirits. The society grew to be a large one, and was, for a
time, very aggressive and successful in its work. Auxiliary societies were
formed in various parts of the county.
The next temperance "wave" was the Woman's Crusade, which began in
Hillsboro, Ohio, December 23, 1873; and in Washington C. H., December 25,
the same year. The first was regarded the cradle, the second the crown
of the movement. Mrs. E. J. Thompson, of Hillsboro, the wife of Judge J.
H. Thompson, and daughter of Gov. Trimble, of Ohio, was the leader of the
first praying band. The movement, which was an onslaught on the saloon-
keeper by direct praying bands and petitioners, spread like wild-fire over the
North and West, and had a wonderful effect in defeating Republican congres-
sional and State candidates in the election of 1874.
The National Woman's Christian Union was organized at Chautauqua, Au-
gust 15, 1871, with the appropriate motto, " For God and Home and Native
Land." The pledge which is used in all State and inferior unions is thus
expressed, ' ' I hereby solemnly promise, God helping me, to abstain from all
distilled, fermented and malt liquors, including wine and cider, and to employ
all proper means to discourage the use of, and traffic in, the same. ' ' In its
scope, this organization, which seems to have lived longer than any predecessor
and to have become rooted in every hamlet in the country, is both educational
and legal. A very important feature of its work is the inculcation in text-book
and other literature, of the effects of narcotics and stimulants upon the human
system. At the same time a vigorous effort is constantly being made to secure
appropriate State and national legislation on questions involving the temper-
ance problem. An account of the workings of this organization will be found
in the societies as described in the various boroughs and villages of the county.
In 1876 a movement originated in Pittsburgh and spread rapidly in all di-
rections, known as the Murphy movement. It was named in honor of Francis
Murphy, an illiterate, though enthusiastic Irishman, who labored extensively to
disseminate his views of temperance. No attention was paid to the saloon-
keeper, but special prominence was given to the poor unfortunate that had
risen from the gutter. So high a premium was placed upon the reformation
of the inebriate, as to eclipse all honor growing out of a life of continued
sobriety. Hence, many of the strongest advocates of the movement were, like
Murphy, reformed drunkards. This- fact soon brought the movement into
disfavor. All the good features of it have been adopted by the Woman' s Chris-
tian Temperance Union.
The last phase of the temperance problem is known as Prohibition. It is
not new; prohibition as a principle has existed in every form of government,
human and divine, since the birth of time. As a test of loyalty the first pair
were restrained by a " Thou shalt not eat thereof." Without the rational
foundation afforded by a proper instruction which recognizes the fact that man
is a creature of habits; that "whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also
reap;" that the claims of the mind are superior to those of the stomach; and
that personal and associate happiness and prosperity depend upon self-control,
no system of legislation can produce the desired temperance reform. However
much philanthropists may desire it, they are compelled to acknowledge their
inability to secure the ' ' complete regeneration of the morals of mankind by
act of the Legislature. ' '
- 1 -
•
HISTORY OF FRANKLIN COUNTY. 329
We have said that prohibition is ancient. Even in its legal and political
aspects, the question was submitted to the people of the State in 1854, and
lost by a vote of only several hundred. In an address dated Chambersburg,
September 8, 1854, and signed by George Chambers, William Heyser, William
Seibert, Fred. Smith, Thomas Carlisle, Geo. S. Eyster, Wm. G. Reed, Thomas
B. Kennedy, W. Crooks, D. K. Wunderlich, Bernard Wolff and Fred. Hen-
ninger, after detailing, in very eloquent terms, the evils of intemperance to the
individual and the community, the significant statement is made that "the
man who neglects or refuses to vote in favor of a prohibitory law, the provis-
ions of which are to be left to the sound judgment of the Legislature, will be
represented by those opposed to it as against it, and in favor of the liquor
traffic. It is for the people to say whether our innumerable shops, where in-
toxicating liquors are sold, shall be allowed to spread over our State drunk-
enness, crime and misery or their destructive business, prohibited by law. We
earnestly entreat our fellow citizens to give their influence and vote on the
side of temperance, peace, order and the public welfare. ' '
In the address, from which we have quoted but an extract, strong grounds
are taken in favor of legal prohibition, showing that the solution of the prob-
lem has taxed the minds of earnest philanthropists for a long period. The
final solution will be the result of all educational, moral and legal agencies
combined.
The Franklin County Bible Society, one of the valuable institutions of the
county, was organized in Chambersburg on the 12th of December, 1814. Its
first corps of officers embraced the following gentlemen: President, Rev. John
McKnight, D. D. ; vice-presidents, Rev. James Hoffman and James Riddle, Esq. ;
secretary, Rev. John Lind; clerk, Rev. David Elliott; treasurer, John Findlay,
Esq. ; managers, Revs. David Denny, John F. Moeller, John Moodey, Robert
Kennedy, Messrs. James McFarland, John Calhoon, Edward Crawford and
George Chambers. Traces of the organization are to be found in the incomplete
newspaper files through the intervening years to the present time. The officers
for 1828 were: President, Rev. David Denny; vice-presidents, James Riddle and
George Chambers; corresponding secretary. Rev. John McKnight; treasurer,
John Findlay, Sr. ; clerk, James B. Ross. The object, as expressed in the origi-
nal crll for its organization, was "to procure copies of the sacred Scriptures for
distribution, either gratis or on such conditions as the society may think proper. '*
We regret our inability to give statistics of its work, but understand from one of
its active members that it has not only maintained a continued existence to the-
present, but has distributed liberally to destitute families the word of the-
living God. Its benefactions during the civil war were not confined to the
narrow limits of the county, but extended to hospitals and camps in other
counties and States. One of the latest evidences of life is the following item,,
taken from the Valley Spirit of December, 1886:
"In pursuance of a call by Rev. J. A. Crawford, D. D. , president, the mana-
gers of the Franklin County Bible Society convened in the pastor' s study of the-
Central Presbyterian Church at 9:30 o'clock yesterday morning. There were
present Revs. J. A. Crawford, D. D., J. F. Kennedv, D. D. , J. J. Pomeroy,
D. D., W. C. Cremer, M. L. Smyser, M. Z. Hittel,"S D. W. Smuth, H. R.
Phoenix and Mr. J. Hoke. After a statement by Mr. Hoke in relation to the
past history and present condition of the society, the following resolutions
were adopted:
Resolved, That a suitable time in the month of April or May next we will hold our
annual meetinff, and that the secretary communicate with Rev. Dr. Morrow, agent of the
Pennsylvania Bible Society, in relation to getting him to be present on that occasion.
18
330 HISTORY OF FRANKLIN" COUNTY.
Resolved, That the president, Dr. Crawford, be directed to publish through the town
and county papers that the Franklin County Society is without funds, and 'that in order
to be prepared for its proper work, to meet our local wants by keeping on hand a supply of
Bibles and Testaments to be sold at cost, or to make a thorough exploration of the county
and supply the destitute, or aid the State society in its work, it is desired that the friends
of the cause throughout the county aid us by collections and donations, to be sent to the
treasurer, Mr. James C Austin, Chambersburg.
Resolved, That the secretary communicate with the Female Bible Society, of this place,
in relation to having a thorough exploration of the town with a view to ascertain the
amount of destitution of the Scriptures prevailing.
' ' Mr. J. Hoke is secretary of the Bible society. With the stimulus given it
by yesterday morning's meeting it can be safely predicted that the society will
resume its work with new energy and fruitful results. ' '
One of the philanthropic enterprises of the county,, deserving of special
mention, is The Children's Aid Society. By a legislative enactment of the
State in 1883, poor-houses were not permitted to retain children between the
ages of two years and sixteen years for a longer period than sixty days. The
State failing to provide for such dependent ones, private enterprises had to
supply the deficiency. At the time, Franklin County had twenty-five of such
children, under ten years of age, in her poor-house.
On June 14, 1884, a number of persons from different portions of the
county met in the Central Presbyterian Church of Chambersburg, and after a
thorough discussion of the subject it was deemed best to create a corporation
with power to act for the good of the children ; and, therefore, for the welfare of
the general public, a board of directors was chosen, and on July 16 a charter
was granted The Children's Aid Society of Franklin County by the court
of common pleas, and a few days later its organization was completed.
More than a score of children were awaiting the opening of its sheltering arms,
but it was without a roof to protect, raiment to clothe, provision to feed or
help to care for them. For these purposes it had no funds. The remedy was
an appeal to the charitable; the response was the receipt of over $600 in money
and many donations in kind to start the work. - A house was secured and, in
October following, its doors were opened, and since then thirty-eight children
have been admitted, of whom fourteen have been placed in good homes, and
twenty are now under its roof, fitting for useful service when they may be
wanted.
The house occupied last year could only be had temporarily, and when op-
portunity offered, the building now in use was purchased. It is not convenient
for the purpose, and too small to accommodate those in it, and the society is,
therefore, unable to receive the needy children now pleading at its doors for
admission. For these reasons, at a recent meeting of its board of directors it
was unanimously decided to enlarge and improve the building, and trust to the
benevolence of the people for the funds needed. The wants of the society in
the past have been generously met and we feel that this, its greatest one, will
be no exception.
The purpose of The Children's Aid Society, it should be understood, is to
care for and protect all the destitute and cruelly treated children of Franklin
County, without regard to creed, color or race, taking them under its roof,
placing them in families, looking after their welfare and helping them to lives
of usefulness. Of those who think this institution is intended for Chambers-
burg, we would ask that they disabuse their minds of this idea by looking at the
records of its inmates, which show that while Antrim, Quincy, Greene, Mont-
gomery, Washington, Southampton, Guilford, Metal and Lurgan Townships
have inmates of the home, Chambersburg has none. Its management is eco-
nomical, and the only persons who draw pay for services are the matron and
HISTORY OF FRANKLIN COUNTY. 331
the other help in the house, the directors and other officers giving their
time and labor without charge.
This work is one that appeals to the sympathy and help of every person in
the county. It is a home mission work for the aid of those of tender years
who have neither friends nor money, and aims to make useful citizens of such
as otherwise might become paupers and criminals. Franklin County was one
of the first in the State under the new law to make provision for its homeless
and friendless children.
To expedite matters, a committee of four persons or more was appointed in
each election district in the county, to solicit and receive contributions, and to
become the local managers of the enterprise.
AN EXPLANATORY CARD.
At a recent meeting of the board of directors of The Children's Aid Society, John G.
Orr, James A. Reside and Mrs. Lou. Kennedy "were named as a committee to devise means
or suggest a plan for raising by contribution sufficient funds for the erection of a building
for the use of the society.
A proposal was made by the Valley Spirit that it would undertake through its columns
the raising of funds for that purpose. Believing the plan proposed to be practical and
effectual, and besides, as it will be done without any cost to the aid society, we cheerfully
accepted the proposition and heartily commend the effort to the many benevolent people
of Franklin County.
Louisa Kennedy,
James A. Reside.
Commencing with May 5, 1886, the Valley Spirit began to publish in its
columns the names of all contributors and the amount of each contribution.
Responses were general and liberal. As a result, on December 21, 1886, the
board of directors purchased the Mrs. Boyer property, on Federal Hill, for
$6,325. The property already in possession of the society was accepted by
Mrs. Boyer at its cost, $1,500.
In its issue of December 29, 1886, the Spirit's report of contributions for
the helpless, aggregated $5,458.06, showing the efficiency of live newspaper
advocacy, and the philanthropic spirit of the good people of the county.
This fund is still being augmented, and will probably reach $8,000 before
the close of the first year. Future generations will rise up and bless the
faithful paper that has so persistently advocated the claims of the helpless and
dependent — an enterprise that marks a grand era in the development of the
county.
332 HISTORY OF FRANKLIN COUNTY.
CHAPTER XV.
THE GREAT REBELLION OF 1861-65.
Introduction— Civil War an Interesting Study— Its Antecedents Must
Be Considered— Jamestown and Plymouth Typical of Two Antago-
nistic Civilizations— Practical Inferences— War Statistics— Firing
on Fort Sumter and its Effects— Patriotic Meetings — Hearty Re-
sponse to President's Call for Troops — Incidents of 1861 — Complete
Roster of Troops Furnished by the County — Stuart's Raid in 1862 —
Lee's Invasion, Preceded by Jenkins' Raid — Rebel Occupation of
Chambersburg and Its Events— Advance on Gettysburg — Battle —
Retreat — Lee's Train of Wounded — Burning of Ewell's Supply Train
and Capture of Prisoners by Kilpatrick— McCausland's Raid and
Burning of Chambersburg.
THE civil war which convulsed the American continent and astounded the
world from 1861 to 1865, is one of thrilling historic interest. Its
causes, its deeds of heroic daring, its varying successes, its magnitude, its
illustrious civil and military actors on both sides, the new ideas of statesman-
ship developed, its test of the capacity of man for self-government, its influ-
ence on the future of the New World as well as upon the Old, the dawn of a
new era of educational, mechanical, social and political progress — these must
all be wisely and dispassionately studied. He, therefore, who expects to read
its history successfully, by commencing with the firing on Fort Sumter in
1861, and reading the narrative of its thrilling events only to the surrender of
the last Confederate Army in 1865, commits a fatal mistake.
To say the civil war continued only four years is historically incorrect.
Its causes can be traced for centuries prior to the tiring upon and capitula-
tion of Fort Sumter, and its consequences upon American civilization will
end only with the last knell of time. Its causes may be assigned, phil-
osophically, to the basic conflict in human nature, which an inspired apostle
represents as a warfare between the flesh and the spirit — an ' ' irrepressible
conflict," whose duration is coextensive with earthly existence, and whose vic-
tory, sometimes on one side, and sometimes on the other, is never final, till
death separates the contestants. But, fixing the origin of this ' ' irrepressible
conflict ' ' more definitely as to time and place, let it be remarked, that in the
colonization of this country two radically different molds of civilization were
established. The colony at Jamestown, Ya., in 1607, was composed largely
of pleasure-seeking, wealth-desiring gentlemen of leisure, who ardently sought,
in the New World, what could be obtained with difficulty in the Old. Its first
members, coveting that which would enhance bodily comfort, brought with
them no well-defined, deep-rooted moral convictions; came hot because of
persecutions for righteousness' sake in the parent country, nor because of any
burning desire to establish any special theory of education or government.
They represented the jovial, ease-loving classes of Europe, and their thoughts
and purposes in the new world would, under the operation of the law that
like begets like, reproduce and impress themselves upon their progeny. "This
colony passed readily and naturally from a system of white serfdom to the adop-
tion and perpetuation of African slavery. In other words, it found African labor
and bondage congenial to its natural tastes, and easily became its exponent
and defender.
HISTOEY OF FBANKLIN COUNTY. 333
Virginia became, and remained, the dominant power in what was sub-
sequently known as the Southern States. She was the mother, not only of
presidents and statesmen, but of systems of education and theories of govern-
ment as well. Jamestown was the germinal, typical, dominant Southern col-
ony, whose impress was stamped indelibly upon that region.
The New England colonies, and notably that of Plymouth in 1620, were
founded by persons naturally no more intelligent, but men and women of deep
convictions as to the rights of the people and the powers of government —
persons whose persecutions in the parent country had induced them to
endure the perils of a turbulent sea voyage, and the hardships and privations
of pioneer life. Family, school, church and state; free speech, free press
and freedom of conscience — these all came with the original colonists. The
subsequent cases of intolerance exhibited toward dissenters, were only instances
of honest convictions, somewhat misguided, striving for their own exaltation.
The final rejection of African slavery was based, not wholly upon the un-
productiveness of the system, but largely, on the promptings of a quickened
conscience, which recognized the enormity of a property- inheritance in human
flesh and blood and brain.
Says a prominent American writer and statesman: "The character of the
original settlers determined the character of the social and political institutions,
while subsequently these institutions in their turn determined the character of
the inhabitants. * * Thus we trace in the first stages of American history
two distinct currents, one running in the direction of permanent social and
political distinctions, and the other in the direction of social and political
equality — the one essentially aristocratic, the other essentially democratic.
These currents were running smoothly side by side as long as they were kept
asunder by the separate colonial governments; but they became directly an-
tagonistic as soon as, by* the organization of the different colonies into one re-
public, a field of common problems was opened to them where they had to
meet. Then the question arose which of the two currents should determine
the character of the future development of the American Republic." This
question, "Which type of civilization shall control~the destinies of the repub-
lic ? " was the problem that demanded the wisest statesmanship, the most pru-
dent legislation and the most conciliatory policy for nearly two and a half .cen-
turies. The friction which it produced was the "irrepressible conflict" in
political life. Human slavery, the cause of it all, was fortified behind the
doctrine of State supremacy as opposed to national supremacy. Two sections
of one great commonwealth, permeated by radically unlike theories of govern-
ment, were jealous of each other's interests. Agitation, infractions of law,
exciting speeches, publications of an inflammatory character, Northern aid to
negroes escaping from bondage, and Southern intolerance of Northern senti-
ments and public men, want of free communication between the great sections
— these brought about a frenzied spirit in the South, and transferred the con-
flict from the field of legislation to the field of battle. The conflict which
had, through varying phases, been raging for centuries, and which had been
stayed at times only by compromises in the interests of slavery, was renewed
in deadly earnest on the field of carnage. The civil war was but a continuation
of the legislative war.
We are now prepared to draw a few practical inferences from what has
preceded:
1. A rational explanation of the causes of the war furnishes a satisfactory
basis for charitably judging its principal instigators, or its subsequent pros-
ecutors.
334 HISTOKY OF FRANKLIN COUNTY.
2. It will be seen that "Uncle Tom's Cabin," "Helper's Impending- Cri-
sis," the efforts of abolitionists like Garrison, Phillips, Lovejoy, Giddings,
Greeley, Smith, etc. , John Brown' s raid on Harper' s Ferry, the inflammatory
speeches of Davis, Toombs, Yancey, Calhoun, Wise and others, were but
slight skirmishes in the great conflict, and only feeble means of hastening
what was inevitable — the overthrow of one or the other type of civilization.
3. It must be apparent that men educated in the same military schools and
trained in the same tactics would, other things being equal, become equally
successful leaders of armies in the field.
4. The warmer climate and the modes of living peculiar to the South-
ern States, caused Southern soldiers to be more impulsive and more thoroughly
in earnest from the beginning of the war. Hence Confederate successes were
more frequent during the first two years of the war than during the last two,
when the supporters of the Union were thoroughly aroused.
5. Each party in the conflict, including the managing officials, mistook
the nature of its enemy, overestimating its own powers and underestimating
those of its opponent.
6. The war for the Union could not be successful till the cause of the war,
negro slavery, was removed by the President's emancipation proclamation
and subsequent confirmatory legislation.
The civil war, of which Gettysburg is the typical battle, was one of co-
lossal proportions. From semi-official records the following statistics are ob-
tained: Total number of troops furnished by all the States for the Union
army, 2,859,132; the entire number for the Confederate Army was probably
about 1,500,000, though one Confederate officer* puts it as low as 650,000.
The Union losses were as follows: Killed in battle, 61,362; died afterward,
34,727; died of disease, 183,287; total, 279,376. The Confederate losses
were: Killed in action, 51,527; died of wounds or disease, 133,821; total,
185,348. This is probably but a partial statement. Number of troops who
died while prisoners: Union, 29,725; Confederate, 26,774. Number of
Union troops captured, 212,608; number of Confederate troops captured,
476,169. Number of deserters from Union Army, 199,105; number of de-
serters from Confederate Army, 104,428. The total number of Confederate
wounded is quoted at 227,871; the Union losses must have been considerably
larger in proportion to the armies.
The total expenses of the civil war, direct and indirect, are put down as
$6,189,928,908. If this amount be divided by the number of slaves liberated
(4,000,000), it shows that every case of freedom incurred a money value of
over $1,500, to say nothing of the untold death and suffering and anguish in-
volved.
scenes or 1861.
Early on the morning of April 12, 1861, the telegraph announced the at-
tack by Southern troops under command of Gen. P. G. T. Beauregard on Fort
Sumter, in Charleston Harbor. But a short time elapsed before messages were
received announcing the capitulation of the garrison under Maj. Bobt. Ander-
son, the lowering of the stars and stripes and the substitution of the palmetto
flag. With this message came the announcement that President Lincoln had
called for 75,000 soldiers to serve for the period of three months in crushing
the unholy rebellion thus inaugurated by the secessionists. Intense 
